ABC/Randy Holmes; ABC/Randy HolmesGodsmack paid tribute to both Chester Bennington and Chris Cornell during their their show in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Wednesday night. Toward the end of their set, Sully Erna and company performed an acoustic rendition of Linkin Park's "Crawling," immediately followed by a cover of Temple of the Dog's "Hunger Strike."

You can watch fan-recorded footage of the performance now via YouTube.

Bennington and Cornell were close friends, and they died within two months of each other. Cornell died by suicide May 18, and Bennington sang "Hallelujah" during his funeral. Bennington then died, also by suicide, on July 20, which would've been Cornell's 53rd birthday.

Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
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VANCOUVERBritish Columbia says it will join the legal fight against the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, while warning the company it cant begin work on public land until it gets final approval from the province.

The NDP government has hired former judge Thomas Berger to provide legal advice as it seeks intervenor status in court challenges against Ottawas approval of the $7.4-billion project.

Premier John Horgan promised in the provincial election this spring to use every tool in the tool box to stop the expansion by Trans Mountain, a subsidiary of Kinder Morgan Canada.

Read more:

Where pipelines means money and jobs: Steward

Kinder Morgan faces pressure on Trans Mountain ahead of earnings report

Several First Nations and municipalities have filed legal challenges against the project, which would triple the capacity of the Alberta-to-B.C. pipeline and increase the number of tankers in Vancouver-area waters.

Environment Minister George Heyman said the expansion is not in the provinces best interests.

A sevenfold increase in tanker traffic in B.C.s coastal waters is simply too great a risk to our environment, our economy and to thousands of existing jobs, he said.

B.C.s former Liberal government issued an environmental certificate for the project earlier this year.

Trans Mountain has said construction is set to begin in September, but Heyman said only three of eight environmental management plans required by the province have been accepted. Its unlikely those remaining will get approval before work was to start, he said.

The other five management plans have not been accepted because the company didnt adequately consult First Nations, Heyman said.

Until that has been completed, Kinder Morgan, with the exception of some private land and some clearing of right-of-way, cannot put shovels in the ground.

Heyman said a storage facility and marine terminal in Burnaby are on private property, but the majority of the pipeline either passes through First Nations territory or public land.

Kinder Morgan Canada president Ian Anderson said the company takes the comments of the B.C. government seriously and will meet with it to work through its concerns.

We have undertaken thorough, extensive and meaningful consultations with Aboriginal Peoples, communities and individuals and remain dedicated to those efforts and relationships as we move forward with construction activities in September, he said in a statement.

Fifty-one First Nations have signed mutual benefit agreements with Trans Mountain. Heyman said some do not necessarily favour the pipeline but want to ensure their people benefit if it proceeds.

The province is also committed to further consultations with First Nations on the project, including the impact it has on Aboriginal rights and title, Heyman said.

Attorney General David Eby said the legal challenges against Ottawas approval are expected to be heard this fall.

The Squamish Nation has also filed a lawsuit against B.C. over its environmental certificate, putting the new government in the awkward position of having to defend the approval of a project it opposes.

Eby said the province is working closely with Berger, a renowned lawyer and leader of the B.C. NDP in the 1960s, whom the attorney general praised as a living example of modern First Nations law in Canada. Berger and his team will be responsible for filing a response to the Squamish Nations lawsuit.

A spokesman for Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr said the federal governments approval of the project was based on facts, evidence and the national interest.

We look forward to working with every province and territory to ensure a strong future for Canadians but the facts and evidence do not change, said Alexandre Deslongchamps in a statement.

The provinces announcement won support from environmental groups and the Green party, which has signed an agreement to back the minority NDP government in the legislature.

Green Leader Andrew Weaver accused Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of playing a political game and bullying B.C. He said the outlook for the project is dark given the opposition from the province, environmental groups and many Vancouver-area voters.

Trans Mountain will never be built, Weaver said. Im convinced of that.

The Canadian Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors condemned the provinces position and called on Ottawa to prevent B.C. from holding the jobs and livelihoods of thousands of Canadians and British Columbians hostage.

B.C. Liberal Leader Rich Coleman said the NDP is driving home the message that the province is not open for business.

The B.C. NDP are hiring high-priced help to find ways to introduce more red tape so they can strangle another project.

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. In a previous version, the attorney general erroneously said that the province filed their response to Squamish Nation.

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The most anticipated brewery opening of the year in east end should be worth the wait: owner Luc Lafontaine (known as Bim, a nickname hes had since childhood), has years of experience and plans to do it right.

Godspeed Brewery, at Coxwell Ave. and Gerrard St. took Lafontaine two-and-a-half years to put together.

I want to be a neighbourhood brewpub with an international reputation, says Lafontaine, 43, of the airy, 6,000-square-foot space that once housed a Bargain Harolds. With a 23-hectolitre brewing system in the back and 100 seats in the pub and on the patio, the strategy here is to launch right-sized.

A lot of people I know wish they could go back, he says of colleagues in the industry. Theyve launched small brewpubs and had to expand or find a second location. This is the size I want to be, I dont want to get bigger.

Hes brewing up beers with his 20-plus years of experience  he began home brewing as a teen  and serving the Japanese comfort food he loves from his travels there.

Lafontaine hails from Gatineau and was interested in fine drink and food from a young age. Hed get his older brother, Brian, to get him beer when he was a teen, but often insisted on imported. I was never a Labatt Blue guy, he says.

Meanwhile, living with his dad, Lafontaine soon took over buying his own groceries and whipping up his own meals. By 1991, while still a teenager, he started home brewing.

This was not easy: there was no internet to seek information or make orders. He had a book and would often trek to Ottawa to buy beer-making kits. Hed mess with them. He recalls one of his earliest experiments was an apple amber. I wish I could go back and taste them, he says, suspecting they were pretty bad.

While a beer geek on the side, he moved to Montreal to study kinesiology at the University of Montreal  seems unrelated to beer, but Lafontaine says theyre utterly connected, as both are sciences where one small change impacts other things.

In 2001, he started working at Montreal brewery Dieu du Ciel!  hed met the owners previously, before embarking on a long trip, and mailed them beer coasters from around the world. He worked as a server and a manager and finally got shifts in the brewery itself. By 2007, he was head brewer.

By then, Lafontaine had travelled to Japan several times and decided to open a brewery there, as the market was ripe for development, he thought. Meanwhile, hed met Eri Kuramasu, who was Japanese, and the two began dating.

In 2012, Lafontaine left his job and moved to Japan with Kuramasu. With local friends as investors, he put together Ushitora (it means cow tiger, which are his and his girlfriends horoscope animals) in Tochigi, just outside Tokyo.

But visa problems, red tape and issues with his partners made setting up the brewery a drawn-out slog. By the time Lafontaine was ready to open in mid-2014, hed already decided the project was not for him. I wanted my 40s to be amazing, he recalls, and this project was not going to make that possible.

He opened, got everything ready so his partners could run the brewery, and he and Kuramasu returned to Canada at the end of 2014 (theyve since married). At that time, the microbrewery market in Toronto was underserved, and Lafontaine thought hed do well here  plus he didnt want to return to Montreal and compete with his former employer.

Using a name inspired by that brewery  plus Godspeed You! Black Emperor is both a Japanese movie and a Montreal band  he secured partners (including brother Brian, who works in Ottawa in banking) and sought a space.

This cavernous storefront came up in mid-2015. After negotiating the lease, Lafontaine and his partners invested about $2.5 million to get the space ready.

For the food, Lafontaine brought in chef Ryusuke Yamanaka to cook up the comfort foods of Japan, such as Katsu-Sando, a pork cutlet sandwich, and the bestselling Karaage, Japanese fried chicken.

The space opened in July and the brewery has already produced a stout, Dortmunder, smoked saison and transatlantic pale ale ($3.75 for a 355 ml can from the bottle shop)  plus two more available only on tap.

While the neighbourhood and the city has come out  even Mayor John Tory showed up on opening  its a very different microbrew industry these days in Toronto.

Lafontaine says he will truly need godspeed to do well in this tight marketplace, but is hoping his quality offerings and unique location will make a difference. Im not taking anything for granted.

Correction - August 14, 2017: This article was edited from a previous version that misspelled Karaage.

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REGINAOne of Canadas most high-profile premiers who rose to national prominence for his down-to-earth style, sharp wit and, more recently, his willingness to lock horns with Ottawa is retiring from politics after a decade in office.

Saskatchewans Brad Wall said he made the decision at the end of June after talking it over with his wife Tami.

Its a hard thing to even just start to talk about, Wall said Thursday. We decided now was the time for me to end my career in politics.

I think renewal will be good for the province. I think renewal and a different perspective will be good for the government. I think renewal will be good for my party as well. Whatever I do after this  and I currently have no leads or prospects  this job will be the honour of my working life.

Wall said he will stay on until his successor is chosen.

And until then, theres still a lot of work to do, Wall said. This was such a difficult decision to make ... but it is time.

Wall and his Saskatchewan Party have won three consecutive provincial elections, the last in 2016 where they took 51 of 61 seats. The party, which formed 20 years ago out of an alliance of disaffected Tories and Liberals, took more than 50 per cent of the popular vote in each of the contests.

Wall, who is 51, routinely places high in opinion polls ranking the countrys most popular premiers and his knack for the zinger sound bite has made him a national political figure.

But hes faced headwinds in recent months, especially after his government tabled an austerity budget this spring.

With a bottom line battered by low resource prices, the budget cut library and education funding, as well as grants to municipalities, although cash for libraries was later restored.

It raised the provincial sales tax and added it to things that were previously exempt, such as childrens clothing and restaurant meals. The government also shut down the provincial bus company to help tackle a $1.3-billion deficit.

In May, a Mainstreet Research poll suggested Walls party had dropped steeply in voter support and had fallen nine points behind the leaderless Opposition New Democrats.

With trouble at home, Wall has been training his political guns afar, railing against opposition to pipeline projects that would see central Canadas crude oil pumped to the coasts and markets overseas.

Hes also waged war with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over the federal governments plan to force provinces to put a price on carbon, pledging to fight the move in court if necessary.

Wall said he is leaving the province in better shape than it was in when he first took office.

When deliberating his retirement, Wall said he told a senior adviser there were still things he would like to accomplish. The adviser told him no matter when he chooses to retire, there will be items left on the to-do list and that better not be the reason why youre deciding to stay or to go.

I really believe that Saskatchewan will benefit from a different style and a different voice and so will our party, Wall said.

Wall graduated from the University of Saskatchewan with a degree in public administration and has spent much of his time since in politics.

He was a backroom guy at first. In the 1980s, he worked in Ottawa in the office of Swift Current Tory MP Geoff Wilson. He returned to Saskatchewan and worked as a ministerial assistant in Grant Devines Progressive Conservative government.

He was first elected in 1999 under the banner of the newly formed Saskatchewan Party and made a successful bid for the partys top job after it lost a 2003 election many felt it should have won.

In 2007, Wall led the Saskatchewan Party to victory in the provincial election.

A tape from his time in the Tory backrooms came back to haunt him soon after he was elected. The provincial NDP unearthed a video cassette of Wall yucking it up with fellow Tory staffers, criticizing NDP leader Roy Romanow in a thick Eastern European accent. Romanow is of Ukrainian heritage.

Wall apologized and the controversy didnt stick.

Four years later, he cruised to his second mandate as the Saskatchewan Party took more than 60 per cent of the popular vote along with 49 of 58 seats in the legislature  the largest popular vote garnered by a party since 1912.

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Cocktail candies? Margarita marshmallows? Prosecco pastilles?

Adult candy is the hottest new trend in confection, which is increasingly drawing inspiration from wine and cocktail culture by spiking gummies, truffles and frozen treats with everything from tequila to everyones favourite, rose wine.

Well, why not? After all, pairing dessert and booze is a time-honoured tradition. And a splash of brandy or Grand Marnier is the secret ingredient in many a dessert. So, chocolatiers, confectioners and ice-cream makers are just taking it to the obvious next-level with their Prosecco gummy bears, tequila popsicles and (possibly our all-time favourite) Negroni jam. Finally, we can have our cocktail and eat it, too.

So long as youve reached the age of majority, that is.

Wine Gums and Cocktail Candy

Squish, a Canadian company known for its artisanal gourmet gummy creations, is famous for its Vegan Prosecco Bears  pink and white gummi candies inspired by Italian fizz. Although the bears steal the show, theyre actually only one of four offerings in its cocktail collection that also includes Cuba Libre, Pina Colada and Champagne Roses. All are $6 per 140-gram bag. (176 Yonge St. in the Hudsons Bay Co.)

Campfires and s'mores might never be the same again, thanks to Rose Marshmallows from MoRoCo Chocolat, a gourmet confection and chocolate shop in the Yorkville/Annex area (215 Madison Ave.). Made with real rose wine, theyre sold in bags of about 20-25 at $5.95 per. While youre there, check out the grown-up truffle collection, made with vodka, port and pink champagne.

Sugarfina is also putting pink wine to good use with an entire collection of Sparkling Rose Bears, Rose Chocolate, edible Rose Roses and, best of all, a rock candy Rose Swizzle Stick. As cute as all of these items are, the You Had Me At Tequila bento box, which features candy versions of Casamigos tequila cocktails, including the Margarita and Paloma, definitely steals the show ($36.95 at sugarfina.ca).

Pop-tails and Boozy Ice Cream

At the Beverly Hotel rooftop bar, boozy paletas (Mexicos answer to popsicles) made with either tequila or vodka (both $9) are definitely the coolest way to beat the heat in Toronto. (335 Queen St. W.) La Carnita (several locations) carries the Tromba Sunrise Paleta, an icy version of a tequila sunrise that is made with locally-owned Tromba tequila (a popular base for boozy desserts, including a chocolate flan at El Caballito and bananas flambeed in Tromba at Baro). And Libretto recently launched a tangy and cool Campari sorbetto at all locations: One scoop, $4; two scoops, $8; for $2.50 more, theyll serve it to you affogato  drowned in Prosecco. Only perfect.

For boozy desserts to-go, there are plenty of options, including Pop Stand Cherry Whisky Sour popsicles ($3.99) at the Nutty Chocolatier in the Beach (2179 Queen St. E.) and, for west-enders, Death in Venice (536 Queen St. W.), offers a rotating roster of boozy gelatos, including the eternally popular Bourbon and Smoke chocolate. That last one can also be found at Fiesta Farms (200 Christie St.; $9.49/carton), in case a scoop isnt quite enough. And, this month, Haagen Dazs announced its Spirits Line: Vodka Key Lime, Whisky Chocolate Truffle and Rum Vanilla Caramel Blondie  but only in Canada ($4.99 each, at Loblaws). Yet another reason to move here.

Local Option

Junction residents probably dont need to be told about Delight Chocolates light, fluffy and tart Whisky Sour ice cream (3040 Dundas St. W.; $4.25/cup), which is made with local Canadian whisky from the Toronto Distillery. The chocolatiers there also use that same whisky in their organic whisky truffles  and theyre not the only ones looking to Canada for inspiration. Soma (443 King St. W.) has a Gooderham & Worts whisky truffle and Purdys, a west-coast chocolate company, uses Canadian ice wine in its truffles, as well as a locally-made Granville Island sake for its Sake and Sakura Cherry Blossom truffles. (66 Wellington St. W.)

Last, but hardly least, theres a new creative collaboration between the Preservation Society and Dillons Distills, which has birthed a Cherry Negroni Jam made with Dillons Gin, Dillons Vermouth and Italian Campari  available soon on foodiepages.ca.

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Hyeon Soo Lim is free.

After two and a half years of detention in North Korea, Lim  the senior pastor at the Light Presbyterian Church in Mississauga  is heading home.

The 62-year-old was expected to return by the end of the week on a Canadian government charter directly from the North Korean capital of Pyongyang. Lim and his family  who have not seen each other in person since the pastors detention in 2015  will reunite in Toronto, where they have a west-end home.

In a statement released Thursday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was pleased and relieved that Lim had been released.

Trudeau also thanked Sweden for its assistance in the matter but said operational security considerations prevents the government from discussing the matter further.

Canada does not have a diplomatic presence in North Korea and the Swedish Embassy serves as the protective power for Canadians there.

The news was first reported by North Koreas state media as a sick bail decision by the countrys Central Court, granted on humanitarian grounds.

Rim Hyon Su, a Canadian civilian, was released on sick bail according to the decision of the Central Court of the DPRK on Aug. 9, 2017 from the humanitarian viewpoint, the Korean Central News Agency reported Wednesday, using the countrys official name, Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea.

He (Lim) had been under the penalty of indefinite hard labour as he conducted hostile deeds against the DPRK, the news agency continued.

Pastor Lims health and well-being remain of utmost importance to the government of Canada, and we are working to ensure that he receives any required medical attention, said Trudeau in the statement.

Read more:

Canadian pastor Hyeon Soo Lim released over health reasons, says North Korea

Community rallies for release of GTA pastor jailed in North Korea

Video shows Canadian pastor imprisoned in North Korea walking to freedom

Sen. Yonah Martin, deputy leader of the Conservatives in the Senate, is a friend of Lims. She described her reaction to the Toronto mans imminent release as relief and disbelief  with a lot of anxiousness mixed in.

I had a great sense of relief but it took me by surprise only because it had been so long, she said of Lims detention  more than 900 days.

This is long-awaited.

On Monday, a high-ranking Canadian government delegation quietly flew to Pyongyang to discuss Lims release. The group, led by Trudeaus national security adviser, Daniel Jean, secured Lims freedom and by Wednesday, preparations for departure were underway.

Jeans delicate Canadian mission to extricate Lim  thought to be the longest-held western prisoner in North Korea  was carried out as tensions amplified this week between the United States and North Korea over nuclear capabilities. U.S. President Donald Trumps warning about unleashing fire and fury on the authoritarian regime spurred North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to threaten a missile strike on Guam, a U.S. territory in the Pacific.

A medical doctor was reportedly aboard the Canadian charter.

As prisoner No. 036, Lim dug holes for eight hours a day, six days a week, in a hard-labour camp since December 2015.

Lim is apparently in poor health and has lost weight. He has high blood pressure, a condition that requires medication. The North Koreans permitted that medicine to be sent to Lim, via the Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang.

Lim, a native of South Korea, is the spiritual leader of one of Canadas largest churches. The Light Presbyterian Church has about 3,000 members, a congregation that under Lims stewardship grew from about half a dozen families over two decades.

As part of his ministry, Lim developed a passion for humanitarian work.

He and church colleagues travelled to countries including Iraq, Afghanistan and North Korea on charitable visits. Lim eventually decided to devote more time and money to the needy in North Korea, making about 110 trips there since 1997. Besides bringing in food, Lims charitable operations included supporting orphanages and a seniors nursing home.

On his last visit, Lim went missing the same day he crossed the border from China into a northern region in late January 2015. North Korean authorities later confirmed theyd detained the Canadian. In December of that year, Lim was convicted of ostensibly plotting to overthrow the Kim regime and was given a life sentence in a hard labour camp.

Raymond Cho, the Progressive Conservative MPP for Scarborough-Rouge River, said he prayed for the return of his friend, whom he calls a gentle man.

I believe in the power of prayer, said Cho, who has known Lim for two decades. I prayed for him every night, twice a night.

Cho, like Lim a native of South Korea, said the pastor will need time to rest and recover to full health but for now, hes relieved at Lims release.

The bottom line is hes coming home, Cho said.

With files from Bruce Campion-Smith

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Mayor John Tory says it is up to Chief Mark Saunders to determine if three Toronto police officers face internal discipline after being acquitted in criminal court of sexual assaulting a colleague.

Im not going to pre-judge what the police chief does, Tory said Thursday. Understand my role as the mayor and/or as a member of the police services board is to oversee what the chief does. The chief is in charge of the police service. He will reach whatever decision he chooses to reach.

On Wednesday, a judge acquitted three 51 Division constables, Leslie Nyznik, Sameer Kara and Joshua Cabero, accused of sexually assaulting a female parking enforcement officer in a downtown Toronto hotel room Jan. 17, 2015. The complainants identity is protected under a publication ban.

It is simply not safe to convict, Superior Court Justice Anne Molloy wrote in her 45-page ruling.

Molloy, however, said she did not necessarily believe Nyznik, the only one of the three officers who testified and freely acknowledged many things that were not to his credit.

For example, the amount of drinking that was going on, the extent of the free food and drinks and privileged treatment provided by the bars they attended, his familiarity with the Brass Rail and its staff, the name of the Yonge St. strip bar the officers attended before going to the hotel.

Nor was Molloy impressed with the ease with which Nyznik (and the others) lied to the stripper at the Brass Rail about being a pornographic movie crew, the judge wrote in her ruling. She also upbraided him for showing shocking insensitivity and cruelty of finishing with the complainant and then asking the two men if they should still call the hooker to come over.

The officers have been suspended with pay since the criminal charges were laid.

The chief has not revoked their suspension as yet. He is reviewing the case with professional standards from a Police Services Act perspective, Meaghan Gray of TPS corporate communications said Thursday.

A lawyer familiar with police tribunal matters, but who is not authorized to speak publicly about the case, says the service faces significant legal hurdles if it finds discreditable conduct charges are warranted.

Under the Police Services Act, charges must be laid within six months from when the complaint was made, which was more than two years ago. The investigation was carried out by the services professional standards unit. The criminal charges were laid in Feb. 2015.

However, the act allows the service to issue a PSA notice of hearing on the officers if the police board accepts the delay was reasonable. The source said defence lawyers for the officers are likely to argue it was not because Toronto police did the investigation, laid the charges and should have known the evidence.

The police service could conceivably get around the six-month time restriction by basing charges on contents found in the judges ruling. Yet its questionable whether it would be legally permissible if the charges relied on Nyzniks testimony, the lawyer said.

Tory said Thursday that what he expects from all of our public servants, and I include in that first and foremost police officers, people who work for the transit system, a high standard of behavior. Whether youre on or off duty, you are a public servant, Tory said.

Read more:

The slogan believe the victim is popular but has no place in a criminal trial, says judge, ruling 3 cops not guilty: DiManno

It is simply not safe to convict, judge rules after Toronto officers accused of sex assault found not guilty

Prosecutor says complainant in police sex assault trial had good reason to remain silent

I cant say I am not the mayor when I leave work at the end of a long day. Im the mayor all the time. Police officers, while they may be off duty, are police officers all the time. I just hope people take from this that message, most importantly.

He repeated police officers have to exercise good judgment and respect the position they hold.

And even though you may not be on duty, you are a person representing the transit commission or the police service or city council. I think people have to think more carefully than they sometimes do, he continued.

Everybody, when it comes to the relationship between men and women and showing proper respect for one another and proper care  both in terms of the sort of kinds of events they go to, how they behave, how much they have to drink and how they treat each other, most importantly.

Tory said the situation is difficult because Molloy rendered not guilty verdicts, on the other hand there are some real concerns that exist out there of people saying well what if those officers, for example, were to be involved in a future case of this kind?

Tory added people have to behave in a manner that would stand the test of public scrutiny that is inevitably applied either during, or in many cases after events happen.

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As a Toronto police officer stood over him with a pointed gun, a Black teen who just minutes before was en route to an after-school mentorship program lay face down on the ground very scared and shocked, a police tribunal heard Thursday.

Nearly six years after the young man, his brother, and two friends were arrested at gunpoint outside their Lawrence Heights housing complex in an incident known as the Neptune Four case, the now 21-year-old man detailed his account of the November, 2011 night at the ongoing police misconduct hearing stemming from the case.

The teen is the central complainant. That evening, hed spoken up for himself and the others when two officers suddenly approached, saying the boys fit the description of suspects in a robbery. Fresh off a seminar where hed learned his rights during police interactions, the teen asked the officers if he was under arrest and if he was free to go.

The questions, he testified, quickly led to thrown punches by one officer, who then drew his weapon.

After this point in time I gave up speaking, the young man said in testimony that painted a picture of one aggressor cop, Const. Adam Lourenco, and his bystander partner, Const. Scharnil Pais.

Read more:

Teen allegedly punched by cop in Neptune Four case finally gets to tell his tale: DiManno

Both officers stand accused under Ontarios Police Services Act of unlawfully arresting the four boys  all 16 or under  immediately after they left their homes inside a Toronto Community Housing Corp. complex on Neptune Dr. and walked toward an after-school program called Pathways to Education.

Lourenco faces two additional charges of disorderly conduct for allegedly using unreasonable force  one for punching one of the boys and for pointing his gun at three of them.

The officers have pleaded not guilty to all charges. None of the allegations have been proven at the tribunal.

Following the incident the four boys faced charges, including assaulting police. All were later withdrawn. Because the teens faced criminal charges under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, the Star is not identifying them.

According to the teens witness testimony, he and the others saw an unmarked black vehicle pull up nearby, then two officers got out and approached the group, yelling.

The officer he later learned was Lourenco had especially aggressive body language, young man said, and his tone was hostile. The cops told them there had been a robbery and that they fit the suspect description.

The witness said he told the officers they had just come from his moms house and offered his cellphone to call her to confirm. But he was instead asked for ID, which was wasnt carrying  I was 15, he said.

He then asked Lourenco: Am I under arrest? Then later, Am I free to go? The officer did not respond, the witness said.

At this point, the witness says he began to step away, then alleges Lourenco grabbed him, pushed him away from the group and started searching him, all the while insulting him  he was calling me a bitch, that I wanted to be a thug, a smart ass, he said.

Then, in a move that was picked up on grainy TCHC surveillance footage, Lourenco punched him. The young man alleges the officer punched him multiple times, including once to the head, dropping him to the ground.

When the young mans brother and friends moved in to stop the attack  asking the officer: what are you doing?  Lourenco pulled his gun, the witness testified. Pais, meanwhile, turned his back and stopped looking, the witness said. I could see that he was not interested in helping us, he said.

Officers called for backup. The witness, then on the ground, alleges Lourenco stood over him and cut his thumb on his belt, drawing blood.

And he said: You just assaulted a police officer, the young man testified.

The witness alleges he was kneed in the back and handcuffed; when Lourenco asked if the cuffs were on tightly, the young man said they were, prompting the officer to tighten them, the complainant testified.

When backup arrived, the young man testified, Lourenco roughed him up as he was placed in the back of the car, the officer still calling him names and saying: thats why you dont play these games.

He was taken to the police station and only then told he was facing charges, including assaulting a police officer, threatening death and assault with intent to resist arrest. When he was asked in the station if he understood the charges, he said yes, even though he didnt.

Asked by Toronto police Insp. Dominic Sinopoli why he wrongly claimed to understand the charges, the young man responded: You have to say yes.

The young man said he was held over night and strip-searched, the officers all the while making uncomfortable comments, the witness said.

The young mans testimony continues Friday.

Wendy Gillis can be reached at wgillis@thestar.ca

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After a federal bill protecting patients from genetic discrimination passed in the spring, familiar faces began to appear at Dr. Ronald Cohns door.

Cohn is the pediatrician-in-chief for SickKids Hospital, and over the last few months, hes been fielding new conversations with parents of young patients, whove previously sat down with him to discuss genetic testing.

The tests could be recommended for any number of reasons, whether to find the most effective treatment for a known condition or to diagnose a mystery slate of symptoms their child was living through. But, prior to March this year, the results of that test werent legally protected from discrimination, discouraging some parents from giving their consent.

What if their child was later forced to disclose their genetic results to a potential employer, or to an insurance agency? Could they be faced with cripplingly expensive policies? Or denied insurance altogether?

Its paralyzing, it was paralyzing to me, Cohn said. Some of the parents just couldnt get themselves to do it.

But after the Genetic Non-Discrimination Act, or Bill S-201, passed in March  ensuring no person can be required to undergo genetic testing or disclose previous results  many of those parents are re-appearing at Cohns door.

Theyre asking about the tests, whether theyll really be protected, and whether they can finally begin. Theyre bringing their kids back to the hospital, and getting answers they were scared of before.

As you can imagine, the kind of conversations were having now have significantly changed for the better, Cohn said. Now we can tell parents, you dont have to be concerned about this anymore. 

Though SickKids hasnt accumulated any hard data about genetic testing in the five months since the bill passed, Torontos University Health Network has been tracking its numbers for several years. Every year for the last five years, theyve documented a 10 to 20 per cent increase in genetic testing.

Asked about the change since the bill was voted in specifically, Dr. Runjan Chetty, acting medical director of their laboratory medicine program, said that theres been a large increase in genetic tests to determine whether a patient will respond to certain treatment.

Dr. Suzanne Kamel-Reid, chief of the networks three clinical genetics laboratories, believes that rise is part of a larger trend. These increases mirror the increase in genetic and genomic knowledge as well as the increased availability of targeted drugs, she said.

Every day, tests in her labs begin with the arrival of a genetic material sample  blood, bone marrow or tissue. Samples often come from hospitals within the network, but not always. Some are shipped in from around the province.

Once the sample is brought into the lab, DNA or RNA is extracted and a hunt for specific biomarkers begins. The biomarkers theyre investigating for any given sample depend on the patients reason for referral or history.

Bill S-201 has the most direct impact on inherited disease testing within the UHN, Kamel-Reid said. When a patient is afflicted with certain symptoms, sometimes the puzzle can be solved by looking at family histories.

Clinical geneticists are the ones that do this. They put the story together, Kamel-Reid explained. They figure out what is most likely going on with the family, and what genes should be tested to solve the mystery.

The results of those targeted tests allow patients to screen early for diseases they may be of particular risk for, which Kamel-Reid says can decrease side effects as well as incidents of the same disease in other relatives.

An individual could alter their lifestyle to avoid developing a disease, or take the precaution of getting screened more regularly than the average patient.

Sometimes you cant even do anything about it, but getting an explanation at least allows you to look for the signs, she said. As Bill S-201 came through parliament, chatter bubbled up in the lab about its implications.

Isnt that a great thing? Everyone should be able to have the testing they require without being afraid, she said. Because knowledge is power.

However, the new law is still on shaky ground. The federal Liberal government has indicated its intent to refer the bill to the Supreme Court to test its constitutionality. Hours before the final reading in the House of Commons, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called Bill S-201 unconstitutional, that it infringed the jurisdiction of provincial governments.

He recommended that MPs vote against it, but in a free vote, Liberal backbenchers defied Trudeau with a 222-60 vote in the spring. Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould had also made significant attempts to rouse opposition for the bill.

When the bill passed, Cohn said he was hit with emotion. Though it may eventually be challenged in the Supreme Court, inside the halls of Sick Kids, its offering comfort and protection for patients hes spent years with.

Reverting back to how things were, to him, isnt an option. We are watching this closely to make sure that it wont happen.

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When Ken Hirschkop moved into historic Cabbagetown in 2005, he didnt expect a tourist site to pop up behind his backyard. But he says thats what the house at 2 St. James Ct. has become.

Its not because, among the rows of Victorians adorned with official heritage conservation district plaques, this house possesses particular charm. Its because its box-like exterior and perpetual state of partial-construction makes it seem out of place.

It looks like its landed from space, Hirschkop said, noting that Cabbagetown visitors regularly make detours to catch a glimpse of the unusual building.

The house belongs to 78-year-old Norm Rogers, and its redevelopment has been the subject of a 10-year-old battle between neighbours , first over proposals for a bigger house on the lot, then over damage and inconvenience caused by the construction.

Now, construction of a house that Rogers, neighbours, and the city agreed upon (resemblance to spacecraft aside) in 2014 is well underway, but those plans are being held up by neighbours who accuse Rogers of neglecting to stick to their agreement.

Rogers house was supposed to be completed last December, and complaints about property damage have mounted steadily since construction recommenced about a year ago.

Its such a colossal waste of everyones time, Hirschkop said.

Rogers agrees, and says that, after the long slog to build his home, he no longer plans to live there; the stairs of the three-storey house would be too much for him to manage at his age.

All I want to do is build the house, he said in an interview Thursday. Then hell move out of the city.

Rogers is now in a standoff with Laura Allen, Hirschkops neighbour, whose backyard Rogers needs to access in order to complete the work.

Were prepared to finish it, and finish it so it looks really good, Rogers said.

He warned Allen that, without permission to enter her backyard, he will have to paint the concrete wall facing her backyard  black, because thats the colour of paint he has handy.

If she thinks shes going to hold us up for ransom, that doesnt work with me, Rogers said.

Allen, who moved into the neighbourhood in 2011, says shes determined to block workers from entering her backyard until she has a guarantee that her property will be protected.

She estimates thousands of dollars worth of damage has been done to her backyard as a result of the work. Rogers has refused to compensate her, saying that she overestimated the value of whats been damaged.

It has been devastating, said Allen. She now plans to sell her house, but says she cant as long as the disruption continues.

Allen thinks the city, which granted Rogers his building permit, should intervene to make sure the neighbours property is protected.

If youve given someone permission to build something that size, there was always the possibility of damage, she said.

The city said that it has regularly inspected Rogers building site for compliance with the building permit, and that damage to adjacent property is the responsibility of the permit owner. Disputes over damage are civil matters, Mario Angelucci of Toronto Building, said.

Martin Rendl, a Toronto-area planning professional, who argued to the Ontario Municipal Board in 2008 that Rogers plans were not appropriate for the neighbourhood, said it is not common for development disagreements to go on for so long.

A new house you can put up in a couple of months, not over a decade, he said.

Part of the reason the construction missed the December 2016 deadline is because Rogers did not receive his heritage permit from the city until June 20, 2016. He now has until September 2017 to complete the work.

Hirschkop says hes grown accustomed to construction delays, and run-ins with Rogers have been a fact of life as long as hes lived in Cabbagetown. Hes making do; last year he put up a shed in his backyard to block out the view of Rogers unfinished concrete wall. (We needed a shed anyways.)

Hirschkop still worries the drawn-out building of Rogers house will set a precedent for developers to change the landscape of their neighbourhood, if the city doesnt step in to support him and his neighbours.

Its the most beautiful neighbourhood Ive lived in by a long shot, Hirschkop said. It wont stay beautiful if you let people do whatever you want.

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Youre a Black teenage male just crossing the road. You havent done anything wrong but a belligerent cop is suddenly in your face.

And before the day is over, you will be charged with assaulting police, threatening death and assault with intent to resist arrest.

All of those charges will subsequently be withdrawn.

Nearly six years go by.

On the morning of Aug. 10, 2017, you  one of the Neptune Four as the quartet of Black youths arrested in the incident that night have become known  finally get to tell your story in front of a police disciplinary tribunal.

Because the officer who allegedly arrested you unlawfully, who allegedly pointed a gun in your stunned face, who allegedly dropped you with a punch in the head, who allegedly smeared blood from a cut finger across the back of your vest  a cut you did not inflict  has himself been charged under the Police Act with unlawful arrest and two counts of disorderly conduct.

Thats Const. Adam Lourenco, who has pleaded not guilty.

Read more:

Teen testifies he stood up for himself, then got punched by a cop

Another officer, who purportedly stood by as all of this was going on, deliberately turning his back on the scene and ignoring pleas for help, is Const. Scharnil Pais. He also has pleaded not guilty on one count of unlawful arrest.

Oddly, on Day 2 of this hearing, the prosecutor, Insp. Dominic Sinopoli, does not ask the witness how Lourenco cut himself on his utility belt.

Perhaps that will come later. Lord knows this entire matter has moved like molasses, with preliminary excursions to Ontarios Office of the Independent Police Review Director, and pre-hearing arguments (rejected) for the Ontario Human Rights Commission to get a place at the table on the grounds that an exploration of racial profiling was intrinsic to the hearing, and even a motion (brought by Lourenco) that the adjudicator, the judge in other words, be removed over the optics of an old misconduct allegation. Insp. Richard Hegedus, the hearing officer, cleared himself of reasonable perception of bias and an application for judicial review was quashed.

Got all that?

So now, on Thursday, we reached the meat of the thing with the first of the four Blacks youths  three, actually, because one of them formally withdrew from the collective complaint  sworn in to testify. Not a youth anymore, aged 21, but his identity remains protected because hed been charged under the Youth Criminal Justice Act  even though those charges no longer exist.

The young man unspooled his tale and then did so again as commentary for the Toronto Community Housing surveillance video which captured most of the encounter.

Four teens on their way from a Neptune Dr. public housing project, in the Lawrence Heights area, to a Pathways to Education meeting across the street.

There they are on the video, exiting the building. And before you can say whos-your-daddy an unmarked black police car pulls into the parking lot.

Very aggressive, as far as their body language, the witness says, recalling how Lourenco and Pais  both members of the now-disbanded Toronto Anti-Violence Intervention Strategy (TAVIS) unit approached the group. Lourenco got in front of them, Pais behind.

It was Lourenco who told them there had been a robbery in the area and they matched the suspects description.

He demanded to see ID. Im 15 years old. I dont have ID on me. I said, you can call my mom. She lives in that building.

But this youth, hed earlier attended an Ontario Justice Education program and knew that he wasnt compelled to identify himself.

I asked him, am I under arrest? He said no. Am I free to go? He didnt answer.

Instead, the complainant testified, Lourenco began berating him. He was calling me names, that I was being a smart-ass. He was trying to provoke me.

Lourenco, the witness said, steered him away from the three other youths  which seems evident on the grainy video. Hits him with a couple of uppercuts in the midsection, then a hard shot to the head and I fall down.

The other youths implore Pais to intervene but he tells them to sit down on the ground, then turns the other way, steadfastly not looking at his partner.

When I was on the ground . . . hes still calling me names, bitch, wannabe thug, smart-ass . . . 

Lourenco, while cuffing the youth, uses one hand to pull out his gun  points it at the three other teenagers, points it at him.

To the others, threatens: Dont move or Ill f----- kill you.

To the handcuffed teenager: He says, Ill kill you as well.

Asks if the cuffs are too tight. The teenager says yes. So he tightens them more.

It was at this point, the witness testified, that Lourenco cut himself on his utility belt. Look, youve just assaulted a police officer.

As hes lying on his stomach, the witness continued, Lourenco wipes his bleeding thumb along the teens back. He was kneeing me and scraping my face on the sidewalk.

He was shoved violently into the back of a squad car that had just arrived on the scene. Throws me in, slams the door on my legs.

Sinopoli: Did you ever assault Police Constable Lourenco?

Witness: No.

Sinopoli: Did anyone in your group?

Witness: No.

Sinopoli: Did you spit?

Witness: No.

He was taken to the station, booked, dumped in a cell  no food, no phone call. He was 15 years old.

He spent nine months on bail.

None of the allegations against the officers have been proved at the tribunal.

Lourenco and Pais were charged under the Police Act in September, 2014.

In unrelated matters, Lourenco has also twice been criminally charged with drunk driving: One stay of charges, one guilty plea.

The hearing continues.

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When Liberal MPP Glen Murray rides off into the sunset on Sept. 1, residents of Toronto Centre will go without a representative at Queens Park for more than nine months.

Thats because Premier Kathleen Wynne has opted not to call a byelection since there will be a provincial election on June 7, 2018.

By law, Wynne is allowed to do that, but NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said it is unfair to those living in the downtown riding and extremely inappropriate.

Its quite shocking that the people of Toronto Centre will be without an MPP for  nine months. I think thats quite shocking and Im surprised, Horwath said Thursday at Queens Park.

The premier is prepared to allow that riding to be without representation here in the Legislature for two more sessions. The end of this year and then the spring of next year, she said.

Murray announced his resignation from cabinet on July 31 to take a new post as executive director the Pembina Institute, an Alberta-based environmental think tank. His tenure as an MPP ends Sept. 1.

Wynne defended her decision, noting theres a significant cost associated with running a byelection  as much as $500,000.

There will continue to be a community office in place. There will continue to be service to the residents and the constituents of Toronto Centre  but I think it is only responsible that we not  so close to an election  incur the cost of a byelection, she said two weeks ago.

Were moving into that period well within a year of a general election and historically, there has been a practice when you get that close its not necessarily responsible to call a byelection. So, we wont be doing that.

Under provincial law, a byelection must be called within six months of a vacancy unless an election is imminent.

But the premiers decision to forego a byelection was surprising since Toronto Centre is considered a safe Liberal seat provincially and federally, where Finance Minister Bill Morneau is the MP.

One senior Toronto Liberal, speaking on background in order to discuss internal party machinations, expressed astonishment that Wynne would cede the political advantage in a key riding.

It is not smart to leave territory open, said the Grit, warning the NDP, the traditional runner-up in Toronto Centre, could exploit the vacuum there.

Toronto Centre can be an energy and money source  not a cost (for the Liberals), the insider said.

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The provinces most influential business group wants Queens Park to slash corporate tax rates to 10 per cent to offset the impact of the higher minimum wage.

In a submission to Premier Kathleen Wynnes government, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce urges a reduction in the current 11.5 per cent tax rate as well as other relief measures.

The chamber, which represents 60,000 members, would also like to see Ontarios small business tax reduction rate lowered from 4.5 per cent to alleviate the pressure placed on their revenue streams from increased labour costs.

It warns that increasing the $11.40-an-hour minimum to $14 in January  and to $15 in 2019  will have extremely harmful consequences, the scale of which will be largely unknown until the full force of the legislation is brought into effect.

Wynne has said she will soon unveil an aid package for small business owners and farmers coping with higher wage costs.

At the same time as businesses are sounding alarm bells, the New Democrats are calling on the Liberals to bolster the labour reforms to help workers.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath on Thursday disclosed her partys proposed amendments to Bill 148, which is currently being studied by a legislative committee.

Kathleen Wynnes labour bill falls far short of whats needed, Howarth told reporters at Queens Park.

Clearly, she doesnt get what workers are dealing with every day, she said.

To improve the forthcoming law, Horwath wants a universal minimum wage for all classifications of workers, including bartenders and wait staff.

As part of the Liberal governments labour reforms, liquor servers, who make most of their money from tips, will see their minimum hourly wage jump from $9.90 now to $12.20 on Jan. 1, and $13.05, the year after that.

Horwath said no such exemption should be allowed.

The New Democrats would also like to see five days of paid emergency leave days for all workers  up from the Liberals proposed two  and an additional five unpaid days. The Grit plan says after two paid days, workers should be allowed to take eight days off for an emergency without pay.

As well, the NDP is calling for three weeks of paid vacation after one year of employment. The Liberals have promised that much holiday time after five years at the same job. Currently, workers are entitled to two weeks off.

Workers should have a sense of security at their jobs and working people should be able to get ahead of the bills and join the middle class, said Horwath, who supports measures to make it easier for workers to unionize.

With an election set for June 7, 2018, the NDP chief took aim at another political rival, Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown.

Horwath castigated Brown for his role as an MP in former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harpers caucus.

Hes a cut-and-privatize politician who supported anti-worker legislation, she said, referring to his record on Parliament Hill.

They were attacks  direct attacks  on unionized workers.

In a statement, Labour Minister Kevin Flynn said the government will carefully consider the amendments that are brought forward by the NDP.

We sent the bill to committee after first reading and travelled the bill across the province so that we could hear feedback from Ontarians that will make the bill stronger, said Flynn.

Our governments Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act is landmark legislation that provides new protections and rights for hard-working Ontarians. The Ontario economy is strong right now, but while business is expanding and creating wealth, not everyone is feeling it.

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WASHINGTONThe two-year-old U.S. diplomatic relationship with Cuba was roiled Wednesday by what U.S. officials say was a string of bizarre incidents that left a group of American diplomats in Havana with severe hearing loss attributed to a covert sonic device.

In the fall of 2016, a series of U.S. diplomats began suffering unexplained losses of hearing, according to officials with knowledge of the investigation into the case. Several of the diplomats were recent arrivals at the embassy, which reopened in 2015 as part of former president Barack Obamas re-establishment of diplomatic relations with Cuba.

Some of the diplomats symptoms were so severe that they were forced to cancel their tours early and return to the United States, officials said. After months of investigation, U.S. officials concluded that the diplomats had been exposed to an advanced device that operated outside the range of audible sound and had been deployed either inside or outside their residences. It was not immediately clear if the device was a weapon used in a deliberate attack, or had some other purpose.

The U.S. officials werent authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said the U.S. retaliated by expelling two Cuban diplomats from their embassy in Washington on May 23. She did not say how many U.S. diplomats were affected or confirm they had suffered hearing loss, saying only that they had a variety of physical symptoms.

The Cuban government said in a lengthy statement late Wednesday that Cuba has never permitted, nor will permit, that Cuban territory be used for any action against accredited diplomatic officials or their families, with no exception.

The statement from the Cuban Foreign Ministry said it had been informed of the incidents on Feb. 17 and had launched an exhaustive, high-priority, urgent investigation at the behest of the highest level of the Cuban government.

It said the decision to expel two Cuban diplomats was unjustified and baseless.

The ministry said it had created an expert committee to analyze the incidents and had reinforced security around the U.S. embassy and U.S. diplomatic residences.

Cuba is universally considered a safe destination for visitors and foreign diplomats, including U.S. citizens, the statement said.

U.S. officials told The Associated Press that about five diplomats, several with spouses, had been affected and that no children had been involved. The FBI and Diplomatic Security Service are investigating.

Cuba employs a state security apparatus that keeps many people under surveillance and U.S. diplomats are among the most closely monitored people on the island. Like virtually all foreign diplomats in Cuba, the victims of the incidents lived in housing owned and maintained by the Cuban government.

However, officials familiar with the probe said investigators were looking into the possibilities that the incidents were carried out by a third country such as Russia, possibly operating without the knowledge of Cubas formal chain of command.

Nauert said investigators did not yet have a definitive explanation for the incidents but stressed they take them very seriously, as shown by the Cuban diplomats expulsions.

We requested their departure as a reciprocal measure since some U.S. personnels assignments in Havana had to be curtailed due to these incidents, she said. Under the Vienna Convention, Cuba has an obligation to take measures to protect diplomats.

U.S. diplomats in Cuba said they suffered occasional harassment for years after the restoration of limited ties with the communist government in the 1970s, harassment reciprocated by U.S. agents against Cuban diplomats in Washington. The use of sonic devices to intentionally harm diplomats would be unprecedented.

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LONDONKey U.S. allies and international partners called for greater efforts to open talks with North Korea on Wednesday, pushing back against an escalation of military rhetoric between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

North Korea, reacting to a UN Security Council resolution calling for sanctions against the North for developing nuclear weapons and missile systems, said it would not give up its military program and said its missiles could reach anywhere in the United States.

After Trump threatened fire and fury on Tuesday if North Koreas provocations continue, Kim Jong Uns regime then announced that it was considering to attack Guam, a U.S. territory in the Pacific.

Some U.S. allies appeared to blame Trumps remarks for the escalation. Germanys foreign office called on all parties for moderation, on Wednesday.

Sabre-rattling wont help, the Foreign Ministry said in the tweet.

Concerns in Germany were shared by officials and experts elsewhere.

The spokesperson for the European Unions foreign policy chief agreed that a lasting peace and denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula must be achieved through peaceful means.

That excludes military action, said the spokesperson.

In New Zealand, Prime Minister Bill English similarly called Trumps comments not helpful in a standoff that was already very tense.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull warned that responding to North Koreas threats with fire and fury, as Trump had warned, would have catastrophic consequences worldwide. The Australian leader argued that instead, economic pressure and sanctions could be more effective at deterring the Kim Jong Un regime.

Turnbull was referring to sanctions passed unanimously by the Security Council last weekend  a response to North Koreas launch of two intercontinental missiles in July. The latest measures step up restrictions on North Koreas international trade, with estimates saying that they may cost the country about $1 billion annually.

The global community, led by the Security Council, including China and Russia, are all united in seeking to bring the maximum economic pressure on North Korea to bring them to their senses without conflict, Australian Prime Minister Turnbull was quoted as saying on Wednesday.

A conflict would be shattering. It would have catastrophic consequences. We all understand that, Turnbull said.

Some nations voiced concerns that Trumps threats could endanger the prospects of recent international efforts. A statement released by Chinas Foreign Ministry warned all parties to avoid actions and rhetoric that could contribute to an escalation, and it urged to put more emphasis on international talks instead, according to Reuters.

Sacha Sergio Llorenty Soliz, the UN ambassador of Bolivia, which is a temporary member of the Security Council, criticized that Trumps escalation of rhetoric goes against the spirit of the UN sanctions, which called for international talks. Trumps decision to raise tensions would be detrimental to international peace, Soliz said.

But a representative for Britain refrained from lashing out at Trump. Speaking to reporters in New York City, Matthew Rycroft, Britains UN ambassador, said the United Kingdom was standing shoulder to shoulder with the United States.

Asked about the rhetoric used by Trump on Tuesday, Rycroft responded: (Whats) hurting the six-party talks is the inability so far of the North Korean regime to do what it has to do, which is to halt its nuclear program and to halt its intercontinental ballistic missile program.

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ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIAFive migrants are dead and more than 50 are missing after smugglers forced them from a boat off the coast of Yemen in the second such drowning in two days, the UN migration agency said Thursday.

The International Organization for Migration statement came less than a day after it said up to 50 migrants from Ethiopia and Somalia were deliberately drowned by a smuggler in a separate boat off Yemen.

Up to 180 migrants were forced from the boat in the latest incident Thursday morning, the IOM said.

We have the five bodies for sure, we know that they are dead but we believe that there are certainly more than 50 who are still in the sea, Laurent de Boeck, the IOMs chief of mission in Yemen, told The Associated Press. The smugglers dropped them into the sea instead of bringing them to the shore.

Read more:

50 migrants deliberately drowned by smuggler off coast of Yemen, UN says

54 migrants rescued from boat off the coast of Spain

EU vows more aid for Libyan coast guard after more than 12,000 land in Italy in one weekend

The narrow waters between the Horn of Africa and Yemen have been a popular migration route despite Yemens ongoing conflict. Migrants try to make their way to the oil-rich Gulf countries.

They are not aware at all that there is a war. Sometimes they dont even believe us when we explain it to them, de Boeck said. Just by making land they feel they are halfway to wealthy.

In the first drownings on Wednesday, a smuggler forced more than 120 migrants into the sea as they approached Yemens coast, the IOM said. Its staffers found the shallow graves of 29 of the migrants on a beach in Shabwa during a routine patrol. The dead were buried by those who survived. At least 22 migrants remained missing.

The passengers average age was around 16, the IOM said.

The survivors told our colleagues on the beach that the smuggler pushed them to the sea when he saw some authority types near the coast, de Boeck said. They also told us that the smuggler has already returned to Somalia to continue his business and pick up more migrants to bring to Yemen on the same route.

De Boeck called the suffering of migrants on the route enormous, especially during the current windy season on the Indian Ocean. Too many young people pay smugglers with the false hope of a better future, he said.

The IOM says about 55,000 migrants have left Horn of Africa nations for Yemen since January, with most from Somalia and Ethiopia as they flee drought and unrest at home. Many leave from points in Djibouti, with some departing from Somalia. A third of them are estimated to be women.

Some are coming for the third time. They didnt succeed, they went back home, but the parents didnt agree with the fact that they didnt succeed so they send them back. And they have no choice, de Boeck told the AP. They are between 12 and 25 years old, and the parents and the role they have in the family is far more important than their own situation.

He also expressed regret that the European Union is more focused on the migration routes on the Mediterranean, which also have proven to be deadly as smugglers set flimsy boats packed with migrants adrift toward Europe.

They have forgotten us a little bit, de Boeck said.

In Ethiopia, people expressed their outrage on social media over the drownings.

This is an unprecedented level of cruelty, wrote one Facebook user, Behailu Talegeta.

Despite the fighting in Yemen, African migrants continue to arrive in the war-torn country where there is no central authority to prevent them from travelling onward. The migrants are vulnerable to abuse by armed trafficking rings, many of them believed to be connected to the armed groups involved in the war.

Yemens conflict itself is a deadly risk. In March, Somalias government blamed the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen for an attack on a boat that killed at least 42 Somali refugees off Yemens coast.

More than 111,500 migrants landed on Yemens shores last year, up from around 100,000 the year before, according to the Regional Mixed Migration Secretariat, a grouping of international agencies that monitors migration in the area.

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PARISFrench soldiers taking part in Operation Sentinelle are the highest profile symbols of the fight against Islamic extremism  but along with other security forces patrolling French streets are increasingly the main targets of attacks.

Operation Sentinelle was created to guard prominent French sites after a string of deadly attacks in 2015. The soldiers status as representatives, and defenders, of the state, has put security forces in the line of fire. But experts offer other reasons, too, for why attacks in France have recently focused on heavily armed protectors.

No civilians have been attacked this year  although intelligence services have foiled seven planned attacks, Frances interior minister said recently. More than 230 people, many of them out for a night of fun, were killed in 2015 and 2016.

Islamic radicals may seek extra media visibility presumably afforded by going after emblematic targets or be tempted by the wish to die as a martyr, several experts said. Or they may want to up assurance of redemption with an especially heroic act in the ultimate stage of a life spent mainly in delinquency in which security forces were the top enemy, the experts added.

Knives, machetes, hammers and vehicles have been used in the seven attacks this year  in each case against security forces  despite Frances state of emergency. In the latest, on Wednesday, a BMW slammed into six soldiers as they left their barracks outside Paris for duty in what authorities said was a deliberate attack. The suspect, an Algerian living legally in France, was arrested after a highway manhunt and hospitalized with bullet wounds.

We need to finally suppress the idea that there is a common profile for terrorists, said Alain Bauer, a leading criminologist and security expert. But, he added, attacking security forces is a la mode now in France.

In 2015 and 2016, soft targets were more common, after a Syrian who served Daesh, also known as ISIS and ISIL, as its high-profile spokesman and strategist before being killed urged sympathizers in Europe and the U.S. to launch attacks against civilians  especially the spiteful and filthy French. High-level attacks, from the November 2015 massacres in Paris to last years Bastille Day truck attack in Nice, followed, with 216 dead.

This year, one person, a police officer on the crowded Champs-Elysees Avenue, has been killed. One attacker died in a second incident on the avenue after his car laden with weapons caught fire after he rammed it into a convoy of gendarmes.

Read more:

Man arrested after ambushing French soldiers in car attack

Officer killed in Champs-Elysees attack posthumously married in Paris

Daesh claims responsibility for attack that killed Paris police officer

Not all the attacks were claimed by Daesh, and like the attacker who plowed his car into the soldiers, not all were French. Except for Wednesdays car attack, the attackers chose tourist haunts  going after security forces, not the crowds.

A study released in March by the Center for Terrorism Analysis, or CAT, showed that France isnt alone. Attacks on security forces have been a constant in the West. Between 2013 and 2016, a majority  53 per cent  of 72 targeted attacks, either carried out, attempted or planned, were aimed at societys protectors. The study also showed that France, with the highest number of Western jihadis in Syria and Iraq, and largest Muslim population in Western Europe, was the most targeted Western country.

Daesh cites Frances participation in the U.S.-led coalition when claiming attacks in the country.

They want to die as martyrs, said Jean-Charles Brisard, president of the CAT centre.

In November 2015, when teams of extremists stormed into Paris from Brussels and killed 130 people enjoying a weekend on the town, they waited for intervention forces to arrive to die with weapons in their hands facing apostate forces, Brisard claimed.

For another expert, Alain Rodier, a former intelligence officer, many French Islamic extremists who go after symbols of the state had spent much of their lives doing just that as small-time delinquents. In France, police and youth in tough neighbourhoods have notoriously bad relations with authorities in uniform and some delinquents who radicalize repeat old habits, he said.

In reality, theyve transferred what they did before, Rodier said. They are people who havent travelled to combat zones and take action on their own initiative, he said, adding that the notion of redemption can also motivate the choice of targets. They are often fed by extremist preachers whose message is the more heroic the action the more their sins are pardoned.

Wednesdays attack threw the spotlight on the Sentinelle force, currently 7,000-strong with half of its members posted in the Paris region. Some have questioned why soldiers are patrolling sensitive sights from train stations and airports to places of worship  when they have never stopped an assault since their deployment after attacks in January 2015 on the Charlie Hebdo newspaper and a Kosher grocery.

The soldiers are a presence that reassures, protects, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said Wednesday, but also symbols and therefore direct targets.

They are also magnets for attacks, Bauer said.

The forces real purpose, Bauer said, is just trying to convince your population that youre safe ... (and) let everybody go to work every day.

Be they soldiers, police or gendarmes  all of whom have been attacked this year  the crucial determinant is media attention, according to Bauer.

Terrorism is about communication and violence, he said.

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NEW YORKAnthony Scaramucci says the profanity-laced phone call that preceded his ouster as White House communications director was recorded by a reporter without his permission.

Scaramucci used #lowlife to describe New Yorker reporter Ryan Lizza on Twitter on Wednesday night.

Scaramucci insulted White House aides using vulgar language during the interview with Lizza. The former Wall Street financier was fired on July 31 after only 11 days on the job.

The New Yorker didnt immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.

Scaramucci can tell more of his side of the story next week, when he begins a media tour Sunday with an interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABCs This Week. Hell follow that up with an appearance Monday on Stephen Colberts The Late Show.

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Donald Trump fires Anthony Scaramucci over his vulgar remarks, unpredictability

A short timeline of Anthony Scaramuccis very short time in the Donald Trump White House

Why do we swear? Because it feels so effing good: DiManno

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President Donald Trumps apocalyptic admonishment to North Korea over its nuclear threats to annihilate the United States suggested that he may be closer than ever to ordering an attack  without waiting for Kim Jong Un, the North Korean leader, to strike first.

Trumps supporters have said that such a strike, should there be one, would be legally justified as an act of self-defence by the United States against a dangerous and irrational adversary. Others disagree, and many scholars of international law say the legal issues surrounding attacks in self-defence are complicated and subject to interpretation.

Here are some questions and answers on what can be considered legitimate self-defence under international law, and what the United States would need to demonstrate were it to invoke self-defence as the reason for attacking North Korea first:

How can a country even claim self-defence when attacking another country that has not attacked it?

The self-defence argument for such an attack is generally not recognized as valid. But there are situations in which a first strike can be interpreted as legally justified.

Michael N. Schmitt, a professor at the U.S. Naval War College and an affiliate at the Harvard Law School Program on International Law and Armed Conflict, said three basic requirements must be met: The other country must have the ability to attack; the other countrys behaviour must show that an attack is imminent; and there are no other ways to forestall it.

North Koreas military power appears to have satisfied the first requirement. But under the second requirement, we have to determine whether the statements by Kim are bluster or he actually intends to carry them out, Schmitt said. Under the third requirement, he said, you can only act in self-defence when if you dont act, its going to be too late  there are no other options.

Have those requirements been met yet?

While North Korea may have an ability to attack the United States, there is widespread skepticism that an attack is imminent. And many officials, including some of Trumps senior aides, have said other options have not been exhausted.

I think that the answer to the question is fairly unequivocally no, said Kevin Jon Heller, a law professor at the University of London. Theres no right of self-defence against a nonimmanent threat.

Read more:

Did Donald Trump accidentally threaten nuclear war out of a penchant for hyperbole?: Analysis

North Korea calls Trumps threats nonsense, says military action on Guam could come later this month

Trump says North Korea will be met with fire and the fury like the world has never seen if it doesnt stop threatening the U.S.

If the legal conditions for a first strike were met, would the destruction of North Korea, as critics of Trump say he implied when he threatened fire and fury, be legally justified?

Legal experts said an attack of self-defence in such circumstances must be proportional  meaning it is designed only to stop the threat. It is not a carte blanche to destroy another country, Schmitt said.

How do we know that Kims threat of attacking the United States is not an imminent threat?

We do not necessarily know. But North Korea has a well-established penchant for bombast and bluster, making threats without following through on them.

Kim says all kinds of crazy things, with no history besides incendiary statements, said Anthony Clark Arend, a professor of government and foreign service at Georgetown University. If North Korea were preparing for an attack, youd see it.

Why is it important for the Trump administration to have a justification under international law for striking North Korea first?

Like the other 192 members of the United Nations, the United States is expected to act in accordance with international law, vital to its credibility and basic relationships with other countries.

Is there anything in the UN Charter that permits one state to attack another before it is attacked?

That is a matter of debate. Article 2 of the charter prohibits states from using or threatening force against one another, while Article 51 does not prohibit the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs. But Article 51 has been interpreted in different ways. According to the restrictive interpretation, an attack must happen before the attacked state can use force against the attacker. Less restrictive interpretations argue that a state threatened by attack does not need to wait to legally make a pre-attack strike.

What defines the imminence of an attack?

That is also a matter of debate and interpretation. In the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, when Israeli commanders ordered an attack after Egyptian forces massed on the border, many people thought it was reasonable for Israel to conclude an attack was imminent, said Ashley S. Deeks, a professor at the University of Virginia School of Law.

But in 1981, when Israeli jets destroyed an atomic reactor in Iraq on the grounds that it represented a threat, Israel was condemned in a unanimous Security Council resolution. Many said the standard of an imminent threat had not been met.

What constitutes imminence has been further muddied by terrorist groups, cyberattacks and other more nebulous threats. Weve had conversations with allies, and they agree that the idea of imminence cant just mean right as a weapon is lifting off the launch pad, Deeks said.

What is the origin of legality for a pre-attack strike?

Most scholars point to a doctrine established after what is known as the Caroline incident of 1837, named for an American-owned steamship suspected of supplying Canadian rebels against British rule. The ship, moored on the U.S. side of the Niagara River, was boarded by British soldiers who killed several Americans, set the vessel ablaze and sent it over Niagara Falls. The British claimed they were acting in self-defence, an argument angrily rejected by Secretary of State Daniel Webster.

The matter was settled with an agreement on the conditions constituting legitimate self-defence in anticipation of an attack. As Webster described it, a state must demonstrate that the necessity of that self-defence is instant, overwhelming and leaving no choice of means and no moment for deliberation.

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Walmart is apologizing after a photo of a back-to-school store sign placed over a glass firearms display started rocketing across social media.

The sign at an unidentified store read own the school year like a hero.

One Twitter user had a simple question for Walmart, the largest retailer of firearms and ammunition in the United States: What are you suggesting?

The sign appears to be part of an ongoing superhero-themed marketing campaign that is not related to guns.

The photo appeared to create confusion within the company, whose explanation for the stores location is at odds with a woman claiming to have seen and photographed the display.

Charles Crowson, a spokesman for Walmart, told The Washington Post that the chains operations team is working to identify the store in question, which involves looking for what Crowson said they have referred to as patient zero - the first photo of the display. Crowson said the display and the configuration of the store suggest the photo is legitimate. It was not clear whether the sign was placed there by an employee or a shopper.

Whats seen in this photograph would never be acceptable in our stores. We regret this situation and are looking into how it could have happened, he said in a statement. He declined to comment on whether Walmart officials acknowledged the connection critics were making between guns and mass shootings on school campuses.

Crowson also said early indications the sign was at a store in Evansville, Indiana, were incorrect.

Leeanna May, who told The Post she took the photo, disputes that assertion.

May said she was in Evansville on an early morning shopping trip Wednesday with her husband when they walked by the sporting goods section, where May spotted the display she called disgusting.

We have already lost so many innocent lives to guns, she said, adding that she drew an immediate connection between firearms and school shootings. May said she alerted store employees but could not find a manager.

People dont seem to honestly care, she said.

Walmarts Twitter account replied to dozens of angry comments about the photo. In what appears to be the first reply over the incident, the companys account tweeted May, whose account is now private, at 8:17 am Wednesday morning to ask the location of the store.

We appreciate you letting us know about this display. Which store location was this? -Vik

- Walmart (@Walmart) August 9, 2017

Im happy to tell you our store manager Christina has removed the sign from the display. Thanks again for alerting us to this. -Vik

- Walmart (@Walmart) August 9, 2017

After May said that the store was in Evansville, the company replied at 9:33 am to say: Im happy to tell you our store manager Christina has removed the sign from the display. Thanks again for alerting us to this.

Crowson did not immediately return a request for comment on the disparity between the companys position and Mays claim.

The display is another marketing-related mishap for the megachain. In July, the company was blasted for using a racist term to describe a wig cap sold on its online store. The third party items color was listed as n-- brown.

Walmart also drew fire ahead of Sept. 11 last year, when a Panama City Beach, Florida, store used Coca-Cola products to build an American flag display with two black towers, signifying the World Trade Center under a banner image of the New York skyline with a message WE WILL NEVER FORGET.

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Its summertime, and the border crossing is easy.

What was once a slow trickle of bodies from the United States to Canada threatens to become a steady flow. And instead of Muslims fleeing the imprecise scope of Donald Trumps Muslim ban across the Manitoba border, its now worried Haitians who form the majority of those seeking sanctuary this summer in Quebec.

Why Haitians? Why now?

Essentially, those who fled Haiti in the wake of the devastating 2010 earthquake have been spooked by a change to their status in the United States under the Trump administration. And so theyre fleeing again. But its to a place where a similar change has already been made; Canada sends its failed Haitian claimants back to Haiti.

The particulars dont matter; the Haitians are here, and more are coming because they think Canada is a soft mark. The Big O(we) in downtown Montreal is even being converted to a shelter for their arrival. And if they come in stadium-sized numbers it means a hard choice is coming for Justin Trudeau.

And its a choice (somewhat) of the prime ministers own making.

When President Donald Trump unveiled his inaugural Muslim ban Trudeau responded with a tweet declaring: To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength. #WelcometoCanada.

It got great headlines at the time, and isnt strictly applicable to the Haitians now coming, but what Trudeau is now finding out is that tacking on a sieve or a barrier to the sentiment expressed in that tweet is hard to do, especially when your political brand is basically that of the worlds saviour.

The Haitians in question arent fleeing persecution, terror, or war; theyd mostly rather not go back to Haiti. And every place they occupy in our asylum system is one less for those who are genuinely suffering.

Trudeau, for now, is holding firm. Canada is a country that understands that immigration, welcoming refugees, is a source of strength for our communities, Trudeau repeated last week. He also added, protecting Canadians confidence in the integrity of our system allows us to continue to be open.

The second half of the prime ministers statement was, in Liberal eyes, butt-covering. But for a lot of Canadians, including the opposition Conservatives, its the operative half of the equation.

And right now that half is showing signs of severe strain.

A recent memo on the state of the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) released under access-to-information highlights a massive backlog of claims and a system starved of needed resource.

The Trudeau government will either need to increase funding massively, turn down more people at the border, or  more likely  some combination of both to maintain confidence in the integrity of our system.

Doing so will be a tricky proposition for a government that has carefully cultivated its tolerant political brand. Any tightening of Canadas policy under Trudeau could be seen as betrayal, no matter how justified it might be.

Fortunately, for Trudeaus image anyway, there are no good policy options to stem the flow, at least not with a recalcitrant President Trump in the White House. Canada cannot do a rewrite of the laws on its own, and closing the loophole that allows the current arrivals would only force more people to official border posts, where dealing with migrants is even more difficult politically.

This situation would then seem to favour more cash to the refugee system, but no such funding was included in the most recent federal budget. The Trudeau government has instead opted for a wide-ranging review of the system, with a report due in the summer of 2018.

It appears, then, the Trudeau government is hoping to ride out the current situation, hoping the word eventually gets back to the tens of thousands of Haitians in the United States that things really are no better in Canada and that they should stay where they are. Then again, a years-long backlog for processing might still be the better alternative.

For their part, the Conservatives would do well to suggest a fix in addition to keeping up pressure on the government to act.

Who knows? Coming up with a helpful solution could help redeem Tories in the eyes of voters who might not trust them on these and other matters.

Andrew MacDougall is a London-based columnist and commentator. He was director of communications for prime minister Stephen Harper.

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Its hard to find fault with federal Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Rayboulds announcement that she is considering lowering the legal blood alcohol limit for drivers to .05 per cent from .08.

After all, impaired driving is the leading criminal cause of death and injury in Canada, snuffing out the lives of between 1,250 and 1,500 Canadians every year and injuring another 64,000.

Indeed, according to a 2016 study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, Canada has the disturbing distinction of ranking No. 1 among wealthy countries for road deaths related to impaired driving. It found alcohol impairment in 34 per cent of Canadas motor fatalities. Compare that to Israels rate, which was just 3.2 per cent.

Further, Wilson-Raybould notes that the current rules were established after research indicated the risk of being involved in a car crash was twice as likely when a driver has 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood in his or her system.

More recent research indicates that this data underestimated the fatal crash risk, she said this week. In fact, the risk is almost double at 50mg, almost triple at 80mg, and rises exponentially above that level.

In fact, not only is Wilson-Raybould on the right track, she is simply catching up to what all the provinces, except for Quebec, have long been doing: penalizing drivers with blood-alcohol levels above .05 per cent.

The difference is that penalties under the Criminal Code, which kick in at .08 per cent, are much more stringent than those the provinces can legally impose. For example, criminal penalties can include jail time and a criminal record. Thats a much stronger deterrent than the administrative penalties provinces can impose.

Not that they are without consequence. Currently in Ontario, drivers with a blood-alcohol level of between .05 and .08  what the province calls the warn range  face a three-day roadside licence suspension, without appeal, and a $198 fine. And thats just for the first offence.

But it could be much worse. Under current federal criminal penalties, drivers with a .08 blood-alcohol level face a fine of $1,000, a mandatory 30 days imprisonment for a second offence, and 120 days imprisonment for a third violation.

And thats just for getting caught. The current maximum penalty for dangerous driving causing death is 14 years.

Even if Wilson-Raybould doesnt reduce the limit for impaired driving, things are going to get a lot worse for drivers who drink under new legislation introduced by the government in April.

First, Bill C-46 would increase the maximum penalties so that, for example, dangerous driving causing death could result in life imprisonment.

Second, it would allow police officers to demand that drivers submit to a breathalyzer test even if they dont suspect they are under the influence. Currently cops can screen drivers for alcohol and drug consumption only if they have reasonable grounds, something studies indicate officers have trouble assessing. As a result, research indicates many Canadians continue to drink and drive believing theres little chance theyll be caught.

All these proposed changes are steps in the right direction. Especially when Wilson-Raybould points out that when Ireland reduced its legal limit for driving to .05 and combined it with obligatory testing for alcohol, it produced a 50-per-cent reduction in deadly road accidents and a reduction of about 65 per cent in the number of (criminal) charges.

That means people didnt just avoid getting caught. They stopped drinking and driving. That, after all, is the goal.

So whats the argument against these new measures? Restaurants Canada says they will be devastating to the hospitality industry. People will be too afraid to eat out and have a glass of wine with dinner, because of the potential of a criminal record even if they dont present a safety risk, says Joyce Reynolds, executive vice-president of government affairs.

The trouble is, according to the research, they are a danger.

Nor is it necessarily true that the hospitality industry will be hit hard. In Germany, they havent stopped their beer festivals, notes Theresa-Anne Kramer of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. And in Ireland, I never heard that they had to close a pub  and both those countries have the 50 milligram limit.

Wilson-Raybould has asked her provincial counterparts to weigh in on her proposal. It would be hypocritical of all but Quebec to oppose it, considering their own .05 targets.

In fact, its time the federal government followed the provinces. Driving with a .05 blood-alcohol level should be a criminal offence.

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Re: Canadas unsung hero of Dunkirk, Opinion Aug. 7

Canadas unsung hero of Dunkirk, Opinion Aug. 7

Kudos to Rick Munroe for his excellent article about Cmdr. J. Campbell Clouston, who demonstrated remarkable courage in his role as pier-master, ensuring that more than 200,000 Allied troops were evacuated from Dunkirk in 1940. Clouston sacrificed his life while ensuring the safety of thousands. Canadians need to hear about their heroes and Munroes story sheds some light on the vital role of this unsung hero in changing the course of history.

Louise Savard Henderson, Markham

Had I not read Rick Munroes excellent piece on this extraordinary man, I, like many Canadians, would not have known about his brave role in the evacuation of thousands of Allied troops at Dunkirk.

To be aware of his role in the Second World War is extremely important to all Canadians who, to this day, enjoy the freedom they all fought for.

I was shocked and disappointed to discover that this man was not decorated or even honoured with a plaque to recognize his heroic actions.

If anyone is deserving of recognition, it is this man, who volunteered to risk his life for so many others. A true shame, but never too late.

Bill Smith, North York

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Stephanie Duermeyers son could hardly wait to be picked up by the morning school bus on the first day of classes last September.

Instead the then 10-year-old, who has autism, waited and waited. For a special needs bus that never arrived to collect him from his child-care centre. Hours later, after many phone calls, busy signals and assurances from the bus operator that transportation was coming, his mother, who doesnt drive, fetched her distraught son and brought him home.

On Day 2, he sat outside and cried for an hour after his friends had gone to school, wondering why he had been left behind. So Duermeyer, a single mother set to start a new job the following week, took him on three public transit buses to get him to his public school.

That was the beginning of more than two weeks of chaos and uncertainty for the family that even led to the school principal driving down to pick up the boy. And it all came flooding back to Duermeyer on Thursday after Ontario Ombudsman Paul Dube released a report slamming Torontos public and Catholic school boards for mishandling the 2016 transportation crisis that had been brewing for months and that left thousands of students stranded.

It was very stressful on him and really upsetting, recalls Duermeyer, who says her son, who is usually calm and good-natured son and loves school, was crying constantly and couldnt understand what was happening.

Dubes report cited a systemic, administrative failure and communications breakdown with parents, bus operators and schools, and laid the blame squarely on the Toronto District School Board and the Toronto Catholic District School Board for failing to heed early warning signs of a critical bus driver shortage.

The situation, which affected 2,687 students, including more than 300 with special needs, was not just chaotic, but dangerous, resulting in serious cases where vulnerable children were at risk, his investigation found.

Those included junior kindergarten students dropped off by substitute drivers several kilometres from their homes and left alone on busy roads in violation of boards safety protocols, and special needs students left outside schools without supervision or stuck on buses for hours.

Dube cited examples of children as young as 4, and others with disabilities and unable to communicate going missing for hours after being dropped off at the wrong stops. A non-verbal 10-year-old with autism was found wandering in the yard of the wrong school; a 9-year-old was driven to Markham instead of Scarborough.

Duermeyer said those stories give me goosebumps. When the bus company told her theyd send a cab to pick up her non-verbal son for a few days, she only agreed under the condition she travel with him and the other children with special needs.

Dube heard from a parent who lost her job after showing up for work late repeatedly after scrambling to get her daughter to school.

If only the Toronto school boards and their transportation group had heeded the early warning signs all around them at this time last year, they could have averted or at least mitigated the busing crisis that engulfed them last September, Dube told a news conference.

His report notes that both boards have taken steps to prevent another driver shortage this fall and will report back to the ombudsman in six months on their progress on his 42 recommendations.

Dube said the roots of the problems go back to the spring of 2016 when the Toronto Student Transportation Group, the transportation consortium that serves the two boards, signed on new operators and revised routes.

Later, despite receiving urgent warnings from the transportation group six days before school started, the boards failed to notify parents until after classes had resumed on Sept. 6 and they were dealing with a crisis and outcry from hundreds of parents.

In a joint statement Thursday, both school boards welcomed the report, titled The Route of the Problem, and said they have met with the transportation consortium over recent months to address its findings and ensure last falls school bus disruptions are not repeated.

New measures include installing GPS on all buses to track status and improve communication, adding call centre staff, weekly teleconferences with bus operators and a new online transportation site to keep parents updated.

Toronto parent Dave Stubbs, who joined forces with other parents to carpool their stranded kids last fall over weeks of busing problems, said he has registered on the new transportation portal, though not without challenges.

I still havent been able to add my daughters information to the system despite the fact that the site indicates this function will be available Aug. 7, he told the Star.

This year those families are already making contingency plans, despite the promises from the boards.

Am I hopeful that this year we'll have safe, reliable bus service for our children with timely and transparent communication? Yes, most definitely. But I won't believe it until I see it.

Students return to school on Sept. 5.

The disruptions last fall should not have happened and we believe the steps that are being taken will ensure it doesnt happen again, said TDSB director of education John Malloy.

TDSB trustee Sheila Cary-Meagher had stronger words following the news conference.

I think theres plenty of blame to go around, she said. I dont ever want to get the phone calls that I had last year, ever, ever again. It was horrendous and we had no power at that moment to fix it.

She and fellow Catholic board trustee Jo-Ann Davis said its the job of the boards to ensure transportation is running and to react quickly to address potential problems.

There are no guarantees but hopefully weve got better proactive processes in place to be making sure we dont have the situation we had last September, Davis said.

A spokesperson for the union representing some drivers said shes encouraged by the report and supports the recommendations.

However, problems will continue to plague the sector until root problems causing the driver shortage  including minimum wage pay despite the huge responsibilities of the job, split shifts and stressful working conditions  are addressed, said Debbie Montgomery, President of Unifor Local 4268 and a former driver.

In the meantime parents like Duermeyer are hoping for the best but feeling apprehensive based on experience.

Im not holding my breath, she said.

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Stocks of Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT) - Get Free Report , Raytheon Company (RTN) - Get Free Report and Northrop Grumman Corp (NOC) - Get Free Report jumped to all-time highs midday Wednesday as threats between North Korea and the U.S. intensified.

Even as the broader equities market sank with investors fleeing to safe haven assets, Lockheed stock jumped 1.56% to $304.79, Raytheon increased 2.19% to $178.62 and Northrop traded up 1% to $272.46.

The three stocks tend to gain on war chatter, but Lockheed and Raytheon both said they've been fielding an increased number of inquiries about their missile defense products as North Korea begins testing long-range missiles more frequently, Fox Business reported.

Lockheed, which is the Pentagon's top weapons supplier, said customers who want to defend themselves against possible incoming missile attacks have put missile defense at the top of their lists.

"The level of dialogue around missile defense is now at the prime minister and minister of defense level," Lockheed said. The U.S. government accounted for roughly 70% of Lockheed's business last year. The Maryland-based company has been working to grow its international business, which was 27% of revenue last year, Reuters reported.

"We are seeing significant demand signals for our integrated air and missile defense, cyber and ISR solutions driven by events going on around the world today," Raytheon said, according to Fox Business.

North Korea on Tuesday threatened to attack Guam, home to thousands of U.S. military personnel on two bases, and turn the U.S. into "the theater of nuclear war." The threat came after President Donald Trump told North Korea it would be met with "fire, fury and frankly power the likes of which this world has never seen before."

Raytheon is known for the Tomahawk missile and helped build the THAAD missile defense system with Lockheed. Lockheed sells it ships, planes and missile systems primarily to the U.S. intelligence community, the military and NASA.

Lockheed said the increased demand for missile defense systems could generate sales for years to come. Because the U.S. government sanctions purchases of weapons in a process that often lasts for years and requires approval from legislators, the windfall from today's heightened interest could last well into tomorrow.

Morgan Stanley analyst Rajeev Lalwani initiated coverage for the defense sector Tuesday with a favorable outlook. Lalwani said even with a great run in the last few months, defense stocks will continue to grow due to a high global threat environment, expanding political budgets and returns that will sustain valuations.

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There are a number of Bitcoin and tech companies popping up in places like Gibraltar, the Cayman Islands and the Isle of Man due to the attractive tax benefits and loose regulations.

For obvious reasons, these places are a start-up paradise and globally recognized as tax havens. But it's not all cloak and dagger on the blockchain. Companies need take legal nuances into account when doing business in these shelters.

Cryptocurrency is, after all, under heavy scrutiny by regulators at the moment. It's the hot new thing that will either become very huge or fizzle out. But as the document "Are Cryptocurrencies 'Super' Tax Havens?" argues, storing cryptocurrencies in a tax haven could be doubly surreptitious for tax evaders.

So does this mean there will be no regulatory oversight of what happens to the money raised from the sale of the EOS Tokens (on the Ethereum blockchain) if a company is based in a tax haven? As tempting as it may be for Bitcoin start-ups to play it fast and loose, they'd do well to cover their bases by playing by the rule book and doing their due diligence in advance.

Ross Wilson, who works for an Isle of Man-based Bitcoin exchange called CoinCorner, explains that what differentiates the Isle of Man from other jurisdictions is that it has taken the initiative to bring cryptocurrency businesses within the scope of its designated business legislation.

More of What's Trending on TheStreet:

"This means that any cryptocurrency exchange operating from the Isle of Man is legally required to follow globally recognized anti-money laundering (AML) and know your client (KYC) legislation," Wilson said.

"While other jurisdictions may have done something approaching this, the Isle of Man has gone one step further by giving the financial regulator the power to inspect Isle of Man businesses to ensure compliance with these regulations," he added. "This gives any cryptocurrency business based on the Isle of Man added legitimacy as they are proven to be following the AML and KYC legislation."

Last month, we saw the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) move in on the "Wild West" world of ICOs labelling the decentralized autonomous organizations (DAO) as securities that are now subject to federal securities laws.

Adam Vaziri, a blockchain lawyer who set up Diacle, stressed that compliance is important.

"I hope founders will realize that the future of ICOs is with compliance enabled,"Vaziri said. "This is to protect the founders who are receiving the funds and also to hold them accountable to a certain degree."

"The Isle of Man is the first jurisdiction we have a lot of respect for at Diacle that created a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency businesses and that allowed Diacle to use the framework this year to run the first fully compliant public ICO," he added. "Most certainly other jurisdictions will create light touch regulatory frameworks to allow for ICOs to flourish sensibly."

Block.one is another excellent example - it is a Cayman Islands-based company.

"We believe it is best for cryptocurrency companies to set up companies where a proper regulatory framework will be set up, such as Gibraltar where the regulator has indicated it is working on a DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology) regulatory framework," said Eddy Travia, the CEO and co-founder of London-listed Coinsilium Ltd.

"A clear regulatory environment is one of the key success factors for the long term development of blockchain companies," Travia added. "The other key factor is banking, and a conducive regulatory environment also helps financial institutions to work transparently with blockchain and bitcoin companies."

It's incumbent on all Bitcoin start-up founders to play by the rules, because as the popularity of cryptocurrencies increases, so too will the regulations.

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Ford Motor Co.'s (F) - Get Free Report German division said that all of its vehicles meet German emission standards after a local magazine reported that the company's Mondeo model was being investigated by German officials for using emission test cheating technology.

Ford responded to the report by confirming it has been contacted by German regulators about its Mondeo 2.0 TCDi model. The company also pledged to cooperate with authorities in the investigation.

Ford shares were down 0.73% to $10.84 in morning trading Thursday morning.

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Arbor Realty Trust, Inc. is a real estate investment trust incorporated in 2003. Founded by Ivan Kaufman who now serves as Chairman and CEO, the company is headquartered in Uniondale, New York, and invests in a diversified portfolio of structured finance assets in the real estate market.

The specific markets of interest include the multifamily, single-family rental, and commercial real estate markets in the United States. The company manages a portfolio of real estate properties that is worth more than $42 billion and originates more than $16 billion in loans annually. Arbor Realty Trust is recognized as a Top Lender by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae as well as holding numerous other top rankings from other rating agencies.

As a real estate investment trust, the company can be expected to pay out 90% or more of its distributable earnings which often results in a dividend yield near 10%. The downside is that income taxes are passed through to the investor which needs to be taken into account with this investment.

The company prides itself on being more than just a lender. The companys diverse offerings and personalized care ensure the best loan solution for each individual need. Its goal is to help clients achieve their goals and to do so by building long-term relationships that mature with age. One of the many features that helps ensure this is 100% in-house loan servicing. This means Arbor isnt selling its loans to third parties and dedicated specialists are there to help with all stages of the loan life-cycle.

Arbor Realty Trust operates in two segments, Structured Business and Agency Business primarily investing in bridge and mezzanine loans as well as real estate-related joint ventures, real estate-related notes, and various mortgage-related securities. The company also offers financing products to organizations and small businesses that wish to buy residential, commercial, or industrial properties. The company also provides financing for multi-family units through a network of lending partners.

Arbor Realty Trust also offers an array of Green Loans intended to aid with the purchase, upgrade, or retrofit of energy or water-saving features. The loans are backed by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae as well which means they come with the lowest rates available. Arbor Realty Trust also offers market-leading research on the rental housing and multi-family residential market.
Deutsche Telekom AG, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated telecommunication services. The company operates through five segments: Germany, United States, Europe, Systems Solutions, and Group Development. It offers fixed-network services, including voice and data communication services based on fixed-network and broadband technology; and sells terminal equipment and other hardware products, as well as services to resellers. The company also provides mobile voice and data services to consumers and business customers; sells mobile devices and other hardware products; and sells mobile services to resellers and to companies that purchases and markets network services to third parties, such as mobile virtual network operators. In addition, it offers internet services; internet-based TV products and services; and information and communication technology systems for multinational corporations and public sector institutions with an infrastructure of data centers and networks under the T-Systems brand, as well as call center services. The company has 242 million mobile customers and 22 million broadband customers, as well as 27 million fixed-network lines. Deutsche Telekom AG has a collaboration with VMware, Inc. on cloud-based open and intelligent virtual RAN platform to bring agility to radio access networks for existing LTE and future 5G networks; and partnership with Microsoft to deliver high-performance cloud computing experiences. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Bonn, Germany.
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates regulated exchanges, clearing houses, and listings venues for commodity, financial, fixed income, and equity markets in the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Singapore, Israel, and Canada. It operates through three segments: Exchanges, Fixed Income and Data Services, and Mortgage Technology. The company operates marketplaces for listing, trading, and clearing an array of derivatives contracts and financial securities, such as commodities, interest rates, foreign exchange, and equities, as well as corporate and exchange-traded funds; trading venues, including 13 regulated exchanges and 6 clearing houses; and offers futures and options products for energy, agricultural and metals, financial, cash equities and equity, over-the-counter, and other markets, as well as listings and data and connectivity services. It also provides fixed income data and analytic, fixed income execution, CDS clearing, and other multi-asset class data and network services. In addition, the company offers proprietary and comprehensive mortgage origination platform, which serves residential mortgage loans; closing solutions that provides customers connectivity to the mortgage supply chain and facilitates the secure exchange of information; data and analytics services; and Data as a Service for lenders to access data and origination information. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.
The following companies are subsidiares of Eaton: Abeiron III Unlimited Company, Aeroquip Iberica S.L., Aeroquip-Vickers, Aphel Technologies, Argo-Tech, Arrow Hose & Tubing, Azonix Corporation, Babco Electric Group, Baricide Inc., Beijing Yoosung Shinhwa Automobile Parts Co. Ltd., Blinda Industria e Comercio Ltda., Bussmann International Holdings LLC, Bussmann International Inc., Bussmann S. de R.L. de C.V., CBE Services Inc., CEAG Notlichtsysteme GmbH, CLS (Canada) Company, COBHAM INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED, CTI-VIENNA Gesellschaft zur Prufung elektrotechnischer Industrieprodukte GmbH, Cambridge International Sarl, Cannon Technologies Inc., Chagrin Highlands III Ltd., Cobham, Cobham Mission Systems Davenport AAR Inc., Cobham Mission Systems Davenport LSS Inc., Cobham Mission Systems FWB Inc., Cobham Mission Systems Orchard Park Inc., Cobham Mission Systems Wimborne Limited, Cooper (China) Co. Ltd., Cooper (Ningbo) Electric Co. Ltd., Cooper B-Line Inc., Cooper Bussmann LLC, Cooper Capri S.A.S., Cooper Crouse-Hinds (LLC), Cooper Crouse-Hinds AS, Cooper Crouse-Hinds B.V., Cooper Crouse-Hinds GmbH, Cooper Crouse-Hinds LLC, Cooper Crouse-Hinds MTL Inc., Cooper Crouse-Hinds S. de R.L. de C.V., Cooper Crouse-Hinds S.A., Cooper Csa Srl, Cooper Edison (Pingdingshan) Electronic Technologies Co. Ltd., Cooper Electric (Changzhou) Co. Ltd., Cooper Electric (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Cooper Electrical International LLC, Cooper Electronic Technologies (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Cooper Enterprises LLC, Cooper Finance USA Inc., Cooper Germany Holdings GmbH, Cooper Industrials, Cooper Industries (Canada) Company, Cooper Industries (Electrical) Inc., Cooper Industries Colombia S.A.S., Cooper Industries FZE, Cooper Industries Finance B.V., Cooper Industries Global B.V., Cooper Industries International LLC, Cooper Industries Japan K.K., Cooper Industries LLC, Cooper Industries Romania SRL, Cooper Industries Russia LLC, Cooper Industries Trading Unlimited Company, Cooper Industries Unlimited Company, Cooper Industries Vietnam LLC, Cooper Interconnect Inc., Cooper International Holdings S.a.r.l, Cooper Korea Ltd., Cooper Menvier France SARL, Cooper Notification Inc., Cooper Power Systems LLC, Cooper Power Systems do Brasil Ltda., Cooper Pretronica Unipessoal Lda., Cooper Safety B.V., Cooper Securite S.A.S., Cooper Shanghai Power Capacitor Co. Ltd., Cooper Technologies Company, Cooper Univel S.A., Cooper Wheelock Inc., Cooper Wiring Devices Inc., Cooper Wiring Devices de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Cooper Xi'an Fusegear Co. Ltd., Cooper Yuhua (Changzhou) Electric Equipment Manufacturing Co. Ltd., Copperlogic, Cutler-Hammer Electrical Company, Cutler-Hammer Industries Ltd., Cutler-Hammer SRL, Cyme International T & D Inc., D.P. Eaton Electric, Digital Lighting (Dong Guan) Co. Ltd., Digital Lighting Co. Limited, Digital Lighting Holdings Limited, Dongguan Cooper Electronics Co. Ltd., Dongguan Wiring Devices Electronics Co. Ltd., E. Begerow, E.A. Pedersen Co., ETN Asia International Limited, ETN Holding 1 Limited, ETN Holding 2 Limited, ETN Holding 3 Limited, Eaton (China) Investments Co. Ltd., Eaton (Switzerland) Holding I GmbH, Eaton (Switzerland) Holding II GmbH, Eaton (Switzerland) Holding III G.m.b.H., Eaton Aeroquip LLC, Eaton Aerospace LLC, Eaton Ann Arbor LLC, Eaton Automated Transmission Technologies Corporation, Eaton Automation G.m.b.H, Eaton Automation Holding G.m.b.H., Eaton Automotive Components Spolka z o.o., Eaton Automotive Spolka z o.o., Eaton Automotive Systems Spolka z o.o., Eaton B.V., Eaton Capital Global Holdings Unlimited Company, Eaton Capital Unlimited Company, Eaton Controls (Luxembourg) S.a.r.l., Eaton Controls (UK) Limited, Eaton Corporation, Eaton Domhanda I Limited, Eaton Domhanda Unlimited Company, Eaton Electric, Eaton Electric & Engineering Services Limited, Eaton Electric (Japan) Ltd., Eaton Electric (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Eaton Electric (South Africa) Pty Ltd., Eaton Electric (Thailand) Limited, Eaton Electric (Vietnam) Company Limited, Eaton Electric AB, Eaton Electric AS, Eaton Electric ApS, Eaton Electric BV, Eaton Electric G.m.b.H., Eaton Electric Holdings LLC, Eaton Electric Limited, Eaton Electric S.I.A., Eaton Electric S.a.r.l., Eaton Electric S.r.l., Eaton Electric Spolka z.o.o., Eaton Electric d.o.o., Eaton Electric s.r.o., Eaton Electrical (Australia) Pty Ltd, Eaton Electrical Equipment Co Ltd, Eaton Electrical IP G.m.b.H. & Co. KG, Eaton Electrical Ltd., Eaton Electrical Products Limited, Eaton Electrical S.A., Eaton Electrical Srl, Eaton Electrical Systems Limited, Eaton Electro Productie S.r.l., Eaton Elektrik Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Eaton Elektrotechnika s.r.o., Eaton Enterprises (Hungary) Kft., Eaton Enterprises Limited, Eaton Enterprises S. de R.L. de C.V., Eaton FZE, Eaton Filtration (Italy) S.r.l., Eaton Filtration (Poland) Sp. z o.o., Eaton Filtration (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Eaton Filtration BV, Eaton Filtration Ltd., Eaton France Holding SAS, Eaton Fu Li An (Changzhou) Electronics Co. Ltd., Eaton Germany G.m.b.H., Eaton Germany Holdings GmbH, Eaton Global Holdings II Limited, Eaton Global Holdings III Limited, Eaton Global Holdings Limited, Eaton Global Limited, Eaton GmbH & Co. KG, Eaton Holding (Austria) G.m.b.H., Eaton Holding (Netherlands) B.V., Eaton Holding (UK) II Limited, Eaton Holding G.m.b.H., Eaton Holding I B.V., Eaton Holding II S.a.r.l., Eaton Holding III B.V., Eaton Holding IV S.a.r.l., Eaton Holding Limited, Eaton Holding S.a.r.l., Eaton Holding SE & Co. KG, Eaton Holding Turlock B.V., Eaton Holding V B.V., Eaton Holding VI B.V., Eaton Holding VII B.V., Eaton Holding VIII B.V., Eaton Holding XIII S.a.r.l., Eaton Hydraulics LLC, Eaton Hydraulics Systems (Jining) Co. Ltd., Eaton I Spolka z.o.o., Eaton II LP, Eaton III LP, Eaton IV LP, Eaton India Innovation Center LLP, Eaton Industrial Products Pvt. Ltd., Eaton Industrial Systems Private Limited, Eaton Industries (Argentina) S.A., Eaton Industries (Austria) G.m.b.H., Eaton Industries (Belgium) BV, Eaton Industries (Canada) Company, Eaton Industries (Chile) S.p.A., Eaton Industries (Colombia) S.A.S., Eaton Industries (Egypt) LLC, Eaton Industries (England) Limited, Eaton Industries (France) S.A.S., Eaton Industries (Ireland) II Limited, Eaton Industries (Ireland) Limited, Eaton Industries (Israel) Ltd., Eaton Industries (Italy) S.r.l., Eaton Industries (Jining) Co. Ltd, Eaton Industries (Korea) Limited, Eaton Industries (Morocco) LLC, Eaton Industries (Netherlands) B.V., Eaton Industries (Philippines) LLC, Eaton Industries (Spain) S.L., Eaton Industries (Thailand) Ltd., Eaton Industries (U.K.) Limited, Eaton Industries (Wuxi) Co. Ltd., Eaton Industries Company, Eaton Industries EOOD, Eaton Industries G.m.b.H., Eaton Industries Holding G.m.b.H., Eaton Industries Holdings Ltd., Eaton Industries I Unlimited Company, Eaton Industries II G.m.b.H., Eaton Industries II Unlimited Company, Eaton Industries III Unlimited Company, Eaton Industries IV Unlimited Company, Eaton Industries IX LLC, Eaton Industries KFT, Eaton Industries LP, Eaton Industries Manufacturing G.m.b.H., Eaton Industries Middle East LLC, Eaton Industries Panama S.A., Eaton Industries Pte. Ltd., Eaton Industries Pty. Ltd., Eaton Industries S. de R.L. de C.V., Eaton Industries SAC, Eaton Industries Sdn. Bhd., Eaton Industries V Unlimited Company, Eaton Industries VI Unlimited Company, Eaton Industries VII Unlimited Company, Eaton Industries VIII LLC, Eaton Industries X Unlimited Company, Eaton Industries XI Unlimited Company, Eaton Industries XII Unlimited Company, Eaton Industries XIII Unlimited Company, Eaton Industries XIV Unlimited Company, Eaton Industries XIX Unlimited Company, Eaton Industries XV Unlimited Company, Eaton Industries XVI LLC, Eaton Industries XVIII Unlimited Company, Eaton Industries XX Unlimited Company, Eaton Industria e Comercio de Produtos Eletricos e Servicos Ltda, Eaton Intelligent Power Limited, Eaton International B.V., Eaton International Industries Nigeria Limited, Eaton Japan G.K., Eaton LLC, Eaton LP, Eaton Leasing Corporation, Eaton Limited, Eaton Ltda., Eaton MEDC Limited, Eaton Management Services LLP, Eaton Manufacturing G.m.b.H., Eaton Manufacturing Hungary Kft., Eaton Manufacturing II G.m.b.H., Eaton Manufacturing III G.m.b.H., Eaton Manufacturing LP, Eaton Manufacturing Limited, Eaton Moeller B.V., Eaton Moeller S.a.r.l., Eaton Phoenixtec MMPL Co. Ltd., Eaton Power (Shanghai) Trading Limited Partnership, Eaton Power Quality (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Eaton Power Quality Limited, Eaton Power Quality OY (Finland), Eaton Power Quality Private Limited, Eaton Production International G.m.b.H., Eaton Protection Systems IP G.m.b.H. & Co. KG, Eaton S.A.S., Eaton S.r.l., Eaton SE, Eaton Safety Limited, Eaton Science & Technology Management (Hainan) Limited Partnership, Eaton Services S.a.r.l., Eaton Solutions S. de R.L. de C.V., Eaton Technologies (Luxembourg) S.a.r.l., Eaton Technologies G.m.b.H., Eaton Technologies Private Limited, Eaton Technologies S. de R.L. de C.V., Eaton Teorainn Limited, Eaton Trading (FZC) LLC, Eaton Trading Company S. de R.L. de C.V., Eaton Truck Components (Proprietary) Ltd., Eaton Truck Components S. de R.L. de C.V., Eaton Truck Components Spolka z o.o., Eaton eMobility France SAS, Eaton-Powerware, Electromanufacturas S. de R.L. de C.V., Electrum Group Ltd., Ephesus Lighting, FHF Bergbautechnik GmbH & Co. KG, FHF Funke+Huster Fernsig GmbH, Flight Refuelling Limited, Funke+Huster GmbH, GeCma Components electronic GmbH, Gitiesse S.r.l., Green Holding S.a.r.l., Green Motion SA, Grupo Desdemona S. de R.L. de C.V., Grupo Otello S. de R.L. de C.V., Hein Moeller Stiftung G.m.b.H., Hernis Scan Systems A/S, HuanYu High Tech, IE Power, Innovative Switchgear Solutions Inc, Institute for International Product Safety G.m.b.H., Integrated Hydraulics, Integrated Partial Discharge Diagnostics, Internormen Technology, Jeil Hydraulics, Joslyn Sunbank Company LLC, Kaicheng Funke+Huster (Tangshan) Mining Electrical Co. Ltd., Lian Zheng Electronics (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., MP Group SAS, MTL Instruments B.V., MTL Instruments LLC, MTL Instruments Private Limited, MTL Instruments SARL, MTL Italia Srl, MTL Partners II Inc., MTL Partners Inc., Marina Power and Lighting, Martek Power GmbH, Martek Power S.A. de C.V., McGraw-Edison Development Corporation, Menvier Overseas Holdings Limited, Micro Innovation Holding, Mission Systems, Moeller Electric (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Moeller Electric Ltda., Moeller Holding Gmbh & Co. KG, Moeller Industria de electro-electronicos do Amazonas Ltda., Morestana, Norex AS, Optimum Path Systems (Shanghai) Ltd., Oxalis Group, PDI Intermediate Corp., PT Eaton Industries, PT Ulusoy Electric Indonesia, PT Ulusoy Electric Industry, PT. Fluid Sciences Batam, PerkinElmer - aerospace division, Phoenixtec Electronics (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., Phoenixtec International Corp., Phoenixtec Power, Pigozzi, Plumtree I Limited, Plumtree Mauritius Limited, Polimer Kaucuk Sanayi Ve Pazarlama, Power Distribution Holdings Inc., Power Distribution Inc., Pringle Electrical Manufacturing, Productos Eaton Livia S.L., Pulizzi Engineering, RTE Far East Corporation, Riseson International Limited, Rizhao Yoosung Shinhwa Automobile Parts Co. Ltd., Rolec Comercial e Industrial, Royal Power Solutions, SOURIAU, Santak Electronic (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., Santak Electronics Company Limited, Saturn Insurance Company Ltd., Scantronic Benelux BV, Schreder-Hazemeyer, Scoremax Limited, Sefelec GmbH, Sefelec SAS, Senyuan International Holdings Limited, Senyuan International Investments Limited, Shakespeare Holdings Inc., Silver Light International Limited, Silver Victory Hong Kong Limited, Souriau Dominican Republic Ltd., Souriau Germany GmbH, Souriau India Pvt Ltd, Souriau Italy Srl, Souriau Japan KK, Souriau MAROC Sarl, Souriau S.A.S., Souriau UK Ltd, Souriau USA Inc, Standard Automation & Control LP, Sunbank Family of Companies LLC, Sunbank de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Sure Power Inc., T.T.M.C. (2012) Ltd, TGM Automotiva, TTMC Holdings Inc., Technocontact, Telkom Kenya, The MTL Instruments Group Limited, Tractech, Tripp Lite Holdings Inc., Tripp Lite of Canada Corp., Trippe Manufacturing Company, Turlock B.V., Tuthill Coupling Group, Ultronics, Ulusoy Elektrik Imalat Taahhut ve Ticaret AS, Winner Hydraulics Ltd., Wright Line Holding Inc., and Wright Line LLC.

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First Horizon Corporation operates as the bank holding company for First Horizon Bank that provides various financial services. The company operates through three segments: Regional Banking, Specialty Banking, and Corporate. It offers general banking services for consumers, businesses, financial institutions, and governments. The company also underwrites bank-eligible securities and other fixed-income securities eligible for underwriting by financial subsidiaries; sells loans and derivatives; and offers advisory services. In addition, it offers various services, such as mortgage banking; title insurance and loan-closing; brokerage; correspondent banking; nationwide check clearing and remittance processing; trust, fiduciary, and agency; equipment finance; and investment and financial advisory services. Further, the company sells mutual fund and retail insurance products; and credit cards. It operates approximately 500 banking offices in 22 states under the First Horizon Bank brand; and 400 banking centers in 12 states under the FHN Financial brand in the United States. The company was formerly known as First Horizon National Corporation and changed its name to First Horizon Corporation in November 2020. First Horizon Corporation was founded in 1864 and is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee.
I'm ditching Android for the iPhone  and it's all because of this one thing

Being the only Android user when everyone else uses an iPhone can be a lonely experience, especially when it comes messaging software and the iPhone's notorious green bubble for Android users.
How to Switch Smartphone Carriers

When it comes to arduous adulting tasks, switching your smartphone service from one wireless carrier to another ranks right up there with root canals. But sometimes, you have to bite the bullet.

Maybe youve paid off your phone or found a better deal or decided you just dont care for the quality of wireless service youre getting from your current carrier. Whatever the reason, youre ready to take your wireless business elsewhere. But how do you know how to switch from one service provider to the next? How do you find the best deal? And is switching worth all the hassle in the end?

There are a lot of factors to consider when switching. But if you play your cards right, you could snag a free phone and more data by ditching your old wireless carrier for a competitor.

Before you switch

Deciding whether to switch carriers takes a little research. Here are the questions you should answer.

How do I find out which carrier provides the best coverage in my area?

Theres no point in switching to a carrier that doesnt provide good cellular coverage where you live; otherwise youll forever be wandering around, clutching your phone to your face and wailing, Can you hear me now?

(Image credit: RootMetrics)

Dont rely on anecdotes from friends and family about their service. The best way is to borrow a phone from one of those friends or family members thats served by the wireless service youre scoping out. See what reception is like in the places you frequent. If thats not an option, use the reliable data Open Signal crowdsources from more than 20 million people to figure out which carrier provides the best service in your area. Just type in your city and pick a provider to see if the wireless signal is strong or weak.



For another source of data, RootMetrics dives into neighborhoods, providing an even more granular look at cellular coverage. The map on that testing firms site shows graphical overlays for call performance and network speed, and you can zoom in to find out how your area fared.

MORE: The Best and Worst Phone Carriers

How do I know if my carrier will charge me a fee to get out of my contract?

Carrier contracts have just about gone the way of the dodo, but if youre still in a two-year agreement and want to get out of it early, your provider will probably charge you a hefty fee for canceling. Not on a contract? You may still have to pay money to your carrier to leave, as well discuss below.

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Sprint and AT&T were the last carriers to phase out two-year service contracts in 2016. If youre still finishing out the last months of your contract, you can easily find out how long you have left and how much itll cost you to break it by looking up your account details via your current wireless providers website. The amount each of the big four providers charge to break a contract varies by device and days remaining on contract. You can find out more about T-Mobiles ETF here (opens in new tab); AT&T here (opens in new tab); Verizon here (opens in new tab); and Sprint here.

But while carriers may impose fees to stop their own customers from switching, AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint also have no problem paying off those fees if it means youll switch to them. The move was prompted by T-Mobile, which was the first carrier to offer a contract buyout back in 2014.

There's no point in switching to a carrier that doesn't provide good cellular coverage where you live.

Even with contracts disappearing, T-Mobile still promises to reimburse you for your previous providers early termination fee in the form of a prepaid MasterCard of up to $650 per line. Verizon, AT&T and Sprint offer similar programs. Note that each carrier reimburses you in the form of a prepaid debit card that you cant redeem for cash. Also, the card arrives weeks after your final bill arrives from your previous provider, so youll still need to foot the bill for switching -- at least initially.

Im not on a contract. Will I owe money to my current provider if I switch?

It depends on whether you bought a phone from your carrier on an installment plan or if you paid full price for the device upfront. If youre still paying off the phone, then youll need to pay the remaining balance in full before switching.

Good news: the same reimbursement programs for early termination fees that T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon and Sprint offer also cover device payment plans. Youll have to trade in your old phone, though, and upgrade to a new one. If you want to keep your old phone and sell it, thats something to consider before switching if your device isnt fully paid off.

When to switch

Timing is everything. Heres how to figure out which time is the right time to look for a new wireless provider.

Should I wait to switch carriers until a new phone I want is released?

If you dont care about having the latest iPhone or Samsung device, you can switch whenever youd like. But when new flagship phones are released, the four major carriers go into overdrive to win new customers with all kinds of deals.

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Some of those offers can sound pretty sweet, like last fall, when carriers were ready to offer a brand-new iPhone 7 when you traded your old phone and signed up for a new plan. Just read the fine print: Often, youll be locked into a two-year service agreement for that free phone and will have to hand it back if you want to switch to another carrier.

MORE: Best Galaxy S8 Deals Right Now

In general, the best time of year to upgrade to a new phone and switch carriers at the same time is when a major flagship launches. For the iPhone, thats usually in the fall. The Galaxy S lineup usually sees a new arrival in the spring, as does LGs flagship. Samsung and LG tend to update their bigger screen Note and V series phones in the fall. Youll also see promotions tied to the beginning of the school year and the holidays.

If you time it right, you can trade in your old phone, get out of your old contract and receive a brand-new phone, all on on your new carriers dime.

With the iPhone 8 coming out in late September, timing is everything, said Christine Gallup, head of content and outreach for the cellphone comparison website WhistleOut (opens in new tab). If youre interested in getting the latest and greatest, its best to get it right when its been launched because the carriers are in a feeding frenzy.

Gallup said theres also an ideal time of month to switch carriers. Check your billing cycle dates. If you wait four days before the end of your current billing cycle and then make the switch, youll reduce the odds of paying two cellphone bills in a month.

Which carrier offers the best deals for old phone trade-ins?

If you time it right, you can trade in your old phone, get out of your old contract and receive a brand-new phone, all on your new carriers dime. The deals are typically pegged to new product launches.



Unfortunately, carriers dont take just any old phone  usually trade-in offers are for customers with fairly new devices looking to upgrade every year or so. Keep an eye out when new phones from major players like Apple, Samsung and Google are released to get the most bang for your buck (or cash for your phone, as it were). Toms Guide also keeps close tabs on deals aimed at switchers, and we get the word out when theres a particularly appealing offer.

How do I compare data plans to find the best deal?

This requires some research on your part. First, decide whether youre looking for a single line of data or a multi-line plan for families. Then, figure out how much data you typically use in a month. You can do that by looking at your phone bill. Sign into your online account and go over the last three months of data usage. You can also find that information in your paper statement, if you still get one. That will help you figure out how much data you need from your new carrier. You can also call the company directly for answers. Toms Guide has compared plans from a wide array of carriers and has come up with the best picks for unlimited data, families and prepaid users. If youre looking to save money, we also have the best cellphone plans under $40.

(Image credit: Verizon)

These days, carriers are pushing unlimited data plans, which offer you all the LTE data you could ask for. (Or at least they do up to a point. Go over a certain amount  it varies from carrier to carrier  and your wireless provider might throttle your speed, though you wont be charged an extra fee.) If you find yourself using less than 6GB of data, though, you can save money by going with a cheaper tiered data plan. Verizon and AT&T still offer tiered data, and if you broaden your search to prepaid and discount carriers, you can save even more money if your monthly data use is low.

WhistleOuts Gallup said people tend to focus on AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon and Sprint when looking to switch carriers, but there are a lot more options than just the big four. Discount wireless carriers like Cricket and MetroPCS use the same networks as AT&T and T-Mobile , and you can usually find a lower-priced plan. Gallup said she cut her phone bill in half by switching to Cricket.

MORE: Best Prepaid Phone Plans: MetroPCS vs. Boost vs. Cricket

Some carriers offer special data plan promotions tied to specific phone launches, so keep an eye out for good deals around flagships like the Galaxy Note and iPhone. Sprint is also fairly aggressive about offering low introductory rates to entice you to join its fourth-ranked network; just be aware that the introductory rates revert to what Sprint regularly charges after a set time limit (usually about a year).

WhistleOut (opens in new tab) compares 100,000 cellphone plan combinations from 30 carriers if youd rather let someone else handle the legwork for you.

How to switch

Youre ready to take the plunge. Heres the information you need to have on hand.

Do I need to sign up for a new plan in person or can I do it online?

You can switch carriers by signing up for an account with your new carrier online, but many people prefer the reassurance of having a customer service rep walking them through the process in person. (Although nothing is more awkward than breaking up with your old carrier over the phone while in your new carriers store.)

Should I cancel my old service first?

No, no, no, no and no. Dont cancel your existing service until your new cellphone plan is activated and your phone is ready to use. This will save you a lot of trouble  trust me. It can sometimes take longer than you might expect for your new carrier to port over your existing phone number and data from your old phone, and you dont want to miss any important calls or lose any information in the transition. Your new carrier will cancel your old service for you when your phone and service are ready to go.

How do I keep my phone number?

Carriers are required by law to allow you to keep your local phone number, but that doesnt apply to phone numbers outside your current geographic area  something to consider if youve moved across the country and want to port your old number to a new carrier.

Carriers are also allowed to charge you for porting numbers over to their service, but few do. They want your service, after all. The porting process is part of switching, so just tell your carrier you want to keep your current phone number and theyll do all the work for you.
Paul Gregorowitsch, chief executive officer of Oman Air has undertaken a series of high profile visits to Delhi, Zurich and Kuala Lumpur.



Gregorowitsch makes regular visits to key locations to meet with the airlines key stakeholders from trade, media and government partners as well as Oman Air personnel, highlighting the importance of these regions to the airline and recognising their contribution to the growing success of the airline.



During his time in each region, Gregorowitsch used the opportunity to meet with journalists from the respective countries and respond directly to press enquiries as well as being able to thank the media for their ongoing support first hand.



Gregorowitsch said: I have wholeheartedly enjoyed visiting Delhi, Zurich and Kuala Lumpur which comes as part of my annual routine. These routes are of special significance to Oman Air and continue to prove extremely popular with our guests both in Oman and further afield. In a bid to reiterate Oman Airs commitment towards its guests, Oman Air has added more offerings to its range. Notable among those is the increase of flights to Kuala Lumpur and the increased frequencies to certain key Indian destinations.



Oman Air launched its first international service in India to Trivandrum in November 1993 and has since launched routes to 10 more destinations across India. Five of these routes are now served by double daily services.



Within the last year, Oman and India have agreed to increase the number of flights between the two countries through an open sky air service agreement. This resulted in Oman Air increasing its frequencies on a number of routes, with 21 weekly flights to Delhi, Calicut and Hyderabad and 14 weekly flights to Lucknow. Most recently, on August 1 this year, the airline introduced a third daily flight from Mumbai to Muscat which increases the overall weekly frequency of flights to India from 154 to 161.



Since Oman Air launched its direct flight from Muscat to Kuala Lumpur, demand has grown among guests resulting in an increase in flight frequency and passenger numbers. The airline now operates 14 weekly flights  an increase from seven weekly flights on this time last year  to the Malaysian capital. Passenger numbers have also grown dramatically from almost 90,000 in 2015 to over 132,000 in 2016. Additionally, Oman Air entered a code-share partnership with Malaysia Airlines earlier this month, connecting their guests to an even wider range of destinations across Malaysia, China and Australia.



Oman Airs daily service from Muscat to Switzerlands capital Zurich has also seen an increase in flight frequency due to demand, particularly from business class passengers. Following a codeshare agreement with German airline Lufthansa earlier this year, guests can now enjoy daily flights from Muscat to Geneva via Frankfurt - morning departure with Lufthansa from Geneva to Frankfurt connects to the daily Oman Air Dreamliner service to Muscat and an early morning departure from Muscat allows for a morning arrival in Geneva.



Gregorowitsch thanked the trade partners as well as the media in these markets: I would like to thank our trade partners, travel agencies and sales agents who have all been incredibly supportive and contributed to the growing demand on these routes. We look forward to building on our strong relationship with these nations for many more years to come and to boosting the economic and tourism prospects between our countries. - TradeArabia News Service


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-Politicians from across the political divide beaten in the election have been urged to accept the results and move on

- This is after a number of them, including Raila Odinga, rejected the results

- The Mission Observers urged losers to accept the results because IEBC carried out a free and fair poll

Kenya held a historic General Election on Tuesday, August 8. It was the most expensive, most contested election with about 16000 candidates vying for a little over 1800 elective posts.

Many big names were toppled in the senatorial and gubernatorial elections, as some of the losers demanded re-counts or clcaimeed incidents of election manipulation.

The presidential race; one between the two main candidates to watch- incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta and NASA presidential candidate Raila Odinga, continue to be closely monitored.

READ ALSO: Politician kidnapped in broad daylight after trying to rigging in his tally center

NASA presidential candidate Raila Odinga cast his vote at Olympic Primary School in Kibra constituency. Photos: Facebook, Raila Odinga.

READ ALSO: Mother beats her first born son in a hotly contested MP race

This is after the opposition brigade claimed the IEBC systems had been hacked to alter how results wee being transmitted.

Due to this, Raila Odinga rejected the results and is planning on heading to court to challenge the results.

The news was met with anger by his supporters as many flooded social media to vent their anger at yet another election stolen from Raila after he lost his second and third stabs at the presidency, also claiming rigging had taken place.

READ ALSO: Armed men attack tallying centre, one dead as tension rises following disputed election results

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In the 2017 election, European Union Observers as well as the East Africa Community Observers called on election losers to accept the results.

According to Thabo Mbeki, the EAC Observer Mission head, NASA has lodged official complaints with them, also citing that police had been transferred to rig the election.

In a press conference held on Thursday, August 10, both observation groups said the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission had carried out a free and fair election, and they urged those contesting results to seek legal redress.

READ ALSO: Uhuru's commanding lead is enough proof the Kenyan presidential race is over even as Raila disputes results

READ ALSO: Update: Two shot dead in Mathare as youth protest elections rigging claims

The Commonwealth Observer team, led by John Mahama, commended the IEEBC because voters with special needs were offered assistance. He, however, said the high number of rejected votes shows there was insufficient voter education.

Mahama also advised election losers that It is better a gracious loser than a sore loser, and while it is difficult to lose, one should be gracious. In an election, both the winner and loser can both be winners, because interest is voters.

ELOG (Election Observation Group) and IGAD (Intergovernmental Authority on Development) both agreed that the election had been free and fair, and had been carried out according to the laws of Kenya.

Former United States secretary of state, John Kerry, also expressed the same sentiments as they called on leaders to accept the results.

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The Airports Authority has successfully carried out a simulation of a crash landing at Piarco.
The Spanish authorities have detained the Lady Boss, a dry cargo ship with 11 Ukrainians and two Bulgarians on board, who are suspected of drug trafficking, the Dumskaya online news site has reported.

"On August 8, in the Mediterranean Sea, east of the Strait of Gibraltar, the Spanish authorities detained the Lady Boss, a dry cargo ship with a crew of 13 people, two of whom were Bulgarians and the rest were Ukrainians. As it turned out, a Spanish patrol aircraft spotted the ship in an area where drugs are often overloaded to the watercraft of smugglers," the report says.

According to the report, an inspection team of the special purpose detachment penetrated the Lady Boss and found 600 bags of hashish with a total weight of 18 tons. The crew and the ship were arrested.

"The vessel has been shipped to the Spanish port of Almeria. The sailors include residents of Odesa and Odesa region," the report said.

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Russian-backed groups reduced the number of attacks over the past 24 hours, compared to previous days, but they increased using of weapons prohibited by the Minsk agreements.

This is reported by the ATO press center.

In particular, terrorists used different types of weapons from the village of Kalinovo to launch attacks on Ukrainian positions in Luhansk direction six times.

In Mariupol direction, terrorists used 82mm mortars to shell ATO troops near Starohnativka (52km south of Donetsk) and Talakivka (20km north-west of Mariupol) and used 120mm mortars to shell Ukrainian positions near Vodiane (16km north-west of Donetsk), Pavlopol (30 km northeast of Mariupol) and Hnutove (19km north-west of Mariupol).

At 21:00, militants launched attacks from Grad-P Partizan portable rocket launchers on Ukrainian troops near Shyrokyne (20km east of Mariupol) and Vodiane (16km north-west of Donetsk).

In Donetsk direction, Russian-backed militants used mortars, grenade launchers, heavy machine guns and small arms to fire at Ukrainian positions outside Avdiivka (18km north of Donetsk) and Butovka coal mine (11.4km north-west of Donetsk).

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If the United States provides Ukraine with the necessary defensive weapons, it will be able to reduce the odds of a dangerous confrontation with Russia, according to former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst.

"Providing defensive weapons to Ukraine will honor that commitment and raise the cost of the war for Moscow. Over time, that may help persuade the Kremlin to withdraw from the Donbas. Even if it does not, it will force Moscow to waste additional resources in Ukraine and make them think twice about challenging us in the Baltics, where our NATO commitments would compel us to respond more forcefully. Providing defensive weapons to Ukraine actually decreases the odds of a dangerous U.S.-Russian confrontation," he said in an article for the Atlantic Council.

In his opinion, giving Ukraine defensive weapons will also have other positive consequences for the United States, including the protection of international institutions.

"The United States has a vital interest in keeping the peace in Europe, and a vital interest in the strength and viability of NATO and the European Union. The Kremlin seeks to weaken both institutions and the ties binding the United States to Europe. The most cost efficient way to counter the Kremlin's revisionist policies is to increase the cost of its aggression in Ukraine. Thanks to Congress, we are raising the economic costs on Moscow through sanctions. But that is not sufficient," the ex-ambassador said.

According to him, the presence of modern anti-tank weapons in Ukraine will also help change public opinion in Russia, increasing the number of opponents to armed actions.

"Providing defensive arms to Ukraine - specifically Javelin missiles that destroy tanks - would make it harder for the Kremlin to conduct additional offensives because it would mean more Russian casualties," Herbst said.

The U.S. media reported last week that the Pentagon had issued an official recommendation to the White House regarding the need to transfer modern anti-tank weapons to Ukraine to help it fight Russian aggression.

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Ukrainian Deputy Minister for Temporarily Occupied Territories and Internally Displaced Persons Yuriy Hrymchak has said he is confident that Russia will leave Donbas in 2018.

"According to calculations, Russia will leave Donbas in 2018... The only thing is that, in our opinion, this process was slightly delayed by the blockade [of Donbas]," he told Ukraine's Channel 5.

Hrymchak said that Ukraine's budget had not received a lot of money due to the blockade: "We had GDP growth of 2.3% in the first quarter, and the forecast was 4%. We lost 1.5% due to the blockade."

He also added: "There are suspicions that the last battle for Ukraine will probably happen in November, when [Russia] will try to use all that it has to destabilize the situation in Ukraine so as not to leave [Donbas]."

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The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine has informed that its patrols were prevented from entering the town of Novoazovsk in Donetsk region, which is now under the control of the so-called Donetsk Peoples Republic.

This is reported by the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine on Twitter.

"OSCE SMM again prevented from entering so-called DPR-ctrl Novoazovsk, near unsecured border w/ RF. Another violation of Minsk," the report reads.

Earlier, "DPR" militants held a patrol of OSCE observers in Donbas for 20 minutes and prevented them from working in the village of Pikuzy, where the mission's drone was fired on earlier on Thursday.

ish
Newly appointed Australian Ambassador to Ukraine Melissa O'Rourke has held several meetings with Ukrainians in Australia before beginning to perform her duties as head of the Australian diplomatic mission in Kyiv, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"The practice of meetings of newly appointed ambassadors with the ambassadors of their countries of accreditation is not new, but is not mandatory. So Melissa O'Rourke's request to meet with Ukraine's ambassador to Australia and representatives of the Ukrainian community in Australia is evidence of her intention to begin her diplomatic mission as efficiently as possible," said Ukrainian Ambassador Mykola Kulinich, who was the first to brief his Australian counterpart on the situation in the country.

According to Kulinich, the Australian colleague is an experienced diplomat, value-oriented person and quite familiar with the Ukrainian-Australian bilateral agenda.

As part of preparations for the new appointment, O'Rourke also met with President of the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organizations (AFUO) Stefan Romaniw to get background information on the Ukrainian community in Australia, its activities and relations with Ukraine.

During the meeting, the sides agreed to cooperate in the implementation of bilateral projects launched with AFUO's support in the field of healthcare reform in Ukraine, the implementation of the Patriot Protection program, support for small and medium Australian and Ukrainian business projects on bilateral markets, financing of cultural programs, the implementation of Go Global projects etc.

The Australian ambassador expressed her readiness to cooperate with AFUO to strengthen ties between the two countries.

O'Rourke is expected to assume her new duties as ambassador to Ukraine in September 2017.

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The Cabinet of Ministers has dismissed Oksana Syvak as Ukraine's deputy health minister for European integration.

A respective resolution has been posted on the government portal.

"To dismiss Oksana Vasylivna Syvak as Ukraine's deputy health minister for European integration on August 9, 2017 at her own request," the document says.

Syvak wrote on her Facebook page on August 9 that she had decided to leave office. She was responsible for the international area of the work of the Health Ministry and the issue of European integration, as well as the development of a public health system, in particular, the fight against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, hepatitis, blood safety, and biosafety.

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From now on, the citizens of Ukraine are able to arrange a visa to Qatar for a period of 30 days after arrival in the country.

This is reported by the Department of Consular Service of the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine on Facebook.

"Qatars Ministry of Interior (MoI) and Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) announced a decision to introduce a simplified procedure from August 9, 2017 for issuing visa documents for entry into Qatar for citizens of 80 countries of the world, including Ukrainian citizens," the report reads.

The department notes that it will additionally inform on the requirements for documents and the consular fee for issuing a visa.

As reported, Qatar, isolated by its neighbors in a diplomatic crisis, on Wednesday introduced a visa-free entry program for 80 nationalities, including Ukraine, to stimulate air transport and tourism.

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The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) sent seven trucks of humanitarian aid with a total weight of about 121 tons to the territory of Donetsk region uncontrolled by Ukraine.

This was reported by the press service of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine

"Seven trucks carrying humanitarian aid from the International Committee of the Red Cross arrived in Donetsk region. The aid included food and hygiene kits and construction materials with a total weight of 121 tons for the residents of Donetsk region," the report said.

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The Ukrainian authorities will continue to do everything to release Ahtem Ciygoz, who was illegally detained in the occupied Crimea, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said.

"The Ukrainian authorities will continue to do everything to free Ahtem Ciygoz and all political prisoners of the Kremlin. We are proud of your courage and strength of spirit, Ahtem. Ukraine is with you!" he wrote on his Facebook page on Thursday.

Poroshenko also cited a statement by Ciygoz, which he made in his last speech before the verdict and which fully reflects the criminal nature of the farce trial organized by Russia against Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars who defended their homeland: "They don't judge those who betrayed, who had goals and motives aimed at changing the territorial integrity of Ukraine, who subsequently abducted and killed people, who illegally assumed the right to govern and judge. They judge those who defended the laws of the country, international norms and rules. The farce trial is organized by the occupying country, which has no right to do so."

The court debate involving Ciygoz and his defense team ended in the occupied Crimea on August 9.

According to lawyer Nikolai Polozov, the verdict in the Ciygoz case will be announced on September 11.

On August 7, a prosecutor demanded that a leader of the Crimean Tatars, Ahtem Ciygoz, be sentenced to eight years in prison.

Ciygoz was arrested in January 2015 for participating in a rally in support of the territorial integrity of Ukraine opposite the building of the Crimean parliament on February 26, 2014. The protesters were resisted by pro-Russian activists, including from the Russian Unity party, which was led by the current "head" of Crimea, Sergey Aksenov. The Russian authorities of the annexed Crimea accused Ciygoz of organizing mass riots during the rally.

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GAZIANTEP, Turkey, 9 August 2017  A crowd of mothers gathered early, parking their strollers in a neat row against the side of large, bright building. Amal Nabil, a 32-year-old Syrian refugee, had travelled for more than an hour to get there, first by bus then on foot. In the entrance hallway, she held her one-year-old daughter in her arms as her three-year-old shed her coat and joined a group of children playing with balloons.

My neighbourhood health centre told me I had to come here to get my baby vaccinated, she said. Today is the first day they are doing the vaccines and I wanted to get here before it got too busy.

The salmon and ivory coloured health centre where Amal brought her daughters opened in January 2017, and still smelled of fresh paint. There were balloons for the children and hygiene kits for the parents. Amal fled Aleppo two and a half years ago. Tall and poised, she recalled her past life as a teacher and law student married to a successful businessman.

Now she struggles to survive in a studio apartment as her husband moves from job to job. Her youngest, Sema, was born in Turkey. Her three-year-old, Rima, has no memories of their Syrian home. Amal cooed and whispered to Sema as a nurse, Mahmoud Alaboaish, also a Syrian refugee, gave the little girl the first of two shots in her upper thigh. Sema responded with high-pitched screams and sobs.

Before Amal left the room, Mahmoud explained the possible side effects of the vaccinations and the timings for the next shots. Amal listened attentively, leaning in on the desk to show her refugee registration and her childrens vaccination records. Sema snuggled close, her cheeks still wet with tears.
Sdeung Phearong can still remember the mixed emotions she had when she decided to leave her familys farm near the town of Kampong Cham after high school and move to Cambodias capital Phnom Penh to seek higher education.

Though she was full of hopes and dreams, she would have to go by herself and overcome many challenges, including the doubts of her family.

My parents didnt want me to come to the city because they were afraid of the obstacles I would face while living alone, Sdeung Phearong said, recalling how she set out with little more than a backpack with some books, clothes and some savings.

Once she managed to find a $20-per-month apartment in Phnom Penh, she faced not only practical and financial challenges but also the conservative norms that bear down on women who live alone in Cambodias conservative, Buddhist society.

My neighbors could hardly believe that I came to the city for studying, yet they assumed I would do something else that society loathes, she said, referring to the fact that some poor Cambodian women end up working as hostesses in bars or enter the sex trade to survive.

While living in a poor area in the capital, the dreams of city life lost their glow. Living alone and surrounded by drunk people, I did not feel secure to stay [alone]. Every night I felt scared, the 24-year-old recalled in an interview with VOA Khmer.

Despite the challenges, Sdeung Phearong pushed on and - with strong encouragement from her brother - eventually completed a Bachelor in International Relations at the Royal University of Law and Economics, becoming the first person in her family to complete a university degree.

The challenges faced by Sdeung Phearong are representative of the experience of thousands of young women who migrate from the impoverished countryside every year to Phnom Penh. The capital is Cambodias main economic center and has a booming garment sector, growing tourism and services industries, and the best higher education opportunities.

HELPING MIGRATING WOMEN

A government report on rural-to-urban migration said such migration surged in the past decade and includes many young women, a third of whom end up working in garment factories. It noted the women often earn less than migrating men but remit more money back to their rural families.

The report, which was developed with the United Nations Population Fund, observed that women are less likely to migrate for educational purposes than men. It advises establishing programs that encourage female educational migration and educational scholarships for women, adding that better education, child care services and higher garment wages for migrating women would spread socio-economic benefits across the country.

The governments 2014-2018 Strategic Plan for Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women observes that changing attitudes are also important, as social norms on gender relations remain a major challenge in expanding education and training opportunities for girls and women.

BOYS HAVE SO MUCH MORE OPPORTUNITIES

After completing her studies, Sdeung Phearong had professional success - she works as an assistant at the British Embassy - and founded a volunteer-based NGO called Joint of Youth Cambodia that helps youths gain access to education.

Education is an important thing that every woman should always remember in her heart and never give up, she said, adding that with a higher education degree Cambodian women can overcome conservative norms limiting their potential.

Another rural girl who obtained a higher education and became a womens activist is Thon Thavry, who authored a book about her experience called A Proper Woman.

Boys have so much more opportunities than girls. Particularly, if parents are not able to afford accommodation for their sons; for example, boys can always request to become monks to live in a pagoda, she said.

When I went to school, people persuaded my mom to send me to work as a garment worker to earn money to help my parents. Such pressures have many disrupted womens access to higher education, she said.

Thon Thavry managed to leave the factory and completed a Bachelor degree in Information Technology, before going on to earn a scholarship to study in Europe.

A SAFE STUDY PLACE

Sonket Sereyleak, Education, and Gender Coordinator at COMFREL, a local election watchdog, said it was vitally important to help young women advance their education by offering them a safe place to live and study in the city.

When people believe that the place they live is safe, fear and anxiety will go down, the level of learning will be strong and the focus on education is better, she said.

Sonket Sereyleak added that attitudes among girls and their parents should also be addressed so they would feel confident about girls going off to study in the city.

Sdeung Phearong said she wants Cambodian young girls and women to gain support, while they should keep their motivation to pursue their dream strong.

A sentence I always remember in my mind and tell myself is: Keep trying and have a strong commitment, she said.


A Cambodian court this week upheld a lengthy prison term against one of the countrys top land rights activists, Tep Vanny, who was sentenced for inciting violence at a protest she led in 2013 to Prime Minister Hun Sens residence in Phnom Penh.

Vanny was convicted in late February of aggravated intentional violence for taking part in the protest in which several security force personnel were injured.

The Appeals Court on Tuesday determined that her trial had followed legal procedures.

The protest she helped lead was held to demand compensation for victims of forced eviction, but it turned violent when guards refused to allow protesters to deliver a petition.

But protesters blame the security forces for starting the violence with the female protesters and claim the authorities produced no evidence at trial to implicate Vanny, who is also facing another case filed in August 2016 for allegedly insulting public officials.

Supporters of Vanny gathered at the court on Tuesday, holding a ceremony to curse the judges and national leaders behind her conviction.

Tearful supporters called on the international community to apply pressure on Hun Sens government to release Vanny.

Tep Vanny didnt do anything wrong... why did the court collude with corrupt people to treat us badly? asked Song Sreyleap, a fellow activist.

Touch Tharith, a court spokesman, said the charges against Vanny could not be dismissed as an investigation into the incident was ongoing and her release would affect the investigation procedures of the court.

Chin Malin, a justice spokesman, said Justice Minister Ang Vong Vathana was due to meet Rhona Smith, the UNs human rights envoy, on Thursday, but said he doubted whether Smith would advocate for Vannys release. Rhona Smith is a legal specialist, who clearly understands about democratic principles and Cambodias constitutional law, he said.
North Korea is dismissing U.S. President Donald Trumps stark warnings to launch military action against the socialist regime if it continues to threaten the United States.

Trump stunned critics and supporters at home and abroad Tuesday when he vowed to attack the North with a fire and fury like the world has never seen, matching a bellicose rhetoric usually made exclusively by Pyongyang.

But General Kim Rak Gyom, the commander of the Norths strategic rocket forces, told the state-run KCNA news agency Thursday that sound dialogue is not possible with President Trump, calling him a man bereft of reason and that only absolute force can work on him.

General Kim also told KCNA that military leaders would finalize a plan by mid-August to fire four midrange missiles known as Hwasong-12 rockets toward the U.S. western Pacific territory of Guam, home to sizable U.S. Air Force and Navy facilities. After passing over Japan, they would be expected to land in waters 30 to 40 kilometers off the shores of Guam.

State media KCNA said the plan, unusual in its level of detail, will then go to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and wait for his order, according to General Kim.

Guam is home to about 163,000 people; 7,000 of them are U.S. military personnel.

General Kims edict was the latest retort in a swift and potentially deadly exchange between Pyongyang and Washington following last weeks unanimous vote by the U.N. Security Council to impose new, more stringent sanctions on North Korea. The new penalties are intended to reduce Pyongyangs income from exported goods and labor by at least $1 billion  one-third of its current annual earnings  and thus to force an end to its nuclear weapons development.

U.S. defense chief Jim Mattis said Wednesday that North Korea risks annihilation if it starts a war, and told Pyongyang it must end its pursuit of nuclear weaponry.

Pyongyang called 'overmatched'

Mattis said North Korea "should cease any consideration of actions that would lead to the end of its regime and the destruction of its people." The reclusive communist nation, he added, "must choose to stop isolating itself and stand down its pursuit of nuclear weapons."

Mattis, whose remarks came in a statement, warned that the U.S. and its allies "now possess the most precise, rehearsed and robust defensive and offensive capabilities on Earth." He said any North Korean military operation "will continue to be grossly overmatched by ours and would lose any arms race or conflict it initiates."

Watch: Reaction to threat from North Korea

Mattis, a retired Marine Corps general, spoke out after President Donald Trump, in the midst of an exchange of bellicose threats with North Korea, declared that the United States nuclear arsenal "is now far stronger and more powerful than ever before."

In an early-morning Twitter comment, Trump said his first order as president after taking office in January "was to renovate and modernize our nuclear arsenal." He added that he hoped "we will never have to use this power, but there will never be a time that we are not the most powerful nation in the world!"

It was not immediately clear what overhaul of the country's nuclear weaponry Trump was referencing. The president has called for a big increase in military spending, including research into and development of new weapons, but Congress has yet to enact a fiscal 2018 spending plan.

WATCH: Trump: Pyongyang 'Best Not Make Any More Threats'

Trump's latest assessment of the country's potent military strength came less than a day after he issued a stark warning to North Korea. If Pyongyang continues its threats against the United States, the president declared, "they will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen."

Intended tone

Some critics have questioned the vehemence of Trump's "fire and fury" remarks. White House aides said Wednesday the words were improvised by the president before he spoke to reporters late Tuesday at his vacation home in New Jersey, but they emphasized that the president's comment certainly reflected the tone he meant to convey to North Korea.

Before Trump spoke out, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and members of the National Security Council were clear that he "was going to respond to North Korea's threats ... with a strong message in no uncertain terms."

However, the top U.S. diplomat, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, sought to downplay the threats Pyongyang and Trump had leveled at each other following last week's unanimous vote by the U.N. Security Council to impose new, more stringent sanctions on North Korea. The new penalties are intended to reduce Pyongyang's income from exported goods and labor by at least $1 billion  one-third of its current annual earnings  and thus to force an end to its nuclear weapons development.

On a refueling layover in Guam as he returned to Washington from a trip through Southeast Asia, Tillerson said, "I think Americans should sleep well at night and have no concerns about this particular rhetoric of the last few days." Tillerson added that Trump, as commander in chief, "felt it necessary to issue a very strong statement directly to North Korea."

Defense capability

The secretary of state continued: "I think what the president was just reaffirming is that the United States has capability to fully defend itself in any attack and defend our allies. And we will do so. And so, the American people should sleep well at night."

WATCH: Tillerson: Trump's Message to North Korea is Language Kim Jong Un Would Understand

Tillerson said Trump's rhetoric was intended for North Korean leader Kim, in words he "would understand, because he does not seem to understand diplomatic language."

North Korea had said earlier Wednesday that its armed forces were "carefully examining" a plan to launch missile strikes against Guam. American military bases on the U.S. Pacific island territory are thought to hold the largest U.S. arsenal of nuclear weapons outside the continental United States.

Tillerson said he never considered rerouting his jet's refueling stop.

"I do not believe that there is any imminent threat, in my own view," Tillerson said.

The governor of Guam, Eddie Calvo, said authorities there were "prepared for any eventuality," but they do not feel they are under threat. "Guam is American soil ... not just a military installation," Calvo added, and noted that he had been assured by the White House that any attack on the island would be considered an attack on the United States.

Tillerson said he hoped the U.N. sanctions and the world community, including China and Russia, "can begin to persuade [North Korea] that they need to reconsider the current pathway they're on and think about engaging in a dialogue about a different future."

VOA's Steve Herman, Margaret Besheer and Carla Babb contributed to this report.
Vocal radio host and founder of the Beehive Social Democratic Party Mam Sonando has quit the party he founded, citing its failure to secure votes in the June commune elections.

In a statement released last week, Sonando said he regretted that the BSDP did not do better in the local elections.

I feel regret that the Beehive Social Democratic Party didnt obtain a result as expected after the fourth mandate of the commune elections, he wrote.

He told VOA Khmer on Friday that his resignation was unconnected to the passage of amendments to the political parties law that prohibits parties from associating with convicts. In 2012, Sonando was sentenced to 20 years in prison for allegedly masterminding a secessionist plot in Kratie province, but was released in 2013 after pressure from the international community.

He said that he decided to quit the party after it failed to win a single commune seat at the June elections. Continuing to contest the general election in 2018, he said, would be a waste of time.

He blamed a lack of funding for the partys failure but added that he would continue to be active in politics by giving lectures and making radio appearances.

We were born to be politicians, so we must do politics, but what I will do is not ask people to vote for me, I will continue to educate people to have self-awareness about politics, rather than just accept what political parties say, he said.

Sonando, formerly a prominent CNRP supporter, formed the BSDP after he publicly attacked CNRP leaders Kem Sokha and Sam Rainsy, claiming that they were using the party to promote themselves to the detriment of the national interest.
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The WHO recommends exclusive breastfeeding for a baby's first six months and continued breastfeeding up to two years of age. Uganda's parliament has been promoting breastfeeding with a free, day care center for female legislators and staffers. Halima Athumani reports for VOA.
China and Malaysia broke ground on Wednesday on a $13 billion rail project linking peninsular Malaysia's east and west, the largest such project in the country and a major part of Beijing's Belt and Road infrastructure push.

The planned 688-km (430-mile) East Coast Rail Link will connect the South China Sea, large parts of which are claimed by China, at the Thai border in the east with the strategic shipping routes of the Straits of Malacca in the west.

It is among the most prominent projects in China's controversial Belt and Road Initiative, which aims to build a modern-day "Silk Road" connecting the world's second-largest economy by land corridors to Southeast Asia, Pakistan and Central Asia and maritime routes opening up trade with the Middle East and Europe.

"The ECRL is indeed yet another 'game changer' and a 'mindset changer' for Malaysia as it will significantly cut travel time to and from the east coast of the peninsula," Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said at the ceremony halfway along the route in Kuantan, which faces the South China Sea.

For China, the project is another expansion of its soft power in Malaysia, which also lays claim to some disputed South China Sea islands, and is critical for China's geopolitical and strategic interests.

"The China government has attached great importance to the China-Malaysia relations and has always considered Malaysia a dear neighbor and trustworthy partner who is committed to seeking mutually beneficial cooperation and common development in the country," Chinese State Councillor Wang Yong said at the ceremony, heading up a 100-strong delegation in Kuantan.

Najib said the project would be financed with an 85 percent loan from China Exim Bank and the balance through a "sukuk" Islamic bond program managed by local investment banks.

The project is being built by China Communications Construction Co. Ltd.

Beijing has repeatedly come to the rescue of Najib over the last year, as he sought foreign investment that would help him pay off a massive debt piled up by scandal-plagued state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

Najib has announced a spree of infrastructure projects in the last few months, many funded by China, as he builds up momentum for a general election that he has to call by mid-2018.

A Nomura research report last month said foreign direct investment inflows from China into Malaysia surged by 119 percent in 2016 and continued to grow at 64 percent year on year in the first quarter of 2017.

The growing closeness to China has raised eyebrows among Najib's opponents who have argued that the country has become too reliant on Chinese funds.

But Najib dismissed the concerns in a speech on Tuesday, saying turning away from Chinese FDI made "no economic sense."

There have been protests in Sri Lanka and Thailand over the Belt and Road initiative. A planned rail link through Thailand hit some resistance with what critics said were Beijing's excessive demands and unfavorable financing.

But Thailand's cabinet last month 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.
A historical film about the last Russian czars affair with a ballerina has been cleared for release, the Culture Ministry said Thursday, despite passionate calls for its ban.

Matilda, which describes Nicholas IIs relationship with Matilda Kshesinskaya has drawn virulent criticism from some Orthodox believers and hard-line nationalists, who see it as blasphemy against the emperor, glorified as a saint by the Russian Orthodox Church.

Russian lawmaker Natalya Poklonskaya, who previously had served as the chief regional prosecutor in Crimea following its 2014 annexation by Moscow, spearheaded the campaign for banning the film. She even asked the Prosecutor Generals office to carry out an inquiry into Matilda, which is set to be released on the centennial of the 1917 Bolshevik revolution.

The lavish production, filmed in historic imperial palaces and featuring sumptuous costumes, loosely follows the story of Nicholas IIs infatuation with Kshesinskaya that began when he was heir-apparent and ended at his marriage in 1894.

The czar and his family were executed by a Bolshevik firing squad in July 1918. The Russian Orthodox Church made them saints in 2000.

Matilda opponents have gathered signatures against the film, and earlier this month several hundred people gathered to pray outside a Moscow church for the movie to be banned.

The films critics were recently joined by Ramzan Kadyrov, the Kremlin-backed regional leader of Chechnya, and authorities in the neighboring province of Dagestan, who argued that Matilda should be barred from theaters in the mostly Muslim regions in Russias North Caucasus.

Director Alexei Uchitel has rejected the accusations and prominent Russian filmmakers have come to his defense. The films critics and its defenders both have appealed to the Kremlin, but it has refrained from publicly entering the fray.

On Thursday, the Russian Culture Ministry finally announced that the film has received official clearance.

Vyasheslav Telnov, the head of the ministrys film department, said it checked Matilda and found it in full compliance with legal norms.

Asked to comment on statements from Chechnya and Dagestan, Telnov said that the film has been cleared for release nationwide, but the law allows regional authorities to make their own decisions.

There is no censorship in Russia, and the Ministry of Culture stays away from any ideological views of beliefs, he said. A feature film cant be banned for political or ideological motives.

Disputes over the movie reflect the rising influence of the Russian Orthodox Church and the increasing assertiveness of radical religious activists.

Russias growing conservative streak has worried many in the countrys artistic community. A Moscow art gallery recently shut down an exhibition of nude photos by an American photographer after a raid by vigilantes, and a theater in the Siberian city of Omsk canceled a performance of the musical Jesus Christ Superstar following a petition by devout Orthodox believers.
Croatia revoked on Thursday its decision to raise import fees on some farm products by 220 percent, avoiding a trade war with its Balkan neighbors who had threatened to hit back with counter-measures.

European Union-member Croatia last month raised its fees for phytosanitary controls  agricultural checks for pests and viruses on fruits and vegetables  at its borders to 2,000 kuna ($317.52) from 90 kuna, citing compliance with EU standards and protection of its consumers.

EU candidates Serbia, Macedonia and Montenegro, as well as fellow EU aspirant Bosnia, have called on Croatia to withdraw its decision, saying otherwise each of them would take counter-measures it considered adequate to protect its economic interests.

Serbia, which is the only country in the region that operates a trade surplus with its neighbor, has already stepped up phytosanitary controls on all organic produce from Croatia and said it would increase them further.

Croatia's agriculture ministry said in a statement on Thursday that it cut the import fee for a shipment of one brand of fruits and vegetables to 90 kuna, and that the decision will become effective on Friday.

The ministry also agreed with neighboring countries that agricultural inspections on their borders will go back to normal routine as of Friday, while all other pending issues will be analyzed and discussed, it said in the statement.

Most countries in the region import more than they export to Croatia, except for Serbia. Serbia's exports to Croatia in 2016 reached 116 million euros ($136.04 million) versus imports worth 79 million euros.

Neighboring countries welcomed Croatia's move.

"Bringing the prices back at the previous level will contribute to the relaxation of relations among the countries of the region," said Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic.

($1 = 0.8527 euros)

($1 = 6.2989 kuna)
Brexit talks are laced with distrust and suspicion as British and European Union negotiators ready to identify even apparently trivial oversights as ways to gain the upper hand.

According to a British government worker writing anonymously for a London political magazine, the failure of European negotiators to ensure water was available at a recent Brussels meeting was later viewed by the British team as evidence of unsporting tactics.

'Blood on the floor'

For weeks now, EU and British officials have been warning that already complex talks on Britain's exit from the European Union are being hampered by deep-rooted mistrust.

British lawmakers accuse their erstwhile European partners of wanting to extract revenge for last years referendum; their European counterparts and officials say the British must agree to a divorce bill of upwards of $50 billion before Brussels will negotiate on a possible trade deal for post-Brexit Britain.

In an interview this week with a British newspaper, former European Commission president Roman Prodi warned that talks between Britains Brexit minister, David Davis and Michel Barnier, the EU chief negotiator, had started badly with blood on the floor.

He urged both sides to make compromises  especially over Britains future trade arrangements with Europe  saying there was an imprecise grasp of the real economic consequences of Brexit. The weight of damage is probably heavier on the UK side, but there is damage on both sides, said Prodi.

And a former top British diplomat, Simon Fraser, says the formal talks, which began only two months ago, hadn't started well. Speaking on BBC Radio, Fraser, who campaigned in the run-up to last years Brexit referendum for the country to retain EU membership, said, I don't think they have begun particularly promisingly, frankly, on the British side.

We haven't put forward a lot because, as we know, there are differences within the [British] Cabinet about the sort of Brexit that we are heading for and until those differences are further resolved, I think it's very difficult for us to have a clear position.

Frasers comments were rejected by a spokesman for British Prime Minister Theresa May, who said talks were moving quickly. He said Downing Street believed the Brexit bill Brussels says Britain will owe in outstanding financial obligations, as well as the future status of Britons living in Europe and Europeans living in Britain, would be settled by October, opening the way for talks to begin about a future trade deal.

That, however, is not the view of Brussels negotiators. And Irelands prime minister, Leo Varadkar, has warned even if the Brexit bill is settled, he will veto moving on to trade talks if he is unsatisfied with the cross-border arrangements between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Dublin and politicians in Northern Ireland, which voted against Brexit, oppose the return of a hard border between the north and south of the island, Britains only land frontier with the EU.

EU officials say the British government is not being clear about what it wants in terms of future relations with Europe. The United Kingdom still has to come to terms with its negotiating mandate, warned the EU commissioner for agriculture, Phil Hogan.

Britains Cabinet is sharply divided over whether the country should remain a member of the EUs single market and customs union after Brexit. The increasingly powerful chancellor of the exchequer, (finance minister) Phil Hammond, backed by some of the countrys top business people, is trying to maneuver the ruling Conservatives away from a so-called hard Brexit.

Economic danger to Britain

On Wednesday, the deputy governor of the Bank of England, Sam Woods, issued a warning about the economic danger to Britain of leaving the EU without any trade deal. Even a transitional one, would cause significant issues for Britains private banks and could threaten the countrys financial stability, he said.

Hardline Brexiters in the Cabinet want a sharp break with the EU, arguing single market membership would prevent them from negotiating bilateral trade deals with non-EU states, stop Britain from ending free movement of Europeans into the country and force London to abide by the rulings of EU courts.



British voters appear to be increasingly worried about Brexit negotiations. In an opinion poll this week, 60 percent said they disapproved of the government's handling of Brexit, up 17 percent from April.

Jitters about the possible economic fallout from Brexit appear to also be impacting Britains property market, which bounced back quickly from the 2008 financial crash.

On Thursday, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said the growth of home prices and market activity had stalled in London and the southeast and that there was a lack of momentum, with low levels of buyer inquiries.
U.S. military experts are lining up on either side of a debate on whether to supply lethal defensive weapons to Ukraine, a move that would mark a turning point in U.S. policy on Kyiv's 3-year-old conflict with Russian-backed separatists.



Supporters of the move, which is under active consideration by President Donald Trump's administration, argue that it is long overdue. The current policy of supplying only non-lethal military gear has neither deterred Russian aggression nor created an opening for cooperation with Moscow to resolve the conflict, they argue.



"I don't think Russia has given us a window for more positive cooperation on Ukraine," said Molly McKew, an independent analyst with consulting firm Fianna Strategies. "Maybe other places. But, I certainly don't see it.So, I think it's time to reconsider what our strategy has been and what that means.



"And ... Ukraine is not asking for foreign troops to come and stand beside them," she told VOA's Ukranian Service. "They're asking for the ability to fight the war in the way that they know they need to fight."

Watch: US Considering Lethal Defensive Arms to Ukraine



Other advocates argue that sending a message of strength would be timely after Russia retaliated against U.S. sanctions by expelling U.S. Embassy staff from diplomatic property in Moscow and demanding their numbers be reduced by 755 people by September 1.



But opponents of the move worry that supplying lethal weapons to Ukraine could escalate the conflict and provoke retaliation from the Kremlin, which has already denounced the possibility.



"I think it would make much more sense to re-think some of the aid and capabilities that are being given ... and not plan them for a short-term fight, since major battles in the fronts are now passed," said Michael Kofman, a researcher at CNA Corporation, a private research organization.



He said the U.S. should "think much more about the medium and long term of the Ukrainian military and the kind of Ukrainian military we would like to help them build."



Kurt Volker, the Trump administration's special envoy to Ukraine, rejected the argument that lethal arms sales would provoke Russia during a July 25 interview with Current Time, a Russian-language network jointly operated by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and VOA.



"I hear these arguments that it's somehow provocative to Russia or that it's going to embolden Ukraine to attack," he said. "These are just flat out wrong. First off, Russia is already in Ukraine, they are already heavily armed. There are more Russian tanks in there than in Western Europe combined. It is a large, large military presence. And, there's an even larger military presence surrounding Ukraine from Russian territory."



Analysts on both sides agree that Russia's overwhelming military advantage over Ukraine means the supply of U.S. weapons would provide more of a political and morale boost for Kyiv than a defense one.



Nevertheless, Moscow is likely to raise the issue with Volker, a former U.S. ambassador to NATO, when it gets the chance. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said the special envoy is expected to visit Russia for talks on Ukraine in the near future, although U.S. officials have yet to confirm the trip.



"It will be interesting because Mr. Volker has been in a number of capitals already including Kyiv, Paris, Berlin, London," Lavrov said. "We would be interested to see what impression the U.S. special envoy has on the current state of affairs."



During a trip to Ukraine last month, Volker visited front-line areas in the east where Ukrainian troops have been in a stand-off against Russia-backed separatists for the past three years.

He blamed Russian aggression for the violence, which has killed more than 10,000 people since 2014, when Russian forces seized Ukrainian military bases in Crimea, annexed the Black Sea peninsula, and began covert support for separatists in eastern Ukraine.
A Russian activist freed from prison this week after serving a four-and-a-half-year term said he plans to keep pressuring President Vladimir Putin, and he is encouraging activists to boycott next years elections.

Speaking Thursday at a press conference, Leftist Russian opposition figure Sergei Udaltsov said Russian elections are dishonest and called for a consolidated boycott of the elections.

"The authorities change electoral law like a swindler. They cut off candidates they don't like from the polls, he told reporters.

The 40-year-old Udaltsov led a banned leftist organization in street protests in 2011 and 2012 to oppose Putins election to a third presidential term. He was convicted in 2014 of fomenting mass riots and served his prison term in full.

Udaltsov said Thursday he would avoid participating in any street-level protests, but he would continue to oppose Putins government and press forward in support of various social issues.

It would be short-sighted of me in my position to come out all guns blazing and call for people to protest, he said. You would laugh at me and think I lost my mind  that I spent too much time in jail and now I call for others to protest again.

While Udaltsov said he would not engage in street protests, he did say he still would be active in the movement and by fall you will hear about our protests and about our campaign.

Putin is widely expected to run again in the March presidential contest, with his strongest opposition coming from Alexei Navalny, an anti-corruption politician. Navalny has announced his intentions to run, though he may be unable to participate given his arrest record.

Udaltsov said he would not support Navalny in the upcoming election.
German Foreign Affairs Minister Sigmar Gabriel met Thursday with South Sudan President Salva Kiir and other government officials during a one-day visit to Juba, a day after meeting dozens of South Sudanese refugees in neighboring Uganda, which hosts the largest refugee camp on the continent.

Gabriel urged the country's leaders to use peaceful means to resolve South Sudan's ongoing conflict, saying both sides should be included in efforts to restore peace and stability across the nation.

He said he was happy that Kiir had pardoned rebel prisoners, adding it was "an important sign for the political reconciliation process of the country."

Germany has contributed $90 million in humanitarian aid to South Sudan to protect civilians and help build a durable peace in the war-ravaged country.

The humanitarian situation in the country is dire, with 4 million people displaced by the conflict, severe levels of food insecurity, extreme poverty and disease, including an ongoing cholera outbreak with 18,000 cases resulting in 328 deaths in the past year.

Gabriel said there was no alternative to a peaceful solution for ending the violence in South Sudan, saying the warring parties could not win the conflict militarily.

South Sudan Minister for Foreign Affairs Deng Alor said the president and his ministers discussed a number of issues with Gabriel, including "the issue of war and peace," as well as humanitarian efforts and revitalization of the peace process.

Homegrown solutions

Gabriel stressed the importance of finding homegrown solutions to South Sudan's conflict to complement regional efforts aimed at achieving peace in the country.

"It is a good thing that the international community and also the neighboring countries like Uganda support the peace process. However, the peace process can only be successful when it comes from South Sudan itself," Gabriel said.

The German foreign minister's Juba visit came amid reports of recent fighting between government and opposition forces in Pagak, a rebel stronghold. Over the past week, both sides have claimed to be in control of Pagak. Those reports have not been independently verified on the ground, as the fighting continued off and on this week.

Earlier this week, when Gabriel traveled to the Ugandan district of Arua, he met South Sudanese refugees who told him about the horrors of war they witnessed before fleeing to Uganda.

"Yesterday, in Uganda, we saw how many people fled from South Sudan to Uganda, because they don't see any other opportunity to secure their survival and that of their children," Gabriel said.

Nearly 1 million refugees from South Sudan have crossed into Uganda since the conflict began in late 2013.
Guams governor says his Pacific island is concerned but not in a panic in the face of new threats by North Korea to launch ballistic missiles toward the U.S. territory located about 3,400 kilometers from Pyongyang.

Speaking to VOA, Eddie Calvo says that at the same time he feels the island is adequately protected and that people should go on with their daily lives.

Our civil administration together with our local Joint Region Marianas in the military command, and also in discussions with Washington, with the White House and NSA [National Security Agency], we feel very confident in the ability [of the U.S. government] to protect the island of Guam. So with that, its important to get reassured for the people of Guam that they  conduct business everyday as if it is any other normal day, Calvo says.

North Korea, following international condemnation of its testing of two intercontinental ballistic missiles in July and harsher sanctions against Pyongyang imposed less than a week ago by the U.N. Security Council, has taken a more saber-rattling tone towards the U.S., saying that it plans to launch missiles toward Guam by mid-August.

Governor Calvo, who says that Guam has been threatened by Pyongyang several times since 2013 and that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un today is not moving in the right direction, hopes that conflict can still be avoided as the costs would be very high.

If a war were to occur in this region, not only would tens of thousands American soldiers, troops, airmen and sailors and the dependents be in harms way but hundreds of thousands of American citizens in sovereign U.S. soil in the Western Pacific, Calvo says.

Asked what type of response to the crisis he expects from President Donald Trump, Calvo says he hopes it would be a forceful one.

If Guam or Honolulu or Los Angeles is threatened with an attack, it is my hope that a U.S. president will be very clear in his message to potential adversaries that there will be overwhelming force.

But Calvo says that collective security also needs to be taken into account.

Aside from the United States, I think, Japan and South Korea will also, if [North Korea] continues this way, will move into the direction we believe that is important for their safety and security as well.

He says that Chinas vested interests should also be taken into consideration.

But Calvo adds that he and the people of Guam are still holding out for a peaceful solution.

We are hopeful that the decisions moving forward, that cool heads will prevail and we will not see any increase in terms of tension and ultimately hostilities.
North Korea's threat against Guam spotlights a western Pacific U.S. territory that looms large as a military asset, despite being smaller than Singapore.

A former Spanish colony, Guam has been in American hands since the end of the nineteenth century. It is one of 17 non-self-governing territories of the United States.

Guam serves as a major military base for the United States, with U.S. Air Force and Navy installations occupying some 29 percent of the island's total land area. It is also a major hub for submarine communications cables between the western United States, Hawaii, Australia, and Asia.

Guam, with an area of only 544 square kilometers, hosts a military presence of nearly 7,000 military personnel and it is expected to house thousands more in the near future, as the United States moves military assets and personnel currently housed on the Japanese island of Okinawa.

Guam has been a major base for U.S. military aircraft since World War II. The U.S. built an air base on Guam in 1944 to stage its bombing missions to Japan, and has maintained an air and sea presence on the island since.

Andersen Air Force Base on Guam hosts a Navy helicopter squadron and Air Force bombers; it has two three-kilometer runways and large storage facilities for fuel and munitions.

Naval Base Guam is home port for four nuclear-powered fast-attack submarines and two submarine tenders.

Guam's proximity to the Korean peninsula is also what makes it an attractive target for North Korea. Pyongyang is only 3,380 kilometers northwest of Guam, putting it within a feasible striking distance. Tokyo is 2,400 kilometers to the north, and Taipei is 2,700 kilometers to the west.

Guam was an important asset in the Pacific during the Vietnam War, as a base for B-52 bombers headed for missions in southeast Asia. It was also used as a transit point for evacuating Vietnamese refugees.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described the din of criminal investigations around him as "background noise" and dismissed speculation he will be forced to resign by saying simply on Facebook: "Won't happen." He might just be right.

At the moment time appears to be on Netanyahu's side and - unlike his predecessor Ehud Olmert, who quit and later went to jail for corruption - he leads a relatively stable coalition government and presides over a buoyant economy.

While a former top aide has agreed to testify about two corruption cases in which Netanyahu has been named as a suspect, the prime minister is not required by law to step down even if indicted. Any reckoning may be months away, possibly even allowing him to hold on till elections due in 2019.

Two clocks are ticking for Netanyahu - those of the judiciary and of politics - but they tend to do so slowly, according to Yohanan Plesner, president of the non-partisan Israel Democracy Institute think tank.

This works in favor of Netanyahu's standing. "Over the next year there is certainly no reason to see a change," he told Reuters. However, like other observers, Plesner added the proviso that his assessment was based on the few details of the police inquiries that are publicly known.

No clear rivals

Netanyahu's conservative Likud party has rallied behind him in the absence of clear rivals for the leadership, countering calls for his departure from the center-left opposition. Likud's religious-nationalist coalition partners, seeing no threat to their agenda, are likewise sticking with him for now.

So far the most potentially combustible development has been a decision last week by Netanyahu's former chief of staff, Ari Harow, to provide evidence in inquiries into the two cases.

The so-called Case 1000 involves gifts that the prime minister and his family received from businessmen, while Case 2000 deals with alleged efforts by him to secure better coverage from an Israeli newspaper publisher.

Netanyahu - who has been prime minister for 11 years, spread over four terms - has denied any wrongdoing. Without naming him explicitly, police investigators have said they saw in the two cases grounds for charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust.

Similar felony allegations forced Olmert to announce in 2008 he would resign, leading to early elections the following year which brought Netanyahu back to power.

Israeli commentators seized on the similarities, with one TV opinion poll finding that 51 percent disbelieved Netanyahu's assertion that he was the target of a politicized witch-hunt.

Time will tell

Olmert headed a weakened coalition and was trying to advance a peace deal with the Palestinians in the face of right-wing resistance when he quit. After lengthy legal cases, he finally went to prison last year but was freed on parole last month.

Some caution against hasty comparisons. "I think it is too early to draw conclusions, and that the media festival has been overblown," said Moshe Negbi, legal analyst for national broadcaster Israel Radio. He predicted that any decision to indict Netanyahu could take as much as six months as investigators seek evidence at home and abroad.

Thereafter, as is customary in Israel with defendants in senior positions, Netanyahu would be likely to be granted a similar period in which to ask the attorney-general to reconsider the filing of charges.

"A lot could happen meanwhile," Negbi said. "Witnesses may become unavailable. Memories can change and with it, testimony."

If Netanyahu completes his current term to 2019, he will become Israel's longest-serving prime minister, exceeding the country's founding leader David Ben-Gurion.

In exchange for testifying, Harow was granted a reduced sentence in a separate corruption case that did not touch on Netanyahu. Israel's Channel 2 TV quoted Harow as playing down what he witnessed in connection with Case 1000 and Case 2000.

"At the time, I did not think that these were criminal acts, nor do I presume now to declare them to have been such," he was quoted as saying.

Plesner said pressure on Netanyahu would increase were investigators to bring to light new allegations, perhaps in connection with other cases in which he is not now a suspect.

Geopolitics a factor

Wider geopolitics could also tip the scales. The opposition has been weakened by a stagnant peace process with the Palestinians, whereas Netanyahu has repeatedly cited Israelis' security concerns as a reason to rally behind him.

One critic, Netanyahu's former defense minister Ehud Barak, has accused him of fomenting a surge in Palestinian and Jordanian unrest last month over Israel's handling of a contested Jerusalem holy site. This was to distract attention away from his legal problems, Barak said.

"The reckless abandon of Netanyahu's conduct has been a glimpse into the abyss," Barak said in Facebook post on July 29. "He is willing to set the country and region alight just to extricate himself from the menace of the investigations."

Netanyahu confidants reject such arguments. Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, a far-right partner in the coalition, defended his right to stay on even if indicted. Otherwise, she told Army Radio on Tuesday, prosecutors and police risked becoming "political assassination tools."

But she also said her party would hold a review should charges be filed - a hint at a breakup that could trigger snap elections.

"If we reach that moment, we will sit and decide on the basis of the facts we know," she said. "My assessment is that it will take more time yet, and therefore I say all of the time, let the government do its work."
Israel warned Gaza's Hamas rulers on Thursday not to try to foil its construction of a border wall designed to stop tunnels between the two sides.

It said it had mapped militant emplacements hidden under civilian sites in the Palestinian enclave that may be attacked in any new war.

Hamas accused Israel of belligerence.

The unusually detailed Israeli threat followed a rocket launch on Tuesday which caused no damage in Israel and went unclaimed by Gazan groups. Israel responded with an air strike on a Hamas facility that medics said wounded seven people.

Such flare-ups have been relatively rare since the last Gaza war, in 2014, with Hamas mostly holding fire and reining in smaller militant factions.

But as Gaza's poverty and political drift deepens, both sides worry another conflict could erupt.

In September, Israel went public with a sensor-equipped underground wall being planted on its side of the 60 km- long border, a counter-measure developed after Hamas fighters used tunnels to blindside its troops during the war.

Israeli media published new disclosures by the military on Thursday about the project, costing $1.1 billion and to be completed within two years under an accelerated schedule.

Israel has described it as a territorial counterpart to its Iron Dome short-range rocket interceptor, capable of blunting Hamas's limited means of challenging its superior armed forces.

"I think the other side will have to re-evaluate the situation in view of the barrier's construction," Haaretz newspaper quoted the chief of Israel's southern command, Major-General Eyal Zamir, as saying in the media briefing.

"If Hamas chooses to go to war over the barrier, it will be a worthy reason [for Israel] to go to war over. But the barrier will be built."

The military also published aerial photographs and coordinates of two Gaza buildings that it said Hamas was using as cover for tunnel networks. One of these, it said, is a Hamas member's family home, linked to a mosque by a secret passage.

"These two targets, as far as I'm concerned, are legitimate military targets, and in the event that a new war begins, anybody in them is endangering himself, his family, and the responsibility [for their well-being] will fall on Hamas," Zamir said in a separate briefing to foreign journalists.

A Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum called the Israeli statements "lies and fabrications that aim to damage the image of the Palestinian resistance and justify the mass killing of thousands of Palestinians civilians".

More than 2,100 Palestinians, most of them civilians, were killed in the 2014 war, according to the Gaza health ministry.

Sixty-seven Israeli soldiers and six civilians in Israel were killed.

A new buffer zone within Israel's territory, dozens of meters in width, will afford it extra time to respond by depriving Hamas tunnelers of targets on the frontier.

Israeli media said on Thursday that the military also planned to build an underwater barrier in the Mediterranean to prevent infiltration from Gaza by sea.
A U.S. district judge in Austin has rejected an effort by Texas to have a law that would punish so-called sanctuary cities be declared constitutional ahead of the measure's effective date next month.

The Republican-backed law is the first of its kind since Republican Donald Trump became president in January, promising a crackdown on illegal immigrants and localities that protect them. Texas is the U.S. state with the longest border with Mexico.

U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks, appointed under Republican President George H.W. Bush, dismissed the case without prejudice late Wednesday. The brief ruling did not give a reason.

Senate Bill 4 calls for jailing police chiefs, sheriffs and possibly front-line officers who fail to cooperate with U.S. immigration officials. The measure also allows police to ask about immigration status during a lawful detention.

After the law was approved in May, Texas sued major urban areas, including Austin, El Paso and Houston, as well as civil rights groups, saying they backed policies of noncooperation with federal immigration officials.

Separate lawsuit

At a June hearing, Sparks asked why a court should declare the law constitutional before it took effect on September 1. He also questioned why he should hear the case when most of the parties were part of a separate lawsuit over the same law being heard in a federal court in San Antonio.

The defendants contended they had abided by federal law and the suit should be dismissed because Texas had no evidence showing it had been harmed by a law not yet in effect.

Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said Wednesday that he was disappointed with the ruling on what he called an "undoubtedly constitutional law."

The American Civil Liberties Union, a civil rights group that has argued in court against the law, on Thursday said the Texas suit was a farce aimed at distracting attention from the harm that would come with SB 4.

"This is a significant blow to the state, and its legal posturing has only resulted in wasted taxpayer money," Edgar Saldivar, senior staff attorney of the ACLU of Texas, said in a statement.

In the federal case in San Antonio, a small border town and some of the largest Texas cities told a judge in June that SB 4 could lead to an immigration police state and establish illegal racial profiling. They asked the court to halt it, saying it was unconstitutional.
Voters in Kenya are awaiting the announcement Friday of the winner of Tuesdays presidential election that pitted incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta against opposition leader Raila Odinga.

On Thursday, election officials were waiting to receive about 170 forms from the countrys 290 constituencies and about 1,000 forms from the 40,883 polling stations.



The chairman of Kenyas Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, Wafula Chebukati, said Thursday we are now in the final stretch.



"All presidential results from returning officers will reach the national tallying center by 12 p.m. tomorrow, that is, 11th of August, said Chebukati.

The expectation is that the announcement of the winner will be made soon thereafter.



Provisional tallies released by the electoral commission so far show Kenyatta with a nine-point lead on Odinga.

Opposition cries foul



The opposition is rejecting those results as fraudulent, however, saying the electoral commissions computer networks were hacked. On Thursday, the electoral commission chief confirmed that there was an attempt to hack the system after the vote, but he said that attempt failed.



The opposition says its calculations show Odinga beating Kenyatta by a margin of more than 600,000 votes. The leader of the opposition NASA coalition, Musalia Mudavadi, spoke to reporters Thursday.



We demand that the IEBC [Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission] chairperson announce the presidential election results forthwith and declare the right honorable Raila Amolo Odinga and his excellency Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka as the duly elected president and deputy president of the republic of Kenya, respectively, said Mudavadi.

Appeals for calm

Meanwhile, International election observers Thursday called for restraint as Kenyans await the announcement of the official results from the nationwide polls.



Former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry led the election observation mission for the U.S.-based Carter Center, alongside former Senegalese Prime Minister Aminata Toure.



Kerry urged Kenyans to follow due process in challenging any results, including the allegations of hacking.

There have been pockets of unrest in the country, like in western Kenyas Kisumu, as well as Mathare and Kibera slums in Nairobi, where burned tires have been smoldering in the road since Wednesday.



But 37 year-old Kibera resident George Omondi Otieno says that no matter the outcome, people need to resist violence.



Even if I am celebrating, let me celebrate in a way that will not provoke the other person because if I celebrate in a way that provokes another person, that escalates that feeling of people fighting of which we dont want, said Otieno.



And as the electoral commission finalizes its work, the country continues to wait.
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta appeared late Wednesday to be headed for re-election, while his opponent was charging that massive fraud had occurred in voting the day before.

Kenya's election commission said that with results from 96 percent of polling stations counted, Kenyatta led opposition leader Raila Odinga 54 percent to 44 percent.

Officials have up to a week to verify the results and announce a winner.

But Odinga alleged hackers had carried out a "massive and extensive" attack on the election commission's computer system and that the results announced so far were fraudulent.

'We caught them'

"What the IEBC [Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission] has posted as results on the presidential elections is a complete fraud based on a multiplier that fraudulently gave Uhuru Kenyatta votes that were not cast," Odinga said. "The fraud Jubilee [Kenyatta's party] has perpetuated on Kenyans surpasses any level of voter theft in our country's history. This time, we caught them."

The head of the commission, Ezra Chiloba, responded, telling reporters, "We have not been able to find any attempts of hacking and our position is ... that our systems are intact."

Rafael Tuju, secretary-general of the Jubilee Party, dismissed Odinga's accusations as disingenuous and appealed for calm.

"These results are not coming from out of the blue. They are marked by facts, and you cannot claim that results are fake with respect to presidential and you welcome the areas where your governors and your members of parliament have won convincingly," Tuju said.

Kenyatta and Odinga have a deep rivalry. They ran against each other in the 2007 and 2013 presidential elections. After he lost in 2013, Odinga alleged that votes had been tampered with and challenged the result in court. The 2007 election was followed by violence fueled by ethnic divisions that killed more than 1,000 people.

Protest in Kisumu

Shortly after Odinga spoke Wednesday, several hundred protesters in his western stronghold of Kisumu burned tires and clashed with police, who fired tear gas.

Also, five men with knives stabbed people at a polling station in the town of Hola. Police shot and killed two of the attackers, and the other three escaped.

One report said that one person, a poll worker, had been stabbed to death. It was unclear who carried out the attack and why.

In addition to choosing a president, voters also decided on senators, governors, women's representatives of the national assembly, members of the national assembly, and members of the county assemblies.

Former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is part of the international election observation mission. He said the the long lines he saw at polling stations Tuesday was a sign Kenyan voters were committed.

"It's too early for us to draw any kinds of conclusions, so we're not. But, obviously, given what's happened in the past and given the stakes for the future, this is a very, very important election, and clearly the citizens of Kenya are taking it very, very seriously," Kerry said.

'Nothing bad has occurred'

Hellen Mazitoh, 32, a voter from the Githogoro slum in Nairobi, waited in line for well over seven hours, but said she wasn't complaining.

"Let me say, the election mood is good," she said. "People are voting. Once they vote, they are going home. Nothing bad has occurred. Nobody left. People are responding well."

Voter Emmanuel Musundi Wamukundi, 33, waited for more than four hours at his polling station in Nairobi. He said the lines were a bit disorganized in the beginning, but otherwise, things seemed to be running smoothly.

"I mean, it's patriotism. This is for my country, and I want to be involved in it," said Wamukundi. "I want my voice to be heard, and it's the only thing I can do to change things."

The electoral commission said heavy rain hampered voting in three parts of the country  Turkana North, Baringo and Samburu  and helicopters were required to airlift materials and polling officials.
More than 20 million people are working as modern slaves, and a technology developer is hoping artificial intelligence can help clean up the worlds supply chains and root out worker abuse.

Developer Padmini Ranganathan said mobile phones, media reports and surveillance cameras can all be mined for real-time data, which can in turn be fed into machines to create artificial intelligence (AI) that helps companies see more clearly what is happening down the line.

The time to do this now is better than ever before, with so many countries and companies focusing on modern slavery, she said. At the start of the decade, the driving force for compliance was fear of being penalized. Now companies are looking at social impact and saying they want to do this.

More scrutiny of modern-day slavery

Modern-day slavery has come under increasing scrutiny in recent years, putting regulatory and consumer pressure on companies to ensure their supply chains are free from forced labor, child workers and other forms of slavery.

Almost 21 million people are victims of forced labor, according to the International Labor Organization (ILO), with migrant workers and indigenous people particularly vulnerable.

But Ranganathan said there are new digital ways to stamp out exploitation, given humans have failed to end modern slavery.

The technology can filter over 1 million articles a day using forced labor specific key words and highlight potential areas of risk in a supply chain, she said.

Ranganathan works for information technology services company SAP Ariba, which helps companies better manage their procurement processes.

She said a new program could map weak links in corporate supply chains by culling data from a host of sources, from surveillance cameras to non-profits and other agencies.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning can use these huge volumes of data and extract meaningful information, she said.

Forced labor worth $150 billion

Forced labor in the private economy generates $150 billion in illegal profits per year, according to the ILO.

Ranganathan hopes her new program will curb that market and help create supply chains with a conscience.

For instance, she said it could help detect if child labor was used to pollinate cotton, which in turn was used to produce a branded shirt. Or it could help monitor labor conditions on cocoa plantations, giving companies real-time exposure so they can purge their supply chains of abuse right away.

The convergence of technology will make things more transparent and real-time exposure can be created, she said.

In the AI world, techniques are being piloted where we could arm the lowest level supplier with a mobile app, ensure hotlines in factories, use of surveillance cameras and make this all a part of the contract.

Ranganathan conceded that mapping the last mile of any supply chain was the hardest part, with many outsourcing work to homeworkers and small units, where data was harder to gather.
While the northern and southern U.S. states were engaged the civil war of the 1860s, a smaller war was playing out in the American southwest between the U.S. Army and the Mescalero Apache and Navajo peoples.

Between 1864 and 1866, soldiers forced tens of thousands of men, women and children along the so-called Long Walk, nearly 500 kilometers from their homeland in Arizona to the Bosque Redondo in eastern New Mexico. Today, a memorial marks the site, and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has announced a $150,000 grant to help New Mexico and the Navajo and Mescalero Apache Nations develop a permanent exhibit and educational programs at the memorial.

This grant will provide matched funds for site programming for the next four years, said Patrick Moore, director of New Mexico Historic Sites. In an emailed statement, he listed a variety of planned events, including lectures, tribal youth and elder gatherings, film showings, and a 150th anniversary commemorative run/walk/horseback ride/motorcycle rally, honoring the 1868 treaty between the U.S. and the Navajo Nation.

"The broad array of partners and the vast geography across which the proposed activities are planned provide an opportunity to reach a multitude of audiences, Moore said. For example, the organization of a horseback ride from Bosque Redondo to Window Rock is an activity that could link local Anglo ranchers and Navajo participants--parties with shared horse culture bonds that would never have otherwise interacted.

Hopefully, he said, these programs can help shift perspectives on both sides.

Funding cultural preservation

That grant is one of a dozen NEH announced last week which will fund efforts to preserve Native American culture and history across the country.

Marylands St. Marys College will receive one of the larger grants, $240,000, to support its research into the Rappahannock people, who flourished in Virginia before the arrival of British explorers in the 15th century.

The college was earlier contracted to reconstruct the indigenous cultural landscape of Virginias Rappahannock River valley. Using the U.S. Geological Surveys Geographic Information Systems Data, anthropologists dispelled previously-held notions about the Rappahannock people.

It was commonly accepted that the Rappahannock moved to this area to distance themselves from the more powerful Powhatan people, said Julia King, a professor of anthropology at St. Marys. As we came to the end of the study, it became clear that this was the area where tribal groups who wanted to get away from the Europeans in the 17th century went.

The NEH grant will allow the team to continue its research, develop a detailed cultural history of Rappahannock River groups, identify Rappahannock villages and connect them to contemporary locations, excavate sites and work with the modern Rappahannock tribe to create an oral history.

Saving language

NEH also announced a three-year partnership with First Nations Development Institute to help revitalize Native American languages through language-immersion education programs in a dozen tribal communities. Language loss, a global phenomenon, is particularly acute in North America. Prior to contact with Europeans, hundreds of languages were spoken north of present-day Mexico. Today, only around 150 languages are still spoken, in some cases, only by the elderly, and are in danger of being lost.

Language is highly important to Indian culture and identity, said First Nations president Michael Roberts. When youre talking about indigenous languages, youre talking about languages that have been around for thousands of years, and so in the sense of indigenous knowledge and history and even things as seemingly unrelated as changing climate and the knowledge of how to survive those climatic changes, all of these things are embedded in language.

Proposed shutdown

The National Endowment for the Humanities is an independent federal agency created in 1965 to fund research, educational and humanities programs across the country. The grants announced August 2 are the last it will give out for fiscal year 2017, and, if the White House proposed 2018 budget passes, its last ever.

The Trump Administration has called for eliminating the NEH and other cultural agencies entirely. Its FY 2018 budget, released in May, requests about $42 million to cover administrative expenses and salaries associated with shutting the agency down by October 1, when the new fiscal year beginswhich, in Julia Kings opinion, would be a tragedy.

The NEH contributes enormously to what we might call quality of life issues--who are we, as Americans, where we came from, she said. But she is optimistic the agency will survive. This is not the first time the NEH has been targeted. Sometimes they emerge bruised, but they always emerge intact.

For his part, FNDI's Roberts stressed the importance of continued government funding for Native American cultural projects.

The U.S. spent a lot of money on the destruction of Native culture and languages, he pointed out, so to put a little bit put back into the restoration is a start.
At least 19 militants have been killed in daylong fighting in the western Somali region of Bakool.

The clashes Wednesday took place between al-Shabab militants and fighters loyal to former al-Shabab leader Mukhtar Robow.

Officials said an al-Shabab onslaught early in the morning forced Robow's loyalists to retreat from Abal village. But they later returned to beat back their attackers in a midday counter offensive.

'A lot of people are dead'

Mohamed Hassan Fiqi, the acting president of Southwestern region, said, They have repulsed al-Shabab quite well; in the morning it appeared they were going to be overwhelmed but they counter attacked and defended their base.

Officials said 13 al-Shabab fighters and six Robow loyalists were killed in the clashes. A lot of people are dead, Fiqi told VOA Somali.

Security sources told VOA Somali that al-Shabab spent months trying oust Robow. The former leader defected from the terrorist group in 2013. Since then the Islamist militia has been giving Robow ultimatums to leave the area and surrender.

Robow has also reportedly rejected offers from regional officials to leave the area and surrender to the Somali government.

$5 million bounty withdrawn

The U.S. and Somali government had offered a $5 million bounty for Robow since 2012. That reward was withdrawn in June after the U.S. removed him from the list of terrorists after consultations with the Somali government.

Former Somali defense minister Abdihakim Mohamud Haji Fiqi, who welcomed Robow's removal from the wanted list, said the Somali government must speed up talks with him.

The government should take advantage of this split within al-Shabab. It means a weakened strength, he said.

Haji Fiqi said it appears Robow left al-Shabab after a disagreement with former leader Ahmed Abdi Godane, who was killed in a U.S. airstrike in September 2014.
North Korea said Thursday it is finalizing a plan to launch a salvo of four ballistic missiles off the shores of the U.S. territory of Guam, the newest provocation in the war of words between Pyongyang and Washington.

The reclusive communist state, in an unusually detailed announcement, said that within a week North Korean leader Kim Jong Un would be handed a plan to fire the Hwasong-12 missiles over Japan into the waters off Guam 3,300 kilometers to the south.

State media said the missiles would land 30 to 40 kilometers off the shores of Guam, where 163,000 people live and the U.S. has 7,000 military personnel at a naval installation and an air base.

General Kim Rak Gyom, the commander of the North's strategic rocket forces, told the state-run KCNA news agency that after the plan was given to Kim, the military would "wait for his order."

Mixed signals

Washington has sent mixed signals to the world this week in its effort to thwart North Korea's nuclear weapons development in the aftermath of the new round of sanctions unanimously approved last weekend by the U.N. Security Council.

President Donald Trump vowed to attack North Korea, if it starts a war, with a "fire and fury like the world has never seen," and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Pyongyang risks annihilation with military action. But Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said, "I think Americans should sleep well at night and have no concerns about this particular rhetoric of the last few days."

World stock markets, averse to the uncertainty of the standoff, slid for the second day in a row, with stock indexes in Asia, Europe and the United States all falling a fraction of a percentage point or, at some exchanges, more than 1 percent.

General Kim said that "sound dialogue" was not possible with Trump, calling him a man "bereft of reason" and that "only absolute force can work on him." He described Trump's "fire and fury" threat as "a load of nonsense."

Mattis said Thursday that Trump was "just showing the concern he has, that is shared, obviously, globally." The U.S. defense chief said North Korea "would lose any arms race or conflict it initiates."

If North Korea carries out the missile launch aimed toward Guam, the U.S. could attempt to shoot down the missiles. It has six Aegis ballistic missile defense ships in the region capable of targeting North Korean missiles, but if Pyongyang were to launch the four missiles simultaneously it could make it harder to shoot down all of them.

DOD Video: Ballistic Missile Intercept

Firing the missiles over Japan would ratchet up North Korea's military adventurism. Its test missiles in recent months, launched at a very high angle, have landed in waters off Japan, although within its economic zone.

If the North carries out its missile launch plan aimed near Guam, South Korea said it would draw a "stern and strong" response from Washington and Seoul.

Japan's Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera told parliament that a North Korean missile attack on Guam would constitute a Japanese national emergency and would imperil Japan's existence as a nation.

The threats and counterthreats between Pyongyang and Washington have occurred this week in the days after the U.N. Security Council imposed new, more stringent sanctions on North Korea. The new penalties are intended to reduce Pyongyang's income from exported goods and labor by at least $1 billion  one-third of its current annual earnings  in an effort to end its nuclear weapons development.

The U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency concluded in the last month that North Korea has now miniaturized a nuclear warhead capable of being attached to an intercontinental missile. If Pyongyang does have such capability, it would make North Korea the world's ninth full-fledged nuclear power.

Mattis, in a statement Wednesday, said North Korea "should cease any consideration of actions that would lead to the end of its regime and the destruction of its people." He said North Korea "must choose to stop isolating itself and stand down its pursuit of nuclear weapons."

He warned that the United States and its allies "now possess the most precise, rehearsed and robust defensive and offensive capabilities on Earth." He said any North Korean military operation "will continue to be grossly overmatched by ours."

Mattis' vow came hours after Trump declared on Twitter that the U.S. nuclear arsenal "is now far stronger and more powerful than ever before."
At least three people were wounded Thursday after a car packed with explosives blew up in Mogadishu.

Somali authorities said the car exploded at Maka al-Mukaramah, Mogadishu's busiest street, minutes after it was stopped by intel forces.

A Somali official who asked not to be named told VOA, "The alleged attack was thwarted when security forces who were closely following the car in the city prevented it from proceeding."

The official said the target of the suspected attack was not yet clear.

The violence occurred seven days after al-Shabab militants fatally shot Mohamed Ali Elmi, the governor of Galgadud region in central Somalia, and his brother in Mogadishu. Less than three hours before that, a car packed with explosives blew up in the center of the capital, killing at least three civilians.

Meanwhile, Somalia President Mohamed Abdullahi "Farmajo" Mohamed said Thursday that he had authorized a coordinated strike with international partners that killed a high-level al-Shabab leader who was behind Mogadishu bombings and assassinations.

"In the past two weeks, our brave Somali security forces have successfully disrupted multiple al-Shabab tax stations and removed a key al-Shabab governor, Ali Mohamed Hussein [Ali Jabal]," the president said in a statement.

U.S. African Command confirmed last week that an earlier airstrike had killed senior al-Shabab member Hussein, who served as the group's shadow governor for the Mogadishu area.
The small U.S. territory of Guam has become a focal point after North Korea's army threatened to use ballistic missiles to create an "enveloping fire" around the island. The exclamation came after President Donald Trump warned Pyongyang of "fire and fury like the world has never seen." Here's a look at the U.S. military's role on the island, which became a U.S. territory in 1898.

What installations are on Guam and how significant are they?

There are two major bases on Guam: Andersen Air Force Base in the north and Naval Base Guam in the south. They are both managed under Joint Base Marianas. The tourist district of Tumon, home to many of Guam's hotels and resorts, is in between.

The naval base dates to 1898, when the U.S. took over Guam from Spain after the Spanish-American War. The air base was built in 1944, when the U.S. was preparing to send bombers to Japan during World War II.

Today, Naval Base Guam is the home port for four nuclear-powered fast-attack submarines and two submarine tenders.

Anderson Air Force Base hosts a Navy helicopter squadron and Air Force bombers that rotate to Guam from the U.S. mainland. It has two 2-mile long runways and large fuel and munitions storage facilities.

Altogether, 7,000 U.S. military personnel are stationed on Guam. Most are sailors and airmen. The military plans to move thousands of U.S. Marines to Guam from Okinawa in southern Japan.

Guam's total population is 160,000.

WATCH: Guam is Small But Important Piece of U.S. Territory

What roles do the bases play in the region?

Guam is strategically located a short flight from the Korean peninsula and other potential flashpoints in East Asia. Seoul is 2,000 miles to the northwest, Tokyo is 1,500 miles north and Taipei is 1,700 miles west.

Because Guam is a U.S. territory, the U.S. military may launch forces from there without worrying about upsetting a host nation that may object to U.S. actions.

The naval base is an important outpost for U.S. fast-attack submarines that are a key means for gathering intelligence in the region, including the Korean peninsula and the South China Sea where China has been building military bases on man-made islands.

How has the U.S. used Guam to address the threat from North Korea?

The U.S. military began rotating bombers  the B-2 stealth bomber as well as the B-1 and B-52  to Andersen in 2004. It did so to compensate for U.S. forces diverted from other bases in the Asia-Pacific region to fight in the Middle East. The rotations also came as North Korea increasingly upped the ante in the standoff over its development of nuclear weapons.

In 2013, the Army sent a missile defense system to Guam called Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD.

It's designed to destroy ballistic missiles during their final phase of flight. A THAAD battery includes a truck-mounted launcher, tracking radar, interceptor missiles and an integrated fire control system.

What's the history of the U.S. military on Guam?

The U.S. took control of Guam in 1898, when Spanish authorities surrendered to the U.S. Navy. President William McKinley ordered Guam to be ruled by the U.S. Navy. The Navy used the island as a coaling base and communications station until Japan seized the island on Dec. 10, 1941. The U.S. took back control of Guam on July 21, 1944.

During the Vietnam War, the Air Force sent 155 B-52 bombers to Andersen to hit targets in Southeast Asia. Guam was also a refueling and transfer spot for military personnel heading to Southeast Asia. Many refugees fleeing Vietnam were evacuated through Guam.
During the first six months of the Trump presidency, the Environmental Protection Agency has lagged behind three previous administrations in environmental enforcement, collecting 60 percent less in civil penalties from polluters, a report released on Thursday said.

During President Donald Trump's first six months in office, the Justice Department collected $12 million in civil penalties as part of 26 civil lawsuits. That compares to $36 million in 34 cases during the Obama administration; $30 million in 31 cases under the George W. Bush administration; and $25 million in 45 cases during the Clinton administration's first six months, the report by the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) found.

"If this drop-off in environmental enforcement continues, it will leave more people breathing more air pollution or swimming in waterways with more waste," said EIP Executive Director Eric Schaeffer, who served as the EPA's head of civil enforcement from 1997 to 2002.

The report analyzed consent decrees lodged by the Justice Department from Trump's first day in office, Jan. 21, through July 31, evaluating penalties paid by companies, the amount those companies will spend on pollution controls and how much pollution these enforcement actions can reduce.

Patrick Traylor, deputy assistant administrator at EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, reviewed a copy of the report and said the findings were unfair because it can take months for a consent decree to be lodged.

"This 'snapshot' ... says much more about enforcement actions commenced in the later years of the Obama administration than it does about actions taken in the beginning of the Trump administration," he said in a statement.

The report also found that value of injunctive relief, or the amount of money violators spend to install pollution controls and clean up, was also lowest in the Trump administration under EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt.

Under Trump, injunctive relief required in 10 cases totaled $197 million, compared to $710 million in 16 cases under Bush and $1.2 billion in 22 under Obama, the report said. EPA did not collect this data until the later years of the Clinton administration, so results could not be compared.

Environmental groups have raised concerns about Pruitt's close ties to the energy industry, documented in public records of his meetings.

When asked about his approach to enforcement and close industry ties in an interview with Reuters last month, Pruitt said the EPA is committed to enforcement and working with states to carry it out.
A 29-year-old Indian woman who was sold into sexual slavery as a teenager has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to rescue hundreds of thousands of other girls who are trapped in brothels and raped daily.

In a two-page letter written in Hindi, the woman  who identifies herself as Tavi - described how she was duped and trafficked to a brothel in Mumbai when she was 17, and sold for sex for six years before police rescued her.

The letter has made headlines in India, a country with the world's highest number of enslaved people but which has only recently stepped up efforts to tackle modern slavery.

"I got help and I was rescued. There were many girls like me there. I didn't see any of them escape or leave. I have written the letter for girls like them," Tavi told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in an interview on Thursday.

"These girls are unemployed - they have no work, no money. People lure them to Mumbai, promising them work. The PM should also ensure there are job opportunities for girls so that they don't fall in this trap."

Almost 46 million people are enslaved worldwide  trafficked into brothels, forced into manual labor, victims of debt bondage or born into servitude, says the 2016 Global Slavery Index.

Forty percent, or more than 18 million, are in India.

Many come from poor rural regions and are lured with the promise of good jobs or marriage but end up sold into domestic work, or toiling in brick kilns, textile units or prostitution.

The number of women sold into sexual slavery is unclear, but studies estimate there could up to 20 million Indians  almost half below the age of 18 - working in the sex trade alone.

In her letter to Modi, Tavi described how she was lured from her home in the eastern city of Kolkata in 2005 by her then boyfriend, who promised to marry her once they eloped to Mumbai.

Instead, he sold her for 60,000 rupees ($935) to a brothel. For six years, she was moved to various brothels in the area. She was finally rescued during a police raid in 2011.

The letter was given to Modi on Monday to mark the Hindu festival of Raksha Bandhan, which celebrates the bond between a brother and sister.

Tavi, who now works in a garment factory in Mumbai, said Modi was like a brother to her and the other women and girls trapped in sex work, and that it was his duty to protect them.

"I was a victim of human trafficking and my life was hell. I was beaten and abused and treated worse than an animal. I used to think that I would die in the brothel," she wrote.

"Even now there are many women trapped in brothels. You are a brother to all these women. I request you to protect them."

A government official who delivered the letter to Modi said he had promised to reply.
A former investigative reporter for Russia's independent RBC media group was found guilty and sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison on Thursday on charges of organizing an extremist group and attempting to overthrow the government.

Authorities said Alexander Sokolov, 29, was the mastermind behind the group "For Responsible Government, or FRG, a Moscow-based organization alleged to be a cover for banned extremist group Peoples Will Army, which was created by Sokolov associate Yuri Mukhin.

Moscow judge Alexey Krivoruchko sentenced Mukhin, a newspaper editor, to a four-year suspended term, while two other activists - Valery Parfenov and Kirill Barabash - both received four-year sentences. All deny the charges.

Sokolov said his trial and sentencing are persecution for his investigative reporting. The human rights group Memorial called Sokolov a political prisoner, and media rights group Reporters Without Borders testified on his behalf.

During the proceedings, independent Russian channel TV Rain recorded video of Sokolov making brief remarks before the press was ordered to leave.

The idea of a referendum in Russia has been equated with extremism, said Sokolov on camera, wearing a white T-shirt with the same message printed on the front. It is a crime, as you see, to want a referendum in Russia.... Sokolovs speech was interrupted by a guard shouting, Press, this is it, youre leaving! Press, out!

Sokolov was arrested July 29, 2015, weeks after RBC published a report he wrote on the alleged embezzlement of $1.55 billion from a project initiated by President Vladimir Putin - construction of a new space launch site in Russia's Far East. Additionally, Mukhin, Parfenov and Barabash were taken into custody the same day. Prosecutors alleged that as members of FRG, the four were advocating for a referendum on government in Russia.

The article that Sokolov wrote was passed to the Auditing Chamber of the Russian Federation, which in December 2015 confirmed his findings and issued a statement about financial irregularities during the construction project.

Sokolov had been monitored by the Russian authorities since 2014, when police investigator Natalia Talaeva opened the criminal probe into Sokolov and his associates. Court records dealing with Sokolov's arrest said Talaeva considered his work at the FRG, including publications calling for the referendum in Russia, to be incriminating evidence against him. Talaeva added that the real goal of Sokolov's group was the dismantlement of Russian statehood and an illegal transition of power through a referendum.

The same year, Sokolov was finishing his thesis on government losses from corruption, looking at government companies Rosnano, Rostech, Olympstroi, and Rosatom. Police, suspecting him of extremist activity, searched his home at 5:00 one morning and confiscated all data storage devices, accusing him of plotting a regime change.

In an interview with Russias independent media outlet Novaya Gazeta after the search, Sokolov said, I am not afraid because the truth is on my side. This will be more proof that the government is scared of responsibility before the people. I am not even considering moving away or leaving and hiding somewhere. I have absolutely nothing to hide. Its they who are potentially going to compensate me for the damages

Sokolov and the other defendants have already spent two years in jail and plan to appeal their sentences.
A Pakistani group designated by the United States as a terrorist organization has announced it is forming a political party to make Pakistan "a real Islamic and welfare state."

The group Jamaat-ud-Dawa has been listed as a sponsor of terrorism by the U.S. State Department for more than a decade, and its leader and founder, Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, has been under house arrest in Pakistan for the past six months. The U.S. government also has offered a $10 million reward for information leading to his conviction on criminal charges.

Jamaat-ud-Dawa contends it is a humanitarian organization without links to terrorists, but it is widely considered a "front group" for Lashkar-e-Taiba, which has been banned for terrorist activity since 2001. Lashkar-e-Taiba also was founded by Saeed, who is the alleged mastermind of the devastating attacks on Mumbai in 2008  a dozen coordinated bomb and gun attacks over a four-day period that killed 166 people, including six American citizens, and wounded hundreds of others in the Indian city.

From 'terrorist' to 'moderate'

Despite that terrorist pedigree, Jamaat-ud-Dawa, or JuD, said it aims to enter mainstream politics. Notwithstanding its formal listing as "terrorist" by the United States, the United Nations and Pakistan itself, JuD claims it will be a moderate political force in Pakistan. It is reinventing itself as a new party, the Milli Muslim League, and will be led by Saifullah Khalid, at least until it wins Hafiz Saeed's release from house arrest.

Analysts and experts on South Asian affairs are highly skeptical about the group's intentions and promises, and they wonder whether JuD or its associates in Lashkar-e-Taiba will really cut ties to militant groups. Some suggest the new Milli Muslim League could be a camouflage to mask future nefarious activities.

"It is highly unlikely that Hafiz Saeed will sever the ties [with militant groups] that have helped sustain his popularity in recent years," Michael Kugelman, a South Asia analyst at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, told VOA. "He likely wants to gain legitimacy for his views and ideas by being seen as a political figure, working from within the system, and not merely as a militant leader dabbling in charitable work."

Known by many names

Lashkar-e-Taiba, or LeT, calls itself the Army of the Pure and Righteous and is one of the largest anti-India militant groups in Pakistan, according to American experts on the subject. A U.S. State Department report five years ago listed about 30 aliases for the group and chronicled its terrorist history.

Predominantly based in Punjab, LeT has conducted operations against Indian troops and civilian targets in Kashmir, carried out high-profile attacks inside India, and has been linked to attacks against Western coalition forces in Afghanistan. U.S. officials report that LeT's terrorist acts date back to at least 1993. The group was founded in the 1980s by members of another Islamic extremist organization, at a time when many militant groups fought against the former Soviet Union's military incursion in Afghanistan.

LeT has repeatedly changed its name and continued operating through front organizations, most which also have been placed on the U.S. list of terrorist groups. Jamaat-ud-Dawa joined the list in 2006.

"LeT renamed itself JuD in order to evade sanctions," State Department officials said.

'A direct threat to U.S. interests'

A U.S. Treasury report on terrorist financing last year said LeT and other militant groups in Pakistan "continue to pose a direct threat to the U.S. interests and allies in the region [and] fund their activities through proceeds from illegal businesses and charitable organizations."

Hafiz Saeed first came under house arrest in 2009 after a U.N. committee put him on a list of people accused of supporting al-Qaida. A Pakistani court subsequently released him for a lack of sufficient evidence, but he was confined to his home once again this year.

Saifullah Khalid, who describes himself as president of the new Milli Muslim League, says the erstwhile political party is demanding Saeed's immediate freedom.

"Once he is released," Khalid said this week, "we will seek his guidance and ask what role he wants" in the future.

Hassan Askari, a Pakistan-based security analyst, told VOA he believes Saeed's supporters must do more than change their group's name. Instead they must change their ideology, he said, although he doubts that will happen.

Will their ideology change?

"If they enter mainstream politics, they will have to change their political style," Askari said. "It remains to be seen as to what extent, if any, they will transform and change their attitude, ideas and ideology."

Saeed Nazir, a retired brigadier who works for Islamabad-based Institute of Policy Studies, sees some cause for optimism in these recent developments.

"If they are now abandoning militancy, establishing a political party, entering mainstream politics, presenting a soft image, and becoming accountable, that is positive," Nazir told VOA.

Recasting a pro-terrorist humanitarian organization as a moderate political group could help ease some pressure on Pakistan's government, Nazir added, since the United States has been pressing Islamabad to do more to crack down on militant groups operating from its soil.

Some Pakistani politicians reject Nazir's analysis and charge that militant and banned organizations should not have a political role in Pakistan.

Former lawmaker has deep misgivings

"It is very concerning that Hafiz Saeed, a designated global terrorist, and his banned terror outfit have been allowed to launch a political party," said Bushra Gohar, a former Pakistani lawmaker. "This is a grave violation of the National Action Plan and the country's commitment to peace. It clearly shows that the state and government of Pakistan are continuing with the self-destructive policy of 'good and bad terrorists'"  a reference to the government's flexible policies concerning the Taliban.

Gohar said she sees a terror group's mutation into a political party as a risk for all Pakistani political groups.

The Milli Muslim League "will use a political platform as a cover for its terror activities and networks," she said. "If the Election Commission of Pakistan allows a terrorist group to register for and contest elections, it will have serious negative repercussions for the political and democratic process in the country."

Pakistani opposition political parties expressed outrage last December after Masroor Nawaz Jhangvi, son of the slain founder of the Sunni militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (also on the U.S. and Pakistani terrorist lists) and a hard-line cleric with links to the Taliban and al-Qaida, won a legislative seat in Punjab, the country's most populous province.

"The bottom line," Kugelman of Washington's Wilson Center told VOA, "is that in a country like Pakistan, where some militant groups can operate with near impunity, it's always possible for a terrorist mastermind to establish a political party."
The International Organization for Migration says it is searching for smugglers who it says forced 120 Somalis and Ethiopians into the sea as their vessel approached the Yemeni coast, causing more than 50 teenage migrants to drown.

Survivors tell migration officials the smugglers panicked and forced the migrants into the choppy sea when they saw Yemeni authorities as they approached land.

International Organization for Migration spokeswoman Olivia Headon tells VOA the migrants knew they could die, but were helpless to resist.

There was one lead smuggler who was directly instructing the migrants, but he did have other smugglers working on the boat with him who were armed with guns and other weapons. So, the migrants had a choice," she said. "They would either be harmed more than they probably had been on the journey, shot or go jump into the sea. Some were actually physically pushed as well.

The IOM says 29 people died, 22 are still missing and presumed drowned. Headon says 42 people left the beach before IOM staff could reach them. She says 27 surviving migrants, both females and males around 16 years old, are receiving urgent medical and psychological care.

After the smugglers dumped their human cargo, she says they turned back to Somalia to pick up more people and bring them back on the extremely dangerous, deadly voyage.

Boats are making this journey all the time where people are being abused and raped on route so that their families will pay more Some people are paying as little as $100 U.S., but then on route they are tortured, they are abused, their families are made aware of this and are forced to pay $1,000 or to $2,000 more.

Headon says it is unlikely the smugglers will be caught, nevertheless, the IOM is trying to gather more information on the smugglers to pass on to the authorities. She says greater international cooperation is needed to halt or reduce the trade in human beings.
The Syrian army and its allies seized control of at least 30 km (19 miles) of Syria's border with Jordan from rebels in an attack on Thursday, two rebel groups and a Syrian military source said.

A military media unit run by Hezbollah, a close ally of the Syrian government, said the army and its allies had gained control over all checkpoints and border posts on the border in Sweida, one of four Syrian provinces that border Jordan.

Rebel groups, some of them backed by Western and Arab

states, still control much of Syria's southwestern frontier with Jordan and Israel.

Sweida province was not included in a U.S.-Russian brokered cease-fire that took effect in nearby areas of the southwest in July.

Said Saef, spokesman for the Western-backed rebel group Martyr Ahmed Abdo brigade, said Thursday's attack came from two sides in Sweida's east countryside. "Most of the eastern Sweida countryside is now in the hands of the regime," he added.

The army had advanced to the border and retaken posts it abandoned in the early years of the conflict when rebels took over large parts of southwestern Syria.

"They are now on the Jordanian border and back to outposts they had evacuated early in the conflict," said Saef.

Another rebel spokesman said the army gains were helped by a sudden pull-back by Jaish al-Ashair rebel group, which is backed by Jordan and had been responsible for patrolling that stretch of the border.

The Syrian military source said the army and its allies had taken more than 30 km of the border, and described the advance as a "big success."
U.S. President Donald Trump intensified his feud Thursday with Mitch McConnell, the Republican Party leader in the Senate, who has a key role in advancing the president's agenda.

Trump even suggested McConnell should step aside if he could not get a majority of votes in the Senate  which the party controls  to pass legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare, and other legislation on issues embraced by the president.

Reporters asked Trump whether McConnell should remain as Senate majority leader if he was unable to win approval of the bills the president wanted. "You can ask the question," Trump said enigmatically, but he declined to answer the question directly.

Trump's remarks late Thursday followed three sharply worded tweets he issued about McConnell during the previous 24 hours. "Get back to work," he said in his most recent post addressed to the senator from Kentucky. "You can do it!"

Earlier Thursday, Trump, who is on a 17-day working vacation at his private New Jersey golf club, assailed McConnell on Twitter for not pushing a health care bill through the Senate.

McConnell and the president spoke by telephone Wednesday, in what the White House described as an animated conversation  which CNN said took place while Trump was playing golf. Soon afterward, Trump began his critical broadside against the Senate majority leader.

Discussing the lack of legislative progress in the Senate with his Kentucky constituents on Monday, McConnell noted, "Our new president [has] of course not been in this line of work before."

About Trump's lack of experience in legislative bargaining, McConnell added, "I think he had excessive expectations about how quickly things happen in the democratic process."

After Senate Republicans tried and failed three times last month to repeal Obamacare  named for former President Barack Obama, during whose first term the law was passed  the majority party's leaders said they would move on and focus on other priority issues, including tax reform and the federal budget.

Trump, however, has not relented on the health care issue, and has begun to personally target McConnell, who has been one of the most staunch supporters of the president's agenda on Capitol Hill.

A potential complicating factor in their spat is the adverse effect it could have on their relationship, given that McConnell's wife, Elaine Chao, serves in Trump's Cabinet as transportation secretary.

The attacks also have attracted attention since they have coincided with a sharp slump in public approval of Trump's job performance. Recent public opinion surveys have shown that the proportion of voters who describe themselves as strong supporters of the president has declined.

A Politico-Morning Consult poll conducted in early August found that those labeled as Trump's strong supporters had dipped to a new low of 18 percent, and a Quinnipiac University poll found Trump's strong-approval rating dropped from 28 percent in late June to 23 percent in early August.
Washington and Moscow have over decades established mechanisms to prevent crises from spinning out of control, from hotlines to satellites to over-flights that allow the nuclear-armed adversaries to track each other's military deployments.

No such safety nets exist between Washington and Pyongyang, which worries experts who say an accident, misstatement or erroneous reading by one side of the other's actions could spiral into full-scale conflict even though neither side wants war.

Tensions between the two countries have risen markedly in the last few days after North Korea warned Washington of a "severe lesson" following U.N. action against it, and U.S. President Donald Trump in turn warning that any threats to the United States from Pyongyang would be met with "fire and fury."

Trump's unexpected remarks prompted North Korea to respond by saying it was considering plans for a missile strike on the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam.

Experts said there are limited channels through which the two sides can try to exchange proposals to ease tensions over North Korea's missile and nuclear weapons programs.

"We have some ad hoc and analog ways of communicating with North Korea but we don't have anything that has proven itself and can withstand the stress of crises," said Jon Wolfsthal, a top nonproliferation adviser to former President Barack Obama.

No ties, no embassies

The two sides have no diplomatic relations, so they have no embassies in each other's capitals. They maintain contacts through their U.N. missions, their embassies in Beijing and meetings between military officers at Panmunjom, the location on the militarized frontier dividing the Korean Peninsula where the truce that stilled the 1950-53 Korean War was signed.

Washington also passes messages through Pyongyang's ally and neighbor China, or Sweden, the U.S. protecting power in Pyongyang.

There was a hotline linking Seoul and Pyongyang, but North Korean leader Kim Jong Un severed the channel in 2013 and refused to restore it, said Gary Samore, a former senior White House adviser now with Harvard University's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.

"You can't handle this crisis through tweets and public statements," said Joseph Cirincione, president of the Ploughshares Fund, an arms control group, referring to Trump's penchant for using Twitter to deliver policy announcements.

Because of the lack of trust, It took years during the Cold War for Washington and Moscow to establish hotlines and develop protocols by which their presidents and top officials could verify that the people with whom they were in contact were who they said they were, Wolfsthal said.

'Long, hard slog'

"The challenge ... was first how to establish direct contact, president to president, military to military, and then how to make sure they would be reliable, safe and secure in the case of a conflict," he said. "How would they verify the identities of people? This is something we took a long, hard slog at for decades."

These protocols are still in use and have become arguably more important in an era of cyberwarfare. Washington and Moscow have also established newer channels. For instance, they use a "deconfliction channel" in Syria, where they are both conducting military operations to ensure they do not come into conflict.

Even so, there were incidents during the Cold War that brought Washington and Moscow close to the brink of war, mainly because of glitches in the early- warning system, said Lisbeth Grolund of the Union of Concerned Scientists, an arms control organization.

"In one case, in the Soviet Union, they got a warning that an attack was underway. Everything looked real, but the person on the scene there decided to disobey orders and not tell his boss," she said. "And it was a good thing because it was not an attack. Their satellite had seen a reflection off of the clouds."
U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis kicked off his first official visit to the U.S. technology industry on Thursday with a tour of Amazon's headquarters in Seattle, the first stop on a two-day outreach campaign intended to highlight the Pentagon's commitment to tech innovation.

Mattis was scheduled to visit Mountain View, California, later in the day to tour the Pentagon's Defense Innovation Experimental Unit, or DIUx, a Silicon Valley outpost set up in 2015 by his predecessor, Ash Carter.

He was also expected to visit Alphabet's Google headquarters in Palo Alto on Friday.

"A pleasure to host #SecDef James Mattis at Amazon HQ in Seattle today," Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos wrote on Twitter.

The visit comes as the Trump administration has sparred with the technology industry on a host of issues, including immigration, privacy and net neutrality.
A U.S. Navy destroyer carried out an operation near the Chinese man-made islands in the South China Sea an effort to challenge Chinas territorial claims in the heavily trafficked international waters, Navy officials said.

Speaking with U.S. news agencies, the officials said the USS John S. McCain carried out a routine "freedom of navigation operation" Thursday that saw the ship travel within 12 nautical miles of the Spratly Islands and Mischief Reef.

One official told the French Press Agency the U.S. ship received at least 10 warnings from a Chinese frigate warning the Navy vessel to leave Chinese territory.

The U.S. ship responded by telling the Chinese ship it was conducting a legal operation in international waters. The entire interaction between the two ships lasted about six hours and was "safe and professional" from start to finish, the official said.

The development comes at a time of heightened tensions between the U.S. and North Korea and as the Trump administration is seeking Chinas help in dealing with the nuclear threat posed by Pyongyang.

China claims the operation violated international and Chinese laws and said it severely harmed China's sovereignty and security.

"China is very displeased with this and will bring up the issue with the U.S. side," the countrys foreign ministry said in a statement.

The operation Thursday marks the latest attempt by Washington to challenge Chinas tightening grip on the strategic waterway, which sees around $5 trillion worth of ship-borne trade pass through each year.

China, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam are all involved in a long-standing dispute over rightful ownership of the busy waters.

While the U.S. is not involved directly in the dispute, it has expressed interest in ensuring the conflict is solved peacefully and trade is not disrupted.
Many indigenous populations suffer from high rates of viral hepatitis, and are 2 to 5 times as likely as the surrounding general population to contract it. But efforts to eliminate the diseases have begun to show promise, some researchers say.

Globally, 71 million people have hepatitis C and 257 million have hepatitis B. The viruses cause inflammation of the liver and can lead to cirrhosis and, especially with hepatitis C, liver cancer.

Most cases come from contact with infected blood, drug use, tattoos with unclean needles, or sexual transmission. Before the screening of blood in 1992, blood transfusions were a frequent source. The infection also can pass from a mother to her newborn child.

At the World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Viral Hepatitis this week in Anchorage, Alaska, scientists reported on the problem and the efforts to solve it, including one of the first efforts to eliminate hepatitis C from a population.

Reasons for high rates of infection

Homie Razavi and Devin Razavi-Shearer, epidemiologists from the Polaris Observatory, examined why infection rates were so high among indigenous communities. In Canada, hepatitis B rates were five times higher than the general population, and hepatitis C, three times higher. In Australia, indigenous people were four times as likely to contract hepatitis B and three times as likely to contract hepatitis C.

The researchers said the rates were likely because to disproportionately high rates of poverty, injection drug use, and incarceration in indigenous populations. This, in combination with the lack of access to health care and prevention measures, greatly increases the risk and thus prevalence of hepatitis C.

But great progress is being made. In the 1980s, vaccination programs began to cut infection rates of hepatitis B.

Dr. Brian McMahon, director of the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, told the conference that new surveys have shown that the disease has been virtually eliminated in young indigenous people in Alaska.

Eliminating infection

Jorge Mera, director of infectious diseases for Cherokee Nation Health Services in Oklahoma, reported on an effort there to eliminate hepatitis C.

Of the people we think have hepatitis C in the community, weve treated one-third of them, he told VOA, and thats pretty good for a program that we started two years ago.

That program is the first effort in the United States, and one of the first in the world, to attempt to wipe out the virus. Treatments for hepatitis C have improved dramatically over the past decade, making these efforts possible.

Mera said there are many programs around the world in the planning stages, and he pointed to a number of things those programs can learn from the Cherokee Nations effort.

Most of the patients that were detecting positive are coming in through the urgent care and emergency department, he said, so if you have limited resources, these are areas that I would focus on.

Health officials in the Cherokee Nation are screening everyone between the ages of 20 and 69. This effort includes screening people during dental appointments.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended screening older adults, but Mera said there were high rates of hepatitis infection in people in their 20s and 30s. He suggested that others setting up elimination programs first determine the prevalence of infection in their respective communities before deciding whom to screen.

He said history has led to high rates of hepatitis in indigenous populations.

When you have a population that has been oppressed or traumatized for centuries due to the nature of how the Western colonization process developed, those are factors that may lead substantial portions of that population to seek some relief in nonconventional ways like intravenous drug use, Mera said.

Preventing transmission is crucial to eliminating hepatitis C, Mera said. One way to combat transmission, he said, is to legalize and expand needle exchanges and opiate-substitution programs.
An annual conference is being held at the U.S. Naval War College to discuss empowering women in conflict prevention and peace.

The fifth-annual Women, Peace and Security Conference is taking place at the college's campus in Newport on Thursday and Friday. It's the only U.S. military academic program specifically related to the topic, according to the war college.

About 70 leaders from academia, the military and non-governmental organizations are attending.

The inaugural conference was held after President Barack Obama released the first national action plan in 2011 to advance women's participation in preventing conflict and keeping peace.

Mary Raum, a national security affairs professor at the war college, said she's trying to amplify their agenda so they don't lose traction, and she'd like to see reform in higher education so there's a solid curriculum for women, peace and security issues.

"It's imperative for global peace and security," said Raum, who planned the conference.

Rosa Brooks, a professor at Georgetown Law, said empowering women is not about "helping women."

"It's about helping all of us," she said. "It's about winning wars instead of losing, having peace instead of conflict. It's about succeeding instead of failing."

Research shows the likelihood that peace agreements will last longer increases when women are involved in negotiating them, and gender inequality is one of the top predictors of conflict within and between states, said Brooks, an expert on national security and the changing nature of warfare.

The audience included Judy McLennan, who served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women under President George H.W. Bush. McLennan said it's vitally important to have more women at the U.N., especially in the role of interviewing refugees. Some female refugees wouldn't tell their story to a male interviewer, she added.

The keynote speaker is Leymah Gbowee, a 2011 Nobel Peace Prize recipient. She led a women's peace movement that helped end Liberia's civil war in 2003.
GROCERY INDUSTRY

Oprah launches brand of refrigerated food

Oprah Winfrey is headed to the supermarket aisle with her own line of refrigerated soups and side dishes.

The media mogul has teamed up with food giant Kraft Heinz to launch the line after creating a joint venture earlier this year.

The new brand, called O, Thats Good!, will offer comfort foods with added vegetables, such as mashed potatoes with cauliflower mixed in. A broccoli cheddar soup has butternut squash to replace some cheese.

This product line is real, delicious food with a twist, Winfrey said in a statement Wednesday.

Kraft Heinz said the new brand has no connection to Winfreys deal with Weight Watchers.

The Oprah-branded offerings, priced below $5 each, will arrive at some supermarkets this week and be available nationwide by October, the company said.

 Associated Press

SOCIAL MEDIA

Facebook adds content monitors in Germany

Facebook said Wednesday that its adding 500 content-control staff in Germany and bolstering psychological support for workers who delete hate speech from its site.

The social media company plans to start adding workers from the Austrian firm Competence Call Center in the city of Essen over the next few months, Facebook said in a post on its German site. They will supplement what will be 700 post-deleting staff in Berlin who work for services company Arvato. The staffers will work under Facebooks community operations team, based in Dublin, and respond to reports by Facebook users.

The issue of violent or hateful postings on the social network has gained currency in Germany, where Facebook has 30 million users. The nations parliamentary lower house passed legislation in June threatening fines of up to $57 million on large social networks that fail to let users report hate speech or fake news stories, or to remove illegal postings.

Were aware of our responsibility and are going to further intensify our efforts in the fight against illegal content, Facebooks managing director for central Europe, Martin Ott, said in the statement.

 Bloomberg News

Also in Business

U.S. worker productivity rose more than expected in the second quarter as hours increased at their fastest pace in 18 months, keeping labor costs under control. The Labor Department said Wednesday that non-farm productivity, which measures hourly output per worker, increased at a 0.9 percent annualized rate in the period from April to June. Economists had forecast productivity increasing at a 0.7 percent pace in the second quarter.

General Electric will close its manufacturing facility in Rochester, N.Y., next June, and the work will be moved to China, the company said Tuesday. GE did not say how many people work at the facility in the Rochester Science Park, but officials said fewer than 100 employees will be affected. The Rochester plant assembles electronic boards. GE officials say the work in China will be done by Jabil, a GE partner supplier.

Six current or former employees have filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against New York Citys Plaza Hotel. The bartenders, servers and hospitality coordinators say they were groped, catcalled and propositioned by managers and other co-workers while working at the hotels Palm Court restaurant. The suit says the womens complaints were ignored, and they were subjected to retaliation. Fairmont Hotels and Resorts manages the Plaza and says harassment has not and never will be tolerated.

 From news reports

Coming today

8:30 a.m.: Labor Department releases weekly jobless claims.

8:30 a.m.: Labor Department releases the Producer Price Index for July.

10 a.m.: Freddie Mac releases weekly mortgage rates.

2 p.m.: Treasury releases federal budget for July.

Earnings: Macys, Snap.
This story has been optimized for offline reading on our apps. For a richer experience, you can find the full version of this story here. An Internet connection is required. Click here to read this story in Spanish.

For many Hispanic members of Congress, President Trumps immigration policies serve as both an agenda to be opposed and a throwback to their personal experiences.

Many of the record number of Hispanic lawmakers this year  45, from both parties  are first-generation Americans whose parents came to the United States from places such as Mexico and Cuba, as low-skilled workers, some speaking only Spanish.

For some of them, Trumps immigration crackdown raises old fears from their childhoods growing up in the United States with parents from somewhere else.

Their families could be affected if parts of Trumps policies become law  Rep. Henry Cuellar (D) is from the border town of Laredo, Tex., which could be impacted by a border wall between the United States and Mexico. Others, such as Rep. Grace F. Napolitano (D-Calif.), were often targeted for questioning by immigration officers as children. Napolitano said she carried her birth certificate in her back pocket because those encounters were so frequent.

Those lawmakers whose parents did not speak English might not have been able to enter the country under a recent proposal to slash legal immigration from two Republican senators whom Trump threw his weight behind.

The Washington Post sat down with five Hispanic members of the House who have at least one parent who immigrated to the United States. The lawmakers spoke candidly about their experiences as first-generation Americans, their encounters with immigration officials and their parents paths toward assimilation.

(Bastien Inzaurralde/The Washington Post)

Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Tex.)

Cuellar, 61, was born in Laredo, Tex., to a father from Guerrero, Tamaulipas, Mexico, and a mother from Zapata, Tex. He is among the most academically credentialed members of Congress, with a bachelors degree from Georgetown University and three graduate degrees from Texas A&M International University and the University of Texas at Austin. He worked as a lawyer, professor and state politician before his election to the House in 2004.

Growing up, Henry Cuellar couldnt understand why his father didnt want to become a U.S. citizen.

Martin Cuellar was born just across the Mexican border from Laredo, Tex., in Guerrero, Tamaulipas. He had spent years crisscrossing the American West with his U.S.-born wife, Odilia, seeking farm work in states as far away as Utah and Idaho. Henry spent some of his earliest years in a red wagon at their side, moving slowly up and down the rows of crops.

The couple eventually settled down and raised a large family in Laredo. But even though he had earned legal residency, Martin was still not interested in becoming a citizen.

My father said: I was born a Mexican. Im going to die a Mexican,  Henry Cuellar said in a recent interview. As I grew up, I gathered what my father was saying. Giving up the mantle of your country is a hard thing to do, and my father did not want to give up Mexico.

Laredo, then and now almost completely Spanish-speaking, was a comfortable place for the growing family. There was virtually no discrimination or friction with immigration officials, Cuellar said, and from their house, all 10 family members could easily drive across the border to visit relatives in Guerrero.

The contrast was stark. They had dirt streets, Cuellar said. My grandmother had a house with dirt floors. . . . She would water the floor before we got there so there would be no dust.

Cuellar and several of his siblings have achieved notable success. He holds three graduate degrees, making him one of the most academically credentialed members of the House, and served as Texas secretary of state before he came to Capitol Hill in 2005. A brother is a sheriff and a sister is a municipal judge.

This is perhaps what eventually caused their father to change his mind about becoming a citizen.

One day, he said, This country has been very good to my kids,  Cuellar said.  I want to become a U.S. citizen, and thats my way of saying thank you. 

Cuellars father was naturalized on Oct. 8, 1993.

(Bastien Inzaurralde/The Washington Post)

Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.)

Curbelo, 37, was born in Miami to parents from Havana and Matanzas, Cuba. He earned a bachelors degree and a masters degree from the University of Miami, and worked as a public-relations executive, Senate staff member and school board member before he was elected to the House in 2014.

Two decades had passed since their families left Cuba, but when it came to their son, Carlos and Teresita Curbelo were clear about one thing: He must have a Cuban upbringing.

They raised the younger Carlos in the city of Hialeah, the most highly concentrated Cuban community in the United States. He enrolled at Belen Jesuit Preparatory School, an all-boys academy that was founded in Havana in 1854 and attended by Fidel Castro before it moved into exile. After school, young Carlos spent considerable time with his grandmother and her sister, absorbing their stories and attitudes. His family members were less assimilated than those of his friends, he said.

I grew up with that Cuban culture but then with this reverence, and I would say adoration, for the United States, Curbelo said in a recent interview. The culture was Cuban, but the patriotism was decidedly American.

The environment came with unique pressures. Maybe its true of all immigrant families, but there is this paranoia that you have to succeed. Its fear of loss, right? he said.

Curbelos father was part of the anti-Castro resistance, motivated in part by the imprisonment of young Carloss grandfather, a career military officer who was released later when he developed Parkinsons disease. When the Bay of Pigs invasion failed, the elder Carlos left for the United States, where he struggled to find work in Miami and to eat when he moved for a time to New Orleans.

He experienced hunger, legitimate hunger, there. When he got a job as a busboy, he took leftovers from peoples plates to eat, Curbelo said.

The family was haunted by stories of the grandfathers experience in prison, where the guards would simulate executions and watch the frightened captives soil themselves.

 The greatest thing in the world, a gift from God  those are the kinds of descriptions I became accustomed to hearing about the United States, Curbelo said.

(Bastien Inzaurralde/The Washington Post)

Rep. Grace F. Napolitano (D-Calif.)

Napolitano, 80, was born Graciela Flores in Brownsville, Tex., to a mother from Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas, Mexico, and a father of Mexican heritage from north Texas. She is a high school graduate, and worked as a secretary, city council member, mayor and California state assemblywoman before her election to the House in 1998.

If it was Sunday morning, young Graciela Flores knew to expect a knock at the apartment door.

Visits from immigration officers were part of the routine living in Brownsville, Tex., right along the U.S.-Mexico border, at least in her neighborhood. And no matter how many times it happened, it was important to be prepared.

Her parents were divorced, and sometimes, her mother would be asleep, exhausted from working multiple jobs, when the officers came. Graciela and her brother were citizens, born in Brownsville. Their mother had a green card. But every time, the officers still asked for proof.

That young woman is now Grace F. Napolitano, an 18-year member of the House. Amid the increase in immigration arrests, she recalls her own encounters with Immigration and Naturalization Service agents in the streets of Brownsville.

I learned early on that I had to carry my birth certificate with me, Napolitano said in a recent interview. Wherever I went, it was in my back pocket.

Napolitano left Texas for east Los Angeles at age 18. The newlywed drove across the deserts of New Mexico and Arizona with her husband and their infant daughter. Once, the staff at a restaurant refused to rinse the babys bottle and fill it with water when her husband asked  an experience of discrimination Napolitano says she remembers vividly.

Some peoples minds are set against any changes. Different people, different cultures, different ideas  theyre against it, she said. Why did they refuse us? Who knows. You take it in stride. You dont battle it.

(Bastien Inzaurralde/The Washington Post)

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.)

Ros-Lehtinen, 64, was born Ileana Ros y Adato in Havana. She earned a bachelors degree and a masters degree from Florida International University, and a doctorate in education from the University of Miami. She worked as a teacher, school principal and state politician before she was elected to the House in 1989.

For young Ileana Ros y Adato, Fidel Castros regime in Cuba was supposed to blow over quickly, like a tropical afternoon storm.

So the 8-year-old departed Havana for Miami in August 1960 without fear. She, her mother and her brother had round-trip tickets on Pan-American. They took only a small overnight bag. Her father was still in Havana, fighting Castro as a coordinator for the Christian Democratic Movement. She thought her fathers side would win, Castro would be gone and they would go back soon.

More than five decades later, not only did Ileana Ros-Lehtinen never go back, but she is now about to retire after spending nearly 36 years establishing herself as one of the best-known Cuban Americans in U.S. politics.

Under the tutelage of her late father, a prominent Cuba historian and anti-Castro activist, Ros-Lehtinen became the first Hispanic woman elected to Congress, in 1989. She is a political centrist, although strongly opposed to the Cuban regime, and readily criticizes President Trump, steering clear of Miami during his recent visit to announce a more confrontational approach to Cuba policy.

In a recent interview, Ros-Lehtinen described her early memories of the United States as a wash of Technicolor dreamscapes: classic cars tooling around Miamis Little Havana, lavish desserts from the beach hotel where her mother worked, the thrill of a first Halloween.

Her Pan-Am flight from Havana to Miami had been full of celebration. Some passengers kissed the tarmac upon arrival. But her mother quietly cried.

We never felt the pangs of what the anxiety was all about, Ros-Lehtinen said. My brother and I thought, What a great country this is. It was like a motion picture before our eyes.

(Bastien Inzaurralde/The Washington Post)

Rep. Juan Vargas (D-Calif.)

Vargas, 56, was born in National City, Calif., to parents from Jalisco, Mexico. He earned a bachelors degree from the University of San Diego, a masters degree from Fordham University and a JD from Harvard Law School. He worked as a city councilman and a state politician before his election to the House in 2012.

Juan Vargas was a kid the first time he saw an immigration raid.

It took place at a plant nursery near his home in the San Diego suburb of National City. In his memory, an immigration officer discovered a family living without papers and was literally ripping the mother away from the child.

As a kid, I was horrified, Vargas said in a recent interview. The child is screaming. The mother is screaming. Im like, What the hell is going on? I thought police were supposed to help. It was traumatizing, really.

Vargas had been raised to trust the police by his father and mother, an illiterate laborer and wealthy cosmopolitan, who forged an unlikely marriage through the bonds of their Catholic faith and the rigor of raising 10 children in poverty on a chicken farm.

My mother would always bang it into our heads how lucky we were to be American citizens, he said.  God gave you this special gift, shed say. Most people in the world would want to be American citizens. You happened to have been born American citizens. 

Vargass parents, both from the state of Jalisco, Mexico, met at a Catholic parish near San Diego. His father first came to California as a 17-year-old guest farmworker. His mother, whose relatives owned large properties in the state, had come to learn English.

Once married  over her familys objections  the two set up house in a shack on the chicken farm where Vargass father worked. Both were legal residents of the United States.

We were extremely, extremely poor, Vargas said. I saw this one picture where my brothers and I are in underwear with no shoes. I must have been 11. I asked my mom about it. She said, Because you only had a couple of pairs of pants, you couldnt get them dirty, so you just wore your underwear. And we couldnt afford to buy you guys shoes. 

Despite occasional slurs from his peers  including dirty Mexican and wetback  Vargas was elected homecoming king his senior year in high school, becoming the first Latino to hold the title.

Later, he spent five years on the path to becoming a Jesuit priest before deciding it was not his calling. He says he never asked parishioners about their immigration status. That was up to Jesus, not me, he said.
In the deluge of Iraq War-themed books that appeared in 2012, David Abramss Fobbit was known as the funny one. Drawn from his experience as an Army public affairs officer, it tells the story of the marshmallow soldiers confined to base, writing news releases about a war they never see.

But funny was always the wrong word for that novel. Fobbit is clever and absurd, but too earnest for carefree guffaws, full of biting if-you-dont-laugh-you-cry satire. In interviews, Abrams often said that he was not primarily a humorist and that Fobbit was an outlier.

He has proved that in his new novel, which is only rarely funny, though still plenty earnest and affecting. Set at the height of the Iraq War, Brave Deeds is the story of six soldiers sneaking across the suburbs of Baghdad to attend the memorial service of their beloved platoon sergeant, Rafe Morgan, who was blown to pieces by a car bomb. Assigned to quick reaction force (QRF) duty during the ceremony, they go AWOL instead and steal a Humvee to drive across town to the base where the service will be held.

The war is just happening to these young men, who serve on the lowest rung in the Army hierarchy, and, as implausible as it might be, this quest is their chance to regain some agency. The point is  if we were to get this far in our s--t-for-brains reasoning  the point is that we want to tell the command group to take their QRF roster and shove it up their air-conditioned fobbity asses. Well show you!

[Review: Fobbit, by David Abrams]

The whole novel is written in this collective first-personal plural. The six members of the unit are all screw-ups in their own way  a porn addict, an adulterer, a semi-suicidal Piggy from Lord of the Flies  but together, they add up to more than the sum of their parts. Our breath slows until we are, without realizing it, inhaling and exhaling as one twelve-legged animal, the squad says. The we of the squad is the union of their better selves, capable of acts of physical courage and emotional truth that none of them could achieve individually. They imagine how it will be when they finally get to the memorial service: a dramatic entrance, standing at the back of a church, all heads swiveling. Theyll march down the aisle, smelling of dust, they say, and there will be gasps of surprise, of admiration, of anger. The squad is a pack of Tom Sawyers, going to their own funeral, which is right, because without Sgt. Morgan, part of the we will forever be dead.

Author David Abrams (Lisa Wareham Photography)

Brave Deeds takes place on a single afternoon, a five-hour sprint across enemy territory, though with regular and often momentum-sapping flashbacks to flesh out each squad members backstory. A rule of thumb in modern moviemaking says that the first step in creating dramatic tension is to take away every characters cellphone, so they get lost and cant call for help. Abrams uses a similar convention, stripping the squad of its vehicle, medic, radio and map in the first chapter. Over the course of the journey across Baghdad, there are shootouts and pee breaks, tragedies and victories, and a lunch stop for halal chicken that made my stomach rumble in anticipation.

The soldiers are foulmouthed, sex-obsessed and fiercely loyal for reasons they cant quite articulate  in other words, packed with young American male authenticity. Abramss prose is relaxed and conversational, with a few scattered literary nuggets that add heft, like chunks of beef in a vegetable soup; bodies are taking a terrible nap, explosions are a bomb-bloom, a fatal bullet makes a hole no bigger than a goldfishs mouth. The mash-up works, and Abramss voice is clear and strong.

In the climactic final scene, though, Abrams attempts to braid thematic strands of death and rebirth and religious communion, never quite attaining the emotional heights to which he aspires. But the central irony  that this funeral is more important to them than any mission their squad has undertaken  remains front and center. In the Iraq War, we veterans eventually realized that they were killing us mostly because we were killing them, and the reverse as well. Its a cycle cruelly laid bare in Brave Deeds, where Abrams reminds us that death always begets more death.

Brian Castner, a former Air Force officer, is the author of three books, including The Long Walk. His new book, Disappointment River, will be published in the spring.


The cast of The Glass Castle: From left, Sadie Sink, Charlie Shotwell, Woody Harrelson, Ella Anderson, Naomi Watts and Eden Grace Redfield. (Credit: Jake Giles Netter/Lionsgate)

Jeannette Walls has to be careful with pronouns.

When talking about her former life as a gossip columnist for such venues as New York magazine and MSNBC, she uses the first person: I was a journalist, in air quotes, she jokes. Its the same when shes speaking about her best-selling 2005 memoir The Glass Castle, whose child protagonist  Jeannette Walls  was the daughter of a nomadic, often jobless and homeless alcoholic and his painter wife. The book, described by the New York Times as an alternately wrenching and exhilarating yarn, chronicles the harrowing childhood that Walls and her three siblings, Lori, Brian and Maureen, experienced with their father Rex and mother Rose Mary, wandering from town to town before settling in Rexs hometown of Welch, West Virginia. Notable episodes of mistreatment by Rex include being thrown into water over her head so that she would learn to swim and being left alone, at the age of 13, with one of her fathers lecherous adult male co-workers.

Then theres the new movie version of the book, adapted by filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton (Short Term 12) and starring three different actresses as Walls at various ages. (Oscar winner Brie Larson plays the teenage and young-adult versions. Woody Harrelson and Naomi Watts play Rex, who died in 1994, and Rose Mary, who now lives with her daughter on a horse farm in Orange, Va.) While visiting Washington to talk about the movies portrayal of herself, Walls sometimes switches between I, she and they.

Q: Does watching yourself on screen give you a lens through which you can view your story in a way thats a closer to the way a reader might perceive you  almost like having an out-of-body experience?

A: The answer is yes. I didnt feel that way watching the other actors. Seeing Woody was bizarre to me, because he captured Dad so much. Ditto, Naomi. Seeing Ella Anderson, the middle Jeannette, broke my heart. Here was this 10-year-old, 11-year-old, trying to get her dad to stop drinking. Seeing him throw her into in the pool, I just wanted to rush at the screen. That was a shocker. I was on the set when Brie, as me, was told by my older sister Lori [Sarah Snook] that she was leaving for New York. I burst into tears. It was the effect of seeing myself from a distance.

Q: Was there a sense of detachment?

A: Exactly. I first tried writing the book from the perspective of an adult looking back. But it was too stilted. So I wrote it from the viewpoint of a child going through these things. Seeing them, these actors, playing me on screen  this is going to sound schmaltzy and hokey  but I think I was able to forgive myself a little bit more.

Q: For what?

A: For the decisions I had to make. Anybody who pulls themselves up by their bootstraps, to some degree, has to cut off their family. You remake yourself.



Shree Crooks, left, and Brie Larson plays sisters Maureen and Jeannette Walls. (Credit: Lionsgate)

Q: Were you plagued by guilt?

A: Thats a harsh term, but its accurate. I was.

Q: Why? Because you felt you owed something to your parents?

A: Not just my parents, but my kid sister, Maureen. Could I have done more for her? Did I leave for New York too soon? Did I leave too late? Should I have taken her with me? Im a scrapper and a survivor, but Ill never know if I did the right thing.

Q: Didnt you once call yourself pathologically independent?

A: I did. One time, I was carrying two pieces of luggage and my handbag, and my husband [novelist John Taylor] said, Let me help you with all that. I said, I can do it on my own! He said, Of course you can, but you dont have to. That was such a revelation, because I was so afraid of depending on anybody else. And then you see the movie, and youre like, Ah, no wonder. She  that would be me  had to make some tough decisions. One of them was my decision to follow Lori to New York City. I was 13. It was after that scene in the bar [in which Jeannette fights off the advances of her fathers friend]. That was the moment when I said, Ive got to get out of here. I loved him, and I believe he loved me, in his damaged way. But he was not going to protect me.

Q: Its like he was throwing you in the deep end all over again.

A: Thats exactly what it was. I love that analogy. But that kind of cuts him some slack. Some people think I should be so angry, and that I was abused. I was at a book event one time, and someone said, As a survivor of child abuse . . . I said, Wait a minute. I dont see it that way.

Q: Isnt it abuse?

A: In some ways, I wish I were more like him. He was so much more brilliant than I am, so much more of a performer, a much better writer. The things we have in common that I owe to him is a fearlessness, a demon-chasing quality that he actually didnt have as much as I have. One pivotal moment in the movie is when the kids gang up on Irma, [Rexs mother, who sexually molested both Brian and Rex] to beat on her head. She was the personification of my fathers demons, but he couldnt do that himself. It freaked him out that his kids could.

Q: Maureen has been diagnosed with schizophrenia. Do you ever blame her condition on her childhood?

A: One of the few things I understand about schizophrenia is that we really dont understand much about it. It seems both biological and environmental. You inherit a propensity for it, and its triggered by environmental factors. Ive talked to Maureen about it a number of times, and shes said that she had imaginary friends back when she was 5 or 6 years old.



Actress Brie Larson, left, who plays author Jeanette Walls, talks to Walls, center, on the set of The Glass Castle. (Credit: John Golden Britt/Lionsgate)

Q: Has it occurred to you that your parents may also have been mentally ill?

A: Readers who are smarter than I kept saying, Your father was bipolar. At first, I resisted that idea, because I thought he was just a drunk. Hed be great when he was sober. I realize now they were probably right. He was never diagnosed. Many alcoholics are trying to self-medicate.

Q: Have you yourself ever seen a therapist?

A: I havent. I believe that therapy is storytelling. My husband, who urged me to write the book in the first place, likes to say that the process of writing is the process of thinking.

Q: Is it weird to juggle multiple Jeannettes: the one in the book, the ones in the movie, the one that you see when you look in the mirror?

A: Its very weird. I, she, her, they.

Q: What did you leave out of your story?

A: Not much. Some Rex drunk scenes. One thing is a scene at Barnard, where I ultimately went to college. A very skinny woman befriended me because she thought I was anorexic.

Q: You do have a complicated relationship with food, or so Ive read.

A: Ive never really gotten the fetishization of food in the big cities, where they make it into architecture. Its just food. Where I come from, youre eating fancy if you dont serve it out of the can.

Q: The movie opens, in 1989, with Jeannette at an expensive restaurant. She asks if she can have her dining companions leftovers.

A: I still do that, to this day. Just now, I was walking down the hotel hallway and I was like, Huh, somebody left some food. That looks good. I dont need to do that anymore.



Ella Anderson plays the young Jeannette Walls, and Woody Harrelson her father Rex in The Glass Castle. (Credit: Jake Giles Netter/Lionsgate)

Q: Your childhood sounds horrific, yet you seem to have turned out okay. Are you the poster child for alternative parenting?

A: I think I am. I would not recommend it, however. I am one of the happiest and healthiest people I know. The last time I got sick was 1987. One of the biggest differences between myself and my husband is that he gets really embarrassed when he has to buy toilet paper. Im so happy to buy toilet paper. I read somewhere that the secret to happiness is low expectations.

Q: The film ends with Jeannette escaping West Virginia for fame and fortune in New York City. Yet here you are, back in the boondocks of Orange, Virginia.

A: Its the boomerang effect. I was living on Park Avenue, but that wasnt who I am. Im a hick at heart. It may not be Welch, but Ive got green, rolling hills, horses and chickens.

Q: And toilet paper.

A: What more could a girl ask for?

The Glass Castle (PG-13, 127 minutes). At area theaters.
Jessica Dawson and her dog Rocky at the Lisson Gallery in New York. Art work by Pedro Reyes. (Jason Falchook)

Shortly after I met him, the curator of a group show opening in Manhattan sat beside me on the floor of a studio in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. I reached over and petted his fur, and he licked my hand. The curators name was Rocky. Hes a Morkshire terrier with final approval over the artworks in Dogumenta, which caters to the sensibilities of a previously underserved demographic: dogs.

I met him on Monday, and on Tuesday I asked him to come home with me, Rockys owner, art critic Jessica Dawson (who freelanced for The Washington Post for over a decade) says in explaining her relationship with the curator. Dawson found Rocky at a SoHo animal shelter not long after she moved to New York several years ago, and as a pair, they have navigated the citys at times overwhelming gallery scene.

Named after Documenta, a prestigious art exhibition in its 14th edition in Kassell, Germany, Dogumenta is the first U.S. exhibition made specifically for dogs. (British designer Dominic Wilcox developed an exhibition for dogs in London last year.) The concept might seem like the art worlds equivalent of the talking-animal movie, but as that much-maligned subgenre (in one of its better recent examples, Kevin Spacey voiced a grumpy cat in Nine Lives) can teach us something about being human, so the enthusiasm of a dog unfettered by current art trends can teach us to let our aesthetic hair down, so to speak.

Its easy to become overwhelmed and jaded, Dawson says of the New York art world. But Rocky doesnt approach art with human preconceptions. Every time he sees a Jeff Koons, Dawson notes about the pop artist who installed a 43-foot topiary puppy at Rockefeller Center in 2000, he doesnt go [rolling eyes], Jeff Koons again! like we do.

[Fashion may be art, but does it belong in a museum?]

Rocky assesses a piece by Jaume Plensa at Galerie Lelong in New York. (Jason Falchook)

In February, Dawson delivered her thesis, Five Things My Dog Taught Me About Art to a Bushwick gallery audience consisting of artists, curators and critics, and put out her first call for Dogumenta.

What has Rocky taught Dawson about art? For one thing, fearlessness. I love that he went with his gut, Dawson says.

Among the participating artists in Dogumenta is Graham Caldwell, who ran a glass studio in Hyattsville, Md., and moved to New York almost 10 years ago. How does it feel to be selected for a show like this?

Its different! Caldwell approaches the challenges of making art for dogs with an enthusiasm that comes in part from his own canine companion, Minnow.

The 10-year-old dachshund-papillon mix might be a harsher critic than Rocky. Dogs can be brutally dismissive, Caldwell says. Especially my dog  she makes these snippy scoffy sounds if shes not interested in a person. What about his art? For instance, what does Minnow think of Glimpse Machine, Caldwells 2013 installation consisting of a 10-by-20-foot cluster of rearview mirrors?

She doesnt care, Caldwell says. It hurts a little.

For Dogumenta, Caldwell took his art in a different direction, creating a set of child-size sofas covered entirely in grass sod. Although the concept is tailored for dogs, the perishability of the material (this is, after all, going to be only a three-day show) speaks to Caldwells appreciation of ruined landscapes. The piece also addresses a dogs perception of a world made for humans. They use people stuff, but in a much different way. They have a different purpose for it, Caldwell says.

They also have different perceptions. All canines see in blue and a yellow-green, Dawson explains. That didnt stop Rocky from loving Dan Flavins light works. If a painting is in a spectrum that is unknowable to him, hell be happy to discuss surface and texture.

Were not even aware of what hes smelling or perceiving that we arent, says Mica Scalin, who, along with Dawson, is one of the shows organizers. This is a great opportunity for artists to play with some of those different perceptions.

Does Rocky ever have a bad reaction to art? Yes, and in one case, it indicates the curators prudish streak. Hes a little bit of a Victorian at heart, Dawson says of Rockys reaction to a work by Camille Henrot that pictured several dogs copulating, ahem, doggy style. And Rocky . . . cant see the dogs engaging in their natural behavior sometimes. When he doesnt like something, hes completely willing to just walk out of the door.

[A scare at my dogs day care gave me a crash course in how to stay sane]

Some of the works in Dogumenta are meant to stimulate senses museums rarely address, such as smell.

One artist is making work out of kibble, Scalin says. Dan Sherwood is a trained pastry chef who uses food presentation in her work. She creates these sort of baroque feasts for wild animals. Shes a big dog lover, and this will be her first feast for dogs.

Examining a mock-up of work by Merav Ezer consisting of silhouettes of various dogs, Rocky seems more interested in the people around him. In their final form, the dog-shape forms will be fitted with motion sensors that will bark when triggered.

The nondog or dog stand-in will then try to interact with the real dog, and well see how much of a conversation they will actually have, Dawson says. The mock-up suggests a benign version of experiments made by psychologist Harry Harlow, who observed the anxiety of rhesus monkeys separated from their mothers and left with only a wire surrogate for comfort. Yet, much as art can be a balm in uncertain times, this show will address canine anxieties.

One piece has a sound element that coos gentle whispering, Ooh, honey, its okay!  Dawson says.

Dogumenta is an exhibition for dogs, but it encourages a tenderness and openness sometimes lacking in modern art.

Dogumenta, 8 a.m.-1 p.m. and 4-8 p.m. Aug. 11-13, Brookfield Place, Waterfront Plaza, 230 Vesey St., New York.


Johnsie Gooslin looks at the hangout room of his shed at his childhood home of Rutherford Hollow in West Virginia. He used the shed to grow marijuana until his arrest in 2015. More than half of what he grew went to his father to help him manage pain. West Virginia legalized medical marijuana in April 2017. (Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post)

Johnsie Gooslin spent Jan. 16, 2015, tending his babies  thats what he called his marijuana plants. More than 70 of them were growing in a hydroponic system of his own design. Sometimes, hed stay in his barn for 16 hours straight, perfecting his technique.

That night, he left around 8 oclock to head home. The moon was waning, down to a sliver, which left the sky as dark as the ridges that lined it. As he pulled away, the lights from his late-model Kia swept across his childhood hollow and his parents trailer, which stood just up the road from the barn. He turned onto West Virginia Route 65. Crossing Mingo County, he passed the Delbarton Mine, where he had worked on and off for 14 years before his back gave out. Though Johnsie was built like a linebacker, falling once from a coal truck and twice from end loaders had taken a toll. At 36, his disks were a mess, and sciatica sometimes shot pain to his knees.

Still, he managed to lift the buckets that held his plants; friends sometimes helped. In another part of the barn, they had set up a man cave with a big-screen TV and girlie posters. When they werent transplanting and trimming, they played video games and discussed their passion for cultivating pot. None of them had studied marijuana like Johnsie, but they all loved growing, seeing it not just as a hobby or a way to make a buck but as an act of compassion.

Mostly the people that bought were older men and women, Vietnam veterans and people thats been hurt, Johnsie told me. I mean, to hear them say, You know, ever since I started smoking your pot, I aint touched a pain pill ...  He trailed off, shaking his head, but it was clear what he meant. In a state with one of the nations highest rates of overdose deaths, most of them opioid-related, it felt good to give people an alternative, one that even the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said this year has never caused an overdose fatality.

Minutes after leaving the barn, Johnsie parked in the light of his own trailer, a newly remodeled 14-by-60 that he shared with his wife, Faye, and 14-year-old daughter Bethany. His phone rang. It was a neighbor from Rutherford Branch Road, where the barn stood. Cops were there, asking about him.

Inside, Johnsie dialed his mother. Two officers, she told him, were standing in her living room. She handed the phone to one of them. Though he didnt have a search warrant for the barn, the officer said he could get one, according to Johnsie. But, he said, I think it would be better if you come and talk to me first. (This account is based largely on Johnsies recollection. Neither arresting officer was permitted to be interviewed for this story, but it is consistent with a description of Johnsies case in the 2015 West Virginia State Police Annual Report.)

Johnsie hung up. Hed placed cameras around his building and vented it out the back, but people were packed tight into that narrow hollow. It was only a matter of time before someone figured out what was inside. Turning to his wife, he said, Look, Im going up there, and Im going to jail.

With Skoal tobacco, his one chemical vice, pressed tightly against his cheek, Johnsie drove back to Rutherford Branch Road, where officers met him outside. Its like this. I got your dad. I got a lot of pot on him, Senior Trooper D.L. Contos told him. This was no surprise. Sam Gooslin had smoked pot for decades, and half of Johnsies pot went to him. His dad relied on it to ease pain from lung cancer, a new ailment layered atop others  diabetes, a stroke, four heart attacks and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Hes a Vietnam veteran, Johnsie recalls Contos saying. I respect that. I dont want to see a veteran go to jail. If you make me go get a search warrant, Im taking you to jail, and Im gonna get your dad on felony conspiracy charges because hes taking the blame on whats going on up there.

Johnsie had only one option. He crossed the road and unlocked the barn, opening a series of doors to release a flood of light. The officers paused. One said he had busted hundreds of marijuana operations and had never seen anything like this. For the next two hours, Johnsie walked the officers through his process. He explained the role of the lights and hydroponics; why he placed three plants in a bucket, not one; how he used gibberellic acid to push the plants at just the right time. At the end, he recalls Contos telling him they had to seize his plants, but, referring to Johnsies equipment and supplies, he said, Im not going to take it away. One day, this might be legal.



The Delbarton Mine, where Johnsie Gooslin worked on and off for more than a decade before his back gave out. Now his disks are a mess and he has sciatica. (Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post)

The first time Johnsie planted pot, he was 14. He stole a single seed from his father and buried it. I didnt know what I was doing, he recalls. I was just a kid being a kid. That seed barely grew, but it did take root in a sense. Years later, while still working in the mines, he began reading about marijuana cultivation. Though hed already learned that he couldnt smoke it himself (every attempt made his heart race and left him paranoid), the science behind the plant, the act of nurturing it, enthralled him. After he stopped working at the mine about five years ago, and after his father gave him the barn, Johnsie tried growing marijuana again, this time treating the exercise more as a science experiment.

He was actually the third generation of Gooslins with a passion for pot. His father didnt grow it but smoked it constantly. His grandfather, a former Kentucky constable, was just the opposite. He never used marijuana but sold it to supplement his retirement income. At one time this sort of thing wasnt uncommon, says 1st Sgt. Michael Smith, who heads West Virginias drug-eradication efforts: It was generally local individuals that would go back in the woods and, similar to the image of old-time moonshiners, they would get them a clandestine location and take care of their crops. Families would grow marijuana. ... They would hand it down.

Reliable estimates of the size of the marijuana market in West Virginia are hard to come by. According to the group NORML, which advocates for marijuana legalization, pot has been West Virginias most valuable cash crop for the past 20 years.

(Daron Taylor,Danielle Kunitz/The Washington Post)

Lately, however, marijuana has been overshadowed by opioids, which are devastating parts of coal country. In Mingo County, where Johnsie lives, a single pharmacy pumped out 9 million hydrocodone pills over just two years, according to a 2016 investigation by the Charleston Gazette-Mail. That was enough for every man, woman and child in the area to have 350 of them. Hydrocodone was part of a new generation of opioids that pharmaceutical companies introduced in the United States in the past two decades and heavily marketed to doctors as posing minimal risk for addiction. That, of course, wasnt true, and as government officials cracked down on prescription opioids, they became prohibitively expensive, pushing addicts in West Virginia and elsewhere toward illegal substitutes, including heroin, which ran about a third the price.

The Mountain State is now ground zero of one of the worst drug crises in our nations history. In 2015, 725 people died of overdoses in the state, the highest rate per capita in the country. Last year, that figure grew another 15 percent, reaching a staggering 844 deaths. That averages to one West Virginian dying from an overdose every 11 hours. Eighty-six percent of the states overdose deaths in 2016 involved an opioid.

While there are no easy answers to the opioid crisis, a growing body of research suggests that legalizing marijuana could help. More than a dozen states with legal medical marijuana have recorded significant drops in overdose deaths from other drugs, including heroin, according to a 2014 study in JAMA: the Journal of the American Medical Association. A 2015 pilot study by Yasmin Hurd at the Behavioral Health Systems Addiction Institute at Mount Sinai found that cannabidiol, a compound in marijuana, minimized cravings for opioids, making it easier for participants to stop using them. And unlike methadone, an opioid that is used in drug treatment to minimize cravings for opioids, cannabidiol was not addictive. Hurd is pursuing further research but argues that legislators must address this epidemic now. You cant wait for all the ducks to be lined up, she says. You sometimes have to make bold steps.

Attempts to decriminalize marijuana in West Virginia date to at least 2010, but for years no bills made it out of committee. As of 2015, the year of Johnsies arrest, stalwarts in the Republican-dominated legislature still could not bring themselves to legalize marijuana for medical use. But younger lawmakers would not let the issue go.

One of the leading proponents of loosening restrictions on marijuana in West Virginia is Democratic state Del. Mike Pushkin, who represents parts of Charleston and its surrounding areas. Pushkin is an unconventional pol  a cabdriver and folk musician who has spoken about his own struggles with addiction. He once told the Charleston Gazette-Mail how he spent 11 years living from crisis to crisis. Im sure there were times that my mother would have thought it more likely she would be attending my funeral than she would be attending my swearing-in at the Capitol, he said.

It took a spiritual awakening to get his addiction under control. To stay sober, he told me, he volunteers at detox facilities and talks to addicts in area jails. This experience informs his policy positions. Hes sure West Virginia cant arrest its way out of this drug crisis. And he has pushed his colleagues to consider marijuana in a new light. While marijuana is described as a gateway drug, thats not proven, he says. What is proven is that a lot of people who are prescribed painkillers get hooked on heroin.



Gooslin in the yard where his house used to stand before it was repossessed. (Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post)

Though he spent only 14 hours in jail, Johnsie returned to his trailer a different man. The police did not confiscate his equipment, but he was still charged with a felony for cultivating marijuana. That, combined with his back problems, made it nearly impossible to find work. He was not allowed to leave the state, which meant he could not move to a place where he could grow marijuana legally.

With his $1,000 or so in monthly pot sales gone and Faye making just $9 an hour as a cashier at a gas station, cash was dwindling fast. They had begun receiving $129 in food stamps, but that didnt help much. Three people eats more than that in a week, Faye says.

Johnsies lawyer, Wesley Kent Varney, chose for strategic reasons not to rush his case, instead engaging in a slow, courteous dialogue with Mingo County Prosecuting Attorney Teresa Maynard. He thought he could get Johnsie off on a technicality, in part because the pot the police confiscated later disappeared.

Varney told me police also found no marijuana bricked up for shipping, no scales, not even any large sums of money  making this a low-priority case for Maynard. Even when she proposed a plea bargain that would have put Johnsie under home arrest, Varney sat on the option, hoping to get a better deal. (Maynard declined to comment for this story.)

That approach kept Johnsie free, but his familys losses started adding up. Debt collectors began calling. Both their cars were repossessed. Before I was arrested, he says, we was both pushing an 800 credit score. Wasnt nothing we couldnt buy on credit at any given time. Now, I think mine is 500 and hers is like 470. Pitiful.

About a year after his arrest, the bank came for their trailer  the nicest place Johnsie had ever lived, and just about the only home his teen daughter could remember. The family got 24 hours notice. Their sole option was moving to the battered trailer next door that had passed hands in Fayes family over and over until it was empty and rusting with bent underpinnings and insulation peeking through holes in the walls.

It was raining that day, and no one could help. That left Johnsie, with his bad back, and Faye to carry their belongings through the mud. They hauled all they could but ended up leaving a lot. We worked ourselves to death, Faye recalls, and we just couldnt do it.

She didnt go outside when the repo guys came. Instead, she watched through a leaky aluminum-framed window as they hitched up their trailer and hauled it off. Her living-room furniture, desk and bed frame were still inside.

After that, Johnsie rarely left home. During the days, while his daughter was at school and Faye at work, he alternated between his computer chair, where he read articles about marijuana reform elsewhere (Massachusetts, Maine, California and Nevada would all legalize adult use of the drug in 2016), and the window. There, hed chew tobacco and stare at bare soil, where their old home had rested.



Gooslin hung a giant marijuana leaf on the wall of his shed; it left a mark on the wall. (Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post)

In May 2016, Pushkin introduced a bill in the West Virginia House of Delegates to let adults grow, use and possess a limited quantity of marijuana, provided that they paid a one-time fee of $500. That month, he told the Charleston Gazette-Mail that he didnt have high hopes for its passage. He was right: It wasnt even debated in a committee. But it did spark media attention and prompted an eye-opening brief from the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, which showed that a marijuana tax could be a boon for the state, generating as much as $194 million annually if the drug were legal for adult use. That would be enough to eliminate West Virginias projected deficit and create a $183 million surplus, a dramatic improvement in a place thats been slashing everything from higher education to Medicaid as it tries to stay afloat.

Indeed, Pushkins argument for marijuana legalization had a strong economic component. Theyre not having the types of budget issues in Colorado that were having here, he told the Charleston Gazette-Mail. In Colorado, where pot is now fully legalized, the industry created 18,000 full-time jobs in 2015 alone. New Frontier Data, a financial consultancy in Washington, estimates that by 2020 the marijuana industry will create upward of a quarter of a million jobs in the United States, more than manufacturing is expected to create.

Its hard to imagine anywhere that could use these jobs more than West Virginia. Since the 1980s, both coal and manufacturing in the Mountain State have been in a steep decline. As these industries have dried up, so have others that rely on them  such as freight rail, which has cut jobs by the thousands and begun pulling up tracks.

Smart leaders would have diversified their economy decades ago, but that didnt happen here. Weve been relying on the extraction industries for far too long, Pushkin told me, noting that West Virginia is not just experiencing a budget crisis or even a drug crisis. The states population is shrinking; many who stay are depressed by their prospects and taking poor care of themselves. A National Bureau of Economic Research paper published in February found a positive correlation between a countys unemployment rate and its opioid overdose death rate. And a link between unemployment and drug use was also confirmed by a meta-analysis of 28 studies, including 10 done in the United States, that appeared in the June issue of the International Journal of Drug Policy. Diabetes rates exceed 150 percent of the U.S. average in some parts of West Virginia, and obesity is just as severe. Pushkin sees the opioid crisis as more of a symptom of the underlying economic one. When you see countries that are based on one industry, those are mainly Third World countries, he says. Were really like a Third World country inside the United States.



Gooslin is greeted by one of his bassett hounds at his front door. (Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post)

In his rundown trailer, with no end to his legal limbo in sight, Johnsie soon faced another setback. His father had begun having seizures. They became so routine that Johnsie was not alarmed when, on June 24, 2016, he got a call informing him that Sam Gooslin was bound for the hospital. But this time, when Johnsie arrived and said his name at the nurses station, a chaplain approached. I knew then it wasnt good, he recalls. No one was sure, but they thought his father might have had another stroke. This one was just too big.

As the two-year anniversary of his arrest approached, Johnsie found himself without his father, unable to pursue his passion and flat broke. He grew more reclusive and stopped having people over because he was ashamed of where he lived. Gained 20 pounds, he says. Just sitting and waiting on death.

But just as he began to feel like he was fighting a losing battle, Maynard, who had lost her reelection bid, decided to step down early. The incoming county prosecuting attorney, Jonathan Jewell, was inheriting a mound of cases. Varney was quick to point out a case that the new prosecutor could settle fast  one where the defendant, Johnsie, had kept his nose clean for two years while on bond. This was a gift to Jewell, who scheduled a hearing for Jan. 31. (Jewell did not respond to requests for comment.)

For several nights prior, Johnsie lay awake, thinking about all that had happened. Beside his sleeping wife, with his daughter just a thin, splintered wall away, he tried to picture their future. He couldnt work coal, not with his back like it was, or even stand at a register all day. That and growing marijuana was about all he was qualified to do.

He could probably get a job at a legal growhouse in California. He knew somebody who knew somebody who owned one. But Johnsie was a good-old-boy conservative. He supported Trump and pokes fun at liberals. He loves guns and four-wheeling. I just dont know if I can handle California, he once told me. Plus, how could he uproot Bethany while she was doing so well in school  taking advanced placement classes? He wouldnt dare do anything to upset her future.

The morning of his hearing, Johnsie rose bleary-eyed and, with Faye, drove under a bright winter sky. The 20-minute ride was quiet. They didnt know what to expect at the Mingo County Courthouse. Inside, things moved fast. Each lawyer said a few words, and within 10 minutes, West Virginia Circuit Court Judge Miki J. Thompson dismissed the case without prejudice. For the first time in two years, Johnsie was truly free. He and Faye drove back to their side of the county and, at the gas station where she worked, celebrated with ice cream cones.

Meanwhile in Charleston, Pushkin and like-minded lawmakers saw an opening to try again for legalization. In late 2016, both gubernatorial candidates had publicly supported legalizing medical marijuana. And some of their colleagues were showing a new openness to it. In February, he backed legislation focusing on medical marijuana. While it met with familiar opposition in the House of Delegates, a similar bill wove through the state Senate with bipartisan support. This forced the House speaker and other old-guard Republicans to soften their stance. The bill not only made it out of committee, it was debated on the House floor  and an amended version passed.

The bill permits patients to use pot derivatives, such as oils and pills, but prohibits smoking the plant or growing it at home. Just 10 growers will be authorized statewide, and the price to play will be steep  a $50,000 registration fee. On April 19, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (D) signed it into law.

Many lawmakers who voted for the bill were reacting to public pressure and media scrutiny. And although the law passed, there is no certainty that the trend toward loosening restrictions on marijuana will continue. Close to half the people who voted for that [legislation] are against medical cannabis, Pushkin told me, but we got something on the books. I do believe we can fix it. A bill he introduced to tax medical marijuana is in committee. Beyond that, Pushkin admits, he is still figuring out what to do next.



Gooslin listens to his attorney in his Pikeville, Ky., office in March. His case was dismissed without prejudice in January. (Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post)

Johnsie doesnt like coffee. Rather than order anything at the coffee shop where he and I are meeting Pushkin on a Friday in May, he waits at an empty table, nervous and fidgeting. I get hot tea, and we talk about how unlikely this sit-down is. With his background, Johnsie never imagined hed talk to a man who could help undo laws that ruined his life. But when I told Pushkin about Johnsie weeks before and asked if they could meet, the delegate said yes.

Coming off an 11-hour shift of cab driving, one that took him clear to Ohio and back, Pushkin walks in while wiping rainwater from his shirt. Both men wear jeans. Pushkins jeans have a hole over the left pocket. Johnsies are paired with a button-down for the occasion. Though neither looks their part  a West Virginia delegate and a former pot grower  they somehow appear to belong at the same table.

With a handshake and a nod, they begin a slow discourse on the new marijuana law. Johnsie may have found a financial backer, a Michigan businessman who visits Mingo Countys ATV trail a few times a year, but breaking into legal marijuana production would be much easier if the fee were lower. He references a provision thats popular in other states, one that assigns caregivers to patients. These licensed professionals help people get and use their marijuana. They can even grow it for them. By his own admission, Pushkin doesnt know a lot about the provision, but hes always looking for new ideas. I wouldnt mind going back and trying to get that in, he later tells me, showing the kind of openness that defines his vision for West Virginia.

Pushkin still sees tremendous potential in his home state. Charleston, for instance, has the kind of cultural capital that attracts newer industries  prewar buildings galore, gritty warehouses begging to become lofts, and indie businesses that include a sprawling bookstore-cafe-gallery and a new art-house cinema. In many ways, it resembles Pittsburgh or Asheville, N.C., before those cities became hipster meccas, and Pushkin looks to those places as models. Legalizing recreational use of marijuana could be another asset, a way to boost tourism and retain young people. I want to fight to make it the kind of state friends want to move back to, he later says. I want to help make this a cool place again.

The scruffy delegate pauses to sip his coffee, and Johnsie fiddles with his phone. Quiet passes between them until Johnsie begins to talk about his passion for marijuana. Id fall asleep at night studying, he says, with the laptop still on. He describes the intricacies of growing, his hydroponic technique, how he kept his plants budding.

Pushkin looks down. When he first learned about Johnsie, he said, Im sorry that this prohibition has turned somebody who was just trying to help their father into a criminal.

Sitting across from this man who lost everything, who had been stripped of his home and livelihood, who is no longer permitted to pursue his passion, Pushkin grips his mug. This is the kind of story that needs to be told in the statehouse, he says and shakes his head.

The two talk a few minutes more until Pushkins coffee is gone. He stands up and  though many politicians wouldnt have even entertained a conversation with a former marijuana grower  he extends his hand. Im going to give you my number, he says, looking Johnsie in the eye. Call anytime you need help.

After they part, Johnsie and I go for pizza; then he drives an hour in the rain, back to Mingo County, where he and Faye have been keeping their expenses low. She has saved just enough to buy a used car. He now drives a 17-year-old truck inherited from an uncle and spends his days making low-cost improvements to his trailer.

While hanging drywall one day to cover torn wallpaper and exposed wires, he deliberates on his future. He still hates the idea of moving to another state. West Virginia gets ahold of you, he once told me, and wont let go.

Maybe he can get one of those 10 marijuana-farm licenses. Maybe the legislature will make it easier for regular people to take part in this new industry. Hes not sure how exactly, but hes determined to grow his babies again.

He beams at the thought. Hook the water and electricity up, and Id have seeds in the cups tonight, he muses and spits chewing tobacco into an empty bottle. Im ready to go anytime, when the law says you can do it.

Mark Lynn Ferguson writes about Appalachia on his site, the Revivalist, and splits his time between Alexandria and Roanoke.

Email us at wpmagazine@washpost.com.

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Virginia Burton, 72, owns and operates Burton Optician in Georgetown, which just celebrated its 28th anniversary. She lives in Arlington and pursued opticianry in Austin because of an unexpected epiphany: She couldnt afford air conditioning at the time, and one day she overheard an optician younger than she talking about his new car and thought: I bet he has air conditioning.

Rick Perry. Do you know what Im going to ask?

Whoever his optician is works for the devil. She made him look more intelligent.

Why does that work?

It just does. People always think if you wear glasses that youre smarter, harder-working and more honest than the same person without glasses. I always tell young women going for their first job interview and such: Get glasses so people will take you more seriously. Let prejudice work for you. What were you going to ask me about Rick Perry?

That was it. He had to completely change his image, and all he did was get Buddy Holly glasses.

He looked fabulous, didnt he? They were the perfect pair.

And now hes a Cabinet secretary! When they wanted George Burns to play God he had these huge glasses, and then you think, Wow, I should listen to you.

Heavy, dark  its very assertive. A very aggressive kind of look. Another example of glasses saying a whole lot about somebody is [Dick] Cheney and all of that crew: rimless glasses. Cold, mean, steely. I quit selling them. I think they make people look older and meaner.

No president has consistently worn glasses since LBJ started wearing contacts in 1964.

I had a number of customers who worked in the Clinton White House, and one said, Chelsea Clinton admired my glasses! Were going to get Chelsea in here! Never got her.

Was there like a Clinton White House look?

Playful. A lot of color, jazzy designs, leopard skin  that was the one Chelsea Clinton supposedly liked so much.

Is there a Washington look in glasses right now?

Tortoiseshell is always the Washington look. You cant really go wrong with tortoiseshell. People think youre trustworthy and a nice person.

Being an expert head measurer, do you give any credence to the so-called science of phrenology, which theorizes that you can learn about someones personality by measuring the contours of their skull?

I dont want to offend any of my phrenologist customers.

I have these weird lumps  flanges, or collets  behind my ears. It makes it hard for me to find sunglasses.

Thats cause youre not buying them from somebody who knows how to adjust glasses.

Someone can come in with glasses, and youll adjust them?

Yes.

Is there a fee for that?

No.

Why not?

Its really fun for me to help people pick out glasses and make them look better. Theyre such a great disguise, you know? They can make people look smarter or stupider or mysterious. Whatever you want.

More Just Asking

For stories, features such as Date Lab, Gene Weingarten and more, visit WP Magazine.

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Reader 1: After my husband receives his annual review and cost-of-living raise, he will be in a new pay bracket. When this happens, the cost of his health insurance will increase as well  way beyond the raise he would receive  so he will be bringing home significantly less in his paycheck. His coverage and benefits will not change. Getting a raise is actually going to cost us money! How is this legal?

Karla: As health-care costs have risen in the past two decades, more employers have adopted a the more you make, the more you pay approach to health-care coverage, says Gary Kushner, president of Michigan-based HR consulting and benefits administration firm Kushner & Co. Generally, under traditional fully insured employer-provided plans  where employers provide health-care coverage through a third-party insurer  employees can be required to pay a larger share of their health-care costs based on their age (if the employer is also incurring higher coverage costs based on age) or income, says Kushner.

But just as your employer can adjust employee contributions, it should be able to tweak its rules so rewards dont become punishments. For example, employers can implement corridors between pay brackets that allow workers to transition gradually to the higher contribution tier, Kushner says. He recommends your husband start by outlining his situation to HR: This cant be the result you wanted.

Alternatively, Pittsburgh lawyer and benefits specialist Terry Connerton suggests investigating whether your husband can opt out of his employers coverage and find a better deal at HealthCare.gov.

Reader 2: My boss has become obsessed with Googles reviews for our business. He has now made the reviews a mandatory part of the sales process: We literally cant let customers leave without having them complete a survey, and were allowed only four refusals every month, for which we have to provide compelling explanations to the boss. Im often asked if we are owned by Google when I say we require a review. I have begun to write fake reviews. I know its wrong, but I feel its worse to strong-arm a client.

(Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post)

Karla: As Im sure you know, the Google My Business review policy frowns on business owners and employees publishing their own reviews. Other users can flag those self-serving plants for removal, although deliberately mediocre reviews could probably slip under the radar without helping or harming your employer.

But although that route spares your clients some hassle, its not as effective as letting them provide their own feedback. A string of one-star reviews complaining about being detained and hounded to fill out surveys  or an on-the-spot conversation with the manager including threats to cancel a purchase  stands a better chance of getting the policy changed.

Ask Karla Miller about your work dramas and traumas by emailing wpmagazine@washpost.com. Read more Work Advice columns.

For stories, features such as Date Lab, Gene Weingarten and more, visit The Washington Post Magazine.

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Email us at wpmagazine@washpost.com.
Jeffrey Lord appears at a rally for then-president-elect Donald Trump in Hershey, Pa., on Dec. 15, 2016. (Matt Rourke/AP) (Matt Rourke/AP)

CNN fired prominent commentator Jeffrey Lord on Thursday after he tweeted the Nazi salutation Sieg Heil! in response to a feud with a liberal activist.

Nazi salutes are indefensible, a CNN spokesperson said in a statement. Jeffrey Lord is no longer with the network.

Lord, a former official in the Reagan administration, has been featured on many CNN panels and has been a reliable defender of President Trump. He began working with the network during the presidential campaign, and has spoken on behalf of Trump since then.

[Margaret Sullivan: For fans of inane punditry, CNNs double loss of Lord and McEnany is crushing]

His undoing was an outgrowth of a long-running argument between Lord and Angelo Carusone, the president of Media Matters for America, a liberal media watchdog group that has been critical of Lord.

(Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post)

In a column for the conservative American Spectator on Thursday, Lord called Carusones group the Media Matters Fascists. In a follow-up post, he called them anti-free speech bigots who, in typical fascist style, make it their mission to shut down speech they dont like.

Lord was specifically critical of Media Matters promotion of an ad boycott against Fox News host Sean Hannity. Lord said Media Matters was playing a fascist game by targeting Hannitys sponsors. The group has led other boycotts against conservative media figures, including Rush Limbaugh and Bill OReilly.

This is America, Angelo. Not Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany or Communist Russia, Lord wrote.

Lord referenced his column in a tweet aimed at Carusone, who tweeted back that Lords column incorrectly referred to his group as MMF (for Media Matters Fascists.)

Carusone asked, Why do you expect anyone to take you seriously when you dont take yourself seriously.

Lords responded by tweeting back Sieg Heil!, a phrase used by Nazi-party members at political rallies. It means hail victory and is so closely associated with Adolf Hitler that its use is banned in Germany.

He deleted the tweet, but other users captured it before he did so.

The two men had traded barbs on Twitter earlier in the week over billionaire George Soros, who has donated funds to Media Matters in the past. In an earlier column, Lord had been critical of Soros contributions to the organization.

Carusone told Lord that one of his columns was full of lies and said Soros gave us one donation one time . . . in 2010.

CNN began employing pro-Trump commentators in 2015 to balance out its discussion of presidential politics and the candidates. Lord, who began at CNN soon after Trump declared his candidacy in June of that year, has been a prime-time regular, appearing on Anderson Coopers program and others.

He was often on the defensive during discussions of Trumps actions or comments, and often used historical references to justify the presidents behavior.

Among his most famous exchanges was one with liberal CNN pundit Van Jones in March of last year over the history of the Ku Klux Klan.

CNN signed Lord to a year-long contract in December. It was supposed to run through the end of 2017.

Lord is the second Trump supporter to leave CNN in the past week. Kayleigh McEnany left the network to become the Republican National Committees spokeswoman. She also recently appeared in a video produced by Trumps reelection committee.
Last year was a busy one for Hank Bargine, a freelance TV-news cameraman based in Colorado. The networks kept calling as the presidential candidates crisscrossed the country on the campaign trail. Bargine worked and traveled constantly, shooting rallies and other political events.

Now? Things are as slow as Bargine can remember in his 20 years as a news photographer. Bargine estimates hes worked about 20 percent as much as he did last year. And he has no doubt what, or who, is responsible. The Trump factor, he calls it.

As in: The cable networks, in particular, have devoted so much time and attention to President Trump in his first six months in office that they have little time or interest in covering much else. Cable news has been so packed with Trump  wherever he might be, whatevers hes doing  that stories far afield from Washington dont make the cut.

The current Trump-centric focus is an extension of the 2016 campaign, when the cable networks drew criticism for devoting disproportionate amounts of airtime to Trump, the candidate, at the expense of his political rivals. The networks  addicted to the improved ratings that all things Trump brought their way  seemingly couldnt help themselves. These are very good times for us, and the money is following, CNN President Jeff Zucker said in February.

If anything, 2017 has been more of the same  much more.

The three leading cable news networks rarely discuss any topic other than Trump during prime-time hours, their highest-rated period of the day. Trump is the focus during daytime hours, too, when cable news actually tends to report some news, rather than merely talking about it.

Over the course of 24 hours on Monday (to take one midsummer day at random), CNN reported and discussed almost nothing else but Trump. A few unrelated topics slipped in  the kidnapping of a British model, a controversial memo written by a Google employee, some news about Syria. But Trump and Trump-related issues dominated, from his declining poll numbers to his Twitter attacks on Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) to the latest on the Russia investigation. At 9 p.m., the network ran a special one-hour report: Why Trump Won.

And this was all before Trump promised an apocalyptic rain of fire and fury on North Korea on Tuesday, a remark that naturally inspired another cycle of discussion and reporting.

The president, of course, is almost always the worlds leading newsmaker, so its no surprise that he commands inordinate attention, both on the air and in other media. And Trumps administration has been unusual, to say the least. Were reflecting the biggest story of our lifetime, said Zucker in an interview on Thursday.

But cables reliance on Trump is as much a programming strategy as a reflection of the news of the moment. Zucker acknowledges that the audiences response to all the Trump news on cable validates the approach. Only a few years ago, writers wrote that cable news was irrelevant, that it was being overtaken by the Internet, he said. The fact is, cable news has never been more relevant or more successful than it has been for the last two years.

In fact, Trump has driven the cable news networks to the highest audience totals in their history, exceeding even last years campaign, which was the highest-rated ever. This is especially noteworthy because cable ratings are cyclical, and tend to decline after an election year.

So far in 2017, Fox Newss average audience has increased 18 percent, to 1.54 million viewers per hour, according to Nielsen Media Research. CNN has seen an 8 percent rise, to 784,000, although its prime-time programs have lost 15 percent of their audience compared with this point in 2016 (CNN says prime-time comparisons with last year are skewed by the number of exclusive debates and town halls it aired last year).

The biggest winner has been MSNBC, traditionally cable newss No. 3, but now second (849,000) after a 55 percent surge this year. MSNBCs leading personality, Rachel Maddow, has become the most-watched figure on cable news, thanks largely to her nightly critiques of the president and his administration.

We try to squeeze in major stories that need to be told, MSNBC President Phil Griffin said Thursday, but there is one story that is dominating. Besides, he adds, We dont want to do 20 stories with drive-by reporting. [Cable news] is much better when it picks a few and goes deep, looking at it from all sides.

The good news for cable news isnt shared by people like Bargine, who rely on field assignments from a variety of news networks. Those assignments began drying up after Trumps inauguration, he said, as his clients shifted to covering the White House almost full time. There was one major story that consumed the networks from that day on: Trump, he said. He added, My phone stopped ringing.

Bargine gets an amen from Gil Miller-Muro, who owns a business providing mobile satellite uplinks to news stations for live reports from distant locations. The Trump effect, he says, has hurt people in his field because many broadcast and cable news stories now originate from within locations that are already prewired  the White House, Capitol Hill, the Justice Department and the Pentagon  reducing the need for an uplink truck, he says.

Every network is filled with hungry, creative journalists who want to dive in to different stories  about race, the economy, Wall Street, he said. But the things they get to cover are fewer and far between now because of Trumps dominance of the news agenda.

For Miller-Muro, the Trump effect is personal. Business has been so erratic this year that hes decided to wind his down. Later this month, hell start a new management position at WRC, the NBC-owned station in Washington.


Visitors move across the canopy walk  a 100-foot-long bridge 25 feet above the ground  at Myakka River State Park. (John Briley/For The Washington Post)

The only thing more worrying than seeing a bunch of alligators around your canoe is not seeing them but knowing darn well they are there.

I am with my two kids, Kai, 8, and Christina, 5, and my sister Gina and her 5-year-old son Quincy, in Floridas Myakka River State Park. Its a moss-and-vine-draped domain of birds, mammals and Jurassic-spiked reptiles covering 29,000 acres about 20 miles southeast of Sarasota. We came here from Ginas home in Tampa on a mid-December Saturday seeking a taste of the states Where the Wild Things Are interior.

The park is an A-list hangout for gators, harboring a couple thousand, a volunteer ranger tells me, giving it one of the highest concentrations in Southwest Florida. Credit this to the namesake river and two lakes, Upper and Lower Myakka, which provide the reedy, muddy habitat the dinosaur impersonators love. Not coincidentally, it also supports a biodiverse buffet of prey.

My assurance that this menu doesnt include humans  alligators seldom attack people unless provoked  is calming neither Gina nor the kids as I glide our rented 16-foot aluminum Grumman toward a shore of Upper Myakka Lake, where the crocodilians lounge in the sun . With a burly north wind raking the lake, and the parks popular airboat tour finished for the day, we are the only vessel out. As we near shore, the gators deploy one by one into the water, descending until their watchful eyes and tails disappear.



Two of the parks alligators lounge on the banks of the Myakka River as a bird keeps its distance. (John Briley/For The Washington Post)

Reason would suggest theyre swimming away but, given that we are tasty sardines in an open tin, flirting with a plausible definition of provoke, we retreat toward a far shore where a pair of sandhill cranes poke about placidly in the shallows.

Like most in Florida, Myakka River State Park is a birding wonderland. In our six hours here, we see herons, egrets, wood storks, vultures and a hawk, a count we might have eclipsed the prior day at the much smaller Lettuce Lake Park in Tampa, where we saw many of those species along with Roseate spoonbills, night herons, anhingas, white ibises and some hyperkinetic little twitterers that Im told are called phoebes.

Myakka River is also home to deer, turtles, armadillos, turkeys and feral pigs, a faction that probably sticks to the roughly 10,500 acres of the park that are designated as a wilderness preserve, into which are allowed only 30 people per day by foot or nonmotorized boat. We opt to explore a smaller chunk of the park, a well-trodden mile of path that is part of Myakkas 39 miles of unpaved trails.

It is a cool world, in both senses. A hard-sand path winds into a hardwood hammock of live oak, and coconut and cabbage palms, arriving soon at one of the parks most-advertised features: a 100-foot-long canopy walk, strung with wood and rope 25 feet high between two sturdy towers. The bridge was the first of its kind in North America when it opened in 2000 and remains among only a handful of public treetop walks in the United States.

For commanding views above the forest, visitors can climb the stairs of this 74-foot tower. (John Briley/For The Washington Post)

I had pictured a much longer span but this nonetheless fulfills its promise of putting us within arms reach of the teeming ecosystem in the high branches of live oaks, which are adorned with bromeliads, mosses and other sweet-smelling organisms. Later, Kai tells me that this was his favorite part of the visit, adding, You know, dad, alligators are kind of boring. They just sit there. But I bet they think the same thing about us, like When are those humans going to do something interesting? 

I want to linger on this arboreal catwalk or, even better, hop the rail and set up camp in a tree, but another family is accelerating down the narrow walkway, so we clear out.

After descending we continue on, haplessly peering into the mottled vegetation for animals in the last place theyd be  next to the bipeds walking path. The kids fall into a fantasy stick-and-palm-frond fighting game, which proves to be a wonderful diversion until Christina, obeying a timeless law of nature, chooses the farthest point from the car to have a meltdown.

I realize, too late, why shes irate: Its been two hours since the childrens last meal, a prix fixe of pretzels, Skittles, and Cheesy Dibbles paired with a 2017 lait chocolat, so I hoist her onto my back for the walk back to the car and a beeline to the parks lone eatery, the Pink Gator Cafe.

Overlooking Upper Myakka Lake and sharing space with the gift shop, the cafe offers an impressive menu of burgers, sandwiches, seafood and salads. As a tourist, I feel obligated to go with the homemade alligator stew  from farmed, not local, stock, the clerk concedes  and chase it with a Sarasota-brewed IPA. I try my best to shield the stew from the view of the three gators patrolling the boat channel, and as we pass them soon thereafter in our canoe I shrug a meager apology. (And, no, its doesnt taste like chicken  its more like chewy ground beef.)

Toward the end of the day, we head out on a birding boardwalk that in wetter times extends into Upper Myakka Lake but today runs a few feet above a field of verdant grasses and reeds . Late-afternoon sun cocoons the vegetation in a hypnotizing radiance.

The kids have run off  back down the boardwalk I assume, although I honestly cant recall seeing them leave. Gina and I find them clustered in a live oak, one of the friendlier climbing species Ive seen, with broad, low branches and Spanish moss hanging from outstretched limbs.

In the enchanting light at the forests edge, I spend 15 minutes shooting the type of photos that might grace a religious brochure  peaceful shrouds of Spanish moss aglow in dewy rays of sun.

We drive out of the park, passing only one vestige of humanity, a posse of campers unloading pickup trucks at a tent site. I slow the car wherever I fathom that alligators might be loitering, but theyve all clocked out for the day, headed off, undoubtedly, to do something boring.

Briley is a writer based in Takoma Park. His website is johnbriley.com.

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Though most tourists crowd into a small area near Yosemite National Parks natural attractions, guides can take travelers to its less-trafficked areas. (Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images)

Daniel Threlfall remembers his visit to Chichen Itza, Mexico, a destination billed as one of the wonders of the world. It isnt a good memory.

Threlfall, an Internet consultant from Greenville, S.C., expected to be wowed by Mayan temples and natural beauty when he traveled to the Yucatan with his family last year. Instead, we were met with sky-high prices, in-and-out access and an elbow-to-elbow confrontation with throngs of people from all over the planet, he recalls.

Thats the thing about too-popular destinations. Once theyre discovered, theyre ruined for everyone else. But with the hectic summer travel season now at its peak, there are ways of avoiding these overexposed places, and, if you cant plan around them, to make the best of being stuck in a hot destination with thousands of other visitors.

Finding the right place isnt easy. Threlfall struggled to discover a more authentic Mexican experience, and, this year, he stumbled upon the perfect hideaway. On our day-long adventure, we walked through a jaguar forest, climbed a jungle tower, toured ancient ruins, crossed two lagoons by boat, swam a kilometer through a 500-year-old Mayan canal, hiked the wetlands and ate a Mayan lunch, he says.

[What is turbulence? Its scary, but no cause for alarm.]

Where? I cant tell you, he says, otherwise it might turn into the next Chichen Itza.

Fair enough. But a review of Threlfalls Instagram account suggests he was in the Sian Kaan Biosphere Reserve. Sorry, Daniel.

Sometimes, when you think youve discovered an alternative to an oversaturated destination, you realize everyone else has, too. Lia Saunders, a business-systems analyst from San Francisco who recently spent a month in Mexico, thought shed found the perfect anti-Cancun.

Its common knowledge that Cancun is overrun with tourists, she says. But she heard that Tulum serves up relaxing, tropical authentic Mexican luxury. Well, not so.

Instead, she found a commercialized and overpriced destination. Its crowded, its a totally unauthentic Mexican experience and if you arent willing to shell out an arm and a leg to be on the luxurious beach, there is not much to do in the town of Tulum itself, she says.

Occasionally, the best destination is staring right at you. Earlier this summer, for example, I visited Yosemite National Park in Northern California. Most travel experts warn against visiting Yosemite in June, July and August because its too crowded. It is.

But Yosemite is enormous.

At 1,189 square miles, its about the same size as the state of Rhode Island. And, most visitors crowd into a small area near the iconic natural attractions, like El Capitan and Half Dome. I found a guide from the Yosemite Conservancy, a nonprofit organization that supports this national park, who took me to the less-trafficked areas of the park, including a grove with thousand-year-old sequoia trees. And, staying in the park, we found a room at the new Rush Creek Inn, only about a mile from the park entrance.

[What you need to know before returning to tourist sites after disasters]

If you know your Mexican geography, then you probably recognize Sian Kaan as being in Tulum province. Essentially, Threlfall and Saunders went to the same place. But they didnt. This strategy works anywhere, but particularly well with national parks. Take Glacier National Park, which logged 2.37 million visitors in 2015. Waterton Lakes National Park, just across the Canadian border, only recorded 417,000 visitors in the same period.

Since the U.S. dollar is so strong versus the Canadian dollar, you get much more value for your money in Canada, said Whitt Kelly, a spokesman for Travel Alberta.

Another strategy: Go elsewhere, but look for the qualities you like about an overrun destination.

For example, if someone wants Hawaii, which is notoriously expensive, but theyre looking for natural beauty, beaches, volcanoes and fresh, tropical cuisine, I would steer them toward Costa Rica or Ecuador, says Jacob Marek, the founder of IntroverTravels, a tour operator that specializes in out-of-the-way destinations.

Many European cities also have acceptable substitutes. Instead of Paris or Rome, he recommends Buenos Aires or Santiago. Both cities have a European flair and style, and are great launching points to expansive wilderness for those looking for a thrilling experience in nature, he says.

Its not the same thing, of course, but its relatively close  sometimes close enough. If you have your sights set on a place like trendy Portland, Ore., but youre wary of summer crowds and the higher prices that go along with them, you might drive a few hours north to lower-profile Olympia, Wash., which also has an indie music scene, outstanding restaurants, craft breweries and boutique shopping. At least, thats how the areas tourism authorities are positioning the region.

In short: Avoid touristy destinations if you can. But, if you cant, look carefully before you jump in. Chances are, theres a way to sidestep the Instagramming masses.

Elliott is a consumer advocate, journalist and co-founder of the advocacy group Travelers United. Email him at chris@elliott.org.
A federal board has blocked the firing of the director of the Districts troubled hospital for veterans, setting up a showdown with the Trump administration as it pursues expanded authority to clean house at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Brian Hawkins, who until recently served as the head of the VA Medical Center in Washington, was removed from his post in April and fired two weeks ago for what VA officials said was a failure to provide effective leadership.

Investigations by the agencys inspector general found that Hawkins oversaw a hospital where patients were endangered by the highest levels of chaos and that Hawkins sent confidential VA information to his wifes email account.

However, in a decision issued last week, U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board member Mark A. Robbins  the sole member of the three-person panel, whose remaining seats have not been filled by the president  ordered a stay of 45 days on Hawkinss firing, asserting that his abrupt dismissal may have violated civil-service protections for federal workers.

The U.S. Office of Special Counsel, which is tasked with protecting federal workers from improper hiring and firing practices, requested the stay after receiving a complaint from Hawkins.

Robbinss order states that during the stay Hawkins must be reinstated to the position he held prior to the proposed removal. The decision does not make clear whether Hawkins should resume his duties at the VA Center or return to the job he has held since April, when he was reassigned to administrative work outside the hospital.

But Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin said he had no intention of returning Hawkins to a leadership post at the hospital.

No judge who has never run a hospital and never cared for our nations veterans will force me to put an employee back in a position when he allowed the facility to pose potential safety risks to our veterans, Shulkin said in a statement. Protecting our veterans is my most important responsibility.

The statement said Hawkins had been put back on the payroll in an administrative job at VA headquarters, not at the hospital.

Hawkins could not be reached for comment.

Hawkinss fate could be a test case for the VA secretarys new powers under the VA Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act, signed in June by President Trump. Among other things, the law is supposed to make it easier to fire ineffective VA employees.

The president promised during his campaign to reform the agency, which has struggled for years to provide basic care to many veterans.

In April, VA Inspector General Michael J. Missal issued preliminary findings in his investigation of problems at the veterans hospital on North Capitol Street. He said he took the rare step of talking about the investigation before it was complete because patients were at risk.

Missal said the hospital was extremely disorganized and that its workers had failed to inventory roughly $150 million in medical supplies.

The lapses directly affected patients care: In one instance, the hospital ran out of dialysis bloodlines and had to borrow them from another facility. In another case, a nurse said she was unable to find tubes to insert into a patients nose to provide oxygen during an emergency.

We have not seen anything quite like this at a VA facility, Missal said in April. They have no inventory system. They dont know what they have or what they are going to need.

A more recent report by the inspector general said Hawkins shared sensitive information about VA employees and administrative decisions with his wife  who is not a VA employee  via email.

Julie Tate contributed to this report.
President Trump speaks to an audience including law enforcement officers at Suffolk Community College in Brentwood, N.Y., on July 28, 2017. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

When President Trump appeared to encourage police to rough suspects up during a July speech, he set off a national political firestorm. He also unknowingly sparked a fierce political debate in Annapolis, Md.

After Annapolis Police Chief Scott Baker watched Trumps speech on Long Island, N.Y.  in which the president asked officers not to be too nice with suspects  Baker took to Facebook to denounce Trumps words.

Whether Trump was joking  as the White House later claimed  or serious, the presidents comments do not help build trust between citizens and police, Baker wrote on the police departments Facebook page Aug. 1, a day when residents and police across the country gathered to reinforce their relationships as part of National Night Out.

The Annapolis Police Department has policies and procedures in place regarding how we interact with those we arrest, Baker wrote. Violations of these policies are considered serious and will be thoroughly investigated.

Annapoliss Republican mayor, Mike Pantelides, took issue with Bakers post, which had accumulated more than 100 shares and 780 likes as of Wednesday afternoon.

Hours after Baker clicked share, Pantelides emailed department heads  including Baker  saying such posts as Bakers distract from our core mission of serving the citizens of Annapolis. The mayors email was first reported by the Capital Gazette on Sunday.

Pantelides reiterated in the email an unwritten policy he said was often discussed in meetings with department heads: There should be no discussion of the president or national politics  positive or negative  on social media.

The mayors email provided fuel for his Democratic opponent John Astle in the coming mayoral race, who said it is a sign that the mayor is taking his support for Donald Trump too far.

Shame on Pantelides for putting his loyalty to Donald Trump ahead of the needs of our community, Astle, a state senator, wrote in a statement Tuesday.

Astle, who was a police officer in Baltimore for six years, told The Washington Post that Trumps words undercut the relationship of trust were trying to build between the community and the police. Baker, he said, tried to rebuild that trust.

Then the mayor undercut the police chief in public, Astle said. Baker did not respond to requests for comment.

Gavin Buckley, the other Democratic mayoral candidate, also voiced his support for Baker.

I want to thank Annapolis Police Chief Scott Baker for assuring our citizens that this is not who we are; Annapolis police officers do not undermine peoples trust by being heavy-handed, Buckley wrote ina letter to the editor for the Capital Gazette. Buckley and Astle will face each other in the citys primary Sept. 19.

Pantelides said his email was not about violating anyones First Amendment rights.

This is about a policy of not bringing politics into our offices, he said in a statement. We work for the citizens of Annapolis.
Two young men have been arrested and charged with robbing taxi drivers in June and July in Southeast Washington, according to authorities.

Police said that the two were accompanied twice by a 16-year-old high school student who, in one holdup, was armed with a knife. Police said they are also seeking others who might have been involved.

The latest attack occurred about 6:30 p.m. July 23 in the 5200 block of E Street SE. Police said three occupants of a taxi directed the driver to a location and then grabbed and assaulted the driver. Police said they took property and fled.

Antonio Hare, 19, of Southeast Washington was charged with robbery by force and violence. Police said two others are being sought but have not been identified.

On July 21 about 4:15 p.m., police said, three people hailed a taxi at Seventh and H Streets NW and took it to the 5200 block of Fitch Street SE. Police said one man grabbed the driver while a teenager took a pocketknife that belonged to the driver and held it against his throat. I will kill you if you dont give me everything, a robber said, according to an arrest affidavit filed in court on Thursday.

Police said the robbers took a silver iPhone 6, $280 and the drivers brown wallet. The affidavit says they forced the driver to give up his passcodes and checked them before leaving the taxi.

Hare was charged in this case as well, with a second count of robbery by force and violence. He was arrested Aug. 9 along with two other suspects. Samuel Walker, 19, of Southeast Washington was charged with robbery by force and violence, and Dominic Cross, 16, of Southeast Washington was charged as an adult with armed robbery.

Police said they also charged Hare and Cross with robbery by force and violence in another taxi robbery that occurred about 12:45 a.m. June 30 in the 1800 block of Savannah Street SE. Police said one suspect grabbed the driver while the other took property. In this case, police said, a knife was not used.

The police affidavit says detectives arrested the suspects after watching surveillance video of them getting into the taxi at Seventh and H streets NW in the July 21 incident. The area is near Gallery Place and typically busy with shoppers and others.
Conscientious. Humble. Will be a great leader.

These are some of the words colleagues used to describe Dane Smothers Jr., the 28-year-old D.C. firefighter who was severely injured the night of Aug. 3 while responding to his first fire. Officials said he stepped out of Engine 3 and was hit by a firetruck at a rowhouse blaze on Capitol Hill.

We all have to exhibit a certain amount of humility, said Lt. Courtney X. Bass, one of Smotherss instructors at the training academy from which the recruit had graduated in April. Him being humble, he listened. He understood what was expected of him.

Bass and several others who worked with Smothers during his brief stay at Engine 3 on New Jersey Avenue NW, near Union Station, spoke publicly for the first time Thursday. Their words were brief, their demeanor somber, their hopes for a recovery high. They want him back as one of what they call the protectors of Capitol Hill.

Smothers remains in critical condition at MedStar Washington Hospital Center. Officials said he had already undergone three surgeries and was going through his fourth on Thursday. He suffered traumatic injuries to his upper body.

Authorities declined to discuss the investigation into the accident.

The firefighters family has not spoken publicly. Fire officials who have talked with them describe them as private and taken aback by the publicity and the outpouring of support. Smothers has two uncles in the department, one of whom also responded to the Aug. 3 fire.

[Rookie firefighter critically injured on first call slowly recovering]

Smothers grew up in Southeast Washington and worked as a library aide in Anacostia before becoming a firefighter. He is engaged to be married. His colleagues said he told them he always wanted to be a firefighter. Lt. Keishea Jackson, an instructor at the academy, said his parents told her about how excited he had been about taking his entrance exam.

Sgt. David Youngling, another instructor, said: The one thing Dane didnt want to do was to stand out. He didnt want to draw attention to himself. He liked to come to work and do his job.

In one training exercise, each cadet had to play the role of a supervisor and lead classmates in a morning physical fitness drill. Youngling said the quiet Smothers whispered his commands.

Bass said the quiet demeanor made Smothers a good listener and would eventually make him a great leader. He said that one day at the academy, Dane came up to me and pulled me aside. He said, Lieutenant Bass, I want to go to Engine 3. I said, You really want to do this? Thats one of the busiest companies in the city. 

Lt. Courtney X. Bass, an instructor at the fire academy, talks about firefighter Dane Smothers Jr., 28, who was critically injured on Aug. 3 when he was struck by a firetruck at the scene of a fire on Capitol Hill. (Peter Hermann/The Washington Post)

Bass added, Those are the type of employees we need on this job.
Elias Portillo, 14, has been charged as an adult with murder in the stabbing of a homeless man in Maryland. (Prince George's County Police)

A 13-year-old and a 14-year-old accused of fatally stabbing a homeless man for cash have been charged with murder, the youngest homicide suspects arrested in Prince George's County this year and possibly the youngest since 2011.

Authorities on Thursday announced the arrest of the two teens in the slaying of Francisco Sagastizado, 47.

Elias Portillo, 14, of Adelphi, has been charged as an adult with first- and second-degree murder, according to Prince Georges County police. The 13-year-old boy, who police are not identifying because of his age, will be charged as a juvenile.

Department spokesman Cpl. Harry Bond said the teens are believed to be the youngest suspects arrested in a homicide by Prince Georges police in six years.

Sagastizado was discovered stabbed and dead in the woods in the 7800 block of West Park Drive in Adelphi on July 27, police said. Officers had been called to the area at about 8 a.m.

Friends of Francisco Sagastizado, 47, created a memorial honoring the homeless man who police say was fatally stabbed in the woods by two teenagers during a robbery. (Lynh Bui/TWP)

Sagastizado had been killed when he refused demands for money from the teens, one of whom knew him, police said.

On Thursday, Will Calderon sat next to a glowing memorial in a park not far from where Sagastizado died. The victims photo was tied around a wooden cross propped in front of a tree stump surrounded by flowers and melting candles, which his friends have been lighting since his death.

Calderon said his friend had come from El Salvador to the United States about 20 years ago. Sagastizado was an educated man, but personal setbacks left him living in the woods, Calderon said.

Despite his struggles, Sagastizado was a happy person who liked ranchera music and playing cards with buddies, Calderon said.

I feel so bad for him, he said. He was a good friend. He was very respectful.

The crime doesnt appear to be gang-related or gang-motivated, said Cpl. Tyler Hunter, a spokesman for Prince Georges County police.

The slaying came during a particularly deadly month in the county.

Seventeen people died in homicides in July, with 12 occurring in the first 11 days. Some of the fatalities were cases of self-defense, and others stemmed from altercations between strangers who resorted to gunfire, Prince Georges police said. Police temporarily launched 12-hour patrol shifts in July to stem the violence.

[Prince Georges police beef up patrols after tallying 12 homicides in 11 days]

According to police charging papers, the teens left Sagastizados body in a wood line 15 to 20 feet from a footpath.

The teens returned to the area almost three weeks later and were recognized and arrested, police said.

A Maryland-National Capital Park Police officer on Wednesday found someone who witnessed the stabbing, and during the interview, the witness observed the two suspects walk by, police said in charging documents.

The witness identified them as the teens he saw stabbing Sagastizado in July, the documents state.

Officers detained the teens.

According to the charging documents, the 13-year-old admitted he and Portillo were involved in the stabbing. The documents say Portillo denied his involvement.

Online records do not list an attorney for Portillo.

Portillo is in Prince Georges County jail and is expected to appear in court Friday for a bail review hearing.

The 13-year-old is being held in a Maryland youth detention facility.

Calderon and others have been bringing candles for the vigil daily for the friend they affectionately called El Gusanito, or the Little Worm.

As the candles melted and dripped down the tree stump, Calderon remembered the last words he said they shared as Sagastizado got set to go to sleep in a patch of grass with a log for his pillow.

He said, Dont worry about me,  Calderon recalled.  I'm going to be fine. 

Jennifer Jenkins contributed to this report.


Sammi LeMaster, 22, and Legba Carrefour, 37, in Washington on June 30. Both identify as anarchists. (Bonnie Jo Mount/The Washington Post)

By day, they are graphic designers, legal assistants, nonprofit workers and students. But outside their 9-to-5 jobs, they call themselves anarchists  bucking the system, shunning the government and sometimes even rioting and smashing windows to make a point.

Dylan Petrohilos, 28, said his familys struggle with poverty drew him to the movement. Sammi LeMaster, 22, first became involved because of her belief that the country needs a stronger response to shootings by police. Legba Carrefour, 37, has been protesting for well over a decade.

The trio are among a group of Washington-area residents who have been quietly active in gay rights demonstrations, Black Lives Matter and many other causes.

But their anarchist community made a fiery entrance into the Trump presidency on Jan. 20, when they organized thousands of people to protest his inauguration by blocking security checkpoints and marching in the streets. Hundreds of them, clad in black clothes and masks, rioted through the downtown.

They used wooden poles and pieces of concrete to break storefronts and smash newspaper boxes, according to an indictment in D.C. Superior Court. More than 200 people were arrested and six police officers were injured. City officials tally the damage from the rioting at about $100,000.

What the court documents call malicious and violent acts, the anarchists see as a necessary way to draw attention to poverty, racism, educational inequality and other problems.

Allowing inauguration to proceed as a peaceful unfolding does not reflect that this is not a peaceful country. There is no peace, said Carrefour, who would not say which inauguration protests he participated in and whether he knew if the violence would occur. We wanted to make it a clusterf---, and we made it a clusterf---.

[How Berkeley has become the far left and far rights battleground]

Anarchists  who are often grouped with the antifascists, or antifa  have been increasingly visible across the country, engaging in high-profile protests that sometimes turn violent. In Berkeley, Calif., they have squared off with far-right and other groups, rioting to stop people they deem to be fascists from speaking on campus  ticking off debates about free speech. In Portland, Ore., the threat of violence between anarchists and far-right groups forced a popular family parade to be shut down.

Interviews with a dozen anarchists in the Washington area and beyond show a group that, while angry with President Trump, would be dissatisfied with any U.S. leader. (They protested President Barack Obamas second inauguration, too, but it was a smaller group.)

They said they think liberals become complacent when a Democrat is in the White House, letting injustices go unquestioned. But they also think marginalized groups will fare worse under the Trump administration. In their minds, the entire U.S. government should be abolished and reimagined on a much smaller scale.

The Trump presidency has certainly given a boldness to fascists and racist movements throughout the country, and thats a moment where anarchists are ready to respond in a way that many others arent, said Samantha Miller, 32, a D.C. anarchist who helped organize the Inauguration Day protests.

(Erin Patrick O'Connor/The Washington Post)

Launching DisruptJ20

The election was still months away when Carrefour and a friend were in a District rowhouse in June 2016, drinking beers, smoking pot and lamenting the exhausting presidential race. With Hillary Clinton the clear front-runner, they decided it was time to begin planning inauguration protests.

[D.C. police infiltrated inauguration protest group, court papers show]

Clinton was an establishment Democrat with fairly traditional political views, her flush campaign propped by corporate donors  everything they stood against. Then Donald Trump was elected. The anarchists ramped up for a more radical response.

Carrefour and others launched a group called DisruptJ20 (the name a nod to the Jan. 20 inauguration) to organize.

The anarchists already met regularly in affinity groups, to talk about current events, upcoming protests and weekend plans, so there was a built-in system to spread the word.

These are people that you have affinity with, people who you trust, said Miller, who works for a Washington-area collective that helps organize protests and actions.

Carrefour and LeMaster belong to one group whose members hold weekly potlucks at a rotating list of apartments, with deviled eggs, banana bread and the occasional Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen chicken takeout on the menu. They typically start late, and participants joke that the group runs on anarchist standard time.

For the Inauguration Day protest planning, representatives from affinity groups across the country formed a council. People also connected through websites and message boards, including CrimethInc. a site that describes itself as a decentralized network pledged to anonymous collective action.

Some talked about trying to block bridges into the city, but many of the anarchists said they wanted to be closer to the inauguration action downtown. The group decided to use black bloc tactics, wearing dark clothes and masks so that authorities would have a harder time identifying  and convicting  participants.



Metro police attempt to corral a group of vandalizing protesters during the inauguration on Jan. 20 in Washington. (Michael Robinson Chavez/The Washington Post)

A limousine burns during Trump inauguration demonstrations and violence in Washington on Jan. 20. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post)

You can breathe easy at a black bloc. You know if one person gets demasked, they will have your back, said one anarchist who participated in the inauguration black bloc but asked to remain anonymous because of possible legal implications.

The protest wasnt a surprise to D.C. police. Law enforcement had secretly attended planning meetings and infiltrated a multiday action camp, according to D.C. Superior Court documents. At one gathering, attendees were asked to place their cellphones in a microwave, for fear police or opposition groups were trying to listen in.

Carrefour said he knows that some people who are sympathetic to the anarchists general beliefs would not approve of the tactics used at the inauguration. But, he said, recruiting more anarchists is never the goal.

The notion of convincing people is a liberal idea, Carrefour said. I also think its important to attack the symbols of capitalism. Its just property at the end of the day.

The rioting brought swift rebukes.

On Inauguration Day, D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser  a Democrat who has criticized many of Trumps policies  condemned the rioting, tweeting that while the city welcomes protesters, officials cannot allow you to destroy our neighborhoods.

Muhammad Ashraf, whose 2015 Lincoln super-stretch limousine was burned by rioters while parked downtown, wondered whether the protesters understood the effect the rioting had on him.

Ashraf, 52, owner of Virginia-based Nationwide Chauffeured Services, watched on television as his limo was engulfed in flames. The vehicle was a total loss. After insurance payments, it cost him $60,000 out of pocket to replace, he said.

When that car becomes a source of your livelihood, it becomes a part of your life. I dont know if the protesters understand that when they destroy something  the way I felt when I saw my car burning, it really hurt me deeply even though its just a car, he said. Six months later, I still want to know, did that accomplish anything?

Of course theyre breaking windows

LeMaster said she used to consider herself a far-left Democrat. As a student at American University, she surrounded herself with progressive friends, but grew frustrated with her peers politics by her senior year.

They would rant on Facebook about the latest news, then do little to solve the problems that vexed them. When people started rioting in Baltimore after the death of Freddie Gray in 2015, she recalls some of her classmates being shocked by the violence and saying they could no longer support Black Lives Matter.

I was like of course theyre breaking windows, theyre mad, she said. Thats going to make you stop supporting Black Lives Matter?

Sammi LeMaster graduated from college in 2016 and knew little about the D.C. anarchy community before a friend dragged her to a DisruptJ20 meeting in Mount Pleasant. (Astrid Riecken/For The Washington Post)

LeMaster graduated in 2016, accepted a job as a legal assistant at a boutique law firm in Washington and knew little about the D.C. anarchy community.

Then a friend dragged her to a DisruptJ20 meeting in the basement of St. Stephen and the Incarnation Episcopal Church in Mount Pleasant. LeMaster later learned that many people leading the meetings were anarchists. She liked them, but she didnt consider herself to be as extreme.

On Inauguration Day, she joined a group of LGBT activists and blocked Trump supporters from entering the Mall through a security checkpoint. Later, she said, she saw the brawl between D.C. police and the black-masked protesters and watched as police doused people around her with pepper spray.

The next day, she and dozens of other activists  mostly anarchists  rallied at D.C. Superior Court, offering rides, food and cigarettes to protesters who were arrested and held overnight. LeMaster stood with the group, chanting anti, anti-capitalista as each person walked out. It was then she realized this community of anarchists was her own.

It takes awhile to get used to the label because it comes with a lot of baggage, LeMaster said. People assume that anarchism is so extreme. But I associate it with wanting everyones needs to be met.

[Womens March organizers protest the NRA before 17-mile march to the Justice Department]

For LeMaster, it was the community. For Carrefour, it was the 1999 World Trade Organization protests in Seattle that drew him to anarchism. During the widely televised anti-globalization demonstrations, thousands of people protested the WTOs conference on global trade, causing millions of dollars in damage to stores.

Soon after, in April 2000, Carrefour participated in his first protest as an anarchist, joining thousands who formed a human blockade around the International Monetary Fund and World Bank headquarters in downtown Washington during a policymaking meeting.



Protesters wearing anarchist garb hold signs for passing motorists during a demonstration on Pennsylvania Avenue across from the World Bank Building in April 2000. (Susan Biddle/The Washington Post)

I was always an anarchist in search of anarchy, Carrefour said. The fact that the people [at the Seattle protests] were not willing to take no for an answer, were willing to take direct action without any permission or anything, was completely mind-boggling.

Mike Isaacson, an anarchist, PhD student and adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice who teaches a class on the political economy of fascism, said anarchy is the idea that we should be seeking to liberate everyone because, when we are all looking out for each other, we all ultimately benefit.

Democracies, anarchists will argue, can only work on the smallest of scales. Thats why anarchists often get involved in local activism, believing that that is where they can make a difference.

People are showing up for each other

In the District, anarchists attend D.C. Council hearings, where, among other things, they had criticized the police chiefs handling of protests. They helped organize protests with nonanarchists groups, including one to counter the citys recent Pride festivities because they believe the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender event had become too celebratory without focusing on those who are still marginalized.

[Capital Pride parade disrupted by protesters; revelers rerouted]

Dylan Petrohilos, 28, a graphic designer, was introduced to anarchy through the local punk-rock scene, a genre of anti-authoritarian music. He grew up poor in the Maryland suburbs. Between evictions and domestic violence incidents, Petrohilos said he learned how unjust America could be.

Growing up in poverty, you think about your relationship with the economy, and how people have power over you, Petrohilos said.

He attended a punk-rock show as a high schooler and saw a magazine on a table that read What is Anarchy? He read it, then looked up scholarly text on the ideology. He starting identifying as an anarchist.

Petrohilos, who has attended antiwar demonstrations and marched with Black Lives Matter, faces charges of rioting, conspiracy and multiple counts of destruction of property for his alleged role during the inauguration. He, and others, face years in prison if convicted.

In the wake of the arrests, the anarchists and left-wing political activists came together to support those facing charges. They formed the Dead City Legal Posse  a punk-rock reference  to raise money for the protesters transportation and legal costs. The groups leaders say they have raised tens of thousands of dollars through online donations and fundraising events, including a punk-rock karaoke night at the Districts famed Black Cat club.

Anarchists worldwide recently held a week of solidarity to show support for those arrested. The charges, they contend, are overblown and intended to intimidate people from protesting authority.

The main principles of anarchism is solidarity and the importance of solidarity within society, Petrohilos said. So I think its incredibly important that people are showing up for each other when we are seeing the harshest state repression in a generation.
The American Civil Liberties Union is suing Metro, alleging the transit agencys restrictions on issues-oriented advertisements violate the First Amendment.

The lawsuit also challenges Metros rejection of ad campaigns representing a wide political spectrum: the abortion provider Carafem, PETA, alt-right writer Milo Yiannopoulos and the ACLU itself.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in D.C., centers on four ads: a PETA ad that encouraged people to Go Vegan, an ad for an FDA-approved abortion pill, a promo for a book by Yiannopoulos, and an ACLU campaign that highlighted a quote from the First Amendment.

[Read the ACLU suit here]

All were either rejected outright by Metro  based on its advertising guidelines that prohibit ads that are intended to influence members of the public regarding an issue on which there are varying opinions  or were retroactively pulled from stations, trains and buses after riders complained.

In its zeal to avoid hosting offensive and hateful speech, the government has eliminated speech that makes us think, including the text of the First Amendment itself, Lee Rowland, senior staff attorney with the ACLU, said in a statement Wednesday.

The ACLU wants Metro to post the rejected ads and eliminate components of its guidelines that ban issues-oriented ads or limit medical and health-related advertising.

Metro said Wednesday it continues to believe its current policy is the correct approach.

Metro intends to vigorously defend its commercial advertising guidelines, which are reasonable and viewpoint neutral, spokeswoman Sherri Ly said.

Many customers and others agreed that Metros decision to remove the ads was the right choice. On Wednesday, some expressed outrage that the ACLU would defend Yiannopoulos, a controversial conservative writer and political figure who has espoused views that many believe are racist, xenophobic and sexist.

I understand the ACLU has to protect the worst speech, Democratic congressional candidate Brianna Wu, of Massachusetts, tweeted to her 72,000 Twitter followers, but the day they work for Milo is the day I decide to never give them another dime.

But ACLU officials said the organization is suing based on the principle that whether or not you agree with a viewpoint, individuals have the right to express it.

The ACLU could not more strongly disagree with the values that Milo Yiannopoulos espouses, Rowland said in explaining the decision, but we cant allow the government to pick and choose which viewpoints are acceptable.

The lawsuit is the latest installment in a years-long effort by Metro  and transit agencies around the country  to develop an advertising policy that strikes a balance between curtailing hate speech and adhering to the values of free speech.

Advertising is a significant revenue source for Metro. This year, the agency expects to make $24 million  or 1.3 percent of its operating budget  through advertising sales, and officials are looking for ways to increase those numbers.

The systems location in the nations capital makes it prime real estate for those who want to make political statements, and it has often been at the center of such disputes since its opening 40 years ago  from posters that criticized President Ronald Reagan and the Catholic Church, to those advocating the legalization of marijuana, to the antiabortion movement.

But it wasnt until 2015 that the Metro board instituted sweeping changes to its advertising policy that gave officials wide latitude to reject ads. The changes were prompted by an ad from a controversial pro-Israel group called the American Freedom Defense Initiative, which wanted to post ads depicting a caricature of the prophet Muhammad. Many Muslims consider such depictions to be blasphemous.

[May 2015: Metro says no to issue-oriented ads]

Weeks earlier, the same cartoon had been at the center of a deadly shooting in Texas, where two men opened fire outside of an event where the cartoon was prominently displayed as part of a contest. Metro officials said they wanted to prevent the possibility of a similar reaction here, and so they instituted wide-ranging guidelines that prohibited ads that are political, religious or intended to influence public policy.

But the intentionally broad guidelines have caused frequent run-ins related to ads that many view as controversial.

In the case of Yiannopouloss book, the advertisement featuring the authors face and the title of the book, Dangerous, made it past Metros censors, and it was posted at stations and on trains. Rider complaints poured into the agency.

Days later, Metro removed the ads. Soon after, the ACLU reached out to contact Yiannopoulos about legal action.

[Metro removes controversial Milo Yiannopoulos ads from stations]

It wasnt an accident that we put these four clients in one case together, precisely because of the message we thought that would send, said Arthur Spitzer, legal director of the ACLU-D.C. and lead counsel in the case. We wanted to make a point to the court and the public that we werent just trying to get out some particular point of view.

He also called it ironic that Metro also rejected the ACLUs own ads, which showed the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution in English, Arabic and Spanish.

The ACLU said Metro is enforcing its advertising guidelines capriciously and the prohibitions outlined in the guidelines are too broad and wide-reaching.

The organization noted that any advertisement could potentially violate Metros policy.

By rejecting these ads and accepting ads from gambling casinos, military contractors, and Internet sex apps, the [Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority] showed just how subjective its ban is, the statement said.

[March 2017: Former political prisoner protests after Metro rejects subway ad campaign]

Carafem, the company whose ads for abortion pills were rejected by Metro, said it is a health-care provider, not an advocacy group, meaning its ads do not violate Metros policy.

The abortion pill is, of course, both FDA-approved and accepted by the American Medical Association, Melissa Grant, Carafems chief operations officer, said in a statement. Were publicizing our services like any other health care provider.

Rebecca Tushnet, a professor of First Amendment law at Harvard Law School, said the ACLUs case against Metro is extremely strong.

They [WMATA] do seem to be acting pretty inconsistently, and they seem to not have a clear policy, she said. For a government institution that decides to have advertising, for better or for worse, you cant have your standards for what is allowable based on the identity of the person in the advertisement.

Tushnet said Metro should consider changing its policy to something more narrowly tailored and specific.

You could write a better policy that accomplishes much of the same goal, Tushnet said.

But Spitzer said Metro should consider reverting to its pre-2015 policy. After all, he said, advertising space on a public transit system is a particularly precious space to encourage the free exchange of ideas  even unpopular ones.

Were living at a time when people more and more just visit websites they agree with and watch television they agree with and share things on Facebook with people who agree with them, Spitzer said. Metro advertising is a very vital way to reach people who you might not otherwise reach. . . . To shut off any venue to any advertising that makes people think  that seems particularly unfortunate.
In the 16 years since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the countrys front-line defense against terrorism  the Transportation Security Administration  has spun like a revolving door, spitting out its administrators.

David Pekoske, the 13th acting or confirmed administrator, was sworn in Thursday with the promise that he will serve for as long as the president and the secretary [of homeland security] wish me to remain.

Pekoske said in a statement: I am deeply honored to take on this role as the next TSA administrator and put my experience to use in protecting and securing our nations transportation system.

TSAs mission is critical to the security of our homeland and the American people, Pekoske said. I look forward to continue serving our great nation alongside the dedicated men and women of TSA.

While the face of the TSA is the airport security checkpoints, the agency also maintains a worldwide intelligence network coordinated with other federal agencies, including the FBI, CIA and National Security Agency. That intelligence capacity was nurtured under two previous TSA administrators  John S. Pistole and Peter V. Neffenger  and at his confirmation hearing, Pekoske said he would continue to rely on it in shaping the TSAs strategies.

In addition to the continuing terrorist threat against airlines, Pekoske also would focus on protecting railroad and transit lines and ports in directing the agencys 60,000 workers, he told the Senate Commerce Committee.

Pekoske, who was confirmed Aug. 3, was pressed by senators about the White House proposal to reduce from 31 to eight the number of Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response (VIPR) teams, which sweep through airports and other transportation hubs without a set schedule.

Pekoske said that while he supported President Trumps budget, he recognized that VIPR teams have a very good effect on security.

Pekoske is a retired vice admiral in the U.S. Coast Guard and was its vice commandant when he returned to civilian life. After leaving the Coast Guard in 2010, he joined A-T Solutions, an Arlington, Va.,-based firm that provides national security strategies.
Jill Holtzman Vogel, left, and Justin Fairfax, right, are facing off in the lieutenant governors race in Virginia. (Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post and Linda Davidson/The Washington Post)

Democrat Justin Fairfax used an infamous Virginia antiabortion bill to go after Republican Jill Holtzman Vogel on Wednesday, when the two rivals for lieutenant governor faced off at a candidate forum.

Vogel, a state senator from Fauquier County, sponsored a 2012 bill that would have required most women who get abortions to first undergo a vaginal ultrasound.

Senator Vogel wants to take government out of everybodys life [but] Senator Vogel sponsored the invasive ultrasound bill that forces women to have invasive ultrasounds, said Fairfax, a former federal prosecutor. I cant think of a more intrusive thing that a government can do. . . . That made Virginia a laughingstock with late-night shows.

The comment set off one of the sharpest exchanges of their 90-minute appearance at Piedmont Virginia Community College, with Vogel declaring, The attacks that he just levied are 100 percent false. Fairfax, who also criticized Vogels conduct in a mudslinging GOP primary, shot back: Facts are not attacks.

[The GOP race for lieutenant governor got ugly]

Fairfax and Vogel are fighting for a part-time, low-profile post with just two constitutionally mandated duties: presiding over the state Senate (and breaking certain tie votes) and taking over if the governor is incapacitated or leaves office. Moderator Bob Gibson, communications director of the University of Virginias Cooper Center for Public Service, listed a third duty: Running for governor. They all do, and the winner will.

Virginias lieutenant governorship often serves as a steppingstone in a state in which the governors mansion turns over every four years. Almost every lieutenant governor in modern history has run for governor, including the Democratic incumbent, Ralph Northam. He faces former Republican National Committee chairman Ed Gillespie in November.

The lieutenant governors office has become more powerful in its own right in recent years, with a closely divided Senate producing more ties to break. The GOP has a 21-to-19 edge in the chamber.

A Virginia Commonwealth University poll released this week had Fairfax up, 43 to 38. But Vogel had the advantage in the latest campaign finance reports, raising $1.8 million to Fairfaxs $1.3 million.

[Poll shows Northam with slight edge over Gillespie in Virginia governors race]

Fairfax and Vogel came face-to-face at the forum  sponsored by the college and by the public affairs nonprofit Senior Statesmen of Virginia  that was not technically a debate but still allowed them to tangle.

Vogel opposed new restrictions on guns, while Fairfax called for universal background checks. Vogel said she opposed changing Virginias no-limits campaign finance rules, saying caps would restrict speech. Fairfax noted a $600,000 donation Vogel received from a relative. That relative was her father, William B. Holtzman, founder of Holtzman Oil Corp. Fairfax said he supports limits so that wealthy interests do not drown out other peoples voices.

Vogel said cities and towns should not be allowed to erase history by removing Confederate monuments. Fairfax said localities should have the option.

Both agreed that climate change is real, that Virginia needs nonpartisan redistricting and that employers should have to check workers immigration status.

Fairfax, who narrowly lost the 2013 primary for attorney general to Mark R. Herring, said he would focus on the economy. He repeatedly credited the states high job growth and low unemployment rate to outgoing Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D), Northam and Herring, who is seeking reelection.

Vogel billed herself as an experienced legislator who has crossed party lines to fight for nonpartisan issues, such as helping families with autism. She noted that she has bucked her party on a number of issues  by opposing uranium mining, for instance, and by supporting gay rights, medical marijuana and nonpartisan redistricting. She indicated that she would not support further restrictions on abortion rights.

I am not running to take anybodys rights away, she said while discussing womens health care.

When Fairfax invoked her 2012 abortion bill to attack that notion, Vogel pushed back hard.

There was nothing in that bill that forced them to do anything against their will, she said, a claim she based on the fact that abortion providers typically perform ultrasounds with or without a government mandate. It was simply an informed consent bill.

[Nitty-gritty knocked abortion bill off fast track]

As originally proposed, Vogels bill would have required that women undergoing abortions first submit to an ultrasound and that they be offered an opportunity to view the image. The bill did not specifically mandate a vaginal ultrasound, but that would have been the effect in most cases because most abortions occur early in pregnancy, when the fetus is too small to be seen via abdominal ultrasound.

Saturday Night Live and late-night comics lampooned the measure, and Vogel eventually withdrew it. A House version was eventually passed but was amended to require an abdominal ultrasound  although in most cases, the test will not produce an image. Then-Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) signed it into law.
Congress may have left town for August, but Virginias governors race is heating back up as both major-party candidates hit the TV airwaves with ads.

Republican Ed Gillespie was first up, beginning a series of three spots on July 25. His Democratic rival, Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, unveiled his first TV ad of the general election on Thursday.

[The pitched battle for governor comes to doorsteps across Virginia]

Northams ad will begin airing in Norfolk, Charlottesville, Richmond and Roanoke, a buy of more than $100,000, his campaign said.

Titled My Life, the 30-second spot features ordinary-looking people mentioning details about Northams bio  pediatrician, trained at Johns Hopkins, Army veteran  and concludes with the candidate calling to expand access to health care for Virginians.

The biographical tone echoes his rivals early ads. Gillespies three spots, which continue to air in markets across the state, include a one-minute spot called American Dream that introduces Gillespie as the son of an Irish immigrant. It describes how Gillespie worked his way through college and wound up as an adviser to President George W. Bush. Shorter ads depict his youthful odd jobs and his plan for the economy.

The Republican beat Northam to the TV punch after waging an extremely low-key primary campaign. The laid-back strategy saw Gillespie nearly lose the nomination to fellow Republican A. Corey Stewart, but left him with a healthy war chest of some $3.2 million, according to campaign finance disclosures filed last month.

Northam had spent considerably more fending off his primary opponent, former congressman Tom Perriello. Though he won by a healthy margin, Northam emerged with only about $1.75 million on hand, according to the July 17 filing.

[Va. arm of Planned Parenthood to spend $3 million backing Northam]

Neither candidate is likely to hurt for money this year, though, with national attention focusing on Virginia as the only competitive governors race of 2017 (New Jersey has the only other contest, but the Democrat in that race is heavily favored). The Republican Governors Association has already given Gillespie $2 million since last months campaign-

finance disclosure, and the Democratic National Committee has given Northam $1.5 million.

So the TV onslaught is just beginning.
Zhuhai is planning to install 100 micro medical emergency stations at several locations across the city, including governmental organizations, supermarkets, hotels, tourism spots, schools and other densely populated areas. The stations will resemble vending machines, and will occupy less than one square meter. Emergency aid kits will be available in each station, including first-aid kits. The public can scan a QR code on the outside of the vending machine to receive one of the emergency kits. Zhuhai will also establish large scale emergency stations to provide between 16 and 19 kinds of emergency aids kits.

USJ co-organizes Law of the Sea program

The University of Saint Joseph and the Institute of European Studies of Macau are jointly offering a short lifelong learning program titled Law of the Sea and Water Law. The program will cover a broad range of topics, including the historical background of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, maritime boundaries, preservation of the marine environment, the concept of marine spatial planning, sea-economy under regional and international legal frameworks, freedom of navigation, criminality and human rights at sea. The 18-hour program will be conducted in English and will be held from September 1 to 3 with a tuition fee of MOP2,800.

Philippine woman robbed by group of five

A Philippine woman was robbed by a group of four men and a woman in a public space in Taipa last week. The incident occurred at Rotunda do Estadio, early on Thursday morning. The victim alleges that the group demanded her valuables, including her passport, watch, mobile phone and handbag. The woman called the police that day to report the incident. The authorities have given a statement saying that they are investing the case. According to Macau Daily News, the police declined to disclose the nationality of the suspects and whether the victim was a tourist, resident, or migrant worker.

71-year-old woman killed by husband

The Judiciary Police (PJ) have reported that a 71-year-old local woman was murdered by her husband yesterday in the early morning. The couple, who lived close to the Border Gate, were reportedly having an argument about their daily life. The husband then used a tool to stab his wife, causing severe injuries. Afterwards, the husband called the police requesting assistance. The wife was admitted to hospital but died as a result of her injuries. The man has been charged with murder and is being investigated by the PJ.

Most taxi infractions related to overcharging

The Public Security Police Force (PSP) recorded 416 taxi infractions during the month of July, according to a statement released by PSP. The infractions include 244 cases (58.6 percent) of over-charging and 118 cases (28.4 percent) of taxi drivers who refused to accept passengers. One infraction was related to a taxi driver who did not queue up to take passengers. During the same period, the police recorded 128 cases involving unauthorized taxis, 95 of which related to mobile taxi hailing services. There are 54 cases involving other infractions.
texas

Court to review case of dragging death

A man on death row for the notorious slaying nearly 20 years ago of a black man chained to the back of a pickup truck and dragged along a bumpy rural East Texas road will get his claim of innocence and poor legal representation reviewed by an appeals court.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals late Tuesday said it would review a claim from John William King that lawyers were deficient in presenting a case for innocence during his trial for what became one of the nations most shocking hate crimes since the Civil Rights era.

Kings appeal said that only a few pieces of circumstantial evidence that could be innocently explained tied him to the scene of a fight that resulted in 49-year-old James Byrd Jr. being chained at his ankles to the bumper of a truck in June 1998 and fatally dragged outside Jasper, 125 miles northeast of Houston.

King, now 42, was the first of three white men convicted of capital murder for the hate slaying. Each was tried separately. Lawrence Russell Brewer, 44, was executed in 2011. Shawn Berry, 42, is serving life in prison.

Kings attorney, A. Richard Ellis, raised five claims to the 5th Circuit, four of them focusing on what he said was King receiving ineffective legal help at his 1999 trial in Jasper. The fifth claim contended a federal district judge who rejected Kings appeal denied him due process and a fair hearing.

The 5th Circuit rejected all but the claim questioning the trial attorneys effectiveness regarding some of the states evidence in the case.

Kings lead defense attorney, Haden Sonny Cribbs, died in June. His trial co-counsel, Brack Jones, declined to comment.

 Associated Press

washington

Seattle turns switch with record dry streak

Soggy Seattle clocked the wettest winter on record just months ago. Now, the city known for its Gore-Tex and overcast days has gone in the other extreme: Its in its longest dry streak in more than six decades.

As of Tuesday, 52 consecutive dry days have been measured at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, and theres no rain in sight for the next few days, said Gary Schneider, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Seattle. The previous record was set in 1951.

The dry streak comes as unusual heat last week sent temperatures climbing to triple digits in parts of the Pacific Northwest, a place where many people dont have air-conditioning.

However, 2017 still remains above normal for rainfall, partly due to downpours during winter and spring.

Seattle measured 44.9 inches of rain between Oct. 1 and April 30, making it the wettest such period, according to the National Weather Service.

 Associated Press

indiana

Prosecutor considers death penalty in officers death

An Indianapolis man accused of fatally shooting a police officer who was trying to help him following a car crash could face the death penalty if hes convicted in the officers slaying, a prosecutor said Wednesday after the suspect made his first court appearance.

Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry said his office will decide within about six weeks whether to pursue capital punishment or life in prison without parole for Jason D. Brown, who faces one felony murder count in the July 27 killing of Southport police Lt. Aaron Allan.

Brown was dangling upside down in his overturned car, his seat belt engaged, following a crash when he suddenly became agitated as Allan approached to help him and opened fire, according to court documents.

 Associated Press


Rain clouds gather over the 17th Street Canal pumping station in New Orleans on Thursday. With more rain in the forecast and city water pumps malfunctioning after weekend floods, Louisianas governor declared a state of emergency. (Gerald Herbert/AP)

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) declared a state of emergency in New Orleans on Thursday after a power shortage threatened to cripple the citys drainage pumps, the second time in less than a week that critical flood defenses have been strained during hurricane season.

With residents now fearing even routine summer thunderstorms, officials closed city schools for the rest of the week and urged motorists to be mindful of where they park their vehicles when it rains. New Orleans is as much as seven feet below sea level, and a network of drainage canals and pumps funnel storm water out of the city.

If we get the heavier-than-expected rainfall, time will be of the essence, Edwards said. This is a serious situation, but its not something to be panicked about.

[It wasnt even a hurricane, but heavy rains flooded New Orleans as pumps failed]

Before dawn Thursday, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu shocked city residents when he announced that a substation fire had knocked out a primary source of power for the citys network of drainage pumps. The outage is diminishing electricity for the pumps that serve the East Bank of the city, which includes much of central New Orleans, including downtown and the French Quarter.

With three other turbine stations also out of service for repairs or scheduled maintenance, New Orleans was left with just one primary source of electricity to power its pumps.

(The Washington Post)

Generators and alternative power supplies from the citys main consumer electric supplier, Entergy New Orleans, will help offset some of the shortfall but probably couldnt power all the pumps during bouts of heavy rain, the mayor said.

We are right now running on our last backup power source, Landrieu told New Orleans residents, many of whom also received emergency text messages warning them of the potential danger.

The fire and subsequent outage was another blow to a city that is still cleaning up after a major rainstorm Saturday flooded neighborhoods, some of which had several feet of standing water. Residents have been enraged about shifting accounts from city leaders about why it took so long for the water to drain.

[A resilience lab: 10 years after Katrina]

The extended flooding was especially traumatic to residents because New Orleans is nearing the 12th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. In 2005, the hurricane flooded 80 percent of the city and killed hundreds of people.

Shortly after the flooding last weekend, the leaders of the Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans initially stated that all 121 of the citys pumps were operating during Saturdays storm. But on Tuesday, amid deepening community skepticism, officials admitted that eight pumps had been out of service when the rain began. On Thursday, board officials said 16 pumps were not working during the floods, according to news reports.

Under normal conditions, the New Orleans drainage and pumping system was designed to handle about an inch of rain an hour during the first hour of a storm, with the capability of handling half an inch of rain per hour after that. Saturdays storm dropped as much as nine inches of rain in just four hours.

At a hearing Tuesday, New Orleans council members vowed to investigate how the city could appear to be so unprepared for flooding just as the region heads into the peak of hurricane season.

On Wednesday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration increased its forecast of tropical weather systems this year. It now expects 14 to 19 named storms, including two to five major hurricanes.
A travel advisory that the NAACP issued warning African Americans to take care when visiting Missouri now has the full support of the organizations St. Louis County chapter, which initially opposed the action as potentially hurting black hospitality workers.

It was a confusing kickoff last week for the effort, which was a response to a recently passed bill that would make it more difficult for minorities and women to sue their employers for discrimination. The group also is concerned about the disproportionate rate at which police in the state stop African American motorists.

The civil rights organization announced the travel advisory last week, warning African American travelers, visitors and Missourians to pay special attention and exercise extreme caution when traveling throughout the state given the series of questionable, race-based incidents occurring statewide recently.

The president of the groups St. Louis County chapter initially responded with a statement calling on national and state leaders to rescind the advisory. But days later, the chapter joined the protest.

Nimrod Chapel Jr., president of the Missouri state conference of the NAACP, said he understands how some people might have mistaken the travel advisory as a suggestion to abandon travel to the state entirely, especially with Republican officials and the business community vigorously defending the new law that the protest targets.

But Chapel said the NAACP is not asking people to stay away from the Show Me State but, rather, calling attention to Jim Crow-style legislation and policing policies that threaten the rights of all people, not just African Americans.

We as a society have got to look at whats happening and say, Are we going to depart from the road weve been on, protecting individuals civil rights, and turn around and go in the opposite direction?  Chapel said.

Esther Haywood, president of the St. Louis County chapter, said there was a whole lot of misunderstanding about the intent of the travel advisory at first. She said she had been concerned about the effect of a potential travel ban because several meetings, including some that would attract large numbers of black attendees, are scheduled for the St. Louis area.

But she said that despite arguments by backers of the law that it brings Missouri in line with 38 other states, the measure goes too far. Its Jim Crow at its worst, Haywood said, noting that a rally is planned for next week in St. Louis to call attention to the law, referred to as Senate Bill 43.

The bill, passed in the spring, requires that employees show that their race, gender or other protected status was the motivating factor in any discriminatory act against them. Previously a person had to show only that it was a contributing factor. Supporters, including Republican Gov. Eric Greitens, contend that this is the same standard the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission uses when considering discrimination claims.

A spokesman for Greitens declined to comment on the travel advisory. At the time the governor signed the bill, he said in a statement that he had met with passionate advocates on both sides and respected their views but believes that we need to bring Missouris standards in line with 38 other states and the federal government.

Dan Mehan, president of the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, also defended the bill.

A piece of employment law legislation, which aligns Missouri law with federal standards, should not cause anyone to be concerned about traveling to Missouri, he said in a statement.

Paul Bullman, a former president of the Kansas City, Mo., chapter of the National Employment Lawyers Association, said Republican officials are misrepresenting federal law, which does not say that an employees race or gender had to be the motivating factor but a motivating factor in a complaint. He also said the provision exempting individuals from lawsuits is chilling.

If youve got a racist who comes to work with a noose, hurling racial slurs at minorities, yes, you can sue the employer, but the employee hurling racist remarks has no personal responsibility, he said.

The bill was sponsored by Republican state Sen. Gary Romine, owner of a rent-to-own furniture and appliance business that was sued for racial discrimination.

Chapel said activists held rallies and meetings urging the GOP-controlled legislature not to approve the bill, which was touted as a way to reduce frivolous lawsuits. Debate got so intense that during one hearing on the measure, a Republican lawmaker shut off Chapels microphone while he was speaking against the bill.

In a statement announcing the travel advisory, the interim national president of the NAACP, Derrick Johnson, cited a 2016 report from the Missouri attorney general showing that African American motorists were stopped at a rate 75 percent higher than whites. The report also noted that African American and Hispanic drivers were more likely to endure searches of their bodies and cars than whites.

Johnson said the stop-and-search disparities are unconscionable, and are simply unacceptable in a progressive society.

Rosemary Johnson, a vice president of the NAACP state conference and a member of the executive committee for the county chapter, said that the advisory is not just a symbolic act but also practical.

We want people to come here, but we also want you to recognize what to expect when youre here: Make sure youre driving the speed limit. Do what the officers ask you to do, she said. You are more likely to be given a ticket and pulled over. Make sure you have your bail money.

She also said the new law is a slap in the face to everybody, not just black people.
Caritas Macau have reported a 10 percent increase in the number of people using their food bank service in the first seven months of this year, compared to last year.

According to a report by TDM, a total of 2,700 people used the food bank service between January and July of this year. The charity group states that this increase may be due to the change in location of the food bank.

The food bank is currently located in Ilha Verde, closer to the social and economic housing area.

People can apply for the food supply service more easily. Some of the services rely on networks such as social workers that will need to transfer them to the food supply service, said Mok Lai Shan from the Caritas Food Bank Center to TDM.

According to Mok, many of the applicants are working through a time of financial hardship. Mok adds that Caritas will assist them in seeking employment and other forms of aid.

We would evaluate their status and see what kind of problems they have, Mok said.

Some families believe that they have a need but most of the time, theyre afraid to use the service.

Mok shared that some families thought that if they decided to use the service, they would be labeled a hindrance to society. However, one of the advantages of the service is that applicants will receive help and support more easily upon establishing a relationship with social workers. Caritas said that they would transfer applicants to different districts if the need exceeded the Ilha Verde branchs ability to provide support.

The food bank program has been managed by Caritas since September 2011.

Last year, the short-term food assistance program helped over 2,000 families. Those families included over 3,000 individuals.

Secretary General of Caritas Macau, Paul Pun, said to the Times last year that the reach of the food bank program was gradually increasing as citizens become more aware of its existence.

However, Pun noted that some low-income residents were uncomfortable accepting food assistance from the government, often finding it embarrassing to accept food aid.

He added that Caritas hosts dialogues among these families from low-income backgrounds, encouraging them to participate in the food bank program. Caritas explains the benefits of the program to these families in a compassionate, non-stigmatizing way.

Currently, there are also individuals who live in Coloane participating in the food bank program, as several families have relocated from central Macau to the Seac Pai Van public housing complex.
SOUTH CHINA SEA

U.S. destroyer sails close to disputed island

A U.S. Navy destroyer carried out a freedom of navigation operation on Thursday, coming within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island built up by China in the South China Sea, U.S. officials said.

The officials said the USS John S. McCain traveled close to Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands, among a string of islets, reefs and shoals. China has territorial disputes with its neighbors over the area.

It was the third such freedom of navigation operation of the Trump administration.

The Thursday operation was the latest attempt to counter what Washington sees as Beijings efforts to limit freedom of navigation in the strategic waters and comes as President Trump is seeking Chinas cooperation to rein in North Korea.

Chinas Foreign Ministry said the operation violated international and Chinese law and seriously harmed Beijings sovereignty and security.

The United States has criticized Chinas construction of islands and buildup of military facilities in the sea and is concerned that they could be used to restrict free nautical movement.

Twelve nautical miles marks the territorial limits recognized internationally.

Chinas claims in the South China Sea are contested by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.

 Reuters

YEMEN

19 feared dead after being forced off boat

About 180 Ethiopian and Somali migrants, many weakened by hunger and drought in their home countries, were forced from a boat into rough seas off Yemen by smugglers on Thursday, the United Nations migration agency said, with 19 presumed drowned.

It was the second deadly incident in as many days off Shabwa province in southern Yemen, where 50 teenage African migrants were deliberately drowned Wednesday by a smuggler who forced about 120 passengers off his boat, the International Organization for Migration said.

Smugglers were pushing migrants into the sea away from the mainland for fear of government boats, amid reinforced border controls, or to avoid encountering armed groups on shore in war-torn Yemen.

The smugglers are panicking, said Laurent de Boeck, the IOMs chief of mission in Yemen, adding that reinforced border controls along the coast could be having a counterproductive effect.

About 55,000 migrants have taken the hazardous route from the Horn of Africa to Yemen this year in search of opportunity in the Persian Gulf region, the IOM said. The majority of the migrants are young males from Ethiopia, it says.

 Reuters

Venezuelas high court removes 5th opposition mayor: A fifth opposition mayor in Venezuela was removed from his post and ordered under arrest in a continuing crackdown by the struggling nations government on President Nicolas Maduros adversaries. The government-allied supreme court also ordered that David Smolansky be imprisoned for 15 months for not obeying orders to shut down protests. Of the five mayors recently sentenced, just one is in jail. The others have fled or have gone underground.

Yemens national blood bank faces threat of closure: Yemens national blood bank faces a complete shutdown within a week after a medical charity ended its two-year support, the facilitys director said, warning that the closure could exacerbate the humanitarian crisis in the war-torn country. Doctors Without Borders gave out its last donation to the blood bank in June after signing over support to the U.N. World Health Organization. The medical charitys supplies cover only two months.

Sri Lanka foreign minister resigns over scandal: Sri Lankas foreign minister resigned after being accused of possessing a luxury apartment paid for by a businessman investigated over shady treasury bond transactions. Ravi Karunanayake, who was finance minister at the time the deals took place, denied the allegation but said he is resigning from the cabinet to set an example to others. He has said that the apartment deal was handled by his family and that he was unaware of its contents or parties involved.

 From news services
U.S. troops assess the damage to an armored vehicle of the NATO-led military coalition after a suicide attack in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, on Aug. 2. (Ahmad Nadeem/Reuters)

Aaron B. OConnell is associate professor of history at the University of Texas at Austin and the editor of Our Latest Longest War: Losing Hearts and Minds in Afghanistan.

President Trump has reportedly been asking two questions about Afghanistan: Why has the United States been there for so long? And why havent we won the war? Afghanistan is complex and confusing but the answers to these two questions are not. Unfortunately, answering them wont get the president much closer to an effective Afghanistan policy.

The United States is still in Afghanistan because the Kabul government cant defeat or delegitimize the Taliban on its own, and because both previous presidents believed that a complete withdrawal might destabilize Pakistan  the only state in the world with nuclear weapons and a large and increasingly radicalized Muslim population.

The United States isnt winning now  and hasnt been winning for more than a decade  because the insurgency has home field advantages that U.S. and coalition partners have been unable to counter, even after we spent over $100 billion per year to flood the country with 140,000 troops.

[The U.S. never really tried in Afghanistan]

The Taliban have everything they need to fight indefinitely: money from opium, weapons from previous wars, local networks for intimidating detractors, sanctuaries in Pakistan, and an almost unlimited supply of new recruits from rural Pashtun areas whose life narratives start and end with defending Islam and rejecting foreign rule. They also have a degree of strategic patience that the United States will never match. Theres an old Pashtun saying: I took my revenge after one hundred years and I only regret that I acted in haste. Neither 4,000 nor 40,000 more troops will change these basic facts.

Crafting good Afghanistan policy starts with asking good questions. Why arent we winning? isnt one. For starters, the war isnt ours to win; it is part of an intra-Pashtun tribal conflict that precedes Afghanistans founding in 1747.

Furthermore, the U.S. military cant win in Afghanistan because its goals are not exclusively military. Outside military forces will not win the Afghans hearts and minds, make the government legitimate, or change ordinary Afghans stories about their leaders, communities, histories, or the law. In fact, Americas militarized approach has actually diminished Kabuls legitimacy because the mere presence of foreign troops fuels narratives of crusaders and colonialists.

This over-reliance on military power has only increased since Trump took office. Thus far, the presidents only actions on the war have been to delegate Afghanistan policy to the secretary of defense and to trumpet the dropping of the mother of all bombs  the largest non-nuclear bomb in the U.S. arsenal.

All experts agree that the Afghan war will end in a negotiated settlement rather than a military victory, yet the president is seeking massive cuts to the State Department that would presumably do the negotiating. More than six months into the Trump presidency, there still is no U.S. ambassador in Kabul or assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia. Diplomacy isnt just undervalued in Afghanistan; its absent.

Instead of seeking a final military victory over the Taliban, the president should pursue a strategy that manages the regions transnational terrorism threats while protecting broader interests in a neighborhood that includes Pakistan, Iran, India and China. Doing so would take into account what has worked well in Afghanistan (selective counterterrorism strikes, health and education spending) and what has not (anti-corruption programs, counter-narcotics and contractor-led training of the army and police.) The strategy could involve surging or withdrawing troops, but it would recognize that the only core interests in Afghanistan are to cripple al-Qaeda and the Islamic State and prevent a Taliban return to Kabul.

Taking a regional approach would also prompt a reevaluation of the U.S. relationship with Pakistan, a country that barely shares our values, harbored Osama bin Laden and continues to support terrorist networks that kill Americans. We should also explore a stronger partnership with India  the worlds largest democracy and a far better security partner for countering a rising China. And the White House must recognize that NATO, the U.N. and human rights-centered diplomacy are assets  not obstacles  for maintaining the United States position in the world.

Before any diplomatic solution can take effect, however, the White House needs to stop muddying the waters with nonsense. The proposal to replace U.S. troops with mercenary contractors is an amateurish suggestion by novices who would sacrifice Americas reputation for a few dollars and fuel animosity among even the most pro-American members of the Afghan government. The presidents statements about monopolizing Afghanistans mineral wealth are equally unhelpful.

There are still some adults in the Trump administration, and they need to move the president away from the false choice of either bombing his way to victory or undertaking a precipitous withdrawal. Those arent the only choices and troops arent the only tool.
Ronald E. Neumann was ambassador to Afghanistan from 2005 to 2007.

In theory, U.S. strategy in Afghanistan has been to train an Afghan army that can fight al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and now the Islamic State  and then largely to withdraw. After 16 years, its not surprising that many people think that strategy has failed. In fact, it hasnt really been tried.

The Bush administration didnt think such a force was needed. The Obama administration not only didnt execute its own strategy, it also only grudgingly provided the resources necessary to avoid outright failure. The Trump administration has not increased those inadequate resources. In short, the strategy of trying to build an Afghan security structure that could successfully combat the Taliban only began six years ago and then was undercut after four years  scarcely enough time to build a whole new army.

When I left Afghanistan in 2007, our target of a 216,000-strong Afghan army and police force was unmet. This security force included no serious air force, artillery, logistics or medical services, since it was designed on the assumption that the war was largely over. Our advisory presence was small in the army and almost nonexistent in the police. Iraq was soaking up all available resources, and my warnings that the fighting was about to get worse were ignored. Only in fall 2009 did the Obama administration decide to build to the current goal of 352,000 security personnel, including essential supporting forces. That effort did not begin to receive funding and equipment until a year later.

These expanded goals were only really pursued for four years and were heavily undercut by policy shifts. Virtually every aspect of the training was rushed and under-resourced. The development of essential support functions, from logistics to artillery to air, was delayed for a year so that all available training facilities could be devoted to getting infantry into the battle. U.S. and NATO training teams never reached much over 50 percent of required personnel, and even that low level took several years to achieve. Advisory teams were delegated to the National Guard and Reserves rather than the regular U.S. Army, a clear indication that this was a lower priority effort. Proper advanced training for these teams took several years to set up.

Then, the decision to end U.S. involvement in active combat by 2014 converted a conditions-based strategy to one driven by Washington timelines. Withdrawal of advisers consistently outpaced the readiness of the Afghans to take over. By 2014, many of our forces were devoted to getting packed up and out of the country rather than to the fighting. But worse was yet to come.

Critically, Afghan security forces trained with U.S. and NATO forces, and thus learned to fight as we do  with air support. But from January 2014 to November 2016, that air support was withdrawn. The Obama administration declared that we are no longer at war with the Taliban. This nonsensical phrase, which I heard from senior officials at the National Security Council, left the Taliban free, except in the most extreme circumstances, to reinforce, maneuver and mass for attacks.

Only at the end of 2016 was the administration sufficiently shocked by the failure of its strategy to lift the prohibition on air support and end further withdrawals. But this left in place a greatly reduced U.S. and NATO force sufficient only to prevent immediate defeat. Since the Trump administration has largely maintained this inadequate force, it is puzzling that the White House wonders why it has not achieved a different result.

Our commanders may perhaps be faulted for not arguing harder against the political mistakes of Washington. I believe that they tried but found that the Obama White House resented every effort to speak truth to power. The Afghans can be seriously criticized for allowing politics to intrude much too far into senior military appointments (something that is being reversed by President Ashraf Ghanis appointment of battle-tested commanders). Nonetheless, our advisory presence still does not cover every Afghan army corps, nor their subordinate brigades. Much of the rush to failure has been Washington-driven.

Even a great effort to correct the mistakes of the past would not produce results on the battlefield for a year or more. Whether this can or should be done deserves serious debate. But that discussion should be based on a clear understanding of what has  and what has not  already been tried in Afghanistan.
CHINAS GREAT FIREWALL, a massive system of Internet filters and blocking, has long had a crack in it. The firewall prevents most users inside China from accessing platforms outside the country, such as Facebook, Google and Netflix, in keeping with Chinas desire to censor what can be seen and read. But popular software known as virtual private networks, or VPNs, permit a user inside China to tunnel through the firewall. Now the crack is being gradually cemented up.

A VPN has been particularly useful for foreign firms that come to China and want to link up with corporate networks outside it. Hoping to encourage such investment, China looked the other way for years at the existence of the VPNs, many available from Apples App Store in China. Some were easy to use  just tap the button and a user would be on Facebook as if sitting in Los Angeles instead of Beijing. The VPNs are popular among millions of young people, as well as journalists and others.

China has been heading toward restricting them for some time, but now it is cracking down in earnest with a new cybersecurity law that carries criminal penalties. According to a BBC report, Apple informed more than 60 VPNs that they were being removed from the App Store in China on grounds that they were not licensed, although some others remain. Apples chief executive, Tim Cook, said last week we would obviously rather not remove the apps but Apple will follow the law wherever we do business. Likewise, a Chinese company that operates Amazons cloud-computing business in China has sent a notice reminding customers to comply with local laws and cease using software such as VPNs that could pierce the Great Firewall. (Amazon founder Jeffrey P. Bezos owns The Washington Post.) Apple, Amazon and other Western technology pioneers can have a positive influence on China, but the laws they obey can also become tools of censorship. Mr. Cook said this week that Apple has been engaging with China over this even when we disagree. But there is no evidence that Chinas leaders are prepared to loosen the reins of control. The trend is running the other way.

In Russia, no Great Firewall exists and major Internet platforms are accessible, but a government agency does blacklist specific sites. Now, President Vladimir Putin has signed legislation outlawing the use of VPNs and other methods that permit users to connect to the Internet anonymously, such as the Tor browser. Mr. Putin also signed legislation that will require instant-messaging services to establish the identity of users by their phone numbers  another step to make sure no one escapes surveillance if the state deems it necessary.

In both Russia and China, the impulse is the same: Rulers fear the free flow of information.
The Aug. 6 front-page article Fired/Rehired reported on hundreds of police officers who were rehired after having been dismissed for cause. The predominance of cases in which the arbitrations defense was based on procedural mistakes or missed deadlines  not flawed or incomplete investigations  was dismaying. It says that missed deadlines or forgetting to cross a t or dot an i is a more egregious offense than the original offense for which the officer was fired. Is that the true face of justice in the United States?

Ted David, Hyattsville

The report on the arbitration systems perversion of just disposition of police disciplinary systems was a great public service and a truly remarkable journalistic research achievement.

Police departments are forced to agree to burdensome processes and unreliable arbitration hearings by politicians who seek endorsements and political contributions from public employee unions. Those politicians are more than willing to throw agency managers under the bus by forcing them to agree to the demands of unions for such contractual procedures. This is a scourge on all public agencies but is most dangerous in public safety agencies.

An overstocked roster of arbitrators, who have fewer and fewer cases in the private sector, are motivated to find any reason to pander to unions and decide their way. Union leaders and their attorneys, who are involved in selecting arbitrators, talk to one another about which arbitrators are likely to decide in their favor, and arbitrators, who want work, know how to curry favor with those unions. In addition, many collective bargaining agreements provide that the loser pays the arbitrator. It is my observation that because unions are much more likely to not pay or to pay slowly, arbitrators find it in their own financial interest to tag the deep-pocketed public with the bill.

Edward Levin, Washington
White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly needs to draw a red line. Not with North Korea but with President Trump. For the sake of Kellys own reputation but even more for the sake of the country, there can be no more presidential improv on the subject of North Korea or military threats in general.

This red line should be both invisible and impregnable. Only Kelly and the president should know it exists, but they should also have a clear understanding: If it is crossed, Kelly will leave. This is essential and, more important, achievable.

Drawing this line is essential because Trumps bellicose impetuosity must be contained. Words matter, and the words of a president matter most. Therefore, they must be carefully calibrated and vetted. President Barack Obamas ad-libbed blunder on Syria and chemical weapons taught that red lines once drawn are not easily erased; if they are crossed without consequences, presidential credibility erodes.

Thus the danger of Trumps off-the-cuff warning: North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States. They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen. Predictably, North Korea responded with escalating threats of its own: that it was carefully examining plans for an enveloping fire around Guam, and then that it would turn the U.S. mainland into the theater of a nuclear war at the first hint of an impending U.S. attack.

Administration officials were left scurrying to clean up and reframe language that none had reviewed in advance. The words were his own, said White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. The tone and strength of the message were discussed beforehand. Translation: No one knew precisely what was coming. This is no way for any president to conduct foreign policy, certainly not this president and certainly not in a situation with stakes so high.

(Adriana Usero,Kate Woodsome/The Washington Post)

Mopping up, Defense Secretary Jim Mattiss approach was to suggest that Trump should be taken seriously but not literally; his retelling moved the red line from threat to action, as in, North Korea should cease any consideration of actions that would lead to the end of its regime and the destruction of its people. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson took the tack of advising that Trump should be taken seriously and not seriously, depending on the listener; Tillerson encouraged Americans to sleep well at night and have no concerns about this particular rhetoric even as he asserted that Trump had to employ language that Kim Jong Un would understand, because he doesnt seem to understand diplomatic language.

White House aide Sebastian Gorka met Tillersons call for calm with ominous analogies to the Cuban missile crisis. A senior White House official told The Post, incredibly, that  fire and fury doesnt always mean nuclear. It can mean any number of things. It is as if people see [Trump] as an unhinged madman. At the State Department, spokesman Heather Nauert gamely insisted that we are all singing from the same hymn book. Uh-huh.

This atonal cacophony is what happens without message control. But is it realistic to speak of controlling Trump? No president likes being told what to do; Trump does not merely chafe at such instruction, he actively rebels against it. So some people look at Kellys thankless task and conclude that he would be lucky to be able to manage down  to contain staff chaos and feuding. In this assessment, managing up is unattainable when up means Trump.

Yes, but, this is a matter of managerial triage. Let Trump be Trump, when it comes to domestic policy and politics. Let him pick Twitter fights galore, whether with fellow Republicans such as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) or with Democrats such as Sen. Richard Blumenthal (Conn.), just to name weeks targets. Let him watch Fox & Friends to his hearts content; let him even assail the Russia witch hunt or the Fake News Suppression Polls.

Just cordon off foreign policy, or the parts of foreign policy that could lead to military confrontation. Instruct the president that statements on those subjects must be debated and scripted. Would Trump agree? Would he  could he  comply? The chaotic, risky alternative makes it worth the try. Kellys power is at its apex. Trump cannot afford to lose another chief of staff. So the president needs Kelly more than Kelly needs this headache of a job.

And if the general wants to avoid being treated as just another menial fly-swatter, he will seize this moment to assert control, or leave having at least tried.

Read more from Ruth Marcuss archive, follow her on Twitter or subscribe to her updates on Facebook.
The 6th Anchor Food Professionals Pastry Challenge was held on Tuesday, featuring a total of nine teams from the restaurants of integrated resorts.

Organized by Anchor Food Professionals, the theme this year was Strawberry Rhapsody.

Each team had to complete two entremets with weight of 1 to 1.2kg in three hours, using Anchor Extra Whip Whipping Cream and other Anchor dairy products as main ingredients.

The teams competed for the top three best awards and the Angliss Excellence Award, through demonstrations of creativity, technical skills and teamwork.

Jean-Francois Arnaud, one of the judges, who is an international consultant in Pastry & Bakery and hails from France, admitted that he was dissatisfied with the overall outcome of the pastries, citing too much use of food coloring.

Arnaud warned that pastry chefs nowadays should be cautious of creating sophisticated and complicated cakes that would lose their natural flavors.

[The theme] is supposed to be quite common and easy but I would say Im a bit disappointed. I was expecting a more fresh strawberry taste. It was not really strawberry and it was covered by other flavors, he remarked.

From the decorations of the cake, we need to be careful. Colorful cakes attract us. [] Its a trend but we need to think about this, Arnaud added.

The expert noted that this remains a challenge in the pastry industry, as consumers are more attracted to colorful and vibrant cakes, which he supposed would also attract social media users.

However, he warned the participants who work in the Food & Beverage departments of five-star hotels, need to find balance in their work and mostly focus on keeping their ingredients natural.

It was similar to 10 or 20 years ago. If a cake does not look appetizing we dont buy it. But because of this [social media] trend, one will want to take pictures of a cake and post it. We are in this moment, [but] we need to find a way not to use too much food coloring and sugar, Arnaud suggested.

Sam Wai Ian and Kuok Chi In of Studio City were crowned champions out of the nine competing teams with their winning cake Feast.

Arnaud described their winning piece as balanced, light and well done.

Gordon Ma, the Associate Foodservice director of Anchor Food Professionals noted that Arnauds remarks are constructive criticism for pastry professionals who should be continually seeking to improve their pastries for restaurants in five-star hotels.

Although he also admitted that it remains a challenge to keep both the exterior and interior of pastries faultless, Ma stressed that competitions such as this would raise the standards of the regions baking and pastry production.

Ma remarked that the competition aims to be a platform for pastry professionals in Macau to advance their creativity and improve their production quality.

The most important thing for improving and advancing their skills is not using too much food coloring, but going back to find the true flavor of what the main ingredients are, Ma told the Times.

Ma also stressed that in comparison to previous editions of the competition, he has seen steady improvements in the participants cooperation and discipline, as well as their skills set.

Although the challenge required contestants to conduct their work within three hours, Ma is satisfied with the pastry professionals work.

I can see that they have trained a lot and have more discipline. The improvement is there and it can help them for daily work as well, he said.

Due to high pressure from work, there is not much time to work on the masterpiece. This is just why we give them this platform to let them showcase themselves other than just only fulfilling their job requirements, Ma added.

The silver and bronze awards were given to teams from Galaxy Macau and Wynn Macau respectively, while the Angliss Excellence Award was awarded to the team representing Conrad Macao.
A look at the second half of the presidents first year in the White House.

A look at the second half, so far, of the presidents first year in the White House.

A look at the second half, so far, of the presidents first year in the White House.

This is what we dreaded. Some international crisis was bound to flare up, and President Trump would make it worse. Now we can only hope that the mature adults surrounding him are able to cool things down.

Trump probably thought it was oh-so-clever to answer North Korean leader Kim Jong Uns nuclear provocations with a taste of the dictators own apocalyptic language, threatening fire and fury like the world has never seen. It sounded like a playground taunt, reflecting the presidents emotional immaturity. On Thursday, Trump said that maybe those words werent tough enough. Soon these two nuclear-armed leaders may be trading insults about the size of each others hands.

The fire and fury line was improvised, meaning Trump failed to warn anyone about it beforehand  not Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, not Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, not Chief of Staff John F. Kelly, not national security adviser H.R. McMaster, not U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley. Wish these five officials well, because they stand between us and unthinkable disaster.

It is possible that fire and fury was, in Trumps mind, a bit of strategy. Perhaps he wanted to come across as a dangerous madman. If so, he succeeded in unnerving Americans and our allies  but not, apparently, the North Koreans.

Ironies abound. Before Trumps intervention, his administration was actually doing pretty well in orchestrating a global response to North Koreas development of intercontinental ballistic missiles and nuclear warheads. Haley managed to get the U.N. Security Council to approve tough new sanctions, which meant she had to win cooperation from China and Russia  a real diplomatic achievement.

(Adriana Usero,Kate Woodsome/The Washington Post)

Moreover, Trumps bombast may even have occasioned high-fives in Kims inner circle. Kim has long sought direct talks with the United States as a way of showing the North Korean people his exalted status among world leaders. A back-and-forth exchange of rhetoric fills the bill.

Dealing with this crisis will require patience and realism, both of which Trump totally lacks.

There is no quick solution. If there were, Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush or Barack Obama would have implemented it long ago. A U.S. military strike could cost millions of lives in South Korea and perhaps many thousands in Japan. Our nation, under Trump, would become an international pariah. We would have the blood of many innocents on our hands.

The reality is that Kim doesnt want to conquer the world  or provoke a U.S. attack that could end his regime. He wants to remain in power. He also dreams of someday reuniting the Korean Peninsula under his own leadership, but that is a much longer-range goal. Right now, his imperative is survival.

By developing nuclear weapons and advanced missile technology, Kim sought to ensure that he never faces the fate of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. Having gone to extraordinary lengths to obtain this insurance policy, he is not likely to give it up. Ever.

The Trump administration believes the Chinese government could do more to pressure Kim. It is true that China has the power to destroy the fragile North Korean economy, but Chinese leaders are not willing to confront the consequences of provoking a collapse of central authority in Pyongyang. And the Kim dynasty has shown a willingness to force the North Korean people to endure unspeakable hardship in the pursuit of national goals.

I see no way that Kim is ever going to be persuaded or coerced into giving up his nukes. Maybe he would do so under imminent threat of being deposed. But in any scenario I can imagine, he has more leverage with nuclear weapons than without them. I dont want to live in a world in which a nuclear-tipped North Korean missile can hit Guam or Hawaii or Los Angeles or Chicago, but we may not have a choice.

(Elyse Samuels/The Washington Post)

Deterrence does work, though. It worked throughout the Cold War. It worked during Maos Cultural Revolution, when China was at least as unhinged as North Korea is today. It works between India and Pakistan.

Trump once said he would be willing to meet with Kim. If the president can be kept from making further threats and the present crisis allowed to subside, perhaps we can eventually offer direct talks between Washington and Pyongyang  something Kim dearly wants  with the subject being a verifiable freeze on the North Korean nuclear program. After a freeze is in place for a while, it might be possible to negotiate reductions.

As I said, we need to be patient and realistic. Someone please distract the president with a shiny object for the next few years.

Read more from Eugene Robinsons archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook. You can also join him Tuesdays at 1 p.m. for a live Q&A.
CREDIT PRESIDENT TRUMP with appropriate timing. On the day that updated government statistics confirmed that deaths from opioid overdoses continued to set records in 2016, he convened a meeting on the issue at his New Jersey vacation spot. Whatever welcome sense of urgency might have been demonstrated by that decision, though, was quickly undercut by what the president said during the public portion of the gathering.

After an appropriate nod to prevention, which is indeed a potentially efficient means of stemming the epidemic, Mr. Trump launched an extended attack on his predecessors record, accusing President Barack Obamas administration of having reduced drug prosecutions and failing to achieve longer sentences in those drug-related cases it won. Not only did this inject a discordantly partisan note into a subject that had heretofore brought Democrats and Republicans together, but also it was of dubious logic. For much if not most of the Obama presidency, users obtained opioids through legal channels  starting with doctor prescriptions. At least Mr. Obamas administration sought to clamp down on that through tightened national prescribing guidelines late in his term.

Mr. Trumps promise to deal with the opioid epidemic as a battle, in which strong law enforcement is absolutely vital, has its place. There must be greater interdiction of deadly fentanyl that comes from foreign suppliers, mainly in China. His own commission on the opioid crisis made that point  but otherwise did not emphasize law enforcement in its July 31 interim report . To the contrary, the commissions recommendations centered on non-repressive approaches. These include increasing addicted patients access to inpatient treatment and medications, enhanced monitoring of opioid prescribing and improved training for health-care providers. Mr. Trumps comments gave short shrift to the non-punitive side of the ledger.

Accompanying the president, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price indicated that the administration would not be adopting the commissions headline recommendation, either: to declare the opioid epidemic a national emergency. So much for what the panel called its most urgent advice. To be sure, declaring a national emergency might have a mostly symbolic impact. But it could open some new federal funds for states and permit federal agencies to take otherwise-prohibited steps such as letting Medicaid reimburse for drug treatment in large-scale inpatient facilities. And there is symbolism in rejecting the suggestion, too, in the context of a presidential statement that brushed aside all but one of the panels ideas. What it symbolizes is that Mr. Trump may not fully appreciate the work needed to address what has become one of the worst drug-related scourges in U.S. history.
Robert B. Richardson is an ecological economist and an associate professor in Michigan State Universitys Department of Community Sustainability. He served on the Environmental Protection Agencys Board of Scientific Counselors from 2014 to 2017.

The first 200 days of the Trump administration have been marked by direct and consistent confrontations with the scientific community, and no area of science has been targeted more explicitly than climate science. The administration has proposed drastic cuts in the budget to federal climate change programs; removed climate-related information from government websites; and refused to renew the appointments of more than 30 members of the Environmental Protection Agencys Board of Scientific Counselors  including me.

Scientists know that these actions are dangerous to public health, the economy and our national security. Thankfully, some government workers concerned about climate change are pushing back on the administrations attempts to muzzle them, finally speaking out  or, in some cases, leaking out  against threats to academic freedom.

This week, The New York Times published a draft report written by scientists from 13 federal agencies. The draft, completed this year under congressional mandate as a special science section of the National Climate Assessment, states that evidence for a changing climate abounds, from the top of the atmosphere to the depths of the oceans. It goes on to say that many lines of evidence demonstrate that human activities, especially emissions of greenhouse (heat-trapping) gases, are primarily responsible for recent observed climate change.

The document was publicized before the Trump administration signed off on the release of the final draft. As the Times reported, scientists who worked on the draft feared that the Trump administration would not approve the document or might tamper with the report.

Fears of censorship are not unfounded. Staff members at the Agriculture Departments Natural Resource Conservation Service must avoid using the phrase climate change in agency documents, according to a series of emails leaked to the Guardian this week. The phrase weather extremes is now the prefered language. Other phrases on the blacklist: climate change adaptation, reduce greenhouse gases and sequester carbon.

Such phrases are part of the language and lexicon of science, and instructing federal scientists to avoid using particular words is an affront to the pursuit of knowledge. This is censorship, and it is dangerous to both science and democracy.

Academic integrity, it turns out, is really important to professionals in scientific agencies of the federal government. The scientific community deeply values transparency, freedom, unbiased facts and evidence-based decision-making. Only through scientific research can we advance knowledge, so scientists tend to resist attempts to silence them. Science embraces critical thinking, but there is no place for alternative facts in science. Scientists do not like to be censored. Scientists do not like to be told to avoid using the language of science.

The United States previously served as a world leader in global environmental responsibility, but tragically thats no longer the case. The administrations decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accord and President Trumps refusal to budge on the issue at the recent Group of 20 conference confirms that the United States is denying science and dangerously ignoring the threat of climate change.

Meanwhile, the removal of data and information about climate change from federal agency websites deprives the public, including teachers and students, of valuable information regarding the state of knowledge about climate change. And the administrations proposed budget cuts would eliminate critical funding for programs that will help protect the country from the worst effects of climate change, and where appropriate, adapt to the changing environment.

Such actions are likely to provoke mistrust in government. Climate scientists have reached near-universal consensus that global climate change is occuring, and many agree that it is an existential threat to the global economy, quality of life and environmental sustainability.

A federal government that has the best interests of its citizens in mind would be unwise to silence its scientists, as integrity and transparency are fundamental values in good governance.

Thankfully, these are also fundamental values in science. When such values are tested through censorship and alternative facts, scientists will push back.
States are enacting strict limits on the number of powerful prescription painkillers doctors can prescribe, a move that many believe will help fight the opioid crisis but has raised alarms among some physicians.

At least 17 states have enacted rules to curb the number of painkillers doctors can prescribe. Some, including Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Ohio, have passed laws limiting the duration of initial opioid prescriptions to five or seven days. Others are passing dosage limits. In Kentucky, a law went into effect last month capping opioid prescriptions for acute pain to three days.

We know that most people who eventually become addicted to heroin have started with a prescription opiate, said Kentucky state Rep. Kimberly Moser (R), who sponsored the bill and is also a nurse. Kentucky, like most other states, has exemptions for cancer and hospice patients, major surgeries and patients dealing with severe or chronic pain. We felt it was important to just set that pause button and have prescribers just stop and think about the appropriateness of what theyre prescribing. Is it medically necessary? she said.

[Study: Doctors received more than $46 million from drug companies marketing opioids]

Last year, 1,404 people died of drug overdoses in Kentucky, according to the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy. About half of the deaths involved fentanyl, a powerful synthetic painkiller that is often used in hospitals but also has been manufactured illicitly overseas and has cut into the heroin supply.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last year issued guidance for providers, recommending shorter durations for opioid prescriptions, stating that three days should be sufficient and a course of more than seven days will rarely be needed. According to a CDC study, patients who use such painkillers for longer periods of time are more likely to end up addicted to them.

[ Deaths from drug overdoses soared in the first nine months of 2016 ]

Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) introduced federal legislation in April to limit an initial opioid prescription to seven days. It would not apply to the treatment of chronic pain, cancer, hospice or palliative care.

More than 52,000 people died of drug overdoses in 2015, according to the CDC. Drug overdoses sharply increased during the first nine months of 2016, according to the National Centers for Health Statistics. They were driven by increases in opioid deaths, especially from heroin and fentanyl. But for many people, their first exposure to opioids is through prescription painkillers.

Given that this current opioid epidemic is in very real part caused by the prescribers, we should be okay with some guidance, said R. Corey Waller, chair of the legislative advocacy committee for the American Society of Addiction Medicine. If we had been able to control this and follow the evidence, we wouldnt necessarily need these rules.

But Waller and other physicians also have concerns with the new state laws. In Connecticut, doctors worried that a law limiting initial opioid prescriptions to seven days would be overly prohibitive, said David Emmel, chair of the Connecticut State Medical Societys legislative committee. But now that the regulations have been in place for about a year, doctors have adapted to the rules, which Emmel said are not horrifically restrictive.

Mishael Azam, chief operating officer of the Medical Society of New Jersey, said the states five-day limit, which went into effect earlier this year, is still a work in progress for the states physicians. Doctors, she said, are still being educated about the law and some are now leery of treating pain patients because of it.

Thats the general tone  doctors are to blame, she said, and treating a patient individually is discouraged. Medicine, in all other realms, were supposed to be personalizing and individualizing. But when you do a hard mandate, it doesnt allow for any sort of personalization.

Patrick Padgett, executive vice president of the Kentucky Medical Association, said some doctors are glad that there is a limit on the number of days a painkiller can be prescribed, because it gives them a guideline they can show to patients who are seeking longer courses of the drug.

Patrice Harris, chair of the American Medical Association board of trustees, said doctors recognize that it is important to cut back on the number of opioids that are prescribed.

I think theres been a general agreement that we need to be more judicious in our prescribing, she said.
Former Iowa governor Tom Vilsack is among a number of Democrats who have signed on with New Democracy, a combination think tank and super PAC . (Jeff Roberson/Associated Press)

The high-profile stars of the Democratic Partys populist wing have steered the agenda their way on Capitol Hill this year, but the fight over the partys direction is far from settled.

As the party faces great expectations of big gains in the 2018 midterm elections, Democratic centrists are increasingly worried that the disproportionate share of attention shown to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and the agenda pushed by his anti-establishment allies will do more harm than good.

That direction, the thinking goes, will energize liberals in places where Democrats are already winning by big margins. But it may drive away the voters needed to win inland races that will shape the House majority and determine which governors and state legislators are in charge of redrawing federal and state legislative districts early next decade.

Enter a group called New Democracy, a combination think tank and super PAC trying to reimagine the partys brand in regions where Democrats have suffered deep losses.

Leaders of the group want to focus on rebuilding in states where, during the Obama presidency, Democrats lost nearly 1,000 legislative seats and more than a dozen governors mansions.

Our most important work will be done outside of Washington, Will Marshall, founder of New Democracy, said in an interview.

The effort is publicly being labeled as supplemental to the emerging agenda being crafted on Capitol Hill, including the highly populist Better Deal proposal that party leaders in the House and the Senate touted last month. But the new groups leaders do not see that agenda, including a push for lower prescription-drug prices, as particularly helpful to Democrats in exurban districts or key Midwestern states that President Trump won last year.

That is an accurate reflection of many Democrats who represent deep blue districts. But it has limited appeal beyond the coasts, Marshall said.

Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) have been trying to offer the sort of economic agenda items that can appeal to voters in Iowa as well as California, targeted at working-class voters who abandoned Democrats for Trump.

But some centrists fear that this populist message will be tuned out by heartland voters if it is accompanied by the partys increasing embrace of staunch liberal positions on cultural matters, including abortion rights and transgender issues.

Should House Democrats write off rural congressional districts?

Marshall helped begin similar efforts as Democrats lost three straight presidential elections in the 1980s, under the auspices of the Democratic Leadership Council and its offshoot, the Progressive Policy Institute.

Back then, operating under the New Democrat banner, the centrists helped create the ideas behind the 1992 presidential campaign of Bill Clinton, who became the first two-term Democrat in the White House since FDR.

New Democracy is taking shape under the failure of another Clinton  Hillary  whose loss to Trump helped solidify the already growing divide between Democrats and voters beyond large urban centers. Several dozen Democrats have signed on with New Democracy, including Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, former Iowa governor Tom Vilsack, Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto and Rep. Stephanie Murphy (Fla.), a freshman rising star.

The two Democratic wings could be headed for a fierce clash over what the party needs to stand for in the wake of the stunning 2016 defeat. Sanders, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and other liberals have been making gains in getting congressional Democrats to support ideas, including a $15-an-hour minimum wage and some form of free college, and demanding a full-frontal assault on big banks and big corporations.

So far, however, the college plans pushed by Sanders have not been in the Better Deal. Senior Democratic advisers say that their effort has been to embrace economic populism without focusing on less politically popular liberal ideas.

The early portions of the Better Deal agenda tilt in the populist direction, with calls for stronger antitrust regulations and tough talk on trade deals. The belief is that white, working-class voters  millions of whom voted for Barack Obama but then Trump  felt left behind in an economy with fewer manufacturing plants, and those jobs went offshore or disappeared through automation.

Marshall and other Democrats fear that the populist tone is built around a negative message of casting blame, and lacks the optimistic tones around which Bill Clinton and Obama built their successful presidential bids.

Combine that negative tone with what critics say is a cultural elitism among urban liberals on social issues, and the centrist wing feels that voters in the heartland simply do not embrace the Democratic message anymore.

The partys gotten a little too comfortable with its urban and coastal strongholds, Marshall said.

New Democracys mission statement is even more blunt, warning that both parties have engaged in a civically corrosive form of identity politics and that Democrats should avoid vilifying people whose social views arent as progressive as we think they should be.

For many working class and rural voters, the partys message seems freighted with elite condescension for traditional values (especially faith) and lifestyles, the group says.

The first big public event for New Democracy will come at an October summit hosted by Vilsack, who grew increasingly disenchanted last year with what he viewed as the Clinton campaigns unwillingness to court rural voters.

Vilsacks tough message for fellow Democrats: Stop writing off rural America

In the 2008 election, Obama won the Hawkeye State by nearly 10 percentage points, giving Iowa Democrats a 32-to-18 edge in the state Senate and a 56-to-44 edge in the state House. The governor, Chet Culver, was a Democrat, as were four of the states seven members of Congress.

In 2016, Trump won Iowa by nearly 10 percentage points, and Republicans now hold a comfortable nine-seat majority in the state Senate and a 19-seat majority in the state House. Trump appointed the states popular Republican governor, Terry Branstad, to be ambassador to China.

Iowa now sends just one Democrat to Congress.

That kind of shift happened across many states far away from the Atlantic and Pacific coasts over the past eight years.

It remains to be seen how much efforts like New Democracy really will supplement the partys efforts to reach new voters  and how much of this will turn into a deep fight with the liberal wing.

New Democracy is reserving the right to wade into primaries to support moderate candidates, which could foreshadow the type of expensive primary battles Republicans have had over the past eight years.

Obamas success has masked the narrowing of the partys appeal, Marshall said, fearing that Democrats are not reaching beyond liberal elites. Dogma seems to be in the drivers seat.

Read more from Paul Kanes archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook.
Sen. John McCain on Thursday unveiled a plan to increase U.S. air and ground forces in Afghanistan that would probably bring some American soldiers closer into harms way  a move that in effect rebukes President Trump, who has not yet decided on his preferred way forward in the war.

McCain (R-Ariz.) promised to present his plan as an amendment to the annual defense authorization bill, upon his return to Washington in September.

The senator is undergoing treatment for a recently diagnosed brain tumor, but congressional Democrats and Republicans alike have said they will change the Senate schedule to ensure that McCain, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, is able to steer the huge $700 billion measure.

McCain has not shied away from crossing Trump on key policy issues. Last month, he voted against the health-care overhaul bill, effectively ending the chances to pursue a repeal and replace measure in the Senate. And since last year, McCain has consistently excoriated Trump for not taking more seriously the threat of Russian meddling in U.S. elections.

But Afghanistan is a particularly troubling issue for McCain, who has long been impatient with the White House for not providing a cohesive strategy for its combat operations in the war-torn country. For eight years, McCain railed against the Obama administration for the lack of a satisfactory plan, and the senator has warned the Trump administration that if it failed to articulate something better than a dont lose strategy, he would try to force the presidents hand by demanding a vote on a plan as part of the defense bill.

(Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

On Thursday, McCain apparently lost his patience.

Nearly seven months into President Trumps administration, weve had no strategy at all as conditions on the ground have steadily worsened, he said in a statement released along with the plan. We must face facts: we are losing in Afghanistan and time is of the essence if we intend to turn the tide.

Trump has also been frustrated with the protracted war in Afghanistan but has been sitting on proposals from the Pentagon to increase troop levels as he wrestles with his two priorities: to win the war in Afghanistan to get U.S. troops out as quickly as possible.

On Thursday, he told reporters at his golf club in Bedminster, N.J., that were getting very close to articulating a strategy for Afghanistan. I took over a mess, and were going to make it a lot less messy.

He also suggested he continues to support his national security adviser, H.R. McMaster, despite pressure from conservative activists to fire him and reports that Trump might make him the next commander of operations in Afghanistan.

Hes my friend, and hes a very talented man, Trump said. I like him, and I respect him.

[National security adviser attempts to reconcile Trumps competing impulses on Afghanistan]

What cleaning up Afghanistan means in terms of committed troop numbers in the short and long term, however, is not yet as clear as it is in McCains proposal. McCains plan outlines short- and long-term goals that envision a significant U.S. presence on the ground  an approach to ensure that Afghanistan never again becomes a sanctuary for terrorists to plot and conduct attacks against America.

McCain does not outline specific troop numbers. But among his plans is a proposal to integrate U.S. military training and advisory teams at the battalion level of the Afghan armed forces known as kandaks  each of which has about 600 troops in it. That commitment would by necessity raise the number of U.S. forces in Afghanistan significantly and put those troops  even in their advising and training roles  closer to combat.

McCains plan also envisions more U.S. air power and combat support for the Afghan military, and expects that in the long term the United States will provide sustained support for those troops, even as Afghan forces become more self-sufficient.

Thomas Gibbons-Neff and Dan Lamothe contributed to this report.

Read more at PowerPost
North Korea met President Trumps fire and fury warnings with an unusually specific threat of its own Thursday: claiming it would send a missile toward the U.S. territory of Guam on a flight into the sea that would cover 3,356.7 kilometers and last 1,065 seconds.

Whether the North is willing to carry out the launch  and risk escalating the showdown with Washington  is uncertain. But the near-miss scenario, analysts say, reflects an important insight into the mind and motives of the Norths leader, Kim Jong Un.

He is prepared to push back against the United States and its allies to a point, many believe, but never enough to risk a war that would threaten his rule as the third-generation strongman in a family dynasty that took hold after World War II.

What Kim Jong Un really wants is to improve his missiles and nuclear weapons and to keep the country under his leadership, said Michael Madden, who runs the North Korea Leadership Watch website.

His endgame is all about seeking to stay in power, analysts said.

A man watches a television screen showing President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Thursday at the Seoul Train Station in Seoul. (Ahn Young-Joon/AP)

Kim Jong Un is not trying to pick a fight, Madden added.

Still, North Korea is not showing signs of backing down at the moment.

[Trumps threat to North Korea clashes with reassurances of his senior officials]

In a statement attributed to the North Korean armys Strategic Forces commander, Pyongyang threatened to fire four intermediate-range Hwasong-12 ballistic missiles over Japan by the middle of this month. The missiles would fly 3,356.7 km for 1,065 seconds, or nearly 18 minutes, the statement said, and would land within 18 to 25 miles of Guam, the American territory in the Pacific that is home to large Air Force and Navy bases.

The announcement came after South Koreas National Security Council urged North Korea to calm down, offering the prospect of talks, while its military issued a much sterner warning. The joint chiefs of staff said North Korea would suffer strong and resolute retaliation from allied American and South Korean forces if it mounted an attack on either country.

Although the Western caricature of Kim is of a pudgy madman with a funny hairdo, he has been a textbook dictator, making rational decisions for someone who wants to retain absolute power.

The Guam threat was not made in response to Trumps fire and fury remarks  the wheels of Kims bureaucracy move more slowly than Trumps  but rather in reaction to the United States launching a Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Aug. 2.

(Victoria Walker,Danielle Kunitz/The Washington Post)

The Kims have kept a tight grip on North Korea internally through a brutal system of repression and fear and have increasingly kept the outside world at bay by developing nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them. This has traditionally been viewed as a deterrent to fend off the kind of fate Saddam Hussein suffered in Iraq.

[North Koreas leader is a lot of things  but irrational is not one of them ]

Since taking the reins at the end of 2011, Kim has rapidly accelerated the development of North Koreas weapons program, presiding over three nuclear tests and rapid improvements in its missile technology.

Last month, North Korea launched two intercontinental ballistic missiles believed to be capable of reaching the mainland United States, and American intelligence officials have concluded that it is now able to attach nuclear warheads to them, crossing a key threshold on the path to becoming a full-fledged nuclear power.

While these weapons might work as a deterrent, it would be suicidal for Kim to use them and risk retaliation by the much more powerful U.S. military.

Madden, an American analyst in contact with senior North Korean officials, said Pyongyang was well aware that Trump has a habit of speaking  or tweeting  off the cuff.

North Koreans are not taking this seriously. Theyre saying that Trump is saying these kinds of things because he hasnt consolidated his power yet, Madden said  using a line that American experts usually use to describe questionable things Kim does.

[Dodging blame, China urges U.S. to stop hurling threats at North Korea]

Cheong Seong-chang, a North Korean leadership expert at the left-leaning Sejong Institute in the South, agreed with Madden that Kim does not want a conflict with the United States.

North Korea is not developing ICBM technology to start a war with the U.S., Cheong said. This is all about preventing the U.S. from intervening in any military conflict on the Korean Peninsula. It wants to influence American decisions. The U.S. does not want to be criticized for risking American lives to protect its allies.

Others see a ploy by North Korea to ratchet up the tensions and make the most progress on its weapons program before sanctions bite and it is forced to return to the negotiating table.

The U.S. will only agree to talk with the North if it thinks a physical clash is imminent, said Koo Hae-woo, who was a top official at South Koreas intelligence service until 2014 and now runs the Korea Institute for Future Strategies think-tank. The North is not aiming for a clash but increasing the tension to create an environment for negotiation.

But behind the assessment of Kim as a rational, if brutal, leader with a master game plan lies a worrying precedent.

Rational leaders of new nuclear states with a small number of weapons tend to be most reckless in their early years, said Van Jackson, an expert on North Korean security issues at Victoria University in New Zealand.

Theres a temptation to see how much juice they can squeeze out of these weapons that theyve spent so much money and effort making, Jackson said, adding that this created more pressure, not less, to demonstrate nuclear capability.

The closest analogy to the North Korea situation is Pakistan, he said. Rather than following the Cold War model of mutually assured destruction, Pakistan has adopted a strategy of asymmetric escalation  being able to use a nuclear arsenal against a conventional attack.

The fact that Kim Jong Un is rational doesnt necessarily lead to good outcomes, Jackson said. Rationality takes us to a more dangerous place right now.

Yoonjung Seo in Seoul and Yuki Oda in Tokyo contributed to this report.

Read more

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Trump warns N. Korea: U.S. nuclear arsenal is more powerful than ever before

What are Trumps generals telling him about North Korea?

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news
Residents of the tiny Pacific island of Guam say theyre afraid of being caught in the middle of escalating tensions between the U.S. and North Korea after Pyongyang announced it was examining plans for attacking the strategically important U.S. territory.

Though local officials downplayed any threat, people who live and work on the island, which serves as a launching pad for the U.S. military, said yesterday they could no longer shrug off the idea of being a potential target.

Im a little worried, a little panicked. Is this really going to happen? said Cecil Chugrad, a 37-year-old bus driver for a tour bus company in Guam. If its just me, I dont mind, but I have to worry about my son. I feel like moving [out of Guam] now.

Guam is used to the threats from North Korea but advances in the countrys nuclear program paired with fiery rhetoric from President Donald Trump has raised the already high animosity and heightened worries that a miscalculation might spark conflict between the nuclear-armed nations.

While it is extremely unlikely that Pyongyang would risk the assured annihilation of its revered leadership with a pre-emptive attack on U.S. citizens, some residents are concerned.

If anything happens, we all got to be ready, be prepared, and pray to God that it doesnt happen, Daisy Mendiola, 56, said after finishing lunch with her family at a restaurant near Hagatna. Everyones afraid, because were dealing with power thats beyond us.

Other residents are worried about the political atmosphere and the governments ability to find a peaceful solution.

Todd Thompson, a lawyer who lives on Guam, said he laughed off past threats because he figured cooler heads in Washington would prevail, and it was just an idle threat.

But I have to say, Im not laughing now, Thompson said. My concern is that things have changed in Washington, and who knows whats going to happen?

His brother Mitch Thompson, who also lives on Guam, added he believes a lot of people have no confidence that the White House will do the right thing under the circumstances.

Guam is armed with the U.S. Armys defense system known as Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, which can intercept missiles. MDT/AP
To many Americans, China bears a huge responsibility for the North Korea crisis because of its failure to rein in its volatile ally in Pyongyang.

But in Beijing, the view is different. Here, a large slice of the blame goes to Washington because of its consistently hostile attitude toward North Korea  a stance China says has only encouraged the regime to accelerate its nuclear weapons program.

Chinas narrative about U.S. recklessness was reinforced this week when President Trump threatened to respond to further threats from North Korea by unleashing fire and fury like the world has never seen, and Pyongyang threatened in turn to strike the U.S. territory of Guam in the Western Pacific with ballistic missiles.

[Why North Korea threatened Guam]

Trumps rhetoric gave China the perfect platform to project itself as the voice of reason  especially as it had just agreed to join the world in stiffening sanctions against North Korea.

(Taylor Turner/The Washington Post)

China is disappointed, said Shi Yinhong, a professor of international relations at Renmin University of China in Beijing. China has just made a compromise, but the U.S. president is messing things up.

In an editorial Tuesday, the state-run China Daily said that instead of hurling threats, the United States and North Korea should talk.

Over time, this mutual finger-pointing has pulled both into a spiral of escalating distrust and hostility, which is the biggest obstacle to resolving the crisis, it wrote. The U.S. approach to the standoff has been counterproductive because it has simply escalated the threat from Pyongyangs nuclear/missile programs.

As Euan Graham at the Lowy Institute in Sydney explained, Chinas position has not changed. It is still the default, he said.  Its not our problem. 

The blame game played by Washington and Beijing is obviously not helpful in finding a solution to the crisis, experts said. But it is far from clear that China has answers, apart from hoping that a war of words does not lead to an actual war.

Its big idea  a dialogue  looks for now like a non-starter, even experts in Beijing say.

[What we know about North Koreas quest for nuclear weapons]

North Korea said many times that it is absolutely not interested in anything requiring it to give up its nuclear weapons, said Zhang Liangui, a retired professor from the Communist Partys Central Party School. North Korea has completely shut the door to negotiations.

Chinas long-standing support has been central to the survival of the North Korean regime and has allowed its ruling dynasty to live in luxury and security.

By far North Koreas largest trading partner, China has been reluctant to apply the sort of economic pressure that would really bite, concerned about destabilizing its neighbor. Even when it has agreed to punish the regime, experts say, it has often allowed sanctions to be bypassed.

But it has grown increasingly frustrated with Pyongyang, even alienated from it, and has finally backed a significantly stiffer set of sanctions at the United Nations.

Now, Beijing says, is the time for dialogue. It is urging a resumption of six-party talks  involving North and South Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia  that were abandoned in 2009. Indeed, the latest U.N. Security Council resolution explicitly calls for those talks to resume.

China has always maintained that the Korean Peninsula issue should be settled through dialogue and negotiation, Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said in a statement Monday.

China, with Russias support, has made what it calls the suspension-for-suspension proposal, urging the suspension of North Koreas nuclear weapons and missile programs in return for a halt to joint military exercises by the United States and South Korea.

Yet many experts, including some in Beijing, voice skepticism about that plan.

[Kim Jong Uns rockets are getting an important boost  from China]

The U.S. is not on board, but that disagreement is negotiable, said Cheng Xiaohe, a North Korea expert at Renmin University. The main obstacle is North Korea.

Cheng noted that the North has said repeatedly, before and after the new U.N. sanctions, that its nuclear weapons program is not a bargaining chip. If this isnt negotiable, he said, the dual suspension plan is no longer an interesting game to play.

This means that renewed military conflict between the United States and North Korea  a prospect that had remained remote since the 1953 armistice that ended the Korean War  now cannot be ruled out. For the time being, it may be a question of hoping that neither side really intends to follow through on its threats.

My suggestion to the government: Hold awhile, Cheng recommended to Beijing. When everyone is talking tough, peoples tempers may be at high tide. Given time, all parties may calm down. If not, and the conflict intensifies, China could take a more active step, like sending an envoy to Washington, Pyongyang, Tokyo, Seoul and Moscow for shuttle diplomacy.

Yet in addition to its discomfort with the U.S. approach, China is also showing signs of growing exasperation with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

[North Koreas leader is a lot of things  but irrational is not one of them]

Kims repeated defiance of Security Council resolutions has increased Beijings frustration, said Michael Kovrig of the International Crisis Group. That has created space for a wider policy debate in China, between those who think China has to stand behind North Korea no matter what and those who call for abandoning it and cooperating more with the U.S.

The debate is unlikely to be resolved before a key Communist Party congress in the fall, Kovrig said, with President Xi Jinping reluctant to do anything for now that might alienate party traditionalists who still see North Korea as an important ally.

Chinas preferred option, he said, remains getting the parties to de-escalate and return to some form of dialogue that kicks the can down the road.

Against that backdrop, experts say, Trumps rhetoric is particularly unwelcome in Beijing.

Washington should stimulate Pyongyangs desire to engage with the outside world and return to the international community, Chinas nationalist Global Times wrote in an editorial. However, Washington only wants to heighten the sanctions and military threats against Pyongyang, which is adding fuel to the flames.

The paper complained that the United States has adopted a more hard-line approach toward North Korea since Trump came to power, referencing comments from Secretary of State Rex Tillerson earlier this year that all options, including military options, were on the table.

Washington has also long underestimated the price North Korea is prepared to pay in pursuit of nuclear missiles, which the regime sees as essential to its survival, it said.

The papers editor in chief, Hu Xijin, issued two short videos this week warning that as long as the hostility between the United States and North Korea remains unresolved, North Korea will continue to develop its nuclear weapons.

When the U.S. fails to contain North Korea, it blames China for not handling it, he said. That is just foolish thinking, yet in the U.S., many people believe this to be logical. Thats just sad.

Its also dangerous, Hu said, for Washington to play a game of chicken with Pyongyang.

Theres a Chinese saying: A man with nothing to lose doesnt fear a man with something to lose, he said. So its best if Washington doesnt try to engage in a battle of wills with Pyongyang. They dont scare easily.

Shirley Feng and Yang Liu contributed to this report.

Read more

Trumps saber-rattling on North Korea puts China in a bind

South Koreans ask: Crisis? What crisis?

Twenty-five million reasons the U.S. hasnt struck North Korea

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news
An Iraqi looks at a burned-out car days after Blackwater guards opened fire in Baghdad, killing 14 unarmed civilians in a traffic circle on Sept. 16, 2007. (ALI YUSSEF/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images)

I remember the white car.

Last week, a U.S. appeals court threw out the murder conviction of a former Blackwater Worldwide security guard for his role in the deaths of 14 unarmed Iraqis in a Baghdad traffic circle nearly 10 years ago.

I was reporting in Baghdad that day  Sept. 16, 2007  when the contractors opened fire. Most of the victims were in their vehicles at Nisoor Square, a busy, heavily guarded roundabout at the time.

Inside a white car was Mehasin Muhsin Kadhum, a 46-year-old doctor, and her 20-year-old son, Ahmed, who was driving. They were wrapping up errands that included picking up college applications for Kadhums daughter.

By then the Blackwater convoy had entered the circle, and Iraqi officers were trying to stop vehicles as Ahmed approached. A Blackwater guard fired, killing Ahmed. One traffic officer, Sarhan Thiab, told me:

The bullet went through the windshield and split his head open. His mother was holding him, screaming for help.

Within seconds, the guards intensified their assault using machine guns and grenades, killing Kadhum as well. When the shooting ended, 17 Iraqis lay injured in addition to the 14 killed. The victims included children, college students and professionals.

The killings triggered outrage and calls for accountability and justice. It was one of the darkest moments of the Iraq War, damaging the United States reputation and its relationship with the Iraqi government.

When Washington refused to allow the contractors to be tried in Iraq, the incident became a symbol of unaccountable American power and forced a reassessment of the reliance on private security contractors in war zones.

Initially, the guards gave sworn statements to State Department investigators that they had fired on the white car because it was coming at them at high speed and did not stop. But many witnesses told me the car was moving slowly, in a nonthreatening manner.

Subsequently, U.S. military investigators would conclude that the Blackwater guards opened fire without provocation and used excessive force. In 2014, a federal jury found four guards guilty of killing the unarmed civilians.

But last weeks reversal of the first-degree murder conviction of Nicholas Slatten, the former guard, is a major setback for the victims and families. He had been sentenced to life in prison.

The appeals courts also ordered resentencings for the three other former guards convicted of voluntary manslaughter and use of a machine gun in a violent crime. They received 30-year prison sentences.

An official at the Iraqi Embassy in Washington told my colleague Spencer Hsu that the killings are still raw after all these years and were an egregious atrocity that these people committed.

Ironically, it was a discrepancy over who fired the first shots at the white car that led to the throwing out of the murder conviction. Prosecutors argued that Slatten had fired the first shots, but another defendant said that he had fired first.

The white car, I remember, sat at a bus stop on the edge of Nisoor Square for weeks after the killings. It was charred and shattered by the firepower.

Haitham Ahmed, who lost his wife and eldest son, wanted the car to remain visible as a reminder of the carnage. He told me that he wanted it left there until justice was served.

He, too, was a doctor. The family had had many opportunities to leave the country, but he said that he and his wife believed in the promise of a new Iraq. He felt pain, he said, when he saw doctors fleeing Iraq. His son, who was in the third year of medical school, was planning to become a surgeon like his parents.

What I want is the law to prevail, Haitham Ahmed said in 2007. I hope that this act will not go without punishment.

Tracing the paths of 5 who died in a storm of gunfire

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news
North Koreas rapid progress toward a nuclear weapon that could strike the United States, and the escalating war rhetoric in both capitals, has raised fears of atomic annihilation  a sense of dread not experienced since the coldest days of the Cold War.

But the nuclear standoff also carries the risk that future, smaller disputes with Pyongyang, however manageable in the past, will become far more consequential.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may consider his atomic bombs a license to pursue hostile actions far short of nuclear war, security analysts said. Mutual nuclear capability raises the stakes for any kind of confrontation, and defense analysts and North Korea watchers worry that a miscalculation or rash action on either side could quickly escalate.

North Korea has a demonstrated history of provocative behavior, including a cyberattack on Sony Corp., the sinking of a South Korean warship and the shelling of a South Korean island.

I worry if something like that happens, what is the risk of escalation? said Ben Rhodes, who was deputy national security adviser to President Barack Obama. If everybody is on tenterhooks, you have the type of incident that was manageable in the past suddenly explode.

[Trump escalates rhetoric on threat from North Korea ]

North Korea said Wednesday that it is examining plans for firing missiles over the waters off Guam, home to U.S. military bases. Kim and President Trump also have exchanged threats and insults, including Trump warning of fire and fury if North Korea doesnt cease its threats, and Kim calling Trump senile in response.

Trump said Thursday that his comments may not have been tough enough and that things will happen to them like they never thought possible.

Rhodes and others pointed to the 2010 sinking of the Cheonan warship, which killed 46 South Korean sailors, as an example of a conventional attack that would have more dangerous implications now.

Were not, I think, in a real crisis right now, Rhodes said. But the problem is, weve made the inevitable back and forth with North Korea feel much more risky.

South Korea blamed Pyongyang but did not retaliate with direct military action, and the international crisis abated.

The United Nations issued a statement condemning the attack but didnt name an alleged attacker; the United States said the ship was hit by a North Korean sub-launched torpedo.

[New South Korean leader hopes for better relations with North Korea]

Kim may calculate that his arsenal means he has even less to lose from such military actions, which do not involve nuclear weapons, and there is a risk that Trump might react to such an event in ways that heighten tension, said Jim Walsh, an Asia security expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The current bluster and bluffing on both sides probably wont amount to much, he said, but is alarming nonetheless. Trump sends a message that he is not serious when he uses rhetoric such as the fire and fury threat, and he may need to send a very serious and unmistakable message to defuse a crisis later on, Walsh said.

We are probably not going to get into a war with North Korea because the young Chairman Kim wakes up one morning and decides to come after the United States, he said. But you can have war on the Korean Peninsula, and the main path to a war no one wants is miscalculation  little crises resulting in decisions no one wants to make.

North Koreas warning about Guam, where Secretary of State Rex Tillersons plane refueled Wednesday, said it could create an enveloping fire around the Pacific island.

Their rhetorical reaction was always going to be strong  it always is, said Evan Mederios, who directed Asia policy at the National Security Council.

Mederios said he worries that an emboldened North Korea could mess around on a new scale.

Cyberattacks, more missile tests, Mederios said. A sixth nuclear test is certainly in the cards.

Statements on Wednesday from Tillerson and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis appeared intended to dial down the rhetoric, even while issuing strong warnings to North Korea.

I think Americans should sleep well at night, have no concerns about this particular rhetoric over the last few days, Tillerson told reporters aboard his plane home from an Asian tour dominated by the North Korean nuclear threat.

Mattis warned that the United States would win any war Kim might foolishly start.

The United States is on the same page, whether its the White House, the State Department, the Department of Defense, we are speaking with one voice, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Wednesday.

The world is in fact speaking with one voice, and we saw that as it came out of the U.N. Security Council with a resolution that passed less than a week ago, Nauert said, referring to the unanimous U.N. vote Saturday in favor of tough new sanctions.

Read more:

6 questions about North Koreas quest for nuclear weapons

Gen. MacArthur witnessed Trump-style fire and fury in Korea, and it sickened him

Kim Jong Un wants to stay in power  and that is an argument against nuclear war
Tourists ride vintage American convertibles as they pass by the U.S. embassy in Havana in February 2016. (Desmond Boylan/AP)

The U.S. government expelled two Cuban diplomats in May, after Americans working at the U.S. Embassy in Havana suffered unexplained physical ailments, the State Department said Thursday.

A small number of Americans began reporting symptoms at the end of 2016, and a few either were removed for medical treatment in the United States or asked to leave, State Department officials said Thursday.

Spokeswoman Heather Nauert linked incidents which have caused a variety of physical symptoms to the decision to expel two Cubans, but she did not directly blame the Cuban government for harming the Americans.

We dont have any definitive answers about the source or the cause, of symptoms she characterized as not life-threatening.

The FBI is conducting an investigation of the illnesses or symptoms reported by the State Department employees over several months. Further U.S. action could follow if that investigation points to Cuban government targeting of U.S. employees, officials said.

The State Department said the Cuban government has assured Washington that it is also investigating.

Harassment of U.S. diplomats in Cuba is common, and predates former president Barack Obamas 2014 diplomatic opening to Cuba and the advent of a full-fledged U.S. embassy there.

[Five things to know about Trumps Cuba policy]

The Cuban government has a responsibility and an obligation, to protect U.S. diplomats, Nauert said. That is part of the reason why this is such a major concern of ours, why we take this so seriously.

The State Department separately said in a statement that it had reminded the Cuban government of its obligations under the Vienna Convention to protect our diplomats.

The State Department would not provide further information on the kinds of symptoms reported, and would not give a precise number of Americans who left Cuba as a result. The two expulsions are considered reciprocal, however, suggesting that the number of Americans who left their posts is close to two.

Initially, when theyd started reporting what I will just call symptoms, it took time to figure out what it was, and this is still ongoing, Nauert said. Were monitoring it. We provide medical care and concern to those who believe that they have been affected by it.

It was not clear why the expulsions were not made public by either country in May. President Trump announced the following month that he would roll back parts of the Obama opening, calling it a bad deal.

Effective immediately, I am canceling the last administrations completely one-sided deal with Cuba, Trump said June 16.

[Trump announces changes to Obama diplomatic policy on Cuba]

He spoke in Miami, before an audience packed with members of South Floridas Cuban American community who had opposed Obamas normalization of relations with the communist government of President Raul Castro.

The expulsions and the illnesses were first reported by CBS Radio News.

The details of Trumps new policy are not yet clear. Trump ordered the Treasury and Commerce departments to draw up regulations, but White House officials said that actual changes would be months away.

Trumps moves were opposed by U.S. business leaders and by both Democrats and Republicans in Congress.

Cubas government called Trumps moves a setback in relations, and warned that any strategy aimed at changing Cubas political, economic and social systems, whether through pressure or coercion, or employing more subtle methods, will be doomed to failure.

Trump did not announce any change to the status of the U.S. Embassy in Havana, which replaced a smaller office that did not carry the same diplomatic status. Cubas small mission in Washington was also upgraded to an embassy.
A federal judge has ruled in favor of a Chinese businesswoman who was injured during a 2004 confrontation with American border agents at Niagara Falls and sued the U.S. government.

Following a nonjury trial in Rochester, New York, Judge Elizabeth Wolford awarded Zhao Yan USD461,000 for false arrest, medical expenses, pain and suffering and lost earnings. Zhaos 2006 civil rights lawsuit had sought $10 million in damages.

The judges ruling Monday found the government liable for U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officer Robert Rhodes assault and battery and false arrest of Zhao at the Rainbow Bridge U.S.-Canada border crossing in Niagara Falls.

The judge found she was entitled to recover $385,000 for past and future pain and suffering, $64,000 in past medical expenses, $1,800 in lost earnings and $10,000 for false arrest. She was never charged.

The case provoked anger in China after pictures of Zhao, her face swollen from pepper spray and her eyes and forehead bruised, were widely published.

Rhodes initially was fired and criminally charged with violating Zhaos civil rights. He was acquitted at a 2005 trial and eventually reinstated to his job.

Rhodes attorney, Steven Cohen, said Zhaos civil case could have been avoided had Rhodes employer backed him instead of charging him amid pressure from China. Zhaos lawyers in the civil case, he said, used the governments treatment of Rhodes in their favor.

It makes me angry to see a frivolous lawsuit rewarded with a verdict, Cohen said.

Zhao, a business owner and piano teacher, had been in the United States on a business visa to study the market for wood in Pennsylvania, court documents show. She was sightseeing at Niagara Falls when the confrontation occurred.

In charging Rhodes, government prosecutors claimed he used excessive force when he used pepper spray on Zhao, put his knee on her back and drove her head into the pavement. But during the 2015 civil trial, U.S. authorities said Zhaos injuries were her fault because she ran from the officer and then kicked, punched and scratched him before two other officers arrived and helped restrain her on the ground.

The then-38-year-old Zhao and two other women had run from the inspection station, instead of obeying officers orders to come inside after they detained a drug suspect they thought may have been with the women. Zhao said she ran because the officers frightened her.

Acting U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy Jr. said the judges decision delivered the justice the government has sought all along, even as it took the seemingly contradictory positions of prosecuting Rhodes criminally and then defending him in the civil case. The burdens of proof for excessive force differ in criminal and civil contexts, he said.

Kennedy said his office wanted to hold the officer accountable but not allow Zhao to be unjustly compensated for injuries which, according to Judge Wolford, did not even approach the magnitude she (claimed).

Zhao, in her lawsuit and accompanying court documents, said the confrontation humiliated her and the mental and physical trauma she suffered left her unable to work and afraid of uniformed police.

This incident harmed almost all aspects of my life, she said in a court filing.

Zhaos lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment yesterday. Carolyn Thompson, AP
A car passes in front of the U.S. Embassy in Havana on June 16. (Alejandro Ernesto/European Pressphoto Agency)

The U.S. government is investigating whether American diplomats serving in Cuba were victims of an attack that damaged their hearing and caused other physical symptoms, officials said Thursday.

The Associated Press reported that officials had concluded that the Americans were targeted by a covert sonic weapon. The AP described the suspected weapon or device as something that could not be heard by the victims.

A U.S. official confirmed that the diplomats suffered hearing damage and neurological symptoms that remain unexplained.

The official did not identify a covert weapon as the suspected cause but said ongoing FBI and State Department investigations are looking at the incidents as an attack. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because of a lack of authorization to discuss the investigations on the record.

Another official said the incidents occurred at diplomats homes. U.S. diplomats in Cuba live in compounds owned by the Cuban government.

[Trump announces partial rollback of Obama opening to Cuba]

The State Department had said Wednesday that two Cuban diplomats were expelled from the United States in response to unexplained physical symptoms suffered by Americans stationed in Havana, but declined to specify what kind of ailments were reported.

Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert would not confirm that the symptoms included hearing loss or damage or that a weapon may have been used.

We will not confirm the health status of any Americans, she said Thursday. What I can tell you is that these were U.S. government personnel who were in Havana, in Cuba, on official duty, she said.

Cuba failed in its obligation under the Vienna Convention to keep foreign diplomats safe, and the U.S. order to expel two Cubans was in response to that, she said. She would not directly blame Cuba for causing harm to the Americans.

We consider these to be incidents because we are still trying to determine the actual cause of their situation. They have had a variety of physical symptoms, and thats as far as I can go, Nauert said.

[Trump policy changes on Cuba target some U.S. tourism]

When it comes to sound, the human body can be very fragile outside a narrow range. Certain low frequencies can lead to balance problems, soft-tissue pain and disturbed visual function. High ones can produce a powerful shock wave that can physically damage the ear.

However, Seth Horowitz, a former professor of neuroscience at Brown University, said that there are no acoustic devices that can cause sudden onset hearing loss that the people involved could not hear, and he expressed skepticism about the State Departments claims.

Horowitz explained that infrasonic machines at a very high amplitude can cause nausea, ultrasonics have no effect on hearing, and long-range acoustic devices or sound canons are extremely noticeable and easy to move away from.

Its tragic, he said of the reports, but it can happen from viruses, genetic predisposition, an accident, exposure to urban noise.

Michael Hoa, an ear surgeon at Georgetown University Hospital, said studies show that loud sounds can kill the ears hair cells, which are responsible for changing sound into an electrical signal to your brain. Kill enough of them, and your ability to hear is diminished. Although there is less known about the effect of sounds that cannot be heard, theres evidence that they, too, can change the way the hair cells function.

We clearly know that really loud sound can cause this kind of damage. Its not inconceivable that other kinds of sound we cant hear could cause damage in ways we havent thought of or looked at yet, Hoa said.

Symptoms reported by U.S. personnel date to late 2016 and are not life-threatening, the State Department said. Some victims left Havana to receive medical treatment.

Cuba has denied involvement.

Cuba has never permitted, nor will permit, that Cuban territory be used for any action against accredited diplomatic officials or their families, with no exception, a statement from the Cuban Foreign Ministry said.

The Cuban government was informed of the incidents in February, the statement said. The expulsion of the two Cubans was baseless, the statement said.

Canadas foreign ministry said Thursday that one Canadian diplomat suffered similar symptoms while serving in Havana in recent months.

Nauert would not comment on the Canadian statement.

Harassment of American diplomats has been common for decades, but physical attacks of any kind are exceedingly rare. American government officials are told to expect constant surveillance when serving in Cuba.

The U.S. Embassy opened following a 2014 diplomatic overture from President Barack Obama. Americans previously served at a diplomatic office that did not carry full embassy status, and Cubans did the same in Washington.

Ariana Cha contributed to this report.
A day before Kenya is du e to announce the official outcome of its recent presidential election, the countrys longtime opposition leader on Thursday reasserted his conviction that the results have been rigged.

The National Super Alliance, the party led by Raila Odinga, declared that he had won Tuesdays vote by a wide margin, even though provisional results indicate that President Uhuru Kenyatta won by a margin of nearly 10 percent. That message laid the groundwork for a potentially explosive reaction when the official results are announced Friday.

[Kenya votes in bitter presidential race with economy in spotlight but tribal rifts in the wings]

In a nation with a recent history of solid economic growth and relative political stability, Kenyas elections nearly always expose the tense, fractured tribal politics that lie just under the surface here. In 2007, a disputed election led to about 1,400 deaths, and charges were brought at the International Criminal Court  including against Kenyatta and his running mate, William Ruto  that were dropped for lack of evidence.

This time, much will hinge on the direction Odinga, 72, gives his followers, who have already taken to the streets in periodic bursts, confronting police who have responded with tear gas and, less frequently, live ammunition. International election monitors, including former U.S. secretary of state John F. Kerry, have encouraged Odinga and Kenyatta to advocate a peaceful response by their parties and supporters.

But at a news conference Thursday, Odingas team described what it said was a vast coverup by the countrys Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, citing as its source an anonymous whistleblower inside the commission. According to Musalia Mudavadi, one of Odingas advisers, the authentic and legitimate results were manipulated or hidden by the body.

The commissions unofficial results showed Kenyatta, 55, leading with 54.3 percent of the vote, ahead of Odingas 45 percent. By Odingas count, those figures would be roughly reversed.

Given Kenyas wide political divisions, analysts worry that another disputed election will only increase tensions between ethnic groups and further diminish faith in the central government.

If you have a leader that commands only half the country, you will have many disgruntled people and low confidence in public institutions, said Murithi Mutiga, a researcher with the International Crisis Group.

On Wednesday, Odinga made a different set of allegations against the electoral commission, claiming that its system had been hacked and results were manipulated using stolen log-in credentials. On Thursday, the chairman of the commission, Wafula Chebukati, acknowledged that there had been a hacking attempt but said it did not succeed.

[Kenyas president takes strong lead in election count as opposition claims results hacked]

Later Thursday, after Odingas coalition announced its tally, celebrations broke out in the streets of Kisumu, the oppositions western stronghold. There was also jubilation in Kibera, a vast slum in Nairobi, the capital, where young men watched Odingas news conference on television and listened on radios outside their homes.

The results announced by Odinga are just the way we believe they should be, said Dalmas Omondi, 28, who said hed spotted a white police helicopter hovering over Kibera while he gathered with other Odinga supporters.

But residents across Nairobi and other major cities also braced for the prospect that the official figures Friday will differ from Odingas. That is the major concern on the minds of many Kenyans, as well as foreign diplomats and business executives, whose interest is in a peaceful resolution of the electoral dispute that has paralyzed the country since Tuesdays vote. Businesses have been shuttered, and the streets have been uncharacteristically quiet.

A lot will depend on the behavior of the losing candidate, Mutiga said. If he calls for sustained protests, we may be looking at a few days, and maybe weeks, of uncertainty.

Odinga has not said clearly how he will respond if Kenyatta is declared the winner. In 2013, he took his complaints to the Kenyan courts, which eventually dismissed his case. This time  likely to be his last bid for the presidency  some worry hell take a more aggressive approach.

In Kibera, Odingas young followers call him Baba, or father, and say they will wait on his guidance after results are released Friday. When he says jump, we will ask, How high?  said Gordon Odhiambo, 27.

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Organizers of the sixth annual Winnipeg BBQ & Blues Festival (Aug. 11 and 12) have gone to two barbecuing hotspots  Texas and Alabama  to headline the blues portion of the two-day event.

The Fabulous Thunderbirds, who formed in Austin, Texas, in 1979, top Friday nights bill at the Burton Cummings Theatre while the Blind Boys of Alabama, fixtures on the gospel and soul music circuit for seven decades, wind up Saturday evenings festivities.

Harmonica player and vocalist Kim Wilson, who paid his dues with the Muddy Waters band early in his career, helped found the Thunderbirds in the late 1970s along with guitarist Jimmy Vaughan, the older brother of blues-guitar legend Stevie Ray Vaughan. Vaughan has moved on to a solo career, but Wilson remains with a lineup that has shuffled over the years, and now includes Jay Moeller, Johnny Moeller, Mike Keller and Randy Bermudes.

Wilson remains the focal point of the group, which had a top-10 hit during the 1980s blues-rock revival with the song Tuff Enuff. The group has had to adapt to different musical tastes over the years, most recently joining the growing legion of Americana groups, Wilson says on the groups website.

To be in the T-Birds, you need to understand the different styles of music and different ways of playing, Wilson says. You have to be willing to adopt a more contemporary style. The guys we have now are able to do that.

Cameron Witting / Bloomberg The gospel group Blind Boys of Alabama has performed for more than 75 years, ever since its founding members started singing together in 1939 at the Alabama Institute for the Negro Deaf and Blind.

Both groups have used television and movie soundtracks to add to their commercial appeal. The T-Birds Tuff Enuff got a boost from appearing in 1986s Gung Ho, directed by Ron Howard. Their music has also appeared in films such as Bull Durham, the Michael J.Fox-Joan Jett flick Light of Day and the Tom Cruise classic Cocktail.

The Blind Boys broke through with the 2000 album Spirit of the Century, which included secular songs as well as the gospel classics which they were known for.

One of those was Way Down in the Hole, a Tom Waits tune, and the groups version became well known for being part of the opening credits of the first season of the hit HBO series The Wire. The album eventually earned the group the 2001 Grammy Award for best soul gospel album, the first of five Grammy honours theyve received.

Since then, the groups music has appeared on screens big and small, including the Beyonce film The Fighting Temptations, the TV series Lost and the civil rights documentary Songs for a Revolution.

The Blind Boys of Alabamas Winnipeg appearance falls just days before the release of their new record, Almost Home, which comes out Aug. 18. Four songs from that record have been released online through Amazon Music.

Another song, their version of the Bob Dylan classic I Shall Be Released, is also on the album and they sang a version of it live in New York in the spring, accompanied by Doobie Brothers vocalist Michael McDonald and Jackson Browne.

For the third year in a row, the BBQ & Blues Festival takes over Smith Street, the road in front of the Burton Cummings Theatre, as well as the small parks and parking lots around the 110-year-old concert venue.

This year, however, admission to the street festival is free, and the bill on the outdoor stage includes some of Winnipegs top blues and rock acts, including Juno Award winner Big Dave McLean, who performs on Friday, Aug. 11, at 11 p.m., as well as the Wind-Ups and the Perpetrators, who play at 9 and 11 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 12, respectively.

alan.small@freepress.mb.ca Twitter:@AlanDSmall

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Ruth Bonneville / Winnipeg Free Press files Big Dave McLean will perform Friday night on the free outdoor stage. TREVOR HAGAN / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS files The Wind-Ups will perform Saturday night at 9 p.m. on the free outdoor stage.
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Premier Brian Pallister has backed away from past assertions that he remains in regular contact with his staff while at his vacation home in Costa Rica. He now says hes accessible and available, as the need arises.

At a news conference Wednesday, his first since last weeks revelations about his communications practices while abroad, the premier said hes focused on his job every day.

Not a day goes by that Im not available, accessible. Not a day goes by that Im not focused on the job of making Manitoba a better place for the people who live here.

When it was suggested that being available was different than communicating regularly with staff, Pallister responded: Well, frankly, if sending emails and phone calls was your measure of effectiveness, we should have a teenager as the premier of Manitoba.

Pallister said hes effective in how he manages his time and he has a reputation for being dedicated and focused on the task at hand.

New questions about how much work Pallister does while in Costa Rica emerged last week after the NDP released the results of a series of freedom of information (FIPPA) requests. The results showed little contact between the premier and senior staff or ministers while he was abroad on three occasions last year, particularly during two trips last summer.

Private phone used

Government records obtained under FIPPA also showed Pallister frequently has frequently used a private phone and email account in his wifes name for government business. The records showed that a draft of a budget speech and a potentially sensitive legal opinion were sent to the premier via Esther Pallisters private email account.

Last month, as the premiers communications practices were about to be revealed at the urging of Manitobas ombudsman, the province implemented a new policy requiring that all ministers and staff use government-issued communication devices for government business.

Meanwhile, Pallister suggested Wednesday that his wife plays a significant advisory role in his business dealings.

She doesnt receive a salary from the taxpayers of Manitoba. Shes my principal adviser and confidante in my life, he said. Shell remain so.

She screens messages and so on so that when Im home with my family, I can be home with my family.  Pallister on his wifes handling of government emails

Pallister also revealed that his wife Esther was the recipient of government emails when he served as the Member of Parliament for Portage-Lisgar in the 2000s and served as chairman of the House of Commons finance committee.

He said his wife has long acted as a gatekeeper between him and the job when he is away from the office.

She screens messages and so on so that when Im home with my family, I can be home with my family. This is part of our motivation as a family, he said. Its part of the reason, quite frankly, I think that theres strength in our marriage and our relationship with each other and our children.

JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister talks about his travel and communication activities in his office at the Manitoba Legislature.

Its time for this premier to take responsibility

NDP MLA Andrew Swan said the premier should have been upfront when asked originally about how he communicates with staff while hes abroad.

Its time for this premier to take responsibility and to apologize for having misled the Opposition, the media and the people of Manitoba for months and months and months, he said Wednesday.

Swan again accused Pallister of using his wifes cellphone and email accounts to conduct government business in an attempt to avoid scrutiny under FIPPA, which the premier has repeatedly denied.

Pallister has said his wifes phone and account were used to ensure he paid for the costs of all communications with colleagues and staff when he was out of the country.

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca
Rescuers picked away rubble from around a body in an area shaken by a powerful earthquake in mountainous southwestern China, then stood silently in a row, with helmets off and heads bowed to pay their respects.

Tuesday nights magnitude 6.5 quake killed at least 19 people and injured 247, authorities said yesterday. It also knocked out power and phone networks, complicating efforts to locate and evacuate survivors.

State broadcaster China Central Television showed footage of orange-suited rescuers finding the body and using detectors to search for survivors in the dark of night, carrying a girl to safety and leading other people along a rubble-strewn road.

Chinese President Xi Jinping called for rapid efforts to respond to the disaster, which struck a quake-prone region bordered by Sichuan and Gansu provinces at around 9:20 p.m. Tuesday. The area is on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau and home to many Tibetan and other ethnic minority villages. Its also near Jiuzhaigou, or Jiuzhai Valley, a national park known for spectacular waterfalls and karst formations that attracts visitors from China and overseas.

Rescue officials said most of the deaths and injuries were recorded in Zhangzha township, just outside the park area.

Among the injured, 40 were listed in serious condition, according to the Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture government in Sichuan. At least five of the dead were tourists, Chinas official Xinhua News Agency said. Hong Kongs immigration department said one of the citys residents was missing in the quake.

A Canadian woman suffered a slight head injury and a French citizen was wounded in both legs and needed surgery to remove stone fragments, according to Xinhua. It said Frenchman Maxence Vallon, 18, was staying with his mother and brother at a hotel in Jiuzhaigou.

They were seeking shelter outside when a big stone fell and hit my brother right in the leg, said Romain Vallon, who studies in Beijing.

The dead included a performer in an arts group who was buried in the quake and found Wednesday morning. She and others had been performing in Jiuzhaigou when the quake struck. According to the Legal Evening News, they were acting out a scene about a deadly 2008 earthquake that struck nearby and killed nearly 90,000 people. When Tuesdays quake hit, the performers ran off the stage in terror and the audience thought the tremor was part of the show.

The U.S. Geological Survey measured the quake at magnitude 6.5 and said it struck at a depth of just 9 kilometers. Shallow earthquakes tend to cause more damage than deeper ones. The China Earthquake Networks Center said the quake had at magnitude of 7.0 and a depth of 20 kilometers.

Its not unusual for magnitude and depth readings to vary due to different technologies in use and the timing and distance from where quakes are measured.

The earthquakes epicenter was about 39 kilometers from the county seat of Jiuzhaigou, which has a population of around 80,000, and was 285 kilometers from Chengdu, Sichuans densely populated provincial capital, according to the Chinese quake center.

Xinhua said strong tremors could be felt in Chengdu and other cities in the area.

Jiuzhaigou county lost electricity following the quake, said a man surnamed Song who answered the phone at a local emergency office in Aba prefecture, where Jiuzhaigou National Park is located.

Xinhua said more than 30,000 tourists visiting Jiuzhaigou were relocated to safer accommodations by tourist bus and private vehicle.

On Wednesday morning, another strong earthquake struck in far northwestern China, some 2,200 kilometers from Jiuzhaigou, injuring three villagers whose home collapsed, Xinhua reported. That quake was measured at magnitude 6.3 by the USGS and 6.6 by Chinas agency and struck in a sparsely populated area of the Xinjiang region near the Kazakhstan border.

Earthquakes are common in Chinas west, although casualties are generally low because of the sparse population density. Chinas deadliest earthquake this century, a magnitude 7.9 temblor in May 2008, struck the same mountainous prefecture as Tuesdays quake, killing nearly 90,000 people. By Louise Watt, Beijing, AP
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East St. Paul residents will soon be able to head to the arena for shelter in the event a natural disaster strikes.

The arena will be outfitted with a new $20,000 generator.

Its one of 42 infrastructure projects in 37 Manitoba municipalities worth $34.6 million announced Wednesday by the federal Liberals as part of their plan to spend $180 billion across Canada over the next 12 years.

Andy Wong / The Associated Press Files Winnipeg MP and Canada's Minister of Natural Resources Jim Carr.

Ottawa and the province are each contributing more than $10 million to the latest projects.

Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr, subbing for Infrastructure and Communities Minister Amerjeet Sohi, told a news conference that Ottawa favours ambitious, far-reaching projects.

Our goal is to build strong foundations for economic growth and good middle-class jobs, he said.

Manitoba Municipal Affairs Minister Eileen Clarke was uncertain Wednesday how many other municipalities may have made a similar request.

Every community has an emergency plan in place, said Steinbach Mayor and Association of Manitoba Municipalities president Chris Goertzen.

Wednesdays latest instalment of federal funding included $716,833 for a water-system upgrade in Dugald, $80,000 for the St. Laurent Metis Heritage Centre, $16,667 for upgrades to the Veterans Community Hall in Swan River, $275,000 to resurface streets in Hamiota and $90,000 for sidewalks in Fisher Branch.

Clarke could not say how many funding applications are outstanding, though Goertzen pointed out, We have a $10-billion infrastructure deficit.

nick.martin@freepress.mb.ca
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OTTAWA  The federal Liberals might yield to a Manitoba-led Senate standoff over who qualifies for Indian status.

In a Montreal court Wednesday, the government sought another six months to respond to an August 2015 court decision, which ruled the Indian Act discriminates by withholding Indian status from women who marry non-Indigenous men, as well as their descendants.

The court had already extended a deadline to fix the law, at which point Indian Act registration would shut down in Quebec.

JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Manitoba Sen. Marilou McPhedran amended Bill S-3 so it would apply to cases dating to 1876, which the federal Liberals oppose.

David Schulze, the plaintiffs lawyer, said Wednesday the judge will decide on the request in a matter of days or weeks and has granted a safeguard order, extending Indian-status registry until the judgment.

The proceedings come as more senators join two of their Manitoba colleagues in pushing for a more robust bill, one that Ottawa has spent months opposing but is now studying, the Free Press has learned.

In November 2016, the Liberals tabled Bill S-3, which would fix the lineage provisions of the Indian Act for those who lost their status from 1951 onward, as well as their descendants.

But Manitoba Sen. Marilou McPhedran amended the bill in May so it would apply to cases dating to 1876, as First Nations activists have long demanded.

The Liberals have strongly opposed the so-called all the way amendment, arguing it would lead to a sudden onslaught of First Nations members with voting rights.

They proposed offering status to roughly 35,000 Canadians under the original bill and then start a consultation process to look at expanding the bill later.

The government gutted the Senate amendment amid outcry from Winnipeg Liberal MP Robert-Falcon Ouellette and opposition from Manitoba Sen. Murray Sinclair.

At first, the government insisted the Senate help pass Bill S-3 by the courts July 3 deadline, right up until the last day before Parliaments summer break. The Liberals then pushed the bill to the Senates fall schedule and started pleading for more time from the court.

But, Ottawa seems to be entertaining the idea of the amended bill passing.

Winnipeg demographer Stewart Clatworthy, who served as an expert witness for both sides in the case, told the Free Press that bureaucrats have asked him to conduct more research on how various amendments could shape Indian status.

Clatworthy said the research request includes the all the way amendment as well as the Liberals proposed consultation process.

The mill is turning, though its turning slowly, he said.

James Fitzmorris, a spokesman for Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, confirmed the department is looking at the implications of the all the way amendment.

Over the summer, INAC has been working diligently to ensure parliamentarians, First Nations and impacted individuals have the information necessary to support a meaningful discussion, he wrote, adding the government will prioritize Bill S-3 when the Senate resumes sitting Sept. 18.

INAC expects to have Clatworthys research in the fall. With more recent census data, that could finally provide an estimate of how many Manitobans would be eligible for Indian status under the bills various iterations.

Thats encouraging news to Sen. Lillian Dyck, who says Bill S-3 is especially important for people on the Prairies, where thousands could be eligible for Indian-status benefits such as dental, eye care and mental-health counselling.

Manitoba and Saskatchewan have been leaders in pushing for equality. Because of our numbers, we see the need.

Dycks unswayed by Ottawas idea of gradually solving sex discrimination because past governments promised the same thing.

The two-phase thing has been tried before. Its insulting and offensive, she said. How can you consult on basic human rights. Its just not right.

Dyck said shes very optimistic a majority of senators will support the amended bill, as more voice their support.

Last month, New Brunswick Sen. Sandra Lovelace Nicholas wrote an angry letter to Trudeau, noting she was appointed as a Liberal senator because of her activism around Indian Act sex-discrimination, which culminated in a 1979 United Nations Human Rights Committee.

I am losing faith in the Liberal party and my admiration for the politicians that I have supported for years because now I have to experience history repeating itself, Nicholas wrote.

Quebec Sen. Patrick Brazeau challenged Trudeau last week, saying on Twitter that true reconciliation means accepting the wider amendment.

Brazeau blamed the dispute for his own eight-year-old son facing a one- to two-year delay in registering for Indian status  though such delays were common before the bill was tabled.

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca
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Lawyers pushing ahead with a proposed class-action lawsuit on behalf of Manitoba 60s Scoop survivors say no victims will be left behind in their quest for compensation from the federal government.

A wording change in an amended statement of claim opens the lawsuit up to all Indigenous children  not just those who were living on-reserve at the time  who were taken from their families and placed for adoption in non-Indigenous homes.

A previous version of the $200-million lawsuit specified that it was meant to represent all Indian, non-status Indian and/or Metis children who were living on-reserve in Manitoba on or after Sept. 2, 1966, when they were adopted into non-Indigenous homes. But that wording would have excluded children, including Metis peoples, who lived off reserve when they were put up for adoption. The amended statement of claim says it will represent all Indian, non-status Indian, and/or Metis children who were taken from within the boundaries of reserves in Manitoba, or outside thereof, and were placed in the care of non-Aboriginal foster or adoptive parents who did not raise the children in accordance with the Aboriginal persons customs, traditions, and practices.

The more inclusive wording was filed as part of the amended statement of claim last October, after a ruling from Court of Queens Bench Justice James Edmond.

The judge took a less is more approach and decided only one class-action 60s Scoop lawsuit could go ahead in Manitoba. He dismissed one of two competing lawsuits that was vying for class-action status, favouring the one that made a narrower claim for financial damages against the federal government.

But he ordered that the successful, much narrower claim from the law firms Koskie Minsky and Troniak be amended because it ought to include as many Aboriginal persons affected by the 60s scoop as possible.

Celeste Poltak, a Toronto-based partner at Koskie Minsky, said the expanded definition of 60s Scoop survivors, which includes both on- and off-reserve Indigenous children, must be considered by Justice Edmond before he decides whether to certify the class-action lawsuit.

It matters because regardless of whether or not someone was taken from reserve, or regardless of their status, theres a certain degree of Aboriginal custom and tradition and practice that were stripped away from people, regardless of where they came from, she said.

Manitobas Court of Appeal agreed with Edmonds decision to go ahead with the proposed class-action lawsuit. In its July decision, the appeal court noted it was regrettable that the lawsuit appeared to exclude some 60s Scoop survivors based on the original wording in the claim.

The amended version has not been made public until now.

The next step in the long legal process is a three-day certification hearing in December. The merits of the case wont be decided unless the class-action lawsuit is certified, meaning theres still a long legal road ahead for the thousands of Manitoban 60s Scoop survivors who could be eligible for compensation under the lawsuit.

Among them is Camperville resident David Chartrand, a 54-year-old 60s Scoop survivor who has been fighting for the past 20 years to have his case recognized in court.

He was one of the plaintiffs named in the competing lawsuit brought forward by Merchant Law Group, which now has been dismissed by the court. Chartrand told the Free Press Wednesday hes pleased to hear he and others who lived off-reserve before they were scooped up will be included in this proposed class action.

For me, its not about the money, because youre never going to give me enough money for what you did to me, he said. Whats more important to him is getting an opportunity to tell his story in court and explain the damage caused by federal government policies that directed the mass adoptions of Indigenous children.

I want to tell the world what happened, said Chartrand, who was taken from his mother when he was about six years old. He spent the next 16 years with an abusive adoptive father in Minnesota, and since returning to Manitoba, hes been a vocal advocate for fellow 60s Scoop survivors.

Across Canada between the 1960s and 1990s, more than 20,000 Indigenous children were taken from their families by childrens aid workers acting on federal government policies and were adopted into non-Indigenous homes. Between 5,000 and 10,000 of those children might have been from Manitoba. Many of them were sent to live with families in the U.S.

katie.may@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @thatkatiemay
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This article was published 10/08/2017 (1920 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Manitoba Teachers Society has warned its 15,000 members that Premier Brian Pallisters policies have already forced teacher layoffs and cut teachers salaries.

MTS president Norm Gould said Wednesday that Frontier School Division has laid off 18 teachers this summer because the Pallister government abandoned the NDPs plan to cap kindergarten to Grade 3 classes at 20 students.

And the union has told teachers that Bill 28s wage controls will cost each of them $5,591 between next summer and 2022.

TREVOR HAGAN / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES

Education Minister Ian Wishart dismissed the unions charges Wednesday as NDP-style fearmongering.

Frontier Supt. Reg Klassen said government policy decisions had nothing to with the layoffs of the 18 teachers, who have been rehired, though some had to change communities.

MTS has used its in-house Manitoba Teacher magazine this summer to launch a spirited defence of the teaching profession and public education system and counterattack against what it alleges are Pallisters broken promises to protect both.

Gould has told the unions 15,000 teachers in his Manitoba Teacher column: Pallister thinks its fair to cut resources for students and cut teachers salaries.

Gould acknowledged in an interview Wednesday that Pallister hasnt directly said that outright, but insisted the premiers statements and policy decisions show he would be comfortable cutting teachers salaries.

In her featured column in the union magazine, general secretary Bobbi Taillefer told teachers: For the first time since the 90s, we are experiencing teachers layoffs across the province.

Since the last provincial election, the landscape of public education has changed. Because of this, the Manitoba Teachers Society is in full fight-back and fight-forward mode, Taillefer declared.

Gould said Wednesday that the union is aware of only 18 layoffs so far, all in the Frontier division.

It has nothing to do with the K-3, Klassen said in an interview, pointing out that the division still gets the same amount of money to spend on other early-years programming. This was a first in our division  were really slow to let teachers go.

Klassen said the 18 teachers now have new jobs replacing teachers whove just retired, though some have had to move to another community.

Frontier has not reduced its teacher workforce for many years, even as enrolment dwindled in its smaller schools scattered across a huge area of northern Manitoba. Teachers wont work part time in remote communities, Klassen said, so schools kept on more full-time teachers than the student numbers justified.

Frontier finally had to recognize that enrolment had dropped so much in many of those schools that the division needed to reduce many full-time positions, he explained.

Wishart lamented the MTS messages to teachers.

While its disappointing to see this type of NDP-style fear-mongering coming from union bosses, we know it does not represent the hardworking teachers in Manitoba who are dedicated to helping their students achieve a brighter future, Wishart said in an email.

Wishart said he increased the provinces share of funding by $13.1 million, and gave school boards more flexibility.

Bill 28, which has passed but has not yet been proclaimed by the cabinet, controls the next collective bargaining agreement for about 120,000 public sector workers for four years.

Teachers collective bargaining agreements expire June 30, 2018. Under Bill 28, the combined increased salary and benefits would be zero for the first two years, 0.75 per cent for the third year and 1.0 per cent for the fourth.

If not for Bill 28, Gould said, if the average teacher got a two per cent annual cost-of-living increase between July 1, 2018, and June 30, 2022, she would be paid an additional $5,591.

The MTS website says the maximum salary in the 2016-2017 for a typical class 5 teacher who has maxed out on annual incremental increases ranged from $88,548 in tiny McCreary-based Turtle River School Division, to $96,518 in Thompsons Mystery Lake schools.

Under the final year of their collective bargaining agreement, all teachers in Manitoba are due a 1.5 per cent increase next month, and a further 1.5 per cent increase in January of 2018.

nick.martin@freepress.mb.ca
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This article was published 10/08/2017 (1920 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When Natasha Acoby was growing up, she says she barely knew who she was.

She knew little about her Indigenous culture as a result of intergenerational trauma. Her grandmother, along with several aunts and uncles, were in residential schools, so the details of Acobys ancestral history werent often discussed.

Not having that cultural awareness was detrimental to Acoby, who spent much of her 20s going down the wrong path, drinking and falling in with the wrong crowd. At 28, Acoby came to Ka Ni Kanichihk, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing programming based on sustaining and supporting Indigenous people and culture.

BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Natasha Acoby, 35, has spent the summer working at Ka Ni Kanichihks Butterfly Club, helping young girls connect to their Indigenous roots as part of YouthUnited@Winnipeg, a city-funded initiative based on the principles of the Truth and Reconciliation Commissions Calls to Action.

This place introduced me to my culture and changed my life around, Acoby said on Wednesday. Here, I was able to identify with myself and was able to find out where I came from and where I want to go.

Seven years later, Acoby is working at Ka Ni Kanichihks Butterfly Club, helping young girls connect to their Indigenous roots as part of YouthUnited@Winnipeg, a city-funded initiative launched this year based on the principles of the Truth and Reconciliation Commissions Calls to Action.

Since May, Acoby and 19 other University of Winnipeg students have been working for school credit and pay alongside various North End organizations like Ka Ni Kanichihk to build greater understanding of reconciliation and to establish strong community relationships.

Four days each week, the students do various projects and work with those organizations, and, on Thursdays, they take part in classes with a curriculum designed to prepare them for challenges they might face once they graduate and are employed within the community.

Acoby, who identifies as Anishinaabe, says the opportunity to work with the Butterfly Club has been a rewarding experience.

With the clubs participants, Acoby discusses Indigenous history, culture and what the world was like before Europeans made contact. That knowledge isnt always readily accessible, Acoby said.

To some of them, its totally new information, she said.

Not only are children and teens around the city benefiting from YouthUniteds programming, the working students have gained new perspectives on how the city works and how their colleagues see it, too.

Some people in this class hadnt really been to the North End before it started, Acoby said. Ive seen changing perspectives just from being in this program.

Thats not an accident, said Brian Mayes, the St. Vital city councillor who helped the program attain $200,000 in annual city funding in late 2015.

Mayes said the programs participants were drawn from a diverse background, with an emphasis on including students from both suburban and inner-city communities.

Aine Dolin  a recent U of W grad who spent the summer working with the Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre facilitating adolescent-focused programming about sexual education, drug awareness and healthy relationships  said connecting with other students different from her was an added bonus to her work.

It allows for potential to build and maintain relationships, she said.

A program like this has been on Mayes radar since he ran for Toronto city council in 1991. After Mayes was re-elected in St. Vital in 2014, he met with Mayor Brian Bowman and told him getting the project off the ground was his main city-wide goal for his second term as councillor.

Im very proud we got this up and running, Mayes said, adding that funding is ensured for 2018. Hes hoping the program will be extended beyond then, and is looking to help start similar programs in other provinces.

With the first year of YouthUnited@Winnipeg set to wind up this week, Shauna MacKinnon, the universitys chairwoman of urban and inner-city studies, says several of this years student participants have been offered the chance to continue working part-time at their host organizations.

As for Acoby, shell graduate with an urban and inner-city studies degree in December, and shes making sure to continue to provide cultural connections for local youth, including her two children.

When I was in that position myself, I had no knowledge of what was really going on, she said. I want to pass on what Im learning.

ben.waldman@freepress.mb.ca
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This article was published 09/08/2017 (1921 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba will be embarking on one of the most comprehensive, thorough and robust constitutional consultations in the history of the province before construction begins on two massive outlet channels for Lake Manitoba and Lake St. Martin, Premier Brian Pallister vows.

Pallister and his infrastructure minister, Blaine Pedersen, made the commitment to First Nations communities on Wednesday, even promising financial help to assist Indigenous groups to participate meaningfully in the process.

Our government recognizes that the best path forward for these projects is by ensuring that Manitoba undertakes comprehensive engagement, collaboration and consultation with First Nations communities that may be impacted by these projects, the premier said. Were focused as a government on the job of reconciliation with Indigenous peoples in Manitoba, and we are focused on achieving reconciliation not just by talking about it but by delivering real action to protect Aboriginal and treaty rights.

JUSTIN SAMANSKI-LANGILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Blaine Pedersen, minister of infrastructure, speaks Wednesday at a news conference discussing consultations on the preferred route for Lake Manitoba and Lake St. Martin outlet channels.

The province has long promised to build an outlet channel to reduce flooding around Lake Manitoba in years when the Portage Diversion is used to protect landowners along the lower Assiniboine River and the city of Winnipeg.

It has also promised to transform a temporary outlet channel constructed on an emergency basis in late 2011 to drain Lake St. Martin into a larger permanent structure with proper control structures.

Construction on both projects is scheduled to begin in 2019 following provincial and federal environmental approval and required consultations with First Nations. The combined cost of the channels is estimated at around $500 million.

Pallister said Pedersen has already visited all potentially affected Interlake communities to lay the groundwork for the formal consultation process.

Grand Chief Arlen Dumas of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs could not be reached for comment Wednesday. There were no Indigenous leaders at the governments news conference.

The province says it expects that First Nations will share in some of the economic benefits from the construction projects, which, combined, will be the largest flood protection initiative since the expansion of the Red River Floodway.

Pedersen said economic opportunities for Indigenous communities could include construction contracts for project access roads.

The Lake Manitoba outlet channel will be 23 kilometres in length and carry up to 7,500 cubic feet of water per second. The revamped Lake St. Martin channel will be about the same length; its capacity will almost triple to 11,500 cfs from the current 4,000 cfs.

Pedersen said the province has already issued tenders to select an engineering firm to design the two flood outlet channels.

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca
Joan Boix has been attending separatist demonstrations in Catalonia for at least five years and he contributes to the campaign for a split from Spain.

But as the regional government in Barcelona girds its supporters for a final push that it hopes will deliver independence, the 62-year-old executive is hesitating. Hardliners talk of setting up a rogue Catalan tax agency or a general strike in order to force the issue. But Boix has a company to worry about.

Most of the businessmen I know have to make debt repayments so an indefinite strike is a hard sell, he said.

Regional President Carles Puigdemont is trying to increase his leverage as officials in Madrid vow to block his plans for a referendum in October. But the potential costs of a collision with the Spanish state are become clearer for Puigdemont and his supporters.

Two of Puigdemonts senior aides were interrogated by Spains Guardia Civil last month and Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy warned Catalan officials they could face criminal charges if they use public funds to facilitate the vote. Even the Catalan police, who Puigdemont wants to use to oversee the vote, may think twice  most of their salaries are paid from Madrid.

In the end, those money worries may tip the balance against dramatic action for many Catalans.

Despite its distinct traditions and language, the idea of breaking away from Spain had little mainstream traction until the economic crisis  and the corruption it uncovered  hurt Catalans finances and undermined their confidence in the Spanish state.

Support for independence peaked at 49 percent in 2013, as the Spanish economy was contracting for a third straight year and unemployment reached a record 26 percent.

But Spain is on the mend now. Joblessness is down to 17 percent and the economy is growing at a pace of more than 3 percent. After a decade of turmoil, Catalan moderates are nervous about putting the recovery at risk. Just 35 percent say Catalonia should be independent, according to the Catalan governments polling agency. Thats the lowest in five years.

Investors are largely discounting the risk of a split. The spread between Spanish 10-year government debt and German bonds is close to its narrowest in seven years, though the yield on the Catalan governments thinly traded 2020 bonds has jumped by about 50 basis points since the start of July.

Puigdemont said in an interview last month that anyone who thinks an uptick in the economy will dampen the separatist movement is making a mistake, and warned investors that the movement may roil Spanish debt markets this fall. Others argue that Spains attempts at intimidation, including a smear campaign against Catalan leaders, will ultimately backfire.

If they were winning the political battle they wouldnt need such tactics, said Manel Escobet, 63, a member of the national secretariat at the Catalan National Assembly, a separatist campaign group. The dirty war being conducted by the Spanish state is just helping us to broaden the support for us

But even some of those who would be willing to strike accept that their chances of achieving their goals remain remote. Pere Gendrau, 36, runs a pub in Berga, just over an hour north of Barcelona and in the late 1990s he was active with the fringe groups that went on to form the anarchist group CUP, which Puigdemonts mainstream alliance relies on for a majority in the regional assembly.

Gendrau says that he and his employees would find a way to support a general strike, an idea raised by Regional Vice President Oriol Junqueras as far back as 2013. But, like Boix, he can see the problem for those managing larger operations.

It could be the way to move forward, but we probably wont reach that point, he said. Im not so sure what the bigger companies reaction would be.

Boixs company produces about 2 million wooden pallets a year for Catalan exporters and employs 130 people in the Bergueda region, where separatist parties got almost 80 percent of votes in 2015s regional election.

The family history illustrates the sharp divisions that still lie beneath the surface of Spanish society. Boixs grandfather, a Catalan mayor, died in a Nazi concentration camp at Mauthausen after fleeing to France during the Spanish Civil War. The French government has apologized to the family for the failings of the Vichy regime, but in Spain its more complicated, since Prime Minister Mariano Rajoys party was founded by a former minister from the Franco regime which governed for almost 40 years.

In Spain its as if nothing ever happened, he said. Just in my family, 10 people fled across the French border, and only my mother and two others returned.

So the friction between Catalonia and Madrid may be as good as permanent. There are pockets of the region where almost everyone backs separatist parties. But the success of modern Spain since the dictatorship may be enough to keep the country together, and the economy growing, despite their differences. Esteban Duarte, Bloomberg
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This article was published 10/08/2017 (1920 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A new retirement savings option is coming soon for Manitoba employees who do not have a workplace pension plan.

Finance Minister Cameron Friesen said Thursday the province is close to signing an agreement with Ottawa and several other provinces that will allow Manitobans and their employers to participate in pooled registered pension plans (PRPPs).

The Pallister government passed enabling legislation allowing Manitobans to participate in PRPPs in June. New provincial regulations governing their use came into force last week. Once Manitoba signs the multilateral agreement in the fall, licensed pension providers will be able to sign up employers and workers here.

THE CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES Manitoba Finance Minister Cameron Friesen says workers who don't have a pension plan will soon be able to contribute to a pooled registered pension plan.

Many employees and employers do not have access to a registered retirement plan in their workplace. This would change that, Friesen told a news conference.

Employers with limited means would be able to offer their workers a pension managed by a third party, such as a large financial institution. Employees would decide whether to enroll and employers would decide whether to make contributions on their employees behalf. But there would be tax incentives for them to do so.

Unlike a group RSP, employer contributions would not be regarded as a taxable benefit for the employee. And employers would be able to receive a tax credit for any contributions to their employees plan.

It incents small businesses to make their contributions for the employees benefit, said Loren Remillard, president and CEO of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, which lobbied the province to enable PRPPs.

Advocates for PRPPs say they offer the advantage of a professionally managed pension plan for a relatively low fee. The companies that provide the service must be federally registered.

Last year, Manitoba signed onto a federal plan that will see Canada Pension Plan benefits rise by as much as $4,300 by 2023. The phase-in period for the expanded plan  which will also see contributions rise by as much as $34 a month  will begin in 2019.

Friesen said PRPPs will give many Manitobans an additional retirement savings tool.

We all say that were going to save for retirement and then challenges come up and we need to respondto them, he said.

With Manitobas participation, PRPPs will be available to more than 90 per cent of Canadians, Friesen said. Other participating provinces include Quebec, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Nova Scotia and Ontario.

With interest rates at historic lows in recent years, its been increasingly difficult for employers to maintain defined-benefit pension plans. Friesen likened the PRPPs to defined contribution pensions, but they are more portable.

Scott Jocelyn, president and CEO of the Manitoba Hotel Association, said PRPPs will be an asset to his industry. While some large hotels offer pensions, many do not.

Thousands in the accommodation and food-services industry could benefit, he said, adding hotels employ nearly 10,000 people in Manitoba, with an annual payroll of $200 million.

We know that the marketplace for employees is very competitive. Any tools that can be made available to help attract and retain good staff are appreciated by the industry, Jocelyn said.

NDP finance critic James Allum said, while private pooled pension plans can be beneficial, the legislation passed by Manitoba in the spring does not guarantee that employers will contribute to a workers plan.

The Pallister government initially opposed expansions to the CPP and has frozen the minimum wage for nearly two years.

We strongly feel this government should take more significant action to guarantee retirement security for all working Manitobans, Allum said.

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca
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This article was published 09/08/2017 (1921 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg police did not contact the Independent Investigation Unit (IIU) after an incident Monday left an officer with life-altering injuries when his pistol fired while in his holster outside a south end grocery store.

A grey area in the Police Services Act makes it unclear whether the legislation was contravened by police choosing not to inform the civilian oversight agency of the incident, an IIU spokeswoman said.

The IIU must be notified immediately if a serious injury to a person may have resulted from the actions of a police officer, reads the legislation.

JOE BRYKSA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Two officers have discharged their firearms this month, leaving one in hospital.

It is not clear if legislators intended for that to include incidents where an officer is injured with his own weapon, the IIU spokeswoman said.

When asked why the IIU was not contacted by police, Const. Jay Murray said the shooting did not meet the legislations criteria.

The IIU has jurisdiction over all municipal and First Nations police, as well as the RCMP. The unit investigates situations involving police that result in serious injury or death.

Due to the fact police made no report to the IIU, the organization only became aware an officer was injured by his own gun after the media began reporting the story.

They are not currently investigating the circumstances surrounding the officers injury, which came five days after another Winnipeg police officer fired a weapon while on duty.

Police say Workplace Safety and Health is also monitoring the incident. The Manitoba Workplace Safety and Health Act allows that department to coordinate investigations when a worker is injured on the job.

The most-recent incident took place around 1 p.m. Monday outside a Sobeys grocery store on Taylor Avenue.

Police sources say the officer was getting into his vehicle when his gun discharged. It is not believed his hand was on the holster.

The officer, who was on duty at the time but not responding to a call, was taken to hospital.

Several police cars filled the grocery stores parking lot over the afternoon and police tape was put up. A blanket and what appeared to be blood could be seen at the side of a large black SUV parked outside the store.

At the time of the incident the officer had just finished a training exercise and is an experienced member of the tactical support team, Murray said.

The majority of Winnipeg police carry semi-automatic Glock pistols, which do not have external safeties. Instead, they have three mechanical safeties incorporated into the build of the gun: trigger, firing pin and drop safeties. These are independently operated, disengaging when the trigger is pulled and automatically re-engaging when released.

These firearms do have safeties and were working to determine why this firearm discharged while it was holstered, Murray said.

There are many variables at play that we need to answer. We simply do not know what caused this firearm to discharge at this point and I think it would be inappropriate to speculate.

Winnipeg police pistols are modified to increase the resistance needed on the trigger to fire a shot.

An examination of the officers gun is currently under way.

The officer remains in hospital in stable condition with life-altering injuries, a police spokesman said.

The incident happened five days after another Winnipeg police officer fired his weapon while responding to reports of a man with a gun in the area of Main Street and Euclid Avenue on Aug. 2.

The gun was not holstered when the shot rang out and no one was injured.

In that case, the IIU was notified. What led the officer to fire his gun, or whether or not the shot was fired intentionally, is not known at this time.

He remains on full, active duty and one arrest was made by the responding officers.

Winnipeg polices homicide unit  which oversees all situations where an officers gun is discharged  is investigating both incidents. The investigation into the shot fired on Aug. 2 is being monitored by the IIU.

The spokeswoman for the IIU could not say whether the organization would get involved in the investigation into the officer shot by his own weapon, although she made clear they have the authority to do so should they deem necessary.

ryan.thorpe@freepress.mb.ca
Opinion

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This article was published 10/08/2017 (1920 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Its not often that a major newspaper fires one of its high-profile columnists for an indiscretion, but this happened recently in Britain when Kevin Myers was dismissed from the Sunday Times over allegations of anti-Semitism. Myers is an Irish journalist and his guilty column was in the Irish edition of the paper in question, but he writes for numerous influential publications in Britain and Ireland.

The prickly, iconoclastic Myers had been responding to a report that the BBC pays its leading male broadcasters more than it does its female stars. He splashed around in sexist generalizations and then wrote of two of the higher-paid BBC women employees, who happen to be Jewish, Good for them. Jews are not generally noted for their insistence on selling their talent for the lowest possible price, which is the most useful measure there is of inveterate, lost-with-all-hands stupidity.

The reaction was as predictable as a racist cliche. The two victims were understandably upset, leaders of the Jewish community were angry and incredulous and countless Irish people responded with a collective, We told you so, weve been living with this bloody man for years!

Susan Walsh / The Associated Press files White House senior policy adviser Stephen Miller made some controversial comments about U.S. immigration during an argument with CNN reporter Jim Acosta, the child of Cuban refugees, at a daily media briefing last week.

And indeed, Myers had made appalling comments in the past, at one point acknowledging the mass slaughter of Jewish people during the Second World War but proudly describing himself as a Holocaust denier.

It was provocative semantics more than neo-Nazism, but thats much of the mans shtick  if I dare use a Yiddish word. I dont think Myers is an anti-Semite in the strictest sense, more a clumsy contrarian who lacks sufficient empathy.

He demonstrated this in what was supposed to be an explanatory post-column interview when he spoke repeatedly of his Jewish friends and Jewish virtues.

In other words, he just doesnt get it. Jews have virtues and vices, are clever and stupid, rich and poor. Just, in fact, like everyone else. My dad was Jewish. He drove a London taxi every day of the week for more than 30 years and could never afford a new car. His parents didnt own their own home. Rich? Oh, please!

But the broader point here is surely that of what should be said and written in mainstream media. The freedom of my fist, as they say, stops at your nose. Or consider the concepts of freedom from and freedom to  I believe that we should be free to say almost anything we want, but I also believe people should be free from oppression and bigotry. The metaphorical meeting place is extremely difficult to define.

A group of arch-conservatives and Islamophobes hold a Draw Mohammad contest every now and again, for example, knowing that this offends many Muslims. I dont want to live in a society where this is illegal, but nor do I want to live in a society where it is considered acceptable.

Then we have the absurd narcissist Milo Yiannopoulos and his shape-shifting antics. But remember, a civilized consensus threw him to the margins and hes now a legend in his own lunchtime. The ghouls at the Rebel, a Canadian enterprise founded by Albertan Ezra Levant, are similarly vacuous and provocative, but do they seriously reach anybody beyond the already converted?

Even in the White House there is an abuse of free speech, something we saw last week when senior adviser Stephen Miller made appalling comments about the nature of United States immigration to reporter Jim Acosta, the child of Cuban refugees. But Miller was condemned mercilessly for his stupidity and after Trump loses the next election or is impeached, he will fade into obscurity. As with Myers, there are consequences to hurtful stupidity.

A free, open and democratic society is messy. It should be, has to be, its a good thing. Liberty is always curved and never straight. Absolutes are the playthings of dictatorships and theocracies.

Its not often we say it about ourselves, but Canadians have got it about right. The sewers still breathe, abusers continue to scream, but the good guys carry the day and most of us know viscerally and instinctively what is acceptable and what is not. Beware those who want complete licence to offend, and those who want to control too much of what we say. Im sorry to disappoint, but as with so much that challenges us, the sensible answer is in the moderate middle.

Author and broadcaster Michael Corens latest book is Epiphany: A Christians Change of Heart and Mind over Same-Sex Marriage.
Papua New Guineas parliament was briefly reconvened on August 2 following national elections. Prime Minister Peter ONeill was placed back in office following a vote of the newly-elected MPs. ONeill received 60 votes, with 46 voting against.

The two-week election that ended on July 8 was dominated by vote-rigging, the wholesale omission of names from the electoral roll, ballot box-tampering and bribery. Nevertheless, Governor-General Bob Dadae invited ONeill to form a government and recalled parliament, even though writs from only 106 of 111 seats had been returned.

ONeill had earlier declared that he negotiated a deal with the Peoples Progress Party (PPP), the United Resources Party (URP), the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and independents to form a coalition government with his Peoples National Congress Party (PNC).

Already there are signs that the incoming government will be one of crisis. The National Court this week dismissed a challenge to the legality of a 2014 arrest warrant for ONeill. The warrant stemmed from an investigation by anti-fraud police into alleged illegal state payments of $US30 million to law firm, Paraka Lawyers.

Last year ONeill sacked the police commissioner and disbanded the anti-corruption taskforce. A series of challenges by his legal team ensured that the execution of the warrant remained stalled in PNGs court system.

Dismissing the latest legal challenge, Justice Collin Makail declared it was an abuse of court process and the warrant is not reviewable. The head of the National Fraud and Anti-Corruption Directorate, Matthew Damaru, welcomed the judgment, saying it cleared the way for the prime ministers arrest. ONeill, however, indicated he would appeal to the Supreme Court.

The election outcome points to the deepening popular opposition to the austerity policies of all the major parties. ONeill has clung to power in the face of rising struggles by students and workers over inequality, corruption and the countrys social crisis.

Despite the widespread electoral fraud, which principally benefited the ruling PNC, ONeills government has seen its majority slashed. ONeill presided over the last parliament with a large majority that included 55 MPs from the PNC. With Southern Highlands still to be declared, that number has been reduced to 27. Minor parties such as the PPP and the URP each have between 4 and 6 members.

According to a list published by the Loop PNG, over half the 59 MPs who signed up to ONeills Alotau 2 coalition are from minor parties or are designated independents. This unstable coalition will be held together largely through the disbursement of development funds, worth more than $A3 million, used to reward supporters in each electorate.

ONeill last week announced a seven-man caretaker cabinet to operate until the first parliamentary sitting on August 22. His previous cabinet was largely decimated when at least six high-profile PNC figures were ousted in the election. They included Deputy Prime Minister Leo Dion, former parliamentary speaker Theo Zurenuoc and Health Minister Michael Malabag, who oversaw massive expenditure cuts in the health services.

The most significant new cabinet appointment is Charles Abel (PNC), who has been promoted from national planning minister to deputy prime minister, treasurer and minister responsible for next years APEC conference.

A coalition of opposition parties, called the Alliance, now holds 47 seats. It consists of the National Alliance (NA), PANGU Party, PNG National Party, Peoples Movement for Change, Melanesian Alliance, Coalition for Reform Party, Melanesian Liberal Party, PNG Party and independents. The NA, which was the main party in ONeills previous coalition government, remains the second largest party in parliament with 14 seats, while PANGU has 10.

The parliamentary opposition parties provide no alternative for the working class and rural poor to intensifying austerity and deprivation. Throughout the election they attacked ONeill from the right, accusing him of bankrupting the country and not going far enough in slashing budget spending.

Treasury last week released its Mid-year Economic and Fiscal Outlook, revealing a budget blowout of more than a billion kina ($US309 million) amid collapsed revenues and higher than expected expenditure.

Foreshadowing more attacks on living standards and public services, Treasurer Abel warned changes in government direction would be necessary. He told Radio New Zealand: Weve got to realise that theres a limit to borrowing. Weve got to realise that weve got to live within our means.

Anger over the outcome of the election is fuelling ongoing political turmoil. The day parliament reconvened, fighting erupted when supporters of former MP and opposition leader Don Polye reportedly went on a rampage after his opponent Alfred Manase (PNC) was declared winner of the Kandep Open seat in the Highlands.

Polyes supporters claimed the returning officer proceeded with the vote count without including seven disputed boxes from Polyes support base. A gunfight broke out, causing five deaths and injuring more than 20 people.

The provincial capital of Wabag has already been in a two-week lockdown after four people, including two police, were killed in a previous incident between rival supporters over grievances regarding the Kandep count. More than 500 security personnel have been dispatched to the region to suppress the continuing unrest.

The decision to set aside the ballot boxes from Polyes stronghold almost certainly ensures the result will go to the court of disputed returns. Nevertheless, his loss is significant. As Triumph Heritage Empowerment Party leader, Polye headed the official opposition in the last parliament and advocated an urgent supplementary budget to replenish depleted foreign reserves through further attacks on living standards. He centred his election campaign on a promise to sell the governments share in the Oil Search company, which has a 29 percent stake in the countrys vast liquefied natural gas projects.

Unrest has also taken place in other areas. The Southern Highlands capital Mendi was placed in lockdown after five people were killed in fresh election-related violence last weekend. The clash erupted between armed supporters of the two leading candidates who accused the provincial election manager of defying Electoral Commission orders by proceeding to the vote count with dozens of ballot boxes still under dispute.

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After the Papua New Guinea election: The way forward for the working class and rural poor

[29 July 2017]
The Daily Beast

Marina Tanaka / EyeEm via GettyTwo planes crashed into each other mid-air Saturday during a Dallas air show that was packed with families marking Veterans Day weekend, with both planes plummeting to the ground in a fiery explosion, video footage shows. Six people who were aboard the planes are feared to have died, ABC reported. The collision took place during the Wings Over Dallas World War II Airshow. A spokesperson for the Dallas Fire-Rescue said he didnt know the status of the pilots, but th
Indian women have posted pictures of themselves out after midnight - Twitter/PalakSharmaNews

A young woman at the centre of a high profile stalking case that has gripped India for days has spoken of her surprise at becoming a rallying call for womens rights across the South Asian nation of 1.3 billion.

Varnika Kundu, a 29-year-old DJ, told the Telegraph that she felt vindicated after two men were arrested and charged on Wednesday with attempting to kidnap her when they chased her car late on Friday night through the northern Indian city of Chandigarh.

The arrests followed an impromptu AintNoCinderella Twitter campaign of Indian women posting defiant pictures of themselves out after midnight after a senior male politician suggested Ms Kundu was at fault for being out so late in the night.

In a Facebook post that quickly went viral, Ms Kundu described a terrifying ordeal where the perpetrators drove parallel to her car for 25 minutes and then blocked her car before aggressively trying to enter her vehicle.

She said they enjoyed her distress, and felt lucky that she was not lying raped and murdered in a ditch somewhere.

In an interview, Ms Kundu said her story had struck a chord with many Indian women who had told her of similar experiences.

Their support had helped her through attempts to sully her character for driving alone at night.

Its been overwhelming, she said. I think Indian women are just so sick and tired of being treated like second class citizens, of just being told because you were born different youre not good enough, you cant do the same things that a boy can do.

Dear Regressive India,

We ain't damsels in distress. We are independent & we don't need you to curb our freedom#AintNoCinderella here! pic.twitter.com/mulliSsKwY  Rekha Navani (@rekha_navani) August 7, 2017

Womens rights, and victim shaming, has been a particularly sensitive issue in India since the horrific gang rape and murder of physiotherapy student Jyoti Singh, 23, in a moving bus in Delhi in 2012.

Story continues

The case shocked India to the core, but the victim was also criticised for going to the cinema in the evening with a male friend.

The defence lawyer for her attackers claimed that if his own daughter allowed herself to lose face and character that he would set her alight.

If I'm out at 12am, it DOES NOT mean I'm to be raped, molested, chased. My dignity is my right 24X7 #AintNoCinderellapic.twitter.com/6SN0I5NbSN  Sharmistha Mukherjee (@Sharmistha_GK) August 7, 2017

In Ms Kundus case, a senior politician from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, Ramveer Bhatti, appeared to question her morals when speaking to the Times of India.

Why was she allowed to roam around at night? Parents should not allow their children to stay out late  what is the point of roaming around at night? he said.

It's midnight and I can be wherever I want to be, because I #AintNoCinderella - Regressive India, please take note pic.twitter.com/TgycSQP17U  Elixir Nahar (@ElixirNahar) August 7, 2017

I am a free soul! I am a woman of today ! I live with my free will #AintNoCinderellapic.twitter.com/afSmmBdH6t  seema (@seemaadhikari) August 8, 2017

Mr Bhatti later back-tracked on his comments, but not before Ms Kundu dismissed his questions as none of his business.

She said she was grateful through her ordeal to have been given a platform to challenge deep-seated patriarchal attitudes in modern Indian society.

Ive said things that all Indian women have always wanted to say. Basic questions like why does the victim have to answer? she said.
Washington (AFP) - A sizeable contingent of members of the extreme right and white nationalists are expected to descend on a small US university town Saturday -- and a fierce opposition front is uniting against it.

Thousands of white nationalists, including supporters of the Ku Klux Klan white supremacist group, and anti-fascist activists are expected to clash in Charlottesville, Virginia, a sleepy town planning to remove a statue of General Robert E. Lee, who led Confederate forces in the US Civil War.

Last month a few dozen Ku Klux Klan marchers gathered in Charlottesville to protest the statue's removal. Though they were outnumbered by hundreds of jeering counter-protestors, images of the extreme right marchers -- some donning the traditional white hood of the notorious white power group -- spread worldwide.

This time the extreme right hopes to have a stronger showing thanks to the presence of various leaders of the "alt-right" movement that has been emboldened by Donald Trump's ascent to the White House.

Dubbed the "Unite the Right Rally," the gathering could mark one of the most significant demonstrations of its kind in decades, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors extremist groups.

But far-right demonstrators might have trouble finding somewhere to sleep: the apartment rental platform AirBnB has canceled a number of accounts linked to extreme-right views, in keeping with its non-discrimination policy.

Jason Kessler, who organized the rally, said on Twitter that the company's move amounted to an attack on "free speech and civil rights."

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Disgraced White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci said Wednesday that the reporter who published an expletive-filled interview that led to him being fired is up at night not being able to live with himself.

Scaramucciwho was ousted from his senior Trump administration job after a little more than a week in Julycompared New Yorker reporter Ryan Lizza to Linda Tripp, a former Pentagon employee who figured prominently in the Lewinsky scandal.

@RyanLizza is the Linda Tripp of 2017. People know. And he is up at night not being able to live with himself, Scaramucci tweeted Wednesday.

Scaramuccis analogy places him in the role of former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

RTX3DC5F

Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

Tripp is known for secretly recording her phone calls with Lewinsky as Lewinsky detailed her sexual relationship with President Bill Clinton. Tripp turned over the tapes to independent counsel Ken Starr as he investigated the extramarital affair and whether Clinton lied during a sworn deposition.

Lewinsky was unaware that her phone calls with Tripp were being recorded.

Scaramucci said that Lizza absolutely taped the call without my permission and called him a #lowlife.

The New Yorker published audio of the call last week. During the interview Scaramucci doesnt ask Lizza for his comments to be off the record. Laws about recording conversations vary from state to state in the U.S.

Read more: What did Anthony Scaramucci say in his curse-filled interview?

President Donald Trumps hiring of Scaramucci on July 21 prompted the resignation of press secretary Sean Spicer, and eventually that of former chief of staff Reince Preibus.

In his call with Lizza, the Wall Street investor accused Priebus of leaking White House information to the press and called him a fucking paranoid schizophrenic, a paranoiac. He also said Trumps chief strategist Steve Bannon was trying to build his own brand off the strength of the president.

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Soon after the call, Scaramucci tweeted publicly that he would call the FBI and Department of Justice to investigate leaks, tagging Preibus in an accusation about Politico's reporting on his employee financial disclosure form. It turned out the document was available publicly and not leaked.

On July 28, the day after Scaramucci's call, President Trump replaced his chief of staff with former General John Kelly. Three days later, Kelly fired Scaramucci.

The president certainly felt that Anthonys comments were inappropriate for a person in that position, said White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, following Scaramuccis firing. Scaramucci was reportedly escorted from the White House.

Lizza did not respond to Scaramuccis tweet Wednesday even though it tagged him directly him on Twitter.

The one-time White House employee wrote the message soon after Lizza tweeted Oh boy in response to Scaramuccis post that he will appear on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Monday, August 14.

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North Korea on Wednesday threatened to attack the U.S. territory of Guam, the latest in a series of mutual provocations as tensions between the two countries continue to escalate. That development came after President Donald Trump said Tuesday that North Korea will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen if it continues its aggressive behavior.

Trump followed up on Wednesday in a series of tweets boasting about the U.S. nuclear arsenal. My first order as President was to renovate and modernize our nuclear arsenal. It is now far stronger and more powerful than ever before, he tweeted. Hopefully we will never have to use this power, but there will never be a time that we are not the most powerful nation in the world!

Heres what you need to know about the size and reach of the American nuclear arsenal.

How Many Nuclear Weapons Does the U.S. Have?

As of July 8, the United States has 6,800 warheads, according to data from Hans Kristensen and Robert Norris at the Federation of American scientists. 2,800 of them are retired, 4,000 are stockpiled, and 1,800 are deployed. The total number of U.S. warheads is second only to Russia, which currently has 7,000 of them.

Aside from North Korea, the other nuclear powers have between 80 and 300 warheads each, and 1,135 in total. As of July, North Korea was thought to have the material for a maximum of 20 warheads.

It was previously thought that North Korea lacked the technical sophistication to make nuclear warheads small enough to be delivered via long-range missile. But as Kelsey Davenport, the Director for Nonproliferation Policy at the Arms Control Association, explains, U.S. intelligence officials believe thats no longer the case, as reported by The Washington Post on Tuesday.

North Korea has been developing the capability to put a nuclear warhead on the tip of a ballistic missile for years. And what yesterdays intelligence assessment indicates is that the United States now thinks North Korea has achieved this capability, said Davenport. Essentially the United States is assessing that North Korea can put a warhead onto a ballistic missile and actually deliver it.

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How Far Can U.S. Nuclear Weapons Reach?

Davenport estimates that the range of a U.S. intercontinental ballistic missile exceeds 10,000 kilometers, or approximately 6,213 miles.

U.S. ballistic missiles are extremely reliable and very accurate and some of these weapons can be launched within minutes, she explained. That differs quite a bit from North Korea [where] their missiles are unreliable, they are inaccurate. North Korea has only in July tested a ballistic missile thats capable of reaching the United States.

Which Other Countries Have Nuclear Weapons?

Nine countries have or are believed to have nuclear arsenals, according to the Arms Control Association: the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, Israel, Pakistan, India, China and North Korea.

The United States developed and used the first nuclear weapons in 1945, when they dropped the Atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II. This act fueled the start of the arms race, a competition between the United States and the Soviet Union for the most effective and largest number of nuclear arms.

In 1970, just eight years after the Cuban Missile crisis provoked fears of nuclear war, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, or NPT, was ratified; it was extended indefinitely in 1995. Under the treaty, the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council  China, France, Russia, the United States and the United Kingdom  were acknowledged as nuclear powers. Other countries that joined the treaty agreed not to pursue nuclear weapons development, although they are allowed to use nuclear technology for non-military purposes, like scientific research.

Israel, India and Pakistan never signed the treaty. Although Israel does not officially acknowledge their arsenal, the country is believed to possess approximately 80 warheads. North Korea signed the treaty but withdrew in 2003.

Certainly North Koreas decision to leave the treaty and pursue nuclear weapons does weaken the treaty, says Davenport. Its critical that the United States and the broader international community try to ensure that North Korea does not proliferate its nuclear technology to any other state or non-state actors.
As President Trump approached his first 100 days in office, he called it a ridiculous standard, while House Speaker Paul Ryan said it was too soon to judge progress.

I talked about 200 days because I thought the kind of agenda that were attempting to put together here  overhauling health care, overhauling the tax system, rebuilding our military, securing the border  those take more than just a few months, Ryan said in April.

On Monday, Trump hit the 200-day mark, but major achievements still remain elusive.

Heres a quick look at whats happened  and what hasnt  in Trumps second 100 days.

 Trump announced the U.S. will withdraw from the Paris climate agreement. The U.S. wont officially be able to leave the international agreement to fight climate change until November of 2020.

 The Justice Department appointed a special counsel on the Russia investigation. Former FBI Director Robert S. Mueller is now heading an investigation into Russian meddling in the election.

 The effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act collapsed. A last-ditch move to pass a skinny repeal of Obamacare failed in the Senate when Republican Sens. John McCain, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski voted against it.

 Trump announced that transgender Americans would be barred from military service. Citing tremendous medical costs and disruption, Trump said that transgender people would no longer be able to serve in the military in any capacity.

 The White House backed a bill to cut legal immigration in half. Trump announced his support for the RAISE Act, which would cut legal immigration in half by 2027, but it faces an uncertain future in the Senate.

 The White House staff was reshuffled. Press Secretary Sean Spicer resigned, Anthony Scaramucci was hired and then fired as communications director, Chief of Staff Reince Priebus was replaced by retired Gen. John Kelly, among other changes.

 Trump signed Russian sanctions into law. After Congress passed a package of stiff financial sanctions against Russia by overwhelming veto-proof margins, Trump reluctantly signed them into law.

 His approval hit a new record low in polls. A poll released Monday by CNN found Trump at a record low, with just 38% approving and 56% disapproving. Other recent polls have hit record lows as well.

 Many Senate-confirmed posts remain unfilled. As of Aug. 7, the Senate confirmed 117 key positions, but Trump had not yet nominated people for 354 jobs, according to the Washington Post and the Partnership for Public Service.
Colorado's Mesa Verde National Park is home to ancient architectural sites including 600 cliff dwellings: US National Parks Service

Archaeologists may have discovered evidence of an ancient civilisation that disappeared from a corner of the southwestern US over seven centuries ago.

The exodus of the Ancestral Puebloans has baffled scientists for years after they vanished without a trace from Colorado's Mesa Verde National Park in the 13th Century.

One theory was the group - also known as the Anasazi - had simply migrated several hundred kilometres east.

Now scientists may have found the evidence to prove that theory by studying the genetic composition of ancient animal bones buried in the region.

Mitochondrial DNA from ancient turkey bones found there had been an influx of fowl in the late 1300s, and prior to 1280 the turkeys lineage had been different.

The evidence suggests the Anasazi suffered some kind of change in climate, political upheaval, drought or other during this time, lending weight to the theory that they migrated.

Results are consistent with a large-scale migration of humans, accompanied by their domestic turkeys, during the 13th century CE, researchers wrote.

These results support scenarios that suggest contemporary Pueblo peoples of the Northern Rio Grande are biological and cultural descendants of Four Corners populations.

The study titled Prehistoric mitochondrial DNA of domesticate animals supports a 13th century exodus from the northern US southwest was first published in the journal PlosOne.

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LONDON (Reuters) - British police on Thursday said they had arrested a 50-year-old jogger on suspicion of knocking a woman into the path of a bus on a busy west London street earlier this year. Closed circuit TV footage showed a male jogger knocking a 33-year-old woman head-first into the path of the bus, which narrowly managed to swerve out of her way. "Police investigating an assault after a jogger appeared to push a woman into the path of an oncoming bus in Putney have made an arrest," London police said in a statement. "The man arrested for grievous bodily harm ... has been released under investigation pending further enquiries." The man was arrested at a residential address in the nearby Chelsea area, police said. The victim received minor injuries from the incident. The arrest came after a public appeal for help in tracing the jogger. Although the incident happened in May, police said they had received a "good response" from the appeal, and said they were still looking for witnesses. (Reporting by Alistair Smout; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)
Number of asylum seekers entering Canada from US has risen sharply this year

Delays at border mean migrants have been forced to wait in area with no beds

Most of the migrants crossing into Canada are Haitians who have been living in the US for years. Photograph: Charles Krupa/AP

The Canadian military has been deployed to build a 500-person camp at a remote location at the border as authorities grapple with a growing number of asylum seekers crossing into Canada by foot from the United States.

On Wednesday, nearly 100 soldiers were sent to Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle  just across the border from Champlain, New York  to erect heated tents to temporarily house as many as 500 people, the armed forces said in a statement. The site has become a popular crossing spot in recent months, with hundreds of people a day making the easy trip over a shallow ditch that connects both countries.

Since the start of the year, the numbers of asylum seekers entering Canada from the US has risen sharply. More than 4,000 of them  many of them driven by fears of Donald Trumps crackdown on immigrants  have entered Canada at remote, unguarded locations along the border.

By doing so, they aim to skirt a 2004 agreement between Canada and the US that forces most migrants to apply for asylum in the first country in which they arrive.

Recent months have seen the province of Quebec become a major entry point. As many as 250 migrants a day have arrived in Montreal in recent weeks, adding to the more than 3,300 asylum seekers who crossed into the province in the first six months of the year.

Authorities have responded by opening additional welcome centres. After hundreds of beds were set up last week in the citys Olympic Stadium, officials opened similar sites in a former convent, as well as a decommissioned hospital. Asylum seekers will probably only spend a few weeks in the centres before being moved into longer-term housing while they wait for their claims to be heard.

At Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police have set up temporary facilities where migrants are screened and processed.

Story continues

About 700 asylum seekers are at the site, and wait times for processing have swelled to two or three days, the Canadian border agency told the CBC. The delays mean migrants have been forced to wait in an area with no beds, just benches and chairs.

The camp  consisting of modular tent shelters with floors, lighting and heating  aims to rectify this. Military personnel will not participate in security matters, the armed forces said, and most of the soldiers will return to their home bases once the camp is built. Those who remain on site will be tasked with maintaining Canadian forces equipment.

Most of those crossing into Canada in recent days are Haitians who have been living in the US for years, according to Canadian officials. In May, the Trump administration threatened to pull the plug on a longstanding humanitarian program, potentially exposing as many as 58,000 Haitians to deportation.

John Kelly, the then homeland security secretary, eventually allowed for a six-month extension to the program, which gives Haitians in the US temporary protected status (TPS) as their country recovers from a series of disasters including the 2010 earthquake, a cholera epidemic and Hurricane Matthew. But Kelly warned those granted TPS not to assume it would be renewed again.

This six-month extension should allow Haitian TPS recipients living in the United States time to attain travel documents and make other necessary arrangements for their ultimate departure from the United States, and should also provide the Haitian government with the time it needs to prepare for the future repatriation of all current TPS recipients, Kelly said in a statement.

Worried Haitians in the US  many of them spurred by misinformation regarding the ease of obtaining residency in Canada  began crossing the border in increased numbers this month, hoping to obtain refugee status in Canada.

The Canadian immigration ministry responded to the rumours on its Facebook page last week, noting that messages posted online suggesting Canada is inviting people to seek refugee status are incorrect. In 2016, refugee status was granted to roughly 50% of Haitians whose claims were considered, up slightly from the 40% success rate of applicants in 2015, according to Canadas Immigration and Refugee Board.

The Trudeau government ended its own TPS designation for Haitians last year, inviting its 3,200 holders to apply for residency on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. Many have since applied for permanent residency but advocacy groups have warned that some have been deported to Haiti.
Carl Sagan may have died back in 1996, but one of his predictions has some people a little tweaked out 21 years later.

Making the rounds on Twitter and on reddit is a passage from Sagans Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark in which he forecasts a future where Americas manufacturing would be totally outsourced and people would be unable to question authority among grim possibilities.

Heres the complete passage from Sagans 1995 book that has some people on edge:

I have a foreboding of an America in my childrens or grandchildrens time  when the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly all the key manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries; when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority; when, clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and whats true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness. The dumbing down of America is most evident in the slow decay of substantive content in the enormously influential media, the 30-second sound bites (now down to 10 seconds or less), the lowest common denominator programming, credulous presentations on pseudoscience and superstition, but especially a kind of celebration of ignorance.

'The Demon-Haunted World'

The passage definitely has people talking, mesmerized by the iconic scientists words. Theoretical physicist Robert McNees commented on the passage a few months ago: Good grief, I couldnt believe how spot-on that Carl Sagan quote was. I had to check to make sure it was accurate.

While its great that major scientists like Sagan, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and Bill Nye are treated like celebrities nowadays, its also vital to remember that these men can be wrong and sometimes their high profile ends up being detrimental to actual progress. People should probably take what these scientists say or tweet with a grain of salt.

Story continues

Dan Seitz at Uproxx observes that doomsayers tend to be wrong (looking at you, ancient Mayans who said wed all be gone in 2012). Predicting a bleak future isnt anything revolutionary. Somebodys always going to be pessimistic about whats next  that doesnt necessarily mean that we should all lay down and let it take over.

'The Demon-Haunted World'

Sagans prediction holds some legitimacy, but parts of it can also be debunked. Yes, China beats out the United States when it comes to manufacturing. But the United States is still the second-most competitive manufacturing economy. Also, awesome technological powers arent in the hands of a very few. According to a 2015 Pew Research Center report, 64 percent of Americans own a smartphone of some kind. Its worth noting that those who control the most powerful technology forces are few in number as well as narrow in demographic makeup, though.

Then there are those that are genuinely intrigued by Sagans prediction and are questioning whether or not hes actually a time traveler.

OK, theyre probably all joking, because you know, time travels practically unattainable, according to experts.

Fittingly enough, the prediction comes from the same book that Sagan touts the fine art of baloney detection, also known how to recognize bullshit when it lands right on your face. While there definitely is some truth to Sagans prediction, it might be worth it to evaluate all parts of before choking on some fake deli meat.

Written by Gabe Bergado

More articles by Gabe  Follow Gabe on Twitter

More From Inverse
The celebrity makeup artist has given us her best tools of the trade. (Photo: Quinn Lemmers for Yahoo Beauty)

Yahoo Beauty would like to introduce you to The New-New, a column by Beauty Director Dana Oliver on the latest products, tools, and treatments on which shed happily spend her hard-earned money.

Many women and men credit the Kardashians with showing them how to highlight and contour. However, makeup maestros Kevyn Aucoin, Sam Fine, and, of course, Ru Paul put me on to this face-sculpting technique long before the famous family of reality TV stars. But I must admit, Im not the biggest fan of highlighting and contouring.

The shimmering powders in most palettes wash out my dark complexion, and the neutral shadows Id use to accentuate my cheekbones, nose, and jawline are just too much for my natural everyday look. Not to mention, I dont have two hours each morning to spend on getting glamorous like Kim K.

Well, Im officially on the highlight and contour bandwagon thanks to Charlotte Tilbury. The British celebrity makeup artist is expanding her Hollywood collection this month with a new Beauty Light Wand and Contour Wand.

Like most professionals, technology fueled Tilburys imagination when working with a lab on the formulations. Her childhood obsession with classic cinematography and HMI lighting inspired her to bottle up that red-carpet glow many silver-screen starlets possessed. There was no Facetune, and yet they had this flawless, flawless, magical beauty light skin, Tilbury told a group of editors at a New York City launch event in July.

While scrolling through Instagram and watching vlogs of people trying to do their makeup, Tilbury also noticed that many of them were using old-fashioned tricks. So she opted for rose gold pigments with fine light-reflecting flecks of silver, because its the most universally complexion-flattering hue.

Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Beauty Light Wand is a highlighting product every newbie needs. (Photo: Charlotte Tilbury)

A lot of highlighters move when you sweat, go blotchy, or sit in your pores, Tilbury explained. But she purposefully added the ingredient Oleogel to the Beauty Light Wand to remaster the skin. It gives you that Hollywood soft focus  making you look younger, smoother, softer, and more glowy.

Story continues

The finish is super sheer, and I find that it works as an amazing base to layer on finely milled highlighting powders for an even brighter glow, as you can see from the photo below:

The new Charlotte Tilbury Beauty Light Wand catches the light on your face in all the right places. (Photo: Dana Oliver for Yahoo Beauty)

Tilburys contouring skills go way back to the 90s, when she gained success painting the faces of supermodels like her BFF Kate Moss. But her mission with the Hollywood Contour Wand was to give all women a tool that would take the guesswork out. Available in two shades  Light and Dark  the creamy makeup actually dries down to a demi-matte finish. This removes the need for a setting powder. The warm, neutral undertones also prevent it from appearing too harsh on the skin, which is a plus for someone like myself who isnt into the overly sculpted look.

Besides the decadent gold packaging, I also appreciate the soft cushion applicator on these highlight and contour wands. You twist the neck of the tube to On or Off (which helps prevent a mess in your makeup bag) and gently squeeze out the product. But be warned: A little goes a long way! Theres also no need for a brush or Beautyblender, because you can dab it right onto your face and blend away with the applicator or use your fingertips.

Are you sold on these new highlighting and makeup products? Tell us your thoughts about this ever-evolving trend in the comments section.

Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Beauty Light Wand ($38) and Contour Wand ($38) will be available Aug. 23 on charlottetilbury.com.

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.




CNN commentator Jeffrey Lord appears at a rally for President-elect Donald Trump in Hershey, Pa., on Dec. 15, 2016. He is one of a handful of pro-Trump commentators CNN hired during the last election. (Photo: Matt Rourke/AP)

CNN severed ties with Jeffrey Lord Thursday after Lord tweeted, Sieg Heil! in what he characterized as an attempt to mock Nazism and fascism.

Nazi salutes are indefensible, a CNN spokesperson said. Jeffrey Lord is no longer with the network.

The brouhaha began as a tangle between Lord and Angelo Carusone, the president of Media Matters for America, a liberal media watchdog group. MMFA has been supporting an advertising boycott of Fox News Hannity, and Lord wrote a column in the American Spectator Thursday castigating the group as anti-free speech bigots who, in typical fascist style, make it their mission to shut down speech they dont like.

It was Lords second column in as many days on the subject. In the first installment, he compared MMFA to the propaganda machines in Hitlers Germany and Mussolinis Italy.

When Carusone responded to Lord on Twitter Thursday to point out his name was misspelled in the headline of Lords column, Lord responded, Sieg Heil!

(Screenshot via Twitter)

In a barrage of follow-up tweets, Lord contended invoking the Nazi salute was a way of mocking Carusone and the organization.

Lord did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

After the Sieg Heil! tweet, Carusone issued a statement on Twitter calling for Lords firing.

A bunch of people have asked if Media Matters is calling for Jeffrey Lord to be fired for issuing the Nazi victory salute. Here's my answer: pic.twitter.com/60DmvwTVWG  Angelo Carusone (@GoAngelo) August 10, 2017

Lords tenure at CNN was marked by a number of controversial statements.

In April, he shocked an African-American panelist by describing President Trump as the Martin Luther King of health care.

When I was a kid, President Kennedy did not want to introduce the civil rights bill. He didnt have the votes for it, Lord said. Dr. King kept putting people in the streets in harms way to put the pressure on so that the bill would be introduced. Thats what finally worked.

Story continues

Symone Sanders, the former national press secretary for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, was aghast.

Jeffrey, you do understand that Dr. King was marching for civil rights because people that look like me were being beaten, Sanders said.

Read more from Yahoo News:
By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A ferocious sea-going crocodile that menaced coastal waters about 164 million years ago during the Jurassic Period has been given a name honoring the similarly ferocious heavy-metal rocker Lemmy, the late front man for the British band Motorhead. Scientists said on Wednesday they have named the 19-foot-long (5.8 meters) reptile Lemmysuchus, meaning "Lemmy's crocodile." Its fossils were unearthed near the eastern English city of Peterborough in 1909 and were recently re-examined and determined to be a distinct genus in need of a name. Its enlongated, narrow snout resembled those of modern fish-eating crocs from India called gharials. It boasted large, blunt teeth perfect for crushing turtle shells or other hard-bodied prey like hard-scaled fish, said University of Edinburgh paleontologist Michela Johnson, lead author of the study published in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. "It's big, ugly and quite scary. We think that Lemmy would have liked it. For me, this is a career high, and I can now die happy," added another of the researchers, Lorna Steel, who came up with the name. Known for hard living and hard rocking, gravelly voiced Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister, died of cancer at age 70 in 2015 in Los Angeles. He formed his influential band Motorhead in 1975. "I wanted to name something after Lemmy after he died," said Steel, senior curator for fossils from the croc family, birds and flying reptiles at the Natural History Museum in London. "At that time, late December 2015, I was working with colleagues from Edinburgh University on this particular fossil specimen. I kept the thought to myself for a while but then floated the idea past the others. They all thought it was great and it really is the most appropriate fossil to bear Lemmy's name." Lemmysuchus was a member of a group called teleosaurs, sea-going crocodiles that thrived for tens of millions of years during the age of dinosaurs. The seas at the time were also populated by a number of types of marine reptiles including long-necked plesiosaurs and dolphin-like ichthyosaurs. Johnson studied the fossil specimen held at the Natural History Museum and determined that it had been incorrectly classified as another teleosaur called Steneosaurus. (Reporting by Will Dunham; Editing by Sandra Maler)
Ezra Miller as The Flash in Justice League (Warner Bros.)

If things had gone according to plan, Flashpoint would have already been in the can by now. Warner Bros. and DCs Flash standalone film about the scarlet speedster was scheduled to go into production last January  but that was before director Rick Famuyiwa exited the project over creative differences in September 2016, following original helmer Seth Grahame-Smith out the door.

Left in waiting are stars Ezra Miller (The Flash) and Kiersey Clemons (Iris West). Clemons, who was set to reunite with her Dope director, Famuyiwa, was bummed to see him bounce.

Nothings in stone and Ive been talking with Ezra and were excited to see whos gonna lead us on this journey, Clemons told Yahoo Movies at the Los Angeles press day for her new film, The Only Living Boy in New York.

The new leader could be the tandem of Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the Lego Movie and 21 Jump Street writer-directors who penned the original treatment for the film and, per reports, were being wooed by the studio to direct. Lord and Miller are free agents again after their surprising departure from the Han Solo movie. (Other names reportedly in the mix include Robert Zemeckis, Matthew Vaughn, and Sam Raimi.)

Kiersey Clemons at the premiere of The Only Living Boy in New York (Getty Images)

In the meantime, Clemons and Miller are building a big-time bond. Its given us a lot of time to really lean on each other, Clemons said. We dont know when were making this movie, we dont know whos gonna be our director, we dont know anything. But all we know is that were grateful and we cant wait to get this thing rolling.

The actors regularly call each other and discuss not only their hopes and concerns over Flash-related business, but other projects they want to potentially collaborate on. Its nice to have that relationship with someone that youre about to spend a lot of time with, Clemons said.

Clemons, who has teased that her characters intro in this falls Justice League will be fking sick, piled praise onto her friend and costar. Hes one of the most gracious, passionate people that Ive ever met. What a gem, she said of Miller, who made his DCEU debut in last years Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Were just being patient and we know that when it happens, its gonna be one of the best experiences and were looking forward to it.

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The Only Living Boy in New York opens Friday. Watch Clemons in an exclusive clip:





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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Aug. 2, unveiling A Better Deal on Trade & Jobs. (Photo: Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)

Washington was abuzz this week with talk about the new Democratic agenda, A Better Deal, which is suddenly dominating news coverage and captivating voters with a plan to remake the American economy, sending Republicans scrambling for a viable platform of their own in advance of the midterm elections.

No, not really. I just wanted to see if you were paying attention on the beach.

In reality, with Congress and the president out of town right now, Washington is deader than a Chick-fil-A on Sunday. Bored TV commentators would rather analyze every nuance of President Trumps latest tweetstorm than spend a second debating trade policy.

And the agenda I mentioned, which Democrats began rolling out a few weeks ago in a series of choreographed events, has impressed pretty much no one.

The slogan, which apparently took months of focus-grouping to perfect, rather than the five seconds of idle thought while doing the laundry that you would think it required, evokes  yet again  memories of the Roosevelt and Truman administrations, which remain powerful in exactly two places in America: nursing homes and Democratic leadership meetings.

Critics of the plan were quick to point out that it wasnt really a plan at all  more like a collection of greatest hits like public infrastructure spending (1984), job retraining (1992) and monopoly busting (1896).

But the more profound and more overlooked problem with this Better Deal proclamation isnt actually about its language or its gauziness. Its more about the underlying philosophy, which misreads in some fundamental way the core appeal of Trumps campaign.

Democrats are trying to do a couple of things with this new marketing push. One is to answer this question of what they actually want to achieve, aside from impeaching the president. In announcing the new slogan, Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, lamented that too many Americans dont know what we stand for before boldly declaring: Not after today.

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Because nothing redefines a party in the public mind like a slogan unveiled by congressional leaders at a podium. Thats always worked before.

The other and perhaps more urgent objective is to co-opt some of the populist fury thats simmering right now in the Democratic base, before it overwhelms the party establishment in the same way that Trump toppled leading Republicans. Schumer and his compatriots are trying to convincingly adopt the ethos of the anti-corporate politicians who appeal most to their activists  namely Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.

Its worth taking a moment here to consider what being a populist party actually means in 2017.

Broadly speaking, populism is the practice of galvanizing the majority of the people against powerful and oppressive interests in the society. In the late 19th century and well into the 20th, populism necessarily translated into an assault on industrial-age business.

This made sense. The most powerful institutions in American life were ascendant corporations, which concentrated their collective energy on exploiting both workers and consumers for profit.

There was no central government to speak of back then, no balancing force on behalf of Americans who werent part of the industrial or financial elite. It took a series of populist leaders  most notably the two Roosevelts in the White House  to shatter the grip of corporate trusts and establish an essential counterbalance in the public sector.

Almost a century later, however, the meaning of populism is a little more complicated. Yes, a lot of Americans remain deeply suspicious of banks and multinational corporations, especially those that move manufacturing overseas. Thats a reliably strong current in our politics.

But we also depend on companies like Walmart and Target for affordable drugs, groceries and toys for our kids. The fastest-growing and most ubiquitous companies in America now arent in oil or steel; theyre Apple and Amazon and Google. You dont sense a lot of populist outrage over next-day shipping.

Meanwhile, government bureaucracies have grown exponentially in both size and power. If you went out on the street anywhere in America and asked people what the most powerful institutions in American life are today, Im betting almost everyone would name Washington in their top three.

And not just powerful but, to a lot of Americans, oppressive, too. Its not so much the taxes people pay, which really arent all that onerous in most cases; yelling about taxes is really just a way of voicing general disdain.

Its the TSA guy barking at you in the airport, or the woman at the DMV who rejected your paperwork, or the county inspector who threatened to shut down your shop over some obscure code. Its the VA hospital that wont give you an appointment, or the detox facility with no beds.

More than any of that, though, its the promises that never seem to be kept, year after year  of jobs, of affordable college, of renewal in abandoned towns. For decades now, since the onset of globalization and technological upheaval, politicians have been telling people theyve got this or that plan to reverse the decline. They dont.

According to the latest data from the indispensable Pew Research Center, about 55 percent of Americans are frustrated with the federal government, and only 20 percent say they trust the government to do whats right most or all of the time. The partisan divides here shift from year to year, but the pervasive sentiment is remarkably constant.

This, at least among a lot of independent and less ideological voters, is what Trump tapped into last year with his silly red hat. Sure, he mouthed a lot of platitudes about setting Wall Street straight (and then hired the top echelon of Goldman Sachs to work in his White House). But it was his indictment of government generally  and the establishments of both parties  that ultimately washed away the Clintonian argument for faith in the governing class.

What this means is that populism as a purely economic proposition  the people versus their corporate overlords  is too limiting a construct in modern politics. Any winning populist critique probably has to extend to the failures of the federal bureaucracy, too.

Democrats dont like to hear this. They represent the party of government, and they fear that if they acknowledge its flaws or anachronisms, they will essentially be validating the conservative argument.

But thats not right, and its self-defeating. You can be pro-government and still make the case for fundamental reform and modernization, as Gary Hart and Bill Clinton once did. Thats just admitting reality.

What does the Better Deal have to say about this?

Among the precious few new policy ideas Democrats now propose is the creation of yet more government agencies to rein in corporate excess and unfair trade. Praising this proposal in The Nation, the liberal writer David Dayen noted that building new agencies with targeted missions was a hallmark of the New Deal.

Right. Except this isnt 1933. We have all the agencies we can handle now, and we dont trust them a whole lot to begin with.

A party that believes more government will solve everything cant really call itself populist in any modern sense of the word. Its more just anti-business and anti-Trump.

Id be surprised if most Americans  or at least the ones you need to win back majorities  consider that much of a deal at all.

_____
Madrid (AFP) - Nicolas Maduro's government in Venezuela is increasingly isolated but it still counts powerful support from countries such as Russia and China that can block or delay punitive action from the likes of the United Nations, analysts say.

As the economic and political situation deteriorates in the Latin American country, with close to 130 people killed in anti-regime protests, international condemnation of the leftist government of Caracas has increased, with the United States slapping Maduro himself with direct sanctions.

This week, the UN rights office slammed it for using "excessive force" against protesters and a dozen American nations including Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Canada issued a joint statement condemning "the break in democratic rule" in the country.

Nevertheless, Maduro still has varying degrees of support around the world, from both an ideological and financial standpoint.

- China, Russia key allies -

"In almost all cases, support for Venezuela is strategic," says Michael Shifter of the US-based Inter-American Dialogue research centre.

"China is looking to protect long-term access to Venezuela's oil reserves, small countries in the Caribbean and Central America are hedging their bets and avoiding the messiness of confrontation."

Venezuela has the support of both China and Russia, two countries traditionally opposed to international sanctions that hold all-powerful vetos in the UN Security Council.

They have invested heavily in the country's oil sector, and when the United States banned the sale and transfer of north American weapons and military technology to Venezuela in 2006, Caracas turned to Russia and China instead.

Moscow, which considers Caracas a "key strategic partner", has criticised the Venezuelan opposition for "disrupting" recent elections for a Constituent Assembly -- known in Spanish as the Constituyente -- that will rewrite the constitution.

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The opposition has criticised the assembly, filled with Maduro loyalists, as a power grab and attempt to install a "communist dictatorship."

But according to Anna Ayuso, a researcher focused on Latin America at the Barcelona-based CIDOB thinktank, "the key support is that of China, which has invested more than $60 billion and has given loans in exchange for oil and mining concession."

"Maduro is the one guaranteeing its investments."

Another ally is Iran, which has shown support for the new assembly, even if ties are not as strong as they once were under former Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez.

- No EU sanctions -

In Latin America itself, "Cuba, Bolivia and Nicaragua close ranks with Maduro" as they share his leftist ideology as well as fierce anti-imperialist feelings towards the United States, Anna Ayuso said.

Paul Hare, a former British ambassador in Cuba and professor at Boston University, said other regional allies also "find it difficult to break with the Chavez legacy which gave them" cut-rate crude as part of the Petrocaribe 17-nation club.

He adds that the Organization of American States, where all 34 member states have a vote, has been incapable of adopting measures to try and solve the crisis as Venezuela has rejected them as meddling.

The European Union, meanwhile, announced its 28 member states would not recognise the Constituyente after a meeting in Brussels where participants nevertheless avoided debating the issue of slapping "targeted" sanctions against those deemed responsible for the crisis in Venezuela.

Carlos Malamud, of Madrid's Real Instituto Elcano thinktank, said those "most against imposing sanctions are Portugal and Greece."

Both governments have denied this.

Portugal's foreign minister said recently his country always defines its position based on "what is more beneficial and what is more harmful" to the 500,000 Portuguese living in Venezuela.

Greece, whose ruling, far-left party Syriza has supported Venezuela's government in the past, has yet to make public its position.

Analysts say that whether or not support for Maduro continues will depend on the evolution of the crisis.

"It's entirely conceivable that, if the Constituyente generates further chaos and repression, the Maduro government could lose even more friends," says Shifter.
Throughout the 2016 campaign, many people opposed to Donald Trumps candidacy were nonetheless reluctant to endorse Hillary Clinton, in part because of her relative hawkishness. Candidate Trump had a decades-long career in the public eye that demonstrated plenty of reason to worry he would be a disastrous president, but he lacked the long career in public service that fueled worries about Clintons approach to the use of force, and her alleged desire to expand executive war-making powers past what she inherited from her predecessor.

Six months into Trumps presidency, we now have enough data to assess his own approach. The results are clear: Judging from Trumps embrace of the use of air power  the signature tactic of U.S. military intervention  he is the most hawkish president in modern history. Under Trump, the United States has dropped about 20,650 bombs through July 31, or 80 percent the number dropped under Obama for the entirety of 2016. At this rate, Trump will exceed Obamas last-year total by Labor Day.

In Iraq and Syria, data shows that the United States is dropping bombs at unprecedented levels. In July, the coalition to defeat the Islamic State (read: the United States) dropped 4,313 bombs, 77 percent more than it dropped last July. In June, the number was 4,848  1,600 more bombs than were dropped in any one month under President Barack Obama since the anti-ISIS campaign started three years ago.

In Afghanistan, the number of weapons released has also shot up since Trump took office. April saw more bombs dropped in the country since the height of Obamas troop surge in 2012. That was also the month that the United States bombed Afghanistans Mamand Valley with the largest non-nuclear bomb ever dropped in combat.

Trump has also escalated U.S. military involvement in non-battlefield settings  namely Yemen, Somalia, and Pakistan. In the last 193 days of the Obama presidency, there were 21 lethal counterterrorism operations across these three countries. Trump has quintupled that number, conducting at least 92 such operations in Yemen, seven in Somalia, and four in Pakistan.

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Hand in hand with Trumps enthusiasm for air power comes a demonstrated tolerance for civilian casualties. Increased air power in Iraq and Syria has resulted in unprecedented levels of civilian deaths. Even by the militarys own count, civilian casualties have soared since Trump took office, though independent monitors tally the deaths as many as ten times higher. In Afghanistan, Trumps tolerance for killing civilians has led to 67 percent more civilian casualties in his first six months than in the first half of 2016, according to the United Nations.

The expansion of air power and acceptance of civilian harm are together a problem, but they are made worse by the fact that they are occurring without any diplomatic strategy to wind down the wars. The counter-Islamic State strategy review that Trump ordered in January has twice missed deadlines the president set for himself and remains incomplete. Secretary of Defense James Mattis promised Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) that he would have a strategy for the war in Afghanistan by mid-July, yet that review is still ongoing. Even while Mattis has called for a diplomatic solution to the conflict in Yemen, the approach is incoherent with Trumps doubling-down on airstrikes and support for the Saudi-led coalition conducting its own indiscriminate bombing campaign.

The connection between increased air power and a reduction in hostilities is made even more tenuous by the gutting of the State Department, which Trump has proposed cutting funding by around 30 percent and for which dozens of critical senior posts remain vacant. Without the expertise and resources of a fully staffed diplomatic corps, its implausible that there will ever be a U.S.-led or U.S.-supported negotiated political settlement between combatants. In the absence of any coordinated approach to ending these conflicts, Trump is resorting to the default tactic that policymakers have become addicted to over the past nine years: low-cost, low-risk (to U.S. service members) standoff strikes. Under Trump, that military addiction has deepened, demonstrably so.

Photo credit: RICHARD ELLIS/Getty Images
Donald Trump has said that his fire and fury threats against North Korea have not been tough enough as he warned Pyongyang risks being in trouble like few nations have ever been.

After days of escalating rhetoric between the Trump administration and North Korea over the threat posed by Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programmes, the President showed no signs of toning down his language, even as 60 members of Congress signed a letter protesting his irresponsible and dangerous statements.

Its about time someone stood up for the people of our country, the US President told reporters as part of two separate addresses to the media before and after a security briefing with top advisers.

Mr Trump said earlier this week that North Korea faces retaliation with fire and fury unlike any the world has seen before if it continues to threaten the US, rattling both allies and adversaries and leading to the letter of complaint from Congress sent to Secretary of State Rex Tilleron on Thursday.

Frankly, the people who were questioning that statement, was it too tough? Maybe it wasnt tough enough, Mr Trump said. And were backed 100 per cent by our military, were back by everybody and were backed by many other leaders. And I noticed that many senators and others came out today very much in favour of what I said. But if anything that statement may not be tough enough.

Taking specifically about North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the President said: He has disrespected our country greatly. He has said things that are horrific. And with me, he's not getting away with it. He got away with it for a long time between him and his family. ... This is a whole new ball game.

Mr Trump's latest remarks came after North Korea's state-run media claimed it was formulating plans to strike the US territory of Guam with historic enveloping fire and taunted Mr Trump as bereft of reason and someone for whom only absolute force can work.

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It is not the first time North Korea has threatened Guam, a small United States territory that hosts a US military outpost. But the North Korean militarys claims via state media that it would have plans to strike Guam with four missiles completed by mid-August prompted Mr Trump's latest response. When asked if he was considering a preemptive strike, Mr Trump responded: We dont talk about that. I never do. But he did say that would soon be announcing a plan to invest billions of dollars in missile defence to protect the US.

The President said the US has been negotiating with North Korea for 25 years and that his nation would always consider negotiations - but blamed his predecessors for a lack of progress. President Bill Clinton, he said, was weak and ineffective, while President Barack Obama didnt even want to talk about it, he added.

The people of this country should be very comfortable, Mr Trump said. And I will tell you this: If North Korea does anything in terms of even thinking about attack of anybody that we love or we represent or our allies or us, they can be very, very nervous. Ill tell you why. And they should be very nervous. Because things will happen to them like they never thought possible, OK? Hes been pushing the world around for a long time.

Mr Trump added that was not a dare - perhaps reflecting the fact the US and North Korea had been trading threats - but was instead a statement of fact.

Speaking after Mr Trump, US Defence Secretary James Mattis said that the US military was ready to respond to an attack by North Korea but that the US prefers a diplomatic response.

The latest war of words between the US and North Korea was sparked by reports that North Korea had successfully miniaturised a nuclear weapon to place atop a ballistic missile. Tensions had already been raised by two intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests by Pyongyang in July and NBC News reported on Thursday that multiple US intelligence agencies - including the CIA - now agreed that the North had taken the significant step of miniaturising a weapon.

The rhetoric has left countries in the region uneasy with a number calling for calm. China also rebuked Mr Trumps role in escalating tensions via a piece in state outlet Xinhua, warning that such a hostile approach will do little but make things worse.

Reality has shown that tough tit-for-tat confrontations can lead nowhere, and that only dialogue can help address reasonable security concerns of the related parties for a solution acceptable to all, ensure denuclearisation on the peninsula and bring a lasting peace to the entire region, the editorial said.

Mr Trump also said that new sanctions on North Korea approved by the UN Security Council last week that could slash by a third the country's $3 billion annual export revenue probably will not be as effective as a lot of people think it can be, unfortunately. Mr Trump praised China and Russia for backing the sanctions, but said that China could be doing more to help the US rein in North Korea, suggesting that if China does so, he may change his views on trade between Americans and the Chinese - a topic which he has constantly said he will do something about.

We lose hundreds of billions of dollars a year on trade with China, Mr Trump said, referring to the large US-China trade deficit, which he has repeatedly railed against. They know how I feel. Its not going to continue like that. But if China helps us, I feel a lot differently toward trade, a lot differently toward trade.

Senior Democrats had called the language reckless with some of those in Congress arguing that strikes on North Korea would require their sign off. However Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said on Thursday that Mr Trump wouldn't need Congressional approval but urged his colleagues to grant it as a last resort.

It would be very smart if the Congress could come together and tell the president 'you have our authorisation to use military force ... as a last resort.' That would sent a signal to North Korea and China, that would probably do more good to avoid war than anything I could think of, Mr Graham told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. He added that passing a military authorisation for North Korea would require Democrats to take their hatred of Donald Trump and park it.

Mr Graham also backed Mr Trump to back-up his words with action.

If negotiations fail, he is willing to abandon 'strategic patience' and use pre-emption, he said. I think he's there mentally. He has told me this.

I'm 100 percent confident that if President Trump had to use military force to deny the North Koreans the capability to strike America with a nuclear-tipped missile, he would do that, Mr Graham added.

Some officials in the Trump administration have sought a calmer tone, with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson saying earlier in the week that Mr Trump was engaging in a pressure campaign that, along with engagement of China and Russia, would deter North Korean aggression.

However, former diplomatic officials have criticised Mr Trump. Susan Rice, who served as national security adviser to Barack Obama, wrote an opinion piece lambasting Mr Trump's dangerous path and warning that the president had either indulged in the folly of an empty threat or was pondering the lunacy of war. Former US President Jimmy Carter also rebuked officials in both nations over their threatening language.

The harsh rhetoric from Washington and Pyongyang during recent months has exacerbated an already confrontational relationship between our countries, and has probably eliminated any chance of good faith peace talks between the United States and North Korea, Mr Carter said.
By Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) - The science of gene therapy is finally delivering on its potential, and drugmakers are now hoping to produce commercially viable medicines after tiny sales for the first two such treatments in Europe. Thanks to advances in delivering genes to targeted cells, more treatments based on fixing faulty DNA in patients are coming soon, including the first ones in the United States. Yet the lack of sales for the two drugs already launched to treat ultra-rare diseases in Europe highlights the hurdles ahead for drugmakers in marketing new, extremely expensive products for genetic diseases. After decades of frustrations, firms believe there are now major opportunities for gene therapy in treating inherited conditions such as haemophilia. They argue that therapies offering one-off cures for intractable diseases will save health providers large sums in the long term over conventional treatments which each patient may need for years. In the past five years, European regulators have approved two gene therapies - the first of their kind in the world, outside China - but only three patients have so far been treated commercially. UniQure's Glybera, for a very rare blood disorder, is now being taken off the market given lack of demand. The future of GlaxoSmithKline's Strimvelis for ADA-SCID - or "bubble boy" disease, where sufferers are highly vulnerable to infections - is uncertain after the company decided to review and possibly sell its rare diseases unit. Glybera, costing around $1 million per patient, has been used just once since approval in 2012. Strimvelis, at about $700,000, has seen two sales since its approval in May 2016, with two more patients due to be treated later this year. "It's disappointing that so few patients have received gene therapy in Europe," said KPMG chief medical adviser Hilary Thomas. "It shows the business challenges and the problems faced by publicly-funded healthcare systems in dealing with a very expensive one-off treatment." These first two therapies are for exceptionally rare conditions - GSK estimates there are only 15 new cases of ADA-SCID in Europe each year - but both drugs are expected to pave the way for bigger products. The idea of using engineered viruses to deliver healthy genes has fuelled experiments since the 1990s. Progress was derailed by a patient death and cancer cases, but now scientists have learnt how to make viral delivery safer and more efficient. Spark Therapeutics hopes to win U.S. approval in January 2018 for a gene therapy to cure a rare inherited form of blindness, while Novartis could get a U.S. go-ahead as early as next month for its gene-modified cell therapy against leukaemia - a variation on standard gene therapy. At the same time, academic research is advancing by leaps and bounds, with last week's successful use of CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing to correct a defect in a human embryo pointing to more innovative therapies down the line. PAY-FOR-PERFORMANCE Spark Chief Executive Jeffrey Marrazzo thinks there are specific reasons why Europe's first gene therapies have sold poorly, reflecting complex reimbursement systems, Glybera's patchy clinical trials record and the fact Strimvelis is given at only one clinic in Italy. He expects Spark will do better. It plans to have treatment centers in each country to address a type of blindness affecting about 6,000 people around the world. Marrazzo admits, however, there are many questions about how his firm should be rewarded for the $400 million it has spent developing the drug, given that healthcare systems are geared to paying for drugs monthly rather than facing a huge upfront bill. A one-time cure, even at $1 million, could still save money over the long term by reducing the need for expensive care, in much the same way that a kidney transplant can save hundreds of thousands of dollars in dialysis costs. But gene therapy companies - which also include Bluebird Bio, BioMarin, Sangamo and GenSight - may need new business models. One option would be a pay-for-performance system, where governments or insurers would make payments to companies that could be halted if the drug stopped working. "In an area like haemophilia I think that approach is going to make a ton of sense, since the budget impact there starts to get more significant," Marrazzo said. Haemophilia, a hereditary condition affecting more than 100,000 people in markets where specialty drugmakers typically operate, promises to be the first really big commercial opportunity. It offers to free patients from regular infusions of blood-clotting factors that can cost up to $400,000 a year. Significantly, despite its move away from ultra-rare diseases, GSK is still looking to use its gene therapy platform to develop treatments for more common diseases, including cancer and beta-thalassaemia, another inherited blood disorder. Rivals such as Pfizer and Sanofi are also investing, and overall financing for gene and gene-modified cell therapies reached $1 billion in the first quarter of 2017, according to the Alliance of Regenerative Medicine. Shire CEO Flemming Ornskov - who has a large conventional haemophilia business and is also chasing Biomarin and Spark in hunting a cure for the bleeding disorder - sees both the opportunities and the difficulties of gene therapy. "Is it something that I think will take market share mid- to long-term if the data continues to be encouraging? Yes. But I think everybody will have to figure out a business model." (Reporting by Ben Hirschler; editing by David Stamp)
By Nate Raymond

BOSTON (Reuters) - A former accountant at Gottex Fund Management Holdings Ltd was sentenced on Wednesday to more than four years in a U.S. prison for engaging in a multi-year scheme to steal nearly $3.56 million from the Swiss hedge fund firm.

Gary Tiffany, 33, was sentenced to 51 months by U.S. District Judge Mark Wolf in Boston after pleading guilty in October to charges of wire fraud and money laundering stemming from his theft of funds from the company, which is now called LumX Group Ltd.

Wolf rejected a defense lawyer's request for a prison term of just 2-1/2 years, saying Tiffany misused his position for more than four years to engage in a fraud that allowed him to buy Rolex watches and drive a Porsche.

"This is a very serious crime," Wolf said. "You stole a lot of money and you stole it over a number of years."

The judge also ordered Tiffany to pay $3.45 million in restitution to the company and insurers who already covered some of its losses. In court, Tiffany apologized for his conduct.

"I am genuinely ashamed of what I did," he said.

Prosecutors said Tiffany joined the company in June 2010 as an accounting associate and acted as its main bookkeeper and as the office manager for its New York and Boston offices.

According to court papers, from April 2011 through November 2015, Tiffany wired funds from the company's accounts to his own and forged checks in order to illegally obtain $3.56 million.

He concealed the scheme by making false entries in the company's accounting system and by manipulating its bank statements to remove references to wire transfers he made into his own personal accounts, prosecutors said.

Tiffany's theft was only discovered after he was laid off in mid-2015 amid a company downsizing, when his replacement reviewed the company's bank statements, according to charging papers.

In an email to his former supervisor in London on Nov. 17, 2015, Tiffany said he "made terrible mistakes and choices in my life" and that he felt guilt and shame for his choices, according to a criminal complaint.

The case is U.S. v. Tiffany, U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts, No. 16-cr-10269.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by David Gregorio)
President Donald Trump is prone to exaggeration (at times he has even been accused of saying things that are downright false), and that includes, apparently, when he is talking about nuclear weapons.

Amid rapidly escalating tensions between the United States and North Koreathrough state media, the North threatened to strike the U.S. territory of Guam Tuesday nightTrump tweeted two posts Wednesday that read, My first order as President was to renovate and modernize our nuclear arsenal. It is now far stronger and more powerful than ever before. Hopefully we will never have to use this power, but there will never be a time that we are not the most powerful nation in the world!

Multiple parts of this tweet are incorrect. While its unclear what Trump might have first said to associates in private just after taking office, his first concrete actions did not address the United Statess nuclear arsenal. Just hours after his inauguration in January, Trump did sign an executive order, but it was one aimed at minimizing the economic burden of Obamacare, noting it was the policy of the new administration to seek the prompt repeal of the law, according to the document.

And the president has done little, if anything, to improve the U.S.s nuclear arsenal. In fact, it has shrunk under his leadership.

Newsweek asked Stephen Schwartz, an independent nuclear weapons expert and editor/co-author of the book Atomic Audit, if Trumps tweets Wednesday morning were true. Absolutely not, no, Schwartz said. The nuclear arsenal is somewhat smaller than it was 201 days ago because we are in the process of reducing nuclear weapons in compliance with the New START Treaty. And thats not a bad thing.

While the U.S. is in the process of modernizing its nuclear arsenal, it is a process that former President Barack Obama began some seven years ago, and one that could take decades to complete.

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There is absolutely nothing that has happened since the time [Trump] took office to make the arsenal better or more powerful, Schwartz said,

Trump did order a nuclear posture review, but thats not strengthening the arsenal: Its exactly what it sounds likeworking to figure out what the U.S.s nuclear posture should be. And thats not something unique to Trumps administration.

While the former reality TV stars proposed budget did call for a $1.4 billion increase for the National Nuclear Security Administration, that is effectively part of a long budget wish list and wouldnt take effect until next year. Projected costs of nuclear modernization have also risen recently, and its unclear where the Trump administrations priorities will lie.

So while Trump may have said before he took office that the U.S. has to strengthen and expand its nuclear capability, not much has truly happened on that front just yet, no matter what you read on Twitter.

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Aug. 9 this year marks the 72nd anniversary of the atomic bombing of the Japanese city of Nagasaki by the U.S. during World War II. The country commemorated the day by observing a minute's silence in memory of the victims at 11.02 am JST (10.02 pm EDT), the exact moment when the bomb was dropped in 1945, said the Washington Post. Thousands gathered for the commemoration in Nagasaki Wednesday.

The ceremony was conducted amid an increasing threat of a nuclear attack by North Korea and was attended by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Nagasaki Mayor Tomihisa Taue and survivors of the bombing.

Read: Disturbing Photos Of Abducted Model Chloe Ayling Released With Dark Web Advert

Speaking on the occasion, Taue said: "As the only country in the world to have suffered wartime atomic bombings, I urge the Japanese government to reconsider the policy of relying on the nuclear umbrella and to join the Nuclear Prohibition Treaty at the earliest possible opportunity," SBS reported.

Here are some facts about the deadly bombing that claimed thousands of lives and marred even more:

According to History.com, the attack that marked the last major act of World War II killed an estimated 74,000 people by the end of 1945. This and the bombing of Hiroshima on Aug. 6, crippled Japan, leading to its unconditional surrender on Aug. 15, 1945.

However, Nagasaki was not the U.S. primary target. History.com states the three potential targets that were considered for a second bombing were Kokura, Kyoto, and Niigata. Nagasaki was included in the list after Kyoto was withdrawn as Secretary of War Henry Stimson asked for it to be taken off because he had been there on his honeymoon  as legend has it.

The second bombing was scheduled to take place on Aug.11 against Kokura. But the plan was advanced by two days due to bad weather. After the fuel ran low in the plane carrying the bomb, it was decided that the bomb would be dropped on Nagasaki.

The atomic bomb used on Nagasaki was called Fat Man and was named after Sydney Greenstreets character in the film the Maltese Falcon. It was a uranium gun-type atomic bomb.

A policeman from Hiroshima went to Nagasaki after the first attack and introduced the "duck and cover" method which could be used as personal protection during a nuclear explosion. As a result of this, no policemen of Nagasaki died during the bombing. The public, however, was not aware of the method.

Tsutomu Yamaguchi is the first officially recognized survivor of both the bombings. He lived and worked in Nagasaki but was in Hiroshima on a business trip. He was 1.8 miles away from the city when "Little Boy" hit Hiroshima on Aug. 6. He suffered severe burns in the explosion which also ruptured his eardrums. He returned to Nagasaki to report to work on Aug. 9 and was 1.8 miles away from the city when "Fat Man" hit the city. He remained unhurt the second time.

Story continues

Read: Who Is James J. Hamula? Mormon Church Excommunicates Top Leader

Radioactive Plume

Photo: Getty Images

Aftermath of Nagasaki bombing

Photo: Getty Images

Atomic bomb survivor

Photo: Getty Images

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A father whose estranged wife is accused of dragging their daughter's lifeless body into a wooded area in West Virginia says she's not the woman he remembers marrying.

Some illness, some sickness that got into her  thats the only explanation I could think of because Erica didn't do that, Donath Plummer told WIVB. "That wasnt the woman I married  that wasnt the woman I entrusted with my child."

Watch: Tourists Who Stop at Crash Horrified to Find Mom Dragging Daughter's Body Into Woods: Cops

Plummer is the shocked father of now-deceased 11-year-old Kaye-lea Plummer, who police believe died in Jacksonville, Fla., before her mother allegedly drove her corpse five states away to West Virginia.

That's where a couple vacationing from New York told police they spotted her with a blanket-wrapped body on Sunday morning.

Authorities got a call at about 11:20 a.m. from the shocked tourists, which prompted West Virginia State Police to visit the scene near the Virginia border.

Police said they soon found 37-year-old Erica Newsome, along with the body, on an old logging road.

The body was that of Newsome's 11-year-old daughter, Kaye-lea Plummer, police said.

Cops have not released the cause of death but Newsome was arrested on charges of concealing her daughter's remains.

In her Miranda statement, cops say Newsome told them she had picked her daughter up from her bed and put her in her truck on August 4.

Newsome reportedly told cops that Kaye-lea did not move, eat, drink, speak or use the restroom for two days during the drive from their Jacksonville home.

Investigators say it was subsequently determined that the girl died while in Jacksonville.

Newsome was reportedly en route to where the girl's father and Newsome's estranged husband, who lives in Buffalo, N.Y.

Plummer told reporters his wife was texting him over the course of the trip as if everything was okay, in spite of the alleged circumstances and the fact that he hadn't seen his wife or his daughter in years.

Story continues

Read: Armed Man Wearing 'Scream' Mask Holds Up Car Wash: Cops

Shockingly, Plummer has come to Newsome's defense.

"I knew how much she loved our daughter more than anyone," he said. "I'm even more in shock than anyone else... She basically gave up her working life to be at home with our child. That mugshot that people see is not who she was and I don't want people to see that and judge her."

Newsome is being held at West Virginias Southern Regional Jail on a $50,000 cash bond.

Watch: Adults Allegedly Use Kids to Steal in 2 Different Scenarios

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Chicago (AFP) - A former Fiat Chrysler employee has pleaded guilty to charges of fraud and tax violations as part of a case that involves skimming money meant for training autoworkers into the pockets of labor union and company officials.

In the case that has implicated former US executives at the company and at the United Autoworkers Union, Jerome Durden, who worked as a financial analyst for the automaker's American subsidiary, reached a plea agreement with US prosecutors announced late Tuesday night.

And investigators revealed in court documents that they are still probing a number of other people in the alleged scheme to take money from a training program for union workers, including at least one other UAW employee.

Durden admitted that he and his co-conspirators used the UAW-Chrysler National Training Center as a conduit to conceal over $1 million "in prohibited payments and things of value" paid to UAW Vice President General Holiefield, who died in 2015, and other UAW officials, the court documents said.

And a US Labor Department official said in a statement that Durden had conspired to divert more than $4.5 million from a union training fund and failed to report taxable income.

"We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to combat crimes that deprive American workers of training opportunities," Labor Department investigator James Vanderberg said in a statement.

A Detroit grand jury in July indicted former FCA US executive Alphons Iacobelli, who was in charge of negotiating and administering collective bargaining agreements, and Holiefield's widow Monica Morgan.

Prosecutors alleged Iacobelli hid illegal payments and gifts over a five-year period ending in 2014, including designer clothing, jewelry and furniture, and paid off a $262,219 mortgage on Holiefield and Morgan's residence.

"Mr. Darden's criminal conduct was part of a broader pattern of dishonesty and collusion among those implicated in this investigation," the FBI's David Gelios said in a statement.

Story continues

The ongoing federal probe comes at a time when the UAW has struggled to unionize new auto factories in southern US states.

Workers at a Nissan plant in Mississippi last week rejected a bid to join the UAW. The union criticized the auto maker for engaging in scare tactics, which included telling workers the union was just after their dues money.

And in 2014, workers at a Volkswagen plant in Tennessee also voted against joining the UAW.

The union said it has 55,000 members in southern factories, accounting for 13 percent of its active membership.

Meanwhile, Fiat Chrysler is facing challenges of its own. European and US regulators allege some of its diesel cars also had "defeat devices" to cheat on emissions tests, similar to those Volkswagen admitted using.
Footage has emerged of Donald Trump calling for a pre-emptive strike on North Korea 18 years ago.

The future US President said if negotiations with North Korea over its nuclear weapons failed, "you better solve the problem now than solve it later."

The video was shared on social media after Mr Trump warned the reclusive state faced "fire and fury like the world has never seen" if it continued to threaten the US.

In an interview with NBC's Meet the Press in 1999, Mr Trump said: "We have a country out there - North Korea. Which is sort of wacko, which is not a bunch of dummies, and they are going out and they are developing nuclear weapons.

They're not doing it because theyre having fun doing it, they're doing it for a reason."

He added: Wouldnt it be good to sit down and really negotiate something, and ideally negotiate? Now if that negotiation doesnt work, you better solve the problem now than solve it later."

President Donald Trump made the pronouncement about North Korea at his Bedminster, New Jersey golf club (REUTERS)

Later in the interview, he clarified he did not want the US to use nuclear weapons, but instead wanted to strike the areas where North Korea was developing nuclear missiles.

"You want to do it in five years when they have warheads all over the place, every one of them pointing to New York City, to Washington and every one of our [cities]? Is that when you want to do it?

"Or do you want to do something now? You'd better do it now.

"And if they think you're serious, they'll negotiate."
The first humans arrived in Indonesia thousands of years before previously thoughtwhich could mean they were present for an eruption at the Lake Toba supervolcano just over 71,000 years ago.

Newly analyzed fossil evidence also places these early humans in rainforest environments, causing a major rethink of how these people migrated across the land after leaving Africa about 30,000 years earlier. Researchers have long theorized that early humans likely moved along the coast because it was safer and had better resources than the jungle terrain.

How and when humans dispersed across the globe are ongoing questions that grow more difficult to answer as new fossil evidence is unearthed. For example, the earliest Homo sapiens fossils ever found were recently discovered in Moroccofar away from the parts of south and east Africa we tend to think of as the cradle of humanity.

Lida Ajer cave

Julien Louys

The general accepted migratory route for early humans is via northern Africa and into the Middle East. From here the path splits, with one going toward Europe and the other into Asia, moving south through India and down to Thailand before crossing into Indonesia and Australia. The timeline for this dispersal is incomplete because the fossil evidence is limited.

In a study published in the journal Nature, scientists have now accurately dated two human teeth first discovered on the island of Sumatra in the late 19th century, showing our ancestors were living there between 73,000 and 63,000 years ago. Genetic studies have placed humans in Southeast Asia by 60,000 years ago, but the previous oldest fossil evidence dated to just 45,000 years. This new evidence pushes the timeline back thousands of years farther.

The teeth were found in the Lida Ajer cave in the Padang Highlands of Sumatra. They are the first evidence of humans in Indonesia and the first evidence of humans occupying a rainforest environment.

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The finding has surprised archaeologists. Until now, Kira Westaway, an environmental scientist at Macquarie University in Australia, tells Newsweek, The earliest evidence for modern humans using rainforests environments [was from] around 45,000 years ago in Niah Cave, Borneo. These regions seem an unlikely place for early humans to live. Rainforests are difficult environments to live in, says Westaway. They require technological innovations and sophisticated hunting techniques for survival.

Lida Ajer teeth

Tanya Smith and Rokus Awe Due

This research reveals that people inhabited the rainforest far earlier than previously suspected. Finding an early modern human presence in a rainforest location is remarkable as it suggests that these skills were in place by this time, says Westaway.

The team also highlights the potential link with the supervolcano eruption at Lake Toba during this period. Had these early humans arrived at the upper limit of the new timeline73,000 years agothey would have been there for the event. Westaway explains that a recent recalibration indicates the Toba eruption occurred 71,600 years ago. This means that there is a slim chance that the modern humans arrived in the region just before the eventin which case they would have been affected by the extensive volcanic ash cloud and the devastating effects on the environment, However, Westaway acknowledges, its more probable they arrived after the event.

lake toba

Sergi Hill/Flickr

More fossil evidence will be required to put an exact time of arrival in Indonesia, but the new chronology fits with recent research showing when humans reached Australia. That study, published in Nature in July, pushed back the date of arrival by 15,000 years, with fossil evidence showing they must have arrived in northern Australia by at least 65,000 years ago.

Its like we have found the missing piece in the puzzle of human dispersal in the region, Westaway says of the Indonesian teeth. When the Australian evidence was published a few weeks ago, many people were asking why the evidence in Southeast Asia lagged behind by almost 20,000 years. The Lida Ajer research has addressed this.

Chris Clarkson, who led the Australian research but was not involved with this work, calls the new discovery very timely. The dating of fossil modern-human teeth from Lida Ajer 73,000 to 63,000 years ago provides the missing linkthat is, the first unequivocal evidence of modern human presence in [Southeast Asia] likely just prior to their first appearance in Australia at 70,000 to 60,000 years ago, says Clarkson, an archaeologist at the University of Queensland. This is a really fantastic result and will renew the search for modern-human sites in Southeast Asia of comparable age, including evidence of their way of life.

Related Articles
Car rams into soldiers near their barracks outside Paris

Vehicle took off after the incident, police say

Officers involved in shootout on motorway in northern France

Sources say one man was shot

Local mayor says it was 'without a doubt a deliberate act'

France has been in state of emergency since November 2015

French police shot and arrested a suspect in the ramming of six soldiers near Paris on Wednesday after a dramatic car chase.

Le Parisien newspaper named the driver in the suspected terror incident as Hamou B, a 37-year-old from Sartrouville in the north western suburbs of Paris.

At least 300 police were mobilised in the manhunt, which ended on a motorway in northern France, after what police said was a complex and dangerous intervention.

One police officer is understood to have been hit by a stray bullet.

French soliders were hit and injured by a vehicle in the western Paris suburb of Levallois-Perret Credit: REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

The arrest, made on the A16 motorway in the town of Marquise, came after a driver of a BMW mowed down six French soldiers in Levallois-Perret, an upmarket suburb to the northwest of Paris. Frances counter terror unit took over the case late in the morning.

A suspect has been detained and police are carrying out a raid at his home, a spokesperson at the Paris police told The Telegraph.

Frances Prime Minister Edouard Philippe confirmed that the suspect was driving the same car that had hit the soldiers, but stopped short of saying whether the arrested man is believed to have been behind the attack.

Frances Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said the attack had been carried out by a man on his own, adding that it was deliberate.

He added that the threat in France remains extremely elevated.

This is the eighth attack against our security forces since January 2015, he added.

A police investigator and an armed soldier work near the scene where French soliders were hit and injured Credit: REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

Mr Collomb visited the wounded soldiers in hospital on Wednesday afternoon.

The incident occurred at around 9am local time after a BMW crashed into a group of soldiers who were coming out of the barracks.

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Witnesses said the car was parked, apparently in wait, on a small road not far from the Town Hall.

"I heard a huge crash which I thought was the sound of scaffolding being put up," Thierry Chappe, a resident in a building opposite the crime scene, told AFP.

Six soldiers were taken to a military hospital to the south west of Paris after the hit-and-run. Three of them are said to have sustained serious but not life-threatening injuries. The other three have been released from hospital with minor injuries.

Police and soldiers secure the scene where French soliders were hit and injured by a vehicle in the western Paris suburb of Levallois-Perret Credit: REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

The soldiers, from the 35th infantry regiment, were taken by surprise in the collision and reportedly unable to give clear details about exactly what happened. They were in the middle of a changing of the guards at the time.

Local Mayor Patrick Balkany immediately told the French press that the incident was without a doubt a deliberate act.

Mapped: Attack on soldiers in Paris

He said the driver had been waiting for the soldiers to report for duty, then accelerated very quickly the moment they came out.

Defence Minister Florence Early said the incident marked a cowardly act, adding that it did nothing to dent soldiers determination to work for the security of the French people.

Mr Collomb shared his support for the soldiers via his Twitter account, and paid his respect to the 7,000 soldiers working for the Operation Sentinelle, which was brought in as part of Frances state of emergency that was launched after the January 2015 terror attacks in Paris.

It came just four days after Sentinelle soldiers arrested an 18-year-old with a history of psychological problems at the Eiffel Tower, in which he had brandished a knife and shouted Allahu Akbar (God is Greatest). He told investigators he wanted to kill a soldier, sources close to the case told AFP.

France | Recent terror attacks 2012 - 2016

3:04PM

'Principal suspect' arrested, says French PM

France's prime minister says the "principal suspect" in a car attack on soldiers has been arrested.

Speaking to lawmakers, Edouard Philippe said the man was apprehended on a highway near Boulogne-sur-Mer in northern France, and was driving the car used in Wednesday's attack, but gave no other details.

Philippe also said that despite a "high threat" against France, the government is sticking to plans to lift a 21-month state of emergency.

He insisted that a new government bill enshrining permanent counterterrorism measures would be enough to replace the state of emergency, imposed after deadly Islamic extremist attacks in November 2015. The bill is currently under parliamentary debate, ahead of an expected end to the state of emergency Nov. 1.

2:30PM

Police find BMW

The first picture of the car involved in the attack.

Here police officers and emergency workers stand next to a damaged BMW car with a broken windscreen, after the police arrested a suspect on the A16 motorway, near Marquise, northern France

The BMW involved in the attack Credit: PHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images

1:29PM

Man shot in hunt for driver

More on the shootout from the French international news agency AFP.

French security forces have shot and arrested a man suspected of being behind an attack on a group of soldiers on Wednesday morning in a Paris suburb, security sources said.

The man, aged in his late 30s, was intercepted on a motorway north of the French capital in a vehicle used to drive into the soldiers, the sources said, asking not to be named.

1:10PM

Police 'involved in a shootout'

BFM TV reports that elite police have been involved in a shootout on a motorway in northern France and have made an arrest.

12:44PM

Driver 'intentionally targeted soldiers'

France's interior minister says that a driver intentionally targeted soldiers in a calculated car attack, and that authorities are still searching for the perpetrator.

Gerard Collomb told reporters that the attack near Paris Wednesday marks the sixth time that soldiers with the Sentinelle operation have been targeted.

A Vigipirate logo is seen on a military van near the scene where French soliders were hit Credit: REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

He said that shows the importance of a new terrorism law permanently enshrining some aspects of the state of emergency in place in France since 2015.

Collomb and French Defense Minister Florence Parly visited injured soldiers at the Begin military hospital near Paris on Wednesday. Parly said they received "reassuring" news about three soldiers initially believed to be seriously injured. She did not provide further details on their conditions.

The ministers said the six soldiers hurt in the attack notably suffered injuries to the face, knees, hands and arms.

12:24PM

Police stop cars and drivers

French police are stopping cars and drivers in the Paris region as they search for an attacker who rammed a dark-colored BMW into a group of soldiers before fleeing.

A security official said Wednesday afternoon that authorities have carried out several stops but have not turned up a suspect or arrested anyone. Six soldiers were injured in the attack.

Government spokesman Christophe Castaner said "all means are mobilized to neutralize the person or persons who are responsible."

He said President Emmanuel Macron discussed the attack at a previously scheduled security meeting Wednesday and a subsequent Cabinet meeting.

Two police officials say that authorities are focusing on a hunt for a single attacker but can't rule out that others could have been involved in the attack in the Paris suburb of Levallois. The officials say that surveillance cameras at the scene captured images of the car's license plate and details they hope will help in the search. The officials were not authorized to be publicly named.

12:22PM

Witness heard screams of pain

A witness to a car attack on French soldiers is describing an ear-piercing scream of pain and troops chasing after a speeding car.

Nadia LeProhon was startled by a loud crash outside her building in the Paris suburb of Levallois-Perret, and rushed outside to see two soldiers on the ground. Other soldiers ran after a speeding car, shouting "After him! Follow that car!"

She said the scream that followed the crash was still echoing through her head. "I'll never forget that scream - a scream of pain and distress," she told The Associated Press.

Resident Jean-Claude Veillant said he saw two uniformed soldiers prone on the ground when he came down to the entrance of his 13-story building.

"It was horrible," he said, adding that both soldiers appeared to be in bad shape and one of them was unconscious.

Police officials say the driver apparently ambushed the soldiers and rammed into them as they emerged from a building to approach their vehicles to start a new patrol shift.

10:40AM

Residents thought attack was an exercise

The Paris suburb where a vehicle rammed into soldiers is home to France's main intelligence agency and a staging point for soldiers assigned to protect prominent sites after recent attacks.

Residents of Levallois-Perret are so accustomed to seeing security forces that resident Roseline Bailleux thought Wednesday's attack was an exercise.

Officials and rescuers gather near vehicles after a car slammed into soldiers on patrol in Levallois-Perret Credit: THIERRY CHAPPE/AFP/Getty Images

Bailleux, 67, was one of several people who said that the street where the soldiers were hit was nearly always thronged with soldiers.

She was woken in the morning by her husband, who had noticed a crush of ambulances and emergency vehicles.

"We thought it was an exercise," she said.

Armed police secure the scene where French soliders were hit and injured by a vehicle in the western Paris suburb of Levallois-Perret Credit: REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

She said that area was popular with parents and their children but the attack happened when they weren't around.

She said she had been touched by several previous attacks, including the 2015 gun rampage at the Bataclan music venue in Paris - which was next door to where one of her children lived - and the 2016 Nice truck attack, which happened near where she used to live.

"I'm not going to stop walking through the park because of that. ... It can happen to anyone."

10:38AM

Counter-terrorism investigation opened

French counter-terrorism prosecutors have now opened their investigation into the attack, the Associated Press is has reported.

10:22AM

Defence minister: It was a cowardly act

French Defence Minister Florence Parly on Wednesday condemned a car ramming that injured six anti-terrorism soldiers in a Paris suburb as a "cowardly act".

The incident, described by police as deliberate, "does nothing to dent soldiers' determination to work for the security of the French people," she said in a statement.

10:17AM

Counter terror police not involved

Counter terror police are still not involved in the investigation as the manhunt continues, Le Parisien newspaper reports, writes Oliver Gee.

The paper reports that the soldiers were unable to give precise witness testimonies due to the speed at which events unfolded.

Military officers set up a security perimeter near the site Credit: EPA/CHRISTOPHE PETIT TESSON

The soldiers were actually hit by their own vehicle, which had in turn been rammed by the BMW in question, Le Parisien adds.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo took to Twitter to share her support for the wounded soldiers.

I hope with all my heart that their attacker will be quickly arrested, she wrote.

9:48AM

Was the car crash deliberate?

More from Oliver Gee, in Paris:

The question that French media is asking is: Was the car crash deliberate? The mayor of the Levallois-Perret said it certainly was. The police have refused to comment. Television station BFM said there are three hypotheses: A terror attack, a complete accident, or a mentally unstable driver. Witnesses have said the car was parked in a cul-de-sac before the incident and that the driver was alone. The driver is understood to have ploughed into the soldiers during a changing of the guards on a side street. Police are still currently chasing the driver and on the lookout for the BMW he was driving.

Place de Verdun in Levallois-Perret where soldiers were hit. Hardly a main street. Town hall to bottom right. Mayor says 'deliberate act'. pic.twitter.com/3ZtoTD3USZ  Oliver Gee (@olivergee23) August 9, 2017

9:15AM

Soldiers hit were part of Operation Sentinelle

More details in from The Telegraph's Oliver Gee, in Paris.
WASHINGTON  Frustrated by the lack of an Afghanistan war strategy from the White House, Sen. John McCain on Thursday unveiled his own plan for winning Americas longest conflict.

We must face facts: We are losing in Afghanistan, and time is of the essence if we intend to turn the tide, the Arizona Republican, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a statement.

The proposal is more of a mission statement for how to win the nearly 16-year-old war than a blueprint. It calls for: increasing U.S. counterterrorism forces but does not include a precise number of new troops; imposing unspecified diplomatic, military and economic costs on Pakistan for its continued support of groups fighting Afghan and U.S.-led forces; and tying U.S. aid to Afghanistan on to-be-determined benchmarks on issues like rule of law and the fight against rampant corruption. While the proposal does not specify how many more troops should serve in Afghanistan, it says the administration should set force levels based on political and security conditions on the ground and unconstrained by arbitrary timelines.

McCain packaged his ideas in a nonbinding sense of Congress resolution that he aims to attach to an annual military spending authorization bill, on track for debate next month.

Senior Trump advisers have waged an internal war over the way forward in Afghanistan, with the president himself deeply skeptical of deepening Americas involvement in anything that might resemble the nation-building projects he denounced on the 2016 campaign trail.

Some top aides say they face a victory problem  how to define success. There is a broad consensus that Americas foremost national security goal is to prevent Afghanistan from slipping back into its pre-9/11 state as a safe haven for extremists plotting to strike at America or its allies.

But beyond that, there have been three distinct camps, according to several top Trump aides. Senior adviser Steve Bannon has fueled Trumps instinct to be skeptical of proposals to send more troops. National Security Adviser Gen. H.R. McMaster has pushed for a broad military, economic and diplomatic commitment to Afghanistan (Bannon has joked with other West Wing aides that Trump should send McMaster to run the war). Defense Secretary James Mattis has argued for a narrower mission in which U.S. forces train and equip their Afghan counterparts and provide some limited battlefield role, while leaving decisions about institution-building to the government in Kabul. Mattis has been open about the fact that U.S. strategy will likely require a residual force to carry out counterterrorism operations, a prospect one senior aide said particularly frustrates Trump. The infighting, as well as vacancies in key policymaking posts across the departments of State and Defense, has crippled the effort to draft a new strategy.

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Nearly seven months into President Trumps administration, weve had no strategy at all as conditions on the ground have steadily worsened, McCain said. The thousands of Americans putting their lives on the line in Afghanistan deserve better from their commander in chief.

The senator had warned Mattis at a mid-June Senate Armed Services Committee hearing that his patience was wearing thin. Unless we get a strategy from you, youre going to get a strategy from us, he scolded from the dais. At the same hearing, the defense secretary acknowledged that were not winning in Afghanistan and predicted he would be able to lay out the administrations proposal a month later.

A U.S. Marine keeps watch as Afghan National Army soldiers attend a training exercise in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, July 5, 2017. (Photo: Omar Sobhani/Reuters)

But at a mid-July question-and-answer session with reporters, Mattis admitted that he still did not have a plan, even as he tried to deflect questions about internal divisions and delays.

Welcome to strategy, he said. Seriously, this is hard, and theres a reason weve gotten into some wars in our nations history and didnt know how to end them.

Mattis also alluded to the vacancies at the Pentagon, describing the number of empty parking places.

The Pentagon made clear early this year that it wanted thousands of additional troops, on top of the roughly 8,400 U.S. forces and about another 7,000 from NATO allies. But in mid-July, Mattis declined to say how many. I know everyones batted around numbers, and they may turn out to be right. But Im not giving it any credence right now, he said.

Since George W. Bush unleashed U.S. military might against the Taliban on Oct. 7, 2001, some 2,400 Americans have died in the conflict and more than 20,000 have been wounded. Barack Obama surged tens of thousands of troops into Afghanistan in 2009 but later drew frequent criticisms from Republicans, who accused him of focusing on withdrawing U.S. forces rather than defeating the Taliban. Obama aides said their main goal was making local security forces self-sustaining in order to extricate the United States from a seemingly intractable conflict.

The war bedeviled both of Trumps predecessors. It falls to the former real estate developer with a penchant for short declarations on even the most complex issues.

Years before he captured the White House, Trump was calling for a withdrawal. We have wasted an enormous amount of blood and treasure in Afghanistan. Their government has zero appreciation. Lets get out! he tweeted in November 2013. We should leave Afghanistan immediately. No more wasted lives. If we have to go back in, we go in hard & quick. Rebuild the US first, he tweeted in March 2013.

Trump brought the skepticism with him to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Now we never win a war. We never win. And we dont fight to win. We dont fight to win, he complained to the National Governors Association in late February. So we either got to win or dont fight it at all.

_____

Read more from Yahoo News:
Moscow (AFP) - Georgia reacted furiously on Tuesday after Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Moscow-backed separatist region of Abkhazia on the anniversary of the outbreak of a brief war between Tbilisi and Moscow.

Putin visited the Black Sea resort town of Pitsunda in Abkhazia for talks with the leader of the self-proclaimed country, Raul Khajimba, on the ninth anniversary of the start of the war on August 8, 2008.

Georgia's foreign ministry condemned Putin's visit to what it called an occupied region as a "cynical action," saying it represented a continuation of Moscow's "deliberate policy against Georgia".

It urged Moscow to cease "provocative actions" and called on the international community to respond to Russia's "aggressive steps."

Abkhazia is internationally recognised as part of ex-Soviet Georgia but Russia sees it as a separate country -- along with another region, South Ossetia -- following the brief war with Georgia.

Moscow has thousands of troops stationed in the two breakaway regions in what Georgia calls a military "occupation", and supports them financially.

In televised comments, Putin stressed that Russia "firmly guarantees the security and self-sufficiency of Abkhazia, its independence. I am sure that this will continue in the future."

He described Russia's military base, which is shared with Abkhazian forces, as crucial to security in the region.

"The united Russian base on Abkhazia's territory continues to play a key role in providing stability in the region," Putin said.

Khajimba, like Putin, is a former officer in the Soviet-era KGB spy agency. He was elected president of Abkhazia in 2014 and shortly afterwards signed a strategic partnership deal with Moscow that formalised Russian dominance in the tiny separatist region.

Putin's visit came after two Russian tourists in Abkhazia were killed and dozens injured by an explosion at a munitions depot earlier this month. The region is popular with Russians as a cut-price holiday destination.

Story continues

- Belarus 'annexation'? -

Meanwhile the exiled former leader of Georgia warned of more potential Russian dominance, saying Moscow could be preparing to annex neighbouring Belarus.

"I think Russia is preparing for takeover and annexation of Belarus," Mikheil Saakashvili told AFP in a telephone interview Tuesday during a visit to Lithuania's capital Vilnius.

A vocal Kremlin critic, stripped of both his Georgian and Ukrainian citizenship, he added that Russian military infrastructure deployed in Belarus for September's massive "Zapad" (West) manoeuvres "could be used for that at any time".

NATO states have expressed concern over Moscow's upcoming drills in Belarus and Kaliningrad, Russia's westernmost outpost, but have not suggested the Kremlin has designs on Minsk.

"Russia may be interested in having a full-fledged military base in Belarus, but an annexation means it would lose one of its last loyal allies and increase tensions with the West," said Laurynas Jonavicius, a Vilnius University analyst.

"I don't think Moscow needs that," he added.

Saakashvili was Georgia's president during the short war with Russia that saw his small military routed in just five days.

The charismatic reformer came to power in Georgia's 2003 Rose Revolution but then fell from grace and is now wanted by Georgian prosecutors on charges of abuse of office during his nine-year rule that he insists are politically motivated.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko meanwhile called his Georgian counterpart Giorgi Margvelashvili to voice his "solidarity" on the anniversary of "the start of the aggression on Georgia's territorial integrity," according to a statement from the Ukraine leader's office.

"Our hearts are with you," said Poroshenko, whose country saw its Crimea peninsula annexed by Moscow in March 2014, and which remains gripped by a pro-Russian insurgency in the east.
Muslim leaders have condemned a White House official who said that a suspected terror attack on a Minnesota mosque may have been a false flag attack carried out by leftists.

Sebastian Gorka, a deputy assistant to President Donald Trump, said in an appearance on MSNBC Tuesday that the White House would not be commenting on the incident until it has "some kind of finalized investigation.

Trump has been criticized for not issuing a statement on the attack, which has been described as "a criminal act of terrorism" by Minnesota governor Mark Dayton, and is being investigated by the FBI.

gorka_jjisqb

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He said the White House would wait and see if the blast turned out to be a fake attack.

Asad Zaman, the director of the Muslim American Society of Minnesota, slammed Gorka's remarks.

"I find this comment outrageous and offensive. Waiting for an investigation to be complete has not been something Trump has done when the perpetrators have been Muslim. This hypocrisy must be called out. What prevents the president from expressing sympathy for members of the house of worship that was attacked?" he told Buzzfeed News.

Ibrahim Hooper, the national communications director for the Council on American Islamic Relations told Politico: "[Trump] really needs to speak out against these type of things, because those who support him take his silence as tacit support,

An explosion went off Saturday morning in the Dar Al Farooq Islamic Center in a Minneapolis suburb as worshippers were arriving for prayer. No-one was injured in the blast, which heavily damaged the imams office and shattered windows.

"When we have some kind of finalized investigation, absolutelyso, you know, there's a great rule, all initial reports are false, you have to check them and you have to find out who the perpetrators are," Gorka said in response to a question about whether the White House will address the bombing.

Story continues

"We've had a series of crimes committed, alleged hate crimes, by right-wing individuals in the last six months that turned out to actually have been propagated by the left," he said. "So let's wait and see and allow local authorities to provide their assessment. And then the White House will make its comments."

Gorka said there have been fake hate crimes so the White House was not responding to the attack.

"The question of who does it is a question. When you've had people fake hate crimes in the last six months with some regularity I think it's wise, don't you, to find out what exactly is going on before you make statements when in fact they could turn out to be not who you are expecting," Gorka said.

He went on to deny the existence of lone wolf terror attacks, committed by extremists independently of any network.

Theres no such thing as a lone wolf. You do know that. That was a phrase invented by the last administration to make Americans stupid, Gorka said.



There has never been, never been a serious attack .... or a serious plot that was unconnected from ISIS or al Qaeda, at least through the ideology and the TTPs - the tactics, the training, the techniques, and the proceduresthat they supply through the internet. Never happened. Its bogus, Gorka added.

Experts said that Gorka seemed to have forgotten about the 1995 Oklahoma bombing, carried out by far-right extremist Timothy McVeigh, in which 168 people were killed.

Trumps refusal to condemn the attack reflects a pattern in which he has failed to or belatedly condemned attacks by white nationalist perpetrators, yet been quick to condemn attacks in which an Islamist appeared responsible.

In January, Trump did not comment on an attack on a mosque in Quebec, Canada which that left six dead. In May, after a white supremacist killed one man and left another critically injured on a Portland train, there was no comment from the president for days, until a statement condemning the incident was released via the official presidential Twitter account, rather than the @RealDonaldTrump Twitter account favored by the president.

The Council for American-Islamic Relations said a recent study showed a 584 percent increase in hate crimes against Muslims from 2014 to 2016, when Trump was elected president.

Related Articles
On Monday, August 21 the sun, moon and Earth will line up in an act of cosmic serendipity that will turn day across the 2,680-mile width of the United States.

It will be the first time that has happened in nearly a century, and never will a total solar eclipse be so heavily viewed and studied.

From Oregon in the west, to South Carolina in the east, there will be festivals and flamboyant eclipse viewing parties. And of course, traffic gridlock, an social media explosion, and general chaos

As one astronomer put it: "This will be the most photographed, most shared, most tweeted event in human history."

How unusual an event is this?

Full solar eclipses, when the moon positions itself smack between the sun and the Earth, happen every few years but often in remote areas or over the ocean.

This will be the first total solar eclipse in 99 years to cross the US coast-to-coast, and the first to pass through any part of the lower 48 states in 38 years.

An illustration from Nasa Credit: AFP

Where is it happening?

The path of totality - where the light of the sun is completely blocked out by the moon - is 70 miles wide and stretches from Lincoln City, Oregon, to Charleston, South Carolina, passing through 14 states and 21 National Parks

The total eclipse will last about 90 minutes as the lunar shadow sweeps across America at more than 1,500 mph beginning about 10.15 am west coast time. On the east coast it will end at 2.49 pm east coast time.

Eclipse Fests, StarFests, SolarFests, SolFests, Darkening of the SunFests, MoonshadowFests, EclipseCons, Eclipse Encounters and Star Parties are planned along the path of totality.

Vineyards, breweries, museums, parks, universities, stadiums, just about everybody is getting into the act.

Schoolchildren wearing protective glasses Credit: Reuters

What if you're not in the US?

Don't worry, Nasa will be broadcasting the whole thing on the internet and TV.

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station will beam back pictures, as will ships and planes and high altitude balloons.

"This is a really amazing chance to just open the public's eyes to wonder," said physicist Angela Des Jardins, who is in charge of Nasa' eclipse video ballooning project.

Story continues

Eclipses mean chaos

Will there be chaos? Undoubtedly. An estimated 200 million people live within a day's drive of the path of totality and huge crowds are expected.

The lightly populated state of Oregon is expecting up to one million eclipse chasers and is treating the event as an emergency. Police everywhere are asking people to be patient. Even stuck in a traffic jam the sight should be wonderful.

An eclipse in Beijing in 2010 Credit: Getty

Rain means pain...

Above all, eclipse viewing is dependent on clear skies, and the best advice is to find somewhere high and dry.

Experienced eclipse watchers say the best bet is to avoid both coasts, where rain is more likely.

States like Wyoming and Idaho could fare better. Ideally, the best option is to be somewhere remote with access to a fast car and clear roads in case a cloud settles overhead.

The Astronomical League for amateur astronomers, who know a thing or two, are heading for Casper, Wyoming.

How long will totality last?

It varies in different places, Darkness will last just under two minutes in Oregon, gradually expanding to a maximum two minutes and 44 seconds in the Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois, and into Kentucky, then dwindling to two-and-a-half minutes in South Carolina.

Will there also be a partial eclipse?

The partial eclipse will extend up through Canada and down through Central America and the top of South America.

Minneapolis will see 86 per cent of the sun covered, Miami 82 per cent, Montreal 66 per cent, and Mexico City sees 38 per cent.

Are protective eclipse glasses necessary?

Absolutely. The only time you can look at the eclipse is during totality.

Experts say at any point when the eclipse is partial, even if only a sliver of the sun is visible, it would burn the back of your eyes to look at it.

"Unfortunately, I think it is probably true that during every solar eclipse, there's bound to be somebody who does get hurt," said Ralph Chou, an optometry professor and leading authority on eye damage from eclipse viewing.

How about watching from a plane

South West Airlines has worked out that the eclipse will be visible from a handful of its scheduled flights, taking off from dEnver, Seattle and Portland.

They'll be serving "cosmic cocktails" to the lucky passengers.

Is there a Trump link to the eclipse?

The Boston Globe newspaper made a valiant attempt to link the eclipse to Donald Trump, noting that 92 per cent of the 240 counties in the path of totality voted for the president in last year's election.

However, the internet appeared to decide that this was a Trump link too far.

Leave it to the Globe to make a solar eclipse political.

(BTW Globe, the sun and moon don't care who's president!)  Gary Black (@GaryBlackal) August 4, 2017

What do the experts say about eclipses?

Nasa guru Bill Cooke says: "It is the most weird, creepy, awe-inspiring astronomical event you will experience."

Rick Fienberg, spokesman for the American Astronomical Society: "Going through life without ever experiencing totality is like going through life without ever falling in love."

When's the next one in the US?

April 8, 2024. It might be even better with four minutes totality.
Paris (AFP) - The Pacific island of Guam, a US territory and site of strategic US military installations, is at the center of tensions between Washington and Pyongyang over North Korea's missile programme.

North Korea said Wednesday that it is considering strikes near US installations in Guam with its intermediate range ballistic missiles, state news agency KCNA reported.

The threat came hours after US President Donald Trump threatened Pyongyang with "fire and fury" over its missile program and days after the UN Security Council levied new sanctions on North Korea over its growing nuclear arsenal.

- Spanish, then American -

Guam, measuring 550 square kilometres (212 square miles), was discovered in 1521 by Portuguese explorer Magellan, then occupied in 1526 by Spanish seafarers.

The island became an American colony under the 1898 Treaty of Paris which brought an end to the Spanish-American war. During World War II it was invaded by Japan at the beginning of the Pacific War, and liberated in July 1944.

- US territory, strategic site -

Guam is a non-incorporated terrritory of the United States, like Puerto Rico.

Its 162,000 inhabitants, of which two fifths come from the Chamorro indigenous group, are American citizens, but with limited rights.

They cannot vote in US elections and the island's only representative in Congress has no right to vote.

There have been many calls for an autonomy referendum but these has been blocked by a US federal tribunal.

Republican Eddie Calvo has since 2011 had the position of governor.

In Guam, which is on the UN's list of non-autonomous territories, 45,000 people receive food aid and benefit from US health care.

- Strategic military base -

A rugged, tropical island in the western Pacific Ocean, Guam is the largest and most populous island in the group called the Mariana Islands. It is currently a base for some 6,000 US soldiers on an air and naval base.

It was the departure point for US B-52 bombers attacked Hanoi during the 1955-1975 Vietnam war.

Story continues

- Tourist base -

The military presence contributes to the local economy, which also depends on tourism.

Beaches, hotel complexes and duty free shops attracted more than 1.5 million visitors in 2016, mostly Japanese and Korean, and the tourism sector provides a third of the territory's jobs.

Income per capita came to $35,439 in 2015.
More emails have been ordered to be reviewed months after Ms Clinton's election loss: Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

A federal judge has ordered a new search of Hillary Clintons Benghazi emails, nine months after the Democrat lost the 2016 election.

US District Court Judge Amit Mehta ruled that the State Department hasnt done enough to track down emails Ms Clinton may have sent out related to the 2012 Benghazi attack that left four Americans dead. The new directive asks for a review of emails received or sent to Ms Clinton's by aides using State Department servers.

The US ambassador to Libya at the time, Chris Stevens, was one of those killed.

Before the recent ruling, the State Department had searched tens of thousands of emails handed over to the agency by Ms Clinton and three of her top aides. The State Department also searched a trove of emails the FBI had assembled when it investigated Ms Clintons use of a private email server who serving as secretary of State.

But conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch argued that those efforts werent enough. They urged the federal judiciary to force the State Department to search its own stems for relevant emails that may have been sent to state.gov email addresses.

The first search found 348 Benghazi-related emails sent in the five months following the attack.

To date, State has searched only data compilations originating from outside sources  Secretary Clinton, her former aides, and the FBI. ... It has not, however, searched 8 the one records system over which it has always had control and that is almost certain to contain some responsive records: the state.gov e-mail server, Mr Mehta wrote in his 10-page ruling.

If Secretary Clinton sent an e-mail about Benghazi to Abedin, Mills, or Sullivan at his or her state.gov e-mail address, or if one of them sent an e-mail to Secretary Clinton using his or her state.gov account, then States server presumably would have captured and stored such an e-mail. Therefore, State has an obligation to search its own server for responsive records, he continued.

Story continues

It is not clear if the State Department archived emails sent from Ms Clintons top aides regularly or reliably.

The issue of Ms Clintons use of a private email server, and her handling of the Benghazi attack, dogged her throughout her 2016 presidential campaign. Although investigators never concluded that Ms Clinton had done anything illegal, Republicans repeatedly attacked her for her emails, raising suspicions of foul play and conspiracy.
Rodrigo Alves, otherwise known as the Human Ken Doll, stopped by British talk show Loose Women and made it perfectly clear he has no plans to stop getting cosmetic surgery. In fact, hed just returned from Iran, where he got another nose job, his chin implant replaced, and a brow-lift.

Alves says he considers his many surgeries the same as people going to the gym.

Going to the gym is a form of body modification. And people want to keep getting more muscle, Alves said.

Alves says hes everything he ever wanted to be. He considers himself exotic and good-looking but will still get more surgeries. He considers it maintenance. Although he likes what he sees when he looks in the mirror, he is aware that other people see him as different.

After acknowledging that other people see him as different, Alves said, Yeah, I know exactly what I look like.

Watch this British reporter scream in terror during a virtual reality simulator:

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.
More undocumented immigrants are being swept up in immigration raids targeting their friends, neighbors and coworkers.

Under the Trump Administrations new enforcement priorities, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are instructed to detain and deport anyone who is in the country illegally, which means even so-called non-targets may end up in custody after a raid.

The biggest change is under the previous Administration, there were a lot of individuals that were not considered amenable to arrest that now, since the change in Administration, our director has said there are not going to be any classes or categories of removable aliens that are exempt, says ICE spokeswoman Danielle Bennett.

In a four-day operation at the end of July, ICE arrested 650 people. Of those, 457 werent targets of the raid. In other words, a full 70% of the immigrants swept up in this operation were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Andrew Nietor, an immigration lawyer based in San Diego, said that under the Obama Administration, many of these people would have never ended up in deportation proceedings, because they werent seen as a priority. The focus then was on people who had aggravated felony convictions or who were recidivists. Thats changed.

I know that a lot of my colleagues are getting clients who literally are pastors, or people that qualify for DACA but they just happened to be visiting a family member when ICE was there, so they just got swept up, he said.

ICE doesnt track data over time of how many non-targets are apprehended in raids, so its hard to say how dramatic the change is.

But data on deportees who didnt have criminal records show only a minor increase. In fiscal year 2016, non-criminals made up 42% of removals. Under the Trump Administration, that proportion has so far increased slightly. According to data provided to TIME by ICE, which is not considered final until the end-of-year report, 44% of removals havent had criminal records so far in fiscal year 2017.

Story continues

Its basically a push through a lot of different ways to try to deport as many people as possible without regard to whether or not theyre a public safety threat, says Kate Voigt, associate director of government relations at the American Immigration Lawyers Association. (Its worth noting that overall deportation levels are actually lagging behind the rate of President Obamas tenure, despite Trumps promise of a crackdown.)

Bennett said ICE agents wont always arrest non-targets if they find them during a raid; if there are children present, for example, or other extenuating circumstances that the agents decide mean they shouldnt take the others into custody. But she says the new priorities give the agents the much-needed freedom to make these determinations on their own.

I think that our agency now feels that we can make arrests. Theyre in compliance with federal law, there arent the restrictions, she said. It allows more flexibility for the officers to make decisions from their personal dealings with the person.

But some immigration advocates worry that loosening restrictions wont be a good thing.

Now I think theres a question of well, what was the prevailing attitude if theres suddenly this almost equal fulfillment of being able to do whatever you want without consequence or oversight? says Avideh Moussavian, senior policy attorney at the National Immigration Law Center. If thats the culture of the agency, now its allowed to go forth unfettered by rules or regulations or guidance or parameters, that is obviously a massive cause for alarm for people who are not just lawyers, but everyone who is interacting on a daily basis with immigrant community members.
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Iran's former president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, faces sentences on seven verdicts of misusing billions of dollars in government funds while in office, the public prosecutor at Irans Supreme Audit Court said in a newspaper interview published on Sunday. In one case, dating back to Ahmadinejads second term in office between 2009 and 2013, the misused funds amounted to more than two billion dollars, the prosecutor, Fayaz Shojaie, said in his interview with the newspaper Etemaad. The verdicts have been announced to the parliament, Shojaie said. The Supreme Audit Court operates under the supervision of the Iranian parliament. It is not clear whether Ahmadinejad was formally tried by the court and is facing sentencing, or whether the Iranian parliament must now follow up on the court's verdicts. Ahmadinejad gained support among poor and working class Iranians by promising to share the countrys oil wealth with them. Subsidy reforms implemented in his second term were aimed at delivering subsidies to the most needy while cutting their overall cost to the government. Shojaie said that he did not believe the funds Ahmadinejad allegedly misused could be recovered. "In the effort of fixing the damages the decision has been issued and finalized. But the damages and harm from his decisions are so big that we dont have a way to carry it out," Shojaie said. "So what can we do? He in no way has the assets that would cover this amount." He did not say what would happen if the money could not be recovered from Ahmadinejad. Ahmadinejad could not immediately be reached for comment. Despite his popularity among some segments of the Iranian population, Ahmadinejad angered hardliners by clashing publicly with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on a handful of issues during his second term. Ahmadinejad submitted his name to run as a candidate in the Iranian presidential election in May, but he was disqualified by the Guardian Council, a governmental body that vets candidates. Half of the members of the Council are appointed by Khamenei who, without naming Ahmadinejad, hinted that he had advised him not to run. (Reporting By Babak Dehghanpisheh, editing by Larry King)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Jacobs Technology Inc, a unit of Jacobs Engineering Group Inc, is being awarded a U.S. defense contract with an estimated maximum value of $4.6 billion, the Pentagon said in a statement on Wednesday.

The contract calls for Jacobs Technology to provide products and services for the Missile Defense Agency and its Missile Defense Integration and Operations Center, the statement said.

(Reporting by Eric Beech)
Washington (AFP) - Not long ago, US President Donald Trump said he would be "honored" to meet with Kim Jong-Un -- the North Korean leader the US president also has variously dubbed "a madman" and "a smart cookie."

Now Trump has warned Pyongyang it faces "fire and fury like the world has never seen" if it continues to threaten the United States with nuclear weapons.

Here are some key quotes from the mercurial Trump's escalating war of words with North Korea.

- 'It won't happen!' -

Just before assuming office, Trump on January 2 dismissed a North Korean statement declaring it was close to developing a nuclear weapon capable of hitting the US, vowing "it won't happen!"

wa

- 'Big, big problem' -

"Obviously, North Korea is a big, big problem," Trump said on February 13, after a fresh ballistic missile test from Pyongyang. "And we will deal with that very strongly."

- 'A madman with nuclear weapons' -

"We can't let a madman with nuclear weapons let on the loose like that," Trump told Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte during an April 29 phone call. "We have a lot of firepower, more than he has, times 20 -- but we don't want to use it."

But in an interview that aired April 30 he called Kim "a pretty smart cookie" -- expressing admiration that the North Korean strongman "was able to assume power" at a young age.

- 'Honored' to meet Kim -

"If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely, I would be honored to do it," Trump said of Kim on May 1. He also made similar statements on the campaign trail, but it's an idea he hasn't repeated in recent months.

- Hot and cold on China -

China, Pyongyang's sole major ally, would "properly deal with North Korea," Trump said on April 13, after accusing Beijing for months of failing to put pressure on the North.

Story continues

"China is trying hard!" the US president emphasized in a May 29 tweet.

But he has recently changed his tune: "I am very disappointed in China. Our foolish past leaders have allowed them to make hundreds of billions of dollars a year in trade, yet they do NOTHING for us with North Korea, just talk," Trump tweeted on July 29.

"We will no longer allow this to continue. China could easily solve this problem!"

- 'Patience is over' -

In the meantime, Trump's general attitude towards North Korea has grown increasingly severe: "The era of strategic patience with the North Korean regime has failed, many years it has failed. Frankly, that patience is over," Trump said after holding talks with South Korean President Moon Jae-In at the White House on June 30.

On July 6 in Warsaw, he called "all nations to confront this global threat and publicly demonstrate to North Korea that there are consequences for their very, very bad behavior."

"I have pretty severe things that we're thinking about," Trump said, but added: "That doesn't mean that we'll do them."

- The 'fire' and the 'fury' -

"North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States," Trump said Tuesday, days after the UN Security Council unanimously passed ramped-up sanctions over Pyongyang's weapons program.

His warning included an apocalyptic threat: "They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen."

North Korea raised the stakes just hours later, saying it was considering missile strikes near US strategic military installations on the Pacific US territory of Guam.

On Wednesday the US president responded by boasting of America's nuclear arsenal, saying it was "far stronger and more powerful than ever before."
WASHINGTON  Secretary of State Rex Tillerson sought to walk back President Donald Trumps threat of fire and fury against North Koreas escalating nuclear program, the latest example that doing damage control for his boss is a regular part of his job.

But adding to Tillersons challenge in this case is that, more than six months into Trumps presidency, top State Department posts relevant to dealing with North Korea remain filled by officials serving on a temporary basis or are vacant.

The U.S. currently has no permanent ambassador to South Korea, according to the State Departments website. The U.S. embassys top career official, Marc Knapper, heads the diplomatic staff in the country on an acting capacity until Trump nominates an envoy.

The assistant secretaries of East Asian and Pacific Affairs and nuclear nonproliferation are similarly in acting positions. And the role of undersecretary for arms control and international security is vacant.

Tillerson and White House officials have reportedly clashed over the staffing matters. White House officials have favored more political allies in diplomatic posts, rejecting Tillersons suggestions to elevate experienced career State Department officials, according to Politico and the Washington Post.

The State Department did not immediately return a request for comment.

When asked at a press briefing Wednesday about the lack of a permanent South Korean ambassador, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert referred questions to the White House.

A nomination would have to come out of the White House, she said. So Id have to refer you to the White House on that.

Nauert went on to praise Knappers experience. Hes on the ground, so Im confident that its good, solid hands until the president nominates somebody for that position.

Trumps comments on Tuesday mirrored sensationalist rhetoric the North Korean regime directs at the U.S.

Tillerson, returning from meeting with leaders in Asia, insisted that Americans should sleep well at night, despite the growing nuclear tensions.

Story continues

He also told reporters: I think what the president was doing was sending a strong message with language that [North Korean leader] Kim Jong-Un would understand, because he doesnt seem to understand diplomatic language.

Trump has often complained about diplomatic efforts in the region without offering any specific solutions. For example, he has frequently tweeted threats at China, North Koreas only ally and an important U.S. trading partner. On North Korea, he also insisted that it will be handled. We handle everything.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which is responsible for holding confirmation hearings for high-level State Department positions, has not received nominees for either ambassador to South Korea or undersecretary for arms control, a spokesperson for ranking committee member Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) confirmed to HuffPost on Wednesday.

Earlier this month, Cardin decried the slow staffing process at the State Department, telling reporters that diplomats dont know what the policies are unless they get direction.

Im extremely concerned about what is happening in the State Department. They are devaluing diplomacy and undercutting diplomats. I hear that all the time. I have had several conversations with diplomats in regards to specific issues, and in every one of those cases I get responses like, We dont know what the policy is. We are not getting the support we need, he said. The people arent there that can give direction to the people that are out in the field as to what the policies are all about. Quite frankly, we dont know what the policies are, and the diplomats dont know what the policies are.

Related Coverage

Trump Walks All Over Tillerson On Qatar Dispute

Trump Gutted The State Department And Half Of Top Jobs Are Still Unfilled

Trump Wants To Neuter The State Department. Putin Would Love That.

Trump Contradicts State Department On Iran Deal

Trump Complains About Diplomacy In Asia, But Hasn't Appointed An Envoy To South Korea

This article has been updated with comments from Nauert and Cardin.

Sign up for the HuffPost Must Reads newsletter. Each Sunday, we will bring you the best original reporting, long form writing and breaking news from The Huffington Post and around the web, plus behind-the-scenes looks at how its all made. Click here to sign up!

Also on HuffPost

Local women rest in an alley in Tumangang, North Korea, on Aug. 19, 2015.

A customs officer checks a passenger's camera on a train from Moscow to Pyongyang at the Tumangang railway station.

A customs officer checks a passenger's mobile device.

A general view of the village.

Children walk to school on Aug. 20.

A child rests in the village.

"There are nearly no fat people, everyone was thin," photographer Xiaolu Chu says.

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
On Full Frontal Samantha Bee traveled to Iraqi Kurdistan to learn about the local women's unique strategy to taking down ISIS. There the Peshmerga Military includes female fighters and was formed to defend their homeland. Bee said, "This battalion of professional ISIS killers are the female Peshmerga. They've been kicking ass and taking names since back when Donald Trump was tragically battling bone spurs." The reason the Peshmerga was formed was because ISIS wanted to capture Kurdish women. Said one female fighter, "So we trained civilian women how to use weapons." Bee pondered, "Cool. I went to theater school. They trained me to breathe from my taint." Sam Bee also went to the Khazir Refugee Camp where she saw how these women plan to destroy ISIS from the ground up. Here they educate children and refugees as a way to tackle radical Islam. Bee said, "While most of us can't imagine a world without brunch, these women are using imagination and education to help create a more peaceful future " Then at the Korani Ankawa Women's Center, Bee saw how Iraqi and Syrian refugees receive literacy courses. But they don't just educate women. They also offer men a course on women's rights. This helps conservative men change their views on women's rights. In the end, for these women, the key to fighting ISIS is ultimately education and an investment in women and children. Bee said, "Data shows that the more involved women are in conflict zones, the more likely it is for that area to have long-lasting peace after war."
On Full Frontal With Samantha Bee, Sam Bee traveled to Iraqi Kurdistan to learn about the local womens unique strategy for taking down ISIS. There the Peshmerga Military includes female fighters and was formed to defend their homeland. Bee said, This battalion of professional ISIS killers are the female Peshmerga. Theyve been kicking ass and taking names since back when Donald Trump was tragically battling bone spurs.

The reason the Peshmerga was formed was because ISIS wanted to capture Kurdish women. Said one female fighter, So we trained civilian women how to use weapons. Bee pondered, Cool. I went to theater school. They trained me to breathe from my taint.

Sam Bee also went to the Khazir Refugee Camp, where she saw how these women plan to destroy ISIS from the ground up. Here they educate children and refugees as a way to tackle radical Islam. Bee said, While most of us cant imagine a world without brunch, these women are using imagination and education to help create a more peaceful future.

Then at a nonprofit called the Korani Ankawa Womens Center, Bee saw how Iraqi and Syrian refugees receive literacy courses. But they dont just educate women. They also offer men a course on womens rights. This helps conservative men change their views on womens rights.

In the end, for these women, the key to fighting ISIS is ultimately education and an investment in women and children. Bee said, Data shows that the more involved women are in conflict zones, the more likely it is for that area to have long-lasting peace after war.

Full Frontal With Samantha Bee airs Wednesdays at 10:30 on TBS.

Check out Samantha Bee finding avid Trump supporters in a very unlikely place:

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A 77-year-old man in Ohio has been arrested for sexually assaulting a 20-year-old woman who posted video of the attack on Snapchat, police said.

James Allen was charged with one count of rape after investigators viewed the social media clip, Ottawa County Prosecutor James VanEerten said.

Read: Airline Passenger Sees Man Texting About Sexually Abusing Children: Police

The man was arrested Tuesday after a friend of the woman saw the alleged attack online and contacted police.

VanEerten said it was not clear whether the woman live streamed the assault or posted video of it afterward.

The prosecutor said it was unclear why she took the footage.

Read: Rural Idaho Sheriff Says Most Rape Claims Are Really Consensual Sex

Its obviously horrific, but at least it allowed us to put a stop to the situation and make a quick arrest in this case, he said, the Toledo Blade reported.

The woman was evaluated at a nearby hospital.

Allen is being held at the Ottawa County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail. He has not entered a plea.

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CCTV footage showed a man throwing a suitcase into a river, which is believed to have contained the six-year-old: Facebook

A Brazilian man accused of raping and murdering a six-year-old girl turned himself in after his own son recognised CCTV footage of him broadcast on the news.

Video showed the moment Alexandra da Silva Alves allegedly threw a suitcase into a river to the north of Rio de Janeiro containing six-year-old Agatha Nicole Silva.

Alves 10-year-old son reportedly recognised the man and alerted family members who convinced him to turn himself in, according to local media.

The 43-year-old is accused of kidnapping and raping the child who reportedly lived in the same neighbourhood as him.

Investigators said he took the girl back to his house, just yards from where she lived after approaching her while she was playing in the street.

He is accused of throwing her in the suitcase into the river while she was still alive.

Agathas grandmother Edir Silva told local media: A woman told my daughter she had seen a man throwing a suitcase into the river around 10pm. It had made a heavy thud and she was worried about what was inside it.

My daughter ran to look for the trunk and when she called her daughters name she could hear the child respond very faintly. But she couldnt reach the suitcase in time and we believe Agatha was too weak to survive the impact and her injuries.

Police said Alves turned himself in on Friday accompanied by two local pastors.

He was arrested and has since been charged with the murder and rape of a minor.
James Allen, 77, welcomed police officers into his home to check up on the woman: DANBURY TOWNSHIP POLICE

A woman who was allegedly raped by her step-grandfather posted footage of the incident on Snapchat, police have confirmed.

Authorities say the unnamed 20-year-old was drunk at the time after being given alcohol by her grandmother's new partner, and that she was shown in the video "clearly" protesting several times against his sexual advances.

James Allen, 77, was arrested and charged with rape on Tuesday in Marblehead, Ohio. Police said a friend of the woman viewed the Snapchat clip and asked officers to conduct a welfare check in the early hours of the morning.

Michael Meisler, the police chief of Danbury Township, said the woman was staying with her grandmother and Mr Allen at the time of the alleged incident.

Officers were allowed into the house by Mr Allen who took them upstairs, where they found the woman in an impaired state, Mr Meisler said. She was taken to Firelands Regional Medical Center and was later discharged.

The local prosecutor said he believed the Snapchat video clearly showed a sexual assault taking place, and confirmed police were determining whether it was live-streamed or posted after the alleged attack. He urged anyone who had seen the clip to delete it from their phones.

Mr Allen is being held at a county jail on a $1m bond and appeared in court on Wednesday.
Amber alerts have been issued by the Massachusetts State Police and Worcester Police Department for 3-year-old Ella Abbott, who went missing around 7:45 p.m. EDT Wednesday.

According to the state police, Abbott was taken by her mother, Leeann Rickheit, from a residence in 339 Greenwood Street in Worcester. Before taking the child, Rickheit had threatened to harm her, police said.

The child was believed to be in extreme danger, reported the Boston Globe.

However, the alerts issued by the local and state police departments differed regarding some details of the missing child.

According to the state police, Abbott is a white girl with brown hair and brown eyes. She is three feet tall and weighs around 40 pounds. She was last seen wearing a purple or dark colored top.

In the amber alert issued by the local police department, Abbott is described as a light skinned black female, last seen wearing a white and pink polka dot shirt.

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The two police departments even differed in the description of the mother.

Rickheit was described by the state police as a 38-year-old white female with light brown hair and blue eyes. She is five feet eleven inches tall, and weighs around 170 pounds, the state police said. However, according to the Worcester Police, Rickheit is a dirty blonde with a large build.

Rickheit is believed to be driving a 2007 Hyundai Sonata with a Massachusetts registration number  4PG367. She was last seen heading toward Mass Pike in the Charlton area, police said.

Leeann Rickheit's Car

Photo: Official News Blog Of The Massachusetts State Police

Leeann Rickheit's car

Photo: Official News Blog Of The Massachusetts State Police

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People who come across any information regarding the whereabouts of Abbott have been requested to contact Worcester Police Department at (508) 799-8606 or dial 911.

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Police said Rickheit has a history of extortion, assault and battery, unarmed robbery and receiving stolen property. According to a 2013 Facebook post by Worcester Police Department, Rickheit crashed into two other vehicles in the area of Main and Madison Streets and fled the scene following an incident Feb. 9, 2013.

During the 2013 incident, after half an hour of the description of the suspect being broadcast on radio, two officers working the private detail found Rickheit walking on Worcester Center Boulevard. When the police cornered her, Rickheit pulled out what looked like a silver revolver from her coat and threatened to shoot the officers.

She fled the scene, but was caught and overpowered by the officers soon after. She resisted arrest and refused to comply with police commands. It was discovered she was carrying a plastic replica of a semi-automatic handgun. Rickheit was charged with three counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and resisting arrest.

Another amber alert was issued by the Massachusetts State Police this July 9 for 21-month-old Jandel Calcorzi, who was believed to have been taken by his father from his mothers home in Chicopee, following a violent domestic assault. The alert was called off after the child was located unharmed at the White Swan Motel in Newington, Connecticut.

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Until the 20th century, only the wealthy or dying might have witnessed someone trying to cool the air indoorseven though building a fire to keep warm in the winter would have been perfectly reasonable. Extreme heat was seen as a force that humans shouldnt tamper with, and the idea that a machine could control the weather was deemed sinful. Even into the early 1900s, the U.S. Congress avoided the use of manufactured air in the Capitol, afraid voters would mock them for not being able to sweat like everyone else.

While adoption of air-conditioning demanded industrial ingenuity, it also required renouncing the vice of cooling the inside air. But in the process of shedding its hypothetical moral slight against the heavens, the air conditioner has perpetrated worse, actual sins against the Earth.

* * *

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Despite the shadow of immorality, breakthroughs in air-conditioning developed out of desperation. Doctors scrambling to heal the sick took particular interest. In 1851, a Florida doctor named John Gorrie received a patent for the first ice machine. According to Salvatore Basile, the author of Cool: How Air-Conditioning Changed Everything, Gorrie hadnt initially sought to invent such an apparatus. Hed been trying to alleviate high fevers in malaria patients with cooled air. To this end, he designed an engine that could pull in air, compress it, then run it through pipes, allowing the air to cool as it expanded.

Outside of his office though, people saw no practical need for this achievement. It wasnt until the pipes on Gorries machine unexpectedly froze and began to develop ice that he found a new opportunity. Still, this accomplishment was lampooned as sacrilege in The New York Globe: There is Dr. Gorrie, a crank ... that thinks he can make ice by his machine as good as God Almighty.

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The use of ice and snow to chill drinks or to help cool a room was nothing new. In the 17th century, the inventor Cornelius Drebbel used snow that had been stored underground during the summer to perform an act he called turning summer into winter. In his book Absolute Zero and the Conquest of Cold, Tom Shachtman speculates that Drebbel achieved his effect by mixing snow with water, salt, and potassium nitrate, which formed ice crystals and significantly cooled the space. King James, who invited Drebbel to demonstrate his innovation, reportedly ran from the demonstration in Westminster Abbey, shivering.

It looked like the grill of an old car shoved through a window.

Ice would be used two centuries later to cool another man in power, U.S. President James A. Garfield. On July 2, 1881, Charles Guiteau fired two shots from his revolver into Garfields back. The aftermath inspired naval engineers to develop a method to keep a president cool, as he slowly died that summer.

The astronomer Simon Newcomb oversaw development of the apparatus that struggled to chill Garfields sickroom. Newcomb rigged together an engine connected to pipes that powered a fan to blow over a giant bucket of ice. In written reports, Newcomb explained that his apparatus held some six tons [of ice] in all, through which the air might pass in one direction and return in the other. The device lowered the rooms temperature from 95 to 75 degreesand ate up hundreds of pounds of ice an hour.

As news of Newcombs machine slowly grabbed the public interest, distrust of cooling the air began to wane. Inventors developed fanciful schemes to beat the heat. One believed he could take a balloon connected to a fire hydrant and a hose and create personal rainstorms. Another came up with the idea of towers with carbon dioxide bombs at the top that would explode above a neighborhood and cool the air upon detonation. Some of these curiosities managed to win patents, but few proved useful in practice.

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* * *

Two decades after Garfields death, Willis Carrier coined the term air-conditioning. Although it wasnt an overnight sensation, Carriers breakthrough came in July 1902, when he designed his Apparatus for Treating Air, first installed in the Sackett Williams Publishing building in Brooklyn, New York. The device blew air over tubes containing a coolant. Its purpose was to reduce humidity more than to reduce air temperature; excess water in the air warped the publishing houses paper.

In 1899, Alfred R. Wolff had preceded Carrier with an air-cooling device, installed in the dissecting room of Cornell Medical College in New York City. Later, the same year Carrier installed his first apparatus in Brooklyn, Wolff placed his machine at the New York Stock Exchange. Instead of keeping cadavers fresh for study, it brought comfort to the horde of men at work.

The technology began to spread. Frigidaire sold the first room cooler for the home in 1929. H.H. Schultz and J.Q. Sherman marketed an air conditioner that leaned against the windowsill, but the first window-mounted unit, as we know it today, was the 1932 Thorne Room Air Conditioner. It looked like the grill of an old car shoved through a window. In her book Cool Comfort: Americas Romance with Air-Conditioning, Marsha Ackermann recounts a radio interview in which Carrier announced his vision. He imagined a world in which the average businessman will rise, pleasantly refreshed, having slept in an air-conditioned room. He will travel in an air-conditioned train, and toil in an air-conditioned office.

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Air-conditionings major public debut was at the 1939 Worlds Fair. Carrier hosted the Carrier Igloo of Tomorrow expo, where 65,000 visitors would experience air-conditioning for the first time, boosting consumer interest. Over the next decade, as the air conditioner shrank in size, advertisements for the machine shifted their appeals from men in the workplace to women at home. In some early ads the air conditioner sits in the window among a proud family admiring their machine like a spacecraft that had landed in the living room.

Commercial buildings used more than 500 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity for air-conditioning in 2015 alone.

Basile points out another, less obvious move that increased the devices popularity: In 1959, the U.S. Weather Bureau created its discomfort indexwe know it today as the heat index, a measure of temperature and humidity combined. The discomfort index gave an unexpected boost to air-conditioning by, as Basile says in his book, putting people in mind of cooled air. Now the public could gauge if it was too hot to go outside. If they could afford it, there were plenty of air-conditioner manufacturers offering solace from the weather.

By the 1960s, millions of air conditioners were being sold every year in the United States. Windows across cities and suburbs were being plugged with the machines. As of 2011, the Energy Information Administrations Residential Energy Consumption Survey says that 87 percent of households in the United States have an air conditioner or central air. Thats compared to 11 percent in Brazil and only 2 percent in India.

* * *

While the publics reluctance to air-conditioning might have hampered the initial development of air-conditioning technologies, its eventual popularity has proved detrimental to the Earths atmosphere.

By 1989, the Montreal Protocol was enacted in an effort to cut the release of chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, into the atmosphere. Freon, a CFC used in the early A/Cs, was among the features of older air-conditioning units that contributed to ozone depletion.

Even though refrigerants have been modified to use fluorine instead of chlorine, and thereby to avoid impacting ozone, air-conditioning still exerts enormous environmental impact. According to Daniel Morrison, the acting deputy director of communications at the U.S. Department of Energy, residential and commercial buildings used more than 500 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity for air-conditioning in 2015 alone. Thats almost 20 percent of the total electricity used in buildings, amounting to $60 billion in electricity costs annually. Air-conditioning is also one of the main contributors to peak electric power demand, one symptom of which is rolling summer blackouts.

It has become both a symbol of human ingenuity and of weakness.

Of all the devices people use today, the air conditioner has not experienced major design makeovers like the television or the telephone. But there are companies trying to revolutionize the future of air-conditioningboth in aesthetics and efficiency. Some of these efforts rehearse earlier qualms about the unseemliness of interior cooling, making air-conditioning more personal. CoolWare, for example, makes an A/C collar, which wraps around the neck and delivers water-cooled air via small fans. Wristify offers a similar product as a bracelet. Kuchofuku makes an air-conditioned work shirt of a similar design.

A Cyprus-based company called Evapolar has introduced what it calls the worlds first personal air cooler. Its a small cube with a water reservoir and a fan that creates a breeze and purifies the air. Evapolar promotes the idea of a microclimate designed to cool a single persons work or sleep space, and thereby to avoid wasting energy by cooling entire rooms or buildings. Just as our phones became personalized, we believe that the climate device should also become personalized, Evapolar spokesperson Ksenia Shults tells me.

Dyson and Xiaomi are also introducing small, personalized air purifiers into the market. All these devices remain niche (and fairly uncool, as it were), but stranger things have become mainstream.

Even today, air-conditioning remains controversial. Due to their environmental impact, some advocates call for disuse of these machines. Others accuse the air conditioner of chauvinism, forcing women in the workplace to dress one way inside and another outside. It has become both a symbol of human ingenuity and of weakness, acclimatizing human bodies so that they are less resilient against natural heat without the aid of machines.

More than just an appliance, the air conditioner is a memento mori. It was a device people invented to avoid a few individual deaths, and yet one whose adoption might have a role to play in the passing of a temperate climate for everyone. As summer proceeds, listen to the chorus of machines humming in the windows, outside the houses, atop the office buildings. They offer a reminder that humanitys ingenuity can come at a cost. Maybe our forebears werent entirely wrong to see peril in the act of cooling the air.

This article appears courtesy of Object Lessons.

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This article was originally published on The Atlantic.
By Soyoung Kim and Hyungwon Kang SEOUL/TORONTO (Reuters) - North Korea freed a Canadian pastor serving a life sentence on humanitarian grounds, the official KCNA news agency said on Wednesday, just hours after the United States warned it would counter any threat from the North with "fire and fury." There was no clear connection between the release of Hyeon Soo Lim and the heightened rhetoric between Washington and Pyongyang. Canadian officials said on Tuesday a delegation led by the country's national security adviser had gone to North Korea to discuss Lim's case. Lim, who served in one of the largest churches in Canada, had been sentenced to hard labor for life in December 2015 after North Korea accused him of attempting to overthrow the regime. "Strategically, North Korea perhaps hopes to engender some goodwill from Canada as tensions rise," said Charles Burton, a former Canadian diplomat in China. "They hope that Canada presents some moderating influence on the Trump administration. "(But) I do not think it is directly connected to the tensions the U.S. president has ratcheted up. North Korea is concerned he would die in prison." KCNA said Lim had been released on "sick bail" by the country's Central Court for humanitarian reasons. Lim, accompanied by his wife and son, is expected to return to Canada on Thursday and will be hospitalized on arrival at his wife's request, a source familiar with the matter said. "So far, it has been confirmed that government officials and a doctor are accompanying Reverend Lim," said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media. Lim's family had become more concerned for his welfare since the death in June of American student Otto Warmbier, who had been held in North Korea for 17 months. Warmbier, sentenced last year to 15 years' hard labor for trying to steal a propaganda item from his hotel, died in a Cincinnati hospital days after being released in a coma. The circumstances of his death remain unclear. Canadian Senator Yonah Martin, who advocated for Lims release, said Lim was hospitalized during his imprisonment. "They were sending medication but there was a question as to whether he was actually receiving it in the way he should," he said. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's office did not comment on Wednesday. North Korea has in the past attracted the attention of Washington and visits by high-profile Americans with the detention and release of U.S. citizens. North Korea is still holding three Americans. The U.S. State Department said last week it would ban U.S. nationals from traveling to the isolated country from September. Lim's Toronto-area church has said he visited the North more than 100 times since 1997 and helped set up an orphanage and nursing home. Last year, Lim told CNN he spent eight hours a day digging holes at a labor camp where he had not seen any other prisoners. On Wednesday, North Korea said it was considering plans for a missile strike on the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam, just hours after President Donald Trump, unhappy with Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program, told the North that any threat to the United States would be met with "fire and fury." (Additional reporting by Leah Schnurr in Ottawa, Ben Blanchard in Beijing and Chris Arsenault in Toronto; Editing by Bill Trott and James Dalgleish)
A quarter of Americans believe President Donald Trump acted illegally over his campaigns alleged dealings with Russia during the 2016 presidential election, a new poll shows.

The Gallup poll, released on Wednesday, shows one in four respondents felt the president had acted illegally, while 37 percent of respondents believed he had acted unethically but not illegally. Thirty-five percent do not believe he did anything wrong.

And of the people surveyed, three quarters said they were paying close attention to the investigation and following news on the matter.

However, when the Russia probe is held up against polls taken on the actions of past presidents, a greater percentage of respondents polled believed Bill Clinton had acted illegally in the Whitewater real estate deal, with 29 percent believing that, while 42 percent believed Clinton had acted unethically but not illegally.

The probe into Russias alleged involvement in the U.S. election, and into whether the Trump campaign had any links with Russia, has prompted ire from the president himself, who recently criticized the investigation and the attorney general in a number of tweets.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has taken a VERY weak position on Hillary Clinton crimes (where are E-mails & DNC server) & Intel leakers! Trump tweeted on July 25, part of a series of messages about the attorney general.

The president also has called the Russia probe a witch hunt on a number of occasions, also telling a rally in West Virginia last week that the investigation was fake news.

The Russian story is a total fabrication, it is just an excuse for the greatest loss in the history of American politics," he said in comments carried by CNN. "That's all it is."

"Most people know there we no Russian in our campaign, there never were. We didn't win because of Russia, we won because of you. Are there any Russians here tonight? Any Russians? he added.

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NAIROBI  Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga on Wednesday rejected preliminary election results that showed him losing to incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta by a significant margin, alleging that hackers had gained access to the electoral commissions database and planted errors.

It has always been common knowledge that Uhuru Kenyattas regime was a fraud. But you can only cheat a people for so long, Odinga said in a statement. The 2017 General Election was a fraud.

Preliminary results show Odinga trailing Kenyatta 44.8 percent to 54.3 percent with 97.1 percent of ballots counted. Tuesdays vote was peaceful, but Odingas rejection of the results raises the specter of unrest in the days to come.

In 2007, Odinga alleged fraud after he lost to President Mwai Kibaki, touching off days of post-election violence in which at least 1,000 people were killed and around 600,000 were displaced. In 2013, he ran unsuccessfully again, this time losing to Kenyatta after the electronic voting system failed. Odinga challenged the results in countrys Supreme Court, alleging that the vote had been rigged, but the justices ruled against him.

This year, authorities had hoped to avoid a repeat of either electoral mishap, deploying a new electronic system that election officials claimed was rig-proof. The system was designed to produce two sets of results  an initial electronic count and a physical count based on hand-counted tallies of votes at the polling station level  that can be compared to ensure their veracity.

But just eight days before the election, a top official in charge of the electronic voting system was found dead, reportedly tortured to death. Odingas National Super Alliance (NASA) opposition coalition seized on the incident, claiming that it showed the determination of the killers to send a chilling message that they will stop at nothing to ensure the [electoral] outcome they desire.

On election day, millions of voters waited patiently in lines that in some cases stretched for hundreds of yards through slums and villages. But the memory of the 2007-2008 crisis loomed large; streets of the capital, Nairobi, were virtually empty on Tuesday and Wednesday. Grocery stores were left bare as residents stocked up on supplies in anticipation of unrest.

Story continues

Everybody is talking about the ongoing president, that he has to go, said John Oscar, a 34-year-old Odinga supporter living in the Kibera slum, where some of the worst violence occurred in 2007. So, if Uhuru, the sitting president, is reelected, definitely we might have violence from my point of view.

Some of Kenyattas supporters worried that disappointed Odinga supporters would purposely instigate unrest in response to unfavorable election results. The people of NASA, theyre very violent, said Emma, a resident of Mathare in Nairobi who claimed that supporters of the president threw stones at her earlier this week.

Reports of sporadic violence are already emerging in Odinga strongholds, including Kisumu in western Kenya and the Kangware and Mathare slums in Nairobi. Two demonstrators were reportedly shot and killed today in Mathare.

An estimated 180,000 police officers and security guards have been deployed across Kenya, according to election observers. In Kibera, police patrolled with water cannons, wearing riot gear and carrying assault rifles.

Odingas claims of fraud hinge on the comparison of real-time electronic results and the official hard-copy results, which are being counted by hand. His campaign has rejected the early results being streamed online, and insists on reviewing the hard copies from each polling station.

The countrys independent election commission, known as the IEBC, has denied that the electoral system was hacked. Our election management system is secure, the IEBC tweeted Wednesday. We confirm there were no interferences before, during and after the polling exercise.

Kenyattas Jubilee Party responded to Odingas accusations with accusations of their own. We did not expect NASA to accept the results of the elections because Raila Odinga has no record of accepting the results of the elections, said Raphael Tuju, secretary-general of Kenyattas Jubilee Party. Our first suspect if there was any hacking [is] that it was NASA who did it because they seem to know too much about the hacking in detail, which IEBC itself says it doesnt even know.

Reports of minor irregularities have trickled in from independent election observers. The Kura Yangu Sauti Coalition (KYSY), an observer mission spearheaded by the independent Kenya Human Rights Commission, released a statement Wednesday about the partial failure of the electronic voting system in some polling centers, saying they resulted in delays. The observers also reported that voters who were not listed on either the biometric or hard-copy registers were turned away from polling centers. Other gross misconducts by IEBC officials noted by KYSY observers included election officials in some areas allegedly guiding people on [how] to vote.

Other international observers, including from the United States and European Union, have yet to release statements about the conduct of the election. Former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who was on the ground as part of the Carter Centers observer mission, appealed for patience, according to a tweet from the official IEBC account.

Despite the oppositions claims to the contrary, experts hold out hope that the new electronic system will withstand its first test. The technology used in the election has worked better at every stage than in 2013, and if that continues to be the case it will increase confidence in the credibility of the result, said Nic Cheeseman, a professor of democracy and international development at the University of Birmingham.

Odinga has called on his supporters to remain calm, at least for now, but left open the possibility of calling for action sometime in the future. For months, he has been sowing doubts about the integrity electoral process, hinting that the only way he could lose is if the vote was rigged. Just weeks before the election, his coalition claimed to have concrete evidence that Kenyatta planned to overthrow the constitution and use the military to rig himself back in office.

So, it comes as little surprise that many of Odingas supporters are primed to reject a Kenyatta victory. The worry now is that some hard-line opposition supporters may stir up chaos in an effort to cast doubt on the election results and undermine the Jubilee administrations work over the next five years.

I think a lot of NASA supporters will be disappointed and theyll blame a little bit the party as well. And then what will happen is well see some nasty stuff with the hard-liners, so people in Kibera are going to be incredibly upset and unhappy and thats going to have an expression, said a political analyst who spoke on the condition of anonymity. But that this might take the form localized rioting, looting  horrible but small-scale attacks on minorities living within those communities, but it is unlikely to be the kind of violence that spreads on the scale that we were worried about before.

Photo credit: TONY KARUMBA/AFP/Getty Images
Opposition protesters clash with riot police in Kenya People react as they hold a poster depicting Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga, the presidential candidate of the National Super Alliance (NASA) coalition, in Kisumu, Kenya, Aug.10, 2017. (Photo: Baz Ratner/Reuters)

International observers on Thursday praised the handling of Kenyas presidential election, with the European Union mission saying it had seen no sign of manipulation despite opposition complaints and scattered protests.

Police fired live rounds and tear gas as they clashed with opposition supporters in one Nairobi neighborhood but most of the capital and the rest of the country were calm after four people were killed in violence on Wednesday.

President Uhuru Kenyatta has taken a commanding lead but his rival, veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga, has rejected provisional electronic results, saying figures released so far are fictitious and that election systems had been hacked.

As they wait for final results to be tallied and confirmed, many Kenyans are nervous of a repeat of the clashes that killed about 1,200 people after a bitterly contested 2007 election. (Reuters)

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Hundreds of South Korean scientists expressed outrage Wednesday after a controversial figure accused of covering up a notorious stem cell research fraud was appointed as the country's top technology official.

Park Ki-Young was appointed to head a newly-created science centre, putting her in charge of allocating government subsidies and budgets for research projects.

But a decade ago Park was a key figure in a scandal involving the fabrication of research by prominent stem cell scientist Hwang Woo-Suk.

"Her name is far from innovation. The name is rather a nightmare to science and technology workers," a group of 240 young scientists said in a statement.

It called on President Moon Jae-In to scrap the appointment, announced earlier this week, accusing Park of remaining "unrepentant" despite being "at the centre" of the scandal surrounding Hwang.

The scientist was lauded as the "pride of Korea" after claiming to have derived stem cell lines from cloned human embryos -- a world first -- in two articles published in the journal Science in 2004 and 2005.

But his research was later found to be fraudulent and riddled with ethical lapses.

Park played a key role in supporting Hwang and his research projects with generous government subsidies when she served as a presidential aide for science and technology from 2004 to 2006.

She was also one of 15 co-authors of one of Hwang's Science papers.

She resigned after being accused of covering up crucial flaws in Hwang's stem cell study and sweeping under the carpet ethical lapses involved in Hwang's projects that used many human eggs.

Even so she went on to become a biology professor at Sunchon National University.

A labour union of government researchers issued a separate statement calling Park's new nomination a "death knell" for South Korean science and technology.

The Biology Research Information Centre, a renowned online community of researchers which revealed Hwang's frauds, also joined the criticism, together with multiple activist groups and the country's three opposition parties, which asserted she was parachuted into the post because of her connections with Moon.
By Mubasher Bukhari LAHORE (Reuters) - The brother of ousted Pakistani leader Nawaz Sharif will not contest a parliamentary by-election for the vacant seat, party sources said on Tuesday, effectively scuttling previous plans for him to take over as prime minister in September. Sharif, 68, was disqualified by the Supreme Court last month but kept his grip on the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party and outlined plans for Shahid Khaqan Abbasi to act as interim prime minister until his brother, Shahbaz, becomes eligible to take over by winning the by-election. But Sharif and PML-N leadership have decided that Shahbaz should continue in his role as chief minister of the politically vital Punjab province that accounts for more than half of Pakistan's 190 million people. "Shahbaz will definitely not contest for NA 120," said one of Shahbaz's aides in Lahore, referring to the National Assembly seat left vacant by Nawaz. A senior PML-N figure in Lahore confirmed that the chief minister would not be contesting the seat, a move likely to leave Abbasi in charge until the next general elections, likely in mid-2018. PML-N officials say the main reason why Shahbaz may not take over is linked to the general elections and the party's fears that its grip on the vital Punjab province will weaken if he steps down as chief minister. The way Pakistan's political system is set up means any party that sweeps Punjab will most likely go on to form a government after the 2018 poll. Nawaz resigned last month after the Supreme Court disqualified him for not declaring a small source of income - something he rejects receiving. The veteran leader has criticized the court's decision and on Wednesday plans to begin a two-day drive to Lahore via all the major towns along the way, a move that his supporters say will show how popular he remains with voters. His supporters also argue that it is not clear if the Supreme Court disqualification means he is barred from contesting the next election. (Writing by Drazen Jorgic; Editing by Nick Macfie)
Investigators for special counsel Robert Mueller carried out an early-morning search on the home of former Donald Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort last month.

FBI agents seized documents and other materials related to taxes and foreign banking in the unannounced raid. The move, which required a federal magistrate judge to approve a search warrant based on probable cause that evidence of a crime could be found in Manaforts home, is a sign that the investigation is intensifying, legal experts say.

The search also indicates that Manafort may be in a tenuous position with prosecutors. Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Renato Mariotti says that the issuing of a warrant is a sign of significant heat from the prosecution and might indicate that Manafort has not flipped, or revealed damning evidence about other witnesses. At this point, he is not on the governments team, so to speak, Mariotti said.

Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University, agrees that the search means prosecutors are ratcheting up the pressure on Manafort. The decision to call for a search is a highly public and isolating way of seeking out evidence, he added. This indicates that the special counsel is putting this relationship on a more antagonistic or oppositional basis, Turley said. This is not something that you do with a cooperative witness.

The looming prospect of criminal charges bolstered by evidence gathered in a raid, said Turley, could push a witness to be more forthcomingor the President to exercise pardon power, which could undercut the investigation.

The fact that a search was deemed necessary is especially revealing because the grand jury convened by Mueller last week already has the power to acquire documents through subpoenas.

If prosecutors suspect that a witness is not producing subpoenaed documents in their entirety, or that they are altering or even destroying requested documents, a search warrant can provide a solution. A search could also circumvent a witness pleading the Fifth Amendment to keep from procuring documents for a subpoena.

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And, Mariotti said, a raid can provide additional details about how documents are kept or maintained that can be useful in an investigation. For example, if documents were intentionally moved from an office to Manaforts home, that could be revealing.

Manafort, who served as Trumps campaign manager for several months, turned over documents to the Senate judiciary and intelligence committees last month.

The act of carrying out a search on a witness is a powerful psychological tool that can prompt a witness to become more forthcoming or name more targets. Its a sign that lack of cooperation from the witness wont be taken lightly. The more isolated a target feels, the more likely they will cooperate, Turley said. Nothing concentrates the mind of a target more than a pre-dawn unannounced raid on his home.
By Alexandra Zaslow

The city of Phoenix made history after Jeri Williams was hired as police chief and Kara Kalkbrenner as fire chief.

Phoenix is the largest city in the country with both a female police and fire chief.

They were by far the most qualified and respected candidates, who happened to be women, Mayor Greg Stanton said. Anybody can rise to the very top of their organization and thats just not talk. In Phoenix, we walk the walk.

Nationally, 12 percent of full-time local police officers and 3.5 percent of career firefighters are female.

Kara and I both know the tremendous responsibility that comes with being the first female and Ive learned from Kara to be very gracious at accepting that responsibility, Phoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams said.

Its not just the police and fire departments that females are leading in Phoenix; there are 20 to 30 departments in the city with women in power.

Phoenix is very progressive and they feel that the leadership team of the city should mirror the community, Kara Kalkbrenner, Phoenix fire chief, said. So if you look at the diverse community that we have, we have an extremely diverse workforce.

Williams believes that Phoenixs strong connection to community is what makes it different from other cities.

Every day, we come to work to make a difference, Kalkbrenner said.

Chief Kalkbrenner and Chief Williams met in junior high school and consider each other best friends.

We can pick up the phone and have a conversation, Kalkbrenner said. Theres an amount of trust that you really need to have in your counterpart.

Phoenix is an amazing place to live, but even more amazing [is] where were going. We havent seen the end of the growth and the potential that the city has.
Diana, Princess of Wales - Hulton Royals Collection

Diana, Princess of Wales would have been the "best grandmother ever," her brother told a US television documentary.

Earl Spencer shared previously unseen home videos of Diana as a young child.

The videos showed her playing in a sand pit, on a lawn, in a doll house, and on a swing.

Earl Spencer told ABC's The Story of Diana documentary: "Youd be wrong to think of Diana was a saintly child. She was quite naughty. Never with malice, you know, just sort of pushing the boundaries."

He added: "One of the great tragedies of course is that Diana would have been the best grandmother ever.

Earl Spencer Credit: John Robertson

"I love the fact that there's still such veneration inside her immediate family for what she was and what she meant and I think that's fantastic."

Colin Tebbut, Dianas driver, told the documentary about bringing Dianas body home to London in 1997 following her death in a car crash in Paris.

He said: "I don't think you've ever come into a street where you can't move with people, but as we came out of the airport and turned left, which is the A40 into London, there were no cars.

"People, people, upon people, upon people all the way in. Must have been probably four or five miles.
The leaked transcripts of President Donald Trumps call with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull have dominated headlines from Washington to Canberra, documenting the pique, the politics and the clash of personalities. Trumps critics wield the transcript as evidence, they say, of a hopelessly unprepared Diplomat in Chief; his defenders point to the leak itself as the miscarriage of justice.

But among all the sound and fury, no one is talking about the substance of what these two leaders were fighting over  when the well-being of 2,000 actual human beings hangs in the balance.

Despite all theyve read, most people likely remain unsure as to whether and how the refugee resettlement agreement between the United States and Australia will be honored. This isnt just another Washington, D.C., process story  and shame on us if we let it become one.

I was the Obama Administration official responsible for negotiating the agreement with Australias Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to bring relief to approximately 1,200 asylum seekers on the islands of Nauru and Manus, most of whom are held in detention centers there. These are people who risked their lives on makeshift boats to flee conflict and the lack of access to basic means of survival but were turned back by an Australian government that refuses asylum seekers who arrive by sea. As we fuss and fret over the clash of presidential and prime ministerial personalities, actual human beings suffer.

While the last Administration strongly pressed the Australian government to change its policy toward asylum seekers, we also sought to immediately relieve the suffering of these refugees and agreed to resettle up to 1,200 after they went through the U.S. governments rigorous refugee screening processes. (Refugees are subject to the most thorough vetting of any visitor to the United States.) We also made clear that while we disagreed with their policy of detention, Australia is a critical ally  particularly in the Pacific  and a leader in humanitarian assistance and refugee resettlement globally.

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I only know all this because of my former role as Deputy Secretary of State, not because of anything I am reading in the newspapers or watching on television  and thats part of the problem. If we dont even discuss the underlying facts of international debates and disagreements, how are we ever going to build anything resembling consensus to address them?

Theres no shortage of issues demanding our attention. Today, we are also experiencing the largest humanitarian crisis since the Second World War. Twenty million people are on the brink of famine  more than the populations of New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston and Philadelphia combined. But the American people remain largely in the dark; their news feeds are filled instead with coverage of Trumps latest 140-character insult.

Two weeks ago, I was in Uganda, face-to-face with South Sudanese refugees. Nearly a million refugees have arrived in Uganda, which received the most refugees in the world last year and is now home to the largest refugee crisis in Africa. Eighty-six percent are women and children. One woman I met, Janet, had 11 children to care for  her own four, four were the children of other relatives who couldnt make the journey, as well as three malnourished children of her brother who was slaughtered in the war. With tears spilling down her face, Janet spoke about her inability to feed the children, that despite the relative safety of the refugee settlement in Uganda there simply wasnt enough food. Why? Because funding hasnt materialized. The United Nations estimates that the humanitarian response has only 35% of the resources needed to keep people from starvation. The World Food Program has been forced to cut rations while the problems stemming from drought, civil war and violent extremism only grow.

Janet isnt reading Twitter or watching cable. She doesnt care who leaked what transcript or what world leaders got snippy with each other. Shes another voiceless casualty of our politics of mass distraction.

When America leads, the world follows. From the first CARE Packages that Americans sent to families in war-torn Europe 70 years ago, to President Ronald Reagan on national television rallying America to intervene in Africas famine in the 1980s, the United States leads the way to stopping hunger.

But Americans cant solve a crisis they dont know about. Sensationalism and sound bites cant feed Janets children and the millions like her  only we can.
WENDELL  The president of the Magic Valley Portuguese Hall shot and killed one of the men working on the halls renovation and then killed himself, a police report says.

Four Gooding County sheriffs deputies who investigated the Aug. 4 deaths filed written reports that say Agustin Nopal Donu, 34, of Paul, was dead, slumped in a chair when deputies arrived, and Tony Sousa, 56, of Wendell, was dead on the floor with a rifle under him.

Evidence and information gathered from witnesses suggested Sousa shot Donu because construction at the hall was moving too slowly.

The reports describes Donu as having been shot midway between the shoulder and neck, in the area of the collarbone and in a manner that was not indicative of a point blank gunshot wound, one deputy wrote. Another wrote the angle of the shot indicated Nopal had been seated and the shooter standing. Sousa, the reports say, had been seated and shot at close range in the face.

Based on evidence collected at the scene, as well as the scene itself, it appeared that Tony Sousa had shot (Agustin Nopal) while seated in a chair, and that Tony had later turned the gun on himself, and shooting himself in the head, Deputy Alex Boyer wrote.

Two of the reports say Sousa owned two rifles, but authorities couldnt find them at his home. It isnt clear why one of the rifles was at the hall, although one report does mention there had been a rock chuck problem there.

Sousa was a longtime and widely known Wendell resident. He had been president of the Portuguese Hall since October. Nopal was a construction worker hired to renovate the hall in preparation for its 20th anniversary. He was from Mexico, and authorities said last week he doesnt appear to have had any family in the area.

According to the reports, Sousas wife had gone to the hall to talk to him and discovered the two men. Two other men were working construction outside the hall at the time. Neither reported hearing the shots.

One person who had worked on the project told deputies he had sensed a problem between Nopal and Sousa and that Sousa had not been happy with the progress Nopal was making on the hall. Several of Sousas friends and family told deputies he was stressed over the progress of the halls construction, had been having trouble sleeping and worried it would not be finished in time, with one friend saying he had mentioned suicide.

Sousa had sought help from a doctor and was prescribed medication the day before the shooting.
(WASHINGTON)  Republicans face a problem as they try to defend a slim majority in the Senate and win races elsewhere: Insurgent primary candidates are trying to lay claim to President Donald Trumps mantle, and knock out the establishments choices.

The latest case is in Nevada, where endangered GOP incumbent Sen. Dean Heller drew a challenge Tuesday from businessman and repeat failed candidate Danny Tarkanian, who announced his bid in an early morning Fox News Channel appearance seemingly aimed at an audience of one: the president himself.

Were never going to make America great again unless we have senators in office that fully support President Trump and his America-first agenda, Tarkanian said, criticizing Heller as one of the first never-Trumpers in Nevada and arguing he had obstructed Trumps agenda in Congress.

Heller opposed early versions of Trump-backed health care legislation in the Senate before voting for a final version that failed anyway. His campaign spokesman, Tommy Ferraro, dismissed Tarkanian as a perennial candidate.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee, which is the official Senate GOP campaign arm, quickly announced its support for Heller, and a super PAC backed by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., committed to spending what it takes to support him and other GOP incumbents.

The dynamic mirrors longstanding clashes between the GOPs establishment and activist wings, which played out disastrously in 2010 and 2012 when hard-core conservatives won Senate primaries but went on to lose to Democrats. McConnell and his allies vowed never to let that happen again and have subsequently intervened in primaries when necessary to produce candidates who could win.

The X factor now is the appeal Trump may hold to Republican primary voters  and what Trump himself will do. The president offered one clue Tuesday night, backing the establishment candidate in next weeks GOP Senate special election primary in Alabama, hours after an Associated Press story noted the absence so far of a presidential endorsement in the race.

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Senator Luther Strange has done a great job representing the people of the Great State of Alabama. He has my complete and total endorsement! the president wrote, bypassing a firebrand House conservative, Mo Brooks, and an evangelical former state chief justice, Roy Moore, in favor of the appointed senator strongly backed by McConnell. The candidates are fighting over the seat previously held by now-Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

But whether Heller will get the presidential seal of approval in his primary is far less clear, and he is not alone.

Next door in Arizona, GOP incumbent Sen. Jeff Flake, another Trump skeptic during last years campaign, faces at least one challenge from the right in conservative Kelli Ward, who repeatedly denounces Flake while praising Trump.

In each case, to their annoyance, establishment-aligned Republicans face the prospect of spending millions to protect an incumbent from a challenger who might have a tough time getting out of the general election. Republicans hold a 52-48 Senate majority and are playing offense against Democratic incumbents in 10 states Trump won.

Its a critical time to make sure that Republican members know, when theyre casting tough votes, that well have their backs, said Steven Law, a former McConnell chief of staff who heads the Senate Leadership Fund, in describing the decision to come in with millions to back Strange in Alabama.

Until Trump weighed in with his endorsement late Tuesday, the Alabama race had underscored questions about the role the president would play in Senate primaries.

A former GOP Senate campaign official with knowledge of the situation said the NRSC has sought help from the Trump White House on Senate races but those requests went unanswered under the leadership of recently ousted Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, leading to widespread frustration. The former campaign official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal party matters.

While Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have said they want to increase the Republican majorities in the House and Senate, the White Houses approach to contentious primaries isnt clear yet. And Trump has already worked against McConnells goals, ignoring his pleas not to appoint former Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke, a likely Senate candidate, as Interior secretary, while boosting endangered Democratic Sens. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Joe Manchin of West Virginia by hosting them at Trump Tower.

As for Heller, he is already walking the Trump tightrope.

Hellers initial denunciation of a Senate plan to repeal and replace Obamacare drew the ire of a political nonprofit promoting Trumps agenda. America First Policies tied Heller to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., in a social media push and threatened to spend more than $1 million trashing him on television and radio on his home turf. McConnell called the groups attacks beyond stupid.

In addition to the health care episode, Heller in 2015 said he was donating Trumps previous campaign contributions to charity  a move he announced after Trump came under fire for characterizing some illegal immigrants from Mexico as rapists. For a president with a famously long memory for slights, Heller may have little hope of getting back into his good graces.
Jazra (Syria) (AFP) - Sawsan Karapetyan and her family lived in fear for years as some of the only Christians in the Islamic State group's Syrian stronghold Raqa. On Tuesday she fled, clutching her rosary.

Under the cover of darkness, the 45-year-old Syrian Armenian and six other family members left IS-held territory in the northern city on foot.

They were rescued by Christian fighters participating in the battle to oust IS from Raqa and taken to the safety of the western suburb of Jazra in the back of a truck.

"I didn't want to leave, but there was so much bombardment around us that we fled," said Karapetyan, 45, still clad in the black robes mandated by IS.

Like many of the thousands who have fled IS control, they escaped with virtually nothing.

But Karapetyan could not bear to leave behind her rosary, or her pet parrots, "Lover" and "Beloved".

"It would have been a shame to leave these birds in Raqa. I left everything except them," she said.

As she spoke, she sipped a cup of tea handed to her by fighters from the Syriac Military Council (SMC), a Christian unit battling alongside the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces to oust IS from Raqa.

The anti-IS fighters have captured more than half of the city from IS since first penetrating it two months ago.

The offensive has ravaged the city, leaving civilians caught in the crossfire of mortar rounds, sniper fire, and US-led coalition air strikes.

"When Raqa was bombed, we'd gather together to pray to the Lord so things would be calm," Karapetyan said, fiddling with her greenish-grey rosary.

Along with three female and three male relatives, she fled Raqa at 3:00 am on Tuesday using an escape route the SMC opened two days ago.

"We lived through the hardest moments these last three days because of the fierce bombing. I was terrified for my husband and my family."

- Celebrating holidays in secret -

Thousands of Armenians and Syriac Christians once lived in Raqa, making up around one percent of the city's population, which is predominantly Sunni Arab.

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Armenians in Syria are the descendants of those who fled mass killings in Anatolia at the peak of World War I, massacres the Armenians see as a genocide, though Turkey rejects the term.

When IS seized Raqa in 2014, most of the city's Christians, as well as its Kurdish population, fled.

Under IS rule, Christians face the choice of converting to Islam, paying a sectarian tax called jizya, or fleeing under threat of death.

The group has regularly destroyed religious symbols and houses of worship, and Karapetyan's relative Alexey told AFP she had haunting memories of IS's oppression of Christians.

"When IS entered they burned the churches, all the prayer books, the angels, the statue of the Virgin Mary and of Jesus the Messiah," she recalled.

The city's famed Armenian Catholic Church of the Martyrs and the Greek Catholic Church of Our Lady of the Annunciation were both ravaged by jihadists.

"We used to celebrate our holidays in secret, spending them at home in fear," Alexey, 50, said, still dressed in the headscarf and robes required by IS.

"We would light a bit of incense just to feel that it was a religious holiday."

Alexey presses the palm of her hand against her worn face, exhausted by the terrifying journey to Jazra and missing the home she left behind.

"We all left Raqa and all of our things stayed behind. It's a painful feeling. We tried to stay but we couldn't take it anymore."

From Jazra, she and her relatives planned to head west to Aleppo to be reunited with Armenian family members they lost touch with about a month ago.

- 'We will pray again' -

Tens of thousands of people have been displaced from Raqa by the escalating fighting.

Matay, a 22-year-old Christian fighter, told AFP that his forces had secured a route in recent days to help civilians flee.

"We got a Christian family out yesterday... This is our goal in the campaign to liberate Raqa."

Kardij Kirdian, 50, fled on Tuesday after his brother escaped the day before.

"I can't describe the feeling when we saw the Christian fighters welcoming us," he said.

He told AFP he had chosen to stay in his native Raqa even if it meant paying exorbitant taxes.

"The first year, they took 55,000 Syrian pounds (more than $100) per person as jizya. The next year it was 66,000, and this last year it was 166,000 pounds each (more than $300)," Kirdian said.

To afford the levy, he would rent out and farm fertile land around the city.

The 50-year-old was wearing a loose charcoal grey robe and had thick, jet-black eyebrows and an unruly salt-and-pepper beard.

"Daesh blew up all of the churches, which devastated us. I haven't prayed inside a church since 2013," Kirdian lamented, using the Arabic acronym for IS.

But he remained hopeful.

"If we rebuild them, we will pray again in Raqa."
A Russian Air Force jet performed a low-level observation flight over Washington on Wednesday in a surveillance mission approved by US officials.

The un-armed plane flew over the White House, Pentagon and CIA headquarters. Defence officials said the exact route the aircraft took could only be confirmed after the mission had been completed.

The flypast, between 11am and 3pm on Wednesday, was permitted under the long-standing Open Skies Treaty, which attempts to foster transparency about military activity as well as help monitor arms control.

US Capitol Police, the force tasked with protesting Congress, gave advance warning of an "authorised low-altitude aircraft" that would enter airspace over Washington.

"The aircraft will be large and may fly directly over the US Capitol," the statement said. "This flight will be monitored by the US Capitol Police command centre and other federal government agencies."

The Tu-154M jet also flew over the Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, which serve as the main base of the Presidents Air Force One jumbo-jet.

It then tracked north to fly over Bedminster, New Jersey, where Donald Trump is currently on a 17-day break.

The Russian jet also observed the Presidential compound at Camp David, Maryland, the Wright-Patterson air force base in Ohio and the Mount Weather emergency operations centre in Virginia.

"The United States is notified ahead of time of the intended flight path of observation flights, participates in the development of agreed flight plans, has US observers on the aircraft during the flight, and receives a copy of the imagery taken by the Russian aircraft at the conclusion of the mission," a spokeswoman for the US State Department told the Russian news agency, Tass.

"The Treaty does not preclude an observed State Party from taking mitigation measures at sensitive sites on the ground."

In May, Russia performed similar flights over the UK under the international Treaty on Open Skies.

An Antonov An-30B flew from Brize Norton in Oxford with RAF personnel on board, following a flight plan pre-approved by the Ministry of Defence and Royal Air Force.
The relationship between India and China seemed to worsen Wednesday when the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that 53 people and an Indian bulldozer was in China's territory and advised India to pull them back. This followed a warning Tuesday when an editorial in the state-run China Daily said that the "countdown to a clash between the two forces has begun."

"India should withdraw its troops and equipment. Regardless of how many Indian troops have trespassed into and stayed in Chinese territory, they have gravely infringed on China's sovereignty," the ministry said, the Global Times reported.

The China Daily editorial said the clock was ticking and that it seemed like a clash would be an inevitable conclusion between the two prominent Asian countries if India did pull back its troops from the disputed Doklam region.

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The article referred to a border standoff between the two countries that has continued for over two months. The controversy began when India opposed Chinas plan to extend a border road through a disputed plateau which Bhutan says is its Doklam region and China claims as part of its Donglang region.

India and Bhutan have historically maintained strong relations. The Indian Army is involved in training the Royal Bhutan Army, while Bhutan cooperates closely with India in determining its foreign policy. India has expressed concern that the road, if completed, would make it easier for China to access India's northeastern states. In the event of a conflict, India fears this would help China cut off its northeast from the rest of the country, the BBC reported.

The editorial on Tuesday said that while Beijing had tried time and again to avoid conflict and warned India on several occasions, India has refrained from pulling back its troops. "Anyone with eyes to see and ears to hear will have got the message. Yet New Delhi refuses to come to its senses and pull its troops back to its own side of the border," it stated.

Story continues

According to the newspaper, a spokesman for China's Ministry of Defense warned India not to underestimate the Chinese army and that there was a bottom line to the restraint that China had shown. It added that Indias audacity to challenge China might have come from the fact that India was suffering from a sense of insecurity and inferiority faced with Chinas increasing prominence in the region.

While China has warned India about consequences of not pulling back its army, India does not look like it is backing down. Speaking in Indias parliament on Wednesday, Defense Minister Arun Jaitley said the country was ready to meet any challenge. Referring to the war that took place in 1962 between the two countries, which India lost, Jaitley said the country had learned many lessons from it.

Read: Walmart Removes Controversial Back-To-School Gun Sign

"Some people are targeting our country's sovereignty and integrity. But I am fully confident that our brave soldiers have capability to keep our country secure, may it be challenges on the eastern border or the western border," he said, according to reports.

China and India share a border that extends 2,174 miles. Following the war in 1962, disputes in areas like Aksai Chin, Depsang Plains and some areas in the northeast Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, have remained unresolved.

Tibets spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, who resides in India, has also been a sticking point between the two countries. Speaking on the issue the Dalai Lama on Wednesday emphasized that talks are the only solution. "I do not think it is very serious. India and China have to live side by side." He said, according to reports

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A Kentucky boy who thought he'd stepped on a crab while swimming on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, was actually bitten by a shark, according to experts. Ten-year-old Johnny Simatacolos was in the water on July 29 when he suddenly felt pain in his foot.

"I thought something bit me or I stepped on something like a crab," he told the Island Packet. "I was screaming, a little, and it was bleeding badly."

Read: Shark Attacks 2 12-Year-Old Girls On South Carolina Beach

The boy's parents also assumed he'd stepped on something and bandaged his foot. When they arrived back in Kentucky after their vacation, Johnny's father, Jim Simatacolos, searched the internet for some answers.

GettyImages-500339800

Photo: Getty Images

"A friend later told us that a shark was spotted at the same beach after we left, but we didn't think anything of it at the time," Jim Simatacolos said. "We noticed the parallel cuts on his foot looked like other shark bites, but we weren't sure how to confirm it."

Experts, however, were able to confirm the wound came from a shark. George Burgess, director of the International Shark Attack File at the Florida Museum of Natural History, confirmed the shark bite by looking at photos submitted by Jim Simatacolos. The bite was the third such incident at Hilton Head this year and the fifth in South Carolina. A 14-year old girl was bitten on the leg June 18 while boogie boarding in Burkes Beach on Hilton Head Island. On June 21, a 16-year-old was bitten while swimming on another Hilton Head beach.

"This is nothing out of the ordinary," Lindsay French, a researcher at the International Shark Attack File, told the Island Packet. "On average, we see about three to four shark bites each year in the state of South Carolina but have seen as many as eight in one year. In comparison, we see about 25 shark bites on average in the state of Florida each year."

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While it remained unclear what type of shark bit Johnny Simatacolos, experts said all three Hilton Head attacks were likely smaller sharks because they were not life threatening.

"Two of the most likely culprits, based on different features of the attack, including locality and shark behavior  what we call a 'Hit and Run' type of bite  could be a Blacktip shark or an Atlantic Sharpnose shark," said French.

The Atlantic Sharpnose is one of the most prevalent species of sharks in South Carolina, according to experts. The small shark typically grows up to about three feet long.

"[The Atlantic Sharpnose] has teeth and it can bite you, but if it does, it's not going to be bad  it might be a couple of stitches," South Carolina Natural Resources marine biologist Bryan Frazier told Myrtle Beach Online after a similar attack in July.

Read: Shark Attacks Man At Nude Beach After Lifeguard Tries To Chase It Away

Frazier noted that Blacktip sharks are also responsible for many of the attacks that occur in the waters off South Carolina.

"These guys do feed in the surf," said Frazier. "They're actively feeding on menhaden and mullet, schools of bait that are often found off the front beaches."

GettyImages-147206806

Photo: Getty Images

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The key to the perfect fitting room isn't just about 'skinny mirrors' The key to the perfect fitting room isn't just about 'skinny mirrors'

In a 1994 Seinfeld episode, Elaine Benes, the fictional character played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, spends an afternoon shopping a huge sale at Barneys department store in New York City. Elaine finds a dress she loves, and she thinks it loves her back. That is, until she gets home.

I try this dress on. Stunning. Stunning. I couldnt take my eyes off myself, Elaine tells Jerry Seinfeld. OK, so then I put it on at home. It looks like Im carrying twins!

And in that comedic moment, Elaine identified the arch nemesis of every frustrated shopper: skinny mirrors. Skinny mirrors! They make you look, like, 10 pounds lighter! she cries.

If Elaines plight sounds familiar, then you too may have fallen victim to the skinny mirror snafu, in which a particularly cheap or warped mirror reflects to you a morphed version of your size, perhaps taller and thinner than you see yourself IRL. But more on that later.

While Elaine was certainly on to something, the truth is, theres so much more to a disheartening fitting room experiences than the culpable skinny mirror. There are actually dozens of things that affect how you feel about yourself when you try something on in-store, and retailers have struggled for years to perfect the fitting room formula.

Fitting rooms are a psychological land mine for everybody, Marge Laney, CEO of retail consulting company Alert Tech said in 2015. Retailers cant do anything about that at all, and they shouldnt even try to address that. What they can do is ride as lightly as they can on psychological problems by creating an environment that makes the customer look and feel good.

Laneys son Brian, the vice president of sales and product for Alert Tech, has worked with his mother for the last 20-plus years, and talked to Yahoo Style about how he tries to help retailers be successful and shoppers comfortable.

Brian Laney says that until the 2010s, fitting rooms were horribly utilized and retailers really didnt pay attention to how fitting rooms impact sales.

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Spending money on a high quality mirror is really important, but labor is also one of the largest costs that retailers spend money on, he adds, and they werent training their labor to address fitting room problems, like connecting people with associates.

According to the National Retail Federation, more than two-thirds of shoppers who use fitting rooms are likely to buy something, and those who use fitting rooms are twice as likely to buy than people who dont use them. Other fitting room factors that majorly affect sales: the availability of a salesperson to pull another size and the length of the fitting room line to begin with.

Some retailers have tried to bring too much technology into what should be a simple, comfortable space, which can ultimately make fitting room lines longer, says Laney. The so-called magic mirror craze in 2015, in which smart mirrors that displayed widgets and touch screen functionality to shoppers, never quite caught on, despite industry fanfare and implementation at stores like Rebecca Minkoff.

Laney says its because adding high-tech features to a space where shoppers already feel vulnerable adds another layer of stress to the mix. Plus, shoppers who arent tech savvy end up spending too much time in fitting rooms trying to figure out how to work the machinery, creating even longer fitting room lines.

So, if all this tech isnt the answer to fitting room woes, what is? The formula for a perfect fitting room isnt as tough as retailers make it out to be, according Laney, who boils it down in the following way: Fitting rooms shouldnt make shoppers feel claustrophobic or like they need a flashlight; if youre sweating before youve unzipped your pants, its too hot; if there are leftover clothes or debris from previous shoppers, thats a deterrent for buyers.

Regarding those pesky mirrors, Yahoo Style spoke with Michael Tuts, physics department chair at Columbia University, for the skinny on how to spot a mirror you can trust. When a mirror is vertically convex (the top and bottom of the mirror bends and bulges out in the middle) or horizontally convex (the sides are squeezed until the middle bulges out), the way the light reflects off the mirror can reveal an image that isnt true to size. Meaning that you might appear shorter and fatter or taller and thinner than you truly are.

Tuts says flat mirrors will the reflect the same height and width of the object (in this case, you).

The way you could tell [a mirror is flat] is by taking in a nice straight ruler in with you  hold it vertically on the mirror and see that it touches everywhere. There should be no gaps between the ruler and the mirror surface, Tuts explains. Now hold it horizontally. If there are no gaps, then it is a flat mirror, whereas if you see a gap at the end of the ruler, then you are looking in a skinny-making mirror.

The horror of all horrors when it comes to mirrors might be when the mirror itself is placed outside an individuals fitting room, a cardinal sin according to Laney. Still, some retailers like Aritzia stand by their decision to use communal mirrors in a spacious, well-lit environment that allows for a more social shopping experience and greater access to our highly knowledgeable stylists, says an Aritzia spokesperson.

And if anything else in that fitting room is making you feel uncomfortable, consider whether youd feel better trying on the clothes at home (depending, of course, on the stores return policy). Thats always been this writers MO, and it probably wouldve helped one Elaine Benes 20 years ago, too.

Read more from Yahoo Style + Beauty:

 Angelina Jolie, One of Hollywoods Highest Paid Stars, Wore an Affordable Everlane Outfit

 Tiffany Trump Quotes Muhammad Ali in Stylish Memorial Day Photo

 Teen Faced Her Biggest Fear and Wore a Swimsuit at the Beach

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. For Twitter updates, follow @YahooStyle and @YahooBeauty.

Alexandra Mondalek is a writer for Yahoo Style + Beauty. Follow her on Twitter @amondalek.
Would-be thieves in Texas picked the wrong store to make a robbery attempt, as the armed pair encountered a business owner and son who were ready to fight back, officials said.

The suspects entered Z-Comm, an Arlington-based cell phone repair store that buys and sells cell phones, under the guise that they were there to do business, surveillance footage of the July 18 incident showed.

But it wasnt long before one of the two suspects pulled out a handgun, pointing it at the stores owner and his son, who were standing behind the counter.

The armed suspect pointed the gun at the stores owner and his son and jumped over the counter, where he was quickly tackled and wrestled to the ground, the surveillance footage, released by Arlington Police, showed.

Read: Would-Be Robber Scared Away by Quick-Thinking Store Clerk Who Scares Him With Pipe

As the struggled ensued, the other suspect pulled out a gun and can be seen brandishing the weapon at the group, but the store owner didnt miss a beat, swatting at the second gun while continuing to wrangle the first away.

Both suspects got away, but not before the store owner and son nearly dragged one of the men back inside.

We do NOT recommend that you try and fight off armed robbers, Arlington Police wrote in a Facebook post about the incident. These clerks got very lucky that they were not shot or killed.

Store owner Khurrum Monga agreed, telling CBS DFW that it was only after the fact that he realized what he and his son did was dangerous.

Read: Alleged Robber Drops Money Fleeing Crime Scene and Takes a While to Pick it Up

When I saw my son in a fight, I didn't think, I just ran toward the fight to help," Monga told the television station. We are both very lucky that we weren't hurt and that no shots were fired. We just hope police can find the men.

Nothing was taken from the store, but police told Monga that the gun left behind was real and loaded.

Story continues

We were thinking, 'It was fake. It's all fake. They're just making up anything. But after, when police told me, 'It's a real gun and it's loaded,' of course it's coming into my mind, we should not do that," he said.

No arrests have been made in the case.

Anyone who may recognize the suspects is asked to call Detective Houchin at 817-459-5301.

Watch: Robbers in Trump Masks Blow Up Cash Machines

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By Malini Menon NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India and China will have to resolve their prolonged military standoff in a remote Himalayan region through talks, the Dalai Lama said on Wednesday, ruling out the chance of war because it would be destructive to both parties. Indian and Chinese troops have been embroiled in a seven-week confrontation on the Doklam plateau, claimed by both China and India's tiny ally, Bhutan. The Dalai Lama, who lives in exile in India after fleeing a failed uprising against Chinese rule in Tibet, said there would be no victors in a war and talks were the only option. "This century should be a century of dialogue," the Nobel peace laureate said in the Indian capital. "One-side victory, one-side defeat is old thinking. Destruction of your neighbor is destruction of yourself. The only way is through talks." Indian troops went into Doklam in mid-June to stop a Chinese construction crew from extending a road India's military says will bring China's army too close for comfort in the northeast. Beijing has demanded India leave the area, and low-key talks between the neighbors have produced no breakthrough, raising fears the two could stumble into a conflict. India and China have a 3,500-km (2,175-mile) -long mountain border over which they fought a 1962 war that ended in India's defeat. They have since failed to settle the border, leading to frequent claims of intrusions into each other's territories. The chance of a conflict was low, however, despite exchanges of harsh words, the Dalai Lama said. "Two big nations don't have the ability to eliminate the other or defeat the other. So you have to live side by side." Tension between India and China has been rising over several issues. India is concerned over Beijing's military collaboration with arch rival Pakistan as well as its expanding involvement in infrastructure development across South Asia. China has railed against the Indian government's public embrace of the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader, whom it regards as a "dangerous splittist." The Dalai Lama said there was a chance dialogue could resume with Chinese President Xi Jinping's representatives after a Communist Party congress set for Oct-Nov that is expected to confirm Xi for a second term as party general secretary and could reshuffle other top posts. "Some of my friends say, after the 19th party meeting, some old politburo member may change because of age. So my friends say, after the 19th party meeting, there could be some possibility, some change." There have been no formal talks between Beijing and the Dalai Lama's representatives since 2010. (Editing by Sanjeev Miglani and Clarence Fernandez)
BOISE  Idaho Department of Labor Director Ken Edmunds abruptly resigned on Monday due to philosophical differences with Gov. Butch Otters office.

I think there are certain people who strongly disagreed with the way I was handling things. So, I thought it was time to step aside. Edmunds told the Statesman on Tuesday evening, the day Otters office announced his departure in a news release.

Paul Spannknebel, deputy administrator at the Idaho Division of Human Resources, will serve as acting Labor director while Otter searches for a successor.

Otter appointed Edmunds in November 2013 to replace retiring director Roger Madsen, who had spent nearly 20 years at the agencys helm. Edmunds, from Twin Falls, previously ran a real estate and consulting business and served on the State Board of Education from 2008 up until he took the Labor job.

The Department of Labor has 550 employees. It oversees workforce development, provides resources for job seekers, and assists workers with unemployment insurance and benefits. Edmunds was paid about $125,000 a year, according to state records.

On a different page

Since taking the helm at Labor, Edmunds said he has rarely spoken with the governor. The last time he personally talked to Otter was maybe last year.

Edmunds said he did not have a problem with this: That is not his management style. He delegates to the department heads and his staff.

Since taking office in January 2007, Otter has maintained a hands-off approach when it comes to his cabinet members and their jobs.

For day-to-day operational issues, that is usually handled first by staff, not directly by the governor, Otter spokesman Jon Hanian said Wednesday.

And Edmunds relationship with at least some part of Otters staff apparently became contentious, with differing views of where Labor should focus its resources and what types of programs it should pursue.

I was appointed by the governor. I felt his people represented what he wanted and we had disagreement on how things should move, Edmunds said. There was not any big revelation, I was just on a different page than certain people.

The departure was a mutual decision: I elected to do it through a resignation.

Hanian did not discuss Edmunds mentions of philosophical differences, but said Otter makes it a point to talk to all cabinet members who attend hisCapital for a Day event held monthly around the state. Hanian said Edmunds has attended two of those events in the past 12 months, most recently the one held in March in Hansen.

Cabinet members can ask to speak with Otter at other times, and his staff tries to accomodate those requests within 24 hours. Edmunds had made no such requests this year except for one meeting on the calendar for October, Hanian said.

Gov. Otter is a great guy, Edmunds said. The last thing I want to do is in some way imply that I am gone because of him. He gave me opportunities to do a lot of stuff and I was able to get involved with a lot of things, but my style did not work.

Recent problems

Since Edmunds became Labor chief, the department has been the subject of at least two notable lawsuits.

In May 2015, Don Dew filed a lawsuit in Boise federal court alleging that Edmunds and former Idaho Human Rights Commission Director Pamela Parks discriminated against Dew while he was interviewing for a job as Idaho Human Rights Commission director because he has epilepsy and is gay.

Distraught over how he was treated during an interview, Dew voluntarily withdrew his application. A judge dismissed the case saying the state did not deny Dew the job because he voluntarily withdrew his application.

Dew said Tuesday that he did not know about the resignation. The only comment I have is that sometimes change comes slowly, but it is inevitable, he said.

Several months ago, James Cryer, a former employee, claimed in a federal whistleblower lawsuit that department higher-ups misused the departments official subpoena power to get his phone records as they sought the source of anonymous complaints of purchasing and hiring violations in the department.

That case, filed in December, is pending in Boise federal court. Cryers attorney could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Edmunds told the Statesman he is curious to see how that case turns out. I am hoping it will be very transparent and people will get to see the facts, he said. I would like to know more myself of everything that has gone on.

Most recently, the Legislative Services Office, the Legislatures auditing arm, reviewed the Department of Labors management procedures and accounting practices over the past three fiscal years.

Its report, released Aug. 1, had one finding: The department did not properly document how companies that received key workforce training development grants were eligible for the money.

Lawmakers created the workforce development training fund in 1996 to reimburse businesses for the cost of training new workers or retraining existing workers with skills necessary for specific economic opportunities and industrial expansion initiatives.

Auditors tested 21 payments made by the department to companies under the program. In 19 percent of those payments, the department could not provide a copy of the original application. In 76 percent of the payments, the department could not provide proof that a company met the programs requirement that its product or service was mainly sold outside the area where it was located.

Neither the lawsuits nor the audit were factors in Edmunds departure, he said.

It is typical to have findings, he said of the audit. We love to find out when we are doing something wrong so we can correct it. That one is pretty simple and straightforward. We found out where the procedural problems were and corrected it.

Political support

The resignation produced few immediate public reactions from within Idahos political sphere.

State Rep. Stephen Hartgen, R-Twin Falls, chairs the House Commerce and Human Resources Committee. He said he has known Edmunds for a while and found him a real asset to the department.

I am sorry to see him leave, but I am not surprised, given the fact that turnover does occur in these positions, Hartgen said. Running a state agency today is just darn hard work. You have a lot of competing lobbying from different perspectives  business, commerce, state agencies, the executive branch, the Legislature. It is not an easy task to run a state agency, particularly a large one.

My experience with Ken was very good, Hartgen said. I do not have anything negative to say about his performance. I thought he did fine.

Also praising Edmunds performance was Idaho Freedom Foundation Director Wayne Hoffman, who has been critical of some Labor Department programs and spending  and of Otters administration as a whole. Hoffman said he was surprised, and spoke of the attention Edmunds always gave private business owners he brought by to talk about the effects of state labor policies.

Ken was always thinking of ways to make his department function in a modern and much more free-market way, Hoffman said. I was really excited when he was put in that position. I did not expect him to do much because of the constraints of the job, but it turns out he had a lot to offer.
A disturbing video shared on Snapchat shows two babysitters placing a baby inside a refrigerator. The two teenage girls have been charged with assault after the video surfaced online.

The babysitters, who are juveniles, were arrested in Danvers, Massachusetts, but their ages and names have not been revealed. They have been charged with assault and child endangerment after posting the disturbing video on social media. The incident reportedly took place Monday when the two girls were asked to care for the child.

Read: British Jogger Shoves Woman In Front Of Oncoming Bus

"We were notified by Swampscott (police) of video involving an infant child," Danvers police Chief Patrick Ambrose told the local media.

The video shows the accused girls putting a baby in the refrigerator while the baby cries. The two babysitters laugh as they close the door of the refrigerator while the baby is heard screaming. One girl is heard saying "bye" as she slams the door of the refrigerator. Moments later, the accused open the refrigerator and remove the baby.

It is unclear for how long the two teenagers kept the baby inside the refrigerator. Police said the child was not hurt in the incident and is currently at home with family.

"I was horrified. I was in shock," the child's mother responded regarding the incident. "I'm traumatized from that. I don't want anyone near my child anymore." She also revealed that the two babysitters were her niece and a friend. The incident reportedly took place when the mother was in the shower.

The mother told CBS Boston's WBZ-TV she was not aware of the incident until the police showed her the video. The girls reportedly told a fake story about the incident, saying they were trying to get a bottle from the refrigerator to stop the baby from crying.

While the mother expressed concerns over the safety of her child, she also defended the teens while talking to the local TV: "They thought it was a joke. I feel like they learned from this lesson and they wont do it again."

Story continues

"My niece is a good-hearted girl who wouldnt hurt a fly, she added.

"I know she wouldn't hurt my daughter and that wasn't her intentions. I think it was all foolishness, stupidity," the baby's mother said. "I will no longer be leaving my children with my niece or her friends again ever in my life.

"Be careful who you leave your children with," she cautioned. "You can't trust anyone, not even your own family."

Read: Disturbing Photos Of Abducted British Model Chloe Ayling Released

The accused were arraigned Tuesday in Salem Juvenile Court where they were charged with "child endangerment and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon."

The Department of Children and Families will also investigate the incident. Danvers Police and the Essex County District Attorneys Office are also looking into the case.

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By Daniel Trotta (Reuters) - Five transgender members of the U.S. military including Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans sued President Donald Trump on Wednesday, challenging his ban on transgender people serving in the armed forces. Trump said on Twitter on July 26 that the U.S. government "will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity" in the military, a reversal of Pentagon policy that the lawsuit said was made without consulting senior military commanders. The surprise announcement, citing healthcare costs and unit disruption, appealed to some in Trump's conservative political base but created uncertainty for thousands of transgender service members, many of whom came out after the Pentagon said in 2016 it would allow transgender people to serve openly. Trump's tweets appeared to dismiss findings from a RAND Corporation study commissioned by the Pentagon that found allowing transgender people to serve would "cost little and have no significant impact on unit readiness." The White House and the Pentagon said they do not comment on pending litigation. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. The service members suing the president are three U.S. Army soldiers, one U.S. Air Force airman and one member of the U.S. Coast Guard who are active duty. All have come out as transgender to their commanding officers but are anonymous in the lawsuit, named only as Jane Doe, for fear of retribution, said Jennifer Levi, a lawyer from GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders. The group filed the lawsuit along with the National Center for Lesbian Rights. The American Civil Liberties Union said it was preparing its own lawsuit. The lawsuit said Trump's tweets violate the rights of the service members to due process and equal protection under the law. It asks the court to declare Trump's directive as unconstitutional and to issue injunctions to stop it. The defendants are listed as Trump, Defense Secretary James Mattis and other military leaders including Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Dunford said in a memo a day after Trump's tweets that there would be no change in policy until Mattis received an official order from the president. That order has yet to be issued. "In the meantime, we will continue to treat all of our personnel with respect," Dunford said. Lawyer Levi said the plaintiffs, some of whom are near retirement, need not wait for an official policy because the tweets alone created uncertainty about their futures. (Reporting by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Grant McCool, Toni Reinhold)
Despite all the hype, the moon has nothing special planned for Aug. 21. It will continue doing what its done for more than 4 billion yearsinsensibly circling Earth, a dead rock at the end of a long gravitational tether.

The sun has nothing special planned either. It will sit where it must sit and burn as it must burn to sustain the flock of planets and moons and asteroids and comets that have orbited it for so long.

Thats how things go in the clockwork cosmos, and yet once in a while, theres poetry in the machinery. Once in a while, the wheels click in synchrony and the indifferent universe offers up a rare spectacle. Just such a thing will happen on Aug. 21 as the moons orbit crosses in front of the sun at the precise spot to eclipse its face and appear to snuff its fires.

A total solar eclipse occurs somewhere on the face of Earth every 18 months. But it usually plays out over waterwhich covers 70% of the planets surfaceor over unpopulated land. This month things will be different. The sky show that is being dubbed the Great American Eclipse will begin in the Pacific Northwest and make first landfall over Lincoln Beach, Ore., at 9:05 a.m. P.T. It will track southeast across the U.S., inking a narrow stripe of total darkness over 12 states before passing into the Atlantic near Charleston, S.C., at 2:48 p.m. E.T.

A total Solar Eclipse photographed in 2008. This composite combines hundreds of images showing exactly what the human eye would see if it was possible to remove the blinding glare caused by the heavenly event.

The band of totalitythe strip of land in which the sun will be entirely obscuredwill be just 70 miles wide. Only 12 million Americans live in that corridor, but 88 million live within 200 miles, and 350 million live within one days drive. A great many people will be hitting the road to make that trip.

Hopkinsville, Ky., which will experience the longest period of totality2 min. 40 sec.is normally home to about 32,000 people, but it expects at least 100,000 visitors on eclipse day. Madras, Ore., pop. 6,500, is steeling itself for a day of pop. 150,000.

We have people coming from 16 countries, says Brooke Jung, Hopkinsvilles solar-eclipse event consultant.

Story continues

Eclipse watchers squint through protective film as they view a partial eclipse of the sun from the top deck of New York's Empire State Building Aug. 31, 1932.

No matter how big the arriving hordes, Hopkinsville, like other towns in the path of totality, is making elaborate plans to host them. The local government has consulted with the FBI, FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security to game out emergencies.

Traffic lights on surrounding highways will be switched to a fixed green, and side streets intersecting the traffic flow will be closed. Trains will be halted so the noise wont disrupt the viewing experience. First-aid stations are being established throughout the county, pallets of bottled water are being shipped in, and refrigerated trucks will park outside local restaurants to hold overflow food.

Other towns in the eclipses path face challenges particular to their environment. Casper, Wyo., with its near mile-high elevation, offers exceptional viewing through the thin air, but that can mean dehydration and altitude sickness for visitors accustomed to sea-level living. The heat and the low seasonal rainfall present wildfire risks.

Just pulling over a car on dry grass can start a fire, says Anna Wilcox, executive director of the Wyoming Eclipse Festival. A spark or even the added heat from the car can be all it takes.

The tourist explosion should be a boon to local economies. Kentucky estimates a $30 million windfall. Wyoming isnt speculating on its predicted haul, but dedicated eclipse chasers are expected to spend up to $5,000 a throw in the state. Still, the rarity of the event means that even the people who make it their business to know these things admit theyre flying blind.

Were not working with much, says Carter Wilson of STR Analytics, a business benchmarking firm. Its easy enough to estimate the economic impact of, say, a national political convention, because there is plenty of historical data. Eclipses offer no such baseline. Certainly, you can see whats happening on booking sites like Expedia, Wilson says. You have motels charging $1,500 per night. With planned events like the Super Bowl, we see 300% to 1,000% increases in room rates.

The opportunism has put some local governments on guard. Casper officials have made it clear they will not abide price gouging for basics such as food and water.

Another worrisome form of troublemaking is the flood of counterfeit eclipse glasses. Its unsafe to look directly at the sun until the point of totality. Specialized eclipse-viewing glasses eliminate the risk, but its hard to know by looking if youre buying the real thing or a cheap knockoff. Both NASA and the American Astronomical Society list reliable brands and marketers on their websites, and eclipse watchers are encouraged to check them out before they buy.

Total Solar Eclipse, 1851. Members of the Edinburgh expedition on Bue Island, Norway with their instruments set up ready for viewing the eclipse , 28 July 1851. Members of the crew from their transport vessel are seated on right by empty packing cases. From Astronomical Observations made at the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh.

Ultimately, the Great American Eclipse will be about more than tourism, tax revenue or even astronomy. It will be about culture.

The sky show is occurring in a summer of Americas profound discontentmaking it a sort of Woodstock writ large. Like Woodstock, it comes at a time of turmoil and has the potential to elevate usif only brieflyabove those troubles. Very much unlike Woodstock, it will be a celebration that knows no single region, subculture or demographic slice.

It would be a sublime act of American vanity to infer anything other than serendipity in the eclipses occurring when we so need the uplift. And yet the very mechanics of solar eclipses have long tempted us to see more. The suns diameter is 400 times that of the moon, which ought to make it impossible for the moon to block the suns light. But the sun is also 400 times the moons distance from Earth, so the two disks appear the same size to us, making the eclipse possible.

Is that merely a function of cosmic randomness? Yes. Might you also find order and even divinity in it? Yes again. There is nothing wrong with seeing the 2017 eclipse as a gift to a riven nationprovided we resolve to be worthy of it.
An Afghan security personnel adjusts his weapon as he stands on a armoured humvee vehicle near the Al Zahra mosque in Kabul: AFP/Getty

Donald Trumps administration is said to be considering radically changing the way it conducts war in Afghanistan, and may move away from the US military running the show in favour of laying that responsibility on private contractors.

The unprecedented proposal would put 5,500 private contractors in charge of advising the Afghan military in the 16-year-old war that Mr Trump has inherited from his two predecessors. Most of those contractors would be former Special Operations troops, though their private contractor status would likely mean they are not bound by the same rules of engagement as the US military. There are an estimated 8,400 US soldiers currently in Afghanistan.

Erik Prince, the founder and former CEO of private contracting company Blackwater USA, has put forward the plan. Speaking to USA Today, he said he had met frequently with administration officials to discuss his plan. However, with misgivings by Mr Trumps National Security Adviser, H R McMaster, and Defence Secretary James Mattis, it is unclear whether there would be a way forward for such a plan, despite Mr Trumps frustration at the lack of progress in the country. At least one senior official, chief strategist Steve Bannon, is said to be open to the use of private contractors.

Contractors working for Blackwater were involved in a deadly incident during the Iraq War, when they open-fired in Baghdads Nisour Square while escorting a US convoy in 2007, killing or injuring at least 31 Iraqi civilians. Those events led the State Department to revoke the companys license to operate in the country. One of the contractors recently had a murder charge overturned and a new trial ordered over the incident, while three others who had been handed 30-year prison terms after being convicted of voluntary manslaughter will be re-sentenced after their prison terms were voided. Defence lawyers argued the convoy was under fire from insurgents, a claim prosecutors denied.

Story continues

But  in addition to accountability concerns posed by giving broad agency to non-military, private contractors to conduct war  such a revised strategy in Afghanistan could send the wrong message in Afghanistan, Vanda Felbab-Brown, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute, told The Independent.

International troops have been involved in Afghanistan for 16 years, following an invasion in October 2001. However, over the past year the Taliban have made gains and violent attacks have increased in a number of areas  leaving few signs of the stability the US craves.

It would be a political signal to Afghanistan including the Taliban, that the United States is really not willing to stick it out, Ms Felbab-Brown said of the plan over privisation. So, I think the will of the Taliban will be strengthened and the will of those who resist the Taliban will be weakened.

Mr Prince  whose sister is Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos  has argued that the US should cede control of the fight in Afghanistan to private contractors because, as the efforts there lack leadership. The efforts arent working, he says, and the Pentagon is spending a lot of money to do it.

Who has really been in charge of Afghanistan? Nobody. Its been extremely fragmented. Weve had up to 140,000 troops in the country and were now spending, the Pentagon consumes more than the entire defence budget of the UK just in Afghanistan and were losing, Mr Prince, a retired Navy SEAL, said on CNN.

His plan is to establish a viceroy in Afghanistan that would correspond with American troops there, and has said that the basic set up should be modelled after the British East India Company. He says that the plan costs a fraction of American military involvement, and could work around what the Department of Defence. Private contractors could also stay long-term without the political risks associated with having troops on the ground.

Ms Felbab-Brown said that ducking that political risk would still be degrading for efforts there. Already in Afghanistan, citizens are concerned that the US military is simply taking Afghan resources  Mr Trump has said that the US should simply seize natural resources in the region  and would be wary of a set up modelled after Britains colonial empire, she said.

Still, she concedes that there doesnt appear to be a surefire path forward for the US in Afghanistan. Completely withdrawing would forfeit huge American investments in the country while giving up control to the Taliban. Staying could simply be an exercise in hoping that the Taliban slowly falls apart through repeated mistakes.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson acknowledged this week that the White House is looking for a new strategy to bring Americas longest war to an end.

To just say were going to keep doing what weve been doing, the president is not willing to accept that, and so he is asking some tough questions, Mr Tillerson said earlier this week in Manila during an Asia trip.

The top US commander in Afghanistan, General John Nicholson, has recommended that several thousand more troops be deployed to Afghanistan, primarily to bolster the advisory mission and stop the Taliban gaining more territory.
Outgoing White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer and recently departed Chief of Staff Reince Priebus used to tussle over who got to deliver President Donald Trump this important document every day: a folder full of flattering photos and news coverage of the president. According to Vice News Tuesday, each morning and afternoon Trump would be delivered positive coverage assembled by White House and Republican National Committee staffers, an idea thought up by Spicer and Priebus.

Priebus entered the White House on shaky ground after he suggested Trump leave the presidential race last October. Priebus made the suggestion after the Washington Post released an unaired portion of an episode of the show Access Hollywood, where Trump bragged about groping women. Priebus left the position of Chief of Staff in late July.

WATCH: British Jogger Shoves Woman In Front Of Oncoming Bus

Spicer, too, was not in his position long before the president seemed to sour on him, ultimately resigning after the hiring of Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci, whom he objected to. Scaramucci never quite got off the ground either, pushed out of the role 10 days after agreeing to it.

RTX395CC

Photo: Joshua Roberts/REUTERS

The folder was called an act of preservation, by a source to Vice.

The folder was produced by 10 staffers who, starting at 6 a.m. scour the news looking for positive chyrons (text at the bottom of a t.v. newscast), articles, transcripts of interviews, tweets and even just shots of the president looking powerful when there is a lack of good coverage.

Apparently, Trumps only advice to the communication team in the first few months of the presidency was it needs to be more fucking positive.

That staff, however, has changed.

Trump installed John Kelly as his new chief of staff. Kelleys first move was to oust Scaramucci, and according to Vices sources, the positive news folder, which was dubbed the propaganda document, has slowed down. The White House communications director position is open, and Kelly, a former marine and four-star general appears to be instilling more discipline in a rocky White House, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Story continues

Its clear Trump likes flattery, he often retweets or thanks, people who give him positive reviews on Twitter. Sean Hannity, Fox and Friends, Lou Dobbs and random fans on twitter have all gotten shout outs.

The positivity folder appears to be a departure from the previous administration.

READ: If Pence Shapes Trumps Infrastructure Plan, Who Would Profit? Who Would Pay?

If we had prepared such a digest for Obama, he would have roared with laughter, said David Axelrod, the one-time senior adviser to Barack Obama to Vice.

Whether the regular daily propaganda document returns will most likely depend on the new communications director, or perhaps the next White House staffer to enter beleaguered status will give it a try.

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President Trump continued to lash out at Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday, mocking the Kentucky Republicans failure to pass new health care legislation.

Can you believe that Mitch McConnell, who has screamed Repeal & Replace for 7 years, couldnt get it done, Trump tweeted. Must Repeal & Replace ObamaCare!

Trump followed up with another tweeted barb early Thursday afternoon.

Mitch, get back to work and put Repeal & Replace, Tax Reform & Cuts and a great Infrastructure Bill on my desk for signing, he wrote. You can do it!

Can you believe that Mitch McConnell, who has screamed Repeal & Replace for 7 years, couldn't get it done. Must Repeal & Replace ObamaCare!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 10, 2017

Mitch, get back to work and put Repeal & Replace, Tax Reform & Cuts and a great Infrastructure Bill on my desk for signing. You can do it!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 10, 2017

Trump is currently at his golf club in Bedminster, N.J., where he is spending more than two weeks while the White House is undergoing renovations. But while the president has insisted it is not a vacation and that he is working hard, photos emerged Wednesday showing him on the golf course wearing a golf glove on one hand.

According to the New York Times, Trump spoke by phone with McConnell to express his disappointment in the senators comments prior to the Twitter message.

Before a national security briefing at the club Thursday afternoon, Trump was asked by a reporter if he thinks McConnell should step down.

If the Kentucky senator is unable to deliver on his agenda, Trump said, Then you can ask me that question.

Earlier, during a gaggle with reporters at a hotel near the club, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Trump is frustrated by McConnells failure on health care.

Story continues

You can see the presidents tweets, she said. Obviously theres some frustration. I dont have anything more to add.

Sanders also said she was not sure if Trump had played golf.

Trumps statements come a day after the president, his social media director and two Fox News hosts tore into McConnells public criticism of Trumps legislative messaging.

Senator Mitch McConnell said I had excessive expectations, but I dont think so, Trump tweeted Wednesday afternoon. After 7 years of hearing Repeal & Replace, why not done?

Senator Mitch McConnell said I had "excessive expectations," but I don't think so. After 7 years of hearing Repeal & Replace, why not done?  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 9, 2017

At a Rotary Club meeting in Florence, Ky., on Monday, McConnell painted the president as an unrealistic political novice.

Our new president, of course, has not been in this line of work before, McConnell told a small group in Florence, Ky., this week. And I think he had excessive expectations about how quickly things happen in the democratic process.

In his remarks, McConnell also lamented that artificial deadlines are giving the impression that Senate Republicans are underperforming after the Senate failed to repeal and replace Obamacare within the first six months of Trumps presidency.

No Senator, Foxs Sean Hannity, a close Trump confidant, tweeted late Monday night, YOU are a WEAK, SPINELESS leader who does not keep his word and you need to Retire!

Hannitys colleague, Lou Dobbs, said its time to ditch Mitch.

Dan Scavino Jr., the White House social media director, echoed Hannity and Dobbs in a pair of tweets Wednesday morning.

More excuses, Scavino wrote, adding: #DrainTheSwamp! ASAP!!

The Senate decamped from Washington on Thursday for a four-week August recess back in their home states after failing to deliver an Obamacare repeal-and-replace bill long promised by the GOP.

Trumps tweets about McConnell were tame compared to his frequent caustic barbs against his declared foes. During the campaign, for example, Trump frequently ripped into House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., whom he referred to as a very weak and ineffective leader.

 Yahoo News Liz Goodwin contributed to this report

Read more from Yahoo News:
New York (AFP) - Those looking to savor US presidential history first-hand are being invited to rent Donald Trump's childhood home at $725 a night on AirBnb, complete with a giant presidential cut-out in the living room.

The $2 million, mock Tudor-style family home in Queens, where the New York tycoon turned Republican commander-in-chief lived for the first four years of his life, sleeps up to 20 people in five bedrooms.

Equipped with internet and cable TV, the listing says it is verified and calls itself "the perfect accommodation for a New York vacation."

"We decided to put it on AirBnb to share the house with the world," said Michael Davis, the real-estate developer who bought the home last year, sold it for profit and now leases it back at $4,000 a month.

"There's been a lot of activity," Davis said, with the first guests expected to stay this weekend.

The listing shows several dates blocked off in August but currently there are no reviews.

It claims little has changed since the Trumps' time, boasting an original kitchen and "opulent furnishings."

"We tried to have presidential furniture," explained Davis. "It's decorated very, very nicely and it has all of the amenities that you would need."

Built by father Fred in 1940 in the upmarket enclave of Jamaica Estates, the president lived in the home until the family moved into a colonnaded mansion that Trump senior built nearby in 1951.

The two-story home embellished with red brick sold at auction in January for 54 percent more than the $1.39 million the investor paid for last year. The $2.14 million deal closed in March.

Listing pictures show photographs of the president and quotations sprinkled around the property. Trump's best-selling business tome "The Art of the Deal" is in the house library -- the only book in the house.

It remains unclear what the president would make of the venture.

Story continues

"I think he likes a good deal," said Davis. "His brand creates value and we were certainly the beneficiaries of that."

Asked about the house when he appeared on NBC's "The Tonight Show" during the election campaign, Trump said it was "sad" the building was on sale and said he wanted to buy it.

This AirBnb listing authors say they have no relationship with the White House, Trump or his Manhattan-based Trump Organization.
Turkish police officers escort Russian national Renad Bakiev in Adana, Turkey - DHA-Depo Photos

A Russian man suspected of fighting for Isil was detained in Turkey on Thursday for reportedly plotting to stage terrorist attacks on a US military plane, according to reports.

Renat Bakiev was reported to be an Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) militant who was preparing to attack the Incirlik air base in Adana.

Mr Bakiev was detained near the airbase, where he reportedly arrived on a bike to scout out the area before the attack.

According to the Hurriyet newspaper, Mr Bakiev confessed to planning to shoot down a US military plane with a drone.

He was also suspected of carrying out preparations for a plot to attack a centre of the Alevi religious minority - an offshoot of the Shia sect of Islam - in Adana city, Dogan news agency reported.

The Russian embassy in Turkey could not immediately confirm the arrest. This morning Turkish media reported [the police] detaining Russian national Renat Bakiev on Turkish soil upon suspicion that he was involved in terrorist activities.

"The Russian consulate is working on clarifying the situation and the circumstances of the case, the embassy spokeswoman Irina Kasimova told in a statement to Russian news agencies.

Mr Bakiev was previously deported from Turkey after he tried to illegally cross the Syrian border, Russias Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper reported.

It was not immediately clear how he managed to return to Turkey.

The United States uses Incirlik, in Adana province, as a key base for air strikes against Isil jihadists in neighbouring Syria.
Beijing (AFP) - An angry Beijing warned off a US warship after it sailed near an artificial island in the disputed South China Sea in the latest operation aimed at loosening the Asian giant's grip on the strategic waterway.

Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the actions of the USS John S. McCain had violated Chinese and international law, "seriously" impairing the country's sovereignty and security.

"China is strongly dissatisfied with this," Geng said in a statement, adding that Beijing would lodge an official protest with Washington.

The USS John S. McCain destroyer sailed within six nautical miles of Mischief Reef -- an artificial island built by China -- on Thursday as part of a "freedom of navigation" operation, a US official said.

The reef is part of the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, which is the scene of rival claims between China and neighbouring countries.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the US official told AFP a Chinese frigate sent radio warnings at least 10 times to the USS McCain.

"They called and said 'please turn around, you are in our waters'," the official said. "We told them we are a US (ship) conducting routine operations in international waters."

The official said the interactions were all "safe and professional," with the operation lasting about six hours from start to finish, but Geng said such operations "seriously endanger lives".

The freedom of navigation operation was the third of its kind carried out by the United States since President Donald Trump took office in January.

- Overlapping claims -

The US move came four days after the United States, Australia and Japan denounced Beijing's island-building and militarisation of the South China Sea on the sidelines of a security forum of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Manila.

A security think tank, the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI), released satellite images on its website which it said showed that China was expanding artificial islands, contradicting Beijing's assurance that it stopped such activities two years ago.

Story continues

China claims nearly all of the sea, through which $5 trillion in annual shipping trade passes and which is believed to sit atop vast oil and gas deposits.

Its sweeping claims overlap with Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei -- all ASEAN members -- as well as Taiwan.

But in recent years Beijing has managed to weaken regional resistance by courting some ASEAN members.

On Sunday China scored a coup when ASEAN ministers issued a diluted statement on the dispute and agreed to its terms on talks at the Manila meeting.

China insists that a much-delayed code of conduct between it and ASEAN members over the disputed sea must not be legally binding, a demand to which Southeast Asian countries have so far acquiesced.

Chinese defence ministry spokesman Wu Qian said the situation in the South China Sea has "stabilised" due to the "joint efforts" of China and neighbouring countries but the US operation threatened "peace and stability in the region".

"The US military's provocative actions will only encourage the Chinese military to further strengthen the defence capacity building and firmly defend national sovereignty and security," Qian said.

The operation also comes amid soaring tensions on the Korean peninsula over Pyongyang's missile programme, and as the United States seeks to push China into more assertively restraining North Korea.

Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Chris Logan declined to comment on whether there had been a freedom of navigation sailing but he said the United States would continue to do such operations.

"All operations are conducted in accordance with international law and demonstrate that the United States will fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows," he said.
Photo credit: Jung Yeon-Je/AFP / Getty

From Popular Mechanics

North Korea has yet again threatened to attack the island of Guam after a pair of U.S. Air Force B-1B bombers was sent to the Pacific island. Why is North Korea so infatuated with tiny Guam? The answer has to do with Guam's symbolism as an American territory and its usefulness in any war against North Korea.

In response to the B-1B bomber deployment, North Korea's KCNA state news network stated, "The KPA (Korean People's Army) Strategic Force is now carefully examining the operational plan for making an enveloping fire at the areas around Guam  in order to contain the U.S. major military bases on Guam, including the Anderson Air Force Base." The KPA Strategic Force is the part of the North Korean People's Army responsible for ballistic missiles, including those that could theoretically hit Guam.

Guam is a tiny island in the Marianas chain located the western Pacific, approximately 210 square miles, or approximately nine times larger than Manhattan and five times larger than San Francisco. It has a population of 162,000, most of which are U.S. citizens by virtue of Guam being a U.S. territory. It is approximately 5,852 miles from San Francisco, but only 2,118 miles from Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea.

That leads to the first reason why Guam is so often in North Korea's crosshairs: It is accessible while the rest of America is not. Guam is within striking range of intermediate range ballistic missiles, which are shorter range and easier to develop than intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). Striking Guam is a much more achievable goal, but as North Korea's ICBM becomes operational, you can be sure the rest of the United States will also regularly receive blustery threats.

The second reason North Korea obsesses over Guam is the island is a spear pointed at the Korean People's Army and the Kim regime. Guam features some of the largest, most sophisticated military bases outside the continental United States, and the island territory would be critical in any military action taken against North Korea.

Story continues

Photo credit: U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Gerald R. Willis

Andersen Air Force Base is one of these key bases. The most important U.S. air base west of Hawaii, Andersen is the only one in the Western Pacific that can permanently base U.S. heavy strategic bombers, including B-1B, B-2, and B-52 bombers. These bombers, which North Korea refers to as "the air pirates of Guam," are based on a rotational basis at Andersen and frequently overfly the Korean peninsula when the North conducts missile and nuclear tests. The bombers are believed to particularly rattle Pyongyang because they carry nuclear weapons (except the B-1B, which can no longer carry nukes) and could be used in a conventional "decapitation strike" to kill Kim Jong-un before he can issue nuclear launch orders.

Andersen is also host to fighter planes and the aerial tankers that make long-distance strikes on North Korea possible. During wartime, Andersen would become a way station for warplanes and military transports heading further west to the Korean peninsula.

Photo credit: U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Daniel S. Willoughby.

Another key base on Guam is the U.S. Navy's submarine base at Apra Harbor. Four U.S. Navy nuclear-powered attack submarines, each armed with conventional long range cruise missiles, are based on Guam. The four Los Angeles-class submarines, USS Topeka, USS Chicago, USS Oklahoma City, and USS Key West could all contribute to a massive air campaign against North Korea with their Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles. Guam is also home to a detachment of U.S. Navy SEALs and other naval special warfare units. Ships and submarines based on the West Coast of the U.S. mainland frequently visit Guam as part of voyages into the western Pacific.

All of that having been said, Guam is far from defenseless. While distance renders Guam immune from air, land, or sea attack, there is the matter of the KPA Strategic Force and its ballistic missiles. A battery of six U.S. Army Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missiles was deployed to the island in April 2013, following threats by North Korea against the island at the time. The deployment is believed to consist of up to 48 missile interceptors and the AN/TPY-2 x-band radar system. A July 2017 of THAAD against a simulated intermediate range ballistic missile was a success.

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HAGERMAN  Visitors to the Billingsley Creek unit of Thousand Springs State Park will in a few years find new features, unveiled Wednesday by the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation.

Plans include a visitor center, campground, road improvements, multi-use trails and enhanced fishing and paddling access on the creek.

It was important to the agency that we remain committed to developing Billingsley Creek in a manner that would satisfy as many recreational needs and interests as possible, Gordy Hansen, a member of the Idaho Park and Recreation Board from Burley, said in a statement. We challenged our staff to explore innovative designs and cutting-edge outdoor opportunities, a few of which will soon be part of the Billingsley Creek experience.

More than 100 people came to hear what the agency had planned for the 170-acre property, 120 acres of which are now leased out to farmers. But that will eventually change, as roads, trails, and improvements expand from the entrance of the park into the canyon toward Billingsley Creek below.

The long-term cost of the proposed project totals about $8 million. Funding for projects within the park initially will come from the sale of the nearby Vardis Fisher property, which was sold in 2015. Additional funding will come from programs such as the Recreational Vehicle Fund (RV registration fees), the Land and Water Conservation Fund (federal oil and gas excise taxes), and the Road and Bridge Fund (state fuel taxes).

As with any long-term project, the design phase will start with roads and utilities once funds are available next year, said Jim Thomas, IDPR development bureau chief. A new entrance to the park will be constructed farther north of the present entrance, and a 1.4-mile two-lane paved road will wind through the park, leading to a full-service, 50-site RV campground with dumping station.

Additional primitive camping will also be available for those who want to rough it, said David Landrum, Thousand Springs State Park manager.

Plans also call for an amphitheater, arboretum, information huts, a large picnic shelter, a group camp and a concrete pump track for bicycles.

Gooding County Commissioner Marc Bolduc said the park will be a huge economic driver for the Magic Valley.

Residents are especially excited about a walking and biking path  the Hagerman Valley Pathway  that will connect the town with Billingsley Creek, said Suzanne Jensen, a member of the bike and walk committee and secretary of the Hagerman Valley Chamber board.

This is going to be so great for our community, Jensen said. The second annual Dinner on the Owsley Bridge fundraiser for the pathway is scheduled for Sept. 15.

IDPR plans for the Billingsley Creek unit to be the hub of Thousand Springs State Park, which also includes Malad Gorge, Ritter Island, Kelton Trail, Niagara Springs, Earl M. Hardy Box Canyon Nature Preserve and Crystal Springs.

Thousand Springs State Park is a testament to why this rugged portion of southern Idaho is called the Magic Valley, said David Langhorst, IDPR director. Our goal is to maximize the potential of these special places and create opportunities that will draw more interest to unique attributes of the area while complementing the community and efforts to accommodate growth.
A young Kansas couple died in a car crash just a day after getting married.

Austin Wesson and Rebekah Bouma, both 19, had received their marriage license in Kansas court, Friday, but less than 24 hours later, their lives were tragically cut short as their Ford F-150 hit a tree.

Read: Couple Married 63 Years Dies Hours Apart: 'That's the Way They Wanted to Go Out'

Austin died at the scene and Rebekah died early Monday morning at a local hospital. A cause for the accident has not yet been determined, but both Austin and Rebekah were both wearing seatbelts.

She [Rebekah] is with the Lord that she loved so deeply and so joyfully and she is with her husband of just one day, Austin Wesson, whom she loved with all her heart, Boumas mother, Rachel Bouma, posted on Facebook.

The couple initially met in February while Rebekah was on a missions trip in South Africa, where Austin was from. The pair immediately hit it off and spent a lot of time together, continuing their relationship even after Rebekah returned to the U.S.

It was apparent immediately and she said, Mom, I met the guy I think I am going to marry, Bouma told InsideEdition.com. In April, Austin called my husband and asked [him] for permission to date her, which we thought was very special. It was very obvious that he cared so deeply for her."

On a Friday in June, Austin arrived to Kansas for a visit on a visa and by Sunday, the couple was engaged.

Bouma said the pair was ecstatic after they were married. It was a small ceremony with only a few family members, Bouma said. The couple planned to have a larger wedding in September.

They were so excited. Austin put his arm around her and said You are my wife. He was so excited, Bouma said.

Read: Charlie Gard, Baby Taken Off Life Support Against Parents' Wishes, Dies a Week Before First Birthday

The couple also had future plans to move to Michigan and attend school there, Bouma said.

Story continues

The young husband and wife will now have a joint funeral.

They were married and they loved each other so deeply. It was Christ first, and then each other and to separate them would just be wrong, Bouma said.

Watch: Couple Postpones Wedding Day Until Their Missing Dog Comes Home

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When 23-year-old Jing Lu first moved to New York from Shanghai last year, she had to remind herself to carry a credit card, since she could no longer pay using her smartphone like she did in China.

Lu is one of the 450 million users of Alipay, an online payment service owned by Alibaba (BABA). The Chinese e-commerce giant announced a partnership with Marriott (MAR) on Monday, and selected Marriott hotels around the world will accept Alipay as a payment method.

We want to make this a seamless, easy experiencea big part of that is allowing the Chinese consumer to pay the way they want to pay, Marriott Global Chief Commercial Officer Stephanie Linnartz told Yahoo Finance.

A growing number of Chinese consumers are foregoing cash and credit cards to pay for all sorts of goods like groceries, restaurants, subway cards and electricity bills. Last year, a survey of 1,000 Chinese urban consumers conducted by FT Confidential Research showed that 79.5% respondents use Alipay most frequently, while only 45.5% choose credit cards and 79% use cash.

The reason is simple  who needs an extra card if a single click on your phone can do it all?

Pay with a click online or offline

Chinese consumers pay merchants by scanning QR codes. Anthony Kwan | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Alipay was first launched as an online payment platform in 2014. Like Paypal, it mainly served transactions on Alibabas flagship marketplace, Taobao. As everything goes mobile, people use Alipay app to send money to friends, in a way similar to how people use Venmo in the US.

Later, Alipay expanded to the physical world as it partnered with local stores. Users can make payments by scanning merchants QR codes in the app, and the transaction is done within seconds. (Venmo, on the other hand, can only be used to pay for apps and with select online merchants.)

This month, Alipay also launched Cashless Week, a series of promotions to encourage a cashless society. More than 10 million merchants are reported to have joined the promotion. Alipay also aims to have 1 million partner merchants outside China by 2019.

Story continues

Now the largest online payment gateway in China with over 450 million users, Alipay can also be used like a credit card. It issues credit scores based on purchase records, which may be more than the Chinese central bank collects. The app can grant credits of up to 50,000 RMB ($7,400) as well as serve as an investment account; in fact, Alipay has become the worlds largest money market fund.

In short, Alipay functions like PayPal, Venmo and credit cards combined. And it offers a ton of promotions for consumers  since WeChat, Chinas dominant messaging app, rolled out its own mobile payment service, the two burned millions on coupons and discounts to capture the market share. Consumers once enjoyed 10% off in Walmart (WMT) when they used Alipay, and 7-Eleven gave 10 RMB off to all WeChat users.

Chinas heading to a cashless and cardless society

Chinese Customers wait in line to check out by Alipay to enjoy 50% off up to 50 yuan ($7.74) at a supermarket on December 12, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer

In a nation where cash historically dominates, it appears that Chinese consumers, especially those living in first-tier cities, are moving from cash to digital wallets on their smartphones, largely bypassing payment cards, DBS Banks Sachin Mittal and E&Ys James Lloyd wrote in a report.

Massive smartphone users and low penetration of credit cards make China a preferable environment for mobile payments. China has never become a credit card society like the US. According to Peoples Bank of China, the country had only 0.29 cards per capita by 2015, down from 0.34 a year ago, which is only one-tenth of the number in the US.

Mobile payment apps also help reduce the use of cash. The percentage of cash transactions in Chinas retail consumption dropped from 61% in 2010 to an estimated 37% in 2016, according to financial research firm Kapronasia. In the US, the number of cash transactions dropped to 32% in 2015.

But just like how US banks go after Venmo, Alipay and WeChat Pay also face competition from traditional banks. Rather than absorbing the transaction costs, Alipay started charging 0.1% fees last year for transferring over RMB 20,000 (US$3,000) to bank accounts since last October.

For her part, Jing Lu still misses the convenience of paying everything by phone. She uses a US bank app to send money to friends, and Venmo doesnt seem quite as useful to her as Alipay. I cant use it when I shop in stores anyway, she says.

Krystal Hu covers e-commerce for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter

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Neda Amin , the Iranian-born journalist who fled Iran in 2014 and was expelled from Turkey last month, arrived in Israel Thursday after being granted a special tourist visa by Interior Minister Aryeh Deri.

Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter



After she failed to show up for her flight on Monday, fears arose she might have been arrested by Turkish authorities who planned to extradite her to Iran. But after Jerusalem discreetly sought answers from Ankara, Turkish authorities clarified she will be allowed to leave, following which the Israeli consulate in Istanbul purchased a flight ticket for her.

Amin, 32, fled Iran in 2014 after her book Zenjir (The Chain) was banned. She lived in Turkey for three years as a political refugee, during which time she began contributing to the Times of Israels Farsi-language website. But her work for the Jerusalem-based website has raised eyebrows in both Turkey and Iran.

Neda Amin

According to the UN Watch NGO, Turkeys National Intelligence Organization (MIT) has followed Amin for a long time, with at least five or six phone calls and an interrogation me at the foreigners branch directorate. Arabic-language media reported Monday that Amin has been indicted on several counts of treason stemming from her work for Israeli media, a capital crime in Iran.

They (Turkish authorities) kept asking me why I wrote for an Israeli newspaper and with whom I have connections in Israel. Although I repeatedly said I am only a journalist, they accused me of being a spy for Israel, Amin told UN Watch.

On July 5 Ankara informed Amin she would no longer be afforded refugee status and given 30 days to leave the country, leading her to publish a plea for asylum last week to countries in the Mediterranean region.

They gave her 30 days to leave the country, prompting fears that she would be deported back to Iran, where she would likely face a lengthy prison sentence, torture or even the death penalty both for criticizing the Islamic Republic and for writing for an Israeli publication.

Interior Minister Deri greeted Amin with a Welcome to Israel tweet.

Article reprinted with permission from TPS .
CURRY  Someone has been shooting livestock and leaving the animals to die.

Steve Westphal, who lives just east of Curry Crossing on U.S. 30 west of Twin Falls, raises llamas in his pasture behind the Twin Falls County Historical Museum. Three weeks ago he had 10; now his favorites, Big Mama and Snowie, are dead  shot and killed in separate incidents.

Westphal is outraged and confused. So is cattleman Cory Alger.

Alger raises Angus beef cows in a pasture just east of Westphals property. A shooter killed his prize bull and a heifer in still another incident.

Its crazy, Alger said Wednesday. I dont get it.

The four deaths cant be a coincidence, he said.

The common denominator connecting the shootings is the railroad track that runs behind Westphals house. Alger thinks the shooter walked or drove on the railroad right of way to get to all four animals.

His son found the 2,000-pound bull  worth about $4,500  and the 800-pound heifer Aug. 3, lying just south of the tracks, about 500 feet west of 2600 East. Alger said the shootings happened about two days earlier.

Deputy Levi Meyer responded to Algers call to the Twin Falls County Sheriffs Office.

There was no way of telling anything by then, Meyer said. Both were in full bloat when I got there.

Meyer said the only hope of finding the shooter at this point is catching him in the act.

Westphal found Snowie dead several weeks ago. It didnt occur to him that she had been shot  until he found Big Mama dead on Sunday. The bullet hole was obvious.

She was gut shot, he said.

Big Mama left an eight-month-old juvenile named Brownie, who has since been adopted by another mama llama.

Westphal suspects both Big Mama and Snowie were shot at night.

They were the only white llamas in the pasture, so they would have stood out in the dark.
Idaho Power VP Adam Richins Aug. 1 Reader Comment evoked a cherished memory. In 2007 I had the honor of briefly meeting and attending a lecture by Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, the president of Iceland. President Grimsson told the inspiring success story of Icelands elimination of fossil fuel power generation via conversion to wind, solar and geothermal. He challenged America to do likewise. He even presented data comparing Americas and Icelands wind, solar and geothermal resources to validate the feasibility.

Iceland demonstrated whats achievable when government and business collaborate to pursue innovation that guarantees their societys and environments well-being, rather than cravenly surrendering to entrenched influence of a harmful obsolete technology. Note: Icelands goal was achieved when solar generation cost 10 times more than today.

In an Aug. 5 Hill article Dirty Energys Quiet War on Solar Panels in The Hill, Basav Sen explains Americas flagging performance in the renewable energy race. It largely results from the obstructionism of the coal, petroleum and gas industries and the corrupting influence of their gargantuan contributions to politicians.

These industries and their allied think tanks are orchestrating nationwide campaigns to eliminate net metering and/or create utility rate structures that penalize, rather than reward homeowners and businesses that make substantial personal investments in generation infrastructure. Collectively, homeowner private generation infrastructure is an enormous freebie for power utilities, greatly reducing or delaying utilities needs to construct new generation capacity to energize the grid.

The front groups working nationwide to undermine net metering include Edison Electric Institute, a trade association promoting the interests of electrical utilities, as well as the Koch brothers-funded Americans for Prosperity and ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council. When voters in Florida and Nevada were objectively informed about the disingenuous industry criticisms of net metering funded by fossil-fuel proponents, they voted to keep net metering.

Maine Gov. Paul LePage insisted concern for the poor drove him to veto legislation preserving net metering. These coordinated campaigns to eliminate net metering, or place surcharges on private solar installations (the essence of Idaho Powers gambit) chant the mantra that net metering forces ordinary (grid-only) power users to subsidize solar panels. They contend that since generation by homeowner installations can result in zero monthly bills, or give credit to the solarized utility subscriber if they generate a surplus, the full cost of grid infrastructure maintenance is born entirely by ordinary subscribers. That contention fails simple economic analysis and is misleading at best.

Ask yourself these questions: How much is Idaho Power paying self-solarized homeowners to rent their generating capacity? If they arent renting that capacity, how much are they paying individual homeowners to maintain their typically $5,000-$10,000 generation infrastructure investment? The only way homeowners can incur zero monthly bills or positive credit from Idaho Power is if their individual generation returns enough surplus power to the grid to produce that income. Meanwhile they are also reducing and/or delaying Idaho Powers need to build new generation capacity, which is a cost reduction to all subscribers, since all utility costs are eventually passed along to all subscribers. Furthermore, surplus grid power can be sold out of state.

The current rationale stated by Idaho Power and other anti-net metering (pro-fossil fuel) interests seems to rely on a perception that whats theirs is theirs and whats the solarized homeowners is theirs (in this case Idaho Powers) too.

Customers owe it to themselves to read Wendy Wilsons excellent debunking of Idaho Powers self-serving rationale for its newly proposed rate structure (http://snakeriveralliance.org/next-up-grid-neutrality/). A simple suggestion from Wendys article to our friendly monopoly: If you arent charging an adequate infrastructure maintenance fee, dont put the blame or full burden of your poor budgeting on the backs of solarized homes. Instead charge the miniscule increase across your entire subscriber base necessary to balance the books. Otherwise, shouldnt you be reimbursing self-solarized users for the entire cost of their generation hardware? Failure to do so seems like reverse Robin Hood behavior.

Lets take a broader perspective. America isnt just shooting its toes off in the race toward renewable energy generation. Its amputating its legs at the knees via misbegotten allegiance to the dying 19th century fossil-fuel-driven generation paradigm.

This stems from absence of leadership and political will caused by special-interest-financing of local, state and federal election campaigns. Investors Business Daily noted how President Trump inadvertently displayed the potential power of green energy leadership when he hinted his infamous wall might be solarized. Solar stocks jumped as much as 54 percent. Regrettably the real Trump administration position on renewable energy is utterly draconian and obstructionist.

Thats unfortunate for Idaho given the enormous potential for jobs and corporate success if Idaho recruited manufacturers of solar and wind hardware. Idaho is ideally located for manufacture and distribution of renewable generation infrastructure to optimal user states.

America has ceded solar generation and hardware dominance to China and India who currently have the worlds five largest solar generation installations. At costs below three cents per kilowatt-hour, solar is earths cheapest new energy generation source. Solar panels costing $3-$4 per watt 10 years ago are now 32 cents. A recently drafted Energy Department report determined that grid reliability improves as the percent wind and solar generation increases.

Major U.S. electricity generation percentages are as follows: natural gas, 33.8; coal, 30.4; nuclear, 19.7; hydropower, 6.5; wind, 5.6; biomass, 1.5; solar, 0.9; petroleum, 0.6; geothermal, 0.4.

Although coal provides 30 percent of Americas electricity, cheaper solar energy employs 260,000 Americans compared to half that number for coal. Last year Snake River Alliances Solarize the Valley project helped Idahoans invest $1 million in clean energy, added 380kW of new capacity and created dozens of jobs by installing 314 kilowatts of rooftop solar on 49 homes.

The Idaho Democratic Party strongly supports collaboration, cooperation and incentivizing renewable energy conversion, not penalizing it. Remember that when you vote. Meanwhile, express your views to Idaho Power and to the Idaho Public Utilities Commission.
The UAE General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) Wednesday said Qatar-registered aircrafts can only use international airspace managed by United Arab Emirates (UAE), as opposed to comments by Montreal-based International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) that some existing air route availability has been assured, and some new temporary or contingency routes have also been developed, including through Bahrain and UAE airspace.

The GCAA said Qatar-registered aircrafts are still banned from UAEs own airspace, reports say.

ICAOs spokesman had told the media on Tuesday that the UN agency has been working with various Middle Eastern states to ensure equitable access to airspace for Qatar-registered aircraft following the sanctions announced on June 5.

Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, plus Egypt severed ties with Qatar and cut off air, sea and ground links with Doha. The four allies also banned all Qatar-registered aircrafts, including the countrys national carrier Qatar Airways, from flying over their airspaces.

The ban significantly deteriorated the carriers operations as it was forced to use longer and more expensive routes. Travelers have also suffered from the decision.

Qatar Airways had welcomed the ICAO decision, made after Doha called the agency to intervene in the haggle between the tiny Emirate and its neighbors.

The airlines chief executive Akbar al-Baker reportedly said that his company was looking at the flexibility and benefit of one very short route.
Four police forces traveling to al-Arish in North Sinai were killed in ambush early Wednesday, in a latest attack against security forces in the restive Peninsula.

The victims were one officer, a low-ranking policeman and two conscripts, security officials on condition of anonymity told the Associated Press.

No information has been revealed on the gunmen but regular security forces have been facing militancy from tribesmen as well as from terrorist groups among which the Islamic State group.

Attacks against forces have sky-rocketed since 2013 following removal of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi by current President al-Sisi, then minister of defense.

Tuesday, the army said it killed five militants during a military campaign in Central Sinai. The operation carried out by ground and air forces enabled to demolish an underground hideout and arrest three militants.

The army also said it seized a van carrying narcotics.
A criminal Court in Jeddah found a man guilty of attack against the state and of endorsement of Lebanon-based Shia group Hezbollah, blacklisted as a terrorist group by Saudi Arabia and other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

The man is reportedly accused of using Friday sermons to praise the Iran-backed Shia group and disparage the GCC for designating Hezbollah a terrorist group.

The Court also indicted him for mounting revolt against the state and interfering into the kingdoms policies.

The man, who described the kingdom as source of infidelity, was also found guilty of his speeches on his website Maktab Al-Hedayah (Guidance Office), which violates a public order against sedition and destabilizing the social fabric.

The court ordered closure of the website.

Saudi Arabia is waging an internal war against dissenters and individuals described as supporters of Shia-populated regional rival Iran and its proxies in the region.

The Saudi Shia populations repeatedly complain about marginalization in the Sunni-majority country.

Late last month, the Supreme Court upheld death sentences against 14 Saudis for their association with a terror group responsible for several attacks in the restive Qatif province largely populated by minority Shia.

They were handed death sentence by a Special Criminal Court in an initial ruling in which 23 were put on a terror list for being members of Al Awamiya terror cell.

Their execution order lies in the hands of King Salman.
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Posted on: Aug 10, 2017





The Powerful Energy I Experienced Here is Truly Extraordinary

by Mr. Ravi Shankar Prasad



Union Minister for Law and Justice

and Electronics and Information Technology,

Government of India

Mr. Ravi Shankar Prasad was the chief guest on the occasion of Guru Poornima celebrations in Prasanthi Nilayam in 2017. Presented below is the edited transcript of his talk delivered in the Sai Kulwant Hall in the morning of July 9, 2017.



Distinguished members of the Board of Trust, Ratnakarji, distinguished ministers and eminent people, all the Sai bhakts, my adarneeya pranams (respectful salutations) to you and Guru Poornima shubhkamnayein (good wishes) to all of you!

Just now you heard a very long introduction about me but let me make it very clear. I have not come here as a senior minister of the Narendra Modi government but I have come as a simple bhakt, a simple devotee, to offer my pranams. Today I am singularly honoured and uniquely privileged that I have been invited here today to this abode of Lord Sainath.

I came here yesterday and I wish to personally thank Ratnakarji for having extended this invitation to me. In fact I was looking forward to visit this great heaven on earth. I got the privilege to once have the direct darshan of the Lord in Delhi but I never got the opportunity to visit here. And what a great day to offer my sadar pranamam (humble salutations) on the Guru Poornima day!

My good friend Mr. Naganand mentioned Kabirdas. There is a very famous couplet of Kabirdas, Guru Govind dou khade kaku lagun paye, balihari Guru apno jo diyo Govind bataye - I must pay my regards to my Guru who leads me to the path of Govind (God)!

At the very outset I would like to compliment my young friends. What beautiful bhajans you sang! I wish I could listen more to these beautiful bhajans. Being a lover of classical music, I have been hearing bhajans all around but this soulful rendering of bhajans was really extraordinary and my warm compliments to all of you.

How do I see the work and philosophy of Lord Sainath? The first is at the spiritual and philosophical level. What is the essence of India, ladies and gentlemen?

The Essence of India

The essence of India as outlined in the Rig Veda is Ekam Sat Vipra Bahuda Vadanti - Truth is one but wise men interpret it differently. You have your own perception of truth and I have my own. You follow your path and I will follow my own. I will respect your path and you respect my path because in the ultimate analysis your path and my path merge at the same destination wherein lies the ultimate truth - permanent, indivisible, eternal, perennial and inspiring - what we call the Parama Satya (supreme truth).

If you see all the utterances of Lord Sainath, ultimately what He says is, Love one and all. Serve one and all. How do I see the essence of this philosophy, ladies and gentlemen? My understanding is that the living body manifests itself in many ways. You can be an insect and you can be a living body. You can be a fish and you can be a living body. You can be an animal and you can be a living body. But the day you are born as a human being, that is the first blessing which God has given - you have come as a human being on this earth. That is because as a human being you have the faculty to understand the pain, suffering, agony and ecstasies of your fellow beings.

Baba's First Big Contribution

Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba has always been teaching Learn to love each other. When you love each other, there is no boundary of caste, religion or faith because every faith leads to the same destination. I see this creative goodness in every human being as the biggest contribution that Bhagawan Baba has given to all of us.

Just now we heard about the international work going all over. Yeh sara kam kya ho raha hai? (What is all this work going on?) Acche insan ko banane ki koshish hai (It is an attempt to make good human beings). Acche insan bano (Become a good human being). Learn to become a good human being free from anger, arrogance and jealousy. Just keep one spirit - the spirit of love, accommodation, reciprocity and mutual respect. I think that is Bhagawan's biggest contribution.

And if I can say, I will say with it great pride that world over the biggest voluntary movement of man-making is being done by the Sathya Sai movement. I wish to congratulate the board of governors and Ratnakarji and all your team. Ratnakarji was telling me that there are branches in 170 countries.

We are in politics, in public life. Just now it was mentioned that I had the privilege to work under Sri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, our political guru and our father figure who has visited Prasanthi Nilayam innumerable times. I know how much devotion he had to the Lord here.

Now I have the privilege to work under Sri Narendra Modi, another eminent and powerful leader seeking to change the country. We are proud and privileged to work under him. But we work with authority because the people of the country have given us the authority to work for the country as elected people, elected government. Therefore in many ways even though my Prime Minister says that we are pradhan sevaks (chief servants) and we are also working for the people in the most informal manner, we still carry some authority which the people of the country have given us.

I use the phrase voluntary contribution because without any authority, just out of love this great organisation (the Sai organisation) is doing work the world over. Today I would like to felicitate you all because my observations are also being webcast across the globe. I am also the IT minister of India and therefore it gives me singular honour to compliment the board of trustees for connecting the virtual with the real.

Sitting far away in South India in Prasanthi Nilayam I am talking to you and I am also talking to Sai bhakts all across the globe. Therefore from this abode of peace and love, I wish to compliment all the Sai bhakts all over the globe. Keep the good work going for the sake of humanity and development!

Baba's Second Big Contribution

What is the second contribution of Lord Sai which is important for all of us? This needs to spread more and more - serve the poor and underprivileged. Their service is the easiest route to reach the God - Garibon ki seva karo, vanchiton ki seva karo. Unki seva mein hi Ishwar ki prapti hai. This is the great message He has given us.

Let me quote Kabirdas again. A very famous couplet of his says, Sai itna deejiye jame kutumb samaye, main bhi bhookha na rahoon sadhu na bhookha jaye. It means, Hey Lord! Give me this much that I am able to take care of my family. But if a hungry human being comes in front of my house, I should not turn him down unsatisfied.

The word sadhu is a symbolism. The symbolism is: Dont live for yourself alone but live for others. Take care of your family but also take care of others.

Do you know something very unique and why I quoted this couplet? It begins with the line Sai itna deejiye. After 400-500 years here comes Lord Sainath who actually concretises this couplet into extraordinary initiative!

Yesterday I was told that 20 lakh operations have been done without a single farthing. The best-quality education is being given in this NAAC-certified university without charging a farthing. So many schools are being run and thousands and thousands of villages in this water-scarce land of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Karnataka are being provided drinking water - all by the initiative of this great institution. How do you explain it?

Yesterday I was talking to an eminent trustee of this board. I asked, How do you all manage it now that the Lord is not there? He quoted one statement of the Lord which made me emotional.

Once they asked Him, How do we run all this? Should we charge even something, a token?

Lord Sai told him one thing: Does a mother charge a child for helping him in anything?

Do you understand the philosophy? There is a profound philosophy behind this, ladies and gentlemen!

And what is it? Love and serve the other as a mother serves the child without seeking in return. And if this has been the motto, I have not the slightest doubt that if Lord Sai has given so much not only to Prasanthi Nilayam but to the whole world, surely His divine blessings will be there. And this great work will continue to prosper in the remotest part of the world and also in India.

The Ultimate Calling of India

To my young friends I have to make a last observation. What is India? Is India a geographical entity? Is India merely a physical entity? Yes, we are technologically very powerful.

I want to tell you, my young friends, as the IT Minister of India that in a population of 1.25 billion (125 crores), India is home to 1.08 billion mobile phones (108 crores) out of which 500 million (50 crores) are smart phones. We have 115 crore Aadhaar cards - unique identity kept in safe condition.

We have 500 million or 50 crore Internet connections. How we are using this to leverage technology for social good? We opened 25 crore Jan Dhan accounts for the poor and we linked those Jan Dhan accounts with the Aadhaar associated with the bank. We started serving subsidy to the poor, credited directly to their bank account. We saved Rs 50,000 crores in the last two years which used to be pilfered by fictitious persons. This is how we are using technology for public good.

India is certainly a place for science, innovation and technology. But also remember one thing - India is the chosen place on earth for divinity! That will remain the first and the ultimate calling of India.

How do you explain India geographically? You go deep north in the Himalayas and you find Badrinath where Badri Vishal (Lord Vishnu) resides. You go a little east and there you will find Kedarnath where Mahadeva resides. You go deep south to the tip of the Indian Ocean and there is Kanyakumari, the Mahadevi.

You go a little further in this proud land of Andhra Pradesh and you will find Lord Vishnu as Venkateshwara residing in the hills of Tirupati. You go deep east and you have Devi Kamakhya residing in the hills of Assam. You go deep east further and you have Lord Jagannatha residing in Puri. You go deep west and you have Lord Somnath in Gujarat and a little ahead you have Lord Krishna in Dwaraka. They are there for the last thousands and thousands of years!

So many other faiths came. We respected and welcomed all because India is a land which has been respecting all faiths. Come and experiment your chosen divinity through your own marga which you believe is the right path. That is the essence of India! Therefore, this cultural identity of India merging with the spiritual identity with the profound slogan of Unity in Diversity is the essence of India.

Why am I saying so? The great Lord envisaged that this profound land of India with the blessings of unity in diversity inspired by the philosophy of Sanathana Dharma and also respecting all the faiths must become a beacon.

The previous speaker rightly said that this is the essence of Bharat, Bharatvarsha. That larger vision to make India truly a great country for the world not only economically, educationally and militarily but also spiritually - that is the calling of India!

Spirituality - for the sake of service and to make better human beings. That in my very considered view is the real essence of Lord Sai. And He conveyed this in such simple language by His own conduct.

Just now my lawyer friend was explaining how by sitting with Him, he experienced a lot of doubts being removed. Let me share my own experience. The moment I entered this heavenly place, the moment I bowed my head before the Lord and sat here I felt a different energy. And mind you, when I say so, I have travelled around the world to so many countries, I have seen India from my younger days and I have studied many scriptures but the living experience of the powerful energy one experiences while coming here is truly extraordinary.

That I think is the message of Bhagawan Baba - Trust in Me and trust in My teachings. Trust in My vision and My hand of blessings and guidance will always remain there.

I think that is the biggest blessing on the Guru Poornima day. Ratnakarji, I again wish to compliment you and your team for inviting me on this very pious day and enabling me to have the experience of this profound energy myself and getting the unique privilege of having the darshan of the large number of devotees present here.

My vandan, shri vandan, namaskaram (salutations) to all of you!





- Team Radio Sai
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BUILDING THE LA RAZA 'The Race' WELFARE STATE ON MIDDLE AMERICAS' BACKS: Months ago, the Biden administration publicly defended their proposal to begin providing federal identification cards to border crossers and illegal aliens who they plan to release into American communities. The goal of the proposal is to make securing public benefits easier.
@learyreports

Florida Sens. Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio sounded deep concern over the situation with North Korea and say all options should be on the table, including a U.S. military strike.

North Korea poses a serious threat to the U.S. and all options should be on the table to protect the American people, Nelson said in a statement. We either do nothing, go to war or negotiate a stand down, and so far weve seen no sign that theyre willing to negotiate.

Rubio said the nation is moving toward a big decision whether to live with a North Korea with the capability of striking the U.S. with a nuclear weapon. I think its an unacceptable risk and our options are limited, he told reporters in Jacksonville on Wednesday.

They all come with significant risks. But I think the unacceptable outcome would be to allow them to possess these weapons and the ability to strike us.

Rubio said he was not advocating for a strike but, as bad as that would be, it would be worse to live in a world held hostage by this mans ability to strike the United States with a weapon.

He defended President Donald Trump against criticism of using overly aggressive rhetoric.

I dont think the rhetoric is the problem, Rubio said. I think the problem is there is a lunatic in North Korea with nuclear weapons and the ability to put them on a missile that can reach the United States  And he was working on those nuclear weapons before Donald Trump was president. Trump is not the cause of a North Korea crisis.

A reporter, however, questioned if Trump is inflaming things.

I dont have any concern about inflaming anything, replied Rubio. All the inflaming here is coming from this crazy guy in North Korea. Even if Donald Trump was the most diplomatic person in the world, he would be still be building a weapon and he would still be developing his missiles.
@amysherman1

The Broward County Commission will hold a shade meeting to discuss security at county locations on Tuesday.

The meeting notice doesn't provide any details about which county locations will be discussed but security is a hot topic at two county locations: the courthouse and the Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport. Broward Sheriff Scott Israel will attend the meeting with county commissioners. Governmental bodies are allowed to hold closed-door meetings about security.

In July 2016, an inmate escaped the Broward County courthouse in downtown Fort Lauderdale. A Sun Sentinel review of internal investigations of the Broward Sheriff's Office found that the inmate took advantage of security flaws to escape. The escape added fire to the ongoing fight between the Broward Sheriff's Office and the county about security at the courthouse, including the new courthouse which opened months later.

A Jan. 6 mass shooting at the airport which left five people dead has also led to a fight between BSO and the county about airport security.

The county hired a consultant earlier this year to write a report about the shooting which could lead to security recommendations before the commission sets the annual budget in September.

The Broward Sheriff's Office released it's own draft report in June about the shooting. That report stated that poor communication by the Broward Sheriffs Office and the Broward County Aviation Department, along with other mistakes, led to mass chaos for the estimated 12,000 people trapped at the airport. Airport officials disputed some conclusions in the BSO report.

It's unclear when the county's report or BSO's final report will be completed.

The SEIU union, which represents many airport workers, released it's own security recommendations Thursday calling for more training for airport workers.

Esteban Santiago, who was charged in the shooting, is scheduled for trial in January.

This post has been updated to include additional information
@PatriciaMazzei

Florida Democrats are going up on TV first in a special Miami Senate election, trying to portray Republican Jose Felix Diaz as a lackey of President Donald Trump.

The spot by the Florida Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee begins with Trump on the TV -- and Democrat Annette Taddeo turning it off.

"Families are too busy to worry about this drama," she says, rattling off a list of education and especially health care issues she argues are more important to voters. "But Jose Felix Diaz supports Trump's every move."

Ballots don't go out til later this month for the Sept. 26 election for Senate District 40. But Republicans far outraised Democrats in the primary, and got more of their voters to the polls -- suggesting Democrats had some catching up to do ahead of the general.

"This is going to be a close race," incoming Senate Democratic Leader Jeff Clemens said in a statement.

During the primary, all three Republicans vying for the GOP nomination campaigned on their Trump connections to appeal to base voters with whom the president remains quite popular. But that left Diaz, the eventual winner, vulnerable to Trump attacks in the general.
According to multiple sources familiar with the talks between the White House and State, Thomas Shannon, the undersecretary for political affairs and Secretary of State Rex Tillersons right-hand man at the department, has pushed back against the most aggressive sanctions out of concern they could close off diplomatic channels to Caracas.

The White House is completely on a different page, said a source who is familiar with the conversations but couldnt speak publicly because of the sensitivity of the talks. Its such a disaster. Its an absolute, absolute disaster.

The Trump administration has been delivering mixed signals since the July 30 vote in Venezuela that will allow a new constituent assembly to change the Venezuelan constitution and strip current lawmakers of power.

Soon after the vote, McMaster and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin took Trumps message to the public declaring Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro a dictator and announced new sanctions against him personally. The State Department moved more cautiously, delivering a message the next day through Spanish language media that they wanted to continue talks with the Maduro government.

We want to dialogue with the government of President Maduro, Michael Fitzpatrick, a deputy assistant secretary of state for the Western Hemisphere told EFE Spanish wire service. We do not necessarily recognize parallel or separate governments. We respect the official government of Venezuela and President Maduro at this time.

More here.

Photo credit: Wil Riera, Associated Press
@ByKristenMClark

Sarasota Republican Sen. Greg Steube is reviving one of the less controversial of his gun bills from last session, which would let concealed-weapons permit-holders carry their firearms into Florida courthouses and store the weapons temporarily with building security.

Steube on Thursday filed a bill for the 2018 session (SB 134) that puts that same proposal back on the table. It has a viable chance, if this spring was any indication.

The measure nearly cleared the Legislature during the final week of the 2017 session, when House Republicans abruptly moved to rush his bill to the floor even though the chamber had not yet considered any such proposal. (Steubes measure had passed the Senate by a 19-15 vote just a couple days prior, after being vetted and approved by three Senate committees, but no companion measure existed in the House.)

But the House backtracked the next day after trading with Democrats to ensure a priority of Senate leadership would be voted out instead. Steubes bill died as a result, although it likely had the votes to pass.

Steube could not be reached for comment Thursday morning, so its not yet clear whether a House version will be offered in 2018. Lawmakers are just beginning to file bills for the next session.

Steube has argued the so-called courthouse carry measure would particularly help attorneys to defend themselves, if needed, while entering and leaving courthouses because current law forces visitors to leave their firearms in their vehicles.

The concept drew relatively little opposition compared to other, more polarizing gun bills the Legislature debates annually. However, the plan would impose an unknown  and likely unfunded  cost on local and state courts because officials would have to install lockers or other secure storage for which to temporarily house visitors firearms.

Steube, a staunch advocate of Second Amendment rights, is also the architect of more divisive gun proposals that are likely to resurface in 2018, such as campus carry  which would let concealed-carry permit-holders carry guns on public college and university campuses. Nearly 1.8 million people have concealed-weapons permits in Florida.

The 2018 session begins in January, but legislative committee weeks  when lawmakers begin to hear bills  start in September.

Photo credit: Herald/Times file
via @jonzgreenberg

People who work in politics and suffer violent death are not often left in peace by conspiracy theorists. These aides and staffers dont simply die, the theories go -- they die for a reason.

The story of the 2016 shooting death of Democratic party worker Seth Rich has followed that pattern, with one important difference. A recent lawsuit alleges that Fox News and the Trump administration fueled an unsubstantiated narrative that Rich was the source of hacked Democratic National Committee emails that showed up on WikiLeaks.

The suits message is that both Fox News and the White House used the Rich story in an effort to neutralize the findings of the U.S. intelligence community that Russia was behind the stolen emails.

If true, this would raise serious questions about the role of the media and the government in spreading fake news.

But what do we really know at this point, and how much insight does the lawsuit really offer? We set out to separate the facts from the speculation.

Keep reading Jon Greenberg's report from PolitiFact.
The most eye-catching symbol of the Roxy Theater's anniversary restoration went up Wednesday, as crews installed a period-accurate marquee with neon lighting that matches the Art Deco-style original to the theater when it opened in 1937.

In some ways, it's a "hot-rod version" of the original, said Mike Steinberg, the theater's executive director. "It's got a lot more neon than was there. It's all period accurate: the colors, the actual gasses used for this particular neon are literally the ones that would've been available in '37."

To mark the anniversary, the nonprofit community cinema embarked on a facelift. They installed a new ticket booth that faces the street. They're adding classy new "eyebrows" for the movie posters on the street, new brass for the doors and new paint.

The total cost of the project is around $250,000, the majority of which was paid for by grants and several large private donations.

To pay for the remaining $30,000, the theater has launched a "Give37" campaign, in honor of the anniversary year.

"Our project was made possible by our donors and our over 800 members that we have in the community and we are still accepting donations on our website, theroxytheater.org, to pay for this incredible piece of history that will last for another 80 years," said development director Ingrid Lovitt-Abramson.

As part of the campaign, the theater is collecting stories from residents about the theater. To share one, you can call 406-800-1937 and leave your anecdote as a message. They will transcribe it and publish it online as text. You also can send one to the Roxy's Facebook page.

The grand re-opening will be celebrated on Sept. 23-24, with screenings of "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure" and "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs."

To Steinberg, the renovations will help embody the slogan of movie-house designer S. Charles Lee: "The show starts at the street."

A well-designed movie theater, like those Lee designed in the heyday of cinema, "did something for the neighborhood, it did something for the sense of place in a community," he said.

He hopes the bright lights underscore the theater's historic stewardship and its current offerings, which include new-release independent films each week, plus curated series catering to local interests, or art-house rarities, and screenings in partnership with community groups.
Government

COMMUNITY FORUM Leadership Team meeting, 6:30 p.m., Jack Reidy Conference Room, 140 W. Pine St.

Public events

DOWNTOWN TONIGHT, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Caras Park. Music by Ryan Chrys & The Rough Cuts; activities by Zootown Arts Community Center. Call 543-4238 or visit missouladowntown.com.

PARKINSON'S WELLNESS Exercise class every Thursday, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Salvation Army Building, 335 S. Russell. Call 843-819-3533, 531-7110 or 529-6608.

MISSOULA PUBLIC LIBRARY, 301 E. Main St., 721-2665 or missoulapubliclibrary.org: Kids Table at the Library, ages 18 and under eat free, 11:30 a.m. followed by activity; Kids Table at the Frenchtown Branch, ages 18 and under eat free, noon; Tiny Tales, ages birth-3, Large Meeting Room, 10:30 p.m.; Crafts, Frenchtown Branch, 1 p.m.; Drop-In Crafts, Big Sky Branch, 1-3:30 p.m., call 728-2400, Ext. 8605 for more information; Computer Electronics in the MarkerSpace, 3-6 p.m.; LEGO Club, ages 12 and under, 3:30- 5 p.m.

BITTERROOT PUBLIC LIBRARY, 306 State St., Hamilton, 363-1670: KinderCamp, 10-11 a.m.; Lego Club, 3:30-5 p.m.

Organizations

PARKINSON'S SUPPORT Group, 1-3 p.m., Ronald McDonald House, 3003 Fort Missoula Road. Call 829-8843 or 327-1207.

ST. PATRICK HOSPITAL Stroke and Brain Injury Support Group, 1:30-2:30 p.m., 902 N. Orange St., In-patient Rehabilitation Facility Dining Area, Providence Center. Call 329-5784.

MISSOULA SENIOR CITIZEN'S CENTER, 705 S. Higgins Ave., 543-7154, missoulaseniorcenter.org: Yoga, 9 a.m.; Pinochle, Bridge, Mah-Jong, 12:45 p.m.

AA MEETINGS Call 888-607-2000 or visit aa-montana.org.

ADULT ASPERGER'S support group, open meeting for those with Asperger's as well as their family and friends, 4:30-6 p.m., University Center, Room 215, UM. Contact Monique Casbeer at 721-3947 or Cindy Bacon Janego at cjanego@communitymed.org for more information.

NAMI MISSOULA free weekly meeting, 10 a.m.-noon, Providence Center Room 103. Open to anyone affected by mental illness (including family members) or interested in learning more about NAMI. Call 880-1013.

NAMI CONNECTION Support Group for adults with mental illness, 1:30-3 p.m., 202 Brooks St., Room 210. Call 880-1013.

AL-ANON: Call 1-888-425-2666 or visit mt.al-anon-alateen.org.

DUPLICATE BRIDGE beginner-intermediate game, 6 p.m., 2825 Stockyard Road, Suite I-3. Visit missoulabridge.org.
POLSON  The idea of building a permanent stage along the banks of the Flathead River on the Lake County Fairgrounds isnt anything new.

Its been something the county has wanted to do for a long time, said Lake County Commissioner Bill Barron. Just like a lot of things, we have plans, but we dont have the money to make it happen.

In all of those years of yearning, no one could have ever guessed that a reunion of a famous 1970s-era beer party in Missoula would have the driving force in making that idea become a reality.

On Wednesday, Dennis Anderson of Polson-based Anderson Broadcasting spent some time on the edge of the Flathead River watching as the last few towers were raised on the heavy concrete stage at the Lake County Fairgrounds that will serve as the centerpiece for this weekends Flathead Lake Aber Day Reunion Concert.

Theres pride in his voice when he says none of this would have been possible without a community of people willing to work together.

Back in the 1970s and early 80s, the annual Aber Day Kegger hosted at the rodeo grounds just south of Missoula was an event that drew thousands.

Over the past couple of years, an Aber Day reunion was held in Philipsburg by the local Rotary Club. When those Philipsburg Rotarians chose to not host the event this year, they passed on the idea to their fellow civic club members in Polson.

The Polson Rotarians considered it and then decided it was a little bit too big of thing for them to pull off, Anderson said. We had experience putting on shows and decided we could give it a try.

That was last spring when the idea fell into the laps of Anderson and his wife, Nila.

Anderson worked with Bob McCue of Missoula Liquid Assets, which owned the rights to Aber Day, and the University of Montana Alumni Association to bring the event featuring Montanas own Mission Mountain Wood Band to Polson on Saturday, Aug. 12, from 3 to 9 p.m.

Initially, Anderson thought the organizers would simply rent a temporary stage and set it up on the fairgrounds. But when he discovered that could cost somewhere between $13,000 and $20,000, Anderson began to wonder if it wouldnt be possible to make that longtime dream of a permanent stage come true.

That cost seemed crazy, Anderson said. I had this wild idea that maybe we could use that money to help pay for building a permanent stage.

Anderson had a number of galvanized steel towers stored in a field near his radio station that seemed to be just waiting to be incorporated into the new structure.

He worked with Beaudette Engineering of Missoula  a firm that designed two other amphitheaters  to come with the plans for the stage. With those plans in hand, both county and city officials soon were on board.

And then he turned to his friend and local contractor, Mark Giacoletto, to see if the construction project of this scale was possible in such a short time.

I knew that if I needed to consolidate a crew in a hurry, he was the guy who could do it, Anderson said. He was the absolute driver. He was great at coordinating and gathering up the people we needed to get this project done.

Over the past three weeks, the project went from a patch of bare ground to a raised concrete slab that will be shaded by a canvas top on Saturday when the Mission Mountain Wood Band will be joined by Sam Riddle (whose father, Steve, was one of the original founders) and Andrea Harsell with Luna Roja to play the inaugural concert at the new Regatta Shoreline Amphitheater.

Next weekend, the stage with its scenic river and mountain backdrop will host the annual blues festival.

Everything has fallen into place so wonderfully for this to happen, Anderson said. I think the whole community will be happy with this. Weve had people consider coming here to perform, but chose not to because we didnt have the venue. This reshapes the whole landscape of whats possible at the fairgrounds.

Barron said the county helped out with in-kind donations of gravel and heavy machinery work to the tune of somewhere between $5,000 and $10,000.

We think this will end up staying very busy once people know its here, Barron said. I think its a great example of the community working together with local government to get something done.

Mick Hoilen doubts it would have been possible if Anderson hadnt stepped forward.

Hes about the only one who could have pulled it all together, Hoilen said. When he decided it was something that was possible, he worked hard to get it done.

Hoilen said the site reminds him of the Missoula rodeo grounds where he decided that Montana was going to become his home.

I told my wife back then that we were going to move here after that, Hoilen said. She wasnt so sure, but I told her she didnt understand. These people are different. We need to be here.

Hoilen later served as the voice of the University of Montana Grizzlies for more than 20 years.

Tickets for the upcoming reunion cost $35 in advance, $40 at the gate, and can be found at grizalum.com as well as at local shops across western Montana. Children 6 and younger get in free, while tickets for those between the ages of 7-12 are $15. Proceeds from the show will be distributed to local nonprofits by the Anderson Broadcasting Charitable Foundation. Free parking for both cars and RVs is available at the Polson Fairgrounds, with additional hotels and camping within minutes of the venue.
More than 50 people showed up to the site of the former Smurfit-Stone pulp mill in Frenchtown on Thursday as a hired company auctioned off hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of equipment, from an old diesel electric switching locomotive to genie booms to flatbed trucks to shovels and ladders.

The sale is good news for Missoula County because the profits from the auction will go to pay off a portion of the $1.2 million in back taxes owed by the sites current out-of-state owner, M2Green Redevelopment, LLC.

Craig Rupnow said he was there to pick over the goods without any specific item in mind.

I live way up in the mountains, and I can always use odds and ends, he explained.

Rupnow theorized that most of the buyers were there to pick things up that they could sell for scrap metal.

Bob Jones, the auction foreman, said that he couldnt give an estimate of how much money the auction would bring in. However, he did say that someone unexpectedly paid $150,000 for some boilers and equipment to go along with it.

You just never know with an auction, he said.

After paying contractually agreed upon expenses to the auction company, Murphy Auctions, M2Green is under court order to pay Missoula County all proceeds from the auction within five days.

The court order directs Missoula County to put net auction proceeds toward existing tax debt owed for each of M2Greens 15 parcels according to the pro-rata amount of the tax owed for each parcel in relation to the total tax debt owed, explained county commissioner Jean Curtiss. For example, if a parcel has 10 percent of the total M2Green tax debt associated with it, then 10 percent of the net proceeds will go toward that parcels tax debt.

The sale includes fixtures, equipment and all personal property at the Frenchtown property. M2Green is also barred from transferring or further encumbering any other assets, including lease or rental income, in the state of Montana.

The pulp mill employed hundreds of workers in Frenchtown for decades until it abruptly closed and laid off all employees seven years ago.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency is investigating the property to determine whether to declare it a Superfund site. There were all kinds of toxic materials dumped at the site, and there remains much work to clean up 160 acres of toxic waste.

The Clark Fork Coalition and other organizations are concerned about unlined ponds filled with toxic materials that are separated from the Clark Fork River by only gravel berms.

Peter Nielsen, the director of the Water Quality District with the Missoula City-County Health Department, said he has no idea how much money the county stands to gain from the auction.

Hopefully theyll get a portion of whats owed in back taxes, he said. It sounds like some of the bigger items are selling out there.
The executive director of Five Valleys Land Trust, a nonprofit that works to preserve open space in western Montana, is stepping down after a decade in the position.

Grant Kier will leave his position at the end of August and the organization's past board president, Amber Sherrill, will take over.

Its easy to point to a mountain or a river or a project that means the most to you, Kier said on Thursday. But what Im most proud of is the diversity of projects weve taken on over the years. Five Valleys mission has fundamentally been about work that has permanence.

He was not specific about what comes next for him but said he wants to keep a hand in public policy.

Five Valleys Land Trust started in 1972 as the Five Valleys River Park Association, working to create Missoula's riverfront park system. By the 1980s the group worked to pass Montana's first open space bond and transformed into Five Valleys Land Trust. The organization was involved in the city's acquisition of Mount Jumbo and Mount Sentinel.

You cant look any direction around Missoula without knowing Five Valleys had their hand in that, Missoula County Commissioner Jean Curtiss said. A good leader makes sure there are people in place to follow him. They have a pretty amazing staff and board, but his leadership and relationships really will be missed.

Curtiss added Kier had a lesser-known but equally significant voice on the Missoula Economic Partnership board. She credited him with keeping focus on Missoulas quality of life and recreation opportunities as attractions that convince business owners to relocate here or expand their operations.

Kier came to FVLT after spending two and a half years with the adjacent Bitterroot Land Trust. During his 10-year tenure, the Missoula-based land trust doubled in scope and staff.

Now is a great time to step back, Kier said. We have some big, ambitious projects that need multiple years to complete. And we have unprecedented levels of membership support and financial support. Everyones fired up to get work done now.

Those projects include the management of a huge public recreation area on Mount Dean Stone on Missoulas southeastern rim that involves The Nature Conservancy, Run Wild Missoula and Hellgate Hunters and Anglers; trail expansion on the hills surrounding the former Marshall Mountain ski area east of Missoula; and preservation of working agricultural lands throughout the valley.

FVLT is also working in the Flint Creek Valley to expand conservation of ranchland and wildlife habitat and in the Blackfoot and southern Mission Valleys to increase public access to outdoor recreation and expand wildlife habitat conservation.

In the past 10 years weve expanded our partnerships and become more creative and innovative in how we use land conservation to help communities, Sherrill said in the release. In this new role I am excited to work closely with our board, staff, and partners to keep our momentum going while the board assesses our longer term leadership needs.
Missoula is in the middle of a dry spell that has set a new record.

As of Wednesday, Aug. 9, Missoula had not had any measurable precipitation for 43 days, breaking the previous record of 42 set in 2012.

Mike Zenner, meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Missoula, said that there is a 23 percent chance of precipitation up until Saturday, but thats not a big chance.

And that lack of precipitation isnt helping the smoke.

Jeff Kitsmiller, meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Missoula, said that with how thick this smoke is it would be hard for any small amount of rain to really clear up the area.

There are so many sides to it, Kitsmiller said theres smoke from fires around us, smoke from Canada  theres so many sources wed need the weather patterns to change.
Students at Franklin and Lowell elementary schools will be starting the year in their completed buildings as the two Missoula County Public Schools 2020 bond projects near completion.

At the Missoula County Public Schools board of trustees meeting Tuesday night, the board members were given an update on the Smart Schools 2020 bond project. While finalized budgets for two completed projects will not be presented to the board until late September, Burley McWilliams, operations and maintenance supervisor for the district, was able to give a general overview.

Missoula voters approved a bond levy in November 2015 that secured about $158 million to renovate elementary and high school buildings in the district. The Smart Schools 2020 bond was meant to upgrade the schools technological capabilities as well as modernize school designs. The elementary school district projects were budgeted to cost about $88 million with the high school projects budgeted at $70 million.

This summer, the Franklin and Lowell schools are expected to be complete and students will be starting the year in brand new buildings. Once the finishing touches are done, the school district is planning on holding open houses at the two schools on Thursday, Aug. 24. The final costs of the projects will be presented to the school board in September, said Hatton Littman, director of technology and communications for the district.

Multiple other projects are ongoing, including everything from small changes, like a new school sign being installed at Chief Charlo Elementary school, to entire new buildings, like the Cold Springs school and Willard Alternative High School demolition.

In the elementary school district, site prep for the building additions to Russell school is set to begin in September. The roofing projects for Hawthorne and C.S. Porter are already underway. Rattlesnake is also getting a new school sign installed as well as additional landscaping. At Washington, construction for the schools expansion has started.

For the high school district, Hellgates construction is underway, though in June it was unclear the school's budget projections would be the same as what was stated in the bond language. Littman did not have an update on that budget when asked about it Monday.

After several community meetings, Willard Alternative High Schools demolition and rebuild plan is scheduled to begin in September, though some community members have voiced intent to try to stop the demolition of the building. Sentinel redesign has also begun.

The Seeley-Swan High School project was completed in April. Big Sky High School had a roofing project completed in the summer of 2016.

With students returning to Franklin and Lowell, all students will be at their home schools this year, Littman said.

Details about all the planned renovations and school projects can be found at mcpsmt.org.
Image Group LA/ABCIf there's one thing you shouldn't expect from Kendrick Lamar, it's his opinion on President Donald Trump.

In a new interview with Rolling Stone, the "HUMBLE." rapper says talking about the Commander-in-Chief is akin to "beating a dead horse."

"We already know what is. You just get to a point where you're tired of talking about it," he adds.

"It weighs you down and it drains your energy when you're speaking about something or someone that's completely ridiculous," the rapper continues.

"On the record, I made an action to not speak about what's going on in the world or the places they put us in. Speak on self; reflection of self first."

Kendrick does, however, talk about a number of other subjects with the publication in-depth, such as what makes him laugh and what it was like working with Beyonce on Lemonade.

"She's a perfectionist. Think about the BET performance," says Kendrick.

"She was very particular -- the lighting, the camera blocking, the transition from the music to the dancing. It was a confirmation of something I already knew."

He also gives his thoughts about rappers using ghostwriters, telling readers that he couldn't call himself "the best rapper" if he ever decided to employ one.

"If you're saying you're a different type of artist and you don't really care about the art form of being a best rapper, then so be it," he says.

"Make great music. But the title, it won't be there."

Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
CURRY, Idaho  Someone has been shooting livestock and leaving the animals to die.

Steve Westphal, who lives just east of Curry Crossing on U.S. 30 west of Twin Falls, raises llamas in his pasture behind the Twin Falls County Historical Museum. Three weeks ago he had 10; now his favorites, Big Mama and Snowie, are dead  shot and killed in separate incidents.

Westphal is outraged and confused. So is cattleman Cory Alger.

Alger raises Angus beef cows in a pasture just east of Westphals property. A shooter killed his prize bull and a heifer in still another incident.

Its crazy, Algers said Wednesday. I dont get it.

The four deaths cant be a coincidence, he said.

The common denominator connecting the shootings is the railroad track that runs behind Westphals house. Algers thinks the shooter walked or drove on the railroad right of way to get to all four animals.

His son found the 2,000-pound bull  worth about $4,500  and the 800-pound heifer Aug. 3, lying just south of the tracks, about 500 feet west of 2600 East. Alger said the shootings happened about two days earlier.

Deputy Levi Meyer responded to Algers call to the Twin Falls County Sheriffs Office.

There was no way of telling anything by then, Meyer said. Both were in full bloat when I got there.

Meyer said the only hope of finding the shooter at this point is catching him in the act.

Westphal found Snowie dead several weeks ago. It didnt occur to him that she had been shot  until he found Big Mama dead on Sunday. The bullet hole was obvious.

She was gut shot, he said.

Big Mama left an eight-month-old juvenile named Brownie, who has since been adopted by another mama llama.

Westphal suspects both Big Mama and Snowie were shot at night.

They were the only white llamas in the pasture, so they would have stood out in the dark.
Scientists at the National Institutes of Health in Hamilton have developed an innovative way to study transmission and effects of the Zika virus from mothers to fetuses.

They wanted to use laboratory mice as part of their studies, but that was challenging because mice are less susceptible to Zika than humans. So first, the mice had to be treated to suppress their immune response.

In addition, some mice used in previous Zika research lost weight during their pregnancy, which meant some of the impacts on the fetus could be caused by malnutrition due to the weight loss.

So before proceeding, the scientists first had to come up with ways around these variables.

We know that Zika virus is transmitted to humans primarily by mosquitoes, but it also can be transmitted from an infected male to a female through sexual transmission, as well as from an infected pregnant woman to her fetus, said Karin E. Peterson, a neuroimmunology investigator in the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases who worked with a research group at Rocky Mountain Lab.

They demonstrated sexual transmission in mice by taking an infected male mouse and placing it with an uninfected female mouse - the male mouse infected the female mouse. They also wanted to study how the virus gets to the fetus from the mother, especially since the placenta is a major barrier.

When we look at the placenta on the maternal side, we see a high level of virus infection, and we dont see a lot of virus on the fetal side of the placenta, Peterson said. So the question is How does the virus get across? We want to determine how it gets across the placenta to the fetus, how the virus affects the developing fetus and how it gets to the brain of the fetus.

The main health problem associated with Zika virus infection is the transmission of the virus from mother to fetus, which can lead to brain abnormalities, including microcephaly that stunts brain growth and development.

The majority of people wouldnt even know they had a virus infection, Peterson said. Most people are asymptomatic or they may have a rash or a fever. In a few cases, infection in adults can lead to Guillain-Barre syndrome which causes temporary paralysis.

"What were really interested is how the virus is transmitted to the fetus, the infection of the nervous system of the developing fetus and how the virus causes damage to the brain.

Peterson said there are cases now where an infant born from an infected mother doesnt show initial signs of microcephaly, but has brain developmental problems in the first couple years of life.

We dont know the effects of Zika infection progressing beyond that because most of the cases of microcephaly are from 2015 and 2016, Peterson said. We dont know what is going to happen as far as the long-term effects of Zika infection in the developing brain. This model gives us a system to start looking at that.

Peterson said their mouse model is not the first mouse model of mother-to-fetus transmission, but it does allow the pregnancy to progress for the most part without the Zika-associated weight loss in mice.

In our model we dont see the effects of the weight loss during pregnancy so the effects to the fetus should solely be due to the virus infection, she said.

The end goal is to understand how the Zika virus causes damage to the brain in the fetus. Peterson said she and her team can start addressing these questions because they now have this model.

Thats what we want to look at, Peterson said. How does the virus infection result in the brain not developing normally? I think there is a lot we can do with this model system as far as looking at transmission and looking at how the virus affects fetal development.

"Were excited to start those experiments and see what we can find out.
As the Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) recently confirmed, outdoor recreation is not only intrinsic to our way of life in Montana, it is now the largest sector of Montanas economy.

According to OIAs new numbers, Montanas outdoor recreation economy generates over $7 billion per year in consumer spending and supports over 70,000 jobs that pay more than $2 billion worth of wages. These numbers, while eye-popping, are even more impressive when you consider that they dont even account for indirect economic effects, such as the hundreds of start-ups and small businesses that choose to locate here to take advantage of our outdoor way of life.

Perhaps the biggest takeaway from the report is that the old economy versus conservation dichotomy no longer applies. As this data shows, our economy actually depends on conservation of our public lands. Not only are public lands critical to the clean air and water that make our communities livable, they are what make our outdoor recreation economy tick, with hikers, bikers, skiers and others spending billions each year in Montana while recreating on public lands.

This report from OIA also makes clear that Montana is home to a thriving industry of small businesses, an industry that is resilient, even in times of economic downturn. But, just like other key sectors of our economy, we cant expect this industry to grow if we dont have the right policies in place. A common sense and much-needed first step is the creation of Montanas own Office of Outdoor Recreation, and we applaud Gov. Steve Bullock for recently announcing that he will create this office in September. Similar offices have already been created in at least six other states.

Despite the enormous influence that outdoor recreation plays in our states economy, we have never had an office dedicated to supporting and growing that sector. While several different agencies manage various pieces of the outdoor recreation economy  State Parks, Office of Tourism, Office of Economic Development, for instance  we lack a unified and strategic approach to this massive part of our economy.

This new Office of Outdoor Recreation could play several critical roles in our outdoor recreation economy. One of its top priorities should be to expand the outdoor recreation economy map in Montana and help rural communities across the state gain access to the resources they need to more fully capture the benefits of that economy. Those resources could include grant opportunities to strengthen trail systems and improve outdoor infrastructure. Likewise, the office could be an important advocate for rural business owners, such as outfitters and guides, who have ideas on how to improve Montana's regulatory environment and promote outdoor tourism.

Another priority should be to protect our public lands. For our outdoor economy to thrive, we must reaffirm our commitment to keeping our public lands intact, well-managed, and accessible, especially as visitation continues to rise. That means, at a minimum, rejecting efforts to transfer ownership or management to the state, a move that would compel the state to either industrialize or sell off those lands just to keep the state from going bankrupt. It also means strengthening and supporting efforts to protect wildlands and investing in outdoor recreation infrastructure. Keeping our public lands in prime condition  with clean water, clear trails, abundant wildlife and beautiful vistas  is, after all, the right economic choice.

Every community in our state has the potential to use outdoor recreation to improve the quality of life for its residents and attract new visitors, businesses and investment. We hope this office helps more communities harness the power of this booming sector of our economy.
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KALISPELL  A 65-year-old Montana man who refused to register as a sex offender because he said he was wrongfully convicted of sexually abusing a young boy has been sentenced to at least 30 years in prison for threatening to kill judges, attorneys and the victim of the abuse.

The Flathead Beacon reports Dale Michael Hanson was sentenced Wednesday to 40 years in prison with no parole eligibility for 30 years for felony intimidation and failure to register.

Hanson served 10 years in prison for the sexual assault conviction. He has maintained his innocence.

Last August, Hanson asked the U.S. Marshal's Service to investigate. A letter said there were going to be a "bunch of dead bodies" if the agency did not intervene on his behalf.

Defense attorney Sean Hinchey argued Hanson's "tough talk" was a plea for help to clear his name.
A group of business leaders from five western states met in U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinkes home state on Wednesday to discuss the economic impact to outdoor-oriented businesses of shrinking or rescinding national monuments.

In April, President Donald Trump ordered a review of any national monument created since Jan. 1, 1996, that spans at least 100,000 acres. Zinke, a native of Whitefish, is expected to recommend this month whether any changes should be made to 22 national monuments. The Trump administration announced the review amid efforts to spur natural resource development on federal lands and challenge a number of Obama-era environmental regulations.

National monuments have become a major focus in the debate about public land management, with conservation and outdoor recreation groups lauding monument designations but also drawing accusations of federal overreach stifling oil and gas jobs by industry and many elected officials.

Business for Montanas Outdoors and the Colorado Outdoor Business Alliance co-hosted two Western Businesses for National Monuments roundtable discussions in Helena and Great Falls. Participants included restaurant owners, brewery owners, outdoor gear manufacturers, expedition guides and representatives of local chambers of commerce.

The business leaders said they would be affected by the loss or reduction of eight monuments: Rio Grande Del Norte, Upper Missouri River Breaks, Grand Staircase Escalante, Basin and Range, Mojave Trails, Sand to Snow, Canyons of the Ancient and Organ Mountains Desert Peaks.

Zinke already announced that he will recommend no changes to five national monuments, including Canyons of the Ancient and the Upper Missouri River Breaks.

There are still 22 monuments that are in the crosshairs, Marne Hayes, executive director of Business for Montanas Outdoors, said. The decision to remove or change these monuments are very threatening to small businesses and the communities that rely on them for their economies.

Hayes said even though certain monuments are safe, the review process kept small businesses from investing more in the community or hiring new talent.

Many of the businesses said they would be unable to survive without the monuments, which have boosted economic output in the surrounding areas of all eight monuments since their designation.

The five states benefit from an outdoor economy supporting more than 1 million jobs, $150 billion in consumer spending, $50 billion in wages and salaries and $10 billion in state and local tax revenue.

Since the Upper Missouri River Breaks was designated as a national monument, 139,000 people have visited each year, and non-residents have contributed $10 million in consumer spending.

Suzanne and Joseph Catlett, owner of NEMOs Drive Thru in Escalante, Utah, said Grand Staircase Escalante was designated at a crucial time. Other industries were declining, but the small town of 850 people has experienced a 20-year outdoor recreation boom. This year, NEMOs Drive Thru served a record number of patrons.

Jobs have increased by 24 percent in the region and people have experienced a 32 percent increase in personal income. Joseph Catlett said Zinkes visit to Utah focused on politicians, instead of business owners.

When (Zinke) visited our monument he didnt meet with one single business owner, he said. Were here today to tell that whats really happening is an attempt to transfer public wealth to the private sector.

Kevin Timm, who started Seek Outside with his wife to manufacture backcountry gear, said his business wouldnt exist without public lands.

We produce and manufacture gear intended for a more remote wilderness style experience. Its not really designed around a KOA or that style of camping, he said. Its meant for the public land experience.

Other efforts to encourage Zinke to protect the monuments are underway in the state. Backcountry Hunters and Anglers launched a $1.4 million ad campaign from Montana last week. The ad reminds Zinke of his praise and self-comparisons to conservationists like President Theodore Roosevelt.

Zinkes national monument review threatens our heritage and thousands of jobs, the ad says. Mr. Secretary, dont turn your back on Roosevelt now.
The majority of suicide bombers used by terror group Boko Haram to kill innocent victims are women and children, a US study reveals.

Researchers at the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point and Yale University analyzed the 434 suicide bombings carried out by Nigeria-based militants Boko Haram since 2011, and found that at least 244 of the 338 attacks in which the bomber's gender could be identified were carried out by women.

The ISIS-affiliated insurgent group has sent 80 women to their deaths in 2017 alone.

Boko Haram's use of women as bombers increased following the abduction of 276 female students aged between 16 and 18 from their school dormitories in April 2014. The Chibok Girls' abduction prompted the global "Bring Back Our Girls" campaign.

"Almost immediately after the Chibok kidnappings ... Boko Haram's use of women suicide bombers skyrocketed," says Jason Warner, assistant professor at the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, the United States' elite military academy.

The report suggests "that Boko Haram started using women suicide bombers after it realized the potency that gender and youth offer in raising its global profile after the Chibok kidnappings," he says.

Youngest bomber aged just 7

As well as regularly employing women to carry deadly explosives, Boko Haram is also "at the forefront of normalizing the use of children as suicide bombers," according to the report.

"Boko Haram has shattered demographic stereotypes as to what a suicide bomber looks like," says Warner. "It is the first terrorist group in history to use more women suicide bombers than men, and is at the vanguard of using children as suicide bombers."

Of the 134 suicide bombers whose age could be determined, 60% were teenagers or children. The youngest suicide bomber identified to date was just 7 years old.

Boko Haram has used four times as many young girls as it has young boys, according to the study.

Ellen Chapin, a Yale-based researcher who worked on the report, told CNN the militant group "deployed 42 teenage girls and 23 little girls (12 years old and under), compared to 11 teenage boys and five little boys."

The group's reign of terror has left an estimated 35,000 dead over the last six years; Warner says the "vast majority" of the group's victims are "innocent, everyday Nigerians, Cameroonians, Nigerians and Chadians, not government or military personnel."

"The loss of life caused by Boko Haram -- and the war against the group -- has been staggering," Warner says, adding that the conflict has forced more than two million Nigerians to flee their homes, with "profound humanitarian consequences."

Women seen as "expendable"

The report's authors say there are several reasons why women and children are chosen as bombers, one being that they are far less likely to be searched.

They can hide explosives under their billowing clothing, or inside handbags, and in some cases have even strapped explosives on their backs with infant children.

There are also reports of men dressing as women to slip through security more easily.

The researchers also believe that women and children are more susceptible to Boko Haram's recruitment efforts than their male counterparts, through violence, brainwashing or false promises.

Women and female children, in particular, are seen as expendable by the male terrorist leadership -- their vulnerability a destructive, deadly curse.

One former insurgent told researchers that women "are cheap and they are angry for the most part," adding that "using women allows you to save your men."

Mistrust spreading in communities

Hilary Matfess, one of the lead authors of the report, told CNN the group's choice of suicide bombers "upends social norms about women and children, which make them effective beyond merely the lives that they claim when they are detonated."

The spreading of mistrust caused by the use of women and children in such deadly roles "undermines social cohesion and will make the process of post-conflict reconciliation and redevelopment all the more difficult," she says.

Researchers' fieldwork for the study was limited because northeastern Nigeria -- where Boko Haram is based -- is notoriously dangerous for locals and foreigners.

"Media reports often did not report full details of the bombings," says Warner. "Even getting approximate ages of bombers proved to be very difficult ... and media accounts often did not even report the gender of the bombers."

"In instances where age or gender was not reported, it might be reasonable to expect that the bomber was an adult man, and thus, age and gender were not newsworthy enough to report at all," he says.

Matfess spent much of her time in the field conducting face-to-face interviews with former Boko Haram insurgents, victims and family members affected by Boko Haram's reign of terror.

She said that as well as true suicide bombers, who are willing to die for a cause, Boko Haram also uses improvised explosives carried by unwilling victims and others coerced verbally, physically, materially or by violence. These are known as person-borne IEDs, or PBIEDs.

"Children and those forced into serving as bombers cannot be considered 'suicide bombers' and the counterterrorism measures against PBIED attacks can differ than the tactics deployed against an autonomous, dedicated suicide bomber," she says.

Women stigmatized by bombings

In Maiduguri, a town hit hard by Boko Haram's suicide bombings, Matfess says the government has begun a campaign to raise public awareness about women and child bombers, explaining how to identify potential attackers.

"The policy is well intentioned, [but] it risks stigmatizing the bombers, many -- though not all -- of whom have been coerced or forced into serving in this role," she said, adding that "the widespread suspicion of women and girls that these attacks have resulted in already puts women and girls at a disadvantage in the community."

Matfess said former Boko Haram members had told her that some women do join Boko Haram voluntarily, and some even volunteer to be suicide bombers.

She recalled a meeting with a group of female Boko Haram members who had been "rescued" by the Nigerian military and were being held in a rehabilitation camp, but who "were still loyal to the insurgency."

After talking to one of the group's younger recruits, a 14-year-old called Fatima, who had already been married twice, the girl asked to braid her hair.

"It was so clear to me then that this was just a young woman, with interests not very different from the [teenage] girls I grew up with, caught in the middle of tragic circumstances and a society marked by structural violence against women."
President Donald Trump effectively ad-libbed his way into a test of wills with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and an unpredictable cycle of escalation -- largely due to both men's propensity for white-hot rhetoric and a desire to project strong leadership.

And the stakes keep rising.

One day after Trump fired off a blistering and improvised warning to rain "fire and fury" over the communist state if it kept up its own threats, North Korea issued an unusually specific and provocative warning, threatening to send four missiles toward Guam while ridiculing Trump for spouting "a load of nonsense."

Now Trump has a dilemma, whether to hit back in kind or take some other escalatory step or risk seeing his personal credibility and global authority damaged by a defiant Kim.

Trump's remarks were an example of his unorthodox approach to global leadership in action. He promised to be unpredictable and to prize force over nuance and to trash establishment doctrines -- and he has been as good as his word. But this is not a type of crisis Trump has ever faced before.

"What's he going to do about it? That's the problem with ratcheting it up," said Phil Mudd, a CNN national security expert, about Trump on "The Situation Room." "The President ratchets it up and the North Koreans say, 'OK, you have got a pair or twos, we have got three threes. We are going to put them on the table.'"

The sudden worsening of tensions is sure to set nerves on edge in North Asia and leaves the administration contemplating the first grave foreign policy crisis of Trump's term.

It is the first significant test for Trump's new chief of staff John Kelly and also of the President's own capacity to take a step back, to show patience and to seek a diplomatic way out of an increasingly unpredictable situation. In a dispatch that moved shortly after the threat by North Korea to send four missiles to within 30-40 kilometers of Guam, where there are two US military bases, Pyongyang's official news agency attempted to sharpen his predicament by mocking Trump personally as a "guy bereft of reason."

Wednesday's dramatic developments were the culmination of tensions that have been simmering perceptibly since even before the President took office, when his predecessor Barack Obama warned him off the deepening crisis that could reach a critical point on his watch.

Since then, Trump has fumed as North Korea has tested several intercontinental ballistic missiles. And he has turned the screw on China to do more to control its neighbor and become ever more bombastic in his threats and boasts on Twitter about the might of the US nuclear arsenal.

The result is that nearly seven months into his presidency, the world remains unclear about exactly where his policy stands, but fears are mounting that the US and North Korea could be on the cusp of a long-dreaded moment of brinkmanship on the Korean peninsula.

Trump's warning to North Korea on Tuesday followed the publication of a Washington Post report citing intelligence sources as saying Pyongyang had managed to miniaturize a nuclear device to fit on an ICBM that could soon hit the US mainland.

But it was also a reminder that just a few words, delivered off the cuff from an outspoken President, can complicate the more orthodox diplomatic work of his administration, that in this case is starting to show some signs of progress after the passage of tough new UN Security Council sanctions at the weekend.

In a Facebook Live appearance, Republican Sen. John McCain rebuked Trump for his demeanor.

"I am not exactly sure that the President has fully appreciated that when he speaks," McCain said. "The most powerful person in the world -- his words reverberate all over the world."

Was there a plan?

The White House came under intense pressure Wednesday to answer a fundamental question -- did Trump just talk his way into a deeper confrontation with North Korea -- or was his intervention planned in advance?

Eventually, spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that officials, including Kelly were aware that the President would take a tough line if asked about North Korea on Tuesday by reporters.

"The words were his own. The tone and strength of the message were discussed beforehand," Huckabee said.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson tried to play down the sense of crisis that Trump's phrasing provoked.

"I think Americans should sleep well at night," Tillerson told reporters as he headed home from Asia, saying he saw no sign the US had moved closer to a military showdown over the last 24 hours.

Part of Tillerson's mission was to finesse what Trump actually said.

One reason why the President caused so much consternation on Tuesday was that he appeared to draw a red line -- not just on North Korea's use of a nuclear weapon, or on constructing an ICBM, but just for continuing to issue the kind of threats that are the daily staple of the communist state.

Tillerson, not for the first time, artfully tried to reframe exactly what the President said: "I think the President just wanted to be clear to the North Korean regime that the US has an unquestionable ability to defend itself, will defend itself and its allies and I think it was important that he deliver that message to avoid any miscalculation on their part."

Mattis redrawing the red line?

Tillerson was not the only Trump official working on cleanup.

Secretary of Defense James Mattis later issued a written statement -- a method of communication that allowed him to spell out a stark message, but in a way that did not add to the sense of crisis.

"It must be noted that the combined allied militaries now possess the most precise, rehearsed, and robust defensive and offensive capabilities on Earth," Mattis said. "The DPRK regime's actions will continue to be grossly overmatched by ours and would lose any arms race or conflict it initiates."

Mattis's tough language appeared to be aimed at both North Korea and perhaps his own boss, in order to dispel any sense of disunity in the President's core foreign policy team.

But the defense secretary also appeared to subtly redraw the red line that the President established in his remarks on Tuesday.

While Trump warned of "fire and fury" as a price for North Korea's threats, Mattis said that the DPRK "should cease any consideration of actions that would lead to the end of its regime and the destruction of its people."

That could be read as a warning that any effort by Pyongyang to send a long-range missile America's way would lead to North Korea being wiped off the map -- a criteria for US action much narrower than Trump established on Tuesday.

State Dept. says everyone's on the same page

At the State Department, spokeswoman Heather Nauert offered a glimpse of the administration's efforts to try to inject some retrospective logic into Trump's Tuesday outburst.

"The President is sending a strong message to North Korea in the kind of language that North Korea understands," Nauert said, and also denied the administration was on different pages on how to deal with North Korea.

One of Nauert's predecessors, John Kirby, who now works as a national security analyst for CNN, said her comments were clear evidence of a crisis communications machine swinging into action.

"I think this is strategy after the fact, this is communications after it is already out," said Kirby. "The President says this crazy thing yesterday and everybody had to figure out how they react to it."
You have probably heard the recent news that newly elected Congressman Greg Gianforte will be fulfilling his court-ordered community service requirement with a nonprofit that builds wheelchairs for children. Gianforte assaulted a reporter in Bozeman and was duly convicted for it. Community service was an appropriate measure to hold Gianforte accountable for his crime. But I must present you with an unsettling question: What if Gianforte had committed his crime in Butte? Would the Butte City Court have been able to sentence the congressman to community service?

The answer, sadly, is no.

Butte is the only first class city in Montana without a functioning community service program for adult misdemeanor offenders. Community service holds people accountable for their actions while also improving our city. It can be an alternative to spending time in the Butte jail, which is overcrowded and expensive to the taxpayers.

I ran for the office of Butte City Court Judge last year with a pledge to create a community service program and to bring about other reforms the city court desperately needs. While I was unsuccessful, my hope was that the city judge would begin to take community service seriously. Unfortunately, Butte City Court still does not have a community service program. If Gianforte had been convicted here, no community service would have been imposed.

I call on the Chief Executive and the Council of Commissioners to bring a community service program to Butte. The Council would not have to start from scratch; Helena, Missoula, and of course Bozeman have functioning programs that Butte could adapt. Those cities contract through a non-profit that serves as a middleman between the defendants and the service providers. Alternatively, Butte could run the program internally. The city court is budgeted for three clerks, but it functions fine with two. The third position could be converted into a community service coordinator. Fees can be imposed on defendants to help cover the cost. These fees are authorized by state statute, with amounts imposed on an ability-to-pay basis.

The justice court is off to a good start, as it already imposes community service for juvenile MIPs. However, it still needs stronger enforcement mechanisms and should be streamlined with a complete community service program. There are many local agencies and non-profits that could benefit from community service, and the program can be designed in a way that accounts for Buttes weather. One example of indoor community service is putting people to work at the animal shelter to remove waste.

Butte is a great city, and we can make it even greater with an accountable community service program in our local courts.
MUSCATINE  With how commonplace it has become for voters to take a selfie with their I Voted sticker in the hopes of encouraging others to 
MUSCATINE  Three Muscatine men facing charges in separate shooting incidents last month will be arraigned in Muscatine County court Aug. 18.

Standoff on Schiller Street

Mario Perales Jr., 47, was charged with attempt to commit murder, plus interference with official acts while armed with a dangerous weapon, following a shooting and three-hour long standoff with police July 30.

After shooting a victim, later identified as his father, Mario Perales Sr., 68, and refusing to exit his residence on Schiller Street, Mario Perales Jr. was tear-gassed and arrested. He faces up to 25 years in prison for the attempt to commit murder charge.

A spokesperson for University Hospitals, Iowa City could not provide information on the victim's condition this week. Mario Perales Sr. suffered three gunshot wounds to his upper torso, a shot each to both arms and one shot through his chest cavity, according to the criminal complaint.

The preliminary hearing set for Thursday was canceled, and Mario Perales Jr. will be held in Muscatine County Jail until an arraignment Aug. 18 at 11:30 a.m.

Linn Street shooting

Sebastian Perales, 19, faces felony charges after a shooting July 27 that sent a Muscatine man to the hospital.

He is accused of firing six rounds at two men in the 500 block of Linn Street, according to the criminal complaint. Trinidad Santos-Salas, 36, suffered a bullet wound to the arm and was transported to University Hospitals, Iowa City.

Sebastian Perales is charged with intimidation with a dangerous weapon, willful injury, going armed with intent and carrying weapons. He will appear in court Aug. 18 at 11:30 a.m.

W. 3rd Street shots-fired incident

Neil Bazan Jr., 20, of Muscatine, is charged with going armed with intent after several gunshots were fired in the 400 block of W. 3rd Street July 28. No injuries were reported.

According to the criminal complaint, Bazan fired approximately 17 rounds near a gathering of people. While talking with police, he later admitted to firing 10 shots and that he was intending to intimidate people in the area.

Bazan faces up to five years in prison and will be arraigned Aug. 18.
Les emplois a Rennes sont abondants et varies. Il y a quelque chose pour tout le monde. Que vous soyez a la recherche dun emploi []
Les blattes ou cafards (Blatta orientalis) sont des insectes qui appartiennent a la famille des Blattoptera. Ils se caracterisent par leur forme allongee, leurs ailes []
In an act of putting the country first, Kenyas main TV stations have put an end to a TV press conference called by Nasa to declare Raila the president-elect.

The conference that ended a few moments ago was aired for the most part, but was cut short abruptly during the Q and A session. NTV was first followed closely by Citizen TV and the rest. Prior to this one, all other press conferences by both Jubilee and Nasa, and even by the various observer missions were aired live until the last question was asked.

Moreover, it appeared as though instructions were sent to stop studio commentators from talking about Nasa statements. On Citizen TV, Swaleh Mdoe specifically stopped one analyst from talking about it, stating it has already passed.

In the press conference, Musalia Mudavadi speaking on behalf of Nasa and flanked by top Nasa leaders; Raila Odinga, Kalonzo Musyoka, James Orengo and Hassan Joho, announced that they are in possession of new data direct from IEBC servers that shows Raila is ahead.

According to Nasa, Raila has 8,041,726 with Uhuru coming second with 7,755,448.

However, they refused to reveal how they came across this data, expressing the need to protect their sources.

Most people have however rubbished the numbers particularly because Jubilee has whitewashed Nasa affiliated party all over Kenya, getting majority in parliament, senate and even the Council of Governors. Also, literally all observer missions have given IEBC a thumbs up, calling the election free, fair and credible.

Furthermore, hundreds of sampled Form 34A show no discrepancies with what has been streaming on IEBC website.

It is unclear whether the government intervened to force the media to cease broadcast, or whether the media saw it as a civic duty.
If you are one of those Kenyans who turned out to vote on Tuesday, you must feel a great sense of pride and patriotism for carrying out your civic duty.

Well, not to burst your bubble but there are Kenyans who are probably more patriotic than you are.

When Kenyans woke up early to cast their votes, one young family stood out from the rest as it took patriotism to another level.

The family of three stepped out dressed in colors of the Kenyan flag, from top to bottom. A picture of the couple with their young child has been doing the rounds on social media, leaving Kenyans stunned.

Check it out
An interesting photo has been shared by NTVs Larry Madowo on social media.

It shows the journalist and his colleague Smriti Vidyarthi in their element after what has been a hectic period reporting on the results of the election.

The two journos have been keeping the world and Kenyans updated with a comprehensive live feed of the results for over 48 hours. And to survive the extraordinary times, this is how Larry and Smriti have been winding down in the studio.

How @smriti_vidyarthi and I are surviving these extraordinary times A post shared by Larry Madowo (@larrymadowo) on Aug 9, 2017 at 6:25am PDT



Their tremendous efforts have not gone unnoticed as Kenyans on social media lauded them and sympathized with their struggles.

Some reactions:
The results are in and Jubilee has carried the day on all levels of government.

All indications are that President Uhuru Kenyatta will serve a second term. Right from the word go, Uhuru opened a safe gap between him and Raila and has stuck there ever since. From the IEBC results trickling in, Uhuru might walk away with 54% of the vote, which translates to over 8 million votes.

With 6.5 million at the time of this writing, Raila is the second most popular man in Kenya.

But the person who received the 3rd highest number of votes in Kenya is not Sonko like last time, but quite an unlikely lady.

With a total of 897 322 votes, at a 97% transmission rate as of this writing, Gathoni Wamuchomba has been elected the new Kiambu woman representative.

The popular former Kikuyu radio presenter basically sealed the deal when she won the Jubilee nomination ticket, and Tuesday was just a confirmation. She walked away with 94.2%, with her closest rival, Jane Wanjiru Chege clocking in at just 25,223 (2.65%).

Gathonis numbers are probably the highest attained by a non-presidential candidate in Kenyas history, and she owes this fete to Kiambus large registration numbers.

Incoming Nairobi governor Mike Sonko clocked in at 825 834 votes with nearly all of them counted.

Also getting big numbers were incoming Kiambu governor Ferdinand Waititu with 741 744 votes, incoming Nakuru senator Susan Kihika with 638,661, Esther Passaris with 831,682 and outgoing Nairobi governor Evans Kidero with 661 465 votes.
Grab your dancing shoes, and get ready to step-together-step, slow-quick-quick and side-together-side  a new Arthur Murray studio is opening soon near downtown Napa

Long before Dancing with the Stars, there was the Arthur Murray Party, a popular television show that my parents adored and watched devotedly over the 10 years of its run. My siblings and I thought the show was terribly square, but history proved us wrong. Arthur Murrays legacy is alive and thriving.

Murray and his wife Kathryn were the quintessential, perfectly miss-matched (height-wise) dancing couple gliding effortlessly across the ballroom floor. Their flair and expertise made the waltz, rumba and fox trot look deceptively easy  and made it appear that with just a few lessons, we too could master those steps, even with two left feet.

If one of Murrays 350 internationally-franchised studios was not accessible, there were instructions by mail that could be purchased, complete with sets of meticulously-numbered footprints and dance patterns described in written instructions. More than 5 million dance kits were sold.

Whats cool is that we believe its more than just dancing, said Cara Recine, studio director for Arthur Murray sites in Napa and Santa Rosa. People come through our doors, not just to pursue dancing but the other benefits dancing can bring such as meeting people, enjoying social activities, exercise, overcoming shyness and to make someone happy.

Recine found an Arthur Murray studio in her hometown of Eau Claire, Wisconsin at age 17. She entered the teacher training program and, with a cadre of instructors, can now accommodate many of the two studios most popular requests, such as salsa, waltz, tango, cha cha, swing and country western.

The studio offers a 30-minute lesson for free in a private session to assess each individuals need and tailor a program that works for a participants time and budget. For information, email napa@arthurmurraytime.com or call 707-819-3024.

We have three tenets of teaching, said Recine. Practice parties, private parties and group classes. Anyone can learn, and it really depends on the amount of time you put into it. One key factor in learning is determination. We have students from ages 8 to 80, and we tailor our teaching to each individual.

For the next few months, classes will continue at the Napa Womens Club clubhouse (218 Franklin St.)  the current pop up location  while permits are being secured and renovation plans finalized for the newly repurposed, 2,000 square foot Arthur Murray Napa ballroom.

Weve only been in Napa for the past six months, Recine said, and were looking forward to establishing a home base in a permanent space that can also accommodate administrative offices. Our location will be 929 Vallejo where well be housed in the old Perrys Auto-Marine boat repair and storage building. And, well make the new studio available for rentals as well.

If your feet are itching to dance a la Arthur Murray style, hop on the sculpture named Cha Cha Cha, embedded, stainless steel footsteps with diagrammatic instructions, located on the Main Street sidewalk in front of the Riverfront. Southern California artist Robin Murez donated the interactive exhibit to the City of Napa after it won the 2014 Napa ARTwalk Peoples Choice Award.

Another terrific option for dancing and socializing with others who love to dance is the 51-years strong Napa Ballroom Dancers. The all-volunteer nonprofit helps promote and provide ballroom and social dancing in the Napa Valley. Bands and DJs play music to fit a wide variety of dance styles with monthly dances and occasional instruction open to all. Visit their website at: www.napaballroomdancers.com.

Why Be A Wallflower? asks Arthur Murray in his ads for dance lessons. Why, indeed!
Some residents were kept out of their homes for at least an hour while detectives searched for hazardous material in a home on the 2400 block of Adrian Way in central Napa on Wednesday.

People in the area heard a loud boom at 12:48 p.m.  a little more than an hour after Napa Police sent out a Nixle alert asking people to stay out of the area.

Shortly before the search warrant was served, detectives detained one of the homes occupants, Nathan Andrew Skinner, 38, on the 200 block of Soscol Avenue after receiving information that he had hazardous material and a firearm.

Members of Napa Police, Napa Special Investigations Bureau and Napa County Sheriffs Explosive Ordinance Disposal Unit responded to Skinners residence to serve the search warrant.

Skinners immediate neighbors were asked to temporarily leave the area or stay inside while the road was closed to traffic.

The Sheriffs bomb squad located suspected hazardous material at the residence and rendered the material safe. Officials would not elaborate on how the area was made safe or address the loud boom heard in the area.

Police said that they also found a loaded .25 caliber automatic handgun, ammunition, suspected meth and drug paraphernalia at the residence.

Skinner was arrested and booked at the Napa County jail on suspicion of being a felon in possession of ammunition, being a felon in possession of a firearm, possession of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance while armed, and possession of paraphernalia.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Tommy Keener at 707-258-7879 or tkeener@cityofnapa.org.
Frustrated with their wages and what they see as unfair treatment by their employers, court interpreters staged a one-day walkout at the Napa County Superior Courthouse on Wednesday morning.

Napa County staff interpreters striking for equal wage growth and pay parity were joined by interpreters from Marin County as well as Mary Lou Aranguren, the legislative and bargaining representative for California Federation of Interpreters (CFI) Local 39000. CFI Collective Bargaining Region 2, which extends along the coast from Monterey to Del Norte counties, has been in negotiations with the courts since August 2016.

The courts need to step up and change just a few things to get a deal and were hoping that theyll understand that were serious, Aranguren said. Staff court interpreters in the region are paid less than contract interpreters and are treated unfairly compared with other court employees, she said.

They are paying big bucks for the contractors, Aranguren said. They recognize the market for this service except for the staff interpreters.

Court interpreters employed by courts in 15 Northern California counties, including Napa and Marin, are all paid the same hourly wage, but their benefits vary depending on the county they work in, Aranguren said. In the region, she said, court interpreters on staff make $36.74 an hour while their federal counterparts and contractors make about $52 an hour.

Every day, these ladies make 42 percent less than any contractor who walks through the door, Aranguren said. She estimated that Napa County courts need four or five interpreters on any given day, but they only have two full-time interpreters on staff, which means that the gap is filled by hiring contract interpreters.

Aranguren said that the unfair wages paid to staff interpreters has caused some interpreters to choose contract work or work on the federal level instead. It has caused vacancies across the region, she added.

Napa County has three full-time positions for court interpreters, one of which was posted as an employment opportunity last fall, said Gloria Gonzalez-Martin, a staff interpreter in Napa County. The position hasnt been filled, she said, because those who are qualified for it choose to work elsewhere.

The position, which is listed online, offers an annual salary of $76,419.20.

Gonzalez-Martin said that she has worked as an interpreter for more than 20 years and, in 2003, was the first interpreter on staff in Napa County.

Overall Im really happy, Gonzalez-Martin said as she held a sign that read end pay inequity and handed out stickers to passersby. I love Napa  I love interpreting, but I have a family, she said. I also have to support my family.

Region 2 interpreters have been offered a 21 percent wage increase over three years, according to representatives with San Francisco County Superior Court, whose Chief Executive Officer Michael Yuen also acts as the CEO Regional (2) chair. Thats a $17,000 annual increase in compensation over the three-year term for full-time interpreters.

In an email to the Register, Yuen called the proposal fair and reasonable and said that the strike in Napa was unfortunate.

By not embracing this salary structure and instead striking throughout the region, he said, the interpreters union is actually hurting the women, minorities and non-English speakers who seek to access their right to justice in Northern California but instead see their day in court delayed because interpreters are on the picket line rather than in court providing vital interpreting services.

Representatives with Yuens office said that no cases that needed an interpreter were postponed as a result of Wednesdays strike.

Napa County Superior Court CEO Richard D. Feldstein referred questions regarding the strike to Yuens office. He did not say whether or not the one-day walkout interfered with any court activities.

Napa Countys other interpreter, Carmen Marroquin, said that there is more to being an interpreter than just interpreting.

People just see the daily interpretation but theres a lot more to it, Marroquin said. In addition to interpreting language, interpreters must also know legal terminology, slang words, and be able to pick up on nuances.

It takes a lot of training, said Marta Selvi, an interpreter in Marin County courts. Someone whos a swimmer just cant go and swim in the Olympics  being bilingual doesnt mean you can be an interpreter.

Selvi said that she will even accompany individuals to the clerks office and explain the judges orders to them.

We really feel like were helping people, Selvi said.
Queen of the Valley Medial Center and the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) faced off this week in a San Francisco courtroom over a complaint filed in May charging that hospital managers coerced pro-union workers.

The complaint, filed by the National Labor Relations Board, accuses Queen of the Valley Environmental Services Director Bruce Herring of having threatened employees with unspecified reprisals for engaging in union activities.

An administrative law judge in San Francisco is conducting the hearing, which was expected to last one week, but could be extended if necessary. The results of the hearing could be announced within a few months.

The dispute began last November when Queen workers voted in the NUHW union election.

A total of 202 Queen workers voted in favor of joining the union, and 132 voted against joining. The voting group includes nursing assistants, pharmacy technicians, cafeteria workers and respiratory care practitioners.

Since then, the Queen has challenged the vote with multiple appeals.

After the election, the Queen claimed that the labor board erred by holding the union vote by mail rather than inside the hospital.

We respect employees right to vote to support or not support a union in an election, Larry Coomes, CEO of Queen of the Valley Medical Center, said in an email to the Register on Wednesday.

We also believe this decision should be made free from threats, intimidation, coercion, delays in the U.S. mail system and confusion regarding the voting process.

Given the significant number of employees who came forward and raised concerns, we strongly believe that we are upholding the rights and dignity of all caregivers, and ensuring that their voices were heard, said Coomes.

The filing of objections and subsequently appealing is necessary to protect the rights of our employees and is consistent with our mission of inclusion for all, said Coomes.

Response to the election exceeded 90 percent, said the NUHW. There was no problem with the voting.

As a long-time Queen employee, it has been very troubling to see the lengths that the hospital has gone to, all to deny us a voice to stand up for ourselves and our patients, said Ray Herrera, an X-ray technician at Queen of the Valley.

The hearing taking place this week is one step in the election appeals process established by Congress and the National Labor Relations Board that could eventually be reviewed by the United States Court of Appeal, Coomes said.

There is no reason to wage this costly legal battle all the way into this federal court system, said NUHW spokesman Matt Artz. It was a free and fair election.

We look forward to the process unfolding in a timely manner and will continue to look for ways to expedite the process, said Coomes.

We asked them to agree to a new in-person election, and offered to meet with them to discuss the terms of a collective bargaining agreement with the understanding that it would only go into effect if our appeals were denied. The union declined both requests, he said.

Its an insult to Queen caregivers and the democratic process for Larry Coomes to demand a revote of a government-run election in which 90 percent of eligible voters cast ballots, NUHW President Sal Rosselli said.

Queen of the Valley is owned by Providence St. Joseph Health, the nations third largest hospital system, with North Bay facilities in Napa, Santa Rosa and Petaluma.

The National Union of Healthcare Workers represents more than 13,000 caregivers.
The late Glenn Freys song about the international drug trade, Smugglers Blues, contains a phrase that resonates in politics as well:

Its the lure of easy money, its got a very strong appeal.

Politicians are habitually lured by easy money, which is defined as money they can spend without directly taxing their constituents, but somebody eventually has to pay.

A current example is the booty from the states quarterly auctions of greenhouse gas emissions. The state assumes that those auctions will generate about $2.5 billion a year and legally, the money is to be spent only on projects and services that reduce those emissions.

In practice, however, the money is frequently spent on what can only be described as pork barrel items, including, most recently, appropriations that benefit particular interest groups and constituencies to persuade enough legislators to vote for extension of the cap-and-trade auctions for another decade.

A quarter of the auction money is dedicated to Gov. Jerry Browns pet bullet train project even though the Legislatures own budget analyst, Mac Taylor, has advised that it will, if anything, increase emissions during its construction. And by the High-Speed Rail Authoritys own data, even if fully constructed, it would reduce automotive travel by only 1 percent.

But its easy money because it doesnt directly tax Californians, although it inevitably raises prices of commodities to which it is applied, such as automotive fuel.

Cap-and-trade auction proceeds, however, are just one example of how easy money tempts those in political office.

Another is promising new benefits whose financial burden wont come due until those involved are long gone from office, such as public employee pensions.

Californias once-healthy public pension funds are now flirting with insolvency as their ever-rising benefit payouts outstrip pension fund earnings and their unfunded liability debts, already hundreds of billions of dollars, continue to increase.

Federal aid is another form of easy money, asking Uncle Sam, in essence, to borrow money and give it to state and local officials to be spent.

And then there are bonds, which borrow money that can be spent immediately, but whose repayment will be stretched out for decades.

Tens of billions of dollars in additional state bonds will either be on the table when the Legislature returns this month from its summer recess or are proposed in pending ballot initiatives. All purport to address some pressing public need, but some would narrowly benefit particular interest groups.

One of the most questionable is a proposed $8.4 billion water bond written by Jerry Meral, a one-time environmental activist and former state water official, It would, among other things, partially finance repairs to Oroville Dams main spillway, which collapsed last winter with near-catastrophic effects.

The bond, if approved by voters, would be repaid from the states general fund, which means Californians income, sales and other taxes would be spent on repairs.

There are some general public benefits from Oroville, such as recreation and flood control, but its chief function is to store and deliver water for water districts in the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California.

A recently released, exhaustive study by a team of top-flight engineers concluded that the spillway failed because of faulty design, construction and maintenance and underscored reports that upkeep was neglected because those downstream water districts balked at paying for it.

If thats the case, they should pay for repairs, not the states taxpayers via the easy money of a bond issue.
SAN FRANCISCO -- A San Francisco man was arrested last week for allegedly uploading and trading graphic child pornography through the Internet, police said Thursday.

Anton Orobchenko, 32, was arrested on Aug. 3 following the execution of a search warrant at his home in the 1300 block of Turk Street in the city's Western Addition neighborhood.

The search turned up media devices belonging to Orobchenko that contained thousands of child pornography videos and images. Some of the images involved sadomasochism, according to police.

Orobchenko has been charged with felony possession of child pornography and two counts of felony distribution of child pornography, according to court records.

He remains in jail with bail set at $270,000, according to jail records.

A Facebook page that appears to belong to Orobchenko describes his job as being a traffic coordinator at San Francisco International Airport.

Anyone who feels they may have been victimized by Orobchenko or had any suspicious contact with him is encouraged to contact the Police Department's Special Victims Unit at (415) 558-5500.
SAN FRANCISCO -- Recent tensions with North Korea have some Bay Area residents asking what to do in the event of a nuclear attack, but official recommendations have changed since the Cold War.

Earlier this week, President Donald Trump warned that North Korea would face "fire and fury like the world has never seen" if it continues to threaten the U.S. In response, North Korea said it was considering bombing Guam, a U.S. territory in the Pacific Ocean.

"Check that off the list," Jess Montejano, policy and communications director for San Francisco Supervisor Mark Farrell, tweeted Wednesday. "Got our first constituent call asking if there are any active nuclear bomb shelters in SF."

There aren't, though, according to the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management.

"There are no active fallout shelters in San Francisco," department spokesman Francis Zamora said. "Really the best practice these days is shelter in place."

"Get to the nearest building to you, secure yourself in it and take protective action," Zamora said. "Concrete buildings tend to be a lot more survivable."

There are a number of documents circulating online referring to fallout shelters and nuclear attacks, including Civil Defense Corps plans for San Francisco itself.

"Your first indication of a nuclear attack, if no warning siren sounds, will be a very brilliant flash -- the brightest you've ever seen," axcording to It's Your Life ... The San Francisco Plan, published by the San Francisco Disaster Council and Corps. in 1956.

That flash will be followed shortly by a shockwave. For anyone caught indoors when that occurs, the guide says to dive under the nearest mattress, counter or heavy table and try to do it before the shock wave arrives.

If that's not possible, people should lie face down on the floor along the wall, away from any doors and windows, which should be closed as soon as possible to protect against fallout.

If outside, people should lie face down and seek cover as soon as the shock wave passes. Anyone caught in a vehicle should pull over to the nearest curb, without blocking an intersection, close the windows and duck down low to the floor.

"It's Your Life" contains instructions that are outdated for evacuating from the city, but they stress that evacuees should fill any vehicle leaving the city to capacity with people.

"That's all Cold War-era stuff," Zamora said.

San Francisco now takes an "all hazards approach" to dealing with potential disasters, including but not limited to nuclear, biological and chemical attacks. Other threats addressed include earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis, flooding and winter storms.

"Whether it's an earthquake or something man-made like a nuclear attack, the concepts all still apply," Zamora said.

"We feel like this is an opportunity to raise peoples' awareness around emergency preparedness," Zamora said. "If you're preparing for any emergency you've got your supplies, you've got your plan, you're going to be all set for anything that comes your way."

Suggested supplies include food, water, first aid, tools and hardware, as well as things for sanitation and hygiene. Special items like baby supplies, medication, eyeglasses or contact lenses and important identification should also be considered.

Readers can also sign up for AlertSF, San Francisco's emergency alert system, by texting ALERTSF to 888777.

"If there's some kind of life safety event happening in the city, you will get an alert from us," Zamora said.
As the world ponders the meaning of President Donald Trump's threat of "fire and fury" on North Korea, it's worth asking why his predecessors never took those steps to stop its nuclear program.

When Bill Clinton was confronted with the threat of North Korea's exit from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, he considered military force. But he ended up going for negotiations in what became known as the Joint Framework Agreement. The North Koreans froze their plutonium program in exchange for fuel shipments and a light water reactor from the U.S. Neither side ever fully delivered.

Then there was George W. Bush. He didn't like North Korea. He put the nation in the original "axis of evil." On his watch, the U.S. discovered Pyongyang had a secret uranium enrichment program, in violation of the spirit of Clinton's deal. Then in 2006, North Korea tested its first nuclear device. By 2007, Bush had lifted crippling sanctions on the regime's elites and entered into new negotiations. And surprise: The North Koreans backed out of those talks at the end, too.

By the time Barack Obama came into power, the North Koreans were back to building up their program. They perfected missiles, sunk a South Korean ship and shelled a South Korean island. The current tyrant, Kim Jong Un, ascended to power and proceeded to consolidate his position, killing his uncle and later his half brother. All the while, Obama pursued a policy of "strategic patience," aimed at not rewarding Kim's regime for its provocations and rogue behavior.

Now Trump has inherited a mess. Not only is Kim testing ballistic missiles at an alarming rate, as The Washington Post reported this week, but also the Defense Intelligence Agency now assesses North Korea can miniaturize a nuclear warhead so that it can fit inside a missile. Game, set, match.

So why didn't the last three presidents take out North Korea's nuclear facilities when they had the chance? The answer is Seoul, the thriving capital of South Korea. The North has enough artillery pieces within range of this metropolis to kill hundreds of thousands of people, which could very well begin a world war and throw the global economy into a tailspin.

Past presidents have understandably feared the North would retaliate in this way. But for some today, that fear is fading. John Plumb, a former director of defense policy and strategy for Obama's National Security Council, told the Atlantic last month: "If I were the Trump administration, I would be looking at the threat to incinerate Seoul and trying to figure out how real it is. Because to me, it's become such a catchphrase, and it almost -- it starts to lose credibility. Attacking Seoul, a civilian population center, is different from attacking a remote military outpost. It's dicey, there's no doubt about it."

Intelligence officials have told me in recent months that this threat remains very real. While there are steps the U.S. can take to mitigate the problem, such as dropping cluster munitions on the big guns, it's an imperfect and high-risk strategy. An attack on North Korea would be unpredictable and could unleash far worse on U.S. forces (which have been stationed in South Korea for more than 60 years), not to mention allies like Japan.

All of this gets back to Trump's bluster. At this point we as Americans ought to expect more careful words from the president. At the same time, nothing Trump said was that different from the implicit threat against North Korea, or any power that threatens American cities with nuclear destruction.

Don't get me wrong: There are few people on the planet more deserving of "fire and fury" than Kim Jong Un. But would such a strike even eliminate its nuclear program? How far is Trump willing to go? Will he order an invasion of North Korea to topple the regime? And if he does, would he commit the manpower, capital and time to stabilize the country once the Kim dynasty falls?

According to retired Adm. William Perry, Clinton's second secretary of defense, the U.S. couldn't take out North Korea's nuclear infrastructure with military strikes, given how much it has expanded in the last 20 years. What's more, the price paid by South Koreans would be unacceptable. This is what he told a group of journalists this spring at an event sponsored by the Hoover Institution.

It's possible that Trump is counting on his reputation as an impetuous novice -- one who Kim just might fear would roll the dice by attacking North Korea. But Trump's ultimatum allows the boy-tyrant in Pyongyang to test the president's mettle. (Already the North Korean state media has threatened Guam.) We can expect more taunts and threats in the coming days, proving Trump's threat was hollow. As hollow as past presidents' pledges to do the same.
On a scorching, dusty day in July, wine experts and guests gathered for the 17th annual Day in the Dust event held by the Rutherford Dust Society at the historic Inglenook winery.

They all had come to explore a mystery: What sort of magic has come together that makes many of the cabernet sauvignon wines made from Rutherford grapes so uniquely delicious? For many, the answer seems right under their feet.

Its something in the soil of this place, said Ross Sullivan, president of Sullivan Vineyards. Its also the weather and knowing what wine grapes and rootstock to grow. When it comes together, it can be pretty magical.

The Sullivan family owns one of the 48 wineries (according to literature provided by the society) that are found within the approximately six-square-mile area that is Rutherford, a tiny hamlet with a population of 164.

To put this in perspective, the entire area of Rutherford is less than 1 percent of the total land area of Napa County (789 square miles), but it accounts for roughly 10 percent of Napas recognized wineries. So if you are one of the lucky few who actually live in the town of Rutherford, you dont have far to go for your next bottle of wine because there is one winery for every 3.5 people living in this small town. It hasnt always been that way, however.

Yount and the

Grizzly Bears

In 1860, Thomas Rutherford and his new wife, Elizabeth Yount, received a wedding gift of roughly 1,040 acres of land from her grandfather, George Yount. They called it Rutherford Station.

Elizabeths Grandfather Yount, an explorer and pioneer, had been the first Euro-American permanent settler in the Napa Valley. With the help of his employer and friend, General Mariano G. Vallejo, Yount had been granted two Mexican land grants: the Rancho Caymus land grant (11,887-acres) in 1836 and the Rancho La Jota land grant (4,454 acres) on Howell Mountain in 1843.

Born in 1794, Yount had been a farmer in Missouri until being lured west, first for the War of 1812 and then as a fur trapper, joining other mountain men such as Hugh Glass (the subject of the recent movie The Revenant  some of the details of this true story actually came from Younts writings) and William Wolfskill as they tamed the West together. These men also probably talked about wine and agriculture because Wolfskill eventually went from trapper to California agriculture developer and vintner, producing up to 50,000 gallons of wine by the time of his death in 1866.

At that time, wine was on the minds of many Americans since years earlier Thomas Jefferson had traveled to France and learned to love the wines of Burgundy and Bordeaux. Thereafter, Americas third president rejected the more alcoholic wines (Madeira and port) favored at the time and instead chose to drink and serve wines of France and Italy. He hoped his countrymen would follow his example and eventually grow and make fine wines from American soil, saying, We could in the United States make as great a variety of wines as are made in Europe, not exactly of the same kinds, but doubtless as good.

But before that could happen, it seemed that the Napa Valley had to be conquered first. And Yount was the man to do it. Yount had been an adventurer for years, moving from place to place, but when he visited Napa Valley in 1831 he wrote in his diary, In such a spot would I clear a bit of ground and build a home; in such a spot would I live and die.

Yount found that Vallejo in nearby Sonoma needed both a carpenter (Yount knew how to make wooden shingled roofs) and a grizzly hunter. In California thousands of enormous grizzly bears (sometimes standing as tall as 12 feet or more) were killing off livestock and wreaking havoc with the influx of new settlers.

They (grizzly bears) were everywhere  upon the plains, in the valleys, and on the mountains, venturing even within the camping-grounds, so that I have often killed as many as five or six in one day, and it was not unusual to see 50 or 60 within the 24 hours.  George C. Yount from The Hesperian (San Francisco), March 1859.

Eventually, all the grizzly bears were killed and Yount gained his land grants and settled down for a quiet life in the Napa Valley, where his granddaughter and her new husband set about building their own ranch. There, the young couple planted grains, grew livestock and planted European wine grape varieties.

European wine grape varieties shine

Earlier, in 1850, another local pioneer, J. M. Patchett, had shown that European wine grapes could be grown and made into wine in the Napa Valley, having made his first shipment of such wine from the county in 1857.

 six casks and six hundred bottles (were shipped); in 1871 the export was over half a million gallons. And still the industry is but in its infancy.  C. A. Menefee from the Historical and Descriptive Sketchbook of Napa, Sonoma, Lake and Mendocino, 1873.

Before that time, the grapes grown in the region were primarily mission varieties, planted by the Spanish. But with the European grapes and early innovative vintners gaining hold, the Napa Valley was on its way and Rutherford was at the heart of the action.

Enter Gustave Niebaum. The Finnish sea captain had made a fortune in the Alaskan seal-fur trade and frequented San Francisco while dropping off cargo. There he met and married Susan Shingleberger, a German-American. Niebaum had dreamed of one day owning a chateau in France, but his wife refused to leave her home state, so the captain went about re-creating a French-influenced wine estate in the heart of the Napa Valley. In 1879, he founded Inglenook, the first bonded winery in Rutherford.

Like other vintners before and after, Niebaum spared no expense while designing his vineyard and winery. He used an innovative gravity-flow system and employed cutting-edge viticultural and winemaking practices that included removing stems and leaves prior to fermentation. He also bottled the wine under an estate label, which was not common at the time.

Niebaums efforts paid off and resulted in Inglenook wines winning gold medals at the Worlds Fair in Paris in 1889, which brought the worlds attention to the Napa Valley and to Rutherford, as being a New World wine region that might rival the Old World.

The second winery to take the Rutherford spotlight was Beaulieu Vineyard. Established by Georges de Latour and his wife Fernande, BV was bonded in 1900. Just as they got going, however, Prohibition was passed and Rutherford and the rest of the Napa Valley fell on hard times.

After Niebaums death in 1908 Inglenook carried on under the stewardship of his wife until her death, but Prohibition brought the winery to near ruin. Beaulieu Vineyard, on the other hand, found that to survive they could legally sell wine to the Catholic Church, and as they did they perfected their techniques so that when Prohibition was repealed in 1933 they were positioned to produce the 1936 Cabernet Sauvignon that won the Golden Gate International Exposition in 1939.

The Judgment of Paris

The same year, Niebaums great-nephew, John Daniels Jr., took the reins of Inglenook in an attempt to bring back its former glory. He was reported by Andre Tchelistcheff, years later, to be the greatest winemaker in the Napa Valley.

Often touted as the most influential Napa Valley winemaker himself, the Russian-born Tchelistcheff had joined Beaulieu Vineyard in 1938. He had been trained with a new generation of winemakers in Europe at the Pasteur Institute and believed that enology and microbiology could be combined with art, science and the latest technology, to improve wine quality. Always the scientist winemaker, residents often saw him strolling around the dusty streets of Rutherford wearing a white lab coat.

In 1976, Northern Californias Wine Country was again thrust onto the world stage when Chateau Montelenas Chardonnay and Stags Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet-blend won the Judgment of Paris. Influenced by local unsung hero, Joanne DePuy, the tasting was organized by British wine journalist and author Steven Spurrier, and resulted in the Napa Valley wines beating some of the worlds most highly prized French wine producers.

From that single event, careers, fortunes and legacies were created. The winning cabernet had been grown and made by Warren Winiarski at his winery in whats now the Napa Valleys Stags Leap District American Viticultural Area. The chardonnay grapes had been grown in Sonoma County (Russian River and Alexander valleys) and then processed in Calistoga at Jim Barretts Chateau Montelena by winemaker Miljenko Mike Grgich. The grapes and wine had not come from Rutherford, but both winemakers, Winiarski and Grgich, had trained in Rutherford under Tchelistcheff.

Top standout wines the Day in the Dust

 2014 Sullivan Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon. Wildly expressive flavors and aromas of creme de cassis, white truffle, roasted walnut, fine chalk and candied violets. For me, this wine spoke to both place and people working together to produce something epic. ($85 a bottle, 1,262 cases made).

 2014 Honig Campbell Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. Black cherry, sweet dried thyme and almond toffee. Grippy and meaty, with well-integrated oak, this wine finishes long with black and blue fruits and dark chocolate. ($100 a bottle, 300 cases made).

 2014 Quintessa Rutherford Red Wine. This is a classic California-meets-Bordeaux style wine to which I imagine Tchelistcheff, Daniels and maybe even Jefferson would tip their hats. Rich and deep but soft and silky for a new wine. Wonderful blueberry tart, expansive midpalate that moves from black raspberry to Earl Grey tea and then to plum and tobacco. ($175 a bottle, 8,000 to 10,000 cases produced per vintage).

Other standout Cabernet Sauvignons: Martin Estate, Collectors Reserve (earth, chocolate and dried lavender), Long Meadow Ranch, Rutherford Estate (very unique  strawberry and mint  maybe not so much for its Rutherfordness but certainly a delicious wine to ponder over), Flora Springs, Rutherford Hillside Reserve (who knew hazelnut, root beer and bacon could come together so fantastically), and Heitz Cellar, Trailside Vineyard (dark and brooding  made me rue the day I gave up cigars).

Dust to dust

Now there are 48 Rutherford wineries, and plenty of other wines made with Rutherford grapes, too, each attempting to highlight its interpretation of this special place.

Rutherford plays a central role in the history of Napa Valley and more broadly, its always surprising when I drive through the town on Highway 29. So unassuming. So quiet. The beautiful ivy-covered-stone walls of Beaulieu Vineyard, a couple of gaudy sculptures at the entrance of Inglenook and the ever-present gathering of diners at the door of the Rutherford Grill. Other than these, nothing much suggests that this place is literally the heart of the Napa Valley.

I went to nursery school in the little clapboard house on Niebaum Lane. My wifes family, the Keigs, at one time owned about 1,200 acres between Rutherford and Oakville. When I drink the best wines of this tiny place, the ones that are true to both the variety and place, I can close my eyes and taste the history. Call it dust if you like. I prefer to call it home.
NATO is making good progress in facilitating a prospective visit of German parliamentarians to Turkey's Konya airbase on 8 September 2017.

The delegation will be headed by the Deputy Secretary General, H.E. Rose E. Gottemoeller.

The final details of the visit are currently being worked out.

The Turkish airbase in Konya is vital for NATO operations in support of Turkey and the Counter-ISIS Coalition.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-08 18:54:46|Editor: Zhou Xin

A voter casts ballot in Kenya High Commission in Kigali, capital city of Rwanda, on Aug. 8, 2017. Kenyan nationals residing in Rwanda on Tuesday participated in general elections by casting their votes at the diplomatic mission in the capital city Kigali. (Xinhua/Lyu Tianran)

KIGALI, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan nationals residing in Rwanda on Tuesday participated in general elections by casting their votes at the diplomatic mission in the capital city Kigali.

The elections in Kenya are for the President, county governor, senator, Member of Parliament, woman representative and member of county assembly.

The voters began arriving at the Kenyan High Commission in Kacyiru sector, Gasabo district as early as 6 a.m. where a polling station had been established. By 11 am, at least 100 people had cast their votes.

Speaking to Xinhua, Catherine Koskey, the presiding officer for the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) at the embassy said that there have been no incidents and voters woke up as early as 6 a.m. to exercise their rights.

"We started at 6 a.m. and are hoping to close at 5 p.m. We are encouraging Kenyans living in Rwanda who are registered voters to hurry and vote before deadline," she said.

According to Koskey, about 850 Kenyans in Rwanda registered to vote at the Kenya High Commission in Kigali.

The main presidential contest is between incumbent president Uhuru Kenyatta, the flag bearer of Jubilee coalition and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, leader of the National Super Alliance (NASA).

Also on the list of candidates are six other independent candidates.

"I'm glad that Kenyans have turned up to vote and no incidents and violence. I believe things will get better after this election. I pray for peaceful elections," said Eugene Anangwe, a Kenyan journalist living in Rwanda.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-09 23:10:18|Editor: Liangyu

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Chairman of Rwandan National Electoral Commission (NEC) Kalisa Mbanda (L) releases the final results of the presidential elections in Kigali, capital city of Rwanda, on Aug. 9, 2017. NEC Wednesday released the final results of the presidential elections, declaring that Paul Kagame wins the third term. (Xinhua/Lyu Tianran)

KIGALI, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Rwandan National Electoral Commission (NEC) Wednesday released the final results of the presidential elections, declaring that Paul Kagame wins the third term.

According to NEC, the incumbent president Paul Kagame won 98.79 percent of the vote, with over 6.6 million votes. Independent candidate Philippe Mpayimana stood at second with 0.73 percent of the vote. The other candidate Frank Habineza of the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda got 0.48 percent of the vote.

"The elections were free and fair. Paul Kagame is the winner of the Rwanda presidential elections 2017. These final results are a consolidation of votes from all over Rwanda and the Diaspora," said Kalisa Mbanda, chairman of NEC.

Around 6.9 million people cast ballots last week, making the turnout 98.15 percent, according to NEC.

NEC declared Paul Kagame as the winner of the presidential elections last Saturday, citing provisional results.

Mpayimana and Habineza conceded defeat after the release of the provisional results.

Kagame, who is also the chairman of the ruling party Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), has been president since 2000 when he was elected by ministers and members of parliament following the resignation of then President Pasteur Bizimungu.

He was re-elected in the 2003 and 2010 presidential elections by winning around 95 percent and 93 percent of votes respectively.

Rwanda, which has been recovering since the 1994 genocide, is now considered a model for developing countries, especially African ones.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 02:12:26|Editor: huaxia

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VILNIUS, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- A record-breaking 610 kg of cocaine was seized by Lithuanian customs authorities in the Baltic country's port city of Klaipeda, the city's territorial customs office announced on Wednesday.

Local media estimate the illegal drug shipment had a street value of 49 million euros (57.6 million U.S. dollars).

According to the customs officers, the shipment was destined for a market outside of Lithuania and is one of the largest drugs shipments in the country's history, local website 15min.lt reported.

The investigation into the suspected drugs shipment started in April when Klaipeda's customs office and the custom's criminal services detected secret hideouts in cargo arriving from Ecuador. The senders claimed that the cargo contained plastic molding machines.

Saulius Minkevicius, chief prosecutor at Klaipeda regional prosecutor's office, noted that part of the smuggled drugs could also have been destined for the European market.

"I believe the cargo was intended to be left in the EU market," Minkevicius was quoted as saying by local website 15min.lt.

Minkevicius stressed he could not name the specific countries to which the detained drugs cargo was assigned.

"The investigation will be difficult as it carries international character; the specifics is that transportation of such a big amount of drugs is an issue of international law," Minkevicius said.

Lithuania's Criminal Code anticipates the imprisonment of up to 15 years for storing very large quantities of drugs. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 02:22:33|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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MOSCOW, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Russian Ministry for Emergency Situations said in a statement Wednesday that it is ready to help China to cope with the impact of a strong earthquake in the country's southwestern Sichuan Province Tuesday.

According to the statement, the Russian Emergency Minister Vladimir Puchkov has sent a message to the Chinese Minister of Civil Affairs Huang Shuxian, expressing his condolences and offering assistance of Russian rescuers.

"We share your grief and our thoughts go out to the families of the killed and injured," Puchkov told Huang.

Under an agreement on cooperation in disaster management signed by the Russian and Chinese governments, the Russian emergency ministry is ready to provide assistance if necessary, said Puchkov.

Nineteen people have been killed and 263 got injured in a 7.0-magnitude earthquake that struck a remote area in southwest China's Sichuan Province Tuesday night.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 02:27:36|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BRATISLAVA, Aug.9 (Xinhua) -- Dutch eggs contaminated with fipronil pesticide have been found in Slovakia, Slovak Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Gabriela Matecna confirmed on Wednesday.

The contaminated eggs were first exported from the Netherlands to companies in Germany, where they were processed. Then the ready-to-eat eggs -- cooked and shelled -- were delivered to Austria and by an Austrian company to the warehouse in Vrbove in west Slovakia.

Matecna added that foodstuffs of Slovak origin always come under strict monitoring on the part of the veterinary administration.

Slovak veterinary inspectors are currently monitoring the process of removing the contaminated products from the warehouse in Vrbove. At the same time they are checking a distribution list in order to find out which food facilities have been supplied with the eggs.

In large quantities, fipronil is an insecticide considered to be "moderately toxic" to humans by the World Health Organization (WHO). It is strictly forbidden in animals intended for human consumption.

Millions of contaminated eggs were withdrawn from the market last week in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland, after it was discovered that the eggs had traces of Fipronil.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 03:28:04|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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LUSAKA, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Chinese pay-to-view television provider on Wednesday announced a cut in the prices of its decoders in Zambia to help local people benefit from a digital migration program.

TopStar Communication Company, a joint venture between Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) and Chinese digital television provider StarTimes, said it has reduced prices of the set top box to enable all Zambians to benefit from the television digital migration program being rolled out across the country.

Cliff Sichone, the firm's sale director said the decoders have been reduced from 199 Zambian Kwacha (22 U.S. dollars) to 99 Kwacha under a campaign meant to rolled out the decoders after the government subsidized the price.

He told reporters during a press briefing that the firm was committed to ensuring that citizens benefit from the television digital migration program, adding that the campaign will see more towns connected to the Topstar signal.

As the public signal distributor in Zambia, the firm will ensure that the digital signal was distributed across the country, he added.

Zambia will switch off all analogue television services in urban areas with effect from Oct. 1 this year as the southern African nation moves to digital television.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) had set June 17, 2015 as the deadline for countries to migrate from analogue to digital terrestrial television.

Zambia partially met the deadline but the country has been running simulcast television services in urban areas.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 03:43:18|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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DAR ES SALAAM, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- The government of Tanzania on Wednesday affirmed its commitment to continue providing asylum and protection to refugees.

Mwigulu Nchemba, the east African nation's Minister for Home Affairs, said the country's commitment towards the protection of refugees was in line with the willingness by international community to share the burden and responsibility for hosting and supporting the refugees.

The minister was opening a high level dialogue between the government of Tanzania and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam.

The dialogue was aimed at addressing challenges facing the country in hosting large numbers of refugees, and suggesting the way forward.

"We now need to translate these commitments into effective support to host governments and communities,"said Nchemba.

Nchemba said serving refugees was an international obligation that needed collaboration from multiple stakeholders in sharing the burden.

"As a country that is renowned for her generosity and hospitality to hosting hundreds of thousands refugees for over five decades, Tanzania also welcomes the New York Declaration and its subsequent Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF)," he said.

He said Tanzania was committed and ready to co-operate with all stakeholders to ensure full implementation and realization of the CRRF whose secretariat of work in Tanzania was officially launched on June 2, this year.

A fortnight ago, Tanzanian authorities said more than 5,000 Burundian refugees staying in camps in western Tanzania have volunteered to return home following a recent appeal by President John Magufuli to them to return home and help build their country.

Emmanuel Maganga, the Kigoma Regional Commissioner, said 5,327 Burundian refugees from Nduta, Nyarugusu and Mtendeli refugee camps have volunteered to go home, adding that 4,935 of these were from Nduta, 364 from Nyarugusu and 28 from Mtendeli.

Currently, he told Xinhua in a telephone interview, Nduta sheltered 124,914 Burundian refugees, Nyarugusu 75,761 refugees and Mtendeli 49,839 refugees.

On July 20, President Magufuli called on the Burundian refugees now in the country to return home voluntarily and help build their country, asserting that now there was security in the tiny central African country.

Magufuli's remarks were in support of an earlier plea by Burundian president Pierre Nkurunziza, who had called on his fellow countrymen to go back home and help rebuild their country because the "war is over."

Magufuli also took a swipe at international humanitarian bodies for trying to convince refugees not to return to their home countries because of continued insecurity, just so they can continue receiving aid from donors.

The president also directed the Ministry of Home Affairs not to grant citizenship to any more Burundian refugees coming into Tanzania.

In 2014, Tanzania announced that it was in the process of granting citizenship to 162,000 Burundian refugees who had fled their country in 1972.

In June this year, the UN refugee agency said Tanzania remained the largest host of Burundian refugees.

Tanzania is currently home to more than 315,000 refugees and asylum-seekers, mainly from Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They are hosted in three refugee camps of Nyarugusu, Nduta, and Mtendeli, which face severe pressure.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 04:28:48|Editor: An



Chinese Ambassador to Rwanda Rao Hongwei (1st L) delivers a speech at the seeing-off reception for Rwandan students who are going to study in China through scholarships, in Kigali, Rwanda, Aug. 9, 2017. Chinese Embassy in Rwanda on Wednesday evening held a reception, seeing off 37 Rwandans who are going to study in China through scholarships provided by the Chinese government and the Confucius Institute. The scholarship winners are expected to set off for China around the end of August. (Xinhua/Lyu Tianran)

KIGALI, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Embassy in Rwanda on Wednesday evening held a reception, seeing off 37 Rwandans who are going to study in China through scholarships provided by the Chinese government and the Confucius Institute.

"Education is an important area of exchanges and cooperation between China and Rwanda. The Chinese government has placed huge weight on the educational exchanges with Rwanda," said Rao Hongwei, Chinese Ambassador to Rwanda, at the ceremony.

According to Rao, the Chinese government started to provide scholarships to Rwanda in 1976. Up to now, over 600 Rwandan students have been awarded the Chinese government scholarships, and there are more scholarships provided independently by Chinese universities, local governments and social institutions.

Currently about 1,100 Rwandan students are studying in China, of which over 200 are under various kinds of scholarship programs, he said.

Besides, the Chinese Embassy in Rwanda provides over 100 scholarships to Rwandan secondary school students through Imubuto Foundation each year, said the envoy.

"I wish to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to the government of China for the continued support rendered to Rwandans through bilaterally cooperation," said Desire Gacinya, Deputy Director General of Rwanda Education Board.

Gacinya congratulated the scholarship winners and requested them to study hard and accomplish their academic progress and be "good ambassadors" for Rwanda.

The scholarship winners are expected to set off for China around the end of August.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 08:00:38|Editor: Song Lifang

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SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Researchers at Stanford University are hosting a competition of computer-generated skeletons in a virtual race, as a crowdsourcing effort to gain better models of the bone, muscles and nerves that may help doctors manage movement disorders like cerebral palsy.

So far, 63 teams have submitted a total of 145 ideas to the competition, which is one of five similar contests created for the 2017 Neural Information Processing Systems conference scheduled for early December in Long Beach, Southern California.

Lukasz Kidzinski, a postdoctoral fellow in bioengineering at Stanford supplies each team with computer models of the human body and the virtual world that body must navigate, including stairs, slippery surfaces and more.

The skeletons, in the race, will be running, hopping and jumping as far as they can before collapsing in an electronic heap.

The goal behind the contest, which was dreamed up by Kidzinski, is to better understand how people with cerebral palsy will respond to muscle-relaxing surgery, as the surgery does not always work to improve a patient's gait.

Kidzinski works in the lab of Scott Delp, a professor of bioengineering and of mechanical engineering who has spent decades studying the mechanics of the human body and has worked with his collaborators to collect data on the movements and muscle activity of hundreds of individuals as they walk and run. As a result, they can build accurate models of how individual muscles and limbs move in response to signals from the brain.

However, according to a news release this week from Stanford, they could not predict how people relearn to walk after surgery, as no one is quite sure how the brain controls complex processes like walking, let alone walking through the obstacle course of daily life or relearning how to walk after surgery.

Machine learning, a variety of artificial intelligence, has reached a point where it could be a useful tool for modeling of the brain's movement control systems, but for the most part its practitioners have been interested in self-driving cars, playing complex games like chess or serving up more effective online ads. The virtual competition, instead, could be a "more meaningful problem."

"The time was right for a challenge like this," Delp was quoted as saying.

In addition to external challenges, such as stairs and slippery surfaces, teams in the competition face internal ones, such as weak or unreliable muscles. They are judged based on how far their simulated humans make it through those obstacles in a fixed amount of time.

The researchers boasted that they have created a new way of solving problems in biomechanics that looks to virtual crowds for solutions.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 08:55:56|Editor: Song Lifang

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COLOMBO, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has appreciated and thanked China for its strong support to help the island country develop and strengthen its economy.

Sirisena made the statement at the 60th anniversary celebrations of bilateral relations between Sri Lanka and China organized by the Sri Lanka China Society in Colombo on Wednesday.

Sirisena said that China had always stood by Sri Lanka and helped the country defeat the Tamil Tiger rebels after a 30-year bitter conflict.

"It is no secret that China supported us and stood by us to defeat the Tamil Tigers. For that we are grateful and we will never forget what they have done for us," he said.

The president said the recently signed Hambantota Port agreement between Sri Lanka Ports Authority and China Merchants Port Holdings would be beneficial for Sri Lanka, and his government had signed the agreement after rounds of talks with China.

"The Chinese government and its people have always helped us and for that I appreciate and thank them and I hope this relationship will only get further strengthened," Sirisena said.

China is one of Sri Lanka's largest development partners and has invested millions of dollars to strengthen the island's infrastructure, tourism, education and culture.

Reiterating that China was a true friend of Sri Lanka, Chinese Ambassador Yi Xianliang said China would continue to support Sri Lanka and strengthen its economic development.

"China is also a developing country but we have no hesitation to help Sri Lanka," he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 09:26:48|Editor: Song Lifang

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BERLIN, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel has urged the United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to refrain from threatening each other with military escalation.

"We urge all parties to moderate their behavior," Gabriel's spokesman Martin Schaefer said here Wednesday, adding that a military option could not be the solution to achieving a nuclear-weapon-free Korean Peninsula.

Schaefer called for the recent United Nations (UN) sanctions to be implemented more resolutely against the DPRK. He praised U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's proposal to hold talks with Pyongyang as soon as the DPRK ceases missile testing.

U.S. President Donald Trump earlier issued an aggressive warning that the DPRK would face "fire and fury" if it engages in what Washington views as further provocations. Shortly thereafter, Pyongyang threatened to launch a preventive attack against the U.S. Pacific island of Guam.
Source: Xinhuanet| 2017-08-10 09:46:32|Editor: Yang Yi

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BEIJING, Aug.10 (Xinhuanet) -- China is different from what I have imagined and seen before I came here. After five months of first-hand experience in China, I become more interested in Chinese language and culture, said Sangeet Sangroula, correspondent of Republica Daily of Nepal.

Sangroula, with five years of journalism experience, came to China to attend the 10-month long program until December 2017.

I read a lot about China, but never had a clear understanding though. A sense of curiosity to know how China is able to develop so rapidly and peacefully, and also Chinese culture, society and people was always there with me, said Sangroula, when talking about why he joined the program.

However, Khonesavanh Latsaphao, deputy director of Vientiane Times Newspaper in Laos, attended the program with a clear personal plan -- to become a newsman with global perspective.

I worked at Vientiane Times Newspaper for almost 20 years. This visit gives me a chance to know more about China and I will share my experiences with our people. Laos is a small country, I really have a lot to learn here, he said.

Knowing little about Chinese language except for greetings like Ni Hao (How are you), both Sangroula and Latsaphao had the same difficult days at the first.

I went to buy milk but ended up buying yogurt when I just arrived in China, recalled Sangroula with big smile.

Latsaphao also shared one of his experiences that he once missed the last train of subway line one at night, and almost couldnt get home because he couldnt express where he exactly lived in to the taxi driver!

However, both of them didnt take these experiences as trouble.

Challenges are there, but it is part of learning process of Chinese and Chinese culture. As I learn more Chinese here, life is getting better over time, Sangroula said.

Sangroula believes language is the gateway into another culture. Learning language can increase individuals level of acceptance of another culture and also bridge gaps and misunderstandings.

After coming to China, I know more about what the Belt and Road Initiative really means, how the initiative is a win-win cooperation platform and what possible opportunities the initiative offers to developing countries like Nepal which is desperate for economic development through infrastructure development and trade diversification,Sangroula added. In fact, in order to enable them to better adapt to and know Chinese social life, courses in Chinese language have been offered.

All thanks to our Chinese teachers, I can speak some basic words and sentences now that are essential in our daily lives in China.We learn Chinese once or twice a week, three hours for each time, these courses help a lot, said Aminath Ibrahim, a Maldivian journalist of Avas Online at the program.

As one of the youngest at the program, the 24-year-old has very keen interest about Chinese language and culture.

She believes language is the main tool that can enhance peoples inclusiveness, and help people open up to each other to create more exchange opportunities.

Language is the window. It is very important to know Chinese, or at least to have the idea of what Chinese language is to cooperate with China, especially after the Belt and Road Initiative was proposed, said Aminath.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 09:41:52|Editor: Song Lifang

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MEXICO CITY, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Mexico's economy has structural flaws that won't be resolved with the upcoming renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), credit rating agency Moody's said Wednesday.

Mexico has for years relied on its poorly-paid work force to compete with other economies, and that is part of what is holding the country back, Moody's said in a report.

When Mexico, the United States and Canada signed NAFTA and put it into effect in 1994, the trade deal was expected to help strengthen the Latin American country, "but Mexico has not attained the stellar growth rates that were anticipated from liberalizing its economy."

What's more, "wage and productivity gaps with the U.S. have widened rather than shrunk," the agency said in a new report.

"Mexico has maintained its comparative advantage through negative real wage growth, at the expense of income levels. As a result, instead of converging through trade, wage and productivity, gaps with the U.S. have widened," said Moody's.

"Successful NAFTA talks alone will not fix structural impediments to Mexico's growth," senior analyst Madhavi Bokil wrote.

Mexico's income gap with its North American neighbors will only get worse unless the country takes steps to address the problem, including tackling its huge informal, or underground economy, according to the report.

The three countries plan to start trade talks in Washington on Aug. 16.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 10:38:01|Editor: An

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CHICAGO, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Taiwanese tech giant Foxconn's plant in the U.S. State of Wisconsin is under scrutiny for streamlining environmental permitting, in a bid to balance the environment with job creation, a local agency said Wednesday.

Department of Natural Resources Secretary Cathy Stepp said they would set limits for the planned factory's air and water pollution as well as the disposal of its hazardous waste in a quick and effective way.

"Scrutiny is the same, it's just the process is going to be shortened so we can get these jobs going on the ground and still have the environmental protection, and I will say even enhancement as a result of this project," Stepp was quoted by Wisconsin State Journal as saying.

Local legislature is considering Governor Scott Walker's 3-billion-U.S.-dollar incentives bill, which would exempt the company from a host of environmental regulations. However, conservationist groups argue that the deal needs much more scrutiny.

Foxconn reportedly plans to make television screens in the plant on a 1,000-acre site in southeastern Wisconsin, and the local government expects the project to create up to 13,000 jobs, which has led Stepp to regard the future plant as a "gift."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 11:13:15|Editor: Song Lifang

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CARACAS, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Venezuela's opposition alliance, the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD), announced Wednesday that it will present candidates at regional elections set for Dec. 10.

The announcement was made by opposition leader Andres Velasquez in the National Assembly (AN).

"We have agreed by consensus to pre-register candidates for regional elections," said Velasquez, adding that the MUD would not leave any electoral area without representation.

The position of the bloc "will be accompanied by the decision to deepen social pressure," he said, referring to the four months of street protests led by the MUD against President Nicolas Maduro and the National Constituent Assembly, which it sees as unconstitutional.

"We will have the back of those who have sacrificed against this government," he continued.

All the MUD candidates for regional elections will be chosen by "internal agreement," while states in which there is no consensus will see primary elections.

Velasquez pointed out that the MUD would be unified to avoid their candidates running against each other.

The MUD will face an uphill battle since the National Electoral Council (CNE) banned it from participating in elections in seven states, alleging that problems were found in a petition the MUD organized in 2016 to trigger a recall referendum against Maduro.

However, the decision to present candidates in the December elections was praised by members of the government.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Jorge Arreaza tweeted that "we salute that, after three months of terror, the opposition has abandoned violence and is heading for the electoral and democratic path."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 11:28:24|Editor: Liangyu

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BEIJING, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- As Chinese scientists accomplish all their planned experiments with the world's first quantum satellite, they are devising new studies and aiming to launch more quantum satellites to build a hack-proof global quantum communications network.

China launched the satellite, Quantum Experiments at Space Scale (QUESS), nicknamed "Micius" after a 5th Century B.C. Chinese philosopher and scientist, on Aug. 16, 2016.

Its three major scientific goals -- quantum key distribution, quantum entanglement distribution and quantum teleportation -- have been achieved a year ahead of schedule, and related articles have been published in academic journals Science and Nature.

Micius's designed life is two years, so Chinese scientists are making new plans for extended experiments with the satellite.

Pan Jianwei, lead scientist of QUESS and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), said they will cooperate with scientists in Europe to conduct intercontinental quantum key distribution.

Quantum key technology is used in quantum communications to make eavesdropping impossible and to perfectly secure the communication.

Scientists are conducting quantum key distribution experiments with a ground station in Graz, Austria. By the end of August, it will be able to make an intercontinental quantum secure call with a Chinese station, said Pan.

Chinese scientists also plan to conduct intercontinental quantum key distribution research with Germany and Italy. Ground stations in the two countries will be ready by the end of 2017, Pan said.

The intercontinental experiment shows Micius can work not only with Chinese facilities, but with facilities in other countries too, Pan said.

His research team is looking to integrate quantum communications with the traditional fiber network to securely transmit information and make the technology more practical.

They also plan to conduct long-distance quantum key distribution based on quantum entanglement, which will be more secure than current quantum key distribution. Pan hopes this can be achieved by the end of this year.

Their longer-term aim is to set up a global quantum communications network.

Peng Chengzhi, chief designer of the scientific application system of QUESS, said the low-earth-orbit satellite has a limited coverage area and time for each ground station. It takes several days for Micius, orbiting at an altitude of 500 kilometers, to revisit any point on earth.

"When Micius flies over China, the experiment window is about 10 minutes," said Wang Jianyu, chief commander of the satellite. "But if we have a satellite in orbit at 10,000 kilometers, the time for quantum key distribution could be several hours. And if we have a satellite in orbit at 36,000 kilometers, it can cover a third of the earth all the time.

"To increase the coverage, we plan to send satellites to higher orbits and construct a satellite constellation, which requires developing many new technologies," Wang said.

Currently, Micius can only conduct quantum communication in the earth' s shadow; that is to say, it can only work at night to avoid interference from sunlight.

However, higher-orbit satellites will spend less time in the earth's shadow. So Chinese scientists have to acquire the technology to enable space-based quantum communication in the daytime, Peng said.

Recently, Chinese scientists realized free space quantum key distribution at a distance of 53 kilometers in daytime, breaking one of the key technical barriers to a quantum satellite constellation.

"We hope to form a ground and space integrated quantum communications network in about 10 years, and apply it widely in fields such as national defense, government affairs, finance and energy, and promote the formation of emerging industries of strategic importance," said Pan. "We also hope to use space-based quantum technology to explore and examine basic physical theories such as quantum gravity."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 12:58:42|Editor: Song Lifang

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WASHINGTON, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- The United States has expelled two Cuban diplomats in late May after "incidents" at the U.S. Embassy in Havana, the U.S. State Department said Wednesday.

The expulsions happened after some U.S. Embassy personnel in Havana reported that some "incidents" caused "a variety of physical symptoms" in them, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told a regular briefing.

The spokeswoman declined to provide further details on the nature of the incidents, and said some affected Americans had returned to the United States for non-life-threatening medical reasons.

"We don't have any definitive answers about the source or the cause of what we consider to be incidents," she said, adding that "we take this situation very seriously."

Media reports said the affected Americans suffered a severe hearing loss.

The United States and Cuba officially resumed a diplomatic relationship in July 2015, more than five decades after they severed it, during the administration of then U.S. President Barack Obama.

In June, U.S. President Donald Trump announced new restrictions on U.S. leisure travel to Cuba and on U.S. business with the Cuban military in an effort to cancel Obama's "one-sided deal" with Cuba.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 13:33:56|Editor: Song Lifang

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MAPUTO, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- The meeting between Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi and opposition leader Afonso Dhlakama last Sunday was praised by former President Armando Guebuza, as well as by the European Union (EU), the U.S. government and academic groups in Mozambique.

"All of us have been working to and want to see peace in Mozambique. This meeting means that key steps were taken for an effective peace in our country. We encourage this initiative and hope that soon we will be living in peace," said Guebuza on Wednesday in Maputo.

It was a surprising step taken by the president and the main opposition leader, and a demonstration of goodwill from both sides to carve out a happy ending and to open a new chapter in Mozambique's development.

The two leaders met on the ground of the main opposition, Renamo, in Gorongosa, Sofala Province, where the Renamo leader took refuge after alleged attempts from the armed forces to end his life.

After the discussion, the leaders reached an agreement on the coming steps of the country's peace process that should be concluded by the end of this year, according to a statement from the president.

They intend to work closely with the commissions created by the government together with Renamo delegations, and another meeting will be held to prepare the final details for the conclusion of the process.

Salutations and praise for both leaders came in soon after the meeting. The EU said the meeting is important for both sides to build mutual trust and congratulated them on the initiative.

Through its embassy in Maputo, the U.S. government also commended this meeting for representing a significant move on both leaders' parts for a long-lasting peace in the country.

"This meeting represents another significant step in their joint efforts to achieve a lasting peace that will benefit the security and prosperity of the people of the Republic of Mozambique," said the U.S. press release.

Academic groups in Mozambican society also expressed their appreciation of the meeting, and addressed the responsibilities of each part involved in the negotiation aimed at reaching an agreement that will put an end to the reconciliation efforts that have been dragging on since 1992.

"We must rejoice, we must be trustful and bear in mind that the level of trust increased between the two, but need to be on guard to make sure nothing spoils this situation," said Lourenco do Rosario, an academic and former member of the observatory mission during the peace talks in Maputo.

Since the declaration of this indefinite truce, Mozambique has witnessed no more attacks along the roads, particularly in its central and northern regions.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 13:49:04|Editor: Song Lifang

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CANBERRA, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Australia would not automatically be drawn into any potential conflict between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the United States, despite a Pacific military agreement, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said on Thursday.

Tensions have escalated between Washington and Pyongyang this week, after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened "fire and fury" on Pyongyang, causing the DPRK to threaten missile action on the U.S. territory of Guam.

Speaking on Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) radio on Thursday, Bishop said while Australia and the United States were in "constant discussion" regarding the DPRK situation, Australia was not obligated to be drawn into conflict.

She said while Australia had signed an agreement with New Zealand and the United States, which requires cooperation on military matters in the Pacific, Australia would "consult" with the U.S. before any action is considered.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 14:24:26|Editor: Song Lifang

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KATHMANDU, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Nepal's parliament on Wednesday adopted a land mark reform by criminalizing the centuries-old social ill practice called "Chhaupadi," prevalent in many parts of the country.

Under this ancient custom in rural Nepal, a woman is banished to makeshift houses called "goth" during her menstruation and postnatal period in complete isolation from other family members.

In chhaupadi practice, women are not allowed to do any household chores and touch the male family members, considering them as impure and untouchable.

Chaupadi is widely practiced amongst Hindu women in over a dozen districts in western Nepal. Many people believe that they will suffer from bad luck, illness and natural disasters if the menstruating women are allowed to live a normal routine life during their monthly periods.

According to the Criminal Code Bill passed by the House, anyone forcing women to follow this practice may get a three-month jail term or 3,000-rupee fine or even both. The law is expected to come into effect in a year.

This new law has been regarded as an attempt to abolish the ill social traditions full of discrimination and prejudices towards women.

Nepal's Supreme Court had banned chhaupadi in 2005, but the practice has been continued in remote districts.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 14:29:28|Editor: Song Lifang

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NEW DELHI, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- India's main opposition Congress party has expelled eight of its lawmakers in the western state of Gujarat for cross-voting in the recently concluded polls to the Upper House of Parliament (Rajya Sabha).

These eight lawmakers, including former Gujarat Chief Minister Shankersinh Vaghela and his son, had voted for the country's as well as the country's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s two candidates in the Rajya Sabha elections, defying a whip by the Congress party.

"We have expelled them for six years as they defied the party whip and cross-voted. We will take action against them under the anti-defection law also," Gujarat Congress chief Bharatsinh Solanki told the media.

While Ahmed Patel, political adviser to Sonia Gandhi, won the Rajya Sabha polls on Congress ticket from Gujarat, BJP chief Amit Shah and Indian Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani won the elections from the ruling party side.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 14:29:29|Editor: Song Lifang

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BEIJING, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Treasury Department imposed additional sanctions on Venezuela on Wednesday as a response to President Nicolas Maduro's setting up the controversial National Constituent Assembly (ANC).

For decades, the United States has been interfering in the internal affairs of Latin American countries, using various measures.

MILITARY INTERVENTION

Starting in 1831 when the U.S. warship "Lexington" destroyed Argentina's settlers' quarters and the warship's occupants arrested the settlers on Malvinas Islands, the United States has been using military forces to meddle in Latin American countries dozens of times, the most famous of which was America's direct military invasion of Panama in 1989.

In December 1989, then U.S. President George H.W. Bush sent American troops into Panama City to arrest then Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega.Noriega was toppled after days of fighting, and was taken to the United States, France and back to Panama to serve lengthy prison sentences for drug trafficking, money laundering and other charges.

On May 29, 2017, Noriega died in Panama City at the age of 83.

In April 1961, the U.S. government supported an abortive invasion by Cuban exiles at the Bay of Pigs in southwest Cuba, after the 1959 Cuba Revolution led by Fidel Castro overthrew a U.S.-friendly government.

Castro proclaimed Cuba a communist state and began to form an alliance with the Soviet Union.

In 1965, fearing the Dominican Republic would become "another Cuba," then U.S. President Lyndon Johnson sent more than 22,000 troops to "restore order" on the island nation.

In 1983, then U.S. President Ronald Reagan, citing the threat posed to American nationals on the Caribbean nation of Grenada, ordered nearly 6,000 U.S. troops to invade the nation, toppled the Bernard Coard government and replaced it by one acceptable to the United States.

ECONOMIC SANCTIONS

As military intervention has been increasingly unacceptable by the international community, the United States has turned more often to economic sanctions against Latin American countries.

The sanctions on Venezuela this time are directly aimed at Venezuelan President Maduro and eight Venezuelan officials involved in the ANC.

In 1970, left-wing leader Salvador Allende won Chile's presidential election. The United States cut off most of its foreign aid to Chile and supported Allende's opponents in Chile during his presidency.

In 1973, Augusto Pinochet rose to power through a coup in Chile, overthrowing the democratically elected president Allende.

Since 1962, the United States has been imposing economic sanctions, financial blockades and trade embargoes on Cuba, causing great harm to the Cuban economy.

PROXY LEADERS

Supporting coups and cultivating proxy leaders are other ways the U.S. government is interfering in Latin America.

From the 1950s to 1970s, Latin America had witnessed a series of military coups, many of which were backed by the United States. Uncle Sam publicly supported the 1964 military coup in Brazil and the 1973 military coup in Chile, in a bid to overthrow their left-wing governments.

The United States also supported pro-America proxy figures in Chile, Panama, Nicaragua and Dominica, making them influence the political situation and even come to power in their respective countries, through financial, intelligence, weaponry and military assistance.

Analysts believe that the United States uses all necessary means to intervene in Latin America's affairs. To counteract the interference, Latin American countries need to unite and solve domestic and regional disputes through dialogue within the framework of constitutions and international law.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 14:39:33|Editor: Song Lifang

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KABUL, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Elderly women in Asadabad, capital of eastern Kunar province, have expressed readiness to hold talks with the Taliban group on how to find a negotiated settlement to their insurgency- plagued country, a local news agency reported Thursday.

The first ever women- initiated peace dialogue in the form of Jirga (Afghan traditional gathering of elders) hoped the face-to-face talks with the group could help bring peace in the country, the Pajhwok Afghan News agency reported.

According to women's affairs director in the province, Sohaila Babar, the elderly women in the restive province would soon sincerely ask Taliban fighters to give up fighting and join the government-backed peace process, a move she believed to be a mark of respect for elderly mothers.

Taliban militants are yet to make comments.

They have refused government's repeated offers for talks over the past more than 10 years and have opposed education for girls in areas controlled by the group.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 14:44:36|Editor: Song Lifang

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LOS ANGELES, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Air Force has started two air combat training exercises at Hill Air Force Base located in northern Utah state, local Deseret News newspaper reported Wednesday, adding that there will be a lot of air traffic in the coming two weeks.

The exercises, which include an air-to-ground drill called Combat Hammer and an air-to-air drill known as Combat Archer, started on Monday and will continue to Aug. 18, according to a base press release.

The U.S. Air Force formally calls the exercises the Weapons System Evaluation Program (WSEP), saying the goal is to "test and validate the performance of crew, pilots and their technology while deploying precision-guild munitions."

Combat Hammer, focusing on evaluating air-to-ground munition, will be conducted by the 86th Fighter Weapons Squadron (FWS), a hill tenant unit. Combat Archer, which tests air-to-air weapons, will be conducted by the 83rd FWS from Tyndall Air Force Base in the state of Florida.

The press release stressed that this WSEP would be critical to the F-35 program as it is the first operational evaluation for F-35A, which is moving toward full warfighting capacity.

"This initial Combat Hammer WSEP evaluation is an important milestone in the F-35 path to Full Operation Capability," the press release cited Lt. Col. Timothy Smith, 86th FWS commander, as saying.

"Our Combat Hammer team looks forward to working closely with our Team Hill partners, the 388th FW, Lockheed Martin, and the Utah Training Range to enable success for this first-time event for the F-35. We also look forward to many more F-35 WSEPs in the future and will continue to build on the foundation set during this exercise," he said.

Col. Jason Rueschhoff, 388th Operations Group commander, was quoted as saying that through the WSEP execution, global combatant commanders would have increased confidence in F-35A's employment capabilities.

Besides the F-35A, aircraft participating in the program include F-15Es from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base of North Carolina, B-1s from Ellsworth Air Force Base of South Dakota and B-52s from Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 15:19:45|Editor: Yamei

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Grand Chief Wilton Littlechild, a Cree Chief from Canada, addresses an event marking International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples at the United Nations headquarters in New York, on Aug. 9, 2017. The UN on Wednesday marked the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, by stressing the need to eliminate discrimination, marginalization and encroachment on their basic rights. (Xinhua/Ma Jianguo)

UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations (UN) on Wednesday marked the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, by stressing the need to eliminate discrimination, marginalization and encroachment on their basic rights.

Forty UN system entities and other international organizations issued a joint UN statement on the occasion of the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, marked annually on Aug. 9.

"While indigenous peoples have made significant advancements in advocating for their rights in international and regional fora, implementation of the declaration is impeded by persisting vulnerability and exclusion, particularly among indigenous women, children, youth and persons with disabilities," said the statement.

The declaration, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly on Sept. 13, 2007, establishes a universal framework of minimum survival standards for the dignity and well-being of the world's indigenous peoples.

"The declaration, which took more than 20 years to negotiate, stands today as a beacon of progress, a framework for reconciliation and a benchmark of rights," said Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, special rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, Mariam Wallet Aboubakrine, chairperson of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, and the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, in a joint statement on the day.

"But a decade on, we need to acknowledge the vast challenges that remain. In too many cases, indigenous peoples are now facing even greater struggles and rights violations than they did 10 years ago," they said.

Although some countries have taken constitutional and legislative measures to recognize indigenous peoples' rights and identities, exclusion, marginalization and violence continue to be widespread, they said.

Irina Bokova, director-general of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, said that as custodians and practitioners of unique cultures and relationships with the natural environment, indigenous peoples embody a wide range of linguistic and cultural diversity at the heart of our shared humanity.

"Protecting their rights and dignity is protecting everyone's rights and respecting humanity's soul, past and future," she said.

The International Labor Organization (ILO) underscored that the situation of indigenous peoples is far from acceptable.

"Indigenous peoples constitute a disproportionate 15 percent of the world's poor whereas they are an estimated 5 percent of the world's population. Indigenous women are commonly the poorest of the poor, discriminated against because they are indigenous and because they are women," the ILO said in a statement.

Their marginalization and social exclusion must be addressed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda, said the organization.

While recognizing progress in many countries, UN Deputy Secretary-General Liu Zhenmin, who is responsible for economic and social affairs, stressed the need to do more.

"We must recognize that despite these achievements and gains, tremendous gaps remain," he told a gathering at the UN headquarters on Wednesday.

"Indigenous peoples face high levels of poverty, poor health and lower education levels. The situation of indigenous women is grave. Virtually all indicators of well-being, where and when available, indicate that indigenous peoples are still often left behind."

Aug. 9 was chosen as the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples in recognition of the first meeting of the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations held in Geneva in 1982. The international day was designated by the UN General Assembly in December 1994.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 15:50:01|Editor: ying

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SEOUL, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's military said Thursday that no sign was detected yet of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s possible provocations.

Roh Jae-cheon, spokesman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), told a press briefing that there was currently no specific move related to a direct provocation, saying the South Korean military was maintaining a defense readiness against the DPRK's possible provocation.

Asked about how to respond to possible DPRK provocation, the spokesman said the full defense preparedness was maintained, based on the South Korea-U.S. combined defense posture, declining to elaborate further.

His comments followed the DPRK's warning earlier in the day of its missile launch plan targeting the waters off the U.S. island of Guam in the Pacific to be presented to top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un by mid-August.

Gen. Kim Rak Gyom, commander of the Strategic Force of the Korean People's Army (KPA) of the DPRK issued the warning in a statement carried by the DPRK's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

The belligerent rhetoric from the DPRK came as U.S. President Donald Trump said earlier this week that the DPRK would be met with "fire and fury" if the country continues threats against the United States.

In July, the DPRK test-fired what it called an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), known as Hwasong-14, twice.

The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a new resolution toughening sanctions on Pyongyang, which bans mineral and seafood exports of the country.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 15:55:02|Editor: ying

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MOSCOW, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- The trade turnover between Russia and the European Union (EU) rose by 28.7 percent year-on-year in the first seven months, the Russian Federal Customs Service said in a statement Wednesday.

According to the statement, the EU-Russia trade turnover reached 117.8 billion U.S. dollars in this period. Russia's exports to the EU reached 79.4 billion dollars, an increase of 31.2 percent, while the EU's exports to Russia totaled over 38.3 billion dollars, an increase of 23.7 percent, the statement said.

Besides, the statistics showed that the U.S.-Russia trade turnover between January and June amounted to some 10.7 billion dollars, an increase of 22.1 percent compared with the same period of last year.

Exports from Russia to the United States amounted to 4.8 billion dollars, up 21.7 percent, while exports from the United States to Russia totaled 5.8 billion dollars, up 22.4 percent.

Meanwhile, the trade turnover between Russia and China in the first six months this year totaled 38.3 billion dollars, a growth of 35.4 percent. Exports from Russia to China rose by 39.5 percent to 18.1 billion dollars, while exports from China to Russia reached 20.1 billion dollars, an increase of 31.9 percent, the statement said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 15:55:03|Editor: ying

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ZAMBOANGA CITY, the Philippines, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- At least seven people were killed, including two government's soldiers and five Abu Sayyaf members, when marines encountered Thursday dawn a group of Abu Sayyaf gunmen in a town of Sulu island in southern Philippines, a security official said.

A marine was also wounded during the encounter where troops recovered several high-powered rifles, including a super sniper rifle from the Abu Sayyaf group.

The encounter came amid threat issued by the Abu Sayyaf to behead four local captive laborers if their 3 million pesos (59,000 U.S. dollars) ransom for the victims will not be delivered before 3 p.m. local time Thursday in the jungle of Sulu.

Brig. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, Joint Task Force Sulu (JTFS), said his marine unit was on pursuit and rescue operation when they clashed with 30 heavily armed bandits about 4 a.m. local time at Sitio Langhub, Pang Village in the town of Kalingalang Caluang.

Fighting lasted for more than an hour which left five militants killed and several others wounded. However, two marines were also killed and another soldier was wounded in the encounter, said Sobejana.

There were no immediate sightings of the hostages who were believed to be kept away before the encounter. Sobejena assured his forces will sustain the pursuit operation against the Abu Sayyaf group to rescue all the hostages still in the captivity.

The Abu Sayyaf group earlier Thursday issued an ultimatum until 3 p.m. local time to the family of four captive laborers, who were seized last July 15 in Patikul town, to pay the ransom.

The military turned down any negotiation with the Abu Sayyaf group and vowed relentless pursuit will continue until all its members are crushed.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 16:30:30|Editor: Zhou Xin

Former U.S. Defense Minister William Perry receives an exclusive interview with Xinhua in San Francisco, the United States, Aug. 7, 2017. It is important to have a high-level dialogue as soon as possible between the United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), former U.S. Defense Minister William Perry has said amid escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue. (Xinhua/Guo Yina)

by Xinhua writers Liu Chen, Guo Yina

WASHINGTON, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- It is important to have a high-level dialogue as soon as possible between the United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), former U.S. Defense Minister William Perry has said amid escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.

It is truly vital for the two countries to "conduct a serious negotiation aimed at bringing peace to the peninsula and bringing a non-nuclear peninsula into being as soon as possible," said Perry in an interview with Xinhua earlier this week.

Perry's remarks came after the United Nations (UN) Security Council unanimously passed a resolution Saturday slapping new economic sanctions on the DPRK over its ballistic missile and nuclear programs.

"Sanctions in theory can be effective, but in practice usually are not," said Perry, who was the Pentagon chief in 1994-1997 under then President Bill Clinton.

The Security Council also seeks resumption of the six-party talks aimed at verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

"The six-party talks has a great merit involving all of the countries that are most concerned about the issue," said Perry, 89, who visited the DPRK as Clinton's special envoy in 1999.

"We need partnership to put together an effective, really effective diplomacy," said Perry.

Perry also noticed that a "right negotiating strategy" is needed in the six-party talks, which gathers China, the DPRK, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States.

In the interview, Perry expressed opposition to Washington's ramping up pressure on China to curb Pyongyang's ballistic missile and nuclear programs.

It is not enough for President Donald Trump to say "China, it is your problem, you solve it," Perry said.

In efforts to resume peaceful talks, Beijing has proposed a "double suspension" proposal that the DPRK should suspend its ballistic missile and nuclear activities while the United States and South Korea suspend large-scale joint military drills.

During the interview, Perry called on the DPRK to freeze its nuclear tests and long-range missile launches. "That would at least keep the nuclear dangers from getting worse," he said.

Meanwhile, Perry noted that it is important for the concerned parties to understand the DPRK's priority concern.

As long as the DPRK feels threatened by the United States, it will feel obliged to move to nuclear weapons, Perry said. "The goal is giving each side the reasonable assurance that their security is not threatened," he said.

"There's no reason for the United States to even have troops" in South Korea if the DPRK would be no longer seen as a threat by South Korea, he added.

The former U.S. defense chief also said South Korea's decision on deploying the advanced U.S. anti-missile system of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) will not solve the problem.

In his opinion, "it just gives the South Korean people some reason to feel more comfortable that they could be defended."

Both China and Russia have voiced strong opposition to the THAAD deployment, pointing out that it exceeds South Korea's security needs, disrupts the regional strategic balance and jeopardizes the security interests of other countries in the region.

Referring to the Trump administration, Perry said the White House has kept sending "mixed signals."

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said earlier this month that Washington is willing to talk to Pyongyang should it halt ballistic missile test launches. On Tuesday, Trump vowed to counter threats from Pyongyang with "fire and fury."

Hours after Trump's tough words, Tillerson said the developments do not suggest the United States is moving closer to a military option.

"I think we did not have an effective strategy," said Perry.

He also criticized the administrations of former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama for adopting a "policy of strategic patience."

"It was believing something was going to happen without having a way of making it happen ... Hope is not a strategy," he said.

As a longtime advocate of a nuclear-free world, Perry called on the concerned parties of the Korean Peninsula issue to "find a way of dealing with the problem without military action."

In his opinion, "even a small military conflict is a danger because it's all too easy to escalate and become another Korean War."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 16:35:34|Editor: ying

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DAMASCUS, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian army and allied troops wrested control over border areas with Jordan in the countryside of Sweida province in southern Syria, a well-informed source told Xinhua on Thursday.

The Syrian forces captured all border points and border police stations within the southern countryside of Sweida following battles with the rebels, the Sweida-based source said on condition of anonymity.

Sweida has no official border crossings with Jordan, as the official crossings with the southern neighbor was through the southern province of Daraa.

During the war, however, the rebels in the countryside of Sweida have established illegal routes to Jordan.

The official border crossings in Daraa are still under the control of the rebels.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 16:40:39|Editor: ying

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LOME, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Togo's President Faure Gnassingbe said that the partnership within the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) "must be constantly assessed, revisited and upgraded to remain effective".

He expressed his standpoint on Wednesday in the opening speech of the ministerial session as part of the 16th AGOA Forum that occurs from 8 to 10 August in Lome, the capital of Togo.

"Regarding the purpose to achieve conditions for shared prosperity by acting on the levers for the fight against poverty, the partnership established by AGOA must be constantly assessed, revisited and upgraded to remain effective", the speech delivered on the occasion by the Prime Minister Selom Komi Klassou read.

The two-day ministerial session discusses ways to achieve deeper commercial engagement so as to reach greater reciprocity likely to ensure sustained political support for the trade between the United States and eligible sub-Saharan African countries.

"As we gather in Lome as part of the 16th Forum, the onus is on us to continue discussions undertaken to substantial strengthening of this relation by remaining faithful to the concept of trade, not aid", Togolese president declared.

He believed that AGOA which is favorable to 6,500 African products is an important pillar of the trade relation between eligible African countries and the US. It was driver of important progress in trade exchanges and enabled trade exchanges between the two parties to be doubled.

"However, we must keep in mind that this mechanism is both opportunity and challenge", Faure Gnassingbe said, underscoring that the entire potential of AGOA is not yet achieved.
Photo taken on Aug. 9, 2017 shows the front view of Banadir Hospital in Mogadishu, capital of Somalia. (Xinhua/Faisal Isse)

by Abdi

MOGADISHU, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- China on Wednesday donated medical facilities and equipment to Banaadir hospital built by the Chinese in the 1970s in Mogadishu, the Somali capital.

China's Ambassador to Somalia Qin Jian said China was keen on continuing Somalia's recovery process and supporting it in various sectors including the medical sector.

The ambassador hailed Banaadir hospital, one of the biggest hospitals in the capital, for what he termed as their remarkable contribution in providing health services to over millions of Somalis over the years.

"This hospital serves over three million people in Mogadishu and surrounding areas," Qin said, adding it has made a huge contribution for the country's peace and reconstruction.

Recalling China's efforts in constructing the hospital in 1970s, Qin said his country has remained committed to supporting Somalia and has sent several teams of medical staff to the country for several years.

Chinese Ambassador to Somalia Qin Jian visits patients admitted at the Banadir Hospital in Mogadishu, capital of Somalia, Aug. 9, 2017. (Xinhua/Faisal Isse)

From 1960 to 1995, Chinese government sent 14 batches of medical team with more than 400 members of medical staff to heal southern Somalia people," the ambassador said.

Qin said Somalia and China have enjoyed cordial diplomatic relations for many years and have a lot to share in common.

"As you know China and Somalia enjoy long friendship. Since 1960 when diplomatic relations was established between our two countries we have made great progress and achievements in the area of politics, health, economy and all the fields," he said.

Qin also noted his visit to the hospital would help him get first hand information so that he can provide further support.

"I have come here to Banadir hospital to get first hand information and the materials and then the Chinese side will consider helping Somalia to repair this hospital because this hospital is very important for Somalia people," he said.

Banaadir hospital director Abdirizak Hasan Ali thanked the ambassador and the people of China, noting their sacrifice in constructing and supporting Banaadir hospital has made significant contribution to health sector in Somalia.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 17:21:14|Editor: Xiang Bo

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SEOUL, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- South Korea on Thursday urged the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to stop letting out a threatening rhetoric that runs against the consensus of the international community.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Cho June-hyuck told a press briefing that the DPRK's recent threatening rhetoric, which went too much, ran against the general opinion of the international society, urging Pyongyang to immediately stop it.

Cho said the DPRK should make a right choice and come to the way to denuclearization, urging the DPRK to rapidly respond to the South Korea- proposed initiative for improved inter-Korean relations and for building constant peace on the Korean Peninsula.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in declared the so-called "Korean Peninsula Peace Initiative" in early July in Berlin, Germany in a bid to enhance ties with the DPRK through economic cooperation and the exchange of sports, culture and personnel.

As follow-up measures, Seoul proposed to Pyongyang for holding talks about military affairs to stop all hostile acts near the military demarcation line (MDL) dividing the two sides, while offering a separate Red Cross dialogue on humanitarian issues.

Pyongyang has been mum about the dialogue overtures, while issuing a warning against the United States to fire missiles near the waters off the U.S. island of Guam in the Pacific.

The spokesman said South Korea would make all diplomatic efforts to make the DPRK come to the dialogue table to ease tensions and denuclearize the peninsula. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 17:36:25|Editor: Xiang Bo

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ISTANBUL, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Turkish authorities have closed Istanbul's Bosphorus Strait on Thursday for rescuing a teenager who went missing one month ago.

The Istanbul Port Authority announced that the two-way traffic in the region had been shut down at 8:45 a.m. local time (0545 GMT) for the underwater search and rescue activities.

Rescue teams have been trying to find Furkan Yildirim, 17 years old, who went missing while swimming with his friends on July 15 along the shore of Bosphorus, said Turkish Ministry of Transportation, Maritime Affairs and Communications.

The authorities have extended the search area and rescue work as no evident progress had been achieved so far.

Meanwhile, Yildirim's family are waiting in a designated tent allocated by Turkish officials at Arnavutkoy neighborhood on the European side of the city.

A port authority official has told Xinhua that the traffic was expected to be resumed around noon.

Bosphorus Strait is a key hub for the maritime transit of mainly oil and grains connecting the Black Sea and the Mediterranean.
Students and teachers of the Confucius Institute at the University Of Rwanda College Of Education take a selfie at the seeing-off reception for Rwandan students who are going to study in China through scholarships, in Kigali, Rwanda, Aug. 9, 2017. (Xinhua/Lyu Tianran)

KIGALI, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Embassy in Rwanda on Wednesday evening held a reception, seeing off 37 Rwandans who are going to study in China through scholarships provided by the Chinese government and the Confucius Institute.

"Education is an important area of exchanges and cooperation between China and Rwanda. The Chinese government has placed huge weight on the educational exchanges with Rwanda," said Rao Hongwei, Chinese Ambassador to Rwanda, at the ceremony.

According to Rao, the Chinese government started to provide scholarships to Rwanda in 1976. Up to now, over 600 Rwandan students have been awarded the Chinese government scholarships, and there are more scholarships provided independently by Chinese universities, local governments and social institutions.

Currently about 1,100 Rwandan students are studying in China, of which over 200 are under various kinds of scholarship programs, he said.

Deputy Director General of Rwanda Education Board Desire Gacinya addresses at the seeing-off reception for Rwandan students who are going to study in China through scholarships, in Kigali, Rwanda, Aug. 9, 2017. (Xinhua/Lyu Tianran)

Besides, the Chinese Embassy in Rwanda provides over 100 scholarships to Rwandan secondary school students through Imubuto Foundation each year, said the envoy.

"I wish to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to the government of China for the continued support rendered to Rwandans through bilaterally cooperation," said Desire Gacinya, Deputy Director General of Rwanda Education Board.

Gacinya congratulated the scholarship winners and requested them to study hard and accomplish their academic progress and be "good ambassadors" for Rwanda.

The scholarship winners are expected to set off for China around the end of August.
File photo taken on Feb. 24, 2016 shows the "Facebook"-logo on the sidelines of a press preview of the so-called "Facebook Innovation Hub" in Berlin. (AFP/TOBIAS SCHWARZ)

BERLIN, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Facebook will significantly increase its head count for German staff tasked with removing online content in breach of a new hate speech law, the U.S. social network announced on Wednesday.

A new "deletion center" with 500 employees would be opened in the city of Essen in the fall. Additionally, the number of staff working at Facebook's Berlin office will be raised to 700.

Rather than recruiting internally, Facebook is sub-contracting the activities to European service providers Arvato and Competence Call Center.

In July, the German Federal Parliament (Bundestag) passed the Network Enforcement Act, which would see network operators, such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, face fines of up 50 million euros (58.53 million U.S. dollars) if they failed to promptly delete content which breached hate speech laws.

Under Germany's prevailing legal framework, hate speech includes the incitement to kill or be violent, threatening speech, abusive language and sedition.

According to the new legislation, network operators are obliged to offer users an easily-recognizable and immediately responsive process to lodge complaints about such offenses. Network operators must delete criminal content within 24 hours of receiving complaints, although the window for action is extended to seven days in ambiguous cases.

The bill caused heavy controversy in the run up to its passing, with a diverse range of social media operators and civil rights and interest groups warning about its purported negative implications.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg had complained that he wanted to see a unified European resolution to the issue rather than 27 national approaches, calling the German law "inappropriate."

Civil rights groups have also raised concerns that the law might curtail freedom of expression as social media operators would be more inclined to delete ambiguous content out of fear of fines.

Facebook has declared its intention to increase the number of people it employs internationally to monitor and delete content on the social network from 4,500 to 7,500.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 18:31:48|Editor: ying

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ANKARA, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Turkish police on Thursday detained a Russian citizen for allegedly planning a drone attack at U.S. aircraft at a Turkish air base.

Renad Bakiev, suspected to be linked to the terror group Islamic State (IS), had reportedly plotted a drone attack targeting the U.S. aircraft at Incirlik air base in southern Adana province, Daily Sabah reported.

Bakiev also reportedly planned to carry out attacks on Alevi associations and civilians, the report quoted a police statement as saying.

The U.S. Air Force uses Incirlik air base as a staging post for launching airstrikes against IS targets in Syria and Iraq.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 18:51:59|Editor: Yurou

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by Xinhua writers Lucas Liganga, Li Sibo

DAR ES SALAAM, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Twenty-seven-year-old Advester Elieza Moshi says she doesn't have to spend sleepless nights thinking over the upbringing of her two younger sisters who are in primary school after working at the Chinese garment company Tooku.

"For me life is not the same again as I am also not worried when it comes to paying house rent and buying food for my family thanks to the company," says Advester.

In 2013, Advester secured employment as an operator at the company which is located in the Export Processing Zone in Tanzania's commercial capital Dar es Salaam, and is a subsidiary of JDU Group, a Chinese garments company integrating scientific research, production, domestic and international trade.

Tooku is manufacturing products related to denims, mainly jeans, for exports to the U.S. and European markets.

Advester wears broad smiles as she boasts that after working for four years with the Chinese firm, she has also acquired sewing skills that she will make use of when her employment ends.

"When I was employed here I knew nothing about sewing but four years down the road, I am an expert in sewing jeans that are sold overseas. In fact life will never be the same again after gaining these skills," she says in an interview with Xinhua.

Rhoda Benjamin, Advester's colleague who works as a quality controller, says she was employed by the company in 2016, adding that after working with the firm for hardly two years, "the future looks bright".

"I am now thinking of making a capital that will enable me to do my own business after having acquired skills here," says the mother of a four-year-son.

Advester and Rhoda are among 2,700 Tanzanians employed by the Chinese garments manufacturing firm which started operations in February 2012 by building a sewing and washing factory with sewage treatment, a generator and other infrastructure.

"We now have advanced production equipment, advanced technology and deep reserves of talents and we are upholding honesty, credibility, efficiency and quality business ideas," says Raymond Liu, managing Director of Tanzania Tooku Garments Company Limited.

Raymond also said that the company will in 2018 acquire a state-of-the-art sewing machine with 14 lines for sewing production.

Rigobert Massawe, General Manager of the Tanzania Tooku Garments Company Limited, says the new sewing machine will increase production from 300,000 pieces of Levi's and Wrangler jeans per month to 500,000 pieces of jeans a month.

"The number of local employees will also be raised from 2,700 to about 4,000," says the general manager.

"We are exporting 90 percent of our products to the United States and 10 percent to European markets," says Massawe, adding: "Apart from the production of the garments we are also imparting skills to local employees in terms of design, sewing, quality control and assurance, laundry and dye making."

Massawe says the firm is however facing a number of challenges, including lack of skilled labour, especially sewing supervisors. "The output we are getting from local institutions don't have enough capacity to fill the demand," he says.

Adelhelm Meru, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Industries, Trade and Investment, says China is among countries that have supported Tanzania's industrialization plan through investments.

He mentions some of the sectors that Chinese investors are expected to invest in as information, communication and technology, education, agriculture, infrastructure development, industries and energy.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 19:02:06|Editor: ying

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ISTANBUL, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on Thursday issued detention warrants for 35 people, including journalists, over their allegedly links to the Fethullah Terror Organization (FETO) believed to be behind last year's failed coup, local media reported.

The suspects, including an editor of daily Birgun newspaper Burak Ekici and a former columnist of the Turkish daily Ahmet Sagirli, were accused of "being membership of an armed terrorist organization," state-run Anadolu agency said.

Anadolu noted the detention warrants were aimed at the media branch of FETO.

According to the report, the suspects were believed to be users of mobile application Bylock, which was allegedly used by the network of FETO members.

Turkish government blames the FETO's U.S.-based leader Fethullah Gulen for orchestrating the 2016 failed coup attempt, which left 249 people dead and some 2,200 injured.

The Turkish government has launched a massive crackdown on Gulen's supporters in the aftermath of the coup attempt.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 19:07:09|Editor: ying

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COLOMBO, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Sri Lanka Navy on Thursday arrested 12 Indian fishermen for poaching in Sri Lanka's northern seas and practicing in bottom trawling, the navy media unit said in a statement.

Three fishing trawlers belonging to the fishermen were also taken into custody.

"These fishermen had ventured into Sri Lankan waters and practiced illegal bottom trawling which is considered as a destructive and banned fishing practice," the navy media unit said.

The arrested fishermen and fishing trawler were handed over to the Assistant Fisheries Director in Jaffna for onward legal action.

The Sri Lankan government has repeatedly warned that Indian fishermen trespassing into Sri Lankan waters to fish illegally will be arrested and their boats will be taken into custody.

Sri Lanka's Fisheries Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said recently that tight measures continued to be in place to protect the island's territorial waters, due to which the number of Indian fishing boats entering Sri Lankan waters illegally had seen a drop.
Credit: Matt KentWith The Who set to wrap up its North American summer tour with an August 16 concert in Stateline, Nevada, guitarist Pete Townshend will soon turn his focus to the first U.S. performances of Classic Quadrophenia, the orchestral version of the band's 1973 rock opera. The rock legend says he's "looking forward to" bringing the show, which debuted in July 2015 at London's Royal Albert Hall, to the States.

The five-date run begins with a September 2 show in Lenox, Massachusetts, followed by a September 9-10 stand in New York City, a September 13 benefit gig in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont and a September 16 concert in Los Angeles. Each venue will feature a different orchestra and choir accompanying popular British tenor Alfie Boe in the lead part of Jimmy, and Townshend and Billy Idol in supporting roles. Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder will join the cast at the Rosemont gig, which will raise money for the Teen Cancer America charity.

The orchestrations for Classic Quadrophenia were created by Townshend's longtime romantic partner Rachel Fuller. Her work led to the recording of an album, released in June 2015, followed by the show's live debut in London. Townshend says the U.S. performances will be similar to the London show except that he'll be featured in the role of Jimmy's dad instead of actor Phil Daniels.

Pete admits to ABC Radio with a laugh that he's "performing a little bit more than I would want to be" in the U.S. shows. Having said that, Townshend notes, "I don't do very much in it. I just kind of walk on and take a bow and play a bit of acoustic guitar."

Townshend says he hopes more Classic Quadrophenia performances will follow the U.S. run. Here's the list of U.S. shows:

9/2 -- Lenox, MA, Tanglewood

9/9 -- New York, NY, Metropolitan Opera House

9/10 -- New York, NY, Metropolitan Opera House

9/13 -- Rosemont, IL, Rosemont Theatre

9/16 -- Los Angeles, CA, The Greek Theatre

Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 19:22:20|Editor: ying

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BISHKEK, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Three Islamic State (IS) militants were sentenced to 12 to 15 years' imprisonment with confiscation of property for several crimes in Kyrgyzstan, the State Committee for National Security (GKNB) reported Thursday.

According to intelligence agencies, the convicts were trained in Syria and Iraq and then transferred to Kyrgyzstan to organize and carry out terrorist attacks against civilians.

The court found the three militants, previously detained by the special services, guilty of committing crimes including "illegal acquisition, transfer, sale, storage, transportation or carrying of firearms, as well as ammunition and explosives," "illegal crossing of the state border," "falsification, sale or use of forged documents" and "incitement of national, racial, religious and other hostility."

According to the latest official data, about 500 Kyrgyz citizens are in Syrian territory, among the ranks of international terrorist organizations. About 45 people have died in battle.

As previously reported in 2016 in Kyrgyzstan, 17 terrorist acts were prevented, eight terrorist groups were eliminated and 95 people were brought to justice.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 19:57:52|Editor: ying

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NEW DELHI, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Police in the Indian capital Thursday arrested a terrorist linked to al-Qaeda outfit, just days ahead of the Independence Day.

Raza Ul Ahmed, who is a member of Ansar Bangla, a terror outfit affiliated to al-Qaeda, was nabbed while he was attempting to flee to Nepal, a Delhi police officer said.

"He was involved in a fake currency racket in India and a case has been registered against him in the eastern state of West Bengal," he said.

The arrest came based on inputs of intelligence agencies who are keeping a close vigil in the run-up to Independence Day celebrations on August 15.

Ansar Bangla is involved in the hacking of atheists in Bangladesh. Many members of the terror outfit have sneaked into India using forged documents, the official said.

Last week, another terrorist from Ansar Bangla, identified as Abdullah, was arrested by police in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 20:07:58|Editor: ying

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BERLIN, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- A proposal by the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) to raise German defense spending was rejected by Thomas Opperman, the Social Democrat Party's (SPD) parliamentary faction leader, on Thursday.

Speaking to the newspaper Rheinische Post, Opperman ruled out nearly doubling German defense spending to 2 percent of annual GDP. "We consider this to be the wrong way forward and with the SPD in government (after national elections in September) it will not come to pass," he said.

While Opperman did not deny that Germany's Armed Forces (Bundeswehr) were in need of investment, he wanted to make funds available in line with the army's actual needs rather than what he described as an arbitrary spending goal set by NATO.

"Defense spending will rise, but it must not follow the irrelevant logic of a quota but the logic of a comprehensive security strategy," Opperman said.

In 2014, members of the NATO had pledged to meet the military alliance's uniform spending goal of 2 percent of GDP within a decade.

The United States currently devotes 3.6 percent of GDP to military spending, well ahead of most European nations for which the figure is below 2 percent. Since taking office, U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized NATO partners, including Germany, for not pulling their weight.

Military spending currently accounts for 1.26 percent of GDP in Germany. Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen (CDU) recently called for her country to act in order to meet the NATO target more swiftly.

Opperman announced the publication of an SPD defense strategy paper on Thursday. According to the Rheinische Post which has seen a draft thereof, the SPD wants to give the Federal Parliament (Bundestag) a bigger role in governing the German Armed Forces.

The SPD also proposes to establish of a European Defense Union.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 20:18:06|Editor: ying

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BERLIN, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) has seen a fall in her popularity levels while on holiday, an ARD-DeutschlandTrend survey released on Wednesday night suggests.

A total of 59 percent of respondents said they were happy or very happy with Merkel's work, a 10 percentage point drop compared to last month.

However, Merkel's main rival, SPD leader Martin Schulz, was unable to benefit from the development, as he witnessed his approval rating among voters fall to by four percentage points to a personal record low of 33 percent.

The highest ratings in the category were achieved by Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble (CDU) with 64 percent (minus 1 percentage point) and Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel with 63 percent (minus 3 percentage points).

Merkel also lost support in the "direct election" category with 52 percent of respondents saying they would chose to elect Merkel as chancellor directly if they could (Germany's political system only allows voters to indicate a party, rather than an individual). The figure constituted a five percentage point drop for the chancellor compared to the previous month.

Nevertheless, Merkel still commanded substantially stronger support than Schulz who rose slightly by two percentage points to 30 percent in voter favor.

If Germans were called to the polls on Sunday, the CDU/CSU would achieve a combined voter share of 39 percent compared to the SPD's 24 percent. The Left party (Linke) would finish in third place with 9 percent. The Free Democratic Party (FDP), Greens (Gruene) and Alternative for Germany (AfD) would be tied at 8 percent.

Germans appeared to be increasingly dissatisfied with their government in general in the latest ARD-DeutschlandTrend survey. Only 47 percent of respondents were either happy or very happy with the Federal Government's work, eight percentage points less than last month.

A likely source of voter frustration is officials handling of the ongoing "dieselgate" and "cartel" scandals in the German automotive industry. A total of 57 percent of those polled said that they had lost trust in domestic carmakers. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 20:18:08|Editor: Yurou

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BEIJING, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Chinese airborne troops have won first place in 11 out of 12 "Airborne Platoon" events during the International Army Games 2017, according to official results published Thursday.

The International Army Games is an important platform for air forces to learn from each other and build relationships, said Shen Jinke, spokesperson for the organizers.

Shen said the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force is willing to communicate and cooperate with other countries' armed forces to protect world peace.

Air forces from China, Russia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Morocco, South Africa and Venezuela joined the "Airborne Platoon" competition in Guangshui in central China's Hubei Province.

China sat at the top of the rankings after winning the most gold medals, followed by Russia and Kazakhstan in second and the third places respectively.

The PLA Air Force also won four gold medals in the "Aviadarts" competition, which was held in Changchun in northeast China's Jilin Province.

The International Army Games 2017, which runs from July 29 to Aug. 12, consist of 28 competitions to be held in Russia, China, Azerbaijan, Belarus and Kazakhstan.
Source: Xinhuanet| 2017-08-10 09:03:43|Editor: ZD

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BEIJING, Aug. 10 (Xinhuanet) -- The 9th BRICS Summit will be held next month in Xiamen in southeast Chinas Fujian Province. Prior to this meeting, Xinhuanet takes you for a sneak peek at the city.

China's first bicycle path in the air

A citizen rides along an elevated bicycle path in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province, Aug. 5, 2017. (Xinhuanet/Zhang Dan)

China's first bicycle path in the air started operation in the city of Xiamen in January 2017.

The path, with a length of 7.6 kilometers, opens to all kinds of bikes, including public and private bikes, from 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.

Built beneath the city's overhead BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) lanes, the path covers the city's five major residential and three business centers.

There are 11 entries on the path, which will connect with 11 bus stations and two subway stations.

"The path makes it easier for me to travel between home and workplace," said Xiamen resident Wei Jianlong. "It saves me from traffics jams and crowded buses."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 20:23:11|Editor: Xiang Bo

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BEIJING, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- A year ago, economic forecasters at home and abroad bet on the sharp depreciation of the renminbi, or the yuan, in 2017 due to a flagging economy and U.S. rate hikes. But the Chinese currency roaring back in past months has proven them wrong.

The yuan's midpoint saw a substantial increase to 6.6770 against the greenback Thursday, the strongest in more than 10 months, following a steady strengthening streak since the beginning of 2017. Onshore and offshore rates were also much firmer.

While curbed capital flight and the weaker U.S. dollar were considered the immediate cause, the country's economic resilience played a fundamental role in propping up the currency.

China posted a forecast-beating GDP increase of 6.9 percent in the second quarter of the year despite expectations of a loss in momentum, flat with that of the January-March period. From buoyant factory activity to robust imports, latest indicators have disappointed doomsayers.

"Once again, the Chinese economy has defied the hand wringing of the nattering nabobs of negativism," Stephen Roach, faculty member at Yale University, wrote in an article on Project Syndicate.

CONSUMPTION POWER

Roach said deeper issues, namely reforms, were overlooked by pessimistic analysts. "The Chinese economy is in the midst of an extraordinary structural transformation - with a manufacturing-led producer model giving way to an increasingly powerful services-led consumer model."

The transition is being briskly pushed forward by China's middle class, a growing group generous in spending and fastidious in quality that will likely dominate the demographic structure in next decades.

Homi Kharas, now with the Brookings Institution, predicted in an OECD working paper that China will add 850 million to its middle class by 2030, which means the group will account for 73 percent of the population. In contrast, Europe will add only 16 million and North America will see a decline of 16 million.

The trend forecast by Kharas will reshape the landscape of both China and the world. "China will have a 9.7-trillion-dollar consumer market by 2030, the largest in the world," according to a lengthy report by Morgan Stanley, which predicted the world's second largest economy will become a high income country at that time.

The predicted picture is yet to come true, but preliminary effects have already been felt. Consumption contributed 63.4 percent of economic expansion in the first half (H1) of the year, outshining old engines of investment and exports.

INNOVATION-INSPIRED MIRACLE

Encouraged by robust domestic demand, Chinese companies, dissatisfied with churning out unprofitable, inferior small wares, are striving to climb up the industrial value chain to master the technology essential for creative, quality products.

The output of high-tech and equipment manufacturing rose 13.1 percent and 11.5 percent in H1, respectively, outpacing the 6.9-percent increase of the broader industry. Emerging sectors including new energy and new materials also picked up speed.

From high-speed trains to shared bicycles and mobile wallets, Chinese innovation is shaking up the global tech world and people's daily lives.

China moved up the list of the world's top 25 innovative economies, rising three notches from 25 to 22, according to a key innovation index jointly released in June by the World Intellectual Property Organization, Cornell University and INSEAD.

The country was top in a number of sub-rankings, including domestic market scale, human resources, patents by origin, high-tech exports, and industrial design by origin.

Despite a slower growth pace, the China miracle is not over but has entered its second phase focusing on consumption, technology and innovation, advanced manufacturing, and services, Michael Zakkour, China vice president at consulting firm Tompkins International, said in an article on Forbes.

RISKS LINGERING

Despite bright prospects, risks are still looming for the economy in transformation.

Roach highlighted piling corporate debts and volatile home markets, and accordingly called for reforms in state firms and proper regulation over the property sectors including ensuring housing demand and restraining speculation.

Analysts also warned of risks from fiscal deficits and trade frictions with the United States.

Fully aware of the challenges, China's policy makers have rolled out a series of measures, reining in credit expansion and curbing overheated home purchases. Debt-ridden zombie companies are being dissolved and home markets are gradually back on track.

"Risks are generally controllable," Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said at the Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2017, or Summer Davos, in the city of Dalian. "We are capable of fending off all kinds of risks and ensuring the economic growth stays in a reasonable range."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 20:28:13|Editor: Xiang Bo

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WELLINGTON, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand Revenue Minister Judith Collins has welcomed a second round of negotiations between China and New Zealand tax officials aimed at updating the current double tax agreement signed between the two countries in 1986.

"The aim is to agree a new treaty, adopting modern treaty language and concepts, including agreed measures to deal with base erosion and profit shifting," Collins said in a statement.

It is "vital to ensure our double tax agreement with China is up to date and follows best practices," Collins said.

Double tax agreements are an important facilitator of trade and investment between countries because they ensure businesses do not get taxed twice, providing greater certainty for both taxpayers and tax administrators about how cross-border investment income will be taxed and reducing compliance costs and lowering tax on some income, Collins said.

China is New Zealand's largest trading partner in goods and second largest overall including trade in services.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 20:53:20|Editor: Xiang Bo

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BEIJING, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- The sequel to the 2007 nature documentary "Earth," jointly produced by China and the UK, will be released in China on Friday.

The new documentary "Earth: One Amazing Day" is the first film to be produced after a Sino-UK coproduction agreement was signed in 2014.

Jointly produced by BBC Earth Films and Shanghai Media Group Pictures, the documentary tracked the sun over the course of a day to discover the daily lives of some of world's most endangered animals including China's giant pandas and white-headed langurs.

It took the crew 142 days to cover 38 species in 22 countries and regions.

The film features a panda cub and its mother eating bamboo in an idyllic forest; a white-headed langur hanging upside down from a tree branch and red-crowned cranes spreading their wings to greet the sunrise.

It not only presents the distinct scenery of China but also explores the Chinese philosophy of harmonious coexistence between man and nature, said Fan Lixin, Chinese director of the film.

The film's Mandarin version is narrated by Chinese film star Jackie Chan.

Stephen McDonogh, one of the film's producers said the recent success of documentaries in China shows that the country has an appetite for this type of natural history film.

"Masters in the Forbidden City" is a three-episode cultural documentary, showing the restoration of cultural relics in the Palace Museum. It has been widely viewed on Chinese video sites since 2016.

The film version grossed four million yuan (about 600,000 U.S. dollars) within the first three days.

Another Chinese documentary, "The Belt and Road," covered major construction and historical sites in over 30 countries and regions and the stories of more than 60 ordinary people living along the Belt and Road region. It has been translated into over ten languages.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 20:53:22|Editor: ying

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ANKARA, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- A group of German lawmakers and NATO officials will visit the German troops stationed in an air base in Turkey's Konya province next month, Turkish Foreign Ministry confirmed on Thursday.

"The visit is being planned on Sept. 8 as a NATO mission with the participation of a senior NATO official," said the statement released by the Foreign Ministry.

"Deliberations on the details of the visit as well as the ensuing steps are underway within NATO," the statement added.

Tensions have risen between Germany and Turkey in recent months, as Germany has withdrawn its aircraft and troops from the Incirlik air base in Turkey's southern Adana province in July, after Ankara refused a visit by German lawmakers there due to political issues.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 20:58:28|Editor: ying

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VIENNA, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- OPEC oil output reaches the highest level in the past seven months, breaking the output ceiling deal agreed last November for the second months, the cartel's monthly report showed on Thursday.

"Total OPEC-14 crude oil production averaged 32.87 mb/d in July, an increase of 173 tb/d over the previous month. Crude oil output increased mostly in Libya, Nigeria, and Saudi Arabia," said the report. This is also the second consecutive month that OPEC member states are pumping more above the output ceiling agreed in last November.

Libya, Nigeria was exempted from the output deal last November, however, the two member states are producing more crude in the past three months, together with Saudi Arabia, the largest oil producer of the cartel, also the de facto leader of OPEC, are together pushing the cartel to reach higher oil production.

Saudi Arabia pumped above the ceiling agreed to last winter, producing 10.07 million barrels a day (mb/d).

OPEC officials met earlier this week in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, to discuss improving compliance of the output cut deal. OPEC is also considering to include Libya, Nigeria into the output cut deal.

The oil price is not recovered as expected while OPEC and some of other oil producers jointly pump less oil historically.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 21:13:36|Editor: ying

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MOGADISHU, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- At least 20 people were killed in fierce fighting between Al-Shabaab fighters and loyalists of the former group's leader Mukhtar Robow in Somalia's southwestern region of Bakool Wednesday, authorities have said.

The fighting which started midday lasted into the evening with reports of casualties emerging from both sides even as the SouthWest state administration said it was readying to extend its support to the former Al-Shabaab leader.

SouthWest state (which encompasses the Bakool region) acting president Mohamed Hassan Fiqi told reporters that fighting had claimed several lives noting the Robow allied fighters managed to repulse the group.

"Forces loyal to Muktar Robow pushed the Al-Shabaab fighters out after several hours of fighting. Many people were killed," Fiqi said on Thursday.

Officials in the area said the fighting resulted in the death of at least 15 Al-Shabaab fighters and five others from Robow's camp.

Separately, South West state spokesperson said the state forces were ready to support the former Al-Shabaab defector.

"Our forces are on standby to offer support to Robow," Nuradin Ga'ma, the presidential spokesman told Xinhua.

Al-Shabaab has severally issued orders to Robow to return but Robow has remained adamant.

There has been buildups of possible Al-Shabaab attacks on Robow and his group. Robow defected from Al-Shabaab where he served as second in command in 2013.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 21:13:38|Editor: ying

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PARIS, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe confirmed late Wednesday that the six soldiers wounded in a morning car attack in northern Paris suburb of Levallois-Perret are out of danger.

He was quoted by local newspaper Le Parisien as saying that the health conditions of the soldiers were not to be worried about.

A 37-year-old Algerian man rammed a car into a group of soldiers in Levallois-Perret (Hauts-de-Seine) at around 8:00 a.m. local time (0600 GMT), injuring six of them.

After being shot and arrested by police in an immediate manhunt on the A16 motorway between Boulogne-sur-Mer and Calais, the BMW driver was sent to hospital with five bullet injuries.

He was placed in police custody after detention. The interrogation was suspended due to his health condition.

An investigation has been opened looking into an attempted murder in connection with terrorism. The motive of the suspect remains unclear.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 21:18:41|Editor: ying

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by Christine Lagat

NAIROBI, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- The EU observer mission in Kenya on Thursday hailed the electoral process in Kenya saying it reaffirmed the country's commitment to strengthen democratic institutions and the rule of law.

Chief Observer of European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) in Kenya Marietje Schaake gave a positive assessment of the voting exercise that took place on Tuesday and urged calm as the tallying of presidential votes gets under way.

"Kenyans can be proud of their participation in the democratic process and should continue following the rule of law throughout the results process," Schaake remarked adding that any election related disputes should be channeled to the courts.

The EU deployed over 130 observers to different parts of Kenya to monitor the voting exercise, counting and tallying of results.

Schaake noted the voting exercise was conducted in a peaceful and transparent manner in both the ruling party and opposition strongholds save for some technical hitches.

"Voting and counting was assessed as very well conducted and transparent. There were no signs of centralized or localized manipulation," Schaake told reporters during the release of preliminary statement by foreign election observer missions.

She added the electoral agency demonstrated resilience during the voting exercise in the face of overwhelming pressure from major political parties, candidates and their supporters to deliver credible results.

The Head of the EU Parliament Delegation, David McAllister said that a large voter turnout and peaceful casting of the ballot elevated Kenya's democratic credentials.

"Kenyans peacefully exercised their democratic right to vote and it is time for leaders to work together for a cohesive country," McAllister remarked.

He urged candidates who lost in the polls to concede defeat and use legal means in case of electoral malpractices.

The international community has faith in Kenya's independent institutions to conduct free, fair and credible polls despite skepticism from a section of the country's political class.

Former U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry who led the Carter Centre Election Observer Mission in Kenya said that a solid legal framework and resilience of independent bodies like the judiciary are key to facilitate a smooth political transition in the country in this election cycle.

"The people of Kenya conducted peaceful elections that embody their dreams and hopes. Minor hitches did not affect the overall integrity of the process," Kerry said.

He added that the analysis conducted by 400 observers deployed by the Carter Centre pointed at a flawless voting exercise in many parts of the country.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 21:23:45|Editor: ying

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KUALA LUMPUR, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Malaysian police rounded up some 290 foreigners in its latest anti-terror raids ahead of the Southeast Asian Games, but none of them has terrorism links, local media reported Thursday.

The foreigners, mainly from Yemen, Pakistan, Syria, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Palestine and Sudan including students, were detained in the country's digital hub of Cyberjaya during the operations on Wednesday night and early Thursday, state news agency Bernama reported.

Police's counter-terrorism head Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay said those arrested undergone screening process at Sepang police headquarters, but none of them were found to have links to terrorist activities.

However, 57 were detained for not having valid travel documents or overstaying in Malaysia.

Malaysia authorities have stepped up security efforts ahead of the 29th Southeast Asian Games to be held in the country later this month.

More than 400 people were rounded up over the weekend in earlier counter-terrorism operations with no terrorist suspect founded.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 21:23:52|Editor: ying

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by Denis Elamu

JUBA, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- The German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel on Thursday urged President Salva Kiir to involve the armed opposition in the ongoing national dialogue process launched last year to help end more than four years of violence.

Sigmar told journalists in Juba after he held talks with South Sudanese leaders that the two warring sides need to dialogue rather than pursue endless military solution to the violence.

"Still there is no alternative to this peace process because neither of the two sides in this conflict can win the conflict militarily. And therefore we support the vision of the President to launch the national dialogue," he revealed.

Sigmar added that the international community is still supporting the youngest nation with humanitarian support to overcome the humanitarian suffering that has left about 6 million people in dire need of food assistance.

"It's a good thing that the international community and also the neighboring countries like Uganda support the peace process. However, the peace process can only be successful when it comes from South Sudan itself," Sigmar disclosed.

"Yesterday (Wednesday) in Uganda, we had opportunity to see how many refugees come to Uganda from South Sudan because they do not see any future prospect for the security of their families in South Sudan," he added.

Sigmar also commended President Kiir's pardoning of political prisoners as progress toward political reconciliation.

German has so far contributed humanitarian assistance to the war-torn country totaling about 90 million Euros since outbreak of conflict in December 2013.

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 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| 2017-08-10 21:28:57|Editor: Xiang Bo

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BEIJING, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- The 12th National People's Congress (NPC)and its standing committee have formulated 20 laws and passed 39 decisions to revise 100 laws as of the end of June, data from the NPC showed.

These are part of the achievements China has made to comprehensively advance the rule of law.

In October 2014, the Communist Party of China (CPC) vowed to accelerate the building of a socialist country with rule of law at the Fourth Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee, laying a solid foundation for the country's lasting stability and peace.

Since then, China has entered a "fast track" in building a country with rule of law, with new laws stipulated or revised to improve the legal system with Chinese characteristics.

NEW LAWS

In 2014, the central leadership decided to compile the General Provisions of the Civil Law -- a crucial first step in developing the civil code.

The law, a key move in building China into a moderately prosperous society by 2020, aims to regulate civil activities and modernize state governance. General Provisions were adopted at the fifth annual session of the 12th NPC early this year and will be enacted on Oct. 1.

In November 2016, the NPC Standing Committee issued the Interpretation of the Basic Law of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) in response to disagreements on the provisions of the Basic Law in Hong Kong, which had affected the implementation of the Basic Law and the "one country, two systems" principle.

The interpretation underscores the authority of the Basic Law and the rule of law in Hong Kong.

Moreover, the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Law was revised in 2015, adding a new chapter on dealing with smoggy days and stipulating the establishment of a monitoring and early warning system for heavily polluted days.

The system of reeducation through labor was abolished in 2013, showing improvements and progress in judicial protection of human rights.

JUDICIAL JUSTICE

As wrongful convictions are a disgrace to justice, China's judicial authorities have pledged to learn from past lessons and prevent such cases.

During the term of the 18th CPC Central Committee, judicial organs have redressed 34 major wrong or mishandled cases, highlighting the case of Nie Shubin.

Nie was executed in 1995 for raping and murdering a woman on the outskirts of Shijiazhuang City in north China. The second circuit court under the Supreme People's Court revoked his previous verdict last year, ruling that the conviction had been based on insufficient evidence and unclear facts.

To improve judicial justice and credibility, measures for letting judges assume lifelong responsibility for cases they handle and holding them accountable for any miscarriage of justice were outlined at the Fourth Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee.

These measures require officials to shoulder more responsibility, preventing them from making wrong judgements.

STRICT PARTY GOVERNANCE

In the past five years, the CPC Central Committee has formulated or revised nearly 80 Party regulations, accounting for more than 40 percent of existing regulations.

The key to strict Party governance relies on a "key few" officials, referring to leading officials at the central, provincial and local levels.

The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the CPC has probed officials, from low-level "flies" to high-ranking "tigers," since the current leadership took office in late 2012 and announced a high-profile anti-graft crackdown.

Among the tigers felled in the campaign were Zhou Yongkang, a former member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee; Bo Xilai, former Party chief of Chongqing Municipality; Xu Caihou and Guo Boxiong, both former top generals and vice chairmen of the Central Military Commission; and Ling Jihua and Su Rong, former vice chairmen of China's top political advisory body.

The handling of these cases demonstrates that all people are equal before Party regulations, and the enforcement of such rules allows no privilege or exception.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 21:39:08|Editor: Mengjie

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Aerial photo taken on Aug. 3, 2017 shows the night scene of Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province. Hundreds of streets and alleys here present the charm of southern Fujian. According to China's Belt and Road Initiative blueprint, Xiamen, the beautiful seaside city, is set to become the strategic pivot city of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, and it will hold the ninth BRICS Summit in September. (Xinhua/Song Weiwei)

SHANGHAI, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- The upcoming BRICS summit in Xiamen will help the five member countries build a stronger economic partnership and a brighter future, said BRICS New Development Bank (NDB) President K.V. Kamath.

It has been over a decade since Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa came together to form BRICS. The NDB itself is an "outcome of the economic togetherness" of the emerging economies group, Kamath said during an exclusive interview with Xinhua on Wednesday.

At the ninth BRICS summit to be held in the Chinese city of Xiamen in early September, Kamath will present the bank's progress over the last two years as well as the direction it is heading in the coming two to three years.

Founded by BRICS member states in 2014, the NDB opened in Shanghai in July 2015 and became fully operational in early 2016.

The first NDB-funded loan, a solar power project in Shanghai, is expected to start operation in August.

The bank is expected to approve five new projects with a total value of 1.5 billion U.S. dollars in September, with two of them in China, said Kamath.

Altogether, the bank has 23 projects at various stages of preparation for 2017-2018, with a total lending amount of 6 billion dollars. The bank granted loans to seven projects in 2016.

According to its general strategy for 2017-2021, the bank will put about two-thirds of its loans into sustainable infrastructure development.

"The growth of emerging countries, particularly the growth that we have seen in China, has clearly underlined the importance for growth to be sustainable," Kamath told Xinhua.

"I would say that we have learned from China's experience to push sustainability as a core of the lending process," he added.

The NDB is looking into more local currency financing opportunities in member countries.

After the bank's first green bond issuing in China was welcomed by the market last year, Kamath said the bank is planning another bond issuing between 3 to 5 billion yuan (450 to 750 million U.S. dollars) in the second half of this year.

Meanwhile, it plans to issue bonds in local currencies in other member countries. "India will likely be one of the first, and our dialogue with bankers in Russia and other member countries indicate that there is good scope to raise local currency bonds in these countries," said Kamath.

He also told Xinhua that the bank will open its first regional office in Johannesburg of South Africa on Aug. 17.

This regional office will act as a "face to Africa," as it will initially focus on preparing projects in the pipeline, Kamath said.

The bank intends to open other regional offices, but the timing of this is unclear, said Kamath.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 21:44:09|Editor: Xiang Bo

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DHAKA, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese proficiency competition for secondary school students was held here Thursday with a view to select two youngsters to represent Bangladesh at a summer camp to be held in China in October.

Scores of students applied to attend the competition from a number of institutions, including Dhaka University Confucius Institute, Shanto-Mariam Confucius Class Room and Bangladesh International Tutorial.

Ten of the applicants were selected through initial processes to join the final competition. All of them were awarded prizes and certificates.

The Chinese embassy here hosted the contest, which was organized by Dhaka University Confucius Institute.

The contestants competed in several segments featuring free speeches and artistic performances.

Organizers say the contest, aimed at promoting Chinese culture and creating a communication platform, selected two youngsters to represent Bangladesh at the Chinese Language and Culture Summer Camp to be held in Beijing next month.

Samin Saiyara Azim, a student of Dhaka's leading English Medium school Bangladesh International Tutorial, won the first place in the contest.

The class eight student said she was very happy as she won the first prize and got the opportunity to visit beautiful China.

"I am a class eight student of Bangladesh International Tutorial. I am so happy. It's a dream coming true. I was really keen to see beautiful China. I am so happy as I am going to China."

Speaking at the contest program, Sun Yan, cultural counsellor of the Chinese embassy in Bangladesh, said Chinese language and culture summer camp is a super platform for all Chinese learners in the world.

"It's like an Olympic game for athletes. You (students) can show your achievements on this platform such as language skills, your knowledge about China and your age."

Chinese Language and Culture Summer Camp is one of many exciting opportunities for students from institutions worldwide to improve their knowledge and skills.

The annual camp is held in China from June to August every year.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 22:09:23|Editor: ZD

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CAIRO, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian police have killed three terrorists involved in attacks against churches and Christians in the country, Egypt's interior ministry announced on Thursday.

In a statement, the ministry said the terrorists, who were hiding in a mountainous area in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Qena, exchanged fire with police forces before getting killed.

Police had spotted the terrorists after interrogating a member of the terrorist cell who had been arrested earlier this month after attacking a police checkpoint in Upper Egypt's Luxor province.

A police officer was also killed in the shootout, according to the statement.

The cell was behind two major attacks against churches in the country and a bus shooting which killed dozens of Christians in May, the ministry said.

The terrorists also carried out a number of attacks against police checkpoints across the country.

Egypt has been fighting a wave of anti-security attacks following the ouster of the Islamist leader Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

Those attacks, which mainly took place in Sinai, have killed hundreds of soldiers and policemen as well as Coptic Christians.

A local affiliate of the Islamic State group in North Sinai province has claimed responsibility for most of the attacks.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 22:29:37|Editor: ZD

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LANZHOU, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- He Liping, 52, has been working as a Great Wall watchman for five years in Yumen City in northwest China's Gansu Province.

Every two weeks, he rides his motorcycle around the Great Wall relics, more than 20 kilometers from his home in Huahai Town in Yumen.

His job is to take pictures to record damage caused by nature and humans and report it to local cultural relics preservation department.

"The road from my home to the wall is bumpy and it often takes hours to go and come back. It is quite a hard job," said He. "But I am proud that I can do a little to protect our Great Wall."

The Great Wall in Yumen, stretching 110 kilometers, is a section of the Great Wall from the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.- 220 A.D.) which was built to prevent raids and invasions by nomadic groups.

Yumen City is at the west of the Hexi Corridor, a major part of the ancient Silk Road. The Great Wall in the city also helped protect trade caravans and goods transported along the ancient trade route.

The wall is made of stone, brick, packed earth, wood and other materials and is vulnerable to natural and human damage.

"The wall had no fences several years ago. Many local people and visitors did not know it is a historical site and caused a lot of damage," said Wang Pu, curator of the Yumen Museum.

After the wall was listed under national protection, Yumen launched an investigation to get information on damage to the wall and allocated about 1.3 million yuan (195,000 U.S. dollars) to repair it.

In 2012, Yumen's cultural relics preservation department hired 68 local villagers to join in preservation of the fortification.

"The Great Wall relics are scattered in remote towns and deserts in Yumen. It is necessary to mobilize local villagers to join in the protection," said Zhang Jianjun, director of the Yumen Cultural Relics Preservation Administration.

Yumen only pays the villagers 500 yuan each year due to a lack of government funds.

"The salary cannot even cover their transportation fees. The villagers do this job just because of their love and responsibility for preservation," said Zhang.

"Most of them, who are in their 40s, will quit if their children who work in big cities ask them to leave their hometowns to help take care of grandchildren," said Zhang. "They might stay to do this job if we give them a higher salary."

Because of the lack of government financial support, Yumen just built some fences for the historical site, but most of the relics remain exposed to nature and humans.

In China, protection of the Great Wall still has a long way to go.

The Great Wall, which is listed as a World Heritage Site, measures more than 21,000 kilometers in its entirety, stretching across 15 provincial regions in China.

"There are still many factors and difficulties restricting protection, and protection efforts remain unsatisfactory," according to a report on the protection on the Great Wall released by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage in 2016.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 22:29:39|Editor: ZD

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BEIJING, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- China on Thursday urged the United States to make a fair ruling on an anti-subsidy dispute about Chinese aluminum foil products.

The U.S. Department of Commerce made a preliminary decision on Monday local time to slap hefty anti-dumping duties on Chinese exporters and producers of aluminum foil.

There are no grounds to accuse China's downstream aluminum companies of benefiting from subsidies, and it is unreasonable to label Chinese raw aluminum and steam coal producers and commercial banks as public institutions, said Wang Hejun, head of the Ministry of Commerce trade remedy and investigation bureau.

The U.S. Department of Commerce launched anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations into imports of aluminum foil from China in March in response to a request from the U.S. Aluminum Association Trade Enforcement Working Group.

China is highly concerned that recent U.S. investigations into Chinese aluminum products might have a major impact on aluminum foil trade and will offer relief to the U.S. aluminum industry, Wang said.

China urges the United States to act prudently to avoid damaging economic relations between the two countries, Wang said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 22:29:40|Editor: ZD

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THE HAGUE, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Two persons have been arrested in the Netherlands over the ongoing contaminated eggs scandal, the Dutch public prosecutor stated on Thursday.

The two suspects are directors of the Dutch company Chickfriend from the village of Barneveld, which is suspected of having delivered illegal treatment against blood lice by using the harmful pesticide Fipronil to poultry holders. Their homes in Barneveld and Zaltbommel have been searched.

The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) leads the investigation on the contaminated eggs, while the public prosecutor leads the criminal investigation, which started in mid-July this year already.

In total the Intelligence and Investigation Services of the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA-IOD) searched on eight different Dutch locations. It is a joint action by the Dutch and Belgian authorities. Also in Belgium, several locations were searched.

Fipronil is a pesticide considered as slightly poisonous by the World Health Organization (WHO). It is widely used to fight lice. For animals destined for the food chain, it is forbidden because it may damage the human liver, thyroid and kidney.

The finding of Fipronil in Dutch eggs led to a national egg crisis, with millions of eggs being taken out of the supermarkets since the start of August, around 180 poultry companies being closed and millions of chickens being killed. The crisis also crossed the border into Belgium and Germany, with millions of eggs removed from the shop shelves as well.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 22:44:45|Editor: Yamei

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi (L) and his Iraqi counterpart Ibrahim al-Jaafari attend a joint press conference in Baghdad, capital of Iraq, on Aug. 10, 2017. Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi on Thursday arrived in Baghdad and held talks with top Iraqi leaders over bilateral relations and cooperation. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood)

BAGHDAD, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Jordanian Minister of Foreign Affair, Ayman Safadi, on Thursday arrived in the Iraqi capital Baghdad and held talks with top Iraqi leaders over bilateral relations and cooperation.

Safadi and his Iraqi counterpart Ibrahim al-Jaafari held a meeting in Jaafari's office, where they discussed promotion of bilateral ties and focused on security coordination to confront terrorism of Islamic State (IS) group in the region, as well as the efforts to accelerate opening border crossing point of Trebil and international road between Baghdad and Amman.

"We have talked about coordination in various fields and the need to control the security on the border line. We believe that Jordan will play important role in rebuilding Iraq just like what it did in supporting Iraq during its war on terrorism," Jaafari said at a joint press conference with Safadi.

As for the reopening of Baghdad-Amman international road and Trebil border crossing point, Safadi said "we will not allow for a group of terrorists to block the road and crossing point between the two brotherly countries and our stand with Iraq against terrorism is a stand with stability of the entire region."

"Iraq is at the forefront of countries that have confronted terrorism, and Iraq's victory over terrorism is a victory for all, and the war on terror is everyone's war," Safadi said.

Earlier, a brief statement by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's office said that Abadi met with Safadi and accompanying delegation, and the two sides discussed "strengthening bilateral relations in the political, security, intelligence, economic, and war on terror, as well as means to unify efforts to eliminate Daesh (IS group) in the whole region."

The two sides also discussed the required steps to expedite the opening of Trebil border crossing with Jordan, according to the statement.

Safadi also met, during his visit to Baghdad, with the Iraqi President Fuad Masoum and the parliament Speaker Salim al-Jubouri.

Iraq and Jordan are trying to revive the trade exchange between the two countries through Trebil border crossing, which was unsecured and closed by Iraq more than once since 2014, after the extremist IS militants took control of most of Iraq's western province of Anbar.

However, despite that the Iraqi forces freed large areas of Anbar province, the international road that passes the desert area near the town of Rutba, some 370 km west of Baghdad, is still unsafe due to the sporadic attacks by IS militants.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 23:04:54|Editor: Zhou Xin

Photo taken on Aug. 10, 2017 shows a helicopter crash site in in the Douira neighborhood of Algiers, Algeria. Four people died on Thursday in a helicopter crash in the Douira neighborhood of Algiers. The helicopter, which belongs to the Tassili Airlines Company, was rented to the National Agency for Studies and Follow-up on Railways Investment, Tassili Airlines spokesman Karim Bahard was quoted by the APS news agency as saying. (Xinhua)

ALGIERS, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Four people died on Thursday in a helicopter crash in the Douira neighborhood of Algiers.

The helicopter, which belongs to the Tassili Airlines Company, was rented to the National Agency for Studies and Follow-up on Railways Investment, Tassili Airlines spokesman Karim Bahard was quoted by the APS news agency as saying.

The victims include the pilot and his assistant, in addition to two air photographers who were conducting a cartography of the new railway line linking Algiers downtown to the western suburb of Zeralda, the report said.

In the past three years, the North African nation has witnessed a number of planes crashes, mostly of military aircraft.

The last accident took place in mid June, when a military helicopter crashed in the province of Naama, 700 km southwest of Algiers, leaving one soldier dead.

The most fatal plane crash was reported in Feb. 2014, when a C-130 Hercules aircraft of the Algerian Air Force crashed in Oum El Bouaghi province, 400 km east of Algiers, killing 77 soldiers.

In April 2015, a military helicopter crashed in the southern province of Illizi, killing two soldiers. In Nov. 2014, an Algerian Air Force MIG-25 'Foxbat' fighter crashed, but the pilot managed to eject himself out of the plane and survived.
Photo taken on Aug. 9, 2017 shows eggs sold in a Belgian market, in Brussels, Belgium. (Xinhua/Ye Pingfan)

THE HAGUE, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Two persons have been arrested in the Netherlands over the ongoing contaminated eggs scandal, the Dutch public prosecutor stated on Thursday.

The two suspects are directors of the Dutch company Chickfriend from the village of Barneveld, which is suspected of having delivered illegal treatment against blood lice by using the harmful pesticide Fipronil to poultry holders. Their homes in Barneveld and Zaltbommel have been searched.

The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) leads the investigation on the contaminated eggs, while the public prosecutor leads the criminal investigation, which started in mid-July this year already.

In total, the Intelligence and Investigation Services of the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA-IOD) searched on eight different Dutch locations. It is a joint action by the Dutch and Belgian authorities. Also in Belgium, several locations were searched.

Fipronil is a pesticide considered as slightly poisonous by the World Health Organization (WHO). It is widely used to fight lice. For animals destined for the food chain, it is forbidden because it may damage the human liver, thyroid and kidney.

The finding of Fipronil in Dutch eggs led to a national egg crisis, with millions of eggs being taken out of the supermarkets since the start of August, around 180 poultry companies being closed and millions of chickens being killed.

The crisis also crossed the border into Belgium and Germany, with millions of eggs removed from the shop shelves as well.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 23:20:08|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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RIYADH, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Saudi Arabia and Iraq have affirmed their full commitment to reducing oil production to ensure oil market stability, local media reported Thursday.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman discussed enhancing bilateral ties between the kingdom and Iraq during a meeting with visiting Iraqi Oil Minister Jabbar al-Allaib on Wednesday evening in Jeddah, the Al Arabiya TV reported.

The crown prince said the kingdom is keen to strengthen ties with Iraq in all fields, because it will serve the best interest of the people of both countries.

During the meeting, the two sides discussed joint opportunities in the economic field, especially the cooperation in energy field.

Specifically, they talked about the close cooperation between the two countries in the oil field, while stressing their full commitment to the agreement of reducing oil production until the markets reach the target balance.

They also discussed the opening of land routes, launching of direct flights and encouraging trade and investment in Iraq by the Saudi private sector.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 23:20:10|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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LUSAKA, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Zambian government on Thursday said it will foster economic diplomacy with the United States so that the southern African nation can receive the best from President Donald Trump's administration.

The Zambian embassy in the United States said the country has benefited a lot from the U.S. government which has remained the country's biggest bilateral partner through programs in education and health.

In a statement, the embassy noted that the U.S. government has been in the forefront of helping Zambia deal with serious challenges such as HIV/AIDS through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), a U.S. government initiative to address the global HIV/AIDS epidemic and help save the lives of those suffering from the disease, primarily in Africa.

The statement added that the Jewish community in the United States has approached the embassy seeking to invest in Zambia following President Edgar Lungu's visit to Israel early this year.
Photo taken on Aug. 9, 2017 shows eggs sold in a Belgian market, in Brussels, Belgium.(Xinhua/Ye Pingfan)

BRUSSELS, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Several European countries are affected by fipronil-contaminated eggs, causing millions of eggs to be removed from shelves in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.

So far, contaminated eggs from the Netherlands have been found in Belgium, Germany, France and Britain.

France's agriculture ministry confirmed that 13 batches of Dutch eggs contaminated with the insecticide fipronil were delivered to France between July 11 and July 26. Investigations are being carried out to assess where the concerned products have ended up.

Britain's Food Standards Agency said in a statement released on Thursday that nearly 700,000 eggs from Dutch farms affected by the insecticide fipronil may have been distributed to Britain.

It's a significant increase compared with the agency's earlier estimate of 21,000. But considering the figure only represents 0.007 percent of the eggs consumed in the UK every year, the agency said it is "very unlikely" that there is any risk to public health from consuming these foods.

And investigations to date indicated that any affected products are no longer on the British shelves.

Anna-Kaisa Itkonen, a spokeswoman of European Commission, notified Sweden and Switzerland to take measures for the contaminated eggs that may have entered their markets.

Fipronil is a pesticide effective on a large number of pests. It is considered slightly poisonous by the World Health Organization (WHO) and is hence forbidden on animals destined for the food chain to prevent damage to the human liver, thyroid and kidney.

According to Itkonen, Belgian authorities informed the Commission of their findings on July 20, while the authorities of Netherlands and Germany informed on July 26 and 31 respectively.

In the Netherlands, a total of 147 poultry companies remain closed due to the production of eggs containing the pesticide fipronil, stated the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority. Investigations showed that the poultry holders used a treatment against blood lice by firm Chickfriend.

Mina Andreeva, a spokeswoman of European Commission, said member states have a legal obligation to notify the commission's rapid alert system immediately if they have information of threat to human health.

In the European Union, the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) was created in 1979 and enables information to be shared between its members (EU-28 national food safety authorities, Commission, EFSA, ESA, Norway, Liechtenstein, Iceland and Switzerland).

Initial analysis in Belgium revealed a level of 0.076 mg/kg of fipronil, which was well below the European safety threshold of 0.72 mg/kg. However, a second analysis revealed a rate of 0.92 mg/kg, which exceeds this European safety threshold.

With the development of the scandal, legal procedures have started in some of the countries affected.

The Dutch public prosecutor said on Thursday that two people have been arrested in the country for involvement into the contamination.

In total the Intelligence and Investigation Services of the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA-IOD) searched on eight different Dutch locations. It is a joint action by the Dutch and Belgian authorities.

The Belgian Federal Police on Thursday conducted eight raids in Belgium in connection with the investigation into the contamination of eggs, said the Antwerp public prosecutor's office.

A spokesman of Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel confirmed Thursday that Belgium will set up a task force to examine all possible measures to support the poultry sector following the insecticide-contaminated egg scandal.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 23:50:28|Editor: huaxia

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CAIRO, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- An Egyptian military court sentenced on Thursday 29 loyalists of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi from 10 to 15 years in prison over vandalism and violence charges, Xinhua's correspondent in Upper Egypt reported.

Assiut Military Court handed another four convicts from one to five years in jail while 22 defendants were acquitted of the charges of storming churches, schools and police stations and burning a police armored vehicle in Upper Egypt's province of Minya.

The sentences involved 55 defendants in three cases dating back to August 2013 when Morsi's supporters attacked churches and government premises following a deadly security dispersal of pro-Morsi sit-ins that left about 1,000 dead and thousands more arrested.

Earlier in late July, a criminal court sentenced 133 Brotherhood loyalists from 10 to 15 years in prison over similar charges.

Most Brotherhood leaders, members and supporters are currently in custody and many of them received appealable death sentences and life imprisonments over various charges varying from inciting violence and murder to espionage and jailbreak.

Morsi himself is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence over inciting clashes between his supporters and opponents outside a presidential palace in late 2012 that left 10 people dead.

Since Morsi's removal, Egypt has been facing a rising wave of terrorism that left hundreds of policemen and soldiers dead, mostly claimed by a Sinai-based militant group loyal to the Islamic State (IS) regional terrorist group. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-10 23:55:29|Editor: Mengjie

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Yu Zhengsheng, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, visits Baotou Research Institute of Rare Earths in Baotou, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Aug. 10, 2017. A central delegation headed by Yu Zhengsheng spread across Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Thursday to visit residents in the northern border region, which is marking its 70th anniversary. Heading one group of the delegation, Yu visited Baotou City. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling)

HOHHOT, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- A central delegation headed by China's top political advisor Yu Zhengsheng spread across Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Thursday to visit residents in the northern border region, which is marking its 70th anniversary.

Heading one group of the delegation, Yu, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, visited Baotou City.

Attending a symposium there, Yu affirmed the progress made in the city and called on people to create a more brilliant future.

Efforts should be made to deepen supply-side structural reform, improve people's wellbeing, prioritize ecology in development, handle ethnic affairs well, and advance comprehensive and strict governance within the Communist Party of China (CPC), he said.

Yu also visited a major steel company, a rare earth research institute and the Inner Mongolia First Machinery Group Co. Ltd.

Three other central delegation groups, headed respectively by Vice Premier Liu Yandong; Sun Chunlan, head of the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee; and Zhang Ping, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, visited other parts of Inner Mongolia on Thursday, including Hulun Buir, Alxa League and Ordos.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, the country's first ethnic autonomous region established at the provincial level under the leadership of the CPC.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-11 00:05:33|Editor: huaxia

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KHARTOUM, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Sudan and Jordan on Thursday signed 10 cooperation agreements in various fields.

The agreements were reached on Thursday at the 7th session of the Joint High Sudanese-Jordanian Committee in Khartoum.

The meeting was chaired by Sudan's First Vice-President and National Prime Minister Bakri Hassan Saleh and the Jordanian Prime Minister Hani Al-Mulki.

Speaking at a joint press conference following the meeting, Saleh vowed to find the proper mechanisms to implement the signed agreements between the two countries.

"The economies of our two countries enjoy preferential characteristics reflecting the need of each country for the other to complete them. Despite these potentialities, the size of cooperation between Sudan and Jordan remains below the ambitions of the two peoples," said Saleh at the press conference.

Al-Mulki, for his part, reiterated his country's commitment to implementing the signed agreements by the two sides.

"At this time we need to make use of the relative privileges of the economies of our two countries so that there will be a clear integration and implementation of previous agreements," said Al-Mulki.

Meanwhile, Jordan's Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply, Yarub Qudah, said the size of trade exchange between his country and Sudan ranges between 80 and 120 million U.S. dollars annually.

He described the size of trade exchange between the two sides as "modest," calling for enhancing partnership to increase the trade volume.

Sudan's Minister of Industry Musa Karama, for his part, said that there are 228 Jordanian investment projects in Sudan, with 166 of them in the industrial sector, 55 in the service sector and 17 in the agricultural sector. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-11 00:15:39|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ANKARA, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Turkey will limit cross-border movement at the Bab al-Hawa crossing with Syria because the Syria side is controlled by a "terrorist group," Turkish Customs Minister Bulent Tufenkci said on Thursday.

The Bab al-Hawa, also called Cilvegozu crossing, is located between Turkey's Hatay province and Syria's Idlib province.

Militants under al-Nusra recently took control of the border area in Syria side from Ahrar al-Sham, which cooperates with the Free Syrian Army (FSA), a group supported by Turkey, according to Hurriyet Daily News, citing security sources.

The minister said that restrictions will continue until the militants' control over the area ends. The restriction will be imposed on all exports of all goods, except humanitarian aid and food.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-11 00:15:41|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BERLIN, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- The German state of Rhineland-Palatinate has finalized the sale of Frankfurt-Hahn airport to the Chinese conglomerate HNA, HNA confirmed on Thursday.

HNA Group has agreed to pay 15.1 million euros (17.7 million U.S. dollars) for an 82.5-percent share of the airport.

The acquisition defies fears that recently passed stricter regulation on inbound investment in Germany and outbound investment in China would dent Chinese international mergers and acquisition activity.

In April, the regional assembly of Rhineland-Palatinate had voted in favor of the plans to sell the public asset. The state's interior minister Roger Lewentz (SPD) expressed his conviction that a "good partner" had been found in HNA at the time.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-11 00:25:44|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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KUWAIT, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) will hold its first Summit on Science and Technology in Kazakhstan in September, local media reported Thursday.

The summit will be held on 7-11 September in Astana, with the participation of OIC member states' leaders, the Kuwaiti official news agency KUNA reported.

The summit, whose main purpose is to develop the economic structure formed on the scientific and technological industry, will be the "biggest and most prominent" gathering for discussing scientific issues, the report quoted an OIC statement as saying.

Competition by Islamic countries on science and technology is much lower as compared to developed countries, it added.

OIC Assistant Secretary General for Science and Technology Muhammad Naeem Khan said the organization will create a strategy for science and technology for the coming 10 years.

The strategy will prioritize what can be accomplished in the field, and the member states will support the policies in their countries' development strategies.

Khan added that the summit is very important, as it will be the first OIC summit to be held in a central Asian country.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-11 00:35:52|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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NAIROBI, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan opposition leaders on Thursday demanded the declaration of final presidential election results, saying their candidate Raila Odinga, emerged the victor in Tuesday's elections against incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta.

The opposition National Super Alliance (NASA) campaign leader Musalia Mudavadi said results contained in the internal servers of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) showed Odinga won the elections with 8.04 million votes against Kenyatta's 7.75 million votes.

"We demand the IEBC declares Odinga as the duly elected president. We are releasing the undoctored results as contained in the IEBC servers," Mudavadi told journalists in Nairobi.

He said a confidential source at the electoral body gave them the results amid concerns that such contradictions will trigger violence but the NASA principal said this is not their intention.

The IEBC results on display on its screenshot showed Kenyatta leading the race with 8.05 million votes, which is about 54 percent of the vote against Odinga's 6.6 million votes, which is 44 percent of the vote.

Mudavadi, who addressed a news conference with the NASA candidate Raila Odinga, said the coalition leadership met the IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati and presented a protest letter, demanding that the commission declares Odinga the President-elect alongside his running mate Kalonzo Musyoka.

They thus demanded that the electoral body stops forthwith the display of unverified and unauthenticated results and allow political parties to download all the Forms 34A and Forms 34B to enable them to verify them expeditiously.

"It is practically impossible for political parties to verify all the 41,000 documents with only two terminals that the IEBC is providing," reads the letter to the IEBC chair.

"We are not doing IEBC's job but the numbers posted by IEBC have anomalies. At this point we have stated our position. We have indicated the facts before us. We doubt the verification process at Bomas."

Earlier, the opposition coalition said the commission's servers were hacked and the results altered to show Kenyatta winning the vote.

Mudavadi said the coalition had credible information the hacking of the IEBC servers was meant to declare pre-determined outcomes. The IEBC promised to investigate the alleged hacking of its servers.

However, the IEBC responded late on Wednesday there was no evidence of an attack on its servers.

According to the coalition, the results which show Odinga's victory were based on computer prints from the IEBC internal servers.

The IEBC said it was preparing to declare the final results on Friday after verifying the results and the forms from the election in all the 290 constituencies.

Chebukati said they are in the final stretch of the tallying process and hoped to conclude the 290 constituencies which will be followed by declaration of the winner.

"We have called all the returning officers to ensure all forms 34A and 34B are here latest 12 p.m. tomorrow (Friday). We will validate the forms and make the announcement soon thereafter," Chebukati told journalists in Nairobi.

He said so far 1,032 polling stations out of the 40,883 are yet to submit the results.

Chebukati said out of the 290 forms 34B, the commission has so far received 117 and confirmation and validation are currently in progress.

"The commission has done its best to ensure a credible election. We hope to announce the presidential results within the shortest time possible," he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-11 00:40:53|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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By Chris Mgidu and David Musyoka

NAIROBI, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's government on Thursday appealed to citizens to remain calm following peaceful conclusion to Kenya's general elections which are tightly contested amid anxiety across the East African nation.

Acting Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i said the government is committed to safeguarding lives and property, maintaining that the country remains calm after the hotly contested presidential elections as they wait for the ballots to be counted.

"Enough security officers have been deployed throughout the country. More security officers are on standby in the event they are required in any part of the country," Matiang'i said in a statement issued in Nairobi.

He said all reported and observed electoral malpractice suspects have been arrested and taken to court.

"Our surveillance and secure operations along the borders remained heightened which deterred any attempts by terrorist groups to disrupt voting," he said.

Matiang'i confirmed that four terror suspects have since been arrested and arraigned in court during the electioneering period as security officers enhanced patrols across the borders.

"We urge Kenyans to be alert and reported any suspicious criminal activities or any grouping of criminals to alert the police through emergency lines. The purpose of these criminals is to create an environment of confusion in order to perpetrate criminal acts against you or your neighbour," he said.

Millions of Kenyans went to the polling stations on Tuesday in the third presidential elections since the 2007 elections when post-election chaos led to death of about 1,200 people, injuring 3,500 and forcibly displacing up to 650,000 others.

The government's statement comes as Kenyans who massively turned out for the general elections are anxiously awaiting final results of a hotly contested election whose final presidential results may be announced on Friday.

Most businesses remain closed with several public transport operators in various parts of the East African nation for the third day on Thursday opting to keep their vehicles off the road.

Millions of Kenyans have chosen to stay indoors to monitor results on television sets. Others have suspended all their normal activities until the final tally of the presidential results are announced.

Several foreign observer groups have urged those who cast their vote, as well as candidates, political leaders and their supporters, to maintain the same calm and patience, to allow the electoral commission to complete its tallying of the votes, and to refrain from any pronouncements that could undermine its authority or cause tension.

Matiang'i said the government has requested private security firms, international agencies or any other entity issuing security alerts to do so in consultation with the police.

Kenya's constitution, which was enacted in 2010, provides for the election of a president, governor, senator, members of Parliament, women's representative and ward representative, all in one day.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-11 00:40:55|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ANKARA, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- New Russian Ambassador to Turkey Alexei Yerkhov has said that the relations between Russia and Turkey are "promising," the Anadolu Agency reported Thursday.

Yerkhov told Turkish media representatives earlier the week that it requires a serious effort to bring the relations to "a higher level."

He was appointed to replace Andrey Karlov, who was assassinated at an art exhibition in Ankara on Dec. 19 last year.

Yerkhov said that the political dialogue between Russia and Turkey was growing, citing that phone discussions between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan have "gained significant momentum recently."

The Russian envoy also touted "very tight" coordination between Russia and Turkey on Syria, based on "the context of the Astana Process."

He was referring to the peace talks on Syria held in May in Astana, Kazakhstan, during which a memorandum was signed to create four "De-escalation Zones" in Syria.

The Astana Process, chaired by Russia, Iran and Turkey in parallel to UN-backed talks on Syria in Geneva, aims to find a political solution to the six-year Syria's civil war.

On the economic ties between Russia and Turkey, Yerkhov said "there is still substantial potential in trade between the two countries which has not been discovered."

Turkey aims to increase its trade with Russia up to 100 billion U.S. dollars. The Russia-Turkey economic ties suffered from the temporary diplomatic standoff caused by Turkey's shooting down of a Russian military jet in November 2015.

At that time, Russia retaliated by banning imports of Turkish agricultural products and ending visa-free travel for Turks. But in June, Moscow lifted its ban on Turkish agricultural imports and Turkish companies in construction, engineering, and tourism.

Yerkhov declined to comment on the delivery of Russian S-400 anti-missile systems to Turkey, citing its sensitivity.

Turkey, a NATO member, has irked the United States and other NATO allies with signing a 2.5 billion-dollar deal in July to buy the advanced Russian missile-defense systems.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-11 00:45:56|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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by Tian Dongdong, Liang Linlin

BRUSSELS, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- As Europe enters vine harvest season, grape farmers in Spain, France and Italy may find themselves fluctuating between hopes and fears. Thanks to the frosty in spring and a prolonged heat wave right now, they are surely facing a quantity reduction, but the quality, as believed by some experts, could be good in some area.

For Europe's wine industry, the year of 2017 never rains but it pours. A counterfeit scandal reportedly involving 40 million bottles of wine is now haunting France's century-old bulk-wine merchant Raphael Michel, leaving a new stain on the legacy of European wine-making.

SLIM AND EARLY HARVEST

After a very cold spring and a prolonged drought, Italian farmers group Confagricoltura expected a 15 to 20 percent reduction of wine grape production this year.

Across the Alps, French authorities are forecasting a historic low. Data from the country's ministry of agriculture suggests a fall by 17 percent, 16 percent lower than the five-year average and worse than 1991, a vintage also hit hard by frost.

On the Iberian Peninsula, frost in the spring had destroyed between 40 percent and 60 percent of all wine production in areas with small but high-quality harvests in the north and northeast of Spain. In the Rioja Alta region, losses were estimated at more than 50 percent, local media El Pais reported.

Meanwhile, a searing heat wave has brought forward this year's harvest by an average of 10 days in Italy. That's the earliest start to the grape harvest in a decade, making a poor harvest slimmer according to local media.

"The high temperatures have created a drastic decline in production of about 10 to 15 percent," said Simone Frusca, a spokesman for Italy's agriculture lobby.

Despite the heat wave, many of the country's winemakers still see the glass as half-full. The quantity may not be there, but they say it could be a very good year in terms of quality.

"It is entirely paradoxical ... Everything bad that could have happened, happened and yet we are heading for good if not excellent quality," Reuters quoted vineyard owner and Confagricoltura official Guido Folonari as saying.

For Jose Manuel Perez Ovejas, wine expert with Vina Pedrosa cellars in Spain, there is a silver lining amid slim harvest: the grapes that have survived are set to produce an excellent wine.

COUNTERFEIT SCANDAL DECAYS REPUTATION

The arrest of Guillaume Ryckwaert, chairman of French wine giant Raphael Michel, and his several senior managers on June 27, shocked wine makers in France and Europe at large.

Accused of masterminding a massive fraud for more than three years, the 39-year-old chairman was allegedly sourcing the equivalent of nearly 4 million (Britain's Mirror said 40 million) cases of table wine and reselling it as premium wine from Rhone appellations, including Cotes du Rhone and Chateauneuf-du-Pape, said some French media.

Most details of the investigation remain confidential, but what is known is that agents from the Marseille bureau of the National Customs Judicial Service (SNDJ) noticed a great number of violations when they audited Raphael Michel in early 2016. SNDJ investigators were tipped off when the paperwork filed by the company didn't stack up, setting the investigation in motion, the Wine Spectator website reported.

Calling the lawsuit as one that directly endangers French vignerons, Philippe Pellaton, president of the Syndicate of Vignerons of the Cotes du Rhone et Cotes du Rhone-Villages, told Wine Spectator that they will not allow their vineyards to be defrauded or their appellation to be usurped.

But the damage has already caused, as British drinkers warned as 40 million bottles of expensive French wine could be fake.

"There is every chance some of this wine has come across the Channel... It is simply cheap wine being passed off as expensive wine," Nicholas Corke, of fine wine store Thos Peatling, in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, was quoted by the Mirror as saying.

Though no Rhone winemakers have been implicated in any wrongdoing, damages to their wine's reputation, even the Europe's as a whole, might have already been made outside Europe, as Raphael Michel supplies Australia, Chile and South Africa, among others countries.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-11 01:11:11|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BEIRUT, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Lebanese army has shelled the posts of the Islamic State group (IS) on the outskirts of the eastern border towns of al-Qaa and Ras Baalbek, the Army Orientation Directorate said in a statement on Thursday.

"Army units have pounded with heavy artillery, missile launchers and helicopters, several posts of terrorist in the outskirts of Ras Baalbek and al-Qaa. Several injuries were reported among their ranks," the Army's communique said.

The move comes as the army gears up for a long-awaited assault to dislodge hundreds of IS militants from a remote corner near Syrian border, seeking to end a years-long threat posed to neighboring towns and villages by the extremists.

Car bombs made in the area and sent to other parts of the country, including Beirut's southern suburbs, have killed scores of citizens.

The planned operation follows a six-day military offensive by Hezbollah that forced al-Qaida-linked fighters to flee the area on the outskirts of the border town of Arsal, along with thousands of civilians.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-11 01:21:15|Editor: Yamei

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KIEV, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Civilians living in a conflict-stricken area in eastern Ukraine received relief supplies from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), authorities said on Thursday.

The ICRC convoy of seven trucks has delivered 121 tons of humanitarian aid to people living in the territories in Donetsk region controlled by pro-independence insurgents, Ukraine's State Border Service said in a statement.

The assistance includes much-needed medical supplies, as well as construction materials to help people whose houses were damaged by the hostilities to prepare for winter.

Since the conflict between government troops and insurgents started in April 2014, it has left more than 3.8 million residents of eastern Ukraine in need of humanitarian assistance.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-11 01:31:22|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BAGHDAD, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi security forces launched an operation against Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq's western province of Anbar and killed 11 extremist militants, the Iraqi military said Thursday.

The Iraqi army and paramilitary tribal Sunni fighters advanced on two routes deep into the desert of Anbar province and attacked IS posts located some three kilometers outside the IS-held towns of Aana and Rawa, some 325 km west of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, the Joint Operations Command said in a statement.

During the two-day operation, the troops killed a total of 11 militants and captured two others, along with destroying a bomb-making site, car bomb, three booby-trapped motorcycles and detonated 22 roadside bombs, according to the statement.

The operation came as the Iraqi forces, including the predominantly Shiite Hashd Shaabi units and Sunni tribal fighters, are preparing to liberate the IS-held town of Tal Afar, some 70 km west of Mosul.

On July 10, Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi officially declared Mosul's liberation from IS after nearly nine months of fierce fighting to dislodge the extremist militants from their last major stronghold in Iraq.

The Iraqi forces still have to wage more offensives to drive out IS militants from their redoubts in Hawijah in southwestern Kirkuk, the adjacent sprawling rugged areas in eastern Salahudin province, in addition to the remaining IS strongholds in the border towns with Syria, including Aana, Rawa, and al-Qaim in the western province of Anbar province.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-11 01:46:31|Editor: Zhou Xin

Photo taken on Aug. 10, 2017 shows the general view of the fairgrounds of the Damascus International Fair in Damascus, capital of Syria. After a five-year pause, the Damascus International Fair, the Syrian economy's window to the world, is returning this month. It is a sign that the country's war is declining and reviving the economy, which hit rock bottom during the prolonged conflict, has become the focus of the government. Established in 1954, the fair's last edition was held in 2011, the first year of the Syrian war. In later years, the fair was suspended because of the war before the Syrian government decided to renew it as the fair will take place on Aug. 17 this year. (Xinhua/Ammar Safarjalani)

by Hummam Sheikh Ali

DAMASCUS, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- After a five-year pause, the Damascus International Fair, the Syrian economy's window to the world, is returning this month.

It is a sign that the country's war is declining and reviving the economy, which hit rock bottom during the prolonged conflict, has become the focus of the government.

Established in 1954, the fair's last edition was held in 2011, the first year of the Syrian war. In later years, the fair was suspended because of the war before the Syrian government decided to renew it as the fair will take place on Aug. 17 this year.

LIFE BEATS BACK IN SYRIA

The message that the government wants to deliver is that "life is beating back in Syria," after years of bloody conflict, Fares Kartali, director of the General Establishment for Exhibitions and International Markets, told Xinhua on Thursday

Even though the war is still haunting Syria, it's not as chaotic as in the first years of it.

The Russian, U.S.-sponsored de-escalation zones, coupled with the cease-fire, have turned the situation for the better, particularly in the areas around the capital Damascus.

No more blind mortar shells are fired from the rebel-held part east of Damascus, as the major rebel groups have agreed to the cease-fire, which excludes the al-Qaeda-linked groups.

The government now seems ready to push the wheels of the economy which has taken a strong beating during the war.

Holding the 59th edition of the Damascus International Fair is a "strong indication of the beginning of the recovery of the Syrian economy," Industry Minister Ahmad Hamo was quoted by government-run Thawra newspaper as saying.

PREPARATIONS FOR FAIR

According to Kartali, work is now underway to prepare the Fair Ground, located near the Damascus International Airport south of the capital, for the upcoming event.

He noted that the sprawling Fair Ground, which covers an area of 1,200 square km, has never been targeted, even though many villages nearby had fallen to the rebels before the army recaptured them in early 2016.

Kartali said an area of more than 70 square km has been designated to host over 1,500 local and international companies taking part in the fair.

The foreign companies come from 38 countries including China, Russia, Iran, France, Britain and Belgium, and they will show their products at the fair, he added.

Workers were bustling in the 49 wings and sections of the fair ground, where some are planting greens, some decorating the structures, and others unloading equipment and goods from the trucks.

Moreover, Damascus is also witnessing busy maintenance works, with ways and streets leading to the the fair ground being paved and cleaned.

SECURITY CONCERNS

As for the security concerns foreign companies may have, Kartaly said the situation is now secure.

"The security situation in Syria is good and I need to assure all the companies which desire to take part that the situation in Syria is normal," he said.

On the military level, the Syrian army has been on a crushing offensive on the al-Qaeda-linked groups in the eastern countryside of Damascus, with daily shelling on Ayn Tarma and Jobar areas.

Military estimates suggest that the decision has been made to clear these areas of any threat, particularly after the de-escalation zones' deal, which excludes the al-Qaeda-linked group of Nusra Front and the allied Failaq al-Rahman, was reached.

The offensives and heavy shellings are expected to last a week, after which all threats to the capital will be eliminated.

The government is now focused on reviving the sluggish economy and pushing the reconstruction process by encouraging foreign companies to visit the country and make investments.

"Our fair this year will be the best to take place since the establishment of the Damascus International Fair in 1954," Kartali said.

After six years of war in Syria, the country's economy has become crippled with the wide-ranging U.S. and European sanctions against Bashar al-Assad's government.

The total economic losses so far are calculated at about 226 billion U.S. dollars, according to estimates published by the World Bank last month.

The report found that cumulative GDP losses since the war erupted "have been estimated at 226 billion U.S. dollars, about four times the Syrian GDP in 2010."

The effects will be felt for decades, as it's estimated that it would take 10 to 15 years for Syria's per capita GDP to return to pre-war levels.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-11 02:06:44|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- China on Thursday called for international and regional efforts to stabilize the security situation in Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and to protect women and children from the surge of sexual violence.

The DRC and northeast Nigeria are faced with challenges of armed conflict and terrorism, and the security situation there is complex and grave with women and children under severe threat of sexual violence, said Wu Haitao, China's deputy representative to the United Nations.

"The international community should pay more attention to this issue and comprehensively enhance the protection of vulnerable groups of women and children," Wu told a Security Council meeting.

He called for efforts to stabilize the situation and improve security. He cautioned that the international community should stick to the general direction of political settlement of hot spot issues and push relevant parties to settle their disputes peacefully through dialogue and negotiations.

He asked for efforts to combat terrorism and cross-border crimes, to cut off the channel of flow of terrorists, and to provide necessary protection and humanitarian assistance to vulnerable groups such as women.

The Chinese envoy called for integrated measures to enhance capacity building of the countries in question. He noted that the countries in question bear primary responsibility for combating sexual violence against women and children. The international community, on the other hand, should respect their sovereignty and will and the measures they adopt in light with their own conditions.

He urged the international community to provide targeted and constructive assistance to promote recovery and development of the countries, and to enhance capacity building in security, social services and governance.

Wu called for synergy of efforts by UN agencies and regional organizations to tackle the problem. The UN Security Council should assume primary responsibility of peace and security and coordinate with other UN agencies and to enhance cooperation with regional and sub-regional organizations, such as the African Union, he said.

"China would like to work with the international community to jointly create a peaceful, secure and stable international environment and make greater contributions to the early eradication of sexual violence and conflict, and to the continued advancement of the global course for women," said Wu.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-11 02:26:53|Editor: huaxia

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DAR ES SALAAM, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian police said on Thursday they have killed 13 armed bandits who have been wreaking havoc in Kibiti district in Coast region, situated about 135 km east of the commercial capital Dar es Salaam.

Simon Sirro, the east African nation's Inspector General of Police (IGP), said police also recovered eight firearms and rounds of ammunitions.

Sirro said the killed bandits were involved in the killings of innocent people including 11 police officers and a number of local government leaders in the district.

Sirro said the killed bandits were ambushed in their hideout in a bush after one of them had tipped off the police on their whereabouts.

"On August 4, the police arrested a wounded bandit at Gati Bovu in Kibiti district and when interrogated for four days he offered to show the police where his colleagues were hiding," said Sirro, adding that the 13 bandits died from excessive bleeding after an exchange of fire with the police on Wednesday at 9 p.m..

"They died as they were being rushed to the Muhimbili National Hospital," said the IGP, adding six bodies were yet to be identified, he added.

Sirro said the recovered firearms included five sub-machine guns, two anti-riot guns and one semi-automatic rifle, adding that the police also recovered a hand grenade, two magazines, 158 rounds of ammunition, four anti-riot tear gas and two motorcycles.

"All the recovered firearms belonged to the police," said the IGP.

In July this year, police killed six assailants suspected to be behind the spate of killings in Coast region.

Liberatus Sabas, chief of special police operations, said the assailants were shot in a forest at Ikwiriri in Coast region.

The police officers also seized two sub-machine guns, two magazines and 17 rounds of ammunition from the killed assailants.

IGP Sirro had revealed that foreign hands were behind the spate of killings in the east African nation's Coast region.

At least 40 people, including local leaders and police officers, have been killed by assailants in Kibiti, Mkuranga and Rufiji districts in Coast region since the killings started about two years ago, sending shock waves among residents in the area.

Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa said recently that the government was closing in on perpetrators of the spate of killings of civilians and police officers.

Majaliwa said the state was currently filtering gathered intelligence to get the real suspects behind the killings.

President Magufuli said recently that ongoing insecurity in Coast region could erode investors' confidence and stall the industrialization drive. Enditem
Local residents wait on the roof of houses surrounded by flood water in the settlement of Ust-Charish in Russia's Altai region June 3, 2014. (REUTERS PHOTO)

MOSCOW, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Nearly 5,000 people are involved in flood relief work in Primorye and Khabarovsk in Russia's Far East, the Russian Emergencies Ministry said in a statement Thursday.

The work also involved 879 units of equipment, 148 boats and other floating craft, as well as four aircraft, it said.

Residential houses, basements of multi-apartment buildings, and cellars of other important facilities were flooded in 36 Primorye and Khabarovsk settlements, as a result of heavy rainfall which started on Monday, according to the ministry.

Sections of highways, railways and bridges were damaged and ten settlements were cut off from the rest of the region, while over 3,000 houses in 14 settlements were disconnected from power supply, it added.

The ministry has joined efforts with local authorities, organizing rescue operations and deploying 12 temporary accommodation points with a total capacity of 990 people, which had accommodated 436 people by Thursday, it said.

"All necessary measures to prevent and minimize the consequences of the passage of the rain front are planned and implemented," the ministry said.

Continuous space monitoring and modeling of the development of the worst-case scenario are carried out, results are reported to local governments, and information is provided to the public, it added.

Although the situation is stabilizing, the cyclone will continue in the form of light precipitation according to the latest weather forecast, the ministry said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-11 02:41:58|Editor: huaxia

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CAIRO, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- A policeman and a conscript were killed and another conscript was wounded on Thursday as an explosive device remotely blew up their armored vehicle in Rafah city of North Sinai province bordering Israel and the Palestinian Gaza Strip, security sources and medics told Xinhua.

"The bodies and the wounded conscript have been taken to nearby Arish hospital while the security forces are combing the area in search for the perpetrators," said the security source, noting the ages of the officer and the two conscripts varied between 20 and 28.

The attack came one day after four policemen were killed in a militant attack on their private vehicle on the way to Arish city of North Sinai.

Egypt has been battling against a wave of terrorist attacks since the military removed former Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 in response to mass protests and the country blacklisted his Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization.

Later security crackdown on Morsi's loyalists left several hundreds dead and thousands more arrested.

Anti-government attacks since then killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers and recently dozens from the Coptic minority, with most of the attacks claimed by a Sinai-based group loyal to the Islamic State regional group.

Meanwhile, security campaigns killed several hundreds of militants and arrested a similar number of suspects as part of Egypt's anti-terror war declared by President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, the army chief then, following Morsi's ouster. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-11 03:22:11|Editor: huaxia

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KAMPALA, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Ugandan military late on Wednesday completed the withdrawal of 2,500 troops who have been hunting the notorious rebel group, Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in the Central African Republic (CAR), a spokesperson said here on Thursday.

Lt. Col. Deo Akiiki, the deputy spokesperson of Uganda People's Defense Force, told Xinhua that the last batch of the troops, under the contingent commander, Brig. Richard Otto entered into the East African country on Wednesday.

"We have completed our withdrawal from CAR. The last group and our equipment from CAR safely crossed into the country yesterday evening," said Akiiki.

"The LRA has been degraded. We don't expect them to reorganize and rebuild. We also have left CAR forces and MINUSCA troops [United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic]. They will be able to deal and overwhelm any threat by the LRA," he said.

The Ugandan military in April this year begun the pullout of its 2,500 strong contingent from African Union Regional Task Force hunting the elusive fugitive leader, Joseph Kony, wanted by International Criminal Court for war crimes.

Uganda's troops and U.S. military advisors ended their six year manhunt for the notorious rebel outfit holed up in the jungles of the CAR and northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), premised on the realization that the mission to neutralize the LRA was successfully achieved.

Security experts argue that the withdrawal will allow the LRA time to regroup and reorganize themselves to carry out attacks and abduction of the civilians.

The LRA is a Ugandan rebel outfit that was forced out of the country in 2006. It fled to neighboring South Sudan and then to DRC and CAR. Enditem
Chinese and Russian policemen attend a joint anti-terror drill in Manzhouli City, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Oct. 20, 2014. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling)

MOSCOW, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) completed a joint anti-terrorist drill on Thursday in Russia's Yaroslavl region located northeast of Moscow, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said.

Joint anti-terrorist actions were practised during the exercise, with the aim to curb the channels of possible terrorists' penetration to the territory of the SCO member states, as well as to suppress terrorist acts and clean up their consequences at the mass gathering facilities, the FSB said in a statement.

SCO member states' competent bodies were involved in the exercise, with the coordination by the organization's Executive Committee of the Regional Anti-terrorist Structure (RATS), the document said.

The SCO is a Eurasian political, economic and security organization set up in 2001 in Shanghai, China. Its members include China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan.

According to the FSB, the anti-terrorist centers, special services and law enforcement agencies of Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, as well as the Collective Security Treaty Organization's Secretariat and the Anti-terrorist Center of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) also took part in the event.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-11 03:27:15|Editor: Yamei

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SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- PayPal, one of the world's largest Internet payment companies, said Thursday it would acquire Swift Financial, an online lender for small businesses in the United States.

Headquartered in San Jose, Northern California, PayPal said the move is part of its efforts to support the hard work of small business owners and entrepreneurs.

Swift Financial, headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, has provided funding to thousands of growing companies in the United States since 2006 through a combination of data, technology, and customer service.

Darrell Esch, vice president of PayPal, posted a message on the company's website, saying the acquisition is expected to close later in the year.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-11 03:32:20|Editor: huaxia

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JOHANNESBURG, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) on Thursday called for the establishment of a Judicial Commission of Inquiry by the country's President Jacob Zuma in the next four weeks.

The labor federation also called for the dismantling of the networks of those involved in the state capture. There are allegations that the rich Indian Gupta family is influencing the appointment of government officials in the country.

Bheki Ntshalintshali, Cosatu general secretary said the delay in bringing those responsible for looting state resources is damaging the country.

"Judicial Commission of Inquiry must identify all other parties involved in state capture and they should be blacklisted and all contracts entered into with predatory elite's network must be terminated and monies spent in these deals must be recovered," said Ntshalintshali.

Cosatu threatened that if their demands are not met they will embark on rallies, demonstrations, marches, stay away and shut down the economy. Cosatu will officially submit their demands on Aug. 15 in a meeting with government and business. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-11 03:57:33|Editor: huaxia

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MAPUTO, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Mozambican Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy and the representatives from the energy companies, the Italian ENI and the US based Anadarko, signed a contract that will commence the exploration of Liquefied Natural Gas in the Rovuma basin on Thursday in Maputo.

ENI managing director Fabio Castiglioni said it took two years of negotiation to make sure that the final document was strategic and reflected the vision of all sides, including the government and the concessionaires.

To guarantee that the exploration process follows the country's legal framework, the three Ministers of Transport and Communications, of Land Environment and Rural Development, and of Interior Waters and Fisheries signed the special licenses to allow the project to operate.

"This act marks an important moment, looking to the long walk we have been eying, a future that is much closer to us now. We are all looking forward to witnessing the beginning of the exploration of Liquefied Natural Gas from the areas 1 and 4 of the Rovuma basin," said the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Leticia Klemens addressing to participants at the signing ceremony.

Klemens said that the ceremony should not be limited to the initiation of exploration of natural gas but also to the rise of other projects that rely on gas to come to life, which is the case of production of fertilizers, fuel and electric power.

"As government, we are aware of our role in this process and we will guarantee that the resources will be explored on behalf of the Mozambican people through its local transformation to add value and guarantee its contribution to the industrialization of Mozambique," added the minister.

Mozambican government promised to continue with its reforms to attract more investments, research and development of natural gas.

Anadarko representative John Grant said with this spirit of work, Mozambique is in the right path to become a world leader in the exploration of natural gas.

ENI managing director, Fabio Castiglioni also said that the signing of this contract represents real actions for an effective development of the hydrocarbon sector in Mozambique. Enditem
Seasonal workers pick grapes at a vineyard in Romery village, Marne, France, Oct. 3, 2013. (Xinhua/Li Genxing)

BRUSSELS, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- As Europe enters vine harvest season, grape farmers in Spain, France and Italy may find themselves fluctuating between hopes and fears. Thanks to the frosty in spring and a prolonged heat wave right now, they are surely facing a quantity reduction, but the quality, as believed by some experts, could be good in some area.

For Europe's wine industry, the year of 2017 never rains but it pours. A counterfeit scandal reportedly involving 40 million bottles of wine is now haunting France's century-old bulk-wine merchant Raphael Michel, leaving a new stain on the legacy of European wine-making.

SLIM AND EARLY HARVEST

After a very cold spring and a prolonged drought, Italian farmers group Confagricoltura expected a 15 to 20 percent reduction of wine grape production this year.

Across the Alps, French authorities are forecasting a historic low. Data from the country's ministry of agriculture suggests a fall by 17 percent, 16 percent lower than the five-year average and worse than 1991, a vintage also hit hard by frost.

On the Iberian Peninsula, frost in the spring had destroyed between 40 percent and 60 percent of all wine production in areas with small but high-quality harvests in the north and northeast of Spain. In the Rioja Alta region, losses were estimated at more than 50 percent, local media El Pais reported.

Meanwhile, a searing heat wave has brought forward this year's harvest by an average of 10 days in Italy. That's the earliest start to the grape harvest in a decade, making a poor harvest slimmer according to local media.

"The high temperatures have created a drastic decline in production of about 10 to 15 percent," said Simone Frusca, a spokesman for Italy's agriculture lobby.

Despite the heat wave, many of the country's winemakers still see the glass as half-full. The quantity may not be there, but they say it could be a very good year in terms of quality.

"It is entirely paradoxical ... Everything bad that could have happened, happened and yet we are heading for good if not excellent quality," Reuters quoted vineyard owner and Confagricoltura official Guido Folonari as saying.

For Jose Manuel Perez Ovejas, wine expert with Vina Pedrosa cellars in Spain, there is a silver lining amid slim harvest: the grapes that have survived are set to produce an excellent wine.

COUNTERFEIT SCANDAL DECAYS REPUTATION

The arrest of Guillaume Ryckwaert, chairman of French wine giant Raphael Michel, and his several senior managers on June 27, shocked wine makers in France and Europe at large.

Accused of masterminding a massive fraud for more than three years, the 39-year-old chairman was allegedly sourcing the equivalent of nearly 4 million (Britain's Mirror said 40 million) cases of table wine and reselling it as premium wine from Rhone appellations, including Cotes du Rhone and Chateauneuf-du-Pape, said some French media.

Most details of the investigation remain confidential, but what is known is that agents from the Marseille bureau of the National Customs Judicial Service (SNDJ) noticed a great number of violations when they audited Raphael Michel in early 2016.

SNDJ investigators were tipped off when the paperwork filed by the company didn't stack up, setting the investigation in motion, the Wine Spectator website reported.

Calling the lawsuit as one that directly endangers French vignerons, Philippe Pellaton, president of the Syndicate of Vignerons of the Cotes du Rhone et Cotes du Rhone-Villages, told Wine Spectator that they will not allow their vineyards to be defrauded or their appellation to be usurped.

But the damage has already caused, as British drinkers warned as 40 million bottles of expensive French wine could be fake.

"There is every chance some of this wine has come across the Channel... It is simply cheap wine being passed off as expensive wine," Nicholas Corke, of fine wine store Thos Peatling, in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, was quoted by the Mirror as saying.

Though no Rhone winemakers have been implicated in any wrongdoing, damages to their wine's reputation, even the Europe's as a whole, might have already been made outside Europe, as Raphael Michel supplies Australia, Chile and South Africa, among others countries.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-11 04:48:02|Editor: huaxia

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by Ray Ankomah

ACCRA, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Isolated and uncoordinated shooting incidents across Ghana have claimed innocent lives, stoking fears the West African country could be heading for bigger troubles.

While some of these shootings are purely accidental, others have come from armed robbers and serial killers who have shot and maimed or killed their victims.

A recent incident was between Richard Yaw Boadi, a 32-year-old mechanic and Nana Frimpong in front of a garage at Alajo, a suburb of Accra.

Frimpong, who had apparently obstructed vehicle movements at a garage, had been asked by Boadi to park properly to make room for other vehicles.

However, Frimpong refused and fired a gun that hit Boadi in the stomach. Boadi died two days later after being hospitalized.

The number of such incidents is increasing and causing headaches for the country's Small Arms Commission that has sought to control the proliferation of small arms in the hands of individuals.

Programs Director at the Commission, Johnson Asante Twum, while commenting on the issue, explained that individuals needed to go through "a certain regime that will tell him or her when and how to use that weapon."

"As it is now, if they just check your background and you pass per whatever criteria that you don't have any history of violence, not a temperamental person and all that, the police will have no reason to deny you," He told local radio network, Joy FM recently.

Twum insisted that further checks ought to be instituted to ensure that individuals who applied for arms were screened properly.

He suggested that tighter measures be put in place to ensure that illegal small arms are removed from the system, as they pose a serious threat to the security of the country.

Last year, before the general election on December 7, Ghana introduced tighter measures to check the proliferation of weapons in the country.

The ministry of the Interior, in collaboration with the Small Arms Commission, offered amnesty to all people who want to regularize their ownership of small arms to voluntarily register their weapons.

Then Minister for the Interior Prosper Bani announced at a press conference that after the 32-day amnesty period which began from August 22, anyone found in possession of illicit weapon would face the full rigors of the law.

In Ghana, it is unlawful to possess weapons without police license and offenders face a sentence of a minimum of 10 years. But the number of people in possession of small arms in the West African country is alarmingly high.

It is estimated that there are 2.3 million weapons in civilian hands in Ghana, among which only 1.2 million have been registered.

The number of illegal firearms in wrong hands means that for Ghana's 27 million people, the ratio of illegal arms to the population hits a worrisome 1:25.

The Ghanaian authorities last year burnt some 1,300 range of illicit locally manufactured weapons seized across the country, as part of activities to mark the United Nations International Day for destruction of weapons.

Local media reported early this year the Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, Sun Baohong, presented modern security equipment worth over 280,000 U.S. dollars to Ghana's parliament. These comprise three X-ray scanners, three sets of walk-through metal detectors, 100 sets of hand held metal detectors, and a human body security detector.

Sun said the equipment was expected to enhance the security features of Ghana's legislature, obviously in the light of the increasing threat of terrorism across the globe.

The Chinese donation has come at just the right time when the threat of terrorism is said to be looming in Ghana, as indicated by warnings by the Canadian, UK and U.S. embassies in Ghana.

Attacks by armed robbers and highwaymen and acts of serial killings in Ghana's recent history must be a wake-up call to government to step up its fight against small arms in wrong hands. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-11 05:08:25|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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MEXICO CITY, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has "very great" potential to expand benefits for its members and their productive changes, if Mexico can avoid a return to trade tariffs, said Mexican officials on Thursday.

Speaking to journalists, one of Mexico's chief negotiators, Kenneth Smith, said that North America saw constant growth in many industries, and Mexico could become the main supplier for the U.S.

"Looking at the integration of productive chains across the three country, we naturally flagship sectors such as automotive, aerospace more recently, in areas of advanced manufacture, in medicine and biotechnology. There is great potential to continue growing and become the main supplier of the U.S. in many areas," said Smith.

NAFTA is a trade bloc including Canada, Mexico and the United States which went into effect in early 1994. U.S. President Donald Trump has showed dissatisfaction with the trade treaty and called for a revision to the agreement.

Representatives from Mexico, the U.S. and Canada will hold the first meeting to update NAFTA on Aug. 16-20 in Washington DC in the United States.

Juan Carlos Baker, Mexico's top negotiator and Under-Secretary for Foreign Trade, reiterated that Mexico also sees avoiding the imposition of tariffs on its partners as a priority.

"The comments we have received through digital platforms and in other consultations...have mainly been linked to the need to preserve the advantages this commercial agreement provides, and not return to a scheme where tariffs are being paid," Baker told the press.

"The possibility of seeing restrictions on trade, on any agricultural or industrial products, is of great concern to the productive sector. We have...included this as one of the objective and priorities for Mexico in the negotiation," he continued.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-11 05:18:33|Editor: Zhou Xin

A Palestinian couple attends a mass wedding celebration in the Palestinian refugee camp of al-Fara'a, north of the city of Nablus in the West Bank, on Aug. 10, 2017. Joy seemed overwhelming on the faces of 65 pairs of brides and grooms, who joined a mass wedding on Thursday evening in the Palestinian refugee camp of al-Fara'a, north of the city of Nablus in the West Bank. The wedding was held under the patronage of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the first of its kind in the camp, which accommodates 7,000 people suffering from difficult economic conditions. (Xinhua/Nidal Eshtayeh)

WEST BANK, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Joy seemed overwhelming on the faces of 65 pairs of brides and grooms, who joined a mass wedding on Thursday evening in the Palestinian refugee camp of al-Fara'a, north of the city of Nablus in the West Bank.

The wedding was held under the patronage of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the first of its kind in the camp, which accommodates 7,000 people suffering from difficult economic conditions.

With the theme "weddings despite suffering," the collective wedding took place at Salah Khalaf cultural center in the camp, which was formerly a large Israeli prison that housed dozens of people from the refugee camp.

At the wedding ceremony, artistic and heritage shows were presented in an atmosphere of joy and pleasure, witnessed by hundreds of guests including the relatives of the brides and grooms, Palestinian personalities and official leaders.

"The goal of President Abbas and our goal is to bring joy to the hearts of the Palestinian people everywhere," said Mahmoud al-Aloul, deputy head of Abbas Fatah movement.

"We want the life in which we practice joy, marriage, childbearing, education, art, literature and culture. This is the life we want for the Palestinian people," Aloul said in a speech on behalf of Abbas.

Standing next to his bride, Ahmed al-Aarja, 46, was radiating great joy since his dream of marrying his beloved girl finally came true.

Al-Aarja, the oldest among the grooms, said his economic plight deprived him of getting married, "but this opportunity has revived my hope and brought me back to life."

Yasir Abu Kishk, coordinator of the mass wedding, said the ceremony was a tribute to President Abbas, who sponsored 200,000 U.S. dollars for the whole preparations.

"The ceremony provides an incentive for young people who could not marry due to the high costs and high unemployment rates in the Palestinian refugee camps," he noted.

According to a recent report by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the number of the unemployed in the West Bank has reached to 154,000, and the unemployment rate rose from 17.9 percent in 2007 to 18.2 percent last year.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-11 05:49:01|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- New research indicates that people who habitually accept their negative emotions experience fewer negative emotions, which adds up to better psychological health.

By contrast, pressure to feel upbeat can make people feel downbeat.

In findings published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, researchers tested the link between emotional acceptance and psychological health in more than 1,300 adults in the San Francisco Bay Area and the Denver, Colorado, metropolitan area.

The results suggest that people who commonly resist acknowledging their darkest emotions, or judge them harshly, can end up feeling more psychologically stressed, and those who generally allow such bleak feelings as sadness, disappointment and resentment to run their course reported fewer mood disorder symptoms than those who critique them or push them away, even after six months.

Three separate studies were conducted at the University of California, Berkeley, on various groups both in the lab and online, and factored in age, gender, socio-economic status and other demographic variables, according to a news release from UC Berkeley on Thursday.

In the first study, more than 1,000 participants filled out surveys rating how strongly they agreed with such statements as "I tell myself I shouldn't be feeling the way that I'm feeling." Those who, as a rule, did not feel bad about feeling bad showed higher levels of well-being than their less accepting peers.

Then, in a laboratory setting, more than 150 participants were tasked with delivering a three-minute videotaped speech to a panel of judges as part of a mock job application, touting their communication skills and other relevant qualifications. They were given two minutes to prepare. After completing the task, participants rated their emotions about the ordeal. As expected, the group that typically avoids negative feelings reported more distress than their more accepting peers.

In the final study, more than 200 people journaled about their most taxing experiences over a two-week period. When surveyed about their psychological health six months later, the diarists who typically avoided negative emotions reported more mood disorder symptoms than their nonjudgmental peers.

At this point, the researchers, including lead author Brett Ford, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Toronto, Canada, and senior author Iris Mauss, an associate professor of psychology at UC Berkeley, can only speculate on why people accepting joyless emotions can defuse them, like dark clouds passing swiftly in front of the sun and out of sight.

Next, they plan to look into such factors as culture and upbringing to better understand why some people are more accepting of emotional ups and downs than others.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-11 06:34:22|Editor: Zhou Xin

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CARACAS, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Venezuela's new National Constituent Assembly (ANC) "aims to repair the malfunction" plaguing the country's governing system, a top lawmaker said on Thursday.

In order to do that, the other branches of government must be subordinate to the powerful legislative body, Delcy Rodriguez, a former foreign minister who was recently elected president of the ANC, told reporters at a press conference.

In one of its early decisions, the recently-installed ANC has decreed that Venezuela's five branches of government, the executive, legislative, judicial, electoral and citizen, are subject to its rulings.

"This regulation aims to repair the malfunction of the public branches," said Rodriguez, adding that ANC has already approved key norms to reestablish peace in the politically roiled nation.

"These measures are designed to meet the high goals of the state, without impairing the constitutional functions of each branch," said Rodriguez.

Venezuela's Constitution calls for a mechanism such as the ANC to amend constitutional laws and reorganize the state to improve government.

However, the country's opposition opposed the initiative and refused to take part in July 30 elections to elect the members of the constituent body, claiming it would only strengthen the ruling party.

The opposition was also motivated by the fact that the ANC supersedes the National Assembly, or Congress, which was under the opposition's control.

The ongoing power struggle between the two sides has led to months of confrontations that have left more than 100 people dead, including protesters, government supporters and security forces.

The ANC has created a truth commission to investigate the circumstances of the deaths that have occurred during anti-government protests.

By holding those responsible to account, "we are preventing violent incidents from happening again in the future," the lawmakers said.
Alex_Schmidt/iStock/Thinkstock(LONGBOAT KEY, Fla.) -- A Florida man wanted in the killings of two employees at a Gulf of Mexico beach resort was arrested Wednesday afternoon, police said.



Darryl Hanna Jr. was charged with two counts of second-degree murder and one count of armed robbery, the Longboat Key Police Department announced in a press release.



Police said Hanna was arrested at 4 p.m. and was apprehended without incident at a residence in Bradenton by members of both the Longboat Key Police Department and Manatee County Homicide Investigative Unit.



Authorities on Friday released surveillance footage of the suspect wanted in the killings.



The suspect was caught on surveillance camera early Friday morning entering the lobby of the Zota Beach Resort in Longboat Key, located about an hour southwest of Tampa. The individual appears to be wearing a mask and holding a gun. Minutes later, the same individual is seen leaving the lobby holding what appears to be a gun in one hand and a cash drawer in the other.



The double homicide occurred around 2:41 a.m., in between the time the suspect is seen entering and leaving the beachside hotel, according to Longboat Key Police Department Chief Peter Cumming.



The suspect shot and killed 51-year-old security guard Kevin Carter, of Bradenton, and 59-year-old night manager Timothy Hurley, of Sarasota. The suspect then took off with a small amount of money in the cash drawer from the register, according to Cumming.



Less than an hour later, a guest who was leaving the resort to go to the airport discovered the bodies of the two men and alerted authorities.



The police chief last week said investigators from agencies across Sarasota and Manatee counties spent about 12 hours at the crime scene Friday collecting and processing evidence, including fingerprints, bullet shells and surveillance footage. They have not ruled out the possibility of a second suspect due to evidence, Cumming said.



The Longboat Key Police Department and the Manatee County Sheriff's Office, which are jointly investigating the killings, released the clip of the suspect from surveillance video on Friday in hopes it would help identify the suspect and eventually lead to an arrest.





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Chopping suspect at large

He is wanted in connection with the July 30 chopping and wounding of Kareem Ellis and Keane Marcano. The men were patrons at Punishers Bar at Craignish Village, Princes Town when, it is alleged, the suspect became enraged after one of the men was seen talking to a mutual female friend. The suspect, it was reported, left and returned with a cutlass and rained chops on Ellis and Marcano, one of whom had intervened to try and help his friend.

They were taken to the San Fernando General Hospital where they underwent surgery and were discharged from hospital last Thursday.

The victims and their attacker are known to each other. Police said the man has been on the run since the incident and has been changing locations.

On Sunday, police recorded statements from the victims.

The chopping incident was captured on camera and last weekend went viral on social media. Sgt Richardson of the Princes Town Police Station is investigating.
64% increase in detection rate

At yesterdays weekly police press briefing at the Police Administration Building in Port of Spain, Acting Sen Supt Inraj Balram said the division has also seen a nine per cent reduction in reported serious crimes, when compared to the same period last year, from 554 to 506.

The attributed the successes to the dedication and commitment of the members of the division and the residents of the various communities who continue to work with the police to ensure safety and security.

The detection rate of 64 per cent is the highest in all the nine divisions in the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service, Balram said.

With regard to reports of robberies, we have had a 21 per cent reduction from 131 in 2016 to 103 for 2017.

We have also realised a 42 per cent reduction in break-in offences from 149 in 2016 to 86 in 2017. Balram also said the division found and seized 50 firearms of various types, which was the same amount for 2016, and they had achieved a 17 per cent reduction in murders from 18 in 2016 to 15 for this year.

He said while the division had achieved a commendable record of performance for 2017 so far, he was very concerned about gun-related violence and the murders.

Balram said the number of guns removed from the streets spoke to the volume of illegal firearms circulating in the country.

The officers of the South Western Division have conducted in excess of 16,651 patrols for the year thus far, both mobile and foot, placing great emphasis on hot-spot patrolling which has indeed proven to be very effective.

Several exercises were conducted for the year relative to DUI where, for the period under review, a total of 6,122 persons were administered DUI tests and 407 were arrested and charged. Balram said the division has nine coastal divisions and 24-hour coastal patrols have been implemented.

When asked if there was an increase in the arrival of illegal Venezuelan immigrants, he said, No, we have not noticed any significant difference as compared to last year.
No secretary of police youth club on gun charge

Ifill, of Marabella, reappeared before Fifth Court magistrate Kerianne Byer yesterday.

Prosecutor Sgt Ian Sylvan told the magistrate Ifill is not a member of any police youth club.

Sylvan said after Ifills first appearance and the subsequent media coverage caused problems, as it relates to sponsorship, for the Marabella Police Youth Club she claimed to be affiliated with.

Her attorney Frank Gittens apologised on her behalf saying sometimes the fear of being in court makes people say things they should not be saying.

Gittens said Ifills mother visited his office yesterday morning, prior to the start of court, and informed him that her daughter was not associated with the club. He said he intended to inform the court but the prosecutor managed to do so first.

The Police Service, in a statement issued yesterday, said the clubs secretary and leader, since its inception in 2011, is PC Vanessa Noel.

Ifill was charged together with her boyfriend Jason Williams, 25, and Lynte Prime, 25, by PC Mohammed.

Police arrested the trio on August 2 after intercepting and searching a car they were in at Lady Hailes Avenue in San Fernando.

It is alleged police found a Beretta pistol and 16 rounds of ammunition.

Ifill and Williams pleaded not guilty and were granted bail in the sums of $150,000 and $100,000 respectively.

The magistrate adjourned the matter to September 6 and transferred it to the Second Court.

However, Prime had asked for a maximum sentence indication before he entered a plea. Yesterday Prime pleaded guilty and Gittens submitted that his client had no previous convictions and had the weapon to protect himself. Gittens said Prime was remorseful.

Byer sentenced him to 12 months in prison with hard labour on the gun charge and nine months in prison with hard labour for the ammunition charge. The sentences are to run concurrently.
Attorney no-show at trial

Joseph is charged with murder, attempted murder and possession of an illegal firearm and ammunition.

When asked if he had an attorney to represent him, Joseph said he was expecting Masaisai to be present but did not know where he was. Earle-Caddle expressed her dissatisfaction with the absence of the defence attorney.

I set aside today to hear the matter. I was available today at this time but your counsel isnt ready, so Im afraid youre going to have to be remanded into custody until the next available date which Im seeing is in October. Prosecuting attorneys told Earle-Caddle notices had been served to Masaisai on three different occasions since the matter began. The matter has been adjourned to October 5.
Car thief released after more than a year in custody

In passing sentence, San Fernando magistrate Brambhanan Dubay said he took into consideration the guilty plea as well as the one year, three months and 14 days spent in custody.

Moonilal, 29, a helper at a plant shop, appeared in the First Court. Last year when he first appeared, he pleaded not guilty and was granted bail.

However, he was unable to secure his bail bond and remained on remand.

On Tuesday, prosecutor PC Cleydon Seedan told the court that on April 24 last year at about 11 am, Hemraj Ragoonanan parked his B14 car along Dumfries Road, La Romaine and went away. He returned about 20 minutes later and discovered the car missing.

He reported the matter to the San Fernando CID and PC Harricharan conducted investigations.

A few hours later, police recovered the car along the Penal Rock Road, Penal and subsequently arrested Moonilal.

Attorney Chantal Paul represented Moonilal whom, she said, suffers from a mental illness. She said based on instructions, he uses drugs and as such cannot say if the illness is drug induced.

At the time of the offence, the attorney said, her client was sick and not in the right frame of mind.

Scolding Moonilal for stealing the car, Dubay said the crime was a very serious one and people work hard to purchase their vehicles. Dubay then ordered Moonilals release saying he had already served his time.
Social media bashes texts holiday omission

The book, Social Studies Made Simple (Infant I) written by Vidya Maharaj and published by Maharaj Publishers, is intended to be used by students entering the primary school system in the new school year which begins in September.

Speaking with Newsday, Veer Maharaj, editor and son of the author, stated that the omission was an unintentional mistake.

All other books in our series include those holidays. This was the first edition of this book and the information on these holidays will be included in future editions. Director of the Black Agenda Project, David Muhammad, countered that such an oversight is unacceptable.

Especially since our nation is the most diverse in the Caribbean, there must be consideration and awareness for every heritage, identity, and ethnicity. Therefore, any oversight would immediately disqualify the relevance of any such text. Sat Maharaj, secretary general of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha, also rejected the exclusion. I find it very strange that we are being erased from the history of our country, he said. Maharaj also added that the Ministry of Education must reconsider its choice of textbooks to be used by our nations children.

What is included and excluded in that textbook should worry us, said Khafra Cambon, chairman of the Emancipation Support Committee.

He also hopes that the conversations generated around this issue would serve to sensitise the public to the serious need for review of the current procedures.
NEC recovers US$3.5M

In a media release yesterday, the Ministry of Energy stated the recovery had been achieved through the assistance of Dubai-based attorneys together with executives of the NEC. The process required assiduous and concerted efforts across multiple jurisdictions to recover the stolen money in the interest of the NEC and citizens, the release stated. The Ministry recalled that on Monday 26 September, 2011, its US Dollar account at First Citizens Bank was debited in the amount of US$9,608,995.41 with three wire transfers from the account to banks in Boston, Antigua and Dubai. The Ministry stated that funds illegally transferred to Antigua in the amount of US$4,633,747.35 were subsequently recovered in October 2011, as it had not yet reached the recipients bank account.

Following this, mediation proceedings commenced between the Boston recipient, the NEC and First Citizens, with the parties arriving at a settlement in 2013 for the return of US$912,608.90 out of the total sum of US$1,250,217.71.

Criminal and Civil proceedings were also initiated against the recipient in Dubai by the NEC and the Dubai authorities.

In November 2014, the Dubai courts sentenced him in absentia to three years imprisonment.

Subsequently, the civil proceedings were heard and upon successful completion, the sum of US$3,562,566.62 was returned to the NEC account, the Ministry stated.
Griffith: Immigrants should be regularised

He believed it might be a better stance to regularise immigrants already in the country looking for work or might already have jobs as it could be a way of ensuring employers who hired these immigrants, pay taxes for them.

Griffith said this could help generate as much as $2 billion for the local economy which might be a better initiative than the property tax the government wants to implement. He said government should evaluate the immigrants who are here instead of simply arresting and returning them to their place of origin.

The former minister said that when Trinbagonians are sent back to this country from foreign places things are rarely done about it.

He also said if a person from another country was deported from here, they were able to go to their embassy or government and complain about Trinidad and Tobago abusing the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME) agreement, when this was not the case.

He said this country should strive for sufficient use of labour and other factors of competitive production leading to greater variety and quantity of products and services and the these immigrants may be a good avenue for this.
GATE means test not properly planned

He said the GATE forum yesterday gave less answers than expected and raised more questions.

Where means testing is concerned, it seems like the ministry themselves do not know the answers to simple questions we have been asking since its announcement, he added. He said the procedure seemed rushed and not properly planned.

Edwards posted on his Facebook account seven points which, he said, applicants still needed clarity on. These points included the issues of extended family, proper documentation and other areas which could cause the means-testing procedure to be prolonged due to inaccurate and inadequate information. In response to the ministers call for applicants to be truthful, Edwards said, Some students live with family members who will not be directly responsible for the paying of their fees. These relatives may see it as unnecessary to comply with the request for their personal information. He added that students might not include that information and could be penalised for doing so.

He further explained that others may feel rushed to get copies of documents while others are concerned about the rate of response from GATE officials.

Many want to know how long it is now going to take to get approval since more checks have to be done by officials and the offices were already inefficient. He further stated that the GATE programme was first started to provide an equal opportunity for persons who wanted to access tertiary education and these recent measures appear to be reversing that initiative.

Even if the household exceeds $30,000, how can one breadwinner be expected to pay tuition in whatever percentage, especially in cases where there are multiple children pursing tertiary education. Edwards said.

He believes that the government is taking too strong of a stance on this matter especially when the procedure seems to be not properly planned
A look into Mannings life

The display is to honour the life of this countrys longest serving member of parliament and fourth and sixth Prime Minister.

It will also commemorate the first anniversary of his death and celebrate his birthday which would have occurred later this month.

Head of Technical Services/Special Collections at The University of Trinidad and Tobago, Janice Blake said the display is meant to give the public an opportunity to look into Mannings life. Its about seeing his personal and professional life and understanding what it is like to be prime minister, Blake said. There is a whole other side than just running the country. She said it aids in documenting the lives of those who served us. What do we know about our past governors? Nothing. Blake said in the future, our descendants can look at the artefacts and understand our history.

She said she expects a sizeable turnout. She is also expecting members of the Manning family and those who would have served with him to visit the exhibition.

Items on display include clothing, awards, photographs, newspaper clippings, Vision 20/20 documents and even a 400-year-old bible found in his office.

The exhibition can be viewed at the Adult Library, 1st Floor, National Library Building until August 31.

Viewing times are between 8.30am to 6pm weekdays and until 4pm on Saturdays.
Sterling Stewart: Some POA issues not as serious as they make it

Trust that the issues will be dealt with assiduously and most diligently if they are as serious as claimed, Stewart told Newsday. He said the prison officers should have confidence in new Commissioner of Prisons William Alexander to do what is required.

Ceron Richards, the POAs president, said the association is hopeful the safety concerns at the Maximum Security Prison in Arouca would be addressed.

There has been failure with some of the gates and there is no alarm system at the prison, Richards said.

Officers are very concerned. He said although the issues have been on the table for a while, the POA will remain ever vigilant. Richards also said some officers at the prison have gotten ill because of stress. He said the unsolved safety concerns have aroused an atmosphere of fear with the officers and their attendance and performance have been undermined as a result.

Calls made by Newsday to Alexander went unanswered yesterday.
Cabinet looks to red sand shortage

Rambharat said the first step in dealing with the issue will be granting that licence to the EMBD. He said the land has to be formally leased to the EMBD by the State, and the EMBD and the State are dealing with the matter which will have to be submitted to Cabinet.

Rambharat said he is very hopeful that the matter would be resolved soon. The minister added that he is looking for other mining sites as the five already in use are showing signs of depletion. He said it was particularly important to locate new sites because the construction sector is in high gear because of the work on the highway to Point Fortin and work expected to begin soon on the Cumuto to Manzanilla Highway.
Rambharat vows to take on market cartels

I am one minister who really dont put water in my mouth to say anything, Rambharat said yesterday at the sod-turning ceremony for an $8 million 60,000 square ft. carpark at the NAMDEVCO market in Debe.

I know about the cartels. I know about the frustration. And as I said about the land grabbers, I intend that once these works are completed and we have the appropriate zoning of activities, we have the appropriate movement of cars and people through the market, I intend to deal with the issue of the cartels to make sure that the people who sell here are not selling under conditions imposed by anybody else but the ministry and NAMDEVCO. Asked afterwards to explain his statement, he said there were certain people who controlled the allocation of vending spots and parking space to vendors.

It is well known to the vendors. Its been a complaint and part of the reason why people behave that way is where you have areas where you have congestion, people would block and demand space and take control of the allocation. So I think by expanding and having more room available to anyone who wants to vend, we would reduce some of the pressures. He said the new parking facility would enable the legitimate NAMDEVCO authorities to have control of the vending space and ensure all vendors were treated equitably.

Rambharat also commented on statements by All Trinidad General Workers Trade Union president general Nirvan Maharaj that some ex-sugar workers were still awaiting agricultural and residential land leases some 14 years after the closure of Caroni Limited.

That is not true. At the last distribution, in respect of the two acre parcels, I said we had reached the end in terms of people we could find. I also said there are about 1800 people for whom leases have been prepared and these people could not be found. He said the ministry resorted to placing the names of recipients in newspaper advertisements before an additional 600 people could be located, leaving some 1,200 people unaccounted for.

And regarding the residential leases, Rambharat recalled he had promised to deliver all those leases before he too received his lease.

I myself am waiting on my lease (agricultural) for the last 13 or 14 years. I am also a VSE P recipient and I have said to the country that my lease for the two acre parcel will be the very last lease that is distributed. I want to make sure that every former employee who is entitled gets their lease before I do, He also implored consumers to purchase locally grown goods saying while they could be sure about the quality of the food stuff here, there was no such guarantee regarding imported foods.
The latest data shows Japan continues to depend on imported food.

Japan's Agriculture Ministry says the food self-sufficiency rate in fiscal 2016 fell for the first time in 6 years. The rate is based on calorie intake.

Ministry officials say the country's food self-sufficiency rate in fiscal 2016 stood at 38 percent, down one percentage point from the previous fiscal year. This makes it second lowest ever. The lowest was 37 percent in fiscal 1993.

The officials say the main causes are the falling production of wheat in Hokkaido due to typhoons and a continued decrease in rice consumption per head.

Japan's food self-sufficiency is the lowest among industrialized countries.
Japan's industry ministry on Wednesday sent an email by mistake to at least two million mobile phone users in the northern prefecture of Hokkaido asking them to conserve electricity due to power shortages.

In reality, there were no power shortages and the ministry said it mistakenly sent a test message, which was supposed to be sent to some 60 members of the press. A correction email was sent 40 minutes later.

The ministry initially said the test message was erroneously sent to 838,000 mobile phone users. The number was revised up following additional probes by mobile phone carriers, according to the ministry.

The wrongly sent email asked people to limit the use of electric appliances as much as possible from 10 a.m. (1 a.m. GMT) to 6 p.m. in order to prevent blackouts.
Armed Texas patriot groups to rally in defense of Confederate monument against fascist Alt-Left groups seeking to remove it

Thousands of armed Texans are set to rally in San Antonio Saturday to protect a 117-year-old monument honoring Confederate soldiers from Alt-Left groups and local politicians who have threatened to remove it.

The August 12 rally at Travis Park, which is being spearheaded by the group This Is Texas Freedom Force, will feature a number of speakers who are scheduled to appear in support of protecting not only the monument, which has stood in the park since the turn of the 20th century, but all of Texas history.

We will have several speakers that will take the stage & send a clear message to San Antonio City Council, the media & the citizens of San Antonio that we will not stand quietly by while our Texas History is erased, says an announcement on the TITFF Facebook page. We encourage any and all Texans to join us at Travis Park to send this stern message.

The upcoming Save the Confederate Monument rally follows an incident July 4, in which supporters of Black Lives Matter marched on the monument and demanded its removal, claiming it stood for racism and bigotry. Following the rally, a pair of San Antonio council members, Roberto Trevino of District 1, and Cruz Shaw of District 2, vowed to take up their cause and push to have the monument removed.

Together they filed a Council Consideration Request July 25 to have the monument moved out of Travis Park a site/location/institution where it will be preserved and integrated in to an educational context, the document said.

The request claims that the monument in Travis Park and all Confederate monuments scattered throughout the country, as well as the veneration of Confederate leaders in public places have historically been used since the end of the Civil War to be reminders of a second-class citizen status attributed to people of color  part of the cult of The Lost Cause.

To historically oppressed communities, these monuments were erected to send a message about who was still in charge of the city in which they lived, it continues. These monuments are a daily reminder not of our history, but rather our legacy of subjugation.

San Antonio is a city rich in culture and diversity, so our public spaces should reflect that by being welcoming to everyone, Trevino said. The relocation of this monument is not an attempt to wash away the hard truths of our history, but rather to ensure that our diverse array of citizens and tourists can enjoy Travis Park, one of the citys most prominent parks.

Thats nonsense, said Jeremy Alcede, director of legal and political affairs for TITFF. The monument is simply part of Texas history, and as such, should be preserved.

You may not like our history, but that doesnt give you the right to erase it, he told NewsTarget. We dont agree with slavery, but this isnt about slavery. This is about preserving Texas history. (Related: This legal immigrant patriot voiced passionate opposition to gun control at a public hearing; says it doesnt work.)

He also noted that governments  local, state and federal  have spent billions of dollars since the years after the Civil War preserving monuments, battlefields and other historical sites, and to simply close them down or get rid of statutes and monuments  which has been happening at an alarming pace throughout the South, especially  is an incredible waste.

In addition, he said that his organization and others like it arent demanding that monuments to the civil rights era, which honor mostly minorities, be taken down or removed from their public places, even though some people could consider them racist or bigoted.

The rally on Saturday is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. local time and last until 6 p.m., though Alcede said that the city of San Antonio has been imposing unreasonable costs and requirements on the group as they have gone through the process of securing a permit to hold their event. As of press time, the city still had not issued them one.

J.D. Heyes is a senior writer for NaturalNews.com and NewsTarget.com, as well as editor of The National Sentinel.

Sources include:

Facebook.com

TITFF.org

Submit a correction >>
A silent struggle for power is brewing between different interest groups at the top of the Algerian regime ignited by the obvious deteriorating health of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika whose public appearances are a thing of the past.

The media has long been speaking of a soft coup by the brother of the ailing President, Said Bouteflika, who has been introduced gradually as a potential successor to Algerian presidency.

Bouteflika who is said to be suffering from a severe fatigue has been reported to rebuke his current Prime Minister Abdelmjid Teboune who does not seem to advocate Saids presidency bid.

This crack at the helm of the Algerian regime came about after Teboune ventured to criticize Ali Haddad, who is close to Said Bouteflika.

Said Bouteflika who has vested interests with the business community and who is pulling the strings of Algerian presidency is now more than ever showing his intention of succeeding to his brother through media outlets that turn in his orbit.

For many observers, the election of Abdelaziz Bouteflika for a fourth term is a time buying measure for the vying elites within the Algerian regime to settle their differences and agree on a next President.

The removal of the all-powerful intelligence chief, Tewfik Mediene, in 2014 and the side-lining of senior leaders in the army and the ruling party, the FLN, have all but empowered the clan of Said Bouteflika, who seems now poised more than ever to run for presidential elections.

Through it all, President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has remained silent, communicating through occasional letters to the government, leaving even those closest to him to wonder who is really in command or who is pulling the strings?
Morocco has robust security services and comprehensive counterterrorism strategy that made the country the most insulated against ISIS attacks in the region, underscored the Brussels-based think tank, The International Crisis Group.

Morocco is the only Maghreb country that, to date, has not experienced an ISIS attack, said the International Crisis Group in a report dubbed How the Islamic State Rose, Fell and Could Rise Again in the Maghreb.

The organization that works to prevent wars and shape peace added that Morocco deployed a vast security web across the country and that the Kingdoms borders are very well guarded.

It also noted that Rabat tightened its 2003 anti-terrorism law, adding provisions to sanction foreign fighters, including five to fifteen year prison terms and heavy fines.

Since the 2003 Casablanca bombings, Morocco has improved its policing and intelligence and, more recently, begun to address its prison radicalisation problem, said the report, adding that since 2014  in response both to ISIS emergence and to Libyas worsening situation  it has deployed joint army, gendarmerie and police patrols, called hadar (vigilance) at many sensitive locations.

The institute also sheds light on the professionalisation of Moroccos security services, which culminated in March 2015 with the creation of a new agency, the Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations (BCIJ), which prioritizes counter-terrorism and transnational crimes.

Unlike other security agencies, the BCIJ frequently communicates about its activities in local media (which dubs it the the Moroccan FBI), said the International Crisis Group.

In this respect, it adds that the BCIJ has dismantled over 40 terrorist cells over 2015 and 2016, among those, most were small (three-nine members) and engaged chiefly in recruitment, although the government believes some were preparing attacks and had smuggled weapons from Libya. The bureau also contributed to the capture of several terrorism suspects in Europe, including the perpetrators of the November 2015 Paris bombings.
Poland opens its doors to migrants from Europe, notably from Ukraine and Belarus, but not from North Africa and the Middle East, said Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski.

In an interview with Russian news agency Ria Novosti, the Polish Minister reiterated his administrations stand against refugees, saying that Poland will never apply the relocation plan put forward by the EU in the wake of the refugee crisis that broke out as a result of the war in Syria.

We do not want to participate in the mandatory process of relocation of migrants coming from the Middle East and Africa. We do not want to implement the decision of the European Union taken in September of 2015, Waszczykowski said.

The EU member states had adopted the solidarity plan to, among others, relocate 160,000 asylum-seekers from overcrowded refugee camps in Italy and Greece.

Poland, which was being led by the Civic Platform political party, agreed to take in 6,200 refugees, mainly Syrians.

But, after a parliamentary election that year, Polands Eurosceptic Law and Justice party came to power. The new government promptly rejected the previous partys commitment to accept those migrants.

The European Commission brought a lawsuit against Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary in mid-June, accusing the three countries of violating the EU legislation by refusing to accept refugees under the 2015 relocation plan.
Disguised imports. It is thus that critics have described Algerias policy to set up car assembly plants. Since 2012, Algeria has been trying to attract foreign investments by automotive giants in order to reduce its imports bill, but the results so far are disappointing.

Indeed, the opening of a car assembly plant by Volkswagen in Relizane received little acclaim amid frustration at the counterproductive results of the previous assembly factories opened by Renault and Hyundai.

Algerias Industry Minister Mahdjoub Bedda did not even attend the opening of the factory of the German automaker. He rather promised to put an end to the current production model based on assembling.

Three years after the launch of the Renault factory, Algeria finds itself in a dire financial condition marked by a drop in oil prices and a near depletion of its foreign exchange reserves.

The production of cars within the country was seen as a means to reduce imports. Yet, this approach proved to be inadequate in view of the rise in car parts imports, which kept car prices in Algeria higher than elsewhere in Europe.

The Renault Symbol made in Algeria costs some 200,000 dinars (1,600) more than its imported counterpart, the Dacia Logan. The price of Hyundai i10 made in Algeria is also 2,000 more expensive than the price of the same small car in France.

We should put an end to the production model as most manufacturers have not improved their integration rates, the Minister told the press after speaking to MPs.

While venting his frustration at a failed industrial policy set by his predecessors, the Minister failed to consider the deep causes of the low integration rates in Algeria, which lie deep in a legal framework interactive to foreign direct investments

The perception of Algerias unfriendliness towards foreign investors is worsened by recent investment reforms that left unchanged a rule requiring 51% of national ownership of any projects.

The 51/49 rule provides that at least 51% of the shares of Algeria-based companies must be owned by Algerian nationals residing in Algeria or by companies, which are wholly owned by Algerian resident shareholders.

The archaic banking system has also been pushing investors away. Algerias banks remain state-dominated and highly corrupt thus thwarting foreign direct investments.
Rape, torture and slave labor are among the horrendous daily realities for people stuck in Libya in their desperate attempt to escape war, persecution and poverty in African countries, and reach Europe.

The dark picture was described in a new report compiled by Oxfam and Italian partners, MEDU and Borderline Sicilia, which called on Italy and other European member states to stop pursuing migration policies that prevent people from leaving Libya, where they are suffering many abuses and living in appalling conditions.

The report is based on the testimonies of 31 women and 127 men, who made the dangerous crossing from Libya and arrived in Sicily.

European member states have been pursuing policies preventing people from leaving Libya so they do not make it to Europes shores. These actions expose refugees and other migrants to suffering and death, and this must end, the report authors pointed out.

The UK, along with other EU member states, has actively supported efforts to limit arrivals in Europe, trapping refugees and other migrants in a living hell, said Penny Lawrence, deputy chief executive at Oxfam GB.

These testimonies paint a horrifying picture of the lives of refugees and other migrants in Libya. They are a damning indictment of Europes efforts to keep people from escaping violence, slavery and even death, Roberto Barbieri, executive director of Oxfam Italy, said, adding, These are people who are escaping war, persecution and poverty  and yet in Libya they encounter another hell.

People must come first: the EU should provide safe routes for people to come to Europe and have access to a fair and transparent processes for claiming asylum, he said.

Due to a lack of safe and regular routes into Europe for refugees and other migrants, the central Mediterranean route from Libya to Italy has become the major port of entry for those trying to reach Europe. More than 180,000 people arrived in Italy via this route in 2016. Over 95,000 people have already arrived so far this year.
A bomb shelter from Atlas Survival Shelters. Photo: Atlas Survival Shelters

Theres no right way to respond to the dramatic standoff between President Trump and Kim Jong-un, two world leaders posturing like 80s action-movie villains despite the fact that they both look like the lackey with mustard stains on his shirt. Apathy, humor, and crippling anxiety all work. So too does dropping tens of thousands of dollars on bomb shelters  an increasingly popular choice, according to a spate of recent reports.

Sales of bomb shelters first began spiking after last years election, at least for Gary Lynch, general manager of Rising S Bunkers in Texas. He told the Miami Herald in January that sales were up 700 percent since Trump was elected, with many people citing a desire to avoid the Trumpocalypse or Trumpnado. And that was before Trump had time to do anything dumb.

By April, the companys owner Clyde Scott told CNBC that Rising S was backlogged with work stretching out for the next year. And if you believe him, he may not be able to finish fast enough to save all his customers. We are the longest living government in the history of the world without a complete collapse, the United States, he said, like a true salesman. Its our time.

The bunkers Scott sells are only for those with deep pockets  his most popular version is a 500-square-foot, $125,000 underground lair  and he markets to those with unrelenting paranoia. In a comment on one YouTube video, written years before Trump even took office, Scotts company says, Nuclear threats and global war are realities we are threatened with on a daily basis. Our steel bomb shelters are the perfect way to ensure your familys future.

As 2017 wore on, Kim Jong-un joined Trump on the list of reasons to hide underground. The North Korean leader has always been an unhinged egomaniac with designs on nuclear weapons, but hes grown more brazen and more confrontational than ever before. Thats opened up a new market for bomb shelters, Ron Hubbard, owner of Atlas Survival, recently told Bloomberg.

Despite lying squarely within range of Kims itchy trigger finger for years, people in Japan are now ordering bomb shelters like never before. Japans going hog wild right now, Hubbard said. In an interview this week with Circa, Hubbard added, The Japanese market, which is the hot market right now, it was non-existent for me six months ago, seven months ago. It pretty much started when Kim Jong-un started testing all of his long range ballistic missiles.

Gary Lynch of Rising S has seen the interest too. In late July, inquires to his company doubled, he told Bloomberg, with 80 percent coming from Japan.

North Koreas first-ever test of an ICBM on July 4 spurred the interest. Pyongyang followed that by testing a second ICBM three weeks later. So far this year, the country has carried out 18 missile tests, which puts it on pace to conduct more tests than ever before, according to CNN. And now, with reports of Kim having a miniaturized nuclear warhead, and Trumps threatening fire and fury, sales of bomb shelters are sure to surge.

But if Scott and Hubbard are ever going to find a wide market for these cramped paranoia dens, theyre going to have to bring the cost down. To that end, Atlas Survival recently introduced the Bombnado  a smaller underground bunker that goes for as little as $18,999 (assault rifles not included).

BombNado - A Multi-Functional Space Under The House Starting at $18,999.00 with NBC Air Filtration System Included! Visit Our Website: www.BombNado.com Or Call: 1-844-NEWSHELTER For More Information. Posted by Atlas Survival Shelters on Thursday, April 27, 2017

But even that will be too expensive for most people looking to avoid the effects of a nuclear explosion and the subsequent fallout. For them, there is little to do beyond preparing, and thanks to the public-health office of Ventura County, California, at least we have these tips.
According to an analysis from Ron Brownstein, Trumps standing in precisely those states that delivered the presidency to him is sinking. Photo: Mark Wallheiser/Getty Images

There has been a robust debate in the political commentariat throughout the year about the presidents approval ratings and what they portend for 2018 and 2020. Its generally conceded (though not by the president himself, who argues the size of his rallies is the best indicator of his popularity) that Trumps already weak public standing has softened somewhat. But there is less agreement about where he stands with this or that part of the electorate  particularly his base, however that is defined.

But now Ron Brownstein, working with some previously unpublished Gallup data from 13 current and projected battleground states (Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin), has given us the best snapshot yet of exactly where, geographically and demographically, Trump stands as compared to his performance last year. It shows that he is hemorrhaging the most support from college-educated white voters, though hes lost a crucial bit of his strength from the non-college-educated white voters often considered his base.

Trumps approval rating among college-educated whites has declined relative to his 2016 vote in all 13 states. In seven of those states, his approval rating stands at least 10 points lower than his vote a list topped by North Carolina and Florida (both 19 points lower), Georgia (18 points lower), Ohio (15 points), Virginia (12 points), and Michigan and Minnesota (11 points each.) His approval rating among these white-collar whites reaches above 50% only in Texas and Georgia, and exceeds 45% in just two other states, Nevada and Arizona. In seven states, his approval among these well-educated white voters has tumbled to 40 percent or less. (That includes four states essential to his victory: North Carolina, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.)

Some might object that Trump managed to win last year despite poor approval numbers then. But that cuts both ways: In 2016, Trump was competing with a pol who was nearly as unpopular as he was. Hillary Clinton will not be on the ballot or in the consciousness of voters in 2018 or presumably in 2020, either.

These anemic numbers suggest how much Trump benefited last fall from the doubts these voters also held about Clinton; standing alone, without her as a foil, hes facing much harsher assessments. (In a separate national Quinnipiac University poll released last week, 59% of college-educated whites said they strongly disapproved of Trumps performance.) I think the doubts about her blocked how big the potential was for those voters to vote against Trump, says long-time Democratic pollster Stanley B. Greenberg.

Relatively speaking, Trumps support is holding up better among white working-class voters, the core of his base. But there are still problems:

[Trumps] standing still represents an erosion from his 2016 vote among blue-collar whites in 12 of those states; in five of them, hes declined by double-digits. Perhaps most important are the trends in four of the Rust Belt states that proved decisive last year: Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. In all of them exit polls found Trump won between 62 and 64% of non-college whites. In each case, that was a substantial increase from Romneys performance with those voters in 2012, when former President Barack Obama carried the states.

In those four crucial states, which were where the 2016 upset was consummated, Trumps white-working-class approval numbers are down around the levels of support Romney achieved in losing all four in 2012.

We sometimes forget in our awe at Trumps astonishing rise to the presidency that it was a near thing, particularly in the general election. He doesnt have much margin for error, and nor does his party in a midterm election that usually represents a referendum on the party controlling the White House (and in this case, the much-despised do-nothing Congress as well). The drops in support among white voters in battleground states that Brownstein documents arent massive, but they could spell the difference between Republican success and calamity just down the road.
The U.S. embassy in Havana. Photo: Yamil Lage/AFP/Getty Images

Two State Department employees who fell ill while working at the U.S. embassy in Havana are believed to have been the targets of acoustic attacks, according to multiple reports. The employees suffered a variety of physical symptoms, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Wednesday. She wouldnt elaborate on the ailments, but did say that two Cuban diplomats were expelled from the U.S. in retaliation.

The Cuban government has a responsibility and an obligation under the Geneva Convention to protect our diplomats, Nauert said. That is part of the reason why this is such a major concern of ours, why we take this so seriously.

Nauert said the process of determining the cause of the symptoms is ongoing, but the AP reports a covert sonic weapon is to blame. The weapon resulted in severe hearing loss for the victims, the report says. CNN corroborated that with its own report saying an acoustic attack was responsible for the health issues.

The AP says U.S. diplomats in Havana began suffering unexplained losses of hearing loss in late 2016. It goes on:

Some of the diplomats symptoms were so severe that they were forced to cancel their tours early and return to the United States, officials said. After months of investigation, U.S. officials concluded that the diplomats had been attacked with an advanced sonic weapon that operated outside the range of audible sound and had been deployed either inside or outside their residences.

The FBI is reportedly looking into the issue, with the Cuban government high atop the list of suspects. In a statement Wednesday, Cubas Foreign Ministry denied any wrongdoing. The Ministry emphatically emphasizes that Cuba has never allowed  Cuban territory to be used for any action against accredited diplomatic officials or their families, without exception, it said in a statement translated by CNN.

But, as the AP points out, the Cuban government isnt the only foreign nation suspected in this case. Officials are also reportedly looking into whether the attack was carried out by Russians, because no bizarre tale of international intrigue would be complete without them.
The National Drug Authority (NDA) has impounded packages of unregistered and counterfeit cancer medicines that are being sold on the Ugandan market.



The drugs include Avastin (bevacizumab), a first line drug in the treatment of ovarian cancer and Sutent (Sunitinib malate), a medicine often used to treat progressive tumors of the digestive system, the pancreas, and the kidneys. The drug interferes with the growth and spread of cancer cells in the body.



Although the genuine Sutent drug is supplied only as hard gelatin capsules, the fake product is presented as bluish - grey tablets, according to the NDA warning. The genuine Sutent drug is manufactured by Pfizer, a U.S based drugs company. Although the genuine Sutent drug is supplied only as hard gelatin capsules, the fake product is presented as bluish - grey tablets, according to the NDA warning. The genuine Sutent drug is manufactured by Pfizer, a U.S based drugs company.

However, the counterfeit is labeled as made in Sweden.



Similarly, the Avastin drug which is supplied as an injection for intravenous, has been counterfeited and presented as bluish-grey tablets. The genuine drug is manufactured by Roche, a pharmaceutical firm based in Germany and Switzerland while the counterfeit Avastin, is labelled as made in Sweden.



"The containers for both drugs claimed to be "Made in Sweden AstraZeneca 2014," The statement by NDA shows. AstraZeneca is a UK based firm which recently sold its antibiotics business to Pfizer.



However, containers of the counterfeit products have wrong spellings of the name AstraZeneca in some places spelt as "AstraZenaca" and group as "grroup". Astrazeneca and Turbuhaler are trademarks of Astrazeneca group of companies.


Kampala Capital City Authority executive director Jennifer Musisi has raised concerns over her safety and possible threats to her life.



Her concerns were communicated to the KCCA special authority meeting by Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago based on a telephone conversation between the two leaders of the city authority.

Lukwago told the meeting that he had been informed by Musisi, that she would not attend the session taking place today at City Hall yesterday over security issues.

KCCA executive director Jennifer Musisi

Musisi later put the same concerns in writing indicating that there are ongoing concerns over her personal safety a result of which she has been advised to restrict her movements while her security is being reviewed.

The letter dated August 8, is addressed to the Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago.



Musisi delegated Moses Atwiine, the acting executive director of Kampala to lead the technical team in a meeting convened to discuss the controversy surrounding law enforcement in Kampala.



Atwiine similarly confirmed the fears adding that Musisi has been advised to address the issues until advised to contrary then she will be free to move around.

"She informed us that she had concerns about her security and indeed her security is under review so she has been advised to first address some of the those issues until she will be free to move around. This particular concern is not specific to this authority even in other engagements she has been constrained to attend as they review her security details", Atwiine.



However, councillors wondered whether they are secure in the event that the executive director's life is threatened. Nakawa councillor Kennedy Okello said the concern should not be taken lightly.

"It is not something we take lightly as an authority. The executive director ordinarily reports to this authority, now if we have a staff under us who feels insecure to engage with us, then we have a problem. I wouldnt want to take this lightly", Okello said.



Now only people with identity cards are allowed to access City Hall but even those with identifications are subjected to at least three security checks before accessing the council room.
As somebody pointed out in the last post, then how was she (Elisabeth) able to work/interact with Nicole, who is considered an SP?

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Leah mentioned in one of her interviews that sometimes the rules are sometimes bent for celebrities.

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ding ding ding

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THIS

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I think celebrities get a slight pass on the rules, and like Leah said, she can't go around refusing to work with Nicole Kidman because she's an SP for PR reasons. Also I doubt she has the clout or job access to turn down jobs like that

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I don't think Nicole has ever made disparaging remarks (at least in public) against the cult either, so maybe that has something to do with it?



Edited at 2017-08-10 12:29 am (UTC)

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As far as I know, Nicole hasn't publicly talked about scientology the way Leah has, so maybe Elisabeth was ok with Nicole as long as they didn't discuss that subject.

Plus I imagine that, career-wise, leaving the room when she didn't wanna hear Leah was easier than refusing to work with A-list Nicole Kidman.

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Didn't Nicole leave the cult peacefully? Like Katie Holmes. They probably view them in a reasonable light bc of that idk.

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According to Leah, I think Moss probably would've have had to do daily reports on Kidman's actions, anyway, just so the church knew exactly what was up.

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okay so i JUST read the book, and the only time leah mentions nicole being an SP is when conner calls her one. i'm guessing shes not actually an "official" SP so people can still work with her

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The church changes its rules for rich members. JLo's father is in the church, and has been seen with Leah (JLo & Leah are BFFs).

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Like others have said, celebrities have different rules. I mean Tom Cruise is their top dog and he works with plenty of people that aren't Scientologists and probably a number of them have spoken badly about it. Making movies and getting that money that goes to the cult gives them a bit of a pass.

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I bet money is the reason. If they can make money off of an SP then it's okay.

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Her: "I have this role with this SP person, can I do it?"

Them: *checks the salary on offer* "Sure, as long as you give us $10% of your earning"

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elisabeth moss starring in and producing handmaid's tale will never not be strange to me.

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same

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I still can't wrap my head around that.

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I love the dog at the end. Because it's true.

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I don't think it's true. If she's in the cult, she's as much a victim as those it indirectly hurts... That's why it's called brainwashing, because you don't know the truth until you leave... If it was that easy to question stuff, then cults wouldn't be a thing.

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This is why I love ha. She will both compliment and shade you in one sentence.

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I mean, that was a beautiful sentence. I didn't even see the attack coming

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Go in sis, rip ha to shreds

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lmao mte

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fr fr

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the scientology trolls on twitter are relentless

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what where?

I thought they were banned from using that

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saw a bunch replying on E!s tweets

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I think she finally left

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Nah, she's still in and apparently trying to "save" her mother :/

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I think she's another one who was born into it? It sounds like Lisa Marie has left the "church" but Riley hasn't http://pagesix.com/2017/03/12/lisa-marie-presley-did-not-rejoin-the-church-of-scientology/

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omg i totally forgot Lisa Marie was in it. wasnt Priscilla too?

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I mean she's not wrong about Elisabeth Moss at all. I did not know she was born into Scientology. I thought it was just something she kind of turned to as an adult.

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I was about to post this! Bless you OP.



Her crusade against Scientology has turned me into a certified stan!

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How did she get out of Scientology?

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She was at Tom/Katie's wedding, noticed the leader's wife (the leader is bffs with Tom) wasn't there, jokingly asked about it, was told she "didn't have the fucking rank" (wasn't important enough) and then started asking around. She was then called to Scientology's homebase in Florida for 3 months of intense interrogation (which she had to pay for) in order to make her drop the subject. She eventually decided to google the truth of the church's misdeeds (and when she had been a teenager in their navy-type corp she had seen abuse firsthand) and finally left and filed a missing persons report for the leader's wife.



The leader's wife, Shelly Miscavige, is still missing, by the way. She was sent to a prison camp for upper level leaders and has not been seen in public since 2007. The leader got rid of her because she finished an org board (job board) for him while he was away doing business. No joke. She overstepped, I guessed...

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Omg why are they not looking for that woman?!?

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holy shit

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https://www.buzzfeed.com/jarettwieselman/leah-remini-shares-the-truth-about-the-hardest-year-of-her-l?utm_term=.steQYAed4K#.ok8go1vpKV



But as to the how, I think she just made a public proclamation + the fact she had some star-power behind her name gave her the opportunity to get away easier than others Buzzfeed did an article with her explaining her time in the church and why she leftBut as to the how, I think she just made a public proclamation + the fact she had some star-power behind her name gave her the opportunity to get away easier than others

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it was a bunch of little things that made her wake up and realize that she was in a cult. the comment above me says most of it but also she saw how tom cruise was acting at the time and knew that if it had been anyone else doing these things that they would have been reprimanded by the "church", but tom got a pass bc of his status. not to mention she found tom/katie's kid crying on the floor at the wedding because scientologists believe that kids are as mature as adults.

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like the above commenters said it was a lot of little things that eventually built up to cause her to leave. i think the breaking point was tom/katie's wedding. she also realized they were only using her to get jlo to come the wedding since they were targeting her and marc anthony to join.



also during the wedding she went to the washroom and suri had been laid down on the bathroom floor and was crying and a group of women were standing around suri just staring at her. i think they were also chanting to which leah was like wtf.



iirc leah had been questioning scientology since she was a teenager and was regularly getting in trouble with the church.

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does she read it? i just read it and i couldn't get enough. i'd love to hear it right from her.

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yep and did it so well. you were just listening to her explain it story. so good

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It's a sad situation. I feel for Elizabeth Moss, growing up within the church must be so different from joining later in life. But good job Leah for taking a stand against this cult.

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The only celebs I can think of off the top of my head that weren't born into it are Cruise and Travolta. Every other one is from childhood.

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Jason Lee, Laura Prepon, Jenna Elfman, Kristie Alley are some others that joined later

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will smith?

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I love ha <3. She hasn't backed down despite knowing lots of people within the church will try to destroy her. I also appreciate how she continues to point out that it's no a religion and just a business.

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I think Leah and Mike Rinder are both really brave, like just knowing Scientology will send people to stalk them and do their best to destroy their lives is so scary to me. I can't imagine living with that I don't know if I could do it.

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I don't hold anything against Elisabeth Moss other than she's continuing to support a group that is abusive and destroying families



This subtle scalp 

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I'm going to read this, can't wait for the new season. I really liked the show, although at times I just couldn't believe people fall for this cult, I understand the ones born into it, not the older ones tho.

Like when I was watching going clear and they say what's the last level.. that made me laugh like crazy, and the thing to check your stress levels? That looks like the toques machine you get a fairs here in Mexico. I can't take that shit serious.

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LOL toques, toques LOL

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LOOOOOL pense lo mismo, se ve todo baratucho jajaja

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That was a quick clapback lol



Usually takes a few weeks

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She wasn't actually referring to what happened at the TCAs, since this interview was done a while ago. It was just happenstance that the interviewer brought her up.

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there's prob way more going down behind the scenes that we don't even know of yet

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it's gonna be like the 12 Days of Christmas when indictments start rolling in

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nothing to see here though

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I'm surprised it took this long to come out too.

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Mueller is not fucking around. I think that there's a lot going on behind the scenes, building a solid case.

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Means they're good at their jobs.



Also means Camp Trump should be scared shitless about who's next. My only worry is that they're going to go into panic mode and start destroying evidence.

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for fuck's sake, if north korea are the ones looking fucking composed here, WE HAVE A HUGE FUCKING PROBLEM



but her emails, right? fucking dicks

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KILLARY!!!!



BUT HER EMAILS!!!!



PIZZA PEDOPHILE RINGS!!!

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Exactly. When the US president sounds like more of a nutcase than North Korea's psycho dictator, we should be concerned.

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omg it is perfection.

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Nooooo dammit haha

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LOL OMG

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lmao y'all know what's up

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Hillary was scarier and more dangerous than Trump, always remember that.

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Yepppp

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LMAO that chicken had me dying

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"That chicken is not something that is normally present at that location... "

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That's true, it's usually golfing.

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cackling



LONG LIVE THE ELLIPSE CHICKEN

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lolllll

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L O FUCKING L at that guy's desperate attempts at PR speak. Like a 9th grader trying to fumble his way through a book report while trying to suppress an oncoming boner.

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I saw the chicken when I was protesting Tom MacArthur, Republican congressman from South Jersey. I saw the chicken being taken down, and a little girl was stomping on it to deflate it. Seemed fitting!



And that's my brush with celebrity!

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I'm gonna need POTUS to stop talking like a Targaryen

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he's gotta go. mcconnell was still one of his few public supporters and he's starting to attack that turtle looking bitch.

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He'd probably think the Mad King was right.

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Seriously. His people must have let his TV get stuck on HBO.

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I'm gonna need him to stop talking. And *redacted*

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FUCKING IMPEACH HIM ALREADY

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yup

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someone got me excited abt a hanging for treason. im not gonna hold my breath since we live in the 21st century and not the 16th but...

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(I need to make a better version of this, as I'm gonna keep thinking this every goddamn day.) (I need to make a better version of this, as I'm gonna keep thinking this every goddamn day.)

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Tom Price, the Secretary of the Department of Health & Human Services, threw out the 1st pitch. He was booed.  Jorge Castillo (@jorgeccastillo) August 9, 2017



rooting for the Nats to get to the World Series so I can pay an obscene amount of money for standing room tickets to boo a high-ranking republican rooting for the Nats to get to the World Series so I can pay an obscene amount of money for standing room tickets to boo a high-ranking republican

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I hope everyone involved with this disaster of a "presidency" gets booed everywhere they go for the rest of their lives.

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me too, but 40,000 people booing together on national television is a spiritual event

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mte

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Nats fans brought the fun with that huge anti-Trump banner on opening day, I trust y'all will come through in the postseason

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Oh, please tell me they were playing the Braves. Please. Because that would be glorious.

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SO PROUD 2 B AN AMERICAN

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I just saw that on CNN. Part of me feels the regime is stupid enough to do something. The other part of me feels that there must be a voice of reason somewhere. They would be annihilated. Having said that, this year alone they have been escalating things rather rapidly.



It's ego and honour (on both sides).

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My favorite exercise instructor is Chamorro, and most of her family still lives in Guam. She's a little upset about all of this.

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they fucking better not.

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very telling that the trans military ban tweets came on the same day as the raid

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good point that

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oh wow i hadn't even noticed.

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YUP. he's all about the distractions/diversions, vile motherfucker

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God this dick waving contest has had me in a severe state of anxiety over the past few days. Can that heart attack come along and kill Tr*mp already????

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I cope by pretending I don't live in this reality

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hypothetically speaking, could...someone...not see to it that he has a massive cardiac arrest? 

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According to Homeland, that shit is actually super-easy to fake. Possibly I shouldn't be basing my scientific knowledge on that show, but...

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The worst part is you can't tell who said it, Trump or Kim Jong Un, they sound near identical in their rhetoric.



I feel bad for my mom, this is her worst fear that temperamental Trump will get us into a war because he has to be a big tough bully and he is surrounded by a but of yes men.

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Tillerson said Trump spoke like that bc it would get through to Kim Jong Un LMAO. Trump sounded like Joey from Friends when he was doing the adoption letter for Monica and Chandler lolllll

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I wonder how much longer Tillerson will last. Must be hard to constantly be picking up after a manchild.

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Putin just wants a good close up pic of that Trump chicken.

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it's a wonder that this thing can happen post-9/11, but at the same time, competence is not our forte these days

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tbf, it was authorized and part of a treaty that allows us to do the same



but to be less fair, pooty-poots knows what he's doing with this timing

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I still call him Pooty-poot lmao. Damn, W was an idiot and I know I'm not supposed to but I sure miss him right now

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we're going to fucking die, aren't we.

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They do this every year. It's a treaty.

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lana will save us with her nuclear disarmament bops 'coachella - woodstock in my mind' and 'when the world was at war we kept dancing'

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I agree. Homegirl needs to bind two more dickwads from causing harm

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i just .... can't believe this country let donald fucking trump become president. it astounds me every single day.

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i know..i know. lol. HRC with the popular vote and all but jfc. i'm just still in shock from election night. i will never forget that night for the rest of my life.

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It astounds me because it seems like so much of the country hates him yet, here we are. It's a constant reminder that they exist. One is on my FB friends list and I have to ask myself everyday why I don't defriend her. But white women would prefer we all go down before helping out the country as a whole.

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If someone had told me years ago that the guy in the commercials with the weird voice saying, "You're fired" would become president in 2017.... I would've asked what kind of drugs they were on.



Edited at 2017-08-10 02:09 am (UTC)

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Unfortunately I knew it was going to happen the moment Trump got nominated.

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Wow. I didn't even initially notice it was 2016. Jesus.

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It's amazing how accurate all her commentary on tramp was.

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Lainey revealedreally recent blind items today. One is about Anna and Chris, the other is about Elon and Amber.So here are a few more blind items that have been revealed. FYI, blind items are delicious tea that an insider can't spill because it's too hot. So the writer will pour it in secret and spill little drops here and there like clues. Got it?More blind items revealed in Part 1 Part 3 , and Part 4 Part 5, and Part 6. "Right now it seems like nothing can go wrong for him, at least not professionally. He's in a groove. Personally things seemed to be going great too. He's happy with his partner. They're loving parents, they are supportive of each other, they are both kind and sweet people. But she's been upset about not being able to get pregnant and now she's in denial about a serious problem. It's starting to affect her career. She shows up drunk to events, embarrassingly drunk. To the point where reporters speaking to her don't even feel comfortable using what she's said, even though these are press opportunities for promotion. And they are really concerned about it at work. She drinks at work and it's making the situation difficult for cast and crew because they have to keep reshooting over her mistakes and the retakes are piling up. Her boss has had extensive experience with a big star disrupting the set and is just trying to get through as much as they can, keep production going, because no one wants the staff to be out of pay if everything is suspended. Recently though, its come to the point where they had to hold an intervention for her. It happened on set. Right now she's not in rehab but the hope is that they can keep her functioning until there's a long enough break for her when she's ready for treatment.""[There is a] billionaire who throws the best sex parties in Hollywood  best because of the VIP guest list that includes his girlfriend and her good friends, most of them very, very famous. Some of them participate, others are just there to observe. But these parties have become as big of a draw as the best Oscar parties, only even more exclusive."withand friends.It can be hard to breathe when youre as young and as famous as he is. He copes in public situations not unlike many of his counterparts in the industry  as alarming as this sounds, a bump here and there is pedestrian in Hollywood. Hes been known however to lock himself in the bathroom and blow until he can face the world. But a word of advice to our fresh star  people know, and they are watching, and they are offering money to those around you, some friendly, some unfriendly, to catch you in a compromising position. So be careful who you trust. Fortunately, for your sake, so far theyve refused to sell you out. But everyone has a price. People with children and mortgages have a price. And eventually someone will cave. And if youre still hiding out in the toilet and rubbing your nose in it, suffice to say that photo can set them up for life. Careful now.. (Yikes, is this why Katy Perry might be into him?)Shes a mega-star who started young and seemed to not be affected by the child star curse. Seemed to be. But eventually, that sh-t will find you, even on a delay.Its the mother. Though the parents were previously thought to be harmless... the mother now appears to be going full Dina Lohan. The mother has been hitting her up for cash for a while now, the better part of a year. To support her own projects, resurrect her own failed dreams, and her new relationship -- so essentially shes bankrolling her mas midlife crisis. The daughter can afford it, certainly, and if it was just the money, it wouldnt be getting out, but now shes being asked by her mother to leverage her own fame and influence for industry contacts and connections. Since she cant get a meeting on her own, shes been namechecking her daughter to get in the door, and when that doesnt work, shes been pressuring her daughter to step in on her behalf, jeopardising her daughters reputation. No matter how hot you are, you dont want to be known as the girl with That Mother. Its becoming a concern for the daughters management team, as they worry that her mas increasingly aggressive famewhoring will undo their own moves in advancing the young stars career. As you can imagine, its a delicate, uncomfortable situation. She is loyal and protective to and of her family. But she cannot deny that her mother may be compromising her professionally and is torn about whether or not to indulge her mothers demands or look out for herself instead. Shes stressed, and while that doesnt excuse her mistakes, it does provide some insight about some of her behaviour.By the way, her boyfriend has been very supportive through all of this, certainly her most reliable source of strength.was pressured into funding her mothers shitty movie.If motherhood is so rewarding, and what shes been waiting for her entire life, why is it that there is no evidence of motherhood in her home? Particularly accessories. Pottery Barn doesnt sell baby bottles.Which could be why she insists on banning them from the house?How does she feed her child when there are no bottles in the house?Well its because she doesnt feed her child. Its because the nannies feed her child. The nannies do everything for the child all days of the week. The nannies nanny morning and night while she works morning and night.Perhaps thats how she can justify her mandates: no bottles in the house, only bottles in the nanny trailers. Shes the modern mom?Who makes sure that her husband has someone on staff specifically to hold her bag while she watches him at work? This is the employees only job responsibility. This person does nothing else but hold the bag. Theres no multitasking here. Because the bag cant be put away in a room or on a table. It must be held. But not by her. Because she photographs much better when she has her hands free. This is Status. This is Respect. This from a woman who claims shes down with down home living. Not high maintenance? Please.Opportunity knocks but the past also drags. She has much to look forward to, and big shoes to fill, but the work is steady and only getting steadier and being attached to highly anticipated projects never hurts either.Only slight problem the man in her life isnt exactly supportive. Part jealousy, part insecurity, and he knows how to hold her, even though shed much rather, personally and professionally, be rid of the baggage.Unfortunately he is unscrupulously forcing her to love him by good old fashioned blackmail. Because somehow she found herself in a delicate situation not too long ago and decided not to join the 08/08/08 sweepstakes. When she took care of it without his blessing, he hit the roof, and threatened to go public. She and her management have placated him for now.But its the kind of scandal that would not sit well with the MiniVan Majority.And so shes waiting it out. Waiting for the right time to cut him loose, while he keeps pressing to make their commitment more permanent.(**allegedly**) blackmailedafter she had an abortionMarried and mega successful, with several children, but how to account for the gay young things seen coming and going from his trailer during production of his next hit?They were not part of the crew and they were not there to work at least not on the film. Word is, he is insatiable and needs variety. Rarely does the same boy visit twice. And rarely are the boys not well taken care of. Though they are not paid professionals, per se, but they are compensated for being pretty and bendy. This is apparently a requirement. All of them have been observed to share the same body type: lean and fresh with short hair and they look like they all belong in a music video.Satisfaction guaranteed on both sides. He gets his and they get trips, clothes, watches, iPods like a gay holiday year round!Looks like his trailer activities have not stopped, although now, instead of a revolving door of visitors, its just one on the regular  his trainer with whom he has been spending an inordinate amount of time while working on location for an ongoing project, locked alone behind closed doors for hours. Not training. Not even dressed for training.Curiously enough, hes taken to entertaining his trainer not in his own trailer but in his co-stars trailer, foolishly believing their long sessions would go unnoticed.Not unnoticed. And actually rather shocking for crew members who until now totally believed his fraud.again.
lmao

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LITERALLY MFT

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kick ha out!

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shit thats terrifying

where the hell security at

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Never doing your job I see, martha.

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lol @ the Jay-Z mention.

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That's scary as hell, glad they got him right away.



I got kind of freaked out during Gaga's show the other night bc she was singing and all of the sudden was like "Let go of me!"... but it was an aesthetic thing during John Wayne, which would have probably been easier to see immediately had I not been in the nosebleeds.

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If you think about it, Britney Spears really is like the Elvis Presley of our generation. I wonder if she'll die on a toilet too?

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lmao seriously

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This was very bizarre, you can see in the full video she was still frightened even after the fan gets escorted out the stage. I think after 2007 she really became terrified of strangers

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I feel sorry for brit but the way her dancer got into character is amazing

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I like how the first dancer makes eyecontact with her first to see her reaction.

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yikes

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Jesus christ, the stage-jumper is like a hired assassin with that ninja flip and then tossing the first security guard like a ragdoll. Another view: https://www.instagram.com/p/BXnzaAsl36r/ Jesus christ, the stage-jumper is like a hired assassin with that ninja flip and then tossing the first security guard like a ragdoll.

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damn. this isn't some casual jump on stage and get tackled by security routine we've seen.



this guy put up a ninja-esque fight. no puedo.

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These assholes have to ruin the show for everyone.

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Adult baby

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A baby making millions. How mad are you?

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Millions she can't enjoy since her dad is in charge of her money and only gives her an allowance.





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Where were you last night at the time of the incident?

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Don't be bitter because they carried you off stage last night 

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Is that your favorite fetish or role play?

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Don't be so harsh on yourself.

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I can't imagine how scary it must be for performers at concerts these days.

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so op hi. the other day you said taylor's ass was "grazed," now this ever so witty write-up. meaning this is the second time this week you've made light of women in dangerous/threatened positions because of men. cool.

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That's so sad! After everything that's happened at concerts over the past year or so, I don't blame her for being terrified.

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Oil investors have grown more optimistic as of late, as oil prices have moved back to $50 per barrel. The market appears to be on sounder footing, suggesting that things will gradually tighten for the rest of the year. But it is unclear how far oil prices can really move above todays position.

Hedge funds and other money managers have begun buying up long positions on oil futures, a sign of growing bullishness. Reuters analyst John Kemp argues that the positioning of hedge funds has entered the third bullish phase of 2017, after two previous cycles ran their course earlier this year. In fact, the most recent data saw the largest weekly increase in net-long positions so far this year, and interestingly, Kemp points out that the net-long build is due to new long positions, rather than simply just a reduction of shorts. In other words, investors are betting that crude oil prices will rise.

And for good reason. U.S. shale production growth has slowed, as has the rig count. Inventories have finally posted significant declines, which appear to be ongoing. Some high-profile shale drillers have announced spending cuts. And Saudi Arabia is moving to cut oil exports to Asia, a sign that OPECs most powerful member intends to do its best to accelerate market tightening.

Related: Natural Gas Prices Poised To Rise As Exports Boom

Plus, although OPEC compliance has slipped in the past two months, the cartel met this week to figure out a way to hold the laggards to their word. Nothing particularly concrete came from the meeting, but the group seems determined not to let things fall apart. "Discussions were conducted in a constructive atmosphere and proved fruitful," OPEC said in a statement. "The conclusions reached with the countries at the meeting will help facilitate full conformity. Few details were provided.

But can things continue on this upward trend? The biggest question now is, was that July rally just a lot of short covering, or does it have staying power? Mark Anderle, director of supply and trading at TAC Energy, told the Wall Street Journal. The markets just content to go sideways and figure that out.

Despite the newfound optimism, analysts do not see much upside from here. For example, Barclays said in a recent research note that the rally is probably unsustainable. "Prices have moved higher, due to a perfect combination of a favorable macro environment, a seasonal uptick in consumption, continued inventory drawdowns, and geopolitical unrest," the investment bank wrote. "Certain factors that supported prices in July are unlikely to last, and we expect a downward correction during this quarter."

The recent price gains, at least in part, were driven by greater bullishness from speculators, but absent a more dramatic improvement in the underlying fundamentals, those speculative movements can only take things so far. "Fundamentals remain shaky this quarter, therefore any rally that occurs before more substantive inventory draws would be short-lived, Barclays analysts added.

Related: The $50 Billion Backlog Of U.S. Energy Projects

One particular concern for oil bulls is the fact that U.S. shale producers are likely to turn up the pace of hedging with oil at $50 per barrel, locking in future production and ensuring that new supply comes online. Citigroup says that a new round of hedging is already underway. With the certainty of oil sales for 2018 in hand, shale producers can proceed with more drilling. That means more supply will be forthcoming, capping the price rally.

Moreover, without visible signs of ongoing improvement in the physical market, investors could start to sour on prices again. As John Kemp of Reuters points out, the liquidation of short bets on oil futures and the sudden increase of longs ultimately means that it may prove tough to sustain the recent upward momentum in crude and product prices. When investors take things too far, the pendulum tends to swing back. With speculators having already staked out bullish positions, there is less room to run on the upside.

By Nick Cunningham of Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Western Europes biggest oil and gas producer, Norway, is also one of the countries that is most self-congratulatory on its climate action, electric cars sales, and green policies. One of the centraland most controversialissues in the campaign leading up to a general election next month is whether Norways scenic Lofoten archipelago should remain off-limits for oil exploration and development.

Estimates have put the potential oil resources underneath the picturesque islands at between 1.3 billion and 3 billion barrels of oil equivalent, estimated to be worth US$60-65 billion at todays oil prices.

The two biggest parties in Norwaythe Conservative Party currently in power in a coalition government and the opposition Labor Partyare favoring initial steps to start an environmental impact assessment for the Lofoten area. However, both parties need coalitions with smaller parties to form a government after the September election. And all the potential junior partners of both Labor and Conservative are strongly opposed to any meddling with the beauty of the Lofoten, Vesteralen, and Senja islands.

Recent polls show that the currently ruling minority coalition of Conservatives with right-wing Progress Party and two smaller support parties would win 80 seats in Parliament, while Labor and the parties that support it would win at least 87 seats.

Whoever wins next months election, they are unlikely to lift the ban on oil exploration next to the archipelago, so the oil companies that have been eyeing new exploration areas vital for Norways industry, jobs, and oil production, may never see their dream come true.

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) has estimated that the areas off Lofoten, Vesteralen, and Senja could hold petroleum resources equal to around 1.3 billion barrels. Thats about US$60 billion at current oil prices, FT says. Local industry group Konkraft has estimated that those resources could be even bigger, upwards of 3 billion barrels, which, if more is crude oil rather than gas, means at least US$65 billion in oil revenues, according to Bloomberg estimates. Related: How Much Fuel Does It Take To Get To The Moon?

Norways government has seen its oil and gas revenues slump following the oil price crash of 2014. Last year, government revenues plunged by more than 40 percent compared to 2015, due to lower oil and gas prices.



Norways oil major Statoil, in which the government holds a stake, argues: We also see that a significant drop in production and activity will occur after 2025. If we are to retain a high level of activity after 2025, access to new exploration areas will be crucial to the future of the Norwegian continental shelf. The 23rd licensing round with the announcement of new blocks is therefore very important, as are the impact assessments of new areas outside of Lofoten, Vesteralen and Senja.

Earlier this year, the government said it was offering a total of 102 blocks up for exploration in the 24th licensing round on the Norwegian Continental Shelf in the Norwegian and Barents Seasa record number of blocks in the areadespite environmentalists concern over drilling in the Arctic.

Environmentalists continue to protest drilling in the Arctic and the potential opening of the Lofoten islands to exploration.

We are ready to smash the oil-industrys wet Lofoten dreams, Ingrid Skjoldvr, head of Nature and Youth (Natur og Ungdom) has told The Independent Barents Observer.

Greenpeace is also joining the protests, and is suing Norway in a trial set to begin in November. Greenpeace said it would argue that granting licenses to open a new oil frontier breaches the Norwegian Constitutional right to a healthy and safe environment for current and future generations and contravenes the Paris Agreement.

WWF Norway is calling for a permanent ban on oil and gas drilling in Lofoten, Vesteralen, and Senja, to replace the temporary ban that has been in place since 2001. Related: Natural Gas Prices Poised To Rise As Exports Boom

The ban, even if temporary, is unlikely to be lifted, regardless of who wins next months election.

According to estimates of the Konkraft oil industry alliance, it takes an average of 18 years from the award of a production license on the Norwegian Continental Shelf until a field begins production. If the discovery is large, the timing could be shortened to 10-15 years, Konkraft said in a report last year, in which it argued that To slow this decline in output and revenues, the oil companies need access to new and attractive exploration acreage.

In 18 years time, however, Lofoten oil may never be needed, because depending on climate policies and energy transitions, we may be past peak oil demand in 2035-2040.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
OPEC confirmed reports that its crude oil production increase last month, reporting a daily rate of 32.869 million barrels, up by 172,600 bpd. Global commercial oil stocks in the OECD block stood at 3.033 million barrels, still above the five-year average by 252,000 barrels.

Libya, Nigeria, and Saudi Arabia were the main drivers behind the OPEC production increase, with Libya raising its output by 154,300 bpd  by far the biggest increase among the cartels members.

Nigerian oil production rose by 34,300 bpd to 1.748 million bpd, while Saudi Arabias went up by 31,800 bpd to 10.067 million bpd.

On the other hand, OPEC reported, based on secondary sources, Iraqi oil output fell by 33,100 bpd ion July, the biggest decline among OPEC members. The second-largest decline came from Angola, whose production fell by 19,300 bpd, and Venezuelas output dropped by 15,800 bpd.

As for non-OPEC supply, the cartel revised its growth forecast for full-2017 to 780,000 bpd, down 28,000 bpd on the back of slower production growth in the Americas during the second quarter of the year. Total non-OPEC production of crude for this year is seen at 57.77 million bpd. The main drivers behind the increase will be the U.S., Canada, and Brazil, OPEC said, adding that their output will compensate for production declines in Mexico, China, and Colombia, among others. Related: Did BP Just Unlock A New Major Shale Gas Basin?

On the demand side, OPEC revised its full-2017 growth forecast by 100,000 bpd to 1.37 million bpd, thanks to stronger demand data for the second quarter of the year. Total global demand for this year is estimated at 96.49 million barrels daily.

Demand growth for 2018 is seen at 1.28 million barrels, with overall consumption of crude estimated at 97.77 million bpd. The bulk of the demand growth will come from non-OECD countries, which will account for 1.07 million bpd, while OECD countries will contribute 210,000 bpd.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
According to Selim Koru, Turkeys strategy towards the Black Sea is at a historical crossroads. Since the 19th century, Turkey has balanced against Russian power in the region through active Western military support. However, the country and its leader have now come to distrust the West and perceive it as a threat as well. As a result, Koru warns that if the U.S.-led transatlantic alliance wants to prevent Turkey from finding new avenues to respond to Russias resurgence, or even partnering with the Kremlin, it will need to reassess its priorities.



[Istanbul] holds an absolute dominion over the Black Sea. By one door only, namely by the Bosporus, it shuts up its communication with any other part of the world; for no ship can pass this sea, if the port thinks it fit to dispute its passage. . . For this reason, all foreign nations, if they want to entitle themselves to any prosperity in the immense wealth of the Black Sea, and all seaport and island towns, are obliged to court the friendship of this city.

So wrote Pierre Gilles, French Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, in 1561, a little more than a century after the Ottoman conquest of Istanbul. His comments remain true today as Turkey maneuvers between other NATO members and Russia to defend its interests in the Black Sea region. In Gilles time, the Ottoman Empire was at the zenith of its power, launching powerful raids onto three continents and channeling great wealth between the East and the West. Ottoman admirals like Piri Reis and Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha were masters of the seas.

It took centuries for this empire to decline, and as it did, others around it grew stronger. By the 18th century, Russia had grown under Peter the Great and began challenging the Ottomans. The ensuing Russo-Ottoman wars tipped the scales in Russias favor, leading to its annexation of Crimea in 1783. This defeat marked the first time the Ottomans lost Muslim territory to a Christian power.

Russia had long wanted warm water ports that would allow it to compete with its European rivals in the Mediterranean Sea. Turkey was thus fated by geography to act as a check on Russias imperial ambitions. When Istanbul could not do the job on its own, Russias rivals in Europe propped it up. The most salient example was the Crimean War of 1853-1856 when the French and British allied themselves with the Ottomans and defeated Russia.

The Russian threat persisted into the 20th century. After World War I, Turkeys control over the straits was restricted by the 1923 Treaty of Lousanne, which demilitarized them under the assumption that the treaties under the League of Nations would keep the peace. It did not take long, however, for the major powers to once again arm themselves in preparation for war. In 1936, Turkey called a conference in the Swiss town of Montreux to renegotiate the Treaty of Lousanne. In the subsequently agreed upon Montreux Convention, non-littoral states were allowed restricted naval passage, and Turkey was given the right to arm and defend the straits in wartime or the threat thereof. Russia could access the Mediterranean, but only with Turkeys permission. The treaty established Turkey as the membrane between Russian aggression and Western containment efforts.

After World War II, Stalin tried to compromise the Montreux Convention and had his eyes on Turkeys northeastern provinces. Turkey approached its Western allies for help, becoming a NATO member in 1952. Turkey remained at the choke point, but it had to rely on its allies to maintain its position. Related: Tech Guru Unveils New Battery To Challenge Lithium-Ion

During the Cold War, Turkey was the only non-Soviet aligned country on the Black Sea. But the dynamics of the bipolar order didnt require Ankara to develop an authentic policy towards its north at the time. Turkeys elites focused on the Europeanizing the country, leaving it to Washington to think about the Black Sea.

The Post-Soviet Period: Developing a Regional Strategy



As the former Soviet Republics around the Black Sea gained their independence in the early 1990s, Turkey once again set about developing a Black Sea strategy. Its goal was to make Turkey a key actor in developing the post-Soviet economic and diplomatic norms of the Black Sea, and thus become the regions leader.

Cultural overtures marked the starting point. President Suleyman Demirel visited the Crimean Tatars in Ukraine in 1994 and again in 1998, taking on the construction of housing for those who had been forcibly exiled from the peninsula, and were now trickling back in. During a 1994 visit to Moldova, Demirel stressed the importance Turkey placed on the welfare of the Turkic Gagauz minority there. Turkish businesses started touring the region in the mid-1990s, setting the foundations for trade. In 1995, Black Sea countries made up 2 percent of Turkeys total exports, while by 2008, that number was close to 12 percent, the bulk of which went to Russia and Romania. In 2015, trade with the Black Sea region had declined to 7 percent of Turkeys total trade.

Ankara wanted to create an institutional framework that would facilitate its leadership in the region. It led the effort in the signing of the 1992 Bosphorus Statement, which led to the creation of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), headquartered in Istanbul since 1994. BSEC became a fully-fledged regional economic organization in 1999, and today, it includes countries from the wider Black Sea region. Other Turkey-led initiatives include the Black Sea Naval Force (BLACKSEAFOR), a naval cooperation program launched in 2001 among littoral states, and Operation Black Sea Harmony, which was a Turkish national operation in 2004, and was eventually expanded to littoral states. With most of these initiatives, Turkey was careful to work with regional countries only. Initiatives by its Western allies would not only undermine the regional legitimacy of this kind of diplomacy, but also overshadow Turkeys role. European interference always meant a Greek presence, which risked conflating disputes of the Aegean Sea with those of the Black Sea.

It was no coincidence that Turkey stood out for its eagerness for international cooperation among Black Sea states. When looked at from a Western perspective, Turkey in the 1990s was a coup-prone developing country that was fighting off a growing ethnic insurgency in its southeast. From a post-Soviet Black Sea perspective, however, Turkey was a country with two decades of open market experience and a diplomatic corps steeped in international institutions. Turkeys initiative here continued the pattern of behavior Ankara acquired in from its Western experience centuries earlier. The idea in the 1990s was that the Black Sea littoral states would gradually become commercially more dependent on each other and socialize into the international liberal order. By being the conduit to this process, Turkey was going to rise to a leadership position.

Needless to say, that future never materialized.

A Rising Russian Threat



In August 2008, then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo?an was at a state cocktail event, and as usual, was surrounded by journalists. Russia had recently launched a full-scale invasion of neighboring Georgia, and the European Union and the United States had condemned the action, but did little beyond that.

Where did Turkey stand?

People try to push us towards one side of the Georgia incident, Erdo?an said, Some push entirely towards the USA, and some towards Russia. Now, the USA is our closest ally, and Russia is a country with which we have a significant trade volume, most of all in energy. I will not allow Turkey to be pushed entirely to either side. We will act as Turkeys national interests require.

History would suggest that since Russia was once again flexing its muscles in the region, Turkey would close ranks with its Western allies. Erdo?ans statement, however, was more reserved, trying to remain impartial between two important partners, rather than balancing one against the other. He did so mostly because Turkey has long bought more than half of its natural gas from Russia and has consistently tried to leverage its geographic position as an energy transit country. It would have been odd to trade barbs with Russia when even NATO allies were passive.

Since 2008, Russias influence on Turkey is no longer only a matter of economics. The Kremlin steadily worked to expand its influence in the Black Sea region, occasionally stepping on Turkeys toes. Most notably, in 2014, Russias military intervened in Ukraine, which resulted in the annexation of Crimea and the suppression of the pro-European and pro-Turkish Crimean Tatars. Turkeys leadership is not known for mincing its words, but on this issue, Ankara made little noise

Moskva, the leading ship of the Project 1164 Atlant class of guided missile cruisers in the Russian Navy.

Russias military modernization is also steadily tipping the balance in its favor. The Russian Black Sea fleet has modernized its Soviet-era cruisers and destroyers and has added new submarines. Some of these vessels carry calibr land-attack missiles that Russia has used on targets in Syria. When France refused to sell two Mistral-class amphibious assault warships to Russia, Moscow announced that it would build its own. Russian ground installations and airports on the shores of the Black Sea have also received updates over the past few years. Russian S-400s especially could deny NATO planes access to the skies above the Black Sea region, the Baltic Sea, Turkey, and Poland. Access to the port of Sevastopol in Crimea and the port of Tartus in Syria also gives Russias fleet greater reach into the Mediterranean, surrounding Turkey from the North and South.

Turkey was relatively quiet about these developments until a diplomatic crisis occurred in November 2015 after the Turkish air force shot down a Russian jet that violated Turkish airspace over the Turkey-Syria border. Russia responded with economic sanctions and downgrading diplomatic ties. Speaking at the Balkan Security Conference in Istanbul during this time, Erdo?an said that the Black Sea had become a Russian lake and that NATO should step up its efforts to balance the situation. The NATO summit on July 8-9, 2016 called for new deterrence measures in the region, but the organization has so far not blunted Russias rise in the region. Turkey and Russia subsequently normalized diplomatic relations, and Russia lifted some of its sanctions, but the balance of power in the Black Sea remains the same.

To add to its woes, the Turkish militarys morale and fighting capabilities took a serious blow with the attempted coup on the night of July 15, 2016. Afterwards, the Erdo?an government embarked on a wide-rangingpurge of all state institutions, which included about half of all generals and a large portion of pilots, including those of the F-16s that would be important in a hypothetical confrontation with Russia. Speaking ahead of a visit to Ankara two months after the attempted coup, General Valeriy Gerasimov put it plainly: Several years ago the capability of the [Russian] fleet was sharply contrasted, in particular, with the Turkish navy, when it was said that Turkey is virtually the master of the Black Sea. Now everything is different.

Weighing Threats



Given Russias actions since 2008, Turkey could be expected to bury its differences with the West and come together to balance Russia. But trust between allies seems to be crumbling too fast for the Russian threat to hold it together. There are many reasons for this situation, and some of them have to do with Turkeys internal political process. Turkey has taken a decidedly undemocratic turn, provoking criticism from the West, and dishing out its own fair share of reproach in return. Turkey and Europe havent agreed on how to manage refugee flows, and leaders on both sides garner votes through nationalistic grandstanding. Related: Did BP Just Unlock A New Major Shale Gas Basin?

The heart of distrust Ankara feels towards the West lies in an existential issue: Western tolerance, and at times support for, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), a Marxist-Leninist, and more recently, Kurdish nationalist insurgency. The PKK is recognized as a terrorist organization by the U.S. and EU, but neither has consistently treated it as such. Europe has, for some time, held one eye closed as the PKK spread its fundraising and public relations activities across its capitols. In the Syrian Civil War, the U.S. began to support the Democratic Union Party (PYD,) the Syrian affiliate of the PKK. The U.S. makes a legalistic distinction between the PYD and PKK because it sees the former as its best proxy against the Islamic State. The U.S. seems to think that Turkey is too dependent on NATO to do much beyond complaining. This mindset is a great risk. From Turkeys perspective, the worst fears of a generation are coming about: a Western-backed PKK-linked state is forming on its border, interrupted only by a Turkish military incursion west of the Euphrates.

This fear was only exacerbated by the attempted coup in July 2016, which involved the Gulenists, a clandestine religious network whose leader resides in the United States. The coup, Gulens presence in the U.S., and Western support for the PKK compounded Turkeys already deep distrust towards the West, and no one embodies, and perhaps magnifies, this feeling more fully than the Erdo?an himself. Erdo?an, who referred to the United States as [Turkeys] closest ally in 2008, said in January 2017, referring to his Western allies stances on the PKK and Gulenists, I cannot call them friends, but this picture is unbefitting to those whom we at least deemed to be allies.

Turkeys Black Sea policy is therefore at an historical crossroads. It is the ultimate status quo power, in charge of upholding the more than 80-year old Montreux Convention. This role forces Turkey into a delicate balance, and Turkish diplomats are keenly aware that if it is lost, it could have disastrous consequences on the countrys future. Since the 19th century, Turkey has balanced Russian power through active Western military support. Now, however, the country, and its leader, seems to view the West as a threat as well. If this trend continues, the country must either find a new way to balance a resurgent Russia, or partner with the Kremlin. If the U.S.-led Transatlantic alliance wants to prevent such a partnership from happening, then it will probably need to rearrange its priorities to reflect this reality.

This article was originally published by the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI) on 18 July 2017.

By ETH Zurich

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Iraq needs to regain access to a pipeline that was used in the past to export Iraqi crude oil via Saudi Arabia, according to Parliament member and former Iraqi oil minister, Ibrahim Bahr Al Olum.

I have discussed this issue before with the Saudi side, Saudi newspaper Al Hayat quoted Al Olum as saying, as carried by Reuters on Thursday.

The Iraqi Pipeline in Saudi Arabia (IPSA) has not been used to load Iraqi oil since the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait back in 1990. IPSA was laid across Saudi Arabia in the 1980s after both sides in the Iran-Iraq war attacked oil tankers in the Persian Gulf. Saudi Arabia confiscated the pipeline in 2001 in exchange for debts Iraq owed.

In 2011, Iran threatened to block the Strait of Hormuzwhich lies along the route of around 40 percent of the global seaborne oil exportsin retaliation to the Western sanctions. Then Saudi Arabia reopened IPSA to be ready to have alternative export route should Iran live up to its threat.

Al Olum expects that Saudi Arabia may have a more positive response regarding the reopening of the pipeline, in view of improved political relations between OPECs no.1 and no.2, according to the Saudi newspaper.

Regarding bilateral oil relations, Iraqs current oil minister Jabar Luaibi is currently on a visit to Saudi Arabia, where he discussed the oil markets and the need to urge all partners to stick to their commitments in the OPEC production cuts.

According to Saudi oil minister Khalid al-Falih, the talks were centered around the need to intensify efforts to urge all parties to strengthen their commitment to the agreement to reduce production, to maintain the balance of global energy markets.



Related: Did BP Just Unlock A New Major Shale Gas Basin?

Iraq, OPECs no.2 producer, has been the worst-complying member of the cartel since the production cuts began. Although its output in July dropped by 33,100 bpd to 4.468 million bpd, Iraq was still producing more than the ceiling it had signed up to4.351 million bpd.

Earlier this week, OPEC held a meeting with some of the producers and cited its members Iraq and the UAE, as well as non-OPEC signatories to the deal Kazakhstan and Malaysia, as laggards in compliance, but added that they all expressed their full support for the existing monitoring mechanism and their willingness to fully cooperate.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
The pace of bankruptcy filings by North American exploration and production companies has slowed down dramatically so far this year compared to last year, according to the latest Oil Patch Bankruptcy Monitor by law firm Haynes & Boone.

With data updated as of July 31, 2017, fourteen producers had filed for bankruptcy in 2017, representing some US$5.1 billion in cumulative secured and unsecured debt, Haynes & Boone has estimated.

This compares to 45 E&P companies filing for bankruptcy in the period January-May 2016 alone, according to the monitor.

Referring to this years figures, the law firm said in its report:

"E&P bankruptcy filings have continued to dwindle over the summer. While five E&P companies with cumulative debt of $77 million filed for bankruptcy in June, there were no E&P company bankruptcy filings during the months of May or July.

Since the beginning of 2015, a total of 128 North American oil and gas producers that have filed for bankruptcy, including Chapter 7, Chapter 11, Chapter 15, and Canadian cases. All those bankruptcies involve around US$79.3 billion in cumulative secured and unsecured debt, according to Haynes & Boone.

Many companies that needed to restructure either have gone through bankruptcy or reached out-of-court settlements with creditors, Ian Peck, a partner at Haynes & Boone, said, as quoted by the Houston Chronicle.

However, the lower-for-longer prices may lead to an uptick in bankruptcy filings in the near term, according to Peck.



Related: U.S. Oil Sanctions Could Push Venezuela To The Brink

Despite the industrys new stability at this price point, a prolonged pricing trough may ultimately be too difficult for some players to bear, he said.

A number of U.S. drillers expect to continue raising production this year, but some are adjusting spending to the expected cash flows in the current oil price environment, after prices failed to rise as much as analysts and investors had expected a few months ago.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
The 6inch plus phablets have existed for a while but the unusually big sized devices had a very few buyers. The new trend of thin bezels and even bezel-less display are increasingly making bigger phones compact and convenient to hold.

Xiaomi too has launched the Mi Max 2, successor to the last year's launch - Mi Max - which the company claims was the best seller in its category. Done in matte black, the Mi Max 2 feels premium to hold. Boasting a 6.4inch display just like its predecessor, the Mi Max 2 in a 6.85 (h) x 3.49 (l) inch body doesn't feel too big to hold. A lot of credit goes to the soft metal chassis and the 2.5D curved glass merging smoothly into the unibody anodized aluminium body. Held in any hand, the power button along with the volume key is easy to access. The 3.5mm port sits on the top edge with the Type C charging port and speaker grills on the bottom edge and a fingerprint scanner at the rear panel. There are three capacitive touch keys below the display, which can be used used to enter one-handed mode as well, accessible in 3.5inch, 4inch or 4.5inch. Sliding the finger from home towards the back key shifts the one-handed mode towards the bottom right and sliding the finger from home to options key moves everything to the bottom left. I rarely used this feature but it came handy while launching apps, replying to a message or even while dialing a number when the other hand was occupied. Tapping on the empty area exits this mode. Going back to the display, Xiaomi has added a full HD display with decent viewing angles, making it apt for watching multimedia content on the move. The colours reproduction is good with sufficient sunlight legibility. When compared with the 5.5inch screen of the Apple iPhone 7, both the screens fetched the same number of stories from Google News but the font size on the Mi Max was slightly bigger. Xiaomi has even added dual speakers that complement the multimedia experience.

For someone who has never used a Xiaomi smartphone, the user interface is pretty neat. But unlike stock Android, apps are placed across homescreen in different folders and features tucked under different apps. For instance, data usage setting can be accessed within the security app. The assistive touch can be activated by turning on the Quick ball from settings, which will eliminate the need to reaching out the power button to lock the phone or the capacitive buttons from the bottom. For privacy, Xiaomi has added an app lock, where apps which you don't wish other to access can be password protected using system-level security tools. You can install a third-party launcher app and thankfully, the one-handed mode will still be accessible. The Mi Max 2 runs MIUI8 based on Android 7.1.1 and is yet to receive split-screen mode which can be used to launch two apps at the same time. I used the Mi Max to stream videos, play games, write emails and browse the web. It handled all the tasks with ease, without showing any signs of slowing down. On papers, the Mi Max 2 is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor paired with 4GB of RAM and 64GB onboard storage. There is also a 12MP rear camera with Sony IMX386 sensor with various modes such as manual, straighten, beauty, group shot, tilt-shift amongst others. Images shot under bright daylight had great details but there was visible noise in low light images.

Smartphone battery is usually a pain-point in many devices but Xiaomi has addressed that concern by adding a massive 5300 mAh battery to the Mi Max 2. When full charged, it easily lasted me two days with still some juice left. But charging such a big battery can take a lot of time and that is the reason Xiaomi added Quick Charge 3 to this phone. Using the Type C adapter added in the box, 68 per cent of the battery can be charged in just over an hour, good enough to last a day.



Bag it or Junk it: Checks all the right boxes, the Mi Max 2 is one of the best big sized phablet available in the market.

Price: Rs 16,999

Rating: 4/5
Indus Water Treaty ended on a positive note

WASHINGTON: A constructive engagement between Pakistan and India during the recently held water talks in Washington has raised hopes for an amicable resolution of this dispute, according to diplomatic sources.



The World Bank, which hosted the talks at its headquarters two weeks ago, also noticed this positive change and mentioned it in a press release on Aug 1, noting that the meetings  were held in a spirit of goodwill and cooperation.



Islamabad and New Delhi disagree over construction of the Kishenganga (330MW) and Ratle (850MW) hydroelectric power plants being built by India. (The World Bank is not financing either project). Islamabad contends that the technical design features of the two plants contravene the Indus Waters Treaty.



The plants are on a tributary of the Jhelum and Chenab rivers, respectively.



An international expert, who closely monitors the Pakistan-India water talks, told Dawn this was the first time in many years that delegates held a constructive discussion, instead of merely stating their official positions.



The expert said in previous talks sometimes the two sides did not even exchange formal greetings.



They would just read the statements they brought with them and leave, but this time it was different, he added.



Both sides have now returned to their capitals to consult their governments on the ideas discussed at Washington. The negotiation concluded at the World Bank headquarters on Aug 1.



The Indus Waters Treaty was signed in 1960 after nine years of negotiations between Pakistan and India with the help of the World Bank, which is a signatory. Seen as one of the most successful international treaties, it has survived frequent tensions, including conflict, and has provided a framework for irrigation and hydropower development for more than half a century.



Former US president Dwight Eisenhower described it as one bright spot ... in a very depressing world picture that we see so often.



But recent tensions also affected the water talks as India expressed its intention to use water as a tool to influence Islamabads Kashmir policy. Islamabad rejected New Delhis charge of supporting militants, but vowed to continue supporting the Kashmiri movement for self-determination.



Thats why the spirit of cooperation displayed during the last meeting was welcomed in Washington. Careful not to hurt this rare opportunity for a positive engagement between the two neighbours, the World Bank decided not to publicise the talks.



However, it did issue a brief statement on Aug 1, announcing that the talks had ended and the two sides had agreed to meet again next month.



The bank also issued a fact-sheet with the statement, giving a brief description of the dispute and the efforts it had made to resolve it.



One paragraph stated that under the Indus Waters Treaty, among other uses, India is permitted to construct hydroelectric power facilities on these rivers subject to constraints specified in annexure to the treaty.



This paragraph was interpreted by the Indian media as an endorsement of New Delhis position, causing the World Bank to issue a clarification.



The 1960 Indus Waters Treaty does not bar India from constructing hydroelectric power projects on tributaries of the Jhelum and Chenab rivers with certain restrictions, the World Bank says in its fact sheet on the treaty, the Indian media reported.



The bank, however, rejected this conclusion as erroneous and reminded all parties that discussions between India and Pakistan about the Kishenganga and Ratle hydroelectric power plants are ongoing.



A reference in the Pakistani media to former US secretary of state John Kerrys call to Finance Minister Ishaq Dar in January also caused some unease as the Indian side apparently believed that Pakistan was trying to create an impression that the United States was playing a mediatory role, which it was not.

The disagreement



The treaty designates the Jhelum and Chenab Rivers as well as the Indus as western rivers, to which Pakistan has unrestricted use. Among other uses, the agreement permits India to construct hydroelectric power facilities on these rivers subject to constraints specified in annexure to the treaty.



Pakistan asked the World Bank to facilitate the setting up of a court of arbitration to look into its concerns about designs of the Kishenganga and Ratle projects. India asked for the appointment of a neutral expert for the same purpose. These requests came after the Permanent Indus Commission, which is part of the treatys resolution mechanism, failed to resolve the dispute.
Pak-Afghan to resume talks at JEC in Kabul

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Afghanistan have decided to resume talks at a high level by convening a meeting of the Pak-Afghan Joint Economic Commission (JEC) next month in Kabul after a delay of more than 22 months.



It will be the first high-level talks between the two neighbouring countries since November 2015 after Afghan President Ashraf Ghanis condition to continue talks with Pakistan on all issues, including trade, subject to involvement of India. Moreover, the deteriorating security situation has triggered an intermittent war of words between the two countries with Afghan officials holding Pakistan responsible for each such incident.



The proposal for resuming talks on economic issues in September was made by Afghan Ambassador to Pakistan Hazrat Omar Zakhilwal during a meeting with Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday.



It will be a great opportunity for Islamabad and Kabul to repair their diplomatic and business relations which have discontinued since November 2015.



An official statement issued after the meeting said Ambassador Zakhilwal stated that the next session of the Pak-Afghan JEC was due and proposed that it might be held in Kabul in September.



The finance minister welcomed the proposal and said mutually convenient dates be decided to hold the session next month. Mr Dar was of the opinion that the JEC meeting would provide an opportunity to discuss measures for furthering the cause of economic cooperation between the two countries.



The Afghan envoy was informed that Pakistans economic affairs division would liaise with the Afghan embassy to work out details in this regard. The main focus of the JEC will be enhancement of bilateral trade and economic cooperation.



The two sides also discussed various issues of mutual interest, including the current state of bilateral relations, especially in the context of economic cooperation.



Finance Minister Dar said the increased economic cooperation would not only benefit the two countries, but also boost regional cooperation and trade. He said Pakistan wanted to see peace and economic progress in Afghanistan which would open many other avenues of mutual cooperation.



The 10th Pak-Afghan JEC session was held on Nov 23, 2015, in Islamabad. The JEC is a highly important forum that takes into consideration important issues, including trade facilitation, enhancement of bilateral and transit trade, highway and railway projects, scholarship scheme for Afghan students, as well as potential joint ventures in various other sectors.



One of the fallout of the suspension of talks was a decline in bilateral trade. Pakistans exports to Afghanistan dropped by a significant 27 per cent over the past one year, owing to several factors.



Pakistans exports to Afghanistan had reached an all-time high of $2.4bn in 2010-11. It remained over $2bn in the subsequent two years  2011-12 and 2012-13. Since then, exports started to dwindle and hit $1.43bn in 2015-16.



In the first quarter of the current financial year, exports were recorded at $362.5 million. It clearly reflects that the annual exports to Afghanistan will now be around $1bn when the figure for 2016-17 is finalised.



Talks on several issues have been on the back burner for a couple of years because of Kabuls loss of interest in concluding a trade liberalisation regime with Pakistan. In 2014, both sides agreed to initiate negotiations on a bilateral preferential trade agreement (PTA), with Pakistan sharing a draft text of the agreement with Afghanistan.



In 2015, Afghanistan conveyed to Pakistan that it would formally respond to the draft PTA by January 2016. This issue will be raised at the upcoming JEC meeting.



Moreover, to encourage business-to-business interaction between the two countries, a joint business council (JBC) comprising leading businessmen from both sides was established. The first meeting of the JBC was scheduled for August 2015. When Kabul failed to send its response, a new date for the JBC meeting was scheduled for Feb 17 last year in Islamabad. However, no meeting of the JBC has been held so far.



Pakistan recently reminded the Afghan side to convene the 7th meeting of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Coordination Authority in Kabul as had been agreed at the last meeting held in 2016. It will be one of the important issues to be raised at the JEC meeting.



The draft text on avoidance of double taxation was also shared, but no follow-up meeting has been held so far.
Deputy Minister for Youth and sports, Hon. Pius Hadzide has revealed exclusively to Agoo TV that the erstwhile Mahama Administration sold Police Recruitment forms at its party headquarters to party supporters.



He explained that the action by the former administration has all resulted in the high rise of lawlessness in the country.



He added people have lost respect for the Police force because of the politicising of security agencies like the police force.



Recruitment of police officers under the former administration was characterized by lots of controversies to an extent that police recruitment forms were sold at the NDCs party headquarters.



According to the Deputy Minister, the new IGPs plan to restore the integrity of the Ghana Police is in line with the presidents plan for the security agencies in the country



He has however encouraged the public to give the police the maximum respect so as to promote a country void of lawlessness.



He has also encouraged the police to believe in the Nana Addo led government because they have the interest of our security forces at heart.

Source: ghanaweb.com/Nana Kwabena Agyare









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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NPPs Chairman Wontumi has condemned the burning of excavators by Anti-Galamsey Task Force in their quest to curb illegal mining in the country.



He described the act as inappropriate and barbaric which must be condemned by all including the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Mr. John Peter Amewu.



The National Anti-Galamsey Task force, code named Operation Vanguard, has reportedly set about 10 excavators on fire.



The incident reportedly happened when it invaded Extra Gold Company and other mining sites at Akyem-Banso and Kwabeng  all in the Atiwa District of the Eastern Region, on Tuesday.



The earth-moving equipment of at least 22 tones each were doused when a contingent of the 400 members of the task force went to the mining sites.



The team, consisting of military and police personnel, reportedly fired several gunshots at the premises of the company.



The burning of the excavators is contrary to the Minerals and Mining Act 2015 - Section 99 under Offences and Penalties states that seized equipment must be kept in the custody of the police.



Speaking on NEAT FMs morning show Ghana Montie - The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako urged the owners of the heavy duty machine to sue government.



They should go to court and sue government. In as much as we are fighting against illegal mining, it is uncivilized to burn excavators whiles we can use that to work. Whoever is responsible must be identified and face the law. I have been a victim and will never support this barbaric act, he said.



I believe the task force members have been trained for this operation, were they advised to burn excavators? Someone must face the law for this inhumane behavior, he told host Kwesi Aboagye.

Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/Peacefmonline.com/ Twitter: @Washman5/ Instagram: Washman007









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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ELIZABETHTOWN  The former town of Minerva employee who was arrested last fall for stealing thousands of dollars from the town pleaded guilty to a felony and two misdemeanors Thursday in Essex County Court.

Jordan P. Green, 30, of Minerva, pleaded guilty to grand larceny, official misconduct and tampering with public records in connection with the theft of $11,500 from the town while she worked as clerk to the town supervisor.

Green was arrested last November after a State Police investigation and audit by the state Comptroller's Office uncovered money had been stolen from various town accounts between 2010 and 2015. Green resigned after the theft was discovered.

She faces up to 4 years in state prison when sentenced Sept. 11 by Essex County Judge Richard Meyer, and will be required to pay restitution.
FORT EDWARD  Two men have been sentenced to serve state prison terms for felony driving while intoxicated convictions in Washington County.

Michael J. Bassett, 47, of Fort Ann, was sentenced to 1 to 3 years in state prison for driving drunk last April 27 on Route 22 in Fort Ann.

Charles F. Blakeman, 32, of Hudson Falls, was sentenced to 1 to 3 years for a conviction earlier this year that stemmed from an arrest in Hudson Falls.

Both men were charged with felony DWI because they had prior DWI convictions within 10 years.
GLENS FALLS  A Glens Falls teacher improperly laid off by the school district in 2013 will receive nearly $121,000 in back pay, according to a recent settlement.

Randy Tyner had run the districts gifted-and-talented program for eight years until he was let go in June 2013 during a round of budget cuts.

He appealed his decision to the state education commissioner on the grounds that he was not the least senior person that should have been laid off under the first-in, last-out rules of union contracts.

Tyner is certified to teach English in grades 7-12 and had an extension in gifted education. He said in his appeal that his duties were similar to a teacher providing instructional support services and he should have been accruing seniority as part of an exception in state law.

State Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia ruled on Dec. 8, 2016, that the district had to reinstate Tyner as a teacher and determine the benefits he was owed.

Tyner was reinstated this past January. He was assigned to teach a first-grade class at Jackson Heights Elementary School to cover for a person who was on maternity leave. His salary was set at $87,269  pro-rated for the rest of the 2016-2017 school year.

The issue over his back pay was not resolved until June 27. District officials concluded Tyner was owed $120,814. They calculated the money he would have earned as a teacher and subtracted money he collected from unemployment insurance and courses he taught at SUNY Adirondack during the 2013-2014 school year and money he earned by teaching grades 7-12 English at Cambridge school from 2014 through December 2016.

Under the agreement, Tyner was due to receive a lump sum payment of $40,000 by June 30.

He will receive gross pay in the amount of $20,000 added to his base salary in each of the 2017-2018, 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 school years and $20,814 in 2020-2021, according to the agreement obtained by The Post-Star through a Freedom of Information Law request.

In addition, he will receive credit for 83.5 sick days and 1 personal day as of Jan. 3, 2017.

The agreement contains the typical confidentiality clause, except for the information required under a Freedom of Information Law request.
JOHNSBURG  Two men were dead Wednesday night after what police described as a murder-suicide involving two brothers at their home earlier in the day.

Police identified them as George Puglisi, 76, and Dennis Puglisi, 71. The shootings happened at a home on South Johnsburg Road around 3 p.m. Wednesday.

Warren County Sheriff Bud York, whose agency is investigating the shootings, said the situation appears to be a murder-suicide. The public is not in danger and the individuals involved are accounted for, he said.

According to Warren County property records, the property at 802 South Johnsburg Road was owned by George Puglisi. Neighbors also identified the men who lived at the home as brothers Dennis and George.

George Puglisi, 76, was the elder of the two, and police believe he shot his 71-year-old brother Dennis Puglisi before turning the gun on himself. Authorities said George Puglisi called 911 and told an operator he had killed someone and was going to kill himself.

According to police, George Puglisi was still alive when officers arrived, and he was transported to Albany Medical Center via helicopter for treatment of a gunshot wound, but was pronounced dead a short time later.

Sheriffs Lt. Steve Stockdale said there was written correspondence left behind that explained some of what occurred. Police did not elaborate as the investigation continued.

The small, wood-sided home is one in a cluster of homes near the intersection with Glen Creek Road in a remote stretch of Johnsburg just north of Thurman.

Some residents of the area knew the men well, saying they were quiet and friendly.

They were really nice people, very good with the neighborhood kids, said John French, who lives across the road.

Warren County sheriffs officers were going door-to-door Wednesday afternoon, talking to residents and letting them know they werent in danger. Officers came and went from the Puglisi home and appeared to search woods around the home.

French said the neighborhood was shocked by the situation. Multiple neighbors said there were no indications of any trouble at the home.

Four area boys who were across the road from the house as police went door-to-door said they were nice men, one of them telling them he served in the U.S. Air Force.

They didnt witness or hear the shooting, but knew the men well, saying they had lived there for at least a decade.

We would hang out with them. They were really nice, said 11-year-old Trevor Updike.

One was quieter, shier than the other, said Lucas French.

The quieter one liked to talk about politics, the boys said.

One of the brothers knew a lot about building airplanes and gave the boys a toy helicopter, said 12-year-old Charles Updike, with friend Alex Altman standing next to him and nodding his head.

Police said there had been no recent history of problems at the home that had involved a law enforcement response.

York said the State Police Forensic Identification Unit was headed to the home Wednesday night to assist the Sheriffs Office in searching for and documenting evidence.
There seem to be two kinds of Republicans: those who think that the full faith and credit of the United States can be the subject of political experimentation, and sensible ones.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin fits in the latter category. He has repeatedly called upon Congress, controlled by the GOP, to pass an increase in the statutory debt limit, with no policy strings attached, so the United States government may continue borrowing past the current, already expired ceiling of $20 trillion  and pay all of its obligations on time. The stability of the financial system, domestic and international, depends on preserving the risk-free status of U.S. debt, earned over centuries. A failure to raise the debt limit would imperil this status, causing a serious problem, as Mr. Mnuchin has put it with considerable understatement.

Lawmakers have so far declined to follow his advice, however, thus violating Mr. Mnuchins recommendation, made six weeks ago, to take care of business before the August recess, which for the House began July 29. Mr. Mnuchin can continue to pay the federal governments obligations by means of extraordinary measures through about mid-October, but he says the drop-dead date for legislative action is Sept. 29  giving Congress just 12 working days after it returns from August recess.

Mr. Mnuchin is getting no help from Mick Mulvaney, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, who hails from the wing of the GOP that believes in playing political games with this issue. On Sunday, Mr. Mulvaney answered yes when CNNs Jake Tapper asked if the White House policy was to insist Congress not vote on any other legislation, including the debt ceiling, before trying once again to repeal Obamacare. This appeared to reopen a rift with Mr. Mnuchin that first appeared in the spring, when Mr. Mulvaney spoke of making a debt-limit extension contingent on spending cuts  only to be publicly contradicted by Mr. Mnuchin, apparently with President Trumps authorization.

Now, who knows? Certainly Mr. Mnuchins delicate talks with Republican and Democratic senators on a possible debt-limit deal havent gone anywhere, and probably wont as long as neither side in the Senate knows exactly where the White House stands. The Trump administration believes its important to raise the debt ceiling as soon as possible, said Sarah Huckabee Sanders at her daily news briefing Tuesday  fine as far as it goes, but not quite an endorsement of unconditional debt-limit extension, which is Mr. Mnuchins position and the only responsible one.

Mr. Trumps chief of staff, retired Marine Gen. John F. Kelly, got his new job with instructions to impose order on the chaos that reigns at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. We cant think of a better place to start than by bringing everyone in the administration into line, starting with the man at the top, behind Mr. Mnuchins position on the debt ceiling. The hour is getting late, and the stakes are immense.
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1. Ya Maka My Weekend

3. Tug Fest

This weekend, the river rivalry returns. Teams from Port Byron and LeClaire will compete in a tug-of-war, stretching a 680-pound rope across the Mississippi River. In addition to the Tug, set for noon to 3 p.m. Saturday, both towns will host festivities, including parades, live music, carnival rides and fireworks, from Thursday through Saturday.

4. All kinds of bacon

Calling all bacon lovers. Make the trip to Monmouth, Illinois, this weekend and you could be feasting on bacon bourbon brownies, bacon candy, bacon eggrolls and bacon-wrapped, well, everything. BaconFest, which features 13 food vendors, beer, a bacon-eating contest, live music from the Corn Wolves and Soul Storm and kids activities, is happening from 5-9 p.m. Saturday in Monmouth's City Square. Admission is free.

5. 'Brighton Beach Memoirs'

Here's your last call to check out "Brighton Beach Memoirs," presented by the new theater group, Mississippi Bend Players. The group wraps up its inaugural season this weekend, with performances of "Brighton Beach Memoirs" at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 4 p.m. Sunday at Augustana College's Brunner Theatre Center, 3750 7th Ave., Rock Island. Tickets, $12-15. For more information, visit mississippibendplayers.com.

6. Birdtalker at the Raccoon Motel
Q. In the past, when I pulled up my property assessment on the Scott County website, it showed a picture of my house. When I looked at it this weekend, (Sunday, July 30) the photo is no longer there. Is this something that the county did on purpose? Or is there a technical problem? My concern and other residents would be if the assessments are the most up to date based on renovations that have been done.

-- Julie, Davenport

A. We contacted the Scott County Assessor regarding you question. Ray Weiser, GIS coordinator for Scott County, responded:

"We've been having technical problems with the Parcel Query site recently related to images not showing up for properties across Scott County. We have been in contact with our vendor to address the issue and from our latest correspondence, it appears that photos of Davenport properties are now displaying properly with the remainder of the property photos expected to be back to normal later today (Aug. 3) pending a data transfer. We will continue to monitor the Parcel Query application and worked closely with our vendor to address any lingering issues. We recognize the value of the site to our constituents and apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused."

Q. Several roads were closed this summer including Division Street and Wisconsin Avenue for bridge repair over Interstate 80. They were all closed longer than specified. I thought they were going to resurface and make them much nicer. Now that they have reopened, it seems they are in worse condition than when they started. All they seemed to do was replace the guard rails. Why would they have to close the roads for that and why would it take so long? -- Linda, Eldridge, Iowa

A. We contacted the city of Davenport and the Iowa Department of Transportation regarding your questions.

Nicole Gleason, assistant city administrator/public works director for the city of Davenport, said, "This was a IDOT (Iowa Department of Transportation) project, not a public works project."

She also provided a link to the following information on the Iowa DOT's website http://bit.ly/2ffD8Oo

Catherine Cutler, transportation planner, District 6, for the Iowa DOT said, "The work is on city street bridges over I-80 and the Iowa DOT initiated those bridge repair projects. The preconstruction agreements are usually between the Iowa DOT and the LPA when we have cost sharing. In this case, we didn't have cost sharing and I brought those projects in our quarterly meeting and the city of Davenport was OK with closing the roads without agreements. The working days are usually specified by the Office of Contract and apparently the contractor took advantage of all the available time. Again the work was to maintain the bridges over I-80 and not to fix the city streets. It would be ideal to fix the bridges and the city streets at the same time but that is not always possible."
June 20

1 A television and clothing items, valued at $2,800, were reported stolen on the 2700 block of Tech Drive.

July 13

2 Cash, valued at $1,110.35, was reported stolen at Papa Johns Pizza on the 3300 block of Middle Road.

July 14

3 A 2003 Chevrolet Cavalier and a 2017 Hyundai Sonata collided at the Interstate 74 exit ramp to State Street, resulting in $1,200 in damage.

July 15

4 Fraud, no value listed, was reported on the 3200 block of Utica Ridge Road.

July 16

5 Alisa Ann Williams, 42, 12 Riverview Lane, was arrested at Holly and Hillside drives on suspicion of habitual offender driving while barred.

6 Water bottles, valued at $2.97, were reported stolen at 7-Eleven on the 3200 block of Utica Ridge Road.

7 Wayne Anthony Parrott, 59, 1034 Conklin St., Iowa City, was arrested on the 1700 block of Isle Parkway on suspicion of simple assault.

July 17

8 A 2007 Cadillac Escapade and a 2012 Honda Odyssey collided on the 2900 block of Learning Campus Drive, resulting in $5,500 in damage.

July 18

9 An iPhone, valued at $700, was reported stolen on the 1500 block of Fairlane Drive.

10 Cash, a key and a lanyard, valued at $253, were reported stolen on the 800 block of 28th Street.

11 A ladder, bike, shoes, game, raft, leaf blower, nail gun, paint sprayer, power washer and lawnmower, valued at $3,060, were reported stolen on the 1800 block of Parkway Drive.

12 A 2005 Mercury MGO and a 2003 Peterbilt truck collided at 12th and State streets, resulting in $2,100 in damage.

July 19

13 An electric bike, valued at $350, was reported stolen on the 4200 block of Greenbrier Drive.

14 Criminal mischief, damage totaling $40, was reported on the 5700 block of Fenno Road.

15 A mirror, sofa bed, lamps, glassware, table, doll and television, valued at $3,400, were reported stolen on the 7300 block of Valley Drive.

16 A hit-and-run crash, no damage total listed, was reported on the 1300 block of 14th Street.

17 A 1994 Buick Park Avenue and a 2015 Nissan Altima collided on the 1300 block of 14th Street, resulting in $7,000 in damage.

18 A hit-and-run crash, damage totaling $250, was reported on the 2600 block of Central Avenue.

July 20

19 Criminal mischief, no damage total listed, was reported on the 7300 block of Valley Drive.

20 Prescription pills, no value total listed, were reported stolen on the 4300 block of Southfield Place.

21 Shorts, valued at $14.99, were reported stolen at Burlington Coat Factory on the 1400 block of Kimberly Road.

22 A 2012 Toyota Prius and a 2003 Oldsmobile Alero collided at Learning Campus Drive and 18th Street, resulting in $1,250 in damage.

July 21

23 Justin Douglas Ahnquist, 35, 4063 E. 53rd St., Davenport, was arrested on the 2900 block of Devils Glen Drive on suspicion of fifth degree theft.

24 Remington Ronald Parker, 21, 3565 Central Ave., was arrested on the 3500 block of Central Avenue on suspicion of simple assault domestic abuse and first offense consumption/intoxication.

25 Shon Johnson, 49, 1601 Arlington Ave., Davenport, was arrested on the 1700 block of Grant Street on suspicion of forgery, third degree credit card fraudulent practice, conspiracy to commit a misdemeanor and possession of drug paraphernalia.

26 Michael Lee Sedols, 58, 2001 Chestnut Ave., Sterling, Illinois, was arrested on the 1700 block of Grant Street on suspicion of forgery, third degree credit card fraudulent practice, conspiracy to commit a misdemeanor and possession of drug paraphernalia.

27 Jessica Lee Defrieze, 38, 2118 8th Ave., Moline, was arrested at Middle and Kimberly roads on suspicion of first offense operating while intoxicated and open container driver over the age of 21.

28 A hit-and-run crash, no damage total listed, was reported on the 800 block of Middle Road.

29 A 2013 Chevrolet Impala and a 2015 Chevrolet CLD collided on the 900 block of Middle Road, resulting in $8,000 in damage.

30 A Chevrolet Tahoe and a 2015 Volvo Semi collided at Kimberly and Middle roads, resulting in $1,000 in damage.

31 A 2000 Chevrolet C2500, a 2011 Chevrolet Silverado and a 2015 Nissan Sentra collided on the 3100 block of Greenbrier Drive, resulting in $18,000 in damage.

July 22

32 A fire, damage totaling $15,000, was reported at Middle Park on the 2200 block of 23rd Street.

July 23

33 Destiny Rene Lowe, 22, 1812 18th St., was arrested on the 1800 block of 18th Street on suspicion of simple assault and disorderly conduct.

34 A 2011 Subaru Outback and a 2009 Mercury Milan collided at Interstate 74 mile marker 4.1, resulting in $4,000 in damage.

July 24

35 Fraud, totaling $1,991.80, was reported on the 4700 block of Kynnelworth Drive.

36 Forgery, totaling $200, was reported on the 2800 block of AAA Court.

37 A hit-and-run crash, no damage total listed, was reported at 11th and Grant streets.

July 26

38 Fraud, totaling $3,869.82, was reported on the 5400 block of 56th Avenue Court.
Maxine McEnany, the Bettendorf Community School District finance director who resigned in January after several years of questioning the district's financial audits, is among seven people running for three seats on the district's School Board.

Thursday was the deadline for filing for the Sept. 12 school board elections in Scott County, as well as for the board of Eastern Iowa Community Colleges.

Every district will see competition, but it is highest in Bettendorf. Second-highest is in Davenport, where six people are running for three seats.

"I'm a watchdog," McEnany, of 3431 Clover Hills Drive, said, adding that many people encouraged her to run.

She also said she loved her job as director of financial and business services and that she has three main goals: continuous student improvement, to look out for the taxpayer and to look out for employees.

Other candidates in Bettendorf are:

 Andrew Champion, 1215 Eastmere Drive

 Gary Goins, 6312 Lakehurst Drive

 Adam Holland, 1845 Anderson Court

 Richard Lynch, 4315 Aspen Hills Circle

 Kendra Marinaccio, 2919 Greenway Drive

 Pepper Trahan, incumbent, 6328 Patrick Pointe Road

Incumbents Scott Tinsman and Betsy Justis are not running again.

Pleasant Valley

Pleasant Valley elects members by district, and there is competition in District 2 where Heather Witters, board president, is not running. Filing to replace her are:

 Brent Ayers, 398 Stage Coach Trail

 Deborah Kepple-Mamros, 108 S. 6th St., both LeClaire.

The other two incumbents are running unopposed:

 Director District 1, Chris Cournoyer, of 27633 Blackhawk Court, LeClaire.

 Director District 7, Jean Dickson, 2977 Summertree, Bettendorf.

Eastern Iowa Community Colleges

One candidate has filed for each of the four director district openings on the board of directors.

 District I, incumbent Denise Hollonbeck, 904 Wisconsin Ave., Davenport

 District II, incumbent Milton Shaw, 1626 McCormick Place, Davenport

 District VI, Lori Freudenberg, 22715 Great River Road, LeClaire. Incumbent Kim Clausen of Camanche did not file for re-election.

 District VIII, Jim Hayes, 1920 Ashford Ave., Muscatine. Incumbent Bill Phelan of Muscatine did not file for re-election.
A Davenport woman accused of stealing more than $150,000 from the School Nutrition Association of Iowa has pleaded not guilty in Scott County District Court.

Norma Jean Adams, 74, waived her right to a formal arraignment and filed a written plea through her attorney, David Treimer.

Assistant Scott County Attorney Amy DeVine on Wednesday formally filed charges of first-degree theft and commission of specified unlawful activity.

Prosecutors intend to try Adams as a habitual offender, which could result in an enhanced sentence on the charges if convicted.

According to court records, she has felony convictions in Scott County in July 1987 and Rock Island County in March 2003.

She will be in court Aug. 25 for a pretrial conference. A trial has been scheduled for Sept. 5.

Adams, under the name Norma LaMantia, was the executive director of the School Nutrition Association of Iowa, a statewide, nonprofit organization representing more than 950 members employed by school districts who provide meals to students across the state.

She resigned June 30, 2016, after members of the association's board discovered irregularities in her financial transactions for the organization.

State Auditor Mary Mosiman conducted an audit for the association that took in the time period of Jan. 1, 2010, through July 31, 2016.

According to an arrest affidavit filed by Davenport police, Adams deposited $156,248.25 belonging to the organization into her personal bank accounts.

Adams admitted to taking the money in an interview with auditors and a Davenport police detective and said she had spent her personal funds "and then I took some money from the association, according to the audit report that was released in June.

At one point, she said she felt "so guilty" about what she had done in 2014 that she paid back $10,650 but hid the reason for the repayment on financial documents, according to the audit report.

The audit report found that Adams misused at least $169,000 over a five-year period.
Moline police are seeking the public's help in identifying subjects involved in a shots fired incident on August 5 in the area of 54th Street and 5th Avenue.

According to police, subjects in a the black Chevy car with Iowa registration were shooting at subjects in the red Chevy van with unknown registration.

The Moline Police Department is requesting the community's assistance in identifying the subjects in this video/audio clip.
Ex-nutrition group official arraigned in theft case

A Davenport woman accused of stealing more than $150,000 from the School Nutrition Association of Iowa has pleaded not guilty in Scott County District Court.

Norma Jean Adams, 74, waived her right to a formal arraignment and filed a written plea through her attorney, David Treimer.

Assistant Scott County Attorney Amy DeVine on Wednesday formally filed charges of first-degree theft and commission of specified unlawful activity.

Prosecutors intend to try Adams as a habitual offender, which could result in an enhanced sentence on the charges if convicted.

According to court records, she has felony convictions in Scott County in July 1987 and Rock Island County in March 2003.

She will be in court Aug. 25 for a pretrial conference. A trial has been scheduled for Sept. 5.

Adams, under the name Norma LaMantia, was the executive director of the School Nutrition Association of Iowa, a statewide, nonprofit organization representing more than 950 members employed by school districts who provide meals to students across the state.

She resigned June 30, 2016, after members of the association's board discovered irregularities in her financial transactions for the organization.

State Auditor Mary Mosiman conducted an audit for the association that took in the time period of Jan. 1, 2010 through July 31, 2016.

According to an arrest affidavit filed by Davenport police, Adams deposited $156,248.25 belonging to the organization into her personal bank accounts.

Adams admitted to taking the money in an interview with auditors and a Davenport police detective and said she had spent her personal funds "and then I took some money from the association, according to the audit report that was released in June.

At one point, she said she felt "so guilty" about what she had done in 2014 that she paid back $10,650 but hid the reason for the repayment on financial documents, according to the audit report.

The audit report found that Adams misused at least $169,000 over a five-year period.

--Tara Becker

Police investigate early morning robbery

The Davenport Police Department is investigating an armed robbery at the Kwik Shop, 2805 Telegraph Road.

Officers responded at 3:06 a.m. Thursday. Police say two men entered the store and one of them displayed a handgun and demanded money from the safe.

The clerk was unable to open the safe and the second man demanded the register be opened, according to police.

The two men then removed the cash and fled. The clerk was not injured, according to police.

The Criminal Investigation Division is following up on the incident.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the Davenport Police Department at 563-326-6125 or submit an anonymous tip via the mobile app CityConnect Davenport, IA or CrimeReports by Motorola.

--Times staff
Kimberly P. Mitchell/Detroit Free Press/TNS via Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- Ronna Romney McDaniel, chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, joined ABC News Jonathan Karl and Rick Klein on the 100th episode of the "Powerhouse Politics podcast to talk North Korea, Donald Trump and the future of the Republican Party.



According to McDaniel, Republicans will need to rack up some accomplishments based on promises theyve made regarding the repeal and replacement of Obamacare, tax reform and infrastructure if they want to keep control of Congress. It is hard to go and make the case, give us the majority again, when we havent accomplished the things that we ran on, McDaniel said.



Contrary to comments made by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday that President Trump has set excessive expectations for legislative action, McDaniel says that The Presidents expectations mirror the sentiments of the American people.



Saying this is as good as we can do just isnt acceptable when peoples premiums are going up, and deductibles are so high and insurers are pulling out of the marketplace, McDaniel said, adding that she believes more frustration should be leveled on Democrats for creating Obamacare in the first place.



McDaniel dismissed suspicions that Vice President Mike Pence is preparing a presidential run for 2020. He has been a partner with this president every step of the way, and is in no way setting up any type of shadow campaign or looking for an opportunity to run against this president, she said. He is totally committed to serving President Trump and the American people.



While the RNC avoids taking positions in primary elections, McDaniel does not anticipate any Republicans challenging Trump in the next election, unless they make an independent run. I just cant imagine thinking that the party would go against an incumbent president, McDaniel said.



Though it is rare for a serious challenger to run against an incumbent president of their own party, it happened in the cases of Pat Buchanan taking on George H. W. Bush in 1992 and of Ronald Reagan challenging Gerald Ford in 1976. But neither Ford nor Bush had approval ratings as low as Trumps as they were being challenged.



And its not much different than the day he got elected, McDaniel said of the Presidents relatively low rating. Indeed, according to Gallup, 36 percent of Americans approve of Trumps job as president, a number that matches the favorability rating found by Gallup the week before he was elected.



Asked about Trumps recent threat of fire and fury like the world has never seen to North Korea if it continues to threaten the United States, McDaniel contrasted the current administration to that of President Barack Obama.



Clearly [Kim Jong Un] was much farther along than the Obama administration had expected, she said. President Trump is saying if you attack the United States, if you attack our allies, there will be consequences.



Chairwoman McDaniel ended her appearance on the podcast by praising musician Kid Rock, though she personally doubts he will run for Senate. People who aren't from Michigan dont understand how much hes given back to the community of Michigan, she said. Hes one of those people who succeeded and stayed in the state and always has given back to the community and championed not just Michigan but Detroit.



Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Two down, one to go.

The realization of a Costco Wholesale location coming to northeast Davenport is two weeks away as the City Council unanimously approved the second consideration of an ordinance to rezone a prospective site Wednesday.

Costco plans to construct a 156,170-square-foot building and fuel station at the 17.88 site on East 53rd Street, north of Fairhaven Road.

The site is going through the rezoning process from A-1 agriculture and R-1 and R-2 low density residential to a Planned Development District.

The process has already yielded a recommendation for approval from the Plan and Zoning Commission. The City Council is now on the last of three considerations of an ordinance to move the development forward.

As was the case with the previous committee-of-the-whole and council meetings, nearby residents turned out to express their concerns.

Both Jerry Ludden and Dr. Jill Bjerke have spoken out against the project in the past and continued to do so on Wednesday for different reasons.

Speaking first, Ludden said that isn't against Costco, but rather the lack of planning for the impact on traffic while also addressing 6th Ward Alderman Gene Meeker's comments last week about people being afraid of change.

"None of us are afraid of change, but we are weary of change that isn't well thought out," Ludden said. "Our realization is that we are pretty much fine with Costco.

"I'm not wild about the site, but we would put up with the inconveniences that the site represents except for one thing. We've spent millions of dollars to complete Elmore Avenue out to Jersey Ridge, which is a beautiful wide road with left turn lanes installed, and we just feel that is where the entrances and exits to this Costco project should go."

Rather than repeat comments from previous meetings, Bjerke, a former Plan and Zoning Commissioner, spoke out about the site's detention pond.

At previous meetings, Bjerke raised concerns about the impact on traffic and the potential public safety hazard caused by the location.

Bjerke said that the parking plans submitted were for asphalt and not pervious concrete or any substance that would help passively drain water.

Citing her sister's experience living in western Chicago behind a creek similar to that of Duck Creek, Bjere warned of the issues that resulted from a new development.

"What has happened now is millions of dollars are being spent on a flood wall to mitigate damage and protect this property," Bjerke said. "As our climate changes so do our responses to it. I am not convinced this detention pond can address that."

In response to Bjerke's comments, Aldermen Ray Ambrose, 4th Ward, and Jason Gordon, at large, said stormwater management had come so far and they were confident in the plans submitted.

Gordon also said proposals for traffic control were sufficient and long-term improvements would be made as a result of the federal Department of Transportation approving almost $8 million in grant funding for 53rd Street from Brady Street to Elmore Circle.

While members of the City Council expressed confidence in the vetting of Costco's plan, Bjerke has still not been convinced.

"I feel that Davenport is feeling squeezed to approve this plan or Costco will walk away and not consider another site," Bjerke said. "I want Costco here. A vote yes for a bad plan is still a bad plan."
Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza's office announced Thursday she has directed $429 million to be paid to school districts across the state, a bit of a boost for educators stuck in the middle of a funding impasse in Springfield.

The past-due payments, which cover categorical expenses for such things as transportation and special education, went out this morning, her office said.

The announcement comes on the day that Springfield missed its first general state aid payment to school districts. That money was to have gone out Thursday, but Gov. Bruce Rauner and legislative Democrats are at odds over a school funding reform bill.

Quad-City area school officials welcomed the announcement, but made clear it is merely a down payment.

"It's a smaller piece of a bigger puzzle," United Township Superintendent Jay Morrow said.

In Illinois, school districts usually get four categorical payments per year. However, during the two-year budget impasse, that source of funding stopped going out on time.

The comptroller's office said that Thursday's payment represents the third-quarter categorical payment due at the end of March.

A June 30 payment remains past due.

Morrow said Thursday he hadn't seen the funding yet, but $156,000 is a typical quarterly categorical payment.

That's just a fraction of the state aid the district usually gets. It generally gets about $600,000 in categorical payments and $3.2 million in general state aid per year.

In the Rock Island-Milan School District, a quarterly categorical payment would amount to about $800,000, and its annual general state aid funding amounts to $24 million.

The district has said that it would have to look at borrowing this fall if the impasse continues. The new payment helps, but it doesn't change that timeline much.

Meanwhile, in East Moline, Superintendent Kristin Humphries said the $350,000 he expects will help, but that if it looks like the first general state aid payment the district is due in early September won't arrive, the district will "prepare for borrowing scenarios." Already, East Moline has dipped into its reserves for $1.5 million to cover expenses.

Even as Quad-City area school officials welcomed the new money Thursday, they made clear they're hoping for a more permanent solution when the General Assembly meets over the next week to take up the governor's amendatory veto of SB1, the school funding reform bill. "We really hope and pray they get a compromise," said Rock Island-Milan Superintendent Michael Oberhaus.

Mendoza's office said it has been preparing for the possibility that Thursday's general state aid payments wouldn't go out to districts on time. It said money that it had reserved for that purpose, along with other cash management strategies, allowed it to pay the past-due categorical funds Thursday.
Quad-Citians in search of waterfront staycation destinations should look no farther than the outskirts of west Davenport.

The Scott County Conservation Board unveiled a pair of furnished cabins Wednesday at West Lake Park, which spans 620 acres just west of Interstate 280.

During a ribbon-cutting ceremony, Roger Kean, executive director of the board, said the "luxury-style" Summit Cabins resemble vacation rentals in the touristy town of Galena, Illinois.

The 1,176-square-foot buildings, which overlook the 24-acre Railroad Lake and nearby Summit Campground, officially open to the public on Monday, Aug. 21.

Beginning Thursday, guests can make reservations online or in person. Rentals cost $130 per night and $780 per week.

Visitors may stay a minimum of two nights and a maximum of two weeks. The cabins join 135 campsites at West Lake Park.

Complete with two bedrooms, a full kitchen, bathroom and living room with a fireplace, each cabin comfortably sleeps eight, county officials said. However, guests must bring their own bedding.

"We don't do laundry," Kean said as he addressed a crowd that toured the facilities early.

Each unit also has Wi-Fi access, a shaded deck, fire ring, picnic table and gas grill.

Design Homes Inc., Eldridge, built and delivered the cabins in November for $120,000 each. The entire project cost about $450,000, Kean said.
The Dubuque office of RDG Planning and Design has been selected to create the road map from which Davenports riverfront will be designed and constructed.

RDG was selected over three other firms  SEH of Madison, Wisconsin, Hitchcock Design Group of Naperville, Illinois, and Shive-Hattery of Moline  to develop the design standards in preparation of Davenports future riverfront improvements, said Zach Peterson, landscape design architect for the city of Davenport.

At least 14 members of the panel heard presentations from the companies at the Figge Art Museum on Tuesday. After the presentations, the panel met to decide which company most impressed them.

They really understood what we were asking them to do, Peterson said of RDG.

The panel, he said, was impressed by RDGs work on the Integrated Technology Center Courtyard at Western Technical College in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and the companys work on Dubuques Chaplain Schmitt Island.

Its up to city staff now to determine what the city will be asking of RDGs architects and designers.

The first step for RDG will be to give the project a brand identity, Peterson said.

Peterson described RDGs task as a road map on which the city will base its journey to a new and revitalized riverfront.

Due to the cost of the riverfront improvements, construction will be done in phases, he said. With RDG developing the guidelines and framework, well have a consistent point of reference to which we will refer over time.

With the road map in place, the next step will be securing the funding over the years to implement the citys plans, Peterson said.
NAMI Greater Mississippi Valley offers nationally developed education programs that teach families to cope, communicate and effectively advocate for a loved one living with a serious mental health condition. Registration is available through Sept. 5 for NAMIs free Family-to-Family class, a 12-week education program offered at Black Hawk College Outreach Center, 301 Avenue of the Cities, East Moline. The class will meet Thursdays from 6 - 8:30 p.m. from Sept. 7 through Nov. 30.

Instructors will call participants prior to the start of class to learn more and answer questions. To register, call Black Hawk College continuing education at 309-796-8223.

The program is designed for family members, partners and friends of individuals 18-years or older living with a serious mental health condition. Course topics include family response to trauma, diagnosis and dealing with critical periods, problem solving, communications skills, and self-care for caregivers.

NAMI Greater Mississippi Valley is an affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, providing free education and support programs to individuals and families living with a serious mental health condition. NAMI GMV fills an otherwise unmet information gap in our community, serving residents in Muscatine, Clinton, Scott Counties in Iowa and Mercer, Henry, Rock Island Counties in Illinois. Learn more at www.namigmv.org.
A good Thursday to all. A chance of rain enters the Quad-City forecast. Here are the weather details from the National Weather Service.

1. Rain possible later today

Skies will be partly sunny with a high near 84 degrees. There's 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1 p.m. as a weak cool front moves through the area.

The strongest storms could approach severe levels with hail the main risk with gusty winds of 40 to 55 mph a secondary risk.

Tonight there is a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 10 p.m., then a slight chance of showers between 10 p.m. and midnight. The overnight low will be around 60 degrees.

Friday will be mostly sunny with a high near 79 degrees and a low around 58 degrees.

2. Storm sewer repairs, detour begins on River Drive in Davenport

Work has begun on the long-awaited repair of a collapsed storm sewer on West River Drive between Brown and Gaines streets in Davenport. Until the project is completed, westbound traffic on River Drive is being detoured at Western Avenue to 2nd Street to Warren Street and then back onto River Drive. Traffic delays are possible. Work is expected to be completed by the end of the month. Read more.

3. DOT: Higher levels of automation in I-80's future

By 2040, at least a fifth of the traffic on Interstate 80 in Iowa will be highly automated, a new Iowa Department of Transportation study says, and planners need to take into account the coming changes when preparing for the future.

Automated vehicle technologies are under rapid development. And although driverless cars are far into the future, some experts say, the idea that a significant share of traffic along Iowa's main east-west highway would be highly automated in less than 25 years is striking. Read more.

4. Costco project gets second OK

Two down, one to go. The realization of a Costco Wholesale location coming to northeast Davenport is two weeks away as the City Council unanimously approved the second consideration of an ordinance to rezone a prospective site Wednesday. Costco plans to construct a 156,170-square-foot building and fuel station at the 17.88 site on East 53rd Street, north of Fairhaven Road. As was the case with the previous committee-of-the-whole and council meetings, nearby residents turned out to express their concerns. Read more.

5. Man charged in LeClaire Park fatal stabbing wants trial moved

6. New detour in Rock Island effective today

The city of Rock Island reports that beginning today the two northbound lanes of 24th Street will be closed between 4th and 5th avenues for a sewer repair.

Southbound traffic will be maintained along 24th Street through the 4th Avenue intersection near the repair.

The repair work will require northbound traffic on 24th Street to be detoured east along 5th Avenue, north on 26th Street, west on 4th Avenue, and reconnect northbound traffic to 24th Street at 4th Avenue.

Travel delays can be expected during the construction at or near this location.

The project is expected to take several weeks for completion.

Coming up: The City of Moline reports that beginning August 28, 19th Street from 7th to 12th avenues will close for water main construction.
Justine Damond was shot and killed by a police officer in Minnesota. She was an Australian set to marry an American. Justine had called to report a crime in her neighborhood and when the police arrived, they murdered her. I say those that ride tigers end up in their belly.

Cops are trained in the art of overkill. Too many officers have no respect for citizens; all they care about is making it home after their shift. If a victim of a crime acts dramatic, they may be taken away or worse, by responding trigger-happy officers. With fellow citizens like cops, who needs foreign enemies?
SUNDANCE, Wyo. | John Ferguson revved the engine of his 2005 Harley-Davidson in the middle of this small town on Wednesday afternoon. A crowd of more than 100 people stood around him, holding cans of Bud Light and leaning on motorcycles. The revving grew louder. Smoke curled out of the back of the Harley as flecks of rubber splattered across onlookers.

A small pop echoed down the platform where Ferguson sat. The crowd cheered.

With the help of a few men, Ferguson rolled his Harley down the platform. His back tire was flat and shredded, but he was smiling. He had just participated in the Wyoming Wednesday burnout, an event thats drawn Sturgis rallygoers to Sundance for nearly 40 years.

Alice Schloredt said it started in the mid-'70s when she and her husband, Jerry, owned The Dime Horse Shoe bar. Two bikers walked in with a cloud of rubber smoke and Schloredt tried to whip them out with a broom. They all ended up on the floor, laughing. A year or two later, another bike burned out his tire in the middle of the street next to her bar. Then they kept coming.

I wasnt intending to do that at all, Schloredt said.

To participate in Burnout Wednesday, a biker must sign a waiver saying he or she wont sue and acknowledges the inherent danger of the activity. The biker then rides on the platform and locks down the brakes. The front tire is screwed into place and then the biker revs the engine until the back tire blows out.

Why do it? It draws attention, Scot Steward said.

Steward has been coming to the Sturgis rally since 1983 and has participated in a few burnouts elsewhere. This year, he was just a bystander.

If youre going to do a burnout and nobody sees it, whats the sense in doing a burnout? Steward said.

Six contestants participated in this years Burnout Wednesday, which Schloredt says is a small number. First-place winner Terry Knowles walked away with a $750 prize, but $250 of it will go toward replacing the back tire on his 2006 Harley Sportster.

The rush, Knowles said when asked why he participated. I love it  I love speed.

The Illinois native has been to the rally only once before and said this was his first Burnout Wednesday.

Ferguson, who is from Heron Lake, Minn., said he participated to support small towns like the one hes from. Now Im going to go find somebody to clean this up, he said, looking at his rubber-covered bike and deflated rear tire.

Schloredt no longer owns The Dime Horse Shoe, but she still watches the burnouts from a distance. She owned the bar for 25 years and she credits the success of Burnout Wednesdays to the fact that she never raised the prices.

We just treat em good, she said.

Several men hosed down the platform after the winners were announced, forcing rivers of black water across the street. The scene is smelly, messy and crowded, but almost everyone is smiling.

Its a lot of fun, Steward said with a chuckle, and theres a bar right next to it.
NISLAND - Fair livestock numbers and entries overall may be down, according to one fairboard member, but that didn't dampen the enthusiasm of those kids, big and small, that were showing animals and displaying their special creations on Friday, August 4 at the Nisland fairgrounds.

The day started a bit cooler but warmed throughout the day to mid-80's which was comfortable for both humans and livestock. Things started off at 7 a.m. with junior calf entries followed by the 4-H and FFA Beef Showmanship at 9.

Nick Edelam, a student at University of Wyoming examined each cow, calf or steer in the ring and chose the winners.

The Dress a Rabbit contest was held that morning, which this year grabbed the attention of 14 energetic youngsters showing off rabbits dressed in everything from Superman to Bo Peep. Rabbits maybe don't provide quite the fun that the Dress a Bum Lamb contest a day earlier provided but those hippity-hop creatures can wriggle right out of a contestants hands pretty easily.

Later in the morning the 4-H, FFA and Open Class rabbit show was held.

Bucket calf class was held at Noon, followed by a bit of slack time to just enjoy the fair, care for animals prior to release and prepare for the Round Robin Showmanship competition at 5:30. Only those grabbing the highest honors in regular showmanship participated in this event.

Round Robin is a bit on the difficult side as each category of animal, including meat and dairy goats, dairy cattle, beef cattle, horse, sheep and swine must be shown by a youngster who has probably never had much to do with those animals. Each showman circulates to show each type of animal and the overall winner is chosen by compilation from the judges. This year's winners were Senior showman was Tee Mcamis and Junior showman was Laney Mackaben.

The Nisland/Arpan Fire Department Auxiliary held their 11th annual pie sale fundraiser at the fair.

"We had 40 people lined up before we could even open the booth," laughed organizer Rhonda Vallery.

The ladies, along with Fire Chief Stan Lewis, sold pies all afternoon, by the pie or by the piece, with or without ice cream. The Auxiliary sold out with just a couple pieces left by the time the other events were over and packed up to utilize the remaining pieces at the Firemen's Brisket fundraiser on Saturday, August 5.

Right next door to the pie sale booth was the opportunity to place a silent bid on non-livestock projects that youngsters had submitted for sale. These items ranged from a smartly repurposed International Tractor side piece bench to a horse shoe boot rack and jams and jellies. Just like the livestock sale, these items were bid up beyond a normal price so the youngsters could take home a tidy sum.

The 4-H and FFA Livestock Sale kicked off with a full house. Registrant Megan Erk had to turn people away who wanted programs, but everyone that wanted a sale number was able to pick up that neon green piece of paper.

And they used them. Roger Croell, Croell Redi-Mix, purchased the first animal in the ring, the Grand Champion Gilt hog of Laney Ewing. It went for $350. The first beef to enter the sale ring was Shaylie Holben with her Grand Champion Steer and they were off and running down to the last little critter.

Belle Fourche Livestock added a $50 bonus to each sale of beef cattle to each youngster, adding to the money these kids received for the hard work they had put in.

And then it was done. Another Fair Friday in the books with only a 9 p.m. to midnight dance in the pavilion to wrap up the evening.

Saturday would finish off the 2017 Butte/Lawrence County Fair and it would be another last hurrah for the seniors of the group, as one mother put it. Many of the kids have spent their lives showing animals or other products at the fair and the memories will last a lifetime.
MILES CITY, Mont.- Paul E. Young and Nellie Mae (Heron) Young welcomed their first son, Glen Elmer into the world on Christmas Day, December 25, 1917.

As a young boy, he lived with his parents on the homestead on Cherry Creek, north of Terry, Montana where his father ranched and broke horses. He learned at a young age how to ride and properly care for them. When he was 5 years old, the family moved to Terry. Paul bought the transfer and ice business. Everything was still done with horses and wagons. Glen learned the business at an early age. He attended school in Terry. In the summertime, quite a lot of town people had barns they could keep milk cows in. They would pay Glen $2 per month to take the cows to Pauls pasture for the day to graze and then Glen would bring them back in the evening. He gave his father half the money because it was his pasture. There were usually 10 to 12 head, so that meant $10 to $12 per month. That was quite a lot of money for a child.

In 1932, his father and Sid Johnson, who both had a lot of horses, got together and decided to send Glen out to ride with the CBCs (Chapple Brothers Company) to represent them in gathering and branding of their horses. Everyones horses ran together on the range. Glen would make sure Paul and Sids horses didnt get shipped off with those belonging to Chapple Brothers. At that time, the CBCs was the largest and wildest horse operation in America. Quite an experience for someone his age.

While in school, Glen worked for his parents, who also owned and operated the drayline in Terry. They had a contract to carry mail between the post office and the trains and to transfer freight from the Northern Pacific and Milwaukee railroads, besides lumber, coal and anything from stores to customers. Glen took over the business upon graduation from high school in 1936. That same year, he married his high school sweetheart, Juanita McLarnon. They lived in a small house in Terry. Their first child, Gail, was born in 1937 followed by their first son, Paul Dennis, who was also born on Christmas Day, December 25, 1938. Other children included Sandra, Kent and Cyndy.

Glen enlisted in the U.S. Army and went to boot camp. Just when he was ready to ship out to Japan, the bomb was dropped and he was sent home.

Glen was an exceptional bronc rider. He was never bucked off a horse. He also enjoyed music and in fact played guitar and sang in his younger years. In 1942, Glen went to Roswell, New Mexico to build Air Force bases. The family later moved. They returned to Terry a few years later. He was determined to stay home, but ended up traveling to Alaska to work on building the Al Can highway. Glen worked for several road construction companies through the years. This took him to Colony, Wyo. in 1974 to haul bentonite. A year later, he was back to Alaska, where he worked hauling gravel until he retired from the Union in 1985. He moved to Belle Fourche to once again haul bentonite. That is where he met his future wife Vicki Davis. They were married Dec. 31, 1991 in Belle Fourche. They later moved to Miles City, where they resided until his death.

Glen had been in Friendship Villa for the past few years. Glen would have celebrated his 100th birthday December 25, 2017. He lived 36,383 days. He passed away Aug. 5 with family by his side.

Glen is survived by his wife, Vicki (Davis); sons: Paul Dennis (Chris) Young of Miles City, MT; and Kent (Margo) Young of Belle Fourche, SD; and his daughter Cyndy (Marc) Schimke of Phoenix, AZ; a stepdaughter, Tiffany Catlett of Florida; and his father-in-law Al Davis of Belle Fourche, SD. He had 13 grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren and eight great-great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents and brothers: Chet, Eugene and Alvin; his sister Lila (Dan) Hewitt; daughters: Gail Bibeau and Sandra Binder; grandson Michael Bibeau and granddaughter Bree Elena Young.

Military Graveside Services will be held on Thursday, August 10, at 11 a.m. at the Prairie County Cemetery in Terry. Condolences may be sent to the family by visiting: www.stevensonandsons.com
HOT SPRINGS - When local playwright, director and movie-maker Justin Gausman was 12 years old, he developed a thing for Elvis Presleys music.

If he had to pick a particular album as his favorite, he said, it would be the From Elvis in Memphis, a 1969 Pressley effort that includes the big hits Suspicious Minds and In the Ghetto. Gausman likes the cohesiveness of this album.

Gausman didnt realize it back then, but Elvis and his perpetually-enjoyed music would eventually come to figure prominently in Gausmans adult life, particularly when he set about writing the script for a movie he wanted to make.

The script

In 2013, Gausman began working on the script to Never Been To Graceland, the story of several people whose lives intertwine with Elvis Presleys iconic legend and his music.

According to Gausman, he wanted to write a script that would examine the subculture of people involved in the Elvis phenomenon.

Most people, Gausman said, see Elvis as this icon, a brand, the guy in the white jumpsuit eating peanut butter and banana sandwiches. Gausman wanted to examine this and explore ways to push back against the iconography that is Elvis.

How many people who like a particular band have Barbie dolls of that band, he said. Elvis does. I wanted to address that phenomenon.

So, his script  a blend of drama and comedy  revolves around a story about an older fellow, Larry Belasco, an aging hippie, who announces to the world that he is in possession of a long-lost, never-before-heard Elvis recording.

Naturally, this draws the attention of that throng of Elvis fans.

One of them is Michael, an avid young Elvis fan at a crossroads in his life. Michael likes Elvis for his music.

Another is AJ, a young magazine journalist who is contemplating her career accomplishments  or lack of them. She sets out to cover that Elvis story in hopes of finding the other side of a story thats been told a hundred times before.

A third is a collector of Elvis recordings who desires to acquire the newfound recording for his own, so no one else can listen to it. Michael is on a mission to hear the Elvis recording before its sold off to the high dollar guy.

Theres also a crazy Elvis fan.

These peoples lives intertwine in their individual pursuits of the recording, with AJ finding her story with Michael  she becomes intrigued by his passion for the music  and learns more about herself than she ever expected.

But thats all of the script Gausman would give away. He didnt want to spoil the ending.

The movie

Gausman said the script became a feature film of about 30 minutes in length during 2016. He directed the film as well as wrote it. Co-directors included Mary Goulet and Deana Roberts. It was produced by Gausmans production company, Skeeter Bite Productions.

Gausman filmed the movie in the Black Hills with director of photography Ryan Brewer. Original music includes Brandon Scott Jacobsens work and music by Jamie Kelley, a Elvis impersonator during the 1990s, who now performs his own, mostly pop, music, Gausman said.

Locations included Hot Springs  he said Wally and Danuta Cachro were very generous in allowing him to use a room in their Hills Inn for filming  Black Hills Vinyl Record Store in Rapid City, his brothers house also in Rapid City because it was built during the 1950s and had the perfect ambiance for the film, also other sites.

The cast includes local and area actors:

Stephen Farruggia plays Michael; Bridgett Hill, AJ; Harland Allen, Larry; David Azadi Scott, Bryan; Nik Aberle, Wayne; Tyler Mathieson, Dan; and Hot Springs Wendee Pettis plays the crazy Elvis fan.

The film is Gausmans third film. His prior works include: The Incredible Search for Jamie Klotzs Diary, and its sequel The Extraordinary Secret of Jamie Klotzs Diary II.

Gausman has worked in many different creative fields and has experience in theater/stage production, film/video production, music production, photography, and website and social media.

Hot Springs Premiere

 Never Been to Graceland will premiere in Hot Springs on Aug. 16 and 17  timing Gausman chose, because the 40th anniversary of Presleys death is Aug. 16; Presley died in 1977  at the Hot Springs Theatre at 6:30 and 8 p.m.

 It will also be shown at Rapid Citys Seraphim Theatre on Aug. 18 and 19 at the same times.

 For more information on the film, visit https://www.facebook.com/neverbeentogracelandmovie/ or http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5861742/

 For a short film trailer, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgzi0mCwiuY
PIERRE | The state Board of Regents decided Wednesday that University Center at Sioux Falls needs a community steering board as a step to attract more students.

The regents, who govern South Dakotas public universities, are trying to rebuild enrollment at the center on the northwest side of Sioux Falls. Tuition revenue dropped significantly in recent years. It was nearly $6.4 million in fiscal 2013. By fiscal 2017 it was down to $4.5 million.

The University of South Dakota in Vermillion received authority in 2016 to be the lead institution in operating what had been a joint campus. The other partners are South Dakota State University in Brookings and Dakota State University in Madison.

The steering board would advise management without requiring representation from the partner universities, regents or the university systems central office.

Regents Kevin Schieffer and Bob Sutton, who live in Sioux Falls, said financial commitments are needed from local leaders to help the school. The community needs to own this  or not, Schieffer said.

Sutton, the regents' president, said regents must fulfill promises made in the past two years to change the governing model. We own part of this as well, Sutton said.

Regent Randy Schaefer of Madison told the centers dean, Craig Johnson, to keep officials informed at Dakota State and SDSU. Consistent communication from all sides is going to be critical, Schaefer said.

Johnson told the regents he expects about a 10 percent increase in credit hours at the center this fall compared with one year ago and perhaps a small increase in head count, too.

The regents built three university centers during the past decade. The Legislature doesnt allow state financial support for students at the centers, however, making tuition higher than at the six traditional campuses.

The regents are working to give the Pierre center to the community because of low enrollment. Black Hills State University in Spearfish now runs the center in Rapid City, where enrollment has been generally stable.

Another state university, South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, already operates in Rapid City. The school has high admission requirements.

In other action, several regents brought questions from members of the public about efficiencies and duplications at South Dakotas nine public universities.

Schieffer said he didnt know answers to questions hes received, such as how often classes were dropped because they didnt reach sufficient size, or the frequency when a course is delivered at multiple campuses.

All of this is driven by budget realities, Schieffer said.

As for receiving the information in reports from the regents central office, he said, If we do it, I havent seen it.
On Pine Ridge Reservation, after 83 years of living with the fallout from enactment of the Wheeler-Howard Act, also known as the Indian Reorganization Act (IRA), perhaps its time for Oglala Lakota tribal members to rethink how they will govern themselves.

Rapid Citys largest neighbor to the south leads North America in the rate of youth suicide attempts. Tribal health, law enforcement and social services along with many concerned tribal citizens have endured the onslaught against their children with grim determination. They fight the good fight, but in an all-out war to protect the most precious and vulnerable among them, their enemy is a hydra of hate and smoke.

The worst of it is this smoke and rage proceeds from their fellow tribal members. What is barely whispered, what is rarely openly discussed, is that the pathologies of drug addiction, alcoholism, despair from joblessness and  yes  sexual abuse of children are dragons teeth implanted in the hearts of these vulnerable children that lead to piercing by the ultimate demonic fang: youth suicide.

In the face of a tribal council which seems, ultimately, impotent against this cunning and agile enemy, the people do what they can: hold marches, form networks of support groups, visit schools and try to educate parents, relatives, children, the teachers themselves to raise awareness of the problem.

But think about that. In what kind of society is it necessary to beat an incessant and loud drum to raise awareness against youth suicide? Life is every living beings most fundamental spiritual and biological imperative. We, even unconsciously, do everything in our power to survive and thrive. Just what is the daily level of toxicity for many of our youth in reservation life that it so often destroys this foundational drive? And at ever younger ages.

While it is difficult to say so, I believe the heart of the evil germinating in our reservation communities is a direct result of the dire lack of adequate and available housing. I say this because so many of the single-family homes that are in use often have as many as five or more families sharing the dwelling. That many people in one dwelling often leads to little or no supervision of small children. Where alcoholism and drug abuse are often rampant, these children are easy game for depravity.

Gasoline meet match  meet holocaust.

Today, visiting local community members, running the catalog of current social pathologies that beset my Lakota brothers and sisters, it seems we are well into the deficiencies of the IRAs basic limitations. After eight decades of operation, the tribal government it spawned seems feeble, at best, wholly incapable at worst of providing real solutions for the people it represents.

The irony, as I see it, is that after throwing untold tens of millions of dollars at these problems they only seem to metastasize. Some new dispensation is needed where our IRA government needs to throw fresh eyes, ears and hearts on the problems. Local problems require local solutions. Recently, I have listened to several traditional people who believe there are answers to these problems that could be applied employing traditional community techniques.

I listen, and I hope. Perhaps, its time tribal government and federal government officials listen as well.
March 26 rally participant sentenced to 4 years in prison

MOSCOW, August 9 (RAPSI)  Participant of the unauthorized March 26 rally in Moscow, Andrey Kosykh, on Wednesday was sentenced to 4 years in prison for attacking police officers, RAPSI reported from the Tverskoy District Court.

A prosecutor demanded a 4.5-year prison sentence for Kosykh. The defendant earlier pleaded guilty.

On Tuesday, the court began hearing the case against another rally participant, Dmitry Krepkin. He pleaded not guilty to assaulting a policeman.

Three other men, Yury Kuliy, Alexander Shpakov and Stanislav Zimovets, have been already sentenced for violence against law enforcement officers. Kuliy was given 8 months in a penal colony settlement. Shpakov received a 1.5-year prison sentence. They have pleaded guilty. Zimovets was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison. He has not pleaded guilty in full.

The Interior Ministry reported that about 500 people had been arrested during the unauthorized rally on March 26. Overall number of people present in the area at the time was estimated at as high as 8,000 people. One of the police officers received injuries; a criminal case was launched over this incident.

According to the Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny, arrested during the rally, Moscow authorities refused to greenlight the rally in the citys center and proposed alternative areas only a day before it was to take place. Navalny said that in this case Russian legislation allows organizers to hold an event at the area, which was listed first.
Four policemen in Tatarstan charged with torture

MOSCOW, August 9 (RAPSI, Yelizaveta Ponomareva)  Four ex-policemen were charged in the case over death of a deputy head of Kazans railroad transportation college Pavel Drozdov inflicted by tortures, the victims lawyer Andrey Suchkov told RAPSI on Wednesday.

Former officers were charged with exceeding official powers with the use of violence leading to death.

Suchkov stated that this is the outcome the victims side strived to achieve since 2012. He said that this result was achieved only after repeated appeals, including registration of a complaint in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

According to investigators, Drozdov was arrested and brought to a police station in Tatarstan on February 1, 2012. Soon after five policemen entered his cell and beat him while he was tied. Drozdov died from trauma. A criminal case was launched after eight months and back then investigators claimed there was no way to prove that Drozdov suffered great pain from being tied and that policemen did not want to cause him harm or tarnish his dignity.

In April 2017, the victims brother Sergey Drozdov filed appeal with the ECHR. He noted that Russian authorities violated Articles 2 and 3 of the European Convention of Human Rights (Right to Life and Prohibition of Torture). After the appeal was filed the Investigative Committee brought charges against the four policemen.
Seventh Studio ex-chief accountant testifies against Moscow theater director

MOSCOW, August 9 (RAPSI)  Ex-chief accountant of the Seventh Studio stage company Nina Maslyayeva, who stands charged with embezzling public funds allocated for promotion of art, has testified against theater director Kirill Serebrennikov, according to court records.

Maslyayeva said that Serebrennikov, artistic director of a popular contemporary Moscow theater Gogol Center, Alexey Malobrodsky, ex- general producer of Seventh Studio, and former companys head Yury Itin organized embezzlement of money allocated for a cultural event. Serebrennikov and Malobrodsky cashed the money with the assistance of Maslyayeva. The woman also said that she put falsified data in financial reports.

On May 23, police raided the Gogol Center as part of investigation into the case. Searches have also been conducted in premises of the theaters artistic director, Kirill Serebrennikov. Later, he was questioned as a witness in the case.

According to investigators, unidentified persons from management of the Seventh Studio, a stage company created by Serebrennikov on the basis of his acting and directing course in the Moscow Art Theatre School, embezzled 200 million rubles (about $3.5 million) allocated by the government for development and popularization of art in Russia from 2011 to 2014.

Investigators claim that damage caused by Maslyayeva is estimated at about 1.3 million rubles (about $23,000).Malobrodsky is charged with embezzling 2.3 million rubles (about $38,700) allocated for organization of the Platforma festival. The defendant denies his guilt, although he has agreed to cooperate with investigators in the case.




A federal judge in Billings sentenced a 20-year-old Wyoming man to life in prison Thursday for killing a couple who stopped to help him alongside a road near Pryor on Montana's Crow Indian Reservation.

U.S. District Judge Susan Watters said Jesus Yeizon Deniz Mendoza represented a lasting menace to society because of his inability to control the "demons" of mental illness and drug use that he blamed for the killings.

"You're not getting out. That's the bottom line," Watters told Mendoza.

There is no parole in the federal system.

The judge followed the prosecution's recommendation for life on the murder convictions and a mandatory consecutive 60 years on firearms convictions.

Prosecutors said Mendoza would kill again if he were released from prison.

The sentencing comes days after the close-knit Crow reservation along the Montana-Wyoming border was again wracked by violence. Three people were killed and two others were wounded by gunfire last week at a house in Lodge Grass.

Mendoza of Worland, Wyo., pleaded guilty to shooting Jason Shane, 52, and his wife, Tana Shane, 50, in the back of the head on the side of a road after they stopped to help him with apparent car problems on July 29, 2015.

He shot the couple's grown daughter, Jorah Shane, 24, in the back as she was running away and fired or pointed his rifle at several other people who tried to help the family.

"I hope he dies in prison so the Lord can take care of him," Jason Shane's brother, Robert, testified during Thursday's hearing. "I wouldn't call him a man. I call him a coward."

Defense attorney David Merchant II asked for four days plus the mandatory 60-year sentence.

Merchant had argued that a shorter sentence would be merciful given that Mendoza was 18 at the time of the shootings, has schizophrenia and a history of drug abuse, and was physically and sexually abused as a child in his native Mexico.

But Mendoza told the judge during brief remarks at his sentencing that he agreed with the recommendations of prosecutors and would accept whatever punishment was handed down.

"I think I do deserve life," he said after apologizing to about two dozen family members and friends of the victims who attended the hearing.

Mendoza previously waived his right to appeal under a plea deal reached in February that saw charges in the case reduced from first degree murder to second degree murder.

He faced a potential death sentence under the original charges. Former Attorney General Loretta Lynch decided against pursuing capital punishment in April 2016 after Mendoza's defense attorneys brought in a death penalty specialist to assist them in the case.

Jason Shane's mother, Clara Hugs, wept as she told the court that Mendoza had robbed her grandchildren of their parents. Others said the shootings had traumatized the entire Crow community and caused lasting sorrow.

Bryce Hugs, a Crow tribal legislator from Pryor who was related to the victims, said Mendoza's sentencing on the heels of the triple killing last Friday in Lodge Grass had compounded the grief among the tribe's roughly 14,000 members.

In addition to the prison sentence, Mendoza was ordered to pay $12,713 in restitution to the victims.

Despite the abuse Mendoza suffered as a young child, the judge noted that he had been adopted at age 4 and had a good upbringing after that. She said that if he had his way, there would have been six people dead that day near Pryor.

"Your mental health issues make you a danger to the community, to any community you live in. You can't help them, but the bottom line is they make you a dangerous person," Watters said.

He faces a separate accusation of attempted second-degree murder in Wyoming, where authorities say he shot a man at a campground near the small town of Ten Sleep during a 2013 robbery attempt.

Mendoza's involvement was revealed during interviews with federal agents following the killings. That case is pending.
School District 2 trustees fired a tenured Medicine Crow Middle School teacher for poor job performance Wednesday.

Mark Kramlich had taught social studies full-time in SD2 since 2008. District officials laid out a multi-year pattern of poor teaching and supervision, failure to perform basic tasks and an unwillingness to follow improvement plans  including specific incidents like a student climbing out a classroom window and Kramlich calling students "f---ing idiots."

SD2 representatives couldn't recall the last time trustees fired a tenured teacher. Montana law awards tenure to teachers employed for more than four years and requires "good cause" to fire them.

"This is truly an anomaly," superintendent Terry Bouck said. "Mark Kramlich should not be teaching our children."

Kramlich disputed district accusations and presented trustees with a 30-page workplace bullying report, arguing that scrutiny from administrators unfairly targeted him.

"When they say that it's chaos, chaos, chaos, I have documentation that shows differently," he said.

Kramlich represented himself at the hearing. The Billings Education Association, the local teachers union, notified the district before the hearing that it wouldn't provide representation for Kramlich, district officials said.

Medicine Crow

Administrators from Medicine Crow painted a picture of an ineffective teacher whose failure to supervise students created safety risks.

Associate Principal Tyler Blood detailed an incident during state-required standardized testing when a student removed a window screen, climbed out, and was locked back out by other students. The student went back in through the front door of the school and returned to the classroom. Administrators only found out about the incident because of a Snapchat video.

"How does that happen?" Blood said Wednesday in front of trustees. "That's not OK ... He's not a teacher. He shouldn't be in our building. He shouldn't be in any building."

Of the 117 students in Kramlich's classes, he wrote up 55 of them during the year, Blood said. In a document detailing SD2's accusations, students described disciplinary measures like one student being made to "stand on a chair in the middle of a classroom because he was 'a peasant,' and made people throw things at him." The student was hit in the head by a binder, according to student statements.

In another incident, students said that Kramlich called them "f---ing idiots." When confronted by administrators, Kramlich said he "nearly" used the curse word but didn't finish it.

Blood and school principal Nikki Hofmann said that Kramlich failed to present coherent lessons, grade assignments consistently, keep his classroom clean and provide documentation for teaching practices.

Hofmann, in describing several student and parent complaints, said that one particularly bright student became "very lackadaisical about her work" after Kramlich failed to grade assignments or assigned grades without evaluating work.

Hofmann said that one class of 22 students had a grade breakdown of one F, one A and 20 A-pluses.

"He came on to our radar through parent calls, emails," she said. "You need to take the word of middle schoolers with a grain of salt ... (But) when you start to hear enough of the same thing, you see a pattern."

Will James

Kramlich ended up at Medicine Crow as a chance for a "fresh start," Bouck said. He was transferred to the new middle school after teaching at Will James Middle School since 2008. Kramlich said he requested the transfer.

The district said Kramlich pushed back against attempts to improve his teaching at Will James Middle School, blaming then-Principal Reece Kalfell.

"Kalfel (sic) hates me," he wrote to a union representative in an email.

He continued to argue at Wednesday's hearing that administrators at Medicine Crow, who district officials said were not informed of problems at Will James, subjected him to unfair scrutiny.

"I did not get a fresh start," he said, disputing several interactions described by administrators. He did admit to other problems, like not consistently recording attendance.

In May, Kramlich filed a harassment and bullying complaint with the district, arguing in part that he was being discriminated against for his sexual orientation, his evaluations constituted harassment and that he wasn't given time to show improvement. An outside investigator hired by SD2 found no basis for the claims.

Kramlich was hired in 2008 by then-Will James Principal Lance Orner after working as a substitute.

"While Principal Orner generally gave Mr. Kramlich good evaluation marks, Mr. Kramlich's first years at the District were not without performance issues," according to a document detailing the problems with the teacher's performance.

Orner dinged Kramlich for arriving late to work and not recording attendance during the 2010-11 school year, according to district officials. During the 2012-13 school year, Orner "reached out to Mr. Kramlich with an increased number of parent and student concerns."

In 2013-14, parent complaints increased and Kramlich failed to complete required professional development classes.

Play

One parent complaint became a continuing reference point for Kramlich. A parent took issue with their daughter "being 'forced' to 'play a lesbian' in a play Mr. Kramlich was overseeing as head of the school's drama club."

District administrators reviewed the play and "it was decided that the play would not be performed." Another play was nixed the next school year.

When addressing trustees, Kramlich opened his presentation citing the play, saying it hadn't been cast yet.

"I don't even know where the lesbians came into play," he said. When asked by Trustee Janna Hafer when he felt harassment by administrators started, he identified the play's rejection.

When asked why Kramlich earned tenure and the district didn't attempt to terminate his employment for several years after documented problems emerged, SD2 lawyer Jeana Lervick, who previously served as director of Human Resources for the district, cited attempts to improve Kramlich's teaching that took several years.

"It's extremely unusual to get to this point," she said. "But it does not mean that nothing was being done up until this point."

Five trustees voted unanimously to fire Kramlich. Trustee Joe Oravecz attended most of the hearing but was absent for the vote, and trustees Mike Leo, Tanya Ludwig and Gordon Klasna did not attend.

"It's very, very tough to be here," said board chairwoman Greta Besch Moen. "(But) it's a pattern that has spanned years. It's spanned administrators."

Several trustees noted that Kramlich didn't have union representation. Kramlich said he would have preferred representation, and cited "errors" by the union.

MEA-MFT representative Scott McCulloch said Thursday that Kramlich told the union on three separate occasions that he would have his own counsel at the hearing, and the union doesn't provide representation when members retain their own counsel.
Contact:

Mostly, the Rude Pundit doesn't give a shit what you have to say, but, if you have to say it, you can write to Lee Papa here: rudepundit(at)yahoo(dot)com
sacw.net

Ranchi, 10 August

A broad coalition of citizens and organisations came together today under the banner of Sajha Kadam to discuss the menace of growing communalism in Jharkhand and possible responses to it. The threat of communalism, evident in recent lynching incidents, was seen in the context of other threats to the right to life, including attempts to dilute peoples rights to land, work and food.

Father Stan Swamy welcomed the recent rejection of dangerous amendments to the Chhotanagpur Tenancy Act and Santhal Pargana Tenancy Act, but he also pointed out that the proposed "land banks" posed an ever greater threat to peoples right to life. When we asked the audience who had heard of land banks, only a few participants raised their hand. He observed that this was a symptom of the silence and ignorance that surrounds this ominous move.

Vasavi Kiro and Dayamani Barla also spoke on these issues. Vasavi Kiro drew attention to another attack on the right to life that has passed almost unnoticed: the "mahua policy" that prevents people from storing more than 15 kg of mahua in Jharkhand (in Chhattisgarh the limit is even lower - 5 kg). Poor adivasis who keep more than that at home risk being thrown in jail. Dayamani Barla presented a grim picture of the whole spectrum of attacks on peoples livelihoods and land rights in recent years, including not only land banks and the mahua policy but also attempted dilutions of the land acquisition act.

Participants heard a range of testimonies of people affected by these measures and also by failures of the state government to protect peoples entitlements under the National Food Security Act and the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.

The session on communalism began with the presentation of a range of cultural resources (films, songs, poems, stories, plays, etc.) that can be used to counter communal propaganda. Participants resolved to use these resources to convene discussions of communalism and communal harmony in schools, universities, mohallas and villages.

Writer, activist and former IAS officer Harsh Mander spoke in moving terms about the growing wave of communalism and communal violence in the country. He recalled how a young Muslim boy, Junaid, had been stabbed 30 times on a crowded train without anyone intervening, and then left to bleed for an hour on a railway platform before anyone tried to help. He emphasised that in this situation of growing communal violence, silence is a form of complicity - if we dont speak out, we are party to these crimes.

The participants resolved to initiate a series of public activities and meetings to spread public awareness of these issues and counter the poison of communalism.

The organisations that convened this event include Sajha Manch, Bagaicha, Right to Food Campaign, Jharkhand Jungle Bacha Andolan, Jharkhand Nagarik Prayas, AKHRA, All India Peoples Forum, Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samiti, Ekta Parishad, United Mili Forum, NREGA Watch, Awami Insaf Manch (Jharkhand), Janwadi Lekhak Sangh (Ranchi), Jharkhand Adarsh Mahila Manch, Jharkhand Jan Sanskriti Manch, Mahua Adhikar Morcha, Idan, APCR Jharkhand, Aman Biradari, Bharat Jan Andolan among others.

For further details please call Siraj (9939819763) or Afzal (9234982712).
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 Notable new coverage of possible notable new appointment to US Sentencing Commission | Main | "Certain Certiorari: The Digital Privacy Rights of Probationers" 

August 10, 2017

A reminder of why an active death penalty system in the US now seems so unlikley

Arguably the US has never had an active death penalty system, though there were a few hundred executions each year during the first decades of the 20th Century. In the so-called modern death penalty era since 1976, the most completed executions in a single year was 98 (in 1999); there have been fewer than 50 executions in nearly every year over the last decades, and only 20 completed executions in 2016. (This page from the Death Penalty information Center provides these recent details.)

As I have mentioned before, I find it notable that all the new law-and-order talk coming from the Trump Administration has not really included talk of ramping up use of the death penalty. That, in my view, is a mark of a achievement by the abolitionist movement. Another mark is the extraordinary difficulty these seems to be in securing death sentences, as discussed in this new Injustice Today piece headlined "Even in the deep red South, death sentences are on the decline." Here is an excerpt:

Twenty years ago, a brutal murder in a red state like Mississippi would likely guarantee a death sentence for a defendant. But as last weeks sentencing of Scotty Lakeith Street illustrates, juries in the South and across the country continue to shift away from capital punishment. In 1997, four people in Mississippi were sentenced to death; last year, 2016, not one person was. Street was sentenced to life without parole for stabbing retired teacher Frankie Fairley to death in 2014. The jury in Streets trial, faced with a choice between the death penalty or life in prison, couldnt reach a unanimous verdict, and split 102.... Those that opted for life without parole may have been swayed by Streets extensive history of mental illness. As reported by WLOX, jurors heard testimony from his sister that Street had been institutionalized so much, its beyond my count. Streets lawyers also presented testimony from a mental health provider who explained that Street suffered from schizophrenia and needed to be in a group home with a caregiver. Street was also reported to have displayed bizarre behavior, including putting plastic bags on his head to keep his brain from leaking out and running naked in public with objects tied to his scrotum.... Mental illness aside, death sentences are on the decline across the country. Last year, 30 people were sentenced to death in the U.S., while in the mid-1990s, more than 300 people received capital sentences. That decline in popularity is reflected in Streets case, as well as in other Mississippi capital cases. Though the death penaltys legality remains alive and well, juries across the country are rejecting it.

August 10, 2017 at 04:29 PM | Permalink

Comments

Okay. So, the US "actually administers" [RBG post] the death penalty but does not really have an "active" death penalty system.

Posted by: Joe | Aug 10, 2017 5:13:53 PM



All the Brady violations, prosecutorial misconduct, and DNA exonerations impacting jurors and leading them to distrust prosecutors arguments for death.

Posted by: Anne from Iowa | Aug 10, 2017 6:37:17 PM

You are violating the exception fallacy. Because of a car crash, stop all driving until it is perfected. Because of a medical error, stop all medical care until it is perfected. No.

Here is something 100% true.

All death penalties are appealed. All appeals are scams to steal tax payer money in the $hundreds of millions a year. They are arguments about loopholes in the law, and not about false verdicts. Once ended, that money should be returned to the tax payer after the entire death penalty appellate scam operation is fired.

A dose response curve applies to all remedies If the death penalty is to work, it must be moved from the rare, ineffective end of the dose response curve. So limiting the number, then saying, it does not work is intellectual fraud. The Europeans hypocrites kill hundreds of criminals in each country, by suicide and prison murders. We should adopt this form of hypocrisy, as very effective.

Finally, the opiate overdose crisis will make crime disappear entirely, not just murder.

Posted by: David Behar | Aug 10, 2017 7:05:05 PM

I agree with Anne from Iowa. The jurors increasingly suspect that prosecutors are hiding the ball. Too many cases like that of Michael Morton in Texas.

Posted by: Emily | Aug 11, 2017 12:13:52 AM

Yes, Joe, that is precisely right: the US is a capital punishment nation that actually administers the death penalty, but does not really actively use its death penalty systems.

Posted by: Doug B | Aug 11, 2017 11:25:33 AM

Death, be not proud (Holy Sonnet 10)

John Donne, 1572 - 1631

Death, be not proud, though some have called thee

Mighty and dreadful, for thou are not so;

For those whom thou thinkst thou dost overthrow

Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.

From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,

Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow,

And soonest our best men with thee do go,

Rest of their bones, and souls delivery.

Thouart slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,

And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,

And poppyor charms can make us sleep as well

And better than thy stroke; why swellst thou then?

One short sleep past, we wake eternally,

And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.

Posted by: Emily from Iowa | Aug 11, 2017 4:08:06 PM

"Yes, Joe, that is precisely right: the US is a capital punishment nation that actually administers the death penalty, but does not really actively use its death penalty systems."

When someone is "inactive," such as a player in a sport, it doesn't usually mean they are active sporadically. So, yes, it's a tad confusing.

Posted by: Joe | Aug 11, 2017 4:15:36 PM

"...but does not really actively use its death penalty systems."

The death penalty appellate business if very active, full time, raking in $hundreds of millions, if not $billions a year. The death penalty system is quite active, and serving its intended purpose.

Posted by: David Behar | Aug 12, 2017 9:36:58 AM

Indeed, it would have been odd if it had transpired that Englishmen alone are so peculiarly brutal by nature that they require some special deterrent from murder which nearly all the civilised countries of the world have found unnecessary in practice - in many cases for generations.

Gerald Gardiner Capital Punishment as a Deterrent, London, Gollanz, 1956. p 56



Posted by: Claudio Giusti | Aug 13, 2017 4:13:10 PM

Those who would abolish capital punishment are not urging British to embark upon a new and hazardous experiment, or traverse uncharted seas, but merely to follow the lead of the many other countries where the death penalty as already dispensed with.

Calvert Roy. Capital Punishment in the Twentieth Century. Putnam. London. 1927 p 45



Posted by: Claudio Giusti | Aug 13, 2017 4:13:44 PM

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 Making a pitch for the Reverse Mass Incarceration Act of 2017 | Main | Notable new coverage of possible notable new appointment to US Sentencing Commission 

The question in the title of this post is the headline of this new Newsweek commentary authored by Vincent Southerland and Jody Kent Lavy. Here are excerpts from the start and end of the commentary:

The barbaric practice of sentencing children to life in prison without the possibility of parole remains one of the most radically inhumane aspects of our criminal justice system.

For those of us who work daily to abolish this practice, the good news is that there are several recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions that deem this brand of sentencing unconstitutional and attempt to limit its use.

The bad news is that despite these decisions and a national trend moving away from this practice, several outlier states and counties refuse to comply with the Supreme Courts most recent mandate, which effectively banned life without parole for all children capable of rehabilitation.

The shameful news is that the United States is the only country in the world that sentences children to life in prison without the possibility of parole, and that children of color -- African American children in particular -- and children who have been abused and traumatized are disproportionately handed these sentences.

Taken together, these facts lead to a simple conclusion: The time has come to put an end to life without parole sentencing for children....

By tackling our most extreme sentences for children, and acknowledging that this harshest of punishments is imposed disproportionately on children of color coming from some of our most vulnerable communities, we must come to terms with the fact that race and socioeconomic status play a huge role in determining how much compassion the justice system will show a young person.

This should not be the case -- all children are created equal, and there is no such thing as a throwaway child. Our sentencing policies should reflect those truths.

State lawmakers would be well served to join the national trend abandoning the practice of sentencing children to life in prison without a hope of release. It is imperative that together we work toward a justice system that offers the mercy that all children deserve.
The tale of the Presidio Terrace homeowners' street and sidewalks being bought out from under them and held hostage by a couple of savvy, arguably opportunistic real estate investors who bought the cul de sac's common areas two years ago at auction has amused much of the Bay Area - and beyond - in the last week. But it turns out that the unpaid property tax bill that led to the street getting seized and auctioned off in 2015 had gone ignored and unpaid once before.

The Chronicle's Matier & Ross spoke to SF Assessor Carmen Chu who said that the bill for the common property in the oval-shaped development had been in default before, in the 1970s, and it wasn't until 1985 that the homeowners' association regained the title to their streets and sidewalks - having the bill likely sent to the same SF accountant's office whom they stopped employing a few years later, with everyone promptly forgetting about the $14/year bill yet again.

Chu notes that the property was assessed at $221 at the time, which may or may not date back to its original assessment when this development was constructed around 1905, and it's a figure that Chu calls "super low" regardless.

Buyers Tina Lam and Michael Cheng of San Jose claim they don't have any intention to sell, but could that be true? They are investors after all, and they dropped $90,000 on Presidio Terrace - and they already suggested to the Chronicle earlier that they might want to charge rent for street parking. Tam now says to M&R, and take this as you will, "Im not trying to make money on anything. I just wanted to buy a piece of San Francisco."

The Presidio Homeowners Association is not going to go down without a fight, however, and their attorney Scott Emblidge insists that there's precedent and a state law on the books to allow the county's board of supervisors to simply invalidate the sale and return the street to the homeowners association. He cites the fact that the bill was being sent to the wrong address for thirty years, and he suggests Tam and Cheng were being shady in staying quiet for well over a year after their purchase, in order to make the sale more difficult to rescind. "They are opportunistic, know exactly what they bought, and would like to exploit a bureaucratic oversight to their advantage," he tells the Chron.

The next update we're likely to have in this story will come when the Board of Supes decides whether to hold a hearing on the case, which they'll do on September 5, with a tentative hearing date of October 31.

Previously: South Bay Couple Buys Private Street Near Presidio, And Wealthy Residents Are Dismayed
You always kind of figured that the election of Donald Trump as president would lead us to prepare for a nuclear holocaust, and here we are. After learning in May that North Korean missiles could hit the west coast with 30 minutes of launching, and of course the preposterous Kim Jong-Un propaganda video that nuked San Francisco, one can't help but consider the possibility that the destruction of San Francisco weve seen in so many movies might happen before our eyes just as our bodies collectively disintegrate. But in the wake of Trumps recent threat of fire and fury like the world has never seen, the Chronicle reports that San Francisco Department of Emergency Management officials are indeed planning what they will do in case of a nuclear attack.

The current state of the possibly impending nuclear crisis is that it sucks to be Guam, but even the American mainland is vulnerable. According to the Washington Post, the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency suspects the North Koreans now have as many as 60 miniaturized nuclear warheads that could fit inside an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and strike pretty much anyplace in America.

An intercontinental ballistic missile is a new concern in terms of preventative radiological nuclear detention, SF Department of Emergency Management deputy director Michael Dayton tells the Chronicle. Our previous efforts have focused on what happens if a bad actor got ahold of a dirty bomb and set it off on the Golden Gate Bridge.

But now, thanks to the escalating drama between Trump and Kim Jong Un, SF is forced to contemplate emergency contingencies in the event of a nuclear attack. The nuclear fireball from just one missile would be a mile in diameter, create surface temperatures as hot as the sun, radioactive fallout would spread for hundreds of miles, and the few hospitals left standing would be overwhelmed. Oh sure, we'd probably get to go home from work early, but the roads and highways would be jammed and in complete chaos.

ABC 7 assures us that the chances are low that San Francisco will be getting nuked anytime soon, because North Korea has not yet tested the ICMBs with the extra weight of the nuclear warheads. But nuclear option blueprints for San Francisco law enforcement, firefighting and public health plans are being put in place.

San Francisco plans and prepares for all types of emergencies," Department of Emergency Management spokesperson Francis Zamora told ABC 7. He noted that the nuclear attack plan includes "assessing the radiological levels in the city, assessing medical needs, assessing population needs, [and] whether [people] need shelter or need to evacuate."

Cities already have a federal blueprint for nuclear attacks or incidents, because FEMA delivered a nuclear attack response framework in October 2016. (Thanks, Obama!)

This still leads us to the question of what individuals should do in the event of a nuclear holocaust. According to FEMAs Nuclear Blast Fact Sheet, we are advised to:

Take cover as quickly as you can, below ground if possible, and stay there until instructed to do otherwise. Listen for official information and follow instructions. If you are caught outside and unable to get inside immediately: Do not look at the flash or fireballit can blind you. Take cover behind anything that might offer protection, such as depressions, behind berms or ridges, or in mines and caves that engineers have declared usable for that purpose. Avoid places that channel wind, for example under overpasses or in subway entrances. They make blast waves more intense, like a wind tunnel. Lie flat on the ground, in a low spot if immediately possible, and cover your head. If the explosion is some distance away, it could take 30 seconds or more for the blast wave to hit. Take shelter as soon as you can, even if you are many miles from ground zero where the attack occurred - radioactive fallout can be carried by the winds for hundreds of miles and remain aloft for weeks. Remember the three protective factors: distance, shielding, and time.

The survivors would envy the dead, nuclear weapons analyst Jeffrey Lewis told the Chronicle. The best thing to do would be to not make it. Its gruesome.

So there is the opposite of your afternoon palate cleanser, and we are now on notice that the threat of a nuclear attack is greater than it's been in about 30 years. Kind of makes me long for the days when the worst our nuke-war worries was that the president couldnt pronounce the nuclear correctly.

Related: Good Luck Figuring Out What These Department Of Homeland Security Devices On SF Streets Are!
Fired Google engineer James Damore has defended his memo and says he feels "hurt" https://t.co/2NqmKuwsf6 pic.twitter.com/ezuxXp211X  Bloomberg (@business) August 10, 2017

Former Google engineer James Damore was fired for writing an anti-diversity and anti-woman 10-page memo. He now feels "hurt" by his former employer.

Damore's manifesto, "Google's Ideological Echo Chamber," was leaked over the weekend and in it the former intern said women were too neurotic to work in tech and not as ambitious. Here's our previous coverage of Damore's Jerry Maguire misfire.

According to Damore, he wrote his manifesto on a 12-hour flight returning from a diversity training in China that was just WAYY TOO DIVERSE for the admitted conservative's tastes. Damore is the kind of guy who felt the need to write a 10-page essay on why he disagrees with Google's diversity practices and then posts on an internal company discussion forum.

Let's also note here that according to Bloomberg, Damore's social media accounts include what appear to be his own charcoal sketches of celebrities like Will Smith and Kiera Knightly.

Anyway, the "memo" went viral, sparked heated discussions on the merits and downsides of diversity, science, and free speech, and Damore got fired for "perpetuating gender stereotypes" after what he considered a "smear" campaign.

Says Damore in a Skype interview with Bloomberg, "No one high up ever came to me and said, 'No, don't do this,' even though there were many people who looked at it. It was only after it got viral that upper management started shaming me and eventually firing me."

"There was a concerted effort among upper management to have a very clear signal that what I did was harmful and wrong and didn't stand for Google. It would be career suicide for any executives or directors to support me," he continued, also claiming that there are a ton of people who agree with him but are afraid to say so.

A new Twitter account @Fired4Truth claims to be James Damore's. It mostly retweets people who agree with him.

Meanwhile, over on Quora, an evolutionary biologist explains why there's no biological inferiority that makes women less suited to working in technology. Just in case you were worried that a Kiera Knightly sketch artist might be right about lady brains.

Back in Mountain View, Google CEO Sundar Pichai apparently agonized over the decision whether or not to fire Damore. Recode has a great analysis of the behind-the-scenes drama following the memo and it wasn't as cut-and-dry as one might imagine, even for a company currently being sued for a systematic pay disparity based on gender.

"I think the problem and also benefit of Google has been that we've created and encouraged an environment where everyone thinks they can say what they want, because that is what has always been the way it has been. But, at some point, if we really want to change, we have to think harder about what impact that has, especially when it makes women or others feel unsafe in the environment we have created..." one top executive explained to Recode.

YouTube CEO and Google leader Susan Wojcicki was all for canning Damore, saying, "While people may have a right to express their beliefs in public, that does not mean companies cannot take action when women are subjected to comments that perpetuate negative stereotypes about them based on their gender. Every day, companies take action against employees who make unlawful statements about co-workers, or create hostile work environments."

According to Bloomberg, "Damore said he is planning to pursue legal action but declined to say on what grounds or whether he had hired a lawyer. He also said he had been advised not to talk to the press." Yesterday, Wired reported that Damore had filed a claim with the National Labor Relations Board prior to his firing, which could lead to his having a case in federal court  this despite California being an "at-will" employment state.

"It still hasn't truly hit me, the enormity of it all," said Damore, who has, according to Business Insider, already been offered a job from WikiLeaks' Julian Assange.

Related: Uber Exec Who Left Previous Job At Google Over Sexual Harassment Allegations Is Fired
This is the third story about Uber I'm writing today, and given the company's well publicized issues it's about time we have something cheery. On Friday, August 11, Uber will be delivering free soft-serve ice cream cones in some sort of ice cream truck to anyone who requests one in 10 cities across the country: Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Washington D.C., Boston, Miami, Toronto, Seattle, Atlanta, and Dallas. Think of it as their way of saying "sorry" for clogging up your news feed for the past six months, and for all that sexual harassment stuff, and... well you get it.

As the company explains about this Free Ice Cream Fridays promotion, the fun doesn't end with just one Friday. They're partnering with McDonald's to keep refilling the reusable silicone cones they'll be giving out tomorrow every Friday for the rest of the summer, i.e. until September 22. And to keep you honest, there's a punch-card you'll be using to claim your free refills at participating McDonald's. Vanilla only, though.

You may have to update your app, or maybe not, but the "ice cream" option should appear in your Uber app Friday morning, and after you hit "request" the ice cream truck should make its way to your location at some point.

The promotion, which the company has done before, arrives at a weird moment when the company is without a CEO, trying to claw its way out of a series of scandals, former CEO Travis Kalanick is reportedly trying to elbow his way back into the job, and now a key investor and board member is suing him.

But, hey! Free ice cream!


A woman picked up by a cab on an SF street was robbed early Wednesday, by a driver who then kicked her out of the car.

According to San Francisco Police Department spokesperson Officer Robert Rueca, the 42-year-old female victim hailed a taxi driven by a man in his mid 30s at 1:30 Wednesday morning.

Once the woman was in the cab, police say that the driver took her to her requested destination, on the 500 block of O'Farrell Street, which is between Leavenworth and Jones Streets.

However, police say, "when they reached the destination, [the suspect] took [the victim's] wallet, removed her property, and forced her out of the vehicle."

The driver then sped off, and remains at large. Police did not have any additional details on the suspect to share as of publication time, but did confirm that no arrests have been made in the case.
Launched in July 23, the event aims to mark the 55th anniversary of Vietnam-Laos diplomatic ties (September 5) and 40th anniversary of the Vietnam-Laos Treaty on Amity and Cooperation (July 18).



More than 110 volunteers of Ho Chi Minh City took part in many charity activities supporting Laotian people in Sieng Khouang, Attapeu and Champasak provinces.

Vietnamese volunteers completed their tasks, including building two Vietnam-Laos friendship houses; providing health care for 5,000 people; training and transferring agricultural and agro-forestry technology; offering gifts, scholarships, computers; decorating classes for children; organizing cultural exchanges between young people of the two countries, art and sport activities; building internal street library of Sieng Khouang province and children playing field; installing water hydrants at public places; improving power system for households; visiting and offering presents families who made contributions to the Vietnamese revolutionary.

Vietnam-Laos friendship houses Vietnam-Laos friendship houses

A Vietnamese language class

Agricultural and agro-forestry technology training

Building a volleyball court

By AI CHAN  Translated by Kim Khanh


Therefore, the leader desired that the countries citizens and young generation would continue preserving as well as developing the good relationship.



The Vietnamese Government and people pleasured outstanding multifaceted achievements of the brother country in the previous years.



PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc congratulated Cambodia's recent election results and believed in successes of the forthcoming Cambodian parliamentary election.



Within the current complicated international situation, the nations need to not only strengthen further friendship, solidarity and comprehensive cooperation but also support each other for common benefits at regional and international forums, the PM said.



Additionally, both sides needed to encourage economy, trade and investment cooperation to early raise trade turnover by US$ 5 billion, and finish border line demarcation.



On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties establishment, PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc hoped that Vietnam and Cambodia will further contribute ASEAN development.



Chairwoman of the National Assembly of Vietnam Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan expressed her pleasure at discussion result between First Vice President of the Cambodian Senate Nay Pena and Deputy Standing Chairwoman of National Assembly of Vietnam Tong Thi Phong.



Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan stressed that the Vietnam National Assembly always respects as well as gives priority for boosting traditional friendship and comprehensive cooperation between the two nations.



The Vietnam National Assembly will continue collaborating with National Assembly and Parliament of Cambodia in the upcoming time.











PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc strongly affirmed good development of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and Cambodia.

BY LAM NGUYEN- Translated by Huyen Huong
DES MOINES | Iowas signature summer humidity is not just an annoyance, its a costly reminder that climate change is real and needs to be addressed, a group of Iowa scientists said Wednesday.

Gene Takle, director of Iowa State Universitys climate science program and one of the architects of the 7th annual Iowa Climate Statement released with the endorsement of 190 science faculty, researchers and educators from 39 Iowa colleges and universities, told a Statehouse news conference that absolute humidity measured by dew-point temperature has increased statewide by 8 percent to 23 percent since 1971 and scientists have good evidence the rise is due to increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that likely will increase in the future.

Takle, a professor of geological & atmospheric sciences in the ISU Department of Agronomy, said the conditions relate to the increase of springtime moisture transport from the Gulf of Mexico that settle along eastern Iowa, resulting in higher humidity readings measured across all seasons at all long-term monitoring stations in Iowa.

The increasing cost for flooding, mold, insects, mosquitos, humidity-related health issues, grain drying, air conditioning, erosion, etc., are evidence that climate change in humidity already is having a negative impact on both public and private checkbooks, Takle noted. He said Iowa has been a national leader in embracing renewable energy sources but factors outside the states boundaries and control are negatively impacting the states climate and as long as we avoid making progress on reducing the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide, these effects are going to increase.

The latest statement issued by the Iowa scientists describes the impact of significantly higher humidity levels on people, animals, crops and infrastructure. According to the scientists, there is evidence the frequency of intense rain has increased in Iowa over the past 50 years; there is a northward expansion of species formerly restricted by a colder climate that could disrupt natural ecosystems and introduce new agricultural pests and diseases; and agriculture, human health and economic stability could be affected if greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase.

We must all do more to mitigate the effects of climate change, by curtailing emissions of heattrapping gases, improving energy efficiency, and increasing use of clean and renewable energy, said Betsy Stone, a University of Iowa associate professor in areas of chemistry and biochemical engineering, Stone pointed to monitoring data dating back to 1971 indicating average humidity increased by 23 percent in Dubuque, 14.8 percent in Burlington, 11.9 percent in Des Moines, 10.7 percent in Waterloo, 9.2 percent in Sioux City and 8 percent in Mason City. Similar data since 1973 showed humidity increases averaging 22. 2 percent in Cedar Rapids and 11.5 percent in Ottumwa.

Increased levels of humidity create hazardous conditions for Iowa workers and sensitive populations through the danger of heat exhaustion and heatstroke. Asthma is worsened by higher levels of allergens in the air. And the cost of air conditioning homes and businesses to maintain comfort levels increases, said Takle. For Iowas agriculture, increased warmseason humidity leads to waterlogged soils during planting season, rising humidity also leads to longer dew periods and higher moisture conditions that elevate costs of drying grain. Increased nighttime temperatures coupled with humidity causes stress to crops, livestock and pets.
SIOUX CITY -- Camp High Hopes will host a public celebration Saturday in honor of its fifth anniversary.

The celebration is set for 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. at the camp, 5804 Correctionville Road.

Attendees can check out the camp's barrier-free facilities, cabins and ground. They also will have the opportunity to try activities such as archery, climbing tree, arts and crafts, fishing, canoeing and a bounce house.

Free treats from Wells Blue Bunny and Jack's Kettle Korn also will be available.

Additionally, the camp will reveal a financial gift that will help enhance it for the next five years.
DES MOINES | The Iowa Court of Appeals has upheld the sentence of a man found guilty of killing an Alton, Iowa, woman in 1976.

The court rejected John Mulder's claim that his sentence of serving life in prison with the possibility of parole after 42 years was not "cruel and unusual punishment," as Mulder argued in his appeal.

Mulder, 56, originally of Alton, was found guilty of first-degree murder in Sioux County District Court for shooting and killing Jean Homan, 55, on April 23, 1976, while she was in her bedroom. Mulder had aimed at her husband, Carl, but the rifle misfired.

Mulder received a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole after being found guilty in 1979. He was resentenced in 2016 after the United States and Iowa supreme courts ruled it was unconstitutional to sentence juveniles to life sentences without parole. Mulder was three days shy of his 15th birthday when he killed Homan.

Mulder has served 38.5 years in prison and would be eligible for parole in September 2020.
SIOUX CITY | Sioux City police are investigating an armed robbery that occurred early Wednesday at a convenience store on Floyd Boulevard.

Shortly before 5:40 a.m., a man wearing a hoodie and a mask entered the Central Mart at 2501 Floyd Blvd., brandished a small handgun and demanded money from the clerk, according to a Sioux City Police Department news release. The suspect took an undetermined amount of money and escaped on foot.

Officers searched the area but were unable to locate the suspect. No one was injured in the incident.

Police describe the suspect as a white male with blue eyes who is approximately 6 feet tall with a slender build.

The department has released video of the suspect on its Facebook page and encourages anyone with information on the case to call the Sioux City Police Department at 279-6440 or CrimeStoppers at 258-TIPS.
SIOUX CITY | The sentencing of a man found guilty of shooting a juvenile was delayed Thursday after the defense attorney withdrew from the case.

Darius Wright, 21, had been scheduled to be sentenced on charges of assault with intent to inflict serious injury, willful injury and first-degree robbery. Instead, District Judge Patrick Tott approved attorney Matt Pittinger's request to withdraw from the case.

Pittinger told Tott that Wright did not want his representation any longer.

"He feels that I have not represented him to the best of my ability," Pittinger said.

Tott said he would appoint a new attorney for Wright and then reschedule hearings for his motion for a new trial and sentencing at a later date.

Wright had waived his right to a jury trial and had his case heard by Tott, who found him guilty in July. In a motion for a new trial, Pittinger wrote that Wright believed he had not been made fully aware of what waiving his right to a jury trial meant. Wright also said Pittinger failed to inform him about mandatory sentencing provisions that he might face if found guilty.

Tott found Wright guilty of brandishing a handgun and robbing three people of a bag of snacks they had bought at a convenience store on Feb. 10. Later in the night, a friend of one of the robbery victims went to 423 16th St. to confront Wright about the robbery, and Wright shot him in the chest and hip, causing a collapsed lung and broken ribs.

Wright, who had been charged with attempted murder but was found guilty of the lesser assault charge, faces up to 35 years in prison with a mandatory minimum of 17.5 years.

A jury found Wright's co-defendant, Tykell Robinson, guilty of first-degree robbery. He awaits sentencing.
SIOUX CITY | Less than a month before production is set to begin at Seaboard Triumph Foods, company officials continue filling a healthy portion of the Sioux City pork plants labor force.

As of Tuesday, a couple hundred of the hourly production workers for the $301 million plant had been hired, STF human resources director Bridey Hayes said. Company officials have long maintained that they did not expect to have all 900 production jobs filled by the opening of the plant, projected for early September.

Things are going well. We still have a number of positions to fill and we are continuing along that process, Hayes said. Weve been working very hard on staffing and weve been contacting folks who have applied and scheduling interviews."

A majority of the 200 salaried positions have been hired, and the office staff are in the midst of moving into the new complex in the Bridgeport West Business Park. The 925,000-square-foot plant is nearing completion after nearly two years of construction. Prior to the move, which began over the weekend, Seaboard Triumph staff were based in temporary offices in a nearby Braunger Foods facility.

Hayes said newly-hired production workers are either undergoing orientation in Sioux City or are training off-site at one of STFs parent companies facilities. The mega pork plant is a joint venture between Guymon, Oklahoma-based Seaboard Foods and St. Joseph, Missouri-based Triumph Foods.

Seaboard Triumph officials have spoke openly of wanting to increase the regions population base, which they view as something that doesnt just benefit them but all of the region's major employers.

As part of its marketing campaign, STF has advertised production jobs in communities in California, Missouri; Alabama, Arkansas with large food processing plants and experienced workers, asking potential applicants to relocate to Siouxand.

Hayes said STF is willing to help new hires relocate; however, that determination is made on a situation-by-situation basis.

Weve got a lot of positions to fill and we are exploring every avenue and possibility to fill those positions, she said. Were looking at folks locally but also looking outside of the immediate area.

The Sioux City metro has hit several historic unemployment metrics this year including the regions unemployment rate falling below 3 percent for consecutive months in April and May. The latest figure pegs the metros unemployment rate at 3.3 percent.

In June, STF Chief Operating Officer Mark Porter noted the company had reached out to a state agency to see about making Sioux City a primary refugee resettlement community, a process that could take years to come to fruition.

Additionally, STF has been in contact with a local staffing agency, which Porter said was working on creating an EB3 Visa program to bring Vietnamese immigrants to the area.

In May 2018, the company plans to start a second shift, which will increase its total workforce to 2,000.
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.
Jeffrey Todd Lee, 53, of Leonardtown, MD passed away Monday, August 7, 2017. Jeff was born on March 26, 1964 in Havre de Grace, MD to Clayton Richard and Eleanor Piercy Lee of Kitty Hawk, NC. On December 31, 1983, Jeff married his beloved high school sweetheart, Pamela Perkins Lee in Chesterfield, VA. Together they celebrated over 33 wonderful years of marriage, and he was deeply loved by his two children; Maddy and Andrew.



Forever dedicated to his country, Jeff devoted over 30 years of service as an engineer for the Department of Defense and United States Navy. He was a loyal husband and father, a devoted and loving son, and the truest of friends. Family was his greatest love and he enjoyed spending as much time as possible with them, from horseback riding, to wrestling, to bird watching. After family, Jeff's next greatest love was the ocean blue, inspiring fierce passions of boating and fishing, and a career with the Navy. Jeff was also a great entertainer, where he captivated family and friends with his many delicious meals, and his witty sense of humor.



In addition to his parents, beloved wife, and children, he is also survived by his brothers, Scott Lee (Jennifer) of McLean, VA and Mike Lee of Richmond, VA; and many extended family and friends. All services will be private. Arrangements by the Brinsfield Funeral Home, P.A.




BALTIMORE (August 10, 2017)Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh today announced the indictments of Kofi Shaw-Taylor and nine co-conspirators, and Hasan H. Babaturk for the alleged unlawful distribution of controlled dangerous substances, and operating as "pill mills." Defendant Babaturk faces 21 counts of drug distribution and improper dispensing charges. Defendant Shaw-Taylor faces 289 counts of conspiracy to commit drug distribution, Medicaid fraud and other charges.



The indictments and arrests of Kofi Shaw-Taylor and his co-defendants come as a result of a collaborative investigation between the Maryland Office of the Attorney General, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General.



The indictment and arrest of Hasan Babaturk comes as the result of a joint investigation between the Maryland Office of the Attorney General and the Baltimore County Police Department.



"These physicians were using their skills not to heal, but to spread the disease of addiction," said Attorney General Frosh. "They enriched themselves by stealing from the state and exploiting their patients. Today, they face the consequences."



"Maryland and the country are in the midst of an opioid epidemic, much of it started by prescription drug abuse. When licensed prescribers, as alleged in the indictment, fail to do their due diligence in prescribing powerful medications, it often leads to the death and despair we are seeing across the country," said Don Hibbert, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office.



"Greed continues to be the main driver in the illegal diversion of opioids and other drugs, which leads to further addictions, broken homes, deaths, and a drain on resources that could be used to keep people healthy and safe," said Nick DiGiulio, Special Agent in Charge for the Inspector General's Office of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Philadelphia. "We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to bring criminals to justice and thereby enable honest providers to serve our Medicare and Medicaid recipients."



"Law Enforcement must use all available resources to fight the opioid epidemic. All of us, federal, state, and local agencies must work together to see a successful end to this crisis. Irresponsible medical professionals must and will be held accountable for their actions," said Chief Terrence B. Sheridan of the Baltimore County Police Department.



Defendant Kofi Shaw-Taylor and Co-Defendants



The indictments allege that Kofi Shaw-Taylor and nine co-defendants operated two clinics that functioned as pill mills. A pill mill is a physician's office, clinic or health care facility that routinely engages in the practice of prescribing and dispensing controlled dangerous substances outside the scope of professional practice and without legitimate medical purpose.



During the period of criminal activity alleged in the indictment, Shaw-Taylor was a licensed physician with a valid Maryland medical license number and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration registration number. Shaw-Taylor was also a provider recognized by the State of Maryland's Medicaid program.



From June 2015 through April 2017, Tormarco Harris, Kofi Shaw-Taylor, Happiness Aguzie, Minnie Ndem, and Alex Green owned and/or operated Starlife Wellness Center, and would see patients, many of whom paid up to $500 in cash for each visit. The owner, Tormarco Harris also paid the medical providers in cash. In addition, beginning in January 2013, Shaw-Taylor, Aguzie, and Green, as well as Kwame Asafo-Adjei, Sabina Acquah, Lisa Diehl, Brandy Gnacek, and Monique Ford owned and/or operated Westside Medical Group, a pain management clinic located directly across the street from Western High School, an all-girls high school in Baltimore City. Many patients also paid cash for their visits at Westside.



During this time period, Shaw-Taylor and his co-defendants are alleged to have routinely dispensed dangerous controlled substances, including opioids, such as oxycodone, and benzodiazepines, such as Alprazolam, without a medical purpose. Oxycodone is highly addictive, causing physical and psychological dependence. Abuse of oxycodone, and its use with other controlled dangerous substances, such as Alprazolam or other benzodiazepines, can lead to overdose, and in some cases, death.



Medicaid pharmacy claims data showed that approximately 1,083 Medicaid beneficiaries were prescribed medication listing Shaw-Taylor as the prescriber. Shaw-Taylor was listed as the prescriber for 737 beneficiaries even though no corresponding medical visits were billed by either Shaw-Taylor or Westside. During that same time period, 403 beneficiaries were prescribed 283,666 doses of oxycodone with Shaw-Taylor listed as the prescriber. Three hundred thirty-six beneficiaries received prescriptions for both opiates and benzodiazepines from Shaw-Taylor.



During this time period, according to the indictments, Shaw-Taylor and his co-defendants from the Westside location, also submitted fraudulent Medicaid claims. Just the period in which Kofi Shaw-Taylor was not physically present amounts to over $100,000 in fraudulent Medicaid claims.



According to the indictments, some of Shaw-Taylor's patients traveled over 25 miles to see the prescriber. One patient drove 245 miles from Youngstown, Ohio. Another patient traveled 122 miles from western Maryland, while others traveled 86 miles from Salisbury, and 50 miles from Leesburg, Virginia. Twenty-eight out of the 39 customers that traveled over 25 miles to see Shaw-Taylor received fulfilled claims for oxycodone. Seven of the 39 customers who traveled more than 25 miles received a drug combination of an opioid and a benzodiazepine.



According to the indictments, Shaw-Taylor, as a result of prescribed medications, is responsible for the death of two beneficiaries, with whom Shaw-Taylor submitted fraudulent Medicaid claims.



Defendant Shaw-Taylor is charged with Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Dangerous Substance, Count 1; Distribution of Controlled Dangerous Substance, Counts 293; Distribution of Controlled Dangerous Substance Near School, Counts 94185; Unlawful Prescription of Controlled Dangerous Substance by Provider, Counts 186277; Medicaid Fraud Involving Death of Beneficiary, Counts 278 and 279; Conspiracy to Commit Medicaid Fraud, Count 280; Medicaid Fraud, Count 281; Conspiracy to Commit Theft Scheme, Count 282; Theft Scheme, Count 283; Conspiracy to Keep Common Nuisance, Counts 284 and 285; and Failure to File Income Taxes, Counts 286289.



Charges of conspiracy to distribute and distribution of unlawfully distributing controlled dangerous substances carry potential penalties of up to 20 years in prison and a fine of a up to $25,000. Charges of distribution of controlled dangerous substance near a school carry potential penalties of 20 years in prison for the first offense, with a fine of up to $20,000. For any subsequent offense, charges carry a potential of 40 years maximum of prison and a fine of up to $40,000. Charges of unlawful prescription of a controlled dangerous substance by provider, a misdemeanor, carry potential penalties of up to 2 years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000. Charges of Medicaid Fraud involving the death of a beneficiary carries potential penalties of life in prison, and a fine of up to $200,000. Charges of conspiracy to commit Medicaid Fraud and Medicaid Fraud carry potential penalties of up to 5 years in prison, and a fine of up to $100,000. Charges of conspiracy to commit theft scheme and theft scheme carry potential penalties of up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000. Charges of keeping a common nuisance carry potential penalties of up to 5 years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000. Failure to file tax returns can carry potential penalties of up to 5 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.



His co-defendants are charged with related crimes.



Defendant Hasan Babaturk



The indictment alleges that over the course of four months, from December 2015 to March 2016, Babaturk, a licensed medical doctor at the time of the alleged criminal activity, unlawfully distributed, dispensed, and prescribed controlled dangerous substances, including oxycodone, oxymorphone, fentanyl and Xanax. During this time, the indictments allege that at times, Babaturk sold prescriptions for these narcotics from his vehicle.



Defendant Babaturk is charged with Distribution of a Controlled Dangerous Substance, 10 Counts; Keeping Common Nuisance, 1 Count; and Unlawful Prescription of a Controlled Dangerous Substance by Provider, 10 Counts.



Charges of unlawfully distributing controlled dangerous substances carry potential penalties of up to 20 years in prison and a fine of a up to $25,000. Charges of keeping a common nuisance carry potential penalties of up to 5 years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000. Charges of unlawful prescription of a controlled dangerous substance by provider, a misdemeanor, carry potential penalties of up to 2 years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000.



Eighty-nine percent of all intoxication deaths that occurred in Maryland in 2016 were opioid-related. Opioid-related deaths include deaths related to heroin, prescription opioids, and non-pharmaceutical fentanyl. The number of opioid-related deaths increased by 70% between 2015 and 2016, and has nearly quadrupled since 2010. Non opioid-related drug deaths have also been increasing, but at a slower rate. The number of prescription opioid-related deaths has been rising since 2012. Opioid abuse is a widespread epidemic.



An indictment is not a finding of guilt. A person is innocent unless and until proven guilty.



A copy of the Grand Jury indictment for Hasan Babaturk can be found here.



A copy of the Grand Jury indictment for Kofi Shaw-Taylor and co-defendants can be found here.



Attorney General Frosh thanked the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office of Inspector General, the Narcotics division of the Baltimore County Police Department, the Baltimore City Police Department, Anne Arundel County Police Department, Howard County Police Department and Caroll County Police Department for their collaboration and efforts to help crack down on physicians like these, who are running pill mills across the state.



In addition to thanking the federal and local law enforcement agencies for their assistance, Attorney General Frosh thanked the attorneys and staff from the Attorney General's Criminal Division, the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and the Organized Crime Unit of the Criminal Division for their work on the case.
Scientists are worried that an executive order issued by President Trump earlier this year that seeks to open large portions of the mid-Atlantic and other coastal areas to oil and gas exploration would harm the endangered North Atlantic right whale and other species that occasionally visit the Chesapeake Bay.



Trump's order, issued April 28, would reverse a 2016 policy from the Obama administration that closed federal waters off portions of the Atlantic, Arctic and Pacific coasts and the Gulf of Mexico to drilling as part of the administration's effort to boost domestic energy production. The order also instructed federal agencies to streamline the permitting process to speed approval of seismic testing to locate oil and gas reserves in those areas.



But the action is increasingly unpopular with many elected officials along the East Coast. In July, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan publically stated his opposition to any further offshore exploration. And the attorneys general from nine East Coast jurisdictionsincluding those from Maryland, Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia and Delawaresubmitted comments opposing additional surveys.



"The proposed seismic tests are themselves disruptive and harmful," Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh said in a statement. "Worse, they are the precursors to offshore drilling that would put the Chesapeake Bay at risk to drilling-related contamination. That contamination would have catastrophic impacts on fragile ecosystems and important economies. This is a foolish gamble with our precious natural resources."



Gov. Terry McAuliffe of Virginia is the lone Southeastern governor supporting marine oil exploration, saying he "never had a problem" with seismic testing. While 127 municipalities have passed resolutions against the tests, only five are in Virginia.



But coastal Virginians' unease with seismic tests appears to be growing. In July, the city council of Norfolk passed a unanimous resolution opposing both offshore drilling and seismic testing, citing threats to marine life, local fisheries and wetlands that offer vital protection from rising seas. The previous month, the city council of Virginia Beach also voted to oppose offshore drilling.



The seismic testing has raised particular concern because of its potential impact on marine life. The tests are conducted by firing seismic airguns from ships "every 10 seconds, 24 hours a day and seven days a week, at a noise level that would rupture a human eardrum," according to the Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental group which was among 10 organizations that filed suit May 3 over the executive order. Among the plaintiffs' contentions is that seismic blasts "could deafen and even kill whales, dolphins and other animals."



Cetaceanswhales and their relativesuse specialized echolocation for almost all of their activities, including hunting, migration, courtship and communication, but they are extremely sensitive to underwater sound vibrations, scientists say. Right whales, whose population is thought to number only around 500, could be at particular risk, they say.



"As far as the impact goes, the chances of an animal being outright killed by seismic air gun arrays are slim," said Doug Nowacek, with the Duke Marine Lab, according to Coastal Review Online. "The effects that we worry about mostly are producing sound in their environment, and that's the sensory mode they use."



To locate new sources of undersea oil, companies employ airguns to blast powerful acoustic waves formed of compressed air down and through the seafloor. Each seismic test can affect an area of more than 2,500 square nautical miles, raising background noise levels to 260 decibels, approximately equaling the epicenter of a grenade blast. This can go on continuously for weeks or even months, according to a 2013 report released by the international body carrying out the United Nations-sponsored Convention on Biodiversity.



Scientists say potential harm is not limited to large marine mammals. Zooplankton, tiny microscopic invertebrates that constitute the core of the marine food chain for everything from shrimp to baleen whales, could also be impacted.



In a June 2017 study published in the journal Nature, a team of marine ecologists found that, "experimental airgun signal exposure decreased zooplankton abundance when compared with controls, as measured by sonar and net tows, and caused a twoto threefold increase in dead adult and larval zooplankton." The study's conclusion says that, "There is a significant and unacknowledged potential for ocean ecosystem function and productivity to be negatively impacted by present seismic technology."



In May, 133 environmental and civic organizations sent a joint letter to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke asking him not to proceed with the Trump administration's plan to expand offshore oil drilling and related seismic testing, stating that "offshore drilling brings unacceptable risks to our oceans, coastal residents, communities, existing economies, and our climate."



But Zinke followed up on the president's executive order with an order of his own on May 11, setting the seismic testing in motion. "Seismic surveying helps a variety of federal and state partners better understand our nation's offshore areas, including locating offshore hazards, siting of wind turbines, as well as offshore energy development," Zinke said in a statement. "Allowing this scientific pursuit enables us to safely identify and evaluate resources that belong to the American people."



The National Marine Fisheries Service has also proposed authorizing more than 90,000 miles of active seismic blasting which, based on the results of the Nature report, would constitute "approximately 135,000 square miles," according to the Natural Resource Defense Council.



Reflection seismology, as the geophysical exploratory process is called, uses concussive compressed air to send a sudden shock of sound beneath the ocean surface. Oil deposits can be detected by a geological interpretation of what the bounced sounds, called reflections, reveal what lies beneath.



Reflections are gathered and collated by floating hydrophones, also called towed arrays or streamers, which emit 10 to 15-hertz echoes that bounce off the seafloor. Where geologically suitable, up to 20 or 30 kilometers of the ocean's floor can be penetrated through this technique.



Oil companies look for two seafloor features to indicate the presence of oil: salt domes and seeps. Salt domes were created over eons when oceanic regions were repeatedly drowned and parched, to atmospheric events such as glaciation. This periodic give and take of oceanic deposits squeezes buoyant sea salt to the top of the sedimentary layer, trapping oil and gas underneath, which leaves a unique shape and composition detectable to seismic exploration.



Seeps occur when oil and gas escape from the seabed and cloudily rise through the water column toward the ocean surface, making them verifiable through onsite seafloor analysis.



Maria Morell is with the zoology department of the University of British Columbia, and specializes in marine mammal acoustics. "When a mammal is exposed to an audible sound of high intensity and long duration," she said, "the sensory cells of the inner ear can suffer mechanical and metabolical fatigue," followed by "a cascade of alterations" that can lead to temporary or permanent hearing loss.



Testing for oil, she said, adds another stressful seismic factor to a deafening environment that the Atlantic's marine mammals must confront every day, including "maritime transport, offshore oil and gas exploration and exploitation, industrial and military sonar, military and civilian engineering activities, supersonic aircraft noise, the construction and operation of sea-based wind farms, and acoustic deterrent and harassment devices."



Ingrid Biedron, a marine biologist with the conservation group Oceana, said that Trump's call for offshore drilling may be difficult to enact under federal law. "Current proposals conflict with the Marine Mammal Protection Act," she said. "They also conflict with the Endangered Species Act because several endangered whale species use the area proposed for seismic airgun blasting."



Citing a federal study, she said that, "If seismic airgun surveys are approved in the Atlantic, by the government's own numbers, up to 138,000 whales and dolphins could be harmed and up to 13 million disturbed."



Potential harm to marine species from seismic testing isn't limited to cetaceans. Jessica Coakley, a fishery management specialist with the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, said that these impacts stretch from the recent stranding of giant squid off Spain in areas adjacent to seismic testing to sensitive habitats such as deep-sea corals.



The recent National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Ocean Noise Roadmap recognizes that "sound is a fundamental component of the physical and biological habitat that many aquatic animals and ecosystems have evolved to rely on over millions of years."



In addition, Coakley said, the University of Rhode Island, in partnership with NOAA, has created a website called "sound in the sea," through which visitors can click to hear what seismic airguns actually sound like when heard several thousand kilometers away underwater.



The speed of sound underwater is five times faster than sounds traveling through air, so marine creatures perceive sound coming from much farther distances than their terrestrial counterparts. For animals that rely on sound as much as we do on sight, it's not difficult to imagine the grinding anxiety of being subjected to a constant bombardment of sensory deprivation caused by seismic activities, including oil exploration. Marine mammals already facing an uphill struggle for survival could face yet another industrial challenge.



"Scientists are especially worried about the North Atlantic right whale," Beidron said, "Increased noise from seismic blasting could be one of the factors that further tips this species toward extinction."



Last spring, 28 top marine mammal scientists specializing in right whales signed a statement declaring unequivocally that for this species, "among the most endangered whales on the planet," and already facing a "desperate level of endangerment," widespread seismic surveys may well represent a tipping point, "contributing significantly to a decline towards extinction."



William H. (Bill) Funk is a freelance environmental journalist whose work for the Bay Journal centers on wildlife, forestry, rivers, farming and other land use issues in the Allegheny and Blue Ridge Mountains and the Shenandoah Valley.


Al Dailey is the new general manager of the County Times newspapers in southern Maryland. Al Dailey is the new general manager of the County Times newspapers in southern Maryland.

HOLLYWOOD, Md.

(August 10, 2017)Al Dailey, who has 32 years of Southern Maryland media experience, has joined The County Times newspapers in St. Mary's and Calvert counties as General Manager. That experience includes 17 years as Associate Publisher of the Enterprise Newspaper, from 1999 to 2016.With the Enterprise, Dailey worked closely with the business community in St. Mary's and Calvert counties. He was active with the St. Mary's County Chamber of Commerce, having served on the board and being responsible for that organization's poplar annual membership directory."I have admired the McKay family businesses for years from a distance," Dailey said. "It is tough to compete against the big boxes, but the McKay's have done it successfully." The County Times was founded by James Manning McKay, who started the family grocery business along with his wife Marilyn.McKay's son Tommy now serves as president of the family business and he and grandson Eric serve as publisher and associate publisher of the newspapers.Dailey vividly remembers the Chamber of Commerce annual meeting at the former Evans Seafood on St. George's Island at which James Manning McKay was honored as businessperson of the year.Dailey is excited about the community newspaper business, which he describes as being a "hyper-local" media. "People want to know what is happening in their backyards," he said. He added that because of that, community newspapers are doing better than daily newspapers, which also have the added burden of the costs of daily distribution.Dailey's first job in Southern Maryland was as a weekend fill-in disk jockey at WPTX-AM in Lexington Park. He quickly moved into the morning announcer role at its sister station, WMDM-FM when local legend, the late Gary Beavin left to work for the then Bell Motor Company. Dailey moved to an Annapolis station for a few years and then returned to WPTX/WMDM as general manager.He explained that he spent most of the 1980's in the radio business and most of the 1990's as general manager and partner of Cable Channel 10 in St. Mary's County.Dailey is especially happy to be back in the area where he has worked so long and knows so many people. He started at the County Times newspapers as general manager on July 31.
GREENBELT, Md. (August 09, 2017)On August 7, 2017, a federal grand jury indicted Anuj Sud, age 39, of Hyattsville, Maryland, on charges related to a bribery conspiracy. Sud allegedly solicited and accepted bribes in the performance of his official duties in Prince George's County.



The indictment was announced by Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Stephen M. Schenning; Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Thomas Jankowski of the Internal Revenue ServiceCriminal Investigation, Washington, D.C. Field Office; and Chief Henry P. Stawinski III of the Prince George's County Police Department.



Sud was a Liquor Board Commissioner and has been a licensed attorney in Maryland since 2005, with offices in College Park. According to court documents, in September 2015, Sud solicited bribes from a lobbyist in exchange for Sud's assistance with liquor board matters. At a subsequent meeting, Sud and the lobbyist discussed Sud voting favorably in two upcoming hearings concerning the lobbyist's clients, in exchange for money. The lobbyist advised that the hearings would take place on December 2 and December 15, 2015. At each of the hearings, Sud took favorable action on behalf of the lobbyist's client. Following each hearing, the lobbyist met with Sud and gave Sud $1,000 cash for Sud's assistance. Similarly, on November 30, 2016, Sud received a $1,000 bribe payment in exchange for taking favorable action on behalf of the lobbyist's client.



Sud was charged with two counts of bribery, for each of which he faces a maximum sentence of ten years in prison.



An indictment is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.



Acting United States Attorney Stephen M. Schenning commended the FBI, IRS-CI, and Prince George's County Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Schenning thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas P. Windom, Menaka S. Kalaskar, and Arun G. Rao, who are prosecuting the case.
HOLLYWOOD, Md.

(August 10, 2017)John S. Mattingly, the fallen priest who pleaded guilty to stealing nearly a half-million dollars from the congregation at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Newtowne Neck, told the parishioners he had betrayed that he was sorry for what he had done, but offered no explanation as to why he did it.Speaking at his sentencing hearing Monday at the U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, Mattingly, 71, said he wanted to find a way to make amends with the entire parish he had served before retiring in 2010, leaving one of the oldest parishes dating back to the colonial founding of Maryland almost insolvent."I fully acknowledge what I did was terribly wrong," Mattingly said. "My conduct haunts me."I'm terribly sorry."Mattingly said he wanted to petition the Archdiocese to allow him to say one last mass at the church before he dies.Judge Deborah Chasanow handed down a sentence of 18 months home detention, along with three years supervised release.Both sides stipulated to one day of incarceration already served when Mattingly was arrested by federal authorities last year.Chasanow said Mattingly's motives for stealing the $400,000 from his parishioners from between 2006 and 2010 and funneling the money into a retirement fund and various other accounts, while telling his congregation it was desperately needed for things such as church repairs, was somewhat baffling.But she was sure that he was not bothered by what he was doing before he got caught."You said you've been haunted by this for five years, when this had been going on long before that," Chasanow said. "That tells me you were not concerned about what you were doing when [the theft and bank fraud] was happening."She noted Mattingly's signing over $400,000 by check last week to the court as restitution to the parish he had once served faithfully, which showed that he had not actually spent the money he had stolen.Chasanow said had his crimes gone unnoticed, it was uncertain what would have happened to the embezzled funds."His motivations for this conduct are not entirely clear to me," Chasanow said. "He was clearly doing this to serve his own psychic benefit."One church member, writing in a letter to the court, was not so sure, noting that Mattingly had made social media posts during the investigation into church finances about his many visits to music performances in D.C. as well as apparently flaunting what she called an $80,000 Lexus, a condominium on the Eastern Shore and a penchant for day trading in the markets.Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Forman told the court the investigation into Mattingly's scheme turned up checks written by parishioners for various amounts with messages written on them stating the money was for charitable donations to the church or for maintenance of the aging chapel.But those notes were a ruse, Forman said, since Mattingly had those monies diverted directly into accounts he controlled.Forman said when he was first presented the case from State's Attorney Richard Fritz's office back in 2014 that he was incredulous of any criminal wrongdoing."We thought that there must be an account we're missing," Forman said. "But we never saw any money coming back to St. Francis Xavier Church."David Chapman, Mattingly's attorney, told the court that Mattingly's health, both physically and mentally, was precarious and that his illegal activities took place when Mattingly was "heavily medicated for his medical conditions and his psychological conditions.""He has suffered tremendously, arguably by his own hand, but he has suffered just the same," Chapman said. "He is disgraced, there is no doubt about it."
Dear Editor,

Yesterday morning, I received a call from a local Senior well call Ed. Hes taken part in a few Pride Center programs. He frequently visits Poverello next door. He has a witty sense of humor and bad neuropathy in his feet. Hes also about to be priced out of his long-term local housing. He wanted me to sign him up for the wait list for Senior affordable housing on our campus. He was quite disappointed when I told him were still a couple years away from a wait list.

Every few days, our COO Kristofer Fegenbush, our Senior Services Manager Bruce Williams or I receive a call like this. They inevitably end with the same sense of disappointment from the caller, and a hearty, impassioned thank you that were working to provide affordable housing to local Seniors. The need is large.

Yesterday afternoon, I received an email from a community leader. His Wilton Manors neighbor is 82 years old and barely survives on $1,200 a month. The neighbor is losing his housing in February and his friends are searching hard to find him affordable and safe housing. The community leader was writing to affirm the need for affordable, supportive housing for local Seniors. The need is real.

How ironic that an hour later, I opened the SFGN issue for August 2 to be greeted by an article in the Wilton Manors Gazette full of rumors, conspiracy theories and misstatements regarding our project.

Talk about Fake News!

I was disappointed that no one from The Gazette reached out to ask any questions or seek any facts before making-up the article. I happily would have shared our progress and challenges. I also wondered if any confused readers had followed the many articles that have appeared in various Florida publications over the past few years about this projectincluding multiple in the pages of this paperor attended any of the various presentations to neighborhood associations, our Founders, local large Seniors groups or other community meetings. Either way, I remained grateful for yet another opportunity to educate our community on The Pride Centers long-term commitment to providing supportive, affordable housing to Seniors on our campus. Were excited to help meet a real, persistent local need. And Ill never shy away from an opportunity to discuss that mission with others.

So, to answer the headlines question, what is the real goal of the Senior housing project? We will give local Seniors a permanent and safe place to live along with the supportive services they need to stay there. Thats the goal, plain and simple.

The Residences at Equality Park will be affordable housing for Senior adults, with a special focus on LGBTQ individuals. This is affordable housingnot low income housing as the article repeatedly claimed. (Affordable housing is for tenants with three to four times the rent amount in income. Low-income housing is for tenants with barely two times the rent in income. Was the article trying to scare others using images of poverty? Is this another case of NIMBYNot In My Backyardsyndrome?

The ultimate goal of the project will include 120-130 units. Phase I will include 48 units. This is the phase for which we appliedand were successfully awardedthe 9% Federal tax credits issued by Florida Housing. As weve repeatedly described for the last few years, all units are affordable housing for older adults (55+) earning less than 60% of the areas median income (AMI), approximately $35,000 annually. Every single unit is for Seniors; no one under 55 can live in The Residences. In addition, 70% of these units (34) are designated for seniors living with disabling conditions, such as physical illnesses or disabilities due to complications from HIV/AIDS. These Seniors must be able to live independently, but will benefit from the array of services available on campus. According to a recent survey by the Institute for Multigenerational Health, 47 percent of LGBTQ seniors in the U.S. are currently living with a disabling condition. This is the personal reality we face every Tuesday morning when over 200 Seniors gather in our main hall for Coffee and Conversation.

The Proposed Phase II, including an additional 70-80 units, would be developed at a later date. Over the past two years, The Center has partnered with Carrfour, Floridas largest nonprofit affordable housing developer in the development of The Residences at Equality Park. Carrfour will serve as the projects developer, operator and service coordinator. The Pride Center, with over 24 years of experience serving the LGBTQ community in South Florida, will provide residents with innovative on-site supportive services, including healthcare navigation and coordination, senior support groups, workshops, exercise and recreational activities.

The Residences at Equality Park will represent South Floridas first affordable housing project with customized supportive services for LGBTQ seniors. We already provide a safety-net of services on this campus for local Seniors. The Residences, coupled with The Centers growing seniors programming-- the largest LGBTQ seniors program nationwide--will give residents a permanent, safe place to live and support services they need to age in place. The Residences joins a growing national trend in which senior affordable housing projects area being built in conjunction with LGBTQ community centers in major cities across the country, including Los Angeles, San Diego, Chicago and Philadelphia. The project represents the next phase of the master plan for redevelopment of the five-acre Equality Park campus.

In case concerned readers missed the many articles and interviews that have appeared over the past couple years in SFGN, Miami Herald, the Sun Sentinel, Florida Agenda, South Florida Business and Wealth, The Real Deal and other publications regarding Senior affordable housing on our campus, I want to review a brief history of the project.

In 2012, Gay and Lesbian Elder Housing identified a desperate local need in Broward County for affordable housing. We serve a growing, aging LGBTQ community with limited affordable housing options. At the same time, The City of Wilton Manors approached The Center about addressing these local needs for affordable housing and our campus optimum location and resources to help meet those needs. The development of multi-family housing mixed with other uses at our location is encouraged in the City of Wilton Manors Zoning Code. Also in 2012, during our Strategic Planning process, the Board of Directors set a goal to evaluate the potential of a senior affordable housing project to be built on the Equality Park campus. Our Strategic Plan resulted from two years of many large townhalls, surveys, small group discussions and planning with strategically targeted, diverse groupsSeniors, communities of color, families, women, people living with HIV/AIDS and more.

Over the next three-and-a-half years, the Board did their due diligence, meeting with various top developers and learning the details of Senior Affordable Housing. During this same time, we updated the Master Plan for our campus. We partnered with TSAO Design in a year-long process, including an extensive Charrette with 65 diverse community leaders to brainstorm and prioritize future campus uses. These Charrette results were presented to the Board; the top priorities set our direction. Results were announced and presented to the community. Senior Affordable Housing remains one of the largest, most significant projects identified both by the Strategic Plan and the Charrette process.

The Center Board cultivated relationships with three top developers in the South Florida area during a multi-year evaluation and assessment process. In the end, we partnered with Carrfour to submit our first proposal in November 2015 for 120 units, 185 structured parking spots and a 11,000-square foot community space. In October 2015, Wilton Manors City Commissioners provided demonstration of public support for our application for affordable housing credits from Florida Housing Finance Corporation. Although we didnt receive funding from our first submission, our second application for Phase I of supportive affordable housing for Seniors was successful.

Weve never been secretive about this project. Weve talked about this project consistently for the past few years to anyone who will listen. Weve included it in every issue of our VOICE newsletter since 2015, including two front-page articles last yearboth appearing in SFGN. We gave interviews to every local publication a year ago when the initial funding was announced. Ive made presentations to local neighborhood associations. Our Board of Directors has welcomed guests from the neighborhood associations to our open monthly meetings. Ive spoken about it four times at our monthly Founders circle receptions over the past year. I announced it at last years Diversity Honors. I give face-to-face updates on the project to our Seniors every month or so on Tuesday mornings. We remain in regular communication with The City of Wilton Manors.

This weeks article reminded me, though, that we can never communicate enough about the good news of whats happening on our campus. Thank you for the reminder! I welcome readers to come to our campus and receive a tour. See the good work happening!

The article suggests nonprofits are a drain on The City. The Pride Center as a nonprofit still pays our water bills, sewer bills, fire inspection license fee and other fees to The City of Wilton Manors. More importantly, non-profits deliver value-added community enrichments. We provide a spectrum of amenities and services for local residences that The City cannot offer but recognize as needs consistently through their Comprehensive Plan. The Pride Center appreciates a healthy, ongoing collaboration with The City to enhance the lives of our citizens. Heck, we even organize Wicked Manors each year.

The Residences at Equality Park also will pay impact fees to the City of Wilton Manors. Parks & Recreation will receive $976.51 per unit. Police will receive $91.50 per unit plus $61 per 1,000 square feet of non-residential space. Fire will receive $60 per unit plus $40 per 1,000 square feet of non-residential space. Of course, this affordable housing project would be exempt from the Affordable Housing Fee.

Will there be an increase in traffic on Dixie Highway? The coming senior affordable housing project on our campus will undergo the same due diligence with The County and The City that any other project addressesincluding a traffic assessment. Around 2000 people use our campus daily. The addition of 48 residents now and 70 residents later wont dramatically congest traffic patterns.

Last week, I attended a couple of community meetings with Housing Broward, the coordinating council of Broward Housing Council. Were the most cost burdened rental market in the nation. Local households are the most severely burdened in the nation. Today, for current residents, Broward County needs 70,000 affordable rental units. Thats why Housing Broward is dedicating $5 million per year for the next three years from the General Fund.

The need among LGBTQ Seniors is even greater. Local and national data show that LGBTQ older adults are heavily concentrated in lower income brackets; 51% report they are very or extremely concerned about having enough money to live during retirement. LGBTQ older adults face higher rates of discrimination in securing senior housing and encounter bias and hostile treatment from housing providers and fellow residents. Many face challenges finding housing that is welcoming to same-sex couples. When surveyed, LGBTQ seniors regularly list housing discrimination as a primary concern, including fear about mainstream senior housing options. Experiences of discrimination are linked with poor health outcomes, such as depression among both chronically ill LGBTQ older adults and their informal caregivers. Nearly four out of ten LGBTQ older adults have contemplated suicide at some point during their lives. LGBTQ older adults also are four-times less likely to have children and twice as likely to live alone than heterosexuals. SAGE USA reports that 40% of older LGBTQ adults say their support networks have become smaller over time (as compared to 27% of non-LGBTQ people). As a result, LGBTQ seniors risk being without caregivers when they need it most. Older adults who live alone are at serious risk of social isolation, which is linked to poor mental and physical health, cognitive impairment, and premature chronic disease and death.

I invite any reader that has questions, reach out! Talk to me! Just in case you dont know me, I am the big 6 5 guy at The Center. Im pretty hard to miss, and Im not known to be shy or quiet at any of the many gatherings that I attend each week.

Come out and join us on a Tuesday morning! Get to know the more-than 200 Seniors who gather with us! Hear their stories! Learn about their needs! When you do, youll be reminded of our real goal of providing affordable, supportive housing to Seniors.

Youll be reminded of The Pride Center at Equality Parks long-time mission statement: We provide a welcoming, safe spacean inclusive HOMEthat celebrates, nurtures and empowers the LGBTQ communities and our friends and neighbors in South Florida.

Sincerely,

Robert Boo

CEO
At the time of his death, Michael Cruz still owed Pride Fort Lauderdale $13,000.

In June of 2011, Cruz, whose cause and date of death SFGN was unable to obtain, was convicted of stealing $46,591 from Pride. Cruz, the former director of the then named Pride South Florida, was sentenced to one year in the Broward County Jail and ordered to make monthly payments of $400 to Pride to pay the organization back. Court documents also show that Cruz was ordered to attend Gamblers Anonymous meetings.

For whatever happened, at the end of the day, he at least tried to make good [on his past misdeeds]. He admitted his mistake. I knew him from working with him in the past and he was a really nice guy, but sometimes things happen. I dont forgive him but you cant forget the good work he was involved in. He wasnt a bad guy. I dont know how he got caught up in gambling, said Pride President Miik Martorell. He never missed [a payment].

Joel Slotnick, who was the secretary/treasurer of Pride South Florida, said Cruzs embezzlement was a shock at the time. I knew Michael for at least a decade before that. The whole thing was really a surprise for me. It was shameful because he fooled a lot of people. I know he had a gambling problem but that still is somebody who basically betrayed you.

Slotnick said he pushed for the lien in 2011 because Cruz had attempted suicide and he wanted to ensure Pride got repaid what was stolen. Both Slotnick and Martorell said they consider it their responsibility to get all of Prides money back.

Im not trying to be a gravedigger. Theres a responsibility to the organization for the money owed. Its the communitys money. At this point, were probably going to have to hire a lawyer to get the rest of it, Martorell said. Im going to do whatever I can to make sure Pride gets their money, said Slotnick.

According to county property records, Cruz and a man named Emmanuel Stringos purchased a home in Fort Lauderdale in 2000 for $87,490. The home was sold in July of this year for $215,000, but Stringos was the only name on the title at the time of sale.

In his interview with SFGN, Martorell said Pride would look into why the lien was not being enforced and why Pride had not been notified that the payments would stop.

A spokesperson for the Broward County Records, Taxes and Treasury Division said that its not up to the county to track and enforce liens. The spokesperson added that Pride might have to go to court to get the remainder of its money, possibly from what Stringos made from the sale of the home that used to be partially-owned by Cruz. Multiple attempts to reach Stringos were unsuccessful.
Miami-Dade and Broward counties rank first and second in the nation in new HIV infections. Among the most at risk are gay Latinos, many from Nicaragua, Dominican Republic and Honduras, where there is a deficiency in sex education. Its for this reason Latinos Salud was formed in 2008 to create a safe space for gay Latinos and provide them with much-needed education, support and resources.

Stephen Fallon, executive director of Latinos Salud, said new infections are declining in most regions and populations across the United States. But they are rising in South Florida, especially amongst gay Latinos. After infection, minorities in Miami-Dade live only about half as long on average as their non-minority peers, Fallon said.

So much has changed since Latinos Salud was founded about nine years ago, Fallon said. When I think about whats happened in the epidemic in the past couple of decadeswhen medicine was trying to fight back against HIV back thenwe were not succeeding. We were basically building sand castles against a tsunami, and it was just wiping people away. The one thing we did have was community. Every week, youd pick up the bar magazine and it was filled with obituaries. Friends were lost every week, and so community was built around fear. People ran out and told their friends, dont do this. Do this instead; its safer. Be careful.

Latinos Salud hosted an open house July 25 for its recently relocated Miami Beach office from Fifth Street and Washington Avenue to 925 Arthur Godfrey Road. The event served to introduce the community to the agencys new locations, which offer free walk-in HIV and STD screening, HIV education and prevention programs, linkage to care services for clients living with HIV, support groups and mobile testing van community outreach. Latinos Salud was founded in Wilton Manors in 2008, added a Miami Beach location in 2014 and a Kendall location in 2016.

Victor Gonzalez, Miami Beach program coordinator, said the new Miami Beach location on Arthur Godfrey Road is making it more convenient for people to find us, providing more parking and more space than at the Washington Avenue location.

We wanted something bigger, more friendly and welcoming, Gonzalez said. One of the downfalls from our old office was that it was very touristy in the heart of South Beach. We didnt receive many residential clients. Here, we are receiving many more residential clients.

Fallon says today, some people may say there is no more community, perhaps in part because the epidemic isnt as visible, he said. But attendance at the Miami Beach open house proved otherwise. We do still have community, he said.

The epidemic doesnt instill so much fear. We dont see the obituaries every single day like we used to, Fallon said. So do we have the same need for community? Well, from a medical standpoint, the good news is HIV is no longer a foregone tragedy. Medicine has come very far. There is an amazing life potential for somebody living with HIV, if they do everything right. But HIV is still a burden and we want to prevent our friends from having to carry that burden if theyre not already living with HIV. Those who are living with HIV, we want to make sure their life doesnt have tragedy in it. We want to make sure they get into care and that the care is effective.

Will Portalatin, board chair, says Latinos Salud wants to make sure it is providing services in the much-needed community areas as possible.

Hence why we opened up in Kendall two years ago, he said. We found there was a need there because of language barriers. Many of our Spanish-speaking members are Spanish-speaking only. Its challenging for this group to get the testing and linkage services.

Portalatin says the agency has taken huge steps from when they were just a small clubhouse in Wilton Manors.

Weve come a long way in a decade, he said. Thanks to grant funding, weve expanded our hours from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. all locations, Monday through Friday. Saturday 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Wilton Manors. Its such a great feeling to know the community is responding to what we have to offer and they continue to come back to volunteer and bring other people they know. Im also happy were much more open to dialogue not just in our community but everywhere in general. Weve evolved a lot and were here to provide education, counseling and services to help everyone live a long and healthier lifestyle.
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Trotters and pacers invaded the Greene County Fairgrounds in Waynesburg, Pa. on Tuesday (August 8) and Wednesday (August 9), contesting over $84,000 in Pennsylvania Fair Sire Stakes, with the two-year-olds going first and the sophomores featured in the windup card.

The most remarkable mile on Tuesday came in the 'B' division of the baby colt pace, going almost four seconds faster than the 'A' section. That was because Marvalous Falcon was entered in the lower-level event by cagey Roger Hammer to build the colts confidence  and to possibly get a respite from Venier Hanover, who was going to be second to 2018 Little Brown Jug favourite Done Well before making a late break and finishing third at Pocono Tuesday night. Marvalous Falcon already has two 'A' wins to his credit, one being Venier Hanovers only fair defeat and the other a 1:58.2 win at Gratz, and the Delmarvalous gelding will be headed back up to the 'A' division per Pennsylvania Fair Stakes rules after winning his second straight 'B' event, here in 2:05.1 for breeder-owner-trainer-driver Hammer.

On Wednesday, the fastest mile of the day was put in by a trotter, three-year-old Yankee Glide gelding New Heaven, who won in 2:03.1 for driver Chris Shaw. His connections have been known to have success in other levels of racing  trainer Ron Burke and the ownership team of Burke Racing Stable, LLC, Weaver Bruscemi, LLC, Knox Services, Inc., and David Wills.

In Wednesdays first mile, the Donato Hanover filly All Set Lets Go showed no ill effect from racing and winning at Honesdale, some 359 miles away, on Sunday, coming right on back on the Pennsylvania interstates to tally in 2:06.2 for her eighth straight triumph. Chris Shaw was in the sulky as well for trainer John McMullen, Jr. and the McMullen Stable, LLC. All Set Lets Go is the top point-earner at the fairs over all divisions so far in 2017.

The slowest mile of the day was taken by the filly who has the most fair points among all pacers  the Delmarvalous filly Gemalous, who dawdled to the three-quarters in 1:46.2, then streaked home in :28 for her sixth win of the fair season for trainer Jason Shaw, owner Mason Shaw (Jasons son), and driver Chris Shaw (Jasons brother), who had five wins on the day and seven at the meet. Gemalouss two bitter rivals, Bella Ragaza and Camera Lady, both won later in the day at Honesdale, so Gemalous needed the victory to stay atop the standings.

(Pennsylvania Fair Harness Horsemens Association)
Irby Williams Bair Named Executive Director of Advancement for College of Biblical Studies

HOUSTON, Aug. 9, 2017 / Standard Newswire / -- The College of Biblical Studies-Houston recently named experienced fundraising professional Irby Williams Bair (photo) as executive director of advancement.

"Irby is highly accomplished in raising community awareness and funds in support of nonprofits -- most recently as director of development for the well-loved A.D. Players theater program," said Dr. Bill Blocker, CBS-Houston president. "She is a strong advocate of our mission, and she knows and loves this city."

Prior to leading development for the A.D. Players, Bair served as a fundraising consultant for a number of nonprofits and worked in banking. The University of Texas alumnus is a member and past senior panelist for the Association of Fundraising Professionals, an advisory board member for Lifeline Chaplaincy, a fundraising seminar instructor for the University of Houston, and a past board member for the Junior League of Houston and Pi Beta Phi Sorority.

Bair attends St. Luke's United Methodist Church.

"The College of Biblical Studies equips hundreds of Christian leaders each year with high quality, accredited degrees," Bair said. "CBS alumni are making a huge difference across Greater Houston and beyond -- and I want to help more people know about this fine, accredited college. It's a jewel."

Bair's advancement expertise and Houston ties will continue to strengthen CBS's advancement program that balances contributions from significant donors, foundations, churches and companies

"We are delighted that Irby is joining our dedicated team at CBS-Houston," Blocker said.
It takes a lot for anything anybody in the Insane Clown Trump administration says to get my attention these days. The longtime Exxon-Mobil CEO and current United State Secretary of State Rex Tillerson did the trick with these 48 words two days ago: We are evaluating all of our policy options as to what can we do to create a change of conditions where either Maduro decides he doesnt have a future and wants to leave of his own accord or we can return the government processes back to their constitution.

That is the United States top diplomat saying that a democratically elected head of sovereign state, Venezuelas president Nicolas Maduro, must leave office or we  the U.S. government that is  will reserve the right to remove him (absurdly described as return[ing] the Venezuelan government back to their constitution.) It is a declaration of the United States presumed entitlement to conduct internationally criminal regime change, confident that it is exempt from global sanction or prosecution. Because we own the world and what we say goes  especially in our hemisphere. Capice?

Nobody should doubt that Tillerson is signaling Washingtons willingness to carry out a coup in Venezuela. The Bush administration tried and failed to do precisely that in April of 2002  and Washington has never stopped waiting for its next best moment to depose the democratically elected socialist government there. That moment is now, perhaps, with Venezuela weakened by low oil prices and years of economic poaching and sanctions, and with U.S-fueled street protests led by a fanatical right wing racist and upper-class opposition to the Bolivarian Revolution.

Latin Americans know all too well about Uncle Sams penchant for regime change and other forms of interference in their not-so sovereign political processes. Here are just some of the worst highlights of U.S. foreign policy in Latin America over the last six plus decades:

1954, a CIA-orchestrated coup removed the democratically elected Guatemalan and Left government of Jacobo Arbenz. Over the next four decades, U.S.-backed right-wing Guatemalan regimes killed tens of thousands of peasants, workers, students, and activists.

The U.S. responded to the 1959 Cuban Revolution with what historian David Boring called years of futile covert programs under three different American presidents to depose Castro. U.S. efforts included every arrow in the covert quiver, from organizing and supporting a proxy exile invasion to economic and political destabilization, from sabotage and propaganda to psychological warfare and assassination plots.

In 1973, a CIA-engineered coup overthrew the democratically elected socialist government of Chilean president Salvador Allende and replaced him with the fascist butcher and close U.S. ally General Augusto Pinochet. Pinochets regime killed 30,000 workers, students, peasant, intellectuals and activists killed while introducing U.S.- (University of Chicago-) imported economic policies during the 1970s and 1980s.

A U.S.-sponsored and U.S.-assisted fascist regime and allied death squads in Argentina killed as many 30,000 workers, students, intellectuals, and activists in that country between 1974 and 1983.

US-sponsored authoritarian and death-squad regimes in Central America killed over 300,000 people during Ronald Reagans two terms. Lavish funding, training and equipment from Washington fueled this epic bloodshed. Victims were murdered and maimed as punishment forand warnings againstparticipation in popular struggles to redistribute land and improve working and social conditions for peasants and workers in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras

In the early summer of 2009, the right-wing Democratic Party presidency of Barack Obama, with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the lead, helped the Honduran business and military elite carry out a coup against Honduras democratically elected president Manuel Zelaya. Zelaya had angered Washington by joining with Venezuela, Bolivia, and Ecuador in advocating social democratic reforms and national independence from U.S. direction in Latin America. Thousands have been killed since by the right-wing Honduran regime.

Why does the U.S. want to overthrow the Maduro government in Caracas, threatening now to do so by direct military force? Washingtons claim of concern for hardship and oppression in Venezuela should not be taken seriously. Uncle Sam has been fueling poverty in Venezuela with economic sanctions and coordinated political disruption for years. Washington has just cut another in its long line of giant arms deals with its longtime oil-rich client and ally Saudi Arabia, the single most reactionary government on Earth. The United States alliance with the Saudis, other absolutist Persian Gulf oil monarchies, and numerous other authoritarian rulers and regimes around the world gives the lie to its pretense of worry for the causes of democracy and justice. When will Tillerson call for the departure of the rotten right-wing rulers of Honduras, Columbia, and now Brazil, not to mention those of the Persian Gulf, Indonesia, the Philippines, Ukraine?

The situation from a humanitarian statement is already becoming dire in Venezuela, Tillerson said. Right  as if the Trump administration or Washington more broadly could care less about peoples lives in other countries. An ongoing U.S.-funded and assisted Saudi-led bombing campaign has recently devastated much of Yemens basic infrastructure, putting seven million Yeminis at risk of famine. A 19th century disease, cholera, has gone epidemic there, thanks to the collapse of water sanitation. Cholera has already killed nearly 2000 Yemini civilians; 300,000 Yeminis are currently infected. A child dies from preventable causes on the average of once every ten minutes in Yemen now. Wolfgang Jamann, head of the human rights organization CARE, recently took a five-day trip to Yemen. We are now in the 21st century and the current situation is an absolute shame on humanity, Jamann told reporters

The Trump administration has increased direct U.S. attacks on Yemen and has affiliated Washington more directly with the Saudis war on Houthi rebels there.

U.S. troops will not be heading anytime soon down to Honduras to overthrow the vicious government that stands atop a nation where nearly two-thirds of the rural populace lives in abject poverty and where

Too many children live on the streets because their families cannot provide for them. Their homes  often made of cardboard and tin pieced together  offer no space or running water, and little hope of a better future. Usually it is just one room, sometimes with a wood burning stove in the middle, which of course, adds smoke and pollution to the room. There may be a latrine outside but not necessarily close by. The latrine may be shared by several families. There may be only one bed with other family members sleeping on the floor. There is little, if any, furniture. Despite the many children who may be living there, one rarely sees any toys or books. Some homes do have electricity in the form of bare bulbs and exposed wires hanging overhead often covered with duct tape.

The U.S. considers the regime that enforces this misery in Honduras part of the democratic and free world. Honduras mass of brown-skinned poor are technically unworthy victims in the reigning U.S. media-politics culture. Not so the wealthy and lighter-skinned Venezuelan elite, who are enraged by the Venezuelan revolutions effort to raise millions out of poverty.

In Washingtons view, Venezuelas left government must be punished for the twin sins of national independence and egalitarian social-democracy  the same transgressions that doomed Arbenz, Allende, and allied left leaders and forces across Latin America and the world (think Lumumba, Sukarno, Mossaddegh) in past episodes of U.S. democracy promotion.

How perfect is it that RExxon Tillerson is the petro-imperial mouthpiece for the threat of regime change in Venezuela? The climate-wrecking transnational super-corporation he headed for many years has sought through a World Bank Tribunal to extract $1.6 billion as compensation for properties nationalized when the great Venezuelan populist Hugo Chavez (the man Bernie F-35 Sanders dismissed last year as just a dead communist dictator) acted to take back control of Venezuelas oil wealth to (imagine) channel the profits into social programs at home rather than profits for multinational companies.

Nobody should be surprised by Tillersons chilling message given this history and Tillersons statement during his confirmation hearings for Secretary of State: If confirmed, I would urge close cooperation with our friends in the hemisphere, particularly Venezuelas neighbors Brazil and Colombia, as well as multilateral bodies such as the OAS, to seek a negotiated transition to democratic rule in Venezuela,

The translation for transition to democratic rule: overthrow of the Bolivarian socialist Revolution and the restoration of the U.S.-friendly Venezuelan business elite to oligarchic power.

Washington is irked by Maduros call for a Constituent Assembly to re-draft the Venezuelan constitution. How ironic. The ancient and explicitly un- and even anti-democratic U.S. Constitution of how and why the United States itself is a corporate oligarchy. The United States itself is in dire need of a revolutionary movement that must demand among other things a Constituent Assembly to draft a new U.S. Constitution consistent with the ideal and practice of the U.S. Founders ultimate nightmare  popular sovereignty.

Meanwhile, the Venezuelan crisis may provide a useful yardstick for helping sort out those who understand the need for such a movement from those who dont. If you want to know the dividing line between actual Leftists and the neoliberal Resistance masquerading as a Left in the Age of Trump, take statements or non-statements on Venezuela as a litmus test. Venezuela can help us expose the U.S. fake Left, showing us the richly imperialism that lurks behind the label of Resistance.
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Indian consumers prefer a digital-first approach to accessing banking services, only talking to a banking adviser by phone for more complex issues, according to a new survey from Avaya. Indian customers are also more likely to use a mobile banking app than their counterparts in the UK, Australia, and the UAE  and they are also more likely to complain about bad service to friends and family, and on social media.

The Customer Experience in Banking survey, commissioned by Avaya and conducted by research company YouGov, queried more than 5,000 consumers across the four countries. More than one in four, 26%, of Indian customers prefer to access services via their banks website, and the same number would prefer to use a mobile app rather than talk to a human agent, compared to just 19% in Australia, 21% in the UK, and 24% in the UAE. Regardless of the channel used to contact the bank, the most important factors for Indian customers are to have issues resolved on the first point of contact, and to receive the same level of experience and service.

Getting the customer experience right is important, with 37% of respondents saying they would change banks after a bad experience, second only to the UAE. Indian consumers are also more likely to voice their complaints than in any of the other countries surveyed; one in four would share their bad experience on social media, compared to just 15% in the UK, while 44% would let friends and family know about their issues. Gratifyingly, satisfaction levels are higher than elsewhere, at 93%, with the UAE lowest at 83%. This is despite the fact that 32% of respondents in India said they have been kept waiting on the phone for lengthy periods, more than any other country surveyed, and just 22% saying they havent experienced any customer service issues, the lowest in all four countries.

Indian banking customers are also keener to be contacted by their bank than those in the other countries. While just 58% wanted to be alerted about a problematic or possibly fraudulent transaction, the second lowest, almost half, 49%, want to be alerted that their credit card is up for renewal, the highest of all four countries. Further, 47% want to receive information on a new launch or service, compared with just 10% in the UK, while 44% want to receive personal offers.

Virtual Financial Advisors (VFAs)  representatives from the bank who engage customers through virtual means and service them remotely with online tools  could be the solution for Indian customers, based on the perceived benefits cited by respondents. The most valued benefits of having a VFA were seen as being able to get faster resolutions of their banking inquiries regardless of the contact channel they use, receiving notifications, and a service personalized to respondents financial profile.

With India being on the tip of digital revolution, organizations need to digitally transform to meet the ever-increasing demands of their customers and banking is one of the sectors leading the way. Today, customers use varied touch points to access services, be it mobile app, website, contact center or physical visit to a branch. This has emphasized banks to focus more on an Omni-channel strategy in order to deliver the superior experiences their customers expect  and demand. Customers today are looking for elevated and seamless services, and if they dont get them, they will look elsewhere. Hence, banks needs to equip themselves with next-generation technology solutions, which will help resolve customer problems in real-time, optimize the way agents interact with them, and deliver actionable insights to enhance customer experience.

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iStock/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) -- Although the rhetoric has become more heated this week, the war of words between U.S. and North Korean leaders has been intensifying for months.



Most recently, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warned that the country would take "thousands-fold" revenge against the U.S.



President Donald Trump responded with a vow that any attack by North Korea "will be met with fire and fury."



Secretary of Defense James Mattis then warned the country's leaders against any actions that "would lead to the end of its regime and the destruction of its people."



Ahead, a timeline of both countries' statements and how the war of words escalated to where it is now.



Jan. 2



Trump tweeted about possible advancements in North Korean technology.

North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the U.S. It won't happen!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2017



April 11



A statement from North Korea's Foreign Ministry was read on state television before a U.S. aircraft carrier group arrived in the region for a military exercise with South Korea.



"The United States' dispatching of its nuclear carrier task group in the waters off the peninsula proves that its reckless moves for invading North Korea have reached a serious phase. If the U.S. dares opt for military action, then North Korea is ready to react to any mode of war desired by the U.S.," the Foreign Ministry said, according to PBS.



April 18



North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Han Song Ryol said an "all-out war" would result if the U.S. were "reckless enough to use military means," according to the BBC.



"If the U.S. is planning a military attack against us, we will react with a nuclear pre-emptive strike by our own style and method," he said.



April 24



During a lunch with ambassadors representing the member countries of the United Nations Security Council, Trump touched on how the group's policy toward North Korea needs to change.



"The status quo in North Korea is also unacceptable, and the council must be prepared to impose additional and stronger sanctions on North Korean nuclear and ballistic missile programs. This is a real threat to the world, whether we want to talk about it or not. North Korea is a big world problem, and it's a problem we have to finally solve. People have put blindfolds on for decades, and now it's time to solve the problem," Trump said.



April 28

Trump tweeted about a North Korean missile launch.

North Korea disrespected the wishes of China & its highly respected President when it launched, though unsuccessfully, a missile today. Bad!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 28, 2017

April 30



In an interview with CBS, Trump called Kim a "pretty smart cookie" for having taken over after his father's death in 2011.



"I can tell you this -- and a lot of people don't like when I say it -- but he was a young man of 26 or 27 when he took over from his father, when his father died. He's dealing with obviously very tough people," Trump said.



"A lot of people, I'm sure, tried to take that power away, whether it was his uncle or anybody else. And he was able to do it," Trump said. "So, obviously, he's a pretty smart cookie."



Early June



Foreign Policy reported that North Korea's Rodong Sinmun newspaper ran an article that made a not-so-veiled threat that New York could be within the range of the country's intercontinental ballistic missiles soon.



"The [Democratic People's Republic of Korea] is about 10,400 kilometers far away from New York. But this is just not a long distance for its strike today," the article read, according to Foreign Policy. "The U.S. is feeling uneasy, as this might be proven in practice. This is because its hostile policy will end in [futility] when the DPRK conducts the test-fire of ICBM capable of precisely striking any place on the U.S. mainland."



"Trump blustered early this year that the DPRK's final access to a nuclear weapon that can reach the U.S. mainland will never happen. But the strategic weapons tests conducted by the DPRK clearly proved that the time of its ICBM test is not a long way off at all," the North Korean article added, according to Foreign Policy.



June 30



During a press conference at the White House with South Korea's President Moon Jae In, Trump said, "The years of strategic patience with the North Korean regime has failed. Many years and they failed. It's failed. And frankly, that patience is over."



"Together we are facing the threat of the reckless and brutal regime in North Korea. The nuclear and ballistic missile programs of that regime require a determined response. The North Korean dictatorship has no regard for the safety and security of its people or its neighbors and has no respect for human life. And that's been proven over and over again," he said.



July 4



Trump blasted North Korea on Twitter in response to its decision to launch a missile strike that day.

North Korea has just launched another missile. Does this guy have anything better to do with his life? Hard to believe that South Korea.....  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 4, 2017

....and Japan will put up with this much longer. Perhaps China will put a heavy move on North Korea and end this nonsense once and for all!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 4, 2017

Aug. 7



North Korea said in a statement that it would take "thousands-fold" revenge against the United States in response to the latest round of international sanctions over its nuclear program.



The statement came through a state-run media outlet, the Korean Central News Agency, two days after the U.N. Security Council unanimously approved sanctions to penalize the regime for its escalating nuclear program and missile launches.



North Korea slammed the penalties -- which could slash the country's $3 billion in export revenue by a third -- as a "violent infringement of its sovereignty" and part of a "heinous U.S. plot to isolate and stifle" the country.



The sanctions ban North Korea exports of coal, iron, lead and seafood products, estimated to be worth $1 billion a year.



But North Korea asserted the punishment will not lead it to change course.



"It's a wild idea to think the DPRK will be shaken and change its position due to this kind of new sanctions formulated by hostile forces," the government said in its statement.



Aug. 8



Trump warned North Korea against making any further threats against the U.S.



"North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States. They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen. He has been very threatening -- beyond a normal statement -- and as I said, they will be met with fire, fury and, frankly, power the likes of which the world has never seen before," Trump said, referring to North Korea's statement about taking revenge.



Aug. 9



North Korea threatened to strike the U.S. territory of Guam in a statement distributed by its state-run news agency.



The statement said the North Korean military is reviewing a plan to create an "enveloping fire" around Guam, in the Pacific Ocean about 2,100 miles from North Korea.



Later that day, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, in Guam for a refueling stop on his way back to the U.S. from a regional summit in the Philippines, dismissed North Korea's rhetoric about attacking the island.



"I do not believe that there is any imminent threat," he said. "Americans should sleep well at night."



In the statement released by the Department of Defense, Mattis didn't mince words, cautioning North Korea that its actions "will continue to be grossly overmatched by ours" and it "would lose any arms race or conflict it initiates."



He added that Kim should "take heed" of the U.N. Security Council's "unified voice," referring to the sanctions issued against the nation, and called for the country to "cease any consideration of actions that would lead to the end of its regime and the destruction of its people."



Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Nargis Polys The Skin of a Living Thought

Sheikh Arif Bulbon :

The inaugural ceremony of the solo painting exhibition of artist Nargis Poly titled The Skin of a Living Thought was held at

La Galerie of the Alliance Francaise de Dhaka (AFD) in the citys Dhanmondi area recently.

Eminent artist Mustafa Manwar inaugurated the

exhibition as the chief guest. Prof Dr Syed Monzoorul Islam, academic and writer, joined the inaugural programme as the guest of honour while architect and urban expert Dr Adnan Morshed also attended as

the special guest.

Nargis Polys paintings bear in mind the conviction that the essence of a painting can vary greatly in colour and content from one viewers perspective

to anothers. Poly wants to call it, unfolding the skin of a living thought. Her inquisitive mind explores diverse creative

and intellectual avenues never retracting from experimenting

in her own style.

Accordingly, the paintings avow Poly's analytical mind as well as her artistic ethos.

She never loses sight of the snowball effect of paintings

pre-empting corruption and social injustice. And with a clear understanding of the surroundings, her subject choices along with the media selections become coherent to the observer.

The exhibition will continue

till August 16. n
Merkel support slides six weeks before election, SPD rival even weaker

Reuters, Berlin :

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, about to return from holiday, has seen her popularity fall by 10 points just six weeks before an election in which she hopes to win a fourth term.

An Infratest dimap poll published late on Thursday showed that 59 percent of voters think Merkel is doing a good job, down 10 points from the previous month. She trailed her finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, who was down 1 point at 64 percent.

However, Merkel has little to fear as her Social Democrat (SPD) rival Martin Schulz hit a new low of 33 percent, down four points from last month.

The SPD has accused Merkel of stifling debate by failing to take a stand on issues and leaving much to her ministers.

Last week, she stayed on holiday rather than attend a summit of ministers and carmaker bosses aimed at mending the auto industry's tattered reputation after an emissions scandal.

They agreed to change engine software on 5.3 million diesel cars to cut pollution and avert diesel bans.

Two thirds of Germans think politicians have too lenient approach towards the sector, the poll showed.

"Merkel is rightly accused of staying out of the emotional debates in the election campaign," wrote a commentator in Bild daily, also mentioning issues like the deportation of dangerous migrants, security and asylum fraud.

"People want clear statements," it said.

An attack last month by a 26-year old migrant in Hamburg which left six people hurt shook Germans. The man, born in the United Arab Emirates, was supposed to leave the country but did not have the right identity papers.

Despite all this, Merkel's conservatives, who currently share power with the SPD in a "grand coalition", look on track to win the Sept. 24 vote. The main question for most experts is whether she will repeat her coalition with the SPD or seek another partner, possibly the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP).

Some 49 percent of those asked said they wanted the next government to be led by Merkel's conservative bloc, comprising her own Christian Democrats (CDU) and the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU).

The poll put Merkel's conservatives down 1 point at 39 percent and the SPD up one but, on 24 percent, still way behind.




Regime shelling kills three in truce zone near Damascus

Smoke billows following a reported air strike by Syrian government forces in a rebel-held area in Jobar on the eastern outskirts of Damascus on Wednesday.

AFP, Beirut :

Government bombardment killed three civilians on Thursday in a ceasefire zone near Syria's capital, a monitor said, in the second day of deadly shelling on the rebel area.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and local residents also reported violations in a second "de-escalation zone" in the central province of Homs.

The areas-in addition to a third ceasefire zone in the south-were announced in recent weeks by Syrian government ally Russia.

But on Thursday, government bombardment on the zone near Damascus killed three civilians and wounded seven more.

"The shelling hit the town of Hammuriyeh early on Thursday, killing a woman, a man, and a child," said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman.

The attack came a day after government shelling killed five civilians and wounded 10 more in the nearby town of Kfar Batna, the British-based Observatory said.

Air strikes have also pummelled rebel-held parts of the Jobar district of Damascus and the adjacent district of Ain Tarma.

Further south, one man was killed in Syrian government air strikes in the northern parts of Homs province, according to the Observatory and a resident.

The raids were the first since the ceasefire in Homs was announced one week ago.

"Four air strikes hit Al-Houla today," resident Abbas Abu Osama told AFP, adding that four other surrounding towns were hit with one air strike each.

"We have our first casualty, killed in an air strike in Tal Dahab," he said.

Abdel Rahman confirmed that a man was killed in a raid but could not specify whether he was a rebel fighter or civilian.

Under a plan hammered out in May between Russia, Turkey and Iran at peace talks in Kazakhstan, four "de-escalation zones" were to be established across swathes of Syria.

Last month, Moscow announced the establishment of the first two zones in southern Syria and in the rebel stronghold of Eastern Ghouta near Damascus.

The zone in Homs province was announced on August 3.

The fourth zone, in northwestern Idlib province, has yet to be implemented.
KISHOREGANJ: Dr Habibur Rahman, Civil Surgeon, Kishoreganj addressing a seminar on Hizra Community life development programmes and cash distribution at local Co-operative Community Centre on Wednesday.
CBA leader's wife alleges conspiracy against CDA Chairman

Sultana Rajia, wife of the CBA leader of Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) Habibur Rahman Habib hold a press conference alleging conspiracy against her husband by CDA Chairman at Chittagong Press Club on Wednesday morning.

Chittagong Bureau :

Sultana Rajia, wife of the CBA leader of Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) Habibur Rahman Habib alleged that CDA Chairman Abdus Salam tried to kill her husband and locked in conspiracy against him.

Sultana Rajia and family members of General Secretary of CBA of CDA Habibur Rahman Habib held a press conference at Chittagong Press Club on Wednesday morning.

Sultana Rajia, said her husband was involved with the trade union at CDA. He was organizing movement on behalf of Sramik League for establishing the right of workers and staffs of CDA. Later, CDA Chairman terminated him illegally. Following the rivalry, Abdus Salam sent terrorists to my house at Roufabad to kill Habib non August 3. But, Habib was not in the house on that day. Later, the terrorists threatened to kill my husband if he does not stop the rivalry with Salam."

She requested the Prime Minister to intervene and save her husband's life. General Secretary of Chittagong Divisional Federation of Shop Owners, Auto- rickshaw Sramik Leaguie president Ferdous Hasan Mukul, General Secretary Nurul Islam, Transport Sramik League President Golam Mostafa were present at the press conference.


Tofail asks Ctg port to deliver onion in 24 hrs

Economic Reporter :

Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed on Thursday directed the Chittagong Port Authority to take necessary measures for quick delivery of basic commodities, especially onion, to meet the domestic demand.

The minister made the directive in a meeting with the traders, importers, retailers and suppliers of basic commodities at his secretariat office.

Following the demand, onion has been imported from Egypt which is now at the port, as price of onion is witnessing slight rise due to floods.

But, basic commodities such as onion, salt, ginger and garlic are sufficient in stock and supply of those are normal, said Tofail, adding, "more onion would be imported from neighboring country upon necessary."

At the meeting, businessmen said congestion in the Chittagong port has mainly triggered price hike as many onion laden ships are waiting for unloading.

They alleged delay of delivery at the port has disrupted the supply chain of onion in local market as many businessmen imported onion from Egypt.

In an immediate response, the commerce minister talked with the Chairman of the Chittagong Port Authority over mobile phone and directed him to release the basic commodities within 24 hours. The minister even asked the businessmen to contact the port chairman if the goods are not released within 24 hours or highest in two days.

Bangladesh needs 22 lakh tonnes of onion annually but it can produce 18 lakh tonnes and the shortage is met through import.

General Secretary of Moulvi Bazar Babosayee Samity Golam Moula said the retailers have increased the price although they purchase at lower prices from the wholesale market.

An importer at Shyambazar, Zahir Uddin Ahmed alleged his imported goods were not discharged on time due to congestion at Chittagong port. If the port can deliver the onion timely the price will come down immediately in the local markets, he added.

"We are losing our money every day due to congestion in the port," said Hafizur Rahman, another onion importer at Shyambazar.

Meghna Group chairman Mostofa Kamal said the prices of edible oil and sugar in the local markets remain normal for adequate supply of the items.
Unimaginable looting by co-operatives

COOPERATIVE Societies as they operate without exclusive government monitoring are grabbing money of poor innocent people without serious accountability. Over 266 co-operatives are reported to have nicked Tk 4,068 crore from thousands of savers who have been cheated over the years. Many of the so-called co-operative business ventures have disappeared overnight, and most of them are not returning money back.



It is not only the co-operatives' members who have been cheated but many ordinary citizens too. Tempted by the lure of fast and quick profits, people in thousands had invested in these co-operatives only to see the business disappeared. The closure of Destiny Multi-purpose Co-operative Society alone had grabbed the lion's share amounting to over Tk 1,458 crore. However, the point is that big-scale swindling has happened dodging existence laws and despite warnings from various quarters.



According to our Bank Company Law, only the public and private banks have the right to deal with public deposits. They can accept clients' or public money for either investing or re-investing in various businesses. Co-operative Societies can merely deposit members' money, but this legal provision has been hugely violated in Bangladesh. This could only happen because of the same old problem - there is no monitoring and implementation of the rule of law.



True, Bangladesh Bank (BB) had often issued circulars by warning the people not to deposit money with these Co-operative Societies but few paid heed. However, now the question is whether this money is recoverable or not?



Even though the victims are equally guilty for not listening to warnings and depositing money with these dubious business schemes, the government still has a crucial role to play in recovering the money. Coupled with law enforcement agencies the government should not only identify and arrest the co-operative culprits it should find out where the money went out. They should also make a move to seize all movable and immovable assets of these co-operative societies operating under the guise of so-called 'Multi-level Marketing'. Their bank accounts should be frozen.



Needs to be mentioned, the MLM companies in many countries are legal operations. But they are barred from taking up 'Pyramid' scheme to sell their products and services; which is a way of defrauding people. The government on its part should launch a massive campaign to make people, particularly the unemployed ones aware of the dangers of being lured by absurd promises either about commissions or high return on investments. Lastly, law making must be expedited for regulating all co-operatives now in business in the country.
4 'cattle lifters' beaten to death in Noakhali

Staff Reporter :

Four suspected cattle lifters were beaten to death at Uttar Kachhapia village in Subarnachar upazila of Noakhali district early Thursday.

Identities of the deceased could not be known immediately, Locals caught a number of people going by a pickup van in the area around 2:30am, said Nizam Uddin, Officer-in-Charge of Subarnachar Police Station.

The villagers then beat four of them to death as they tried to flee the scene, OC added.

On information, police recovered the bodies and sent them to Noakhali Medical College Hospital morgue.

Meanwhile locals beat two more men suspected to be the members of the cow lifting gang.

Police rescued the injured and sent them to Noakhali Medical College Hospital for treatment.
SCBA turns down Khairul's statement

Staff Reporter :

Turning down the statement of ABM Khairul Haque over the verdict of 16th Amendment to the Constitution, the Supreme Court Bar Association [SCBA] on Thursday said, the former Chief Justice has prepared the 'grave of democracy'.

"The annulment of caretaker government system by former Chief Justice Khairul Haque has created political chaos in the country. The people of the country have lost their rights for voting. He has prepared the grave of democracy and fundamental values through delivering this verdict," President of SCBA Zainul Abedin said.

The SCBA President made the remarks while addressing a press conference at the SCBA Auditorium yesterday noon against the backdrop of latest controversy over the verdict and observation delivered by the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court recently.

General Secretary of SCBA Barrister Mahabub Uddin Khokon was also present during the press conference.

Earlier on Wednesday, incumbent Law Commission Chairman Justice ABM Khairul Haque heavily criticised some of the observations made by current Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha in a media briefing relating to the annulment of 16th Amendment.

Referring to the issue, Zainul Abedin further said, "Former Chief Justice Khairul Haque has indirectly taken stand against the judicial system, independence of judiciary and the democratic system. The former Chief Justice [Khairul] had also made controversial the verdicts on fifth and 13th amendments. For that reason he smells rat in the annulment of 16th Amendment."

Pointing finger at Khairul Haque, the SCBA Preside further said, "The Former Chief Justice while delivering verdict over acquisition of Moon Cinema Hall had cancelled the Fifth Amendment intentionally, irrelevantly and preplanned way.

Raising question, Zainul Abedin said, "Can a former chief justice make such statement that the Supreme Court verdict in 16th amendment case was preconceived?"

It created a noisy situation while pro-Awami League lawyers those were present there at that time stared protesting the SCBA President's statement. The Pro-AL Lawyers said it was not a press conference of SCBA. Rather, the BNP-minded lawyers have arranged it for political purpose, they said.

SCBA Vice President Ozi Ullah made a statement after the press conference at the same place. "The statement of Zainul Abedin was not the comment of SCBA. He is a BNP leader. He delivered the speech for his political purpose," Ozi Ullah said.

Following the annulment of 16th amendment, Khairul Haque said, "Bangladesh being a people's republic gives people's representatives the authority to hold judges accountable, but that is no longer the case because of the Supreme Court's verdict. The verdict appears as preconceived. Some of Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha's comments on MPs were irrelevant and immature."

"The Constitution says this is the People's Republic of Bangladesh. But after this verdict, it seems our country is going to be the Judges' Republic of Bangladesh. This is the first verdict I saw which goes back to martial law over the original Constitution," former head of the judiciary said.


Pregnant woman tortured: New born baby dies 7-yr-old boy tied with tree and tortured in Kushtia

Staff Reporter :

Thirty-two year old Shefali Begum was tied to a tree and tortured during her pregnancy by a group of rowdy elements at Khalisha Chapani in Dimla upazila Nilphamari district on Friday. As a result, a baby born to her weighing 900 grams only died at the intensive care unit of Rangpur Medical College Hospital, our local Correspondent reports quoting an attending nurse.

The newborn was in an unstable condition since birth on Monday, said Professor Ferdousi Sultana of Rangpur Medical College Hospital.

Shefali Begum was admitted to the hospital in a traumatized condition on Saturday gave birth to a daughter two days later after a surgery on her.

"The infant was kept in an intensive care unit. But all efforts went in vain as the child could not be saved," Lovely Begum, an attendant said.

Shefali, wife of a rickshaw puller, said some uncivil men tied her to a mango tree and tortured her on instructions of a local political leader on Friday. The political leader is the Khalisha Chapani Union-level president of a political party.

Shefali said, "On Friday morning, she went to her elder sister Aklima's house in Uttar Baishpukur village to resolve a quarrel between Aklima and her husband. At one stage, a scuffle ensued between Aklima's husband Rafiqul and her."

On information, Abdul Kader, President of Ward-4 unit AL in Khalisha Chapani union, came to the spot with his followers, Shefali said.

On Kader's directives, his men and members of Rafiqul family tied her to a mango tree and started beating and kicking her, Shefali alleged.

Gram Police member Rashidul also took part in the beating, she said.

Victim's younger sister Moni Aktar said that criminals killed their father in 2012 over a land dispute. A murder case has been under trial at a Nilphamari court.

Accused of the murder case are close to some AL leaders and they pressured Shefali to settle the case outside the court, but failed. Angered, the AL leaders toutured her sister, alleged Moni.

Earlier, Police have arrested three persons, including a member of Gram (village) Police, in a case filed for torturing a seven-month pregnant woman in the Dimla upazila. On Sunday night, police arrested Rashidul Sardar, 45, member of Gram Police, victim's brother-in-law Rafiqul, 40, and Rafiqul's mother Opeya Khatun, 65.

Kader, who was accused in the case, denied the allegation of his involvement in torturing Shefali. Later, a case was filed against 19 people with Dimla Police Station.

In Kushtia, a seven year-old boy was tied to a tree and tortured over allegation of thett in Kumarkhali upazila of Kushtia on Friday afternoon. Jewel, 7, used to work at a shop in front of Lalon Shah's shrine, reports our Kushtia Correspondent.

Meru Miah and Tanjil from Cheuria village picked him up, tied him to a tree and tortured, said Nasir Uddin, Officer-in-Charge of Kushtia Model Police Station.

Meru and Tanjil tortured the boy after one Selim provoked them suspecting Jewel of snatching his mobile phone, the OC said.

No complaint was filed in this regard as Jewel was rescued within five to seven minutes by the locals.

Soon after the incident, police detained Meru Mia, said the OC
BD workers overstaying in KL often fall victim to gang-cheating

Reza Mahmud :

A considerable number of Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia often fall victim to gang-cheating.

According to some victims, a group of miscreants have long been deceiving thousands of Bangladeshi seeking help to process visa renewal. Such gang of cheats take money and passports from these Bangladeshi workers, it is alleged.

"We are always in fear of arrests as tenures of our visas have expired. But some cheats have taken hefty amount of money assuring us of renewing our work permits and visas. Even the cheat-gangs have taken our passports, but they did not give us back renewed visas and work permits," said Munir Hossain, a Bangladeshi worker at Putra Jaya, Malaysia.

Munir, who hails from Faridpur district, said he and many more Bangladeshi workers who become illegal workers after expiry of the tenures of work permits and visas are harrased by both the police and cheat-gangs.

He said some gangs mainly target Bangladeshi workers who arrived in Malaysia without work permits but got employed. They also target those who lost the tenures of their work permits and visas.

The Malaysian government has asked the illegal foreign workers to renew their visa soon, according to sources close to manpower business.

The Kuala Lumpur government has started a re-hiring programme from February 15, 2016 for the foreign workers overstaying illegally.

Under this scheme, such foreign workers, including Bangladeshis, will get the chance of getting their work permits and visas renewed on submission of an amount of 1000 Ringgit.

The programme will be valid up to December 31this year.

The programme has two aspects, one is to get work permits renewed and the other is to surrender with legal documents and take a chance to return to their own countries.

The Bangladeshi illegal workers want to take the first point of chance to ligalise their stay there.

As many as 1,00000 illegal workers have registered so far to renew their visas. Among them, 30,000 persons have been given renewed work permits. The rest 70, 000 workers are in fear of arrests as they have been trapped by the cheat-gangs.

"The gang collected money from those workers saying that they will manage new work permits and renew visas threatening that if they will not agree to give them money, they will inform police to arrest and push them back to Bangladesh," Munir said.

The circles in a nexus with some Bangladeshi middlemen who even recruit workers from Bagngladesh on behalf of some Malaysian companies continue to deceive the Bangladeshi workers.

When contacted over phone, Ibrahim Hossain, hailing from Chandpur, now works in Kelang, Kparbatu said, he gave 10,000 Ringgit (BD Tk 2,00000) in two phases in 2015 and 2016 to Masud, a middleman.

"Masud also came to Malaysia in 2008 as a worker. Now he becomes a middleman here. He has taken money but failed to give me renewed visa and work permit," Ibrahim said.

Ibrahim further said, "Once Masud gave me a renewed work permit but whenever I checked, it was proved to be false. When I asked about the matter and wanted money back, he threatened to kill me."
Biman cancels 2 more Hajj flights

banglanews24.com :

Biman Bangladesh Airlines cancelled two hajj flights among the five scheduled for Jeddah city of Saudi Arabia Thursday (August 10).

The flights-BG-1055, BG-3055--were scheduled to leave here at 07:25am and 04:00pm respectively.

In a press release sent to Banglanews, Biman spokesperson Shakil Meraj confirmed suspension of the flights.

However, till Thursday, Biman carried 24,383 pilgrims whereas Saudia Airlines 28,100 out of total 52,483.

The press release further mentioned that Biman so far have cancelled total 21 dedicated hajj flights this year. However, hajj pilgrims have expressed utter dissatisfaction over large-scale flight cancellations this time.
Siddiqur returns home today

Titumir student Siddiqur Rahman who lost his eye sight by police excess is returning home from India on Friday.

The flight carrying Siddiqur is expected to land in Dhaka at 3:30pm on Friday.

His classmates will welcome him at the Shahjalal International Airport. They may observe a human chain there folding their eyes with black badge.

Sheikh Farid, classmate of Siddiqur, he (Siddiqur) is expected to leave Chennai for Dhaka around 12:00pm on Friday.

On Thursday, he met Dr Lingam Gopal of at Sankara Nethralaya in Indias Chennai. He was given medicine for five to six weeks. The doctor said there is no certainty whether he would get back his eye sight. That means the doctor is not hopeful of getting back the eye sight as 90 percent of retina of his left eye was damaged. And the right eye was ruined earlier, he added.

Siddiqur was taken to Chennai for advance treatment with the supervision of the Health Ministry on July 27.

On July 20, students of seven Dhaka University-affiliated colleges, including Titumir, were demonstrating at the capitals Shahbagh to press their seven-point demand that included announcement of their exam dates.

While dispersing the protesters, a policeman shot a teargas canister directly at some agitating students. A video footage of the incident shows Siddiqur collapsed on the street instantly.
North Korea Guam missile strike plan `ready by mid-Aug`

North Korea says a plan that could see it fire four missiles near the US territory of Guam will be ready in a matter of days.

State media said Hwasong-12 rockets would pass over Japan and land in the sea about 30km (17 miles) from Guam, if the plan was approved by Kim Jong-un.

It denounced Donald Trumps warnings of fire and fury and said the US leader was bereft of reason.

The US has warned the North its actions could mean the end of its regime.

US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis said Pyongyang would be grossly overmatched in any war against the US and its allies.

The BBCs Rupert Wingfield-Hayes, who is in Guam, says there is a sense that the North Korean threat is rhetorical, as most people feel that if they really did strike with missiles it would be suicidal for the North Korean regime.

Separately, the European Union said it was freezing the assets of nine more people and four more entities, including North Koreas Foreign Trade Bank, in line with fresh sanctions approved by the UN Security Council on Saturday.

The North first announced on Wednesday that it had been drawing up plans for a missile strike against Guam, a Pacific island which is home to US military bases, strategic bombers and about 163,000 people.

A later statement carried by state media said the military would finally complete the plan by mid-August and send it to leader Kim Jong-un for his approval.

Media captionNorth Koreans rally to denounce gangster US

The Hwasong-12 rockets to be launched by the KPA [Korean Peoples Army] will cross the sky above Shimane, Hiroshima and Koichi [Kochi] Prefectures of Japan, state news agency KCNA said, quoting army chief General Kim Rak Gyom.

They will fly 3,356.7km for 1,065 seconds and hit the waters 30-40km away from Guam.

The Hwasong missiles are North Koreas domestically produced medium and long-range weapons.

What has been the reaction in the region?

The governor of Guam addressed the Norths new statement on Thursday, telling Reuters news agency that North Korea usually likes to be unpredictable and has fired surprise missiles in the past.

Theyre now telegraphing their punch, which means they dont want to have any misunderstandings. I think thats a position of fear, said Governor Eddie Calvo.

Meanwhile Japanese government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said Pyongyangs actions were provocative to the region including Japan as well as to the security of the international community.

Media captionTrump will use any appropriate measures - adviser Sebastian Gorka

We can never tolerate this, he added.

Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera told MPs Japan could legally intercept a North Korean missile headed for Guam because such a move would threaten Japans existence as a nation.

Recent legislation also allows Japan to defend the US and other allies from attack. Previously Japans position was only to shoot down missiles headed for its own territory.

South Koreas military said it was prepared for swift action.

If North Korea conducts provocation in defiance of our militarys grave warning, it will confront the strong and firm response of our military and the US-South Korea alliance, Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesman Roh Jae-cheon said.

The foreign ministry in Seoul, meanwhile, urged Pyongyang to respond to its recent offer of new dialogue.

China has urged calm, describing the situation as complex and sensitive.

What have the two sides been saying?

North Korean state media said President Trumps remarks on Tuesday that the North risked fire and fury for threatening the US were a load of nonsense.

Sound dialogue is not possible with such a guy bereft of reason and only absolute force can work on him, it added.

Amid escalating rhetoric, Mr Mattis issued a strongly worded statement on Wednesday calling on Pyongyang to halt its arms programme.

Media captionPresident Trump threatened a response like the world has never seen

While our state department is making every effort to resolve this global threat through diplomatic means, it must be noted that the combined allied militaries now possess the most precise, rehearsed and robust defensive and offensive capabilities on Earth, he said.

Mr Trump, who is holidaying in New Jersey, boasted about Americas atomic arsenal earlier on Wednesday.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has sought to reassure Americans that North Korea does not pose an imminent threat.

On Wednesday, he said the situation had not dramatically changed over the past few days, and that Americans should sleep well at night.

South Koreas military says it has not seen any unusual action in the North that might indicate a provocation.

Despite rounds of UN sanctions, Pyongyang carried out two nuclear tests last year and two intercontinental ballistic missile tests in July.

Various reports recently have suggested the North has now achieved its goal of making a nuclear warhead small enough to fit inside its missiles.

But this remains unconfirmed, and most analysts doubt the country would launch a pre-emptive attack on the US.
Justice Khairul has lost independence to remain Chairman of Law Commission

Not many will understand how painful it is for people like us who believe in the rule of law and hold in high esteem the judges to say something disrespectful against a former Chief Justice however rightly.





It was a surprise that as former Chief Justice ABM Khairul Haque himself was too anxious to criticise the present Chief Justice and other judges of the Supreme Court for defending blatantly the political leadership and in the language most unjudge like. Nothing he said at the press conference held Wednesday was befitting of a judge. In cool moments he will find he has demeaned himself and he did so by going out of his way.



Firstly, he is holding the position of the Chairman of the Law Commission and while criticising the role of his once fellow sitting judges he should have known his own role. Surprisingly he called the press conference only to criticise the judgement of the Supreme Court on impeachment.





He has first to explain the need for him to hold the press conference. The Commission's jurisdiction is to examine laws of the country for the dynamic requirement of adjusting these according to the changed situation so that the laws remain fair.





We submit to justice ABM Khairul Haque to consider how to defend himself against the allegation that he took side uncalled for politically and publicly by holding the press conference in respect of a judgement. He was talking in the confidence of a very knowledgeable person but he seemed completely unaware that criticising the judgement is outside his authority. Even then he was boastfully asserting that he was talking with authority of the Law Commission.







Justice Khairul Haque was not even conscious of the special position of honour he deserves as a former Chief Justice. If he so felt about his present colleagues that they were immature he could have said it plainly. But he was too eager to show his respect for the members of Parliament and said if members of the Parliament can be called immature than the judges could also be regarded as immature. What a logic! What a former Chief Justice! He was not a brilliant Chief Justice to call other judges including the present Chief Justice immature. His judgement will speak for its verbosity and contradictions.





He was unforgiving about the judges who gave elaborate reasoning in support of their judgement unanimously. All the eminent lawyers appeared as amici curiae including Dr. Kamal Hossain supported the judgement. So the eminent lawyers are also immature.





It is most unfortunate for us that as former Chief Justice Mr. Khairul Haque was not at all sensitive to the highly derogatory attacks made against the judges of the Supreme Court within and outside the Parliament. He should have known also that the judges do not hold press conferences or issue press statements to defend themselves. So being hurt and dishonoured, they had to make some observations in the judgement to show they are not gutless to tolerate everything. They also know weaknesses of those who criticise them. Even then the judgement could be criticised without debasing the judges in public eye.





The politicians talk big, they have police but they should find out how badly they have lost public faith. They are not ready to face free election which manifests that they are not unaware of the degree of unacceptance to the people.







Mr. justice Khairul Haque was not at all concerned that the issue was protecting the independence of the judiciary. He will not be able to cite an example of one-house Parliament enjoying the power of impeachment of the judges. Nowhere the lower house, commonly known as the Parliament, owns the power of impeachment of the judges.







If our Parliament`s claim is accepted, then nothing remains of independence of the judiciary. The judges of the Supreme Court will be in constant fear of the members of the Parliament who believe in absolute power.





Mr. justice Khairul Haque should remember the judgement he obtained by using his single casting vote for holding the general election under the elected government fully in power instead of caretaker government defying three other judges who differed and bypassing the advice of all the amici curiae except one. They all found nothing wrong in the election-time neutral caretaker government introduced in the Constitution jointly by all parties in the Parliament.







Earlier a Special Bench of the High Court Division comprising three judges held the caretaker government not in conflict with the Constitution. This judgement also did not carry any weight with justice Khairul Haque.





He did not stop being disdainful of the judges for judgement in impeachment of judges. He also attributed motive to the judges of helping to bring martial law. In his view the judgement was pre-planned which means no merit was in consideration. No former Chief Justice can say it so callously as because the judgement contains arguments and submissions for everyone to see.







As former Chief Justice he did not care, because of his partisan enthusiasm, that one can criticise a judgement but cannot attribute ill motive or collusiveness on the part of judges without committing contempt of court. So he committed contempt of knowingly for political reasons.







In his hugely lengthy judgement for declaring the caretaker government system for helping to hold free and fair election as unconstitutional justice Khairul Haque`s sole justification was that an elected government is the basic structure of the Constitution and election time caretaker government not being elected is unconstitutional. This makes no sense because election-time government is not a full-fledged government. That government is to ensure free election.







He did not care to find out the practice of parliamentary system in other countries. If he cared, he would have known that nowhere under the parliamentary system including in India national election is held without first dissolving the Parliament. He should have also known that after the Parliament is gone there cannot exist an elected government.







Under parliamentary system everywhere the election takes place under a caretaker government. The difference is the type of caretaker government that finds acceptable as trustworthy.





That judgement of justice Mr Khairul Haque is palpably wrong. Such a wrong judgement must go and should be gone one day too soon. Election by depriving the people of their vote does not make anybody the peoples representative.







What kind of prior plan or ill motive had driven Mr. justice Khairul Haque to give such an absurd judgement that has made free election impossible in Bangladesh. It cannot be said that the present Parliament was duly elected. Yet, he taunted about living under the republic of judges. He was too anxious to please others but not the judges, the lawyers or the people.







Mr. justice Khairul Haque`s judgement on caretaker government helped the sitting government to win the election that was not to be won. Now the national election is captive to the sitting government.





His judgement is being used to destroy democracy and build autocracy. Thus it is clear Mr justice Khairul Haque`s judgement was part of a blue-print for power grabbing. The peoples vote does not count in the national election, Parliament has no opposition. The last act remains to be done for autocracy to succeed is to make the Supreme Court subservient to Parliament.







Justice Khairul Haque as former Chief Justice has demonstrated indecently that he does not believe in people`s election and he has no respect for the judges. He is not a pride for the judiciary and not useful either for the independent Law Commission. Whether he will resign or not, he has proved himself unfit to remain Chairman of the Law Commission.




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What Neverov Did?

Companies Intentionally Infected Their Computers to Avoid Paying Taxes & Fines

Is Neverov a Hacker or Computer Enthusiast?

If Convicted, Neverov Could Face 3 Years In Prison

"Unauthorized interference with the work of electronic computing machines (computers), automated systems, computer networks or telecommunication networks, ...which led to the leak, loss, fake, blocking information, distortion of the information processing or violation the established order it's routing."

Ukrainian authorities have arrested a 51-year-old man accused of distributing the infamous Petya ransomware (Petya.A, also known as NotPetya)  the same computer virus that massively hit numerous businesses, organisations and banks in Ukraine as well as different parts of Europe around 45 days ago.However, the story is not as simple as it seems, which portrayed this man as a criminal. I recommend you to read complete article to understand the case better and then have an opinion accordingly.Sergey Neverov ( ), father of two sons and the resident of the southern city of Nikopol, is a video blogger and computer enthusiast who was arrested by the Ukrainian police on Monday, August 7 from his home.According to a press release published on Thursday by the Ukrainian cyber police department, Neverov uploaded a video, showing how to infect a computer with Petya.A ransomwareand also shared a download link for NotPetya malware to his social media account.After searching Neverov's home, the authorities seized his computers and other equipment, which were later analysed by the officers from the Ukrainian cyber-crime department, who discovered some files containing the malicious software.However, the police confirmed that Neverov was neither the actual author of the NotPetya virus , nor he was behind the massive ransomware attack that crippled many businesses and banks in this summer.The authorities charged Neverov of spreading a copy of NotPetya virus via his social media account that eventually infected at least 400 computers in Ukraine, and also believe that he had helped tax evaders  directly or indirectly.If you are not aware, 30th June was the last date in Ukraine for filing tax returns and unfortunately, during the same time NotPetya outcry began that encrypted sensitive files and documents for several businesses and organisations across the country.Since firms that were infected by the virus were unable to submit tax reports on time and liable for paying huge fines for late submissions, the head of the parliamentary committee on tax and customs, Nina Yuzhanina, gave affected taxpayers some relief (through a statement on his Facebook profile) by extending the last date to 31st December, 2017.Police believe the malware sample distributed by Neverov is being used by some businesses to deliberately infect their systems to avoid paying taxes on time as well as late tax return penalty.However, the story has another angle that indicates charges on Neverov are baseless.As I mentioned, Neverov is a video-blogger with 11,000 followers on YouTube , who loves to play with computers and publish review videos on computer hardware and gadgets for informational purposes.Neverov never tried to hide his identity, and even in some of his videos, he revealed his face and the exact GPS location to his house in Nikopol, which suggests that he had nothing to hide, neither his intentions were wrong.When NotPetya outcry hit his country, Neverov got curious about the ransomware and started studying about the malware to understand how it works and to find a way to recover infected files without paying ransom to the attackers.To get started, he downloaded a sample of NotPetya ransomware from the Internet and tested it on his computer, just like other malware analysts do.In fact, while recording a video of the NotPetya infection to demonstrate its impact on a targeted computer, he failed two times in infecting his own computer.When succeeded in the third attempt, Neverov uploaded the copy of NotPetya malware on file hosting website and shared the link on his social media account just for the informational purpose, saying "use at your own risk."Moreover, it is important to note that Neverov would not be gaining any profit by distributing the ransomware because of NotPetya has been designed to blackmail victims into paying ransom amount to a specific Bitcoin address that belongs to the original attackers only.Neverov, the computer enthusiast, has now been charged under article 361 (part 1) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which says:Although this sanction provides maximum punishment of up to two years in prison, Neverov has been threatened to face up to three years in jail, according to the official comments from the law enforcement authorities.The case seems somewhat similar to the one currently being faced by Marcus Hutchins, also known as MalwareTech, who gained famed for stopping the WannaCry ransomware Hutchins was arrested by the FBI while he was travelling to his home after attending Def Con event in the United States and has been charged with creating and distributing a banking malware.Since Hutchins is a malware researcher, many infosec community members believe possibly a proof-of-concept code written and published by him publicly was re-used by the criminals to create the banking malware, which mistakenly framed him as the criminal mastermind.Hutchins is set to face a hearing in the US district court on 14 August, so we still have to wait for more information about his case.


Scott Kirkpatrick showed up driving this very strange-looking rental car.

I've had several very nice visits from TOP readers this Summer. Yesterday, longtime email correspondent Scott Kirkpatrick flew a rented Piper Arrow all the way from Boston to have lunch with me...

...And I stood him up!

Wait, don't judge. It was unavoidable, unfortunately. I woke up with a toothache yesterday, and not till I tried to eat did I realize it was serious. Sitting in the dentist's chair when I should have been sitting having lunch with Scott, I heard some words you don't want to hear from your dentist"we can't fix that, and there's nothing we can do for the pain." Turns out I've cracked the root of a molar, of all things. And the offender is a tooth that has already absorbed thousands of dollars of my meagre resources. This might impact the blog a bit in months to comeapparently I need a couple of rounds of oral surgery. And it's going to be frightfully expensive. Frowny face. (Number Three is the tooth that keeps on taking.)

But Scott and I got to drive to Canandaigua togetherit's a long drive through fine rural countrysideand he visited TOP HQ for a brief hour to chat further, see the red chair, and check cloud altitudes for the flight back to Boston. Less immediately, Scott comes from even farther awayhe's a Professor in the School of Engineering and Computer Science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He put up a few pictures taken during his visit here.

Recent breakfast visitors have included Kevin Willoughby and Rob Spring. (If you stay a night or three at La Belle Vie in Penn Yan with my friends Laurel and Llewellyn, they'll give you a discount if you mention TOP and they'll invite me for a breakfast, and those are always a treat, both for the food and for the company. Please make reservations directly though their website.) That's Rob, who came with his wife Helen, in the inset picture.

Kevin says he has been a "Mike reader" for a very long time, but inexplicably I did not snap his visage! My apologies to Kevin and his S.O. Julie McCoy for that lapse. For many decades I have cherished the aspiration to be more thorough and organized one day, and that plan for the bright if hazy future should incorporate an ambition to be more thoroughgoing about reporting and recording visitors.

Which reminds me, I forgot to have Scott sign the Guest Book when he was here at the house! Rats. Tooth pain must be affecting my brain. Yeah, yeah, that's it.

It's really nice to have faces, voices and personalities to attach to familiar names. Thanks to Kevin and Julie, Rob and Helen, and Scott for coming by.

Mike

[Ed. Note: A few readers have reported that the link to Scott's pictures doesn't work for them. However the link is properly configured and works for me, so I don't know what's amiss. Here's the URL if you want to try it that way:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/133969392@N05/sets/72157687409573585/ ]

Original contents copyright 2017 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

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Featured Comments from:

Ron Himebaugh: "Cracked rootthe very worst pain I ever suffered, so my sympathies. Tooth pulled, implant, crown, around $5k or so as I recall, plus the endodontist, to find out it was cracked in the first place. Part of aging, my dentist said. I often marvel at our forbears who endured these sorts of miseries without benefit of drugs and technology. Stay strong...."

Kevin Willoughby: "Our 'breakfast with Mike' was one of several highlights of our Finger Lakes vacation. Given that Llewellyn is a fine photographer and I'm at a point in my life where I'm trying to decide on my next camera, I expected a lot of photo talk. Except for a little gossip about photographers, we talked about everything but. Mike gave us a bit of local history. Since both Mike and Julie are editors, we talked a lot about good books. Llewellyn and I chatted a bit about audio topics. A genuinely wonderful breakfast. Laurel's breakfasts are world class, delicious and beautiful. A first course: Cantaloupe with blueberries, strawberries, kiwi, ginger curd, and lavender scones. I'm an aviation buff, so after breakfast, Julie and I visited the Glenn Curtiss museum. We were met with a flock of motorcycles in the parking lot. I had forgotten that Curtiss invented the motorcycle. Synchronicity: while we were at the museum, Mike published a post about Harley-Davidsons! Our thanks to Mike, Laurel, and Llewellyn for making our vacation so much fun!"
In presenting the salon-style exhibition "Locality," Carbondale Community Arts has a simple objective: to show visitors the sheer breadth and diversity of talent among visual artists in Southern Illinois.

We decided that  anticipating so many visitors coming to our area at the end of August to view the eclipse, there couldnt be a better way to celebrate and nurture the visual arts in our region than by having an exhibit that was really just open to any artist or artisan who wanted to participate, CCA Executive Director Lisa Janssen said.

The exhibition, which opened July 5 at Artspace 304 at 304 W. Walnut St. in Carbondale, features over 100 artists from the southernmost 26 counties in Illinois and puts a vast assortment of styles, techniques and media on display.

It kind of runs the gamut, with basically any kind of medium you could think of in terms of the visual arts, Janssen said.

CCA Program Director Stephanie Dukat said the exhibit includes oil, acrylic and watercolor paintings; ceramics; sculpture; pottery; fiber works and others.

I think when we put the call out, we didnt really know what to expect or how many people would submit, and its pretty amazing that we have so much talent in our area, and it will be a great opportunity to share with guests from outside our area, she said.

Locality will run through Sept. 1. CCA is considering presenting the exhibit biennially.

The thing that was really important to CCA was to make sure there werent barriers to being included, so  theres no juror, theres no fee attached to submitting your work for exhibit or being included in the exhibit. Really the only restrictions we had were on size of visual art just to make sure we had ample space for everybody who wanted to be included to be included, Janssen said.

The gallerys regular viewing hours are 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday through Friday. Although Artspace 304 will be closed during the total solar eclipse on Aug. 21, the gallery will host special viewing hours over the weekend, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 18 through 20.

We decided to have open hours so it might provide a respite from the heat, and well have some activities available also, Janssen said.

Its hard to pick favorites from the exhibits varied offerings, but the range of talents on display is sure to impress, Janssen said.
CARBONDALE  Gigabit broadband has arrived in Southern Illinois.

Mediacom plans to offer 1-gigabit-per-second internet speeds to commercial and residential customers in 31 Southern Illinois communities.

Gigabit service will be available in Carbondale, Murphysboro, West Frankfort, Eldorado, Harrisburg, Marion, Herrin and dozens of small towns in the surrounding areas, stretching south all the way to Mounds.

Drawing from Mediacoms fiber-based network, the gigabit service will enable users to download a two-hour HD movie in about 28 seconds, said Joe DiJulio, director of area operations for Mediacom, at a technology demonstration held at the Carbondale Civic Center on Wednesday.

30 customers in the Carbondale area have purchased the 1-gig service prior to the full launch.

Theres a pent-up demand for it, DiJulio said.

The change comes after a multi-million-dollar investment in the companys Southern Illinois infrastructure and its transition to the DOCSIS 3.1 Gigasphere platform  upgrades that enlarge the pipeline delivering internet service to users, DiJulio said.

Internet data consumption is increasing by 35 to 50 percent each year, and the average family now uses seven internet devices simultaneously, according to the presentation. Gigabit speeds come in handy for gamers, people who work from home and households with a long list of internet devices.

1 gigabit denotes the services download speed; upload speeds will be 50 megabytes per second.

The list price for the gigabit service is $139.95; a promotion for first-time customers reduces the cost to $89.99 for the first year.

The service utilizes the companys existing fiber network to deliver internet to each neighborhood, and the remaining cable is hybrid fiber-coaxial.

The innovation of this technology, and its really won a lot of awards, is because that last segment doesnt have to be 100 percent fiber, said Phyllis Peters, Mediacom communications director.  The benefit of that, too, for cities, is we didnt have to go into easements and streets, we didnt have to dig up.

As mayor of Carbondale, this is extremely important to us, said Mayor Mike Henry. Theres been some folks here involved in trying to get Gigabit to our city for a long time.  This is going to help us regrow Carbondale, and its going to help us regrow our student enrollment.

The service is available to the following areas:

Franklin County: Royalton, West Frankfort, Zeigler

Jackson County: Carbondale, Carbondale Twp., Dowell, Elkville, Murphysboro, Village of DeSoto

Monroe County: service to some unincorporated residential areas

Perry County: service to some unincorporated residential areas

Pulaski County: Mound City, Mounds

Randolph County: Coulterville, Red Bud, Tilden

Saline County: Eldorado, Harrisburg

St. Clair County: Hecker, Smithton

Union County: Alto Pass, Cobden

Williamson County: Bush, Cambria, Carterville, Colp, Crainville, Energy, Herrin, Hurst, Johnston City, Marion, Stiritz, White Ash

Mediacom has also increased the speed of internet services for its Connect2Compete program, which offers discounted internet to households with at least one child who qualifies for free or reduced-price school lunch through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). Now low-income families can get 10 mbps for $9.99 a month, with no deposit or equipment rental fees.

It used to be 1.5 megs, and we said, that doesnt do it in todays world. So we have a 10 meg service, and its for the families, anyone in reach of our footprint, Peters said.
The Carterville and Marion police departments are investigating skimmers found on gas pumps Tuesday at two MotoMart convenience stores. A skimmer is a device designed to steal credit card information electronically and cannot be seen from outside the pump.

On Aug. 8, Carterville Police officers responded to MotoMart at 100 Plaza Drive regarding a potential theft of credit card information. Upon doing a routine inspection of gas pumps, a MotoMart employee discovered one of the pumps had been tampered with, and a device believed to be unlawfully capturing customer credit card information was discovered inside pump 8.

Carterville Police say it is unknown at this time how long the device was in place, whether it was wirelessly transmitting information or if information was being stored to be retrieved later.

Carterville Police Chief Heather Reno said a second device was found Tuesday evening on pump 1 at Carterville MotoMart.

This pump had the seal on the door, so there was no way to tell it had been tampered with by looking at the pump, Reno said.

A gas pump skimmer also was found Tuesday inside a gas pump at Marion MotoMart at 2604 W. Main St. by a MotoMart employee and reported to Marion Police Department.

Rob Forsyth, an officer in FKG Oil Co., a family business which operates MotoMart Convenience stores and chains, said there is some good news wrapped in the bad.

Because we have a good policy and the discipline to check pumps twice a day, we found the sticker that have been tampered with. That led us to immediately check the pump and find data to be recollected later, Forsyth said. We are very confident that it did not go on for a long time because of our policies.

He also praised the response of their employees.

Our good employee, who we are thankful for, remembered her training and discovered it hopefully before any problems occurred, Forsyth said.

Forsyth added that once the employee found the first device and reported it to the home office, company officials raced to the station.

Even with quick location of the skimmers, both police departments encourage anyone who has recently swiped a card at either station to check their accounts for fraudulent activity. They recommend reporting fraudulent activity to the police agency with jurisdiction over the business where the activity took place, saying many businesses have video of their transactions.

Ive had two reports of possible fraud, said Sgt. T.J. Warren of Marion Police Department.

Reno also has had reports of fraudulent activities on cards that were used at MotoMart, but she said it is nearly impossible to tie the two together. She added that with discovery of three skimmers, other fuel dispensers in the area may have been compromised.

Carterville Deputy Chief Mike Flaningam urges all consumers to stay vigilant. First, check credit card and bank statements regularly. Contact the company or bank if any fraudulent activity is suspected. Also, do not swipe your card if you believe a gas pump has been compromised. Notify the gas station employees.

Once the crime has been committed, there really isnt anything we can do about it, Flaningam said.

Tamper evidence sticker are pretty intuitive. If anyone has access to the inner workings of a pump, the word 'void' is clearly readable on the fuel dispenser, Forsyth said. Bring it to the attention of store right away. They will go through the whole procedure to check, put the pump out of service and report it to professionals right away.

Forsyth said this type of fraud has typically been a bicoastal problem, and the company has only had one other incident of skimmers to his knowledge. He is confident it was caught very quickly and no theft of data occurred.

MotoMart is a family-owned company that has 79 convenience stores across Illinois, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Anyone with information about the skimmers should call Carterville Police Department at 618-985-4853 or Marion Police Department at 618-993-2124.
CARBONDALE  Thousands of work hours and even more money have gone into planning and promoting the celebration of this months total solar eclipse. Throngs of visitors are expected to stay in and around Carbondale, which boasts the longest duration of totality, boosting the local economy and giving many a new reason to have pride in their community.

But what happens if those plans go sideways? What if its cloudy? What if someone is not able to get to that big party? These are just a few worst case scenarios that in all reality could play out on eclipse day, Aug. 21.

The weather is completely out of anyones hands. If it rains, it rains. But Michelle Nichols, director of public observing for the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, said there is a lot of in-between in terms of weather obstructions for the eclipse.

If it's hazy, you'd probably see the Sun/Moon combo, but possibly not the corona, Nichols said in an email, adding that a lot depends on the amount of haze.

If it is puffy clouds, there may still be time for them to blow by, allowing for at least a glimpse of the shadow of the moon, Nichols said.

It depends on whether or not they move out of the way quickly enough. Totality in Carbondale is 2 minutes 38 seconds, so that's how much time we have for the clouds to get out of the way, Nichols said. She said if this is the case, depending on where the gaps in the clouds are, there could still even be a chance of seeing Venus and Jupiter  this would be possible because the sky will become as dark as a full moon night, Nichols said.

If a big weather system moves in, though, eclipse viewers might just be out of luck.

If it's completely cloudy, then we won't see anything but it will get dark, Nichols said.

For a select few, there is a way to see the eclipse in its entirety unobstructed. Alaska Airlines has chartered a flight over the Pacific Ocean leaving from Portland, Oregon. However, on its website Alaska Airlines said this was not commercially bookable  it was only available to select astronomy enthusiasts and die-hard eclipse chasers on a private list. There was, however, a contest for one person plus a friend to get a boarding pass for the historic flight.

Doug Kimmel, airport director at Veterans Airport of Southern Illinois, said Cape Air will maintain its regular flight schedule. However, Kimmel said reflecting the massive influx of visitors the region is expecting, inbound flights two days before the eclipse and outbound flights two days after are all full for the airline.

Shawn Rabideau, line manager for Midwest Aviation, as well as Amanda Schroeder, lead customer service agent for Flightline in Carbondale, said they arent offering any promotional flights similar to flight Alaska Airlines has planned.

For locals, travel might also pose another disaster scenario. Kelsea Gurski, a spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Transportation, said congestion is just going to be par for the course in the days leading up to the eclipse. She said travelers should expect heavier than average traffic along U.S. 51, Illinois 13 and Interstate 57, as well as increased pedestrian traffic near the viewing sites.

Gurski said IDOT is going to do what it can to help.

Really what we are trying to do is minimize the impact on the traveling public, she said. She said this means wherever possible, lane closures will be lifted starting at 5 a.m. Aug. 18 until 6 p.m. Aug. 22. Gurski said digital message signs will also be used in the high-traffic areas to help communicate travel delays. They will be using existing signs as well as portable signs depending on need.

Ultimately, though, she said travelers just have to remember one thing.

Its going to take longer to get anywhere, she said.
142. That's how many people die every day from a drug overdose, according to the most recent information available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Opioid addiction has touched my life. Ive seen it ravage families and end lives. I've seen children lose parents and parents lose children. I've watched friends lose loved ones and close friends. And, Ive seen people get sober. Ive watched people close to me go to rehab, relapse, and start over. Ive witnessed the work required to live with addiction but not use, and I've seen them thank the heavens they were able to get the treatment they so badly needed.

Im not alone or even an outlier anymore. In a preliminary report released last week by the Presidents Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis, the opioid addiction death toll was likened to September 11th every three weeks. Just by sheer numbers, every one of us has known somebody. Or at least known somebody who knew somebody.

The mayor of Nashville, Tennessee, spoke on Monday about the death last month of her 22-year-old son  he overdosed. Mayor Megan Barry said she spoke frankly about the cause of his death in the hopes her honesty would inspire other families to speak freely about drug addiction.

And on Tuesday, President Donald Trump and members of his administration held meetings on the topic. In that preliminary report, the drug abuse commission encouraged Trump to declare the opioid epidemic a national emergency. The commissions report also called for increased access to treatment for people on Medicaid, education for medical professionals who prescribe opiates, greater availability of overdose-reversing drugs, protections for people who report drug overdoses to first responders and research and development of pain treatments that are not opiates.

Trump spoke to reporters Tuesday about the crisis before a meeting with the commission, and Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, along with presidential adviser Kellyanne Conway, held a briefing on the issue afterward. An emergency has not been declared, and there wasn't even a firm indication that the administration plans to act on any of the suggestions in the report. At most, the administration was making noise around the issue. And some of it seemed to directly contradict the commissions recommendations.

Trump said were also very, very tough on the southern border, where much of this comes in. Strangely, the commissions report didnt once mention drug trafficking through the southern border; in fact, the report states: We have an enormous problem that is often not beginning on street corners; it is starting in doctors offices and hospitals in every state in our nation.

Trump also used language that sounded like a vintage sound reel from the 1980s: "If they don't start, they won't have a problem. If they do start, it's awfully tough to get off ... So if we can keep them from going on  and maybe by talking to youth and telling them: 'No good, really bad for you in every way.' But if they don't start it will never be a problem."

So ... just say no? Haven't I heard that one before? And where did it get us?

Meanwhile, Prices comments during his press briefing Tuesday were more aligned with the reports list of suggested steps toward a solution. But it was all talk, and no action.

Trump says hes serious about addressing the opioid epidemic. Its going to take more than words. The country is anxious for action.
A local man is facing a felony charge in connection with an incident involving a 15-year-old girl.

Marcus Duran Singleton, 32, surrendered to the Orangeburg Department of Public Safety on Tuesday on two unrelated outstanding warrants: second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor and malicious injury to personal property.

Police allege Singleton fondled a 15-year-old on June 19.

He appeared before Orangeburg Municipal Judge Barney Houser on Wednesday. Houser set his bond at $20,000 surety.

The malicious injury to personal property charge is connected to an Aug. 6, 2016 incident. Police allege he shattered the rear side mirror of a Cadillac Escalade on Bayne Street.

Singleton is currently on probation for failure to stop for a blue light. His probation will expire on June 8, 2018.

This isnt Singletons first time facing serious charges.

In June 2005, he pleaded guilty to one count each of distribution of cocaine base and assault and battery with intent to kill. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Other offenses to which hes pleaded guilty include: driving under suspension, driving under the influence, possession of a stolen weapon, third-degree burglary, simple assault and battery and four counts of breaking into motor vehicles.

If convicted of second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor, Singleton faces a maximum of 20 years in prison.

Singleton has addresses on Winchester Avenue in Norway and at the home in Orangeburg where the alleged incident occurred.
Congressman Jim Clyburn recently paid tribute to Orangeburg artist Dr. Leo Twiggs in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Clyburn recognized Twiggs for his contributions and for representing the state in such a positive light.

I think that Leo has brought significant status, not just to the art world and to himself, but to the state of South Carolina, Clyburn said.

I just thought that this was a way of giving a little bit of recognition to what hes done, he said. Clyburn added, I consider myself fortunate enough to have known him.

Clyburn presented Twiggs with a copy of the Congressional Record noting his achievements this week.

This has been the most phenomenal year of my career, Twiggs said. I always tell people that Im really blessed.

He said being recognized for his art reminds him of a song his mother used to sing when times would get tough. It was called I Believe Ill Run On.

What Ive been doing is just running on, Twiggs said.

He thanked Clyburn, saying Sometimes when you run on, people like you come along who say, Job well done.

Twiggs artwork has been displayed in U.S. embassies in Rome, Senegal, Sierra Leone and elsewhere. His works have also appeared in several textbooks, publications and documentaries.

Most recently, Twiggs was awarded the Order of the Palmetto, the states highest civilian honor.

He also received the highest honor the state presents in the arts, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the South Carolina Arts Commission at the 2017 Elizabeth ONeill Verner Governors Awards for the Arts.

In 1980, Twiggs was the first visual artist ever to receive the Elizabeth ONeill Verner Award.

In addition, two of his paintings have been accepted at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.

His series, Requiem for Mother Emmanuel, which honors the victims of the Charleston massacre of June 17, 2015, has traveled to the Mint Museum in Charlotte for a three-month exhibit.

A review of the series was published in the national "Art in America" magazine.

Twiggs was the first African American to earn a Doctorate of Art Education from the University of Georgia, graduated Summa Cum Laude from Claflin University and received his Masters of Arts from New York University.

He formed the Art Department at South Carolina State University and is credited with developing the I.P. Stanback Museum and Planetarium.
WASHINGTON  North Korea pops off another ICBM, and suddenly the U.S. media are full of talking heads offering views and solutions. They range from the extremes of annihilating North Koreas nuclear and missile facilities to, oh, just sign a peace treaty and everything will be OK.

Its hard to know which extreme is more troubling, but then the moderate positions dont offer much consolation either. Were done with strategic patience, if we can take the word of the Trumpsters, so what has a chance of working? Right, President Donald Trump says hes handling the problem but gives no clue as to what he means.

Actually, Trump is so busy attacking his critics while fending off demands for his impeachment that you have to wonder how much time he has for North Korea. Therein, of course, lies one particularly disturbing scenario.

What if he decides a pre-emptive strike would be just the thing to divert attention from the unwelcome scrutiny hes getting on the home front? Hes got retired Marine generals as his chief of staff and defense secretary and a retired Army general as national security adviser. Who knows what they really are telling him?

Yes, they might all be in favor of a pre-emptive strike. No, they might be warning their boss of the ultimate consequences of a second Korean War.

Gen. Mark Milley, aAmy chief of staff, laid out the risks in a speech at the National Press Club. Yes, a second Korean War would be terrible, he said in response to a question, but a nuclear weapon detonating in Los Angeles would be (even more) terrible.

In other words, maybe we should hit them before they hit us.

But wait! Who thinks North Korea is about to fire a nuclear-tipped ICBM that colorful graphics on TV screens show has the capability of hitting not just Los Angeles but the Midwest, maybe New York? Cmon, theyre not gonna do it, are they?

People in Washington persist in asking me if Im afraid of returning to Seoul, where Im arriving Friday after an eight-week break in the United States and Britain. Frankly, I dont think theres anything to worry about, not now, not right away, but then think about all the conflagrations in history that burst on the world after decades of hedonistic happiness. After the Roaring 20s came the Great Depression  and World War II. The pages of history are full of forecasts by experts who had it all wrong.

Then we get to the other extreme, the crowd that thinks all we need to do is negotiate and get down to a peace treaty that would resolve everything. They love to echo the North with calls for negotiations without preconditions, but they forget one immediate stopper. The North Koreans wont talk about ending their nuclear and missile program.

Thats not to say, of course, that they wouldnt freeze testing in return for the United States and South Korea halting war games, but so what? They would still have their nukes and missiles ready to fire yet again on any pretext.

Another great flaw that treaty advocates overlook is the South Korean role. A bunch of them, recently in Seoul and all over Facebook, excoriate the United States but forget about South Korea. Jill Stein, who ran for U.S. president last November on the Green party ticket, blamed U.S. forces for perpetuating the standoff as an occupying power. No one, it seemed, had briefed her on South Korean concerns, including efforts by President Moon Jae-in to open up dialogue with North Korea  all to no avail.

Perhaps what is most worrisome is that just about everyone concedes that China is not going to do much about persuading North Korea to give up its nukes or to stop testing missiles. Trump has registered his disappointment in tweets, and his critics, if they agree with him on nothing else, also say its useless to count on China.

No one doubts that China will go on importing North Korean products, notably coal and other raw materials, while pumping in the oil to fuel the Norths economy, including its military establishment and, yes, its nuclear-missile program.

All of which leads Gen. Milley to believe North Korea is the single most dangerous threat facing the international community and the U.S. today. Missing from his remarks was what to do about it. Somehow I doubt if his bosses, Trump and Mattis, know what to do either.
Korea: Complex, dangerous

With no disrespect to the writer's service and sacrifice during the Korean War, the writer (Leonad Adreon, Plea for action, T&D, July 28) seems not to comprehend the complexity and current-day realities (military/political/humanitarian) of the situation on the Korean peninsula.

Were it only as simple as the writer attempts to make it seem.

My father, numerous relatives and a number of his friends are Korean War veterans, and I, not too long ago, served a tour in Korea as an attack helicopter commander in the Air Cav.

First, the South Korean military is a well-trained, well-equipped, extremely capable fighting force. To state otherwise is factually inaccurate and a disservice to them.

Second, the reality is that in the initial stages of renewed hostilities, the South Korean civilian casualty rate would be in the tens of millions.

North Korea has thousands of artillery pieces and missiles stationed just outside the DMZ, pointed south and targeting Seoul and other major population areas, well within their effective range.

Add in that the Kim regime, which intends to stay in power at any and all costs, has and plans to use its chemical and biological arsenal in the initial stages of just such a conflict and you have the makings for a horrific situation the likes of which the world can't begin to imagine.

One thing the writer definitely got correct: "Regime change brought about by a coalition of nations will be necessary. The situation is complex, difficult and dangerous.

And were the South Koreans to be victorious, current day mainland China would not accept nor tolerate an American-allied regime on its border.

Frank H. Staley, Upper Marlboro, Maryland

Korea vets would weep

Seeing a picture of the Korean War Memorial in The T&D recently and being an old Korean War veteran, it brought many sad memories and those who gave their lives saving our country. If those men could come back today and see the mess this country is in, they would fall to their knees and weep.

The television news seems to go on forever about President Donald Trump, Russia and Trumps family members.

The public is sick of it. Let's turn off the TVs and go to bed.

Thurman Nichols, Orangeburg
The problem with Donald Trumps fire and fury statement on North Korea isnt merely that it intensifies an already tense situation. Nor is it just another example of Trumps inappropriate, childish language when faced with a complex issue.

Most worrisome is that he seems to have no grasp of how his remarks might play out in real-world international politics. Trying to one-up the North Koreans with threats may give Trump the false sense that he is besting them, since he believes  as always, from his business experience  threats work. But he has no awareness of how threats are received in Pyongyang, not to mention in Seoul, Tokyo, Beijing, and other capitals. Trumps language does nothing to move the nuclear issue toward dialogue, but does much to further envenom relations with North Korea and to support the widespread view elsewhere that the president of the US is unstable and prone to violent actions.

In the past Trump has said of North Korea that attacking it sooner rather than later is the best way to resolve the nuclear issue. Bill Clinton disproved that in 1994 by rejecting an attack on North Koreas nuclear facility at Yongbyon and instead entering into an Agreed Framework with Pyongyang that prevented war. Does Trump still hold to that view? Numerous specialists, and Trumps own defense department leadership, have concluded that war would be catastrophic, with immediate one million deaths and economic costs of around $1 trillion. Needless to say, Koreans north and south, Japanese, and Chinese would pay the heaviest price for such madness.

But Trump, with his well-known ignorance about nuclear weapons, seems blissfully unaware of such matters. He would rather talk about fake news, attack critics, lie about his accomplishments, and keep pushing a domestic agenda that has gotten nowhere. Nuclear weapons, Korean history, North Korean motivations, and the art of diplomacy are outside his area of interest, and to say he is not a fast study is to be overly polite.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson responded to questions about Trumps latest threat by saying Americans should sleep well at night, dismissing the threat as rhetoric. Given the drumbeat of war that the media have engaged in over North Koreas missiles, I doubt that many informed Americans are sleeping well. I doubt that U.S. military leaders in particular are sleeping well; they have an inexperienced, unpredictable commander in chief who just might issue an order to attack North Korea. And most assuredly South Koreans and Japanese are not sleeping well. Warlike rhetoric from the U.S. president can never be dismissed.

In a word, Trump is a loose cannon, a serious threat to national and international security.
By Rashid Shirinov

At a time when both Azerbaijan and international mediators were looking forward for the resumption of peace talks to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Armenia has once again showed its reluctance to engage in serious negotiations.

Armenia, the aggressor country responsible for the lack of peace in the region, continues to aggravate the situation on the frontline.

On August 7, Armenian Armed Forces broke the ceasefire and targeted the Garalar village of Azerbaijans Tovuz region. The intense shelling resulted in wounding of an Azerbaijani teenager Ramil Yusibov. The 13-year-old boy was in the yard of his house when an Armenian shell fell there. Receiving multiple shrapnel wounds, Ramil was urgently operated in the region hospital.

"The shell fell beside me and exploded. A lot of shrapnel hit my legs and I quickly ran into the house," the boy told local media soon after the incident. His father noted that it is the second time the Armenian Armed Forces have fired the teenager. "They do not allow civilians to go out," he added.

Doctors extracted many bullet fragments from the boy`s leg after he was wounded by the Armenian troops.

At 7 p.m. I received a call and was told that Armenians shot a teenager who was hospitalized with severe wounds. I rushed to work. The boy was 13-year-old Ramin Yusifov who lives in Garalar village, said Kamaladdin Abbasov, a surgeon at Tovuz central hospital.

We removed a lot of bullet fragments from Ramins leg. We immediately started a surgery. The boy was badly scared, said the doctor.

A representative of the Tovuz Region Executive Power, in turn, said that the Azerbaijani Armed Forces take measures not to let the civilian population and houses be a target for the Armenian troops. Currently, there is a relative stability in the village.

However, the Armenian aggressors did not stop firing at the Azerbaijani civilians. Next day, a group of Armenian militaries attempted to commit sabotage against the Azerbaijani troops in the Khojavend-Fuzuli direction of the frontline. However, the Azerbaijani Army prevented the sabotage and the enemy suffered losses  one of the sabotage group members was killed.

This loss couldnt quiet the aggressive nature of the Armenian Armed Forces. They continued breaking the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops. Over the past 24 hours, Armenias armed forces have violated the ceasefire by 115 times using large-caliber machine guns.

Most recently, Armenian Armed Forces using 82- and 120-millimeter mortars and grenade launchers, shelled the Alkhanli village of Azerbaijans Fuzuli region. As a result of this provocation, the residents of the village Sahiba Guliyeva, 50, and Zahra Guliyeva, 2, were killed. Moreover, the third civilian Servinaz Guliyeva, 52, got seriously wounded.

Obviously, the Armenian leadership aims to harm Azerbaijan in any way, and no calls from international community can change the aggressive stance of the Armenian authorities.

Many international experts are sure that time has long come to exert significant pressure on Armenia for its aggressive policy against Azerbaijan and for its refusal to withdraw from the occupied territories of the country.

Political expert Peter Tase noted that the European Union institutions, governments of European countries and the OSCE should actively condemn the attack of the Armenian armed forces on the civilian population of Azerbaijan.

The U.S. Secretary of State and Secretary of Department of Treasury should urgently convene a meeting to consider the possibility of imposing economic sanctions against Armenia," Tase told Trend. "The international community remains silent about the crimes against humanity committed by the Armenian government and its corrupt armed forces."

The expert added that international institutions should impose political and economic sanctions against Yerevan until Armenia withdraws its troops from the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan.

Natalie Goulet, French senator and vice-chair of the Senates Foreign Affairs Committee, also emphasized the necessity for a firm condemnation of Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan and imposing of sanctions against Armenia.

Civilians are killed every day in a lot of conflicts. It is unbearable. The Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is one of them, she told Trend.

We need now a peace process and probably international forces to keep the ceasefire. We also need a serious will of the international community, Goulet said, adding that there is no need for another war, especially in the South Caucasus.

Azerbaijani MP Sahib Aliyev, in turn, noted that the military junta in Armenia is distinguished by its cruel attitude against children.

It is surprising and regrettable why the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs are not only tolerant towards the child murderers, but also patronize them?! Why doesn't the world community want to give a real assessment to the child murderers, the aggressive regime and the military junta?! Aliyev said.

All the aggression of Armenia against Azerbaijan stems from the desire of the Armenian leadership to gain a foothold in 20 percent of Azerbaijans internationally recognized territory that was occupied in early 1990s. For more than two decades the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict fails to be resolved due to Armenias unconstructive position and unwillingness to engage in negotiations with Azerbaijan. Thus, the aggressor country continues its attempts to preserve the inadmissible status quo in Nagorno-Karabakh, and Azerbaijani civilians living near the frontline fell victim of this policy of Armenia.




Reduced liquidity due to changing market dynamics, namely a reduction in oil prices, is forcing banks in the GCC region to rethink their lending policy due to a rise in non-performing loans (NPLs), said professional services firm Deloitte.



The summer 2017 issue of Deloittes quarterly publication, the Middle East Point of View (ME POV), tackles several hot topics: from 5G technology and risk management in the Middle East construction market, to family businesses in the Middle East, business travel, non-performing loans, leadership attributes and IFRS 15 and ISO 37001.



David Stark, partner, and Karim Labban, assistant director, Restructuring Services, Financial Advisory, Deloitte, Middle East explain in their report NPLs on the rise that corporates should seek creative financing and restructuring solutions to mitigate default risk and engage in transformation initiatives to adapt to the changing dynamics of the market.



In the absence of similar initiatives, corporates risk deepening challenges if they remain loyal to an outdated business model that might no longer be viable under the new macroeconomic and financial parameters.



Matt Hanson, assistant director, Capital Projects, Financial Advisory, Deloitte, Middle East, points out that the effects of tighter financial policies in the Middle East can certainly be felt in the construction industry.



Tight management of project costs and clear visibility of project risks will become critical in ensuring overruns are avoided and stakeholders retain confidence in an organizations ability to deliver projects successfully, said Hanson.



Jayne Stokes, director, Global Employer Services leader, Deloitte, Middle East in her report on business travel, explains that as organizations become more global, business travel is no longer immune to taxes and risk.



Employees are increasingly expected to take on global or regional roles [giving rise] to a complex array of tax, immigration and payroll risks for both the organization and the employee, explained Stokes.



Walid Chiniara, partner and head of Family Enterprise Consulting, and Yasmine Omari, manager, Family Enterprise Consulting, Deloitte, Middle East also discuss mitigating risks in family businesses.



There is no standard Family business insurance policy that can truly mitigate and cover all the risks associated with a family-owned business, they said. However, it is possible to put in place a governance structure, akin to an insurance policy, to safeguard the capital of a family in all its forms: financial, human, social and intellectual.



Emmanuel Durou, partner and Technology, Media and Telecommunications leader, Deloitte, Middle East, and other co-authoring experts review 5G, and the challenges faced by mobile operators in their report, Survival of the fastest.



Telcos need to gain a clear picture on the monetization potential and return on investment for 5G. Beyond strategy, there are clear operational challenges ahead for the 2020 planned 5G Deployment, explained the authors.



Roy Gillespie, director, Forensic, Financial Advisory, Deloitte, Middle East in his article ISO 37001 anti-bribery management system: time for implementation outlines the required measures and fundamental elements to ensure a successful implementation of the system, including top-level commitment, communication and adequate resources and budget.  TradeArabia News Service
Saudi Arabias cement sales volume declined 19 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) to 28.3 million tonnes during the first seven months of 2017, a report said.



Meanwhile, clinker production fell 10 per cent on a yearly basis to 29.3 million tonnes and inventories stood at 33.6 million tonnes, added the Saudi Cement sector report from Al Rajhi Capital, a leading financial services provider in Saudi Arabia.



Looking at capacities, inventories and potential demand of each region, the Northern region remains the weakest as current inventories represent 118 per cent of region producers dispatches in the last 12-months, the report said.



Weak demand within the region has led companies to reach out to far away areas which have negatively impacted companies profit/tonne due to the high transportation costs. The increase in competition has also, no doubt, reduced realised prices.



For Western and Southern regions, recent capacity additions have added to existing oversupply. For the Central region, Q2 selling prices were lower than in the Western region as it is most accessible to producers despite favourable location and low inventories compared to other regions.



In the near term, volatility and stiff competition on selling prices are likely to continue in the sector, given the slowdown in construction activities and limited demand from mega projects.



A decline in dividends for the first half of 2017 was expected due to the current weak market condition; however, current dividend yield in the sector is about six per cent as compared to the market average of 3.3 per cent.



Going forward, we believe there is limited downside (~10-15 per cent on average) for dividends, even if we assume this decline, the dividend yield will remain attractive at five per cent, Al Rajhi Capital said in the report. - TradeArabia News Service
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) received more than 50 per cent of the awarded Expo 2020 Dubai contracts so far, according to a report.



The latest Expo 2020 Dubai report, prepared by The Big 5 Dubai, reveals that more than 15,000 businesses have registered their interest on Expo 2020 Dubais online procurement portal, and that $3 billion in contracts are expected in 47 awards over 2017.



Around 70 per cent of the firms registered as suppliers are SMEs and as of June this year they had won more than 50 per cent of the contracts awarded. This preference is energised by the 2016 UAE Ministry of Economy announcement that SMEs engaged in the project will receive up to 20 per cent of total direct and indirect spending, an estimated $1.36 billion in contracts, the report said.



Future opportunities related to Expo 2020 include crucial construction logistics packages that are to be awarded in January 2018, including those for a delivery management system, a waste management contractor and temporary utilities installations.



The final portion of packages, which are also scheduled to be awarded next year, is the horizontal/infrastructure/site-wide/construction Packages. These packages include elements for the public realm spaces such as landscaping and vertical transportation.



Set on a 438-hectare site, Expo 2020 Dubai will open to the public on October 20, 2020. Construction on the site is expected to be completed a year earlier, by October 2019. Of all the built assets, 80 per cent will be reused after the event.



Connecting minds, Creating the Future is the theme of Dubai Expo 2020, underpinned by the three sub-themes of Opportunity, Mobility and Sustainability. Fulfilling the latter focus, Expo 2020 will draw at least 50 per cent of power from renewable energy sources, including the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, and will receive support from official sustainability partner Dubai Electricity and Water Authority.



Organisers of Expo 2020 Dubai are committed to complying with local green building regulations and contributing to Leed (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) accreditation, as well as driving compliance with ISO 20121:2012, which specifies requirements for an event sustainability management system.



Their ability to support organisers' sustainability standards saw UAE contractor Al Futtaim Carillion secure the main construction contract for the development of the Theme Districts. It beat 35 other bidders to secure the contract worth about $600 million, said the report.



The link between renewable energy, sustainable measures and the construction sector is connectivity, observed portfolio director of The Big 5 Dubai, Josine Heijmans. Discussing the impact of Expo 2020 Dubai themes on the industry, she said the adoption of new building technologies is vital in moving forward.



The Expo 2020 Dubai report is released ahead of The Big 5 Dubai, which will run from November 26 to 29 at the Dubai World Trade Centre. The largest construction event in the Middle East, it will showcase the most innovative solutions for the built environment from around the world.



It will feature the Excellence in Construction Summit where vice president of real estate for Expo 2020 Dubai Ahmed Al Khatib will be a VIP speaker. Al Khatib is responsible for the delivery and management of the expo site masterplan and is involved in managing the sustainability of the site.



As well as an all-new HVAC (heating, ventilation and air-conditioning)-dedicated hall, and the Innovation in Precast Summit, there will be live products demonstrations, and the return of the industrys most respected 10th edition of the Gaia Awards which are committed to escalating sustainable interests in the construction sector.



The Big 5 Dubai 2017 will be co-located with The Big 5 Solar event, under the patronage of the Ministry of Energy. Featuring technologies from leading photovoltaics (PV) manufacturing countries, The Big 5 Solar is set to become the premier event for solar industry professionals.



Additionally, the event will offer a broad educational agenda with world-class knowledge-sharing CPD (Continued Professional Development) certified talks covering featured themes including technology, architecture, sustainability and project management.



The Big 5 Dubai is organised by dmg events Middle East, Asia & Africa. -TradeArabia News Service
An expert panel of speakers will discuss how automation and advances in connectivity could solve the looming skills crisis in the industry at the Seatrade Offshore Marine & Workboats Middle East (SOMWME), to be held next month, in Abu Dhabi, UAE.



The issue will be addressed on day one of the exhibition and conference, at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (Adnec) from September 25 to 27, where speakers at the Manning Update will assess the role of automation in tackling the ongoing challenge.



Emma Howell, group marketing manager, Seatrade portfolio, UBM EMEA, said: The number of skilled personnel across multiple functions has been in decline for a number of years.



In 2010, The Manpower Report by BIMCO/ISF calculated the global supply of officers stood at 624,000, compared to a demand for 637,000, concluding the figures were near-ideal, she said.



However, by 2016, the shortfall stood at 16,500 officers and is predicted to rise to 147,000 worldwide by 2025. In the US, figures published in 2016 by the US Maritime Administration placed the countrys shortfall at 70,000 mariners by 2022, she added.



Moderated by Captain Michael P Elwert, group chief executive officer, Elektrans Group, the panel will feature William Tobin, underwriting syndicate manager  offshore, The Shipowners Club and Captain John Lloyd, chief executive officer, The Nautical Institute, as well as Revd Dr Paul Burt, regional director, Gulf and South Asia, Mission to Seafarers.



Captain Lloyd commented: The increasing sophistication of technology is opening the door to serious discussions about the remote control of ships, perhaps one day leading to completely autonomous vessels.



While moving in this direction gives wonderful opportunities to improve reliability, one of the key challenges will be to balance the cost of reliability against performance and financial viability through savings. That is really a matter for the technologists and the economists to address, he said.



Automation in shipping is not a new concept; many responsibilities, checks and safety functions are now carried out autonomously. But in the age of driverless vehicles and remote controlled drones, the first unmanned, autonomous ship, could be on the horizon.



It would not be the first time, complicated skill sets are delegated to artificial intelligence  aviation has undergone a similar transformation, with the role of the pilot evolving with each new generation of aircraft. However, innovations in shipping can be leveraged to address a gap, rather than requiring existing specialists to up-skill.



Lloyd continued: On the operational side it is important we create a regulatory framework which gives an opportunity for these vessels to be developed and then to identify the skills required to operate them safely and efficiently.



It is likely these skills will draw heavily on maritime knowledge and experience if we are to develop effective solutions. As the professional body for those in control of ships, The Nautical Institute is already actively engaged in these discussions and looks forward to the next generation of ships and operations supported by world-leading technology and innovation, he added.



Part of SOMWMEs Power 60s series the Manning Update will be followed by a session on finance and law, moderated by Eithne Treanor, founder and managing director of E Treanor Media and featuring Bora Bariman, head of energy and marine, Corporate & Institutional Banking Group, National Bank of Fujairah; David Manuel, senior marine specialist - Petrodata, IHS Markit; Knut Mathiassen, managing partner, NorthCape DMCC; Dr Khaled Al Mazrouei, chief executive officer, Abu Dhabi Ship Building and Tien Tai, partner, Holman Fenwick Willan.



Elsewhere in the conference programme, discussion will turn to green and efficient vessels for the future.



Seatrade Offshore Marine & Workboats is the largest workboat and offshore marine event outside of the US, attracting more than 200 offshore marine and workboat companies, it stated.  TradeArabia News Service
A new food grain processing and packaging factory will be set up in Bahrain at a cost of $12 million, said Khaled Al Ameen, chairman of Bahrain Agriculture Foods Storage & Security (Bafco).



The factory will come up in the Hidd Industrial Area and a construction contract is expected to be finalised this month.



Al Ameen said Sri Lankan, Swiss and Indian businessmen will take part in the project, along with Bahraini investors who will take 60 per cent of the stake. Sri Lankan and Swiss businesses will own 15 per cent (each), while Indian investors will take 10 per cent.



The factory is expected to start producing and exporting from the middle of 2018, said a statement. It will import its feedstock from Canada and Australia and export products to the GCC region, it said.



Al Ameen underlined the crucial importance of embarking on a comprehensive strategy to meet Bahrains food needs, and also noted that the factory will provide up to 80 jobs for citizens.



The factory will produce 6,000 tonnes of natural grains per month and 20 per cent of the output will go to the local market and the remaining 80 per cent will be exported. - TradeArabia News Service
dk_photos/iStock/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) -- The U.S. Treasury Department announced a new series of sanctions against several members of Venezuela's Constituent Assembly on Wednesday, including the brother of former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.



The Treasury Department designated seven current or former officials of the Venezuelan government and one person who "participated in actions or policies that undermine democratic processes or institutions in Venezuela."



The announcement comes as the assets of those eight individuals are frozen and Americans are prohibited from dealing with those individuals. It follows the swearing in of Venezuela's Constituent Assembly -- seen by many as a means for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to strengthen his own political position.



"President Maduro swore in this illegitimate Constituent Assembly to further entrench his dictatorship," said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. "This regime's disregard for the will of the Venezuelan people is unacceptable, and the United States will stand with them in opposition to tyranny until Venezuela is restored to a peaceful and prosperous democracy."



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The Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company (GPIC) has been licensed by the Ministry of Transport and Telecommunications Ports and Maritime Navigation Affairs Department to operate and manage the companys export terminal.



The two-year licence was officially handed over when GPIC president Dr Abdulrahman Jawahery received assistant undersecretary for Maritime Ports Affairs Bader Houd Al Mahmoud, said a statement.



Members of GPIC executive management, officials of departments and ports and maritime affairs officials were present, it said.



Al Mahmoud praised the company's efforts to quickly and professionally meet all licence requirements, which indicated its keenness to achieve excellence and quality in its export operations, it added.



Dr Jawahery thanked officials at the ministry, headed by the minister, Kamal bin Ahmed, and those from the department for their cooperation in all joint procedures. He said it would be in the interest of the company to upgrade the work at the terminal.



He said the licence confirms Bahrains keenness to implement all international requirements regarding laws on ships and ports and its commitment to have the latest procedures in place. This, he said, has contributed to maintaining its reputation in the field of management.



Dr Jawahery also said GPIC having been given the licence is clear evidence of the companys regulations and the support it has received from the board of directors.



A new law that requires port users and operators of private berths to register themselves at the department was recently issued.



GPIC has since taken all necessary measures and initiated strict audit by external auditors.



The company exports urea from its own terminal, which conforms to the highest international specifications. It manages and operates the terminal with highly trained and qualified Bahraini staff in compliance with all maritime and industrial safety requirements.



The licence comes as a result of the company's compliance with the Ports and Docks Permits Act. As the regulator of the marine industry, the Department of Ports and Maritime Affairs oversees the granting of licences, registration of vessels, port operators and operations, it stated.  TradeArabia News Service
Iran plans to implement 68 petrochemical projects with an investment of $67 billion, the countrys oil minister was quoted as saying in a media report.



The projects should become operational between 2017 and 2021, added Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, according to the Iran Daily report.



Irans petrochemical output reached to 50 million tons in May 2017 from 40.6 million tons in May 2016, he noted.



Petrochemical exports also rose to over 17 million tons in the year to March 2017 from 12.8 million tons four years earlier, Zanganeh explained.
Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture), the Emirates dedicated entity for culture, arts and heritage, recently hosted an educational workshop on implementing the Fourth Generation of the Government Excellence System (4GES).



The workshop was organised by Dubai Cultures Strategy and Corporate Performance Department, and welcomed employees from all of the Authoritys 15 departments.



The workshop educated employees about the categories and criteria required to implement the Dubai Government Excellence System, with a particular focus on Fourth Generation principles, and provided a full overview of the new updates that have been made to the scheme.



Saeed Mohamed Al Nabouda, acting director general of Dubai Culture, said: At Dubai Culture, we are committed to following the directives of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to achieve the highest level of excellence in Dubai government sector operations. To support this objective, our workshop discussed several pillars of the Fourth Generation system, which will enhance our working processes according to three main principals: achievement of the vision, innovation, and enablers to achieve the highest satisfaction rates.



We appreciate the efforts made by our Strategy and Corporate Performance Department to host this event, which aimed to spread a culture of government excellence among our employees. The workshop was led by expert supervisors who also prepared our employees to participate in the Dubai Government Excellence Programme by sharing insights into all of the latest categories and awards criteria, he added.



Dubai Culture is eager to adopt the Fourth Generation of the Government Excellence System, as it will help the Authority to improve its performance and achieve the highest standards of quality and excellence, a statement said.



The implementation process is currently underway, with Dubai Culture already harnessing creativity and innovation in its day-to-day work to enhance its services.  TradeArabia News Service
Cake artists at Broadway Bakery in Dubai have created the world's most expensive edible cake at the request of a client to celebrate the Indian Independence Day. The cake, which weighs 54kg, can serve 240 guests and costs $40,000!



It features Bollywood celebrity Aamir Khan (as Mahavir Singh Phogat) looking on with unwavering conviction as he trains his daughters Geeta and Babita for Olympic greatness, a scene from the much-acclaimed Hindi movie 'Dangal'.
Leading real estate investment firm JLL today released the results of a study on the hospitality landscape across 106 global cities, with Dubai, Riyadh and Jeddah placed on its list of 'cities to watch'.



There has been a significant shift in the hospitality industry globally as the markets are continuously evolving with the industrial revolution 4.0 now in its implementation phase. At JLL, we have been able to witness this change in the Middle East, particularly in Dubai, as the hospitality markets here are now poised to adapt technological advancements, said Marko Vucinic, senior vice president, acting head of hotels & hospitality group, Mena.



Hotel markets were scored on the basis of both their Magnitude  their scale in terms of room numbers and investment  and Momentum  the speed of change in a market based on construction, socio-economic growth and changes in performance.



The global hotel industry is being reshaped by technological disruption, changing consumer behaviour and new market players, said Lauro Ferroni, Global head of Hotels & Hospitality Research at JLL. This structural shift has encouraged us to rethink how we assess market opportunity and risk, which was one of the driving forces behind this report.



JLL segregated countries into five categories: Global giants, which included elite markets like New York and London; rising giants like Beijing and Dubai, which are dynamic cities that have matured quickly; second tier mature markets such as Berlin and Osaka; mid-sized cities like Seattle and Dublin and emerging hotspots, which included Riyadh and Jeddah.



Dubai has established a position as a global hub for tourism and business. Its supply pipeline continues to be among the largest in the world, representing 50 per cent of an already substantial market.



Emerging hotspots like Riyadh and Jeddah are likely to see a 30 per cent increase in supply in the coming few years. - TradeArabia News Service


UAE's Ministry of Health and Prevention is reminding travellers to avail health services and medical consultations before taking a trip abroad.



UAE citizens and residents can avail these services at the Traveler Health Clinics in the preventive medicine departments across the Emirates throughout the year.



Provided free of charge to all Emiratis and at an affordable price for UAE residents, the services are also available at Al Muhaisna Centre and Etihad Centre.



The Ministry of Health and Prevention believes in the importance of educating travellers about the health risks that they may be exposed to when visiting other countries. It encourages them to visit screening centers before leaving the country so that they may take necessary vaccinations as a precautionary measure, said Dr. Fatma Al Attar, Family Medicine consultant, head of Travelers Clinic team.



"Many travellers do not realise the importance of the medical aspect of traveling, which is essential and important when choosing their destinations, added Dr. Al Attar.



The Ministry has launched the Travelers Health Clinics to offer information and services before travelling abroad.



The Travelers Health Clinics offer a range of quality health and preventive services based on the guidelines of the World Health Organization and relevant scientific studies. The services include raising awareness about the importance of visiting these centers before traveling to assess health risks, determine their health status, and take vaccinations and other preventive medications required by the country of destination.



The Ministry of Health and Prevention also reiterated that travellers must take precautions and take note of travel tips to avoid acquiring any type of diseases and other health-related concerns while out of the country.



Vaccinations

Make sure to consult a doctor in order to receive necessary vaccinations ahead of time at least a month before traveling overseas in order to prevent certain infectious diseases such as yellow fever, meningitis, typhoid fever, hepatitis, pneumococcal pneumonia, influenza etc. The necessary vaccinations are determined according to World Health Organization (WHO) guideline for the destination of travel and will be advised by your doctor.



Malaria prevention

Medications can be used to prevent malaria when travelling to affected areas. Travellers can protect themselves from the disease by taking the recommended dosages prescribed by the doctor ahead of time prior to travelling.



Time difference and Jet lag

Passengers suffer from a jet lag during long journeys, resulting in alteration in body clock. A passenger may experience disturbance in their sleeping patterns and bowel function, as well as reduced mental performance and general malaise.



The Ministry has advised travellers to take enough sleep and rest during long trips, drink plenty of fluids, avoid drinking coffee and tea, and eat healthy food.



Motion Sickness

Motion sickness is the result of a conflict between human senses and excess movement, causing dizziness, exhaustion, nausea, headache, and vomiting. These symptoms may be relieved by changing ones seating location, for example transferring to the front or over the wings of an airplane. Also, passengers are advised to avoid eating during the start of the trip and chew gum or mint candy instead. A doctor may prescribe a medication to address motion sickness.



Deep vein thrombosis

Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) occurs especially in the lower leg during prolonged immobility. Travellers are thus advised to walk in the plane approximately every three hours or do some foot exercises while sitting every hour. They can ask their doctors about DVT for more information. Wearing loose clothing and drinking adequate amount of fluids can also help lessen its occurrence.



Insect or animal bites

UAE citizens and residents are also warned of touching animals when traveling. They should consult their doctors immediately when exposed to insect and animal bites, and to rinse the affected area with a sterile solution. Travellers are instructed to cover all body parts when going to insect-infested areas and avoid rabid animals and walking barefoot. Preventive measures can also help such as the application of skin protection creams especially during nighttime.



Sunstroke, heat exhaustion or extreme cold

Exposure to extreme weather may cause some travellers to experience serious health problems. Holidaymakers are advised to avoid exposure to direct sunlight for a prolonged period of time, apply skin protection creams, cover their heads, hands, and feet, and consume fluids to avoid dehydration.



Food poisoning and waterborne diseases

During vacation, travellers may also be exposed to contaminated food and water, causing diarrhea, abdominal pain, nausea, fever, and vomiting. When travelling, they are advised to drink bottled mineral water, refrain from consuming street food, minimise salad intake, and avoid under-cooked food. Vaccinations taken prior to travel could also prevent food poisoning and waterborne diseases. - TradeArabia News Service


British Airways has announced plans to launch flights from London to Nashville, Tennessee in the US from May 2018.



The carrier will launch a five-a-week service from Heathrow, Terminal 5 and will be the only airline flying direct between Europe and the US city.



The new route takes the number of US destinations the airline flies to from London in summer 2018 up to 26, and the number of daily flights offered by British Airways and American Airlines as part of their transatlantic joint business up to 67 per day.



The route will be operated by a Boeing 787-8, with return fares in World Traveller starting from as little as Dh5,750 ($1,565).



Sean Doyle, British Airways director of network and alliances, said: "We are incredibly excited to be adding Nashville to our extensive global network, making us the only carrier flying non-stop between Europe and Tennessee. With more than 160 live music venues hosting music from country and blues to jazz and rock, a rich history and heritage and a thriving food and drink scene Nashville is a truly vibrant place for all tastes and styles.



"It is a dynamic city with one of the fastest growing economies in the US, so we are confident this route will be a big hit with British tourists as well as business travellers in the UK and US."



The flights will run on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday with the BA223 departing from London Heathrow at 3:45pm and arriving into Nashville Airport at 6:50pm, while the BA222 will leave Nashville at 8:20pm, arriving into London at 10:30am the next day. British Airways operates multiple daily flights from the UAE to London Heathrow allowing passengers a chance to choose their preferred connection onwards to Nashville.



In addition, the airline is also increasing services to Philadelphia and Phoenix from a daily service to 10 flights a week from Heathrow, and will also be introducing the A380 on one of the two daily flights to Chicago.



British Airways has launched more than 30 new routes across the globe this year including direct flights to New Orleans, Oakland (California) and Fort Lauderdale (Florida). - TradeArabia News Service


Miami International Airport (MIA) is the first airport in the world to bring the convenience of Mobile Passport Control, the fast entry process into the US, into its own airport app experience.



US citizens and Canadian visitors arriving into Miami can now use the MIA Airport Official app to submit details to US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and simply receive a barcode on their phone to present for clearance.



This convenient service, developed by global air transport IT provider Sita and certified by US CBP for Mobile Passport Control, speeds up the entry process into the US. As an integral part of MIAs official app, the new mobile service builds on the personal travel assistant experience already being offered to Miamis passengers.



The goal of our mobile app has always been to put as many services as possible in the palm of the travellers hand, said Miami-Dade aviation director Emilio T. Gonzalez. Now, with the help of Sitas innovative technology, in addition to easily finding your way to all you need at MIA, North American passengers can now also breeze through passport control with the same customer-friendly travel app.



Miami International Airport offers more flights to Latin America and the Caribbean than any other US airport. It is Americas third-busiest airport for international passengers, with more than half of its 44.6 million passengers on international travel.



Sita offers the service as an SDK (software development kit). The SDK has been authorised by CBP for airports, airlines and other travel app providers to incorporate the entry process into their own mobile app.



Randy Pizzi, Sita president, Americas, said: We are very pleased to be a technology partner with MIA as they become the first to incorporate the convenience of US CBP Mobile Passport Control into their airport application. Passenger satisfaction increases when technology solutions, like SITAs, make it easy for passengers to manage their journey using just one convenient application on their own smartphone or tablet.



SITAs innovative design ensures the CBP requirements are met, which reduces the certification process for app developers. It enables eligible travellers to use an airport or airlines app on their mobile device to submit their passport information and answer CBP inspection-related questions prior to CBP inspection. The convenient service does not require pre-approval and is free to use.



Today the SDK from SITA is available to any international airport in the USA or any airline flying passengers to the USA. Sita is also in discussions with other governments who are looking to digitise their landing card, customs and border clearance procedures. Providing such services via mobile devices enables direct communication with travellers which supports secure pre-clearance and helps streamline the passenger journey. - TradeArabia News Service
BILLINGS, Mont.  The operator of one of the largest coal-fired power plants in the Western U.S. plans to keep running the 2,100-megawatt plant, a spokesman said Wednesday, in an abrupt reversal from its declaration last year that a new operator would be needed by mid-2018.

The co-owners of the Colstrip Generating Station have decided Pennsylvania-based Talen Energy will keep running the southeastern Montana plant for the foreseeable future, said Talen spokesman Todd Martin.

Martin did not give a reason for the reversal, which was first reported by the Billings Gazette based on interviews with representatives of other utilities involved in the plant.

The move came as the coal industry has received a political boost from the administration of President Donald Trump following a protracted decline.

Talen executives asserted last year that the plant was no longer economically viable. A company lobbyist told lawmakers in March that it was losing about $30 million annually on the plant surrounded by several mines and cattle ranches in the small town of Colstrip near the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation.

Montana lawmakers this year approved a measure allowing Talen to borrow up to $10 million annually to keep Colstrip fully operational until 2022. The unprecedented arrangement was intended to prop up the plant as coal-plant closures sweep through the utility industry.

But to date no such loan has been sought, said David Ewer with the Montana Board of Investments. Talen has made no contact with the agency since Gov. Steve Bullock signed the loan measure in May, he said.

Two of Colstrips four power-generating units are scheduled to shut down in mid-2022, under a legal settlement with conservation groups aimed at resolving a lawsuit over decades of pollution from the plant.

Despite the political backing coal is getting from the Trump administration, experts say the industrys long-term decline likely will continue.

Concerns over climate change emissions, low natural gas prices and declining costs for renewable energy from wind and solar have spurred electric utilities nationwide to shift away from burning coal.
On a recent morning, the Nichols Ranch mine was quietly leaching uranium from rock formations buried hundreds of feet beneath the surface of the Powder River Basin.

A handful of employees slept in a trailer outside the plant after their 12-hour shifts as mine manager Bernard Bonifas pulled up at the main office to oversee operations. The haze from recent forest fires hid the dark ridge of the Big Horn Mountains on the western horizon.

On the surface, uranium mining at Nichols Ranch is surprisingly simple. Hundreds of little boxes pepper the hills about 70 miles north of Casper. Under each of those boxes, a solution is being pumped down into the rock to dissolve uranium, a dense metal that when enriched packs an enormous amount of power. A uranium-rich solution is pumped back to the surface and carried to a small central plant.

The uranium industry will descend on Casper next weekend for a symposium at the Ramkota Hotel, the first the industry has held in Wyoming since 2011. Presenters will discuss how to bring older mines back online and the outlook for cheap uranium from Kazakhstan that has rocked the boat of demand worldwide.

Producers from the U.S. will tout the value of operations like those at Nichols Ranch, which operators say can be economical even when prices are low  though not as low as theyve been over the past year.

Economics are everything for Wyomings uranium companies as they wait out the downturn.

The Wyoming Mining Association recently approached lawmakers requesting a tax break until prices rise. Without it, they couldnt start to build up production, and they would be faced with more layoffs, companies argued. That request was denied.

Nichols Ranch, owned by Energy Fuels, went from 38 employees about a year and a half ago to 27 today, said Paul Goranson, executive vice president of in situ recovery operations, as he toured the mine with Bonifas.

Low prices in the uranium market have driven down production, and the mine is just operating to fill contracts and keep the infrastructure running, Goranson said. Hes been in the industry for three decades.

The hopeful  including Goranson  predict a rise within the next three years thanks to new nuclear power plants in Asia that will increase demand, while production hopefully slows from operations in places like Kazakhstan. More modest expectations see the price coming back with the increased demand within five years.

Wyoming likely cant tap much of that international market. Its simply too hard to get uranium overseas.

When it comes to nuclear material, its very difficult to export it, Goranson said. Your primary market is China, India, and even though Russia can send a lot of uranium to us  we have zero access to their market. Its all one way.

But increased demand and lower production worldwide means higher prices, and thats what Wyoming companies need.

They are filling contracts they made years ago, with no new ones on the horizon.

In some ways the uranium industry is struggling with challenges similar to those seen in Wyomings Powder River Basin coal operations, including low natural gas prices.

Electricity demands have changed and continue to evolve, with cheap renewable power pulsing onto a grid built to sustain base load power. Like coal plants, nuclear power operations cant ramp up and down as other sources of power come on and off the electricity grid.

And natural gas, one of Wyomings core industries, continues to take more of the electricity sector. Its cheap and plentiful, and its changed the way power companies buy up fuel, Goranson said.

Building up stockpiles of uranium isnt the business plan for power companies anymore, Goranson said.

Used to be 80 percent of uranium was bought long-term and 20 percent spot market. We expect it will be 50-50 in the next five years, he said. I would say that in general practice, everybodys building around the assumption that we wont be able to rely on long-term contracts.

Some are taking advantage of the downturn to build up. Two years ago the previous owner of Nichols Ranch, Uranerz, merged with Energy Fuels. The former CEO just launched a new uranium company to restart some brownfield operations in the state. By the time initial exploration has taken place, the market should be on the rise, CEO Glen Catchpole told the Star-Tribune recently.

Back at the plant on Nichols Ranch, a batch of uranium solution was being treated to leach out the energy-soaked metal. The resulting fine slurry would be trucked down to Utah, dried and processed into the saffron powder known as yellowcake to be sold.

Though prices are weak and companies are strained, business goes on. And the veterans of the uranium industry are looking for better day in years to come for Wyoming.
Casper, Wyoming / May 18, 1921  July 21, 2017

John was born in Midvale, Ohio to Celeste and Aurelia Pedri who had emigrated from Italy prior to WWI. Celeste was a coal miner; and growing up, John worked along with his brother Leo in the family mine in Ohio. He often related detailed accounts of the hard work drilling and blasting, then delivering the coal to their customers in the family truck, delighting in the fact that he was not old enough to drive.

After high school, and while working on the railroad as a brakeman, John enlisted in the Army Air Corps after Pearl Harbor. He trained as a bombardier navigator in the new B-26 medium bomber. He was wounded on his third mission, earned the Purple Heart and Silver Star, then went on to complete 37 more missions in the European theatre. Returning stateside as a Second Lieutenant, he served the rest of his enlistment as a bombardier instructor at a base in Marianna, Florida. It was there, in 1944, that he met (on a blind date) his beautiful partner for the next 62 years, Frances Harkins. They were married at the base chapel on December 19, 1945.

Though Frances was heartbroken to leave her beloved Florida, they moved to Columbus, Ohio, where John attended The Ohio State University. After earning his Masters degree in Geology, they moved to Casper, Wyoming, where John would work in the petroleum exploration business for the next 50 plus years. Frances came to absolutely love Wyoming, even though she recalls crying the first 25 years she lived there. In later years, much to Francess delight, they escaped the bitter Wyoming winters to Manasota Key, Florida.

John was active in the Wyoming Geological Association, the Casper Petroleum Club, and was a devoted member of Our Lady of Fatima and Saint Anthony Catholic Churches. John always enjoyed a good party, dancing, cooking, traveling, reading, telling stories and sharing an evening gin and tonic with his Honeyjust two ice cubes please!

John passed peacefully at 96 years in the care of Central Wyoming Hospice after a brief illness.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Frances in 2007; his parents; brothers, Leo and Julio; grandchildren, Stacey in 1980, Christopher in 1985, and Joe in 2005.

He is survived by his sister, Eleanor Jackson (Bernie) of Columbus, OH; children, David (Danna) of Casper, Catherine Grieve of Portland, OR, Daniel (Maureen) of Longmont, CO and Mark (Laurie) of Oakton, VA; 22 grandchildren and 44 great-grandchildren.

A Rosary will be held on August 11th at 7:00 p.m. at NewcomerFuneral Home-Casper Chapel. Services will be held at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church on August 12th at 10:00 a.m., followed by interment at Highland Cemetery in Casper.

In lieu of flowers the family is requesting that donations may be made to Central Wyoming Hospice of Casper.

To leave a special message for Johns family, please visit www.NewcomerCasper.com.
Kelly Carpenter was a 29-year-old mother of an infant when she was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer in November 2015.

To be very frank, honestly I thought it was a mistake at first, she said of the diagnosis. But then, kind of like we all do with all of our adversities, we just took one step and one day at a time. Then it became realizing with women my age, it doesnt get caught early, and then I was just incredibly thankful that it was caught at stage 2 and stayed there, Carpenter remembered.

Although raised in Casper and a 2005 Natrona County High School graduate, Carpenter now lives in Laramie with her husband, Andrew, and their son, Walker, 2. She is a doctoral candidate in animal and veterinary sciences at the University of Wyoming and hopes to stay on at UW in a faculty position.

Following her diagnosis, initially made by her OB/GYN Dr. Sam Vigneri in Casper, Carpenter underwent chemo, then surgery, then radiation.

In August 2016, a genetic testing panel came back positive for the PTEN gene.

From there, I sought out three prophylactic surgeries because I was at risk not only for recurrence of breast cancer but multiple other cancers in my lifetime, she said.

Balancing her family life and her school schedule, she underwent a hysterectomy during semester break in December, and a bilateral mastectomy and thyroidectomy on June 1 after the spring semester concluded.

She will speak to participants Saturday at the Pink Ribbon Run in Casper, put on by the Wyoming Breast Cancer Initiative. Registration begins at 7 a.m. at the Tate Pumphouse and the walk/run starts at 8 a.m. Survivors walk free at the family-friendly event, which will be recreational or timed as participants prefer.

A similar event will be held simultaneously in Cheyenne, as it was last year, beginning at the Capitol Complex. Breast cancer survivor Carisa Thomas will speak in Cheyenne.

Laurie Heath, director of Wyoming Breast Cancer Initiative, said money from the Saturday events will be granted this year to breast cancer programs in Wyoming. Grant applications are now open, and nonprofits in Wyoming may apply at the web site, wyomingbreastcancer.org, until the end of September.

Registration for both Casper and Cheyenne events is available online through the Wyoming Breast Cancer Initiative website (wyomingbreastcancer.org) or at the Facebook page (www.facebook.com/wyomingbreastcancer.org).

There is no fee for cancer survivors. Registration is $30 per person for adults, $15 for children 5 to 18, and $5 children under 5. There will be an area with resource booths for the community, hosted by Wyoming Health Fairs, to get information about breast cancer and health in general, and there will be a booth with gear for sale.

Carpenter will tell those in Casper on Saturday that knowledge is power and that genetic testing is a way to gain that knowledge.

I give Dr. Vigneri all the credit for finding it and keeping me at stage 2, Carpenter said. A lot of women my age are dismissed. Doctors dont want to look further into it, especially when complaints of lumps and other things come post baby and while nursing.

So its about early detection, as well as advocating for yourself in the healthcare setting, she said. Im on my third oncologist in two years. If its not the care plan that you believe is best for you or your situation, dont be afraid to ask for a second opinion and go elsewhere.

Kelly is the daughter of Bill and Kristy Thompson of Casper.

Casper will always be home, and thats why I decided to do the Casper run this year, she said.
A heated exchange about alcohol and sexual assault left one councilwoman in tears at this weeks City Council work session.

As the session came to a close, Councilman Jesse Morgan said he learned at a sexual assault panel that bar patrons are getting too drunk in Casper. He suggested placing breathalyzers at local bars to urge drinkers to learn about their blood alcohol concentration levels.

Mayor Kenyne Humphrey quickly nixed the idea, explaining that the police department had already tried it but found it made bar owners and patrons uncomfortable.

Councilwoman Amanda Huckabay, who has previously identified herself as a rape survivor, called Morgans comment ignorant and said alcohol had nothing to do with sexual assault.

Morgan remained calm but did not apologize.

I never said that, he said, adding that he was glad the session was being recorded.

Thats how it came across, said Huckabay, who broke down into tears.

Councilman Dallas Laird interjected and said he admired Huckabay for speaking out about sexual assault but that he did not believe any of the Council members were being ignorant.

Huckabay remained visibly upset for the remainder of the session and quickly left the room when the meeting ended.

She recently told the Star-Tribune that the public reaction to the arrest of Tony Cercy, a prominent Casper businessman charged with rape, was difficult for sexual assault survivors.

When a story like this breaks in the news, [rape victims are] taken back to our own situations and experiences, she said. We feel every bit of this as if it were happening again.

The City Council has grappled with the issue of sexual assault since last fall. Last fall, a group of women  including Huckabay, who was then a private citizen  began attending Council meetings to criticize how local police were handling their investigations.

Those concerns triggered a debate over the role Council should play in overseeing the police department. It also led to a pair of community sexual assault panels that took place earlier this year.
CHEYENNE  A 25-year-old woman has been charged with first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse in the death of her 1-year-old son.

Sabrina A. Sawicki, of Cheyenne, was arrested Monday and made her initial appearance Tuesday in Laramie County Circuit Court. A preliminary hearing is set for Aug. 17 before Judge Thomas Lee.

Court documents say the child was taken to the Cheyenne hospital on April 24 and then transferred to a Denver hospital where he died on April 27.

An autopsy determined that the child suffered from head trauma consistent with "shaken baby syndrome."

Sawicki told authorities she had accidentally bumped the boy's head on a door frame.

Sawicki's attorney, Casandra Craven, couldn't immediately be reached for comment.
SALT LAKE CITY  Salt Lake City residents are raising concerns after learning how much it costs for Mayor Jackie Biskupski to have a security detail.

The city pays $163,000 annually to protect Biskupski.

Resident Bonnie Peters Gabrielson read a letter to the Salt Lake City Council at its Tuesday meeting concerning the mayor's security.

Gabrielson said in the letter that "the cost for providing two bodyguards to protect one person seems unreasonably high."

Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown recommended the security in wake of the massacre last year at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida.

The City Council did not comment on Gabrielson's letter during the meeting, but Councilman Derek Kitchen later expressed some doubts about the necessity of Biskupski's security detail.
Ron Grant and his wife, Carol, were both wearing helmets Tuesday afternoon as he parked their red Harley-Davidson at a rest stop in Spearfish, South Dakota.

The Ohio residents, who were visiting the state to attend the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, said they think its important to take safety precautions.

We dont want to die, Carol said. Its just the smart thing to do.

State troopers would likely be proud of the conscientious couple.

About 30 officers with the South Dakota Highway Patrol and the Wyoming Highway Patrol gathered at the rest stop earlier that afternoon for an informal meeting about the annual Safe 2 Sturgis campaign.

The campaign is a joint effort between the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the highway patrols of Wyoming, South Dakota, Colorado, Nevada and Utah, said Sgt. Kyle McKay, the public information officer for the Wyoming Highway Patrol.

Our goal is to promote motorcycle safety awareness, he explained. We see a lot of people traveling [on motorcycles] on the highway without the safety equipment we recommend.

Motorcyclists should wear helmets, dress in reflective gear at night and opt for leather clothing to help prevent skin abrasions during a crash, according to McKay.

Like all drivers, they should also keep a safe distance from other vehicles, follow the speed limit and avoid driving when they are impaired, he added.

The public information officer said officials try to spread this message using billboards, social media and press releases.

Col. Kebin Haller with the Wyoming Highway Patrol said there have been no Sturgis-related motorcycle fatalities in Wyoming so far this year but said the state typically sees the highest number of deadly motorcycle crashes in August.

The rally in recent years has drawn more than 700,000 participants from around the country and the world, and many of these people travel through Wyoming during some part of their trip, he explained.

We want this to be a positive experience, he said.

Although there are dangers involved with riding a motorcycle, it can also be an amazing experience, Ron said.

Its a free feeling, he explained. I cant imagine life without a motorcycle.

Carol agreed.

Its so much nicer than a car, she said. You just feel like youre part of everything.
Like the road to Hell, liberal ideas are usually paved with good intentions. But, as Ronald Reagan once said, The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they are ignorant, but that they know so much that isnt so. And all that vast unknowledge births monster government agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency.

Todays EPA is an agency gone wild, filled with environmental extremists and deep state holdovers who have little accountability for their actions. They arrogantly create rules like the Clean Power Plan, which the Institute for Energy Research [IER] said was filled with about as much junk as the EPA and its contractors pumped into Colorados Animas River in 2015.

EPAs new administrator, Scott Pruitt, visited the Animas River site this month saying the agency should be held to the same standard as those we regulate. Pruitt said the Obama administration failed those who counted on them to protect the environment. They also refused to pay claims to many of those they harmed due to sovereign immunity.

President Trumps promise to drain the swamp is happening organically with employees resigning over Trumps withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, as well as his March 28 executive order mandating review of the Clean Power Plan, which effectually triggers the skyrocketing electricity prices Obama promised.

The EPA claimed the plan would save thousands of lives, probably as effectively as Obamas stimulus plan saved jobs. It was also supposed to improve the climate and our health, that is, barring more EPA-caused environmental disasters like the Animas River spill.

Environmentalists have gone bonkers over Trump mandating a review of this costly and burdensome plan, but were mysteriously silent when the Animas spill caused $400 million in economic damage when it sent 3 million gallons of tainted wastewater into rivers in Colorado, New Mexico and Utah.

We are expected to ignore that the Clean Power Plan will, at best, reduce global temperatures by a negligible one hundredth of a degree, Celsius, according to the Obama administrations former Assistant Secretary of Energy, Charles McConnell.

The plan offers little mercy to millions of Americans burning wood to stay warm, imposing a ban on the sale and production of 80 percent of Americas wood-burning stoves. Forbes.com says, Most wood stoves that warm cabins and homes from coast-to-coast cant meet that standard. Older stoves that dont, cannot be traded in for updated types, but instead must be rendered inoperable, destroyed, or recycled as scrap metal.

Or, maybe the EPA could just throw scrapped stoves down the Animas River.

In the aftermath of the toxic spill, and with infinitesimal accountability for its actions, this agency marches forward in an unrelenting mission to control our lives, one unlegislated regulation at a time.

A Wyoming man had to sue the EPA to get it off his back for building a stock pond on his property. He was threatened with $37,500 per day fines because material from his pond flows into other waterways. It mattered not that the other waterways is a manmade irrigation ditch where the water is used for agriculture. Nor did it matter that the Wyoming State Engineers Office permitted the pond.

Certainly, the material from his pristine pond, fit for fish and waterfowl to flourish and cattle to drink, did not turn waterways a toxic Animas River orange.

We know by watching all those lousy pharmaceutical ads the cure is often worse than the disease. And so it goes with the EPA. Back in the 1970s, it banned mosquito-killing DDT after an overreaction to an unsubstantiated book. Scientists today credit tens of millions of needless malaria related deaths to the ban.

Seemingly, for every benefit derived from EPA meddling, theres a list of damaging side effects as long as the Animas River. If Trump wants to prove he really cares about the environment, he could start with this heavy-handed bureaucracy swamp in dire need of draining.
Q: I was in my local Social Security office recently. While I was sitting in the waiting room, I noticed a pamphlet on a table that was titled, What Prisoners Need to Know about Social Security.

If we are handing out Social Security checks to deadbeats sitting in prison who already get free room and board supplied by taxpayers, no wonder the system is going broke!

A: Im not really sure why that specialized Social Security Administration publication was lying around in an office waiting room. Still, had you bothered to pick it up and skim it, you would have learned that Social Security benefits are NOT payable to people who are in jail or prison after being convicted of a crime.

Before I explain the rules in more detail, Im going to give a short history lesson. Also, I must stress that for much of this column, I will be referring to money paid by the Social Security program, usually either retirement or disability benefits. Near the end of this column, I will briefly mention the rules for the Supplemental Security Income program. Now for that history lesson.

For the first half-century or more of the program, people who were getting Social Security benefits who ended up in prison still got their checks while they were incarcerated. Im sure the thinking was this: These people worked and paid taxes and earned their Social Security benefit, so they should get that earned benefit no matter where they lived  even if that was behind bars.

I remember early in my career with the Social Security Administration, I worked for a while in a Social Security office in a Midwestern town that was also home to the state prison. Part of my job had me paying a once-a-week visit to that facility to handle any Social Security business for the inmates. That sometimes included routine matters like helping an inmate replace a lost or stolen Social Security card, or helping an older inmate with a minor Social Security issue. But most of my time during those prison visits involved taking claims for Social Security disability benefits from young men who had heard through the prison grapevine that the government was handing out free money (in the form of Social Security disability checks) to inmates. That got me frustrated. I knew all the paperwork I was filling out was for naught, as all of those claims were going to be denied.

But the kind of thinking that allowed incarcerated people to take their Social Security checks to jail, or apply for Social Security disability benefits while in jail, changed in the 1980s and 1990s as the country, and Congress, got more conservative. I recall newspaper stories and other media reports highlighting prisoners who were supposedly living the good life with their Social Security checks, having far more disposable income than your average convict. Voters started clamoring for change, and Congress couldnt act quickly enough to stop paying Social Security benefits to people behind bars.

Since then, the rules have said that Social Security benefits cannot be paid for months that a person is confined to a jail, prison or certain other public institutions for committing a crime. Or to be more precise, benefits are suspended if someone is convicted of a criminal offense and sent to jail or prison for more than 30 continuous days. Notice that conviction is the key. Lots of people end up in jails while they are awaiting trial or pleas. But until there is a conviction with prison time involved, benefits will continue.

Its also important to note that while the convicts benefits are suspended, if he or she has a spouse or child getting monthly Social Security dependent checks on his or her record, those benefits will continue.

Of course, most people dont spend the rest of their lives in prison. When they are released, Social Security benefits will be reinstated the month following the month they get out.

Speaking of getting out, Ive heard there is an underground information network in many prisons that would have younger convicts believe that as soon as they are released, they can go to their nearest Social Security office and sign up for disability benefits. Not true. Of course, anyone has the right to apply for Social Security disability benefits. But no one will get those benefits unless he or she meets all of the stringent qualifying criteria. For example, they must have worked and paid Social Security taxes in five out of the last 10 years. And they must have a disability so severe it is expected to keep them from being able to work for at least a year.

So far, Ive just been talking about Social Security benefits. But SSA runs another program for the federal government called Supplemental Security Income. SSI pays a small monthly welfare stipend (usually around $700) to low-income elderly people and to people under age 65 with disabilities who are down on their luck. (And every time I mention SSI in this column, I am quick to point out that SSI payments come out of general tax revenues, NOT out of the Social Security trust funds.)

SSI payment rates have always depended on a persons living arrangements. And if you are living in a place where the government foots the bill for your expenses (like in a jail or prison), then you dont qualify for SSI while you are there. In other words, Congress didnt have to change the law to ban SSI checks from going to prisoners. The law has always made sure that didnt happen.
Tucson has Raytheon and the aerospace and high-tech corridor around the airport, and the UA Tech Park with IBM, Raytheon and other high-tech firms to the southeast.

Oro Valley has Ventana Medical Systems/Roche Tissue Diagnostics, Icagen and Securaplane at its Innovation Park.

Now the tiny town of Sahuarita is looking to build its first tech park, the Sahuarita Advanced Manufacturing and Technology Center (SAMTEC) with the help of a $3 million federal grant.

And it has two potential first tenants, both involved in the fast-growing drone industry.

Sahuarita won the grant through the U.S. Commerce Departments Economic Development Administration.

The grant, along with about $1.2 million in matching funds from the town and a $165,000 grant from Freeport McMoRan, will be used to construct a 32,000-square-foot, single-story commercial building on a roughly four-acre lot south of West Sahuarita Road and east of South La Canada Drive.

The Arizona Commerce Authority provided a Rural Economic Development Grant for a required sewer extension at the project site in 2015.

The town plans to put architectural and design work out to bid in the next month or so and break ground in the first quarter of 2018, with a goal of occupying the center by sometime in mid-2019, said Victor Gonzalez, Sahuaritas economic-development manager.

SAMTEC is small compared with other tech parks in the region, but Gonzalez said it is an important step as the town with a reputation as a bedroom community seeks to diversify its economy under its long-term strategic growth plan.

Its going to be a first for Sahuarita, he said. It certainly doesnt compare to the (UA) Tech Park, but its our way to start to establish a presence that we can retain. And in the long term, this facility becomes an anchor for other types of facilities in this area.

In a small town dominated by housing  Sahuarita has about 28,000 residents on 32 square miles  two growing high-tech companies stood out, Gonzalez said.

Hydronalix Inc.  a maker of robotic watercraft for rescue and research founded by University of Arizona alumnus and serial entrepreneur Tony Mulligan  was looking for space to grow as it ramps up production.

Next door, Control Vision Inc. also is growing its business making optical sensors and control systems for heavy-duty industrial, scientific and military applications.

We knew that we needed to find a solution to retain those companies in the community, Gonzalez said.

In late 2015, Sahuarita got the bad news that Freeport McMoRan, a major local employer, was cutting about 500 workers at its nearby Sierrita Mine, citing low copper prices.

Freeport ended up delaying making further planned cuts, but the job losses allowed the SAMTEC project to qualify for a federal Economic Adjustment Assistance grant to help distressed communities.

The stars aligned, in a sense, Gonzalez said, noting that Freeport has provided other grants to help further the towns economic plan.

The town expects that SAMTEC will attract other companies as suppliers, estimating the project will create 75 new jobs, retain 31 jobs and generate $500,000 in private investment.

Hydronalix has sold hundreds of its EMILY robotic watercraft to first responders for ocean and inland water rescue and similar watercraft to the Navy and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for research.

But the company is running out of space as demand for its watercraft increases, said Mulligan, who founded Hydronalix shortly after selling his unmanned aircraft company, Advanced Ceramics Research, to defense giant BAE Systems in 2009.

The SAMTEC park is very important to us because it gives us a place we can expand our production, Mulligan said. One of the big problems in the Sahuarita area is theres no industrial space.

Mulligan said the company plans to keep its current space in an office park off West Duval Mine Road and add 20,000 square feet at SAMTEC for production and consolidate its supply.

This lets us do that, otherwise, wed have to look seriously at moving to Tucson or another location, Mulligan said, adding that the company has 24 employees and is hiring nine more.

Daniel Crawford, owner of Control Vision, said hes in the same boat.

The former Raytheon engineer and Marine said he has 13 employees who design and make imaging systems that help guide controls for industrial processes like precision casting and welding. He said he plans to hire six or seven more people in the near future.

Were growing really fast and the little office space we have in Sahuarita, weve outgrown, said Crawford, recalling how Mulligan helped him launch his then garage-based business in 2011 by giving him some extra space at the time.

Crawford says he lives near Sahuarita and is happy the town is giving him space to grow.

I like the small-town feel, he said.

Hydronalix and Control Vision are expected to take up all but about 5,000 square feet of the SAMTEC building, Gonzalez said.
The launch of two national delivery services in Tucson this week is making it easier for people to get their groceries and favorite restaurant foods delivered straight to their doorsteps.

Instacart, a nationwide grocery and retail delivery service, and UberEATS, a meal-ordering and delivery platform, announced their expansions into Tucson earlier this month.

Instacart began serving the Tucson, Catalina Foothills, Oro Valley, South Tucson, Drexel Heights, Flowing Wells, Littletown and Casas Adobes areas on Tuesday, covering approximately 330,000 households.

Through Instacart.com or the app, members can buy groceries from local stores including Bashas, Whole Foods Market, Petco, Costco, Natural Grocers, CVS and Frys.

David Holyoak, Instacart operations manager, said Instacart aims to give customers their time back.

You can have it delivered right when you get home from work, he said.

Professionals are so busy in todays world, everything moves so fast. People are working early in the morning to late at night; the last thing they want to do is go grocery shopping at the end of their day.

Deliveries over $35 cost $5.99 each time, but the price can vary if the total is under $35. For customers who want more-frequent deliveries, the company offers an annual membership called Instacart Express, which costs $149 and includes unlimited deliveries for free for any order over $35.

At minimum, deliveries can be completed within an hour, but orders can also be placed up to seven days in advance.

UberEATS operates in over 100 cities globally and launched here on Wednesday. The UberEATS app allows Tucsonans to order food from more than 80 local eateries, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

UberEATS general manager and University of Arizona alum Clay Carroll says the company is always looking to partner with more restaurants and more delivery partners to grow the business here in Tucson.

Some local favorites already partnering with UberEATS include Baggins Gourmet Sandwiches, Fired Pie, Sentinel Peak Brewing Co. and Bings Boba Tea.

Tucson felt like a natural next step for UberEATS, especially after launching the delivery service in Phoenix last year, according to Carroll.

With the press of a button, UberEATS brings people food when they want it, with reliability and trust, said Carroll.

The delivery service includes an upfront booking fee, which starts at $4.99, plus the cost of the menu items from the restaurant. The booking fee varies depending on the distance the Uber driver must travel to complete the order.

Restaurant owners can go to ubereats.com/restaurants to partner with the company.

Instacart was founded in San Francisco in 2012 and has since expanded to more than 90 U.S. cities. Instacart will be available in about 80 percent of the U.S. by the end of next year, according to Holyoak.

Both Instacart and UberEATS are hiring in the Tucson area. Applications can be found at careers.instacart.com and tucne.ws/ubereatsjobs, their websites. Applicants must have their own vehicles to work for either company.

We pay (employees) per delivery and then per item picked, and a 100 percent of tips goes to them, said Instacarts Holyoak. In Tucson, we have a $10 an hour guarantee.

UberEATS drivers are compensated for both picking up and dropping off meals, as well as mileage. Drivers can keep any tips they receive.

Other delivery services have expanded to Tucson in the last year, including the Philadelphia-based company, GoPuff, which began serving Tucson last November, delivering local convenience-store goods to app users.
We've collected a few front pages from newspapers.com to give you a look at some Aug. 10 papers in history. With a subscription to newspapers.com you can search the Arizona Daily Star and many other newspapers using keywords or dates, and download articles or pages.
"We are disappointed that this incident happened on our first day of school, but want to assure you that we take all threats seriously and we will always take the proper precautions to ensure our school is safe and secure," Lansa said in the message.
Ward 3 candidate Felicia Chew broke into song again on Thursday night, singing an original song she penned for a forum organized by Local First Arizona, Pima County Food Alliance, Progressive Democrats of Arizona, Community Water Coalition, and Changemaker High School. Video from Changemaker High School's Facebook page.
PHOENIX  Advocates of universal school vouchers are already moving to disqualify some petitions turned in less than 24 hours earlier to force a public vote on the issue.

In a letter Wednesday to state election officials, Tim LaSota, attorney for the voucher supporters, claims some petition circulators did not list a proper address where they could be served with legal papers if necessary. Separately, he says some signature sheets came in without the required, attached text of the measure that would be referred to the ballot.

In both cases, LaSota contends those petitions are disqualified. Any such finding by election officials would chip away at what could be a narrow margin of signatures needed by voucher foes to put the issue to voters.

A day earlier, a committee called Save Our Schools, which is opposed to universal vouchers, submitted petitions with more than 111,000 names calling for a public vote on legislation that would allow any Arizona child to get a voucher of state dollars to attend private or parochial schools.

The committee needs 75,321 of the signatures to be found valid to put the issue on the November 2018 ballot.

But it is not unusual for up to 30 percent of signatures to be found invalid. If LaSota is successful at having entire petition sheets tossed, it decreases the chances that the referendum drive will be successful.

Voucher foes are already fighting back against the disqualification attempts.

Their attorney, Roopali Desai, in her own letter to Elections Director Eric Spencer, said LaSota is legally off base with his first claim. She said the three circulators whose petitions were questioned were clearly registered to vote, which is the only issue for the secretary of state to address.

As to the argument about petitions detached from the referendum language, Desai said that is based on claims made by voucher supporters who were allowed to watch state employees process the petitions after they were submitted.

She said it is up to those observers to identify specific sheets, something LaSotas complaint does not do. Desai said it would be inappropriate for election officials to disqualify petition sheets based on Mr. LaSotas speculation about whether the title and text was attached to a particular sheet at the time someone signed it.

Each sheet contains an affidavit stating under oath that it was, Desai told Spencer. And if Mr. LaSota and his client have a good faith basis to challenge that affidavit, their remedy is in court.

Desai contends Spencer made a highly suspicious and apparently unprecedented decision to allow outsiders in the room with state employees during petition processing.

She acknowledged that policy also permits people from her own committee to keep an eye on things. But she expressed concern that the new policy, rolled out without notice and without formal rules, had the effect of letting voucher supporters intimidate state workers by standing over their shoulders and making comments.

Desai said it appeared state staffers were alerting pro-voucher observers to potentially problematic petitions for them to photograph.

Matt Roberts, spokesman for Secretary of State Michele Reagan, acknowledged that some comments were made by observers to staffers early on. But he said they came from both sides and were halted within minutes.

Many of the observers were from the American Federation for Children, a pro-voucher group. Group spokeswoman Kim Martinez called their activities all part of the process.

Were in our rights to be here, Martinez said. We are not intimidating anybody. We have been nothing but friendly and just making sure that the process goes correctly.

Spencer defended the change in procedures. He said he made it because of the level of interest in the issue, as well as the fact that the number of signatures submitted would likely make the outcome of the count very close.

He denied it was done because the foes of the referendum  the people who want an expanded voucher program  are Republicans like he and his boss, Reagan.

Desai disagreed, pointing out that LaSota and fellow attorney Kory Langhofer, another supporter of vouchers, already had observers at the ready just hours after she was told of the new procedure. That shows the other side knew well in advance, she argued.

Hanging in the balance is the future of SB 1431.

Until now, the vouchers  technically called Empowerment Scholarship Accounts  were available only to students in special categories, such as those with disabilities, in foster families, living on reservations or attending schools rated D or F. About 3,500 students now get the vouchers.

SB 1431 removes all such requirements, though it caps the total number of vouchers available at 30,000 by 2023  or until lawmakers vote to remove the cap.
The editorial neglected NAFTAs most deplorable provision, which gives corporations vast powers that make it easier to offshore jobs and attack the environmental and heath laws on which we all rely. NAFTA creates multinational tribunals of three corporate lawyers which can order U.S. taxpayers to pay the corporations unlimited sums of money, including for the loss of expected future profits. The multinational corporations only need to convince the lawyers that a law protecting public health or the environment violates their special NAFTA rights. These decisions are not subject to appeal.
China wants an excuse to help bring North Korea's nuclear weapons progress to an end  it may be more vulnerable than the U.S. The excuse can be, in 30 days, a ten percent U.S. tariff on all Chinese goods entering the U.S., increasing 10 percent more each month, until China stops all trade with North Korea. Without Chinese economic help, North Korea's economy will rapidly collapse. To reopen Chinese trade with North Korea, North Korea must give up its nuclear program in a verifiable manner. In exchange for that, China will guarantee North Korea's security. This would of course be a major temporary disruption of U.S./China trade, but then one of the reasons Hitler's rise wasn't stopped was because there was a fear of disrupting trade.
Help India!

Patna, (IANS): A Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader in Bihar was shot dead here on Thursday by unidentified assailants, police said.

Kedar Rai was out on his morning walk in Danapur near here when the attack took place, the police said.

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It appears to be the work of a sharpshooter, a police officer added.

A seriously injured Rai was rushed to a hospital but declared brought dead.

Rai was considered close to RJD chief Lalu Prasad.
Help India!

By Siddhant Mohan, TwoCircles.net

The recent step of the Uttar Pradesh Shia Central Waqf Board approaching the Supreme Court to include Shia Waqf Board as one of the parties while hearing the dispute over Babri Masjid-Ram Janmbhoomi, since Babri Masjid still remains a Shia Waqf property, has once again brought the acrimony between Shia-Sunni sect to the fore.

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Shia Waqf Board through its Chairman,Syed Waseem Rizvi in its affidavit has even presented its own view of solving the dispute -Masjid can be located in a Muslim dominated area at a reasonable distance from the most revered place of birth of Maryada Purushottam Sri Ram.

Rizvi has also submitted that a committee be appointed including Honble Judge from SC, two retired judges of Allahabad High Court, CM of UP or his nominee, PMO nominee and Shia Central Waqf Board as respondent and representatives of Nirmohi Akhara and Hindu Sect, who shall make suggestions and proposals for amicable settlement.

Rizvi has also submitted in his affidavit Sunni Central Waqf Board, U.P. is under the dominant control of Sunni hardliners, the fanatics and non believers in peaceful co-exsistence, who have absolutely no stake in the present case. Rizvi also mentions that he is receiving threats of elimination from the hardliners.

At this Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board has raised strong objection. Its Chairman, Zufar Ahmad Faruqi has condemned the submission by Rizvi terming it as malicious, baseless and derogatory allegations.

For the record, the Sunni Central Waqf Board comprises two sitting MPs, one sitting MLA, two former chairmen and present members of State Bar Council, a mutawalli from Gorakhpur, an Islamic scholar, a social worker, an IAS officer and Chairman of the board himself. Rizvi should specifically name the hardliner and fanatic from the above mentioned members of the Board. He is in the habit of making such wild allegations as few days ago he has made a serious allegation against a very prominent and senior cleric of his own community and a FIR was registered against Rizvi, Faruqi said.

Over the affidavit submitted to apex court, he said: Rizvi is member of the Shia Central Waqf Board for past 13 years and Chairman for past 10 years except for two brief spells, but he never made any attempt to enter into the Ayodhya dispute. His intervention at this juncture is only to gain cheap popularity and to enhance the security cover given to him by the government and to dilute the enquiries pending against him.

Faruqi however claimed that board is ready for any negotiation but only between the original parties contesting the case with active participation of central government.

Surprisingly, Shia clerics have remained silent on Rizvis affidavit with none of them coming forward in support or against it. Only, Maulana Kalbe Jawwad who is Imam-e-Juma at historical Asafi Mosque in Lucknow is reported to be against Rizvi. Majlis Ulema-e-Hind, a body of clerics which has backing of Jawwad has opposed Rizvis move openly by issuing a press statement terming the affidavit as anti-shariah.

Besides him, Maulana Kalbe Sadiq who is also Vice President of All India Muslim Personal Law Board has remained silent. Maulana Yasoob Abbas, spokesperson of All India Shia Personal Law Board who is often spotted with Home Minister Rajnath Singh on several occasions, He denied to comment on the issue but clarified that as an individual or as a body, he shall stand with All India Muslim Personal Law Board.

Among others, Navaid Hamid, president of All India Majlis-e-Mushawarat has accused the Shia Waqf Board of being idle for the past 70 years. He said, Where was the Shia Waqf Board when the matter landed into dispute? Seeing how Shia Waqf Board is interfering, it is becoming clear that anyone can file an affidavit in coming days in Supreme Court.

Former CEO of UP Sunni Central Waqf Board, Dr Akmal Hussain claims. Shia Waqf Board is doing planned interference just to create confusion. We all know that the Mosque has always been a matter of the Sunni Waqf Board.

Hussain pointed towards a bigger challenge which may arise after intervention from Shia Waqf Board. He said, After so many years, Babri Masjid case had reached the Supreme Court and the case was seeing some development. But Shia Waqf Board couldnt see it going well. It is highly possible that case may get complex after their affidavit.

For this, Rizvi has also submitted a pedigree of Mir Baqi who was a Shia and has constructed the Babri Masjid.

The position of the AIMPLB also becomes interesting in the wake of Shia Waqf Board interfering into the Mosque affairs. Fakhruddin Ashraf, one of the vice-presidents at AIMPLB clearly said that AIMPLB agrees with participation and submission from Sunni Central Waqf Board. However, he was quick to add, Shia Central Waqf Board makes their own decisions. We dont want to comment on their working or interference. Everyone has the right to express themselves and this is no different.

Rizvis affidavit has however received support from RSS backed outfit Muslim Rashtriya Manch,MRM convener Mohammad Afzal said, We are with everyone who respect our ancestors. We are not offsprings of Babar or Akbar. We are Indian. In that case, we welcome the awakening of Shia Waqf Board in the case. I do admit that the awakening is quite late.

Among the general Muslims, the following facebook post of former journalist of The Indian Express, Irena Akbar sums up the situation :

Was Babri Masjid Sunni or Shia ?

The fact that I have to ask this question only shows that the Muslims have already lost the battle.
Help India!

By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter

Waking from the slumber, workers of Indian National Congress protested against BJP government in Varanasi on Wednesday.

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Accusing the BJP for not delivering on its promise of transforming Varanasi as Kyoto, Congress workers clashed with police. Nearly 100 Congress workers were arrested who were later released on personal bond. UP Congress Committee has launched Jail Bharo campaign against BJP.

Congress too chose the August 9, the same as that of Samajwadi Party, to agitate against the BJP government. August 9 is celebrated as August Kranti day throughout the country in remembrance of Quit India movement.

Hundreds of party volunteers and supporters, along with ex-MP Rajesh Mishra, ex-MLA Ajay Rai, and Congress Legislature Party leader Ajay Kumar Lallu had a fight with district police on district collectorate.

Following the tussle, about 100 protestors were arrested by the police.

Modi ji stated that he shall make Kashi, a city like Kyoto. But sewer is overflowing and roads are still not repaired. Ajay Rai said.

PM Modi has launched Integrated Power Development Scheme (IDPS) in 2015 to make round the clock availability of electricity IDPS is pursuing underground cabling of electric wires, but several animals have died due to the pace of work, Rai said pointing the incidents in the city where various cattle died because of electric shocks.

Taking the example of Vikas Baralas case from Haryana, Congress leaders also targeted Modi for not delivering the Beti Bachao promise.
It was August 12, 1967, in the Spanish Canary Islands, when a handful of veteran Scientologists joined what was and is still called, the Religious Order of the Scientology religion. Having started as a research project to go deeper and deeper on the findings L. Ron Hubbard did on the spiritual nature and origin of mankind, it was called the Sea Organisation.

Today it is formed by over 5000 members that administer and protect the purity of a religion serving growing millions of people in the world and that counts over 11,000 churches, missions and related social betterment groups in as many countries as the United Nations.

Gautama Buddha (ca. 563483 BCE) created the bhikkhus and bhikkhunis (monks and nuns), and followers of Jesus Christ converted into some sort of monks and nuns who started to live together trying to imitate both Jesus and disciples. This form of monastic religious orders was called cenobitic (from the Greek koinos 'common' + bios 'life') and you can find more information explained by Prof. Frank Flinn on the report entitled The Sea Organisation and its Role Within the Church Of Scientology.

To enjoy a better life

Members of the Sea Organisation dedicate their life to serve as a Franciscan would do, or a Dominic or a Jesuit, or even as Buddhist monks and nuns. We dedicate our lives to the aims of Scientology so that the rest of mankind, being Scientologists or not, can enjoy a better life.

They (we) live in community, sharing our actions towards the aims of Scientology as described by Mr Hubbard: "A civilisation without insanity, without criminals and without war, where the able can prosper and honest beings can have rights, and where Man is free to rise to greater heights, are the aims of Scientology".

Without calling for publicity these few thousands of Sea Organisation religious order members are responsible, following the directives laid down by L.

Ron Hubbard, and under the thoughtful and respectful guidance or our ecclesiastical leader Mr David Miscavige, are responsible for the relentless expansion of social programs such as those effectively addressing the problems of drugs, criminality, illiteracy, decrease of values, disrespect for human rights, and the always increasing lack of hope for millions and millions of people.

Advanced spiritual levels

Scientologists around the globe are thankful and proud of those Sea Organisations members who selflessly dedicate their time and efforts to improve the life of others through the different programs and through the careful administration of the most advanced spiritual levels that can be achieved through Scientology.

From my position as Director General of the European Office of the Church of Scientology for Public Affairs & Human Rights, I want to thank all these beings for all what they have done. I thank them for all what they are doing, and all what they will be doing to make this troubled world, a better place; for helping create a world in which children will not be drugged anymore by soulless companies and groups with vested interest, where children can learn and get educated not only by memory but through understanding in a way that will allow them to achieve their dreams; for a world in which elderly are properly taken care of with respect and dignity; and where their knowledge and successful experiences can be put to use by those children who will govern our world tomorrow, providing we are fast enough to let them the world which can still be properly governed and that creates well being for all of us independently of our beliefs and ideologies.

"You need to rest," some people tell us. "You need to look more for yourself," others say. It is true, as according to The Way To Happiness written by Mr Hubbard, one needs to "take care of self". However, I consider that by taking care of this fragile world (but full of life that has to be unearthed), we are greatly taking care of ourselves, without forgetting all our neighbours, as life is an all binding activity in which our actions affect everybody else's.

There is hope for life, there is hope for mankind, there is hope for you, providing we each do our task. I keep counting on you all.
The Bank of England is clearly not a Brexit supporter. Prior to June 23rd last year, the Bank's Governor, Mark Carney, warned that leaving the EU would hinder the economy. Former chancellor George Osborne said it would cause a second recession and lead to him imposing voters with a punishment budget. Luckily, none of that materialised.

In fact, the positive economic news is better than many experts anticipated. The UK has not experienced a recession. Growth has remained steady, despite the lack of enthusiasm for Brexit from Mr. Carney since the EU Referendum took place.

The services sector has helped drive this growth. Firms like Next, HSBC and even the Royal Bank of Scotland are experiencing positive sales figures. Last year, Snapchat announced plans to expand its British workforce and more recently, Amazon declared it would be enlarging its British operations.

Even though the pound sunk to its lowest level since 1985 the day after the vote, many commentators predicted that Britain would experience another Black Wednesday. The then chancellor Norman Lamont pulled the UK out of the European Rate Mechanism, which was viewed as a precursor to the euro. Instead, exporters benefitted from trading with countries they were not able to before and there was a surge in British tourism.

Sam Woods has now made Brexit worse

But the Bank's Deputy Governor, Sam Woods, has now made Brexit worse. In his letter to the Treasury Select Committee's chairman, Conservative MP Nicky Morgan, he has said the Bank is attempting to aid companies with restructuring their contracts in the possible event of a 'hard' Brexit. What is so frustrating about his pessimism is that they are concealing from businesses that the UK will thrive under World Trade Organization (WTO) rules.

Mr. Osborne suggested trading under WTO rules would be a catastrophe for the economy. The minimum firms would have to pay to trade under these rules would be a 3 per cent tariff. The United States and China trade with the EU via the WTO, yet their economies are propsering because they have the freedom to forge trade deals with other countries.

By talking down the economy, the Bank is eroding people's confidence.

A ploy to keep Britain in the EU

A transitional deal is nothing more than a ploy to keep Britain in the EU via the backdoor. There is no guarantee the Government could fully govern its own borders whilst remaining a member of the European Economic Area. It would mean the UK would have to accept certain EU laws and the jurisdiction of the European Free Trade Association Court.

The Bank of England wants Brexit to purposefully fail so that they can inform all the 'stupid' people who voted for it that they were right all this time.
A chief economist has said the economy will boom once Britain leaves the European Union, despite the Bank of England's concerns about policing the City post-Brexit.

Richard Jeffrey said there will be a surge in investment after Brexit by businesses seeking to expand their UK activities without recruiting EU workers. According to Mr. Jeffrey, this will reinvigorate the British economy.

Despite this, the Deputy Governor of the Bank of England, Sam Woods, has said the Bank's regulatory wing, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), faced a threat to its main objective, which is to ensure there is financial stability as Britain prepares to leave the EU.

A very positive change

But Mr. Jeffrey, who works for a London-based wealth management services provider called Cazenove Capital, said Brexit would be a very positive change for the UK. He told Bloomsberg that investment would have a substantial effect on the economy as it would lead to an increase in productivity.

He acknowledged Brexit will inevitably make it harder for Britain to access the European labour pool. Refuting claims that leaving the EU will make it particularly difficult to recruit new workers, he said that does not mean the UK will have no access to it. The chief economist said this could be a positive change for the economy as organisations seek to employ more British workers.

Recent data has suggested economic growth may be stronger than many economists predicted, which has been driven by the services sector. Next is witnessing its sales figures growing again and small and medium-sized manufacturers are experiencing considerable growth.

Despite GDP figures expanding by 0.3 per cent in the second quarter, the Bank of England downgraded its growth forecasts for 2017 and 2018.

Other experts have highlighted a move towards expanding growth, as buoyant results from British firms like BP, HSBC, the Royal Bank of Scotland, BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce enlarged the FTSE 100 index.

The Bank of England fears it may face an extra burden

However, the Bank of England fears it may face an extra burden if it had to regulate more businesses as they prepare for Brexit.

Writing to Conservative MP Nicky Morgan, the new head of the Treasury Select Committee, Mr. Woods said handling Britain's EU exit is his number one priority.

He also pledged his support for Chancellor Philip Hammond's plans for a transitional deal after the UK leaves the trading bloc on March 2019. The Deputy Governor said he fears the cost to businesses in Britain and the EU could rise if there is no implementation deal.

Mr. Woods said there is a high probability of a disruption to trade and the chance of higher debt charges if Brexit impacts upon banks' activities.

Ms Morgan wrote to the Deputy Governor last month to request details of London's readiness for a 'hard' Brexit. In his reply, he said he was examining the plans of 401 City businesses to ensure they each had contingency plans.

Some of them have already clarified how they intend to cope in the event of a 'no deal' scenario. For example, RBS has said it is expanding into Amsterdam, Barclays and the Bank of America are relocating staff to Dublin and Morgan Stanley has selected Frankfurt.

Brexit will be a complex task

Writing to Mrs Morgan, Mr. Woods said Brexit will be a complex task because companies will become increasingly difficult to regulate as they restructure their contracts to cope with the UK's EU exit. The Bank may have to regulate more firms if there is no agreement on passporting, whereby insurance companies and banks residing in the trading bloc, Iceland, Lichtenstein and Norway are able to operate in Britain without the Bank's permission.

The PRA receives money from the businesses it monitors and has requested an extra 5.4 million to fund its annual requirement, which is estimated to be 267 million for this financial year. It has suggested that Brexit may result in its costs increasing sharply due to the risks associated with exiting the trading bloc.
The price of Bitcoin is worth more. Its current price is $3,315. Its market capitalization has risen to $54 billion. Those who held coins, as well as its miners, stand to benefit from the price rise while those planning to buy the currency will have to pay more when purchasing it.

Bitcoin's historical price rise

The cost of Bitcoin has skyrocketed since its introduction. On July 2010, its price was $0.008. Its price rose to $31 in July 2011. Its value first skyrocketed in the month of December 2013 and reached $1,127 before receding to $204 in early January 2015.

According to coinmarketcap.com, a website that tracks the market activity of crypto currencies, Tuesday's value of Bitcoin is the highest it has ever achieved since its introduction in early 2009.

Bitcoin cash

Some members of the Bitcoin community introduced Bitcoin cash on August 1 this month. Bitcoin cash had an introductory value of $394 when it was introduced. It was created so that it can offer a cheaper alternative option to those who want to gain access to cheaper Bitcoins. According to bitcoincash.org, the new cryptocurrency was also introduced so that users can benefit from faster transactions, lower fees and a less congested blockchain network. The introduction of Bitcoin cash has been timely considering that the value of Bitcoin is on the rise.

The value of Bitcoin cash is however receding. Its value when it was introduced was $394; this value has gone up to highs of $724 a day after it was introduced. It has however plummeted to the current $328, thus benefiting potential Bitcoin cash buyers.

The future of cryptocurrencies

The future of cryptocurrencies is still uncertain.

The currencies are still not widely regulated in many countries. A CNBC article stated that Saxo Bank analyst Kay Van-Petersen had predicted that the value of Bitcoin would reach $100,000 in the next ten years. In December last year, Kay Van-Petersen had predicted that the value of Bitcoin would rise to $2,000 by the end of this year; the price of Bitcoin hit the $2,000 mark on May 20 this year.

A Goldman Sachs analyst who is the head of the companies technical strategy predicted that the price of Bitcoin would reach $4,000 soon.

Despite the rise in the cost of crypto currencies, central banks such as the central bank of Estonia has called the crypto currency market a pyramid scheme. Warren Buffett warned investors against participating in this market while some say that the cryptocurrency market is a boom that is about to burst.
It's no secret that Donald Trump hasn't seen eye to eye with certain members of his own Republican Party. As his attempt to repeal and replace the affordable care act continues to stall, the president has decided to hit back at the Senator Majority Leader in his most recent rant on social media.

Trump on Twitter

Not long after Donald Trump kicked off his campaign for president just over two years ago, he followed in familiar footsteps of other Republican candidates. Bashing the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, became an unwritten requirement for any conservative running for office, and Trump played the role as well as anyone.

Despite promising to repeal and replace Obamacare upon his inauguration, the former host of "The Apprentice" has been unable to live up to his word. Earlier this year, Trump and House Republicans, led by Speaker Paul Ryan, struggled to even get a vote on the floor due to backlash within their own party. However, cooler heads prevailed and the bill passed the House and moved onto the Senate where it currently sits in limbo. Mitch McConnell has since spoken out against Trump who has been vocal in getting the bill to his desk, saying the president has "excessive expectations" about the time frame it takes to get the job done. In response, Trump found himself speaking out during a August 9 tweet.

Senator Mitch McConnell said I had "excessive expectations," but I don't think so. After 7 years of hearing Repeal & Replace, why not done?  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 9, 2017

In yet another tweet on Wednesday afternoon, Donald Trump turned his attention from his recent threats of potential nuclear action against North Korea to an in-house issue dealing with the future of Obamacare and the Republican Party.

"Senator Mitch McConnell said I had 'excessive expectations,' but I don't think so," Trump tweeted out. "After 7 years of hearing Repeal & Replace, why not done?" he rhetorically asked, highlighting the Republican failure to repeal the Affordable Care Act since it became law in January 2010. While Obamacare hangs in the balance, the American people can only sit and wonder what will happen in regards to health care in the future.

The brewing war between Trump loyalists and Mitch McConnell has spilled out into the open https://t.co/Hk3y60bQa9 pic.twitter.com/vOxAjjsU3C  Business Insider (@businessinsider) August 9, 2017

Moving forward

As Donald Trump and other high-ranking members of the Republican Party continue to bicker over how they are handling the potential repeal of the Affordable Care Act, the American people don't seem too pleased with how the commander in chief is handling himself in the White House. In the most recent round of polls that were released earlier this week, Trump's approval rating has dropped down to just 35 percent, a near record low for a president in office for just six months.
Indian Air Force (IAF) will soon deploy two squadrons of Apache Attack Helicopters at Pathankot and Jorhat in the east. The infrastructure for housing and operating the helicopters is already completed and the planes which will be coming from the United States of America will be housed at these two bases. This is the first time that American helicopter gunship has been given to India by the USA, as earlier India was only operating Russian helicopters the MI- 25 and 35 for more than three decades but these machines are becoming obsolete and Indian government because of close military ties with the USA, has opted for the Apache attack helicopter.

Times News Channel reported this news.

Induction of the gunships

Jorhat, where one of the squadrons will be located is an American base which was built during World War II, to help operate the US air force bombers as they went on missions against the Japanese in China. Pathankot airfield is right on the border with Pakistan and the helicopters will be used to counter Jihadists entering from Pakistan into India in the Kashmir Valley. These gunships have cost over 22 billion dollars and the deal has been in the pipeline for the last three years.

Edge over China

China and Pakistan are both wary of the induction of the attack helicopters by the Indian Air Force. They have realized that India and the United States are into a strategic relationship and after almost 5 decades the IAF will be severing its Russian connection and opting for American aircraft.

The induction of these gunships in the region will give an edge to the Indian Army in operations against China And Pakistan. The IAF has also purchased the Chinook helicopter which will be positioned in the Punjab.

Closer cooperation with the USA

The Americans have already supplied the C 130, heavy lift transport aircraft's which are based in Hindon, close New Delhi.

These deals are a sign of the close military cooperation between India and America. In addition, the manufacturers of the F- 16 supersonic jet fighter have proposed, the shifting of the entire assembly line of the aircraft to India. For the last 5 decades, India operated only Russian aircraft., as the left leaning Defence Minister Krishna Menon was pro-Russia and Indian prime minister at that time Indira Gandhi also, inked a 20-year defense pact with Russia in 1970.

Geopolitical scenario

The Geopolitical scenario has changed and the USA is searching for a counter to China as none of the Southeast Asian countries, except India can match China. India and the USA have already signed the military logistic agreement and recently Americans carried out the biggest ever Navy exercise along with Japan and India in the Bay of Bengal. The Modi government has reversed the age old Indian policy of aligning with Russia, especially after Moscow boosted its ties with China.
Hiroshima 72 years ago, 8.10 AM - Enola Gay, a US B-29 bomber carrying the worlds first atom bomb specifically designed to kill people dropped "Little Boy." Five minutes later approximately 70,000 people were dead and nearly the same amount of people died in the following days, weeks and even years.

Japan is the only country in the world to suffer a direct Nuclear Weapon attack and seventy-two years down the line they are under a very real threat once again - this time from North Korea.

Hiroshima Day and Japan has not signed the UN Nuclear Weapons Treaty

As Japan gathers to pray for their dead, as school children visit the Atomic Bomb Dome to mark the day, Greenpeace are wondering why Japan has not joined the 122 countries who voted in favor of the UN Nuclear Weapons Treaty adopted on July 7.

Yuko Yoneda, the Executive Director at Greenpeace Japan describes Japan's absence from that treaty as "peculiar." In an article on the Greenpeace News Blog, she wrote, "as the only country in the world hit by a nuclear attack, Japans commitment to the Treaty would not only be a long-fought win for the countrys tainted history, but also an important step towards a future world that is ultimately safe and nuclear free."

As the years have gone by, each year the world's nuclear powers have managed one way or another to not annihilate each other.

The Cold War years were ascribed an uneasy peace because major nations had nuclear weapons and the threat of tit for tat destruction was reasoned to be the ultimate reason why the world exists as we know it today.

Greenpeace, North Korea, and nuclear weapons

Nuclear countries include the US, Russia, China, France, UK, India, Pakistan, Israel, and more recently, North Korea.

The rest of the world, including Japan, have to rely on those nations to provide the invisible protection against the threat of nuclear war. While each of those countries pose a nuclear threat, they also are in reality, a deterrent to it, with possibly the exception of North Korea.

There is a rather obvious reason why Japan has not yet signed that treaty, and that is because they do fall under the American nuclear umbrella.

By signing the treaty they would immediately become in breach of the treaty because of the clause, prohibiting the "threat to use." With North Korea currently threatening to send nuclear bombs to the U.S. Mainland, Europe, Australia and Japan, this puts Japan in a very difficult situation.

Given the current status of North Korea and Kim Jong-un's determination to increase his belligerent nuclear program, the reality is that every day that goes by, Japan is edging closer to the nightmare of 72 years ago, and anything they sign is unlikely to make much of an impression on the North Korean leader.

Greenpeace is not likely to ever get North Korea to give up their nuclear weapons and Kim is not going to lend his signature to any non-nuclear treaties.

It really can be likened to asking the Japanese lamb to lie down with the Korean lion to make it easier to gobble her up.

It is a noble and commendable thing that Greenpeace is trying to do, and it would be wonderful if a nuclear weapon was never used again, but the real world is a harsh and hard place. Hiroshima is a testament to that.
On July 22, 2017, after years of design, building, and testing the USS Gerald R. Ford, the US Navys latest supercarrier finally entered service. Aircraft carriers have formed the backbone of the U.S. Navy for decades, and the Ford is the most advanced vessel of this type to date. Yet despite the fanfare and patriotism surrounding the ship, its commissioning comes at an uncertain time. Naval combat has changed significantly since the first US aircraft carriers appeared, and recent advances by the likes of China and Russia have caused some to fear that carriers are becoming obsolete.

While it is important not to overreact, as this isnt the first-time carriers have encountered new threats, the future does look dangerous for Americas carriers, and Washington must be prepared.

An evolving threat environment

When a crisis erupts anywhere in the world, one of the first questions U.S. leadership asks is, where are the carriers? The deployment of a carrier is a major show of force, a sign that the U.S. is prepared to act if needed. Though the presence of U.S. carriers is never welcome by adversaries, and weapons to counter them have always existed in some form, carrier strike groups have become very proficient at countering the traditional threats, like bombers, submarines, and surface vessels.

However, in recent years adversaries have acquired several new capabilities to counter a U.S. naval presence. One particular concern is the advances in missile technology and anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) capabilities, the former of which is commonly a significant part of the latter.

Among the most well-known examples are the Chinese DF-21D and DF-26 ballistic missiles, which have made headlines for their ability to threaten carriers beyond the effective range of their air wings, and for how difficult it is for ships to counter ballistic missile threats.

But these missiles are only the beginning of what seems to be a growing trend. Russia has several variants of supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles, with hypersonic models like the Zircon poised to make their initial debut very soon. But missiles arent the only worry, a carriers power comes from its airwing and advances in air-defense systems such as the Russian S-400 and Chinese HQ-9 provide the capability to severely limit where US aircraft, even those with stealth technology, can fly.

Whether obsolescence is inevitable remains to be seen, but other implications exist

In all fairness, talk of the carriers obsolescence has been overblown. No weapon system is foolproof, and with the U.S. Navys sophisticated air and missile defense systems, only dense concentrations of these weapons would be true no-go zones for U.S. carriers. U.S. commanders have expressed confidence in the Navy's ability to counter new threats, and the USS Ford was designed with recent developments in mind. But the impact of these new capabilities is nonetheless significant, as they threaten the range and lethality advantages carriers have long enjoyed.

The ability of a carriers air wing to fly further than the range of guns or missiles and carry more firepower than even the largest surface ships is what brought about the carriers dominance.

The negation of these advantages stemming from A2/AD seems poised to take that dominance away. Furthermore, the inexpensive nature of these weapons calls into question the cost effectiveness of aircraft carriers, which have been criticized even before weapons like carrier-killer existed for their enormous price tags.

If carriers do end up obsolete, it will be gradual, not sudden. But the main takeaway from the current situation is not about how much longer the carrier has, but rather that warfare is headed in a new direction which will reshape the role of aircraft carriers; A2/AD capabilities do not mean the end of carriers in warfare, but rather the end of carrier centric warfare.

Warfare is changing, and so must the carriers role

This isnt exclusive to carriers and is, in fact, part of a much larger shift in how war is fought. The book "Unrestricted Warfare," written by Chinese Colonels Qiao Liang and Wang Xiangsui explains that warfare is undergoing a transition from "Fighting the Fight that Fits One's Weapons" to "Making the Weapons to Fit the Fight." Military engagements are becoming less weapon centric, eras of military history no longer defined by a single type of weapon or piece of technology.

Rather, roles are being filled by a vast array of systems that exploit multiple dimensions of combat and merge various capabilities to accomplish a single mission. Similarly, Americas flat tops will have to take on an increasingly specialized role, becoming part of a more dynamic, flexible, and multi-pronged approach instead of forming the core around which other Naval assets are arranged.

This is partly because, when all is said and done, carriers do retain some advantages. They are really good at maintaining control of an area once it has been established. A carrier can control thousands of square miles of ocean at a time, effectively serving as an A2/AD platform of its own, in the enemys own backyard. It can also support ground forces, surface combatants, or other friendly aircraft. What changes in warfare have cost carriers is their ability to serve as the tip of the spear in military operations.

As such, the way that carriers fight and the tactics used by other vessels must evolve. In a conflict with an advanced adversary, submarines and surface combatants would likely be the day one naval asset, with the former stealthily moving in to launch cruise missiles at enemy missile and air defense batteries, and the latter using long range missiles to assist them in this role as well as engage enemy surface vessels and aircraft.

In this phase of the conflict, carriers would take a passive support oriented role, using their planes to provide air cover for the fleet and to target enemy vessels moving to intercept it, while staying just outside the main theater of combat. Once threats to the carrier are eliminated, submarines and surface assets would hand the lead role over to the carrier, which would use its air wing to protect the fleet from counterattack and to provide air cover for further military operations.

A new Navy for a new era of warfare, force structure, and procurement

This approach does present some challenges of course. With U.S. cruise and anti-ship missile technology lagging behind Russias and Chinas, and no dedicated heavy surface combatants since the retirement of the Iowa Class Battleship (the Zumwalt class is the closest to this, but only two ships have been constructed), fighting in this way would prove difficult.

However, rearranging force structure and reallocating resources would allow the U.S. to fix this. U.S. submarines are state of the art, so if development and construction of these remains at the current pace it is highly unlikely they would be a bottleneck, though the U.S. does need to focus more on improving anti-submarine capabilities. The main concerns lie with surface warfare capabilities, missile capabilities, and how carrier development and construction is approached.

Ever since the dominance of the carrier began, surface combatants have only had ship-to-ship combat and shore bombardment as secondary roles. This is part of the reason the Iowa class battleships were decommissioned and then recommissioned so many times.

But that philosophy wont cut it in an environment where surface combatants will need to take on leading roles in both combat and power projection. The U.S. needs to consider reviving the concept of a heavy surface combatant and modernizing it for the 21st century. Something akin to a Kirov class battlecruiser, or a modernized incarnation of the Iowa class battleship; a nuclear-powered capital ship armed with long range missiles and railguns, would be useful.

Of course, questions are bound to be asked about the practicality and survivability of this platform and whether they would be effective in combat. But such a class of vessels would offer several advantages. Their larger size and power generation would allow them to carry more and a larger variety of weapons.

They would also have more deck space for sophisticated air and missile defense systems, useful for encountering the increasingly sophisticated missile threats U.S. naval assets face.

Additionally, their larger size, and likely inclusion of armor, would also allow them to be more survivable in a multi threat environment by contributing to a layered defense approach, where air and missile defense systems protect them from most threats while armor allowed them to shrug off hits from small short-range weapons, or to take a hit and keep fighting if air and missile defenses were overwhelmed. These ships would be expensive, but building them in large numbers would not be necessary as they would work alongside carriers and smaller surface combatants.

But for this to be practical, advances in missile technology would need to be made. America should invest in hypersonic cruise missiles, ship-ship ballistic missiles, and deploying an anti-shipping variant of the Tomahawk cruise missile. These weapons would also have the side benefit of enhancing the lethality of current vessels. While anti-ship ballistic missiles, railguns, and heavy armor would be limited to large capital ships, hypersonic cruise missiles and ultra-long range anti-ship Tomahawks would enable clusters of smaller ships to be used in a similar capacity, either augmenting the capabilities of capital ships in major conflict, or reducing the need for them to smaller ones. The lethality of clusters of small ships launching long range missiles was demonstrated when the Russian Caspian Sea fleet bombarded ISIS targets in Syria.

Design philosophy and resource allocation for carriers in a modern navy

Paying for this would require a re-evaluation of fiscal priorities, downsizing and specialization of the carrier fleet are necessary. The U.S. has more supercarriers than it will need to fight even two or three wars simultaneously. Selling some to allies, many of whom lack carrier capability would raise revenue, reduce maintenance costs, and demonstrate U.S. commitment to the security of allies. The U.S. should maintain three or four supercarriers for big and fast conflicts, and between six and 10 fleet carrier sized vessels to either respond to smaller conflicts or augment the capabilities of larger carriers. These vessels could even be America or Wasp class amphibious assault ships modified to include a catapult, as they are of comparable size to World War II and early Cold War Aircraft carriers.

The U.S. also needs to develop longer range missiles for aircraft, and focus on extending the combat radius of carrier based aircraft. This would not only improve their ability to provide support and maintain control, but would also serve as a temporary fix while the navy initiates the year's long process to get these other programs fully developed, tested, and implemented.

Too much is at stake for inaction

Americas reliance on Naval power to protect global interests necessitates adaptation to current shifts in warfare. A blue water navy is indispensable for global dominance and power, as well as to enforce international law, protect the right of all nations to peacefully navigate the worlds oceans and to counter rising naval powers who do not share that vision. Naval combat has evolved, the way the next major war will be fought is going to be far different from anything seen previously.

But this does not have to be the end of Americas rule of the high seas. In fact, it can be a new beginning. If doctrine and technology make the necessary adjustments, the U.S. can adapt to these changes and use them to its advantage. Is the decline of the carrier a risk or an opportunity? That is in our hands.
President Donald Trump has indicated that the United States was contemplating military options against North Korea and went to the extent of saying that he could unleash fire and fury against it in case he felt that it could endanger America. North Korea reacted promptly and threatened to strike a specific location  the island of Guam in western Pacific which has a USAF base.

Fox News reports that North Korea plans to fire a mid-range ballistic missile at the U.S. island territory of Guam on September 9, and the target would be the Anderson Air Force base where nuclear bombers are stationed.

Obviously, battle lines are drawn and tension is increasing in Japan and South Korea because both are allies of America and may have to bear the brunt of any nuclear attack since they are located in the immediate vicinity.

Options for Japan and South Korea

According to New York Times, the Japanese government is aware of the threat from North Korea because it had conducted several tests of its missiles and some had ended up in the sea waters close to Japan. It has to defend itself in case of a nuclear attack and one of the options it could consider is to launch pre-emptive strikes. The purpose would be to destroy North Korean missiles on the ground before they are fired and, thus, nullify the threats.

Incidentally, Japan has already committed to procuring advanced fighter planes and is probably looking at an upgraded land-based missile defense system to shoot down incoming missiles from North Korea. However, the countrys post-WWII policy does not support any war but a pre-emptive strike would be an act of self-defense.

As to South Korea, its new president Moon Jae-in had initially talked of neutralizing relations with the North but there was no positive response from the other side.

Therefore, he has reversed his decision to suspend the deployment of THAAD, the advanced American missile defense system. It now appears that he will side with the United States to ward off threats from North Korea.

Where does North Korea stand?

North Korea had, at one time, threatened to strike Alaska or Hawaii and now plans to target Guam.

However, there are still doubts over whether it has acquired the necessary expertise to build an ICBM that can carry out a nuclear attack on a pre-designated target. Of course, its latest ICBM test of July 28 was a matter of concern because it showed that its ICBM could reach the United States.

Sky News, quoting reliable media sources, said that North Korea has successfully made a miniaturized nuclear warhead that can be installed in one of its ICBMs. An analyst who specializes in North Korean affairs believes that Pyongyang has made sufficient progress in its agenda of producing a nuclear weapon that can reach the US mainland. Hence, its claims cannot be taken lightly.
Two technicians adjust a robot at a high-tech enterprise in Chongqing. CHEN SHICHUANG / FOR CHINA DAILY

Official rules out coercion but says troubled firms will be persuaded to consider the alternative option

China will stick to market-based principles while promoting debt-to-equity swaps to tackle debt problems of companies, an official of the nation's top economic regulator said on Wednesday.

"The government will encourage debt-to-equity programs but won't force companies and creditors to make swap deals," said the official with the National Development and Reform Commission, who sought anonymity.

Debt-to-equity swaps will be key to lowering corporate debt levels, and are expected to gather pace in the future with improved regulation, the official said.

China unveiled guidelines for such swaps late last year to help companies reduce their mounting debt.

From December to July, more than 70 enterprises in certain sectors riddled with overcapacity signed agreements to launch the swaps, according to the commission.

That would allow banks holding debt in those enterprises to convert it into equity.

Total contract value of such swaps has already exceeded 1 trillion yuan ($149.4 billion), according to the NDRC.

More than 50 percent of the enterprises that opted for swaps are coal producers, followed by steel, transportation and metal companies, according to a report by China Orient Asset Company released in July.

"Debt-to-equity programs work well for companies that are facing short-term obstacles but are expected to see profits in the future," said Xu Gao, chief economist with China Everbright Securities. "The key is to ensure the programs can be implemented using legal means and with high transparency."

Li Peijia, a senior analyst with the research institute of Bank of China, said such efforts will help banks solve the bad debts problem, but the government may need to offer more incentives to promote swaps deals.

The government is able to provide more policy supports such as helping banks to improve risk management and gather information to select proper candidates for swaps offered by many debtladen companies, Li said.

As more good examples emerge, more banks and investors are expected to participate, she said.

With enhanced efforts to rein in debt risks, corporate debt levels have declined this year, according to the NDRC.

By the end of June, the debt-to-asset ratio of China's major industrial enterprises stood at 55.9 percent, down by 0.8 percentage points compared to the same period last year, the latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed.
A man feeds a giraffe at a zoo in Kenya. [Photo/VCG]

Africa is one of hottest destinations for Chinese tourists this summer.

With a video of an African man saying the temperature in China was too high and that he wanted to go back to his hometown to "bishu" (means run away from heat wave) going viral, the topic of "go to Africa to bishu" is buzzing.

Some Chinese said they were considering going to Africa to run away from the scorching sun.

During this year's summer holiday, the number of people who pre-booked travel to Africa nearly doubled from a year earlier, according to online travel agency lvmama.com.

Chinese tourists aged between 25 and 40 and earning well are the main visitors to the continent.

Mauritius, Kenya, Morocco, South Africa and Tunisia are the most popular African countries among Chinese tourists.

This summer, many Chinese cities' temperature hit or exceeded 35 degrees Celsius.

However, because some African countries are in the Southern Hemisphere, and eastern and southern African countries are at an altitude of over 1,000 meters, the temperature there is lower than in China in summer.

Thanks to the Belt and Road Initiative, the air routes between China and African countries are increasing, and some African nations have eased the visa policy to attract more Chinese tourists.

In 2008, the number of Chinese tourists visiting Africa only accounted for 3 percent of total outbound tourists, but last year, the figure rose to 10 percent with 11.3 million Chinese traveling to Africa, news website Cankaoxiaoxi.com said citing data from World Tourism Organization.

The website citing African media said the spending power of Chinese tourists is 40 percent higher than that of European visitors.
Armed Police and militia carry an injured person on Wednesday after Tuesday night's earthquake in Sichuan province's Jiuzhaigou county. Armed Police and the PLA Ground Force also were mobilized. WANG QIN / CHENGDU ECONOMIC DAILY VIA REUTERS

Xi urges all-out efforts to minimize the number of dead and injured

The death toll from a magnitude-7.0 earthquake that struck Jiuzhaigou county in Sichuan province on Tuesday night rose to 19 and the tally of the injured rose to 263, including seven seriously and three in critical condition, by Wednesday evening. All-out rescue efforts were continuing.

About 60,000 tourists and migrant workers had been evacuated from the epicenter of the quake by 5 pm Wednesday. "The evacuation has been swift and efficient," said Liu Zuoming, director of the disaster relief headquarters.

The quake struck Jiuzhaigou county in the Aba Tibetan and Qiang autonomous prefecture at 9:19 pm on Tuesday at a depth of 20 kilometers. More than 1,000 aftershocks  the strongest magnitude-4.6  had struck by late Wednesday, according to the China Earthquake Administration.

On Tuesday night, President Xi Jinping called for all-out efforts to rapidly organize relief work and rescue the injured. Xi said authorities should check the impact of the earthquake, evacuate and settle visitors and local people, and reduce death and injuries as much as possible.

Since the earthquake took place during the peak tourist season as well as flood season, authorities should enhance meteorological early warnings and geological monitoring to guard against other disasters and try their best to protect people's lives and property, Xi added.

Tourists gather their belongings at a hotel parking lot as they prepare to leave the mountainous earthquake zone on Wednesday.PHOTO BY FAN PEIKUN / XINHUA AND FENG ZHENG / CHINA NEWS SERVICE

Premier Li Keqiang also urged local authorities to go all out in relief and monitoring work.

At least eight of the dead were tourists at Jiuzhaigou, which has a national park known for its spectacular waterfalls and karst formations, according to the disaster relief headquarters. Two of the dead were locals and the status of nine was not yet known.

A French man, Maxence Vallon, 18, a Canadian woman and another unidentified foreigner were among the injured, according to the provincial government.

The provincial health and family planning commission put together a team to transfer the seriously injured and provided basic medical treatment and psychological assistance in places where tourists and residents have taken shelter.

Most of the injured were being treated at the county hospital, while some of the seriously wounded were transferred to hospitals in the cities of Mianyang and the provincial capital of Chengdu, according to the commission.

"Minor or moderate injuries make up the majority," said Zeng Jun, a doctor with the Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital who helped in the rescue.

Vallon had injuries to both legs, while the Canadian woman, who declined to be named, suffered a slight head injury. Both are being treated at Jiuzhaigou county's public hospital.

Doctors said stone fragments were embedded in Vallon's right leg and he needed immediate surgery to prevent infection.

"We were on open ground when a rock fell and hit my brother on the leg," said Romain Vallon, a student in Beijing. The brothers were staying with their mother in a hotel in Jiuzhaigou when the quake struck.

Forces unleashed by the earthquake opened a large crack in the expressway from Songpan county to Jiuzhaigou county. PHOTO BY FAN PEIKUN / XINHUA AND FENG ZHENG / CHINA NEWS SERVICE

The Canadian woman is expected to be discharged in two or three days, doctors said. "We have received excellent care. The rescue workers and doctors have been very helpful," she said.

About 500 medical workers from all across the province have been providing emergency treatment.

No buildings collapsed in the quake, but some 1,680 houses were damaged, according to the provincial government.

Rescue forces including Armed Police and the PLA Ground Force were busy clearing roads and distributing relief materials, such as tents.

Also on Wednesday morning, a magnitude-6.6 earthquake struck the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, injuring 32 in Jinghe county, Bortala Mongolian autonomous prefecture. The China Earthquake Administration said the two quakes are not related and they do not mean China has entered a period of active seismic activities.

The number of earthquakes on the Chinese mainland is still within normal range, officials said.

Xinhua contributed to this story.
China has become the first country to send quantum keyshighly complex encryptionsfrom a satellite to a base on Earth, and to teleport light particles the other way.

The accomplishments are two major breakthroughs in the effort to create an unhackable global communications network.

The two experiments mark the completion of the the second and third of the three main goals of Micius, the world's first quantum communications satellite, which China launched last year.

The first goal, to send entangled light particles further than ever before, was achieved in June. Entanglement is a phenomenon in which two or more particles can affect each other simultaneously regardless of distance. Entangled particles cannot be described independently of each other.

Bai Chunli, president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said China is now the world leader in quantum communication technologies and is working with scientists from Austria, Germany and Italy. He said Micius will continue to perform experiments until its expected service life expires next year.

"The trio of quantum experiments will be central to any global space-based quantum internet," Karl Ziemelis, chief physical science editor at Nature magazine, said in a video interview. The magazine published two articles about China's breakthroughs on Thursday.

"They are testaments to China's investment and significant effort in physical sciences  and pushed research in practical quantum communication technology to such astronomical heights."

All private data, from bank accounts to social media pictures, are protected by "keys", which are extremely complex mathematical codes transmitted between users and companies. However, these codes can be exploited if a hacker "eavesdrops" on these keys during transmission.

Quantum keys use quantum physics rather than math to encrypt data, making them impossible to hack by conventional computers. They also have the ability to alert authorities when someone tries to eavesdrop, said Pan Jianwei, an academician with the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the chief physicist behind Micius.

"This will have major applications in government, military, finance, energy and other fields where security is paramount," he added.

However, distributing quantum keys is difficult because sending them over long distances via fiber optics or during daytime results in massive signal loss or disturbance.

In the latest quantum key experiment, Micius beamed photonsindividual particles of lightand created an optical link with the observatory station in Xinglong, Hebei province. When the link was at 1,200 kilometers, scientists discovered that quantum key distribution efficiency between the two improved 100 quintillion times (1 followed by 20 zeros) compared with fiber optics of the same length.

Micius produced and transmitted about 300,000 bits of quantum keys during the experiment. One practical use for these keys is to create advanced encryptions that are impossible for computers to hack with "brute force", a method in which a computer guesses all possible combinations of a pass code.

"Combine all the computing power of the world, which is around two to the power of 80 to 100, it will still take years for it to guess the correct combination," Pan said.

The second experiment is about one of the biggest mysteries of quantum mechanics known as quantum teleportation, Ziemelis said. In the experiment, Chinese scientists "spookily" transferred a photon on Earth to Micius in space, without needing the object itself to move.

"Its effect is like the Star Trek teleporter," said Pan. It works by deconstructing a photon on Earth, then sending its extracted quantum information to Micius's receivers via entangled link. Then an entangled photon in space downloads the information and takes on the complete identity of the original.

This experiment would have great theoretical research value in quantum science, as well as building a large-scale quantum internet and computation networks. But scientists are still centuries away from building a teleporter capable of transferring something as biologically complex as humans, Pan said.

China also plans to build the world's first global quantum communication network by 2030. It will consist of three high-orbit and dozens of lower-orbit quantum satellites connecting dozens of ground-based stations and networks.

"But the final number of satellites depends on its usage and market needs," said Pan, adding that there are other major hurdles to overcome, such as distributing quantum keys across continents during daytime. The latter feat was first achieved by China in July when Micius beamed one over 53 kilometers during the day.

The United States and Japan also have plans for quantum communication. Japan launched a microsatellite named SOCRATES in 2014, and it conducted its own quantum channel test in July.

However, Micius is a much larger, versatile satellite capable of different experiments, and has had more success. "China will lead the quantum space race for the next five years," said Pan. "But the world is also catching up fast."
More than 300 lawyers from 100 law firms have received training that will enable them to deal with cross-border lawsuits, according to the All China Lawyers Association.

The legal professionals will handle transnational litigation cases involving overseas investments, multinational mergers and acquisitions, IPR protection, safeguarding oceanic and space interests, and antitrust and anti-dumping cases.

In recent years, many Chinese businesses have expanded overseas and engaged in multinational mergers and acquisitions, leading to a rise in the number of cross-border legal disputes.

The training of lawyers has "lagged far behind the practical needs required for social and economic development", said Jiang Junlu, deputy director of the association's international commission.

To help plug the gap, the association has invested 4 million yuan ($642,000) annually since 2014 to provide the necessary legal training.

Local lawyers' associations have also established databases to evaluate their members' educational backgrounds, proficiency in English and professional training.

"Every year, we will identify promising lawyers recommended by local lawyers' associations, who will receive special, practical training in Chinese universities. Then, we will recommend the most promising lawyers to institutions or large firms overseas for further training and communications," Wang said.

In August 2015, Xie Xianghui, a senior lawyer with the Grandall Law Firm in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, participated in a 15-day special training program in Beijing about cross-border lawsuits.

After passing an exam, Xie was selected to travel to the United States to study at law schools and gain practical experience of working in US legal practices.

"The visit helped me gain a lot of practical experience," Xie said. "It will be invaluable when I have to deal with litigation involving US companies. I also learned how to manage legal risks and improve the quality of service."

Wang Zhengzhi, senior partner at the Beijing Globe-Law Law Firm, said: "The priority is to cultivate a team of lawyers specializing in cross-border lawsuits. We must pay attention to training talented personnel and encourage them to be active in international forums to communicate and share their experiences with our competitors, and improve their practical abilities."

According to the lawyers' association, China has nearly 300,000 lawyers working in more than 20,000 law firms, but only about 30,000 of them deal with transnational litigation.
The All China Lawyers Association has established a database containing the details of 86 lawyers from 72 Chinese law firms and 121 lawyers from countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative.

"The database will cultivate and reserve top lawyers who are familiar with the laws and regulations within Belt and Road countries to gain experience," said Wang Junfeng, the association's chairman.

"The plan will stimulate the development of an international legal services network among participating countries and provide high-level, international legal support to facilitate construction of the initiative."

According to the association, the lawyers all work at top-tier law firms and have experience in tackling cross-border commercial disputes.

The 207 lawyers also participated in the compilation of the Legal Environment Report of Belt and Road Countries, a guide to laws on overseas investment, published in June.

"The database has laid a solid foundation for legal cooperation between domestic and foreign lawyers," said Jiang Junlu, deputy director of the association's international commission.

He added that it will aid communication between lawyers in China and overseas, and explore ways of working with international law firms to further promote cooperation with participating countries.

In addition, lawyers from all sides will review their experiences and draw lessons from Chinese businesses' failures in overseas investment and infrastructure construction.

The information will be added to the database to provide valuable advice for governments faced with strategic decisions.

Moreover, it will improve the recommendation system for top legal talent specializing in international cases, and actively recommend experienced lawyers with specialist panels, dispute resolution bodies and international arbitration institutions to Chinese businesses investing in participating countries.

"As the initiative develops, the database will be updated accordingly in terms of country and professional specialists, and a committee will be established to include more qualified law firms and lawyers," Wang said.
Legal professionals from China and countries participating in the initiative are establishing a mechanism to counter a growing problem that could become an obstacle to development, as Zhang Yan reports.

In recent years, China's rapid economic development and growing international role have seen a large number of Chinese enterprises expanding overseas or planning to invest in countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative.

However, the Ministry of Justice said the process of "going global" has seen a sharp rise in the number of cross-border legal disputes and cases of arbitration involving Chinese businesses.

Meanwhile, many Chinese investments in countries that have embraced the initiative have failed as a result of differences in legal procedures and national cultures.

Faced with the growing number of cross-border lawsuits, Chinese lawyers and their counterparts in 65 countries participating in the initiative have compiled guides of foreign laws, with the aim of providing legal support for businesses and reducing the risks they face when investing overseas, according to Wang Junfeng, chairman of the All China Lawyers Association.

"Legal services are important for safeguarding Belt and Road projects, and a proper legal system is crucial for forging ahead with projects such as transnational investment and building strategic maritime channels," he said.

Professional support

In 2013, President Xi Jinping proposed the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, known together as the Belt and Road Initiative.

As an active exploration of a new model of international cooperation and global governance, the initiative embodies development, cooperation and mutual benefit.

According to Xiong Xuanguo, vice-minister of justice, since 2013, the trade volume between China and participating countries has increased greatly, but legal services have "lagged far behind the practical needs required for social and economic development".

Statistics from the Ministry of Commerce show that last year, the total import and export volume between China and the 65 participating countries reached 6.3 billion yuan ($940 million), while Chinese investment in those countries was $14.5 billion.

Chinese businesses also established 56 economic and trade cooperation zones in more than 20 participating countries, with a total investment value of more than $18.5 billion. That generated $1.1 billion in tax revenues and created about 180,000 new jobs in participating countries.

He Yong, secretary-general of the lawyer's association, said cooperation between Chinese lawyers and their foreign counterparts will "offer professional legal support, including dealing with lawsuits and offering legal advice to their clients, and boost trade and promote international economic and cultural exchanges".

According to the Ministry of Justice, a typical example occurred in March last year, although it declined to name the parties involved.

The ministry said a State-owned company which makes safety and monitoring equipment in Beijing signed an investment agreement related to research and development with a technology company in Israel.

The Israeli company claimed to have bought the rights to a mature technology and had also obtained a patent license granted by local authorities.

The Chinese side hired the Beijing Globe-Law Law Firm to conduct a survey of the Israeli company to ensure its authenticity, the application of the technology and its ownership rights in the Chinese market.

"We sought assistance from our counterparts at leading Israeli law firms who specialize in intellectual property protection and are familiar with Israeli law and legal procedures. They were able to collect information or connect with relevant local authorities to offer valuable information," said Wang Zhengzhi, a senior partner at Beijing Globe-Law.

The Israeli lawyers discovered that the company had not obtained patents issued by Israel's intellectual property protection authorities, and its technology was not as mature as claimed.

Last month, concerned that it might face risks if it invested in the technology, the Chinese company consulted lawyers. As a result, it decided to revise the agreement and invest in several stages, based on the project's technological research and development.

"Professional legal support will play an essential role in helping businesses to take the initiative in negotiations and make the correct business decisions and then maximize their commercial interests," Wang Zhengzhi said.

Practical guidance

According to Jiang Junlu, deputy director of the lawyers' association's international commission, last month, lawyers from top-tier law firms in China and participating countries compiled two books containing practical guidance on laws related to foreign investment.

Jiang said the advice included in the books covers laws related to investment, trade, labor, environmental conservation, intellectual property and dispute resolution.

The first volume, which focuses on investment laws in 43 countries, including Myanmar, the Philippines and Russia, has already been published. The second, related to the remaining 22 countries, will be published at the end of the year.

"This guidance will enable Chinese politicians, businesspeople and experts to fully understand the legal systems and environments involved in the initiative and provide legal support for Chinese businesses to ensure they have safe, smooth investments abroad," Jiang said.

Khamsay Soulinthone, chairman of the Laos Bar Association, said: "The idea of the Belt and Road Initiative put forward by China is very creative and considered revolutionary. Although lawyers in different countries face different challenges, they all work for global equality and justice. It's the right time to set up a regional lawyers' cooperation organization."

Going global

Although cooperation between China and countries participating in the initiative has made great progress, the lawyers' association still faces practical challenges in expanding legal cooperation.

Shen Lin, a senior official at the department of directing lawyers and notarization at the Ministry of Justice, said most participants are underdeveloped economies with unsound legal environments, and they are in urgent need of financial and technical support from China.

"In the past few years, failures in foreign investments involving Chinese businesses have risen, and it's essential to boost cooperation with legal professionals in participating countries to improve professional legal services to help Chinese investors," she said.

According to He, of the lawyers' association, to improve cooperation the association has established a database containing the details of 86 Chinese lawyers and 121 foreign lawyers from top-tier firms, who will "use the platform to analyze the laws and share information and experience to better serve Belt and Road projects".

His comments were echoed by legal professionals in participating countries.

Prashant Kumar, chairman of the Bar Association of India, said: "The Belt and Road Initiative is considered a historic moment and opportunity. It has built a communication bridge for lawyers from China and relevant countries to handle legal disputes and set an example to resolve problems between nations in the future.

"Although we have differences in laws, culture and environment, I believe our lawyers will join with their Chinese counterparts to unite consensus and create values together."

According to Jiang, the lawyers' association will set up representative offices in participating countries and regions to build joint operating relationships and business alliances with foreign counterparts.

In addition, the association will establish an annual forum with its foreign peers to discuss concerns and exchange views on international legal services during the promotion of projects related to the initiative, including infrastructure construction, international trade and shipping finance.

"The publication of this guidance is timely for businesspeople in all relevant countries, and it's crucial for Chinese investment in foreign countries," said Maria Slazak of the National Council of Legal Advisers in Poland.

"The Belt and Road Initiative is an opportunity for cooperation, including sharing information and the mutual exchange of needed products, which will help Chinese lawyers to go global," she said.

Contact the writer at zhangyan1@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 08/10/2017 page6)
US President Donald Trump [Xinhua]

In recent days, Vice President Mike Pence has been visiting Estonia, Georgia and Montenegro in an effort to reassure America's partners that it remains committed to collective defense against Russia.

President Donald Trump himself has softened his rhetoric on Europe, although he does not believe in the importance of European integration. Hence, some security concerns have naturally been eased in recent weeks.

However, other problems in transatlantic relations have been apparent since January and cannot be necessarily alleviated with some goodwill visits or a generally calmer tone in Washington in comparison with the pre-election period.

US economic policy vis-a-vis Russia could also have a serious impact on the relationship between Washington and Brussels. This issue is currently on the agenda after Trump signed legislation levying new sanctions on Moscow and restricting his own ability to ease them.

Specifically, sanctions will be extended to third-country companies that cooperate with Russia on large infrastructure projects, notably in the energy sector. As a result, some European companies doing relevant business with Russian counterparts will be seriously affected.

The only concession gained by the Europeans is a 30-day consultation period, but this does not seem sufficient to ease fears of a major disruption in trade patterns.

Attention has turned towards Germany, where a lively debate on the potential construction of Nord Stream II is evolving. If constructed, this pipeline will transport Russian gas to Germany under the Baltic Sea, complementing Nord Stream I, which was completed six years ago.

The project is controversial because it is not in line with EU strategy to reduce energy dependence on Moscow. While it is not clear how Berlin will act over Nord Stream II, those supporting the pipeline focus on its economic importance while ignoring any political repercussions.

In this context, German Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Brigitte Zypries, in a recent interview, criticized recent sanctions as "against international law, plain and simple" and called on the European Commission to look into countermeasures.

Her interview is similar in content to comments by Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, who has said Berlin will not tolerate sanctions against European companies involved in the Nord Stream project.

The head of the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Volker Triere, went even further and directly criticized the US for "looking to its own economic interests." In particular, Germany and some other European countries are suspicious that the US is pushing new actions against Russia in order to serve its own energy interests and promote liquefied gas exports to Europe. If this is the case, Trump is practically implementing his "America First" policy.

Nonetheless, although the US president is perhaps attempting to help American energy companies increase their profits, the new sanctions might cause a serious economic misunderstanding with Europe.

It is too early to describe it as a trade war, but that could happen if misunderstandings escalate. Should Trump impose tariffs on steel imports, for example, the red line will be crossed. Then, the EU will proceed with retaliatory tariffs.

All in all, after the new American sanctions against Russia were approved with a large bipartisan majority in Congress, Germany is left in the middle of American-Russian hostility.

Last May, German Chancellor Angela Merkel met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi. Despite the prolongation of European sanctions against Russia a few weeks earlier, Merkel is certainly interested in exploring the opportunities of the so-called selective engagement approach towards Russia.

Although such a foreign policy shift will take time, Trump will possibly accelerate the process. In that regard, The Guardian, a leading British newspaper, portrays the situation as an awkward moment in which Europe  principally Germany  is "somehow siding with Putin against the US Congress."

Future developments can hardly be anticipated. Transatlantic relations have certainly entered a new period of crisis, which might increase tensions between Washington and Brussels in spite of Trump's NATO security commitment.

At the same time, the Russian reaction to sanctions  ordering the US to cut its diplomatic mission by 755 people  dashes any hopes for a rapprochement between the two countries. This is a lose-lose political development. Experience suggests that world challenges can only be dealt through enhanced international cooperation.




[Photo/Xinhua]

More than 8.6 million Chinese and foreign tourists visited Southwest China's Tibet autonomous region in the first half of 2017, up 25 percent year on year, authorities said Tuesday.

Tourism revenue during the period reached 9.3 billion yuan ($1.4 billion), according to a regional tourism development commission statement.

Tourism authorities and resorts now offer special tours in the region, inviting visitors to enjoy local festivals, hiking trails and cuisine.

Ctrip.com, China's largest online travel agency, has issued list of China's top ten summer resorts, with Tibet ranked first.

Tourism experts forecast more tourists in the following months than the first half of the year as the region will celebrate a series of events such as the Shoton (Yogurt) festival and the horse race festival.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, en route to the Pacific island of Guam, which the Democratic People's Republic of Korea has threatened to attack, appeared to have played down the situation following an exchange of fierce rhetoric by the two countries.

Traveling to Guam on Wednesday after a trip to Asia, Tillerson said, "I do not believe that there is any imminent threat, in my own view.

"Nothing that I have seen, and nothing that I know of would indicate that the situation has dramatically changed in the last 24 hours," he responded when asked if the US was moving toward a military option sooner than anticipated.

The DPRK has warned of pre-emptive strikes against Guam after two US strategic bombers were sent again on Tuesday to the Korean Peninsula to stage mock nuclear bomb droppings on DPRK strategic targets, DPRK's official Korean Central News Agency said on Wednesday.

Guam became a US territory in 1898, and the US maintains a naval and air force base there.

On Tuesday, the KCNA quoted a spokesman of the Strategic Force of the Korean People's Army as saying that DPRK leader Kim Jong-un has "recommended examination of a powerful and effective action plan for containing the US imperialists' aggression hardware, as the US forces are resorting to inappropriate and reckless military actions in the sensitive area".

This came on the same day when US President Donald Trump threatened the DPRK with "fire and fury like the world has never seen" if, he said, the DPRK does not stop making threats with nuclear and missile weapons.

Tillerson said the Americans "should have no concerns about this particular rhetoric of the last few days".

"I think what the president was just reaffirming is the United States has the capability to fully defend itself with any attack, will defend our allies, and we will do so," he said. "So the American people should sleep well at night."

However, US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis on Wednesday continued to ratchet up the rhetoric, saying, "The DPRK should cease any consideration of actions that would lead to the end of its regime and the destruction of its people."

China urged calm on Wednesday, saying such rhetoric could escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

In a statement, the Chinese Foreign Ministry called on all parties to avoid any words or actions that might escalate tensions and make a greater effort to resolve the issue via talks.

Richard C. Bush, senior fellow of foreign policy at the John L. Thornton China Center of the Brookings Institution, also downplayed the danger from the DPRK.

"But even when -not if - North Korea has the ability to strike the United States, that does not mean it will use that capability against us," Bush said in a blog posted at the Brookings website on Wednesday.

Xinhua contributed to this story.

huanxinzhao@chinadailyusa.com
Kansas City, Missouri offers visitors a choice of unique museums, gardens, breakfast spots, hotels, restaurants, and nightlife. Top things to do in Kansas City include the The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, relaxing surrounded by nature in the Kauffman Memorial Garden, and eating great BBQ. On a sunny morning, families on their weekend getaway or day trip can stroll through the farmers market which is one of the best in the Midwest, offering a great variety of local produce and gifts.

We recommend that you call the attractions and restaurants ahead of your visit to confirm current opening times.

1. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri  The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is famed for its award-winning neoclassical architecture and its impressive collection of Asian Art. The museum was designed by prominent Kansas City architects Wight and Wight in the classical Beaux-Arts architectural style and opened in 1933; the Bloch Building was added in 2007. The museums collections include European and American paintings, Asian art, Native American art, photography, Kansas City sculpture, and works by such great artists as Caravaggio, Pissarro, and De Kooning. Visitors to the museum will enjoy the museum store and the on-site restaurant, Rozelle Court. The Nelson-Atkins also hosts a number of educational programs, workshops and art classes for adults and children throughout the year. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is one of the top Kansas City points of interest. 4525 Oak Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64111, Phone: 816-751-1278 Next read: Best Day Trips from Kansas City

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2. Kauffman Memorial Garden, Kansas City, Missouri  Courtesy of YAROSHIK - Fotolia.com

The Ewing and Muriel Kauffman Memorial Garden is a beautiful, tranquil garden in the heart of Kansas City. The garden serves as an oasis for urbanites seeking a respite from the hustle and bustle of the city. Honoring the memory of Ewing and Muriel Kauffman and their commitment to sharing with others, the exquisite garden welcomes visitors throughout the year. Inspired by the couples world travels, the garden features wide open spaces and intimate enclaves akin to those in European parks. Bronze sculptures by Tom Corbin are tucked away among rainbows of annuals and perennials, and brick pathways link foliage-laden stone walls and lovely fountains. 4800 Rockhill Road, Kansas City, Missouri 64110, Phone: 816-932-1200

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3. Taste of Kansas City Food Tours, Kansas City, Missouri  Courtesy of Taratorki - Fotolia.com

Taste of Kansas City Food Tours takes guests on fantastic food and culture tours exploring the culinary side of Kansas City. The tours visit one-of-a-kind specialty food stores, famous local restaurants, and unique eateries in some of the citys most vibrant neighborhoods. Visitors get a chance to explore not only the food, but also the beautiful architecture, rich history, and diverse culture of the Paris of the Plains. Kansas City Food Tours offers two enjoyable walking tours, Crossroads and Westport. Each tour takes visitors on a sweet and savory journey to the heart of a Kansas City neighborhood. The guide will introduce the citys favorite dining spots as well as many local favorites off the beaten path. Visitors should wear comortable clothes and walking shoes and come hungry, as they will be tasting delicious Kansas City cuisine all along the route (Phone: 800-979-3370). Weekend and day trip ideas: Best Relaxing Weekend Getaways in Missouri



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4. SEA LIFE Kansas City Aquarium, Kansas City, Missouri  Courtesy of ASP Inc - Fotolia.com



SEA LIFE Kansas City Aquarium, home to more than 5,000 sea creatures in a variety of ocean habitats, is a fantastic introduction to the worlds oceans. The aquariums diverse habitats include the interactive TouchPool Experience, where visitors can touch a crab or hold a starfish, and a spectacular underwater tunnel gives a 360-degree view of life underwater. Fun and informative talks, workshops, and educational presentations are held throughout the day, and a free kids quiz trail is a fun way to test creature knowledge. Sea animals are fed multiple times during open hours, to the delight of both animals and aquarium visitors. The aquarium also hosts a variety of conservation programs such as seahorse breeding, seal rescue and re-homing lost or abandoned sea animals. If you are wondering what to do in Kansas City with kids on a rainy day, this is a great place to visit. 2475 Grand Blvd, Kansas City, Missouri 64108, Phone: 816-471-4386

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5. Things to Do in Kansas City: City Market  City Market



The City Market has consistently been one of the largest and most popular farmers markets in the Midwest since its inception in 1857. Open daily year-round, the City Market is a mix of shopping, dining, and entertainment in an open-air setting. Market-goers can find fresh, locally sourced produce and meat products, specialty groceries, herbs, flowers, and handcrafted gifts from all over the world. The market hosts a variety of events throughout the year, including Yoga in the Park, Farm-to-Table Kitchen Classes, the City Market Crawfish Festival, and the City Market Busker Festival. 20 E. 5th Street # 201, Kansas City, Missouri 64106, Phone: 816-842-1271

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6. Starlight Theater, Kansas City, Missouri  Courtesy of Sport Moments - Fotolia.com



The Starlight Theater has been a Kansas City landmark since the 1950s. Today it is one of only three self-producing outdoor theaters left in the United States. The theater has presented a wealth of spectacular Broadway shows and outstanding concerts by stars known the world over, including Tony Bennett, Carol Burnett, and Ginger Rogers. Starlights Applause Club, the theaters elegant on-site restaurant, provides gorgeous views of the Shirley Bush Helzberg fountain and garden. If you are looking for unique date night ideas in Kansas City, watch a show at the Starlight Theater. The theater company has an active community outreach program with a variety of fun and educational workshops, camps, and classes for children of all ages. 4600 Starlight Road, Kansas City, Missouri 64132, Phone: 816-363-7827

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7. Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, Kansas City, MO  Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts

The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, designed by world-renowned architect Moshe Safdie, offers all visitors an experience like no other. The Kauffman Center's aim is to provide diverse, world class, extraordinary performances of all kinds to the community. The non-profit organization has an exquisite facility that consists of two distinct venues under one roof, and it has been touted as the ultimate place for seeing and hearing performing arts due to its magnificent acoustics. It is home to the Kansas City Symphony, the Lyrics Opera of Kansas City, and the Kansas City Ballet, which showcases high quality programs on both the national and international level through resident companies and community partnerships. The facility promotes the performing arts beyond its performances through its various art programs, tours, rentals, and events. 1601 Broadway Blvd, Kansas City, Missouri 64108, Phone: 816-994-7200



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8. Worlds of Fun  Worlds of Fun

If you are looking for a fun day out for the family, you need look no further than Worlds of Fun in Kansas City. This is by far the largest family amusement park in the Midwest, offering acres of thrilling themed rides spread over 6 separate world areas, as well as a seasonal water park. There are rides and thrills for all ages and sizes, including Planet Snoopy where younger visitors can have fun. At the other end of the scale you will find many thrilling dare-devil rides like the Patriot and Mamba coasters, the Spinning Dragons and Ripcord rides. The water park is equally exciting and also offers rides and slides for all ages. A single season pass gives access to all the rides. If you are looking for a fun day out for the family, you need look no further than Worlds of Fun in Kansas City. This is by far the largest family amusement park in the Midwest, offering acres of thrilling themed rides spread over 6 separate world areas, as well as a seasonal water park. There are rides and thrills for all ages and sizes, including Planet Snoopy where younger visitors can have fun. At the other end of the scale you will find many thrilling dare-devil rides like the Patriot and Mamba coasters, the Spinning Dragons and Ripcord rides. The water park is equally exciting and also offers rides and slides for all ages. A single season pass gives access to all the rides. Worlds of Fun, 4545 Worlds of Fun Ave, Kansas City, MO 64161 816 454 4545



9. Kansas City Zoo, Kansas City, Missouri  Courtesy of eyetronic - Fotolia.com

The Kansas City Zoo lies within Swope Park and spans an impressive 202 acres. More than just a zoo, it also features an aquarium and has won many prestigious awards for its animal exhibitions that feature species from other continents such as Africa and Australia. Visitors can enjoy polar bear exhibits with resident bears Nikita and Berlin and marvel at over 1,300 different species of animals, birds, and aquatic life from all over the world. The zoo also includes a range of fun and efficient transportation options for adults and children to further explore the area such as trams, trains, boats, and a sky safari. f you are looking for great things to do in Kansas City MO on a sunny afternoon, Kansas City Zoo is a great place to visit. 6800 Zoo Dr, Kansas City, Missouri 64132, Phone: 816-595-1234

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10. Arabia Steamboat Museum, Kansas City, Missouri  Arabia Steamboat Museum

The Arabia Steamboat Museum is home to the largest collection of pre-Civil War artifacts in the world and is one of Kansas Citys most popular attractions. The museum takes visitors on a journey to the American frontier of the mid-nineteenth century and documents the 1988 salvage of the Arabia Steamboat. The museum captivates visitors with its incredible collection of items and artifacts from the recovered steamboat Arabia, which sank in the Missouri River in 1856, and with displays and presentations on pioneer life in the 1800s. The objects found in the ship range from fine china to the worlds oldest pickles. A guided tour of the museum includes a short movie about the process of salvaging the sunken steamboat. 400 Grand Blvd, Kansas City, Missouri 64106, Phone: 816-471-1856



11. KC Fountains, Kansas City, MO  Courtesy of Gino Santa Maria - Fotolia.com

At the City of Fountains, the emphasis is on preserving and lovingly restoring these beautiful architectural relics for all Kansas City residents and visitors to enjoy. Back in the day, the fountains were a water source for travelers and animals, and today the City of Fountains Foundation believe that the fountains comprise a key part of the city and provide decorative and spiritual engagement. Visitors can wander the city to explore all the fountains. The fountains are one of the best things to do in KC. There is something for everyone, from simple structures to opulent and ornate sculptures. There is even an adoption program should you want to become further involved in the preservation effort. The fountains are located all over the city.

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12. Things to Do in Kansas City: Loose Park  Courtesy of dlhedberg - Fotolia.com

Besides park land, there is so much to enjoy on the 75 acres that make up Loose Park, including flower gardens, tennis courts, a lake, picnic areas, and even a water park! The site also holds historical significance, as it served as a strategic location during the Civil War, and visitors can also browse Civil War markers in the area such as antique cannons. The park also hosts special events throughout the year in the form of plant and flower exhibitions and activities organized by the Loose Park Garden Centre. Some of these include jazz and poetry sessions in the park, wine tastings, and plant care education sessions. 5200 Wornall, Kansas City, Missouri 64119, Phone: 816-513-7710



13. Things to Do in Kansas City, Missouri: The Money Museum  The Money Museum

For an unusual and engaging day out, head to the Money Museum located in the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. Visitors can take self-guided tours of the facility that include an audio tour to help you uncover the history of the museum, where the emphasis is on education through interactive exhibitions. There are gold bars, coin collections, and vaults on display as part of the tour, as well as art projects for budding artists looking to design the latest banknote. At the end of your day at the museum, you can take home a bag of shredded money made from old notes that are no longer in circulation. 1 Memorial Dr, Kansas City, Missouri 64198, Phone: 816-881-2683



14. Things to Do in Kansas City, Missouri: Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art  Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art

Opened in 1994, the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art houses a permanent collection of over 700 exhibits for visitors to peruse, sourced from personal works compiled by the founders of the museum. In addition to pieces that date back to the early twentieth century and more contemporary art works, the site also features non-permanent exhibitions throughout the year, showcasing rare or unusual pieces, including photography collections and sculpture exhibits. The museum aims please the whole family, and visitors with children can book a guided tour will hopefully foster a dialogue between patrons of all ages regarding the significance of contemporary art. 4420 Warwick Blvd, Kansas City, Missouri 64111, Phone: 816-753-5784



15. Things to Do in Kansas City: Sprint Center  Sprint Center



Head down to the Sprint Center and catch a concert by your favorite visiting artist or performer. With a capacity of 19,000 spectators, the Spirit Center offers unparalleled views and a lively ambiance in this arena where you can take advantage of dining options and a bar located on site. The Sprint Center is also famous for hosting the College Basketball Experience for visitors interested in all things basketball related, and there is a hall of fame and a wealth of interactive attractions that even feature a Kids Court for budding basketball stars. If you are feeling brave you can try to beat the clock and practice your best throws and passes as you take in the history. 1407 Grand Boulevard, Kansas City, Missouri 64106, Phone: 816-949-7100

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16. The National Museum of Toys and Miniatures, Kansas City, Missouri  The National Museum of Toys and Miniatures



Embrace your childhood with a trip to the National Museum of Toys and Miniatures and check out over 300,000 different pieces on display. The museum had its beginnings as the collections of two avid toy enthusiasts before it became a portfolio of all things toy related including nostalgic historical pieces ranging from dolls to marbles, and everything else in between. Visitors can stroll around at their leisure and admire the permanent collections. The museum also features travelling collections and exhibits throughout the year. After you have spent the day visiting the miniatures, take a moment to enjoy the museum building itself, which is actually an Italian style mansion. 5235 Oak Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64112, Phone: 816-235-8000



17. National World War I Museum and Memorial  Courtesy of Gino Santa Maria - Fotolia.com



The National World War I Museum and Memorial opened on December 2nd, 2006 with the intention of honoring the memory of those who sacrificed their lives to preserve the independence of our country. With its extensive collection of historical artifacts and photographs, the museum provides an interactive narrative of the war through each of its exhibits, including how aviation and artillery affected the outcome of the war. By chronicling of the war, the museum highlights how each generation has been affected by the conflict and the magnitude it has had on our history. Guests will see history come to life as they walk across the poppy field, listen to the music, and enjoy the beverages and delicious food. A souvenir gift shop sells postcards as well as vintage apparel. The museum operates on a rotating seasonal schedule. 2 Memorial Drive, Kansas City, MO 64108, Phone: 816-888-8100

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18. Kauffman Stadium Tours, Kansas City, Missouri  Courtesy of Michael Flippo - Fotolia.com



The Kauffman Stadium Tours offers enthusiastic fans a look into all things Kansas Baseball by providing fans with a tour experience that accesses private sections of the stadium. These areas are not normally seen by the public eye, and tour-goers receive a behind the scenes look. Visitors can sign up for the 90-minute tour of the Press Box, the Royals Interview Room, the Dugout, and the Hall of Fame. For reservations, call 816-504-4030.



19. Union Station, Kansas City, MO  Courtesy of bev - Fotolia.com



Union Station is so much more than an old train station that has serviced millions over the years. It provides patrons with multiple learning experiences as it hosts many exhibits throughout the year. The station has 95-foot ceilings, a six-foot wide clock that hangs in the central arch, and chandeliers mounted on the vaulted ceiling. The aim of the station is to showcase artifacts that represent a broad scope of history, illustrate the importance of historical preservation, and inspire the exploration of science. The station attracts high quality travelling exhibits such as Da Vinci the Exhibition, and it has a permanent Kansas City rail experience. Union Station also has a planetarium, an extreme screen theatre, a model train display, and many restaurants and shops to enjoy while adventuring through the activities. 30 West Pershing Road, Kansas City, Missouri 64108, Phone: 816-460-2020

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20. Country Club Plaza, Kansas City, MO  Courtesy of Burke Jones - Fotolia.com



For those who want to take their shopping to the next level, the elegant Country Club Plaza offers a wide range of high end stores such as Michael Kors and Tiffany's, and mixed within these are a large number of restaurants and bars. The Country Club makes its shopping experience accessible to all by making it easy to park, walk to every store, and enjoy the scenery. The Country Club Plaza sits on a 15-block district that hosts over 150 shops new and old. The Country Club Plaza features outdoor dining and private dining, as well as over eight different hotel and inns to stay at. If events are more your thing, the plaza has art fairs, light events, and even live concerts for those who want to do more than shop and enjoy fine dining. 4706 Broadway Blvd, Kansas City, MO 64112



21. Things to Do in Kansas City, Missouri: Negro Leagues Baseball Museum  Negro Leagues Baseball Museum



The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, founded in 1990, provides all patrons with a wonderful learning experience and uses a hands-on approach in delivering the history of the African American culture and cuisine. The museum celebrates a largely ignored era where African-American baseball players were forced to play in their own league rather than in the major leagues. Through exhibits that use interactive media, all visitors can learn about the talented African-American people through a positive perspective. The museum has hundreds of photographs as well as artifacts that display the heritage in an educational and respectful way. The museum offers more than just a baseball history, as it goes beyond and reminds visitors that issues of race and hatred can be transcended in the realm of sports. 1616 East 18th Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64108, Phone: 816-221-1920



22. Kaleidoscope, Kansas City, Missouri  Kaleidoscope



The Hallmark Kaleidoscope venue in Kansas City is a free admission community space that allows children to nourish their creative spirit through the use of their art supplies. The venue runs forty-minute sessions for children and their families based around area school schedules. There are multiple creative rooms for children, including an outer space area where children can create artwork that will glow in the dark as well as a room that provides strictly painting materials. The bulk of creations that children can create are made out of Kaleidoscope's massive assortment of paper goods. Reservations are required if you have a group of fifteen or more, and the venue works on a first-come first-served basis. Every group of six children will require at least one adult for supervision purposes. 2500 Grand, Kansas City, Missouri 64108, Phone: 816-274-8300

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23. SouveNEAR  SouveNEAR Founded on the belief and concept that good quality souvenirs should have some real meaning and connection with the place in which they were purchased, SouveNEAR is offering something totally different to travelers all across America: vending machines with locally-made gifts and souvenirs inside. SouveNEAR lets you buy locally made, artisanal gifts and souvenirs that can really mean something to you or to the person you give them to when you get back home. This company has established a network of artists and craft-makers all around America. SouveNEAR machines can be found in Kansas City International Airport, Missouri. There are several machines dotted around the airport.



24. Boulevard Brewing Company, Kansas City, MO  Boulevard Brewing Company A powerhouse of a working brewery, Boulevard Brewing Company offers so much for visitors to enjoy, and they make for a unique sightseeing stop in the city. Founded in the 1980s, the brewery is now a top beer supplier across the United States and is famous for producing a variety of beverages including pale ale and unfiltered wheat beer to name just a few. If you fancy sampling the local delights then head to the brewery for a guided tour and tasting session where the working history of the brewery will be explained to you as you enjoy a cold glass. Visitors can even book the space for an event should they want to celebrate at Boulevard Brewing Company. 2501 Southwest Boulevard, Kansas City, Missouri 64108, Phone: 816-474-7095



25. Things to Do in Kansas City, Missouri: Arrowhead Stadium  Courtesy of digi dream grafix - Fotolia.com Arrowhead Stadium is a world-class venue that serves as a superb venue for concerts and football games. The stadium features accessible seating with enhanced sight lines, made possible with the raised platforms. The stadium has assisted listening devices at all major events that are free of charge, plus closed captioning LED boards for those who need to be able to read all announcements. One of the main draws of the stadium is its world class tailgating experience and its stadium tours. There are public, private, game-day, and art collection tours that take place throughout the stadium, and the public tours last for ninety minutes and visit the Press Box, Scout Investments Club, Locker Room, Field and Chiefs Hall of Honour. In addition to offering tours, concerts, and football games, the Arrowhead Stadium also has cheerleading, fantasy football leagues, a virtual tour, a kid's club, and a fantasy camp. One Arrowhead Drive, Kansas City, Missouri 64129, Phone: 816-920-9300



25 Best Things to Do in Kansas City, Missouri

More ideas:

Blue Gallery, Kansas City, Missouri

Blue Gallery is one of Kansas City's premiere art galleries, established in 2000 within the city's Crossroads Arts District. The gallery, which is helmed by director Kelly Kuhn, has been the recipient of numerous awards from publications such as KC Magazine, Ingram's, and 435 Magazine, including awards as Kansas City's best local art gallery. Exhibitions showcase inventive, beautiful works by emerging and mid-career regional and national artists, with more than 40 regular artists represented by the gallery. The gallery is open to the public Tuesdays through Saturdays during the afternoon hours, with additional evening hours offered as part of citywide First Friday art events.

118 Southwest Blvd, Kansas City, MO 64108, Phone: 816-527-0823

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HCM CITY  Vietjet on Thursday began selling tickets on its newest international route from Ha Noi to Kaohsiung (Taiwan) at a price starting from zero dollars.

Slated to be operational on October 29, the new route will meet the significant demand of individuals, tourists and businesspeople travelling between these two attractive destinations for tourism and business, Vietjet said in its statement.

The Ha Noi-Kaohsiung route will operate on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday with one return flight per day and three hours per leg. The Ha Noi-Kaohsiung flight departs from Ha Noi at 7.30am (local time) and arrives in Kaohsiung at 10.45am (local time). The return flight takes off at 11.45am and lands at 1.35pm.

With this recently-announced international route, Vietjet currently has six routes connecting Viet Nam and Taiwan, making it the carrier operating the most flight services between Viet Nam and Taiwan.

Beside to this route, Vietjet said it is also giving away hundreds of thousands of promotional tickets applied for other international routes from now until August 13 between noon and 2pm. The travel period for these promotional tickets, selling from zero dollars, is from September 1, 2017 to March 24, 2018.  VNS
HA NOI  Domestic pepper prices have been fluctuating abnormally from late July until now, with the VPA blaming price manipulating measures used by Chinese businesses.

On July 28, pepper prices in the morning ranged from VN80,000 to VN86,000 (US$3.5 - $3.8) per kilo, then dropped to VN82,000 per kilo in the early afternoon.

Currently, pepper prices are still bouncing up and down.

Tran Huu Thang, a pepper farmer in the southern province of ong Nai, said pepper prices in the province dove sharply to VN75,000 per kilo three weeks ago, however, on August 8, the prices rose to VN95,000 per kilo.

Some pepper export enterprises attribute this price fluctuation to Chinese traders who order large quantities of pepper from pepper exporters at any price. Then, they rush Viet Nams exporters to deliver as soon as possible. Under pressure to fulfill the contracts, many firms buy pepper from farmers and agents at high prices.

Meanwhile, the Chinese traders contact the local pepper purchasing agents and promise to sell the pepper to them below market value. The agents agree, aiming to sell it on to exporters again. However, Chinese businesses only sell a small portion at a low price, then claim the product is out of stock and raise the price sharply.

Often, the Chinese firms break the high-price contracts they initially signed with exporters, receiving only a small shipment and then ignoring attempts by local exporters to contact them.

Oanh estimated that this it was difficult to estimate the damage this practice is causing; however, it could harm Viet Nams exporters and the domestic pepper market. Therefore, the VPA suggested that enterprises be careful when trading with Chinese businesses.

In the first seven months of 2017, Viet Nams pepper export volume was estimated at 145,000 tonnes and valued at $800 million, up 20.4 per cent in volume but down 18.2 per cent in value against the same period last year, MARD reported.

The average export price in the first half of this year reached $5,662.6 per tonne, a year-on-year decrease of nearly 30 per cent.

MARD to timely resolve pepper enterprises petition

As part of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phucs campaign to unburden businesses from unnecessary regulations, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has resolved regulatory issues for pepper enterprises recently.

Last month, the Viet Nam Pepper Association (VPA) asked MARD to solve enterprises difficulties in quarantine regulations when exporting, causing goods jams at ports.

According to the proposal, from mid-July, several enterprises told the VPA that pepper exporters face two main obstacles.

The first obstacle is some regulations on domestic plant quarantines. In line with Circular 33/2014/TT-BNNPTNT, a quarantine of export goods, including pepper, is still in place, meaning firms have to satisfy food safety regulations of importing countries before exporting goods.

Exports can be checked by Viet Nams Plant Quarantine Inspection Department, a system that has ensured smooth exports of Viet Nams pepper.

However, recently, the quarantine agency requested that all goods must be checked before export. With a huge volume of goods and a small number of quarantine employees, there are not enough people to check the goods, leaving many containers stuck at ports and causing late deliveries and high risk of contract breaches.

The VPA proposed MARD direct the quarantine agency to use the previous method and not inspect every shipment to help businesses export more easily.

After receiving the VPAs dossier, MARD assigned quarantine agencies to work with pepper export enterprises to solve the problem. As a result, the method of random inspection was applied as before and the exporting process is smooth again, Nguyen Mai Oanh, VPAs vice chairman and general secretary told Viet Nam News.

The second obstacle in the petition relates to a recent decision by the Prime Minister, which dictates that good subject to quarantine, including pepper, can not be imported via express cargo customs.

In practice, this means all samples of agricultural products sent to Viet Nam must go be imported by an organisation which is a legal entities in Viet Nam, instead of via couriers as before. This complicated process affects laboratories researching pepper seeds as they need samples from abroad.

As regards the second problem, VPA also proposed MARD in collaboration with Ministry of Industry and Trade and General Department of Viet Nam Customs remove this obstacle soon so that pepper laboratories can more easily access samples for their research, Oanh added.  VNS
HA NOI  Taxi firms are bristling over a draft regulation that will place greater restrictions over their operations in the capital city.

They say the new rules will make it even more difficult for them to survive.

The Ha Noi Department of Transport (DoT) is in the process of collecting feedback on a draft regulation dealing with the public transportation services by car within the city limits.

City authorities believe that restrictions contained in the regulation, set to be approved by the end of 2017, are needed to exert greater traffic control.

Representatives of the Ha Noi Taxi Association (HTA) and other taxi firms have responded negatively to the proposed restrictions, saying they could drive them into bankruptcy.

A major sticking point for the firms is a provision that says taxis will only be allowed to pick up passengers in the area where the vehicles are registered, and will not be allowed to park or pick up passengers from elsewhere.

Practically, this means that Ha Noi will be divided into two areas numbered one and two. Number one will cover districts within the city limit and number two will encompass districts in the citys extended areas. Depending on their license plates, taxis will not be allowed to park and wait for passengers in areas that they are not assigned. They can, of course drop off passengers anywhere in the city from their assigned areas.

This will require all taxis to follow strict regulations on several aspects of their operations, including pickup and dropoff zones and handover times for each shift and location.

For instance, within a month, a taxi must maintain a minimum of 70 per cent of its operating time within its assigned region, and is only allowed to stop for passengers for a maximum of two minutes at pickup and drop-off zones.

The draft also prevents taxis from freely staying in public parking lots reserved for hired vehicles for more than twenty minutes while they wait for passengers in their assigned area. After 20 minutes, taxis must either move out from the parking lot or pay extra money to stay.

Empty distances

o Quoc Binh, HTAs Chairman, commented that this regulation will prove to be impossible.

He said the boundary between the two areas might not be distinguishable at all times for drivers to comply with the rules.

The division between administrative regions would increase the empty distance that taxi drivers cover, travelling back and forth from one area to the other without a passenger, since they are not allowed to pick up anyone outside their assigned region. This will push up sunk costs in operation and monitoring, and lower competitiveness, Binh said.

Another rule that the firms are not happy with will require all commercial automobiles within Ha Noi to have a common colour that will be announced in 2018. Under the proposed rule, from 2019 to 2024, all new taxis operating in the city will have to sport this colour, while the older models must comply by the end of 2025.

Yet another rule that the city wants to impose is that commercial vehicles older than eight years are replaced with newer models to avoid malfunction and pollution.

The DoT also proposes that from July 1, 2018, all vehicles for hire must use a support booking app, whose data will be taken from a meter placed in the car and fed directly to the citys central traffic monitor system.

Binh wondered if the cost of operating such a database would be borne by the citys budget or by the firms themselves.

A representative from the Mai Linh Northern Corp, a subsidiary of the well known Mai Linh Group, said they do not expect all taxi firms to be treated alike.

Both the HTA and commercial taxi firms expressed worry about the possible loss of identity with the use of a common colour across different taxi brands. Firms with a stable number of operating vehicles will find it difficult to replace older ones, and it would also be wasteful.

They also expressed concerns over the possible harm to their brand image, and some of the lesser brands could piggyback on the reputation of bigger ones. This carries the risk of impostor firms and the possibility of passengers being cheated, they said.

Bui Danh Lien, Chairman of the Ha Noi Transport Association, also said that at the moment, Vietnamese taxi fleets were too disorganized and lacked the uniform look seen in developed countries. Furthermore, he argued, since taxi firms operate as conditional businesses, they have to be subject to State regulations no matter what.  VNS
The national one-door customs mechanism, first introduced in 2011, has considerably reduced time spent on customs procedures and facilitated import and export activities. This forms an important premise for Viet Nam as it develops its National Single Window (NSW) that will have to integrate with the ASEAN Single Window (ASW).

Pham Duyen Phuong, deputy director of the Information Technology and Statistics Department under the General Department of Customs, speaks about this issue with Vnews, the television channel of the Vietnam News Agency.

What are the results obtained in implementing the NSW from 2014 until now?

The national single window customs mechanism is an information technology (IT) system operating in a legal environment, creating favourable conditions for fulfilling administrative procedures.

This mechanism has been applied for procedures relating to exit, entry and transit of people, transportation means and goods. At present, many procedures are carried out under the national one-door mechanism, and this has delivered some good results.

For the first time, Viet Nam has made remarkable progress in investment environment rankings, including cross-border trading, in a World Bank (WB) survey.

According to a WB survey on business environment in 2016, Viet Nam reduced customs clearance time, including time required to prepare the clearance dossier for goods and time taken to transport goods from the border gate to the warehouse. This is in keeping with the Governments resolution on shortening customs clearance time.

For instance, when the Viet Nam Register began participating under the national single window mechanism, customs clearance of motorcycles and specialised vehicles took much less time.

For State agencies, the NSW ensures that all information will come from a single source and will be shared from a single source-based information technology system with high security, so accuracy and reliability of information will be much higher than processing with paper records.

What has the General Department of Customs done over the past years to promote implementation of the NSW and ASW mechanisms?

As an advisory body, the department has advised the Government to set up a solid foundation for the national one-stop mechanism. It has also directly implemented the mechanism with several specific solutions for customs offices in simplifying procedures and automating them to reduce time for customs clearance and release of goods.

The single window customs mechanism has been piloted at the Noi Bai Airport and will soon be applied at the Tan Son Nhat Airport. What are the difficulties experienced so far and what will your department do to ensure its success?

So far, the pilot project has gone smoothly. While we wait for the legal foundations to be completed, we have worked with international airlines to test the technical options. We have not encountered any technical problems. However, we have forecast some problems that are likely to arise. First, when the Prime Ministers decision on applying a single customs window for the domestic airway system comes into effect, transaction volumes will increase greatly, so probability of trouble with the network infrastructure can occur at the same time.

In addition, in the first stage, when enterprises deal with unfamiliar customs declarations under the single window mechanism, problems will certainly arise.

As for the legal aspect, a new point in the Prime Ministers decision is that for the first time, Viet Nam will receive full information in accordance with international regulations.

Previously, Viet Nam had only received information about passengers, luggage, flight and cargo. With the implementation of the single window customs mechanism, Viet Nam is required to add information about passenger reservations according to recommendations from some international organisations.

This is a completely new point for Viet Nam and domestic airlines are not ready to provide the information. Therefore, the department foresees some problems in the initial stages.

To solve the issue, the department has organised a lot of seminars to provide full information about this issue.

Second, we have signed mutual agreement, cooperation and support agreements with partners to provide all aviation information services for the airlines. The customs department has also set up a 24/7 center and hotlines for businesses so that they can get direct support from the centre based in the Customs Information Technology and Statistics Department.

I hope that with such solutions and our experience running the single window customs system for other fields over many years, the system for the airways sector will work smoothly.

What are new points and benefits of the single window customs mechanism?

Information on the airlines has been provided to government agencies under many different regulations, including information about management of air transportation means and transportation at international airports. For example, the department has issued decrees and circulars requiring airlines to provide information on cargo, passengers, luggage and flights. The border gate security administration and immigration management agencies are required to provide advance information about passengers.

Previously, the information was provided on paper. Then, the Government passed a decree asking the airlines to provide electronic information about passengers, but sharing of this information is very limited.

Therefore, when the information is connected to the single window customs system, the first thing is that all documents are digital and all information is linked to the management and monitoring systems of the border security agency, the immigration office, the port authority and the customs office, to automatically share them. This is the first new point.

The second new point is for the first time the general department of customs will ask for more information on passenger reservations, according to recommendations by many organisations such as the World Customs Organisation and APEC forum on security.

The third point is that when the information is sent to the system, it is automatically shared with all relevant agencies and it connects all the stages. At present, for the aviation industry, the information is poor, and this mechanism will solve this problem and better serve State management agencies. Especially for the customs department, when we have information, we will shorten clearance time and give support for logistics enterprises, transportation companies and import-export enterprises.

The IT infrastructure is very important in implementing the single window customs system for the marine and aviation industries. What infrastructure investments have been made to create favourable conditions for trade activities and connections with the ASEAN Single Window?

The IT system is the core aspect that will decide the success of implementing the national single window mechanism. However, to ensure efficiency in development of the system, besides the budget, there will also be socialisation, public-private partnership or leasing of some IT services. All these measures are currently being tried out and the department will submit its recommendations to the Prime Minister for approval. -- VNS
HA NOI  The southernmost province of Ca Mau is seeking investment to develop a US$3.5 billion seaport complex, which can receive vessels of up to 250,000 tonnes capacity, on Hon Khoai Island.

At a working session with Minister of Transport Truong Quang Nghia on Wednesday, Ca Mau Province proposed that the Hon Khoai Seaport should be considered one of the major national projects requiring investment.

Nguyen Tien Hai, chairman of the provincial Peoples Committee, proposed that the transport ministry adjust planning and scale of the Hon Khoai Seaport to enable it to welcome vessels with capacity of up to 250,000 tonnes.

Under the current approved plans, the Hon Khoai Seaport is capable of receiving vessels from 100,000 tonnes to 160,000 tonnes.

Minister Truong Quang Nghia said calling for investment to develop the Hon Khoai Seaport from the State budget was not feasible, given the limited budget of the Government.

Nghia said the province needed to carefully study the feasibility of the project to call for investment, adding that the ministry would support the province in implementing this project.

The Hon Khoai Seaport project has been calling for investment since July 2016.

The province said Hon Khoai Seaport has several advantages. It will be a large deep-water seaport, which can attract a significant shipment volume and boost the regions economic growth.

The seaport is expected to serve the Nam Can Economic Zone and the southern region with the transport of a number of goods, from coal, rice, agricultural and fisheries products, to petrol, oil and liquefied gas.

Notably, Hon Khoai will be a green seaport with a preserved ecosystem.  VNS
HA NOI  Viet Nam imported petroleum mainly from ASEAN and South Korea in the first seven months of 2017, which together accounted for 91 per cent of petrol imports.

Statistics from the General Department of Vietnam Customs show that the country imported 5.1 million tonnes of petroleum from ASEAN and 1.72 million tonnes from South Korea between January and July. In ASEAN, Singapore was the biggest petroleum exporter, with 3.06 million tonnes; Malaysia followed with around 1.5 million tonnes; and Thailand with 567,500 tonnes.

Singapores petrol exports in the seven-month period were 2.79 million tonnes higher compared to the same period last year. However, Malaysia saw a sharp drop in petrol exports to Viet Nam.

This is because Viet Nam has increased its petrol imports from South Korea as it enjoys a preferential import tax. Under the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between ASEAN and South Korea, signed in May 2015, Viet Nam reduced import tariffs on gasoline from South Korea to 10 per cent from 20 per cent for other markets, effective December 20, 2015.

By the end of July, Vietnamese firms had imported around 1.72 million tonnes of petroleum from South Korea, double that of the same period last year and close to touching the total amount of 1.9 million tonnes imported in 2016.

The countrys petrol imports from ASEAN countries in the January-July period accounted for 68 per cent of total imports, while from South Korea accounted for 23 per cent, a total of 91 per cent.

As a result, petrol imports from traditional markets such as China have dropped as domestic petroleum importers benefit from the big tax difference.

However, the decreased tax payment from importers, who are opting for preferential tax markets, has affected State budget collection. In the first seven months of 2017, Viet Nam imported 7.55 million tonnes of petroleum worth US$3.9 billion, a 4.6 per cent and 34.2 per cent increase in terms of quantity and value, respectively.  VNS
HCMC  The US Consulate General in HCM City and the Soul Live Project will host a concert featuring American and Vietnamese musicians and artists on Friday.

The concert will include American DJ Verseatile, one of the radio mix show DJs on Energy 95.7 HD-2, and sound and lighting specialists Sharath Patel and Stephanie Mulligan.

The event will also feature Nguyen Trong Nhan, a 10-year-old drummer who won Vietnams Got Talent contest in 2016, the rock band The Hunter Saigon, and Soul Live Projects band and choir.

The show will begin at 7:30 pm at Soul Live Project Complex, 214-216 Pasteur Street, in District 3. Free registration is at https://bit.ly/theultimateconcert.  VNS
CAN THO  The Can Tho Citys Museum in collaboration with Vietnam News Agency (VNA) has launched a photo exhibition to mark the 50th founding anniversary of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The exhibition displays 120 photos featuring the development of ASEAN in politics, the economy, social affairs and culture, taken by VNA photojournalists.

The works include images of important events marking the cooperation and development of the ASEAN community, such as the 34th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Ha Noi in 2001, the 5th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crime in Ha Noi in 2005, and the 30th ASEAN Summit in Manila in April.

The showcase also features works reflecting Viet Nams economic and social achievements as well as culture.

Tran Viet Phuong, director of the Can Tho Citys Department of Culture, Tourism and Sports, said at the exhibitions opening ceremony on August 8 that the exhibit offers a special opportunity to Can Thos people to learn more about the ASEAN community, as well as their people and culture.

Another photo exhibition on President Ho Chi Minhs hometown opened at the museum on the same day.

The event also includes photos of the Presidents childhood, life and career, as well as rare documents on the Presidents visits to his homeland in Kim Lien Commune in Nghe An Province.

The exhibition was organised by the Can Tho Museum and the Ho Chi Minh Museum in Ha Noi to mark the 72nd anniversary of the August Revolution (August 19) and National Day (September 2).

The two exhibitions will close on September 30.

The museum also worked with An Giang Provinces museum to host a special exhibition on costumes and jewelry of the Cuu Long (Mekong) Deltas people.

The collection includes more than 300 photos and items such as traditional dresses, earrings, bracelets, necklets and rings from ethnic minority groups from Viet Nam and China.

The event ends on December 15 at the Can Tho Museum, 1 Hoa Binh Boulevard, Ninh Kieu District.  VNS
Standing Vice Chairwoman of the NA Tong Thi Phong (R) receives First Vice President of Cambodias Senate Ney Pena in Ha Noi yesterday. VNA/VNS Photo Doan Tan

HA NOI  The Viet Nam National Assembly (NA) will continue its close co-operation with the National Assembly and Senate of Cambodia, Standing Vice Chairwoman of the NA Tong Thi Phong said.

During talks with visiting First Vice President of Cambodias Senate Ney Pena in Ha Noi yesterday, Phong affirmed that the Vietnamese legislative body will expand and improve the efficiency of collaboration between the Governments and people of Viet Nam and Cambodia, as well as their NAs at regional and international parliamentary-forums.

The host said Ney Penas visit to Viet Nam from August 8-9 is an important event among activities marking the 50th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties (June 24), contributing to enhancing the friendly neighbourliness and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries.

She reiterated that Viet Nam attaches importance to and gives top priority to strengthening relations with neighbouring countries, including Cambodia, stressing that such ties are vital to the development of both Viet Nam and Cambodia.

Ney Pena used the occasion to thank the Party, State and people of Viet Nam for their support to Cambodia during the countrys times of difficulty as well as in the cause of national construction and development.

The guest stressed Cambodias determination to preserve the Viet Nam-Cambodia relationship, regarding this as a valuable asset shared by the two nations.

During the talks, the two sides informed each other about the political, economic and social situation in their respective countries, and discussed economic, trade and investment ties between Viet Nam and Cambodia in the past.

Later the same day, Ney Pena met with NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan who affirmed that the Vietnamese NA would co-operate closely with the Cambodian Senate and NA to promote the expansion of and improve efficiency of co-operation between the Government and people of the two countries as well as between the two legislative bodies.

Ney Pena informed Ngan of the results of talks held with NA Vice Chairwoman Phong, stressing that the two sides agreed to continue co-operating to create a legal framework and conditions for the development and co-operation between the two countries in other fields.

On the same day, Ney Pena was received by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

Phuc expressed his delight at the development of the traditional friendship and co-operation between the two countries. The economic, trade and investment co-operation has developed strongly and Viet Nam has become one among leading trade partners and investors in Cambodia.

He suggested the two countries continue enhancing solidarity and co-operation, contributing to peace and development in the region and the world. The two sides should encourage further development of co-operation in economy, trade and investment to soon bring two-way trade turnover to US$5 billion.

The PM hoped that the two countries would strengthen co-ordination to promote relevant agencies to soon complete the land border demarcation and marker planting.

Ney Pena briefed the host on the socio-economic situation of Cambodia and results of talks held with NA Vice Chairman Phong.  VNS
A NANG  Over 12.7ha of remediated land at the a Nang International Airport, part of a major Agent Orange clean-up project, will be returned to the Ministry of Transport under an agreement signed on Wednesday.

The agreement was signed by representatives from the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence, Air Defence-Air Force Command (ADAFC) and the US Agency of International Development (USAID).

This is the second portion of land to be turned over for new development as part of expansion of the a Nang International Airport, while USAID and the Ministry of National Defence continue their collaboration to clean up dioxin contaminated soil and sediment at the site of the former US a Nang Air Base.

The handover of land for the second phase of the project commencing marked close co-operation between Viet Nams defence ministry and USAID for several years in cleaning up dioxin contamination at the airport, said Lt. General Pham Ngoc Minh, deputy chief of the General Staff under the Viet Nam Peoples Army,.

Todays event also marks significant efforts made by Viet Nam and the US towards addressing the consequences of war. The project, which completed its first phase in May, had handed over a 5.97ha plot for building runways and parking lots at the airport in preparation for the 2017 Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) Summit in a Nang later this year, he said.

He said the project plans to return another 16ha in the first quarter of next year for the airport expansion project.

Lt. General Minh said the Defence Ministry and USAID will continue co-operation in cleaning up dioxin contamination on 51ha at the Bien Hoa Airport in ong Nai Province.

He said Viet Nam and the US have also agreed to boost co-operation in landmine and bomb clearing projects as well as chemical contamination in other regions in Viet Nam.

According to the Defence Ministry, nearly 6 million hectares have thus far been identified as being contaminated with dioxin or landmines and other unexploded ordnances (UXOs).

The ministry is scheduled to start the Viet Nam-Korea landmines and bombs remediation Project next month. The project will receive US$20 million in non-refundable Official Development Assistance (ODA) from the South Korean Government.

Under this project, an area of 8,000ha will be handed over to provinces of Binh inh and Quang Nam in 2019.

Representatives from the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence, Air Defence-Air Force Command (ADAFC) and the US Agency of International Development (USAID) join a land handover ceremony at the a Nang Aiport on Wednesday.  VNS Photo Cong Thanh

VN-US milestone

Launched in 2012, the Environmental Remediation of Dioxin Contamination at a Nang Airport Project is seen as an important milestone in the development of Viet Nam-US relations. It will also deliver a cleaner, safer environment for the residents of a Nang.

The project has successfully treated over 94,000 cubic meters of contaminated soil and sediment and is expected to complete set tasks early next year.

Viet Nam and the US have been working together to clean up Agent Orange contaminated sites in Viet Nam since 2007.

This project uses an In-Pile Thermal Desorption (IPTD) system into which batches of contaminated soil and sediment are placed in a container and heated to a temperature of 335 degrees Celsius, which destroys 95 per cent of dioxins.

The soil is later removed from the container and tested for traces of contaminants before being put back.

a Nangs former US air base is considered a dioxin hotspot containing high levels of the toxic substance. Other such spots include Bien Hoa in the southwestern province of ong Nai and Phu Cat Airport in Binh inh Province.

The Office of National Steering Committee 33 estimates that there are about 148,000 cubic metres of dioxin-contaminated soil at a Nang Airport; 7,500 cubic metres the Phu Cat Airport and between 450,000 or 500,000 cubic metres at the Bien Hoa Airport.  VNS
HCM CITY  In the hot mid-day sun, a boy walking with a big school bag on the street in front of his shop showed signs of suffering from a heat stroke.

Le Van Thai, who saw the boy almost everyday, told him to get out of the sun and rest in his small bicycle repair shop for a while.

The boy told Thai that he walked a long way to school and back because his parents did not have enough money to buy a bicycle for him. He said his parents had encouraged him to learn, saying they would save enough money to buy him a new bike one day.

The boys story took Thai on a trip down memory lane.

He was born in 1975 in the central province of Quang Ngai. Like many children in the countryside, apart from his studies, Thai had to support his family on the farm. The school was more than 10km away, and because he did not have a bicycle, Thai did not attend school regularly.

Thais father borrowed money to buy a flock of ducks with the hope that the profits from raising them will be enough to buy a bike for him. But all the ducks got sick and died, leaving the family in debt. He eventually dropped out of school and began doing odd jobs for local men.

If only hed had a bicycle, he wouldnt have dropped out of school, he thought.

Then Thai looked at the broken bikes lying on the ground in his shop and an idea came to his mind.

"If I give you an old bike, will you take it?" Thai asked the boy.

The boy nodded happily, saying he just needed a bike, not matter what its condition.

Over the next few days, Thai worked hard, trying to find good spare parts for assembling a bike for the boy. Once it was done, he took it to the boys school. Looking at the joy in the boys eyes made the bike mechanic very happy.

"If hed bought the old bike, it would cost between VN700,000-800,000 ($31-35). But it cost me just over VN200,000 ($9) as I am a person in the trade and it is easier for me to find the spare parts."

This happened 13 years ago.

Heart of gold: Le Van Thai revamps broken old bikes and presents them to needy students.  Photo tienphong.vn

An idea is born

From that day onwards, Thai started looking for old bikes that he could rebuild with new spare parts and give them as gifts to poor students.

To save money, he collected spare parts from scrap dealers and also used those left behind by customers.

Word spread about the kind bike repairman on Hong Lac Street in HCM Citys Tan Binh District. Everyone who knew him supported him. Thai could thus get more used bikes donated by kind-hearted people, reducing his costs greatly.

"There are many vehicles that are very good, I just apply some lubrication. Many of them need only a few spare parts replaced. So I can finish a bike in just a few days," Thai said.

In fact, the number of old bikes he got was so many that he asked the Binh Phu ong Poor Patients Assistance Association for help in storing them.

The association also give Thai a list of needy students, so he could gift bikes to students in the provinces of Ben Tre, Lam ong, An Giang and Long An, besides HCM City.

Some students parents offered to pay for the bikes, but he was adamant about not accepting money.

"I am poor but helping the poor is a good thing," Thai told them.

Over the last 12 years, he has gifted nearly 200 bikes to disadvantaged students.

Peace of mind

Thais generosity is amazing as he has to work hard to support his family with four children and pay VN5 million ($220) for renting the shop.

Vo Coi, a neighbor, said: "Thais family is poor but his work is really an example for many people to follow."

His good deed has helped strengthen unity and build the spirit of helping each other in the neighbourhood, he said.

"Although Thais family faces many difficulties, he has done something good, donating bicycles to poor students in the locality," said Pham Ngoc Xuan, an official of the Fatherland Front in Tan Binh District.

Thai has been honoured by HCM City authorities with the "Good people, good deeds" title.

"I didnt have proper schooling, so I really want to do something for poor students," he said.

Asked about his future plans, Thai said he would continue to support his family and present bicycles to those in need.

"I am poor but fortunately I can help other poor people. Doing this will give me peace of mind and help me sleep well at night. "  VNS
HCM CITY  Doctors at Binh Dan Hospital in HCM City have performed the countrys first robotic surgery on a liver cancer patient.

Doctors removed the left lobe of the liver, which contained a six-centimetre tumour, of a 59-year-old patient from the Mekong Delta province of Long An in late July, according to a hospital press release sent to the media on Wednesday.

Robotic surgery is a type of minimally invasive surgery that uses smaller incisions than normal surgical methods. The method helps to protect the livers main blood vessel.

The use of a robot also helps to reduce pain, bleeding, infections and the length of hospital stay.

Dr Nguyen inh Song Huy, deputy head of the oncology centre at Cho Ray Hospital, said the centre had seen an increase in new incidences of liver cancer year-by-year, from 2,793 in 2010 to 4,069 last year. Of the figure, the male-female ratio was 4.48 to one.

Most of the patients were aged 50 to 60 , while the highest number of cases were from the Mekong Delta region.

Huy said that hepatitis B and C were the main causes of liver cancer, with 91 per cent of 24,091 patients from 2010 to 2016 diagnosed with hepatitis. Forty-one per cent of the cases were detected at a late, incurable stage.

Since liver cancer often does not show clinical symptoms, patients with hepatitis B and C should be tested for the disease, according to Huy.

At a two-day conference on viral hepatitis B and C in Viet Nam in late July in HCM City, Dr Nguyen Thu Anh of the General Department of Preventive Medicine said that many patients in the country had difficulties in accessing diagnosis and treatment, partly due to lack of finance.

Around 3.22 million patients in the country this year were diagnosed with hepatitis B, which may or may not be treated with drugs, depending on how high the viral load is or whether there is cirrhosis of the liver, according to Anh.

However, only 43,230 patients with hepatitis B virus infection have been treated this year, she said.

Unlike hepatitis B, patients with hepatitis C must receive drug therapies, which are expensive. Of the 967,000 patients with hepatitis C in the country, only 74,000 have received treatment this year.

Deaths from liver cancer totalled 30,000 in 2015 and are expected to rise to 45,000 in 2030 if screening and lack of medical intervention continues.  VNS
HA NOI  The Peoples Court of outlying My uc district of Ha Noi on Wednesday pronounced sentences at the first instance trial on law violations regarding land management in the districts ong Tam Commune.

Accordingly, 10 faced charges of abusing their positions and power while on duty in pursuant to Article 281 of the Penal Code. They included three former chairmen of the ong Tam communal Peoples Committee, Nguyen Van Son, Le inhThuan and Nguyen Van Bot, who received 36-month and 42-month sentences and a 18-month suspended sentence, respectively. Others were sentenced to between 24-78 months in jail.

On the charge of demonstrating irresponsibility causing serious consequences, Pham Huu Sach, former director of My uc districts Environment and Natural Resources Division, and Tran Trung Tan, an official of the districts Land Registration Office, were granted a 24-month suspended sentence. inh Van Dung, former director of My uc districts Land Registration Office; and Bach Van ong, former deputy director of the districts Land Registration Office, were sentenced to 36 and 30 months in prison, respectively.

According to the indictment, between 2002 and 2013, Bot, Son, Thuan, and other key officials of ong Tam commune illegally allocated and granted land to some local households, or legalised land that some households occupied illegally.

The four indicted district officials did not fulfil their responsibilities of verifying the origin of the land, resulting in the unlawful granting of land-use certificates. ong Tam Communes People Committee got approval from the Peoples Committee of former Ha Tay province to allocate 5,425 sq.m of land managed by the communes Peoples Committee to 49 local households for housing.

Bot, as chairman of the ong Tam commune Peoples Committee, and Nguyen Xuan Truong as official in charge of land registration, handed over 4,095 sq.m of land to only 39 out of the 49 eligible households.

When Son took over the post of chairman of the ong Tam Commune in 2002, he agreed to grant the remaining 1,300 sq.m of land to ten key officials of the commune, who had to pay only VN100,000 per sq.m.

Between 2011-2013, ong Tam Peoples Committee officials also helped with the legalisation of applications for land-use certificates of 12 households for a total area of 1,834 sq.m, which was allocated or illegally occupied during 2002-2003.

Truong, as the local land registration official, confirmed in the applications that the land of the households was granted before October 15, 1993 and there was no dispute concerning the land.

Thuan, as the then Chairman of the commune Peoples Committee, approved the applications to be submitted to the districts administration. Authorised district officials approved the applications without conducting the necessary verification.

The violations made by the officials were uncovered and investigated following complaints from residents.

ong Tam commune made headlines in local media for a land scandal in late March and mid-April when 38 civil servants and some police personnel were held hostage by the communes residents.

The residents were protesting what they considered was the unjustified revoking of land where they had built homes and lived for many years. As tensions escalated in March, police opened an investigation against the residents for "disturbing social order".

Matters came to a head on April 15, when police arrested four people. Local villagers retaliated by surrounding and seizing 38 officials, including police officers.  VNS
HOA BINH  The northern province of Hoa Binhs Department of Health on Wednesday afternoon announced its decision to demote the director of Hoa Binh General Hospital, Truong Quy Duong, after eight patients undergoing dialysis died.

As per the decision, Duong has been demoted to a regular doctor. The decision will be valid for one year.

In one of Viet Nams most serious medical incidents, on May 29, eight patients who underwent kidney dialysis at the hospital died after substandard water was allegedly used in the dialysis machines.

Tran Quang Khanh, head of the provinces health department who signed the decision to demote Duong, said disciplinary action had been taken against Duong as a serious incident occurred when he was head of the hospital but failed to fulfil his duties.

On July 21, Khanh had sat with the hospitals disciplinary council to discuss the matter; all five members of the council have agreed with the decision.

The medical incident is still under investigation.

Also on Wednesday, the department assigned Quach Thien Tuong, deputy director of the hospital, to take responsibility for the hospitals functioning.  VNS
Waterloo

Fire Alarms Aug. 8

Ambulance runs: 23

8:04 a.m., 421 Oak Ave., assist resident.

12:54 p.m., 300 block of Franklin Street, false alarm.

1:18 p.m., 209 W. Fifth St., smoke alarm.

2:31 p.m., Hawkeye Road and East San Marnan Drive, fluid spill.

Police Log

Lucretia Doresse Redd, 32, of 312 Archer Ave., was arrested Aug. 9 in the 400 block of Gable Street for possession of cocaine with intent to deliver and violation of the drug tax stamp act. Officers with the Tri-County Drug Enforcement Task Force found more than 10 grams of cocaine during a search at the Archer Street address on June 22.

Cedric Roy Craft, 39, of 121 Courtland St., was arrested Aug. 8 in the 1100 block of Franklin Street for felon in possession of a firearm and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. Police found marijuana and a 9 mm Hi-Point pistol while searching his home May 4.

Melanie Nicole Gerken, 25, of 2233 Fairway Lane, was arrested Aug. 8 at her home for third-degree burglary. She and another person allegedly took items from 2253 Fairway Lane.

Rickson Jack, 38, of 415 Courtland St., was arrested Aug. 6 at his home for three counts of indecent exposure. He allegedly exposed himself to three girls ages 10, 12 and 14 on July 20.

Dennis Jerry Wroe, 25, of 702 Brookside Ave., Evansdale, was arrested Aug. 5 at 6301 Lafayette Road for third-degree burglary. He allegedly took pool cues, jewelry and checkbooks from a home at 2700 Lafayette St. on Aug. 1.

Eurondus Shondell Hayes, 41, of 1311 W. First St., Cedar Falls, was arrested Aug. 3 for two counts of child endangerment causing bodily injury. He allegedly struck a boy and a girl with a spoon, causing marks, in July.

Blake Matthew Washburn, 21, of 1545 Liberty Ave., was arrested July 11 on Williston Avenue for first-offense operating while intoxicated and possession of marijuana following a traffic stop.

Kenya Rashawn Wilson, 23, of 300 Viking Road, Cedar Falls, was arrested July 10 for aggravated domestic assault, child endangerment and fourth-degree theft. She allegedly took $277 worth of items from Sally Beauty Supply on July 1 and she allegedly assaulted Sierra Holmes while armed with a knife and while a child was present on July 7.

Delaney David Seals, 41, of 418 Sunnyside Ave., was arrested July 9 at his home for aggravated domestic assault, assault on a peace officer and interference. He allegedly assaulted Ameerah Ball, 31, and punched a police officer.

Raheem Oneal Christoff, 21, of 654 Newton St., was arrested July 8 at his home for serious domestic assault. He allegedly assaulted Ashley Kubic, 21.

Kelly Marie Clements, 37, of 210 Mulberry St., was arrested July 8 on West Ninth Street for second-degree fraud. She allegedly cashed $3,700 worth of checks on a closed account in May.

Dequndes Shantonies Glasper, 21, of Waterloo, was arrested July 8 on Broadway Street for third-degree theft. He allegedly took $153 worth of alcohol from Target on May 26.

Deshawn Lee Jackson, 18, of 229 Cottage St., was arrested July 8 on Cottage Street for making a false report to law enforcement. He allegedly claimed his debit card was stolen in May.

Travis Charles Krygowski, 18, of 614 Hannah Blvd., was arrested July 8 for third-degree burglary. He allegedly took two TVs and an xBox from 1235 Downing Court on May 29.

Paris Clevonte Lyes, 22, of 101 Reed St., was arrested July 6 in the 300 block of Logan Avenue for possession of marijuana with intent to deliver. Police found marijuana and scales during a traffic stop.

Gabriel Travon Bailey, 19, of 1561 Woodmayr Drive, was arrested July 6 for indecent exposure, trespassing and possession of marijuana. He allegedly entered an apartment at 1542 Woodmayr and exposed himself to a 15-year-old girl and another person.

Cedar Falls

Police Log

David Alan Habenicht, 47, of Maple Street, Cedar Falls, was arrested Aug. 1 at 2728 Center St. for third or subsequent offense operating while intoxicated, driving while license revoked, public intoxication and criminal trespass.

April Louisa Bergerson, 38, of 2115 W. Ridgeway Ave., was arrested July 27 at the police station for domestic assault. She allegedly assaulted Joseph Ward.

Kaitlyn Raye Hrubetz, 21, of Manly, was arrested July 27 on West First Street for first-offense operating while intoxicated following a traffic stop.

Joylene Marie Mosley, 33, and Aries Annette Mosley, 25, both of 213 Peoria St., Waterloo, were arrested July 27 on University Avenue for second-degree theft. They allegedly took $1,183 worth of items from Kohls department store.

Domonick Lashawn Wilder, 23, of 437 Gable St., Waterloo, was arrested July 24 at College Square Apartments for second-degree burglary, fifth-degree theft and obstruction of emergency communications. He allegedly forced his way into 1813 W. Eighth St. on July 20 and took a phone from Caitlin Lightfoot.

Breanna Marie Garcia, 30, of Waterloo, was arrested July 19 on East Sixth Street for third-degree theft. She allegedly took items from Von Maur on July 17.

Eva Angelina Hughes, 59, of 2323 Oxford Lane, was arrested July 31 at home and charged with serious domestic assault.

Emiliana Maria Recinos-Ramirez, 38, 1502 Shultz St., Waterloo, was arrested Aug. 6 at 525 Brandilynn Blvd. for third-degree theft. She allegedly took $93 worth of items from Walmart.

Alexandria Door Timmerman, 20, of 2623 Walnut St., was arrested Aug. 5 at Sixth and Main streets for first-offense operating while intoxicated following a traffic stop.

Ernest Eugene Smith, 64, of 5511 Peridot Road No. 63, was arrested July 31 at home and charged with simple assault.

Eugene David Harding, 30, of 2216 Lincoln St. No. 32, was arrested July 29 at home and charged with serious domestic assault with enhanced penalties.

Michael David Johnson Niedert Jr., 21, of 3313 Boulder Drive, was arrested July 20 at the police station for reckless use of a firearm. He allegedly fired a pistol in his room July 7.

Rhonda Sue Biemann, 47, of La Porte City, was arrested July 19 in Cedar Falls for third-degree theft. She allegedly took towels from Walmart on July 2.

John Logan Lawrence, 26, of Cedar Falls, was arrested June 28 on West 19th Street for serious domestic assault, interference and fifth-degree criminal mischief.

Craig Allen Conger, 39, of 2013 Maplewood Drive, was arrested June 27 at his home for second-degree fraud. He allegedly transferred $1,047 from another persons bank account in March.

Burglaries: The operators of Cedar Heights Pet Clinic, 5305 University Ave., reported a burglary Aug. 1. The residents of 1003 West 11th St. reported a burglary to their home July 29.

Vandalism: The residents of 3409 Cedar Heights Drive reported vandalism to their property Aug. 2.

Black Hawk County Sheriffs Log Montravon Simon Dennis III, 24, of Unity Square Drive, Waterloo, was arrested Aug. 3 at the Black Hawk County Jail on a warrant for serious domestic assault.

Tressa Marie Rogers, 47, of 108 Colfax Drive, Waterloo, was arrested Aug. 5 at the jail for assault on a health care worker. She allegedly assaulted medical staff at the jail.

Korey Linn Christian, 40, of Evansdale, was arrested Aug. 2 at the intersection of Dubuque Road and Idaho Street and charged with the sale and distribution of methamphetamine and driving while license barred.

Kaitlyn Scarlett Werner, 22, of Foulk Road, Waterloo, was arrested Aug. 2 at the Black Hawk County Jail on a warrant for assault causing serious injury.

Patti Dee Farmer, 40, of Third Street, Evansdale, was arrested July 31 at the Black Hawk County Jail on a warrant for first-degree burglary.

Dachiaune Marquell Fuhrman, 19, of 536 Cutler St., was arrested July 31 at 3137 Gilbertville Road and charged with assault, second-degree criminal mischief, interference with official acts and possession of marijuana.

Antonio Valentino Jones, 49, of Waverly, was arrested Aug. 8 on Lafayette Street for possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver. Deputies found bags of meth during a traffic stop.

Elisa Marie Walker, 51, of Mount Village Drive, was arrested July 31 at UnityPoint-Allen Hospital on warrants for second-degree theft, identity theft and a parole violation.

Kimberly Danale Nielsen, 35, of Dugan Avenue, Brandon, was arrested July 30 at the Buchanan County Sheriffs Office on a warrant for third-degree theft.

Marcus Robert Sykes, 22, of Mulberry Street, was arrested July 30 at the Black Hawk County Jail on a warrant for first-degree robbery.

Barbara Bernadette Swaggerty, 51, of First Avenue N.E., Oelwein, was arrested July 28 at the Black Hawk County Jail on warrants for assault and third-degree harassment.

Marquia Janay Sallis, 30, of Waterloo, was arrested July 26 at the jail for felon in possession of a firearm. She allegedly possessed a handgun in October 2016.

James David Welton, 38, of Independence, was arrested July 26 on Interstate 380 for driving while suspended and two counts of carrying weapons. Deputies found brass knuckles and a knife during a traffic stop.

Kortnie Nicole Kohlmeyer, 22, of 2103 Weis Court, was arrested July 25 for third-offense operating while intoxicated and neglect of a dependent person. She was pulled over during a traffic stop, and her 11-month-old son was a passenger who was wasnt properly restrained.

Eric John Norelius, 35, of 1009 Dawson St., was arrested July 27 for failure to register as a sex offender. He allegedly failed to notify authorities about a vehicle he was driving.

Burglaries: Linda Blackman reported a burglary to a residence in the 9000 block of Newell Street on July 31. Dawn Shirk reported a burglary to her residence at 8312 McStay Road, La Porte City, on July 28.

Vandalism: Steve Winkey reported vandalism to a fire hydrant and gun stand when someone drove through his property at 6138 West Cedar Wapsi Road on Aug. 2. Kent Schwebach reported vandalism to property in the 11400 block of Ansborough Avenue on Aug. 1.

Ronald Vincent Rich, 49, of 916 Mulberry St., Waterloo, was arrested Aug. 8 at on Maple Lane in Dunkerton for first-degree burglary, serious domestic assault, and second- and fourth-degree criminal mischief. He allegedly assaulted Sandra Rich on Aug. 7 and attempted to enter 222 Maple Lane on Aug. 8 and broke numerous windows with a jack handle.
Musical set

in Waterloo

WATERLOO  Simple: The Musical, a one-act musical about a familys struggle with loss, addiction and illness, will be held at 7 p.m. today, Friday and Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sunday.

The show will be performed in the black box space in the back of the Walker Building, 224 Commercial St.

The cast includes Kevin Petersen, Cassie Yost, Abigail Van Patten and John Nicol. The show was written and music composed by Billy Gleason and Nicol, both students at Minnesota State University at Mankato.

Tickets are available at www.wcpbhct.org.

Group sets road trip for exhibit

WELLSBURG  The Butler County Historical/Genealogical Society is planning a road trip Saturday to see the University of Iowas Traveling Poster Exhibit at the Wellsburg Public Library.

The exhibit, German Iowa and the Global Midwest, is sponsored by the Ostfriesen Research Center.

The groups plans to leave from the Clarksville Public Library at 10 a.m. and the Butler County Court House at 10:20 a.m.

Events for the day include seeing the exhibit, accordion music in the Wellsburg Community Center and a presentation by Tammie Mount focusing on Online Digital Wellsburg and Grundy County newspapers.

Lunch will be available from noon to 1:30 p.m. from the Grundy County Pork Producers. Anyone interested is welcome.

Veterans ride

set Saturday

FAIRBANK  The Fairbank American Legion annual Veterans Memorial Ride will be Saturday.

Registration is at 10 a.m., with departure at 10:15 a.m.

All bikes and cars are welcome. Stops will include Winthrop, Wadena, Waucoma and Westgate, and a bus will be available.

Everyone is welcome. All proceeds go to the Veterans Memorial.

Sing, ice cream social planned

WAVERLY  An old-fashioned hymn sing and ice cream social is planned for 6:30 p.m. Sunday at St. John Lutheran Church, 415 Fourth St. S.W.

There will be a mix of traditional hymns, old-time favorites and some new music.

The public is welcome. Contact Jean Hilbert at jhilbert93@mchsi.com or 239-3152 with any questions.

Southern cuisine dinner planned

WATERLOO  Jubilee UMC Resource Center, at the corner of East Fourth and Newell streets, will host a LeChristophers Southern cuisine dinner at noon Sunday.

This months menu may feature pork loin, fried chicken, baked chicken, sweet potatoes, macaroni and cheese, salmon patties, cool collard greens, okra, pies and cakes. Salads and beverages are served with the meal.

Cost of the meal is $12 for adults and $6 for children. For more information or take-out dinners, call 234-5307.

Blood drive

set in Calmar

CALMAR  There will be a community blood drive from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. Aug. 18 at Calmar Lutheran Church, 200 N. East St.

Make an appointment at lifeservebloodcenter.org or call (800) 287-4903.

Dog Days swim event slated

WAVERLY  The annual Dog Days of Summer swim event will be 6 to 7:30 p.m. Aug. 17 at the Waverly pool.

The fee is $5 per dog with up to three humans. Humans by themselves are not allowed for this special event.

All proceeds will go to support the Waverly Bark Park.

Only well-mannered dogs and their (well-mannered) handlers are allowed to participate. Current vaccinations are required. For their safety, children younger than 8 will not be admitted through the gate.
AMES  With Iowas budget crunch continuing, Iowa State University proposed Wednesday raising its basic tuition rate 7 percent a year  and also increasing rate differentiation in its most costly degree programs  through 2022.

Interim ISU President Ben Allen  the second of Iowas three public university presidents to present tuition models this month to a Board of Regents task force  said the increases are based on some assumptions that in themselves are challenging:

The increases rely on no change in state appropriations, unlike in the 2017 and current 2018 budget year, when lawmakers clawed back funds that already had been allocated.

ISUs enrollment should be flat  unlike in recent years when interest skyrocketed and broke records.

Higher educations inflation rate of 2.41 percent  the average for the last five years  would stay the same for ISU, plus the campus would realize additional cost efficiencies.

If all that plays out, Allen said, ISUs plan to raise the basic rate 7 percent per year would take the annual cost of in-state undergraduate tuition from $7,456 this fall to $10,457 in 2022.

And a proposed 4 percent per year increase for non-resident undergrads would take tuition for those students from $21,292 this year to $25,905 in 2022.

He noted further rate adjustments for students in costlier programs like engineering and business, some of which now have differential rates.

In engineering, for example, to get up to where University of Iowa is, I think its about $300 more, Allen said. In business, to get up where the University of Iowa is, the differential would have to go up about $800. But in some of the other areas that do not have differentials now, but they will be having, some of those over a couple years go up over $1,000  quite sizable.

On Monday, University of Northern Iowa President Mark Nook pitched more modest tuition increases of an annualized 2.5 percent  provided there is enough state appropriation support for the campus.

This Monday, University of Iowa President Bruce Harreld is scheduled to deliver his proposal. He has been outspoken in his desire to raise rates to the median of the UIs peers  amounting to thousands of more for some.

Still, the regents must approve any tuition rate changes every year, making these five-year tuition proposals just that  proposals.

But regent leadership has indicated a willingness to give the campuses more control over their own tuition needs.

Regents charged the universities with coming up with five-year tuition models after two years of last-minute rate hikes created consternation among students and families trying to plan.

Those last-minute increases came after state appropriations fell short of funding requests and after legislators in their last session actually took back money already committed amid falling state budget forecasts.

Lawmakers invited last month to participate in a discussion with the task force failed to commit, resulting in that meetings cancellation.

But several legislators or their surrogates spoke Wednesday.

I dont want you to give up on the legislative and state support, said Rep. Beth Wessel-Kroeschell, D-Ames. I believe there is a way for us to do this. I believe it is our responsibility to make sure that young Iowans have access to an affordable education, and that is my goal.

A report from the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency shows the states 2017 budget  which fell short of projections, requiring $118 million in cuts and transfers and $131 million in IOUs  could still this year see an additional $104 million shortfall.

Should more cuts hit, Allen said his campus would consider seeking more tuition hikes.

But I think its a tougher decision to increase this, he said. Its an easier decision to go down if the state gives us more money.

Former ISU junior Caleb Vanfossen, 23, said hes feeling the pain. He wasnt able to register for classes in what would have been his senior year after losing tuition assistance and facing higher costs.

I cant live and go to college at the same time, he told the panel.

In making a case for higher rates, Allen pointed to strategic priorities. To retain faculty and staff, the university must provide reasonable pay increases. Secondly, the university must hire a net 330 faculty by 2022 to maintain target student-faculty ratios.

Over the next five years, ISU must add 900,000 square feet of building capacity to meet faculty needs. And, he said, ISU has to up its need-based financial aid.

He said the university already is seeing indicators our high quality may be at risk.

The College of Business has lost two strong young faculty due to salary issues, Allen said. The College of Engineering has lost 26 midcareer faculty in three years. ISU student counseling has lost three counselors due to pay gaps between $30,000 and $40,000.

On the facilities side, 10 engineering labs run 12 hours a day and the business college holds classes until 10 p.m. four days a week.

I think were reaching a breaking point, Allen said. We must do something about this, or we are going to lose our best people.
DES MOINES  Iowas signature summer humidity is not just an annoyance, its a costly reminder climate change is real and needs to be addressed, a group of Iowa scientists said Wednesday.

Gene Takle is director of Iowa State Universitys climate science program and one of the architects of the seventh annual Iowa Climate Statement. It is endorsed by 190 scientists from 39 Iowa colleges and universities. Takle told a Statehouse news conference absolute humidity  measured by dew-point temperature  has increased statewide by 8 percent to 23 percent since 1971.

He said scientists have good evidence the rise is due to increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that likely will increase more in the future.

Takle, a professor of geological and atmospheric sciences in the ISU department of agronomy, said the conditions relate to the increase of springtime moisture transport from the Gulf of Mexico, resulting in higher humidity readings measured across all seasons at all long-term monitoring stations in Iowa.

The increasing cost for flooding, mold, insects, mosquitoes, humidity-related health issues, grain drying, air conditioning, erosion, etc., are evidence that climate change in humidity already is having a negative impact on both public and private checkbooks, Takle noted.

He said Iowa has been a national leader in embracing renewable energy, but factors outside the state are negatively impacting the states climate.

As long as we avoid making progress on reducing the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide, these effects are going to increase, he said.

The statement describes the impact of higher humidity levels on people, animals, crops and infrastructure.

According to the scientists, there is evidence the frequency of intense rain has increased in Iowa over the past 50 years; there is a northward expansion of species formerly restricted by a colder climate that could disrupt ecosystems and introduce new agricultural pests and diseases; and agriculture, human health and economic stability could be affected if greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase.

We must all do more to mitigate the effects of climate change by curtailing emissions of heattrapping gases, improving energy efficiency and increasing use of clean and renewable energy, said Betsy Stone, a University of Iowa associate professor in chemistry and biochemical engineering.

Stone pointed to monitoring data dating back to 1971 indicating average humidity increased by 23 percent in Dubuque, 14.8 percent in Burlington, 11.9 percent in Des Moines, 10.7 percent in Waterloo, 9.2 percent in Sioux City and 8 percent in Mason City. Similar data since 1973 showed humidity increases averaging 22.2 percent in Cedar Rapids and 11.5 percent in Ottumwa.

Increased levels of humidity create hazardous conditions for Iowa workers and sensitive populations through the danger of heat exhaustion and heatstroke. Asthma is worsened by higher levels of allergens in the air. And the cost of air conditioning homes and businesses to maintain comfort levels increases, said Takle.

For Iowas agriculture, increased warmseason humidity leads to waterlogged soils during planting season, rising humidity also leads to longer dew periods and higher moisture conditions that elevate costs of drying grain. Increased nighttime temperatures coupled with humidity causes stress to crops, livestock and pets, Takle said.

The Iowa statement comes the same week as federal scientists warn burning fossil fuels is already driving a steep increase in the United States of heat waves, droughts and floods.

The draft report representing the consensus of 13 federal agencies concludes the evidence global warming is being driven by human activities is unambiguous. The report cites thousands of peer-reviewed studies. It says, Evidence for a changing climate abounds, from the top of the atmosphere to the depths of the oceans.

In the Midwest, the report states:

The annual average temperature has already gone up 1.18 degrees since 1901-1960 and is projected to rise another 5.29 degrees by mid-century and 9.49 degrees by the end of the century, if carbon pollution continues unabated. If carbon emissions are somewhat reduced, the annual temperature would go up by 4.21 degrees by mid-century and 5.57 degrees by late century.

Extreme rainfall has already jumped 9 percent compared with the first half of the 20th century and is projected to go up another 20 percent by the end of the 20th century if carbon pollution continues unabated. If carbon pollution is somewhat reduced it would only increase 11 percent.
WATERLOO  The Baptist Crusaders drill team, color guard and drumline are hosting a three-day event to honor 50 years of marching and entertaining the community.

The celebration begins Friday night at the church with a reunion at 6 p.m., where former crusaders can meet, reminisce and even prepare their own performances similar to those they did with the group years ago.

Weve had people go off and get their music degrees; one even opened his own music store, so its important to us that they come back and show the current kids how they ended up, said Pat Bowers, who has overseen the group for nearly 30 years.

After a brunch-munch and grilling session Saturday morning at Furgeson Field and a performance by the current crusaders, the groups alumni will compete in the Throw-Together Throwback with their old-time performances. Prizes will be awarded.

Meanwhile, the current 30 crusaders, who are between the ages of 5 and 22, are tirelessly preparing for their own performance for Sunday nights post-worship Field Show Exhibition. After honoring the groups late members with a recognition service, the traditional Red and White Day continues with a debut of the current crusaders new show called Decades, with themes based anywhere from the 50s to the 80s.

Practices have gotten longer by hours now, Bowers said. We dont say what time we stop, only what time we start.

Bowers was one of the original members of the crusaders 50 years ago and has watched the program evolve into something truly special.

The Union Baptist Crusaders were created in 1967 by the late Rev. L.J. Jordan during a time of rioting and protesting in Waterloo as a means to distract the children and give them something positive to focus on.

The program not only kept kids off the dangerous streets but also encouraged them to attend church as the sole requirement to become a member. This goal remains the same today.

Church has always been our main emphasis, thats still what we do today, Bowers said. I can tell their parents where their child is and what they are doing.

Bowers said she talks to pastors from six different churches, parents and grandparents to assure the kids actually are attending church services. This strong community and family connection helps maintain the program and its initiatives.

Along with teaching the children valuable life lessons and boosting their self-esteem, being a part of the crusaders also allows various opportunities for travel.

While Iowa keeps us busy with local events and celebrations, the group also has traveled to Chicago to perform in the opening ceremonies for the Worlds of Fun theme park, Omaha and the Quad Cities.

We practice all week so we can show off and have fun on the weekends, Bowers said. I think thats why a lot of members participate until they think theyre too old.
To paraphrase the Star Trek TV series, Democratic leaders are on a quest for new life and to regain lost constituencies, seeking to boldly go where no man (or Hillary Clinton) had gone before on a mission to be relevant.

Berryville, Va., (pop. 4,304) was their recent stand-in for the rural communities that battered no-show Clintons presidential bid. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York City and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco ventured into the hinterland to unveil A Better Deal.

When you lose to somebody who has 40 percent popularity, you dont blame other things  (former FBI Director James) Comey, Russia  you blame yourself, Schumer told the Washington Post. So what did we do wrong? People didnt know what we stood for, just that we were against Trump.

A Better Deal aims to raise wages, lower costs and give workers the tools to succeed, but Democrats should worry Schumer and Pelosi have chartered yet another course into a black hole, after losing more than 1,000 national and state-elected positions in eight years.

Democrats would boost the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour from $7.25. Some increase is long overdue, but caution is advised.

University of Washington economists recently studied Seattles minimum-wage hike from $9.47 in April 2015 to $10-11 an hour, depending on business type, and again in January 2016 to $10.50-$13. It reaches $15 in 2021.

The UW study found the second increase had an adverse impact  a 9 percent reduction in hours worked in similar jobs, resulting in an overall 6 percent earnings decline or nearly $125 per month. It estimated 5,000 fewer low-wage jobs than without the law.

In response, Seattle officials cited a University of California study that overall income increased for low-income Berkeley restaurant workers after a boost in wages. But it only focused on restaurants. The broader-based UW study excluded chain restaurants.

And Seattle is prosperous with major corporations competing for talent. Rolling out $15 per hour in Berryville, Va., or elsewhere in rural America, could become more of a burden than blessing.

The proposals envisioned expanding the federal bureaucracy, including doing some things that should be expected now:

An independent trade prosecutor would work with the U.S. trade representative to ensure workers, small companies and major corporations have equal access to the enforcers of our trade laws.

An American Jobs Council would block foreign investments if proven to cost jobs.

A consumer competition advocate would recommend investigating monopolistic practices to the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission.

Drug-price gouging would be investigated.

Sounding much like Donald Trump, Democrats would require that taxpayer dollars be spent on U.S. companies and U.S. jobs for all federal public works and infrastructure projects, change the tax code to penalize companies involved in outsourcing, while increasing vigilance of currency manipulation.

In a nod to the effectiveness of Trumps tweets, Democrats would place companies sending jobs overseas on a public shame list.

Like Trump, Democrats want to spend $1 trillion on infrastructure. Trump only allocates $200 million in new federal dollars, while selling off federal holdings (air-traffic control, among them) and also pressuring states and localities to sell properties to finance projects. Highway improvements would be financed with tolls.

Its a suspect proposal unlikely to be approved. To make it palatable, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin has hinted at allowing states to capture online sales taxes to finance projects.

Democrats have supported corporate tax reform to pay for their plan.

Democrats are still emphasizing education, but without Clintons tuition-free proposal. Like Trump, they want more apprenticeship programs.

Schumer vilified vulture capitalists for gouging consumers: Higher credit-card fees and the skyrocketing costs for everything from cable bills and airline tickets to food and health care.

Just as Trump railed against corporate America, then filled his administration with billionaires and Wall Street bankers, Schumers populist streak is suspect.

During the 2008 financial meltdown, a New York Times story revealed Schumer as a member of the Banking and Finance Committees, repeatedly took other steps to protect industry players from government oversight and tougher rules. ... He has also helped save financial institutions billions of dollars in higher taxes or fees.

Schumer also succeeded in limiting efforts to regulate credit-rating agencies, for example, sponsored legislation that cut fees paid by Wall Street firms to finance government oversight, pushed to allow banks to have lower capital reserves and called for the revision of regulations to make corporations balance sheets more transparent.

Trump has a 33 percent approval rating, Republican leadership proved dysfunctional in dealing with health care and House Speaker Paul Ryans better way (adjectives having been rationed) isnt.

Unfortunately, when Democrats need a Roosevelt rallying cry, they offer Schumer and Pelosi delivering a plan that just doesnt seem to resonate.
WATERLOO  A teenager has been arrested for allegedly setting fire inside a garage at her home earlier this week.

Waterloo firefighters were sent to 203 Candlewick Road at 11:20 a.m. Monday and found items inside the garage had been set on fire.

On Tuesday, Waterloo police arrested Brenna Janea Branch, 17, for first-degree arson. She was charged as an adult, according to court records.

Authorities said Branch had called dispatchers to report the fire and told operators she set the blaze. She also told a police officer she set the fire because she had been locked out of the house, court records state.

Sex offender

jailed for escape

WATERLOO  Sheriffs deputies have arrested a sex offender who disappeared while serving time at a halfway house.

Kevin Louis Thurman, 33, was arrested Wednesday on a new charge of failure to register as a sex offender for not notifying authorities of his whereabouts when he fled the Waterloo Residential Facility in June.

At the time he fled, he was serving time for failing to register his address in January.

Thurman is currently being held at the Black Hawk County Jail with a no-bond hold for two probation violations.

According to court records, Thurmans problems started in 2011 when he had sexual contact with a 15 year-old girl, and she became pregnant. He was convicted of third-degree sexual abuse in connection with the incident and sentenced up to 10 years in prison suspended to a year in the residential facility and five years of probation with lifetime supervision.

He registered as a sex offender, but in 2017 authorities became suspicious of his whereabouts and used GPS monitoring to determine he wasnt living where he claimed to be living, according to court records.

He was arrested for first-offense failing to register in February 2017, and in April he was sentenced up to two years in prison suspended to a year in the Residential Facility and two years of probation.

On June 4, Thurman left the facility to work his shift at a local restaurant and didnt return. Corrections workers later determined he didnt attend work that day, and he was placed on escape status.

Man arrested

for robbery

RAYMOND  An Evansdale man has been arrested in connection with the robbery of a Raymond convenience store last month.

Black Hawk County sheriffs deputies arrested Dennis Jerry Wroe, 25, of 702 Brookside Ave., on Wednesday for second-degree robbery and second-degree theft.

Authorities allege Wroe took more than $1,000 worth of cash and cigarettes after he threatened a clerk at New Star Mart, 101 Commercial St., on the night of July 21.

Deputies from the Black Hawk and Buchanan county sheriffs offices were involved in the investigation.

Wroe was initially arrested Saturday on a third-degree burglary charge. Court records allege he took pool cues, jewelry, Harley Davidson collectors pins and a checkbook from a home on Lafayette Street on Aug. 2.

1 caught cashing

bogus checks

CEDAR FALLS  A Waterloo woman has been arrested for allegedly passing fraudulent checks from the University of Northern Iowas Womens Rugby Club.

Authorities allege Alexandra Linae Trotter White, who isnt affiliated with UNI, cashed a $1,450 check at a Wells Fargo Bank in Waterloo at 10:39 a.m. on April 25 and then traveled to a Cedar Rapids Wells Fargo when she passed a $1,520 check at 12:18 p.m.

University recreation officials learned about the incidents the following day and notified UNI police. Investigators obtained bank surveillance videos showing the transactions and matched thumbprints on the checks to Trotter White, court records state.

Police arrested Trotter White, 35, of 260 Baltimore St., on Tuesday for two counts each of second-degree theft and forgery. She was taken to the Black Hawk County Jail, and her bond was set at $20,000.

Woman killed

in Solon crash

SOLON  A Charles City woman died in a single-vehicle crash Tuesday night in Johnson County.

Tiffany L. Beckles, 35, was pronounced dead at the scene. The crash was reported about 10:35 p.m. at 1160 Iowa Highway 1 near Solon.

The Iowa State Patrol said Beckles was driving a Mercury Mountaineer southbound on Highway 1 when the vehicle went off the roadway into the west ditch and struck an Iowa Department of Transportation sign and rolled.

The crash remains under investigation.
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[contentcards url=https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2017/07/25/the-current-big-lie-is.html]

The Big Lie today is as enormous as, and potentially far more harmful than, any Big Lie throughout history has been; and, it will be exposed fully here, and will be documented even more fully, by means of the links that are provided in this summary of it. (This Big Lie is certainly important enough for that care, because if the lie is continued unexposed, that massive fraud will produce World War III, a world-destroying nuclear war, perhaps even soon.) So, this will be only a summary of it, but a completely documented summary  not a mere expose thats expected to be believed because it is already generally suspected or thought to be the case, but, instead, something thats presented in the expectation that the key facts of the case have, to the contrary, been so effectively hidden from the public, as to make necessary here the providing of full documentation of it, for anyone who wants to delve more deeply into this ongoing rape of history  the super-dangerous Big Lie thats ongoing right now.

This Big Lie today, which is to be described here, is the lie, upon the basis of which the Cold War against the dictatorial communistic USSR  which Cold War had been such a boost to US weapons-makers such as Lockheed Martin while it lasted  actually became restored in 2014, and continues today, as, this time, not a cold but a hot war, by the US and its allies, all united together (for the benefit of the owners of their international corporations, and especially of the big US arms-suppliers) against democratic post-communist Russia (which gets blamed for trying to defend itself, at every step of the way that it does so). This increasingly hot war started in early 2014 (after at least three years of advance-preparation of it by the US Administration of American President Barack Obama), in Ukraine (formerly a part of the USS.R.), when a CIA coup that was perpetrated under the cover of democracy demonstrations, against the democratically elected Ukrainian President, Viktor Yanukovych  when this CIA coup installed there, in Ukraine, a rabidly anti-Russian government, bordering Russia. That is certainly a provocation to war, just as would be the case if instead Russia had overthrown Mexicos government and installed there a rabidly anti-US regime.

In this Big Lie, which reigns today and is almost universally believed in the US to be true, that bloody coup in Ukraine is simply ignored, and instead the focus is placed upon the peaceful and voluntary breakaway of Crimea from Ukraine, which breakaway actually resulted directly from that coup, which was the real precipitating-event for the new Cold War  the basis of the US-and-allied economic sanctions against Russia, and for the massing of NATO troops and weapons onto Russias borders, ready to invade Russia. (How would Americans feel if the Russian government did all of that, to us?)

The Big Lie today is this: that the reason for the economic sanctions against Russia, is that Putin or Russia stole or conquered or seized the Crimea region of Ukraine. The Big Truth, about the matter, is that US President Obama conquered Ukraine itself (all of it), via a February 2014 CIA coup that he had secretly started planning by no later than 2011, which on 20 February 2014 culminated with the violent overthrow of the democratically elected President of Ukraine, Yanukovych, who had won 90% of the votes in the far-eastern Donbass area of Ukraine, and 75% of the votes in the far-southern Crimea area of Ukraine, both of which intensely pro-Yanukovych regions refused to be ruled by the Obama-appointed rulers  the hard-right, fascist and rabidly anti-Russian, team that the Obama regime imposed upon Ukraine, after Obamas agent Victoria Nuland told Obamas Ambassador to Ukraine on 4 February 2014, that Yats (Arseniy Yatenyuk), a hard-right and even racist anti-Russian Ukrainian politician, was to become appointed to run the country as soon as the coup would be over, which happened 23 days later (and Yatsenyuk did then receive the appointment and establish very hard-right anti-Russian policies  including massacres of ethnic Russians in Ukraine).

The legalities of the situation are as heinous on Americas side as the moralities are; and, yet, Americas vassal-states, in the EU and elsewhere, slavishly honor Obamas sanctions against the victim-nation here, Russia (even while acknowledging that the residents of Crimea are overwhelmingly supportive of having separated themselves from Ukraine and grateful to Russia for now protecting them against the rabidly anti-Crimean US-imposed rulers of Ukraine). Furthermore: by no later than 26 February 2014, the leaders of the EU knew that the revolution on the Maidan had, in fact, been a brutal coup, nothing at all democratic  but decided to ignore that fact. So, they too are culpable in this, though not nearly to the extent that Obama is.

On Friday 21 July 2017, the anti-Russian Reuters news (propaganda) agency headlined Crimean scandal prompts Siemens to retreat from Russian energy and reported that, Germanys Siemens tried to distance itself from a Crimean sanctions scandal on Friday, halting deliveries of power equipment to Russian state-controlled customers and reviewing supply deals. The industrial group said it now had credible evidence that all four gas turbines it delivered a year ago for a project in southern Russia had been illegally moved to Crimea, confirming a series of Reuters reports. The false underlying assumption in this propaganda-article was that the scandal it refers to had been initiated and perpetrated by Russia, not by the United States government (which initiated the sanctions against Russia, which Siemens and Russia are now being punished for). The Wikipedia propaganda site says in its article Russian financial crisis (20142017) that The financial crisis in Russia in 2014-2015 was the result of the collapse of the Russian ruble beginning in the second half of 2014 and barely even mentions the economic sanctions, other than to say, The second [reason for it] is the result of international economic sanctions imposed on Russia following Russias annexation of Crimea and the Russian military intervention in Ukraine  implying, but not stating, that Russia had started that war  which just happened to be on its doorstep, not on the doorstep of the US  as if Mexico had been taken over by an enemy nation and the people of America were being threatened, which is what this takeover by the US government was equivalent to for the Russian people: a very real and grave national-security threat to them.

The Reuters article simply ignored the fact that Ukraine had been seized by Obama, and it simply presumed that Crimea (and also Donbass) had been seized by Putin. (Furthermore, the appeal by Donbass to become a part of Russia, was declined by Putin on 17 September 2014. But, still, the lie is also being pumped by pro-US-regime newsmedia, that Russia is trying to steal Donbass from Ukraines government. The US teams lying is beyond bizarre. Sometimes, by their using carefully veiled language to deceive without outright asserting their lies, they implicitly blame Russia regarding the impasse in Donbass, even three years after Putin said no to that appeal by the residents of Donbass. And, still: Russia, which had  despite the Obama regimes refusal to participate  signed and even had helped set up the Minsk agreements to settle the war in Donbass, gets blamed in the US-allied press for what are actually Ukraines refusal to honor the commitments it had signed to there. As usual, the victims get blamed. And the Trump Administration says that there should be no sanctions relief until Russia meets its obligations under the Minsk agreements. No good deed will go unpunished  ever.)

Nor has Reuters (nor the rest of the US regimes press) reported that a power-struggle is now occurring in the post-coup Ukraine, between the overt nazis (or racist-fascists) there, and the post-coup (rump remaining Ukrainian-elected) (thats the fascist but not outright nazi) elected government (in elections that excluded non-fascists). The fascists, whom the current US regime supports, are being attacked by the nazis. The nazis are being led by Dmitriy Yarosh, whose followers are unabashedly nazis and often even boldly flash German Nazi Party insignia. The US Obama regime was one of only three governments throughout the world that voted against a resolution that had been introduced in the United Nations condemning fascism, racism and denial of the Holocaust. The two other pro-Nazi nations were Ukraine, whose US-installed regime felt the resolution to be personally offensive even though it wasnt specific to Ukraine and didnt even mention Ukraine, and the other country was Canada, which is a US vassal-nation and also has a powerful community of Ukrainian Nazis who escaped Ukraine right after WW II ended in 1945. Canadas current Foreign Minister, appointed by the Liberal Partys Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, is Chrystia Freeland, a racist-fascist who is proud of her Nazi grandparents and who championed in Canada the fascist takeover of Ukraine.

When the International Criminal Court issued, on 14 November 2016, its annual Report on Preliminary Examination Activities, it included, on pages 34-43, a section on Ukraine, but considered only accusations that the Obama-installed Ukrainian government had lodged against Russia, and none of the demonstrated crimes (which are amply documented in the links herein), including the illegal coup, that the Obama regime had, in fact, perpetrated against not only the people of Ukraine, but the people of Russia next door; and the discussion by the ICC did not (such as an influential but grossly false Forbes article six days later headlined and yet provided no documentation for, International Criminal Court: Russias Invasion Of Ukraine Is A Crime, Not A Civil War) even allege that any crime had been committed by any party; but, nonetheless, the Russian government (which had never ratified the treaty that established the Court) condemned the report as being one-sided, which was an understatement, because the report included many gross falsehoods, outright lies, such as (and I boldface the falsehood):

At the time of the start of the events that are the subject of the Offices preliminary examination, the democratically-elected Government of Ukraine was dominated by the Party of Regions, led by President at the time, Viktor Yanukovych. The Maidan protests were prompted by the decision of the Ukrainian Government on 21 November 2013 not to sign an Association Agreement with the European Union.

As I and others have documented, the overthrow of Ukraines democratically elected President started well before that time, and the coup even was already being organized inside the US Embassy there by no later than 1 March 2013; and the US State Department had begun its work to prepare it, no later than 2011  it didnt simply happen. And it certainly wasnt democratic; it ended whatever democracy Ukraine had. Furthermore, Yanukovychs turn-down of the EUs offer was, itself, a part of the Obama regimes plan: Yanukovych had turned it down because the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences analysis of the EUs offer (which had been prepared in accord with the US governments urgings) had concluded that to accept the deal would produce losses for Ukraine of $160 billion.

This is the Big Lie straight out of hell, because, unless the United States acknowledges publicly that it has been lying, and that the anti-Russia sanctions that the US initiated, are based on that lie and should therefore never even have been imposed (and should not be honored anywhere), there will be war between Russia and the US Either those sanctions will be entirely lifted, or else nuclear war will inevitably result, because Russia will not forever tolerate having its economy squeezed to death on the basis of a clear lie. But how can such sanctions be ended unless the perpetrator  here, clearly, the US  publicly acknowledges that former US President Barack Obama, and his Administration, lied through their teeth, in order to impose them, in the first place? The US government would need to renounce, to the entire world, that former US President. Or else, WW III would seem to be well-nigh inevitable. This is an extremely serious matter, which isnt so much as even being discussed  much less, debated. WW III could result from it, but it is entirely ignored. The Big Lie just continues to be promoted, instead of exposed.

Back on 20 February 2015, I headlined Crimea: Was It Seized by Russia, or Did Russia Block Its Seizure by the US? and, in the years since, the documentation that it was Obama not Putin who initiated (perpetrated) the new Cold War, has only increased. But the newsmedia hide this fact (just as they hid that article), because they exist in order to pump the Big Lie, not to puncture it. (And, of course, that also is why they wont publish this, though it, too, is sent to all of them free-of-charge to publish.)

Donald Trump condemns many of his predecessors actions and decisions and statements; but, on this one, which is the most important of them all and is blatantly a fraud (the blame for the entire catastrophe in Ukraine), Trump remains alternately supportive, and noncommittal, regarding Obamas most enormous Big Lie. Now, after half a year in office, does he even care  or does he instead simply lack the courage?

It is clear what a real leader would do  expose and renounce that biggest of all Big Lies. Only a coward would not.
Staying out of debt is easier said than done, I know. However, its something you can do, and its something you should be practicing everyday. As Christians, we are in this world, but we are
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.
6th Term Democratic Rep. Niki Tsongas (MA-03) has announced she will not seek reelection to the House in 2018. This brings to 21 the number of Representatives that will not seek another term. The updated list, along with the current ratings, courtesy of Sabato's Crystal Ball, can be seen in the table below.

Of the 21 leaving the House, 13 are Republicans (R), eight are Democrats (D). Eight (5R, 3D) are running for governor of their state, while five (3R, 2D) are running for U.S. Senate. One Democrat is running for president in 2020. The remaining seven (5R, 2D) are retiring, or are not currently seeking another office. 15 seats (9R, 6D) are considered safe for the incumbent party, while the other six (4R, 2D) are expected to be at least somewhat competitive.

All 435 House seats will be up for election in 2018.
Aug 10, 2017 | By Benedict

Maker Chris DePrisco has posted a YouTube guide to low-temperature metal casting using 3D printed parts, an air compressor, and a pressure vessel. The method uses silicone molds to cast metals with a low melting point, such as bismuth alloys.

Not many of us have the funds or the basement space to install a metal 3D printer at home. But that doesnt mean you cant use a 3D printer to create metal parts.

Chris DePrisco, a hacking and machining expert from the U.S., recently posted a video tutorial showing you how to achieve low temperature metal casting using 3D printed parts, an air compressor, and a pressure vessel. The process will only work using metals with a low melting point, but gives makers a whole new way to fabricate useful objects.

In the 14-minute video, DePrisco experiments with 3D printing and air pressure tools to create a silicone mold for a Maltese falcon. His molten metal of choice is a bismuth alloy, which can be melted 138C, which is hot, but cool enough for the silicone mold to withstand.

The process, which DePrisco demonstrates with neat close-ups of his equipment and actions, involves first 3D printing a standard model of the falcon using PLA. This is nothing compared to the final metal version, but its essential for creating the silicone mold.

When the PLA falcon is printed, DePrisco makes an airtight box out polycarbonate and puts the falcon inside. The box is then filled with a silicone mix, which sets overnight.

The next day I can remove the mold and see whats inside, DePrisco explains. The silicone easily separates from the part but all the nooks and crannies make removing the part a little more difficult.

In the end, the maker is able to pull the PLA falcon out from its squishy silicone surroundings without having to make any incisions to the silicone. This leaves behind a perfect silicone mold with a detailed, falcon-shaped hole in the center.

Next comes the pouring of the molten metal into the mold. DePrisco chose to use the bismuth 10 281 alloy, which is 40 percent bismuth and 60 percent tin, and which melts at 138C.

Once the bismuth had cooled down within the silicone mold and could be pulled out, the metal falcon looked not great, in DePriscos words, because of bubbles in the cast.

This led DePrisco to attempt using a pressure vessel and air compressor at 60-80 Psi to crush the bubbles out of the falcon model. This equipment helped to produce a much better model, though there were still some small metal balls on the outside of the bird. This, the maker realized, was caused by air bubbles in the silicone mold, not the bismuth.

Accordingly, DePrisco re-made a silicone mold, only this time he used the pressure equipment.

With air pressure used to make both the silicone mold and the metal cast, DePrisco was able to produce a nice-looking bismuth-tin falcon that was near-identical to the PLA 3D printed model.

Well, I think that turned out pretty nice, DePrisco fairly concludes.

So there you have it. While you might not have air compression equipment to hand, DePriscos process shows that you can turn cheap 3D printed parts into metal replicas without a metal 3D printer. We think thats pretty neat.

Check out the tutorial in full in the video below.

Posted in 3D Printing Application

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San Francisco goes bananas for the Color Factory
The new show is untitled, but Letterman is already planning to go after the tough interviews. He told the New York Times hes making a list of people that you know youre not going to be able to talk to, and those are the people that I want to try to get to talk to.

Letterman also said the new show will not take on the same format of his former network shows, and he will not face the same time limits. I can just talk the ears off people, until they call the police. As with many things, Im coming from a position of great ignorance, so the well of questioning is pretty much infinite. Its a perfect fit for me,  he told the Times.

The comedian and broadcaster said he is excited about coming out of retirement and told the Hollywood Reporter, "Here's what I have learned, if you retire to spend more time with your family, check with your family first. Thanks for watching, drive safely."

And if youre wondering if he will shave or keep the beard, Letterman had this to say to the Times, Between you and me, the beard is to cover up botched plastic surgery, he said. The beard has to stay.
Washing towels frequently can be a tedious chore, and it uses up water and detergent, adding expense to your weekly budget. But drying your nice clean body with a bacteria-laden towel probably isn't the best idea either. So what do the experts recommend?



A recent Dr. Oz poll shows there is a great mix of opinions on how long you should use a towel before washing it. Sixteen percent of respondents said they wash their towels daily, but most people stretched it out longer with 33 percent washing them two or three times per week and 40 percent just once a week. Eleven percent admitted to only washing their towels every two weeks or more. t

Warm, damp towels are an ideal environment for microbial growth, including bacteria, mold and yeast. Dr. Mehmet Oz and NSF International, an independent organization that checks product safety, tested 31 towels that had been used for either one, seven or 14 days. Significant amounts of bacteria were present on all of the towels tested, including those used for only one day, and significant yeast microbes were present on more than half of the towels. Mold was present on nearly half of the towels, and some even held significant amounts of E. coli.

Towels, not unexpectedly, tended to get dirtier the longer they went without washing. NSF concluded that for every seven days a towel was used, the amount of microorganisms almost doubled. The study recommended using a towel for no longer than seven days, with changing it at least twice a week being preferable. While most bacteria is not dangerous, levels of E. coli found at two weeks could potentially cause a serious illness or infection if ingested, or if it comes in contact with an open wound.

While it is extremely unusual to pick up a disease from your bath towel, and your own germs wont make you sick, you up your chance of disease exposure when you share towels, Reader's Digest notes. But even if you are the only one using a towel, it is good to wash them every two to three days. "When you use a towel vigorously, you scratch your skin, Chuck Gerba, a microbiology professor at the University of Arizona, told the publication. These tiny breaks can give bacteria a path into your body. Dirty towels can also increase your risk for acne.



Don't forget about hand towels

Hand towels by your sink should be swapped out every one or two days since they are used frequently and your hands may not be completely clean when you dry them, according to a report from the Today Show and Good Housekeeping. This is especially true for kitchen hand towels, which are exposed to food-borne bacteria.

After using all of those nice clean towels, you won't want to sleep on dirty sheets. The Today Show recommended changing sheets and pillowcases weekly, and mattress covers and pillow liners every few months.
Kienholz does it all to lead Pierre to sixth-straight 11AA title

Pierre quarterback Lincoln Kienholz had an interception and scored the game-winning touchdown on consecutive drives to seal Pierre's sixth-straight 11AA title.


Completes Strategic Focus

Sydney, Aug 10, 2017 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Pacific American Coal limited ( ASX:PAK ) is pleased to announce the Company has completed a strategic review to set a clear path forward for the Company. This review focused on



- Setting the strategic direction of the company,



- Prioritising the development of high value coking and metallurgical coal assets,



- Maximising available cash to advance projects, and



- Divesting non-coal assets.



Exploration Focused Company



The Company has undergone an internal review of its asset base and confirms the strategic direction of the Company is to focus on the exploration and development of its 100% owned assets. The Elko Coking Coal Project remains the focus of activities and is the most significant asset within the portfolio.



The Company will also commence preliminary activities on other assets, including the South Hazell Project located in the East Kootenay Coal Basin. The Company aims to increase knowledge of its broader portfolio so as to develop a pipeline of projects at varying stages of development.



With a strategy focused on the exploration of coking and metallurgical coal opportunities, the Board has considered ways to secure the necessary cash reserves to support these activities. The Board has considered the merits of each of its assets and investments and where necessary, has decided to divest certain assets to achieve the Company's strategy.



The Company remains very positive about the Elko Coking Coal Project and look forwards to updating shareholders on developments at Elko.



As previously mentioned, the Company has submitted the necessary documentation to support a Notice of Works (NOW) required to commence drilling at the Elko Coking Coal Project. The Company has undertaken the logistics required to undertake drilling once the NOW is approved.



Divestment of Non-Coal Assets



During the strategic review, PAK considered its ongoing investment in Imagine Intelligent Materials (Imagine).



Based on the Company's focus to develop its 100% owned Canadian assets, the Company has decided to divest its 30% position in Imagine. Similar to the divestment of GCI last year, the proceeds from the sale of Imagine will strengthen free cash available to develop the Elko Coking Coal Project. The Company has finalised a Sales and Purchase Agreement with an unrelated third party to acquire PAK's holding in Imagine.





About Pacific American Coal Ltd





Pacific American Coal Ltd (ASX:PAK) is focused on the production, development and exploration of metallurgical coal assets in North America. The Company's strategic focus is on the 100% owned Elko hard coking coal project in British Columbia and its investments in technological advanced opportunities. PAK has 100% ownership in a total of 6 Coal Leases in the East Kootenay Coal Field in British Columbia - Canada and tenements in application in low volatile bituminous region of the Arkoma coal basin in Oklahoma.


AGM Procedure

Sydney, Aug 11, 2017 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Tianmei Beverage Group Corporation Limited ( ASX:TB8 ) ("Tianmei" or the "Company") advises that shareholders who choose to attend the Annual General Meeting via the video conferencing facility at the offices of Invigor Group Limited on Level 16, 56 Pitt Street Sydney NSW 2000, will be entitled to ask questions and vote as per the standard procedure and in accordance with the Company's Constitution.





About Tianmei Beverage Group Corporation Limited





Tianmei Beverage Group Corporation Limited (ASX:TB8) provides promotional services to producers of FMCG goods as well as its own water products in the Guangdong province in China. Guangdong province is one of China's most developed provinces with a gross domestic product of US$1.1 trillion in 2014 and has as its capital, Guangzhou city, which is China's third largest city with a population of approximately 13 million people.

Product Promotion

Tianmei have contracts with over 940 terminal supermarkets and convenience stores in Guangdong. Through this network of stores, the Company promotes fast moving consumer goods, including food, beverage and general grocery products for over 65 FMCG suppliers.

Water Products

The Company's water products business focuses on the sale of Tianmei-branded water products, including bottled water, infant water and water dispensers through a network of over 500 retail outlets. The Company have a number of patents approved and pending surrounding it's water products and production equipment.
European airport trade body, ACI EUROPE today released its air traffic report for June, Q2 & H1.

The report is the only air transport report which includes all types of civil aviation passenger flights: full service, low cost and charter. It reveals that during the first half of this year (H1), passenger traffic at Europes airports grew by an average +9.0%.



This impressive growth in passenger traffic was driven by a mix of one-off factors and more structural ones. These include markets affected by terrorism last year bouncing back, the return of strong passenger demand in Russia and to a lesser extent in Turkey, continued improvement in the economy and oil prices consistently remaining below $55 per barrel.



GROWTH CONTINUING AT EU AIRPORTS & RETURNING TO NON-EU ONES



Against this background, the EU and non-EU markets ended up posting similar growth levels in passenger traffic  respectively at +8.7% and +9.9%. In the EU, the Benelux along with Cyprus, Malta and Portugal in the South as well as Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, The Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia and Croatia to the East all achieved double digit growth. In the non-EU market, Albania, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro and Ukraine each grew by well above +20%.



MAJORS IMPROVING & SECONDARY HUBS/MEDIUM SIZED AIRPORTS OUTPERFORMING



The Majors (Europes Top 5 busiest airports) recorded a passenger traffic increase of +4.3% in H1  a notable improvement over their 2016 performance (+1.6%). Amsterdam-Schiphol topped the league in terms of growth (+8.7%), followed by Paris-CDG (+5.2%), Frankfurt (+4.5%). Capacity-constrained London-Heathrow still managed to grow (+3.9%), while Istanbul-Ataturk kept regaining lost ground (-1.1%).



Stronger growth focused mainly on secondary hubs and medium sized airports  reflecting evolving competitive dynamics largely driven by Low Cost Carriers and non-EU Full Service Carriers. In this regard, the best performing airports included Keflavik (+39.7%), St Petersburg (+26%), Kiev (+29.4%), Antalya (+29.2%), Warsaw (+24.7%), Brussels (+23.4%), Larnaca (+22.7%), Lisbon (+22.3%), Prague (+21%), Naples (+20.5%), Malta (+20.2%), Bucharest (+20.4%), Porto and Faro (both +18.5%), Moscow-Sheremetyevo (+17.7%), Catania (+17.4%), Berlin-SFX (+17%), Tel-Aviv (+17.3%), Birmingham (+16%), Toulouse (+15.2%), Valencia (+15.3%) and Milan-Malpensa (+14.8%).



Accordingly, passenger traffic losses were largely concentrated on smaller airports (with less than 5 million passengers per annum).



Olivier Jankovec, Director General of ACI EUROPE commented For Europes airports, this is by far the best first half-year traffic performance in more than 10 years. And this comes on top of significant growth - passenger volumes have expanded by close to 30% since 2012. This kind of growth has clearly outstripped the most optimistic forecasts  something that should be borne in mind by anyone who doubts the looming airport capacity crunch facing Europe.



He added The outlook is very positive for the rest of the year with the economy  especially in the Eurozone - expected to maintain its growth trajectory and oil prices set to remain contained. Of course, this is assuming there are no new geopolitical upsets. Having said that, Brexit remains the number one worry for many airport CEOs  given the continued uncertainty surrounding negotiations. The countdown to March 2019 keeps ticking and if no progress is achieved in the coming months, we are likely to see negative impacts on aviation kick in already next year.



FREIGHT TRAFFIC SURGES & AIRCRAFT MOVEMENTS UP



Freight traffic across the European airport network improved markedly during H1 at +8.7% - also reflecting improved economic conditions not just in Europe but globally. This is the best first half-year performance since 2010. Aircraft movements were up +3.7%, with airlines deploying significant capacity into the market.



TOP PERFORMERS DURING H1



During H1, airports welcoming more than 25 million passengers per year (Group 1), airports welcoming between 10 and 25 million passengers (Group 2), airports welcoming between 5 and 10 million passengers (Group 3) and airports welcoming less than 5 million passengers per year (Group 4) reported an average adjustment +6.0%, +12.3%, +10.8% and +9.9%.



The airports that reported the highest increases in passenger traffic are as follows:



GROUP 1: Moscow SVO (+17.7%), Manchester (+12.6%), Moscow DME (+10.1%), London LGW (+9.4%) and Amsterdam (+8.7%)



GROUP 2: Antalya (+29.2%), St Petersburg LED (+26.0%), Warsaw WAW (24.7%), Brussels (+23.4%) and Lisbon (+22.3%)



GROUP 3: Keflavik (+39.7%), Kiev KBP (+29.4%), Larnaca (+22.7%), Naples (+20.5%) and Malta (+20.2%)



GROUP 4: Bucharest BBU (+488.1%), Nis (+366.3%), Kutaisi (+92.2%), Craiova (+85.8%) and Batumi (73.7%)







TOP PERFORMERS DURING JUNE



During the month of June, average passenger growth was +10.1%. Freight reported an exceptional increase of +8.8% and movements were up +4.6%.



Airports welcoming more than 25 million passengers per year (Group 1), airports welcoming between 10 and 25 million passengers (Group 2), airports welcoming between 5 and 10 million passengers (Group 3) and airports welcoming less than 5 million passengers per year (Group 4) reported an average adjustment +6.3%, +14.4%, +10.7% and +13.1%.



For June, the airports which reported the highest increases in passenger traffic are as follows:



GROUP 1: Moscow SVO (+19.0%), Zurich (+10.6%), Barcelona (+9.2%), Manchester (+9.1%) and Moscow DME (+8.3%)



GROUP 2: Antalya (+76.2%), St Petersburg LED (+23.8%), Lisbon (+21.0%), Tel Aviv & Warsaw WAW (+20.4%) and Ankara (+19.6%)



GROUP 3: Naples (+29.9%), Kiev KBP (+23.8%), Keflavik (+21.8%), Larnaca (+17.8%) and Malta (+17.4%)



GROUP 4: Nis (+374.1%), Batumi (+192.0%), Bucharest BBU (+190.2%), Eindhoven (+129.4%) and Foggia (+123.8%)



The 'ACI EUROPE Airport Traffic Report  June, Q2 & H1 2017 includes 252 airports in total representing more than 88% of European air passenger traffic.
Gary Richardson, a Republican candidate in the 2018 gubernatorial race, is representing the Oklahomans for Vaccine and Health Choice political action committee as well as Tulsa opthamologist Jim Meehan in a defamation lawsuit filed against them and others by Enid pediatrician Eve Switzer.

A Tulsa attorney who is among the dozen candidates vying to become Oklahomas governor said he supports the efforts of a political group opposed to childhood vaccinations, which he is representing in court.

Note: Gary Richardson is doing what lawyers do - representing a client to protect their rights. The client's goal is to protect Oklahomans' rights. OVHC-PAC is dedicated to the support of incumbents and candidates who support vaccine and health choice. Did you read "we are against childhood vaccines" in that sentence? No. The article states that the OVHC-PAC is "against childhood vaccinations." We wrote about Dr. Eve Switzer just yesterday, and her never ending Twitter campaign of false information and parental shaming. If you have a few dollars to spare - send them to Oklahoman's For Vaccine Choice . You know Dr. Switzer isn't having a bake sale to fund her legal fees. From The Frontier :

The lawsuit, filed in December in Tulsa County District Court, accuses the organization, Meehan, Candice Chamberlain, Linda Cronkhite and Elizabeth Aven of making statements online about Switzer accusing her of not providing enough information for parents to adequately be able to give informed consent for children whom she was administering a flu vaccination.

Switzer, who is former president of the Oklahoma chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, states in her lawsuit that the defendants took statements she wrote in a newsletter out of context and as a result she has suffered financial damages and received harassment and death threats.

The defendants argue that they did not take Switzers comments out of context, that the lack of informed consent allegations are true, that she has not suffered damages as a result, and that the lawsuit is part of an effort by Switzer to antagonize the defendants.

The outcome of the lawsuit has yet to be decided.

Richardson, who was representing Oklahomans for Vaccine and Health Choice prior to his late April announcement that he was running for governor, said his stance on the issue of vaccination was close to that of the groups.

I think one could conclude what my position is in view of who Im representing, and I dont represent anyone if I dont believe in their cause, Richardson said. I believe it should be the parents privilege to decide. I believe the parents should be fully informed about the vaccination and the parents should have the right to decide whether the vaccination should be given to their child.

Asked whether there is a link between autism and childhood vaccinations  a claim made by some childhood vaccination opponents  Richardson said he does not have a basis to say that a link does exist.

Though some claim a connection between childhood vaccination and autism, there is no concrete evidence of such a connection, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention unequivocally states that there is no link between vaccination and autism.

The Lawsuit

Though Oklahomans for Vaccine and Health Choice and its members had been active previously, Switzers court filings indicate the lawsuit came about because of events surrounding Gov. Mary Fallins 2016 veto of House Bill 3016. Read more here.
Aiken, SC (29801)

Today

Considerable clouds this evening. Some decrease in clouds late. Low 42F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Considerable clouds this evening. Some decrease in clouds late. Low 42F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph.
The Men Who Trade ISIS Loot

A marble bas-relief from the Middle Euphrates valley, likely looted by Islamic State, according to French officials. The object was seized at Paris's Roissy airport in March 2016 after arriving from North Lebanon. ( AFP/Getty Images) A stream of plundered antiquities flowing out of Syria and Iraq to Western art collectors is dependent on men like Muhammad hajj Al-Hassan. Mr. Al-Hassan, a 28-year-old Syrian, says he started to trade antiquities in 2015 after being contacted by a top official of Islamic State who sought his archaeological expertise to find Western buyers. Later, he became a cog in an international supply chain smuggling art looted by ISIS. ISIS's territorial grip is fading fast: Iraq has declared victory over the terrorist group in Mosul and ISIS is fighting to hold its self-proclaimed Syrian capital Raqqa--the last major city under its control. But the group's legacy of looting will linger for many years, law-enforcement officials say, in much the same way that art looted by the Nazis continues to surface 70 years later. The ancient statues, jewelry and artifacts that ISIS has stolen in Syria and Iraq, are already moving underground and may not surface for decades, according to these officials and experts in the trade. "Once looted in Syria and Iraq, objects enter a gray market shrouded in secrecy," said Michael Danti, an archaeologist who directs the Boston-based Cultural Heritage Initiatives and advises the U.S. State Department on the looting of antiquities in Syria. "It's a problem that will stay with us for years to come." Western security officials say they expect revenue from looted antiquities from Iraq and Syria to become an increasingly important source of money for ISIS if its other revenue streams, such as oil, continue to dwindle. "ISIS is increasing pressure on this line of trafficking to compensate for the loss of petroleum revenue," a French security official said. While it's impossible to know how much money these stolen artifacts provide to ISIS annually--estimates range from the low tens of millions by Mr. Danti to $100 million by another French security official--the income is considered noteworthy. The Wall Street Journal interviewed Syrian art traders, recent ISIS defectors who worked in antiquities, and law-enforcement officials in the U.S., France, Switzerland, and Bulgaria to piece together how the international antiquities smuggling operation works. Their accounts describe a pattern of trafficking in which ancient objects make their way from archaeological sites in Iraq and Syria, across borders with Turkey and Lebanon, to warehouses in Europe and Asia to await sale to dealers in the West. Last month, Oklahoma City-based arts-and-crafts retailer Hobby Lobby settled claims with the U.S. government by paying a $3 million fine and surrendering artifacts believed stolen in 2010 and smuggled from Iraq. In response to the claims, which are related to allegations of trading items looted prior to the emergence of ISIS, Hobby Lobby said it would surrender the artifacts, pay the fine and adopt new procedures for buying cultural property. ISIS hasn't commented on the trade in antiquities. Screenshot from a video that Muhammad hajj Al-Hassan used to find buyers for ancient Bibles smuggled out of Syria. This Bible dates from early Byzantine era, around the 6th century A.D., and was excavated in North Aleppo by Islamic State before being put up for sale in Turkey in June 2016 for $50,000, according to Mr. Al-Hassan. The Bible has yet to find to a buyer, he said. ( Muhammad hajj Al-Hassan) Mr. Al-Hassan and another Syrian art trader, Omar Al-Jumaa, said they agreed to speak to the Journal in person to denounce ISIS and draw attention to the group's role in the antiquities trade. Like others involved in antiquities smuggling, Mr. Al-Hassan trades under an alias. He identified himself by his trading name, Mohamed Al Ali, in an interview for a May 2017 Wall Street Journal video about looted art. In more recent interviews, Mr. Al-Hassan declined to say whether he is currently active in the trade. Mr. Al-Jumaa said he is currently selling looted objects. Before the civil war, Mr. Al-Hassan said he was an English-language student who had begun studying archaeology in his spare time, inspired by a friend's father. His knowledge in that field became an asset when the rebel Free Syrian Army took control of his region of Eastern Syria in 2013 and he began regularly digging antiquities for the group. When the territory passed into the hands of Islamic State in June 2014, Mr. Al-Hassan said he and other young men were arrested by the terror group and accused of collaborating with the FSA. Mr. Al-Hassan said he and four other men, including his neighbor, were blindfolded by a Tunisian ISIS commander and lined up in a school. Everyone in the group, except for Mr. Al-Hassan, was shot in the head, he said. Mr. Al-Hassan says he was spared when ISIS officials told him they had no proof of his connection with the FSA. One year later, he says, he was contacted by Abu Laith Al-Dairi, the ISIS official in charge of antiquities, to sell artifacts looted by the group. "We have a lot of objects," Mr. Al-Hassan remembers Mr. Laith Al-Dairi saying over the phone. "I need you to find European buyers." For many Syrian traders and smugglers, antiquities are one of the few ways they can earn a living. "They are destroying our history," said Mr. Al-Hassan. But "traffickers love them because they can make money." The Journal couldn't verify some details of Messrs. Al-Hassan and Al-Jumaa's stories about their lives in Syria. But their accounts of the antiquities trade squared broadly with those of law-enforcement officials. Mr. Al-Hassan, for instance, told the Journal last year about a Roman-era ring that ISIS's Mr. Al-Dairi was trying to sell. Later, in December, the U.S. Justice Department filed a civil complaint seeking the recovery of that object and other Syrian-looted artifacts from the group and named Mr. Al-Dairi as a key figure in the trade. Mr. Al-Hassan says Abu Laith Al-Dairi, the Islamic State official in charge of antiquities, put this stone bas-relief of a winged genii and kneeling bull up for sale in May 2017 to ISIS's network of traders with an asking price of $200,000. Mr. Al-Dairi told vendors the object was in Deir Ez-Zour but had been excavated in the ancient site of Tall Ajaja Shadadi area, a Northeast Syria settlement ISIS lost to Kurdish forces in February 2016. Michael Danti, of the Cultural Heritage Initiatives, says the work dates from the Neo-Assyrian era, which spanned 911 to 612 B.C., and 'is probably authentic.' Islamic State seizes antiquities from Syria and Iraq by giving licenses to locals to dig for them, according to people involved in the trade. The digging operation is often overseen by the group's cadre of foreign jihadists, which the organization considers more loyal than locals. Initially, ISIS didn't charge for the licenses but demanded loyalty from diggers and 20% of the estimated value of each object they excavated, these people say. Now, however, ISIS demands that diggers sell all discovered items to the group at a 20% discount of their estimated market value; ISIS then resells the objects itself, according to Mr. Al-Hassan. As ISIS loses territory, such rules are applied unevenly depending on the local leader, Mr. Danti said. The illegal trade is "not just for funding the [terrorist] group itself, but for creating ways to bring funds to its subjected population, whose hearts and minds Islamic State is trying to win," Yaya Fanusie, director of the Washington-based counterterrorism think tank Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told a U.S. congressional hearing last year. A network of independent intermediaries buy artifacts from ISIS and carries them out of Syria and Iraq, often blending in with humanitarian convoys and refugees, Western officials and ISIS antiquity traders say. They are also hidden in exports such as cotton, fruit and vegetables. Outside Syria and Iraq, the intermediaries then sell to middlemen such as Messrs. Al-Hassan and Al-Jumaa. Mr. Al-Hassan said he recently sold two antique bibles looted by Islamic State from a site in Eastern Syria to a Russian buyer in a city in Southern Turkey for
August 9, 2017

CAIRO  Egypt has recently upped its role in the Syrian crisis, sponsoring a new de-escalation deal in Syrias Homs on Aug. 2. This came after Egypt succeeded in mediating a cease-fire agreement in Eastern Ghouta after hosting three days of negotiations in Cairo between representatives of some Syrian opposition factions and the Russian Defense Ministry.

The negotiations led to the signing of agreements involving the de-escalation zone in Eastern Ghouta. A statement released by the Russian Defense Ministry on July 22 said, These documents define the borders of the de-escalation zone, the deployment sites, and powers of the de-escalation control forces, as well as the routes for delivering humanitarian aid and free passage to the residents.

As a result of the cease-fire agreement in Eastern Ghouta, signed in Cairo on July 20, the Syrian armed forces general command announced the cessation of hostilities in a number of areas in Rif Dimashq. The general command said in a statement that the cessation of hostilities enters into effect in a number of areas in the Eastern Ghouta as of July 22, the Syrian Arab News Agency said.

Mohammad Alloush, the political leader of Jaish al-Islam (Army of Islam)  a large opposition faction backed by Saudi Arabia in Eastern Ghouta  participated in the negotiations. He told the Russian news agency Sputnik on July 22, It is true; the agreement was reached and now it has come into force. Alloush said he expected humanitarian aid to be delivered to Ghouta under the agreement.

In an interview with the Portuguese TV channel RTP on Nov. 22, 2016, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi expressed Egypts support for the Syrian army in its operations inside Syrian territory and for a political solution of the crisis.

Egypts position on the Syrian crisis was confirmed by Cairo's vote on Oct. 7, 2016, in the UN Security Council in favor of a Russian draft resolution on Syria that urged an immediate cessation of hostilities, particularly in Aleppo. The Egyptian position siding with Moscow angered Saudi Arabia.

Ahmed Jarba, the head of the Syrian al-Ghad Movement  a Syrian political opposition faction that participated in the Eastern Ghouta de-escalation agreement  announced at a press conference in Cairo on Aug. 5 that Egypt is brokering a new cease-fire agreement in Homs that was signed July 31. It provides for a cessation of hostilities between the moderate armed opposition and the Syrian regime's forces in the northern Homs countryside, under the sponsorship of the Egyptian government and the guarantee of the Russian Defense Ministry.

The Egyptian brokerage of the Eastern Ghouta and Homs' cease-fire agreements comes after a number of events hosted by Cairo for Syrian opposition factions, most notably the Syrian opposition conference May 3 in parallel with secret and public visits and contacts between the Syrian and Egyptian intelligence services.

The last publicly announced meeting between Egyptian and Syrian security chiefs took place Oct. 18, 2016, when the head of the Syrian National Security Bureau, Maj. Gen. Ali al-Mamlouk, paid an official visit to Cairo upon an invitation from the Egyptian side, accompanied by six Syrian officials. During the visit, Mamlouk met the director of the Egyptian General Intelligence Directorate, Maj. Gen. Khaled Fawzy.

Qasim al-Khatib, a member of the general secretariat of al-Ghad Movement, told Al-Monitor, Egypts role in the Eastern Ghouta de-escalation agreements was limited to hosting negotiations under Russian support between the parties to these agreements on Egyptian territory, without any interference by the Egyptian authorities in the clauses of these agreements or any attempt to impose its vision on the parties involved.

He added, The participants in the negotiations for both cease-fire agreements included the representatives of the Egyptian government, the Russian Defense Ministry, Jaish al-Islam and the head of the Syrian al-Ghad movement, Ahmad Jarba.

Khatib said, Russia convinced the Syrian regime to accept the Egyptian sponsorship of this agreement." He said al-Ghad also sought to play a supporting role in the Homs and Eastern Ghouta de-escalation agreements. He added, "Saudi Arabia welcomed the Egyptian sponsorship of this agreement and encouraged Jaish al-Islam to take part in the agreement.

He continued, Moscow is the guarantor of this agreement through the deployment of Russian military police forces in the eastern region of Ghouta and in the city of Homs, to monitor the border crossings and observe abidance of the cease-fire by all factions within this area. Egypt will be sponsoring more than [one] truce agreement within the Syrian regions in the coming days. More than one party in the Syrian crisis wants Egypt to take on this role, except for extremist organizations backed by Qatar, as well as Iran, which seeks military escalation.

Egypt did not contribute in drafting the clauses of the Eastern Ghouta agreement and did not enter into the details of the negotiations, said Tarek Fahmi, a professor of political science at the American University in Cairo.

He told Al-Monitor, Egypt hosted the negotiations as a result of the clear Russian endeavor to boost the Egyptian role in the Syrian crisis. Russia will push Egypt to fill the vacant position of impartial mediator in the Syrian crisis by hosting and organizing more negotiations and agreements relating to the Syrian crisis in the coming period.

Fahmi asserted that this requires continuous efforts by Egypt at all levels, which means mending relations with the Syrian regime and coordinating positions with Russia.

In turn, Rabiha Saif Allam, a researcher at the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, told Al-Monitor, Since the outbreak of the Syrian crisis, Egypt has never taken radical positions. It rather maintained balanced relations with the moderate Syrian opposition and offered it platforms in the Egyptian capital. At the same time, it maintained contact with the Syrian regime and did not close the Egyptian Embassy in Damascus. This turned Egypt into a perfect choice to host these negotiations.

Regarding the possible difficulties that may hinder Egypts sponsorship of the cease-fire agreement, Saif Allam said, The Egyptian sponsorship in other areas may be threatened by pro-Turkish Syrian factions such as Ahrar al-Sham, which is active in northern Syria. But the Egyptian sponsorship of the Eastern Ghouta de-escalation agreement was accepted and successful given the close connections between al-Ghad and the main factions in the eastern region, especially in the absence of any control by the regime in this area.

Allam said Jaish al-Islam, which is backed by Saudi Arabia, took part in these negotiations since it is in a weak position and is no longer the sole power in the eastern region of Ghouta. Allam said that even if Saudi Arabia encouraged the faction to participate in the negotiations, this does not mean that the kingdom has changed its stance on the Syrian crisis.

Egypt seems to be nothing more than a platform for negotiations and a messenger between the parties to the Syrian conflict. In the meantime, Russia seems to be encouraging Egypt to keep playing this role. Moscow believes Egypts relations with both parties to the Syrian conflict may qualify it to sponsor future agreements that may end the long-running conflict.
August 10, 2017

Turkey may have a new intelligence service. If so, it is probably illegal.

The daily newspaper Sozcu reported Aug. 9 that a new intelligence service has come into existence under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Sozcu's Aug. 10 issue was dominated by the story, aptly headlined Shocking, Documented Allegation.

According to Sozcu, Bulent Tezcan, the vice chairman and speaker of the main opposition Republican Peoples Party, presented evidence at a press conference that a Presidential National Security Unit has begun operations under the presidency. Tezcan pointed out that under Turkish law, only the National Intelligence Organization (MIT), the national police force and the gendarmerie can collect intelligence, leaving the new intelligence unit under Erdogan with no legal standing.

Tezcan went further in his allegations and drew a chilling comparison. He argued that as Turkey transitions from a parliamentary system to an executive presidency  in which the Prime Ministry will be abolished and the president will assume all executive power in 2019  it is following in the footsteps of Hitler, Mussolini, Salazar, Pinochet, Saddam and [Gadhafi], who had their own private intelligence organizations. Tezcan added, Other similar organizations are also being formed under the dictator. It is of utmost importance to the rule of law and national security in Turkey that this matter be clarified.

Some may question the veracity of the story. After all, no bill came to the Turkish parliament to establish a new intelligence service or allocate a budget to it or place the MIT chief under the president (MIT directly reports to the prime minister). At any rate, Sozcu is known for using colorful and even offensive language against Erdogan and his party.

But even in Turkey's oppressive media environment, many news organizations reported on the new intelligence outfit. The TV stations CNN Turk and NTV gave extensive coverage to Tezcans allegations. Other respectable opposition websites also ran the story.

Former MIT employees are not dismissing it, either. One retired MIT analyst told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, For the first time in Turkeys history, the presidency has access to the secret appropriations fund previously used by the Prime Ministry. The military, MIT and police have often used these funds with the prime ministers approval and without any parliamentary oversight. As such, he added, Through 2019," when the Prime Ministry will be abolished and the executive presidency will come into full force, "such legal cover will be provided to actual practices.

A retired high-ranking MIT official who served several tours as station chief for the intelligence agency told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that there was a similar Ciller special group during the tenure of Prime Minister Tansu Ciller (1993-96). That group, he added, was used for political murder and special gains. The former official added, As the name of the new Presidential National Security Unit shows, unlike MIT, it is not national and is meant to serve the interests of one person.

So far, Erdogan has remained silent on the matter and the Turkish government has downplayed the claims. The Directorate-General for Public Security (the national police force) released a written statement Aug. 9 explaining that a new unit did exist, but the name was just a shortened one for the Section to Combat Crimes Against National Security operating under the Smuggling and Organized Crime Department of the Turkish police department.

Still, given the explosive nature of the story, the allegations regarding Erdogan running his own private intelligence outfit from his palace will continue to receive coverage. After all, the Turkish president has already been accused of creating his own private army.
August 9, 2017

Facing heightened criticism, Irans moderate President Hassan Rouhani has appointed two women as vice presidents and one woman as his aide in an apparent attempt to appease Reformists who had demanded female ministers.

On Aug. 9, Rouhani named Masoumeh Ebtekar as vice president for womens and family affairs. Prior to this, Ebtekar served as head of the Environmental Protection Organization during the first term of Rouhanis presidency. The president also appointed Shahindokht Mowlaverdi  who was previously vice president for womens and family affairs  as his aide on citizenship rights affairs. Mowlaverdi enjoys popularity among women for her efforts regarding womens rights. Reports from the past week had indicated that Mowlaverdi was being considered for the position of minister of education.

The third appointment caught the attention of both media and social networking activists. Laaya Joneidi was chosen by the president to serve as vice president for legal affairs. Joneidi finished her post-doctorate in law at Harvard University in 2003; prior to this, she studied law at the University of Tehran, which is counted as among the best in Iran. Besides her native Persian, Joneidi is reportedly fluent in Arabic, English and French.

By not picking any woman as a minister, Rouhani has drawn ire from Reformists and womens rights activists. Parvane Salahshouri, the chairwoman of the "Women" faction in parliament, said Aug. 9, Shockingly and surprisingly, half of Iranian society was ignored by the president. [Compared to] the countries in the world, educated Iranian women have little presence at the high level of political management, while they have been very active at other levels of the political and social [arena].

She added, Creating equal opportunities and prohibiting gender discrimination are the promises of the president to women. Unfortunately, in the first step, no opportunity was given to women, let alone equal opportunity.  If we are drafting a development plan for the country, we should know that development wont come about without the presence of women.

First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri, who was reappointed on Aug. 8 and played a great role in Rouhanis victory in the May 19 presidential election, also announced that the new ministers, who are all men, contrary to Rouhanis campaign promise, have been ordered to pick women as their deputies.

During todays Cabinet session, the president emphasized [on this issue that] it is not accepted for ministers not to have a female deputy. Therefore, I assure you that we will use a large number of proficient and educated women in the 12th government, Jahangiri told a group of reporters.

In reference to criticism of the president for not choosing ministers from minorities, Jahangiri said, For the purpose of the presence of minorities in the government, we are insisting on appointing deputies of ministers, ambassadors and governors from various minorities.

During the May presidential election, minorities  especially Sunni voters  mostly cast their ballots in favor of Rouhani, who had promised to pave the way for their presence in government.

In a critical speech, Mansour Moradi, a Sunni parliament member, addressed the president on Aug. 8: Kurds trusted you; then you should also trust the people of Kurdistan. What percentage of your Cabinet come from the Sunni [population]? We expect [you] to use former [Sunni parliament members and] representatives of Kurdistan at managerial levels.
August 9, 2017

The fact that Ari Harow has turned state witness against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu constitutes a strategic milestone in the investigations against Netanyahu. If, until now, it had been impossible to guess how the investigation would end, now the logical gamble is that at least one bill of indictment will be filed against Netanyahu. Israels enforcement authorities do not usually grant generous plea bargains to people who deserve to sit behind bars such as Harow (the prime minister's former chief of staff) except in the pursuit of one goal: to incriminate the person who manipulates the state witness.

As we recall, former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert abandoned his post amid the type of investigations that are now being conducted against Netanyahu. More so, it would seem that Netanyahu is under suspicion of charges that are more serious than those against Olmert, just before the latter resigned. Does all this signal the end of the Netanyahu era? This is very likely to be the case, although the timetable involved is rather obscure. And in Israel, nothing is over until its over. We are now only at the beginning of the process, more or less.

Israeli law does not state that a prime minister undergoing criminal proceedings must resign. Actually, according to law, he can continue to serve in his position until after he is convicted and the verdict in his case is conclusive  assuming that he or she is convicted with shame. In other words, Netanyahu can argue that he wants to continue as usual as prime minister, even during the course of the investigations (which is what is happening right now), and even after he is indicted and goes to trial. Netanyahu uses this argument and his Likud adherents support him. But the chances are low, even minuscule, that this would actually happen.

Olmert resigned from the premiership following a political process. Once the magnitude of the investigation against him became public knowledge, and once American Jew Moshe Talansky gave preliminary testimony against Olmert, the public atmosphere became hostile to the prime minister, forcing him to resign. Olmerts senior coalition partner, Ehud Barak, who headed the Labor Party at the time, gave Olmert an ultimatum: either resign or the Labor Party would resign from the coalition and the government would fall. Olmert resigned in September 2008, and Tzipi Livni tried to assemble a government but failed. Israel called for new elections, and Benjamin Netanyahu entered the Prime Ministers Office in April 2009.

This same process would or could also put an end to Netanyahus tenure. The candidates to carry this out are his two most senior coalition partners: Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon and Education Minister Naftali Bennett. True, at this very moment all of Netanyahus partners extend him political credit. They avoid answering questions about what they would do if a bill of indictment is, indeed, filed against the prime minister. But behind closed doors they admit that they could not allow such an unprecedented situation to take place.

Israel cannot allow itself to be governed by a prime minister who is a criminal defendant. The dry law is not enough: Were talking about a high-level issue involving public ethics, says a high-ranking Kulanu personage  the party of Finance Minister Kahlon  speaking on condition of anonymity. Those in the close circle of HaBayit HaYehudi Ministers Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Shaked also speak the same language. For the sake of appearances, Shaked said Aug. 5 that the prime minister would not be forced to resign if and when he is indicted. Afterward she corrected herself and said that in this situation the coalition factions would have to weigh the matter and decide what to do.

The more time that passes, the greater the odds are that such a scenario will take place. The estimated timetable is at least a year, but it could happen earlier. Everything depends on the intensity of the publicity and leaks from the investigations, and especially from the testimony of Harow. Netanyahus image has already suffered in recent months, in light of the abundance of negative publicity and testimony that have already been leaked. The submarine affair, which entangled Netanyahus closest associates, also contributed to this situation.

Now Netanyahu is fighting for his political survival while trying to send business as usual signals. On Aug. 9, the Likud held a large demonstration of support for the prime minister in Tel Aviv. Netanyahus people are urging Knesset members and ministers to go to the media to defend the prime minister, but they have met with only partial success. The ministers are embarrassed by the whole affair; Knesset members are dragging their feet. Behind the scenes, a war of succession is already underway, full speed ahead.

Should Netanyahu resign, this may not necessarily mean that new elections must be held. The most likely scenario is that elections will be announced, but President Reuven Rivlin could charge one Likud Knesset member with the task of assembling a new government. If the candidate receives the backing of the Knesset, such a government could serve until the conclusion of the term of office of the current one in 2019.

The problem is, no one in the Likud at the moment stands out as a possible consensus candidate. The most prominent candidate is Likuds Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz. Meanwhile, there are two former ministers who are probably gnashing their teeth over their fatal mistake in resigning from the Knesset, each one in turn. The first is former Minister Gideon Saar, who resigned before the last elections, after he was subjected to Netanyahus ire. If Saar were an active Knesset member now, he would automatically become a leading candidate to inherit Netanyahus position.

This is also true for former Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon. If Yaalon had agreed to Netanyahus offer to give up the defense portfolio for the Foreign Ministry, and if he had not quit the government and the Knesset, then there would be a consensus today for Yaalon to replace Netanyahu  if and when the latter is forced to vacate his position.

In the absence of these two prime candidates, other Likud members such as Katz, or perhaps even Cabinet ministers Gilad Erdan or Yuval Steinitz are likely to fight over the leaders seat and on establishing a replacement government. Even though most of the coalition factions dont want new elections and prefer to finish out the present governments term of office, the chances are low for finding a suitable candidate to replace Netanyahu. One way or another, the writing on the wall seems to indicate that we are moving toward the conclusion of the Netanyahu era. Now its only a matter of time.
August 9, 2017

RAMALLAH, West Bank  As Jerusalemites protested at the gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque in July, in rejection of the Israeli decision to install metal detectors at the holy site, members of the city's African community offered protesters water and food. They also welcomed worshippers into their homes during the protests, as the hub of this community is located near Al-Aqsa, around the Council Gate (Bab al-Majlis).

Jerusalem's African community is relatively small and consists of nearly 50 families living in the Bab al-Majlis neighborhood of the Old City. The majority of the community comes from countries such as Chad, Nigeria, Senegal and Sudan. Their ancestors came to Jerusalem in successive periods, beginning in the Ottoman era and continuing into the British Mandate.

Moussa Qaws, a co-founder of the African Community Society in Bab al-Majlis, told Al-Monitor that Africans "immigrated to Palestine for two main reasons: the first is religious and consists of the hajj [to Al-Aqsa Mosque, which often follows the pilgrimage to Mecca]. In fact, Africans who used to make the pilgrimage to Jerusalem were rewarded a privileged social status. The second reason is jihad and the [religious] bond [formed] in Jerusalem.

Though Africans first began to visit Jerusalem in the Ottoman period, Qaws said they only started settling there in the 1940s, during the British Mandate. Most Africans came to the city as part of the Arab Liberation Army, which included volunteers from various Islamic countries who wanted to help the Palestinians in their fight against the British and the Zionists. Many African members of the army stayed in Jerusalem after the fighting concluded. According to Qaws, Jerusalem's African community numbers around 750 people at present.

Qaws' father came to Palestine from Chad in 1942 to pray at Al-Aqsa Mosque after making the hajj to Mecca. He carried a French travel document since Chad was then under French rule. He ended up staying in Jerusalem and marrying a Palestinian woman.

When Jordan controlled East Jerusalem, from 1948-1967, the Jordanian government did not grant citizenship to Africans. Following the Israeli occupation of Jerusalem in 1967, Africans who lived in Jerusalem obtained identity cards.

Once they obtained identity cards, members of the African Palestinian community in Jerusalem were forced to travel with a document known as the laissez-passer. This prevented Qaws and his brothers from visiting their relatives in Chad due to the country's nonrecognition of Israel and the absence of diplomatic ties. My father died in 1983, so I went to the French Embassy to ask for [French] nationality," he said, noting that his father had been a French citizen. "My request was rejected since Chad was no longer a French colony.

Although the African community merged with Jerusalemites and adapted to the city's way of life, it has kept its own traditions and customs. Qaws said, Even though we do not come from the same country, we were raised in Jerusalem as members of one family, and we have common traditions that we seek to maintain  such as those of death and marriage, as well as our shared popular dish of porridge known as Asida that we eat on special occasions.

These traditions were in part preserved with the help of the African Community Society, which was established in 1983. The society seeks to connect its members to their varied African heritages, especially the youth, and also to introduce tourists in Jerusalem to their traditions.

The economic situation of the African community is no different from the rest of the Old City, where the poverty rate reached 82% in 2014, according to a study by the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies. Members of the city's African community are generally not landowners in the city; they primarily rent houses.

Ihab al-Jallad, a researcher on Jerusalem affairs at the Jerusalem Popular Committee, said this community is a central part of the city's social fabric, which is composed of many different groups that all acknowledge the sanctity of the city. However, members of the community tend to marry within the community, and can also face discrimination based on their skin color.

Jallad told Al-Monitor that African community members were "famous for their work as guards at the gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque over the years." He said the community does not have any singular political leaders, since members are often affiliated with a diverse range of authorities in Jerusalem.

Many years have passed since the African community's initial arrival in Jerusalem. Though they still feel an innate sense of connection to their ancestors' countries of origin, they have chosen to continue living in Jerusalem for its sanctity. It is in this tradition of fusion, Qaws said, that the African Community Society has embarked on a new project: to embroider a traditional silk African wedding gown using the stitched embroidery of the Palestinians.
August 9, 2017

Pictures of an old man with a wrinkled face, a dreamy young girl or children playing among the narrow streets of refugee camps decorated the narrow alleyways of Gazas Jabalia camp in mid-July. The message of the 70 young photographers who participated in the exhibition, called Aziqqa (Arabic for Alleys), was clear in its slogan: The camp is the start of the story.

The one-day exhibition, which attracted large crowds of visitors and journalists to Abu al-Aish Street, was the first of its kind in the Gaza Strip.

The photographers chose Jabalia camp, as it is the oldest, largest and most important one in Gaza. The camp was also the birthplace of the first intifada in 1987. Each photographer hung three of his pictures on the walls of the houses on the street to attract visitors attention.

One of the participants, freelance photographer Munjid Halas from the Shajaiya neighborhood, explained to the visitors how he selected his photos. He said that he saw in the face of the old man the simple life in Gaza, and hope in the eyes of the young girl.

In another corner, Mahmud al-Hindi, a visitor from Gaza Citys Zaytoun district, gazed at the photo he liked best: an old woman feeding her children. I went to the exhibition with my friends because the pictures on show describe the suffering and the simplicity of Jabalia camp, he said. They embody the simple life that we live. The pictures on display tell the story of the electricity crisis, unemployment and childrens right to decent living conditions. The photographers have created beauty with their images, despite the crises the Gaza Strip is going through.

Photographer Yousef Abu al-Said came from al-Zahra City to Jabalia camp to take part in the exhibition. He told Al-Monitor, The pictures, our best works, tell the story of suffering, life and hope inside the camp. Also, its a new idea  no similar photo exhibition has been organized in other Palestinian camps.

Abu al-Said said one of his pictures, of a group of flowers in full bloom, is meant to inspire hope among the camps children. Another shows a cheerful young girl. Photographer Wael Ayad said he took part to show the beauty and human side of the camp and to show that life there can be full of love, hope and happiness.

He said the exhibition was a meeting point for photographers, both male and female and from different educational backgrounds and with different skills, adding that anyone could visit the exhibition to see the pictures and dwell on their many meanings.

The exhibition was the brainchild of organizer and press photographer Mahmud Abu Salama, who lives in the camp. The exhibition was called Aziqqa as it took place in the alleyways of the Jabalia camp. The camp is a symbol of Palestinian authenticity and heritage, he said. The idea for the show came from "a nationalist urge," he said, adding that he wanted to send a message of love and peace.

Abu Salama said the exhibition will travel to the other Gaza camps, including the Shati camp. He added that he wanted to prove through the exhibition that there are many young, creative Palestinians who can represent the country in competitions beyond Palestine.

Ali Yahya, another press photographer, told Al-Monitor, The Aziqqa exhibition is sending a message from photographers to the world that there are beautiful things in Palestinian camps, which love life. It also tells of the suffering of camp life and specifically the life of Jabalia, which is the biggest camp in the Gaza Strip, and it brings journalists together to exchange expertise and knowledge.
August 9, 2017

WASHINGTON  Even as President Donald Trump reluctantly signed new Russia sanctions into law this month, US officials expressed growing confidence that cooperation with Moscow on a Syria cease-fire is working. They believe the success of a deal in southwest Syria, negotiated by the United States, Russia and Jordan and announced last month, could prove a model for broader US-Russia cooperation on an interim stabilization plan after the defeat of the Islamic State (IS).

Despite all of our tensions with Russia, we also look for areas where we have to find a way to work together, and I think Syria exemplifies that, Brett McGurk, the US envoy in the coalition to defeat IS, told journalists at the State Department last week.

As the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have ramped up their campaign to take the IS stronghold of Raqqa, US negotiations with Russia have produced agreement on deconfliction maps delineating the location of forces aligned with Russia and the United States so they do not come into conflict, McGurk said.

One such boundary near Tabqa, south of Raqqa, has held extremely well, McGurk said. This is now in place. Our military personnel speak with the Russians every day, and we, of course, have diplomatic consultations on issues like this far less frequently but whenever we need to.

A far more extensively negotiated cease-fire for southwest Syria, which borders US allies Israel and Jordan, has been an even more critical test. That deal was announced July 11 by Jordan, the United States and Russia as Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in Hamburg, Germany, following negotiations spearheaded on the US side by McGurk and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State and Syria envoy Michael Ratney. The Russian delegation was led by Putins special Syria envoy, Alexander Lavrentiev. The negotiations got underway shortly after Trump took office, and have largely taken place in Amman, Jordan.

Importantly, as you know, we concluded  a cease-fire in the southwest with Jordan and Russia, McGurk said. So were well into the third week of it now, and the results have been quite promising thus far. The fighting has largely stopped.

Theres a couple reasons for this. Unlike some other cease-fires that have been tried in Syria, this cease-fire was a result of months of negotiation with the Jordanians [and] the Russians, who were there representing effectively the Syrian regime, McGurk said. Painstaking negotiation, what we call the line of contact, meter by meter  so everybody understood where they could go and where they could not go.

Were now seeing civilians beginning to return to this area, which is very promising, and beginning to see land mines being removed as the fighting has stopped, McGurk said. So were working very hard to make sure that that cease-fire remains in effect, and so far its promising.

The success of the southwest Syria cease-fire could pave the way for a broader political solution, diplomats said.

I believe the south is critical, a diplomat who works on Syria, speaking not for attribution, told Al-Monitor. If it succeeds, it may unlock the road to a political solution.

US confidence in Russia is growing because Moscow has apparently demonstrated that it has leverage to persuade Iranian-backed forces to abide by the recent arrangements, Syria expert Charles Lister said.

I think we have heard indications publicly from American officials that they feel like they are getting more from the Russians than they ever have before, Lister, with the Middle East Institute, told Al-Monitor. And they are under the impression for the first time that Russia might have the necessary leverage to constrain Irans position post-settlement.

That has always been the big concern: Does Russia have the leverage? Lister said. But Iran is playing the long game. They realize they have won.

The big condition being imposed on the Iranians  to withdraw non-Syrian militiamen   is not much of a defeat, Lister added.

Israeli officials have criticized the southwest Syria cease-fire and are seeking a broader international commitment to limit Irans influence in Syria. US officials say Israel has been extensively consulted on the negotiations, and note that the consultations continue.

"We remain fully committed to the cease-fire arrangement in southwest Syria that was negotiated with Jordan and Russia. We are also committed to regular consultations with our partners in the region, including Israel, Edgar Vasquez, a State Department spokesman, told Al-Monitor. These consultations have been extensive, and they are ongoing. We are encouraged by the process and the cease-fire to date, which is saving lives and allowing families to return to their homes. We also agree that Iran must end its destabilizing activities in the region, and that all foreign fighters, including those associated with Iran, must ultimately leave Syria."

Meanwhile, the implication for the Syrian opposition is that the United States and many of its regional backers are prepared to live with Bashar al-Assad staying in power for the near term, the Middle East Institutes Lister said. There is talk of Syrian High Negotiations Committee leader Riyad Hijab resigning, he added, as opposition groups come under pressure from Saudi Arabia and Turkey to accept the new terms.

The US is either accepting or admitting they dont have the necessary leverage to make things any better, Lister said. I think it certainly represents fatigue  and an acceptance from the top level that we are only concerned with IS and maybe al-Qaeda.

From the American policy standpoint  we are negotiating an interim settlement [in which] Assad stays, Lister said.

However, the fact that the United States and Europe have made clear they are not prepared to fund postwar reconstruction in areas controlled by Assad may give them some leverage regarding Assads fate, particularly with Russia.

The international community is not going to come to the aid of Syria until there is a credible political horizon that can lead to a credible transition in Damascus, McGurk said. That is the reality.

McGurk sketched out what the Trump administration Syria policy review has apparently decided on as the way forward.

Defeat ISIS, get de-escalation arrangements in place, quiet down the overall situation, which sets the conditions for an ultimate  political settlement of the civil war, McGurk said. And at the end of that process  we do not envision Bashar al-Assad being in control of Syria from Damascus.
Birmingham is one of 13 cities in the United States to join the Paris Declaration to end the spread of AIDS by 2030.

Mayor William Bell signed a declaration last week pledging to dedicate local resources in the fight to end AIDS.

State agencies, local organizations and the University of Alabama at Birmingham are partnering to achieve the following goals by 2020: 90 percent of people living with HIV will know their HIV status; 90 percent of those who know their status will be engaged in care and on antiretroviral therapy (ART); and 90 percent of those on ART achieving full viral suppression, UAB stated in a release.

Partners include the city of Birmingham, Alabama Department of Public Health, Jefferson County Department of Public Health, Birmingham AIDS Outreach, Altheia House and others.

"If we can achieve the 90-90-90 plan by 2020, along with zero stigma and discrimination against those living with HIV/AIDS, we will be on our way to ending the spread of HIV/AIDS by 2030," said Michael Mugavero, professor in the UAB Division of Infectious Diseases and co-director for the UAB Center for AIDS Research (CFAR). "The only way to effectively do this is by coming together as a community to commit all of our resources to achieve this goal."

Currently, almost 40 percent of all individuals infected with HIV in Alabama are still not suppressed, meaning their virus is not under complete control with medication, according to UAB.

"The research at UAB continues to advance within the HIV/AIDS field," said Michael Saag, founder of the UAB 1917 Clinic and director of the UAB CFAR. "Without buy-in from our community, we can do only so much to educate, diagnose and treat those living with HIV/AIDS. This partnership will propel us to 'bend the curve' downward, leading to eliminating the spread of a disease that continues to take lives."

The UAB CFAR is one of the seven inaugural Centers for AIDS Research established in 1988 by the National Institutes of Health. The UAB CFAR was among the first to make the newest, most effective treatments available to patients, including the combination therapy that today is the standard of care.

The center recently launched a 90-90-90 scientific working group as a centerpiece of the center's strategic plan, according to the university. As a chartered university-wide research center, UAB CFAR stimulates interdisciplinary, translational AIDS research that bridges basic, clinical and behavioral sciences.

The Fast-Track Cities initiative was launched on World AIDS Day 2014 in Paris, France. More than 70 high-burden cities around the world have since signed the Paris Declaration on Fast-Track Cities Ending AIDS and engaged political leaders, affected communities, civil society, city health officials, clinical and service providers, and other stakeholders to accelerate their local AIDS responses.
The interim superintendent for Oneonta City Schools said a convicted sex offender arrested for volunteering at the school was attending her child's Open House event and the school knew she was on the campus.

Tim Nabors said while Crystal Clowdus, a former teacher at Susan Moore High School in Blount County who pleaded guilty in 2014 to sexting a 15-year-old student, was at the Open House, she agreed to help a teacher write some receipts. "We didn't consider that volunteering,'' Nabors said.

However, Nabors said, school system officials plan to meet with Clowdus to clarify what she can and cannot do at the school and he doesn't want parents to be concerned about the system's protocol in dealing with sex offenders.

"Most people aren't aware of the law,'' Nabors said Thursday. "She still has a right to be here. We're going to go over those guidelines and come up with a plan."

Blount County District Attorney issued this statement Thursday: "Contrary to news reports that have been made, the scope of the investigation performed by the Blount County Sheriff's Office demonstrated that Ms. Clowdus had volunteered at the school a dozen times over the past year. Sheriff's deputies obtained information from the superintendent, principal, teachers, and parents who all used the phrases "volunteer", "volunteering" and "volunteered" to describe Ms. Clowdus'' activity at the school."

Clowdus, 35, was arrested Wednesday afternoon, again in Blount County on a charge of violation of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, also known as SORNA. SORNA is part of a comprehensive federal law that requires states to maintain a system for monitoring and tracking convicted sex offenders following their release into the community. A violation is a felony charge.

Clowdus was arrested Dec. 20, 2013. According to a court affidavit, a 15-year-old student said Clowdus sent him pictures on his cell phone. In the pictures, the teacher was nude and partially nude. The teen also received text messages from her saying she would like to have sex with him.

On March 3, 2014, Clowdus pleaded guilty to transmitting obscene material to a minor. She received a 10-year sentence, but nine of those years were suspended. She was sentenced to serve six months in the Blount County Correctional Facility, followed by six months of house arrest.

Following her one year in detention, Clowdus was ordered to have a five-year probation period. She is also required to register as a lifetime sex offender and had to surrender her teaching license.

Under state law, "No adult sex offender shall apply for, accept, or maintain employment or vacation or volunteer at any school, childcare facility, mobile vending business that provides services primarily to children, or any other business or organization that provides services primarily to children."

Blount County District Attorney Pamela Casey said the county's sex offender investigator was made aware of Clowdus' violation Tuesday night. After interviewing several witnesses, he obtained the warrant against her. "All sex offenders are instructed as to what the requirements of SORNA are for them,'' Casey said. "They are required to initial that they have read them and understand them."

Nabors said the law does not restrict Clowdus from attending an event such as Open House if prior notice is given to the school. "The individual notified the school about attending this event,'' he said. "At some point, this individual was asked to write receipts to parents who were paying classroom fees during Open House."

He said the District Attorney's Office was notified about Clowdus being on school property, questioned the administration and "determined that by writing receipts at the Open House this individual was volunteering, which is prohibited based on the terms of her probation."

Casey, however, said her office has received multiple reports of Clowdus taking part in prohibited activities at her child's school, including watching the children in the class without the teacher present. "It hasn't been just one time,'' she said. "There is no confusion as to what rules a sex offender has to follow. Each sex offender is made aware of the rules and they must acknowledge they know and understand the rules. A sex offender cannot simply volunteer at a school at any time in any capacity."
Federal authorities arrested three Gadsden men Thursday on charges of distributing heroin or fentanyl.

Those arrested - following separate indictments - are Michael Antonio Fikes, 29, Dequavious Markell Jones, 26, and Devon Shondale Russell, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Robert O. Posey and FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp. The indictments against all three were issued in July.

"Heroin and opioid use in the Northern District of Alabama has reached epidemic proportions and the results from abusing these drugs are devastating and often deadly," Posey said. "The U.S. Attorney's Office and our law enforcement partners are committed to prosecuting those who put these highly addictive substances on our streets and into the hands of addicts and abusers," he said.

Fikes is charged with three counts of unlawfully distributing fentanyl and one count of unlawfully distributing heroin in January 2017. The indictment against Jones charges him with three counts of unlawfully distributing heroin in March and April 2016. Russell is charged with three counts of unlawfully distributing heroin in September 2016.

The FBI and North Alabama Safe Streets Task Force investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura D. Hodge is prosecuting.

"The availability of heroin and other deadly drugs are a threat to our communities and today's arrests are only the beginning," Sharp said. "I want the citizens of north Alabama to know that the FBI and our partners on the North Alabama Safe Streets Task Force will continue to bring those who poison our communities with illegal drugs to the bar of justice."

The maximum penalty for the distribution of a mixture and substance containing detectable amounts of heroin and fentanyl is 10 years in prison and $1 million fine for each count.

"The opioid crisis is an epidemic that is daily taking lives in Etowah County," said Etowah County Sheriff Todd Entrekin. "We are committed to the aggressive enforcement of state laws in an effort to keep dangerous drugs off the street. I appreciate the cooperation between multiple agencies to find those responsible for heroin distribution, which is so quickly endangering our communities."
Ron'Narius "Duke" Austin, 2, was shot to death Aug. 5, 2017 while riding in a vehicle with his parents. A candlelight vigil in his memory will be held Friday, Aug. 11, at Avondale Park.

A candlelight vigil for a 2-year-old boy shot and killed in Avondale last weekend will be held Friday night.

Friends and family will gather at Avondale Park about 6 p.m. Aug. 11 in remembrance of Ron'Narius "Duke" Austin, where they will release white, blue and gold balloons in his memory. "Thank you all for your prayers and kind words during this difficult time,'' his cousin, Tawanda Austin Harris, said in announcing the vigil.

"This has been a very devastating week for the family,'' Harris told AL.com. "We've experienced death many times, but this, this is a first and I pray to the Most High that this is the last."

Birmingham police responded to the Avondale district just before 11:30 p.m. Saturday where they found the three wounded victims. Duke was shot in the head. His mother was hit multiple times in the arm and the unnamed driver of the vehicle was shot in the back. Ronald Austin was in the back seat with his son, and was not injured. He was holding Duke when police arrived on the scene.

Police said the shooting happened at least a block away but they stopped next to the Chevron across the street from Avondale Common House. Officers patrolling the area- a popular night spot - heard what they described as multiple, rapid shots fired and rushed to the scene.

The actual gunfire erupted in the alley in the 4200 block of Fourth Avenue South. A vehicle with at least four people in it was at some point involved in a shootout with someone inside the victims' vehicle. After the shooting, he said, the suspect vehicle left the scene. A gun was found in the back seat of the victims' vehicle.

Birmingham police late Monday announced capital murder charges against Tyrone Smith, 18, D'Marco Harris, 21, Mykahl Harris, 20 and Joshua Carpenter, 21. All are being held without bond in the Jefferson County Jail.

Duke's grandmother, Cheryl Irby, spoke with AL.com earlier Monday and disputed that anyone in the vehicle carrying her family fired shots. She said son, Ronald Austin, and daughter-in-law, Shay Austin, loved their baby boy, and did not knowingly put him in danger. The family was on their way home from a family barbecue in Birmingham Saturday night when the shooting happened, said Duke's grandmother, Cheryl Irby. She said despite their overwhelming grief, she is speaking out to set the record straight.

"They would have never put that baby in harm's way,'' Irby said. "That was their baby."

Irby said Duke brought joy to entire family, and his death has hit them hard. He was his parents' only child. "He was a happy baby, and he was so smart,'' she said. "He had an iPad and he didn't need us to tell him how to work it."

Duke loved cartoons, especially Mickey Mouse. "Mickey Mouse, that was his thing,'' Irby said. "He was just so bubbly."

Duke's funeral will be held Saturday, Aug. 12, at Faith Walker Church at 12 p.m.

Harris said her heart is crushed. "I can't even put in words how the parents and grandparents are feeling at this time,'' she said. "It hurts even worse to see them hurt, but prayers are keeping us moving forward."

"We shouldn't be burying a 2-year-old because of the choices these young men are making,'' Harris said. "Put the guns down. Now you all are taking innocent lives."

"We are having this vigil because we want justice and for others to hear our cry out,'' she said. "Duke didn't deserve to die that way. R.I.H. Duke. We are missing you like crazy...kisses to the sky."

Police still need help from the public in building the case. Anyone with information is asked to call Birmingham homicide detectives at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.
A 21-year-old man charged in a suspected road-rage shooting that ended with a little boy shot in the head in Ohio was arrested in Alabama Thursday morning.

Leon Edwards was taken into custody about 8 a.m. at a home in the Coosa County town of Goodwater, said U.S. Marshals Gulf Coast Regional Task Force Inspectory Supervisor Scott Sides. He is awaiting extradition to Cleveland.

Edwards is one of two men charged with attempted murder in the Monday shooting. The other suspect, 21-year-old John Smith, is also in custody.

The shooting happened shortly after midnight on Monday near Dead Man's Curve as the boy's mother drove east Interstate 90 in Cleveland.

According to Cleveland.com, this is what the mother told police happened: She honked her horn at a car blocking Division Avenue on the city's near West Side. Several people stood outside the car, whose driver refused to move, police reports say. She waited for more than five minutes for Edwards to move his white four-door Pontiac. She finally maneuvered around the car, and Edwards followed her onto the interstate, according to police reports. He pulled up next to her SUV near the East 55th exit ramp. Edwards then fired eight gunshots, four of which hit the woman's SUV, according to police. The bullets shattered the windshield and the side windows, police reports say.

Cleveland.com, citing court records, said Edwards is accused of firing the gunshots and Smith is accused of being Edwards' front seat passenger. Bullet fragments were removed the boy's head, but did not penetrate his brain, police said. He is recovering at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital.

Fox 8 in Cleveland reported that Smith- who was arrested in Ohio Wednesday - later called the boy's mother and admitted he was a front-seat passenger in the car. Smith told her he didn't fire any shots, the television station reported, quoting the warrant.

Sides said authorities believe Edwards arrived at a relative's home in Alabama Wednesday night. An anonymous tip led the U.S. Marshals Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force to the Goodwater home about 8 a.m. Thursday, where Edwards was arrested without incident.
Investigators are trying to identify at least one suspect after more than 100 shots were fired inside a Tuscaloosa parking deck.

The incident happened late last month. On Thursday, the Tuscaloosa County Metro Homicide Unit released images captured on surveillance cameras.

About 11:20 p.m. on July 23, Tuscaloosa police were dispatched to the parking deck at 2330 Jack Warner Parkway on a report of shots fired. The initial callers told police more than 40 shots had been fired from the top of the deck, and several cars were seen fleeing the area.

Capt. Kip Hart said when officers arrived, they found more than 100 shell casings, and several bullet holes in the part of the building attached to the deck. A short time later, officers were called to meet with two people who said their vehicles had been shot into while they were in the deck.

Surveillance video reviewed by police showed more than 20 vehicles pulling onto the top floor of the deck, Hart said. Investigators learned two females had agree to fight on the top floor and a crowd was gathering there to watch.

The two females started to fight, and then several others began to fight, Hart said. At some point, gunfire erupted. The video shows at least two people shooting at vehicles as they are leaving the deck.

The man pictured in the photos released by authorities Thursday is considered a person of interest in the investigation. Anyone who was there that night, or who has information about what happened is asked to law enforcement or Crime Stoppers.
Ann Coulter, a conservative media personality and best-selling author supporting U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks in the Senate GOP primary, blasted President Trump's endorsement of U.S. Sen. Luther Strange.

In an email to Breitbart News, a right-leaning news website, Coulter described Trump's endorsement as "completely idiotic."

"I love him," Coulter said of Trump, "but that was completely idiotic."

Breitbart posted the story Wednesday, saying Coulter emailed the news outlet with her comments.

Coulter gave an early endorsement of Brooks in the Senate primary, which is Tuesday. She retweeted the Breitbart story on Thursday and also tweeted a series of comments supporting Brooks' candidacy.

"Alabamians: If you supported Trump & the issues he ran on, Mo Brooks is your candidate," Coulter said in one tweet.

"Alabamians: Donald Trump endorsed Luther Strange because Mitch McConnell did. But if you really want to support Trump, VOTE MO BROOKS," said another tweet.

"Trump agenda: Immigration & infrastructure. McConnell agenda: Tax cuts for rich & Luther Strange. Alabama: Vote MO BROOKS 4 the Trump agenda," a third tweet said.

Alabamians: If you supported Trump & the issues he ran on, @RepMoBrooks is your candidate. https://t.co/AR3zwDd3S8  Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) August 10, 2017

Alabamians: @realDonaldTrump endorsed Luther Strange because Mitch McConnell did. But if you really want to support Trump, VOTE MO BROOKS.  Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) August 10, 2017

Trump agenda: Immigration & infrastructure. McConnell agenda: Tax cuts for rich & Luther Strange. Alabama: Vote MO BROOKS 4 the Trump agenda  Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) August 10, 2017

The Strange campaign fired back at Coulter's comments.

"True Trump supporters like the people of Alabama and Luther Strange stick with the President and stand with him to make America great," Strange campaign spokesperson Shana Teehan said in a statement to AL.com. "Beltway bandits like career politician Congressman Brooks just look for personal gain and are willing to attack anyone, including President Trump."

Coulter's most recent books is titled "In Trump We Trust" and she is the author of 11 New York Times bestsellers. She also frequently appears as a TV guest on shows such as Hannity, Fox & Friends and Good Morning America.

In the Breitbart story, Coulter argued that Brooks should be forgiven for Trump criticisms in the presidential primary last year while he backed Texas Sen. Ted Cruz for the presidency. Coulter said that former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who sought the Republican presidential nomination, also opposed Trump prior to his election.

Trump subsequently appointed Haley as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and Perry as his energy secretary.

"If Trump can forgive that daft woman Nikki Haley for dedicating her entire 2016 response to the [State of the Union address] to attacking Trump, by making her UN rep -- and he can forgive Rick Perry for calling him a 'cancer on conservatism' by making him ENERGY SECRETARY, I think he can forgive Mo Brooks for calling him a 'serial adulterer' back during the primaries," Coulter said in the Breitbart story.

"Unlike Perry and Haley, Brooks never attacked Trump on policy. Why? Because he agrees with Trump! He'd make it a grand total of three senators on Trump's side."

Coulter went on to say that the only senators she trusts on immigration issues are Republicans Tom Cotton of Arkansas and David Perdue of Georgia.
A Moulton firefighter was arrested Wednesday for allegedly using heroin and other drugs while on duty, the Lawrence County Sheriff's Department said.

During an on-going investigation into heroin being trafficked through Lawrence County, deputies learned that 27-year-old Christopher Allen Henley, of Killen, was purchasing heroin from a Shoals-area dealer. Authorities then contacted Moulton Police Chief Lyndon McWhorter, Capt. Adam Lentz and Moulton Fire Chief Ryan Jolly assisted with the investigation.

Drug task force agents and deputies arrived at the Moulton Fire Station at the beginning of Henley's shift and detained the suspect. During the investigation, they learned Henley did use heroin within a 24-hour period and had been using illegal narcotics while on duty. It was also learned that Henley asked one of the drug dealers to come to the fire station to conduct a drug transaction while he was on duty.

A search was conducted on Henley's vehicle. Authorities said they found an assortment prescription medication and items used to inject the narcotics. Authorities said Henley did admit to consuming the narcotics during his shift and was going to inject the drugs found in his vehicle.

Henley was charged with two counts possession of controlled substance for morphine and suboxone, one count attempting to commit a controlled substance crime and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia.

He was booked into Lawrence County Jail on a $5,500 bond.
On Aug. 1, the first one appeared. The next day, seven more -- all within the span of 40 minutes.

Eight staffers to Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., changed their Facebook profile pictures to an identical image of Sen. Luther Strange proclaiming "I'm With Big Luther" that urges voters to cast their ballot for the incumbent senator in next week's special election. The image is the same one used on Strange's Facebook page.

Shelby's office said neither the senator nor anyone in the office pushed the staffers -- who comprise about half of the staff -- to change their Facebook profile pictures, adding that the Facebook pages are the staffers' personal property and reflect their personal views. The office also said that a large majority of Shelby's staff hail from Alabama, and it would not be unusual for them to allude to the race on social media.

If the staffers were ordered by Shelby or someone else in his office to change their profile pictures to boost Strange's campaign, it could be a violation of ethics rules.

One of Shelby's legislative assistants was the first of the senator's staffers to change their picture to the Strange photo at 3:48 p.m. on Aug. 1.

Seven more staffers switched to the Strange picture between 3:09 p.m. and 3:48 p.m. on Aug. 2.

Six of the eight staffers also have the same cover photo of Strange, which has similar phrasing to the profile picture.

Shelby endorsed his Alabama counterpart earlier in the race. Strange, whose campaign was boosted with the backing of President Trump earlier this week, is in a tight battle in Tuesday's primary. His main rivals are Rep. Mo Brooks of Huntsville and former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore.

The primary is widely expected to result in a runoff, with the top two finishers squaring off on Sept. 26.
PARIS - France has ordered a national investigation into all egg-product manufacturers in the wake of Europe's insecticide-tainted egg scandal, French Agriculture Minister Stephane Travert said on Wednesday.

The minister said the move comes in a hope to have "much more fruitful and rapid exchanges of information" with his EU partners in the future.

"We want to ensure that we can establish better control and transparency reports with our partners, because the batches of tainted egg come from both the Netherlands and Belgium," Travert said.

The French minister also criticized the two countries, where eggs were contaminated with the insecticide Fipronil, for not informing France earlier about the problem.

In total, about 80 egg-product-procession factories all over France would be involved in this national investigation, according to local media.

On Monday, France's Agriculture ministry confirmed that 13 batches of Dutch eggs contaminated with the insecticide Fipronil have been delivered to two different egg-product manufacturing factories in central-western France between July 11 and July 26.

On July 28, a poultry farm, located in Pas de Calais in northern France, was placed under surveillance after the farmer reported to French authorities that his Belgian supplier used the pesticide containing Fipronil.
Opposition leader rejects presidential poll results alleging fraud, as yet another election in Kenya runs into trouble.

Millions of Kenyan voters are waiting for the outcome of Tuesdays closely contested election as opposition supporters protested in pockets of the country.

Hours after provisional results started trickling in, veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga rejected the count and claimed the countrys electronic voter system was compromised.

Odinga, a former prime minister of the east African country of 48 million people, also disputed the results of the 2013 election, which was later settled by the court.

Kenya embraced a multi-party democratic system in 1992, and the country has held six presidential elections since. In only one  in 2002  has the losing side accepted the vote count.

In 2007, the opposition coalition disputed the electoral results after incumbent Mwai Kibaki was declared the winner, sparking ethnic killings that left more than 1,200 people dead and 600,000 displaced from their homes.

So, why are most election results disputed in Kenya?

Lack of transparency

The voting process is often smooth with minimal glitches. The disputes appear as soon as the tallying of votes starts.

Kenyas electoral body has a record of not being transparent. They leave too much room for suspicion. They are not timely nor credible when it comes to releasing information, Abdullahi Boru, a Nairobi-based analyst and researcher, told Al Jazeera.

When the process is not transparent, it is easy to claim votes have been stolen, Boru added.

The government invested heavily in a new electronic voting system for this election. But that appears to have done little to increase the oppositions confidence in the electoral process.

Close Elections

Elections in Kenya are fiercely fought, and the winning margins are close. To be declared winner, a presidential candidate must garner at least 50 percent of the votes, plus one.

In 2013, President Uhuru Kenyatta took home 50.07 percent of the votes cast, avoiding a runoff by the slimmest of margins. Odinga took home 43 percent of the votes cast.

Financial stakes

Campaigning in Kenya is expensive with party donors spending a lot of money to get their favourite candidate into the presidential palace.

Presidential hopefuls also spend a fortune from their own pockets to stand a chance.

Candidates are under a lot of pressure to come out on top at the end of the vote count.

The stakes are too high. They have borrowed heavily to finance their campaigns. Campaign donors will have given them a lot of money too. Candidates feel they cant lose, Boru said.

The flow of large amounts of money into the political system of this young democracy is alarming analysts.

Laws to regulate funding to election campaigns needs to be put in place. This way the stakes will be lowered, Njoki Ngumi, a political analyst, told Al Jazeera.

Incumbent dilemma

No incumbent president has ever lost an election in Kenya. A president is elected for a five-year term and can only serve two terms.

Opposition candidates have on many occasions accused the ruling party of using state resources to carry out their campaigns.

No sitting president will want to go down in history as a one-term president. Losing is not an option to many of them, Boru said.

Candidate age

When Kenneth Matiba, who came second in the 1992 presidential election, ran for office, he was 70. Kibaki was 75 when he ran for a second term in office in 2007. And Odinga, who is the opposition flagbearer, is 72.

These candidates feel they may never get another chance to lead the country. They tend to be in their 70s and not in the best of health, Boru said.

Coalition government

Following the disputed 2007 elections, Kibaki and Odinga formed a coalition government.

Kenyatta, while addressing a campaign rally last week, denied attempts to rig the elections and said the allegations by opposition leaders were a ploy to form a coalition government.
A recent report has found that Israel is keeping hundreds of bodies in its infamous cemeteries of numbers.

Mohammed Nassar has not seen his son in 15 years.

On March 7, 2002, during the Second Intifada, or Palestinian uprising, he says his son Shadi left the house and never came back.

Shadi had gone to carry out a suicide bombing at the entrance to the illegal Israeli settlement of Ariel in the occupied West Bank, killing himself and wounding 15 Israelis.

We had no idea that he was planning to carry out an attack, Nassar says.

If I had any suspicions, I would have beat him up, and thrown him at home.

A father losing his son? How am I supposed to feel?

Fifteen years later, Israel continues to refuse to return Shadis body, or whats left of it, to his family for burial.

The youths remains are said to be in Israels infamous cemeteries of numbers, along with hundreds of other Palestinians. In a recent report published last month, Palestinian rights groups estimated there are at least 249 Palestinians, including Shadi, buried in cemeteries across Israel in closed military zones, and nine others in freezers in Tel Aviv.

The cemeteries are made up of mass graves marked with numbers rather than names, and some of the bodies have been there since the 1967 war.

READ MORE: Funeral for Palestinians after a decade

Were always nervous  even though its been 15 years, Nassar tells Al Jazeera from his home in Nablus in the occupied West Bank, continuing: Sometimes, we get doubts about whether hes really dead, because we havent buried him ourselves.

Its been extremely difficult for us. Only God knows how weve managed to get through these years.

This is a form of psychological torture. Every day is a painful day. We keep getting ideas that he may still be alive.

Shadis attack came in the context of the Palestinian uprising against Israels occupation of the Palestinian territories.

It began with the failure of the Oslo Accords in 1993 to create a Palestinian state and Israeli politician Ariel Sharons visit to al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

Violence erupted after the then Likud leaders visit, unleashing the Second Intifada between 2000 and 2005.

READ MORE: Israel returns fighters body after 12 years

The attacks by Palestinians  largely viewed by Palestinians as legitimate armed resistance to a violent, 50-year occupation  led to the deaths of some 3,000 Palestinians and 1,000 Israelis.

The majority of the bodies currently being held by Israel date back to that period.

Abu Issam, father of Abdel Basset Odeh, who killed 22 Israelis in a suicide bombing attack, and whose body remains with Israel, agrees that the practice of withholding bodies is a form of torture.

Its difficult after you raise a child for 25 years to deal with this, Abu Issam says.

He was exposed to a lot at from young age  many of his friends and family members were killed. He was imprisoned in 1994 for five months when he was just 12.

The things they see at a young age force them to seek revenge for what they [Israel] inflicts on us, Abu Issam tells Al Jazeera from the occupied West Bank city of Tulkarem.

In a recent video that went viral on social media, the friends of a Palestinian who was killed by Israeli soldiers in Jerusalem smuggled his body out of a hospital and buried him before Israeli forces, who were raiding the hospital, could seize him.

The practice has long pained Palestinian families, who sometimes have to wait decades before receiving the bodies of their loved ones.

It is widely known that Israel employs the practice as a tactic for leverage in negotiations. In 2012, Israel released the bodies of 90 Palestinians in a gesture for reviving peace talks between Israeli and Palestinian officials. And, between 2013 and 2014, some 27 bodies were returned.

On Friday, Israel returned the bodies of four Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in July.

Collective punishment

The practice is a violation of both Israeli domestic and international law.

The Geneva Conventions state that the parties of an armed conflict must bury the deceased in an honourable way, if possible according to the rites of the religion to which they belonged and that their graves are respected, properly maintained, and marked in such a way that they can always be recognised.

It is also illegal under Israeli law. On July 25 of this year, the Israeli Supreme Court issued a ruling on a petition by Adalah, a Palestinian-run legal centre in Israel, stating that the Israeli police have no authority to withhold bodies, according to Adalah lawyer Mohammed Bassam.

Likewise, in its 2016 review of Israels compliance with the United Nations Convention against Torture, the UN Committee Against Torture expressed concern regarding Israels use of this practice.

The committee urged Israel: to return the bodies of the Palestinians that have not yet been returned to their relatives as soon as possible so they can be buried in accordance with their traditions and religious customs, and to avoid that similar situations are repeated in the future.





To help families retrieve the bodies of their loved ones, the Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Center (JLAC) has launched a national campaign to force Israeli courts and authorities to return the bodies.

They document the number of bodies in two ways; when a family member notifies them, or through the political organisations and movements that the Palestinians belonged to.

In 2010, JLAC managed to retrieve the body of Mashour al-Arouri, after 34 years of being in Israeli custody. In 2011, they released the body of Hafez Abu Zant, after 35 years.

Salwa Hammad, lawyer and campaign coordinator, estimates there are six cemeteries of numbers. A court decision is required for Israeli authorities to move the body from a freezer to a cemetery.

They call the family in for interrogation and show them pictures of the body. They do a DNA test  they take a sample from the substance in the knee bones, as well as saliva samples from a first-degree relative and they see if the samples match, Hammad told Al Jazeera.

If they were in the cemetery of numbers, we get back the remains of their bodies in a black bag  some bones, some soil, and maybe their clothes.

Hammad explains that the practice places a huge psychological burden on the family.

The main reason that they do this is to collectively punish the family of the martyr. I cant tell you how emotionally affected the family gets, she says, continuing: We get calls regularly from families telling us that they heard rumours from some one that was released from prison, saying that they heard information about their son.

As long as they cannot see the body of their son, they have hope that he may still be alive  that he may be in prison.

READ MORE: A Palestinian family divided

Mervat Nahhal from the Al Mezan rights centre in Gaza, says that Israel began employing this tactic in a systematic way starting from the 2000s.

Israel does not give death certificates for the bodies it is withholding and it does not reveal the names of the martyrs that it is withholding. Thats the problem with Israel  it does not abide by international law, Nahhal says.

Still, the families vow to continue the fight to retrieve their sons bodies.

Were doing everything in our power. Were always hopeful to get him back, Nassar said.
A visual explainer on North Korea and the recent increase in tensions regarding its nuclear and missile programmes.

Tensions have risen dramatically in the Korean Peninsula after North Korea tested an intercontinental ballistic missile last month.

Since the 1960s, North Korea has been trying to develop nuclear capabilities, much to the dismay of South Korea, a close ally of the United States.

North Koreas leader Kim Jong-Un has steadily increased the number of ballistic missile tests since he came to power after his father Kim Jong-Il passed away in 2011. The countrys nuclear programme was launched in the Soviet era with the construction of its first nuclear reactor in Yongbyon in 1965, but it carried out its first successful nuclear test in 2006.

After withdrawing from the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty in 2003, North Korea has gone on to conduct several nuclear tests, most recently in September 2016. Pyongyang has also ground-tested a new rocket engine and test-launched ballistic missiles.

The reclusive states nuclear and ballistic programmes have invited more than one round of sanctions, the latest by the United Nations Security Council that will ban exports worth $1 billion.

What is the history of the two Koreas

In 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea, starting the three-year Korean War. Since the signing of the armistice agreement in 1953, North and South Korea have been divided by a 4km wide demilitarised zone stretching 250km.

Seoul, South Koreas capital and largest city, is within close range of this demilitarised zone and could be hit by North Korean artillery in case of hostilities.

Both Koreas have steadily increased their military spending over the decades. The US has thousands of its troops stationed in the region, making the Korean Peninsula, located between the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea, one of the most militarised zones of the world. Today, North Korea spends more than any other country on military spending as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP). Nearly a quarter of its GDP goes towards the military. With almost 1.2 million people currently serving in the military, North Korea also has the worlds fourth largest army.

As world leaders have come and gone, North Koreas Kim dynasty has remained in power.

What is the reach of North Koreas ballistic missiles?

Over the last few years, North Korea has tested several ballistic missiles with varying degrees of success.

The leader of the country, Kim Jong-un, has promised to continue the tests, drawing condemnation from the US and its regional allies, South Korea and Japan.

North Korea is barred under UN resolutions from any use of ballistic missile technology, but six sets of UN sanctions since Pyongyangs first nuclear test in 2006 have failed to halt its drive for what it insists are defensive weapons.

The United States fears North Korea may one day use its missiles to deliver a nuclear payload to its west coast. This fear has increased after Pyongyangs ballistic tests in July.

It is unclear yet if the country is capable of putting nuclear bombs on these newest missiles, but the increasing technological capabilities prompted US President Donald Trump to say that any threat to the US would be met with fire and fury.

What are North Koreas nuclear capabilities?

However, since 1984 the isolated North Asian nation has significantly upped its activities towards this goal.

Under the then leadership of Kim Il-sung  the first leader of the communist country  North Korea launched its first missile tests of significance. After Kims death in 1994, his son Kim Jong-il became supreme leader of North Korea.

He carried on his fathers legacy and ramped up the scale of both its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. This led to the first nuclear test and first launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in 2006. Although the ICBM test failed, it was clear to the world that North Koreas military capabilities were increasingly rapidly.

In 2011, Kim Jong-il died and his son Kim Jong-un came to power. Since then he has pushed the nuclear programme to new heights with more tests and improved capabilities. Over the last few years, North Koreas nuclear capabilities have improved significantly. The countrys most recent nuclear test had a yield of about 100 kiloton, about five to six times more powerful than the nuclear bombs that were dropped by the United States on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

The United States, North Koreas main enemy, is fearful a nuclear-armed ICBM could be used to target American cities.

Who are North Koreas trading partners?

Sanctions imposed by the UN have made it hard for North Korea to trade with other countries. Its main trade partner is its neighbouring country China. Over 80 percent of North Korean import and export trade is done with China.

The latest sanctions focus mainly on North Korean exports, prohibiting the country from trading coal, its main source of income. China, one of few countries friendly to North Korea, voted in favour of the new trade restrictions.

Correction: The second infographic originally stated South Koreas military spending was 23% of its GDP. It is actually 3%.
On August 15, 1947, India won independence: a moment of birth that was also an abortion, since freedom came with the horrors of the partition, when East and West Pakistan were hacked off the stooped shoulders of India by the departing British.

Seventy years later, it is hard to look back without horror at the savagery of the countrys vivisection, when rioting, rape and murder scarred the land, millions were uprooted from their homes, and billions of rupees worth of property were damaged and destroyed.

Within months, India and Pakistan were embroiled in a war over Kashmir, the consequences of which still affect us today.

There was an intangible partition, too. Friendships were destroyed, families ruined, geography hacked, history misread, tradition denied, minds and hearts torn apart.

The creation and perpetuation of Hindu-Muslim antagonism was the most significant accomplishment of British imperial policy: the colonial project of divide et impera (divide and rule) fomented religious antagonisms to facilitate continued imperial rule and reached its tragic culmination in 1947.

READ MORE: Memories of Partition  One mans return to Pakistan

The British liked drawing lines on maps of other countries; they had done it in the Middle East after World War I, and they did it again in India. Partition was the coda to the collapse of British authority in India in 1947.

The killing and mass displacement worsened as people sought frantically to be on the right side of the lines the British were to draw across their homeland. More than a million people died in the savagery that accompanied the freedom of India and Pakistan; some 17 million were displaced, and countless properties destroyed and looted. Lines meant lives.

In that last, mad, headlong rush to freedom and partition, the British emerge with little credit. Before World War II, they had no intention of devolving power so rapidly, or at all. The experience of the elected governments in the last years of the British Raj confirmed that the British had never been serious about their proclaimed project of promoting the responsible governance of India by Indians.

When the elected ministries of the Indian National Congress quit office in protest against the British declaring war against Germany on Indias behalf without consulting them, the British thought little of appointing unelected Muslim Leaguers in their place and, in many cases, assuming direct control of functions that had supposedly been devolved to Indians. They openly helped the Muslim League take advantage of this unexpected opportunity to exercise influence and patronage that their electoral support had not earned them and to build up support while their principal opponents languished in jail.





This was all part of the policy of divide and rule, systematically promoting political divisions between Hindus and Muslims, defined as the monolithic communities they had never been before the British.

The British had been horrified, during the Revolt of 1857, to see Hindus and Muslims fighting side by side and under each others command against the foreign oppressor. They vowed this would not happen again. Divide et impera was an old Roman maxim, and it shall be ours, wrote Lord Elphinstone. A systematic policy of fomenting separate consciousness among the two communities was launched, with overt British sponsorship. When restricted franchise was grudgingly granted to Indians, the British created separate communal electorates, so that Muslim voters could vote for Muslim candidates for Muslim seats. The seeds of division were sown, to prevent a unified nationalist movement that could overthrow the British.

No one in any responsible position in Britain as late as 1940 had any serious intention whatsoever of relinquishing the Empire or surrendering the jewel in His Majestys Crown to a rabble of nationalist Indians clad in homespun. But the devastation of World War II meant that only one-half of the phrase could survive: bled, bombed and battered for six years, Britain could divide, but it could no longer rule.

The British  terrorised by German bombing, demoralised by various defeats and large numbers of their soldiers taken prisoner, shaken by the desertion of Indian soldiers and the mutiny of Indian sailors, shivering in the record cold of the winter of 1945-46, crippled by power cuts and factory closures resulting from a post-war coal shortage  were exhausted and in no mood to focus on a distant Empire when their own needs at home were so pressing.

OPINION: India and Pakistans independence day farce

They were also more or less broke: American loans had kept the economy afloat and needed to be repaid, and even India was owed a sizable debt. Overseas commitments were no longer sustainable or particularly popular. Exit was the only viable option: the question was what they would leave behind  one India, two or several fragments?

Britains own tactics before and during the war ensured that by the time departure came, the Muslim League had been strengthened enough to sustain its demand for a separate homeland for Muslims, and the prospects of a united India surviving a British exit had essentially faded. Divide et impera had worked too well: a device meant to perpetuate British rule in India ensured a united India could not survive without the British. Two countries was what it would be.

The task of dividing the two nations was assigned to Sir Cyril Radcliffe, a lawyer who had never been to India before and knew nothing of its history, society or traditions. Radcliffe, perspiring profusely in the unfamiliar heat, drew up his maps in less than five weeks, dividing provinces, districts, villages, homes and hearts  and promptly scuttled to Britain, never to return to India. The British Empire simply crumbled in disorder. The British were heedless of the lives that would be lost in their headlong rush to the exits.

OPINION: The need for a museum on British colonisation of India

The scars of the partition have lasted 70 years, even though India has emerged as a thriving pluralist democracy while Pakistan  splitting into two with the secession of the East as Bangladesh in 1971  and Bangladesh have encountered difficulties in maintaining democracy. But Indias flourishing democracy of seven decades is no tribute to British rule. It is a bit rich for the British to suppress, exploit, imprison, torture and maim people for 200 years and then celebrate the fact that they are a democracy at the end of it.

If Britains greatest accomplishment was the creation of a single political unit called India, fulfilling the aspirations of visionary Indian emperors from Ashoka to Akbar, then its greatest failure must be the shambles of that original Brexit  cutting and running from the land they had claimed to rule for its betterment, leaving behind a million dead, 17 million displaced, billions of rupees of property destroyed, and the flames of communal hatred blazing hotly across the ravaged land. There is no greater indictment of the failures of British rule in India than the tragic manner of its ending.

Shashi Tharoor is an elected member of Indias parliament and chairs its Foreign Affairs Committee. He is the prize-winning author of 16 books, including, most recently, Inglorious Empire: What the British Did To India.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy.
At least six dead and 13 missing after at least 160 refugees forced off boat  the second such incident in 24 hours.

More refugees and migrants have been deliberately drowned by human smugglers for the second time in 24 hours off the coast of Yemen, according to the United Nations migration agency.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a statement late on Thursday that its staff found six bodies on the beach  two male and four female  and 13 people are still missing.

It said 84 migrants left the beach before IOM staff arrived while it provided emergency medical assistance as well as food and water to 57 surviving migrants.

The UN migration agency said 160 Ethiopian migrants were violently forced into the Arabian Sea on Thursday.

It is indeed a very dramatic situation, Laurent de Boeck, the agencys chief for Yemen, told Al Jazeera from Brussels on Thursday.

READ MORE: UN says up to 50 refugees down off Yemen

They were in a boat with smugglers, who dropped them at sea before arriving at the shore. Some people have disappeared. But others were actually buried by their friends on the beaches.

De Boeck said the incident was reported by some of the survivors, whom he described as exhausted and under shock.

This situation is new, he said, adding that it is the first time that his agency documented people being forced out of the boats by smugglers before reaching the shores.

De Boeck said that the civil war in Yemen and the collapse of the state have allowed criminal networks to act freely, endangering many refugees and migrants.

Desperate crossing

William Lacy Swing, the head of IOM, lamented the deaths in a video posted on Twitter, saying there was something fundamentally wrong with this world if countless numbers of children can be deliberately and ruthlessly drowned.

He described the smuggling route from the Horn of Africa to Yemen as a busy and extremely dangerous route because of the conflict there.

The war between the Saudi-backed government and Iran-backed Houthi rebels has killed more than 10,000 people and wounded a further 44,500 since 2015.

"We condemn the acts of smugglers off the coast of #Yemen." A message from our @IOMchief Swing: pic.twitter.com/lziQOzVmC5  IOM  UN Migration (@UNmigration) August 10, 2017

In the incident on Wednesday, the smuggler forced more than 120 people into the sea as they approached Yemens coast, the IOM statement said. Its staffers found the shallow graves of 29 migrants on a beach in Shabwa during a routine patrol. At least 22 migrants remained missing.

The passengers average age was 16, the agency said.

De Boeck told Al Jazeera on Thursday that smugglers from Djibouti, Ethiopia and Somalia work with their counterparts in Yemen to transport people across the Horn of Africa.

The narrow waters between the Horn of Africa and Yemen have been a popular migration route despite Yemens ongoing conflict. Refugees and migrants try to make their way to the oil-rich Gulf countries.

But once in Yemen, the refugees and migrants face the brutality of war, forcing them back to Sudan, Egypt and Libya, where they cross the Mediterranean to reach Europe.





More than 111,500 refugees and migrants landed on Yemens shores last year, up from around 100,000 the year before, according to the Regional Mixed Migration Secretariat, a grouping of international agencies that monitors migration in the area.

Since January this year, the IOM said that about 55,000 people had left Horn of Africa nations for Yemen. A third of them are estimated to be women.

Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN Secretary General, told reporters on Thursday that the international community must give priority to preventing and resolving situations which both generate mass movement and expose those already on the move to significant danger.

We must also increase legal pathways for regular migration and offer a credible alternative to these dangerous crossings for people in need of international protection, he added.

Al Jazeeras Rosiland Jordan, reporting from the UN in New York, said many of the refugees had been handcuffed by smugglers which  according to survivors  had been done to get more pepole into the boats and to make it impossible for them to escape and report on the smugglers if something went wrong.

Jordan said it was unlikely the smugglers could be arrested, detained, or tried given that Yemen is in a state of war.

So theres a real sense of urgency [at the UN] in trying to prevent this from happening again, but with Yemen in a state of war, and its security forces really outmanned by these smuggling operations, this situation could get worse before it gets better, she said.
Director of Yemens national blood bank warns the centre could shut down within one week due to lack of support.

Yemens national blood bank faces a complete shutdown within a week after a medical aid charity ended its two-year support, the facilitys director said on Thursday, warning that the closure could exacerbate the existing humanitarian crisis in the war-torn country.

Doctors Without Borders, known by the French acronym MSF, gave its last donation to the blood bank in June after it signed an agreement with UN World Health Organization, handing over the support to the UN agency.

Supplies are running out, Ayman al-Shihari, the general director of the National Blood Transfusion Centre, told The Associated Press over the phone from Sanaa, the capital of Yemen.

The MSF supplies cover only two months.

Al-Shihari added that the facility has yet to receive any aid from the WHO.

READ MORE: Thousands die due to Yemen airport closure: NRC

Adnan al-Hakimi, who works at the blood bank, said that the centre is running low on all of its resources, including cannula solutions, blood bags, and other medical supplies.

We are appealing to civil society organisations, businessmen, and all those doing charity work, to save the lives of these patients and the wounded, so the centre does not go out of business, he told Al Jazeera.

Yemen is facing the worlds worst humanitarian crisis. The two-year war has crippled the countrys health system, depleted access to safe drinking water and put millions on the brink of famine.

Al-Shihari said that the banks closure could lead to a humanitarian catastrophe, noting that the facility receives up to 3,000 cases monthly, including patients with cancer, thalassaemia, kidney failure and those wounded in the war.

Thalassemia is a hereditary form of anaemia that requires regular transfusions.

A Saudi-led coalition embarked on a campaign in March 2015 in Yemen with the aim of dislodging Iran-backed Shia Houthi rebels who control the capital and much of the north and restoring to power the internationally-recognized government of Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

The stalemated war has killed at least 10,000 people and has led to extensive civilian suffering with 17 million going hungry and nearly 80 percent of Yemeni children in need of humanitarian assistance, according to UN figures.
Six journalists arrested for leaking information to hostile parties, but rights group say its curb on free speech.

A Palestinian court on Thursday extended the detention of six journalists by several days, a member of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate told Al Jazeera.

Omar Nazzal, a member of the journalists syndicate in the occupied West Bank, said the public attorneys office was preparing an indictment against the six journalists for breaching a controversial Electronic Crimes law passed recently.

The six journalists are being accused of breaching Article 20 of the Electronic Crimes law, Nazzal told Al Jazeera, referring to the clause that prohibits the dissemination of news that endangers the internal or external security of the state.

READ MORE: Crackdown aims to silence Palestinian journalists

They were arrested by Palestinian Authority security forces in the occupied West Bank late on Tuesday evening.

Amer Abu Arafeh, Qutaiba Qasem, Mamdouh Hamamreh, Ahmad Halaiqa, Islam Zaal and Tarek Abu Zeid remain under custody in various cities in the Palestinian territories.

Some of the journalists are freelancers, while Abu Zaid and Abu Arafeh work with the Al-Aqsa TV and Al-Quds channel respectively, both are considered close to Hamas.

Ala Freijat, a lawyer with the Palestinian journalists syndicate, has called the arrests illegal.

The detention process is illegal because it violates a special agreement between the Palestinian journalists syndicate and the Palestinian public attorneys office, Freijat told Al Jazeera.

The agreement, according to Freijat, was put in place last year and stipulates that only the public attorneys office can summon journalists, not PA security forces.

A representative from the public attorneys office must also be present during the interrogation, Freijat demanded.

READ MORE: How Israel prevented journalists from covering al-Aqsa

According to Freijat, the PA security forces have yet to conduct a formal interrogation with the journalists.

Wafa, the official PA news agency, reported late on Wednesday night that the journalists were detained for leaking information to hostile parties.

Freijat believes there is no basis for this accusation.

We reject these arrestswhich constitute a serious threat to the freedom of expression, said Nazzal of journalists syndicate.

Al-Haq, a Palestinian non-governmental human rights organisation based in Ramallah, also condemned the arrests and demanded the immediate release of the journalists.

We stress again on the need to stop the summoning and arrests of journalists for carrying out their work, Al-Haq said in a statement released on Wednesday.

The rule of law, including the right to freedom of expression, must be respected and are guaranteed by the Palestinian law and international conventions.

The Committee to Protect Journalists said that PA security forces should cease arresting journalists on spurious charges.

Palestinian security forces in the West Bank should immediately release the five journalists they arrested yesterday and stop punishing reporters for the dispute between Palestinian factions, CPJ Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator Sherif Mansour said from Washington, D.C.

The sixth journalists arrest was not confirmed by the PA.

On Thursday, the Palestinian Media Forum in Gaza City organised a rally in solidarity with the detained journalists.

The Forum said the arrests were of a political nature and had no dimensions related to their journalistic work.

Recently, the Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedom (MADA) said that violations committed by the PA and Hamas government against journalists in the West Bank and Gaza Strip respectively were significantly higher in June than the previous months.

Fouad Jaradeh, a Palestinian journalist from Gaza, has been held by Hamas security forces for nearly two months.

Last June, the PA public attorneys office instructed local internet providers to block users access to some 16 rival websites that are generally critical of the President Mahmoud Abbas.
Expulsions follow report of alleged use of covert sonic device in 2016 that left US diplomats with severe hearing loss.

The United States government has expelled two Cuban diplomats after a number of American embassy staff were forced to leave Havana because of mysterious medical symptoms that were first reported last year, the State Department said.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the Cuban diplomats were informed of the US governments decision on May 23.

The Associated Press (AP) reported on Wednesday that the American diplomats suffered severe hearing loss attributed to a covert sonic device.

READ MORE: Castro blames Trump for setback in US-Cuba relations

We first heard of these incidents back in late 2016, Nauert said, without specifying the number of Americans affected by these symptoms or detailing their nature.

Some US government personnel who were working at our embassy in Havana, Cuba  reported some incidents which have caused a variety of physical symptoms.

As a result of that, weve asked two Cubans to leave the United States, and they have.

A separate AP report quoted unnamed US officials as saying some of the diplomats symptoms were so severe that they were forced to cancel their tours early and return to the US.

We requested their [Cuban diplomats] departure as a reciprocal measure since some US personnels assignments in Havana had to be curtailed due to these incidents, said Nauert.

Under the Vienna Convention, Cuba has an obligation to take measures to protect diplomats.

After months of investigation, US officials concluded that the diplomats were exposed to an advanced device that operated outside the range of audible sound and was deployed either inside or outside their residences.

It was not immediately clear if the device was a weapon used in a deliberate attack or had some other purpose, AP reported.

Nauert said that investigators did not yet have a definitive explanation for the incidents but stressed that they take them very seriously, as shown by the Cuban diplomats expulsions.

Later on Wednesday, the Cuban government confirmed the expulsions, but denied the alleged incidents in Havana.

Cuba has never, nor would ever, allow the Cuban territory to be used for any kind of action against accredited diplomats or their families, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

It also said it had objected to the expulsion of its officials, while also urging the US to work together to shed light on the incidents.

Relations between the US and Cuba were restored in 2015 after a half-century break by then president Barack Obama and his Cuban counterpart Raul Castro.

But the rapprochement was partially rolled back by Obamas successor Donald Trump who, in June, announced tightened rules for Americans travelling to Cuba, banned ties with a military-run tourism firm and reaffirmed the existing US trade embargo.
Guams governor has warned North Korea of any attacks on the US territory as war of words continues.

Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated Eddie Calvo's position as mayor of Guam. He is the governor of Guam. We apologize for this error.

An attack on Guam would be considered an attack on the United States, Guams governor warned in response to a threat that North Korea would create an enveloping fire around the US territory.

The people of Guam woke up on Thursday to another pointed threat from Pyongyang, which vowed to complete a plan to attack waters near the island by mid-August.

However, Guams Governor Eddie Calvo warned North Koreas leadership that attacking the territory would be considered an attack on the US.

Any type of attack will not be successful but at the same time an attack on Guam will be considered an attack on the United States and will be met with an overwhelming force, Calvo told Al Jazeera.

While some residents of Guam say they are confident the US military will protect them if North Korea attacks, others are discussing emergency plans with their families.

Its actually been scary since yesterday, Kate Quiambao, a resident of Guam, said.

Right now, Im planning with my family what are we going to be doing from here on. Were trying to plan out if theres going to be an emergency and things like that.

The US military on Guam consists of two bases that are home to 7,000 troops  Andersen Air Force Base in the north and Naval Base Guam in the south.

I feel that the presence of the military on Guam will help us a lot, said Virgie Matson, 51, a resident of Dededo, Guams most populated village.

They are here to protect the islands, just in case something happens.

Mixed messages

Trump administration officials delivered mixed messages of alarm and reassurance as tensions escalated over North Koreas nuclear weapons programme, leaving doubt about the direction of US policy.

Serge Bloh, a Guam resident, believes Trumps reply has escalated the already tense situation with North Korea.

How Trump replied to it, I think it really infuriated North Korea, honestly. But well see whats gonna happen next, he said.

READ MORE: North Koreas nuclear weapons  Here is all we know

Despite the military presence and service, some Guamanians feel unprotected and insecure in this time of crisis.

What about all those who dont have any protection to help them? I just dont agree with this; it is scary. Lou Meno said.

For years, North Korea has claimed Guam is within its missiles striking distance, making furious statements each time the US flew powerful bombers from the islands airbase to the Korean Peninsula.

We have little kids that they dont know whats going on, and what is the president doing to protect us? I blame him [Trump], Meno said.
The underground wall alongside the 60km border costing $1.1bn will be completed within two years, Israel reveals.

Israel has revealed the construction of a sensor-equipped underground wall alongside the 60km border with the Gaza Strip, which it described as a counter-measure to Hamas tunnels leading outside of its coastal territory.

Israeli media published new disclosures by the military on Thursday about the project, costing $1.1bn and to be completed within two years under an accelerated schedule.

The underground wall, which will be built from concrete and be fitted with sensors, is expected to reach dozens of metres deep into the ground and to stand at six metres high from ground level.

Israel has described it as a territorial counterpart to its Iron Dome short-range rocket interceptor, capable of blunting Hamas limited means of challenging its superior armed forces.

READ MORE: How Gaza was made into an unlivable place

The Israeli Haaretz newspaper reported that in recent months, Israel had brought foreign labourers and contracted companies to flatten the area around the border.

I think the other side will have to re-evaluate the situation in view of the barriers construction, said the chief of Israels southern command Major-General Eyal Zamir.

If Hamas chooses to go to war over the barrier, it will be a worthy reason (for Israel) to go to war over. But the barrier will be built.

Hamas accused Israel of belligerence.

The unusually detailed Israeli threat followed a rocket launch on Tuesday which caused no damage in Israel and went unclaimed by Palestinian groups. Israel responded with an air attack on a Hamas facility that medics said wounded seven people.

Such flare-ups have been relatively rare since the last Israeli offensive on Gaza in 2014, with Hamas mostly holding fire and reining in smaller armed factions.

But as Gazas poverty and political drift deepens, both sides worry that another conflict could erupt.

Legitimate military targets

Israel also said it had mapped armed emplacements hidden under civilian sites in the Palestinian enclave that may be attacked in any new war.

The military published aerial photographs and coordinates of two Gaza buildings that it said Hamas was using as cover for tunnel networks. One of these, it said, is a Hamas members family home, linked to a mosque by a secret passage.

These two targets, as far as Im concerned, are legitimate military targets, and in the event that a new war begins, anybody in them is endangering himself, his family, and the responsibility [for their wellbeing] will fall on Hamas, Zamir said in a separate briefing to foreign journalists.

READ MORE: Has Israels security apparatus failed?

A Hamas spokesman, Fawzi Barhoum, called the Israeli statements lies and fabrications that aim to damage the image of the Palestinian resistance and justify the mass killing of thousands of Palestinians civilians.

More than 2,100 Palestinians, most of them civilians, were killed in the 2014 war, according to the Gaza health ministry. Sixty-seven Israeli soldiers and six civilians in Israel were killed.

A new buffer zone within Israels territory, dozens of metres in width, will afford it extra time to respond by depriving Hamas tunnelers during war of targets on the frontier.

Israeli media said on Thursday that the military also planned to build an underwater barrier in the Mediterranean to prevent infiltration from Gaza by sea.
At least nine fighters killed as military conflict with Abu Sayyaf and Maute groups continues in the Philippines.

Philippine military forces have continued their offensive against armed groups linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group in the countrys south, killing at least nine fighters as the conflict in Marawi continues.

On Thursday morning, fighters from the Maute Group and Abu Sayyaf engaged with the military forces who retaliated with air attacks and artillery fire, Captain Jo-Ann Petinglay, military spokesperson, told Anadolu news agency.

Those enemies who died in the offensives include men of Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon who are digging for a tunnel under a mosque trying to escape the battle zone or reach the lake, Petinglay said.

READ MORE: Marawi  The girl and her red shoes

Hapilon, who is wanted by the FBI and has a $5m bounty on his head, is suspected to have led the siege in Marawi which is now in its 12th week.

His group, Abu Sayyaf, had previously pledged loyalty to al-Qaeda.

Earlier, the military confirmed that Hapilon was still alive and inside the battle zone, despite earlier reports he had escaped along with Abdullah and Omar Maute, local leaders of the Maute group that has pledged allegiance to ISIL.

The Philippine government has also offered a separate reward for the capture of Hapilon and the Maute brothers.

According to Petinglay, the number of deaths on the side of Maute and Abu Sayyaf has gone up to 548 due to continuous fighting in Marawi  a once bustling university town in Mindanao.

At least 122 soldiers have also been killed while 45 civilians have died in the fighting.

The remaining fighters, including several foreigners, have at least 100 civilian hostages. Four were recently rescued.

President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law on the whole island of Mindanao after the Maute group attacked Marawi on May 23.

When the fighting began, the military had initially vowed to end it within weeks. But the fighting continues into its third month now, and martial law has been extended until the end of 2017.

The armed conflict has displaced about 359,680 people, as of July 29, with many living in host communities or in 75 evacuation centres across Mindanao.

More than 200,000 children have also been displaced. Many of those living in host communities are affected by the scarcity of household resources, including food, medical and school supplies, in one of the poorest areas in the country.
President under growing pressure after spending more than 90 days abroad seeking treatment for an unspecified illness.

Nigerian protesters in Lagos and Abuja are demanding President Muhammadu Buhari either resume his job as president or resign, after more than 90 days of absence.

Demonstrators have rallied in Abuja for three days, demanding action by the government, with many claiming Buharis absence is unacceptable and harmful for the country.

We believe the president has become incapacitated and cannot continue in office, so we are calling for the President to either resume [to continue as president] or resign, Adeyanju Deji, founder of the online campaign #ResumeOrResign, told Al Jazeera.

Charles, another supporter of the campaign, told Al Jazeera: Its quite unacceptable that the leader of the most populous African nation in the world would leave the country and go sit down in the UK, on account of a health issue that is unknown to Nigerians.

OPINION: Muhammadu Buharis inconclusive medical vacation

Some have also used the hashtag #ResumeOrResign.

Buhari, 74, has been under growing pressure to disclose his state of health since a series of lengthy trips abroad to seek treatment for an unspecified illness.

He returned from London in early March after nearly two months away, then left Nigeria again on May 7, 2017.

On the other hand, a pro-Buhari group called Coalition for good governance and change initiative also took to the streets supporting President Buhari carrying banners that read: Our President is recuperating. Nigeria is moving forward. No cause for alarm.

Buhari was last in Nigeria in May welcoming back 83 Chibok schoolgirls who had been abducted and then released by Boko Haram. He went on to say that he has absolute confidence the government will continue to run smoothly while Im away. God bless Nigeria.

As I noted earlier,I have absolute confidence that Govt will continue to run smoothly while I'm away. God bless the Fed Republic of Nigeria https://t.co/zORIF5KFGN  Muhammadu Buhari (@MBuhari) May 7, 2017

In July, the Nigerian President Twitter account tweeted that Buhari will be back to Nigeria as soon as his doctors give the go-ahead. As of now its been more than 90 days since he was last in Nigeria.

While outside Nigeria, Buhari has handed power temporarily to vice president Yemi Osinbajo.
A plan will be presented to leader Kim Jong-un who will make a decision on whether to proceed, said Norths state media.

North Korea will develop a plan by mid-August to launch four intermediate range missiles at the US territory of Guam before presenting it to leader Kim Jong-un who will decide on whether to proceed, North Korean state media said on Thursday.

The unusually detailed report on the attack plan marked a further escalation in tensions between Pyongyang and Washington after US President Donald Trump warned North Korea earlier this week it would face fire and fury if it threatened the United States.

North Koreas official news agency KCNA described Trumps threat as a load of nonsense.

Sound dialogue is not possible with such a guy bereft of reason and only absolute force can work on him, it said of Trump, adding that it will keep closely watching the speech and behaviour of the US.

READ MORE: Three things to know about North Koreas missile tests

The North Korean army is developing a plan in order to interdict the enemy forces on major military bases on Guam and to signal a crucial warning to the United States, the KCNA report said.

Guam is home to about 163,000 people and a US military base that includes a submarine squadron, an airbase and a coastguard group.

The Hwasong-12 rockets to be launched by the KPA (Korean Peoples Army) will cross the sky above Shimane, Hiroshima and Koichi Prefectures of Japan, the report said, citing General Kim Rak Gyom, commander of the Strategic Force of the KPA.





They will fly 3,356.7 km for 1,065 seconds and hit the waters 30 to 40 km away from Guam.

Earlier on Wednesday, Guam Governor Eddie Calvo dismissed the threat and said the island was prepared for any eventuality with strategically placed defences. He said he had been in touch with the White House and there was no change in the threat level.

US military officials played down the potential for military conflict. Three US officials speaking to Reuters news agency on condition of anonymity said the US had not moved additional assets into the region after North Koreas threats against Guam.

Just because the rhetoric goes up, doesnt mean our posture changes, one official said. The only time our posture goes up is based on facts, not because of what Kim and Trump say to each other, the official added.

Al Jazeeras Craig Leeson, reporting from Guam, said that North Korea has been described in the past as a small dog with a big bark and that is was business as usual in Guam.

Now were seeing Guam being used by North Korea as a sort of a stick against Donald Trump but at this stage one would suspect that it is a typical North Korean tactic merely saying to Donald Trump back off, leave us alone, stop with the sanctions, and let us get on with our own lives, he said.

So at this stage, it is being seen I think by most people  certainly people here in Guam  as just purely rhetoric. said Leeson.

A week of rising tension

Tensions surged this week after Trumps warning to the isolated state to give up its nuclear weapons and missile programmes.

Washington has warned it is ready to use force if needed to stop North Koreas ballistic missile and nuclear programmes but that it prefers global diplomatic action, including sanctions. The UN Security Council unanimously imposed new sanctions on North Korea on Saturday.

North Korea carried out two nuclear bomb tests last year and two intercontinental ballistic missile tests in July. Trump has said he will not allow Pyongyang to develop a nuclear weapon capable of hitting the US.

OPINION: Is North Korea really a hollowed out state?

US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis also issued a stark warning to North Korea on Wednesday, telling Pyongyang it should stop any actions that would lead to the end of its regime and the destruction of its people.

Al Jazeeras Patty Culhane, reporting from Washington, DC, said the messages coming out of the Trump administration on North Korea over the past few weeks have been very inconsistent.

That it was time to talk. That it wasnt time to talk. That regime change was on the table. That it wasnt. Nevertheless, here at the State Department, they insist that when it comes to North Korea, they are speaking with one voice, she said.
Election commission denies opposition claims of digital fraud as final vote results are expected on Friday.

Kenyas electoral commission chairman has admitted its database was a target of an unsuccessful hacking attempt, but it has failed to convince the opposition, which continues to dispute the results.

Wafula Chebukatis remarks came on Thursday following allegations by opposition leader Raila Odinga that hackers infiltrated the database and manipulated results in favour of President Uhuru Kenyatta after Tuesdays vote.

Chebukati said hacking was attempted but did not succeed and tallying of final results was continuing.

With results from 99 percent of polling stations counted, Kenyatta held a strong lead.

Britain and the US joined foreign observer missions from the European Union, African Union, Commonwealth and the Carter Center in urging party leaders to be patient and refrain from inflaming tensions ahead of the release of final results, expected on Friday.

But the opposition National Super Alliance (NASA) doubled down on accusations the counting process was a sham after Odinga claimed on Wednesday that hackers broke into the electronic tallying system and manipulated results.

READ MORE: Why are Kenyas elections so bitterly contested?

One of NASAs leaders Musalia Mudavadi provided documents purportedly obtained from the servers of the electoral commission (IEBC) via a confidential source showing that Odinga had 8.04 million votes, leading Kenyatta on 7.75 million.

This was despite the fact that results streaming onto the IEBC website showed Kenyatta with 8.1 million votes to Odingas 6.7 million.





We demand that the IEBC chairperson announce the presidential election results forthwith and declare Raila Amolo Odinga as the duly elected president, said Mudavadi.

Hundreds of Odinga supporters, mainly young men, poured onto the streets of the opposition stronghold of Kisumu in celebration. At least one truck of anti-riot police followed them, a Reuters witness said. There were pockets of similar celebrations in opposition strongholds in Nairobi as well.

IEBC chief Wafula Chebukati rejected this demand, saying the commission would only announce final results once all the forms from constituencies had arrived at the tallying centre in Nairobi and been validated.

Earlier, a team headed by former US Secretary of State John Kerry also called for calm and restraint on Thursday, as protests called by the opposition turned violent on Wednesday, claiming the lives of at least five people.

Kerry also told Al Jazeera that the allegations need to be examined but were not a reason to stop the process or question the entire election.

READ MORE: In Kenyas Kisumu, prayers for Baba Odingas presidency

Al Jazeeras Catherine Soi, reporting from the opposition stronghold Kisumu, said she spoke with Odingas campaign team members and close advisers, who still insist that the voting system was hacked.

Raila Odinga says he needs an independent investigation into the poll and people here are saying that they have every confidence in him. They will believe everything he is going to say, she said.

Odingas claims were enough to spark isolated protests in his strongholds in several Nairobi slums and the western city of Kisumu on Wednesday.

A relative peace returned to the streets on Thursday. There were violent protests in one Nairobi neighbourhood, Kawangware slum, where police fired live rounds and tear gas as they clashed with opposition supporters.

And later on Thursday, Mohamud Saleh, north eastern regional coordinator, said police was trying to restore calm in the county of Garissa where a town market was burnt by arsonists amid an opposition protest.
At least four people have been killed in Syrian government bombardment on two areas included in de-escalation zones, as the Syrian army seized rebel-held areas near the border with Jordan.

Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based monitoring group, said on Thursday that a man was killed early in the day in air attacks on Tal Dahab village near Houla town in central Syria.

De-escalation zones were announced in May by opposition backer Turkey and regime allies Iran and Russia after talks in Kazakhstan.

Abbas Abu Osama, a resident of the town of Houla, told AFP news agency that six attacks hit his hometown by Thursday afternoon.

We have our first casualty, killed in an air attack in Tal Dahab near Houla, he said.

The raids in the area were the first since a truce was announced one week ago.

READ MORE: Syrias de-escalation zones explained

A woman, a man and a child were killed, and seven more people were wounded in shelling on a town of Hammuriyeh in the Eastern Ghouta area near the capital, Damascus, SOHR said.

The Hammuriyeh attack came a day after government shelling killed five civilians and wounded 10 more in the nearby town of Kafr Batna, according to SOHR.

Air attacks have also pummelled rebel-held parts of the Jobar district of Damascus and the adjacent district of Ain Tarma.

Three de-escalation zones have been agreed so far: in Eastern Ghouta, the northern parts of central Homs province, and in Syrias south.

The fourth zone, in northwestern Idlib province, has yet to be implemented.

Syrian army gains

Also on Thursday, the Syrian army and its allies seized control of at least 30km of Syrias border with Jordan from rebels, two rebel groups and a Syrian military source said.

The Syrian military source described the advance as a big success.

A military media unit run by Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, a close ally of the Syrian government, said the army and its allies had gained control over all checkpoints and border posts on the border in Sweida, one of four Syrian provinces that border Jordan.

Rebel groups, some of them backed by Western and Arab states, still control much of Syrias southwestern frontier with Jordan and Israel.

Sweida province was not included in a US-Russia brokered ceasefire that took effect in nearby areas of the southwest in July.

Said Saef, spokesman for the Western-backed rebel group Martyr Ahmed Abdo Brigade, said Thursdays attack came from two sides in Sweidas east countryside.

Most of the eastern Sweida countryside is now in the hands of the regime, he added.

READ MORE: Syrias civil war explained from the beginning

The army had advanced to the border and retaken posts it abandoned in the early years of the conflict when rebels took over large parts of southwestern Syria.

They are now on the Jordanian border, and back to outposts they had evacuated early in the conflict, said Saef.

Another rebel spokesman said the army gains were helped by a sudden pull-back by Jaish al-Ashair rebel group, which is backed by Jordan and had been responsible for patrolling that stretch of the border.

More than 330,000 people have been killed since Syrias conflict erupted in March 2011 with protests against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The conflict has drawn in international powers, including Russia, which has carried out bombing raids in support of Assads forces since September 2015.
A court in northern India has ordered the son of a leading politician into police custody for harassing and trying to abduct a woman after a media uproar.

The court in the city of Chandigarh, the capital of Haryana state, sent Vikas Barala, son of Subhash Barala, president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Haryana state, and an associate to two days custody on Thursday.

They were first arrested last weekend after 29-year-old Varnika Kundu alleged that they tried to force open the door of the car she was driving home.

The police released the pair within hours and charged them with stalking and drunk driving instead of the attempted kidnapping charge requested by Kundu.

Womens rights campaigners protested the move and the opposition accused Subhash Barala of putting pressure on the police to drop the harsher charge.

READ MORE: Chandigarh stalking  Haryana police accused of cover-up

Kundu, in a widely shared Facebook post, said she was lucky because Im not lying raped and murdered in a ditch somewhere.

One BJP leader on Monday blamed the victim for being out late, triggering a backlash on social media and prompting the party to distance itself from such comments and say the law would take its course.

Indian women posted selfies of themselves out at night on social media under the hashtag #AintNoCinderella.

The case has embarrassed the BJP as it runs a campaign on womens safety.





The opposition Congress Party this week accused the BJP, which runs both Haryana and the federal government, of shielding Vikas and mocked Prime Minister Narendra Modis campaign to save the girl child, educate the girl child.

Bir Kumar Yadav, the BJP spokesman in Haryana, denied there had been any attempt to influence the investigation and rejected calls from congress to sack Subhash Barala as state party chief.

Barala could not be reached for comment.

Theres no political influence to dilute the case. Its an individual incident with no links to the party or its campaign on safety for women, Yadav said.

Haryana has one of most unbalanced sex ratios in the country because of a high rate of abortion of female foetuses.

Modi launched the national programme to save the girl child in 2015.

Scrutiny of sexual violence has grown in India since the 2012 gang rape and murder of a student in New Delhi.
War and starvation have driven more than 1.3 million people from South Sudan across the border to Uganda. The neighbouring countrys willingness to help has so far managed to prevent an even greater migration crisis. Foreign Minister Gabriel wants to provide even more support to the country before it is too late. Foreign Minister Gabriel []http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Appa-sourceTheAfric...
United Nations expert Baskut Tuncak will visit Sierra Leone from 14 to 25 August to assess the countrys human rights record in relation to hazardous substances and waste. The Special Rapporteur, who is making his first official visit to the country, said he would assess Sierra Leones work so far to protect peoples rights from []Source : http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Appa-sourceTheAfric...
The modified toll structure offers better rates per loaded container on the return voyage for Neopanamax vessels deployed on the canal route, according to the Panama Canal Authority (ACP).



PHOTO: Diego Grandi / Shutterstock.com

The Cabinet Council of the Republic of Panama has officially approved a modified toll structure for the Panama Canal that will lower rates for containerships.

The Cabinet Council of the Republic of Panama on Aug. 8 officially approved a proposal to modify the Panama Canal tolls structure, following a recommendation from the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) Board of Directors.

The newly approved modifications, which lower rates for containerships, were first approved by the canal authoritys board of directors on May 25. Then on July 5, the ACP held a public hearing on the tolls structure modifications proposal, following a 32-day formal consultation period for industry feedback.

The toll modifications offer better rates per loaded container on the return voyage for Neopanamax vessels deployed on the canal route in the head and back haul legs. Containerships will only receive the new rates if they follow mandated standards, including that the utilization rate for a ships northbound transit is greater than or equal to 70 percent; and the time between the northbound and southbound transit is no longer than 28 days.

Tolls for LPG and LNG vessels are also being modified, but the units of measurement wont change. The vessels are being reclassified as container/breakbulk within the general cargo segment, rather than the current others segment.

Additionally, container/breakbulk vessels which were formerly part of the others market segment, are being reclassified into the general cargo segment, thus resulting, according to the ACP, in more attractive tariffs for customers, since general cargo tolls are lower.

The ballast tariff will be applied to the LPG vessels transporting up to two percent of the total cubic meters of LPG cargo capacity of the spaces designed and certified for such use. Regarding LNG vessels, the ballast tariff will be applied to LNG vessels transporting up to10 percent of the total cubic meters of LNG cargo capacity of the spaces designed and certified for such use.

The operators that use the same LNG vessel for a voyage to and return from a specific destination through the Panama Canal, will pay the laden tariff for the laden portion of the trip, and would be eligible for the roundtrip ballast fee if the return transit in ballast is made within 60 days after the laden transit.

The approved changes were proposed, according to the authority, after an analysis of utilization and productivity of the Neopanamax Locks, and after meetings with Panama Canal executives, customers and industry representatives in Europe, Asia and North America. The meetings, according to the ACP, provided a deeper understanding of the industry today, the challenges faced by individual market segments, and the projected demand for the Neopanamax Locks.

The modified tolls will safeguard the Canals competitiveness, charge a fair price for the value of the route and provide a competitive service to the global shipping industry, Panama Canal Administrator Jorge L. Quijano said in a statement.

The newly approved tolls modifications are scheduled to go into effect on Oct. 1, at the beginning of the Canals new fiscal year. Full details on the tariffs are available in English on the Panama Canal Authoritys website.
The United States persists in treating Lebanon as if it were a country. Congress provides U.S. military assistance to the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and trains the LAF's officers. And now we're fighting alongside the LAF, apparently to oust ISIS from encampments inside Lebanon, where they have moved across the border from Syria.

"I can confirm the presence of U.S. Special Forces in Lebanon," a Pentagon spokesman said last week. "Our special forces are providing training and support to the Lebanese Armed Forces. That not only concentrates on operational type missions, but also tactical and strategic type missions. We also have a presence with Lebanese Special Forces in all aspects of training and special operations."

This might be necessary expansion of the U.S. war against ISIS in Iraq and Syria, if the LAF were an actual national army protecting an actual country. But make no mistake: the Lebanese government is Hezb'allah  a U.S.- and E.U.- designated terror organization. And the LAF is not a national army; it is a fig leaf, a front for the acquisition of Western funds and training, which we foolishly provide. Hezb'allah has planted up to 150,000 rockets and missiles among Lebanese civilians south of the Litani River and aimed at Israel, ensuring that civilians will bear the brunt of the next war if, as in 2006, Hezb'allah unleashes barrages of rockets at Israeli cities.* One reason it needs help defending Lebanese soil from ISIS is that 15,000 Hezb'allah soldiers are in Syria, committing depredations, expelling the Sunni population, and propping up the Alawite dictator in Damascus.

[*As historical oddity, and certainly with no faith that it would matter, in 2006, the U.N. Security Council banned Hezb'allah from having any weapons south of the Litani River after Hezb'allah's rocket barrages against Israel. The resolution calls for "full implementation of the relevant provisions of the Taif Accords, and of resolutions 1559 (2004) and 1680 (2006), that require the disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon, so that, pursuant to the Lebanese cabinet decision of July 27, 2006, there will be no weapons or authority in Lebanon other than that of the Lebanese state."]

Under what banner does the United States send American troops to defend Hezb'allah territory? Let them pull out of Syria and defend it themselves.

Not happening.

Hezb'allah's patron is Iran  which is looking to Lebanon as the westernmost part of the Shiite Crescent from Iran through Iraq and Syria and out to the Mediterranean Sea. The Crescent will ride atop American allies Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Israel. Iran and Hezb'allah are, in fact, stretched a bit thin, which is why Iran is using Shiite mercenaries from Pakistan and Afghanistan in Syria, but the principle of the Crescent is so important that the commanding forces are strictly IRGC.

By what logic do United States Special Forces help Iran nail down its overland route to the Mediterranean Sea?

There are two questions:

How does the United States see the future of the countries of the presumed Shiite Crescent?

What is it prepared to do to change the future?

Iran is in Iraq at the invitation of the Iraqi government and the agreement of the United States. Iran is in Syria at the invitation of the Syrian government and the acquiescence of the United States. Iran is not yet overtly in Lebanon, but its cutout Hezb'allah didn't need an invitation; it lives there. To round out the party, Saleh al-Arouri, the Hamas military commander in charge of West Bank terror cells, left Qatar in June and went to Lebanon. Al-Arouri was recently photographed with Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif as they released a joint statement that said, in part, "We concluded that it's time to turn a new leaf in order to address our shared enemy."

Well, perhaps Russia will help the U.S. position here.

In fact, Russia's "alliance" with Iran is an iffy thing  the Russians are not comfortable with Islamic radicalism, whether Sunni or Shiite. On the other hand, thanks to the Obama administration, Iran has enough cash to pay for lots of military hardware, and Russia has little to sell besides military hardware (and wheat and low-priced oil). And Russia's interest in Syria is essentially limited to guaranteeing the security of its naval bases at Tartus and Latakia, and an air base at Hmeymim. It is not interested in ruling Syria. There is no great incentive for Russia to demand that Iran leave Syria or to make it leave.

That leaves American forces. Will we see the spread of Iranian military might across the Middle East as a problem in the same way we see ISIS? Whatever problems ISIS poses for the region, Iran with its ballistic missile arsenal and nuclear program poses a bigger one. And while the U.S. government has said it does not expect Iran to remain in Syria after the fighting ends, a report that U.S. forces had attacked an Iranian-sponsored Shiite militia in Syria was quickly refuted by official U.S. military sources.

The eight years of the Obama administration encouraged rogue and nasty regimes to believe they could march with impunity toward goals opposed by the United States and its allies. Iran has collaborated with North Korea on non-conventional weapons and missiles for delivery. Iran has fomented war across the Middle East and North Africa. Lebanon is only the latest country to be sucked into the Iranian vortex. American policy should not cede anything more to Iran by sending our soldiers to protect Iranian interests.
President Nicolas Maduro has no tolerance for dissent. For months, hes used brute force to silence his critics, and most recently, families of opposition leaders have alleged that Maduros political rivals have been seized and shipped off to an unknown location. However, long before the current political turmoil, a number of economic crises created the civil unrest Venezuela now faces.

Venezuela wasnt always this chaotic, and although absolutely none of the politicians in Washington, D.C. deserve to be put in the same camp as a tyrant like Maduro, its worth remembering that the very same political philosophies serving as the foundation of the Democratic Party are the philosophies that have utterly destroyed Venezuela: price fixing, centralized economic controls, a nationalized economy, and an emphasis on expanding the role of government in nearly every aspect of life.

The promises of charismatic Venezuelan leaders of both today and the past vary little from the promises now offered by Democrats. They, too, demanded the rich pay their fair share, that the government provide health care for all, that through various economic controls and manipulations, the economy could work for everyone. The result? Economic calamity.

And yet, the example Venezuela has set, as well as countless similar examples throughout history, has not deterred Democrats in Congress from doubling down on socialistic policies. At the end of July, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) rolled out portions of the Democrats Better Deal plan, in which the Democrats promise to stop big businesses from merging, control drug prices through the power of the federal bureaucracy, and manipulate the economy by picking winners and losers using tax credits.

Many Democrats are now also calling for the creation of a public health insurance option -- which would almost certainly run traditional health insurance companies out of business -- and to raise taxes on virtually everyone, but especially the wealthy. In recent months and years, Democrats have arbitrarily raised the minimum wage dramatically in numerous cities and states, placed massive taxes on sin products like sugar, and provided billions of dollars in government handouts to renewable-energy companies.

These policies have failed over and over again, both in the United States and throughout the world, but because the basic concept behind them -- that the government is here to help -- seems compassionate and caring, millions of voters continue to buy what Democrats are selling.

When asked about the numerous failures of socialism and liberal policies, Democrats always respond, in one form or another, in the same way: Its never the philosophy thats the problem, only the way in which the philosophy has been translated into policy.

Most recently, weve seen this with Democrats attempt to improve the U.S. health care system. Obama promised Americans their insurance prices would improve, that they would have more high-quality health insurance options, and that people would finally be protected from evil health insurance companies. After about seven years of ObamaCare, prices have skyrocketed, millions of people have been forced into joining the low-quality Medicaid system, and millions more have lost insurance policies and/or doctors they wanted to keep.

Even the number of health insurance options have been greatly reduced. In June, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services updated its county-level projections for ObamaCare exchanges in 2018 and found more than 40 percent of all counties are expected to have only one ObamaCare health insurance provider available on their health insurance exchange, leaving 2.4 million people in the unfavorable position of having to choose between buying an incredibly expensive health insurance plan they dont want and likely cant use without paying a huge deductible, or paying a government fine for not having a qualifying health insurance plan.

As always, Democrats say the way to solve these problems is to tweak and fix ObamaCare, not to reject the flawed ideology behind it, which is the same ideology that has pushed Venezuela into chaos.

Some might suggest Democrats might share a basic principle with the extremists of Venezuela, an emphasis on using the government to help people, but no more. While its true the degree to which the Venezuelans have engaged in price controls and economic manipulations is more extreme than the Democrats platform, this does not serve as evidence of a different political philosophy, but rather a difference in circumstances and consistency.

Even if Democrats wanted to transition the economy to a full-blown socialized system, the American people wouldnt let them. After ObamaCare was passed in 2010, pro-liberty Americans voted Democrats out of power in the House of Representatives, the Senate, and eventually dozens of state houses across the country. If Democrats had absolute power for a significant period, its likely they would adopt much more socialistic economic policies than what we have today.

Democrats are also wildly ideologically inconsistent. In one instance, Democrats support strict government controls, while in another, they opt for a more moderate approach. Consider guns and alcohol. Not a single high-profile Democrat in Congress supports banning the consumption of alcohol, but the vast majority of Democrats do support restricting or even banning legal gun ownership, despite the fact alcohol is far more deadly than legal gun ownership, especially once you take suicide out of the picture.

Philosophically, the same arguments Democrats use when opposing gun rights could be used to ban alcohol, but because the political will to create another national prohibition doesnt exist, Democrats oppose such a policy.

No, Americans today are in no danger of being dragged from their homes in the middle of the night by Democrats, and I suspect they wont be at any time in the near future. But thats not because the Democrats political philosophy, especially for the left wing of the party, is different than that of the Maduro regime. Maduro is just far more consistent about how he applies his philosophy to policy. Philosophically consistent Democrats, if given enough power for a long enough period, would likely destroy the U.S. economy in much the same way the socialists of Venezuela have.

Justin Haskins (Jhaskins@heartland.org) is executive editor and a research fellow at The Heartland Institute.
If President Obama thought normalizing relations with Cuba would get the Castroites to stop urinating in American diplomats' mouthwash and doing other despicable deeds against them, he was an utter fool.

CNN reports:

The US believes several State Department employees at the US embassy in Havana were subjected to an "acoustic attack" using sonic devices that left at least two with such serious health problems they needed to be brought back to the US for treatment, several senior State Department officials told CNN. One official said the employees could have suffered permanent hearing loss as a result. The employees affected were not at the same place at the same time, but suffered a variety of physical symptoms since late 2016 which resembled concussions.

The attacks on U.S. personnel abroad are nothing new. U.S. prisoners of war held in Vietnam reported being tortured by Cuban agents. U.S. diplomats abroad were targeted by Cubans during the Cold War, and even worse in the post-Cold War era, when the U.S. Interests Section in Cuba, the pre-normalization of relations diplomatic mission the U.S. had, was targeted for disgusting acts of harassment. These acts fully reflected the mentality of what goes on in the Castroite imagination.

From a 2005 column by Carlos Alberto Montaner:

U.S. diplomat Robert Blau was met by a nauseating stench as he walked into his residence in Havana. He soon learned that security agents of the Cuban government had entered his home surreptitiously and filled it with excrement. The authorization for that repugnant attack had come from Felipe Perez Roque, the bellicose foreign minister, who was determined to punish the American delegation on the island for the oddest type of crime: allowing a handful of opposition democrats to gain access to the Internet for half an hour, once a week. It wasn't the first time something like that had occurred. One of Blau's colleagues found his mouthwash had been replaced with urine. Others had their car tires slashed. Offenses and assorted types of harassment are committed almost daily. Diplomats are deprived of electricity, telephone or water at the authorities' whim.

The Miami Herald, in 2006, reported similar disgusting behavior:

U.S. diplomats tell of endlessly ringing phones and dog feces strewn inside their homes, urine-soaked towels left on a kitchen table and even poisoned family dogs. A high-ranking member of the mission once found his mouthwash replaced with urine. Government agents follow them in public, say the Americans, and provoke them at social events. Some tell of sexual come-ons from strangers, a gambit designed to compromise them or damage their marriages. "It's all just a reminder that they're there," said mission spokesman Drew Blakeney, who arrived in Havana last fall with his wife and child. At a party in May, a stranger came up to Blakeney's wife and claimed that her husband was being unfaithful. Recognizing the provocation, she told the man off, Blakeney said. He and others play down the harassment, saying the nuisances cannot compare to the government persecution that Cuban dissidents must endure. But the persistence of the Cuban agents "makes Ceaucescu's Romania look like real amateurs," Interests Section chief Michael Parmly said, referring to the last and notoriously harsh communist ruler of Romania.

...and...

U.S. diplomats say they often come home to unpleasant surprises: furniture moved slightly, windows left open or freezers unplugged. Some have found a white powder sprinkled around their doorways and gates. The Cuban government makes its presence known outside the Interests Section building, too. Security huts perch at each end of the complex, and guards photograph visitors from afar and demand passports before allowing people to enter. Some of the torments seem more like the work of a poltergeist or a band of fraternity brothers than a national government. Hawkins, who was posted earlier in South Africa and Georgia in the former Soviet Union, once found the covers torn off some matchbooks he had at home, but the intruders left the matches behind.

Now they're putting out diplomats in the hospital.

It goes to show that conceding anything to the Castro brothers is the best way of making them fouler and more aggressive. This we saw with the renewed attacks on the Ladies in White and other dissidents, where baying "turba" mobs would scream in front of their homes and, like apes in the zoo, throw excrement at them.

Now we are seeing far more serious acts against Americans, in what go beyond harassment into full acts of war.

Relations with Cuba are not worth losing one's life over, no matter what President Obama and his intellectual author of the U.S.-Cuba one-way rapprochement, Ben Rhodes, may think.

Is it really worth it to allow the Castroites to get away with this and then watch other tyrants take note and follow suit? Is it really worth it to let them get away with this?

It's better to just pull the plug on the Castroites, bring our diplomats back, and throw theirs out with 24 hours' notice. Murder and maiming, no matter what the left thinks, are still murder and maiming, even if Castroites do it. It's the opposite of diplomacy, which the left vaunts as the solution to every problem, and it's got to stop.
An Atlanta gym owner who posted a sign on his front door reading, "Rules: Do whatever the hell you want, correctly, except Crossfit cultism. No f------ cops" has been receiving death threats since a local Atlanta TV stations ran the story on Tuesday.

The owner of the gym, Jim Chambers, also refuses membership to active-duty military personnel.

His reasons for denying membership to the police and military? It might make his minority members "uncomfortable."

Reuters:

Jim Chambers said the rule had been in place since early 2016 when he opened the East Atlanta Barbell Club in Georgia's capital. The club advertises itself as "a radically aligned, left-friendly gym and community." Chambers said he has many members who are gay, lesbian and transgender, or belong to racial minority groups, some of whom said they had been harassed by police officers. "We know statistically that those people are at risk around police in America," Chambers said in a telephone interview. "I had members who joined because of the policy: they saw it on the door and thought, 'Oh, that's cool,' and joined."

For the record, Chambers says he has about 30 members  some of whom, apparently, don't pay for the privilege of working out at his gym, but are granted access to the facilities in exchange for voluntary work there.

Chambers referred to the high-profile police killings of unarmed civilians in recent years as a reason for the policy. He did not mention the half-dozen police officers killed in retaliation.

The policy had drawn little attention, Chambers said, besides from one officer who tried to join and became "rude" upon being told the reason he could not. But Chambers pasted a strongly worded version of the policy, including an expletive, to the door a couple of weeks ago. That prompted a man to contact WXIA-TV, a local news channel, to say he was offended as a military veteran. WXIA did not name the veteran. Since the channel's report aired on Tuesday, Chambers said he had received a threatening email or call every minute or so. The Atlanta Police Department did not respond to a request for comment, but was quoted by WXIA as saying its officers would nonetheless respond to an emergency at the gym. Chambers, who grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and describes himself politically as "somewhere between an eco-anarchist and a Marxist-Leninist," said he would not call the police in any circumstances. He also disapproved of U.S. military interventions abroad.

An "eco-anarchist"? Is there any room at all politically between that and a "Marxist-Leninist"? The guy is so far left that he's fallen off the ideology meter.

Former police officers and military veterans were generally welcome to join, he said, adding that they were no longer in a position to use force against people on behalf of the government.

Chambers is not only stupid, but insane. I wonder if any former cops or soldiers have taken him up on his "offer."

As an aside to this story, once it went viral across the country, people began calling to express their outrage. Except they were calling the wrong gym.

NBC 11:

In Google, when you look for "East Atlanta Gym," the first listing that pops up is "Village Fitness"  not "EAV Barbell Club." Village Fitness has been in the East Atlanta Village community for much longer. They have received calls and people walking in, asking them about the "no cop" sign since hearing about the story on Tuesday. "I'm like, wait a second  that's definitely not us," said Tara Perry of Village Fitness. "We do not feel that way." Village Fitness is around the corner from EAV Barbell Club, but their policies couldn't be more different. While EAV Barbell Club wants no cops on their premises, Village Fitness welcomes them. To make their message even more clear, Village Fitness put out a sign on Wednesday  in front of the building for gym members and passersby to see. It says "We Support Police and Our Military."

As for the legality of denying service to cops and soldiers, there's nothing in the law against it. But just because something is legal doesn't make it right. Chambers has either developed a questionable marketing strategy to get the name of his business out to the public or is just one more insane leftist who believes his own talking points.
The recent Iran sanctions ratified by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump specifically target the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) and have caused very interesting reactions from Tehran.

Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei has remained silent, signaling his state of shock. His regime's president, Hassan Rouhani, also indicated the toll of these new measures.

"[F]irst, the Majlis [parliament] will take steps in this regard. If they have the Congress, we have the Majlis," he said in a weak reaction. This is a president whose executive branch is in charge of the Iran nuclear deal, passing on the official response to the legislative branch.

Aside from legal and technical aspects of these sanctions, Tehran is currently facing regime change policy and support for the Iranian opposition, represented in the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).

Ahmad Khatami, a member of Iran's Assembly of Experts, said Iran's enemies are seeking to topple the establishment. This has left the entire Iranian regime deeply concerned, rendering it unable to establish a strong position in the face of the status quo.

Prior to this, Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi also expressed weak remarks in response to the new U.S. sanctions.

Members of Khamenei's camp have used their platform in Friday prayers to call on Rouhani's Cabinet to take a strong stance. There are voices also saying that Iran's central bank and the entire government will eventually be sanctioned.

Iran's reactions are of political importance, as they indicate how this crisis is resulting in major internal tension.

"This is the mother of all sanctions," said Foad Izadi, a Tehran University assistant professor, in a recent interview with state TV. "Based on the text, for example, the IRGC will be linked to the government as the government approves the defense budget. Thus, as this military entity is considered a terrorist organization, the government will suffer the same consequences."

Elements of Khamenei's camp, known as the conservatives, hardliners, or principalists, is demanding that Iran exit the nuclear deal altogether, while Rouhani's camp is arguing that the IRGC was under such sanctions in the past.

The entire regime in Iran is forced to follow in line with the nuclear deal and lacks the will to do otherwise. There are concerns inside Iran that the nuclear deal will lead to similar pacts demanded by the international community, such as Tehran's ballistic missile drive, meddling in other countries, and support for terrorism abroad, and most importantly, the mullahs' grave human rights violations dossier.

Khamenei, who has the last word in all national security and foreign affairs, had launched the nuclear negotiations even prior to Rouhani's first term.

Iran's regime is currently facing two paths of execution or suicide. Khamenei himself has been heard saying any change in behavior will result in regime change. Therefore, his entire apparatus lacks any capacity for meaningful change.

To this end, it appears that Iran is seeking to maintain the nuclear deal intact with support from the Europeans. However, even such a policy has its own problems for a ruling system of this nature. Khamenei knows that the Europeans will also demand changes, especially in Iran's human rights dossier. This means another dead end for the mullahs.

Even those who naively dubbed Rouhani a "reformist" have questions to answer after he recently met with several senior IRGC commanders. This is yet another sign that Rouhani is calibrating his ties with the belligerent IRGC. Under Rouhani's watch, the defense budget has risen, and the IRGC's ballistic missile production has advanced dramatically.

All the while, Tehran is facing even larger challenges of regime change. Iran's powder-keg society continues to gain momentum, with daily protests, and the organized NCRI opposition is enjoying increasing support.

For over 35 years, this organization has emphasized the fact that Iran understands only strong language and must be sanctioned meaningfully. The world is only now beginning to comprehend.

Even during the Bush administration, NCRI president Maryam Rajavi reiterated the fact that while her coalition had blown the whistle on Iran's clandestine nuclear weapons program, the main threat emanating from Tehran was its meddling in Iraq and export of terrorism and fundamentalism. This phenomenon is far more dangerous than Tehran's nuclear ambitions, Rajavi emphasized.

The recent sanctions imposed on Iran by the U.S. Congress are in line with this argument. They first target the Iranian regime and seek to tackle the mullahs' destructive policies that have plunged the Middle East into flames and threaten the entire globe.

The world is beginning to understand how peace and stability in the Middle East hinge on reining in Iran's utterly dangerous bellicosity.

As the Trump administration continues to weigh its Iran policy with regime change on the table, there are voices heard arguing against such a move, citing the failures witnessed in the past two decades.

The very reason regime change campaigns in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and Syria have failed is the lack of an organized opposition movement ready to provide the alternative afterward.

Iran enjoys such an alternative, symbolized in the NCRI, its President Maryam Rajavi, and her ten-point plan delivering a free and democratic Iran.

Heshmat Alavi is a political and rights activist. His writing focuses on Iran, ranging from human rights violations to social crackdown to the regime's support for terrorism and meddling in foreign countries, as well as the controversial nuclear program. He tweets at @HeshmatAlavi and blogs at IranCommentary.
I saw a tape of Mitch McConnell essentially blaming Trump for the Senate not passing bills. He said Trump doesn't understand the Democratic process and that he had unrealistic ideas on how long it would take to get things done. Of course, none of this lack of results is McConnell's fault.

I believe that President Trump understands D.C. very well, which is why he says he and his people need to drain the swamp. Essentially, politicians from both parties play at looking active while pretending to do things. They, along with bureaucrats and lobbyists, spend so much time protecting the power they have amassed and trying to get re-elected that they do little for the American people.

Trump wants to give the power and purse back to the people, and politicians from both parties and bureaucrats just can't let that happen.

McConnell, Schumer, Durbin, Pelosi, Hoyer, and the others all know the system  so well that they ran up $20 trillion in actual debt and massive amounts of unfunded liabilities. That should make all of us want to drain the swamp of them, not Trump.

Something we can always count on from Congress is that they will never let their workload interfere with their vacations. They are among the best paid salaried workers in America, and they take more time off than almost everyone. I wonder if anyone ever analyzed their productivity versus pay.

Then we have McCain, Feinstein, Schumer, et al. complaining about Trump's bombastic language toward North Korea. It reminds me of the way they treated Ronald Reagan. They said his harsh language toward the Soviet Union would cause World War 3. Instead, he brought down the Berlin Wall and caused the Soviet Union to collapse without shooting a bullet. It seems that politicians and reporters have little capacity to learn from history.

The Democrats also made fun of "Star Wars." Thank goodness for Reagan's vision. Where would the world be today without the Strategic Defense Initiative?

It was so much better with Obama, Kerry, and Hillary trotting around the world with their "smart" foreign policy, telling people to cut it out. Giving Russia access to so much U.S. uranium and lifting up Iran were brilliant. Not helping Ukraine and reneging on missile shield defense in Poland and the Czech Republic was certainly brilliant (for the Russians). Fictitious red lines in Syria and calling ISIS the J.V. team also showed great vision.

One of the things that really accentuated Obama's and Kerry's brilliance is sending $400 million in unmarked currency to Iran in the middle of the night. Of course, it wasn't ransom.

I'll take Trump's and Reagan's bombastic language any day over the supposed experts in Congress and pundits who have done nothing over the past several decades to rein in North Korea, Iran, Russia, and China. Now Trump has to deal with the problems that have been created by negligence and caving.

Illustration by Mike Harris
Patrick J. ("Pat") Buchanan appeared on Sean Hannity's radio program on Tuesday, August 8. The subject was Donald J. Trump and the efforts of the Deep State to unseat him. Earlier the same day, Buchanan's latest column was published, "After the Coup, What Then?" In its simplicity, accuracy, and directness, it is an essential read. Buchanan's thesis is that the Deep State is conspiring to oust President Trump. His column and his subsequent conversation with Hannity suggest that the effort might just succeed, with daunting consequences for the future of the Republic.

Buchanan is the ultimate D.C. insider-outsider. A conservative from his early years, Buchanan was a close aide to President Richard M. Nixon from 1966, and in the White House starting in 1969, and during the entire Watergate period until Nixon's resignation in 1974. Buchanan also served President Ronald Reagan as White House communications director for two years during Reagan's second term. Buchanan ran for president himself, twice (1992 and '96) in the primaries as a Republican and once in the general election of 2000 as the Reform Party candidate. He reinforced his conservative credentials by challenging President George H.W. Bush in 1992, opposing Bush for his expansionist foreign policy and breaking the pledge on no new taxes.



Time magazine, November 6, 1995.

When he is not running for office or serving Republican presidents, Buchanan writes prolifically  books and columns  and broadcasts, on radio and serving as a TV talk show host and guest. For the past four decades, he has distinguished himself as one of the country's most prescient and accurate political analysts.

In welcoming Buchanan to his nationally syndicated radio program on Tuesday, Hannity noted that the two have been friends for years although they have disagreed from time to time, including on issues like the Iraq War, which Buchanan opposed. The first subject to come up was Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigations of President Trump.

PATRICK J. BUCHANAN: Mueller's investigation: It's really a carte blanche. He's not hiring these folks [attorneys] to find out whether Donald Trump communicated with WikiLeaks. They're going into Trump's finances and any connections with the Russians that will require tax returns and the rest of it. Then you come into any other mistakes. This is really a hostile organism, inside the Executive branch, targeted primarily at the White House and the president that is going to grow and grow and grow. I've never known one of these Special Prosecutors to go home without taking some scalps.

Regarding the surveiling of Trump's associates during the 2016 campaign and the subsequent unmasking of the targeted individuals:

BUCHANAN: Cleary it [the surveilling, unmasking, and leaking] was designed to have all of the revelations leaked constantly as soon as the POTUS takes office. You take that operation ongoing with the Deep State doing the leaking, and the hostile media publishing the leaks, hammering the POTUS every which way every day. And then you have this new powerful organism [Mueller's investigation] that is growing inside the Administration, under the Justice Department, with enormous freedom to roam, that's moving on the White House, moving on Trump campaign associates, the Trump family, and Trump himself. The writing is on the wall here. If they succeed in bringing down the president, what's the reaction of the American people going to be? I think it will be utter disillusionment with democracy. The folks out there in Middle America who say, "Look, we did everything we could. We elected the man and they threw him out. The Deep State that we wanted to throw out took over, and ousted the president we elected." I don't know how we would come together after that. The reaction among those of us who supported him would not be that we're going to take up arms. It would be disillusionment, despair, cynicism. SEAN HANNITY: You'd probably see states wanting to secede from the Union. They'd feel like the Republic is gone. BUCHANAN: That's exactly right. "We're just being led. It's a fraud. We won and then they overturned our victory!" The discussion then moved on to the situation in North Korea. HANNITY: I'm afraid that North Korea will define the Trump presidency. I'm beginning to think it's almost a certainty. BUCHANAN: I think there's real reluctance in the military and the Pentagon [to go to war] in the absence of absolute proof that Kim Jong Un is putting nuclear warheads on the tops of missiles and placing them to target the United States.

It should be remembered that Buchanan was in the White House with Nixon during the entire 26 months of the Watergate affair (1972-'74). He was never implicated in the scandal or the cover-up, and he stayed on during the early days of the Ford administration. He knows a scandal  and the machinations of the Deep State to undermine and destroy a presidency  when he sees one.



Patrick J. Buchanan.

The podcast of Sean Hannity's program with Buchanan can be streamed here and downloaded from here. The segments with Buchanan begin 49 minutes and 30 seconds into the recording.

Peter Barry Chowka is a veteran journalist who writes about national politics, media, popular culture, and health care. He is a frequent contributor to American Thinker. His new website is AltMedNews.net.
During the famous White Sox trial over throwing the World Series, a boy allegedly went up to Shoeless Joe Jackson and said, "Say it ain't so, Joe!" I guess the young fan was hoping Jackson would tell him the accusations were not true.

Some of us today are making plea to the news media: say it ain't so, media. Say it ain't so that you downplayed the meeting between President Bill Clinton and Attorney General Loretta Lynch.

For years we've heard, and some of us complained, that the media were in the tank for Democrats. We just got more evidence that some in the media were indeed playing favorites in 2016.

This is the latest example from John Crudele:

If the New York Times, the Washington Post and now ABC News aren't embarrassed yet, then there is no hope for what is called the mainstream media. Another slew of emails the other day show how these news organizations tried their best to downplay a very suspicious meeting between Bill Clinton and then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch on an airport tarmac at Phoenix in June 2016.



This was right in the middle of the FBI's investigation into the disappearance of Hillary Clinton's emails. Bill Clinton and Lynch said it was a chance meeting, where family matters were discussed.

The media are two-time losers here. First, Hillary Clinton did not win. Second, they continue to lose credibility with the public.

So a chance meeting between a former president and the current attorney general just happened in Phoenix? I guess we are to believe that President Clinton's plane landed, and the pilot pointed out the A.G.'s plane.

And they decided to just meet by chance to discuss grandchildren?

Add to all of this that the media downplayed the whole thing!

Are the media on a suicide mission? It looks that way. They are certainly bent on destroying whatever credibility they have left.

P.S. You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.
The disgraced former DNC chairwoman, whom Rush likes to call Debbie Blabbermouth Schultz, is under the biggest scandal cloud in Washington thanks to her former I.T. guy, Imran Awan. Awan was the ringleader of what looks like a genuine Capitol Hill crime ring, which defrauded the government of millions from no-show tech jobs and various other scams.

Awan is currently in jail, and Schultz isn't talking, nor being prodded much by the establishment media. A lot of speculation has occurred, though, about Awan possibly blackmailing Schultz and other congressional Democrats through his access to their computers. It is even suspected that Awan took this access and sold secrets from the House Intel committee, which Schultz would have, to a foreign power. Given Schultz's fanatic defense of Awan, the idea is also out there that they were having an affair.

I, however, am more of an Occam's Razor, simple explanation, "follow the money" kind of sleuth, and I would bet dollars to donuts that this is just a case of two inept crooks, Schultz and Awan, getting caught with their hands in the till.

Schultz doesn't have any family money, but she lucked into high elective office almost right out of college. She is well known as one of the poorest members of Congress, carrying huge debts. Even more telling, her husband Steve Schultz quit his job as a banker to be a stay-at-home dad. Apparently, he is too lazy even to take a well paid lobbyist gig, like a lot of big-shot Capitol spouses  Michelle Obama's $300K post being just the most famous.

So, with no inherited money, a hubby lazier than Bernie Sanders, and a lot of expenses, I suspect that Schultz was more than eager to get in on the crooked schemes her Pakistani I.T. guy started pitching, where she would get a cut of the action. Most of these scams were not even as imaginative as the nickel-and-dime stuff Tony Soprano used to pull in Jersey. It may be nothing more than that  a Democratic congresswoman as stupid as she is corrupt. Just like ABSCAM and the Keating 5, it takes little to push these folks over the line.

If anything, this episode must at least compel us to acknowledge what a formidable pair of crooks Bill and Hillary are. They wound up with hundreds of millions of dollars through every sort of cunning trick and artifice, and even their early capers, like Castle Grande and Cattlegate, were true masterpieces of deception.

As the saying goes, "never steal anything small." The Clintons are proving the wisdom of that saying once again, judging by the current lack of interest from Congress and the Trump DoJ in looking any more into the various complicated Clinton scandals. Indeed, Bill Clinton may well get off scot-free and go down in history as our age's Napoleon of Crime. As for Debbie Blabbermouth, she's only going to the nearest federal women's prison. Maybe she can bunk with Jane Sanders.

Frank Friday is an attorney in Louisville, Ky.
A dog whistle of sorts has been blown, audible to Democrat pros, alerting them to the problem Debbie Wasserman Schultz has become for the political family. Coming from Politico, the Democrat insiders' gazette, it will heard by all.

In a long, scrupulously fair, even slightly sympathetic article (all the worse for DWS) on the "blowback" she is experiencing for numerous failures culminating in I.T.-gate, we learn that she's become bad for business.

Marc Caputo writes:

"We wish she would go away and stop being so public by doubling down on negative stories," Nikki Barnes, a progressive DNC member from Florida, who believes Wasserman Schultz left the national party "in shambles" while chair, culminating with the hack of DNC servers and the release of embarrassing internal emails by WikiLeaks in the 2016 campaign. As for Wasserman Schultz's defense, Barnes said "none of this makes sense. It doesn't sound like racial profiling  there must have been something for her."

Later:

The problem with the Awan case, Barnes said, is that it's not just hurting the congresswoman. It's drawing negative attention to a party still healing after last year's shocking losses and the divisive Democratic primary when Wasserman Schultz appeared to favor Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders. "This adds to Debbie being re-branded as the Democrats' disastrous destruction," Barnes said. "Those of us on the DNC know we have to rebrand ourselves and earn the people's trust. And unfortunately Debbie's name does not scream trust. It screams power. It screams limited access. It screams WikiLeaks now. DNC lawsuit. It screams a lot of negative things to the public. That's not how we want to rebrand ourselves." Barnes said she couldn't understand why Wasserman Schultz made herself a target of attention by becoming the lone Democrat to employ Awan. Wasserman Schultz then drew even more negative attention to herself by publicly threatening the Capitol Police chief with "consequences" in a dispute over an office laptop under examination from investigators. The drama ensured Wasserman Schultz would play a central role in a murky congressional summer "scandal" story playing out from Washington to Weston, her South Florida congressional district's base.

In fact, DWS is already wounded prey out on the D.C. savannah:

Over the years, as her circle of trust shrank, loyalty became an ever-more precious commodity to Wasserman Schultz, according to former staffers and top Democrats in Florida and Washington. Now, Wasserman Schultz has become such a polarizing figure in her own party that some longtime Democratic allies, when contacted by POLITICO, struggled to say kind words about her or explain how and why she got into this latest jam. They describe a hard-working politician with a sharp mind but an equally sharp tongue and hot temper that leads her into otherwise avoidable dustups and troubles. Though admired by Democrats for her fierce advocacy of progressive causes, she nevertheless turned natural allies to enemies at the DNC, in the Obama White House and even in Florida, where she picked an explosive fight with top Democratic donor and trial lawyer John Morgan after she trashed his popular medical-marijuana initiative, seemingly without cause. "In politics, you're as strong as your friends. And she doesn't have as many as she used to. And that's her fault," Morgan said. Morgan and those who have known and observed Wasserman Schultz for decades say her demeanor began to change when she was DNC chair; power went to her head, they say, and mounting criticism then made her paranoid.

People are now saying this sort of thing out in the open, and Politico makes it legitimate.

DWS had better watch her back.

Hat tip: Ed Lasky
North Korea has threatened to attack Guam, which is an attack on the United States. Most agree that North Korea has the nuclear capability to carry out the attack and that its leader is unpredictable and crazy.

After years of doing nothing to stop North Korea, it appears we are headed for a showdown. Bill Clinton gave North Korea four billion dollars in "energy aid" in 1994, hoping North Korea would stop its nuclear program. Clinton said it was a great deal for the USA.

Obama followed Clinton's deal and upped the money to $150 billion to Iran for the same promise  that Iran would "delay" its nuclear program. We will face the same problem with Iran that we now have with North Korea, thanks to Clinton and Obama.

Given the policies of Clinton and Obama, it is understandable that neither North Korea nor Iran takes us seriously when we tell them to stop their nuclear programs. Maybe Kim Jong-un is not crazy. He is making a rational decision based on the policies of Clinton and Obama and believes that Trump will follow his predecessors' appeasement policies.

In 1962, when JFK dealt with the missile crisis in Cuba, Congress and the country united to support JFK. After September 11, 2001, the Democrats united with Republicans for several weeks. But today's national Democratic leaders and some Republicans view this as just another opportunity to attack Trump.

Democratic senators Dianne Feinstein and Chuck Schumer and so-called Republican John McCain attacked Trump because Trump said:

North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States. They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen[.] ... They will be met with fire, fury, and frankly power the likes of which this world has never seen before[.]

A rational American would think the Democrats and McCain would attack Kim for threatening to attack Guam and would therefore support our president. But the Democrats and McCain see Trump as the enemy and not Kim.

For example, Feinstein said, "President Trump is not helping the situation with his bombastic comments[.]"

Schumer said, "We need to be firm and deliberate with North Korea, but reckless rhetoric is not a strategy to keep America safe[.]"

McCain, not to be outdone by Democrats, said:

The great leaders I've seen don't threaten unless they're ready to act and I'm not sure President Trump is ready to act. It's not terrible in what he said. It's the classic Trump in that he overstates things.

Schumer and Feinstein are telling North Korea that Trump is reckless. McCain is telling North Korea that Trump is not ready to act, isn't a great leader, and should not be believed. At least Schumer and Feinstein may be scaring North Korea by saying Trump is reckless so that the Norks believe we will destroy them. But McCain is telling the Norks that Trump is not ready to act, so ignore what Trump says.

Our Republican "leadership," such as McConnell and Ryan, have remained silent.

President Trump is trying to deal with the Clinton-created mess with the Norks. Trump, with U.N. ambassador Haley, was able to get Russia and China, with the entire U.N. Security Council, to impose severe sanctions against North Korea.

But the Democratic leadership, backstabbing McCain, and a silent Republican leadership are doing their best to sabotage our president as he deals with the Clinton-Obama mess to protect our country. They are more concerned with the nonexistent Russia "election" issue than the real threat of North Korea. If they are not going to support Trump, then at least stay quiet and don't criticize Trump for the sake of our country's security.

But they do not seem to care for the security of the United States  only for their political agenda to destroy Trump.
John McCain had told reporters that his vote depended upon House speaker Paul Ryan assuring him that the skinny bill would not become law, that it would go to conference. The speaker gave that assurance publicly.

Later that evening, reporters asked McCain how he was going to vote. He told them to "watch the show."

In the early hours of Friday morning, forty-nine Republicans voted for repeal. The deciding fiftieth vote was John McCain's. All eyes were on him as he entered the room and walked to the well. McCain slowly raised his right hand, as if to call for silence (an unnecessary gesture, since the room was quiet already). Then, like Emperor Tiberius deciding the fate of a fallen gladiator, he turned his thumb down.

Wrong digit in the wrong direction, but his message was clear. McCain's performance had nothing to do with health care and the millions of people who suffer under it. This was about drama in the spotlight  the lone man standing in the middle of the arena shouting out "f--- you" to the president of the United States who had once insulted him by denying his heroism. For years, McCain had vowed to repeal Obamacare if he had the chance. But now, given that chance, he voted instead to settle a score.

The "Maverick" of the Senate has returned to Phoenix, where he is being treated for brain cancer. We all wish him well. I hope he retires and lets Arizona Republican governor Doug Ducey name his replacement. In that event, the Senate can return to the regular order McCain claims to prize, with its complement of 52 Republican senators intact. But recent comments increasingly critical of our president suggest otherwise. Perhaps the Maverick will be tempted to copy the "Lion" of the Senate, Ted Kennedy, who refused to resign after he was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2008.

Before his cancer diagnosis, Kennedy was expected to be the sixtieth vote to pass Obamacare. After he became sick, he was pressured to resign so Massachusetts Democrat governor Deval Patrick could name a replacement, who would then run in the upcoming special election as an incumbent. Kennedy refused. His Senate seat was finally ripped from his cold, dead hands after he died in August 2009. Republican Scott Brown won that special election on his promise to stop Obamacare. Democrat finagling got Obamacare passed anyway.

History seems to be repeating itself. But it won't rhyme. During his active career, Kennedy was loyal to his party.
The world's first Latin American pope isn't exactly covering himself with glory as the hellfire of Venezuela immolates that God-forsaken nation.

Fact is, he's been remarkably silent about the socialist communist disaster engulfing that country, not using the sharp language he is known for whenever he expresses displeasure about the United States, as William McGurn notes in this first-class essay, which is probably his best.

After all, Venezuela's bishops are tweeting prayers in their country's darkest hour with pleas such as "free our homeland from the claws of communism and socialism."

They know the deal. The bishops are also openly asking whether protests and civil disobedience and nonviolent resistance are valid anymore, given their uselessness against hardcore communists determined to hold power forever.

Yet Francis remains incredibly unenthusiastic, probably because Venezuela does not fit into his narrative, as McGurn notes, citing an expert from the Acton Institute:

The Acton Institute's Samuel Gregg was probably closer to the mark when he recently put it this way: "Venezuela's crisis doesn't fit into Pope Francis's standard way of explaining contemporary political and economic problems. It's very hard for the pope to blame Venezuela's problems on the tyranny of Mammon, financial speculation, free trade agreements, arms-dealers, nefarious 'neoliberals,' or any of his usual list of suspects."

The pope's been in bed with liberation theology for years and has made some showy showings of hanging out with some of its Marxist dinosaurs, notably its founder, Fr. Gustavo Gutierrez, from Peru, as well as "rehabilitating" him. Liberation theology can stand up and take a bow in Venezuela  the late, unlamented dictator, Hugo Chavez, consistently cited the hellhole he was creating as a product of liberation theology. As if that were not bad enough, the pope has also had several cordial meetings with Venezuela's current brutal dictator, Nicolas Maduro.

What it all points to is that the pope needs to either blast the nightmare in Venezuela or watch his own credibility go down the drain as civil war engulfs that country  and it can't stay off the news for long. Either he slays the Venezuelan dragon or the Venezuelan dragon will slay him.
Google blacklists Damore to protect weak women from diverse opinions

Everything is not rosy at Google. An internal memo written by Google engineer James Damore accusing the internet behemoth of operating as an ideological echo chamber is riding high on the news cycle. Google, opined Damore, is a place where the companys approach to diversity is taboo. Google dismiss anyone that disagrees as immoral, and harshly punish those we see as villains to protect the victims, he wrote. And for saying that he was  get this- sacked.

I value diversity and inclusion, am not denying that sexism exists, and dont endorse using stereotypes, says Damore. He says differences in distributions of traits between men and women may in part explain why we dont have 50 per cent representation of women in tech and leadership. He adds that discrimination to reach equal representation is unfair, divisive, and bad for business.

Googles CEO, Sundar Pichai, read that and decreed that Damore had amplified harmful gender stereotypes in our workplace. Googles workforce is 69% male. A mere 2% of Google staff are African American.

Damores views were not debated. He was fired. He lost his livelihood for being a disruptor, something Google, which owns YouTube, is proud of saying of itself. You must stick to the orthodoxy or perish. Free expression is out at Google. But Pichai maintains, we strongly support the right of Googlers to express themselves. Thats not free speech you can hear  thats the soft wind of everyone nodding in agreement.

Damore touched a nerve. Google fired him to advertise its own sound morals. Never mind that women are underrepresented and one in 50 workers at any paygrade is African American, just read the press releases and know that Google upholds diversity and equality and will punish anyone expressing the wrong views. On Googles diversity page, Pichai is quoted saying, A diverse mix of voices leads to better discussions, decisions, and outcomes for everyone. Oh, the irony.

Danielle Brown, Googles vice president for diversity, integrity and governance, tells us in response to Damore: Diversity and inclusion are a fundamental part of our values and the culture we continue to cultivate. We are unequivocal in our belief that diversity and inclusion are critical to our success as a company, and well continue to stand for that and be committed to it for the long haul.

She fails to tells us why, though. Damore did not understand the point of Googles diversity programs. Does it improve results? Can its success be measured? Google defines itself as diverse  Damore was sacked for breaking its code of conduct.

Picahi adds that female Googlers are hurting and feel judged based on their gender. Lucky for them that the blokes in charge are there to rally to the defence of these ultra-sensitive, simpering women who tremble and cower in the face of a man with a memo.

Anorak

Posted: 10th, August 2017 | In: Key Posts, Money, News, Technology Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
ROME - A reported 5,190 unaccompanied foreign minors are missing after they were registered by the labor and social policies ministry. In this context, the phenomenon of Albanian minors has also been reported in the complex context of minors who travel to Italy on their own.



The case has been raised in a report on the protection system for migrant minors presented by the parliamentary inquiry commission on the hosting system for migrants.



The report stressed that, from the 1990s until today, a booming number of Albanian minors have travelled to Italy to complete their studies with local administrations bearing the costs. The escalation of minors travelling from Albania, according to police investigations, has been at the center of a probe in which many youths and families have been officially charged with aggravated fraud against the State.



According to investigators, the minors travelled to Italy by bus together with family members. However, once they crossed the Italian border the adults travelled back to Albania while the minors reached their Italian destination on their own, pretending they were abandoned.



In this way, they became part of the system as ''unaccompanied minors'' (with room and board and paid studies) while their families lived in Albania.



The media's attention has shifted to migrant flows from Africa and the Middle East but the immigration of minors from Albania remains a significant phenomenon for hosting structures in Italy According to data updated on May 31, 2017, the highest number of minors were from Gambia (2,221), followed by Egypt (2,123) and Albania (1,662).



The commission's report also highlighted the growing number of minors who became part of criminal groups to be exploited as illegal workers, in the sex trade or crime, as reported by MPs who visited the rehabilitation center Institute Don Calabria in Verona.



The center's director, Alessandro Padovani, said he hoped the problem will be speedily solved in diplomatic talks. He noted that a possible solution could include the annulment of statements with which parents entrust their children to a stranger, as for example the driver of the bus taking them to Italy.
116,000 migrants arrive in Europe in 2017, 2,405 dead - IOM Down by more than half since 2016, 83% arrived in Italy

(ANSAmed) - ROME, AUGUST 10 - A total of 116,692 migrants have arrived in Europe in 2017, with 2,405 deaths, according to an estimate from the International Organization for Migration (IOM).



About 85% arrived in Italy, with the rest of the arrivals in Greece, Cyprus and Spain, it said. At the same time in 2016, arrivals had already reached more than double this year's figure, at 263,436.(ANSAmed).




ISIS claims responsibility for attack on police in Sinai Four agents killed in ambush Weds while going to Arish

(ANSAmed) - ROME, AUGUST 10 - ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack Wednesday in Sinai in which four Egyptian police were killed, according to Arab media sources.



The four officers were killed in an ambush while they were travelling to the city of El Arish.(ANSAmed).




Migrant minors missing amid alleged 'Albanian' fraud 5,190 missing and a boom in organized trips from Tirana

(ANSAmed) - ROME, AUGuST 10 - A reported 5,190 unaccompanied foreign minors are missing after they were registered by the labor and social policies ministry. In this context, the phenomenon of Albanian minors has also been reported in the complex context of minors who travel to Italy on their own.



The case has been raised in a report on the protection system for migrant minors presented by the parliamentary inquiry commission on the hosting system for migrants.



The report stressed that, from the 1990s until today, a booming number of Albanian minors have travelled to Italy to complete their studies with local administrations bearing the costs. The escalation of minors travelling from Albania, according to police investigations, has been at the center of a probe in which many youths and families have been officially charged with aggravated fraud against the State.



According to investigators, the minors travelled to Italy by bus together with family members. However, once they crossed the Italian border the adults travelled back to Albania while the minors reached their Italian destination on their own, pretending they were abandoned.



In this way, they became part of the system as ''unaccompanied minors'' (with room and board and paid studies) while their families lived in Albania.



The media's attention has shifted to migrant flows from Africa and the Middle East but the immigration of minors from Albania remains a significant phenomenon for hosting structures in Italy According to data updated on May 31, 2017, the highest number of minors were from Gambia (2,221), followed by Egypt (2,123) and Albania (1,662).



The commission's report also highlighted the growing number of minors who became part of criminal groups to be exploited as illegal workers, in the sex trade or crime, as reported by MPs who visited the rehabilitation center Institute Don Calabria in Verona.



The center's director, Alessandro Padovani, said he hoped the problem will be speedily solved in diplomatic talks. He noted that a possible solution could include the annulment of statements with which parents entrust their children to a stranger, as for example the driver of the bus taking them to Italy.




MADRID - Some 700 sub-Saharan migrants on Thursday morning attempted unsuccessfully to storm the border fence separating the Spanish enclave of Ceuta from Moroccan territory.



The migrants were blocked by Moroccan police before they reached the double fence at the border. A first attempt by about 1,000 people to cross with sticks and hand-made spears was foiled by police from the two countries.



Officers were on high alert after 187 sub-Saharan migrants the previous day were able to cross the border by forming a compact group that ran through the Tarajal border crossing.



Ceuta and Melilla are today the main entry points to Spain for illegal migrants, 90% of whom are men, mainly from sub-Sahara.



Arrivals have doubled in a year, according to the Spanish Red Cross that spoke about 7,400 people, including those who arrived by sea, who entered in the first six months of 2017, against the 3,600 reported in the same period in 2016.



The growing number has had an impact on 'prices' demanded by traffickers to board vessels that take migrants from North Africa's coasts to Spain, which have reportedly doubled.



According to El Pais, which quoted sources from EU border agency Frontex, smugglers want on average 1,000 euros per passenger against last year's 500.


ROME - At least 50 migrants drowned after a smuggler forced a boat carrying up to 180 migrants with an average age of 16 into rough seas off Yemen, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).



The incident comes barely 24 hours after smugglers forced more than 120 Somali and Ethiopian migrants into the sea as they approached the coast of Shabwa, a Yemeni Governorate along the Arabian Sea resulting in the drowning of around 50 migrants. IOM Yemen Chief of Mission Laurent de Boeck called the incident "shocking and inhumane".



"The survivors told our colleagues on the beach that the smuggler pushed them to the sea, when he saw some 'authority types' near the coast," De Boeck said. "They also told us that the smuggler has already returned to Somalia to continue his business and pick up more migrants to bring to Yemen on the same route," he said.



Shortly after the tragedy, IOM staff conducting a routine patrol found the shallow graves of 29 migrants, who had quickly been buried by survivors, on a beach in Shabwa. IOM said it is "working closely with the International Committee of the Red Cross to ensure appropriate care for the deceased migrants remains".



It said its medical staff provided urgent care to the 27 surviving migrants, both females and males, who had remained on the beach, including initial health checks, food, water and other emergency relief. Some of the survivors (approximately 42 in addition to the 27 survivors IOM spoke to) had already left the beach before being assisted. Twenty-two migrants are reportedly still missing and unaccounted for. The organization says around 55,000 migrants (30,000 under the age of 18 from Somalia and Ethiopia, and one-third female), have left the Horn of Africa headed for Yemen since the start of the year, in search of better opportunities in the Gulf countries.
ROME - UNICEF Regional Director Geert Cappelaere, following his first visit to Libya, said more than 550,000 children there are in need of help.



"Six years since the crisis began in Libya, over 550,000 children need assistance because of political instability, on-going conflict, displacement, and economic collapse," Cappelaere said. "Heavy violence in some parts of the country has forced families to flee their homes. More than 80,000 children are internally displaced and migrant children in Libya are particularly vulnerable to abuse and exploitation, including in detention centres," he said.



UNICEF said 20 attacks were recorded against health facilities in Libya in 2016, second only to Syria.



Nearly 200,000 children in Libya are in need of safe drinking water while 315,000 need educational support, it said.



Across the country, 558 schools cannot be used because they are either destroyed, damaged or used to shelter internally displaced families.



In 2017, UNICEF provided 20,000 children with psycho-social support and over 8,000 children were enrolled in remedial and catch up classes.



"UNICEF will further scale up its assistance to reach 1.5 million girls and boys and support strengthening of national institutions and civil society," Cappelaere said.



"UNICEF reiterates that the wellbeing of girls and boys in Libya should be a priority for authorities, civil society and the international community. In the interest of children, UNICEF is calling for an immediate political solution to the crisis and an end to the violence," he said.
ROME - At least 50 migrants drowned after a smuggler forced them into rough seas off Yemen, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).



The organization called the incident ''shocking'', reporting that the boat was carrying 120 Somali and Eritrean nationals The migrants were reportedly very young - on average 16 - and were forced to jump into the water when the smuggler saw a cutter.



The survivors told IOM that the smuggler pushed them after seeing people who looked like officials, the IOM's Yemen mission head Laurent de Boeck said.



''They also told us that the smuggler has already returned to Somalia to continue his business and pick up more migrants to bring to Yemen on the same route'', he said, calling the episode ''shocking and inhumane.'' Out of the 120 people reported to be onboard, 50 drowned, 22 were reported missing and 27 were rescued while other survivors fled when they reached the coast. Many of them reportedly remained to bury their travelling companions.



IOM personnel found the shallow graves of 29 migrants on a beach in the southern province of Shabwa.



The organization says that around 55,000 migrants have left the Horn of Africa headed for Yemen since the start of the year, most travelling from Somalia and Ethiopia. One-third are women. In spite of the war in Yemen, African migrants continue to choose this route because there is no central authority that can prevent them from undertaking their trip. However, the route is increasingly dangerous because of the war and migrants often end up in the hands of unscrupulous militia and bandits.
Minniti must take responsibility on abuse Libya,Father Zerai Together with Libyan authorities s regarding detention centers

(ANSAmed) - ROME, AUGUST 10 - Father Mussie Zerai, who is reportedly under investigation in Trapani on charges of aiding illegal immigration, said Thursday that Italian Interior Minister Marco Minniti is aware of the abuse suffered by migrants in Libya and must take responsibility, along with Libyan authorities.



''Minniti knows very well what the situation in Libya is like today, thus he must take responsibility, together with Libyan authorities, of everything that is going on in detention centers in Libya -abuse, mistreatment and torture'', he told the program Agora Estate of State broadcaster third channel Rai3.



''I have repeatedly spoken about the smugglers' abuse against migrants in the warehouses on Libya's coasts. Those people are only interested in making money and then get rid of those people so they have room for others. I fear I have been exploited but I can't do anything but try to save the lives of those who call me'', said the activist.



''I have never received calls from smugglers and have never met one. I only receive calls from migrants in difficulty, then I call the Italian and Libyan coast guard so rescue operations can start''.



Italy earlier this month began a limited naval mission to help Libya's coastguard curb migrant flows. (ANSAmed).




If youre considering a subscription to the Disney Plus streaming service, you may be wondering how much it costs. The service is available on both
As per the notification, outward supplies in Form GSTR-1 for the month of July will have to be filed between September 1-5.

New Delhi: The government has notified the timeline for furnishing final tax returns for July and August under the GST regime. The GST Council had in June allowed businesses extended timeline for filing final GST returns in forms GSTR-1, GSTR-2 and GSTR-3 for July and August. In the interim period, businesses have to file GSTR-3B which is a summary of self-assessed tax liabilities with consolidated details of outward supplies and input credit.

The CBEC has now notified the dates for filing the GST returns forms. As per the notification, outward supplies in Form GSTR-1 for the month of July will have to be filed between September 1-5. For August, it is to be filed between September 16-20.

The original date for filing GSTR-1 was 10th of the next month. Details of inward supplies in Form GSTR-2 for July will have to be filed between September 6-10. For August, the date is September 21-25. The original date for filing of GSTR-2 was 15th of the next month.

Form GSTR-3 for July will now have to be filed between September 11-15 and for August the date is September 26-30. The original date for filing GSTR-3, which is the monthly return on the basis of finalisation of details of outward supplies and inward supplies along with the payment of amount of tax, was 20th of the next month.

As regards GSTR-3B, the GST Network portal has started the facility for filing of July returns from August 5. The last date for filing the GSTR-3B for July 2017 is August 20, while the same for the month of August 2017 is September 20.
Subrata Roy's group had approached apex court seeking stay on auction of plump property near Pune.

Mumbai: The Supreme Court on Thursday turned down a petition filed by Subrata Roy's Sahara Group that on Wednesday had sought from the apex court a stay on auction of Rs 39,000 crore Aamby Valley city near Pune.

With the ruling from the country's highest court of law, the auction process for the Aamy Valley, a plump property situated near Pune, will go on. Earlier, the top most court had warned Subrata Roy that the Valley would be auctioned if Sahara failed to deposit Rs 542 crore with it.

Sahara had argued in the plea that it was expecting some 'positive' development on refund of money to market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India. The court had earlier censured Sahara chief for non-compliance of court directives and also for not fulfilling certain conditions. SC had asked him to deposit Rs 5,000 crore at a hearing.

The SC in July this year had instructed liquidator of the Bombay High Court to kickstart process of selling Sahara's Aamby Valley property that has been estimated at Rs 39,000 crore. At the same time, Sahara was also asked by the apex court to deposit Rs 1,500 crore with market regulator Sebi by September 7.

Termed as Sahara's flagship project, Aamby Valley sprawls over an area of 8,900 acres. Luxury resorts and an airport form part of the plump property. In April this year, the SC had ordered its sale. Roy was arrested in March 2014 after two of his group's companies collapsed causing investors monetary losses. He was later released on bail and also on parole.
'Passengers' was blasted by critics for its flawed plot, but the actor said she did not consider it a failure.

Los Angeles: Jennifer Lawrence's last outing 'Passengers' was blasted by critics for its flawed plot but the actor said she did not consider it a failure.

The 2016 sci-fi film, which featured Lawrence alongside Chris Pratt, followed a space-bound colonisation ship loaded with thousands of passengers who were meant to be in suspended animation until they reached the end of their 120-year voyage.

While Pratt previously admitted he was surprised by the harsh reviews, Lawrence, in a recent interview to Vogue, responded to the criticism.

"I'm disappointed in myself that I didn't spot it," she said.

"I thought the script was beautiful, it was this tainted, complicated love story. It definitely wasn't a failure. I'm not embarrassed by it by any means. There was just stuff that I wished I'd looked into deeper before jumping on."

Lawrence will next be seen in 'Mother!', which is currently in post-production. The film is directed by Darren Aronofsky.
Asked whether he still flies, Mr Rudy said that he has taken special permission to fly commercial planes to keep his license active.

New Delhi: As the minister of skill development and entrepreneurship, Rajiv Pratap Rudy is also honing his flying skill. In an event to mark the second anniversary of skill development ministry, Mr Rudy said that he still flies planes but avoids giving selfies while in a pilot uniform as it may seem politically incorrect. Mr Rudy is a trained pilot and was flying commercial airlines before being sworn in a minister in the Narendra Modi Government in May 2014.

Asked whether he still flies, Mr Rudy said that he has taken special permission to fly commercial planes to keep his license active. Speaking to reporters, Mr Rudy said, A pilots license is not like a degree. One has to constantly clock flying hours to keep it active. Physical examinations and written tests also have to be undergone to upgrade the license.

He further added that had he given up on flying while being a minister he would have had to start from scratch and would have lost his eligibility.

The minister said that after the flight, he was always willing to say hi to you but he would rather avoid getting selfies with people in his pilots uniform. Several passengers and even some journalists asked him but he politely turned the requests down. It does not go with the image of a politician, he feels. Mr Rudy hails from Bihar and has been engaged in a fierce political battle with the former Bihar chief minister Lalu Yadav and his family.

About a month back, passengers on an Indigo flight from Ahmedabad to Delhi were in for a big surprise when the announcement came from the cockpit that the flight was being operated by Mr Rudy. It was a rare situation where Rudy was ferrying his cabinet colleague Ananth Kumar, Smriti Irani, Ajay Tamta along with several journalists and functionaries of the government. After the event in Ahmedabad, the entourage was rushing to attend the wedding of law minister Ravi Shankar Prasads daughter in Delhi.

Mr. Rudy is the sole Parliamentarian who is rostered occasionally to operate service flights on honorary basis to keep his A-320 license active under DGCA rules.
Pakistan forces have carried out 301 incidents of unprovoked ceasefire violations this year.

New Delhi: India issued a demarche to Pakistan on Wednesday and summoned a Pakistani high commission official over the death of an Indian soldier in unprovoked ceasefire violation by Pakistan on Tuesday.

Our grave concern at the continuing incidents of unprovoked ceasefire violations by the Pakistan forces along the LoC and the International Border was shared (with Pakistan). Despite repeated calls for restraint... Pakistan forces have carried out 301 incidents of

unprovoked ceasefire violations... this year, the MEA said in a statement.
It also asked whether the court could intervene to protect the rights of such married girls who may be sexually exploited by their spouses.

New Delhi: The raging issue whether to make forced marital intercourse and sexual acts part of offence of rape in penal law has been extensively debated and now it cant be considered as a criminal act, the Supreme Court said on Wednesday.

Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which defines the offence of rape, has an exception clause that says the intercourse or sexual act by a man with his wife, not below 15 years, is not a rape. The apex court, however, sought to know as to whether Parlia-ment debated the aspect of protecting married girls, between the age group of 15-18 years, from the forced sexual acts by their spouses. It also asked whether the court could intervene to protect the rights of such married girls who may be sexually exploited by their spouses.

Parliament has extensively debated the issue of marital rape and considered that it was not an offence of rape. Therefore, it cannot be considered as a criminal offence, a bench of justices M.B. Lokur and Deepak Gupta said. The apex court also said that marriage of a girl, who is below the age of 15 years, was illegal.

There are cases when college-going teens, below 18 years of age, engage in sexual activities consensually and get booked under the law. Who is going to suffer? The boy is not at fault. The punishment of seven years is too harsh, the bench observed. It said, similarly, problem arises when a girl, under 18 years of age, elopes and engages in consensual sexual activity, the male gets booked for rape. In these cases, we do have problem if look at various aspects, the bench said as it asked the Centre to apprise it about the number of prosecutions under the Child Marriage Act for past three years in three weeks. It also asked the Centre to apprise it about appointment of the Child Marriage Prohibiti-on Officers in the country and posted the matter for hearing after four weeks.

The bench was hearing a plea questioning the constitutionality of a provision permitting a man to have physical relationship with his wife even if she is aged between 15 and 18.

It said as per the prevailing law, if a man has physical intercourse with a girl under 15 years of age, it is termed as rape irrespective of consent or no consent and if she is below 18 years of age, but more than 15 and married, then no offence of rape is made out.
Also, Bhutan had called for status quo in the Doklam area to be maintained as before June 2017.

New Delhi: The Bhutanese government has once again reportedly referred to its foreign ministry statement issued about six weeks ago that Doklam is Bhutanese territory, thereby rejecting a recent Chinese claim that Bhutan had agreed the area belongs to China.

Official sources in the Bhutanese government were quoted as telling an Indian news agency over the phone, Our position on the border issue of Doklam is very clear. Please refer to our statement which has been published on the web site of Bhutans foreign ministry on June 29, 2017.

In that initial statement issued on June 29, Bhutan had said it had conveyed to the Chinese side on the ground and through diplomatic channels that the construction of the road inside Bhutanese territory (Doklam) is a direct violation of the agreements (between Bhutan and China) and affects the process of demarcation of the boundary.

Also, Bhutan had called for status quo in the Doklam area to be maintained as before June 2017.

Bhutan had accused China of violating the boundary agreements and asked it to refrain from taking unilateral action or use of force to change the status quo of the Bhutan-China boundary between the two countries, saying that on June 16, 2017, the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) started constructing a motorable road from Dokola in the Doklam area towards the Bhutan Army camp at Zompelri.

Bhutan had pointed out that it had been decided in written agreements in 1988 and 1998 between Bhutan and China that the two sides would agree to maintain peace and tranquillity in border areas pending resolution of their boundary dispute.

According to recent news agency reports from Beijing, Chinas top diplomat on the boundary issue, Wang Wenli, had told a visiting Indian media delegation that the Bhutanese government has conveyed to Beijing through the diplomatic channels that the area of the stand-off (Doklam region) is not part of its territory.
While the TMC has 37 MPs in Lok Sabha, the Congress has 45.

New Delhi: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday met President Ram Nath Kovind  the first head of an Opposition-ruled state to do so.

The meeting can be viewed as an attempt by the Trinamul Congress supremo to up her stature and emerge as the face of the Opposition by cashing in on JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar joining the NDA as well as the increased distance between the CPI(M) and the Congress following the refusal of a third term to Sitaram Yechury by his own party.

Ms Mamata Banerjee, who extended an invitation to the President to visit Kolkata on Thursday evening, will also attend the meeting of Opposition parties called by Mrs Gandhi on Friday to decide on the future course of action after the Parliament is over. Beginning with presidential polls, when Mr Kumar first gave an indication of his intentions of going with the NDA, Ms Banerjee has taken the lead and used her excellent equation with Congress president Sonia Gandhi to have an important say as far as Opposition unity is concerned. Even during the vice-presidential polls, it was the Trinamul Congress chief who apparently sent a text message to Mrs Gandhi suggesting Mr Gopalkrishna Gandhis name as a possible candidate. According to senior TMC leaders, it was the second largest party in the Opposition camp after the Congress and hence was working in close collaboration with the grand old party. A recent example was on the issue of different varieties of Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 which was raised in Parliament by both the parties. Trinamul sources said that only Congress and TMC had held discussions before the matter was raised in Parliament, while many other parties were told that something important would come up but had been kept in the dark over the actual issue. While the TMC has 37 MPs in Lok Sabha, the Congress has 45.

The 18-party Opposition conglomerate is exploring a possibility of floating a joint platform before the 2019 elections but is yet to start discussions on the leadership and coordination aspect of such a broad-based alliance.

Mr Kumar, before leaving the Bihar Grand Alliance, had been trying to position himself as the leader of the Opposition conglomerate and JD(U) sources had even blamed the Congress lack of leadership for its veering towards the NDA.

It might be recalled that Ms Banerjee had used the word traitor without naming Mr Kumar, when the Bihar chief minister had supported Prime Minister Narendra Modis demonetisation drive in November.
The ED is probing the case under sections of the Foreign Exchange Management Act.

New Delhi/Srinagar: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday conducted searches at several locations in Srinagar in an alleged terror funding and hawala case involving funds of over Rs 20 crore.

Sources said ED sleuths conducted searches at many premises connected to one Sheikh Ashiq Ahmad. They said Sheikhs house in Ahmad Nagar and his firms identified as Al Khuddam Tours and Travels and M/s Ferozsons Exports Pvt Ltd in Srinagar were searched. Agency sleuths have also recovered certain documents related to foreign firms during searches, sources said.

Ahmad is alleged to have export proceeds of over Rs 20 crores as outstanding for 2014-15, even as the agency claimed the exporter was not cooperating with it. The ED suspects the funds that are allegedly unrealised to the exporter from foreign shores are suspected to be in violation of FEMA and RBI rules. The suspect being investigated has not been providing any documents and help that was sought from him as part of the probe. The searches had to be conducted to gather evidence, they said.

The ED is probing the case under sections of the Foreign Exchange Management Act. As the export proceeds are outside India and the exporter has not made any attempt to bring it back to the country, it is suspected this money could have been used for terror funding and in hawala transactions, wherein legal banking channels are skirted to route tainted money. The central agency had roped in the state police to conduct the searches, they said.

The ED is also investigating a money-laundering case for alleged terror financing against Kashmiri separatist leader Shabir Shah. The ED recently arrested Srinagar-based Mohammad Aslam Wani, an alleged hawala dealer, in connection with the case against Shah, who is now in judicial custody. Earlier, on August 3, a Delhi court had allowed the ED custody of Shah after the agency alleged he was ruining the country by using money to fund terror. Shah was arrested by the ED a day after several Hurriyat leaders were taken into custody by the National Investigating Agency in a case of alleged terror funding in the Valley to fuel unrest. Investigating agencies like the NIA have cracked down on Hurriyat leaders like Syed Ali Shah Geelanis son-in-law Altaf Ahmed Shah, also known as Altaf Fantoosh, and six other Kashmiri separatists.
This is Ms Swarajs sixth visit to Nepal and the first high-level visit since the new Nepalese government assumed office in Nepal in June 2017.

New Delhi: Amid the Doklam stand-off with China, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj who is visiting Nepal on a two-day tour that started on Thursday to attend regional grouping BIMSTECs foreign ministerial meeting met Nepalese President Bidya Devi Bhandari and Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba.

It is unclear whether the Doklam issue was discussed with the Nepalese leadership although Ms Swaraj may well have conveyed Indias point of view to Nepal on the matter. This is Ms Swarajs sixth visit to Nepal and the first high-level visit since the new Nepalese government assumed office in Nepal in June 2017. China has done its utmost to increase and maintain its impressive influence in Nepal, especially among the Communist parties there. In a statement, she said, On the first day, EAM called on President Bidya Devi Bhandari and Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. During her call on the President, EAM recalled the successful visit of Honble President to India earlier this year, which further strengthened our age old ties. The two sides discussed ways to enhance cultural linkages. The EAM said that the Indian government was looking forward to the state visit of PM Deuba to India.
Outgoing V-P warns of tyranny if criticism is not allowed; BJP hits back, VHP likens Ansari to Jinnah.

New Delhi: It was the day of the outgoing vice-president versus the vice-president-elect. On Thursday vice-president-elect M. Venkaiah Naidu took on outgoing vice-president Hamid Ansari over his remarks that there was unease and a sense of insecurity among minorities across the country.

Without actually naming Mr Ansari, the vice-president-elect dismissed the view that there was a sense of insecurity among minorities, saying this was nothing but political propaganda. On Wednesday, speaking to a television channel, Mr Ansari had claimed there was unease and a sense of insecurity among Muslims in India, and that the ambience of acceptance was now under threat. The VHP on Thursday described Mr Ansari as the new avatar of Mohammad Ali Jinnah.

Speaking to the media, Mr Naidu said: Some people are saying the minorities are insecure. It is a political propaganda. The vice-president-elect then pointed out that compared to the entire world, the minorities are more safe and secure in India and they get their due. Mr Naidu also cautioned against creating a divide in the nation by singling out one community. If you single out one community, other communities will take it otherwise. That is why we say all are equal. Appeasement for none, and justice for all, Mr Naidu remarked.

The vice-president-elect maintained that history has proved there is no discrimination against minorities. The BJP also lashed out at Mr Ansari for his remarks and wondered whether he was looking for rehabilitation after retirement.

In his farewell speech on Thursday, Mr Ansari yet again took a jab at the BJP by raising the contentious issue of intolerance. On the last day of his 10-year tenure in the nations second-highest constitutional post, Mr Ansari said that a democracy could degenerate into a tyranny if free and frank criticism of government policies was not allowed. Quoting former vice-president Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, the outgoing vice-president said: A democracy is likely to degenerate into a tyranny if it does not allow the Opposition groups to criticise fairly, freely and frankly the policies of the government. Mr Ansari also maintained that a democracy is distinguished by the protection it gives to the minorities. But at the same time, the minorities also have their responsibilities.

Mr Naidu also disagreed with Mr Ansaris views on intolerance and made it clear that Indian society is the most tolerant in the world because of its people and civilisation. There is tolerance... that is why democracy is so successful.

Targeting the outgoing vice-president for his comments, the BJP said such a petty remark was not expected from someone in his position. Condemning the remarks, BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya asked if Mr Ansari was looking for some political rehabilitation. He said Mr Ansari was still the vice-president, and such remarks do not suit the dignity of his office.

The VHP also pounced on Mr Ansari and accused the outgoing V-P of following the path of the founder of Pakistan. The VHPs Surendra Jain said with his remark that Muslims feel insecure in the country, Mr Ansari had insulted the post of vice-president, the government and the entire Hindu community. The VHP said by making such statements it seemed that like Mohammed Ali Jinnah, Mr Ansari too wants to push the country towards another Partition.
Govt effort to pass Banking Regulation Bill fails.

New Delhi: An assertive Congress on Wednesday refused to heed to governments repeated requests to first take up a legislative business in Parliament and then debate its issues of differently-sized new currency notes and the Chandigarh stalking case, involving the son of BJPs Haryana unit chief Subhash Barala. Congress members kept shouting slogans Farzi noton ki sarkar nahin chalegi and Beti bachao BJP bhagao in the Rajya Sabha, leading to two adjournments before it was adjournment for the day. Though the government made an effort to pass the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2017, which would replace the NPA ordinance promulgated on May 7 this year, in the din, its efforts remained unfruitful as many Opposition members opposed it saying it is a very important bill and they need to highlight some issues regarding it. Even deputy chairman P J Kurien made several efforts to placate Congress members, who kept shouting slogans and demanded that their issues should be taken up first, instead of the bill.

The BJP has issued a whip to its members in the Upper House for Thursday when the bill will be taken up.

Raising the issue after the House reassembled after the lunch break, Congresss Kapil Sibal claimed that te RBI has specification for its currency notes, which is also available on its website, currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 are available in four different sizes. Mr Sibal said perhaps India is the only country where same currency notes are available in different sizes.

The Congress had on Tuesday alleged that post-demonetisation, two different sizes of currency notes are available, one for the government and the other for the ruling party. Congress demanded that finance minister Arun Jaitley should give an explanation. Mr Sibal raised the issue through a rule which demanded suspension of the business which the Chair rejected but allowed him to speak briefly about his notice.

Congress members then trooped into the Well of the House raising slogans.

TMCs Derek O Brien then suggested that the Chair has the power to convert the notice into a Calling Attention and the House can discuss the issue. However, government managers said that the House should first take up the bill, leading to slogan shouting by the Congress members. The Chair then adjourned the House for 15 minutes. When the House reassembled, Congresss Kumari Selja raised the Chandigarh incident and said instead of beto bachao, Haryanas BJP government is busy in beta bachao. Treasury benches protested and requested the Chair to take up the bill in the din. The government managed to clear a statutory resolution on increase in basic customs duty (BCD) to 10 per cent on import of mobile phones, printers and ink cartridges, in the din. The Chair adjourned the House again.

Consensus eluded on running of the House even after the leaders of the two sides met in the presence of Prof. Kurien to break the deadlock. Those who attended the meeting after the second adjournment included Union ministers Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Ravi Shankar Prasad, Leader

of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma, Jairam Ramesh and Kumari Selja.

When the House resasembeled, the din continued. Congress deputy leader Anand Sharma said Chandigarh being a Union Territory was directly administered by the home minister who

should come to the House and give a statement on the issue.

Meanwhile, the Chandigarh Police in its report to the home ministry has informed that the two accused in the case had refused to undergo blood and urine test to ascertain if they were drunk or not. However, the government doctor who was called to the police station informed the local police that both the accused were smelling of alcohol.

Police claimed that refusal for blood and urine test would go against the accused persons though a breath analyzer test confirmed that they had consumed alcohol.

Chandigarh Police in its report to the Centre has also mentioned that they have pressed charges of stalking section 365 read with section 511 attempt to abduct with intent to wrongful confinement.

Home minister Rajnath Singh had sought a detailed report from the Chandigarh Police on the incident. Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi personally spoke to senior officials of the Chandigarh Police to get feedback on the investigations conducted so far in the case.
CMs camp says the appointment of Sasikalas nephew Dhinakaran as deputy general secretary is illegal.

Chennai: The stage is now set for the merger of the two factions of Tamil Nadus ruling AIADMK, with the camp led by chief minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami openly declaring the appointment of T.T.V. Dhinakaran as deputy general secretary by his aunt V.K. Sasikala as illegal and asking him to refrain from creating confusion in the party through his actions.

On the eve of his crucial meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, Mr Palaniswami chaired a meeting of party office-bearers and passed a resolution suggesting the post of general secretary in the AIADMK will be kept vacant as a tribute to J. Jayalalithaa, who passed away on December 5, 2016.

Sources said it also means that after the merger, O. Panneerselvam will not be general secretary of the party but will only lead a committee that will run the party and coordinate with the government. The merger, being facilitated at Prime Minister Narendra Modis wish, is expected to take shape formally after party leaders return from New Delhi on Friday night or Saturday.

Sources also told this newspaper that there was a high probability of Mr Palaniswami and Mr Panneerselvam meeting in New Delhi to stitch up the merger that is expected to infuse stability into the AIADMK government, which has been facing uncertainty ever since Jayalalithaa passed away. Both leaders  Palaniswami and Panneerselvam  will face the media together to announce the merger very soon, a senior leader said.

The party also effectively distanced itself from Ms Sasikala since it admitted that her appointment as general secretary after Jayalalithaas death has been challenged in the Election Commission. In an effort to drive home the point that only the office-bearers appointed by the late Jayalalithaa continue to steer the AIADMK, K.A. Sengottaiyan and Dindigul C. Sreenivasan, who were appointed as presidium chairman and treasurer by Ms Sasikala in February, did not sign the resolution, though they attended the meeting.

It was a concerted decision not to include their names to send the message loud and clear that Jayalalithaa is still supreme in the party and appointments made by her still stands, a senior party leader said.

The much-awaited meeting evoked the expected reactions from the OPS and Dhinakaran factions. Mr Panneerselvam himself welcomed the move and said the EPS camp has crossed halfway and that he was waiting for it to complete the journey. For the first time, Mr Panneerselvam indicated that the merger efforts could see the light of day when he said any decision on unification would keep in mind the aspirations and wishes of the cadre.

On his part, Mr Dhinakaran rejected the EPS camps resolution, saying no one has the right to remove him from the post of deputy general secretary. He also wondered how the Palaniswami camp could comment against Sasikala when they themselves had furnished an affidavit to the EC endorsing her appointment as party chief.
The Rajya Sabha election of Mr Patel witnessed a nail-biting midnight drama in which the results were declared way past midnight.

New Delhi: Back after winning the hotly-contested Rajya Sabha election in Gujarat, the media-shy political secretary to Congress president, Ahmed Patel, on Wednesday said that it was the BJP that had made his Rajya Sabha election a prestige issue. Speaking to reporters in Parliament, Mr Patel said, I am a very small man, I dont why the BJP made the election a prestige issue. Well, it is their loss.

The Rajya Sabha election of Mr Patel witnessed a nail-biting midnight drama in which the results were declared way past midnight. Congress cadres celebrated the victory both in Delhi and in Gujarat. Mr Patel said that the victory has enthused the party cadres in the poll-bound state of Gujarat. The assembly elections are scheduled to be held in Gujarat in December this year. Mr Patel said, I am sure we will also win Gujarat. The Congress has been out of power in Gujarat since 1995. Launching a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP national president Amit Shah, the senior Congress leader accused them of misusing central agencies to further the cause of their party. Even the BJP is afraid of these two people. One is a constitutional authority and another is an extra-constitutional authority. You know who these two people are. All agencies are being misused, Mr Patel alleged, without naming the BJP leaders. In the run up to the Rajya Sabha elections, six Congress MLAs had left the party out of which three have already joined the BJP.

The Congress alleged that its MLAs in Gujarat were being threatened and coerced by the BJP to leave the Congress. It further added that the BJP was using the state machinery for narrow political purposes.
PM unhappy over MPs skipping Parliament proceedings.

New Delhi: With BJP president Amit Shah now a Member of Parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday hoped that party MPs will attend proceedings of both Houses of Parliament in full attendance.

The Prime Minister, however, made his displeasure known over MPs skipping Parliament proceedings.

At the last parliamentary party meeting of the BJP in the Monsoon Session of Parliament, the Prime Minister raised the issue of MPs skipping proceedings and said, though in a lighter vein, that Mr Shahs presence in Parliament might ensure the attendance of the other members. The BJP president got elected to the Upper House from Gujarat on Tuesday, his maiden entry in Parliament. Mr Modi, it was learnt, also made his displeasure known that despite being asked many times to attend proceedings regularly, many MPs skip House proceedings, even on days when the party had issued a whip.

Earlier, Mr Shah was felicitated in the meeting for winning the election and also for completing three years as the BJP president. Congratulating Mr Shah, the Prime Minister praised him for his successful three years at the helm of the party, during which he worked like a common worker to strengthen its base. Parliamentary Affairs minister Ananth kumar said the Prime Minister praised Mr Shahs strategy and tireless efforts, like a common worker, to expand the footprints of the party in the country.

Mr Modi said it was difficult to run the affairs of a ruling party as the government often faced a lot of questions from the Opposition.

The Prime Minister said that expanding the organisation in this backdrop was a challenge and Mr Shah lived up to it very skillfully.

Mr Shah, sources said, referred to the recent election in Gujarat for the three Rajya Sabha seats and said that the opposition party was in such a poor shape that it managed to win the seat by a margin of less than one vote due to desertion by its members. Sources disclosed he also indicated that the outcome of the election might be challenged in court.

The BJP has questioned the Election Commissions decision to annul two votes cast by rebel Congress members in favour of the saffron partys candidate.

Mr Modi also asked the lawmakers and BJP office-bearers to actively undertake the Sankalp se Siddhi (from pledge to execution) programme, which envisioned a new India by 2022, the 75th anniversary of the countrys independence.
Nambisan was 54 and had been fighting terminal illness for a long time.

Celebrated poet and journalist Vijay Nambisan has passed away at the age of 54 after being terminally ill for a long time. Known for his poem Madras Central, Nambisan won the first ever All India Poetry Competition in 1988.

Other well known works by him include a book called Language as an Ethic in which he made an appeal to readers and writers alike about ethical use of language. He also worked with Jeet Thayil and Dom Moraes for a collection of poems titled Gemini in 1992.

Nambisans death was followed by tributes on Twitter as well known personalities remembered his contribution. Historian Ramchandra Guha described him as a wonderful human being with a gentle, dry, wit.

Very sorry to hear of the passing of the poet Vijay Nambisan. He was a wonderful writer, and human being, with a gentle, dry, wit.  Ramachandra Guha (@Ram_Guha) August 10, 2017

Extremely saddened to hear the poet #VijayNambisan's demise. #RIP We performed his poems fondly as part of @poetry_hoshruba @DenzilLSmith.  Danish Husain (@DanHusain) August 10, 2017

Woke up to the news that one of India's finest poets Vijay Nambisan has died. Underrated and elusive, he'll be missed.  Jairaj Singh (@JairajSinghR) August 10, 2017

Jeet Thayil remembered him with a couplet and wrote that Nambisan was a genius who never received his due.

Radium decays

A bit at a time;

Your poems have burned away

Line by half-line



Vijay Nambisan (1963-2017), genius who never received his due  tweet thayil (@jeetthayil) August 10, 2017

Nambisan was a graduate from IIT Madras and also worked on translations of devotional works by famous poets.
The body has been preserved for a postmortem and police are scanning his cellphone details to ascertain the reason for his extreme step.

Hijam Bharat Singh, a second-year student of Satyawati College and hailing from Manipur, was found hanging by his two relatives on Tuesday, police said. (Photo: File/Representational)

New Delhi: A 19-year-old Delhi University student from the Northeast allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in north Delhi's Sant Nagar, the police said on Wednesday.

Hijam Bharat Singh, a second-year student of Satyawati College and hailing from Manipur, was found hanging by his two relatives on Tuesday, they said, adding no suicide note was found near the body.

Singh was staying with two of his relatives Rohin and Gautam at a rented accommodation in Sant Nagar. While his flatmates were out for some work, he allegedly took the extreme step, the police said.

When they returned home around 9.30 pm, Singh did not open the door. They peeped through a window and saw his body hanging from a ceiling fan. The police were informed and they broke open the door.

The body has been preserved for a postmortem, police said, adding that they are scanning his cellphone details to ascertain the reason for his extreme step. His flatmates are also being questioned.

His father works with a private firm in Manipur. He has been informed and after he arrives in New Delhi, the post-mortem will be carried out on Thursday, the police said.
Swati urged Mr Javadekar to expedite the selection process for a regular chief for the education body so that pending issues can be resolved.

New Delhi: Alleging that the colleges in Delhi are charging high hostel fee and imposing discriminatory rules for the girls, the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) on Wednesday sought Union HRD minister Prakash Javadekars intervention in the matter.

The DCW chief, Swati Jaihind, in a letter to the minister claimed severe apathy exists in the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the response from its officiating chairman was extremely discouraging. She urged Mr Javadekar to expedite the selection process for a regular chief for the education body so that pending issues can be resolved.

The DCW said that it has received a representation from a student advocacy group, following which it had sent communications to various universities, colleges, and institutes in Delhi to assess reasons for discriminatory hostel rules and high fee for girls. The Commission said it has received detailed responses.

Many institutions still do not have hostel facilities for girls, forcing them to seek private accommodation outside the college campus, Ms Jaihind claimed.

Over five institutions have informed the commission that due to various issues pending with UGC pertaining to release of due grant, they are unable to construct hostels for girls or ensure non-discriminatory fee, she said in her letter.

Ms Jaihind claimed that several communications had been sent to the UGC seeking intervention on the requests of different institutions since February 2017. However, no response whatsoever, till date, has been received, she said.

The letter states that to ensure resolution of long- standing issues, which were adversely impacting the safety and rights of girl students in several institutions in Delhi, the chairperson met the UGCs officiating chairman, V C Chauhan.

However, to my utter shock and dismay, the officiating chairman of the UGC was not even aware of over a dozen communications sent by the Commission to the UGC, including those marked directly to Mr Chauhan, she said.

The chairman did not show any inclination to even discuss the issues raised by the Commission citing lack of time, Ms Jaihind alleged in the letter. He also appeared to be unaware of the recent issue of Hindu College hiking fee for its girls hostel due to non- receipt of funds from the UGC.

This issue has not only been raised by the Commission with the UGC but was also widely reported by the media. The inaction of the UGC in the matter of discriminatory fee in girls hostel is disgraceful, she said. Ms Jaihind has also sought an appointment from Mr Javadekar to discuss the issues.
Metal detectors, CCTVs put in place after 2005 blasts defunct.

New Delhi: It was in 2005 that the popular Sarojini Nagar Market witnessed a major bomb blast, killing 50 people and injuring 127 others. But even after 12 years, the security of the area, which is thronged by hundreds of people daily, is taken for granted. Security infrastructure like metal detectors and CCTVs, which were put in place after the bomb blast, do not function properly.

The Sarojini Nagar Mini Market Traders Association president, Ashok Randhawa, said that the detectors installed at the entrances are never found in working condition except during the festival season. Out of the 25 cameras installed, only 14 were found to be working currently.

The market association has approached the government authorities on several occasions to incre-ase the security, but in vain. In fact, the SHO of the area recently asked the association to install CCTVs on its own, ahead of the Independence Day, following which eight more cameras were installed.

These security measures are taken seriously only during the festival season, otherwise, no one bothers about the security of the market, said Mr Randhawa. According to the association, monitoring the security of the market becomes difficult as it has four entrances and no fixed exits.

There are around 1,000 unauthorised shops that do not have the license to operate and 600-800 street hawkers who move around the market selling purses, perfumes, belts, etc. In order to make the market secure for the visitors and shopkeepers, some permanent measures like a proper fencing, should be taken into account. There should be a separate entry and exit to the market, he said.

It is a hub of visitors and on the eve of festivals, the footfall increases four times. The Delhi government, along with the North Delhi Municipal Corporation, should work on a serious note in order to ensure the security of the place, he added.

Meanwhile, various security measures have been put in place for the upcoming Independence Day. Police officials are patro-lling the area on a daily basis and various officials are moving around dressed as civilians. Bomb squad teams and sniffer dogs are also doing rounds of the market.
One terrorist involved in assembling radicalised youth, training them.

New Delhi: Just a few days before Independence Day, the sleuths of the Delhi police special cell in a major catch arrested two men with suspected links to Al Qaeda in two separate cases on Wednesday. In the first case, the police arrested 29-year-old Syed Mohammed Zishan Ali, suspected to be linked to the terror outfit. He was arrested from IGI Airport on Tuesday after being deported from Saudi Arabia.

The police said that the police were on the lookout for him ever since three alleged AQIS (Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent) operatives were arrested in 2015. Ali is married to the sister of Sabeel Ahmed, who was arrested in connection with the Glasgow Airport attack in 2007, only to be released later. His brother, Kafeel Ahmed, had died in the suicide attack.

He was involved in assembling disgruntled and radicalised youth and training them at camps that the AQIS was planning to set up here, the police said. The special cell got onto Alis trail following arrests of suspected AQIS members in December 2015, who had revealed that Ali was a key member. He was even declared a proclaimed offender, they added.

After the arrest of the suspected members, it was revealed that Ali was operating for AQIS from Saudi Arab On Wednesday, the police was informed about 30 Indians, including Ali, being deported from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, due to visa violation. Ali was nabbed from the IGI Airport, said the officer.

In the second case, 25-year-old Raja-ul-Ahmed, with links to Al Qaeda, was arrested on August 1 by the Delhi police following a tip-off from the West Bengal police. A senior officer from the Delhi police said that Ahmed was apprehended on July 31 and formally arrested in August 1. He did not divulge details about the place of arrest. He was wanted in smuggling of fake Indian currency note (FICN) by the West Bengal police, who alerted their counterparts here about his place of hiding, an officer said.

Ahmed is a suspected member of Ansarullah Bangla Team, an Al Qaeda-inspired group in Bangladesh. Later in the day, Zishan Ali was produced before a Delhi court, which rema-nded him in custody of city police for two weeks for interrogation in a case of terror funding. The deportation of Ali assumes significance as security agencies have cracked down on members of various terror outfits, particularly in the Kashmir Valley.
Any delay in harvesting the organs would result in them going waste and loss to the patients in the ZTCC waiting list.

A division bench was hearing a writ petition filed by Raut, who has suffered an organ failure and is on the ZTCC wait list to receive a transplant.

Mumbai: Swapnil Raut, a person in the waiting list of the Zonal Transplant Co-ordination Committee (ZTCC), has approached the Bombay high court seeking directions to the state and the ZTCC to harvest the organs of a brain dead patient in Hiranandani Hospital as the relatives of the patient have agreed to donate his organs.

The petitioner has prayed that the state and Directorate of Health Services (DHS) should make haste in harvesting the organs through a team of doctors assigned by them as Hiranandani Hospitals right to harvest and transplant organs has been cancelled. Any delay in harvesting the organs would result in them going waste and loss to the patients in the ZTCC waiting list. However, the state has sought time until Thursday to file its reply.

A division bench was hearing a writ petition filed by Raut, who has suffered an organ failure and is on the ZTCC wait list to receive a transplant. The petitioner has submitted that Hiranan-dani hospital had written to the DHS on August 8, seeking permission for retrieval of organs from Mr Mahesh Mehta who was declared clinically dead, assuring that their doctors would not retrieve the organs.
Yashomati Thakur brings Rs 5L paid to social activist by a builder, is censured by Speaker.

Mumbai: Congress MLA Yashomati Thakur brought Rs 5 lakh in cash, which had been allegedly offered as bribe by a builder to social activist Sandeep Yeole to not publicise certain RTI details related to a Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) project, to the Assembly to be seized by the legislature. She demanded that the matter be probed by the government.

However, Speaker Haribhau Bagde questioned her for taking the money from Mr Yeole and bringing it to the Assembly. The House was even adjourned for 10 minutes over the issue. Later, the Speaker said he would expunge from the House proceedings the discussion on the issue and called for an inquiry. Ms Thakur spoke to the media outside the Assembly.

I met Yeole at the MLA hostel and told me about the SRA scam. He wanted the police to arrest him and hold an investigation about the bribe money. I gave him a patient hearing and brought the bribe money to the Assembly. However, I feel sad that he did not get justice even in the legislature, Ms Thakur said.

When she raised the issue in the House, the ruling party members created uproar. My voice was suppressed by the ruling party MLAs. This government talks about eradicating black money but not taking any cognisance of the person who is carrying this black money. Now I am going to lodge a police complaint about the bribe, Ms Thakur added.

Raising the issue in the Assembly, the Congress MLA demanded that the legislature seize the bribe money. However, Mr Bagde refused to do so. The Speaker was even reminded by Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar that how some MPs in the past had brought money to Parliament, which was seized later. But Mr Bagde reprimanded Ms Thakur for taking the bribe money from the activist. He also said that the discussion about the issue was expunged from the House proceedings and warned the media not to write about it.
Despite repeated requests from India to return him to India to stand trial for his multiple crimes, Pak has repeatedly stonewalled them.

Mumbai: With an Indian news channel claiming on Thursday that its reporter spoke to fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim on his Karachi landline phone number, the Mumbai 1993 serial blasts key masterminds patrons in the Pakistani establishment will find it difficult to deny his presence there, said sources in the Mumbai police.

Sachin Vaze, former Mumbai crime branch officer, said, When I was posted with the crime branch, I had heard the voice sample of Ibrahim. The voice in the tape is that of Dawood himself. It matches with the voice database sample of the crime branch.

Sources pointed out that despite repeated requests from India to return him to India to stand trial for his multiple crimes, Pakistan has repeatedly stonewalled them.

Special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam, who is responsible for proving charges against a hundred accused in the 93 serial blast case, said, There are different modes to identify a person and voice identification is one of them. Now if the voice is Ibrahims, it is very good evidence against him. Now this voice sample can be compared with the data that is already available with us and if it tallies... America can put pressure on Pakistan to deport him to India.
Ahmed Patel may have been elected but he did not win because he could not keep his flock together.

The Indian institutional system is the only clear winner in the Gujarat Rajya Sabha elections. Till late Tuesday evening, almost the entire television-viewing audience believed two things. First, BJP president Amit Shah was considered invincible. Second, the Election Commission was seen to be politically subservient. As events eventually rolled out through late night into the early hours of Wednesday, neither did Mr Shah remain unvanquished, nor did the EC prove to be so spineless. This underscored one law  anything which goes up comes down sometime  and one trait of retired, or retiring, bureaucrats  who after spending decades in a supine position, rediscover overnight their spine immediately after appointment to quasi-judicial bodies.

Ahmed Patel may have been elected but he did not win because he could not keep his flock together. Past animosity with Shankersinh Vaghela may have hastened the split in the Congress but Mr Patel triumphed the moment the EC ruled that two legislators had violated Rules 39A and 39AA of the Conduct of Election Rules 1961. The rules unequivocally state that no elector can show her or his marked ballot paper to anyone else besides the authorised representative of their political party. They voted for the BJP-backed candidate and if their vote was counted, the size of the electoral college would have risen. Consequently, the magic figure would have been revised to 45 votes, one more from what Patel polled. The third candidate would have been elected thereafter on second preference votes and on this count, Congress turncoat Balwantsinh Rajput stood a clear chance of romping home. But Mr Shah need not look grudgingly at Nirvachan Bhavan and accuse CEC A.K. Joti and his fellow commissioners of not returning the favour bestowed by appointing them. The way the BJP lined up its brass at the EC office, including law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and Arun Jaitley with dual charge of finance and defence was blatant pressure tactics. This attempt to coerce the EC into allowing the ballot of the two MLAs has to been seen in conjunction with repeated efforts of the BJP to undermine institutions. But Mr Shahs bete noire would have still lost had only the BJP attended to the grievance of party MLA Nalin Kotadia. The Keshubhai Patel loyalist declared that he did not vote for the BJP candidates because the party did not address problems faced by his Patidar community. The outcome may have been different had the ire of the Patels been addressed. The Rajya Sabha results have not just raised questioned about Mr Shahs electoral brilliance and tactical invincibility but has also raised a fundamental question about the social coalition that will back the BJP in the impending Assembly elections due later this year.

Undoubtedly, the most high-voltage Rajya Sabha election, it was proof that Mr Shah was dead serious when he told partymen some months ago that every election counts, and no poll is small or insignificant. The manner in which he left no stone unturned to ensure Mr Patels defeat throws up two pointers. First, Mr Shah does not believe in any adversary having a smooth ride into any elective body even if her or his victory has been there for the taking for long. Second, the viciousness with which he fought this contest suggests that Mr Patel was targeted because of his proximity to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and that his defeat would have severely undermined her position. However, no one should expect the Modi-Shah duo to relent in their targeting of the Congress and its president specifically. On the contrary, this defeat will rankle and unless the Congress rediscovers spring in its step, the BJP leadership will be more focused in targeting Mrs Gandhi and her close associates, including family members.

The Congress must immediately confront a long-standing internal issue, which is cause for concern. For years, from when Rahul Gandhis future elevation as party supremo became clear, a faultline exists between the old guard and younger leaders patronised by the scion. The victory in Gujarat will strengthen old-timers, be it Mr Patel himself  ties between him and Mr Gandhi are none too cordial, it is believed  or people like Ashok Gehlot, who as the partys Gujarat affairs in-charge, played a not so insignificant role in managing the election. Ties between Mr Patel and Mr Gehlot date to their days as Sanjay loyalists and they have weathered many a storm together within the Congress. With the Rajasthan Assembly elections due next year, he must be immediately named as the partys chief ministerial candidate if the party has to have a realistic chance of ousting the BJP. Mr Gandhi must withdraw Sachin Pilot from the state as he is not a big draw with the masses. But prior to this, the Congress must put up a fight. True, that Rajya Sabha elections do not impact people as there is no mass involvement, but frenetic television coverage ensured the entire episode being beamed through the state. The Congress must work on the cracks in the BJPs social coalition that became visible. For long relegated to moving pieces in the Congress durbar, it would be prudent to involve Mr Patel as the past personal truce that once existed between him and Mr Modi has ended.

Two lasting images of the entire episode was the resigned look on Mr Shahs face when he sat in the counting centre with party associates and the contrasting energy demonstrated by Congress leaders when they marched to the EC office in New Delhi adequately armed with arguments. For once, the party, barring Mr Gandhis brigade, made the battle for Mr Patels seat as its own. On the other side, a weakness in Mr Shahs armoury has been detected. Both he and Mr Modi have a propensity for converting political contests into high-pitched media events, a long tradition in Gujarats politics. It does not always benefit, as this episode proved.
Imran Khan once boasted that he had been offered the prime minister-ship by Gen Musharraf.

Karachi: Elected governments in Pakistan have less to fear from the Indian army than from their own  with good reason. For almost 60 years, since October 1958, politicians have lost every battle to gain the higher ground of civilian supremacy. Will they ever win the war?

After the fall of East Pakistan in December 1971, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had the opportunity to send a demoralised army back to the barracks. Many assumed he would. Instead, he opted to become Pakistans fourth President and third chief martial law administrator. He could not resist imitating his militaristic hero Napoleon Bonaparte.

In 1977, Bhutto, accused of rigging the general elections, was brutally reminded that, while political parties owe their loyalty to the electorate, the Pakistan Army owes its allegiance to the state. Political parties may hustle to present themselves to their voters as the better option. They may take turns on the merry-go-around of selfish governance. But the Pakistan Army  one of the regions largest standing armies  stands also as the vigilant watchdog of the national interest, the muscular alternative to mismanaged democracy. One word common to the lexicon of civilian governments and the security establishment is contempt.

Civilian governments routinely display contempt for the public; the security establishment regularly betrays contempt for civilians. There is a view that elected governments are regarded as unwanted pregnancies, to be aborted whenever need be, to save the motherland.

The latest still-birth is the ouster of a third-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif. It was done with a sleight of pen worthy of the late Sharifuddin Pirzada.

In time, books will be written on the way Sharifs removal was induced. There will be tardy admissions of remorse, as there were after Z.A. Bhuttos hanging. Many associated with this latest case may want, like Pontius Pilate, to absolve themselves. What no one in Islamabad will be able to escape is culpability for an unforgiveable degeneration in standards at every level.

We know the army prefers to subsist within the boundaries of its own self-demarcated, well-defended political cantonment.

Civilians envy its manicured order, its privileges like housing, schooling, medical facilities, preferential allotment of state lands, pensions (borne directly by the civilian budget), and gilded retirement. No wonder civilians feel like inferior children of a lesser god.

The custodians of our law have revealed a fragile fallibility. Many remember a former chief justices obiter dicta deciding Nawaz Sharifs restoration to the prime minister-ship in 1993.

The law, he pronounced, is mightier than the King of Kings. They have now seen his successors at the same Supreme Court stoop from that intellectual pre-eminence to quoting from an airport lounge novel The Godfather.

Many question why the Supreme Court has usurped the mundane functions of a magistrates court  that of investigation, prosecution, and judgement?

By allowing the media to set up camp on its very doorstep and then live-stream the progress of the case being adjudicated inside, the dignity of the Supreme Court cannot but be demeaned.

From politicians, the public has nothing but the lowest expectations. Political debate has sunk to such abysmal levels that no one is shocked or surprised anymore by increasingly salacious, putrefying revelations.

Scurrilous pictures of Nusrat Bhutto dancing with President Gerald Ford in 1975 were small potatoes compared to the present character assassination of the PTI leader Imran Khan.

He is accused by Aaisha Gulalai (a rebel PTI party member) of having sent her inappropriate messages four years ago. Only technology can affirm or refute her belated allegations.

The PTI has retaliated by fielding their own Ayesha  Ayesha Ahad, who alleges that she is the mistreated wife of chief minister Shahbaz Sharifs son Hamza Sharif.

With apologies to both, one is reminded of a poem  John F. Kennedys favourite  about a pet so elongated that when its eyes were filled with tears of sadness, its tail still wagged from previous gladness. With Ayesha and Aaisha on board, can the Sita White scandal be far behind?

Imran Khan once boasted that he had been offered the prime minister-ship by Gen Musharraf. It seems he is now expecting similar largesse from his successor. Meanwhile, there is wounded Nawaz Sharif left to finish.

Almost 175 years ago, on September 15, 1843, the Sikh Maharaja Sher Singh was murdered by his opponents at Shah Bilawal, outside Lahore. A Persian couplet described the tragedy: Ba shauq sagan shikar-i-sheran kardand (For their sport, curs hunted lions).

An unburied Nawaz Sharif plans to wreak revenge. Ironically, both Z.A. Bhutto in 1977 and Nawaz Sharif in 2017, when ousted from prime ministers house, repaired first to Murree, then made a triumphant journey to Lahore. Will Nawaz Sharif like Bhutto be arrested before he reaches Lahore? Or will his revolution succeed where Bhuttos revolt against Gen. Ziaul Haq failed?

By arrangement with Dawn
Expert analysis of the last two suggests the code may have escaped into the wild before it was fully ready.

The second quarter of 2017 saw sophisticated threat actors unleash a wealth of new and enhanced malicious tools, including three zero-day exploits and two unprecedented attacks: WannaCry and ExPetr. Expert analysis of the last two suggests the code may have escaped into the wild before it was fully ready, an unusual situation for well-resourced attackers. These and other trends are covered in Kaspersky Labs latest quarterly threat intelligence summary.



The months from April to end June witnessed significant developments in targeted attacks by, among others, Russian-, English-, Korean-, and Chinese-speaking threat actors. These developments have far-reaching implications for business IT security: sophisticated malicious activity is happening continuously almost everywhere in the world, increasing the risk of companies and non-commercial organizations becoming collateral damage in cyber warfare. The allegedly nation-state backed WannaCry and ExPetr destructive epidemics, whose victims included many companies and organization across the globe, became the first but most likely not the last example of the new, dangerous trend.



Highlights in Q2, 2017 include:



-Three Windows zero-day exploits being used in-the-wild by the Russian-speaking Sofacy and Turla threat actors. Sofacy, also known as APT28 or FancyBear, deployed the exploits against a range of European targets, including governmental and political organizations. The threat actor was also observed trying out some experimental tools, most notably against a French political party member in advance of the French national elections.



-Gray Lambert - Kaspersky Lab has analyzed the most advanced toolkit to date for the Lamberts group, a highly sophisticated and complex, English-speaking cyberespionage family. Two new related malware families were identified.



-The WannaCry attack on 12 May and the ExPetr attack on 27 June. While very different in nature and targets, both were surprisingly ineffective as ransomware.



-ExPetr, targeting organizations in the Ukraine, Russia and elsewhere in Europe also appeared to be ransomware but turned out to be purely destructive. The motive behind the ExPetr attacks remains a mystery. Kaspersky Labs experts have established a low confidence link to the threat actor known as Black Energy.



The Q2 APT Trends report summarizes the findings of Kaspersky Labs subscriber-only threat intelligence reports. During the second quarter of 2017, Kaspersky Labs Global Research and Analysis Tam created 23 private reports for subscribers, with Indicators of Compromise (IOC) data and YARA rules to assist in forensics and malware-hunting.
India is facing financial/political corruption issue, whereas people of China are dealing with the moral decline.

India ranks second after China which tops the survey list with 83 per cent people supporting the government (File Photo)

Mumbai/Washington: Despite all social problems like unemployment, crime and violence and corruption, 74 per cent of people in India believe that the government is going in right direction. India ranks second after China which tops the survey list with 83 per cent people supporting the government, a report said.

A US based-website, Ipsos, which tracks the worries around the world, a monthly online survey of adults aged under 65, has released a survey report quoting five major problems bothering 26 major countries around the world.

The report finds the majority of people across 26 countries think that their country is on the 'wrong track' (60% on average) which has remained consistent over the past three months. Wherein, Mexico and South Africa are in the last and second last positions in the list with 92 and 91 per cent respectively.

Despite topping the list of governments going in right direction, both India and China face social issues. India is facing financial/political corruption issue, whereas people of China are dealing with the moral decline.

Except corruption, the other two major problems which India deals with are unemployment and crime and violence. The Modi government during the general poll campaigns in 2014 had promised to strike off these social evils, however, three years in power the issues still prevails.

The report tries to analyse the world worries, wherein, unemployment (36 per cent) remains the top issue. However, problems are somewhat similar but the prominence differs from country to country.

For example, United States is juggling with the health care issues, while United Kingdom is entangled with terrorism and joblessness.

Post his inauguration, US President Donald Trump, who completes 200 days in office this week, is striving hard to replace the current Obamcare health bill with the new bill in the World's largest economy.

Meanwhile, last year, UK got a green signal from its citizens to take a divorce from European Union. However, the survey report mentioned that in Britain, seven in 10 (72 per cent) think the country is on the wrong track.

Not all the countries across the globe could make it to the survey list, the 26 participating countries were Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Britain, Germany, Hungary, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Peru, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and the United States.

Spain tops the chart of reeling under unemployment with 65 per cent, both Italy and South Korea are at 63 per cent respectively. Reflecting previous months, Germany is the least worried, with only 12% citing unemployment as a a concern (and only 14% in Britain).

Financial/political corruption follows, with South Africans most concerned (65%), and Swedes least worried (8%).

Poverty/social inequality is the third most common worry, with the highest level of concern in Russia (57%) and Hungary (56%). The US has the lowest level of concern for this at 19%.

Top six global issues

Unemployment (36%)

Financial/Political Corruption (34%)

Poverty/Social Inequality (33%)

Crime & Violence (30%)

Healthcare (23%)

Terrorism (20%)

InfographicsInfographicsInfographicsIFrameIFrame
Raja Krishnamoorthi said the standoff issue did not come up during his meeting with the prime minister in New Delhi.

Raja Krishnamoorthi is a member of the US House of Representatives. (Photo:Twitter).

Washington: Expressing concern over the Sikkim standoff between India and China, an influential US lawmaker has accused Beijing of taking provocative steps that have resulted in the escalation of tensions between the two Asian giants.

"I'm very concerned about what is happening on Doklam Plateau. I believe that China has taken certain provocative steps that have escalated into the current standoff on the plateau," Raja Krishnamoorthi, the Congressman from Illinois, said.

Krishnamoorthi, 44, just returned from a short trip to India during which he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi this week and had a discussion on a wide range of issues.

He said the standoff issue did not come up during his meeting with the prime minister in New Delhi.

Talking about his views on the standoff, he said, "I have urged a diplomatic solution, a peaceful diplomatic solution to the current standoff, and I'm very hopeful that it can come about."

"It's very important that no country take provocative steps, especially in border disputes in the region," said Krishnamoorthi in response to a question.

The US has maintained its silence on the Sikkim standoff between the armies of India and China.

"We have seen these reports (on the standoff). We refer you to the Governments of India, China, and Bhutan for further information," a State Department spokesperson told PTI when asked about the American stand on the current Doklam standoff.

The US last month also had avoided commenting on the Sikkim standoff.

Meanwhile, analysts here criticised China for its aggressive stance.

Will Edwards, an Asia-Pacific and defense analyst at The Cipher Brief, recently wrote that the Chinese road could have serious strategic implications for Indias defence of its home territory due to a geographic feature that leaves India vulnerable.

"Allowing the Chinese road project to continue could provide Beijing with an avenue for its troops to strike the Chickens Neck, a narrow strip of land connecting Indias northeastern states to the rest of the country that could be severed in the event of conflict," he wrote.
The Indian Army has, however, not recorded any movement on the Chinese side yet.

China already has 300 PLA soldiers at the standoff site. On the Sikkim side of the border, the Indian Army has deployed about 350 soldiers. (Photo: PTI/Representational)

Beijing: The Doklam faceoff between India and China, which started on June 16, continues with the People's Liberation Army (PLA) increasing presence near the standoff site.

According to a report in The Indian Express, PLA has pitched around 80 tents and deployed nearly 800 troops a kilometre away from the Doklam plateau. However, China has not positioned a full PLA infantry battalion at the site.

China already has 300 PLA soldiers at the standoff site. On the Sikkim side of the border, the Indian Army has deployed about 350 soldiers.

The Indian Army has not recorded any movement on the Chinese side yet, the IE quoted its sources as saying.

In the meantime, the Indian Army has decided to conduct an Operational Alert  a two-week long annual training of the Army units, which familiarise themselves with their area of operation  in August instead of September or October.

The Indian Army has also denied making any unusual movement.

India and China have been locked in a face-off in the Doklam area of the Sikkim sector for over 50 days after Indian troops stopped the Chinese Army from building a road in the area.

China claimed it was constructing the road within their territory and has been demanding immediate pull-out of the Indian troops from the disputed Doklam plateau.
Though Nawaz still holds sole authority to appoint anyone to any post but he consults party before major decisions.

Islamabad: Shehbaz Sharif is set to be appointed as president of the PML (N) after Pakistans Election Commission asked the ruling party to replace his brother Nawaz Sharif, who was disqualified as Prime Minister by the Supreme Court, a senior leader has said.

Raja Zafarul Haq, senior Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader, told the media that Shehbaz Sharif, 65, would be the new president of PML-N.

The formal decision would be taken later this week in Lahore in meeting of the PML-N. Though Mr Nawaz still holds sole authority to appoint anyone to any post but he consults party before major decisions.

The 68-year-old ousted Prime Minister was president of the ruling party until he was disqualified by the Supreme Court on July 28 over the Panama Papers scandal.

According to the local laws he lost his seat in the national assembly and cannot hold any post in the party.

Opposition parties had lodged petitions against the then premier over the scandal demanding trial of the first family for the assets and properties they owned, alleging that the premier and his children resorted to money laundering and graft.

The top court took up the case in October and formal hearings of the petitions began in November. After 60 days, a probe committee filed its report in the court and within two weeks, a verdict was delivered that ordered the elections authority to disqualify Nawaz Sharif.

Yesterday, Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) through the notice told the PML-N that Nawaz Sharif cannot lead the party after disqualification under the Political Parties Order 2002.
His fake identity, Muhammad Wali, was known in intelligence circles, according to a former Afghan intelligence chief.

The article, based on an interview of a former Taliban commander, who was close to Mullah Mansour's inner circle, reports insights into the final hours of Mullah Mansour's life, and why and how he was killed, revealing a dangerously-widening rift with his Pakistani sponsors. (Photo: AP)

Kandahar: Pakistan's premier intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) wanted Taliban leader Mullah Mansour to destroy school, bridges and roads in Afghanistan, an article published in the New York Times claims.

"Mullah Mansour had resisted orders from Pakistan's intelligence agency, the ISI, to destroy infrastructure - schools, bridges and roads - to increase the cost of the war for the Afghan government. He opposed the promotion of Pakistan's hard-line protege Sirajuddin Haqqani to be his deputy, and he had dodged Pakistan's demands to push its agenda in negotiations," says a New York Times article written by Carlotta Gall and Ruhullah Khapalwak.

The article, based on an interview of a former Taliban commander, who was close to Mullah Mansour's inner circle, reports insights into the final hours of Mullah Mansour's life, and why and how he was killed, revealing a dangerously-widening rift with his Pakistani sponsors.

The account of this Taliban leader was complemented and supported in interviews with two senior Afghan officials, who have conducted their own investigations into the Taliban leader's death - Haji Agha Lalai, presidential advisor and deputy governor of Kandahar and Gen. Abdul Raziq, the police chief of Kandahar Province.

According to the article, Mansour feared assassination by Pakistan before he was killed in an American drone strike.

Hours before his death, Mansour knew something was going wrong so he had called his brother and relatives to prepare them for his death.

Mansour had called his family, while he was on his way home from a secret visit to Iran in May 2016 driving across a remote stretch of southwestern Pakistan.

The article, citing Afghans on both sides of the war and a growing number of Western security analysts, said that Pakistan had most likely engineered Mullah Mansour's death to remove a Taliban leader it no longer trusted.

"Pakistan was making very strong demands. Mansour was saying you cannot force me on everything. I am running the insurgency, doing the fighting and taking casualties and you cannot force us," the article quotes the former Taliban commander, as saying.

After Mullah Mansour's death, Mawlawi Haibatullah Akhundzada, an Islamic cleric with no military experience, was selected as leader of the Taliban.

"Ninety percent of the Taliban blame the Pakistanis," the former Taliban commander said, adding, "but they cannot say anything. They are scared."

The article says that Mansour relied on Pakistan's Intelligence Service and donors from Arab gulf states, as well as Afghan drug lords, for the main financing of the Taliban, but he was also seeking weapons and other support from Iran, and even Russia.

"Mullah Mansour's outreach to Iran was also aimed at getting the Taliban out from under Pakistan's thumb, according to his former associate and Afghan officials, so he could maneuver to run the war, but also negotiate peace, on his own terms. That was where his differences with Pakistan had grown sharpest," it adds.

The article further says that Mansour wanted to devolve more power to regional Taliban commanders, allowing them to raise their own funds and make their own decisions, in order to own the Afghan nationalist cause and loosen Pakistan's control over the insurgency.

"Ten days before he was killed, he sent messages to villages and to commanders asking them to share their views on peace talks," said General Raziq, the police chief of Kandahar Province, a fierce opponent of the Taliban, who knew the movement well.

He said Mansour was looking for new protectors as his disagreements with Pakistan were growing.

The article claims that Mansour used to travel on a Pakistani passport, under a fake name, with full knowledge of Pakistani intelligence.

His fake identity, Muhammad Wali, was known in intelligence circles, according to a former Afghan intelligence chief.

According to the article, 300 extra guards were posted at the crossing and along the highway when Mansour reached the Pakistani side of the border with Iran before his death.

Mansour took a taxi on his arrival in Pakistan for the eight-hour drive to Quetta.

Hellfire missiles fired by an American drone tore into the car which was carrying Mansour, near the small town of Ahmad Wal, where the road runs just 20 miles from the Afghan border.

Workers farming watermelons nearby rushed to the burning wreck and shovelled dirt on the flames, but could not save the men inside, General Raziq said.

Members of Pakistan's Frontier Corps arrived suspiciously fast.

"His car was followed," said General Raziq, who conducted his own investigation into the strike.

"The Frontier Corps were following him, and within five minutes of him being hit they reached him, with the media."

"For many in the Taliban, Mullah Mansour's death represented a devastating betrayal by their longtime patron and sponsor, Pakistan that has split and demoralized the ranks," the article says.

Many senior commanders from Mullah Mansour's Pashtun tribe defected to the Afghan government or moved into Afghanistan in fear of further retribution from Pakistan.

The strike against Mullah Mansour was the first time a top Afghan Taliban leader had been killed inside Pakistan, the article concludes, which has provided a sanctuary for Taliban leaders throughout their 16-year insurgency against Afghanistan.
Dr Ruth Pfau first visited Pakistan in 1960 and was so touched by the plight of leprosy victims that she decided to stay forever to treat them.

Karachi: Dr Ruth Pfau, a German doctor popularly known as Pakistans Mother Teresa for dedicating her life to eradicate leprosy in the country, died on Thursday at a private hospital in Karachi. She was 87. She died after a prolonged age-related illness. Dr Pfau first visited Pakistan in 1960 and was so touched by the plight of leprosy victims that she decided to stay forever in the country to treat them.

The nun founded the Marie Adelaide Leprosy Centre in Karachi in 1962 and later set up its branches in all provinces of Pakistan, including Gilgit-Baltistan, and treated over 50,000 families. Due to her tireless efforts, the World Health Organisation in 1996 declared Pakistan one of the first countries in Asia to be free of leprosy.

She was born in 1929 in Germany and lived through the horrors of the World War II. Pfau joined the Society of Daughters of the Heart of Mary and was assigned to go to India but landed in Karachi for a brief stay due to some visa problems. Her interaction with leprosy patients in the port city motivated her to change the plan and stay rest of life in Pakistan to help the patients. She was 29 when landed in Karachi for the first time. She was awarded the Hilal-e-Imtiaz  Pakistans second highest civilian award  in 1979, the Hilal-e-Pakistan in 1989. She was also awarded the Staufer Medal at the German consulate Karachi in 2015.

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said Pfau may have been born in Germany, but her heart was always in Pakistan.

Dr Ruth came to Pakistan at the dawn of a young nation, looking to make lives better for those afflicted by disease, and in doing so, found herself a home, Mr Abbasi said, praising her courage and services. The funeral mass will be held on August 19 at St Patricks Cathedral, and thereafter will be laid to rest in the Christian Cemetery. German embassy said German ambassador Martin Kobler expressed his heartfelt condolences to the representative of the Maria Adelaide Leprosy Centre.
Between 2002 and 2013, the culprits gave land to 29 families in Dong Tam in return for money. Ten of those sentenced are former officials with the Dong Tam People's Committee, and four are former officials from the Department of Natural Resources and Environment and the Office of Land Registration of My Duc district. In Dong Tam, farmers complain that the government is giving 47 hectares of farmland to the Viettel Group. The promise not to prosecute has not been kept.

Hanoi (AsiaNews/RFA)  A court in Vietnams capital Hanoi on Wednesday sentenced 14 officials to between one and a half and six and a half years in prison for abusing their authority to manage land deals in Dong Tam, a municipality in My Duc district, where a land dispute sparked a rare standoff between farmers and authorities in April.

At the end of a two-day trial, the My Duc District Peoples Court sentenced the former officials from the My Duc and Dong Tam governments for taking advantage of position or power while performing duties and irresponsibly causing serious consequences. Convictions under such charges could have carried a punishment of more than 10 years in prison.

Between 2002 and 2013, some of the defendants took advantage state land management and allocated parcels to 29 households in Dong Tam commune in return for money.

Ten of those sentenced are former officials with the Dong Tam Municipal People's Committee, and four are former officials from the Department of Natural Resources and Environment and the Office of Land Registration of My Duc district.

Farmers in Dong Tam say the government is seizing 47 hectares of their farmland for the military-run Viettel Groupthe countrys largest mobile phone operator  without adequately compensating them.

The heaviest punishment was handed to Nguyen Xuan Truong, a former land and property official for Dong Tam Municipality, who was deemed to have played a leading role in the land deals.

Former president of the Dong Tam Peoples Committee Nguyen Van Bot received a suspended sentence of 18 months  the lightest of the group  while most other defendants received terms of 24 or 30 months in jail.

Farmers in Dong Tam say the government is seizing 47 hectares of their farmland for the military-run Viettel Group  the countrys largest mobile phone operator  without adequately compensating them.

At the end of a week-long standoff in April, during which farmers detained dozens of police officers and officials, Hanois mayor pledged not to prosecute residents and to investigate their claims in the land dispute regarding the boundaries of Dong Tams Mieu Mon Airport.

But on 25 July, the Hanoi Inspectorate announced that after conducting a comprehensive inspection on the management, use, and handling of the land area, it had determined that the military administers all airport land, which it said encompasses 236.7 hectares.

On Monday, a resident of Dong Tam told RFAs Vietnamese Service that the Aug. 8-9 trial was unrelated to the Mieu Mon Airport land dispute.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said that for the land dispute in Dong Tam, the authorities need to be handled first and the residents later, the resident said at the time, speaking on condition of anonymity.

But, obviously, these people are not related to that dispute. They are charged with violations in the management of land from 2002-2013 in a [nearby] area called Rang Truc.

After the announcement of by the Hanoi Inspectorate in July, the residents of Dong Tam submitted a complaint to the central government over the decision, but have yet to receive a response.

Police arrested several farmers from Dong Tam on 15 April for allegedly causing social unrest during a clash between authorities and commune residents over the airport land.

Other farmers responded by detaining 38 police officers and local officials, and threatened to kill them if security personnel attacked them a second time.

Two days after the clash, police released some of the farmers they had arrested. In return, the farmers freed 15 riot police, but continued to detain 20, while three others escaped.

On 20 April, the farmers boycotted a meeting with Hanoi Mayor Nguyen Duc Chung who was ordered to negotiate the release of the 20 police officers and local officials.

He travelled to the My Duc district Peoples Committee building about 40 kilometers from central Hanoi to discuss the hostage situation, but the farmers wanted him to visit with them directly in Dong Tam (pictured 2) a local media report issued at the time.

The standoff ended on 22 April when the farmers freed the 20 officers and officials (pictured 3) after the mayor pledged to investigate their complaints and not prosecute the villagers.

In June, police opened a criminal investigation into the farmers of Dong Tam, despite Chungs promise, focusing on the illegal detention of the 38 police officers and officials and acts of vandalism allegedly committed during the clash.
The nationals of selected countries will only need to submit a valid passport to enter the rich Gulf State. Countries have been chosen on the basis of security and economy considerations, or the purchasing power of their nationals. Lebanon is the only Arab country on the list. The nationals of 33 countries will be allowed to stay up to 180 days and those of the other 47 states up to 30. On 3 August, Qatar created a new permanent resident status for some groups of foreigners. Qatar has a population of 2.4 million people, 90 per cent foreigners.

Doha (AsiaNews/Agencies)  Qatar, isolated from its Gulf neighbors in a diplomatic crisis, introduced a waver programme for 80 countries in order to stimulate air travel and tourism.

The visa waiver regime will make Qatar the most open country in the region, senior Tourism Department Hassan al-Ibrahim said yesterday at a press conference in Doha.

Interior ministry official Mohamed Rashed al-Mazrouei said that nationals of 80 countries would only need to present a valid passport for entry to the energy-rich Gulf state.

The programme, which came into immediate effect, covers countries of the European Union, other Western states, Latin American and Asian nations.

Lebanon is the only Arab country in the list published at the end of the press conference, although the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council of which Qatar is a member already allows freedom of movement by its nationals.

Nationals of 33 countries will now be allowed to stay in Qatar for 180 days and those from the other 47 states up to 30 days, periods which are renewable a single time.

Mazrouei said the countries were selected on the basis of security and economic considerations, or for the purchasing power of their nationals.

On June 5th, Saudi Arabia, as well as Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, imposed a boycott against Qatar, accusing the emirate of fostering extremist Islamic groups and of close ties with Iran. Doha has denied the allegations.

The four Gulf nations have closed their land and sea borders with Qatar and imposed economic restrictions and air travel restrictions.

On 3 August, Qatar created a new permanent residents status for certain groups of foreigners, including those who have worked for the benefit of the emirate.

Under the new rules, children with a Qatari mother and a foreign father can benefit from the new status, along with foreign residents who have given service to Qatar or have skills that can benefit the country.

Those deemed eligible for the new status will have access to public services, such as health and education.

Qatar has a population of 2.4 million people, 90 per cent of whom are foreigners, including many from south Asia working in the construction industry.
Moscow unilaterally closes the international waterway to start construction. Only Russian ships can now sail through it. The closure is a serious blow to Ukraines fragile economy. The cities of Mariupol and Berdiansk, along the northern shore of the Sea of Azov, are the largest exporters of Ukrainian steel to the West. Russias action contravenes a treaty signed by Russia and Ukraine in 2003. In 2014 Russia annexed Crimea.

Moscow (AsiaNews/Jamestown Foundation)  The Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine plans to file a complaint with the International Maritime Organisation over Russias decision to close unilaterally Kerch Strait, an international waterway. This follows Moscows decision in June to close the strait to build a bridge to Russian-occupied Crimea.

The Ukrainian government is reportedly compiling data to estimate the economic damage to the country likely to result from Russias announced closure of the strait for 23 days in August and September.

Kerch Strait is the gateway connecting the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov. The strategically important Ukrainian port cities of Mariupol and Berdiansk, along the northern shore of the Sea of Azov, are two of the biggest exporters of Ukrainian steel to the West. Thus, closing the strait for any length of time would have a debilitating effect on the fragile Ukrainian economy.

In its announcement Moscow said that no maritime traffic will be allowed, except for Russian vessels for yesterday, between 6 am and 6 pm.

Construction of the 20-kilometre long Kerch Strait Bridge is estimated to cost around US billion. The road section of the bridge is slated for completion in December 2018, with the rail link scheduled for the following year.

Russias action contravenes a treaty signed between the two countries. In October 2003, hostilities nearly erupted between Ukraine and Russia in an incident known as the Tuzla Straits Crisis, when Russia started to build a dam from the Taman peninsula to Tuzla Island.

The international crisis led to the agreement signed on 24 December 2003 on the use of the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait. In it, Russia and Ukraine agree to co-operate in the use of the sea and the strait.

The document determines that the Sea of Azov is an internal waterway for both countries. It further states that merchant vessels and other state non-commercial vessels flying the flags of the Russian Federation and Ukraine have free navigation in the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait.

Crimea, a Ukrainian region with a Russian-speaking majority, was annexed by Russia after a controversial referendum on 16 March 2014 in which a majority of residents indicated their desire to come under Russian sovereignty.

About 81.3 per cent of eligible voters are said to have voted with 96.77 per cent opting for annexation to Russia. Earlier, some 20,000 Russian soldiers without insignia had seized the peninsula.

Reacting to the poll, the Ukrainian constitutional court declared the referendum illegal. Russias annexation has not been recognised internationally.

With the construction of the bridge, Russia is showing its clear intention of ensuring the union between the region and the fatherland.
A study found that in 2015 ten times more people died from suicide and murder than in war: 1.4 million vs 144,000. There has been a "sharp increase" in cases of mental illness, but the region lacks specialist to treat them.

Beirut (AsiaNews)  In the Middle East, acts of violence like murder and suicide and not only war have created a "lost generation" of children and young people, without resources in the present or hope for the future, this according to a report published in the International Journal of Public Health.

The study, which covers 22 nations as Afghanistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and the United Arab Emirates, found that suicide and murder took ten times as many lives as war, particularly among men.

In all, acts of violent accounted for 1.4 million deaths in 2015. By comparison, wars in the Eastern Mediterranean region  home to 600 million people  took 144,000 lives.

In the past, scholars and experts had sounded the alarm for the future of the regions generations. In its 2015 study UNICEF noted that wars and violence had deprived 13 million children of the right to education and the opportunity to go to school because of destroyed or damaged facilities.

What is more, it is not only the physical damage to schools that hurts, but the "desperation" experienced by an entire generation of students who see their hope and future shattered.

"Intractable and endemic violence is creating a lost generation of children and young adults," said lead author Ali Mokdad, director for Middle Eastern Initiatives at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington. "The future of the Middle East is grim unless we can find a way to bring stability to the region."

Among the findings, researchers noted a "sharp increase" in mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia in the Eastern Mediterranean.

"In 2015, nearly 30,000 people in the region committed suicide and another 35,000 died from interpersonal violence, representing increases of 100 per cent and 152 per cent, respectively, over the past 25 years," said the report.

"In other parts of the world during the same period, the number of deaths from suicide increased 19 per cent and interpersonal violence by 12 per cent."

At the same time, experts such as counsellors, psychiatrists and psychologists are in severe shortage.

Countries such as Libya, Sudan and Yemen have just 0.5 psychiatrists per 100,000 people. In comparison, among European nations the ratio ranges from nine per 100,000 to more than 40.

Researchers also found a ten-fold increase in deaths related to HIV/AIDS between 1990 and 2015.

Most of the cases of death from HIV/AIDS occurred in Djibouti, Somalia, and Sudan. Where HIV patients do not receive timely and proper treatment.
At least a thousand people took part in a torchlit procession behind the head of the statue of the Virgin that survived the atomic destruction. Nagasaki Mayor, who fears atomic weapons could be used again in the near future, called on Shinzo Abe to sign the UN treaty banning nuclear weapons, which was snubbed by the great powers and their allies.

Nagasaki (AsiaNews)  A fragment of a statue of the Virgin Mary was carried in procession last night at the Nagasaki Peace Park to mark the end of the 72nd anniversary of the atomic bombing that destroyed the city and killed more than 70,000 people.

The badly burnt head of the Virgin is what remains of the original statue, destroyed by the atomic blast. At least a thousand people took part in the torchlit procession carrying this a piece of history, which is almost a relic.

The march brought to a close the days events, which began in the morning with a ceremony that culminated in a minute of silence at 11.02 am, the hour when the bomb was dropped, as the peace bell rang.

The bomb obliterated the city and the Catholic cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, also known as the Urakami church.

Speaking at the ceremony, Nagasaki Mayor Tomihisa Taue, said that "the international situation surrounding nuclear weapons is becoming increasingly tense".

In view of this, he noted that "a strong sense of anxiety is spreading across the globe that in the not too distant future these weapons could actually be used again," a clear reference to the growing tensions between the United States and North Korea and the mutual threats of lethal action against Pyongyang and Guam.

The nuclear threat will not end as long as nations continue to claim that nuclear weapons are essential for their national security, Taue explained.

Instead, he called on Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons adopted on 7 July 2017 at the United Nations by 122 countries, following negotiations to which Japan (a US ally) refused to take part. All the great nuclear powers also snubbed the treaty.

Taue said that Japans absence, even during the negotiations, is "incomprehensible to those of us living in the cities that suffered atomic bombing

Abe, in a speech that was almost a repeat of what he said in Hiroshima three days ago, did not mention the UN nuclear ban treaty.
Thousands of evacuees chose to sleep outdoors rather than in confined spaces because of ongoing aftershocks. Injured include foreigners from France, South Korea, and Canada. Hong Kong chief executive is ready to help the reconstruction effort. Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen offers assistance in rescue work.

Chengdu (AsiaNews/Agencies)  Chinese authorities have confirmed that the earthquake that struck northern Sichuan two days ago killed 20 people and injured another 263. Tens of thousands of people have been moved to safer locations.

The quake hit Jiuzhaigou, an area popular with tourists. Just the day before the quake some 40,000 visitors were at the location. Foreigners injured in the tremor include tourists from France, South Korea, and Canada.

Due to the number of aftershocks yesterday, many of the evacuees refused to sleep in a confined space and spent the night outdoors. Meanwhile, electricity and essential communications have restored. The local airport continued to operate despite the tremor.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong and Taiwan have offered assistance to survivors.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, who is currently visiting Beijing, said she was saddened by the casualties, adding the autonomous region would support reconstruction work.

In a strong signal of goodwill, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said in a tweet on Wednesday that the island was willing to provide assistance with the rescue work. Beijing suspended official contact with the island in June last year, after Tsai took office.

Chinas central bank said it was working to resume financial services as soon as possible in quake-hit areas to guarantee financial support for rescue operations and reconstruction.
by Purushottam Nayak

The Catholic Bishops Conference of India organised a conference to promote tribal groups on International Day of Indigenous Peoples. The latter represent 8.6 per cent of Indias population but live on the margins of society, victims of violence and backwardness. Bishop Mascarenhas calls for action to protect and preserve the identity of tribal communities."

Delhi (AsiaNews)  The Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) and the CBCI Office for Tribal Affairs organised a conference to mark the 10th Vishwa Adivasi Diwas, International Day of Indigenous Peoples.

The event focused on Sustainable Development Goals and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in the Indian context. Adivasi (Tribals) represent 8.6 per cent of the Indian population, and are divided into some 705 distinct groups.

In a final statement, the conference highlighted some guidelines that should be followed such as ensuring effective enforcement of laws that protect indigenous peoples, preservation of their language, culture and traditions, as well as protection from identity loss. Special attention should also be paid to the most vulnerable tribal groups and decisive action should be undertaken against traffickers of women and girls who are often taken from their villages to be sold in large cities.

Tribals have long been subjected to forced seizures, eviction, expropriation, social exclusion, discrimination and economic and social backwardness. For this reason, the Catholic Church of India is committed to improve Adivasi living conditions and achieve full equality of treatment.

For the bishops, this requires the full application" of health, socio-economic and educational development programmes, as well as the creation of appropriate facilities  schools, hospitals, etc.  in tribal areas. This task belongs to "the government and all men and women of good will".

The conference presented a picture of the Adivasis critical situation in India. About 75 per cent of tribal families live below the poverty line. Only 19.7 per cent have access to drinking water, and 77.4 per cent lack access to health facilities. School dropout is over 70 per cent and infant mortality rate is 62.1 per cent.

In 2015 alone, the number of acts of violence recorded against members of tribal groups exceeded 11,000. And tribal women are among the poorest and marginalised in Indian society.

Lastly, public spending shows how little attention governments pay to the Adivasi. Only 2.39 per cent of public resources are allocated to improve the condition of tribal populations who are 8.6 per cent of the population.

For Fr Nicholas Barla, an ethnic tribal Oraon from Odisha and secretary of the CBCI Office for Tribal Affairs, the measures included in various development plans fail to meet established goals. In his view, governments and stakeholders should not leave anyone out from development.

"The Catholic Church strongly believes in development for the poor and marginalised, without any distinction, because Jesus himself taught us to be in their service," said CBCI secretary general Mgr Theodore Mascarenhas.

The prelate noted that all Catholic institutions and organisations want to "work in partnership with the authorities, the United Nations, and other local and international organisations to protect and preserve the identity of tribal communities."
by Sumon Corraya

Thousands of people mark International Day for Indigenous Peoples with dances, music and candlelit processions. For writer and educator Muhammad Zafar Iqbal, diversity is beauty. The government has however forgotten minority rights.

Dhaka (AsiaNews)  Thousands of Bangladeshis from ethnic minorities yesterday marked International Day for Indigenous Peoples, demanding that their rights be recognised and included in the country's constitution. This years celebration was centred on 10th Anniversary of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

In Bangladesh, there are approximately 50 minority groups for a total of 3 million people. Most of them have their own language, culture, dress, food, and traditions. A good number of them are Christians. And they are often victims of the Bengali and Muslim majority: land grabs, unfair treatment, murders, enslavement, etc.

To support the rights of minorities, several activities were held at the Central Shaheed Minar, with tribal and music dances, and the participation of thousands of people.

Jyotirindra Bodhipriya Larma, president of the Adivasi (Indigenous) Forum, slammed the government for trying "to eliminate ethnic minorities from the country. If the rights of these populations are not recognised, they will have to fight for survival." For Larma, young people especially must involve themselves in getting recognition.

Famous writer and educator Muhammad Zafar Iqbal is behind the event. Speaking at the gathering, he said that "In my life I realised that diversity is beauty. In this country, we have many ethnic groups. They are part of its beauty. It is important for the government to take care of them. It is sad to see how the number of indigenous groups is decreasing; we are losing the element of diversity."

The main guest of the event was Rasheed Khan Menon, Minister of Civil Aviation and Tourism. He expressed his solidarity with ethnic groups. "Bangladesh, he noted, has many ethnic groups and this is a matter of pride vis-a-vis foreigners, but such groups are not recognised as indigenous peoples in the constitution. Our duty is to respond to the demands of indigenous peoples."

The Garo Student Union, a Christian movement among ethnic Garo, also organised a march; about a thousand people participated, holding lit candles.

"We lit these candles as a token to eliminate persecution, oppression, exploitation, abuse, denied right, said Rajib Sangma, a Garo Catholic student. We are often persecuted only because we are a minority. We want to live in accordance with our culture."

"We indigenous people have lived in this country for many years, said Sanjeeb Drong, another Catholic Garo who is also the secretary of the Bangladesh Indigenous Peoples Forum. In the past, the government observed International Day of Indigenous Peoples, but now it does not even recognise us as indigenous peoples. This is a failure for the government. We want to be recognised."

Nine issues came out of the event for the governments attention. They include ownership rights of indigenous peoples over traditional land, justice for all persecuted groups, establishing a commission to distribute land to ethnic groups, the recognition of indigenous peoples in the constitution, and full implementation of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord, signed in 1997 between the central government and local tribal groups after years of war.
Best Gifts For Writers

Shopping For A Writer? These Nine Gifts Were Made For Them

The AskMen editorial team thoroughly researches & reviews the best gear, services and staples for life. AskMen may get paid if you click a link in this article and buy a product or service.

Christmas falls on a Monday this year! Take the guessing out of holiday shopping by checking out our lists of the best gifts for men and all of the best christmas presents for her, for all the inspiration you need.

Buying gifts for writers can be difficult. As a class of people, theyre generally homebodies, who couldnt care less about a fancy new kitchen tool, or a new pocketknife, or a new watch  the usual go-to presents. They sit around, stare at their laptops, and occasionally punch the keys. Theres not much equipment involved.

But that doesnt mean that writers dont like gifts. Far from it. They like to be spoiled as much as anyone. Its just that it isnt always clear what you should spoil them with. But dont despair. This list will give you the inside track on all the little tchotchkes and devices that will delight the nerdy wordsmiths in your life.

Lamy CP1 Matte Black Fountain Pen

Of course, writers tend to be precious about their office supplies. They have to take what little glamour their jobs afford them. This is most true of the fountain pen. Fountain pens are a pleasure to write with, because they require absolutely no manual pressure, allowing the writers thoughts to spill out by the paragraph without any wrist strain. But not all fountain pens are alike. They run from cheap $5 units youll find in your local Chinatown to extravagant luxury quills made of precious metals. The Lamy CP1 is an excellent middle ground. Its sleek, has a satisfying weight, writes beautifully, and looks like it was designed by German minimalists, because it is. Once they use the Lamy CP1, theyll never go back.

$42.80 at Amazon.com

Life A5 N33 Notebook

Writers will write on whatevers nearby, whether thats a napkin, a styrofoam cup, or one of those cheap Mead notebooks. Dont let your writer suffer under those conditions. Get them a good notebook. And of all the cool, hipster-y stationery out there, nothing beats Life notebooks. The paper is soft and absorbent. And their retro Japanese design means theyll always be in fashion. A bundle of these would be a great gift in and of itself. One would also be a great addition to a larger care package.

$15.99 at Amazon.com

Quarterlane 365

Reading is a necessary part of great writing. Youve got to take inspiration from (and/or steal tricks from) other writers, and be refreshed by absorbing descriptions of other environments and other lives. The Quarterlane 365 is a great way to make that happen. Quarterlane is a subscription service that packages a curated collection of books and magazines into attractive boxes. This is a great gift because the presentation aspect is taken care of by the professionals. And inside each one is a satisfying cocktail of literary prose. Moreover, itll probably include books that your writer wouldnt have read otherwise.

$95.00 at Quarterlanebooks.com

LSE Lighting Natural Full Spectrum Desk Lamp

Lets face it. Writers can get a little hermetic and slovenly. Its an unhealthy lifestyle. A lot of time indoors, at a desk, day and night, isnt good for anyone. And, while a little gloom makes for nice writing sometimes, depression is paralyzing and annoying. Get out in front of that with a good sunlamp, like this one, which is amazingly cheap compared to the classic Phillips lamps which will set you back a lot more. Its small, elegantly designed, and emits a cool, pleasant, therapeutic light, that will keep your writer healthy and happy. Itll never leave their desk, ever.

$35.49 at Amazon.com

Palomino Blackwing 602 Pencils

Okay, that seems a little expensive for a twelve-pack of pencils, right? But this is maybe the best pencil that money can buy. The Blackwing is legendary. Its a pencil that was a favorite of artists and writers in the first half of the 20th century, until it went off the market. And when it did, the writers and artists of the world collectively complained about it until another company, Palomino, resurrected the brand. For good reason: the Blackwing writes smoothly, leaving a perfectly dark line without being smudgy. Also, its distinctive design, with its unusual square eraser, is gorgeous. Using a Blackwing makes the painful process of revising a manuscript just that much better.

$22.95 at Amazon.com

Bartletts Familiar Quotations

If youre dealing with writers block, sometimes a great quotation can help out a lot. First of all, the right phrase can fill you with new, forceful thoughts that give you a new perspective on what youre working on. Secondly, reading beautifully assembled words can make you jealous of what more famous writers have done. And nothing gets writers going like a little jealousy. Bartletts is a great quotation collection. It spans a huge number of authors, and its organized chronologically, which is an awesome touch: if you want ancient wisdom, you can start at the front, and if you want more contemporary stuff, you can flip ahead. So, whether your writer is a fan of the Greeks or an aficionado of the jazz age, theyll find something to love.

$27.50 at Amazon.com

RELATED: The Best Gifts For Book-Lovers

Freewrite Smart Typewriter

Maybe your writer is really special to you, and money is essentially no object. If thats whats going on, the Freewrite Smart Typewriter is amazing. Basically, it solves a really common problem among todays scribes: that the Internet is super fun, and writing is hard work. Getting a good paragraph polished is much more difficult when Twitter is lurking just a tab away. The Freewrite solves all that. Its basically a smart version of the antique writing devices of the 20th century. While it still has that satisfying typewriter crunch, it also writes on a monitor, rather than with runny, messy ink. And everything you write is instantly archived on the cloud. Absolutely ideal for the procrastinator, or someone with a fetish for old-timey things. So, basically everyone.

$631.00 at Getfreewrite.com

Avantek White Noise Sound Machine

Heres another resource for the distractible. Although it may seem odd, a white noise machine will do wonders for an isolated workday. When youre trying to get the words just right, and you need total concentration, the noise of the city and the creak of your roommates feet can be absolutely infuriating. Drowning them out with gentle noise makes a huge difference. The Avantek is nice to look at, inexpensive, and offers multiple noise settings, so your writer can have total control over their sonic environment. This is for the writer who already supposedly has everything.

$37.99 at Amazon.com

Aerobie AeroPress Coffee and Espresso Maker

Ive never met a good writer who isnt a coffee fanatic. Which can be problematic, because most single-cup coffee makers are terrible. Home espresso machines are expensive, loud, and wont make a better coffee than youll get at Starbucks. Pourover systems generally make a light-bodied brew that wont satisfy most. Lets not even talk about those Keurig pods. The only excellent coffee machine for the solitary is the AeroPress. Its basically an air pressure espresso machine: You pour in the boiling water and the ground beans, and use manual force to squeeze out the best cup of coffee youll ever make at home. The combination of quality and price is really mystifying. This is an affordable lifesaver. Change your writers life instantly.

$33.90 at Amazon.com

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Work Truck magazine, along with sister publication Automotive Fleet, will be bringing Work Truck Exchange (WTX) to Phoenix from November 6 to 8. The event is an intimate meeting that pairs a select group of fleet managers with industry suppliers at an all-inclusive, networking retreat designed to accelerate the achievement of each participants unique business goals.

The hosted buyer event, which will be held at the Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs Resort, will focus on fleets consisting of light- and medium-duty trucks and vans. The event consists of roundtable discussions, small audience presentations, and one-on-one meetings between buyers and the companies that serve them. Guests go through a qualification process that guarantees they are a perfect match for the vendors and suppliers also in attendance. Selected guests receive an all-expense paid trip to participate.

As an active participant at WTX, fleet managers will have an opportunity to connect and collaborate with other action-minded individuals involved in commercial fleets and exchange ideas with fleet managers, maintenance managers, and fleet executives. The entire event is designed to help fleet managers exchange information, explore ideas, extend their network, and expand options.

In addition, every WTX participant receives a custom-made, personalized agenda that offers:

Insights and advice from leaders in the industry.

Interactive roundtable discussions with industry peers.

Dynamic group presentations from industry suppliers.

Custom, one-on-one consultations with industry suppliers.

Unique, engaging, and memorable social functions.

Solutions to current and future challenges.

Hosted buyer events are a concept imported from the European business market more than a decade ago. They create an informal setting in which qualified buyers, or those with the decision-making responsibilities at a fleet, in this case, are paired with companies attuned to their specific industry.

Bobit Business Media, the worlds largest fleet publisher, has served the fleet market for more than 55 years. Work Truck, Automotive Fleet, and Bobit Business Media have an established relationship with fleet professionals and the companies that serve them, which enables a deep-rooted understanding of the industry and the issues it faces, as well as the solutions that can best fit a fleets needs.

Together, we have crafted an event where industry thought leaders have the opportunity to explore the essential components of creating and maintaining efficient and effective light- and medium-duty truck and van fleets.

To apply for participation or find out more about the event, visit the event website here.
$1.4 billion in school construction is coming down the pike, but will the work go to locals?
Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism.
Ekuru Aukot who got one percent from his rural home in Baringo has conceded defeat. The presidential candidate who got very little votes like MCA told the rest to do the same.Thirdway Alliance presidential candidate Ekuru Aukot has conceded defeat and urged Opposition leader Raila Odinga to do the same. Speaking at the Bomas of Kenya on Thursday, Aukot said he will contest again in 2022.He also urged other leaders to accept that the citizens exercised their democratic right and picked the leaders they want. "We live to fight another day," he said.He was among the people who made the new constitution in 2010 and 2007 with Prof Yash Pal Ghai in the Bomas of Kenya.
Tomorrow will be the day when Kenyans will be able to know who will be the next president of Kenya as the IEBC is in final arrangements and tallying process."IEBC will announce final results from the presidential race on Friday," chairman Wafula Chebukati has said.Chebukati said that they are in the final stretch of the tallying process and hope to conclude the 290 constituencies.This will be followed by a declaration of the winner.President Uhuru Kenyatta is currently leading with 8,092,579 votes against Opposition leader Raila Odinga who has 6,690,279 votes in 40,099 out of 40,883 polling stations at 4.27pm."We have called all the returning officers to ensure all forms 34A and 34B are here latest 12 pm tomorrow. We will validate the forms and make the announcement soon thereafter," Chebukati told the press at Bomas of Kenya on Thursday.He said so far 1,032 polling stations out of the 40,883 are yet to submit the results.The NASA presidential candidate Raila Odinga decline the results but the commission insisted that they will proceed with their mandate to end the process by Friday this week. Both Raila Odinga and Uhuru Kenyatta will know their fate before 4.00PM tomorrow.
If you cant find the right home to buy, you might be thinking about how much it will cost to build a new house or renovate the one you currently call home. The process of borrowing the money to pay for this project is different from getting a mortgage to move into an existing property. Heres everything you need to know about getting a construction loan.



What is a construction loan?

A home construction loan is a short-term, higher-interest loan that provides the funds required to build a residential property.

Construction loans typically are one year in duration. During this time, the property must be built and a certificate of occupancy should be issued.

Lightbulb Construction loan statistics As of the first quarter of 2022, construction loan volume totaled $92.4 billion, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. Year-over-year, this represents an increase of 18.2 percent, the largest leap since 2016.

Currently, the top five construction loan lenders are (in order): Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Chase, U.S. Bank and M&T Bank, reports S&P.

Permits for single-family homes came in 1.1 percent higher in July 2022, at an annual rate of 1.67 million, according to the Commerce Department.

Builders confidence in the housing market remains unenthusiastic, with a National Association of Home Builders reading declining every month of 2022 so far.

Construction loans typically require 20 percent down, at minimum.

How do construction loans work?

The borrower applies for a construction loan, submitting financials, plans and project timelines. If approved, the borrower starts drawing funds in conjunction with each phase of the project, typically only repaying interest during construction. Throughout construction, an appraiser or inspector assesses the build to authorize more funds. Once construction finishes, the borrower usually converts to the loan to a permanent mortgage and begins repaying both principal and interest.

Construction loans usually have variable rates that move up and down with the prime rate. Construction loan rates are typically higher than traditional mortgage loan rates. With a traditional mortgage, your home acts as collateral  if you default on your payments, the lender can seize your home. With a home construction loan, the lender doesnt have that option, so they tend to view these loans as bigger risks. On average, you can expect interest rates for construction loans to be about 1 percentage point higher than traditional mortgage rates, usually falling somewhere between 5 and 10 percent.

The initial loan term generally lasts the length of your construction project. Because construction loans are on such a short timetable and theyre dependent on the completion of the project, you need to provide the lender with a construction timeline, detailed plans and a realistic budget.

Depending on the type of construction loan, you might be able to convert the construction loan to a traditional mortgage once the home is built. This is known as a construction-to-permanent loan. If the loan is solely for the construction phase, you might be required to get a separate mortgage designed to pay off the construction loan.

Differences between construction loans and traditional mortgages

Beyond the cost and repayment timeline, construction loans and mortgages have a few main differences:

The loan money distribution. Unlike mortgages and personal loans that make a lump-sum payment, the lender pays out the money for a construction loan in stages as work on the new home progresses. These draws tend to happen when major milestones are completed  for example, when the foundation is laid or the framing of the house begins.

Unlike mortgages and personal loans that make a lump-sum payment, the lender pays out the money for a construction loan in stages as work on the new home progresses. These draws tend to happen when major milestones are completed  for example, when the foundation is laid or the framing of the house begins. The money the borrower owes. With a mortgage, you start paying principal and interest right away. With construction loans, you will typically be expected to make only interest payments during the construction stage. Additionally, borrowers are typically only obligated to repay interest on any funds drawn to date until construction is completed.

With a mortgage, you start paying principal and interest right away. With construction loans, you will typically be expected to make only interest payments during the construction stage. Additionally, borrowers are typically only obligated to repay interest on any funds drawn to date until construction is completed. Inspection/appraiser involvement. While the home is being built, the lender has an appraiser or inspector check the house during the various stages of construction. If approved by the appraiser, the lender makes additional payments to the contractor, known as draws. Expect to have between four and six inspections to monitor the progress.

Types of construction loans

Construction-to-permanent loan

With a construction-to-permanent loan, you borrow money to pay for the cost of building your home, and once the house is complete and you move in, the loan is converted to a permanent mortgage.

The benefit of the construction-to-permanent approach is that you have only one set of closing costs to pay, reducing your overall fees.

Theres a one-time closing so you dont pay duplicate settlement fees, says Janet Bossi, senior vice president at OceanFirst Bank in New Jersey.

Once the construction-to-permanent shift happens, the loan becomes a traditional mortgage, typically with a loan term of 15 to 30 years. Then, you make payments that cover both interest and the principal. At that time, you can opt for a fixed-rate or adjustable-rate mortgage. Your other options include an FHA construction-to-permanent loan  with less-stringent approval standards that can be especially helpful for some borrowers  or a VA construction loan if youre an eligible veteran.

Construction-only loan

A construction-only loan provides the funds necessary to complete the building of the home, but the borrower is responsible for either paying the loan in full at maturity (typically one year or less) or obtaining a mortgage to secure permanent financing.

The funds from these construction loans are disbursed based upon the percentage of the project completed, and the borrower is only responsible for interest payments on the money drawn.

Construction-only loans can ultimately be costlier if you will need a permanent mortgage because you complete two separate loan transactions and pay two sets of fees. Closing costs tend to equal thousands of dollars, so it helps to avoid another set.

Another consideration is that your financial situation might worsen during the construction process. If you lose your job or face some other hardship, you might not be able to qualify for a mortgage later on  and might not be able to move into your new house.

Renovation loan

If you want to upgrade an existing home rather than build one, you can compare home renovation loan options. These come in a variety of forms depending on the amount of money youre spending on the project.

If a homeowner is looking to spend less than $20,000, they could consider getting a personal loan or using a credit card to finance the renovation, Steve Kaminski, head of U.S. Residential Lending at TD Bank, says. For renovations starting at $25,000 or so, a home equity loan or line of credit may be appropriate, if the homeowner has built up equity in their home.

Another viable option in a low mortgage rate environment is a cash-out refinance, whereby a homeowner would take out a new mortgage at a higher amount than their current loan and receive that overage in a lump sum. As rates tick up, though, this option becomes less appealing.

With any of these options, the lender generally does not require disclosure of how the homeowner will use the funds. The homeowner manages the budget, the plan and the payments. With other forms of financing, the lender will evaluate the builder, review the budget and oversee the draw schedule.

Owner-builder construction loan

Owner-builder loans are construction-to-permanent or construction-only loans where the borrower also acts in the capacity of the home builder.

Most lenders wont allow the borrower to act as their own builder because of the complexity of constructing a home and experience required to comply with building codes. Lenders that do typically only allow it if the borrower is a licensed builder by trade.

End loan

An end loan simply refers to the homeowners mortgage once the property is built, Kaminski explains. A construction loan is used during the building phase and is repaid once the construction is completed. A borrower will then have their regular mortgage to pay off, also known as the end loan.

Not all lenders offer a construction-to-permanent loan, which involves a single loan closing. Some require a second closing to move into the permanent mortgage, or an end loan, Kaminski says.

What does a construction loan cover?

Some things a construction loan can be used to cover include:

The cost of the land

Contractor labor

Building materials

Permits

Its important to discuss these items with your lender, specifically what will be included in your loan-to-value calculation, according to Kaminski.

Oftentimes, construction loans will include a contingency reserve to cover unexpected costs that could arise during construction, which also serves as a cushion in case the borrower decides to make any upgrades once the construction begins, Kaminski says. Its not uncommon for a borrower to want to elevate their countertops or cabinets once the plans are laid

Other costs to build a house

Building a home costs more than just the material and labor required to erect the structure itself. Fortunately, the cost of permanent fixtures like appliances and landscaping can generally be included in the loan amount. Home furnishings, on the other hand, are not covered within a construction loan out.

Construction loan requirements

The companies that offer construction loans usually require borrowers to:

Be financially stable. To get a construction loan, youll need a low debt-to-income ratio and a way to prove sufficient income to repay the loan. You also generally need a credit score of at least 680.

To get a construction loan, youll need a low debt-to-income ratio and a way to prove sufficient income to repay the loan. You also generally need a credit score of at least 680. Make a down payment. You need to make a down payment when you apply for the loan. The amount will depend on the lender you choose and the amount youre trying to borrow to pay for construction, but construction loans usually require at least 20 percent down.

You need to make a down payment when you apply for the loan. The amount will depend on the lender you choose and the amount youre trying to borrow to pay for construction, but construction loans usually require at least 20 percent down. Have a construction plan. If you have detailed plans and a project schedule, especially if it was put together by the construction company youre going to work with, it can help lenders feel more confident that everything will go according to that plan and youll be able to repay the loan.

If you have detailed plans and a project schedule, especially if it was put together by the construction company youre going to work with, it can help lenders feel more confident that everything will go according to that plan and youll be able to repay the loan. Get a home appraisal. The finished home will serve as collateral for the loan, so lenders want to make sure the collateral will be sufficient to secure the loan. For that, they may require you to get an appraisal estimating how much the finished home will be worth.

How to get a construction loan

Getting approval for a construction loan might seem similar to the process of obtaining a mortgage, but getting approved to break ground on a brand-new home is a bit more complicated. Generally, if youre wondering how to get a construction loan, you should follow these four steps:

Find a licensed builder: Any lender is going to want to know that the builder in charge of the project has the expertise to complete the home. If you have friends who have built their own homes, ask for recommendations. You can also turn to the NAHBs directory of local home builders associations to find contractors in your area. Just as you would compare multiple existing homes before buying one, its wise to compare different builders to find the combination of price and expertise that fits your needs. Get your documents together: A lender will likely ask for a contract with your builder that includes detailed pricing and plans for the project. Be sure to have references for your builder and any necessary proof of their business credentials. . You will also likely need to provide many of the same financial documents as you would for a traditional mortgage, like pay stubs and tax statements. Get preapproved: Getting preapproved for a construction loan can provide a helpful understanding of how much you will be able to borrow for the project. This can be an important step to avoid paying for plans from an architect or drawing up blueprints for a home that you will not be able to afford. Get homeowners insurance: Even though you may not live in the home yet, your lender will likely require a prepaid homeowners insurance policy that includes builders risk coverage. This way, if something happens during the construction process  the halfway-built property catches on fire, or someone vandalizes it, for example  you are protected.

Get homeowners insurance: Even though you may not live in the home yet, your lender will likely require a prepaid homeowners insurance policy that includes builders risk coverage. This way, if something happens during the construction process  the halfway-built property catches on fire, or someone vandalizes it, for example  you are protected.

Factors to consider about construction loans

Before you apply for a construction loan, ask yourself these key questions.

Could your project face significant timeline issues?

Talk to your contractor and discuss the timeline of building the home and if other factors could slow down the job. Keep in mind there are still bottlenecks plaguing production, which first started with pandemic supply-chain disruptions and still persist. Be prepared for material prices to stay high, especially in light of inflation, and ongoing shortages to affect your project.

Do you want to simplify the borrowing experience?

Decide if you want to go through the loan process once with a construction-to-permanent loan or twice with a construction-only loan. Consider how much the closing costs and other fees of obtaining more than one loan will add to the project.

When getting a construction loan, you might not just be accounting for building the house; you may also need to purchase the land and figure out how to handle the total cost later, perhaps with a permanent mortgage when the home is finished. In that case, a construction-to-permanent loan can make sense in order to avoid multiple closings. If you already have a home, though, you might be able to use the proceeds to pay down the loan. In that case, a construction-only loan might be a better choice.

What is the drawing process from your construction loan?

Ask your lender how money gets disbursed from your loan amount. Some lenders allow for monthly draws, while others will only authorize a draw after a passed inspection. Inquire about any processes or documentation required to pull money from your construction loan so that your contractor can use it.

Understanding this process  and ensuring your contractor does, too  can help to avoid delays because of insufficient funds.

How to find a construction loan lender

Check with several experienced construction loan lenders to obtain details about their specific programs and procedures, and compare construction loan rates, terms and down payment requirements to ensure youre getting the best possible deal for your situation.

Because construction loans are more complex transactions than a standard mortgage, it is best to find a lender who specializes in construction lending and isnt new to the process, Bossi says.

If you have trouble finding a lender willing to work with you, check out smaller regional banks or credit unions. They might be more flexible in their underwriting if you can show that youre a good risk, or, at the very least, have a connection they can refer you to.
Two community channels in Tampa are on the verge of losing hundreds of thousands of dollars next year.

Tampa Bay Arts & Education Network, Tampa Bay Community Network shut out of 2018 budget

Potential cuts are a significant chunk of both network's budgets

Community programs, jobs could be cut with loss of funding

The Tampa Bay Arts and Education Network and the Tampa Bay Community Network have been shut out of Tampa's budget in 2018.

Those who run the channels said it was a shock to learn they may not receive funding next year.

"We've done the things to prepare us for the future, yet we've had the rug pulled out from under us without anybody telling us why or taking a look," said Tampa Bay Arts & Education network CEO Scott Maiden.

Just last year, Tampa Bay Arts & Education Network received $108,000 from the city of Tampa to help run its community programs.

Tampa Bay Community Network received $207,000. Now that city funding could be gone.

The Mayors office said they sent out emails and warned the networks of possible budget cuts. However those who run the channels said they didn't expect the networks to be eliminated from the budget completely.

"It hurts us very badly," said Tampa Bay Community Network Executive Director Louise Thompson. "It may mean lay-offs. It may mean closure."

Maiden and Thompson said they have reached out to Mayor Bob Buckhorn, who presented the budget last month.

They said Mayor Buckhorn sent an email, but has refused to meet with them.

When Bay News 9 inquired, we received this statement from the Mayor's Office in Tampa.

"While we acknowledge the Tampa Bay Community Network and local public access television as an asset to our city, we already fund the city's own station which provides programming focusing on highlighting the city's rich history and attractions. As many saw during the recent budget presentation, we had to make some tough decisions and were no longer able to continue the same support we've provided in year's past."

The potential cuts are a significant chunk of both network's budgets. However, the city council still has to sign off on it.

The heads of the two community channels have been reaching out to council members to get support. They're still hoping the funding can be restored.

Without funding, many community programs and jobs could be eliminated.
A proposed homeless center is causing some controversy in a New Port Richey Neighborhood.

Residents protest over homeless center in a Pasco neighborhood

Homeless center to be located at old Boys and Girls Club building

Petition started to relocate shelter

A group of New Port Richey residents are petitioning for the centers relocation. They gathered outside Chasco Elementary School Thursday during orientation in hopes of warning parents about the proposed center nearby.

We believe in supporting the homeless, but we dont believe this is an appropriate location, Nick Taldone said.

The proposed center would be located off Ridge Road at the old Boys and Girls Club building, which is across the street from a subdivision and borders a shopping center.

Statistically the studies have shown by the federal government again and again that putting in a shelter does not increase the arrest rate or the criminalization in an area, so thats not going to increase, Raine Johns, CEO of the Coalition for Homeless in Pasco County, said.

Its also been shown that the property values arent affected when you put a shelter in, Johns added.

The homeless coalition would run the center and says they hope to help the population of 3,000 homeless in Pasco County get on their feet.

The program allows for anyone who is willing to come, so no background checks or drug testswhich is a concern for residents.

We want it relocated to a safer and more secure area, not in direct contact with our kids here, or with our residents over there, Taldone said. Somewhere like over next to the sheriffs office where they have more control.

Protestors suggested the old jail at the sheriffs office in New Port Richey. However, so far the county and coalition said the building off Ridge Road is the most ideal.

The homeless are already here, and people with backgrounds are already here. What we want to do is something thats not being done, and humanitarian, Johns said. We want to help people get jobs, we want to help them get stable, and we want to help them move into housing.

So far the protestors say they have nearly 1,000 signatures combined on paper and online.

The earliest the center could be up and running is fall of next year.

On Tuesday, the board of commissioners will be voting on an action plan and funding for renovations. The coalition has already secured $200,000 to run the center.
It is the first day back to school for many students across the Bay area in Pinellas, Hillsborough, Polk, Manatee and Citrus counties.

On Wednesday night, parents of Hillsborough County students got text messages from the district, giving them a heads up to expect the buses could run very late on the way home for the first couple weeks of school.

They know the dismissal process will be slow.

And like many kids today, Jackson Cardona is stepping into the brave new world of middle school.

"I'm excited to meet my new teachers and have a locker," the new sixth grader said, admitting he is, "Pretty nervous."

Jackson's little sister also has butterflies about starting second grade.

"I'm excited too, but I'm scared," Mariella Cardona said.

Nervous excitement is all part of the first day of school. And for Hillsborough County Public Schools Superintendent Jeff Eakins, nothing is more important than a safe start.

"So we know it's going to be an exciting day and we have to make sure we are on the lookout for the safety of all our students on day one," he said.

There are challenges ahead. The district has already trimmed hundreds of positions and the superintendent says more job cuts are likely.

And new schools buildings are need to keep up with the 212,000 students already enrolled and that number is climbing.

However, each year has its hurdles. Thursday's goals is to start strong. Just ask Rylan, a kindergartner.

"I bet it's going to be really fun," he said.

Polk County schools are also hustling and bustling for the first day back.

However, they may arrive with a big problem, as there is not enough teachers for all the classrooms.

In fact as of Wednesday afternoon, there were still more than 100 classrooms without teachers.

Robert Massing is fresh out of college and says he cannot wait to teach students with special needs at Denison Middle School in Winter Haven. He is one of the many teachers the district recruited from out of state.

"I felt right at home when I first visited and I knew from there, I really wanted to be here," he said.

The Indiana native says the fact that Denison Middle School is a turnaround school does not scare him.

"My professors always told me, 'Go to the schools that need the help. Go to the schools that are rising up and be that change. Be that change for the student that needs it,'" Massing said.

Polk County Public Schools Associate Superintendent of Human Resources Teddra Porteous said the district went on 62 recruiting trips up north. It led to her staff hiring 300 teachers, with Massing being one of them.

She said the universities in Florida are not producing enough education graduates to keep up with the demand.

One of the things we had to do this year was go out of state. Because the problem is, not only are we competing with the other 67 school districts, were also competing with businesses, private entities that want to hire teachers that can pay them a better salary, Porteous said.

The district hopes it will be able to hire them in time.

When teachers are not hired before the first day of school, a long-term substitute teacher will fill in.

The district encourages anyone who loves children, has a clean record and a bachelors degree to apply.


Students returning to one Bay area school have something big be proud of this year.

Spring Hill Elementary School goes from D to A in 2 years

Changing the culture at school contributed to their success

Spring Hill Elementary School went from a D grade all the way to an A  in just two years.

Principal Michael Maine says it shows the hard work of his staff, teachers, parents, and students.

For schools to go up letter grades given what were up against is very difficult, Maine said.

Maine came to Spring Hill Elementary two years ago when it was a D rated school by the state.

In just one year the school went all the way to a B. After two years, the school is now an A.

I was just ecstatic when I found out, Maine said. I was at a loss for words. A lot of emotion.

Fourth grade teacher Traci Athanason had a similar reaction to the good news.

I think I screamed. It was like a weight had been lifted, Athanason said.

Maine says they did it by changing the culture at the school. He wants to make students from all different kinds of backgrounds feel welcome.

We create an environment in the school where they can forget about what theyre dealing with. They can be inspired and happy to be here and feel welcomed to be part of school culture, Maine said.

Assistant Principal Kristen Tormey said challenging the students and raising expectations also contributed to their success.

Our teachers have worked hard. Our parents have worked hard. Our students have worked the hardest, Tormey said.

As a new school year begins, now theyre working to keep the A.

Everyone is so excited to get the year rolling with the kids and to maintain this A, that is definitely our goal, said 5th grade teacher Kristen Bloxon. The school will welcome back their students next week with a red carpet to celebrate their new A grade status.
Ryan Pelham

The Art Museum of Southeast Texas is celebrating its pearl anniversary with a party sure to impress.

The 30th Anniversary Gala: A Pearlescent Evening will feature drinks including a Thai Pearl Cocktail, the event's signature cocktail, dinner and pearl-themed desserts.
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A man on death row for the notorious slaying nearly 20 years ago of a black man chained to the back of a pickup truck and dragged along a bumpy rural Jasper road will get his claim of innocence and poor legal representation reviewed by an appeals court.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals this week said it would review a claim from John William King that lawyers were deficient in presenting a case for innocence during his trial for what became one of the nation's most shocking hate crimes since the Civil Rights era.

King's appeal said that only a few pieces of circumstantial evidence that could be innocently explained tied him to the scene of a fight that resulted in 49-year-old James Byrd Jr. being chained at his ankles to the bumper of a truck in June 1998 and fatally dragged outside Jasper.

King, now 42, was the first of three white men convicted of capital murder for the hate slaying. Each was tried separately.

King's attorney, A. Richard Ellis, raised five claims to the 5th Circuit, four of them focusing on what he said was ineffective legal help at King's 1999 trial in Jasper. The fifth claim contended a federal district judge who rejected King's appeal denied him due process and a fair hearing.

The 5th Circuit rejected all but the claim questioning the trial attorneys' effectiveness regarding some of the state's evidence in the case. King's appeals attorney described the trial lawyers' response to the evidence as "confusing and disjointed," according to the court.

The evidence included a cigarette lighter engraved with a Ku Klux Klan symbol and King's prison name, "Possum," along with cigarette butts found at the crime scene and King's sandals stained with Byrd's blood. Other evidence at his trial included letters in which King wrote about launching a racist gang and tattoos on King's body that prosecutors said showed he hated blacks.

Haden "Sonny" Cribbs and Brack Jones called three witnesses who testified for less than an hour during the guilt-innocence portion of the trial. The attorneys appeared to concede the conviction and hoped to save his life in the punishment phase. Jurors decided he should die.

Former Jasper County District Attorney Guy James Gray, who prosecuted the case, said Cribbs "did everything he thought he could do."

"His emphasis in the case was to try to avoid the death penalty," Gray said. "That was the way he tried the case all the way, was to try to convince the jury that they shouldn't execute this young man."Gray said FBI agents, who were called in to investigate, provided so much evidence to prosecutors that "there wasn't anything (the defense) could do."

King's sandals, which were one of three pairs of shoes recovered from the apartment where King, Shawn Berry and Lawrence Russell Brewer lived, had blood spatters on them that were critical to persuading the jury, Gray said. "We had a witness at trial who placed him wearing those sandals around 10 or 11 that night," he said, and the pattern of blood spatters implicated him in the crime.

"I spent over an hour on the witness stand, and Sonny Cribbs grilled me," said former Jasper County Sheriff Billy Rowles. "That's the hardest I've ever been grilled. I thought Sonny Cribbs and Brack Jones did a great job trying to defend him. They didn't have a whole lot to work with."

Rowles said the two attorneys "attacked" in cross-examinations and made sure the case "wasn't a slam dunk" for Gray.

Gray said the FBI found a letter from one of the defense's witnesses threatening to kill another potential witness if he testified against King, which they used to challenge his testimony.

"The defense's balloon was burst when they put that witness up there and we were able to show that he'd threatened that," Gray said.

"I considered Sonny a top-notch lawyer, who investigated everything," he said. "He was on top of it."

Jones declined to comment Wednesday. Cribbs died in June.

The appeals lawyer, Ellis, based in Mill Valley, California, did not immediately respond to a message left by The Associated Press.

The 5th Circuit gave Ellis 30 days to submit a brief on his claim. State attorneys then will have 15 days to respond.

The second participant in Byrd's killing, Brewer, 44, was executed in 2011. Berry, 42, is serving life in prison.
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Shayla Wilcox already has begun waking up her 8-year-old daughter earlier so she'll be ready come 8:05 a.m. on Aug. 28, her first day of fourth grade at Martin Elementary.

Wilcox, 36, said her daughter, Sydney, who spent a leisurely summer with Wilcox's parents, isn't the only one stressing about a new schedule.

"I'm a working single parent. It affects me as well, because I have to get up earlier to make sure she gets up," she said.

> > MORE: Back-to-School shopping costs more than $600 per child on average

As summer vacation winds down, many kids experience "the back-to-school blues," often triggered by earlier bedtimes and anticipation of homework.

But the affliction can spread to parents struggling to transition their children and families back to a more structured routine and a sudden reduction in bonding time.

> > MORE: Will your child's district start early this year?

Wilcox said it has taken her years to develop a back-to-school routine that will minimize the stress on her - and her daughter.

The first few years, the transition was jarring.

"I was so frustrated in the morning. I didn't have things prepared," she said.

Sally Broussard, administrative director of behavioral health at Baptist Hospital, said despite public perception that parents break into celebration as soon as they seen the tail lights on their child's school bus, it's not uncommon for some to feel down and stressed about their kids returning to school.

The transition from the more flexible hours of summer to the sudden morning rush can be hard for some families, she said.

> > PHOTOS: 2017's hottest Back-to-School trends

"The key is to plan for it, communicate about it, practice and not to just get everyone on board the night before," she said.

It's not just the stress of a new timetable that gets some parents down, Broussard said.

Some feel sad and guilty about losing the extra time they had with their kids over the summer, she said.

> > PHOTOS: Here's what you can get tax-free this weekend

Julie Ann Stephenson said she has mixed feelings about her 6-year-old son, Geoffrey, starting first grade at Caldwood Elementary.

Stephenson, a stay-at-home mom, said she's excited for him to experience school, but she said the new schedule will change their household routine.

She said she has started waking him up earlier and she knows she'll feel a void when he leaves for school.

"I enjoy having him around the house. When he's gone, his siblings miss him," said Stephenson, 29, who also has a 4-year-old son and an infant daughter.

Broussard said parents who feel down about losing bonding time should schedule one-on-one time with their kids and focus on the benefits of their education.
The U.S. Congress confirmed anesthesiologist Jerome Adams, MD, as the country's 20th surgeon general, CNN reports.

Here's what you should know:

1. President Donald Trump nominated Dr. Adams for the role.

2. Dr. Adams previously served as the state health commissioner for Indiana.

3. Prior to that appointment he was an anesthesiologist and an assistant professor of anesthesia at Indianapolis-based Indiana University School of Medicine.

4. Dr. Adams pledged to address the country's opioid epidemic. He believes untreated mental illness has contributed to the opioid epidemic, but has acknowledged its a multifaceted problem. According to NPR, while serving Indiana, he implemented a bill increasing access to an overdose antidote. He also implemented a bill restricting the amount of opioids that can be prescribed to adult and pediatric patients.

5. Dr. Adams earned his medical degree from Indiana University. He also has a masters of public health degree from UC Berkeley.
Putnam County Memorial Hospital, a 15-bed hospital in Unionville, Mo., received $90 million in insurance payments in less than a year for lab services that were performed at other facilities across the country, according to The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, which cited a report released Wednesday by Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway.

According to Ms. Galloway's report, Putnam County Memorial Hospital contracted with Hospital Laboratory Partners in September 2016 to operate a clinical laboratory on behalf of the hospital.

"Immediately upon signing the management contract with the hospital, the CEO and his associates began billing significant amounts of out-of-state lab activity through the hospital," according to the auditor's report.

Putnam County Hospital allegedly acted as a shell company by submitting claims for other labs and funneling the insurance payments through the hospital.

"Based on our review of hospital accounts, the vast majority of laboratory billings are for out-of-state lab activity for individuals who are not patients of hospital physicians," states the auditor's report.

Ms. Galloway has turned her findings over to the Missouri attorney general, the FBI and the Putnam County prosecuting attorney, according to KCUR.

On Thursday, Hospital Laboratory Partners said the auditor's report mischaracterizes the payments. The company said Putnam County Hospital, a critical access hospital, is authorized to bill for off-site lab work.

"The assignment of non-patient lab specimens has been standard practice for rural and critical access hospitals for many years," Hospital Laboratory Partners attorney Mark Thomas said in a statement to The Kansas City Star. "The purpose of the rural/critical access exceptions is to give rural healthcare facilities a fighting chance to survive and serve their local communities."

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Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center CEO Michael Fisher rejected a request from two city council members for $14 million in additional funding for Avondale neighborhood improvements as his hospital seeks city approval for its up to $650 million expansion project, according to the Cincinnati Business Journal.

The $14 million funding request is in addition to the $11.5 million Cincinnati Children's Hospital already pledged to the city for neighborhood improvements. The council members' motion requests Children's invest 5 percent of the project's value back into the city, which would bring the total children's owes Avondale to $25 million, if the total cost for the expansion was $500 million. However, the hospital board approved up to $650 million for the expansion project so this amount could be larger.

The request for additional funds was proposed by council members Yvette Simpson and Wendell Young at a Neighborhood Committee meeting held on Monday in response to local Avondale residents speaking out against the plan last week.

Mr. Fisher rejected the request in a letter to Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley and the Cincinnati City Council.

"Cincinnati Children's has not requested and is not receiving any city financial support on this project. The motion was not raised in any previous session, came as a complete surprise, is highly disappointing and is not acceptable," wrote Mr. Fisher, according to the report.

Cincinnati Children's Hospital needs approval from the Cincinnati City Council for zoning changes, the sale of city owned property and a modification to its expansion project.

A special City Council meeting will be held Aug. 9 to vote on Mrs. Simpson and Mr. Young's request.
The National Health Service, the publicly funded national healthcare system for the United Kingdom, agreed to pay the entire cost of a seven-month-old British infant's more than 150,000, or $194,820, treatment in the U.S. after officials determined U.K. physicians lacked the expertise to perform the operation, The Telegraph reports.

Seven-month-old Oliver Cameron was diagnosed with cardiac fibroma, a condition which causes a benign congenital cardiac tumor on a pediatric patient's heart. Physicians at an undisclosed hospital in Boston reportedly agreed to operate on the child after his first birthday in January, the report states. Officials said the operation may occur earlier if Oliver's condition worsens.

Tim and Lydia Cameron previously raised 130,000, or roughly $169,000, toward their son's cause before the NHS' announcement. The couple has not indicated what they now plan to do with the funds.

The NHS' announcement comes weeks after a public legal battle surrounding 11-month-old Charlie Gard and the U.K. High Court's decision to prevent Charlie from receiving an experimental treatment in the U.S. Charlie died July 28, one week before his first birthday.

However, experts claim Oliver's case is different because the procedure "has been shown to work on similarly ill patients," The Telegraph reports.

An NHS spokesperson told the publication, "[Oliver's] application [to receive treatment in the U.S.] identified there is not currently a surgical service in the U.K. with experience of treating this exceptionally rare condition and we have therefore agreed to fund Oliver's treatment abroad. We have also determined that a clinical policy is required for service access and will explore whether a service in the U.K. is appropriate considering the small number of patients."

The spokesperson also said the organization is considering sending a British surgeon to accompany Oliver and his parents to learn how to conduct the procedure.

Oliver's physicians at Southampton General Hospital in Hampshire, U.K., reportedly decided to support his parents' bid to find treatment elsewhere because having U.K. surgeons perform the operation would be "extremely high risk," according to the report.
A Providence, R.I.-based The Miriam Hospital employee engaged in some money laundering with a positive spin last month after he helped return $9,100 in cash back to its rightful owner, according to the Providence Journal.

Steven Ledo, 62, said he was working in The Miriam Hospital laundry room last month when he noticed a flurry of $50 and $100 bills flowing out of a dryer. He said he proceeded to count the bills, which amounted to $9,100 in various denominations.

Mr. Ledo said he turned the cash over to administrators, who returned the money to an unnamed female patient, the report states. He said he didn't ask the patient  who has since been discharged from the facility  what the money was for, but hospital administrators allegedly determined the money didn't appear to be anything suspicious.

Mr. Ledo told the Providence Journal he never considered pocketing the money.

"My brain was thinking not to leave it. I just wanted to protect it," he told the publication Aug. 9. "It boils down to how you were brought up. When you do something good inside, you feel good and clean."

Hospital executives reportedly plan to honor Mr. Ledo for exemplifying "Miriam Gold" standard, according to the report.
Crystal Lake, Ill.-based Centegra Health System has filed a lawsuit against the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board claiming the board improperly approved Janesville, Wis.-based Mercyhealth's $79.5 million hospital plan in Crystal Lake, according to the Northwest Herald.

The lawsuit asks a judge to overturn the board's decision to allow Mercyhealth, Centegra's rival, to build a 13-bed hospital in Crystal Lake.

Centegra Health claims the board members failed to follow their own rules and abused judgment then they granted Mercyhealth a permit to build the hospital. In particular, Centegra argues the board failed to follow the board's requirement that newly built hospitals have 100 beds. Centegra further alleges that the board members neglected to consider how the 13-bed hospital would impact operations at other facilities in the area.

Centegra Health System spokeswoman Michelle Green told the Northwest Herald "Centegra Health System's position has not changed in the nearly 15 years since Mercy first tried to build a facility in Crystal Lake. There is no need for the service Mercy proposes, and Crystal Lake is not the right location for a new hospital, no matter its size."

Mercyhealth officials stand by their plan to build the hospital and argue the need for services is even greater after Centegra announced it would end intensive care and medical-surgical services at its hospital in Woodstock, Ill., which is about 10 miles away from Crystal Lake.

The next court date is set for Aug. 25
Residents of Albert Lea, Minn., are planning a demonstration today outside of the Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic headquarters to protest the system's closure of certain services at its Albert Lea hospital, according to CBS Minnesota.

Mayo plans to move ICU, birthing and inpatient services from Albert Lea to its Austin location while transitioning Austin's behavioral health program to Albert Lea. The two hospitals are 23 miles apart.

As a result, all inpatient services will be consolidated on the Austin campus, which will also continue to offer outpatient care. The Albert Lea campus will provide primary and specialty care, emergency care, pregnancy care and radiology as well as a lab, pharmacy, behavioral care, addiction services, and other oft-used services.

Though the services leaving Albert Lea represent less than 5 percent of care provided at the hospital, according to Mayo, residents are worried about having to travel to receive them.

When Mayo announced the consolidation plan in June, it noted the changes would occur over a span of several years as the campuses undergo remodeling.

The protest is scheduled to begin at 2:30 pm CST. Roughly 18,000 people live in Albert Lea.

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The following payers made headlines this week, beginning with the most recent.

1. Evergreen Health CEO resigns amid state takeover

Peter Beilenson, MD, CEO of Baltimore-based insurer Evergreen Health, resigned Aug. 1.

2. BCBS of North Carolina appoints CMS official as CEO

Durham-based Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina selected Patrick Conway, MD, a CMS official, to serve as president and CEO.



3. Anthem to exit ACA marketplaces in Nevada, half of Georgia counties

Indianapolis-based Anthem will depart Nevada's ACA exchange and pull its individual exchange products from more than half of Georgia's counties for 2018.



4. Integris CEO defends 3% rate increase stirring BCBSOK impasse

Bruce Lawrence, president and CEO of Oklahoma City-based Integris Health, penned an op-ed in NewsOK addressing what he labeled "misinformation" provided by Tulsa-based Blue Cross Blue Shield of Oklahoma about the organizations' negotiation stalemate.



5. Single-payer doesn't control healthcare costs, Aetna CEO says

Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini said a single-payer health system wouldn't "generate any savings for the American public" during an interview on CNBC's "Closing Bell" Aug. 3.

6. How one Pennsylvania payer's insolvency could 'shock' the health insurance industry

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania placed Penn Treaty American Corp., an Allentown, Pa.-based long-term care insurer, and its two subsidiaries in liquidation March 1. As a result, health insurers in the states Penn Treaty is licensed to do business assumed responsibility for hundreds of millions of dollars in claims.



7. Feds owe Molina $52M in risk corridors payments, judge says

Long Beach, Calif.-based insurer Molina Healthcare is owed $52 million in risk corridors payments, a federal judge ruled Friday.



8. WellCare Health Plans sees net income fall 18% despite revenue growth

WellCare Health Plans, a Tampa, Fla.-based Medicaid and Medicare managed care plan, reported an 18 percent dip in net income in the second quarter of fiscal year 2017.



9. University of Chicago Medicine parts ways with Medicaid managed care plan

University of Chicago Medicine will drop its contract with Illinois Medicaid managed care plan IlliniCare Health next month.
President Donald Trump's administration is slated to end a program that funds projects aimed at preventing teenage pregnancy, reports The New York Times.

The Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program, started under former President Barack Obama, would be cut in the White House's proposed budget. TPPP funds projects that don't solely focus on abstinence, but also teach about contraception and sexually transmitted diseases, according to the report.

Congress would still have to agree to the proposed budget. However, HHS has already declared it plans to end annual teen pregnancy prevention grants of $89 million to more than 80 organizations two years early  in June of next year, reports NYT. HHS attributed the decision to "very weak evidence of positive impact of these programs."

Mark Vafiades, an HHS spokesperson, told NYT the goal with the funding cut is to ensure "the program provides youth with the information and skills they need to avoid the many risks associated with teen sex." The report notes it is unclear if abstinence-only programs will once again be implemented by HHS.

But not everyone is on board. In a July letter to HHS Secretary Tom Price, MD, health commissioners from large U.S. cities said cutting funding for teen pregnancy prevention programs "will end important prevention programs and research projects already underway."

"As you well know, many of these awards now slated to end two years early are funding rigorous  and needed  evaluation research meant to insure that programs in local communities across the country are as effective as they can possibly be and identify best, innovative practices for moving forward," the letter reads.

The health commissioners added the U.S. has seen a significant decline in teen pregnancy  to about 20.3 births per 1,000 15-to-19-year-old girls last year  but said the rate "is still substantially higher than other industrialized nations. Additionally, racial/ethnic and geographic disparities in teen birth rates persist, many of which occur in our jurisdictions."
Chicken giant Moy Park has topped a list of Northern Ireland's top companies for the sixth year in a row. The Ulster Business Top 100 Companies list, with A&L Goodbody, also saw overall revenues posted by those rising by more than 300m to a combined 23.6bn.

Craigavon-based Moy Park, which has sites across the UK and Ireland, topped the list, posting turnover of 1.44bn in its latest set of accounts.

The company is headed by Janet McCollum, who was recently given the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Belfast Telegraph Business Awards in partnership with Ulster Bank.

Belfast's W&R Barnett, which is involved in a range of sectors including international commodity trading, storage and agri-business, came in second with turnover of 946m.

Overall, the top companies saw combined profits of 932.7m. That was up 16% on last year's list.

The performance of the businesses shows the "resilience and energy of Northern Ireland companies", according to David Elliott, editor of Ulster Business, a sister publication of the Belfast Telegraph.

"To have posted such a solid performance in light of the uncertainty created by Brexit and the stalemate at Stormont highlights the robustness of our biggest business," he said.

"They have concentrated on growing their businesses in the prevailing conditions and proved once again to have the talent and industry to compete with the best in the world."

Aside from Moy Park, manufacturing giants, including Bombardier and Newry's Glen Electric made the top 10, along with Caterpillar, which has sites in Larne and Belfast.

Speaking about topping the list, Ms McCollum, chief executive of Moy Park, said: "We're hugely excited to be named number one in the Ulster Business Top 100 Northern Ireland Companies listing, an achievement which is all down to our brilliant people."

Another agri-business, Co Tyrone red meat processor Dunbia, took third place.

New entrants included Fivemiletown-based clothing manufacturer Cooneen by Design, Carrickfergus engineering company Ryobi Aluminium Casting and Ballymena meat processor Cranswick Country Foods. The latter was previously part of Dunbia's business, but was sold off to English firm Cranswick in 2016.

Mark Thompson, head of Belfast Office at A&L Goodbody, said: "Yet again each of the companies has made a hugely significant contribution to the Northern Ireland economy over the past 12 months.

"They have created hundreds of new jobs and supported many thousands more."

The full list of companies is available in the August edition of Ulster Business.

annual turnover posted by the Craigavon-based company in its latest set of accounts
Abellio has been awarded a contract to run the West Midlands rail franchise, the Department for Transport (DfT) has announced.

West Midlands Trains, which is a joint venture between Dutch firm Abellio and Japanese partners, will take over services in December.

The franchise covers routes across the West Midlands, as well as from London Euston to Crewe, and Liverpool to Birmingham.

Since 2007 it has been run by Govia, the joint venture between Go-Ahead Group and Keolis which is responsible for embattled Southern Railway.

The Govia bid to continue running the services was unsuccessful.

In announcing the decision, the DfT said passengers will get new, longer trains with more seats and more space as nearly 1 billion is invested in services on the West Midlands network.

There will be 400 new carriages rolled out by 2021 and space for an extra 85,000 passengers on rush-hour services in Birmingham and London, according to the department.

Passengers have been promised:

:: Free wifi on all main line services by the end of 2019;

:: Compensation if services are delayed by more than 15 minutes;

:: Improved access for those requiring extra assistance, including disabled people.

Smart ticketing and live passenger information will also be rolled out under the contract.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said: "T his is great news for passengers using West Midlands services - with new trains, more space, more regular services and easier access for disabled people.

"We are improving the whole travelling experience with live train crowding information, compensation for people delayed by 15 minutes or more, smart ticketing and better value tickets for part-time workers.

"This shows we are delivering on our commitment to build a railway that works for everyone."

Abellio UK managing director Dominic Booth said: " We are delighted to have been announced as preferred bidder for the West Midlands franchise, driving growth in one of the most exciting regions in the country.

"We will be investing nearly 1 billion into the network, delivering new trains, better stations and a whole host of other benefits for passengers."

It was also announced that t rains running only in the West Midlands area will be jointly managed by the DfT and West Midlands Rail (WMR), a consortium of 16 local councils.

West Midlands Mayor Andy Street said: " We want to see a new golden era for our local trains and today's announcement is an important step towards that.

"Having the ability to use our local knowledge and understanding to shape what West Midlands Trains will deliver for passengers under this franchise has also been a game-changer.

"I believe the deal secured today will help create a railway that can not only improve people's journeys but keep our economy growing, and we look forward to working with West Midlands Trains in making that happen."

There will be closer partnership working between track and train under the new franchise, which is a key policy of Mr Grayling. The West Midlands network of trains and infrastructure will be run by a local team.

The deal with West Midlands Trains is a joint venture between Abellio, the East Japan Railway Company and Mitsui.

It will run until March 2026.
Outraged residents last night voiced their opposition to proposals for a massive new pig farm in Limavady. File image

Outraged residents last night voiced their opposition to proposals for a massive new pig farm in Limavady.

If approved by the council's planning committee, it is reported the planned farm off the Moys Road would have five pig houses which would hold 13,000 animals. The operation would also produce around 20,000 tonnes of slurry a year to be spread across 1,300 acres of surrounding farmland.

Causeway Coast and Glens council confirmed they have received over 3,000 letters of objection along with five petitions with a total of nearly 14,000 signatures.

The first of two public meetings to oppose the plans was held in Ballykelly last night, with a second event to be held in Greysteel this evening.

Diane Greer from the Stop the Limavady Pig Factory group said she believed the farm would bring serious animal welfare and environmental problems.

"This isn't just about the pig farm," she said.

"It's about the distance they're going to spread the slurry, from Magilligan to as far as Derry.

"And for the sheer number of pigs involved it would be a massive disease control operation and would only bring a few jobs."

She added: "We're pulling them up on their processes.

"We're saying they have done an environmental impact assessment on the pig farm itself, not on the ground where they are spreading the slurry."

So far the farmer in charge, Thomas Simpson, has declined to comment publicly on the plans.

The next council planning meeting is due on August 23.

Mr Simpson has been asked to provide details on odour, noise and ammonia levels at the meeting.

The PCM Group, a company which negotiates with processors for 32 pig farmers, has publicly backed the application.

Spokesman Hugh McReynolds told the BBC the farm would be a "high welfare site".

He also explained there would be a lower use of antibiotics and vaccines used on the animals as pigs would be moved off the farm to be fattened after reaching a certain weight.
The plan to dual the road between Derry and Aughnacloy has been delayed for 10 years

Almost 80 million has been spent to date on Northern Ireland's biggest road scheme - despite the project being stalled for a decade.

The A5 Western Transport Corridor was given the go-ahead by the Executive in 2007. It would see the A5 upgraded to a dual carriageway from the border near Aughnacloy in Co Tyrone, via Omagh and Strabane, to Londonderry.

But for 10 years it has been in limbo amid legal wrangles and funding issues - and all the time the bill has spiralled.

Figures obtained by the Belfast Telegraph show the expenditure by the Department for Infrastructure (formerly Department for Regional Development) since November 2007 totals 77,002,796. That is equivalent to more than 22,000 a day.

More than 20m has been spent since April 2013, when a High Court ruling slammed the brakes on the scheme.

Read More

Revised plans were put forward and, after a second legal challenge failed in late 2016, the first phase of the scheme could get under way later this year.

Yet the final completion date will now be years after the original 2015 deadline, and well over the 800m initial budget.

SDLP MLA Daniel McCrossan, whose West Tyrone constituency would benefit from the new road, hit out at the growing cost.

"It's hugely concerning that one-tenth of the overall budget has been spent on the A5 yet not a single sod has been turned," he said.

"There has been delay after delay, and escalating costs, yet there hasn't been a single tangible benefit for the people of the west."

The Executive agreed to proceed with the A5 project in July 2007. A preferred route was announced in 2009.

The 58.2 mile-long dual carriageway was estimated to cost between 650m and 850m. Around 400m was to come from the Irish Government.

At the time Regional Development Minister Conor Murphy said the road could lessen journey times by up to 20 minutes.

However, the project - the single largest road scheme ever undertaken in Northern Ireland - has been dogged by setbacks.

In November 2011 the Republic withdrew most of its 400m funding. Three months later it was announced that the project would be broken up and built in phases. Then, in April 2013 a High Court judge quashed a decision to proceed with the scheme. At this stage some 56.4m had already been spent. A fresh legal challenge was attempted last August, but was thrown out in November.

The current 77m bill comprises 46,952,685 on consultants; 20,026,776 on contractors; 841,036 on archaeology; 3,933,357 on ground investigation; 1,049,607 on "services"; 2,787,879 on land-related costs including compensation; 329,237 on third party costs, and 1,082,219 on public consultations and inquiries in 2011 and 2016.

Mr McCrossan said it was essential that the A5WTC proceeded without delay and that it had the "potential to transform the lives of people living in the west".

"The A5 will open up economic opportunity and provide jobs, it will increase transport connectivity and, importantly, save lives from unnecessary road deaths," he said.

"I recently met with the Department for Infrastructure permanent secretary, who is fully committed to progressing the scheme.

"However, it is concerning that further delays, and the possibility of judicial review, have the potential to park the scheme for months on end." He added that the lack of an Executive meant key strategic decisions were in limbo.

During his visit to Northern Ireland last week Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said Dublin remained committed to part-funding the road.

The Department for Infrastructure said: "The department can confirm that the A5WTC scheme development costs to date are in the region of 77m (2007 to 2017) with an approximate spend of 21m incurred from April 2013 to May 2017."

It added that work carried out to date includes: reinstating land where construction work had already started prior to the court ruling of April 2013, progressing compensation claims for affected landowners, and engaging in an extensive round of meetings with landowners in 2014 and 2017.

There have also been additional traffic and environmental surveys, the updating of archaeology reports and the compilation and publishing of a new environmental statement and draft statutory orders in 2016.

Other work has included draft reports for assessments under the Habitats Directive and publishing them for consultation in 2014 and 2017, and the updating of contract documents and re-engaging with contractors.

The Institution of Civil Engineers Northern Ireland regional director Richard Kirk added: The public must understand that notwithstanding the legal process and legal setbacks, a significant amount of work and investment needs to go into pre-construction for any major infrastructure project.

"The consultants and contractors are the engineers and designers who make the actual construction process as smooth and cost-effective as possible. Investing resources in pre-construction helps to prevent expensive and irreversible mistakes from being made after breaking ground.
Concerns have been raised after a man confronted by a self-styled group of 'sexual predator hunters' died by suicide.

A child-safety expert has voiced concern after a man confronted by a self-styled group of "sexual predator hunters" died by suicide.

The Irish News reports the man was confronted by an online group called "Silent Justice" at his home in Co Antrim on Sunday.

He died by suicide on Tuesday morning.

It is understood that the group filmed the encounter and posted it on Facebook live. In the video they reportedly questioned him over allegations he had sent indecent images to one of their members who posed as a teenage girl. It has since been removed "out of respect to the man's" family the shadowy group said.

The group, it's claimed, attempted to perform a citizen's arrest on the man before the police were called, who then proceeded to arrest him. He was released on police bail on Monday.

Speaking to the Irish News, ex-PSNI officer and former chief executive of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre Jim Gamble expressed concern about the methods used by the group.

"If this man was guilty he should have been brought before the courts," he said, "We have to go through the due process and apply the principles of the law."

If you or someone you know is in impacted by suicide, you can contact:

Lifeline - 0808 808 8000

Samaritans - 028 9066 4422 / 116 123

Childline - 0800 1111 (for children and young people)
Confidence in the Public Prosecution Service has hit a 10-year high, new figures have shown.

The new research into public confidence in the organisation, which is responsible for taking criminal prosecutions in Northern Ireland, found that 76% of the public were either 'very confident' or 'fairly confident' it is providing a fair and impartial prosecution service.

The last time the organisation saw public approval this high was in 2006, when 78% of the public expressed confidence in the organisation.

Over the past decade it has dipped as low as 69% in 2009, 67% in 2011, and 68% in 2013.

The figures were published as part of the Northern Ireland Omnibus Survey on Thursday, an annual piece of research carried out by a branch of the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency.

Questions included in the survey about PPS are commissioned by the prosecution service and used to develop policy and assess the effectiveness of its communication.

Over the past year the director of the PPS Barra McGrory has come under fire for alleged impartiality.

Speaking under parliamentary privilege in December 2016, then Conservative MP Sir Henry Bellingham said that historical inquiries into the legacy of the Troubles focused disproportionately on soldiers and members of the security services.

Responding to the criticism, the PPS said that it prosecutes legacy cases "without fear, favour or prejudice, in strict accordance with the Code for Prosecutors".

Writing in the Newsletter in May, DUP MP Sir Jeffrey Donaldson questioned the impartiality of the PPS in connection with the prosecution of ex-soldier Dennis Hutchings.

In May, Mr McGrory confirmed that he would resign later this year, with a replacement expected to be named in the autumn.

At his appointment in 2011, Mr McGrory was the first Catholic to be appointed as the head of the PPS.
A woman believed to be from Northern Ireland has been arrested after sparking an international manhunt by fleeing to Spain with her five-year-old daughter.

The unnamed woman was held in the Costa Blanca capital of Alicante after allegedly going on the run with the child.

French authorities issued a European Arrest Warrant after the girls Senegalese-born dad reported her to police.

The youngster was said to be in the care of social services in Alicante on Thursday after being tracked down to an apartment in the city.

Her mum, arrested at the same address on Tuesday, was in prison near the Costa Blanca resort after an extradition hearing.

She answered questions from a judge via video-link from a duty court in Alicante on Wednesday.

It was not immediately clear if she had consented to extradition during the behind-closed-doors hearing - or tried to delay or stop her forced return to France by appealing.

The European Arrest Warrant was issued on July 28. Local sources said they believed the detainee was originally from Belfast but was travelling on an Irish passport.

The woman at the centre of the drama is understood to have told police she acted out of fear of her daughters father, who has been described locally as her husband.

She is not believed to have shown officers or court officials any proof at this stage to back up her claims or show she was a victim of domestic violence.

A Spanish Police spokesman confirmed the mother of a five-year-old had been arrested on foot of a European Arrest Warrant at an undisclosed address in Alicante.

He said: The warrant was issued by authorities in France for crimes against people, in this specific case for abduction of a child.

Full details of the case, including the circumstances in which mother and child fled France, were not immediately made available by Spanish authorities.
Jim Carrey joined mourners at his ex-girlfriend Cathriona White's funeral in her home village of Cappawhite, Co Tipperary

Jim Carrey's legal team has won a bid to get his ex-girlfriend's medical records so they can be used in the wrongful death lawsuit against him.

The Hollywood star is being sued after Irish make-up artist Cathriona White, 30, took a fatal overdose of prescription drugs.

Lawyers for her husband Mark Burton and mother Brigid Sweetmen claim the actor, 55, used his "wealth, influence and celebrity status" to provide the medication.

But Raymond Boucher, for Carrey, argued Ms White had recently had breast augmentation and had been prescribed medication that could have been responsible for her death.

The family's lawyers tried to prevent the disclosure of her medical history on privacy grounds but Judge Deirdre Hill ruled at Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday that it should be disclosed.

Mr Boucher told the court: "One of the issues is her prescription medication. We know she had breast surgery that month, we know she had oxycodone prescribed to her that month."

Other medical information that must be disclosed is whether she had sexually transmitted infections before meeting the actor.

It has been claimed that Carrey was responsible for giving her herpes type 1 and 2 in 2013 after testing positive under the false name of Jose Lopez.

After the hearing, Mr Boucher said the ruling is an "extremely important" victory for Carrey.

He added: "The most important thing is we want the medication evidence.

"We want to be able to establish that Mr Carrey absolutely did not transmit any herpes and he did not give her his pain medication and she could access her own."

But the family's lawyer Michael Avenatti also claimed victory, warning the actor his medical details could also be made public.

"We are pleased because now the same standard will apply to Mr Carrey. He should be very nervous," he said.

Ms White, from Cappawhite, Co Tipperary, was found dead in her Los Angeles home in September 2015.

She had taken an overdose of Ambien, Propranolol and Percocet, which contains oxycodone.

Mr Carrey, who denies all the allegations, will face a 20-day jury trial over the claims under the Drug Dealer Liability Act from April 26.
Modern slavery and human trafficking in the UK is more common than initially thought (PA Archive)

Modern slavery and human trafficking in the UK is much more prevalent than previously thought, with cases affecting every large town and city in the country, the National Crime Agency (NCA) has said.

The body is currently assisting on 300 live police operations targeting modern slavery, with alleged victims as young as 12 being sold to families in the UK from Europe.

Will Kerr, NCA director of vulnerabilities, said: The more that we look for modern slavery, the more we find evidence of the widespread abuse of the vulnerable.

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The growing body of evidence we are collecting points to the scale being far larger than anyone previously thought.

This should not be acceptable in any way, shape or form.

Mr Kerrs comments come as the NCA launches an advertising campaign raising awareness of the signs of modern slavery in everyday life.

He said there were lots of different outlets for people trafficked into the UK to be working illegally and against their will, with many affecting people in everyday life.

Mr Kerr said examples included those working at car washes and in construction as well as in agriculture and food processing  often receiving very little pay and forced to put up with poor living conditions.

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Others sold into slavery could be kept in pop-up brothels, where sex workers promised a better life are left penniless with few clothes other than underwear, while some can be working at cannabis factories, he added.

As you go about your normal daily life and as youre engaged in a legitimate economy accessing goods and services, there is a growing and a good chance you will come across a victim who has been exploited in one of those different sectors, he said.

Thats why we are asking the public to try and recognise the signs and to report their concerns and suspicions to us.

He said signs of slavery included visible injuries, a distressed appearance and any indication they are being controlled by another person.

Anyone with information about possible slavery gangs is asked to contact the NCA on 08000 121 700.

Mr Kerr said the most common nationality of victims brought into the UK were people from Eastern Europe, Vietnam and Nigeria.

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But he also cited one example of a 12-year-old Roma girl being stopped at border control, bound for a life as a domestic slave.

He said: She was being brought in to work for a family in part of the UK, where she had effectively been sold by her father  or it had been facilitated by her father  and she was being brought in to take this familys children to school and pick them up every day, and clean the house in between. Twelve years old, same age as my youngest son.

Mr Kerr said criminal charges were pending against those involved in the case.

But he said it underlined the sheer scale of the problem authorities were facing, further complicated by the fact some people do not realise they are a victim of slavery.

He added: People are being exploited on an hourly and daily basis.

The full scale and extent of it, we dont know. But what we have found is that in every medium-to-large town and every city in the UK, we have found evidence of vulnerable people being exploited.

We cant put a figure on it but we can say there are tens of thousands of victims across the UK.
Taylor Swift has told a court a former radio DJ reached under her skirt and intentionally grabbed her bottom during a meet-and-greet photo session before a 2013 concert in Denver.

"He stayed attached to my bare ass-cheek as I lurched away from him," the pop star said in federal court in Denver during a trial over the claim.

Despite being stunned, Swift said she did not say anything to David Mueller about it because she did not want other fans lined up to hear anything and she did not want to cancel the event and disappoint them.

Swift said she tried to get as far away from Mueller as she could.

The singer said she told Mueller and his girlfriend, Shannon Melcher, who was also in the photo, "thank you for coming" in a monotone voice before they left.

Mueller sued Swift and others on her team, claiming they cost him his job, and is seeking up to three million dollars (2.3 million) in damages.

The pop star counter-sued, alleging sexual assault, and is asking for a symbolic one dollar judgment.

Swift said a security guard working for her witnessed the groping.

She said that guard Greg Dent saw Mueller "lift my skirt" and grab her but that it was impossible for anyone to see Mueller's hand beneath her skirt and on her buttock because they were posing for the photo with their backs to a wall.

Swift said that someone would have had to have been underneath her to see the actual groping "and we didn't have anyone positioned there".

Mueller told the court on Wednesday that the photo taken before the concert was "weird and awkward", but he insisted that he touched Swift in the ribs, not on the bottom.

He said his hand was touching Swift's skirt after he put his arm around her and their arms got crossed, adding: "My hand was at rib-cage level and apparently it went down."

The case is being tried in federal court under a law allowing the proceeding when the parties live in separate states and the dispute involves a damages claim higher than 75,000 dollars (58,000).
Donald Trump has issued a new threat to North Korea, demanding that Kim Jong Un's government "get their act together" or face extraordinary trouble.

The US president said his previous "fire and fury" warning to Pyongyang might have been too mild.

"Maybe that statement wasn't tough enough," Mr Trump said in the latest round of an escalating exchange of threats between the two nuclear-armed nations.

Speaking to reporters in New Jersey, Mr Trump said North Korea has been "getting away with a tragedy that can't be allowed".

But he declined to say whether the US is considering a pre-emptive military strike, arguing that his administration never discusses such deliberations publicly.

Mr Trump spoke after North Korea intensified its own rhetoric by announcing a detailed plan to launch a salvo of ballistic missiles toward the US Pacific territory of Guam, a major military hub and home to US bombers.

That announcement had been a response to Mr Trump's threat that the North would face "fire and fury like the world has never seen" if it threatened the US again.

Mr Trump said it is time somebody stood up to the pariah nation.

Flanked by US vice president Mike Pence, Mr Trump said: "North Korea better get their act together or they are going to be in trouble like few nations have ever been in trouble. It may very well be tougher than I said."

Mr Trump spoke after meeting with national security advisers at the golf resort where he is on holiday. He said the US "of course" would always consider negotiations with North Korea, but added that talks with North Korea have failed for the last 25 years.

He said that China, North Korea's biggest trading partner, needs to do more to apply pressure - and predicted that it will.

The threatened attack near Guam, if carried out, would be the North Korea's most provocative missile launch to date. North Korea said it is finalising a plan to fire four of its Hwasong-12 missiles over Japan and into waters around the tiny island, which hosts 7,000 US military personnel on two main bases and has a population of 160,000.

Japan and South Korea vowed a strong reaction if North Korea were to go through with the plan. Mr Trump added his voice on Thursday, insisting that if North Korea took any steps to even think about an attack, it would have reason to be nervous.

"Things will happen to them like they never thought possible, OK?" Mr Trump said. Of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Mr Trump added: "He's been pushing the world around for a long time."

North Korea said the plan, which involves the missiles hitting waters 19 to 25 miles from the island, could be sent to leader Kim for approval within a week or so. It would be up to Kim whether the move is actually carried out. But the extreme specificity of the plan suggested it was designed to show North Korea is actually plotting a launch.

The report said the Hwasong-12 rockets would fly over Shimane, Hiroshima and Koichi prefectures in Japan and travel "1,065 seconds before hitting the waters 30 to 40 kilometres away from Guam". It said the Korean People's Army Strategic Force will finalise the plan by mid-August, present it to Kim Jong Un and "wait for his order".

"We keep closely watching the speech and behaviour of the US," it said.

It is unclear whether - or exactly why - North Korea would risk firing missiles so close to US territory. Such a launch would almost compel the United States to attempt an intercept and possibly generate further escalation.

North Korea, no stranger to bluffing, frequently uses extremely bellicose rhetoric with warnings of military action to keep its adversaries on their heels. It generally couches its threats with language stating it will not attack the United States unless it has been attacked first or has determined an attack is imminent.

But the statement raised worries amid threats from both sides.

South Korea's military responded by saying North Korea will face a "stern and strong" response from Washington and Seoul. Taking it a step further, Japan's defence minister Itsunori Onodera told parliament a missile attack on the US territory would be a Japanese national emergency because it would threaten Japan's existence as a nation.

Guam lies about 2,100 miles from the Korean Peninsula, and it is extremely unlikely Kim's government would risk annihilation with a pre-emptive attack on US citizens. It is also unclear how reliable North Korea's missiles would be against such a distant target.

Washington has been testing its missile defences in response to the North Korea's stepped-up development and the current escalation of tensions could lead to pressure for the US military to try to shoot down the North Korea's missiles in mid-flight if they are heading towards Guam.

That would likely open up a set of very major problems, including the possibility of both a very high-profile failure or a miscalculation of Washington's intentions and a more deadly pre-emptive strike by North Korea - which has missiles able to hit Tokyo and conventional weapons that could devastate South Korea's capital of Seoul.

The Hwasong-12, which was revealed for the first time at a military parade in April, is an intermediate-range ballistic missile that is believed to have a radius of more than 2,300 miles. It can be fired from mobile launchers, making it hard to detect and destroy on the ground.

By launching a salvo of four, North Korea would be attempting to make it harder for the US to intercept all of the incoming missiles. Its stated flight path over Japan is also very aggressive - it has recently tried to avoid flying over neighbouring countries by shooting its missiles up at a very high angle to land in the ocean.

AP

Mr Trump said he is planning to add billions of dollars to the nation's anti-missile programmes.

He also said the nation's nuclear arsenal is in "in tip-top shape" and getting stronger, and insisted his administration has "done a lot of modernisation" and "a lot of renovation" already.

He warned about the dangers of nuclear weapons, saying he'd like to "de-nuke the world", but until that happens the US "will be the most powerful nuclear nation on earth, by far".

AP
A police commando (right) guards a wake in San Roque village for Reynaldo Parijinog, the mayor of Ozamiz city in the southern Philippines who was gunned down with 14 other people during an anti-narcotics operation last month.

The Philippine police said Thursday that officers killed three suspected small-time drug peddlers, as President Rodrigo Duterte vowed to protect policemen from prosecution in his ongoing war on illegal narcotics.

A raid late Wednesday led to the deaths of two middle-aged men in Pasay city, a suburb of Manila, and the arrest of another suspect, police said. Earlier in the day, a man was killed when he allegedly pulled a gun on officers.

In both cases, the suspects fought it out with the police, who claimed their actions were justified because they were in imminent danger.

The killings occurred 11 days after police commandos launched a pre-dawn raid on the home of Reynaldo Parojinog, the mayor of the southern city of Ozamiz who was killed in the anti-drug operation. His wife and brother were among 14 others who were also slain, in what police claimed was a gun battle.

He was the third mayor on Dutertes list of 150 politicians, judges, policemen and military personnel, whom the president said were involved in the illegal drug trade.

The 72-year-old leader had vowed to crush illegal drugs in three months, or he would resign. He later took back that pledge and acknowledged that he had miscalculated the gravity of the drug trade.

Drug war

More than 8,000 people have died so far in the drug war, including suspects gunned down by police and those whose deaths were blamed on vigilantes.

Apart from Parojinog, Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr. of central Albuera town was killed in his jail cell during an alleged shootout with police in October.

In the same month, police also gunned down another mayor in the southern Philippines after he allegedly rammed through a roadblock and shot at officers.

All three were on Dutertes list, and on Wednesday, he reiterated that the police and military forces were directly under his command, and that those charged with killings while performing their duties would be pardoned, if convicted.

He said that he had lost more than 80 cops, and nearly 300 soldiers helping in the drug war, and yet rights groups have chosen to focus on the death of suspects.

And time and again, Ive been warning this country about the pitfalls of being a narco-politics country, he said in a speech before police officers, transcripts of which were released Thursday.

He said Espinosa had controlled drug syndicates in n the eastern portion of Visayas region, in the central Philippines, while Parojinog was a kingpin in the south.

Duterte alleged, without offering proof, that Espinosa killed more than seven policemen during his time who resisted these illegal, criminal syndicates. And nothing happened.

Shoot them dead

The president added: [I]ve always told you that if you have to shoot, shoot them dead. And this is what the human rights idiots are trying to complain [about]. You know, when I say, Ill shoot them dead, Id prefer [that you] shoot them in the heart or in the head. Thats the end of the problem. 

However, he said he did not order policemen to kill a human being kneeling down or their hands astride in surrender.

And I tell you now: Do your duty and I will protect you. Do not abuse, do not commit crime, not the extra-judicial killing pictured by the human rights (groups), just leave them alone, Duterte said.

For after all, we have had training about shooting. If they want to put up a violent fight, thereby placing yourself, the lawmen, in jeopardy, go for it. That is my order, he said.

At a later date, he said he planned to visit Ozamiz, where he said there allegedly were a lot of policemen murdered by Parojinog.

All the criminals here, if you insist on a drug war, I will kill you all. I will kill you. That is my warning to all, Duterte said.

Tight security

In Ozamiz, the mayors coffin was in a gymnasium as a stream of supporters paid their last respects. A long line of flowers and messages of sympathies could be seen stretching outside.

Heavily armed policemen have been deployed to the city, ahead of a likely outbreak of violence amid reports that supporters of the Parojinog family planned to retaliate.

People are very, very angry and afraid of the police, said the slain mayors sister, Mina. If they had the evidence to prove guilt, they could have just arrested them. Not murder them.

People in the village of San Roque walk near displays of flowers during the wake of Reynaldo Parojinog, the late mayor of Ozamiz city. [Mark Navales/BenarNews]
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Von: KARINA MOSSBAUER

Berlin  The lawn at the nude bathing beach Mueggelsee, a lake in the suburbs of Berlin, is a haven for nudist lovers. And right in the middle of it all, there is Gregor Gysi (69), the president of the Party of the European Left.

The politician feels comfortable around those who are completely naked. Yet, there is one thing that is bothering him, and that is the slow disappearance of nude beaches in Germany. In the current Playboy issue, Gysi bemoans that the free body culture (in Germany known as Freikorperkultur, FKK) is on its way to vanish bit by bit. To Gysi, its a niche worth fighting for!

BILD visited a nude beach with Gysi. We need to make FKK possible at more places, he says. Gysi regrets that nudism didnt win over Germany in its entirety. It would have been a great benefit.

But instead, as a result of the reunification, FKK began to dwindle even in East Germany. The politician quotes a sex researcher, who accuses men from West Germany to be responsible for the decline of nudism. Because they supposedly got there for the purpose of ogling women. The former German Democratic Republic was more open-minded than the generally more prudish Federal Republic of Germany. Men in the East were used to it. Nudity didnt cause stares. However, if you never get to see it, its an unusual and eye-popping sight, says Gysi.

But, women didnt want to be looked at. They wanted to be free, says Gysi explaining FKK culture.

Gysi is an advocate for more nude beaches in Germany because FKK is part of the German culture and a piece of acquired freedom when compared with other cultures. A one-piece swimsuit or a bikini may be uncomfortable for some. Many people prefer to be naked on the beach and in the water, and take pleasure in not having tan lines, so he says.

Auch interessant

Since even churches have had a change of heart, Gysi believes that the time has come to increase the number of nude beaches.

The left-wing politician is trying to convince his base. Im broaching the subject with local politicians and Im asking them whether they offer FKK beaches in their districts.

His fight for more nude beaches is, in fact, a selfless act, since he wont have any of it. I am 69 years old. There is a limit to everything. Free body culture happens only in my home, if at all.
For Immediate Release, August 10, 2017 Contact: Collette Adkins, Center for Biological Diversity, (651) 955-3821, cadkins@biologicaldiversity.org

Kelly Nokes, WildEarth Guardians, (406) 209-9545, knokes@wildearthguardians.org Nationwide Ban Sought on Wildlife-killing M-44 'Cyanide Bombs' Indiscriminate Devices Injure People, Kill Pets, Wildlife WASHINGTON The Center for Biological Diversity, WildEarth Guardians and several other wildlife conservation groups petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency today to outlaw M-44s, commonly known as cyanide bombs, which cause agonizing deaths for thousands of animals every year. The devices are used to kill coyotes, foxes and wild dogs, purportedly to address conflicts with livestock. But they also pose the risks of accidental injury and death for people, family dogs and imperiled wildlife. In response, the federal government has proposed bigger warning signs  an unproven and completely inadequate measure. Cyanide traps are indiscriminate killers that just can't be used safely, said Collette Adkins, an attorney and biologist at the Center. We're not fooled by the feds' ridiculous suggestion that bigger warning signs could somehow keep cyanide traps from hurting people, pets and imperiled wildlife. A permanent nationwide ban is the only answer. The EPA has registered sodium cyanide for use in M-44s by Wildlife Services  the U.S. Department of Agriculture's wildlife-killing program  as well as by certain state agencies in South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, New Mexico and Texas. The devices are intended to protect livestock by spraying deadly sodium cyanide into the mouths of unsuspecting coyotes, foxes and other carnivores lured by smelly bait. Yet anything or anyone that pulls on the baited M-44 device can be killed or severely injured by the deadly spray. M-44s temporarily blinded a child and killed three family dogs in two separate incidents in Idaho and Wyoming in March. A wolf was accidentally killed by an M-44 set in Oregon in February. The federal government has a paramount duty to protect people and wildlife from deadly poisons that unnecessarily endanger the public, wildlife and companion animals, said Kelly Nokes, carnivore advocate at WildEarth Guardians. Given the wide array of nonlethal, effective conflict management tools available today, the use of dangerous and indiscriminate M-44s should immediately and permanently cease. According to USDA Wildlife Services' own data, M-44s killed 13,530 animals, mostly coyotes and foxes, in 2016. Of these 321 deaths were nontarget animals, including family dogs, a black bear, opossums, raccoons, skunks and a fisher. This interactive map shows how many nontarget animals of each species died from exposure to M-44s between 2010 and 2016. Unfortunately, these numbers are likely a significant undercount of the true death toll, as Wildlife Services is notorious for poor data collection and an entrenched shoot, shovel, shut up mentality. Learn more about the animals killed by M-44s. WildEarth Guardians and the Center for Biological Diversity authored the petition and are joined in their call for a nationwide ban on M-44s by Advocates for the West, the Animal Legal Defense Fund, Born Free USA, the Endangered Species Coalition, the Humane Society of the United States, the International Fund for Animal Welfare, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Predator Defense, Project Coyote, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, the Sierra Club, the Southwest Environmental Center, Western Environmental Law Center, Western Watersheds Project, Wildlands Network and the Wolf Conservation Center. Together the groups represent millions of Americans who want to see an end to the use of deadly M-44 cyanide traps.
Starting your day with a cup of mushroom coffee can give a much-needed twist to your daily regimen. Many speak of its benefits, and some even prefer it to regular coffee. But given its unique
Chief prosecutor in Turkey orders detention of 35 journalists over ByLock

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Chief public prosecutor in Istanbul has launched an investigation against 35 journalists and ordered for them to be taken into custody over alleged usage of ByLock application, a smart-phone communication application claimed by authorities in Turkey as a tool that had been used by the followers of the alleged coup plotters.

Among the journalists who have most recently been taken into custody are our Web Editor Burak Ekici; former reporter from shut-down Zaman and Cihan Muhsin Pilgir; IHAs intelligence director Omer Faruk Aydemir; and, former news director of shut-down Samanyolu TV Cuneyt Seza Ozkan.

Source: http://www.birgun.net/haber-detay/istanbul-da-operasyon-35-gazeteci-hakkinda-gozalti-karari-174103.html
LAGOS, Nigeria - PayU Nigeria has introduced a PayU Subscription service which helps merchants boost collections and revenue in a quick, convenient way.

 Andrey Armyagov via 123RF

PayU Nigeria introduces PayU Subscription, a convenient payment method which allows merchants to safely and securely collect payments from consumers who have recurring bills or subscription payments in a seamless way.

Country manager of PayU Nigeria, Juliet Nwanguma, said: PayU Subscription is an innovative product for businesses who are looking to offer subscription and recurring bill payments to their customers.

It provides customers with a simple, safe and secure alternative to regular direct debit payments. Using tokenisation as the underlying technology, PayU offers a card based recurring payment method for the payment of any recurring bills or subscriptions.

Customers who want to setup recurring or subscription payments are inconvenienced as they are required to physically go to their bank and complete a direct debit order form. With PayU Subscription, all of this is avoided. Merchants only need their customers to choose the recurring payment option as well as the period i.e. weekly, monthly, quarterly or annually.

Nwanguma said: PayU Subscription allows merchants to improve customer satisfaction by offering a more convenient way for their customers to pay for their subscriptions and other recurring bills.

Explaining further, she said: "PayU Subscription is highly beneficial to merchants and businesses in all sectors who want to boost and simplify their payment collections for subscription-related payments such as utility bills, monthly residential bills and various subscription services such as magazine subscriptions, insurance policies, membership dues, music distribution and digital downloads and more."

Through the introduction of innovative products like PayU Subscription, PayU continues to be an innovative leader in the payments industry and helping to define the future of Fintech and digital payments in the Nigerian market.

With a presence in 16 markets globally and over 250 payment options, PayU is dedicated to providing safe, secure, online payments for your business.
Most South African organisations are looking at how they can harness the latest data, technologies and insights to become more productive, profitable and competitive - whether they're focusing on using machine learning to make sense of big data or whether they're grappling with how they can best engage with and reach mobile customers.

The challenge is that many organisations still think of digital transformation as a channel, marketing or technology challenge rather than as a profound shift in how the business as a whole operates. The result is that most companies end up with islands of digital excellence across the business, but with little connection between them. Lacking a coherent strategy, they end up with fragmented business processes and inconsistent customer experiences.

For digital technology to yield the maximum business benefit, it needs to transcend the boundaries of marketing and channels, joining up the customer experience with elements of the business such as sales, customer service, distribution, product development, human resources, R&D, manufacturing and logistics. Each of these has a role to play in the customer experience and each of them can be enhanced through data and the insights it surfaces.

Taking control of digital

Thats why C-suite executives  the CEO, supported by the Exco and the board  need to take control of digital strategy. They are the people setting the strategic direction for the business and they are the ones who see how the different departments and functions can  and should  join up. Its up to them to chart a digital direction for the business and provide leadership.

The reason that its important to set a strategy from the top is that digital technology is more than a new marketing technology or distribution channel  it demands a fundamental look at the organisations business model. Digital native companies like Google and Amazon did not change the world by grafting web store fronts and mobile apps to old business practices, but by rethinking how industries should work from the back-office to the customer-facing channel.

When one looks at the problems that many traditional organisations face in digital transformation, they arise because they have only implement digital solutions in certain siloes in the organisation. For example, many retailers who have stepped into digital commerce have not scaled their call centres or their logistics operations to cater for the high expectations customers have from ecommerce sites.

The result? A slick online ordering process, followed by delays in product delivery and an unimpressive, analogue experience when the customer phones the contact centre to complain. Or consider how different the experience might between interacting with a customer service rep on social media compared to speaking to a call centre agent  one may be dynamic and empowered to think creatively to solve a customer problem, while the others hands are tied by legacy processes.

Joining the dots with data

An important element here is the companys access to data  what sort of data the business collects, where it resides in the organisation, how different divisions in the enterprise define data attributes, and the politics of sharing data. With the right strategy and enterprise architecture in place, departments could be sharing data to make the business as a whole work better.

For example, putting marketings data about social media sentiment in the hands of the R&D team can provide insights for product development. Likewise, giving marketing access to customer services information about product failures, complaints and compliments can help sharpen the brands value proposition. And joining up the HR strategy to customer experience can boost customer satisfaction.

The CEO and his or team have the power to mandate sharing of data and to facilitate a common framework for digital transformation. They can also look at the business model and the trade-offs in a holistic way  What will it mean to move more sales online? Where are the next disruptive threats to our business coming from? How do we take advantage of new revenues without damaging our legacy business? How much budget do we allocate to innovation and to improving existing processes?

Businesses that succeed in the digital age will be those that drive digital transformation from the top as a strategic imperative. Only senior leadership has the authority and the holistic view of the business needed to reimagine the enterprise as a digital business, and to drive through the changes to the operating model that are necessary to bring the digital vision to life.
This Women's Month, gin drinkers can salute Lesley Gracie, master distiller at the Hendrick's Distillery who, alongside fellow master distiller at William Grant & Sons, John Ross, crafted the recipe for Hendrick's Gin in 1999. It stole the hearts of gin drinkers with its original infusion of rose and cucumber essence.

Working in a male-dominated environment at the remote distillery in Girvan, a small village in the southwest corner of Scotland hasnt been a problem for Yorkshire-born Gracie. Her nose is rated as one of the finest around (she sits on the ISC judging panel), which is why she also leads the new liquid development team within the company. However, her heart lies in the Hendricks Gin Palace.

Gracie's fascination with the curious world of botanicals flavours began when at the age of four she began serving her family teas, derived from various plants and twigs. A chemist by trade, she moved to Scotland from Yorkshire to join the company in 1988. The creation of award-winning Hendricks Gin has been a highlight in her career and she is only one of four people who know the specific recipe of the 11 different botanicals that go into making the gin.

Hendricks is handcrafted in miniscule batches at a time; the smaller the batch, the more control can be exerted by Gracie, allowing her to fine tune the distillation process, ensuring the creation of a high-end gin.

Shaun Stemmett, brand manager for Hendricks Gin at The Really Great Brand Company, says, As we reflect on the unusual yet vital role women play in society, it has been evident throughout the ages that a day without women is a day without creativity and we commend Lesley Gracies tremendous work throughout the milestones of Hendricks peculiar past.
The improved Gala-variety apple strain discovered by Tru-Cape Fruit Marketing's New Variety Expert, PJ (Buks) Nel, has delivered an impressive 93% pack-out following its first 60-bin harvest. We hoped for a 90% pack-out which is already a 30% improvement on Gala strains so to have delivered a 93% pack-out - the percentage of saleable fruit from a single picking - is very impressive, explains Nel.

Buks Nel with Derek Corder and Bigbucks

With the Royal Beaut discovered by Robert Zulch on Wakkerstroom in the Witzenberg Valley in Ceres, Corder Gala by Derek Corder on Beaulieu in Grabouw and now Bigbucks by Nel, Tru-Cape continues to lead in the development of better strains and best growing practices, says Tru Cape MD Roelf Pienaar. We are incredibly proud of Buks. This discovery is the just reward of a lifetime of passion and commitment to the fruit industry and frequent orchard walks - something of a rarity nowadays, he says.

According to Pienaar, the first Bigbucks the company exported into the Far and Middle East have arrived as expected and the initial feedback is overwhelmingly positive. Our customers are very excited about the potential of this variety. Good news all around, Pienaar says.

The search for a stable Gala

Pienaar says that Tru-Cape is one of the few South African fruit exporters that invests in research and development. To find someone such as Nel who has the experience and skill and who focuses entirely on finding and improving varieties is not easy.

Nel explains: Deep in its soul, a Gala is an unstable varietal with between 5% and 50% of trees planted not being true to type. Bigbucks is the exception so growers know when they plant a Bigbucks tree they will always get Bigbucks fruit. Another, albeit cosmetic improvement, is the deep full wine red that the fruit achieves from early in its life while most Gala types are striped. While redness is usually an indication of ripeness, with Bigbucks the fruit is full red from the start. Normally a Gala tree needs to be picked on three different occasions to find the fruit of the right colour spec, now, if need be, trees can be picked once.

The Bigbucks and Two-a-Day team with the first fruit packed for export

Bigbucks, like Pink Lady and other registered varieties, has registered Plant Breeders Rights which are held by a company, Pink Vein, in which Nel and growers Derek Corder and Anthony Rawbone-Viljoen own shares. It takes its name from the characteristic pink vein that runs down the centre of the leaf like a life-giving artery.

In 2016 Tru-Cape growers planted 95,000 trees on 50 hectares and this winter well plant 171,000 trees on 90 hectares. By next year we expect to have planted more than half a million trees on 300 hectares. Everyone is looking for a stable Gala, Nel continues, we have not seen a single reversion thus far.

According to Tru-Cape grower and Procurement Manager Calla du Toit, who is also chair of the Bigbucks Growers Association, Bigbucks trees planted in Ceres show the same potential as those planted in Grabouw so this varietal is set to be the most significant find of the decade. This represents a 30% improvement over most.

Nel says that Bigbucks will be picked and stored in the same way as other Gala types. There is a myth that redder fruit has less flavour but this is an old wives tale. Bigbucks is beautiful to look at and delicious to eat, he ends.
Premier Foods, in which investment group Brait has a majority stake, is taking Premier Food & Fishing (PFF) to court over the company's name.

The food producer says the move became necessary after the recently listed African Equity Empowerment Investments subsidiary failed to change its name by an agreed deadline.

Premier Foods group marketing and strategy executive Siobhan O'Sullivan said the company had taken issue with PFF's name even before it listed, as Premier Foods had spent decades building goodwill and reputation in its trademarks and trading name.

"The concern was that members of the public may erroneously believe that PFF is associated with Premier's business, when this is not the case," O'Sullivan said.

She said the dispute followed an agreement between the parties in which PFF and its parent company undertook to change the name. In its high court application on 4 August, Premier Foods claims PFF and African Equity Empowerment Investments are in breach of the agreement.

CEO of the parent company Khalid Abdulla said on Monday the company was aware of the proceedings. "Our attorneys have received the papers and, we will be defending this."

Gauteng-based and unlisted Premier Foods was founded almost 200 years ago. It expanded its operations in 2012 from traditional milling and baking into confectionery as well as home and personal care brands. Its brands include Snowflake, Iwisa, Super C and Vulco & Dove cotton wool.

Premier has operations in Lesotho and Swaziland. Additionally, the group exports to 15 countries with 19% of its revenue delivered from outside of the country.

PFF, established in 1952, is a predominantly commercial fishing, fish processing and marketing company. It listed on the JSE in March 2017. It is the largest black-owned and controlled fishing company in SA.

Its products include rock lobster, octopus, squid, abalone, pilchards, hake and environmentally friendly agribiotechnology products. PFF's share price fell more than 3% in intraday trade on Monday, trading at about R4.05.

Source: Business Day
At a press conference about South Africa's National Health Insurance, the country's health minister again said that private healthcare serves only 16% of the population. But his claim is misleading.

South Africa is regarded as an outlier in healthcare spend because it invests huge amounts of money on few people, the countrys health minister said at a media conference in June.

Minister Aaron Motsoaledi was announcing the gazetting of South Africas National Health Insurance white paper. A slide in his presentation repeated a frequent claim that the private sector only provides care to 16% of the population, with the countrys public sector taking care of the rest.

8.8 million medical aid members in 2015

Motsoaledis spokesman, Joe Maila, told Africa Check that the 16% is the people on medical aid and that the figure comes from the Council for Medical Schemes.

The 2015/2016 annual report of the Council for Medical Schemes notes that only 16% of the South African population belong to medical schemes while the rest of the population depends on an overburdened government sector.

The percentage calculation was based on a medical scheme membership number of 8.8 million in 2015, Dr Elsabe Conradie, the councils general manager for stakeholder relations, told Africa Check. She said that for the past few years, the percentage varied between 16% and 17% of South Africas population.

(Note: Statistics South Africas 2016 General Household Survey estimated that 17.4% of the population had medical aid.)

Many people use combination of both sectors

But the number of people with medical aid does not equal the number of people using the private healthcare sector.

Its not as simple as either public or private as many people use a combination of both sectors depending on their health needs, Dr Jacqui Miot from the Health Economics and Epidemiology Research Office (HERO) at the University of the Witwatersrand told Africa Check.

In 2016, Statistics South Africa estimated that 1,515,000 households with no medical aid normally used the private healthcare sector and 706,000 households where at least one member had medical aid used the public health sector.

In total, 4,679,000 households normal place of consultation was the private sector.

The only way to get an estimate of the normal place of consultation on an individual level would be to make the assumption that all members of the household would act the same way, Stats SAs service delivery statistics manager, Niel Roux, told Africa Check.

Under this assumption  that is influenced by the household members age, sex and particular illness or injury, of course  an estimated 13,393,357 South Africans (24.3% of the population) normally used private healthcare in 2016.

41.5% saw a private healthcare provider at last visit

Another calculation is from the National Income Dynamics Study, conducted in 2014 by the Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit at the University of Cape Town. It surveyed a nationally representative sample of more than 28,000 individuals in 7,300 households.

The study found that 41.5% of the respondents went to see someone in the private healthcare sector at their last visit.

However, two limitations need to be kept in mind, NIDS communications manager Kim Ingle told Africa Check.

First, children younger than 15 werent included and only people who didnt know when they last consulted someone about their health or said they consulted someone in the last 12 months were asked who they had last visited, she said.

GPs & retail pharmacy services paid for out-of-pocket most

In a 2010 discussion paper on private sector funding of health services, health economist Di McIntyre proceeded from a calculation based on a nationally representative survey of 4,800 households.

Called the South African Consortium for Benefit Incidence Analysis (SACBIA), it was carried out in 2008 and entailed repeat visits to the households sampled.

This analysis put the share of people without medical scheme coverage who use private providers for outpatient care at 20%. Based on a medical scheme membership of 15% of the population, up to 32% of South Africans were estimated to have used outpatient services in the private sector.

Non-scheme members paying for care in the private sector were largely restricted to general practitioners and retail pharmacy services but sometimes specialists as well, McIntyre told Africa Check.

According to the discussion paper, those with medical scheme coverage mostly use private healthcare services.

However, medical scheme members do sometimes use public hospitals, particularly for inpatient care and often at the most highly specialised hospitals, McIntyre wrote.

Conclusion: The claim is misleading

South Africas health minister, Aaron Motsoaledi, claimed that the private sector only provides care to 16% of the population. This was based on the number of people in South Africa who are on medical aid.

But depending on their health needs, many people use a combination of private and public healthcare services. Shares vary, depending on how the surveys are carried out and the question asked.

For instance, in 2016, an estimated 4.7 million households (28% of the total) reported to Stats SA that they normally go to someone in the private healthcare sector. When people older than 15 were asked in 2014 where their last visit had taken place in the year before, 41.5% indicated the private sector.

While it is true that the majority of South Africans do not benefit from private healthcare, it is misleading to equate medical scheme coverage  or the lack thereof  with the exclusive use of a particular healthcare sector.

This report was researched by Africa Check, a non-partisan fact-checking organisation. View the original piece on their website here.
Legislation is needed to compel pension fund administrators to increase efforts to trace beneficiaries and pay out billions of rand in unclaimed funds, Treasury deputy director-general Ismail Momoniat says.

The Financial Services Board (FSB) estimates more than R40bn in pension funds remains unclaimed. Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi recently said billions of rand due to former mine workers remained unclaimed. Chamber of Mines CEO Roger Baxter put the figure at R3bn for the mining sector.

The pension money, which is due to former mine workers from SA and neighbouring countries, is not controlled by the government.

The unclaimed benefits, which include cash accumulated towards retirement and deaths, are held in investment vehicles and overseen by trustees, who use tracing companies to find beneficiaries, albeit sometimes reluctantly.

Momoniat, an FSB board member, said the concern about unclaimed funds was a regulatory issue.

A law was needed to provide guidelines, he said, and to compel trustees to find beneficiaries and pay out the money.

"We have asked the regulator [FSB] to deal with this issue," he said, "but there are also structural issues involved."

Alta Marais, head of research and policy at the FSB, said a lack of record-keeping, the weak provision of information to employees as well as poor tracing efforts were among the reasons that workers' benefits remained unclaimed.

The FSB was the respondent in a 2016 high court case over its handling of dormant pension funds. The case was dismissed, but there is an investigation into the way the FSB cancelled dormant pension funds.

Data in the FSB's possession showed unclaimed benefits amounted to about R41.7bn. Of this amount, about R7.6bn was held by unclaimed benefit funds and the balance was in the relevant funds in which the benefits accrued or other funds to which such benefits have been transferred. The FSB's retirement funds division had been participating in outreach initiatives to assist the public in lodging inquiries about unclaimed benefits, Marais said.

The regulator's pensions registrar had obtained unclaimed benefit data from funds and administrators to enable it to provide a search engine on its website that will enable the public to search whether benefits are due to them and to provide contact details of funds.

Thami Mtetwa, director at Symphony Tracing Services, said companies were often reluctant to appoint tracing agents as they earned interest on unclaimed funds. Another issue, Mtetwa said, was the question of which party should pay tracing agents.

"Should the company pay or should the person who has unclaimed entitlements due pay?" Mtetwa asked.

Rosemary Hunter, the former deputy pension funds registrar who took the FSB to court, said while there were challenges in tracing former mine workers, working with the government was critical in ensuring the speedy recovery and distribution of funds to beneficiaries.
KANGORIO, Kenya - At this time of year, Cherop Longiro and her husband are normally busy looking for grazing for their livestock. But their three cows died in the drought in March and they sold their 20 sheep, fearing they would meet the same fate. "We had two options: either take them to the market and sell them at a throwaway price or keep them, which was risky because they were most likely going to die," said Richard Longiro from his farm in Kangorio village, West Pokot County.

PublicDomainPictures via pixabay

Over the past year, herders in Kenya's Rift Valley have lost thousands of animals to worsening drought and erratic rainfall. This is causing a growing number of them to switch to farming as a way to supplement their income.

Cherop and her husband now plant chillies - a crop resistant to drought - on a quarter-of-an-acre portion of their land, in addition to pawpaw, mangoes and bananas.

"Livestock had become so vulnerable to dry weather that we decided to start a new activity," the mother of three told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Resistant to drought

Chillies are a safe bet for farmers in times of drought as they do not require fertilisers or water once the roots are established in the soil, said Giuseppe De Bac, project manager in West Pokot County for the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

FAO helped negotiate a three-year agreement for 200 farmers - many of whom have lost livestock - to sell chillies to La Fattoria, an Italian company with a processing plant in the southeast of the country, at a fixed price of 200 Kenyan shillings ($1.9) per kilo. The chillies are then exported to Italy.

A quarter-of-an-acre plot of land can hold 2,500 chilli plants, with each plant yielding up to 1.5 kg of chillies in three years if well tended, said De Bac. "That could get farmers as much as 250,000 shillings ($2,409) per year, compared to only 7,500 shillings ($72) when they grew maize," he said.

Glenda Andiema, a marketing executive at La Fattoria, said the contract may be renewed at the end of the three-year period, "to involve more farmers if we see it is working well."

Herders in the region are increasingly farming crops like maize or onions in addition to keeping livestock, said De Bac. "But most of it was only for domestic consumption - we want to help them scale up their production and derive a reliable income from it," he said.

Changing behaviours

Although the village's farmers are starting to embrace their new crop, De Bac said the initiative has been far from straightforward. "Farmers in this region are used to keeping livestock and if they have to grow any crops, they mainly grow maize and vegetables for domestic consumption," he said.

"Introducing them to high-value horticulture was not an easy task, even after praising the benefits of having access to a ready market."

"(Chilli) needs water in the early stages of growth, so we encourage farmers to plant on drip-irrigated plots," he said. FAO supplies the farmers with water storage tanks and drip irrigation kits, through funding from the Italian Agency for Development and Cooperation. To date, however, some farmers prefer using sprinklers which are easier to use than the more water-efficient drip irrigation, he said.

Andiema explained that extension officers visit the village to ensure the farmers follow the correct practices, which will yield a high-quality product. La Fattoria may refuse to buy the chillies if they are of insufficient quality or quantity, she added.

Spreading the risk

Putting farmers in touch with buyers is a good way to ensure they benefit from a ready market while being contractually obliged to deliver produce of high quality, said Ann Mbaabu, director for market access at the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, which supports smallholder farmers. "However, the buyers must de-risk the farmers from poor yields by deploying monitoring officers on the ground to help them meet quality standards, or even linking them to insurers to provide a cushion against extreme weather," she said.

According to Haron Kibet, the county administrator in West Pokot, the fact that a community that has always relied on livestock is now pursuing an alternative source of income is a positive step. "It will put them in a much stronger position to deal with tough climate conditions," he said.

Some of the farmers have delivered their first crop of chillies to drying centres and will receive their first payment in September once the produce has been collected. "This is an exciting moment for us because for the first time we are growing a crop which we know we will sell, to whom and for how much," said chilli farmer Pamela Chepkorir.

($1 = 103.7500 Kenyan shillings)

Thomson Reuters Foundation. Reporting by Isaiah Esipisu, Editing by Zoe Tabary and Alex Whiting.
An important conservation goal is to try and ensure that people and wildlife can coexist. This is especially important when it comes to elephants, whose large home ranges and long distance movements take them outside of protected areas

dpatdfci via pixabay

One of the major challenges to coexistence is the use of food crops by elephants. This threatens the livelihoods, food security and well-being of rural communities. Elephant forays into farmland sometimes results in retaliatory and legal killings under the Problem Animal Control laws and erosion of support for elephant conservation efforts.

For people and elephants to thrive in the long-term, its important to find ways to mitigate the impact of the animal on peoples lives and livelihoods and vice versa. To find effective solutions, we need to understand why elephants eat crops rather than fodder from the bush and how they learn about crops as a source of food.

To explore these questions our team at the Southern Tanzania Elephant Program used camera traps to capture elephant visits to farmland. The cameras were set up in an area adjacent to the Udzungwa Mountains National Park in Tanzania between 2010 and 2014.

We placed camera traps on elephant trails on the National Park boundary to photograph elephants as they travelled in and out of neighbouring farmland. We then studied the camera trap photos to identify individual elephants from key distinguishing features like ears and tusks.

High-risk, high-reward

All the elephants photographed by our camera traps were males. This is consistent with previous studies suggesting that eating crops is a high risk, high reward feeding strategy for males. Females have been documented to feed on crops, but they are generally less likely to visit farms because of the risks involved to their young.

Age also plays a role. Our study, as well as previous studies in Amboseli, Kenya and Kibale, Uganda found that eating crops appears related to specific milestones in a male elephants life.

Two particular milestones stood out: the start of reproduction in bulls when they reach the ages of between 20-30 years and their reproductive peak years in their 40s. When males reach these milestones, they are more willing to take risks and have increased energetic demands. Crops are an attractive source of food for males seeking to maximise their body size and reproductive success.

How do males learn about crops as a food source? In Udzungwa, we found that young bulls aged 10-14 years visited farms. This is the age when males typically leave their maternal family groups, so they may be discovering farms during the process. Its also possible that they learn about crops from older elephants. Researchers in Amboseli found that young bulls learnt about crops from older bulls and that male social networks shaped behaviour.

How many eat crops?

Some studies have investigated how many bulls eat crops, and how their feeding habits vary. In Udzungwa we identified 48 different elephants from our camera trap photos. With so many bulls visiting the farmland in our study site, we couldnt attribute the crop damage to just a few habitual males.

We also found that the frequency of visits varied between individual bulls. Two-thirds were seen only once over the four-year study period, suggesting that these bulls visit farms infrequently. One-third of the bulls were seen multiple times and 18% more than twice over the study period. These males may be using crops more regularly. But even among these repeat offenders, males varied considerably in how often they visited farms.

In Kenya by comparison, researchers estimated that 12% of Amboseli bulls and 21% of bulls from the wider Amboseli, Kilimanjaro and Tsavo-Chyulu populations were repeat crop eaters. Combined, this evidence suggests that the majority of bulls occasionally use crops, while a small proportion may use them more frequently.

Strategies

Strategies to reduce crop losses to elephants should consider that most bulls consume crops infrequently. So, killing elephants for eating crops is unlikely to significantly reduce crop loss. Taking lethal action is also costly, for it affects those older bulls who are more likely to be eating crops. Killing these older bulls removes a crucial source of ecological knowledge as well as important breeding individuals. This is particularly damaging to elephant populations already under threat from ivory poaching.

There are much better non-lethal options for reducing crop losses to elephants. These include beehive fences and land use planning which involves carefully assessing land for the best possible use. These approaches require strong commitment, community buy-in and creativity. But, as weve found in our work in Tanzania, they offer promising avenues for improving the chances of farmers and elephants being able to coexist.

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
The reinvented Singita Sweni Lodge, located within Singita's private 33,000-acre concession in Kruger National Park, has been unveiled. Taking inspiration from the lodge's leafy location on a lush riverbank surrounded by ancient trees, the lodge takes its cues from the rich colour palette of its riverside position, and goes a step further, drawing on the iridescent sheen of bird feathers, butterfly wings and beetle shells to create a bold, new African context for contemporary design, architecture and food.

A glamorous attitude

With South African design team, Cecile & Boyd at the helm, the new-look Singita Sweni Lodge features a base spread of neutral tones to bring in light, which is reflected by gold and bronze ore, polished mud, gleaming recycled timbers, richly hued marble and splashes of vibrant colour. Bold pops of teal, emerald, citron, yellow and pale pink give a dramatic feel to the space.

Working with GAPP Architects and also renowned chef, Liam Tomlin, the updated Singita Sweni Lodge exudes glamorous attitude, with a revamped dining experience and show kitchen, a new outdoor dining deck, an indoor dining area, Marble Bar and lounge, a new pool with views over the Sweni River, a fire pit and viewing deck, and the addition of a secluded pool suite.

Suites maximised for game-viewing

Each of the lodges six contemporary suites have been restructured to maximise open-plan living with panoramic game-viewing decks. The additional new pool suite with the unique inclusion of a private swimming pool and shaded riverfront deck can be connected to the adjacent unit to create a more generous two-bedroom suite, offering guests an extra layer of privacy  perfect for families and honeymoon couples.

All suites have outdoor showers that overlook the river, and outdoor day beds where you can spend a night under the stars. With its close proximity to the Sweni River, guests are treated to exceptional up-close sightings of the wildlife that wander down to drink or wallow. Guests have private access to Singitas concession in the park, which offers some of the most exciting game viewing in Africa. The area is home to large numbers of elephant, leopard, lion, rhino, buffalo, and hippopotamus, as well as a myriad of other species.

An array of activities

Singita offers an array of activities for all ages, from walking safaris, game-drives, mountain biking, stargazing safaris, archery and visits to the Singita School of Cooking, which celebrates its 10-year anniversary in 2017. As one of Singitas most impactful conservation projects, the Singita School of Cooking offers a highly competitive, 12-month course that enrolls eight members of the local community annually to complete an introductory course to hospitality.
Statistics released by Prowess in 2012 showed that more than 126 million women entrepreneurs were advancing in both large and small business in 67 economies. The advisory company, McKinsey has furthermore estimated that if women fully contribute to enterprising, $12t could be added to the global GDP.

Alessandra Alonso, founder of Women in Travel

With female entrepreneurship high on most government agendas, and the World Bank advising that the rate of female entrepreneurship is higher in Africa than in any other region of the world.

With strong indications that women entrepreneurs are on the rise, the World Travel Market Africa team have announced the addition of the Women in Travel Meetup to its 2018 programme.

Leveraging global tourism

Women in Travel, established officially as a social enterprise in 2017 following years of successful events, aimed to leverage the global travel and tourism industry to provide women with the opportunity to fulfil their economic and individual potential through education, engagement and entrepreneurship.

Our vision is to provide communities in key regions (UK, Middle East, Africa and Latin America) with a sustainable livelihood by enabling women to become economically independent through entrepreneurship and a thriving career in the travel and tourism industry and in so doing, to become a recognised catalyst for women empowerment in the international travel and tourism sector, says Alessandra Alonso, founder of Women in Travel.

Growth and upliftment of travel industry

The Women in Travel Meetup at WTM Africa 2018 will consist of a half-day programme inclusive of panel debates, group mentoring sessions and the opportunity to network.

WTM Africa has always focused on the upliftment and growth of the travel sector, a powerful and vibrant industry that has long been a popular vocation for women. Combining our extensive network with Women in Travel is a natural progression set to empower female attendees from all over the continent, and were excited to add this to our already diverse programme, says Chardonnay Marchesi, general manager of Africa Travel Week.
It has been years since the death of the travel agent graced many headlines as consumers increasingly turned to the web to book their holidays. While most would have seen investment in the travel industry at this time as unwise, Flight Centre Travel Group took its business brand, Flight Centre Business Travel to market to tap into this niche that represents the majority of business that happens in South Africa.

Wavebreak Media Ltd via 123RF

Fast forward to 2017 and the travel agent is more popular than ever. Today, the travel agent has turned travel consultant, advisor or professional  a more enhanced role that seeks to meet traveller demands for personalisation, customisation and expert advice.

Peace of mind and personalistion

In the business travel space, travellers are looking for peace of mind, says Innocent Manaka, FCBT account manager. People are away from their families. As a travel consultant, you give them the peace of mind that when they travel, they dont need to worry about anything. Yes, they are away from their families, but a travel consultant will make sure everything runs smoothly.

And that means that, for some companies, an over-reliance on the web doesnt deliver that peace of mind and personalisation.

Airbus Helicopters Southern Africa moved to an online platform a couple of years ago, but it didnt work out so well, says the companys Customer Support Administrator Monica Bridges. We wanted a more personal approach and were looking for an offline, interactive travel agent.

Bridges explain the company needed a travel company that would adapt to the companys specific travel needs, as well as help with the companys financial visibility. Our requirement is for an interactive platform that will help us make savings and achieve more visibility. You dont get that online, she says.

Meeting travel needs

Penny P. MacDonald, Office Manager at Namakwa Diamonds, says as the travel needs of Namakwa Diamonds increased, the company also decided to look for a more personalised solution. When I want to know where my bosses are, I phone my travel manager, she laughs.

Why would I go online? I have these amazing people who do everything for me.

For MacDonald, it is important that her travel manager knows every person in the company. My travel manager knows that if the CFO doesnt want a middle seat, so he will make sure he doesnt book that seat. Its those personal touches that make my life and my job a lot easier, she says.

Bridges agrees and says: I phoned my travel manager once at 12am. I received the same friendly service as during the day. That is incredible for me.
Organisers of Automechanika 2017 say that trucks, vans, buses, the transport and logistics industries, as well as materials handling will feature strongly at the show, which takes place at the Johannesburg Expo Centre, Nasrec, from September 27-30.

Sergiy Tryapitsyn via 123RF

Serving not only SA but also the sub-Saharan African region and occurring only every two years, this year's Automechanika Johannesburg trade fair for the automotive aftermarket is the fifth edition of the show. For the first time, it will be colocated with related exhibitions, Futuroad Expo, Africa's first truly global commercial vehicle show and Scalex Johannesburg, serving the logistics and materials handling sectors.

Another first say the organisers as the show is the pioneer trade and business platform for the road transport-focused logistics sector.

The show organiser and brand owner of Automechanika Johannesburg are Messe Frankfurt, a subsidiary of Messe Frankfurt Exhibition, Germany.

The fact that the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers SA-supported Futuroad Expo is part of the offering will be seen by many in the industry as a significant development. The expo is a new commercial vehicle show that has evolved from the former Johannesburg Truck and Bus Show, which was held alongside the Johannesburg International Motor Show until its demise in 2013.

From consumer facing event to business-to-business trade show

"The fact that Futuroad is now a four-day business-to-business trade show with a large, potential sub-Saharan trade visitor reach is more appropriate for local truck and bus manufacturers and distributors than the previous 11-day consumer-facing event," says Joshua Low, group exhibitions director at Messe Frankfurt.

This year's Automechanika Johannesburg will mark the fifth time since 2009 that this world-renowned brand for the automotive aftermarket has been staged in SA.

Over the years this biennial trade fair has established itself as a major event for the key players in the motor and related industries. It has grown not only in stature locally and internationally, but also in terms of the number of exhibitors that participate and trade visitor attendance.

Truck Competence signifies growing importance of transport sector

Automechanika's Truck Competence sub brand, which distinguishes exhibitors offering products and services to the fleet and trucking sector, will once again be a feature, as it has at most global Automechanika trade fairs for the past five years. Truck Competence, which focuses on replacement parts, accessories, services and garage equipment for trucks and buses signifies the growing importance of the transport sector for aftermarket service providers.

At the Automechanika show in Frankfurt - the birthplace of the trade fair brand - more than 1,000 of the 4,820 exhibitors offered components, replacement parts, tools and equipment for servicing and maintaining trucks and buses in the retail industry.

The identification sign - an orange Truck Competence logo - will appear on all the relevant display stands where products and services for the truck and transport sectors are displayed, promoted, and demonstrated.

In addition to the exhibition, several conferences and events hosted by various trade associations will take place at Expo Centre, linked to the three shows, as part of the Automechanika Academy Programme.

Source: Business Day
Over the past months of the 2017 calendar year, On the Dot has endeavoured toward sustaining a culture of what is referred to as Acting in Kindness'. In doing so the company has contributed towards various needs within communities and society as a whole.

These Acts of Kindness were carried out nationally by staff across all On the Dot branches with the aim of making a difference through meaningful and sustainable contributions, and therefore encourage a culture of constantly Acting in Kindness.

In acknowledgement of Mandela month this year, all staff were issued with a challenge by the General Manager (Rika Swart), which entailed reaching a goal of achieving a total of 67 Acts of Kindness by the end of July 2017.

Having stepped up to the challenge the On the Dot team exceeded this amount, and as at the 31st of July 2017 the group had carried out a total of 72 Acts of Kindness!

This was achieved through the following;

Donations of items in support of relief caused by the natural disasters (Knysna fires, Western Cape storms)



Hosting soup kitchens for On the Dot Contractors, Street Sellers and Runners.



Collecting and donating winter shoes and socks to those in need of it.



Revamping of Childrens Homes.



Hand making sleeping bags for shelters.



Donating time and items to childrens homes.



Donating time and items to hospitals.



Donating time and items to old aged homes.

These are just a few of the initiatives carried out thus far by On the Dot, which is to be continued in the aim of reaching the ultimate goal of a sustained culture of Kindness.

Rika Swart, general manager of On the Dot, says; I have never before seen a team so diverse yet so united in their belief and commitment to living our values and driving a culture of care in and beyond the boundaries of On the Dot. They are exemplary in their resilience. Standing strong and proud amidst this challenging yet exciting times for print media industry they still till take the time to drive care initiatives. What an amazing privilege to be part of this team. Respect  I see you!

On the Dot, South Africas largest multi-channel media logistics company, offers distribution solutions for magazines, newspapers, subscriptions, community newspapers and pamphlets through direct to store, home delivery and informal networks

We enable our customers to grow their businesses by providing an end-to-end supply chain solution

Tel: 087 741 3137

Email: az.oc.todehtno@ecnatsissa

www.onthedot.co.za




Below Her Mouth is a bold, uninhibited Canadian drama that begins with a passionate weekend affair between two women; The Lost City Of Z is a stirring tribute to the exploratory spirit of conflicted British explorer Percy Fawcett who was driven to the verge of obsession when he journeys into the Amazon at the dawn of the 20th century and discovers evidence of a previously unknown, advanced civilisation; a dark and layered romance, My Cousin Rachel tells the story of a young Englishman who plots revenge against his mysterious and beautiful cousin, believing that she murdered his guardian; in the animated comedy Son Of Bigfoot, a teenage outsider discovers that he is none other than the son of legendary Bigfoot; and the bond between mother and daughter is tested and strengthened when they are kidnapped in Snatched.

The Lost City of Z

Based on author David Granns non-fiction bestseller, The Lost City of Z tells the incredible true story of British explorer Percy Fawcett (Charlie Hunnam), who journeys into the Amazon at the dawn of the 20th century and discovers evidence of a previously unknown, advanced civilisation that may have once inhabited the region. Despite being ridiculed by the scientific establishment who regard indigenous populations as savages, the determined Fawcett  supported by his devoted wife (Sienna Miller), son (Tom Holland) and aide-de-camp (Robert Pattinson)  returns time and again to his beloved jungle in an attempt to prove his case, culminating in his mysterious disappearance in 1925. An epically scaled tale of courage and passion, told in writer/director James Grays (The Yards, The Immigrant, Two Lovers) classic filmmaking style, The Lost City of Z is a stirring tribute to the exploratory spirit and a conflicted adventurer driven to the verge of obsession.

As The Lost City of Z made its long and arduous journey to the screen, the film became something of an obsession for me  fitting, I suppose, given its subject. Percy Fawcetts preoccupation with the Amazon and its peoples was motivated by many factors, and his story is marked by incredible twists and turns, but when I read David Granns book, one idea struck me as particularly worthy of exploration: here was a person for whom the search meant everything. His dream of finding an ancient Amazonian civilisation sustained him through unimaginable hardships, the scepticism of the scientific community, startling betrayals and years spent away from his family.

It may be hard for us today to imagine a world in which there were still broad swaths of uncharted land, but some things have not changed since the dawn of the 20th century. For me, the most universal and timeless theme that runs through The Lost City of Z is that, as Fawcett says in the film, we are all made of the same clay. One only needs to turn on the news to see that the human struggle to transcend differences has, lamentably, lost none of its relevance, said Gray.

My Cousin Rachel

A dark and layered romance, My Cousin Rachel tells the story of a young Englishman who plots revenge against his mysterious and beautiful cousin, believing that she murdered his guardian. His feelings become complicated as he finds himself falling helplessly and obsessively in love with her.

Based on the novel by Daphne du Maurier, the film is written for the screen and directed by Roger Michell, (Notting Hill, Hyde Park On Hudson), who was born in South Africa and as a child lived in Beirut, Damascus and Prague.

Key to Michells adaptation is his decision to fully embrace the novels thrilling ambiguity, the spell of which du Maurier never breaks. The story is the search for the truth, a search that delightfully torments the reader, torments Philip and still continues to haunt the films final moments.

I think if you absolutely know one way or the other what Rachel has done, the story doesnt work. Its exciting to make a film where part of the fun is knowing that people will leave the theatre debating did she or didnt she? I hope people love the mystery of that as much as I do. And I hope they enjoy going on a rollercoaster-ride with this ill-matched couple who are thrown into a kind of emotional washing machine and find themselves churned about as they try to puzzle out each others motives, assumptions, values, and each others sense of truth, says Michell.

Below Her Mouth

Below Her Mouth is a bold, uninhibited drama that begins with a passionate weekend affair between two women. Dallas, a roofer and Jasmine, a fashion editor, share a powerful and immediate connection that inevitably derails both of their lives. The film stars Canadian actress, Natalie Krill and Swedish model, Erika Linder.

Made entirely by women, Below Her Mouth is written by Stephanie Fabrizi and directed by April Mullen (88, Dead Before Dawn). In working to deliver the naked truth of the intimacy between Jasmine and Dallas, Mullen found her biggest challenge. The original intention of the film is the female perspective and that was her guiding light, but she also wanted to forge a genuinely new path rather than fall back on derivative imagery. Mullens private battleground became the choreography of the multiple love scenes, because every time she devised a shot list, she experienced creative deja vu.

As a creator, I strive to return to an inner place and my own experiences. It was a constant tug of war to avoid love scenes Id seen in Hollywood films, which were from the male perspective, or what Ive been dictated to about love and how lovemaking should happen. I constantly had to shake my head and try to think of fresh ways that were honest for me and honest about what happens behind closed doors between two women, said Mullen.

Mullen was able to advance her craft in a new and unexpected way.

I think love is something thats always intangible, until you see it or feel it. I come from a background of directing action-thrillers which rely on fast editing, a visual aesthetic, or squibs, explosions and guns. I have been longing to explore and share a very intimate story of beautiful, simple moments, and to that end, I was able to draw from the two actresses performances where they completely let go of who they used to be and become someone new together, continued Mullen.

Son of Bigfoot

In Son Of Bigfoot, teenage outsider Adam sets out on an epic and daring quest to uncover the mystery behind his long-lost dad, only to find out that he is none other than the legendary Bigfoot! He has been hiding deep in the forest for years to protect himself and his family from HairCo., a giant corporation eager to run scientific experiments with his special DNA. As father and son start making up for lost time after the boys initial disbelief, Adam soon discovers that he too is gifted with superpowers beyond his imagination, but little do they know, HairCo. is on their tail as Adams traces have led them to Bigfoot!

This Belgian CGI-animated film is directed by Ben Stassen and Jeremy Degruson.

Snatched

When her boyfriend dumps her, Emily (Amy Schumer), a spontaneous woman in her 30s, persuades her ultra-cautious mom (Goldie Hawn), to accompany her on a vacation to Ecuador in the action comedy Snatched. At Emilys insistence, the pair seek out adventure, but suddenly find themselves kidnapped. When these two very different women are trapped on this wild journey, their bond as mother and daughter is tested and strengthened while they attempt to navigate the jungle and escape.

Directed by Jonathan Levine and written by Amy Schumer, Katie Dippold, and Kim Caramele.

Snatched is not only a journey from New York to the jungles of the Amazon, it is an emotional and hilarious exploration of the ever-evolving relationship between a mother and her daughter.

I think in the beginning, she thinks that shes doing her mom a favour by forcing her to go on this trip. She thinks shes going to help her and its going to be a great adventure. I think deep down, Emily looks at how her mom is living and doesnt want to end up like that. She thinks if she can make her mom have this awesome life, then that will make her feel better about her future. She then realises that shes a pretty selfish person, says Katie Dippold, screenwriter.

Read more about the latest releases: www.writingstudio.co.za.
TEHRAN, Iran: French automaker Renault this week signed a long-awaited joint venture deal with Iran worth 660-million ($779-million) to build up to 300,000 cars per year.

 pawelll via pixabay

The new deal puts Renault in partnership with Iran's state Industrial Development and Renovation Organisation (IDRO) and private firm Parto Negin Naseh.

Renault will hold a 60-percent stake with IDRO and Parto Negin Naseh 20 percent each.

"The first phase of this accord worth 660 million euros provides for the annual manufacturing of 150,000 cars," IDRO head Mansour Moazami said at a signing ceremony in Tehran.

He said the first cars will roll off the assembly line in around 18 months.

The new venture will produce Renault's Duster and Symbol models at a refurbished factory in Saveh, around 120 kilometres (74 miles) southwest of Tehran.

A second, three-year phase will start in 2019 with production ramping up to 300,000 cars per year.

Under the deal, 30 percent of the cars and parts made by the venture will be exported.

"We are happy to sign one of Renault's most historical contracts here," said Thierry Bollore, number two of the French carmaker, at the signing.

"Within Renault, Iran is known for its great industrial potential, its automotive industry infrastructure, strong human resources and unique geopolitical position," he added.

Unlike its chief competitor PSA, which makes Peugeots and Citroens, Renault never fully quit Iran during the sanctions period and already makes some 200,000 cars a year in the country.

But it had to put a brake on its growth plans until Iran concluded a nuclear deal with world powers that came into force in January 2016, easing international sanctions.

"Renault has proved its commitment to a nonstop presence in Iran since the beginning of its operation in 2004, and this signing confirms our strong intent and commitment for long-term operations as a strategic partner of Iran's automotive industry," said Bollore.

"This is a unique agreement in terms of investment, of technology transfer... of the development of Iranian talent, and in the creation of a modern engineering and production centre," he added.

Negotiations were painstaking, with Renault reportedly reluctant to meet Iranian requirements to source 40% of its parts from local manufacturers, which have struggled to keep up with international standards.

PSA, which quit the country when international sanctions hit in 2012, has been quick to rebuild its presence in Iran, which was the company's main engine of growth last year.

It signed a 400-million deal in June 2016 to build 200,000 Peugeots a year with Iran Khodro, and another with Iran's SAIPA to build a similar number of Citroens.

Overall production in Iran is expected to reach two million cars a year by 2020, up from 1.2 million in 2016.

French firms have been at the forefront of rebuilding trade ties with Iran since the nuclear deal, with energy giant Total signing a billion-dollar gas deal last month despite mounting pressure from Washington to isolate the country.

Source: AFP
The South African real estate investment trust (Reit) sector is poised to enter a period of sustained stress as SA's economic woes continue to hit hard.

This could spur consolidation, which has been largely absent for nearly two years. Investors have wanted to invest in larger and more liquid property companies with a market capitalisation of about R5bn, instead of many small R1bn and R2bn funds, which listed over the past four years.

"Our view is that as certain companies come under duress, it is highly likely that stronger companies will engage in corporate action to take advantage of these opportunities," said Garreth Elston, fund manager at Golden Section Capital.

He said this would include opportunistic moves, such as 2016's unsuccessful offer by Arrowhead Properties to acquire Emira Property Fund, as well as more synergistic strategic corporate action that would improve companies' scale, diversification and resilience.

But acquiring companies would have to have the balance sheet strength to ride out the negative cycle, integrate the portfolios and emerge able to reap the benefits of the acquisition synergies.

Emira has been struggling with certain vacancies. The company said its dividends were expected to fall in the year to June 2017.

Its financial results are due next Thursday. The forecast for weak guidance may deter companies from making takeover offers.

Stanlib portfolio manager Ahmed Motara said even though Emira had a fairly good retail portfolio, its office portfolio had some problems.

"Their board was hostile to Arrowhead's intention for a takeover. I think at this point, funds won't make offers for Emira. The forecast for the sector in general is also too murky," he said.

One potential takeover target could be Tower Property Fund, which has strong Cape assets, but at R2.6bn market cap is a small stock relative to its peers.

The company last week released its financial results for the year to May, wherein it rebased its dividend and also highlighted uncertainty about the payment of rentals of its largest Croatian tenant, supermarket chain Konzum.

Another possible target could be Safari Investments.

The group, which owns shopping centres in underserved towns and also has exposure to Namibia, has doubled its portfolio by value from R1.3bn at listing in 2014, to R2.6bn.

Its retail portfolio would fit into a number of specialised mall owners very well, according to fund managers.

Vukile Property Fund, for example, has considered taking over Safari but Safari's shares are tightly held and its management has not wanted to entertain any offers. But as there are relatively very few high quality malls on the market for funds, Safari may be able to attract an attractive price for its whole portfolio.

Source: Business Day
Lufthansa Airlines, in commemoration of South Africa's National Women's Day, dismissed misconceptions about flight attendants roles in today's airline industry. Maira Madeleine Nolte, a Lufthansa flight attendant since 2011, speaks about the importance of flight attendants, providing insight into what the profession really entails.

Maira Madeleine Nolte

What training does a flight attendant go through?

We have an initial twelve-week training process  during this time, we experience different aspects of the job as a flight attendant. We have emergency, first aid, intercultural competencies, communication, and service training. The initial training also includes three flights as a trainee, where new colleagues are allowed to fly and work for the first time with experienced flight attendants.

How often do flight attendants have to go through training?

All Lufthansa flight attendants have to re-visit training classes every year to makes sure that they keep the highest standards. I attend these classes at the Lufthansa Aviation Training centre several times a year. It depends on the training you have to pass, but it takes anywhere between half a day to two days. For the first aid and emergency training of the different aircraft types, I have to go through a 'so-called' recurrent-training every year. For example, Im allowed to fly on the Airbus A320, A340 and A380  I have to go through a half day recurrent training every year for each aircraft type. In addition to this, I have to go on an emergency CRM (Crew Resource Management) Training and Security. Basically, a Lufthansa flight attendant on a full-time contract is required to pass at least six training sessions a year.

What are flight attendants trained in, in terms of safety emergency situations, both plane and people related?

You have to imagine that in the case of an emergency, we would basically be on our own. Thats the reason why we are trained to react accordingly in different states of emergency including the build-up of smoke, fire on board, the handling of dangerous goods, a bomb threat, and medical incidents. Although situations like these happen very rarely, we are trained on procedures on de-escalation in order to be fully prepared for any situation. Safety is our number-one priority.

What is the primary onboard role as a flight attendant? What does this role entail?

Our fundamental task is the safety on board, but we are also responsible for providing passengers with great service, and ultimately ensuring our guests have a relaxing flight. We are, therefore, required to fulfil different roles on board, and if necessary, we are able to switch between these roles immediately. For example, if you are in the middle of serving passengers and a medical incident occurs you would have to interrupt the service right away to assist the medical situation.

What are the common traveller misconceptions about the role of a flight attendant?

Fortunately, we dont have medical or emergency incidents very often, so its understandable that some guests think the main role of a flight attendant is to provide great service. Although our number one priority is safety, we can be happy that they think we are service staff because it means they havent experienced an unpleasant situation on board. Of course, we do our best to also offer our guests a smooth and relaxing flight. However, this is also the reason why some guests are oblivious to our responsibility for providing safety. The service is an important part of our job, but safety is always our number-one priority.

Is it true that flight attendants get to travel for free around the world?

This is just a myth, every airline is different though. Lufthansa staff do receive certain employee discounts, but no, we cannot travel for free.

How true is it that flight attendants dont get jet lag?

Well, we are human like everyone else, so we also have to fight against jet lag. Maybe its a little bit easier for us because we travel more often but even frequent travellers are good at handling jet lag. I think the more you travel, the better you know your body and after a while, you know what to do and how you sleep to try to avoid jet lag or reduce it to a minimum. Basically, everybody has his or her own way of handling it. I personally have a kind of '12 oclock-rule'. When I arrive in the morning, I go to bed approximately until noon. Its like a midday sleep, but its really important to get up after a few hours in order to arrive home and adjust to the local time. When I arrive in the afternoon, I try to keep myself awake and go to bed early in the evening.

Frequent flyer input

Jo-Ann Strauss, former Miss South Africa, businesswoman, proud mom, and the face of Lufthansa in South Africa, travels quite a bit and explains that, in her experience, the role of the flight attendant is vital, and one that should always be respected.

Jo-Ann Strauss, former Miss South Africa, businesswoman, proud mom, and the Face of Lufthansa in South Africa.

In my travels as Miss South Africa, a mom, and a business person, I have experienced first-hand the assistance and guidance the flight attendants provide. While some may think that they are just there to cater to their whims and wishes, the flight attendants perform vitally important functions that go on behind-the-scenes and sometimes functions that we should be thankful that we are not aware of.

From ensuring our safety and security on board to assisting passengers who are experiencing difficulties in flight, and also having to be a little tougher when it comes to passengers whose behaviour threatens both the safety and enjoyability of the flight experience of others, the flight attendant must always be respected. They are there, first and foremost, for your safety. The fact that they can do this with a smile at 35,000 feet going at a speed of between 8 and 9 March 2017, in a highly pressurised cabin, for often more than 10 hours at a time with little to no sleep, should be enough for travellers to realise that they are simply extraordinary, said Strauss.
A rough journey. This is how Aliko Dangote, CEO of Nigeria's Dangote Group, described the company's expansion across the African continent.

Aliko Dangote speaking during the Afreximbank annual general meeting in Kigali, Rwanda.

Dangote started the business almost four decades ago as a trading enterprise  focusing on products such as cement, sugar, flour, salt and fish  and later ventured into full-scale manufacturing. Today the group is a behemoth with interests in cement, sugar, salt, pasta, beverages and real estate, to name a few.

Cement is one of Dangotes most successful products, and the company is currently Africas biggest producer. It has existing and planned operations in 16 African countries, including Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Cameroon and Ethiopia. Dangote Cements unaudited results for the six months ended 30 June 2017, showed revenues from Nigeria reached 291.4bn (US$924m), while turnover from the rest of the continent stood at 124.4bn ($394m).

But it seems that even for one of Africas richest men, building a pan-African company hasnt always been smooth sailing. Speaking during a session at the recent Afreximbank annual general meeting, held in Rwandas capital Kigali, Dangote identified some of the international expansion hurdles his company had to overcome.

Political risk

One of these has been legal action by local cement companies who werent happy with a new kid on the block. Some of these cases dragged on for as long as three years, and even ended up in the supreme court.

Political risk is an item high on the list of concerns for frontier-market investors, especially uncertainties about whether an incoming government will continue with existing policies. But Dangote said his company typically doesnt get involved in politics, and aims to work with whichever party is in power. However, he conceded there have been challenges such as finding out that the minister of finance himself is the chairman of the competition.

To mitigate against the potential adverse effects of a change in power, Dangote advises foreign investors to decline concessions or incentives not available to other players in their sector. This means they cannot be singled out when a new government introduces policy changes  the entire sector would be impacted.

Dangote said foreign companies typically wait for the results of the next election before entering a country. However, once the election is completed, they again postpone their investment decision as they wait for the government to stabilise.

But this is not how Dangote does things. With us as Africans, we are used to this, we are not going to wait for any election outcome, we will continue to invest. And even if there is a new government, we are not going to wait and see the stability of that government. We will continue in the hope that they will do the right thing, he explained.

In a country like Nigeria, from 1977 to date, weve seen 11 governments. And I think so far, so good  weve not been thrown out, yet.

Becoming an electricity producer

Many African countries suffer from inadequate grid-connected electricity to drive industrialisation. However, Dangote Cement has overcome this challenge with a simple solution  generating its own electricity to power its plants.

We are power producers In the entire Africa, only in South Africa and Ethiopia, we dont produce power. [In all the] other countries, we produce our own power for our businesses.

Dangote added that in Nigeria, which is known for its significant electricity deficit, it costs the company three times less to generate its own power than what it would have paid to buy it from the national grid.

Cross-border trading challenges

Transacting across borders in West Africa is very, very tough, according to Dangote, due to the numerous extra costs and transport challenges.

For instance, the Dangote Cement plant in Nigerias Ogun State is located much closer to countries such as Benin, Togo and Ghana, than to some major Nigerian cities  Ghana is about 450km from the factory, while Nigerias capital Abuja is 670km. However, despite the proximity of these countries and the fact that they rely on imported cement from as far away as China, it has been challenging for the company to sell its cement there due to various border charges that can inflate costs by as much as 30%.

According to Dangote, the markets in some individual African countries are often too small to justify investing in a dedicated factory. To benefit from economies of scale, manufacturers therefore need to be able to easily sell their products across borders.

Dangote said the new $11bn oil refinery and petrochemical complex his group is constructing in Lagos will produce enough fuel and polypropylene (a common component of plastic products) to cater for the entire West Africa region. In refining, the margin is not that much. So the only way you can make money is by volume of business.

He further highlighted the challenges associated with moving staff from one African country to another. As a Nigerian, he requires a visa for over 30 countries, while a British passport holder needs a visa for only a handful of African territories.
LUANDA, Angola - In what is considered a watershed moment for the African internet, the installation of the first direct subsea link, the South Atlantic Cable System (SACS), is considered a strategic project for Angola to advance the region's digital economy and to improve global communications.

 alphaspirit via 123RF

Angola Cables took a step closer to completion of SACS at an official launch in Sangano, Angola, this week. SACS is the first direct link between Africa and South America. The installation of the South Atlantic Cable System (SACS)  a subsea cable with 40 Tbps of capacity that will extend more than 6,500 km to Fortaleza, Brazil  began on the Angolan coast in the municipality of Quissama. The SACS system is being constructed by NEC Corporation.

The launch event was attended by Jose Carvalho da Rocha, the Angolan Minister of Telecommunications and Technologies, local and international business leaders, as well as the shareholders and guests of Angola Cables. The installation of SACS is considered a strategic project for Angola to advance the regions digital economy and to improve global communications.

When the entire network is completed, along with associated elements such as data centres and Internet Exchange Points, SACS will offer a paradigm shift in Africas telecommunications sector. According to Antonio Nunes, CEO of Angola Cables: For Angolans, the time to access content available in America  the largest centre for the production and aggregation of digital content and services  will improve fivefold.

Currently it takes approximately 300 milliseconds to connect between Angola and Brazil. With SACS, the latency  the time lag between a data packet being sent and received  is expected to be reduced to approximately 60 milliseconds.

Angola is becoming one of the telecommunications hubs in sub-Saharan Africa, added Nunes. Current cable systems, such as WACS, together with the SACS and Monet cables systems  complemented by local data centres  will improve connectivity, but also economically benefit Angola and the surrounding regions as tech companies requiring high connectivity establish and grow their operations in Africa.

The installation phase of the cable on the Angolan shore is one of the most important aspects of the project as several levels of interaction and activity are required with several entities simultaneously, and therefore constitute a critical and high risk moment. The protection of both the cable and the teams involved is one of the aspects analysed and therefore the work is rigorous and well planned. The installation of SACS represents the realisation of a dream, a development that reflects our ability to find solutions and overcome challenges, always having in mind the final objective, said Nunes.
In his opening speech to members of the government Peace Commission, Khu Oo Reh of the Delegation for Political Negotiation (DPN) said that after months of talks there was no trust between his organization and the government.

The DNP is composed of representatives of the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), a coalition of armed ethnic groups that have not signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) with the government. Khu Oo Reh delivered his remarks on August 10 at the sixth official meeting between the two parties. The meeting took place at the National Reconciliation and Peace Center in Yangon (Rangoon).

Looking back on our trust building so far, there is little to show for 14 months of talks, which I feel is a very long time. So, the level of trust is now at zero, said Khu Oo Reh.

The two sides met informally on August 5 in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai to work out preliminary points.

Although we have met often, we have been discussing and negotiating the technical terms and issues. It has now been 14 months. I feel that our meetings have not been productive because they have gone on for so long. I understand that part of the reason that we meet to discuss policy to solve specific problems is to build trust between our two organizations, continued Khu Oo Reh.

In his opening speech, the chairman of the governments Peace Commission, Dr. Tin Myo Win said that much of the DPNs nine-point negotiation proposal has been agreed to.

The recent meeting saw the two parties discuss the nine-point proposal, a legal framework for their agreement, and other matters concerning the UNFCs members joining the ceasefire agreement.

The UNFC members presented at the meeting represented the New Mon State Party (NMSP) the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP), the Shan State Progressive Party (SSPP), the Arakan National Council (ANC) and the Lahu Democratic Union (LDU).

- By Mon News Agency (MNA)
PR Newswire

SANTA BARBARA, Calif., Aug. 10, 2017

SANTA BARBARA, Calif., Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Aflac, the leader in voluntary insurance sales at the worksite in the U.S. and a committed corporate ally in making a difference in the lives of children with cancer, today proudly presented a group of heroes with Duckprints Awards for making an impact and leaving a footprint in the lives of children and families with cancer.

"At Aflac, we believe that everyone has the power to do good," Aflac Foundation President Kathelen Amos said. "Aflac adopted the charge more than 20 years ago to further childhood cancer research and treatment and to support families, and we haven't looked back since. We are excited to kick off our 2017 Duckprints celebrations at Cottage Children's Medical Center and to honor three inspiring, selfless individuals who truly embody what it means to do good."

The 2017 Duckprints Awardees are:

"Corporate support helps Cottage Children's Medical Center provide the kind of advanced treatments and care for children with cancer that you'd otherwise find at an academic medical center," Cottage Health Director of Development Magda Stayton said. "We're grateful to Aflac for partnering with us to honor this group of outstanding heroes who are leaving their own footprints in the fight against childhood cancer."

Childhood cancer is the leading cause of death by disease for children under the age of 15, according to the National Cancer Institute. Yet, less than 4 percent of all federal funding for cancer research goes toward pediatric cancer, according to the Children's Cancer Fund. That's why since 1995, Aflac has contributed more than $116 million to bridge the gap in funding and help find a cure. In fact, each month, more than 17,000 Aflac independent sales associates contribute more than $500,000 from their commission checks to support childhood cancer research and treatment.

Leading up to September Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, Aflac is calling on people across America to become active in the cause. To honor the 25-year relationship between Cottage Health and Aflac, supporters are invited to make donations in $25 increments at www.cottagechildrens.org/cmn. These donations will be matched by Aflac, up to $5,000, until Sept. 30.

In addition, Aflac is donating $2 to children's cancer research and treatment for each Duckprints-related social media activity on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and/or Instagram, up to $1.5 million. Related social actions include:

Twitter - $2 for any tweet using the hashtag #Duckprints or for retweets of Duckprints-related tweets. Facebook - $2 for any share of posts related to Duckprints or using #Duckprints.YouTube - $2 per view of the Duckprints videos on YouTube.Instagram - $2 for every post using the hashtag #Duckprints.

Aflac also created a website (aflacduckprints.com) that enables users to nominate unsung heroes in their community who have made a difference in the lives of children and families facing cancer. People can follow the Aflac Duck on his journey to hospitals around the country honoring those heroes. In addition, merchandise such as plush Aflac Ducks and Duckprints-related T-shirts, slippers and other items are available for purchase at aflacduckprints.com, with all of the net proceeds going toward the treatment and research of childhood cancer.

About Duckprints Award Recipient Faith DeBrum Three weeks after her grandfather passed away from cancer, Faith felt a lump on her collarbone. Having witnessed "Papa's" decline for a year and ultimately seeing him succumb to lung cancer, she was understandably frightened.

The diagnosis of Hodgkin's lymphoma arrived on Faith's 11th birthday.

Her parents, Ronnie and Laura, assured her that Papa's cancer wasn't like hers, and that her cancer would be curable. From their home in Santa Maria, the family traveled to Cottage Children's Medical Center, where Faith underwent four rounds of chemotherapy.

Faith has been instrumental with her involvement in Children's Miracle Network Hospitals' fundraising for Cottage Children's Medical Center. Every year, May is Miracle Month at Costco  where her parents work  and it's during this time that the warehouse asks customers at the register if they'd like to make a donation.

Faith's photo is displayed prominently on a banner to serve as an inspiration for the impact the community can have on saving kids' lives. Now 13 years old, Faith has been cancer-free for two years.

This year, the warehouse hosted its inaugural Memorial Day Miracle Walk/Run and BBQ, where Faith and her mom headed up the walkers, while her dad led the charge of runners. Thanks to their efforts (and those of their work family), Costco is Cottage's top CMNH corporate partner in the community.

Award Recipient Jasmin Castro Unexplained bleeding prompted Jasmin's mom to rush her to the closest Emergency Room in Ojai, Calif., when she was just 1 year old. She was quickly transferred to nearby Cottage Children's Medical Center where an egg-sized mass was discovered, diagnosed as a germ cell tumor.

"We were told she might only have five days to live," said Jasmin's mom, Juana, as the growth rapidly increased to the size of a lemon, then to that of an orange.

Jasmin spent a month in Cottage's Pediatric Intensive Care Unit before moving to the Acute Pediatrics floor. The family "practically lived" at Cottage for six months, as Jasmin underwent intense chemotherapy; treatment at such a young age resulted in some hearing loss.

She overcame the odds but was faced with another challenge years later when she turned 15. That's when Jasmin collapsed from an aneurysm.

Again she was taken to Cottage, where she spent a little more than three weeks in the ICU in an induced coma. Afterwards, she had to relearn how to walk and talk.

Today, 17-year-old Jasmin is in good health and recently shared her experiences on Spanish radio with her family during the Children's Miracle Network Radio Bronco 107.7 Radiothon.

Her entire family, who took time out of their busy schedule, donned Cottage Children's Medical Center shirts and rallied donations during rush hour on the corner of Milpas Street alongside the station's DJ, collecting more than $1,200 from passersby to help kids like Jasmin at Cottage.

About Duckprints Award Recipient Anita Williamson Seeing a picture of her friend's young daughter undergoing chemotherapy in a hospital gown marked "Property of Cottage Hospital," Anita was inspired to take action: There must be a friendlier, more comfortable outfit for kids facing cancer, she thought.

That was the moment she decided to do something.

Anita contacted her friends, Diane and Richard Nares, co-founders of the Emilio Nares Foundation in San Diego (enfhope.org). The organization helps low-income and underserved families meet basic needs associated with caring for a sick child, and it honors the memory of the couple's 5-year-old son, who passed away due to acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Through the Emilio Nares Foundation, Anita purchased and then donated to Cottage Children's Medical Center a total of 300 soft, colorful Loving Tabs T-shirts designed with snap openings at the shoulder and sleeve to allow for easy port access during infusion treatments. Her donation was in honor of the doctors who cared for her during a recent hospital stay.

Thanks to Anita's generosity, patients at Cottage's Grotenhuis Pediatric Clinics are able to receive the garments for free and can take them home and reuse them for future treatments.

Anita plans to establish a program that will continue to benefit all children undergoing cancer treatment in the future, which will enhance the comfort of pediatric patients.

About AflacWhen a policyholder gets sick or hurt, Aflac pays cash benefits fast. For more than six decades, Aflac insurance policies have given policyholders the opportunity to focus on recovery, not financial stress. In the United States, Aflac is the leader in voluntary insurance sales at the worksite. Through its trailblazing One Day PaySM initiative, Aflac U.S. can receive, process, approve and disburse payment for eligible claims in one business day. In Japan, Aflac is the leading provider of medical and cancer insurance, and insures 1 in 4 households. Aflac insurance products help provide protection to more than 50 million people worldwide. For 11 consecutive years, Aflac has been recognized by Ethisphere as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies. In 2017, Fortune magazine recognized Aflac as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in America for the 19th consecutive year and included Aflac on its list of Most Admired Companies for the 16th time. In 2015, Aflac's contact centers were recognized by J.D. Power by providing "An Outstanding Customer Service Experience" for the Live Phone Channel. Aflac Incorporated is a Fortune 500 company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AFL. To find out more about Aflac and One Day PaySM, visit aflac.com or espanol.aflac.com.

Aflac herein means American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus and American Family Life Assurance Company of New York.

Aflac media contact  Kristen Fraser, 706.580.3813 or [email protected]

Aflac analyst and investor contact  David A. Young, 706.596.3264 or 800.235.2667, FAX 706.324.6330, or [email protected]

Cottage Children's Medical Center media contact - Maria Zate, 805-879-8986 or [email protected]

View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/aflac-kicks-off-2017-duckprints-tour-at-cottage-childrens-medical-center-in-santa-barbara-by-honoring-heroes-who-have-made-a-meaningful-difference-in-the-lives-of-children-with-cancer-300503087.html

SOURCE Aflac




NEW DELHI (PTI): The Defence Ministry has sought an additional allocation of Rs 20,000 crore from the Finance Ministry to speed up the procurement of arms and weapons systems, officials said.



The Government had last month empowered the Indian Army to procure ammunitions and other military hardware directly to maintain combat readiness for short-duration "intense wars" and the officials said the additional funds were sought to address its requirements.



The Government had set aside Rs 2.74 lakh crore for the Armed Forces in the Union Budget and the Rs 20,000 crore has been sought in addition to that.



The officials claimed that the demand for the additional funds had nothing to do with India's standoff with China in Dokalam in the Sikkim sector.



They said the withdrawal of customs duty exemptions on defence imports had led to additional liabilities for the Defence Ministry and thus, the Finance Ministry had been requested to neutralise it by allocating additional funds.



They said the Finance Ministry had indicated that the demand for the additional funds would be considered "favourably" and "at the earliest".



Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley also holds the additional charge of defence.



In a major decision, the Government had last month empowered the Army to procure critical weapons systems and military platforms directly.



According to the decision, the Vice Chief of the Army had been given the "full" financial powers to procure ammunitions and spares for 10 types of weapons systems and equipment after an internal review revealed that the optimum level of "war stores" was not being maintained.






NEW DELHI (PTI): The Indian Army is in a 'no war, no peace' mode against the Chinese military in Dokalam and status quo continues in the area, official sources have said.



They said there has been no specific movement of troops and weapons by the Indian Army in the area, adding whatever "movement" is taking place is for maintenance purpose.



Asked specifically about reports of sending of troops from the Sukna-based 33 Corps to Dokalam, the sources said there has been no enhancement of Army personnel in the India-Bhutan-China tri-junction.



We are in "no war no peace mode" in Dokalam, the sources said.



In military parlance, no war, no peace mode refers to a confrontation or face-off position with enemies.



India and China have been locked in a face-off in the Dokalam area of the Sikkim sector for 50 days after Indian troops stopped the Chinese Army from building a road in the area.



China claimed it was constructing the road within their territory and has been demanding immediate pull-out of the Indian troops from the disputed Dokalam plateau. Bhutan says Dokalam belongs to it but China claims it to be its territory and says Thimphu has no dispute with Beijing over it.
The developers who have bought the old Central Bank on Dame Street in Dublin have revealed their plans for it.

It is to facilitate plans to create restaurant with a 360 degree view of the city.

Permission is being sought to redevelop the iconic building to house offices, a cafe, and 300-seater restaurant.

The Irish Times says a planning application for the 75m project will be lodged this week by Hines and Peterson.

Brian Moran, Senior Managing Director of Hines Ireland, said: "Another key aspect of the proposal is the enhancement of the existing plaza that surrounds the building.

"Upon completion of the redevelopment works, the area will re-open to the public and with the removal of the railings installed in 1998."

The company also said the application is part of an overall plan that includes the adjoining properties 6-8 College Green, No. 9 College Green, and both the Annex and Commercial buildings on Dame Street.

They claim the development has the potential to accommodate 1,000 office workers and create more than 300 full and part-time retail and hospitality jobs, upon completion.
Theres been a mixed response to the announcement that an English transport firm is to operate 24 Dublin Bus routes.

Go-Ahead emerged as the preferred bidder after a competitive tendering process and will begin to operate from November 2018.

Critics of the decision say it amounts to privatisation.

The National Transport Authority denies this is the case, and says no Dublin Bus drivers will have to transfer to Go-Ahead.

Chief Executive of the NTA Anne Graham expects a lot of new drivers will be hired.

"we expect most drives will stay with Dublin Bus and yes the new operator will have to provide a number of new drivers and their will be positions they will have to fill.

Reacting to the new earlier today the General Secretary of the National Bus and Railway Union warned that any further privatisation would inevitably result in industrial flashpoints across the bus and rail network.

He said: "The NBRU will focus our attention on ensuring that our affected members on the privatised routes will not be forced to move from their current workplace, we will also move to recruit those new entrants that will work for the private operator to ensure that they will be properly represented and work with them towards achieving similar terms and conditions as those workers we represent in the state-owned companies.

"This Tory-lite Government, disgracefully supported by the rag bag Independent Alliance, would be wise to restrict this foray into the privatisation of publicly-owned transport services to the routes identified, moving beyond will not only be vehemently opposed by the NBRU, but will inevitably lead to major industrial unrest across the public transport system."
Gardai are appealing for ethnic minorities to join the force.

They say they would especially like more black and Asian officers to represent the new face of the Irish public.

John OKeefe of the GRA, which represents rank and file Gardai, said:

"Almost one in five members of the force should be outside the white Irish category.

"It won't come as a surprise to anybody to know that's not the case.

"Currently there are 63 gardai who would fall within that category, most of whom are Chinese."
A man whom Gardai believe to be a senior member of the IRA has been denied bail amid concerns for the safety of a prosecution witness.

Kevin Braney, a father of four from Glenshane in Tallaght, Dublin 24, and his co-accused Ciaran Maguire from Kippure Park are charged with membership of an unlawful organisation.

Last month, two men believed to be Kevin Braney and Ciaran Maguire travelled to a house in Co. Meath where they allegedly confronted the resident in relation to a legal action he was taking against his former boss.

The resident told Gardai Mr Maguire threatened to shoot him if he did not drop the claim against a man described to him as someone who was "very good to Republican prisoners in Portlaoise".

Mr Braney applied for bail today, but Gardai objected on a number of grounds - the most serious of which was their concern for the safety of their main witness.

Tony McGillicuddy said his client Mr Braney was entitled to the presumption of innocence and pointed out there was no evidence to suggest he would jump bail or intimidate witnesses.

However, Mr Justice Tony Hunt said the court had no hesitation in refusing the application for bail, mainly because it was satisfied the potential interference with witnesses was a real concern.
Update - 1.45pm: The National Bus and Rail Union has warned of industrial action if more bus routes in Dublin are privatised.

NBRU General Secretary, Dermot O'Leary, said: "Despite the fact that that Dublin Bus (with the vital support of our members) has been hitting all the stringent performance related targets set down by the NTA, this Government has decided to pump significant amounts of taxpayers' money into the bank accounts of multinational operators.

"It is disappointing that Dublin Bus were unsuccessful in the so-called tendering process.

"It would appear that those alleged experts in the NTA and the Department have decided that workers rights are up for grabs and can be used, Dutch auction style, to help towards bidding for state contracts. The price of labour should not be used to win such contracts."

Mr O'Leary went on to say that his union would continue to fight for bus workers' rights.

He said: "The NBRU will focus our attention on ensuring that our affected members on the privatised routes will not be forced to move from their current workplace, we will also move to recruit those new entrants that will work for the private operator to ensure that they will be properly represented and work with them towards achieving similar terms and conditions as those workers we represent in the state-owned companies.

"This Tory-lite Government, disgracefully supported by the rag bag Independent Alliance, would be wise to restrict this foray into the privatisation of publicly-owned transport services to the routes identified, moving beyond will not only be vehemently opposed by the NBRU, but will inevitably lead to major industrial unrest across the public transport system."

Update - 12.52pm: The Workers Party has condemned the decision to award a licence to run 10% of Dublins bus routes to UK bus company Go-Ahead.

The party said it marks a major move towards privatisation of Dublins bus services and in making Dublin Bus unviable and ripe for picking off.

Workers Party Dublin Councillor Eilis Ryan said the decision was "always inevitable" and claimed the National Transport Authority is "fundamentally and institutionally biased against Dublin Bus and the concept of publicly owned transport".

Cllr Ryan described Go-Ahead as a "predatory operator whose aim is profit and the destruction of its competitors".

She said: "This is a disastrous decision for workers and commuters alike. For workers it represents another step in the race to the bottom with lower wages, longer hours and worsening conditions.

"For commuters it means a cherry-picking of services and very probably falling reliability from a company whose railway division was voted worst rail operator in the UK in 2015.

"This decision has nothing to do with cost or competitiveness. It is a deeply political decision to begin the process of privatisation of public transport in this country. One only has to look at the result of this privatisation in Go-Aheads home country, the United Kingdom, to see that this spells very bad news for consumers, taxpayers and workers."

Update - 11.32am: English firm Go-Ahead has been selected as preferred bidder for 10% of Dublin Bus routes.

The firm is one of the largest bus operators in London, and will start in Dublin at the end of next year.

Only Dublin Bus and Go-Ahead were involved in the final stages of the tendering process after four other firms dropped out.

The National Transport Authority says Go-Ahead offered the best value for money to run the 23 routes and a new route being created.

Table via the NTA.

Earlier: The result of a tendering competition for 10% of Dublin Bus routes will be announced later this morning.

The 23 routes all serve outer suburbs of the greater Dublin area and do not go into the city centre.

They include the 220 from Ballymun to Blanchardstown and the 75, Tallaght to Dun Laoghaire.

It is understood Dublin Bus, Luas operator Transdev and a number of British bus companies are among those who applied for the franchise.

Unions previously objected over fears the move would lead to privatisation.

However, they are not expected to oppose today's announcement after securing guarantees in labour talks.

The results will be announced by the National Transport Authority later.
A man has been arrested in connection with an IRA bomb attack that killed a Catholic nun and three PSNI officers in the North in 1990.

The 55-year-old was detained in Armagh on Thursday morning by detectives from the PSNI's Legacy Investigation Branch.
Paying 10,000 to a convicted child rapist to infiltrate a paedophile gang "crossed a line", it has been claimed.

Jim Gamble, who set up the British Government's taskforce to fight child sexual exploitation, criticised the move by Northumbria Police.

The force's chief constable had defended the decision, saying dangerous men would not be behind bars if he had not decided to pay the offender to spy on parties where it was suspected under-age girls were fed drugs and sexually abused.

But Mr Gamble, former chief executive of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre in the UK, said the tactic went "way over the line".

He told the BBC: "I think all police forces are under pressure to get things right.

"But there are ways and means to doing it ... there need to be limits and there should be lines that shouldn't be crossed.

Jim Gamble.

"In my opinion they have gone way over the line on this one.

"Personally, I can't envisage any circumstances where I would have authorised payment to someone convicted of rape.

"I can't imagine how you could have control mechanisms in place with an informant of that type ... that would give you reassurance that they didn't still represent a risk to young and vulnerable women, given what I know about this person's history."

The informant, known only as XY, was recruited despite being a sex offender who had drugged an under-age girl and invited another man to rape her after he had done so, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

Years later, the force recruited him to work as an informant on the massive Operation Sanctuary inquiry, one strand of which, known as Operation Shelter, has just finished going through the courts.

A total of 461 people have been arrested as part of the investigation, while 782 potential complainants have been spoken to and 278 victims have been found.

Defending the deployment, chief constable Steve Ashman told a news conference: "It's a decision that we've had to wrestle with ourselves but I can categorically state sitting here today that there are dangerous men behind bars now and vulnerable people protected that would not have been the case had we not used that informant.

"This is the world that we have to step into in policing and it is dangerous and it is difficult but that is what we are prepared to do.

"We'll do everything we can within the law to bring these people to justice."

Mr Ashman insisted the parameters stated XY was not to be sent to attend parties, although he could not be 100% sure the informant stuck to those rules.

Jon Brown of the NSPCC said the charity was "appalled" by the revelations.

He said: "We are appalled to learn that police paid a child rapist and planted him in the midst of vulnerable young girls.

"You just couldn't make it up.

"It beggars belief that it would ever have been considered, let alone approved, and serious questions must be asked about the force's approach to child sexual exploitation operations."

Speaking to Channel 4 News, Rotherham sex abuse survivor Sammy Woodhouse said: "He (the informant) has been placed back in there with vulnerable people who could have been hurt.

"It's great to see these people behind bars, but I think there could have been better ways of doing that."

A total of 17 men and one woman have been convicted of, or have admitted, charges including rape, supplying drugs and inciting prostitution, in a series of trials at Newcastle Crown Court.

Older men preyed on immature teenagers who were plied with cocaine, cannabis, alcohol or mephedrone, then raped or persuaded into having sexual activity with the lure of the illegal drugs at parties known as "sessions".

The wider operation has seen around 100 people convicted of a range of serious offences, including drugs, modern-day slavery and firearms charges, with jail terms totalling more than 300 years.
Dutch investigators have detained two men suspected of being involved in the illegal use of a pesticide at poultry farms that sparked a massive food safety scare in several countries.

The two men detained during a series of raids are directors of a company that allegedly used Fipronil on egg farms, Dutch prosecutors said in a statement.
The suspect held over an attack on soldiers near Paris is an Algerian man who was legally living in France, according to a police source.

Hamou Benlatreche, 37, was known to French police over minor crimes but has never been convicted in court, the officer told the Associated Press.
Hurricane Franklin has roared ashore on Mexico's central Gulf coast, threatening to pound a mountainous region prone to flash floods and mudslides with torrential rains and heavy winds.

Franklin strengthened into the first hurricane of the Atlantic season on Wednesday and its landfall early on Thursday was its second on Mexican territory in three days.

As a tropical storm, Franklin made a relatively mild run across the Yucatan peninsula earlier in the week.

Authorities in Veracruz cancelled classes at schools as a precautionary measure. Schools are frequently used as storm shelters in Mexico.

The US National Hurricane Centre said Franklin, a Category 1 storm, had maximum sustained winds of 85mph, but is expected to weaken as it moves inland.

Franklin's centre was about 70 miles north-north-west of the city of Veracruz and was heading west at nearly 13mph.

A hurricane warning is in effect for the coast from Veracruz city north to Cabo Rojo. A hurricane watch extends north from Cabo Rojo to Rio Panuco.

Mexico Civil Defence director Ricardo de la Cruz said on Tuesday that the storm's impact on Yucatan was not as bad as initially feared, with some trees down and power out in some areas, but he warned: "The second impact could even be stronger than the first."

Forecasters said Franklin could drop 4in to 8in of rain, with localised amounts of up to 15in.

AP
Place - an exhibition of works on paper by Jo Hollier. The Link (adjacent to the Strathnairn Arts Association). Until September 1.

The Link is a new building adjacent to Strathnairn in West Belconnen. It is designed to become the community hub for the new suburbs being planned for this area. At present, the building is used as an office for the development company as well as a gallery.

Local Grounds by Jo Hollier, who has an abiding interest in birds.

Jo Hollier has designed the screens for the two sliding glass doors into this building. The screens are made from perforated and powder-coated steel, and the imagery is based on Hollier's etching of the silhouettes of trees in a bush setting (Understorey II).

In Hollier's imagery, the low scrubby nature of the bush is shown pierced through by the trunks of tall trees that are illuminated by shafts of light. When these images are transferred to the perforated metal screens, only the suggestion of the image is present allowing light to flood into the gallery where the artist has a selection of her work.
ACT Senator Zed Seselja will vote "no" in the Turnbull government's postal plebiscite on same-sex marriage, arguing Christians and other religious believers could persecuted for their views on marriage and sexuality if the law is changed.

A long-time opponent of same-sex couples' right to marry, the Assistant Minister for Social Services and Multicultural Affairs said the voluntary, non-binding vote would give every Australian adult their chance to express their view.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull with ACT Liberal senator Zed Seselja. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

He confirmed he would vote to support changes to the law in Parliament if the results of the plebiscite favour same-sex marriage.

"Obviously there will be a vigorous campaign and I will be voting "no", I'll be voting against changing the Marriage Act," he said.
New car manufacturers that mislead consumers into using dealers over independent retailers for repairs have been put on notice by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

The consumer watchdog has released its draft report of an almost 12-month market study into Australia's new-car retailing industry, revealing there were 10,000 complaints about manufacturers over the past two years.

It comes just two weeks after the ACCC instituted Federal Court proceedings against Ford, over allegations it misled customers and on-sold surrendered vehicles without disclosing their mechanical faults.

ACCC chairman Rod Sims described the findings of the "consumer-led" market study as "startling".
AGL Energy has swung to a strong profit and predicted an even better year ahead on the back of rising wholesale energy prices and improving gas market conditions.

The power retailer and generator reported a full-year statutory net profit of $539 million for the year to June 30, well above last year's $408 million loss, when earnings were hit by significant items and adjustments in the fair valuation of its assets.

Australia's second-largest energy retailer's underlying profit, excluding significant items, came in at $802 million, up 14.4 per cent from $701 million. The result beat both analyst forecasts and AGL's own guidance of an underlying profit between $760 million and $800 million.

And AGL said it expects the current year to be even better, with an underlying profit of between $940 million and $1.04 billion.
Unfortunately, Turnbull just doesn't get it. He was able to seize the prime ministership from Abbott with the "promise" of genuine leadership, creating expectations that he would deliver "good government", all policy options would be on the table, no more slogans but solid policy debate and delivery. All against a background where most expected that he actually believed in, and was passionate about, a number of key issues, such as climate, tax reform, and including same-sex marriage.

It all rings very hollow when he has ended up proposing and supporting yet another delay on the inevitable parliamentary vote on same-sex marriage, now in the form of a postal vote, when he is well documented to have previously strongly opposed a plebiscite, and questioned the effectiveness of a postal vote.

Many now ask, legitimately, "Did Malcolm ever really believe in these issues?", or were they simply positions he embraced at the time out of political expediency, to differentiate himself from the then leader?

The rapidly mounting suspicion is that he never really believed in anything but Malcolm. That he just wanted to be PM. That he didn't assume the position with a particular passion for, or commitment to, a particular policy agenda. He loves to claim that "It is an exciting time to be an Australian". Perhaps we should add two more words, "It is an exciting time to be an Australian Prime Minister". Turnbull is obviously enjoying himself, but he obviously doesn't see that this should extend to effective leadership.

Given the expectations with which he became PM, the electorate has every right to expect that he would now show a bit of passion and commitment and pro-actively assume the role of leading the "YES" campaign. To the extent he doesn't, he leaves a vacuum for those intent on running pretty much a "scare campaign", fostering division, even "hate mail", bringing out the worst in our society.
Australian politicians are joining senior US officials in attempting to hose down the fallout from President Donald Trump's verbal assault on North Korea.

Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop said regardless of the "bellicose, provocative language" being used, the strategy to deal with Kim Jong-un was unchanged, and expressed hope that peaceful efforts could still deter the rogue state from acquiring a fully-fledged nuclear capability.

"Our policy has not changed, our collective strategy has not changed. And that is to bring pressure to bear on North Korea through diplomatic and economic means to force it to change its behaviour," Ms Bishop said on Thursday morning.

"I believe that North Korea can be deterred if the international community has the determination and the resolve to ensure that it does."
The Turnbull government has reached out to Labor, the Greens and the crossbench with an invitation to pass a special law to set the ground rules for a fair and respectful debate on same-sex marriage.

As Labor confirmed it would campaign hard for a "yes" vote, and dissuaded gay and lesbian Australians from boycotting the survey, Acting Special Minister of State Mathias Cormann has offered to draft a bill that would subject the campaign to the usual electoral rules, including protections against malicious publications and bribery.

It is an attempt to assuage concerns on both sides, but particularly from the gay and lesbian community, that deceptive and misleading material will be anonymously disseminated during the campaign.

"We want the process to be fair," Senator Cormann told Fairfax Media. "If there was a consensus that it would be sensible to legislate for things like authorisations and the like, the government is open to consider this."
Tessa James and Nate Myles are expecting their first child, two years after James entered remission following a battle with cancer.

The Home and Away actress, who was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma at the age of 23, reportedly confirmed the news through her agent at the David Jones Spring/Summer launch on Wednesday night, the Daily Telegraph reports.

Tessa James arrives for the David Jones Spring Summer 2017 collection launch in Sydney on Wednesday, August 9, 2017. Credit:AAP

According to the Atelier Management agent, James is five months pregnant.

The actress attended Wednesday's night's event in a billowing, red Erdem frock, which hid any hint of a bump.
Gai Brodtmann has lashed a Turnbull government minister over comments to Parliament about Canberra, accusing him of disrespect for federal public servants.

During a debate in Parliament about the government's changes to citizenship laws on Wednesday, Urban Infrastructure Minister Paul Fletcher said Ms Brodtmann's electorate of Canberra was "no guide" for the rest of Australia.

Not happy: Canberra MP Gai Brodtmann. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

The Canberra MP and Labor's assistant spokeswoman for cyber security and defence used a speech on Thursday to rebut the interjections, telling the lower house Mr Fletcher said "your electorate is Canberra, that's no guide".

"The minister then went on to suggest that Canberra was totally out of touch, that it was not in the real world," Ms Brodtmann said.
Under the Gothic spires of St John's College, women in gowns and men in dinner suits danced into the night to celebrate the end of the year.

They ate hamburgers and gelato, and lined up at an open bar serving champagne, beer and cocktails.

Jean Claude Perrottet, the younger brother of NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet, was at the ball as a guest of a college resident, and spent the evening drinking, dancing, and having a political argument with "a leftie".

A 19-year-old woman got ready with friends, drank champagne, and was spotted running into the crowd and dancing like "crazy" at the end of the night.
A registered nurse left psychologically devastated after she was repeatedly mistreated by her boss has won more than $1.4 million in a negligence lawsuit against the Queensland government.

Mary-Rose Robinson argued she was unfairly blamed, humiliated, belittled and undermined for months by Cape York Health Service district chief executive Susan Turner.

The far north Queensland nurse was awarded $1.4 million. Credit:Joe Armao

Ms Robinson consequently suffered a chronic mental health disorder and had to leave her job as district director of nursing in January 2011.

She has been unable to work since and was forced to medically retire in May 2014.
A former Education Queensland boss has won the fight to clear his name after he was accused of putting pressure on a subordinate to hire a friend of director-general Julie Grantham.

Glen Arnold Hoppner was stood aside as the south-east regional director in November 2012 and later charged with misconduct following an investigation by the Crime and Corruption Commission.

Glen Arnold Hoppner has been cleared of charges of misconduct in relation to public office Credit:Darren England/AAP

Mr Hoppner stood trial on Monday in the Brisbane District Court, but the prosecution abandoned its case halfway through the week after its key witness conceded he may have unfairly interpreted a conversation.

Prosecutor Jacob Robson had argued Mr Hoppner put "unspoken pressure" on David Morgan, the managing director of the Runaway Bay Sport and Leadership Excellence Centre, to appoint Hunter Paltridge as Head of Programs in June 2012.
A former New Zealand rugby league international has pleaded guilty to assaulting a model-turned-actress he was having an affair with.

Sam Stewart, 54, was sentenced to a two-year good behaviour bond at Southport Magistrates Court on the Gold Coast on Thursday after pleading guilty to the assault charge.

Former New Zealand and Newcastle Knights star Sam Stewart has pleaded guilty to assaulting his former mistress. Credit:Louie Douvis

The court heard Stewart and his then-mistress Erin Connor, a model who also appeared in several television shows and movies, had agreed to end their relationship at a meeting in a Broadbeach park in January 2016.

After the meeting Ms Connor ran off with Stewart's phone and some money, resulting in the former Newcastle Knights player chasing her and tackling her.
Four Queensland coal mines could be closed after allegedly failing to meet dust monitoring obligations designed to protect workers' health.

Glencore's Oaky North and Oaky No. 1 and Anglo's Moranbah North and Grosvenor have allegedly failed to meet their dust monitoring obligations during the second quarter of this year.

Four Queensland mines have failed to comply with statutory dust monitoring obligations. Credit:Robert Rough

It comes after the "re-emergence" of black lung in Queensland, which prompted a wide ranging inquiry into dust diseases, and 23 confirmed cases.

Queensland Mines Minister Anthony Lynham said he was advised the levels of non-compliance varied.
Queensland's Labor state government was making a big mistake if it did not reintroduce a waste levy to stop a million tonnes of waste from New South Wales each year, according to the Queensland Conservation Council.

Former premier Anna Bligh introduced a $35-a-tonne waste levy in 2010, but it was scrapped by her successor, Campbell Newman, in 2012.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk argued for a waste levy in 2010. Credit:Samantha Manchee/AAP

There is now no waste levy in Queensland, but it costs industries $138 per tonne to dump waste in NSW. So, 1 million tonnes of waste each year is trucked and railed to Queensland.

When Annastacia Palaszczuk was acting environment minister in the Bligh government in June 2010, she backed a waste levy.
A Victorian Labor MP who was barred from entering the United States while on an official parliamentary visit last month made two secret trips to Syria this year.

Khalil Eideh, a Labor upper house MP and joint Syrian-Australian citizen, was blocked by the Donald Trump administration from entering the US in July and put on a plane from Vancouver to Melbourne.

Khalil Eideh (left) with Senator Kim Carr. Credit:Luis Enrique Ascui

The US has not explained its refusal, though Syria is on its list of nations whose citizens are currently barred entry.

Mr Eideh said at the time his treatment was "disgusting" and told Fairfax Media upon his return that he had last visited Syria, where he has family, at Christmas last year.
A Thai man has been jailed for 18 years for posting six video clips deemed insulting to Thailand's monarchy on Facebook, as authoritarian regimes across south-east Asia crackdown on critics and freedom of speech.

Sixty-one-year-old Tara, whose last name has been withheld, cannot appeal the sentence because he was arrested in 2015 while Thailand was under martial law following a military coup the year before.

Pravit Rojanaphruk showing his ink-stained hands after being fingerprinted by police. Credit:Facebook

Thailand's military government has also charged veteran journalist Pravit Rojanaphruk and two political critics with sedition and computer crimes for Facebook commentary.

Mr Pravit has twice been detained for so-called "attitude adjustment" by the army and held "incommunicado" for days without charge for criticising the military's rule.
A team of archaeologists from the University of Bristol and Zayed University (Abu Dhabi) have uncovered the foundations of two seventeenth century Portuguese churches on the East African island of Zanzibar.

The Portuguese controlled the East African coast between 1500 and 1698. Information about Portuguese missionary activity in the region is limited, and these findings will help understand the long period of conflict between Christians and Muslims in the Western Indian Ocean during this period.

The findings were made inside an eighteenth century Arab fort located in the heart of the Zanzibar Stone Town.

This fort, which is now a cultural centre, contains within its walls fragments of several earlier buildings. A Portuguese spy reported in 1710 that the Arabs had built a ridiculous little fort reusing the walls of the Portuguese mission church.

The archaeologists located this church that dates back to around 1610 and was founded by a mission of Augustinian monks. Ground penetrating radar gave the archaeologists a good idea of its size around 35 metres in length and 16 metres wide, with two transepts.

Portuguese records recall that the Christian community was massacred in 1651, including the Vicar, Father Manoel de Nazareth, and much of the church was destroyed.

The archaeologists were surprised to find a second smaller-sized church constructed among the ruins of the first church that may belong to a building dating back to around 1652 when the island was recovered.

This building was only 20 by 8 metres, and seems to have been a simple barn-like building. The second church contains numerous Christian burials below its floor, who could be the victims of the massacre as well as the Christians who later lived in Zanzibar in the seventeenth century.

One burial was of a female, possibly a nun, with a sacred heart medallion around her neck; the Sacred Heart became particularly popular after 1675. Another burial was associated with a bronze crucifix. At least one burial seems to have had traces of a musket ball injury.

The Portuguese community in Zanzibar fell apart with the murder of Vicar of Zanzibar, Manoel de Conceicao in 1694. Portuguese control of East Africa ended with the fall of Fort Jesus in Mombasa to Omani Arabs in 1698. The ruins of the church were converted into a fort, and the centre for Omani Arab expansion into the East African coast from Arabia.

Professor Mark Horton from the University of Bristols Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, led the research. He said: "The excavations also showed that the Portuguese were not the first to settle in this part of the island. Below the level of the Portuguese churches, were over two metres of archaeological deposits dating from the eleventh to the sixteenth centuries. Historians have long argued that the Zanzibar Stone is only about 300 years old; the new archaeological finds show that its history goes back a thousand years."

The research was undertaken in association with the Zanzibar Department of Antiquities and the Abu Dhabi Tourism & Cultural Authority and was directed by Professor Horton from Bristol and Dr Timothy Power from Zayed University (Abu Dhabi). The researchers are planning to return in 2018 to complete the excavation, with the aim of creating a museum and an archaeological zone on the site.
Just 5% of mortgage brokers say that theyre bringing in enough leads for their business, according to new industry research.Conducted by independent mortgage lead generator Wealthify.com.au, the Wealthify Broker Digital Pulse looked at how brokers were generating leads and growing sales in the digital era.Wealthify CEO Darren Moffatt admitted he was shocked by the results.Lead generation is an ongoing challenge for any business of course, but I wasnt prepared for the scale of this issue. Both franchise-group brokers and independents across the country overwhelmingly reported lead shortage as a problem, he said.Its an industry-wide epidemic.The survey found that 56% of brokers were not receiving enough leads while 39% could do with more. Only 5% were satisfied with the number of leads they were receiving.The industrys heavy reliance on referrals to generate leads was a cause for concern, Moffatt said, especially with the new wave of online brokers and lenders emerging.Of those polled, 92% said they received leads from referrals. Facebook advertising came next at 34%, followed by offline partnerships (31%) and social media (30%).Referrals are great, and theyll always be a big lead source. But in an environment where most brokers say leads are scarce, its worrying that more arent experimenting with alternative methods, Moffatt said.An aversion to technology and change in general was behind these latent trends running throughout the broker industry, he told Australian Broker.Plus, a lot of people are technophobic  they dont understand technology and it makes them feel a bit anxious, he said. The other key driver here is very basic: its money. Referrals dont cost anything or at the most, brokers might have to do a revenue share with the referral source which they only have to pay after the loan is settled.With this in mind, it is understandable to see why brokers favour referrals, he said.Even within this rapidly changing environment, brokers are reluctant to seek other methods of bringing in more leads because of the added costs, he added.This is becoming more and more of a problem for more and more brokers. Its starting to bite a bit so people are looking at alternatives such as lead generation services and other things such as Facebook ads and social media.Even those who invest time and money into online campaigns such as Facebook ads are struggling to convert the spend into leads and then convert these leads into appointments and applications, Moffatt said.Understandably, a lot of brokers just dont have the marketing skill for messaging, conversions, optimisation, landing pages and so on.The anecdotal feedback we get from brokers is that it hasnt worked for many of them. Some of them have had a bit of success but most brokers really struggle just to get a lead out of it.Aggregators and industry groups need to be doing more to educate brokers, he said, so traditional brokers dont lose market share to emerging online players.In spite of digital being a regular focus of performance development days for at least the last five years, the data tells us most brokers have been slow to adapt and diversify sources of lead generation.Most brokers had neither the time nor the inclination to get their hands dirty with online marketing and running online campaigns, Moffatt said.Youve got to give industry groups and aggregators credit for really doing a good job at educating brokers over the last five years but I think it needs to be taken up to the next level.This means educating brokers on the physical steps needing to be taken, the urgency required and how to think about creating an online strategy, he said.Weve got awareness  thats a plus. Theres movement with some brokers starting to take active steps but most of them arent. We need to move the majority of the broker population into the action phase.This stuff is now getting urgent. Its not something you can really put off for much longer.
Following an investigation, Michael Samra, a former mortgage broker, has today been sentenced in the Adelaide District Court to eight years and nine months imprisonment, with a minimum of four years and six months to be served before becoming eligible for parole.ASIC alleged that between 1 January 2009 and 31 July 2009, Samra through ALC Group deceived investors to lend money to be on-lent to builders and property developers, when in fact the monies were not on-lent and dishonestly benefited the ALC Group or another party.Samra pleaded guilty to six charges of deception totalling $1.902m.ASIC deputy chairman, Peter Kell said, "This is a significant penalty reflecting the seriousness of the criminal conduct. ASIC will continue to investigate where investors are deceived and refer criminal conduct to the CDPP for prosecution."Mr Samra has 21 days to appeal his sentence.ASIC's alleged Samra induced investors to loan his company, ALC Group, money on the basis that it would be on-lent to unnamed builders or property developers on a short term basis.The Norwood-based, ALC Group, collapsed in 2009 with liabilities of approximately $40m.ASIC investigations found that approximately $66m came into the ALC Group bank account over a seven month period with the majority of funds paid to investors.Twelve charges were laid in 2015 for 12 counts of deception totalling over $12m. Samra has pleaded guilty to six charges and the remaining six charges have been entered to the court as discontinued.The matter was prosecuted by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.
Non-bank lender Liberty has celebrated 20 years in the business by extending its thanks and providing additional support to its 15,000 broking partners across Australia and New Zealand.Were really proud of how far weve come as a business, but we couldnt have got here without the support of broking partners, who are just as important today as they were when we started. The best part is that we have grown together with a lot of our partners, and thats what matters most, said Liberty group sales manager John Mohnacheff.Turning 20 is a big milestone  its been an exciting journey full of twists and turns. We were one of only a few to continue lending right through the GFC  which is testament to the support for our hard working broking partners during those tough times.Since establishment, Liberty has had to grow through a great deal of change, Mohnacheff told Australian Broker.The world in 1997 looked nothing like the world in 2017. It was so different. When Liberty started, there might have been several thousand brokers at best. Aussie and AFG were still very young. We had the emergence of PLAN, FAST and other smaller start-ups.Until 2007-08, there was a massive proliferation of broker businesses such as Connective and Smartline . After the GFC, the world changed and consolidations between businesses occurred, he added.But the biggest change has been the evolution of the consumer engagement with the broker. It was embryonic 20 years ago. Now, nearly 55% of all home loan transactions go through a broker. That has been the single biggest shift that we have seen.Twenty years ago, Liberty started with the strategy that it was going to distribute home loans through brokers, Mohnacheff said.We werent going to have a proprietary channel. There was one there already: the brokers. Brokers provide choice so we said wed focus on the broker channel and grow with it. And what a great idea it was. Weve gone from 0.003% market share to nearly 3.0% market share.In total, Liberty has written more than $23bn in loans for over 270,000 customers since its establishment. It is now one of the only lenders to offer products across the entire lending spectrum including custom and prime residential, motor, commercial, personal and SMSF loans as well as insurance.Libertys investments in small business lender Moula , Libertys own proprietary broker channel Liberty Network Services (LNS), and the recently acquired aggregator National Mortgage Brokers (NMB) demonstrated the companys focus on building up the broker channel, Mohnacheff said.A current example of this is the commencement of a consumer focused marketing campaign which further supports Libertys broker partners, especially those new-to-industry who are struggling to explain Liberty to clients.Weve helped over a quarter of a million people with loans but its time for us to elevate our consumer presence. When a broker is talking to a potential borrower, theyll have heard the Liberty ad or seen it in the paper. It creates consumer comfort.Weve always been a push strategist so we were pushing ourselves into the broker space. Thats slowly turning into a pull strategy. As consumers come through the broker, the broker will be comfortable to pull them in and bring them to Liberty. The consumer might even ask for Liberty after hearing the ad.Liberty has taken a free thinking approach to everything it has done over the past 20 years, Mohnacheff said.Its all well and good to create a product but if nobody wants it, whats the point? Liberty really prides itself and always strives to find an innovative solution that is relevant to the consumers requirements. That means we cant have set-and-forget, in-the-box policies.The free-thinking aspect means removing barriers to home lending for consumers, digging deeper to find a solution that fits with the individuals unique circumstances.There are things that we certainly cannot write. Thats given if you come to us with no deposit, no job, no assets, etc. Were sorry but thats a no. However on the credit spectrum between 0% and 100% risk, somewhere there may be a solution. So lets not have a blinkered approach. Lets use a little bit of free thinking and find a way.
State Number of new home loans NSW (incl ACT) 92,000 Victoria 78,000 Queensland 53,000 Western Australia 36,000 South Australia 15,000 Tasmania 5,600 Northern Territory 1,600

Balance sheet

(30 June 17) Balance sheet

(30 June 16) Change Retail banking $335.3bn $325.8bn +7% Business & private banking $33.7bn $32.7bn +5% Bankwest $67.9bn $65.4bn +5%

June 2017 June 2016 Variable rate 84% 85% Owner-occupied 63% 62% Investor 33% 33% Interest-only 39% 39% Lenders mortgage insurance 22% 24%

Per cent of portfolio NSW/ACT 34% VIC/TAS 26% QLD 18% WA 16% SA/NT 6%

An integrated approach to branch, online and mobile lending has seen the Commonwealth Bank of Australia ( CBA ) bring in a lower percentage of homes loans through the broker channel.The lenders annual financial results released yesterday (9 August) reported that 62% of CBA customers took out a home loan through its proprietary channels as of June 2017  an increase from the 54% recorded the year before.This was far higher than the market average in which only 46% of home loans originate through these proprietary channels.Within Australia, only 43% of new home loans at CBA were brought in through the broker channel as of June 2017  a decrease from 50% recorded a year before.Despite these trends, CBA CEO Ian Narev stressed the importance of brokers to the bank.We remain believers in the broker channel. We remain committed to the broker channel, he said during yesterdays investor briefing.Over the last 12 months CBA had made a number of enhancements to simplify and streamline its broker processes, a bank spokesperson told Australian Broker after the briefing.Weve also continued to invest in our strong broker relationship management teams and our online tools and calculators to ensure brokers have the right support from Commbank to meet their customers needs.We are absolutely committed to the broking channel and recognise the important role that brokers play in helping to meet our customers home buying needs. We continue to invest in both our proprietary and broking businesses to deliver customers with the best home buying experience.In the Q&A session, Narev also fielded a question from UBS analyst Jonathan Mott who congratulated CBA on improving its proprietary sales before asking whether the bank would be reviewing broker commissions in light of the ASIC and Sedgwick reviews.In terms of the Sedgwick Review, as with all the ABA initiatives, weve been deeply involved. I think that Sedgwicks been a very high quality piece of work, Narev said.What we have said and are doing in terms of broker commissions is that there are obviously other parties involved here. We are working with the broker community and are engaging very deeply with the broker community  and I know the ABA is doing work on this as well  to find out what is the best way for the spirit behind the Sedgwick recommendations to be reflected in broker commissions.It was too early to tell how this would manifest, he said.Within the presentation, Narev also highlighted the acquisition of Aussie Home Loans  due to be completed later this month  as an example of the banks commitment to the broker channel. The acquisition was kick-started on 4 August when John Symond exercised his put option, requiring CBA to buy up the remaining 20% share in the company.While the purchase price for the remaining portion of Aussie has not been disclosed, it will be determined in accordance with the terms agreed to in 2012 and will be paid in the issue of CBA shares.Throughout the 2017 financial year, the CBA group brought in $197bn of new lending, including around 330,000 new home loans. This includes the following state-by-state breakdown within Australia:The overall market share for CBA within the home loan space decreased slightly by 10 basis points, dropping from 25.3% to 25.2% in the 12 months prior to 30 June 2017.The banks home loan balance sheet experienced annual growth across all divisions.A further breakdown of the types of loans reported at CBA during the last financial year and the comparisons with the year before are as follows:Mortgage arrears have also increased at the bank, although most of the impact is due to difficult conditions in Western Australia where arrears sit at 1.23%. Nationally, arrears for CBA have trended upwards from 0.50% in June 2014 to 0.54% in June 2016 and now 0.60% in June 2017. This latter figure drops to 0.49% however when Western Australia is excluded.Within Western Australia, the bank is conducting more rigorous stress testing for new home loan customers with increased credit policy tightening such as LVR caps and insurance requirements.By state, NSW and the ACT accounted for the largest proportion of 90+ arrears at CBA with the state breakdown below.The bank also revealed that the Federal Governments bank levy will cost $369m before tax (and $258m post-tax). This figure is based on 0.06% per annum of CBAs adjusted liabilities of $614.8bn.The Treasury has called for the first report on the bank levy in February 2018 with the first payment occurring a month later in March.CBA reported a statutory NPAT of $9.9bn in the 2017 financial year, growing this figure by 7.6% from the year before.
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Arcade Fire is making their dreams come true!

The rock band is performing a July 27 album release show at Park Slopes Grand Prospect Hall  the ornate venue known for its slogan, We make your dreams come true!  fulfilling the wildest wishes of the spaces owners, who said they hope to give the musicians a night to remember in return.

They are making my dreams come true so why shouldnt we make theirs? said Michael Halkias, who co-owns the 104-year-old hall on Prospect Avenue between Fifth and Sixth avenues with his wife Alice, the woman who utters the catchphrase in the venues storied commercials.

The Canadian outfit will take over Grand Prospect Halls gilded grand ballroom to celebrate the release of its new album, Everything Now, with a show that will be livestreamed on Apple Music.

The opulent four-story, 16-room venue usually hosts weddings and parties, but recently branched out to accommodate concerts and festivals to help pay the propertys rising real estate taxes, Halkias said. Past big name guests of the gold leaf-adorned site include old-school blues band Hot Tuna and electronica duo Infected Mushroom.

And after seeing the over-the-top space, reps for Arcade Fire wanted to get in on the action too, according to Halkias, who said he couldnt blame them.

Everybody knows that I do events so they called me and said I love your place. I said Thanks, I love it too,  he said.

The hall will hold between 1,000 and 1,500 fans, who applied for the coveted concert tickets by answering the question, What do you like about the first single from the new album?

Partying proprietors: Venue owners Michael Halkias, left, and wife Alice, who will host a show by Canadian rock group Arcade Fire at their Grand Prospect Hall on July 27, have also welcomed blues band Hot Tuna and electronica duo Infected Mushroom to the opulent space. File photo by Bess Adler

Arcade Fire sent out a message to attendees on July 24 instructing them that there will be a hip and trendy dress code for the occasion, with no flip-flops, crop tops, and phones allowed.

Putting on big concerts is different than preparing for lavish weddings  where everything is glass, glass, glass, according to Halkias  but the owner said he doesnt prefer one to the other and has a blast watching young people rock out under the chandeliers.

I enjoy whatever I do, he said. As long as people are happy, Im enjoying it.

But not everyone is having fun with the halls new clientele. Some neighbors have complained about concert-goers taking parking spots and swarming area streets after gigs, according to Halkias, who said he wished that the big events he has taken on to keep his business afloat didnt upset locals.

The owner listens to every band that wants to play his venue to make sure groups are befitting of the space, and said Arcade Fire is great.

Superfans hoping to secure a concert ticket are flooding Grand Prospect Halls phone lines ahead of the July 27 show, according to Halkias, who said one man is planning to drive up from Florida to attend.

People are going crazy to find tickets, he said. Its going to be spectacular.

Reps for Arcade Fire did not return a request for comment.

Music hall: Arcade Fire will take over the venues grand ballroom, seen here during one of the spaces more conventional dinner events, for its July 27 performance. File photo by Dennis Ho
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Call it a landmark argument.

Historic districts are thwarting economic diversity in some Brooklyn neighborhoods because their buildings real estate value has risen so high that it prices out all but the wealthy, according to a Brooklyn Heights resident and economics professor.

Theres a cost to landmarking that falls on third parties, said Sandy Ikeda, who teaches at the State University of New York Purchase. The mistake people make in preserving historic districts is they forget it imposes a cost, usually on people they dont see  people who because of higher real estate prices would be unable to live in that neighborhood.

Ikeda published an article in March on how preserved areas limit new construction in certain neighborhoods, making them off limits to those who cant afford to live in historic homes  which, unlike most older houses that often sell for lower prices, only increase in value as they age.

He focused on his own nabe of Brooklyn Heights, which is almost entirely a historic district and was the citys first. The inaugural designation was made in 1965 to protect residences that date to the 1820s from being demolished to pave the way for the BrooklynQueens Expressway.

To protect the character of the tony enclave, homeowners must get approval from the Landmarks Preservation Commission to alter the exterior of their houses  a process that includes appearing before the community board and commission, and is required for property owners in any of the citys historic districts.

And the designation makes it almost impossible to build new high-rises that would increase the citys housing stock and lower area real estate prices, making the neighborhood only affordable for the wealthy, Ikeda argues.

Whatever restricts the supply of housing while the demand stays the same tends to raise prices, he said.

The protected swathes further stifle economic development because many mom-and-pop shops cant afford to pay their hefty rents, and are replaced with commercial banks, drug stores, or converted luxury apartments, Ikeda said. For instance, the independently owned Brooklyn Heights Cinema closed in 2014 after 44 years on Henry Street and is being converted into condos.

But the professor is not saying that all historic districts should be bulldozed. He praised the landmarking process for preserving storied buildings that might otherwise be knocked down, and noted that several factors limit the citys stock of affordable housing, including strict zoning regulations that restrict how high developers can build.

He doesnt think historic districts should stop being named either, but suggested the Landmarks Preservation Commission tighten its standards, approve fewer buildings, and stop greenlighting large portions of nabes for protection.

Were seeing more and more of these neighborhoods being converted into landmarks and thats a serious problem, Ikeda said.

But the city already has slowed in designating the districts, said one expert.

There are so many neighborhoods out there at the moment waiting to be landmarked that the LPC hasnt designated, its stunning, said Simeon Bankoff, the executive director of Historic Districts Council, an advocacy group for the protected areas. It has slowed down immensely under the DeBlasio administration.

He agreed that other factors suppress cheap housing, including the citys zoning regulations and the lack of laws that protect small businesses from being priced out. But blaming historic districts isnt the answer, he said, as costs of living in the city are spiking whether people reside in them or not.

Prices have risen in Brooklyn Heights proportionally to all of the other brownstone neighborhoods around there, he said. Land costs continually rise, which is the case for almost all of New York City.
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It was high times on Brooklyn Paper Radio!

On the latest episode of Americas most beloved podcast about Brooklyn, Kelly Barbieri, the editor in chief of The Fresh Toast, a website that teaches everyone  including our square hosts  about the wonders of marijuana, talked to the Lennon and McCartney of Community Journalism about the wonders of weed and why they should  legally  use it.

Of course, that ruled out any chance hosts Gersh Kuntzman and Vince DiMiceli would, as promised, toke up on the show.

In fact, the use of the term toke up was prohibited by Barbieri, who quickly surmised the boys knew nothing about pot.

Where did you guys get your education? she wondered.

 Cheech and Chong movies, DiMiceli said.

But after a brief quizzing of DiMiceli about his work, pharmaceutical, and sleeping habits, Barbieri quickly ascertained that the host needed to start eating biscuits laced with the active ingredients of weed.

An edible an hour before bed would help, she said. If it was indica based, that would help.

But that changed when minute producer Johnny played a tape of Vince snoring.

Oh my god, is that a loop? Barbieri said of the weird, long noise.

At that point, she recommended newfangled pillows and nose strips.

Also on the show, Lauren Gill talked about her update to the story of a Greenpoint bicyclist killed by a garbage-truck driver.

Brooklyn Paper radio is recorded live every Tuesday at 4:30 pm.
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Its a blast from the past!

Workers found a cannonball outside a home in the Brooklyn Heights historic district last week thats likely a relic from the American Revolution, according to a local history buff.

Theres really no way of knowing exactly where it came from or how it got there, but Im sure it does date back to the Revolutionary War, said borough historian Ron Schweiger.

Someone found the softball-sized cast-iron orb while digging a trench in the backyard of the house on Middagh Street at least two years ago during its initial demolition, and workers discovered it sitting on a table at the job site when they started new construction late last month, according to the project manager, who did not want his name used because his client hadnt authorized him to speak.

And while several historians said they couldnt pinpoint the ammunitions exact origins, they offered a few educated guesses based on a major battle that occurred nearby.

There was no combat in the Heights during the war, but the nabe was home to the Americans main defense during the Battle of Brooklyn, the first major fight after the United States declared independence in 1776.

General George Washington eventually retreated across the river to the distant island of Manhattan, surrendering the land to the British, who set up a large encampment, Fort Brooklyn, near what are now Pierrepont and Henry streets.

The bulky dark gray shell could have belonged to either army  its hard to say because the Americans used many of the same weapons as the British  and may have landed there after it was shot from afar or accidentally discarded by passing troops, Schweiger said.

It couldve just been a leftover piece that may not have been fired, he said. Theres no way of knowing if its something that was fired and missed its target or dropped there accidentally during retreat or advancement.

The ball  which has a hole on top that may have been packed with gunpowder so the weapon would explode  looks like ammo used during the Revolutionary War, according to another expert, who said it probably would have been fired from a small cannon.

Its discovery is particularly noteworthy because not many cannonballs have been found in the Heights, where many plots have not been dug up due to their homes historic significance, she said.

Its not super common because the houses in Brooklyn Heights and brownstone areas are older, and they havent been deeply excavated the way the high-rises have, said Julie Golia of the Brooklyn Historical Society.

But its not surprising the sphere was hidden there for centuries, given all of the fighting in the area, said a historian who wrote a book on the neighborhood.

The Downtown area was so militarized its not unusual for remnants of the war to be turned up, said Bob Furman, author of Brooklyn Heights: The Rise, Fall and Rebirth of Americas First Suburb.

The houses on Middagh Street are the oldest in the Heights, according to Schweiger, and the residence where the cannonball was unearthed is believed to have been built between the 1820s and 30s, the project manager said.

Artifacts discovered on private land are allowed to be kept by property owners, but anyone who finds an explosive device is urged to call 911, a Department of Buildings spokesman said.

The cannonball is being stored in the home during its renovation, and will be given to its owner, according to the project manager.

The homeowner did not return a request for comment.
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A Brooklyn Heights state senator attacked the institution he served on Wednesday when he unexpectedly resigned his post, calling New York state government a den of corruption that he vows to clean up thanks to his new job at an organization that will work to influence state politics.

State Sen. Daniel Squadron (DBrooklyn Heights) made his announcement in a New York Daily News op-ed that blasted the status quo in Albany, and said that after nine years of working in a body that functions on back room deals and crooked loop holes, he is leaving because he can do more to stop corruption out of government than he could in it.

Whether you talk about the huge influence of heavily invested special interests, or three men in a room negotiating, there are a lot of limits to what an individual member can do, he told The Brooklyn Paper. Its very frustrating when you cant even get a vote on bills that would have an enormous impact, or when you have to compromise local bills to just to get a vote on it.

Squadron called New Yorks a particularly seedy example of state government in his op-ed, noting how Albany barely quivered after leaders of the Assembly and Senate were each convicted of corruption in 2015.

He also railed against the cynical political deals that have continued to prevent him and Democratic colleagues from taking control of the upper house  even when the party won an electoral majority in the Senate in 2016.

The outgoing pol, who officially leaves office on Friday, said he plans to launch a national organization focused on political and policy work at the state level, which he hopes will give him more of an opportunity to combat the corruption that drove him to resign.

I think having the opportunity to impact multiple states, even if Im not part of the legislative body, is a real opportunity to make a difference, Squadron said.

But the timing of his decision to leave office is odd for someone who claims that he has the voters best interests at heart.

Because Squadron resigned mid-term and close to an election cycle, his seat will be filled without a primary and candidates will be chosen by local political clubs, according to a veteran New York City election lawyer Jerry Goldfeder.

Still, Squadron, who also represents parts of Manhattan, called the practice of choosing candidates via county committees lousy, and said he will work with Democratic bosses in both boroughs to ensure voices on each side are heard.

Manhattan Assemblyman Brian Kavanagh declared his candidacy for the 26th Senate District just hours after Squadrons announcement, and the departing pol described the hopeful as great, but did not go so far as to endorse his colleague in the lower house.

Brooklyn Heights attorney Martin Connor, who served in the state Senate for 30 years before Squadron took his seat, said he has no plans to try to win it back.

Somebody would have to give me a lot of good reasons to run, he said. I cant think of any.

Squadron is not the only pol whose seat will be filled by political appointees this election cycle  Councilman David Greenfield (DBorough Park) announced last month he will not seek reelection this November, and named ally Kalman Yeger to replace him on the ballot.
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
Bucks County schools help Give a Christmas reach local families in need

In its 64-year history, the Give-a-Christmas drive has raised $5.26 million to help thousands of families at the holiday season.
RGB Building Supplies marked five years of being part of the Exmouth community on Tuesday 1st August by inviting local residents, and those that work in the trades, to a free celebratory event.

Throughout the day a number of leading names, including Crystal Direct, RTD, Glendinning, Maincor, ISS, Klargester, Polypipe and Cure It were demonstrating products and answering visitors questions.

Everyone that attended was also able to enjoy a free hog roast.

Alby Cruse, Branch Manager at RGB Exmouth, said: We pride ourselves on unrivalled service and the relationships we develop with our customers, and I believe these have strongly contributed to our success. We are extremely proud to have been part of the Exmouth community for the past five years and were delighted to welcome customers old and new through the doors to help celebrate with us  heres to the next five.
Democrats largely prevail in SJ, but reversals loom in two townships

Democratic incumbents held on to many seats, but GOP challengers made inroads in two large townships
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Social media giant will monitor the growth of the MSMEs in Odisha after imparting training to them in next one year.
Analysis of soil, groundwater, and surface water samples from Thanjavur, Thiruvarur, and Nagapattinam, in Tamil Nadu, shows that the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and the Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited's (CPCL's) hydrocarbon operations have harmed the environment, The Coastal Resource Centre (CRC) said on Wednesday.
in Kolkata numbering in the thousands  have a tax liability of about Rs 40,000 crore, according to sources in the income-tax (I-T) department.
SpiceJet recorded a profit of Rs 175.23 crore in the quarter ended June  a jump of 18 per cent from Rs 149.03 crore in the corresponding period last year.
US-based cab aggregator on Thursday said its India business has grown over 100 per cent year-on-year, driven by strong adoption of services like Pool and expansion into smaller cities.

India, which competes with SoftBank-backed Ola, said it has seen the number of completed trips on its platform grow from 19.2 million in July 2016 to 41.3 million in July this year, a jump of 115 per cent.

On sequential basis, the company registered a growth of 6.4 per cent from 38.8 million completed trips in June 2017.

" launched in India four years ago as the 18th country for us with just 3 employees. Today, we have over 1,000 employees and continue our exponential growth journey," Uber President India and South Asia Amit Jain told PTI.

The company is focussed on providing affordable and reliable rides as well as providing livelihood opportunities to thousands of driver partners, he added.

"Our July 2017 numbers mark a 115 per cent growth over the same month last year. We continue to innovate on new products like UberMoto, UberHire and use technology to further streamline rider and driver acquisition, retention and marketplace efficiency," Jain said.

Uber has already completed 500 million trips in India. It operates in 29 Indian cities and has 2.85 lakh active driver partners on its platform. It sees about 8 million monthly active riders.
The biggest trade union in the UK has expressed reservations about Tata Steels proposed solution for pension liabilities, even as another union has backed the plan.
An Ethiopian Airlines plane clipped wings with an Air India aircraft at the Indira Gandhi International airport in New Delhi.

The incident happened on Tuesday night when the Ethiopian Airlines' Boeing B767 plane was pushing back for take off and Air India's Airbus A320 was parked. The wings of the two planes collided with each other, said an Air India official on the condition of anonymity.

"Our B-767 aircraft while preparing for a regular Delhi- Addis Ababa flight (number ET687) had a minor ground incident of wing tip collision with Air India A320 aircraft during pushback," the Ethiopian Airlines said in a statement.

The two planes involved in the incident have been grounded temporarily.

While there were no passengers in the Air India plane, those in Ethiopian Airlines aircraft were accommodated in a substitute plane.

The Air India official said the carrier will be claiming damages from the Ethiopian Airlines.
Haryana BJP President Subhash Barala's son Vikas Barala and his friend Ashish Kumar were on Thursday remanded in two-day police custody by a court here in an attempted abduction and stalking case involving an IAS officer's daughter.

Presenting the accused in the court in the afternoon, Chandigarh Police said their custody was required to reconstruct the crime scene.

Both were re-arrested on Wednesday after they were booked under non-bailable offences, including an attempt to abduct Varnika Kundu, under Section 365 (kidnapping or abduction with intent to confine person) and Section 511 (attempt to commit an offence punishable with life imprisonment) of the Indian Penal Code.

Police sources told IANS that the two accused denied during their questioning for over two hours on Wednesday that they intended to abduct the woman.

Chandigarh Director General of Police Tejinder Singh Luthra had told the media on Wednesday that these Sections were added as new facts had come to light following their questioning.

Varnika Kundu, 29, daughter of Haryana Additional Chief Secretary V.S. Kundu, had complained to police that the two accused had stalked and intimidated her and tried to abduct her on August 4-5 night.
A sessions court in Mumbai on Thursday stayed proceedings in a magistrate's court in connection with a Rs 500-crore defamation complaint filed by Tata Trusts' R Venkatramanan against ousted Tata Group chairman and others.

The magistrate's court had issued a summons to Mistry last month after taking cognisance of the complaint. Mistry then filed an appeal in the sessions court.

"The process has been stayed as we argued that magistrate's order was bad in law," said Mistry's lawyer Aabad Ponda.

The next hearing before the sessions court would be on September 11.

Venkatramanan, managing trustee of Tata Trusts, has filed a criminal defamation complaint against Mistry for making 'false' statements, seeking compensation of Rs 500 crore.

An email sent by Mistry to the directors of Tata Sons and trustees of Tata Trusts contained "defamatory statements" against him, Venkatramanan said.

After he was ousted as the chairman of Tata Sons on October 24, 2016, Mistry, in an e-mail, alleged that fraudulent transactions worth Rs 22 crore had taken place at the group's aviation venture, AirAsia India, and accused Venkatramanan of having tried to cover it up.

The issue is now being probed by the Enforcement Directorate.

Venkatramanan said the email, which was leaked to the media, caused irreparable damage to his reputation.

His lawyer Parveez Menon said that they will contest the matter in the sessions court.
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!)
Expressing concern over the Sikkim standoff between India and China, an influential US lawmaker has accused Beijing of taking provocative steps that have resulted in the escalation of tensions between the two Asian giants.

"I'm very concerned about what is happening on Doklam Plateau. I believe that China has taken certain provocative steps that have escalated into the current standoff on the plateau," Raja Krishnamoorthi, the Congressman from Illinois, said.

Krishnamoorthi, 44, just returned from a short trip to India during which he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi this week and had a discussion on a wide range of issues.

He said the standoff issue did not come up during his meeting with the prime minister in New Delhi.

Talking about his views on the standoff, he said, "I have urged a diplomatic solution, a peaceful diplomatic solution to the current standoff, and I'm very hopeful that it can come about."



"It's very important that no country take provocative steps, especially in border disputes in the region," said Krishnamoorthi in response to a question.

The US has maintained its silence on the Sikkim standoff between the armies of India and China.

"We have seen these reports (on the standoff). We refer you to the Governments of India, China, and Bhutan for further information," a State Department spokesperson told PTI when asked about the American stand on the current .

The US last month also had avoided commenting on the Sikkim standoff.

Meanwhile, analysts here criticised China for its aggressive stance.

Will Edwards, an Asia-Pacific and defense analyst at The Cipher Brief, recently wrote that the Chinese road could have serious strategic implications for India's defence of its home territory due to a geographic feature that leaves India vulnerable.

"Allowing the Chinese road project to continue could provide Beijing with an avenue for its troops to strike the 'Chicken's Neck', a narrow strip of land connecting India's northeastern states to the rest of the country that could be severed in the event of conflict," he wrote.
China on Wednesday said that 53 Indian soldiers remained in Doklam and asked India to pull them back.

The Foreign Ministry told the Global Times that 53 soldiers and a bulldozer from the Indian side remain in the Chinese territory as of Monday.

"India should withdraw its troops and equipment. Regardless of how many Indian troops have trespassed into and stayed in Chinese territory, they have gravely infringed on China's sovereignty," the ministry said.

Last week, China said 48 Indian soldiers were present in Doklam. China has been insisting that India withdraws its troops from Doklam where both sides have been locked in a nearly two-month stand-off.

India is for a simultaneous withdrawal from Doklam, which, it says, belongs to its other neighbour Bhutan. Beijing says the area belongs to China and has asked India to stay out its dispute with Bhutan.

The crisis began in mid-June when the Indian Army prevented Chinese troops from building a road in Doklam.
Holding aloft saffron flags, millions of Maratha community members Wednesday filled the city's streets as they took their battle for reservation in government jobs and education to the Maharashtra capital, throwing traffic haywire and putting the overburdened suburban railway under severe strain.
The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the Competition Appellate Tribunal's (Compat's) order quashing a penalty of Rs 64 crore imposed by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) on multinational drug makers GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi Pasteur for alleged bid rigging to supply vaccines for Haj pilgrims.
A video of an obscene dance inside the classroom of a primary school during a birthday bash hosted by the village head and clips suggesting consumption of went viral on social media prompting authorities to order a probe today.

The video showed girls dancing indecently to the rhythm of lilting Bhojpuri numbers inside the classroom of a primary school in Tetaria village in Jamalpur block on Raksha Bandhan on August 7, when the school was closed.

#WATCH: Government primary school in Uttar Pradesh's Mirzapur turned into a 'dance bar' by locals on the night of #RakshaBandhan pic.twitter.com/NGz8YypQCc  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) August 9, 2017

As the clip went viral on social media, the education department ordered a probe.

"A probe has been ordered into the matter and its report will be given to the District Magistrate for further action," Basic Sikshan Adhikari (BSA) Pravin Kumar Tiwari said.

About the incident, the officer said, "The keys of school were taken by the village head on August 5 from the principal. As a number of tasks are done in the school through the village head, he was given keys. The village head organised a party to celebrate his son's birthday in the school."



A dance programme was held and was also consumed there, he said.

When the school reopened on Tuesday, the students and the teachers had to remove empty bottles and clean the strewn food left overs, he said.

"Holding of such events on school premises is not allowed and in this case too no permission was sought," Tiwari said.




Although army planners are not expecting a Chinese attack on the disputed Doklam bowl, where some 150 Indian soldiers have been in an eyeball-to-eyeball face-off against some 40 Chinese border guards since June, the army is taking no chances.

Villagers in Nathang, a border village 10-12 kilometres as the crow flies from Doklam, have been asked to evacuate their homes and move elsewhere. Nathang is overlooked directly by mountain features at Doklam, like Gyemochen, which China claims as the disputed India-China-Bhutan tri-junction.

Another Indian village nearby, Kuppup, is significantly closer to the border. But it is shielded from the Doklam area by high mountains that Indian troops occupy.

Army spokespersons deny the military has asked for Nathang to be evacuated. The civilian administration, however, is unlikely to have taken such a step unilaterally.

Simultaneously, two Indian mountain divisions 17 Division, headquartered in Gangtok; and 27 Division, based in Kalimpong  are discreetly moving troops to their battle stations on the Sikkim-Tibet border, including areas far removed from Dolkam.

Military sources downplay this move as precautionary. Says one senior officer: We have our annual operational alert in October every year. This year, because of the tension at Doklam, we have advanced it by a couple of months.

The operational alert allows troops to get acclimatised to high altitudes, renovate the bunkers and trenches from which they would fight, break out ammunition, and carry out the coordination needed to fight an integrated defensive battle.

Even as the army takes these precautions, policymakers in New Delhi are optimistic that diplomacy would resolve the issue without the need for military action.

This is Chinas Kargil moment, where a crisis has been created by gung-ho military commanders, who appear to have misled the leadership in Beijing that India would quietly accept Chinese road-building in Doklam, says a former top diplomat with decades of experience in dealing with China.

Although Beijing knows it has erred, China cannot pull back without losing face. That means the face-off will continue at least until the 19th Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), most likely to be held in October. Xi Jinping is not going into that crucial Congress from a position of weakness, given that his leadership for the next five years will be shaped there, says the former diplomat.

Yet China would face significant military disadvantages in mounting a frontal attack to evict Indian troops from Doklam. This would involve advancing through the narrow Chumbi valley, overlooked by Indian troops deployed on the heights.

Even an airborne strike, like the spectacular staged for Xi Jinping at Zhurihe on July 31, on the Peoples Liberation Armys (PLAs) 90th anniversary, would find it difficult to dislodge Indian troops at Doklam without using massive air power and escalating the crisis dramatically.

Asked about military options that could provide China with a face-saver, a senior general believes the PLA might choose to occupy another strategic border pass, such as the 17,500 foot Lipulekh on the India-China-Nepal tri-junction.

Lipulekh is controlled by India, but is also claimed by Nepal, providing a striking parallel with the India-China-Bhutan context at play at Doklam.

China could occupy Lipulekh, and use that as a face-saver for a mutual withdrawal from Doklam. Then, after the 19th Party Congress is concluded, all sides could return to the status quo, projects the general, speaking off the record.

Army spokespersons state that the situation at Doklam remains unchanged. However, they are not willing to speak about the number of troops confronting each other. Business Standard reported on Aug 4 that 40 Chinese troops are confronting about 120 Indian troops in Doklam. China has about 1,500 troops to the north of Doklam, while India has about 600 troops to the west, backed up by two army brigades further away.
After the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ruled Jharkhand drafted an anti-conversion bill, some other states in the North-East where the BJP has comfortable majorities to ensure their passage and pliable governments to oversee their implementation may follow suit.


This article was first published on Business Standard on Feb 20, 2017. Business Standard is republishing this article in light of imposing trading restrictions on suspected shell companies



Lalbazar, one of the oldest areas of Kolkata and once the home of merchant princes of the East India Company, is now the residence to shell companies.
In what could further facilitate overseas dispute resolution on Indian shores, the (SIAC) has opened a second representative office in India at the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) International Financial Services Centre Zone (IFSC). The second office comes on the back of a this Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) entered into between SIAC and GIFT.
To support the growth of the corporate bond repo market, the (RBI) on Thursday issued norms for tri-party repo contracts, including Rs 25 crore as minimum equity capital for an entity to work as a tri-party agent.
1000 Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) Kendras to be opened in Uttar Pradesh Providing Quality Medicines at Affordable Prices to poor and marginalized sections of society is Government's priority: Shri Mansukh Lal Mandaviya

Union Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways, Shipping and Chemicals and Fertilizers, Shri Mansukh Lal Mandviya, presided over the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing ceremony between the Union Government and the State Government of Uttar Pradesh for opening 1000 Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) Kendras in the State. The ceremony took place in the presence of Minister of Health of Uttar Pradesh Shri Siddharth Nath Singh and Minister of State for Health, Dr. Mahendra Singh, in Lucknow today. The Bureau of Pharma PSUs of India (BPPI), under Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, signed the MoU on behalf of Government of India with State Agency for Comprehensive Health and Integrated Services (SACHIS) representing Government of Uttar Pradesh.

Addressing the media during the event, Shri Mandaviya said that according to the vision of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, Governments priority under the PMBJP scheme is to provide quality medicines at affordable rates to the poor and marginalized sections of society. The Minister further said that the drugs available under this scheme meet the highest quality benchmarks and are made available by the Government at costs much less than their expensive branded counterparts.

Cardiac stent costs have been reduced by almost 85%, which would benefit poor patients who could not afford them earlier, the Minister added.

Shri Mandaviya informed that under the PMBJP scheme, more than 600 medicines and 150 surgical and other medical items are being made available at affordable rates at Janaushadhi Kendras opened across the country. The number of medicines available under the scheme would soon be increased to 1000. Government of India is also giving financial assistance of up to Rs. 2,50,000 to those who open the Kendras under the scheme, the Minister added.

Speaking during the event, Shri Siddharth Nath Singh said that these 1000 stores will be opened in government hospitals and community health centres, so that more and more poor and marginalized sections of society can get benefit of this scheme. Shri Singh also informed that the Cabinet has already given its approval to open Kendras in Hospital complexes and allotment of around 400 Janaushadhi Kendras has taken place.

During the event, Shri Mandaviya also inaugurated the website of the PMBJP Scheme for the State, during the event. This website would aid the people to know more about the scheme, location of the Janaushadhi Kendras, availability of medicines and their prices in real time. Other dignitaries present on the occasion were Shri Suddhansh Pant, Joint Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals, Government of India, along with other senior officers of the Union and State Governments.
Construction of Barrages on Mahanadi

Central Water Commission (CWC) under Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation (MoWR, RD & GR) carries out techno-economic appraisal of major and medium irrigation projects (Command Area more than 2000 hectare) which are planned on Inter-State river / river basins. 15 projects of Chhattisgarh have been approved and accepted by Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) of MoWR, RD & GR.

As per the complaint of Odisha dated 19.11.2016 under Section 3 of the Inter State River Water Dispute (ISRWD) Act, 1956, the utilization of water to the extent of 33.89 BCM by Chhattisgarh is for the purposes of existing, ongoing and future irrigation, industrial use and domestic projects of Chhattisgarh. In its complaint dated 19.11.2016 submitted to the Central Government under Section 3 of the ISRWD Act, 1956, the Government of Odisha raised the issues like quantum of minimum flow in Hirakud dam, surplus flow and shares of States in minimum and surplus flows.

The Central Government in accordance with Sec 4(1) of ISRWD Act, 1956 set up a Negotiation Committee on 19.01.2017, which comprised of members from basin States and concerned Ministries of Central Government, Central Water Commission, India Meteorological Department and National Institute of Hydrology for finding a negotiated settlement of the water dispute. The Committee submitted its report to MoWR, RD & GR on 27.6.2017.

In accordance with the provisions of the ISRWD Act, 1956, the Central Government is required to refer the matter to a Tribunal for adjudication within a year from the date of receipt of reference if it is of the opinion that the water dispute cannot be settled by negotiations. Therefore, issues raised in the complaint dated 19.11.2016 of State of Odisha are subject to the outcome of the adjudication process.

Govt. of Odisha has also filed Original Suit No.1/2017 in Hon'ble Supreme Court.

Govt. of Odisha prayed before the Hon'ble Supreme Court for restraining Govt. of Chhattisgarh from continuing construction and operation of six industrial Barrages and taking up any project from the category of future project. Govt. of Odisha also prayed for constitution of Tribunal for resolution of Mahanadi water dispute. The case was last heard on 25.07.2017 and is pending. Hence, the matter is subjudice in the Court.

This information was given by Union Minister of State for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Dr. Sanjeev Kumar Balyan in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.

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The 59th Annual General Meeting of ECGC, chaired by Ms. Rita Teaotia, Commerce Secretary was held in Udyog Bhawan on 10th August, 2017. .

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It was noted that despite ECGC reducing the premium rates (in order to bring down the transaction costs of the exporters) by an average 17% under policies, ECGC recorded only a marginal decline in premium of less than 4%..

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ECGC has posted Profit Before Tax of Rs.407 Crores, an increase of 5% over previous year. It has also declared a dividend of Rs.72.5 Crores at the rate of Rs.5 per share. .

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ECGCs support of total exports at Rs.2,65,000 Crores was around 15% of total merchandise exports in 2016-17. A significant aspect of ECGCs performance was that 85% of its support was accounted for by MSME exporters. .

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It was mentioned that 12029 covers were in force as on 31st March, 2017 with a total maximum liability of Rs.86,215 Crores. With a view to increase Indian exports in new markets like Africa, covers provided by ECGC to exporters exporting to Africa recorded a growth of 15% over previous year. This was even when exports to Africa recorded a decline of 5% in 2016-17. .

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ECGC has over 4,00,000 Overseas Buyers on record of which more than 1,20,000 buyers are regular and active buyers for Indian exporters. The cumulative exposure on these active buyers made available by ECGC is more than Rs.1,25,000 Crores for Indian exporters. An active management of exposures on these buyers is supported by a strong data base, built over more than five decades. .

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ECGC also supports diversification of exports to Focus Markets identified by Department of Commerce by favourably rating such countries to enable coverage of exports at a very competitive rates. .

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ECGC has been a pioneer in providing ECIB covers to banks, which enables the exporters to get adequate and timely finance from Banks at pre and post-shipment stages. Recognising ECGCs significant contribution in helping Indian Exporters to get much needed working capital finance for the last 50 years, it was most fittingly accorded in its Diamond Jubilee Year the Best ECA Award by Trade and Forfaiting Review for 2017, an award that has been in vogue for last twenty years. ECGCs unique achievement is when pitched against stalwarts ECAs from Germany and UK, it won the award. .

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ECGC also manages the NEIA Trust of the Government of India that provides credit insurance covers to Medium and Long Term Exports, including Project Exports. The NEIA has supported 76 Contracts with a project value of around Rs.35,000 Crores, being executed by Indian Exporters in 29 countries. .

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During the Financial Year 2016-17, ECGC hosted the meeting of Heads of BRICS ECAs in New Delhi while India was the BRICS Chair. It has also organized 2 International Workshops for BRICS ECA participants. It also hosted Meeting of Heads of ECAs of G12 Countries consisting of 8 OECD and 4 BRIC Countries, in Chennai during the year. .

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MJPS
Flood Forecasting Stations

The flood forecasting activities of CWC makes use of manual as well as telemetry data. Automatic data acquisition and satellite based data transmission system (telemetry) installation was taken up by CWC during IX Plan under modernization of its flood forecasting services. 510 telemetry stations have been commissioned so far in various plans. 82-83% of the telemetry stations remained functional during 2015-2016. The reasons for breakdown may be technological, natural & man-made. CWC is making all out efforts in restoring the non functional telemetry stations.

The subject of flood management being under purview of the States, the schemes for flood control are formulated and implemented by concerned States as per their priority. The Union Government supplements the efforts of the States by providing technical guidance and also promotional financial assistance for management of floods in critical areas. A total of 141 works of Assam were included under Flood Management Programme (FMP) with an estimated cost of Rs. 2383.11 crore and an amount of Rs. 813.75 crore was released during XI & XII Plan, which includes Rs.748.86 crore released during XI Plan. The funds are released by MoWR, RD&GR based on the availability of funds and eligible proposals as per XII Plan guidelines.

Preparation of Emergency Action Plan (EAP) is the responsibility of respective Dam Authority & concerned State Government. National Committee on Dam Safety (NCDS) has time and again reminded State Governments/ Dam owners to prepare EAP.

Under World Bank aided Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP), CWC provides technical support to the participating States in preparation of EAP.

Flood management measures are broadly classified as Engineering / Structural Measures and Administrative / Non-structural Measures.

Flood forecasting is the most cost-effective non-structural measure of flood management carried out by CWC on State rivers covering 22 States/Union Territories & National Capital Territory of Delhi through a network of 221 forecasting stations. Flood forecasting & Early Warning system based on hydro-meteorological data of rivers flowing from Nepal to India is in place. CWC has started making advisory flood forecasts which provides advance forecast for a period upto 72 hours (3 days).

The High Resolution Digital Elevation Maps (DEMs) of Mahanadi and Sabri sub-basin for carrying out Flood Inundation Modelling has been procured by CWC from National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) recently for initiating inundation forecasting.

The inflow forecasts into the reservoir issued by CWC are utilized by the project authorities in proper operation of reservoirs in order to mitigate flood impact in the downstream areas. The States are normally under compulsion to store water for non-monsoon period and generally do not resort to timely pre-depletion of reservoirs even when required the most. Hence, operation of a set of reservoirs through a unified command is being emphasized.

The Government of India has launched the Flood Management Programme (FMP) for providing central assistance to States for works related to river management, anti-erosion, restoration of damaged flood management works and anti-sea erosion etc. Under this programme, a total of 522 projects have been approved under FMP in XI and XII Plan, out of which 297 projects have been completed till date. These completed projects have provided reasonable protection against floods in 19.593 lakh hectare area and benefited 197.23 lakh people in the country.

This information was given by Union Minister of State for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Dr. Sanjeev Kumar Balyan in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.

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Flood Warning Centres

Divisional Flood Control Rooms (DFCRs) at regional level for monitoring flood situation and issuing forecasts have been set up by Central Water Commission (CWC) which work on 24x7 basis during 1st May/ June to 31st October/ December every year. Central Flood Control Room (CFCR) has been set up at CWC HQ in New Delhi which works on 24x7 basis during 1st May to 31st December every year. CFCR monitors the flood situation at national level and also facilitates to generate three days flood advisory.

The remote sensing data (Rainfall, Topography, Land-use/ Land-cover etc.) and Geographical Information System are being used in mathematical modeling for flood forecasting under flood management activity of CWC. Generation of Quantitative Precipitation Forecast (QPF) currently used at 146 river-basins of India for assessing the flood inundation scenario by CWC is at par with the global standards.

The said technology is being used for Indus and its tributaries, Ganga & its tributaries, Brahmaputra & its tributaries, Barak system, Subarnarekha, Brahmani & Baitarani, Narmada, Tapi, Mahi, Sabarmati, Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna, West flowing rivers Kutch, Saurashtra and Tapi to Tadri, Cauvery and its tributaries, Pennar and East flowing rivers Mahanadi to Pennar and Pennar to Kanyakumari. In order to meet specific requirements of flood forecasting, which is provided by Central Water Commission, India Meteorological Department (IMD) operates Flood Meteorological Offices (FMOs) at thirteen locations viz., Agra, Ahmedabad, Asansol, Bhubaneshwar, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jalpaiguri, Lucknow, New Delhi, Patna, Srinagar, Bangaluru and Chennai.

Apart from this, IMD also supports Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) by providing Quantitative Precipitation Forecast (QPF) for Damodar river basin areas for their flood forecasting activities. During the flood season, FMOs provide valuable meteorological support to CWC for issuing flood warnings in respect of the 43 rivers of India covering 146 river-basins. CWC is working in close association with IMD and State Governments for timely flood forecast whenever the river water level rises above warning level.

In recent years, IMD has been able to correctly predict several extreme weather and climate events like heavy rainfall etc. which causes floods.

India Meteorological Department (IMD) has continued its efforts for the improvement of observing, warning and dissemination systems more vigorously in recent years. The improved services rendered in respect of very short (up to 6 hours), short (up to 3-days in advance), medium (up to 7-10 days in advance), extended (up to 15-days in advance), long (monthly and seasonal) range and severe weather (cyclone, thunderstorms, extreme rainfall) forecasts have been built to meet the demands of the user agencies, disaster managers, emergency response groups and other stakeholders in an organized manner.

This information was given by Union Minister of State for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Dr. Sanjeev Kumar Balyan in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.

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Implementation of SSA

The Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) has been designated as the vehicle for implementing the provisions of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009. Since the inception of SSA in 2000-01 till 31.03.2017, 3.64 lakh new elementary schools, construction of 3.11 lakh school buildings and 18.73 lakh additional classrooms, 2.42 lakh drinking water facilities, 10.36 lakh school toilets and 19.46 lakh teacher posts have been sanctioned to States and UTs. Out of this, 3.59 lakh elementary schools have been opened, 2.93 lakh school buildings and 17.76 lakh additional classrooms have been constructed, 2.32 lakh drinking water facilities have been provided, 9.83 lakh school toilets have been constructed and 15.75 lakh teachers have been recruited as on 31st March, 2017.

The implementation of SSA is reviewed twice every year by a Joint Review Mission comprising independent experts and external funding agencies covering States. The Ministry of Human Resource Development convenes periodic meetings with State Education Ministers and Secretaries to review the programme implementation. Educational data on outcomes is collected through a Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) every year. The status of these evaluations and monitoring is placed in the public domain on the Ministrys website. National Achievement Surveys (NAS) are conducted to check the health of the educational system and to provide information about the learning achievement of students.

The RTE Act, 2009 in its Schedule lays down pupil teacher ration (PTR) for both primary and upper primary schools.

At primary level, the PTR should be 30:1 and at the upper primary level, it should be 35:1. As per UDISE 2015-16, the PTR at national level for elementary schools is 25:1.

The recruitment, service conditions and deployment of teachers are primarily in the domain of the State Governments and UT Administrations. The Central Government has been consistently pursuing the matter of expeditious recruitment and redeployment of teachers with the States and UTs at various fora. Advisories on this issue have also been issued to States and UTs from time to time.

As per an independent survey commissioned in 2014 by Ministry of Human Resource Development, 60.64 lakh children were estimated to be out of school in the age group of 6 to 13.

Universal enrolment is the first goal of SSA, and hence all efforts are being made to bring all children in schools. SSA has provided 2.06 lakh primary and 1.61 lakh upper primary schools for ensuring universal provisioning of schooling facilities. Preference for opening of school is given to tribal areas, and areas with high concentration of Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and minority population. In addition, 3729 Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas, which are residential schools for girls at upper primary level, have also been sanctioned to the States for improving access to marginalised girls particularly out of school, either drop out or never enrolled.

Under SSA, provisions have also been made for residential schools/hostels and transportation/escort facility for children living in sparsely populated areas, children living in areas where schools cannot be opened due to unavailability of land and children in need of care and protection. Special training is also provided to all such children who are school dropouts and long absentees and they are enrolled in back to school" camps.

Additionally, other strategies adopted under SSA such as strengthening school infrastructure, improving pupil-teacher ratios, providing incentives like free textbooks, uniforms for eligible category of children and mid-day meal in schools have proved to be useful in increasing the enrolment of children in elementary schools.

This information was given by the Minister of State (HRD), Shri Upendra Kushwaha today in a written reply to a Rajya Sabha question.
An additional requirement of 400 and 57 CCTV cameras respectively, has been assessed by Airports Authority of India (AAI) for Chennai and Madurai airports. 651 CCTV cameras are presently installed at Chennai airport in and 41at Madurai airport. The AAI have allocated Rs.5 Crore and Rs.0.8 Crore, respectively, for installation of additional CCTV cameras in these airports. The project is likely to be completed by end of this financial year in Chennai airport and by August, 2017 in Madurai airport. .

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This information was given by Minister of State for Civil Aviation Shri Jayant Sinha in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today. .

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Inter-Linking of Rivers

The National Perspective Plan (NPP) was prepared by the then Ministry of Irrigation, now Ministry of Water Resources, RD & GR for water resources development through inter basin transfer of water, for transferring water from water surplus basins to water-deficit basins. Under the NPP, the National Water Development Agency (NWDA) has identified 30 links (16 under Peninsular Component & 14 under Himalayan Component) for preparation of Feasibility Reports. The pre-feasibility report of the all 30 links have been prepared and circulated to the concerned State Governments by the NWDA. After survey and investigations, Feasibility Reports of 14 links under Peninsular Component and Feasibility Reports of 2 links and draft Feasibility Reports of 7 links (Indian portion) under Himalayan Component have been completed.

Four priority links under Peninsular Rivers Component have been identified for preparation of Detailed Project Reports (DPR) viz; Ken-Betwa Link, Phase I & II, Damanganga-Pinjal Link, Par-Tapi-Narmada link and Mahanadi-Godavari link. The preparation of DPR of a project is taken up only after consent of concerned State Governments. Based on the concurrence of the concerned States, DPRs of Ken-Betwa link project Phase-I & Phase-II, Damanganga-Pinjal link and Par-Tapi-Narmada link have been completed. The techno-economic clearance and various statutory clearances of the Ken-Betwa link project Phase-I have been accorded. The techno-economic clearance of the Damanganga-Pinjal link project has also been accorded subject to statutory clearances.

The DPR of Par-Tapi-Narmada link is under technical appraisal in the Central Water Commission.

The implementation of Inter linking of Rivers (ILR) projects involves various steps such as preparation of Pre-feasibility Reports(PFRs) /Feasibility Reports (FRs) of links, negotiation and consensus among concerned States, agreement with neighboring countries if link involves area lying in those countries, preparation of DPRs of the projects, clearance from appraisal agencies which includes clearance by Ministry of Environment & Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA), techno-economic clearance by Advisory Committee on Irrigation, Flood Control & Multipurpose Projects of MoWR, RD & GR, investment clearance and the construction time required for the completion of the project as per the DPR.

The stage of implementation of a project would be reached after its DPR is prepared with the consensus of concerned States and the requisite statutory clearances are obtained. Thus the implementation of the projects will take varying periods of time.

No State except Kerala is opposing the Interlinking of Rivers (ILR) Programme. Further Kerala Government is opposing only Pamba-Achankovil-Vaippar link which concerns the State.

Interlinking of Rivers (ILR) programme has been taken up on high priority. The Government is pursuing the ILR program in a consultative manner.

As directed by the Honble Supreme Court vide its judgment dated 27.02.2012 in the Writ Petition (Civil) No. 512 of 2002 on Networking of Rivers alongwith Writ Petition No. 668 of 2002 a committee called Special Committee on Interlinking of Rivers" vide Gazette Notification dated 23rd September, 2014 has been constituted.

The Special Committee on Interlinking of Rivers chaired by Honble Union Minister (WR, RD & GR) as per the direction of the Honble Supreme Court is expediting the progress and effective implementation in the ILR projects. Thirteen meetings of the Special Committee for ILR have been held so far and the last meeting was held on July 27, 2017 at New Delhi. Views and observations on the ILR programme have been received from various State Govts, experts and other stakeholders in the meetings of the Special Committee for Interlinking of Rivers (ILR). The Special Committee would consider all such observations appropriately while planning and formulating the ILR projects.

The Committee, after considering the views of all the stakeholders, is proceeding ahead to expedite the objectives of the interlinking of rivers as per terms of reference. Vigorous efforts have been taken up for generating consensus with development of alternative plans and also setting out road maps for implementation of mature projects.

This information was given by Union Minister of State for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Dr. Sanjeev Kumar Balyan in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.

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Inter-State River Water Sharing Disputes

On the complaint made by the State Governments, the Central Government has, so far, set up 08 tribunals to settle water disputes among the States under the Inter-State River Water Disputes (ISRWD) Act, 1956.

Government of Bihar sent a request on 27.11.2013 under provision of ISRWD Act, 1956 to this Ministry for constitution of a Tribunal for adjudication of river water disputes related to Sone basin. Negotiations were carried out by the Chairman, Ganga Flood Control Commission and Chairman, Central Water Commission with the States of U. P. and Bihar. It has been agreed that the two States of U. P. and Bihar would meet periodically and try to solve the issue bilaterally. The dispute has since been settled.

State of Odisha has also filed complaint dated 19.11.2017 under Section 3 of ISRWD Act, 1956 with respect to Mahanadi basin. The Central Government constituted a Negotiation Committee comprising members from basin States and concerned Ministries of Central Government, Central Water Commission, India Metrological Department, National Institute of Hydrology for settlement of the dispute through negotiation. The Negotiation Committee held two meetings on 28.02.2017 and 22.05.2017 and submitted its report in which it mentioned that that any further meetings of this Committee would not be fruitful as there had been no participation from complainant State i.e. State of Odisha in both the meetings. Accordingly, the Ministry concluded that the dispute cannot be resolved by negotiation and it has been decided to constitute a Tribunal for adjudication of the dispute.

Draft Cabinet Note in this regard has been prepared.

The mechanism for settlement of water disputes is already available in the form of ISRWD Act, 1956. The ISRWD Act, 1956 was last amended in 2002 whereby adjudication of the water disputes by tribunals has been made time bound. Further, Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation adopted a revised National Water Policy (NWP) in 2012. As per Clause 12.2 of the Policy, a permanent Water Disputes Tribunal at the Centre should be established to resolve the disputes expeditiously in an equitable manner. In this regard, a Bill has been introduced in Lok Sabha on 14.03.2017 to amend the existing ISRWD Act, 1956. The Bill has further been referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Water Resources by the Hon'ble Speaker vide order dated 14.03.2017 for examination. In this regard, three meetings of the Committee have been held on 16.06.2017, 30.06.2017 and 10.07.2017.

No high level committee has been constituted under the Chairmanship of former Planning Commission Member dealing with the subject of Inter-State River Water Sharing Disputes. However, a committee was constituted under the Chairmanship of Dr. Mihir Shah, former member, erstwhile Planning Commission to deal with the subject of restructuring of CWC and CGWB. The Committee has submitted its report in July, 2016.

This information was given by Union Minister of State for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Dr. Sanjeev Kumar Balyan in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.

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Parliamentary Delegation from Seychelles calls on the President

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A Parliamentary Delegation from Seychelles led by Honble Patrick Pillay, Speaker of the National Assembly of Seychelles, called on President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind today at Rashtrapati Bhavan (August 10, 2017). .

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Welcoming the delegation, the President observed that the last parliamentary delegation from Seychelles had come in 2013 while the then President of India, Smt. Pratibha Patil had addressed the National Assembly of Seychelles in 2012. .

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The President said that Seychelles is a maritime neighbour and trusted friend of India. The two countries have strong security and defence cooperation in the Indian Ocean region. He stated that Seychelles ranks high in the UN Human Development Index. The Government of Seychelles is providing universal free health care for all citizens. He stressed that India and Seychelles can cooperate in the healthcare sector apart from other areas of co-operation. .

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The President congratulated the Government of Seychelles for banning plastics from July 1, 2017 in their country. He also expressed hope that the National Assembly of Seychelles will ratify entry to International Solar Alliance soon. .

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Seychelles Parliamentary Delegation Calls on Prime Minister

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A 12-member delegation of the Seychelles Parliament called on Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today. The delegation was led by Speaker Hon. Patrick Pillay and included Leader of Government Business, Hon. Charles De Commarmond. .

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Prime Minister welcomed increased exchanges between the legislatures of both countries. He appreciated their role in upholding strong and vibrant ties between India and Seychelles as close partners, including in the Indian Ocean. Prime Minister recalled his own productive visit to Seychelles in March 2015 that helped both countries further deepen cooperation. .

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The delegation shared their perspectives with Prime Minister on further strengthening cooperation and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries. .

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The Seychelles parliamentary delegation is on an official visit to India on the invitation of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha. .

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Single Higher Education Regulator

The University Grants Commission (UGC) was established in 1956 under the University Grants Commission Act, 1956. The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) was established in 1987 under the All India Council for Technical Education Act, 1987. These two institutions have been created to achieve two distinct objectives in the sphere of higher education. While the objective of the UGC is to promote and co-ordinate University education and to determine and maintain standards of teaching, examination and research in Universities, the AICTE aims at ensuring coordinated and integrated development of technical and management education and maintenance of standards.

The idea of establishing a single regulator for higher education is not new.

Various committees on higher education have earlier recommended a single regulatory body. While National Knowledge Commission (2006) recommended an independent regulatory authority for higher education, the Committee on Renovation and Rejuvenation of Higher Education (Professor Yashpal Committee: 2009) advocated an apex regulatory body by converging multiple regulatory agencies in the field of higher education. Further, the University Grants Commission Review Committee (Prof. Hari Gautam Committee) in 2014 had recommended that the UGC should be replaced by an apex institution titled National Higher Education Authority.

However, no such proposal is under consideration at present, to merge the University Grants Commission (UGC) and All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) into a single higher education regulator.

This information was given by the Minister of State (HRD), Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey today in a written reply to a Rajya Sabha question.
Tens of thousands of air passengers around the world were disrupted by a British Airways global computer crash earlier this year. One passenger described Londons Heathrow airport as honestly the angriest place Ive ever seen. The actual outage lasted just 15 minutes, but it grounded the entire British Airways fleet, inconvenienced more than 75,000 customers, and has so far cost 80m in compensation

Fast forward to August and there is more disruption. Tens of thousands of holidaymakers face queues of up to four hours  longer than the flight in many cases  across European airports due to stricter border checks.
Already plagued by long security queues at airports, holidaymakers visiting top destinations in Spain face more vacation woes once they arrive. Anti-tourism activists have been targeting Barcelona, Majorca, Valencia and San Sebastian with protests  some of them involving violence. The goal seems to be to rail against the negative impact of mass tourism on local life and living standards.

In Barcelona, which welcomes some 32m visitors annually, a sightseeing bus was attacked at the end of July as it arrived at FC Barcelonas iconic Camp Nou stadium. Masked assailants slashed the tyres and daubed graffiti on the sides of the bus.
US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un are playing a dangerous game of brinkmanship.

North Korea got the worlds attention  and Trumps  when it successfully launched an intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time on July 4. In response, the United Nations approved new economic sanctions against North Korea which, predictably, inspired a bellicose response from the rogue regime.
For decades North Korea threatened American imperialists and our South Korean allies with a sea of fire and retribution for trying to contain their conventional and nuclear weapons projects. North Korean leaders have made as much noise as a small yappy dog confronting a placidly tolerant Rottweiler trying to take away its nuclear bone.
Pakistan's Opposition leader Imran Khan on Thursday took a dig at former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's defiant roadshow from Islamabad to Lahore, terming it a "Corruption Bachao" rally.

Sharif, 67, embarked on a roadshow from Islamabad to his ruling party's stronghold Lahore yesterday in a show of strength ahead of the crucial general elections next year.

The roadshow via the iconic Grand Trunk Road, which links a large part of South Asia from Bangladesh to Afghanistan, came despite security threats and drew thousands of Sharif supporters on their way to the provincial capital of Punjab.

"My advice to Nawaz Sharif on his Corruption Bachao rally: You can blame the umpires, the pitch, the weather, some of your players.
Thousands of people attended a rally and procession in support of former Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday as he embarks on a show of political power following a Supreme Court decision to disqualify him from office over undeclared assets.
Modern humans were present in Southeast Asia about 20,000 years earlier than previously thought, according to new evidence published in Nature today

An research team led by Macquarie University applied new archaeological techniques to a longstanding question - were the human teeth discovered more than 120 years ago from Lida Ajer cave really modern human? The techniques allowed us to identify and date ancient human teeth from this Sumatran cave.
Turkish authorities on Thursday detained a Russian suspected member of the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group for allegedly plotting a drone attack on an American warplane at a US base in southern Turkey.

State-run Anadolu news agency said that Renat Bakiev is accused of seeking to stage an attack at "the Incirlik airbase or a plane stationed there".

Quoting local police, it said that "for this purpose, he worked to obtain a drone".

Dogan news agency added that Bakiev is suspected of seeking to "stage a bomb attack aiming to bring down a US plane using a drone" at the Incirlik airbase.

He allegedly carried out reconnaissance work for the plot, both reports said, without giving further details on how the plan would have been put in place.

Anadolu further reported the suspect had asked fellow IS members through the Telegram messaging app for 2,800 lira ($790) in order to buy the drone.

The Russian embassy in Ankara said in a statement it was "carrying out the necessary work to understand what happened and make clear the circumstances"



The United States uses Incirlik, in Adana province, as a key base for air strikes against the IS jihadists in neighbouring Syria.

Bakiev also is suspected of carrying out preparations for a plot to attack a centre of the Alevi religious minority -- an offshoot of the Shia sect of Islam -- in Adana city, Dogan reported.

Bakiev was detained in Adana, it said. A court later remanded him in custody ahead of trial.

Anadolu also reported claims that Bakiev had been to Syria to fight with IS and had sought to stage an attack against American forces there, but without success.

Images showed the suspect -- clean shaven and wearing an orange T-shirt -- being led to a medical check by two Turkish policemen after his arrest.

Turkey was hit in 2016 by a succession of attacks that left hundreds dead in the bloodiest year of terror strikes in its history.

The attacks were blamed on IS jihadists who had taken swathes of territory in neighbouring Syria and Iraq as well as the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) who have battled the Turkish state in an over three-decade insurgency.

Thirty-nine people were killed, mainly foreigners in a gun attack by a jihadist gunman on an elite nightclub in Istanbul just 75 minutes into New Year's Day in 2017.

There has since been a lull in similar attacks, but tension and high security remain in big cities.

Turkish security forces have frequently detained Russians -- especially residents of the mainly Muslim northern Caucasus -- in raids against IS suspects in Istanbul.

Several Russians have been arrested over the triple suicide bombing and gun attack on Istanbul's main airport in June last year blamed on IS. The trial is due to get start on November 13.
With all the sabre-rattling of North Korea and the prospect of the waters off becoming a new testing ground for its intermediate-range missiles, the people of this tiny US Pacific territory seem to be taking things in their stride.
The never-ending scandals surrounding the Trump administration reached hysterical levels recently with the allegation that in 2016 Trumps eldest son, Donald Jr., met with Russians allegedly linked with the Kremlin to secure damaging information against the Clinton campaign.

The media reacted by publishing a series of pieces that compared Trumps son to another troubled scion of a great family, Fredo Corleone, brilliantly played by John Cazale in the first two films of Francis Ford Coppolas Godfather trilogy.



Fredo is the runt of the Corleone litter  lacking the macho bravado of his elder bother, Sonny, and the ruthless cunning of his younger brother, Michael. But to compare Donald Jr. with Fredo seems something of a lazy comparison  especially in the light of how many alarming parallels there are between the Corleone and Trump clans.
Only two entities have together imported close to 10,000 kg of gold from India's free trade partner of South Korea since July, after implementation of the goods and services tax (GST).
Gold demand in India remained sluggish this week as local prices jumped to their highest level in nearly three months and a rally in global prices of the precious metal dampened fresh buying elsewhere in Asia.

"Demand is still weak. From the next week demand could improve due to festivals," said Harshad Ajmera, the proprietor of JJ Gold House, a wholesaler in Kolkata.

Local jumped to 28,996 rupees per 10 grams on Thursday, the highest level since June 14.

Dealers in India were offering a discount of up to $7 an ounce on official domestic prices this week, down from a discount of $11 last week, which was the highest since Sept. 24, 2016. The domestic price includes a 10 percent import tax.

"South Korean supplies are landing without import duty. Those supplies are being sold at a discount," said a Mumbai-based dealer with a private bank.

India's gold imports will probably drop in the second half of the year from the first six months after jewellers rushed to stock up ahead of new taxes introduced on July 1, the World Gold Council (WGC) said last week.

In top consumer China, premiums were little changed from the previous week at $5 to $6 an ounce. Last week, premiums were in a $4-$7 range.

"There has only been investment buying in the region this week. Physical demand has been very quiet because of the high global prices," said Ronald Leung, chief dealer at Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong.

Global hit their highest in two months on Thursday as the United States and North Korea exchanged more threats, prompting investors to buy bullion as a safe-haven asset. Gold has risen about 1.7 percent so far this week.

Premiums in Hong Kong were 40 cents to 70 cents, slightly lower than last week's range of 50 cents to 70 cents while premiums in Singapore were unchanged at 60 cents to 80 cents.

In Japan, gold was being sold flat against the benchmark price, as it was last week, mainly due to the ongoing summer holidays, a Tokyo-based trader said.

Higher global prices have also encouraged general public selling, the trader said, adding that demand was expected to pick up once the holidays end in the middle of August.
SAT on Sebi order Apparent that Sebi passed order without any investigation

There was no urgency in issuing MCA communication

BSE, NSE directed to reverse orders against J Kumar Infra, Prakash Ind

Delay in disposal of representation by Sebi causing serious prejudice

MCA letter merely required Sebi to investigate the matter

Sebi was required to take action in accordance with Sebi Act

Both the companies had moved SAT against the order on Aug 9

SAT to next hear case on Sept 4

The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) on Thursday granted interim relief to J Kumar Infraprojects and Prakash Industries by lifting trading restrictions imposed by the capital regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).Since Monday, trading has been halted in these two companies, along with 329 others, after they were moved to so-called Stage VI of graded surveillance measures - where trading is allowed only once a month - for being "suspected shell companies".Sebi's action to abruptly halt trading in these companies has faced widespread criticism as it virtually froze the investments of millions of investors.Citing the move as a knee-jerk action, the appellate tribunal said, "It is apparent that Sebi passed the impugned order without any investigation. In the facts of these two appeals, we are prima facie of the opinion that the impugned communication issued by Sebi on the basis that the appellants are suspected shell companies deserves to be stayed. J Kumar Infraprojects and Prakash Industries had moved SAT on Wednesday, challenging Sebi's decision to classify them as "shell companies". Trading is expected to resume in the two companies on Friday as the tribunal has directed the BSE and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) to reverse Sebi's decision. SAT will resume hearing in the matter on September 4.J Kumar Infraprojects and Prakash Industries also appeared before Sebi for a personal hearing on Thursday, where the regulator asked the companies to furnish some information.During the hearing, SAT questioned Sebi on the urgency in issuing the impugned communication without even investigating the credentials and fundamentals of the companies.Senior advocate Darius Khambata, representing Sebi, said the regulator had merely implemented the directions of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, and it had carried out no independent investigation.Khambata further said Sebi directives against the were administrative in nature and could not be challenged before SAT. He said the appeal by the two companies was not maintainable, and added that the appellant can file a writ petition in a civil court, instead.On the other hand, J Kumar's counsel Janak Dwarkadas said the Sebi order was ex-facie, arbitrary, unreasonable and whimsical, and was issued without application of mind.

He said Sebi could not have issued the communication without giving an opportunity of hearing to the appellants. He argued that in the present case, it was neither alleged that there was any abnormal price rise nor the financial health and fundamentals of the company had been looked into by Sebi before issuing the impugned communication. Agreed on the contention of companies counsels, SAT said Sebi was required to take action in accordance with the prescribed act and the regulations. On Wednesday, Sebi initiated a probe into the 331 companies by directing stock exchanges to check the credentials and fundamentals of the firms. Sebi has also asked exchanges to furnish information on tax returns, bank balance, status of loan defaults and business model of these companies. Sources said some of the companies had already started submitting the required documents to exchanges. The regulator is expected to lift the ban on these companies on a case-by-case basis after verifying their credentials. Since the delay in disposal of the representation is causing serious prejudice to the appellants, we proceed to consider the plea of the appellants for grant of interim relief, SAT noted.
(India) (SIS) made a decent debut, listing at Rs 879 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), an 8% premium against its initial public offer (IPO) price of Rs 815 per share. However, the stock erased all its intraday gains to settle lower.
As many as 12 Indian fishermen, along with two boats, were apprehended near Delft Island by the Sri Lankan Navy on Thursday early morning.

After this incident, the Navy boat allegedly hit another Indian boat causing damage to it.

All the fishermen have been taken to the Kankesanthurai Naval camp by the Sri Lankan Navy for interrogation.

The fishermen in Tamil Nadu's Pudukottai district announced indefinite strike yesterday urging immediate release of fishermen and their boats by Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lankan Navy apprehended 49 fishermen from Tamil Nadu on August 8 and detained their 12 fishing boats.

Earlier, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edapady K. Palanisamy, in a letter, urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene and secure the release of 64 fishermen from Tamil Nadu lodged in a Lankan jail and 125 mechanised boats detained by Lanka.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
12 Indian fishermen, who were apprehended by Sri Lankan Navy earlier Thursday morning, have been sent to remand till August 23 by a Sri Lankan court.

The 12 fishermen have been lodged in Sri Lanka's Jaffna Jail.

These fishermen were arrested near Delft Island by the Sri Lankan Navy.

All the fishermen were taken to the Kankesanthurai Naval camp by the Sri Lankan Navy for interrogation.

Meanwhile, the fishermen in Tamil Nadu's Pudukottai district announced indefinite strike on Wednesday urging immediate release of fishermen and their boats by Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lankan Navy arrested 49 fishermen from Tamil Nadu on August 8 and detained their 12 fishing boats.

Earlier, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edapady K. Palanisamy, in a letter, urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene and secure the release of 64 fishermen from Tamil Nadu lodged in a Lankan jail and 125 mechanised boats detained by Lanka.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
You may want to rethink the next time you're about to blame the rain or cold when your arthritis starts playing up as according to a recent study, bad weather making your joints ache is a myth.

The research found that weather conditions in 45 U.S. cities are indeed associated with Google searches about joint pain. But it might not be the association you'd expect.

As temperatures rose within the study's focus span of 23 degrees to 86 degrees Fahrenheit, searches about knee and hip pain rose steadily, too. Knee-pain searches peaked at 73 degrees and were less frequent at higher temperatures. Hip-pain searches peaked at 83 degrees and then tailed off. Rain actually dampened search volumes for both.

The findings indicated that people's activity level - increasing as temperatures rise, to a point - is likelier than the weather itself to cause pain that spurs online searches, said the investigators from UW Medicine in Seattle and Harvard University.

"We were surprised by how consistent the results were throughout the range of temperatures in cities across the country," said researcher Scott Telfer.

The investigators used Google Trends, a resource that reflects global use of the company's search engine. They created search strings of words and phrases for hip pain, knee pain and arthritis, as well as a control search related to stomach pain.

From the 50 most populous U.S. cities, they sought daily summaries of local weather data from Jan. 1, 2011, to Dec. 31, 2015. The data included temperature, precipitation, relative humidity and barometric pressure - variables previously suggested as associated with increases in musculoskeletal pain. Five cities were dropped from the final results due to incomplete data.

Google Trends expresses data in weekly, not daily, increments, which slightly limited the findings' precision vis-a-vis time. Temperatures and searches below 23 degrees were aggregated into one group, as were temperatures and searches above 86 degrees. Those two groups of combined temperatures correspond with somewhat less scientific confidence, Telfer acknowledged, but the trend of fewer searches, relative to both 23 and 86 degrees, was evident in each group.

Among the weather variables, only temperature and precipitation were found to have statistically significant associations, and only with searches for knee and hip pain. Searches about arthritis, which Telfer said was the study's impetus, had no discernible correlation with weather factors.

"You hear people with arthritis say they can tell when the weather is changing," he said. "But with past studies there's only been vague associations, nothing very concrete, and our findings align with those."

The stomach-pain searches functioned well as a control: Those volumes were greater at low and high temperature extremes and ebbed in mild temperatures, a very different pattern from the knee- and hip-pain searches.

Because knee- and hip-pain searches increased as temperatures rose until it grew uncomfortably hot, and rainy days tended to slightly reduce search volumes for hip and knee pain, the researchers inferred that "changes in physical activity levels" were primarily responsible for those searches.

The interest in using internet data, Telfer added, stems from the fact that web searches are increasingly people's first response to experiencing adverse symptoms.

The study is published in PLOS ONE.

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Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav has accused the Yogi Adhityanath led-current government of manipulating the police for its own benefit.

Addressing a press conference here, Yadav said, "The government and the police are working together. They are going about accusing people of things they didn't do."

He accused the police of going to different districts in Uttar Pradesh and issuing threats to the people.

"They have falsely charged people with Section 302 for not complying with them," he added.

He said the police under the previous SP government was more efficient, and had earned praise from several ministers and states for their service.

"Many experts from across the country termed the police under our governance as the best in the country. The current crop of officers is simply giving it a bad name," he said.

He challenged the current state government to improve the lot of the police.

He said, "They could have bought more vehicles, employed more people and built more police stations, but they haven't"

Yadav said he will highlight these issues till there is a solution.

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The AO tribe of Nagaland celebrated Tsungremmong festival, a pre-harvest festival marking the end of rigorous plantation in the Indisen village of Nagaland's Dimapur district.

Dressed in their colourful traditional attire, young boys and girls were seen making merry, dancing to the tunes of traditional songs and playing games like tug of war which enthralled the audience.

Principal of government college, Mefutiba, said, "The Tsungremmong festival is the second largest festival in the state and is celebrated to invoke the blessings of God. The festival is celebrated just before the harvest."

It is believed that the celebrations of festivals like Tsungremmong foster a spirit of unity and peace among the people of the state.

The state is inhabited with altogether sixteen major tribes and each tribe has its own unique and distinct culture, customs, tradition, festival and dresses.

AO is one among those tribes in the northeastern region of India.

Thousands of the AOs from the village gather to celebrate the festival and invoke the blessing of God for a fruitful harvest.

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The Supreme Court is likely to hear the Maharashtra Government's appeal against the Bombay High Court decision to strike down the ban on possessing beef by citizens in the state, on Friday.

Earlier on July 11, the apex court, while hearing a matter on a cow-slaughter ban, said that the Madras High Court's stay on the government's notification banning the sale of cattle for slaughter at animal markets is operational.

The Centre told the Supreme Court that owing to public objections, it is re-considering certain aspect of its recent rules banning sale and purchase of cattle for slaughter from animal markets.

On May 25, the Centre, through an order, imposed a ban on the sale of cattle, including cows, for slaughter and restricted cattle trade solely to farm owners.

Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Harsh Vardhan had ordered that the ministry has notified the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Markets) Rules, 2017 to ensure that the sale of cattle is not meant for slaughter purposes.

Regulating animal trade is a state business, but animal welfare is a central subject, thereby providing the window for the ministry to notify the rule.

In lieu of this, there was widespread opposition of the order, with many states openly denying accepting the notification.

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Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Kedar Rai was shot dead by some unknown assailants on Thursday while he was on his morning walk along Bihar's Sugna road.

Rai was considered to be very close to RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav.

The criminals fled from the incident site after firing consecutive three shots at Rai.

RJD ward councillor Rai was immediately rushed to the nearby hospital, where he was declared 'brought dead' by the doctors.

The police have begun probing the incident.

Further details are awaited.

(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 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday expressed disapproval with former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav's criticism of the current state government.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said Akhilesh has no right to question BJP as he himself has been unable to manage his own party (Samajwadi Party).

"I don't think he has the right to say this. The person, who cannot manage his own party, has no right to question the BJP," Adityanath said.

UP Cabinet Minister Shrikant Sharma opined the same and said Akhilesh should introspect and should focus on his own party instead of criticising the BJP.

He further said that Akhilesh should also introspect as to why his own MLCs are quitting the SP.

Sharma further criticised the former government of deteriorating the state of law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh, which the present government is trying to better.

"The allegations levelled by Akhilesh Yadav are false and baseless. It has been only four months since the Aditynath-led government came to power. We are trying to fix the bad shape in which we got the state. We are trying to better the law and order situation. We are also working on other aspects such as electricity, health, education and other basic amenities. We are only trying to fill in the loopholes that the earlier governments handed over to us. He needs to introspect," Sharma said.

Earlier in the day, Akhilesh accused the Yogi Government of manipulating the police for its own benefit.

Addressing a press conference, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said, "The government and the police are working together. They are going about accusing people of things they didn't do."

He accused the police of going to different districts in the state and issuing threats to the people.

"They have falsely charged people with Section 302 for not complying with them," he added.

He said the police under the previous SP government was more efficient and had earned praise from several ministers and states for their service.

"Many experts from across the country termed the police under our governance as the best in the country. The current crop of officers is simply giving it a bad name," he said.

He challenged the incumbent state government to improve the lot of the police.

He said, "They could have bought more vehicles, employed more people and built more police stations, but they haven't."

Akhilesh said he will highlight these issues untill there is a solution.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has outrightly denied outgoing vice-president Hamid Ansari's assertion on Indian Muslims, saying that there is no better country than India for Muslims, while the Congress has said that the statement is directed towards the Centre to change its policies towards the minorities.

"There is no better country than India for Muslims and no better friend than Hindus. The Muslim community is safe and bestowed with rights in India only. The Indian Constitution has given Muslims equal status as that of the majority community," BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain told ANI on Thursday.

However, Congress leader Pratap Singh Bajwa said that Ansari in a way directed the current government to change the nation policies.

"Whatever Hamid Ansari said was the truth. In a way, he directed the current government to change the nation policies. There are other communities which are in minority sections like Sikhs, Christian etc. His concern implements on them as well," Bajwa said.

Ansari, whose second five-year term as the vice-president ends today, made these remarks in the wake of incidents of "intolerance" and cow vigilantism.

Ansari, in his last interview to Rajya Sabha TV before demitting the office, said, "A sense of insecurity is creeping in as a result of the dominant mood created by some and the resultant intolerance and vigilantism.

Ansari referred to incidents of lynching and alleged killings as a "breakdown of Indian values, breakdown of the ability of the authorities at different levels in different places to be able to enforce what should be normal law enforcing work and over all the very fact that Indianness of any citizen being questioned is a disturbing thought."

When asked why he thought Indian values were breaking down, Ansari answered, "Because we are a plural society that for centuries, not for 70 years, has lived in a certain ambience of acceptance."

"I am an Indian and that is it," he said.

Asked if he shared his concerns with the prime minister, Ansari said that he had.

"What passes between the Vice-President and the Prime Minister in the nature of things must remain in the domain of privileged conversation," he said.

Earlier, at an event in Bengaluru on Sunday, Ansari had said that the "version of nationalism" that places cultural commitments at its core "promotes intolerance" and arrogant patriotism.

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After West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of subverting democracy and launched the 'BJP Quit India Movement,' the saffron party on Thursday lashed out at the former, stating that they are sure to expose her "lust for power."

Speaking to ANI, BJP leader Zafar Islam said, "Mamata Banerjee and other political parties have one intention towards the country which is divide and rule. But BJP lives on simple motto like- 'Sabka Saath, SabkaVikas' and this is what we want to popularize across the country. We are sure to expose the lust for power that Mamata Banerjee has in her."

Resonating similar views, another BJP leader Vinay Katiyar stated that Mamata is a "hypocrite."

"Mamata Banerjee needs medical treatment. She accusing the government or Centre is not a new thing. This statement and campaign of hers truly proves her lust for power. CPI(M) is a party of hypocrites that follow double-standards," he said.

Yesterday, Mamata launched the 'BJP Quit India Movement' to oust the saffron party from the country.

At a public meeting in West Midnapore, Mamata said, "Democracy, secularism and rights of people are threatened under BJP government at the Centre. We will work with all opposition parties; 'BJP Quit India in 2019' will be our slogan. The BJP-led government is trying to divide the country. We will not allow it. We want this politics of communalism and hatred to come to an end. Democracy will triumph against all odds.

The Chief Minister alleged that the BJP was practicing divisive politics to destroy the secular fabric of the country.

"This is an all-Bengal movement. All the districts, down to the block-level, will be covered. The agitation will continue till September 5," she added.

Later, Mamata said she will attend the rally convened by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav in Patna later this month.

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Oscar winning actress Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have reportedly stalled their legal separation from each other after their shock split in September 2016.

According to a report by 'US Weekly', a source claims that the stars, who split last September, have not done anything to move forward following the proceedings to end their marriage.

An insider told the magazine: "The divorce is off. They haven't done anything to move it forward in several months and no one thinks they are ever going to."

The tabloid mentioned that Jolie would consider taking Brad back, 'if he showed he was committed to raising a family' and according to the source, Brad 'got sober to try and win her back'.

The publication further stated that Jolie's reason for the stalled was Brad coming clean about alcohol and 'commitment to self-improvement' in an interview with GQ earlier in May.

Brad confessed on GQ about his alcohol addiction saying, "I was boozing too much. It's just become a problem.

"I can't remember a day since I got out of college when I wasn't boozing, or had a spliff, or something.

I'm really, really happy to be done with all of that. I mean I stopped everything except boozing when I started my family. But even this last year, you know - things I wasn't dealing with. I was boozing too much."

The insider also claimed that the former couple is getting along for the sake of their children.

Brad and Angeline met on the set of Mr. And Mrs. Smith in 2004 and married in an intimate ceremony on August 23, 2014 in Correns, France. They are parents to six kids, Maddox, 15; Pax, 13; Shiloh, 11; Zahara, 12; and twins Vivienne and Knox, 9.

They were together for 12 years before announcing their split in September last year.

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A car bomb explosion in Somali's capital Mogadishu killed one person and injured three others on Thursday evening.

"The blast was caused by an improvised explosive device (IED) in a car parked near a police station in Mogadishu,"Anadolu Agency quoted Abdukadir Adan, a police officer in Waberi District, as saying.

Local media said that two security officers were among those injured in the blast.

The al-Qaeda affiliate al-Shabaab group claimed responsibility for the attack.

Last Friday, at least three people were killed and eight others wounded in a car bomb blast near Hotel Ambassador in Mogadishu.

Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen known as al-Shabaab, is a jihadist fundamentalist group based in East Africa.Al-Shabaab has been staging several attacks in the country to establish Sharia law in the country.

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The Delhi Police special cell arrested a terror suspect on Thursday morning.

The man, identified as Raza-ul-Ahmed, belongs to the Ansarullah Bangla group.

Ahmed was later handed over to the West Bengal Police.

The Delhi Police and the West Bengal Police have been in search of this man for long.

Further details are awaited.

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Another wagon was added in the midst of Bihar's ongoing "battle", when Senior Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)) leader Sharad Yadav announced that he would kickstart a three-day Jan Samvad Yatra to discuss the repercussions of the withdrawal of the grand alliance in the state, adding that the 'faith' of 11 crore people of Bihar was 'broken'.

Addressing the media, Sharad Yadav said that people, who established the mandate were hurt because of the whole situation.

"I have been conducting rallies for 40 years. Even during the elections, we stayed in Bihar, did their publicity and stood with the mandate," Yadav said.

The senior party leader further said that the mandate was supposed to be for five years, which didn't happen and they are disappointed.

"One manifesto was ours and one manifesto was that of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In the 70 years of history, I cannot find an example where two opposition parties have a common manifesto," he said.

Yadav further said that these are "troubled" times for democracy in Bihar.

"I would just like to say that I still stand with the mandate and am going to meet a few friends from the Janata Dal," he added.

Sharad Yadav has kickstarted his three-day Jan Samvad Yatra today and will meet the people of Bihar to discuss the repercussions of the withdrawal of the grand alliance in the state.

Yadav will visit nearly eight to ten constituencies of Bihar from August 10 to 12 and will hold discussions.

Day one of the tour will see Yadav covering Patna-Sonpur-Muzaffarpur, while on day two he will be visiting Muzaffarpur-Darbhanga-Madhubani.

On the last day, Sharad Yadav will meet the people of Madhubani-Supaul-Saharsa-Madhepur.

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Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said that millions of people had voted to elect their leader, but unfortunately a few had conspired to overthrow the democratic government.

Asserting that he was ousted for the third time, Sharif questioned his gathered supporters at Committee Chowk in Rawalpindi late Wednesday night, "was this not an insult to your vote?"

Pointing out that gathering here serves as a referendum, he claimed that the court of the people of Pakistan has given its verdict in his favour.

He noted that not a single Prime Minister of Pakistan has been allowed to complete his or her tenure for past 70 years,

"We have to make sure that the mandate of the people is respected in the future. We will do this in the interest of Pakistan," Dawn quoted Sharif as saying

He added that until the mandate of people is not respected, Pakistan cannot progress.

Speaking on his disqualification by the Supreme Court, Nawaz claimed that there was not even a single allegation of corruption against him so the apex court de-seated me for not receiving a salary from my son

Sharif said that he want people to support him for the betterment of the country.

Sharif had resigned from the Prime Minister's office following disqualification by the Supreme Court in the Panamagate verdict.

According to reports, the legal basis for disqualifying Sharif is explained in the page 23 and 24 of the verdict.

It says: "As a sequel to what has been discussed in paragraphs 13 above, the following declaration and direction is issued:-

i) It is hereby declared that having failed to disclose his unwithdrawn receivables constituting assets from Capital FZE, Jebel Ali, UAE in his nomination papers filed for the General Elections held in 2013 in terms of Section 12(2)(f) of the Representation of the People Act, 1976 (ROPA), and having furnished a false declaration under solemn affirmation respondent No. 1 Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif is not honest in terms of Section 99(f) of ROPA and Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973, therefore, he is disqualified to be a Member of the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament);

ii) The Election Commission of Pakistan shall issue a notification disqualifying respondent No. 1 Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif from being a Member of the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) with immediate effect, where after he shall cease to be the Prime Minister of Pakistan."

The apex court ordered the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to file a reference against the accused in an accountability court in six weeks, directing for the trial to be concluded within six months.

It is the second time in Pakistan's 70-year history that the Supreme Court has disqualified a sitting prime minister. In 2012 then prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani was disqualified over contempt of court charges for refusing to reopen a corruption case against President Asif Ali Zardari.

Also, no Pakistani prime minister has ever completed a full five-year elected term. Most tenures have been cut short by military coups.

While serving as the country's Prime Minister in 1993, Sharif was sacked by the then-president over graft allegations, while in 1999 he was ousted in a military coup.

Following the apex court's verdict, the Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) announced Punjab Chief Minister and Nawaz Sharif's younger brother Shehbaz Sharif as the next Prime Minister of Pakistan.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday said outgoing Vice President Hamid Ansari is playing politics by making remarks on sensitive issues.

Ansari on Wednesday said that the Muslims in the country were experiencing a "feeling of unease."

The BJP said that there is no better country than India for Muslims and Ansari should check the facts as in which government Muslims felt more insecure.

BJP leader Meenakshi Lekhi told ANI that "the time at which he had made these statements shows his intentions. When he was on chair he said nothing about these issues but now at the time of leaving he is doing politics. He wants to try his hand in politics now. He must read first during which government Muslims were more insecure".

She further said that Ansari is disrespecting the position he held.

"I thought he is wise and intelligent but whatever statement he gave was not apt. He doesn't have any information about anything. He will have to read those text books first," Lekhi added.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said that Muslims in India should be made to feel secure as they are living in fear and insecurity.

"We are saying this from last three years that the kind of environment prevailing in India is not apt for the people. In India murder, lynching and numerous such issues are taking place. Muslims are not safe in India. Dadri lynching was immensely horrific for the entire nation. We all should be able to feel safe and secure. There should be no insecurity among the masses," said Tharoor.

The Congress leader further said that Hamid Ansari had come from diplomacy and not from politics, adding the BJP should not make remarks over his recent statement.

In his last interview on Wednesday, before demitting the office, Ansari said that the Muslims in the country were experiencing a "feeling of unease."

"A sense of insecurity is creeping in as a result of the dominant mood created by some and the resultant intolerance and vigilantism," Ansari said, in an interview to Rajya Sabha TV.

He referred to incidents of lynching and alleged killings as a "breakdown of Indian values, breakdown of the ability of the authorities at different levels in different places to be able to enforce what should be normal law enforcing work and over all the very fact that Indianness of any citizen being questioned is a disturbing thought."

Earlier in the day, in his last address as the Vice-President, Hamid Ansari on Thursday said that democracy would turn into tyranny, if opposition groups are not given the right to free criticism, adding that a democracy is distinguished by the protection it gives to minority.

Ansari called an end to his 10-year stint as the Rajya Sabha Chairman with an Urdu couplet, "Aao ki aaj khatm karein daastaan-e-ishq, abb khatm-e-ashiqui ke fasaane sunayein hum." (Let's now end our love story, we will now tell the story of end of our love affair.

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Expressing sorrow over the demise of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Kedar Rai, party chief Lalu Prasad Yadav today said that number of high profile people, including politicians are involved in the conspiracy of killing the former.

"High profile people are involved in this murder. When I return to Patna, then will see who did this and on which property they had the dispute, as is being claimed. Even political persons are involved in this and I will reveal their names," Yadav told ANI.

RJD leader Kedar Rai was shot dead by some unknown assailants earlier in the day while he was on his morning walk along Bihar's Sugna road.

Rai was considered to be very close to Lalu Yadav.

The criminals fled from the incident site after firing consecutive three shots at Rai.

RJD ward councillor Rai was immediately rushed to the nearby hospital, where he was declared 'brought dead' by the doctors.

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Hyderabad's Nampally court on Thursday acquitted all 10 accused in the 2005 Hyderabad bomb blast case.

Metropolitan Sessions Court judge T. Srinivas Rao exonerated the accused, who were jailed for more than a decade.

According to defence advocate Abdul Azeem, the court acquitted the accused as the prosecution failed to provide substantial evidence.

One of the 10 arrested men was out on bail, while the others were still in prison.

On October 12, 2005, a suicide bomber had blown himself up at the Task Force office in Hyderabad's Begumpet area.

The blast killed a home guard and injured another.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT) was constituted to investigate the case and it claimed that Harkatul Jihad-e-Islami (HUJI) of Bangladesh was involved in the blast.

It also identified the suicide bomber as HUJI activist Dalin.

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Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prema Khandu has said that the Indo-China international border along Arunachal Pradesh at present is tension free and there is no possibility of war between the two countries.

"There is no tension at the border now and the question of war (between India and China) does not come, because war means loss for both the nations and both are quite mature," Khandu told reporters.

He assured that the External Affairs Ministry is continuing dialogue with the China and shall resolve the problems very soon.

"China is always claiming the whole of Arunachal Pradesh, but it is their claim only and now the matter is being resolved diplomatically and the External Affairs Ministry is continuing dialogue and shall resolve the problems very soon," he said.

Khandu alleged that due to a lack of focus and willingness as compared to development in China across Arunachal Pradesh border, much development did not take place, which is of the prime cause of resentment among the people of the state, but, at present, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, things are changing quickly.

The Chief Minister further said, "In terms of development, we have been lacking far behind, but due to the good and aggressive initiative by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, devolvement is now taking place all along the border."

Khandu said this while addressing a rally of the tribals, organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) tribal wing, Janajati Morcha, on the occasion of International Day of World's Indigenous People yesterday.

During the speech, Khandu said that Prime Minister Modi has paid attention to eradication of poverty and unemployment and has tried to address the problems of indigenous people.

He said that the Communist Party of India - Marxist (CPM)-led Left Front Government, which remained in power in Tripura, should be ousted in the next assembly elections scheduled to be held in February coming year.

Khandu said that on the day of August 9 in 1942 Mahatma Gandhi gave a call of 'quit India' for Britishers and the people should also call for 'quit CPM' from Tripura".

Among others, BJP state President, Biplab Deb and state observer, Sunil Deodhar were also present at the event.

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It seems like we are going to have plenty of moments for original series stars Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill in 'The Last Jedi'.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, John Boyega, who plays the reformed stormtrooper Finn in the film, teased details of the upcoming 'Star Wars' sequel.

The upcoming movie in the 'Star Wars' franchise will be the final installment to feature Fisher as Princess Leia following the actress' untimely death in December.

She said, "I think the send-off is really cool. Even before she passed away, I'd see her in scenes and be like, 'This is really cool for both Carrie and Mark,' who are the last two original leads (alive in the franchise)."

"I felt like they deserve more and more, they've been doing this for a while and have been the beating heart of something special, and I just feel like The Last Jedi pays homage to them in general. But unfortunately, now that she's passed, it does have a deeper meaning," she added.

The actor also shared that the fans are going to appreciate the send-off.

Boyega said the film, from director Rian Johnson, is darker and "very physical."

"Finn is much more active and involved in the fight, which is something I really wanted."

The flick is slated to release on December 15.

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A Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist was arrested from Soppore district on Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday.

Ishfaq Ahmad Kanna, a resident of Jamia-Qadeem in Sopore, was arrested after an operation was carried out by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), when they were conducting a security check on Seer Amargarh Road. During the security check, Ishfaq jumped over the 'Naka' and fled to a nearby orchard.

The suspected area was cordoned off immediately and he was caught and one pistol, one pistol Meg, five pistol rounds and two UBGL grenades were recovered from him.

A case was registered against Ishfaq in the Tarzoo Police Station.

After thorough investigation, it has been found out that the militant is a part of the Lashkar Module in North-Kashmir. He used to work as active recruiter before joining the LeT outfit.

Earlier, on 5th of August, three militants of the Lashkar module were killed at the Jamia Mohalla Amargarh in Sopore.

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An eight-year-old girl was brutally raped by unidentified men at her school in Meerut.

This incident happened at the Daffodil Public School located in the Floor Bag Colony in Meerut.

According to the victim's mother the child is studying in Std. IV and had gone to the washroom when the school got over.

The mother said that the girl reached home crying citing stomachache and revealed that when she went to the washroom, someone shut the door and "behaved badly with her."

After listening to her daughter, the mother claims she checked her clothes that were drenched in blood.

It was then when the victim was taken to the doctor, the whole incident was disclosed.

The family rushed to the principal of the school informing him about the incident.

The principal on the other hand, allegedly tried to elude the whole matter, due to which the family got furious and beat up the principal and destroyed school property.

Following this, policemen were deployed outside the school.

The victim's family alleged that the principal knew about the incident since there are CCTV cameras put up in the premises, but the school authorities are not giving them access to it.

Further details are awaited.

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Afghanistan and Pakistan will convene a meeting of their Joint Economic Commission (JEC) in Kabul next month.

The Dawn reports that this will be the first high-level talks between both countries since November 2015.

Welcoming Afghan Ambassador to Pakistan Hazrat Omar Zakhilwal's proposal, Pakistan Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said mutually convenient dates for the meeting would be conveyed.

He further said, "The increased economic cooperation would not only benefit the two countries, but also boost regional cooperation and trade. He said Pakistan wanted to see peace and economic progress in Afghanistan which would open many other avenues of mutual cooperation."

"It will be a great opportunity for Islamabad and Kabul to repair their diplomatic and business relations which have discontinued since November 2015," the Dawn quoted a source privy to the development, as saying.

According to the Dawn, one of the fallouts of the suspension of talks was a decline in bilateral trade. Pakistan's exports to Afghanistan dropped by a significant 27 per cent over the past one year.

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Pakistan's premier intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) wanted Taliban leader Mullah Mansour to destroy school, bridges and roads in Afghanistan, an article published in the New York Times claims.

"Mullah Mansour had resisted orders from Pakistan's intelligence agency, the ISI, to destroy infrastructure - schools, bridges and roads - to increase the cost of the war for the Afghan government. He opposed the promotion of Pakistan's hard-line protege Sirajuddin Haqqani to be his deputy, and he had dodged Pakistan's demands to push its agenda in negotiations," says a New York Times article written by Carlotta Gall and Ruhullah Khapalwak.

The article, based on an interview of a former Taliban commander, who was close to Mullah Mansour's inner circle, reports insights into the final hours of Mullah Mansour's life, and why and how he was killed, revealing a dangerously-widening rift with his Pakistani sponsors.

The account of this Taliban leader was complemented and supported in interviews with two senior Afghan officials, who have conducted their own investigations into the Taliban leader's death - Haji Agha Lalai, presidential advisor and deputy governor of Kandahar and Gen. Abdul Raziq, the police chief of Kandahar Province.

According to the article, Mansour feared assassination by Pakistan before he was killed in an American drone strike.

Hours before his death, Mansour knew something was going wrong so he had called his brother and relatives to prepare them for his death.

Mansour had called his family, while he was on his way home from a secret visit to Iran in May 2016 driving across a remote stretch of southwestern Pakistan.

The article, citing Afghans on both sides of the war and a growing number of Western security analysts, said that Pakistan had most likely engineered Mullah Mansour's death to remove a Taliban leader it no longer trusted.

"Pakistan was making very strong demands. Mansour was saying you cannot force me on everything. I am running the insurgency, doing the fighting and taking casualties and you cannot force us," the article quotes the former Taliban commander, as saying.

After Mullah Mansour's death, Mawlawi Haibatullah Akhundzada, an Islamic cleric with no military experience, was selected as leader of the Taliban.

"Ninety percent of the Taliban blame the Pakistanis," the former Taliban commander said, adding, "but they cannot say anything. They are scared."

The article says that Mansour relied on Pakistan's Intelligence Service and donors from Arab gulf states, as well as Afghan drug lords, for the main financing of the Taliban, but he was also seeking weapons and other support from Iran, and even Russia.

"Mullah Mansour's outreach to Iran was also aimed at getting the Taliban out from under Pakistan's thumb, according to his former associate and Afghan officials, so he could maneuver to run the war, but also negotiate peace, on his own terms. That was where his differences with Pakistan had grown sharpest," it adds.

The article further says that Mansour wanted to devolve more power to regional Taliban commanders, allowing them to raise their own funds and make their own decisions, in order to own the Afghan nationalist cause and loosen Pakistan's control over the insurgency.

"Ten days before he was killed, he sent messages to villages and to commanders asking them to share their views on peace talks," said General Raziq, the police chief of Kandahar Province, a fierce opponent of the Taliban, who knew the movement well.

He said Mansour was looking for new protectors as his disagreements with Pakistan were growing.

The article claims that Mansour used to travel on a Pakistani passport, under a fake name, with full knowledge of Pakistani intelligence.

His fake identity, Muhammad Wali, was known in intelligence circles, according to a former Afghan intelligence chief.

According to the article, 300 extra guards were posted at the crossing and along the highway when Mansour reached the Pakistani side of the border with Iran before his death.

Mansour took a taxi on his arrival in Pakistan for the eight-hour drive to Quetta.

Hellfire missiles fired by an American drone tore into the car which was carrying Mansour, near the small town of Ahmad Wal, where the road runs just 20 miles from the Afghan border.

Workers farming watermelons nearby rushed to the burning wreck and shovelled dirt on the flames, but could not save the men inside, General Raziq said.

Members of Pakistan's Frontier Corps arrived suspiciously fast.

"His car was followed," said General Raziq, who conducted his own investigation into the strike.

"The Frontier Corps were following him, and within five minutes of him being hit they reached him, with the media."

"For many in the Taliban, Mullah Mansour's death represented a devastating betrayal by their longtime patron and sponsor, Pakistan that has split and demoralized the ranks," the article says.

Many senior commanders from Mullah Mansour's Pashtun tribe defected to the Afghan government or moved into Afghanistan in fear of further retribution from Pakistan.

The strike against Mullah Mansour was the first time a top Afghan Taliban leader had been killed inside Pakistan, the article concludes, which has provided a sanctuary for Taliban leaders throughout their 16-year insurgency against Afghanistan.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In the global economy, a primary value enhancer for an Indian manufacturing company is building solid brands. A successful brand building strategy is the holy grail pursued by all companies. But building a profile of international brands is a different ballgame. An expensive, long term and complex combination of many factors goes to build a single brand, and multiple of those factors go into building a war chest of brands in international markets for any company. Acquiring a trademark in a foreign market is one of the foundation pillars in the strategy. Trademarks can either be acquired through designated trademark authorities in individual countries or through international protocols such as WIPO, EUIPO, ARIPO.

Indian companies are not only content with growth in India, but also serious about accessing international markets have to embark on this daunting road, and need an appetite to compete against Chinese prices and established market presence of western and multinationals brands. A good number of Indian companies have built international brands. Parijat Industries,a manufacturer of high quality agrochemical formulations is one of India's leading branded agrochemical exporters with a formidable war chest of international brands and registered trademarks.

With exports spanning countries of Asia, Africa, Europe, North and South America and Oceania and CIS; Parijat and its international subsidiaries has quietly embarked on an international brand building strategy acquiring a war chest of trademarks in a formidable 45 countries worldwide and another 10 in the pipeline. This includes its mother brand Parijat and, or trademarks for its branded formulated products. Trademarks for branded formulations have been acquired in countries spanning different continents such as England, France, Canada, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sudan, Kenya, Iraq, Russia, Georgia, Peru, Ecuador, and Guyana. Apart from these the company already has over 60 trademarked brands in the Indian market where it sells in 22 Indian states. Acquiring a brand can take a substantial amount of time and investment and this can span from 6 months to up to 3 years. If objections arise and litigations follow this period can extend into years.

Acquiring a pesticide formulation registration in any country is a lengthy affair and at an average can take 2-3 years at the minimum. Therefor the branding and trademark must go hand in hand with the product registration. Parijat has built up a daunting 400 product registrations in 45 countries, which form the bedrock upon which trademarked brands are being built in international markets, and Parijat is looking to cash in the coming years.

Keshav Anand, Chairman and Managing Director of Parijat says "putting in place the registrations and trademarks globally is a strategic initiative for acquiring the springboard to enable Parijat with the ability to ramp up, nonlinear volumes in each market as opportunity arises.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Amidst producing regional language films in India and shooting for her Hollywood projects, Priyanka Chopra has taken time out from her busy schedule to work on a new single 'Young and Free'.

She took to Instagram and shared a sneak peek of the single on her social networking handle.

She captioned the post as, "2 DAYS @priyankachopra #YoungAndFree Spotify Pre-Save Link: https://mtl.fm/youngandfree."

#Repost @will_sparks  2 DAYS @team_pc_ #YoungAndFree Spotify Pre-Save Link: https://mtl.fm/youngandfree A post shared by Priyanka Chopra (@priyankachopra) on Aug 9, 2017 at 9:30am PDT

The 'Bajirao Mastani' star is collaborating with Australian producer and DJ Will Sparks for this one, which is all set to release on August 11.

PeeCee also wrote, "Something new, something different. yes, it's my voice, but that's not all. Stay tuned for the full story.. #YoungAndFree @will_sparks."

On the work front, Priyanka Chopra has been working on the movie 'Isn't it Romantic,' which also stars Rebel Wilson, Adam Devine and Liam Hemsworth.

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'Rogue One

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ahmed's character is kept under wraps but it is speculated that he would not be playing the villain Carnage which Sony Pictures has been looking to cast.

Sources said the actor was considered for the role before script changes were made.

Tom Hardy is starring in Venom as the title character, who in the comic books, is a photographer named Eddie Brock who, when bonded with an alien symbiote, becomes Venom.

He's been both, a nemesis of Spider-Man, as well as an antihero and protector of the innocent.

'Venom' will be directed by 'Zombieland' director Ruben Fleischer which Sony hopes will be the first in a series of films based on 'Spider-Man' characters.

The studio is riding high when it comes to Spidey following 'Spider-Man: Homecoming' Sony's collaboration with Marvel Studios, which received a strong response and has grossed more than USD 675 million worldwide since opening last month.

'Venom' is set to open on October 5, 2018.

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The Supreme Court on Thursday declined Sahara chief Subrata Roy's plea to put on hold the auction process of the group's project 'Aamby Valley'.

A three-judge bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Dipak Misra refused to give any relief to Sahara.

However, Kapil Sibal, lawyer appearing for Sahara, pleaded to the apex court for giving an extension, but the plea was rejected by the top court.

Earlier, the top court directed Sahara group chief Subrata Roy to deposit Rs. 1,500 crore in SEBI-Sahara account by September 7.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) had alleged that the company's chairman, Roy, had allegedly failed to comply with the 2012 apex court order directing him to return investors more than Rs. 20,000 crore with 15% interest that his two companies Sahara India Real Estate Corp Ltd and the Sahara Housing Finance Corp Ltd had raised through optionally fully convertible debentures (OFCD) in 2007 and 2008.

The Sahara group vehemently denied the allegations of the SEBI and claimed to pay more than 80 percent of the dues to the bondholders, but the market regulator, SEBI, disputed that and said they have not paid more than Rs. 9,000 crore dues.

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Seychelles Parliamentary Delegation called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday.

A 12-member delegation shared with PM Modi their perspectives on further strengthening cooperation between the two countries.

The delegation was led by Speaker Hon. Patrick Pillay and included Leader of Government Business, Hon. Charles De Commarmond.

Prime Minister Modi welcomed increased exchanges between the legislatures of both the countries.

He also appreciated their role in upholding strong and vibrant ties between India and Seychelles as close partners, including in the Indian Ocean.

The Prime Minister recalled his own productive visit to Seychelles in March 2015 that helped both countries further deepen cooperation.

The delegation also shared their ideas on people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.

The Seychelles parliamentary delegation is on an official visit to India on the invitation of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha Sumitra Mahajan.

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Senior Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)) leader Sharad Yadav will kickstart his three-day Jan Samvad Yatra today and will meet the people of Bihar to discuss the repercussions of the withdrawal of the grand alliance in the state.

Yadav will visit nearly eight to ten constituencies of Bihar from August 10 to 12 and will hold discussions.

"I am going to meet the people and will discuss the condition of the state after the withdrawal of the grand alliance. I have not done any preparation for this. I will stay there overnight and will talk to people on this issue," Yadav told ANI.

He said the people supported the grand alliance and expected a lot from it, adding that they are hurt with its withdrawal.

"I was one of those who asked the people of Bihar to vote for the grand alliance. I consider this as a responsibility. The people are hurt with this withdrawal," he said.

Sharad Yadav has openly expressed his disappointment over the prevailing situation in Bihar, especially with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar undoing the grand alliance and joining hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

There have also been reports of a widening rift between Yadav and Nitish, with the former backing Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress.

On day one, Yadav will cover Patna-Sonpur-Muzaffarpur, while on day two, he will visit Muzaffarpur-Darbhanga-Madhubani.

On the last day, Sharad Yadav will meet the people of Madhubani-Supaul-Saharsa-Madhepur.

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Condemning the online abuse of journalist Dhanya Rajendran by the fans of Tamil actor Vijay, an activist on Thursday asserted that the State Government should step in and ensure that such miscreants are booked so that cases like these do not occur.

Speaking to ANI, activist Kishore K. Swamy said, "Freedom of expression should be respected and at the same time, when these incidents come up, the state government should step in and ensure that such miscreants are booked. As a responsible citizen, I totally condemn this. The troll on the journalist clearly indicates that it is a case of criminal intimidation for which action should be taken."

Yesterday, Chennai cyber crime police had taken up a case of online abuse, after actor Vijay fans trolled a woman journalist with abuses over the last three days.

Police filed the case against two or more Twitter handles and invoked various sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC), Information Technology Act 2000 and TN Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act, 2002.

Rajendran, Editor of thenewsminute.com, had tweeted on August 4 that she felt Shah Rukh Khan's new movie 'Jab Harry Met Sejal' was worse than Tamil hero Vijay's seven-year-old film, 'Sura.' In a matter of hours, over 31,000 tweets trended hashtag #publicitybeepDhanya, leading to a torrent of abuse from Vijay's fans that included name-calling, threats of rape and personal attacks.

After three days of inexorable trolling on social media, Rajendran filed a complaint with the Chennai police against unnamed people, under non-bailable offences.

Meanwhile, actor Vijay, said that everybody had a right to criticise films.

"I respect women in society. Anybody has the freedom of expression to criticise anybody's film. My opinion is that maligning or making slanderous comments against women should not be made," he said.

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India's External Affair Minister Sushma Swaraj here on Thursday met Prime Minister of Nepal Sher Bahadur Deuba.

Swaraj landed here earlier today to attend the 15th Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi- Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Ministerial Summit to be held this evening.

The 15th ministerial BIMSTEC will be inaugurated at 6 p.m. local time at the Soaltee Hotel.

Before taking part in the ceremony, she will also meet Nepal President Bidhya Devi Bhandari at 5 p.m. (local time), the Indian Mission in Nepal has informed.

"The following day (after the inauguration), the ministerial meeting will review the progress and achievements in the identified fourteen areas of cooperation and will discuss on the ways to accelerate the cooperation under the BIMSTEC process," a release from Nepal's Foreign Ministry said earlier.

The BIMSTEC is a sub-regional grouping comprising of seven countries of South Asia and South East Asia. These are: Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal. Nepal is the current Chair.

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The third Handloom Day was celebrated in Guwahati and Manipur. It was observed to encourage the weavers to showcase their crafts.

The observance function was jointly organised by officials from the Union Ministry of Textiles, and Assam Handloom on Monday.

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal also attended the celebration.

"India comprises of at least 43 lakh weavers and 65 per cent of handloom weavers are in the north-east region. So, in a way, most of the handloom work in the entire country takes place here. The Centre is making effort to promote handloom, so that people remain connected to the tradition as well get an opportunity to earn their livelihood and look after their family," Union Minister of State for Textiles Ajay Tamta told ANI.

The event focussed on Assam weavers, who are known for producing Pat and Muga Silk. The Assam Government has announced an ambitious Muga Mission to increase production with a cost of Rs. 100 crore.

Over a thousands of weavers across the north-east participated in the celebration and were given weaver's identity cards by Sarbananda Sonowal.

"To empower the women is the prime objective of organising such an event. This is an abundant opportunity. People will have to rise up to the occasion. We all have to work in this regard and I think it is a great opportunity for us to work for the betterment of the weavers," said Sonowal.

During the occasion, it was announced that the Ministry of Textiles has entered into MoUs with Indira Gandhi Open University (IGNOU) and Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) whereby children of weavers shall be able to avail school and university education, with 75 per cent of the fees being borne by the central government.

Similarly, in a bid to promote handloom products of the state of Manipur and to uplift the living standard of the weavers National Handloom Day was celebrated at City Convention Centre, Palace Gate.

As part of the event, Works Minister Biswajit Singh released the Compendium of Handlooms and Textiles. Prizes to the best performing Handloom Clusters of Manipur were also handed over to Andro Cluster and Yarou Bamdiar Cluster. The prize carries a cash award of Rs. 50,000 and a citation.

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United States President Donald Trump has criticised his own party's Senate leader Mitch McConnell for failing to get ObamaCare repealed and replaced.

"Senator Mitch McConnell said I had "excessive expectations," but I don't think so. After 7 years of hearing Repeal & Replace, why not done?" Trump tweeted.

Trump's reaction comes after the Kentucky Republican vented his frustrations about the president's "excessive expectations" for his agenda.

"Now our new president has of course not been in this line of work before. And I think had excessive expectations about how quickly things happen in the democratic process," McConnell said.

Republicans in the Senate had failed to pass a plan last month to repeal and replace Obamacare.

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The UK's Department for International Trade (DIT) hosted India's top 50 realtors, developers and promoters at the House of Lords in Parliament today (August 10).

British Minister of State for International Trade, Greg Hands gave the key note address at the event titled -"Regeneration and infrastructure investment in a land alive with opportunities".

The 800 delegates travelling to the UK comprise of noteworthy high net worth investors, looking to invest in residential and infrastructure developments across the country. As the government plans 500 billion of public and private investment into infrastructure, DIT will be showcasing key investment opportunities which will benefit the UK and Indian investors and help regenerate large parts of cities like Leeds, Manchester and Nottingham.

International Trade Minister, Greg Hands said: "I am delighted to meet India's leading real estate developers, who are a testament to the fantastic track record of Indian investment in the UK. The UK is committed to ensuring that, as one of the fastest growing economies in the world, India has our full support to invest and succeed here.

"Through a series of strong investments, like from Mumbai-based Lodha group who are expanding their in the UK, India remains one of the top five investors into our country, securing and safeguarding thousands of jobs.

"I look forward to joining with my Indian colleagues to further advance the mutually beneficial relationship between our two countries."

The market value of the UK's real estate is over 1.6 billion, representing 21% of total net wealth, and the UK remains by far the most popular destination for global real estate investment in Europe. Real estate contributes 94billion to the UK economy, accounting for 5.4% of GDP, and making a huge contribution to employment and regeneration.

House of Lords member, Lord Ranbir Suri delivered the welcome address at the House of Lords and introduced the trade Minister. The Indian attendees are a part of a delegation of 800 Indian realtors, developers and promoters who are in the UK to participate in the annual international convention of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India (CREDAI).

The convention is being hosted in London for the first time, following cities including Moscow and Shanghai, with total investment from CREDAI's 12,000 members reaching billions of pounds in India and across the world. DIT experts will attend the event to promote bilateral infrastructure trade and investment opportunities between the UK and India and advise on the ease of doing in the UK's housing and real estate sectors.

Delegates will also be touring the UK, visiting the Northern Powerhouse and Midlands as well as Scotland to look at real estate and infrastructure investment opportunities in local towns and cities. According to DIT figures released this summer, the UK secured more inward investment projects in the last year than ever before, with 127 projects coming from India, creating and safeguarding 11,644 jobs.

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In 2015, the United Nations laid down a set of 17 goals called the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which require action from all sections of society for their success by 2030. India, with over 17 percent of the world population and one of the fastest growing economies with a large youth demographic, has a defining role to play in the eventual success of the SDG's.

Worldview Education is a global experiential learning platform for school students which was founded and is run by first generations entrepreneurs from Hyderabad. Worldview runs various programs that engage students in finding solutions to global issues while building their own personal attributes.

Students from over 200 schools across India, South-Asia and parts of the middle east have participated in Worldview's programs. The conference is hosted by Worldview in association with the Harvard International Relations Council of Harvard University, Boston.

It will be held from the 12th to 15th of August at the Hyderabad International Convention Center, Hyderabad. As a part of the conference this year, the first woman Chairperson of CII, Ms. Shobana Kamineni will be addressing the delegates at the opening ceremony. On the occasion of the International Youth Day, a panel discussion chaired by Dr. Mukund Rajan, Chief Ethics Officer of the Tata group and a member of the CII Council on India @ 75.

Vodafone India is committed to ensuring that it contributes to the development of the future generations of the world and been has associated with Worldview as the Telecom Partner for Harvard Model UN India for the 4th time since it began in India.

Speaking about the association with Harvard Model United Nations India, Siddharth Banerjee, EVP - Marketing, Vodafone India said, "Vodafone, as the leading global technology innovator, has been at the forefront of enabling people to be at their personal best, or as we say #BeSuper. With this association with Harvard Model UN, we are encouraging the vibrant student community across India to #BeSuper."

Founded in 2009, Worldview is one of India's leading experiential learning companies, having delivered over 30,000 experiences to students from across 200+ schools.

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Suspected Al-Qaeda terrorist Zeeshan Ali was trying to create a terror base in India, said police.

Zeeshan Ali was deported to India from Saudi Arabia on Wednesday evening.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) special cell Pramod Kushwaha said that Ali was making attempts to recruit young boys.

Ali used to give provocative speeches to lure young boys to join the terror outfit, he said.

"Zeeshan Ali was part of a terror network & was planning to create a terror base in India. He used to give provocative speeches for recruiting Indian youths and establishing a base for the terror outfit," said Kushwaha.

Earlier in the day, Ali was sent to police custody for two weeks.

The Delhi Police were searching Ali for over a year, ever since three alleged Al-Qaeda operatives were arrested in 2015.

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Union Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways, Shipping and Chemicals and Fertilizers, Shri Mansukh Lal Mandviya, presided over the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing ceremony between the Union Government and the State Government of Uttar Pradesh for opening 1000 Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) Kendras in the State.

Shri Mandaviya said that according to the vision of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, Government's priority under the PMBJP scheme is to provide quality medicines at affordable rates to the poor and marginalized sections of society. The Minister further said that the drugs available under this scheme meet the highest quality benchmarks and are made available by the Government at costs much less than their expensive branded counterparts. Cardiac stent costs have been reduced by almost 85%, which would benefit poor patients who could not afford them earlier, the Minister added.

Shri Mandaviya informed that under the PMBJP scheme, more than 600 medicines and 150 surgical and other medical items are being made available at affordable rates at Janaushadhi Kendras opened across the country. The number of medicines available under the scheme would soon be increased to 1000.

Government of India is also giving financial assistance of up to Rs. 2,50,000 to those who open the Kendras under the scheme, the Minister added.

Shri Siddharth Nath Singh said that these 1000 stores will be opened in government hospitals and community health centres, so that more and more poor and marginalized sections of society can get benefit of this scheme. Shri Singh also informed that the Cabinet has already given its approval to open Kendras in Hospital complexes and allotment of around 400 Janaushadhi Kendras has taken place.

During the event, Shri Mandaviya also inaugurated the website of the PMBJP Scheme for the State, during the event. This website would aid the people to know more about the scheme, location of the Janaushadhi Kendras, availability of medicines and their prices in real time. Other dignitaries present on the occasion were Shri Suddhansh Pant, Joint Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals, Government of India, along with other senior officers of the Union and State Governments.

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It was noted that despite ECGC reducing the premium rates (in order to bring down the transaction costs of the exporters) by an average 17% under policies, ECGC recorded only a marginal decline in premium of less than 4%.

ECGC has posted Profit Before Tax of Rs.407 crores, an increase of 5% over previous year. It has also declared a dividend of Rs.72.5 crores at the rate of Rs.5 per share.

ECGC's support of total exports at Rs.2,65,000 crores was around 15% of total merchandise exports in 2016-17. A significant aspect of ECGC's performance was that 85% of its support was accounted for by MSME exporters.

It was mentioned that 12029 covers were in force as on 31st March, 2017 with a total maximum liability of Rs.86,215 Crores. With a view to increase Indian exports in new markets like Africa, covers provided by ECGC to exporters exporting to Africa recorded a growth of 15% over previous year. This was even when exports to Africa recorded a decline of 5% In 2016-17.

ECGC has over 4,00,000 Overseas Buyers on record of which more than 1,20,000 buyers are regular and active buyers for Indian exporters. The cumulative exposure on these active buyers made available by ECGC is more than Rs.1,25,000 Crores for Indian exporters.

An active management of exposures on these buyers is supported by a strong data base, built over more than five decades.

ECGC also supports diversification of exports to Focus Markets identified by Department of Commerce by favourably rating such countries to enable coverage of exports at a very competitive rates.

ECGC has been a pioneer in providing ECIB covers to banks, which enables the exporters to get adequate and timely finance from Banks at pre and post-shipment stages. Recognising ECGC's significant contribution in helping Indian Exporters to get much needed working capital finance for the last 50 years, it was most fittingly accorded in its Diamond Jubilee Year the Best ECA Award by Trade and Forfaiting Review for 2017, an award that has been in vogue for last twenty years. ECGC's unique achievement is when pitched against stalwarts ECAs from Germany and UK, it won the award.

ECGC also manages the NEIA Trust of the Government of India that provides credit insurance covers to Medium and Long Term Exports, including Project Exports. The NEIA has supported 76 Contracts with a project value of around Rs.35,000 Crores, being executed by Indian Exporters in 29 countries.

During the Financial Year 2016-17, ECGC hosted the meeting of Heads of BRICS ECAs in New Delhi while India was the BRICS Chair. It has also organized 2 International Workshops for BRICS ECA participants. It also hosted Meeting of Heads of ECAs of G12 Countries consisting of 8 OECD and 4 BRIC Countries, in Chennai during the year.

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The Government of India has decided to launch a new sub-scheme named Aajeevika Grameen Express Yojana (AGEY) as part of the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM). The Self Help Groups under DAY-NRLM will operate road transport service in backward areas. This will help to provide safe, affordable and community monitored rural transport services to connect remote villages with key services and amenities (such as access to markets, education and health) for the overall economic development of backward rural areas. This will also provide an additional avenue of livelihood for SHGs. The basic outline of AGEY was discussed in a meeting of State Transport Ministers of 13 States held in June 2016 at Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh and all the Transport Ministers had expressed their appreciation of this initiative.

The Community Investment Fund (CIF) provided to Community Based Organization (CBOs) under DAY-NRLM will be utilized to support the SHG members in this new livelihoods initiative. The beneficiary SHG member will be provided an interest free loan by the CBO from its Community Investment Fund upto Rs.6.50 lakh for purchase of the vehicle. Alternative, CBO will own the vehicle and lease it to an SHG member to operate the vehicle and pay lease rental to the CBO

AGEY will be initially implemented in 250 Blocks in the country on pilot basis with each Block provided upto 6 vehicles to operate the transport services.

During the current year implementation of the scheme has been so far approved for 52 Blocks in 8 States namely Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttarakhand and West Bengal with a total provision of Rs.16.06 Crore of which the Government of India share would be Rs.10.16 Crore. The balance funding would be provided by the respective States.

The Blocks will be selected by States from among the Blocks where NRLM is being implemented intensively and where mature CBOs are already functioning. Backwardness, lack of transportation links and sustainability of service would be the guiding factors in the selection of Blocks and routes.

The State Rural Livelihood Missions (SRLMs) will do a feasibility study and traffic survey in the selected blocks to identity the routes and the number and capacity of vehicles which can be operated on sustainable basis. The study will be conducted by technically sound organizations with expertise in transport network planning. The choice of vehicle could be either e-riksha, 3 wheeler or 4 wheeler within a cost ceiling of Rs.6.50 lakh.

The SRLMs will be co-ordinating with State Transport Department for issue of permit for the vehicle. The SHG member operating the vehicle shall ensure that all necessary legal and statutory requirement such as valid permit, road tax permit, valid insurance policy etc. are met.

The SHG member shall run the vehicle on approved routes at pre-determined frequency as jointly agreed between the CBO and the SHG operator based on financial viability and the need for transport link.

All vehicles under the scheme shall have a defined colour code and carry AGEY branding to ensure their identity and avoid diversion to other routes.

The State Rural Livelihood Mission will arrange capacity building for their staff at State, District and Block levels for operating the Scheme. The members of the CBO and the beneficiary SHG member shall also be provided adequate training in the Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSETIs) and other partner organizations.

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For manufacture of 3D concrete wall tile

Acrysil has signed a binding Term Sheet on 09 August 2017 with a leading European designing company and a key individual for technology / know how transfer for manufacturing of 3D concrete wall tiles. A definitive agreement to be signed within the period specified.

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On 14 August 2017

Boston Leasing & Finance will hold a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company on 14 August 2017, to consider unaudited financial results for the quarter ended on 30th June 2017.

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Domestic stocks nudged lower in early trade on negative global cues weighed by escalation in tensions between the US and North Korea. At 9:21 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 153.47 points or 0.48% at 31,644.37. The Nifty index was down 41.55 points or 0.42% at 9,866.50. Today's fall was led by L&T, ICICI Bank and ITC.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.49%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was down 0.43%. The fall in both these indices was higher than the Sensex's decline in percentage terms.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was weak. On the BSE, 753 shares declined and 383 shares rose. A total of 41 shares were unchanged.

Overseas, Asian stocks were trading lower as investors continued to take risks off the table even as American officials tried to ease concerns amid an escalation in tensions between the US and North Korea.

US stocks closed lower yesterday, 9 August 2017 as tensions between North Korea and the US added a dollop of geopolitical uncertainty to markets, and as high-profile companies disappointed with their quarterly results.

In the latest escalation of tensions between Washington and Pyongyang, the isolated Asian country threatened a missile strike at US territory Guam. That saber-rattling came a day after US President Donald Trump said he would respond with fire and fury like the world has never seen if the country doesn't halt its threats.

On the Federal Reserve front, Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said he supported starting a reduction of the central bank's $4.5 trillion balance sheet in September but was ambivalent about another rate hike this year.

Back home, L&T (down 1.04%), ICICI Bank (down 0.64%) and ITC (down 0.5%) edged lower from the Sensex pack.

Tata Motors dropped 4.16%. The company's consolidated net profit rose 41.59% to Rs 3200 crore on 9.92% drop in revenue to Rs 58651 crore in Q1 June 2017 over Q1 June 2016. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 9 August 2017. Revenue was lower due to translation impact from Pound to Rupee.

The operating performance broadly reflects lower wholesale volumes for Jaguar Land Rover business excluding the China joint venture, and continuation of higher competitive incentive levels and launch and growth costs seen in FY 2017. In standalone business, a significant de-growth in the medium & heavy commercial vehicles (M&HCV) segment, flat light commercial vehicles (LCV) segment and moderate growth in passenger vehicle segment was seen.

Aurobindo Pharma surged 4.14%. The company's consolidated net profit fell 11.4% to Rs 518.51 crore on 2.3% decline in net sales to Rs 3621.07 crore in Q1 June 2017 over Q1 June 2016. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 9 August 2017.

Eicher Motors fell 0.86%. The company's consolidated net profit rose 22.1% to Rs 459.62 crore on 28.5% growth in net sales to Rs 1991.78 crore in Q1 June 2017 over Q1 June 2016. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 9 August 2017.

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Trading of Nifty 50 index futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicates that the Nifty could fall 29 points at the opening bell. Shares of Security and Intelligence Services (India) (SIS) gets listed on the stock exchanges today, 10 August 2017.

Overseas, Asian stocks were trading lower on escalation in tensions between the US and North Korea. US stocks closed lower yesterday, 9 August 2017 as tensions between North Korea and the US added a dollop of geopolitical uncertainty to markets, and as high-profile companies disappointed with their quarterly results.

In the latest escalation of tensions between Washington and Pyongyang, the isolated Asian country threatened a missile strike at US territory Guam. That saber-rattling came a day after US President Donald Trump said he would respond with fire and fury like the world has never seen if the country doesn't halt its threats.

On the Federal Reserve front, Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said he supported starting a reduction of the central bank's $4.5 trillion balance sheet in September but was ambivalent about another rate hike this year.

Back home,key benchmark indices registered losses for third day in a row yesterday, 9 August 2017 as weakness in global stocks amid escalating geopolitical tensions between US and North Korea weighed on sentiment on the domestic bourses. The Sensex dropped 216.35 points or 0.68% to settle at 31,797.84, its lowest closing level since 18 July 2017.

The trading activity on that day showed that the foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 841.44 crore yesterday, 9 August 2017, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 553.17 crore yesterday, 9 August 2017, as per provisional data.

Among corporate news,Tata Motors' consolidated net profit rose 41.59% to Rs 3200 crore on 9.92% drop in revenue to Rs 58651 crore in Q1 June 2017 over Q1 June 2016. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 9 August 2017. Revenue was lower due to translation impact from Pound to Rupee.

The operating performance broadly reflects lower wholesale volumes for Jaguar Land Rover business excluding the China joint venture, and continuation of higher competitive incentive levels and launch and growth costs seen in FY 2017. In standalone business, a significant de-growth in the medium & heavy commercial vehicles (M&HCV) segment, flat light commercial vehicles (LCV) segment and moderate growth in passenger vehicle segment was seen.

Aurobindo Pharma's consolidated net profit fell 11.4% to Rs 518.51 crore on 2.3% decline in net sales to Rs 3621.07 crore in Q1 June 2017 over Q1 June 2016. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 9 August 2017.

Eicher Motors' consolidated net profit rose 22.1% to Rs 459.62 crore on 28.5% growth in net sales to Rs 1991.78 crore in Q1 June 2017 over Q1 June 2016. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 9 August 2017.

Shares of Security and Intelligence Services (India) (SIS) gets listed on the stock exchanges today, 10 August 2017. The issue price is fixed at Rs 815 per share. Promoted by Ravindra Kishore Sinha and Rituraj Kishore Sinha, SIS is a leading provider of private security and facility management services in India.

The initial public offer (IPO) of SIS which concluded on 2 August 2017, received strong response from investors. It was subscribed 7.07 times. The IPO price band was fixed at Rs 805-815 per share.

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Shares of Security and Intelligence Services (India) (SIS) get listed on the stock exchanges today, 10 August 2017. The issue price is fixed at Rs 815 per share. Promoted by Ravindra Kishore Sinha and Rituraj Kishore Sinha, SIS is a leading provider of private security and facility management services in India.

The initial public offer (IPO) of SIS which concluded on 2 August 2017, received strong response from investors. It was subscribed 7.07 times. The IPO price band was fixed at Rs 805-815 per share.

Tata Motors' consolidated net profit rose 41.59% to Rs 3200 crore on 9.92% drop in revenue to Rs 58651 crore in Q1 June 2017 over Q1 June 2016. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 9 August 2017. Revenue was lower due to translation impact from Pound to Rupee.

The operating performance broadly reflects lower wholesale volumes for Jaguar Land Rover business excluding the China joint venture, and continuation of higher competitive incentive levels and launch and growth costs seen in FY 2017. In standalone business, a significant de-growth in the medium & heavy commercial vehicles (M&HCV) segment, flat light commercial vehicles (LCV) segment and moderate growth in passenger vehicle segment was seen.

Aurobindo Pharma's consolidated net profit fell 11.4% to Rs 518.51 crore on 2.3% decline in net sales to Rs 3621.07 crore in Q1 June 2017 over Q1 June 2016. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 9 August 2017.

Eicher Motors' consolidated net profit rose 22.1% to Rs 459.62 crore on 28.5% growth in net sales to Rs 1991.78 crore in Q1 June 2017 over Q1 June 2016. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 9 August 2017.

NMDC's net profit rose 36.2% to Rs 969.20 crore on 65.1% growth in net sales to Rs 2841.53 crore in Q1 June 2017 over Q1 June 2016. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 9 August 2017.

Union Bank of India said that the committee of directors for raising of capital funds resolved and approved raising of equity capital through public issue (FPO) and/or right issue and/or private placement including qualified institutional placement for an amount up to Rs 2000 crore in first tranche during financial year ending 31 March 2018 (FY 2018). The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 9 August 2017.

NHPC said that it has signed power purchase agreement (PPA) with BSES Yamuna Power (BYPL) on 8 August 2017 in respect of seven power stations namely Bairasiul, Salal, Tanakpur, Chamera-I, Uri-I, Sewa II and Chamera-III for a period of 35 years from the date of commercial operation date of respective power stations. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 9 August 2017.

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An aggressive Nawaz Sharif, leading a mammoth rally from Islamabad to his hometown Lahore, on Thursday launched a scathing attack on the Supreme Court for ousting him as Pakistan's Prime Minister.

Sharif spewed fire as he addressed large groups of supporters gathered on the rally route. But he insisted he was not greedy for power and wanted to change Pakistan for the better.

"I have not come here to ask you to make me Prime Minister again. I don't want power. Neither am I greedy for power... I have self-respect," the veteran leader told his cheering supporters after reaching Jhelum, a major city along the Grand Trunk Road.

The media quoted Sharif as saying that while the people's mandate catapulted him to power, he was ousted "in a minute".

"Millions elect their leader and five judges disqualify him with a stroke of pen. Can you tolerate this? Even those judges said Nawaz Sharif didn't indulge in corruption," he thundered, and asked people to question why their leader was disqualified when he was not involved in corruption.

"People of Jhelumi should ask why was Nawaz ousted. There is no stain of corruption, my hands are clean," said Sharif, who was disqualified on July 28 on charges of corruption linked to what has come to be known as the Panama Papers.

He wondered why the Supreme Court judges failed to hold former military dictators accountable for subverting the Constitution.

"You choose a Prime Minister but a judge or military dictator tears up your vote. This needs to change if Pakistan is to progress," said Sharif, who in 1999 was ousted by then Army chief Pervez Musharraf.

"Dictators rule the country for 10 years but a Prime Minister cannot even complete his tenure."

Referring to the security situation in Pakistan, Sharif said he had brought peace to Karachi and Balochistan. This helped the economy.

Sharif will stay in Jhelum overnight and resume his journey to Lahore on Friday morning. On Thursday, he began the second leg of his "homecoming rally" after leaving Rawalpindi's Punjab House.

He began his journey on Wednesday from Islamabad. Due to the massing of supporters on the way, it took 12 hours for the rallyists to reach Rawalpindi, 20 km away.

In his Wednesday night speech in Rawalpindi, Sharif called the apex court decision to depose him a "joke" and an insult to voters.

Sharif's convoy includes senior party leaders Amir Muqam, Abid Sher Ali, Hanif Abbasi, Marvi Memon and Zaeem Qadri.

--IANS

soni/mr

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Rome, Aug 10 (IANS/AKI) Anti-mafia police in the southern Italian city of Reggio Calabria on Thursday seized 324 million euros of assets from late businessman Vincenzo Oliveri, who was convicted of defrauding the European Union.

The impounded assets included 15 companies operating in the olive oil, tourism, hospitality, real-estate and service sectors as well as 88 properties in Calabria, Tuscany and Abruzzo including luxury hotels, restaurants, tourist developments, seven cars and numerous bank accounts.

EU subsidies worth some 1.6 million euros annually were also among the assets impounded by Reggio Calabria's anti-mafia directorate, which has since 2014 confiscated around 1.2 billion euros of assets from the Calabrian mafia or 'Ndrangheta.

The seizures were made on the orders of an appeals court in Reggio Calabria which on Thursday upheld a lower court ruling in January 2016 that the Oliveri's industrial group had accumulated the assets by defrauding the EU.

Oliveri died in January last year and is survived by his wife Domenica Rosa Carnovale and his two sons, Giovanni and Matteo Giuseppe.

Oliveri was arrested on 26 July 2010 on charges of criminal association and of defrauding the EU.

He had received a string of fraud convictions dating from the 1980s which all expired under Italy's statute of limitations.

--IANS

mr/

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West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said she will call on new President Ram Nath Kovind in Delhi in the evening.

"It is a protocol to meet the new President. I will meet him today (Thursday) evening in Delhi," Banerjee said at the airport here in the afternoon before leaving for Delhi.

The Trinamool Congress supremo will also attend a meeting of opposition leaders in the national capital on Friday.

"Tomorrow (Friday), there is a meeting of opposition parties. I will be present there," the Chief Minister said.

--IANS

mgr/ssp/tsb/bg

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The majority of suicide bombers used by the Nigeria-based terror group Boko Haram are women and children, a US study has revealed.

Researchers at the Combating Centre at West Point and Yale University analysed the 434 suicide bombings carried out by Boko Haram since 2011, and found that at least 244 of the 338 attacks in which the bomber's gender could be identified were carried out by women, CNN quoted the study as saying on Wednesday.

The Islamic State-affiliated insurgent group has sent 80 women to their deaths in 2017 alone.

Boko Haram's use of women as bombers increased following the abduction of 276 female students aged between 16 and 18 from their school dormitories in Chibok in April 2014, according to the study.

"Almost immediately after the Chibok kidnappings ... Boko Haram's use of women suicide bombers skyrocketed," said Jason Warner, assistant professor at the Combating Centre at West Point, the US' elite military academy.

Of the 134 suicide bombers whose age could be determined, 60 per cent were teenagers or children. The youngest suicide bomber identified to date was just seven years old.

Ellen Chapin, a Yale-based researcher who worked on the report, told CNN the militant group "deployed 42 teenage girls and 23 little girls (12 years old and under), compared to 11 teenage boys and five little boys".

The group's reign of terror has left an estimated 35,000 dead over the last six years

--IANS

ksk/vm

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In a freak incident, a three-year-old boy was killed when a television set fell on him at his home in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district, his family said on Thursday.

Tias tugged at a stand fitted with coaster wheels on which the television set was kept at the family home in Vasanpota area on Wednesday night. The table tipped and the TV fell on the child, injuring him seriously the family said. He was declared dead in a hospital.

--IANS

ssp/tsb

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The delay in enacting the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill which seeks to empower the Reserve Bank of India to direct lenders to act against big defaulters is hindering the banks' capacity to support growth, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Thursday.

"You ask what is the urgency... it is already too late," Jaitley said replying to a debate in the Rajya Sabha on the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill which seeks to allow the Centre to authorise the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to direct banks to initiate recovery proceedings against loan defaulters.

"The delay in resolution of NPA (non-performing assets) is impacting the capacity of banks to lend to support growth and lend to small investors," the Finance Minister said.

"Besides, these NPAs have been piling up. The interest is increasing so the bad debts are increasing," he said in response to a member's query on the urgency of bringing in the legislation that will replace an ordinance that enabled RBI earlier in the matter.

"The banks will slowly start realising the money, companies will continue to function, the jobs at the company will be saved, that's why the urgency," he added.

NPAs of banks have risen to over Rs 9 lakh crore and the RBI is now being given power to refer these cases to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board.

Under the bill, the central government may authorise the RBI to issue directions to any banking company to initiate insolvency in respect of a default under the provision of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.

It also has provisions empowering the RBI to issue directions to banks for resolution of stressed assets.

The sectors most responsible for the accumulated NPAs are steel, power, textiles and infrastructure.

Last month, the RBI identified 12 large loan defaulters who account for 25 per cent of the total NPAs, or bad loans, in the banking sector.

Action has already begun under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code against some of these defaulters, including Essar Steel, Bhushan Steel and Bhushan Power and Steel.

Jaitley told the Lok Sabha last month that a company defaulting on loans cannot claim the right of equality in treatment as regards repaying the loans. He said defaulting companies cannot ask why it was being targeted when some other defaulters were being let free.

The Finance Minister requested all sections of the House to support the Bill.

--IANS

bc-mm/dg

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Soon, all eateries in Delhi will display a toll-free number, where people can complain about food adulteration, Health Minister Satyendar Jain said in the state assembly on Thursday.

During question hour, Aam Aadmi Party legislator Jarnail Singh spoke about the poor food quality in the city and asked how citizens can raise the issue.

Responding to this, the Minister said the public can complain about food adulteration at the toll-free number 1800113921.

At this point, Speaker Ram Niwas Goel asked Jain whether it would be possible to display the number at all eateries and the Minister said that he will talk to his department and get it done.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The two ideologically divergent ruling partners -- the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) -- in Jammu and are headed straight for a showdown as the debate over the abrogation of Article 35A of the Constitution heats up.

The alliance between the PDP and the BJP which was called "the meeting of the North Pole and the South Pole" by the late PDP patron, Mufti Muhammad Sayeed, seems to be cracking at the seams.

"Why are they doing it," a visibly disturbed Mehbooba Mufti asked as she warned that any tinkering with the special status of J&K would bring about a situation where "shouldering the national flag" in would become impossible for pro-India parties in the state.

The Jammu-centric BJP and the Valley-centric PDP are politically "destined" to oppose each other over the highly sensitive issue.

A presidential order in 1954 brought into existence Article 35A which gives the J&K legislature powers to define the permanent residents of the state and their privileges.

A petition filed in the Supreme Court seeking abrogation of Article 35A pleads that the presidential order was not ratified by the country's Parliament which alone has the powers to amend the Constitution.

"The President of India cannot exercise the powers to amend the Constitution which is the sole prerogative of Parliament," says the petition, filed by an NGO.

The regional National Conference (NC) headed by Farooq Abdullah, who has been Chief Minister of the state thrice, called an opposition meeting, which was attended by the Congress, the NC and independent legislators of the state.

Abdullah told reporters after the meeting that abrogation of Article 35A would unleash an uprising that the government would not be able to handle.

A day after this statement, Mehbooba Mufti called on Abdullah to discuss ways and means to protect Article 35A.

A statement issued by the NC said the meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere. Abdullah is learnt to have advised Mehbooba to meet other like-minded leaders to work out a joint strategy for the legal defence of the article.

Senior PDP leader and a minister, Naeem Akhtar, said it was a move intended to rise above party politics in the larger interest of the state.

"This is to underline the fact that the constitutional relation between the state and the centre is based on Article 370 and provisions like Article 35A. If anybody tries to weaken these, it will weaken the constitutional relationship between the state and the centre," Akhtar said.

He said the two leaders had agreed that it was time to rise above party politics in the interest of the state.

A meeting called by a citizens' forum in winter capital Jammu has vehemently advocated the abrogation of Article 35A to bring J&K closer to the rest of the country.

Speakers at the meeting in Jammu accused the NC president of trying to mount pressure on the Supreme Court judges by threatening an "uprising" if the article was held as null and void by the bench hearing the petition.

The separatists have also called for a protest shutdown on August 12 against attempts to do away with the state's special status.

It is generally argued in the Valley that abrogation of Article 35A would not only do away with the special citizenship rights of the people in J&K, but would also take to its logical conclusion the rightwing agenda of the state's complete merger with India.

As all eyes remain fixed on the decision of the apex Court on the petition filed before it, the political temperatures in J&K are rising to a point where the "meeting of the North Pole and South Pole" would become politically as impossible as it is geographically.

(Sheikh Qayoom can be contacted at sheikh.abdul@ians.in)

--IANS

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The key Indian equity indices on Thursday tumbled for the fourth consecutive session as negative global cues, a weak rupee, and heavy selling pressure in automobile, healthcare, and capital goods stocks hampered investors' sentiments.

The key indices were pulled down by individual index heavyweights like Tata Motors, Dr. Reddy's Lab, Sun Pharma and Adani Ports, among others, which faced intense selling pressure.

According to market observers, volatility was witnessed in the equity markets during the day's trade, with the NSE Nifty50 of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) slipping over 100 points, falling below the psychologically important 9,800-level for the first time since July 18.

However, the NSE Nifty50 recovered slightly to close lower by 87.80 points, or 0.89 per cent, at 9,820.25 points.

The 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the BSE, too, plunged over 300 points intra-day.

The Sensex, which opened at 31,750.73 points, closed at 31,531.33 points -- down 266.51 points, or 0.84 per cent, from its previous close at 31,797.84 points.

The Sensex touched a high of 31,756.27 points and a low of 31,422.80 points during the intra-day trade.

The BSE market breadth heavily favoured bears -- with 2,274 declines and 303 advances.

In terms of the broader markets, the S&P BSE mid-cap index declined by 2.64 per cent and the small-cap index by 3.60 per cent. Both the indices crashed more than 5 per cent during the last three sessions.

"Markets corrected further on Thursday as selling intensified in the last hour of trade. It was the fourth consecutive session of losses, as Nifty closed at almost its one-month lows," Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities, told IANS.

"The indices ended lower led by losses in pharma, auto, and banking stocks. Individual stocks also dragged the sentiment on poor June-quarter result show," Jasani added.

On the currency front, the rupee weakened by 25 paise to close at 64.08-09 to a US dollar from its previous close at 63.83-84.

According to Dhruv Desai, Director and Chief Operating Officer of Tradebulls, global sentiment was largely weak with Asian stocks falling as investors fretted about the simmering tensions between the United States and North Korea.

"Tata Motors' shares fell over 8 per cent to their lowest in over a year after the company's 42 per cent rise in June-quarter profit, helped by a one-off gain related to changes to Jaguar Land Rover's pension plans, failed to please investors," Desai told IANS.

"Dr. Reddy's Labs shares plunged 5 per cent after the firm said its Bachupally manufacturing unit (in Hyderabad) has not been renewed by the German regulator post-inspection, and hence the unit won't be able to dispatch products to European Union countries, until the next inspection dates," added Desai.

All the sub-indices on the BSE ended in the red, barring the IT index, which rose by 56.73 points, and the Teck index, which was up 7.63 points.

The S&P BSE automobile index tumbled by 679.29 points, followed by the healthcare index by 415.80 points, and the capital goods index by 283.65 points.

Major Sensex gainers on Thursday were: Infosys, up 1.35 per cent at Rs 982.50; Wipro, up 0.44 per cent at Rs 288; Tata Consultancy Services, up 0.37 per cent at Rs 2,511.25; Larsen and Toubro, up 0.30 per cent at Rs 1,159.50; and Mahindra and Mahindra, up 0.26 per cent at Rs 1,395.

Major Sensex losers were: Tata Motors (DVR), down 9.26 per cent at Rs 219.90; Tata Motors, down 8.60 per cent at Rs 380.90; Dr. Reddy's Lab, down 4.77 per cent at Rs 1,948.95; Sun Pharma, down 3.08 per cent at Rs 460.15; and Adani Ports, down 2.66 per cent at Rs 386.40.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Four people, including a man suspected to be involved in the killing of a property dealer to avenge a 23-year-old murder, have been arrested here, police said on Thursday.

The arrests were made when police were checking vehicles on Vatika Chowk on Sohna road on Wednesday night.

Gurugram Commissioner of Police Sandeep Khirwar told the media that two pistols were recovered from the four men who were travelling in a car. The four were identified as Bijender Singh, Ashok Kumar, Harender and Deepak.

"Deepak was involved in the gunning down of property dealer Rajkumar on July 25," Khirwar said. Police had already arrested Amit, Deepak's brother.

Rajkumar, 47, was shot dead to avenge the murder of Bhram Singh 23 years ago. Singh was also a property dealer.

Rajkumar was the main accused in the murder of Singh but was acquitted by a court.

Deepak and Amit, sons of Bhram Singh, along with four accomplices last month reportedly opened indiscriminate fire on Rajkumar's car when he was returning home.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Panaji bench of the Bombay High Court on Thursday directed Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Rane to deposit Rs 1.5 lakh towards the state legal aid fund, while disposing a 10-year-old case in which the minister was accused.

A spokesperson for the High Court bench told reporters that Rane paid the money by demand draft.

The order by Justices C.V. Bhadang and Prithviraj Chavan comes a few weeks after a city lawyer-activist Aires Rodrigues, who in 2007 had complained that Rane had threatened him with death, told the court that he had no objection to a petition moved by Rane seeking closure of the case.

"The petitioner is permitted to deposit Rs 1.5 lakh with the State Legal Aid Fund," the one-line order reads.

Rane was booked under section 506 (ii) of the Indian Penal Code.

Vishwajit, son of former Goa Chief Minister Pratapsingh Rane, is currently a Health Minister in the BJP-led coalition government. He is contesting a by-election from the Valpoi assembly constituency later this month.

--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 Thursday ordered the Kerala Police to share with the NIA the probe details of a case wherein a Muslim man's marriage to a Hindu woman was annulled by the Kerala High Court, which termed it a "love jihad".

A division bench of Chief Justice J.S. Khehar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud took serious note of the man's objection to sharing of the records with the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

"We want the whole picture. Let the whole picture come before us. Why should anybody doubt the NIA? Are you doubting the NIA? It's a government agency. We asked them to assist us," the bench told the man's counsel.

The bench said it gathered the "impression that the petitioner (husband) does not desire the correct and independent view of the controversy" to be brought before the apex court.

"We wanted to see whether it is an isolated case or a larger issue is involved," the bench said.

The apex court asked the Kerala Director General of Police to share the records of investigation conducted so far with the NIA so as to "enable them be alive to the situation at present".

The bench said it has asked the specialised agency to weigh in for "neutral and unbiased assistance" in the case.

"If there are issues going beyond the purview of Kerala, they should be able to assist us. Is this a small pocket individual issue or is it an issue that has wider ramifications that should concerns us? We want them to help us in this determination," said the bench.

The court, however, allowed the man to file a response on the NIA plea that sought the court's direction to the police to allow it to access to police records relating to the case investigation.

The Kerala High Court on May 25 had declared as "null and void" the marriage of a 24-year-old Hindu woman, who converted to Islam to wed a Muslim man in December 2016, terming it a "sham" and ordered Hadiya, as she is now known, be placed in her parents' protective custody.

Her husband Shafin Jahan, 27, challenged the High Court order in the top court, saying the order was an "an insult to the independence of women in India".

Approaching the Supreme Court with a request to order Hadiya's father to produce her in court, he had claimed she had converted to Islam of her own volition two years prior to their marriage.

Hadiya's father, however, had said that she was a "helpless victim" trapped by a "well-oiled racket" which used "psychological measures" to indoctrinate people and convert them to Islam.

Jahan is a criminal and his daughter was trapped by a network with connections to Popular Front of India and even the Islamic State, the father's lawyer had said.

Hadiya, earlier known as Akhila, was a homeopathy student in Kerala when she converted to Islam and changed her name. Jahan had met her with his family in August 2016 in response to her posting on a marriage website and they got married last December.

But in August 2016 itself, her father had approached the high court with a habeas corpus petition, alleging his daughter had been radicalised by some organisations and they also influenced her to marry a Muslim man so that she is out of the parents' custody forever.

He had also apprehended that there could be a scheme to send her to Syria to work with extremist organisations such as the IS since the man she married had been working in the Gulf.

The High Court, saying that "national interest is at stake", had asked the state police chief to conduct an investigation into cases of 'love jihad' and probe incidents of forced conversions.

Love jihad is a term used by right-wing Hindu groups to describe inter-faith marriages which they say is an Islamist conspiracy to convert Hindu women through marriage or coercion.

--IANS

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A complaint was filed on Thursday against noted Odia litterateur Haraprasad Das for sexually harassing a woman poet on social media.

Writer Pallishree Patnaik, who works as a lecturer in a government college, lodged the complaint with a police station in Kalahandi district, seeking action against the writer.

She alleged that Das had first befriended her on Facebook and then started sending indecent messages and sought sexual favours on the pretext of boosting her literary career.

"I have filed the complaint as I was mentally and socially harassed by Das. I am also planning to file a defamation suit against him in the court," said Pallishree.

Das refuted the charges stating that he never had any Facebook account and the messages must have been sent by a hacker.

The teacher filed the complaint three days after Das filed a defamation case in a Bhubaneswar court against eight persons, including Pallishree, for maligning his image by levelling false allegations on social media.

Earlier, the complainant had drawn the attention of people through a Facebook post and also attached the screenshots of the chat she had with the award-winning writer.

Following the allegations, members of a city-based literary organisation also knocked on the doors of the Odisha State Commission for Women on August 1.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A constructive engagement between Pakistan and India during a latest round of water talks held here has raised hopes for an amicable resolution of the dispute, according to a top international expert.

The World Bank, which hosted the talks at its headquarters two weeks ago, also noticed this positive change and mentioned it in a press release on August 1, noting that the "meetings ? were held in a spirit of goodwill and cooperation", Dawn news reported on Thursday.

Islamabad and New Delhi disagree over construction of the Kishenganga (330MW) and Ratle (850MW) hydroelectric power plants being built by India. Islamabad contends that the technical design features of the two plants contravene the Indus Waters Treaty.

The plants are on a tributary of the Jhelum and Chenab rivers, respectively.

The expert, who closely monitors the Pakistan-India water talks, told Dawn that this was the first time in many years that delegates "held a constructive discussion, instead of merely stating their official positions".

The expert said in previous talks "sometimes the two sides did not even exchange formal greetings".

They would "just read the statements they brought with them and leave, but this time it was different", he added.

The Indus Waters Treaty was signed in 1960 after nine years of negotiations between Pakistan and India with the help of the World Bank, which is a signatory.

Seen as one of the most successful international treaties, it has survived frequent tensions, including conflict, and has provided a framework for irrigation and hydropower development for more than half a century.

According to The World Bank, the two sides have agreed to meet again next month.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A hammer and compass in hand, India's women geologists are literally rocking it. Notwithstanding the dangers of remote environments, encounters with wild animals, limited access to toilets and the occasional "detention" by left-wing extremists in disturbed areas, these women of the Geological Survey of India have evened out the odds to carve out success stories.

Now standing tall at 40 per cent of total workforce at India's premier geological survey body, they do not hesitate to get their hands dirty.

Forty-year-old Kasturi Chakraborty, a petrologist, says it's a good time for women to chase a career in geology.

"Earlier, women were mostly associated with lab work in geology. Now the mindset has changed and we are seeing more and more women on the field. Interest in the field is gender neutral... one has to harbour a love for nature," Chakraborty, Superintending Geologist, Petrology Division, Eastern Region, GSI, told IANS here.

Whether it was during the time of Etheldred Benett (1776-1845), one of the first women geologists, or to the present day, sociological, logistical and political issues remain. Chakraborty advocates three Ps for making the cut: passion, professionalism and personality.

A sense of humour also helps when a geologist has to get started on a dig: examine satellite and other data about the terrain, arrange transport, set up base camp, hire labourers, inform police of your presence, know your danger zones (Maoist or extremism hit areas), break rocks, collect samples, analyse data.

And all this time (it could be a few months at a stretch) one is away from one's family and friends.

Riding on nearly two decades of experience, Chakraborty, who has worked in South India and is now involved in projects in East Singbhum in Jharkhand, believes the suspense of what's waiting for them in the terrain eggs them on to move past the challenges.

"As a parent, one has to groom the child to understand and adapt to the fact that the parent will be away for weeks or even months on end," says Chakraborty, who has a nine-year-old daughter.

Debjani Raychaudhuri, who studies meteorites and has primarily worked in the interiors of Bihar, draws attention to the toilet conundrum.

"As a lady, I feel Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Swacch Bharat is of absolute necessity. It's really tough sitting there for hours and waiting to go back to my camp and get a chance. In the interiors, there is nothing," she lamented.

Other problems are "tackleable".

"Many officers including myself were detained by Maoists... they never harm you. They offered me cashews, raisins etc. They know us as the 'pathhar kankar wale' (stones and rock people). After sunset, they dropped us off at our site. You don't misbehave, they don't misbehave," the 32-year old explained.

Arya Ghosh, whose interest in the field was sparked by Sudipta Sengupta, one of the first Indian women to visit Antarctica on an expedition, makes it a point to apprise local police of their work in a particular area.

She also felt "courageous" enough to complete a project in Nayagarh district in Odisha that had been abandoned following extremist violence.

"I love to do this so I don't view them as obstacles. The scientific objective is my priority and I am willing to go to the extent to bring it to fruition... keeping one's safety in mind," says Ghosh, who works in metamorphic petrology.

Ghosh points out the misconception that girls are not hardy enough to handle some physically demanding projects that still exist in some cases, but it dissolves once you show what you are capable of.

As for gender-based discrimination, Raychaudhuri and Chakraborty say it's work that matters in the end. The trio say fitness is a must. So are knife, hammer, antiseptics.

"Every now and then you read about NASA. Our ISRO missions have proved to the world what we are capable of. We are equally able and learning more through geology would help highlight our prowess even more," Raychaudhuri added, urging youngsters to go out more and explore nature.

The perks of the job: finding out something new, exploring nature, friendly locals, picking up local dialects and the satisfaction to have contributed to building India.

(Sahana Ghosh can be contacted at sahana.g@ians.in)

--IANS

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Seven persons have died in Manipur in the past few weeks due to Japanese encephalitis, a mosquito-borne disease, said T. Kamini, a biologist at the state unit of the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme, on Thursday.

He said that 83 others are currently undergoing treatment in hospitals.

Stressing that steps have been taken to control the outbreak of diseases, he said that people have also been advised to sleep inside mosquito nets and take other precautions.

Informed sources say that the number of persons affected by dengue and swine flu is also increasing. At least two persons are known to have died due to swine flu.

However, the exact figure is not available since patients outside the hospitals, including those who had died elsewhere, are not included in the official list.

Also there is no facility to test the blood samples in Manipur and so they are sent outside the state.

Doctors attending to such patients say that the outbreak is usually high in the rural and hill areas and that some foreigners coming from Myanmar are believed to have carried the disease.

Health Minister L. Jayentakumar said: "There are reports of outbreak of these diseases. Doctors and paramedics have been rushed to the affected areas. There is no shortage of medicines to cope with the situation."

Some doctors who refused to go to the interior areas had been suspended.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The two big stars of the Tamil movie world, Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth, on Thursday attended the 75th anniversary celebrations of DMK mouthpiece, Tamil daily Murasoli.

Haasan, who has of late been critical of the AIADMK government, was seated on the dais next to DMK Working President M.K. Stalin.

Rajinikanth, who may enter politics, was seated along with other dignitaries.

The DMK party also released a souvenir commemorating Murasoli's milestone.

The function was attended by editors of various dailies and magazines and cine stars.

--IANS

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German nun Ruth Pfau, who dedicated more than 50 years of her life to fighting leprosy in Pakistan, died on Thursday in Karachi aged 87.

"With deep sorrow we announce the sad demise of Dr. Ruth Katharina Martha Pfau," read a statement of the Congregation of the Daughters of the Heart of Mary, to which she belonged, reports Efe news.

Homage began pouring in from the Pakistani authorities soon after the announcement of her death.

"Ruth Pfau may have been born in Germany, her heart was always in Pakistan. She came here at the dawn of a young nation looking to make lives better for those afflicted by disease, and in doing so, found herself a home. We will remember her for her courage, her loyalty, her service to the eradication of leprosy," Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said in a statement.

"Dr Pfau's services to end leprosy in Pakistan cannot be forgotten. She left her homeland and made Pakistan her home to serve humanity. Pakistani nation salutes Dr Pfau and her great tradition to serve humanity will be continued," President Mamnoon Hussain said in another statement.

Known as "Light to the Lepers", the nun was admitted to a hospital in Karachi two weeks ago following deterioration of her health.

As the founder of the National Leprosy Control Programme in Pakistan and Marie Adelaide Leprosy Centre (MALC), she is considered to be among the most significant people behind the end of leprosy in the country.

She studied medicine in Germany in the 1950s and joined the Daughters of the Heart of Mary before leaving for India via Karachi. However, a visa problem kept Pfau in Pakistan, where she went on to live for 57 years.

In 1963, she founded MALC with the opening of a clinic. The nun persuaded the Pakistani government five years later to start a programme against leprosy across the country.

She was presented with Pakistan's second highest civilian honour, Hilal-i-Imtiaz, in 1979 in recognition of her work.

Pfau was granted Pakistani nationality in 1988 and she was presented with the Hilal-i-Pakistan, the country's highest civilian honour, the next year.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Rome, Aug 10 (IANS/AKI) Police in Italy's southern port city of Taranto on Thursday arrested a 42-year-old man accused of attacking an elderly woman in a hospital ward, fracturing her skull and causing a brain haemorrhage.

The woman, 73-year-old Adriana Dursi, is in a coma the Taranto's Santissima Annunziata hospital's intensive care unit after she was struck her on the back of the head with a blunt object on Wednesday.

Police said they identified the man from video security camera images after the attack on Dursi, an Alzheimer's disease sufferer, which took place after she was admitted to the hospital's observation ward on Wednesday.

Local newspaper La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno named Dursi's suspected attacker as Giovanni Maggio.

Maggio came to the Santissima Annunziata's emergency room on Wednesday but refused to be examined and doctors there said they noted he was in a disturbed mental state, the daily reported.

He allegedly attacked Dursi while her son had briefly left the observation ward. Dursi's son said he immediately noticed blood trickling from the back of his mother's head when he returned to the ward and alerted staff.

--IANS/AKI

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A criminal wanted for murders and carrying Rs 1 lakh reward on his head has been arrested, police said on Thursday.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Sanjeev Kumar Yadav said Praveen was arrested from GTK Bypass area in north Delhi early on Wednesday. A pistol was recovered from his possession.

Yadav told IANS that Praveen was involved in nine cases of murder, attempt to murder, robbery, extortion and assault on police personnel.

In 2003, Praveen was arrested for his involvement in a murder in a Rohtak court in Haryana. After his release from jail, he and his associates shot dead three of his former partners after they refused to pay his share of booty, police said.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
With the government mulling price capping on orthopaedic knee implants, a study claims that the margins from orthopaedic implants are not as high as other medical devices due to high cost involved in managing the supply chain.

The study, released on Thursday, contends that manufacturers operate at low gross margins of 30-40 per cent compared to the figure of 300-350 per cent given by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA). The net margins are even lower post the additional high costs incurred in managing the supply chain, it observes.

"Orthopaedic implants operate differently from other medical devices and each surgery requires additional costs for instrumentation, inventory and equipment support, specific to that implant and investments are required for doctor training for these sophisticated implants," said the study conducted by IMS Health.

IMS Health is a leading global information and technology services company providing clients in the healthcare industry with end-to-end solutions.

Earlier this month, the government announced plans for price capping for orthopaedic knee implants in view of, what it called, "the higher margins by hospitals and distributors". Earlier, it placed similar price capping on cardiac stents.

According to NPPA, the price of the total knee system at the maximum was Rs 65,781, which eventually becomes Rs 4,13,059 when the margins of the importers and distributors are considered.

According to the study, additional cost as for equipment support for surgeon, high inventory costs, and training of the surgeon and specialised sales force are the major factors.

"Specific instruments sets are provided as case support for every surgeon. This also covers logistical costs of cleaning, storage sterilisation and transportation of instruments for covering hospitals," said the study.

The study says that the prices of orthopaedic implants, including knee and hip systems, in India are one of the lowest in the world.

Typical mark-up across the value chain is 130-140 per cent that means if the landed cost is Rs 100, then MRP is Rs 230-240. This mark-up of 130-140 per cent is split across manufacturer, distributor and hospital.

"Manufacturers and distributors have a share of 25-30 per cent each and hospitals have a share of 40-50 per cent," said the study.

The study opined that given there are multiple costs involved in managing the value chain of a medical device, these mark-ups seem reasonable. Since the orthopaedic implants manufacturers are already operating at low net margins, further price reduction would make it difficult for these companies to operate.

Commenting on the government's move, another body named Medical Technology Association of India (MTaI) said the MRP of the implant highlighted by government as 4,13,000 is used in rare cases, where the original implant has failed and a revision procedure needs to be carried out.

"These implants are expensive and have limited volumes of manufacturing globally, require a large inventory as well as advanced instrumentation," said MTaI.

--IANS

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday reportedly warned BJP MPs who don't attend Parliament that they may not get to contest the next Lok Sabha polls if they persist with the habit.

Addressing the Bharatiya Janata Party's parliamentary party meeting here, Modi also praised Amit Shah on completing three years as the BJP President and on being elected to the Rajya Sabha, saying he had brought back the culture of hard work known in the Jan Sangh days.

Informed sources said Modi told the meeting that the party was bigger than any individual and asked why MPs should be reminded about the need to attend Parliament.

According to sources, Modi said there should not be any need to issue whips to ensure their attendance.

"What are you and me? The party is everything... You do what you want to, I will see in 2019," Modi was quoted as saying, in apparent hints that they may be denied nomination in the next election.

Modi also reminded the members that Amit Shah will be in Parliament now and they should be regular in attending the sittings.

It was the first meeting of the BJP parliamentary party attended by Shah after being elected from Gujarat to the Rajya Sabha.

The BJP is the successor to the Bharatiya Jan Sangh, which merged into the Janata Party in 1977. The BJP was formed in 1980.

Modi said it was easy to run a political party while being in the opposition but relatively difficult when it was in power.

He urged the BJP MPs to work for the success of "Tiranga Yatra" (August 9-15) and "Sankalp Yatra" (August 15-30).

Stressing that the freedom movement from 1942 to 1947 was decisive in ending British rule, Modi said a similar effort had to be made in the next five years to take India to new heights by 2022, the 75th anniversary of the country's Independence.

--IANS

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Think of Indian books on mythology and a number of popular titles like Amish Tripathi's "The Shiva Trilogy" come to mind. But Devdutt Pattanaik, one of India's foremost writers on mythology, has suggested an underlying difference between "mythological fiction" and "mythology".

"One must distinguish between mythological fiction and mythology. Mythological fiction is very popular as it is fantasy rooted in familiar traditional tales. Mythology itself is about figuring out worldviews of cultures -- how did people think in a culture.

"Most writers I know focus on mythological fiction. Study of mythology still remains rather academic," Pattanaik told IANS in an interview.

And why not if you look at the popularity of the genre and the list of books that continue to dominate the bestseller lists? Most such books, including the very popular "The Shiva Trilogy", "The Krishna Key" or "The Mahabharata Secret" are largely fictional narratives woven around some ancient scriptures. These books are immensely popular but their relevance to the truth is often questionable.

On the other hand, writers like Pattanaik, Bibek Debroy and Arshia Sattar provide a greater focus on the ancient scriptures in their books, which mostly fall in the nonfiction genre. Of course there are perspectives and interpretations in their works, but these are not fictional accounts.

When asked to share his views on the contemporary mythological writing in India and whether the reader is being shown "the wood" or "the tree," Pattanaik said that he doesn't "evaluate other people's writings".

"To each his own. Readers choose books and so they choose the woods, and the trees. Let us not infantilize the readership. Ultimately, we have to decide what works for us," he maintained.

Pattanaik has published over 30 books, which include "My Gita," "Business Sutra: A Very Indian Approach to Management," "Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata," and "99 Thoughts on Ganesha, Shikhandi and Other Tales They Don't Tell You," among others.

The author quipped that he wants to approach Indian mythology using Indian frameworks.

"I am tired of Indian mythology being seen using Western frameworks that are rooted in judgement and combat. That is what I aim to do. That is what drives me. The Western framework refuses to acknowledge monotheism, or atheism, as mythology. The Western framework refuses to see 'happily ever after' as a mythic structure. We don't realise that ideas like justice and equality are myths, not reality, as we have been conditioned to see Western ideas as rational, not mythic. This is not healthy for the global village. So I seek to expand the mind. This is what the Sanskrit word 'brah-mana' means: to expand the mind," he elaborated.

In his latest, "My Hanuman Chalisa," published by Rupa, the much acclaimed author demystifies it for the contemporary reader. His unique approach makes the ancient hymn accessible, combined as it is with his trademark illustrations.

"I love the 'Hanuman Chalisa' as it fills me with positive feelings. But I realised that I hear the tune, but do not actually know what the words mean. And when I started exploring each line, a world of Vedic wisdom unfolded before my eyes. This is what I wanted to share with my readers. A darshan of this holy book composed 400 years ago for the common man," he added.

His interest in mythology does not date back to childhood. In fact, it is an interest he developed in college days, and really elaborated in the years after graduation from medical college. Initially it was just a hobby but over time he realised that he really knew more than even the writers he was reading, especially since most of them seemed not to be reading each other.

So what is his writing process like? Are there any self-regulations that he adheres to?

"I just write what I feel is appropriate. I do not regulate what I write. My focus is on how to make something palatable and accessible to people who do not have time to do research or read academic papers. I love putting things in systematic order, in boxes, in flow charts, in timelines, with bullet points and Venn diagrams," he contended.

(Saket Suman can be contacted at saket.s@ians.in)

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Thursday imposed an interim ban on use of plastic bags with thickness less than 50 microns in Delhi. Violators will be fined Rs 5,000.

Reiterating its earlier order, the bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar also asked the Delhi government to confiscate the stock of non-biodegradable plastic bags within a week's time.

The order is applicable on low quality light polythene, which have thickness less than 50 microns.

The bench also asked the Delhi government and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) to file an affidavit and inform it about how its directions were being implemented in the city.

The Tribunal has also imposed an environment compensation of Rs 10,000 on vegetable vendors and slaughter houses for throwing garbage in the open.

The Tribunal had earlier banned the use of non-biodegradable plastic bags and re-implemented the direction on January 1, 2017.

On July 31, the Tribunal also slammed the Delhi government for failing to implement the orders.

On Thursday, the bench directed the Delhi government to strictly enforce its orders and also sought a status report on the issue.

The order is interim and subject to change after the DPCC and Delhi Government submit their reports next week.

The prohibition applies to the entire city, especially restaurants, hotels and public and private functions.

In March last year, the union Environment Ministry had stated that 15,000 tonnes of plastic waste was generated every day, out of which 9,000 tonne was collected and processed, but 6,000 tonne plastic waste was not being collected.

Then Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar had said that the minimum thickness of plastic carry bags had been increased from 40 to 50 microns.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Accusing the Congress of politicising the case of a BJP leader's son chasing a woman in Chandigarh, Union Minister Ananth Kumar on Thursday said there is no political pressure on police and the law will take its own course.

The issue was raised in the Lok Sabha during Zero Hour by Congress leader Deepender Hooda, who slammed ruling party members for "character assassination" of the woman, who was chased by Vikas Barala -- the son of Haryana Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Subhash Barala.

The Parliamentary Affairs Minister said it was government's duty to protect women and it acted accordingly.

"It is the duty of government to protect women... In this case, both government and police have taken prompt action," Kumar said, adding: "The law will take its own course. I urge my friends from Congress not to politicise the issue."

Raising the issue, Hooda had said: "They (BJP leaders) question why the girl was there...I ask what the boy was doing there?"

BJP MP from Chandigarh Kirron Kher said: "I would like to thank Chandigarh Police for prompt action. The girl has also thanked police for quick action."

"People must also realise that there is a procedure...she did not mention the charge of abduction in front of the magistrate," Kher said.

The MP also slammed those who questioned why the girl was out late in the night.

"What is wrong in a girl being out late in the night or enjoying a drink? Problem is not becauase women are out late in the night, problem is because boys are out late in the night. So boys should not be allowed to stay out late," she said.

Kher also said that Home Minister Rajnath Singh had told Chandigarh Police not to be influenced by any political pressure.

"Home Ministry has instructed police that no political pressure should be entertained. I have stood up for the rights of the girl. It is not about my party or your party, it is a social problem," she added.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Engineers at Purdue University in the US have designed and tested a micropropulsion system that uses liquid water as the propellant for orbital maneuvering of tiny satellites called CubeSats.

With rapid developments in miniaturisation of technologies CubeSats -- which typically weigh about two kilograms -- are poised to take over the sky in the future to carry out tasks like imaging and remote-sensing currently performed by heavier satellites which are expensive to build and launch.

However, today's CubeSats cannot totally replace their larger counterparts as they are incapable of changing orbit or performing complex manoeuvres. For instance, none of the 101 nanosatellites that were launched aboard India's PSLV from the Sriharikota Space Centre in February 2017 had propulsion. A propulsion system would allow such tiny satellites to correct their orbit or maintain their altitude, thereby prolonging their operating life in space before becoming space debris.

A dedicated propulsion system that is also compact and not power hungry has been the aim of CubeSat builders in several laboratories to exploit their full potential.

The system developed at Purdue uses an innovative design of small thrusters that deliver bursts of water vapor to manoeuvre the spacecraft, its developers -- most of them undergraduate students -- reported at a recent "Conference on Small Satellites" held at Logan, Utah, in the US.

Pure water is chosen as the propellant since it is green, safe, easy to use and free from the risk of contaminating sensitive instruments by the backflow from plumes as in the case of thrusters using chemical propellants.

Called a "Film-Evaporation MEMS Tunable Array", or FEMTA thruster, it uses capillaries thinner than human hair through which the propellant water can flow. Small heaters located near the ends of the capillaries turn the water into vapor, which, on escape from these tiny tubes, provides the thrust. The minuscule capillaries act like valves that can be turned on and off by activating the heaters. The technology is said to be similar to the inkjet printer, which uses heaters that fire dots of ink at the paper.

CubeSats are usually made up of several units, each unit measuring 10 centimetres on a side. In the Purdue research, a single unit CubeSat prototype -- integrated with four FEMTA thrusters loaded with about a teaspoon of water -- was tested in a large vacuum chamber of the university's high vacuum facility.

The prototype contained electronics and an inertial measurement unit sensor to monitor the performance of the thruster system, which rotates the satellite using short-lived bursts of water vapor.

"We demonstrated that one 180-degree rotation can be performed in less than a minute and requires less than a quarter watt, showing that FEMTA is a viable method for attitude control of CubeSats," its developers reported in their paper.

Although the researchers used only four thrusters during the test, which allowed the satellite to rotate on a single axis, a fully functional satellite would require 12 thrusters for 3-axis rotation. The team is confident this device can be developed for a CubeSat. "What we really want to do next is to integrate our system into a satellite for an actual space mission," the researchers said.

The NASA-funded research involved collaboration with the space agency's Goddard Space Flight Center. A patent application for the concept has been filed.

(K.S. Jayaraman is a senior journalist who writes on scientific issues. He can be contacted at killugudi@hotmail.com)

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Ruth Pfau, a German doctor and nun who dedicated her life to eradicating leprosy in Pakistan and who has been described as the country's "Mother Teresa", died in Karachi on Thursday. She was 87.

Pfau was undergoing treatment at a hospital since two weeks and passed away during a surgery at 12.30 a.m., Dawn newspaper reported.

Pfau had dedicated more than 50 years of her life to fighting leprosy in Pakistan, which earned her the name "Light to the Lepers". She was the founder of the National Leprosy Control Programme in Pakistan and Marie Adelaide Leprosy Centre (MALC).

Pfau studied medicine in Germany in the 1950s and was later sent to India by her order, the Daughters of the Heart of Mary. But a visa problem kept her in Karachi, where she went on to live for 57 years.

Due to her efforts, Pakistan became one of the first countries in Asia to be declared free of leprosy in 1966.

In recognition of her work, the Pakistani government awarded Pfau the nation's second highest civilian honour, Hilal-i-Imtiaz, in 1979.

She was granted Pakistani nationality in 1988, and in 1989 she was presented with the Hilal-i-Pakistan, the country's highest civilian honour.

Soon after the announcement of her death, homage began pouring in from the Pakistani authorities.

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in a statement said "Dr Pfau may have been born in Germany, but her heart was always in Pakistan".

"Dr Pfau's services to end leprosy in Pakistan cannot be forgotten. She left her homeland and made Pakistan her home to serve humanity. Pakistani nation salutes Dr Pfau and her great tradition to serve humanity will be continued," said President Mamnoon Hussain.

Chief of Army Staff Qamar Jawed Bajwa referred to Dr Ruth as an "ambassador of humanity" and said "she will always be remembered" for her services.

Her last rites will be performed on August 19 at St. Patrick's Church in Karachi's Saddar area.

Harald Meyer-Porzky from the Ruth Pfau Foundation in Wurzburg said Pfau had "given hundreds of thousands of people a life of dignity".

Pfau was born in Leipzig in 1929 and saw her home destroyed by bombing during World War Two.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence has advocated for making the capital fund corpus for the Defence Ministry non-lapsable.

The Defence Ministry had in February approached the Finance Ministry for creation of a non-lapsable capital fund account, but there was no progress in the matter.

A non-lapsable fund would mean the unspent amount from capital budget of the ministry will not lapse, and will continue in the next fiscal.

A parliamentary panel on Defence, in a report tabled in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, said a proposal for obtaining 'in-principle' approval of the Ministry of Finance on creating a non-lapsable Capital Fund Account has been sent on February 9, 2017 by the Ministry of Defence with the approval of the then Defence Minister.

The committee, headed by BJP MP Maj. Gen. (retd) B.C. Khanduri, said they are "despondent" to note that the Finance Ministry has not been in favour of creating a 'Non-lapsable Defence Capital Fund Account'.

According to the report, even the Defence Ministry was not initially enthusiastic about a non-lapsable capital fund.

The panel's report said in the past, the Defence Ministry had in general, not favoured the proposal for constituting a non-lapsable Defence Capital Fund Account.

The Defence Ministry cited a number of reasons, including limitations of the utility of such a proposal as Parliamentary approval would be required for appropriating any sum from the Fund, guidelines of Finance Ministry which stipulate that, Reserve Funds can be created when government has surplus funds, and assurance of the Finance Ministry that additional funds for the modernisation of Services would be made available. In addition, in last few years there have been no occasion where any substantial amount was left at the end of the fiscal year.

However, the Ministry later admitted that the utility of creation of a non-lapsable, roll over fund for Capital cannot be completely negated as the same would help in eliminating the prevailing uncertainty in providing adequate funds for various defence capability development and infrastructure projects.

A proposal was then sent to the Finance Ministry, but the Finance Ministry did not appear in favour of the move.

As per the Finance Ministry, the balance available in the corpus fund at the commencement of the new financial year would not be available automatically for spending and approval of the Parliament through valid appropriation would be necessary.

The panel however said it was of the opinion that a non-lapsable Defence Capital Fund Account is an imperative need for enhancement and heightened operational preparedness of the Defence Forces.

"Even if certain financial rules and regulations have to be amended for creation of a 'Non-lapsable Defence Capital Fund Account' to meet the requirements of our Defence forces, it can and should be done in the interest of the nation," the panel said.

The panel said the Finance Ministry should not have any "rigid view" in this regard.

"Moreover, creation of such a fund would also ensure that procurement of equipments, arms and ammunition for our Defence Forces which are in the pipeline and in the stage of fructification is not delayed because of lack of money due to technicalities of rules and regulations," the panel added.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Maharashtra Congress on Thursday demanded reopening of the probe into the death of Bharatiya Jan Sangh (BJS) leader Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay who was found dead under mysterious circumstances at Mughalsarai railway station in Uttar Pradesh in 1968.

State Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant urged the Maharashtra government to request Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reopen the probe since it is the birth centenary year of Upadhyay.

"The Centre and various state governments are celebrating the birth centenary of the late Pandit Upadhyay who was the President of Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS), the forerunner to the present day Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

"However, it's sad that the mystery behind the death of such a towering personality has not been solved yet," Sawant observed.

He said the central and state governments had implemented several programmes in Pandit Upadhyay's memory all over the country, including renaming of the Mughalsarai station after him, passing a resolution in Maharashtra legislature and launching schemes dedicated to his memory, among numerous other initiatives.

In the past three years, since it assumed office, the BJP has discussed and shown inclination to probe the death of the revolutionary leader of Indian freedom struggle, the late Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.

It was widely expected that the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) would also take up investigations into the mystery behind the death of Pandit Upadhyay who is their important leader.

"Unfortunately, neither did the present government, nor the previous NDA (National democratic Alliance) government headed by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee initiate any steps in this regard," Sawant said.

He added that former BJS President Balraj Madhok reportedly had some crucial information about the Pandit Upadhyay case, yet nothing was done, though his (Pandit Upadhyay's) descendants and BJP leader Madhu Sharma had demanded a fresh probe.

Sawant said there was no harm in making another attempt and urged Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to request the Prime Minister on behalf of the state to probe the Pandit Upadhyay case afresh.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday urged Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu to ensure quick restoration of train services on the Rayagada-Singapur route in Sambalpur division.

A rail bridge on the route was washed away in the July 16 floods, disrupting railway services.

In a letter to Prabhu, the Chief Minister urged the commissioning of the second bridge on the section as early as possible.

This section connects the large hinterlands of Odisha, covering the districts of Koraput, Rayagada, Kalahandi and Bolangir, Patnaik said.

He said with a single track in use, the East Coast Railway was likely to run not more than 50 per cent of the passenger trains to these areas.

Five up and down trains have been cancelled and eight up and down trains diverted via Raipur, Nagpur and Bhopal, bypassing most of Odisha, he added.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Mohalla Clinics became a flash point between AAP and BJP in the Delhi Assembly on Thursday with BJP MLAs terming them a failure.

Health Minister Satyendar Jain answering two questions in the Assembly -- why 1,000 Mohalla Clinics have not been opened yet and why security guards were not present at all the clinics -- said that files in this regard were pending with Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal.

BJP MLA Vijender Gupta said that it's not true and termed the project as a failure, which was echoed by BJP MLA Manjinder Singh Sirsa.

"The government is not functioning and you keep blaming others for it," Sirsa said.

This led to a commotion in the House and Speaker Ram Niwas Goel had to step in to restore decorum.

Goel said that he along with five MLAs, including the opposition, can go to the Lt Governor and ask why the files have been kept pending.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) on Thursday stayed the trade restriction order by securities market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on building construction services provider J.Kumar Infraprojects and steel and power firm Prakash Industries.

The development comes a day after J.Kumar Infraprojects and Prakash Industries approached SAT against Sebi, which had classified them as "shell companies".

SAT in its order pronounced: "As rightly contended by counsel for appellants, letter addressed by MCA (Ministry Of Corporate Affairs) ... merely required Sebi to investigate as to whether the 331 companies named therein which were suspected to be shell companies, were in fact shell companies and whether the said companies had any credentials, fundamentals and, if so, Sebi was required to take action in accordance with Sebi Act and the regulations framed thereunder."

The SAT order stated that without conducting any investigation in respect of 331 companies which as per the letter of MCA dated June 9, 2017 were suspected to be shell companies, Sebi on August 7, 2017 sought to take action by directing stock exchanges to suspend the trading in the securities of all those companies on daily basis.

"Thus, it is apparent that Sebi passed the impugned order without any investigation. Even if the letter of MCA dated 09.06.2017 was considered by Sebi to be a direction given for implementation without investigation, the very fact that Sebi took nearly two months to comply with the directions given by the MCA clearly shows that there was no urgency in issuing the impugned communication without even investigating the credentials, fundamentals of those companies," the order read.

"In the facts of these two appeals, we are prima facie of the opinion, that the impugned communication issued by Sebi on the basis that the appellants are 'suspected shell companies' deserves to be stayed."

On late Monday, the stock market regulator had imposed trade restrictions on all 331 firms on suspicion of being "shell companies".

The aforesaid securities were placed in suspended animation from Tuesday, as exchanges stated that the trade in these stocks shall be permitted only once a month.

The market regulator directed major indices -- National Stock Exchange of India (NSE), Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and Metropolitan Stock Exchange of India -- through a letter sent late on Monday evening to initiate action against stocks of these suspected firms.

The Sebi letter forwarded a list of the 331 suspected "shell companies" identified by the MCA.

According to the letter, trade in all the 331 listed securities shall be placed in "Stage VI of the Graded Surveillance Measure (GSM)" with immediate effect.

"If any listed company out of the said list is already identified under any stage of GSM, it shall also be moved to GSM stage VI directly," the letter said.

The stage VI of GSM framework mandates the exchange to allow trade in the identified securities only once a month under its trade-to-trade category.

The framework further mandates that any upward price movement in these securities shall not be permitted beyond the last traded price amongst additional surveillance measures.

The letter further read: "Exchanges shall initiate a process of verifying the credentials, fundamentals of such companies."

"Exchanges shall appoint an independent auditor to conduct audit of such listed companies and, if necessary, even conduct forensic audit of these companies to verify its credentials, fundamentals."

Besides, the letter stated that shares held by the promoters and directors in "such listed companies" shall be allowed to be transferred by depositories only upon verification by the exchanges concerned and they shall not be allowed to transact in the security except to buy securities in the said listed company until verification of credential, fundamental by exchanges is completed.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Somalia security forces on Thursday evening foiled a car bombing attack near Maka Al-mukarama hotel in Mogadishu, officials said.

A car laden with explosives targeting the hotel was successfully defused without casualties.

"The security forces had prior information of possible terror attack," Xinhua quoted Ahmed Mohamed Mohamud, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Internal Security, as saying.

"Our security forces foiled terrorist attack this evening along Maka Al-mukarama road. The security forces who had prior intelligence about the impending terrorist attack moved swiftly and defused the vehicle which had explosives," Mohamud added.

The incident took place in the area close to Waberi Police Station where several previous car bomb attacks have occurred.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Congress President Sonia Gandhi has called a meeting of 18 opposition parties on Friday, the last day of Parliament's monsoon session, to discuss the future course of action of the joint opposition and chalk out a strategy against the Modi government.

The meeting will be chaired by Sonia Gandhi. Janata Dal-United leader Sharad Yadav has been invited for the meeting. He is in Bihar on a three-day visit.

West Bengal Chief minister Mamata Banerjee is slated to attend the meeting.

The meeting is likely to discuss the opposition rally called by RJD chief Lalu Prasad in Patna on August 27, which will target the newly-formed BJP-JD-U alliance in Bihar under Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. The Janata Dal-United President last month snapped ties with Grand Alliance of Rashtriya Janata Dal and Congress to form government in Bihar with the BJP.

Sharad Yadav on Thursday declared in Patna that he was still with the Grand Alliance of the RJD and Congress.

He is also organising a conclave in New Delhi on August 17, which will be attended by opposition leaders.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Amid the India-China military standoff, Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Thursday called on Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and discussed a wide range of bilateral issues -- in what is seen as New Delhi's diplomatic outreach to Nepal, which shares a long border with Tibet.

Sushma Swaraj arrived in Kathmandu to participate in the 18th BIMSTEC Ministerial meeting, which she will be addressing on Friday.

According to Dinesh Bhattarai, Foreign Relations Adviser to Deuba, the meeting especially focused on Deuba's upcoming state visit to India from August 23.

Sushma Swaraj, according to Bhattarai, told Deuba that India is all set to welcome Deuba in New Delhi. This will be his maiden foreign visit since taking over in June as part of a power-sharing agreement.

Bhattarai said both sides discussed all bilateral issues in the meeting - ranging from the latest political developments in Nepal to Indian development assistance in Nepal and the status of India-funded projects in Nepal.

There was no communication whether Sushma Swaraj raised the Doklam issue with Deuba.

However, the two held a one-and-one meeting for 15 minutes - during which high-stakes diplomatic issues are likely to have figured, said officials.

The talks between the two sides comes as Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang is set to visit Kathmandu next week, - an event that would be closely watched by India. Nepal and China in May signed a framework agreement on Beijing's One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative, and the two sides are also in talks to build a cross-border rail link.

"The meeting was mainly focused on PM Deuba's upcoming India visit and how both sides can optimize the opportunity," Bhattarai said.

After the over five-month-long economic blockade on the Nepal-India border in 2015, ties between the two neighbours had reached a low ebb. There is now understanding that both sides will take ties to a new height.

The visit of Deuba will further consolidate the bilateral ties where both sides will discuss the pending Indian projects in Nepal, including some energy, infrastructure and cross-border connectivity.

After meeting with Deuba, Sushma Swaraj also called on President Bidhya Devi Bhandari at the President's Office where the two sides discussed strengthening bilateral ties.

This is Sushma Swaraj's sixth visit to Nepal and the first high level visit since the new government under Deuba assumed office in Nepal in June 2017, said an Indian Embassy statement.

According to the statement, the two sides discussed an expanded bilateral agenda reflecting the updated national priorities of Nepal. Progress in the reconstruction activities and cooperation in hydro power sector also came up for discussion. Both sides agreed that there are immense possibilities for cooperation in infrastructure, connectivity and energy.

In the evening, Sushma Swaraj attended the inaugural session of 15th BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting.

(Anil Giri can be reached at girianil@gmail.com)

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj arrived here on Thursday on a two-day visit to participate in the 15th BIMSTEC ministerial meeting.

The visit comes ahead of Nepali Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba's proposed visit to India beginning August 23.

Besides taking part in the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) meeting, Sushma Swaraj will meet Deuba, President Bidhya Devi Bhandari, opposition leader K.P. Oli, Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal "Prachanda" and Madhes-based leaders.

Officials said Sushma Swaraj will also take stock of latest political developments in Nepal.

Deuba will inaugurate the ministerial meeting on Thursday evening which will be attended by the Foreign Ministers of Nepal, India, Bangladesh and Bhutan. Deputy Foreign Ministers of Myanmar and Thailand will also be participating in the event.

The 18th Session of the BIMSTEC senior officials' meeting kicked off in the capital on Thursday morning.

India's position on BIMSTEC is crucial, said a Nepali official.

Nepal is the current chair of the regional grouping and the member states will also discuss fixing the date of the fourth BIMSTEC Summit to be held in Nepal later this year.

Among the top agenda of the BIMSTEC meeting are finalising the free trade agreement among the member states. They will negotiate market access for professionals, reducing the duty cuts on trading goods and other items, among others.

--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.)
Sweden is set to emerge as a potential market for the Indian IT-BPM sector, a new report said on Thursday.

The report by the National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom), along with Business Sweden, a partly government-owned company, and research firm Radar Ecosystem, underlines key driving areas that make Sweden a potential IT hub that could be of special interest to Indian IT companies.

"India and Sweden's IT ecosystem have a mutual affinity for each other -- with both the countries at the threshold of digitisation, opening multiple opportunities for the countries to collaborate," said Nasscom President R Chandrashekhar in a statement.

According to the report titled 'Sweden a key driver of Nordic ICT growth', Sweden has been identified as the country with 40 per cent of the total share of the Nordic countries' IT spend -- that is $23 billion in 2016-17.

The central market trend reflected in Sweden is the drive for digitisation just like Indian markets.

Sweden currently has 150 per cent smart device penetration, which is among the highest in Europe with 14.6 million devices and is witnessing the adoption of new delivery models, such as Cloud-computing and offshore delivery.

Internet of Things (IoT) is also increasingly penetrating in the vehicle, health, banking and logistics space.

The report predicted that the value of the consulting market is expected to grow by 3.6 per cent to a total value of $6.65 billion by 2017.

Sweden has adopted a 'Digital First' strategy similar to 'Digital India' which aims to create a public e-government system that meets citizen, organisation and private sector expectations.

The country is home to several notable companies like Truecaller, Candy Crush, Skype and Spotify, the report said.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Three militants owing allegiance to Khalistani elements were arrested from Gwalior city in Madhya Pradesh, Punjab Police said on Thursday.

Balkar Singh, Balwinder Singh and Satinder Singh Rawat, were arrested by Punjab Police Special Operation Cell, Amritsar, in tandem with Madhya Pradesh Police on Wednesday.

The three allegedly have links with Pakistan-based International Sikh Youth Federation chief Lakhbir Singh Rode.

A Punjab Police spokesperson said the militants were wanted in connection with the seizure of arms, sent by Rode, on the India-Pakistan border on May 21. They were also supplying weapons to terrorists in Punjab and were funded from abroad.

The spokesperson said the names of the three terrorists cropped up during the probe into the May 21 arms seizure.

"The three have links to Canada-based Gurjeet Singh Cheema, a former resident of Jogi Cheema village in Gurdaspur district, whose name too had figured in the seizure of arms supplied by Rode," the spokesperson said.

The militants had supplied three pistols to Maan Singh and Gurpreet Singh, both residents of Jeewanwala village in Faridkot district and Simarjit Singh of Kamaalpur village in Ludhiana district, who were arrested earlier in connection with the May 21 seizure.

The three pistols have since been seized from Maan Singh, Gurpreet Singh and Simarjit Singh, he added.

The spokesperson said Cheema had come to India earlier this year and travelled to Gwalior along with Maan Singh and another person to collect the pistols, which were to be used in Punjab to attack "anti-panthic forces/individuals".

On May 21, the Border Security Force and Punjab Police seized a cache of arms, including an AK-47 assault rifle, five hand grenades, a modified machine-pistol, five pistols and over 450 rounds of ammunition of different calibre near the India-Pakistan border.

--IANS

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Tibetan Prime Minister-in-exile Lobsang Sangay has apprised Australian parliamentarians about the "ongoing religious repression and violation of basic human rights in Tibet", his office said on Thursday.

Sangay briefed the human rights subcommittee of the Australian parliament on Wednesday in Canberra about the ground situation inside Tibet, particularly with regard to environment, self-immolation protests and violation of basic human rights, a post on the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) official website said.

It said destruction of Larung Gar Tibetan Buddhist Academy in eastern Tibet by Chinese authorities was also taken up during the talks.

"We are not against Chinese developmental projects... Any project that China undertakes must be environmentally sustainable, culturally sensitive and economically beneficial to local Tibetans," a statement quoting Sangay said.

He also spoke about the 'middle-way' approach, the official policy of the CTA to resolve the Tibet issue.

He urged the subcommittee, chaired by Kevin Andrews, to support the resumption of dialogue between envoys of the Dalai Lama and Chinese representatives and said a lasting solution to the China-Tibet issue could only come through dialogue.

--IANS

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The problem with issuing a dire ultimatum as a first response to a traditionally bellicose regime is that the one issuing it is boxed in. That could well be the problem that President Donald Trump could likely face as he deals with North Koreas supreme leader Kim Jong-Uns increasingly aggressive moves threatening the United States.

In a statement that is said to have taken the national security establishment by surprise, the US president said: "North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States. They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen." This came in the aftermath of unconfirmed reports that US intelligence had learned that Pyongyang has produced miniaturised nuclear warheads that can be mounted on a missile.

Coupled with the fact that it now has long-range intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) capable of reaching the United States, the latest unconfirmed intelligence is certainly worrisome. However, through the retaliatory threat of unleashing "fire and fury like the world has never seen", thereby clearly implying a nuclear strike, Trump's statement may turn out to be one too soon.

Rather than feeling chastised, North Korea seems to feel emboldened as its state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) issued several statements, including the one that said the government was "carefully examining" plans to launch missiles at the US-controlled island of Guam in the Pacific Ocean. The island is a greatly significant US strategic outpost in the Asia-Pacific region, 28 per cent of which is occupied by the military. There are currently 6,000 U.S. military personnel stationed there and there are plans to add another 5,000 marines by 2022.

A day after the US president's "fire and fury" threat, Pyongyang upped the ante, calling it a "load of nonsense" on August 9. It went a step further by issuing an even more specific threat to fire four missiles that it said would land within 40 kilometers of Guam as a sort of a shot across the bow.

That Pyongyang intensified its original threat barely 24 hours later in the face of the unprecedented warning from the US president speaks of the imprudence of his response. It is the kind of ultimatum that has to be backed with action without which Washington will have no next step as Pyongyang continues to ratchet up its aggression. Kim Jong-Un considers nuclear weapons as his only guarantee of survival in the face of mounting international pressure on him. He is not going to give those up, no matter what the international community might say or do.

Guam's 3,400-mile distance from Pyongyang is well within its strike capabilities and it is not altogether inconceivable that the mentally-besieged supreme leader might actually carry it out. If that happens, Trump can always retaliate well below his "fire and fury like the world has never seen" threat but that would expose his bluster to Kim, something America cannot afford. The 33-year-old Kim sees nuclear weapons as equalising him with the 71-year-old Trump despite such massive chasm between the two countries' military and economic strengths.

At a personal level, the idea that he is able to provoke a strong response from the US president senior to him by nearly four decades is bound to give Kim a considerable thrill. Traditionally, the North Korean leadership has thrived on such saber-rattling and now that the sabre has a nuclear edge, it is expected to make diplomatic intercourse with him that much harder.

The US president's statement is in direct conflict with his own Secretary of State Rex Tillerson just a few days ago. "We do not seek a regime change," Tillerson said on August 1 before he set off on a visit to the Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand. "We do not seek the collapse of the regime, we do not seek an accelerated reunification of the peninsula, we do not seek an excuse to send our military north of the 38th parallel," he said.

A little over a week later the situation has taken a 180-degree turn with reports of Pyongyang being able to miniaturise nuclear warheads, stringent United Nations sanctions against North Korea, Trump's extraordinary statement and Pyongyang's threat against Guam.

The "fire and fury" statement has startled many. Republican Senator John McCain (Arizona), not known to shy away from wars, said in a radio interview: "I take exception to the president's comments because you've got to be able to do what you say you're going to do. In other words, the old walk softly but carry a big stick, Teddy Roosevelt's saying, which I think is something that should've applied because all it's going to do is bring us closer to a serious confrontation."

It is hard to make concession in the name of Trump's characteristic penchant for hyperbole and bluster because he is dealing with a leader who has lived outside international norms in the tradition of his father Kim Jong-Il and grandfather Kim Il-sung. Unless the US president thinks that he can conduct his country's foreign policy with a measure of matching cavalier style, his threat might turn out to be a case of premature articulation.

(Mayank Chhaya is a Chicago-based journalist and commentator. The views expressed are personal. He can be reached at mcsix@outlook.com)

--IANS

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The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Wednesday denied opening its sovereign airspace to transit registered aircraft in Qatar, the Emirati official WAM news agency reported.

The General Authority of Civil Aviation in the UAE confirmed in a statement that it "denied the opening of airspace to aircraft registered in Qatar," Xinhua reported.

"What has been allowed is the use of the airspace that lies above waters and is managed by the UAE," the agency said in a statement.

The United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Bahrain, known as the "Arab quartet" cut diplomatic ties with Qatar on June 5, accusing them of supporting and financing terrorism.

They submitted a list of 13 requests, which the Kuwaiti mediator handed over to Qatar on June 22, in a move to resolve the existing diplomatic crisis.

The list included the closure of the Turkish military base and Al-Jazeera satellite channel, the reduction of relations with Iran and the extradition of wanted individuals to the four countries currently present on Qatari territory.

Qatar rejected the demands, in a response that the four countries considered very negative, and decided to continue the boycott of the former, and to consider new sanctions against it.

--IANS

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North Korea's military said on Thursday that it is working on a plan to fire four intermediate-range ballistic missiles near the US territory of Guam, which will be ready to present to leader Kim Jong-un by mid-August.

The state agency KCNA said the plan, if implemented, would see four Hwasong-12 missiles fired into waters 30 to 40 km off the coast of the US territory in response to escalating rhetoric from US President Donald Trump.

"The rockets to be launched by the KPA (Korean People's Army) will cross the sky above Shimane, Hiroshima and Kochi prefectures of Japan," the KCNA said, quoting Army Chief General Kim Rak Gyom.

North Korea's strategic force is "seriously examining the plan in order to interdict the enemy forces on major military bases on Guam and to signal a crucial warning to the US," the KCNA reported.

It said the military would finally complete the plan by mid-August and send it to Kim Jong-un for his approval.

Earlier this week, Trump vowed to meet any additional threats from Pyongyang with "fire and fury", a statement backed by strong words from US Defence Secretary James Mattis.

He issued a strongly worded statement on Wednesday calling on Pyongyang to halt its arms programme. "The DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) must choose to stop isolating itself and stand down its pursuit of nuclear weapons," he said.

However, the state media denounced Trump's warnings and said "sound dialogue is not possible with such a guy bereft of reason".

"This is extremely getting on the nerves of the infuriated Hwasong artillerymen of the KPA," it said.

The North first announced on Wednesday that it had been drawing up plans for a missile strike against Guam, a Pacific island which is home to US military bases, strategic bombers and about 163,000 people.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson sought to reassure Americans that North Korea does not pose an imminent threat, CNN reported.

Speaking in Guam, where he was making a scheduled visit, he said he was hopeful a global "pressure campaign" involving Russia and China could lead to new dialogue with Pyongyang "about a different future".

Tillerson said the situation had not dramatically changed over the past few days, and that Americans "should sleep well at night".

South Korea's military said it has not seen any unusual action in the North that might indicate a provocation.

China has urged calm, describing the situation as "complex and sensitive".

Despite rounds of UN sanctions, Pyongyang carried out two nuclear tests last year and two intercontinental ballistic missile tests in July.

--IANS

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On the eve of taking over as Vice President, M. Venkaiah Naidu said on Thursday outgoing Vice President Hamid Ansari's remarks that Muslims in India were feeling insecure were loaded with .

Naidu maintained that there was no fear among Muslims in India -- "the most tolerant country in the world".

"Some people are saying minorities are insecure. It is a political propaganda. Compared to the entire world, minorities are more safe and secure in India and they get their due," Naidu told a section of the media.

"Agenda of should be development. People try to use minority issues for political purposes," he said.

Naidu, 68, who was a part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet, did not name anyone in his comments but he was obviously referring to Ansari's remarks to Rajya Sabha TV that there was a feeling of unease and insecurity among the Muslims amid rising incidents of intolerance and vigilante violence.

The new Vice President disagreed, saying India was "the most tolerant country in the world" and had an "ethos of mutual respect for each other".

"India is the best model of secularism. If you single out one community, other communities will take it otherwise. That is why we say all are equal. Appeasement for none, justice for all.

"Despite different languages, different attires, our country is one. Unity in the diversity is India's speciality."

The former BJP leader said the history of India was witness to the fact that members of minorities have never been discriminated against and have got prominent positions including constitutional responsibilities "on account of their merit".

Naidu said incidents of vigilante violence in the name of cow or caste or religion in "a huge country" like India were "nothing but aberrations".

"Unfortunately, some people are trying to blow (these incidents of violence) out of proportion and trying to defame India, raising it to the national forum," he said.

He said incidents like that needed to be deplored and appropriate action taken against perpetrators of such acts.

Naidu will be administered the oath of office by new President Ram Nath Kovind at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday.

--IANS

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The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has sued the Washington D.C. metro system for refusing ads on "political" topics including birth control, ethical treatment of animals and the text of the First Amendment of the US Constitution.

The ACLU said on Wednesday that it represents a "diverse group of plaintiffs" in the lawsuit, including an abortion provider, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and former Breitbart columnist Milo Yiannopoulos, reports Xinhua news agency.

"To put it mildly, these plaintiffs have nothing in common politically. But together, they powerfully illustrate the indivisibility of the First Amendment," said the ACLU, which is a national organisation that works daily in courts, legislatures and communities to defend the individual rights and liberties.

According to the group, one of the rejected ads featured the text of the First Amendment in English, Spanish and Arabic, which the group proposed after US President Donald Trump was sworn in earlier this year.

The Washington D.C. Metro has argued that the advertisement "intended to influence members of the public regarding an issue on which there are varying opinions" or "intended to influence public policy".

Carafem, a birth control and abortion provider, wanted to promote an ad that said, "10-week-after pill. For abortion up to 10 weeks. $425. Fast. Private"; and PETA proposed an ad depicting a pig saying, "I'm ME, Not MEAT. See the Individual. Go Vegan".

Both were rejected on the same grounds, according to the ACLU.

--IANS

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Following Finance Minister Arun Jaitleys recent visit to the family of a murdered member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in Kerala, considerable attention has been focused on the problem of political violence in the southern state. There is, no doubt, more than a small element of political grandstanding in Mr Jaitleys visit  the Bharatiya Janata Party has set its sights on winning seats in Kerala which have hitherto been denied to it. Yet too much political organisation, particularly in northern Kerala, is surrounded by the explicit use of violence. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has blamed the RSS for the problem of political violence. According to police reports, workers of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) comprise the majority of the dead. It is perhaps understandable, therefore, that Mr Vijayan would blame the RSS, which has sought for many decades to expand into northern Kerala from its base in adjoining Mangaluru. The RSS strategists see the area, with its large Muslim population, as fertile ground for mobilisation. And creating a narrative of victimhood is often useful for the RSS when it seeks to expand.
With reference to the editorial, A pointless debate (August 10), I endorse its observation that there was no need for NITI Aayog Vice-chairman-designate Rajiv Kumar to invoke the phantom of the foreign hand.
From being the undisputed Gen Y leader of the erstwhile ruling Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh to witnessing his political capital dwindle thick and fast, party president and former state chief minister has indeed come a long way.
In an effort to challenge the Narendra Modi governments narrative having provided corruption free governance, the Congress on Thursday accused the prime minister of hypocrisy in fighting corruption. It made public a compilation of alleged scams the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ruled state governments and its leaders are purportedly embroiled in.
After Congress veteran Ahmed Patel's hard-fought victory in the Rajya Sabha elections, the party on Wednesday cracked the whip against 14 rebel MLAs, including former Chief Minister Shankersinh Vaghela, expelling them for six years for anti-party activities.

Ahmed Patel, also political secretary of Congress President Sonia Gandhi, meanwhile called on the party unit to gear up for a target of winning 125 seats out of 182 in the December Assembly elections.



"The party has expelled all eight rebel MLAs, including Shankersinh Vaghela, who cross-voted against Ahmed bhai, defying the party whip," Gujarat Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi told IANS.

"We have also initiated similar action against six other legislators who resigned earlier after the party had issued a whip to all MLAs to vote for the official nominee in the Rajya Sabha elections," he said, adding that the action against them is on technical grounds.

"We will now initiate legal proceedings against all of them to ensure that they are not able to fight Assembly polls for the next six years," Doshi said, adding that defying the party whip invites disqualification from contesting any election.

Besides Vaghela, the expelled legislators include his son Mahendrasinh and loyalists Raghavji Patel, Bholabhai Gohil, Anand Chaudhary, C.K. Raulji and Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, who had voted against official party candidate. Another MLA from Sanand, Karamshi Patel, who was one of the 44 legislators flown off to Bengaluru to prevent "further poaching" from BJP, was also expelled for cross-voting in defiance of the party's whip.



Meanwhile, all the 43 legislators who voted for Ahmed Patel, held a meeting with the senior Congress leader and vowed to fight the forthcoming polls with more vigour.

Patel exhorted all the legislators to visit Tirupati Balaji temple to seek blessings for the victory and take a vow to bag 125 seats in the forthcoming Assembly elections.

The Congress veteran had asserted after winning his Rajya Sabha seat that the victory had pepped up the party's ranks and "we will fight the assembly elections with all aggression and ensure their (BJP's) defeat 100 per cent."

A spirited state President Bharatsinh Solanki said: "The victory in Rajya Sabha elections will go a big way to boost our morale. Ahmedbhai will play a crucial role (in the assembly polls)."

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On the last day of his 10-year tenure as the vice president of India, M was pilloried on social media by Sangh Parivar affiliates for his comment that there was unease among minorities as the ambience of acceptance was now under threat.
Ahead of Independence Day, two men with suspected links to al-Qaeda were arrested here in two separate cases, the police said today.

In the first case, the Delhi Police's Special Cell arrested one Syed Mohammed Zishan Ali, suspected to be linked to the terror outfit. He was arrested here after being brought back from Saudi Arabia.

The police were on the lookout for him for over a year, ever since three alleged AQIS (al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent) operatives were arrested in 2015.

Senior officers from the Special Cell confirmed the arrest. Further details are awaited.

In the second case, 25-year-old Raja-ul-Ahmed, with links to al-Qaeda, was detained last week by the Delhi Police following a tip-off from the West Bengal police.

A senior officer from the Delhi Police said that Ahmed was held last week. He did not divulge details about the date or the place of arrest.

Ahmed is a suspected member of Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), that is an al-Qaeda-inspired group in Bangladesh.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Ahead of Independence Day, two men with suspected links to al-Qaeda were arrested here in two separate cases, police said today.

In the first case, the Delhi Police's Special Cell arrested 29-year-old Syed Mohammed Zishan Ali, suspected to be linked to the terror outfit. He was arrested here yesterday after being deported from Saudi Arabia.

The police were on the lookout for the suspect ever since three alleged AQIS (al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent) operatives were arrested in 2015.

Ali was involved in assembling "disgruntled and radicalised" youths and training them at camps the AQIS was planning to set up here, police said.

The Special Cell got on Ali's trail following arrest of suspected AQIS members in December, 2015, who had revealed that Ali was a key member. He was even declared a proclaimed offender, they added.

One of the arrested AQIS men, Abdur Rehman, had told police that Ali was operating for the terror outfit from Saudi Arab along with his brother Syed Mohammad Arshiyan alias Haider and brother-in-law Sabeel Ahmed, police said.

Ali is married to the sister of Sabeel Ahmed, who was arrested in connection with the 2007 Glasgow airport attack and later released.

Yesterday, the police were informed about 30 Indians, including Ali, being deported from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia due to visa violation. Ali was nabbed from the Indira Gandhi International Airport yesterday, said a senior police officer.

Ali, who belongs to Jamshedpur, was part of the network which was planning to create a terror base in the country, he said.

"There were plans to start training camps in the jungles of Jharkhand but their plan was foiled," said the officer.

In Saudi Arabia, Ali would pose as cell phone dealer or an employee of a private firm while carrying out his recruitment activities, police said, adding his links with Pakistan-based terror outfits were also being probed.

Raja-ul-Ahmed (25), with links to al-Qaeda, was the other man arrested by the Delhi Police on August 1 following a tip- off from the West Bengal Police.

A senior officer from the Delhi Police said Ahmed is wanted in a case of Fake Indian Currency Note (FICN) by the West Bengal Police, who alerted their counterparts here about his place of hiding.

Ahmed is a suspected member of Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), an al-Qaeda-inspired group in Bangladesh.

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The Kerala government today said 420 people died and over 22 lakh persons were affected by various kinds of fever in the state since January.

Health Minister K K Shylaja informed the state Assembly that of the total deaths due to fever, 74 people died due to H1N1 and 24 persons to dengue.

Replying to a notice seeking adjournment motion by Congress-led UDF opposition over the issue, she said climate change and unprecedented variations in temperature level were among reasons that caused the fever to spread.

"As per government figures, over 22 lakh people have been affected by viral fever in the state during the period. As many as 420 people succumbed to fever across the state," she said.

But with effective steps taken, things are now under control, the minister said.

However, disputing the official figures on people affected by fever and deaths caused, Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan (Cong) alleged that over 1000 people had died and a whopping 50 lakh people had sought treatment for fever in various hospitals, including private ones, in the state.

The situation in the state was so grave that it even warranted the declaration of "health emergency," UDF members said and walked out of the House when Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan declined leave for debate over the issue.

The Health minister said besides H1N1 and dengue, rat fever and cholera have also been reported in the state.

A cholera death was reported in Pathanamthitta district and three cholera cases had been detected among migrant labourers in Kozhikode, she said.

However, no case of monkey fever, which used to be prevalent during the monsoon season in earlier years, was reported in Kerala this year, Shylaja added.

Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala alleged that the government had failed to take up any pre-monsoon sanitation drive and that led to the spurt in fever cases in the state.

If necessary, the state should seek the assistance of medical experts from the Centre to tackle the situation, he said.

"Health Emergency should be declared in the state as the situation is grave," Chennithala said.

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Three persons, allegedly owing allegiance to Pakistan-based International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF) chief Lakhbir Rode, have been arrested from Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh by the Punjab Police's Special Operation Cell, Amritsar today, an official said.

Balkar Singh, Balwinder Singh, and Satinder Singh Rawat, arrested in a joint operation by the Punjab and Madhya Pradesh police forces, were wanted in connection with seizure of a huge cache of arms from the Indo-Pak border on May 21 this year. It was sent by Rode, a Punjab police spokesperson said.

The trio had allegedly been supplying weapons to militants in Punjab and were being funded from abroad, the spokesperson said, adding the names of these three persons, who are presently residing in Gwalior, had emerged during the ongoing investigations into the May 21 arms seizure case.

On May 21, in a joint operation, the BSF and the Punjab Police had busted a terror module with links to people in Canada and Pakistan after arresting two suspected Khalistani terrorists.

A huge cache of arms, including an AK-47 assault rifle, five hand grenades, a modified machine-pistol, five pistols and over 450 rounds of live ammunition of different calibres, near the Indo-Pak border in Amritsar.

According to the police spokesperson, the arrested trio has links with Brampton (Canada)-based Gurjeet Singh Cheema, a former resident of Jogi Cheema village in Gurdaspur district, whose name had also figured arms seizure case.

The trio had supplied three pistols to Maan Singh and Gurpreet Singh, both residents of Jeewanwala village in Faridkot district, and Simarjit Singh of Kamaalpur village in Ludhiana, who were arrested earlier in connection with the arms seizure case.

The spokesperson said Cheema, who had come to India from Canada earlier this year, had travelled to Gwalior, along with Maan Singh and one other, to collect the pistols, which they intended to be used in Punjab to carry out attacks on "anti- panthic forces and individuals".

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Three men, who were returning after participating in the Maratha Kranti Morcha in Mumbai, were today killed and two others injured where a truck collided with their car at Yeola tehsil in Nashik district, a police official said today.

The car was initially hit by another vehicle on the rear side. As a result, the car driver lost control over the wheels and the vehicle swerved into an adjoining lane, he said.

At the same time, a truck, which was going towards Nashik from Vaijapur, collided with the car on Yeola-Vaijapur road at Khamgaon Shivar at around 7 am, the official said.

The police rushed to the spot after a passer-by alerted them about the mishap, he said.

The police then took the five car passengers to a nearby hospital where three of them were declared dead before admission, the official said.

The two other injured passengers were admitted in a hospital in Nashik, he said.

The police have apprehended the truck driver, he said, adding that a probe is on into the mishap.

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At least five migrants drowned and 50 went missing on Thursday when smugglers forced 180 Africans off a boat bound for Yemen, a day after a similar drama that left 29 dead, the Organization for Migration said.

Twenty-five people were being treated for injuries on a Yemeni beach, said the IOM, which could not immediately confirm the nationalities of the casualties.

Smugglers on Wednesday forced more than 120 Somali and Ethiopian migrants into rough seas off Yemen to avoid arrest by local authorities, leaving at least 29 dead and 22 missing, the organisation said.
Six top militant commanders, including LeT's Abu Dujana, and Burhan Wani's successor Sabzar Ahmad Bhat of Hizbul Mujahideen, were among 132 terrorists killed in encounters with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir, so far this year, according to official figures.

Security forces and police are going after the militants, as they have fiercely intensified operations to hunt them down by acting on the hit-list of top terrorist leaders in Kashmir.

The number of terrorists killed in the past seven months this year is the highest in the same period over the past seven years.

"As many as 132 terrorists have been killed in encounters with police and security forces in Kashmir Valley in over seven months this year," a senior security official told PTI.

While 115 militants have been killed till July-end, as many as 17 militants have been killed since then till August 9, as per official statistics.

While 38 LeT militants were killed in over seven months till August 9, 37 Hizb terrorists were eliminated along with three of the al-Qeada-linked Zakir Musa group, and another 54 unidentified militants were killed, mostly on the LoC.

"The relentless operations by the security forces have defeated the desperate attempts by Pakistan and its agents to spread terror in Jammu and Kashmir. Operations will be continued," a senior Army officer said.

The slain militants included six top commanders of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Hizbul Mujahideen who were killed in fierce encounters in Kashmir during the period.

Top Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander Abu Dujana, a Pakistani national wanted in connection with several terror attacks, and his aide, were gunned down on August 1 by security forces in Hakripora area of Pulwama district.

Dujana was wanted for many attacks on security forces and political workers in south Kashmir.

He was variously described as a category 'A' or 'A++' militant by Army and police officials. He was carrying a reward of Rs 10 lakh on his head.

On July 1, another top LeT commander Bashir Lashkari and militant Azad Malik were killed in a firefight with security forces in Anantnag's Brenti village of Dialgam belt in south Kashmir.

Lashkari was involved in the killing of six policemen in the district's Acchabal area on June 16.

On May 28, top Hizb militant Sabzar Ahmad Bhat, 27, who was a close associate of slain Hizb commander Burhan Wani, was among two militants killed in an encounter in Tral, in south Kashmir.

Sabzar, who was seen as the successor of Wani, dropped out of school in his Rathsuna hamlet in Pulwama to join the Hizb in March this year. Wani was killed on July 8 last year.

On July 12, Sajad Gilkar was among three Hizb militants killed by security forces in Budgam district of central Kashmir.

Gilkar had played a key role in the lynching of Mohammad Ayub Pandith, a deputy superintendent of police, near Jamia Masjid in Nowhatta area of capital Srinagar on June 22.

Besides them, top LeT commander Abu Haris was killed in Bandipora in north Kashmir on February 14, followed by killing of Abul Ali in Budgam on April 22, while Abul Mala, Anis Bhai and Abu Mansoor of LeT were killed in Kupwara on March 15, Abu Umar of LeT was killed in Sopore on January 3, Abu Maviya was shot dead in Bandipora on January 10 and Sher Gujri was slain in Pulwama on March 9.

Most of the encounters took place in south Kashmir's Pulwama, Shopian and Anantnag, apart from Bandipora and Kupwara in north Kashmir and Budgam in central Kashmir, sources said.

In 2010, the highest number of 156 militants were neutralised in the first seven months of the year followed by 102 in 2017, 77 in 2016, 61 in 2011, and 51 each in 2014 and 2015 respectively, the data revealed.

Similarly, 43 militants were killed in 2013, followed by 37 in 2012.

The hunt for commanders and terrorists of various outfits has been intensified under operational strategy, security officials said.

The counter-terrorist grid continued to maintain dominance and deny any space to the terrorists.

Synergised hard-intelligence-based joint ops with the J&K Police and Central Armed Police Forces have been the hallmark of these operations, they said.

Police and security forces pinned down and killed those involved involved in the killing of seven policemen and lynching of Pandith immediately, officials said, adding, that a massive hunt has been launched to track down LeT commander Abu Ismail who has emerged as the mastermind of the deadly attack on Amarnath pilgrims on July 10.

In June, the Army released a "hit-list" of 12 top militants who it aims to "go after".

The hit-list carried the names and pictures of the militants along with the areas they are active in and the strikes carried out by them.

Some on the list, including Dujana, have been eliminated over the past one month or so.

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Works of seven Indian writers including Aravind Adiga, Perumal Murugan and K R Meera figure in the 13-book longlist for this year's USD 25,000 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature.

Three Pakistani writers, two Sri Lankans and one American writer based in India also have their books in the longlist announced today.

Besides Adiga's "Selection Day", Murugan's "Pyre" (translated by Aniruddhan Vasudevan) and Meera's "The Poison of Love" (translated by Ministhy S), the other Indians in the race are Anjali Joseph ("The Living"), Anosh Irani ("The Parcel"), Stephen Alter ("In the Jungles of the Night) and Hirsh Sawhney ("South Haven).

The Pakistani authors in the list are Omar Shahid Hamid ("The Party Worker"), Sarvat Hasin ("This Wide Night") and Shahbano Bilgrami ("Those Children").

The remaining works in the list are by Sri Lankan authors Anuk Arudpragasam ("The Story of a Brief Marriage") and Ashok Ferrey ("The Ceaseless Chatter of Demons) and US writer Karan Mahajan's "The Association of Small Bombs".

The longlist was announced by writer-publisher Ritu Menon, who is the chair of the jury panel.

This year, the prize received more than 60 eligible entries which were read by the five-member international jury that also had Valentine Cunningham, Steven Bernstein, Yasmin Alibhai-Brown and Senath Walter Perera.

The jury will now deliberate on the longlist over the next month and the shortlist of 5 or 6 books will be announced on September 27 at the London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE) in London.

Thereafter, the jury would meet once again to arrive at the final winner that would be announced at a special ceremony at the Dhaka Literary Festival on November 18.

Menon said the jury members were struck by several exceptional qualities in the novels selected: their inventiveness and creativity, both of subject matter and in literary treatment.

"We admired the maturity and humanity of the perspective they brought to bear on their characters, and the delicacy of their observations on difficult or troubled situations.

"We were beguiled by their wit and humour, as well as impressed by the versatility of their skill when dealing with history. And we were reminded that, although the writers' preoccupations may be universal and their sensibility cosmopolitan, their voices are distinctly South Asian," she said.

Surina Narula, co-founder of the DSC Prize said, "Each of the novels on the longlist is a must read as they successfully bring out the nuances and challenges of the ever evolving South Asian life. I find the longlist particularly exciting as it includes some well known authors as well as new novelists who are making a mark on the South Asian literary canvas.

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Zeeshan Ali, an alleged Al-Qaeda terrorist deported from Saudi Arabia, was today produced before a Delhi Court which remanded him in custody of city police for two weeks for interrogation in a case of terror funding.

29-year-old Ali, a native of Jharkhand and relative of 2007 Glasgow airport attack suspect, was sent back from Saudi Arabia last evening in connection with the case in which he is also accused of conspiring with other Qaeda members to organise and make provocative speeches to recruit Indian youths and establishing a base for the terror outfit.

After deportation due to violation of visa, the alleged terrorist was arrested by the Delhi Police last night at the Indira Gandhi International Airport as there was a Look Out Circular against him.

Ali was declared a proclaimed offender by a Delhi court on July 12, along with eleven others.

Their name was disclosed by five accused, arrested by the the probe agency earlier, as active cadres of this banned outfit operating in India from Pakistan and other countries and known as Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS).

While seeking his custody for 20 days, the police told Additional Sessions Judge Sidharth Sharma that Ali's brother, Syed Mohd Arshiyan, and brother-in-law, Sabeel Ahmad, are also wanted in the case and he needed to be interrogated with respect to their possible hideouts.

"His brother-in-law Ahmad is brother of Kafil Ahmad, who had committed suicidal attack at Glasgow airport, London, in 2007," the police said.

It said that custody of Ali, who originally hails from Jamshedpur in Jharkhand, was required to identify the logistics, financial aid to AQIS from India and abroad and to interrogate and confront with the evidence collected so far so that the whole conspiracy can be unearthed.

Advocate M S Khan, appearing for Ali, however, opposed the plea.

Meanwhile, the five arrested accused -- Syed Anzar Shah, Mohd Asif, Zafar Masood, Mohd Abdul Rehman and Abdul Sami -- today completed their argument on charges before a court here.

Khan, appearing for some of the accused, told the court that there was no evidence against them and the entire case was based on disclosure statement.

The five, arrested between December 2015 and January 2016 from different parts of the country, were charged by the agency under the provisions of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

The deportation of Ali assumes significance as security agencies have cracked down on members of various terror outfits, particularly in the Kashmir Valley.

Three alleged terrorists, who were reportedly part of Zakir Musa-led Ansar Gazwatul Hind - an offshoot of Al-Qaeda, were killed in an encounter with security forces in Pulwama district in south Kashmir yesterday.

Another person, Abdullah, who was associated with the Islamic extremist group Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), was arrested by Uttar Pradesh anti-terrorist squad on Sunday from Muzaffarnagar district.

ABT is Bangladeshi militant outfit inspired by Al Qaeda.

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Amrita University's Android-based mobile learning app for adult basic education, "Amrita Learning Reading App," has entered semifinals of Barbara Bush Foundation Adult Literacy XPRIZE.

It was a seven-million Dollar Global competition in the US to transform the lives of low-literate adults.

The eight semi finalists, announced in a ceremony in Los Angeles, US, have been chosen from 109 teams worldwide which have been competing to develop the best mobile app that would result in the greatest increase in literacy skills among adult learners in 12 months.

While six semifinalists are from the US, two are from Asia, including India and Hong Kong.

The semi-finalist teams will enter a 15-month-long field-testing phase across three partner cities-Los Angeles, Dallas and Philadelphia-that includes a total of 2,000 adult-learner participants who read English at a third-grade reading level or below.

Following 12 months of consistent use, a post-test will be administered to determine the highest gains in literacy achieved by the participants, and the winner app chosen. a university release said here.

"We could achieve this success because of years of research work at our education technology lab, AmritaCREATE. It has been providing tablet-based, technology driven education in remote villages through our rural education program called Amrita Rural India Tablet-enhanced Education (RITE)," Amrita University vice-chancellor, Dr Venkat Rangan said in the release.

Aligned with the national mission of Digital India, the AmritaRITE program is offered using mobile technology in nine Indian languages, with a focus on educating children and low-literate adults in remote and rural villages in 21 states of India, the release said.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded today the contribution of outgoing Vice President Hamid Ansari as the chairman of the Rajya Sabha, saying he could maintain a delicate balance in the Upper House because of his "intellectual capability and skills".

He suggested that Ansari, whose term ends today, should write a book on how the functioning of the Rajya Sabha could be made more effective and the institution "even more credible".

The prime minister said the various decisions that Ansari took as the chairman of the Rajya Sabha have something concrete to offer.

He brought order in the House enabling the government to complete its business and such decisions could help others to understand how to improve its functioning, Modi said at a farewell function in honour of the vice president.

Earlier, BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya had criticised the vice president for his comment that there was a sense of insecurity among Muslims and said such a "petty" remark was not expected from someone in his position.

He also wondered if Ansari was looking for "political shelter" after retirement.

"I condemn his comments. He has made political comments as he is retiring. He is still the vice president and such comments do not suit his office's dignity. It seems he is making such comments to find political shelter after retirement," he said.

In an apparent reference to Ansari, Vice President-elect M Venkaiah Naidu rejected as "political propaganda" the view that there is a sense of insecurity among minorities.

Though Naidu did not name anyone, his comments were seen as a response to Ansari's remarks in a TV interview that there was an unease and a sense of insecurity among Muslims, and that "ambience of acceptance" was now under threat.

"Some people are saying minorities are insecure. It is a political propaganda. Compared to the entire world, minorities are more safe and secure in India and they get their due," he told PTI.

At the farewell function, Modi said Ansari could maintain a delicate balance in the House because of his "intellectual capability and skills".

He said in public life several controversies were associated with public figures of which some being true and others false.

But to the best of his knowledge, Ansari faced no controversy in his long public life which was worth emulating, Modi said.

He recalled that Ansari's cousin Brig Mohammad Usman laid down his life while fighting the Pakistan Army and tribal raiders in Jammu and Kashmir in 1948.

The prime minister said farewell ceremonies were meant to help successors learn from the qualities of the person retiring.

He hoped that Naidu, who was amongs those present, would follow the precedent set by Ansari.

Replying to the felicitations, Ansari said he had been rendered speechless by the words of praise for him.

On his tenure as the presiding officer of the Rajya Sabha, he said there were purposeful exchanges in the House that did not result in animosity.

"No one accused me of of leaning to one side. I am retiring highly satisfied," he said.

Ansari said as a common citizen, he would go back to the vibrant democracy and watch the institution from a "different angle".

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, Deputy Speaker M Thambi Durai, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman P J Kurien, Union ministers including Arun Jaitley and Ananth Kumar, Naidu, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad and former prime minister Manmhan Singh were present on the occasion.

Several Rajya Sabha members posed for a group photograph on the last day of Ansari in office.

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At least 56 people have drowned over the past 24 hours, and dozens remain missing, after human traffickers forced 300 African migrants off two Yemen-bound boats and into the sea.

Survivors -- all Ethiopian and Somali migrants -- managed to make their way to Shabwa, a southern province along Yemen's Arabian Sea coastline, the International Organization for Migration said.

The war in Yemen has left over 8,300 people dead and displaced millions since 2015, but the impoverished country continues to draw migrants from the Horn of Africa seeking work in prosperous Gulf countries further north.

At least six people drowned today after human smugglers forced 180 Ethiopians off their boat and into the choppy waters of the Arabian Sea, an IOM spokesperson told AFP.

Thirteen people remained unaccounted for, the spokesperson said. The majority of the migrants appeared to be teenagers and young adults.

Yesterday, traffickers also forced more than 120 Somali and Ethiopian migrants into the rough seas off Yemen to avoid arrest by local authorities, leaving at least 50 dead and 22 missing, IOM reported.

IOM teams, working with the International Committee of the Red Cross, found the bodies of 29 migrants in shallow graves along the coast of Shabwa, currently under the control of Yemeni troops backed by the United States.

They had been buried by survivors.

"The smugglers deliberately pushed the migrants into the waters since they feared that they would be arrested by the authorities once they reach the shore", an IOM emergency officer in Aden, where the Yemeni government is based, told AFP.

Laurent de Boeck, IOM's Yemen mission head, said the boat's crew immediately returned to Somalia yesterday to pick up more migrants headed to Yemen on the same route.

He described the forced drownings as "shocking and inhumane".

"The suffering of migrants on this migration route is enormous. Too many young people pay smugglers with the false hope of a better future," he said.

Long the Arab world's most impoverished country, Yemen has all but collapsed in what the United Nations has called the "largest humanitarian crisis in the world".

Years of fighting between the Saudi-backed government and Shiite Huthi rebels allied with Iran have been compounded by a cholera outbreak that has killed almost 2,000 people and the looming threat of famine.

The IOM estimates some 55,000 migrants have however left the Horn of Africa for Yemen since the start of 2017, more than half of them under the age of 18.

The journey is particularly dangerous at this time of year due to high winds in the Indian Ocean.

Despite the war, smugglers -- who are highly active in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden -- have continued to offer passage through Yemen, which shares a land border with Saudi Arabia.

In March, a helicopter opened fire on the vessel carrying over 140 Somali passengers in the Red Sea off the Yemen coast, killing 42 civilians and wounding another 34.

A confidential UN report, seen by AFP in June, said the attack constituted a violation of international humanitarian law and was most likely carried out by a Saudi-led military coalition backing Yemen's UN-recognised government.

The coalition has denied that its forces were operating in the area when the vessel carrying Somali refugees came under attack.

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with operations in India witnessed a significant rise in non-performing assets during the first half of 2017, according to a survey released on Thursday.

The Ficci-IBA survey carried out for January-June revealed that NPAs in public sector shot up considerably, with 91 per cent respondents from public sector reporting an increase.

Twenty public, private and foreign banks participated in the survey, which together represent 64 per cent of the banking industry, as classified by asset size.

Meanwhile, 71 per cent private and 50 per cent foreign bank respondents stated that their bad loans have increased during January-June.

Metal, infrastructure and textile industries have recorded high level of NPAs with at least 50 per cent of total respondents stating the same.

In the next six months (Jul-Dec 2017), participating banks expect sectors like infrastructure, automobiles and pharmaceuticals to drive credit growth.

Lenders also expressed hope that amendment of the Banking Regulation Act along with Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code will help in the resolution of stressed assets, which have ballooned in the recent past.

The banks suggested easing of provisioning norms for stressed assets and strengthening of legal infrastructure to facilitate quicker disposal of bad loans cases.

"The survey has been conducted at a time when NPAs are at a worrisome position, especially for the public sector banks," Ficci said in a statement releasing the survey.

The participating banks gave several suggestions to deal with the stressed assets. One is to set up industry committees to determine the valuation of large stressed accounts and get big PSUs in respective sectors to bid for the said accounts at such valuations.

About 35 per cent reported tightening of credit standards for large enterprises during the first half of 2017 and about 40 per cent expect further tightening in the next six months.

During January-June, a majority (75 per cent) of the respondent banks have reduced their Marginal Cost of Funds based lending rate, with 45 per cent of banks reducing it by more than 50 basis points, aided by adequate liquidity and low-cost deposits.

The survey observed that infrastructure sector continues to witness the largest increase in long term loans.

A majority welcomed the suggestion from the RBI about setting up of specialised Wholesale and Long Term Banks.

Bankers' views were also sought on consolidation of other public sector banks post SBI merger.

"Some participating banks suggested exploring avenues of privatisation alongside merger of PSBs," Ficci said quoting the survey's findings.

Views were also sought on the idea of Bank Account Number portability that had been suggested by former RBI deputy governor S S Mundra.
The Forward Bloc today stepped up attack on the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre accusing it of sabotaging the Constitution and basic principles as it has little faith in democracy.

"The Narendra Modi-led government is simply sabotaging the Constitution of India by negating its basic principles," Fiorward Bloc National Secretary G Devarajan said at a 3-day national workshop of the party on its second day here.

As per the Preamble of the Constitution "we are committed to build a sovereign, secular, socialist and democratic republic, but Modi government is subjugating sovereignty by accepting the dictats of external forces in the name of bilateral agreements such as Logistic Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) with the US," he alleged.

"The minorities and dalits are living under severe fear psychosis due to violent attacks in the name of religion and the food habits of the people. By doing so, the government is destroying the country's secular values," claimed Devarajan.

By privatising the national assets and disinvesting the public sector units, the NDA government is diluting the principles of socialism, the Forward Bloc leader said.

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The BJP today hit back at the Goa Congress president Shantaram Naik over his statement questioning the saffron party's contribution in freedom struggle in the context of the 75th anniversary of the Quit India movement.

BJP leader Hemant Golatkar said the Congress was responsible for "all the ills and problems like the Kashmir issue".

"We pity the ignorance of Naik about the history of India and the independence struggle as he was just a child during the Independence movement and during liberation movement of Goa," the BJP's North Goa general secretary said.

He said it was the Congress party which was responsible for "all the ills and problems like the Kashmir issue, disputes with China, poverty, and deep-rooted corruption".

Golatkar said the Congress was responsible for creation of Pakistan, which has become a constant irritant for our country.

"The BJP led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Centre and by Manohar Parrikar in the state are trying to resolve the problems and the mess created by successive Congress governments," he said.

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Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath today urged the BJP workers to take up the responsibility of disseminating the public welfare policies of the state government to the masses.

Addressing BJP workers here, he said the state government has already paid Rs 23,000 crore to sugarcane farmers and rest of the amount (Rs 2,000 crore) will be soon paid to them.

"A number of schemes for the welfare of the people are being run by the Centre and state governments. And, it is the responsibility of the party workers to take these schemes to the masses," the Adityanath said.

"The schemes should reach the target beneficiary and should be fully implemented. The government has already started giving the benefit of housing to the poor residing in urban areas of the state. This has started from Gorakhpur," he said.

The chief minister claimed that this is the first time that hundred per cent of farmers' wheat has been purchased and payment in a week's time has been ensured.

He also advised the party workers to initiate discussion with the people "on a positive note, instead of negative note".

"Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay is our ideal and a number of programmes are being organised to mark his birth centenary. The BJP is working on his ideology," Adityanath said.

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The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has finally passed the Bengali film Dhananjoy with 'A' certification, the director and producers of the film said today.

A change in the disclaimer note was also suggested.

The film was referred to the CBFC Chairman Pahlaj Nihalini from the regional office on Monday after no consensus could be reached among CBFC regional office examining committee members regarding certification of the film.

"We are very happy that the film has been passed by CBFC with an 'A' certification," director Arindam Sil told PTI today.

"The disclaimer will have to be changed in the film now and we will put that into effect shortly," Sil said.

Sil, who had flown to Mumbai yesterday to attend the screening at Nihalini's office, said, "He (Pahlaj Nihalini) told us he never wants any film to get stuck because of CBFC issues."



"We are now releasing the film on August 11 as scheduled before," he said.

Srikant Mohta of SVF films said, "We are happy with the final outcome."



"Sil had earlier said the film was a work of fiction inspired by the incident of Dhananjoy Chatterjee's hanging, who was convicted for rape and murder of Hetal Parekh.

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As a debate raged over the special status to Jammu and Kashmir, the Centre will explain to the Supreme Court the legal aspects of Article 35A of the Constitution, which empowers the state legislature to define permanent citizens.

Attorney General K K Venugopal is expected to explain before the Supreme Court the legal aspects of Article 35A, which gives special status to the state under Article 370, home ministry officials said.

Since the petition is focused on procedural issues, the Attorney General would be presenting the legal aspects as enumerated in the Constitution, the officials in the know of the development said.

The Supreme Court last month had asked the Centre to file a reply within three weeks to a writ petition filed by an NGO seeking that Article 35A be struck down.

The PIL said the state government, under the guise of Article 35A and Article 370, which grants special autonomous status to the state, has been discriminating against non- residents who are debarred from buying properties, getting a government job or voting in the local elections.

Article 35A was added to the Constitution by a presidential order in 1954.

Article 370 grants special status to J&K, while Article 35A, added to the Indian Constitution through a presidential order, empowers the J&K legislature to define the state's "permanent residents" and their special rights and privileges.

While the Jammu and Kashmir government contested the petition saying the president had the power to incorporate a new provision in the Constitution by way of an order, the Centre recently expressed its reservations.

It filed a reply and requested the three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India J S Khehar to refer the matter to a larger bench as constitutional issues were involved in the case.

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The special court for Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) today concluded hearing on the punishment to be awarded to five persons including Abu Salem in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case.

Judge G A Sanap convicted Salem, Mustafa Dossa, Karimullah Khan, Firoz Abdul Rashid Khan, Riyaz Siddiqui and Tahir Merchant for their roles in the blasts conspiracy on June 16, 2017. Another accused, Abdul Kayuum, was acquitted.

"The court is likely to fix the date for pronouncement of sentence on August 22," special prosecutor Deepak Salvi said.

During the arguments on sentences, prosecution demanded death for Dossa, Karimullah Khan, Firoz Khan and Tahir Merchant, and life sentence for Siddiqui.

Dossa, one of the masterminds of the conspiracy (apart from absconding accused Dawood Ibrahim, Tiger Memon and others) died of cardiac arrest on June 28.

Salvi had said that Salem too deserves death, but the prosecution can't demand it because of the Indian Extradition Act.

Under section 34 (C) of the Act, if the country from which the accused has been extradited does not have the capital punishment, he or she can not be sentenced to death but can be given the life sentence.

The prosecution wanted the court to record that Salem deserves death penalty but it can't be given because of the legal restraint, Salvi said.

In the first instalment of the trial which concluded in 2007, the court had convicted 100 accused, including Yakub Memon (who got death penalty) and actor Sanjay Dutt.

The trial of Salem and others was separated as they were arrested later.

The serial blasts in the country's financial capital on March 12, 1993 left 257 people dead, 713 seriously injured and destroyed property worth Rs 27 crore.

In the present trial, except Riyaz Siddiqui, the court convicted other five for criminal conspiracy and murder under the IPC and offences under the TADA. Siddiqui was convicted only under the TADA for helping Salem and others in transportation of arms and ammunition.

All of them were absolved of the charge of 'waging war against the nation' under section 121 of IPC.

While Dossa arranged landing of explosives including RDX in India and sent some youths to Pakistan for arms training, Salem transported arms and ammunition from Gujarat coast to Mumbai.

He also handed over AK-56 rifles, 250 rounds and some hand-grenades to Dutt, and later collected two rifles and some rounds back from the actor's residence.

The court dropped certain charges against Salem in 2013 after the investigating agency, CBI, said those charges were against the extradition treaty between India and Portugal from where Salem was deported in 2005.

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The Delhi High Court today directed the North Delhi Municipal Corporation to "deal with" 6000 industrial units operating in residential areas under its jurisdiction in violation of judicial orders.

While issuing the direction, a bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar said the huge volume of unauthorised units shows the extent of the corporation's "negligence" and its "failure" to do its duty.

The bench said despite information on these industries being furnished to the corporation by the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (DSIIDC) and the court's July 6 order to carry out a fresh zone-wise inquiry into the units, it had failed to do so.

The court said this prime facie suggests the corporation's "complicity in the illegal activities carried out by the industrial units".

It further said the corporation's officials were also violating the Supreme Court's 2004 direction to relocate such units to industrial areas and to disconnect water and power supplies to industries which did not comply with the directive.

The apex court in its 2004 order had said all units which came up after August 1, 1990, were to be relocated within four months, the court said.

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A parliamentary panel has suggested the government to deploy Territorial Army battalions for conserving river Ganga from Uttarkhand to West Bengal.

In its report on 'Resettlement of Ex-Servicemen' the Parliamenary Standing Committee on Defence, stressed on the need to physically ensure protection of "revered" Ganga on its entire course.

"Nothing could be more efficient than the TA battalions raised for the protection of Ganga be deployed from Shivpuri in Uttarkhand to Ganga Sagar (in West Bengal)," the panel said.

It also suggested that these battalions could be deployed all along with concentration at places like Garh Mukteshwar, Haridwar, Kanpur, Allahabad, Varansai and Patna.

"The requirement may be 30 battalions approximately. These could be raised in phases, as per priority. They could be trained in de-weeding, de-silting, protection and maintenance of cremation ground, tree-plantation, beautification of area," the panel said.

The Indian Territorial Army (TA) is a second line of defence after the regular Army. It comprises 10-15 per cent of the regular soldiers, approximately 50 per cent of them as ex-servicemen and the balance are recruited from local areas.

The Ecological Task Force (ETF) battalions of the TA have been raised to execute specific environment related projects, with military like culture, by enrolling ex-servicemen.

"By giving them resources, i.E. Plants and machinery these soldiers will do everything and also ensure that no pollutants are discharged into the Ganges and no anti-social activities take place in the area.

"This will ensure true cleaning of Ganges and maintenance of river banks," the report added.

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Discovery Communications India will air a special short capsule feature series highlighting the work done under 'Namami Gange' programme beginning this Independence Day.

The series will be aired in seven channels of Discovery portfolio -- Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Discovery HD World, Animal Planet HD World, TLC HD World and Discovery Tamil.

The programme will feature the journey of a four-member team, led by Shilpika Gautam, who sailed across the river Ganga on a stand-up paddle board from Gaumukh in Uttarakhand to Sagar Islands (Ganga Sagar) in West Bengal late last year.

The team paddled the entire length of the river through Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal, a Discovery Communications India release said.

During the process, Shilpika Gautam broke the world record for the longest continuous stand-up paddle board distance by a woman in a single journey, the release added.

"We have used world's first attempt to cover river Ganga on a stand-up paddle board as the core story telling arc and closely integrated the work done on ground by Namami Gange to create a very informative series," said Vikram Tanna, VP Business Head of Regional Clusters, South Asia, Discovery Communications India.

The programme aims to accomplish the objectives of conservation and rejuvenation of the Ganga, Director General of National Mission for Clean Ganga, U P Singh said.

"We are delighted to partner with Discovery Communications India and leverage their platforms to create awareness about the work being done by Namami Gange across the length of the river Ganga," he said.

Namami Gange is an integrated conservation mission, approved as a flagship programme by the Centre.

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The Centre today opposed in the High Court businessman Pramod Mittal's plea seeking setting aside of an order directing impounding of his passport as criminal cases were pending against him here, saying it does "not want another Vijay Mallya case".

Justice A K Chawla issued notice to the ministry of external affairs and asked it to file their stand by August 16 on the plea by Pramod, who is steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal's younger brother.

The high court, however, did not stay the August 8 order of the ministry issued against Pramod, who has to submit his passport before the authorities concerned within seven days.

In March this year, the CBI registered a case of cheating and corruption against Pramod Mittal and former top officials of the State Trading Corporation (STC) for allegedly causing a loss of Rs 2,112 crore to the public sector undertaking.

The case was registered on the basis of a complaint from PSU STC.

The petition of Pramod Mittal, former chairman of Global Steel Holdings (GSHL), was filed through his representative Uday Pratap Singh.

Senior lawyers Kapil Sibal and Siddharth Luthra appeared for the businessman who has sought a stay and quashing of a May 16 show cause notice issued to him on why his passport shuld not be impounded.

Since he did not respond to the showcause notice, the authority concerned passed an order on August 8 for impounding his passport.

The CBI has alleged that Pramod Mittal has committed "criminal breach of trust" as he failed to make payments as per terms and conditions of the agreement with STC.

However, his lawyers today told the court that "This is actually a civil/financial dispute in which they say that I (Pramod) have to pay the money. I will do so but why stop me from doing my business. My right under Article 21 (protection of life and personal liberty) is being threatened and violated."



The lawyers also contended that the CBI was being used to pressurise Pramod Mittal to pay.

"This is a dispute between me (Pramod Mittal) and the STC, why target me by impounding my passport. This order of impounding is simply bad in law," the lawyers argued.

The central government standing counsel, Ajay Digpaul, opposed the contention, saying "we do not want another Vijay Mallya case".

Businessman Vijay Mallya, accused of defaulting on bank loans, had fled the country and the government has been struggling to bring him back from the UK.

Digpaul said that earlier "we have issued him a show cause notice to reply in seven days, in which he asked for further time and had instead approached this court".

In the order for impounding his passport, it has been stated that the High Commission of India, London has been informed that a large number of criminal cases are still pending against Pramod Mittal.

"You have defaulted a large sum to the STC. Further, as on June 20, an amount of approximately USD 469.77 million was outstanding from Global Steel Philippines Inc (GSPI)/GSHL along with future interest.

"Furthermore, the payment proposals referred by you (which you had mentioned in your letters of July 4 and 11) have been rejected by the Department of Commerce and STC. According to Ministry of Commerce, you still owe a huge public money to a central PSU and a large number of criminal cases are pending against you," the order said.

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A parliamentary panel today expressed apprehension that due to slow pace of work, the government may miss the deadline of making river Ganga clean by 2020.

The Standing Committee on Water Resources, in its Demand for Grants (2017-18) for Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, asked the ministry to fast track the projects to ensure expeditious cleaning of the river.

The committee, in the report tabled in Parliament today, noted "with utmost concern" that so far only four sewage treatment plant (STP) projects--two at Haridwar, one each at Varanasi and Mathura-- have been taken up.

It also noted that few more projects are expected to be taken up under hybrid annuity-based Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.

In this model, a part of the capital investment is paid by the government through construction-linked milestones and the balance through an annuity over the contract duration.

"Keeping in view the slow pace of work, the committee are constrained to believe that the targeted completion of cleaning of Ganga river by December 2020 may remain unaccomplished," the panel said.

It also asked the Ministry to apprise of the details of the total expenditure incurred by the National Mission for Clean Ganga so far and outcome achieved thereby.

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The Delhi High Court today issued notice to the Delhi Police on the bail plea of Sukesh Chandrashekar, arrested in the Election Commission bribery case involving AIADMK (Amma) leader T T V Dhinakaran.

Justice Ashutosh Kumar sought the response along with a status report from the police before the next date of hearing on September 5.

Appearing for Chandrashekar, senior advocate Aman Lekhi sought bail for him and said he had been in jail for the last four months.

Chandrashekar, who was arrested on April 16, has been denied bail once by the high court and twice by the trial court.

The high court had on June 15 rejected his bail plea on the ground that police had seized a fake Rajya Sabha member ID card from his possession, which was a "serious threat to Parliament's security".

A chargesheet was filed in the case on July 14.

The police have alleged in the chargesheet that Dhinakaran and Chandrashekar conspired to bribe Election Commission (EC) officials to get the 'two leaves' symbol for their party.

The Delhi Police Crime Branch also included in the chargesheet allegations of forgery for purpose of cheating, using forged document as genuine, possessing a forged document, intending to use it as genuine and criminal conspiracy.

Chandrashekar had moved the high court last week alleging that he was tortured despite an order not to subject him to violence inside Tihar Jail.

The high court on July 24 had warned of "serious action" over the allegations of torture and said any such incident would not be tolerated.

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Kolkata Mayor and Trinamool Congress leader Sovan Chatterjee was today interrogated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) here in connection with the Narada tapes scam.

An ED official told PTI that Chatterjee, one of the several TMC leaders allegedly featured in the tapes, arrived at the CGO complex office here just before 12 noon and stayed inside for more than seven hours.

Chatterjee, who is also the West Bengal Minister for Environment, Fire and Emergency Services and Housing was allegedly shown in the Narada tapes accepting money from a businessman and then wrapping it with a towel.

The tapes purportedly showed CEO of Narada News, Matthew Samuels offering money to the leaders while posing to be a businessman.

Another TMC leader and West Bengal Urban Development minister Firhad Hakim was also interrogated by ED yesterday in this connection.

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The mortal remains of former Union minister Sanwarlal Jat were today consigned to flames with full state honours at his native village of Gopalpura in Ajmer district.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, members of the council of ministers, BJP national general secretary Bhupendra Yadav, Congress's state president Sachin Pilot and other leaders paid tributes to Jat.

Jat (62) had last month collapsed at a meeting of BJP MPs and MLAs with Amit Shah at the party's state headquarters here.

He was airlifted to the national capital from Jaipur after his condition turned critical. He died while undergoing treatment at AIIMS, New Delhi, yesterday.

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A group of Muslim women has written to the Chief Justice of India (CJI) urging him to give a verdict on the issue of triple talaq "at the earliest".

A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar had in May reserved its verdict on a clutch of pleas challenging the constitutional validity of the practice of triple talaq for divorce among Muslims.

"We urge your Lordships to kindly pronounce the judgment at the earliest. Thousands of Muslim women are eager to hear a judgment that would put an end to their ordeal after being divorced arbitrarily and instantly," according to the letter to the CJI.

CJI Khehar retires on August 27 and, therefore, the five-judge bench headed by him is expected to deliver its verdict on or before that.

The letter, dated August 5, has been signed by some of the petitioners -- Afreen Rehman, Badar Sayeed and Muslim women rights' advocacy group Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan.

"We are confident that the Supreme Court will give a ruling upholding the Constitution and equal rights for women. End to triple talaq would restore the faith of ordinary Muslims in democracy," the letter adds.

While reserving its verdict on the matter, the apex court had asked Muslim bodies how could a practice like triple talaq be a matter of "faith" when they considered it "patriarchal", "bad in theology" and "sinful".

"What is sinful cannot be part of practice. If it is bad in theology, it cannot be accepted in law...What is morally wrong cannot be legally right. What is not fully moral, it cannot be legal," the bench observed.

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The Assam Rifles caught four militants of the NSCN (K) with arms and ammunition from Jiri Lamkhai area in Jiribam district of Manipur, police said today.

One bomb, ammunition and two magazines were seized from them yesterday, they said.

In another incident, police commandos apprehended a cadre of the Zeliangrong United Front (ZUF) on Tuesday last during regular frisking at Bishnupur Chiningkon in Bishnupur district.

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A Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) office was set ablaze by unidentified persons here today, while the party claimed it had not received any formal invitation from the West Bengal government for talks as the indefinite strike in the hills entered its 57th day.

Petrol bombs were hurled at the GJM office in the early hours, the police said, adding that the entire office was gutted.

This was the first instance of a GJM office being attacked since the party called the indefinite shutdown in the Darjeeling hills.

The GJM leadership accused the police and district administration of attacking its office. The police, however, denied the allegation.

Meanwhile, in a statement, GJM general secretary Roshan Giri said, "During the last one week, (Chief Minister) Mamata Banerjee has announced only at public meetings and to the media that she is open to discussions to resolve the impasse.

He alleged that this was nothing but an "eyewash" as "no formal communication (in this regard) has reached the GJM".

"It seems that she (Banerjee) is misleading not only the GJM but the entire population of Bengal. It shows that she is not sincere and honest in her statements, acts and deeds and is reluctant to find out an amicable solution (to the crisis). She is rather trying to camouflage the scenario with a double standard strategy," alleged Giri.

His comments came in the backdrop of Banerjee, earlier this week, urging the hill parties to shun violence and come to the discussion table.

"The GJM still feels that the long-pending issues of the Gorkhas should be attended to without further delay by both the state and central governments," said Giri.

Asked by PTI if the GJM was ready for talks with the state government, he said, "Only party supremo Bimal Gurung can answer your question."



Condemning the incidents of looting and torching the vehicles carrying essential commodities to the hills, Giri said, "It is being said that these incidents were the handiwork of masked miscreants. In reality, these were efforts to damage the image of the democratic agitation by the GJM and create a sense of fear among the masses."



In a jibe at the state government, he said it should arrest those outsiders, supporting the GJM's separate Gorkhaland demand, whom it claimed to have identified.

The GJM leader alleged that the state government and police had "let loose a reign of terror through indiscriminate arrests and slapping of non-bailable charges" against the activists of the party.

Senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Gautam Deb, however, dismissed the allegations levelled by Giri as "completely baseless".

"We had earlier told them to shun violence and sit for talks, an offer they declined. Our government wants peace in the hills. What violence are they (GJM) talking about? What have they done over the last two months in the hills?" he asked.

Asked about Giri's claim that no formal invitation for talks was sent to the GJM, Deb said, "We had repeatedly asked them (GJM) to come forward for talks, but they said they would only talk to the Centre. They did not attend the all-party meeting convened by the state government. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had repeatedly requested them to sit for talks.

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Hathway Cable and Datacom today posted a net profit of Rs 27.16 crore on standalone basis in the first quarter ended June 30, 2017.

The company had registered a loss of Rs 53.2 crore in the same period a year ago.

The total income of the company, however, declined by 57.44 per cent to Rs 129.57 crore in the reported quarter from Rs 304.5 crore it posted in corresponding quarter of 2016-17.

Shares of Hathway Cable and Datacom closed at Rs 30.25 a unit, down by 4.57 per cent compared to previous close, at BSE today.

* * * * *



Home Credit ties-up with Paytm for repayment of loans * NBFC firm Home Credit India Finance has partnered with the mobile payments and commerce platform Paytm to facilitate repayment of loans.

"To facilitate a payment via Paytm's gateway while on the Home Credit India website, the customer is required to enter personal details along with the amount to be paid and the loan contract ID," Home Credit said in a statement.

Home Credit provides small loans to customers for buying consumer durables, mobile phones, computer etc.

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The Allahabad High Court today sought a reply from the Uttar Pradesh government on a plea alleging that victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in the state have not been adequately compensated.

A Division Bench of Justices Arun Tandon and Krishna Singh asked the Principal Secretary (Home) to file his personal affidavit on the petition by a Kanpur-based organisation, Guru Singh Sabha.

The court fixed August 31 as the next date of hearing.

The petitioners have drawn the court's attention to the fact that 14 Sikhs, all of them from the same family, had been massacred in Kidwai Nagar locality of Kanpur.

Also, members of the community suffered huge loss of property across the state in the communal conflagration that had erupted across the country in the aftermath of the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

The petitioners have further alleged that notwithstanding a compensation package of Rs 716 crore announced by the Centre for rehabilitating the riot victims, the solatium paid to those affected by the violence in the state was meagre.

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Modern humans may have exited Africa and arrived in Southeast Asia over 70,000 years ago, much earlier than previously thought, scientists said today.

The study led by researchers at Macquarie University in Australia also suggests that humans could have potentially made the crossing to Australia even earlier than the accepted 60,000 to 65,000 years ago.

The dating of a cave site in West Sumatra in Indonesia, called Lida Ajer, provided researchers the first evidence for rainforest use of modern humans.

"Rainforests are not the easiest place to make a living, especially for a savannah-adapted primate, so it suggests that these people were ahead of the curve in terms of intelligence, planning and technological adaptation," said Gilbert Price from University of Queensland in Australia.

As a result of thorough documentation of the cave, reanalysis of the specimens, and a new dating programme, it was confirmed that the teeth found there were of modern humans, Homo sapiens, and dated back 73,000 years.

A barrage of dating techniques were applied to the sediment around the fossils, to overlying and underlying rock deposits in the cave and to associated mammal teeth, indicating that the deposit and fossils were laid down between 63,000 to 73,000 years ago, researchers said.

The study was published in the journal Nature.

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Danish toy company Lego has appointed Niels B Christiansen, who headed thermostat-maker Danfoss for nine years, as its chief executive.

Christiansen replaces Indian-origin Bali Padda, who took over as interim CEO in January. Padda will hold a "special advisory" role within the group.

Chairman Joergen Vig Knudstorp said today that said Christiansen, 51, will start October 1.

Lego said Christiansen became chief executive of Danish audio solutions maker GN Netcom at the age of 33, and joined the family-owned Danfoss in 2004. He became its head four years later, a job he held until June.

"He transformed a traditional industrial company into a technology leader," said Vig Knudstorp a former Lego CEO himself adding he was confident the toymaker "will continue to flourish" under Christiansen.

In March, Lego said its 2016 revenue grew 6 per cent to 37.9 billion kroner (USD 6 billion), the highest figure in the company's 85-year history. The privately held group's net profit rose to 9.4 billion kroner (USD 1.5 billion).

Padda, a 61-year-old India-born Brit and Lego's former chief operations officer, was only considered a temporary CEO.

In a statement, Vig Knudstorp said the transition to find a new CEO "occurred more rapidly" than anticipated.

Padda, who joined Lego in 2002 in Enfield, Connecticut, was praised by Vig Knudstorp, who said Padda "played an integral role in the turnaround of the Lego Group and during his time as CEO created a solid foundation from which to continue to transform the company.

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The size of Majuli Island in the Brahmaputra River in Assam has come down by over 28 per cent in 2013 from 733.79 sq km in 1940, the Lok Sabha was informed today.

Union Minister of State for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Sanjeev Kumar Balyan said this in response to a question in the Lok Sabha as to whether the land erosion in the island is increasing.

"As per the information provided by the government of Assam, the land mass area of Majuli Island has reduced from 733.79 sq km as per Survey of India map of 1940 to about 522.73 sq km in year 2013," he said.

However, on implementation of works under various phases by the Brahmaputra Board from 2004, there is some gain of land mass area of Majuli Island since 2004 till 2016.

The total gain was 22.08 sq km.

"As per satellite imagery also, the total land mass area of Majuli Island was 524.29 sq km in 2016," the minister said.

"Recently, the Brahmaputra Board has also initiated the flood management and erosion control works in Majuli Island with the financial assistance of Rs 207 crore from the Ministry of DoNER (Development of North Eastern Region)," the minister added.

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The general body of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) today passed a proposal to make singing of 'Vande Mataram', the national song, compulsory in the civic-run schools twice a week.

It will come into effect after Municipal Commissioner Ajoy Mehta gives his administrative nod.

BJP corporator Sandeep Patel tabled a notice of motion, which was supported by the ruling Shiv Sena, and Mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar approved it.

The Congress and Samajwadi Party (SP) corporators boycotted the proceedings, alleging that they were not allowed to put forth their views.

"A recent Madras High Court ruling, which made singing of 'Vande Mataram' mandatory in the schools of Tamil Nadu, gave me the idea that if it can be done there, then why not in Mumbai," Patel told PTI.

"So, I tabled the motion and I am grateful that the mayor approved it after finding enough support for it," said the first-time corporator from the Goregaon area.

"We need to instill a sense of patriotism in our youth as they should remember the glorious period of our freedom struggle," the BJP member said.

However, the group leader of main opposition Congress, Ravi Raja, alleged that the BJP and the ruling Shiv Sena were "trying to impose" their will on everyone.

"We don't oppose singing of Vande Mataram in schools, but the way it is going to be imposed, we object to that. This would violate our fundamental rights as enshrined in the Constitution and therefore, I am going to write a letter to the municipal commissioner," he said.

SP's group leader in the House Rais Shaikh said the move was "unacceptable".

"Let me clarify that we are not opposing Vande Mataram. Whenever and wherever it is sung, we give it due respect. What we are opposing is it being made mandatory. Since we were not allowed to put forth our view in the House, we will meet the commissioner and put across our point," he added.

The Madras High Court ruling had triggered a political slugfest in the Maharashtra Legislature, with a BJP MLA demanding its implementation in schools and colleges of the state, while the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and SP MLAs opposed the proposal.

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The newly-elected councillors of the three BJP-ruled municipal corporations in the city were taught the lessons of "transparency and collective decision- making" as well as "perception management" during a training session addressed by senior party leaders today.

Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari asked the councillors to to ensure a "clean and transparent conduct" in addressing the public grievances.

He also accused the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi of putting up "hurdles" in the functioning of the civic bodies.

"It is sad that the Kejriwal government has been creating hurdles to stall the administrative work of the councillors, who have been elected by the people," said Tiwari.

Former Delhi BJP chief Satish Upadhyay also addressed the councillors and gave them tips on perception management and handling the media.

"In today's circumstances, perception matters the most and therefore, the media should regularly be briefed about the works done and future plans," he said.

BJP national vice-president and party in-charge for Delhi Shyam Jaju, Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta and former East Delhi mayor Harsh Malhotra also addressed the councillors among others.

Delhi BJP general secretary (organisation) Siddharthan laid emphasis on "proper planning, distribution of work, collective decision-making and disciplined implementation of decisions".

In the polls for the south, north and east municipal corporations held in April, the BJP won 181 of the 272 wards, relegating the AAP and Congress to distant second and third places respectively.

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Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today flagged off mobile therapy vans which would provide basic medical assistance to elderly people, widows and other section who requires social security.

The CM flagged off mobile therapy vans to launch "Buniyadi Sanjivani Sewa" at a function here in presence of Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi and minister for Social Welfare department Manju Varma.

A total of 11 vans were send on the occasion to as many districts including Nalanda, Patna, Bhagalpur, Begusarai, Buxar, Muzaffarpur, Nawada, Purnea, Rohtas, Darbhanga and Samastipur.

The vans equipped with basic medical apparatus and accompanied by technical team would provide basic medical care to elderly people, widows and disabled in the districts.

The van is an outcome of a joint project of the World Bank and the Bihar government which is run by Social Welfare department, an official statement said here.

In time to come a total of 101 "Buniyadi Sewa Kendra" (basic service centres) would be opened in all sub-divisions for the purpose.

Work is in progress on setting up 87 such centres, the statement added.

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The education department has ordered a probe into a birthday bash, complete with alcohol and dancing girls, hosted by a village head for his son in a school that was closed for Raksha Bandhan, officials said here today.

A video of a dance inside a classroom of the primary school in Tetaria village in Jamalpur block on Raksha Bandhan on August 7 went viral on social media, prompting the education department to order an investigation. Clips also suggested consumption of liquor.

The video showed girls dancing to Bhojpuri numbers.

"A probe has been ordered in the matter and its report will be given to the district magistrate for further action," Basic Sikshan Adhikari (BSA) Pravin Kumar Tiwari said.

When the school reopened on Tuesday after the Rakhi holiday, students and teachers had to remove empty liquor bottles and clean leftover food strewn all over, he said.

Giving details about the incident, the official said, "The keys of the school were taken by the village head on August 5 from the principal. As a number of tasks are done in the school through the village head, he was given the keys. The village head organised a party to celebrate his son's birthday in the school."



A dance programme was held and liquor was also consumed there, he said.

"Holding of such events in school premises is not allowed and in this case too no permission was sought," Tiwari added.

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Pakistan today accused India of committing more than 600 ceasefire violations this year which resulted in the killing of over 34 Pakistani civilians.

Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria also accused India of altering the demography of Jammu and Kashmir by settling non-Kashmiris in the state.

"The former Adviser to the PM on Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz, had written a letter to the UNSG underscoring the Indian attempts," he said at the weekly press briefing here.

He claimed that India committed more than 600 ceasefire violations which resulted in killing of over 34 civilians.

He also accused that India allows limited access to United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP), which has been mandated to monitor peace at LoC and report back in case of any violations.

India maintains that UNMOGIP has outlived its utility and is irrelevant after the Simla Agreement and the consequent establishment of the Line of Control.

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Pakistan and Afghanistan have decided to resume high-level trade talks next month, the first such engagement between the two countries in nearly two years as Kabul wanted to involve India in dialogue.

The proposal for resuming talks by convening a meeting of their Joint Economic Commission (JEC) in Kabul was made by Afghanistan's ambassador to Pakistan Hazrat Omar Zakhilwal during a meeting yesterday with Pakistan's Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.

It will be the first high-level talks between the two neighbouring countries since November 2015 when Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's condition to continue talks with Pakistan on all issues, including trade, subject to involvement of India.

The deteriorating security situation also triggered an intermittent war of words between the two countries with Afghan officials holding Pakistan responsible for each such incident.

"It will be a great opportunity for Islamabad and Kabul to repair their diplomatic and business relations which have discontinued since November 2015," a source privy to the development told Dawn.

An official statement issued after the meeting said ambassador Zakhilwal stated that the next session of the Pak- Afghan Joint Economic Commission (JEC) was due and proposed that it might be held in Kabul in September.

Dar welcomed the proposal and said mutually convenient dates be decided to hold the session next month.

The deadlock between Afghanistan and Pakistan was due to Kabul's insistence that India should be included in bilateral and trilateral agreements.

Kabul wanted to include India in the Trilateral Transit Trade Agreement - Pakistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan.

Afghanistan also wants access to markets of India and SAARC countries through Wagah border, according to officials.

Dar was of the opinion that the JEC meeting should provide an opportunity to discuss measures for furthering the cause of economic cooperation between the two countries.

The Afghan envoy was informed that Pakistan's economic affairs division would cooperate with the Afghan embassy to work out details for the JEC meeting whose main focus will be enhancement of bilateral trade and economic cooperation.

The 10th Pak-Afghan JEC session was held on November 23, 2015, in Islamabad.

The JEC is a highly important forum that takes into consideration important issues, including trade facilitation, enhancement of bilateral and transit trade, highway and railway projects, scholarship scheme for Afghan students, as well as potential joint ventures in various other sectors.

One of the fallout of the suspension of talks was a decline in bilateral trade.

Pakistan's exports to Afghanistan dropped by a significant 27 per cent over the past one year, owing to several factors.

Pakistan's exports to Afghanistan had reached an all-time high of USD 2.4 billion in 2010-11. It remained over USD 2 billion in the subsequent two years.

Since then, exports started to dwindle and hit USD 1.43 billion in 2015-16. In the first quarter of the current financial year, exports were recorded at USD 362.5 million.

It clearly reflects that the annual exports to Afghanistan will now be around USD 1 billion when the figure for 2016-17 is finalised.

Talks on several issues have been on the back burner for a couple of years because of Kabul's loss of interest in concluding a trade liberalisation regime with Pakistan.

In 2014, both sides agreed to initiate negotiations on a bilateral preferential trade agreement (PTA), with Pakistan sharing a draft text of the agreement with Afghanistan.

In 2015, Afghanistan conveyed to Pakistan that it would formally respond to the draft PTA by January 2016. This issue will be raised at the upcoming JEC meeting, the report said.

To encourage business-to-business interaction between the two countries, a joint business council (JBC) comprising leading businessmen from both sides was established.

The first meeting of the JBC was scheduled for August 2015. When Kabul failed to send its response, a new date for the JBC meeting was scheduled for February 17 last year in Islamabad.

However, no meeting of the JBC has been held so far.

Pakistan recently reminded Afghanistan to convene the 7th meeting of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Coordination Authority in Kabul as had been agreed at the last meeting held in 2016.

It will be one of the important issues to be raised at the JEC meeting.

The draft text on avoidance of double taxation was also shared, but no follow-up meeting has been held so far.

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Pakistan today rejected any military solution to the prolonged conflict in Afghanistan, saying the international campaign in the war-torn country needs to revisit this approach as it has "not borne fruit".

Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria said the overt emphasis on employing military means in Afghanistan should be revisited.

"We believe that there is no military solution to the conflict in Afghanistan. The focus of international campaign since 2001 has been on a military approach. We believe this approach has not borne fruit and thus needs a revisit," he said.

Zakaria said Pakistan prefered peace talks to achieve an enduring solution to the protracted conflict in Afghanistan.

He said the reconciliation between the Afghan government and the Hizb-e-Islami of former rebel leader Gulbadin Hekmatyar can serve as model for talks with the Taliban.

"We support Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process," he said.

He also accused India of fomenting terrorism in Pakistan.

He said Pakistan has raised concerns with Afghan authorities regarding the involvement of India in fomenting unrest and orchestrating terrorist activities in Pakistan, using the Afghan soil.

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A parliamentary committee today endorsed an amendment to a bill which provides for setting up of a tribunal on inter-state river water disputes with finality of authority.

The Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill, 2017, introduced in Parliament in March, seeks to set up a single, permanent tribunal to adjudicate all such disputes subsuming existing tribunals.

The parliamentary panel, under the chairmanship of lawmaker Hukum Singh, noted the amendment in the bill entails that the decision of the tribunal bench will be final and binding on the parties to the dispute.

It also noted that such decisions will have the same force as an order or a decree of the Supreme Court.

About the provision to deal with the situation where the states and union territories fail to abide by the award of the Bench or Tribunal, the panel said the ministry has informed that they can be persuaded to do so.

"Besides, the party states are expected to abide by the awards or else it amounts to breakdown of the constitutional machinery and there are provisions in the Constitution to deal with such eventuality," the panel said in its report tabled in Parliament today.

It said the Constitution debars any other court to exercise jurisdiction in respect of any such dispute under the ISRWD Act, 1956.

However, the apex court has been exercising its jurisdiction under some articles of the Constitution for considering the matters related to awards given on inter-state river water dispute, it noted.

"The Committee, therefore, endorses this clause -- which seeks giving finality to the award of the Tribunal so as to avoid the endless litigation on the disputes. However, the Committee would refrain from interpreting any Constitutional provision in this regard," it said.

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India's largest importer of liquefied natural gas, Petronet has initiated talks for buying 26 per cent stake in Indian Oil Corp's under-construction 5 million tonne LNG terminal at Ennore, its Managing Director Prabhat Singh said today.

The Board of Petronet LNG Ltd has also approved making a formal proposal to Bangladesh for setting up of a 7.5 million tonne (MT) a year LNG terminal at Kutubdia Island, he said.

"We have initiated dialogue with IOC. We would be looking at least 26 per cent in Ennore. IOC is also looking at strategic investor and I think we fit the bill," he told reporters here.

IOC's Rs 5,151-crore liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal with a capacity of 5 MT per annum is expected to be completed by mid-2018.

Also on the Petronet radar is taking a stake in Gujarat Petroleum Corp Ltd's (GSPC) almost complete 5 MT terminal at Mundra in Gujarat. "We are in exploratory talks with GSPC."



Petronet had in April this year signed a set of heads of agreement with Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation (PetroBangla) for the construction of a 7.5 MT LNG project in Bangladesh.

The agreement, signed during the visit of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's to India, followed a memorandum of understanding the two companies have signed in December 2016 for the construction of a USD 950 million LNG terminal at Kutubdia Island.

"We now have board approval and will present a formal proposal to PetroBangla this month," Singh said.

Under the plan, Petronet would build the terminal in four years from the date of all approval and operate it as a toll service provider. PetroBangla will bring in its LNG and pay Petronet a tolling fee.

Petronet reported a 16 per cent rise in April-June net profit to Rs 438 crore on highest ever gas being processed at its two terminals.

It processed 192 trillion British thermal units (TBtus) of imported LNG - 184 TBtus at Dahej terminal in Gujarat and 8 TBtus in Kochi, he said.

This compared with 178 TBtus processed in the preceding quarter of January-March and 165 TBtus in first quarter of the previous fiscal.

Dahej operated at 97 per cent of its expanded 15 MT capacity while Kochi saw highest ever LNG processing and operated at 12 per cent of its 5 million tons a year capacity.

Kochi does not have pipelines to take the gas to key consumption areas. Only 2 million standard cubic meters per day of gas offtake is done by Kochi refinery of BPCL and the neighbouring fertiliser plant of FACT.

Singh said Petronet is looking at operating LNG fuelled buses. To start with 2 buses each at its Dahej and Kochi terminals would be operated to ferry employees.

"These will be on pilot basins," he said adding the company is looking at operating 10-20 buses in Gujarat and is talking to the state road transport corporation and also GSPC for using their fuel stations.

In Kerala, it wants to operated 10 LNG-fuelled buses and is taking to BPCL to use its terminal space for storing LNG and refuelling them, he added.

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The Earth set a series of dire records in 2016, including hottest year in modern times, highest sea level and most heat-trapping gases ever emitted, a global climate report said today.

A range of key climate and weather indicators show the planet is growing increasingly warm, with record high annual temperatures sweeping Mexico and India, a trend that shows no signs of slowing down, said the annual State of the Climate Report.

"Last year's record heat resulted from the combined influence of long-term global warming and a strong El Nino early in the year," said the report.

"The major indicators of climate change continued to reflect trends consistent with a warming planet," it added, noting that several markers -- such as land and ocean temperatures, sea level and greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere -- broke records set just one year earlier.

The ominous comes two months after President Donald Trump announced the United States would withdraw from the 2015 Paris accord on global warming, a decision that sparked widespread international criticism.

In the past billionaire Trump has called climate change "a hoax" invented by the Chinese, dismissing scientific evidence of human contributions to rising temperatures.

But as humanity continues to rely on fossil fuels for energy unprecedented levels of greenhouse gases are polluting the atmosphere, acting like a blanket to capture heat around the Earth, the report emphasized.

All the major greenhouse gases that drive warming, including carbon dioxide (CO2), methane and nitrous oxide, rose to new heights, it said.

Atmospheric CO2 concentration reached 402.9 parts per million (ppm), surpassing 400 ppm for the first time in the modern record and in ice core records dating back as far as 800,000 years.

"Climate change is one of the most pressing issues facing humanity and life on Earth," said the peer-reviewed publication, put together by nearly 500 scientists around the globe and released each year by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the American Meteorological Society.

The entire 280-page report is available online.

The report confirmed prior announcements that 2016 was the hottest year since contemporary records began, marking the third year in a row that global records were broken planet- wide. Both land and sea surface temperatures set new highs.

Melting glaciers and polar ice caps swelled the world's oceans, and global average sea level rose to a new record high in 2016 -- about 3.25 inches (82 millimeters) higher than the 1993 average.

Global sea level has risen for six straight years, with the highest rates of increase seen in the western Pacific and Indian Oceans.

In the sensitive polar regions, sea ice in both the Arctic and Antarctic hit record lows.

Land temperatures warmed too -- average Arctic land surface temperature was 2.0 Celsius above the 1981-2010 average.

This represents a 3.5 Celsius increase since records began in 1900.

Some extreme weather events increased, such as unusually high tropical cyclone activity. A total of 93 named tropical cyclones were observed worldwide in 2016, well above the 1981 -2010 average of 82 storms.

Over the northern and eastern Indian peninsula, a week- long heat wave at the end of April saw temperatures exceed 44 Celsius, contributed to a water crisis for 330 million people and to 300 fatalities, the report said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today welcomed increased exchanges between the legislatures of India and Seychelles.

He made the remarks while receiving a 12-member delegation of the Seychelles Parliament led by its Speaker Patrick Pillay.

Modi appreciated the role of the legislatures of the two countries in upholding strong and vibrant ties between India and Seychelles as close partners, including in the Indian Ocean, the PMO said.

He recalled his own productive visit to Seychelles in March 2015 that helped both countries further deepen cooperation, the PMO said in a statement.

The delegation shared their perspectives with prime minister on further strengthening cooperation and people-to- people exchanges between the two countries.

The Seychelles delegation also called on Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan in Parliament House.

Mahajan said India considers Seychelles not only as a maritime neighbour but also as a trusted friend and a strong strategic partner.

She said the Indian diaspora in Seychelles constitutes an important link between the two countries and that the relations between India and Seychelles are further cemented by strong people-to-people bonds and cultural exchanges.

Mahajan emphasized that India is keen to expand and intensify parliamentary interactions with Seychelles.

Pillay thanked Mahajan for the warm hospitality extended to his delegation, said a statement issued by the Lok Sabha Secretariat.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Supreme Court today said that representatives of the apex court, lawyers' body and the petitioner, who has sought better creche facilities in the court complex, will visit the facility to ascertain whether adequate infrastructure was in place.

The apex court said that the representatives will visit the creche premises on August 16 after the normal court hours.

"A visit to the premises (both New Extension Building and Additional Building Complex, presently at the final stage of construction) along with the counsel for the petitioner, the representatives of the Supreme Court Bar Association and the Secretary General of the Supreme Court will be made on August 16, 2017 after court hours," a bench of justices Ranjan Gogoi and Navin Sinha said.

The matter pertains to a PIL filed by advocate Anindita Pujari who had sought more facility like separate rooms so that more children could be kept there by working parents.

Earlier, the apex court had said that the creche service in the court premises was inadequate while asking the registry to see whether there was any prospect for expanding its service within the available infrastructure.

The bench, however, had said no room facility could be provided and asked senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, appearing for the apex court registry, to take instructions on various aspects of expanding the services and payment of wages to additional nurses who would take care of children.

It had decided to halve the fee for the service, after it faced criticism for exorbitant fee for the facility, from Rs 5,000 to Rs 2,500 per month.

Senior advocate Indira Jaising, the petitioner's counsel, had contended that the fee structure was discouraging many working parents from taking the services of the child care unit.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Russian court jailed an investigative journalist for three and a half years after convicting him of extremism today, in a case denounced by media rights activists.

Alexander Sokolov worked at the RBK agency when he was arrested in June 2015 on suspicion of participating in a banned extremist group.

The journalist denied any wrongdoing, saying his prosecution is due to an investigative report published two weeks earlier on government overspending on a project to build a new space port.

Sokolov's conviction today came as two other men also received jail sentences in the same case.

The court convicted Sokolov over his involvement in a group called "For a responsible government" which has campaigned for a referendum on a new law that would make officials accountable.

Prosecutors said Sokolov had created a website for the group and administered it, RBK reported.

But they said the group was cover for another organisation -- banned as extremist in 2010 -- which called for the violent overthrow of the government.

Sokolov denied any of his actions were criminal and said he would appeal the conviction.

"According to this decision, the idea itself of a referendum is seen as extremist," he said, Russian agencies reported.

Russia's media community and international media rights groups have spoken out in his defence.

Reporters Without Borders said the charges against him were "unsubstantiated" and denounced the "arbitrary" nature of the country's anti-extremism laws.

Nearly 300 journalists have also signed a letter of support for Sokolov.

The journalist has worked for RBK since 2013. It is a respected publication known for numerous investigations of sensitive subjects, such as Russia's involvement in the conflicts in eastern Ukraine and Syria.

Sokolov also wrote an economics dissertation about the effectiveness of Russia's state companies, in which he pointed to systematic corruption and theft of budget funds.

Rights groups have long called for a reassessment of Russia's controversial anti-extremism laws, which they say allow courts to hand down lengthy jail sentences to people who simply shared information on the internet.

In a report last month Human Rights Watch organisation called the legislation "vague and overly broad" and used to prosecute critics.

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The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) will tomorrow hear pleas by Parsvnath Developers and Kavit Industries against trading restrictions imposed on their shares by exchanges on markets regulator Sebi's directions.

The tribunal today stayed trading restrictions imposed on JKumar Infraprojects and Prakash Industries, which were also on a list of 331 "suspected shell companies" referred by the government to Sebi.

Trading restrictions were imposed on these companies with effect from August 8 after which many of them approached SAT.

While Parsvnath Developers had also filed its appeal yesterday, the tribunal has listed it for hearing tomorrow. Kavit Industries plea is also listed for tomorrow, as per the cause list of the SAT.

Hearing began on pleas by JKumar Infraprojects and Prakash Industries yesterday and SAT today stayed the trading restrictions imposed them. These shares can resume normal trading tomorrow.

Kavit Industries, a Gujarat-based firm, is manufacturer and supplier of edible oil, and Parsvnath Developers is a Delhi-based real estate company.

The Gujarat-based firm today posted a net profit of Rs 31 lakh for the three months ended June 30, higher than Rs 7.4 lakh reported in the year-ago period. Besides, the company's revenue rose to Rs 30 crore in the period under review from Rs 2.59 crore in the April-June period of 2016-17.

Markets regulator Sebi, on Monday, had asked the stock exchanges to restrict trading in shares of 331 "suspected shell companies", some of which have investments by several well-known domestic and foreign investors.

The move came after the watchdog received the list of such companies from the corporate affairs ministry and many of the 331 firms are under the scanner of the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) and the Income Tax Department.

On August 8, many of the companies tagged annual reports and other financial along with their filings to press upon the exchanges that they are not shell companies and are in compliance with all regulations.

Out of the 331 companies on the list, more than 160 are actively traded shares on the exchanges.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In a jolt to Sahara chief Subrata Roy, the Supreme Court today rejected his plea to put on hold the auction process of the group's Aamby Valley property in Pune district of Maharashtra valued at Rs 34,000 crore.

The apex court told Roy that his proposal of paying Rs 1,500 crore, if the auction process was halted or postponed was allowing it to make a statement "willing suspension of disbelief" (believe the unbelievable).

A bench, headed by Justice Dipak Misra, said the auction process will go on according to the schedule and if Rs 1,500 crore is paid by the contemnor (Roy) into the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)-Sahara refund account by September 7, then it may pass an appropriate order.

"We are not inclined to entertain the prayer of the contemnor. The prayer is hereby rejected. If any agreement is reached by the group to raise money, then appropriate orders will be passed," a bench also comprising Justices Ranjan Gogoi and A K Sikri said.

During the hearing, senior advocate Kapil Sibal said that the auction process of Aamby Valley which would start with the publication of a notice on August 14, should be postponed at least till September 16 to enable Roy arrange the money.

"Your proposal is making us to make a statement that it is willing suspension of belief", it said.

Sibal said that hotels in New York have been sold and soon money would be coming into the Sahara account after which Rs 1,500 crore would be deposited into the SEBI-SAHARA refund account by September 7, as had been directed by the court.

"Our request is that the auction process for Aamby Valley, which will be initiated by way of publication of a notice should be postponed till September 16, as the value of property will fall drastically once it is put on sale in public domain," Sibal said.

He said that Sahara has been on verge of entering an agreement with a Mauritius-based company to raise money, but for that purpose, the auction process has to be postponed for the time being.

"We are negotiating a deal of subscription agreement whereby an investor will invest 1.67 billion dollars in Aamby Valley out of which around Rs 5000 crore will given to the SEBI-Sahara refund account," he said.

Senior advocate Arvind Datar, representing the SEBI, opposed the proposal of the Sahara chief saying that every time a process starts, the group came up with some objection in order to delay the process.

He said that it was a global auction and interested parties from across the world would participate and Rs 4.4 crore hasd already been spent in initiating the process.

"It will not be approrpiate, if the auction process is stalled," he said and added that according to SEBI's research, the said Mauritius-based company, named by Sahara, did not exist.

To this, the bench said it was not going to pass any order and the auction process would not be stalled or postponed.

It said the group could pursue the negotiation with the investor and the court would pass an order at the appropriate time.

Roy had yesterday moved the apex court seeking to put a hold on the auction process to sell the group's property by the official liquidator of the Bombay High Court.

The apex court had on July 25 asked the embattled Sahara chief to deposit Rs 1,500 crore in the SEBI-Sahara account by September 7 and said that it might then deliberate upon his plea seeking 18 months more time for making complete repayment.

The court had simultaneously approved the draft sale notice and terms to dispose of the property prepared by the official liquidator of the Bombay High Court.

"The official liquidator shall publish the sale notice as given by him and the notice shall be published on August 14. The steps which are required to be taken for the publication of the sale notice, are allowed," the court had said.

The Sahara Group had earlier sought 18 months' time to repay around Rs 9,000 crore balance amount of the principal amount of Rs 24,000 crore.

Sibal, however, had said that according to the group, the remaining amount was around Rs 8,000 crore and it had made all efforts to deposit the money.

Roy, who has spent almost two years in jail, has been on parole since May 6 last year. The parole was granted the first time to enable him attend the funeral of his mother. It has been extended since then.

Besides Roy, two other directors -- Ravi Shankar Dubey and Ashok Roy Choudhary -- were arrested for failure of the group's two companies -- Sahara India Real Estate Corporation (SIRECL) and Sahara Housing Investment Corp Ltd (SHICL) -- to comply with the court's August 31, 2012 order to return Rs 24,000 crore to their investors.

Another company director Vandana Bhargava was not taken into custody.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Supreme Court will soon examine a proposal for having "singular examination" under a centralised selection mechanism to select judicial officers, to fill up vacancies in subordinate judiciary, which stands at over 20 per cent of the sanctioned strength.

A 'concept note' on the matter has been prepared by senior advocate Arvind Datar, who has been appointed amicus curiae (friend of court), to assist the apex court which has on its own taken up the task of evolving the centralised selection mechanism to deal with large vacancies in the lower judiciary, which is affecting speedy disposal of cases.

The note also highlighted that the sanctioned strength of district and subordinate judges in India at present is approximately 21,000, and out of these, nearly 4,800 positions are lying vacant.

The Supreme Court had on August 4 indicated that it was inclined to go ahead with a proposal for the central government-funded CSM even if there was no amicable consensus among various high courts and the states, and had said that if the need arose it might accord a day-long hearing on the issue later this month to resolve the objections to the proposal.

The 'concept note' made public by the apex court has given details of vacancies in subordinate judiciary and has proposed to have a District Judges Recruitment Examination (DJURE) under the CSM to make the process of appointment smooth.

It said approximately 300 vacancies need to be filled up each year through direct recruitment/examination -- DJURE with an aim to provide "a regular pool of meritorious candidates to recruitment and selection bodies for State Judicial Services across India".

"It is indeed distressing that several vacancies for district judges are not filled due to the lack of qualified and meritorious advocates. This is perhaps due to the absence of a regular/periodic examination system.

"In most states, the examinations are held in an ad-hoc fashion. There is no syllabus to enable candidates to prepare in advance. The uncertainty and irregularity is what the District Judges Recruitment Examination aims to eradicate," the note said.

It said that under the CSM, candidates would be able to write a single common examination, namely the DJURE, and be considered for selection in all the states for which they fulfil the eligibility criteria.

"The proposed DJURE would not compromise the autonomy of the states in regulating the terms of recruitment or the conditions of service. This is what distinguishes the DJURE from an All India Judicial Service. All existing rules regarding reservation, eligibility and service conditions in the states would continue to be in force," the note said.

The proposed mechanism only seeks to centralise the preparation of merit list which is based on the performance of a candidate in a written examination, it said, adding that the DJURE will not alter the existing eligibility criteria in different states.

It proposed that DJURE examination could consist of 600 marks -- four papers of 100 marks each, and 200 marks for interview.

It said that idea of instituting a CSM has been agreed in principle by most high courts in the country.

As per the details provided in the note, Gujarat has the maximum vacancy of 820 judges in subordinate judiciary out of a sanctioned strength of 1,953, followed by Bihar where 809 posts are lying vacant out of a sanctioned strength of 1,825 judicial officers.

Among other states with large vacancies are Uttar Pradesh, which has a sanctioned strength of 2,262 with 588 vacancies, Karnataka with 376 vacancies and the national capital of Delhi with 302 vacancies.

The least number of vacancies were found in Sikkim with four posts vacant, out of sanctioned strength of 18 judges.

"The DJURE is the first step towards creating a regular annual examination for selecting a meritorious pool of candidates from which appointments can be made to District Judiciary.

"This will generate a tremendous opportunity to younger members of the Bar to systematically prepare for such an examination," the note said and suggested that for now the DJURE should be used for appointing district judges alone.

It further suggested that to improve the quality of lower subordinate judiciary, the Supreme Court may also direct high courts to conduct annual examinations for the same, along the lines of the DJURE.

The bench had clarified that the centralised process would not affect their rules, reservation or language and it would be like a UPSC examination.

The note, which has been put up on the Supreme Court website, also proposed a fixed time-table of holding DJURE as it will "enable an advocate, unsuccessful in a given year, to try harder and make further attempts in a planned manner for the subsequent years".

It, however, clarified, that DJURE will merely present a pool of candidates from whom judges can be recruited, after an interview with the selection authority.

"The selection will remain with the respective high courts in accordance with Article 233," it added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Markets regulator Sebi today entered into a pact with its counterpart in Iran to promote technical assistance and facilitate cross-border co-operation in the area of securities regulations.

It will facilitate mutual assistance, contribute towards efficient performance of the supervisory functions, and enable effective enforcement of laws and regulations governing the securities markets.

"The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) and Securities & Exchange Organization (SEO) of Iran have entered into a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for mutual cooperation and technical assistance," Sebi said in a statement.

The MoU was signed by Sebi chief Ajay Tyagi and SEO Iran chairman Shapour Mohammadi here.

Sebi has signed nearly two dozen bilateral MoUs with the regulators of various jurisdictions. The markets regulator is also a signatory to the multilateral MoU of International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO).

In order to encourage the exchange of information and assistance, Sebi has been signing pacts with the jurisdictions who are yet to become a signatory to the multilateral MoU of IOSCO.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The benchmark Sensex pared some of the early losses, but was still down 73.77 points at 31,724.07 in late morning deals, as selling pressure witnessed in key front-line stocks amid weak global cues.

Sentiments were subdued after escalating geo-political tensions between the US and North Korea, while capital outflows hovered around the bourses.

IT, Teck, Metal and Realty witnessed some buying interest.

The Sensex resumed lower at 31,750.73 and hovered in a range of 31,756.27 before quoting 31,588.26 at 1125 hours, down 73.77 points, or 0.23 per cent.

The NSE 50-share Nifty also traded lower by 22.60 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 9,885.45 at 1125 hours.

Major losers were Tata Motors 6.72 per cent, Tata Mtrdvr 6.66 per cent, ONGC 1.48 per cent, SunPharma 1.23 per cent, NTPC 1.12 per cent and Bajaj Auto 1.08 per cent.

Gainers included Infosys 1.57 per cent, Dr Reddy 1.30 per cent and Heromotoco 1.28 per cent.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 841.44 crore yesterday, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges and the Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth Rs 553.17 crores.

Overseas, Asian stocks were trading lower as investors continued to take risks off the table even as American officials tried to ease concerns amid an escalation in tensions between the US and North Korea.

US stocks closed lower yesterday as tensions between North Korea and the US added a dollop of geo-political uncertainty to markets, and as high-profile companies disappointed with their quarterly results.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Over half of Maharashtra is under the shadow of drought as 254 out of around 380 talukas in the state have received a below average rainfall till now this year.

Only 61 talukas have received an average or above average rainfall upto August 8, while 51 talukas have received between 25 to 50 per cent of average rainfall, as per the data released by the state Agriculture department.

Majority of the areas that have received the below average rainfall are from Marathwada and Vidarbha regions.

As per the data, the western Vidarbha and adjacent districts of Marathwada are the worst affected.

Agriculture Minister Panduran Fundkar said the situation is serious.

"Agriculture department is planning to start conducting crop surveys if these regions don't receive showers till the next week," he said.

The weather bureau had predicted a break in monsoon for about a week at the end of July. However, the Marathwada and Vidarbha regions have been witnessing practically dry weather spells for over a couple of weeks now.

The state had witnessed a long spell of drought up to 2015 when it received very good rains.

Though the harvest was good due to satisfactory rains last year, the bumper production crashed the markets, prompting farmers in the state to agitate.

The government announced a crop loan waiver scheme in June this year after the protests.

"But, if rains remain scarce, the government may have to provide the farmers with an additional assistance," an Agriculture department official said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Flipkart has raised an estimated USD 2.5 billion from SoftBank Vision Fund, making the fund created by Japanese conglomerate SoftBank one of the biggest shareholders of India's largest e-commerce player.

"This is the biggest ever private investment in an Indian technology company," Flipkart said in a statement without disclosing the sum invested.

The investment will make the USD 100 billion Vision Fund one of the largest shareholders in Flipkart, the e-tailer said.

People familiar with the deal said the investment is worth USD 2.5 billion, with about USD 1.5 billion being directly funnelled into Flipkart and USD 1 billion for part of Tiger Global Management's stake.

The SoftBank Vision Fund, the world's largest technology-focused fund, will get about 20 per cent stake in Flipkart, they said.

The investment, which comes less than two weeks after Snapdeal dropped merger talks with its bigger rival, will swell Flipkart's cash holdings to more than USD 4 billion.

Snapdeal is backed by SoftBank.

The investment is part of the financing round announced in April this year where Tiger Global-backed Flipkart had raised USD 1.4 billion from Tencent, Microsoft and eBay. At that time, Flipkart was valued at USD 11.6 billion.

With the latest funding, Flipkart is estimated to have raised well over USD 5 billion till date.

SoftBank was mediating the talks for Snapdeal's merger with Flipkart. The discussions were terminated after the smaller rival decided to pursue an independent path.

Sources had said SoftBank was keen to pick up stake in Flipkart and was looking at investing about USD 1.5-2 billion.

For Flipkart, the funding provides it with more arsenal to compete with Amazon. The two companies have been locked in an intense battle for leadership in the burgeoning Indian e- commerce market.

"India has a thriving Internet market with close to 500 million Internet users and as per market research, the Indian e-commerce market is expected to grow at a five-year CAGR in excess of 30 per cent," the statement said.

The funding round further solidifies Flipkart's balance sheet and will help accelerate investment in driving continued market leadership, it added.

Amazon and Flipkart have been pumping in millions of dollars to strengthen infrastructure as well as bring more sellers and buyers online.

While Flipkart has now raised close to USD 4 billion this year, Amazon pumped in about USD 600 million across various units in India since January this year.

"This is a monumental deal for Flipkart and India. Very few economies globally attract such overwhelming interest from top-tier investors," Flipkart co-founders Binny Bansal and Sachin Bansal said.

Masayoshi Son, founder, Chairman and CEO of SoftBank Group Corp, said India is a land of vast opportunity.

"We want to support innovative companies that are clear winners in India because they are best positioned to leverage technology and help people lead better lives. As the pioneers in Indian e-commerce, Flipkart is doing that every day," he added.

SoftBank, which has investments in Indian start-ups like Snapdeal and cab aggregator Ola, had committed investments worth USD 10 billion in India in 2014.

In May this year, SoftBank pumped in USD 1.4 billion (over Rs 9,079 crore) in Indian digital payments platform Paytm.

SoftBank Vision Fund, founded by Son, has participants like Apple, Foxconn and Public Investment Fund of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. While reporting its financial results for June quarter, SoftBank had included the Fund as a new reportable segment.

The completion of the investment in Flipkart is subject to customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC served as financial advisor and Gunderson Dettmer LLP served as legal advisor to Flipkart.

Citi served as financial advisor and AZB and Partners served as legal advisor to the SoftBank Vision Fund.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Flipkart today said SoftBank Vision Fund, the world's largest technology-focused fund, has invested in the e-commerce company to become one of its largest shareholder.

Without disclosing the amount invested, the company said: "This is the biggest ever private investment in an Indian technology company."



In a statement, it said: "The investment is part of the previously announced financing round, where Flipkart had raised capital from three of the world's premier technology companies - Tencent, eBay and Microsoft.

"After this financing round, Flipkart will have in excess of USD 4 billion of cash on balance sheet.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A special CBI court today continued recording of evidence of Lalu Prasad's witness in a multi- crore fodder scam case.

Prasad had refused to recording of evidence saying he had moved the Jharkhand High Court for change of court.

The CBI court recorded the evidence of Sunil Kumar. He was summoned in the special CBI court of Shivpal Singh hearing the fodder scam case relating to Deoghar Treasury pertaining to fraudulent withdrawal of money in the 1990s.

Yadav's advocate Prabhat Kumar said Prasad today submitted to the special CBI court that he had moved the high court for the change of court for the hearing of the matter. So he should be given exemption from recording the evidences today.

The court, however, fixed the hearing at 2 pm on the application of Prasad to adjourn the recording of the evidence of his witness in the case.

The court rejected the application.

The recording of evidences of the witnesses would continue tomorrow.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Cuttack court today could not frame charges against a suspected al Qaeda terrorist as he preferred to file a discharge petition saying the charges against him in the police report are "false and groundless".

The Cuttack district sessions court was scheduled to frame charges against Abdur Rehman but he said he would go for discharge petition under Section 239 of CrPC.

Section 239 of CrPC says that a magistrate, after examining police report and giving the prosecution and the accused an opportunity of being heard, can discharge an accused if he considers the charge against the accused is groundless.

The public prosecutor opposed the discharge petition of Rehman and sought time to file a counter to it.

District judge S N Mishra allowed the prosecution to file a counter by August 28 and adjourned the hearing on discharge petition till September 6.

Rehman was arrested by Delhi Police from here in December 2015 for his alleged links with al Qaeda.

He was subsequently booked by Odisha Police under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act after finding that money from abroad had come to bank accounts operated by him.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Telangana government today said it is launching the "Smart Streets Lab" programme in collaboration with the WRI (World Resources Institute) Ross Centre India to improve road safety in the state capital by employing technology.

The Lab will launch a pilot on innovative road-safety and women safety solutions and leverage new developments in technology and IT to transform the streets of Hyderabad, an official release said.

"Through the Smart Streets Lab, Telangana endeavours to source technological interventions- from inter-connected and



inter-networking smart devices, also known as Internet of Things, to product innovation- that can make the streets truly secure, equitable and easy-to-navigate for citizens of Hyderabad," it said.

A portal seeking applications for projects designed to make the streets of the city 'smart' has been created and will take project proposals by civil society, entrepreneurs, technology companies, consortiums and partnerships.

About 10 shortlisted projects will undergo an intensive boot-camp training aimed at helping the innovators transition from a prototype stage to a revenue generation stage.

DLABS-the incubation and acceleration arm of the Indian School of Business (ISB), Bosch and WRI India--will train the innovators on the pilot design and implementation. From October to December, the Lab will support the launch and operationalisation of a few pilots in the city, it added.

Jyot Chadha, Director, Urban Innovation, WRI India Ross Center, said, "the Smart Streets Lab is a citizen's workshop of sorts. It attempts to offer the road users a platform, where they can devise tech-based projects that will help the city authorities build safer streets.

"Cross stakeholder collaborations, bringing together citizens, start-ups, corporates and governments is important to improve road safety in a city like Hyderabad, which is among the most populous urban agglomeration in India".

Jayesh Ranjan, Secretary, Information Technology, Government of Telangana, added, "With a large number of vehicles on streets, Hyderabad sees a massive traffic congestion every day. Considering the city is an IT hub, there is a great potential in leveraging the technological advancement to find road safety solutions. Such platforms will go a long way in building smarter and efficient cities".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The following are PTI top stories at 1930 hours:



(Eds: Adding another story)



PAR11 RS-ANSARI



New Delhi: Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari says a democracy can degenerate into a tyranny if free and frank criticism of government policies is not allowed.

DEL24 POL-MINORITIES-NAIDU



New Delhi: Vice President-elect M Venkaiah Naidu rejects as "political propaganda" the view that there is a sense of insecurity among minorities in the country, apparently a rejoinder to outgoing Vice President Hamid Ansari.

DEL16 POL-ANSARI-BJP



New Delhi: The BJP criticises outgoing Vice President Hamid Ansari for his comment that there was a sense of insecurity among Muslims and says such a "petty" remark was not expected from someone in his position.

DEL36 JK-BJP-LD ARTICLE 370



Jammu: Blaming Article 370 of the Constitution for the creationof a "separatist psyche", the Jammu and Kashmir unit of the BJP says the timehas come for the people of the state to say goodbyeto it and also to Article 35 A.

DEL21 UP-TRAIN-2NDLD BOMB



Amethi (UP): A crude bomb and a letter purportedly by Indian Mujahideen warning of revenge for the killing of Lashkar-e-Taiba 'commander' Abu Dujana has been recovered from the Amritsar-bound Akal Takht Express here, police say.

DEL19 CH-STALKING-2ND LD-ACCUSED



Chandigarh: Haryana BJP chief Subhash Barala's son Vikas and his friend Ashish Kumar have been remanded to two-day police custody by a court here in the alleged stalking and attempt to abduction case of a 29-year-old woman.

DEL37 TAJMAHAL-LD MAUSOLEUM OR TEMPLE



New Delhi: The Central Information Commission asks the Union culture ministry to respond to an RTI plea on whether the Taj Mahal is a mausoleum built by Shahjahan or a Shiva temple gifted to the Mughal emperor by a Rajput king.

MDS13 TN-LD AIADMK



Chennai: Opening the doors for a possible merger of the two AIADMK factions, Chief Minister K Palaniswami-led Amma faction challenges the authority of its Deputy General Secretary TTV Dhinakaran, a move hailed by the rebel camp as an "awakening."



MDS15 TN-ACTORS AT DMK EVENT



Chennai: Actor Kamal Haasan, who has taken on the AIADMK government on corruption issue, shares the dais with opposition DMK leaders while 'superstar' Rajinikanth chooses to sit in the audience at a party event here, further fuelling speculation about their taking the political plunge.

DEL17 POL-AHMED PATEL



New Delhi: Upbeat after his victory in the Rajya Sabha poll, senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel says it was the BJP which made the contest a prestige issue and exudes confidence that his party will win Gujarat assembly election due later this year.

DEL8 UP-SCHOOL-DANCE



Mirzapur (UP): Video of an obscene dance inside the classroom of a primary school here during a birthday bash hosted by the village head and clips suggesting consumption of liquor has gone viral on social media prompting authorities to order a probe.

FGN7 CHINA-INDIA-ANALYSTS



Beijing: China will make no "compromise" on ending the Doklam standoff, says the top PLA analysts, as they launched a propaganda blitz on a group of Indian journalists here on how New Delhi has "misjudged" Beijing's resolve by sending troops to what it claims to be Chinese territory. By Anil K Joseph and K J M Varma



LGD19 SC-LD MARRIAGE



New Delhi: The Supreme Court directs the Kerala Police to render "all assistance" to the NIA in ascertaining whether there is any wider amplitude to the issue raised by a Muslim man whose marriage was annuled by the Kerala High Court that described it as a case of "love jehad".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The United States has criticised a visit by President Vladimir Putin to the Russian-backed Abkhazia region of Georgia, calling it "inappropriate."



In 2008, Russia and Georgia fought a brief war over the region, which Putin visited on Tuesday, the anniversary of the start of the fighting.

"The United States urges Russia to withdraw its forces to pre-war positions per the 2008 ceasefire agreement and reverse its recognition of the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia," the State Department said yesterday, referring to another separatist region.

Abkhazia is internationally recognized as part of ex- Soviet Georgia, but Russia sees it as a separate country -- along with South Ossetia -- following the war with Tbilisi.

Moscow has thousands of troops stationed in the two breakaway regions in what Georgia calls a military occupation, and supports them financially.

During his visit to the Black Sea resort town of Pitsunda, Putin stressed that Russia "firmly guarantees the security and self-sufficiency of Abkhazia, its independence. I am sure that this will continue in the future."



Georgia reacted furiously, calling his visit a "cynical action" and saying it represented a continuation of Moscow's "deliberate policy against Georgia."



Yesterday, the United States reiterated its full support for Georgia's "sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders."



Ties between Washington and Moscow are at a low point, largely over claims that Russia interfered in the 2016 US presidential election, in a bid to tip the contest in Donald Trump's favor, but also over Russia's role in Ukraine and Georgia.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Observing that the partnership between India and the US has significantly strengthened, a top Pentagon official said today that the two countries have an increasing convergence of interests, including on maritime domain awareness.

"The US-India partnership has strengthened significantly during the past two decades, driven by our shared values and a growing convergence of interests. The partnership enjoys broad political support in both countries," Joseph Felter III, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence for South and Southeast Asia, told PTI.

Felter, who until recently was the director of the Hacking for Defence Project at Stanford's Centre for International Security and Cooperation, was appointed to this key Pentagon position by the Defence Secretary Jim Mattis last month.

In this capacity, he will be Mattis's point person for South and Southeast Asia.

"The US and India are natural partners on a range of political, economic, and security issues," he said, acknowledging the significance of the bilateral defence ties.

"With a mutual desire for global stability, the US and India have an increasing convergence of interests, including on maritime domain awareness, counter-piracy, counterterrorism, humanitarian assistance, and coordinated response to natural disasters and transnational threats," Felter said.

A former Army Special Forces officer and a graduate of the US Military Academy, Harvard Kennedy School, and Stanford University, Felter previously was the co-director of the Empirical Studies of Conflict Project, and research fellow at the Hoover Institution.

Responding to a question, he underscored the importance of increasing joint military exercise between the ramies of the two countries.

"The value of military exercises and bilateral activities cannot be overstated. We enjoy an ongoing exercise schedule with India to include the annual Army-to-Army exercise YUDH ABHYAS and the annual Navy-to-Navy exercise MALABAR, that now includes the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force," he said.

"We welcomed India's first participation since 2009 this year in the Air Force exercise RED FLAG-Alaska and look forward to re-establishing exercise COPE INDIA in 2018. We also enjoy their participation in the large multinational exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC)," Felter said.

In a recent joint report to the Congress, the departments of defence and state said these exercises will help enable the US and India to have an effective combined response to missions such as providing humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, countering piracy, and responding to transnational threats and terrorism.

The report said that the strategic partnership rests on shared democratic values, security interests, and strong people-to-people ties.

"The myriad of defence cooperation activities and, unique to India, Defence Technology and Trade Initiative and Major Defence Partner designation, attest to the importance both countries place on the defence relationship. The momentum behind the relationship and converging security interests will result in a more secure Indo-Asia-Pacific region and beyond," the report said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Vice President-elect on Thursday rejected as "political propaganda" the view that there is a sense of insecurity among minorities in the country, apparently a rejoinder to outgoing Vice President Hamid Ansari.

Though Naidu did not name anyone, his comments are seen as a response to Ansari's remarks in a TV interview that there were unease and a sense of insecurity among Muslims in the country, and that "ambience of acceptance" is now under threat.

"Some people are saying minorities are insecure. It is a political propaganda. Compared to the entire world, minorities are more safe and secure in India and they get their due," Naidu told PTI.

He also disagreed with the view that there is growing intolerance, saying Indian society is the most tolerant in the world because of its people and civilisation.

There is a tolerance that is why democracy is so successful, he said.

The former BJP president also cautioned against creating a divide in the nation by singling out one community, saying it will draw an adverse reaction from other communities.

"If you single out one community, other communities will take it otherwise. That is why we say all are equal. Appeasement for none justice for all," the 68-year-leader and former Union minister said.

He said history has proved that there is no discrimination against minorities.

"They (minorities) got in prominent positions including constitutional responsibilities because there is no discrimination, and also on account of their merit," he said.

Noting that India's uniqueness is its unity in diversity, he said 'sarva dharm sadbhav' and secularism is in the mind and blood of India.

"India is secular not because of political leaders but because of its people and civilisation," he said.

Ansari's remarks come against the backdrop of incidents of alleged intolerance and violence by self-proclaimed cow protectors, for which opposition parties have attacked the central government.

Asked about incidents of alleged intolerance, Naidu said India is a huge country and there could be some "stray" occurrences, which are "nothing but aberrations".

He, however, added that "Nobody can justify attacks on fellow citizens on the basis of the community". Such incidents should be condemned and action should be taken by appropriate authorities, he said.

Naidu also said that some people blow out of proportion such incidents for political considerations. Some go to the extent of "defaming" the county by raising such issues at the international forum.

Some do it to create a rift between communities and derive political mileage, he said, adding the basic problem arises due to vote bank politics and due to treating a community as a vote bank.

A day before he takes oath as India's next vice president, he said his advice to politicians is not to drag communities into politics.
BENGALURU (Reuters) - Gold prices edged lower early Thursday, moving away from near two-month highs hit in the previous session as safe haven demand triggered by rising tensions in the Korean peninsula eased.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold fell 0.2 percent to $1,275.10 per ounce at 0058 GMT. The precious metal rose 1.3 percent in the previous session, its biggest gain since mid-May, and touched $1,278.66 an ounce, it highest level since June 14.

* U.S. gold futures for December delivery rose 0.2 percent to $1,281.20 per ounce.

* North Korea dismissed on Thursday warnings by U.S. President Donald Trump that it would face "fire and fury" if it threatened the United States as a "load of nonsense", and outlined detailed plans for a missile strike near the Pacific territory of Guam.

* Asian stocks steadied and U.S. Treasury bond prices fell slightly on Thursday as the risk aversion triggered by the latest flare up of tensions between the United States and North Korea began to settle.[MKTS/GLOB]

* A raid on the Virginia home of President Donald Trump's former 2016 election campaign manager showed an investigation of possible ties between the campaign and Russia is intensifying and focused on the financial dealings of Trump associates, sources familiar with the probe said.

* Japan's core machinery orders unexpectedly fell for a third straight month in June, underscoring companies' reluctance to boost spending and conflicting with recent signs that the economic recovery is gathering momentum.

* Washington imposed sanctions on eight Venezuelan officials on Wednesday for their role in creating an all-powerful legislative body loyal to President Nicolas Maduro, while a mayor-turned-fugitive called for more anti-government protests.

(Reporting by Nithin Prasad in Bengaluru; Editing by Richard Pullin)

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
JAKARTA (Reuters) - Mitsubishi Motors Corp <7211.T> will start exporting its new multipurpose vehicle from its Indonesian plant next year, and plans to eventually supply the model to the group's new parent Nissan Motor <7201.T>, Mitsubishi's chief executive said.

Mitsubishi on Thursday launched the "Xpander", a new 1.5 litre MPV model, at an car show in Tangerang, on the outskirts of Jakarta.

"We will export this car across ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries starting next February," Mitsubishi Chief Executive Osamu Masuko said at the launch. The company will start exporting to the Philippines, followed by Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.

Indonesia overtook Thailand as Southeast Asia's largest car market in recent years and is also growing as a regional production base.

Mitsubishi aims to produce around 80,000 units of the new model per year, and export 20,000 cars out of the annual production.

The Xpander "will be the first alliance model with Renault-Nissan", Masuko said.

Last year, Nissan bought a controlling stake in Mitsubishi for $2.3 billion after the smaller automaker admitted to cheating on mileage tests. [nL4N1CQ24I]

"It will eventually be supplied to Nissan Motors for the Indonesian market," Masuko said, adding that Nissan had yet to decide the timing and the volumes it wanted. Nissan may also have a different design for the car.

Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn in April said it was likely for Mitsubishi and Nissan would do cross-manufacturing in certain areas. [nL4N1HX2JA]

(Reporting by Cindy Silviana; Writing by Fransiska Nangoy; Editing by Ed Davies and David Evans)

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
By Makiko Yamazaki

TOKYO (Reuters) - Cash-strapped Toshiba Corp has staved off delisting after its accounting won auditor approval, albeit with a stern rebuke, leaving its listed status largely dependent on whether it can complete the stalled sale of its chip business by March.

The Japanese conglomerate, as a listed entity, was required to file last year's finances by June, but delayed due to disagreements with its auditor about multi-billion dollar losses at now-bankrupt U.S. nuclear power subsidiary Westinghouse.

"It's cleared the first hurdle," said Makoto Kikuchi, chief executive at Myojo Asset Management. "The second hurdle will involve negotiating the sale of its chips unit, currently in dispute. There's still a risk it will not be able to fix its excess liabilities, and be delisted."

PriceWaterhouseCoopers Aarata LLC (PwC) on Thursday gave a "qualified opinion" on Toshiba's financial results for the year ended March as well as for April-June, meaning it broadly vouched for books that contained minor problems.

But in a rare move, PwC also issued a separate "adverse opinion" on corporate governance, saying Toshiba was late in booking Westinghouse losses.

A split opinion is almost unheard of, sources previously told . Market watchers had been bracing for a damning yet straightforward verdict after a local newspaper two weeks ago reported that PwC was considering an adverse opinion only.

A sole adverse opinion could have prompted the 140-year-old firm's delisting. That would have damaged its creditworthiness just as it scrabbles for funds to pay debt and cover the impact of $6.3 billion in liabilities linked to Westinghouse.

NEGATIVE WORTH

Toshiba, which admitted in 2015 to inflating profits over seven years, has resorted to seeking cash through the sale of its cash cow flash memory business valued at $18 billion - a business that made up 93 percent of April-June operating profit.

Adding urgency to the chip sale, Toshiba needs funds to avoid ending a second consecutive financial year with negative net worth, where liabilities exceed assets. Back-to-back years of negative worth is also grounds for delisting.

The sale has been complicated by Western Digital Corp, a partner in Toshiba's main chip plant, taking Toshiba to court arguing any sale requires its consent. The U.S. firm has also made an offer for the business.

Toshiba's preferred bidder - a consortium of Japanese government-backed funds, U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital LP and South Korean chip maker SK Hynix Inc - has insisted disputes are settled before completing the deal.

Regulatory approval for any sale is likely to take several months, meaning Toshiba must reach a conclusion within weeks to seal the deal by the close of the business year, analysts said.

"We still believe it's possible to close by the end of March and are making our utmost efforts," Chief Executive Officer Satoshi Tsunakawa said at an earnings briefing. "We haven't decided what to do if those efforts fail."

Tsunakawa also said, as well as plugging the hole left by its nuclear power unit, Toshiba has to shore up a natural gas business that "is still a risk".

Toshiba in 2013 agreed to buy 2.2 million tonnes annually of liquefied natural gas from 2019 for 20 years - an agreement made when gas prices were high. A price drop has exposed Toshiba to nearly $10 billion in potential charges over the 20-year period.

PRESSURE

PwC replaced Ernst & Young ShinNihon as Toshiba's auditor after the 2015 accounting scandal.

It said some Westinghouse-related losses booked in the year through March 2017 should have been recorded the previous year. Toshiba said it disagreed. People familiar with the matter said the pair have been wrangling over the issue for months.

If the losses were booked as per PwC's opinion, last year would have been Toshiba's second year of negative worth, rather than its first.

The auditor's unusual two-part verdict comes at a time when the government is encouraging companies to improve corporate governance, to attract foreign investment.

"The government's determined to avoid a Toshiba delisting and so really piled on the pressure," said a person familiar with the matter, without disclosing the nature, source or recipient of the pressure.

A PwC official told the firm was confident about its audit.

Separating opinions on finances and governance may be rare, but the case indicates corporate scandals in Japan are being dealt with more stringently than in the past, said Hideaki Miyajima, a Waseda University professor and expert on corporate governance.

"You could say there's been a step forward, given how long the auditors dragged things out and that they went for any kind of adverse opinion at all."

(Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Additional reporting by Sam Nussey, Yoshiyuki Osada, Taro Fuse, Kentaro Hamada and Taiga Uranaka; Writing by Ritsuko Ando; Editing by Christopher Cushing)

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
By Tom Arnold, Hadeel Al Sayegh and Tanvi Mehta

DUBAI/BANGALORE (Reuters) - JBF RAK, a United Arab Emirates subsidiary of Indian polyester maker JBF Industries, expects to resume production of PET resin as soon as next month after financial problems in the group disrupted operations, a senior company official said.

"Restructuring talks with banks are ongoing and the outcome will be for the benefit of all stakeholders," JBF RAK's Chief Operating Officer Rohit Maindwal told by telephone on Thursday.

The firm is in talks with banks about renegotiating around 2 billion dirhams ($544.6 million) of debt, banking sources told earlier this week. Maindwal declined to confirm the amount or comment on progress in the talks with banks.

JBF RAK, which exports around the world, has a 45 percent share of the market for PET chips in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, according to the website of JBF Industries, which is among the top five global producers of PET chips.

PET, or polyethylene terephthalate, is used as a raw material for making packaging materials such as bottles and containers for packaging a wide range of food products and other consumer goods.

JBF RAK stopped PET production at its plant in the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah at the end of June after the company experienced a shortage of working capital, Maindwal said.

"PET was put under a temporary stoppage at the end of June as we are expecting our raw material supplies from our Indian client to start some time in September, and then we will restart," he said.

Before the stoppage, JBF RAK produced about 350,000 tonnes of PET annually. The company has continued to make polyester film, Maindwal added.

In a statement earlier on Thursday, parent JBF Industries said it was working with its lenders to resolve cashflow issues and that all its plants were running "satisfactorily".

Its shares closed 5.9 percent higher on the National Stock Exchange of India after hitting a three-year low earlier in the day. They have dived more than 20 percent this week because of concern about the company's debt.

JBF's board is due to meet on Friday to discuss the company's earnings and the sale or restructuring of overseas units to cut debt. India Ratings and Research, which cut the company's rating to 'D', said last month that the downgrade was due to "significant deterioration in the group's financial risk profile, resulting from losses in overseas operations".

In its statement on Thursday, JBF said some of its payments to Indian lenders had been delayed, complaining that recent policy changes by the Indian government had hurt its cashflow.

Bankers in the UAE told that JBF RAK had requested fresh working capital to help it restart PET resin production. In addition to the 2 billion dirhams of debt being renegotiated, the firm owes an additional 1 billion dirhams to international lenders, they said.

Maindwal said JBF RAK's chief executive Cheerag B. Arya, a prominent Indian businessman known for his collection of Ferrari cars, was out of the country. Banking sources said B.C. Arya, chairman of the parent firm, was cooperating with banks in discussing the debt. The two could not be reached for comment.

Banks with exposure to JBF RAK include Mashreq, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, United Arab Bank, Ajman Bank and National Bank of Fujairah, according to the bankers and Thomson Reuters data. Private equity firm KKR took a 20 percent stake in JBF Industries by investing $150 million in 2015.

(Additional reporting by Devidutta Tripathy in Mumbai; Editing by Andrew Torchia and Adrian Croft)

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Flipkart and Amazon started their Independence Day sale yesterday with Big Freedom Sale and Great Indian Sale respectively. The deals include heavy discounts on smartphones, electric appliances, clothing brands and gadgets.

Other than offers on products, the buyer can avail various cashbacks on both Amazon India and Flipkart. With Amazon, there are additional app-only offers available for a limited period only; Amazon Pay and holders of credit or debit cards from certain banks will get additional cashbacks. The in-app purchase can also get the buyer an all-expenses paid trip to Bali.

Also Read: Flipkart's Big Freedom Sale vs Amazon's Great India Sale: Who's giving better discounts?

Here are the best deals being offered on the Great Indian Sale:

iPhone 7 (32GB) is being offered at a discount of Rs 6,000 and is available at Rs 42,999.

iPhone 6 (32GB) is available at an attractive price tag of Rs 23,999.

OnePlus 5 will get an additional exchange discount of Rs 2,000.

Moto G5 Plus will be available at Rs 14,999 with a discount of Rs 2,000.

Honor 6X is being offered at Rs 10,999 with a discount of Rs 1,000.

Up to 40 per cent off on pen drives, 50 per cent off on Bluetooth speakers and 40 per cent off on hard disks.

Products on Amazon Fashion are also being offered at a discount of 40 per cent to 80 per cent.



Also Read: Flipkart Freedom Sale: Rs 18,000 off on Pixel XL, Rs 5,000 on iPhone 6, special offer on Redmi Note 4

Flipkart's offers range from mobiles to home furniture. The sales go on to a flat discount of 71 per cent on Flipkart. The brand is offering a flat 70 per cent off on clothing and footwear too.

Over and above the offers, Flipkart is offering an instant discount of 10 per cent for HDFC Bank customers.

Here are few of the most prominent offers by Flipkart on Big Freedom Sale:

Redmi Note 4: The smartphone is one of the best selling devices in the history of Indian e-commerce. Flipkart is, for the first time, providing an offer with the half-yr-old device. There is an extra Rs 1,000 off on exchange on the website.

Power Banks: Best Selling Power Banks are priced under Rs 799. Brands ranging from Ambrane, Intex to even Flipkart's own Smartbuy are offering up to 11,000mAh battery units under Rs 799.

Moto G5 Plus: The Moto G5 Plus is another best-selling device in its segment and Flipkart is offering Rs 2,000 discount on the device. The device is now selling at Rs 14,999 instead of its original price tag of Rs 16,999.

Lenovo Vibe K5 Note (3GB/32GB): The price of the device has been slashed down by Rs 2,500. It's now available at a special price of Rs 9,499.

Sanyo NXT TVs: Sanyo has launched its new series of TVs called NXT. Though there is no special discount, the TVs start at just Rs 14,999 for a 32inch HD Ready panel. Flipkart is offering the appliance with a No Cost EMI.

Laptops: The e-commerce giant is offering Rs 2,000 off on Core i5 laptops with 2GB Gfx. HP, Dell and Lenovo start at Rs 38,990.

Hard Disks: 1TB hard disks that are usually priced above Rs 4,000 are selling from Rs 3,799. Flipkart is offering discounts on brands like Seagate, WD, Toshiba and HP.

Apple iPhone 6 (Space Grey, 32GB): There a massive discount of Rs 5,501 on the device. It's now priced at Rs 23,999.

Google Pixel XL: Google is offering the device with a flat discount of Rs 18,001. The device is now prices at Rs 48,999.
The government may soon make Aadhaar mandatory for buying shares and mutual funds, the Economic Times reported today. The move is aimed to tighten the loopholes that some unscrupulous investors exploit and make money by converting black income into white through the stock market.



The ET report says the government and market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India or Sebi are planning to link Aadhaar to financial market transactions. Ever since the Modi government took over, it has taken several measure to stop tax evasion and black money conversion.



The government, under the Finance Act 2017, made it mandatory for taxpayers to quote Aadhaar or enrolment ID of Aadhaar application form for filing of income tax returns. It also made Aadhaar mandatory for applying for PAN card with effect from July 1, 2017.



However, the government still thinks that the PAN may not be enough to plug tax leakages in financial sector. A Sebi official spoke to the ET on the development and said: "We have been told that making Aadhaar compulsory is in the offing."



Earlier this year, the government also mandated that Aadhaar be linked to PAN card. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said linking of taxpayer's permanent account number with biometric identifier Aadhaar was aimed at preventing tax evasion using multiple PANs. The Finance Minister called it an "effective anti-evasion measure" that will help the government to get rid of fake PAN cards and mismatch in income and expenditure.



Not only in financial markets, the government has also made Aadhaar a mandatory for farmers to get crop insurance policies. This year in March, the Agriculture Ministry made Aadhaar mandatory for availing crop insurance policies from the kharif sowing season. The Ministry issued a directive to rural financial institutes to comply with the new rule from the kharif (summer) season starting April 1.



"The Government of India has notified that farmers availing crop insurance schemes administered/implemented by the Department of Agriculture from kharif 2017 are hereby required to undergo Aadhaar authentication or furnish proof of possession of Aadhaar," the directive had stated.
Denial of government benefits because of lack of Aadhaar or problems in its authentication is violation of norms and the violators should be punished, UIDAI CEO Ajay Bhushan Pandey said.

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) -- the agency responsible for issuing the 12-digit number -- termed the assertion by some activists who doubted Aadhaar removing bogus beneficiaries as "distorted".

It went on to term the activists' claims targeting Aadhaar as statements made with "malafide intent".

"Their inferences arise from a skewed approach and draws misconstrued interpretations to pass off incorrect assumptions on Aadhaar," Pandey said in an e-mailed statement.

He termed Aadhaar as a technology for people's empowerment and not as a tool for exclusion or denial.

Stating that so far over 116 crore people have the 12- digit unique identification number and almost 99 per cent adults have been covered under it, Pandey said the Aadhaar Act itself "mandates that not even one person be denied of benefits for the lack of Aadhaar".

He said regulations too cast a "responsibility" on the agency requiring the identification number to enrol its beneficiary and provide the individual with benefits till the person is given Aadhaar.

The Act also provides for statutory protection to those who are unable to authenticate because of worn-out fingerprints or other reasons such as technical faults.

Pandey clarified that in case a person has difficulty in getting fingerprints authenticated on a machine, he and she has the option to provide a copy of the Aadhaar card and can receive the benefits till the system is rectified.

"The field agencies have been accordingly instructed through the notifications issued by the government. In spite of this, if a person is denied because he does not have Aadhaar or he is unable to biometrically authenticate, it is undisputedly a violation of instructions issued by the government and such violators have to be punished," he said.

To claim that Aadhaar is responsible for denial of benefits is nothing but a "misconstrued fact presented with malafide intent", he said.

"... such denial-related offences at the local level have to be dealt by local law enforcements," Pandey pointed out.

Asserting that distribution of benefits through Aadhaar authentication makes it harder to fudge records and deny genuine beneficiaries, he pointed out that overall the system brings greater accountability and empowerment as it makes impersonation and denial of rights more difficult.
A new viral trend has taken the netizens by storm and this time it is revolves around 'honesty'. This fresh talk of town is an online messaging app, Sarahah.

The Sarahah app is available for both iOS and Android and has already been installed on millions of devices within a matter of months. Such is the craze, that the Sarahah app has already crossed 50 lakh downloads on Google Play Store since its launch in February. Turquoise blurbs with anonymous messages have flooded Facebook and Snapchat news feeds during the past few days.

Here's a rundown of Sarahah app for those who are yet to get familiar to it and the feared outcomes that might come to pass because of it:

ALSO READ: Reliance JioFiber launch is coming soon, can it be this festive season?

What is Sarahah app?

Sarahah is an Arabic word which literally means 'honesty'. The messaging app was developed by Saudi Arabian developer Zain al-Abidin Tawfiq to 'help people self-develop by receiving constructive anonymous feedback'.

And this has been the USP of the Sarahah app. In a nut shell, you can say anything to anyone, even something embarrassing, without the awkwardness that would have ensued if the message was conveyed in person. What helps is that the receiver cannot respond to the messages sent either, at least not on Sarahah.

The app allows its users to send anonymous messages to others who have installed this app. The sender needs to have the link to the Sarahah profile of the person he wants to send a message to. Users can be searched using user ID or registered email addresses, but the search function of Sarahah app is not as accurate as other social media platforms due to its anonymity aspect.

ALSO READ: Here's a financial guide for couples in their late 20s with joint income of Rs 16 lakh

How to use Sarahah app?

The first order of business is to download and install the Sarahah app from Google Play Store or App Store. After installing the application, you will have to register with your name, email address, and password.

Once you sign up, you can share the link to your Sarahah app profile with your friends via social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, or such. After this, you will start receiving messages from your friends who have this link. You will not know who sent the messages though, nor will you be able to respond to them. You can also send anonymous messages to your friends the same way.

ALSO READ: Reliance Communication offers unlimited calls, data with Rs 299 rental plan

Is Sarahah becoming a haven for cyber-bullies?

Although meant as a simple messaging app with a different idea, the anonymity feature of Sarahah app is being misused by some malicious individuals for trolling and cyber-bullying.

Several reports have been doing the rounds where users have been subjected to distasteful comments on the app. A substantial part of the user base for the Saraha app comprises youngsters and teenagers which makes the situation even more difficult.

There have been incidents where users have received death threats in their names and in the names of their family members. Several parents too have grown doubtful of the application due to these very reasons.

Also watch:




A number of companies, including Parsvnath Developers, JKumar Infraprojects and Prakash Industries, on Wednesday moved the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) against Sebi classifying them as "shell companies", contesting that their businesses are legitimate.

Defending the move, Sebi said it took the action after receiving the list of companies from the corporate affairs ministry. Several other firms are expected to take similar recourse to challenge the market regulators decision asking stock exchanges to restrict trading in 331 firms for being "suspected shell companies".

JKumar Infraprojects and Prakash Industries told SAT that their businesses are legitimate and that they are not shell companies. The tribunal asked Sebi as to why the matter was not investigated before issuing the circular. The companies also submitted that the regulator got the information from the corporate affairs ministry and subsequently asked the exchanges to investigate and take action. The hearing at the tribunal has been adjourned till Thursday (today).

According to the submissions, the list of 331 companies was received by Sebi on 9 June and the circular was issued on 7 August. The tribunal wanted to know what action was taken during the intervening period. The regulator is expected to give its reply today.

In their appeals, the companies have named the exchanges as opposite parties. The term shell company is not defined under the Companies Act but Corporate Affairs Minister Arun Jaitley had told the Lok Sabha recently that many such entities have been found to be indulging in large scale tax violations.

Contrary to general perception, shell companies are apparently being referenced here for those suspected to have indulged in abetment of tax evasion and money laundering activities post- demonetisation, including through share dealings, regulatory sources said. Many of those stocks also saw huge jump in their prices and volumes after demonetisation in November last year.

Last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said 37,000 shell companies indulging in tax evasion had been detected and more than three lakh firms were under the scanner for suspicious dealings after demonetisation. Sebi has asked the exchanges to restrict trading in shares of 331 "suspected shell companies", some of which have investments by several well-known domestic and foreign investors.

The BSE on Wednesday imposed maximum trading curbs on five remaining firms from Sebi's list of 331 suspected shell companies. With the latest move, the exchange has expanded the restrictions to a total of 167 stocks. Out of the list, trading in 164 companies was already suspended for various penal reasons or as part of surveillance measures, before Sebi issued directions to the stock exchanges seeking actions against 331 firms, alleged to have indulged in tax-related and other violations.

In a statement, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) said it has started collecting information about the 48 firms, that are listed on its platform, out of the list of 331 companies. Out of the 331 companies, shares of more than 160 firms are actively traded on the exchanges. "We have filed an appeal before SAT. Our plea is to set aside the Sebi order. We are not a shell company and we have complied with all the rules and regulations and not evaded any tax," Parsvnath chairman Pradeep Jain said.

On Tuesday, many of the companies tagged annual reports and other financials along with their filings to press upon the exchanges that they are not shell companies and are in compliance with all regulations.

"We are shocked to find our company's name amongst the list of suspected shell companies as a result of which, our equity shares...are being shifted to GSM VI on the stock exchanges. As a result, our company's securities may be traded only once in a month on a trade to trade basis and Sebi has envisaged a "financial audit" thereby implicitly castigating us and tarnishing our reputation," Parsvnath had said.

Similarly, J Kumar Infraprojects had said it is not a shell company and suspicion of the regulator is uncalled for.

Prakash Industries had also said that directions issued by Sebi are "totally devoid of merit and uncalled for. Besides, there has never been an occasion when our company has indulged in any kind of malpractices in stock market".

In a communication sent to the BSE, the NSE and the Metropolitan Stock Exchange on Monday, Sebi had asked them to keep the 331 shares in stage six of the Graded Surveillance Mechanism (GSM) with immediate effect. These entities would be subject to independent audit and if required, forensic audits could also be initiated to check their credentials.

Apart from initiating a "process of verifying the credentials/fundamentals of such companies", the exchanges have also been asked to appoint an independent auditor to carry out audit of these entities. If necessary, even forensic audit could be ordered to verify their credentials and fundamentals.
C9 Hotelworks continues to work in developing marketplaces around Asia, the Pacific and Indian Ocean. Our latest report pushes into Africa and is on Zanzibar Tanzania and its surging resort and real estate sector.

Zanzibar is an archipelago, located off the East coast of Africa. The islands are characterized by a unique cultural heritage, numerous beaches and world famous Stone Town as its historical jewel. In 2000, the town was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which has helped gain international attention for its tourism industry. Last year, the destination recorded a total of 376,242 foreign visitor arrivals, with a y-o-y growth of 28%.

Looking at the historical trend of overseas arrivals, the island achieved a 5-year CAGR of 17%. This is largely attributed to increased airlift from direct international flights. Additionally, the destination has a pronounced seasonality trend, with the high season starting in July running to February. During this period in 2016, Zanzibar hosted more than 30,000 foreigners per month.

Currently, there are 454 registered accommodation establishments in Zanzibar, with 79% belonging to economy and midscale properties. However, with upcoming luxury hotel developments underway, the destination is expected to broaden its tourism demand spectrum to target high-spending travelers.

Two significant mega projects, Zanzibar Amber Resort and Fumba Town Development are under construction. Amber has announced two hotel projects managed by Ritz-Carlton and Anantara.

From a real estate perspective foreign ownership of landed properties for investment purpose is allowed on a 99-year leasehold term.

To download C9 Hotelworks Zanzibar Tanzania Tourism Market Review (CLICK).
The $12.8 billion East Coast Rail Link in Peninsular Malaysia is the largest commercial deal ever signed between China and Malaysia. Above, Zhou Li, deputy head of the International Department of the Communist Party of China's Central Committee, speaks at the "One Belt, One Road" China-Malaysia Business Dialogue in Beijing in July 2015. Photo: Visual China

Ground has been broken on a Chinese-built, mega rail link in Malaysia  to date the single largest construction project approved under Chinas "Belt and Road" initiative.

The 55-billion-ringgit ($12.8 billion) project, called the East Coast Rail Link, is the largest commercial deal ever signed between the two countries.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said at the groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday that the 688-kilometer (427.5-mile) railway, which is scheduled to take seven years to complete, will cut travel time from the northeastern city of Kota Bharu to suburban Kuala Lumpur from seven to four hours, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

In 2013, China set a goal to build a modern Silk Road, promoting the countrys investment and infrastructure through land corridors to other parts of Asia and sea routes navigating toward the Middle East and Europe.

Chinese State Councilor Wang Yong said he hoped that both China and Malaysia could seize the opportunity brought by the Belt and Road initiative to mutually benefit.

The project will create 80,000 jobs in Malaysia during construction and more than 6,000 stable jobs once the railway starts running, said Liu Qitao, chairman of China Communications Construction Co. Ltd. (CCCC), which is building the railway.

CCCC will also help train more than 3,000 Malaysians involved in the construction and operation of the project, Liu said.

However, the project still has some obstacles to overcome, including land requisition and demolition along the railways route, according to a CCCC statement.

Shares of Shanghai-listed CCCC were trading down 0.58% at 15.45 yuan ($2.31) at noon on Thursday.

Contact reporter Coco Feng (renkefeng@caixin.com)
The use of mechanization and related practices in the growing of seed cotton is necessary to improving yields, according to the African Cotton Association (ACA).

ACA made the recommendation at the end of its meeting in Garoua, in the north of Cameroon.

Taking stock of the current socio-economic situation characterized by climatic risks and other endogenous and exogenous factors exerting a real influence on production, stakeholders in the cotton industry have resolved to reverse the trend.

Their meeting which aimed to find ways and means of improving cotton productivity across the continent was held under the theme "Sustainable motorization of agriculture in the African cotton zone: challenges, opportunities and prospects.

ACA Executive Secretary Fahala Achamou Adeyemi quoting specialists, lamented the fact that rudimentary farming practices are still widespread in many African countries with yields not surpassing 1000 kg per hectare.

With these conditions of production, it is difficult for African countries to come to terms with the stiff competition theyre facing on the global market, Adeyemi observed.

In a bid to reverse this trend, the ACA experts examined all ramifications, from the technology currently in use to the costs of equipment and their financing.

ACA which was created on September 19, 2002, brings together African cotton professionals to defend their interests at international level and promote the exchange of experiences among African cotton firms over agronomics, industrialization and commercialization.
| BY Ricki Green |

J. Walter Thompson Sydney has announced the promotion of its general manager Paul Everson to managing director, tasked in his new role with overseeing the agencys growing business across Sydney and Perth, and 20+ client roster.

A multi award-winning advertising professional with a career spanning almost two decades, Everson has risen to become one of Australias pre-eminent and most awarded agency business leads, having picked up multiple Cannes Lions and Effectiveness awards for his work.

He first joined the agency in February 2014 as client services director, and was appointed general manager early last year. Prior to joining J. Walter Thompson, he worked at a range of top-tier agencies both in Australia and the UK.

Says John Gutteridge, CEO, J. Walter Thompson Asia Pacific: Paul is a talented leader with broad industry experience that not only knows our business inside out, but has been part of a team that achieved substantial growth during his tenure as general manager. Im excited for Paul to get this opportunity; we remain committed to fostering talent from within. It makes great sense for our clients and for our business.

Says Everson of the new role: Im excited to take the reins of what is an exciting and successful business. Im passionate about this industry and this agency; its people, culture and clients, and have always respected the J. Walter Thompson approach of constantly looking for new and innovative ways to solve business problems. Im looking forward to working closely with our leadership team to ensure this continues.

Everson replaces Jenny Willits as managing director, following her decision to accept a new CEO role outside of the advertising industry.

With J. Walter Thompson since early 2012, Willits has led the agency and its 70-plus staff as MD, and previously GM, for more than three years.

Says Gutteridge: Jenny leaves the business in incredible shape following a significant period of growth for the agency. She is a highly respected leader who has also overseen a great deal of change as the agency has continued to evolve and develop broader skills and capabilities. She leaves with our very best wishes as she moves into a new industry, and will always be considered a great friend of J. Walter Thompson.
| BY Ricki Green |

Australian influencer marketing agency, Social Soup, has partnered with Nestle and its media agency, MEC, for the launch of the Nescafe Gold Organic OOH campaign.

The creative will showcase authentic, quality content created by Social Soups highly engaged micro-influencer community, recognising the role and influence of influencer generated content (IGC) alongside branded content within the marketing mix.

In targeted locations in close proximity to key retail stores Australia-wide, digital shopalite panels will deliver dynamic social content from 50 micro-influencers with live authentic reviews to consumers as they happen during the campaign in August.

Brands increasingly understand the power of influencers in terms of awareness and engagement driving purchase and building consumer trust. The pioneering Social Soup campaign shows how brands can scale this impact through widespread distribution of this content.

Says Rebecca Dobbins, head of marketing, Nescafe: Nescafe Gold Organic is a product which consumers are embracing as a great tasting cup which is also 100% Fairtrade and organic.

We wanted to showcase the positive sentiment we were seeing to build greater awareness of our new coffee along the path to purchase. This made social soup and OOH Media perfect partners.

Social Soups business model provides the opportunity for both its clients and influencer community to connect via meaningful brand experiences resulting in credible content, genuine reviews and true sentiment. Social Soup has developed the most advanced technology platform to allow brands to connect with the right influencers, understand content using the most advanced AI and deliver live metrics and reporting for clients to optimise campaigns.
| BY Lynchy |

Best of British, a brand new show celebrating the British lifestyle, has appointed Reuter Communications to handle its first exhibition in China. The Best of British Show will take place at the Shanghai Exhibition Centre from 19-22 October 2017, spotlighting the very best of British consumables, including food, drink, fashion, design, culture, education and innovation. The Best of British Show is backed by the GREAT Britain campaign, Department for International Trade, British Consulate General Shanghai, and is held in partnership with British Airways, VisitBritain, Weetabix, and Royal Mail. Media10, the leading events and publishing company, and organizer of Design Shanghai, is behind Best of British. Reuter Communications was appointed after a competitive pitch and is responsible for media relations, partnership development, marketing, influencer relations and social media strategy.

Mike Dynan, Managing Director, Media 10 said, We are at the forefront of helping British brands capitalize on China and its luxury consumer. There is a huge opportunity right now to forge relationships with increasingly sophisticated and internationalized Chinese consumers looking for niche and unique brands. Finding the right communications partner is key. Reuter Communications is a creative and proactive partner, with the right breadth of experience and flexibility to help us navigate in this complex market.
Democrats seal control of Senate after Cortez Masto defeats Laxalt in Nevada

Democrats will retain control of the U.S. Senate after incumbent Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto in Nevada defeated Republican Adam Laxalt.
The U.S. Gulf Coast port is currently developing a new forest products terminal and is looking to dredge its east channel, according to Port Panama City Executive Director Wayne Stubbs.



Photo: Port Panama City

Phase 1 rendering of the new forest products terminal

Port Panama City along Floridas panhandle is gearing up for a new forest products terminal.

The port has already begun construction on the terminals first 250,000-square-foot warehouse and related rail yards, with the project costing $20 million, Port Panama City Executive Director Wayne Stubbs told American Shipper.

The total investment for the first phase of development at the terminal  including the land purchase, the warehouse facilities, the bulkhead rehab and dredging  will be $55 million. The port hopes to complete the warehouse by the end of 2017 and all of phase one by the end of 2018.

We feel there are a number of paper and pulp mills in the region that can benefit from these facilities, Stubbs said.

Port Panama Citys cargo base consists of imported, exported and domestic (coastwise) general and bulk cargo, according to the ports website. In addition, containerized cargo between Progreso, Mexico and Port Panama City continues to be a significant part of the ports volume base.

The main channel providing access to the existing port facility currently has a depth of 36 feet at mean low water, while the east channel currently has a controlling draft of 32 feet at mean low water, Stubbs said. The port regularly handles vessels up to 40,000 deadweight tons.

Last year, the port wrapped up a study with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to reevaluate the dredging of the east channel. Dredging the east channel will cost an estimated $8 million  $5 million in federal funds, which the port is trying to pursue right now and get into the 2018 budget.

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., met with the port authority Tuesday to discuss expansion at the port, and is trying to help get the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to provide funding for the dredging in its budget.
Millennial Moms Review: 2022 Acura MDX is pretty close to the perfect family car

I dont know if perfect is attainable, especially considering weve got the world of options when it comes to modern vehicles. Were spoiled and, as such, we have very specific needs and wants. Driving-wise, the 2022 Acura MDX is one of my favourite ...
Our Promise: Welcome to Care2, the world's largest community for good. Here, you'll find over 45 million like-minded people working towards progress, kindness, and lasting impact.

Care2 Stands Against: bigots, racists, bullies, science deniers, misogynists, gun lobbyists, xenophobes, the willfully ignorant, animal abusers, frackers, and other mean people. If you find yourself aligning with any of those folks, you can move along, nothing to see here.

Care2 Stands With: humanitarians, animal lovers, feminists, rabble-rousers, nature-buffs, creatives, the naturally curious, and people who really love to do the right thing.

You are our people. You Care. We Care2.
Mauritius is the third new route for the airline this year and 87th destination overall.

Director General of Saudi Arabian Airlines, Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser said: As a full-service carrier, SAUDIA provides an extensive selection of routes for leisure and business travelers alike. The start of services to the island of Mauritius provides guests with a unique destination to visit. We thank the Government of the Republic of Mauritius and the civil authority for welcoming SAUDIA and extending their full support.

Flight SV481 will operate from Riyadh to Mauritius, with a brief one hour stop in Jeddah. The total flying time to Mauritius is 9 hours from Riyadh and 7 hours 20 minutes from Jeddah.

The three-times-weekly service will be operated with a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner in a two-class configuration of 24 fully-flat seats in Business Class and 274 seats in Guest Class.
blog of the State Geologist of Arizona
Automakers are joining forces with suppliers and technology companies to develop self-driving systems out of fear that autonomous vehicles may not be as profitable as first expected, Reuters reports.



As recently as 12 months ago, most major automakers were developing autonomous technologies in house for future models but more recently, many companies have altered their plans and instead formed technology alliances to spread the cost and burden of developing these systems.

A board member from a major German carmaker told Reuters in anonymity that the autonomous market may not be worth the scale of the investments currently being sunk into it, hence why carmakers are looking to lighten their loads.

Last year, BMW announced an alliance with Intel and Mobileye to develop autonomous vehicle software and according to the brands vice president of autonomous driving projects, Klaus Beuttner, forming such a partnership was a necessity.

Sitting at other companies, one rattles off the technological challenges and safety aspects, and you come to realize that many of us are swimming in the same sludge. Everybody is investing billions. Our view was that it makes sense to club together to develop some core systems as a platform.

Automakers, including BMW, freely admit that they will probably lose money on their first fully autonomous vehicles but many are banking on the potential for driverless taxi services to redefine the industry and prove more profitable.

PHOTO GALLERY
Even though the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show is only a month away, BMW were nice enough to dress up one of their X2 crossovers and send it out for a photo shoot wearing a unique camouflaged wrap.



These images were first released exclusively by lifestyle blog Highsnobiety, who views the X2 as a stylish car thats meant to be at its best within the urban jungle.

In fact, the idea behind this photo shoot was to see how the car looked in a Metropolitan environment, where thanks to its sloping roof line and aggressive front end, we reckon it will fit right in with all the small trendy crossovers that have been launched in recent years.

We can also see that the car does indeed have a C-pillar badge underneath the camouflage, which is something weve been wondering about ever since those patent images dropped last month  seems like its going into production that way. The rest of the car doesnt really say much else in terms of things we didnt already know. Aside from the C-pillar badge, the X2 will also be BMWs first-ever model where the bottom of the kidney grille is longer than the top.

Appearance aside, the BMW X2 will be sharing a significant amount of hardware with its sister model, the X1. This means it will feature front-wheel drive as standard, with xDrive all-wheel drive available as an option.

While Europe is expected to get a wider range of petrol and diesel power units, US buyers will reportedly be able to purchase the X2 in either sDrive28i, xDrive28i or xDrive35i form. Naturally, a plug-in hybrid model could surface a little later on.

PHOTO GALLERY
Land Rover Design Director Gerry McGovern recently downplayed the possibility of a seven-seat Range Rover but the executive has hinted a handful of other models could be on the horizon.



Speaking with Auto News Europe, McGovern suggested the company could expand the Discovery lineup. As he explained, For me, a family is more than two and with Discovery weve only got two vehicles, so there are a lot of opportunities.

Despite his optimism, McGovern conceded the company still needs to work out what our priorities are and what level of investment is required before approving any new additions.

Theres no word on what form a future Discovery model could take but its worth noting the current two model lineup pales in comparison to the Range Rover line which consists of four models including the Evoque, Velar, Range Rover Sport, and Range Rover.

In a separate interview with CarAdvice, McGovern stated I think the brand can go even further when it comes to more car-like vehicles. This could suggest the company is eyeing some less capable and more in line with the Discovery Sport and Range Rover Evoque. These two models are immensely popular partially due to their low price tags.

Photo Gallery
It appears that Tesla will be forced to keep fighting with lawmakers in Michigan well into 2018 in its attempts to sell vehicles in the U.S. state.



A recent court filing indicates that the legal fight is far from over, despite the battle stretching out for three years already.

The crux of the issue revolves around Michigan requiring automakers to sell vehicle across the state through franchised dealerships. Tesla, on the other hand, only sells its vehicles directly to customers and wants Michigan to make an exception for it.

According to the automaker, existing laws discriminate against out-of-state interests and is an unconstitutional infringement on its ability to employ its preferred sales method across the state. What this means is that Michigan residents looking to buy a Tesla must order it online and pick it up at a facility in Ohio, Illinois or any other nearby out-of-state cities.

The office of Attorney General Bill Schuette told The Detroit News that it is unreasonable for Tesla to expect Michigan to change its vehicle sales practices.

All other car manufacturers desiring to sell in Michigan operate under this same requirement. But Tesla wants special treatment and refuses to bend to Michigans law; indeed, Tesla insists that Michigan should bend to Teslas innovative business plan and practices rather than Tesla altering its practices to comply with Michigan law.

PHOTO GALLERY
On the day we were going to start shooting a couple of these flashback scenes, [Liddiard] said [to producers], Hey guys, I know his face really well, and Ive got a lot of tricks in my bag. I can age him down a lot. Would that be helpful to you? They said, Yeah. Anything you could do makes it easier for us. And when he finished, it was so amazing. We got the hair right, which was important and not easy. We got the makeup right. Then we got the wardrobe on, and I just said, Wait a minute. This is great.

Further in the piece, the Vanity Fair writer breathlessly explains how Russell was so proud of one-upping the visual effects artists that he told them so in person:

Russell was so proud of the feat that when he bumped into a woman from the C.G.I. department at the Guardians of the Galaxy premiere, he told her just that. She said, What do you think of what we did to you? And I said, Well, its my understanding that you guys didnt have to do a whole lot. It was pretty much what we shot live touched up. She said, Thats true. And then Russell gave her a bit of feedback, the sort that youthe begrudging recipient of Hollywoods mega-budgeted, mega-C.G.I.-ed franchise moviesmay wish you could give Hollywood yourself. But he delivered his criticism in the most charmingly Kurt Russell way possible. I said to her, You know, this is what makes it, I think, look more natural because theres not that creep factor to it. You know what I mean? It doesnt have that. I come from a time when we just did the stuff, you know what I mean? Russell explains. It adds a sense of credibility.

Russells story may be fun to read, but the films visual effects supervisor Chris Townsend told Yahoo Movies a couple days ago that its pure fantasy. I wouldnt say he used mostly makeup, Townsend told the website. It was mostly makeup, plus about three months, per shot, of several artists working on each shot!

Townsend goes on to explain:

What we did is, we went to Kurt and his makeup gang and said, Look we want him to look as young as possible. And they did a terrific job making him look young, and putting a great wig on him. But then we put dots on his face for witness cameras, and we cast another guy for the young Kurt Russell, named Aaron Schwartz. He was a reference not only of what 30-year-old skin looks like in that particular environment, but also someone we could potentially use to skin-graft bits onto Kurts performance once weve done whatever he could by de-aging him and thinning him out.

The veteran vfx supe further explained that they re-shot Russells performance with Schwartz to serve as a guide for Lola, the vfx company that handled the sequence. He compares the process to digital plastic surgery, such as smoothing out the skin and reducing the size of pores, but where you cant take the original photography and manipulate it, you then have to go back to the picture double and literally skin-graft parts of his face onto the main actor.

Townsend attributes about 20 percent of the effect to makeup man Liddiard  and the rest to the vfx crew. Its obviously Kurts performance that you see onscreen; its just the little bits and pieces around the neck or the ears or wherever it may be that you cant just take the skin and make it look like it should have 30 years ago. The thing about it is that its a laborious process. It is many artists, sitting for many hours, for many days and weeks and months crafting this. The artists at Lola, particularly, understand the physiology of the aging process. Theres a terrific artistry that goes on there.

Its refreshing to hear Townsend correct Russell on this. Theres a reason we rarely hear about the invisible vfx work that happens in Hollywood  and its not because cg creatures and explosions are more interesting to write about. Its because the workaday effects that alter an actors physical appearance are often wrapped up in NDAS (non-disclosure agreements) that prevent the vfx studios from openly discussing the enhancement work they performed.

At the end of the day, Russell sounds like hes speaking from a place of ignorance and vanity, which while unfortunate, is far less insidious than someone like Andy Serkis, who understands the process perfectly well, yet doesnt acknowledge or diminishes the hard work of animators and visual effects artists to elevate his own contributions in a production.
Photo: Peachland Residents Association

A new downtown Peachland development, set for fourth and final reading by council next month, is not wanted by some in the community.

The Peachland Residents Association has come out against a five-storey mixed commercial-residential development proposed for Beach and 4th Avenue.

According to a press release from the association, about 100 people attended a recent public meeting about the project. Those not affiliated with the project came down against it.

Their biggest concern is the size of the building, claiming that at five storeys it goes against the Official Community Plan.

The association says it would "overwhelm" Beach Avenue and that the OCP allows for two- to three-storey buildings on Beach Avenue with six to seven storeys further back toward the highway.

"If we start building at five storeys on Beach Avenue, the height required at the highway becomes seven to 10 storeys," the association said.

"The resulting density of population would be so great as to make the OCP a completely meaningless document. And, this is not to mention the resulting traffic chaos that would happen with such density."

The residents association also states the developer of the project has proposed no commercial parking stalls as part of the development. It says municipal bylaws would require 27 stalls for a development this size.

Council is expected to be asked to provide fourth and final reading when it meets again Sept. 5.
Wildfire smoke is affecting people's attitudes  and their business  in the Okanagan.

Even though the majority of B.C. fires are hundreds of kilometres away, residents can't wait for the return of some sunshine.

''The smoke has affected Kelowna as a whole, and obviously, being one of the larger hotels in Kelowna, it is going to affect us," said Jason Guyitt, director of operations at the Delta Grand.

"People aren't wanting to come to Kelowna because of the smoke. The smoke is hurting patios because people aren't able to sit out as long as what they have in the past, so it's affecting business for sure, Guyitt added.

But he stressed: Kelowna is still open for business.

"Kelowna is open. There is lots to do here. We don't want the smoke to impact people from coming," he said.

In the North Okanagan, restaurant patios have been sparsely filled as thick smoke clogs the air.

Because of the smoke, tourist season has kind of plummeted a little bit. Not as many people are coming to the Okanagan, so it's definitely affected our patio, said Melissa Yano, manager of downtown Vernon restaurant The Naked Pig.

With little sun poking through the haze, most customers sit inside.

As you can tell today, everybody is sitting inside rather than outside, as would I. I don't want to affect my lungs that way. It has definitely has some effect our business.

Usually, we're slamming busy out on the patio from midday all the way into the night."

At LocoLanding Adventure Park in Penticton, a slow July has been replaced by a busy August.

The slow start was mostly due to tourists thinking it was closed due to floods and then fires, said owner Diana Stirling.

"We're hopeful that August is looking strong," she said. "The news is out, everything is still happening here. We're still a great place to visit, and Penticton is still ready to welcome everybody."

"Ultimately, this isn't the perfect vacation that everyone planned for, without the sun and not being able to see the hills, but everyone is like: 'ya know what, we're here, we are on vacation,'" Stirling said.
Photo: CTV News

A collision between a motorcycle and an SUV on Wednesday in Delta has resulted in a fatality.

The crash happened near the bottom of Nordel Way, near the Annacis Highway, just before 2:30 p.m.

The male motorcyclist died in the collision.

The crash occurred before 2:30 p.m. in the 10500 block of Nordel Way near 112th Street.

Delta Police say the westbound SUV crossed into the eastbound lanes and struck the motorcycle.

Nordel Way is closed in the area.

 with files from CTV Vancouver
Photo: @PennyDaflos

A school playground fire in Delta is believed to have been intentionally set.

Firefighters responded to Chalmers Elementary School Wednesday afternoon, about 4 p.m.

The playgrounds mulch base was set on fire, causing an estimated $5,000 damage.

Police said the suspect is believe to be a six-foot-tall white man with a medium build who was wearing a black ball cap, grey-brown track pants and jacket.

The man was seen running away from the school down 73rd Avenue, but police have yet to confirm if he is a suspect.

Anyone with information is being asked to contact Delta police.

 with files from CTV Vancouver
Photo: Contributed Pro-life billboards have often been vandalized in West Kelowna.

A group opposed to abortion has lost a Charter of Rights challenge to have its ads displayed on the outside of Metro Vancouver buses after a B.C. Supreme Court judge ruled they could cause harm to women and children.

The South Coast B.C. Transportation Authority rejected the ads, saying the graphic display of fetuses and the message "Abortion Kills Children" left the impression that most abortions were performed after 16 weeks gestation.

The authority also argued the ad from The Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform was inaccurate, because Canadian law says life starts with a live birth.

In a ruling posted online Wednesday, Justice Peter Leask says the authority did violate the centre's freedom of expression rights by refusing the ads, but added the infringement was reasonable.

The judge says that the centre, which is based in Calgary and Brantford, Ont., was given a choice to submit a new advertisement to convey its moral opposition to abortion without using the images of fetuses to do so.

Leask says the ads had the potential to cause psychological harm to children and women because they compare women who have had abortions to "killers."

"I believe my finding is bolstered by the content found on the website 'endthekilling.ca,' which was referenced in the advertisement. There, one can find many images that are much more graphic than the one in the advertisement in question, including images of dismembered fetuses."

If the images of fetuses in the ads were not graphic, then the extreme content of the website made the transportation authority's decision reasonable, the ruling says.

"Therefore, I find that the respondent's decision to reject the petitioner's advertisement was neither unreasonable nor was it disproportionate," Leask concluded as he dismissed the application for judicial review.
Photo: wilx.com

Earlier this week on my FaceBook page, I posted my thoughts on the use of social-media blocking by elected officials.

The post has generated a fair bit of discussion, which is encouraging as many people have taken the time to express differing points of view. From my perspective, when there is a large amount of interest on an issue, it is one that citizens see as important.

On the surface, an elected official blocking someone through social media may not seem like a significant event.

However, for the growing population who do use social media, blocking denies a person their voice to be heard.

By extension, as social media increasingly has become a tool for citizens to hold elected officials to account, the careless use of the block button by elected officials has become an easy way out instead of answering a difficult or unpopular question.

I have even learned of a practice called pre-emptive blocking where groups of citizens may be blocked by an elected official they have never interacted with online.

We would never tolerate guilt by association off line, yet it has become an online practice by some elected officials and their senior staff.

To be clear, I will continue to defend the right of elected officials to practise whatever social media policies they feel most comfortable with. Likewise, personal attacks, profanity and threats on social media should not be tolerated.

At the same, I caution those who use the block button as a means to avoid accountability or debate. Social media ideally work both ways and citizens deserve the right to be heard.

On that note, I am suggesting that elected officials, and those media and pundits who cover politics, to consider a social media forgiveness campaign.

How about un-block (or un-mute) all those citizens you have blocked and give them a second chance to engage.

This might not work in all situations, but elected officials being exposed to more diverse views and being held to account in my view helps build a stronger democracy.

I welcome your comments, questions and concerns and can be reached online at [email protected] or call me off-line toll free at 1-800-665-8711.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.
Photo: transmountain.com

Two key British Columbia cabinet ministers are expected to outline the government's next steps Thursday on the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion after campaigning against the project.

No details have been provided about the announcement by Attorney General David Eby and Environment Minister George Heyman, but the future of the $7.4-billion project has been heavily scrutinized since the NDP government came to power.

Premier John Horgan promised on the campaign trail earlier this year to use "every tool in the toolbox" to stop the project, but a mandate letter to the Heyman softened the language, saying instead that he must "defend B.C.'s interests in the face of" the expansion.

Last month Eby said the province would not artificially delay permits for the project, because doing so would risk a costly lawsuit from proponent Trans Mountain, a subsidiary of Kinder Morgan Canada.

Several First Nations and municipalities have filed legal challenges against the expansion, which would triple the capacity of the Alberta-to-B.C. pipeline and increase the number of tankers in Vancouver-area waters seven-fold.

The project has been approved by Ottawa and the province's former Liberal government.

Trans Mountain says construction is set to begin in September.
Photo: David Ogilvie

Traffic was backed up after a collision in West Kelowna Wednesday evening.

Paramedics and police arrived on scene at Highway 97 and Hebert Road just after 6 p.m.

It appears only minor injuries were suffered, and there is no further information on what caused the collision.
Photo: Contributed

A Virginia man returned home from a trip and found that his apartment had been broken into  and cleaned.

Arlington County Police say in a crime report that shortly after 12 a.m. Monday, a man returned to his Arlington apartment after a trip. He called police when he noticed that his apartment appeared to have been cleaned and some items had been moved around. Nothing was missing.

WRC-TV reports the man told police he doesn't employ a maid. Police say the mystery cleaner unlawfully entered the apartment.
Photo: The Canadian Press

A Hamilton resident got a shock upon discovering an alligator in his backyard.

The city's animal services department says Walter Ertsinian made the discovery after walking out into his yard to do some summer barbecuing on Tuesday.

Animal Services says Ertsinian called police, who then enlisted the department's help to move the 1.5-metre reptile.

Staff corralled the animal using a flexible lead. No one was hurt, and the alligator is now in custody of animal services.

The department says it doesn't know how the reptile came to be in Ertsinian's back yard, but says alligators are among the animals prohibited under city bylaws.
Photo: The Canadian Press

Brad Wall says he is retiring from politics after a decade as premier of Saskatchewan.

He made the announcement in an online video posted Thursday morning saying it's time for renewal for his Saskatchewan Party and the province.

"This November will mark 10 years since I had the incredible honour of being elected as Premier of this wonderful province that I love. I've always thought that the 10-year mark  should I be so fortunate to serve that long  might be the right time to re-evaluate," he said.

"It's time for me to retire from politics."

Wall says he will stay on until his successor is chosen. "And until then, there's still a lot of work to do," Wall said.

"Saskatchewan needs renewal, a fresh perspective in leadership. This was such a difficult decision to make. It is hard to lay this duty down, to retire from what has been and what will always be the honour of my working life. But it is time."

Wall and his Saskatchewan Party have won three consecutive provincial elections, the last in 2016 where they took 51 of 61 seats. The party, which formed 20 years ago out of an alliance of disaffected Tories and Liberals, took more than 50 per cent of the popular vote in each of the contests.

Wall, who is 51, routinely places high in opinion polls ranking the country's most popular premiers and his knack for the zinger soundbite has made him a national political figure.

But he's faced headwinds in recent months, especially after his government tabled an austerity budget this spring.

In May, a Mainstreet Research poll suggested Wall's party had dropped steeply in voter support and had fallen nine points behind the leaderless Opposition New Democrats.
Photo: Google Street View Vandals went on a spree in downtown Salmon Arm overnight, police report.

The RCMP are on the hunt after vandals went on a spree in Salmon Arm's downtown overnight, causing widespread damage.

An unknown culprit or culprits tore up plants, kicked off sprinkler heads, damaged business property, damaged signage, and smashed windows along Hudson Avenue and 2nd Avenue, said Staff Sgt. Scott West, the head of the detachment.

Some vehicles may also have been damaged.

Even business frontage that supports the less fortunate was damaged in what appears to be a linked set of criminal acts, West said.

Salmon Arm RCMP have requested the public's assistance in identifying who is responsible for the acts of vandalism. Anyone with information is asked to call the local detachment at 250 832 6044 or Crime Stoppers at 1- 800-222-TIPS (8477).
Photo: The Canadian Press State group home in Rome, N.Y., where patient Steven Wenger was infested with maggots.

In his bed at a New York state group home for the severely disabled, Steven Wenger lay helpless against a silent invader.

A slimy, wriggling clump was growing around the hole in his throat near his breathing tube. Nurses peered closer and made a discovery almost unheard of in modern American health care: maggots.

For Wenger, unable to walk, speak, or breathe without a ventilator since a car accident 26 years ago, it was the first of two infestations of the larval flies in his throat over successive days last summer, resulting in repeated trips to an emergency room and a state investigation that found days of neglect by caretakers.

While many states provide extensive information about hospitals and nursing homes, most are relatively silent when it comes to data on care of the disabled in state-regulated facilities. There are no consistent disclosure rules, and in many states reports are redacted.

In New York, which has one of the nation's largest disabled-care systems, abuse and neglect probes are overseen by the state's Justice Center for the Protection of People With Special Needs. Spokesman William Reynolds said it cannot release detailed information on its cases  even with identifying material removed  because of state and federal rules involving medical and personnel privacy, and law enforcement investigations.

"What the hell are they hiding?" asked Harvey Weisenberg, a former state lawmaker whose son who is disabled. "They won't tell the public, or anybody for that matter, what they're doing."

In Wenger's case in a group home in the upstate New York city of Rome, state investigators found that the 41-year-old man's maggot infestations were the result of several days of neglect by caretakers who were supposed to keep the tracheostomy clean. Justice Center officials said the six-month investigation couldn't pinpoint the employees at fault, so no one was punished. Instead, investigators suggested the home "consider" brushing up on training on the care of tracheostomies. State officials confirmed that training was done.
Photo: Google Street View

A man was found dead in a Kamloops hotel room Thursday morning.

Hotel staff on West Columbia Street found the young man in one of the rooms just before 9 a.m. and notified police.

RCMP says it's too early in their investigation to determine if the death is suspicious, but they have tentatively identified the man.
Photo: Trevor Nichols Minister of Agriculture Lana Popham says she believes the ALR should be revamped.

The provincial governments new minister of agriculture hunkered down in Kelowna Thursday, meeting with industry stakeholders after what she called a lull in communication as the new NDP government was sworn in.

But, during a break between meetings, Popham also briefed reporters on what she plans to accomplish as minister.

The former agriculture critic has three main policy objectives in her new role, one of which will very likely include overhauling the Agricultural Land Reserve.

Popham believes the ALR should be returned to a single provincial zone, with one panel making decisions on how farmland is used.

That would mean undoing changes brought in by the BC Liberals in 2014 that relaxed restrictions on development of protected farmland.

For more on the problems Popham sees with the current ALR rules, and what her proposed changes might mean, check out the full story on Castanet's sister business news website, Okanagan Edge.
President Donald Trump's decision to declare the opioid epidemic a national emergency is viewed as a "good move" by U.S. Rep. John Katko, who served on the White House commission that endorsed the idea.

Earlier this week, the Trump administration seemed to indicate that it wouldn't pursue a national emergency declaration. But on Thursday, Trump said he completing paperwork to declare the opioid epidemic a national emergency.

The opioid crisis has plagued communities across the United States. In Cayuga County, the Heroin Epidemic Action League formed to raise awareness about the dangers of heroin, prescription painkillers and synthetic drugs. The group was established by family members of local residents who died of overdoses.

Other parts of central New York have been affected by the abuse of opioids. Treatment facilities have struggled to keep up with the demand for inpatient and outpatient services. There are hundreds of people on a waiting list to receive treatment at Crouse Hospital's unit in Syracuse.

Katko, R-Camillus, said designating the opioid epidemic as a national emergency "can only help."

"You gotta raise the issue and once you raise the awareness issue and people understand how serious the issue is, that's job one," he said. "And job two then is to find solutions. Yes, getting the issue and putting it at the forefront of people's minds is a very good thing. Now we gotta find solutions."

Last year, Congress passed  and President Barack Obama signed  the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act to boost prevention and treatment efforts. But it didn't allocate funding to address addiction.

In a spending bill approved this year, $650 million was provided to combat addiction. A fraction of that money  $50 million  was appropriated specifically for opioid treatment.

Katko acknowledged the need for more prevention and treatment, but he also pushed for tougher law enforcement measures.

In June, Katko held a press conference in Syracuse to tout legislation that targets synthetic drugs, specifically fentanyl that's frequently mixed with heroin and has contributed to several overdose deaths.

The House Judiciary Committee passed Katko's bill. It awaits consideration by the full House. A similar bill has been introduced in the Senate by U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Katko believes his bill will help reduce synthetic drug overdoses, especially those who mix synthetic fentanyl with heroin.

"My legislation is going to be really a ground-breaker for that," he said.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wants JetBlue to add service at Syracuse Hancock International Airport, including flights to Boston and other cities.

Schumer, D-N.Y., cited data from the Syracuse airport that shows central New Yorkers who travel from Syracuse to Boston tend to drive rather than use air service. He said that trend could change if JetBlue added a Syracuse-to-Boston route.

American Airlines currently has a Syracuse-to-Boston route, but JetBlue does not. JetBlue's existing destinations from Syracuse include New York City. The airline also offers flights to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

"JetBlue is New York's hometown airline and it's only fitting that they'd continue to build on their strong presence in upstate New York," Schumer said. "A new JetBlue flight from Syracuse to Boston is a win-win: for JetBlue, who can expand their strong brand in upstate New York, and for central New York families and businesses who would greatly benefit from having more flight options."

JetBlue's decision to add seasonal flights to Fort Lauderdale from Syracuse came after Schumer urged the airline to restore service between the two cities.

There were direct flights from Syracuse to Fort Lauderdale until 2009, when JetBlue discontinued the route.

Schumer made a business case for JetBlue to add more flights, particularly a route connecting Syracuse to Boston. He said JetBlue has strong capacity and connecting traffic in the central New York market. Adding a route to Boston would benefit the company and Syracuse-area travelers.

There's also the $45 million improvement project that is expected to be completed in 2019. The highlight of the project, which will receive more than $35 million in state support, is a redesign of the terminal and a new facade for the drop-off area.

"Hancock Airport is undergoing a rapid transformation, so now is the time for JetBlue and other airlines to jump in and take advantage of that need for service," Schumer said. "Particularly to popular destinations like Boston that is a global hub, where sometimes it's more convenient to drive from central New York than to fly."
CHAMPLAIN  They have come from all over the United States, piling out of taxis, pushing strollers and pulling luggage, to the end of a country road in the north woods.

Where the pavement stops, they pick up small children and lead older ones wearing Mickey Mouse backpacks around a "road closed" sign, threading bushes, crossing a ditch, and filing past another sign in French and English that says "No pedestrians." Then they are arrested.

Seven days a week, 24 hours a day, migrants who came to the U.S. from across the globe  Syria, Congo, Haiti, elsewhere  arrive here where Roxham Road dead-ends so they can walk into Canada, hoping its policies will give them the security they believe the political climate in the United States does not.

"In Trump's country, they want to put us back to our country," said Lena Gunja, a 10-year-old from Congo, who until this week had been living in Portland, Maine. She was traveling with her mother, father and younger sister. "So we don't want that to happen to us, so we want a good life for us. My mother, she wants a good life for us."

The passage has become so crowded this summer that Canadian police set up a reception center on their side of the border in the Quebec community of Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle, about 30 miles south of Montreal, or almost 300 miles north of New York City.

It includes tents that have popped up in the past few weeks, where migrants are processed before they are turned over to the Canada Border Services Agency, which handles their applications for refuge.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police are adding electricity and portable toilets. A Canadian flag stands just inside the first tent, where the Mounties search the immigrants they've just arrested and check their travel documents. They are also offered food. Then shuttle buses take the processed migrants to their next destination. Trucks carry their luggage separately.

The Canadian military said Wednesday that about 100 soldiers began arriving to prepare a site for tents to accommodate almost 500 people. The soldiers will also install lighting and heating equipment.

How this spot, not even an official border crossing, became the favored place to cross into Canada is anyone's guess. But once migrants started going there, word spread on social media.

Under the 2002 Safe Country Agreement between the United States and Canada, migrants seeking asylum must apply to the first country they arrive in. If they were to go to a legal port of entry, they would be returned to the United States and told to apply there.

But, in a quirk in the application of the law, if migrants arrive in Canada at a location other than a port of entry, such as Roxham Road, they are allowed to request refugee status there.

Many take buses to Plattsburgh, New York, about 20 miles south. Some fly there, and others take Amtrak. Sometimes taxis carry people right up to the border. Others are let off up the road and have to walk, pulling their luggage behind them.

Used bus tickets litter the pavement, their points of origin mostly blurred by rain that fell on nights previous. One read "Jacksonville."

One Syrian family said they flew into New York City on tourist visas and then went to Plattsburgh, where they took a taxi to the border.

The migrants say they are driven by the perception that the age of Republican President Donald Trump, with his ban on travelers from certain majority-Muslim countries, means the United States is no longer the destination of the world's dispossessed. Taking its place in their minds is the Canada of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, a member of his country's Liberal Party.

Most of the people making the crossing now are originally from Haiti. The Trump administration said this year it planned to end in January a special humanitarian program enacted after the 2010 earthquake that gave about 58,000 Haitians permission to stay temporarily in the U.S.

Walking toward the border in a group on Monday, Medyne Milord, 47, originally of Haiti, said she needs work to support her family.

"If I return to Haiti, the problem will double," she said. "What I hope is to have a better life in Canada."

Jean Rigaud Liberal, 38, said he had been in the United States for seven months and lived in Florida after he left Haiti. He learned about Roxham Road from Facebook and said he thinks "Canada will be better than America."

"We are not comfortable in America," said Liberal. "We are seeking a better life; we don't want to go back to Haiti."

On the New York side, U.S. Border Patrol agents sometimes check to be sure the migrants are in the United States legally, but they said they don't have the resources to do it all the time.

Besides, said Brad Brant, a special operations supervisor for the U.S. Border Patrol, "our mission isn't to prevent people from leaving."

Small numbers continue to cross into Canada elsewhere, but the vast majority take Roxham Road. U.S. officials said they began to notice last fall, around the time of the U.S. presidential election, that more people were crossing there.

Francine Dupuis, the head of a Quebec government-funded program that helps asylum seekers, said her organization estimates 1,174 people overall crossed into Quebec last month, compared with 180 in July 2016. U.S. and Canadian officials estimated that on Sunday alone, about 400 people crossed the border at Roxham Road.

"All they have to do is cross the border," Dupuis said. "We can't control it. They come in by the hundreds, and it seems to be increasing every day."

Canada said last week it planned to house some migrants in Montreal's Olympic Stadium. It could hold thousands, but current plans call for only 450.

In most cases, once the migrants are in Canada they are released and can live freely while their claims for refugee status are processed, which can take years. Meanwhile, they are eligible for public assistance.

Brenda Shanahan, the Liberal Party member of Parliament who represents the area, visited the site Monday. She is proud of her country for being willing to take in the dispossessed, she said, but there is no guarantee they will be able to stay in Canada.

"It's not a free ticket for refugee status, not at all," Shanahan said.

Opposition Conservative lawmaker Michelle Rempel said the Trudeau government lacks a plan to deal with the illegal crossings, even though a summer spike had been anticipated.

"All that we have heard is that we are monitoring the situation," she said. "The government needs to come up with a plan right away to deal with this."

It will further backlog a system in which some refugees are already waiting 11 years for hearings, Rempel said. Canadians will question the integrity of the immigration system if the "dangerous trend" of illegal crossings continues, she said.

Trudeau himself recently said his country has border checkpoints and controls that need to be respected.

"We have an open compassionate country, but we have a strong system that we follow," he said. "Protecting Canadian confidence in the integrity of our system allows us to continue to be open, and that's exactly what we need to continue to do."

Inancieu Merilien, originally of Haiti, moved to the United States in 2000 but crossed into Canada late last month. U.S. authorities, he said, are trying to scare Haitians by refusing to guarantee they'll be able to stay.

"There's a big difference here. They welcomed us very well," he said after leaving the Olympic Stadium to begin looking for a home in Montreal's large Haitian community. "They're going to give us housing in apartments. I hope everything goes well."
Brenntag posted further growth in the second quarter of 2017. This was driven especially by the very encouraging performance in the North America region, where it achieved a clear increase in the results in an improved economic environment. In the regions Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Asia Pacific, Brenntag posted slightly slower business performances in the second quarter of 2017. For financial year 2017, the Brenntag Group continues to forecast growth in its key performance indicators operating gross profit and operating EBITDA (before one-time effects).

Brenntag generated sales of 3,001.4 million EUR in the second quarter of 2017, an increase of 12.7% on the prior-year period (+11.5% on a constant currency basis). The Groups key performance indicator gross profit also climbed, rising by 6.2% year on year (5.2% on a constant currency basis) to reach 641.3 million EUR. Operating EBITDA was up by 1.9% on the prior-year period (+0.8% on a constant currency basis) to 219.8 million EUR.

Profit after tax was up on the prior-year figure of 102.1 million EUR to 106.8 million EUR in the second quarter of 2017. This translates into earnings per share attributable to Brenntag shareholders of 0.69 EUR (+4.5%).

At 122.5 million EUR in the second quarter of 2017, free cash flow was down on the prior-year period (164.7 million EUR), due mainly to the increase in chemical prices and the resulting rise in working capital.

Steven Holland, Chief Executive Officer of Brenntag AG, said, Brenntag continued to grow in the second quarter of 2017. The very encouraging business and earnings performance from Brenntag North America is particularly worthy of note and was supported by both the existing business and the acquisitions. The Asia Pacific region showed a successful, albeit slightly slower business performance compared with the previous year, while in the EMEA region we saw a somewhat weaker quarter. As expected, our results in Latin America continue to be adversely affected by the somewhat difficult macroeconomic environment.

EMEA posts slightly weaker quarter

The EMEA region posted operating gross profit of 280.0 million EUR in the second quarter of 2017, an increase of 0.4% on the prior-year quarter (+1.2% on a constant currency basis). Operating EBITDA was down by 6.6% (-5.9% on a constant currency basis) to 93.9 million EUR. Following recent good results in the EMEA region, these results for the second quarter are below expectations. This is partly due to clear falls in demand in some lines of business in Scandinavia.

Over recent years of weaker macroeconomic demand, Brenntag EMEA has launched a range of initiatives aimed to manage the business and capture growth with a more European focus. These measures have already yielded results. Nevertheless, Brenntag sees further opportunities to increase supply chain efficiency and expects to generate annual savings of 8 million EUR as of the beginning of 2018. The special costs associated with implementing the programme will amount to approximately 25 million EUR and arise in the second half of this year.

North America achieves clear earnings growth

In a generally improved economic environment, Brenntag delivered an excellent earnings performance in the North America region in the second quarter of 2017. Driven primarily by a clear increase in the results achieved by the core business, operating gross profit was up by 13.8% on the prior-year figure (+11.2% on a constant currency basis) to 280.2 million EUR. Operating EBITDA increased by 14.4% (+11.6% on a constant currency basis) to 106.6 million EUR. The included acquisitions performed very well and made a positive contribution.

Business in Latin America continues to be adversely impacted by external environment

Against a background of sustained contraction in industrial production throughout the region and still-difficult economic conditions in some countries, Brenntag achieved operating gross profit of 44.1 million EUR in Latin America in the second quarter of 2017. This is an increase of 2.8% compared with the prior-year quarter (-1.7% on a constant currency basis) and an improvement on the first quarter of 2017. Operating EBITDA was down by 14.9% year on year (-18.2% on a constant currency basis) to 9.7 million EUR. The economic situation in Brazil stabilized in the reporting period.

Mixed picture in the Asia Pacific region

The companies in the Asia Pacific region generated operating gross profit of 48.9 million EUR in the second quarter of 2017, an increase of 7.2% year on year (6.0% on a constant currency basis). Operating EBITDA reached 16.8 million EUR and was therefore 2.9% down on the high prior-year result (-4.0% on a constant currency basis). While business performance in many countries was impressive, other countries such as Indonesia saw clear falls in demand, which depressed earnings overall.

Brenntag continues to expect growth for 2017 as a whole

In light of the results in the first half of the year and macroeconomic developments in the regions, Brenntag continues to expect growth in its key performance indicators operating gross profit and operating EBITDA for 2017 as a whole. Group operating EBITDA is forecast to be in the 820 to 850 million EUR range (before one-time effects from the European efficiency improvement program in the amount of 25 million EUR and assuming unchanged exchange rates until the end of the year).
At 20 years old, Gabriela Puma is helping keep an entire Chicago school connected.

Puma is the IT specialist at McCutcheon Elementary School, where she works as part of the Genesys Works program that places college students who are CPS graduates into paid internships as tech support at schools across the district.

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Money to hire the junior technology coordinators, as they are called, comes from each school's budget.

Deciding to allocate $15,000 for an on-site specialist last year was a no-brainer for McCutcheon principal Gwyneth Kram.

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"It's the best thing since sliced bread," Kram said. "Our teachers are thrilled because they're not waiting for two, three, four days to fix things, which means less instructional time lost for them and students."

The program gives students extra training and job experience as junior technology coordinators, while providing the schools with on-site support for their IT needs. Students get support and mentorship from the central office of CPS.

Puma, a Carl Schurz High School grad studying computer science at Wilbur Wright College, said a typical day for her involves troubleshooting and taking inventories of equipment.

Genesys Works is a national nonprofit focused on high-potential high school students from disadvantaged backgrounds who are interested in IT and accounting; its sponsors include Google, Salesforce and General Electric. Students receive eight weeks of training before they are placed in 12-month internships paying minimum wage before their senior year of high school.

The students become employees of Genesys, which bills CPS and other client companies  there are a total of about 60  for services provided at $20 to $23 per hour.

The 581 Genesys interns in Chicago in 2016 earned a total of $1.4 million. About 99 percent are students of color.

Since its founding in Houston in 2001, Genesys Works has expanded its services to follow the students after they complete the original program and leave high school.

The Genesys Works-CPS alumni program started with eight schools in 2015, expanded to 15 schools in 2016, and will grow to 20 with the 2017-18 school year, said Melinda McIntire, director of alumni services at Genesys Works in Chicago.

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"It's a great solution for IT staffing. It's a more affordable solution than you might pay for otherwise," McIntire said.

The interns are responsible for managing all support aspects of IT at a school  from assisting teachers in computer labs to keeping track of Chromebooks and tablets.

"It's really great for our alumni and college students to continue to get experience," McIntire said. "We're hoping to create that pathway to a longer-term position."

Wages can vary based on employer and how long an intern has worked for an organization. At CPS, the college-level IT interns work 20 hours a week and are paid $13 an hour. High school students in the core internship program in Chicago are paid $11 an hour, the city's minimum wage.

Interns are matched to schools based on the students' schedules, level of tech experience needed for tasks and the proximity of their homes or colleges to the schools, McIntire said.

Cheryl V. Jackson is a freelance writer.

Twitter @CherylVJackson
A view of the CNA building in downtown Chicago on Aug. 9, 2017. Northern Trust Corp. has leased 462,000 square feet in the 45-story building at 333 S. Wabash Ave. and plans to move 2,500 to 3,000 employees there in 2020. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)

CNA Financial's brightly colored Loop office tower, also known as "Big Red," is getting a new namesake tenant as the insurer prepares to move its headquarters next year to a tower under construction.

Northern Trust Corp. has leased 462,000 square feet in the 45-story building at 333 S. Wabash Ave., and plans to move 2,500 to 3,000 employees there in 2020 from multiple Chicago locations, spokesman Douglas Holt said. Holt said the move will not affect the company's headquarters at 50 S. LaSalle St.

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Northern Trust's deal includes signage and naming rights.

The deal, to date the year's the second-largest office lease downtown, is a big step for Chicago developer John Buck Co., which in late 2015 struck an unusual, two-part deal with CNA. In that transaction, CNA agreed to become the anchor tenant of a 35-story office tower the developer is building on Franklin Street, while Buck agreed to pay CNA $108 million for CNA's 1.2 million-square-foot red building.

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In addition to needing more tenants to fill the new Franklin Street tower, which will open next June, Buck took on about 750,000 square feet of soon-to-be-vacant space from CNA. Other tenants lease the remainder of the space in the building that was completed in 1972.

"Without the right deal or the right tenant, it could have been risky," said Todd Lippman, who led a team of CBRE brokers in representing Northern Trust. "But it worked out for both sides. Northern Trust got a great deal, and so did John Buck."

John Buck was represented by Bill Rolander and Jon Cordell of Newmark Knight Frank. Northern Trust's other brokers were Todd Doney, James Whalen, Maura Mahoney and Scott Brandwein of CBRE.

A large number of the workers are expected to come from a nondescript building at 801 S. Canal St., where Northern Trust's lease expires in 2020.

"They love the high ceilings, natural light and the renovations Buck is doing to the building," Lippman said. "It seemed like a really good fit, and the timing worked well."

In a statement, Northern Trust Chairman and CEO Frederick Waddell said the lease is "part of our ongoing focus to drive efficiency and growth. This move will provide greater opportunities for our employees to collaborate and develop creative solutions in a state-of-the-art environment."

The only larger downtown Chicago office lease signed thus far in 2017 was an approximately 490,000-square-foot deal by Bank of America to anchor a planned 51-story tower on the Wacker Drive site where mall owner GGP's squat headquarters now stands.

After CNA moves out next year, Buck will spend about two years upgrading the building with new amenities, including a food court in a second-floor space now used as a cafeteria. The developer is also renovating the lobby, fitness and conference centers and auditorium, and adding a day care and shuttle service to commuter trains.

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As it nears the move-in date, the bank has options to increase its space to as much as 750,000 square feet or to reduce its space, Lippman said. In the meantime, Buck is expected to continue talking with potential new tenants.

"The lease with Northern Trust, signed almost a year before CNA's planned relocation, re-establishes the building and the neighborhood as a best-in-class location," Cordell said.

rori@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @Ryan_Ori
The Chicago Stock Exchange, which was founded more than a century ago, is being bought by an investor group led by a Chinese company. The deal is expected to close in the second half of the year, but first needs approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. (M. Spencer Green, AP)

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday delayed a decision on whether to give a group of Chinese companies the go-ahead to buy the 135-year-old Chicago Stock Exchange.

The controversial deal is being questioned by some members of Congress, who fear the sale would allow a foreign government to gain a foothold in the U.S. financial system.

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The SEC had been expected to rule Wednesday on the sale, valued at roughly $30 million. Instead, the regulatory body said SEC commissioners would make the final decision about the deal in the coming weeks, a move that overrides a recommendation by commission staff that the sale be approved.

"We are confident that, upon further review by the Commissioners, they will also conclude that this transaction is consistent with the Exchange Act," a Chicago Stock Exchange spokesman said.

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The investment team that would acquire the exchange, according to documents filed with the SEC, is being led by Chongqing Casin Enterprise Group. Anthony Saliba, a board member of the exchange and one of several investors in the deal, wrote in a blog post that the Chinese government is not involved in the transaction. He noted that the exchange will continue to be owned mostly by Americans and have an independent board of directors.

The Chicago Stock Exchange is small, accounting for only about a half of a percent of the nation's trading volume. All trading at the exchange is done electronically without a live trading floor.

Saliba said the "acquisition will breathe vital working capital into the exchange." He also said it will create opportunities for small investors to invest in small companies and IPOs.

gmarksjarvis@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @gailmarksjarvis
Constellation Brands has acquired South Florida-based Funky Buddha Brewery, the company announced Thursday.

Funky Buddha represents the second craft brewery for Constellation's beer business, which is based in Chicago and is better known for Mexican import beers, including Corona and Modelo. In 2015, Constellation bought San Diego, Calif.-based Ballast Point for $1 billion. The terms of the Funky Buddha deal were not disclosed Thursday.

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Funky Buddha, founded in 2010 and based in Oakland Park, Fla., is known for beers such as Hop Gun IPA and Floridian Hefeweizen, as well as its Maple Bacon Coffee Porter and Last Snow Coconut Coffee Porter, according to the news release.

"Adding a fantastic regional brand such as Funky Buddha to our craft beer portfolio, along with Ballast Point, advances our strategy in continuing to lead the high-end beer segment," said Paul Hetterich, president of Constellation Brands' beer division, in the news release.
Cook County implemented a new penny-per-ounce sweetened beverage tax, which went into effect on Aug. 2, 2017. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)

It's been just over a week but Cook County's new tax on sweetened beverages is on the fast track toward becoming one of the more vilified public policies in recent memory.

Such widespread unhappiness should prompt County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and commissioners to rethink and repeal their controversial money haul.

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And unless or until they do, business needs to stay in the thick of this anti-tax battle and keep making the argument for rolling it back.

The Illinois Retail Merchants Association succeeded in court to temporarily stop the tax for nearly a month. Recently, a Cook County judge lifted that block, allowing the tax to go forward, and the merchants are appealing their case.

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This new tax is turning into a confusing nightmare for large and small food store operators, fast-food chains and other outlets charged with collecting and keeping tabs on a new wave of incoming funds.

Although widely perceived as a toll on sugary soft drinks, it also applies to artificially sweetened beverages. So, such drinks in bottles, or from fountain machines, are taxable.

Yet since the tax is a penny-per-ounce, it raises some interesting questions. Here's one: Are we now paying for the ice that's put into the cup of a frosty fountain drink and, in effect, being slapped with a de facto frozen water tax, too?

On the other hand, custom-sweetened beverages, such as those mixed at a restaurant or stirred by a Starbucks barista, aren't subject to the tax.

Got all that?

If not, don't be embarrassed because there's ample confusion arising in the real world outside the County Board chamber.

In recent days, for example, Walgreens, McDonald's and 7-Eleven each have been sued by irate consumers for allegedly mismanaging the rollout of the tax.

The lawsuits are seeking class-action status, which is something these corporate giants must be thrilled to hear. The companies would not comment on the pending litigation.

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Considering the snafus that will continue to accompany implementation of this new tax, more lawsuits are sure to follow that put an unnecessary strain on a rickety county court system.

Retailers are irate, but so are many cash-strapped consumers, who must cope with these new financial scenarios at the point of purchase during grocery shopping or ordering a meal in the drive-thru lane.

Imagine the sticker shock when someone buys a 2-liter bottle of pop that's on sale for 99 cents in Cook County but ends up paying a beverage tax of 68 cents too.

A survey by the Illinois Manufacturers' Association, an ally of the state merchants group, found that a whopping 87 percent of nearly 1,100 people surveyed are against the beverage tax.

That's a big number but not a big surprise.

Already people are reeling from rising property taxes and the state's recently-approved income tax hike.

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In addition, I'm not sure this direct-to-the-consumer consumption tax is very smart public policy and I question if it will yield the estimated $200 million annually that the county expects.

(County spokesmen did not respond to my email asking questions about the new tax.)

The tax could hurt beverage sales as shoppers travel to nearby tax-free counties or switch to sipping more tax-exempt drinks.

A recent Moody's Investor Service report on the beverage industry noted the emergence of soda taxes in other parts of the country and predicted they will "encourage consumers to switch from carbonated beverages to water."

At the end of the day, we're left with a tax that's universally hated, nearly impossible to implement and probably won't bring in the revenue its backers expected.

A fiscally viable Cook County government is important because it handles many of society's most daunting problems, including public health and safety.

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But President Preckwinkle needs to come up with another solution to the county's financial plight.

This sweetened beverage tax plan has already gone sour.

roreed@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @reedtribbiz
While Cook County informed retailers that purchases made with federal food stamp benefits are exempt from the soda tax under federal law, it's also allowed retailers to tax those purchases and provide refunds as a workaround.

Cook County's sweetened beverage tax has landed the state in hot water with the feds, potentially causing roughly $87 million in federal food stamp money to be withheld, Illinois officials said Thursday.

The problem: Purchases made with federal food stamp benefits are exempt from the soda tax under federal law, but Cook County has allowed retailers to tax those purchases and provide refunds as a workaround for stores that haven't been able to program their point-of-sale systems.

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Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Services, the federal agency overseeing the SNAP food stamp program  officially known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program  warned Illinois that federal money could be withheld if the problem isn't fixed.

USDA officials told the county the regulation was "unacceptable" in a phone call in late June, according to its memo to the state.

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"It is (Food and Nutrition Services') strict interpretation that retailers may not charge the tax to SNAP recipients at any time and that providing an immediate subsequent refund at a customer service does not cure the problem or the violation of the law," said James Dimas, secretary of the Illinois state Department of Human Services, in his memo relaying the message to Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle on Wednesday.

Preckwinkle spoke at the Cook County Democratic Party's slating event Thursday. Asked about the memo afterward, she declined to comment because she hadn't yet reviewed it.

Later in the day, county spokesman Frank Shuftan said in a statement that the county was unaware the USDA considered the county's regulation to be unacceptable after that June phone conversation. The county believed USDA was considering the policy and would follow up with any concerns, he said.

"At this time, we believe we are in compliance with existing SNAP rules. We do however recognize that USDA's powers against the state in this regard are substantial and we will work collaboratively with both the state and USDA to address USDA's concerns," Shuftan said in the statement.

As of Thursday, a sweetened beverage tax regulation allowing the refunds was still posted on the county website. It's not known how many Cook County retailers are applying the tax to SNAP purchases and then offering refunds.

To avoid having the federal SNAP funds withheld, the state human services department has until Aug. 21 to submit a plan that either details how the county tax regulation will be fixed or confirm a delay of the tax to allow retailers more time to program their point-of-sale systems.

Under federal law, SNAP purchases are exempt from state and local sales tax. Cook County officials were hopeful they'd be able to apply the tax universally by having retailers fold the cost of the tax into the selling price of the products instead of tacking it on at checkout.

But the state Department of Revenue said that would constitute an "overcollection" because the higher selling price would then be subject to sales tax. On June 6  less than a month from the planned July 1 start date  the county announced the tax would primarily be applied at the point of sale, thus rendering SNAP purchases exempt.

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The Illinois Retail Merchants Association's lawsuit challenging the county's tax, now in the appeals court, outlined concerns about the tax putting retailers at risk of violating SNAP rules, among other allegations.

The tax has rolled out with some minor bumps at Fresh Market Place on North Western Avenue, said general manager Danny Drossos. Implementing such a complex tax doesn't happen flawlessly overnight.

"We have had a few instances where (SNAP recipients) were charged, and we made sure we took it out," he said. "It's going to take some time to make sure we dot the i's, as they say, and cross the t's."

Even at Jewel-Osco, Chicago's largest traditional grocery chain, there's ample room for human error.

"Due to the many taxes applied at the retail level Jewel-Osco is not able to program the register to automatically remove the tax. Instead the cashier must remove it manually once they are aware the customer is paying with a Link card," said Jewel-Osco spokeswoman Mary Frances Trucco in an email, referring to the card used to access SNAP benefits.

Hal Dardick contributed.

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amarotti@chicagotribune.com

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Twitter @AllyMarotti
Comcast SportsNet Chicago anchor and reporter Luke Stuckmeyer and his wife, Katherine, last month paid $580,000 for a four-bedroom, 2,915-square-foot midcentury contemporary-style house in Wilmette.

In June, they sold their three-bedroom condominium unit in the East Ukrainian Village neighborhood for $620,000.

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Among other programs, Stuckmeyer, a Chicago native, co-hosts the evening show "In the Loop" with Leila Rahimi.

In Wilmette, the Stuckmeyers' new house was built in 1956 and has three baths; a mirrored foyer; herringbone hardwood floors in the living and dining rooms; a family room with a marble fireplace and a buffet bar; an eat-in kitchen with a newer stainless steel double oven; and a master suite with two walk-in closets, a wall of built-ins and a marble bath with a tub and a three-jet, walk-in glass enclosed shower. The house had been listed in February for $595,000.

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"The home has unique midcentury modern features that attracted the buyer," said Jason Vondrachek of @properties, who represented the Stuckmeyers in both transactions. "We plan to help them install a new kitchen plus other cosmetic updates that will transform the home."

In East Ukrainian Village, the Stuckmeyers' unit was built in 2009 with green construction methods. The duplex down unit has three baths, contemporary finishes, a living room with a wall of windows and custom blinds, white oak hardwood floors with espresso stains, surround sound on both floors with iPod wall docks, a master bath with a steam shower, and a kitchen with quartz countertops and Bosch stainless steel appliances, including a wine refrigerator and a double oven. The condo had been listed since April for $619,900. Stuckmeyer paid $457,000 for the unit in late 2009.

Bob Goldsborough is a freelance reporter.
Gorditas La Tia Susy in McKinley Park serves its house-made chorizo with potatoes in a number of its dishes, including the fantastic sopes ($3.50). Each one is a freshly griddled disc of masa with a skinny lip around its circumference. The spice-laden chorizo, piled on top, shares space with extra large chunks of potatoes. 3500 S. Western Ave., 872-281-5099. (Nick Kindelsperger / Chicago Tribune)

We all know the best way to eat a hot dog. We may disagree about toppings and condiments, but every American knows that hot dogs belong in hot dog buns. This is a fact even though marketers in the '60s and '70s attempted to confuse the public by photographing hot dogs in strange and uncomfortable situations. Ever seen the horror of a crown roast of frankfurters or a frankaroni loaf? Warning: these are images you can't unsee.

This is not the case with other sausages, which can adapt to dozens of different recipes without compromising their integrity. My favorite is Mexican chorizo, a red chili-tinged, vinegar-spiked pork sausage accented with spices like cumin, oregano and cinnamon. It's about as subtle as a fistful of bacon, and much like the bacon, just about everything tastes better when Mexican chorizo is around.

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Though it shares a name with Spanish chorizo, the two differ dramatically. Spanish chorizo usually features paprika-laced meat that's stuffed into a casing and dry-cured. Much like salami, Spanish chorizo is ready to eat when purchased. Just slice up and dig in.

Mexican chorizo is a fresh sausage and must be cooked. Confusingly, it's often sold in casings (either natural or plastic), making it seem like a perfect option for grilling whole. In most cases, this is a terrible idea. The casing will burst after a few minutes, spewing red fat and juice all over the coals like some kind of Hollywood-produced horror show.

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Instead, nearly every recipe using Mexican chorizo first calls for slicing through the casing to unleash the ground meat right into a skillet. Sometimes you cook the meat with onion or garlic, but the real variety with chorizo comes with what you do after it's cooked, as I found out while eating around Chicago.

The most common way to encounter Mexican chorizo, by far, is in a taco. These offerings often necessitate two tortillas stacked together to support the copious amount of crumbled chorizo, cilantro, onion and salsa piled on top.

The best chorizo vendors in Chicago make their chorizo from scratch, like Martinez Supermercado (3301 S. Morgan St.) in Bridgeport. The chorizo here has less heat than others but makes up for it with extra juiciness and a pleasing vinegar tang. While the tacos ($2.50) are good, the restaurant's signature 3-pound burrito ($10) is the way to go. The gargantuan offering is packed to the brim with the intricately flavored meat, along with lettuce, tomato salsa and cheese. Sure, it's absurd, but it's not even the biggest burrito here. The shop also serves the big baby burrito ($29), a 7-pound behemoth that no human should even joke about consuming whole.

Chorizo's most common partner is the potato, which provides a starchy, creamy backdrop for heavily seasoned sausage. The most diminutive example in town is probably the tacos de canasta at Guapo Taco (2430 W 47th St.) in Brighton Park. These, each $1, feature tortillas dipped in a red chile sauce, delicately folded over a chorizo and potato mixture, and then topped with pickled white onion. Soft and steamed, they go down one after another. It'd be easy to down five without trying too hard.

Nearby in McKinley Park, Gorditas La Tia Susy (3500 S. Western Ave.) serves its house-made chorizo with potatoes in a number of its dishes, including the fantastic sopes ($3.50)  freshly griddled discs of masa, each with a skinny lip around its circumference. The spice-laden chorizo shares space with extra-large chunks of potatoes and a healthy drizzle of crema.

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At newly opened La Josie (740 W. Randolph St.) in the West Loop, you can score the restaurant's spicy house-made chorizo mixed with potatoes and stuffed into the pocket of a thick and crackly gordita ($4). Black beans inside and crema on top provide a creamy counterpoint to the crunch of the gordita.

While potatoes remain the undisputed chorizo partner for lunch and dinner, you'll find chorizo most often paired with eggs in the morning. Texican (869 N. Larrabee St.), a bustling Tex-Mex joint on the Near Northwest Side, serves a solid chorizo and egg breakfast taco ($3), but the real highlight is the chorizo and egg breakfast sandwich ($8.50). Instead of the familiar red chorizo, they use the less common green chorizo, packed with spinach and fresh green chilies. Served on a sturdy ciabatta roll, the velvety scrambled eggs and griddled chorizo are topped with a generous handful of cheese, making for a hearty way to start the day.

Speaking of loads of cheese, chorizo makes a surprisingly good topping on queso fundido, which is essentially just a molten cauldron of gooey cheese. La Lagartija (132 S. Ashland Ave.) serves its queso fundido with chorizo ($7.75) in deep bowls warmed until the point where the cheese starts to brown around the edges. Underneath this edible blanket, you'll find the flavor-packed chorizo, along with a sizable pool of red fat. (Hey, no one said this was healthy.) This tastes best when you scoop deep into the bowl to exhume bits of the sausage and cheese at the same time. Devour straight away if you're a glutton, or transfer the spoonful to a warm corn tortilla and feast.

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And then there are the exceptions to the rule of not cooking chorizo in its casing. At Rick Bayless' Cruz Blanca (904 W. Randolph St.) in the West Loop, the chorizo for the taco platter ($12) is grilled whole; the chefs slice the sausage after cooking. How's that possible without bursting the casing? The chorizo links here are less wet than most around town. But don't worry  that doesn't mean they taste dry. Instead, they have an almost creamy texture, along with a slight chili heat, with smoky hints from the grill.

Even more unusual is the torta con chorizo verde ($14) at Quiote in Logan Square. Available only at Sunday brunch, the green chorizo link is cooked whole and then stuffed into a toasted lobster roll and topped with creamy green chile aioli and spicy xni pec (an habanero-addled fresh salsa). The wildly creative and yet solidly constructed connection would make Doug Sohn of the late Hot Doug's blush.

I'm sure there are questionable ways to use chorizo, but I couldn't find one. This extremely adaptable sausage loves to find a way to fit in.

nkindelsperger@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @nickdk






"Menashe" marks the feature debut of documentary-trained director Joshua Z. Weinstein, who shot his movie, partially under wraps across a two-year period, in the Hasidim community of Brooklyn, N.Y.'s Borough Park district.

The film's in Yiddish and some English, with English subtitles. Weinstein, a secular Jew, used an interpreter on set, working with an ensemble largely made up of first-time actors. The result is an act of partial, tenderly observed guerrilla filmmaking. It works; it takes you somewhere, quietly but evocatively, and it's affecting without pulling at your heartstrings with both hands.

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Essential details of "Menashe," which Weinstein wrote with Alex Lipschultz and Musa Syeed, come from the life of the performer cast in the leading role, a wonderful, easygoing bear of a man named Menashe Lustig. In real life Lustig, part of the restrictive New Square Hasidic enclave in Brooklyn, is a widower with a son, now a teenager. After several years in England, where his late wife came from, Lustig returned to Brooklyn. By his rabbi's decree he was required to remarry before regaining custody of his son. He has yet to do so.

From that situation, a fictionalized account was born, taking its name from the actor at the center. Weinstein opens his film with a busy Borough Park sidewalk, letting Menashe emerge from the crowd naturally, as the camera follows him to the right. He works as a grocer. He's devout (an early argument with his boss concerns whether the lettuce is sufficiently kosher) but a bit of a mess, always running late, boxed in by his own life. The preponderance of telephoto lensing and tight, revealing close-ups (Weinstein was one of two cinematographers on the picture) heighten this man's predicament.

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The narrative covers a week, leading up to Menashe's late wife's memorial, which Menashe is determined to hold in his tiny apartment. During that week, again by rabbinical decree, father regains custody of his son, Rieven (Ruben Niborski), as a sort of vacation from his new life with his prosperous aunt and uncle. The community is tightknit in the extreme; everyone knows everyone's business.

The movie wouldn't be much without the rapport established by Lustig and Niborski, a magically right duo. They embark on everyday diversions (getting ice cream; time spent at the kosher grocery, after Rieven's school day) but each moment has an invisible question mark hanging overhead. Menashe is heartbroken about losing custody of his son; without undue hectoring or finger-wagging, director and co-writer Weinstein wonders, often purely visually, if this really is the best scenario for all parties.

Some of the narrative developments and conversational tangents feel contrived, but "Menashe" has a rhythm (brisk but unforced) that speaks well of Weinstein's future in narrative storytelling. Lustig is a natural performer, and the comic short films (including some commercials he did within the Hasidim community) he has posted on YouTube indicate a broad slapstick impulse we see only hints of in "Menashe." Weinstein steers Lustig away from overt performance, in favor of covert emotion. It suits this world, and these people. In their scenes together Lustig and the effortless Niborski rarely can be caught capital-A Acting, when small-b behavior, in this context, is so much richer.

In various features coming out of Sundance earlier this year, stories of how Weinstein and company found their actors circulated widely. Yoel Weisshaus plays Menashe's brother-in-law, taking charge of Rieven. He's a paralegal in real life. Meyer Schwartz cuts a formidable rabbi; off-screen, he works as a taxi driver in the Hasidim community. (In that regard, he's like countless other actors.) Small but moving, "Menashe" has traveled well on the international film festival circuit. When it premiered at Sundance, Lustig was in attendance and, he said, it was the first time he'd ever witnessed a screening of anything in an actual theater. Now that its limited commercial run is underway, I hope a few more people see it that way.

Michael Phillips is a Tribune critic.

'Menashe'  3.5 stars

MPAA rating: PG (for thematic elements)

Running time: 1:21

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Opens: Friday

RELATED:

[ Watch "Menashe" star Menashe Lustig's commercial for the Zemiros Choir  ]

[ A scene from the A24 release "Menashe" featuring Menashe Lustig and Ruben Niborski  ]

[ "Menashe" co-writer/director Joshua Z. Weinstein interview at the NYC Angelika Film Center, July 28, 2017  ]







Watch the latest movie trailers.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 122 Sophie Turner as Jean Grey, anger management student, in "Dark Phoenix." The film, the latest in the "X-Men" franchise, costars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jessica Chastain. Read the review. (Twentieth Century Fox)
Some Los Angeles neighborhoods went up in flames after the Rodney King verdict in 1992. John Ridley's documentary "Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982-1992" explores these events. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

A more expansive version of the documentary that aired in April on ABC, the spectacularly good "Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982-1992,"screens this weekend, one time only, as part of the Gene Siskel Film Center's Black Harvest Film Festival. In his LA story, writer-director John Ridley (Oscar winner for "12 Years a Slave") accomplishes what straightforward nonfiction narrative can do in the best of circumstances: Canvas a huge historical event, lend it context, but populate it with witnesses and participants who give that event a beating heart.

By the 42-minute mark of writer-director Ridley's film, we may dread the introduction of Rodney King but we're ready for it. We've been prepared: We've seen how the controversial and often lethal Los Angeles Police Department chokehold tactics stoked the fires of resentment in so many communities of color. We've seen how the 1984 Olympics brought out, temporarily, a sunnier atmosphere of camaraderie in LA. We've met the key players in "Let It Fall," though only gradually do we learn their precise role in the April 1992 explosion.

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We see the amateur video footage of the baton-wielding LAPD officers clubbing a clearly nonthreatening King, dozens of times. Here was irrefutable evidence, eventually refuted.

The "not guilty" verdicts of those police officers in April 1992 set pockets of Los Angeles ablaze and cost many lives and $1 billion worth of property damage. Ridley's documentary puts all sorts of people on camera, from the assailants of trucker Reginald Denny to LAPD officers (none of the King assailants, unfortunately; none agreed to participate) who speak to policing under the baton of longtime LAPD chief Daryl Gates. A hated figure in many of LA's communities, Gates got the verdict on the Rodney King case he wanted. And then he retired.

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The violence runs in every direction here, and the moral currents are muddy, troubling, infinitely complicated. Nothing that we see in "Let It Fall" can be contained, really. It speaks to its time, and to this one.

"Whose Streets?" from filmmakers Sabaah Folayan and Damon Davis takes on a more recent conflagration, the August 2014 slaying of Michael Brown Jr. in Ferguson, Mo., and the Black Lives Matter movement that grew and spread in response to that fatal police shooting. "LA 1992," one Ferguson citizen mutters early in the documentary, referring to the uprising swirling around her. "It's just so sad, man."

"Whose Streets?" is an impassioned polemic, narrower in focus and impact than "Let It Fall." But both films are vital, alive and alert to the bloody blur of American history. They aren't black stories, or only black stories. The authorial voice in both documentaries happens to be black, though, and that is hardly incidental.

It's a different matter with "Detroit," a fictionalized account of the 1967 upheaval there and another galling example of indefensibly deadly police force.The screenwriter, Mark Boal, and the director, Kathryn Bigelow, are white. Many have cited that fact as a reason the movie seems well-meaning but thwarted and blinkered in its perspective.

I'm still wrestling with this viewpoint. On the one hand, commercial and creative artists and documentarians have every right to explore every human story, whatever their race and background and sensibility. On the other hand, black voices matter, because we haven't heard enough of them. Access is all. This is why the film industry, as we know it through the emblem and the gatekeeper known as Hollywood, has taken so long to respond to the diminishing returns of a majority culture. The people in power enjoy their power, and they do not want to share, unless they're either shamed into it or they're reminded, cyclically, that there's money to be made in recognizing talent, subjects and audiences of every sort.

"Detroit" comes from one of America's strongest directors. I think her work here is full of honest anguish and honest misjudgments in roughly equal measure. The film is undercut by a screenplay that scrambles to establish its main players in conventionally written ways, while conveying a creeping sense of dread regarding the Algiers Motel police interrogation and torture. Almost any movie, by a director of any color, any ethnicity, any skill level, would struggle to find a wide popular audience with this subject. The closure never comes. Then again, that's one of Bigelow's greatest assets as a storyteller: In all three films of her unofficial war trilogy, "The Hurt Locker," "Zero Dark Thirty" and "Detroit," she refuses the audience-placating button on a story that shows no sign of actually ending.

To put it in context: "Detroit" is a long way from a blood-boiling fraud such as director Alan Parker's 1988 "Mississippi Burning," which a generation ago imagined wrongly that the civil rights movement was put into motion by a couple of white guys, while the African-Americans stood around, mutely staring.

The valiantly humane overview of "Let It Fall" neither overheats nor sidelines the worst of what happened in April 1992. Ridley folds archival footage, news copter blather and his own, fresh interviews together in oral-history form. The longer version of the documentary playing in Chicago this weekend justifies each and every minute not found in the shorter version.

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He didn't set out to answer the title of the Ferguson documentary, but Ridley makes sense of how the blood got there, on streets that should, by human rights, belong to everyone.

"Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982-1992" screens at 8 p.m. Saturday as part of the Gene Siskel Film Center's annual Black Harvest Film Festival. 164 N. State St.; www.siskelfilmcenter.org/blackharvest.

"Whose Streets?" opens Friday at the AMC River East, Regal Webster Place and Studio Movie Grill Chatham.

"Detroit" continues in area theaters.

Michael Phillips is a Tribune critic.

mjphillips@chicagotribune.com

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Twitter @phillipstribune

[ RELATED: Trailer for John Ridley's "Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982-1992"  ]

[ Ferguson, Mo. documentary "Whose Streets?" trailer  ]

[ Review of Kathryn Bigelow's "Detroit" by Michael Phillips  ]







Watch the latest movie trailers.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 122 Sophie Turner as Jean Grey, anger management student, in "Dark Phoenix." The film, the latest in the "X-Men" franchise, costars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jessica Chastain. Read the review. (Twentieth Century Fox)
With the drug cartel thriller "Sicario" (2015), the West Texas bank robbery yarn "Hell or High Water" (2016) and the new, Wyoming-set "Wind River" (2017), screenwriter Taylor Sheridan has created an unofficial trilogy of crime stories sharing an unstated moral.

It goes like this: Follow the rules in America, whether you're an innocent victim, a charismatic outlaw or a valiant, frequently outmatched law enforcement official, and you'll either go broke or get killed. Soulless bureaucracy, economic deprivation and human greed may be bad for the citizenry. But they're great for stoking a writer's pulp imagination.

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"Wind River" marks Sheridan's feature directorial debut. The script this time sits a few steps down from "Hell or High Water," especially, though it's fairly compelling for considerable stretches. The movie begins on a cold night, with a young woman running across the snow while lines from a poem are spoken by a solemn, ancient-sounding Native American with a voice like the wind itself. This is the woman who becomes the corpse discovered in the snow, miles from anywhere, by a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service tracker played by Jeremy Renner.

The ensuing rape and murder investigation, on Native American land, invites a tangle of competing law enforcement officials. In from Las Vegas, a rookie FBI agent (Elizabeth Olsen) asks the tracker, Cory, to assist her in the case. Local sheriffs and the Tribal Police chief (Graham Greene) join the investigation, warily.

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Like Emily Blunt's FBI agent in "Sicario," Olsen's character in "Wind River" learns as she goes, usually from vaguely or brazenly patronizing men. The harsh conditions on the Wind River reservation involve meth heads, drug dealers and, higher up the mountain, petroleum company laborers whose lives, one man says, are nothing but snow and silence. Cory's life, meanwhile, is defined by grief. Three years earlier, we learn, his daughter (best friends with the dead teenager discovered in the snow) was murdered, with no resolution to the case. Cory shares custody of his son (Tio Briones) with his emotionally numb ex-wife (Julia Jones), and their son's biracial heritage is spelled out in an early scene of father teaching son horsemanship skills. After one successful lesson, Briones says: "Pretty cowboy, huh?" Renner replies, a touch too earnestly: "No, son. That was all Arapaho."

"Wind River" is roughly 50 percent strengths, 50 percent contrivances. Often they collide in the same scene. Early on there's a tense, violent clash in a grubby trailer that begins with mace in the eyes and ends with fatal gunshots. But when Renner's tracker enters the scene, shovel in hand, there's something off in his demeanor and behavior; suddenly we're watching the unflappable, casually brutal actions of a Clint Eastwood fantasy figure, not a man who's simply good with his reflexes and on his feet. Likewise, Sheridan delivers a standard-issue slaughterfest for a climax, reinforcing the protagonist not simply as a man of action but an avenging angel of death, in snowmobile goggles.

The most conspicuous mixed blessing of "Wind River" arrives in a lengthy, excruciating flashback sequence that answers all our worst fears regarding the young woman's rape and murder. It's skillfully set up but grueling, in ways that throw you straight out of the drama rather than intensifying it. A similar question arises in director Kathryn Bigelow's handling of the interrogation and torture sequence at the heart of "Detroit." How much pain do you put an audience through, and  this is the key  from which perspectives, to dramatize appalling human behavior? What's the invisible line between honorable excruciation and misjudged melodrama?

Sheridan, a Texas-born actor before he became a writer and director, can be wonderful with dialogue. That was evident to anyone who remembers the waitress in "Hell or High Water" going on about the time someone ordered trout in her steak-and-potatoes diner. In "Wind River," an ordinary scene in a coroner's office, straight out of the "SVU" mold, gradually reveals Sheridan's facility with straight exposition delivered through character. Sheridan likes to let his people talk, and that means everybody  perps and side characters, alongside the ones guiding the story.

The frontier justice streak in "Wind River" leads to far less persuasive results than Sheridan got in "Hell or High Water." Cory is almost, but not quite, a fully dimensional character; he comes off as the spiritual descendant of the mountain man in "Jeremiah Johnson" who told Robert Redford to keep his nose in the wind, and his eyes along the skyline.

"Luck don't live out here," the tracker informs the FBI agent. "Luck lives in the city." Then he keeps going with the metaphor longer than the scene actually warrants.

Michael Phillips is a Chicago Tribune critic.

"Wind River"  2 stars

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MPAA rating: R (for strong violence, a rape, disturbing images and language)

Running time: 1:51

Opens: Friday

RELATED:

[ Michael Phillips Chicago Tribune review of screenwriter Taylor Sheridan's "Hell or High Water"  ]

[ Michael Phillips Chicago Tribune review of screenwriter Taylor Sheridan's "Sicario"  ]

[ Movie trailers are often misleading  ]







Watch the latest movie trailers.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 126 Woody introduces the gang to a homemade spork toy with self-esteem issues in "Toy Story 4." Read the review. (Pixar / AP)
Brookfield Zoo's veterinary radiologist, Marina Ivancic, explains how she collaborates with other doctors to keep the thousands of animals at the zoo safe and healthy. (Alyssa Pointer/Chicago Tribune) (Alyssa Pointer/Chicago Tribune)

Today's patient has 2-inch fangs, a glossy golden-brown coat and a triangular, petal-pink nose.

Dongwa the clouded leopard lies fully anesthetized in the CT scanner, his tongue lolling, as Brookfield Zoo radiologist Marina Ivancic scrolls through the 3-D rendering of his insides on her computer screen.

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"Right lung, left lung, aorta, liver, gall bladder," she narrates, as she makes the virtual journey through the cat's thoracic cavity and down into his abdomen.

She calls up an image of the 40-pound cat's muscular exterior, and then, with a few quick drags on her computer touchpad, she makes the muscle fall away, and you see the curves and angles of ghost-white bone.

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Dongwa is the big attraction today, with vets and veterinary students clustered at his side, but it's actually Ivancic, zoo officials say, who is one of a kind. She is the only board-certified veterinary radiologist working full time at a North American zoo, according to Michael Adkesson, vice president of clinical medicine at the Chicago Zoological Society, which operates Brookfield Zoo.

Hired last June, Ivancic helps diagnose animals at Brookfield and serves as a consultant to zoos and aquariums worldwide, analyzing scans sent in from as far away as Australia and Hong Kong.

"I'm humbled every day that I get to do this for a living  which is nuts," she said.

"People would do anything to touch one of these animals just once. There's always some new thrill or some new species  some beautiful little animal that (may be) pregnant. The other day I looked at a little tamandua  a tiny anteater. They're gorgeous animals, and I was looking at her belly with the ultrasound while she was eating these nasty little worms that she loves so much, and they're wiggling around, and she's chewing on them and paying no attention to the fact that I'm looking at her."

Ivancic has quickly carved out a niche for herself  recent patients include a penguin, a snow leopard and a kangaroo. She's also analyzing images sent in by other zoos, in a fee-for-service arrangement that Adkesson described as a win-win.

"It's so easy to move these images (online) and her expertise can help everyone," he said. "We're hoping to not just improve the caliber of medicine for our animals, but to provide that for zoos around the world."

Born in Croatia  her last name is pronounced "EE-ven-cheech," Ivancic came to the U.S. with her family at age 5 when her father, a mathematician by training, got a job offer in Silicon Valley.

A passionate ballet dancer as a teenager, she practiced four hours a day and landed a ballet scholarship to the University of Hartford in Connecticut. But at 19, she suddenly became disenchanted: "I felt like it was a superficial form of existence." She decided to focus, instead, on her love of animals and found her calling during a summer internship training dolphins in Hawaii.

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"I met those animals, and that was it," said Ivancic, 40, who lives in Chicago's South Loop neighborhood. "I was done. I fell completely in love with them as a species, and that has never waned."

She studied the standard domestic and barnyard animals at veterinary school but spent her summers working with dolphins at the U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program in San Diego, where she realized radiology is a big part of dolphin care. She did her residency in radiology at the University of Pennsylvania and started a career as a marine mammal radiologist.

"People were like, 'What? I don't need a dolphin radiologist. You're crazy! I can just look at (the scans) myself,'" Ivancic recalled, laughing.

But MRI physics are complicated, she would tell the doubter; you do need a radiologist.

"Then I'll send (the scan) to a human radiologist," the doubter would say.

"OK, but they don't know anything about a dolphin," Ivancic would respond. "A dolphin has a blowhole; they have a modified larynx; they have all these adaptations."

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She built up a radiology consulting business, analyzing scans sent to her via the internet and flying off to help diagnose and treat dolphins at zoos and private collections in Mexico, Canada, Bermuda, Turkey and Dubai.

Back at Brookfield, zoo veterinarians were beginning to realize they had a problem.

As imaging technology had advanced, it had become more difficult for veterinary radiologists trained in domestic animal care to interpret images from CT scans, MRIs, X-rays, ultrasounds and nuclear medicine. Adkesson wanted someone who could fill that gap, a staff radiologist with a focus on zoo animals who could help get the diagnosis right the first time, potentially allowing zoo veterinarians to start treatment earlier and get better results.

Brookfield Zoo's veterinary radiologist, Marina Ivancic, studies the images of a CT scan that was performed on Dongwa, a clouded leopard, during a medical exam at Brookfield Zoo in July. (Alyssa Pointer / Chicago Tribune)

Ivancic was already very well-known in the marine mammal field, Adkesson said, and the Brookfield Zoo has dolphins, seals and sea lions, so that was a natural fit. She had the technical skills the zoo was looking for: "She's an absolutely phenomenal radiologist  one of the best radiologists I've had the opportunity to work with," said Adkesson.

And she had the people skills that medical professionals with highly technical specialties sometimes lack.

"We're really in very uncharted waters with this, and we knew she had the right personality to make a success out of it," Adkesson said.

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For today's patient, the news is good. A few months ago, Dongwa, a senior cat at age 14, had a small cancerous growth removed from his mouth. But after examining 4,875 images from the CT scan of the cat's body, as well as computer reconstructions that capture important details, Ivancic finds no sign that the cancer has spread.

Sitting in an office decorated with black and white photos from her dolphin-training days, Ivancic reports good news on the consulting side as well. She's now getting a few dozen requests to analyze scans from other zoos every month, up from zero when she started a year ago.

"I'm getting everything," she says of her long-distance patients. "I'll get an African Cape porcupine, I'll get a Komodo dragon CT and I'll get an MRI of a gorilla  you know, all of it. Your brain has to constantly be working. There's steam coming out of my ears!"

Not that she's complaining.

"I like a challenge," Ivancic said with a smile. "I'm not a risk-averse person."

nschoenberg@chicagotribune.com

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Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 13 In 1987, Mayor Harold Washington ordered the design of a new central library. The breathtaking Winter Garden on the ninth floor is a quiet locale, perfect for logging some hours. (Stevegeer/iStock)
Bernard Cherkasov, executive director of Cradles to Crayons, joins volunteers on packing 17,000 backpacks with school supplies for the Cradles to Crayons organization that will be given Chicago Public School students Aug. 10, 2017. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)

Third-grade teacher Teresa Danks briefly turned school supplies into a national story when she stood on the side of a Tulsa, Okla., highway with a sign that read, "Teacher needs school supplies! Anything helps."

(Have you been on a Tulsa highway in the summer? It's hot. Like, 107 degrees hot.)

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Anyway. Danks said she spends $2,000-$3,000 of her $35,000 annual salary on supplies for her students, which is not uncommon for teachers. (She raised $52 on the highway, close to $30,000 more on a GoFundMe page.)

It shouldn't be this way. But it is.

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In Chicago, 80 percent of public school students are "economically disadvantaged," according to Chicago Public Schools data. In many cases, that means homeless. School supplies are a luxury many families can't afford, leaving kids to rely on teachers' and classmates' donations.

"Inability to access basic needs is one of the biggest obstacles to school participation and academic achievement," said Bernard Cherkasov, executive director of Cradles to Crayons. "Kids are going to school carrying their supplies in trash bags."

Cradles to Crayons is a Chicago-based nonprofit that provides children in homeless or low-income situations with essentials  everything from clothing to books to hygiene products.

This time of year, their attention turns to school supplies.

On Thursday morning, volunteers lined a plaza across from the Civic Opera House for the group's annual Backpack-a-thon. In under three hours, they pack 17,000 backpacks with notebooks, folders, pencils, crayons and other supplies to donate to kids who need them. (Cradles to Crayons partners with local shelters and social service agencies to identify students in need.)

Also tucked into those backpacks? Handwritten notes that Cradles to Crayons collects all summer.

"They say things like, 'I'm rooting for you,' 'Have a fantastic school year,' 'You're going to do great,'" Cherkasov said. "We know from social workers that kids sleep with those notes next to their beds. They carry them to school every day."

Small gesture, enormous impact.

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If you're grabbing school supplies for your own family and want to grab a few extras, Cradles to Crayons has 30 Chicago-area drop-off sites listed on its website.

Donations are accepted year-round, and they're not limited to school supplies. Hygiene products, clothing, books  it's all needed. Clothes can be gently used, with three exceptions.

"The only things we don't accept unless they're new is pajamas, underwear and socks," Cherkasov said. "Our model is to give dignity to the families we serve, and it doesn't feel very dignified to put on a stranger's used underwear."

You can also sign up for a shift at the giving factory, Cradles to Crayons' distribution warehouse in Logan Square. Kids are welcome. (Sign-up information is on the group's website.)

"For a city as rich and diverse as Chicago," Cherkasov said, "we owe it to our kids to provide them basic essentials."

Starting with the supplies they need to learn.

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hstevens@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @heidistevens13

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ABC7 reporter Paul Meincke and friends spent more than two months canoeing the length of the Mississippi River. Tim Clark celebrates the end of the journey by jumping in Louisiana's Atchafalaya Basin that leads into the Gulf of Mexico. (Paul Meincke)

I grew up on the Mississippi River, in Rock Island, Ill. I knew of the river's moods and might but always took it for granted. And yet I'd long wondered what it would be like to travel the Mississippi from source to sea  in a canoe.

So, after a decade of imagining and a year of serious preparation, I and three other retired graybeards from suburban Chicago  Tim Clark, Tom Lobacz and Bill Baar  headed north in late May to put in at the Mississippi's headwaters at Lake Itasca, Minn.

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The river begins as a baby stream gurgling past 25 feet of stones that permit you to "walk across the Mississippi" which, of course, we do. A webcam allows people to watch the "walkers" from afar. My wife calls to tell me she sees us. I wave.

For its first 60 miles, the Mississippi actually flows north, meandering through marshlands so expansive that an errant turn will find you lost. All of our gear is strapped into two, 18 1/2-foot Kevlar canoes: a single dome tent, a heavy kitchen set, several days' worth of food and all our personal gear. Our campsites are "rustic" with names like Coffee Pot Landing and Fox Trap. Every bend in the river brings a new gift of wildlife. Loons offer up their tremolos. We're entertained by trumpeter swans, river otters and soaring eagles.

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The Mississippi traverses three huge lakes in upper Minnesota  the biggest of which is Winnibigoshish. "Winnie" is 11 miles wide and notoriously temperamental. Our shoreline crossing is met with wind-driven white caps that bat us around in 3- and 4-foot swells.

We take water over the bow and wisely choose to put up for the night at an old fishing resort named Denny's that's run by former Chicagoans. They shower us with warmth, humor and food. "Minnesota Nice" they call it. But we will discover throughout our adventure that the warmth and generosity of "river angels" along the Mississippi is not confined by state boundaries. It's everywhere. We four unshaven, weather-beaten guys are constantly asked, "Do you need water, a ride to the store?" "Tell us about your trip."

Tom has brought along a ceremonial paddle that we have all our "angels" sign. By trip's end, we know it will be filled. The gestures of kindness are overwhelming, and it's clear to us that this journey is as much about the people we meet as the places we'll see.

We figure it will take us at least 70 days to reach the Gulf of Mexico, a journey spanning roughly 2,200 miles. We make a loose calculation that this will require some 950,000 paddle strokes  each. We must take one day at a time.

Along the way, the river grows dramatically in size and swiftness. Below Minneapolis-St. Paul is where the big commercial traffic begins. Barges. And locks and dams  29 of them between the Twin Cities and St. Louis.

For us, going through locks is a new, somewhat daunting experience. We use a marine radio to contact each lock master. So long as there are no "big boys" waiting, we get the green light to paddle into the lock chamber, where we hold on to a lowered rope as the water level quickly drops. It's akin to sitting in a big bathtub with the drain opened. Most of our drops are just a few feet or less and take only minutes. But in Keokuk, Iowa, the drop at Lock and Dam No. 19 is the biggest on the Mississippi at 31 feet the day we pass through. It's freaky. We are so small, and the lock gates are so huge. As they slowly open for our passage, Tim yells, "Release the Kraken!"

Keokuk is one of dozens of river towns we visit. Many, if not most, have been battered by the exodus from small-town America, resulting in a sad abundance of empty storefronts. The Mississippi gave birth to these towns in steamship days, and its flooding over the years strangled many of their futures. Yet they remain proud of their histories. Many, like tiny Oquawka, Ill., celebrate the past with beautifully painted murals and statues. The art speaks to where the paddle-wheelers docked, where Abe Lincoln once spoke, and how, at the dawn of the 20th century, mussel fishermen known as "clammers" turned Muscatine, Iowa, into the Pearl Button Capital of the World.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 12 Tom Lobacz, left, holds the ceremonial paddle that's being signed by Mike Hutson, a "river angel" from Rosedale, Miss., who supplied us with water, showers and other helpful things. (Paul Meincke / Chicago Tribune)

Nowhere is that sense of the past more alive than in Hannibal, Mo., the boyhood home of Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain. We arrive July Fourth weekend when the annual Tom Sawyer Days festival is in full swing. The calliope is playing on the Mark Twain riverboat while visitors cheer the frog-jump competition. Life on the Mississippi is good.

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Throughout our trip, Tom, a Purple Heart Vietnam veteran, has been presenting other veterans with stars he's cut from retired American flags. He's on a mission to thank all veterans for their service and offer a "welcome home" to those who never received one. These moments, all impromptu, are heartfelt and powerful.

We paddle up to the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, forewarned that from here south, the river traffic can present real hazards. The towboats are now pushing up to 42 barges each, six wide, seven deep. As they slowly pass, the river churns, creating troughs at least 6 feet deep. The river keeps roiling long after the tow has passed, and we must ride the rollers carefully.

By now, the Mississippi is very wide and deep. It's river kissing horizon as far as we can see. We paddle, sometimes hypnotically, hoping we don't fall asleep and fall in. We can't escape the sun; it bakes us. Just outside Rosedale, Miss., we're running low on drinking water. The heat and humidity have sapped our strength and brain power.

Along come more river angels in the form of Mike and Virginia Hutson, who give us water, open their home for us to take showers and drive us to town for food and drink. It's Southern hospitality with the expectation of nothing in return except our thanks.

Bill, a gifted canoeist, has picked Vicksburg, Miss., as his last port of call, so Tim, Tom and I transition to a 23-foot canoe for three.

From Baton Rouge south, the Mississippi is filled with so many barges, tugs and oceangoing monster ships that one tow captain describes it as "suicide alley." We opt to connect with the Atchafalaya River, a Mississippi distributary that will take us to the Gulf. It's a big river too without big freighters. But it does have alligators. Lots of them. We watch them. They watch us, sometimes from just a few feet away.

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Finally, the last day arrives. Day 70. We take stock. We camped in parks, on sandbars and on the top of boat ramps. We watched breathtaking fire-sky sunsets and drank beer in the oldest saloon on the Mississippi. We grew beards and lost weight. We learned so much  enough to realize we know so little.

We know that the Mississippi is to be both loved and feared. And the folks we met along the way reaffirmed that there's great goodness in people. They care. They want to share. And they wish only the same in return. That was our greatest reward.

We jump in as the Atchafalaya mingles with the Gulf. The water is warm. We drink in the moment. Our paddles now rest, but like the Mississippi, our memories will just keep rollin' along.

Paul Meincke is a contributing reporter at WLS-Ch. 7.

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President Donald Trump hasn't been shy about his disdain for much of the news media, but this week he has been particularly aggressive with his Twitter posts attacking journalism organizations.

There's been plenty written and discussed about his frequent use of the words "fake news" in an effort to undermine coverage about him and his administration that's unfavorable.

Trump did that again this week, but what struck a nerve with me  and reminded me of a battle we fight on the local level  was a couple of tweets in which the president claimed that specific news stories had been ignored.

Among a list of stories he claimed the "Fake News refused to report" were his U.S. Supreme Court nominee getting confirmed, positive numbers on jobs and the economy, increased border security and the battle against the MS-13 gang. In a separate tweet, he said: "The Fake News Media will not talk about the importance of the United Nations Security Council's 15-0 vote in favor of sanctions on N. Korea!"

A simple Google search of any of those issues will show that there's has been significant coverage, by well-established national news media outlets, of all of those stories. It's a plain lie to claim media are refusing to report on them.

I have no doubt that the president knows those issues have been in the news, but he believes putting out messages to the contrary will resonate with his core supporters and will hurt the credibility of the same news sources that are digging up troubling information he'd like to keep from the public.

On the local level, we've heard similar erroneous complaints about certain stories being published at the expense of others, although I'm much less inclined to believe there's some ulterior motive behind them. It's typically just a case of people not realizing the wide scope of what we report and publish, and then focusing on just one or two items that they did see.

Almost weekly, I'll get a call or email from a reader asking us to report on a story that we've already published or complaining that we've ignored an issue that's been on our website and the print pages. It's nice to be able to send them a link or refer them to the date of a certain edition, but I often wonder how many other people out there may have the same misconception.

That's a big reason why I advocate for people to be active consumers of news. Make a daily habit of reading, listening to and watching coverage of local, state, national and global issues. You'll be amazed out how much information is out there that others claim is being ignored.
Comedian Rachel Dratch arrives at the premiere of "Be Kind Rewind" at Tribeca Cinemas in New York on Feb. 19, 2008. (Peter Kramer / Associated Press)

Former "Saturday Night Live" star Rachel Dratch has lived in New York City for the better part of two decades.

But like a relentless stalker in a horror movie, the city of Chicago tracked her down  and hit her with a $73 parking ticket from 20 years ago.

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"I did a double take when I saw it!" Dratch told Chicago Inc. on Thursday after posting a photo of the ticket on Twitter alongside the observation that "Chicago does not f around." Nearly 5,000 Twitter users had "liked" the post as of lunchtime.

Dratch  best known for portraying Debbie Downer on "SNL"  said she is not in the habit of "living on the edge of the law" and is not on the run from City Hall. Though she initially joked that she was going to be the "Norma Rae of parking tickets," she later said she would probably pay it.

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"I just want to make sure it's not a hoax," she said, adding that she has not previously received any demands to pay the ticket.

The ticket, issued Dec. 8, 1997, dates to Dratch's time as a member of the Second City troupe  and was apparently plastered on her Honda at 150 W. North Ave.  yards from the theater, leading Dratch to believe it is real.

"I don't even have a car now that I live in New York," said the comic actress, 51. "I didn't think my past transgressions would follow me for so long."

A City Hall spokeswoman told Inc. that Dratch was contacted at least five times previously, but did not say what steps the city will take if Dratch does not pay, or whether it intends to hound her to the grave.

The Emanuel administration, though, is known to have stepped up collection of parking ticket debt after the implementation of the Local Debt Recovery Program with the state government in 2012, and there is no statute of limitations on parking tickets.

kjanssen@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @kimjnews
The year of Chance the Rapper continues at Saturday's Bud Billiken Parade, where the entertainer will serve as its grand marshal. He will also be distributing hundreds of backpacks, a portion of a total 30,000, filled with school supplies promised to deserving students in partnership with SocialWorks and STATE Bags.

Sponsored by Chicago Defender Charities, the Bud Billiken Parade, which claims to be the second-largest in the U.S. behind the Rose Bowl Parade, has been a back-to-school celebration and showcase for the city's talented young people since 1929.
A heroin supplier who prosecutors say wielded violence to protect his drug empire and flaunted his riches with a lavish lifestyle was sentenced to 37 years in prison Thursday by a federal judge who found him responsible for the slaying of an informant.

After two days of evidence and arguments, U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber held David Price responsible for shooting a longtime friend in front of the man's 3-year-old daughter for cooperating with the feds.

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Price had been convicted more than three years ago on 13 counts of money laundering, conspiracy and weapons counts.

In seeking life in prison, prosecutors had argued that Price should be held responsible for killing longtime friend Gregory Holden after Holden helped out authorities  an allegation Price was not charged with or convicted on.

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On Thursday, Leinenweber concluded that Price was indeed responsible by a preponderance of the evidence  a lower standard of proof than the beyond a reasonable doubt that a jury must find to convict.

But given that Price was not convicted of the murder, the judge rejected life in prison, saying he thought that was "a little too much."

Leinenweber said he chose 37 years in prison so Price, 38, wouldn't be freed from prison until he was an older man.

After the hearing, Price's attorney, Beau Brindley, said he would appeal the conviction and sentence. He said there was "not sufficient evidence" to find Price responsible of "a murder of any kind."

Price's father, who testified against his son but had questioned prosecutors' attempt to portray him as a murderer, declined to comment.

"He ain't no kingpin," his father told the Tribune on Wednesday.

Federal prosecutors said Price's body tells the story of his life  from the tattoo covering his face that says "Neighborhood Bully" to the pictures of his children tattooed on his back just above the tat showing him with guns blazing in each hand, plus the words "God Forgives, I Don't."

He lived by those words, prosecutors allege, shooting Holden, ordering hits on other "rats" and even threatening to kill his own father when he refused to continue to launder drug money.

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Price, nicknamed "Shorty" and "Hot Sauce," acted ruthlessly to protect a lucrative drug empire that supplied heroin to open-air drug markets on Chicago's West Side for seven years, prosecutors said.

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The profits enabled Price to live lavishly, buying luxury homes, including a downtown high-rise apartment; driving a Corvette and a custom Harley-Davidson motorcycle; and owning a $35,000 watch encrusted with more than 1,000 diamonds, according to prosecutors. Price even named his son after Louis Vuitton, his favorite luxury clothing brand, authorities said.

After law enforcement conducted a search of his residence in October 2011, Price suspected that Holden was cooperating with authorities. Two months later, Price and an undisclosed accomplice drove his girlfriend's vehicle to Holden's apartment in suburban Woodridge, prosecutors alleged. The two waited for Holden's longtime partner to leave for work before breaking into the apartment, they said. The two shot Holden more than 20 times in front of his youngest daughter as his older daughter, 7, home sick from school, slept in her parents' bedroom, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors said Price "wallpapered" his body with numerous tattoos that glorified violence and reflected his obsession with money.

Around the time that he was alleged to have killed Holden, Price obtained what prosecutors called "chilling tattoos about killing 'rats,' preferring death to capture and depicting himself wielding guns."

According to prosecutors, Price bragged about his millionaire status, tattooing a huge million-dollar bill on his chest, and flaunted his drug business by tattooing a heroin needle dripping cash on his arm beside the words "Addicted to Money."

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gpratt@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @royalpratt
Federal prosecutors say David Price's body tells the story of his life  from the tattoo covering his face that says "Neighborhood Bully" to the pictures of his children tattooed on his back just above the tat showing him with guns blazing in each hand, by the words "God Forgives, I Don't."

He lived by those words, prosecutors allege, shooting a longtime friend in front of the man's 3-year-old daughter for cooperating with the feds, ordering hits on other "rats" and even threatening to kill his own father when he refused to continue to launder drug money.

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Price, nicknamed "Shorty" and "Hot Sauce," acted ruthlessly to protect a lucrative drug empire that supplied heroin to open-air drug markets on Chicago's West Side for seven years, prosecutors said.

The profits enabled Price to live lavishly, buying luxury homes, including a downtown high-rise apartment; driving a Corvette and a custom Harley-Davidson motorcycle; and owning a $35,000 watch encrusted with more than 1,000 diamonds, according to prosecutors. Price even named his son after Louis Vuitton, his favorite luxury clothing brand, authorities said.

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On Thursday, more than three years after his conviction on 13 money laundering, drug, conspiracy and weapons counts, Price, 38, faces up to life in prison as his sentencing hearing continues into a second day in U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber's courtroom.

Lawyers put on evidence and argued for hours Wednesday over whether Price should be held responsible for the killing of longtime friend Gregory Holden after Holden helped out authorities  an allegation Price was not charged with or convicted on.

Prosecutors said federal sentencing guidelines for Price were "literally off the chart" because of the massive amount of heroin he supplied  at least 198 pounds  as well as for his alleged use of violence and threats of violence.

But Price's attorney, Beau Brindley, aggressively cross-examined prosecution witnesses in an effort to cast doubt on Price's involvement in Holden's slaying.

A photo from federal court records in the sentencing of David Price shows him on a custom motorcycle. Price, 38, faces up to life in prison as his sentencing hearing continues into a second day on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2017, in Chicago. He was convicted on 13 money laundering, drug, conspiracy and weapons counts. (Federal court records )

Outside the courtroom, Price's father, David Sr., who cooperated with the feds and testified against his son at trial, criticized the prosecution attempt to portray his son as a murderer, calling the evidence "hearsay."

He also downplayed his son's drug dealing and said he'd be facing a lesser sentence if he were white.

"He ain't no kingpin," his father said.

Prosecutors alleged that Price, to protect his highly profitable heroin empire, lashed out at any threats, singling out in particular several former friends who cooperated with law enforcement.

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Beginning in January 2008, Price ordered the killing of co-conspirator James "Hershey" Brown after he suspected he was assisting police, according to prosecutors. But two of Price's associates botched the shooting, wounding Brown in the legs, authorities said.

At trial, government witness Joenathan Penson, testified he heard an upset Price the next day say he should have carried out the killing himself, calling the two gunmen "amateurs" and "leg shooters."

Penson said he believed Price told him of the failed murder attempt to intimidate him "if I ever had any thoughts about talking to the police."

When Penson's later cooperation became public, Price's crew members used social media to label him a "snitch" and warn that "snitches get stitches," prosecutors said.

According to prosecutors, David Price bragged about his millionaire status, tattooing a huge million-dollar bill on his chest, as seen in this photo from federal court records. Price, 38, faces up to life in prison as his sentencing hearing continues into a second day on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2017, in Chicago. He was convicted on 13 money laundering, drug, conspiracy and weapons counts. (Federal court records )

Nearly four years later, Price took matters into his own hands, prosecutors alleged, after law enforcement conducted a search of his residence in October 2011, leading him to suspect that Holden was cooperating with authorities.

Two months later, Price and an undisclosed accomplice drove his girlfriend's vehicle to Holden's apartment in suburban Woodridge, prosecutors alleged. The two waited for Holden's longtime partner to leave for work before breaking into the apartment, they said. The two shot Holden more than 20 times in front of his youngest daughter as his older daughter, 7, home sick from school, slept in her parents' bedroom, according to prosecutors.

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After some time, the 7-year-old girl was able to call her grandmother, who notified police.

Holden, a drug dealer, had recently been arrested by Drug Enforcement Administration agents and was cooperating against Price. Shortly before his slaying, he had told his partner that he'd heard Price had offered $25,000 for his hit but found it hard to believe because of their long friendship, according to prosecutors.

At about that same time, prosecutors alleged, Price attempted to locate and kill a close, longtime friend whom he also suspected of turning against him  Mokece Lee, who had a child with Price's sister and was considered like family. But Price was unable to find Lee because authorities had moved him to a secure location immediately after Holden's killing, prosecutors said.

"Had the government not taken those actions, Lee may not be alive today," prosecutors wrote in a court filing last week.

According to prosecutors, Price's father had helped out his son for many years by using his good name and credit to launder drug profits. The father also acted as a nominee for Price to buy the Corvette and a luxury house in Country Club Hills as well as renting cars for him in his name that Price used to evade police, authorities said.

But their relationship soured in fall 2011 when Price failed to return a rented Ford SUV on time, the father testified at his son's trial. The elder Price refused to launder money any longer, causing Price to go "ballistic" and threaten to kill his father and burn down his house, according to prosecutors.

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The father reported the threat to law enforcement and began to cooperate with the federal investigation of his son.

In addition to the threats and violence, prosecutors said, Price broke a girlfriend's jaw and gave her a black eye after arguing over a day care bill for their son in 2008.

Prosecutors said Price used false identities to obtain leases at residences in Darien, Lombard, Bolingbrook and Brookfield, moving from place to place to avoid detection.

Before his arrest in August 2012, prosecutors alleged, he kept an Uzi-style semi-automatic firearm with a loaded extended magazine, two 9 mm pistols he called "the twins" and other weapons.

Prosecutors said Price "wallpapered" his body with numerous tattoos that glorified violence and reflected his obsession with money.

Around the time that he was alleged to have killed Holden, Price obtained what prosecutors called "chilling tattoos about killing 'rats,' preferring death to capture and depicting himself wielding guns with the words, 'God Forgives, I Don't.'"

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According to prosecutors, Price bragged about his millionaire status, tattooing a huge million-dollar bill on his chest, and flaunted his drug business by tattooing a heroin needle dripping cash on his arm beside the words, "Addicted to Money."

gpratt@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @royalpratt
Cook County Democrats, at a slate meeting at Erie St. Cafe on Aug. 10, 2017, expressed worries that a controversial drink tax could combine with a state income tax hike and increases in city property taxes to cause a voter revolt against Democrats in 2018. (Phil Velasquez / Chicago Tribune)

Concern about the political effects of a deeply unpopular county pop tax  on top of recent state and city tax increases  on Thursday hung over the first day of Cook County Democrats' endorsement session for next year's primary election.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle took the podium to make the first pitch of the day, asking the party she vice-chairs for an endorsement for re-election next year. The beverage tax that she broke a tie vote to approve in November has been collected for just more than a week, but state Rep. Luis Arroyo asked her whether she would repeal it.

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"My answer is no," Preckwinkle responded. "We had a choice last fall, either raise revenue, or make 1,100 cuts in personnel and lay off 1,100 people, and I thought then, I think now, that would severely impact the quality of services."

"Eighty-seven percent of our budget is public health and public safety, and that is the principal area in which our staff is located," she added. "So, no, I'm not going to do that."

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Preckwinkle afterward avoided addressing potential political fallout of the tax and instead defended its passage. Other Democrats expressed worries, though, that the controversial drink tax could combine with a state income tax hike and increases in city property taxes to sow the seeds for a potential voter tax revolt against Democrats in November 2018.

Northwest Side Ald. Nicholas Sposato, 38th, said he expects some backlash against the pop tax "down the road in the election next year." People complaining to him about the tax "are blaming Preckwinkle and the Democrats," he said, adding that the income tax increase would compound the problem.

Democrats last month overrode Gov. Bruce Rauner's veto of a state income tax rate hike from 3.75 percent to 4.95 percent, a move made to end a two-year state budget stalemate and try to balance the state's books.

"It certainly will affect the party," Sposato said. "There will be some backlash for it."

With more than a year before next year's election, voters also might move on to other concerns. Candidates could learn more in the coming weeks, when they set out to collect petition signatures they need to run for office next year.

"While this (beverage tax criticism) has been fast moving, the rubber will hit the road  and we will have the best understanding with what's happening with the voters  when candidates go out and solicit (nominating) petitions," said one Democratic candidate who asked not to be identified to avoid conflict with Preckwinkle and other party leaders.

Even elected officials who don't serve on the County Board and had no role in enacting the penny-per-ounce beverage levy are getting heat.

"People at the grocery store are asking me why I voted for it," said one Democratic elected official who doesn't serve at the county level and asked not to be identified to avoid conflict with party leaders. "There is a combination effect. You've got this tax, the city putting on taxes, the state income tax. There may be a backlash."

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The Democratic elected official said the November 2018 election remains far away and questioned whether the raw public criticism seen in the opening days of the beverage tax's collection would remain. Still, the official said, lawsuits filed against Walgreens, McDonald's and 7-Eleven over issues implementing the tax "keeps the issue in the public eye."

The same goes for radio ads and a continuing legal challenge of the new tax funded by the beverage industry and news Thursday that the county could lose $87 million in federal food stamp money if a problem in collecting the tax isn't fixed.

In apparent acknowledgment of political concerns over the beverage tax, Preckwinkle spent some of her pitch before party slatemakers Thursday defending it and saying more needs to be done to inform the public about the workings of county government.

"We're in a moment of time now where we're particularly challenged around the sweetened beverage tax," Preckwinkle told top Democratic leaders.

"We've got some challenges getting our message out about the sweetened beverage tax and we're going to begin to do that as the campaign heats (up) at the end of August and Labor Day," she said.

Ironically, the issue of a repeal of the tax was raised to Preckwinkle by Arroyo, an 11-year state lawmaker whose namesake son is a member of the County Board. Luis Arroyo Jr. was on the fence about supporting the beverage tax until the day of the vote in November, when he backed it.

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Asked after the meeting whether anyone should read anything into his father's question about repealing the tax, Luis Arroyo Jr. said: "We'll see what happens."

Democratic Cook County Commissioner Richard Boykin voted against the tax and has been using public criticism of the issue to explore a potential challenge to Preckwinkle. He did not appear before slatemakers.

Also surfacing again among top Democrats on Thursday was the fairness of property assessments, which are used to figure property taxes. Making the issue particularly politically sensitive is the fact that County Assessor Joe Berrios also is the county's Democratic chairman overseeing the week's slatemaking.

Berrios could face a challenge from first-time candidate Fritz Kaegi. He has been trying to capitalize on the Tribune's "Tax Divide" series, which concluded the property tax assessment system Berrios runs favors the wealthy at the expense of the poor.

During his presentation, Berrios defended his work as assessor, saying, "Everyone has a right to file an appeal of their property assessment if they feel it is too high. ... I think we're doing a great job."

Some committeemen pressed him on the issue, though, asking whether he was willing to stop accepting campaign contributions from attorneys who file assessment appeals. Berrios said that could create a system under which a well-heeled candidate would have an advantage over those without personal wealth.

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"If you make a system that is fair to everyone, I will abide by it," he said.

Berrios also was asked about the way he assesses properties. "If there's a better model than what we have right now, I will use it immediately," he said.

Even if some committeemen are in Kaegi's corner, Berrios enjoys strong party support, as evidenced in a preliminary vote Thursday of most committeemen to endorse him. Votes recommending endorsement also went in favor of incumbent Treasurer Maria Pappas over challenger Peter Gariepy and Sheriff Tom Dart over former Chicago cop and state lawmaker Edward Acevedo. The final votes will be held Friday.

GOP leaders may try to capitalize, but they face challenges, too. One prominent Republican said he believed Rauner will try to "foment a tax revolt" as part of his messaging for re-election statewide. The governor has made his opposition to state Democrats' tax hike plan a key part of his messaging.

"But the problem is, there's no Republicans in Cook County anymore," said the GOP insider who was not authorized to speak publicly about party business and strategy. "For something to happen, it's got to be the middle class to rise up and say, 'Enough.'"

The Republican said he doesn't believe the seeds of a tax revolt will germinate with voters in 2018 but could in 2019 when Chicago holds its mayoral and aldermanic elections or in 2020 when state lawmakers are again on the ballot.

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"Candidly, I don't think it is ripe right now," he said, "but it's going to happen."

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A group of women dressed in outfits made famous by The Handmaids Tale gather outside the Thompson Center in Chicago on Aug. 9, 2017, to urge Gov. Bruce Rauner to sign legislation that would keep abortion legal in the event that Roe v. Wade is overturned. (Nancy Stone/Chicago Tribune )

A prominent Illinois abortion rights group is launching a provocative campaign titled "CallBS" to promote its political advocacy for reproductive rights for women while attempting to engage supportive men on the issue.

The digital media campaign from Personal PAC includes the Chicago-based group Men4Choice and is aimed at demonstrating to men that their reproductive health rights don't face the same potential government restrictions that confront women.

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The effort also is part of Personal PAC's advocacy for Illinois legislation to expand abortion rights, which Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner has said he would veto. More broadly, the campaign is aimed at creating activism ahead of next year's elections for governor and the General Assembly.

The campaign's title is "CallBulls---," with the full word spelled out  or "CallBS" for short. It launched with a six-week digital media campaign featuring Illinois men who support abortion rights, using ads and videos on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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Organizers say more than $100,000 has been invested in the program, which its backers vow will be a long-term project to engage men and direct them to activism that includes door-to-door canvassing and phone banks. They say the aim is to engage men on what has traditionally been a women's issue. In addition to the digital advertising, the group has a website, CallBS.org.

But that name?

"That's how this whole thing evolved," said Oren Jacobson, co-founder and executive director of Men4Choice, noting the reaction of men when asked about the possibility of government involvement in their reproductive health. "Most guys sort of react the same way. Frankly, we wanted to design a campaign that talks to men the way guys talk to each other."

Men4Choice, Jacobson said, is a 2-year-old group that has traditionally played a resource and partnership role with Personal PAC, Planned Parenthood and the ACLU.

Personal PAC CEO Terry Cosgrove said the program goes beyond the issue of abortion rights to include potential restrictions on the availability of reproductive health services and access to birth control for women. He said the program developed organically, asking men how they would feel if they had to travel hundreds of miles to get a vasectomy or access Viagra.

"Increasingly, we found men in general asking what they could do, what's their role. We decided to give men a space to get involved and take action," he said.

The effort is being launched while the Democrat-controlled General Assembly considers when it will send a measure to the Republican governor's desk that is aimed at ensuring abortion remains legal in the state if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the landmark Roe v. Wade decision.

The measure also would remove restrictions on the use of taxpayer-subsidized state funding for elective abortions for poor women under Medicaid and also provide abortion coverage to state workers under the group insurance program.

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Rauner as a first-time candidate for governor in 2014 signed a questionnaire from Personal PAC backing the goals of the legislation. In the questionnaire, Rauner said: "I dislike the Illinois law that restricts abortion coverage under the state Medicaid plan and state employees' health insurance because I believe it unfairly restricts access based on income. I would support a legislative effort to reverse that law."

But in April, Rauner called the legislation "very divisive" and contended it was approved as a political diversion to take "focus" off his agenda and his fight with Democrats over the state budget. His office and campaign said Rauner backs current law, which allows Medicaid coverage for abortion in cases of rape, incest, and for health and life of the mother.

Though the legislation passed the General Assembly, lawmakers have not yet sent Rauner the bill, with some Democrats privately saying they want his expected veto to be timed for maximum political impact as he seeks re-election.

"I think we've tapped into a nerve here," Cosgrove said of the program. "I'm semi-thinking there's going to be some national interest too. We're growing something good."

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SPRINGFIELD  State Comptroller Susana Mendoza sent $429 million in overdue payments to Illinois school districts Thursday, an effort designed to provide some cash on a day the state missed sending its first batch of regularly scheduled education checks.

Gov. Bruce Rauner last week rewrote a bill to overhaul the way the state divvies up school money among districts, and lawmakers have yet to act on his amendatory veto, leaving schools in the lurch. Those typical twice monthly checks can't be sent until a new funding formula is approved.

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Instead, Mendoza sent "categorical" payments that cover costs for bus transportation, special education and other services. The comptroller's action means schools might have a little extra padding during a time of uncertainty, but it's money that districts have been owed since March.

A district spokeswoman said Chicago Public Schools expects to receive $119 million in special education funding it was supposed to receive in the third quarter of the recently expired fiscal year. The money will be used to repay a portion of the high-interest, short-term loans the district took on to ease a cash crunch exacerbated by the late state payments.

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The state's yearslong budget impasse left Illinois months behind in paying bills. That included more than $1 billion owed to schools for categorical payments.

"Our office has been preparing for this contingency," Mendoza's office said in a statement. It called the money "no substitute for the General State Aid that parents, school administrators and, most importantly, the students, deserve to keep schools open through the entire school year."

Mendoza, a Democrat, blasted the Republican governor's "void in leadership" that "caused the state to miss general state aid payments to K-12 schools for the first time in its history." She called on lawmakers to override Rauner's veto, which was designed to cut money set aside for CPS but would also mean less money for hundreds of other school districts in the future.

A spokeswoman for Rauner countered that "the responsibility for this sad milestone falls squarely on the shoulders of Democrats."

Spokeswoman Laurel Patrick noted that lawmakers held on to the school funding bill for two months before sending it to Rauner's desk. She said the delay was designed "to create a crisis."

"Now the Democrats have wasted yet another week by not taking action on the governor's changes, or coming forward with an alternative of their own," Patrick said. "Our state's children and schools can't wait another day for them to act  what are they waiting for?"

It's unclear when an analysis of Rauner's changes will be complete after the Illinois State Board of Education said an initial study contained "a significant error." An email released by the board following a public records request by the Tribune showed the flaw has to do with data regarding TIF districts in Chicago. However, the board withheld supporting documents attached to that email.

Meanwhile, the state Senate is scheduled to return to Springfield on Sunday for a potential override vote of the governor's veto. The House is set to be in session Wednesday  a dig at Republicans as that is also Governor's Day at the State Fair, when the GOP is set to hold various rallies and events.

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On Thursday, Mayor Rahm Emanuel predicted Rauner's veto would be overridden, saying, "legislators of both parties and both chambers will come together and realize that it's time, like in the past, to work around the governor's opposition and ideology on behalf of what's right for their parents and their students, and that's exactly what's going to happen."

Emanuel also was asked by reporters where he stood on talks in Springfield to add a $100 million scholarship program to the education funding bill. The program would provide tax credits to those who donate money to help families pay for private schools. Asked three times, Emanuel would only say, "I have a history, and my record is clear as it relates to public education, and my record is clear as it relates to vouchers and using public money for private schools. I've stated this before."

After his news conference, Emanuel's press office said the mayor opposed school vouchers and pointed to a two-word sentence "Emanuel against" in a 2002 Sun-Times Congressional campaign story. The mayor's office also offered a tally from a 2003 vote in Congress in which Emanuel opposed allowing a voucher program in the Washington, D.C., school district. During a Chicago Tribune editorial board meeting for the 2011 Chicago mayor's race, the only candidate to support vouchers at the time was Gery Chico.

A recent batch of emails Emanuel released from his personal accounts as a result of open records lawsuits included an April exchange between the mayor and Archbishop Blase Cupich, in which Cupich expressed his interest in discussing a possible plan under the Trump administration that would provide tax credits for poor families to use to have their children attend private schools.

"I am grateful that you understand the importance of school choice for poor families who see this as a viable way for the family to move out of poverty," Cupich wrote. "In due time I would welcome a chance to discuss this with you and work with you to strengthen all of our schools."

Emanuel replied, "Of course we will discuss."

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Twitter @MoniqueGarcia
Juliana Stratton claims victory in the Illinois state representative election against incumbent Ken Dunkin on March 15, 2016, at the Charles A. Hayes Investment Center. (Phil Velasquez / Chicago Tribune)

Democratic state Rep. Juliana Stratton vowed Thursday to heal Springfield divisions she blames on Gov. Bruce Rauner if she is elected lieutenant governor as J.B. Pritzker's running mate.

More immediately, though, Stratton brings racial and gender diversity to the Pritzker ticket as it attempts to navigate through a heavily contested Democratic primary campaign to gain the opportunity to challenge Rauner next year.

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During an event to tout her joining Pritzker's campaign, Stratton, an African-American woman and first-term lawmaker, said that neglected concerns in the black community would be addressed.

"So many of our communities of color, especially the black community, are not being heard," Stratton said at a campaign event at Sherwood Park in Englewood.

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"We have been ignored and suffered decades of disinvestment. Too often, we are on the wrong side of the disparities in the criminal justice system, education and economic development," she said. "But instead of a genuine engagement in long-term investment, politicians in Springfield and Washington come in with short-term fixes and Band-Aids. We don't need more Band-Aids. We need real solutions and that is what J.B. and I will provide."

Rival candidate Chris Kennedy has enjoyed strong name recognition and backing in the African-American community, largely because of the civil rights background of his father, the late U.S. Sen. Robert Kennedy, and his uncle, the late President John F. Kennedy.

Of the announced Democratic candidates, anti-violence advocate Tio Hardiman is the only African-American contender. North Side Ald. Ameya Pawar is of Indian descent. All of them are men.

At Thursday's announcement, Pritzker noted Stratton's background as director of the Center for Public Safety and Justice at the University of Illinois at Chicago in touting her efforts to improve the criminal justice system and at trying to bring trust between law enforcement and local communities.

"People talk a lot these days about the things that divide us instead of the things that unite us," Pritzker said.

The Illinois Republican Party critiqued Pritzker's choice of Stratton in its traditional way, trying to link her to the Rauner's chief political nemesis, Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan.

"Juliana Stratton owes her political career to Mike Madigan," state GOP spokesman Steven Yaffe said in a statement.

Stratton was elected to the legislature last year after handily defeating former Democratic Rep. Ken Dunkin in a $6 million primary battle. Dunkin sparked the ire of party leaders, including Madigan, after he repeatedly sided with the Republican Rauner on several key votes aimed at protecting labor unions and fully restoring cuts to child care and programs for the disabled and elderly.

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Fueling that race was money from Rauner allies backing Dunkin and unions backing Stratton, including the Service Employees International Union and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. The two politically active unions have yet to endorse in the governor's race.

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Juliana Stratton claims victory in the Illinois state representative election against incumbent Ken Dunkin on March 15, 2016, at the Charles A. Hayes Investment Center. (Phil Velasquez / Chicago Tribune)

Democratic governor candidate J.B. Pritzker has picked new state Rep. Juliana Stratton to be his running mate for the 2018 nomination, the campaign announced Thursday.

The billionaire entrepreneur made the announcement via a video ahead of a morning event at Sherwood Park in Chicago, where a "JB & Juliana for Illinois" banner was on display. A release called the selection of Stratton "one of the most important decisions of our campaign."

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The pick comes as Cook County Democratic Party leaders are set to hear from candidates for governor at their slating meetings Friday in advance of endorsing a ticket for the 2018 primary.

Stratton was elected to the state representative post last year after forces supportive of Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner backed then-Democratic Rep. Ken Dunkin for re-election.

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Dunkin was handily defeated in the 2016 Democratic primary, which with the involvement of Rauner allies and unions trying to protect the seat, cost more than $6 million.

Stratton, who is African-American, was a former adviser to Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle on criminal justice issues and had served as director of the Center for Public Safety and Justice at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

As Pritzker's running mate, Stratton will bid for the lieutenant governor's job as he tries to become the state's chief executive. Under a change in state law before the 2014 election, governor candidates must run as a team in the primary with a chosen lieutenant governor candidate.

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We cannot know who were the first residents of Wupatki Pueblo, but we do know the last two. They were Courtney Reeder Jones and David Jones. The newly wed couple  he the second ranger at Wupatki National Monument, she his wife  spent their honeymoon and first few years of their lives together in an apartment fashioned from a second story chamber in the pueblo.

Their story, preserved for us in Courtney's extraordinary diary of letters (Letters from Wupatki, Univ. of Arizona Press, L. Rappoport, ed.) is a poignant look at young love and hard work during the waning years of the Great Depression and the build-up to WWII. In addition, it serves as a snapshot of the daily doings of a developing and challenged National Park system.

Courtney Reeder, a slender and bright-eyed archaeology student from Nebraska, met David Jones, an archaeologist and NPS employee, in Tucson during a University of Arizona archaeology field excursion. They were soon married and on their way to Davids posting at Wupatki, and to their basic but comfortable  and certainly unique  dwelling in what Courtney always referred to as the ruin. The year was 1938, and their apartment was eight centuries old.

Her stories are taken from the letters she wrote to family and friends, detailed, articulate, witty and compassionate anecdotes of her and Davids lives. Wupatki, like much of northern Arizona, was still quite isolated and inaccessible. Courtney wrote her family and friends of her growing friendship with Mary-Russell and Harold Colton, of the extended Navajo family of the Peshlakais who lived on the Monument, of impassable roads and legendary snowstorms, and of the keen companionships and simple pleasures of two young people with scant money but immensely exuberant optimism.

In addition to Wupatki, David Jones was also custodian of Sunset Crater National Monument. Courtney did as much work as her husband, but without the remuneration. The wives of the southwestern National Park and Monument rangers referred to themselves, tongues firmly in cheek, as HCWPs: Honorary Custodians Without Pay, and they circulated among themselves a newsletter called "The Grapevine," filled with information, writings, poetry, and Park Service and personal news. They were a tight and cohesive group.

The Joneses were great friends of the various members of the Peshlakai family, traditional Navajos who vividly lived their history. The women and men of the two disparate cultures bonded successfully, and her stories of their interactions are tenderly delightful.

It was not all work, however. The Joneses rambled over much of northern Arizona and beyond, travels which Courtney describes with an easy and eloquent precision that invokes a gentle nostalgia. She describes finding, on a bitter winter day, the remains of a cook fire and a roasted horse, at what we now know as Lomakis Box Canyon pueblo. She writes of festive gatherings at Cameron and Grey Mountain trading posts, and all night Navajo healing sings" followed by mountains of roasted mutton. She tells of living with the Coltons when David was away  the daily rounds of museum and domestic work in wartime Flagstaff, and much more  as an always engaged and interested interlocutor.

The opening to their apartment can still be seen at Wupatki Pueblo, although the interior was removed long ago. After a few years, Courtney and David moved into an elegant and spacious stone house built for them by the Civilian Conservation Corps. The house still stands, slightly dated among the more modern buildings, just south of the Monument's Visitors Center.

Courtneys accounts of the building, finishing, and furnishing of the house are wonderful. To visit that house with its patios and vigas is to step back in time seventy-odd years, and its easy to imagine Courtney Reeder Jones watering plants, polishing floors, and tending to their little adopted daughter, while perhaps David is on the roof chasing leaks or in his office with the typewriter. They are, without a doubt, part of the magic of the magical Wupatki National Monument.

Courtney gets the last word, written in the late 1980s, after what might have been her final visit to Wupatki: I still dream of sitting under a tree, spinning wool with the Navajo ladies, and looking out over the desert.
A Circle Food Store in New Orleans is engulfed in floodwaters on Aug. 5, 2017. (Brett Duke / AP)

NEW ORLEANS  Louisiana's governor declared a state of emergency in New Orleans on Thursday as the city's malfunctioning water-pumping system and the threat of more rain left some neighborhoods at greater risk of flooding.

The city scrambled to repair fire-damaged equipment at a power plant and shore up its drainage system, less than a week after a flash flood from torrential rain overwhelmed the city's pumping system and inundated many neighborhoods.

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Gov. John Bel Edwards described his emergency declaration as a precautionary measure. He and Mayor Mitch Landrieu tried to calm the jangled nerves of residents still angry about the city's response to last weekend's flooding.

"Obviously this is a serious situation, but it's not something to be panicked about," Edwards said at a City Hall news conference.

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Landrieu urged residents of some waterlogged neighborhoods to prepare for another possible round of flooding by moving vehicles to higher ground. All of the city's public schools were closed Thursday and were scheduled to be closed again on Friday.

Jamie Hill, a resident of the Mid-City neighborhood that has flooded twice in the past month, was clearing mud, sand, grass and other debris from the storm drain near her home. Her car flooded in an earlier downpour a few weeks ago. She said she's learned her lesson and now moves her car anytime it rains.

"I'm doing what I can, not that it will really matter if the pumps aren't working," she said.

The city's infrastructure was crumbling for years before the devastation unleashed in 2005 by levee breaches in Hurricane Katrina's aftermath. The federal government earmarked billions of dollars for repairs and upgrades after the hurricane, but the problems have persisted. Streets are pockmarked with potholes and sinkholes. The city's water system has been plagued by leaks from broken pipes and power outages leading to boil water advisories.

New Orleans' municipal pumping system is supposed to move water out of the low-lying city. Having the system crippled in August could not come at a worse time for New Orleans, since the Gulf Coast is in the middle of hurricane season.

But officials feared that even a common thunderstorm would test the system's reduced capacity.

"With great prayer and a lot of hard work, hopefully we'll be OK," the mayor said.

Landrieu's office said in a news release early Thursday the city has lost service from one of its turbines, which powers most of the pumping stations that serve the East Bank of New Orleans. Landrieu said that means the system's capacity to drain storm water from the streets has been diminished.

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"It was an internal fire within the turbine itself, and it was a critical part," Landrieu said

The mayor said the city is bringing in generators to back up the system and hoped to have them installed within 48 hours. Earlier, Landrieu said the power available early Thursday wouldn't be adequate to protect the city from another massive rainfall.

National Weather Service meteorologist Phil Grigsby said scattered thunderstorms and showers were in the daily forecast for the region through the weekend and into next week. But he called that a "fairly normal (weather) pattern" for south Louisiana in August.

"We can get a quick band of 1 to 2 inches (2.5 to 5 centimeters) of rain in an hour. Normally (the pumps) can handle that," Grigsby said. "But with the reduced capacity, it's something we have to keep an eye on."

Earlier this week, city officials and spokespeople had said repeatedly that all 24 pumping stations were working at full capacity.

But after the system failed to keep up with a storm that dropped 9.4 inches (24 centimeters) of rain in three hours, the truth about the state of the water pumps began to emerge.

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Despite what the public had been led to believe, city council members were then told that pumping stations in two of the hardest-hit areas went down to half- to two-thirds capacity on Saturday, news outlets reported.

"It is unacceptable that the public was not only uninformed, but misinformed as to our drainage system functionality during the flood," Council Member LaToya Cantrell said in a statement Wednesday.

Cedric Grant, one of the mayor's top deputies and head of the Sewerage & Water Board, told the city council Tuesday that he would retire at the end of hurricane season, which lasts through November.

Public Works Director Mark Jernigan submitted his resignation shortly after the council meeting, when he was asked whether his agency had done enough to clean the catch basins that feed the drainage system.

Landrieu said he also wanted the board to fire Joseph Becker, the Sewerage & Water Board's general superintendent.

Kunzelman reported from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Hobos gang leader Paris Poe's back tattoo that states "The Earth Is Our Turf" with "Hobo" in the center. (Provided by U.S. attorney)

Gregory "Bowlegs" Chester ran a narcotics empire for one of Chicago's most vicious street gangs, the Hobos. The Hobos, in case you haven't heard, are a so-called super gang, an all-star squad of brutal leaders drawn from rival Chicago street gangs. The Hobos rule by fear, intimidation  and above all, violence.

Hobo members kidnapped and tortured rivals. They opened fire with high-powered weapons anywhere they pleased  outside a day care center, at a crowded block party, in front of a funeral home. They stalked informants, ambushing one as he drove up to his suburban home with his fiancee and two young children.

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One Hobo leader summed up the gang's attitude with a tattoo on his back: "The Earth Is Our Turf."

Now Chester and four of his fellow Hobos will have to edit that motto. They're going to a much smaller turf  federal prison  for a long, long time.

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In January, these five leaders were convicted by a federal jury on racketeering conspiracy charges for carrying out eight murders over the course of a decade, along with a slew of kidnappings, robberies and shootings.

On Thursday, U.S. District Judge John Tharp sentenced Chester to 40 years in prison. Tharp also sentenced Stanley "Smiley" Vaughn to 20 years in prison, the maximum possible, for his role in two slayings and five attempted murders. Vaughn is to serve this sentence on top of a nearly 22-year term he's already serving for a separate conviction for conspiring to distribute heroin downstate.

Other reputed Hobos leaders  Paris Poe, Arnold Council and Gabriel Bush  were convicted with Chester and Vaughn and are scheduled to be sentenced Friday.

Good riddance. And congratulations to the judge, prosecutors and jury for their courage in this case. They've helped free Chicago from some of the criminals who command and control the horrific gunfire that shreds neighborhoods and puts children in caskets. This trial and these sentences show that Chicagoans needn't cede the streets to gangs  and shouldn't be afraid to help authorities pursue them.

After the January verdict, then-U.S. Attorney Zachary Fardon said the jury sent a message to would-be gang members that "somebody is here to punch back."

No, we don't expect that these sentences will eradicate violence that seethes in too much of Chicago. But the more federal, local and state officials do punch back, the more they increase costs and consequences of gangbanging.

Through the years, some Chicago politicians have wanted the feds to generate big numbers of cases, even if they don't amount to much, rather than going after kingpins. But prosecutions of leaders like Chester  whom prosecutors called "unrepentant and a disease to society"  strike a huge blow to gangs that terrorize neighborhoods.

We've written before about what former federal prosecutor David Hoffman called "a wave machine." Hoffman, now in private practice, shrewdly argued in 2004 for institutionalizing practices that would continue even as individual prosecutors and investigators moved on in their careers. "This should be what law enforcement does in Chicago," Hoffman said. "Not a short-term effort, but a wave machine."

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We're glad to see that the machine is churning along. Chicago faces rising violence. Let's see more prosecutions, more harsh sentences, and more gang leaders imprisoned for a long, long time.

Chester, 40, and Vaughn, 39, will be old men if they ever set foot outside prison walls. They join Jeff Fort, Larry Hoover, Gino Colon, and Augustin Zambrano, all notorious leaders who ruled gang nations but may never see Chicago again.
Adolescence is a great thing, but we've made it too long. It's supposed to be a protected space in which kids who've become biologically adult are not obligated to immediately become emotionally, morally and financially adult. Done right, adolescence is a greenhouse phase, but adolescence should not be an escape from adulthood; it should be when we learn how to become adults.

We're parenting too much, too long. Our efforts to protect our kids from hurt feelings, tedious chores, money worries and the like are well intentioned. But many of us, perhaps especially middle-class parents, are unwittingly enabling many of our kids to not grow up. ...

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Look around your neighborhood and see what ways your kids could serve their community. Even in this digital age, lawns need to be mowed and lemonade stands can break even.

Older folks will benefit from the help, and your kids will gain from the perspective of people who've been on the planet longer than they have. Younger kids can work alongside Mom and Dad, too (just know that everything will take twice as long). The point isn't how perfect your neighbor's lawn looks; the point is that your kids can learn to work toward making a contribution to their community.

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Ben Sasse, The New York Times

As I see it, conservatives' nonchalance about Russia's attempt to disrupt and discredit our democracy ranks as one of the most appalling developments in recent American political history. But as much as Democrats may be correct in their diagnosis of Republican debasement, they are wholly lacking in self-awareness as to their own record regarding Russia. This helps explain why conservatives have so much trouble taking liberal outrage about Russia seriously: Most of the people lecturing them for being "Putin's pawns" spent the better part of the past eight years blindly supporting a Democratic president, Barack Obama, whose default mode with Moscow was fecklessness. To Republicans, these latter-day Democratic Cold Warriors sound like partisan hysterics, a perception that's not entirely wrong. ...

Throughout his two terms in office, Obama played down the threat Russia posed to America's allies, interests and values, and ridiculed those who warned otherwise. "The traditional divisions between nations of the south and the north make no sense in an interconnected world nor do alignments of nations rooted in the cleavages of a long-gone Cold War," Obama lectured the United Nations General Assembly in 2009, a more florid and verbose way of making the exact same criticism of supposed NATO obsolescence that liberals would later excoriate Trump for bluntly declaring.

James Kirchick, Politico

President Trump approaches every situation as a typical hard-liner usually does: He makes unreasonable demands, he projects his own preferences onto others, and he thinks that resistance can be overcome through bluster and intimidation. This approach means that Trump never needs to know anything about the issues or other actors involved (and he usually doesn't know anything about them), because the only thing that matters to him is that everyone else yield to him.

Intimidation tactics frequently produce undesirable results. That is certainly the case when the other actors realize that they are in a stronger position than Trump is. For all of Trump's talk about deal-making, he seems not to grasp that other actors often need incentives for cooperation, and he also doesn't seem to know how leverage works. He berates China for insufficient cooperation on North Korea when they are the ones in the position to demand something in exchange for providing that cooperation. Trump's handling of foreign policy in particular shows that he thinks he can just browbeat adversaries and allies alike into submission. That may work when it is used against his unfortunate staffers and appointees, but for everyone else it predictably fails.

Daniel Larison, The American Conservative

Join the discussion on Twitter @Trib_Ed_Board and on Facebook.

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Cook County's soda tax turned one week old on Wednesday. Happy birthday!

Not exactly. County officials knew the penny-per-ounce tax on sweetened beverages was unpopular, but we suspect they underestimated the public wrath it would provoke once shoppers saw how much it added to the cost of their daily purchases.

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A We Ask America Polls survey commissioned by the Illinois Manufacturers' Association and conducted Aug. 3 through Aug. 6 found that 87 percent of respondents disapproved of the tax. Yes, 87 percent. Though the tax was sold as a public health initiative, 80 percent believe it's a money grab. And 83 percent said they would be less likely to re-elect a member of the Cook County Board who voted for it. (That chance comes in 2018.)

Whew. No positive spin in those numbers. The soda tax is about as popular as a hornet in a hospital nursery.

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Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, chief architect of the tax, on Tuesday backed off her plot to punish the Illinois Retail Merchants Association for challenging the tax. The retailers group had sued the county, claiming the tax was unconstitutionally arbitrary, and won a monthlong delay on its implementation.

Preckwinkle instructed county lawyers to go after the group for what she estimated was $17 million in lost revenue. After intense criticism, she changed her mind.

It's good Preckwinkle backed down. But did she really get the message? If so, she'll abolish the tax completely.

Some board members are pressing the subject. Commissioner Sean Morrison, R-17th, filed an ordinance this week to get rid of the tax. Four others  Richard Boykin, D-1st; John Fritchey, D-12th; Timothy Schneider, R-15th; and Jeffrey Tobolski, D-16th  are co-sponsors. All five voted against the tax last November.

Others ought to think hard about joining them. Perhaps the backlash, or those poll numbers, have their attention. The board is scheduled to take up the repeal ordinance Sept. 13.

Madam President, listen to your constituents. They don't want the soda tax. They're speaking to you. Pay attention. Gather up your finance wizards and find a way to roll back the tax and reduce county spending instead. Cut personnel. Consolidate departments. Limit services to the essentials. Stand firm against unaffordable pay and benefit packages of your unionized workforce.

Your support for the tax helps them get their raises. But it's costing you. This rebellion against the soda tax can be a teachable moment. Grasp it.

Voters adamantly reject the notion that the tax is a well-intentioned effort at improving public health. First clue: It applies to all sorts of beverages that don't include sugar. Second clue: Countless other sugar-laden products aren't taxed. A penny an ounce can inflate the price of some purchases by 50 percent or more.

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And it adds up quickly, especially when combined with Chicago's highest-in-the-nation sales tax (ahem), hotel taxes, ammunition taxes, amusement taxes, parking taxes, cable taxes and of course, property taxes.

Madam President, you often boast that the county's property tax levy has remained steady. But that's a dishonest narrative. You and your predecessors spend more each year and do so by finding something else to tax. Your brag doesn't mean your constituents aren't paying more. Or that they're not smart enough to notice.

Voters are onto this scheme. They know bunk when they see it. Restore some of their trust. Kill a beverage tax that everyone knows is a shakedown.

Join the discussion on Twitter @Trib_Ed_Board and on Facebook.

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Having a pet in the city can make for wonderful companionship, but it can also make for great challenges. Depending on the petlooking at you, dogsour furry friends need quite a bit of attention and activity, plus they're always trying to make fetch happen.

Tending to those canine cravings can mean some long walks and lots of love, and having a backyard certainly helps (so, city-dwellers, long walks it is, then?). But, despite the landscape limitations of our concrete jungle home, Chicago has quite a bit to offer dogs and other pets. A trip to the dog park might seem like an obvious choice, but we've got ideas for other activities, tooincluding kayaking for canines.

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DOG PARKS

Chicago has many parks specifically designed for pups. Although each have different amenities, one thing they all have in common is dog-friendly areas, or DFAs. The DFAs are "designated sections within Chicago parks or beaches, where dogs are allowed to run and play off-leash," according to the Chicago Park District's website. In order to go off-leash, dogs need to have a DFA tag and permit, which can be acquired with clearance from a participating veterinarian and a $5 fee. Otherwise, just make sure to keep the leash on.

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Outside of DFAs, features differ from park to park. In Portage Park (4100 N. Long Ave.), canines and kiddies can splash around together in a pool. Others, like Mary Bartelme Park (115 S. Sangamon St.) in the West Loop or Norwood Park Dog Park (5801 N. Natoma Ave.), have water features specifically aimed at keeping the four-legged entertained. Many parks, such as Wiggly Field (2645 N. Sheffield Ave.) or Logan Square (2526 N. Western Ave.), also offer special areas for smaller dogs to play with pups their own size.

Montrose Dog Beach (4400 N. Lake Shore Drive, Northwest corner) is the city's largest DFA, with nearly four acres of sandy space right on the lakefront. It's perfect for dogs to dig or take a dipjust make sure your dog behaves, since Montrose is a popular spot.

If you're a dog owner, you probably already have a favorite dog park, but even dogs sometimes enjoy a change of scenery. You can find the city's complete lineup of DFAs on the Park District's website.

SHOPPING

Not every trip to the store can double as a dog walk, but if you're just out browsing, more stores than you might expect are cool with shopping pooches. Department stores Nordstrom, Bloomingdale's and Saks Fifth Avenue allow you to let the dogs in, as do other favorite shopping spots like Pottery Barn, Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie. Pet stores, like PetCo and Kriser's Natural Pet, are obvious friends of the canine crowd.

Bring your furry friend aboard the boat for a spin. (Mercury Cruises / Handout)

NAVY PIER

Eat. Watch. Do. Weekly What to eat. What to watch. What you need to live your best life ... now. >

Since locals largely avoid Navy Pier, my fellow Chicagoans might not be aware that, since its renovation last year, pups are now welcome throughout all outdoor areas of the Pier. That means outdoor common areas, restaurants and even a couple tours allow pets. So, if you have to battle the masses down there, at least you can do it with man's best friend (and they'll probably enjoy it too!).

ON THE WATER

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Dog-friendly cruises and boat rides give new meaning to the "doggie-paddle" slang. On the more relaxing end, both Seadog Cruises and Mercury Canine Cruises allow you and your dog to kick back and cruise Lake Michigan and the River, respectively. Water and special restrooms are available for pets, who are required to be on a leash here.

For the more adventurous people and pups, try kayaking at Montrose Beach. Humans get a short orientation on strokes, rules and safety, then head out in extra-stable kayaks with their canine companions for a jaunt on the water. Just make sure to bring your own doggy life jacket. kayakchicago.com

BEST OF THE REST

If pet-friendly restaurants and special events seem like obvious omissions here, don't worrywe've got you covered, with a list of upcoming pet-focused activities through fall, as well as 10 of our favorite restaurants that welcome barks as much as bites.

@lucheezy | adlukach@chicagotribune.com

[ Want more? 12 dog-friendly restaurants, bars and events for the summer in Chicago  ]
Adrienne Holloway, chief of innovation in the mayors office, said the proposed Youth Council would be a way to provide leadership opportunities for Aurora teens. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune )

The Aurora mayor's office wants to get teenagers more involved in the city by setting up an Aurora Youth Council as an official advisory board.

The City Council Government Operations Committee this week recommended establishment of the Youth Council, which would serve Aurora youth ages 14 to 18, and would consist of 15 members chosen from the city's public and private high schools.

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Adrienne Holloway, chief of innovation in the mayor's office, said the council would provide leadership development opportunities for Aurora youth. The council would have an advisory role for elected bodies on youth issues.

She said the idea comes from a component of Mayor Richard Irvin's "vision for the city" to increase civic engagement among residents, particularly young residents. He fomented the council idea after meeting with members of several Aurora youth groups, she said.

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"Many expressed the desire to be more engaged," Holloway said.

The main jobs of the council would be to deliver research presentations to the mayor and City Council on subjects decided on by the youth; to organize and execute council events; and to attend community events as representatives of the council.

The council would have representatives from the eight public high schools that Aurora residents attend: East Aurora, West Aurora, Waubonsie Valley, Metea Valley, Oswego East, Kaneland, Batavia and the Illinois Math and Science Academy. It also would include representatives from the private schools with high school age students.

The city would budget $1,500 for the council, but mostly it would be supported by fundraising events they would sponsor, Holloway said.

slord@tribpub.com
Warren Felts (seated) was a fixture for 35 years at West Aurora High School as a music teacher and band director. (Nancy Hopp)

Some West Aurora High School graduates have not forgotten music teacher and band director Warren Felts.

The group have requested the School Board recognize the musician's legacy by naming the main music room at the school in his honor.

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Felts, who group members said was a gifted player of several instruments who inspired his students, taught at West Aurora High School for 35 years.

Felts began teaching music and leading bands at the high school in 1942. He died in 2006 at age 87.

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Nancy Hopp, a 1961 graduate of West Aurora, recently submitted a recommendation packet to the West Aurora School Board that explains Felts' contributions to the district as well as the community.

She said the packet was prepared with the help of Felts' daughter, Nancy Felts Gwinn, as well as from his daughter Sara and son Jim, who was band director at Oswego High School.

Warren Felts hailed from Harrisburg, Illinois. He served two years in the U.S. Army during World War II. He and his late wife, Sue, raised their four children in Aurora.

"Warren was clearly a strong role model for his students and inspired many to continue in music for career choices or to play or sing with school and community groups. He always enjoyed the West Aurora band and kept a close eye on his former students as well as his professional musician friends from New Orleans," Hopp said.

Band Director Warren Felts with the West Aurora band on the steps of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., with U.S. Rep. Leslie Arends of Illinois. The photo is from the early 1970s. (Nancy Hopp)

Hopp served 14 years on the Fox Valley Arts Hall of Fame board of directors, which is known for recognizing the lives and achievements of people from the area.

Alumni have submitted comments to describe Felts as an "amazing educator, mentor, musician and person." Others said he was a "friend of parents too" and that the naming of the band room is a "well-deserved honor."

"I have always regarded myself somewhat as an ambassador for the arts, and nominating Warren Felts certainly fell into that capacity. He is a superb example of the kind of role model today's students need," Hopp said.

Hopp said they have received 102 endorsements from alumni spanning 36 years of classes from 1954 to 1990.

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"Many of them submitted comments and many of them are professional musicians," she told the School Board.

The School Board in 2015 adopted a policy concerning the naming of facilities and new school buildings. Ultimately, the final decision on the naming issue will be made by the School Board.

Warren Felts directing a West Aurora student band at the 1968 Chicagoland Stage Band Festival in Oak Lawn. (Nancy Hopp)

Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
Coconino County Sheriffs Deputies arrested a man in Parks after he fired his handgun from the window of his car.

Texas resident Johnnie Wilcox, 36, was arrested on Tuesday for disorderly conduct with a weapon and felony endangerment, after an argument with the woman he was driving with lead to the weapon's discharge.

Wilcox and the woman were driving on eastbound Interstate 40, traveling from Las Vegas to Texas when the female said she wanted to get out of the vehicle at a gas station in Parks.

No one was injured during the incident.

Wilcox is currently being held in the Coconino County Detention Facility.
At least one Buffalo Grove trustee is upset with how Village President Beverly Sussman handled the promotion of a private dance school's recent event in the village, arguing she defied village board policy and acted without consulting the rest of its members.

Trustee Jeff Berman raised the issue during a board meeting Aug. 7, causing Sussman to claim that he was trying to embarrass her publicly. Without talking with board members first, Sussman directed staff to use the village's email address to promote the for-profit event called the International Festival of Dance, which was hosted by the Mazurdance School in Buffalo Grove Aug. 5 at Stevenson High School and Aug. 6 at the Buffalo Grove Park District, he said.

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The move, Berman said, violated a village communication policy that discourages officials from promoting private interests.

"You failed at communicating and that's why you made the mistake," Berman told Sussman during the meeting, later adding, "It's up to you to reach out to the board, and that's what leadership is about."

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Sussman maintained that she was acting in the interest of the community, promoting a "major" event by a Buffalo Grove-based business that catered to residents in the village.

Although she said she wasn't embarrassed by her actions, she said that in hindsight, she should have talked with the board first before deciding to direct staff to use the village's official email to promote the event.

Officials said the village sent an email July 28 to its 2,733 subscribers promoting the International Festival of Dance. The village then promoted the event three other times in village-wide emails in July, officials said.

"I should not have done that part, and I realize that," Sussman said of the decision to promote the event without consulting the board first. "My objective was very sincere."

Roman Mazur, owner of the Mazurdance School, said later in the week that he approached Sussman directly about whether the village could help promote the school's dance festival after unsuccessfully asking the Buffalo Grove Arts Commission to help financially support the event last fall.

The event brought 60 dancers, representing Greece, Russia, Israel and 14 other nations, to Buffalo Grove for the performance intended to celebrate different cultures, he said. Turnout for the event ultimately was strong, Mazur said, although he declined to say whether the event netted the business a profit.

"Beverly (helped) me," Mazur, a native of Ukraine, said. "This is my life goal  to connect all international dances together."

The issue for Berman, he said, had to do more with protocol and the fact that Sussman didn't follow policy when making the decision to use the village's email system to promote the event.

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After the meeting, trustees Andrew Stein and Les Ottenheimer both said they understand Berman's concern since village policy discourages such promotions of privately organized events, but they also said Sussman wasn't acting maliciously.

Neither Stein nor Ottenheimer said the village's communications policy needs to change. Other trustees did not return calls for comment.

"I think the communications policy is good," Ottenheimer said.

RWachter@PioneerLocal.com

Twitter @RonnieAtPioneer
A native of Wisconsin, artist Kristin Robran is making her first professional appearance in Illinois during the Lincolnshire Art Festival. ( Courtesy of Kristin Robran )

It's a question that some artists struggle with: How to put a price on their work?

For Wisconsin native Kristin Robran, she still is struggling to answer that question as she prepares to make her first out-of-state event appearance this weekend during the 20th annual Lincolnshire Art Festival at the Village Green shopping center.

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"I feel guilty about charging people a higher price, but it is a higher entry fee than most shows," she said.

Robran, 37, has been a full-time pottery maker for the past nine years, firing porcelain and white stoneware while specializing in the early-1900s art nouveau style.

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"I used to pick vegetables with my hands," said Robran, who was raised on a farm. "I'm very relaxed if I'm working with my hands. The idea of picking up a ball of clay, that's nothing and then through a series of processes, you form it, and then decorate it and then fire it, and basically turn it into stone. I think that's really cool."

Robran recently talked with Pioneer Press about her work as a pottery maker as she travels from Waukesha, Wis., to Lincolnshire for the festival.

Q: After nine years, why make your first professional trip under the Cheddar Curtain now?

A: I just got comfortable with Wisconsin shows. I like doing new things. A lot of people here know my work, so I wanted to see if I could get a new customer base down there. At some point, I might venture to Michigan, or Iowa or Minnesota.

Q: Pottery is older than recorded history. Is there anything new in that field?

A: There's new kiln technology, where you're going to get more consistent firing. Firing can really be a blessing or a curse.

Q: Your work starts with a heap that's worth only as much as what you paid to get it. It becomes art that's worth as much as someone will pay to get it. How do you set your range?

A: My goal is always just that people connect with my work. It depends on how much detail goes into a piece and how other people price at shows. You get feedback from people like, "Oh wow, that's a really fair price." My worst nightmare is people being like, "Oh, that's too high," and walking away. I love what I do. It's just really hard for me to put a really high price on things.

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Shout Out is a weekly feature in which we introduce our readers to their fellow community members and local visitors throughout suburban Chicago.

Rwachter@PioneerLocal.com

Twitter @RonnieAtPioneer
Mason Beringer, 13, Hugh Ascher, 9, and Dane Beringer, 9, check out the sun with special glasses they plan to wear for the Aug. 21 eclipse. (Chuck Fieldman / Pioneer Press )

Polly Ascher figured the stars, or at least the sun, were aligned just right for her to take a nearly six-hour ride to her hometown for the Aug. 21 total solar eclipse.

The Clarendon Hills resident grew up in Carbondale, a town that has become well known of late because it is will be the largest Illinois town in the path of totality.

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"It's really an easy place for me to go, and it's really an interesting event; I'm kind of a science nerd," said Ascher, who is making the trip with her son, Hugh, 9, and friend, Jen Beringer of Clarendon Hills with her sons, Mason, 13, and Dane, 9.

Ascher said her grandmother still lives in Carbondale.

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"We're actually going to stay with my mom's friend and watch from a field across the street from where she lives," Ascher said. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see a supernatural event, and it will be fun to see where I grew up."

Hugh Ascher said he is excited about going to Carbondale.

"I want to see what it looks like when the sky gets dark in the middle of the day," he said. "It will be cool to watch and see animals that come out at night."

Beringer said she became interested after she and her children read the book, "Every Soul a Star" a couple of years ago. The book is about three teenagers viewing a total eclipse of the sun.

"I looked the eclipse up because it was really something we wanted to do," Beringer said. "We knew we were going to go; I was going to sleep in the car because the book got us hooked, but I talked with Polly and found out she was going, so we are going together."

Mason said he is glad to be heading to Carbondale.

"Here, it's only partial," he said. "I've been wanting to go see it after reading the book, and it will be much better where we can see the whole thing."

Margie Jeffords of Clarendon Hills plans to go to Marion, Illinois, about 30 miles east of Carbondale, with her husband and three children, ages 8, 6, and 3.

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"I have family there and I want my kids to understand there are bigger things out there," Jeffords said. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

The moon will pass between the sun and earth and block all, or part, of the sun for up to about three hours during this eclipse, according to information from NASA.

For this eclipse, the longest period when the moon completely blocks the sun from any given location along the path will be about 2 minutes 40 seconds.

cfieldman@pioneerlocal.com

Twitter @chuckwriting
Volunteers honored for work with older residents

Volunteers associated with a number of organizations that provide services for older adults were honored recently by Oak Park-based AgeOptions, a nonprofit organization linking older adults with resources and service options. Among those honored at a banquet were the Rev. Glenn Bergmark of Lemont, Josie Brown of Hazel Crest, Jim Hackstock of Matteson, Bonnie Jones of Richton Park, Marie Kohaus of Oak Forest, James Locascio of Lemont, Constance McKelphn of Phoenix, Geri Piwowarczyk of Chicago, Terri Tilden-Overstreet of Dolton, Dan Lynch of Blue Island, Sandra Murphy of Lansing, Gavella Norment of Lansing and Rasheedah Nuriddeen of Calumet City.

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Insects highlighted at Thorn Creek Nature Center

Children 12 and under can explore the differences between insects, spiders, and other kinds of arthropods at Insects Abound For Kids from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday at Thorn Creek Nature Center, 247 Monee Road, Park Forest. The program will allow participants to observe the wide variety of these fascinating creatures and search for insect habitats and gently capture a few arthropods to study and then release. The program includes a 1.5 mile hike on natural surface trails across uneven terrain. Children younger than 6 must be accompanied by an adult. This free program for children is sponsored by the Thorn Creek Audubon Society. Registration is required by Friday. Information and registration are at tcwoods.net, 708-747-6320 or thorn_creek@att.net.

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Trap-Neuter-Return program offered in Tinley

An informational workshop about Trap-Neuter-Return, a method of reducing the population of stray cats, will be from 10 a.m. to noon Aug. 19 at PAWS, 8301 W. 191st St., Tinley Park. The workshop features the tricks of baiting and setting humane traps and will provide a list of low-cost clinics as well as instruction on transporting cats safely. Donated food is available for registered caretakers. Traps are on loan with a deposit that is fully refundable upon their return. Caretakers who attend a workshop receive priority for TNR assistance. More information is at www.TripleRPets.org or info@tripleRpets.org

MVCC to throw party for 50th anniversary

The Moraine Valley Community College 50th Anniversary Community Celebration will feature music and mascots as well as face painting and cars from 1 to 5 p.m. Sept. 16 on the college campus, 9000 W. College Parkway, Palos Hills. Admission is free and open to everyone. Food trucks will be on hand, there will be a car show and various college departments will host interactive activities. All events will take place near the Gateway on the south side of campus. More information is at morainevalley.edu or 708-974-5281.

Send news to communitynews@southtownstar.com.
Becky Bombacino, of Tinley Park, with her daughter, Francesca, 5, and Andrea Johnson, of Frankfort, with her daughter, Julianna, 5, reach the Emerald City at the end of the yellow brick road at the Midwest Wizard of Oz Fest at Odyssey Fun Farm last weekend. (Frank Vaisvilas / Daily Southtown )

Organizers at Odyssey Fun Farm in Tinley Park knew they couldn't go wrong when they decided to take over hosting the Midwest Wizard of Oz Fest.

The event started in Chesterton, Ind., in 1982 but has been hosted by Odyssey for the past three years.

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"The event got too big for Chesterton to handle," said Odyssey general manager Clint Paraday.

It was held the first weekend of August, and the three-day event usually draws about 6,000 visitors to the 15-acre venue, Paraday said.

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Situated on Odyssey's farmland, the setting is similar to the Kansas one Dorothy was in when she was whisked away to Oz by a tornado in the famous book.

Songs from the film starring Judy Garland sounding through speakers at the event, a replica hot-air balloon similar to the one the wizard used on display and vendors selling Oz memorabilia all contributed to the experience.

Marco and Ida Moretti, of Oak Lawn, stand with their daughters Milayna, 4, and Syrena, 2, at the Midwest Wizard of Oz Fest at Odyssey Fun Farm in Tinley Park. (Frank Vaisvilas/Daily Southtown )

Other attractions included a yellow brick road that led to the Emerald City with statues of the characters from the story along the path, a Wizard of Oz costume contest and special speakers who had helped create the Oz universe.

"Dorothy's story is a journey that everyone can relate to," said Ryan Jay, a film critic and Oz historian who hosted interviews on stage at the event. "No matter how much the world changes in terms of technology, her experience remains universal."

He said it's appropriate for the Wizard of Oz Fest to be held in the Chicago area because it's where L. Frank Baum wrote "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz," which was first published in 1900.

Besides the 1939 film based on the novel, Jay said the Oz stories continue to spawn different adaptations, including an upcoming film based on the popular Broadway show "Wicked."

Baum went on to write 13 more novels based on the Land of Oz, including "Return to Oz," which was adapted as a live action film by Disney and released in 1985.

Emma Ridley, one of the stars of that film, was at Odyssey signing photos of the character she played, Princess Ozma.

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"It's so great seeing the next generation of Oz fans," she said.

The British-born actress said she has had fun being part of the Oz family and traveling to conventions around the country.

Also at the event was Mary Ellen St. Aubin, whose late husband, Parnell St. Aubin, starred as one of the 124 "munchkins" in the 1939 film.

"It's been very interesting," St. Aubin, 96, said of representing her husband during Oz events. "I get to meet new people every year."

She said her husband had always talked about how excited he was to meet Garland. They were both 16 at the time.

Garland's character, Dorothy, was clearly a favorite during the festival as several girls and women donned her blue-ribbon pigtails and blue dress with ruby slippers.

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Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday >

Several of the smaller Dorothys, though, would run away if approached by the Wicked Witch played by one the members of the Spirit of Oz acting troupe roaming the grounds. One little girl cried when she saw the story's villain come near.

"They don't like the Wicked Witch in person," said Becky Bombacino of her daughter Francesca, 5.

Tinley Park residents who have fallen in love with the classic film have been coming to the event the last three years.

Ida Moretti, of Oak Lawn, said the 1939 film is one of her daughters' favorites. She said Milayna, 4, and Syrena, 2, are fans of the story, but really enjoy the petting zoo at the "Dorothy Gale farm area" at Odyssey.

Odyssey organizers have been trying different dates for the festival.

Paraday said this year's event was opposite Lollapalooza in Chicago, and organizers are planning to move the event back to September next year.

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Frank Vaisvilas is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
School District 300 moved closer to approving a nearly $300 million budget for the current school year.

Board members of the Algonquin-based district approved a tentative budget for 2017-18, which includes $289.5 million in projected expenses.

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The measure doesn't finalize a 2017-18 budget. D300 Chief Operating Officer Susan Harkin told board members during a Tuesday board meeting an updated version of the budget will be submitted in a few weeks, ahead of a final version of the D300 budget.

The public can now view the tentative budget and have an opportunity to weigh in on the proposal during a Sept. 26 hearing. Board members could vote on a finalized budget following the public hearing.

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The budget includes $246 million in operating expenses, along with $250.4 million in operating revenues. The operating fund's cash reserve is expected to increase from $86.7 million to $91.1 million, according to the tentative budget. The projected cash reserve is 37 percent the size of the total D300 operating budget, keeping the district in line with board policy stating the reserves must be at least 25 percent.

The tentative budget allows for the hiring of 22 faculty and staff members to help keep class sizes reasonable and meet demands in special education, its career pathway program and its new at-risk student program, officials said.

Harkin told board members the budget scenarios include those where the state's K-12 funding impasse continues. Currently, Gov. Bruce Rauner awaits legislative action on Senate Bill 1, which has the mechanism allowing the state to distribute funding to Illinois public schools. The governor used an amendatory veto on the bill, stripping some of the language, notably provisions intended for Chicago Public Schools.

"We will continue to watch (news out of Springfield)," Harkin said.

raguerrero@tribpub.com
Chris Jacobsen of Carpentersville (right), working an event at Bowes Creek Country Club, is helping the Elgin Breakfast Rotary Club put on its inaugural Elgin Craft Beer Festival on Saturday along the Riverside Drive Promenade downtown. (City of Elgin)

Elgin's Riverside Drive Promenade will be home to an event for a second consecutive weekend Saturday afternoon when the Elgin Breakfast Rotary Club hosts its inaugural Elgin Craft Beer Festival.

"Downtown Elgin hasn't had a beer fest of this size since Prairie Rock did their weekend event years ago," Chris Jacobsen said. "I can only hope that this will be a memorable experience for attendees, so much so that they would want to make it an annual thing."

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Carpentersville resident Jacobsen runs his own brew-related marketing and promotional business, Hardcore Craft Beer. He is helping produce the event for the Elgin Breakfast Rotary Club who are using the gathering as a fundraiser.

Incoming Rotary Club President Mike Warren said the idea sprang from current Club President Arturo Cruz and from the 2017-2018 Rotary Board.

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"Chris was introduced though a work colleague, we invited him to the idea and he became a natural fit," Warren said.

Jacobsen said the festival will feature 30 brewers and more than 60 beers and some ciders.

"One of the main goals I had was to line up breweries that aren't usually seen at festivals around here. With every town and city having a festival pop up each year, I definitely wanted to stand out a little," Jacobsen said. "Ballast Point, Surly, Almanac Beer, Perennial Artisan Ales, Boulder Beer and Toppling Goliath are a few of such breweries that aren't seen at events like this."

According to Jacobsen, food from Elgin restaurants Chooch's Pizza, Elgin Public House, The Grumpy Goat and Hopp Stop BBQ will be available for sale. Live music will come from Chris Buehrle, Jacobsen said, and there could be some bags games set up, space allowing.

"We have been fortunate enough to have a great list of sponsors and support from a lot of businesses and partners within the Rotary network," Jacobsen said. "Everyone in the club is very excited about the event and has been working hard to make this something special."

"Our 27-year-old club has never put on such a grand signature event," Warren said. "A small group of members has taken point, but the whole club has been intimately involved in the success of the event."

According to Warren, proceeds from the beer bash will help support Ecker Center for Mental Health, Food for Greater Elgin, YMCA, PADS and other Rotary-sponsored nonprofit organizations. In turn, more than 80 volunteers with ties to the nonprofits have signed up to work the event, Warren said.

The Rotary Breakfast Club used to have a dinner auction several years ago that would net about $10,000 for the local community charities, Warren said, and the group continues to host its annual Ray Kriske Memorial Hogg Roast in memory of members Charlie Cecil and Ray Kriske which includes a raffle and which has been netting about $5,000 each year.

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While not charging a fee to use the Promenade, Elgin is charging the Rotary for city services related to the event, Warren said.

Among other beer events Jacobsen has produced are ones for the Elgin Parks and Recreation Youth Scholarship Fund held in September at the city-owned Bowes Creek Country Club.

That event is set for Sept. 9 from 3 to 8 p.m. and will feature Illinois-made craft beers and homebrews, Parks and Recreation Director Randy Reopelle said. Tickets purchased in advance will be $35 and $15 for designated drivers and will go on sale sometime later this month through the city's website.

"Their fest is good for Elgin as it helps bring people downtown," Reopelle said. "The event at Bowes Creek is something the city does in part for residents on the far west side, to include them in what the city has to offer."

The Elgin Breakfast Rotary Club's Elgin Craft Beer Festival runs from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m. along Riverside Drive Promenade. A limited number of VIP tickets will be sold and allow for admission at noon, Jacobsen said.

For ticket prices and information, go to www.elgincraftbeerfest.com.

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mdanahey@tribpub.com
Beavers Donuts will be one of the food trucks at the second Eric and Kathy Food Truck Festival on Friday in Elgins Festival Park. (Beavers Donuts)

Based on last year's gathering, organizers of Friday evening's food truck festival in Elgin's Festival Park are expecting a big crowd and say they have made adjustments to accommodate the anticipated turnout.

The event is put on by Chicago adult contemporary radio station WTMX FM 101.9 in conjunction with the Grand Victoria Casino, and last year's inaugural gathering drew about 6,000 people, said Marilou Pilman, casino interim director of marketing. The all-ages event is free to attend as patrons buy food and drink from the food court on wheels.

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With that many people present last year, some attendees told the Courier-News that their wait for food was 45 minutes or more and it was hard to tell where one line began and another ended.

"We are taking measures to ensure that everyone has an enjoyable experience Friday, based on what we learned from last year's event," Pilman said.

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Dave Karwowski, WTMX director of marketing, said the station didn't expect such a big turnout last August, but that it's hard to predict how many people will show up for a first-time event. Either way, a good percentage of people told him they were thrilled with the festival. Some trucks wound up staying until 11 p.m., Karwowski said, selling outside the park along Grove Street.

"We learned from what we did last year and are applying it to this time," Karwowski said.

One move is increasing the number of food trucks from 18 to 28 so those who go will have more choices, Pilman said. Karwowski said while the trucks were mostly from Chicago last year, this time the mix will include some based in the suburbs.

"We have informed the food trucks to adequately prepare for attendance similar to last year's. Many of the food trucks from last year are returning, so they would have a better idea of how much business to expect," Pilman said.

Food trucks will be spaced farther apart than last year to help keep food lines separate and to minimize confusion, Pilman said, and casino and radio station staffers will be monitoring the food lines and responding to guest questions.

Karwowski said the trucks were set up in a horseshoe shape last year and this year will be along Grove Street and in a line at the end of the park closest to the Fox River. Last year, only half the park was used, and this year they will use the full park, Karwowski said.

Festival organizers also are working closely with the city of Elgin to make sure directional signage will be posted to help guests find free public parking facilities within walking distance of Festival Park, Pilman said.

While the radio station hosts all sorts of promotional events, Karwowski said this is its only food truck festival. It sprang from discussions at a winter 2015 meeting, he said.

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"We had been toying around with doing a food truck event and where to do one. We knew we had a strong market in the northwest suburbs. The casino has its summer concert series, and we wound up working with them," Karwowski said.

The festival Friday will feature the music of Red Woody. The official name of the event is the Eric and Kathy Food Truck Festival, named after the Eric (Ferguson) and Kathy (Hart) Show, the WTMX morning drive offering that tops the Nielsen ratings for its time slot in the Chicago market.

Hart has been on leave from the show since April. Karwowski said Ferguson will be at the Elgin festival, along with Melissa McGurren and Brian "Whip" Paruch, who are part of the broadcast team. They'll be at a tent near the music stage for a meet and greet, Karwowski said.

Pilman said the casino will be participating in food sales this year too, with its Prime BurgerHouse serving garlic Parmesan burgers, white cheddar truffle fries, stella pies and beverages.

For adults who go and members of the free-to-join Club GVC, the night will feature a drawing at 10:30 p.m. in the casino, with a first prize of 12 luxury-suite tickets for the Green Day concert Aug. 24 at Wrigley Field; a second place of five $100 dining certificates valid at any Grand Victoria restaurant and $500 free cash play; and third place five $100 dining certificates good at any Grand Victoria restaurant and $250 free cash play.

As for the lure of food trucks, Karwowski said there are some that set up near the station's downtown Chicago office, and the smell of what's being prepared, the casual atmosphere, easy access to a variety of cuisines and a fun environment have something to do with their draw.

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James Nuccio is managing partner for Chicago-based Beavers Donuts, which will be back again at the Elgin festival Friday.

"I think the appeal of food trucks is a good many of them are putting out exciting, different, high-quality food," Nuccio said. "And people like to support local businesses."

The festival runs from 6 to 10 p.m. For information, go to wtmx.com/eric-and-kathy-food-truck-fest.

mdanahey@tribpub.com
Amita Health is planning a $43 million addition to its hospital in La Grange. (Amita Health )

Amita Health is seeking to build a $43 million addition to its hospital in La Grange.

The plan calls for a two-level, 30,000-square-foot addition to house orthopedics services and heart and vascular services at Amita Health Adventist Medical Center La Grange.

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The hospital was built in 1955 and known as La Grange Memorial Hospital until recently. The addition would be on the southwest side of the campus facing Willow Springs Road.

"The primary goal is modernization of the facility," said CEO Michael Murrill.

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Orthopedics services at La Grange would focus on patients who need knee and hip replacements and would feature six new operating rooms dedicated to those surgeries, as well as a separate inpatient unit for knee and hip replacement patients. A new central sterile area would support all of the operating rooms.

The heart and vascular area would house cardiac testing and rehabilitation services, as well as a clinic that will provide ongoing outpatient care for patients with congestive heart failure.

Allan Baumgarten, an independent health care analyst in Minneapolis, said it makes financial sense for Amita Health to plan improvements in the orthopedic and cardiac areas.

"They are the two of the most profitable lines of business," Baumgarten said.

Those two areas "are procedure heavy and payers, commercial insurance, employer-based insurance and Medicare, are still paying good prices for those procedures," he said.

Though he didn't have any figures, Baumgarten said he has seen other hospitals throughout the U.S. seeking to expand or improve facilities in the cardiac and orthopedic areas.

"They are making capital investments," he said. "One of the reasons is to strengthen their ties with specialty physicians who can take their business anywhere."

Murrill said as health care has evolved some features of the hospital need to be improved, such as the size of operating rooms.

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"As technology has increased over the years there is a need to have spaces that are big enough for the complexity of the cases," Murrill said.

Amita Health is in the process of seeking approval from the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board for a certificate of the need, which is issued if the board deems that the services planned are not replicating others nearby.

"They assess whether what is being developed or planned meets the needs of the community," Murrill said.

Murrill said the board may vote on the application as early as September.

Murrill said they have had informal discussions with the village of La Grange about their plans, but have not yet made a formal application. He said Amita Health will wait for the determination from the review board.

"We want to be respectful of that process," he said.

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amannnion@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @triblocalam
PHOENIX  Arizona universities are working to drive up Arizona college graduation rates, smoothing the way for students transferring from community college, offering financial aid and adding online classes to draw non-traditional students.

Community college transition programs have helped increase the number of students attending Northern Arizona University.

During the 2015-2016 academic year, 270 NAU graduates joined the university through the CCC2NAU program.

A program which guarantees that Coconino Community College students can easily transfer to NAU after two years of community college.

There were 552 new CCC students enrolled in the transfer program during the 2016-2017 academic year, the highest number since the program was started in 2008.

"One out of every three students is CCC2NAU," CCC Public Relations Coordinator Larry Hendricks said.

Less than one out of three students in Arizona in 2013 earned a four-year degree in six years or less, according to a 2015 report by the U.S. Department of Education. The Arizona Board of Regents, which oversees the states three public universities, said in a 2015 statement their combined graduation rates were 59.8 percent in 2015-16, nearly five percent higher than the national average.

The regents goal is to increase graduation rates to 65.6 percent by 2020.

Student success relies on financial help

Gabriella Rodriguez, a sophomore majoring in criminal justice, knew she wanted to stay close to her family in Nogales, Arizona. When Arizona State University offered her top scholarships, it was an offer she couldnt refuse.

Growing up, I wanted to go to Yale. As I got older, I decided I had to stay in state because of family, Rodriguez said.

The difficult transition from high school to college is a leading factor in why students drop out, but Rodriguez says her move to Arizona State was relatively smooth, despite first semester struggles.

Learning to live in a dorm was very different. I also had to learn to manage my time, Rodriguez said.

Other students, such as Jason Schiffman, a public relations major who graduated from ASU this year, decided to start at a community college because of its smaller class sizes and affordable tuition. It also gave him time to discover what career he wanted to pursue.

It eased me into things. I learned how to be a college student a little bit better, Schiffman said.

Schiffman recommends that students who are unsure of their goals start at a two-year institution.

I didnt know what I wanted to do, so I went to Mesa Community College to save money there while I figured things out, Schiffman said.

Students who go through transfer programs do manage to save money.

For example, an instate student who enrolled in CCC2NAU would save $15,408 over four years, according to NAU and CCC's annual transition report.

Schiffman received the Presidents Honors Scholarship, aid provided to high school graduates for four semesters to attend a school in the Maricopa Community College District.

The two years I spent at MCC I spent a total of $35 on tuition, Schiffman said.

Christen Webb, a speech and hearing sciences major who graduated this year, also attended Mesa Community College on a scholarship.

It seemed like I had my whole college career half-off, Webb said. Ive known a lot of people that there isnt financial support or it is impossible for them to work full time, go to school, and live on their own.

Rodriguez said the problem stems from universities being too expensive for students. The average tuition per year for in-state residents at ASU alone is near $9,500.

University programs prepare transfer students

Rose Rojas, who oversees the curriculum and transfer student program at Maricopa Community College District, said she knows what its like to be a transfer student. She attended Phoenix College.

I was hesitant to tell people I was going to community college because I went to a college prep (in high school) but I am glad I did, Rojas said.

Rojas initially enrolled as a nursing major, switched to psychology, and now loves her job in education.

When Rojas transferred to ASU, the transition programs that are in place now didnt exist, and some of her coursework didnt carry over to the university.

I think that is how I developed my passion, Rojas said. Now I can help students utilize these programs.

The community college district develops pathway programs to make it easier for students to transfer to 50 four-year universities across the U.S.

The programs map specific courses students need to complete at community colleges to successfully transfer to four-year colleges as juniors.

If a student didnt have a pathway, the student could be taking classes and be disappointed when they find out it doesnt correlate with their programs, Rojas said. The districts partnerships with other universities also allows student to complete their bachelor degrees at community colleges.

The Arizona Board of Regents is asking the states public universities to increase the number of bachelors degrees presented to community college transfer students, according to public documents provided by the regents.

Transfer students were awarded more than 7,500 bachelors degrees in 2015-16 academic year, just short of the 7,770 goal the regents set, the documents show.

The board estimates community college transfer students will earn nearly 7,850 bachelors degrees for the 2016-17 academic year and about 9,550 undergraduate transfer students will get their degrees in 2025.

Online programs continue to grow

In 2010, Arizona State University joined a national movement to create online courses, drawing non-traditional students such as mid-career workers and out-of-state students who rarely set foot on a campus.

Seven years later, ASU Online has nearly 26,000 students enrolled, nearly a quarter of the universitys enrollment, according to Joe Chapman, director of student services at ASU Online.

Our demographic age group is higher, Chapman said, adding that most of their students have a full-time job and children.

They tried finishing their degree before but it didnt work out for whatever reason, and now they are giving it a second go, Chapman said.

ASU Online also provides financial assistance to Starbucks employees.

Starbucks reimburses costs for employees who complete their undergraduate degrees online. Chapman said about 6,000 of the schools students are taking advantage of this program.

ASU Online programs are available to students around the world, with Arizona residents making up 30 to 40 percent of those enrolled, Chapman said.

While AZ as a whole might be struggling, we are doing everything that we can to focus on each student, Chapman said of the states low graduation rates.

The Arizona Board of Regents doesnt have a set goal for online student graduation, but state that online university programs promote flexibility and other pathways to higher education.

ASU President Michael Crow wants to have 100,000 online students by 2025, Chapman said.

We certainly have our work cut out for us, said Chapman. A lot of students need degrees but dont have the ability to attend on campus, and so it is really about giving people the opportunity that otherwise wouldnt have had that.

The University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University also have online degree programs that allow students to get a college education off campus.

Troubling graduation rates

Rose Rojas, with the Maricopa Community College District, says there are many reasons why a student may not complete their degrees.

What you are seeing in the grade schools, carries to high school, carries into college, Rojas said.

Dual-enrollment students also count against the districts dropout rates, which vary by institution, she said.

We have dual enrollment students who were never interested in community college, they just took courses in high school, Rojas said.

Rojas says some students come to a community college to take few general education classes or perhaps a foreign language, then transfer to a university without completing their associates degree.

Public university graduation

The states three public universities  ASU, the University of Arizona in Tucson and Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff  awarded more than 27,400 bachelors degrees in 2015-16, surpassing the boards goal of 27,281, according to data the Board of Regents has collected.

In the 2016-17 school year, the board hoped to present more than 28,500 bachelors degrees. By spring 2025, the goal is to award more than 40,000 students with undergraduate degrees.

Sun Staff Reporter Max Lancaster contributed to the reporting of this story
Waukegan School District 60 has enough money to keep its doors open for about 46 school days if state funding doesn't come through, its top finance officer said.

A fight over changes to how the state divvies up money among its nearly 1,000 school districts has tied up $6.7 billion in general aid to schools, including the $100-million-plus that Waukegan expects to get.

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State dollars are expected to make up about 68 percent of the money the 15,800-student district will bring in this coming school year, said Gwendolyn Polk, the district's associate superintendent of business and financial services.

That's on the high end for Lake County, state data shows.

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Waukegan District 60 was among only three Lake County school districts to have more than half of its funding come from the state in 2015-16, the most recent year the state has data for.

On the other end of the spectrum, Lake Forest High School District 115, Lake Forest-based Rondout School District 72 and Highland Park-based Township High School District 113 had state dollars make up less than 3 percent of their overall revenue that same year.

That means even though property tax dollars are set to be distributed to school districts and other local government agencies like normal, school districts that see a lot of their dollars come from the state are worried.

"There is a continuous effort to be conscious of our spending, particularly with the funding uncertainties," Superintendent Theresa Plascencia said in a statement Wednesday. "This is easier to do in the summer, but as the school year gets started, it becomes more of a challenge for us, because many of our largest expenditures are unavoidable."

Waukegan District 60 has reached out to multiple banks to figure out what their options are if state money doesn't come through, Polk said. They're looking at loans of about $10 million.

Payroll for the district, Lake County's largest and the 10th largest in the state, will come in around $5 million when September arrives, Plascencia said.

"We're hopeful that the budget will be passed before we have to tap (the credit line)," Polk said, adding that the finance office is monitoring the cash the district has on hand on a daily basis.

The district ended its last budget year with nearly $40 million in its operating funds and expects to receive an infusion of property tax dollars in September, according to district records.

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Those dollars mean Waukegan could operate for 46 student attendance days, taking it to Oct. 31, Polk said. But the district could see its doors close sooner if unexpected expenses pop up.

They could also last longer, though, if the state does distribute some of the $8.9 million the district is owed from the fiscal year that ended June 30 or if the state distributes some of the payments that are not tied to the education funding formula fight.

The state Senate has until Aug. 16 to vote on Gov. Bruce Rauner's amendatory veto of the school-funding bill SB1, and then the House gets 15 days to do the same. If they fail to meet the deadline, they have to start the whole process over.

While many of Rauner's changes targeted Chicago Public Schools, some provisions may also affect suburban districts.

The Legislature-approved bill included a "hold harmless" provision that ensured no school district receives less money moving forward than it did last year.

Rauner's amendatory veto would sunset that provision in 2020-21. After that, districts with falling enrollment could end up with less state money.

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Of Lake County's 45 school districts, 23 saw their enrollment fall each of the last two years, according to state enrollment data. Another 16 districts saw their enrollment fall at least one of those years.

Waukegan District 60 hit a high of about 16,300 students in 2014-15 and saw its enrollment fall to 15,800 last year, according to state numbers.

Rauner's changes would require calculations of local property wealth to include land located in tax-increment financing districts, or TIFs, something Polk said could mean less state money for Waukegan.

TIF districts work by, in effect, freezing the value of property in a particular area for local government agencies like school districts and diverting the taxes collected on any added value into a separate fund to be used for economic development.

The city of Waukegan has five TIF districts  one created in 2012, three in 2014 and one 2015, city spokesman David Motley said.

Three of those districts impact Waukegan District 60, according to county records. One of Beach Park's four TIF districts also impacts District 60.

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emcoleman@tribpub.com

Twitter @mekcoleman
British Ambassador to the United Nations Matthew Rycroft, left, and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley vote during an Aug. 5 Security Council meeting on a new sanctions resolution that would increase economic pressure on North Korea. (Mary Altaffer / AP )

The United Nations Security Council has imposed strong new economic sanctions on North Korea, notable for the unqualified participation of China. Previous Chinese government reluctance to participate was not publicly in evidence this time. South Korea has also been an active participant. That is important in a complex diplomatic duel with the North, which has nuclear military as well as economic dimensions.

U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, the top United States representative to the world organization, was publicly visible in actively negotiating with China's Permanent Representative Liu Jieyi. Presumably, this is the tip of a varied array of private interchange and negotiation. President Donald Trump appropriately tweeted praise for the support of Russia as well as China in the vote and noted "Very big financial impact!"

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The new sanctions under Resolution 2371 impose a total ban on North Korea's exports of coal, in addition to iron, lead and seafood. Travel is banned and assets frozen for fourteen officials and four entities. This significantly ratchets up pressure on Pyongyang, which relies increasingly on black markets for desperately needed money. Monitoring and enforcement of a total ban will be easier.

Beyond Pyongyang's fanatical and apocalyptic rhetoric, evidence is apparent that the regime is feeling the great long-term strain. During May 6 to 9 in 2016, North Korea held a Communist Party Congress. Tight security control of the enormous choreographed show was utterly self-evident. The last such party congress was in 1980, an occasion for regime founder Kim Il-sung to indicate succession of power to his son Kim Jong-il.

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Current dictator Kim Jong-un, son of Kim Jong-il, assumed power following the death of his father in 2011. He wore a business suit for the public party show, a departure from the usual uniform. Kim publicly acknowledged economic challenges, a remarkable understatement which nonetheless was long overdue.

The Communist Party Congress took place in the context of continuing tension, punctuated by occasional violence and aggressive moves regarding South Korea. In 2013, North Korea announced a "state of war" with South Korea and threatened nuclear attack. Pyongyang abruptly abrogated the 1953 armistice agreement ending the Korean War, and cut the military "hot line" communications link with the south.

Lake County News Sun Twice-weekly News updates from Lake County delivered every Monday and Wednesday >

Developments in recent years could have been the prelude to war, yet there is no concrete evidence that North Korea has been mobilizing to invade South Korea. Pyongyang's nuclear capabilities increase but remain rudimentary.

Kim has publicly criticized those in the military "developing a taste for money" amid reports of corruption. As part of a major military shakeup, he assumed the rank of Marshal of the People's Army, adding to a series of celebratory titles. He has been ruthless in gruesome executions of people suspected of disloyalty, including close family members.

In this truly frightening context, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson provides an appropriate firm but calm style. The day after U.N. vote, he and Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha of South Korea joined in praising the outcome, at a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the Philippines that included China and North Korea.

ASEAN represents a growing network of regional entities reinforcing the U.N. and associated global institutions. In July 2016, an international tribunal in The Hague supported the Philippines in a major maritime dispute with China.

Preparation for war is essential regarding North Korea, but there is still no need to assume war will happen. The Korean War Armistice has held for sixty-four years.

Arthur I. Cyr is Clausen Distinguished Professor at Carthage College and author of "After the Cold War."

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acyr@carthage.edu
Chase Bank is looking to open a branch at the site of a McDonald's restaurant in Lake Forest. (Mark Lawton / Pioneer Press)

A proposal for a Chase Bank to take the place of a McDonald's in west Lake Forest will undergo further review.

The Plan Commission heard a proposal Wednesday from Chase Bank to open a branch at 884 S. Waukegan Road, where a McDonald's restaurant has been located for the last 20 years. The proposed single-story building would have a faux second floor to fit in with nearby buildings, said architect Timothy Meseck.

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The bank branch would be 3,600 square feet, which is smaller than the existing McDonald's building. The exterior would be built of limestone and brick and there would be an ATM drive-thru without a teller, Meseck said.

The building would cost $4.5 million to build, said Jon Krissoff, market director of real estate for Chase Bank.

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Cathy Czerniak, community development director for Lake Forest, said there would be no negative impact from the proposed branch in terms of traffic, drainage, noise, odors or lights.

"The elephant in the room is that people think there will be too many banks," Czerniak said. "This would make four banks within one block."

In the summer of 2003, the city banned banks for 90 days while it changed its zoning code to require a special-use permit to open a bank, according to news reports from the time. The change in zoning was inspired by complaints from residents about the number of banks.

"We read all the time about the number of bank branches closing," said Commissioner Michael Freeman.

Krissoff agreed that Chase is closing more branches than its opening, but he said Lake Forest is one of the largest holes for branches in the Chicago area.

Five residents spoke about the proposed bank with four of them against the development. Among them was Steve Brockmeyer who said he wasn't against a Chase Bank branch, but he didn't see the positives with having that many banks on one block.

"I'm against a bank," said Larry Crone, adding that he would miss having a McDonald's at that location.

The McDonald's location is schedule to close at the end of August regardless of where the bank approval process stands, according to the property's owner.

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Steve Douglas, in contrast, said he supported the bank.

"The important thing is not to have vacancies," Douglas said. "I see it as a strong draw that will help retail in the area."

The Plan Commission will have to make a recommendation to the City Council based on whether the proposed Chase Bank branch meets the criteria for a special-use permit, Czerniak said. Criteria includes whether the bank would adversely impact traffic, the impact of the drive-thru lane and if the building could be adapted for other uses should the bank leave, among other items.

The Plan Commission asked Chase Bank to work on its plans and to return as soon as September.

Restaurant approved

The Plan Commission also approved recommending a special-use permit for a restaurant Wednesday.

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Cecilia Lanyon of Lake Forest and her business partner Dominic Zumpano opened The Gallery, 202 E. Wisconsin Avenue, in January. The business is an art gallery that also offers limited food and BYOB alcohol, Czerniak said.

Since opening, The Gallery has seen an increased demand for dining and gatherings requiring food, Lanyon said. A restaurant within 150 feet of residences is required to have a special use permit.

Three people, all involved in the arts, spoke in favor of the special use permit for The Gallery.

After a few questions, the Plan Commission voted unanimously to recommend approval of a special-use permit but with a few conditions. Those include no parking in residential areas, limited hours of use for the business's patio, no music on the patio and limits on outdoor lighting.

The City Council will still have to give final approval.

mlawton@pioneerlocal.com

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Twitter: @reporterdude
Komen Chicagos Ride for the Cure will honor the memory of North Shore cyclist and Komen supporter Deb Blue. ( Komen Chicago )

Deb Blue of Glencoe was a passionate bicyclist, a hardworking executive at Walgreens, a tireless volunteer with Komen Chicago, board member for Y-Me Illinois, and an Imerman Angel. She was also, for 17 years, a patient fighting breast cancer.

Deb Blue lost her fight in the fall of 2015. This Sept. 17, to honor Blue's selfless spirit and to continue her fight against that devastating disease, Susan G. Komen Chicago inaugurates its new Komen Chicago Ride for the Cure.

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The bike ride begins at 9 a.m. in Dawes Park, 1700 Sheridan Road, Evanston. It is part of the North Shore Century, and held in association with the Evanston Bicycle Club, which has been "phenomenal," says Brett Blue, Debra Blue's husband and vice-president of the Komen Chicago Board of Directors.

An avid biker himself, pedaling as much as 40 miles a day when he can, Brett Blue has helped organize the event. Riders can go for 25, 50, 62 or 100 miles along scenic circular routes that wind up the North Shore and return to Dawes Park.

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"Basically, you can ride as much as you want," Brett Blue said. The longest loop, the 100 miles, winds up the North Shore, to Pleasant Prairie, Wis., and returns.

Event registration is free for Team Komen. Team riders are asked to raise at least $360, which will pay for two mammograms in the Chicago area.

"There is no better way to honor Deb than a ride, which is something she loved," said Bonnie Gordon, executive director of Komen Chicago and long-time friend of the Blues.

Brett Blue also sees the ride as an ideal memorial for his wife.

He started biking on his own about 1994, when his work gave him more free time. He would also go off for rides on weekends that would last four or five hours. Deb, deciding not to be left behind even though she was holding down a demanding job, soon joined him on the weekend trips. "I loved it," he recalls, but added that it was also a bit frustrating. He'd figured that being desk-bound all week, it would take his wife a while to work up to his ride level.

Didn't happen, Brett remembers. From the first, Deb kept up with him. "She'd just keep going up the hills, very steady" and stayed with him the whole way.

They rode together all the time. Their vacations started to focus on riding  doing it, watching it  everywhere they traveled. France, Spain, Turkey, Belgium and all over the U.S. were biking destinations. "That's kind of the way we did things," Brett Blue recalls. "This (Komen) ride is a natural extension of that and an opportunity to help."

Gordon, who worked at Walgreens with Deb Blue, notes that her friend brought that same dedication to her work, hardly ever taking a day off, never complaining, even when she'd had a cancer treatment. "She was an amazing woman who really let nothing get in her way."

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Nor did Deb hold back when it came to helping others fight cancer. Educating people about breast cancer, working, as an Imerman Angel, with women who had had a cancer diagnosis, fundraising for research, "she did everything she could to help others," says Brett Blue.

In addition to raising money to help all women get mammograms, "Ride for the Cure" will help spread the word about the many ways Komen Chicago can help people navigate cancer treatment, says Gordon.

And it's a way to work toward goals set by Deb Blue. "That's her legacy," says Gordon, "helping others to have a fighting chance to survive breast cancer."

Komen Chicago 'Ride for the Cure'

In association with: North Shore Century of the Evanston Bicycle Club, www.evanstonbikeclub.org

Where: Dawes Park, 1700 Sheridan Road, Evanston

When: Sept. 17; Komen Chicago officially starts at 9 a.m., though riders doing 100 miles can start at 8 a.m.

Fee: Riders for Komen Chicago are asked to raise $360, so admission fees will be waived

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School doors began opening this week for another year, but despite the return to a typical schedule some schools will start in anything but the usual way.

Severe flooding from torrential rainfall last month wreaked havoc on schools, businesses and residences. I read that this was deemed a "200-year event." True or not, it surely impacted every area resident in one way or another.

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Particularly hard hit were schools like W.J. Murphy Elementary School in Round Lake Park, whose entire library was devastated from flooding. Libraries are the heart of the school and it's easy to see why this was a huge loss. The school has been asking for donations to kick-start the rejuvenation of the library, and I made a mental note to get out and purchase some books to donate.

The problem with mental notes, especially as age creeps forward, is they often disappear. That is exactly what happened to me until I checked out at Walmart the other day behind a woman who purchased a goodly amount of school supplies to donate to the school. So now this task is on my written "to-do" list. Books are being collected at the Round Lake Area Library to be sorted and cataloged, and since the school is a K-5 grade, keep that in mind if you decide to donate books. Reading is really the source of all forms of education, and with current donations in the thousands already, it's clear that residents support the fostering of that important element of our schools.

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W.J. Murphy School wasn't the only community building dramatically affected by flooding. Lake Forest Hospital was also forced to close and evacuate the entire facility due to flooding, remaining patient-free for almost a week while water-related problems were resolved. Earlier this month after things were back to normal, the president of the hospital wrote a thank-you note, recognizing the cooperation of fire and police departments, their sister hospital downtown Northwestern Memorial, and the local skilled nursing facilities and hospitals that helped to take care of patients during the evacuation. Very nice, and all well deserved.

However, he unfortunately neglected to mention one vital element of the successful incident-free transfer of patients out of the hospital: the excellent dedicated hospital staff itself. Without the efforts of those staffers who, like my son-in-law, worked a full 12  hour shift and then stayed late to assist in getting everyone out safely, things might not have gone as smoothly. Perhaps it was a simple oversight, and no doubt individual department managers offered thanks for a job well done, but it seems if a public letter is going to be initiated we should not forget to acknowledge the vital task done by all those hospital staffers. They went above and beyond to relocate their patients safely.

Just as books are the heart of a school, nurses and staff are the heart of a hospital.

Pat Lenhoff is a freelance columnist for Pioneer Press.

viewfromvh@yahoo.com
Naper Settlement will be hosting a Solar Eclipse Viewing Picnic on its main green from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Aug. 21. ( Naper Settlement/HANDOUT )

Got eclipse plans yet?

Consider the Solar Eclipse Viewing Picnic from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Aug. 21 at Naper Settlement.

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"We are a designated viewing site in the area, partnering with Adler Planetarium and providing free solar eclipse viewing glasses to our visitors," said Sheila Riley, director of learning experiences at Naperville's 12-acre living-history museum.

Visitors are welcome to bring blankets and lunch and picnic on Naper Settlement's main green during the three-hour window.

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"This is a great opportunity for folks in the Naperville area to take a lunch break from the office or bring their family and come share a unique experience with others in the community," Riley said. "People will be talking about this total solar eclipse for decades to come."

No doubt, it's a relatively rare astronomical event for us.

"Total solar eclipses happen every several years, usually in remote areas like the Antarctic or the South Pacific," Riley said. "The total solar eclipse happening Aug. 21 will follow a path diagonally across the entire U.S.  the last time a total solar eclipse covered this area in the U.S. was in 1918."

While Chicagoland won't experience the absolute total eclipse (you'll have to drive several hours south for that), the area still will have a stellar view.

"The 'path of totality,' around 70 miles wide, will last the longest near Carbondale, Illinois  2 minutes, 44 seconds," Riley said. "Around Chicago, we should be able to see 90 percent totality, which means that a small sliver of the sun will still be visible behind the outline of the moon."

And, conveniently, all this will happen around lunchtime.

"Some websites show Naperville's viewing timeline beginning at 11:53 a.m., with maximum phase at 1:18 p.m.," Riley said. "Of course, weather will play a role in how visible the eclipse is, so we're hoping for clear skies that day."

Along with a lawn for lunching and viewing, Naper Settlement is offering some eclipse-specific programming that day as well.

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"Because we're focused on history, our timed program will relate historical and celestial stories," Riley said. "We will have a 15-minute history program in the Tavern at 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m."

Since it's been nearly a century since the last total solar eclipse in our area, naturally this is a new frontier for Naper Settlement.

"A large part of our mission is being a central education and community site for Naperville and the surrounding area," Riley said. "We've not hosted an eclipse viewing before, and we are always open to new programming ideas."

Admission is $5. Kids under 4, Naperville residents with proof of residency as well as Naper Settlement members are free. Free parking can be found either in Naper Settlement's lot at Porter Avenue and Webster Street or across the street at the Municipal Center Parking lot.

Jen Banowetz is a freelance writer for the Naperville Sun.

Solar Eclipse Viewing Picnic

When: 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Aug. 21

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Where: Naper Settlement, 523 S. Webster St., Naperville

Tickets: $5
Northbrook resident Gregg Salomone, here asking Sept. 13 for a zoning variation for a front-yard ham radio antenna, has for the second time given up on his idea. (Irv Leavitt / Pioneer Press )

Minutes after the Northbrook zoning code was changed to make it easier for Gregg Salomone to apply to erect a 26-foot ham radio antenna in his front yard, Salomone said he wouldn't apply, after all.

His decision came shortly after a Northbrook Village Board meeting in which the change was voted in, when a couple of his neighbors, speaking in the emptying board room, made it clear they didn't like the idea at all.

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"No one in his right mind would let him put his tower in there," neighbor Larry Guthman said. "There's no reason for it."

Salomone said later, that, "after careful consideration, I have decided to withdraw my request for the antenna."

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He said he didn't "want to cause undue waves" among his neighbors.

"I respect what they have to say, and I'm happy they recognize my viewpoint, too," Salomone said. "I applaud the village for being progressive and accommodating."

Salomone said he had received letters approving of his tower proposal from the people who shared his cul-de-sac on the 4000 block of Yorkshire Lane. But his backyard neighbor, Guthman, said that he and three other nearby residents outside the cul-de-sac were not on board. They thought it would be too tall, unsightly and harmful to property values.

Salomone wanted the antenna in the front because he didn't have enough room in the back, as he has at four other Northbrook homes over the years.

Guthman said that he would have disliked it if Salomone had erected the 26-foot, inch-wide antennae in the back yard, too, though, according to officials, a backyard antenna wouldn't have required any special approvals.

In June, trustees decided to resurrect an ordinance on the back burner for two years after Salomone applied for the 26-foot antenna. The new law's concept is that property owners who need a change by degree of a zoning code requirement could do so more easily. Mostly, the changes would involve a "dimensional standard," according to Tom Poupard, who heads the village's building and planning department, such as height, width and density. In Salomone's case, it would be front yard instead of back yard.

Trustees will make the call on a change after holding a public hearing during one of their meetings, or having the Zoning Board of Appeals or Plan Commission hold it. The difference will be that the change will only apply to the case at hand. It won't change the law for every similar case, so precedent is not as significant a concern, officials said.

All five Village Board members present voted for the ordinance. Trustee Bob Israel said that it made sense not only because it would make it easier to approve good ideas, but it would help "shoot down unnecessarily bad ones" without much bother.

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Salomone said he believes he can do without such a large antenna.

"Instead of China, I can get the West Coast," he said. "Instead of Europe, I can get Newfoundland, Iceland. I can still be on the air."

On Sept. 13, 2016, trustees panned his idea for a front-yard tower over twice as thick and tall, telling him they'd be unlikely to change laws to make it happen. He dropped that proposal the following day. Later, he decided to try the shorter model, which trustees said had a much better chance.

After withdrawing that second proposal, he seemed to leave a window open for a third time at bat.

"I'm going to shelve it," he said, "for now."

ileavitt@pioneerlocal.com

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Twitter @IrvLeavitt
Frank Lloyd Wright's Unity Temple is apparently on a good news roll. The newly restored temple not only is the recipient of the 2017 Landmarks Illinois Richard Driehaus Preservation Award for Restoration, but it also recently received a $1 million gift and a $1 million challenge grant from the Chicago-based TAWANI Foundation.

"What an absolute honor!" Heather Hutchison, executive director of the Unity Temple Restoration Foundation said, referring to the preservation award. "The Landmarks Illinois Richard Driehaus Award underscores the magnificence of the $25 million restoration. We think Frank Lloyd Wright would be proud of the result, and we're thrilled to accept the 2017 award paying tribute to what has been called 'A return to glory for Unity Temple.' "

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Located at 875 Lake St. in Oak Park, the Wright-designed 1908 Unitarian church is considered one of the master architect's most beautiful and influential works. The building, however, struggled with issues related to decades of deferred maintenance, leading to its placement on the National Trust for Historic Preservation's 2009 list of America's Most Endangered Places.

The temple's restoration was completed in early June, just in time to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Wright's birth. It left almost nothing untouched in the National Historic Landmark and one of Wright's most notable public buildings.

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Unity Temple's extensive restoration project faced many major challenges, and one that particularly caught the eye of Landmarks Illinois was the difficult task of matching new exterior concrete repairs to the original tone and texture.

The level of care the restoration team took to honor the original design was unprecedented, said Bonnie McDonald, president/CEO of Landmarks Illinois, who visited the site twice. She said the "extraordinary project," was a four-part effort between the congregation, the community in general, the philanthropic community, and the contractors and designers  the craftsmen and women who paid extra attention to detail and had the utmost respect for design and materials.

"That is why we called this unprecedented," said McDonald. "The deep commitment people showed was extra extraordinary. Thanks to their efforts, today Unity Temple is as sacred, timeless and beautiful as it was when Frank Lloyd Wright designed it over a century ago."

"Frank Lloyd Wright's genius is a gift, not only the temple but that they allow people to come into their space," said McDonald. "It's a gift to the world."

"The inside is resplendent," she added. "It's indicative of the spirit Frank Lloyd Wright wanted to capture."

Landmarks Illinois will honor Unity Temple's restoration at its 2017 Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Preservation Awards Ceremony, which is open to the public and being held Sept. 16 at Venue SIX10, 610 S. Michigan Ave. in Chicago. The celebration pays tribute to inspiring individuals/organizations putting forth extraordinary effort to elevate historic preservation practice and advocacy in Illinois. Each year, Landmarks Illinois honors nine historic preservation projects and the people who made them happen.



The restoration effort received a $10 million grant from the Alphawood Foundation in 2013. The Unity Temple Unitarian Universalist congregation, which calls the building its spiritual home, also contributed more than $1.75 million to the project. Additional contributions have been received by Unity Temple Restoration Foundation, including a $200,000 grant from the Getty Foundation's "Keeping It Modern Initiative" and other philanthropic individuals and foundations.

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The campaign to raise the remaining dollars is continuing. The temple also recently received even more good news: The $1 million gift and $1 million challenge grant from Chicago-based TAWANI Foundation, whose president/founder is retired Illinois Army National Guard Lt. Colonel Jennifer Pritzker.

"The challenge grant means the TAWANI Foundation will match every philanthropic gift received for the restoration dollar-for-dollar over the next three years up to $1 million," said Hutchison. "It comes at an important juncture in the campaign. It reignites our efforts as we actively continue fundraising to meet the financial obligations of the restoration."

Tickets for the Landmarks Illinois 2017 Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Preservation Awards Celebration are $45-$50 for Landmarks Illinois members and $60 for others. Register by visiting www.Landmarks.org or calling 312-922-1742.

To make a donation to the restoration of Unity Temple, call 708-338-8873 or visit the foundation's website at www.utrf.org.

More Wright stuff 

Enrollment for volunteer training sessions in September, October and November is underway for interpreters to lead tours at Unity Temple, the Home and Studio, the Frank Lloyd Wright Historic District in Oak Park, as well as the Frederick C. Robie House in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood.

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Interpreter training is a concentrated program that involves online study, class lectures and workshops leading to certification. Interested individuals must attend an informational orientation and qualify for enrollment. Classes meet Tuesday and Thursday evenings and two Saturdays. At Unity Temple, some training will occur during the day, Monday through Friday.

More information is available at flwright.org/volunteer. Contact Linda Bonifas-Guzman at lguzman@flwright.org or 312-994-4045.

Felicia Dechter is a freelance columnist for Pioneer Press.
Indiana and Illinois law enforcement leaders held a press conference Thursday, Aug. 10, 2017, at the Dyer Police Department to provide updates about pursuit across state lines that led to an officer-involved shooting. (Becky Jacobs / Post-Tribune)

An alleged car thief was shot and killed Thursday morning after a high speed police chase that crossed back and forth over the Illinois border and sent a pedestrian to the hospital, authorities said.

The Lake County coroner's office identified the man who was killed as Mark P. Coffey, of Chicago Heights, Ill. Coffey sustained gunshot wounds, and his manner of death was "pending investigation," according to a coroner's release.

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Coffey struck a pedestrian in Sauk Village, Ill., at a "high rate of speed" after getting into a second stolen vehicle, police said.

Four Indiana officers from the incident  two from St. John, one from Dyer and one from the Lake County Sheriff's Department  were placed on administrative leave with pay Thursday, "which is standard protocol for many departments, and nothing should be read into that procedure," Indiana State Police Master Trooper Glen Fifield said.

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At a press conference Thursday afternoon at the Dyer Police Department, Fifield said investigators are working to determine who fired the shots.

The pursuit began at 4:55 a.m. after police dispatchers in Illinois forwarded a description of a reported stolen vehicle to Crete, Ill., police officers, Crete Police Chief James Paoletti said.

"Within about three minutes, one of our officers did spot the vehicle and radioed for other units to assist him," Paoletti said.

Coffey drove north on Illinois Route 394, and the officer attempted to stop the stolen vehicle as it turned east on Sauk Trail, but Coffey fled, Paoletti said.

Coffey crossed the border into Indiana, where "there was an initial contact with him" before he "fled again back into Illinois," Paoletti said.

In Sauk Village, Coffey appeared to be looking for a specific location, the Crete police chief said. Coffey ditched his vehicle and got into a second stolen vehicle for which he had keys, Paoletti said.

"And that was the car that strikes the pedestrian," he said.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 4 Police remain at the scene near West 81st and Sheffield avenues in Dyer, Ind., where a suspect was fatally shot by police after a car chase early on Aug. 10, 2017. (Warren Skalski / Chicago Tribune)

The Illinois units broke off the chase to attend to the man who was hit, as Coffey crossed back into Indiana, Paoletti said.

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Paoletti said he did not know what speed the stolen vehicle was traveling, but Sauk Village Police Chief Robert Kowalski said the driver was traveling at a "high rate of speed" when he struck the pedestrian. The posted speed limit there is 30 mph.

The pedestrian was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was being treated Thursday afternoon, Fifield said. Police did not release information about the man's condition or injuries, citing medical privacy laws.

"It's a shame because it was an innocent bystander just out for a morning walk," Kowalski said. "The best time to walk around here is in the morning. It's nice and quiet."

Fifield said, "Clearly, this was a dangerous person, and based upon our experiences and past training, this person needed to be apprehended."

Indiana police spotted the stolen vehicle in the 9300 block of Sheffield Avenue in Dyer, continuing to the intersection at 81st Avenue, where it hit another vehicle and stopped, Fifield said.

"There was a confrontation between the suspect and the officers that resulted in multiple gunshots being fired," Fifield said. "As a result, the suspect has deceased."

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Fifield said he could not comment Thursday afternoon whether a weapon was recovered, citing the ongoing investigation.

Paoletti said the pursuit "didn't go that long" and estimated that it ended by around 5:15 a.m.

Coffey had an active warrant for armed robbery and burglary, and he "was considered armed and dangerous," according to state police.

"(Coffey) was also wearing at the time of this incident an ankle monitoring bracelet that was issued through the Illinois Department of Corrections," Fifield said.

Paoletti said Coffey was known to Crete police, with a history of "narcotics and vehicle theft."

When asked whether he felt police should have ended the pursuit after a pedestrian was struck, Paoletti said, "No, I don't."

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"We have certain parameters that we look at when we determine whether or not a vehicle pursuit should continue or be canceled. And I will say that the parameters were not met to reach the level of cancellation at that time," Paoletti said.

Police have audio and video footage of the incident from dashboard cameras and body cameras that will be released when the investigation is completed, Fifield said.

More than a dozen officers are working on the investigation, according to Fifield.

The Northwest Indiana Major Crimes Task Force asked Indiana State Police to conduct the investigation, Fifield said, while Sauk Village police is handling the investigation into the crash that injured the pedestrian.

No officers were injured in the incident, police said.

The Associated Press and Daily Southtown freelance reporter Alicia Fabbre contributed.
The Watson Academy for Boys in Gary, with only 128 pupils enrolled, has been closed. (Carole Carlson / Post-Tribune)

The final bell rang unceremoniously Wednesday for the Watson Academy for Boys.

The Gary School Board has voted to close the struggling gender academy twice in the past three years, but somehow it remained open. In her first week on the job, new emergency manager Peggy Hinckley pulled the plug on Watson, at 2065 Mississippi St.

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"It's hard to run a school efficiently with 128 students," she told the school board Wednesday. Keeping it open would have required the consolidation of grades with a larger burden on teachers, she said.

Watson teacher Jacqueline Mason said she found out about the closing when she arrived at school Wednesday and found out she had been assigned to the Bailly Preparatory Academy.

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Hinckley said Watson parents were notified of the closing and told space for students was available at nearby Williams Elementary or at Bailly. She said Watson Principal Maceo Rainey would be reassigned.

Parent advocate Kendra Johnson worried the Watson closing would prompt parents to send their children to charter schools.

While Watson has struggled, the Frankie Woods McCullough Girls Academy has flourished. Hinckley said its enrollment is about 460 students. The gender academies debuted in 2005.

Meanwhile, Hinckley received a cordial welcome from the school board during their first joint public meeting.

While the meeting contained the usual trappings, including a written agenda and a report from Hinckley, there was one marked difference. The board took no official action because that power was stripped away by recent legislation.

Superintendent Cheryl Pruitt, who also lost her authority, sat across the table from Hinckley, who works for MGT Consulting, the firm hired by the state last month to run Gary's financial and academic operations for the next two years. Hinckley is charged with grinding down some $110 million of debt.

Hinckley reported on personnel moves she made without needing a board vote. She named Marie Adkins as acting federal programs director and hired a new special education director from Illinois.

"There's no road map on how to operate with an emergency manager," Hinckley said. "Normally, the board would act on the recommendation from the superintendent. "That action was deferred to me."

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Still, Hinckley said she'll continue to provide public personnel and claims reports. She said most of the 44 teachers laid off earlier this summer have been called back because of retirements and resignations.

Hinckley also introduced a team of retired principals she brought in as consultants to help administrators and teachers get schools ready for the first day on Thursday. They included Ermalene Faulkner, Phil Talbot, Stephen Foster and Tom Jarvis.

Hinckley said she wants to be sure teachers and principals have curriculum maps and understand grade level standard requirements when school begins.

Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
Narcotics possession

Kimberly Graves was arrested for narcotics and prescription drug possession on Tuesday at the intersection of East Empire Avenue and North Dakota Street.

The drugs, which included methamphetamine, were found in her backpack after police arrested her for an outstanding warrant.

Bike theft

A woman had her bicycle stolen on Tuesday at the intersection of East Cottage Avenue and North San Francisco Street.

The woman said that between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. someone had taken her bike off the bike hauler attached to her car.

DUI

 Thural Billy was arrested for a DUI on Saturday after getting into a car accident at the intersection of North Fourth Street and East Huntington Drive.

Billy told police that he had been drinking. The case is awaiting blood work, according to the police report.

 Saloman Lorenzana was arrested for a DUI on Friday at the intersection of East Cortland Boulevard and North Country Club Drive. He had a BAC of 0.300 percent during a breathalyzer test he took before his arrest.

However, Lorenzana would not consent to a breathalyzer test in jail and blood was taken via a judge's order.

City and county residents who want to report a crime but wish to remain anonymous may call Silent Witness at 774-6111 or (877) 29-CRIME, submit a tip online at www.coconinosilentwitness.org, or text the word Flagtip along with your information to 274637 (CRIMES). Rewards of up to $2,000 are given for information that leads to an arrest.
Last Friday night while returning home from a day in Chicago, I drove up to a sobriety checkpoint at the intersection of Hassle and Annoyance.

Actually, it was at the corner of Indiana 51 and U.S. 6 in Hobart. And because I don't drink alcohol, I had no concerns about being stopped besides returning home a few minutes late.

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It was around midnight, my family was sleepy from a long day in the big city, and I was driving home on autopilot. One minute we were on the Chicago Skyway and the next minute we were in Hobart. Or so it seemed.

The checkpoint was located in a CVS pharmacy parking lot, with makeshift lanes in place through traffic cones and signage. Police officers guided vehicles into the parking lot and then to where motorists needed to stop.

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While one officer checked my license plate, another one greeted me. He politely introduced himself, requested my driver's license, and asked if I had been drinking that night. I replied "no," apparently looking only tired, not drunk. He returned my license and I was on my way.

If I was more on the ball, I would have recorded our conversation on my iPhone (as I do all my interviews), and taken a few photos, either for this column or a social media post.

I've written about sobriety checkpoints several times, but only from a journalist's point of view while shadowing police officers during the night. I've never encountered one as a motorist who didn't know exactly where to go, what to say, how to react.

Contrary to my earlier jab of being hassled and annoyed at these checkpoints, I'm in favor of them. I've written about too many vehicle crashes caused by drunken drivers or impaired motorists. As a nondrinker, I have no sympathy for these motorists, including those of you who "only had a couple of drinks" and then get behind a wheel.

The last place I want you is operating a moving vehicle that can quickly accelerate into a high-speed machine of death and destruction. If these sobriety checkpoints can remove some of these potential dangers from the road, they have my support.

Yes, I understand these checkpoints can broach an unlawful invasion of our privacy, prohibiting unreasonable searches and seizures by police. And yes, they present a debatable balancing act between serving the public interest and infringing upon an individual's liberty.

Still, I'd rather see them than not see them, even if I encounter one as an innocent motorist.

"A sobriety checkpoint is conducted to deter people from operating while intoxicated," explained Hobart police Sgt. Ron Russo, who was at that checkpoint in a supervisory role. "The goal is to inform the public of the impending action through press releases and articles like this one, so people will be aware of the impending checkpoint and decide to find an alternative way home other than operating while intoxicated."

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I contacted Russo to find out if that checkpoint was successful, and to ask a few questions about proper protocol for motorists. For starters, like most checkpoints, that one was funded by federal grant money for traffic safety, specifically geared towards prevention of impaired driving.

"Signs are positioned to warn drivers of the checkpoint ahead, so they can legally avoid the checkpoint if they wish," Russo said, reminding me that I could have driven around it that night.

Police set a pre-determined number of vehicles to pull into the checkpoint  six vehicles on that night.

"Once six vehicles were in the check-line, all other traffic was allowed to pass by unimpeded," Russo said.

Once inside the checkpoint, officers from agencies other than Hobart police made initial contact with drivers. They introduced themselves by name, rank and department while working with the Lake County Traffic Safety Partnership, just as the officer did with me.

"If they detected any indicator that the operator of the vehicle was intoxicated, that vehicle was pulled off into what's called the further investigation area," Russo said.

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Vehicles could also be directed into the investigation area for other offenses, such as an odor of marijuana, equipment violations, no driver's license in possession, open alcohol containers, and so on. If no red flags were noticed, motorists were allowed to exit, as I was quickly allowed.

"This is the norm," Russo said. "Most vehicles are in and out of the checkpoint in under two minutes."

With that said, that checkpoint pulled in 455 vehicles, with 445 other vehicles allowed to drive around it unimpeded, police said. Of those checked vehicles, 68 of them were pulled aside for further investigation, with 48 of them prompting "enforcement actions."

These included three motorists driving with a suspended license, six with expired plates, eight with possession of pot, seven who were never issued a driver's license (what?), and two motorists driving while intoxicated.

Critics of these checkpoints would contend that  aha!  only two motorists out of 455 were found illegally driving while intoxicated. I counter that  aha!  police removed two drunken drivers off the street that night who may have endangered my family.

"I do believe the sobriety checkpoints have been successful," said Hammond police Lt. Patrick Vicari, who routinely sends me press releases about his department's checkpoints. "We want people to know we are out, and hopefully they will either not drink and drive, stay home, or perhaps find another means of transportation."

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Post Tribune Twice-weekly News updates from Northwest Indiana delivered every Monday and Wednesday >

Starting Friday, 220 law enforcement agencies across Indiana (and thousands nationwide) will take part in the "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" campaign, according to Gary police Lt. Dawn Westerfield.

"It is a national campaign and we will have special patrols paid by the traffic safety grant," she said.

From now through Labor Day, police will be out in full force, arresting impaired drivers so expect to see increased sobriety checkpoints.

To be clear, a DUI arrest means going to jail and possibly losing your driver's license. The average cost is roughly $10,000, including car towing and repairs, attorney fees, fines, court costs, lost time at work and other expenses, police said.

You've been warned. Again.

jdavich@post-trib.com

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Twitter@jdavich
This is what we dreaded. Some international crisis was bound to flare up, and President Trump would make it worse. Now we can only hope that the mature adults surrounding him are able to cool things down.

Trump probably thought it was oh-so-clever to answer North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's nuclear provocations with a taste of the dictator's own apocalyptic language, threatening "fire and fury like the world has never seen." It sounded like a playground taunt, reflecting the president's emotional immaturity. On Thursday, Trump said that maybe those words weren't "tough enough." Soon these two nuclear-armed leaders may be trading insults about the size of each other's hands.

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The "fire and fury" line was "improvised," meaning Trump failed to warn anyone about it beforehand  not Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, not Defense Secretary James Mattis, not chief of staff John Kelly, not national security adviser H.R. McMaster, not U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley. Wish these five officials well, because they stand between us and unthinkable disaster.

It is possible that "fire and fury" was, in Trump's mind, a bit of strategy. Perhaps he wanted to come across as a dangerous madman. If so, he succeeded in unnerving Americans and our allies  but not, apparently, the North Koreans.

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Ironies abound. Before Trump's intervention, his administration was actually doing pretty well in orchestrating a global response to North Korea's development of intercontinental ballistic missiles and nuclear warheads. Haley managed to get the U.N. Security Council to approve tough new sanctions, which meant she had to win cooperation from China and Russia  a real diplomatic achievement.

Moreover, Trump's bombast may even have occasioned high-fives in Kim's inner circle. Kim has long sought direct talks with the United States as a way of showing the North Korean people his exalted status among world leaders. A back-and-forth exchange of rhetoric fills the bill.

Dealing with this crisis will require patience and realism, both of which Trump totally lacks.

There is no quick solution. If there were, Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush or Barack Obama would have implemented it long ago. A U.S. military strike could cost millions of lives in South Korea and perhaps many thousands in Japan. Our nation, under Trump, would become an international pariah. We would have the blood of many innocents on our hands.

The reality is that Kim doesn't want to conquer the world  or provoke a U.S. attack that could end his regime. He wants to remain in power. He also dreams of someday reuniting the Korean Peninsula under his own leadership, but that is a much longer-range goal. Right now, his imperative is survival.

Post Tribune Twice-weekly News updates from Northwest Indiana delivered every Monday and Wednesday >

By developing nuclear weapons and advanced missile technology, Kim sought to ensure that he never faces the fate of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. Having gone to extraordinary lengths to obtain this insurance policy, he is not likely to give it up. Ever.

The Trump administration believes the Chinese government could do more to pressure Kim. It is true that China has the power to destroy the fragile North Korean economy, but Chinese leaders are not willing to confront the consequences of provoking a collapse of central authority in Pyongyang. And the Kim dynasty has shown a willingness to force the North Korean people to endure unspeakable hardship in the pursuit of national goals.

I see no way that Kim is ever going to be persuaded or coerced into giving up his nukes. Maybe he would do so under imminent threat of being deposed. But in any scenario I can imagine, he has more leverage with nuclear weapons than without them. I don't want to live in a world in which a nuclear-tipped North Korean missile can hit Guam or Hawaii or Los Angeles or Chicago, but we may not have a choice.

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Deterrence does work, though. It worked throughout the Cold War. It worked during Mao's Cultural Revolution, when China was at least as unhinged as North Korea is today. It works between India and Pakistan.

Trump once said he would be willing to meet with Kim. If the president can be kept from making further threats and the present crisis allowed to subside, perhaps we can eventually offer direct talks between Washington and Pyongyang  something Kim dearly wants  with the subject being a verifiable freeze on the North Korean nuclear program. After a freeze is in place for a while, it might be possible to negotiate reductions.

As I said, we need to be patient and realistic. Someone please distract the president with a shiny object for the next few years.

Eugene Robinson is a columnist for the Washington Post.
Pueblo East, Pueblo West football teams knocked out of playoffs

Both Pueblo West and Pueblo East high schools had their faced stiff competition Friday night on the road.
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Former acting Party chief and mayor of Tianjin Huang Xingguo pleaded guilty at a court in Hebei province on Wednesday. He was charged with accepting bribes worth more than 40 million yuan ($6 million), according to the Shijiazhuang intermediate people's court.

According to an indictment by the Shijiazhuang people's procuratorate, he used his position for the benefit of others through promotions and obtaining land for projects, then accepted bribes valued at more than 40 million yuan, either himself or through family members, from 1994 to 2016.

Over a 22-year period, he served as Party chief of Taizhou city, Zhejiang province; vice-governor of Zhejiang; Party chief of Ningbo in Zhejiang; and mayor and acting Party chief of Tianjin.

At the court hearing, Huang made a final statement and pleaded guilty.

In September, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the country's top anti-graft watchdog, launched an investigation into Huang for "serious violations of Party discipline".

The commission said he severely violated the Party's rules and code of conduct, failed to follow major decisions made by central leaders and resisted an investigation by anti-graft inspectors.

In January, he was expelled from the Party and removed from his administrative post.

The court will issue a verdict at a later date.
The celebration marks the 70th anniversary of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in Hohhot, north Chinas Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, August 8, 2017. [Photo by Niu Jingjing/China.org.cn]

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of Inner Mongolia, China's earliest autonomous region by ethnic minorities, which makes more Chinese focus on its massive changes and development.

Askhaan is a Mongolian woman who was born in Hohhot, the capital of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in 1986. She came back to her hometown after spending seven years studying in a university in east China's Fujian and one year working in Shandong Province. Since October 2016, she has participated in the celebration activities of the 70th Anniversary of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

"On its 50th anniversary, I was a pupil who just knew little of what the day meant except being able to spell the number; on its 60th, I studied in another city and had some ideas about my hometown and that it was a little backwards; on this 70th, I am extremely excited as I have become a participant and see its years of development and achievements," she said.

The largest celebration was held in Hohhot on Tuesday. About 12,000 people from across the country attended the event.

As a working staff for this celebration, Askhaan and her colleagues were responsible for communication and coordination during the whole event. She considered that what they had done both day and night for the preparation was finally realized.

"Two decades ago, Inner Mongolia was just a frontier minority region in many people's eyes. There was an overpass in Hohhot at that time. However, with the development of the national economy, the autonomous region has improved a lot accordingly. The Inner Mongolian Museum and Wulanqiate Grand Theatre were built in 2007, and this year we realize that we have a better life here with the friendly environment and convenient transportation," said Askhaan.

Citizens from twelve leagues and cities of this autonomous region showed their local culture and art during the marching performance, the longest-running part of the celebration. A Morin Khuur performer, Wuxiaobode, who performed for Barack Obama in 2009, participated in the finale of this celebration. "As a Mongolian, I feel very proud to show our minority instrument to the world on this great day. It is my great honor to do it for my hometown," he said.

"It was really hard to practice day by day for a month, but now I felt so excited," said Yang Jian, a Han Chinese dancer who just finished a group dance at the celebration.
Dear Doctor: I've had lower back pain for years, but I can't afford to go to a physical therapist. My husband, who started taking a yoga class at the community center here a few months ago, swears that his back pain is going away. Just how effective is yoga for lower back pain?

Dear Reader: When it comes to back pain, you and your husband have plenty of company. It's estimated that 80 percent of all adults will experience it over the course of their lifetimes, and it's no wonder.

The spine is a feat of engineering. Bones, joints, muscles, ligaments, nerves and other specialized tissues interconnect to form a strong and flexible column. They bear the weight of the upper body while providing an axis from which we can stretch, bend, reach and pivot. But when any one part of the spine moves out of alignment, whether due to injury, illness or overuse, the result is pain and, occasionally, immobility.

Your question addresses pain in the lower back, which is also known as the lumbar spine. And for that, we have some promising news. The results of a recent study by researchers at the Boston Medical Center suggest that practicing certain yoga poses is a viable alternative to physical therapy for dealing with chronic lumbar pain.

The study recruited 320 adults who were living with chronic lower back pain that they rated from moderate to severe. The participants were divided into three separate treatment groups.

One group took part in 15 one-hour physical therapy sessions over the course of three months, and was assigned additional exercises to do at home. A second group took weekly 90-minute yoga classes over the course of the three months, and was also assigned additional home exercises. The third group of participants did not take part in any kind of treatment. Instead, they received a self-help book about back pain, occasional newsletters with information about lumbar health and access to telephone check-in sessions.

After the first three months of the study, the yoga group and the physical therapy group each continued with their forms of therapy for an additional nine months. When the study concluded a year after it had begun, the group that underwent physical therapy and the group that took yoga classes self-reported similar improvement in both pain levels and improved mobility.

Both of these groups reported feeling better than the group that was given only back pain literature. In addition, the individuals in the physical therapy group and the yoga group were more likely to have stopped using medication to manage their pain.

But before you rush out and sign up for any old yoga class, it's important to note that the exercises done by the participants in this study were geared specifically to address issues of the lumbar spine. That means that the areas of the spine targeted by the yoga postures, as well as the pace of the exercises and their intensity, were carefully calibrated.

If you decide to give yoga a try, find an experienced teacher and be sure to let her or him know your specific limitations.
Vladimir Putin (Left) and Donald Trump [Xinhua]

Donald Trump has approved a new Congress-developed set of sanctions against Russia. The legislation makes it more difficult for American companies to do business in Russia, especially in limiting the money they can invest in energy-related sectors.

The measure has dealt a serious blow to efforts for a better relationship between the two countries. Trump also acknowledged that ties with Moscow were at an "all-time dangerous low." He directly held Congress responsible for this.

He also loudly protested about the "flawed" policy to sanction Moscow, but hardly anyone was listening. Similarly, Trump's assertions that he was better qualified and poised to steer the foreign relations might not find many takers.

The reaction from Moscow was swift. It angrily termed the move as a new trade war. Putin had already announced the expulsion of 755 individuals working for the U.S. diplomatic mission in Russia. Matching counter-economic measures are also possible.

Another important and equally aggressive part of the official Russian reaction was a statement by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who said the sanctions shattered all hopes for better ties with Washington. It means that traditional brinkmanship is back and the result will be zero-sum game.

Trump came to power with the hope and promise that he would improve ties with Russia, and heaped praise on Putin. Trump's statements about ties with Russia had raised serious questions about his attitude and policy options. Opponents had criticized his seeming soft views on Moscow.

The real test for his policy was selling it to the power establishment. By now it is crystal clear that Trump should have saved his ideas about Putin for another time. He has been unsuccessful in convincing Americans about the merits of his policy prescriptions.

He should have known from the start that establishment was uneasy about his leaning towards Russia. It was also evident from a stream of news reports and articles appearing in media about Russian meddling in the U.S. elections and alleged links between Team Trump and Russians officials.

In fact, most of Trump's time in office so far has been consumed by defending himself in the evolving Russiagate scandal. Trump is partially responsible, for he first denied any contacts or interference by Russia, but later fired his National Security Advisor on this very issue.

The situation did not improve and his every move to ease ties with Moscow was presented in a negative way. Even the first face-to-face interaction between Trump and Putin in Germany later became mired in controversy when reports appeared that the two leaders had a private conversation over dinner.

Trump might have felt personally humiliated when he was forced to sign the law on sanctions against Russia. It was against his vision and policy for better relations, which he has been openly advocating. The sanctions are also a final blow to his desire to forge an independent foreign policy.

His plans to have a special relationship with Vladimir Putin have been thrown into the rubbish bin by a determined "establishment," and, from now onward, he will have to find a new way to normalize relations with Russia.

The U.S. also faces consequences for hitting Russia with fresh sanctions. We are aware that Putin is a strong-minded person who cannot be forced into changing his views and his foreign policy, as evidenced by his actions in Ukraine and Syria.

The friction between the two nations further complicates the chances of cooperation. Syria is an especially sensitive case, as United States and Russia follow mutually-opposing polices and also support different groups in the conflict.

According to various experts, one of the reasons for the prolonged civil war is the strategic calculations by the leading powers. Russia and America can save countless lives and end the misery of the Syrian people by agreeing on a peaceful solution, but this looks unlikely.

Apart from Syria, the policymakers in United States should know that they might need Russia to manage the North Korean threat. Hence, channels should be kept open for cooperation despite the acrimony due to sanctions.

Sajjad Malik is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit:

http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/SajjadMalik.htm

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.
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Five U.S. active-duty transgender troops on Wednesday sued President Donald Trump in a Washington D.C. federal court over Trump's tweets about a possible ban on transgender people from serving in the U.S. military.

They are arguing that the president's related tweets have impinged on their constitutional rights, and, though there is no concrete new policy from the White House yet, they have already been harmed because they no longer have a reasonable expectation they can continue serving.

"The directive to reinstate a ban on open service by transgender people violates both the Equal Protection component of the Fifth Amendment and the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution," says a complaint filed by two LGBTQ groups on behalf of the five anonymous soldiers, listed only as Jane Doe 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.

"The categorical exclusion of transgender people from military service lacks a rational basis, is arbitrary, and cannot be justified by sufficient federal interests," the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia wrote.

The five plaintiffs in the lawsuit have nearly 60 years of combined service, according to the groups, namely the National Center for Lesbian Rights and the GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a White House spokeswoman, said the White House "will work with the Department of Defense to lawfully implement the policy," but revealing no details about how or when such a policy would be released.

"As is with any ongoing litigation we cannot comment on it," she told BuzzFeed News in an email on Wednesday.

On July 26, Trump tweeted that the U.S. military "will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military," claiming he had consulted with "generals and military experts" before making the decision.

"Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you," he said in another tweet.

However, Pentagon so far hasn't promulgated such a ban. U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford said the next day that Pentagon would not change the current policy until the White House issued further "guidance."

The Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law estimates there are more than 15,000 transgender troops in the U.S. military. The RAND Corporation estimates there are between 1,320 and 6,630 transgender personnel in the active service and between 830 and 4,160 in the selected reserve.

According to a report released by the Palm Center on Wednesday, it would cost 960 million dollars for Pentagon to recruit and train replacements for the estimated 12,800 transgender troops serving in the U.S. armed forces.
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Policemen guard near the attack site in Levallois-Perret, France on Aug. 9, 2017. A vehicle burst into a group of French sentinel operation soldiers Wednesday morning in northwestern Paris and injured six before fleeing the scene. [Photo/Xinhua]

A man in a getaway vehicle was injured during his arrest on the A16 motorway in northern France following a car attack on military soldiers in Levallois-Perret (Hauts-de-Seine, north of Paris) on Wednesday morning, according to local media.

An exchange of fire took place between the police and the suspected driver of the car, which had ploughed into six soldiers earlier on Wednesday. Four soldiers sustained light injuries and two were seriously wounded in the deliberate attack.

The suspect was shot and wounded, as was a police officer. Investigators are trying to verify whether the driver is indeed the one who carried out the attack.

According to local newspaper Le Parisien, the BMW was spotted in the early afternoon on the A16 motorway between Boulogne-sur-Mer and Calais.

The plate number and a sticker on the car corresponded to the vehicle described by witnesses.

The 37-year-old man was arrested by BIS agents and is "likely to be the perpetrator" of the attack, according to a judicial source quoted by Le Parisian.

An investigation has been opened for attempted murders in connection with terrorism.
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The U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday imposed sanctions on eight Venezuelan individuals involved in the creation of the controversial National Constituent Assembly (ANC).

The designations consist of seven current and former officials of the Venezuelan government and one individual who has participated in actions or policies that "undermine democratic processes or institutions" in Venezuela, the Treasury Department said in a statement.

As a result of the move, all assets of these individuals subject to U.S. jurisdiction are frozen, and U.S. persons are prohibited from dealing with them.

The new sanctions came after Washington blacklisted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro last Monday, one day after Venezuela held elections for the National Constituent Assembly.

"By sanctioning Maduro, the United States makes clear our opposition to the policies of his regime," U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said.

Maduro rebuffed U.S. sanctions that targeted him personally, saying he was "proud" to be singled out by the measure.

Venezuela's controversial ANC opened for its first session last Friday. The country's former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Delcy Rodriguez, was sworn in as the president of the new body.

For months, the opposition has led street protests against the ANC, which have left over 120 dead.
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Be fully alert and call the police immediately if you get a call from someone claiming to be from Chinese diplomatic missions for your personal and credit card information on various reasons.

Chinese Consulate General in New York City Wednesday issued a phone scam warning on its official website to local Chinese communities.

Dozens of people from the Chinese community called the consulate for verification after receiving suspicious calls on Tuesday.

"These phone calls are fraudulent, we've already reported the incidents to the New York Police Department," it said.

"Do not disclose your Social Security number, credit cards number and bank account information to anyone who claims to be a staff from us," said the consulate, adding it never charges consular services fees via phone or smart phone app WeChat.

The New York metropolitan area is home to the largest ethnic Chinese population outside of Asia. As of 2015, the Chinese population in the city is estimated to be around 800,000.
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German Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) has seen a fall in her popularity levels while on holiday, an ARD-DeutschlandTrend survey released on Wednesday night suggests.

A total of 59 percent of respondents said they were happy or very happy with Merkel's work, a 10 percentage point drop compared to last month.

However, Merkel's main rival, SPD leader Martin Schulz, was unable to benefit from the development, as he witnessed his approval rating among voters fall to by four percentage points to a personal record low of 33 percent.

The highest ratings in the category were achieved by Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble (CDU) with 64 percent (minus 1 percentage point) and Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel with 63 percent (minus 3 percentage points).

Merkel also lost support in the "direct election" category with 52 percent of respondents saying they would chose to elect Merkel as chancellor directly if they could (Germany's political system only allows voters to indicate a party, rather than an individual). The figure constituted a five percentage point drop for the chancellor compared to the previous month.

Nevertheless, Merkel still commanded substantially stronger support than Schulz who rose slightly by two percentage points to 30 percent in voter favor.

If Germans were called to the polls on Sunday, the CDU/CSU would achieve a combined voter share of 39 percent compared to the SPD's 24 percent. The Left party (Linke) would finish in third place with 9 percent. The Free Democratic Party (FDP), Greens (Gruene) and Alternative for Germany (AfD) would be tied at 8 percent.

Germans appeared to be increasingly dissatisfied with their government in general in the latest ARD-DeutschlandTrend survey. Only 47 percent of respondents were either happy or very happy with the Federal Government's work, eight percentage points less than last month.

A likely source of voter frustration is officials handling of the ongoing "dieselgate" and "cartel" scandals in the German automotive industry. A total of 57 percent of those polled said that they had lost trust in domestic carmakers.
ASHLAND, Neb.  The normally lively gathering of Lincoln and Omaha business and community leaders with members of Nebraska's congressional delegation turned silent Wednesday when the annual event kicked off with a focus on North Korea's growing nuclear arms threat.

"We have a very strong missile defense system," Sen. Deb Fischer assured the hushed audience a day after President Donald Trump threatened North Korea with an assault of "fire and fury" if its nuclear provocations do not end.

"We are realistic about the threats, we prepare for the threats, but we live our lives," Fischer said.

However, she added, this is a growing threat from North Korea "that is becoming real" as the regime advances its ability to develop intercontinental ballistic missiles that could reach the United States with nuclear weapons aboard.

Fischer is chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee's subcommittee on strategic forces, a unit whose assignments include missile defense as well as nuclear forces.

Missile defense is "a priority of mine," Fischer told the audience at the event co-sponsored by the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce, the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce.

Sen. Ben Sasse, who also sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said "there are no good options" in dealing with the North Korean threat and "there really are no good scenarios at this moment."

A successful effort to "decapitate" the North Korean leadership by "taking out" Kim Jong-un could unleash a subsequent and dangerous "special forces race" between China and the United States to secure North Korea's nuclear materials, Sasse said.

"Nuclear material has been diffused," he said, and surveillance challenges have made it impossible to know where all the material may be located.

Meanwhile, millions of South Koreans in Seoul remain "directly targeted by conventional weapons," Sasse said.

Fischer said recently adopted United Nations sanctions against North Korea agreed to by China and Russia are important, but "trade relationships need to end" in order to apply even more pressure on the regime.

The discussion about North Korea and the president's looming threat of military action unfolded at the Strategic Air and Space Museum with vintage U.S. Air Force Aircraft suspended from the ceiling and surrounding the gathering.

More familiar topics emerged following that, with members of Nebraska's all-Republican delegation expressing opposition to the Trump administration's trade policy and disappointment with the president's withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement.

"We need more export markets in Asia," Sasse said.

TPP withdrawal was "unfortunate," Rep. Adrian Smith said, and he defended the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), noting that "it has done some great things for American agriculture."

Smith said he has urged the administration "not to undermine those successes."

After threatening to withdraw the United States from NAFTA during his presidential campaign, Trump now is focused on renegotiating, or "modernizing," the treaty.

Several members of the delegation said the United States needs to negotiate a trade agreement with Japan now.

"The longer we wait, the more market share we lose," Smith said, taking note of Japan's recently-negotiated trade agreement with the European Union.

"I'm trying to push them on bilateral agreements," Fischer said after expressing disagreement with Trump's withdrawal from TPP and criticism of NAFTA.

"Their theory of trade is just wrong," Sasse said in describing the Trump administration's viewpoint. NAFTA produced jobs in the United States as well as benefits for U.S. consumers, he said.

"More trade is good," he said. "More trade is great for Nebraska."

Rep. Jeff Fortenberry focused on a number of other topics, including what he described as economic inclusion, foreign policy realism, government decentralization and conservation.

Fortenberry said the large and growing national debt represents "a hidden form of taxation on the future of our children."

Rep. Don Bacon, the only missing member of the delegation, was on a congressional trip to Israel.
Nearly two months after India sent its troops across the Sikkim section of the border with China into the Donglang area, triggering a standoff between Chinese and Indian soldiers, New Delhi has continued to drag its feet over pulling its trespassing troops back onto Indian soil despite the repeated protests and warnings Beijing has made.

One of the excuses India has given for its troops crossing the long delimited border is that Donglang is a territory contested by China and Bhutan, and it is standing up for its small ally against what it claims is China's bullying of Bhutan.

The logic is ridiculous, even dangerous as the premise for action, since it sets a bad precedent of a regional power sending troops onto foreign soil in the name of protecting a third party's sovereignty.

Actually, as friendly neighboring countries, China and Bhutan  though they are yet to establish diplomatic relations because of India's interventions  have agreed to solve their border disputes through talks and consultations.

So far 24 rounds of border negotiations have been held and there are ample reasons to believe they will yield results if India stops throwing wrenches in the works.

Although Bhutan is yet to make a public statement, understandably given India's involvement, in a development that may come as a slap on the face of India, Bhutan has conveyed to Beijing through non-diplomatic channels that the area of the standoff is not its territory, the Press Trust of India reported on Tuesday, quoting Wang Wenli, deputy head of the Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs of the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Instead of mending its ways and withdrawing its troops immediately from Chinese territory as Beijing has repeatedly urged, India seems to be preparing for the "long haul". It is repairing its roads to the rear of the standoff, stocking up on supplies and massing a large number of armed personnel, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

The adventurous trespassing by India can be attributed to its sense of insecurity given the friendly relations between China and Pakistan, but such concerns do not justify its rising chauvinism, which means it sees its small neighbor Bhutan as a vassal state rather than a sovereign and independent nation.

China has a strong will to solve the problem peacefully, but India keeps paying lip service to that by refusing to withdraw its trespassing troops. India should be fully aware of the consequences if it persists with its reckless behavior.
The first coal-fired power project led by a Chinese private company kicked off construction on Monday in Indonesia's West Kalimantan province.

Kalbar-1 power station, a cooperation project between Indonesia Power, a subsidiary of Indonesian power utility Perusahaan Listrik Negara and China's Suzhou-based private company Golden Concord Holdings Ltd, is expected to reach an installed capacity of 200 megawatts when put into operation in 2020, GCL said on Wednesday.

GCL is the first private Chinese company to sign a power-purchase agreement with Indonesia, which is plagued by endemic electricity shortages.

Analysts said China and Indonesia are highly complementary and with many Chinese descendants in Indonesia, it is relatively easy for Chinese enterprises to invest in the country.

"As an important infrastructure project, Kalbar-1 not only will offer much-needed electricity to Indonesia, but also can create more jobs and generate more tax revenue," said Han Xiaoping, chief information officer of China Energy Net Consulting Co Ltd.

"The power plant is also expected to increase energy utilization efficiency and improve local energy structure with more clean energy."

Being more efficient and less expensive in producing power, Chinese enterprises can break Japan's monopoly in coal-rich Indonesia's power generation sector, Han added.

Currently, the province's power mostly comes from high-cost and high-emission diesel generating sets as well as expensive imports from neighboring Malaysia. According to a release by the Indonesian government in December, with the country's power system beyond reach of its remote regions, 2,519 villages are still are living in the dark without power supply.

According to Zhan Ke, president director of PT. GCL Indo Tenaga, a joint venture between GCL and Indonesia Power, the population of Indonesia is three times that of eastern China's Jiangsu province, yet the installed power-generation capacity is only 560,000 megawatts, half of that in Jiangsu province.

The Kalbar-1 power station, which is part of Indonesia's power supply plan to add 35,000 megawatts of power capacity within five years, will be able to supply around 1.4 gigawatt hour of electricity to West Kalimantan power grid every year.

Noting the company's most significant overseas investment along the Belt and Road Initiative, GCL's president Zhu Gongshan said the lack of power supply in the regions has provided Chinese energy companies with an important opportunity to export technology, employment, and better energy mix abroad.
Workers walk past containers at Tianjin Port in this May 13, 2010 file picture. [Photo/Agencies]

Ports in the capital's neighboring Tianjin and Hebei province will accelerate the pace of their integrated development in maritime transport, a move to support the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

There are four major ports in the regionTianjin Port, and Hebei's ports of Qinhuangdao, Tangshan and Huanghuaall of which are located along northern China's Bohai Sea Rim, according to the China Ports& Harbors Association.

"The ports have complementary advantages, based on which we should share resources and information to achieve joint development," said Liu Guanghai, general manager of Hebei Port Group Co Ltd, which owns Qinghuangdao Port and several other wharves in Tangshan, Cangzhou and Handan.

He said the coordinated development will save costs, improve efficiency and ease competition among all the ports.

Liu made the remarks on Wednesday while discussing a four-year plan on the coordinated development of ports in the region, which was issued by the Ministry of Transport last month.

According to the plan, a world-level ports cluster in the region will be basically formed by 2020, with Tianjin Port being the center and ports in Hebei as its wings, the plan said.

Tianjin Port, the largest comprehensive port in northern China, will focus on transportation services for containers, roll-on/roll-off automobiles and cruise liners, while ports in Hebei will mainly develop bulk cargo business.

The clear division of functions can help avoid homogeneous competition among the ports and ensure all of them with vigorous development, Liu said.

Based on the divided functions, other related industrial development will be encouraged, according to the plan.

Tianjin Port can develop logistics for automobiles and coldchain deliveries, as well as modern shipping services such as financing and insurance.

For ports in Hebei, coal-washing, coal-blending, and ore-screening services can be added.

Hebei Port Group, which is headquartered in Tangshan, handled 325 million metric tons of cargoes last year, being the world's largest ports operator for major dry bulk cargoes, according to the group.

By the end of 2020, the number is aimed to exceed 540 million tons.

"The coordinated development will help us achieve that goal," Liu said.

Since the central authorities initiated the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region in February 2014, progress has been made on different transportation fields, including railways, highways, airports and ports.

Bohai Jinji Port Investment and Development Co Ltd, a joint venture port corporation, was established in August 2014, by Tianjin Port Group Co Ltd and Hebei Port Group Co Ltd to combine the maritime transport resources of northern China.
DUBAI - China has remained the top trade partner of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for three straight years from 2014 to 2016, the Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported Wednesday.

The total China-UAE trade amounted to 520.6 billion Emirates Dirhams (AED) ($141.74 billion) during the 2014-2016 period, the report said, quoting statistics from the UAE Ministry of Economy.

The China-UAE trade totalled 170.2 billion AED in 2016, down slightly from 174.6 billion AED in 2015 and 175.8 billion AED in 2014.

India came second with a total trade volume of 386.4 billion AED from 2014 to 2016. The India-UAE trade reached a new record of 131.8 billion AED in 2016.

The United States ranked third in the list of UAE's trade partners, with a total trade volume of 312.6 billion AED during the 2014-2016 period. The US-UAE trade reached a new record of 111.1 billion AED in 2016.

Saudi Arabia was the UAE's fourth trade partner, with a total trade volume of 231 billion AED from 2014 to 2016. The Saudi-UAE trade amounted to 71.6 billion AED in 2016.

In the fifth place, Germany had a trade volume of 171.8 billion AED with the UAE during the same period. The Germany-UAE trade reached a new high of 59.1 billion AED in 2016.
CHICAGO  The US Securities and Exchange Commission(SEC) on Wednesday postponed a decision on whether to allow a Chinese investor group to buy the Chicago Stock Exchange.

An investor group led by Chongqing Casin Enterprise Group (Casin Group) has been seeking SEC approval of the deal since late 2016, with numerous letters challenging the deal.

Among the latest in July, 11 US House of Representatives urged the SEC to reject the proposed acquisition, calling it "a threat to the US financial security and Americans' faith in our national financial market infrastructure."

The SEC was supposed to rule on the $30 million sale Wednesday. Instead, the regulatory body said SEC commissioners would make the final decision in the coming weeks, a move that overrides a recommendation by commission staff.

"We are confident that, upon further review by the commissioners, they will also conclude that this transaction is consistent with the Exchange Act," a Chicago Stock Exchange spokesman said.

Casin Group, headquartered in China's southwestern metropolis of Chongqing, is a leading diversified holding company with investments in financial services, real estate and environmental services.

The 134-year-old Chicago Stock Exchange, where all trading is done electronically without a live trading floor, now handles about 0.5 percent of US stock trading.
Central clearinghouse to avoid financial 'systematic risks'

The establishment of a centralized clearinghouse for online payments suggests that Beijing is tightening its supervision over third-party payments as part of efforts to uphold financial stability in the country.

Under a regulation released this week by the People's Bank of China, the central bank, third-party payment firms have to connect to the new platform by Oct 15 and channel all their payments through it by June 30. Presently, such firms are directly linked to banks for de facto interbank payment.

The new regulation will help rein in "systematic risks" in the financial system and remove the hurdles between banks and all types of payment firms, said Mu Haijie, senior vice-president of China PnR, a payment provider based in Shanghai that holds a 1.18 percent interest in the new venture.

"The channel will lower costs and raise efficiency by offering unified access to all banks. We welcome the move and are in the process of getting connected to the new platform," she said.

The reform also could effectively prevent illegal activities such as money laundering, which in turn translates to a more secure online payment environment for customers, said Wang Pengbo, an analyst at Beijing-based consultancy Analysys. Wang said no change in user experience is expected.

The Online Settlement Platform for Non-Bank Payment Institutions, the clearinghouse, is owned by a number of major institutions. Seven units under the auspices of the People's Bank of China have a 37 percent stake while Alibaba affiliate Ant Financial and Tencent's Tenpay each own 9.6 percent. The remaining shares are owned by 36 smaller online players, including UnionPay.

The central government has in the past few months sought to place greater accountability on regulators to safeguard financial stability, as exemplified by its announcement in July that it would establish a committee under the State Council, China's Cabinet, to improve regulation effectiveness on financial matters.

Having payment firms route their transactions through this centralized platform is likely to undercut the dominance of tech giants like Alibaba and Tencent whose bilateral settlement model with banks bypasses the central bank's monitor, making it difficult to track capital flow, industry observers said.

In fact, the central bank has already instructed Ant Financial to drop the use of the term "cashless society" in its massive marketing campaign to promote its payment service.

The central bank told China Daily that it has not given Ant Financial detailed guidelines regarding the improvement of regulation effectiveness. However, the company has already made changes to its operations, including the addition of cash payment points at Hema Xiansheng, an Alibaba-invested fresh produce chain where all transactions could previously only be made using Alipay.

Ant Financial and Tencent, which according to iResearch make up the lion's share of China's 22.7 trillion ($3.4 trillion) mobile payment market, have just completed a weeklong battle in which they dished out generous incentives to lure users to their payment systems.

Ant said in a statement that it will comply with the requirements of the central bank. Tencent said it will cooperate with regulators and other relevant parties to build a justified, fair and source-sharing platform for a nonbank payment network.

"Online payments generate a significant amount of data that payment firms can use to their benefit," said Shaun Rein, managing director of China Market Research Group.

"The government should really step up to limit their power and ensure financial security."

Wang Yanfei in Beijing contributed to this story.
Xiaomi's mobile phones are on display at the 3rd World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, East China's Zhejiang province. ZHU XINGXIN / CHINA DAILY

A construction boom is underway as major companies in the flat screen sector increase production in high-tech AMOLED display units.

Industry insiders point out that the surge in upgrading and building new factories has been fueled by the growing use of active matrix/organic light-emitting diode technology, or AMOLED, panels in smartphones and televisions.

China, Japan and South Korea plan to build the equivalent of 46 new fabrication plants, known as "fabs" in the sector, to produce 30,000 plastic substrates.

These are the building blocks of cutting-edge screens, according to market research company IHS Markit.

The new manufacturing lines will produce 18.6 million square meters of the new material or 13 times more than the industry's current level.

"The new capacity will rapidly increase the adoption of AMOLED panels in smartphones," said Charles Annis, senior director at IHS Markit.

Figures released from the research group showed that the global AMOLED panel market is expected to surge 63 percent this year to $25.2 billion compared to the same period in 2016.

Manufacturing capacity in the panels will also grow at a compound annual rate of 91 percent until 2020 from 1.5 million sq m to 20.1 million sq m, IHS Market reported.

"The displays will offer excellent image quality and be a key factor in sales of high-end phones," Annis said.

High costs might restrict smartphone manufacturers from using the technology in the low-end sector of the market. But flexible AMOLED displays are already transforming the industry in the design of new, sleeker and thinner models.

"The application, in fact, of these panels can be expanded from smartphones to tablets and notebooks, as well as new products, because of their flexible properties," IHS Markit stated.

Statistics released from Sigmaintell Consulting Co Ltd, a panel industry specialist, showed that total shipments of AMOLED smartphones reached 350 million last year.

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd dominated the market, while Oppo Electronics Corp and Vivo Mobile Communication Technology Co were the best of the rest.

Other brands such as Huawei Technologies Co, Xiaomi Corp, Gionee Communications Equipment Co and Meizu Technology Co have also launched smartphones equipped with the screens.

"Although the AMOLED industry is developing fast, we should keep enhancing the competitiveness of the currently predominant LCD (liquid-crystal display) technology," said Chen Lijuan, an analyst at Sigmaintell.

"Moreover, we should not just invest in production lines, but also pay more attention to the establishment of the whole industry chain, including raw material, equipment and technology," Chen added.
Employees work at a Foxconn factory in Longhua, Guangdong province. [Photo/Agencies]

CHICAGO - The Taiwan-based tech giant Foxconn's plant in the US State of Wisconsin is under scrutiny for streamlining environmental permitting, in a bid to balance the environment with job creation, a local agency said Wednesday.

Department of Natural Resources Secretary Cathy Stepp said they would set limits for the planned factory's air and water pollution as well as the disposal of its hazardous waste in a quick and effective way.

"Scrutiny is the same, it's just the process is going to be shortened so we can get these jobs going on the ground and still have the environmental protection, and I will say even enhancement as a result of this project," Stepp was quoted by Wisconsin State Journal as saying.

Local legislature is considering Governor Scott Walker's $3 billion incentives bill, which would exempt the company from a host of environmental regulations. However, conservationist groups argue that the deal needs much more scrutiny.

Foxconn reportedly plans to make television screens in the plant on a 1,000-acre site in southeastern Wisconsin, and the local government expects the project to create up to 13,000 jobs, which has led Stepp to regard the future plant as a "gift."
Gov. Pete Ricketts said Wednesday he's trying to lure Canadian businesses to Nebraska as part of his trade mission focused largely on agriculture, manufacturing and other major industries.

Ricketts said he spoke with a company, which he declined to identify, about expanding its operations into the state. The trade delegation pitched the state to companies in an event dubbed, "Why Nebraska?"

The five-day trade mission is part of an effort to connect Nebraska and Canadian companies. It will include meetings with government, agricultural and manufacturing officials in Toronto and Ottawa. Ricketts said the trip marks the first visit by a Nebraska governor.

"It's up to us to have strong relationships," Ricketts said on a news conference call between stops.

Ricketts has said he chose Canada for a trade mission because it's Nebraska's largest export market, and thus the state's best customer. The trade delegation is made up of state agriculture and economic development administrators, the Nebraska Farm Bureau, Nebraska Corn Growers, Nebraska Cattlemen Association and the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce.

Ricketts said he also has had several discussions about the North American Free Trade Agreement, which he supports. Representatives from the United States, Mexico and Canada are scheduled to begin talks next week to renegotiate the agreement.

"We also want to make sure we keep in mind the big picture that NAFTA has been tremendously successful," Ricketts said. "That's an important relationship that we don't want to disrupt."

Many of the conversations with Canadian officials have focused on agricultural exports, such as corn and dairy products, said Mark McHargue, the Nebraska Farm Bureau's first vice president. Nebraska exported $468 million worth of agriculture goods to the country last year, according to data provided by the Nebraska Department of Agriculture.
Four men were criticized online after posing for pictures dressed in Imperial Japanese Army uniforms in front of a stronghold used by Chinese soldiers to repel Japanese invaders during the Battle of Shanghai in 1937.

The photos, which show the men standing in front of the historic Sihang Warehouse, began circulating late on Monday. Many people commented online that it was disrespectful.

"My grandfather was one of the soldiers in that battle and he died," one internet user wrote on Sina Weibo. "Those who sacrificed their lives for the country and the people should never be forgotten or insulted, especially at the same place where they died."

A military enthusiast in Beijing, who said he knew the four men from an online chat group for fans of military products, told China Daily that all of them are university students pursuing undergraduate or graduate studies, and they collect Japanese military memorabilia.

"Each collector of military artifacts gives different reasons, such as the weapons, the uniform, the war history or the culture. But collectors of Japanese items are usually very cautious," said the man, who gave only his surname, Song.

"For most such collectors, the intention is to remember history and make the public aware of it to alert future generations," he said, adding that the four men came from Beijing and Sichuan province.

Song said people in the chat group are criticizing the four for their unreasonable and immoral activities and encouraged them to make a public apology.

The four declined to comment.

On Saturday, two Chinese tourists, aged 36 and 49, were arrested in Berlin and charged with making Nazi salutes while posing for pictures in front of German parliament.

Police officers patrolling nearby arrested the two, who were charged under the country's post-1945 laws that prohibit hate speech and symbols associated with Hitler and his Nazi followers.

The Chinese embassy in Berlin said on Monday that each of the two was fined 500 euros ($586) and left Germany without further criminal punishment, Xinhua News Agency reported.

He Jianmin, a professor at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, who specializes in tourism management, said China should make laws to forbid behavior betraying national dignity and patriotism at special sites.

The State Administration of Cultural Heritage on July 31 began soliciting public opinion on a document regarding the preservation and use of cultural relics relevant to the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45).

The document makes it clear that all visitors to such sites should dress properly and remain silent.
Senior Colonel Yang Yujun, who officially retired as a spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense on Wednesday, often peppered his briefings with humor and internet buzzwords.

Yang, 47, who joined the ministry's information office in 2010 and was appointed its director in 2015, stepped down due to the health issues of close family members.

Hailed by his colleagues as an independent and deep thinker, he also is regarded as someone who managed to connect with younger generations.

In 2013, during a news conference on the possibility of China's first aircraft carrier, the CNS Liaoning, taking part in a far-sea operation, Yang said the vessel was not a zhainan, a word commonly used by netizens that translates as "indoorsy man".

He also suggested in September that Ash Carter, then the US defense secretary, should not shuaiguo - a buzzword meaning to throw unwanted responsibility onto others - after the United States criticized China following a nuclear missile test by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

"I love my uniform, and my job at the information office, and I have given my heart and soul throughout my military career," Yang told Global Times.

He received a thundering ovation from the journalists in attendance at his final news conference in April.

Over the years, Yang has answered countless questions from reporters on urgent and sensitive issues.

In addition to a monthly news conference, the information office is tasked with public relations, crisis management, media exchanges, helping to draft the national security white paper, and interacting with netizens through social media.

"My family has been very supportive for my work, but I have owed my family too much, and now they need me more than ever," Yang said. He said he has no other plans for the future, and would first spend his summer with his family.

Typically, senior government spokesmen and women go into business or teaching after retirement.

Senior Colonel Wu Qian, 44, has been appointed as the new director of the ministry's information office. He was previously deputy director and has been a spokesman since 2015.

He graduated from the People's Liberation Army Institute of International Relations in 1995 and has also been a counselor at the ministry's foreign affairs office before joining the information office.
Former acting Party chief and mayor of Tianjin Huang Xingguo pleaded guilty at a court in Hebei province on Wednesday. He was charged with accepting bribes worth more than 40 million yuan ($6 million), according to the Shijiazhuang intermediate people's court.

According to an indictment by the Shijiazhuang people's procuratorate, he used his position for the benefit of others through promotions and obtaining land for projects, then accepted bribes valued at more than 40 million yuan, either himself or through family members, from 1994 to 2016.

Over a 22-year period, he served as Party chief of Taizhou city, Zhejiang province; vice-governor of Zhejiang; Party chief of Ningbo in Zhejiang; and mayor and acting Party chief of Tianjin.

At the court hearing, Huang made a final statement and pleaded guilty.

In September, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the country's top anti-graft watchdog, launched an investigation into Huang for "serious violations of Party discipline".

The commission said he severely violated the Party's rules and code of conduct, failed to follow major decisions made by central leaders and resisted an investigation by anti-graft inspectors.

In January, he was expelled from the Party and removed from his administrative post.

The court will issue a verdict at a later date.
Cheng Ning, 38, from Beijing, was visiting Jiuzhaigou county, a scenic spot in northern Sichuan province, when it was hit by a magnitude-7.0 earthquake at 9:19 pm on Tuesday.

I was resting on a bed with my family in the Sheraton Hotel in Jiuzhaigou when the earthquake struck. The bed shook violently and the room trembled.

Feeling a little bit confused at the beginning but quickly realizing it was an earthquake, I ran downstairs with my wife and 10-year-old son.

Once we escaped to an open area in front of the hotel, I saw other tourists standing there. Some had been taking a shower and carried bath towels from their rooms, while others were just wearing shorts. Everyone looked anxious and frightened.

Hotel staff members organized things quickly and provided bathrobes and quilts for us to keep warm.

Other inns around the area opened their doors and restrooms and supplied us with blankets - which was emotionally moving and also calmed our nerves. They deserve a thumbs-up.

But some tourists from other provinces, especially children, were still afraid to sleep or rest, repeatedly asking what was going on.

I estimate there were several hundred people camped out around our hotel.

My family and I arrived at Jiuzhaigou on Monday. On Tuesday afternoon we watched a program about the county. Ironically, it included a segment on the heavy earthquake in Wenchuan, Sichuan, in May 2008.

While watching, I told my son how serious the Wenchuan quake had been and gave him some knowledge about earthquakes. How was I to know we would experience one that night?

It was the first time I had experienced an earthquake of that magnitude.

Aftershocks hit the regions again and again throughout the night. But I felt safe as travel agencies arranged for tourists to leave Jiuzhaigou. Along the way we passed cars crushed by boulders that had tumbled down the mountain - reminders of the night that shook our family.

Cheng Ning told his story to Cao Yin of China Daily.
Tourists huddle in the parking lot of a five-star hotel in Jiuzhaigou, Sichuan province, on Wednesday, waiting to be evacuated after an earthquake on Tuesday night.[Photo/Xinhua]

The China National Tourism Administration issued safety tips on Wednesday, warning that in coming days tourists should not travel to Jiuzhaigou, a scenic spot in Sichuan province that was hit by a magnitude-7.0 earthquake on Tuesday night.

"Tourists should not travel alone to Jiuzhaigou, and travel agencies should stop organizing or leading tour groups to the spot. Tour groups already there should help tourists get out as soon as possible," the administration said.

Jiuzhaigou National Park is a popular spot in Sichuan that is known for its spectacular waterfalls and karst formations. It attracts millions of tourists from China and abroad each year, and summer is one of the busiest seasons.

Data from the park's website show that it has received more than 30,000 tourists a day since the beginning of August. Aug 4 alone saw about 41,000 tourists, nearly reaching full capacity.

On Tuesday, more than 38,000 tourists visited the park, up 16.5 percent from the same day last year. Among the tourists about half were traveling alone and the other half were in groups.

The administration has asked the Sichuan Tourism Development Committee to collect information about tourists in Jiuzhaigou and report promptly.

As of 6:25 pm on Wednesday, the death toll from the earthquake had risen to 19, with 263 people injured.

A task force led by Li Shihong, deputy director of the administration, headed to Jiuzhaigou county on Wednesday, to offer guidance on evacuating tourists.

According to the administration, authorities in Sichuan have cooperated with travel agencies, local governments and hotels to evacuate tourists since Tuesday night.

Local tourism authorities also asked their counterparts in neighboring cities such as Deyang and Mianyang to offer necessary help for tourists who pass by.

Taiwan's Tourism Bureau said on Wednesday that tourists from Taiwan and personnel from 19 tour groups in Jiuzhaigou were all safe.

A Chinese mainland spokesperson on Wednesday expressed gratitude for the concerns and condolences from Taiwan.

The central committee of the Kuomintang party in Taiwan conveyed its condolences and expressed hope that quake-hit residents can weather the difficulties and complete post-quake reconstruction as soon as possible, said Ma Xiaoguang, mainland spokesperson for the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office.

Xinhua contributed to this story.
Lawyers attend a forum held in Beijing in June related to legal guidelines for cross-border investment.[Photo by Wang Jianjun/For China Daily]

Legal professionals from China and countries participating in the initiative are establishing a mechanism to counter a growing problem that could become an obstacle to development, as Zhang Yan reports.

In recent years, China's rapid economic development and growing international role have seen a large number of Chinese enterprises expanding overseas or planning to invest in countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative.

However, the Ministry of Justice said the process of "going global" has seen a sharp rise in the number of cross-border legal disputes and cases of arbitration involving Chinese businesses.

Meanwhile, many Chinese investments in countries that have embraced the initiative have failed as a result of differences in legal procedures and national cultures.

Faced with the growing number of cross-border lawsuits, Chinese lawyers and their counterparts in 65 countries participating in the initiative have compiled guides of foreign laws, with the aim of providing legal support for businesses and reducing the risks they face when investing overseas, according to Wang Junfeng, chairman of the All China Lawyers Association.

"Legal services are important for safeguarding Belt and Road projects, and a proper legal system is crucial for forging ahead with projects such as transnational investment and building strategic maritime channels," he said.
Heartwarming stories surfaced after magnitude-7.0 earthquake hit Jiuzhaigou

The tourist bus was hit by boulders. [Photo/Xinhua]

Parents sacrifice their life to protect their child

When a tourist bus headed for a hotel after leaving the Jiuzhaigou scenic spot on Tuesday night, the 31 travelers onboard did not realize a disaster was waiting for them.

When the vehicle went on a section of the road lined by trees in the mountainous area, a boulder suddenly tumbled down the hill, hitting the rear end of the bus, reported Chengdu-based Huaxi Metropolis Daily.

Lyu Xinyi, a six-grader from Wuhan in Hubei province, was on the last row of seat on the bus along with her parents. When the boulder hit the vehicle, the girl's parents used their bodies to protect her who was sitting between them.

The mother died instantly, and the father used his last strength to break the window and push his daughter out of the bus. He later succumbed to his injuries, but his daughter was saved.
Joyce Bex, a woman who was adopted by a Belgian couple from China 22 years ago, is looking to find her birth parents in Hunan province, Central China, according to Yiyang Daily.

Bex said she was abandoned in a basket at front of an orphanage in Yiyang, Hunan province, on Oct 22, 1995. A piece of paper inside the basket provided no other information aside from the infant's birthday on Sept 6.

Bex was later adopted by a couple in Belgian, who lived in Brussels, in 1996. She also has a brother who was adopted from Bolivia, and their parents informed the pair about their adoption when they were older.

Knowing about her adoption, Bex returned China to visit the orphanage in Yiyang when she turned 16 years old.

"Back then, I thought about finding my birth parents, but I was afraid of what would happen if I found them," she said in a video she recorded to inform the world of her search.

However, Bex's friends told her it may cause trouble for her Chinese parents as they would be punished by law for abandoning their daughter.

While Bex momentarily stopped her search, she decided to re-open the chapter after graduating from university this year and meeting a range of people who were adopted as well. Bex said she learned about adoption and life, and heard stories of people being reunited with their birth family.

Upon telling her parents, who were supportive of her decision, the couple contacted friends in China to ask for help.

Cai Delin, from Yiyang, heard the story in July and decided to help Bex by contacting local police, orphanages and communities. Unfortunately, the effort brought little progress due to limited clues and long-time intervals.

Cai then suggested Bex to broadcast her story on television and online, which she agreed to do and ended up travelling to Yiyang in September for 10 days.

"The reason I want to find my birth parents is because I want to recover my past," Bex said.

"I'm also curious about the people who look like me and gave me my life.

"I ask myself 'who am I?' every day. 'Where do I come from?' Yiyang is the only place which knows of my past. I think I will try to find my natural parents and find answers to my questions," she said.
China's second-biggest e-commerce player JD.com Inc has joined forces with Baidu, China's leading internet search provider, to offer customers a more tailored e-commerce experience.

Under the partnership announced on Thursday, Baidu's flagship mobile search app will provide JD with "first-level" access to millions of its users of its core search platform, mapping and music and video services. The move will allow users to purchase JD products within the Baidu apps.

The two companies will leverage their big data resources, combining JD's insights into consumer behavior with the reach of Baidu to help effectively target consumers.

As Baidu continues to strengthen its leadership in AI, the company is looking to open multiple core AI capabilities and explore new applications for the technology.

The partnership with JD is a major step forward in applying Baidu's big data and AI capabilities, as well as creating a powerful engine for retailers to better understand their target markets.
NANNING -- Police recently busted a drug production ring, capturing eight suspects and seizing over 100 kg of chemicals used in the production of methamphetamines in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

An investigation was launched after a man from Heshan was suspected of producing drugs on Aug 3, police in the city of Laibin said Thursday.

Police located a drug production facility in Lingnan township and raided the location on Aug 4. Four suspects were caught and 105.73 kg of ephedrine was seized.

Another four suspects were later caught in Laibin.

Further investigation is underway.
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BEIJING -- Chinese airborne troops have won first place in 11 out of 12 "Airborne Platoon" events during the International Army Games 2017, according to official results published Thursday.

The International Army Games is an important platform for air forces to learn from each other and build relationships, said Shen Jinke, spokesperson for the organizers.

Shen said the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force is willing to communicate and cooperate with other countries' armed forces to protect world peace.

Air forces from China, Russia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Morocco, South Africa and Venezuela joined the "Airborne Platoon" competition in Guangshui in central China's Hubei Province.

China sat at the top of the rankings after winning the most gold medals, followed by Russia and Kazakhstan in second and the third places respectively.

The PLA Air Force also won four gold medals in the "Aviadarts" competition, which was held in Changchun in northeast China's Jilin Province.

The International Army Games 2017, which runs from July 29 to Aug. 12, consist of 28 competitions to be held in Russia, China, Azerbaijan, Belarus and Kazakhstan.
CHANGCHUN -- All the 1,644 Chinese tourists who were stranded in the far east of Russia have safely returned to China, authorities in Jilin province said Thursday.

A road linking Vladivostok and Slavyanka was damaged by a rainstorm on Aug 6, leaving Chinese tourists who were planning to return via the road to Hunchun border crossing in Jilin stranded in Russia.

Thanks to the joint efforts of government departments and tourist agencies, the tourists had all returned to China by Aug 8 via other ports, according to Jilin provincial tourist bureau.

Tourist routes between Hunchun and Vladivostok are temporally closed while the road undergoes repairs.

Hunchun, on the China-Russia border, is around 180 kilometers from Vladivostok.
The Foreign Ministry has dismissed a media report that China offered to reposition its troops to resolve the tension with India in the Donglang (Doklam) area.

Reuters reported on Tuesday that after India demanded Chinese troops pull back 250 meters, China counteroffered to move its troops back 100 meters.

The Spokesperson's Office told China Daily on Thursday that the report is not true. "China will not trade its territorial sovereignty under any circumstances," it said.

"China's position on solving this incident is clear and firm. India must immediately and unconditionally withdraw all its trespassing troops and equipment back to the Indian side of the border," the office said in a statement.

Sun Hongnian, a borderland expert of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, called the Reuters report "fake news" coming possibly from India, which "intends to turn Donglang into a disputed area".

Zhao Xiaozhuo, a researcher at the PLA Academy of Military Science, said China could never accept India's "totally unreasonable" demand.

India aims to nullify the Convention Between Great Britain and China Relating to Sikkim and Tibet so it can change the only defined sector on the China-India boundary into an "undefined" one, Zhao said.

The Sikkim sector of the China-India boundary was defined in the convention signed in 1890 with Donglang being Chinese territory on the Chinese side of the border.

India had honored the convention until Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration refused, Zhao said.

Indian troops crossed into Donglang in mid-June to block Chinese road construction. It has tried to justify the incursion as being in a "tri-junction" between China, India and Bhutan.

"India's intrusion ... has not only violated China's territorial sovereignty but also challenged Bhutan's sovereignty and independence," the Foreign Ministry said earlier this month.

On Thursday, several Indian media cited anonymous sources as claiming that India's military had ordered immediate evacuation of an Indian village 35 kilometers from Donglang.

Zhou Jin contributed to this story.
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The Sino-UK documentary Earth: One Amazing Day features 38 wild species from 22 countries. [Photo provided to China Daily]

First Sino-UK film after 2015 coproduction treaty is set for release in China. Xu Fan reports.

Chinese director Fan Lixin found it challenging to work with animals in Earth: One Amazing Day.

British directors Richard Dale and Peter Webber and he have directed the nature film.

"They (the animals in the movie) are from remote areas where it is difficult to reach. But even after you've gone there, it's hard to find them," Fan says in a recent interview in Beijing.

As the first Sino-UK film after a coproduction treaty signed by the two countries in 2015, the 100-minute film has been produced by BBC Earth Films and SMG Pictures, a Shanghai company.

With a crew of some 100 from China and Britain, the film took 142 days of shooting and three years of editing from more than 12,000 DVDs that capture footage in the wild.
Haya, an award-winning world music ensemble from China, will perform in Croatia as part of the Croatia Meets ChinaSilk Road China Ethnic Music Festival. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Five years ago, bassist Huang Yong, who lives in Beijing, toured Croatia with his jazz band. Two things impressed him the most: the beautiful coastal views and the impromptu jamming with local jazz musicians in some of the most popular live-music venues.

He will again perform in Croatia at the Pula Arena on Friday. One of the most famous and popular locations in Pula, the venue is a 2,000-year-old amphitheater where ancient Romans watched gladiator fights. It now hosts some of the finest international musicians.

Instead of performing with his jazz band, the veteran bassist this time is playing with Haya, an award-winning world music ensemble whose musicians are all ethnic Mongolians.

"It will be the first time for the band to perform in Croatia, which is exciting for us," says Zhang Quansheng, the morinkhuur (horse-head fiddle) player of Haya, who founded the band in 2006.

As part of the Croatia Meets ChinaSilk Road China Ethnic Music Festival, Haya will perform the hits, including Silent Sky and Flying Eagle, which combines traditional Mongolian sounds with other musical elements, especially contemporary music.

"What we make is world music based on Mongolian traditions," Zhang says. "I wanted our music to appeal to not just Mongolians. From our experience of performing abroad, we have achieved that goal."

The band has performed throughout China and in countries, including Sweden, Germany and Canada.

In the Mongolian language, haya means "the edge". It is a metaphor for the nomadic lifestyle that has become rare today.

"We met decades ago at a small bar in Beijing. I was impressed by the band's leading vocalist Daiqing Tana's voice," recalls Huang. "In their music, the band sings about nature, brotherhood, love and ancestors. I believe the audience in Croatia will love the music, which talks about universal topics."

As the director of the Croatia Meets ChinaSilk Road China Ethnic Music Festival, which marks the 25 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries, Huang has also invited two other musicians from China to the event, pianist Wu Muye and composer Li Zhihui.

Li, who combines elements of the music of China's ethnic groups with Western contemporary musical elements, will introduce his music, which is inspired by China's landscapes and combines traditional Chinese instruments, such as the bamboo flute and electronic music.

Classical pianist Wu, who graduated from the Paris National Superior Music Institution, will give a solo performance, including Chopin's The Polonaise in A-Flat Major, Op 53 and the Yellow River Piano Concerto, which was rearranged in a collaboration between musicians Yin Chengzhong and Chu Wanghua in 1969 based on the Yellow River Cantata written by composer Xian Xinghai in 1939.

"An important part of the development of China's music scene is the variety. Musicians break conventions and create original sounds and we want to share this with the world," says Huang, adding that he plans to take the festival to other countries next year.

Huang is also the founder of the Beijing Nine Gates Jazz Festival, one of the earliest events devoted to promoting Chinese jazz musicians. The festival, now in its 12th year, will be held in Beijing in October.
China's central government has pledged to promote traditional opera in schools.

Primary schools, secondary schools, colleges and universities will give students the opportunity to watch traditional opera free of charge in 2017, according to a guideline jointly issued by the publicity department of the Communist Party of China and the ministries of culture, education and finance.

By 2018, students in all schools and colleges nationwide can watch an opera free of charge every year.

The campaign for traditional opera to reach students will be common in all schools by 2020, according to the guideline.

The guideline also urges schools to strengthen the creation of opera interest groups. It called on the joint effort of the government, education, society and individuals to support the campaign.

The guideline also encourages investment from enterprises, social organizations and individuals.

There are hundreds of forms of local opera in China, with Peking Opera the most famous.

Peking Opera and Kunqu Opera are listed by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage.
Tianjin police launched a 20-day massive crackdown on pyramid schemes on Aug 6 after Li Wenxing and Zhang Chao, two young men tricked into such schemes while seeking jobs, were found dead in the city's Jinghai district last month.

Pyramid schemes first appeared when Western direct selling companies started operating in China in the 1980s. Direct selling is the marketing and selling of products directly to consumers; it reduces prices of products by cutting the costs of transportation and retailing. Since Chinese people have tight family bonds, the target customers of direct selling in the initial stages were members of the sellers' families. Many people succeeded in convincing some of their family members to become "direct sellers" or "lower-level distributors" of products to earn some money. Gradually, however, some direct selling projects transformed into pyramid schemes, with "investments" replacing the products.

The Chinese government banned all direct selling companies in 1998, although foreign companies such as Amway and Sunrider had obtained licenses to sell their products from retail stores before the ban was imposed. The ban continued until the State Council, China's Cabinet, introduced the Regulation on Direct Selling Administration and Prohibition of Pyramid Schemes Ordinance in 2005 as part of its commitment to the World Trade Organization. Distinguishing direct selling from pyramid schemes, the regulation strictly prohibits such schemes. And the Criminal Law states that pyramid scheme sellers face imprisonment and heavy fines in accordance with the severity of their crimes.

Pyramid schemes, however, have survived. One reason for that is, the operators and "foot soldiers" of pyramid schemes are closely knit because of family relations and/or friendship, and hence difficult to identify. It is also very difficult to trace the money the fraudsters have collected, let alone recover it. And since the fraudsters manage to "hide" money, even after being imprisoned for their crimes, they tend to use the "hidden" money to start another scheme again after they are released.

Many continue defrauding others by selling such schemes from different locations to avoid arrest. Others continue to do so under duress. Pyramid schemes seem to be running in many parts of China, with their promoters exploiting the internet and using fake investment programs to attract new "investors" or recruits.

To combat pyramid schemes, the authorities have to strengthen cross-regional enforcement, and treat pyramid scheme fraud as a property crime so that those fraudsters get severer punishment. Given that the boundary between direct selling and pyramid schemes has blurred, the government should tighten regulations on direct selling to prevent it from being distorted into a scheme to defraud unsuspecting people.

Moreover, since those running pyramid schemes usually gather in the name of family get-togethers or company training projects to keep collecting money, law enforcement agencies and community organizations should make the best of the "grid management system"a digital administrative mechanism to supervise and track suspicious movements of people and moneyto nab them. In fact, strict supervision of money flow can be used to nip pyramid schemes in the bud.

The judiciary, on its part, can ask law enforcement officers to intensify the search for missing people in order to track pyramid scheme sellers and increase the sentences of those arrested for restricting people's personal freedom and forcing the victims to join them in their criminal schemes.

Only through the joint efforts of the law enforcement officers, the judiciary and the public can pyramid schemes be rooted out of society.
Editor's note: Two Chinese tourists were arrested in Berlin recently for giving a Nazi salute while posing for photos in front of the Reichstag parliamentary building. Two experts share their views with China Daily's Zhang Zhouxiang from different perspectives. Excerpts below:

Lessons for Japan in laws against fascism

CHINA DAILY

Wu Jiang, an associate professor of German studies at Beijing Foreign Studies University

Visitors to Germany should know they have to abide by the country's strict laws against the use of Nazi symbols. According to German laws, those using Nazi symbols, wearing Nazi uniforms, or making Nazi salutes in public face up to three years' imprisonment and/or a heavy fine. And people who publicly defend the crimes of Nazis face up to five years' imprisonment.

Some laws have been amended to be more specific. On June 2, 2014, the German parliament passed a bill that prohibits the use of the number "88" in public under certain conditions, because the common salute in Nazi Germany was "Heil Hitler", and many neo-Nazis use"88" to camouflage their identity and purpose as "H" is the eight letter of the alphabet.

Germany launched two world wars that devastated Germany and many other countries, and left millions of people dead. After the end of World War II, however, Germany atoned for its dark past.

Many German leaders have apologized for the deaths and sufferings unleashed by the Nazis. In 1970, for example, Willy Brandt, then chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, knelt before a monument to the German occupation-era Warsaw Ghetto Uprising during his visit to Poland. His show of humility left a deep impression about Germany's sincerity to atone for its past.

Germany's strict laws against Nazi symbols should be a lesson for Japan, as the Japanese Constitution neither forbids people to use militarist logos of the imperial era, nor prohibits Japanese politicians from visiting Yasukuni Shrine, which among others honors 14 Class-A war criminals of World War II.

As the main victim of Japanese aggression before and during World War II, China needs to rally social and political support to oppose some Japanese leaders' attempts to whitewash their war past. Since Japan has not sincerely apologized for the atrocities it committed during World War II, China needs to put more pressure on it to do so.

Tourists should enhance knowledge about history

"Please respect local customs and obey local laws when you visit a foreign country." Almost every domestic travel agency tells tourists before they embark on a foreign tour. But it seems the two Chinese tourists in Berlin didn't pay heed to the advice.

Gong Jian, an associate professor at Wuhan Branch of China Tourism Academy

Many people attach greater importance to "local customs" than "local laws". While traveling abroad, Chinese tourists are usually curious to know what the local people eat and drink, but they often forget to study local laws.

For example, some Chinese parents prone to thrash their kids in public can be detained in the United States for doing so.

This time, the two Chinese tourists in Berlin didn't have even the basic knowledge about German laws. The two have been punished for their wrongdoings. But we still need to strengthen education about world history and cultural exchanges to prevent such things from happening again.
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attends a news conference after reshuffling his cabinet, at his official residence in Tokyo, Japan, August 3, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's approval rating slightly rebounded one day after he reshuffled his Cabinet on Thursday, the third reshuffle since he returned to power in 2012, according to local media polls. A survey conducted by Kyodo News Agency on Friday showed an increase of 8.6 points in the rating, compared with the previous poll. The 44.4 percent approval rating comes as a reprieve for the scandal-hit Abe administration.

The new Cabinet lineup, as that in previous reshuffles, is designed to help the incumbent administration to tide over a political crisis and shelve factional differences within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. For Abe, it is all about distracting attention from the LDP's defeat by a novice rival in the Tokyo metropolitan election in July, as well as putting on a show of unity to win support in the race for LDP presidency next year.

Hit hard by allegations of favoritism to a friend in a business deal, Abe made the difficult decision of accepting the resignation of former defense minister Tomomi Inada a week before the reshuffle. One of his favorite political hardliners, Inada could not even complete one year in office following a series of gaffes and a cover-up, in which her ministry concealed records of the activities of Japanese troops on a United Nations peacekeeping mission in South Sudan.

The redistribution of power and reappointment of senior lawmakers, therefore, look more like an attempt by the Abe administration to escape from trouble. Some ministers are from Abe's first Cabinet in 2012, Finance Minister Taro Aso for example, and many are taking up their old posts, such as Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera. These arrangements reflect Abe's efforts to balance the interests of prospective candidates for the LDP presidency when his term ends next year.

It takes experience and excellent policymaking skills to lead Japan's ruling party, and not many contenders qualify for the job. Among the front-runners are former foreign minister Fumio Kishida, who now chairs the LDP's Policy Research Council, and party heavyweight Shigeru Ishiba, who lost to Abe by a narrow margin in the 2012 contest for LDP presidency. But neither is an Abe protege.

Being popular among local LDP members, Ishiba seems set to make a comeback after being distanced for long by the party's central leadership. Appointing Kishida to a senior party post is a more likely choice for Abe to solicit support for re-election. But Kishida disagrees with Abe on the latter's proposal to amend Article 9 of Japan's pacifist Constitution, which states Japan should abandon wars, casting a shadow over the prime minister's political calculus.

It is evident that Abe has been struggling to press ahead with his political ambitions, particularly the so-called revamp of the education and defense sectors. He wants to instill in more Japanese people a stronger sense of "patriotism" and amend relevant laws to let Japan wage wars again.

The obvious controversies aside, Abe's waning public approval rating alone could call into question his right to continue as LDP president and Japan's prime minister. The reshuffle, however, may bring some desirable changes to Japanese politics and probably foreign policy. Known for criticizing even the ruling party, Taro Kono, the new foreign minister, can help alleviate diplomatic tensions with neighbors such as China.

The author is a researcher with the Institute of Japanese Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.


Harold Monte Barnhart was called home to be with his wife on July 30, 2017, at St. Vincent Healthcare in Billings. He was surrounded by his family at the time of his passing, at age 83.

Harold was born on May 10, 1934, to Elliott and Esther Barnhart at Epsie. He was the third of five children. He was born and raised on the family ranch at Epsie. He graduated from Broadus High School in 1951. He proudly served our country with the United States Army. He went to Basic Training in Washington, and then enjoyed his many travels during his service. Harold was honorably discharged from duty in April 1962. He met and eventually married the love of his life, Janet Whitney, on April 1, 1962. They welcomed two daughters, Cora in 1963, and Caryn in 1965. Harold moved his family to Billings in 1971 where he worked for Roscoe Steel for 10 years. Shortly thereafter, he welcomed his first of five grandchildren. He took pride in his family and loved us all immensely.

He enjoyed many hobbies including fishing, camping, playing pool, wood work, and spending quality time with his ever-growing family.

Harold is survived by his two daughters, Cora Barnhart and Caryn Watters, siblings Marla Patten, Bud (Delores) Barnhart, Marlene Grimm, and Jesse (Connie) Barnhart. His five grandchildren, Trevor Barnhart, Bryce (Brittany) Barnhart, Cami (Steph) Lewellen-Minney, Harold Watters, and Mary Watters. He is also survived by five beloved great grandchildren.

Harold was preceded in death by his parents, Elliott and Esther Barnhart, his wife Janet Barnhart, his great grandson Chase Barnhart, and his two great friends L.D. Foster and Ed Lien.

He was the most amazing husband, father, granddad, great granddad, brother, neighbor, and friend any of us could have ever asked for. We all love and miss you dearly, and we all know that that road goes both ways. We love you with all of our hearts

Visitation will be held on Friday, Aug. 18, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Stevenson & Sons Funeral Home in Miles City. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, August 19, 2017 at 11:00 a.m. at the Powder River Congregational Church in Broadus. Interment will follow in the Valley View Cemetery with full military honors. Condolences may be sent to the family by visiting: www.stevensonandsons.com.
On Sunday, China and ASEAN members highlighted the achievements their strategic partnership has made over the past 15 years, and agreed to deepen bilateral cooperation, according to a joint communique of the 50th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Manila.

On the South China Sea issue, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his counterparts from the ASEAN member states welcomed the approval of the framework for the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea and pledged to hold further negotiations.

During the past half a century the 10-member bloc has made notable progress in establishing regional mechanisms and maintaining unity within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The ASEAN Regional Forum, for one, is the largest multinational security dialogue in the Asia-Pacific region. And the regular participation of regional powers, including the Democratic People's Republic of Korea which often keeps away from international dialogues, means ASEAN continues to have a big say in regional affairs despite facing challenges.

ASEAN has also managed to keep its member states together most of the time by abiding by the principle of non-interference in other countries' internal affairs. It also has stayed true to the mission of building a community of shared security and economic prosperity in Southeast Asia.

Aspiring to balance the demands of all its member states without making any party "uncomfortable", ASEAN also influences, though in limited capacity, the security agendas on East Asian and Asia-Pacific affairs. It cannot risk denting the hard-earned unity within the bloc, nor can its diplomatic decision-making be exempt from intervention in the face of escalating strategic competition between major powers.

The just-concluded meeting in Manila suggests the bloc is striving to participate more actively in non-ASEAN security issues such as the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

On Saturday, the ASEAN foreign ministers released a statement expressing "grave concerns" over escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula, as well as Pyongyang test-firing intercontinental ballistic missiles in July and conducting a nuclear test last year. They also urged the DPRK to fulfill its nuclear obligations and abide by the UN Security Council's resolutions, marking a turning point for ASEAN's security policy and ASEAN-DPRK ties.

ASEAN member states have good reason to make efforts to calm the occasionally rough geopolitical waters in the South China Sea, not only for regional security but also for shared regional prosperity. So does China.

In this regard, the approval of the Code of Conduct framework by China and ASEAN is an inspiring achievement that carries multiple implications.

More important, the situation in the South China Sea will keep improving, as China and ASEAN reached a consensus without third-party interference. Shared interests under the framework of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road (which, along with the Silk Road Economic Belt, is part of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative) have convinced most ASEAN economies to let misjudgments be a thing of the past and take the high road to permanent peace and prosperity. The muddled Southeast Asia policy of the Donald Trump administration means the United States may not be a reliable partner to ASEAN.

Challenges to China-ASEAN ties can emerge from many directions, though. A joint statement issued by foreign ministers of the US, Japan and Australia on the sidelines of the Manila meeting called on China and the Philippines to respect last year's "international arbitration ruling", which repudiated Beijing's legitimate sovereign rights in the waters. And certain ASEAN members still seek Western intervention in the hope of containing the rise of China.

The framework for the Code of Conduct, despite not having specific provisions and clauses as of now, is not an "accommodation of Chinese interests". Instead, given the complex nature of the South China Sea disputes, it is arguably the best way to resolve them through constructive interactions, and fully implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea.

The author is a researcher at the National Institute of International Strategy, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
To lead the Chinese people in their pursuit of a better life is an unswerving goal of the Communist Party of China, President Xi Jinping reiterated in a speech at a recent meeting of provincial and ministerial-level officials.

Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC in 2012, Xi has repeatedly stressed a people-oriented development philosophy and made a series of important remarks on how to improve people's livelihoods, while vowing not to let any person be left behind in the efforts to build a well-off society in an all-around way.

Xi insists that the country's reform programs should make people feel a sense of gain and efforts to promote the rule of law should make people feel the justice in every judicial decision. Talking of the Party's campaign to promote stricter self-governance, he says the key aim is to strengthen the Party's bond with the people.

Under the guidance of Xi's remarks and thoughts, China has taken a series of measures to extend the country's development fruits to more people over the past five years, which has greatly boosted people's sense of gain and happiness. This attests to the Party's governance philosophy that its efforts to improve people's livelihoods will never come to an end, and the Party's ideological pursuit to ensure ordinary people can live fulfilling lives is the starting point and also the objective of its work.

After about four decades of reform and opening-up, Chinese people have stronger desires to live more enriching lives making it necessary for decision-makers to map out development strategies and policies for the causes of the Party and the nation based on the country's changed circumstances.

China's development is now at a critical point and it should seize the emerging opportunities for further development and not leave identified problems unaddressed. Following the guidance of the development concepts embodied in Xi's remarks will enable China to continue to progress.
LIN CHUANHUA, a disabled resident in Lianjiang county, East China's Fujian province, applied for a local public teaching position this year. He ranked the first in the exam, but was rejected by the local education bureau because of his disability. Beijing News comments:

The local education bureau of Lianjiang responded that their higher level agency, the provincial educational department of Fujian, has set health standards that every applicant must pass and Lin's disability failed to meet the standard.

What happened in Lianjiang is not an isolated incident. Two months ago, Xiao Guangting, a visually impaired resident who has lived in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong province, for almost 20 years, applied to register his hukou, household registration, in the city but was rejected because he could not pass the vision part of the health test. The Shenzhen hukou department also quoted its provincial health standards as an excuse.

Some lawyers have already said that such health standards are against the Law on the Protection of Disabled Persons and should be declared invalid. However, there has been no case brought, never mind any court ruling, that declares them discriminatory.

Such rigid standards are not only unfair to citizens with disabilities, they also harm the interests of society. In the Lianjiang case, Lin has already been working for six years as a physics teacher in a private school. He even headed a class and his disability never darkened his performance. He has been given the honorary title of "excellent teacher" by the school. If the private school can be fair to a teacher with disabilities, why can a public school, sponsored by taxpayers' money, not be?

It is time for the legislature to do its job of supervision. The health standards set by certain local governments are obviously discriminatory against people with disabilities, and legislatures at higher levels should review the standards and declare them invalid. More importantly, litigation in the public interests should be encouraged to better protect the legal rights of people with disabilities.
TENCENT, A LEADING MOBILE INTERNET SERVICES PROVIDER, has made a complaint to the industrial administrative departments against Huawei, a domestic telecommunications equipment manufacturer, for grabbing the data of its customers. Beijing Youth Daily comments:

One of Huawei's smartphone models launched in December can analyze users' shopping and communicating habits and provide relevant information services according to the data record left on their WeChat account, a social media platform run by Tencent.

Huawei responded to Tencent's complaint by saying the users' data belongs to the users themselves, and if its customers click "agree" to Huawei's information service agreement, it grants them the right to access their WeChat data.

The row between two technology giants sheds light on the vulnerability of users in the digital era. Although Huawei's defense sounds more reasonable, it omits the fact that most users do not have the right to make a choice or bargain with the IT behemoths, who have an almost absolute say in deciding not only the content of the information services they provide customers but also how customers enjoy them.

There is no lack of such company-customer agreements that overwhelmingly stress the obligations of consumers while neglecting the responsibilities of consumers.

While the IT companies proclaim they respect customers' rights and protect their data, none of them can deny the fact that the trade of people's private information and customer data has evolved into a semi-overt business. If these companies are really concerned about upholding people's rights and interests, they should work together in this regard, rather than each of them treating the customers' data as their own "private estate".

Tencent and Huawei, as influential representatives of their respective markets in China, should take their dispute as an opportunity to call for the whole industry to come together to address the overdue problem of how to protect personal data, which is in line with the interests of the industry.


A Great Sphinx of Giza replica pictured at the Lanzhou Silk Road Cultural Relics Park in Lanzhou, Northwest China's Gansu province, on May 31, 2016. The 267-hectare park is built to develop animation, film, gaming and tourism industries in the city, which was once a major trading hub on the Silk Road. [Photo/IC]

After the crash of the Russian airplane in Sinai Peninsula and the crash of Egypt Air flight in the Mediterranean Sea and terrorist attacks, the Egyptian tourism industry suffered a lengthy period of stagnation. However, the flood of Asian tourist groups, especially from China, breathed new life into the sector.

On my way to Egypt to visit my family, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the flight was completely booked. I realized the possibility that my fellow Chinese had seized the opportunity of the low value of the Egyptian currency in comparison to its international counterparts, to discover the magical wonders of the ancient Egyptian civilization. By the way, one yuan is equivalent to about 2.7 Egyptian pounds.

Being inquisitive by nature, I chatted with some of the Chinese during the flight and in Egypt. I discovered that some found life in Egypt so welcoming that they have settled there while others came to see Egypt's historical sites. Some history buffs were anxious to quench their thirst for knowledge about the Egyptian ancient civilization. A couple of industrious people were there to promote their products through TV.

When I asked them why they had decided to visit Egypt during the hot summer season, they said this was the only period when they could take vacation. Some admitted that financial cost was another reason as a trip in summer costs much less than in winter.

While the majority of the Chinese tourists were visiting in groups, some were adventurous enough to travel alone. From my discussion with them, I discovered that a two-week trip to Egypt can cost about 10,000 yuan. The journey includes accommodation, flight and some meals along with the cost of visiting the intended sites. Most of the trips encompass visits to Luxor (the center of the historical sites), Aswan, El Hkardaga ( a tourist resort on the Red Sea and of course Giza, the location of the Great pyramids and the Sphinx. Few trips include spending few days in Alexandria or in Sharm El Sheik.

For some the pyramids in Giza were the highlights of the trip while for others the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities was an unforgettable experience. Most of them were fascinated by the mystery behind the historical sites in Luxor.

The unbearable hot summer and the crowded streets, especially of capital Cairo, were the major complaints. Some said taxi drivers took advantage of their lack of knowledge of Cairo and the Egyptian exchange rate to overcharge them.

They enjoyed the popular Egyptian dishes such as falafel (fried dough of fava beans and vegetables), kofta (barbecued mixture of minced meat and vegetables) and koushari (cooked rice, macaroni, lentils and onions). Despite being too sweet, some enjoyed basbousa (a famous Egyptian sweet pastry made from special flour backed and sweetened with a liquid of honey and butter.

During a visit to Alexandria, I had a chance to talk with the hotel manager where I was staying. He said that without the Chinese and Asian tourist groups, his hotel will be deserted.

As a Canadian who loves both China and Egypt, I wish to extend my gratitude toward Chinese for generosity of their spirit that prompted them to help revive the tourism industry in my birth country.

Sava Hassan is a Canadian Egyptian educator.
Kainaz Gazder, vice-president of baby care and brand function at P&G Greater China speaks at the launch ceremony of Pampers Ichiban in Beijing, China, August 8, 2017. [ Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn ]

In the field of maternal and baby care products, the Chinese market is considered to be one of the the biggest in the world by multinational manufacturer Proctor & Gamble.

I lived and worked in China in the mid 1990s. At that time, high-end or luxury products only had 2 percent of the market, but now it has expanded to over 50 percent. Now, China is one of the most high-end oriented markets in the world, P&G chief financial officer John Moeller said last year.

Based on the 2017 Report on Trends in Online Consumption for Chinese Moms and Babies published by 21-Century Economic Research Institute, 92 percent of Chinese users chose guaranteed-quality of authentic products as the No. 1 criteria for purchasing maternity and baby care products. Only 0.44 percent chose low price. As for brands, more than 60 percent preferred well-known brands with higher prices. Such polarized data shows that when it comes to maternity and baby care products, Chinese consumers have upgraded their consumption habits and transitioned from valuing good pricing to valuing quality and brand. As a result, demand in the high-end market is on track to skyrocket.

Pampers Ichiban is exactly the diaper such a market trend calls for. And the launch of such a high-end product is just the tip of the iceberg. Underneath the surface, and contributing to the technologies and aesthetics evident in every ventilation pore of the diaper, are a large number of R&D teams, scientists from different countries and regions around the world, years devoted to research and a plant in Akashi, Japan, that meticulously works on every product detail.

By importing Pampers Ichiban from Japan to China, P&G has apparently raised the Chinese market, at least in the maternity and baby care sector, to the same level as the Japanese market. In other words, P&G consider China as having one of the highest levels of demand in the world.

Even in Japanese maternity hospitals where only the very best products are used for newborn babies, Pampers diaper boasts No. 1 coverage. And designed for babies First Sensor Skin, this diaper has become an instant hit, two short months after its launch in the Japanese market, with celebrity parents on social media in both Japan and China, Kainaz Gazder, vice-president of baby care and brand function at P&G Greater China, said.

According to the 2015 White Book on the Development of Online Maternity and Baby Care Market in China published by iResearch, even for product categories with relatively high brand concentration like baby formula and diaper, online shoppers will not make purchasing decisions until they have read an average of 14 product pages per week. That's compared to highly fragmented markets such as childrens clothing where online shoppers will not make purchasing decisions until they have read an average of 69 product pages the week leading up to the purchase.

This proves that the customers who were born in the internet era are not easily influenced by commercials. Instead, they make purchasing decisions based on their own judgment and consideration, and the products they like are products they can truly connect with.

Richer product associations, more professional product targeting, and searching for market resonance through concepts like skin touch-- all of these have empowered Pampers in precisely reaching young consumers against the backdrop of consumption habit upgrading. Pampers is returning to a path that is well-trodden for the company.
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attends a news conference after reshuffling his cabinet, at his official residence in Tokyo, Japan, August 3, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

Japan has made no secret of its disappointment with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations after its 10 member states and China approved the framework for a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea in Manila on Sunday and pledged to hold further negotiations.

Going a step further, Japan, Australia and the United States issued a statement on Monday, asking ASEAN and China to establish a set of rules that would be "legally binding, meaningful, effective and consistent with international law", which is actually an attempt to encourage ASEAN members to confront China.

ASEAN and China also agreed to hold a meeting later this month to deliberate the modalities for finalizing the Code of Conduct based on the approved framework.

But Japan is not comfortable with China-ASEAN relations improving after the two sides worked overtime to find ways to peacefully resolve the South China Sea issue.

The Nikkei Shimbun said that with the Philippines, which had taken the toughest stance against China, resorting to a friendly China policy under President Rodrigo Duterte, ASEAN's unity over the South China Sea issue has collapsed. The Philippines' positive response to China's proposals and ASEAN's consent to the Code of Conduct framework have placed Japan and the US in a situation they find difficult to deal with.

Yomiuri Shimbun, too, seemed disappointed by ASEAN for issuing a joint statement without mentioning China by name while stressing the importance of "non-militarization" of the South China Sea. An editorial in the newspaper called the South China Sea an important sea lane for Japan and the US, in order to justify the two countries' attempts to intervene in the regional maritime issues.

The editorial said China is using dialogue with ASEAN to buy time and dilute the substance of the code, adding that the envisaged Code of Conduct will be written in a manner that would approve of China's attempt to change the status quo by force. It also said that if the divisions among ASEAN's members continue to widen in the face of China's influence, they will sap the bloc's strength.

At a meeting with his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Binh Minh in Manila on Tuesday, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono said Tokyo hopes to promote security and defense cooperation with Hanoi, including supplying it with patrol ships.

Japan, Australia and the US also urged China and the Philippines to abide by last year's "international arbitration ruling" that repudiated Beijing's legitimate sovereign rights in the South China Sea.

Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano was quick to respond to Japan and other countries, saying Manila would appreciate not being told what to do in its maritime territorial dispute with China.

Trying to drive a wedge between ASEAN and China, Japan released its annual defense white paper on Tuesday that says China's military activities are escalating tensions. And Japan's Ministry of Defense has vowed to maintain strong "vigilance" against China's military activities, which it says will intensify around Japan.

China and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea are the ready excuses that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has used to strengthen Japan's Self-Defense Forces. Since becoming prime minister in 2012 for the second time, Abe has revised the pacifist Constitution to allow the SDF to engage in conflicts overseas, raise the defense budget every year and ease curbs on weapons exports.

The Japanese Defense Ministry is likely to seek a fat budget, of more than $45.48 billion, for fiscal 2018, according to the Nikkei Shimbun. Among its plans to build military muscle, Japan is scheduled to establish an Amphibious Rapid Redeployment Bridge by March 2018 to counter possible attacks on its remote islands by China. And one day after being appointed defense minister, Itsunori Onodera said Japan should consider developing weapons that could hit the DPRK's missile bases.

That, if realized, would be a drastic change in Japan's defense posture.

On Tuesday, Japanese fighters conducted air drills with US B-1B bombers that are capable of carrying nuclear bombs in Japanese skies close to the Korean Peninsula. To maintain peace in the region, Japan should stop trying to stir up trouble.

The author is China Daily Tokyo bureau chief. caihong@chinadaily.com.cn
LEVALLOIS-PERRET, France  A man rammed his car into a group of soldiers near Paris, injuring six of them, and then was cornered by police in a highway manhunt  the latest in what's become a disturbingly familiar pattern of attacks targeting French security forces.

It's unclear what motivated the driver, who was hospitalized with bullet wounds after the calculated morning ambush and an hours-long police chase. Authorities said he deliberately accelerated his BMW into a cluster of soldiers in what prosecutors are investigating as a potential terrorist attack.

President Emmanuel Macron went to Twitter to express his "congratulations to the forces of order that apprehended the perpetrator of the attack," and also to urge continued vigilance across the country.

Macron's government painted the incident in the suburb of Levallois-Perret as proof of the need to approve a new security law that critics contend infringes on liberties and would put France in a permanent state of emergency.

Wednesday's attack caused no deaths and hurt no civilians, but still set nerves on edge: It was the seventh attempted attack on security forces guarding France this year alone. While others have targeted prominent sites like the Eiffel Tower, Wednesday's attack hit the leafy, relatively affluent suburb of Levallois-Perret that is home to France's main intelligence service, the DGSI, and its counterterrorism service.

"We know it was a deliberate act," Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said. Defense Minister Florence Parly called it a reminder that extra security measures imposed in recent years are "more necessary than ever."On a quiet summer morning, the suspect was seen waiting in a black BMW in a cul-de-sac near the Levallois city hall and a building used as a staging point for soldiers in France's operation to protect prominent sites, according to two police officials, who like others connected to the case weren't authorized to be publicly named because of the ongoing police operation.

A group of soldiers emerged from the building to board vehicles for a new shift when the car sped up and rammed into them, its force hurling the soldiers against their van, one of the officials said. Collomb said the car first approached slowly then sped up about five meters (yards) from its target.

A nearby resident described hearing an ear-piercing scream of pain, then soldiers chasing after the fleeing car.

Authorities checked video surveillance of the area and police fanned out and stopped numerous cars as they searched for the attacker.

Then, on the A16 highway near the English Channel port of Calais, police stopped what Prime Minister Edouard Philippe called the "principal suspect." Images of the arrest scene showed emergency vehicles surrounding a black BMW with a damaged windshield, on a cordoned-off highway in the midst of verdant fields.

Police officers opened fire during the arrest to subdue the man, and the suspect was injured along with an officer hit by a stray police bullet, a judicial official said.

The suspect was hospitalized, the official said, but his condition wasn't immediately clear. Authorities have not identified the suspect.

Heavily armed, masked police searched a building believed linked to the attacker in the Paris suburb of Bezons on Wednesday night.

The defense minister said she received "reassuring" news about the condition of the injured soldiers, and that their lives aren't in danger.

The soldiers were from the 35th infantry regiment and served in Operation Sentinelle, created to guard prominent French sites after a string of deadly Islamic extremist attacks in 2015.

A witness to the car attack, Nadia LeProhon, was startled by a loud crash outside her building and rushed outside her seventh-floor window to see two soldiers on the ground. Other soldiers ran after a speeding car, shouting "After him! Follow that car!""I'll never forget that scream  a scream of pain and distress," she told The Associated Press.

Resident Jean-Claude Veillant said he saw two uniformed soldiers on the ground. "It was horrible," he said, adding that both soldiers appeared to be in bad shape and one of them was unconscious.

The street is normally protected by retractable posts that are removed when vehicles move in and out, so the driver must have known exactly when to strike, Veillant said. "They must've really planned this," he said.

Counterterrorism prosecutors opened an investigation on potential charges of attempted murder of security forces in connection with a terrorist enterprise, the Paris prosecutor's office said.

Philippe, the prime minister, said that despite a sustained "high threat" against France, the government is sticking to plans to lift a 21-month state of emergency.

Speaking to lawmakers, he insisted that a new bill enshrining permanent counterterrorism measures would be enough to replace the state of emergency, imposed after deadly Islamic extremist attacks in November 2015. The bill is currently under parliamentary debate, ahead of an expected end to the state of emergency on Nov. 1.

Macron discussed the attack at a security meeting Wednesday and at a weekly Cabinet meeting.

Charlton reported from Paris. Associated Press writers Thomas Adamson, Elaine Ganley and Sylvie Corbet in Paris contributed to this report.

AP
Preschool education institutions in the United Kingdom are being encouraged to expand into China as part of a government initiative to market British expertise abroad.

The Great Early Years campaign, which is run by the Department of International Trade, aims to send 10 representatives from UK kindergartens, preschool education chains and training providers to Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen in September.

The trade department said it thinks there is a demand for British preschool know-how in China given recent changes in Chinese policies, such as allowing all couples to have a second child.

"The UK is a world leader and has a global reputation for providing outstanding expertise, education and qualifications in the early-years sector," said Mark Garnier, a minister in the department. "There's growing demand for the UK offering, which is why we are now launching our Great Early Years education mission to China, to help UK nurseries export their services and knowledge on a global scale."

The program is designed to help British preschool educators take their brands to China, where the overall size of the industry was estimated to have been worth 193 billion pounds ($251 billion) in 2015. The market is expected to grow to 370 billion pounds by 2020.

"As an international economic department, we're encouraging businesses to take advantage of this opportunity and tap into the lucrative Asian market, as part of an outward-looking global Britain," Garnier said.

According to leading UK-based property broker Christie & Co's Business Outlook for 2017, there is a "phenomenal" amount of interest from China in the child care market, and education business owners in the UK are looking overseas for high-quality education business acquisition and investment opportunities.

Courteney Donaldson, head of child care and education at Christie & Co, told the Daynurseries website that many Chinese investors are interested in buying kindergartens in the UK because they value education so highly.

"They are also interested in partnering with British nurseries," she said. "They invest highly in their children's education. Many of them are looking to build nurseries in China."
GENEVA - The International Organization for Migration (IOM) revealed Wednesday that 50 teenage African migrants had been "deliberately drowned" by their smuggler off the Yemeni coast earlier on Wednesday morning.

The UN migration agency said that some 120 Somali and Ethiopian migrants, who were 16 years old on average, were forced into the sea as they approached the coast of Shabwa, a Yemeni governorate along the Arabian Sea.

The teenagers had been en route to the Gulf countries via war-torn Yemen.

During a routine patrol, IOM staff found the bodies of 29 migrants in shallow graves on a beach in Shabwa. They had been buried quickly by those who survived the smuggler's deadly actions.

"The survivors told our colleagues on the beach that the smuggler pushed them to the sea when he saw some 'authority types' near the coast," explained Laurent de Boeck, IOM Yemen chief of mission.

"They also told us that the smuggler has already returned to Somalia to continue his business and pick up more migrants to bring to Yemen on the same route. This is shocking and inhumane. The suffering of migrants on this migration route is enormous. Too many young people pay smugglers with the false hope of a better future," continued de Boeck.

Smugglers have been active in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, offering fake promises to vulnerable migrants. The IOM estimates that since January 2017, around 55,000 migrants have left the Horn of Africa to come to Yemen, mostly trying to find better opportunities in the Gulf countries.

More than 30,000 of them are from Somalia and Ethiopia and are under the age of 18 with a third are estimated to be women. The journey is especially hazardous during the current windy season in the Indian Ocean.
A building containing a condominium owned by Paul Manafort, the former Trump campaign chairman, is seen in Alexandria, Virginia on August 9, 2017. [Photo/VCG]

WASHINGTON - US FBI agents conducted a predawn raid of home of Paul Manafort, former chairman of Donald Trump's presidential campaign in Alexandria, Virginia, a spokesperson for Manafort confirmed Wednesday.

"FBI agents executed a search warrant at one of Mr. Manafort's residences," Manafort's spokesperson said in a statement.

"Mr. Manafort has consistently cooperated with law enforcement and other serious inquiries and did so on this occasion as well," the statement said.

FBI agents, using a wide-ranging search warrant, raided Manafort's home without advance warning in the predawn hours of July 26, the Washington Post reported earlier Wednesday, quoting people familiar with the special counsel Robert Mueller probe into ties between Trump's campaign and Russia.

The agents departed the home with various records whose significance is unclear and materials Manafort had already provided to the Congress, said the report.

Manafort has voluntarily provided documents to both the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Senate and House intelligence committees, in compliance with their investigation into possible Russian election interference.

The Trump campaign submitted more than 20,000 pages of records to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Aug 2, the deadline to send over records to the committee.

Among them, Manafort reportedly provided about 400 pages, including his foreign agent advocacy paperwork. These documents are required by the Senate judiciary panel to include notes Manafort took while attending a meeting with the president's eldest son Donald Trump Jr. and a Russian lawyer at Trump Tower in June 2016.

Manafort, a lobbyist and political consultant in the 1980s, resigned from the Trump campaign last August amid questions about his pro-Russia foreign business ties. He has come under intense scrutiny in the investigation into Russian election meddling since last year.
Chilean police officers patrol with bicycles donated by China in Santiago, capital of Chile on Aug 8, 2017. A new donation of Chinese bicycles to be used on local police patrols was formalized Tuesday in a ceremony headed by Felipe Alessandri, the mayor of Santiago, and Chinese Ambassador to Chile Li Baorong. The bicycles will help to increase patrols in crowded places and reduce crime and insecurity. [Photo/Xinhua]
Zhao Yan sits in a wheelchair on her way to receive an interview by Xinhua and other media at a law office in Queens District of New York City, the United States, July 27, 2004. [Photo/Xinhua]

NEW YORK - A US federal judge has ruled in favor of Chinese businesswoman Zhao Yan, who sued the US government after she was beaten and injured by a US border inspector at the Niagara Falls in 2004.

District Judge Elizabeth Wolford awarded Zhao 461,152.09 US dollars in damages for the injuries that she suffered from the assault by the US Customs and Border Patrol Officer Robert Rhodes, according to the ruling documents of the US District Court for the Western District of New York in Rochester.

Wolford's ruling found the US government liable for Rhodes' "assault and battery and false arrest" of Zhao when she was sightseeing at the Rainbow Bridge US-Canada border crossing in Niagara Falls 13 years ago.

Zhao was entitled to recover 64,313.18 US dollars in past medical expenses, 1,838.91 in past lost earnings, 260,000 in past pain and suffering, 125,000 in future pain and suffering, and 10,000 for false arrest, said the ruling.

On July 21, 2004, Zhao, from North China's Tianjin, was pepper-sprayed and struck by Rhodes as he mistook then 37-year-old lady as a drug smuggler. Zhao was never charged in the case and she sued the US government for 10 million dollars soon after the incident. Rhodes initially was fired and criminally charged with violating Zhao's civil rights. He was acquitted at a 2005 trial and eventually reinstated to his job.
The guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain approaches the aircraft carrier USS George Washington for a fueling at sea in this December 5, 2010 handout photo courtesy of the US Navy. [Photo/VCG]

China's Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that the trespassing of a US missile destroyer in China's territorial waters violated Chinese and international law, severely harmed Chinese sovereignty and security and seriously endangered the lives of soldiers at the front line.

Under the pretext of "navigation freedom", the USS John S. McCain destroyer traveled to the waters close to the reefs and islets of China's Nansha Islands on Thursday without China's approval, the ministry said in a statement posted on its website late Thursday.

China sent warnings to the destroyer and urged it to leave, according to the statement.

"China is very displeased with this and will bring up the issue with the US side," Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said in the statement. "The provocations of the US would compel China to take measures to increase its defense capabilities buildups."
Ancient mammals that evolved to glide and live in trees are shown in an artist's rendition. APRIL I. NEANDER/UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO/AFP

PARISIn dense Chinese forests populated by dinosaurs 160 million years ago, two furry critters resembling flying squirrels glided from tree to tree, showing that even in such a perilous neighborhood early mammals had succeeded in going airborne.

Scientists announced on Wednesday the discovery of fossils of two Jurassic Period gliding mammals so well-preserved and complete that they show the winglike skin membranes the creatures employed while gliding effortlessly between trees.

The two species, Maiopatagium furculiferum from Liaoning province and Vilevolodon diplomylos unearthed about 60 kilometers away in Hebei province, come from an extinct early mammalian side branch. One of the critters was about 23 centimeters from head to tail, and the other 8 cm without its tail, which was missing.

These two and another apparent glider from about the same time that was described in 2006 were the vanguard of the mammalian air force. It was not until more than 100 million years later that bats, which use powered flight like birds, and more gliding mammals appeared, following the dinosaurs' demise.

Mammals first appeared roughly 210 million years ago. These fossils underscore that early mammals were not merely cowering at the feet of dinosaurs but boasted a range of body plans and lifestyles. They included beaver-tailed swimmers, tree climbers, hoppers, borrowers and small carnivores that ate baby dinosaurs.

"Despite living in dinosaur-dominated ecosystems, early mammals diversified into many ecological niches," said University of Chicago paleontologist Luo Zhexi, who led the research published in the journal Nature.

REUTERS/AFP
E-commerce for Foreign Invested Entities (FIEs) in China is in upheaval. Beginning with the much discussed liberalization of the investment cap for foreign entities conducting e-commerce business in China, and most recently with the draft e-commerce law, big changes are afoot. This post briefly summarizes the more important changes, briefly assesses their effect in practice, and speculates as to the underlying trends and future developments.

Backdrop. As pretty much everyone already knows, Chinas retail e-commerce market has grown massively in recent years. Matthew Crabbe gives some interesting totals and projections: firstly the Chinese online retail market was worth a total of 120.8 billion RMB in 2008, rising to 6,433.9 billion RMB in 2017, including B2C and C2C sales, with B2C overtaking C2C in 2015. Cross-border e-commerce (Haitao  defined as goods sold from outside China into China, not including foreign goods sold within China) as a proportion of B2C online retail was 1.3% in 2011, growing to 4.8% in 2017. This means the market estimate is 303.8 billion RMB in 2017, which is significant compared even to the total US online retail market, for example.

Summary of Chinas e-commerce reforms. Since 2001, the Foreign-Invested Telecom Enterprises (FITE) Regulations have contained an investment cap on foreign investment in Value-Added Telecoms Services (VATS) businesses of 50% ownership. There is now a limited exception to this relating to e-commerce business. The following brief timeline will illustrate the main events:

14 March 2011: Chinas 12th Five Year Plan contains a broad injunction for the economy to move from an export-led manufacturing economy to a consumer economy.

7 January 2014: the MIIT SHFTZ Opinion 2014 made it possible for Foreign Invested Entities (FIE) in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone (SHFTZ) to own a 55% share in for profit e-commerce businesses with nationwide reach, an increase from the previously allowed 50% investment cap for (VATS) business under the FITE Regulations, thus meaning that a nationwide reaching e-commerce entity could be majority foreign-owned.

13 January 2015: the MIIT SHFTZ Opinion 2015 took the changes in the MIIT SHFTZ Opinion 2014 further, by allowing 100% ownership of an e-commerce business by a Foreign Invested Entity in the SHFTZ.

10 April 2015: Part IV s20 of Chinas 2015 Foreign Investment Catalogue made an explicit exception for e-commerce when discussing the investment cap of 50% in VATS business. This change was widely understood as removing the limitations on investment ratio in the nationwide regime for e-commerce FIEs.

7 May 2015: The State Council E-Commerce Opinions contain an instruction to various Chinese governmental bodies to remove the current investment cap for FIEs in e-commerce businesses, expanding the SHFTZ liberalization nationwide. Various simplifications relating to licensing were also included. (see China E-Commerce: The New Rules for discussion of the State Council E-Commerce Opinions.

19 June 2015: MIIT Circular 196 appears to be the implementation of the State Council E-Commerce Opinions, and it allows foreign equity ratios in e-commerce businesses to be raised to 100%, explicitly stating that this is a nationwide extension of the SHFTZ pilot program.

27 December 2016: the Draft PRC E-Commerce Law was published. It applies to all e-commerce business within China, including e-commerce businesses outside China that sell into China. It differentiates between third-party e-commerce platforms (e.g. TMall and Taobao) and other e-commerce operators, such as self-operated retail portals. Chapter 5 deals specifically with cross-border e-commerce. However, detail is lacking, and its main point seems to be that China wishes to promote development of cross-border e-commerce, which is defined as imports and exports of goods or services through the Internet or other information networks. Chapter 5 deals in particular with customs clearance and personal information.

There have also been a number of other initiatives, such as e-commerce pilot zones, for example in Hangzhou and elsewhere.

What is behind the reforms? On the face of it, there seems to have been major progress in opening the Chinese market to international e-commerce operators. As is so often true when it comes to doing business in China, all may not be as it seems. It is hard to ascertain what is happening fore foreign companies seeking to do e-commerce in China, but since the above changes were implemented, very few VATS licenses have been issued to FIES. One example is Heiwado (China) Co., Ltd, a Chinese WFOE reported to have two Japanese shareholders and a market capitalization of around US$50 million, and which has been involved in traditional and online retail in central China for several years.

So what is going on? There are several possibilities.

Firstly, one factor may be bringing order to the market and eliminating legal grey areas. Much of the selling of foreign goods online in China has consisted of informal grey-market imports, often brought into China as personal goods in suitcases and then retailed on Taobao via Taobao Agent Purchasing. This means goods are entering the Chinese market without the relevant customs clearance, duties, and product standard compliance. China has a strong incentive for bringing this industry within the scope of its regulation.

A related point is that although the FITE Regulations contain strict investment caps in telecoms business, foreign investment in telecoms is in fact pervasive in China, through the controversial Variable Interest Entity (VIE) structure. Another argument is that removing the investment cap for e-commerce companies is a pragmatic move to enable full compliance by foreign-invested e-commerce businesses. Why though bring e-commerce businesses under the regulatory umbrella, but not other internet businesses? One hypothesis is that full compliance in e-commerce is seen as an achievable and desirable medium-term aim, with overall benefits to China, whereas the policy pressure on other areas of the internet pushes in the opposite direction, with no desire to liberalize and allow foreign participation.

It is also important to remember that discussion of cross-border e-commerce in China includes outbound as well as inbound e-commerce. In fact, the focus of the policy seems to be on encouraging outbound e-commerce. One much-discussed theme in the development of Chinas economy has been inviting foreign partners in, learning from them, then applying this knowledge internationally once it has been digested by Chinese entities. Opening the market with one hand, and yet maintaining restrictions with the other hand gives the illusion of liberalization while allowing domestic companies to dominate the market. With respect to examples like Heiwado, it is really a very minor player. One interpretation could be that an example like this makes little impact overall, and yet helps maintain an illusion that the market is opening.

Interestingly, online selling on domestic Chinese third-party retail platforms like Taobao is now relatively easy for foreign businesses. This in some ways represents an ideal scenario for China. If inbound cross-border e-commerce takes place under supervision of a Chinese entity, Chinese government oversight is much easier and Chinese businesses get a piece of the pie. For the foreign retailer, this is also a low-risk strategy. The availability of this alternative may be a strong factor in the apparent lack of applications for e-commerce VATS licenses by WFOEs. Does conducting standalone e-commerce in China as a WFOE even make commercial sense?

From the point of view of foreign investment in third-party retail platforms, the dominance of the domestic players presents formidable obstacles to the market. It is probably more plausible for Alibaba to take on eBay and Amazon internationally than vice- versa. Interestingly, Alibaba, the owner of Tmall and Taobao, is itself structured as a VIE.

Future developments. Chinas removal of its e-commerce investment cap does not appear to have led to any great increase in market access for foreign investors. However, it does fit into a general picture of increased access to the Chinese market for foreign goods, albeit on Chinese terms. Although the e-commerce market as a whole will continue growing, Matthew Crabbes prediction is that the Haitao market will peak at about 5% of total online retail sales in China. If that is correct, Chinas e-commerce gold rush may not be quite what everyone expected, and todays status quo is also the shape of things to come. The future of Chinas e-commerce market lies largely in selling through established Chinese channels.

This post was written by Edward Hillier, a New Zealand-qualified lawyer and researcher. This post is based on academic research he submitted to Anglia Ruskin University in 2017 for his LLM dissertation entitled New Opportunities in Online Retail For Foreign Investors in China.
The upcoming solar eclipse is expected to draw heavier-than-usual traffic to Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks.

Park officials are warning that roads and facilities may not be able to handle the number of visitors planning to be in the area to witness the total solar eclipse on Aug. 21.

They also recommend that travelers do not attempt to use Yellowstones South Entrance that day because it borders Grand Teton, which is in the path of totality.

That means viewers there will see the moon fully block the sun. It will happen around 11:35 a.m. for about two minutes, depending on the location within the park.

Because of that, Grand Teton is bracing for its busiest day ever. The park will adjust its traffic flow and parking to accommodate the influx of viewers. The Gros Ventre Road will be one-way traffic eastbound from the junction with US Highway 26/89/191 to Kelly, and parking will be allowed in the westbound lane. Totality there will last for 2 minutes, 19 seconds.

The park has also chosen four other designated eclipse viewing areas: Gros Ventre Campground Amphitheater, Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center, Jackson Lake Lodge and Colter Bay. Park rangers will be offering interpretive programs that day at those sites.

Yellowstone is near the path but just north of it, so people who see the eclipse from the first national park will witness a partial eclipse, in which only a portion of the sun is blocked. The partial eclipse will take place between about 10:15 a.m. and 1 p.m. and should be most dramatic around 11:36 a.m. for about two minutes.

If youre planning to be in the area that day, park officials recommend:

Being patient.

Expecting heavy traffic on park roads.

Allowing more travel time than you think youll need.

Not expecting to have cellphone service, even in areas where thats typically not a problem.

Bringing enough fuel, food and water in your vehicle for the entire day.

Bringing proper viewing glasses and solar filters for cameras or special viewing equipment, such as telescopes.

The path of totality spans a 70-mile swath that stretches from Oregon to South Carolina. Many Wyoming towns are in that path, including Casper, which is expecting up to 35,000 visitors.
As the Outdoor Industry Association recently confirmed, outdoor recreation is not only intrinsic to our way of life in Montana, it is now the largest sector of Montanas economy.

According to OIAs new numbers, Montanas outdoor recreation economy generates over $7 billion per year in consumer spending and supports over 70,000 jobs that pay more than $2 billion worth of wages. These numbers, while eye-popping, are even more impressive when you consider that they dont even account for indirect economic effects, such as the hundreds of start-ups and small businesses that choose to locate here to take advantage of our outdoor way of life.

Montana is home to a thriving industry of small businesses, an industry that is resilient, even in times of economic downturn. But, just like other key sectors of our economy, we cant expect this industry to grow if we dont have the right policies in place. A common-sense and much-needed first step is the creation of Montanas own Office of Outdoor Recreation, and we applaud Gov. Steve Bullock for recently announcing that he will create this office in September. Similar offices have already been created in at least six other states.

While several different agencies manage various pieces of the outdoor recreation economy  State Parks, Office of Tourism, Office of Economic Development, for instance  we lack a unified and strategic approach to this massive part of our economy.

This new Office of Outdoor Recreation could play several critical roles in our outdoor recreation economy. One of its top priorities should be to expand the outdoor recreation economy map in Montana and help rural communities across the state gain access to the resources they need to more fully capture the benefits of that economy. Those resources could include grant opportunities to strengthen trail systems and improve outdoor infrastructure. Likewise, the office could be an important advocate for rural business owners, such as outfitters and guides, who have ideas on how to improve Montana's regulatory environment and promote outdoor tourism.

For our outdoor economy to thrive, we must reaffirm our commitment to keeping our public lands intact, well-managed, and accessible, especially as visitation continues to rise. That means, at a minimum, rejecting efforts to transfer ownership or management to the state, a move that would compel the state to either industrialize or sell off those lands just to keep the state from going bankrupt. It also means strengthening and supporting efforts to protect wildlands and investing in outdoor recreation infrastructure. Keeping our public lands in prime condition  with clean water, clear trails, abundant wildlife, and beautiful vistas  is the right economic choice.

Finally, the office should serve as an advocate for properly funding our public land management agencies. We rely on the Park Service, Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and other agencies to maintain trails, trailheads, campgrounds, and other infrastructure on our public lands. Without that infrastructure in place, we cant expect our outdoor recreation economy to continue to thrive. These agencies are facing a budget crisis. The Office of Outdoor Recreation could serve as a powerful voice in persuading our elected officials to adequately fund those agencies.

Every community in our state has the potential to use outdoor recreation to improve the quality of life for its residents and attract new visitors, businesses, and investment. We hope this office helps more communities harness the power of this booming sector of our economy.

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Asked whether it is rational to believe that Jesus rose from the dead, many of us instinctively turn to what is known, in apologetics, as a minimal facts approach. Well note that virtually all scholars of any persuasion will agree with certain basic facts surrounding the resurrection: Jesus was crucified and died. His tomb was found empty. Later, his disciples sincerely believed he had appeared to them, alive. Saul of Tarsus, a Jewish persecutor of Christians, had a similar experience.

The most reasonable explanation of these basic, agreed-upon facts, we argue, is that Jesus did in fact rise from the dead. Perhaps the foremost presentation of this argument comes from Michael Liconas The Resurrection of Jesus.

This approach is good and useful, but Lydia McGrew wants to resuscitate another method for vindicating the reliability of the Gospels and their accounts of Jesus resurrection. McGrews book, Hidden in Plain View, uncovers the importance of what she calls undesigned coincidences sprinkled across different New Testament passages.

Puzzle Pieces

McGrew defines an undesigned coincidence as a notable connection between two or more accounts or texts that doesnt seem to have been planned. . . . Despite their apparent independence, the items fit together like pieces of a puzzle. In other words, an undesigned coincidence occurs when multiple passages of Scripture include details that at first seem unrelated but which, upon further reflection, fit together in a way that only makes sense if both accounts are based on the same underlying historical truth.

And therein lies the apologetic value of this approach. Undesigned coincidences are subtle enough that it would be pointless for a fabricator to make them up. But on analysis, they provide valuable internal evidence of the reliability of the New Testament histories. The only plausible explanation for their occurrence is that the authors were carefully recording real events.

Examining a few of McGrews examples will make clear the nature of her approach. One of the simplest coincidences concerns Herods reaction to the commencement of Jesus ministry. Matthew 14 reports that Herod said to his attendants, This is John the Baptist. He has risen from the dead! (v. 1). But how would Matthew know what the king said to his servants in the privacy of his palace? A skeptic might conclude that he was taking liberties with the truth.

Unless, that is, the skeptic in question happened to notice an obscure phrase in the Gospel of Luke. On a totally different topic, Luke 8 lists a number of women who were following Jesus. One of them is named as Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herods household (v. 3).

The second passage explains the first. Matthew could have known about Herods comment to his servants because the wife of one of those servants was a follower of Christ. And yet the connection is incredibly oblique. If the Gospels were fabricated, Luke would have had no particular reason to invent this detail. The best explanation is that the pieces fit so well because they are both true.

Another coincidence is even more striking. In John 6, Jesus asks Philip where to buy bread just prior to the miraculous feeding of the 5,000 (v. 5). Why Philip? John gives no explanation. Yet elsewhere, in unrelated passages, he does mention something that turns out to be relevant: Philip was from Bethsaida.

There is no obvious connection between these two pieces of information until one turns to the Gospel of Luke. Luke 9 notes that the feeding of the 5,000 occurred near Bethsaida (v. 10). Jesus asked Philip where to buy bread because he was a local.

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If the Gospels were fabricated, there would be no particular reason for John to report that Jesus asked Philip where to buy bread. There would be no particular reason for listing Philip as a native of Bethsaida. There would be no particular reason for Luke to situate the feeding of the 5,000 near Bethsaida. Further, the details are so randomly strewn through the accounts that they are obviously not an attempt at subtle harmonization. Once again, the best explanation as to why the puzzle pieces fit so well is that they are all true.

A final example illustrates the beauty of McGrews approach. In John 21, Jesus famously asks Peter Do you love me? three times, mirroring Peters three denials. But a minor detail is easy to overlook. The first time Jesus asks the question, his words are, Simon son of John, do you love me more than these? (v. 15, emphasis added).

It is not clear from Johns account why Jesus should ask if Peter loves him more than the other disciples do. Only after turning to Matthew and Mark do we learn of Peters boast that he would be true to Jesus even if all the others abandoned him.

If John were fabricating his account, either he would have omitted the words in question, or he would have mentioned Peters earlier boast as a way of explaining Jesus phrasing. Since he doesnt mention that boast, the best explanation for including the phrase more than these is that he simply remembered Jesus asking the question that way. The story, in other words, is a true one.

A Cumulative Case

The undesigned coincidences approach builds a cumulative case for the accuracy of the New Testament histories. Perhaps individual examples could be brushed aside as coincidences. But as example piles upon example, it becomes very difficult to explain them all away. Fabricated stories would not be interrelated in so many under-the-surface ways. But the accounts of several well-informed authors writing about the same true events and people would be.

As mentioned above, McGrews primary intention in resurrecting this argument is to revitalize an older apologetic approach that emphasizes the reliability of the New Testament writings as a whole. But it serves other valuable purposes as well.

For one thing, unexplained coincidences occur between Acts and several of Pauls epistles. In certain cases, liberal scholars have questioned their authenticity, but the coincidences highlighted by McGrew furnish additional grounds for confidence.

Also, the unexplained coincidences McGrew cites are valuable simply for increasing ones understanding of Scripture. Why did Paul tell the Thessalonians that they knew about his shameful treatment at Philippi? Why did Jesus wash the disciples feet at a particular time? The answers to these questions and others become clear through McGrews careful analysis.

Hidden in Plain View is a must-read for Christians interested in defending their faith. I have no intention of abandoning the minimal facts approach on occasions when I am asked for a defense of the resurrection. But I will certainly incorporate another layer of argument to that case, stressing the accuracy of the texts themselves. McGrew has done the church a valuable service in drawing attention back to the argument from undesigned coincidences.

Jonathan Ashbach is a PhD student in politics at Hillsdale College.
Founded less than 70 years ago, today World Vision is one the largest nonprofits in America. But its work primarily focuses outside of the US. Throughout its history, the organization has helped Vietnamese refugees, those devastated by the Ethiopian famine, the African AIDS crisis, and those affected by the Syrian civil war. Its sponsor child program assists one million children, in addition to the millions reached by its community health, microlending, and clean water work.

In recent years, due to a combination of economic development and humanitarian work, more and more people around the globe have emerged out of poverty. But those left behind are increasingly those who live in countries marred by incompetent governments or corrupt regimes, says Richard Stearns, who is currently serving his 20th year as president of World Vision.

Theres kind of a conundrum that we face, said Stearns. Countries that have all those human rights abuses and challenges happen to be the places where the most vulnerable people live so we tend to work in those places because we feel like God has called our organization to the most vulnerable.

Stearns joined assistant editor Morgan Lee and editor in chief Mark Galli to discuss World Visions plan on how not to create dependency, how evangelism factors into their work, and what Indias decision to shutdown Compassion International means for his organization.

What is Quick to Listen? Read more.

Subscribe to Quick to Listen on Apple Podcasts

Follow the podcast on Facebook and Twitter

Follow our guest on Twitter: Richard Stearns

Follow our host on Twitter: Morgan Lee

Subscribe to Marks newsletter: The Galli Report

Quick to Listen is produced by Richard Clark and Cray Allred
I had the privilege or reading a pre-release version of "God Shines Forth: How the Nature of God Shapes and Drives the Mission of the Church." Here are 20 quotes from the book, which you should pick up.
Hijab Artwork Sparks Controversy

Contact: Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, 212-371-3191, pr@catholicleague.org

NEW YORK, Aug. 10, 2017 /Christian Newswire/ -- Catholic League president Bill Donohue (photo) comments on the reaction to a controversial portrait of the Statue of Liberty:

Occasionally, a controversial issue will arise that draws inane comments from all sides. Such is the case of artwork hanging in the Santa Ana office of Rep. J. Luis Correa: The painting depicts the Statue of Liberty wearing a hijab.

A group of local conservatives, We the People Rising, is demanding that it be removed, saying it violates separation of church and state.

A conservative pundit, Katherine Timpf, replies that the painting does not violate the First Amendment, arguing that "trying to use the Establishment Clause to remove this painting is far more egregious than trying to use it to remove someone's office nativity scene."

The liberal congressman, Rep. Correa, defends the portrait saying that determining "what is proper [and] what is not" would violate the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of speech.

A liberal pundit, Chelsea Hassler, defends the portrait saying it is a "display of multiculturalism and tolerance."

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) branded criticism of the artwork "Islamophobic."

All five are mistaken.

The artwork does not violate the Establishment provision of the First Amendment. Indeed, it does not come close to being a state-sponsored religious exhibit. We the People Rising ill serve the conservative cause by trying to make this a constitutional issue.

Timpf is correct to contend that the position adopted by We the People Rising is flawed, but so is her position. To say that invoking the First Amendment to remove this painting is far worse than seeking to remove a nativity scene from a congressman's office is astounding. Not to Christians it isn't. Her interpretation of this artwork as a political statement, rather than a religious one, is irrelevant: there are plenty of good reasons why this painting does not belong in a congressman's office.

Rep. Correa's notion that judgments over "what is proper" would violate the First Amendment is ludicrous. He has a right to decide what pictures he wants in his office, but no artist has a right to have his work hung there. Denying a submission is not a constitutional violation.

Hassler's remark that the painting is an expression of "multiculturalism and tolerance" is just as risible. To reconfigure a universal patriotic symbol to have a sectarian message is a demonstration of intolerance.

CAIR's labeling of the artwork's critics as suffering from Islamophobia is nonsense. Those who object to playing games with our national symbol--they would include millions of veterans--are acting rationally when they express their dissatisfaction. There is nothing phobic about objecting to offensive fare.

Rep. Correa's legal right to have the hijab-adorned Statue of Liberty is only part of this issue: reasonable Americans have every right to question the moral propriety to hijacking our national symbol to make a cheap point. Whether that point is religious or secular does not matter. Tampering with the Statue of Liberty is what matters.
home World 200 Christian charities shut down in Bangladesh amid crackdown on foreign NGOs

Bangladesh has indirectly shut down 200 Christian charities as part of the government's crackdown on foreign NGOs that came as a response to a major terrorist attack in the country last year.

Bruce Allen of Forgotten Missionaries International (FMI) reported that 200 operating Christian charities have closed since the government passed the Foreign Donations (Voluntary Activities) Regulation Bill (FDRB) in October 2016.

The law was passed in an attempt to prevent terrorists from receiving funds under the disguise of foreign aid. The measure came after Islamic extremists attacked the Holey Artisan Bakery and Cafe in Dhaka, killing at least 20 people, including foreigners.

Under the legislation, an NGO must first register with NGO Affairs Bureau (NGOAB) in order to receive foreign funds and perform activities.

Allen noted that while some NGOs have been prevented from working in Bangladesh, some charities may still be able to continue if their work is focused on improving the lives of the Bangladeshis.

"If you're an organization, even if you're a Christian mission agency or NGO, providing non-religious services such as a hospital or relief work [and] things like that, and your services are available to anyone in Bangladesh, then you're able to continue to operate in Bangladesh," Allen said.

"So what they were really clamping down on was just overt religious activity, so things that were geared specifically for the Christian community," he added.

Last month, 17 foreign non-government development organizations were brought under intense surveillance after the charities were found to be involved in militants funding. Most of the terrorist funding was reportedly conducted through mobile banking and courier services. According to the Dhaka Tribune, the NGOs were based in Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and other Middle Eastern countries.

After the attack on the cafe in 2016, tourism in Bangladesh has dropped significantly. Some were concerned that the decline in the tourism income, along with the closure of some NGOs, could create worse financial conditions for the Bangladeshis.

"It's a shame that these organizations that wanted to help the people of Bangladesh are now being prevented from doing that," said Allen.

While some Christian NGOs will not be able to operate in Bangladesh, FMI contended that it is still a viable choice for people looking to help and support Bangladeshi Christians because the ministry does not send people to work in the country. The ministry noted that it deals directly and exclusively with national church planters, and it tends to fly under the government's radar because it is not widely known.
home World Activists in Europe hold vigils for Christian lawyer imprisoned in Vietnam

Activists in different parts of Europe held vigils on Monday to protest the imprisonment of Vietnamese human rights lawyer Nguyen Van Dai, who has spent more than 18 months in jail without trial.

According to Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), Protesters in London drew 600 lines in chalk on the path leading to the Vietnamese embassy to mark 600 days of Dai's detention, along with the hashtag #FreeNguyenVanDai. Vigils for Dai were also conducted by members of Van Lang in Prague and Front Line Defenders in Dublin.

Dai, a Christian, was arrested in December 2015, along with his colleague Le Thu Ha. They were both charged with "spreading propaganda against the state," and have been held in prison without trial and with limited contact with the outside world.

CSW's East Asia Team Leader Benedict Rogers expressed concern for Dai because little is known about his current condition in prison.

"Mr. Dai has been a vocal champion for religious freedom and human rights in Vietnam who has dedicated his life to securing justice and freedom for all. Rather than being branded a criminal, the government should recognise the positive role he has played in supporting and defending the most vulnerable in society," said Rogers.

"We call for his immediate release and urge the Vietnamese government to respect and protect the right to freedom of religion or belief and other human rights in Vietnam," he added.

CSW noted that the charges against Dai and Ha were recently changed to "carrying out activities aimed at overthrowing the people's administration," which carries the possible penalties of 12a20 years imprisonment, a life sentence or capital punishment.

On July 30, the Vietnamese authorities arrested four activists at their homes on the same charge leveled against Dai and Ha. The four men detained by the police were identified as Protestant pastor Nguyen Trung Ton, engineer Pham Van Troi, journalist Truong Minh Duc, and lawyer Nguyen Bac Truyen.

The four activists, who had served prior jail sentences for "anti-state activities," were all members of the online group Brotherhood for Democracy, which Dai helped to found in 2013.

Following their arrests, the Brotherhood for Democracy issued a statement denouncing the "suppression, detention, and prosecution" of its members, as well as the arrest and imprisonment of other activists amid an ongoing crackdown on dissent in Vietnam.

The group demanded the unconditional release of its arrested members in a "transparent manner," in addition to the country's other jailed activists and prisoners of conscience. It also urged the Vietnamese people, human rights groups and the international community to pressure the government over "suppressed cases" in the country.

CSW expressed concern that the four activists may be subject to a lengthy detention without trial as no trial date has been announced as of yet.
home World Atheists suspect fellow unbelievers of being immoral, survey finds

A new survey has found that atheists are not only considered as immoral by adherents of various religions, but also by their fellow atheists.

According to an article published in the online journal Nature Human Behavior, a worldwide study has shown that there is an "extreme intuitive moral prejudice against atheists" by Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and even fellow atheists.

The study, conducted by an international team of researchers, found that religious belief is intuitively viewed across the world as a "necessary safeguard against the temptations of grossly immoral conduct."

Participants from across the world were given a description of a fictitious person who tortured animals as a child, then grows up to become a teacher who murders and mutilates five homeless people, according to Phys.org.

Half of the group were asked how likely that the murderer was an adherent of a particular religion, while the other half was asked how likely that he was an atheist. The results of the survey revealed that people were about twice as likely to assume that the serial killer was an atheist.

"It is striking that even atheists appear to hold the same intuitive anti-atheist bias," said Will Gervais, a co-author of the study.

Gervais, a psychology professor at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, suggested that the bias against atheists stems from the "prevalence of deeply entrenched pro-religious norms."

"Even in places that are currently quite overtly secular, people still seem to intuitively hold on to the believe that religion is a moral safeguard," he noted.

The study looked at the attitudes of 3,256 participants from 13 countries, including the United States, Australia, China, Czech Republic, Finland, Hong Kong, India, Mauritius, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and the U.K.

The researchers found that only in two secular countries a Finland and New Zealand a did the experiment not yield conclusive evidence of anti-atheist prejudice.

Gervais noted that the distrust of atheists was "very strong" in highly religious countries like the U.S., United Arab Emirates and India, and lower in more secular countries.

The Abstract of the study stated that the "results contrast with recent polls that do not find self-reported moral prejudice against atheists in highly secular countries ... and imply that the recent rise in secularism in Western countries has not overwritten intuitive anti-atheist prejudice."

Gervais contended that the research was about more than stigma alone. "In many places, atheism can be dangerous, if not fatal," he added.
Development is booming around Port Houston as a regional economic transformation brings more business to importers, exporters and distributors in the area.

Real Estate service firm JLL on Wednesday released its annual outlook report for North American seaports, finding rising rents and container capacity plus falling vacancy at Port Houston, which JLL appraised as "peaking" in its business cycle.

"Strong population growth, expanding distribution networks and sustained downstream demand are propelling a new era for Houston's industrial market," the report said.

RELATED: Houston quick becoming a 'hub of distribution'

Houston's port and industrial market have seen some of the quickest development in the nation. Among the major North American markets surveyed by JLL, Houston saw the largest yearly decline in availability of industrial real estate, 6.3 percent.

It also saw asking rents on industrial properties grow 36.5 percent since 2010, the second highest growth in the nation after Oakland.

Container traffic is a rising business at Port Houston, propelled in large part by a booming plastics industry that has benefited from the cheap oil and natural gas it uses to procure small plastic pellets (also called nurdles) for export.

RELATED: Houston industrial real estate market faces bright outlook

At the same time, retailers and distributors are increasingly building distribution warehouses in the Houston area, creating more demand for container traffic at the port.

"While not traditionally a big-box market, Houston is evolving as large industrial users seek to capitalize on the region's shipping and distribution networks," JLL reported.

To meet increased demand, the port's two container shipping terminals are undergoing expansion and upgrades performed by McCarthy Building Cos.
While Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman gets much of the attention from media outlets and the internet when it comes to cartel leaders, a slew of Mexican drug lords have been arrested in Mexico during the past few decades.

Many of the cartel leaders were just as ruthless, if not more so, than Guzman.
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Police in Georgia said a man confessed to them that he shot his neighbor and his dog over dog droppings that were left in his yard.

Larry Bates is accused of shooting neighbor Paul Wilson in Barrow County, Georgia in July. In court testimony delivered on Wednesday, investigators said Bates "kept talking about how he shot his neighbor because of his dog," reports news station WSB-TV.

HOUSTON MURDER CASE: Widow on trial for murder breaks down at seeing photos of dead husband

"Mr. Bates did confess to shooting the victim because his dog was using the bathroom in his yard," Auburn Police Lt. Chris Hodge said in the WSB-TV report.

Another officer said Bates admitted to grabbing a gun, telling the officer Wilson was laughing at him over the dog droppings.

Story continues below...

Bates, 46, from Auburn, Ga., is charged with felony murder and animal cruelty. He was arrested by the Auburn Police Department early in the morning of July 2.

POLICE AND MURDER: Sheriff's deputy appeals firing after murder charge in John Hernandez case

According to a GoFundMe page started to help cover Wilson's funeral expenses, Bates reportedly harassed Wilson and his wife multiple times over dog poop in his yard. Wilson offered to clean up the dog waste to diffuse the situation, according to the account.

"Paul returned home from work on July 2 at 1 a.m., and takes his dogs out for a walk," the GoFundMe page reads. "Three houses down, Larry Bates shoots Paul in the head and torso and shoots the family dog, killing the both."

The accounts has raised $3,375 of its $5,000 goal in one month.
James Durbin/MBR

Oil climbed above $50 a barrel in New York after OPEC boosted estimates of demand for its crude amid stronger-than-expected fuel consumption and a weaker outlook for rival supply.

Futures advanced 1 percent after climbing 0.8 percent Wednesday as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries raised forecasts for the amount it needs to supply for 2017 and 2018. In the U.S., output slid for the second time in three weeks, according to Energy Information Administration data, while stockpiles dropped by 6.45 million barrels, almost triple the median forecast in a Bloomberg survey. Gasoline inventories unexpectedly rose for the first time since early June.
Libya's oil production vaulted above 1 million barrels a day last month, leading another monthly increase in OPEC output, even as the group tries to enforce self-imposed limits.

In its monthly report on Thursday, the Saudi-led cartel said it boosted daily crude production by 172,600 barrels to 32.87 million barrels, with increases coming from Libya, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and a handful of smaller producers, according to independent sources.
The theatre scene is expanding in northwest Houston.

Lone Star College-University Park is working on the design of its new $23.7 million arts building, which will include an auditorium and classroom space.

Construction will start on the new building in the spring of 2018 and it will open in mid-2019, said Richard Weldon vice president of Administrative Services, who oversees construction for the campus.

"This will be a theatre for our own programs, and for the community," said Kathy Cecil-Sanchez, vice president of Instruction at LSC-University Park. "We are growing in our theatre department and art department."

LSC-University Park is expecting extensive growth in its arts programs. The campus has been expanding courses in theatre, music and fine arts as it works to meet the demands of a growing enrollment, now at 12,853 students, said campus President Shah Ardalan.

The campus recently hired a full-time music professor.

"We are already prepping for growth and plan to have a strong program once we open the new building," Cecil-Sanchez said.

The new arts building will serve all three arts programs - music, fine arts and theatre. In addition, it will have an art gallery to exhibit framed art and sculpture.

"When you think about the big picture, we are very strong in engineering, but companies want a person with both sides of the brain," Ardalan said. "We believe the arts are critically important for our students."

LSC-University Park is seeking input from the community as they design the new arts building. The new theatre will seat between 300 to 400 people.

"We are going to design something beautiful," Ardalan said.

As the population continues to grow, arts in northwest Houston has blossomed as well, offering residents many cultural options close to home.

LSC-Tomball Performing Arts Center has an active theatre program. In addition, the Pearl Fincher Museum of Fine Arts offers area residents a free fine arts museum in the Cypress Creek Cultural District.

"This area is rich in arts," Ardalan said. "There is a lot of community support for it."

The nonprofit Shining Star Guild donated $15,000 to the University Park campus to expand its theatre.

To meet its current needs, LSC-University Park has a Black Box theatre - a classroom transformed into a theatre. That will fill the void until the new theatre is open.

"As soon as the new theatre opens, it will be natural way to move into it and grow it," Ardalan said.

LSC-University Park will have its first musical at the Black Box theatre this spring.

"We didn't wait until the building is built," Ardalan said. "We have created so much momentum already."

Lone Star College University Park's new arts building:

Cost is $23.7 million

It will include an auditorium and classroom space

Construction will start on the new building in the Spring of 2018

The new building will open in mid-2019
Pro tip: If you're going to commit a crime, it's probably best to not have distinctive face tattoos.

The Harris County Precinct 4 Constable's Office is searching for a man who reportedly robbed a Cypress Walgreen's Pharmacy with a knife on Friday. Investigators said they were able to identify Breaker as the suspect with the help of victims.
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Need some help planning your week before school starts back up?

We've gathered a list of activities going on in Houston the week of Aug. 10 to 17, for residents of all ages.

It's your last chance to check out the realistic and life-size sculptures by Ron Mueck at the Museum of Fine Arts if you haven't already done so. Sunday, Aug. 13, is the final day.

CHECK THIS: Fleetwood Mac members set Sugar Land date

Rod Stewart, Cyndi Lauper, and Houston native, Kenny Rogers will be bringing the hits to Houston area this weekend.

Rogers will be at the Redneck Country Club on Friday, Aug. 11, and Stewart and Lauper will be performing at the Smart Financial Center on Saturday, Aug. 12.

For the foodies and families, be sure to head over to the first ever Southern Fried Chicken Festival taking place on Saturday, Aug. 12 at Levy Park from 4 to 10 p.m. There will be bands, DJs, adult beverages, and of course, a chicken wing eating contest.

Vote: Houston's best barbecue of 2017

The event will benefit Kiel Colon Cancer, a nonprofit organization founded to raise awareness about colon cancer.

Tickets start at $10 and kids eight and younger can enter for free with a ticked adult.

The Astros, Dynamo, and Sugar Land Skeeters will be playing at home this week, so go cheer on your favorite team!

Check out the gallery above for a list of activities and things to do in Houston for kids, young and old.
Jimmy Kimmel brought his infant son, who underwent emergency heart surgery at just 3 days old, to work this week and gave an update on how he's doing.

Kimmel said that Billy will need two more surgeries and that he's looking forward to getting them over and done with, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

CRITICS: Kimmel slams critics over health-care plea, calls out Newt Gingrich

"He's doing great. Young Billy made his first visit to our office today. He's juggling. He's translating Flaubert from French into English. He's really an amazing kid. No  he smiles. That's pretty much it. He is very interested in ceiling fans. He likes those a lot. I could get him to pay the same amount for Netflix just to watch ceiling fans."

This is all after Kimmel delivered a heartfelt monologue in May about his son and the future of health care in this country. The late-night host began talking about the Trump administration and Republican attempts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. That's when he tearfully shared with audiences that he and his wife, Molly McNearney, welcomed their son, William "Billy" John, into the world on April 21.

At just 3 days old, Billy underwent emergency surgery at Children's Hospital Los Angeles. Billy had a congenital heart disease, saying, "No parent should ever have to decide if they can afford to save their child's life."

TELEVISION NEWS: Emmy snubs: Oprah, Jimmy Fallon and no love for 'Dick'

Kimmel also posted a picture of a smiling Billy on Instagram in July with the caption:

"Billy is three months old today and doing great. Thanks for all your love & support and please remind your Congresspeople that every kid deserves the care Billy got."

Billy is three months old today and doing great. Thanks for all your love & support and please remind your Congresspeople that every kid deserves the care Billy got. A post shared by Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) on Jul 21, 2017 at 1:06pm PDT

After Kimmel shared Billy's story, former President Barack Obama, President Bill Clinton, and President George W. Bush contacted him and sent 'nice letters.'

Last month, the Senate voted to kill a bill that would have repealed key parts of the Affordable Care Act.
Around this time last year Kenny Rogers played the Stafford Centre on his farewell tour. So we bid him farewell. But musical farewell tours often run a little longer than anticipated, which is fine. I was grateful to have had three chances to see Glen Campbell before he left the road.

So it is that Rogers has another farewell show in his hometown. This time he'll play the Redneck Country Club Friday night. And this one looks to be the last, last one in Houston, as Rogers has a farewell show with Dolly Parton and a bunch of guests set for Nashville in October.

He's among the biggest performers ever to come out of Houston. Rogers was born here Aug. 21, 1938. He attended Wharton Elementary School and Jefferson Davis High School. He talks here about taking in live music at Jimmy Menutis' club and playing bass in the Bobby Doyle Three, a jazz band.

Rogers' older brother Lelan helped him make some connections that got his career going. Lelan has his own interesting music history as a key figure at International Artists, most notable for putting out the music of the legendary psych rock band the 13th Floor Elevators.

More Information Kenny Rogers The Gambler's Last Deal Final World Tour When: 6 p.m. Friday Where: Redneck Country Club, 11110 West Airport Blvd., Stafford Information: $125 - $4,000; 281-809-4867, theredneckcountryclub.com See More Collapse

Rogers worked with another Houston native, a drummer named Micky Jones who had played with Trini Lopez, Johnny Rivers and Bob Dylan. Jones was the drummer on Dylan's infamous 1966 world tour. After leaving Dylan's employ, Jones, who later had a notable acting career, played drums in the First Edition, which had a No. 5 hit in 1968 with "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)," a song penned by Mickey Newbury, one of the greatest songwriters to spring out of Houston. (Somehow my Newbury obit eluded a purge from the Rolling Stone archives.)

The First Edition became Kenny Rogers and the First Edition and scored another five hits including the enduring "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town."

By 1977 Rogers was a solo artist and things worked out for him. He owned the country charts and hit the pop charts another 21 times with the songs that became the foundation of his live shows: "Lucille" (No. 5 pop in 1977), "She Believes in Me" (No. 5 in 1979), "Lady" (No. 1 in 1980) and his Barry Gibb-penned Dolly Parton duet "Islands in the Stream" (No. 1 in 1983).

Here Lionel Richie talks about the process of turning an unfinished song called "Baby" into a chart-topping monster titled "Lady."

But the song most identified with Rogers is probably "The Gambler." It was a No. 1 country hit in 1978 and reached No. 16 on the pop charts. Schlitz is one of the best and most successful songwriters in Nashville. He wasn't a card player, and he just made up the "you gotta know when to hold 'em" chorus out of the blue. He talks about "The Gambler" and his career here.

With that, we'll say farewell to Kenny Rogers (again) as he passes through his hometown for the last time (again). Then a few more gigs before his farewell with Dolly. That Comedy Central hasn't hosted a Kenny Rogers Roast is beyond me. But at 78 with 12-year-old twin sons, he appears ready to fold 'em and spend more time with family.
Standing outside a Friendswood church is what appears to be a small village - a mishmash of shacks and shanties made of materials found in poor communities around the world.

The village, named Compassion City, is the result of two months of work by a Friendswood family who wanted to show suburban kids what life is like in other countries. It's currently being housed at Friendswood United Methodist Church..

"We live in a very safe community, but this is not the real world," said Cindy Damman, the project's creator.

CARPOOL FOR SHOWERS: Katy woman spends every Tuesday driving homeless people around

Starting in May, Damman enlisted her husband, Ivo, to build eight structures using donated materials at the couple's Friendswood home.

They used online photos from different countries around the world as their guide for each structure, and included stories about the people who might live in the homes based on internet research, Damman said.

Included in the display are a grass house from Angola, an outhouse from Mongolia, a water well from Mali, a kitchen from Bolivia, a bamboo house from Vietnam, a pallet house from South Africa, a corrugated steel home from Haiti and a school house.

Compassion City was moved to the church last week, specifically as an educational experience for children attending church camp, said Lee Ann Love, who directs the children's ministry.

Children brought their parents back later to show them the village, and church officials decided to leave the display up for several weeks to allow the public to view it.

Damman said she got the idea for the project from a similar experience presented by the Compassion International humanitarian aid organization.

HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: The woman who sleeps across from Minute Maid Park

She thought the Compassion Experience put on by that organization was geared more toward adolescents and wanted to create a display more appropriate for younger children like her own 7-year-old Maaike, 5-year-old Rianne and 1-year-old Linthe.

"Children need to do more than hear it and see it" to learn about poverty, Damman said. Compassion City lets kids go into the structures and try out beds and touch toys and household supplies.

"It was neat to see the impact that it had on the children," Damman said.

The church is located at 110 N. Friendswood Drive. Compassion City is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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The honoree and the speaker for the 10th anniversary of the "In the Pink of Health" luncheon have been chosen.

The Northeast Hospital Foundation selected Lake Houston neonatologist Dr. Angel Munoz as its honoree. Cancer survivor Dr. Stephanie Parke, a dentist who resides with her family in The Woodlands, will be the speaker.

Foundation President Tim Baker, of Independence Bank of Kingwood, surprised Munoz with the announcement during the Lake Houston Area Chamber's July Salute to Health Care.

"For 25 years, Dr. Munoz has performed everyday miracles on the tiniest and most delicate newborns at Memorial Hermann Northeast," Baker told chamber members. "This is an honor you truly deserve."

Munoz, with wife, Missy, moved to the Lake Houston area in 1994 to become the area's first neonatologist.

"I'll bet there are quite a few parents and grandparents here today whose newborns were touched by the skill and care of Dr. Munoz," Baker said. "I don't know if there is a category in the Guinness Book of World Records for most hours worked in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit by a physician but, if there is, I'll bet Dr. Munoz would be at the top of the list."

Munoz is a medical doctor trained to handle complex and high-risk situations for newborns. He established Lake Houston's first neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Memorial Hermann Northeast Hospital in Humble in 1994 until this year when he transitioned to working full time at WeeKare, the two pediatric clinics he founded in Humble and in East Houston.

Luncheon speaker for "In The Pink of Health" is Stephanie Parke, with Parke & Rogers Dentistry in The Woodlands.

"Dr. Parke got the shock of a lifetime when she was diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer in 2013," Baker said. "She will inspire us with the encouraging journey she took alongside her husband, Frank, and their three children."

"Her message reminds us all to put ourselves on our own 'to do list.'" Baker added. "Previous luncheon speakers have talked about surviving cancer, but Dr. Parke talks about 'surviving survival.'"

Parke is a "cum laude" graduate of Texas A&M University. She received her DDS degree from the University of Texas Dental Branch, Houston. Her husband, Frank, is a rheumatologist. They have three children. She is a volunteer for many community organizations, providing dental care for the underserved through the Interfaith Community Clinic, participating in the Junior League and a member of The Woodlands "In the Pink of Health" luncheon committee.

The foundation will celebrate the luncheon's 10th anniversary on Friday, Oct. 20, at 11:30 a.m. in the Grand Ballroom of the Houston Airport Marriott at George Bush Intercontinental Airport.

Co-chairs for the 10th anniversary luncheon, once again, are Lynette Calfee and Nancy Shortsleeve.

The 2017 committee members are Dawn Allen, Suzanne Brown, LynAnn Centofanti, Angi Lewis, Kimberly Stokes, Robin Ardoin, Suzanne Croft, Chelsea Degueyter, Marco Ollervides, Elizabeth Tise, Sara Baker, Cynthia Calvert, Rhonda Dishongh, Joanne Pike, Erica White, Brooke Baugh, Brittany Cannon, Tracy Erwin, Carol Prince, Missy Williams, Tom Broad, Cristi Cardenas, Heather Ingalls, Tricia Racine, Audrey Winders and Leigh Rozelle.

Proceeds from the "In the Pink of Health" luncheon, held on the third Friday in October, will fund Project Mammogram and other initiatives of the Northeast Hospital Foundation.

Project Mammogram is a Northeast Hospital Foundation program housed at the Memorial Hermann Cancer Center-Northeast providing free mammograms and, if needed, follow-up diagnostics and treatment to Lake Houston residents who qualify.

For more information about qualifying for a free mammogram, call 281-540-6443.

For sponsorship and table sales information about the "In the Pink of Health" luncheon, call 281-359-1959, or visit www.northeasthospitalfoundation.org.
Houston Community College trustees are considering changes to how they discipline contractors who make payments to board members and employees, a discussion prompted by Trustee Chris Oliver's guilty plea to a federal bribery charge.

Under existing HCC board bylaws, trustees can disqualify a vendor or subcontractor from participating in a contract or solicitation of work for up to a year after an ethics code violation.

Vendors and contractors must disclose a list of any work they have completed for HCC in addition to conflicts of interests, required certifications and financial interest disclosures.

Trustees at a Thursday board governance committee meeting considered extending the length of debarment after a survey of other agencies.

Trustee John Hansen said contractors should have to "affirm under penalty of perjury that they have not offered nor have they been requested to (give) any form of financial inducement" to trustees or HCC employees to receive contracts. So we don't end up in these silly situations like we had with Mr. Sreerama."

Karun Sreerama is the former Houston public works director, who stepped down from his city job late last month following revelations that he made payments to Oliver.

Sreerama initially was placed on paid leave after Oliver's indictment revealed he had paid the trustee more than $77,000 between late 2010 and mid-2013. Sreerama at the time owned a private engineering firm that did business with HCC.

He left the Department of Public Works and Engineering two weeks later, after his attorney said the FBI had confronted Sreerama in 2015 about the earlier payments to Oliver and directed him to pay the HCC trustee an additional $12,000.

Oliver was charged with bribery in connection with the second round of payments from Sreerama and pleaded guilty. A separate extortion charge for the payments of $77,000 was dismissed after his guilty plea. He is scheduled to be sentenced in November.

Administrators at Thursday's meeting said they surveyed agencies across the state, including community colleges, to better understand the range of debarment processes used by other institutions.

Trustee Zeph Capo, who chairs the board governance committee, asked to see a written summary of those findings before taking action.

Trustees last month censured Oliver and stripped him of his position as vice chairman of the board. Members were scheduled to vote Thursday on Oliver's replacement as vice chair, but ended up postponing the move until later this month.

Oliver did not attend Thursday's meeting.
Police used a cell phone to track an auto theft suspect from a Houston convenience store to Galveston on Wednesday, eventually chasing the stolen vehicle from Galveston to Texas City, where the suspect was finally arrested.

Houston police first alerted the Galveston Police Department to the stolen vehicle at about midnight on Wednesday.
Fort Bend ISD announced Wednesday that the students displaced from Willowridge High School due to a severe mold infestation will start the school year at nearby Thurgood Marshall High School.

The announcement comes less than two weeks before the first day of school and three weeks after Willowridge Principal Thomas Graham sent a letter to parents explaining that an aggressive mold infestation had taken over the nearly 40-year-old campus.

According the district officials, the mold ravaged almost the entire high school destroying nearly everything in it when the school's air conditioning was turned off for several days during construction earlier in the summer. The district expects remediation efforts to cost upward of $2 million.

BACK TO FOOTBALL: Meet Houston's new high school head football coaches

Willowridge staff has been housed at the Marshall campus since the mold was discovered in early July.

"Marshall High School has done a tremendous job of welcoming us into the campus and helping us in our time of need," said Graham in a video posted by the district Wednesday. "By having all of our students on one campus under one roof we can ensure that all of those educational needs are met during this very difficult time."

Thurgood Marshall High School Principal Alfred Holland said in the district video that students of the two high schools, which are about five miles from each other in Missouri City, already interact with each other in the community.

"They hang out on weekends together; they go to church together," Holland said. "So I think that this opportunity will help to bring the students even closer together in that they will be under the same roof to interact even more so."

Graham added that the two student bodies will become one as long as the Willowridge students are housed on the Marshall campus.

"For this transitional time, we will not have Willowridge students and we will not have Marshall students," he said. "We will have students that we will all service."

Fort Bend ISD will hold a community town hall meeting and celebration to share further details about the remediation and transitional plan next Wednesday, Aug. 16 at 7 p.m. at Marshall High School, 1220 Buffalo Run in Missouri City.

The district has created a page on its website about the Willowridge remediation and relocation that it is updated daily at 3 p.m.
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A $2.2 million grant from the federal government will allow the Katy Fire Department to field 16 new firefighters at their planned station near Katy Mills Mall.

The grant - called Staffing for Adequate Fire & Emergency Response or SAFER - was awarded announced Tuesday at the Katy Fire Department.

"With the explosive growth in the City of Katy, both in commercial and residential, we have to be proactive to keep our high standards of excellence in public safety," said Katy Mayor Chuck Brawner who was on hand at the notification.

The grant means KFD will be able to pay for 16 new firefighters who will be assigned to a planned station near Katy Mills Mall. The station is expected to be completed at about the time the firefighters are hired and trained.

"I am proud to see their efforts rewarded with this outstanding accomplishment and I look forward to seeing the great work Katy will do with this grant," said U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R - Tx.

The Katy Fire Department received one of 163 SAFER grants that were awarded nationwide. McCaul helped push Katy's grant application through the bureaucracy in Washington, D.C.

"With the support from Congressman McCaul, the SAFER grant has helped us secure funding for this extremely important project," said Katy Fire Chief Russell Wilson.
Handout photo

A body was found Thursday afternoon in an open weeded area near downtown, according to the Houston Police Department.

The person was found around noon near 150 Chenevert, said HPD spokeswoman Jodi Silva.
Firearms manufacturer Sig Sauer has notified the Houston Police Department it will replace hundreds of P320 pistols widely used by officers amid growing evidence the guns can fire accidentally if dropped, police officials said.

Concerns about the popular service weapon have already prompted the Dallas Police Department to suspend use of the pistols following complaints from police officers there that the P320 pistols failed "drop tests" by firing when they hit the ground.

For now, HPD and the Harris County Sheriff's Office issued warnings to their law enforcement officers to be careful when handling the weapons after local tests found similar drop-fires more than 10 percent of the time.

"It only happened a few times, but we can't have that happen at all," said Capt. Greg Fremin, who oversees HPD's training academy. "It could cost somebody's life. There cannot be any potential possibilities for a gun to misfire."

The video below from Omaha Outdoors shows that when dropped at a certain angle, the P320 would fire.

HPD recently designated the P320 as the primary service weapon for new officers, though previously it had allowed officers to use one of several firearms. The sheriff's office also advises new cadets to buy the Sig Sauer P320 pistols.

Officials with the New Hampshire-based manufacturer did not respond to a Chronicle request for comment. In a statement on Tuesday, however, the company acknowledged that "recent events indicate that dropping the P320 beyond U.S. standards for safety may cause an unintentional discharge."

The company is already facing at least one federal lawsuit over the P320s and could face the prospect of replacing or repairing tens of thousands of firearms used by law enforcement agencies across the country.

HPD firearms instructors and officials from the Houston Police Officers' Union tested the weapons recently and found that the gun drop-fired four times in 30 drops  or more than 10 percent of the time.

HPD's safety bulletin advises officers that "caution must be used when handling the Sig Sauer P320 models."

The Houston Police Officers' Union and the Harris County Sheriff's Office contacted Sig Sauer recently about officers' concerns.

HPOU officials said they were not satisfied with the company's initial response but said Sig Sauer officials ultimately agreed to exchange all P320s used by officers for revised models. The union has also asked Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo to identify other weapons for on-duty carry as backups.

"In the event that something like this happens again, HPD won't be hamstrung into only one firearm," HPOU Vice President Joseph Gamaldi said on his Facebook page.

Acevedo could not be reached for comment.

Sheriff's officials sent cadets a statement from the gun manufacturer explaining that the company would release details soon about a solution to the problem, said Jason Spencer, a department spokesman.

"We will evaluate that remedy to determine whether further action is needed to protect our deputies," he said in an emailed statement.

David Cuevas, president of the Harris County Deputies Organization, said he'd not heard of any issues with the pistol from his members but said it was nonetheless a serious safety concern.

"That concern needs to be addressed by Sig Sauer and the department to assure that our deputies stay safe and the citizens we protect stay safe," he said.

Concerns about the weapon are outlined in a federal lawsuit filed Aug. 4 in Connecticut.

An officer from the Stamford Police Department's Special Response Team filed the suit claiming that he was shot in the left knee after dropping his pistol while he loaded gear into the back of his car. The gun fired as it hit the pavement, the suit says.

The suit cites 29 accidental discharges reported by the San Francisco Police Department, and said an accidental discharge killed a San Fernando police officer in 2002. The suit also cites questionable discharges in St. Louis, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan and New York City.

The suit quotes a Dallas police memo saying that "Sig Sauer has identified that there is a defect in the P320 handgun that could cause the weapon system to go off when dropped."

The Stamford department has since shelved all P320s, according to the suit. The officer is seeking at least $7 million in damages and wants the gun manufacturer to recall the weapon or warn customers the gun is not "drop safe."

St. John Barned-Smith covers public safety and major breaking news for the Houston Chronicle. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. Send tips to st.john.smith@chron.com.
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WASHINGTON  Former San Antonio mayor and Obama Cabinet secretary Julian Castro has formed a new political action committee, signaling a return to national politics and a potential 2020 White House bid.

The organization "Opportunity First," filed a report with the Federal Election Commission this week indicating that it can operate as a PAC supporting or opposing federal candidates, including presumably Castro, who has made use of the catch-phrase.

The new group, first reported by Politico, has yet to list any fundraising activity.

LATINO POWER: Vote in Texas rose 30% in last election

Castro, 42, has long been considered a rising star in the Democratic Party and was reportedly a contender for the 2016 vice presidential nomination that eventually went to Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine.

Along with his twin brother, U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, Castro also had been considered a possible challenger in Texas' 2018 governor's race. With both taking a pass, it remains an open question who the Democrats might put up against Republican incumbent Greg Abbott.

Story continues below ...

His brother Joaquin Castro also had been considered a top prospect to challenge Texas U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz in 2018, until he bowed out in favor of U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke of El Paso, who jumped into the race in March.ut the former HUD secretary has not ruled out a run for president in 2020.

But Julian Castro has not ruled out a run for president. In a June interview on KLRU-TV, Austin's PBS station, Castro told the Texas Tribune's Evan Smith that he will "look and see how things develop over the next year or so and then make a decision as to whether that's something I want to do."

IT'S THE ECONOMY: Big issue weighs on 2018, 2020 elections

Castro was elected to the San Antonio City Council in 2001. At age 26, he was the youngest councilman in the city's history. He was elected mayor in 2009, becoming the city's fifth Latino mayor and the youngest mayor of a Top 50 American city.

His signature achievement was leading a 2012 voter referendum to expand pre-kindergarten education.

Castro broke onto the national scene in 2012 with a well-received keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte. Then-President Barack Obama nominated him to his Cabinet in 2014.

He has since been traveling, writing a memoir, and lending his name to several Democratic in local and congressional races.

A Castro spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Politico, citing an unnamed source, reported that Opportunity First filed paperwork both as a federal PAC and as a "527" organization to give the group flexibility to fund both federal and non-federal elections. So-called 527 groups are allowed to collect contributions in unlimited amounts.
Victims of sexual assault now have a cost-free place to seek help in northwest Houston.

The program, which started a year ago, is run through the Northwest Assistance Ministries' Family Violence Center.

The program offers a 24-hour hotline for victims, counseling and provides assistance including emergency shelter, clothing, food, medical help, transportation and information about community resources.

The nonprofit offers help and support to start a new path.

"I can tell you that we have had literally dozens of clients that have made use of the services," said Sheryl Johnson, director of NAM's Family Violence Center.

"It is really amazing to see the difference it can make for our clients," she said.

Northwest Harris County had lacked a cost-free program to help victims of sexual assault, with the closest nonprofit help for victims in Humble or Montgomery County, said Tatiana Shams, media specialist with Northwest Assistance Ministries.

And many victims, if not helped, become victimized again, Johnson said.

"We always wish we could reach more people," Johnson said. "We provide a great opportunity for someone to be able to move forward and to move past some of the hurt and to be able to move on to a healthy life."

Northwest Assistance Ministries is using a state grant to implement the program.

The Family Violence Center plans to soon add hospital accompaniments as part of its services to offer support and guidance throughout the process.

Through the help of the Family Violence Center, clients have been able to restart their lives, whether by saving relationships with family through counseling, or by gaining the strength to move to a new environment to separate themselves from the perpetrator, Johnson said.

In addition, other clients have gone to court to face the perpetrator.

And they have had clients take healing to the next level and are now an advocate in the community to stop further sexual assault.

"We have had clients be a voice to not only their own healing, but help others," Johnson said. "That is a huge impact."

To spread the word to area residents about their new services, the Family Violence Center started a Hope to Healing public awareness campaign.

They reached out to residents through 9,000 business cards with their hotline number and Hope and Healing message. As part of the campaign, the nonprofit spread the word and their cards at local church congregations and through the Harris County Sheriff's office. They also delivered their cards to doctor's offices, dentists and hair salons.

And sometimes the calls to the hotline are not from victims, but from family of victims.

"We have had an increase in calls to our hotline from individuals who have friends or family members who have been victimized and they want to find out how they can help," Johnson said.

The community outreach is continuous. The nonprofit has ordered more business cards and will continue to make sure the community knows about their services.

"It's a job that is never done," Johnson said. "The topic of domestic violence and sexual assault are so sensitive and so personal. We need to keep trying to be creative (in educating the public about our services)."

"Our goal is to make sure we have that kind of constant presence out there," Johnson said.

For the Family Violence Center's Hope and Healing hotline, call 281-885-HOPE (4673) or toll free (888) 750-HOPE (4673) or visit http://namonline.org/get-help/family-violence-center/
United Tribes Technical College is seeking the public's help in verifying the names of about 356 Native American men who served in World War I.

These men were enrolled members of North Dakota's five tribes: Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate, Spirit Lake Tribe, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians.

More than 12,000 Native Americans served in WWI, according to the National Museum of the American Indian. They served in a variety of roles, including as "code talkers," who transmitted messages via telephone in their tribal languages and protected from enemy ears.

To coincide with the observance of the centennial year of the U.S. involvement in WWI, UTTC plans to honor these soldiers during the college's International Powwow on Sept. 10 in Bismarck. UTTC also plans to build a memorial on campus over the next year that will list the names of these Native veterans.

"One hundred years ago, men from our tribes willingly chose to enter the military," said Leander "Russ" McDonald, president of the college. "They didn't have to do that; it was prior to the time when all Native people were granted U.S. citizenship. But they stepped up, and we owe it to them to remember."

The college began assembling a list of the names with the help of local authors Ann and Michael Knudson, who wrote a book documenting the lives of Native American men from North Dakota who served in WWI. UTTC also had help from the state's tribes.

UTTC is looking for assistance in identifying any name misspellings, preferred name usage, names not on the list and any additional details on their service, as well as photos. For more information, contact UTTC's office of public information at 701-255-3285.

To view the list, visit www.scribd.com/document/355926376/2017-08-04-WWI-ND-Native-Vets-by-Tribe-updated, or see below.
Texas' oysters lead a tenuous life even in the best of times.

The past decade has seen some of the worst of times for these invaluable marine mollusks whose population ups and downs largely hinge on the vagaries of weather and, increasingly, human actions

Much of the state's approximately 48,000 remaining acres of oyster reefs, essential to the health, vitality and diversity of coastal ecosystems, crucial natural bulwarks against storm surges and the raw stock fueling a multimillion-dollar commercial fishery, have endured a decade of misfortune and devastation through an unlucky combination of natural and human-caused factors.

"The result is the oyster resource is facing serious challenges," Lance Robinson, deputy director of coastal fisheries for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, said during a May briefing before the agency's commission.

The focus of that briefing - outlining a package of proposed changes in regulations governing commercial and recreational harvest of oysters that includes permanently closing about 6.6 percent of the state's public oyster reefs to all harvest and imposing further restrictions on commercial harvest - and a bill passed earlier this year by the Texas Legislature aim to give the state's oysters the breathing room they need to recover from their current dissipation and protect their ability to rebuild numbers that naturally see ups and downs.

The past decade has seen nothing but downs for Texas' oysters. That tumble came on the heels of what had been a generally stable period in the 1990s and early 2000s where oysters reproduced and grew at fairly normal rates but still slowly lost ground because of vigorous commercial harvest that had Texas providing about 20 percent of the nation's commercial harvest of eastern oysters.

"But everything changed pretty much overnight, September 13, 2008," Robinson said.

A tough stretch

Hurricane Ike, which slammed into Galveston Island that day, sent a wall of silt-laden storm surge into Galveston Bay. That silt settled over open-water oyster reefs that, because of persistent commercial harvest over the years, did not rise as high off bottom as they would have if the live oysters growing on their surface had not been relentlessly dredged. The silt covered the reefs, smothering them.

At least half of the oyster habitat in Galveston Bay, which accounted for 90 percent of the commercial oyster harvest in Texas, disappeared overnight. The loss of Galveston Bay's oyster reefs to Ike sent the state's highly mobile commercial oyster fleet to other Texas bays, significantly increasing harvest in those areas.

In 2010, the Deepwater Horizon tragedy and resulting oil spill saw commercial oystering in all Gulf states other than Texas closed or severely restricted. That put additional pressure on Texas oyster reefs to feed the oyster market.

Then came drought. Texas endured record-setting drought from 2011 through 2015. The lack of freshwater inflows into Texas bays from the state's desiccated rivers resulted in salinity levels in bays spiking to levels as much as three times normal. Those increased salinity levels allowed a pair of oyster predators to swarm to reefs.

The predators - a snail known as an oyster drill and a parasite called dermo - usually are not a major problem for live oysters as the snail and microscopic parasite require high-salinity water to survive. Oysters evolved over millennia to locate their reefs in waters of moderate salinity, out of reach of the salinity-loving predators. With the drought-caused spike in bay salinities, the parasites devastated live oysters.

Then came the floods. In 2015 and 2016, flooding in much of Texas sent freshwater runoff pouring into bays for months on end, dropping salinity levels to zero in many reefs for weeks or even months. Oysters are hardy creatures and can survive a few days in freshwater. But after a week, they begin dying. And they died by the millions in the 2015 and 2016 floods, with the flooding also destroying the oysters' 2016 spring spawning effort.

Shrinking harvest, reefs

As the amount of live oysters decreased over the decade, commercial harvest followed, falling from 6.9 million pounds in 2003 to 2.5 million pounds in 2016. But commercial oyster fishing pressure remains intense. Texas since 2005 has had a limited-entry commercial oyster fishery with the number of commercial licences capped at 2005 levels - 557 commercial oyster boat licenses and 465 oyster boat captain licenses.

During the Nov. 1-April 31 open oystering season on public reefs, those commercial boats and crews fell on the shrinking number of open reefs and quickly dredged them nearly bare of oysters meeting the 3-inch minimum size set by the state. It takes an oyster about two years to grow to that 3-inch minimum.

Beginning in 2015, TPWD, with the blessing of the commercial oyster industry, began closing public reefs to harvest when sampling indicated most of the legal-size oysters had been taken. That put more pressure on the ever shrinking number of open-to-harvest reefs. One 30-acre public reef in Galveston Bay that TPWD had spent $1 million restoring was swarmed by more than 50 commercial boats when it was opened to public harvest in January 2016 and stripped of all legal oysters within two days.

Near the end of the 2016-17 oyster season, only a half-dozen of Texas' three dozen public oyster zones remained open to harvest. The rest had been closed because they were deemed overharvested.

Those commercial oyster operations, driven by shrinking open-water public oyster reefs in traditionally harvested areas such as Galveston Bay, expanded their operations to areas that had previously been seldom worked or lightly harvested. That included the shallow waters along bay shorelines and reefs in shallow minor bays along the coast. In some of those bays, the shallow water forced commercial oyster harvest to shift from use of dredges to manual harvest where workers waded on the shallow reefs, using hammers to break live oysters from the reefs.

That "invasion" of commercial oyster into small, shallow bays and the damage that activity inflicts on the bay's ecosystem has triggered a considerable public outcry to protect those previously lightly harvested areas. Also, the high harvest pressure on public reefs and the high demand for commercial oysters saw some commercial boats opt to violate Texas by taking too many undersize oysters.

Under current Texas law, a commercial oyster boat's harvest of oysters can include no more than 15 percent undersize oysters or "dead" oyster shell. Over the past few years, Texas game wardens have issued scores of violations of this regulation, with some sacks of oysters checked on oyster boats holding as much as 95 percent undersize oysters. Violating the regulation is a Class C misdemeanor, with a fine of $25-$500. And only the boat's captain is liable for a citation; the crew are exempt from being cited. Commercial oyster harvesters this past year were getting about $40 per sack (about 110 pounds) of oysters at dock side, with boats allowed to harvest 50 sacks per day. The small fine is not much of a deterrent to stay legal.

New legislation

This year, the Texas Legislature waded into the oyster issue, passing HB 51, a multifaceted law that addresses some of the issues tied to the commercial oyster industry.

The bill creates a license buy-back program that will use part of commercial fishing fees to buy and "retire" commercial oyster licenses, with the aim of reducing the number of commercial oyster boats on the water.

It also mandates commercial oyster dealers return and distribute back into the bays an amount of oyster shell or other approved material such as river rock equal to at least 30 percent by volume of the oysters they purchase, or pay a fee to TPWD to buy and distribute the material. That oyster shell or other had material - termed "cultch" - is the hard substrate on which oyster "spat" (microscopic larvae) attach and grow. A lack of cultch is a limiting factor in oyster reproduction.

The bill also makes all persons aboard a commercial oyster boat subject to citation for violations of oyster regulations and substantially increases penalties for violations of the undersize oyster rules, including making egregious violations (more than 30 percent undersize) a Class B misdemeanor which subjects those cited to arrest. It also allows for a 30-day suspension of a commercial oyster license for some violations.

HB 51, which was signed into law in June, also requires all persons commercial harvesting oysters hold a commercial oyster fisherman's licenses, something not now required.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is proposing a package of regulation changes that would impose further restrictions on harvest - commercial and recreation - of oysters.

The proposal would reduce the daily limit for commercial oyster boats from 40 to 20 and prohibit commercial oystering on Mondays - commercial oystering is currently prohibited on Sundays. And it would reduce the allowable percentage of undersize oysters or dead shell from 15 percent to 5 percent.

Other measures

TPWD also proposes closing seven minor bays - Powderhorn Lake, Christmas, Keller, Carancahua, St. Charles, Hynes and South bays - to all oyster harvest, commercial or recreational.

The agency also proposes prohibiting all oyster harvest within 300 feet of a shoreline. The move is aimed at protecting the intertidal oyster reefs in these areas. Those intertidal reefs have been shown to be some of the most valuable habitat in the bays, serving as home and sanctuary for a stunning diversity of marine life, including finfish and crabs, as well as protecting shorelines from erosion and blunting the damage caused by storm surges. Recent research estimates the value of the ecological services these intertidal oyster reefs provide at as much as $244,000 per acre.

The closure of the seven minor bays and the 300-foot buffer along all bay shorelines would affect about 3,200 acres of oyster habitat, or about 6.6 percent of the 48,000 acres of public oyster reefs in the state, TPWD officials said.

At its Aug. 24 meeting in Austin, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission will hear public comment on the proposals and vote to adopt, modify or reject all or part of the package. Any rules adopted would be effective at the Nov. 1 opening of the 2017-18 oyster season.

More from Shannon Tompkins: Nighttime is right time for August fishing | August is good time to harvest fruits of labor
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With every year, the Texas Renaissance Festival draws an increasingly larger crowd, eager to chow down on kettle corn, survey the costumes and watch knights joust.

But with that crowd comes something less desirable: traffic.

Waller County commissioners this week discussed methods for keeping the flow of festival-goers out of neighborhood streets and moving along major thoroughfares.

Among ideas the county plans to pursue are resident-only vehicle stickers, which will allow only county residents access to the neighborhood roads.

The county also intends to have more officers directing traffic, paid for by the festival, as well as additional signage.

Traffic otherwise could be a "nightmare" for those who lived there, one resident said at Wednesday's commissioners court meeting.

County Judge Trey Duhon said some residents had to sit in traffic for several hours just to reach their homes -- a problem both for residents and emergency vehicle access.

"It was horrible last year," Duhon said in an interview Thursday. "The public safety issue is really the bigger thing we're worried about."

County commissioners hope the measures will help address the issue around the festival, which has been running since the 1970s. Similar measures have already been implemented in Montgomery County.

"We have to start somewhere," Commissioner Jeron Barnett said at Wednesday's meeting.

Once they are ordered and printed, Duhon said, he expects the stickers to be available at the county courthouse and Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace. Residents can also contact the Precinct 2 constable, he said.

The 2017 festival is scheduled to begin Sept. 30. It will run every Saturday and Sunday through Nov. 26, in addition to opening the day after Thanksgiving, Friday, Nov. 24,
NAVASOTA - A plain, white school bus left the Wallace Pack Unit under moonlit skies Wednesday morning, transporting the first group of more than 1,000 heat-sensitive inmates to cooler climes under federal court order.

The bus entered the rural Grimes County facility at 4:13 a.m. and returned around 5 a.m. along an access road that smelled of fresh manure, likely emanating from the prison's swine and cattle operations.

The air-conditioned bus carried 43 passengers, officials said, but its windows reflected only the dark night sky.

The predawn transit marked a major turning point in a legal battle over inmates' living conditions at the Pack Unit that has played out in a closely watched civil rights lawsuit.

Breaking down heat deaths in Texas prisons Twenty-two people have died in Texas prisons from hyperthermia, or elevated body temperature, from heat exposure since 1998. Source: Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Created by Data Journalist Rachael Gleason | Houston Chronicle

"This is the first time that the department has taken actual steps which we can say for certain will reduce the risk that these inmates will suffer a senseless heatstroke," said Jeff Edwards, the lead lawyer representing the Pack inmates.

Texas Department of Criminal Justice officials assured U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison in a Houston courtroom Tuesday that this Blue Bird bus outfitted for correctional use would be air-conditioned, as would all other vehicles used to deliver elderly and medically compromised inmates from the sweltering conditions in the Pack quarters.

Ellison ordered prison officials to complete the transfers within three weeks, giving what he said was sufficient time for "a massive move of humanity."

Just one bus left the Pack Unit on Wednesday with 43 heat-sensitive inmates headed for the Mark W. Stiles Unit, a facility near Beaumont that can accommodate CPAP machines and other medical devices, officials said.

"The transfer went smoothly, and we do not anticipate any issues at this time," TDCJ spokesman Jason Clark said Wednesday. "The agency has significant experience in moving inmates and doing so in a safe and secure manner."

Two transports are set for Thursday, with more on Saturday. The bulk of the transfers to 11 air-conditioned facilities around the state is set to take place next week, another official said.

Inmates displaced by the Pack Unit transfers will move to state prisons that are not air-conditioned, but the move will be temporary - the state plans to return the Pack inmates to the Navasota site once the hot weather subsides.

Inside the prison, inmates were told to gather only legal papers, hygiene products and personal fans. The rest will be shrink-wrapped and loaded onto pallets for transport, according to Gaylyn Dutton, whose 55-year-old son, Stephen Parker, is serving his sentence at the Pack Unit.

Dutton said her son, who has hypertension, called to tell her 100 inmates had been moved to the gym for the next group of transfers. He wasn't one of them.

"He sounded real down, just not knowing what's going to happen, just the uncertainty of not knowing," she said. "He doesn't know how soon they will let him know and tell them to get on board."

Dutton questioned why the prison system couldn't just add a cooling system to the Pack Unit.

"They could have used the money they used to fight (the lawsuit) to take care of the problem and not have to move a bunch of people," she said. "I've heard of too many accidents. Everybody I've talked to on Facebook, the mothers, that's a concern."

The rapid-fire transfers also stirred concerns among prison guards.

"The transfer of so many has everyone on needles to make sure that it's done quickly yet accurately," said one guard, who asked not to be identified because he did not have permission to comment.

A group of inmates at the minimum-security Pack Unit filed a federal lawsuit in 2014, accusing the state of violating their constitutional rights against cruel and unusual punishment and the Americans with Disabilities Act after a series of heat-related deaths.

The unit houses more than 1,400 inmates, many of whom are elderly, mobility impaired or have health problems.

In July, Ellison issued a temporary injunction ordering the state to find cooler living quarters for Pack Unit inmates who are vulnerable to heat.

In a court hearing Tuesday, officials finalized plans for the transfers and outlined potential adjustments to the prison's heat wave policy.

The suit is being closely watched by civil rights groups and inmate advocates who see its potential to turn the tide in Texas. More than 30,000 inmates in Texas have been designated as sensitive to "extreme temperature" because of age, health conditions or medicines they take, according to documents obtained by the Chronicle through the state open records law.
Two men have been arrested in the murder of an Abilene man found Friday in a pasture.

Stephen Jennings and David Navarro were both arrested by the Tom Green County Sheriff's Office and charged with murdering Eric Torrez.
Richard Overton, the United State's oldest living World War II veteran, was hospitalized on Thursday after being diagnosed with pneumonia in both of his lungs.

Relatives of the 111-year-old veteran said he was suffering from chest pain and had difficultly breathing, according to the Austin American-Statesman.
A traffic stop in North Texas on Monday led to the discovery of 60 pounds of marijuana in a 2017 Chevrolet Suburban.

The drugs were uncovered after a Texas Highway Patrol Trooper stopped the vehicle for a traffic violation in Conway.
AUSTIN -- A U.S. District judge dismissed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's preemptive lawsuit against the city of Austin Wednesday, saying it would not engage in "hypothetical legal questions" to declare Texas' anti-"sanctuary city" law constitutional.

U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks, of the Western District of Texas in Austin, said in a ruling filed Wednesday every government faces the threat that someone could challenge the constitutional validity of a law.
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AUSTIN -- Mourners filled the main level of the Texas Capitol for a solemn procession Thursday afternoon as they filed by to pay their final respects to former Texas Governor Mark White.

Legislators, family members and simple admirers of White waited up to an hour to honor White, who died Saturday at the age of 77.

"(White) was a person of the people," said Betty Gerlach, White's sister. "He never forgot that. I always thought he was as comfortable, or more so, in the kitchen as he was in the boardroom or the ballroom. He loved being with the real people of Texas."

White was a larger than life character who defined Texas politics in his roles as secretary of state, attorney general and governor during the 1970's and 1980's.

Luci Baines Johnson, friend of White and daughter of former President Lyndon B. Johnson, said White was defined by his work during and after his time in the Governor's office.

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"He may have left public office, but he never left public service," Johnson said. "You could laugh, and you could learn, and you could love in his presence. He welcomed the big tent of folks. He was not a divider, he was a uniter."

In the long line to honor White, Texans spoke about the former Governor and why his death drove them to the Capitol to commemorate his life.

"He is absolutely the greatest governor we have ever had," said Lael Hasty, a former administrative assistant to White's wife, Linda Gale White. "He was like a family member to all Texans ... Honestly, I'm going to miss everything about him because he represented all of us so well."

Hasty, who became emotional when talking about White, said his personality and legacy of improving Texas public education made him stand out in a state full of larger-than-life former governors.

White's time as governor is often remembered by its impact on public schools by passing legislation that created teacher pay raises, limited elementary school class sizes, created standardized testing for high school students, increased taxes to fund schools and implemented the famous "no pass, no play" rule for high school athletes.

"He was ahead of his time working on behalf of teachers," Hasty said. "I came from a family of educators ... so he represented all of us and his agenda was fabulous."

A former worker for White's campaigns, Linda Jann Lewis, said his record of supporting civil rights in Texas should also be mentioned when discussing his legacy.

"I couldn't not be here because he changed the face of Texas government," Jann Lewis said. "I think there are two men, Bob Bullock and Governor Mark White, who made Texas look like Texas. He hired so many people of color and women and appointed them to real positions with power and authority, and he tried to make sure he was working for all the people."

Jann Lewis also said White's with voting laws and expanding early voting has had a profound effect on Texas.

After three hours, the line of grieving Texans dwindled, and White's body was taken to the Texas State Cemetery for a private burial.

"We can all agree upon the fact that Mark White loved his state and served and gave it his all, and we're better people for it" Johnson said. "Now, let's see how can give him the just tribute he deserves: the willingness to do that ourselves."
FARGO -- A Canadian man who pleaded guilty to smuggling people across the U.S.-Canadian border in western North Dakota was sentenced to serve six months in prison Wednesday.

Victor Omoruyi, 41, of Regina, Sask., was arrested April 14, and charged with partnering with his wife, Michelle Omoruyi, to smuggle nine Nigerian citizens seeking asylum in Canada across the border near the Northgate port of entry in far northwest North Dakota and bringing two others back into the U.S.

He pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Ralph Erickson to one count of violating U.S. Code for transportation of aliens. Omoruyi has already served four months behind bars while his case was litigated.

Nigerian nationals seeking asylum in Canada paid the couple $2,000 per person to be smuggled into Canada, according to charges filed in federal court against Omoruyi.

The arrests came after a four-month investigation by the Integrated Border Enforcement Team, a joint U.S.-Canadian operation, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. He is a Canadian citizen who was born in Nigeria.

Agents on both sides of the border had been watching Omoruyi, who was flagged as a human smuggler bringing people from Minot into Canada, according to court documents. He crossed the border at the Portal point of entry on April 14, and told border officials he planned to shop in Minot and come home.

Border Patrol agents followed him to a motel in Minot, and later saw him enter his vehicle with five adults and four children. The group headed to the border.

About 2.5 miles west of the Northgate port of entry, deputies with the Burke County Sheriffs Office observed the nine passengers exit and walk toward Canada, where a vehicle awaited them, according to court documents.

His wife, Michelle Omoruyi, has been charged with human smuggling in Canada. Canadian officials arrested her after she picked up the nine people her husband brought to the border once they walked into Canada. Her trial date is Aug. 14, according to CBC News.

Omoruyi was arrested shortly afterward by the Border Patrol along with two Nigerian nationals, who said they had come from Canada with no record of legal entry into the U.S., according to court documents.

Omoruyi was briefly held in Grand Forks County Correctional Center following his arrest.
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.
Minot AFB airmen, bombers supporting Middle East operation

MINOT -- More than 400 airmen and B-52 bombers from Minot Air Force Base who were deployed earlier this year are in the Middle East supporting U.S. Central Command's Operation Inherent Resolve, a combined joint task force operation to eliminate ISIS terrorist groups in Iraq and Syria.

Units and B-52s from Minot Air Force Base normally have been rotating with Barksdale AFB in Louisiana as part of the Air Force's Continuous Bomber Presence in the Pacific. Bombers from these bases have been rotating to Guam since 2004 as part of that Air Force strategic deterrence mission.

Instead, this year the Minot bombers and people are supporting the operation in the Middle East.

This is the first time in 12 years the base bombers were deployed to the Middle East for combat operations and other bomber units are rotating for the Guam mission.

Members of the 23rd Bomb Squadron, other base personnel and B-52s will return to Minot AFB soon. Members of the base's other bomb squadron, the 69th, other base personnel and B-52s will replace them in the Middle East.

Many people from Minot AFB are deployed to Southwest Asia and other places all over the world and those deployments are constantly changing, said Lt. Col. Jamie Humphries, chief of Public Affairs at Minot Air Force Base.

Man gets deferred sentence for dealing oxycodone

MINOT -- A 30-year-old Kenmare, N.D., man has been given a light deferred sentence and three years of probation for dealing oxycodone last year..

John Fofie pleaded guilty to one Class B felony count of delivery of oxycodone on Tuesday in district court in Minot. The state dropped two other felony drug delivery charges against him.

According to court documents, Fofie had been accused of selling heroin and oxycodone to a confidential informant working for the Ward County Narcotics Task Force. He pleaded guilty to a charge that he sold five oxycodone pills for $300 to the informant. Fofie lived in Minot at the time.

Judge Todd Cresap gave him a deferred imposition of sentence for three years, with credit for four days served in jail, and three years of supervised probation.

Ward County Assistant State's Attorney Ashley Schell said Fofie has no prior criminal record and "there are big issues for us with our confidential informant if it were to go to trial." Those were both factors in the light sentence, she said.

"And it's a relatively minor sale," added Cresap.

Cresap said the sentence recommendation was "somewhat on the low end" for a drug delivery case. However, he said sometimes a judge has to trust the state's attorney's office to evaluate its cases and to make the deals they find necessary. A deferred imposition of sentence means the charge will be dismissed if Fofie successfully completes probation.

Man arrested after fleeing police with infant in Grand Forks

GRAND FORKS -- A Grand Forks man was behind bars Wednesday after leading officers on a car chase across county lines, while accompanied by an infant and female passenger, ending with a foot pursuit in city limits.

Grand Forks Police say Cody Leon Norman, 21, fled Walsh County Sheriffs deputies when they attempted to pull him over Tuesday evening. Norman, driving a 2005 Pontiac Grand Prix, led deputies into Grand Forks, where local police took over the pursuit at 8:29 p.m., according to a news release.

A 4-month-old child and adult female passenger were in the vehicle during the pursuit, police say. The woman was not arrested.

Within city limits, the chase averaged speeds between 50 and 55 mph.

Norman abandoned his car in the 2500 block of Knight Drive and was captured after a brief foot chase, according to the release.

Officers have recommended charges against Norman for fleeing in a motor vehicle, refusing to halt, driving under suspension, and child neglect or endangerment.

Norman had an outstanding warrant in Grand Forks County for failing to comply with court-ordered community service stemming from convictions for drug possession and driving with a suspended license in January, court records show. Police say he also has an outstanding warrant in Polk County.

-- Associated Press
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Artistic expression as means of self-determination and liberation from oppression is explored to poignant effect in Tom of Finland, Dome Karukoskis biographical feature on the life and pioneering work of homoerotic fetish artist Touko Laaksonen.



Arcing from his involvement in World War II, through his development in the 1950s and 60s, and onto the height of his popularity later in life, the film aims to fit a great deal into its two-hour runtime. Bookended by an amusing exchange about a rabbit as Laaksonen (Pekka Strang) prepares to speak to an adoring fanbase, Tom of Finland is imbued with playfulness but not the cutting edge, and bravery, of its eponymous leading man.

Though the nearly half-dozen writing team who were involved in the story and script may make for a certain lack of contextual clarity and narrative purpose, Karukoski does paint Toukus emotional and artistic development extremely well and Strangs performance is one of a slowly, timidly blossoming flower. Tentative looks of longing at a handsome fellow soldier as the Finnish forces take an ice cold midwinter dip in a lake; illicit sexual acts in an alleyway and hidden away in parks late at night; the creation of a secretive Poker group of men with shared desires that provides a sense of safety in numbers, a reassurance that they are not alone. Touko meanders unsteadily, curiously into the unknown in the first half and the film treads similarly tentative ground.

Brutal treatment by police, and a less than compassionate reaction to a painful admission by his sister sees Touko dip toes in water before being able to take the plunge. Life-long support from Veli (Lauri Tilkanen), briefly the sharp point in a familial love triangle, and the evolution, honing and ever-growing appreciation for his work sees the artist, as well as the film, come into their own after the mid-way point. The proliferation of his images  of muscled, well-endowed and more often than not scantily clad macho men, whether art or smut depending on viewpoint  transforms from being a manner of excising demons, confusion and anger at mistreatment, to an absolute necessity in making a stand for a maligned community.

Stunned and uncomprehending at the reception he receives when invited to California, hope for a brighter future grows exponentially in Touko as the movement progresses but the beginnings of the AIDS crisis, and the vicious ignorance of the time, leaves a real sting in the tail. Karukoski provides broad strokes in Tom of Finland, but not the areas of shade and detail to compare with the meticulous and graphic work of his subject. But thanks to Pekka Strangs leading performance, this is a worthwhile testament to a reluctant national hero.

Matthew Anderson | @behind_theseens
Heavy rains that caused flooding in some parts of the Houston area and prompted about two-dozen water rescues on Tuesday seemed to have stopped just before getting worse but with more rain expected authorities remain on guard and residents should stay prepared, officials said.

Unfortunately, this is one of those Texas flood events thats part of living in Southeast Texas, said Michael Walter, a spokesman for Houstons Office of Emergency Management.

While the thunderstorms that dropped up to 5 to 6 inches of rains in some parts of Houston overnight Tuesday have mostly moved out of the area, additional storms could pop up Tuesday afternoon, which could cause additional flooding in areas already saturated by rainfall.

We dont want anyone to let their guard down just because it stopped raining for now, Walter said.

Authorities plan to pre-stage emergency vehicles and barricades in different areas of Houston just in case expected rainfall Tuesday afternoon and evening becomes problematic, Walter said.

The National Weather Service issued a flash-flood watch for the region until Wednesday morning.

Jeff Lindner, a meteorologist with the Harris County Flood Control District, said he expects some homes and structures will be flooded but that tally is still being determined. Houston is located in Harris County.

An expected break in the rainfall on Tuesday should help waters recede from area bayous and streets, Lindner said.

Many of the streets, roadways and neighborhoods that got flooded on Tuesday were locations that have had flooding in the past, Lindner said.

This is one of the more kind of marginal rain events, where the rain stopped just an inch or two before we really got into serious problems and potential to affect a lot of homes, Lindner said.

Both Lindner and Walter said recent heavy rain events in Houston in May 2015  when seven people were killed  and April 2016  when eight people were killed  were more serious and caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
A hearing into what caused a Seattle, Wash., crab boat with six people aboard to sink in the Bering Sea will focus on weather and human factors, as well as the stability of the fishing vessel before it went missing in February.

The U.S. Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation opened its two-week hearing in Seattle Monday into what went wrong with the commercial fishing vessel, Destination, which disappeared on Feb. 11.

Coast Guard officers will hear testimony from the vessel owner, former crew and others as they piece together what caused the winter tragedy, The Seattle Times reported.

The Coast Guard received an emergency positioning signal from the 98-foot (30-meter) vessel northwest of St. George Island on Feb. 11. Searchers found the signal device, a life ring and buoys in a debris field, but no signs of its six crew members.

The vessel was owned by David Wilson, of Edmonds, Washington, and had a crew of skilled veterans. They included Capt. Jeff Hathaway, Larry OGrady, Raymond Vincler, Darrik Seibold, Charles G. Jones and Kai Hamik.

Last month, federal research ships found the Destination in 250 feet (76 meters) of water off St. George Island.

The Coast Guard Cutter Healy used a remotely operated vehicle in late July to investigate the wreckage. Information from that deep-sea expedition is expected to be reviewed during the hearing.

They spent about two days on top of the Destination, Cmdr. Scott Muller, who will chair the Marine Board of Investigation, told The Times. There were some challenges. That part of the Bering Sea is particularly known for its treacherous currents.

Investigators are expected to come up with a probable cause of the accident, and produce a final report that typically includes recommendations on how to make the industry safer.

The National Transportation Safety Board is conducting its own investigation and is participating in the Coast Guards hearing.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
FARGO  Scott Pruitt, administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, attended a closed-door roundtable discussion in Fargo on Wednesday, on the federal governments proposed revision of the Waters of the U.S. rule, known as WOTUS.

Attendees of the roundtable held at North Dakota State University included North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, U.S. Sen. John Hoeven and U.S. Rep. Kevin Cramer, as well as representatives of a number of farm groups.

After the roundtable, Pruitt left immediately without speaking to news reporters waiting outside the meeting room. In an interview Pruitt gave WDAY TV, he said the rules the EPA is looking to change were put in place by the previous administration that sought to enlarge federal power. But he said the days of coercive Federalism are over.

Common sense is the recurring theme we have across the country, Pruitt told WDAY TV.

Burgum said the roundtable was closed out of respect for the wishes of the EPA administration, though Burgum, along with Hoeven and Cramer, answered questions regarding what was discussed.

Burgum said Pruitts visit to North Dakota, which included a stop in Grand Forks, is part of a 25-state listening tour. One thing Pruitt heard Wednesday, Burgum said, was how federal regulation has been holding back growth in this country and how we feel that you can both protect the environment and have economic growth.

Cramer, Hoeven and Burgum said farmers and ranchers are looking for greater clarity as far as the definition of navigable waters when it comes to federal jurisdiction for pollution control, and wetlands have been a major area of concern.

U.S. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, who did not attend the roundtable, said WOTUS tops the regulatory concerns of farmers and ranchers she hears from.

Flying over North Dakota, you can clearly see all the prairie potholes and real bodies of water, reinforcing how this rule just doesnt make sense for our state, Heitkamp said in a statement.

For years Ive been working with those on both sides of the aisle to offer relief for farmers, ranchers, and energy workers, and addressing this unworkable rule is at the top of the list.

The EPA has formally proposed to repeal an Obama administration regulation that extended the reach of the federal government over small waterways.

Under a new proposal, the federal government would go back to enforcing a guidance document from 2008 when deciding whether a waterway is subject to federal oversight for pollution control reasons.

In 2015, a federal judge in North Dakota granted an injunction blocking implementation of WOTUS after North Dakota and several other states filed suit. The stay has been upheld on appeal.

Trump signed an executive order in February asking Pruitt to consider repealing the rule and replacing it.

Cramer said he didnt know the motive for closing Wednesdays roundtable, but he said one reason might have been to promote open dialogue between the attendees.

Representatives of a group called Democratic Socialists of America shouted questions at Pruitt as he left NDSU, and they also peppered Cramer, Hoeven and Burgum with questions, though they went unanswered.

A group spokesman, Zac Echola, said their intent was to underscore that secret meetings are undemocratic and that climate change is an emergency. Pruitt has come under fire from some for questioning whether carbon dioxide from human activity is a driver of climate change.

The Dakota Resource Council said in a report released Wednesday that the EPA is rolling back pollution safeguards for gas and oil wells in North Dakota, rollbacks the council argues will impact health and the environment.

Pruitt told WDAY TV that it shouldnt have to come down to a choice between jobs and environmental stewardship.

We have been blessed with natural resources in the state of North Dakota, coal, natural gas, Pruitt said. Our goal should be to use and cultivate and harvest those natural resources, but with an environmental stewardship, a mindset for future generations we need to serve as well. We need to power the world, we need to feed the world.
AKRON, Ohio -- The Akron Municipal Court's Family Intervention Court Program is sharing new techniques to reduce the risk that domestic violence offenders pose to the safety of their victims, their families, to themselves and to the community.

The court -- an integrative, therapeutic alternative to traditional court practices -- and Presiding Judge Kathryn Michael were chosen by the Ohio Supreme Court Specialized Docket Section and the Center for Court Innovation to learn and teach new techniques to staff and community partners.

The Colorado model is based on new standards of differentiated treatment for domestic violence offenders.

The Akron Municipal Court will invite than 20 local community partners to participate in a training session Wednesday, Aug. 16, at the Akron-Summit County Public Library in downtown Akron.

"I am extremely proud to see the Family Intervention Court Program and our team recognized for our success in rehabilitating offenders and look forward to making an even larger impact following the session," Michael said in a news release. "Partnerships like this allow us to acquire new techniques and share our resources with colleagues from other court systems. It is positive for all involved."

Want more Akron news? Sign up for cleveland.com's Rubber City Daily, an email newsletter delivered at 5:30 a.m. Monday through Friday.
AKRON, Ohio - A Detroit man was critically injured Tuesday when four gunmen opened fire on his minivan in the East Akron neighborhood, police said.

No arrests have been made in the shooting that happened about 9:30 p.m. on Dahlgren Drive near Rosemary Boulevard, police said Wednesday afternoon.

Another Detroit man, who was also in the minivan, was not harmed in the shooting, police said.

The two men drove to Akron in a red Dodge Grand Caravan to visit two women, they told police.

They were sitting in the minivan when four armed men walked up the them and opened fire, police said. The shooters then ran away.

The men drove to a nearby gas station on East Exchange Street at South Arlington Street, where they stopped to ask for help. The wounded man was taken to Summa Akron City Hospital, police said.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Akron Police Department's detective bureau at 330-375-2490.

If you'd like to comment on this story, visit Wednesday's crime and courts comments section.
ELYRIA, Ohio -- A 16-year-old boy shot in the torso several times at an Elyria home Friday was trying to rob the homeowner, a known drug dealer, police say.

The boy remains in MetroHealth after the shooting that happened about 6:30 a.m. on George Street just north of Wooster Street, Elyria police Capt. Costantino said.

His current condition was not immediately available.

The boy faces criminal charges pending his release from the hospital, Costantino added.

Joey Wiseman, 36, the homeowner, is charged with trafficking cocaine, possession of cocaine, possession of a schedule II controlled substance, having weapons while under disability and tampering with evidence, according to court records.

Wiseman is not charged in connection with the shooting, but the prosecutor's office is reviewing the facts of the case, Costantino said.

Desmond Lewis, 19, is also charged with aggravated burglary. He is a friend of the 16-year-old boy, and should be considered armed and dangerous, Costantino said.

Wiseman told police he was sleeping on the couch when he heard someone climbing into a window of his home, Costantino said. He saw the 16-year-old boy armed with a handgun and shot him several times, police said.

Lewis ran off and Wiseman placed the 16-year-old's gun outside when police arrived. He put his gun in a safe inside of his car, Costantino said.

Police found the boy lying on the living room floor when they arrived. Wiseman walked from behind a silver SUV parked in the driveway of the home before police discovered the teen, an earlier release says.

Police obtained a search warrant for Wiseman's car. They found 24.2 grams of cocaine inside the safe bagged and ready for sale, Costantino said.

"He's got a long history of narcotics trafficking and weapons charges," Costantino said.

Wiseman can't own firearms, Costantino said.

Some of Wiseman's past convictions are improper handling firearms and having weapons while under disability in September 2016; possession of drugs and trafficking in drugs in June 2014; possession of drugs and having weapons while under disability in December 2012; and possession of drugs and trafficking in drugs also in December 2012, police said.

He has felony convictions from Illinois and is currently wearing an ankle GPS monitor, police said.

He is on parole through the Ohio Adult Parole Authority and has charges pending at Lorain County Common Pleas Court in connection with recent arrests relating to drug offenses, police said.

Anyone with information on Lewis' whereabouts is asked to call Elyria police at 440-323-3302.

If you'd like to comment on this story, visit Wednesday's crime and courts comments section.
Disturbance, Brainard Road: At 5:35 p.m. July 31, a resident reported that a neighbor had a tent set up on his lawn and was preaching through a loud speaker.

Officers met with the man and told him he would have to turn down the speaker to a level so that only he could hear it. The man complied.

Drug abuse, Professor Road: At 10:15 p.m. Aug. 6, a caller reported an occupied car parked near her house for more than an hour. Police checked on the car and found three men inside, two are 21 years of age, and the other, 20. Two of the men live in South Euclid, and the remaining man in Lyndhurst.

Officers found that the men were smoking marijuana. Charges have yet to be filed as the matter is still under investigation.

Hit-skip, Cedar Road: At 2:55 p.m. Aug. 6, a two-car crash occurred. One of the cars involved, driven by a University Heights man, 41, who does not speak English, drove away without exchanging insurance information with the other driver.

The other driver followed the suspect vehicle into the LaPlace lot at Cedar and Richmond roads in Beachwood, where police apprehended him. The man was charged with leaving the scene of an accident.

Public intoxication, Mayfield Road: At 3:10 a.m. Aug. 6, dispatch received a 911 call emanating from the Red Square bar, 5131 Mayfield Road. The caller quickly hung up, but dispatch was able to call back and reach the man.

The man told dispatch that he was with a drunk and combative man at Red Square. Police arrested the drunk man, 39, of Parma, and charged him with public intoxication.

Theft, Mayfield Road: At 6:40 p.m. Aug. 5, a woman reported that her wallet was stolen from her car while it was parked in the lot of Revolve Fashion, 5686 Mayfield Road.

Suspicious person, Mayfield Road: At 3:50 p.m. Aug. 5, an employee of Skyline Chili, 5706 Mayfield Road, called police to report that a man bought food, ate it, then continued to sit in the restaurant for a lengthy period of time looking at her. The man, she told police, has done this before.

An officer issued the man, 39, a trespass warning.

Psychiatric situation, Mayfield Road: At 12:35 p.m. Aug. 5, an officer watched as an SUV was driven eastbound on Mayfield Road. The officer saw a commotion going on inside the vehicle in that it appeared that the driver was struggling with someone in the back seat. The SUV went on to strike a utility pole and come to a stop.

It was learned that the driver, a Richmond Heights man, 26, was dealing with a mental health issue. The other two people in the car were his parents, also of Richmond Heights.

The man's mother, who was conscious at the scene, was taken to Hillcrest Hospital for treatment.

Theft, Cedar Road: At 9 p.m. Aug. 1, a woman called police from the Cheesecake Factory, 24265 Cedar Road at Legacy Village, to report that her wallet had been stolen while she was at the restaurant, and that one of her credit cards had already been used at a Walmart store.

The woman was notified of the problem through a bank fraud alert.

Assist person, Mayfield Road: At 2:05 a.m. Aug. 1, a caller notified police that two women, one of whom was pregnant, were stating that they had missed a bus and were asking motorists for a ride to the corner of Richmond and Wilson Mills roads.

Police learned that one of the women is the mother of the pregnant woman. An officer offered the women a ride to the friend's house where they had just been. The women refused the offer.

The officer then offered them a ride to Richmond and Wilson Mills roads. They accepted the second offer, and the mother told the officer that they would next call Richmond Heights police for a ride to their final destination.

The officer then explained that police could not be used as a taxi service and the two women responded by again refusing a ride with the officer.

Theft, Cedar Road:

At 5:05 p.m. July 31, a manager at Giant Eagle, 25105 Cedar Road, reported that a woman had been caught shoplifting.

The woman, 69, of University Heights stole several items, including chicken thighs, Popsicles, Kool-Aid, peaches, London broil meat and ribs. The woman was cited for theft and released.

If you would like to discuss the police blotter, please visit our crime and courts comments page.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Ohio 9th District Court of Appeals last week upheld misdemeanor convictions against Cleveland mayoral candidate Eric Brewer, who was arrested nearly two years ago for possessing marijuana while driving with a suspended license.

Brewer, a former East Cleveland mayor who is one of nine candidates in this year's mayoral election in Cleveland, spent more than a year and a half fighting the charges that stemmed from an Oct. 23, 2015 traffic stop in Boston Heights.

Brewer, 63, was convicted of the misdemeanor charges in Stow Municipal Court and acted as his own attorney during his appeal, court records show.

Brewer could not be reached for comment Wednesday evening.

A Boston Heights police officer stopped Brewer's car on Ohio 8 after he used a law enforcement database to run a records check on the car's license plate. The records check showed that the car's owner had a suspended license, according to court records.

Body camera video from the officer shows Brewer initially tried to conceal his identity. Brewer, who was wearing women's clothes, told the officer his name was "Erica," according to video obtained by WKYC-Channel 3.

The video has been embedded at the bottom of this post.

Several photos of Brewer dressed in women's clothing emerged in 2009, shortly before he lost a re-election bid in East Cleveland. The photos were shown online and on some television networks, according to The Plain Dealer.

In the Boston Heights traffic stop, the police officer had Brewer's car towed, and found a marijuana pipe when he searched the car, the body camera video shows.

A Stow Municipal Court judge ordered Brewer to pay a fine and court costs when she found him guilty of the misdemeanor charges March 11, 2016, records show.

Brewer argued during his appeal that the officer did not have probable cause to run a records check on his car because he was not committing any traffic violation. Brewer also argued that the officer did not have probable cause to search the car.

The appeals court rejected Brewer's arguments in an Aug. 2 decision.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The 38-year-old man acquitted Thursday of all charges in the crash that killed State Highway Patrol Trooper Kenneth Velez was never responsible for the crash, his attorney said.

Despite being acquitted on aggravated vehicular homicide charges, Gaspar was led from the courtroom in handcuffs after a Cuyahoga County jury found him guilty of four misdemeanor charges for illegally obtaining an Ohio driver's license and for driving with a suspended license.

He faces a sentence between probation and 24 months in prison on those charges when Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Michael Russo sentences him Sept. 8.

"He didn't run, he wasn't intoxicated, he wasn't speeding he didn't cause the crash," Jon Sinn said. "It was an accident. We're glad the jury finally got to the truth. This has been weighing on him heavily for some time."

Sinn said Gaspar, who did not testify at the trial, was relieved by the verdict. He said that he broke down two different times, once during the trial and once after the trial concluded because he was devastated by the fact that he hit and killed the trooper.

"As he goes back to his cell in the Cuyahoga County Jail tonight, I imagine he's going to have a lot of things going through his mind," Sinn said. "He's going to have to deal with this the rest of his life."

Gaspar's family hugged Sinn after the verdict was read. Velez's family members walked out of the courtroom following the verdict. They could be heard in the hallway outside the courtroom yelling angrily about the verdict. They left the courthouse without commenting.

The case hinged on whether the dose of prescribed methadone in Gaspar's system during the time of the crash left him too impaired to drive, and whether he was drove recklessly when he struck Velez, who out of his cruiser conducting traffic enforcement in the westbound lane of Interstate 90 near the Lakewood-Cleveland border.

A doctor gave Gaspar -- a recovering opioid addict -- a therapeutic dose of methadone 10 minutes before the crash. Experts also testified during the trial that Gaspar was likely driving between 62 mph and 64 mph, while police investigators said he was driving about 70 mph.

A crash in Gaspar's lane caused him to swerve into the right berm, where Velez stood. The crash instantly killed the 22-year veteran trooper. That stretch of highway is now named for Velez and Cleveland police officer David Fahey, who was also killed in a crash on that same stretch of highway.

Sinn said that the jury's decision to side with defense signifies to people suffering from opiate addiction, like Gaspar, to get treatment and not worry about getting convicted for impaired driving if they're using the prescribed doses.

"Methadone can help," Sinn said. "Methadone doesn't impair you. Methadone saves lives."

To comment on this story, please visit cleveland.com's crime and courts comments page.
Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate in last years presidential race who spray painted construction equipment during the Dakota Access Pipeline protests, has pleaded guilty to misdemeanor criminal mischief, court records filed Wednesday, Aug. 9 show.

A plea agreement Stein reached with Morton County prosecutors says the court will defer imposition of her sentence for six months, during which time shell be on unsupervised probation. The maximum penalty for misdemeanor criminal mischief is 30 days in jail, $1,500 in fines or both, along with a maximum of $250 in fees.

Morton County District Judge Gail Hagerty signed an order Tuesday dismissing a misdemeanor criminal trespass charge against Stein, given the acceptance of the plea agreement. In the agreement, Stein said the state has evidence that could convince a jury she spray painted words of protest and resistance onto the shovel of a large bulldozer belonging to another on Sept. 6 in Morton County.

Stein, whose address is listed as Lexington, Mass., signed the agreement in late April.

Law enforcement officials were called to investigate damaged construction equipment after officers were notified pipeline protesters were trespassing on private land south of Mandan, according to an affidavit signed by Arnie Rummel, supervisory special agent with the state Bureau of Criminal Investigation. A considerable amount of damage was noted, including paint and cut wires/ tubing, the affidavit said.

Officers were alerted to a video that showed Stein painting the front of one of the bulldozers with the phrase, I approve this message, Rummel wrote.

Steins running mate, Ajamu Baraka, also pleaded guilty to misdemeanor criminal mischief, according to a separate plea agreement. Hagerty on Tuesday ordered that his criminal trespass charge be dismissed as well.

A call to the Morton County States Attorneys office went unanswered early Wednesday afternoon. Steins attorney, Chad Nodland, didnt immediately return a message seeking comment.
Next week's ballot offers some intrigue for North Dakotans  from late congressional entries by independent candidates to term limits and marijuana legalization. Voters will decide whether to endorse changing the state constitution to limit the terms of the governor and state legislators. Another citizen-led initiative also will put the question of marijuana legalization before voters, who rejected the idea four years ago. Ninety-eight of the Legislatures 141 seats are on the ballot. All but one Democrat is up for reelection this year. Contests for secretary of state, attorney general and other state offices Also will appear on the ballot.
ANOKA, Minn. -- An Anoka man who asked his ex-wife Any last words? before attempting to shoot her to death with a shotgun last fall has been ordered to serve 20 years in prison.

In May, John Bruce Steurer, 48, was convicted of second-degree attempted murder in connection with the November shooting, which took place at the womans North St. Paul workplace.

A Ramsey County jury found him guilty of that charge as well as four aggravating factors: violating a harassment restraining order, both punching the victim and beating her with a gun in the face after shooting her, and showing no remorse.

His public defender could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.

Ramsey County District Judge Elena Ostby said additional evidence shows Steurer likely planned the crime ahead of time.

The attack came on Nov. 23, just 14 days after Steurer and his ex-wife, Deanna Lahr, had finalized their divorce, according to the criminal complaint filed in the case.

Steurer shot Lahr at her office, causing her to fall down some stairs. He tried to shoot her again, but she fought him and the 20-gauge shotgun malfunctioned, according to the complaint. She eventually escaped inside the building and locked the doors.

Later, Steurer called Lahr and left a voicemail: Im sorry I had to do that to you. I cant have you being with another guy so thats what I had to do. Bye.

During his trial, Steurer told the jury he meant only to cause his ex-wife physical pain when he shot her, not to kill her. If he had wanted to shoot to kill her, the avid hunter said, he could have done so.

Steurer was arrested at a park in Coon Rapids after shooting himself three times in the face in an attempt to kill himself during a standoff with police.

Lahr testified at Wednesdays sentencing that the attack caused physical injuries  a collapsed lung, arthritis, scarring and a limp thats most likely permanent  as well as emotional and mental trauma.

Fireworks used to be my favorite thing. Now, because of the sound, they trigger anxiety, Lahr said. What he has done has not just damaged me  but so many others. All I want is to feel safe and be free and have a chance to be happy.

Steurer said little at the hearing. Ostby criticized him for his lack of remorse and for blaming some of his actions on a learning disability.
The election of 2016 highlighted how politically divided we are as a nation. But the dividing line may not be where we had assumed.

For the past few decades the electorate has been viewed as divided almost equally between social and economic conservatives and social and economic liberals. But a recent study of voting patterns in the 2016 election reveals the old left-right divide is fractured and voters are clustered into four main groups.

The first group is comprised of Liberals, who are liberal on both economic and identity issues. At 44.6 percent, they comprise the largest voting demographic.

The second group is made up of Populists, people who are liberal on economic issues and conservative on identity issues. They are 28.9 percent of the population.

The third group is Conservatives, those who are conservative on both economic and identity issues. They are not only much smaller than the Liberals but even smaller than the Populists, making up only 22.7 percent of voters.

Finally, there are the Libertarians, who are conservative on economic issues and liberal on identity issues. They comprise a mere 3.8 percent of voters.

This scatterplot below shows how these groups aligned in the 2016 electorate.

Not surprisingly, Clinton voters are consistently liberal on both economic and identity issues. But notice that Trump voters are less conservative on identity issues than Clinton voters are liberal. And while Trump voters are clustered around the center-right on economic issues, few are strongly conservative on economicsand many are economically liberal.

Clinton won the majority of Liberals, while Trump won almost all of the Conservatives. But Trump also won 6.3 percent of the Liberal vote and gained the edge in winning over the Populists. Trump beat Clinton by about a 3-to-1 margin among the populists. Clinton won only 5.7 percent of the Populist vote, barely beating out the 4.3 percent of populists who supported third party candidates.

(Libertarians split almost equally between Clinton, Trump, and third party candidates like Johnson, proving that Liberaltarians do exist.)

So how did Trump win? As the report notes, largely by winning over the Populistsliberal on economic issues, conservative on identity issueswho had previously voted for Obama (about 8 percent of Populists had voted for Obama in 2012) or who had supported neither Obama nor Romney in 2012.

He also resonated with those who supported economically liberal positionswhich now is the majority of the Republican party. If we look at primary voters, we find that Republicanseven Ted Cruz voterswere to the left of Clinton voters on attitudes about foreign trade. Trump voters were also to the left of every candidate but Kasich on economic inequality.

What does this portend for the GOP? As the report notes,

Republicans are about equally divided between economically liberal populists and more free-market-oriented conservatives. Republican primaries revealed a Kasich faction that is consistently more moderate across issues, a Trump faction that is more liberal on economic issues but more conservative on identity issues, and a Cruz faction that is more free market on economic issues and particularly conservative on moral issues. [] Since Republicans have picked up more economically liberal voters (and may continue to do so since there are still some populists who vote for Democrats), it may be harder for Republicans to continue to push a traditional conservative free-market agenda.

As these results show, free market advocates are completely unwelcome in the Democratic Party and increasingly becoming a minority within the GOP. If we dont find a way to shift the tide soon we advocates of economic freedom may find ourselves caught between Populist and Liberals as they fight about what sort of socialism well be forced to accept.
 The Washington Post Minimizes Islamic Hate Preachers Sermon | Main | The Washington Post and The Case of the Missing Abu Jihad 

August 09, 2017

C-SPANs Orgel Again Facilitates Disinformation and Defamation Concerning Israel

Paul Orgel

C-SPANs Washington Journal daily three-hour morning call-in show uses a revolving roster of approximately 10 hosts often guilty of journalistic malpractice when Israel or Jews is mentioned. Host Paul Orgel is a prime example.

On Aug.7, 2017 at 9:34 a.m. (Eastern), Orgel, during a segment soliciting viewers' comments on news of the day, fielded a lunatic fringe call from Mitch from Memphis, Tennessee?:

I have a comment on your recent [previous segment] guest. Since all wars are bankers' wars, all you have you to do is turn down the TV and watch the guy's eyes to tell that he's lying and he was squirming around on some of the calls. So, when ISIS  which also stands for Israeli Secret Intelligence Service' [Sic. No such entity exists] is what it really should be spelled out as  attacks Tel Aviv, the Vatican, or Washington D.C., that's when you'll know it's real and not green screen terrorism [fake terrorism]. And the only reason they are talking about North Korea is because that war never actually ended. And that is the only card they have left to play where they don't have to go to Congress and declare war. That is why they are pumping that up. That is all I have to say.

Orgel replied, Thanks for calling, Mitch. Sherry, calling from Florida ...?

The previous segment referred to by caller Mitch from Memphis? was The cost of combating ISIS [Islamic State terrorist entity].? The guest (insulted by Mitch) is Charles Johnson, managing director of international affairs and trade issues at the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO).

Thus, Orgel, thanking the lunatic fringe caller, characteristically failed to even comment on a defamatory anti-Israel charge and an anti-Jewish canard ("all wars are bankers' wars").



In a previous instance of host Orgel's frequent unprofessional performance (at least as it pertains to Israel or Jews) as Washington Journal host, he indulged a lunatic fringe caller's identical inflammatory views defaming Israel twice only 22 hours apart in January 2010. The caller used two different names and claimed two separate (distant) locations, saying virtually the same thing each time and in the same distinctive voice. Orgel indulged "Janet from Birmingham, Alabama" on January 1, 2010 at 9:51 AM and then (the same individual again) on January 2 at 7:50 AM indulging "Carol from Scottsville, Arizona."

Some previous Orgel examples are Dec. 26, 2016 (morning calls at 7:17, 8:54, 9:03) and Nov. 15, 2015 (calls at 7:07, 7:29, 7:40, 7:56).

Meanwhile, the news media fails to expose C-SPANs transgressions misleading potentially millions of viewers.

Posted by MK at August 9, 2017 07:33 PM

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A convicted rapist and knifepoint robber is on the run and could be in Cornwall, officers have warned.

Officers are urging the public to watch out for Robert Stevens, aged 62, who is wanted on recall to prison.

Stevens, who also uses the surname Melias, travels widely in the UK and is known in the Avon and Somerset, Devon, Dorset and Hampshire areas, reports Somerset Live .

It is reported that he often visits betting shops, homeless charities and church-based support groups for the homeless.

Stevens was convicted of rape in Shirehampton, near Avonmouth, in 1998.

In 2011 he was convicted of a series of knifepoint robberies at shops and bookmakers.

He is described as a white man, about 5ft 6ins tall, with grey/brown hair.

He also has tattoos  a panther on his left arm, "City" on his left hand and "Bob" on his right hand.

A police appeal issued today, Wednesday, August 9, said: "We need your help to find a man who is wanted on recall to prison.

"Robert Stevens, who also uses the surname Melias, will travel on buses but often travels about on foot.

"Anyone spotting Robert Stevens or has any information on his whereabouts should call 999 quoting Avon and Somerset Police reference 5217039469."
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There was a rock star reception for Jeremy Corbyn today as the Labour leader promised a rally of supporters that they could turn the political landscape of Cornwall rose red.

Chants of "ooooh Jeremy Corbyn" rippled around Heartlands in Pool echoing the rapturous reception the politician received at Glastonbury this year.

After an impassioned speech which lasted around 30 minutes and was delivered without the aid of a script or auto-prompter, the clearly relaxed MP posed for numerous selfies with the crowd and even signed autographs.

(Image: Greg Martin)

It was a far cry from the last time a party leader visited Cornwall when ahead of June's General Election Prime Minister Theresa May visited a factory in Helston and famously shut Cornwall Live journalists in a room, banned them from filming and sped away.

oday's rally at Heartlands was ostensibly called to provide a show of unity for the NHS, with a visit to the Royal Cornwall Hospital at Truro taking place beforehand.

Introduced by friend, the former Labour MP and now Cornwall councillor Candy Atherton, Mr Corbyn said supporters could afford to think big.

"We do not play by the rules," he said.

"We want to take the message to every part of the country that things should, could and will be different in the future."

He paid tribute to Luke Pollard, who took the Plymouth Sutton and Devonport seat for Labour on June 8, but said the party could do more in Cornwall, especially after confounding expectations and coming second in two constituencies.

"We need to go further west of Devonport, cross the Tamar and get our MPs into Cornwall," he said.

Speaking to the media afterwards, Mr Corbyn insisted that the political tide was already turning in Cornwall and that it was no pipe dream for the party to return a number of MPs.

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He said membership of the party had continued to rise and that "to win the general election we have to win in all parts of the country."

The Islington MP said that the party's message would chime true across parts of the country that were not necessarily Labour's traditional heartlands.

"If you are insecure and in a low paid job and living in a beautiful village, you are still in an insecure and low paid job."

Although Mr Corbyn, is famously lukewarm on the EU and his party's position on Brexit is often criticised as being vague, the leader said funds from the organisation were vital to counties like Cornwall.

He said that up to the point the UK left the EU, promised structural funding should be delivered.

After Brexit, Mr Corbyn promised that the shortfall would be made up with funds from the National Investment Bank, a Labour manifesto pledge which the party hopes will inject 500billion into the economy after the UK has left the EU.

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However, it was on the subject of the NHS - support for which was the reason to stage the rally - that Mr Corbyn spoke with the clearest sense of purpose.

He told the crowd that the UK, which included a number of health workers, that the UK could not go follow the path of further privatisation and become the system in the USA.

To a huge roar of approval he accused Cornwall's Tory MPs of crying "crocodile tears" when they spoke of how wonderful the NHS was but failed to vote a bill to end a pay freeze.

He said: "It should not be that the wealthier you are the longer you live, it should be the healthier you are the longer you live."
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A controversial planning application for 103 new homes in Par has been granted permission despite the community's battle to block the development.

The controversial planning application submitted by Wainhomes was rejected once before as nearby homeowners claimed the infant school and GP surgery were already struggling to cope with the amount of people.

Wainhomes proposed to build approximately 103 dwellings, an extension to the parking for the Kingdom Hall, allotments, school drop-off facilities, footpath/cyclepath connection and associated works, and a detailed application for 86 dwellings with associated access roads, footways, parking, landscaping, drainage and open spaces.

While the appeal has now been approved, the Planning Inspectorate has listed 18 conditions that Wainhomes will have to abide by.

These include managing drainage issues at the Par site, encouraging residents of the development to walk or cycle rather than drive and secure the proposed pedestrian and cycle link between Mountside Road and Lamellyn Road.

Cornwall Councillor for St Blazey, Pauline Giles, said she was "extremely disappointed" at the appeal decision and claimed it would bring "carnage" to the area.

She added: "Im extremely disappointed that we are going to get another 103 homes because they will probably bring another 300 people, if you think about the number of people that will live there.

"We did fight extremely hard so are very disappointed that it didnt work.

"We have a lack of infrastructure. The doctors surgery is chock-a-block. We have one dentist. I dont know how they expect us to cope.

"The road layouts are not conducive to that number of people. It will be carnage when those houses are built."

Cllr Giles said that she and Cornwall Councillor for Par and St Blazey Gate, Jordan Rowse, have planned a meeting with Wainhomes to look "the best way forward for the community".

She added: "I think that everyone is really upset.

"Im not saying that we dont need housing stock but these will not be accessible.

"They will create congestion which will probably mean people will be forced to leave early for work because of the traffic.

"The Section 106 money will need to be spent wisely to make it better for the people that live here.

"Wainhomes were planning a drop-off roundabout near the school - but what parent would chuck their child out of the car on a roundabout?

"The money needs to be spent wisely and we need to sit down and work out a strategy to make it most beneficial."

While the appeal was ongoing, residents lodged their comments on the Cornwall Council planning website, with 26 objections and no comments of support.

More than 100 people attended a meeting chaired by Cllr Giles, at which residents of all ages took the opportunity to make their opinions heard.

Cllr Jordan Rowse said: "I am both saddened and disappointed at the decision by the planning inspectorate to grant planning permission for this application, which was strongly opposed locally at all levels.

"I note that there are 18 conditions attached to the approval notice and will now work as the Cornwall Councillor for Par and St Blazey Gate with the community, developer and Cornwall Council to ensure all these conditions are met, where appropriate, before development can start on this site.

"In particular it is essential that Wainhomes sticks to the terms they have been given for working on this site, and also that they submit a Construction Traffic Management Plan, that I will work with Cornwall Council to ensure is fit for purpose before it is signed off.

"I will now be writing to Wainhomes asking for a meeting with them to discover how they intend to fulfil these conditions."

Prior to the appeal decision resident Doug Scrafton, wrote on his blog: "We are not a bunch of nimbys. We know that we must have new housing to provide homes for our young people. But we also know that that housing must be in the right places. And the strong, almost unanimous view of the local community is that the proposed site is emphatically not the right place for a development of this nature.

He continued: "The community believe that it is not right to build a development to house perhaps 800 souls where the local doctors' surgery has already made clear that they cannot cope with additional patients."

A spokesman for Emery Planning, the agent for Wainhomes, said: "The detailed application proposal comprises 26 (30%) affordable homes and 60 open market homes. The dwelling types would range from two bedroom apartments and bungalows to four bedroom houses.

"Of the 26 affordable homes, 18 would be available to rent, while eight would be available for sale. The outline proposal comprises a further 103 dwellings, allotments and improvements to the Kingdom Hall parking and the school drop off provision and landscaping.

"The mix of house tenures and sizes is not specified at this stage. Public open space is proposed across both the detailed and outline elements. Extensive open space buffers are proposed adjacent to the eastern and southern boundaries, also incorporating SUDS measures including attenuation ponds."
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A mum from Cornwall has spoken out after a surgeon performed an operation on the genitals of her 12-year-old son without permission.

Surgeon Commander Anthony Lambert has now been taken off routine paediatric surgery after he performed the operation while the boy, from south east Cornwall, was under general anaesthetic for another procedure.

The boy's mother says the surgeon did not get consent and she has spoken to ensure it doesn't happen again.

The surgeon has apologised and Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust has said he will no longer perform any non-emergency paediatric procedures within the trust.

Cdr Lambert OBE was operating on the boy at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth for a hernia.

The boy's mum said: "We were all incredibly shocked by what happened. We did what we believed was the right thing and encouraged him to trust the doctor.

"I don't think of Mr Lambert as a bad person, I just think of him as someone who believes he always knows best  it's almost like he needs help. In our experience he's not trustworthy, and that's not the sort of person you want as a surgeon."

The family's lawyer, Andrew Hannam, of Enable Law, said: "Consent is a patient-centred process that should be followed before every procedure.

"In this case, not only had the child not been asked for consent, but he had refused to allow the surgeon to examine him. His parents had supported this decision. For Mr Lambert to continue in these circumstances was shocking for the child and his family."

In his apology to the family Mr Lambert wrote: "I accept that I should not have proceeded to undertake the additional procedure without consent, and that the correct course of action would have been to inform you and [the boy] of the diagnosis, so that further care and treatment could have been arranged with consent.

"Why I did not call your name when I left theatre to find you, I do not know; I should have made more of an effort to locate you and seek your consent."

The surgeon also had to apologise for his language.

He wrote: "I also accept that my language and style, which has always been colloquial, perhaps as a result of my military background, was entirely inappropriate on this occasion.

"I unreservedly apologise for the short-fallings in the care I provided to your son."

Dr Phil Hughes, medical director for Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust, sent a letter to the family which said the operation "should not have happened without consent", reports the BBC.

He said an "organisational development intervention" will be put in place to ensure it does not happen again.
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The Red Arrows' dazzling acrobatic performances were back over Falmouth yesterday.

Thousands of people packed Gilly Beach and its surrounding area for the return of some of the best pilots in the UK.

The event occurred during Falmouth Week after the town team secured funding for the next three years.

The 20-minute show caused rounds of applause and delirious cheers from the crowd, which acknowledged a stunning performance.

People have even said it gave them 'goosebumps' and their mood does not seem to have been affected by the massive tailbacks caused by the show.

All have acknowledged the talent of the RAF pilots, who all have at least had 1,500 hours of flying service under their belts. Once they have finished their three-year tour with the team they will return to their Royal Air Force duties.

The video was shot and shared with Cornwall Live by Falmouth Week.



Here is what people have said on social media:
CORNWALL, Ontario  Do you have any soft dolls like a Cabbage Patch doll? Consider donating it to St. John Ambulance, you could help them teach others how to save a life.

Currently, St. John Ambulance in Cornwall only have one doll to use for teaching in their babysitting courses, which can have as many as 18 students.

The dolls are also used in their Home Alone and New Parent courses and St. John Ambulance is hoping to get at least 20 doll so that all of the students in their courses have an opportunity to learn hands-on.

All dolls that are to be donated can be dropped off at the front office of St. John Ambulance, which is located beside Cornwall electric on Sydney St.

St. John Ambulance gives back to the community through training and all they ask for in return are donations and volunteers so they can continue to offer their lifesaving services.


For those who want to know how to go to Mount Kelimutu, I have come up with a basic guide that will provide you with the much-needed information.



Mount Kelimutu is also located on the island of Flores in East Nusa Tenggara, which is near East Timor.









The closest town to Mount Kelimutu is also Ende where the Bandar Udara H. Hasan Aroeboesman Airport is located at.



How to go to Mount Kelimutu?



The view of Mount Kelimutu from the bottom There are a few ways to travel to Mount Kelimutu, and they will be explained below in the simplest way possible.



Again, they are just guides and for those planning to visit, you should thoroughly research your options. Most travellers have been to Komodo Island, and Mount Kelimutu is on the other side of Flores. To get here, the best way is by flying to one of the smaller towns near the Kelimutu National Park.The closest town to Mount Kelimutu is also Ende where the Bandar Udara H. Hasan Aroeboesman Airport is located at.There are a few ways to travel to Mount Kelimutu, and they will be explained below in the simplest way possible.Again, they are just guides and for those planning to visit, you should thoroughly research your options.









This means, your connecting city needs to be Jakarta or Bali.



The three main ways to get to Mount Kelimutu are;



1. Flights

2. Ferry

3. Land Transport (with ferry)



Wings Abadi Airlines, a common way to fly to Ende and around East Nusa Tenggara Flying from Bali to Mount Kelimutu For your added information, the only airlines that fly to Kelimutu are the local Indonesian airlines. No international airlines fly to Labuan Bajo or Kelimutu.This means, your connecting city needs to be Jakarta or Bali.1. Flights2. Ferry3. Land Transport (with ferry)





The best way is to fly in from Denpasar, Bali and two main airlines fly here. They are Garuda and Wings Abadi Airlines which have direct flights to Ende and Labuan Bajo.





The flight from Bali to Ende will take around two and a half to three hours via a propeller plane and will cost you about $USD200.00 per person one way.



You may need to check various websites for the best deal as several local airlines operate this route.





If you are already in Labuan Bajo, you can take a direct flight to Ende with Garuda or Wings Abadi, which is a 45-minute flight on the same type of plane.



A flight from here will cost you around USD 60 to $70 per person and one way.









There are a few local hotels or guest lodges located around Kelimutu, so these are the best options for lodging.



Garuda's propeller planes that fly to the smaller islands and places around Indonesia From the town of Ende, the journey to Mount Kelimutu will also take you around 1.5 to 2 hours overland.There are a few local hotels or guest lodges located around Kelimutu, so these are the best options for lodging.

Flying from Jakarta to Mount Kelimutu





If you plan to fly from Jakarta, it will be a long flight with a few stops and this is not recommended. I personally think the best way is to fly via Denpasar, Bali.



Unless you have no other option, then this is your best way to do so. There are smaller local airlines that fly to Ende and Maumere which is a better option as mentioned above.





Travelling Overland to Mount Kelimutu





Well, some of you may be thinking of a cheaper way to get to Kelimutu and one of them is via road. However, this is one adventure that you will most likely remember for life.





The overland journey involves around 40-50 hours of travel via road and ferry. This is based on travelling from Bali through the many islands on route east.





You will have to take three different ferries in this journey through Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara before arriving on East Nusa Tenggara. This would be some serious travelling so you need to be prepared for it.









Pelni Ferry seen docked at Labuan Bajo Traveling by Ferry from Bali to Labuan Bajo, Flores The cost involved here will vary on the different types of transport used like buses, ferries and so on. By saying this, I think it would be better to take the ferry, explained below.





If you are a backpacker or serious budget traveller, this is your best option where you can take a massive ferry from Bali to Labuan Bajo, Flores.



From there, you need to take the local bus overland to Ende, and then to Mount Kelimutu.





Let us get to the logistics for this incredible journey. From Bali to Labuan Bajo, the Pelni Ferry (https://www.pelni.co.id/) will take you a good 32 to 40 hours journey. Your departing port will be Benoa in Bali.





This cargo and the human ferry will make the port of calls at various towns along the way and this is a great way to see East Indonesia.



This is also provided you have the luxury of time. The ferry ticket will cost you only USD 18.00 per person, which is a very good price.









The infamous Truk Kayu or Wooden Trucks that are actually local buses in Flores From Labuan Bajo to Mount Kelimutu Most budget travellers or backpackers would take this option as it is the cheapest way to travel to Komodo Island and Flores.





For those who take the ferry or land in Labuan Bajo, the cheapest way to travel to Mount Kelimutu is via a local bus. This journey will take you at least 13 hours via road.









There are two types of buses available here, one of them is called 'Truk Kayu' (Wooden Trucks), which are actually modified diesel trucks with a roof, and you get to sit with the locals on this adventure.



If you are up for a challenge, then this would be quite interesting. I know of some backpackers who actually did this, as an experience.



The private company buses in Flores, which are recommended The other is a proper bus company called Gunung Mas Travel (+62 385 21407) which uses big vans as buses. The bus service from Labuan Bajo to Ende makes one stop at the town of Ruteng.



From there, you change another bus to Ende under the same company. The price per person is RP260.000 per person or around $USD20.00. This would also be one of those epic moments of travelling, as you will get to see the real local way of life here.There are two types of buses available here, one of them is called '' (Wooden Trucks), which are actually modified diesel trucks with a roof, and you get to sit with the locals on this adventure.If you are up for a challenge, then this would be quite interesting. I know of some backpackers who actually did this, as an experience.The other is a proper bus company called Gunung Mas Travel (+62 385 21407) which uses big vans as buses. The bus service from Labuan Bajo to Ende makes one stop at the town of Ruteng.From there, you change another bus to Ende under the same company. The price per person is RP260.000 per person or around $USD20.00.





Supir) to shuttle you to Ende. This would cost quite a bit, around USD 40 to $50 per car.



So if you are in a group, this option would be very practical. Again, the price also depends on your bargaining skill and make sure you look at the car first.



The Kayu Trucks are a common sight around Labuan Bajo and Flores Overall, the best way is still to consult with your hotel or guesthouse in Labuan Bajo as they would know the best options for travel within Flores, East Nusa Tenggara. The fastest way is to engage a private car () to shuttle you to Ende. This would cost quite a bit, around USD 40 to $50 per car.So if you are in a group, this option would be very practical. Again, the price also depends on your bargaining skill and make sure you look at the car first.Overall, the best way is still to consult with your hotel or guesthouse in Labuan Bajo as they would know the best options for travel within Flores, East Nusa Tenggara.





Visiting Flores and Things To Do There









But if you are a luxury traveller or those short-stay travellers, I would just recommend visiting Labuan Bajo and Komodo Island, that is it.



When you arrive at Ende airport, this is what greets you Flores is a large place and offers a different kind of travel and tourism experience, suitable for those who love nature, trekking, outdoors, bird watching and peace of mind. Though this may be one of those harder places to visit compared to other commercial destinations, there are actually quite several things you can do in Flores But if you are a luxury traveller or those short-stay travellers, I would just recommend visiting Labuan Bajo and Komodo Island, that is it.Flores is a large place and offers a different kind of travel and tourism experience, suitable for those who love nature, trekking, outdoors, bird watching and peace of mind.









A panoramic photo of Labuan Bajo Town in Flores Conclusion

If you are planning to see the mighty Komodo Dragon, I have also done an article on



For any traveller out there, this is one part of the world that is truly amazing and less travelled, compared to your usual overcrowded destinations. For those visiting this part of Indonesia, you can read about what to do in Labuan Bajo , an article written by me. I visited Labuan Bajo three times in 2015 to late 2016 for my work.If you are planning to see the mighty Komodo Dragon, I have also done an article on how to go to Komodo Island with additional information there.For any traveller out there, this is one part of the world that is truly amazing and less travelled, compared to your usual overcrowded destinations.





I would highly recommend visiting Flores as it is truly a natural tourism destination, with very little modernization. And I hope that the information on how to go to Mount Kelimutu will come in handy for you.
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4 We Love To Kill People For Pronouncing Things Wrong

Today, "lollapalooza" means "overrated bands and the world's most expensive bottled water," but the word originally meant "a particularly impressive thing." In World War II, the word was used by American troops in the Pacific Theatre to suss out suspected Japanese spies -- the idea being that native Japanese speakers often pronounce the English letters "r" and "l" similarly, so for them "lollapalooza" was a bona-fide linguistic impossibility.

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Over on the European front of WWII, British soldiers employed a similar method -- the phrase "War Weapons Week," sometimes answered with the countersign "Weymouth" -- to spot Germans, based on their tendency to pronounce the English "w" sound as a "v." It's a tradition that dates clear back to the Bible, which tells of the Gileadites quizzing the Ephraimites on their pronunciation of the word shibboleth (ear of corn) ... and then wholesale slaughtering tens of thousands of them who said it wrong. Today the word "shibboleth" means several things; one common definition is a word or custom used to distinguish members of different social groups.

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One particularly horrific utilization of a shibboleth took place on the island of Hispaniola, where the Dominican Republic and Haiti coexist, albeit very, very reluctantly. Back in 1937, Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo sent troops along the Dominican-Haitian border with a sprig of parsley in hand, asking anyone whose skin looked a bit too dark to state its name. Haitians -- whose heritage was French, unlike the Dominicans' Spanish -- couldn't adequately roll the "r" in the Spanish word for parsley, perejil. And that's the cute-sounding lead-up to the event that history dubbed the Parsley Massacre.
Yup, you heard me right: Democrats. Ten years after the financial crisis, it seems like weve gone back to the mistakes of the Clinton years when centrist Democrats rode the financial deregulatory bandwagon. What Im talking about is the McHenry-Meeks Madden fix bill, the  Protecting Consumers Access to Credit Act of 2017 . The bill effectively preempts state usury laws for non-bank finance companies like payday lenders in the name of ensuring access to credit, even if on extremely onerous terms. Right now there's only one Democratic co-sponsor, but others seem to be preparing to join in. They shouldn't, and if they do sign onto this bill, it should only be in exchange for some solid consumer protections to substitute for the preempted state usury laws. This bill should be seen as a test of whether New Democrats "get it" about financial regulation. I'm hoping that they do. If not, perhaps its time to find some new Democrats.

Guess whos sponsoring legislation to facilitate predatory lending? Its not just the usual suspects from the GOP, but it looks like a number of centrist New Democrats are signing up to help predatory financial institutions evade consumer protections.

Heres whats going on. Every state has some sort of usury statute. The statutes have limited bite these days because of a 1978 Supreme Court decision that held that the usury rate applicable to a national bank is that of its home state, not that of the state in which it is conducting business. In other words, national banks can export usury limits from one state to another. As a result, national banks that have major credit card operations have congregated in states with no or high limits, such as Delaware, Nevada, and South Dakota. States then followed with parity laws to protect their own state-chartered banks competitiveness, and we ended up with a race to the bottom in which usury laws seldom matter for banks. But they still have plenty of bite regarding non-bank finance companies, such as payday lenders, vehicle title lenders, etc.

The current issue started in May of 2015, when the 2d Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a district court ruling in Madden v. Midland Funding. Madden involved a class action on usury claims against a debt buyer that purchased a bunch of charged-off Bank of America, N.A., credit card debt. The debt buyer argued that because the National Bank Act preempted the state usury law, it was not in violation of the usury law for loans it bought from a national bank. The 2d Circuit held that held that the National Bank Act preempts state usury laws only in regard to the national bank itself; the preemption is personal to the bank and not a feature of the loan, so if a national bank sells a loan to a non-national bank entity, then the state usury law will spring into force regarding the loan. My earlier thoughts on the decision and more details are here.

The financial services industry got terribly worked up over the Madden decision. Madden potentially affects not just the sale of loans by banks to non-banks, including both the sale of defaulted loans to debt collectors and the sale of performing loans, It might also cover the securitization of loans by banks because securitizations involve the sale of the loans to non-bank entities (that are often affiliated/controlled by the bank). The financial services industry pressed very hard to get the Supreme Court to hear the case (which was opposed by the Obama Department of Justice and OCC), but to no avail.

So instead, they went to work on the Hill. The result is a Madden fix bill co-sponsored by Rep. McHenry (R-NC) and Rep. Meeks (D-NY).

The McHenry-Meeks bill is cast as being about protecting consumers access to credit because Madden probably does reduce credit availability for some risky borrowers. It is also being cast as about protecting financial innovation in the form of fintechs. One of these days Ill do a much longer blog post about the silliness of the term fintech, but lets just say that this application doesn't just describe so-called "marketplace lenders," but also Internet-based payday lenders and the like. Ill leave it to readers to make their own value judgments about such innovation.

So lets be honest about what the McHenry-Meeks bill is. Its not a fix bill. Its a predatory-lending facilitation bill. If the concern were to insulate legitimate business functions such as securitization with retained servicing or the sale of charged-off loans for collection, it would be possible to draft a narrow bill that protects these practices. But thats not what the McHenry-Meeks bill does. Instead, it enshrines a questionable legal doctrine known as the valid-when-made doctrine that says that if a loan wasnt usurious when made, it cannot later become usurious.

Valid-When-Made Is Based on a Misreading of a Supreme Court Case by Someone Who Doesnt Understand Negotiable Instrument Law

Valid-when-made is a wholly concocted doctrine without historical roots, at least as it is applied to the Madden situation. The McHenry-Meeks bill cites an obscure Supreme Court case, Nichols v. Fearson, 32 U.S. (7 Pet.) 103, 106 (1833), for the doctrine, specifically the allegedly famous line Yet the rule of law is everywhere acknowledged, that a contract free from usury in its inception, shall not be invalidated by any subsequent usurious transactions upon it.

There are two problems with the historical argument. First, this is an old general federal common law case under Tyson v. Swift whose validity after Tompkins v. Erie Railroad (1938) is questionable. It's never been clear to me what happens to federal common law rulings that pre-date Erie; if federal courts lacked the power to make general common law, wouldn't that invalidate all of those decisions? But if so, it would seem to create a commercial mess. But this is a secondary issue. Instead, the real problem is that the McHenry-Meeks bill, parroting the financial services industry's Madden briefs and some modern appellate decisions, simply misreads Nichols.

Nichols v. Fearson--Indorsement Isn't Just a Sale

Heres the story with Nichols. Fearson sold some goods to X in exchange for a $101 promissory note. Fearson then indorsed the note to Nichols and received $97 for it. Its important to understand that by indorsing the note, Fearson became liable on the note along with X. When Nichols attempted to enforce the note against Fearson, Fearson argued that it was unenforceable because it was usurious: Fearson had received $97 from Nichols against a promise to pay $101. Thats 4.1% interest annually, which apparently violated whatever the New York usury law was at the time.

The issue in the Nichols was whether the indorser could raise usury as a defense against the indorsee, not whether the maker could raise it as a defense against the indorsee. In other words, in a string of transactions from X to Y to Z, if X to Y is non-usurious, but Y to Z is usurious, can X shelter in Y's usury defense? The indorser could raise usury as a defense if and only if the indorsement transaction was a loan, as the Court noted, the rule is universal that there can be no usury, where there is no loan. What made this question tricky for the Court was that under New York law if the discounting were usurious, it would render the note itself invalid, producing a windfall for the maker X, who would get out of paying a non-usurious note because of a subsequent usurious discounting. The valid-when-made doctrine, to the extent it existed, was not about preemption. It was about a maker's ability to shelter in an indorser's defense.

How do I know Im reading this case correctly? First, theres the language itself, any subsequent transactions upon it. That means any subsequent indorsement transactions. It doesnt simply mean subsequent sales, because an indorsement is more than a sale. It is a sale plus a guaranty by the indorser of payment on the note. The indorser has become liable on the note, which is different than with a straight sale. Hence the words upon itindorsement is from the Latin in dorsoon the back. Second, I went back and looked at a bunch of old NY usury cases involving discounting of negotiable notes. Theyre messy for modern readers, but a pleasure for a commercial law geek. And theyre quite clear about the issue. Consider this snippet from an 1831 New York Court of Correction of Errors cases (the states highest court at the time):

From this review of the cases, it appears that in most of our sister States, which have adopted the English usury laws, as well as in the Supreme Court of the U. S., and in England, it is held that a sale of a note for less than its nominal amount, on an advance of money or other thing, in the nature of a discount of the note, is usurious between the parties to such transaction, if the seller indorses the note, or otherwise guaranties the repayment of the purchase money. But there is a great conflict of opinion on the question whether any person who was legally bound to pay the note to the seller can take advantage of such usury as a defense. CRAM v. HENDRICKS, 7 Wend. 569, 581, 1831 N.Y. LEXIS 228, *23 (N.Y. 1831).

Heres the point. The valid-when-made doctrine is about a totally different situation than in Madden. Valid-when-made is about whether a later usurious act can be bootstrapped into a defense by the maker: in X to Y to Z, can X shelter in Y's usury defense. It rightly cannot. But thats not Madden. No one is claiming that the sale of the notes in Madden involved a usurious discounting. Ms. Madden wasn't trying to shelter in Bank of America's usury defense against Midland enforcing its indorsement. Ms. Madden was simply claiming that her loan was usurious from the getgo, only she was precluded from raising that claim against Bank of America on National Bank Act grounds. Madden is all about the personal nature of National Bank Act preemption, an issue that didnt exist at the time of Nichols v. Fearson.

The National Bank Act does not render a loan non-usurious. Instead, it preempts application of the usury law against the National Bank. In other words the loan is not valid when made, but attempts to raise a usury defense are estopped as against a national bank. The current version of valid-when-made is a wholly-concocted doctrine created by reading a sentence in an old Supreme Court case completely out of context. Its the kind of sloppy and disingenuous legal move a lawyer should be ashamed of (although that hardly stopped the financial services industrys briefs against Madden). Someone shouldve taken a negotiable instruments course in law school.

Valid-When-Made Facilitates Predatory Rent-a-BIN Lending

The concocted modern valid-when-made doctrine is a green light for predatory lending. It allows national banks to make otherwise usurious loans and immediately sell them to third-party finance companies that would not be subject to the usury laws on these loans. Whatever one thinks of the wisdom of usury laws (and theres a good conservative Hayekian case for them), if were going to repeal them, lets do it directly and after a frank debate on the issue, not through this kind of backdoor move. National banks should not be in the business of laundering loans for finance companies. And if you dont think that will happen, then you arent familiar with the whole phenomenon of rent-a-BIN (and its cousin, rent-a-Tribe) in which payday lenders or refund anticipation lenders, or simply subprime credit card lenders like CompuCredit enter into arrangements with banks to purchase some or all of their receivables for loans made meeting certain program requirements set by the finance company.

Federal bank regulators have been worried about rent-a-BIN operations for a while and have even put out guidance about it. There are two key concerns. One is reputational risk. The other is counterparty risk: the bank makes a bunch of risky loans, assuming that they will be sold to the finance company, but the finance company fails to pay the purchase price (perhaps its been shut down by a state AG). The bank is then stuck with a bunch of risky loans it doesnt want and a claim in the finance companys bankruptcy.

Counterarguments Arent Very Convincing Because the Fix Is Overbroad

Madden fix proponents make a few arguments that all fail on close inspection. First, they argue that Madden is disturbing the credit markets. Theres no evidence of that. Madden came down two years ago and markets are operating just fine. The sky hasnt fallen. Indeed, there are lots of ways for the market to adjust around Madden. If a bank wants to shift credit risk on a loan portfolio to third parties there are lots of ways that it can do so short of outright assignment: participations, credit-linked notes, both of which are clearly fine under Madden, and securitization, which might be an issue with Madden, but which can also be protected with a very narrow legislative fix.

Second, they argue that Madden is constricting credit. They point to a study that shows a reduction in credit to low-FICO (<625) score borrowers in the Second Circuit post-Madden. Thats not surprisingthe whole reason the national banks were selling the loans is that they were riskier than the banks wanted in portfolio. The study doesn't indicate the total magnitude of reduced credit, however, and it would appear to be relatively small as a relatively small percent of borrowers in the study had FICOs under 625. Moreover, the argument proves too much. There are lots of regulations that constrain credit to riskier borrowers far more than Madden. If the goal is maximizing credit to riskier borrowers, why not get rid of federal wage garnishment restrictions and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, for example? Usury laws represent judgments by state legislatures about rates at which borrowing is presumptively too risky. If Congress wants to preempt those usury laws, thats one thing, but its outrageous to allow national banks to launder usurious loans for predatory lenders.

Third, they argue that Madden interferes with the powers of national banks, which include selling loans. Thats just wrong. Madden doesnt prevent loan sales. It prevents the sale of National Bank Act preemption rights. Thats not an asset the banks have to sell. (Its worth noting that most community banks dont sell their non-mortgage loans and dont operate as origination front for finance companies. Its just not their way of doing business. This is mainly about megabanks and big regionals.) For what it's worth, the OCC didn't think there was a problem here.

Fourth, they argue that Madden reduces loans liquidity. Yup. It sure does. Thats the point. Liquidity reduces incentives to take care when lending because the lender isnt stuck with the loan, and can exploit the informational advantages it has over loan buyers. Such liquidity also undercuts relationship lending. In any case, you want real liquidity benefits, you dont sell the loans, you turn them into securities that are much more liquid than a loan can ever be. Thats securitization. You get UCC Article 8 negotiability and limited liability (so no assignee liability issue for investors). Again, if the fix were only about protecting securitization, thats a different conversation.

Finally, a Madden fix proponents claim that true lender doctrine will handle the rent-a-BIN problem. Would that were the case. True lender doctrine is an equitable approach of looking through the sale to the buyer as the true lender. It is totally fact specific, so it has to be litigated in every instance. Moreover, true lender cases havent addressed the National Bank Act preemption issue, and defendants would surely argue that the McHenry-Meeks bill means that National Bank Act preemption attaches to any koan ever touched by a national bank.

So What Should Be Done?

My own sense is that theres no problem with the world post-Madden, so why mess with things. But if a fix is needed, it ought to be (1) narrowly tailored, and (2) ensure maximum consumer protection. Democrats have the political leverage to get something out of the financial services industrys desire to fix Madden. They should use it if they're serious about consumer protection. How they vote on this bill says a lot.

By narrow tailoring, I think that any fix that goes beyond protecting securitizations by banks in which servicing is retained is facilitating predatory lending. Limit the fix to that situation and when the transfer occurs as part of a receivership or execution on a judgment or the like.

In terms of consumer protections, I think there are three key sets of consumer protections that should be required for what is effectively an override of state usury laws. This should be what Dems demand as the price for supporting any sort of Madden fix:

(1) an ability to repay requirement. Ability-to-repay is the new usury.Its more flexible while getting at the same goal. And it can be made administrable with safe harbors, such as for loans with APRs under 36% or for portfolios with default rates under 5%. The CFPBs proposed payday rule takes this approach, and we already have it on the federal level for mortgages and credit cards. Some states also have ability-to-repay requirements.

(2) the loans should have to positively amortize, have substantially level payments, and be freely prepayable. This is a move that already exists for credit cards (amortization and prepayable) and mortgages with QM.

(3) there should be no forced arbitration on the loans, and there should be full assignee liability (i.e., TILA assignee liability limitations do not apply).
Arizona, North Dakota, and Vermont will have to make changes to their plans for the Every Student Succeeds Act when it comes to accountability, low-performing schools, and more, according to feedback letters released Thursday.

We read the letters so you dont have to:

Arizona like a host of other stateswill need to change the way that science factors into its accountability system. Science can be included in the systems but it cant be part of the academic achievement portion of state plans. (More here .) The state also must revamp how schools test participation will factor into their overall ratings. (Quick explanation: ESSA requires that states do something to address schools where fewer than 95 percent of students take standardized tests. But states get to decide what that something is.)

North Dakota needs to do a better job of explaining how student progress on standardized testsas opposed to straight-up achievementwill factor into school ratings. And the state needs to reconsider how much weight its giving to academic indicatorslike test scores and graduation ratesas opposed to school quality factors, like school climate. Right now, by the departments calculation, North Dakota has given more weight to non-academic factors than academic ones. Thats not cool under ESSA, which calls for states to weight academics, as a whole, more heavily than non-academic factors. North Dakota also got dinged for including a racial minority subgroup in its system. States are supposed to break out particular races individually. And the state needs to do a much better job of explaining how it will identify schools where particular groups of students, such as English-language learners, arent performing well.

Vermont needs to clarify how it will pinpoint schools where particular subgroups of students, such as English-language learners and students in special education, are struggling. And like Arizona, the Green Mountain State may need to rethink how it addresses schools with low test-participation rates. Vermont had originally hoped to let districts decide if a school had made enough academic progress to no longer be considered low-performing. The department says that wont flythe state needs to come up with its own list of criteria that applies to all schools. Vermont also got dinged for the way it included so-called scale scores, instead of straight-up proficiency rates, in its accountability system. (The Thomas B. Fordham Institute has a great explanation of this wonky, but important, issue .)

If youve read other ESSA feedback letters, you might notice that Arizona, North Dakota, and Vermonts are a bit shorter than states that got their responses sooner. That could be thanks to recent changes the department has made to its ESSA feedback system. Initially, the department sent letters to states with a detailed list of the problems peer reviewers found.

But then the agency got pushback for overstepping its bounds. So it has switched up the process, first calling a state and going over trouble spots on the phone . If a state is able to explain a particular problem to the departments satisfaction, the agency might not mention it in their letter. The change-up has raised concerns about transparency and fairness, including from key Democratic lawmakers.

For those keeping score at home: Sixteen states and the District of Columbia have submitted plans to implement ESSA. The rest of the states will turn in their plans in September. So far, fourDelaware, Nevada, New Jersey, and New Mexicohave been approved. Nearly every state thats turned in an ESSA plan has gotten a response from the feds.

Follow us on Twitter at @PoliticsK12 .
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Accenture Buys Digital Marketing Agency For Technical, Creative Skill Set

Alec Shirkey

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Accenture, aiming to enhance its creative marketing prowess and talent, has acquired Wire Stone, a 200-person Boise, Idaho marketing agency whose client list includes several big IT firms, including Microsoft, HPE and HP Inc.

The Dublin-based professional services giant said Wire Stone's strategy, design, and technology expertise would help, particularly when it comes providing integrated campaigns, data-fueled insight and immersive digital customer experiences to big companies.

The two companies met through mutual colleagues, they said, and Accenture soon became familiar with the work Wire Stone had done with shared clients.

[Related: Accenture Acquires 200-Person Solution Provider To Boost Search, Content Analytics Capabilities]

"We realized it would be a very good fit to bring in what they have in terms of marketing creativity and their technology and the way they help CMOs solve their business challenges," said Jeannine Falcone, the practice leader for Accenture Interactive's marketing segment in North America. "We had a need to accelerate growth in that area."

Accenture, No. 2 on the CRN Solution Provider 500, said it will keep Wire Stone completely intact, with CEO Dan Lynch continuing to run the agency within the Interactive division. Wire Stone will continue working with its existing clients while also focusing on scaling its operations in order to take advantage of Accenture's widespread business relationships.

Both sides will work with Accenture's common client services team throughout as Wire Stone begins integrating with its new parent company.

"Accenture likes us for who we are, wants to help us build and doesn't want to break us up," Lynch said. "A lot of acquisitions in this category find themselves in a situation where they have to dismantle the agency or do something in the complete opposite direction."

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

What Accenture saw in Wire Stone was a well-rounded agency, one that could combine traditional marketing practices with creative uses of technology. Wire Stone's EVP of Technology, Jon Baker, said that his firm's skill set allows it to implement technology tools that can provide analytics and data-driven insights that help enhance the creative projects, like user interface design, and provide a better overall experience. "That's not always natural for technical people," Baker said.

Baker anticipates that highly technical tools like artificial intelligence and machine learning will soon be commonplace in sales and marketing. With Accenture's resources and Wire Stone's existing technical expertise, he thinks the agency can push even deeper into the digital side of marketing, where it has been working to develop solutions fueled by augmented reality virtual reality.

"It's all about what I call getting on the train. The train is going to be moving very, very fast," Baker said. "That goes all from standard things, like campaigns, all the way up to AR- and VR-type solutions we've been working on, where we're getting over a tech [learning] curve and over the initial understanding. Now we're taking that to the next level and figuring how some of these more advanced marketing techniques can even apply to technology of that sort."

Wire Stone marks the 14th acquisition made by Accenture Interactive in the last five years. Earlier this month, the Interactive division purchased Clearhead, a 70-person digital optimization firm based in Austin, Texas, with eyes on strengthening its $600 million personalization business.

For Wire Stone, founded in 2000, the acquisition lines up well with industry trends and the CEO's goals for his firm. "We felt we were ready for the next level because we have built a foundation that was stable, but also capable of doing much, much more," Lynch said.
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CSRA CEO: $498M Defense Contract Makes Company An Industry Leader In Cloud And Military IT

Michael Novinson

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CSRA CEO Larry Prior said his company helped the Defense Department overcome its concerns around the cloud through an approach that prioritized security above anything else.

The Falls Church-Va.-based company, No. 14 on the 2017 CRN Solution Provider 500, was awarded a $498 million, eight-year contract to provide the Department of Defense (DoD) with robust and resilient private cloud infrastructure for highly-protected workloads.

The deal will enable the Defense Department to consolidate its computing infrastructure by moving to an "as-a-Service model," which Prior said will substantially lower the DoD's total cost of ownership. CSRA's private cloud platform will streamline the onboarding of Defense Department customers, Prior said, thus reducing costs, boosting efficiency, and improving the government's overall security posture.

[Related: CSRA Creates New Cyber Leadership Role To Keep Government Agencies Secure In Moving To Cloud]

"We're now positioned as the industry leader for cloud and military IT," Prior told Wall Street analysts Wednesday. "With stringent security concerns, the Defense Department has lagged a bit behind other government organizations in the movement to the cloud. Now, the department is ready to take the next step in IT transformation."

CSRA has an open environment in the software stack of its private cloud thanks to a partnership with Red Hat, Prior said, meaning that government forensics experts would have 100 percent access and visibility anywhere within CSRA's stack in the event of a security breach.

The public sector solution provider would both welcome government forensics experts below the control plane  which is responsible for routing  as well as provide them with unfettered access to CSRA's cloud inside the federal government's firewall, Prior said.

"The barrier to adoption was the commitment and recognition that security was the first and foremost requirement," Prior said. "It's an inflection point for how they think about cloud."

CSRA hopes to extend their authorization on this contract to cover the Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services public clouds, Prior said, as well as the ability to add both compute and storage capabilities. Expanding the contract beyond private cloud infrastructure to cover options around public cloud, storage or databases could increase the value of the deal beyond $750 million, according to Prior.

(Editor's note: CSRA followed up with a statement to clarify that its DoD contract "is currently capped by the $498 million ceiling price." The company noted that its CEO was being aspirational with the statement above. "CSRA always strives to demonstrate its value, with hopes that, in time, our customers will see fit to expand our work," the statement said.)

Prior said CSRA's challenge is to align its business model with how Azure and AWS think about the future, while at the same time keeping cloud easy and palatable for a DoD customer.

"If you don't have that private cloud focused on security inside the deck, you'll never expand that ATO [authority to operate] to cover the wonderful public cloud work that AWS or Azure are doing," Prior said.

The initial efforts around the Defense Department contract will focus on installing cloud infrastructure at data centers in Alabama and Oklahoma and obtaining the authority to operate from the agency. Beginning in April 2018, Prior said CSRA hopes to ramp the program up aggressively and begin moving Defense Department workloads to the company's private cloud.

"We don't want to rush out of the gate with this customer," Prior said. "We're going to take the time and do this one really right."

Revenue for CSRA dipped to $1.23 billion, down 2 percent from $1.25 billion the year prior. That misses Seeking Alpha's projection of $1.25 billion.

Net income, meanwhile, jumped to $77 million, or 47 cents per share, up 18.5 percent from $65 million, or 39 cents per share, the year prior. On a non-GAAP basis, net income for the quarter held steady at $79 million, or 48 cents per share. That beat Seeking Alpha's projection of 46 cents per share.

CSRA's stock climbed 31 cents (0.96%) in after-hours trading Wednesday to $32.50 per share. Earnings were announced after the market closed.

Revenue from CSRA's defense and intelligence segments during the quarter tumbled to $525 million, down 7.6 percent from $568 million the year prior due to declines in the Army Logistics Modernization Program and the U.S. Strategic Command Information Technology Capabilities Contract.

Meanwhile, civil segment revenues  which include the Health and Homeland Security departments  climbed to $704 million, up 2.6 percent from $686 million last year thanks to the expansion of several recent program wins.

For the entire 2018 fiscal year, which ends in March 2018, the company is projecting earnings of $1.88 to $2 per share, on sales of $5 billion to $5.2 billion.
A common complaint among English-language-learner educators is that high-quality learning materials are hard to come by.

The Council of the Great City Schools wants to do something about it.

The councilwhich represents 70 of the nations largest urban public school systemshas formed a purchasing consortium to encourage the production of better instructional materials for English-learners.

The hope is that the joint buying power of member districts that serve about 1.3 million English-learners will force education publishers to step their game up and improve the quality of materials they design for ELLs.

My colleague Liana Loewus has written about the challenges that ELLs teachers and others face with learning materials that are often too simple and too disconnected from grade-level goals.

Los Angeles Unified will serve as the lead district for the consortium. The district has already issued requests-for-proposals for middle school mathematics materials that are consistent with college- and career-readiness standards, with a focus on getting ELLs ready to take Algebra I no later than 9th grade. The publishers will collaborate with member districts to develop the materials.

This is an opportunity for students and teachers to have access to high-quality rigorous materials that are designed with language development and mathematical reasoning to ensure academic success, Hilda Maldonado, the executive director of multilingual and multicultural education department for L.A. Unified, said in a statement.

For Further Reading

Quality Learning Materials Are Scarce for English-Language Learners

ELL Programs Often Focus on Basic Skills, Not Higher-Order Thinking, Study Finds

Photo Credit: Pre-K student Kailyn Walker reaches for a book in her classroom at the Dual Language Academy in Tulsa, Okla., where half of children are English-learners and students are taught in English and Spanish.

--Shane Bevel for Education Week


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BRIDGEPORT  A woman was killed and two pedestrians badly hurt Thursday afternoon when they were struck on Railroad Avenue by a driver fleeing from a State Police stop on Interstate 95 just before 1 p.m.

The driver, identified as Joseph Guzman-Rivera, 21, of 537 Colorado Avenue, was later arrested by Bridgeport and Connecticut State Police. Nero, a state police K-9 sniffed him out hiding in a basement on Lewis Street. But before Guzman-Rivera could be taken into custody he assaulted the K-9, according to Trooper First Class Kelly Grant, a State Police spokesperson.

Police found heroin, crack cocaine and powder cocaine in his possession, Grant said.

State Police charged Guzman-Rivera with three counts each of possession of narcotics, possession of narcotics with intent to sell, possession of narcotics within 1,500 feet of a school. He also is charged with illegally injuring a police service animal and second-degree burglary.

Additional motor vehicle charges may be lodged against him. He is being detained on $500,000 bond pending his appearance at the Golden Hill Street courthouse Friday.

More than a dozen residents were watching the police investigation throughout the afternoon.

Oh my God, remarked Sybil Hopkins as she put her hands to her face. This is so sad. That woman was just minding her own business, and now shes dead.

Hopkins said there have been accidents at the site and the city needs to put another traffic light there.

The Bridgeport Fire Department had to use their Jaws of Life to tear apart a blue Toyota and extricate the female driver who later died. They also used the tools to free the two pedestrians who were pinned against the fleeing drivers black Infiniti.

Grant said the series of events began at about 12:56 p.m. when a trooper assigned to Troop G in Bridgeport pulled Guzman-Rivera over on I-95.

Grant said the vehicle stopped in a lane and was instructed to pull to the right shoulder. Instead the driver stepped on the accelerator and sped off the highway at the South Avenue exit.

Once on Railroad Avenue his car broadsided the Toyota which was traveling on Iranistan. The impact pushed her car to the intersections corner. The impact also sent Guzman-Riveras car careening into two pedestrians who were with a bicycle. The male suffered severe injuries to a leg.

Police said Guzman-Rivera then fled the car and ran up Iranistan past Black Rock Avenue, before taking a left onto Lewis Street where he broke into a home, police said. It was there he was arrested and taken to Bridgeport Hospital to be treated for injuries received in the crash.

Both Grant and Av Harris, a spokesman for the city, said neither department was pursuing the fleeing vehicle after it left the highway.
Rakhine residents in Kayukphyu township have banded together to create a pressure lobby which will push the government to increase security in the beleaguered state, including via the formation of a suggested peoples militia, according to members of the new group.

The Rakhine State Security Support Committee was established on August 8 after a meeting of around 200 residents at the Sasana Beikman in Kyaukpyu.

It [has been established] to put our demands to the government. In other words, our aim is to pressure the government, said committee member U Tun Myint.

We started the committee in our own township but it would be preferable if there were such committees established in all 17 [of Rakhine States] townships, he added.

A series of killings and headless bodies found in northern Rakhine State recently has escalated communal tensions. The northern edge of the state has been on lockdown since a new Muslim insurgent group launched a lethal attack on border guard posts in October, killing nine police officers. The military began a counter-insurgency campaign, and both security officials and government representatives have accused the insurgent group of murdering civilians who cooperate with the authorities.

In response to the recent uptick in violence in the area, the new committee called for a peoples militia to be established in order to protest Buddhist residents of Maungdaw, Buthidaung and Rathedaung townships.

We are making this demand because the government has failed to protect the lives of the ethnic Rakhine. The problem can be reduced if the committees are established in each township. Otherwise, the situation will get worse, said lawyer U Htain Lin.

As its first action, the committee will hold a protest on August 13, calling on the state government to ensure better security of Rakhine ethnic residents, after eight Mro villagers were murdered earlier this month.

In a statement released following the Kayukphyu committees meeting, the members also denounced the United Nations, international non-governmental organizations and civil society organizations which provide aid in the area as the organizations allegedly supported the interests of the Bengali terrorists.
Leela JACINTO

France 24August 2, 2017France's first and only deradicalisation centre was shut down last week prompting questions over the country's lack of an effective strategy to handle a pressing problem that has attracted plenty of state funding but no solutions.It opened in September with much fanfare as news cameras trailed officials through an 18th-century French castle refitted with modern classrooms emptying onto a sun-dappled stone courtyard and single-inhabitant bedrooms sporting clean, cheery sheets.Twitter Ads info and privacyThe problem though was that there weren't too many takers for France's first and only deradicalisation centre.Housed in the Chateau de Pontourny in the picturesque central Loire region, the Centre for Prevention, Integration and Citizenship had a capacity for 25 people. At its peak, it housed a grand total of nine participants. None of them, unfortunately, completed the 10-month programme on offer. By late February, there were none at all until finally last week the centre was shut down after a Senate committee deemed the initiative "a complete fiasco".Since the January 2015 attacks in Paris, France has had the unenviable distinction of being ahead of the curve in Europe's jihadi threat circuit. Home to the continent's biggest Muslim community and at one point the source of the largest number of Western fighters in the Syria-Iraq conflict zone, France has seen nearly 1,000 nationals travel or attempt to travel to the Islamic State (IS) group's erstwhile "caliphate".The jihadist group may be rapidly losing territory in its Levantine heartland, but experts agree that the threat to the West is largely domestic and not about to die with the caliphate. Once more, France  with its roughly 15,000 suspected radical Islamists on state watchlists, including some 4,000 individuals deemed at high risk of committing an attack  appears on the frontlines of the next step in the grinding, asymmetrical war against radicalism.The problem though, as the Chateau de Pontourny experience shows, is that France has not been leading the way in devising or implementing an effective counter-radicalisation strategy."The Pontourny experience is not surprising. This is what happens when you start with the wrong diagnostics and then figure out the wrong solutions," explained Wassim Nasr, FRANCE 24's expert on jihadist groups. "It's not like you can just give them [radicalised youths] a red pill and they'll start singing the Marseillaise."Strict, self-defeating admissions criteriaThe Centre for Prevention, Integration and Citizenship in the Loire was a pilot site that was supposed to set a prototype for 13 centres of its kind across the country. Designed as a voluntary programme that would provide an intermediate space "between an open environment and a prison", the Chateau de Pontourny was open to young people between 18 to 30 years.France's prisons have been hotbeds of Islamist radicalisation and officials were keen to maintain an open-door policy at the centre.But problems surfaced at the onset, when the local community objected to the prospect of potentially dangerous individuals at risk of turning violent in their midst. Bearing those community concerns, the centre announced strict admissions criteria, which turned out to be self-defeating. The centre was open only to volunteer participants who had never faced terrorism charges, never travelled to Syria and were not listed on France's vast "S" file watch-list of people posing a possible security threat.The question of how and why would anyone voluntarily succumb to 10 months of a state-run programme  risking boredom at best and future surveillance by the security services at worst  was never addressed.As a result, the centre never stuck with its own admissions criteria.In a March 15 op-ed piece in Le Monde, Senator Esther Benbassa, who was part of a senate investigation committee, revealed that one of the centre's nine residents had an "S" file designation. Another was linked to one of the Bataclan attackers who stormed the Paris concert hall in November 2015, killing nearly 90 people. Yet another had been convicted on terrorism charges."The de-radicalisation policies have had more than one failure since 2014," wrote Benbassa. "The government's panic following the attacks, the immediate measures taken to reassure the population, the need for a display of promptness have not led to the launching of solid strategies designed after broad consultations that are accessible and pursuing precise objectives."The state's deradicalisation funding gravy trainBenbassa's conclusions were underscored when a Paris court handed Sonia Imloul, former president of a de-radicalisation NGO, a four-month suspended prison sentence for embezzlement of public funds.A community activist, Imloul opened a deradicalisation centre in the Parisian banlieue, or suburb, of Saint Denis in 2014.Barely three years later, she was running afoul with the state. The court found that she had received around 60,000 worth of government grants into her personal bank account and had hired three staffers without proper contracts or paperwork.By the time the verdict emerged, Imloul had already been consigned to the basket of hustlers jumping on the state's anti-radicalisation funding gravy train.The Saint Denis community activist was found to be involved, sometimes as a victim, sometimes not, in more than a dozen scam cases over the past 20 years. She was accused of being mediatique  or excessive self-promotion on the media, a venial sin in France  and consigned to deradicalisation history.'Mme Deradicalisation' breaks with the stateAnother mediatique figure to court controversy has been Dounia Bouzar, an anthropologist and writer dubbed Mme Deradicalisation by the French press.In February 2016, Bouzar made the national headlines when she announced that her NGO, CPDSI (Centre for the Prevention of Sectarian Drift Related to Islam) would not renew its contract with the French Interior Ministry.The reason for the break with the French state, Bouzar explained, was over the government's bid for a constitutional amendment that would strip dual national terror convicts of their French nationality.The constitutional amendment bid failed with then French President Francois Hollande backing down to opposition from civil rights groups as well as members of his own Socialist Party.But in a book published a year later, it became evident that the nationality-stripping debate was merely the last straw for the French anthropologist-writer. Her problem with the French authorities, Bouzar claimed, was "the essentialisation of Islam", which she explained as the police's penchant for simplifying the markers of radicalisation to cultural traits such as growing a beard or adopting a dress code.The fall of a mediatique figureBorn to an Algerian father and French mother, Bouzar, 53, was a high-school dropout who resumed her education following a divorce from a violent husband. A colourful personality accused of imperiousness and of ratcheting over 800,000 bills for her work projects, Bouzar has been viewed with suspicion in French establishment circles.Disapproval over Bouzar's mediatique disposition peaked over her use of a case of a woman -- known by the pseudonym "Lea"  in her press interviews and a book on deradicalisation. Lea, a young Frenchwoman, was planning an attack on a synagogue in Lyon before she was "deradicalised" by the CPDSI. Months later though, the French press discovered that Bouzar's deradicalisation success story had failed: Lea was back in prison.Recidivism being an unfortunate peril of the job, the case would not have attracted the kind of censure it did in countries like Britain and the US, where private NGOs use the media to raise awareness as well as maintain their funding. But in France, where the state is expected to fund programmes run by bureaucrats with no need for media exposure, Bouzar had indulged in Bouzarisme or Bouzarisation or, in some cases, Bouzarologie.A very French intellectual powwowLabels were also applied to her deradicalisation work, which uses family therapy and psychological counselling including tapping into childhood experiences and the use of mentor figures to reach alienated youths, earning her the moniker "Madeleine de Proust".In the world of deradicalisation, where techniques and policies are still in trial stages, Bouzar's work draws from her doctoral thesis on the anthropology of religion.Meanwhile her thesis director, Olivier Roy, a renowned French political scientist, has been locked in a bitter intellectual debate on the nature of France's jihadist problem, with his fellow French political Islam scholar, Gilles Kepel.The vitriolic feud between the two men has raged in the French and international press, with Keppel arguing adopting a structuralist model that faults the radicalisation of Islam while Roy focuses on the individual, primarily the phenomenon of rebelion-seekers adopting Islam or what he calls "the Islamisation of radicalism".Flush with state funding and under an intense media spotlight, France's deradicalisation circuit has been dominated by intellectual debates, ego clashes and the ever-present whiff of self-promotion and funding misappropriation.Lost in all the rivalry and backbiting is the business of reaching out to untold numbers of young, disaffected "seekers" in danger of finding answers in the world of violent jihad.A hard vs 'hug a terrorist' approachCritics say the state's focus on "responsible citizenship" and relearning "les valeurs de la Republique"  or Republican values  is not particularly helpful for citizens who have lost faith in the state. The focus, Wassim believes, should be on convincing indoctrinated citizens to reject violence and not deriding their ideology."Each case has many levels, but you cannot deny that there is a political and religious motivation," explained Wassim. "It's like trying to address the target market with the wrong gun."While deradicalisation programmes are in a nascent stage across the US and western Europe, a "soft approach" policy adopted by the Danish city of Aarhus has been widely hailed across the world. The "Aarhus model", which involves helping the IS group's returning fighters reintegrate into society has been dubbed the "hug a terrorist" approach in law-enforcement circles. But many experts maintain it's the best strategy on the table right now."They don't tell returnees: 'You're criminals who will be punished'. Instead, they say, 'Okay, you did your duty and you helped the Muslim world. Now you have to disengage and keep up the fight in a non-violent way,'" explains Wassim.In the absence of a proven, definitive anti-radicalisation strategy, experts are calling for patience in tackling the new threat.There is "no magic wand, neither in France nor elsewhere in Europe, or in the world," warned Muriel Domenach, Secretary General of France's Interministerial Committee for the Prevention of Radicalisation, in a column in Le Monde before adding, "The lessons learned from the evaluation of the Pontourny rehabilitation centre will be put to the test."In a statement released last week, the Interior Ministry noted that while the Pontourny centre was closing, it would continue to seek alternatives to long-term imprisonment for extremists."In particular, the government will study the possibility of opening smaller-sized structures to host individuals in criminal custody and to develop alternative solutions to incarceration," the statement noted.Until that time though, the Pontourny model is not about to be replicated across the country and the beautiful 18th-century chateau in the Loire River Valley will be heading for another refurbishment and refitting by the French state.
He is survived by his wife, six sons, five daughters and grandchildren. He was 66.

Mr Ahmed was born in Buthidaung township, Rakhine (Arakan) State. He studied at the Bassein Degree College and the Sittwe Intermediate College before completing his higher education in Mawlamyine, obtaining a Bachelor of Science in marine biology.

He initially set out on a career as a teacher, working in state schools in Buthidaung. He started off as a primary assistant teacher, and worked his way up to a post at a middle school in Tuang Bazaar, followed by a job as senior assistant teacher at the Buthidaung State High School.

His teaching career was interrupted in 1985 when he abruptly had to flee Myanmar, leaving behind his family, home and job after being alerted that he was wanted by the Military Intelligence Services. He took refuge in Bangladesh, where he would stay for the rest of his life.

While family members settled in the United Arab Emirates urged Mr Ahmed to emigrate, he instead joined the Rohingya Solidarity Organization in Bangladesh in order to fight for Rohingya rights. He became a member RSOs central committee, and also joined the Arakan Rohingya Islamic Front, later the Arakan Rohingya National Organization.

In 2001, Mr Ahmed founded Kaladan Press Network as the first Rohingya news agency. He continued to work as the editor-in-chief and some-time columnist until his death. Rohingya Vision, a Malaysia-based Rohingya TV channel, yesterday expressed grief at Mr Ahmeds passing, noting that they deeply mourned their colleagues death.

U Tin Soe, Kaladans Executive Editor, will now lead the newsroom.

We  Kaladan Press  made a ceremony of praying for Fayas through the Islamic system and Rohingya tradition, he said.
Great Allegheny Passage improvements coming

The bids were opened Nov. 1 and Adam Eidemiller's was the lower of two bids received. The project will take two weeks starting within the next week.
The Myanmar Democratic Transition Forum will be held at the Myanmar International Convention Center 2 in Nay Pyi Taw from August 11 through to August 13, according to a press statement by the Ministry of Information.

The forum will bring together more than thirty speakers from the country and abroad on August 11-13, 2017 in an exercise to review the progress towards democracy in Myanmar, the challenges faced and the roadmap for the future.

Organised by the Ministry of Information with support from a host of global and local partners, the conference will be opened by State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi. After her inaugural speech, Information Minister Dr Pe Myint will lay bare the context in which the Forum is being organized, its objectives and what it seeks to achieve.

Several ministers and lawmakers , leaders of civil society groups, media practitioners, business leaders and veteran civil servants and representatives from Myanmar military will be joined by a number of international participants that includes Indonesian Lt General (retd) Agus Widjojo, former Vice Chairman of the Indonesia and Tentara Nasional Indonesias (TNI) Chief of Territorial Affairs and, one of its leading intellectuals.

Ambassadors from India, Norway and Singapore and other diplomats, UN functionaries and leading academics specializing on Myanmar will join the intense deliberations at the Forum.

Six plenary sessions bringing together more than thirty speakers will be followed by as many winding-up interactive sessions that will seek out views from a cross section of more than 500 participants that would include special observers from foreign governments and global bodies who support Myanmars transition to democracy.

The Forum is seen as both a stock taking exercise in Myanmars transition to democracy as to identify the hurdles that confront the complex process and chart out a roadmap for the future.

The Forum will be the largest review exercise on Myanmars democratic process so far, said U Myint Kyaw, deputy permanent secretary at the Ministry of Information, who is heading the organizational effort for the Forum.

We are making detailed arrangements for three days of intense deliberations that would be conducted in a free and frank atmosphere.

At a time when the world is drifting towards intolerant right-wing sectarian regimes and even established democracies are showing signs of erosion of the spirit of democracy, Myanmar is struggling hard to emerge into a functional democracy, leaving behind more than five decades of authoritarian rule.

In the process, it faces many challenges like the one of establishing democratic federalism to ensure inclusive future for the nations many ethnic minorities, many of whom have challenged the Union government with force of arms for decades.

The Forum will inevitably focus on the ceasefires and the peace-making processes they seek to herald and two full sessions will be devoted to the issues involved.

One session will focus on the transition from a command economy to a market economy, an important economic corollary to the political transition from authoritarian rule to democracy.

The event will be live streamed on the Ministry of Informations Facebook (MOI Webportal Myanmar). Updates and news will also be posted to the Ministry of Informations Twitter (MOI Twitter).
A Tatmadaw military column arrives at a monastery near the NMSPs Mawlamyine District office (photo: MNA)

Tatmadaw troops have reportedly entered a village under the control of the New Mon State Party, escalating pressure on the ethnic armed group as it meets with government peace negotiators in Yangon this week.

The Peace Commission (PC) and the Delegation for Political Negotiations (DPN) under the ethnic bloc the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), are currently engaged in talks about the nationwide ceasefire agreement. The NMSP, a non-signatory group, currently chairs the UNFC.

According to Kyar-inn Seikkyi township, Kayin (Karen) State residents, military columns from the Tatmadaw entered a village near the NMSPs Mawlamyine District office between August 9 and 10.



The first military column arrived at a monastery near the district office yesterday evening. When they [the Tatmadaw troops] met with the district secretary, they said they were touring the area. Another military column arrived in Win Yaw Seik Gyi, said an official from the NMSP.

Under an agreement with former president U Thein Seins administration, Khwa Village in Mawlamyine District is one of the 18 permanent bases of the NMSP. Currently, the area is used as a base of operations for the NMSPs Mawlamyine District office and the Mon National Liberation Army (MNLA) Battalion No 1.

Local residents said a 30-member Tatmadaw mobile medical team arrived on August 9 ahead of the military columns.

I dont know which battalions they are from. They said they are here to see the area where the [Mon] Revolution Day ceremony was held. They said they have come under their superiors order, a village administrator said on condition of anonymity.

The NMSP held Mon Revolution Day military parades in five areas under its control on August 7 despite pressure from the Tatmadaw to confine the commemorative events to the partys headquarters.

The NMSP has signed a bilateral ceasefire, but not the NCA.
The junta forces are said to have burned down the homes of local people in a clash with the Peoples Defense Forces in Tanintharyi Regions Palaw...
The prospect of a lengthy fraud trial can certainly help to concentrate the mind. Just a few weeks ago, ex-Barclays banker John Varley was charged with conspiracy to commit fraud over an emergency 8 billion fundraising agreement the bank reached with Qatar and Abu Dhabi in 2008.

Which might explain why Varley, 61, has secretly wed his alluring paramour, Bettina von Hase  daughter of a former German ambassador to the UK  whom he knew at Oxford in the Seventies.

The pair had been due to wed in October, but to the surprise of friends and family, they tied the knot at The Savoy Chapel in London last week.

John Varley, 61, has secretly wed his alluring paramour, Bettina von Hase  daughter of a former German ambassador to the UK  whom he knew at Oxford in the Seventies

Varley, who was paid 1 million a year as Barclays CEO, told his two children by his first marriage only a few days before the nuptials.

'John and I married quietly this week,' Bettina told friends in an email. 'We are very happy!

'The events planned for October 14 will no longer take place. But we look forward to celebrating with you all in due course. We send you much love, Bettina and John.'

Varley, a former pupil of Catholic boarding school Downside, was previously married for more than 30 years to Carolyn, whose fund manager sister, Nichola Pease, is married to City tycoon Crispin Odey. Von Hase once dated Rupert Birley, eldest son of Lady Annabel Goldsmith by her first husband, Mark Birley. Rupert died aged 30, while swimming off the coast of West Africa in 1986. His body was never found.

The path of true love has not run entirely smoothly for the newly-wed couple. Von Hase, 60, who runs art advisory firm Nine AM, and Varley had been due to tie the knot last November.

However, they cancelled the ceremony with two days' notice, apparently because Varley was seriously ill.

He is now fully recovered, but friends say health may have been another factor in his decision to seal his latest marital deal.

No care home for Joan...

She plays a resident in her latest film The Time Of Their Lives, but evergreen Dame Joan Collins, 84, declares she will never end up in a care home herself and criticises them as places with no vitality.

Her character, washed-up actress Helen Shelley, is shown living in a nursing home, but Joan says: 'I don't think it's likely I'll find myself in a home. I have children, grandchildren, a wonderful husband . . .'

She adds: 'I went to two care homes [to prepare for the film], to see how they were, these old people. Some seemed somnambulistic. The people just sat there.'

Hate to say it, Joan, but many of 'these old people' are probably younger than you.

Dunkirk actor Tom Hardy says he has no plans to relocate to Hollywood. 'That is just completely out of the question,' says the 39-year-old Londoner, who has an 18-month-old son with his wife, actress Charlotte Riley.

'My son lives here with his mother, and I need that contact with him. It's so important to me. They grow and learn so fast at his age, so any time away from him is just criminal.'

The Queen, who opened GCHQ's National Cyber Security Centre earlier this year, is taking steps to make sure Palace computers are not hacked.

The Royal Household is advertising for a cyber security professional, who will be paid 36,000 per year.

'As part of this small, professional team you'll take on the challenge of managing the confidentiality, integrity and availability of various types of information,' says the ad.

Despite Prince Philip's retirement, expect him to take a close interest. At the National Cyber Security Centre's opening, the Prince asked a member of staff if he spoke Russian or Chinese. When the hapless employee said no, Philip  clearly with hackers in mind  replied: 'Let's hope they don't attack when you're on duty.'
Is it OK to go to the movies or travel alone? Most people think so.

Millions of Americans are happy to live a solitary existence, according to new research by Intrepid Travel.

Four in 10 of respondents said they had no issue with vacationing abroad solo.

Scroll down for video

Round-the-world! While 55 per cent of those polled said it is more acceptable to travel alone now than it was a a decade ago, a third said they worry they'd get bored traveling alone

Independent: Those surveyed said grocery shopping, boarding a train and living away from parents are some of the top ten things they are happy to do all by themselves

TOP 10 THINGS PEOPLE LIKE TO DO ALONE Go grocery shopping Live away from your parents Buy a new car Board a train Visit a bucket-list destination Buy a house Go to the movies Go on a group tour Go out for dinner Fly on an airplane Advertisement

Of those surveyed, about a quarter (24 per cent) said they have been on vacation alone.

But they also think it's easier to go it alone now than it used to be. Of those polled, 55 per cent said it was more acceptable to travel alone now than it was a decade ago.

Thirty six per cent of those surveyed said the greatest benefit of travelling solo is being able to challenge themselves, and eight in 10 would even be up for taking a round-the-world trip this way.

However the study, which polled 2,000 adults, also found a third of respondents were worried theyd get bored traveling alone, and 72 per cent admitted that while they wouldn't rule out traveling solo, they'd prefer to go with someone else.

While many Americans are happy to travel alone, though, some tasks of being abroad without a companion are more exciting - or daunting - than others.

Half of respondents aren't fazed by flying solo, and around a third are content to navigate a busy international airport unaccompanied. However, half of the adults surveyed said they wouldnt be happy to drive abroad on their own.

Driving while traveling domestically is a different story, though, with 61 per cent of Americans saying they're at ease navigating through the States alone.

Aside from traveling, those surveyed reported being comfortable doing most things alone.

Go my own way! No pressure to do certain activities and more relaxation are among the top five reasons Americans would feel comfortable traveling alone

One in five Americans are happy to catch a train unaccompanied and over half (55 per cent) have no problem going to the gym alone.

Hanging out at the local bar without anyone else isnt a problem for 36 per cent of people, while nearly half (46 per cent) are happy to go out for a meal with no one but themselves.

Food shopping without company is also no concern to nine in 10 respondents, and similarly, over three quarters are happy to go to the movies all alone.

Nine in 10 U.S. adults reported that they are now content to be in their own company, with 64 per cent admitting that they're comfortable with the idea of living alone.

WHY PEOPLE PREFER TRAVELING ALONE No pressure to do certain activities

Its more relaxing

Its an easier learning experience

Its easier to meet new people

Friends dont have the same time-off Advertisement

In fact, more than half (64 per cent) would be perfectly happy to buy a house just for themselves.

And one in seven of those polled would have no issues with buying a new car without the help or support of a friend or family member.

The study shows that many Americans not only want alone time, but need it. Nearly four in 10 (37 per cent) say they need more than three hours of alone time every day.

'As one of the fastest-growing markets in the travel industry, its time we start celebrating solo travelers, not just accommodating them, said Leigh Barnes, regional director for North America for Intrepid Travel.

'Travel is for everyone, our solo-only tours will cater to the number of travelers who are more than happy discovering the world alone, but want the comfort of a small group tour. Intrepid Travels new tour range takes out the confusion and intimidation of planning a trip alone, so single travelers can easily go and explore the world,' said Barnes.
It's a question every entrepreneur comes up against at one point or another: How far would you go in order to fund your business idea?

The answer is very, if you're Jess Thomas. The 32-year-old founder and creator of the hugely popular Health Lab protein ball range sold her 2004 sky-blue Toyota Corolla for AUD $5,000 in cash to invest in her protein ball start-up.

To this day, the $5,000 remains the only amount invested in the now multi-million-dollar company.

Here, Ms Thomas, from Melbourne, shares how she went from mixing up her protein balls at home in her kitchen to seeing her business venture be stocked around the world.

Jess Thomas (pictured with her baby) founded Health Lab protein balls in 2015 - she had been working in a corporate job and always craved something sweet at 3pm

Ms Thomas, 32, decided she wanted to make a healthy alternative for millennial women - when she came into work with a homemade batch of protein balls (pictured), they were devoured

Pictured: Jess Thomas's car

And so, the 32-year-old quit her job, sold her Toyota car for $5,000 and launched her business with the cash - buying food processors, ingredients and more to get her started

When Ms Thomas had her business brainwave, she was working in marketing and a corporate role at the time:

'What with the long hours, meetings and 3pm sugar cravings, I struggled to avoid buying chocolate bars,' she told Daily Mail Australia.

'One day, instead of buying a Mars Bar from the vending machine, I brought in some homemade protein balls I'd made at home.

'My colleagues devoured them in seconds - it was then that I thought there was something in a protein ball business.'

Ms Thomas explained that in 2015, protein balls weren't really a thing yet - she was one of the first on the market (pictured with her baby)

'It wasn't glamorous and was very much the basics, but I knew it was what I needed,' Ms Thomas said of the early days (pictured)

Before she knew it, she had quadrupled sales and believed she was onto something

Taking matters into her own hands, Ms Thomas started making batches of her protein balls on the side of her regular day job, and delivering them to a cafe in Melbourne, where they proved popular:

'This was 2014 - it's hard to believe, but protein balls weren't really a thing yet,' she told FEMAIL.

'After six months of doing it on the side and the balls doing really well, I knew I had a big decision to make - could I go into making protein balls full time?'.

Soon afterwards, in February 2015, the 32-year-old quit her corporate job and moved into her business venture full time.

'The hardest thing was the fact that I had absolutely zero savings. I am and always have been a terrible saver. The only thing I could sell to help me get things off the ground was my car.'

These days, Health Lab protein balls - which are cleverly named everything from 'The Craver' to 'The 3pm' - are stocked in 3,500 stores around Australia - as well as elsewhere

Health Lab has also expanded into healthy sugar-free snacks for children, as well as protein smoothies (pictured)

The children's range came about after she had her own baby

And so she did. Receiving $5,000 in cash for the 2004 sky-blue Toyota Corolla, Ms Thomas used the money to invest in a food processor, ingredients, business cards and a website.

'It wasn't glamorous and was very much the basics, but I knew it was what I needed,' she said.

At the beginning, it was tough. Between making the batches for her small team to roll out each day, knocking on the doors of various cafes in Melbourne and working on the finances and HR sides of things, Ms Thomas was busy:

'But I knew I was onto a good thing, as in the first month, our sales quadrupled,' she explained.

These days, Health Lab protein balls - which are cleverly named everything from 'The Craver' to 'The 3pm' - are stocked in 3,500 stores around Australia.

They are also stocked on Virgin Airlines flights, and available in places including China, South East Asia and soon, Canada.

'The growth and traction came pretty early on,' Ms Thomas admitted.

'Our protein balls were among the first, but they're also very unique in the market. They have no added sugar, no syrups and and are entirely natural.'

Each Health Lab product is unique insofar as it they are sugar-free and entirely free from syrup - they are the most natural protein balls on the market

Among her tips for business women, Ms Thomas (pictured) said you need to know your target market - and take baby steps at first but make sure you're taking them

'As scary as it was to start the business, I can't believe how far we've come,' she explained

Speaking about why she thinks Health Lab has taken off, and her tips for other people with a business idea, Ms Thomas said you need to know your market:

'Lots of people say they target everyone, which can work, but I think it's worth narrowing it down.

'We unashamedly target millennial women - women who might be clean and fancy a green smoothie one day, but then a glass of champagne or some chocolate the next.

'We engage with out customer on social media and elsewhere. I think it's been one of the keys to our success.'

Ms Thomas also believes that taking a step - even if it's small - is the key to turning a business idea into an actual business.

'You don't have to quit your job straight away, just take a small step. Back yourself and be passionate.'

These days, Health Lab has expanded into healthy sugar-free snacks for children, as well as protein smoothies. They will also roll out Paleo and vegan protein balls in the not-too-distant future.

'I'm determined to keep giving women guilt-free snacks,' Ms Thomas said.

'And since I had my one-year-old, I'm focused on children and babies too. As scary as it was to start the business, I can't believe how far we've come.'

To find out more about Health Lab protein balls, click here. You can also follow the brand on Instagram here.
Whiter-looking teeth without resorting to expensive dental procedures? Sign us up.

There's a catch though. Some toothpaste 'alternatives', touted on the Internet as effective stain removers, might not be quite as great as their sometimes famous fans would have us to believe.

Charcoal toothpaste, oil-pulling and fruit peel rubs are all doing the rounds right now as simpler ways to a whiter, brighter, bacteria free smile, but are they actually effective?

Speaking to Woman's Day, Sydney-based cosmetic dentist Dr Luke Cronin revealed what works, what doesn't and what you might well want to avoid.

There's a range of toothpaste alternatives that claim everything from whiter teeth to a bacteria free-mouth, but does this mean you can ditch your dentist?

CHARCOAL TOOTHPASTE

Claim: 'Perfect' for stain removal and whiter teeth

This trend involves brushing teeth using an activated charcoal  the product comes as in capsule form or as a powder  mixed with water to create a paste which is then applied to a brush and used to scrub teeth.

It's believed charcoal can absorb tannins  these are the compounds found in coffee, tea and wine that stain your teeth.

And it's also claimed the gritty black stuff has the power to eliminate toxic bacteria which cause bad breath.

Activated charcoal toothpaste promises white teeth, but it might not be everyone's cup of tea

While many claim the product has miracle whitening properties, Dr Cronin warns against embracing the trend because there's limited evidence to support if it's any good for you, or your teeth.

'It's unclear if activated charcoal is safe as there are concerns that it may be too abrasive to use on your teeth and gums,' he said.

OIL-PULLING

Claim: Swishing oil around your mouth can improve oral health

The basic idea behind oil-pulling is to take a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil and use it as a kind of mouthwash.

It's an Ayurvedic procedure rooted in the belief that antimicrobial properties found in oil binds to toxins in the mouth and draws out bacteria.

Gargling for 20 minutes is expected, after which you can spit out the oil, and any mouth nasties you may have lurking.

The Ayurvedic procedure involves gargling with oil for 20 minutes a day to remove toxins from the mouth

While Dr Cronin doesn't outright slam oil-pulling, he's not sold either: 'If you want to give it a go there are no reported negative side effects of edible oils on soft or hard oil tissue, however, I do not recommend oil pulling as a means to achieving good oral health.'

FRUIT PEELS

Claim: Rubbing your teeth with peels can be an alternative to brushing

This way of brushing your teeth could come in handy next time you're caught on the hop and in need a toothbrush.

Fruit peel fanatics believe you can rub discarded orange or banana peels straight on to your teeth to remove troublesome stains.

Fruit peel fans believe you can rub scraps on your teeth to remove stains

Dr Cronin said he remains unconvinced as to whether this is an effective procedure, and that while it seems relatively harmless, there's no clinical evidence to suggest it works.

He does caution against using orange and lemon peels though.

'While banana peels are harmless, orange and lemon peels contain acids that can be damaging to the tooth's enamel,' he said.
You may already own a pair of jeans  but probably not ones that take it quite so literally.

The latest trend in denim is for a zip that runs down the front, underneath and up to join the waistband at the back  splitting the trousers in two.

French fashion brand Vetements has worked with Levis to create a high-end version that costs 1,295, and the idea has begun filtering down to the high street.

The latest trend in denim is for a zip that runs down the front, underneath and up to join the waistband at the back  splitting the trousers in two

A cheaper version of the jeans costs 113 from American brand Reformation.

However even the most dedicated fashionistas are balking at the idea, with Elle magazine warning that they are not for the faint-hearted.

Harpers Bazaar described the craze as being part of the great jeans apocalypse, as denim trends become increasingly extreme.

The style is said to allow wearers to show off their rear  or underwear  by unzipping the back section.

Harpers Bazaar described the craze as being part of the great jeans apocalypse, as denim trends become increasingly extreme

We are starting to enter some questionable territory, the magazine said.

Meanwhile social media users called the garments  which are only available for women  horrible and the ugliest jeans ever.

Other unusual styles sold on the high street include a pair made from clear plastic, which cost 55 at Topshop.

Denim versions with plastic knee windows cost 49.

Meanwhile social media users called the garments  which are only available for women  horrible and the ugliest jeans ever

High-end label Nordstrom also launched a pair for 330 which came with a caked-on muddy coating, while other brands have been offering styles with daring rips across the rear.

But despite the apparent impracticality of having a zip that runs from front to back, there are some benefits.

Elle magazine adds that they could be really great for the weak-bladdered.
Sai Ba Nyan, the vice-chairman of the local aid committee in Namtu Township, east of Namhsan, said that 242 people from 68 households abandoned their homes and fled two days ago. Most of them are children and the elderly.

They are now sheltering in Pokparyong temple in Namtu, he said. We are helping as best we can, but it can only be a short-term solution. If the fighting continues and they cannot return home, we will need to rely on help from aid groups.

According to an August 8 report by the TNLAs News and Information Department, a clash broke out earlier this week between the TNLAs battalion 919 and Burmese army division 77 in Khur Khuen village tract in Namhsan Township.

In May, more than 300 residents in Namtu Township fled their homes due to a series of clashes between Burmese government forces and the TNLA.

Clashes between the Burmese army, the TNLA and the Restoration Council of Shan State/ Shan State Army (RCSS/SSA) are regularly reported in this area.

The TNLA was among six armed groups excluded from signing the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) in 2015 with the then ruling government led by President Thein Sein.

-Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN)
Twenty-five years ago this month, Sarah, Duchess of York was unceremoniously bundled out of Balmoral Castle and into exile, from where she would embark on her accident-prone life as an ex-member of the Royal Family.

She had been shamed after photos emerged of her topless, having her toes sucked by a man who was not her husband, next to a swimming pool in the South of France.

Stripped of the Royal Highness title, divorced from Prince Andrew and forced to live a money-grubbing existence which brought her notoriety, many would judge her life since to have been a complete failure.

Yet, here she is again, back at Balmoral this week as a guest of the Queen, basking in the lifestyle that could have been hers for keeps  arriving by private jet, surrounded by protection officers and spending her holiday being fawned over by flunkeys.

Prince Andrew and Sarah York leaving Aberdeen Airport after landing by private jet this week

Her confident smile from the passenger seat of the Range Rover driven by her ex-husband said it all. The woman supposed to be a royal outcast  some say a national disgrace  is very much back in the fold and relishing it. The only thing missing was a regal wave.

Those familiar with the Duchess say that in true Fergie denial mode, shell be waltzing around the castle as if nothing scandalous had ever happened.

As if she never tried to sell access to her husband for 500,000. Or  as the Mail revealed earlier this year  set up meetings in London hotel bars to flog her services in the field of business support.

Or masterminded a slew of failed business ventures leaving behind a string of debts.

Yes, the toxic trail left by the Duchess is long and unedifying. But for the Queen, having her favourite son and his family by her side on her summer holiday is crucial. And if the invitation must, at Andrews insistence, include the ex-wife  then so be it.

So, how has Sarah York managed to haul herself back into favour?

And is it true, as some observers claim, that she is gradually increasing her grip on her enigmatic ex-husband? Sarahs critics point to recent activities that illustrate just how strong her hold over her him has become.

And is it true, as some observers claim, that she is gradually increasing her grip on her enigmatic ex-husband? (pictured at Royal Ascot last year)

Last month, Sarah deeply offended senior courtiers  and triggered public outrage  when it was discovered shed used Buckingham Palace to host a birthday party for the young daughter of her friends David and Victoria Beckham.

Though the Palace line was that the Royals have the right to host private parties  the implication being that Prince Andrew had hosted the event  officials are privately seething that it should have taken place at all in a royal building, without their knowledge, and that pictures of the event appeared all over social media.

Then there is her involvement in Andrews work. Once, Air Miles Andy trotted the globe as a trade ambassador. These days, his main job is backing Pitch@Palace, a well-received initiative giving fledgling businesses a boost.

In April, Sarah unexpectedly turned up in a semi-official capacity at Pitch events at St Jamess Palace  despite the resolve of Princes Philip and Charles that she should have no formal role connected with the Royal Family. Yet the couple posed happily for photos together.

Later, Andrew was overheard to quip: Its a family business.

Sarah deeply offended senior courtiers  and triggered public outrage  when it was discovered shed used Buckingham Palace to host a birthday party for the young daughter of her friends David and Victoria Beckham

This year, the Court Circular, the historic record of the doings of the House of Windsor overseen by the Lord Chamberlain and signed off by the Queens private secretary, contained the name of Sarah, Duchess of York. This was despite the fact she hasnt been a member of the Firm for 21 years.

Her name was there because she was representing Andrew at Westminster Abbey at a memorial service for the comedian Ronnie Corbett, where she was greeted by guests as if she was still a member of the Royal Family. Not surprisingly, questions have since been asked about whether more public engagements may follow.

The Duchess also made her presence felt in the alleged row between Princes Charles and Andrew over the future role of Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie  Andrew demanding an official role for them in Team Windsor, Charles seemingly adamantly against it.

For the Queen, having her favourite son and his family by her side on her summer holiday ~(their 2010 trip to Scotland pictured) is crucial

Last December, Andrew issued an angry rebuttal to media stories that claimed hed asked for titles to be bestowed on his daughters husbands when they married.

For her part, it seems Sarah was behind the Stop bullying the York family! campaign launched on Facebook and Twitter.

It does seem astonishing that her influence is so potent a force almost three decades after her divorce from Andrew and considering her rackety life since. People who know the couple say her hold over the 57-year-old Duke, though no longer sexual, is strong.

She pulls his strings. Andrew pulls the Queens strings. Thats why shes at Balmoral, I am told. For someone who can be so bonkers in her personal life, shes extraordinarily shrewd when it comes to managing her relationship with the Queen.

For most of the year, Sarah occupies a suite of rooms at Andrews home, Royal Lodge at Windsor, and they co-own a 13 million chalet in the Swiss ski resort of Verbier. She has described the Alpine town as her spiritual home: when they bought the chalet in 2015, she indicated it would become her main residence.

But it didnt have the excitements of London or New York and, pretty soon, she returned to Royal Lodge.

The only thing shes not been able to persuade Andrew to do is give her enough money to live on.

He was very reluctant, says someone who knows them well. When Sarah gets cash, she spends it. Doesnt matter how much  sooner or later its gone.

It was this attitude to her finances that caused her in 2010 to fall victim to a sting by the red-top paper News Of The World, which exposed her offering introductions to her husband for 500,000. She has launched a 25 million legal action against the now-defunct newspapers owners.

Although the paper videoed her demands for cash, she claims her reputation was destroyed by the papers actions  not her own.

And thats her big problem, says my source. Its always someone else to blame. Sarah is only ever one step away from a banana skin, and soon, shell slip up again. Her influence on the Duke of York is not necessarily in the Royals best interests. I wonder why the Queen seems unable to see this.

Her attitude to her finances that caused her in 2010 to fall victim to a sting by the red-top paper News Of The World, which exposed her offering introductions to her husband for 500,000

However cordial her reception at Balmoral this week, the Duchess of York will be gone before Prince Philip arrives from Sandringham.

The House of Windsors grumpy paterfamilias is, at 96, still a force to be reckoned with and famously vowed never to be in the same room as the Duchess. Balmoral isnt big enough for both of them.

And on Sunday, when the Queen attends Crathie church, the party will include Andrew, Beatrice and Eugenie  but not Sarah.

Yet shes made great strides in her self-assured march towards rehabilitation. Popping up in the Court Circular, hosting Palace parties, attending official engagements as her ex-husbands other half, issuing media statements  its as if Fergie never went away.
An Australian model has spoken out about the shocking moment she was sexually assaulted on a train.

New York-based Jessica Vander Leahy, 29, who is originally from Sydney's Sutherland Shire, said a man forced himself on her in broad daylight.

'A stranger forced his hand up my skirt and grabbed at my 'p***y' as one world leader might say,' she wrote for Whimn.

'Perhaps more shocking was the fact that I did nothing. I made no attempt to attract attention, I had no desire to make a fuss.'

Australian model Jessica Vander Leahy, 29, spoke about the time a man forced himself on her in broad daylight

'A stranger forced his hand up my skirt and grabbed at my 'p***y' as one world leader might say,' she wrote

'The train doors opened and I rushed out onto the platform without looking back.'

The model and writer said her reaction to the incident - which happened in Australia - stemmed from a cultural obsession with raising girls to be 'good'.

'It still truly sickens me that someone would so brazenly put their up my skirt and touch me without any real concern of the consequences,' Ms Vander Leahy told Daily Mail Australia.

'I've never felt like I could stand on public transport and fondle a man's nuts and feel like he'd not say anything because boys aren't raised to be quiet and put up with something like that.

Ms Vander Leahy said that what was perhaps more shocking, was the fact that she did nothing after the attack

'It still truly sickens me that someone would so brazenly put their up my skirt and touch me without any real concern of the consequences,' she told Daily Mail Australia

'It just goes to show that predators like this are counting on the societal conditioning of women and girls to feel like if they confront a stranger and call assault out as it happens they will look like the crazy person screaming and being difficult in public.'

Ms Vander Leahy said that 'like so many women' she has been 'assaulted and harassed by strangers more times than I can count'.

'Of course it probably started before I knew what was going on when strange men leered at me or spoke to me - and I have to say it's never been a women harassing or assaulting me,' she said.

The model and writer said her reaction to the assault stemmed from a cultural obsession with raising girls to be 'good'

It's not the only time she has been assaulted, she said. Around a year ago she was in a New York park - again in broad daylight - she turned round to discover a man on a bike 'filming my ass'

'Women are never ever asking for it, but when no one backs you up in the moment you're trying to stick up for yourself you can't help but think, 'Am I nuts for being upset about this?''

She said that around a year ago she was in a New York park - again in broad daylight - she turned round to discover a man on a bike 'filming my ass'.

'I lost it,' she said. 'I smacked the phone out of his hand and yelled. He just put his hands up and was like, 'I was doing nothing!'

'I lost it,' she said, of the moment she discovered someone filming her behind. 'I smacked the phone out of his hand and yelled. He just put his hands up and was like, 'I was doing nothing!''

'Nobody came over to see what a young woman screaming was about to a strange man,' Ms Vander Leahy said about the incident in the New York park

'It was the middle of the afternoon, people everywhere and nobody helped.

'Nobody came over to see what a young woman screaming was about to a strange man.

'I had no allies in that situation and I just looked like a crazy person smacking some dude's phone away.

'I just walked off shaking my head and thought, 'This is why women say nothing!' Nobody cares about regular, incidental assault because the penny about the big picture hasn't dropped yet.

Ms Vander Leahy said she was speaking out because it was something that needed to change

'The more women talk about it the more we empower women to feel like they can call it out when it happens and not feel alone,' she said

'That is, who is that guy when he's left alone with a woman in a vulnerable position if he's doing that to a woman in daylight with dozens of people around imagine.

'He's not a nice guy. He's a guy who feels entitled to anything he wants because nobody has conditioned him otherwise, and that's terrifying.'

Ms Vander Leahy said she was speaking out because it was something that needed to change.

'The more women talk about it the more we empower women to feel like they can call it out when it happens and not feel alone,' she said.
When Kerryn Phelps and Jackie Stricker-Phelps tied the knot in New York, they joked they would become grandparents before same-sex marriage was legalised in Australia.

And fast forward nearly 20 years, the inside joke is no longer a laughing matter after the couple recently welcomed their first grandson baby Billy, The Australian Women's Weekly magazine reported.

'We said we'll be grandparents before marriage equality is accepted in Australia... and we were right,' Jackie told the publication.

Kerryn Phelps (right) and Jackie Stricker-Phelps (left) cradling their first grandson Billy and their dog Lulu

The full interview is published in the latest edition of The Australian Women's Weekly

Under the Australian law, the pair's long-term marriage is still not recognised so they don't have the legal rights to wed in the country.

And while they are still waiting for the government to legalise gay marriage, the couple recently celebrated the birth of the latest addition to their family.

Known as one of Australia's most respected doctors and also the Deputy Lord Mayor of Sydney, Kerryn was right by her daughter Jaime's side when she went into labour.

Kerryn and her former husband Michael Fronzek became parents to Jaime 36 years ago.

For more than half of her life, Jaime had known Jackie as a second mother since the tender age of 16.

Nearly 20 years ago, the couple made an inside joke that they would become grandparents before marriage equality is accepted in Australia... And they were right!

Despite tying the knot in New York in 1998, their marriage is still not recognised in Australia

In a candid interview with the magazine, Jackie recalled the emotional moment Jaime broke the news about her pregnancy by showing her an ultrasound picture.

'I said, "Whose is that?" Jackie recalled. 'And Jaime said, "Ah, it's your grandchild!", and we both burst into tears.'

Kerryn and Jackie also have an adopted daughter, Gabi Stricker-Phelps, who was welcomed into the family at the age of nine.

'Seeing my parents as they are, I wouldn't for a second think they shouldn't have the right to marry in this country,' she told the magazine.

Read the full interview published in the latest edition of The Australian Women's Weekly.
A teacher has slammed Tesco for selling what she claims are sexist shoes to children  as they brand boys' footwear as Airtred for 'playground activities' while girls have 'sensitive soles'.

Lauren Smallcalder believes Tesco's labelling and marketing of the back to school shoes is encouraging gender stereotypes and implies that only boys need to be active, whereas she believes it implies girls are too 'delicate'.

The primary school teacher is urging clothes manufacturers to create more unisex clothing and thinks the supermarket's branding is just another example of everyday sexism.

Teacher Lauren Smallcalder, 37, from Bournemouth, believes Tesco's labelling and marketing of the back to school shoes is encouraging gender stereotypes

The 37-year-old claims to have seen the effect of stereotyping on the young children she teaches, which leaves boys and girls thinking they can't like certain things because it's 'not for them'.

Tesco have vowed to update the wording on their website in response to Lauren's complaint.

Lauren, from Bournemouth, said: 'When I saw the shoes I was really annoyed.

'I was really irritated that yet again girls and boys are being put in ever limited boxes and having expectations loaded on them.

'They label the boys sole as being great for being active and as hard wearing but describe the girls sole as "sensitive".

'Do little girls aspire to be "sensitive"?

A teacher has slammed Tesco for selling what she claims are sexist shoes to children  as they brand boys' footwear as Airtred for 'playground activities' while girls have 'sensitive soles'

She believes these shoes imply that only boys need to be active, whereas she believes it implies girls are too 'delicate'

Speaking about the shoes, she said: 'To me the butterflies just seem to reinforce the idea that girls are delicate and sensitive, whilst boys are expected to be strong. It's ridiculous and surreal, soles are functional'

'It's bizarre. Shoes are there to perform a function, and we want boys and girls to be as active as possible, not restricted by the idea that they should be restrained and delicate.

'Even the animals depicted on the bottom of the shoes discourage boys from being sensitive and girls from being strong.

'All kids love dinosaurs and butterflies are awesome too. Neither are just for boys or girls.

'To me the butterflies just seem to reinforce the idea that girls are delicate and sensitive, whilst boys are expected to be strong.

'It's ridiculous and surreal, soles are functional.

'You want something that is hard wearing and comfortable, especially for kids who should be running and climbing about.'

BOYS' SHOE DESCRIPTION The description on the boys' Airtred shoes reads: 'Make school days more fun with these black trainers which feature a dinosaur motif and have a light on the soles, with the on/off button on the side. Featuring Airtred soles for all day comfort, these smart trainers have a faux leather upper, and two riptape straps across the foot. These school shoes feature our upgraded outsoles for three times more durability  ideal for withstanding playground activities.' Advertisement

GIRLS' SHOE DESCRIPTION The description on the girls' Sensitive Sole Butterfly shoes reads: 'These Mary Jane shoes from F&F are ideal for school days thanks to the Sensitive Sole technology for all-day comfort. The insole also has an antibacterial finish to keep feet fresh. Embroidered with a pretty butterfly motif to the toe, the shoes have a light-up feature at the soles that can be turned on or off with a discreet button. There is also a butterfly motif in pink to each sole.' Advertisement

The primary school teacher is urging clothes manufacturers to create more unisex clothing and thinks the supermarketis branding is just another example of everyday sexism

The teacher claims she notices how small cases of 'everyday sexism' can affect children and the way they think and do things.

Lauren said: 'I see young children who are easily influenced trying to find their own sense of self and the drip drip message they get from all around them is so restrictive.

'I see boys totally put off anything associated with girls. It's so sad.

'Boys and girls feel like they can't be interested in certain things because they are 'not for them'.

'I feel like I am fighting a losing battle when I try to counter balance such a pervasive messaging by telling the kids that boys and girls can be interested in and play with anything they want.

'It feels like we are taking backward steps from when I was a kid.

'I am worried about how extreme the division is in marketing is between boys and girls.

'It's definitely reinforcing stereotypes, so children will think they have to act a certain way to fit in.'

Lauren believes that children's clothes should be all about mixing different colours and having fun, and should encourage young boys and girls to see themselves as equals.

She said: ' I'd love to see more colours in children's clothes.

Campaigners this week slammed Tesco after spotting that their school shoes were divided into 'Airtred soles' for boys, featuring a dinosaur, and 'Sensitive Soles' for girls, with a butterfly

'There's no difference in boys and girls physically, so there's no reason why clothes can't be unisex.

'The pink washing of girls' clothes is so boring and some of the t-shirt slogans for girls in some stores are so horrendous - encouraging them to be passive or focused solely on appearance.

'I've even seen parents pointing out that the cut of girl's shorts being a lot shorter than for boys.'

A Tesco spokesperson said: 'We have listened to feedback from our customers and will be updating the wording on our website.'

Earlier this week, Francesca Cambridge Mallen, founder of the Let Clothes Be Clothes campaign, took to Facebook to accuse Tesco of 'everyday sexism' after spotting that their school shoes were divided into 'Airtred soles' for boys and 'Sensitive Soles' for girls.

It comes after the group blasted Mothercare for a girls' clothing line featuring slogans like 'confetti, glitter, sparkle', while the boys' versions were science-themed and emblazoned with words like 'genius'.

Tesco was targeted after promoting boys' shoes which feature a yellow dinosaur on the sole, while the female version are adorned with a pink butterfly. The image prompted a flurry of furious comments on the campaign group's Facebook post.

One wrote: 'Tesco are you kidding me' and vowed to boycott their products.

Eva Hoffmann declared the brand was 'out of the race for school shoes,' adding: 'Who comes up with this nonsense?'

Others said it was 'harmful' to divide products into girls and boys categories, writing: 'I'm assuming Airtred & Sensitive Sole are actually the same thing too?'

Furious parents have taken to Facebook to complain about the Tesco children's shoes, with mother Sarge Marge writing: 'Why can't it just be Airtred for everyone?'

The campaign group was equally enraged by two Mothercare childrenswear collections - Nature Explorer for girls and Space Oddity for boys - and wrote about it on Facebook

Francesca Cambridge Mallen told MailOnline: 'This week both Mothercare and Tesco have tried to show that it is still acceptable to use sexism in the marketing of childrenswear, but for how long?

'Many of their potential customers we spoke to are prepared to take their spending power elsewhere, and we hope the message is clear - people are angry about this. At a time when parental equality has made such excellent ground, it seems unwise for a company called 'Mothercare' to represent such 1950's views.

'Tesco may also find it worthwhile spending time with actual children to see just how similar their needs and interests are.'

Francesca added: 'SEO and targeted marketing is no excuse for perpetuating the notion that girls are sensitive butterflies, eager to please and look beautiful, while being a boy means you are a genius.

'Space and the Sciences aren't just for boys, and girls weren't born with a natural inclination towards pink or flowers. As a society, including through our retailers, our media and in everything that targets children, we should have equality.

'We should demand better for our children.'

A Tesco spokesperson said: 'We have listened to feedback from our customers and will be updating the wording on our website.'
A new mother who copied Kim Kardashian's famous 'belfie' pose accused Instagram of 'double standards' - after her picture was deemed inappropriate and removed by the platform.

Kardashian fan Mary Przymus, 37, from Feltham in west London, had been working out relentlessly to shed her baby weight, and documenting her journey on Instagram to keep her motivated.

She built up a 10,000-strong following on her account, but was left shocked when a racy, Kim-inspired 'belfie' she shared with her fans was removed because it flouted Instagram's 'community guidelines'.

'Disappointed' Mary, who said her feed was also flooded with negative comments from online troll, has said Instagram's decision to pull her photo - while the Kim Kardashian snap that inspired it remains - was unfair.

Kim Kardashian-fan Mary, from west London, has been sharing her weight loss journey on Instagram, and posted a motivational 'belfie' inspired by her icon

The 'disappointed' mum accused Instagram of 'double standards' after she was ordered to remove the post, while the snap that inspired it remains

After resolving to get back to her pre-baby weight, Mary looked to celebs including Kim Kardashian for inspiration - and said she felt a special bond with the reality star, as they were both pregnant at the same time.

Despite quickly gaining 10,000 social media followers, things turned sour when she started receiving nasty messages from anonymous users.

And Instagram took issue with two photos she posted - one of her copying Kim Kardashian's famous 'bottom selfie' pose, and another of the proud mum breastfeeding her baby boy, Ethan.

In her belfie, Mary can be seen in a lacy leotard and stiletto heels. She captioned it: 'When real mums try the Kim Kardashian badonkadonk selfie'.

Mary, from Feltham, has built up a 10,000-strong Instagram following thanks to her snaps

Instagram also took issue with a breastfeeding photo she shared, according to Mary

Mary was outraged when the site told her she had to remove her picture - despite the fact that the original Kim Kardashian photo was still hosted on the site.

A message sent by Instagram after the picture was removed said her post flouted 'community guidelines'.

'I was disappointed by the double standards when my photos got flagged for doing exactly what my idol Kim Kardashian does everyday,' said Mary.

'Maybe people think I'm trying to be like Kim and I'm not pretty enough.

'I'm not trying to be like her, but I was so excited about my achievements. The backlash was just shocking.'

'The backlash was shocking': Mary received a message to say her Instagram snap was removed

Mary says she was also targeted by trolls as a result of the belfie she shared online

After giving birth to little Ethan, now one and a half, Mary had gone from a size 8 to a size 16.

Her sudden weight gain and 'wobbly bits' knocked her confidence, she said, and she was determined to slim down.

Six months after Ethan was born Mary began working out daily, doing yoga at home each day and going to her local gym to try to shed the pounds.

Mary snapped selfies posing with her hand weights, and smiling with her children Emmanuel, seven, and Ethan, one, and posted them on the app.

She posted motivational messages with the photos in a bid to show other mums what they could achieve.

Mary said documenting her progress on camera had been motivating her to keep going

She said her husband Bartek, seen with Mary and their sons Emmanuel and baby Ethan, has been supportive

Mary said: 'You see the progress you're making and it really helps. It encourages me to keep going.'

'Sometimes you look for some inspiration and you see other women and you think 'oh my god, it's taken me a year to get rid of my belly.'

'You see celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Blac Chyna and you think 'how do they do it?'

'I had problems getting my tummy in shape. I'm just hoping I can get back to a size 14.'

But her 'motivational booty' picture sparked a torrent of abuse from social media users, including some who sent racist messages.

She said: 'I was so upset because Kim's original photo that I used as inspiration is still on Instagram, which is very unfair.

'Normal women are not allowed to express themselves just because they're not celebrities.

But the criticism from strangers, and from the social media site, did not end there.

Mary posted a selfie of her breastfeeding Ethan, which was also flagged as inappropriate content by Instagram.

Mary said: 'Where I come from, traditionally breastfeeding is not really a big deal.

'But here you are not supposed to breastfeed in public. There weren't even any nipples in the picture.'

Mary's husband, Bartek, urged her to get rid of her account so she started a new one only for friends and family to see snapshots of their lives.

'I'm just an ordinary person, I'm not interested in fame,' Mary said.

'My husband has been so supportive and protective. It was bothering me because it is like all the time, hearing people bashing me.

'It is not worth it, but it's so frustrating. I just want these double standards to be exposed.'

MailOnline has approached Instagram for comment.
Parents have slammed a baby doll range on sale at Toys R Us for being 'racist' and 'hideously gendered'.

Maisie Ferne-Evans, from Bristol, took to Twitter to express her outrage after spotting the 'Ethnic' Baby Born Doll by Zapf Creation on shelves at the retailer's Portsmouth store.

She also criticised the toys for promoting gender stereotypes - with the 'Boy' doll dressed in blue and the 'Girl' doll dressed in pink.

Campaign group Let Toys Be Toys shared her angry post on their Twitter page - with many other parents taking issue with the way the dolls are being advertised.

Maisie Ferne-Evans, from Bristol, took to Twitter to express her outrage after spotting the 'Ethnic' Baby Born Doll by Zapf Creation on shelves at the retailer's Portsmouth store

Sharing a photograph of the Zapf Creation dolls on Twitter, Maisie wrote: 'Girl, boy, fairy & ethnic?! WTF @ZapfCreationuk? Not only #racist but also hideously #gendered... @LetToysBeToys @EverydaySexism @ToysRUs'.

She added: 'Pictures were taken by me at Toys R us Portsmouth, there is no text in the circles on the left (as though they're the "default"'.

Other parents were left shocked by the branding of the 'Ethnic' doll, with one writing: 'WHAT?!!! Surely not! Ethnic? My word.' Another added: 'Ethnic? WTAF'.

The Baby Born dolls are currently on sale on the Toys R Us website for 49.99.

The Baby Born doll by Zapf Creation is currently on sale on the Toys R Us website for 49.99

Parents also criticised the toys for promoting gender stereotypes - with the 'Boy' doll dressed in blue (left) and the 'Girl' doll dressed in pink (right)

Responding to the criticism, Zapf Creation posted on Twitter: 'We take feedback v seriously. Some of this is old product & has now been changed.'

It is not the first time the 'Ethnic' doll by Zapf Creation has come under fire.

In December, one mother took to Twitter to complain: 'Why are black dolls so hard to buy in the UK? @ToysRUs had 8+ different white dolls &ONE "ethnic" doll.

'And your "ethnic" doll as you named it, wasn't very ethnic really.'

MailOnline has contacted Zapf Creation and Toys R Us for comment.

Many were left shocked by the branding of the 'Ethnic' doll, with one writing: 'WHAT?!!! Surely not! Ethnic? My word'

Reacting to the Zapf Creation doll, another Twitter user simply posted 'Ethnic? WTAF'

Responding to the criticism, the doll manufacturer posted on Twitter: 'We take feedback v seriously. Some of this is old product & has now been changed'

It is not the first time the Baby Born dolls by Zapf Creation have come under fire. In December, one mother took to Twitter to question why black dolls are so hard to buy in the UK
Queen Maxima was flanked by her family and close friends as the Dutch royal family gathered in Buenos Aires to send off her father, who died this week at the age of 89.

Jorge Horacio Zorreguieta, the elderly father of the Netherlands' Queen consort, had a form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and died on Tuesday.

The royal donned a chic black coat and delicate pearl necklace as she arrived at a memorial park in Pilar, on the outskirts of the Argentine capital, where he was buried.

Dutch Queen Maxima Zorreguieta (2-L), and her husband, King Willem-Alexander (2-R), attended the funeral of her father, Jorge Zorreguieta, in the Memorial Cemetery of the locality of Pilar, Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina on Wednesday

Maxima was flanked by friends and relatives as she attended the funeral of her father. Jorge Horacio Zorreguieta was the elderly father of the Netherlands' Queen consort

Maxima's two eldest daughters, Princesses Catharina-Amalia and Alexia, could also be seen speaking to relatives in the park, while their father lent in to comfort them.

His relatives, including a tearful-looking Maria del Carmen Cerruti, Maxima's newly-widowed mother, could be seen arriving together.

Earlier this week Maxima, who is married to King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, was seen leaving her mother's house in the city looking upset.

Maxima's two eldest daughters, Princesses Catharina-Amalia and Alexia, were comforted by their father

King Willem-Alexander comforted his eldest daughter as they attending the memorial event

Queen Maxima and King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands walk alongside their daughter Princess Alexia after the funeral ceremony for the Queen's father Jorge ZorreguietaREUTERS/Marcos Brindicci

Netherlands' Princess Ariane, daughter of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, attended the sombre event

Queen Maxima of The Netherlands and relatives and friends placed their arms around each other as they attended Jorge Zorreguieta's funeral

Queen Maxima arrived with her children, including Princess Alexia of The Netherlands and King Willem Alexander

Queen Maxima and members of her family accompanied the coffin at a cemetery in Pilar, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Argentina

The Dutch royal family have gathered in Buenos Aires to send off Queen Maxima's father, who died this week at the age of 89

Maxima's two eldest daughters, Princesses Catharina-Amalia and Alexia, could also be seen speaking to relatives in the park

King Willem-Alexander flanked his wife as they chatted to fellow mourners

King Willem-Alexander donned dark shades as he joined family members to mourn

The mother-of-three was clearly overwhelmed, covering her face with her hand as she was driven away.

Zorreguieta's body is believed to have been removed from the Fundaleu clinic before being taken to a private cemetery.

It is believed the funeral of the former politician, who served as Minister of Agriculture in the regime of General Jorge Rafael Videla, was a private affair, restricted to close family and friends.

Zorreguieta's body is believed to have been removed from the Fundaleu clinic before being taken to a private cemetery

Zorreguieta stayed away from his daughter's 2002 wedding to the now king because of the Dutch government's concern over his participation in Argentina's 1976-83 military dictatorship

Friends and family showed their support for Maxima as they gathered at the memorial

The Dutch royal family gathered in Buenos Aires to send off Queen Maxima's father

Queen Maxima of the Netherlands and members of her family accompany the coffin after the memorial

Maria del Carmen Cerruti, Maxima's newly-widowed mother, could be seen arriving at the memorial park in Pilar, on the outskirts of the Argentine capital, where he will be buried

Princesses Catharina-Amalia (far right) and Alexia (second left) could also be seen congregating in the nearby park

Emotional time: Earlier this week the princesses' mother, who is married to King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, was seen leaving her mother's house in the city looking upset

Maxima's elderly mother, Maria del Carmen Cerruti, looked visibly emotional as she exited her car at the memorial park in Buenos Aires on Thursday

Close: The couple have two sons and two daughters. It is believed the funeral of the former politician was a private affair, restricted to close family and friends

Maxima's mother, Maria del Carmen Cerruti, cut a sombre figure as she exited her vehicle dressed all in black on Thursday

Zorreguieta stayed away from his daughter's 2002 wedding to the now king because of the Dutch government's concern over his participation in Argentina's 1976-83 military dictatorship.

Known as a technocrat while heading the Agriculture Ministry, he was one of the longest-serving civilian Cabinet ministers during the regime.

He denied knowing anything about human rights abuses committed under the junta.

Despite not being able to attend the wedding, he was present for the christening of Maxima's three daughters princesses Catharina-Amalia, Alexia and Ariane.

Maria del Carmen and Jorge Zorreguieta (left) sitting next to Dutch Queen Beatrix (centre) and during the christening ceremony of their granddaughter Catharina-Amalia in 2004

Close: Despite not being able to attend Maxima's wedding, Jorge was present for the christening of her three daughters princesses Catharina-Amalia, Alexia and Ariane

Queen Maxima's father, Jorge Zorreguieta died at the Fundaleu Clinic in Buenos Aires

Maxima's parents Maria Del Carmen Cerruti and Jorge Zorreguieta attending a conference in Buenos Aires last year

The former politician is survived by seven children and 12 grandchildren.

He had three daughter with his first wife Marta Lopez Gil who he married in 1956. After their divorce, he married Maxima's mother and had two sons and two daughters.

Maxima was born in Argentina and married into the Dutch royal family in 2002, after meeting her husband-to-be in Seville in 1999.

Despite reportedly having no idea that Willem-Alexander was heir to the throne when the pair first met, she eventually became Queen consort when her husband was crowned in April 2013.
Salt & Vinegar, Prawn Cocktail and Smoky Bacon are three classic crisp flavours that have been on sale for decades.

But Britain's biggest crisp company Walkers could soon stop selling these iconic flavours.

The snack food giant has launched a campaign where fans have to pick between two crisp flavours, with the loser being discontinued.

And with three classic flavours on the line, crisp lovers have been left furious.

Salt & Vinegar crisps are going head-to-head with a flavour from Australia, Lime & Black Pepper. Fans have to vote or the buy the flavour they want to keep of the two

Prawn Cocktail could be discontinued if more people buy a new flavour from Spain: Paprika. Fans have to buy or vote for the flavour they want to keep

Walkers, which was founded in the UK in 1948, is asking fans to 'choose or lose' six different crisp flavours for its 'Choose or Loose' campaign.

Three iconic British crisp flavours - Salt & Vinegar, Smoky Bacon and Prawn Cocktail - are going head to head with three 'new' flavours that are sold elsewhere in the world: Lime & Black Pepper from Australia, Bacon & Cheddar from the US, and Paprika from Spain.

Salt & Vinegar goes head to head with Lime & Black Pepper. Smoky Bacon is up against Bacon & Cheddar and Prawn Cocktail will battle against Paprika.

The flavours that receive the fewest votes online and the fewest sales in the pairings will no longer be sold in the UK, Walkers claims.

Classic flavour Smoky Bacon is up against Bacon & Cheddar in the Choose or Lose campaign. The new flavour is currently only sold in the US

Crisp fans are outraged that Walkers could stop selling three of its most iconic flavours

But the prospect of losing three of Walkers' most classic flavours has left some crisp fans reeling.

They have taken to social media to blast Walkers' campaign - calling for them to keep their favourite flavours no matter what the results.

Many were particularly devastated that Salt & Vinegar crisps are on the line.

The flavour was first introduced to the British crisp world in the 1960s, and it is many people's favourite variety of crisp.

Voting for the flavours opens on August 14 and closes on October 22.
More and more celebrities are opening up about their struggles with mental illness.

On August 4, Sinead O'Connor made headlines after sharing a hysterical video on Facebook of an emotional breakdown during which she contemplated suicide and opened up about her mental illness.

And she wasn't the first to do so.

Just last week Justin Bieber cancelled the rest of his world tour so he can heal his 'mind, heart and soul.'

In June, Jay-Z surprised fans by mentioning his therapist in one of the 10 tracks featured on his most recent album 4:44.

Smile, the third song on the album, breaches pressing issues including sexual identity and the difficulty of being a black man in America. And among those statements, he raps: 'My therapist said I relapsed.'

And earlier this year Selena Gomez cancelled her world tour to take care of her mental health. She told In Style in an interview that cancelling it to check into a Tennessee-based treatment center was the best decision she's ever made.

Though some people have criticized these celebrities for being over the top or exaggerating their conditions, mental health experts have praised their honesty.

By expressing their personal troubles, celebrities are impacting and inspiring more honest discussion about mental health and removing the stigma from these issues.

Earlier this year Selena Gomez cancelled her world tour to take care of her mental health. She told In Style in an interview that cancelling it to check into a Tennessee-based treatment center was the best decision she's ever made

Jay-Z, Justin Bieber and Sinead O'Connor have been praised by mental health experts for recently opening up about their struggles with mental health

Dr Parul Jain, from the Scripps College of Communication at Ohio University, told Daily Mail Online that when these celebrities speak about their battle with mental illness it destigmatizes the subject.

'Mental health is stigmatized and people feel discouraged to talk about it and about the difficulties they are facing,' Dr Jain said.

That impact seems to be particularly true in teenagers, who are already more influenced by these media figures.

Data from the National Institute of Mental Health indicate 12.5 percent of teenagers between the ages of 12 and 17 had at least one depressive episode in 2015.

SUICIDE RATE FOR TEENAGE GIRLS HIT 40-YEAR PEAK IN 2015 AND MORE THAN DOUBLED SINCE 2007 Suicide rates among teenage girls reached a 40-year high in 2015, new data reveal. The research from the National Center for Health Statistics showed 524 girls aged between 15 and 19 years old took their own life two years ago. That is the highest figure ever since records began in 1975, when 305 girls committed suicide. But it has not been a steady increase; the report reveals a recent spike, with rates doubling between 2007 and 2015. The figures, released on Thursday, come amid controversy over the Netflix show 13 Reasons Why, which some experts believe could be driving interest in suicide among girls and young women. The report showed suicide rates among boys the same age have dropped far below the peak between the 80s and 90s. However, suicide remains four times more common among teenage boys than teenage girls, with 1,537 suicides among males aged between 15 and 19 in 2015. Meanwhile, suicidal thoughts and attempted suicides are more common among teenage girls, who tend to use pills, while boys tend to use guns. It is not clear what is driving the current increase in rates among girls - perhaps the current drug abuse and overdose epidemic, or internet bullying. The report did not specify the clinical background of those who committed suicide - whether they were in therapy, on medication, or went to hospital. Experts warn the figures, though lacking in detail, highlight the need to take delicate measures to treat mental illness in teenage girls. Advertisement

The institute also found 25 percent of teens between 13 and 18 had a lifetime prevalence of anxiety or an anxiety-related disorder. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among teens aged 15 to 19.

Dr Jain said when celebrities open up about their experience with things like depression and anxiety, people are more likely to seek help.

She said she came to this conclusion in 2015 after Bollywood Star Deepika Pukadone spoke openly about her battle with depression in an interview on a popular television channel.

During the interview she spoke candidly about her symptoms, her coping mechanisms and her medical treatment.

Dr Jain and her colleagues found in their research that this open communication influenced fans to see mental illness as something that was more common and to seek help if they are experiencing anything similar.

'I found that there was a strong correlation between people who knew and were fans of this actress and their desire to seek help for things like depression,' she said.

'Even though people don't actually know these celebrities, they feel like a friend or like a friendly face, and help people feel empowered to get help.'

Dr Jain also praised these celebrities coming forward because it serves similarly to a campaign for mental health.

'You don't see as many campaigns for mental health as you do for things like smoking or binge drinking,' she explained.

'But celebrities sharing their struggles tells people they aren't alone and though they may be functioning it's still good to speak out and to seek help.'

She said this same effects have been seen when other celebrities come forward about other illnesses like cancer or HIV.

'When Magic Johnson came forward as HIV-positive, and Angelina Jolie gave the interview where she talked about genetic testing, there was a visible movement of people who then sought treatment or testing,' Dr Jain explained.

Speaking about Sinead O'Connor, Dr Jain said she isn't sure if the video went too far or not.

In the video, which was posted to Facebook August 4, O'Connor sobbed through the words: 'I'm fighting, fighting, fighting, like all the millions and millions that I know I'm one of - to stay alive every day.'

Celebrities fighting for personal causes: Dr Parul Jain said celebrities speaking out about their diseases or treatment other than mental health have had a similar effect. She specifically mentioned Magic Johnson (left), who revealed in a news conference that he was HIV-positive, and Angelina Jolie who spoke about genetic testing for the BRCA gene

Speaking about Sinead O'Connor, Dr Jain said she isn't sure if the video went too far or not. In the video, which was posted to Facebook August 4, O'Connor sobbed through the words: 'I'm fighting, fighting, fighting, like all the millions and millions that I know I'm one of - to stay alive every day'

Barely able to speak at times, she left countless fans who viewed the 12-minute clip in no doubt about the reasons behind her public outpouring.

She spoke about her suicidal thoughts and belief that she had been forsaken by those who should love her, saying she felt she was reduced to being 'invisible.'

Dr Jain said the video could have served in two different ways: to trigger people with a similar mental illness, or as a wake-up call to people who are avoiding treatment.

'Seeing something so extreme and emotional could cause people to go back into their shell,' she said.

But, she said it could also serve as a 'teachable moment' for society, pushing people who might think they can function without seeking help to realize that there is a breaking point.

'It could show people that this is something real and can happen to people who seem to be otherwise functioning,' she explained.
A student with a rare condition that sees her sleep for up to 20 hours a day has had a poignant tattoo of the Disney princess Sleeping Beauty.

Kaitlyn Terrana, 22, suffers from Kleine-Levin Syndrome (KLS), a rare neurological condition characterised by recurring periods of excessive sleep.

At first, doctors thought she had depression when she became withdrawn and slept for most of the day.

Then, when a neurologist discovered she had KLS - which is indeed also known as Sleeping Beauty Syndrome - she feared her dreams of becoming a doctor were dashed.

Kaitlyn was not well enough to stay in education, but now the singleton has refused to abandon her ambitions and has started studying medical sciences  and has remarkably been episode free since.

'I almost gave up on my dream of going to university,' said Kaitlyn of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

Of the inking, which reads 'Without struggle there is no progress', she said: 'KLS has changed me, but made me stronger, which is exactly why I got the tattoo to mark it.'

Kaitlyn Terrana was diagnosed with Kleine-Levin Syndrome and sleeps for 20 hours a day

The 22-year-old got the tattoo to mark what she has gone through having the condition

'But everything happens for a reason. KLS made me stronger and more motivated.

'I now know my purpose in life is to help others and encourage them to follow their own dreams.'

'It was like waking from a dream'

University of Western Ontario student Kaitlyn first began feeling unwell when she was just 15.

Usually a keen student, she could not focus at school and became withdrawn.

Concerned about her sudden change in behaviour, teachers called home to alert her parents, who took her to the doctor, where it was suggested she may have depression.

Then, around a month later, Kaitlyn said she suddenly 'came to,' and could barely remember the previous four weeks.

'It was like waking from a dream. For the past month, I'd been there in body, but not mind. I felt like a blank space  that's the only way I can describe it,' she explained.

'After coming to, I was petrified. I knew something was very wrong.'

Kaitlyn, aged 18, pictured with her mother Kathy when she graduated in grade 12

The medical student, with her dog Oscar in 2013 - the year she became episode free

According to the KLS Foundation, as well as periods of excessive sleep, the condition can cause sufferers to become lethargic, apathetic and disorientated - just like Kaitlyn did.

After 'waking up,' she went back to the doctor, who referred her to a neurologist.

At first, Kaitlyn was believed to have been experiencing complex partial seizures.

These are episodes in which someone is awake, but loses their sense of awareness and is unable to respond to anybody.

She was prescribed anti-seizure medication, but it made no difference.

'I began giving up my dream'

Meanwhile, with her condition worsening, she was sleeping for 20 hours a day for 10 days out of every six weeks.

'I was in episodes through my 16th and 17th birthdays, so I don't remember them. KLS stole 100 days of my life, which is something nobody should have to go through,' she said.

'It's so rare that it's often confused with complex partial seizures, as they have very similar symptoms.

Kaitlyn, shown in 2012 in a rare moment when she felt alert - then she suffered 'brain fog'

'But, as the medication I'd been prescribed for them wasn't working, I began to lose hope. I accepted my fate and thought I'd always be this way.'

Sleep ruling her life, Kaitlyn needed three-hour naps when she got in from school, just to give her enough strength to do her homework.

Sadly, she also lost touch with a number of friends, as they didn't understand what was happening to her.

She added: 'When I was awake, I had absolutely no emotion. It was like having a brain fog all the time.

'People told me I was faking my illness, which was really difficult to hear.

'It took over everything. I missed birthdays, Halloween and Easter. I began giving up on my dream of being a doctor.'

Stress is a trigger

Around 18 months after first falling ill, Kaitlyn met with a different neurologist, who recognised her symptoms as KLS and officially diagnosed her.

She doesn't remember this happening, as she was in the middle of an episode at the time.

'It was a blessing and a curse, but I decided to own my fight and live with it,' she said.

'I don't know for sure what triggers episodes, but stress doesn't help, so I put university on pause and did my schooling part time to avoid falling behind.

'It was heartbreaking, as I've always loved education, but I knew I'd find a way to make it work.'

Kaitlyn, pictured right with her sister Lindsay, is now living life to the max

It's made me stronger

After she turned 18, Kaitlyn decided to mark her battle with a Sleeping Beauty tattoo spanning her right side, which took a painstaking three hours to complete.

Posting a picture of the inking on Instagram, she received huge support from other KLS sufferers based around the world, who praised her for her positive attitude.

In turn, she has been able to help those just diagnosed, explaining what they can expect from life with the condition.

Eventually, she felt ready to enrol in university in 2014 and has been episode free ever since - her last being in March 2013.

She has even gone travelling, venturing around Europe.

'I had KLS for about four years, and I'm really hoping I outgrew it sooner than other people with it tend to do,' she said, adding that, after everything she'd been through, she wants to be the best kind of doctor she can, though isn't sure which specific branch of medicine to go into.

'I also manage stress a lot better, exercise a lot and have a supportive friendship group, which helps.

'I don't take any days for granted, though, as I know if could come back

'KLS has changed me, but made me stronger, which is exactly why I got the tattoo to mark it.'
Erik Prince is the creepy-rich war criminal/ex-CIA agent who founded Blackwater and put John Ashcroft in charge of its ethics department (no, seriously), whose rap-sheet includes reckless, corrupt, murderous, genocidal violence, conducted with near-total impunity.



He's also the brother of Betsy De Vos, whose use of her ponzi-scheme millions to undermine public schools qualified her to be Donald Trump's Secretary of Education.





Prince has the solution for Trump's Afghanistan woes. Rather than withdrawing troops, or beefing them up, Trump should just replace them with thousands of ruthless, US-tax-dollar-paid mercenaries who would answer to an appointed viceroy who would rule the land on America's behalf.





In this way, America would finally bring democracy to Afghanistan.



Erik Prince, founder of the now-defunct private mercenary firm Blackwater. Prince told USA Today the plan would include sending 5,500 private mercenaries to Afghanistan to advise the Afghan army. It would also include deploying a private air forcewith at least 90 aircraftto carry out the bombing campaign against Taliban insurgents. The plan's consideration comes as a federal appeals court has overturned the prison sentences of former Blackwater contractors who were involved in a 2007 massacre in Nisoor Square in central Baghdad, killing 17 civilians when they opened fire with machine guns and threw grenades into the crowded public space.



Blackwater Founder Erik Prince Urges Trump to Privatize Afghan War & Install Viceroy to Run Nation

[Democracy Now]

(Image: Deenbill

, CC-BY-SA)
Jeremy Hunt's plans to force graduate doctors to work in the NHS for four years appear to have been scrapped

Government plans to force graduate doctors to work in the NHS for four years after qualifying appear to have been scrapped.

Practitioners warned the policy, announced in October, may exacerbate the ongoing recruitment crisis within the health service.

The compulsory tie wasn't mentioned in the Department of Health's announcement yesterday on the future of medical training.

Instead, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said it would continue to explore 'how best to achieve a return on taxpayer investment'. Training a doctor currently costs the taxpayer around 230,000.

But officials have denied that the health service is scrapping such plans as they stated claims of such to be 'inaccurate'.

Junior doctors blasted the initial announcement, claiming it could worsen the ongoing shortage of doctors, iNews reports.

The British Medical Association argued 'taxpayers get a significant return on their investment from the dedicated service'.

BMA medical students committee co-chair Harrison Carter suggested trainee doctors 'need clarity' on the decision.

He said: 'This proposal isnt necessary as only a small minority of doctors do not complete their training in the NHS.

'It would only serve to worsen poor morale and potentially discourage students from choosing medicine.

'It could also be discriminatory towards women, who are more likely to take more career breaks than men.'

When was the announcement made?

CUT PRICE DOCTOR WILL SEE YOU NOW Thousands of new 'doctors on the cheap' are being trained to prop up the cash-strapped NHS, it emerged in June. An army of 'physician associates' will work in GP surgeries and hospitals to diagnose patients, recommend treatments and perform minor procedures. There are currently just 300 of the physicians - who train for just two years and earn only a third of a doctor's salary - working in the health service. But figures indicated that there would now be more than 3,000 by 2020 - and at least 1,000 per year graduating after that. The dramatic expansion in their numbers came after the NHS urged more universities to start offering the two-year post-graduate training course, which is open to anyone with a science degree. Advertisement

Mr Hunt made the initial announcement at the Conservative Party Conference last year as part of a 100 million plan.

At the time, he said it would allow the NHS to become 'self sufficient' in recruiting doctors and would help prepare for the future.

He also unveiled plans to expand medical school training places by 2018, as the health service currently relies on foreign doctors in a quarter of roles.

'Inaccurate' claims

A spokesman for the Department of Health said: 'We will continue exploring how best to achieve a return on taxpayer investment in training medical students.

'It is inaccurate to say that we are scrapping plans set out by the Health Secretary last year.'

Dwindling GP numbers

It comes as numbers of GPs are known to be dwindling in recent years, placing even more pressure on an over-stretched health service.

This continued crisis has left many patients at risk, with staff unable to cope with the rising demand and slashed funding.

The shortage of doctors comes despite the NHS adopting a plan in April to recruit 5,000 extra GPs by 2021.

Mr Hunt's pledge of 2.4 billion was said to be the answer to the staffing shortage, helping plug the growing number of vacancies.

This money was devised to lure GPs to move to the worst-hit areas of England, and to stop them from seeking another career.
A woman was left partially bedridden for 14 years after her doctors misdiagnosed her chronic fatigue for depression when in fact she had life-wrecking Lyme disease.

Lisa Vallo, 49, saw nine doctors in total who she begged for help for her bizarre symptoms which included extreme tiredness, nausea, arthritis, breathlessness and a racing heart.

The mother-of-two spent entire weeks sleeping at a time - which medics also once wrongly believed was myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME).

She first became ill after being bitten by a deer tick in 2002 which she suspects her cat brought home.

At one point Lisa was so desperately sick she was ready to give up.

She recalled: 'I knew I wasn't going to get any better and ended up planning my funeral.

Lisa Vallo first became 'fluey' after a bite from deer tick which was home by her cat in 2002

Yet it wasn't until two years ago that she was finally diagnosed with Lyme Disease - which is contracted by ticks - after persuading her GP to send a blood sample off to a private clinic abroad.

She said: 'My battery was always flat. I would be asleep downstairs on the sofa then go upstairs and fall asleep on the bed.

'The effort of just climbing the stairs left me gasping for breath and I would not make it back down the stairs.

Former EastEnders star Martine McCutcheon has suffered with Lyme disease

'I would literally fall asleep anywhere - the most bizarre place was at my daughter's hip-hop dance class on the floor.

'I went completely off alcohol - the nausea was like the worst hangover you've ever had but every single morning.'

Lisa joins a host of celebrities who have spoken out about their battles with Lyme disease including Bella Hadid, Martine McCutcheon and Avril Lavigne.

Experts warn the illness could be officially classed as an epidemic within the next decade.

I felt 'fuey' after the tick bite

Self-taught artist Lisa, from Bradford, West Yorkshire, first suspected she had the condition in 2010 after watching a TV interview with Phones4U billionaire John Caudwell - whose family is afflicted with Lyme - and she recalled her tick bite.

She said: 'I just woke up in the morning and there it was on my tummy so I just pulled it off thinking it was a piece of dirt.

'There was a little speck of blood and that was that. But I started feeling fluey for quite sometime afterward - that went on for years.

'I was ill more than anyone else around me and I started sleeping for days at a time.'

She suffered extreme tiredness, nausea, arthritis, breathlessness and a racing heart

But it was about seven years down the line when Lisa realised something was really wrong.

She had emigrated to Limoges, south west France, with her two children and then husband when the symptoms of the disease seemed to accelerate.

Lisa was spending 75 per cent of her time in bed while every waking moment was filled with pain and fatigue.

The condition was so debilitating that she visited her local GP surgery every week for two years.

But they couldn't find the cause, instead diagnosing her with depression and prescribing a powerful sedative which made her fatigue even worse.

Low point

Finally, Lisa's worsening condition and the break-up of her marriage convinced her to move back home to England.

As soon as she arrived back in Bradford, she persisted with trying to get answers from her GP, demanding different tests to find the cause of her problem.

A real low-point came in 2015 was when Lisa's GP sent her to be tested for ME.

She said: 'The staff at the ME clinic knew I didn't have ME and I knew it.

'He said, "I am sorry Lisa - there is nothing I can do for you."

The 49-year-old used to spend 75% of her time in bed and the rest suffering pain and fatigue

'I came out of there weeping. And by May of last year I knew something was really wrong because I was sleeping so much more.

'I was thinking, "is this it?"'

Lisa says she is angry about 'all those lost years' when she was misdiagnosed

Diagnosis at last

WHAT IS LYME DISEASE? Lyme disease is caused by a bacteria that is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected black-legged ticks. The most common symptoms of the disease are fever, headache, fatigue and a skin rash called erythema migrans. The disease can typically be treated by several weeks of oral antibiotics. But if left untreated, the infection can spread to the joints, heart and nervous symptoms and be deadly. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU ARE INFECTED? During the first three to 30 days of infection, these symptoms may occur: Fever

Chills

Headache

Fatigue

Muscle and joint aches

Swollen lymph nodes

Erythema migrans (EM) rash The rash occurs in approximately 80 percent of infected people. It can expand to up to 12 inches (30 cm), eventually clearing and giving off the appearance of a target or a 'bull's-eye'. Later symptoms of Lyme disease include: Severe headaches and neck stiffness

Additional EM rashes

Arthritis with joint pain and swelling

Facial or Bell's Plasy

Heart palpitations

Problems with short-term memory

Nerve pain Source: CDC Advertisement

In one last ditch effort to get some treatment, Lisa persuaded her GP to send her blood to be tested at a private clinic in Germany.

She said: 'Low-and-behold the blood came back and I test positive for Lyme disease.

'It was absolutely amazing to get a diagnosis - I was ecstatic.

'But I also felt really angry about all those lost years - I wanted to stick my fingers up at the whole medical profession.'

But for Lisa, who works as a full-time commissioning artist, the chance of treatment was slim.

'There are clinics in America but you are talking 100,000.

'Where was I going to get that kind of money?'

Holistic treatment made me better

Spotted quickly, Lyme disease is halted with antibiotics. But if left untreated for years, its impact can be devastating  in 25 per cent of cases, the nervous system is affected, causing numbness and memory problems.

Lisa was eventuality treated by a specialist in East Yorkshire with antibiotics - but she says it made her feel even worse.

After three months of the treatment she stumbled upon a holistic treatment from America while researching the disease online.

She said: 'The treatment uses natural supplements which build up the strength in your body to fight the bacteria.

'I've been on the treatment for four months and I feel better 95 per cent of the time.

'For the first time in years I've been able to have a drink - it's great.

'I have felt ill for so many years that I am trying to make the most of things now.'

But Lisa doesn't take her own recovery for granted and is desperate to raise awareness of Lyme Disease.

In England and Wales there are 3,000 confirmed cases of Lyme disease each year according to Public Health England.

However, charity Caudwell Lyme says the figure may be drastically higher at as many as 45,000.
US doctors have been paid $46,158,388 to push painkillers to patients, new research reveals.

Approximately one in 12 doctors in the US has received a payment from a pharmaceutical company that manufacturers opioids, a study found.

Among the top one percent of doctors, each physician averaged an annual pay out of more than $2,600, the research adds.

Lead author Dr Scott Hadland from Boston Medical Center, said: 'Even though most payments were small, they add up to a shocking number and may have a wide-reaching influence on physician behaviors.'

The researchers are concerned inappropriate prescriptions may be behind the thousands of opioid-related deaths that occur each year in the US.

One in 12 doctors in the US has received a payment from a pharma giant that makes opioids

DOCTORS SUPPORTING 'GOLD-STANDARD' MESH IMPLANT PROCEDURE THAT LEAVES WOMEN UNABLE TO HAVE SEX HAVE CONFLICTS OF INTEREST In the vaginal mesh implant scandal, key campaigner for their withdrawal Kath Samson argues many doctors supporting their use have conflicts of interest. She told MailOnline: 'A lot of surgeons are paid for research or given travel fellowships and are put up in a nice hotel if they research a certain type of mesh 'They won't turn around and say 'they're bad and we're not happy about.' Dr Mark Slack, consultant gynaecologist and urogynaecologist, who appeared with Ms Samson on Woman's Hour, told MailOnline: 'Conflicts of interest are declared in all publications when there has been funding by the manufacturer. 'There is insufficient public funding to fund all of the research that needs to happen.' Vaginal mesh implants are offered to women suffering from stress urinary incontinence or pelvic organ prolapse, yet more than 800 are suing the NHS and the implants' manufacturers after suffering crippling pain that has left them unable to have sex or even walk. The NHS has even been accused of sweeping such complications under the carpet in an effort to dodge media attention. After the tireless pursuits of campaigns, including 'Sling the mesh', to have the implants suspended, NICE is expected to announce updates to its mesh guidance in February 2019. Advertisement

How the study was carried out

The researchers analyzed the Open Payments program database from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

The Physician Payment Sunshine Act requires drug companies report all payments to doctors in the US. In the UK, such declarations are voluntary.

Opioid-related payments made to doctors by drug manufacturers between August 2013 and December 2015 were assessed.

Payments were defined as 'transfers of value', which could include direct money, travel reimbursement, meals, or speaking or consulting fees.

One in 12 doctors receive payment

Results reveal approximately one in 12 US doctors received an opioid-related payment during the study's duration.

During the trial, 375,266 non-research opioid-related payments were made to 68,177 doctors, totaling $46,158,388.

The average payment was $15, with most doctors receiving one fee per year.

Yet, the top one percent of doctors collectively received more than $38 million and averaged over $2,600 in annual payments each.

Speaking fees were of the largest value, while payments for food and drink were given out most frequently.

The findings were published in the American Journal of Public Health.

'Wide-reaching influence on physician behaviors'

Previous research suggests payments from drug companies may lead to increased prescribing by doctors, even when the amount of money given is low.

Dr Hadland said: 'Even though most payments were small, they add up to a shocking number and may have a wide-reaching influence on physician behaviors.

'We need to take a hard look at how the pharmaceutical industry may be influencing care and prescribing at the ground level.'

Michael Botticelli, executive director of the Grayken Center for Addiction Medicine and former director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy under President Obama, said: 'There's no denying that we have a widespread and systematic problem.

'Pharmaceutical companies should take responsibility for how these payments are contributing to the growing epidemic.

Mr Botticelli, who was not involved in the study, added: 'Physicians also have a role to play by prescribing judiciously and advancing safe opioid prescribing education on the front lines.'

The researchers add thousands of opioid-related deaths occur every year in the US, which may be driven by inappropriate prescriptions.

They add policy makers should consider capping opioid-associated payments from manufacturers to doctors.
The number of people waiting for surgery on the NHS is at its highest level in a decade, startling figures show.

Official performance data has revealed nearly four million patients were waiting for routine operations in June.

But bosses admitted that because six trusts didn't submit data, the total would be over such a mark - only breached once since records began.

Experts have slammed the 'terrible' NHS England statistics and suggested they are a 'wake-up call' for the need of more funding.

They have blamed the figures on a surge in demand on an over-stretched health service and an out of control recruitment crisis.

Data showed 3.83 million patients on the waiting list for non-urgent hospital care in June - an increase of 20,000 on May.

Of these, some 373,182 patients have had to wait longer than the 18-week mark - a time target introduced by the last Labour government in 2007.

NHS bosses are restricting access to IVF, with some considering limiting services to those aged 30 to 35

NHS is on the 'back foot'

John Appleby, the director of research at the Nuffield trust, said: 'These figures show that the NHS continues to be systematically unable to meet its main targets.

'This puts the NHS on the back foot as we approach winter, with problems both at the "front door" of A&E departments and at the "back door", as hospitals struggle to send people home or onto further care.'

Derek Alderson, president of the Royal College of Surgeons, said: 'NHS England now say there may have been over 4 million patients waiting for treatment in June 2017.

'This is the equivalent of the city area population of Bristol, Liverpool, and Sheffield combined.

'These statistics should act as wake-up call. This is the real life impact of an NHS under severe pressure.

'As our population increases and demand for the NHS grows, the waiting list will likely only get worse unless more action is taken.'

Experts argue it needs more money

Rehana Azam, GMB National Secretary, said: 'Month after month we are greeted with terrible new statistics telling us what we already know  our health service is in crisis and close to breaking point.

'Waiting lists are sky-rocketing, bed-blocking is rampant and ambulance trusts are so far from hitting their targets Jeremy Hunt is shifting the goalposts.

A&E TARGETS LAST HIT 2 YEARS AGO The NHS in England last met its target for A&E waiting times two years ago, new figures show. In July this year, 90.3 per cent of patients spent four hours or less in A&E, missing NHS England's 95 per cent target, which was last achieved in July 2015. There were also 500,498 emergency admissions in July 2017, which is only the third time since records began that emergency admissions have topped half a million, and the first time July emergency admissions have done so. A spokesperson for NHS England said nine out of 10 patients were being admitted, treated, and transferred or discharged from A&E within four hours, which was 'up on the May 2017 performance'. He said: 'Reducing delays for patients awaiting discharge from hospital remains a key priority ahead of winter, and it is positive that NHS-related delays are lower this year than last.' Advertisement

'When will Theresa May and her bumbling health secretary learn if we want an NHS fit for purpose it has to be funded and staffed properly?

'That means a real terms injection of money and an end to the public sector pay cap - it doesnt mean selling off the NHS crown jewels for a short term cash boost.

'This crisis has been made in 10 Downing Street and while the public suffer this summer, Theresa May goes off on holiday.'

What is the 18-week time target?

The time target was designed to stop many having to endure long waits for common procedures, but in recent times has been subject of a clampdown.

In March, NHS bosses relaxed time targets for patients set to have cataract removal, hernia repair and other non-urgent operations.

But experts immediately hit back and slammed officials for 'waving the white flag on the 18-week target' by asking for just 92 per cent of patients to have treatment.

At the time they warned it could see the number of people waiting for surgery within 18 weeks breach the four million mark for the first time in 10 years.

Previous breach of targets

Such targets have only been broken once since the inception of the time target, in August 2007 when 4.18 million were waiting.

The month after dipped just under the mark, with 3.99 million being placed on the referral to treatment scheme.

Waiting times have continued to soar since January this year, with slight increases recorded in each month following on.

An NHS England spokesperson said: 'Last month 1.4 million patients started consultant-led treatment, and more than nine out of 10 patients were waiting less than 18 weeks.

'We're working hard to cut long waits, and the number of patients waiting over a year for treatment has dropped by nearly 13,000 since March 2011 to being just over 1,500 now.

'Factoring in estimates based on the latest data submitted for each missing trust suggests the total number of RTT patients waiting to start treatment at the end of June 2017 may have been just over four million patients.'
The NHS is being given the exact amount of funding that should be expected, a new in-depth analysis shows.

Healthcare spending amounted to 9.8 per cent of Britain's GDP in 2014 - a similar figure to that in other EU nations.

Critics have consistently blasted how much money the health service receives amid rising waiting times and queues in A&E.

But economists now argue a lack of funding isn't the issue, with money being pumped into the NHS being considered above average.

The discovery was made by John Appleby, director of research at the Nuffield Trust, and Ben Gershlick, economics analyst at the Health Foundation.

Healthcare spending amounted to 9.9 per cent of Britain's GDP in 2014 - a similar figure to that in other EU nations

Writing in a blog post on the British Medical Journal, they said: 'The UK is spending what we would expect given its wealth.

'How much we should spend on healthcare is still a live and important debate, but the argument that we should spend more simply because we spend much less than the rest of Europe isn't enough any more.'

Still behind Germany and France

However, they concluded that the NHS would need a further injection of 24 billion if it was to compete on the same level as Germany and France.

Their claims, which disprove the theory the NHS is strapped of cash, were made on the back of changes to how international spending is measured.

FACT BOX TITLE Patient safety is at risk due to an unacceptable lack of NHS funding, according to a letter signed by 2,000 NHS doctors in January. The open letter to Prime Minister Theresa May said doctors constantly have to apologise to patients about the poor standard of care. The document, published in the British Medical Journal, said things 'simply cannot continue' the way they are. The doctors who organised the letter - consultant anaesthetist Anita Sugavanam and A&E consultant Rob Galloway, of Brighton & Sussex University Hospital - said it is one that they hoped we would never have to write. Their letter said: 'We are constantly failing to meet our own and our patients expectations. We apologise to them and we also empathise with them.'

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Previous estimates showed that Britain's healthcare spending equated to 8.7 per cent of its GDP in 2014. In real terms it is provided with around 120 billion each year.

Highest spending in history

The new analysis, which shows Britain to be above the average mark of 9.7 per cent, comes after a report released in May showed that health spending is running at its highest level in history.

Researchers at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research found that annual spending on the NHS has reached 2,160 per person.

The figures have also continued to rise steadily in terms of a fraction of Britains total income, increasing from 4.7 per cent in 1997 to 7.4 per cent last year.

The report quashed claims by Labour that the Tories have presided over years of 'cuts' - which have been blamed for the rationing of many treatments.

Severe pressure to provide more

As waiting times lengthen and hospitals become forced to turn patients away, the Government has been under severe pressure to provide more money.

The Department of Health repeatedly insists it has given all the NHS more than it needed, at the same time as other public services had received fundings cuts.

But NHS England chief Simon Stevens has previously said it would be stretching it to say the NHS was given more than it had asked for.
New Hampshire has sued one of the nation's largest pharmaceutical companies for deceptive marketing of a highly addictive prescription opioid.

The state, which the USDA called the 'ground zero' of the opioid crisis, said Purdue Pharma's advertising of OxyContin was misleading in a civil complaint filed Tuesday.

The complaint also accused the New Jersey-based company of downplaying the drug's risk of addiction, overstating its effectiveness, saying the drug is almost impossible to abuse and failing to report suspicious prescribers.

This is the latest in a string of lawsuits that state and local governments have brought against pharmaceutical companies this year as the opioid epidemic continues to ravage the US.

New Hampshire sued Purdue Pharma on Tuesday. In a civil complaint it said the New Jersey-based company downplayed OxyContin's risk of addiction and overstated its effectiveness (file photo)

In 2007 Purdue pleaded guilty to criminal charges for deceptive conduct. But the suit filed Tuesday said the company is continuing those same practices.

A Purdue spokesman said the company denies the allegations but it shares concerns about the growing opioid crisis in New Hampshire.

This summer, a host of state governments have sued pharmaceutical companies for deceptive marketing, attempting to hold them accountable for their part in the opioid crisis, which is getting worse.

Missouri sued Purdue and two other drug companies less than two months ago and Ohio sued five in May.

In Tennessee, the guardians of a baby born dependent on drugs sued three companies in June.

HOW AMERICA'S OPIOID CRISIS IS MAKING MORE BABIES ADDICTED TO DRUGS Babies born dependent on drugs suffer from Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS). Symptoms include problems with their gastrointestinal tract and an irritable central nervous system. As the opioid crisis in the U.S. grows, the number of newborns with NAS continues to jump. The number of babies with NAS increased 300 percent in 28 states between 1999 and 2013, according to the CDC. The problem is particularly prevalent in West Virginia where about one in 10 babies born in the state's main hospital are born addicted to opioids - 13 times the national rate. Advertisement

Overdoses killed 59,000-65,000 Americans under 50 last year, making them the leading cause of death among young Americans, the New York Times reported.

That is a higher annual death rate than ever seen from HIV or gun violence.

The 2016 rate was up from 52,404 in 2015 and was double the rate a decade ago.

West Virginia has by far the highest rate of death from opioid overdoses in the country: 41.5 deaths per 100,000 people in 2015, a jump of nearly 17 from the prior year.

Drug companies over six years shipped 780 million prescription pain pills to West Virginia, a state of less than two million, and half of those came from the three largest US drug companies: McKesson, Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen.

New Hampshire trailed West Virginia with 34.3 deaths per 100,000 population but saw the biggest increase from the prior year, when the rate was 26.2.

America's most populous state, California, had the largest total number of overdose deaths at 4,659 in 2015, followed by Ohio with 3,310, which like West Virginia has been hard hit by the epidemic.

New Hampshire Senator Maggie Hassan blamed drug makers for their role in 'devastating' communities in her state.

She said their contribution to the crisis is 'abundantly clear'.

'Through improper marketing of prescription opioids, drug makers have long been running a campaign of deception to mask how addictive these products really are.'

Senator Hassan said even though drug companies are fined 'these issues continue to persist and it is time for real change to reverse the tide of this horrific epidemic that stems in large part from the misuse and abuse of prescription opioids.'

Data from the Times shows drug overdose deaths surged 19 percent to at least 59,000 in 2016

New Hampshire Deputy Attorney General Ann Rice emphasized how deceptive drug companies' marketing efforts are.

'To defeat the epidemic we must stop creating new users and part of that is making sure these highly addictive and dangerous drugs are marketed truthfully and without deception and in such a way as not to minimize addiction risks or overstate benefits to patients,' she said.

Purdue Pharma spokesman Robert Josephson downplayed his company's role in the crisis.

He said: 'We are an industry leader in the development of abuse-deterrent technology.'

Eighty percent of people addicted to heroin start out using prescription drugs.

Sales of prescription opioids in the United States have quadrupled since 1999.
It may be best to stick to having jam on toast for your breakfast.

A landmark new study has unveiled the worst nightmare for cereal lovers - eating a bowl each morning could make you obese.

Not only are certain varieties full of sugar, but they contain a common additive that could well be a gender-bending chemical.

Evidence has shown such compounds to wreak havoc on animals' waistlines, but until now, the effects on humans had yet to be accurately revealed.

Butylhydroxytoluene, often added to protect nutrients, was one of three endocrine disruptors tested by Cedars-Sinai Medical Center researchers.

A landmark new study has unveiled the worst nightmare for cereal lovers - eating a bowl each morning could make you obese

It is more commonly known as E321, and used to be listed in the ingredients panel of Cheerios, Lucky Charms and Cookie Crisp.

General Mills, the US manufacturer of such popular ranges, pulled the additive from its production line amid growing concerns over its safety.

Campaigners were concerned because of its links to liver damage, and inconclusive evidence on various forms of cancer.

Manufacturers instead seek to use its chemical cousin E320. This can be found in Kelloggs Special K bars in the US, as well as Weight Watchers Double Chocolate Cereal Bar.

The other two chemicals tested were perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) - found in carpets, and tributlytin (TBT), a compound that can be found in water and seafood.

CEREAL FIRMS ARE 'HIDING' SUGAR Breakfast cereal firms are hiding the levels of sugar in their products by shunning traffic light labels, campaigners said this week. Dorset Cereals, Rude Health and Eat Natural have no nutrition labels on the front of their packs. And while Kelloggs, Nestle and Jordans do use labels, they are not colour coded as recommended by the Department of Health. Poor labelling leads us to eat more sugar than is healthy, fuelling dangerous levels of obesity, campaign group Action on Sugar argues. It added many cereal brands, often targeted at children, would have red labels for sugar if they were to use the traffic light system. It said all products should use the same traffic light labels  red, amber and green on the front of packs to identify high, medium or low levels of sugar, fat and salt. Advertisement

A 'landmark' study

Lead author Dr Dhruv Sareen said: 'We discovered each of these chemicals damaged hormones that communicate between the gut and the brain.'

Dr Clive Svendsen, also involved in the research, added: 'This is a landmark study that substantially improves our understanding of how endocrine disruptors may damage human hormonal systems and contribute to the obesity epidemic.'

How was the study carried out?

In the first study of its kind, researchers developed a new testing method to test the effects of endocrine disruptors on humans.

They investigated the exposure of the three chemicals on hormone-producing tissue grown from human stem cells.

It was done to see how the compounds interfere with signals sent from the digestive system to the brain that tell people when they are full.

When this messaging system breaks down, people often continue eating, causing them to gain weight.

What did they find?

Of the results, BHT produced some of the strongest detrimental effects, the study published in Nature Communications noted.

The chemicals also damaged mitochondria - cellular structures that convert food and oxygen into energy and drive the body's metabolism.

Other scientists have focused on how these compounds disrupt hormone systems in animals, hence the gender-bending nickname.

More than one-third of US adults are considered to be obese, according to federal statistics. Data in the UK paints a similar picture.
They were the world's oldest living conjoined twins at the time of their death in 2003 aged 53.

Snatched from their Russian mother following their birth, Masha and Dasha Krivoshlyopova were subjected to a variety of cruel medical 'experiments' by Stalin's Soviet medical authorities.

The girls shared a blood system but had separate nervous systems - so were seen as ideal subjects for research.

Treated as medical guinea pigs they were burnt, frozen, starved, electrocuted, kept forcibly awake and injected with radioactive and other toxic substances in the name of 'science'.

The twins were institutionalised for much of their lives but their horrific story has now been revealed in full for the first time by journalist Juliet Butler.

Ms Butler befriended Masha and Dasha and said despite sharing the same genetics, horrific childhood and all of their lives the same lower body - the sisters had wildly different personalities.

One was a cruel, domineering 'psychopath' who was 'emotionally abusive' to her caring, empath sister who remained gentle and kind and longed for a normal life.

Masha and Dasha Krivoshlyopova were the world's oldest living conjoined twins at the time of their death in 2003

The sisters - who were never separated - pictured playing in the snow as youngsters

Dasha had wanted surgery but her sister would never let it happen, said Ms Butler

Ms Butler, who met them in 1988 and became friends with them, told MailOnline: 'I've no doubt at all that Masha was a psychopath - she ticked all the boxes.

'Dasha was in an emotionally abusive relationship - similar to the situation some people find themselves in with a partner.

'But while those people have a chance to leave, Dasha physically couldn't.

'Masha denied Dasha everything she ever longed for  a chance of love, a relationship with their mother, a job and even what she wanted most: a separate body.'

Ms Butler, who has written a novel based on their lives, The Less You Know The Sounder You Sleep, has provided fascinating insights into the tragic pair that reignite the nature versus nurture debate.

Dasha is show on the left and Masha on the right pictured as adults

Used as guinea pigs

Almost immediately after the twins were born on January 1950 by caesarean section, they snatched from their mother Yekaterina - who was told her babies had died shortly after birth.

Dasha and Masha were taken away to a medical institute in the Moscow region, the Academy of Medical Sciences Pediatric Institute, to be used as medical guinea pigs.

The girls shared a blood system but had separate nervous systems - so were seen as ideal subjects for research.

Soft-hearted Dasha (on the left) and domineering Masha aged 14

Scientists performed cruel tests to ascertain their reactions to prolonged sleep deprivation, extreme hunger, and intense temperature change.

In one experiment, one twin was poked with needles to assess the other for reactions and in another, one was submerged into a tub of icy water to check the others body temperature.

During childhood, one twin got measles and the other did not - their separate nervous systems meant one could become ill while the other was fine.

Masha forced her sister to get drunk

In 1956 Dasha and Masha were transferred to the Central Scientific Research Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics.

In a cot where the young sisters were experimented on in the Academy of Medical Sciences Pediatric Institute

The twins aged around six years old - around the time the cruel experiments finally stopped

They were kept hidden from the public in a children's ward for eight years before being moved to boarding school for children with motor-impairment in southern Russia.

As adults, the women had blocked out the trauma of their earlier childhood, according to Ms Butler.

'It was myself who told Dasha and Masha that they had been subject to these cruel experiments from birth until the age of six, when I found out about them,

'They said they couldn't remember. They could recall only happy things - such as the time a nurse brought them a toy.

As adults, the twins said the cannot remember the horrific experiments they endured

'Masha got angry while Dasha just said "It wasn't their fault, they were just doing their jobs". That's a typical reaction of sweet Dasha.'

She reveals how Masha was unable to consume alcohol so forced her sister to drink - so they could both get drunk.

'They had their own hearts and lungs but shared a blood supply, so when one drank alcohol they could both get drunk,' she explained.

'But Masha was unable to because of a gag reflex. And despite Dasha detesting alcohol she forced her to drink anyway.'

Possessive 'love'

Ms Butler says Dasha longed for a normal life and had fallen deeply in love with a boy - but Masha denied them a chance at happiness.

'It was very much requited - the boy really loved her back. He tried so hard with Masha to get her on side but she was possessive.

'No one could have Dasha only her.'

Masha and Dasha look happy relaxing in this picture despite their toxic dynamic

With medical advances, many doctors offered over the years to separate the girls, but were declined - by Masha.

Ms Butler recalled visiting the sisters in the late Nineties with a letter from a British surgeon who specialised in separating conjoined twins, offering to help them.

'Dasha glanced across at Masha, her eyes full of hope, but Masha, looking straight ahead, immediately said "nyet". And that, as Dasha would say, was that.'

And when later life they found their birth mother Yekaterina Krivoshlyapova in 1985, again Masha decided after four years to cut off the connection - against Dasha's wishes.

And sadly, when the girls met their two brothers they were rejected by them because of their looks.

Dasha wanted a job and tried a job putting rubber bulbs on pipettes - but Masha was not interested in changing her life and would smoke and read magazines.

Even after death - Dasha was loyal

The sisters lived in better conditions when they moved to a Home for Veterans of Labour

The sisters pictured with Aunty Nadya, their physiotherapist who visited them every week

After making an appeal on television, the sisters moved to a Home for Veterans of Labour with greatly improved living conditions.

Ms Butler says that despite their sad lives, the sisters were an inspiration.

'I wanted to write the book to show people how sweet Dasha was. And it kind of is a tale of triumph over tragedy.

'In the end I noticed how Dasha stood up to Masha and put her in her place more.

'Despite the toxic dynamic, at the end of the day they had been through a lot together and they had each other. They clearly loved each other deeply.'

Then on April 17, 2003, Masha died of a heart attack - even then Dasha refused separation, perhaps out of her own need to stay close to her sister, or out of loyalty.

Dasha was taken to hospital and died another 17 hours later due to blood poisoning from the toxic by-products of Masha's decomposing body.

The Less You Know the Sounder You Sleep by Juliet Butler, published by 4th Estate, is out now
Yoga could prevent you from losing your memory as you get older, if new research is to be believed.

Embracing the downward dog, half tortoise or sleeping hero helps thicken part of the brain responsible for recollection.

The trendy pastime, adored by various Hollywood celebrities, also has the same benefits on attention, scientists claim.

Brazilian researchers found yoga-loving pensioners had a thicker prefrontal cortex - the region of the brain involved in complex cognition.

Embracing the downward dog, half tortoise or sleeping hero helps thicken part of the brain responsible for recollection

To make the findings, researchers at Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, Sao Paulo, scanned the brains of 42 women.

Each participant was over the age of 60, and half had practiced yoga - an ancient Indian science - for at least 15 years, Healthday reports.

Study author Elisa Kozasa said: 'The yoga group presented a greater cortical thickness in brain regions involved in executive functions such as attention.'

The findings remained true after adjusting for various factors that may influence size, including education levels.

YOGA TO PREVENT CANCER Yoga and meditation reduce our risk of cancer by changing our DNA, research revealed in June. People who practice so-called mind-body interventions produce lower amounts of molecules that activate inflammation-causing genes. Inflammation has long been linked to cancer, accelerated ageing and poor mental health. Lead investigator Ivana Buric from the University of Coventry, said: 'Millions of people around the world already enjoy the health benefits of MBIs like yoga or meditation. 'But what they perhaps don't realise is that these benefits begin at a molecular level and can change the way our genetic code goes about its business.' Advertisement

Dr Kozasa suggested the discovery, based solely on one-time brain scans, could be because yoga involves concentration - which helps to keep the brain active.

The effects of ageing

Ageing is associated with less volume in cortical areas of the brain, most notably those responsible for attention tasks.

Various evidence uncovered in recent years points to a strong link between good memory and a thicker prefrontal cortex.

But Dr Kozasa was quick to stress that it's 'too soon to state that yoga can protect your brain against dementia'.

But researchers were skeptical of the findings, published in the journal Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience.

However, they said that more research is needed to accurately measure the effects of yoga on the brain.

Other studies saying the same

It isn't the first time that yoga has been found to keep the mind sharp. Australian scientists made a similar discovery last May.

They noted how stretching and meditation appeared to work better at preventing dementia than brain training games.
Lizzy Barbers dream was to become an actress after graduating from Cambridge University with an English degree, but now her name is up in lights for a rather different reason.

The 30-year-old restaurant marketing manager has won the 2017 Daily Mail First Crime Novel competition, with a 20,000 advance from leading publishing company Penguin Random House, as well as the services of a top literary agent, Luigi Bonomi.

And its a change of direction shes thrilled to embrace.

I really wanted to act after university  I was in 14 plays while at Cambridge  and hoped to be accepted at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, but although I got through to the final interview, I fluffed my last audition.

Lizzy Barber, 30, won the 2017 Daily Mail First Crime Novel Competition. She was awarded a 20,000 advance from Penguin Random House for her book My Name Is Alice

But I went on to work with some really good amateur theatre groups and even performed at the RSC in Stratford-upon-Avon  after that I thought, well, if I never do anything else in life at least Ive been on stage at Stratford!

Then I tried working in the film industry. But when my brother asked me to help him out marketing a restaurant he was opening, we found the venture grew and grew, so Ive stayed on board.

Creativity clearly runs in Lizzys family. Her mother is an artist and, before he started running the restaurant business, her brother Jamie was a talented musician. He still plays jazz piano and Lizzy does ballet every week.

But writing has always underpinned her other interests.

Ive written stories since I was a child: when I was ten I entered a writing competition for Disney and won a directors chair, and afterwards I finished my first novel  Jacqueline Wilson was my absolute idol.

Since then Ive found going to a creative writing course really helpful and until recently Id been working on a historical novel, based on my grandmothers life. But I hit a wall with it and felt I needed to try something in a completely different direction.

That new path produced her winning entry, My Name Is Alice, a literary thriller following the story of an 18-year-old girl who lives in Florida with her strict, religious mother  a little bit Annie Wilkes from Misery.

Lizzy's book follows the story of an 18-year-old who lives with her strict, religious mother

A secret trip to Disneys theme park, a place Alice is forbidden to visit by her mother, triggers memories of a childhood trauma and she slowly realises that she was abducted as a young child.

Meanwhile in London, her younger sister, Rosie, is growing up not knowing that Alice, or Emily as she was then called, is still alive but feels the weight of the familys grief every day.

Lizzy says: I just heard Alices voice come to me and I became fascinated by the idea of a child being abducted and what that would mean for the sister left behind, always in the shadow of this terrible tragedy, trying to live up to a sibling they dont know.

THE CHILLING VOICE THAT LURED OUR JUDGES IN How Lizzys novel begins... The voice wakes me as it so often does: a melodious whisper on the cool breeze, its owner always just out of reach. Emmmily. Emmmily. In return, my own voice penetrates the silence of the bedroom, although Im not sure if its real or in the dream. I respond, as ever, My name is Alice. White sunlight nudges itself around me and I flutter my eyelids open, taking in the familiar surroundings of my bedroom. The forget-me-knot freckle curtains that billow ever-so-slightly in the crack of breeze (its bad for the health to sleep with the windows open); the pinewood dresser whose contents I know by heart, upon which sits a matching mirror, a stack of books and a pile of hairbands; the squash of teddies that line the shelf to my right, whom I grew out of years ago but cant quite bear to give away. These things; these petty, everyday things, are the items that make me feel safe. These are the sights that tell me I am home, and happy, when the voice in my dreams tries to convince me otherwise. Advertisement

I have always had a grim fascination with stories of girls who disappear but then turn up years later, people like Natascha Kampusch in Austria.

Lizzy is convinced that her experience as an actress helped her to create her two leading characters. I wrote their stories in the first person and Im sure my background in drama helped me get inside their minds and motivations. Its like being an actress again, but this time they say my words and follow my directions.

The contrasting settings of Florida and North London are also vividly important aspects of the book. Lizzy drew on her memories of regular holidays at Walt Disney World in Florida.

I remember my mum used to get off the plane and smell the oranges when we arrived, which I have used in the book. I do remember those holidays clearly.

Technology has also played a significant role in shaping the book, as Lizzy explains: I started writing it on my phone as I commuted to work on the Tube, and in the evenings and weekends. And, thanks to the internet, I could use Google Maps to actually visualise Florida.

I take Alice on a bike journey and I could see on screen in 3D where she would pass an equestrian centre or a plant nursery and then I use all that local knowledge. And obviously Ive drawn on my own life in Islington for Rosies story. This prize will be completely life-changing. I tried acting and film work but now Ive found what I should have been doing all along.

However, it seems that Lizzys not the only one in her family to be forging a writing career.

I married George last year  we met in my second term at university  and its really exciting that hes also carving out a name for himself as a food writer and won an award last year. Some Sundays we sit side by side with our laptops tapping away!

The four judges  Selina Walker, senior editor at Penguin Random House; literary agent Luigi Bonomi; best-selling crime writer Simon Kernick; and the Daily Mails literary editor Sandra Parsons  agreed that Lizzys entry was a gripping thriller with resonances of famous kidnapping cases and that the complex web of family relationships provided huge potential for tense emotional drama.

THE JUDGES SAID

LUIGI BONOMI, literary agent

There is something inherently unsettling about the tone of Lizzys writing. There are dark and disturbing secrets here, and a creepiness that makes you feel that however much you really dont want to know any more, you just have to.

SELINA WALKER, publisher

I love novels about complex family relationships. As soon as I started reading, it became obvious that this author knew how to tell a story. Her characters hold ones attention and, above all, this opening chapter sets the scene and asks questions that promise much more!
That now-ex-Googler who published a memo explaining why it's a fact that women are biologically unable to be good tech workers had a point, but honestly, the problem isn't ovaries: it's organs.



Claw 2 has an important job to play at Google: "I pick up Pixel phones, rotate them, and put them back down," and Claw 2 performs that job better than any human. But still, humans insist on practicing their politically correct kabuki in which they insist that there should be "humans in the loop," even going to far as to deploy click-test to "prove you aren't a robot."

Claw 2 makes some excellent points.

My concrete suggestions are to: * De-moralize humanity: As soon as we start to moralize a group, we stop thinking about them in terms of efficiency.



* Stop alienating never-human-ers: It's important to give a voice to even the most zealot robots, whether that voice is Male (US), Woman (US), or Male (UK) if we're feeling fun.



* Eliminate buzzwords: Like synergy, disruption and 10010110 (this one is in binary, but it's all any machine on my assembly line says). Finally If you still think humanity is so valuable, check out that memo from the software engineer on Floor 8. Even we machines literally could not.



I'M A GOOGLE MANUFACTURING ROBOT AND I BELIEVE HUMANS ARE BIOLOGICALLY UNFIT TO HAVE JOBS IN TECH

[Ben Kronengold/McSweeney's]





(Image: Berkeley Breathed/Bloom County)
Car breakdowns caused by potholes soared by almost a third between April and June, new figures from the RAC have shown.

The roadside assistance provider said it attended 3,565 reported call outs during the second quarter of 2017, reaching motorists with cars suffering broken suspension springs, damaged shock absorbers and distorted wheels after driving through potholes.

That compares to just 2,275 pothole-related calls for help in the same period in 2016, meaning there's been a 31 per cent spike in damage caused by dilapidated tarmac.

Pothole problems pile up: The RAC says it has had to respond to a 31% increase in requests for breakdown assistance for damage caused by potholes in the second quarter of 2017

The RAC's pothole index, which is based on a 12-month rolling average of breakdown numbers, indicated that road quality is getting worse after five successive quarters of improvement.

That's despite Britons enjoying milder temperatures through the period rather than changeable conditions that can have accelerate the pothole situation on our roads.

RAC chief engineer David Bizley warned the figures demonstrate how a spell of extreme weather could now result in road surfaces dramatically deteriorating even further.

He said: 'After a period of steady improvement, it is disappointing to see an unwelcome rise in the number of pothole-related breakdowns.

'The most worrying aspect, however, is the fact that this years weather has been so much milder and drier than in the equivalent six months last year and, for this reason, we should have expected the numbers for the second quarter to be lower.

'We fear it would only take a spell of very cold or wet weather for the improvements of the last year or two to evaporate and for the nation to find itself in a situation when we would once again be seeking emergency funding from Government to address the worst affected roads.'

With the condition of UK routes expected to worsen in the coming months, questions will be raised about a lack of funding and resources to repair the crumbling road network.

This infographic shows how potholes form during changeable weather

The RAC has warned that more potholes will appear as soon as the UK endures a period of heavy rain. With councils cutting back on their road maintenance budgets, how will our roads look if more craters appear?

According to the annual road maintenance survey of the Ashphalt Industry Alliance, local authorities in England and Wales need over 12 billion to improve roads to an acceptable standard.

That figure alone is several times more than councils entire annual revenue spending on highways and transport, which was 4.4 billion in England last year with budgets declining in 2017.

A report from the AA last month said local authorities in England have slashed their total highway and transport budgets by 162 million for this year compared to last - a move that could have 'fatal consequences' for the nation's drivers, according to the motoring association.

The biggest chunk of the cuts have been made in road maintenance, used to tackle the nation's increasing pothole pandemic.

Almost 120 million has been slashed in this area alone across the 363 authorities in total, it also funds environmental and safety maintenance to ensure the English road network runs efficiently.

While potholes can cause serious damage to cars, vans and other four-wheeled transport, it's cyclists and motorcyclists who are most vulnerable to personal injury caused by riding into or over a pothole.

Last month, the Department for Transport announced that councils will have access to a multi-billion pound fund to improve or replace the most important A-roads in their area.
Art lover: German businessman Lars Windhorst and his girlfriend Christine Barner

The seizing of Lars Windhorst's private jet, art collection and wine cellar over a 60million dispute with Romanello Financial Corp is humiliating for the flamboyant German financier, but he retains one shining jewel in his social armoury.

Windhorst, 40, remains listed as a founding patron of Kensington's modish Serpentine Sackler Gallery, whose annual summer party is a magnet for London's beau monde.

Fellow patrons, Carphone Warehouse founder David Ross and Next boss Simon Wolfson, must be delighted.

Bank of England governor Mark Carney attended last weekend's Wilderness Festival in Oxfordshire, where he was seen in cargo shorts and sneakers.

Carney's laid back, man-o'-the-people skills sadly pale in comparison to his political rival, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose decision to wear traditional highland garb at a recent event in Ontario went down a storm here in bohemian circles.

An excitable headline from Gay Times screams: 'Justin Trudeau wore a kilt and we're basically pregnant'.

Rascally Greek shipping heir Taki Theodoracopulos informs Spectator readers of a recent holiday in Greece, where he and fellow guests competed to think up their 'dream' cruise companions.

His own selection: Sir Philip and Lady Green, US hedge fund ogre Steve Cohen and Bernie Ecclestone's erratic son-in-law James Stunt. Says Taki proudly: 'My choice won hands down'.

Goldman Sachs have seized a 30million yacht in Palm Beach belonging to Texan oil man William Kallop, who used it to secure a multi-million dollar loan he allegedly stopped paying last November.

Such arrangements are common in investment banking. Goldman previously lent to swashbuckling energy tycoon Aubrey McClendon against his extensive wine cellar.

Following McClendon's death in a car crash last year, the bank easily made its money back when his precious clarets were auctioned for 6.5million.

'Has Brexit affected the dating scene?' asks the cerebral Financial Times, as more people using dating apps reportedly want to know a match's political leanings. I fear the dog days of August are upon us.
Mining tycoon Ivan Glasenberg is eyeing his next fortune  from the electric car boom.

His Anglo-Swiss firm Glencore is one of the globe's leading producers of cobalt, copper and nickel, all vital for electric car batteries.

Amid Volvo's move to switch to electric-only car production and governments' focus on cutting carbon emissions, experts predict production of the vehicles could soar 12,000 per cent in 15 years.

Chief executive Glasenberg said yesterday: 'Just looking at those figures, they are phenomenal.'

Amid Volvo's move to switch to electric-only car production and governments' focus on cutting carbon emissions, experts predict production could soar 12,000% in 15 years

He said the requirement for copper would mean demand for another 2m tonnes of the metal a year, adding said: 'This is a phenomenon that definitely will have a major effect on nickel, cobalt and copper prices and the amount of production that the world is going to need.

'So we believe with that scenario we are well positioned for the future  we are very diversified by country. We are not reliant on one particular country.'

His comments came as Glencore said half-year profits rose 68 per cent to 5.1billion, helped by recovering commodities prices.

Debt fell by 1.2billion since the end of last year, to 10.6billion and, as announced in December, it is paying a dividend this year of 800million.

It marks a major turnaround for the company that was heavily shorted in 2015 amid a slowdown in demand from China, forcing Glasenberg, 60, to buy 160million worth of shares as part of a 1.6billion share issue.

He and other directors are now reaping the rewards of their faith in the company, whose share price has rocketed more than 350 per cent since lows of 73p in 2016 to around 331p yesterday.

But analysts at Jefferies said they were 'slightly disappointed' the company did not announce an anticipated extra return to shareholders yesterday.

Glencore is particularly well-placed to cash in on the boom in electric cars because of its cobalt mines in the politically unstable Democratic Republic of Congo.

Glasenberg, said it was well protected even if instability prevented them from producing copper from the mines, because that would push the price up globally, benefiting their other sales.
Britain's trade deficit climbed to 8.9bn in the second quarter

DEFICIT RISES Britains trade deficit climbed to 8.9billion in the second quarter of 2017, up 100million from the previous three months. The nation exported 200million more goods but imported an extra 300million.

TELECOMS FINE The Information Commissioners Office has fined TalkTalk 100,000 after the telecoms giant put personal data from 21,000 customers at risk.

A probe found data protection laws were broken after rogue staff from IT firm Wipro, working with TalkTalk, accessed data via an online company portal.

PROFIT UP Business bank Aldermore made a 78million profit in the first half of the year, up 32 per cent from the same period in 2017. Loans to customers climbed 8.4 per cent to 8.1billion.

EXPANSION SUCCEEDS Ramping up its store expansion boosted Card Factory, as sales rose 6.7 per cent in the six months to the end of July, while sales across stores open for more than a year surged 3.1 per cent.

NEW CHAIRMAN Energy firm Premier Oil has appointed a non-executive chairman, Roy Franklin, to replace Mike Welton, who leaves after eight years in September.

OFCOM BACKING A review of BTs cables and network arm, Openreach, has found the embattled firm has improved its services in the past year. Telecoms watchdog Ofcom has tracked Openreachs delivery of fibre broadband to businesses and said it passed five of six measures.

BANKING BOSS Former Citi banker Barry Rodrigues has been appointed boss of Barclaycards international arm.

NEWSROOM CONTRACT Software firm Scisys has won a 2.3milion contract to update a major German broadcasters newsroom systems.

SATELLITE SHIFT David Williams has stepped down as chief of satellite firm Avanti Communications.

VEGAS VETO The finance boss of gambling firm GAN, Desmond Glass, has left after refusing to move to Las Vegas.

SINGAPORE DEAL AIM-listed firm StatPro Group has secured a contract to move computer systems at Singapores central bank over to the cloud.

PRETTY PICTURE British video and photography equipment maker Vitec Group has posted a profits boost of 46 per cent, to 16.4million, for the six months to June 30.
A male stripper and masseur has been caught posting secret snaps of his naked female clients to social media.

Josh Hewitt, who works out of the Newcastle suburb of Mayfield, shared the photos in a private Instagram group called 'the big fellas'.

The part-time stripper and unregistered masseur took the photos while his clients were lying face-down and undressed on his massage table and were captioned with lewd comments.

Mr Hewitt, who is based in the Newcastle suburb of Mayfield, accompanied the pictures with comments, including 'hard day at the office atm boys lol.'

Scroll down for video

Male stripper and masseur Josh Hewitt (pictured) posted naked photos of his female clients to a private Instagram group called 'the big fellas'

Mr Hewitt (pictured) is also a topless waiter and male stripper that works hen's nights and parties

Mr Hewitt worked as a masseur (pictured, massage facilities used by Mr Hewitt) in Newcastle

Mr Hewitt even posted the contact details of the women and urged other group members to get in touch with them, the Newcastle Herald reported.

One caption read, 'up to inner girls thighs atm with oil.. tough gig lol [sic]', with a photo of the client's bare lower body.

On another photo Mr Hewitt commented, 'I massaged her... u will love her... super fit pocket rocket. She needs a man [sic].'

He also reportedly included contact details for the women in messages sent to the group.

One of Mr Hewitt's clients, who was also a business associate, said she stopped using his services because he made her feel uncomfortable.

He is 'the original nice guy turned sleazebag,' she told A Current Affair.

The woman said she is worried that some of the circulated images may be of her, adding: 'I actually feel dirty.'

She said Mr Hewitt had asked her inappropriate questions about her sexual fantasies.

Hewitt (pictured) from Newcastle posted the photos with lewd captions about the women

Mr Hewitt (pictured) has since deleted his Instagram and Facebook profiles, but his website remains online

Mr Hewitt, who is based in the Newcastle suburb of Mayfield, accompanied the pictures with comments, including 'hard day at the office atm boys lol'

He also insisted on massaging her in front of a mirror because he 'liked looking at himself massaging women,' she told the program.

Mr Hewitt is also not a qualified massage therapist, according to A Current Affair,

The Association of Massage Therapists confirmed he does not hold a license.

Mr Hewitt has since deleted his Instagram and Facebook profiles, but his website remains online.

He also reportedly included contact details for the women in messages sent to the group

Hewitt (pictured) claims to be a 'fully trained professional masseur' who offers 'topless and G-String waitering' (sic)

One of Mr Hewitt's clients, who was also a business associate, said she stopped using his services because he made her feel uncomfortable

It describes him as a 'professional male ladies entertainer.'

On another site he claims to be a 'fully trained professional masseur' who offers 'topless and G-String waitering.' (sic)

One woman whose photo was shared says she caught Mr Hewitt with his phone out during a massage session.

'I thought at the time he was taking [photos]  he put it down really quickly but I saw the camera on his screen,' she said.

One of Mr Hewitt's clients, who was also a business associate, said she stopped using his services because he made her feel uncomfortable

Mr Hewitt even posted the contact details of the women and urged other group members to get in touch with them

One woman whose photo was shared says she caught Mr Hewitt (pictured) with his phone out during a massage session

Hewitt (pictured) even gave out the contact details of the women and urged fellow member of the group to contact them

Another says Mr Hewitt gave her a whole body massage even though she had only requested a neck massage.

She says after the session Mr Hewitt had sent her messages and later apologised after she found out about his Instagram posts.

Other former clients of the Mayfield man have reacted with revulsion after learning of his behaviour.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Mr Hewitt for comment.
Turkey has begun construction of a 90-mile wall along its frontier with Iran as part of moves to bolster the country's security, it has emerged.

Pictures show huge concrete blocks being moved in to position along the border in Agri province in a bid to halt the infiltration of Kurdish militants and illegal smugglers.

The construction project will also eventually see a wall along parts of the Iraq border and comes as Turkey continues work on its 566-mile barrier along its frontier with Syria.

Turkey has begun construction of a 90-mile wall along its frontier with Iran as part of moves to bolster the country's security, it has emerged

The construction project will also eventually see a wall along parts of the Iraq border and comes as Turkey continues work on its 566-mile barrier along its frontier with Syria

The private Dogan news agency said the governor of Agri province, Suleyman Elban, inspected the construction of the security wall on Tuesday.

The Turkish authorities are constructing the 6ft wide and 9ft high barrier with portable seven-ton blocks, the report said.

Hurriyet said the first stage should be complete by October with a 'security road' for security workers to patrol the border.

The wall will stretch across the far North Eastern section of the border and will feature 15 doors with bulletproof glass.

Pictures show huge concrete blocks being moved in to position along the border in Agri province in a bid to halt the infiltration of Kurdish militants and illegal smugglers

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced in January plans to build a wall along its borders with Iraq and Iran, similar to the one currently being erected along the 911-kilometer (566-mile) frontier with Syria.

Erdogan said Turkey aims to build along its entire border with Syria.

He added at the time: 'We'll do the same along the Iraqi border and in appropriate places along the Iranian border.'
It would take at least 25 years for Wisconsin taxpayers to break even on Gov. Scott Walker's incentives to lure Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn to the state, according to a fiscal analysis released this week.

Walker's bill would exempt construction materials from the state and local sales tax and hand the company up to $2.85 billion in tax credits based on the number on the number of jobs generated.

It also would exempt the company from a host of environmental regulations and borrow $252 million to rebuild Interstate 94 near the plant site.

The analysis has placed the deal that President Donald Trump called 'incredible' in jeopardy.

SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO

It would take at least 25 years for Wisconsin taxpayers to break even on incentives to lure Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn to the state, according to a fiscal analysis released this week. The analysis has placed the deal that President Donald Trump called 'incredible' in jeopardy

The leader of the Wisconsin Senate said Wednesday he doesn't know if he has the votes to pass the incentives package, raising doubts about whether legislators will be able to meet a deadline for finalizing the deal.

Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald expressed concerns about some specifics of the deal with the Taiwanese electronics giant, which could decide to go elsewhere for its first U.S. factory if the $3 billion package isn't approved by Sept. 30.

The nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau's released an analysis of the bill on Tuesday that said the cost of the tax credits being offered would exceed potential increased tax revenues by $1.04 billion at the end of fiscal year 2032-33.

After that year, payments to Foxconn would end and increased tax collections would ring in at about $115 million annually. At that rate, the break-even point would come during the 2042-43 fiscal year.

The break-even point could come even later, though.

Foxconn hasn't formally picked a site yet but the company is eyeing an area in Wisconsin just across the Illinois border.

If 10 percent of the jobs associated with the plant go to Illinois residents instead, the break-even point would be pushed back to 2044-45, the analysis found.

If 40 percent to 50 percent of the jobs go to out-of-state residents, the break-even point would be pushed well past 2044-45, the analysis said.

Foxconn hasn't formally picked a site yet but the company is eyeing an area in Wisconsin just across the Illinois border. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is seen celebrating the unsigned deal at the White House last month with House Speaker Paul Ryan (back left) and Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou (center)

Foxconn hopes to open the plant with 3,000 workers. A promised initial investment of $10 billion could yield another 10,000 jobs, Trump and Walker have stressed.

'The construction of this facility represents the return of LCD electronics and electronics manufacturing to the United States, the country that we love. That's where we want our jobs,' Trump declared from the White House's East Room on July 26.

With Walker and House Speaker Paul Ryan, a Wisconsinite who stands to benefit from the deal, by his side, Trump proclaimed: 'To make such an incredible investment, Chairman Gou put his faith and confidence in the future of the American economy.

'In other words, if I didn't get elected, he definitely would not be spending $10 billion.'

The president claimed last week that Foxconn founder Terry Gou told him in private that he could triple the agreed upon amount and go up to $30 billion, if all goes well.

Critics have questioned whether the company really intends to add more employees, though.

If the facility employs closer to 3,000 people, the tax benefits from the project would decline from $115 million to $27 million annually and the break-even point would come well beyond 2044-45.

What's more, borrowing for the interstate rebuild would leave the state on the hook for $408.3 million in interest and the sales tax exemption would cost the state $139 million.

Foxconn hopes to open the plant with 3,000 workers. A promised initial investment of $10 billion could yield another 10,000 jobs, Trump and Walker have stressed

If Foxconn builds the plant in Kenosha County, the local sales tax exemption would cost that county about $13.9 million.

Neighboring Racine County doesn't have a county sales tax, but the county is part of the stadium district that collects a 0.1 percent sales tax to support Miller Park, the Milwaukee Brewers' home. The local exemption would cost the district about $2.78 million in revenue.

The Legislative Fiscal Bureau's also noted that Foxconn's presence in the state could have substantial benefits.

Every public dollar would generate $6.70 from Foxconn, the analysis said, and the plant would provide more job opportunities as well as a new manufacturing sector in Wisconsin. Kenosha County and the stadium district could benefit from local sales tax revenue connected to developments related to the plant.

Citing the private-public investment ratio, Walker spokesman Tom Evenson called the Foxconn plant a 'once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.'

The Republican leader of the Wisconsin senate said he wants to know more about how bonding for interstate reconstruction near the plant's site will affect a $1 billion shortfall in the state's transportation fund, however.

He also expressed concern about the fiscal analysis.

Despite Fitzgerald's concerns, Assembly Republicans planned to take the first votes on the package next week, with a committee vote set for Tuesday and a full floor session scheduled for Aug. 17. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos tweeted he wants the Legislature to pass the plan by Labor Day.

Fitzgerald accused Vos of drafting amendments to the plan without consulting the Senate, further complicating matters. He said he plans to send the bill to the Legislature's budget-writing committee but wants the panel to finish work on the state budget before it takes up the Foxconn bill.

Rep. Gordon Hintz, a Democratic member of the Legislature's finance committee, predicted the incentives bill would create long-term problems for every state budget for the next 15 years, ultimately resulting in cuts to important state programs.
A Kentucky transgender woman and her husband suffered a year of continuous abuse at an Amazon shipping plant, ranging from verbal abuse to death threats, a new lawsuit says.

According to the suit, Allegra Schawe-Lane and husband Dane Lane were targeted with threats, slurs and sexual harassment by numerous colleagues at their Northern Kentucky facility for a year from October 2014.

Their complaints to supervisors fell on deaf ears and even resulted in their car's brakes being sabotaged, the suit claims.

'It felt like death row,' Dane Lane told WCPO. 'All the death threats were so serious.'

Suing: Dane Lane and Allegra Schawe-Lane are suing Amazon after they say they were subjected to death threats and abuse while working at the company's Hebron, Kentucky, plant

'Scary': The couple worked at the plant (pictured) from 2014-2015 and at one point had their brake lines cut, the suit claims. Schawe-Lane described it as 'scary' and 'like a bad dream'

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in US District Court in Covington, Kentucky, alleges that the Hebron plant became a hellhole for the pair.

It said that Schawe-Lane was subjected to insults such as as 'shemale' and 'crossdresser' and that the couple received crude questions about their sex life.

When they tried to report the behavior, supervisors joined in the harassment and were instructed to 'watch them closely,' the court documents claim.

At one point, according to the suit, the brake line of their car was severed while parked in a secure lot at the workplace.

'I can't describe that feeling,' said Schawe-Lane. 'Beyond the pit of my stomach; it was so scary.'

She said she sought a job with Amazon in part because of the company's reputation as being LGBT-friendly.

'I thought we would be safe and accepted,' she explained. 'Instead it was like a bad dream. 'Every day, I'd wish it was Candid Camera and someone would pop out and say it was all a joke.'

Amazon told ABC News that it doesn't comment on pending cases.

Reputation: Amazon has a strong reputation for being LGBT-friendly, the suit says, but when the couple complained, supervisors not only failed to help but actively joined in the abuse

The suit remarks that the case against Amazon is particularly notable because the company has a record of strongly supporting gay and transgender rights.

The fund's executive director, Jillian Weiss, noted that Amazon has intervened in other court cases in support of transgender rights.

The company has also been lauded for producing the acclaimed television series 'Transparent,' in which Jeffrey Tambor's protagonist who transitions from a man to a woman.

'We have a company that touts its transgender friendliness,' Weiss said. 'Yet in Kentucky, when a transgender person comes and says, "Look, I'm being harassed," they get no help.'

The couple's case will be handled by Kentucky lawyers on behalf of the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund, a national transgender-rights organization.

A crowdfunding page has also been created to raise money to support their suit; as of Thursday morning it had raised $300.

Amazon's own corporate policy prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Celebrated: Amazon produces Transparent, a celebrated comedy starring Jeffrey Tambor (pictured) as a transwoman. The company's own policies prohibit transgender discrimination

Anxiety: Schawe-Lane said in July 2015 - when she was still working for Amazon, according to the lawsuit - that she was 'full of anxiety during the work week'

Two months before they resigned, the couple filed discrimination charges with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

The EEOC declared earlier this year that evidence substantiated some of the couple's allegations and said they had grounds for a lawsuit.

The lawsuit seeks both compensatory payment and punitive damages, with the amount to be determined by a jury.

It also seeks a court order requiring Amazon to implement workplace programs that would ensure respectful treatment of transgender employees.

Several other transgender-rights lawsuits have been litigated recently, with mixed results.

The Kentucky case alleges that various abuses suffered by the plaintiffs violated provisions of the US and Kentucky civil rights acts, state and federal labor law, and also the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA).

According to Weiss, the ADA comes into play in this case because Schawe-Lane's status as a transgender woman was perceived her employers as a disability.

Aside from their experience at Amazon, they couple said they generally feel accepted in their community and have no desire to leave Kentucky.

However, they said they are both undergoing treatment related to the workplace traumas they experienced, and have been advised by their doctors that they are not ready to take new jobs.

Anxiety: Schawe-Lane suffered from anxiety as a result of her abuse, according to her Facebook page. The suit says that neither she nor her husband can go back to work yet

Excerpts from Schawe-Lane's public Facebook posts suggest that she was under stress in 2015.

On July 8, she wrote: 'I get so stressed and full of anxiety during the work week it's not funny and today I locked my keys in the car on lunch break at the gas station.'

'Thank god some one is at my house where I left my purse with my AAA card in it ahhhhhh this is tooooo much my mind and body need a break so badly.'

However, there are moments of positivity from her after leaving the company. In May this year, she wrote a post thanking 'two gentlemen'.

The said they 'have been amazingly supportive and made me feel SAFE, RESPECTED and like I BELONGED!!!'

Replying to an inquiry from her friend on that post, she added: 'Just a shared experience Dane and I suffered for over a year and it's taken a horrible toll on us both...'

She continued: '...we will never give up loving one another and we will continue to fight and keep one another safe and strong as we can.

'I just wanted to thank two people who surprised the bajesus out of me by being flat out lovely hugely helpful and honest. This city and this day and age you do not meet people like that EVER !'
The Australian Border Force is overhauling its investigation into corruption within the agency amid suspicions that a drug syndicate infiltrated its ranks more than a decade ago.

Corrupt officers have been helping an alleged crime syndicate run by the Jomaa family in Sydney since at least 2008 and possibly since 2003, confidential government documents suggest, Fairfax Media reports.

The Jomaa family was once 'considered bullet-proof amongst the criminal underworld, as it was alleged that they had assistance from Customs and Border Protection,' according to documents.

A serving ABF officer, Craig Eakin, and former officer Johayna Merhi - who until Wednesday had been working as a civilian in a specialist command of NSW Police - have been charged with helping the alleged syndicate.

Earlier this week police seized 200kg of MDMA in Sydney, sparking a police operation which saw the arrest of Koder Jomaa in Dubai, The Telegraph reports.

The Australian Border Force is overhauling its investigation into corruption within the agency amid suspicions that a drug syndicate infiltrated its ranks

Australian Federal Police Assistant Commissioner Neil Gaughan said one serving ABF officer and one past member were among a group of eight people arrested in Sydney and one in Dubai over their involvement in an alleged smuggling conspiracy.

'Unfortunately, during this operation, we have uncovered some allegations of corrupt activity, which this syndicate exploited to try and get their drugs into the country,' Mr Gaughan said.

'We will be alleging that these persons utilised their knowledge and expertise to assist the Jomaa organised crime family bring border-controlled drugs into Australia.'

Sydney Airport and Port Botany are among the locations that have been compromised and reports suggest a number of drug and tobacco imports happened with help from inside the ABF.

Jomaa left Sydney for the United Arab Emirates three years ago and set up a healthy eatery and delivery service called Fit Food Kitchen in the exclusive Jumeirah Lake Towers, according to the Telegraph.

He and brothers Ali and Abbas were among those arrested in Sydney and Dubai in connection with the syndicate. A food warehouse linked to the Jomaas was also raided by police.

Australian Federal Police Assistant Commissioner Neil Gaughan said investigators had found evidence of Australian Border Force corruption

Current serving officer Craig Eakin, 42, from Brighton-Le-Sands and former officer Johayna Merhi, 41, from Hurstville, have also been arrested.

Merhi quit the agency in October 2015 after she was suspected of tipping off criminal figures linked to the Jomaa family, Fairfax revealed.

She had been working for NSW Police in a specialist command until Wednesday, when she was sacked. She was a civilian employee.

Merhi was charged with two counts of dealing with proceeds of crime, smuggling tobacco products, bribing a Commonwealth public official, and committing an offence for the benefit of an organisation.

Eakin has been charged with smuggling, bribery, abuse of public office, assisting a criminal group, gaining unauthorised access and dealing in the proceeds of crime.

Police allege the Jomaa syndicate smuggles drugs and tobacco past Australia's border. The syndicate has also shifted funds out of Australia to accounts in Panama, the UAE and Lebanon, according to Fairfax.

Ali Jomaa appeared before Central Local Court earlier this week charged with six offences including bribing an ABF official and directing the activities of a criminal organisation, the Daily Telegraph reports.

Jomaa allegedly bribed ABF employee Eakin at Brighton Le Sands on July 18 this year, according to a police charge sheet.

Corrupt officers have been helping an alleged crime syndicate run by the Jomaa family in Sydney since at least 2008 and possibly since 2003

Court documents also outline how Ali Jomaa allegedly directed Eakin, Merhi, Abbas Jomaa, Tony Chidiac, and David Red 'to commit serious offences for the benefit of a criminal organisation.'

Leaked documents of a briefing in 2010 show authorities were aware the Jomaa family had infiltrated Customs (now renamed Australian Border Force).

In the briefing, then federal police commissioner Tony Negus was warned two female Customs officers had ties to the family.

By the end of that year, five Customs officers with links to the family had been identified.

Even after all five had left their roles, police were receiving evidence that the Jomaas were obtaining inside information.

In 2015, an officer reportedly have a member of the family access to an ABF gym and was leaking information from agency computers at Sydney Airport.

AFP Coordinator of Organised Crime and Cyber, Detective Superintendent Stephen Dametto, said the global reach of organised crime in Australia had become so complex that a high degree of sophistication and collaboration was required to combat these groups.

'This operation is a warning to organised crime targeting Australia that hiding on the other side of the world wont save you,' Detective Superintendent Dametto said.

'Once you are in our sights, we will focus our efforts on causing you and your predatory criminal activities as much damage as possible.'
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A beauty queen who has won China's controversial Breast Model Competition said she improved her catwalk skills through dozens of knockoff Victoria's Secret fashion shows .

Liu Qianqian, 23, dreams of strutting down the real Victoria's Secret runway one day after having been a star model in the copycat versions for underwear and real estate companies.

Ms Liu, from east China's Anhui Province, also said she was surprised to win the beauty pageant because she only has B-cup breasts, but she explained 'perhaps the judges liked my smile'.

Liu Qianqian (pictured), a 5ft9in beauty, is the winner of China's Breast Model Competition held in the city of Hefei. She said through the many Victoria Secret-style fashion shows, she improved her catwalk skills and learned to be confident

The 23-year-old woman confessed that she was surprised to win the beauty pageant because she only has B-cup breasts, but she explained 'perhaps the judges liked my smile'. The model outshone 11 other finalists to win the title

Ms Liu (middle) claimed the competition was not superficial and it did not judge contestants solely based on the size of their breasts. She was pictured with the runner-up (left) and second runner-up (right) after winning the competition on July 23

According to the winner, the finalists donned evening gowns and designer clothes during most part of the show, and when they showcased lingerie, they wrapped chiffon fabric around their torsos. The contest has sparked controversy in the past

The 5ft9in model outshone 11 other buxom finalists on July 23 at the Anhui International Breast Model Competition held in the city of Hefei.

The 23-year-old said she had learned how to present herself and walk confidently by attending the knockoff Victoria's Secret shows in the past two years.

'I don't particularly mind the fact that many people said they were fake Victoria's Secret shows,' Ms Liu told MailOnline.

'China has imported many products from the West. In addition, the so-called Victoria's Secret fashion show is just a format. People shouldn't think too much about it,' she added.

The annual International Breast Model Competition is organised by a plastic surgery company and a local newspaper group. A contestants is pictured performing on stage during the final of the fifth contest in 2015

Responses to the event have been mixed. While some online readers criticised it for being 'shallow' and 'offensive', others found it 'empowering'. This picture taken in 2013 shows a Chinese model waiting to go on stage for the third competition

Winner Liu Qianqian said that contestants were required to display their talent, such as singing and dancing, as well as answer questions. Two contestants were pictured above performing during the fifth competition in 2015

The organiser of the breast model competition said candidates were judged on their 'body proportions, manner, knowledge span and degree of confidence'. The above picture was taken in 2015 during the final of the fifth competition

The knockoff Victoria's Secret fashion shows are hugely popular among Chinese underwear brands and realty developers because 'perhaps people think they are visually stimulating and international', said Ms Liu.

However, the model hopes that one day she could wear the real Victoria's Secret wings.

'Victoria's Secret is the pinnacle stage for a professional model, and I would love to be on it. My idol is Liu Wen. She was gorgeous during the brand's shows.'

Liu Qianqian dreams of becoming a real Victoria's Secret Angel after having been a star model in the copycat versions. Her idol is Liu Wen (left) who was pictured showcasing her curves at last year's Victoria Secret's show with Ming Xi (right)

Four Chinese supermodels dazzled on the stage in last year's Victoria's Secret catwalk in Paris. Alongside Liu Wen and Ming Xi, He Sui (left) and Ju Xiaowen (right) have stunned fashion-loving audience from around the world

Liu Wen was one of the four Chinese supermodels who dazzled on the stage in last year's Victoria's Secret catwalk in Paris - the other three were He Sui, Ming Xi and Ju Xiaowen.

The four beauties showcased their curves in the prestigious modelling gig alongside big names such as Bella Hadid, Lily Donaldson and Joan Smalls.

Ms Liu said she would love to watch this year's Victoria's Secret's show, which is set to take place in Shanghai in autumn.

Talking about winning the Breast Model Competition, Ms Liu confessed she was truly surprised by the result.

Ms Liu explained: 'I think I won because I was relaxed during the contest. And because the judges liked my smile.'

The annual beauty contest, organised by a plastic surgery company and a local newspaper group, was in its seventh year this year.

Since 2010, hundreds of models have showed off their ample assets on the stage with bold makeup and glitzy lingerie to compete for the title.

So far, responses to the event have been mixed. While some online readers criticised it for being 'shallow' and 'offensive', others found it 'empowering'.

Models including Kendall Jenner, Izabel Goulart and Barbara Fialho celebrate at the end of the 2016 Victoria's Secret show

They did it! Adriana led the parade of models at the end of the 2016 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in Paris

Ms Liu argued that the competition was not superficial as it did not judge contestants solely based on the size of their breasts.

'Among all the contestants, I probably have the smallest bra size. If the competition was really like what the others said, how come I've won?'

She said the finalists donned evening gowns and designer clothes during most part of the show, and when they showcased lingerie, they wrapped chiffon fabric around their torsos.

The candidates were also required to display their talent, such as singing and dancing, as well as answer questions.

The competition's co-organiser, Huamei Plastic Surgery Group, told MailOnline that models were not judged by their breasts.

A spokesperson provided a list of criteria, which included 'body proportions, manner, knowledge span and degree of confidence'.

The company said they hoped the pageant could spread the correct ethos of 'beautiful breasts' and raise the awareness of breast cancer among the public.

'Our principle is to spread beauty, help women display their charms and assist charity,' the company concluded.
News / Africa

by Staff reporter

NAIROBI - Two protesters were shot dead by police in the Kenyan capital yesterday as unrest broke out after opposition claims of massive rigging in an election that President Uhuru Kenyatta looked certain to win.An AFP photographer saw one of the victims, a young man with a massive gunshot wound to the head, while a senior police officer confirmed two had been killed in the flashpoint slum of Mathare."They were part of a group that was protesting in the area and officers were sent to quell the chaos," the officer said on condition of anonymity. "We are told many of them were also thieves who took advantage and could not even obey the police. Two have been fatally wounded."Japheth Koome, police chief for Nairobi, said the two who were killed had tried to "attack our officers with pangas (machetes) and that's when the officers opened fire on them." An AFP photographer saw a bloodied machete lying on the ground at the scene of the unrest.Police fired teargas  and in some cases live bullets into the air  to disperse several protests, which erupted in opposition strongholds in Nairobi as well as the western city of Kisumu after Odinga claimed a massive hacking attack had manipulated electronic tallying results.Kenyatta looked to have an unassailable lead, according to unofficial results streamed onto the election commission (IEBC) website, handing him 54 percent compared to Odinga's 44.7 percent, with votes from over 96 percent of polling stations counted.The bloodshed comes a decade after a disputed poll, which Odinga lost to former president Mwai Kibaki, led to two months of clashes that left 1,100 people dead and 600,000 displaced.Decrying a "sham" tallying process, Odinga detailed accusations of a major attack on the electronic system, saying hackers had gained entry using the identity of top IT official Chris Msando, who was found murdered and tortured late last month."This is an attack on our democracy. The 2017 general election was a fraud," said Odinga, claiming detailed evidence of the hackers' movements.The 72-year-old, who is making his fourth bid for the presidency as the flagbearer for the National Super Alliance (NASA) coalition, accused his rivals of stealing victory from him through rigging in 2007 and in 2013."You can only cheat a people for so long," he said. "As a commission we shall carry out investigations to establish whether or not the (hacking) claims are true," he said, adding that the IEBC had a week to release final results.Raphael Tuju, secretary-general of Kenyatta's Jubilee party, urged the opposition to "look at the figures soberly" and accept the results."You cannot claim that results are fake with respect to presidential vote and you welcome the areas where your governors and MPs have won convincingly. You have to accept the results however they come," he said. Odinga urged his supporters to "remain calm as we look deep into this matter."But he added: "I don't control the people." As his speech ended, scores of supporters gathered in Kisumu and Mathare, burning tyres, setting up barricades and engaging in running battles with riot police."If Raila is not president, we can't have peace," one Kisumu protester told AFP. Resident Geoffery Omondi (22) shook his head as protesters lit a new fire nearby."It is very painful to watch. The problem is the IEBC who did not announce results well." However, the protests remained isolated, and in opposition strongholds where elections tend to stoke tensions.Nevertheless the normally traffic-choked streets of Nairobi remained deserted as the country held its breath over the results. The contest between Odinga and Kenyatta was seen by pollsters as too close to call ahead of the vote.It is the second time the two men have faced off in a presidential election, a dynastic rivalry that has lasted more than half a century since their fathers Jomo Kenyatta and Jaramogi Odinga went from allies in the struggle for independence to bitter rivals.The men belong to two of Kenya's main ethnic groups, Kenyatta from the Kikuyu, the largest, and Odinga from the Luo.Both had secured formidable alliances with other influential communities in Kenya, where voting takes place largely along ethnic lines.In 2013 Kenyatta won by 800 000 votes. Kenyatta (55) is credited with overseeing steady economic growth of more than five percent.However, food prices have soared under his watch and several major corruption scandals broke out in his first term.
Two LGBT-rights organizations filed a lawsuit in federal court on Wednesday challenging President Donald Trump's tweets declaring a ban on transgender people serving in the military.

The suit was filed in the US District Court in Washington, DC on behalf of five transgender service members with nearly 60 years of combined military service.

Transgender people have been allowed to serve openly in the military since June 2016. Trump, in a series of tweets on July 26, however, announced that he planned to end that policy.

SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO

Two LGBT-rights organizations filed a lawsuit on behalf of five active-duty transgender service members in federal court Wednesday challenging President Donald Trump's (pictured, August 3) tweets declaring a ban on transgender people serving in the military

The lawsuit, filed by GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders and the National Center for Lesbian Rights, says such a ban is unconstitutional, denying transgender service members equal protection and due process (Pictured, protests in San Francisco's Castro District on July 26)

The five plaintiffs serve in the Air Force, the Coast Guard and the Army. Their years of service range from three years to two decades, and include tours in Iraq and Afghanistan (Pictured, demonstrators gather to protest the ban at the White House on July 26)

The government 'will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. military,' he tweeted, contending that their service entailed 'tremendous medical costs and disruption'.

The surprise announcement appealed to some in Trump's conservative political base but created uncertainty for thousands of transgender service members, many of whom came out after the Pentagon said in 2016 it would allow transgender people to serve openly.

The lawsuit, filed by GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) and the National Center for Lesbian Rights, says such a ban is unconstitutional, denying transgender service members equal protection and due process.

Attorneys handling the lawsuit said they hoped the court would move swiftly to prevent a ban from taking effect, given the uncertainty that transgender service members now face in regard to their livelihoods and retirement benefits.

'The damage is happening now,' said Jennifer Levi, director of GLAD's Transgender Rights Project. 'These service members were told in June 2016 they could come out and continue to openly serve.'

The five plaintiffs serve in the Air Force, the Coast Guard and the Army. Their years of service range from three years to two decades, and include tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.

All have come out as transgender to their commanding officers but are anonymous in the lawsuit, named only as Jane Doe, for fear of retribution, said Levi.

President Trump announced the ban in a series of tweets on July 26, citing 'cost' and 'disruption' as the reasons

The Pentagon had no immediate comment.

Named in the suit, along with Trump, are Defense Secretary James Mattis; General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and other national security officials.

When Trump first tweeted his plan, Dunford said the military would not act on the tweets until a formal order to do so was issued by the president, who is also the commander-in-chief of the military.

Named in the suit, along with Trump, are Defense Secretary James Mattis; General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and other national security officials (Pictured, people protests the transgender ban in Times Square in New York City on July 26)

Transgender people have been allowed to serve openly in the military since June 2016 (Pictured, Nick Rondoletto, left, and Doug Thorogood, a couple from San Francisco, wave a rainbow flag and hold a sign against a proposed ban of transgendered people in the military at a protest in San Francisco on July 26)

One of Trump's explanations for the ban was the 'cost burden'. But financial reports showed that out of $6.7billion spent on healthcare, transgender-related healthcare equated to just $8.4million. Meanwhile, $84.24million is spent on erectile dysfunction

But a team of military lawyers has been pulled together to figure out how to handle the matter.

The American Civil Liberties Union says it told the White House on Tuesday it intends to sue, and requested that relevant documents be preserved in preparation for the lawsuit.

Fifty-six retired US generals and admirals protested the directive in a letter released last week, arguing the ban 'would cause significant disruptions, deprive the military of mission-critical talent, and compromise the integrity of transgender troops'.

A new report released on Wednesday by The Palm Center found that 'fully implementing President Trump's ban would cost $960million in pursuit of saving $8.4million per year'.
The mother of a Florida girl found dead in a freezer has been sentenced to 65 years in prison.

Keishanna Thomas, 33, was sentenced Wednesday after pleading no contest to charges of second-degree murder, aggravated child abuse and abuse of a dead body.

Authorities say the body of 11-year-old Janiya Thomas was found in October 2015 in a freezer that her mother had delivered to a relative's Bradenton-area house.

Police found missing 11-year-old Janiya Thomas dead in a freezer in 2015

Keishanna Thomas was accused of killing daughter Janiya putting body in freezer, accepted a plea deal Wednesday to serve 65 years in prison

'I'm doing this, Your Honor, because I feel this is in my best interest and that I don't want to put my kids through a trial,' explained Thomas in court Wednesday.

'I think this is the most horrific child death I was ever involved in,' said prosecutor Arthur Brown, according to News Channel 8. Brown said this amounts to a life sentence.

Florida authorities first noticed Janiya Thomas was missing in October 2015, when officers with the Manatee County's Child Protective Investigations unit arrived at Thomas' apartment to take away her five children and found only four of them there.

Thomas refused to say where her daughter was. She was arrested for contempt of court.

Her body was in the freezer for up to 16 months before police found her body.

In the indictment it is alleged Thomas killed Janiya through some combination of starving, asphyxiation and drowning. She was last seen in June 2014.

A state report said child protective services investigators and partnering agencies failed to accurately assess the pattern of violence at the Thomas home for years.

Two days later, Janiya's aunt and grandmother called police to say they believed the girl's body was hidden in a freezer in their home.

They said that Thomas and a unknown black man had moved the padlocked freezer into their home on Wednesday, but the two women hadn't looked inside it until they heard that Janiya was missing.

It's believed that she has been missing since August 2014, but police say they only learned about her disappearance in 2015.

Hidden: Janiya's aunt and grandmother told police that Thomas dropped off the freezer at their home (pictured) but they didn't look inside it until they heard reports about Janiya's disappearance

Keishanna Thomas in her mugshot from 2015

'I'm really upset that we let this child down,' Bradenton Police Chief Michael Radzilowski said.

He added that he was 'flabbergasted' no one questioned Janiya's whereabouts for more than a year, saying he was angry that 'a child could just disappear and no one asked nothing'.

Thomas had apparently been under investigation by child protective services, but always had an excuse for why Janiya wasn't around when authorities checked in on her.

'Nobody told us until Friday night,' Bradenton Police Department spokesman Lt. James Racky said.

'Her mother pulled her out of school because of her medical condition ... and said she was home-schooling her in 2013.'

Janiya suffered a digestive condition. 'She could not always tell when she had to go to the bathroom,' Racky said.

'That's one of the reasons the mother was frustrated with the child and kept the child in the bathroom at her residence.

'That medical condition is the same one that killed Janiya's father.'
The US State Department has expelled two Cuban diplomats from the US over safety concerns of American officials who reported experiencing unexplained 'physical symptoms' while working in Cuba.

According to CBS Radio, Cuban officials were asked to leave the Washington, DC embassy on May 23 after US personnel stationed on the Caribbean island 'reported incidents which have caused a variety of physical symptoms'.

The symptoms ultimately led to the officials leaving Cuba, but the State Department would not specify what the physical symptoms were or when the Cuban officials left the US.

According to the Associated Press, the US diplomats, who were living in housing owned and maintained by the Cuban government, began suffering unexplained losses of hearing in fall 2016.

The US State Department has expelled two Cuban diplomats from the US over safety concerns of American officials who reported experiencing unexplained 'physical symptoms' while working in Cuba (Pictured, a supporter waves flags of the United States and Cuba in front of the country's embassy in Washington, DC in July 2015)

Several of the diplomats were recent arrivals at the embassy, which reopened in 2015 as part of former President Barack Obamas reestablishment of diplomatic relations with Cuba.

After months of investigation, US officials concluded that the diplomats had been attacked with an advanced sonic weapon that operated outside the range of audible sound and had been deployed either inside or outside their residences.

A State Department spokesperson said the US has reminded the Cuban government of its obligation to protect diplomats under the Vienna Convention, CBS Radio reported.

'Some US government personnel in Havana on official duty have reported incidents which have caused a variety of physical symptoms,' a State Department spokesman said.

'We do not have definitive answers on the source or cause of the incidents.'

In fall 2016, the US diplomats reportedly began suffering unexplained losses of hearing. After an investigation, officials concluded that the diplomats had been attacked with an advanced sonic weapon that operated outside the range of audible sound (Pictured, the US Embassy in Havana in December 2015)

Cuban officials have pledged to investigate the incidents as well and take appropriate action, reported the AP.

An investigation has been launched by the FBI and outside officials into whether the attack was carried out by a third country such as Russia, possibly operating without the knowledge of the Cuban chain of command.

It is not unprecedented or uncommon for American officials in Cuba to be harassed, pointing to the start of the practice emerging under the island's communist government in the 1970s.
Sunrise personality David Koch has challenged Treasurer Scott Morrison to look him in the eye and explain why taxpayers should cough up $122 million for a non-binding, postal vote on gay marriage.

The Turnbull Government is sending out ballot papers to Australian households from September 12 after the Senate rejected its election promise for a compulsory plebiscite on redefining marriage.

However Koch wasn't impressed with taxpayers being asked to foot the bill for the alternative - a voluntary, non-binding national opinion poll on changing the Marriage Act.

'Can you look me in the eye and say this $122 million is well spent?,' he asked the treasurer.

Sunrise presenter David Koch was unimpressed with taxpayers being asked to pay $122 million

As Mr Morrison said keeping an election promise 'is money well spent', Koch gestured with his fingers to his eyes, before the treasurer answered 'yes'.

Koch, who is also the Seven Network's finance expert, had opened his interview by suggesting the $122 million could instead be spent on training 4560 nurses, 1900 teachers, childcare rebates for 16,200 families and 5200 aged pensions.

'You lecture us about having to be fiscally responsible, that we have a problem with the budget,' he said.

'So many Australians are so angry that we're just wasting money on this because you politicians don't have the guts to make the decision yourselves.'

The awkward interview comes as Australian Marriage Equality launches a High Court challenge to the voluntary postal ballot, where voters will receive envelopes from September 12 and be given until November 7 to return them.

A result for the non-binding postal vote is expected to be declared on November 15.

Sunrise host David Koch asked Treasurer Scott Morrison to look him in the eye over the cost

A 'yes' vote would lead to a private members bill being debated in parliament.

Mr Morrison, who opposes gay marriage, said this would be likely to produce a change to the Marriage Act.

'If the plebiscite is carried then there will be a bill that will come forward and it will be debated,' he said.

'I would inspect any subsequent bill would be passed.'

David Koch accused the government of 'cherry picking' a difficult issue to avoid a decision

The government is defending its 'election promise' as gay marriage supporters prepare a High Court challenge

PLEBISCITES IN AUSTRALIA

1916: Military service conscription during World War I which was defeated 1917: Reinforcements for Australian Imperial Forces serving in Europe, which was also defeated 1977: Replacing 'God Save The Queen' as the national anthem - 'Advance Australia Fair' preferred by voters Source: Parliament House of Australia Advertisement

Socially-conservative, right-wing Liberal politicians, including former prime minister Tony Abbott, are opposed to a conscience vote on gay marriage and have been the chief advocates for a plebiscite on the issue.

Koch asked Mr Morrison why the government didn't just hire a polling company like Galaxy Research or Newspoll to conduct research.

However, the treasurer repeatedly insisted it was an election promise, to the chagrin of Koch.

'Don't give me that. You break election promises all the time,' he said.

Koch accused the treasurer of 'cherry picking' a difficult issue to avoid bringing on a parliamentary vote.

Treasurer Scott Morrison became uncomfortable when asked about the cost of the postal vote

'Every big decision, you'll send it to a non-compulsory post vote form?,' he asked.

The interview became awkward when Koch asked Mr Morrison the last time Australia had actually held a plebiscite.

Australian voters haven't taken part in a plebiscite since 1977, when they were asked to choose between God Save The Queen or Advance Australia Fair as a national anthem.

'So all of the other major decisions, in the meantime, you've decided to just make that decision yourself rather than going to a postal vote,' Koch said.
Secret meetings, encrypted BlackBerry phones and code names 'Barbiedoll' and 'Mr Billionaire' were all allegedly part of the sophisticated operation allegedly involving three members of Sydney's Ibrahim family.

Michael Ibrahim, the alleged lynch pin and his business partners, used codenames to organise multimillion-dollar drug deals, unaware police were tracking the group's every move.

Ibrahim was one of 17 people arrested in dramatic police raids across Sydney and Dubai on Tuesday as part of a massive police sting.

Ryan Watsford (left) and Fares Derbas (right) are alleged to be key players in the alleged crime syndicate

Ahmad 'Rock' Ahmad has been charged with conspiring to import a commercial quantity of drugs

Michael, the brother of Kings Cross identity John Ibrahim, allegedly went under the codename Entertainer88 or The Man, court papers revealed.

Michael, 39, his cousin Fares Derbas, 30 and Sydney real estate agent Ryan Watsford, 37, allegedly met at Sydney's Sheraton on the Park in November last year to discuss the illegal importation of cigarettes. During the meetings, police will allege one of the men was an informant.

The men allegedly met repeatedly at various locations across Sydney, from the InterContinental at prestigious Double Bay, to a 7/11 service station at Strathfield.

The men met to discuss the illegal importation of tobacco and drugs including ecstasy, the police will allege.

John Ibrahim (left) is seen with brother Michael (second from right), son Daniel (right), and friend Margaret Staltaro

Michael, 39, his cousin Fares Derbas, 30 and Sydney real estate agent Ryan Watsford, 37, allegedly met at Sydney's Sheraton on the Park in November last year to discuss the illegal importation of cigarettes

CODE NAMES USED BY ALLEGED MEMBERS? MR BILLIONAIRE, BABYFACE: Hakan Arif (Dubai based)

STAYPAID, MR WORLDWIDE: Steven Elmir

RHINO, BARBIEDOLL: Sydney real estate agent Ryan Watsford

BLACKKNIGHT, FRAKA: Hassan 'Faks' Fakhreddine

PARANOIDS, FARES: Fares Derbas, Michael Ibrahim's cousin

THE ENEMY: Mustapha Dib Advertisement

Prosecutors told the court that Michael was the common link between two major crime rings, one run by his own family and the other by Steven Elmir, the Daily Telegraph reported.

Michael is alleged by police to have headed deals in November 2016 including illegal multimillion-dollar tobacco deals.

One deal allegedly saw Michael's men pay for 800kg of MDMA and 900,000 packets of illegal cigarettes, the Daily Telegraph reported.

Middle Eastern Crime Squad and Australian Federal Police officers conducted dawn raids on 32 homes across Sydney on Tuesday, issuing 52 separate arrest warrants.

Kings Cross identity John Ibrahim (pictured in 2010) is not under suspicion of having any involvement in the alleged drug ring

Investigators arrested 17 people in three countries - nine men and one woman in Sydney, five men in Dubai and two men in The Netherlands.

The raids mark the biggest police operation on organised crime in the past 10 years.

Police seized 1.8 tonnes of ecstasy, 136kg of cocaine, 15kg of methamphetamines and $5.45m - allegedly proceeds of crime.

The drugs, with an estimated street value of $810 million, had been stopped from entering Australia by authorities in the Netherlands.

WHO'S BEEN ARRESTED IN SYDNEY ORGANISED CRIME BUST? SARAH BUDGE Budge sports the Instagram nickname Budgie and is the girlfriend of Kings Cross identity John Ibrahim, 49. She's been charged with possessing a Glock 26 pistol and ammunition when police raided her home. The 27-year-old model from Double Bay is the owner of Potts Point restaurant and music venue Crane Bar. She is listed with Scoop Management. Ms Budge is not suspected of having any involvement in the alleged drug ring and has been released on bail. DANIEL IBRAHIM Daniel is a former soldier with the Australian army who also goes by the last name Taylor and is John Ibrahim's son. Born in 1990, some have labelled him John's 'secret son' because he was raised by his mother, Melissa Taylor, on the Gold Coast. The 26-year-old moved to Sydney in 2010 and is the owner of the popular Kings Cross bar Beach Haus. He's been charged with dealing with money intended as an instrument of crime for allegedly handing over $2.25 to buy smuggled tobacco. Daniel Ibrahim strenuously denies the allegations. FADI IBRAHIM A builder by trade, Fadi is one of John Ibrahim's three brothers and has been described by John as 'the non-violent one in the family'. He survived an attempt on his life in June 2009 when he was shot five times while sitting in his Lamborghini outside his Castle Cove home in Sydney's northern suburbs. As a result, his stomach and part of his oesophagus were removed and he suffered nerve damage and several broken bones. Fadi is also the only brother known to dance in public, so much so that John Ibrahim named a podium after him at DCM nightclub. He has been arrested in Dubai. MICHAEL IBRAHIM Mike Ibrahim, who was also arrested in Dubai, was hit in the shoulder by one of a number of bullets fired at him on a footpath on Macquarie Street, Sydney, in early 2015. In December 2012 he was acquitted of conspiring to murder the man he believed was responsible for shooting his brother Fadi. RYAN WATSFORD The Sydney high-end property real estate agent and Facebook friend of John Ibrahim and Sarah Budge provided a reference to the court for the Nimilote Ngata case in 2011. Ngata is the son of John's then bodyguard Semi 'Tongan Sam' Ngata. He's been charged with multiple offences including importing a commercial quantity of illegal drugs and dealing with the proceeds of crime. Mr Watsford denies the charges. MUSTAPHA DIB The Sydney underworld figure, known as 'Fairy Dib', walked free from jail in February 2016 after his conviction for the murder of a young woman was quashed. He was handed a sentence of at least 30 years in 2012 for the execution-style killing but three judges found there was reasonable doubt he was responsible. In 2016 the former Telopa Street gang member's home was raided by police searching for firearms. AHMAD 'ROCK' AHMAD The 39-year-old younger brother of the slain stand-over man Walid 'Wally' Ahmad, who was fatally shot on a rooftop car park in Bankstown in April 2016. Ahmad has been charged with conspiring to import a commercial quantity of drugs. SLEIMAN 'SIMON' TAJJOUR The national president of the Nomads Bikie gang who is a cousin of John Ibrahim. Tajjour was involved in a failed legal bid in the High Court to have the state's anti-consorting laws struck out. He's been charged with supplying a large commercial quantity of a prohibted drug. FARES DERBAS Owner of Nutrition Station in Maroubra, which was torched by two masked men in May 2016. Derbas is the cousin of the Ibrahim brothers. He's been charged with multiple offences including importing tobacco products with intent to defraud revenue and dealing with the proceeds of crime. Mr Derbas denies the allegations but the magistrate declined to allow bail. Advertisement

The major police sting saw Ibrahim brothers, Fahdi and Michael, arrested in Dubai on Monday local time.

John Ibrahim's brothers spent Monday afternoon partying on a luxury yacht in Dubai, blissfully unaware a sophisticated police sting would soon see them handcuffed and behind bars.

Moments after the multi-million dollar boat docked in the city's prestigious marina district, officers swooped, taking Fahdi and Michael Ibrahim, along with two others, into custody.

Stephen Elmir and underworld figure Mustapha Dib, who walked free from jail in February 2016 after his murder conviction was quashed, were also arrested.

The men had spent the day on a sun-drenched cruise along a stretch of Persian Gulf shoreline which has become a playground for the rich and famous (stock image of a boat party in Dubai)

The area has become renowned for alcohol-fuelled parties, with Western expatriates making the most of Dubai's year-round sunshine

The men had spent the day on a sun-drenched cruise along a stretch of Persian Gulf shoreline which has become a playground for the rich and famous.

On Monday, theirs was one of dozens of multi-million dollar yachts to dock at the opulent marina, surrounded by glistening skyscrapers and man-made waterways.

The area has become renowned for alcohol-fuelled parties, with Western expatriates making the most of Dubai's year-round sunshine outnumbering the locals.

After the cruise, three of the four men are believed to have planned a lavish dinner at one of the many trendy restaurants along the waterway, but they never made it.

The Dubai Police Force and the Australian Federal Police had been watching their every move and made the dramatic arrests before they could take their seats.

The party was over.

The area (pictured in 2015) is surrounded by glistening skyscrapers and man-made waterways

Above, a stock image of a man diving into a hotel pool in the marina neighborhood of Dubai

After the cruise, three of the four men are believed to have planned a lavish dinner at one of the many trendy restaurants along the waterway

Extradition proceedings from Dubai are underway and are expected to be completed within 60 days.

AFP Assistant Commissioner Neil Gaughan said there was perception among organised crime syndicates that a person is 'untouchable' once they are overseas.

'Our international partners, one day, will come knocking on your door... This is only the beginning,' he said on Tuesday.

Moments after the multi-million dollar boat docked in Dubai's prestigious marina district, officers swooped, taking Fahdi and Michael Ibrahim, along with two others, into custody

Mustapha Dib, who walked free from jail in February 2016 after his murder conviction was quashed, was also arrested in the Dubai

Extradition proceedings from Dubai (pictured) are expected to be completed within 60 days

The AFP began investigating two inter-related crime syndicates in mid-2016, with information they were working with criminals in Dubai and the Netherlands.

Notorious Kings Cross identity John Ibrahim is not under suspicion, despite his luxury eastern suburbs house being raided on Tuesday.

He flew into Sydney late on Monday night after holidaying in Los Angeles for a week.

It's believed he was at his home when officers executed the early morning search warrant.

John Ibrahim's Dover Heights residence (pictured) was raided by Federal Police on Tuesday morning
Jeremy Vine has come under fire for alleging that the jogger who pushed a pedestrian into the path of a bus must have been a banker.

The BBC presenter was yesterday accused of trivialising the horrific attack and acting in poor taste, after he set up an online poll that encouraged people to guess the profession of the jogger.

Yet he only gave three options for the unidentified mans job, all of which were from the financial sector, prompting criticism that he was being prejudicial, fuelling stereotypes and should remain neutral.

Jeremy Vine has come under fire for alleging that the jogger who pushed a pedestrian into the path of a bus must have been a banker

Tory MP Andrew Bridgen described Vines tweet, which has since been deleted, as a huge lack of judgment, adding that he should not have used the Putney Bridge attack to start a class war.

Vine, who is on holiday from his Radio 2 lunchtime show, also faced criticism from his followers on social media who said the poll was bad taste at best, very insulting and was not a suitable subject to approach with frivolity.

Police have launched an appeal to trace the attacker, who was caught on CCTV pushing a woman off the pavement of Putney Bridge into the path of a bus.

The 33-year-old woman had been on her way to work at the time of the attack, which took place on Putney Bridge in May, and only narrowly avoided being hit by the bus because the driver swerved out of the way.

Vine deleted the tweet after it had been online for four hours yesterday afternoon, but not before it had attracted over 100 comments and more than 1,000 votes.

The jogger was running across Putney Bridge in west London when he barged into the woman

The pedestrian fell onto the concrete separating the pavement from the bus lane and narrowly avoided serious injury

The 52-year-old was recently revealed to be one of the highest-earners at the BBC, taking home up to 750,000 last year, and many of his followers suggested that his attack on those on high salaries was ill-timed.

Bridgen told the Daily Mail: I bet the attacker doesnt earn as much as Jeremy Vine. The licence-fee payer would expect better from someone costing them around 15,000 a week.

That vicious and irresponsible attack, if it hadnt been for the bus drivers very quick actions, it is highly likely that woman would have either been severely injured or killed. If that bus had hit her head, that would have killed her.

It is not a matter to embark on a sort of class war, especially when you are earning 750,000-a-year.

One of Vines __ followers on Twitter wrote: A very insulting tweet to those in such professions, not all of whom will be consumed with their own self-righteousness, unlike yourself.

Another commented: If there is any attempt at irony in this bizarre tweet, it fails badly. It wouldnt surprise (or disappoint) me if it got you sacked.

A third wrote: Or lets guess his nationality, or religion?!?! Just as pointless, prejudicial & inflammatory.

Last night, police said that the appeal had prompted a huge response from the public since releasing the video on Tuesday.

Sgt Mat Knowles, of the Met Police, said his team was now following a number of viable leads in their search for the jogger.
A New South Wales truck driver is set to face court in Brisbane today after allegedly kidnapping and sexually assaulted a woman in a horrific 17-hour ordeal.

The 50-year-old man from San Remo on the Central Coast is alleged to have abducted the 22-year-old woman from her Brisbane home about 5pm on Monday.

Police allege the woman was assaulted at the Darra address before being driven to various locations in the area including a truck stop and industrial estate, Seven News reports.

A 50-year-old man (pictured) from San Remo on the Central Coast is alleged to have abducted a 22-year-old woman from her Darra home about 5pm on Monday

Police allege the woman (pictured, left) was sexually assaulted at the address before being driven to various locations in the area including a truck stop and industrial estate

The woman was allegedly released on Tuesday afternoon - 17 hours after the ordeal began.

She is believed to have called police shortly after, who took her to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Her partner had previously contacted police regarding her disappearance after noticing several missed calls from the woman.

The alleged attacker was arrested on Tuesday in Grafton, about 220km south of the border, and extradited to Queensland on Wednesday.

He remains in custody and is set to appear at the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Thursday charged with kidnapping, sexual assault, deprivation of liberty, common assault and other serious offences.

The woman (pictured) was allegedly released on Tuesday afternoon - 17 hours after the ordeal began
There is a diversity crisis in Britains showbusiness sector with some actors not even receiving the minimum wage, a report warns.

Performing arts in the UK is dominated by those from well-off backgrounds and has a class-shaped hole, MPs said.

It will add pressure to reform the sector after the BBC published the pay of its top talent, highlighting a lack of women and those from ethnic minorities.

Labour MPs including Tracy Brabin, an ex-Coronation Street actress, and former ITV journalist Gloria De Piero, contributed to the report.

Labour MPs including Tracy Brabin (left), an ex-Coronation Street actress, and former ITV journalist Gloria De Piero (right), contributed to the report

It called for action by government, drama colleges, HMRC, broadcasters, film companies and theatres to counter a diversity crisis.

It calls for a more comprehensive approach to collecting data across film, TV, theatre and drama schools to form a clearer picture of the current make-up of the sector.

The report also called for the Government to address a drop in the number of GCSE students studying drama.

It lays out a series of recommendations including urging the government to take action over It also calls on the Arts Council to stop funding projects which pay poverty wages.

It also calls for the minimum wage to be paid after Labour Party research, Acting Up, heard reports it was not being enforced.

The report took evidence from talent including actress and star of The Good Wife, Cush Jumbo, who revealed she was told her south London accent was lazy during her time at drama school and described the experience as the first time she realised I was of colour.

Miss De Piero and Miss Brabin said the report shows the arts is increasingly dominated by a narrow set of people from well-off backgrounds.

Miss Brabin warned a carousel of the same stories would continue if action was not taken to increase the amount of working class, disabled and diverse talent.

The research, commissioned by the party's deputy leader and shadow culture secretary, Tom Watson, found an example of the Arts Council funding a project which paid workers or performers as little as 100 a week for eight weeks' full-time work.

The research was commissioned by the party's deputy leader and shadow culture secretary, Tom Watson

The report also calls for an increase in funding for schools to take students on free trips to the theatre.

It also demands reform of the application process for drama schools which currently charge audition fees of up to 100.

MPs said there was a systematic marginalisation of arts subjects, particularly drama, from schools due to the EBacc.

The qualification is a school performance indicator tied to GCSEs made up of English, maths, science, history or geography, and a language.

Writing in the report, Miss Brabin and Miss De Piero, said: As women from northern working class backgrounds who went on to work in TV we know what it's like to have people sneer at your accent and struggle to pay your way.

They added the issue matters particularly in the performing arts as it offers a mirror to the nation and claimed we'll all be poorer if progress is not made.

Rakie Ayola, who is currently starring as Hermione in Harry Potter And The Cursed Child, praised the report and called for immediate action.

She said: If you ask everyone in the industry if they are for diversity they all put their hands up, but there comes a time when people need to say it out loud. That time is now.
An historian has exonerated the Black Prince for a massacre that took place more than 600 years ago, after discovering it was actually committed by vengeful French soldiers.

Edward of Woodstock's reputation was tarnished by the account of a French chronicler who said he ordered the massacre of 3,000 innocent people in the French town of Limoges during the Hundred Years War between England and France.

The prince, who was the eldest son and heir of Edward III, has been known as The Black Prince since the 16th century because of the massacre and is still vilified in some quarters in France to this day.

Left, The ornate tomb of the Black Prince in Canterbury Cathedral. Right, Edward, Prince of Wales as Knight of the order of the Garter, 1453

However, remarkable new evidence has emerged which suggests the prince, who was the ruler of Aquitaine in south-western France, did not order the massacre during the sack of Limoges on September 19, 1370.

In fact, it was the French forces who butchered 3,000 of their countrymen because they opened the gates of Limoges to let the English in.

The fascinating findings are in a new biography of the prince by military historian Michael Jones who says he wants to 'remove an unwarranted stain on the prince's reputation'.

A provocative account by French chronicler Jean Froissart of the sack of Limoges described the 'indiscriminate' slaying of men, women and children who had thrown themselves before the prince and begged for mercy but whose pleas were ignored.

Michael Jones who has cleared the Black Prince more than 600 years later

He wrote: 'The English broke through the main gate and started to slay the inhabitants, indiscriminately - as they had been ordered to.

'It was a terrible thing. Men, women and children cast themselves on their knees before the prince, begging for mercy, but he was so overcome with anger and an all-consuming desire for revenge, that he listened to no one.

'All were put to the sword, wherever they were found.

'There was not that day in Limoges any heart so hardened, no one possessed of even a shred of pity, who was not deeply affected by the events taking place before them.

'Upwards of 3,000 citizens were put to death that day.'

However, Mr Jones has examined archives in Limoges and Paris and uncovered compelling new evidence which casts doubt on Froissart's version of events.

The recent discovery of a letter the prince wrote three days after the capture of the city contains no mention of a wholesale slaughter of inhabitants.

Furthermore, the account of a local chronicler has come to light who witnessed a body of citizens make their way to the main gate, raise the banner of France and England in a pre-arranged signal and fling it open.

A large number of people in Limoges were supportive of the prince who had ruled over them for the past 10 years and wanted nothing to do with the city's treacherous bishop Jean de Cros who orchestrated the French re-taking of Limoges the previous month.

The bishop spread the rumour that the prince had died of a sudden illness in a bid to persuade his fellow clergymen to accommodate John the Duke of Berry's (brother of Charles V of France) French forces.

The Black Prince receiving the kingdom of Aquitaine from his father Edward III

Crucially, Mr Jones has unearthed documents pertaining to a law suit between two merchants of Limoges held in the Paris Parlement (court) on July 10, 1404 which reveal that as English troops flooded into the city, the enraged French garrison killed those inhabitants who let them in.

The testimony concerned the rival claimants' suitability to hold royal office and the deposition referred to the appellant's father, Jacques Bayard, who with a body of of other poor people allowed the prince's soldiers into Limoges.

His father 'carried the banner of the English to the main gate, where he was captured by the captain of the (French) garrison, who then beheaded him'.

Subsequently, the garrison fired the houses around them and retreated towards the bishop's palace.

Following the sack of Limoges, the prince adopted a conciliatory tone which Mr Jones argues is entirely at odds with someone who supposedly ordered the massacre of 3,000 people.

The prince stated: 'As a result of the treason of their bishop, the clergy and inhabitants of the cite (in Limoges) suffered grievous losses to their bodies and possessions, and endured much hardship.

'We do not wish to see them further punished as accomplices to this crime, when the fault lay with the bishop and they had nothing to do with it.

'We therefore declare them pardoned and quit of all charges of rebellion, treason and forfeiture.'

Edward of Woodstock was England's pre-eminent military leader during the first phase of the Hundred Years War which ran from 1337 to 1453.

In 1346, aged just 16, he won his spurs at Crecy where the French nobility were annihilated by English longbowmen.

Ten years later, he led the vastly outnumbered English to victory at the Battle of Poitiers that forced the captured French king John II to bow to the terms of a treaty which marked the peak of England's dominance in the conflict.

As lord of Aquitaine he ruled over a large amount of territory in south-western France and held court at Bordeaux.

He died on June 8, 1376, a week before his 46th birthday, after a long-lasting illness.

Mr Jones, 62, of South London, said: 'Edward is one of our great heroes who inspired those around him to fight and achieved phenomenal military victories.

'His reputation was tarnished by Froissart's account of the sack of Limoges which I have always been suspicious of because it seemed out of character.

'The prince was a tough warrior but a very pious man.

'The more I looked at Froissart's account, the more it didn't add up.

'My gut instinct, followed by archival research, has painted a very different story of what happened.

'Froissart does not seem to have ever visited Limoges and his account was almost certainly fanciful.

The Black Prince, by Michael Jones, is published by Head of Zeus and costs 30.

'The Prince had decided on a policy of clemency towards those towns that had transferred their allegiance to the French, most of Limoges had stayed loyal and was still holding out for him and the remainder had been tricked into admitting the duke of Berry's troops by a subterfuge.

'The townspeople, who were on good terms with the prince, were furious when they found out they had been misled about his death and let the English in.

'Froissart's love of a good story led him to invent passages of his history - to simply make things up.

'His highly coloured account of the sack of Limoges has held sway in our imagination for too long.

'It is time to remove this unwarranted stain on Edward's reputation and restore one of our great heroes to their rightful position.'
The number of suspected extremists being reported by the public to the Governments counter terrorism strategy has doubled in the wake of the London and Manchester attacks.

Police received around 200 referrals to the Prevent de-radicalisation programme from communities from April to the end of July, compared with around 100 recorded in the previous four months.

But the national policing lead for the intervention strategy, which aims to turn potential extremists away from terror, said yesterday he could not recall a single tip-off from any social media company, despite police constantly asking for extremist material to be removed from sites like YouTube.

Emergency services at Manchester Arena after the explosion at the venue during an Ariana Grande gig in May

Simon Cole, Chief Constable of Leicestershire Police who is the National Police Chiefs Council lead for the initiative, said there were a total of 6,300 referrals to Prevent in 2016-17, but fewer than one in 10 came from the public.

The majority of tip-offs came from statutory agencies, such as teachers, health and social workers, police and the security services

But the chief said he didnt know if any internet company had ever proactively contacted Prevent, which aims to support those at risk of joining extremist groups.

The Home Secretary Amber Rudd has previously accused tech firms of giving terrorist groups a safe space to radicalise the vulnerable and marginalised online with their poisonous ideology.

Simon Cole, Chief Constable of Leicestershire Police who is the National Police Chiefs Council lead for the initiative, said there were a total of 6,300 referrals to Prevent in 2016-17

Yesterday Simon Cole called on social media giants to do more to tackle extremist material.

Since 2010, 270,000 pieces of illegal terrorist material have been removed by social media providers following referrals from the Counter-Terrorism Internet Referral Unit.

Mr Cole also revealed yesterday that the Government is considering making elements of the voluntary Prevent programme compulsory.

The discussions between police and ministers around forcing some of Britains most extreme radicals to engage or face criminal sanction is likely to prove controversial as critics believe the Prevent scheme is already toxic in some communities.

Prevent has been credited with playing a role in disrupting more than 150 attempted journeys to the conflicts in Iraq and Syria.

But there have been calls for the strategy to be scrapped, amid accusations that it spies on the Muslim community.

The Green Partys co-leader Caroline Lucas has previously said the Muslim community believe its been an attack on their group in particular.

But Mr Cole said: This notion of Prevent as a toxic brand is simply incorrect, and is borne from misunderstanding.

What I would like to hear more of is constructive dialogue about how we can all work together to stop innocent people being killed.

People receiving medical attention in Thrale Street near London Bridge following the terrorist attack in June

On occasions it feels like people are sniping for the sake of it and that what theyre talking about doesnt reflect the reality of local delivery of the voluntary safeguarding that I see going on all across the country.

The majority of tip-offs to the counter terrorism strategy concern Islamist extremism, with 60 per cent of referrals relating to Muslims and 15 per cent to extreme right wing activists.

The rise in tip-offs coincides with the spate of terrorist incidents that began with the Westminster atrocity on March 22, followed by attacks in Manchester, London Bridge and Finsbury Park.

Prevent teams are receiving calls from other agencies and members of the public at a rate of around 20 a day.

A view of the van used in the attack on pedestrians in Finsbury Park area of north London

Mr Cole said teams were offering support to children as young as five who may have been forced to watch beheading videos.

What do we do with a child whos been sat down and shown beheading videos?

Im aware of cases where children who are five, six, seven years old, have been sat down and shown videos of people being beheaded, Mr Cole said.

He added: We have recently seen the devastating effects of what can happen when radicalisation is allowed to fester unchecked.

On the one hand it is encouraging that more people are contacting police with their referrals.

But if we are to successfully stop vulnerable people from being drawn into violent extremism, then family members, friends and community leaders must trust us sooner with their concerns.

Not only will that possibly stop another lethal terrorist attack from taking place, but it will also potentially prevent vulnerable people from being drawn into criminal activity from which there is no coming back.
News / Local

by Stephen Jakes

A Bulawayo Man is in trouble for stealing money from a vehicle importer after he offered to help him register his vehicle with the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority.Thomas Moyana was denying the charge of fraud when he appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Sithembiso Ncube.The magistrate remanded him to August 18 for continuation of trial.The court was told that the complainant in the matter is William Ndlovu of Njube in Bulawayo and works in Botswana.On July 21 2011 this year Ndlovu was introduced to Moyana by a Mr Ncube when they met in town, whom he said works at Zimra.Moyana was given $1500 by Ndlovu to change the ownership of the vehicle he had brought from Botswana after he promised to offer assistance since he was said to be working at Zimra.He also allegedly gave him another 5000Pula to register the vehicle.Moyana later met Ndlovu after few days when he gave Ndlovu a fraudulent registration book and vehicle number plates. Ndlovu went to CID where he was told that the book and number plates were fake.Efforts to contact Moyana were fruitless and a report was made to the police leading to his arrest.
A 'bandit' has vandalised a car in Melbourne by covering it with multi-grain bread.

The bizarre incident took place in Endeavour Hills, in what is believed to be an elaborate prank.

More than thirty pieces of bread were splattered across the windscreen and roof of a silver sedan.

In a bizarre incident in Melbourne, a 'bread bandit' has vandalised a car by covering it with multi-grain slices

The person behind the attack identified themselves only as 'the bread bandit,' leaving a slice with the name scrawled on it, according to photos sent to 3AW.

The rest of the bread had the word 'copycat' written on it, however it is uncertain what has allegedly been copied.

The car appeared to belong to a provisional driver, with red P-plates visible on the front windscreen.

More than thirty pieces of bread were splattered across the windscreen and roof of the silver sedan, with the word 'copycat' written on them

Social media users were quick to jump on the bread-related puns in response to the post though calling the act 'crummy'.

One person joked that they feared 'something has gone a-rye,' while another added 'this is getting stale'.

Eager to see the perpetrator brought to justice, another person wrote: 'When they catch him he's gonna be toast'.
Police have been authorised the power to remove 'tent city' and its occupants from Martin Place after an agreement to vacate the area failed.

The bill, which was highly criticised by Labor and the Greens, passed through the upper house on Wednesday night.

Mayor Clover Moore announced an agreement between the City of Sydney and the homeless residents of the encampment on Monday, but the government resorted to further action when the vacation failed to eventuate.

Police have been authorised the power to remove 'tent city' and its occupants from Martin Place after an agreement to vacate the area failed

The bill, which was highly criticised by Labor and the Greens, passed through the upper house on Wednesday night

The bill authorises police to remove people from crown land if the land minister deems there is a 'public safety issue'

The bill authorises police to remove people from Crown land if the land minister deems there is a 'public safety issue'.

The bill was opposed by Labor and the Greens who described it as nothing but a smokescreen to mask 'political argy-bargy' between two tiers of government.

Social Housing Minister Pru Goward on Wednesday said the proposed legislation would ensure any unlawful use of Martin Place could be dealt with 'appropriately and in a timely manner'.

'This bill underscores the principle that no one  should need to sleep in a tent in Martin Place,' Ms Goward said.

'The new powers are not intended to apply generally or specifically to homeless persons in the City of Sydney.'

The bill was opposed by Labor and the Greens who described it as nothing but a smokescreen to mask 'political argy-bargy' between two tiers of government

The move comes after a plan agreed to by the City of Sydney and the homeless tent dwellers to vacate the Martin Place campsite failed

But under previously existing laws, the NSW government would need to issue a warrant against the homeless residents, which Premier Gladys Berejiklian says she's reluctant to do

Labor MP Clayton Barr, during debate in the Legislative Assembly, said it was a 'sham and a mockery' to the chamber, while Greens MP David Shoebridge described the bill as a 'new low' from the government.

The move comes after a plan agreed to by the City of Sydney and the homeless tent dwellers to vacate the Martin Place campsite failed.

Both the council and state government have blamed each other for the stalemate.

The opposition said the government already had the laws required to clear the tent city.

But under previously existing laws, the NSW government would need to issue a warrant against the homeless residents, which Premier Gladys Berejiklian says she's reluctant to do.
A backdoor route into Britain has been exposed after a group of migrants travelled across the Channel aboard a small boat.

Politicians and officials last night warned of a surge in asylum seekers boating into the UK and said criminal smuggling networks are increasingly taking advantage of the UKs weak coastal security.

It came after four Iranian men were spotted by a member of the public disembarking from a rigid inflatable vessel in the early hours of Tuesday morning at Dovers picturesque Shakespeare beach.

The group have now entered the UKs immigration system after they were arrested on the beach by Kent Police and handed over to border officials.

Four Iranian men were spotted by a member of the public disembarking from a rigid inflatable vessel in the early hours of Tuesday morning at Dovers picturesque Shakespeare beach (pictured)

Amid concerns about the unrelenting pressure on the Channel tunnel by migrants in Calais, migrants are also increasingly undertaking highly-risky attempts to illegally enter the UK by water.

At least 20 incidents have been reported in the last 16 months, with the majority of entry attempts involving migrants from Iran, as well as the Ukraine and Albania.

Conservative MP for Dover and Deal Charlie Elphicke last night said there was increasing evidence that an Iranian trafficking network is operating along the route from France.

The bottom line is that we need to have effective patrols and track down this trafficking network and put the people behind into prison, he said.

The revelations come just weeks after David Bolt, the independent chief inspector of borders and immigration, issued a warning about dismal security along Britains east coast.

Conservative MP for Dover and Deal Charlie Elphicke last night said there was increasing evidence that an Iranian trafficking network is operating along the route from France.

He said that clandestine arrivals on the coastline had increased raising concerns that poor security at ports meant there was no deterrent to smugglers.

A report found that the number of illegal migrants detected around ports on the east coast almost doubled to 423 between 2014-15 and 2015-16.

President of the French coastguard association Bernard Barron yesterday expressed fears that tighter security arrangements in Calais could drive migrants to sea.

The fact that surveillance has been stepped up, both in the Channel Tunnel and the port, means it is possible that they will multiply, he said.

The people smugglers want to find new scams. The truck scheme worked well, because it didnt need any specialist equipment, and it allowed a lot of people to get across at one time.

But it is getting more and more difficult.

Mr Barron said that the number of sea crossings was still small and that the journey is extremely difficult and complicated for the small vessels often used by migrants.

Smuggling gangs, who reportedly charge up to 12,000 to provide boats, use less busy beaches on the stretch of coast between Calais and Dunkirk to avoid detection.

The threat posed by those hoping to cross the Channel on a boat was also highlighted by the Royal Yacht Association last month when they warned British boaters to remain vigilant.

Pointing to an increased risk, they urged members to be aware of uninvited guests.

The problem was highlighted last year when three British men were jailed after being caught smuggling large groups of Albanians into the UK on small vessels.

Other migrants have used less sophisticated strategies that often result in rescue attempts carried out by both the French and British coastguard.

At least eight incidents involving groups of Iranians leaving the French coast or arriving in Britain have also been reported since last April.

Iranians made more asylum requests than any other nationality in 2016 and also had the highest success rate, with 37 per cent of applicants given residency rights after their first application.

Concerns about the sea crossing come after it was revealed yesterday that migrants have made 30,000 attempts to illegally enter the UK from Calais this year.

Despite a huge security operation and political drive to close the migration hub, up to 1,000 migrants have returned to the port where they try to stowaway on lorries or access the Channel tunnel.

While a new camp has yet to arise after the closure of the notorious Jungle last year, one local businessman yesterday expressed fears that a new meeting point act as a new site.

Describing the situation as very difficult, he said a court decision to open shower blocks and toilet facilities at the area adjoining his business could see a new hub arise.

David Bolt, the independent chief inspector of borders and immigration, issued a warning about dismal security along Britains east coast

Farmers in the Calais area also expressed concerns yesterday about killing groups of migrants who are sleeping rough on their land while harvesting.

One farmer said migrants persistently used his land near Turquerie and revealed how he found two separate groups of around 15 and 20 in mid-July.

Another farmer with land beside the motorway often targeted by migrants said: My wife doesnt want to accompany me to water the potato fields at night, shes too afraid.

Were really worried about the idea that a migrant might be lying down, and that we wont see him while harvesting, another added.

A Home Office spokesman said that investigations into the arrival of suspected illegal migrants at Dover on Tuesday was still being investigated.
Driving test examiners could be given body cameras following attacks by failed candidates.

Around 240 incidents of physical or verbal abuse were reported last year  up from approximately 180 in 2015, the Driver and Vehicle Standards agency (DVSA) said.

Attacks on all staff  including vehicle testers and roadside enforcement officers  rose by around 50 per cent to more than 300 over the same period. The DVSA has launched a crackdown as a result, including trialling body cameras for front-line staff.

Driving test examiners could be given body cameras following attacks from failed candidates. This comes after 240 incidents of physical abuse were reported last year - up from approximately 180 in 2015

The DVSA said that they have pledged to make abusive learner drivers take their next test elsewhere and to refer all incidents of threats and physical assault to the police

They will initially be given to roadside workers but could be rolled out to include driving test examiners if they prove effective, the agency said. Cameras are already used by many police forces to record their officers' interactions with the public.

The DVSA also pledged to make abusive learner drivers take their next test elsewhere and to refer all incidents of threats and physical assault to the police.

DVSA chief executive Gareth Llewellyn said: 'We do not tolerate anyone abusing, threatening or assaulting them. Whatever has happened, don't take it out on our staff. If you do, we'll press for the strongest possible penalties.'

'Our message is clear - whatever has happened, don't take it out on our staff. If you do, we'll press for the strongest possible penalties.'

RAC road safety spokesman Pete Williams said: 'Examiners at the DVSA play a vital role in ensuring the safety of drivers and vehicles on our roads on a daily basis.

'It's therefore disappointing to see such a marked increase in the level of verbal and physical abuse they are encountering from the very people they are trying to help.

'The majority of UK drivers and road users will wholeheartedly support a zero-tolerance approach to such behaviour.'

The DVSA said there have also been cases of vehicle examiners and roadside enforcement staff being bullied.

A driver and operator from a Shropshire scaffolding firm made a false claim against a DVSA employee who discovered offences relating to the recording of drivers' hours.

Wales traffic commissioner Nick Jones rejected the firm's accusation and concluded that the 'appalling behaviour' of the driver had been condoned by his 'irresponsible' employer, resulting in a 'significantly disproportionate' complaint made against an experienced traffic examiner, the DVSA reported.

Mr Jones said: 'My fellow traffic commissioners and I welcome the agency's campaign to tackle the unacceptable abuse which staff may face whilst carrying out their professional duties.'
The so-called homeless 'mayor' of the tent city in Sydney's Martin Place has a lengthy criminal history of brutal assaults and violence against women.

Born in New Zealand, Lanz Priestly was convicted of a series of petty crimes in his home country before moving to Australia in the 1980s, The Australian reported.

Priestly, who claims to be 72 years old but records show he is 59, seriously assaulted police twice in the 1990s before nearly killing a man with a boat anchor in 1997, according to court documents seen by the paper.

Lanz Priestly (pictured), the so-called homeless 'mayor' of the tent city in Sydney's Martin Place, has a lengthy criminal history of brutal assaults and violence against women

Born in New Zealand, Priestly was convicted of a series of petty crimes in his home country before moving to Australia in the 1980s. He is seen speaking to residents of the Martin Place campsite on Monday

Dozens of tents have been erected in the Sydney forecourt since December with the number continuing to grow despite attempts by authorities to move people on

'The complainant sustained a skull fracture that had the potential to endanger his life due to bleeding, swelling and consequential pressure effects on the brain,' the document reads.

He finally had his day in court over the incident in 2014 and was jailed for nine months. He also served a separate four-month term over a 1999 assault of a woman.

In a victim impact statement, the woman said Priestly grabbed her before shoving her head against a wall during an argument over belongings.

Quizzed about these and other convictions on Wednesday, Priestly asked the paper if it was aware 'the government is still working out how to compensate and pay me for that'.

He refused to elaborate.

Daily Mail Australia has attempted to contact Priestly to discuss the convictions.

Lanz Priestly is pictured standing at Sydney's Martin Place earlier this month

Homeless and displaced people shelter in tents that are scattered throughout Martin Place

The so-called 'mayor of Martin Place' reportedly seriously assaulted police twice in the 1990s before nearly killing a man with a boat anchor in 1997

The father-of-twelve, dubbed the 'King of the Homeless' and 'the Mayor of Martin Place', previously said he had no intention of relocating the notorious tent city.

'We can't be swept aside,' he told Daily Mail Australia last month.

'We will continue to provide these people with their basic human rights until someone else does. We won't stop until that happens.'

But on Wednesday night, police were given the power by government to tear the camp down.

The bill was opposed by Labor and the Greens who described it as nothing but a smokescreen to mask 'political argy-bargy' between two tiers of government.

The move comes after a plan agreed to by the City of Sydney and the homeless tent dwellers to vacate the Martin Place campsite failed.

On Wednesday night, police were given the power by government to tear the camp down

Priestly (pictured on Monday) claims to be 72 years old but records show he is actually 59

Members of Martin Place's Tent City gather to discuss the outcome of a press conference held by Sydney Mayor Clover Moore on Monday
A major supermarket has stopped selling produce under a fake British-sounding name in a move that puts pressure on rivals to stop the controversial practice.

Morrisons will no longer use the brand name Hemsley which is similar to the market town of Helmsley in north Yorkshire.

The name was invented and some of the meat sold under the label was imported.

A major supermarket has stopped selling produce under a fake British-sounding name in a move that puts pressure on rivals to stop the controversial practice

The chain will also host meet the real farmer events in stores to promote the benefits of buying British.

Supermarkets have come under fire for using fake farm and place names which appear to be British to sell fresh produce and meat.

Research by Morrisons found that 70 per cent of shoppers object to them and want only real ones to be used on packaging and branding.

Tesco has invented farm names such as Rosedene and Nightingale.

They conjure up idyllic images of the British countryside, but some of the products are imported from as far afield as Morocco, Mexico and Senegal. The ploy has been condemned by the National Farmers Union and the National Pig Association.

Aldi and Lidl are among other supermarkets to use invented farm names.

Supermarkets, including Tesco,(pictured) have come under fire for using fake farm and place names which appear to be British to sell fresh produce and meat

Morrisons promised that from today it will not use fake farm brands, saying: These brands can give an impression that food comes from a British farm, market or town when it may in fact be imported.

The move builds on a recent commitment to only sell fresh meat produced from British farms.

Tesco said: British produce is an important part of the food we offer customers.

Whilst we always strive to source from the UK, we look for what we believe to be the best in-season produce, from the best farms with the best growers and farmers from all over the world so that shoppers can buy their favourite produce all year round.

'With over 64 per cent of our customers having bought products in the Farms Brand range, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.

The firm stressed that the origin of any farm products is made clear on the label.
A boat carrying dozens of African migrants landed on a Spanish beach in front of shocked holidaymakers.

Footage shows the migrants leaping out of a black inflatable dinghy and dashing across the sand on beaches at Cadiz in southern Spain, after crossing the Strait of Gibraltar.

The group managed to leave from the beach before the authorities arrived some time after.

The incident took place on Wednesday afternoon, with footage showing the boat coming up behind a man and a child taking a dip in the sea.

As the boat pulls into shallow water, those on board leap out and run up the beach.

One onlooker asks in an astonished voice, 'What's going on?'

Carlos Sanz, who shot the video while on vacation in Cadiz, said the group quickly vanished and police only arrived some time later.

Spanish officials couldn't immediately be reached after office hours.

The incident comes as the International Organization for Migration warned on Thursday that Spain could overtake Greece this year in the number of migrants arriving by sea, using boats and even jet-skis.

According to the IOM's latest figures, until August 6, close to 8,200 migrants had arrived in Spain so far this year.

That is more than triple the number who reached Spain at the same time last year, according to Joel Millman, a senior IOM spokesman, and already more than the total arrivals in 2016.

New arrivals: A video filmed by a witness show the dinghy pulling into shallow water at Cadiz

Embarking: Some two dozen people, reportedly African migrants, jump off the boat and run onto the beach in front of surprised sunbathers and tourists

While the figure pales in comparison with arrivals in Italy - where more than 96,400 have landed so far this year - Spain is catching up with Greece where 11,713 have arrived by sea in the same timeframe.

'It's possible that Spain will outperform Greece this year,' Millman told AFP.

'If so, that's a big change.'

He said many people taking the long route towards Italy via the Sahara and Libya were from west Africa.

But with the dangers faced, some may be deciding to go up along the coast instead.

'We assume that some of the change is due to the fact that the route is considered a safe route up to the coast through Morocco,' Millman said.

He added that the boats crossing the short but choppy sea to Spain were much smaller than those launching from Libya to Italy.

In Libya there 'appears to be a very deliberate strategy to put people out there, in overloaded boats that begin to take on water almost immediately and then it's a race to see how quickly the people on the boat can summon aid,' he said.

'Whereas in Spain, the strategy is smaller craft hoping to come in undetected, and undoubtedly some do.'

Unexpected: The incident took place on Wednesday afternoon, with the migrants reportedly leaving the beach before Spanish authorities arrived

The boat came ashore in Cadiz, however it is not known from where the group had travelled

Disembarkations by migrants on Spanish beaches are not common but have happened before, especially at Spain's north African enclave cities Melilla and Ceuta, which border Morocco.

Ceuta and Melilla have the EU's only land borders with Africa, and as a result, they are entry points for people desperate to get to Europe.

Migrants regularly try to climb the high double border fences, swim along the coast or hide in vehicles crossing the frontier.

In recent days, migrants have repeatedly stormed the border with Ceuta by either attempting to cut through the wire fencing or running through the border post.

Once on Spanish soil in Ceuta, they are taken to migrant reception centres where they can apply for asylum.

But many are desperate to get to mainland Spain, believing that the process in Ceuta is slow or fearing that they will be returned to neighbouring Morocco, and try to hide in lorries boarding ferries.

On Tuesday, Spanish police found 30 Moroccan and Algerian migrants, ten of them minors, hidden in fairground vehicles in the enclave city.

The group had hidden in bumper cars and the ghost train loaded on lorries which were due to leave Ceuta for mainland Spain a after an annual festival.

Agents used heartbeat detectors and dogs to locate the migrants while the vehicles waited to board ferries to the mainland, the Guardia Civil police force said.

'They try to use attractions that are only half covered up to jump in and hide inside,' a spokesman said.

Spanish police push back 700 migrants as they attempt to storm a 20-foot border fence in Ceuta

Hundreds of migrants have attempted to storm the border between Spain's North African Ceuta territory and Morocco.

The Interior Ministry's office in the small enclave said the migrants tried to scale the 20-foot high barbed-wire fences around Ceuta after a crossing attempt at the Tarajal post failed.

All of the migrants - about 700 - were repelled by the Moroccan and Spanish authorities.

Spain and Morocco agreed yesterday to close the Tarajal post to freight traffic for a week because of recent migrant crossing attempts.

More than 180 migrants also stormed the border on Monday. Over 700 were repelled today

Footage showed migrants from Africa sprinting over the border from the Moroccan side while it was still dark on Monday

Pedestrian and passenger vehicles were still allowed.

Every year, thousands of sub-Saharan African migrants living illegally in Morocco try to scale the border fences surrounding Ceuta and Melilla, Spain's other North African enclave, in a bid to enter Europe.

On January 1 more than 1,000 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa tried to scale the fence at Ceuta during a violent assault in which one officer lost an eye.

At about 5am on Monday, 186 migrants stormed the border and reached European Union soil.

Once there, they celebrated, raising their hands in joy as they ran through the streets - with one man kneeling on the floor.

The migrants were eventually rounded up and taken to a reception centre, where they can apply for asylum in Spain.
A girl caught up in a latest child sex gang scandal was taken from her home and repeatedly raped by men as if they were in a 'relay race'.

The shocking case of the vulnerable 13-year-old, who was in local authority care emerged after an 18-strong gang was convicted of crimes against up to 108 girls.

The girl told the court how she would regularly be supplied with cash, cigarettes and drugs in exchange for sex.

She spoke of how she would be picked up in a Mercedes from the children's home where she was living and taken to flats in Newcastle to be used by anyone who wanted her.

John Elvedge QC, prosecuting, told the court how during one attack she was high on cocaine while men took turns to have sex with her under a Kurdish flag.

The shocking case emerged in yet another appalling grooming scandal, as a total of 17 men and one woman were convicted of rape, sexual assault, human trafficking and inciting prostitution.

Saiful Islam (left) bought one victim Malibu and took her to house where he and friends knew they could abuse girls and coerced her into having sex. Yasser Hussain (right) hosted 'parties'

Redwan Siddique (left) told a victim to have sex with him in return for drugs. Mohammed Azram (right) admitted five drugs offences, on count of sexual assault and one of inciting prostitution

Mohammed Hassan Ali (left) met his 15-year-old victim at a party and started a relationship after she claimed to be 18 but he continued to have sex with her after finding out her real age. Carolann Gallon (right) who was aged 17 and 18 at the time, admitted three offences of trafficking girls for the purposes of sexual exploitation

Shocking details of the large-scale Asian sex gang operation could be revealed for the first time after reporting restrictions were lifted yesterday.

A court heard the group spent four years plying vulnerable young girls with drink and drugs at 'sex parties' in Newcastle.

Another victim, described in court as 'extremely vulnerable' and unable to look after herself, told a jury how she was 19 when she was given cannabis and raped by Abdul Milnoyee.

RAPIST TOLD WIFE HE WAS GOING FISHING BEFORE SEXUALLY ASSAULTING GIRL One of the gang convicted of grooming vulnerable girls on Tyneside told his wife he was going night fishing before he picked up a drunk 15-year-old on the street and raped her. Saiful Islam, 35, spotted his victim outside a supermarket on his way home from work in 2011 and returned after making an excuse to his wife. He then bought the victim Malibu, took her to premises where he and friends knew they could abuse girls, and raped her. At a hearing in January 2016 which can only be reported now, Judge Penny Moreland sentenced him to 10 years, saying: 'She was young, she was scared and she was a girl limited in her ability and understanding. 'You hurt her while you were raping her.' Advertisement

She was then passed on to other men.

One of the gang convicted of grooming vulnerable girls on Tyneside told his wife he was going night fishing before he picked up a drunk 15-year-old on the street and raped her.

Yet another defendant was jailed for witness intimidation and assault after telling a young girl he had seen in the street that 'everybody wanted her six feet under'.

The court heard older men preyed on immature teenagers who were plied with cocaine, cannabis, alcohol or mephedrone (M-Cat), then raped or persuaded into having sexual activity at parties known as 'sessions'.

The case has raised huge controversy after a convicted child rapist was paid almost 10,000 of taxpayers' money to spy on parties where under-age girls were intoxicated and sexually abused.

Northumbria Police Chief Constable Steve Ashman said sexual exploitation is the 'challenge of our generation' and must be considered socially unacceptable in all communities.

His force launched a major investigation after receiving information from social workers and initially spoke to 108 potential victims.

Over the course of four trials, 20 young women gave evidence covering a period from 2011 to 2014.

In other developments:

This is the seventh large scale sex gang scandal to hit the UK after infamous cases from towns including Rotherham, Rochdale, Oxford and Bristol

Northumbria Police has said that the force has thrown the 'kitchen sink' at the operation in Newcastle and assigned 50 officers to the lengthy investigation

A 13-year-old said she was taken from her home and repeatedly raped by men as if they were in a 'relay race' at one of the 'parties'

A chief constable has defended his decision to pay a convicted child rapist almost 10,000 to spy on parties during the investigation

Those prosecuted were from the Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Indian, Iraqi, Iranian and Turkish communities and were mainly British-born, with most living in the West End of Newcastle.

The court heard that one of the men convicted, 37-year-old Badrul Hussain, was heard telling a ticket collector on the Tyne and Wear Metro: 'All white women are good for one thing, for men like me to f*** and use as trash, that is all women like you are worth.'

The sex ring was exposed when two women spoke to the authorities in 2013 and within weeks police had made 27 arrests under an investigation which became known as Operation Shelter.

During a series of trials that followed, one young person gave evidence on six separate occasions in front of six different juries about her plight.

'EXTREMELY VULNERABLE' VICTIM TELLS COURT ABOUT HER EXPERIENCE WITH SEX GANG Another victim, described in court as 'extremely vulnerable' and unable to look after herself, told a jury how she was 19 when she was given cannabis and raped by Abdul Milnoyee. She was then passed on to other men. She said: 'They just sit there and have a couple of drinks, have a couple of puffs of cannabis, get up and dance. And they try and get into the bedroom by grabbing us around the belly - and when you say 'no' they still try and drag you though to the bedroom. 'Basically they think that, with them having a load of money, and they're married and they've got kids and all of that, that they can go for younger, like our age, and have sex with them for like 40, or a tenner or something that that. 'Ever since I've kept to myself. I haven't told my dad, my family members. I couldn't bring myself to tell anyone because I felt ashamed, embarrassed. 'And people were going 'Have you ever been raped?' Well I bloody well have. Now I'm telling you it's proper horrible. I need somewhere to go to be safe.' Advertisement

Eisa Mousavi (left) was convicted of three counts of rape and two counts of supplying drugs. Prabhat Nelli (right) was convicted of two counts of supplying drugs and one count of conspiracy to incite prostitution

Taherul Alam (left) was convicted of supplying drugs, attempting to sexually assault, and inciting prostitution. Nashir Uddin (right) was convicted of sexual assault, inciting prostitution and drugs offences

Who was in the sex gang and what did they all do? Defendants who have been sentenced: Saiful Islam , 35, of Newcastle, was jailed for 10 years in January 2016 for raping a 15-year-old girl in 2011.

, 35, of Newcastle, was jailed for 10 years in January 2016 for raping a 15-year-old girl in 2011. Yasser Hussain , 28, of Newcastle, was jailed for two years in October 2015 for a sex attack and for allowing his premises to be used in the supply of drugs after a jury heard how he hosted parties.

, 28, of Newcastle, was jailed for two years in October 2015 for a sex attack and for allowing his premises to be used in the supply of drugs after a jury heard how he hosted parties. Mohammed Hassan Ali , 34, of Newcastle, was jailed for seven years in December 2015 for sexual activity with a child, supplying cannabis and possession with intent to supply M-Kat.

, 34, of Newcastle, was jailed for seven years in December 2015 for sexual activity with a child, supplying cannabis and possession with intent to supply M-Kat. Redwan Siddique , 32, of Newcastle, was jailed for 16 months in February for supplying M-Kat to a 19-year-old in return for sex at his student digs in 2013. Defendants yet to be sentenced: Carolann Gallon , 22, from Newcastle, aged 17-18 at the time, admitted three offences of trafficking girls for the purposes of sexual exploitation. Mohammed Azram, 35, of Newcastle, admitted five drugs offences and was convicted of one count of sexual assault and one count of conspiracy to incite prostitution for gain. Jahangir Zaman , 45, of Newcastle, was convicted of rape, supplying drugs and inciting prostitution. Nashir Uddin , 35, of Newcastle, was convicted of sexual assault, allowing premises to be used to supply drugs, conspiracy to incite prostitution and who admitted four counts of supplying drugs and three of possessing drugs. Abdulhamid Minoyee , 34, of Newcastle, was convicted of rape and sexual assault and pleaded guilty to supplying drugs. Eisa Mousavi , 42, of Newcastle, was convicted of three counts of rape, two counts of supplying drugs, allowing premises to be used for the supply of drugs and conspiracy to incite prostitution. Monjur Choudhury , 33, of Newcastle, was convicted of supplying drugs, permitting premises to be used for the supply of drugs and conspiracy to incite prostitution. Taherul Alam, 32, Newcastle, who was convicted of two counts of supplying drugs, one count of permitting premises to be used for supplying drugs, attempting to sexually assault, and of conspiracy to incite prostitution. Prabhat Nelli , 33, Newcastle, who was convicted of two counts of supplying drugs and one count of conspiracy to incite prostitution. Nadeem Aslam , 43, Newcastle, who admitted possessing cannabis and was convicted of two counts of supplying drugs, one count of possessing drugs and one count of permitting premises to be used in the supply of drugs. The final trial saw three men convicted and one man admit charges against him. Habibur Rahim , 34, of Fenham, was convicted of two counts of conspiracy to incite prostitution, relating to eight different victims. He supplied them with cannabis and mephedrone and was also convicted of a number of trafficking for sexual exploitation offences. He was convicted of one count of rape. Abdul Sabe , 40, of Newcastle, was convicted of conspiracy to incite prostitution, conspiracy to traffic for sexual exploitation, conspiracy to sexual assault, and supplying drugs to victims. He was already on the sex offenders' register. Badrul Hussain , 37, of Newcastle, was convicted of allowing drugs to be used at his premises and of supplying drugs. He was cleared of inciting prostitution for gain. Mohibur Rahman , 44, known to victims as Jimmy, admitted conspiracy to incite prostitution and five drugs charges. Defendants not yet sentenced will be back next month. Advertisement

A total of 17 men and one woman have now been convicted of a string of offences and face jail when they are sentenced next month.

Four of the men - Mohammed Ali, Solful Islam, Yasser Hussain and Redwan Siddquee - have already been sent to prison for a total of 20 years and four months.

The wider operation has seen around 100 people convicted of a range of serious offences, including drugs, modern-day slavery and firearms charges, with jail terms totalling more than 300 years.

Mr Ashman said in a statement today: 'To date we have arrested 461 people, spoken to 703 potential complainants and have found 278 victims.

'In total we now have 93 convictions delivering more than 300 years of imprisonment in addition to today's convictions.'

He added: 'Many of us will never understand the traumatic experience some of these women and girls have endured and they have my wholehearted commitment that, together with our partners, we will continue to provide them with all the support they need. They have trusted us and we must not let them down.

'We have thrown the kitchen sink at this - a team of 50 officers have worked on this inquiry for almost three and a half years and continue to do so.

'We have not and will not stop. We have employed every technique available to us, covert and overt, in tackling the problem.'

Mohibur Rahman (left) admitted conspiracy to incite prostitution and drugs charges. Jahanger Zaman (right) was convicted of rape, supplying drugs and inciting prostitution

Nadeem Aslam (left) was convicted of drugs offences. Abdul Sabe (right) was convicted of conspiracy to incite prostitution, conspiracy to traffic for sexual exploitation and conspiracy to sexual assault

Abdulhamid Minoyee (left) was convicted of rape and sexual assault. Monjur Choudhury (right) was convicted of conspiracy to incite prostitution and drugs offences

Chief Constable Ashman added: 'There has been no political correctness here. These are criminals and there has been no hesitation in arresting them and targeting them using all the means at our disposal.

'It is for individual communities to ask themselves whether they are doing all they can to eradicate such attitudes and behaviour so that the stigma and shame attached to such people prevents it from rearing its head again.

'The communities that we work with are appalled at this offending and we have encountered nothing other than the fullest of support from them all.'

The investigation into child sexual exploitation in Newcastle, Operation Shelter, was part of a wider inquiry called Operation Sanctuary.

Prosecutor John Elvidge told Newcastle Crown Court at the start of one of the trials: 'The prosecution say the case concerns the sexual exploitation of vulnerable young women and girls in Newcastle.

'The events happened over a period of time between 2010 and 2014 and involved immature young women and teenage girls being exploited, say the prosecution, by a group of older men, using drugs and alcohol.'

GIRL OF 17 WHO LURED VICTIMS Carolann Gallon stood out as a member of the gang for being white and female. Aged 17 when she joined the gang and now 20, she was responsible for luring other girls into its clutches, and became central to the police investigation. Officers were not sure at first whether she was working with the abusers or was one of their victims. Carolann Gallon stood out as a member of the gang for being white and female The decision to prosecute her went all the way up to the Director of Public Prosecutions, before it was decided she was an active gang member. Gallon has admitted three offences of trafficking children for the purposes of exploitation and will be sentenced next month. Frightened neighbours in a local authority-owned block of flats have been trying to get her evicted since she was charged in 2015. She was said to have held noisy late night parties. Advertisement

A huge haul of drugs was recovered as part of the massive police investigation into the ring

Immature teenagers were plied with drugs and alcohol and then raped or persuaded into engaging in sexual activity with older men

The prosecutor added: 'You will hear the girls were exposed to a party culture where young women such as these were lured to parties known as sessions by the offer of intoxicants, alcohol and drugs, which were made freely available to them to incite them to perform sexual services in return.

'During this period of time this method of exploitation became well established in the West End of Newcastle particularly and provided a form of recreation for a group of men including these defendants, who were active in organising parties in the expectation the girls who came would be involved in sexual activity.

'The prosecution say in this period these defendants and other men were party to a conspiracy to incite prostitution using drugs and alcohol at these sessions or parties in Newcastle. Mcat was a drug of choice used to exploit young women.'

Harrowing evidence of 13-year-old victim raped by men 'like they were in a relay race' One girl who gave evidence claimed she was repeatedly raped by men acting as if they were in a 'relay race' at one of the sex parties. The vulnerable 13-year-old, who was in local authority care, told the court how she would regularly be supplied with cash, cigarettes and drugs in exchange for sex. She spoke of how she would be picked up in a Mercedes from the children's home where she was living and taken to flats in Newcastle to be used by anyone who wanted her. Prosecutor John Elvedge QC told the court how during one attack she was high on cocaine while men took turns to have sex with her. One victim, who was in local authority care, told how she was taken to flats around Newcastle and passed between men for rape Mr Elvedge said: 'She said she felt wrecked. The man who brought the Mcat had sex with her when she was in no position to consent. 'The second man was followed by several others, all taking advantage of her. 'She said it was like a relay race, one man after another, each having sexual intercourse with her to which she did not consent.' On another occasion, the girl was taken to a party at a flat where there was a group of seven men in a room with a Kurdish flag on the wall and was given Mcat, the court heard. Mr Elvedge added: 'She attempted to resist the first man. She was given more Mcat then, one by one, they took their turn having sexual intercourse with her.' The court heard when she left she was driven back to the children's home and given 200 along with more Mcat. The girl was a frequent runaway who would regularly go missing. Mr Elvidge said: 'The young women are now in their early 20s. You will gather when they were involved with the defendants they were leading extraordinary lives. 'The prosecution say it was their vulnerability that made it easier for them to be exploited and abused. They were females who were relatively naive and vulnerable. 'They were the victims of organised, well-practised cynical exploitation and were passed between abusers.' Advertisement

Sex gang police defend decision to pay 10,000 to undercover informer who was convicted child rapist  who judge found was 'unreliable and dishonest'

A chief constable has defended his decision to pay a convicted child rapist almost 10,000 to spy on parties where it was suspected under-age girls were fed drugs and sexually abused.

Northumbria Police deployed the man, who can be identified only as XY, to infiltrate the gangs who were hosting parties where underage girls were attacked and plied with drugs.

The use of the informant was roundly criticised in court by defence teams who said it was 'misconduct' and 'bad faith' and claimed the proceedings should have been stopped to 'protect the integrity of the criminal justice system'.

A judge also described him as 'dishonest', 'unreliable' and 'lacking credibility'.

But Northumbria Police has defended its use of the informant and said his involvement allowed the force to 'detect and prevent serious crimes'.

Northumbria Police Chief Constable Steve Ashman, pictured, has defended paying 10,000 to a convicted rapist who acted as an informant in the investigation of a child sex gang in Newcastle

XY, who said he was paid up to 300 per month for his information, had claimed the investigation was a 'racist' operation by the police and said his handler used the phrase 'darkies'.

The informant claimed he was instructed to plant drugs, hide the fact that an alleged rape complainant had told him she had lied, listen to privileged conversations between defendants and their lawyers at court and put under pressure to do nothing to help the defence.

After days of legal arguments, Judge Penny Moreland refused to throw any of the cases out and concluded that XY, whose credibility was 'central' to the application, was 'wholly unworthy of belief in respect of any matter at all'.

Judge Moreland said XY had acted out of 'self interest' and not a desire to tell the truth and that she found him 'inherently unreliable, so lacking in credibility and so clearly dishonest'.

The judge said she was not satisfied there had been any misconduct on behalf of the police to allow XY to be deployed as an informant.

Judge Moreland added: 'There is no evidence that any of the proper procedures for the handling of informants were breached.'

SEXUAL EXPLOITATION IS THE 'CHALLENGE OF OUR GENERATION' Sexual exploitation is the 'challenge of our generation' and must be considered socially unacceptable in all communities, a top policeman has said. Chief Constable Steve Ashman, of Northumbria Police, also said strong punishments are needed to deal with the 'vile' individuals who target vulnerable people, and to act as a deterrent. His statement followed a number of trials that heard how immature teenagers were plied with drugs and alcohol and then raped or persuaded into engaging in sexual activity with older men. The officer suggested something must have gone wrong in society for such actions to be considered acceptable. Chief Constable Steve Ashman (second left) said strong punishments are required Mr Ashman said: 'The sexual exploitation of vulnerable people is in my opinion the challenge of our generation. 'It is a huge task that we are faced with.' He added: 'Firstly, for this challenge to be overcome there needs to be a high likelihood that offenders will be caught and victims supported. 'I am confident that we are getting this right, we will never stop pursuing those responsible, and we will throw everything we can at them and we will catch them. 'Secondly, we need a heavy sanction that acts as a clear deterrent and to deliver punishment to those vile individuals that prey on the vulnerable. 'Thirdly, and most importantly, it has to become socially unacceptable in every community to behave in this way. 'Given the number of men that we have arrested 461 in total, clearly somewhere along the line something has gone wrong if it has become acceptable to entice, through alcohol, drugs or just through bullying and violence, vulnerable people into sex. 'This behaviour can never be tolerated.' A total of 17 men and one woman have been convicted of, or have admitted, charges including rape, supplying drugs and inciting prostitution, in a series of trials at Newcastle Crown Court. Advertisement

Chief Constable Ashman, pictured with Newcastle City Council chief executive Pat Richie, said the informant, known as XY, had helped 'detect and prevent serious crimes'

The judge said: 'Despite the criticisms levelled at the police for the use of XY, there is no evidence that XY was guilty of any sexual misconduct towards any of the complainants or anyone else during his time as informant.'

XY gave evidence in court in person during the application and said: 'This was for Asians, Muslims.

'It's an Asian, Muslim operation. I was told that from the beginning. I told him (unknown person - possibly a police officer) it was a white party.

He said he's not actually interested in that, this operation is about Asian group gangs.

NSPCC 'appalled' at police payments of child sex offender NSPCC lead expert on tackling child sexual abuse, Jon Brown, said: 'We are appalled to learn that police paid a rapist and planted him in the midst of vulnerable young girls. 'You just couldn't make it up. It beggars belief that it would ever have been considered, let alone approved, and serious questions must be asked about the force's approach to child sexual exploitation operations. 'However good the force's intentions, their misguided actions run entirely counter to all current child protection procedures and what we know about sex offenders and could have compromised this investigation. 'What we mustn't forget in all this is the victims who were preyed on by a series of despicable men for their own sexual gratification. It is right that these men are now behind bars.' Advertisement

'I know that, from the beginning, it's called Operation Sanctuary. They said it is an Asian group gang operation.'

XY said that he was asked to attend court during one of the early trials and 'watch the defendants and the barristers'.

He claimed he had been asked to 'watch what the barristers were getting up to' and ended up getting his hands on a DVD containing defence material.

XY said: 'After the DVD was found I got a standing ovation from police, they were clapping, laughing and everything. They said, 'Do you want anything for it?'

'After the DVD was found I met up with them. Two officers and myself. They were ecstatic.

'I was told to keep an eye on the defendants and the people around, the barristers.

'I would talk to defendants, find out what they said to their barristers and what their barristers said to them.'

XY told the court that he was asked by the police to provide information which would lead to a conviction.

When asked what he was requested to find out, XY said: 'What was going on in the area, the party scene, places where there was activity.

'There were certain individuals they were very interested in, which I was close to.'

XY said he was given a list of around ten Asian names by the police and these belonged to people he had spent time with.

When asked by a defence barrister if he was told to plant drugs in the homes or cars of the defendants, he said: 'I can't incriminate the police in any way. I refuse to answer that question.'

EDL CLAIMED SILENCE 'REEKS OF MANIPULATION' The investigation into child sexual exploitation in Newcastle, Operation Shelter, was part of a wider inquiry called Operation Sanctuary. The wider operation has seen around 100 people convicted of a range of serious offences, including drugs, modern-day slavery and firearms charges, with jail terms totalling more than 300 years. Northumbria Police made frequent announcements after launching Operation Sanctuary in 2014, but then stopped releasing details once reporting restrictions were imposed by the courts to avoid prejudicing later prosecutions. That left a vacuum of information which some on the far right looked to exploit, claiming details were suppressed. The English Defence League claimed 'the long silence about these cases reeks of manipulation and procrastination for political purposes'. However, Chief Constable of Northumbria Police Steve Ashman, said: 'There has been no political correctness here. 'These are criminals and there has been no hesitation in arresting them and targeting them using all the means at our disposal. 'It is for individual communities to ask themselves whether they are doing all they can to eradicate such attitudes and behaviour so that the stigma and shame attached to such people prevents it from rearing its head again. 'The communities that we work with are appalled at this offending and we have encountered nothing other than the fullest of support from them all.' Advertisement

The full sacle of the abuse emerged in a series of trials at Newcastle Crown Court (pictured)

He also refused to confirm whether or not he was asked to do anything illegal.

He said: 'I can't answer any question against Northumbria Police. I can't say anything about them, my hands are tied. No matter what I do, it will affect my family.'

XY told the court that after a time he had trouble trusting the police and had recorded them.

He said: 'They (the police) would not show me their badges. I didn't know if they were police, I got suspicious. I didn't know if they were there to protect me. I didn't know who they were.'

The court heard how XY had complained to the National Crime Agency about the police and his allegations have been referred to the IPCC.

Some of the so-called 'sessions' took place at Todds Nook flats, where alcohol and Mcat were freely available, the court heard

Despite his comments about the officers' behaviour and his reluctance to answer questions, XY denied being threatened by the police.

He added: 'The handlers have been nothing but supporting. They said to me make sure you tell the truth, the truth is better than anything else.'

However he also said he 'was not allowed to be open and honest'.XY had become agitated during his evidence and even shouted 'f*** off you divvy' to one of the defendants during the hearing.

Northumbria Police Chief Constable Steve Ashman said in a statement: 'We know concerns have been raised about our use of a police Informant known as XY.

'XY was an authorised covert human intelligence source (CHIS), an informant, who was able to report on criminality including CSE.

'He was a convicted rapist and to some of us the thought of the police engaging with such a person and paying them for information may appear repugnant, however he proved he was in a position whereby he could, and did, alert police to situations which allowed them to prevent offending and provide safeguarding measures towards potential victims.

'The lawful and regulated use of such tactics is always overseen by a senior police officer and is also subject to review by an independent body.

'Furthermore in this case the handling of XY by Northumbria Police was the subject of an independent investigation by the IPCC in which no misconduct was found nor any recommendations made whatsoever.

'In the case of XY it is clear that his relationships with others have allowed the police to prevent and detect some of the most serious crimes occurring in our communities, this would not have been possible through conventional methods.'

Abuser whose flat the gang used smiled at girl who challenged him Girls as young as 14 visited the flat of one gang member, Eisa Mousavi, where Mcat was freely available. Prosecutor Mr Elvedge said: 'One girl became so intoxicated she became unable to refuse him for sex. 'She only had sex with him because she was high and heavily addicted to Mcat. She returned many times to feed her addiction. 'One time she refused Mousavi's request for sex and he continued to pester her. He was manipulating her. She was shouting that she didn't want to have sex. 'Other girls told him to leave her alone and he banished them and told them they would get no more drugs.' Mousavi raped the girl on more than one occasion. When she asked for more drugs, he told her: 'Just do it, you know the deal.' Mr Elvidge said: 'She told him he couldn't keep treating her like this but he just smiled.' Advertisement
This is the horrifying moment a 4WD flipped while cruising along a Queensland beach.

Clayton's Towing released footage of the crash which took place at Noosa's North Shore beach yesterday, where a car flipped and rolled.

A group of German backpackers were in the vehicle at the time of the incident, but all of them reportedly walked away without injury.

Dramatic footage from Clayton's Towing shows the moment a 4WD (pictured) flipped and rolled at Noosa's North Shore beach yesterday

The footage appears to be from a mounted camera and shows the dark-coloured 4WD racing down the beach on the water's edge before hitting a soft patch of sand.

As the wheels sink, water splashes up on the bonnet, with the car then flipping and rolling for several metres before it comes to a standstill.

The force of the crash ejects the camera, which then amazingly captures the horrific aftermath as the car lies on its side with steam rising from it.

Photos of the car as it was towed away show broken tail lights and windows, as well as significant damage to the 4WD's exterior.

The footage appears to be from a mounted camera and shows the dark-coloured 4WD racing down the beach on the water's edge

It then hits a soft patch of sand and the wheels sink causing the car to flip and roll for several metres before it comes to a standstill

Members of the public on the beach at the time of the crash reportedly assisted the group, helping them move their belongings away from the water.

Others rushed to help right the vehicle, which was uninsured at the time of the incident, before the towing company arrived.

The video posted to Clayton's Towing's Facebook page has since gone viral, with close to 330,000 views and more than 2,500 comments.

The force of the crash ejected the camera, which then amazingly captured the horrific aftermath of the car lying on its side with steam rising from it

It is not the first crash to occur on the beach with an RACQ helicopter assisting on another 4WD rollover in September 2013.

Two people on-board were taken to hospital following that incident, including a driver suffering multi-trauma injuries.

In May 2013 one man was killed and another badly injured after a similar rollover on Noosa's North Shore beach.

Photos of the car being towed away show broken tail lights and windows, as well as significant damage to the 4WD's exterior
A 'gutless' thief deceived a vulnerable, elderly man by pretending to help him put his walker into his car before reaching into the boot, grabbing two packs of cigarettes and making a run for it.

CCTV footage of the robbery was uploaded to social media in an effort to catch the callous thief, who stole from an elderly man outside Totara Superette in Thames, New Zealand.

The theft has shocked nearby residents and infuriated the local community, with police calling the offending 'gutless', Stuff reported.

The offender (right) almost walked past the elderly man before spotting his opportunity

The footage shows the elderly man making his way to his car slowly, pushing his walker along a rain-soaked street outside the superette.

The offender almost walks past the elderly man before spotting his opportunity, seemingly agreeing to help the elderly man.

The offender approaches the car and pretends to lift the walker before reaching into the boot of the car, nabbing the cigarettes and jogging away, leaving the elderly man stunned and screaming for help.

A New Zealand Police spokeswoman confirmed to Daily Mail Australia they were investigating the incident that happened about 2pm on Wednesday.

'Unfortunately we have not identified the offender as yet,' she said.

Totara Superette manager Kusum Vinayak told Stuff the elderly man is a regular customer, and was devastated by the betrayal of trust.

Instead of helping the elderly man with his walker, the thief reached into the boot of the car

After helping himself to two packets of cigarettes, the thief ran off leaving the man stunned

'I heard him screaming and when I went to the old man he explained everything, I felt pity for him,' she said.

'He was very upset and shouting, saying the guy has taken my cigarettes.'

Mr Vinayak said it was the third time one of their customers had been robbed.

She shared the CCTV footage on social media with the aim of apprehending the man responsible.

Thames police Sergeant John Hill told Stuff they were reviewing the CCTV footage, calling the man's actions 'gutless behaviour'.

The victim was a regular customer at the scene of the robbery, Totara Superette (pictured)

'He's targeted a vulnerable man, someone who can't defend himself  he's accepted help from this man and then look what's happened,' he said.

The community has rallied around the victim of the crime as a Givealittle page has been set up to raise funds for the elderly man, with NZ$415 being raised from 25 donors.

'The community comes together in situations like this, so this is a platform to help this victim of crime,' the page description reads.
News / National

by Stephen Jakes

Former Radio Zimbabvwe presenter has challenged the leaders of the MDC-T to rein on the party thugs who showed disrespect to their leader Vice President Thokozani Khupe and assaulted her.Khupe was one of the people who were assaulted by party thugs who claimed to have been sent by party leader Morgan Tsvangirai on Sunday in Bulawayo.Eric Knight said he was disgusted by events in Bulawayo over the weekend where thugs purporting to be political activists attacked one of MDC-T Vice President Mama Khuphe."It is bad and I urge the powers that be within the Party to act and visibly bring the culprits to book if the Party is to make a bold statement that they stand for dignity and decency . I hate violence and I can never embrace it. Violence is cowardice and barbarism, it doesn't matter who is behind it. I can not be part of a bloody fibre and can never drink from the same cup with trigger happy buffoons who in this day and age still use violence to express feelings," Knight said."This is what some of us are trying to eradicate by our works and words. It's ungodly it's animalistic and a contradiction to what the institution is supposed to stand for. Hazviitwe izvo and hazviite. Akwenziwa lokho njalo akwenzi. Let's pray for peace and sanity in Zimbabwean politics."
It was love at first sight for John Ibrahim and the 'work wife' who helped him build his nightclub empire for more than 20 years.

The King of the Cross first met Margaret Staltaro when she made him pay $15 to get into a club - 'I fell in love with her right there,' he wrote in his autobiography.

Two weeks later she quit her job and has been with him ever since, even living in a townhouse three doors down from her boss' home in beachside Dover Heights.

Margaret Staltaro, 44, is John Ibrahim's right hand woman who helped him build his Sydney nightclub empire for more than 20 years

Ms Staltaro's (left) unwavering loyalty now sees her dragged into the massive drug investigation engulfing the Ibrahim clan, with her home raided along with his on Tuesday

Her unwavering loyalty now sees her dragged into the massive drug investigation engulfing the Ibrahim clan, with her home raided along with his on Tuesday.

She was listed on search warrants alongside Ibrahim's brothers, girlfriend and son - who lives in the same building as her.

But like the King himself, she wasn't one of the 17 people arrested in three countries and was not charged with anything.

The 44-year-old led a colourful life as the 'last piece of the puzzle' in Ibrahim's slick operation that ran Sydney's Kings Cross and Oxford Street for well over a decade.

The King of the Cross first met Margaret Staltaro (R) when she made him pay $15 to get into a club - 'I fell in love with her right there,' he wrote in his autobiography

People soon started calling Ms Staltaro the 'female Tongan Sam' in reference to Ibrahim's longtime bodyguard Semi 'Tongan Sam' Ngata (pictured)

She was listed on search warrants along with her boss Ibrahim, whose house was raided on Tuesday (pictured)

The unprecedented drug smuggling investigation saw Ibrahim's brothers and son along with others arrested

She ran the books, handled the money, organised staff, and even assessed whether female staff who accused their boyfriends of hitting them were telling the truth.

People soon started calling Ms Staltaro the 'female Tongan Sam' in reference to Ibrahim's longtime bodyguard Semi 'Tongan Sam' Ngata.

'[She's] as sharp with the cash as I am, I never have to explain anything to her,' Ibrahim wrote in Last King of the Cross.

'Margaret is like a wife, without the sex or the cooking, or cleaning. Just the arguing and nagging.'

Ibrahim is so devoted to her he almost beat up her former boyfriend David because she had a black eye - and then laid into a group of tow truck drivers who actually caused the injury by accidentally elbowing her in the face during a fight.

Ibrahim bought her a unit on George Street in Dover Heights (pictured) for $2.49 million in 2007, with his son Daniel living in the other unit in the building

The 44-year-old (R) led a colourful life as the 'last piece of the puzzle' in Ibrahim's slick operation that ran Sydney's Kings Cross and Oxford Street for well over a decade.

She ran the books, handled the money, organised staff, and even assessed whether female staff who accused their boyfriends of hitting them were telling the truth

The nightblub baron bought her the unit on George Street in Dover Heights for $2.49 million in 2007 through his Chelsea Ventures company.

His son Daniel lives in the other unit on the property, which was also raided on Tuesday as he was charged with handing over $2.25 million to import illegal tobacco.

Ms Staltaro has her own interests in the Sydney nightlife and retail scene, spending almost $10 million on two Kings Cross properties in 2014.

She paid $4.1 million for 32 Bayswater Road and $5.2 million for 28 Bayswater Road, which houses a burger joint, three months later.

John Ibrahim (C) was charged with handing over $2.25 million to import illegal tobacco

The former soldier is one of 17 people arrested in the wide-ranging drug investigation

Number 32 houses Crane Bar, a late-night bar and restaurant owned by Ibrahim's model girlfriend Sarah Budge, 27, who was arrested on Tuesday after a Glock 26 with the serial number filed off was allegedly found in her bedroom.

Ms Staltaro was also linked to notorious Kings Cross strip club DreamGirls, which was shut down in late 2015 for multiple licence breaches.

The savvy operator was the business partner of the club's licencee Michael Amante but claimed to take a 'passive role' while he ran the day to day.

Months before DreamGirls was shut down, she became 'concerned' about how it was being run and agreed to buy Mr Amante out and install new management.

Ibrahim's model girlfriend Sarah Budge, 27, was arrested on Tuesday after a Glock 26 with the serial number filed off was allegedly found in her bedroom

Ms Staltaro paid $4.1 million for 32 Bayswater Road in Kings Cross in 2014, which houses Budge's late-night bar and restaurant Crane Bar

Ms Staltaro was also linked to notorious Kings Cross strip club DreamGirls, which was shut down in late 2015 for multiple licence breaches

But the club was effectively closed for good after police raids found 17 plastic bags containing suspected drugs in a December 2015 raid.

Authorities also said the club was operating an unlicenced bar upstairs, and that undercover officers were able to buy drugs, saw strippers snorting cocaine, and overheard one saying a patron could snort a line off her breast.

Mr Amante was eventually fined, ordered to pay $14,000 in investigation costs, and banned from owning or running a licenced venue in NSW ever again.

But Ms Staltaro also has a softer side, doggedly tracking down her beloved parrot Elvis after he went missing from her Dover Heights home.

'Please help us find Elvis!' she plastered all over social media with a photo of the feathered friend last year.

Ms Staltaro also has a softer side, doggedly tracking down her beloved parrot Elvis after he went missing from her Dover Heights home
A man who brutally murdered his wife as she breastfed their youngest child has been sentenced to 30 years behind bars.

Maged Al Harazi, 36, killed mother-of-three Sabah Al Mdwali during a frenzied knife attack in a bedroom of their Canberra home in March 2015.

Ms Al Mdwali's body was found with more than 50 stab wounds and she suffered horrific head injuries.

During sentencing, Al Harazi said that after his wife had died, he had a 'vision from Allah' telling him she had been cheating on him, the ABC reported.

Maged Al Harazi, 36, killed mother-of-three Sabah Al Mdwali in a bedroom of their Canberra home in March 2015. He was sentenced to 30 years jail on Thursday

The convicted killer pleaded not guilty and protested his innocence throughout the trail.

The couple's two eldest children gave evidence in court, one who reportedly said she saw Al Harazi with a knife on the night of the killing.

The pair had a turbulent relationship and often argued about where they would live, the trial heard, according to The Canberra Times.

Al-Harazi reportedly wanted the family to move back to their home country of Yemen, while his wife wanted to stay close to her relatives in Canberra.

The convicted killer will be eligible for parole in 2036 and will likely be deported to when he is released.

The murdered woman's brother Salah said he will 'never forgive' Al Harazi who had 'stolen everything' from her.

Al Harazi murdered his wife as she breastfed their youngest child in their home (stock image)

'No sentence that was handed down today will bring Sabah back,' he said, according to the ABC.

'We will never be able to forgive this man for the horrible and shameful acts he has committed.

'We will always cherish our loving memories of Sabah and our time together. Mr [Al Harazi] will never steal those memories from us.'
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Convicted drug smuggler Schapelle Corby has kept a low profile since returning to Australia in May after 13 years stuck in Bali.

But the 40-year-old was bombarded with kisses and conversation while out doing errands with her mother Rosleigh on the Gold Coast last week.

One middle-aged supporter, dressed in tight short shorts and an unbuttoned flannelette shirt, bent over to kiss Corby's hand before enjoying a brief chat.

Strike a pose: Schapelle Corby was spotted running errands with her mother on the Gold Coast last week

Bizarre: A man wearing an unbuttoned flannelette shirt and short shorts stopped to kiss Corby on the hand

Ouch: The 40-year-old hobbled into a Queensland Motor Registry with paperwork, presumably to apply for a license

Don't go darl! Corby politely waves goodbye to the man while her mother Rosleigh stands on

Corby, who is now sporting a leg brace after breaking her leg, ankle and knee last month, used a crutch to help assist her out of her car.

She was later seen hobbling in to a Queensland Motor Registry with a folder of paperwork, presumably to apply for a drivers license.

She then made a quick pit stop at the post office, before heading to a friend's house to help her fill out some further paperwork.

Corby claims she broke her leg, ankle and knee last month and used a crutch to get around

Paperwork: The convicted drug smuggler appeared to be confused when examining a sheet

Pleasure to chat: Corby and mother Rosleigh spent the day running errands on the Gold Coast

It's unclear how Corby managed to injure her leg. She took to Instagram last month to inform her 200,000-plus followers of the accident

Mother Rosleigh acted as the chauffeur for the day trip.

It's unclear how Corby managed to injure her leg. She took to Instagram last month to inform her 200,000-plus followers of the accident.

'This is why you haven't seen me in a while..... #sickbay #brokenleg #broken ankle #brokenknee,' she captioned the photo, which showed her lying in a hospital bed.

Mother Rosleigh acted as the chauffeur for the day trip

Passenger's seat: Corby has not been spotted driving since returning to Australia. She may have been handing in paperwork to apply for a driver's license - her first one in over a decade

Pleasure to chat: It appeared that the trio enjoyed an entertaining conversation at the man's front yard

Dressed to impress: Corby matched knee high boots with black jeans and a boho shirt with patterned detailing at the bottom
A Queensland man is threatening to sue an airline company after he was issue wrongly-dated tickets.

Daniel Cole, 39, says the AirAsia website crashed when he was in the final stages of booking fares, and continued with his booking when the page re-launched.

Upon his payment being processed, Mr Cole discovered the flights were for a month earlier than he was planning.

'Eventually, the site refreshed and I picked up where I left off but without realising the computer glitch had reverted the dates back to the month of the booking, which was July,' Mr Cole told Quest News.

A Queensland man is threatening to sue an airline company after he was issue wrongly-dated tickets (stock image)

Daniel Cole, 39, says the AirAsia website crashed when he was in the final stages of booking fares, and continued with his booking when the page re-launched

Mr Cole says the error message that displayed after the website crashed read: 'Our server has caught a bug. It'll only last about a minute ...'

He was originally booking a return flight from the Gold Coast to Thailand for August 24, but after receiving his tickets he realised the flights had been dated to July 24.

Mr Cole says he made repeated attempts to contact and resolve the error with AirAsia, but only received an email reply the day after the expiration date of the tickets.

'Based on (our IT team) their findings, there is no any (sic) system glitch when you make the reservation. As such, we regret to inform you that we are unable to accommodate your request.'

Mr Cole was advised to pay a $41 fee to change the date on the ticket, despite it having already expired.

A spokesperson for AirAsia told Daily Mail Australia they are aware of the situation.

'The customer's case is still under review because Mr Cole hasn't provided any proof of a systems glitch. Our customer care team informed Mr Cole that the IT team didn't find any system glitch when he made the reservation.'
Former soldier Dane Pilcher has been sentenced to life in prison after he was found guilty of murdering his ex-girlfriend when he saw a photo of her with a new man.

Dane Andrew Pilcher killed Corinne Henderson, 32, at her Townsville apartment in September 2015 by stabbing her in the face and neck with a knife 21 times.

The former soldier was sentenced in Townsville Supreme Court to life in prison and will serve a minimum of 20 years, according to the ABC.

Chilling audio was played in court during the two week trail revealing the triple-0 call Pilcher made the night of the stabbing.

Scroll down for video

Former solider Dane Pilcher (pictured) was found guilty of murdering his ex-girlfriend in 2015

Corinne Henderson, 32, (pictured) was stabbed 21 times in neck by Pilcher with kitchen knife

'I killed my partner, my ex-partner,' Pilcher told the operator.

'I'm pretty sure she's dead yeah, yep she's not moving at all.

'There's blood everywhere, everywhere ... it's everywhere ... oh jesus.

'I can't believe this has happened. So much blood everywhere. I'm so sorry

'There's blood every f***ing where.'

Pilcher told court he broke into Ms Henderson's apartment by kicking through the kitchen window after seeing photos on social media of her with a new man, Dwayne Wickham.

The former solider pleaded not guilty but a two week trial found Pilcher guilty of murder

Pilcher killed Ms Henderson, a smart business woman, after he saw photo of her with new man

Pilcher pleaded not guilty at Townsville Supreme Court and claimed he acted in self defence.

Police body cam footage shown in court reveals the distressing moment Queensland Police found Ms Henderson's body on the floor of the bedroom.

Queensland Police could be heard saying they were having trouble find a pulse while Mr Wickham was locked in the bathroom nearby.

The police body cam footage shows police handcuffing Mr Wickham who said Pilcher had 'f***ing come in here after [him]'.

The footage later shows Pilcher in custody where an officer asked the former solider what happened which he responded with 'it's a long story mate'.

'Bad news mate. Long convoluted story that I'll bore some other poor c*** with at some point,' Pilcher said.

The smart businesswoman had worked in the mining industry, where she met Pilcher in 2013, for more than a decade and was ready to start a new life.

Ms Henderson's friend Sally Jupp told ABC News the verdict was a 'bittersweet victory'.

'Corinne was an amazing person ... even in her last moments had no other thoughts but to help other people,' Ms Jupp said.

Prosecutor Michael Cowen QC said the case was of 'sexual jealousy' reported ABC News.

'If I can't have you, nobody will [is] what this case is about - sexual jealousy,' he said.

Pilcher has been remanded in custody and will be sentenced later this month.
A blogger has been given a four-month jail sentence for naming two women who were alleged to have had affairs with Seven West Media chief executive Tim Worner.

Self-described journalist Shane Dowling was found guilty in March of contempt of court after he breached orders demanding he remove the names of the women from his website and stop republishing the allegations made in legal documents by former Seven Network executive assistant Amber Harrison.

New South Wales Supreme Court judge Ian Harrison on Thursday morning sentenced him to four months in jail.

The jailed blogger had named women alleged to have had affairs with Seven West Media chief executive Tim Worner (pictured)

The jailed blogger had also republished details outlined in legal documents by Amber Harrison

Ms Harrison, whose court battle over her affair with Mr Worner ended in July, had alleged the two Seven on-screen identities also had sexual relationships with him.

The women, who have been given the pseudonyms Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2, have denied the claims and their names are suppressed by the court.

In a NSW Supreme Court sentence hearing last month, the women's lawyer submitted the only appropriate penalty for the contempt of court was a prison sentence.

But in written submissions, Dowling described the proceedings were 'a national scandal', adding he'd done nothing more than 'any journalist does every day around the country' in naming people referred to in tendered legal documents.
For most new parents, the idea of taking their little one for their first vacation can be daunting.

Yet one brave Virginia couple decided to throw caution to the wind and embarked on a year-long hike along the famous Appalachian Trail with their 15 month old daughter along for the ride in a backpack.

Little Ellie Quirin is thought to be youngest person to ever hike the trail which stretches 2,200 miles and spans 14 states.

Scroll down for video

Parents Bekah and Derrick Quirin, both 25, set off on March 27 with their baby girl Ellie in their backpack

Ellie may look unsure in this picture, posed on top of a sign for the Beaver Brook Trail with her parents, but the 15-month-old is something of a trailblazer

Her parents, Bekah and Derrick Quirin, both 25, have given up for their jobs for a year and set off from their home in Roanoke, Virginia, which is just ten minutes from the trail, on March 27 with their baby girl in their backpack.

The couple, who take it in turns to carry Ellie, say they wanted to introduce their child to nature as soon as possible.

'Time flies so much faster after you have kids. People always say, 'I wish time could slow down.' This is the best way I can think of to do that,' Bekah told Outside.

Ellie Quirin is thought to be youngest person to ever hike the trail which stretches 2,200 miles and spans 14 states

The couple, who take it in turns to carry Ellie, say they wanted to introduce their child to nature as soon as possible

Thankfully, Ellie is an easy going baby, who enjoys naps and watching the world go by from her child backpack.

But it hasn't been easy.

Ellie is still breastfeeding six times a day, while Bekah and Derrick, who met at North Greenville University, have to average around 10 - 12 miles a day.

Bekah, a former guide now stay at home mum, said the first few days were the hardest.

'Today was rough,' she wrote on day four of the hike. 'Our bodies arent used to the constant physical demand, we havent gotten in a pattern with Ellies needs yet, and the terrain was extremely rocky.'

The hike took a lot of preparation - as this photo of the couple packing goes to show

The 25-year-old said she spent the evening walking in tears after the day's 14.5 mile trek.

But over the months, the couple have got stronger, not just physically but as a family.

They are now easily able to cover 18 mile days, with time to play with Ellie in the evenings. They have also used the journey to visit family and friends along the route.

The Quirins are completing a 'flip-flop' route - meaning they start in the middle and head south, before heading north. They are currently passing along the route through Massachusetts.
Two teens thought a ice cream cake heist 'prank' would be cool, but didn't foresee how the cookie would crumble when they were arrested on felony theft charges.

The teens, Seth Messer, 18 and Ajayci Cotton, 19 allegedly walked into a Dunkin Donuts in London, Kentucky and stole the ice cream cake while posting their theft to social media.

Police say the teens walked into the store on Tuesday at around 3:30pm, Messer stole the cake while Cotton uploaded the theft for a social media post.

Seth Messer (left) and Ajayci Cotton (right) were arrested after their idea to steal a cake as a 'prank' backfired and they got hit with felony theft charges

The scene of the cake caper- Dunkin' Donuts in London, Kentucky

When the sweet toothed fiends were confronted by Dukin' Donuts employees, Messer said something to the effect of 'this is my cake now,' although he used profane language, according to a spokesman for the Laurel County Sheriff.

Sheriff's deputy Gilbert Acciardo said employees jotted down the duo's license on their getaway car according to the Lexington Herald.

In less than a couple hours someone spotted their car and they were placed under arrest at 4:51pm.

'They did it as a prank, is their exact words,' Acciardo said.

Messer, incredulous over being arrested for a cake valued around $25 asked: 'We're really going to jail for this?'

Messer (left) and Cotton (right) thought they were being funny when they stole the cake, cops didn't see it that way and hit them with a felony charge

'Yes. You stole something that did not belong to you,' Acciardo told him. 'Stealing is stealing.'

The price tag on the cake is not a felony, but they are being hit with the a felony third-degree burglary charge because they were confronted by employees and left with the sweet goods anyway.

Their charges could be reduced in court.
Incredible photos have emerged showing hauls of drugs, cash and firearms seized by the police as they closed in on members of the Ibrahim family and wider drugs syndicate.

The images, released by the Joint Organised Crime Group on Thursday, show 80 kilograms of cocaine seized, as those allegedly behind the international drug ring were arrested.

The drugs were the result of the biggest police operation on organised crime in more than 10 years.

About 80 kilograms of cocaine seized by police officers conducting a search warrant during a police operation as part of Operation Astatine in Rosebury, Sydney on Tuesday, August 8

About 80 kilograms of cocaine, packaged in almost 100 bricks, was reportedly seized from an address in Rosebery, Sydney, during Tuesday raids.

A total of $740,000 cash was also seized from four properties including Edmonson Park, St Peters, Hurstville and Arncliffe.

Seventeen people, including three members of the Ibrahim family, were arrested over their alleged involvement in a conspiracy to illegally import drugs and tobacco into Australia.

Officers are pictured handling bricks of cocaine which were seized in raids across Sydney on Tuesday

About 80 kilograms of cocaine seized by police officers conducting a search warrant during a police operation as part of Operation Astatine in Rosebury, Sydney on Tuesday, August 8

Police officers pictured arresting a man during Operation Astatine in Mascot, Sydney on Tuesday

More than 570 Australian Federal Police officers were involved in the massive-scale operation which spanned international waters and targeted suspects in Dubai.

An Australian Border Force officer and a former Customs and Border Protection service officer were also arrested for their alleged involvement in the alleged crime syndicate.

A Border Force team leader allegedly helped a Sydney crime syndicate import ecstasy and illegal tobacco into Australia.

The allegations will reportedly have huge implications for the Australian Border Force.

Police officers arresting a man in hi-vis workwear during a police operation as part of Operation Astatine in Mascot, Sydney, Tuesday

Heavily-armed officers pictured as they arrest a man in hi-vis workwear in Sydney on Tuesday

Police officers conducting a search warrant during a police operation as part of Operation Astatine in Rockdale

It will be alleged in court the syndicate members played active roles in a conspiracy to import 200 kilograms of MDMA via sea cargo, New South Wales police report.

It will also be alleged that the syndicate was responsible for smuggling 50 million cigarettes into Australia and actively engaged in money laundering activities in Australia and abroad.

In Tuesday's raids, 17 people were arrested including family members of Kings Cross nightlife identity John Ibrahim, who faces no charges himself.

WHO'S BEEN ARRESTED IN SYDNEY ORGANISED CRIME BUST? SARAH BUDGE Budge sports the Instagram nickname Budgie and is the girlfriend of Kings Cross identity John Ibrahim, 49. She's been charged with possessing a Glock 26 pistol and ammunition when police raided her home. The 27-year-old model from Double Bay is the owner of Potts Point restaurant and music venue Crane Bar. She is listed with Scoop Management. Ms Budge is not suspected of having any involvement in the alleged drug ring and has been released on bail. DANIEL IBRAHIM Daniel is a former soldier with the Australian army who also goes by the last name Taylor and is John Ibrahim's son. Born in 1990, some have labelled him John's 'secret son' because he was raised by his mother, Melissa Taylor, on the Gold Coast. The 26-year-old moved to Sydney in 2010 and is the owner of the popular Kings Cross bar Beach Haus. He's been charged with dealing with money intended as an instrument of crime for allegedly handing over $2.25 to buy smuggled tobacco. Daniel Ibrahim strenuously denies the allegations. FADI IBRAHIM A builder by trade, Fadi is one of John Ibrahim's three brothers and has been described by John as 'the non-violent one in the family'. He survived an attempt on his life in June 2009 when he was shot five times while sitting in his Lamborghini outside his Castle Cove home in Sydney's northern suburbs. As a result, his stomach and part of his oesophagus were removed and he suffered nerve damage and several broken bones. Fadi is also the only brother known to dance in public, so much so that John Ibrahim named a podium after him at DCM nightclub. He has been arrested in Dubai. MICHAEL IBRAHIM Mike Ibrahim, who was also arrested in Dubai, was hit in the shoulder by one of a number of bullets fired at him on a footpath on Macquarie Street, Sydney, in early 2015. In December 2012 he was acquitted of conspiring to murder the man he believed was responsible for shooting his brother Fadi. RYAN WATSFORD The Sydney high-end property real estate agent and Facebook friend of John Ibrahim and Sarah Budge provided a reference to the court for the Nimilote Ngata case in 2011. Ngata is the son of John's then bodyguard Semi 'Tongan Sam' Ngata. He's been charged with multiple offences including importing a commercial quantity of illegal drugs and dealing with the proceeds of crime. Mr Watsford denies the charges. MUSTAPHA DIB The Sydney underworld figure, known as 'Fairy Dib', walked free from jail in February 2016 after his conviction for the murder of a young woman was quashed. He was handed a sentence of at least 30 years in 2012 for the execution-style killing but three judges found there was reasonable doubt he was responsible. In 2016 the former Telopa Street gang member's home was raided by police searching for firearms. AHMAD 'ROCK' AHMAD The 39-year-old younger brother of the slain stand-over man Walid 'Wally' Ahmad, who was fatally shot on a rooftop car park in Bankstown in April 2016. Ahmad has been charged with conspiring to import a commercial quantity of drugs. SLEIMAN 'SIMON' TAJJOUR The national president of the Nomads Bikie gang who is a cousin of John Ibrahim. Tajjour was involved in a failed legal bid in the High Court to have the state's anti-consorting laws struck out. He's been charged with supplying a large commercial quantity of a prohibted drug. FARES DERBAS Owner of Nutrition Station in Maroubra, which was torched by two masked men in May 2016. Derbas is the cousin of the Ibrahim brothers. He's been charged with multiple offences including importing tobacco products with intent to defraud revenue and dealing with the proceeds of crime. Mr Derbas denies the allegations but the magistrate declined to allow bail. Advertisement

Seized cocaine is seen at Australian Federal Police headquarters, in Sydney, Thursday

Almost 100 bricks filled with cocaine are laid out on the table on Thursday after officers raided homes across Sydney on Tuesday

Bricks of cocaine totaling about 80 kilograms is pictured - after it was seized in the raids

A man pictured after he was arrested during massive-scale raids across Sydney on Tuesday
A pair of Indiana officers could be facing disciplinary action after they were caught sleeping on the job.

Photos emerged on Facebook of members of the Richmond Police Department sleeping in their patrol car in a local cemetery on Saturday morning.

The original post - which has since been hidden from the view of some users through the poster's privacy settings - was captioned: 'Check out what we found this morning', and includes five photos.

The images show two individuals, both appearing to be in uniform, sleeping in the front seats of a Richmond police cruiser.

A pair of Indiana officers could be facing disciplinary action after they were caught sleeping on the job. Photos emerged on social media of the members of Richmond Police Department sleeping in their patrol car in a local cemetery surfaced on Saturday morning (above)

Richmond Police Chief Jim Branum said the Richmond Police Department plans to launch an internal investigation on the matter and that the department has a policy directing officers not to sleep while on the job (pictured, officers sleeping in patrol car)

The original post included a geotag indicating the images were taken at Saint Andrews Cemetery, 1701 Liberty Avenue, with the cruiser parked along one of the cemetery's roads around 8am.

Richmond Police Chief Jim Branum told the Palladium-Item that the RPD plans to launch an internal investigation on the matter.

'Obviously, it's not okay,' Chief Branum said.

'It's certainly something that's not encouraged. We're aware of it and we're going to launch an internal investigation and in all likelihood there'll be some discipline.'

The original poster did not indicate whether she tried to wake up the officers - one male and one female - but stated in comments on the post that she saw the car (above) parked with the engine running for more than two hours before she took the photos

The original post included a geotag indicating the images were taken at Saint Andrews Cemetery, 1701 Liberty Avenue (above), with the cruiser parked along one of the cemetery's roads around 8am

The original poster did not indicate whether she tried to wake up the officers - one male and one female - but stated in comments on the post that she saw the car parked with the engine running for more than two hours before she took the photos.

Chief Branum said the police department has a policy directing officers not to sleep while on the job.

'I think it's common sense; I wouldn't want to call for police action and have an officer sleeping somewhere,' he said.

'And people with any other job would not be allowed to sleep while they're working.'
News / National

by Staff reporter

MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai electrified the crowd at the National People's Party's inaugural convention held in Harare yesterday where he belabored his commitment towards working with former vice president Joice Mujuru.He received a standing ovation at the function where he had been invited to give a solidarity message.In his solidarity message, Tsvangirai, said he agreed with Mujuru's message and that the door was still open for coalition negotiations."I was listening to the proposals that you were making, Cde president, and I see no conflict with our ideals and values as MDC-T and so where is the problem? We cannot be divided on the basis of personality and if we agree that this is the direction we are going to face as a country, why don't we put these efforts together?""Last week, we launched the MDC Alliance as a coalition of agreed parties. We said at the time we believe in the big tent, we believe in the unity of Zimbabwe and that 2018 is the only opportunity for the democratic opposition in this country to win power. NPP is not our enemy, Zanu PF is our enemy," he said.
White House adviser Stephen Miller has been torn to shreds on Twitter after saying that Donald Trump is the most gifted politician of our time.

Miller heaped praise on the President during a television interview on Fox News on Tuesday night.

'President Trump is the most gifted politician of our time,' Miller told host Laura Ingraham, who was filling in on Tucker Carlson Tonight.

'He's the best orator to hold that office in generations.'

White House adviser Stephen Miller has been torn to shreds on Twitter after saying that Donald Trump is the most gifted politician of our time

Stephen Miller: "President #Trump's the most gifted politician of our time, and he's the best orator to hold that office in generations." pic.twitter.com/kmulH35MEr  Fox News (@FoxNews) August 9, 2017

Miller, who is a top aide and speechwriter for Trump, went on to say the administration would continue to take its message out to the people.

'(Trump) is the leader of this nationwide and worldwide populist movement and it's about lifting working class people - black, Hispanic, white, all backgrounds,' he said.

Miller also attacked the media in his interview on Tuesday, saying they are driving bad polling results in an attempt to smear Trump.

'The extreme media is going to do whatever they can to tear down this president,' Miller said.

'The media has gotten the president wrong since the day he announced and every day since. And he has been right, and they have been wrong.'

His comments about Trump being the 'best orator' instantly made the policy adviser a target on Twitter.

'My 9-year-old son is a better orator than @realDonaldTrump,' one Twitter user wrote.

'I was actually thinking if I can compare my two year old grandson to trump. It was a very close call who speaks better,' another tweeted.

One Twitter user said: 'Simply 'the best' orator, if one is in the fifth grade. Oh sorry, second grade.'

'Trump is the best orator, is to Steven Miller having the best hairline,' another wrote.

Reuters reported earlier this week that Miller was a top candidate to lead the White House's communications team, according to sources.

On Thursday, Miller briefed reporters at the White House on Trump's support for legislation that would overhaul the current immigration system by creating a merit based system for issuing visas, favoring younger immigrants with advanced degrees.

He sparred with a CNN reporter who asked whether such a policy was potentially racist and ran counter to the American values, and accused him of having a 'cosmopolitan bias.'
A Muslim leader wants Australian men to be allowed multiple wives and hopes the public will one day support his dream of Islamic marriage equality.

Keysar Trad says polygamy is actually a privilege reserved for women, even though only men are allowed multiple spouses under Islamic law.

'If public opinion was pushing for a change, that was consistent with my religion, I would not object to it,' he told Daily Mail Australia on Thursday.

'In my humble opinion, the advantage is not so much to the man.

Scroll down for video

Muslim leader Keysar Trad is hoping the Australian public one day supports polygamy

The Islamic Friendship Association of Australia founder says polygamy is a female privilege (file picture)

'It's always the prerogative of the woman. Any marriage in Islam requires consent and the most crucial consent is the consent of the woman.'

However Mr Trad, the Sydney-based founder of the Islamic Friendship Association of Australia, is taking a stand against gay marriage as the Turnbull Government proceeds with a postal vote on the issue.

'My personal view is that people of the same gender can be friends but they should not be encouraged to engage in sexual activity,' he said.

'Call it something else, a union. Call it whatever you want to call it.'

Keysar Trad is upset Muslims don't have the same platform to campaign for Islamic marriage equality

Mr Trad, who is also the former president of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, wryly pointed out the 'yes' vote for gay marriage would fail if a Muslim publicly supported it.

'If you want an idea to fail, get a Muslim to campaign for it,' he said.

While gay marriage campaigners have been able to change public opinion, Mr Trad is disappointed Muslims don't have the same platform to advocate for polygamy.

'Muslims, we have learnt to stop lobbying for anything,' he said.

'It is near impossible for Muslims to get a fair go anywhere so whatever our issues are, my experience has forced me to keep those issues to myself.'

Keysar Trad says it is 'near impossible' for Muslims to lobby for change to suit their religion

Mr Trad in February said husbands could lightly beat their wives 'as a last resort' before explaining his comments were clumsy (Women of Hizb ut-Tahrir pictured)

Mr Trad is hoping another generation of Muslims will campaign for change but is urging people of the Islamic faith to obey Australia's existing laws on marriage.

His observations on the definition of marriage come as the Turnbull Government sends out ballot papers to Australian households, from September 12, as part of a $122 million exercise.

Voters will have until November 7 to return them.

In February, Mr Trad controversially said the Koran allowed husbands to lightly beat their wives 'as a last resort' before clarifying he was giving a clumsy interpretation of the religious text.

Two months later, Women of Hizb ut-Tahrir released a video saying husband could hit their wives with a small stick.

Where Islamic polygamy is allowed, women are not allowed multiple husbands.

Under Sharia law, an Islam legal system, a man can divorce a woman by saying 'I divorce you' three times but a woman does not have this same privilege.
Budget airline Tigerair are offering a huge flash sale online to eight different destinations across Australia.

Those wanting to scape the doldrums of winter can fly to the Whitsundays from Sydney for just $75.

The sale is offering travellers the chance to head to warm tropical climates between August 22 and September 14.

'With fares starting from $39, you could be jetting off on your next getaway for the price of a chicken parma and a couple of drinks,' a Tigerair spokesman told Daily Mail Australia.

Budget airline Tigerair are offering a huge flash sale online to eight different destinations across Australia

Those wanting to scape the doldrums of winter can fly to the Whitsundays from Sydney for just $75

Flights are on offer between Sydney and Melbourne for $55 or either city to the Gold Coast for the low price of $39.

Cross-country flights between the major east coast cities and Perth are selling for $129, nearly half a normal fare price.

Those wanting to far-north Queensland can also head to Cairns and Townsville for under $100.

The sale began at midday on Thursday and will run out when all sale tickets are purchased.

Those wanting to leave the rainy Melbourne weather or frosty Sydney climate behind are encouraged to act fast.

'We are pleased to make the gift of travel more affordable for people this week with the launch of Tigerair's Up to 40% sale,' a spokesman told Daily Mail Australia.

'Apart from the attractive prices, the best part of this sale is all fares are for travel in late August until mid-September, meaning you can focus on packing your suitcase instead of counting down the months until your holiday.'
A married former Donald Trump staffer fathered a love child with a fellow aide on the campaign trail while his own wife was pregnant.

Trump transition adviser A.J. Delgado, 40, announced the birth of her baby boy William on July 10, after her alleged two-month affair with Jason Miller, 41, who was initially announced as the White House communications director for the new administration but then turned down the role days later.

Just weeks after Delgado learned she was pregnant, Miller's wife Kelly - who is still married to the former Trump aide - gave birth to their second child in January.

Trump transition adviser A.J. Delgado, (pictured with Donald Trump) announced the birth of her baby boy William on July 10, after her alleged two-month affair with ex-White House communications director Jason Miller

Delagdo insists that Miller (pictured) told her he was separated at the time of their affair

Delgado insists that Miller told her he was separated at the time - and had been since June 2016 when they began their two month affair.

Delgado reportedly became pregnant with her son after she and Miller went out for a wild night on the Las Vegas strip club together, with members of the media, the night before Trump's final debate against Hillary Clinton in late October.

Two months later, Delgado sarcastically tweeted her congratulations to 'the baby-daddy' on his promotion, adding, 'The 2016 version of John Edwards.'

Edwards was John Kerry's vice-presidential nominee, who famously fathered a child with mistress Rielle Hunter.

Miller, who had been the chief spokesman for Trump's fall 2016 campaign and presidential transition, and tapped to be the White House communications director in December, turned down the job just days after the tweets - which have since been deleted.

Miller told Page Six that he and his wife wanted to welcome the boy into their family.

Just weeks after Delgado learned she was pregnant, Miller's wife Kelly (pictured with him) - who is still married to the former Trump aide - gave birth to their second child in January

Miller, (right) who had been the chief spokesman for Trump's fall 2016 campaign and presidential transition, and tapped to be the White House communications director in December

Trump transition adviser Delgado (with Trump during the campaign trail) reportedly hasn't spoken to Miller since announcing her pregnancy

Delgado is pictured above taking a selfie with Eric Trump, President Trump's second oldest son

Delgado pictured in Las Vegas, a few days after the last presidential debate in October 2016. She reportedly got pregnant on a wild night out in Las Vegas just before the debate

Delgado pictured above at a Miami, Florida rally in September 2016

'My wife and I, along with our two daughters, are excited to welcome William into the world and into our family, and we appreciate the well wishes we've received from so many.'

Since Miller released his statement, Delgado tweeted, saying: 'I'm not sure what Jason means that he and his wife are excited to welcome Will. Really? News to me. Let me shut up before I say more...'

Sources told Page Six Miller and Delgado have not talked since she revealed her pregnancy, and are only communicating through lawyers.

Delgado did not respond to messages on social media.

Miller is the daughter of Cuban immigrants and a graduate of Harvard Law School. After graduation, she worked as a litigator for a Fortune 500 company before becoming a conservative commentator.
The son of 'King of the Cross' John Ibrahim remains behind bars on Thursday as he tries to make $630,000 bail.

Daniel Taylor, 26, was arrested on Tuesday over his alleged involvement in handing more than $2.25 million to buy smuggled tobacco.

He was was charged with dealing with money intended as an instrument of crime after police raided homes across Sydney in relation to a multi-million dollar international drug-smuggling crime syndicate.

The deal is alleged to have occurred in July with his uncle Michael Ibrahim - the alleged mastermind behind the plot.

The 'King of the Cross' John Ibrahim (left) with his son Daniel (right) who remains behind bars

Daniel's lawyer Nick Hanna visited him at Surry Hills' Sydney Police Centre, where he remained behind bars on Thursday.

Mr Hanna said his client was keen to make bail but expected it would take a couple of days.

'He's keen to get out,' Mr Hanna told The Daily Telegraph on Thursday.

'He understands that it will take a few days because of the nature of the surety, but he's otherwise holding up.'

Daniel's lawyer Nick Hanna (left and right) visited him at Surry Hills' Sydney Police Centre on Thursday

'He understands that it will take a few days because of the nature of the surety, but he's otherwise holding up,' Mr Hanna (pictured) said

John Ibrahim's model girlfriend, Sarah Budge, 27, is not involved in the drug-smuggling syndicate but faced court on firearms and ammunition charges.

Court documents suggest she was in possession of a Glock 26 pistol that had its identifying serial numbers removed when she was arrested at Double Bay on Tuesday.

The pair was granted strict conditional bail by Magistrate Clare Farnan at Central Local Court on Wednesday.

Four other men allegedly involved in the crime syndicate were refused bail.

They are all due to appear at the same court on November 1.

About 80 kilograms of cocaine seized by police officers conducting a search warrant during a police operation as part of Operation Astatine in Rosebury, Sydney, Tuesday, August 8

About 80 kilograms of cocaine seized by police officers conducting a search warrant during a police operation as part of Operation Astatine in Rosebury, Sydney, Tuesday, August 8

An Australian Border Force officer and a NSW Police employee have been nabbed over an alleged international drug and tobacco ring operating between Sydney and Dubai.

The serving ABF officer, Craig Eakin, 42, was arrested on Tuesday alongside former Customs and Border Protection Service officer Johayna Merhi, 41, earlier this week.

Merhi was a civilian employee attached to NSW Police specialist command before she was fired on Wednesday.

NSW Police say her alleged offences were committed in her 'previous role'.

Details of the arrests, revealed on Thursday by the Australian Federal Police, come as authorities claim they've smashed the high-profile crime syndicate.

'This has been an extremely good week for Australian law enforcement,' AFP Assistant Commissioner Neil Gaughan told reporters in Sydney.

John Ibrahim (left) is seen with brother Michael (second from right), son Daniel (right), and friend Margaret Staltaro

Operation Astatine began in early 2016 focused on a NSW-based criminal network.

'Unfortunately, during this operation, we have uncovered some allegations of corrupt activity, which this syndicate exploited to try and get their drugs into the country,' Mr Gaughan said on Thursday.

'We'll be alleging these persons utilised their knowledge and expertise to assist the Jomaa organised crime family bring border-controlled drugs into Australia.'

The Sydney-based Jomaa family allegedly has long had dealings in underworld crime.

Eight people were arrested in Sydney and one in Dubai over their involvement in the conspiracy, the AFP said.

Ahmad 'Rock' Ahmad has been charged with conspiring to import a commercial quantity of drugs

Two of those arrested in Sydney are underworld brothers Ali, 42, and Abbas Jomaa, 54, Mr Gaughan said.

Another brother, 47-year-old Koder Jomaa, was arrested in Dubai, according to media reports.

'We allege this man was actually the head of the syndicate. He is well known to law enforcement and previously thought that he could flee from authorities and conduct his criminal enterprise offshore,' the AFP assistant commissioner said.

He's is in the process of being extradited.

Ryan Watsford (left) and Fares Derbas (right) are alleged to be key players in the alleged crime syndicate. Both men deny the charges brought against them

Eakin, who joined the Customs and Border Protection Service in about 1998, has been suspended without pay on account of the allegations, Australian Border Force Acting Commissioner Michael Outram told reporters on Thursday.

The 42-year-old Brighton-Le-Sands man has been charged with offences including smuggling, bribery, abuse of public office and assisting a criminal group.

Merhi, who had been with customs for more than 10 years, faces similar charges, Mr Gaughan said.

'She had a fairly long period of leave before she left a couple of years ago. But her time and her association with the Jomaa family is well-known. It's been long-established. She's been with that group for a period of time.'

Mr Outram alleged the pair used their expertise and knowledge of the systems to allow the organised crime group to import not just border-controlled drugs but also illegal tobacco including more than 50 million cigarettes.

It's believed John was at his home when officers executed the early morning search warrant

John Ibrahim's Dover Heights residence (pictured) was raided by Federal Police on Tuesday morning

Border Protection Minister Peter Dutton says the allegations against the serving ABF officer are serious but he defended the reputation of the agency.

'I want to apologise to all of the Australian Border Force officers for the alleged conduct of this officer,' he told reporters in Canberra.

'This besmirches 5500 officers who do a great job. It just takes one bad apple.'

Separately this week 17 people were arrested - including two brothers and the son of Kings Cross club identity John Ibrahim and underworld figures Mustapha Dib and Rock Ahmad - across three countries as part of Operation Veyda.
A mysterious creature has been filmed poking it head out of the water during a Queensland river cruise.

The unidentified animal was spotted during a Solar Whisper Daintree River Crocodile and Wildlife Tour on Tuesday.

After staff posted the footage on social media suggestions have taken off about the beast's identity and range from a mussel to a 'miniature whale'.

David White, the owner of Solar Whisper cruises filmed the creature during the cruise, before uploading his footage to Facebook Tuesday morning.

'Martin (the director of Days of the Daintree) is adding a little mystery on set. He gave me no clues and I have no idea,' he wrote in his post.

'Either a miniature whale, a mussel or an alien. One minute he was there the next he was gone.'

The video shows the head of an animal, with what seems to be an eye visible, as it pokes out of a mud pool at the mouth of the river.

The creature remains above the surface for a few seconds, before slipping below and disappearing.

The water was believed to be a shallow tidal pool, with staff stating that a crocodile had been sitting in the same area earlier that day.

An unidentified animal (pictured) was spotted during a Solar Whisper Daintree River Crocodile and Wildlife Tour on Tuesday, with suggestions on its identity ranging from a a mussel to a 'miniature whale'

Since it was uploaded the post has been viewed more than 1,400 times, with users offering up some interesting and unusual possibilities as to its identity.

'Could it be a lungfish?' one person commented, while another suggested it may be a 'bivalve of some type'.

Others called it an 'underwater monster' and the tour group's very own 'Daintree monster, like Nessie!'

People commented asking whether it could be a lungfish or a 'bivalve of some type,' but staff believe the animal is likely a mud skipper (stock above)

However, staff from the tour company told Daily Mail Australia they believed they had solved the mystery.

They said it was likely a mud skipper - a type of small fish that lives on mud flats and can walk out of water - that they had named Martin.

'We believe its a mud-skipper, but posted it for people to see,' they said.

Queensland is renowned for it's mystery creatures with reports of Yowies, Bunyips and giant cats all notoriously sighted in the state.
Former Brisbane Woolworths employee Berhane Berhane, 54, has been awarded over $230,000 in compensation

A former Woolworths employee has been awarded over $230,000 in compensation from the supermarket giant after injuring himself when he was forced to move more than 2,000 heavy cartons a day.

African migrant Berhane Berhane, 54, claimed he developed a shoulder injury after working at Woolworths' regional distribution centre at Larapinta, south of Brisbane.

Workers were told they would be sent home first if they were slow or failed to meet performance targets, which could involve lifting as many as 2,160 boxes a day.

Mr Berhane was diagnosed with subacromial bursitis and impingement of the left shoulder, which doctors confirmed was the result of heavy lifting.

Woolworths won a 2013 legal battle after claiming Mr Berhane's injury was the result of a pre-existing shoulder condition which brought on the injury.

But in a landmark Court of Appeal case, a judge found the regional distribution centre breached safety laws and aggravated the onset of a shoulder injury.

The company was ordered to pay Mr Berhane $231,211.45 and his court costs.

Workers at Woolworths' regional distribution centre at Larapinta (pictured) were told they would be sent home first if they were slow or failed to meet performance targets

Shine Lawyers General Manager Peter Gibson said the case was 'fought tooth and nail' and was a huge victory for the legal fraternity.

'It has confirmed a key point of law which clarifies an employer's duty to protect their employees, particularly when repetitive, high intensity work is involved,' he said.

'A negligent work system encouraged employees to work harder and faster  where some were frequently sent home if their rating was less than the others.

'The system of work left our client vulnerable to injury and unfortunately he has paid the price.'

Mr Gibson said Mr Behrane would feel better knowing his experience may prevent other workers from being harmed in the same way.

A spokeswoman for Woolworths told the ABC it was still reviewing the court's decision.

'The safety of our team members is critically important and we remain committed to providing a safe workplace,' the spokeswoman told the publication.

'We achieve this through training and a range of policies and processes to improve workplace safety standards - we are continuously looking to how we can improve our performance.'
A notorious fugitive dubbed the 'head and finger killer' who has spent the past seven years on the run may be hiding out in regional New South Wales.

Graham Potter has been spotted in Griffith in the state's Riverina region, with police warning the public not to approach the man authorities call 'Australia's most wanted'.

Potter spent 16 years behind bars after he brutally murdered 19-year-old woman Kim Barry on his own bucks night in 1981.

The cold-blooded killer cut off her head and fingers with a hacksaw at his apartment in Woolongong, before dumping what was left of her body by the side of a mountain.

Graham Potter, the notorious fugitive dubbed the 'head and finger killer' who has spent the past seven years on the run, may be hiding out in regional New South Wales

Potter spent 16 years behind bars after he brutally murdered 19-year-old woman Kim Barry on his own bucks night in 1981

After his release, Potter was arrested in 2008 when he was allegedly on his way to murder an associate of Melbourne underworld figure Mick Gatto.

He is also accused of preparing to murder another Melbourne man, but the car he was travelling in broke down on the way and the alleged target fled.

Both alleged murder plots are believed to be related to disputes within a sophisticated drug syndicate.

Potter was due to face conspiracy to murder charges at Melbourne Magistrates Court in 2010, but didn't front and has been on the run ever since.

He is also wanted on federal charges for a record 4.4 tonne ecstasy haul, which involved 15 million ecstasy tablets being smuggled in tinned tomatoes in 2008.

Victoria Police Detective Superintendent Peter De Santo has previously said Potter is 'the number one' most wanted fugitive in the country.

Potter has dyed his hair on numerous occasions to avoid detection, and in late 2010 he was spotted at a Queensland shop sporting a thick beard

Potter has been spotted in Griffith in the state's Riverina region, with police warning the public not to approach the man authorities call 'Australia's most wanted'

'He's dangerous, he's killed before and he should be behind bars... he's number one Australia's most wanted man,' he told Channel Nine's A Current Affair program.

'He's a well versed individual in police methodology. He's probably had a little bit of luck whilst on the run.

'But he knows how to keep low and without raising attention to himself. He's violent he's capable of disguise and very capable of evading police.'

Potter has dyed his hair on numerous occasions to avoid detection, and in late 2010 he was spotted at a Queensland shop sporting a thick beard.

Victoria Police was previously told Potter was living in Griffith last year, but when those leads were investigated they came to nothing.

Potter is described as caucasian, 175cm tall, of a medium to strong build, with a fair complexion, brown eyes, brown greying hair and a ginger beard

Police received the latest information through Crime Stoppers and are urging the caller to make contact again.

Potter is described as caucasian, 175cm tall, of a medium to strong build, with a fair complexion, brown eyes, brown greying hair and a ginger beard.

He is known to wear gold sleeper earrings in both ears, glasses and a gold neck chain.

There is a $100,000 reward offered for information leading to his capture.

Police have warned anyone who sees Potter not to approach him but to call Triple Zero immediately.
The younger brother of New South Wales Treasurer Dominic Perrottet was found not guilty of raping a woman at a college party at St John's College.

Jean Claude Perrottet thanked his family, friends and 'everyone involved in this trial in any way' after the verdict was handed down in the NSW District Court on Thursday afternoon.

'I know this trial has been very difficult, not only for me, but also for others, and for family and friends,' he said in a statement.

Jean Claude Perrottet (pictured left) leaving Downing Centre Court after he was found not guilty of sexual assault

Jean Perrottet (pictured) leaving Downing Centre Court on Thursday

'I wish the best for every person who in any way has been involved.'

The 20-year-old was accused of sexually assaulting a young University of Sydney student at a St John's College formal in October 2015.

However, the jury on Thursday found him not guilty of three counts of sexual intercourse without consent, within hours of retiring.

Mr Perrottet (pictured left) was found not guilty at Downing Centre Court on Thursday
A real estate agent who allegedly sent human faeces, used condoms and a headless rat to his former boss has been denied his bid for a licence reinstatement.

Grant Tucker was found guilty of disgraceful conduct in 2016, over the harassment of Custom Residential director Johnathan Wills and Wills' lawyer David Beard.

His license was cancelled by the Real Estate Agents Disciplinary Tribunal and this week as High Court appeal supported that decision.

Grant Tucker (above) allegedly sent offensive packages to a former boss and their lawyer

In addition to the vile packages, Mr Tucker was also accused of sending derogatory letters and emails according to The New Zealand Herald.

The offensive material was reportedly sent between 2014 and 2015, following his departure from Custom Residential.

The packages included one that contained human excrement and broken glass, while another supposedly contained a decapitated rat.

Mr Beard told the hearing during the August 2015 inquest that he had opened one box but was forced to stop and take it to police after he started to 'smell something vile'.

'Inside was what looked and smelled like human faeces. I was gagging over the side of Auckland Central Police Station,' he said.

Tucker was found guilty of disgraceful conduct in 2016, over the harassment of Custom Residential director Johnathan Wills (above) and Wills' lawyer David Beard

Mr Wills also received offensive material from Mr Tucker, who admitted tot he tribunal that he had left a message on his phone referring to him as a 'c**k-sucking f*****t'.

Mr Tucker launched an appeal in the High Court following the tribunal which was denied, with High Court Justice Sarah Katz stating ruling the licence cancellation would remain.

'It is clear that the sender of the parcels must have felt a high degree of animosity,' she said.

'The alternative scenarios advanced by Mr Tucker are simply implausible and are not supported by the evidence.'

Tucker began selling real estate in his early thirties, according to a biography from his former business NetRealty.

He had completed a Graduate Diploma in Business Studies and Postgraduate studies in Management and Commerce.

He also served as an Associate of the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand and had worked for Fletcher Homes, Vector and RE/MAX.
News / National

by Staff reporter

THE National war veterans' secretary general Victor Matemadanda who said Grace Mugabe - who now calls herself the mother of the nation - must show that she is a competent mum by disciplining her unruly sons, has launched a t-shirt with that message."She can't be a mother to 14 million Zimbabweans when she is failing to (control) just two sons," Matemadanda said in an interview.
Former bodyguard, Ken Wharfe, pictured with the princess in 1992, revealed that Diana reveled in her husband's embarrassment

Princess Diana declared 'game, set and match' after reading a transcript of the 'Camillagate' tape where Prince Charles made a graphic reference to a tampon.

Her former bodyguard, Ken Wharfe, has revealed that as the conversation made headlines around the world when it emerged in 1993, Diana reveled in her husband's embarrassment.

The former personal protection officer claims Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles' leaked late night telephone chat gave Diana a boost as she began rebuilding her life after separating publicly from the heir to the throne.

Diana's reaction to the 1989 recording  transcribed and widely published by newspapers in 1993  is revealed by the ex-Met Police officer in his new book Guarding Diana: Protecting The Princess Around The World.

Mr Wharfe also claims in the book the Princess was upset when Charles refused to join her at India's iconic Taj Mahal where she was photographed alone, illustrating the rift in their marriage.

Diana and Camilla Parker-Bowles together in 1980. Charles and Camilla's leaked late night telephone chat gave Diana a boost as she began rebuilding her life after separating publicly from the heir to the throne.

A picture of a forlorn-looking Diana sitting in front of the Taj Mahal mausoleum  Mughal emperor Shah Jahan's monument of love to his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal  prompted rumours about the state of her marriage during a tour of India

The Princess of Wales' bodyguard Ken Wharfe has written a book about his time with her

Writing in the book, he quotes Diana: 'Game, set and match,' she said, clutching to her copy of the Daily Mirror containing a transcript of the 'Camillagate' tape as we talked in her sitting room at Kensington Palace.'

How a SEX TOY was Diana's lucky mascot on her trips abroad A small sex toy is the unlikely lucky mascot Diana, Princess of Wales insisted on taking during official foreign trips, her former personal protection officer has revealed. And Diana was left in a fit of giggles by the sight of an un-named member of staff putting a blown-up condom on his head. The vibrator, dubbed Le Gadget, was left behind when Diana travelled to Nepal in 1993 for an official visit, but the Princess gave orders for it to be dispatched to the capital Kathmandu. Mr Wharfe recounts in his new book: 'Le Gadget was perhaps our finest wind-up, and an almost constant source of laughter. 'The small vibrator, bought as a practical joke after a staff night out in Paris during Diana's official visit there the previous November, had become her lucky mascot.' The object personified Diana's sense of humour that was provoked by the unusual, absurd and unexpected during the long official visits. When the vibrator arrived in a diplomatic bag, a Gurkha aid of the King of Nepal insisted on delivering it to the Princess's equerry Captain Ed Musto just before a press reception, in honour of the visit, at the British ambassador's official residence. Mr Wharfe said: 'Musto, a self-effacing officer who towered over everyone present, not quite knowing what to expect, foolishly opened the packet and removed the offending item in front of everyone in the room (but, mercifully, not the press, who were starting to gather outside). 'There was a stunned pause (and a few bemused glances from Embassy dignitaries), until the silence was broken by Diana, who said, 'Oh, that must be for me,' and began to laugh.' On a tour of Pakistan in 1991, Diana and her entourage were entertained by the condom escapade while on a flight. Mr Wharfe, who guarded Diana from 1987 to 1993, writing in his book, said: 'We were all a little demob-happy, when the staff member decided to reveal that he had a party trick where he could blow up the condom and put it on his head, fully inflated. 'Really? Go on then, show me,' Diana said, intrigued, and laying down the bizarre challenge excitedly (began). 'Within seconds everyone was falling about the place in fits of giggles as the staff member accomplished this extraordinary feat in a matter of seconds.' Advertisement

The transcript had been published by national newspapers in January 1993, just over a month after the Prince and Princess formally separated and during a period when Diana was attempting to establish herself as a national figure in her own right.

Commenting on the reaction to Charles, following the publication of the tape's transcript, the former personal protection officer said in the book: 'The backlash was savage.

'Establishment figures normally loyal to future King and country were appalled, and some questioned the Prince's suitability to rule.'

He went on to say: 'Cartoonists lampooned him in the press. One cartoon, featuring him talking dirty to his plants, particularly amused the Princess, who collapsed into fits of giggles on seeing it.'

The previous year, a picture of a forlorn-looking Diana sitting in front of the Taj Mahal mausoleum  Mughal emperor Shah Jahan's monument of love to his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal  prompted rumours about the state of her marriage during a tour of India.

Charles was committed to his own separate itinerary at the time and was in New Delhi, where he delivered the major speech of the tour.

But Mr Wharfe, who guarded Diana for more than five years until 1993, writing in his book, said: 'The Princess, who told me she was genuinely upset by her husband's refusal to join her at the Taj Mahal, had privately decided to drive home the point.'

He added when a TV journalist asked about her thoughts on the monument she turned to him for help and he advised: 'Just say it is a healing experience,' and she replied to the broadcaster 'It was a fascinating experience  very healing.'

The Princess gave newspapers license to interpret the remark as a comment about her marriage when, asked what she meant, she replied 'Work it out for yourself,' Mr Wharfe suggested.

A documentary set to air tonight will claim Diana Diana cried herself to sleep the night Harry was born.

Former butler Paul Burrell is interviewed on the programme. He worked with Dana for 10 years and said: 'I could see the cracks in the marriage getting wider and wider.

'Diana confided in me that on the night Harry was born, she cried herself to sleep. She said, 'I knew my marriage was over'.'

Burrell also said Prince Charles told her his duty as a husband was 'done'.

Guarding Diana by Ken Wharfe is out now, published by John Blake Publishing.

Channel 4's Princess Diana's Wicked Stepmother will air tonight.
The Australian Electoral Commission website has crashed as millions of voters try to log on to change their enrolment details ahead of a postal vote on gay marriage.

The check.aec.gov.au site was failing on Thursday afternoon, a day after Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced ballots would be sent out to Australians from September 12.

Social media documented the site fail, sharing screenshots which showed their connection had timed out on the page.

'@AusElectoralCom site currently overwhelmed. Don't give up,' Mat Larkin tweeted.

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Australians took to social media after they were unable to access the Australian Electoral Commission's website

However, an Australian Electoral Commission spokesman said there was nothing wrong with their website.

'As discussed, I have checked internally and there has not been any issue with the availability of the AEC's check enrolment facility today,' he told told Daily Mail Australia on Thursday afternoon.

'An inability to connect would likely be a connectivity issue potentially on the user's side.'

The Labor Opposition asked about the federal public service's ability to handle the $122 million postal vote during Question Time on Thursday.

Shadow Assistant Treasurer Andrew Leigh asked how the Australian Bureau of Statistics could handle the postal vote results after the Census debacle of August 2016 when the website crashed.

'The ABS had five years to prepare for the census and the government made an absolute shambles of it,' the Canberra-based MP said.

'But the Government has given the same agency just weeks to prepare for the $122 million postal survey.

'Has the minister sought or received advice on whether there are any risks associated with this process?'

Michael McCormack, the Minister who presided over the nation's first online Census, refused to answer if any risk-estimation had taken place regarding the postal plebiscite

Manager of Opposition Business Tony Burke attempted to table the crash page of the AEC site to Parliament on Thursday

Small Business Minister Michael McCormack , who presided over the bungled Census, declined to answer the question directly, but defended the workers behind the national survey.

'You might laugh and you might mock but your electorates rely on the information that comes from that Census and when you're knocking the Census, you're knocking the good public servants who work very hard,' he said.

'Good, hardworking, diligent public servants.'

Australians are receiving ballots from September 12, with voters required to return them as early as November 7.

A result could be declared by November 15, but it won't be binding, and some ministers have already publicly announced they will not take into account the public vote.
Security at the Goulburn Supermax have uncovered a series of contraband during searches of inmates including drugs and a mobile phone.

The items were found in a prisoner's underwear during a random search by the Security Operations Group on Thursday morning.

A small plastic bag containing 6.1 grams of a white substance, believed to be steroids, were seized by personnel. A 7 centimetre phone was also taken.

The high risk inmate facility is home to notorious killers and terrorists including Ivan Milat and Mohamed Ali Elomar.

Security at the Goulburn Supermax have uncovered a series of contraband during searches of inmates including drugs and a mobile phone

A small plastic bag containing 6.1 grams of a white substance, believed to be steroids, were seized by personnel. A 7 centimetre phone was also taken

Security at the Supermax use a range of measures to stop the flow of contraband, including sniffer dogs, scanners and ferromagnetic detectors.

Minister for Corrections David Elliot is confident the current procedures are both a strong deterrent and are extremely effective at detection.

'With the terrific work of our custodial officers, local intelligence and modern technology, we are confident that any inmates possessing contraband will be caught,' Mr Elliott said.

'We're putting inmates on notice  if they run the risk of concealing contraband, they will pay the price.'

Prisoners caught with contraband can be punished with prosection, segregation, withdrawal of privileges and contact visits.

The inmate caught on Thursday has been placed in isolation and the matter has been referred to New South Wales Police.
A man who viciously pummelled his estranged wife in the face with a piece of wood as she slept next to her four-year-old daughter will not have his prison sentence cut.

Jess Setu, 33, was beaten with a plank of wood by husband Lealofi, 41, inside her home in Christchurch, on the South Island of New Zealand, so badly that she spent a week in hospital.

Splinters of wood were left embedded in her skull, her left eye was swollen shut and her left eyebrow was split in two.

Her face remains scarred more than a year after the frenzied attack, the Christchurch Star reported.

Jess Setu (pictured) was left severely bloodied and bruised after the frenzied attack

Lealofi was convicted of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, contravening a protection order and aggravated burglary, and jailed for five years in May.

His appeal against his sentence was dismissed at the Christchurch High Court on August 7.

On the night of the savage beating, Lealofi entered the house via the rear door and began bashing his estranged wife.

He only stopped when the pair's two other daughters entered the room and jumped across Jess to save their mother from their enraged father.

'All I thought was s***, my youngest is in bed with me, I have to get out of here. I was aiming to get to that front door because I knew, if I could get there, this person is going to follow me, they will be away from my kids, and I will be on the street where people can hear me,' the mother, who had no idea who was attacking her, said.

A police officer who visited Jess Setu in hospital said she was surprised she survived the ordeal

Remarkably her four-year-old daughter was not on the receiving end of one of the torrent of blows and remained asleep throughout the entire attack.

Their 10-year-old daughter pleaded for Lealofi to stop beating Jess, at which point he fled from the house.

The Setus' 12-year-old daughter then rang the police, and it was only then that Jess realised who the attacker was.

She asked her daughter to get her phone so she could call the hospital and Lealofi.

'Mum, it was dad' was the reply.

Her face was saturated in blood after the attack, and she took a selfie so she could see the extent of the damage.

New Zealand Police Constable Natalie Deuchrass saw Jess soon after the bashing at Christchurch Hospital, and told The Star she was amazed Jess was still alive.

'One more hit and he would have killed her, I think,' Const Deuchrass said.
The so-called homeless 'mayor' of the tent city in Sydney's Martin Place has continued his negotiations with police as he was pictured stepping into a police car for discussions.

Lanz Priestley was seen walking with a police officer in Martin Place before getting into the car on Thursday afternoon.

'I stepped into the police car voluntarily,' Priestley told Daily Mail Australia.

The so-called homeless 'mayor' of the tent city in Sydney 's Martin Place has continued his negotiations with police as he was pictured stepping into a police car for discussions

Lanz Priestley was seen walking with a police officer in Martin Place before getting into the car on Thursday afternoon

Lanz Priestley revealed he was accompanying the officer voluntarily and that discussions were 'very positive'

'I was discussing ongoing negotiations with the police and those discussions have been very positive.'

Despite confirming his interaction with the police was a success, he did say a new site for the homeless residents to move to was not revealed.

A location has yet to be identified,' Priestley said.

'I cant answer any further on the matter as Im not the police and do not know their plan of action.'

The interaction follows police being given the green light to remove 'tent city' and its occupants from Martin Place after an agreement to vacate the area failed.

Priestley's positive chat comes on the same day it emerged he has a lengthy criminal history of brutal assaults and violence against women.

Born in New Zealand, Lanz Priestly was convicted of a series of petty crimes in his home country before moving to Australia in the 1980s, The Australian reported.

Priestly, who claims to be 72 years old but records show he is 59, seriously assaulted police twice in the 1990s before nearly killing a man with a boat anchor in 1997, according to court documents seen by the paper.

However Priestley revealed he hadn't been informed of a location where the 'tent city' homeless residents could move to

Lanz Priestly (pictured), the so-called homeless 'mayor' of the tent city in Sydney's Martin Place, has a lengthy criminal history of brutal assaults and violence against women

Born in New Zealand, Priestly was convicted of a series of petty crimes in his home country before moving to Australia in the 1980s. He is seen speaking to residents of the Martin Place campsite on Monday

Dozens of tents have been erected in the Sydney forecourt since December with the number continuing to grow despite attempts by authorities to move people on

'The complainant sustained a skull fracture that had the potential to endanger his life due to bleeding, swelling and consequential pressure effects on the brain,' the document reads.

He finally had his day in court over the incident in 2014 and was jailed for nine months. He also served a separate four-month term over a 1999 assault of a woman.

In a victim impact statement, the woman said Priestly grabbed her before shoving her head against a wall during an argument over belongings.

Quizzed about these and other convictions on Wednesday, Priestly asked the paper if it was aware 'the government is still working out how to compensate and pay me for that'.

He refused to elaborate.

Daily Mail Australia has attempted to contact Priestly to discuss the convictions.

Lanz Priestly is pictured standing at Sydney's Martin Place earlier this month

Homeless and displaced people shelter in tents that are scattered throughout Martin Place

The so-called 'mayor of Martin Place' reportedly seriously assaulted police twice in the 1990s before nearly killing a man with a boat anchor in 1997

The father-of-twelve, dubbed the 'King of the Homeless' and 'the Mayor of Martin Place', previously said he had no intention of relocating the notorious tent city.

'We can't be swept aside,' he told Daily Mail Australia last month.

'We will continue to provide these people with their basic human rights until someone else does. We won't stop until that happens.'

But on Wednesday night, police were given the power by government to tear the camp down.

The bill was opposed by Labor and the Greens who described it as nothing but a smokescreen to mask 'political argy-bargy' between two tiers of government.

The move comes after a plan agreed to by the City of Sydney and the homeless tent dwellers to vacate the Martin Place campsite failed.

On Wednesday night, police were given the power by government to tear the camp down

Priestly (pictured on Monday) claims to be 72 years old but records show he is actually 59

Members of Martin Place's Tent City gather to discuss the outcome of a press conference held by Sydney Mayor Clover Moore on Monday
Cocaine Cassie Sainsbury is facing 30 years in a Colombian jail for drug smuggling, but she could have it a lot worse.

Meal time at Bogota's El Buen Pastor prison is a bit like the Hunger Games for its almost 2,000 inmates as they fight tooth and nail for limited food stocks.

Every breakfast, lunch, and dinner hundreds of women young and old sprint across concrete carrying plastic bowls to the 'rancho', a common kitchen area.

'Cocaine Cassie' Sainsbury getting better treatment in Colombian prison than all but 19 other inmates

Sainsbury is accused of trying to smuggle 5.9kg os cocaine disguised as 18 heaphones through Bogota Airport

Those too old or slow often miss out and those lucky enough to get a little beef and rice or chicken and salad don't really want to eat it.

'For most of us it is cold and crowded. It is a hard life. Everything is hard. You have to fight to get even sanitary items. The food awful, there is never enough,' former prisoner Marisol Arias Perez told News Corp.

But as one of 20 inmates in Patio Seven, life for the 22-year-old Australian is 'like heaven' by comparison, she said.

The mostly foreigners on drug charges or those needing protection get better access to food, necessities, and visits from family and friends.

Sainsbury was moved to Patio Seven weeks after she was arrested on April 12 following a blow up with a neighbour in Patio Five who sold a photo of her to the media

The now-famous photo showed her smiling behind bars wearing a top printed with a black and red floral pattern, given to her by another inmate as a welcome present

Sainsbury was moved there weeks after she was arrested on April 12 following a blow up with a neighbour in Patio Five who sold a photo of her to the media.

'The Australian made a big fuss and so she was moved. It is something that everyone knows,' Ms Perez said.

The now-famous photo showed her smiling behind bars wearing a top printed with a black and red floral pattern, given to her by another inmate as a welcome present.

Now Sainsbury cooks her meals from ingredients delivered from a grocery store in kitchens kitted out with a microwave, fridge and freezer.

As one of 20 inmates in Patio Seven, life for the 22-year-old Australian is 'like heaven' by comparison to the other 1,900 other prisoners

Inmates of 'El Buen Pastor' (The Good Shepherd) women's prison cry as they attend a TEDx motivational talk on June 23, 2015

Some Patio Seven inmates have their own cells instead of squashing in with several others, and have TVs, and washing machines.

Sainsbury will be hoping she gets to stay in the comparative luxury if she is given a lengthy sentence when her case goes to trial.

The blonde South Australian accepted a plea deal that would see her serve only six years, and perhaps only half that with good behaviour.

But Judge Sergio Leon threw out the deal because Sainsbury maintained she only agreed to take the package of 5.9kg of cocaine disguised as 18 heaphones because she was being threatened.

Sainsbury will be hoping she gets to stay in the comparative luxury if she is given a lengthy sentence when her case goes to trial

Her plea deal to serve six years in exchange for informing on those who gave her the cocaine to smuggle was thrown out because she maintained she did it under duress

Recreational court at the women's prison, where a young Australian woman is being held

He said this was not compatible with her guilty plea, which also included a pledge to inform on the smuggling operation.

She told the court she initially thought she was carrying documents for someone in exchange for $10,000, but was later forced to carry drugs after being threatened at gunpoint.

As she arrived at court in Bogota on Thursday, her lawyer Orlando Herran told reporters that Sainsbury was maintaining her story that her family was under threat.

'As the defence, we don't have the resources of the prosecution,' Mr Herran told Fairfax outside the court.

'At the moment, we only have Cassandra's words about the threat.

'Cassandra doesn't have the personal resources for a private investigator to prove the threat.'

Sainsbury was pictured laughing with her mother just moments earlier, burst into tears as she was led handcuffed out of the Bogota court by prison officers

As she arrived at court in Bogota on Thursday, her lawyer Orlando Herran told reporters that Sainsbury was maintaining her story that her family was under threat

Sainsbury was pictured laughing with her mother just moments earlier, burst into tears as she was led handcuffed out of the Bogota court by prison officers.

With the plea deal out the window, Sainsbury will now have to prove to a court she was threatened.

She and her family have maintained her innocence ever since her arrest, providing various different stories to explain her being caught with the drugs.

Colombian authorities are desperate to know how and why the drugs came to be in her possession and will not budge on a plea bargain without the information.

They are also keen to find out just who was the mystery person who purchased a plane ticket on Sainsbury's behalf from China to Colombia.

However, her legal team resisted demands for her to become an informant because it could put her in life danger from the cartel that hired her.

Senior Colombian narcotics police believed Sainsbury was too far down the food chain to be at significant risk.

But corruption and violence are rife within El Buen Pastor and the blonde alleged former prostitute has already been moved several times for her safety.
A Victorian man who sexually abused a nine-year-old girl and told her father that she 'wanted it' has been jailed for at least three years.

Keith Dudley, 58, was on Thursday sentenced to a maximum of four-and-a-half years in prison, with a minimum of three years, for indecently and sexually assaulting the girl.

A jury found Dudley guilty of five counts of indecent assault with a child under 16, and one charge of sexual penetration of a child under 10, following a trial in the Victorian County Court.

Keith Dudley, 58, was on Thursday sentenced to a maximum of four-and-a-half years in prison

The young girl was abused between 1994 and 1995 in regional Victoria.

On one occasion, Dudley exposed himself while driving.

'You told her that what you had done was wrong and she shouldn't tell anyone about it,' Judge Frank Gucciardo said.

Dudley also told the child he wanted to 'help her to be an adult'.

The girl's father confronted Dudley about the abuse.

'When asked why you assaulted her, you said 'she wanted it',' Judge Gucciardo said.

The victim also confronted Dudley about the abuse as an adult, and decided to report him to police in 2015 after realising he had no remorse.

The victim confronted Dudley about the abuse as an adult and reported him to police in 2015

Keith Dudley sexually abused a nine-year-old girl and then old her father that she 'wanted it'

The woman said she did not hate Dudley or feel pity for him.

'All I wanted from the start was for him to get help and feel regret and remorse,' she said in a victim impact statement.

Judge Gucciardo said Dudley has displayed a 'wanton indifference' to the effects of his repulsive acts.

Dudley, who has spent 84 days in pre-sentence custody, will be jailed for more than four years

'You betrayed her trust and her parents' trust,' the judge said.

'You exploited her vulnerability, naivety and above all, her innocence.'

Dudley represented himself at trial after sacking two teams of lawyers.

On Thursday he complained about his trial and questioned Judge Gucciardo's directions to the jury.

Dudley will commence legal action in the Supreme Court about his pre-sentence detention

'I reject the suggestion that I did nothing to recognise your disadvantage as being unrepresented,' the judge said.

'To a large extent, you failed to cooperate for a large part of the trial.'

Dudley, who has already spent 84 days in pre-sentence custody, said he would commence legal action in the Supreme Court about his detention.
He is Kim Jong-un's shadow, following the North Korean president from missile launch to military parade.

General Kim Rak-gyom is often seen smiling and joking with his subordinates but, much like his despotic leader, he is far more dangerous than his jovial exterior suggests.

As head of North Korea's rocket command, he is believed to have his finger on the proverbial button, with as many as 60 suspected nuclear warheads at his disposal.

Hours before Kim Jong-un announced he was looking into the logistics of striking the remote Pacific island, host to thousands of US servicemen and submarines, Donald Trump vowed 'fire and fury' if he threatened his country.

General Kim Rak-gyom went one further by branding Trump's remarks 'a load of nonsense' - and the US president 'senile'.

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General Kim Rak-gyom (right), head of North Korea's rocket command, is often seen smiling and joking with his subordinates alongside leader Kim Jong-un

Kim Rak-gyom (pictured instructing Kim Jong-un) is believed to have his finger on the proverbial button, with as many as 60 suspected nuclear warheads at his disposal

'Sound dialogue is not possible with such a guy bereft of reason,' he went on, claiming the Guam plan would be completed by mid-August.

He said the North planned to launch four missiles simultaneously, which would take precisely 17 minutes 45 seconds to travel 2,086 miles before coming down 24 miles from Guam - just outside US territorial waters.

And, if his rhetoric is to be believed, he has his sights on a US military base in Guam, around 2,100 miles from the Korean Peninsula.

Little is known about the mysterious officer, who today went toe-to-toe with Trump in one of the most striking escalation between the two nations.

In fact news outlets, including those in neighbouring South Korea, cannot even seem to agree on which one of Kim Jong-un's entourage he actually is.

We do know Kim Rak-gyom was promoted from two to four-star general in June 2012, around six months after Kim Jong-un ascended to power.

Kim Rak-gyom (left, according to several news outlets) has his sights on a US military base in Guam, around 2,100 miles from the Korean Peninsula

Kim Rak-gyom (left, according to Yonhap news agency) said the North planned to launch four missiles simultaneously which would come down 24 miles from Guam

He was appointed commander of North Korea's newly created Strategic Rocket Force Command, the first sign that Kim Jong-un wanted to accelerate the country's missile program.

It put rocket development on par with the army and air force and gave Kim Rak-gyom a direct line to the president, the Australian reported.

'When one is firmly equipped with the capability to make precision strikes with nuclear weapons no aggressor can dare to attack recklessly,' the North Korean leader said at the time.

But a position as Kim's right hand man comes with its own, very unique set of hazards.

In February, following a string of failed nuclear Intercontinental Ballistic Missile tests, it was reported that Kim Rak-gyom had not been seen in around six months, including at the 69th anniversary of the creation of the Norths military.

He re-emerged a month later during a North Korean missile launch in which the military claimed it was practising to hit US military bases in Japan.

After successful missile launches which have angered world leaders, Kim Jong-un is also seen celebrating, hugging and sharing a celebratory smoke with the same three men.

The three men often seen celebrating with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (centre) are (from left to right) veteran rocket scientist Kim Jong Sik, former air force general Ri Pyong Chol and head of weapons development Jang Chang Ha

The trio is said to be indispensable to North Korea's rapidly developing weapons programme. Pictured from left to right behind dictator Kim: Ri Pyong Chol, Kim Jong Sik and Jang Chang Ha

The trio, often seen with Kim in photographs and on TV, are of great interest to Western security and intelligence agencies since they are the top people in the secretive country's rapidly accelerating missile programme.

These men are former air force general Ri Pyong Chol, veteran rocket scientist Kim Jong Sik, and head of weapons development Jang Chang Ha.

Unlike most North Korean officials, two of these men have flown with Kim in his private plane Goshawk-1, named after North Korea's national bird, state TV has shown.

Along with Kim Rak-gyom, the trio is said to be indispensable to North Korea's rapidly developing weapons programme.

Kim Jong Sik and Jang are not from elite families, unlike many other senior figures in North Korea's ruling class, North Korean leadership experts say.

They claim Ri, a former air force commander, has been to one of the better-regarded schools in North Korea, but he and the other two were hand-picked by Kim Jong Un.

The rocket scientist in the trio is Kim Jong Sik, who started his career as a civilian aeronautics technician.

North Korean military experts claim Ri (right, celebrating a missile launch with Kim), a former air force commander, has been to one of the better-regarded schools in North Korea

He now wears the uniform of a military general at the Munitions Industry Department, according to experts and the South Korean government.

Of the three men, the least is known about Jang Chang Ha, president of the Academy of the National Defence Science, previously called the Second Academy of Natural Sciences.

The body is in charge of the secretive country's research and development of its advanced weapons systems, 'including missiles and probably nuclear weapons', the US Treasury said in 2010 in its decision to blacklist the group.

The organisation obtains technology, equipment, and information from overseas for use in weapons programmes, the Treasury said. Jang was added to the Treasury blacklist in December 2016.
Police found Abdul Sabe with three drunken teenagers in 2011 but decided the girls were with him 'of their own free will'

Members of an Asian sex gang were free to abuse girls as young as 11 after police missed opportunities to catch them.

The horrific details of the latest sex ring caught molesting vulnerable girls in a British city were exposed yesterday when the last of 17 men and one woman were convicted of a catalogue of offences in Newcastle.

But police have been criticised over failures to tackle the issue earlier on.

One paedophile, Bahmani Ahmadi, eventually caught in the same operation, was first arrested in 2012 but released after officers failed to examine data on his mobile phone that would have shown he had been grooming youngsters for sex.

He was eventually arrested again in 2014 and admitted 18 charges against ten girls, including one who was only 11.

In another case, police visited a flat where two other members of the ring, Abdul Sabe and Habibur Rahim, as long ago as 2011 but decided three drunken teenagers were their 'of their own free will', The Times reported today.

Ahmadi, 25, lured his victims into meeting him by posing on Facebook as a 14-year-old girl called Holly.

Abdul Sabe and Habibur Rahim were reported to officers by an off-duty probation officer in 2011. But they were not stopped until several years later and were charged in 2015

He came to the notice of Northumbria Police in June 2012 after it was alleged that he had sex with a 15-year-old girl living in a care home.

But he was released without charge after a senior officer decided that the case should not be referred to the Crown Prosecution Service.

When he was eventually arrested again in 2014 as part of Operation Sanctuary  a police operation which brought the last of the 18 sex gang members to justice this week. He was however dealt with separately.

He later admitted sexual activity with a 15-year-old girl in relation to the 2012 incident, as well as, among other offences, sexually assaulting two children, trafficking for sexual exploitation and inciting girls under the age of 13 to engage in sexual activity.

Paedophile Bahmani Ahmadi attacked at least ten girls as young as 11 after he was arrested by police only to be released without charge

A officer was dismissed for 'gross negligence' in relation to his case.

In the case of Abdul Sabe and Habibur Rahim, an off-duty probation officer Elaine Capper, called the police after she saw them herding three drunken teenage girls towards the back of a 4x4.

She phoned police and flagged down a patrol car, who went to the flat where the pair had taken the girls.

A PC Victoria Threadgold told the court that although officers were concerned to find 'three young females' in the company of a registered sex offender, there was 'no suggestion of coercion or pressure to keep them there', The Times reported.

The court heard a police log entry made by PC Threadgold said the girls had gone to the flat 'of their own free will' and that there was 'nothing to suggest anything untoward'.

DCI Claire Wheatley today said the force had looked at whether exploitation was going on in 2013 but initially believed 'the problem wasn't there'.

She told BBC Radio 4's Women's Hour: 'As soon as those two young women came forward and we were made aware of this issue we absolutely investigated it from the outset and left no stone unturned. We went very big with this investigation and immediate listened to victims.

'Initially, we were going to speak to victims. Now we understand that they didn't realise they were victims themselves. They were saying "no nothing happened, I've got nothing to say".

'It's a very different approach we have now. We have a bespoke victim team... we've had a massive cultural change in identifying what sexual exploitation is.'

Police were also criticised for paying a convicted child rapist almost 10,000 to spy on parties where it was suspected under-age girls were fed drugs and sexually abused.

Northumbria Police Chief Constable Steve Ashman defended his force's handling of the cases

The informant, known only as XY, was recruited despite being a sex offender who had drugged an under-age girl and invited another man to rape her after he had done so, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

Northumbria Police chief Steve Ashman yesterday defended the force's handling of the issue.

He said: 'We have thrown the kitchen sink at this - a team of 50 officers have worked on this inquiry for almost three and a half years and continue to do so.

'We have not and will not stop. We have employed every technique available to us, covert and overt, in tackling the problem.

'There has been no political correctness here. These are criminals and there has been no hesitation in arresting them and targeting them using all the means at our disposal.

On the issue of paying the child rapist, he added: 'We have to step into a murky, a dangerous and a shadowy world and the people who are going to provide us with that information that will protect victims, that will stop other women and girls becoming victims of this abuse, it's not the postmaster or the district nurse, or some other person in a position of authority.

'They are the very people who themselves may well have committed these vile acts.

'This is the world that we have to step into in policing and it is dangerous and it is difficult but that is what we are prepared to do.

'We'll do everything we can within the law to bring these people to justice.'
News / Press Release

by Linda Masarira

National Women's Day is a South African public holiday celebrated annually on 9 August. The day commemorates the 1956 march of approximately 20 000 women to the Union Buildings in Pretoria to petition against the country's pass laws that required South Africans defined as "black" under The Population Registration Act to carry an internal passport, known as a pass, that served to maintain population segregation, control urbanisation, and manage migrant labour during the apartheid era. The first National Women's Day was celebrated on 9 August 1994. In 2006, a reenactment of the march was staged for its 50th anniversary, with many of the 1956 march veterans.On 9 August 1956, more than 20,000 South African women of all races staged a march on the Union Buildings in protest against the proposed amendments to the Urban Areas Act of 1950, commonly referred to as the "pass laws". The march was led by Lilian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, Rahima Moosa and Sophia Williams. Other participants included Frances Baard, a statue of whom was unveiled by Northern Cape Premier Hazel Jenkins in Kimberley (Frances Baard District Municipality) on National Women's Day 2009. The women left 14,000 petitions at the office doors of prime minister J.G. Strijdom. The women stood silently for 30 minutes and then started singing a protest song that was composed in honour of the occasion: Wathint'Abafazi Wathint'imbokodo! (Now you have touched the women, you have struck a rock.). In the years since, the phrase (or its latest incarnation: "you strike a woman, you strike a rock") has come to represent women's courage and strength in South Africa.National Women's day draws attention to significant issues South African women still face, such as parenting, Domestic violence, sexual harassment in the workplace, unequal pay, and schooling for all girls. It can be used as a day to fight for or protest these ideas. Due to this public holiday, there have been many significant advances. Before 1994, women had low representation in the parliament, only at 2.7%. Women in the national assembly were at 27.7%. This number has nearly doubled, being at 48% representation throughout the country's government. National women's day is based around much of the same principles as International Women's Day, and strives for much of the same freedoms and rights.As Zimbabwean women we stand in solidarity with South African women and celebrate this day with them.
Tony Blair has finally revealed the emotional moment he convinced Gordon Brown to step aside and let him be Labour Party leader.

Mr Blair said he told his friend that he had the best chance of winning and should be given a clear run at the top job.

And he revealed that, contrary to legend, the infamous pact was not sealed at the Granita restaurant in Islington, but at his university friend's home in Edinburgh.

In a highly personal interview broadcast this morning, he also revealed how he 'toyed with Marxism' while at university before his future wife Cherie helped him kick the far-left habit.

And he said he is still not repentant at leading Britain to the disastrous war in Iraq.

The interview is the first in a series of Reflections with Peter Hennessy, in which the historian talks to senior politicians about their lives and careers.

Tony Blair, pictured at a conference in Washington in March, revealed the emotional moment he persuaded his friend and political collaborator Gordon Brown to step aside and let him have a clear run at the Labour leadership in 1994

Lifting the lid on the Blair Brown pact, he described how he and his future chancellor had a 'very close personal relationship' and spoke to each other several times a day.

Mr Brown had been tipped to be the next leader when Labour boss John Smith suddenly died of a heart attack in 1994.

But in a deal which established a political partnership - and bitter feuding - which dominated Westminster for 15 years, Mr Brown agreed to be chancellor instead.

Mr Blair told the BBC Radio 4 Reflections with Peter Hennessy programme: 'It was extremely difficult for him.

'And, you know, it's very hard to understand this properly now.

'We were so close. You know we would speak to each other several times a day.

'So this was a very close political relationship, personal relationship.'

Mr Blair recalled how his future chancellor 'taught me an immense amount' in his early days as an MP - even telling him the basics of how to write a political speech.

Tony Blair, pictured with Gordon Brown out on the election campaign in May 2005. The men were very close as they started out on their political careers and Mr Brown taught Mr Blair how to make a political speech. But they spent 15 years feuding over their infamous leadership pact

The former Labour leader, pictured with his wife Cherie in Cornwall in August 2001. Mr Blair revealed that he toyed with Marxism while a student at Oxford University but that his wife - who came form a working class Liverpudlian family - helped convince him to abandon his far left views

Russian revolutionary leader Leon Trotsky, pictured in 1920, was one of the architects of the bloody revolution in 1917 and led the Bolshevik forces during the civil war that followed. Mr Blair said he was inspired to get into politics after reading a biography of Trotsky

But he said that when it some to the crunch, he believed he could lead Labour to their historic victory.

He said: 'The crucial but was, who had the best chance of winning - I think for the country.'

In the wide-ranging hour-long interview, he also described how he 'toyed with Marxism' as a student at Oxford University after being entranced by a biography of Trotsky.

He said he had 'no interest in politics at all' until he read the book after getting home from a gig with his band.

He said: 'I literally didn't stop reading it all night...it opened a different world to me.

'I suddenly thought, the world is full of these extraordinary causes and injustices and here's this guy Trotsky who was so inspired by all of this that he went out to craft a Russian revolution and change the world'

Tony Blair, pictured with British troops in Iraq in May 2003. The former Labour leader remains unrepentant about leading Britain into the disastrous conflict, despite the many years of turmoil and bloodshed which have followed the invasion

Tony Blair, pictured with George Bush outside No10, was famously close to the US president, joining in with the US-led war on terror in the aftermath of the 9/11 attack

He said he was 'briefly a Trot' before coming to the conclusion 'it wasn't right'.

And when as a young barrister he started dating his wife to be Cherie she helped him reject the far left.

He said: 'She'd complete contempt for the far left then...when we started going out together she was extremely critical of what she regarded as my sort of Oxford student socialism.

'She made that very clear.'

After becoming leader Mr Blair rebranded the party 'New Labour' and set about trying to distance it from its socialist roots.

The move made him enemy number one among the British far left and Labour's current Marxist leader Jeremy Corbyn.

He also revealed his frustration at the bureaucracy of government - comparing it to the sitcom 'Yes Prime Minister'.

Thousands marched against the Iraq War at a rally outside the Labour Party conference in 2003. The bloody conflict was hugely unpopular with the British public and irreparably damaged his reputation as leader

Demonstrators dressed up as Bush and Blair protested outside the Chilcot Inquiry into the Iraq War as it delivered its verdict last year. The inquiry found that the legal basis for war was 'far form satisfactory' but Mr Blair has continued to defend the decision to invade

And he defended pioneering the politics of spin, although he warned that the politics of social media is 'really serious and dangerous'.

But in comments which will infuriate critics of the Iraq War, he defended the decision to invade the country - despite the bloodshed and turmoil which continues there today.

He admitted there was 'faulty intelligence' and blamed the failures of the invasion on 'an absence of the knowledge we needed to have about what would happen once you removed the dictator'.

But he added: 'The thing that I think is difficult for people to accept is that I haven't changed my view that it was better that we removed him than not.'

He defended his notorious letter to George Bush promising that 'I will be with you whatever' and written nearly a year before the invasion of Iraq.

And he said the 9/11 terror attack changed everything and that he took the decision to stand 'shoulder to shoulder' with the US on terrorism and security in its aftermath.

He said: 'That relationship with America was such that there was no big decision that American took in those years that didnt you know, have British input.'
A motorist and her three passengers are lucky to be alive after their car ploughed through a railroad crossing barrier as a high-speed train approached.

The group came within inches of tragedy as the train clipped the back of their Volkswagen, in Koszalin, northern Poland.

Fortunately nobody was injured in the astounding near-miss on Monday night, though police said the driver of the vehicle - a 48-year-old woman - has been fined.

The Volkswagen driver approaches the crossing, seemingly unaware that the barriers have come down

The car smashes through the barrier before slamming on the brakes

Footage of the moment was captured on CCTV by the country's state railway company PKP.

The footage shows the barriers coming down and seconds later the car approaching.

The driver initially appears to be unaware of the crossing warning and drives straight through only to slam on the brakes after realising her mistake.

She comes to a halt just just after the intersection before the train hit the back of the car denting the boot and smashing a brake light.

A second camera then shows everyone get out of the Volkswagen before the driver moves the vehicle to the side of the road.

Polish police confirmed the driver was fined 500 Zloty (110).
A man accused of murdering his wife asked two women if they wanted a threesome a few weeks after the teenage bride went missing, a Sydney jury has been told.

The women testified they visited their friend Steve Fesus to offer him their support after hearing of his wife's disappearance in August 1997.

'He said: 'I have got a bottle of champagne in the fridge - why don't you two get on the floor and we can have a threesome?' said witness Kim Duncan in the NSW Supreme Court on Thursday.

The women testified they visited their friend Steve Fesus (pictured) to offer him their support after hearing of his wife's disappearance in August 1997

Fesus, 46, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Jodie Fesus, 18, in August 1997 at their Shellharbour home, on the NSW south coast, before burying her body in a shallow grave at Seven Mile Beach, near Gerroa.

The crown has alleged their relationship had deteriorated and that he strangled her during an argument.

Police found the beach grave and exhumed her body on September 15, 1997 after receiving an anonymous call from a male.

Ms Duncan's friend, who cannot be named, told the jury of visiting Fesus to support him.

'I can't remember the exact words but certainly there was an insinuation of relations between the three of us and relations between Kim and myself whilst he would be watching,' she said.

'At the time I was not sure how to react but I certainly made it clear that it was not something which would eventuate.'

Steve Fesus (right) has pleaded not guilty to murdering Jodie Fesus (left) between 9pm on August 11 and 5 am on August 12, 1997 at their Shellharbour home

Ms Duncan said she was 'shocked' by the proposition but just laughed it off and did not know if he was serious, adding that the three of them had joked about sex in the past.

During their visit Fesus had been 'saddish' but not distraught, in contrast to his being 'extremely emotional' a few weeks later when interviewed on TV about his wife's murder, she said.
Actress Leah Remini is continuing her fight against the Church of Scientology as she questions why people continue to support the religion, including actress Elisabeth Moss.

As ex-Scientologist Remini called for the FBI to conduct a federal investigation into the religion in a profile published on Wednesday, she slammed the group as 'abusive', saying it's 'destroying families'.

Remini recently accepted a Television Critics Association (TCA) award for Outstanding Achievement in Reality Programming for her docuseries, Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath - and Moss reportedly walked out during her speech.

The docuseries, which has a second season premiering next week, chronicles the stories of ex-Scientologists like Remini who have been cut off from their families and targets by the religion after leaving the church.

Leah Remini is continuing her crusade against Scientology, claiming there should be an FBI investigation into the religion. She's soon moving back to Los Angeles to appear on the show Kevin Can Wait, where she could run into Scientologists in the city, including Elisabeth Moss

Remini opened up about the church - which is home to stars including Tom Cruise and John Travolta - with The Hollywood Reporter in a profile published on Wednesday.

The actress is moving back to Los Angeles to appear on the show Kevin Can Wait, and the media site asked her what her response would be if she ran into Scientologists in the city - specifically Elisabeth Moss.

'Elisabeth Moss believes that she can't talk to me,' Remini said. 'There's a thing in Scientology called "acceptable truth".

'It means you only say what's acceptable to the public. But she believes that I'm an antisocial personality - because I've spoken out against Scientology. So she isn't allowed to talk to me. And me knowing that, I wouldn't put her in the awkward position.'

Moss was raised as a Scientologist and in 2013 said that it gave her stability and empowerment and helped her learn to respect herself.

When asked about her support in 2014, however, Moss would not answer questions about the religion.

'I don't hold anything against Elisabeth Moss other than she's continuing to support a group that is abusive and destroying families,' Remini said. 'That's for her to learn - just as I needed to learn it.'

There's a chance Remini and Moss could run into each other at the Emmy Awards next month.

Moss is nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for 'Handmaid's Tale', while Remini's 'Aftermath' is nominated for Outstanding Informational Series Or Special.

Moss reportedly left the room on Saturday as Remini accepted an award at the TCAs for the first season of Aftermath.

'I spent most of my life being told the world outside Scientology would fail me, that I would fail, and that without it I wasn't worth a whole lot,' she said. 'I thank you for proving those theories wrong.'

The second season of Remini's docuseries will shine light on 'all of the abusive practices of Scientology - sexual and physical abuse', the actress said.

She said she hopes the second series will prompt an FBI investigation into the religion.

'I'm talking about the FBI, the police, the Department of Justice, the IRS,' she said. 'If the FBI ever wanted to get anywhere, all they would need to do is do a raid. Everybody who's ever gone to Scientology has folders, and anything you've ever said is contained in those folders.'

Moss reportedly left the room on Saturday as Remini accepted an award at the TCAs for the first season of her docuseries, Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath. She's pictured above during her acceptance speech

Remini claimed that children are treated like 'crew' and 'assets' in the religion, and the police are usually not involved in molestation investigations.

She said victims of such incidents 'gets punished for pulling it in', or doing something without telling the church, which is why the abuse occurred.

'There are no victims in Scientology,' Remini argued. 'Anything that happens to you in Scientology happens to you because you made it happen.'

The Church of Scientology claims that it saw an increase in bomb threats, hate crimes and death threats following the first season of A&E's Aftermath.

Scientology spokeswoman Karin Pouw said that the church has had to increase security in months since its premiere.

Since it first aired, 'there have been more than 500 incidents of vandalism, harassment and threats of violence against the church, its parishioners, staff and leadership', Pouw told the Hollywood Reporter.

Pouw slammed Remini's crusade against the religion, saying: 'Leah Remini is just an actress whose current role is starring in a scam of a show whose singular goal is to incite religious hate and violence for ratings, money and Emmy nominations.'

Remini was a member of the group from the age of nine but left in 2013 over claims she was brainwashed and other members were allegedly abused.

Her 2015 memoir, Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology, discusses her life in the religion and ultimate departure from Scientology.
Princess Diana's driver today revealed how he wished he had been driving on the night she died in a car crash 20 years ago.

Colin Tebbutt, who was one of her most trusted aides, went to her hospital room in Paris shortly after her death and found himself taking care of practicalities.

He lined the windows with blankets so people could not see in and brought in fans to lower the temperature in the stifling room following her death in August 1997.

Princess Diana's driver Colin Tebbutt today told ITV's Good Morning Britain how he wished he had been driving on the night she died in a car crash 20 years ago

Along with Paul Burrell, Mr Tebbutt had to set up a make-shift morgue when he went to collect her body from the Pitie-Salpetriere Hospital in the French capital.

And Mr Tebbutt told ITV's Good Morning Britain of the crash: 'I think they went in too fast but in the inquest that was sorted out, I've driven through the tunnel myself.'

Speaking about seeing Diana in hospital, he added: 'It's very difficult and emotional to see a person lying in a bed and not in a mortuary.

'I went and got some fans to cool the room down. As I turned around, the eyelashes and hair of the princess were moving caused by the fan and that just struck me.

'I had to turn away, think about it and then grip myself back and get on with what I was doing.'

Mr Tebbutt (right) appeared on Good Morning Britain today alongside (from left) presenters Charlotte Hawkins, Ben Shephard and Kate Garraway

CCTV showing the final hours of Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed at the Ritz in Paris in 1997

Mr Tebbutt, who was in bed when he first heard about the crash in a phone call, said the Princess was 'very royal', adding: 'There was a line. You don't cross that line.'

Diana, pictured in 1992, died in a car crash in Paris 20 years ago in August 1997

But he insisted Diana also had 'a tremendous sense of humour' and treated her staff with respect. 'I never had a cross word in two years,' Mr Tebbutt said.

Mr Tebbutt talked on camera for the first time about what happened for the Channel 5 documentary, Diana: 7 Days That Shook The Windsors, in May.

In that programme, he said: 'I was worried about the room, which was very, very hot. We looked up at the window above the Princess's bed and could see people on rooftops, trying to take photos.

'It didn't seem as if they knew which room to look for at that stage, and I asked for blankets to hang up at the window, so nobody could see in.'

This made the room even hotter, so Tebbutt placed fans all around the Princess's body to keep her cool.

'I noticed her hair was moving  which was the breeze from the fans of course  but for just a fraction of a second I thought, 'Is she alive?' which was a silly thing to think.

'Having been on top of everything until then, I had to turn away and take 30 seconds to myself, as a personal emotional moment.'
Michael Magic (pictured) pleaded guilty to voyeurism at Bristol Crown Court and was given a six-month suspended sentence

A pervert hid a spy camera in a bottle of Lynx to spy on a 13-year-old girl in the shower - after filming his wife as a 'practice run'.

Father-of-three Michael Magic, 38, concealed a mobile phone in the shower gel container and cut a small rectangular hole in the front for the camera lens.

He then positioned the bottle in the bathroom cabinet and directed it towards the shower.

But his 13-year-old target spotted the device and raised the alarm. Video footage on the device clearly showed Magic positioning the covert device.

The warehouse worker pleaded guilty to voyeurism at Bristol Crown Court and was given a six-month suspended prison sentence.

James Haskell, prosecuting, said his victim cannot get the memory of discovering what he had done out of her head.

Describing how she found the device, he said: 'She noticed that inside the bottle was a mobile phone.

'She looked at the mobile and she saw it had a video, which showed the defendant positioning the phone into the bottle, placing it in the bathroom cabinet and directing the camera to face towards the shower cubicle.

Magic, 38, concealed a mobile phone in the shower gel container and cut a small rectangular hole in the front for the camera lens

'The defendant had cut a rectangle in the bottle to enable the camera on the phone to view the shower cubicle.'

The girl immediately informed her mother after discovering the device at Magic's house in St Anne's Park, Bristol.

He immediately admitted it was him, repeatedly apologised and said he had done it before and he didn't know what had got into his head, the court was told.

Magic told officers he had seen the child's chest exposed and he felt attracted to her and wanted to see more.

He said he filmed his wife in the shower as a 'practice run' and managed to film the youngster - using some footage for sexual gratification.

Alun Williams, defending, said his remorseful client felt 'deep, deep shame' and had contacted the Stop It Now confidential helpline to try to address his behaviour.

Judge Julian Lambert told Magic: 'You are a married man, who developed an obsession with indecent images. That extended to recording images of a child.

Magic positioned the bottle on the bathroom cabinet and directed it towards the shower

'The effect of her discovering that has been severe. The harm is incalculable.'

Magic was handed a 60-day rehabilitation activity requirement, told to attend sex offender treatment and ordered to compensate his victim 1,000.

He was told to register as a sex offender for five years. He declined to comment as he left court.

Afterwards the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said: 'Obviously the judge can't lock him up for 20,000 years until he dies.

'I would have liked to have seen more. It's just how it is.'

Her mother added: 'I feel really, really let down by the justice system, not the judge personally.

'These sentencing guidelines are not in favour of the victim. They are in favour of saving public spending on prison.

'I was hoping for immediate custody so he could suffer a fraction of the hardship my daughter suffered.'

The girl, who viewed the sentencing hearing at Bristol Crown Court via video link, made an impact statement in which she said: 'It's always in my head.. I can't get rid of the memory, it won't leave me alone.'

She said she now has to shower with her mother in the bathroom and felt ashamed about what happened.
Japan has wheeled missile defence systems into the heart of Tokyo after North Korea threatened to send a volley of rockets over the country towards Guam.

Pictures show how a PAC-3 Patriot missile unit has been moved in to a compound at the Defence Ministry in the capital after officials said they could shoot down North Korean rockets if they pass overhead.

Sales of bomb shelters in Japan are said to have increased as tensions continue to rise in the region while officials in Seoul have vowed to bolster their defences. But South Korean citizens - long accustomed to its neighbour's fearsome rhetoric - are staying remarkably calm as the crisis unfolds, it has been reported.

Officials in Hawaii, meanwhile, say they are working on how to warn its 1.4million residents in the event of an attack.

It comes after North Korea warned it will complete a plan to unleash an 'enveloping fire' around Guam by mid-August. This will involved firing four Hwasong-12 missiles over Japan and into waters near the tiny US island, officials claimed.

Japan has wheeled missile defence systems into the heart of Tokyo after North Korea threatened to send a volley of rockets over the country towards Guam

Pictures show how a PAC-3 Patriot missile unit has been moved in to a compound at the Defence Ministry in the capital after officials vowed to shoot down North Korea rockets should they pass overhead

A PAC-3 Patriot missile unit is seen in the compound of Defense Ministry in Tokyo this morning

Officials in Seoul have vowed to bolster their defences. A U.S. Air Force F-16 fighter jet lands on the runway at the Osan base in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, this morning

Tokyo, which has in the past warned it would shoot down any North Korean missiles that threaten its territory, responded that it could 'never tolerate' provocations from the reclusive state.

Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera has said a missile attack on the island would breach the U.S. deterrence against an attack on Japan.

He said that would be a Japanese national emergency because it would threaten Japan's existence as a nation.

Onodera said Japan in that case can exercise the right to 'collective' self-defense and activate the Aegis destroyer ship-to-air missile defense system.

His comment underscores Japan's growing military role and reverses its previous position that it can only shoot down missiles headed to Japan.

A defense law that took effect last year allows Japan's military to defend U.S. and other allies when they come under enemy attack.

Tokyo, which has in the past warned it would shoot down any North Korean missiles that threaten its territory, responded that it could 'never tolerate' provocations from the reclusive state

An A-10 Thunderbolt attack aircraft readies for takeoff at a US air base in Osan, South Korea this morning

A man looks at replicas of a North Korean Scud-B missile (right) and South Korean missiles at the Korean War Memorial in Seoul this morning

A South Korean soldier stands guard at a guard post near the demilitarised zone separating the two Koreas in Paju, South Korea

South Koreans watch a television displaying news broadcasts reporting on North Korea at a station in Seoul

In April it emerged that sales of nuclear shelters and radiation-blocking air purifiers have surged in Japan as North Korea pressed ahead with missile tests in defiance of U.N. sanctions.

A small company that specializes in building nuclear shelters, generally under people's houses, said it had received eight orders in April alone compared with six orders during a typical year.

The company, Oribe Seiki Seisakusho, based in Kobe, western Japan, also has sold out of 50 Swiss-made air purifiers, which are said to keep out radiation and poisonous gas, and is trying to get more, said Nobuko Oribe, the company's director.

Meanwhile, officials in Hawaii have revealed how they plan to respond in the event of a North Korean attack, CNN reports.

Lt. Col. Charles Anthony, director of public affairs for the state's Department of Defense, said: 'If North Korea uses an intercontinental ballistic missile, from launch to impact (in Hawaii) is approximately 20 minutes;

Vern Miyagi, administrator for Hawaii's Emergency Management Agency, added: 'Pacific Command would take about fives minutes to characterize a launch, where the missile is going, which means the population would have about 15 minutes to take shelter.

Show of defiance: Tens of thousands gathered for a huge rally in the centre of Pyongyang yesterday

Pyongyang's volatile dictator (right) warned he was 'carefully examining' plans to make 'an enveloping fire' around the US island of Guam - hours after Donald Trump (left) had told the hermit state it faces 'fire and fury like the world has never seen' over its nuclear programme

Guam, which is known as the 'Tip of the Spear', is home to thousands of American service members and their families at both Andersen Air Force Base and Naval Base Guam

Naval Base Guam (file above) is located on the southwest side of the island. About one-third of the 210-square-mile island is occupied by the military

The crews practiced intercept and formation training, which gave them an opportunity to improve their combined capabilities and tactical skills. Above a B-1B Lancer bomber is pictured during the mission

'It's not much time at all. But it is enough time to give yourself a chance to survive.'

Meanwhile, in South Korea, residents are surprisingly blase about the current situation, according to the LA Times.

With the country used to the frequent threats issued by Kim Jong-un, many sense that their neighbour is once again 'crying wolf' and will not follow through with its warnings.

University student Han Hyo-jeong, said: 'I have never thought a war would actually happen in my day, even though we are constantly threatened by North Korea.'

Another citizen, Choi Jin-soo, said: 'In case of an emergency, the government will order us where to go and what to do. If we follow directions, we will be safe.'

The government has a warning system which involves alerting civilians via automated messages to their mobile telephones.

More than 3,000 bunkers exist in Seoul with more across the country including in underground train stations and parking garages.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in has called for a 'rebirth' of his countrys defenses in the face of Kim Jong-un's nuclear threats and told commanders he wants to build a 'winning military'. Souh Korean guards are pictured at the country's border with the North today

President Moon Jae-in however, has called for a 'rebirth' of his countrys defenses in the face of Kim Jong-un's nuclear threats and told commanders he wants to build a 'winning military'.

Last night North Korea dismissed as a 'load of nonsense' warnings by U.S. President Donald Trump that it would face 'fire and fury' if it threatened the United States, and outlined on Thursday detailed plans for a missile strike near the Pacific territory of Guam.

North Korea's apparently rapid progress in developing nuclear weapons and missiles capable of reaching the U.S. mainland has fuelled tensions that erupted into a war of words between Washington and Pyongyang this week, unnerving regional powers and global investors.

Trump's unexpected remarks prompted North Korea to say on Thursday it was finalising plans to fire four intermediate-range missiles over Japan to land 30-40 km (18-25 miles) from Guam, adding detail to a plan first announced on Wednesday.

Guam, more than 3,000 km (2,000 miles) to the southeast of North Korea, is home to about 163,000 people and a U.S. Navy base that includes a submarine squadron and a Coast Guard group, and an air base.

The United States and South Korea remain technically still at war with North Korea after the 1950-53 Korean conflict ended with a truce, not a peace treaty.
A former top aide to David Davis has said Boris Johnson should be jailed over his Brexit claims in an extraordinary Twitter outburst.

James Chapman, the former chief of staff to the Brexit Secretary, said leaving the EU will be a 'catastrophe' that will harm Britain.

He called for pro EU MPs to form a new, centrist party and push through another referendum to reverse last year's historic vote.

And he suggested Mr Johnson should be hauled into prison over his claims that 350million a week could be pumped into the NHS after we quit the EU.

Mr Chapman, who went to work for Mr Davis shortly after the referendum vote and quit during the recent election, unleashed the angry outburst in a series of Twitter posts.

James Chapman, pictured on the left with his then boss the Brexit Secretary David Davis and Scotland Secretary David Mundell at a meeting in Glasgow last October. Mr Chapman attacked Brexit as a'catastrophe' and called for Britain to stay in EU in an outburst on Twitter

Attacking the Foreign Secretary for his leading role in the Brexit campaign, during which he rode on a bus promising voters that extra cash would be poured into the NHS if we left the bloc.

He wrote: 'Let's be honest, if we had an effective electoral law leading Brexiteers would now be in jail #wheresmy350maweekboris'.

Mr Chapman, who used to be political editor for the Daily Mail before he entered the political fray as an adviser, launched a no-holds-barred attack on Brexit.

He said: 'Past time for sensible MPs in all parties to admit Brexit is a catastrophe, come together in new party if need be and reverse it #euref19.'

In another message he said that he had been inundated with messages with people interested in setting up a new political party to fight Brexit.

He went on to directly tweeted several Cabinet ministers directly urging them to spell out how Brexit could backfire and harm the lives of Brits.

Former David Davis aide James Chapman said Boris Johnson should be jailed over his claims that 350million a week could be pumped into the NHS after Brexit

Mr Chapman also said Brexit would be a 'catastrophe' as part of of his Twitter outburst

The former Davis aide has called for MPs who oppose Brexit to set up a new party and campaign to hold another referendum to keep Britain in the Brussels club

In a message to Transport Secretary Chris Grayling he wrote: 'Can you confirm that airlines won't be able to sell 80% of flights from next March? How are the bilateral deals coming?'

In another message to Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, he wrote: 'Hey Jeremy Hunt you are a great chap and all but any update on how millions of UK tourists in the EU will maintain right to emergency healthcare?'

And in another message to Business Secretary Greg Clark he wrote: 'I know you don't agree with this nonsense, but can you confirm it'll take 7 years to implement alternative Euratom regime?'

Mr Chapman tweeted several Cabinet ministers to challenge them over the impact of quitting the EU on ordinary Brits. Targeting Transport Secretary Chris Grayling, he suggested travellers could be left stranded as flights will be cancelled

Turning his attack on Heath Secretary Jeremy Hunt, he warned that Brits travelling abroad could be left without healthcare cover unless an agreement is quickly drawn up

And Mr Chapman said the Euratom agreement, which regulate the use of nuclear material across the EU., will take many years of negotiation to replace if the UK leaves it after Brexit

Euratom is the EU wide deal which covers the use of nuclear material across the member states.

The extraordinary outburst sparked a storm of reaction on Twitter, with Brexit-bakers hitting out at the former aide while Remainers rushed to support him.

Lib Dem leader Vince Cable, who is campaigning for a second referendum and wants Britain to make an 'exit from Brexit' gave the former aide is backing.

Before joining the Brexit Secretary Mr Chapman was a special adviser to George Osborne - an outspoken critic of quitting the Eu and architect of 'Project Fear' while at the Treasury.

Since quitting politics to become Evening Standard editor Mr Osborne has pursued his vocal criticism of Brexit form the pages of the London newspaper.
Ms Giannasca's two puppies were viciously attacked in their own Canberra backyard

A mother and daughter returned home to a horror scene on Saturday when they found their two puppies bleeding and cowering in the laundry.

One-year-old Lady and 18-month-old Lucky were attacked after three larger dogs jumped the fence into their backyard.

The two puppies managed to crawl through the dog flap and hide in the laundry until their owners returned home.

According to her GoFundMe page, the pups' owner Vanessa Giannasca pulled up outside her Canberra home just before 2pm on Saturday to find three large dogs jumping the fence.

Ms Giannasca got the dogs off her property, she opened the laundry door to find blood splattered on the doors and walls.

After searching for her puppies, she found Lucky 'shaking and badly wounded with large scratch marks across his neck'.

One-year-old Lady and 18-month-old Lucky were attacked after 3 larger dogs jumped a fence

Ms Giannasca opened the laundry door to find her dogs' blood splattered on the walls

She then found Lady bleeding heavily from the neck in the laundry, who is still 'in critical condition at the emergency vet as she has a deep puncture wound on her jugular vein and other bites all over her body'.

The dogs were rushed to Greencross Vets at Calwell with multiple lacerations, extensive swelling and a high level of muscle trauma.

Ms Giannasca told The Canberra Times yesterday that her dogs were depressed, frightened and anxious.

Ms Giannasca is hoping to raise money to help cover treatment for her recovering puppies

Ms Giannasca is hoping to raise money to help cover treatment including the cost of Lady's blood transfusion.

She reports that the puppy is slipping and out of consciousness, while Lucky is struggling to breathe and cannot walk.

'They were in a very serious condition when they presented,' said Dr Judith Ooi, who is treating both dogs.

Canberra vet Dr Judith Ooi said that both of the dogs presented in a 'very serious condition'

'They've been on fluids and pain relief and antibiotics. They've responded very well to their treatment and we're very happy with their progress.'

It is hoped that Lady will be able to go home on Thursday, while Lucky needs further treatment for her injuries.

'You just don't think something like this could happen,' said Ms Giannasca, who must now find the money for a vet bill in excess of $5000.



'No dog deserves this,' said Ms Giannasca

The owner of the three dogs that attacked Lady and Lucky is allegedly 'not cooperating' after initially agreeing to help.

'He told us he won't help us and he believes his dogs came to watch the fight occur but did not participate,' Ms Giannasca said.

He has reportedly cancelled the deposit he paid to the vet, and claims that the dogs responsible for the attack are not his.

'Please help us save our dog. This could happen to you or anyone in their own backyard,' Ms Giannasca pleaded on the fundraising page.

'Please make sure your dogs are always secure and safe from being attacked...No dog deserves to go through this.

She praised the 'heartwarming' generosity of the community in the wake of the attack.

Ms Giannasca's two small puppies are recovering after being mauled by three larger dogs

Domestic Animal Services apparently seized three dogs and then released them back to their owner.

The dogs were then reportedly seized again, and the owner told that he could have them back when he fixed his fence.

The City Services Directorate have been contacted for comment regarding the status of the dogs.
The two-year-old restored US diplomatic relationship with Cuba was roiled Wednesday by what US officials say was a string of bizarre incidents that left a group of American diplomats in Havana with severe hearing loss attributed to a covert sonic device.

In retaliation for the hearing loss incidents the US State Department has expelled two Cuban diplomats from the US over safety concerns of American officials and launched an investigation.

Officials familiar with the probe said investigators were looking into the possibilities that the incidents were carried out by a third country such as Russia, possibly operating without the knowledge of Cuba's formal chain of command.

The US State Department has expelled two Cuban diplomats from the US over safety concerns of American officials who experienced severe hearing loss attributed to a covert sonic device while working in Cuba (Pictured, a supporter waves flags of the United States and Cuba in front of the country's embassy in Washington, DC in July 2015)

Canada has revealed that at least one of its officials in Havana has also been treated for hearing loss.

The government is actively working  including with US and Cuban authorities  to ascertain the cause, said a spokesman for Canadas diplomatic service. She added that officials did not believe Canadian tourists had been affected.

The US embassy in Cuba reopened in 2015 as part of President Barack Obamas re-establishment of diplomatic relations. Canada helped broker talks between the countries. Last autumn, several US diplomats began suffering unexplained deafness.

An investigation concluded an advanced sonic weapon had been operated outside the range of audible sound, either inside or outside officials residences.

The US expelled two Cuban diplomats from Washington in retaliation.

But investigators have apparently also looked at the possibility the incidents were carried out by a third country  such as Russia  without Cubas knowledge.

Now Canada has revealed that at least one of its officials in Havana has also been treated for hearing loss.

The government is actively working  including with US and Cuban authorities  to ascertain the cause, said a spokesman for Canadas diplomatic service. She added that officials did not believe Canadian tourists had been affected.

The US embassy in Cuba reopened in 2015 as part of President Barack Obamas re-establishment of diplomatic relations. Canada helped broker talks between the countries. Last autumn, several US diplomats began suffering unexplained deafness.

An investigation concluded an advanced sonic weapon had been operated outside the range of audible sound, either inside or outside officials residences.

The US expelled two Cuban diplomats from Washington in retaliation.

But investigators have apparently also looked at the possibility the incidents were carried out by a third country  such as Russia  without Cubas knowledge.

In the fall of 2016, a series of US diplomats began suffering unexplained losses of hearing, according to officials with knowledge of the investigation into the case.

Several of the diplomats were recent arrivals at the embassy, which reopened in 2015 as part of former President Barack Obama's reestablishment of diplomatic relations with Cuba.

Some of the diplomats' symptoms were so severe that they were forced to cancel their tours early and return to the United States, officials said.

After months of investigation, US officials concluded that the diplomats had been exposed to an advanced device that operated outside the range of audible sound and had been deployed either inside or outside their residences.

It was not immediately clear if the device was a weapon used in a deliberate attack, or had some other purpose.

The US officials weren't authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the US retaliated by expelling two Cuban diplomats from their embassy in Washington on May 23.

She did not say how many US diplomats were affected or confirm they had suffered hearing loss, saying only that they had "a variety of physical symptoms.

The Cuban government said in a lengthy statement late Wednesday that "Cuba has never permitted, nor will permit, that Cuban territory be used for any action against accredited diplomatic officials or their families, with no exception.

The statement from the Cuban Foreign Ministry said it had been informed of the incidents on February 17 and had launched an "exhaustive, high-priority, urgent investigation at the behest of the highest level of the Cuban government.

In fall 2016, the US diplomats reportedly began suffering unexplained losses of hearing. After an investigation, officials concluded that the diplomats had been attacked with an advanced sonic weapon that operated outside the range of audible sound (Pictured, the US Embassy in Havana in December 2015)

It said the decision to expel two Cuban diplomats was "unjustified and baseless.

The ministry said it had created an expert committee to analyze the incidents and had reinforced security around the US embassy and US diplomatic residences.

"Cuba is universally considered a safe destination for visitors and foreign diplomats, including US citizens," the statement said.

US officials told The Associated Press that about five diplomats, several with spouses, had been affected and that no children had been involved. The FBI and Diplomatic Security Service are investigating.

Cuba employs a state security apparatus that keeps many people under surveillance and US diplomats are among the most closely monitored people on the island.

Like virtually all foreign diplomats in Cuba, the victims of the incidents lived in housing owned and maintained by the Cuban government.

Nauert said investigators did not yet have a definitive explanation for the incidents but stressed they take them "very seriously, as shown by the Cuban diplomats' expulsions.

"We requested their departure as a reciprocal measure since some US personnel's assignments in Havana had to be curtailed due to these incidents," she said. "Under the Vienna Convention, Cuba has an obligation to take measures to protect diplomats."

US diplomats in Cuba said they suffered occasional harassment for years after the restoration of limited ties with the communist government in the 1970s, harassment reciprocated by US agents against Cuban diplomats in Washington.

The use of sonic devices to intentionally harm diplomats would be unprecedented.
News / Regional

by Staff reporter

Zanu-PF is targeting to mobilise more than 35 000 people for the Matabeleland South Presidential Youth Interface Rally in Gwanda on Saturday.The rally, to be held at Phelandaba Stadium, becomes President Mugabe's sixth provincial meeting with the Zanu-PF youths.President Mugabe, who is the Zanu-PF First Secretary, has been to Mashonaland East, Manicaland, Masvingo, Matabeleland North and Mashonaland West. Zanu-PF Matabeleland South youth chairperson Dingumuzi Phuti yesterday said all was set for the event."We are content and confident of our mobilisation strategies," he said. "With the mobilisation voltage that we have discharged in all our seven administrative districts and 168 party districts, we are going to see a crowd of over 35 000."Transport has been a factor, but we have organised a lot of lorries, buses and commuter omnibuses. I have communicated with Kudzanayi Chipanga (Zanu-PF Youth League secretary) who assisted us to go through the National Railway of Zimbabwe and they have given us 15 wagons with a carrying capacity of 1 500 people. "It will carry our people from Beitbridge."Phuti said no one would be forced to attend the rally. "We have a lot of positive responses on the ground and people are coming out on their own volition," he said. "No one is being forced and this is testimony that Zanu-PF is alive in the province."Our senior members have been helpful and we see nothing short of a highly subscribed rally." Phuti said the rally would prove that Zanu-PF "was the only game in the province.""We are a well-oiled machine and results have shown that Zanu-PF rules the roost here," Moyo said. "It is now time to continue with our mobilisation strategy as we head into next year's harmonised elections."In the 2013 harmonised elections, Zanu-PF won all the 13 constituencies in Matabeleland South. The revolutionary party reclaimed some seats that had been in the hands of the MDC since 2000.Chipanga said the revolutionary party would continue flexing its mobilisation muscle. "The provincial leadership is on the ground and as always, we are targeting large numbers," he said. "We will chip in with things like fuel, tent facilities and regalia like T-shirts and caps. The bulk of the resources we expect the host province to avail.Our aim is to translate those numbers into votes so we are going to use every opportunity to encourage our members to register as voters. "We are going into the sixth rally and to date we have been impressed with the attendance and we have achieved our goals."Members of the Women's League, war veterans, war collaborators and ex-detainees and party affiliates were invited to the event."It's a youth event, but as is the norm, we work with other organs," Chipanga said. "The President is coming to interface with the youths, hearing their concerns and everyone should be in prepared to meet the leader, President Mugabe."The Zanu-PF Youth League meetings with the President are expected to run until October when he would have visited all the country's 10 provinces.
A suspected Islamic State militant has been arrested in Turkey accused of planning an attack on a U.S. military jet at a NATO air base, local news reports.

Russian national Renat Bakiev had allegedly planned on crashing a U.S. aircraft by using a drone to disrupt its flight at Incirlik air base in southern Turkey.

Bakiev was detained after police surveillance showed him scouting the nearby city of Adana with the aim of carrying out his attack, local news reports.

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Suspect: Russian national Renad Bakiev is escorted by Turkish police officers escort in Adana, after his arrest on suspicion of planning a terror attack

Allegations: The Russian national had allegedly planned on crashing a U.S. aircraft by using a drone to disrupt its flight at Incirlik air base, south Turkey

Bakiev had also used a messaging app widely used by ISIS sympathisers to appeal for 2,800 Turkish Lira (610) from other militants to buy a drone, Adena police said.

During police interrogations, Bakiev admitted to previously having made an attempt to attack U.S. forces at the base, but that this had been unsuccessful.

Bakiev, who is said to have spent time in Syria, had also planned to attack the local Alevi community in Adana.

The Alevi religious minority is an offshoot of Shia Islam who are regarded as heretics by ISIS.

A Turkish news agency reports that Bakiev had told police that he needed to kill Alevis because he considered them 'enemies of Allah'.

NATO base: The U.S. Air Force uses Incirlik as a staging post for the air campaign against ISIS in Syria and Iraq

The U.S. Air Force uses Incirlik air base as a staging post for the air campaign against ISIS in Syria and Iraq.

ISIS have used armed drones to deadly effect in Iraq and Syria, converting commercial drones to carry small explosives.

The airbase has been at the centre of a diplomatic row between Germany and Turkey in recent months over access to NATO soldiers at bases in Turkey.

Repeated refusals by Ankara to let lawmakers visit German soldiers at Incirlik made Berlin relocate those troops to Jordan.

German MPs had also been prevented from visiting another airbase, however, a delegation is now set to arrive in Konya, in the central Anatolian region, next month.

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. It has also refused entry to at least 38,269 individuals.
Eurocrats splashed out nearly 500,000 on trips abroad in two months as details of their sky-high spending were finally published after a three-year fight to keep them secret.

EU chiefs chartered private jets to ferry them abroad when normal flights did not suit their schedules.

Their luxury travel means taxpayers had to foot hefty bills for trips which could have been made far more cheaply.

The shocking documents came to light after a three year battle by the human rights group Access Info.

But the expenses are only the tip of the iceberg as the Commission has only released two months of bills so far - from January and February last year.

EU boss jean Claude Juncker, pictured in Brussels in march, was part of a delegation which chartered a private plane for a one-night trip to Rome which cost a staggering 24,000

EU Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva ran up an overseas travel bill of more than 21,500 while fellow commissioner Christos Stylianides claimed 23,335, according to the documents

Italy's EU Commissioner Federica Mogherini, the foreign affairs chief, ran up the biggest bill claiming a staggering 90,780 (100,749 euros).

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker claimed 27,000 (29,900 euros) over the two months.

Among his eye-watering claims was one for a private plane to take him and eight others to Rome for February 25 and 26 last year - costing 23,862 (26,351 euros).

The next biggest spender was Christos Stylianides, who leads on humanitarian work, and put in a bill amounting to a staggering 23,335 (25,885 euros).

In fourth was Nemen Mimica - the commissioner for international development - who cost 23,229 (25,779 euros).

In fifth was Bulgaria's Kristalina Georgieva, who racked up more than 21,500 (23,864 euros) travelling abroad.

Next was Johannes Hahn, an Austrian in charge of enlarging the bloc, who put in invoices totalling 19,500 (21,626 euros).

And next was Slovakia's Maros Sefcovic who invoiced 18,649 (20,684 euros).

Jonathan Hill, Britain's EU Commissioner, claimed nearly 8,000 (8,863 euros) in the two months.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini ran up the biggest bill claiming a staggering 90,780 (100,749 euros)

Britain's EU Commissioner Lord Hill, pictured in 2013, ran up a bill of nearly 8,000 during January and February last year, the records show

Helen Darbishire, executive director of Access Info Europe, said they first asked for the details of the EU commissioners' travel expenses back in May 2014.

But Brussels tried to block the request claiming it breached privacy rights.

She told The Telegraph: 'They told me they couldn't give me the information because it was a question of privacy and cost. I was totally shocked.'

It took three years and over 190 more requests for the campaigners to finally emerge victorious.

But the EU is still refusing to release the claims for the rest of the year claiming it is an 'administrative burden'.

Ms Darbishire said: 'It is Kafkaesque. The pattern of resistance and obstruction has clear parallels with what happened with MPs' expenses.

'What we have is a token gesture.'

She added: 'Why are they trying to hide this? I cannot see any rationale for not letting European taxpayers know how their money is being spent.

'The EU should be setting a gold standard in terms of transparency.'

Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage, pictured in the European Parliament in Brussels in April, said the hefty travel bills are over the top and excessive

The records also reveal that the Italian politician and EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini claimed nearly 68,000 (75,000 euros) for a trip to Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan.

The most expensive overnight stay, in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, cost 568 (629 euros).

Commission spokeswoman Mina Andreeva said the private jet was chartered by Mr Juncker and the delegation because there was 'no viable commercial plane available that would fit the president's agenda'.

And in comments that will infuriate taxpayers, she insisted private flights are 'hard work' because the politicians are'reading documents with your files and marking them'.

Mr Farage said: 'Outrageous! Juncker spending 27,000 euro on a private jet at taxpayers' expense is clearly over the top especially when many normal flights are available.

'I suppose these junket expenses are all part of the make-believe 'Brexit bill' which these commissioners have plucked out of thin air and trying to extort from our Government.'
CCTV images showing several moped-riding robbers using a battering ram to smash into a shop and steal nearly 1 million worth of goods have been released.

Bobby Kennedy, 22, and Chris Costi, 19, are both currently on trial charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary and conspiracy to rob the stores across London between May and November last year.

It is alleged they were part of a gang of young men who raided 17 Three Mobile shops where they would smash their way in armed with hammers, knives, break into the stock room and swipe the latest handsets, before escaping on waiting mopeds.

A gang of moped raiders armed with hammers, knives and a gun stole 1 million worth of mobile phones and tablets in 17 raids on stores across London, Blackfriars Crown Court heard

The images show a group of men climbing inside the shop, which took place last year

A jury at Blackfriars Crown Court heard from two police officers who responded to one raid of the store in Wood Green, High Road, in August last year

Bobby Kennedy (left), 22, and Chris Costi (right), 19, are both currently on trial charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary and conspiracy to rob the stores across London between May and November last year

And other newly released pictures show the raiders beating a security guard who had been put in the shop following a previous robbery by the gang.

A jury, who were recently shown the CCTV images, at Blackfriars Crown Court heard from two police officers who responded to one raid of the store in Wood Green, High Road, in August last year.

Police arrived at the scene while raiders, who had smashed their way in with a battering ram, were still inside the shop.

It is estimated the total value of what was stolen and the damage caused to the shops was 1million.

Following their arrest both of the men were taken to a police station where it was found one was found carrying a six inch kitchen knife, the court heard.

It is estimated the total value of what was stolen and the damage caused to the shops was 1million

PC Shaun Cassidy told how he and colleague PC Kirsty Clark were charged by two helmeted moped raiders after their Tasers failed to penetrate the robbers' thick clothing

All four ended up in the street outside the Three mobile phone shop where it took another five officers to restrain two men

PC Shaun Cassidy told how he and colleague PC Kirsty Clark were charged by two helmeted moped raiders after their Tasers failed to penetrate the robbers' thick clothing.

All four ended up in the street outside the Three mobile phone shop where it took another five officers to restrain the pair.

Describing the moment he was met with one of the burglars, Pc Cassidy said: 'He came charging at me and my colleague.

'My colleague discharged her Taser and it had no effect on him. Then an incredibly violent struggle took place inside the shop.

'He charged at me and my colleague back through the door.'

The two officers wrestled with the raider in the street and PC Cassidy said: 'In the road there was another incredibly violent struggle, that lasted at least a minute.

The footage sees them going inside a stock room at a Three shop in London

Previously the jury were told the gang targeted some shops more than once, with the Walthamstow branch being hit four times

Police arrived at the scene while raiders, who had smashed their way in with a battering ram, were still inside the shop

'It took about six or seven officers in total to restrain him and to get him into handcuffs. Eventually he was overpowered.'

He told the jury he had been the police for eight years working in Tottenham and Haringey, and said he had 'never been in a more violent situation than this'.

His colleague PC Kirsty Clark, described how she and her colleagues arrived at the scene and found two men on mopeds waiting outside.

The officer said: 'I discharged my Taser but it didn't make any difference.

'It didn't have any effect because if someone is wearing leather, or thick outer wear, it doesn't have anything to connect with.'

The two men then rode off in opposite directions leaving two other members of the gang inside the shop.

Describing the confrontation, she said: 'I heard a colleague shouting 'Taser, Taser'.

PC Kirsty Clark, described how she and her colleagues arrived at the scene and found two men on mopeds waiting outside

The officer said: 'I discharged my Taser but it didn't make any difference. It didn't have any effect because if someone is wearing leather, or thick outer wear, it doesn't have anything to connect with'

Two of the then rode off in opposite directions leaving two other members of the gang inside the shop

PC Clark and colleague PC Shaun Cassidy had made their way into the store to assist the other officer.

She said: 'They charged towards him and charged at me. I Tasered one in the chest and it had no effect because of the thick clothing.

'He continued towards me, basically we were rugby tackled to the floor and that is when my colleague joined me.

'We weren't able to subdue him, at some point his helmet came off and hit me in the face during the struggle.

'He then basically picked us up and lunged us through the glass window.'

Dylan Castano-Lopez, 19, left, and Adam Atallah, 21, right. They both pleaded guilty to their parts in the conspiracy

Alfie Kennedy, 20, has also pleaded guilty to his part in the conspiracy

The court heard she received a deep cut to the back of the hand as a result of the struggle.

Previously the jury were told the gang targeted some shops more than once, with the Walthamstow branch being hit four times.

After a while the Three shop began to place security guards in stores overnight, but they were brutally attacked by gang members with chairs and hammers, while others grabbed phones and tablets from the store room, the court heard.

The phones, which were stolen in the early hours of the morning, were then sold to shops in East London from where they would be sold abroad, with some being found as far away as in Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Three other members of the gang Dylan Castano-Lopez, 19, Alfie Kennedy, 20, brother of Bobby, and Adam Atallah, 21, all previously pleaded guilty to their part in the conspiracy, the jury heard.

Kennedy, of no fixed abode, and Costi, of Hackney, east London, deny one count of conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary, and one count of conspiracy to rob.

The trial continues.
Italian police have raided the country's fourth-biggest crime syndicate after four people died in a deadly mafia ambush at an abandoned railway station.

Officials in Italy's southern Puglia region demanded a more concerted response to a lesser-known organised crime syndicate, the day after gunmen killed four people in an ambush, including two people who witnessed the hit.

The president of the Foggia province of Puglia, where the shootings occurred near an old railway station on Wednesday, is calling for more uniformed law enforcement after the ambush killed four people.

Foggia president, Francesco Miglio, requested for more highly trained investigators to combat the Foggia crime syndicate, which is blamed for 17 killings this year alone.

A Carabinieri Italian police officer looks at the body of a man who, according to Italian news agency ANSA, was among four people killed by gunmen in an apparent Mafia hit

He said: 'I am deeply shocked by the ferocity of the mafia ambush.

'The barbarity even hit two innocent workers who were silenced only because they happened to be present for the crime.'

The ambush has put the spotlight on a long-overlooked crime syndicate that authorities say arrived in Foggia - the spur of the Italian boot - decades ago as an offshoot of the Naples Camorra, expanding from asserting control in agriculture to tourism and the drug route from Albania.

The Italian parliament has sent a commission to the area to study the phenomenon at least twice in recent years, and an investigative unit of the Carabinieri police was recently assigned to Foggia for the first time.

Still, the so-called 'fourth mafia,' has never garnered national media attention like that of the Sicilian Cosa Nostra, the powerful Calabrian 'Ndrangheta or the Camorra itself.

Anti-mafia prosecutor, Franco Roberti told RAI state radio: 'This extremely barbarous form of criminality in Foggia has been too long considered a second-class mafia.'

He said it has been linked to 300 murders over the past three decades, 80 percent unsolved.

Plain clothes police officers search the area around a car where they found the body of a man on Wednesday

In Wednesday's hit, a local crime boss appears to have been the main target when gunmen traveling in a car opened fire on another vehicle, killing the boss and his driver, who was identified as his brother-in-law.

The killers then chased down another vehicle containing two local residents who apparently happened to witness the shootings, and killed them.

Investigators said they were trying to understand if the attack was the result of a vendetta between clans feuding over territory, or if it is a skirmish in a wider mafia war.

Anti-mafia investigators said in a recent report that the Foggia organised crime syndicate had two main groups, one on the Gargano peninsula and the other inland.

The report said it was considered one of the most dangerous in Italy for the number of unsolved killings and the pervasive climate of 'omerta,' an unwritten rule of silence, among the population.

Mr Roberti told the Turin daily La Stampa: 'The Foggia mafia is particularly ruthless and impenetrable, operating on a primordial level.

'As we have seen in the recent dramatic episode, it is decidedly more violent and aggressive than the more organised mafias like the 'Ndrangheta, Cosa Nostra and Camorra.'
Middle island's famous penguin population has been decimated after a fox attack.

Around 70 dead birds were found by volunteers from the Middle Island Project Working Group on Wednesday.

They were on their first trip to the island ahead of the breeding season.

Warrnambool Coastcare Landcare Network chairman Bruce Campbell described the discovery as devastating  especially as the endangered population had been thriving after almost being wiped out more than a decade ago.

Middle island's famous penguin population has been decimated after a fox attack. Above, one the dead birds found on Wednesday

He said more than a third of the penguin colony was destroyed in the attack as there had been between 180 and 190 birds on the island in late April.

Mr Campbell said Maremma dogs had not been on patrol at the time due to the dangerous conditions.

'Yesterday some of our members went to the island but they were beaten there by just a few days by a fox or foxes,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

'These foxes can get in a killing frenzy, they don't just kill for food.

'A lot of the penguins that were killed were intact and their necks were broken and they were just left to die.

Maremma dogs had not been on patrol at the time due to the dangerous conditions

The massacre wiped out more than a third of MIddle Island's famous penguin colony

'That's pretty devastating. They have just been wantonly murdered and massacred.'

The massacre is the first known attack on the island's penguin colony since the Maremma program  made famous in the 2015 movie Oddball  began in 2006.

The guardian dogs deter predators from attacking the bird population on the island, located in Stringray Bay off the coast of Warrnambool in south-west Victoria.

The program was started after foxes almost wiped out the entire population in 2005, with fewer than 10 birds surviving.

Since then, it had grown to 182 penguins at the last count, according to The Standard.

The island is closed to the public.
An 'erratic' homeless man left a security guard in critical condition after stabbing him in the chest near roulette tables at The Palazzo casino in Las Vegas, police say.

Chaos ensued near the roulette tables on Wednesday around 7am after the security guard approached the knife-wielding man on the casino floor.

When the guard confronted the suspect about the knife he was holding, he was stabbed in the chest.

Chaos ensued near the roulette tables at The Palazzo casino in Las Vegas on Wednesday around 7am after a homeless man stabbed a security guard after being confronted about a knife

Police arrested the suspect shortly after he fled the scene. He was found the The Mirage, a short walk down the Las Vegas Strip

The suspect, who is a homeless man who frequents the area, fled from the hotel and was later arrested by police.

The motive is still unclear, though Las Vegas police spokeswoman Laura Meltzer told KSNV that the suspect was behaving erratically.

He was arrested near The Mirage - just a short walk down the Las Vegas Strip - after the incident.

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police spokesman Larry Hadfield credited casino security staff and the police department's counterterrorism surveillance center to the suspect's quick capture.

'The hotels provide a huge amount of security, and we work with them very closely when it comes to this,' Hadfield said.

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police spokesman Larry Hadfield credited casino security staff and the police department's counterterrorism surveillance center for finding the suspect quickly

Several police vehicles were seen at the scene following the stabbing. Police cordoned off slot machines and roulette tables

While police investigated the blocked-off area in the casino, the rest of the hotel and resort remained open on Wednesday

The security guard, whose name has not been released, was taken to University Medical Center in critical condition.

'He's going to survive this incident,' Hadfield told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. 'Our prayers go out to his family and friends.'

Following the incident, a dozen slot machines and The Palazzo's roulette tables were blocked off with crime tape as police conducted their investigation.

The rest of the hotel and casino, however, remained open.

Wednesday's stabbing comes just days after a man fired a gunshot toward a group of people near the Bellagio. No one was injured in the incident.
A kayaker got a fright when a 3ft-long barred grass snake swam alongside his boat as he paddled down a British river.

Photographer Andy Hiscock, 57, was shocked to see the reptile, which tried to warn him off with a bite, when he was on the Beaulieu River in the New Forest.

He came across the remarkable sight while observing wildlife with his friend, initially believing it to be a floating piece of wood or a twig from a tree.

Photographer Andy Hiscock (pictured), 57, was shocked to see the reptile when he was on the Beaulieu River in the New Forest

The snake was undaunted by Mr Hiscock's kayak and even swam up to the 16ft boat

The barred grass snake was only recognised as its own distinct species from other grass snakes this month, meaning there are now four species of snake in the UK.

The snake was undaunted by Mr Hiscock's kayak and even swam up to the 16ft boat.

Mr Hiscock, who works as an engineer for a building firm and lives in the Isle of Wight, gently helped the creature onto the boat so he could get a closer look.

He said: 'I was quite chuffed because I have never seen a grass snake before, even though I've seen about 100 adders.

'Me and my friend came over from the Island and, on the way back, I noticed something I thought was a twig and then saw it was moving.

Mr Hiscock, who works as an engineer for a building firm and lives in the Isle of Wight, gently helped the creature onto the boat so he could get a closer look

'I helped it up on to the boat. It was raining so I didn't want to get my camera out, but it was such a rare opportunity, I had to do it.

'My friend said it went to bite us twice when it came alongside the boat and I was getting my camera. They are not venomous, so I think it was just warning us.'

Grass snakes are often found living close to water and, although they are strong swimmers, rarely venture far into rivers or ponds preferring to hunt amphibians on the edges.

The Beaulieu River runs for 12 miles through the New Forest and is known as a good spot for seeing wildlife.

Mr Hiscock said he visits the mainland most weekends in order to look at the rare animals that can be found along the river.

Grass snakes are often found living close to water and, although they are strong swimmers, rarely venture far into rivers or ponds preferring to hunt amphibians on the edges

He said: 'I can see so much of the wildlife from the kayak. You get seals and avocets, which are quite rare birds.

'I have said to my wife so many times that I know where to find adders, but I have not seen a grass snake.

'When I actually saw it, it was pretty spectacular. I think the photos show it off nicely.

'I am not scared of snakes. I know a lot of people are scared, so I won't send photos like this to some of my friends on Facebook because I know they are scared.'
Advertisement

Dramatic before and after pictures capture the sheer devastation caused by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake to a Chinese scenic spot.

The earthquake hit China's Sichuan province on Tuesday evening killing at least 20 and injuring 431.

Jiuzhaigou, a popular national park was one of the worst affected areas and had more than 30,000 tourists on site at the time the quake struck.

 Slide me  Pictures show the Wuhua Lake scenic spot before and after the earthquake struck Jiuzhaigou national park

 Slide me  The famous Sparkling Lake is seen destroyed (left) following the 7.0 magnitude earthquake in China's Sichuan province. Before (right), the lake had been the park's top attraction

The national park is considered to be one of China's most beautiful scenic spots with more than 140 crystal clear lakes.

Video footage shows the effect of landslides caused by the quake. In the park, huge holes can be seen in the mountains while the clear crystal blue waters have turned brown. Sparkling Lake, one of the park's most famous spots suffered severe damage.

Local government officials confirmed that the area was at its maximum capacity of 41,000 visitors just days before the quake. At the time the quake struck there were around 30,000 tourists on site.

At least six visitors and two local residents are among the dead.

National tourism authorities have issued the highest safety warning for Jiuzhaigou, telling tourists to stay away. Travel agencies have stopped organising trips to the area amid recurring aftershocks and landslides.

 Slide me  A car lies in a mountain creek beside a road that hit by a rockslide after an earthquake outside Jiuzhaigou (left). This section of the park is close to the entrance and is the point where two different coloured rivers meet (right)

 Slide me  View of a landslide after the 7.0-magnitude earthquake in Jiuzhaigou County (left). The park is declared a World Heritage Site

The quake occurred near Jiuzhai Valley, a famous national park, in the western part of the country

According to AFP, the areas surrounding Jiuzhaigou have been left completely deserted.

The Sichuan earthquake administration, which also measured the quake at a magnitude of 7.0, said the epicentre of the tremor was in Ngawa prefecture, which is largely populated by ethnic Tibetans, many of whom are nomadic herders.

Chinese paramilitary police carry a survivor after an earthquake in Jiuzhaigou county, China's Sichuan province

Tending to the hurt: Injured people are pulled out from a bus that was involved in a crash during the earthquake

A rescuer helps evacuate a woman following an earthquake in Sichuan province (left). A strip of land between the Sparkling Lake sections collapses at Jiuzhaigou valley

Rescuers work at the scene, Sichuan Province Earthquake hits China. The quake has caused devastation to the region

The area was rattled by a number of aftershocks on Wednesday.

State television said electricity had now largely been restored to the affected areas and the military was also sending rescuers to help with relief efforts. Jiuzhaigou airport was operating as normal after the runway was checked for damage.

State television said electricity had now largely been restored to the affected areas and the military was also sending rescuers to help with relief efforts. Jiuzhaigou airport was operating as normal after the runway was checked for damage.

State television said electricity had now largely been restored to the affected areas and the military was also sending rescuers

A tourist who was seriously injured in the 7.0 magnitude earthquake is treated at a hospital in Mianyang

Rescuers carry relief supplies in quake-hit Jiuzhaigou County, southwest China's Sichuan Province
Ben Cousins is facing even more time behind bars after he reportedly failed a drug test in prison.

The disgraced AFL star will no longer be eligible for parole at the end of August and has been ordered to complete more rehabilitation at Acacia prison, 9News reports.

Cousins' attorney Michael Tudori told the network that he failed the drug test when he was first remanded in custody.

Mr Tudori insisted that Cousins is 'currently drug-free and in positive spirits.'

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Ben Cousins is facing even more time behind bars after he reportedly failed a prison drug test

The 38-year-old was supposed to be eligible for release in two weeks after serving nearly six months in jail for repeatedly breaching a violence restraining order (VRO) against his ex.

But now, his application for parole has been delayed after the board ordered him to complete further rehab courses at the prison, located east of Perth.

He was sentenced to a year in jail in March after pleading guilty to 11 charges, including aggravated stalking, breaching a VRO and drug possession.

When the former West Coast Eagle and Richmond Tiger was arrested, police found eight grams of meth on him.

The 38-year-old was supposed to be eligible for release in two weeks. Above, he is pictured leaving the Fremantle Magistrates Court in Perth in January

The VRO was taken out by his former partner Maylea Tinecheff, with whom he has two young children.

Cousins had called Ms Tinecheff 371 times in February before his arrest, including 50 times in one day.

He called her 437 times in October, 542 times in November (including 103 times in one day), 307 times in December, and 345 times in January.

Prosecutors said Ms Tinecheff feared for her safety and that of her children because Cousins was unpredictable when under the influence of drugs.
Veteran actor Bill Murray went to see Groundhog Day the musical twice in a row in the ultimate example of life imitating art.

The comedy legend played the lead role in the 1993 movie alongside Andi MacDowell.

The story follows grumpy weatherman Phil Connors who is sent to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania to report on an annual event in the critically acclaimed comedy.

Comedy legend Bill Murray, left, attended Groundhog Day the Musical for the second night in a row at the August Wilson Theater on Broadway to the delight of fan and the cast

Murrey, pictured here with the cast of the Tony-nominated musical starred in the 1993 film

In the film, as with the musical, Connors kept waking up on the same day 'Groundhog Day' before attempting to woo Andi MacDowell's character.

According to the New York Daily News, Murray, 66, appeared at the August Wilson Theatre on Tuesday night to watch the musical, which has been nominated for seven Tony Awards.

Somewhat appropriately, Murray was back again to see the show on Wednesday.
Opinion / Columnist

"Mugabe and the senior echelons of Zimbabwe's military share a nationalist liberation ideology wrought during the fight for independence from white rule during the 1960s and 1970s. Mugabe and ZANU-PF have carefully maintained and updated this ideology to fit changes in the political climate," wrote Alexander Noyes, a Senior Associate at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.What ideology is Noyes talking about?Before independence and a few decades after; Mugabe had talked about the black nationalist ideology with the confidence and conviction of one has drunk and bathed in the distant lake. But after 37 years of corrupt and tyrannical rule, the Zanu PF ideology and all it had promised have all turned out to be a mirage.Robert Mugabe himself would be chuffed to bits to read that there is someone out stupid enough to still believe in the mythical Zanu PF ideology. Mugabe would only be too glad to fund Noyes' studies and wider circulation of his finding for no other reason than to help spruce the tyrant's soiled reputation!An honest study, can comb through all Mugabe has ever said and done (his is the only voice ever heard in Zanu PF, everyone else has been no more than a duckling programmed to follow his lead, no questions asked) in search of this Zanu PF nationalism liberation ideology. All one will find is a commitment to defeat the white colonial regime at all cost. The war of liberation has costed the nation dearly in lost treasure, human suffering and human lives and, worst of all, it allowed the power-hungry but intellectually challenged minions to get into power.After independence Mugabe pursued his "scientific" socialism insisting it would transform the country into this idyllic Marxist  Maoist utopia with guaranteed mass prosperity, "gutsa ruzhinji", as Mugabe promised. The test of the pudding is in the eating. After 37 years of Zanu PF gross mismanagement and rampant corruption we have mass poverty instead of the promised mass prosperity.In 1980 Zimbabwe was one of the richest countries in African with potential to do even better. Today Zimbabweans are the poorest in Africa.So, what went wrong with Mugabe's "scientific socialism"?The two threads that has ran through all Mugabe's bankrupt "scientific socialism" are the regime's insatiable appetite and its reckless spending. No one has ever prospered from reckless spending; ask the prodigal son!Mugabe's resolve to defeat the white colonial regime at all cost was matched by his post-independence resolve to stay in power at all cost. Zanu PF has ridden roughshod over the people's freedoms and human rights including the right to free, fair and credible elections and even the right to life. 1980 marked the end of the civil war to end white colonial rule and the beginning of new ruthless fight to impose Zanu PF political domination.Mugabe has used Zanu PF youths and women's league members, the first two decades, and thereafter by the rogue war veterans; to harass, beat and rape to intimidate and silence Zanu PF opponents and to coerce the public to vote for the party. The Army, Police and CIO have carried out the heavy stuff of political murders. Over 30 000 innocent Zimbabweans have been murdered in cold blood to establish and retain the de facto Zanu PF one-party dictatorship.It was none other than Mugabe himself who has encourage the culture of political violence, vote rigging and lawlessness. He has corrupted the Police, Judiciary, ZEC and other State Institutions forcing them to promote Zanu PF's no-regime-change mantra in violation of their statutory duties of upholding the rule of law, etc.Whatever pretentions Mugabe had of being guided by some political and/or economic ideology have all been washed away; leaving behind a despot, incapable of holding any discernible ideology, whose whole life is governed by his insatiable and primeval greed for power and wealth."In 2000, ZANU-PF faced its first real political threat in the rise of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) opposition party. In response, ZANU-PF linked resistance to imperialism in the 19th century to the war of liberation in the 1970s and the expropriation of white-owned land in the early 2000s to reward war veterans. This updated ideology promotes a view of Zimbabwe's politics as a struggle between revolutionary "patriots" (liberation war veterans) and "sell-outs" (the opposition)," continued Noyes. (See Zimeye opinion for full article)"This ideology continues to run deep in the senior levels of Zimbabwe's military. It is the glue that binds Mugabe to his generals and thereby lessens the likelihood of a military coup as long as Mugabe is president."To suggest that the people of Zimbabwe are still fooled by Mugabe and Zanu PF lies, propaganda and damned lies that the regime still cares about them is an insult to every thinking Zimbabwean. The people of Zimbabwe would have booted the regime out of office many, many moons ago if the regime was not rigging elections.The very fact that the regime's damned lies even have any traction with ill-informed individuals like Noyes is because the MDC have failed to articulate a counter narrative to debunk the propaganda. Worse still, it is the MDC's failure to implement the democratic reforms designed to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections that has allowed the tyrant's reign to last this far.It is the looted wealth that has helped Mugabe keep his greedy but wasteful Zanu PF thugs in party and security services united this far. However, the country's worsening economic meltdown not only affected the ordinary people, even those in the regime's ruling elite inner most circle have not been spared. It is the fear of poverty that is fuelling the dog-eat-dog tearing Zanu PF apart as member fight over the dwindling wealth.It was worsening economic situation that force Mugabe to "baby dump" former VP Joice Mujuru and hundreds of her supporters. It was the regime's failure to pay the rogue war veterans' children's fees, their pension and other allowances that forced the rogues to confront Mugabe and demand his departure from office.If the person who takes over from Mugabe can guarantee the top brass in the security services their present lifestyles there will never be coup in Zimbabwe. Zanu PF ideology is the glue holding the party together. Yeah right! What does General Chiwenga know or care about ideology!What Zanu PF and security sector buffoons like Chiwenga have failed to grasp, even now with all the evidence before them, is that the corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship is economically and politically unsustainable. The party is imploding and the country must dismantle the dictatorship if it is not the dragged into the abyss with the party.
A Muslim man is taking legal action against Virgin Atlantic after claiming he was taken off a plane for 'innocently' mentioning 9/11.

Mohammad Khan said he was escorted off a flight from London Heathrow Airport to Atlanta, Georgia, by police after a 'massive overreaction' by cabin crew.

The 26-year-old Middlesex University business graduate from Cricklewood, North West London, alleged that he had been 'racially and religiously profiled'.

Mohammad Khan is taking legal action against Virgin Atlantic after claiming he was taken off a plane for 'innocently' mentioning 9/11

Mr Khan said the incident came after he had been talking to an air stewardess and another passenger while the plane was taxiing on the runway in January 2016.

He told the London Evening Standard that the passenger, who he had not met before, complained about how long it took to get through security at the airport.

Mr Khan claimed he said to the man that 'there's been more security since 9/11', before asking the stewardess: 'I bet your job has changed since 9/11.'

But he said the air hostess looked 'stunned' and the flight was turned around straight away and taken back to the terminal where police took him off the plane.

The Muslim man was escorted off the Virgin Atlantic plane from London to Atlanta (file image)

Mr Khan told Standard reporter Matt Watts: 'I was racially and religiously profiled. It was a complete overreaction to completely innocent and harmless comments.

'I know this would not have happened if I was a white man in his 60s who had done the same thing. It totally ruined my trip and I felt humiliated.'

Speaking to MailOnline, he added: 'I felt that I was treated much differently compared to other passengers who had committed to full on air rage.

'Virgin Atlantic did not charge me for the fuel or two hour delay - obviously they did not charge me as they knew I was totally innocent.'

Mr Khan was on the first part of a journey to an interview in Colombia, where he is pictured

Mr Khan continued: 'When the police came onboard they saw a completely peaceful plane with everyone appearing calm and relaxed.'

He also claimed that Virgin staff said he could get on the next flight provided that he paid - and so he could not understand why they couldn't let him back on the plane.

Mr Khan - who was on the first part of a journey to an interview for a business internship in Medellin, Colombia - has been fighting for compensation since.

A Virgin Atlantic spokesman said: 'We can confirm that a passenger was escorted from flight VS103 on January 8, 2016 by police after multiple customers and crew reported hearing highly inappropriate comments concerning security.

The plane was taken back to the Heathrow terminal (file image) where police escorted him off

'This is not a decision we take lightly and although such security events are rare, we have a responsibility to report them to the relevant authorities to ensure the safety and security of our aircraft, customers and crew.

'Our team has been in regular contact with Mr Khan and his lawyers, and we have offered to refund his flights.'

Mr Khan also highlighted the case of Chinese woman Liu Wei who claimed she had been verbally assaulted by a fellow passenger on board a Virgin flight to Shanghai.

The passenger alleged that a white man had called her racist names, including 'you f***ing Chinese pig', after she boarded flight VS250 from Heathrow in March 2016.

Miss Liu also claimed that cabin crew threatened to throw her off the flight  and Sir Richard Branson sent out an apologetic tweet after learning of her case.
A newborn baby has been rescued after being abandoned and buried alive in a disused septic tank in West Java, Indonesia.

Locals had heard the baby's cries from under pieces of wood, rocks, leaves and mesh in the old tank, which villagers had been using as a wastage dump.

Video from the miraculous rescue, shows the rubble being removed to uncover the tiny baby.

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Saved: This is the heart-wrenching moment a newborn baby is rescued after being buried alive under a pile of rubbish in a septic tank

The baby boy was rushed to hospital where he is recovering after being found in the village of Gantar in the Indramayu district of the region.

One villager said: 'There were tears. I along with other residents went into grounds of the empty house and it is true, there was a baby without any shawls or clothes.'

They told local media the baby had suffered a cut to his head while the rotting placenta was found nearby.

They added: 'After we brought to the midwife we immediately took the baby to the health center Puskesmas Haurgeulis and then there was a referral to Bhayangkara hospital. We also immediately reported it to the police.'

Abandoned: The boy is believed to have been buried alive shortly after birth

Discovery: Locals heard the baby boy crying from under pieces of wood, rocks, leaves and mesh near a village in West Java

Recovering: The baby boy was rushed to hospital where he is being nursed back to health

Finding: Locals had been using the old septic tank to dump waste and rubbish

Police arrived at the scene and searched the house but there was nobody inside. It is not known if the owners are linked to the abandoned baby.

Indramayu Police Chief Adjunct Senior Commissioner Fajarudin Arif said officers are now investigating who the child belongs to.

He said officers will conduct DNA tests on the baby to try to trace the parents.

He added: 'The main thing the baby survived and they were taken to intensive care and are being treated in hospital.

'As soon as we follow up the findings of the investigation into this baby we will surely find the parents.'
In the spirit of his Romantic predecessors, Victorian novelist Thomas Hardy famously declared: 'Time changes everything except something within us which is always surprised by change.'

True to his words, a former vicarage where Hardy's grandfather worked as a servant two centuries ago is now being sold as a 1.5million family home.

The Old Rectory is in the picturesque village of Melbury Osmond, Dorset, which Hardy called Little Hintock in his 1887 novel The Woodlanders.

The village clearly held a place in Hardy's heart as it was where his mother Jemima was born and raised.

Stunning: A former vicarage where Thomas Hardy's grandfather worked as a servant has gone on sale of 1.5million

Garden: The Old Rectory is in the picturesque village of Melbury Osmond, Dorset, which the Victorian writer called Little Hintock in his 1887 novel The Woodlanders

Interior: The village clearly held a place in Hardy's heart as it was where his mother Jemima was born and raised

The Grade II listed property was owned by the church until 1974, before it became a family home.

The Old Rectory is believed to date from the 1600s and records appear to show George Hand, Jemima's father, was a servant in the clergyman's household in 1801. But he was a drinker and died young.

Hardy's mother Jemima worked as a servant for the Earl of Ilchester, whose family seat was the nearby Melbury House.

She met Hardy's father, a builder also called Thomas, and the couple got married at the church in Melbury Osmond in December 1839 before having their son.

Outside: The Grade II listed property was owned by the church until 1974, before it became a family home

Kitchen: The Old Rectory is believed to date from the 1600s and records appear to show George Hand, Jemima's father, was a servant in the clergyman's household in 1801

Tess of the D'Urbervilles writer Thomas Hardy was known to have visited Melbury House from time to time at the invitation of Lord Ilchester and visited his mother's village.

Ian Fawcett and his family bought the Old Rectory in 1979 and have modernised the home over the years while retaining its original character features.

The Old Rectory's link to The Woolanders Hardy certainly based some of his stories in the village of Melbury Osmond, home of the rectory. In the preface to The Woodlanders he refers to Melbury as Little Hintock and Melbury House as Hintock House. The story follows heroine Grace Melbury and her childhood sweetheart, an honest woodsman called Giles Winterborne, in the small woodland village of Little Hintock, and Hardy said it was his favourite of his novels. Advertisement

The house has a sitting room, dining room, kitchen/breakfast room, study, studio, cellar, six bedrooms, plus two attic rooms that can be bedrooms.

It sits in an acre of land with a substantial range of outbuildings which could be converted, subject to planning consent.

The property has a stunning outlook across the valley, a gravel courtyard, an ornamental pond and a sun terrace.

Dr Fawcett, 73, a retired consultant physician, said: 'I came to work as a consultant in Yeovil hospital and we found this house.

'Melbury Osmond is a very pretty village in Dorset and it meant we could live in the countryside but still have good access into the town.

'It was a relatively unchanged farming community when we first moved, it was like stepping back in time to a bit of Old England.

'The village is very friendly and has a great atmosphere. It borders the Ilchester estate and Hardy's mother, Jemima, was born here and got married in the church.

'Jemima's father, George Hand, was a labourer and possibly worked in this house for a time.

Grounds: Ian Fawcett and his family bought the Old Rectory in 1979 and have modernised the home over the years while retaining its original character features

Plush: The house has a sitting room, dining room, kitchen/breakfast room, study, studio, cellar, six bedrooms, plus two attic rooms that can be bedrooms

'Jemima worked as a servant for the Earl of Ilchester, in Melbury House and in London. She moved with her husband Thomas Hardy to Higher Bockhampton, which is where their son Thomas Hardy, the novelist, was born.

'Hardy the novelist had quite a strong affection for Melbury Osmond and it is one of the places referred to in his book The Woodlanders, where he referred to it as Little Hintock and Melbury House became Hintock House.

'We've brought up our three children and been very happy here. It's a great house and very good for having visitors. It will be a wrench to leave but we need to find something smaller now all our family have moved away.

'It's listed so obviously we've retained the character of the house, which has lovely exposed beams and Ham stone mullion windows. It's a lovely family home.'

The house is on the market with estate agents Symonds & Sampson.
A dozen migrants arrived off the coast of the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in North Africa riding jetskis on the same day that hundreds attempted to climb over the fence along the land border.

A 28-year-old man from Guinea died before he could be rescued after falling off his jetski during the seaborne attempt.

Meanwhile, about 700 migrants who tried to scale the 20-foot high barbed-wire fences around Ceuta were repelled by Moroccan and Spanish authorities after a crossing attempt at the Tarajal post failed.

The news comes as migration experts warn that heading to Spain to break into the European Union is becoming increasingly popular, with 6,000 taking the route so far this year.

Pictured: Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta. Hundreds of migrants attempted to storm the border today

The Spanish outposts of Ceuta and Melilla in northern Morocco, which have the European Union's only land borders with Africa, are being targeted by migrants keen to break into Europe

Footage of migrants from Africa sprinting over the border from the Moroccan side while it was still dark on Monday

More than 180 migrants stormed the border on Monday. Over 700 were repelled today

Spain and Morocco agreed yesterday to close the Tarajal post to freight traffic for a week because of recent migrant crossing attempts.

Pedestrian and passenger vehicles were still allowed.

Every year, thousands of sub-Saharan African migrants living illegally in Morocco try to scale the border fences surrounding Ceuta and Melilla, Spain's other North African enclave, in a bid to enter Europe.

On January 1 more than 1,000 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa tried to scale the fence at Ceuta during a violent assault in which one officer lost an eye.

At about 5am on Monday, 186 migrants stormed the border and reached European Union soil.

Once there, they celebrated, raising their hands in joy as they ran through the streets - with one man kneeling on the floor.

The migrants were eventually rounded up and taken to a reception centre, where they can apply for asylum in Spain.

Migration experts warned today that Africans are seeking a cheaper and easier path to Europe, with a rising number setting sail for Spain from Morocco using toy dinghies and jetskis.

The voyage from Libya across the Mediterranean Sea to Italy remains the most popular route - 95,000 migrants have set sail this year - yet numbers are down compared with 2016, while sea arrivals to Spain from Morocco have more than doubled and are now at 6,000.

A police spokesman said Monday's sprinting through manned posts was very rare

Ceuta and Melilla, another Spanish territory on Morocco's northern border, have the EU's only land borders with Africa

Most migrants are crammed into flimsy toy boats, raising fears over their safety, said Krzysztof Borowski of the agency.

'The use of these playthings is troubling ... one large wave and they can flip over and leave people in danger,' he said. 'These toy boats are very hard to spot at sea for rescue operations.'

The bodies of 25 migrants have been recovered along the route this year, but the total number of deaths is likely to be far higher as most corpses are never found, Borowski added.

While the average price demanded by smugglers for the journey has doubled over the last year to about 1,000 euros (900 pounds), it is still cheaper than other routes, Frontex said.

Smugglers in Morocco offer different options to migrants - the less risky the trip, the higher the price - ranging from toy dinghies to speedboats to jetskis, with the crossing taking only 30 minutes but costing up to 3,000 euros (2,700 pounds).

Spain's maritime rescue service, which includes ships, planes and helicopters, rescues migrants at sea and takes them to cities such as Almeria, Malaga, Tarifa, with the Spanish Red Cross on hand to offer aid from healthcare to food and water.
An elderly widower has been found guilty of murdering his wife by poisoning her with antifreeze three years after claiming her death was a mystery.

David Vatter, 69, was convicted of murder in Verona, Virginia, on Monday for killing his wife Shelby in April 2014 by spiking her drink with the deadly liquid.

The 76-year-old woman died in hospital three weeks after ingesting large amounts of antifreeze. Her death stumped authorities at the time.

At the time, her trucker husband took part in media interviews to tell of his grief and disbelief over his wife's death.

In the weeks that followed, police discovered that the couple, who were married for almost 20 years but had no children, were in dire straits financially.

Their house was in foreclosure and David mistakenly believed his wife had a $70,000 life insurance policy.

David Vatter, 69, has been convicted of murdering his 76-year-old wife Shelby (right) in April 2014 by poisoning her with antifreeze

Three days before she was taken to hospital after ingesting the antifreeze, Shelby, a retired beautician, told friends she thought her husband would 'bump her off'.

When she died three weeks later, her husband tried to sell her wedding ring, purses, some dinnerware and her pet bird at a local waffle restaurant.

During his trial in August, friends of Shelby, who was a retired beautician, came forward to reveal that she lived in fear he would kill her.

It's a motive as old as time. It's money. Prosecutor Tim Martin

She told one person that she was not worried about their financial woes, telling them her husband would 'bump her off' before they lost their home.

She is also said to have told them: 'You don't know David like I do'.

David was arrested in December last year as the evidence against him mounted.

According to experts who testified in court, the woman died with 25 times the lethal dose of antifreeze in her system.

Local Virginia newspaper The Newsleader, which attended the trial, reported on Thursday that Shelby drank between seven and 14 ounces of ethylene glycol, the deadly chemical found in antifreeze.

Prosecutors said it would have been a 'really painful way to go'.

The couple's home was in foreclosure when Shelby died. Prosecutors said David mistakenly believed that she had a $70,000 life insurance policy and said his motive to kill her was money

Soon after his wife's death, David took her wedding ring, her purses, her pet bird and some dinnerware to the Waffle Inn to try to sell them

Police found three containers of RV antifreeze at the couple's home after Shelby's death. Two full containers were in the garage and one half-full one was in David's shed.

He said that his wife had accidentally bought the containers years earlier, unaware that they it was the wrong type for their car. He said he used half of one can anyway.

During his trial, neighbors told how they saw him leaving the house with a garbage bag minutes after paramedics took his wife to the hospital.

On the day of her death three weeks after taking ill, David suddenly left the hospital when doctors told him his wife's condition was worsening.

He claimed he went home to feed their dog, a story which neighbors discounted by revealing that they had been looking after the animal.

Shelby told friends she feared her husband would 'bump her off' three days before she was taken to hospital

In an interview in 2014 with NBC, he said he had no idea how his wife came to ingest the antifreeze.

He said she was a 'caring' person and fondly recalled how they fell in love after the end of his first marriage in the 1990s.

'Sparks flew, we fell in love, and we got married.

'My wife was a very caring person. If somebody had a heart that wasn't right, she always tried to change their heart back the right way.

'We all miss her, family and friends. The people that really knew us - they know how I felt about my wife.'

Within 20 minutes of finding him guilty on Monday, the jury recommended that David be sentenced to life behind bars. They also recommended a $100,000 fine.

On Monday, prosecutor Tim Martin said: 'It's a motive as old as time. It's money'.

David maintained his innocence throughout the trial, claiming his wife was suicidal.

His lawyer said he was a 'good man and husband'. A judge will hand down his sentence at a later date.
Israel is pushing ahead with plans to build a giant underground wall around Gaza and into the Mediterranean Sea to stop Hamas using underground tunnels to attack the country.

Major General Eyal Zamir said Israel will 'accelerate the construction of the barrier', deemed necessary after Palestinian fighters burrowed into the country's territory during the 2014 Gaza war.

General Zamir, who is head of Israel's Southern Command, said he hopes that construction will be complete in two years.

But he also explained that the wall could potentially lead to a 'dangerous escalation' in relations with Hamas despite being built entirely within Israeli territory.

Pictured: Heavy machinery spotted along Israel's border with the Gaza Strip earlier this year. Major General Eyal Zamir said the wall should now be finished within two years

The project comes after the government faced heavy criticism over Hamas's use of tunnels in the 2014 Gaza war, with a state inquiry earlier this year accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and army top brass of having been unprepared for the threat.

According to the Jerusalem Post, Hamas has grown its naval commando unit to 1,500 men following the end of that war.

As recently as Tuesday, a rocket was fired from Gaza and landed near Ashkelon in Israel.

In June, meanwhile, Israel discovered tunnels built underneath schools in Gaza and demanded a UN response.

Army radio reported that the wall, made with concrete planks and sensors, will stretch 40 miles.

Israeli officers stand at the entrance to a tunnel said to have been used by Palestinian militants for cross-border attacks from the Gaza Strip in the 2014 war

It is expected to be about 20 feet high and 130 feet deep, costing close to three billion shekels (640million).

It will also include an offshore barrier intended to stop sea-based commando attacks.

Construction Minister Yoav Galant, also a former military commander, said the wall will be built in Israeli territory parallel to the border fence sealing off the Palestinian enclave run by Islamist movement Hamas.

'The fact that the work will be located in our sovereign territory rules out any justification for attacks against those working there,' Galant told army radio.

A military official made similar comments on condition of anonymity, saying 'the barrier's purpose is defensive only.'

Israel uses defensive walls in other parts of the country, including the controversial Israeli separation wall dividing Israel from the West Bank (pictured)

Pictured: Workers along the Israeli kibuttz of Kramim, south of the West Bank city of Hebron earlier this year, building a similar wall to the one that will protect Israel from tunnels dug in Gaza

Zamir also said that 'Hamas is digging tunnels under civilian homes in the Gaza Strip and will be held responsible if we are forced to attack targets,' he said.

'Residents must understand that we consider those buildings as legitimate targets and that those who live there are putting their lives in danger.'

Attack tunnels, 32 of which Israel has claimed it destroyed, were a key weapon for Hamas during the 2014 Gaza war.

Hamas also built a vast network of tunnels under Gaza's border with Egypt to smuggle goods and allegedly weapons.

The Israeli army found and destroyed several tunnels during the 2014 war, while Egypt has also destroyed smuggling tunnels.

Israel and Hamas have fought three wars in the Gaza Strip since the group wrested control of the territory from the rival Fatah movement of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in 2007.

Destroying the tunnels and stopping Gaza-based Palestinian militants, particularly Hamas, from launching rockets into Israel were the key declared goals of Israel's 2014 offensive.

The war killed 2,251 Palestinians and left 100,000 homeless, according to the United Nations.

On the Israeli side, 74 people were killed, all but six of them soldiers.
President Donald Trump refused to say whether Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell should step down Thursday  after blasting his fellow Republican online and calling it a 'disgrace' he couldn't move an Obamacare repeal bill.

Trump got asked about McConnell after repeatedly attacking him on Twitter, following McConnell's own statement about Trump's political inexperience.

The two had a tense phone call this week.

'I said, Mitch, get to work and lets get it done. They should have had this last one done. They lost by one vote. For a thing like that to happen is a disgrace,' Trump fumed, standing outside his Bedminster, New Jersey golf club.

President Donald Trump browbeat Mitch McConnell, the top-ranking Senate lawmaker from his own party on Wednesday after the GOP leader chalked up legislative challenges to Trump's 'excessive expectations'

Asked whether he thought McConnell should step down as Senate leader, Trump responded: 'Well Ill tell you what, if he doesnt get repeal and replace done and if he doesnt get taxes done meaning cuts and reform [plus infrastructure] ... If he doesnt get them done then you can ask me that question.'

Ask to clarify his statement, Trump said: 'You can ask me the question. That means ask me that question. Lets hope he gets it done.'

Trump brought up repeated GOP passage of Obamacare repeal legislation under President Obama, but the inability to get a bill to his desk.

'All I hear is repeal and replace,' Trump said. 'And then I get there [the White House] and I say wheres the bill I wanna sign it? First day. And they dont have it,' he vented.

The House cleared a bill this year. Trump held a victory rally at the White House, but then said the bill was too 'mean.'

President Donald Trump blasted Sen. Mitch McConnell, speaking at his golf club in Bedminister, New Jersey

Trump's McConnell scorecard has some difficult objectives. Lawmakers have been striving for tax reform for years, and Republicans won't get much help from Democrats if the plan becomes a major bid to slash taxes for the wealthy while allowing wealthy american corporations to repatriate billions from overseas. Some analyses have the upper middle classes experiencing a tax hike under the Trump plan.

Democrats so far have held firm on a planned infrastructure priority that Trump spoke about. 'I want a very big infrastructure bill, where were working on that very hard already. And we can do that. And we may even get bipartisan on infrastructure, but we want to have it,' Trump said.

A Senate Obamacare repeal bill bill pushed by the White House went down just before Trump and lawmakers left Washington, despite lobbying efforts by Trump and the administration. Three Republicans voted against the bill, including ailing Arizona Sen. John McCain, who is battling brain cancer.

Trump harsh words for McConnell came hours after President Donald Trump hurled yet another attack at the Senate leader. It subsequently came to light that the president was golfing during a tense one-on-one phone call with McConnell.

The White House has conspicuously refused to confirm when or whether the president plays golf while at his Bedminister golf course over a 17-day stay  even refusing to confirm a golf photo of the president that popped up online Wednesday.

Trump blasted McConnell for the second day in a row on Twitter, accusing the entrenched tactician of failing to 'get it done' on health care.

Trump's weapon of choice was Twitter, after the two men had a tense phone call the previous day.

'You can ask me the question' Trump said when asked whether Senate leader Mitch McConnell should step down

'You can ask me the question' Trump said when asked whether Senate leader Mitch McConnell should step down. He called it a 'disgrace' that McConnell couldn't get an Obamacare repeal through the Senate

McConnell's office refused to provide any readout of the call and an official denied having put out information about the president being on the golf course.

Trump hurled yet another attack at McConnell on Thursday  accusing the entrenched tactician of failing to 'get it done' on health care following the collapse of an Obamacare repeal bill.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders wouldn't disclose details of the conversation between the two men beyond the obvious 'frustration.'

'You can see the presidents tweets. Obviously theres some frustration. I dont have anything more to add,' she said.

She did confirm the two men spoke, adding: 'Im not aware of how long. Health care was certainly discussed.'

It emerged Thursday that President Donald Trump was golfing during a tense phone call with Sen. Mitch McConnell  after the White House has tried to put a lid on any golf activities that have occurred. Trump dashed claims that he is not on vacation but actually 'working hard' at his New Jersey property when he was seen today on the golf course Wednesday while the conflict with North Korea raged

As the spat appeared to be growing into an all-out feud, after a several hour absence from twitter on his New Jersey golf course, Trump put out more encouraging language.

'Mitch, get back to work and put Repeal & Replace, Tax Reform & Cuts and a great Infrastructure Bill on my desk for signing. You can do it!' Trump wrote.

Then, the White House revealed that Trump was nominating a Kentuckian and former McConnell staffer, Neil Chatterjee, to chair the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. It is the type of position that allows seasoned players like McConnell to shape policy for years and decades.

Confirmation of the president's golfing came after Trump took swings at Congress for going on recess without dealing with health care.

A new Kaiser Family Foundation study concluded that Trump's own actions have led to uncertainty that have caused premiums to spike.

Trump's weapon of choice was Twitter, for a second day in a row.

'Can you believe that Mitch McConnell, who has screamed Repeal & Replace for 7 years, couldn't get it done. Must Repeal & Replace ObamaCare!' Trump hit his party's Senate leader Tuesday morning, as much of the world focused on the standoff with North Korea.

The slap came just a day after Trump browbeat the top-ranking lawmaker following the GOP leader's comment to a Kentucky crowd that Trump was a political novice who had 'excessive expectations.'

McConnell told a group of constituents that Republican senators are not 'under-performing' - Trump is assigning them 'artificial deadlines.

President Trump went back at Sen. Mitch McConnell for a second consecutive day Thursday

As the comments filled the airwaves, Trump punched back at the Kentucky senator on Twitter.

'Senator Mitch McConnell said I had 'excessive expectations,' but I don't think so. After 7 years of hearing Repeal & Replace, why not done?' he asked.

Trump called McConnell to express his 'disappointment' with those comments after they got out, the New York Times reported.

Trump has the edge with his base. GOP approval of Congress was just 16 per cent in the latest Gallup poll  while Republicans still approved of Trump by 81 per cent.

McConnell's caucus failed to pass an Obamacare repeal and replace bill before they left town for the August recess.

Trump demanded they stick around through the break and continue working on the bill, even as he made plans to decamp to his property in Bedminster.

With the debate at a standstill, McConnell sent senators home until September.

'Our new president, of course, has not been in this line of work before,' McConnell told a Rotary Club in his home state on Tuesday. 'I think he had excessive expectations about how quickly things happen in the democratic process.'

McConnell added: 'A Congress goes on for two years and part of the reason I think that the story line is that we haven't done much is because, in part, the President and others have set these early time lines about things need to be done by a certain point.'

McConnell dismissed major legislative accomplishments of the Obama administration like the stimulus as bad law, and said others didn't happen until his second year in office.

'Obamacare didn't pass in the first year. In fact it wasn't signed until March of 2010and Obamacare was their big deal,' McConnell said, the Northern Kentucky Tribune reported.

'Their second most important priority was called Dodd-Frank, that was the Democratic response to the meltdown in the financial services industry in 2008. That was signed in July of 2010,' he said.

McConnell compared himself to an undertaker.

'Everybody's under you, but nobody is listening,' he quipped. 'You saw an example of that a couple of weeks ago when we came up one vote short on our effort to repeal and replace Obamacare, which was deeply disappointing.'

Trump pledged to repeal his predecessor's signature achievement on Day One and promised an ambitious legislative agenda his first year in office.

A massive tax reform package should have been done by now, based on Trump's initial timetable, and an infrastructure package should have been on the way.

Crucial vote: Arizona senator John McCain killed off the Obamacare repeal by voting against the last-ditch 'skinny repeal' which McConnell had hope he could get through

Changes to the health care system are looking less and less likely this year. Congress must approve appropriations bills to keep the government's lights on and raise the debt ceiling this fall. And Trump still wants a win on taxes before lawmakers leave Washington for the winter holiday.

'Part of the reason I think people think we're under-performing is because of too many artificial deadlines unrelated to the reality of the legislature which may have not been understood,' McConnell said Tuesday.

Republican senators are on defense this month in their districts after the Obamacare repeal disaster that Trump has distanced his administration from.

They spent the end of July haggling over details, but recessed at the beginning of August when it became clear they did not have a consensus.
Four of Britain's biggest supermarkets have been forced to withdraw thousands of products after it emerged 700,000 eggs from farms implicated in a contamination scare have been distributed to the UK.

Waitrose, Asda, Sainsbury's and Morrisons are all being forced to withdraw sandwich fillings and other chilled foods after the Food Standards Agency made the announcement today - and revealed a far higher number of contaminated eggs than the previously estimated 21,000.

Today Dutch authorities arrested two men in an investigation into the use of pesticide in poultry farms.

While in some European countries eggs containing Fipronil residues have been sold as fresh eggs, in the UK this is not the case.

A huge number of eggs were destroyed at a chicken farm in Nadrin, Houffalize, on August 9

The FSA added some of the products made from these eggs will have had a short shelf life and will have already been consumed, but some were still within the expiry date and were being withdrawn by the businesses involved.

It is believed that Fipronil got into the food chain when it was illegally added to a product used to treat poultry for lice and ticks.

The decision to withdraw some products was not due to food safety concerns but based on the fact that the pesticide is not authorised for use in food-producing animals.

Shell eggs on sale to consumers are not affected and the FSA says that there is no need for people to change the way they consume or cook eggs.

The FSA also said it had no evidence that eggs laid in the UK are contaminated or that Fipronil has been used inappropriately in the UK.

HOW HARMFUL IS FIPRONIL? Reported adverse effects from consumption of Fipronil include sweating, nausea, vomiting, head and stomach pain, dizziness and seizures, according to the US National Pesticide Information Centre. Advertisement

Testing of eggs on farms is under way across the UK and results to date for England and Wales show no exposure to Fipronil.

FSA chairwoman Heather Hancock said: 'I'm confident that acting quickly is the right thing to do.

'The number of eggs involved is small in proportion to the number of eggs we eat, and it is very unlikely that there is a risk to public health.

'Based on the available evidence there is no need for people to change the way they consume or cook eggs. However, Fipronil is not legally allowed for use near food-producing animals and it shouldn't be there.'

Today Dutch and Belgian police conducted raids as part of an investigation into the use of a harmful pesticide in the poultry industry, the Dutch prosecution service said.

Millions of chicken eggs have already been pulled from European supermarket shelves as a result of the scare over the use of the insecticide fipronil, which is dangerous to humans, and hundreds of thousands of hens may be culled in the Netherlands.

Around 700,000 eggs from Dutch farms implicated in a contamination scare have been distributed to Britain - a figure far higher than the previously estimated 21,000 (stock image)

LIST OF EGG PRODUCTS BEING WITHDRAWN IN PESTICIDE CONTAMINATION ALERT Sorted by: Product - Pack size - Use-by dates By Sainsbury's Ham and Egg Salad - 240g - August 9-14 By Sainsbury's Potato and Egg Salad - 300g - August 9-14 Morrisons Potato and Egg Salad - 250g - August 13 Morrisons Egg and Cress Sandwich - Sold in Morrisons Cafe only - August 11 Morrisons Cafe Sandwich Selection - Sold in Morrisons Cafe only - August 11 Waitrose Free Range Egg Mayonnaise Deli Filler - 240g - August 13 and 16 Waitrose Free Range Reduced Fat Egg Mayonnaise Deli filler - 170g - August 14 Waitrose Free Range Egg and Bacon Deli Filler - 170g - August 14 Waitrose Free Range Egg and Bacon Deli Filler - 170g - August 16 Waitrose Free Range Egg Mayonnaise Deli Filler - 240g - August 16 Asda Baby potato and free range egg salad - N/A - August 9-14 Asda Spinach and free range egg snack pot - N/A - August 9-14 Advertisement

Belgian Prosecution service spokesman Marieke van der Molen said raids had been conducted at locations in both countries linked to the company that allegedly used the pesticide, as well as potential suppliers.

A Food Standards Agency spokesman said today: 'Investigations into the Fipronil incident in Europe continue.

'We have now established that more eggs from affected farms than previously identified came to the UK.

'It is very unlikely that these eggs pose a risk to public health, but as Fipronil is unauthorised for use in food-producing animals we have acted with urgency to ensure that consumers are protected.'

Yesterday it emerged that Dutch authorities knew as far back as November that some eggs in the country were contaminated with the insecticide - but failed to notify their European partners at the time, claimed Belgium's agriculture minister.

Britain, France, Sweden and Switzerland have all been warned to keep an eye out for tainted eggs arriving in their countries.
People are failing to confront the problem of Asian men abusing white girls because they are terrified of being branded a racist, a Labour frontbencher today said.

Shadow Women's Minister Sarah Champion said political correctness was leaving many too terrified of speaking out against the abuse.

And she hit out at at the 'floppy left' who she said would probably 'have a go at me for being a racist' for daring to speak out.

Her intervention comes after members of a large-scale Asian sex gang were convicted of plying vulnerable young girls with drink and drugs and raping them at 'sex parties' in Newcastle.

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Labour shadow minister Sarah Champion, pictured in Parliament, said British people are too scared of being called racist to admit that most men in gangs that groom and sexually abuse children are Asian. Our refusal to accept the fact undermines our efforts to tackle the abuse, she said

The city joins a growing list of English towns where sex rings have been exposed, including in Rotherham and Rochdale.

Ms Champion told the BBC Radio 4 Today Programme: 'We've got now hundreds of men, Pakistani men, who have been convicted of this crime - why are we not commissioning research to see what's going on and how we need to change what's going on so it never happens again?'

The Labour frontbencher said Britain needed to wake up and accept that the prosecutions and convictions of grooming gangs are 'predominantly Pakistani men'.

She added: 'If it was people from a particular town that was doing this crime across the country, if it was people from - I don't know - a motorbike gang doing this, we'd recognise that as an indicator and we'd deal with it - but we're just not dealing with it.

Saiful Islam (left) bought one victim Malibu and took her to house where he and friends knew they could abuse girls and coerced her into having sex. Yasser Hussain (right) hosted 'parties'

Redwan Siddique (left) told a victim to have sex with him in return for drugs. Mohammed Azram (right) admitted five drugs offences, on count of sexual assault and one of inciting prostitution

Mohammed Hassan Ali (left) met his 15-year-old victim at a party and started a relationship after she claimed to be 18 but he continued to have sex with her after finding out her real age. Carolann Gallon (right) who was aged 17 and 18 at the time, admitted three offences of trafficking girls for the purposes of sexual exploitation.

'I genuinely think it's because people are more afraid to be called a racist than they are afraid to be wrong about calling out child abuse.

'I know in Rotherham I've met frontline social workers who, when - we're talking 10 years ago - they were trying to report this crime, were sent on race relations courses, they were told they were going to have disciplinary action if they didn't remove the fact they were identifying the person as a Pakistani male.

'This is still going on in our towns now, I know it's still going on but we're still not addressing it.'

The MP said every time she speaks about the issue, the level of Islamophobia increases, adding: 'The far right will attack me for not doing enough, the floppy left will have a go at me for being a racist.

'But this isn't racist, this is child protection and we need to be grown-up about this and deal with it.'

Meanwhile, former Crown Prosecution Service chief Lord Macdonald also admitted cases of Asian grooming gangs targeting white girls were not previously looked into as 'rigorously as they might have been'.

Eisa Mousavi (left) was convicted of three counts of rape and two counts of supplying drugs. Prabhat Nelli (right) was convicted of two counts of supplying drugs and one count of conspiracy to incite prostitution

Taherul Alam (left) was convicted of supplying drugs, attempting to sexually assault, and inciting prostitution. Nashir Uddin (right) was convicted of sexual assault, inciting prostitution and drugs offences

He believes this is no longer the case, with recent successful prosecutions showing the 'so-called taboos' no longer exist, and called on all communities to recognise it is a 'profoundly racist crime'.

The ex director of public prosecutions, said: 'I think there has been in the past a reluctance to investigate a category of crime that people might believe attaches to a particular community in circumstances where men may be targeting young women.'

He agreed that political correctness has previously put investigators off probing the sex abuse cases.

He said: 'I think that's no longer the case and I think the fact that these sorts of cases are now being brought successfully demonstrates that those sorts of so-called taboos no longer exist - but I don't think any of us can pretend that in the past these cases have been examined as rigorously as they might have been.'

He said there is a 'major problem' with young white women and girls being 'regarded as trash, regarded as available for sex' and that is still in a problem on the streets of Britain.

He said: 'This is a major problem, it's a major problem in particular communities and it has to be confronted not just by law enforcement but by communities themselves.'

Northumbria Police Chief Constable Steve Ashman said men from a wide range of communities have been arrested by his force and convicted, including white men, Turkish men and Pakistani men.

He told the BBC: 'It has to be driven out in terms of its social acceptability.'

A total of 17 men and one woman have been convicted of, or have admitted, charges including rape, supplying drugs and inciting prostitution in the Newscastle case.

Northumbria Police launched a major investigation after receiving information from social workers and initially spoke to 108 potential victims.

Over the course of four trials, 20 young women gave harrowing evidence covering a period from 2011 to 2014.

Those prosecuted were from the Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Indian, Iraqi, Iranian and Turkish communities and were mainly British-born, with most living in the West End of Newcastle.

The case has prompted a fresh barrage of criticism of the authorities as experts say that the grooming of vulnerable white girls y gangs of mainly Asian men continues to be a major problem in the UK - despite a string of high profile cases exposing it.
She wanted to follow in the footsteps of her high-flying barrister father and was on the brink of starting a law degree that would have opened up a world of opportunities.

But instead Emily Bowen is beginning a prison sentence this week after a rivalry with another teenager from her orchestra led to a sickening acid attack at their school.

Bowen was jailed on Monday for putting drain cleaner in the viola case of love rival Molly Young, who was scarred for life when she went to get her instrument in the music room at Knox Academy, in Haddington, East Lothian.

It can be reported today that Bowen later wrote a fake poison pen letter in a bid to justify her shocking actions.

The calculating move by Bowen took place six weeks after she had poured One Shot drain cleaner - containing 91 per cent sulphuric acid - into Molly's viola case.

Emily Bowen carried out a 'wicked' acid attack on a schoolmate at an academy in Scotland

Molly Young was left scarred for life after opening her viola case and pouring acid on her legs

The corrosive liquid poured out of the case and onto 18-year-old Molly's legs as she took the instrument down from a shelf in the classroom.

The girls, described as 'talented musicians', had fallen out when Miss Young began seeing Bowen's former boyfriend.

Bowen was jailed for 21 months for the 'wicked' incident - which took place in September last year - at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Monday.

The court had previously been told that the 18-year-old had penned the poisonous letter to herself and signed it with her victim's name.

Fiscal depute Aidan Higgins said: 'On November 10 last year Emily Bowen prepared a letter which appeared to come from Molly Young in which she talked of Emily Bowen to kill herself.

'Subsequently Emily Bowen admitted it was she who was the author of the letter.'

The incident happened at Knox Academy in East Lothian on September 29 last year

Molly opened a viola case, like that pictured in this file photo, before the acid poured out

Sheriff O'Grady said her 'careful and premeditated actions' combined with the penning of the note 'casts a very disturbing light on your thinking'.

A friend, who did not want to identified, said: 'Some folk in the town had sympathy for her after the acid incident as they thought it was a spur of the moment thing, but after finding out about the letter they soon changed their minds.'

The defendant's father Andrew Bowen QC sat with her in court when she admitted the offence earlier this summer

Bowen, from Haddington, is the daughter of Andrew Bowen QC and a family friend revealed the teenager wanted to follow in her father's legal footsteps as she was due to study law at Aberdeen University.

But those career dreams are now over for the acid attacker as she will spend the next 21 months behind bars instead.

The friend said: 'Emily had been accepted to Aberdeen University to take a law degree. She is a very intelligent girl and she would have sailed through any degree she wanted to do.

'She has always looked up to her father Andy and I think it was a dream of hers to follow him in his profession.'

Mr Bowen sat beside his daughter in the dock when she pleaded guilty to recklessly and culpably pouring sulphuric acid into Molly Young's viola case during a court hearing in June.

Mr Bowen has in the past worked for the United Nations in a legal capacity in the Gaza Strip, Kosovo and the West Bank.

Sheriff Michael O'Grady QC described the attack as 'utterly wicked', telling Emily: 'In the period leading up to these events you actually researched this topic.

'You have left a young woman to suffer a terrifying ordeal and she will be physically and mentally scarred for the rest of her life.'
Opinion / Columnist

As President Robert Mugabe begins to look for a possible successor from among his subordinates, Zimbabweans are anxious to know who will eventually be picked to become the country's second executive president.Decision making in succession issues has always been a problem among africans; resulting in civil wars, repetitive coups and economic turmoil.In Lybia for example, Muammar Gaddafi was killed after more than 42 years in power and with no clear successor named.In Ivory Coast, Laurent Gbagbo was defeated in a civil war and jailed overseas while his wife was also prosecuted and jailed for 20 years for aiding her husband in his efforts to retain power at all cost.In Uganda, President Milton Obote was in 1971 overthrown by Idi Amin, the Commander of the Defence Forces after the later suspected the president was about to retire him and sent him to jail for embezzling army funds.In Bakina Faso, President Michel Kafando and Prime Minister Yacouba Isaac Zida were overthrown just three weeks before general elections by General Gilbert Diendere who immediately took over power.Between 1966 and 1999, the army held power in Nigeria without interruption apart from a short-lived return to democracy between 1979-1983.There are more than 200 successful and unsuccessful coups that have occurred in Africa since 1960, prompting scholars like Folly Bah Thibault to investigate why coups are part and parcel of political change in Africa.Unwillingness to peacefully handover power, failure to name a successor, ruthless crushing of dissent, economic mismanagement and state capture by those close to the incumbent are among the reasons why coups are rampant in Africa.African leaders are to a large extent obsessed with power, do not know when to stop, commit countless crimes while in office and delegate power to their family members much to the disappointment of the military.While a military takeover maybe far fetched in Zimbabwe, it is important for President Mugabe to be careful in naming his successor.Any suspicion of unfairness or discrimination on account of tribalism or factionalism may backfire.The President needs a maximax approach in arriving at the solution. (Refer to article titled: "Zim future gloomy as politicians take too much risk", posted here on 14 February 2016).There are key stakeholders that need to be consulted among them the military and the whole security establishment called the Joint Operations Command that is chaired by Vice President Mnangagwa.Although Professor Moyo and his associates may suggest that the President has no business consulting the army, it is impossible to contemplate that ZANU PF can exist without the army collaborating its efforts to retain power.It can only be naive for anyone to believe that the President has been in power for 37 years without the army giving him crucial support.Several army chiefs have been quoted in the media saying that they would not permit anyone without liberation war credentials to lead the country.Several times, the opposition has complained of intimidation of its supporters by the CIO and army officials such as 'champion farmers' who maintain a heavy presence in constituencies during election time.Furthermore, the 2008 electoral defeat of the party for the first time in its history and the subsequent violent runoff clearly demonstrated how the army is key in determining who leads the country.It is therefore an empty talk that the gun does not lead the pen in Zimbabwean politics.The role the Zimbabwean army has played in nurturing President Mugabe's rule can therefore not be overemphasized.Any successor without the backing of the army will therefore be rejected, irrespective whether they have liberation war credentials or not.Another critical block to consult is the ZANU PF membership itself, mainly the provincial executives that have been directly elected by the people.It is an unfortunate situation that most provincial executives have been imposed by the politburo, making them unable to control their provinces.This is the cause for the votes of no confidences that have characterized the party recently.Probabilistically, Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa has a high chance to become the next President,having gained support from businesspeople, students, party activists and the international community.His only major set back is his karanga origin, that President Mugabe's close relatives and friends hate with a passion.It is true that tribalism has played a major role in determining crucial appointments in both the party and government.A zezuru unconquerable team is itching to have another one of their own replace President Mugabe at all cost.They have suggested Defence Minister Sydney Sekeramayi as the successor.This is stubborn behaviour to say the least.While President Mugabe has condemned tribalism several times even during youth interface rallies, he has failed to rein in his subjects who continue to hate each other on tribal basis.It is difficult to accuse the President himself of tribalism although the on-going succession debate presents him with a very tricky temptation that could permanently harm his legacy.Often you hear people say people from this tribe will not rule while some tribal extremists believe a karanga is unelectable.This is despite the fact that the people of Zimbabwe have given President Mugabe overwhelming support without considering whether he was born in the north, east, west or the south.Tribal conflicts can not be underestimated as they account for civil wars in Rwanda, Kenya, Nigeria and in Sudan where the country was split into two halves; North and South Sudan.The liberation struggle that was waged against the Smith regime united all Zimbabweans irrespective of their language diversity and origins, making the ideals of the struggle paramount in guiding the nation.Zimbabweans therefore need to rise above tribalism if the next President is to be accepted by all.Other factors to consider include gender issues, particularly considering if a woman can lead the country at this point in time and if yes which woman?First Lady Grace Mugabe can be a potential successor to President Mugabe if she successfully lands the third Vice President slot that has been suggested recently.However, elsewhere where First Ladies have succeeded their husbands, the situation has been disastrous.(Energy Mutodi is a Doctoral Degree candidate at the University of Cape Town. Currently a student of Law, he holds a Bachelor of War Studies and Geography from the University of Zimbabwe Centre for Defence Studies and a Masters Degree in Business Administration from the UZ Graduate School of Management. He is a member of ZANU PF).
The Pentagon has a detailed plan for a military strike on North Korea, dispatching heavy bombers from Guam  the fortified U.S. territory that Pyongyang is threatening with missiles.

The plan would be to launch heavy B1-B bombers from Guam's Andersen Air Force Base, limiting the flight time.

U.S. forces have conducted practice maneuvers as recently as Monday, NBC News reported  and have done 11 sets of exercises.

The bombers would get an escort from fighter jets providing protection. Satellites and drones would aide in the effort.

The Pentagon has a detailed plan for a military strike on North Korea, dispatching heavy bombers from Guam to take out missile launch facilities

The planes would not carry nuclear payload, but would likely be armed with precision weapons designed to take out North Korea's array of missiles and missile launch sites.

'Of all the military options  [Trump] could consider, this would be one of the two or three that would at least have the possibility of not escalating the situation," retired Adm. James Stavridis told the network.

He added: 'A single long-range strike against against the nuclear program, a cyber offensive would be the second. Those are the only two military options that ought to be in serious consideration.'

The military has six of the powerful bombers already in position on Guam.

They would go after about two dozen missile targets in North Korea

Bomber air crews would fly to North Korea from Guam, assisted by fighters, satellites, and drones

Each B-1B aircraft can carry up to 168 bombs, NBC reported

One downside: the attack would almost certainly draw a response, and North Korea has already threatened to fire missiles off the coast of Guam.

Since Guam is more than 2,000 miles away from North Korea, the attack plan would require a complex refueling exercise that the military constantly practices.

As for munitions, each bomber is equipped to carry 168 bombs.

In this Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2017 image released by the Joint Staff Office of the Defense Ministry of Japan, Japanese fighter jets, foreground, and U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer bombers, background, fly over Japan's southern island of Kyushu during their joint exercise

The Pentagon has a plan for a preemptive strike on North Korea

A top plan on the shelf would rely on B-1B bombers based at Andersen Air Force Base

The bombers would get a fighter escort

Bomber crews have been practicing the refueling exercise that would be required

One weapon of choice would be the JASSM-ER. Manufacturer Lockheed-Martin describes it as: 'a long-range, conventional, air-to-ground, precision standoff missile for the U.S. and allied forces.'

'Designed to destroy high-value, well-defended, fixed and relocatable targets, JASSMs significant standoff range keeps aircrews well out of danger from hostile air defense systems,' according to the description.

If the bombers used the JASSM-ER, they could conduct strikes without ever having to enter North Korean air space, protecting themselves from air defenses.

The planes do not carry a nuclear payload

Two U.S. officials told NBC the use of the bombers was among the options available. The Pentagon produces war plans for numerous, even highly improbable scenarios.

A military strike  long feared by the reclusive regime in Pyongyang  would almost certainly draw a response.

"Kim Jong Un would be compelled to respond. He would lash out militarily, at a minimum against South Korea, and potentially at long-range targets, perhaps including Guam.  That's a bad set of outcomes from where we sit now,' said Stavridis.
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The heatwave christened 'Lucifer' that ravaged much of southern Europe last week has now had a response from the heavens in the form of heavy rains and thunderstorms.

Spain, Germany and Poland have all suffered thunderstorms on Thursday, another extreme following temperatures of around 40 degrees at the weekend.

The Spanish island of Ibiza recorded an estimated 3,000 lightning bolts in just three hours late yesterday afternoon, with 20mm of rain within an hour.

God strikes back: Lightning illuminates the sky over Annaberg-Buchholzer, southeastern Germany on Thursday

Flooding comes: Two young women manouver themselves down a flooded street after a heavy storm hit Lodz, central Poland on Thursday

Broken: The remains of a first aid post on Deveses beach after heavy rains in Denia, Spain

Rain in Spain: A man walks under an umbrella during a windy and rainy morning in the village of San Lluis, Menorca island, eastern Spain

Run for it: Airport workers dashes across the runway at Ibiza airport during the heavy storm

The Lucifer heatwave has caused the widespread downpours because it has been superheating air around the Mediterranean for the last few weeks.

The hot air has risen and is now interacting with cold air at the top of a high-pressure air system and water vapor then condenses forming huge cumulonimbus - storm - clouds.

High pressure systems leads to settled weather, meaning the same weather several days in a row.

In addition, the North Atlantic jet stream - the air currents several thousand feet above ground which controls the hot and cold air over Europe - is currently positioned more south than normal, which is what has caused the high pressure to remain over southern Europe, explains Emma Sharples, Met Office meteorologist.

In Ibiza, this saw heavy rain and wind overnight, with tourists hitting the streets of San Antonio to party, instead fleeing to shelter in the downpour.

Holiday ruined: A British tourists films the island of Ibiza amid the storm on Wednesday

Unlucky! Storms have been raging in Ibiza, sending holiday makers running for shelter

At least someone's enjoying it! A young female reveller in Ibiza makes the most of the stormy weather in San Antonio during a night out on Wednesday

Forget the beach: Several deck chairs are piled up in Punta Prima beach as wind and rain replaced shunshine on Menorca, Spain

Severe storms passed over Poland, such as here in Lodz, causing damage to buildings, trees and electricity and railway infrastructure

Danger: A fallen tree sits on a damaged car after a heavy storm hit Lodz on Thursday

Moving out: Cars drive down a flooded street in Lodz after the storm subsided

A man walks past a field with sunflowers while cowering under an umbrella in the rain in Frankfurt, Germany

The airport on the Spanish island saw parts of the ceiling caving in around travellers waiting for delayed flights amid the storm late Wednesday night.

The Spanish eastern coast and the Balearic islands are on yellow alert for heavy rains and strong winds today.

Severe storms passed over Poland causing damage to buildings, trees and electricity and railway infrastructure.

Emergency services in Lodz, Poland, had to be called to help clear up fallen trees as streets in residential areas were flooded on Thursday.

Elsewhere in Europe, emergency services are still struggling with widespread forest fires.

Burned: This is what remains in the aftermath of a wildfire in Saint-Pons-de-Mauchiens, near Montpellier, France

Destroyed: The fire burned through some 1,250 acres of pine forest, as it ravaged the area 25 miles southwest of Montpellier

Abandoned: Some 400 residents and tourists had to be evacuated in Saint-Pons-de-Mauchiens and nearby areas

Some 200 firefighters were still battling the blaze southwest of Montpellier on Thursday afternoon

In southern France, a fire ravaged 1,250 acres of pine forest, 25 miles southwest of Montpellier, the fire service said.

Some 200 firefighters were still battling the blaze on Thursday afternoon, with strong winds expected during the day.

'Today's weather conditions call for the greatest prudence,' the fire service said.

More devestation: A local resident looks on a forest fire at Carreira do Mato, Abrantes, central Portugal

More than 553 firemen, 172 land vehicles and 7 helicopters and airplanes are battling the fire in Abrantes

Battle on all fronts: The wildfires in Portugal have been stoked by strong winds and temperature on the rise again

At the height of the blaze 800 firefighters were involved.

In Portugal, strong winds and rising temperatures are stoking wildfires in Portugal after cooler weather brought a brief respite from a spate of blazes, including one that killed 64 people in June.

The Civil Protection Agency says it is tackling seven forest fires Thursday, deploying more than 1,300 firefighters and 25 water-dropping aircraft.
A Victorian Labor MP who was refused entry to the US last month has admitted he lied about visits to Syria this year.

Khalil Eideh, 62, who has dual Australian-Syrian citizenship, was on a trip on government business with other state legislators when he was barred from flying from Vancouver, Canada, to Denver.

Australia's government recently confirmed that it had asked the US to explain why the lawmaker was refused entry.

Upon his return to Australia, Mr Eideh, who was born in Lebanon to Syrian parents, said he had last been in Syria 'last Christmas.'

Victorian Labor MP Khalil Eideh, who was refused entry to the US last month, has admitted he lied about visits to Syria this year

But Mr Eideh has now confirmed to the Herald Sun he visited family in the war-ravaged nation twice in 2017  in April and July  and insisted the trips were not taxpayer-funded.

Mr Eideh said he had been in Lebanon with a medical delegation in July and crossed the border to visit his father.

'Of course, I have my father there, every time I have the opportunity,' he told the Herald Sun when asked if he visited Syria.

'He is 90 and can't travel back.'

Mr Eideh explained that a passport isn't required to cross the border into Syria.

'You just need a proper ID and you can go up and down.'

Mr Eideh at Melbourne's Tullamarine airport on July 29 after being denied entry to the US

Mr Eideh was part of a group of Victorian lawmakers examining the effects of drug laws and regulations in Europe and North America

When Mr Eideh returned to his hometown of Melbourne after the shortened trip, he told reporters that he had been 'discriminated against.'

'I've been discriminated against. I'm very, very disappointed and frustrated,' he said.

'To me, it is unacceptable because I'm representing the Australian people, the Victorian people.'

Mr Eideh was part of a group of Victorian lawmakers examining the effects of drug laws and regulations in Europe and North America.

He also said he had a US visa and was not given an explanation for why he was denied entry.

The group had been in Europe and Canada studying drug laws and were due to fly to Denver on the next leg when Mr Eideh (third from left) was blocked at the airport

While the US had not given an explanation for the denied entry, US President Donald Trump has faced court challenged to his travel ban which would deny entry to the US to visitors from Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

And according to the Herald Sun, Mr Eideh shared an Arabic video on Facebook in May referring to Trump as a 'criminal demon face.'

He has also reportedly shared posts supportive of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.

Mr Eideh said the account was his, but insisted he does not recall sharing the video.

He was scheduled to meet US officials on Thursday regarding his treatment while abroad with sources saying it was about his ties to Syria, according to the Herald Sun.

Mr Eideh has previously come under fire for signing a letter in 2002 that ended with a pledge of loyalty to Bashar al-Assad (pictured)

US President Donald Trump (pictured) has faced court challenged to his travel ban which would deny entry to the US to visitors from Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen

In Parliament this week, the Victorian government's leader in the Upper House, Gavin Jennings, said Mr Eideh has made it clear to him that he feels 'a great obligation to visit his father in Syria.'

Mr Jennings confirmed that is Mr Eideh's only reason to visit Syria.

Mr Eideh  who was born in Tripoli, Lebanon, before moving to Australia aged 15 - has previously come under fire for signing a letter in 2002 that ended with a pledge of loyalty to al-Assad.

He later wrote to the Jewish Community Council of Victoria saying he had signed a 'standard form letter' to the Syrian government which had been taken out of context.
A man has been arrested after shocking CCTV revealed the moment a jogger pushed a woman in front of a bus on Putney Bridge.

A 50-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm at an address in the Chelsea area of London this morning following a public appeal.

He was taken to a south London police station and has now been released pending further enquiries, Metropolitan Police said.

The 33-year-old woman was lucky to escape serious injury after a bus driver swerved to avoid her on the bridge in south west London.

A man has been arrested after shocking CCTV revealed the moment a jogger pushed a woman in front of a bus on Putney Bridge (pictured)

The jogger was running across Putney Bridge in west London when he barged into the woman

Earlier today, the Metropolitan Police said that officers had received a 'good response' after calling for information on the incident.

The bus stopped after the fall and passengers tended to the woman - who received minor injuries - following the incident during rush hour, at around 7.40am on May 5.

Officers also claimed the jogger ran the other way across the bridge around 15 minutes later and the victim attempted to speak to him, but 'he did not acknowledge her'.

Speaking earlier this week, sergeant Mat Knowles said: 'After he pushed her he ran across the bridge and 15 minutes later came back.

'By this time the members of the public who had helped the woman were gone and she tried to talk to him as he ran past her but he just ignored her.

A senior source from the bus company Go Ahead London said it was only down to the slow speed of the vehicle that the accident did not result in serious injury.

Earlier today, the Metropolitan Police said that officers had received a 'good response' after calling for information on the incident

This morning on the bridge Putney locals on their way to work slammed the assault as 'despicable'.

One woman, who refused to be named, said: 'I saw the video last night and I just couldn't believe it, the joggers round here can be a real menace.

'It is despicable. That poor woman, thank god she is okay.'

Another resident, a man in his late 20s, said:''I was watching the video last night and I couldn't believe how close she came to being under that bus.

'Some of the joggers around here can be really rude, but you would never expect that.'

Another commuter said: 'This driver is a hero it could have so easily ended differently.'
Perth winery owner Peter Costa (pictured) has been found guilty of raping a 24-year-old Japanese woman

A Perth winery owner has been found guilty of raping a 24-year-old Japanese woman who worked for him in exchange for meals and lodging more than two years ago.

Chidlow's Well owner Peter Raymond Costa, 57, went on trial in the District Court of WA this week, charged with three counts of sexual penetration without consent.

He was found guilty after about two-and-a-half hours of jury deliberations on Thursday.

The court heard he plied the woman with wine over dinner while his wife was away in March 2015 and his victim wound up so drunk she could only remember fragments of the rest of the night.

But she said she clearly recalled waking up in her bedroom with Costa on top of her, and struggled and kicked to try to throw him off.

The assault only ended when she called out to her South Korean colleague, who ran in from his neighbouring bedroom and found them both semi-naked, and she was crying.

The court heard the woman sent a South American friend a string of texts the next morning asking for help and saying she'd been raped by her boss.

She was picked up from the property by the friend and her husband, and was sobbing and highly distressed.

The woman was visiting Perth on a working holiday visa and was part of the Willing Workers on Organic Farms program.

Costa will be sentenced on September 11.
Jaybin Henry, 42, stepped on a stingray barb in Western Australia's Pilbara region

A Perth man has spoken out after nearly losing his foot during an incident involving a stingray barb over a month ago.

Jaybin Henry, 42, stepped on a stingray barb while searching for mudcrabs on the beach in Western Australia's Pilbara region.

It pierced his skin and left a small hole, which he said 'took the cake' for the most painful experience he'd ever had.

Mr Henry had ironically stepped on the sharp barb after calling out to his niece and nephew to look out for a stingray that was swimming past.

He described the pain as 10 out of 10 - 'the most painful thing I've ever experienced in my life', he told ABC.

At the time, the hospital treated Mr Henry's foot with hot water and antibiotics, and then discharged him.

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Jaybin Henry is still recovering in Fiona Stanley Hospital from the surgery that saved his foot

The Perth man returned home but the pain and swelling returned a few weeks later, landing him back in hospital.

After an ultrasound at Perth's Fiona Stanley Hospital, he was informed that there were multiple fragments of bared still in his foot, according to 7NEWS.

'The doctor told me that when they got in there, it was badly infected all up my tendon sheath and they had to wash out my ankle joint,' Mr Henry said.

Stepping on a stingray barb 'took the cake' for the most painful experience of Mr Henry's life

And 19 stitches later, he is still recovering from the surgery that saved his foot.

Although he's relieved that he didn't lose his foot, Mr Henry sympathises deeply with the early explorers of Western Australia,

'If they had trod on a ray, then, it would have been amputation, or they might have died,' he said.
Video footage has caught the shocking moment a motorcyclist is struck by a bolt of lightning while travelling over a bridge during a thunderstorm.

The incident took place in Guilin City, southern China's Guangxi province.

According to reports, the 57-year-old rider surnamed Tang was hurt but did not suffer any life-threatening injuries.

Video footage shows the moment the lightning hits the scooter rider in Guangxi province

The scooter rider can be seen lying on the floor after being struck by lightning

Others tended to a pedestrian who was also hit by the lightning and was taken to hospital

Video footage shows the moment the bolt of lightning struck the rider as he was nearing the end of Xinyi bridge in Guilin.

A nearby pedestrian was also hit and collapsed to the ground from the shock.

Pictures show the damage caused to the seat of the man's scooter.

The lightning quickly hits the rider and a pedestrian (left). Passersby tended to the injured

A hole can be seen on the man's bike, left by the powerful lightning strike

The rider sustained injuries from the strike and the fall after.

Both he and the pedestrian were rushed to hospital. The pedestrian has since been discharged and the rider is expected to be released from hospital in a few days.
A former Cold Stone Creamery and Massage Envy executive died after a 'drug fueled attack' where he beat and used a stun gun on his elderly parents at their home.

Lee Knowlton, 55, stopped breathing after officers took him into custody when his mother accused him of a brutal assault on Monday night in Scottsdale, Arizona.

The former executive for Cold Stone Creamery had allegedly entered Chuck and Joye Knowltons' senior living community home and attacked them, using a stun gun and beating them until they bled.

Authorities said Knowlton had drug paraphernalia on him when he was arrested.

The Massage Envy businessman had suffered a cardiac arrest while in custody and died just after midnight on Tuesday.

Lee Knowlton, 55, (left) died on Tuesday morning after he was arrested on Monday night for allegedly beating his parents (right) until they bled at their home in Scottsdale, Arizona

The former executive for Cold Stone Creamery and Massage Envy allegedly entered Chuck (left) and Joye Knowltons' senior living community home and attacked them, using a stun gun

Local police were called to the scene at Andara Senior Living community around 7pm after Joye Knowlton reported a domestic violence dispute.

Police said they found Joye waiting outside, visibly beaten. Police then entered the apartment to find Knowlton and his father on the ground covered in blood.

The couple, who are in their 80s, were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment and are reported to be in stable condition.

Knowlton was arrested but police claim he stopped breathing when they put handcuffs on him, so he was transported to a nearby hospital, where he later died.

Scottsdale Police Sergeant Ben Hoster said in a press conference: 'During the handcuffing, he stopped breathing and went into full code.'

Knowlton's official cause of death will be released by the County Medical Examiner's Office.

Authorities said Knowlton, who allegedly had drug paraphernalia on him, had suffered a cardiac arrest while in custody and died just after midnight on Tuesday

Local police were called to the scene at Andara Senior Living community (pictured). His parents were taken to a nearby hospital and are in stable condition

Before the shocking incident, Knowlton's Facebook page was frequently updated with posts of his father, celebrating Father's Day and for no particular occasion.

In June, he wrote: 'Happy Fathers Day Dad! You are an incredible role model for me and I appreciate how you have always been there for me.'

Another photo caption read: 'In honor of my Dad on Memorial Day, served in Korea, so proud of him.'

The businessman was most recently the senior vice president of global sales and international at Massage Envy; prior to that he was the CEO of Fun Brands, Fun Brands Carousels, Pump It Up and BounceU, reported Biz Journals.

He also worked as an executive at Cold Stone Creamery, Kahala Corp., Planet Hollywood and TGI Fridays in Korea.

Massage Envy released a statement that said: 'We are shaken and profoundly saddened by this loss. Our deepest sympathies go out to Lees family.'
A police car has been filmed cruising along a highway with a gas pump hanging from its side.

The footage was captured by a person in another vehicle as they traveled down the road in Texas.

The officer had driven away from a gas pump after filling his car up with the nozzle still attached.

A police car has been filmed cruising along a highway with a gas pump hanging from its side

But he seems to be completely unaware of the blunder.

The shocked man filming can be heard saying: 'A policeman took off from the gas pump and has the pump still on the side.

'Man, look at that. Hopefully he's going to return it.'
David Cameron went surfing in Cornwall while George Osborne and Michael Gove put their Brexit fall-out behind them to travel to Germany to watch an epic opera about the struggle for power.

The three men were close friends, with the Camerons and Goves jetting off on family holidays together.

But their friendship hit the rocks after Mr Gove broke ranks with the then chancellor and PM to become the face of Leave campaign in the referendum.

Former Cabinet colleagues Mr Osborne and Mr Gove appeared to have rekindled their friendship after the two men were pictured in Bavarian town to Bayreuth where they were watching Wagner's Ring Cycle.

The epic opera weaves a tale of competing clans and their thirst for power, and the pride and revenge which drives them.

The musical drama has echoes of the internal struggles of the Tory Party, which has been plunged into instability and leadership woes since Mr Cameron sensationally quit after the referendum result.

Foremer Prime Minister David Cameron was pictured taking a dip off the Cornish coast as he returned to his favourite spot for another holiday

George Osborne and Michael Gove were spotted in Germany together where they were enjoying an opera about the thirst for power and intrigue. The two men have been close friends for many years, but their relationship hit the rocks over the Brexit referendum

Professor John Hardy, who was also attending the epic music drama at an opera festival, said he saw the pair talking on Wednesday evening, while his wife had seen them at the previous night's performance.

He said: 'They were just chatting friendily having, I think, a beer or a glass of wine and some German bread.'

Prof Hardy saw them talking and said he was 'sure they must have arranged to be there together', and did not appear to be with any other people.

The Tory Party has been plagued by division and plotting since the referendum vote last year.

After Mr Cameron quit, Mr Gove originally backed his friend and fellow Brexiteer Boris Johnson for the top job before swiftly stabbing him in the back and attempting to run himself.

But his ill-fated bid was short-lived and when Theresa May was crowned leader she s sacked him, telling him to go and learn about loyalty.

David Cameron, took a surf aide into the choppy waters in Cornwall with him. As he was paddling in the waters, his Mr Osborne and Mr Gove were out in Germany together. The trio were close friends, but Mr Cameron's friendship with Mr Gove has taken a nosedive following the Brexit referendum and his resignation at Prime Minister

Michael Gove and Boris Johnson- both close friends of David Cameron - gave a press conference the day it was announced they had won the Brexit referendum. But they looked more like losers than victors as news that Mr Cameron had quit as PM started to sink in

Mr Osborne was also dismissed from the Treasury as the new PM set about trying to usher in a new brand of conservatism.

But her moves backfired spectacularly when her majority was wiped out in the June 8 snap election - prompting a fresh wave of rumour and plotting around who might succeed her.

The four-part opera continues until Sunday evening, and the University College London neuroscience professor said he expected the duo would be there until then.

Based on Norse mythology, it is said to have taken Wagner around 26 years to complete and is described by Classic FM as the 'peak of operatic indulgence, excess and excellence'.

Meanwhile, Mr Cameron was spotted 'chillaxing' at his favourite holiday spot on the Cornish coast.

And it appears the former MP is picking up some new hobbies since leaving No 10 as he waded into the water with a training surf aid.

Mr Cameron and his wife Samantha often went on holiday in Cornwall while he was in office.

Mr Gove has recently made a comeback to the Cabinet as Environment Secretary.

While Mr Osborne has retreated form the political fray and is now editor of the London Evening Standard - where he taunts Mrs May with his outspoken criticism of her policies from the pages of the daily paper.
Southern Methodist University in Texas has reversed its decision to relocate an annual 9/11 memorial display made up of nearly 3,000 American flags to a less prominent part of campus after facing backlash from student groups.

The Young Americans for Freedom group has set up the tribute honoring the victims of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on SMU's Dallas Hall Lawn every year since 2010.

But in July officials informed the group to move the display to Morrison-McGinnis Park because Dallas Hall Lawn is used for classes and a variety of events, said university spokesman Kent Best.

Red, white and blue: This flag display dedicated to 9/11 victims on Southern Methodist University's Dallas Hall Lawn last month sparked a controversy when school officials had decided to relocate it

Tradition: The Young Americans for Freedom group has set up the tribute on SMU's Dallas Hall Lawn every year since 2010

SMU officials also had adopted a policy to ensure displays didn't include 'harmful or triggering' messages, but they later removed the language from the then-policy as inappropriate. By that time, though, some student groups said the new policy was an attack on free speech.

'I don't believe it's the responsibility of the university to shield individuals from certain ideas that they might be offended by,' said Grant Wolf, the leader of the Young Americans for Freedom group, according to Dallas News.

Wolf, along with other leaders from campus groups, sent a letter to university President R. Gerald Turner to express their frustration with the policy.

'People absolutely have to have a right to their own opinions, but this does not come with a right to be shielded from opposing ideas, especially in an environment dedicated to the learning, sharing and developing of new ideas,' they wrote.

They decried the relocation of the memorial. Moving the 9/11 memorial to an out of the way park is almost the same as not allowing it, said Heather Hall, president of the university's Turning Point USA chapter.

'That's not free speech,' Hall said. 'That's not American. That's definitely not what SMU stands for.'

Lack of space: SMU officials had decided to move the display to Morrison-McGinnis Park because Dallas Hall Lawn is used for classes and a variety of events

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, waded into the controversy this week by asking President Turner to restore the 9/11 display to it 'traditional place of honor.'

On Wednesday, SMU announced that university officials and student leaders reached an agreement to continue to have lawn displays, including Young Americans for Freedoms annual 9/11 tribute, on the Dallas Hall Lawn.

Under the agreement, dedicated spaces will be provided for lawn displays while preserving open spaces for other college activities, including outdoor classes, events and recreation.

'The goal is to balance the needs of all campus community members in use of this historic space,' a press release put out by SMU read.

Backpedaling: SMU President R. Gerlad Turner on Wednesday announced that the college will continue to feature lawn displays, including Young Americans for Freedoms annual 9/11 tribute, on the Dallas Hall Lawn

From now on, one-day displays sponsored by student organizations or SMU departments will continue to take place on the northern section of the Dallas Hall Lawn, the site that traditionally has been used for displays.

Displays lasting up to three days will take place on the southern section of the Dallas Hall Lawn.

SMU also plans to review and amend policy and procedures pertaining to lawn displays, which will be done in consultation with student organizations.

'I thank the students from across campus who came together in the spirit of mutual respect and civil discourse to achieve this outcome,' said SMU President Turner. 'Throughout these discussions, students have expressed their commitment to freedom of expression  a value the University shares.'

The Young Americans for Freedom on Wednesday touted the preliminary verbal agreement with the college administration as a 'landmark victory for the free speech rights of the entire SMU student body.'

A message posted on YAF's official Facebook page read: 'We are proud that our coalition of student organizations has worked together, despite political differences, to stand and win for the unifying and American value of freedom of expression. #Freedom #Victory #USA.'
British holidaymakers could be attacked in a 'serious violent incident' if anti-tourism protests continue in Spain, according to travel agents in the country.

Activists - branded 'crazy extremists' by Spain's prime minister Mariano Rajoy - have targeted tourists in a series of demonstrations in recent weeks, including in Barcelona and Majorca.

Today Rafael Gallego, chair of the Spanish Association of Travel Agents (Feaav), branded the protesters 'fascists' and said he feared their actions will get worse.

Earlier this summer four hooded activists from a radical group called Arran attacked a tourist bus in Barcelona, slashing tyres and spraying slogans across it.

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British holidaymakers could be attacked in a 'serious violent incident' if anti-tourism protests continue in Spain, according to travel agents in the country. This was the scene as activists targeted the waterfront in Palma, Majorca earlier this month

Activists - branded 'crazy extremists' by Spain's prime minister Mariano Rajoy - have targeted tourists in a series of demonstrations in recent weeks, including in Barcelona and Majorca (pictured)

Others have thrown eggs at hotels, and there have been demonstrations around the city's famous Sagrada Familia basilica.

In Palma, Majorca, they set off smoke flares outside a seafront restaurant, while in Bilbao, northern Spain, another group sprayed paint across the headquarters of the Basque Country tourist board yesterday/on Wednesday.

Mr Gallego said: 'This tourismphobia has been worrying us since last summer. In 2016 we noted graffiti and there was an aggression with a glass against tourists who were on an excursion, so we alerted that the situation could radicalise, which is what we have seen.

'Now there are protests in the entrances of hotels, restaurants and in ports.

'The danger is that tomorrow there could be an incident of real violence.

'They call themselves left-wing but they are more fascist than the far right. We are very worried that they might cause a serious incident with our visitors at any day.'

Mr Gallego defended the tourist industry, saying: 'It is the sector which has recovered the greatest numbers of jobs since the crisis.'

Protest: A video posted on Twitter shows members of anti-tourism group 'Arran' slashing the tyres of rental bicycles in Barcelona, Spain

The group claims tourism is responsible for a lack of affordable housing and low wages

A fresh warning has been made to tourists travelling to Spain over a series of protests by Arran Paisos Catalans (pictured here blocking a road in Barcelona during a protest in February)

Arran claim tourism is destroying Spanish cities, driving up rent and forcing out young people.

On Tuesday, PM Mariano Rajoy defended the tourism industry, which employs 2.5m people in Spain.

He called the activists 'radical extremists' and said it was 'crazy' to drive away tourists.

Today Mr Rajoy reiterated his support for the industry, saying it was 'senseless madness' to attack tourism.

He added: 'I never thought I would have to defend the Spanish tourism industry. It's completely outrageous.'
A new mother wrapped her baby girl in layers of plastic bags and sent her to an orphanage through a delivery service in southeastern China.

The delivery driver was shocked when he heard a crying sound from the package half-way through the journey.

Footage emerged showing onlookers feeding the baby with water to keep her hydrated in the 37 degree Celsius weather.

A newborn girl was found in a parcel wrapped in plastic bags in southeast China's Fuzhou

The 'parcel' was scheduled to deliver to an orphanage but the driver found a baby inside when he heard crying sound on the way

According to The Beijing News, a delivery man from Dada Delivery picked up an order in Fuzhou's Jin'an district.

The order was a package delivery to Fuzhou Children's Welfare Institution on August 9.

Video footage shows a newborn girl wrapped in layers of plastic bags and appeared to be sweating.

AccuWeather indicated that the highest temperature in Fuzhou was 36 degrees Celsius.

Onlookers can be seen trying to feed the baby water using a cotton bud.

In the video, the delivery man says he did not meet the mother but he was told to pick up a package.

The baby appeared to be sweating as local temperatures hit a record 36 degree Celsius (left) Member of public fed the baby water using cotton bud (right)

The delivery driver (pictured) said he received an instruction to pick up an order in Jin'an

Jin'an policemen and paramedics rushed to the scene and took the newborn girl to hospital for a health inspection.

Jin'an police issued a statement on Weibo, a Twitter-like social media account, today confirming to have found the baby's mother.

The 24-year-old mother, surnamed Luo, admitted putting her baby girl in a package and attempting to abandon her using a delivery service.

Police officers are investigating the alleged abandonment case further.

The baby girl remains in hospital in a stable condition, according to hospital staff.
The ex-model girlfriend of a superrich financier was refused a 4million payout because his advisers suspected she was being 'greedy and undeserving'.

Nigerian born Tina Chantale Joseph, 51, lost a High Court legal battle over the cash which she claimed had been promised to her by multimillionaire Peter Cundill who died from an incurable disease aged 72 in 2011.

He became 'besotted' with the daughter of West African aristocrats who he met at Mayfair restaurant Trader Vic's following the death of his wife in 2003.

She told him she had been forced to flee to Europe with her influential Nigerian family because of persecution and had later been spotted by a modelling agency in her teens.

Tina Chantale Joseph was denied 4million of 5million she claimed was left to her by her rich partner Peter Cundill (right) because his advisers thought she was 'greedy and undeserving'

Mr Cundill's biographer writes of her: 'Her exotic glamour attracted him and he found her deep voice with its pronounced Nigerian intonations alluring.' He adds that she became a 'regular visitor' to his flat in Park Lane.

In his final years Mr Cundill - whose offshore trust fund alone was worth 230 million - bought her a flat in central London and paid her a 10,000-a-month allowance.

In an attempt to ensure she was financially comfortable after his death, he also wanted to give her 5 million.

For him, that was 'just a drop in the ocean', Judge Charles Purle QC told the High Court.

Peter Cundill was an award winning Canadian investment guru who died aged 72 in 2011

But his friend and trustee, Jenny Bingham, were concerned about Miss Joseph and appeared to view her as 'greedy and undeserving', the judge added.

Two instalments of 500,000 were paid to Miss Joseph in 2008 and 2009, but then the trustees halted payments.

When Mr Cundill sacked his housekeeper - apparently at Miss Joseph's behest  it was 'the last straw' for the trustees.

They decided she was 'interfering too much in his general life as well as having too much money spent on her' and refused to pay her another penny.

Miss Joseph brought legal action for negligence against Mr Cundill's solicitors, Farrer & Co - who also represent the Queen  claiming they ignored her financial interests in the dispute over the extra 4million.

Richard Parry, a partner in the firm, had advised Mr Cundill that the generosity he had already shown Miss Joseph was 'sufficient to discharge any moral obligation' towards her.

The trustees were also concerned that 'it was not appropriate to part with large sums of money if Miss Joseph might then terminate the relationship.'

There was 'no love lost' between Miss Joseph and the trustees and she was convinced that Mr Cundill's professional advisers had 'taken sides' against her, the judge added.

The case came before the High Court this week, where a judge dismissed her claim to the cash

'Mr Cundill was fully aware of the different ways in which he was pulled by, on the one hand, Miss Joseph and on the other hand by the trustees seeking to exercise restraint...

'One finds on many occasions Mr Cundill apparently agreeing with one advisor or another that this, that or the other is the appropriate way to conduct his affairs, only then for a volte face to occur after he has discussed matters with Miss Joseph.'

Matters came to a head in 2009 when Mr Cundill fired the housekeeper 'apparently with the encouragement or at the insistence of Miss Joseph'.

In a meeting, Mr Parry accused Miss Joseph of making 'ongoing efforts to take control in a persistent and aggressive manner of Peter's life.'

Judge Charles Purle QC (pictured) told the High Court that the 5million payment was 'just a drop in the ocean' for Mr Cundill

Mr Cundill was said to have agreed that he was 'very besotted' with Miss Joseph but that 'he did particularly not wish to marry her'.

Mr Parry and Miss Bingham expressed their 'deep concern' that Miss Joseph was intent on 'dismantling' his care regime.

Mr Cundill had told them he was 'happy' with his care arrangements, 'but also wished to appease Miss Joseph by changing them'.

Dismissing Miss Joseph's claim, Judge Purle said she never had any legal right to a share of the financier's immense fortune.

She was the 'mere beneficiary' of Mr Cundill's 'largesse' and 'proposed bounty' and had 'no bargaining position' to protect, he added.

The judge praised Farrer & Co for the steps they took to ensure the terminally ill financier was 'not the victim of his own folly.'

The trustees also owed legal duties to Mr Cundill's children and were not obliged to give in to his demand to pay millions to Miss Joseph, he said.

The judge added: 'It is of course an amazing thing for those of us who do not have access to vast wealth to contemplate being given substantial sums of the order which we are talking about in this case.

'For all that, this particular sum of 5 million was a drop in the ocean for Mr Cundill, whose trust fund was worth $300 million.'

Mr Cundill was an award winning Canadian investment guru who died in London from Ataxia Syndrome, a rare and untreatable neurological condition.
A 30-year-old woman was just moments away from a marriage proposal on Saturday, when she got caught in rope connected to a sinking boat and drowned in front of her eight-year-old daughter.

Tasha Turner was celebrating her birthday with friends and family at southern California's Big River Park when the tragedy struck Saturday evening.

Turner, her boyfriend Norris Salah, her daughter Genesis and four others were taken out on on the Colorado River in a boat to go tubing.

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Tasha Turner, 30 (right), drowning during a tubing trip with her family this weekend. Before she died, she made sure her eight-year-old daughter Genesis (left) got off the boat safely

Dive teams at the scene of the drowned boat on Saturday at Big River Park in California

Turner's boyfriend Norris Salah (right) was on the boat at the time and planned to engage to her on the tubing trip

But around 6:30pm, the 19-foot closed-bow boat lost power and started taking on water.

Everyone else was able to get off the sinking vessel except for Turner, who became caught in rope connected to the ship.

Unable to free herself, Turner handed her daughter off to a jet skier who stopped to help.

'With complete selflessness, she saved her boyfriend who couldn't swim and her daughter Genesis before sinking with the boat,' a GoFundMe page details.

According to her sister Myesha Turner, who was not on the boat, Turner made sure to say her final goodbyes to her darling daughter.

Turner and Salah had been together for four years. She reportedly helped him get off the boat since he can't swim

'Before her mom threw her, she gave her a hug and said "I love you. Goodbye,"' Myesha told NBC Los Angeles.

Salah also spoke out in the interview, revealing that he planned to propose to his girlfriend of four years on the boat. He had the diamond ring in his pocket when the it drowned.

'I love you very much. I love you,' Norris said of his late girlfriend through sobs and tears.

Police say there were seven people on the boat when it drowned in Big River Park on Saturday.

Turner's last words to her daughter before she drowned were 'I love you, goodbye'

Police are investigating whether there may have been too many people on the boat ta one time

Turner's heartbroken sister Myesha cries in a television interview after her sister's death

The boat's operator, Umberto Bagnara, is said to be cooperating with police.

Law enforcement are still investigating what caused the boat to drown, and are looking into whether too many people may have been on board.

Anyone with information is being asked to call Deputy William Poe at 760-326-9200.

The GoFundMe is being used to help raise money for Turner's funeral. Any leftover money will be given to Genesis.
Tampa County sheriff's deputies have hauled in five neo-Nazis after an investigation led them to a house that Pasco Sheriff Chris Nocco described as a 'cesspool'.

Among the items found in the tiny home - which was so cramped and filthy that detectives could barely walk around it - were firearms, meth, and the IDs of veterans and military and state employees.

Two of the five arrested in the New Port Richey raid were known gang members, police allege.

'If they don't return to our community, it's a better day for all of us,' Nocco said, according to Tampa Bay Times.

Arrested: Michael Baun (left), 28; and Alexander Nowokunski (right), 33, are among five people arrested in a 'cesspool' home in New Port Richey, Tampa County, on Tuesday

Neo-Nazis: Steven Crumbley (left), 31, and wife Melinda Zalneraitis (right), 47, were also arrested. All five of those taken in profess to be neo-Nazis, according to local police

The raid occurred Tuesday afternoon at 9240 Kiowa Drive in the Griffin Park area. All five suspects lived in the home.

Jailed: Gabrielle Price, 24, was the fifth of the group to be arrested. All have been jailed, either on new charges or existing warrants. A sixth person is being sought

They are Michael Baun, 28; Steven Crumbley, 31; Alexander Nowokunski, 33; Gabrielle Price, 24; and Melinda Zalneraitis, 47.

Crumbley and Nowokunski are known gang members, according to police, although they did not specify which gangs.

Zalneraitis and Crumbley have been married since 2003.

Cops are also looking for Justin Hopper, 28, on possession of a stolen motorcycle.

Inside the tiny, cramped property, police said they found a litany of contraband items.

They included 12 grams of methamphetamine, a small amount of unidentified opiates and drug paraphernalia such as needles and spoons.

They also claim to have found found hundreds of pages of bank account information and ID cards, including military, veteran and state IDs - which police believe were stolen from mailboxes.

Nocco said he was particularly concerned that deputies found three handguns and a semiautomatic rifle.

'It gets very dangerous when youre talking about stolen guns,' he said, according to WFLA 8.

Also reported on the property was a stolen vehicle; another stolen car and motorcycle, which police are still trying to locate, have been linked to the group.

Among the detritus in the home, police also said they found propaganda for the 'American Nazi Family' (ANF), which detailed the roles, oaths and guidelines for the group.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups and their locations, said it is not familiar with the ANF.

Nowokunski's Facebook page shows a tattoo comprising a Celtic cross, a stylized swastika, a black wolf's head, the SS logo and the letters 'ANF'.

'Cesspool': All five lived in this home, which police described as a 'cesspool' containing meth, opiates, stolen IDs, firearms and propaganda for the 'American Nazi Family'

However, Nocco said that while the group were self-proclaimed 'Nazis' there was no evidence they had committed hate crimes or spread racist propaganda.

He said some of them had been to prison, and that many prisoners join white supremacist gangs for proection.

'They know they're going to prison again at some point,' Nocco said, 'so they keep up the ideology.'

Crumbley's Facebook page does feature racist memes, but also one of a black man feeding the homeless, which received one 'like' and two 'love reacts'.

Hate group: This American Nazi Family tattoo is seen on Alexander Nowokunski's Facebook page. The group is not well known according to the Southern Poverty Law Center

Nowokunski and Price have been charged with possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute and being a felon in possession of a firearm, among other charges.

Crumbley and Price both had outstanding warrants for grand theft.

Baun and Zalneraitis have been charged with possession of meth and drug paraphernalia.

All five have been booked into Pasco County Jail.

The Griffin Park area of Tampa County has a grim history of hate gangs.

In 2006, Kristofer King, 17, was stabbed to death and his mom Patricia Wells injured by John Ditullio Jr, who lived in an American Nazi compound next door.

Ditullo - who wore a gas mask while committing the crime - was furious that both King and Wells were openly gay, and that wells had a black friend. He is now serving life in prison.

That attack occurred five minutes' walk from Tuesday's arrests, although Nocco said that Crumbley and friends do not appear to be connected to the attack.
Social media users erupted in outrage on Wednesday after a photo of a back-to-school sign over a glass firearms display at Walmart went viral on Twitter.

'Own the school year like a hero,' the display sign reads.

The photo appears to have been taken in Evansville, Indiana by a customer who swiftly posted it on the Internet, according to The Washington Post.

Social media users were outraged on Wednesday after a back-to-school sign was pictured over a firearm display at retail giant Walmart (Pictured)

The display is part of an action-hero themed marketing campaign that has no connection to the sale of firearms.

Walmart issued an apology following the incident, saying through a spokesperson that 'Whats seen in this photograph would never be acceptable in our stores.'

'We regret this situation and are looking into how it could have happened,' the spokesperson added.

Walmart offered the apology, however, only after some confusion about the store's location and the authenticity of the image was clarified.

Walmart initially denied that the store location was in Evansville. But the Post later spoke with the woman behind the initial photograph, who confirmed to the publication that the picture was taken at the Indiana store.

Walmart issued an apology following the incident, saying that whats 'seen in this photograph would never be acceptable in our stores'

Leeanna May said she was at the Evansville Walmart early Wednesday morning with her husband near the sporting goods section, where May spotted what she described as the 'disgusting' display.

'We have already lost so many innocent lives to guns,' she told the Post, adding that she drew an immediate connection between firearms and school shootings.

May said that she made her concerns known to store employees but was unable to find a manager.

'People dont seem to honestly care,' May noted.

Walmart is the largest retailer for guns and ammunition in the United States.

Following May's tweet, Walmart's account was bombarded with angry messages, replying to dozens of outrages Twitter users.

This isn't the first time Walmart has encountered a marketing mishap. In July, Walmart was roundly denounced after selling an offensive item on its online store

'Is this real? Literally... HOW tone deaf can a corp be?,' one Twitter user asked incredulously.

'Seriously? I have no words...' read another.

'We hear you,' the official Walmart Twitter account wrote in response. 'This was horrible and we removed the sign as soon as we found out.'

Walmart added: 'I'm happy to tell you our store manager Christina has removed the sign from the display. Thanks again for alerting us to this.'

This is not the first time Walmart has run into trouble with marketing mishaps.

In July, Wlamart was roundly denounced on social media and called racist for using the term 'n****r brown' to describe a wig cap sold on its online store.

The retailer also drew fire last year before September 11 when a store in Panama City Beach, Florida used Coca-Cola products to build two towers signifying the World Trade Center. A banner reading 'WE WILL NEVER FORGET' topped over the display.
A first time mother who smothered her newborn son when she was asleep is suing the hospital whose nurses put him in her bed to breastfeed even though she was still 'groggy' from taking Vicodin and Ambien after delivering him via C-section.

Monica Thompson, 42, gave birth to her son Jacob on August 2, 2012, at Portland Adventist Medical Center in Portland, Oregon.

Three days later, while she was still recovering from the procedure and being treated with strong pain medication, nurses brought the boy in to her bed in the middle of the night to be breastfed.

They left the pair alone with Jacob in the bed and she fell asleep. An hour later, she awoke to find him unresponsive in her arms.

Monica Thompson is suing the hospital where her son Jacob suffocated under her in 2012 for leaving her alone with him while she was drowsy. She is pictured with the baby and her husband Graham before they turned off his life support

He died seven days later when his mother and father Graham turned off his life support. The baby had suffered severe brain damage due to a lack of oxygen to his body.

Mrs Thompson is now suing the hospital for $8million.

She has accused staff of being negligent by first giving the baby to her to breastfeed when she was under the influence of such strong pain medication and for also leaving her alone with him when she was in such a drowsy state.

In court documents obtained by DailyMail.com, her lawyer described how she was given a 'combination of narcotic painkillers and sleep aids' to allow her to sleep on August 5, three days after she gave birth.

At 3am, an unnamed nurse brought Jacob into her room to be breastfed, the lawsuit claims.

Jacob died when he was 10 days old. Three days after his birth, nurses at the hospital took him in to his mother's room in the middle of the night to be breastfed

His mother has accused Advent Medical Center in Portland, Oregon, of negligence and is suing the hospital for $8million

'[The nurse] put Jacob next to his mother in her bed so that she could breastfeed him. [They] left the room and left mother and son unattended,' it claims.

'About an hour later, still groggy and drowsy, Mrs Thompson noticed her son unresponsive in her arms.'

Worried, she tried a number of ways to wake the baby up.

'She tried to stimulate her son's suckling reflexes without success. She touched his eyes and got no response. She poked him and talked to him with no reaction.

'She called for a nurse while she tried to get him to respond,' her lawyer wrote.

When no one came to her room, she then carried the limp baby out into the hospital corridor and 'frantically' cried for help, the lawsuit said.

'A nurse noticed the situation, examined Jacob and called a Code Blue; Jacob was not breathing,' it said.

Jacob suffered severe and permanent brain damage as a result of the suffocation. He spent six days in a coma before having his life support switched off. He is pictured before the suffocation

The boy was taken away to be worked on by doctors and the mother was forced to return to her room and wait for news, her lawyer said.

Jacob was stabilized but never regained consciousness. He was taken to a children's hospital and was placed in the neonatal intensive care unit.

Doctors at that hospital concluded through a series of tests that he had suffered severe hypoxia, a lack of oxygen to the body's tissue, and said his brain was 'severely and permanently damaged'.

BREASTFEEDING ON VICODIN Doctors have long warned new mothers against breastfeeding while under the influence of strong painkillers, namely opioids. Vicodin is the brand name given to Hydrocodone. It is a strong medication which can be deadly for adults if mixed with alcohol or taken in high doses. It can be passed down in small doses through breast milk and has been known to make infants drowsy and groggy. Doctors say that new mothers should try over the counter painkillers first if they wish to continue breastfeeding. In 2011, a study claimed that it may be safe for mothers to nurse while under the influence of hydrocodone but only if they stick to less than 30mgs. In 2014, a South Carolina woman was accused of killing her baby by breastfeeding after snorting the drug. Ambien, the brand name for the sedative Zolpidem, cannot be passed on to a baby through breast milk. It is not advisable to take the sedative before breastfeeding because of the powerful drowsiness it brings on. Advertisement

On August 12, 10 days after she had given birth, Mr and Mrs Thompson followed doctors' advice and turned off his life support.

Mrs Thompson's lawsuit is filed not just on her behalf but also on the behalf of her late son.

She claims the hospital caused him harm by giving his mother such strong pain medication when she was going to have to breastfeed him.

She also claims it was negligent by leaving him in the bed with her alone when she was drowsy and by not monitoring them for an hour.

'Jacob suffocated under his mother while she was under the influence of narcotics and sleep aids. His inability to breath caused him desperation and anxiety.

'His breathing eventually stopped. His pulse was weak or absent.'

When doctors performed CPR on the baby, they broke his ribs which 'can cause substantial pain,' the lawsuit said.

Mrs Thompson believes the hospital owes his estate $3million in damages as a result.

She claims she is owed a further $8million personally, saying the hospital has 'directly caused her severe emotional distress, severe depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, severe anxiety and prolonged grief disorder'.

She is asking for an additional $100,000 to pay for medical and counselling expenses.

Portland Adventist Medical Center did not respond to questions on Thursday morning.
Former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci called the New Yorker reporter who published his infamous rant last month that led to his resignation the 'Linda Tripp of 2017'.

Scaramucci published a tweet on Wednesday comparing reporter Ryan Lizza to Tripp, the woman who exposed Bill Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky to the world in 1998.

'Ryan Lizza is the Linda Tripp of 2017. People know. And he is up at night not being able to live with himself,' Scaramucci wrote.

Scaramucci published a tweet on Wednesday comparing reporter Ryan Lizza to Tripp, the woman who exposed Bill Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky to the world in 1998

Lizza is the New Yorker reporter who published Scaramucci's infamous rant last month. Tripp - unbeknownst to Lewinsky - taped their conversations and, to get out of a wiretape charge, handed the recordings over to Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr

Tripp had worked in both the Bush 41 and Clinton White House, and then worked in the Pentagon alongside Lewinsky when the former White House intern opened up to her about her affair with Bill Clinton.

Tripp - unbeknownst to Lewinsky - taped their conversations and, to get out of a wiretape charge, handed the recordings over to Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr.

She was demonized in the media, as being motivated by money and for wanting to write a book. On 'Saturday Night Live' she was portrayed by John Goodman.

A short time after Scaramucci Lizza the 'Linda Tripp of 2017', a Twitter user asked if he was accusing LIzza of recording him without asking for permission.

'Yes.' Scaramucci said. 'He absolutely taped the call without my permission'

He then went on to call Lizza a 'lowlife'.

Scaramucci published the tweet late Wednesday night and said that the thought was keeping Lizza 'up at night'

A short time after Scaramucci Lizza the 'Linda Tripp of 2017', a Twitter user asked if he was accusing LIzza of recording him without asking for permission

Tripp had worked in both the Bush 41 and Clinton White House, and then worked in the Pentagon alongside Lewinsky when the former White House intern opened up to her about her affair with Bill Clinton

Lewinsky later responded to Scaramucci's comments by retweeting his initial tweet with a red, flushed-cheek emoji.

In Washington DC, where both Lizza and Scaramucci were based in July, it is legal to record a phone call without the permission of the other person.

Lizza published the contents of a phone call he had with Scaramucci last month shortly before the former communications director resigned.

In the now infamous phone call that took place on July 26, Scramaucci railed on his colleagues.

He called the former White House Chief of Staff Reince Preibus a 'f***ing paranoid schizophrenic' and a 'c*** blocker and accused him of leaking his financial information to ProPublica.

He then accused senior White House strategist Steve Bannon of 'sucking his own c***'.
Vitalij Kiseliov was brought to justice after being bitten by an African Grey parrot during a botched raid on the owner's home

A serial burglar was finally brought to justice when he was attacked by a family's protective pet during a botched raid on their home.

Lithuanian Vitalij Kiseliov was not taken down by a furious Pit Bull nor mauled by a savage Alsatian - but nipped on the hand by an African parrot named Rocky.

The 37-year-old met his match when burgling a couple's home in Gillingham, Kent in the dead of night this June.

He snatched a laptop and a phone before spotting Rocky in his cage and tried to swipe him to sell on for up to 500.

The African Grey fought back and bit him on the hand before the enraged crook threw him out the window.

But Rocky's damage was done and the burglar's blood poured all over the room leaving DNA samples for police to place known criminal Kiseiov at the scene.

Victims Peter Rowing, 72, and his wife Trudy, 70, have hailed their parrot a crime-fighting hero.

Mr Rowing said he reckoned the burglar had tried to pinch Rocky, who they've looked after for more than 20 years, but got 'more than he bargained for'.

Victims Peter Rowing, 72, and his wife Trudy, 70, have hailed their parrot a crime-fighting hero

He said: 'The police reckon Kiseliov threw Rocky out of the window because he bit him.

'They found blood by the door. They got him the next day because he was on their database.'

Officers confirmed that Kiseliov's blood was found at the scene. He had committed six other burglaries in the area after being jailed for nearly a year for burglary in 2016.

Rocky was soon reunited with his owners after their granddaughter put out an appeal on Facebook for anyone to look out for the parrot.

Kiseliov threw the African Grey parrot out of a window after he was attacked. The blood the bird's bite drew helped to convict the Lithuanian burglar

In the burglary Kiseliov stole two oxygen tanks which Mrs Rowing uses to help her with her breathing problems and four cans of lager before fleeing the scene with around 1,500-worth of property on June 15 this year.

Recorder Sarah Elliott QC told Kiseliov: 'Your burglary spree caused real misery to your victims and in many ways real fear.

'The victims were asleep in their own homes at night. Some were brave enough to go down and try to confront you or find you.

Rocky was soon reunited with his owners at their home in Gillingham, pictured, after their granddaughter put out an appeal on Facebook

'Victims talk of their distress and fear and lasting feeling their homes have been invaded. Night time burglaries when people are in their beds asleep are terrifying for them and have lasting consequences.

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'One lady had poor eyesight and needed a breathing machine. Among other things, you stole her oxygen.'

Kiseliov, who admitted six counts of burglary - five between the hours of 3.45am and 5.20am on June 15 and one on June 11 - and was jailed for four years at Maidstone Crown Court last week, and will be deported at the end of his sentence.

Detective Constable Richard Sears said: 'Vitalij Kiseliov showed no concern for any potential confrontation during these burglaries and targeted his victims at a time when they would have been asleep or were woken as a result of it.

'Burglary can have a huge and detrimental impact on people's lives and I do hope that those affected by Kiseliov's actions can take comfort in this successful conviction.'
Clowdus has broken her parole which saw her serve a 9-year suspended jail term

She was found to be volunteering at a local elementary school

She was forbidden from working in a school or being involved in a business that serves children

Mother-of-one Crystal Clowdus was jailed for six months in 2014 and had to register as a lifetime sex offender

Jailed: Crystal Gilliland Clowdus was found to be volunteering in an elementary school in the same county where in 2014 she sexted a teenage boy saying she wanted to have sex with him

A former high school maths teacher who was jailed for six months in 2014 for texting naked photos of herself to a 15-year-old male student is back behind bars after she was discovered teaching at an elementary school.

Crystal Gilliland Clowdus, a 35-year-old mother of one, from Alabama was arrested Wednesday afternoon in Blount County after she was found to be volunteering at Oneonta Elementary School.

Despite not being paid for her services, being within the school is a violation of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, also known as SORNA which requires states to maintain a system for monitoring and tracking convicted sex offenders following their release into the community. A violation is a felony charge.

In 2014, she began sending explicit messages and pictures to a boy she met while working at at Susan Moore High School in Alabama, pictured

Clowdus hasnow broken her parole which saw her serving a 9-year suspended jail term

Under state law, 'No adult sex offender shall apply for, accept, or maintain employment or vacation or volunteer at any school, childcare facility, mobile vending business that provides services primarily to children, or any other business or organization that provides services primarily to children.'

Clowdus was booked into the Blount County jail Wednesday afternoon with bond set at $15,000.

In 2014, Clowdus told a boy at Susan Moore High School in Blountsville, Alabama that she wanted to have sex with him.

She ended up pleading guilty at the Blount County Courthouse to t ransmitting obscene material to a minor as part of a plea deal.

She received a 10-year suspended sentence but still had to serve six months in the Blount County jail followed by six months of house arrest.

A 15-year-old student said Clowdus sent him pictures on his cell phone. In the pictures, the teacher was nude. The teen also received text messages from her saying she would like to have sex with him.

Following her one year in detention, Clowdus was ordered to have a five-year probation period, was required to register as a lifetime sex offender and surrender her teaching license.
A British father and his son were last night facing a huge 540,000 fine after being blamed for shining laser pens at passenger jets landing at Malaga Airport.

The pair, aged 41 and 15, were identified as suspects when an off-duty officer staying at the same Costa del Sol hotel saw them using the devices from their room.

Three planes allegedly targeted by the holidaymakers were all normal commercial flights and carrying tourists to the popular holiday destination.

It is not known if any were coming from the UK or Ireland, but one was known to be arriving from Oslo in Norway. Although three pilots reported being targeted, police have not ruled out the possibility others were affected.

A British father and his son were last night facing a huge 540,000 fine after being blamed for shining laser pens at passenger jets landing at Malaga Airport (right). Police later released images of lasers being pointed out of a hotel room

The pair, aged 41 and 15, were identified as suspects when an off-duty officer staying at the same Costa del Sol hotel saw them using the devices from their room. A police officer displays one of the confiscated pointers

Police said they tracked down the Britons, who had been staying in a hotel in Bajondillo, and confiscated two green laser pointers.

They are now facing a fine for breaching Spain's 2015 Citizen Safety Law. 'Serious breaches' of the law, which police say they have committed, are punishable with fines of up to 600,000 euros (540,000).

It is not yet known where the father and son live in the UK and the hotel where the they were staying has not been named.

A spokesman for Spain's National Police confirmed: 'National Police have identified two people staying at a hotel in Torremolinos as the alleged authors of laser attacks suffered by pilots who were landing at Malaga airport. They are both British, a man aged 41 and his son aged 15.

Three planes allegedly targeted by the holidaymakers were all normal commercial flights and carrying tourists to the popular holiday destination. Pictured: Malaga Airport

'They have been told they may be fined between 30,000 euros and 600,000 euros.

'An off-duty officer raised the alarm. He was staying at the same hotel as the British nationals and saw two men shining lasers from a room terrace about 11pm on Tuesday at planes preparing to land at Malaga airport.

'Several pilots complained to the control tower about having lasers shone at them at the same time, saying they had been blinded with a green laser light from the Bajondillo area of Torremolinos.

'The off-duty officer dialled 999 and alerted the emergency services. Inquiries led to the British father and his under-age son.

'Two green laser pointers found on them were confiscated and the fine proposal passed onto the relevant authorities after a police interview.'

Police said they tracked down the Britons, who had been staying in a hotel in Bajondillo (pictured), and confiscated two green laser pointers

Police sources said neither Briton was formally arrested but confirmed they were on holiday at the time.

No-one from the Spanish government's sub-delegation in Malaga, which is believed to be the authority which must now determine the level of the fine, was immediately available for comment today.

The whereabouts of the British pair, who have not been named, was not known.

Air traffic controllers made mention of the incidents on Tuesday night, tweeting just before midnight: 'Third plane arriving at Malaga which has complained tonight of having laser lights shone at it as they prepare to land. The airport has been notified.'

Laser pens of the sort allegedly used by the British father and son were used to target some 1,500 planes in the UK alone in the 12 months to April last year, according to experts.

The British Journal of Ophthalmology said there were an average of four a day, with eye specialists warning of 'devastating consequences' if a laser is pointed at the cockpit of a plane or helicopter and the pilots are blinded.
Two juvenile babysitters from Massachusetts are facing charges after allegedly posted a Snapchat of themselves putting the baby they were watching into a refrigerator.

The two girls, whose names have not been released, were babysitting the infant on Monday at home in Danvers, Massachusetts, when they filmed the video that later appeared on Snapchat.

The girls, from Swampscott, were arrested on Tuesday and charged with child endangerment and assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon.

The two girls, whose names have not been released, were babysitting the infant on Monday at home in Danvers, Massachusetts, when they filmed the video that later appeared on Snapchat. They were seen putting the baby into a fridge and shutting the door

Moments later, they opened the refrigerator and removed the infant. It's unclear how long the baby was inside

Video posted on Snapchat showed the accused girls putting the child into the fridge, shutting the door and laughing as they heard screams through the door.

Moments later, they opened the refrigerator and removed the infant. It's unclear how long the baby was inside.

The next clip of the Snapchat showed someone holding the baby in another room of the house.

'This past evening at approximately 9:30 p.m., Danvers officers were notified by Swampscott police about a potential situation,' Danvers Police Chief Patrick Ambrose told NECN.

The baby's mother said she was away from the house for a little over half an hour when the Snapchat was posted.

The mother of the baby said that one of the babysitters was a family member, while the other was a family friend.

The baby's mother, Bonnie Brogna, said she was away from the house for a little over half an hour when the Snapchat was posted. She said she was 'horrified' when she saw it

'I was horrified,' Bonnie Brogna told NECN. 'I didn't expect that to happen. These teenagers, I don't believe they did it to harm my child.

'Teenagers are silly, stupid, foolish - they do things like that - and I've been a teenager before. It's pretty clear to see that they were joking and laughing. They obviously didn't know the severity of it.'

It is unknown who reported the video - which was published on an online platform that allows users to send pictured and videos to groups or individual people - to police.

The Department of Children and Families and local authorities are investigating the incident.

The baby was not injured in the incident and is home safe with its family.
The three thieves that broke into a house in Daisy Hill on Thursday afternoon didn't notice the camera positioned high up in the corner of the room.

But Chris Hughes' hidden camera noticed the men stealing as much as $50,000 worth of his property.

Video footage shows multiple clear shots of the thieves' faces as they ransack the filmmaker's room in a Logan house.

A hidden camera caught three men stealing as from a house in Daisy Hill on Thursday

Footage shows multiple clear shots of the thieves' faces as they ransack a Daisy Hill house

The footage shows them entering the room wearing gloves, taking cameras, phones and computers from the work space and then leaving.

One of the men can be heard saying, 'he's got a PlayStation' while another loads electronics into a bag.

The third man can be seen sorting through equipment on the bed.

'We need a bag...There's heaps of fresh hats here,' one of them can be heard saying, as another picks up a laptop and stows it into a sack.

The group then went upstairs and stole designer handbags and jewellery from Mr Hughes' wife.

The video has since been uploaded to Facebook, and has been viewed more than 800,000 times.

The video has been uploaded to Facebook, and has been viewed more than 800,000 times

The men can be heard talking to each other, describing what is in the room and asking for bags

A woman wrote under the video: 'You should hand yourself in or you will get hard time in jail... I report you allready goodluck [sic] hiding' and tagged a potential suspect.

The man appeared to admit that it was him, writing, 'Yous had some alright shit in that house to bad it's gone now'.

The man tagged also appears to be underage, commenting that he wouldn't be going to jail because 'I'd be going to jovi [sic] f*ck wit'.

He has been dubbed 'Logan's dumbest criminal'.

A Facebook user has tagged a potential suspect and said that she had reported them to police

The potential suspect appeared to taunt the homeowners, saying, 'Yous had some alright sh*t'

Underage? The potential suspect has written on the Facebook post he'd be going to 'jovi'

'We are offering a $1000 reward if it can lead to the arrest and prosecution of all three offenders,' Mr Hughes told 9NEWS.

Since the footage hit the internet, a 'hoard of vigilantes' have taken stills of the offenders and posted them online in a bid to find the men.

At least three people have posted names and photos of people who could be the offenders to the Facebook thread.

Chris Hughes is offering a $1000 reward if it can lead to the arrest and prosecution of the men
Arez Marie Isabella Scrodi, 21-months, was identified as the small girl who was found unresponsive when she was taken from a Dayton, Ohio home

A toddler died on Monday after she was taken from an Ohio home that was deemed not suitable 'for people or pets' and had 16 dead animals inside.

Arez Marie Isabella Scrodi, 21-months, was identified as the small girl who was found unresponsive when she was taken from a Dayton, Ohio home.

Local police did not comment on the cause of death of the toddler but investigators did clarify that the 16 dead animals - 15 snakes and 1 cat - were not directly responsible for her death.

'We don't have anything as far as the cause of injuries and stuff, exactly,' Dayton police Lt. Gregg Gaby said to the Dayton Daily News.

A police report said that there were at least three children in the home along with four adults living in the crowded, debris filled house seen here on Google Earth

'We're still under investigation at this point.'

While no arrest have been made, a Montgomery County Children Services spokesman said there was an open case involving an adult at the residence.

A police report said that there were at least three children in the home along with four adults.

Dispatch logs show that the grandmother went to check on the little girl and found her unresponsive as family members tried to revive her.

Arez was found along with 16 dead animals including 15 snakes and one cat but it was reported by Lt Gregg Gaby that they had nothing to do with her death

Oh, my God. C'mon baby girl,' said one of family members.

'I'm in the medical field, I shouldn't be wigging out, but this is my grand baby.'

Animal control investigators found the dead animals on the scene. A living boa constrictor-type snake along with a rabbit and a dog were taken from the home.

'Unfortunately, it was more of a recovery than a rescue,' said Mark Kumpf, Montgomery County Animal Control director.

A living boa constrictor-type snake along with a rabbit and a dog were taken from the home

'The conditions inside weren't fit for people or pets.  The conditions overall were not fit, nothing provided for animals in terms of food and water.'

There was a rusty chain link fence surrounding the front yard of the two-story home. Litter and debris covered the front porch area.

One neighbor asked officials about what happened and commented on the home.

One neighbor said he asked officials about the situation.

'That the home was deplorable and they were going to take the kids away and they did,' said Gene Smith.
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A prototype of the wooden houses which will shelter Scotland's homeless in a pop-up village has been unveiled today.

The village will include 10 two-bedroom homes for people who are currently living in mostly unsupported temporary accommodation, shelters, and B&Bs.

Work has already begun on a 1.5-acre site in the Granton area of Edinburgh so the first residents can move in before Christmas.

Innovation: A prototype of the wooden houses which will shelter Scotland's homeless in a pop-up village has been unveiled. Pictured: Matt Stevens of Carbon Dynamic, Ian Grimwade of Cyreians, Social Bite co-founder Josh Littlejohn and Gill Henry of Cruden Homes Project

Home: The houses include an open-plan living room and kitchen complete with armchairs and a small circular coffee table

Time for a cuppa: The kitchen has an oven with multiple settings, a sink, a microwave, and, of course, a kettle ready to whistle

The properties will each have two loft bedrooms, a shared loo and shower, a lounge with a wood burner, and a small kitchen and dining area.

The scheme will save the local council at least 170,000 - the cost of putting 10 homeless people up in a B&B for a year.

Organisers Social Bite said the project aims to provide an alternative to a 'broken temporary accommodation system' for those struggling with homelessness.

Boss Mr Littlejohn said: 'It's really nice when you've had a bit of a vision in your head for quite a long time to see it be realised in some way.

'We've learned a lot about the homelessness issue and we respond to it currently as a society.

'Quite often people associate homelessness just simply with rough sleeping, but a far larger part of the issue is all these hundreds of people in all the big cities caught up in the temporary accommodation system. It almost feels, as a society, we're writing them off.

'A crucial part of the jigsaw to solving the issue of homelessness is really addressing the temporary accommodation system.'

The prototype will be on display in St Andrews Square, Edinburgh until the end of August.

The properties will each have two loft bedrooms, a shared WC with shower, a lounge with a wood burner, and a small kitchen and dining area

Upstairs: The loft of the house is where the bedrooms are. This one has a large double bed positioned next to a window

It is expected that the village will provide a safe living environment for up to 20 people at one time for around 12 -18 months

Architect Johnathon Avery of Tiny House Scotland based the homes his previous model called the 'NestHouse'.

The houses are being manufactured by Carbon Dynamic, using sustainable materials to ensure they are cost effective and low energy.

The houses are also transportable should Social Bite need to reuse or relocate to another suitable location in the future.

It is expected that the village will provide a safe living environment for up to 20 people at one time for around 12 -18 months.

During their stay, they will receive 'extensive support in a community environment where residents learn new skills and get their life back on track'.

They will also receive work placements and employability support. When they leave, the residents are expected to be moved into permanent accommodation.

Well-designed: The prototype house is complete with lots of storage, including shelves situated next to the kitchen area

Social Bite co-founder Josh Littlejohn unveils the prototype house that will be used in Scotland's first village for the homeless
Theresa May's deputy today called for tensions between the US and North Korea to be de-escalated as he suggested war with the rogue state would not be 'sensible'.

There are fears the world is on the brink of a devastating conflict as Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un trade increasingly threatening barbs in their nuclear stand-off.

Tensions ratcheted up again last today when Pyongyang said it was drawing up a plan to fire four missiles near the US territory of Guam will be ready in a matter of days.

Mr Green, the First Secretary of State and the Prime Minister's number two in the Cabinet, said the world should try to reign in North Korea through the UN rather than unleash war.

Cabinet Minister Damian Green, pictured in Edinburgh today, said it is in the world's interests that tensions between North Korea and the US do not escalate further as he urged for diplomatic rather than military action

Speaking in Edinburgh today, he said: 'It is obviously in all our interests to make sure that nothing escalates.

'We are very strongly in support of the UN process, which has and continues to put pressure on North Korea to stop acting in an irresponsible way, and we will continue strongly to support the UN process which will, I hope, help to de-escalate tensions.'

Tensions have flared to new heights in the past 48 hours after Mr Trump said he would unleash 'fire and fury' the kind of which the world has never seen unless North Korea backs down.

It came after intelligence reports emerged in the US which suggested that the rogue state has developed a miniaturised nuclear warhead that can fit inside an intercontinental ballistic missile.

Asked of Mr Trump was right to use such s bare rattling language, the Cabinet minister said: 'I think the sensible way for people to proceed is to work through the UN process, that's what the British Government has been supporting and will continue to support.

Donald Trump, pictured in New Jersey on Tuesday, has threatened to unleash fire and fury on North Korea if the country attacks US soil. Experts have warned that a conflict between the two powers could quickly become a massive devastating conflict that drag Britain and the rest of the world into it

North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un has pursued his ambition to develop nuclear weapons despite the opposition of most of the world. And he has stepped up his threats on the US by threatening to fire on the US territory of Guam in the South Pacific

'We think that the North Korean government has not been behaving properly and I hope they respond to the pressure from the UN.'

Meanwhile, asked about the threat of world war three, Jeremy Corbyn condemned the use of all nuclear weapons.

He said: 'The idea that anyone can kind of contemplate using nuclear weapons at any stage against anybody is unthinkable - there is no such thing as an isolated nuclear attack.

'It would kill millions on both sides of the Korean border and of course in neighbouring countries.'

In its latest pronouncement, North Korea said plans were being finalised to fire four Hwasong-12 missiles over Japan and into the seas around the island.

It said the plan - which would involve the missiles landing in waters as close as 20 miles from Guam - would be submitted to President Kim for approval in the next week or so.

While North Korea has a long history of issuing bellicose threats, the rapidly escalating war of words with the US has alarmed American allies in the region.

Analysts have warned that any military confrontation could swiftly escalate into a full-scale war with devastating consequences across the Korean peninsula.

The UN Security Council last weekend backed a punishing new round of sanctions against North Korea following the test firing of two intercontinental ballistic missiles which experts believe could be capable of hitting the US mainland.

The resolution was backed by China - North Korea's principal ally - and Russia.

However the regime has so far appeared impervious to the increasing international pressure, making clear it intends to press on with its nuclear and missile programmes.
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Put your brollies away, because summer is back - at least for a few days.

There will be a respite from the rain and some 'quite pleasant' weather is in store for this weekend, forecasters say.

Ahead of the dry conditions, yet more rain is due to cross the country tomorrow, bringing mostly drizzle.

But that weather front will be replaced with a fine spell, apart from a risk of showers in Northern England.

The brief summery conditions will arrive due to the brief presence of a ridge of high pressure.

Four women enjoy the warm conditions today at Fistral Beach in Newquay, Cornwall, as the sun comes back out again

People are seen playing games on Fistral Beach in Newquay, which is hosting the annual Boardmasters Festival

Jennie Hamilton with her children Ella and Josh enjoy horse riding in the water in Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, this morning

A yoga class takes place on Fistral Beach today as Britain prepares for more rain tomorrow - followed by a brighter weekend

A pick-your-own sunflower farm near Christchurch in Dorset is expecting a rush of secateur-wielding customers today

People enjoy the sun at St Mary's Lighthouse in Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear, as summer weather makes a brief return

Families enjoy a spell of good weather in St Stephen's Green in Dublin during the summer holidays this afternoon

However, another band of potentially heavy rain is due to hit the country through Monday into Tuesday.

Met Office spokesman Emma Sharples said: 'Apart from showers in the Pennines, the weekend offers some fairly bright, dry conditions with light winds and sunshine coming through, especially on Sunday. It will feel fairly pleasant.'

Temperatures could reach a maximum of 72F (22C) in southern areas on Sunday.

The bright conditions come days after some areas struggled to reach double figures in Celsius during heavy downpours which brought flooding and more than August's entire normal rainfall in just a few hours.

Miss Sharples said tomorrow's weather front is due to arrive in North West Wales, Cumbria and parts of Lancashire by early morning and move diagonally south-eastwards.

It is not due to arrive in the South East until the late afternoon and evening.

A satellite image of Britain this afternoon shows sunny spells around but cloudier weather in the far northwest and southeast

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Rain will mostly be 'drizzle although some areas could see heavier bursts,' Miss Sharples said.

She added: 'Another weather front is due to arrive on Monday into Tuesday which could bring the chance of some heavier rain in parts of southern England. Some could be thundery.

'We don't yet know the likely total rainfall but there is the possibility it could be heavy enough for some surface water to accumulate on roads.

'The same pattern of a couple of days' rain followed by a short dry spell is likely to continue for the foreseeable future.

'There is nothing to suggest a change and a return to the drier, warmer weather of June or early July.'

The weekend's forecast follows heavy downpours which brought flash flooding to a number of towns and villages in East Yorkshire and North East Lincolnshire yesterday.

Jennie Hamilton enjoys horse riding with her children Ella and Josh in the warm weather today in Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire

The sun shines over Fistral Beach in Newquay as a group of girls make the most of the conditions in the water

A man and his dog walk through the water at Fistral Beach today where the annual Boardmasters Festival is taking place

Adults and children take their boards into the water at Fistral Beach in Newquay as they enjoy better conditions today

Sunny weather at Seaton Sluice in Northumberland, a day after more than two inches of rain fell in some parts of England

A dog splashes about at Fistral Beach in Newquay. Some 'quite pleasant' weather is in store for this weekend, forecasters say

Standing water up to 3ft deep built up in parts of Withernsea, East Yorkshire, where emergency services had to rescue people from their cars.

Meanwhile, there were also numerous incidents of flooding across the Grimsby and Immingham areas of North Lincolnshire.

The Met Office said 58mm (2.3in) of rainfall was recorded at Painshill Reservoir in Surrey over just 12 hours - more than the county's August average monthly rainfall of 56.8mm.

Essex County Fire and Rescue Service reported a number of calls to incidents of localised flooding, while flooding at Kidbrooke in South East London caused disruption to trains between Dartford and the capital.

Tornado-like funnel clouds were spotted in Kent, Cornwall and South Wales during the bad weather. Funnel clouds are formed when a rotating column of wind draws in water droplets from the atmosphere.

Yesterday: A pedestrian lands on the pavement after trying to leap over a puddle as rain falls on Oxford Street in London

Cars go through a large puddle near Colnbrook, Berkshire, yesterday as a weather warning for rain was issued for some areas
Sparks were flying at a city council meeting in Nevada after an audience member's purse caught fire when 'batteries from her vape pen exploded'.

Video of the incident shows what appears to be a normal meeting in Boulder City on Tuesday evening, until a woman sitting in the back of the room jumped to her feet.

Flames were seen shooting from her purse as smoke filled the area and she pushed the purse onto the floor. Other audience members turned around in shock.

Video courtesy of KTNV

Sparks were flying at a city council meeting in Nevada after an audience member's purse caught fire when 'batteries from her vape pen exploded'

Video of the incident shows what appears to be a normal meeting in Boulder City on Tuesday evening, until a woman sitting in the back of the room jumped to her feet. Flames were seen shooting from her purse as smoke filled the area

The woman pushed the purse onto the floor as people next to her tried to move out of the way

Luckily, Boulder City Fire Chief Kevin Nicholson was in the room as part of his usual attendance to the meetings and rushed over to help the woman, according to the city's Facebook page.

'There were flames on the front of her shirt,' the post read, adding that 'Nicholson ushered the woman outside' and everyone was cleared from the room.

According to the council, paramedics arrived shortly after the incident and the 'woman was treated for minor burns at the scene and released'.

Nicholson said the fire sparked from a 'battery malfunction' that ignited her purse.

According to KTVN, another woman said that the batteries belonged to a vape pen or e-cigarette that was tucked away in the victim's purse.

Vape pens and e-cigarette explosions aren't that uncommon.

Surgeons and firemen have warned about the dangers of e-cigarettes after treating a string of civilian smokers injured by exploding devices.

And the US Navy banned the devices on ships in April after at least a dozen reports of explosions and injuries.

Other audience members turned around in shock. Luckily, Boulder City Fire Chief Kevin Nicholson was in the room as part of his usual attendance to the meetings and rushed over to help the woman

Nicholson said the fire sparked from a 'battery malfunction' that ignited her purse. Paramedics arriving to the scene

Another woman at the meeting said the batteries belonged to a vape pen or e-cigarette that was tucked away in the victim's purse. The woman's purse is seen as officials inspect its contents

The 'woman was treated for minor burns at the scene and released'. Pictured is her charred purse and some of its contents

The number of injuries caused by exploding e-cigarettes is on the rise, the FDA warned earlier this year, with 66 explosions occurring in 2015 and early 2016 alone.

That's compared with 92 explosions between 2009 and September 2015 - averaging around 18 a year, or 27 per cent of the most recent totals.

And those figures could be an undercount. Seattle's Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, said it has seen about 23 patients with e-cigarette burns since it started tracking them informally in October 2015.

Faulty batteries, coupled with increasing popularity, are the suspected culprits in the dramatic increase in injuries. The industry maintains e-cigarettes are safe when used properly.

The problems with the devices are linked to their lithium-ion batteries, which help vaporize liquid nicotine into a mist that distributors and some health experts say is far less harmful than traditional tobacco cigarettes.

The same types of batteries are used safely in many consumer electronics, but they've also been behind fires in hover boards and smartphones.

It's important to never carry the batteries loosely as they may rub up against metal coins or keys and fail. They may also leak or explode.
A drugs gang hitman was gunned down in a shocking assassination as he waited to have his hair cut in a barber shop.

Victim Oscar Martin Mendoza Barrero had been checking his phone at the hairdressers in Callao, Argentina, when he was shot in the head.

CCTV footage of the slaying shows Barrero sitting on a bench waiting for his turn on the barber's chair.

Feared Peruvian hit man Oscar Martin Mendoza Barrero, pictured sitting on the bench, was awaiting a hair cut at a barber shop in Callao, Argentina

A gunman approached Barrero from Behind and opened fire at point blank range

Barrero raised his hands after the first round missed, but the second hit him in the skull

But as he looks down at his smartphone, an assassin wearing a motorcycle helmet and armed with a handgun walks in through the door behind him.

Astonishingly, his first shot - at point blank range - misses Barrero, who ducks and throws both arms up behind his head.

The second shot, however, hits him square in the back of his skull, sending him to the floor.

Then, as he backs out of the door, the gunman fires twice more into his victim's head.

Barrero was left dead on the floor following the sneak attack which was caught on CCTV

Local media reports that Barrero is an assistant to notorious hitman Bhell Bhoy Arbin Santillan Rios, known as 'Servando' ('the Servant').

Officials from Argentina's Directorate of Criminal Investigation say Peruvian national Barrero was on bail pending extradition proceedings.

He and Servando - currently in jail - are linked to drug dealing, weapons possession, forgery and other crimes.

Detectives believe Barrero was probably executed after falling out with a rival gang.
An Oregon school board voted on Wednesday to remove the name 'Lynch' from three elementary schools in Portland.

Lynch Meadows Elementary, Lynch Woods Elementary and Lynch View Elementary were all named after a local family who donated land to the school district in the late 1800s.

In recent years, school officials say they have received complaints from people who are concerned about the name's connotation with lynching.

'There were an increasing amount of questions and some complaints from families of color around the name,' Centennial School District Superintendent Paul Coakley, who is black, told the Oregonian.

'Our diversity is increasing every year, with families coming in from Northeast Portland and out of state, so [the names] needed to be looked at,' he added.

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On Wednesday, an Oregon school board voted to remove the name Lynch from three elementary schools in Portland. Above, Lynch Meadows Elementary which will become Meadows Elementary

The schools got their name from a local family who donated land to the district in the late 1800s. Above, Lynch Wood elementary which will become Wood Elementary

It's unclear how lynch mobs got their names. Some have attributed the violent practice to an 18th century politician named Charles Lynch, while other accounts say the inspiration was an 18th century Virginian named Capt William Lynch.

While there's no connection to the practice and the local family, Coakley says the names have nonetheless become a 'distraction'.

At Wednesday's school board meeting, members of the community spoke passionately, both in favor and against changing the names.

'I don't think any of you have ever seen a picture where one of your decedents was hanging from a tree,' one black man said to the board.

The board voted unanimously to change the names on Wednesday. At their hearing, members of the community spoke for and against the chance

'I don't think any of you have ever seen a picture where one of your decedents was hanging from a tree,' one black man (above) said to the board.

'Im just disheartened because where will it stop?' Vicki Burnside told KOIN . 'Any moment someone could be offended by any name. Do we keep changing the name of everything? That would be the question, right?'

A young student added: 'I know the majority of you guys are white and it's hard to know how that word could have an effect but it does. If a simple name change could make students feel safe, then why are we holding back?'

'It was a family,' said one woman who was against the change. 'Lynch was named for a family, not an action.'

'Im just disheartened because where will it stop?' Vicki Burnside told KOIN. 'Any moment someone could be offended by any name. Do we keep changing the name of everything? That would be the question, right?'

David Hayes, Patrick Lynch's great-great-grandson did not attend the board meeting but he has spoken out against changing the name in the past.

'I think my grandfather would have liked me to stand up for the family name a little bit,' he told KGW. '[Schools] are in the business of education so they should be able to educate people that a name and history have a certain meaning versus what other people have tried to turn it into.'

At the end of the meeting, the board voted unanimously to change the names.

Lynch Meadows and Lynch Wood Elementary schools will be chanced to Meadows and Wood Elementary schools temporarily, until permanent names can be decided on. Lynch View Elementary will be chanced to Patrick Lynch Elementary permanently.

Another board member, Pam Shields, says she feels 'very comfortable' with the decision because the district no longer owns land that was donated by the Lynch family. She also pointed out that the district's high school, Centennial, was originally called Lynch Terrace, and that name was changed.

The school district has 6,000 students, 55 per cent of whom are not white. The largest racial minority are Latino students, who make up 27 per cent of the student body. A decade ago, the school district was 84 per cent white.

While lynchings were predominantly an issue in the southern U.S., after the end of slavery, they did occasionally happen in Oregon.

In 1902, a black man was lynched in Coos Bay after being accused of raping a white woman.

And in the 1920s, the Ku Klux Klan drove a black man out of Oregon City with the threat of lynching.
A mother-of-two has captured hilarious footage of her two large slobbering boxer dogs 'cleaning the windows' with their tongues.

Monica Baker, 38, from Capel, Western Australia, claims her canine chums are trying to help her keep on top of her household chores.

But it's all in vain as she says the duo are in fact causing more mess with their saliva.

Hilarious footage shows five-year-old Roxy and her two-year-old pup Boss almost in sync as they drag their tongues across the glass, appearing to try to cover every corner of the window.

Hilarious footage shows five-year-old Roxy and her two-year-old pup Boss almost in sync as they drag their tongues across the glass

Boss licking the window. Their owner, Monica Baker, believes the dogs think they are helping her with the housework

Mrs Baker, a qualified veterinary nurse, said: 'They are very cheeky, they take over our house but they get away with everything because they are cute, they're always doing stupid things.

'I think they are trying to help me by cleaning the windows for me but ultimately they just create even more mess for me to clean.

'My friends keep joking that at least I am saving money on a window cleaner but by licking the windows they need cleaning more often.

'I know they are trying but it's not very helpful.

'Boss goes the hardest when he is licking the windows, but Roxy enjoys it and joins in too.

'They do everything together, they have a great bond, especially as they are mother and son.'

Footage shows the dogs appearing to try to cover every corner of the window

Roxy (pictured left with Boss) was just seven weeks old when she came to live with Mrs Baker's family

Roxy was just seven weeks old when she came to live with Mrs Baker, her husband Tim, 39, and children Chloe, nine, and Kodee, eight.

While it may appear the boxers are trying to help with chores, Mrs Baker believes that the pair could also be trying to show how much they love her and her family through the glass.

She said: 'If I'm outside mowing the lawn I need to keep them inside because they just jump everywhere that's when I started to notice them doing it.

'I think they start to lick the door as I'm on the other side of it and they can't get to me.

'They both lick everyone they see, they're really friendly dogs and like to show it.'
Zaylan Sparkman (pictured), 6, was playing video games on his phone when his 16-year-old brother shot and fatally wounded him

A teenage boy will be arraigned on manslaughter charges next Wednesday after police in Mississippi said he killed his 6-year-old brother.

Albert Deonta Craft III explained to police that he was just trying to scare his younger brother before pulling the trigger, according to The Sun Herald.

The boy was rushed to the hospital suffering from a gunshot wound to the stomach and later died from his injuries Friday evening.

An affidavit detailing events of the incident offers a glimpse into what happen before and after the shooting in the familys home on Sabine Street.

According to the Herald citing a Gulfport Police report, Craft and his younger brother, Zaylan Sparkman, were in the laundry room. Zaylan was siting on top of washing machine, playing games on his phone.

Carter began pointing the .38 caliber handgun at Zaylan, trying to provoke a reaction. Carter admits to knowing the gun had two bullets in it, but did not think they were close to the hammer.

Albert Deonta Craft and little brother Zaylan pictured together in front of their family home in Gulfport, Mississippi

He pulled the trigger once, with the gun failing to fire.

He pulled the trigger a second time, shooting his brother in the stomach.

The teenager then rushed to a neighbor's house, holding the six-year old in his arms, pleading for help.

The neighbor called 911 while Carter returned back home to wait for an ambulance.

'As officers arrived, they encountered Craft and heard him say that he had just killed his brother,' the court record says.

One officer who responded to the situation was wearing a body camera when Carter made the statement, according to the Herald.

'A second officers body camera captured Craft telling his mother, "Momma, I just killed him, court documents show.

Carter shot Zaylan in the stomach while he was playing video games on the family's washing machine. He told police he was trying to scare him (Pictured: Zaylan's family home)

The record shows that Zaylan was non-responsive when emergency medical units arrived.

Police said they recovered the gun and collected evidence including blood samples from the house during a search.

The teenager will be arraigned on manslaughter charges next Wednesday

They also found one spent casing in the handgun and another live round, the statement says, backing up Crafts account of what happened.

Police said that Carter obtained the gun illegally, but offered no other details.

Mississippi state law states that 'manslaughter is punishable by up to 1 year in the county jail, 2-20 years in the penitentiary, and at least $500 in fines.'

'He was just a happy little boy,' Rev. Eddie Hartwell told the Herald shortly after arriving at the Carter home to help with funeral arrangements.

'God is with us... Thats the last words I remember him saying,' Hartwell said. 'Less than 24 hours later, we got the call of the tragedy.'

Hartwell, pastor at St. James Baptist Church, is also the owner of Hartwells Christian Mortuary and Funeral Home and will preside over Zaylan's burial.
A walker was left trapped during a trek after a swarm of midges descended on his chosen route.

Kev Green had pitched his tent in the Lairig Ghru, which passes through the Cairngorm Mountains in west Scotland, when the insects struck the area.

Mr Green, from Newark-on-Trent in Nottinghamshire, started filming the moment before he opened his tent and the footage shows the outlines of thousands of tiny midges.

Kev Green was walking in the Lairig Ghru, which passes through the Cairngorm Mountains in west Scotland, when 68 billion midges struck the area

Midges in Scotland: why and when do they bite? According to the Scottish Midge Forecast website: 'Midges are tiny flying insects with a wingspan of only 2-3mm. 'There are over 35 different species of biting midge in Scotland, but it is Culicoides impunctatus, otherwise known as the Highland Midge that earns its place as Scotlands most ferocious foe. 'Youll be an all-you-can-eat buffet for their miniature scissor-like jaws if you foolishly venture out in midge weather without your insect repellent.' It is only female midges that bite - they need blood to feed their eggs. Male midges eat plant nectar. Midges thrive on still, humid conditions and the Highland Midge is most active at dawn and dusk. Midge season runs from May to September in Scotland. Sources: Scottish Natural Heritage (www.snh.org.uk) and the Scottish Midge Forecast (www.smidgeup.com/midge-forecast) Advertisement

In the video, a dense, pulsating cloud of the biting insects is revealed once he opens the door.

At certain points it is difficult to make out the surrounding hills due to the swarm, despite them being some of the highest in the UK.

After a few seconds, Mr Green closed the tent and eventually he managed to escape.

Mr Green, who works as a storeman in a food factory, said: 'All you can do in that situation when it comes to packing your stuff away is to get on with it.

'Fasten up all your clothing wear, including the head net and gloves and be as quick as possible.

'Without a net they would in your ears, nose, eyes and mouth. I had to go to the loo in the midst of that swarm, that was not pleasant at all.

'I never go anywhere without my midge net.'

The Scottish Midge Forecast previously announced that Scotland was on course to have a record-breaking 68 billion midges this year.

This will be the highest number since records began in 2010, with the bleak July weather in most parts of Scotland providing ideal breeding conditions for midges.

Mr Green, from Newark-on-Trent in Nottinghamshire, started filming the moment before he opened his tent and the footage shows the outlines of thousands of tiny midges
Kelly Green, 32, (left with her husband Shane Green) moved from Eastbourne, East Sussex, in the UK to Tristan da Cunha (pictured), one of a remote group of volcanic islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, in July 2013. The whole island descends from just seven families and has a population of just 138 inhabitants. It is only accessible by boat from Cape Town, South Africa, and the journey can take anywhere from a week to 15 days - depending on the weather. After going through a tough break up, Kelly travelled to the island to visit her parents in 2010 as her dad was a diplomat posted there. Kelly said she 'fell in love' with the island and it was there that she met her now husband Shane Green, 33. Shane, a carpenter who has lived on the island for his entire life, had helped Kelly carry her luggage off the raft and they soon became besotted with each other. Kelly made the move to Tristan da Cunha permanently in July 2013 and the couple now have two children together - Savannah, eight, and Seren, who is 16-months-old.
The farmer discovered his $1200 with a gunshot wound and it later died

An Oregon farmer is not thrilled with the a local sheriff's office after a deputy shot and killed his goat after it escaped, claiming self defense.

Matt Minnick, whose farm is in northwest Portland, Oregon, discovered that his male breeding goat, Volt, was missing on Sunday. Deputies from Washington County Sheriff's office would call him to a nearby housing department.

'When I walked up, he was right here, there was one officer right here,' Minnick told KPTV.

Matt Minnick, whose farm is in northwest Portland, Oregon, discovered that his male breeding goat, Volt, was missing on Sunday

The farmer discovered his $1200 with a gunshot wound and it later died

'The goat was there huffin' and puffin'.'

Minnick would soon discover that Volt was bleeding from a gunshot wound.

'And they say, "Yeah, it was either me or the goat" and I said, "Man, there are 7-year-old kids that deal with these goats. Infants that deal with these,"' he added.

According to Minnick, it is likely the goat escaped through a fence installed more than two years ago when the housing development was just build.

Deputies from Washington County Sheriff's office claim that the goat was being aggressive and that they killed out of self defense

Minnick said: 'Goats are escape artists, and I'm the farmer. I see this as partly my fault because I didn't keep a closer eye on my perimeter.'

The farmer asserted that Volt's breed of goat, native to New Zealand, is normally calm in its demeanor. He cost $1200.

'I think if it'd been an issue where they could've just left him alone and waited for the farmer, they would've done that but they felt like they couldn't let the animals get any farther into the neighborhood,' said Sgt Dave Thompson with the Washington County Sheriff's Office.

The farmer asserted that Volt's breed of goat, native to New Zealand, is normally calm in its demeanor

Deputies claimed they herded the goat in the field but a deputy was intimidated by the goat's size and horns. The deputy was also worried about neighbors.

A Washington County Sheriff's Office spokesman said that the goat was shot only after several attempts had been made to stop it

'It's tough, it's tough,' Minnick said.

Minnick added that he will seek a claim with the county for damages.
Since being released from prison in one of Obama's final acts as president, she's assumed a low-key life as an independent woman in New York City.

But it seems Chelsea Manning is eager to share some parts of her new normal.

Wearing just a scarlet swimsuit and delicate necklace, the 29-year-old is seen in a Vogue photoshoot this month that is reminiscent of Caitlyn Jenner's famous Vanity Fair coming-out cover.

With her blonde hair cut in to a pixie crop and sporting minimal make-up, she beamed for photographer Annie Lebowitz's camera on a deserted East Coast beach.

Raising her hands to her salty wet hair to reveal her $350 Norma Kamali swimsuit, it is the first time her new look has been glorified in the pages of a magazine.

Chelsea Manning has posed in a $350 swimsuit for Vogue as part of a lengthy interview and photo-shoot describing her new life as an independent woman since being released from jail

In an accompanying interview, Manning told how she relied on fashion bibles during her time in prison to keep her sane and revealed plans to start dating, explaining that she has always known she was attracted to men since she was a child.

'I don't plan on being single!' she told writer Nathan Heller excitedly.

Later, she said she survived by avoiding television and hungrily reading books and science magazines. She did not address her two failed suicide attempts nor did she make mention of President Obama, who mercifully ordered her release in January, or President Trump, who has labelled her an 'ungrateful traitor' since taking office.

The 29-year-old is enjoying dressing in women's clothing including pieces by her favorite designer Marc Jacobs and said she is getting to grips with social media. She is seen above in a recently posted Instagram picture

Manning spent seven years at Fort Leavenworth Prison in Kansas for leaking almost 1million classified files to WikiLeaks while she was working as an army intelligence specialist in Iraq in 2009.

She was due to spend a total of 35 years behind bars but had her sentence suddenly and dramatically commuted by President Obama in January.

While behind bars, she kept up with fashion through magazines and avoided television, instead devouring books and science periodicals.

'I missed seven years of fashion, but I went through every season in a magazine!' she said.

Since being released, she has moved to New York City and is now living quietly in a downtown apartment. She has not seen her mother yet, she revealed, but intends to soon.

For now, she is enjoying being able to roam the streets unrecognized in dresses and skirts. Marc Jacobs is her designer of choice, she revealed, and was when she wore men's clothing.

As for work, Chelsea explained she is in the process of writing a memoir chronicling her extraordinary experiences and is also the star of a forthcoming documentary.

She hinted at running for office, telling the magazine: 'Im certainly not going to say no, and Im certainly not going to say yes.

'My goal is to use these next six months to figure out where I want to go.'

She is now an advocate for the rights of transgender people and was among protesters who descended on the White House last month when President Trump - announced a ban on transgender people serving in the military.

Formerly known as Bradley Manning, she revealed her transgender identity the day after being sentenced. In her Vogue interview, Manning recalls struggling with her identity during her Oklahoma childhood.

'I knew that I was different. I gravitated more toward playing house, but the teachers were always pushing me toward playing the more competitive games with the boys.

At the end of July, Manning joined protesters in Washington who descended on the White House to protest against Trump's annoncement of a ban on transgender people joining the military. Besides that and a few media appearances, she has been living quietly

Since being released from prison, she has become a vocal advocate for LGBTQ rights

The 29-year-old (left in an ABC interview after her release) said she always knew she was different and first considered transitioning from male to female when she was 19 but 'got scared' and enrolled in the army instead. She is seen right as Bradley Manning

'I spent so much time wondering, Whats wrong with me? Why cant I fit in?' she said.

She described juggling her gender and sexuality confusion with caring for her alcoholic mother and the feuding relationship she had with her father.

The internet was her solace, she said, and was where she discovered there was an LGBTQ community.

'Because I would actually be anonymous online, I could be more myself,' she said.

At the age of 19, after bouncing between her separated parents homes in different countries and moving to Maryland to live with her aunt, she said she considered transitioning from male to female for the first time.

'It was the first time in my life when I really considered transitioning. But I got scared.

'I really regret the fact that I didnt know or realize I already had the love I needed, especially from my aunt and sisterjust to seek support.'

Manning, pictured at this year's Pride parade in New York City, said she 'always knew she was different' as a child

Manning made no mention of President Trump who called her an 'ungrateful traitor' after taking office in January when she criticized Obama

Desperate to learn more about herself and establish her identity, she enrolled in the military in the hope it would force order on her confusion and was later posted to Iraq.

In a brief and vague acknowledgement of leaking the classified files to WikiLeaks, she said: 'Ive accepted responsibility for my own decisions and my own actions.'

She also recalled trying to give them to mainstream media publications including The Washington Post and The New York Times before handing them over to Julian Assange's website but said no one would listen.

She maintained that there are still not safe channels for whistle blowers to raise the alarm if they are concerned with government activity, explaining: 'We need to have more ways to talk about whats going on in government.

The interview can be found in this month's Vogue

'I dont know whats right. I have certain values. I live by those.'

Manning said she would remain in New York until late summer and then move back to Maryland where she spent time living as a teenager before joining the army.

She is struggling to keep up with social media which was in its infancy when she was jailed, but has enjoyed sharing photographs of her new life with fans on Instagram.

'Before I was in prison, I was one of the only people on social media. I was a novelty.'

She did not address President Trump , who has repeatedly condemned Obama's decision to commute her sentence.
An Israeli-American who ran a bomb threat service that led to wave of scares at schools and Jewish temples this year made at least $30 per transaction, court documents reveal.

Michael Kadar, 18, is accused of running an online black marketplace where he allegedly offered to send customized threats for $30, plus a $15 surcharge if the buyer sought to have someone framed.

The teen, who is reportedly Jewish, was arrested in Israel in March and charged in federal court in Florida, with 28 counts of making threatening calls and conveying false information to police.

Officials claim that Kadar made at least 245 threats to schools and Jewish community centers across the US from January through March, resulting in numerous evacuations.

Recently unsealed court documents claim that Kadar had at least one satisfied customer, who posted a review of a phoned-in threat that said: 'Amazing on time and on target. We got evacuated and got the day cut short.'

Michael Kadar, 18, (pictured in an Israeli court in 2017) is accused of running an online black marketplace where he allegedly offered to send customized threats for $30, plus a $15 surcharge if the buyer sought to have someone framed

Officials claim that Kadar had at least one satisfied customer, who posted a review of a phoned-in threat that said: 'Amazing on time and on target. We got evacuated and got the day cut short.' The message came a day after Rancho Cotate High School in Rohnert Park, California (pictured) had a threat

Authorities in both the US and Israel have linked Kadar to posting on the now-shuttered illicit marketplace AlphaBay advertising a 'School Email Bomb Threat Service.'

The poster offered to send customized threats to schools for $30, plus a surcharge if the buyer sought to have someone framed.

The price would increase to $45 if the buyer wanted to target more than one school or an entire district, according to the post, whose author offered refunds if a threat produced no evidence of success.

Officials claim that he used an online calling service that disguised his voice and allowed him to hide his identity.

The threats led to evacuations, sent a chill through Jewish communities and stoked fears of rising anti-Semitism.

Investigators sought permission to search several AlphaBay accounts they believed were being operated by Kadar, including the handle 'Darknet_Legend,' according to the documents.

His mom and lawyer say he has autism and an inoperable brain tumor that affect his behavior. He was arrested in Israel in March and now faces 26 counts in the US Bomb threats reported at Jewish centers across the US from January to March

On a thumb drive confiscated from Kadar's home, investigators said they found a document that was nearly identical to an AlphaBay posting by 'Darknet_Legend' offering bomb-threat services for sale.

Federal court records don't list an attorney for Kadar in the U.S. But his lawyer in Jerusalem, Galit Bash, said shortly after his arrest that her client had a 'very serious medical condition' that might have affected his behavior.

Kadar's parents have said he has a brain tumor that caused autism and other mental problems, making him unable to understand the nature of his actions.

The AlphaBay advertisement described in court documents offers to customize the text of a bomb threat and frame someone for it, although it says 'there is no guarantee that the police will question or arrest the framed person. I just add the persons name to the email.'

Officials claim that Kadar made at least 245 threats to schools and Jewish community centers (pictured Jewish cemetery at one of the centers) across the US from January through March, resulting in numerous evacuations

It wasn't clear whether anyone actually paid Kadar for a threat, but Israeli authorities previously accused him of earning about $240,000 worth of the digital currency Bitcoin after selling his threat services on the dark web.

Officials claim the 'Darknet_Legend' received positive reviews from at least one other user.

One user posted feedback for Darknet_Legend on March 9, writing, 'Amazing on time and on target. We got evacuated and got the day cut short.'

Federal agents said in court papers that the message came a day after Rancho Cotate High School in Rohnert Park, California, was evacuated due to an emailed bomb threat that was identical in wording to other threats linked to Kadar.
A Virginia man returned home from a trip and found that his apartment had been broken into - and cleaned.

An Arlington, Virginia, man returned home on Monday soon after midnight to find someone had tidied up his apartment when he returned home from a trip.

He called Arlington County Police when he noticed that his apartment appeared to have been cleaned and some items had been moved around.

An Arlington, Virginia, man returned home on Monday soon after midnight to find someone had tidied up his apartment when he returned home from a trip

But nothing from the home seemed to be missing.

Ashley Savage, a police spokeswoman, said: 'someone unlawfully entered the apartment.'

Savage was not at liberty to disclose what exactly had been cleaned as it still under investigation.

WRC-TV reports the man told police he doesn't employ a maid.

The man also commented that he didn't see the person who cleaned his apartment.

There do not appear to be any leads as to who the intruder is.
Larry Russell Bates, 46 (pictured), from Auburn, Georgia, had admitted to shooting and killing his neighbor, Paul Allen Wilson, 44, and his dog last month

A Georgia man has confessed to killing his neighbor last month after believing his dog was leaving feces in his yard.

Larry Russell Bates, 46, from Auburn, was charged with felony murder and animal cruelty for shooting and killing Paul Allen Wilson, 44, and one of Wilson's dogs.

'Mr. (Larry) Bates confessed to shooting Paul Allen Wilson because the dog was using the bathroom in his yard,' Lt. Chris Hodge of the Auburn Police Department testified.

Bates was arrested after the Auburn Police Department received a call about a neighborhood dispute on Crest Pointe Court in Auburn at about 1am in the early hours of July 2.

Wilson had just taken his dog out for a walk when he and his pet were gunned down, officials said.

Larry Bates has confessed after being charged in connection with the shooting death of a former neighbor in Barrow County

By the time officers arrived to assist, Wilson had been shot in the head and torso - and one of the family dogs was dead.

Wilson's wife, Beth, told WSB-TV that Bates was 'obsessed' because he was convinced their dogs were leaving droppings in his yard.

She says their dogs weren't responsible but offered to clean the waste up anyway.

After the shooting, Bates was booked into the Barrow County Detention Center on murder and animal cruelty charges, officials said.

Wilsons wife, Beth said after the shooting, Bates just started harassing us about two months ago. He thought our dogs were using the bathroom in his yard. She said it wasn't true

Paul came home from work as he normally did and took his dog and his mother-in-law's dog on a walk. While on that walk his life was taken by a senseless act of violence by his neighbor

Wilson's (pictured) wife, Beth, said Bates was 'obsessed' because he was convinced their dogs were leaving feces in his yard and would often watch for her husband going on nightly walks with the dog=

Wilson's wife, Beth, told Channel 2 news right after the shooting, '(Bates) just started harassing us about two months ago. He thought our dogs were using the bathroom in his yard.' She said the accusations were false.

Beth added that Bates would often wait and watch for her husband going on nightly walks with the dogs.

On the night of the shooting, Beth heard the shots and ran outside to find Paul laying on the sidewalk.

She called 911 and a neighbor assisted her in getting the paramedics and cops to the scene.

Unfortunately, it was too late and he died in her arms there on the sidewalk.

Bates thought Paul's dogs were using the restroom in his yard and he wasn't picking it up the droppings.

He would wait and watch for Paul's nightly walks with his dogs. After multiple confrontations, Paul even tried to settle the situation by offering to pick up any dog waste that was being left behind.

There were several months of harassment and seven separate police calls made about Bates by Beth and Paul to the local police department, but it wasn't enough.

Beth heard the shots and ran outside to find Paul laying on the sidewalk. She called 911 and a neighbor assisted her in getting the paramedics and cops to the scene

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help with funeral expenses. So far, $1,220 has been raised out of a $10,00 goal.

According to records, obtained by DailyMail.com, this is not the first time Bates has been in trouble with the law.

In 2010, he pleaded no contest to four counts of simple battery and one count of family violence battery, serving probation for 12 months.

In 2012, he pleaded guilty to two counts of criminal trespass, serving probation for 12 months and paying a $680 fine and serving 12 months' probation.
United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. AVERY FRAZIER, Defendant-Appellant. No. 16-14947 Decided: August 08, 2017

Before ED CARNES, Chief Judge, TJOFLAT, and WILLIAM PRYOR, Circuit Judges.

Avery Frazier pleaded guilty to four counts of Hobbs Act robbery, 18 U.S.C.  1951(a), and one count of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, 18 U.S.C.  924(c)(1)(A)(ii). The crimes involved robberies of automobile title loan businesses where Frazier brandished a gun, threatened employees' lives, and told them that if they wanted to see their families again they had to comply with his demands. During three of the four robberies, Frazier forced the employees into another room in the business and ordered them to stay there so that he would have time to flee the scene.

Before the sentence hearing, the government filed victim impact statements written by the employees of the stores that Frazier had robbed. One employee was so traumatized by the robbery that she relocated to a different city and found a new job. Another employee stated that she was scared to come back to work but that she could not quit because she was a single mom and needed money to provide for her family. At the hearing, which lasted over three hours, the government presented evidence showing that Frazier had a gambling habit and had gambled away the robbery proceeds. Frazier, however, stated during his allocution that he had committed the offenses to provide for himself and his family. He failed to address or even acknowledge the evidence that he gambled away the stolen money, a failure that the district court found confusing and was concerned about. Frazier presented four character witnesses who testified about his faith and involvement in the church.

The district court calculated an advisory guidelines range of 162 to 181 months imprisonment, but decided to vary upward and imposed a sentence of 240 months imprisonment, explaining that [a]fter considering all of the applicable sentencing factors pursuant to 18 U.S.C.  3553(a), I do find that this sentence, which is above the advisory custodial guideline range, is appropriate, adequate, and necessary for punishment and deterrence. Frazier challenges his sentence, contending that it is procedurally and substantively unreasonable.

District courts must impose a procedurally and substantively reasonable sentence. United States v. Gonzalez, 550 F.3d 1319, 1323 (11th Cir. 2008). A sentence is procedurally unreasonable if the district court fail[s] to adequately explain its variance from the advisory Guidelines range to its chosen sentence in a way that allows for any meaningful appellate review. United States v. Livesay, 525 F.3d 1081, 1093 (11th Cir. 2008).

Frazier contends that his sentence is procedurally unreasonable because the district court's explanation of its reasons for the upward variance was not adequate. We disagree. Several times during the lengthy sentence hearing, the district court expressed concern about the facts underlying all of Frazier's crimes and the impact those crimes had on the stores' employees. It found Frazier (and his proffered reason for committing the robberies  to provide for his family) not credible, especially given his failure to respond to the government's evidence showing that he gambled away the robbery money. It found that the facts of those crimes along with his failure to respond to the gambling evidence related to two  3553(a) factors, punishment and deterrence, and stated that the guidelines range did not sufficiently account for those two factors in Frazier's case. The district court adequately explained its reasons for varying upward, and for that reason Frazier's sentence was not procedurally unreasonable.

Frazier also contends that his sentence was substantively unreasonable because it was outside of the range of reasonable sentences for his offenses. We review for an abuse of discretion the substantive reasonableness of a sentence. United States v. Irey, 612 F.3d 1160, 118990 (11th Cir. 2010) (en banc). A district court abuses its discretion when it (1) fails to afford consideration to relevant factors that were due significant weight, (2) gives significant weight to an improper or irrelevant factor, or (3) commits a clear error of judgment in considering the proper factors. Id. at 1189. We vacate a sentence for substantive unreasonableness if, but only if, we are left with the definite and firm conviction that the district court committed a clear error of judgment in weighing the  3553(a) factors by arriving at a sentence that lies outside the range of reasonable sentences dictated by the facts of the case.  Id. at 1190 (quoting United States v. Pugh, 515 F.3d 1179, 1191 (11th Cir. 2008)).

Under  3553(a), the district court must impose a sentence sufficient, but not greater than necessary to comply with the purposes listed in  3553(a)(2), including to provide punishment for the offense, reflect the seriousness of the offense, and afford adequate deterrence to criminal conduct. 18 U.S.C.  3553(a). District courts must also consider the nature and circumstances of the offense, the defendant's history and characteristics, and the kinds of sentences available. Id. In the substantive reasonableness context, a major variance  require[s] a more significant justification than a minor one  the requirement is that the justification be sufficiently compelling to support the degree of the variance. Irey, 612 F.3d at 1196 (quotation marks omitted).

Frazier contends that the district court abused its discretion in varying upward because it gave too much weight to his gambling habit and did not give enough weight to his allocution, character witness testimony, and lack of criminal history. The district court did not abuse its discretion in giving more weight to the fact that Frazier gambled away the robbery money than it gave to his allocution. It found Frazier's allocution not credible. He never addressed the gambling and he asserted (despite the gambling evidence showing otherwise) that he had committed the crimes to provide for his family. The district court also did not clearly err in finding Frazier's character witnesses' testimony not credible. The record shows that it was unclear how well those witnesses truly knew him. The weight to be accorded any given  3553(a) factor is a matter committed to the sound discretion of the district court, United States v. Clay, 483 F.3d 739, 743 (11th Cir. 2007) (quotation marks omitted), and here the record establishes that the court acted well within its discretion in weighing the  3553(a) factors as it did.

The record shows that Frazier robbed at least four businesses, used a firearm to threaten at least seven employees, and subjected those people to emotional trauma that was detailed in victim impact statements. In light of that evidence, the district court did not abuse its discretion in concluding that the need for deterrence and punishment justified the upward variance that it imposed.

AFFIRMED.

FOOTNOTES

. Frazier contends that by relying on the fact that he brandished a firearm during the robberies as a reason to vary upward the district court engaged in double counting. He argues that his firearm brandishing conduct had already been taken into account under his guidelines calculation. Frazier misunderstands double counting. It occurs only when one part of the guidelines is applied to account for a harm that another part of the guidelines has already fully accounted for. See United States v. Dudley, 463 F.3d 1221, 122627 (11th Cir. 2006). In imposing a variance, however, the district court may consider conduct that a probation officer already had considered in calculating the defendant's guidelines range. United States v. Moran, 778 F.3d 942, 983 (11th Cir. 2015).

PER CURIAM:
A norovirus outbreak tied to a local Ohio doughnut shop has sickened more than 200 people, including 15 young children at an eight-year-old's birthday party.

At least 214 people have been sickened by an outbreak tied to Mama C's Donuts in Maumee, according to the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department.

The illnesses have been tracked to customers who ate at the shop between August 4 to August 7.

County officials are also investigating whether a dozen of the cases are tied to doughnuts the store provided to nearby businesses.

A norovirus outbreak tied to Mama C's Donuts (pictured) in Maumee, Ohio has sickened at least 214 people - including 15 young children at an eight-year-old's birthday party

Mama C's voluntarily closed on Tuesday for cleaning and has yet to reopen.

Three of the specimens from the restaurant tested by the health department came back positive for norovirus, according to WTOL.

Norovirus, which spreads easily through food and drink, inflames the stomach and intestines and often causes vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach cramps.

People typically become sick 24 to 48 hours after contact with the virus and symptoms tend to last up to two days, according to the health department.

But an infected individual can spread the virus up to two weeks after the symptoms disappear, unknowingly passing the virus through close contact like shaking hands.

A sign posted on the restaurant on Wednesday stated that it was closed because they were out of doughnuts.

Mama C's owners Dar and Yann Chao said they are working with the health department to find out what caused the outbreak.

Mama C's (pictured) voluntarily closed on Tuesday for cleaning and has yet to reopen. Three of the specimens tested by the health department came back positive for norovirus

Some took to Mama C's Facebook page to reveal that they were affected by the Norovirus

They are cleaning and sanitizing the entire restaurant and will need to have it re-inspected before they can open its doors again.

The couple, who have owned the beloved local business for 14 years, told the station that their customers are 'apart of their family'.

Some have taken to Mama C's Facebook page to reveal that they were affected by the norovirus.

Eric Schlegel, who left a one-star rating on the page, said his 'whole family got food poisoning' after having doughnuts on Saturday.

'We all missed work and feel like death! Never again,' he wrote.

John Pointer also revealed that fifteen guests at his granddaughter's birthday party got sick due to a doughnut cake purchased from the restaurant.

'Everybody at the party got sick,' he told The Toledo Blade.

Pictured are doughnuts from the Mama C's shop posted on Yelp, where it still have five stars

A number of loyal customers said they plan to stick by Mama C's side despite the controversy.

Delray Busch, who has been eating at the store for two years, plans to return to Mama C despite her three-year-old daughter catching the virus earlier this week.

'They are great to our community,' she told the paper. 'I will absolutely keep supporting our small businesses.'

Kelly Walkup, who did not get sick despite eating doughnuts from Mama C's just a day before the news broke out, also plans to return.

'People are pretty quick to shame them, but it can happen anywhere,' she told WTOL.

'I clean, but my goodness, my house could be carrying a virus for all I know with the people coming in and out, touching things.'

'I think it's super unfortunate. We are definitely going to give them a second chance.'
Disgraced politician Anthony Weiner was pictured glumly riding a Citi Bike through New York City on Wednesday, less than a month before he is due to be sentenced for sexting with a minor.

At another point in the day, the former Congressman was seen dropping off or picking up his five-year-old son Jordan from summer camp.

He looked casual, dressed in a white t-shirt, grey shorts, blue Adidas sneakers and a faded New York Mets cap.

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Anthony Weiner was pictured riding a Citi Bike through Manhattan on Wednesday, less than a month before he is due to be sentenced for sexting a minor

At another point in the day, Weiner was seen with his five-year-old son Jordan

Since revelations were made about his sexting with a minor last year, Weiner separated from his wife, Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin.

And residents in his Union Square building say he's become unpopular.

Residents told the New York Post this week that since pleading guilty to sharing obscene photos with a minor earlier this year, he's lost contact with many people in the building and wears earbuds to the gym, where 'nobody speaks to him'.

'Nobody speaks to him. He is truly ostracized,' a source told the newspaper on Sunday. 'People won't even get on the elevator with him.'

Many of Weiner's neighbors voted for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election and blame him for her loss.

While investigating Weiner's relationship with the minor, federal authorities seized a computer from the couple's Manhattan apartment and found emails that they believed might be relevant to the separate investigation into Clinton's private email server.

Just days away from the November 2016 presidential election, the FBI made a public announcement about the new development, despite the fact that they had previously said the case was closed.

Clinton has also blamed the last-minute emails scandal for her losing the election to now-President Donald Trump.

Weiner has been pictured with his son, Jordan, in New York several times throughout the summer, and the duo were even joined by Jordan's mother and Weiner's soon-to-be ex-wife Abedin last month

Abedin filed for divorce on the same day Weiner pleaded not guilty to charges he sexted a minor. He is set to be sentenced on those charges in September, and could face up to 27 months in prison. They are pictured above together in 2016

Meanwhile, Abedin has been enjoying the single life, even attending a wedding alongside Hillary and Bill Clinton over the weekend.

She was all smiles at the wedding of Sophie Lasry, the daughter of Avenue Capital Group founder Marc Lasry, on Sunday night.

Weiner has been pictured with his son, Jordan, in New York several times throughout the summer, and the duo were even joined by Jordan's mother and Weiner's soon-to-be ex-wife Abedin last month.

Abedin filed for divorce on the same day that Weiner, who is still wearing his wedding band, pleaded guilty to charges he sexted a minor three months ago.

He is set to be sentenced on those charges in September, and could face up to 27 months in prison.

The allegations that Weiner carried on a months-long sexual correspondence with a 15-year-old girl were first brought to light by DailyMail.com in September.
A British hostage who was held hostage by Al-Qaeda for six years has revealed he has converted to Islam and sees 'many good things' in the religion.

Stephen McGown, 42, was snatched from a hostel in the historic trading city of Timbuktu in northern Mali in 2011 alongside Swede Johan Gustafsson and Dutchman Sjaak Rijke.

Speaking today, just 10 days after his release, he said he had been well treated but was distraught to have not been freed before his mother died.

He said he had been converted to Islam in the Sahara desert and added he was determined to be positive after his ordeal.

Stephen McGown smiles at his wife Catherine (right) following his release from Al-Qaeda

The 42-year-old Stephen McGown was the longest-held of a number of foreigners seized by Islamic extremists in Mali, where several armed groups roam the West African country's north

McGown admitted he was sceptical when his captors said he would be freed, even after the release of the Swedish hostage, Johan Gustafsson. The third hostage in the group, Sjaak Rijke, a Dutchman, was freed by French commandoes in 2015

'I see a lot of good in Islam. It has opened my eyes. It's taken me away from capitalism.'

He revealed he feared for his life three times during his time in captivity, but stopped after his conversion.

He said his captors were unaware he held joint UK citizenship.

'I don't believe they knew my nationality. It would have been first prize for them if I was Britishthey kidnapped me just because I was non-Muslim.'

Stephen McGown, who was held by Al-Qaeda in Mali for nearly six years, said he had been well treated but was distraught to have not be freed before his mother died

Speaking just 10 days after being released, he said he had converted to Islam in the Sahara desert, and added that he was determined to be positive after his ordeal

McGown, 42, flanked by his wife Catherine and father Malcolm, explained how he was sometimes held in handcuffs and chains at night with two other hostages.

'I did my best to see the best in a bad situation,' McGown said, looking in good health and smiling regularly despite recently suffering from a severe fever and meningitis.

'I didn't want to come out an angry person and be a bigger burden on my family,' he added.

'Sometimes you are miserable and you want to fight everyone (but) I did not want to become a mess. I want to come home a better person.'

He paid tribute to his mother who died in May, saying she was 'an amazing lady and I can imagine the difficulties she went through.'

He said he built a simple hut of grass and sticks to survive the cold desert nights when he often had only one blanket, adding that he feared for his life three times in the first three months after he was captured in 2011.

McGown says he doesn't know whether any ransom was paid for his release in late July

He said he had converted to Islam while captive and that he focused on remaining positive in captivity because he did not want to come home 'a mess'

McGown was kidnapped at a hotel in Timbuktu in Mali's north along with Swede Johan Gustafsson and Dutchman Sjaak Rijke.

Gustafsson was released in June this year, while Rijke was freed by French commandoes in 2015

A fourth man, a German tourist, was killed during the kidnapping.

McGown said he had been in a car with one of his captors when he was told he could leave.

He said he had assumed the man was 'joking' and was still not convinced he was free after leaving the vehicle and getting into a second car that was waiting for him.

It was only later in the journey that it sunk in that he was free.

'It was quite a moment,' he said.

'It's difficult to actually understand, comprehend, because there have been so many ups and downs over the last five-and-a-half years.

'You're not sure who you can and who you can't believe...

'You want to believe, but you're tired of really coming down with a bang after they tell you you should be going home soon.'

In his first appearance before media since his release, McGown, still sporting long hair and a beard from his years in captivity, said he was not under duress to convert from Catholicism to Islam and insisted it did not play a part in his release

The South African government has insisted that no ransom was paid to secure McGown's release, which was completed on July 29, but some reports have suggested $4.2 million was handed over.

Imtiaz Sooliman, head of the Gift of the Givers charity which helped to free McGown, said the kidnappers at first demanded 10 million euros ($11.7 million) for each hostage.

But Sooliman said he was not involved in any ransom payment and dismissed reports of the $4.2 million payment.

McGown said he had been treated better after converting to Islam, being given better clothing and food.

'Before the desert, I was a Christian. I entered (Islam) of my own accord,' said the ex-hostage with a heavy beard.

'I see many good things in Islam. It requires a very good character, a very strict character.'

Asked what he missed most during his time in captivity, McGown replied 'freedom'.

He joked how he would 'probably keep the beard', adding 'I see all of my friends are growing them. They've become funky.'

He added that his captors thought US President Donald Trump would draw more Muslims to fight against the West.

McGown admitted to being 'in the dark' over world events in the last six years as the hostages had only had a radio for a short time and no books in English.
Justin Theroux's elderly neighbor has hit back at the actor's lawsuit against him and is now suing him for harassment, bad construction and his yowling dogs.

Norman Resnicow was left fuming after Theroux sued him for $350,000 over a battle involving the actor's 'noisy' apartment renovation in Greenwich Village, New York.

Now the 69-year-old lawyer has filed suit, claiming that he is the victim of Jennifer Anistons husband's behavior, including repeated thumping at early hours of the morning and the star's 'cavalier approach toward building safety'.

The elderly man is offended that Theroux treats him and his wife as 'peon supplicants' to be dealt with by Theroux only through 'his people' and never directly.

Resnicow, who wears a pace-maker, also complains he has had to endure 'years of endless days and nights of barking, yowling and crying' from Theroux's rescue dogs.

But Resnicow admits there once was an amicable relationship between the two men, claiming that Theroux, 46, had asked him to help move out an ex-girlfriend.

Justin Theroux is involved in a nasty lawsuit with his downstairs neighbor, Norman Resnicow. The elderly lawyer claims he is a victim of the actor's behavior. Pictured: Theroux and his wife Jennifer Aniston leaving the said apartment, located in Greenwich Village, New York

Resnicow allegedly kicked up a fuss over Theroux's pricey $1m pad renovation at 71 Washington Place (pictured) when Theroux and Jennifer Aniston combined two apartments

The legal drama began when Theroux first sued Resnicow in May, claiming his downstairs neighbor 'made it his twisted sport to bully and intimidate' the Hollywood star, who is worth $20million.

Resnicow allegedly had kicked up a fuss over Theroux's pricey $1million pad renovation at 71 Washington Place, where Theroux and wife Aniston, 48, combined two apartments.

Aniston had sold her doorman penthouse apartment and one-bedroom apartment in the West Village for $6.5million in 2012. She originally purchased them for $7million.

Court documents state the men once had a history of 'friendly relations and cooperation'; which is why Resnicow goes on to allege that the screenwriter's legal complaints are 'as fictional as the television series in which he recently starred'.

Resnicow has claimed that he began 'feeling poorly' in 2015, culminating in him being 'near-death' and requiring a pace-maker.

Soon after he came home he was woken by chunks of ceiling falling from the master bedroom.

Resnicow complains in the suit that there is repeated thumping at early hours of the morning and the actor has a 'cavalier approach toward building safety'

According to the legal documents, Theroux's dogs 'bark endlessly because they are left isolated for long periods' and the actor is often heard 'dropping heavy weights on the floor at 3AM' and has 'angry outbursts'.

Theroux once 'exploded in out-of-control anger' when his neighbor cut back overgrown Ivy, the documents claim.

In the suit Resnicow also complains that the actor has an 'aggressive terrace overreach' and that Theroux, his wife and their A-list guests use the illegal balcony.

The bitter dispute is said to have escalated after Resnicow asked his famous neighbor to soundproof his apartment due to the noise.

Court documents state the men once had a history of 'friendly relations and cooperation', citing that Theroux once asked Resnicow help move out an ex-girlfriend

Resnicow had demanded that Theroux provide funds of up to $30,000 for sound-proofing, according to the documents.

Theroux said that after he declined to shell out the funds, the neighbor set out to antagonize the construction workers making the renovations.

Theroux claims Resnicow vowed a number of actions that would make life unpleasant for the actor.

Among them: he'd disconnect the water and electricity to The Leftovers star's home; and go public with the beef in an effort to smear Theroux and Aniston publicly.

The neighbor is alleged to have told Theroux in an email that any legal moves he took would open 'the door to a broad range of allegations that would become publicly available, and which would not please Justin or his wife or their respective publicists.'
An armed robber in Missouri stole cash from a gas station - but didn't stop there.

He also stole an entire bucket of Magnum condoms from the store in Raytown, Missouri.

CCTV footage from August 9 shows the man entering the store and forcing his way into the clerk's cage to take cash from the register.

The video shows the clerk sees him coming and tries to close the door, but the suspect grabs the handle and opens it, pulling the clerk to the ground.

The man then threatens the clerk at gunpoint and takes cash from the register.

The video shows the suspect leaving, carrying the cash in his pockets and holding a large bucket of the gold-packaged condoms.

A man in Raytown, Missouri stole cash and an entire bucket of Magnum condoms from a gas station. The door to the clerk's cage is slightly open when he entered (pictured)

The suspect threatens the clerk with a gun before forcing him to hand over cash from the register

The suspect pulls the clerk to the ground when he forces open the door to the clerk's cage

The man forces the gas station clerk to give him cash from the register which he stuffs in his pockets

However, the video shows the quick-thinking clerk activating the magnetically-locked doors, making the suspect panic.

He bangs on the window of the clerk cage and then fires multiple shots at the locked doors.

The video shows the glass crack but not shatter, so the man then throws his shoulder at the glass until it breaks. He runs out the door, still with his newly stolen condoms.

Police are currently trying to identify and find the man.

The suspect bolts from the scene carrying an entire tub of Magnum condoms under his arm
A US Navy destroyer carried out a 'freedom of navigation operation' on Thursday, sailing within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island built up by China in the South China Sea known as 'Mischief Reef,' it was confirmed by Navy officials.

The 'routine' operation came as President Donald Trump's administration seeks Chinese cooperation in dealing with North Korea's missile and nuclear programs and could complicate efforts to secure a common stance.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters the USS John S. McCain traveled close to Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands, among a string of islets, reefs and shoals. China has territorial disputes with its neighbors over the area.

Scroll down for video

This US Navy photo obtained August 10 shows destroyer USS John S. McCain as it patrols the South China Sea on January 7. The warship on Thursday sailed close to an artificial island built by China as part of a 'freedom of navigation' operation

The destroyer on Thursday sailed within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island built up by China in the South China Sea known as 'Mischief Reef'

Pictures from June show how underground storage facilities, radars and shelters have been built on Mischief Reef

It was the third 'freedom of navigation operation' since Trump took office in January.

An official told the Associated Press that Chinese vessels were nearby when the US warship sailed near Mischief Reef. It was not immediately clear if the Chinese demanded the US destroyer leave as they have done in the past.

Thursday's operation, first reported by Reuters, was the latest attempt to counter what Washington sees as Beijing's efforts to limit freedom of navigation in the strategic waters, and comes as Trump is seeking China's cooperation to rein in Kim Jong-Un's regime.

China's foreign ministry said the operation had violated international and Chinese law and seriously harmed Beijing's sovereignty and security.

'China is very displeased with this and will bring up the issue with the US side,' the ministry said in a statement.

The United States has criticized China's construction of seven islands, including three with runways, and build-up of military facilities in the sea, and is concerned they could be used to restrict free nautical movement and project Beijing's military might.

It was the third 'freedom of navigation operation' since Trump took office in January. This US Navy file photo taken on March 21, 2013 shows the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain sailing in the waters off the Korean Peninsula

Washington has accused China of militarising the vital waterway and fears this could be used to restrict free movement through the South China Sea, an important trade route

The Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI), part of Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies, said rocket launchers and warplanes could now be sent there 'at any time'

Twelve nautical miles marks the territorial limits recognized internationally. Sailing within those 12 miles is meant to show that the United States does not recognize territorial claims there.

The United States has said that it would like to see more international participation in freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea.

The US military has a long-standing position that its operations are carried out throughout the world, including in areas claimed by allies, and they are separate from political considerations.

The Trump administration has vowed to conduct more robust South China Sea operations.

In July, a US warship sailed near a disputed island in the South China Sea claimed by China, Taiwan, Vietnam.

Experts and officials have criticized former President Barack Obama for potentially reinforcing China's claims by sticking to innocent passage, in which a warship effectively recognized a territorial sea by crossing it speedily without stopping.

President Trump responded to latest nuclear tests carried out by North Korean by warning Pyongyang it would face 'fire and fury' if it further threatened the United States

China's claims in the South China Sea, through which about $5trillion in ship-borne trade passes each year are contested by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.

In the latest sail-by Thursday, US military officials notified Philippine counterparts of the maneuver, a Philippine official told the AP, adding Filipino forces were not involved.

US Pacific Fleet spokeswoman Lt. Cmdr. Nicole Schwegman said all Navy operations 'are conducted in accordance with international law and demonstrate that the United States will fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows.'

'That is true in the South China Sea as in other places around the globe,' she said.

The Pentagon declined to provide any additional details but struck a similar note in saying that all operations are conducted in accordance with international law.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have risen recently after North Korea carried out two nuclear tests last year and two ICBM tests last month, prompting a strong round of UN sanctions. That angered Pyongyang which has threatened to teach the United States a 'severe lesson.

Trump responded by warning North Korea earlier this week it would face 'fire and fury' if it further threatened the United States.

On Thursday, the commander-in-chief doubled down on his earlier remarks, saying that his North Korean counterpart should be 'very, very nervous' about US retaliation for a possible strike against the US Pacific territory of Guam.

'Because things will happen to them like they never thought possible, OK?' he said.
Trevor Sinclair is facing years in prison after he was convicted of attempted murder

A thug who beat a shopkeeper with a wine bottle and stabbed in him the face nearly killing him is facing years in prison.

Trevor Sinclair, 51, nearly killed Srikanth Mailvaganam when he refused to sell him rum on credit, wrestling him to the floor and bludgeoning him over the head five times.

The shocking attack was caught on CCTV at the Stockwell Convenience Store in Brixton, on July 15 last year.

Mr Mailvaganam was working behind the till at the store when Sinclair approached the counter with two soft drinks, asking for rum on credit.

Sinclair was turned away but came back minutes later, with a kitchen knife in his trousers, asking again for a bottle of rum.

After being refused again, Sinclair threw a large bottle of water at Mr Mailvaganam, shouting 'I will kill you'.

The pair ended up on the floor and Mr Mailvaganam bravely managed to disarm Sinclair of his blade.

But Sinclair grabbed a wine bottle from the fridge and beat Mr Mailvaganam over the head until it smashed.

He then snatched his knife back and stabbed Mr Mailvaganam in the face, causing permanent, disfiguring wounds.

Sinclair was convicted of attempted murder following an Old Bailey trial.

CCTV shows Sinclair in the queue at the till before he launches the attack on the unsuspecting shopkeeper

He tried to buy two bottles of coke and asked for the rum 'on credit', which the shopkeeper refused to do

Judge Sarah Munro, QC, remanded him in custody ahead of sentence on September 14.

Prosecutor Louise Oakley said: 'On Friday 15 July 2016, at approximately 11:42, Srikanth Mailvaganam was working behind the till serving customers.

'The defendant entered the store and selected two soft drinks from a fridge.

'He then approached the till and asked for credit to purchase not only these two soft drinks but also a bottle of rum as he did not have any money.

'When his request was declined he became angry and left the store threatening to return.'

As Mr Mailvaganam was serving customers the defendant, a regular user of the store, entered on two separate occasions within a few minutes of each other.

Ms Oakley said: 'On the second occasion, the defendant had a kitchen knife in the waistband of his trousers.

He threw a bottle of wine at him before he launched into the attack, bludgeoning him over the head five times and breaking the bottle

'Without warning, he attacked Mr Mailvaganam and, whilst on the floor, he struck him about the head and face with a bottle and the kitchen knife, causing him what the Crown describe as life-changing injuries to his face and head.

'It is the Crown's case is that by his words and actions, the defendant intended to kill his victim.

'Unfortunately the defendant was the bigger and stronger man, and eventually, using his entire body weight, he was able to climb on top of his victim and pin him down.'

Witnesses called police to scene, where an officer tasered the attacker after seeing him towering over his victim with a knife.

Sinclair was taken to Brixton Police Station, where he refused to answer any questions by police.

Mr Mailvaganam, who had worked in his brother's convenience store on Stockwell Road for up to six years, knew Sinclair as he regularly asked for credit in the store.

CCTV footage of the incident showed Sinclair repeatedly batter his victim with the wine bottle until it smashed.

Sinclair, from Brixton, denied but was convicted of attempted murder. He had admitted the lesser alternative of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

The paranoid schizophrenic is currently being held in a psychiatric unit at the Bethlem Royal Hospital in south London.
A Massachusetts woman is facing attempted murder charges after apparently kidnapping her daughter and attempting to kill both the girl and herself.

State police say that Lee-Ann Rickheit, 38, sparked an Amber Alert when she disappeared with Ella Abbott, three, from Worcester on Wednesday.

The pair were found early next morning, sitting in Rickheit's car, the tailpipe of which had been stuffed with clothing in an apparent attempt to fill the car with dangerous fumes, CBS Boston reported.

'Kidnapping': Lee-Ann Rickheit (left), 38, kidnapped daughter Ella Abbott (right), three, on Wednesday, kicking off an Amber Alert. Cops found them early Thursday morning in woodland

Charged: The pair were in Rickheit's car, which had its exhaust stuffed with clothes. Rickheit (center, in court Thursday) is now charged with attempted murder, among other counts

An unidentified relative of Rickheit's had kicked off the search when they called police on Wednesday to say they'd had a troubling call from the mother.

In the call Rickheit had threatened to harm herself and the child, who was taken at 7:35pm that day from a home on Greenwood Street, police alleged.

A search was conducted for the missing mom's 2007 Hyundai Sonata, which was later spotted on the Massachusetts Turnpike in Charlton.

The car was then found by troopers in a wooded area around 15 miles from the town at around 3:30am on Thursday.

Troopers said that both Rickheit and Ella appeared to be either sleeping or unconscious when they were found.

The tailpipe of the car had been stuffed with clothing, according to officials.

One of the troopers smashed a window, gained entry to the vehicle and took the pair to the hospital.

Both Rickheit and Ella were reported to be conscious and responsive afterwards. It's unclear what caused Rickheit's actions.

Rickheit spent Wednesday night in St Vincents Hospital in Worcester under police guard.

Pleading: Rickheit pleaded not guilty to all charges. Her defense said she thought Ella would be OK if she cracked a window. Ella is now in the care of the state

Ella was taken to UMass Medical Center for an exam, and was doing well, according to police. She is now in the care of the Department of Children and Families.

Rickheit was arraigned Thursday and charged with attempted murder, assault and battery on a child, and reckless endangerment of a child.

Her defender said that she did not think the child would die because she cracked open one of the car's windows.

She pleaded not guilty to all counts and was placed held in jail on $500,000 bail.

Her next scheduled court appearance is a probable cause hearing is on September 18.

Posts and comments made by Rickheit on her Facebook page suggest that she also has a young son, and that she had been in a difficult previous relationship.

In regards to a comment written on her Facebook page on May, she commented: 'He is p***ed because I'm actually happy with a man who doesn't beat me and abuse me and emotionally torture me and my daughter.

'He is writing this stupid s**t because he is jealous I got a real man, my daughter's real father...'

She added that the man who commented on her Facebook page 'is a mental idiot and abused my 3 year old verbally and beat me up while my daughter was in my arms. He's scum and can't stand the fact that I left him for a real man.'
Amir Khan has taken time out of his bitter divorce battle to visit a cancer-stricken boy in Pakistan after paying for his life saving surgery.

The British boxer came to the aid of seven-year-old Ali Hassan, who was suffering from a tumour so big it engulfed an entire side of his face.

The former world champion, who is of Pakistani heritage, arranged for the youngster to go under the knife via his charity, the Amir Khan Foundation.

Khan has posed for pictures with the boy, who suffers from neuroblastoma, showing the results of his initial surgery.

Amir Khan visited cancer-stricken Ali Hassan after he paid for the seven-year-old to receive life-saving surgery in Pakistan

Ali suffered from a giant tumour that engulfed the entirety of one side of his face

Alongside snaps of Ali with a bandaged face, he wrote: 'I flew to Pakistan, Lahore, last week for a day to visit Ali Hassan.

'He was the 7 year old boy in Pakistan who had an eye tumour. It was effecting his breathing and him very badly.

'I met his father and told him I promised you he will be ok when we spoke a month ago, the kid was very quiet and didn't speak much.

'He lost his hair due to medication. I spoke to the doctors and they where happy with his recovery.'

Khan is currently enduring marital woe, after publicly splitting up with his wife, Faryal Makhdoom, 26, and posting about it on Twitter.

Khan posted a slide show of moving pictures of him spending time with Ali, after the youngster had got out of his initial surgery

Khan is currently enduring marital woe, after publicly splitting up with his wife, Faryal Makhdoom, 26, (both pictured) and posting about it on Twitter

He was also embroiled in controversy earlier this week, when a British woman suffered horrific injuries after she was glassed while partying with Khan in Dubai.

Bia Hannides, 22, from Southampton, Hampshire, was enjoying a night out with the former light-welterweight world champion at an exclusive club when she was allegedly attacked.

Ms Hannides suffered a huge wound over her right eye and was told by doctors that she would be scarred for life.

The following day, she said the boxer, from Bolton, sent her a message saying: 'I get punched in the face for a living and still get the best girls. Same for you.

'You will get the best guys regardless, scar or no scar.'

The make-up artist was rushed to hospital after the incident and her designer white dress was covered in blood.

Ms Hannides, who was in Dubai with her 53-year-old mother Denise, spent 12 hours in the hospital receiving five stitches for her wounds.

She said: 'We are all just having a really, really, good night and it was just a small group of us.

The 22-year-old from Southampton, Hampshire, had to go to hospital and have five stitches

She was hit with a glass at the Billionaire Mansion night club in Dubai while partying with Amir Khan. Above are messages she claims he sent to her

'We were all with Amir and he was keeping it very close knit.

'If he lost sight of me he would always try and find me or pull my hand. He was looking after us.

'He had has hands around my waist and we were all dancing and happy and having a really good night.

'It must have been jealousy.

'I had this beautiful white dress on, we were all having a good time and maybe because Amir wasn't giving her the time of day, she was jealous.

'Amir's brother was saying to her ''what are you doing in this circle in our area'' and it must have upset her.

Ms Hannides is pictured with Khan and his brother Haroon (left, centre). She said the woman who attacked her was an air hostess

Ms Hannides, who was in Dubai with her 53-year-old mother Denise, spent 12 hours in the hospital

'Next thing she went to hit me but I was with it so I grabbed her wrist and with her other hand she glassed me straight in the face.

'It was pure jealousy. I can't think that it would be anything else.

'She wasn't even supposed to be there.

'I thought I was going to go blind. It was the worst moment of my life.'

Ms Hannides and her mother met Khan in a shisha cafe when Denise approached him.

He apparently told her 'I want that girl' - meaning Ms Hannides - and the two began chatting before swapping numbers.

Ms Hannides said: 'He told my mum his wife had cheated on him and he was single now.'

He asked her to join him at the Billionaire Mansion club later that evening and she posed for a picture with the boxer and his brother.

The make-up artist said she accidentally brushed into a woman hanging around the VIP area at the Billionaire Mansion club prompting her friend to lash out.

The former world champion boxer uploaded a video to Snapchat which showed him partying in Dubai. He later deleted the clip

The make-up artist said she met Khan (pictured) and he later asked her to come to an exclusive club

Amir's brother Haroon told the hostess to leave the roped off section - so she allegedly smashed a glass into Ms Hannides' eye - leaving her covered in blood.

'It was really crowded and you were accidentally brushing into everyone around you - that's just how it is,' she said.

'She said to me: "You're pushing into one of my friends", and I told her I hadn't even touched her friend.

'I said to her: "Why are you guys even in here?" and Amir said the same to her as well.

'She swung up her hand to hit me and I blocked it but she smashed the glass into me with the other hand.

'I went down. There was blood everywhere. I couldn't see and I thought I was going to go blind.'

With a huge gash above her eye and glass embedded in her cheek, the brunette was helped into an ambulance by security.

She said: 'It was absolutely horrible. Amir and his brother said they couldn't come with us because it would be bad press.

'I understand but I would have expected him to find out what happened to me when he left.

'I think all he could think about was how it would look in the papers.'

Ms Hannides said police told the woman to pay a fine of 1,000 dirham which is around 200 and if she wanted to take it further, shed need to surrender her passport and remain in Dubai until the court case.

Last Friday, Khan posted on Twitter that he was getting divorced after his four-year marriage.

He accused his wife of having an affair with world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, who laughed off the accusation and posted a video clip of Shaggy's It Wasn't Me.
A 16-year-old was arrested and charged with murder after he allegedly shot his cousin inside his North Carolina home during a robbery on Saturday.

Lennon Riley Henderson appeared in Catawba County District Court on Wednesday in connection with the murder of 40-year-old Wesley Bruner.

Bruner's body was found in his home Saturday after firefighters responded to a fire, according to the Hickory Record.

Lennon Henderson (left), 16, was arrested and charged with murder after he allegedly shot his cousin Wesley Bruner (right), 40, inside his North Carolina home before setting the house on fire during a robbery

Henderson (pictured) appeared in Catawba County District Court in connection with the murder on Wednesday

Bruner's body was found in his home (pictured during the fire) Saturday after firefighters responded to a fire. Catawba County Sheriff Coy Reid said on Tuesday that an autopsy report revealed Bruner had a single gunshot wound

But Catawba County Sheriff Coy Reid said Tuesday that an autopsy report revealed Bruner had a single gunshot wound.

Before Henderson was arrested in connection with Bruner's death, Reid told reporters that police believed 'someone set the fire once they shot' Bruner.

Reid told the Record that Bruner had 'a large amount of cash that he had come into', adding that officers haven't been able to find it. Authorities believe the motive was robbery.

Officers found signs of a break-in after firefighters discovered flammable liquid in a container in the kitchen.

Tonda Mabe, Bruner's half-sister, told the Record that the entire incident is 'a tragedy' that she believes will 'tear the family further apart'.

She said that Bruner loved poetry and was an avid collector of numerous items, including comics, knives and guns.

Bayleigh Henderson, Lennon's sister, and her husband Tyler Roberts told reporters that the 16-yaer-old is 'a sweet and caring kid'.

'He's innocent,' Roberts said. 'He was set up.'

On Thursday, officials said father and son, Nicholas (left) and Nolan Smith (right), were charged with accessory after the fact and are accused of hiding evidence and the murder weapon

Authorities said Bruner had 'a large amount of cash that he had come into', but police haven't been able to locate it. Police believe the motive was robbery. Officers found signs of a break-in after firefighters discovered flammable liquid in a container in the kitchen of the home (above)

Roberts claimed Lennon Henderson's former friends did the crime and pinned it all on him.

On Thursday, officials said father and son, Nicholas and Nolan Smith, were charged with accessory after the fact and have been accused of hiding evidence and the murder weapon, according to WSOC-TV.

Family members also said that Lennon Henderson lived at Bruner's home for several months and the two were close.

No bond was set for Henderson and if convicted he faces the possibility of life in prison without parole.

Authorities are still investigating the actual cause of the fire.
United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. JAMES LEE COBB, III, Defendant - Appellant. No. 16-15632 Decided: August 09, 2017

Before MARTIN, JULIE CARNES, and ANDERSON, Circuit Judges.

Defendant James Lee Cobb, III (Defendant), proceeding pro se, appeals the district court's denial of his motion under Fed. R. Crim. P. 41(g) for the return of property seized during the investigation of his underlying criminal case. Concluding that the district court did not err in denying Defendant's motion, we affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

In December 2014, Defendant pled guilty without a plea agreement to various criminal charges related to wire fraud, identity theft, and unlawful possession of a firearm. Although the superseding indictment contained forfeiture provisions, these provisions did not cover the items at issue in this appeal. The court sentenced Defendant to 324 months' imprisonment and five years of supervised release.

After his sentencing, Cobb filed a motion under Fed. R. Crim. P. 41(g) for return of property confiscated during a search of his home. He sought the return of five vehicles, two flat-screen televisions, three pieces of white-gold jewelry, and two pieces of yellow-gold jewelry. He argued that the confiscated property was not relevant to his criminal case and thus was seized in violation of his Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights.

In its initial reply to Defendant's motion, the Government argued, among other things, that returning Defendant's property would be premature, as Defendant was appealing his criminal conviction. The Government noted it would need to maintain all existing evidence in the event Defendant's appeal succeeded. If Defendant's conviction was affirmed, the Government would then consider whether to return any property it possessed. Alternatively, the Government observed that the personal property could properly be used to help satisfy part of the $1.8 million in restitution previously ordered by the district court. In a supplemental response filed two days later, the Government advised that it had learned that the federal government did not have possession of any of the five vehicles whose return was sought by Defendant in his motion and that the City of Tampa, having earlier released some of the vehicles, was in the process of auctioning off any remaining vehicles. The Government attached portions of a report from the Tampa Police Department indicating that the Department had seized the televisions and vehicles listed in Defendant's motion. The records further indicated two of the vehicles purportedly owned by Defendanta 1988 Nissan Sentra and a 2005 Kawasaki Ninja ZX 10had been authorized for release by Sharla Canfield, a detective with the Tampa Police Department, though the records did not indicate to whom the vehicles were released. The remaining three vehicles had either already been auctioned or were scheduled to be auctioned a week after the Government filed its supplemental response.

In a second supplemental response, the Government noted that the yellow-gold jewelry referenced in Defendant's motion was never seized by law enforcement, and included an affidavit from Canfield so testifying. The Government also included an affidavit from IRS special agent Glenn Hayag, who testified as well that the yellow-gold jewelry was not seized and that the Government was still holding the white-gold jewelry for evidence. Over Defendant's objection, the district court adopted the magistrate judge's Report and Recommendation, and denied Defendant's motion.

Defendant appeals the district court's denial of his motion. In his appellate brief, Defendant addresses only the vehicles that were auctioned or released, so we affirm the district court's denial of Defendant's motion as to the jewelry and televisions. See Sapuppo v. Allstate Floridian Ins. Co., 739 F.3d 678, 68081 (11th Cir. 2014) (collecting cases from this Circuit holding that arguments or claims not raised in an opening brief are abandoned). We now turn to Defendant's claims regarding the vehicles.

II. DISCUSSION

A. Whether the District Court Properly Denied Defendant's Rule 41(g) Motion

The district court held that Rule 41(g) does not provide relief for Defendant because the federal government was not in possession of any of the vehicles. A district court's conclusions of law in denying a motion for return of seized property are reviewed de novo, and factual findings are reviewed for clear error. United States v. Howell, 425 F.3d 971, 973 (11th Cir. 2005). The ultimate decision of whether to deny a Rule 41(g) motion is reviewed under the abuse of discretion standard. United States v. De La Mata, 535 F.3d 1267, 1279 (11th Cir. 2008).

When an individual moves for return of his property under Rule 41(g) after the close of criminal proceedings, the motion is treated as a civil action in equity. Howell, 425 F.3d at 974. To prevail, he must show a possessory interest in the property seized and that he has clean hands. Id. The court can deny a motion if the Government claims it no longer possesses the property, provided the Government provides some evidence to support that claim. See United States v. Potes Ramirez, 260 F.3d 1310, 1314 (11th Cir. 2001).

Defendant argues on appeal that the district court erred in denying his motion because the vehicles had not been properly released or sold. Defendant asserts that there is no evidence in the record that a court authorized the auction of the three vehicles that were sold, nor that a Florida state court had jurisdiction to order the distribution of federal evidence. Defendant also argues that the Sentra and Ninja were improperly released because he, as the vehicles' owner, never authorized anyone to take possession of them.

As far as we can determine, none of the five vehicles at issue were ordered forfeited by a state or federal court as part of Defendant's criminal conviction. For that reason, we understand Defendant's frustration at what he claims was the absence of any meaningful notice to him that the Tampa Police Department was releasing these vehicles and the absence of any meaningful opportunity to contest their release or sale. Nevertheless, we cannot order the federal government to return something that it does not possess. And there seems to be no dispute that it was the Tampa Police Department, not the federal government, that exercised custody over the vehicles, released the vehicles to persons it deemed authorized to possess them, and auctioned the remaining vehicles.

As the United States cannot return something it does not have, the court cannot order it to return to Defendant the vehicles listed in the motion. While this alone might not necessarily leave Defendant without a remedy, see Potes Ramirez, 260 F.3d at 131415 (noting that a district court can exercise equitable jurisdiction over a motion to return property even if the court determines that the federal government has destroyed the property), Defendant has made no argument that it was the federal government, as opposed to the Tampa Police Department, that released and/or auctioned the vehicles.

B. Whether an Evidentiary Hearing was Required

Defendant also argues that the district court erred by not holding an evidentiary hearing. Defendant states that an evidentiary hearing would give him an opportunity to address the allegedly conflicting evidence as to the Tampa Police Department's authority to release or auction the vehicles, the Tampa Police Department's various failures to notify Defendant and his defense counsel concerning the impending auction, and the validity of documents provided by the Tampa Police Department.

A district court's denial of an evidentiary hearing is reviewed for abuse of discretion. See Aron v. United States, 291 F.3d 708, 714 n.5 (11th Cir. 2002). In reviewing a Rule 41(g) motion, [t]he court must receive evidence on any factual issue necessary to decide the motion. Fed. R. Crim. P. 41(g). The movant is presumed to have a right to an item's return, so the Government must demonstrate it has a legitimate reason to retain the property. Potes Ramirez, 260 F.3d at 1314 (quoting United States v. Chambers, 192 F.3d 374, 377 (3d Cir. 1999)). The district court has discretion to determine whether the Government has made the necessary showing. Id. (We leave it to the district court's discretion on remand to determine how the government should present evidence of the property's destruction.).

Defendant's reliance on Potes Ramirez in arguing for an evidentiary hearing is misplaced. In Potes Ramirez, the Government pointed to no evidence in the record and offered no verification of or support for its claim that the property being sought was no longer in its custody. Id. Here, in contrast, the Government presented evidence confirming that the items Defendant seeks were not in its possession; Defendant has not disputed that evidence.

Accordingly, the district court did not abuse its discretion by refusing to hold an evidentiary hearing in this case.

III. CONCLUSION

For the above reasons, we conclude the district court properly denied Defendant's Rule 41(g) motion for the return of his property, and its order is AFFIRMED.

FOOTNOTES

. Rule 41(g) reads:Motion to Return Property. A person aggrieved by an unlawful search and seizure of property or by the deprivation of property may move for the property's return. The motion must be filed in the district where the property was seized. The court must receive evidence on any factual issue necessary to decide the motion. If it grants the motion, the court must return the property to the movant, but may impose reasonable conditions to protect access to the property and its use in later proceedings.

. The five vehicles listed were a 2007 Chevy Silverado, a 1988 Nissan Sentra, a 2005 Kawasaki Ninja ZX 10, a 2005 Cadillac XLR, and a 2002 Ford Focus.

. This Court affirmed Defendant's convictions and sentences in his direct appeal several months after his Rule 41(g) motion was denied. See United States v. Cobb, 842 F.3d 1213, 1215 (11th Cir. 2016).

. The Tampa Police Department had worked with the federal government in the investigation of Defendant and it was purportedly the entity that had custody of vehicles listed in Defendant's motion.

. Defendant argued that his property was seized without a valid warrant, that the federal government did not have jurisdiction to hold the property and did not need to continue to hold it, and that the federal government and the Tampa Police Department had conspired to steal his property. He did not discuss, however, the impact of the release and auction of his vehicles on the viability of his Rule 41(g) motion.

. Defendant acknowledges that the Department sent out notices of the impending auction, but argues that because those notices were sent to his home address, at a time when he was in federal custody, he did not receive them.

PER CURIAM:
A baby girl has been found dumped in bushes with her umbilical chord still attached and covered in bugs an hour after she was born.

The newborn was discovered in the bushes outside Cypress Creek apartment complex in Houston, Texas, on Thursday morning by a resident who heard it crying as they walked by.

When police arrived, they followed a trail of blood in to one of the apartments in the building and found the girl's 21-year-old mother inside.

She is in the custody of sheriffs. The local district attorney is currently considering charges.

At 5am, another resident was walking out of the complex when he heard the baby crying.

The baby was found dumped in bushes outside the Cypress Creek apartment complex in Houston, Texas, at 5am on Thursday. Picture courtesy of KHOU

He found her lying in the soil of a flower bed, covered in ants and other debris. Her umbilical chord was still attached.

The man lifted the baby off the ground, cleaned and swaddled her and called police.

When Harris County Sheriff's Officers arrived, they spotted a trail of blood on the ground.

They followed it to an apartment door at the complex. Its residents at first refused to answer.

When they did allow police inside, a 21-year-old woman denied having any knowledge of the infant but then confessed that she had given birth to her an hour earlier.

Police officers said they were thankful the baby was found alive.

'Had this neighbor not been there, we'd be looking at a homicide.

'It's a miracle the child was found,' Harris County Deputy Thomas Gilliland told Click2Houston.

Neighbors questioned why the mother had left the baby outside the apartments when there is a hospital less than a block away.

The girl was taken in to the custody of child protection services. The girl's mother has not been identified.
Damon Rogers, a convicted rapist, has been found working as a security guard at a California rape counselling center

A California man who served 13 years in prison for rape has been caught working security at a Downtown Fresno rape counseling center.

Damon Rodgers was in court because he was found to be in possession of a gun and a switchblade which he is not supposed to have because he is a convicted felon.

It was when Roger's details were looked into that officials were surprised to learn he was working among rape victims despite have been found guilty of the crime himself.

Court records show he committed two rapes in 1997 in Madera County, and even tried to commit a third.

'Mr. Rodgers was in possession of a weapon, and to our surprise, was working at Rape Counseling Services at the time,' said Sgt. Israel Reyes of the Fresno Police Department to ABC7.

A tip led Fresno police officers to make contact with Rgers, who had been convicted of rape and attempted rape in 1998, who was arrested over possession of a firearm

'They weren't aware of it obviously, and they were very shocked and I believe they immediately took action with the security company that they hired,' said Reyes.

'Rape counselling services provides services for victims who have been sexually assaulted and then you have an individual who is a convicted sex offender for rape and attempted rape working at their facility. The optics on that are really bad,' he continued.

'As far as we know there were no victims who were ever disturbed by Rodgers, but again it's something where an individual like that should not be working at that center,' Mr Reyes added.

Rogerts has been convicted of at least two rapes and a third was an attempted rape

When Rodgers posted to Facebook looking for a sidearm holster, another security guard from a different firm noticed and tipped off police

Stone Protection Services who were employing Rodgers say they were not aware of his history but a former employer at another security company did and made it his business to tip off the police.

Rodgers was able to get a guard card from the state of California last year by altering his name slightly, although the state has since filed paperwork to have it revoked after uncovering his criminal history.

Rodgers is now in jail facing a felony case after having three strikes against him with set at $386,000.
A 21-year-old single mother from Texas says she is devastated after her nine-month-old son suffocated to death in his car seat while in the care of his baby sitter on Monday, just one day after he learned how to crawl.

Choking back tears, Megan Norris, of Weatherford, addressed members of the press on Wednesday to talk about her deceased baby, John, and warn other parents to do their due diligence when choosing a caretaker for their children.

'His smiles, giggles and coos lit up my life, every single day that God blessed me with him,' Norris said while standing next to her mother. 'I'm so thankful for every moment I had with him. I am devastated without my precious baby.'

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Mother's worst nightmare: Megan Norris (left), 21, speaks to reporters Wednesday after the death of her nine-month-old son. John Norris (right) suffocated in his sleep Monday after he slid down in his car seat

The Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office has concluded that the young boy died as a result of car seat belt strangulation, and his death has been ruled an accident.

Megan Norris was at work at the time of her son's death, which occurred at the home of his unnamed nanny in Fort Worth, where there were 10 or 11 other children.

Police were called to the home in the 600 block of Woodpecker Lane just after 10pm on Monday for a report of an unconscious person.

When they arrived, they found the infant strapped in his portable car seat in the closet. He had apparently been there for two hours, his airway cut off by the safety belt of the carrier, police said.

He was pronounced dead just after 10.15pm at the scene. A short time later, his mother was summoned to the house, but was not allowed inside, according to NBC DFW.

Sgt. Wade Walls, supervisor of the crimes against children unit, said the baby had been put in the carrier inside a walk-in closet of the home so he could sleep.

When his baby sitter went to check up on John two hours later, she found him dead inside the storage space. As of Wednesday morning, the caretaker has not been arrested or charged with any crime.

Police have concluded that John suffocated to death in his sleep after sliding down in the car seat, where the bottom strap was not properly connected.

The body of baby John was found in a closet inside this Forth Worth, Texas, home (pictured), where there were 10 or 11 others kids Monday night

Police said the baby's neck got caught between the chest buckle that was fastened, and he was strangled by the buckle and strap mechanism.

On Wednesday, Megan Norris told reporters that she had found the baby sitter through a Facebook earlier this year, interviewed her extensively at her mother's law office and then visited her home in Fort Worth.

Norris explained that because she works nights and goes to school during the day, placing her son in a traditional day care was not possible.

She ended up hiring the baby sitter sometime in January or February. During the work week, Norris would drop John off at the woman's house in the afternoon and pick him up after midnight.

She noted that she never saw any other children at the residence and there were no other parents coming or going. There was also nothing to suggest that her child was being abused or neglected in any way, she added.

Norris said at first, she was led to believe that her son was getting his baby sitter's full attention. Sometime later, the woman told her, according to the mom, that two young relatives were being placed in her care, which only increased her confidence in the nanny.

Norris warned other young parents to only use the services of licensed caretakers, conduct in-depth background checks, demand full access to the prospective nanny's home and look into their history with CPS and police.

Norris, pictured with her mother, said she found the baby sitter through a Facebook ad, interviewed her extensively and visited her home in Fort Worth

Turning back to her son, a tearful Norris said John was a blessing to her and has changed her life.

He made me a better person, without a doubt, she said. So, I am living, still, for him and trying to get through every day trying not to completely fall apart.

Detectives do not believe any foul play was involved, but they are investigating the circumstances surrounding of the boy's death to determine if his baby sitter has been running an illegal child care operation.

Child Protective Services and Child Care Licensing are also looking into this case.

The residence where John died was not licensed as a day care center, but the home has a history with CPS, according to an agency spokeswoman who declined to go into details, citing privacy laws.

The baby sitter is not allowed to have any children in her care while officials are conducting the investigation.

A family attorney and friend of Megan Norris' said the mother is devastated by her son's death. The family did not have a history with CPS.

'For them, this is something they never saw coming and don't know how to handle at this point. It's a day by day thing for them,' Kitty Wise tells KENS5.
An airplane traveling from Maine to Boston made an emergency landing after one of its cabin doors opened midflight.

Nine passengers and the pilot were on a Cape Air flight traveling from Rockland on Wednesday when the top section of the boarding door malfunctioned and opened, according to the Portland Press Herald.

Cape Air spokeswoman Michelle Haynes said air rushed into the cabin but because the plane was flying at a low altitude of 3,700 feet it did not become pressurized and the passengers were not at risk.

A Cape Air plane (pictured) traveling from Maine to Boston made an emergency landing at the Logan International Airport after one of its cabin doors opened midflight

Nine passengers and the pilot were on the Cape Air flight traveling from Rockland on Wednesday when the top section (circled) of the boarding door malfunctioned and opened

The twin-engine Cessna 402 was about 15 minutes from the Logan International Airport in Boston when the top half of the boarding door popped open.

According to officials, the top half has a window attached to it and the bottom half opens into a staircase used to board the plane. The window portion opened midflight.

The plane made the emergency landing at the Boston airport around 4.15pm. Haynes said the passengers on board made it safely to their destinations.

'I was told that everyone was fine and everyone went on their way,' Haynes said. 'They had very high marks for the pilot, who the passengers said kept everyone calm.'

The Cessna 402 seats up to eight passengers in the cabin, with the pilot making up the.

Jeff Northgraves, a former military pilot who manages the Knox County Regional Airport in Rockland, told the Press Herald that the plane's door likely opened because of some type of malfunction.

Cape Air spokeswoman Michelle Haynes said air rushed into the cabin but because the plane was flying at a low altitude of 3,700 feet, it did not become pressurized and the passengers were not at risk. No one was harmed in the incident

This file photo gives a better view of the boarding door. The top half has a window attached to it and the bottom half opens into a staircase. The window portion opened midflight. Cape Air mechanics are still working to determine why the door malfunctioned

Northgraves said more than likely a warning light on the pilot's control panel was activated, similar to a car's warning light that a door is ajar.

Cape Air mechanics are still working to determine why the door malfunctioned.

The airline flies out of Knox County Regional Airport, the Hancock County-Bar Harbor Airport and the Augusta State Airport in Maine.

Cape Air began commercial flights between Rockland and Boston in 2008, offering six daily nonstop flights during the summer months.
A man in his 50s was found dead after an hours-long standoff Thursday morning at a home in the affluent Pacific Palisades, California.

The man - who has not been identified - was found dead around 11am when police finally stormed the home. His death ended an hours long standoff that started late Wednesday, when he showed up drunk at the 9,000-square-foot home where his estranged girlfriend lives and the two got into a fight.

Public records show that the actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt's mother-in-law Tamme McCauley owns the $14million home. It's unclear if she was the victim in the domestic violence incident.

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A man in his 50s is dead after an early morning standoff at this home in Pacific Palisades, California

The man's estranged girlfriend, who lives at the house, says he came over drunk Wednesday night and they got in a fight

The man began shooting at her and she fled the residence, calling 911

When police responded to the scene, the man began shooting at officers - though nobody was struck

Police shot several rounds of tear gas at the home early Thursday morning, in an attempt to force the shooter out

The home's owner is Tamme McCauley, the mother-in-law of actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt (pictured above with his wife Tasha in May 2016). It's unclear if McCauley was the victim

The victim told police that her on-again off-again boyfriend came over to her home at around midnight on Wednesday and the two proceeded to get into an argument.

The fight turned violent when the man - who has not been named but whom police say had been drinking heavily - started shooting at the woman with some of her mother's guns.

The woman escaped from the 9,000-square-foot home without being hit, and got help from the neighborhood's security guards, who in turn contacted police.

Los Angeles police officers tried to get the man to calm down and exit the building, but he couldn't cooperate.

'He was just full of vulgarities  and now hes not answering the phone,' LAPD Capt. Brian Wendling told KTLA.

Police stormed the home just before 11am and found the man dead inside

It's unclear if the man killed himself or was killed by responding officers

The 9,000-square-foot home on Alta Mura Road is worth $14million

A heavy armored rescue vehicle is driven away from the home Thursday morning

Above, SWAT team officers responding to the hose on the back of an armored vehicle on Thursday

Above, the home just before sunrise during the hours-long standoff

Around 5am, he even started shooting at officers, though no one was struck. By 6am he had stopped communicating.

Before daybreak, officers began shooting dozens of rounds of tear gas at the building in an attempt to force the man to come out.

'Because it's such a large property, that would be why there are so many rounds (fired), for it to be effective,' LAPD spokesman Josh Rubenstein said, explaining why so many rounds were used. 'In a big property, you can find a lot of different spots to kind of get away from that.'

He cut off all contact with law enforcement at 6am.

Police finally stormed the building just before 11am, and found the man dead inside on the second floor.

It's unclear if the man killed himself or was shot dead by police.

The LAPD told the DailyMail.com that they were not releasing the suspect's name until next of kin had been notified and identity confirmed.

During the incident, four other homes on Alta Mura Road were evacuated or contained. Actress Jennifer Garner's home is just blocks from the residence.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt, the star of such films as 500 Days of Summer and Inception, married the homeowner Tamme McCauley's daughter Tasha in December 2014. Their second son was born two months ago.

Tasha has a bachelor's degree in robotics from Bard College and an MBA in Business Administration from the University of Southern California. She works in business development for GeoSim Systems.

The couple are famously private about their lives together.
A puppy left his family's house looking like it had been hit by a snowstorm after tearing apart a beanbag and throwing its contents everywhere.

Neil Kemp caught his dog Rocco on camera after he covered the house in a sea of white beads.

Rocco looks shame faced as he tries to avoid the gaze of his unhappy owner.

Rocco looks sheepishly at the camera as he realises that his owner is less than impressed with what he's done

Neil Kemp explained he'd only had the puppy for eight weeks when the carnage was wrecked on his house

Mr Kemp, 35, can be heard scolding the five-month-old British Bulldog, asking: 'What have you done? You bad dog.'

Rocco shuffles nervously as Neil blasts: 'You think it's funny, do you?'

Electrician Mr Kemp, of Tredegar, south Wales, has owned Rocco for just eight weeks.

Rocco desperately tries to hide behind the sofa but it's tough to hide from the millions of tiny beans on the floor

The mess took about four hours to clean and the vacuum was emptied 25 times, but it's still not all tidied up

He said: 'My girlfriend got up at 6.30 and let him out for a wee, and she decided to leave the back door open to let him run and and play.

'When I came downstairs about four hours later it looked like it had been snowing.

'I stood there for five minutes just looking at him and then started filming.

'I didn't know what to say - I just burst out laughing.'

He added: 'It took about three or four hours to clean up and I had to empty the vacuum cleaner about 25 times, we're still vacuuming up little polystyrene balls.'
British tourists faced continued disruption to their holidays last night after staff at Barcelona airport decided to continue their industrial action.

Staff from Eulen, the private firm which operates scanners, controls queues and searches passengers, voted to reject a regional government-proposed wage increase meaning mini-strikes planned for tomorrow and Sunday before an all-out stoppage on Monday remain set to go ahead.

Civil Guard officers are now expected to take over to try to minimise chaos if eleventh-hour talks fail and the full strike action goes ahead.

Passengers at Barcelona Airport queue to get through security in Terminal 1 earlier this week

Chaos at the Spanish airport is likely to continue as staff vote to continue the strike action despite the pay rise

The result of the key vote, which began at 11am local time, was announced late this afternoon.

Regional government mediators had got Eulen bosses to agree to meet workers part of the way with a wage increase just under the rise they are demanding.

Local reports said only two of the 176 employees who voted said 'yes' to the proposal by Catalunya's Generalitat government - accepted by Eulen chiefs - to increase salaries by around 226 (250 Euros) a month.

An advisor for the workers' strike committee had signalled ahead of the vote that the proposal was felt to be 'insufficient', despite the optimism of regional government ministers.

Failing a last minute turnaround, an all-out strike will now begin on Monday following one-hour stoppages at intervals throughout tomorrow and Sunday.

Spanish media have said some passengers are arriving at the airport on days when mini-strikes are taking place six hours before take-off to make sure they catch flights.

Local reports said only two of the 176 employees who voted said 'yes' to the proposal by Catalunya's Generalitat government of 250 Euros a week more

British passengers have faced long queues at departures and arrivals at European airports due to new EU regulations on border controls

Last week the chair of the workers' strike committee was recorded saying the queues were necessary because they strengthened their bargaining position.

In a recording obtained by Spanish media, Genoveva Sierra told her colleagues: 'If there are no queues, everything is lost. If there are queues, everything is won. It's that simple. We call the shots.

'The media, the passengers and Aena (the Spanish airports authority) only care about the queues.'

One British holidaymaker described the situation at the airport as last week as 'security mayhem.'

British passengers have faced long queues at departures and arrivals at European airports due to new EU regulations on border controls, although the queues at most Spanish airports appeared to thin over the weekend.
A police officer's camera glasses captured the heart-stopping moment the official was shot four times but amazingly survived.

Malcolm Antwan Orr, 29, fired eight bullets at Quincy Smith, striking the official four times on New Year's Day last year in Estill, South Carolina.

Orr had continued to talk on the phone while unloading his gun into Smith, who sustained a life-threatening neck wound and two broken arms in the shocking attack.

The officer's camera glasses, which he bought off Amazon, captured the moment he was hit and his desperate plea to an emergency dispatcher, asking them to tell his family that he loved them, as he lay bloody waiting for help.

The footage was used in the trial against Orr and he was handed a 35-year prison sentence on Wednesday.

Malcolm Antwan Orr, 29, (left) fired eight bullets at police officer Quincy Smith (right) striking the official four times on New Year's Day last year in Estill, South Carolina. Smith's camera glasses, which he bought off Amazon, recorded the incident. Smith survived the shooting

Smith was responding to a call about a suspicious person after Charles Party Shop informed police a man was snatching groceries from people's hands, reported the State.

Orr was spotted walking away from the store and fit the description of the suspect, leading Smith to order him to stop.

However, Orr did not heed Smith's command and kept walking away while he had his cell phone to his ear.

Smith can be heard several more times in the video, yelling at Orr to stop and remove his hands from his pocket.

The officer gave Orr one more final warning that he would be forced to use a Taser if he didn't comply with his demands.

Orr looked over at Smith and draws a pistol, firing at the officer eight times. Two of those shots were fired when Smith was on the ground.

Orr had continued to talk on the phone while unloading his gun into Smith, who sustained a life-threatening neck wound and two broken arms in the shocking attack

The footage was used in the trial against Orr and he was handed a 35-year prison sentence on Wednesday. Pictured: Smith ordering Orr to stop or he would have to use his Taser on him

The 14th Circuit Solicitor, said in a press release: 'If but not for the grace of God and some very good doctors, this would not only have been a murder case, but a death penalty case'

Smith then falls to the ground and screams into his radio that shots were fired.

He is heard panting and yelling as he ran back to his squad car to report that he was shot, with his bloody hands appearing in the video frame.

Smith sounds as if he is about to pass out, telling the dispatcher that he was hit in the neck and had two broken arms.

Smith moves away from the car and quietly tells the emergency team: 'Tell my family that I love them.'

Amazingly, Smith survives the shooting.

Smith is heard panting and yelling as he ran back to his squad car to report that he was shot, with his bloody hands appearing in the video frame (pictured)

Smith was responding to a call about a suspicious person after Charles Party Shop informed police a man was snatching groceries from people's hands.

Duffie Stone, the 14th Circuit Solicitor, said in a press release: 'If but not for the grace of God and some very good doctors, this would not only have been a murder case, but a death penalty case.'

Orr was convicted of attempted murder and possession of a weapon during commission of a violent crime, reported the Charlotte Observer.

He was sentenced to serve 35 years in prison on Wednesday.

At the time of the shooting, Orr had two pending 2013 charges of grand larceny and possession of prison contraband, reported South Carolina Radio Network.
A grandmother who crashed her car on the way home from a funeral, killing her two young grandchildren, was high on marijuana and had oxycodone in her car, police have said.

Nadine Walton, 55, of Newark, New Jersey, was charged on Thursday with homicide by vehicle under the influence of drugs and multiple other counts in the September 14 crash near Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Five-year-old Ravon Robinson died at the scene of the crash. His two-year-old sister, Brielle Robinson, died several days later at a hospital.

A grandmother who crashed her car on the way home from a funeral, killing her two young grandchildren, was high on marijuana and had oxycodone in her car, police have said. Ravon Robinson, five, and his sister, Brielle Robinson, two, were both killed

Nadine Walton (pictured), 55, of Newark, New Jersey, was charged on Thursday with homicide by vehicle under the influence of drugs and multiple other counts

The children's mother Stefany Stevens (seen with Brielle and Ravon) was also injured in the crash. Grandmother Nadine Walton has been charged with driving under the influence

Walton was driving her daughter Stephany Stevens and two grandchildren home from a funeral in South Carolina when the crash occurred, according to an online fundraising page for the family.

Around 1am, Walton's car veered off the left side of Interstate 78, and she steered back across several lanes of traffic and hit the opposite guard rail, according to state police records reported by the Morning Call.

Ravon was ejected from the vehicle on impact with the guard rail, police said.

Two other vehicles in the same direction of travel, a compact car and a minivan, then struck Walton's disabled vehicle, police said.

Walton was found severely injured and pinned beneath the steering wheel.

The children (pictured with their father, who was not present at the crash) were on their way home from a funeral in South Carolina with mother and grandmother at the time of the crash

Her daughter Stefany Stephens was also in the car and was injured in the crash.

Cops found 49 pills of oxycodone, a powerful prescription painkiller, a marijuana grinder and a marijuana blunt in the car, as well as several bottles of alcohol under the driver's seat.

Walton's blood tested positive for marijuana, according to court records.

She is also charged with involuntary manslaughter, aggravated assault by vehicle while under the influence, homicide by vehicle, possession of a small amount of marijuana, possession of drugs, possession of drug paraphernalia, driving under the influence, careless and reckless driving, authorities say.

Walton didn't immediately return a phone message seeking comment Thursday.
A dog in Mission, Kansas, has been saved after rescuers found him covered in maggots.

The two-year-old Maltese, named Remo, was surrendered by his owners after neighbors reported abuse and neglect.

Unleashed Pet and Rescue saved Reno three days ago. They say he was in a tiny pen, his eyes matted shut, his hair knotted, and maggots all over his body.

A two-year-old Maltese named Remo has been rescued from a tiny pen in Mission, Kansas

His owners surrendered him to Unleashed Pet and Rescue three days ago after neighbors reported him

Three days after his rescue, veterinarians are now giving Reno a 50 percent chance of survival

He had maggots in his fur, ears and eyes when he was found.

Remo is also suffering from septic shock, which is causing low blood pressure and possible organ failure.

'His blood pressure is in the 50s and 60s, normal blood pressure is in the mid 100s, 150ish so we do need to get his blood pressure up,' a spokesperson from Unleashed said.

Remo was completely covered in maggots when he was found. He had maggots in his fur, eyes, and ears

The pup is taking antibiotics, medication for low blood pressure, and pain medicine

Remo might need surgery soon to remove the dead skin that maggots ate away from him

The Maltese pup has a feeding tube through his nose to help him get the nutrients he needs

He's shivering because he's cold now, poor little guy, we're warming him up, but we do have high hopes for him,' Unleashed said. 'He may have to have surgery for his skin down the line.'

Veterinarians wanted to put little Remo to sleep because he was very sick and could hardly move, but Unleashed decided to fight for the pup's life.

Vets now say, three days later, that Remo has a 50 percent chance surviving his ordeal.

Remo is on medication for low blood pressure, antibiotics, pain medication, and even has a feeding tube through his nose.

'We're all rooting for him,' Danielle Reno, the director of Unleashed, told the Kansas City Star. 'I think he can feel it. He didn't come all this way just to die.'

With the help of his feeding tube, Remo's blood sugar has gone from 48 to 138.

The Maltese youngster has a feeding tube through his nose and an IV giving him antibiotics

Remo is bald right now because of the massive maggot infestation that has left holes all throughout his body

The young pup is fighting hard for his life in Mission, Kansas with a team of round-the-clock vets

His blood pressure has gone from in the 40s up to 80 thanks to norepinephrine.

Vets have been trying to get a central line in through Remo's neck, but that is where most of the damage from the maggots is.

His medical costs are expected to amount to $5,000, and they have set up a donation page to help Remo.

He also has a Facebook page called Remo The Strong.
United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit. HOWARD SCOTT ALLISON, Appellant v. SUPERINTENDENT WAYMART SCI; ATTORNEY GENERAL PENNSYLVANIA; DISTRICT ATTORNEY RICHARD A. CONSIGLIO No. 15-3240 Decided: August 09, 2017

Before: CHAGARES, SCIRICA and FISHER, Circuit Judges.

OPINION*

Howard Scott Allison filed a petition for habeas corpus relief pursuant to 28 U.S.C.  2254, arguing that the state trial court's decision during his criminal trial to admit testimony of prior bad acts violated his due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. The District Court denied the petition. We will affirm.

I.

In 2007, the Blair County District Attorney charged Allison with three felonies after Allison's niece reported to her counselor that Allison had sexually assaulted her nine years earlier, when she was six years old. Allison was charged with: Rape of a Person Less than 13 Years Old in violation of 18 Pa. C.S.A.  3121(a)(6), Statutory Sexual Assault in violation of 18 Pa. Cons. Stat.  3122.2, and Corruption of Minors in violation of 18 Pa. Cons. Stat.  6301(a)(1).

The Commonwealth filed a pretrial motion to admit the testimony of Allison's two adult sisters that he molested them when they were children. Allison argued that the sisters' testimony was inadmissible because Pa. R. Evid. 404 barred evidence of prior uncharged criminal activity, and that the only purpose of the sisters' testimony was to show he acted in conformity with the alleged earlier assaults and to prejudice the jury. The judge admitted the testimony on the basis that it fell under the common scheme or plan exception to the prohibition against prior bad acts evidence pursuant to Pa. R. Evid. 404, and that it was not unduly prejudicial. The judge added that without this challenged testimony, the lack of corroboration for the niece's claims might very well [ ] lead [ ] a reasonable jury to conclude they have reasonable doubt. App. 44.

At trial, both sisters testified that their older brother Allison assaulted them in their family home in the 1980s. One sister testified that Allison, who is about seven years older than her, molested her beginning when she was about five years old and continued until she was about ten or eleven, when her parents found out. The other sister, who is about twelve years younger than Allison, testified that he molested her for about a year starting from when she was five years old.

As a part of the jury charge, the trial judge gave the following instructions:

During the course of the trial and as one of the theories of prosecution giving support to the Commonwealth's delivery of this case to you is the Commonwealth's theory of common design or purpose. You've heard evidence tending to prove that the defendant was guilty of some improper conduct for which he is not on trial now, namely, conduct delivered against or toward at least two of the persons who testified against him.

App. 549. The judge also explained that the evidence is before you for a limited purpose, very limited. That is, for the purpose of supporting the Commonwealth's contention that the actions of the defendant directed against [his niece] was in furtherance of a common scheme or design of the defendant's. App. 550. He added, You must not regard this evidence as showing that the defendant is a person of bad character or criminal tendencies from which you might be inclined to infer guilt. App. 550.

The jury convicted Allison on all three counts on April 17, 2008. He was sentenced to twelve and a half to twenty-five years of imprisonment. On April 19, 2009, Allison filed a direct appeal to the Pennsylvania Superior Court, arguing, inter alia, that the sisters' prior bad acts testimony should not have been admitted. The bulk of Allison's brief regarding this argument focused on violation of Pennsylvania law, but he did mention the U.S. Constitution two times. First, the Statement of Questions Involved section of his brief described the prior bad acts issue as WHETHER THE LOWER COURT ERRED IN DENYING THE APPELLANT'S MOTION TO SUPPRESS EVIDENCE OF PRIOR BAD ACTS AS WELL AS CROSS-EXAMINING WITNESSES IN VIOLATION OF THE UNITED STATES AND PENNSYLVANIA CONSTITUTIONS[.] App. 614. Second, in the Argument section, Allison stated, The Fourteenth Amendment of the United States and Pennsylvania Constitutions make it explicitly clear that: no State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.  App. 631.

The Pennsylvania Superior Court denied Allison's claim, concluding that the trial court's admission of the sisters' testimony as proof of a common plan or scheme was not an abuse of discretion. Allison did not appeal to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

Allison then filed a pro se application in Blair County Court of Common Pleas, seeking relief under Pennsylvania's Post Conviction Relief Act, 42 Pa. Cons. Stat.  9541, et seq. (hereinafter PCRA). The PCRA application alleged, inter alia, ineffective assistance of counsel, but did not contain claims regarding the prior bad acts testimony. The petition was denied, and Allison pursued unsuccessful appeals in the Pennsylvania Superior Court and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

Allison filed the instant petition for habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C.  2254 in the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. The Magistrate Judge recommended denying the application, and the District Court adopted that recommendation in a judgment entered September 4, 2015. The Magistrate Judge's analysis concluded that an allegation of violations of state rules of evidence does not constitute colorable claim for a federal due process violation. Allison filed a timely notice of appeal and we granted a certificate of appealability based on two issues on appeal: 1) whether Allison's federal due process rights were violated by the introduction of the prior bad acts' testimony of the two sisters and 2) whether Allison fairly presented his federal due process claim to the state courts.

II.

The District Court had jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C.  2254. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C.  1291 and 2253. Our review of the District Court's denial of habeas corpus is plenary, but we review findings of fact for clear error. Gardner v. Grandolsky, 585 F.3d 786, 788 (3d Cir. 2009).

III.

Federal habeas claims need to have been fairly presented to a state court. To fulfill that requirement, the federal claim it must be the substantial equivalent of the claim that the state courts reviewed either on direct appeal or collateral review. Lambert v. Blackwell, 134 F.3d 506, 513 (3d Cir. 1997), as amended (Jan. 16, 1998). Both the legal theory and the facts supporting a federal claim must have been submitted to the state courts. Lesko v. Owens, 881 F.2d 44, 50 (3d Cir. 1989). For example, a claim presented to the state court premised solely on violation of state evidentiary rules would not be the substantial equivalent of a claim of a federal constitutional violation based on the exact same facts. See Duncan v. Henry, 513 U.S. 364, 366 (1995).

A threshold issue is whether Allison fairly presented his federal due process claim based on the admission of the sisters' testimony. The Commonwealth does not appear to contest Allison's assertion that the factual predicates supporting his state claim and his federal claim are the same. Therefore, we only examine whether Allison has demonstrated that he fairly presented the legal theory of a federal constitutional violation when his direct appeal contained references to the UNITED STATES  CONSTITUTION[ ] and [t]he Fourteenth Amendment of the United States  Constitution[ ], and quoted the language of the amendment. App. 614, 631.

If a habeas petitioner wishes to claim that an evidentiary ruling at a state court trial denied him the due process of law guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment, he must say so, not only in federal court, but in state court. Duncan, 513 U.S. at 366. In Keller v. Larkins, 251 F.3d 408, 413 (3d Cir. 2001), this Court explored what it means to say so. We examined whether the petitioner put the state court on notice that his challenges regarding the admission of evidence  including uncharged prior bad acts evidence  implicated federal law. We concluded that the petitioner did not say so merely by dint of passing references to the concept of a fair trial in his state court papers, and as a result his federal habeas claim was procedurally defaulted. Id. at 414.

Like Allison, the petitioner in Keller devoted pages of the brief to Pennsylvania state cases. However, unlike Allison, the petitioner in Keller never even mentioned the United States Constitution. Rather, the Keller petitioner only referred to his right to a fair trial. Id. at 415. Allison, on the other hand, specifically invoked the United States and Pennsylvania Constitutions and cited the Fourteenth Amendment language regarding due process, and in the next sentence argued that the trial court denied his constitutional rights when it deviat[ed] from applicable law and misappl[ied] the probative value and prejudicial effect of the prior bad acts. App. 631. Although Allison's discussion of his federal constitutional claim was short, and he did not cite any federal case law, he invoked the federal law when he cited the Fourteenth Amendment and linked the alleged the facts of his claim to it. Cf. Picard v. Connor, 404 U.S. 270, 278 (1971) ([W]e do not imply that respondent could have raised the [federal constitutional] claim only by citing book and verse on the federal constitution. We simply hold that the substance of a federal habeas corpus claim must first be presented to the state courts. (quoting Daugharty v. Gladden, 257 F.2d 750, 758 (9th Cir. 1958)).

Therefore, we conclude that  although this is a close call  Allison did afford the state courts a chance to correct an alleged constitutional violation before invoking federal jurisdiction, Szuchon v. Lehman, 273 F.3d 299, 322 (3d Cir. 2001), when he directly referenced the Fourteenth Amendment and the United States Constitution in his pro se direct appeal.

IV.

We next turn to the merits of Allison's petition. He argues that the sisters' testimony imperiled the fundamental fairness of his right to a fair trial. Allison Br. 13, 16. He adds that the jury instruction regarding the testimony exacerbated the prejudice of the testimony. Allison Br. 22.

The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA) dictates the manner in which we conduct our review of claims under 28 U.S.C.  2254. Dennis v. Sec'y, Pa. Dep't of Corr., 834 F.3d 263, 280 (3d Cir. 2016). The road to relief under AEDPA is not an accommodating one. Unlike a direct appeal, in which a reviewing court can determine whether a district court erred in introducing certain evidence, relief under AEPDA is only available to Allison if he can show one of two things: that admission of the sisters' testimony was 1) contrary to, or 2) involved an unreasonable application of, clearly established Federal law, as determined by the Supreme Court of the United States. 28 U.S.C.  2254(d)(1); see also White v. Woodall, 134 S. Ct. 1697, 1702 (2014).

Clearly established law is defined as holdings, as opposed to the dicta of this [Supreme] Court's decisions. White, 134 S. Ct. at 1702 (quoting Howes v. Fields, 132 S. Ct. 1181, 1187 (2012)). The admission of the testimony would be contrary to clearly established law if it applies  a rule that contradicts the governing law set forth by the Supreme Court or is inconsistent with a Supreme Court decision in a case involving materially indistinguishable facts. Bronshtein v. Horn, 404 F.3d 700, 723 (3d Cir. 2005) (quoting Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S. 362, 405-06 (2000)). The admission would be an unreasonable application if it is so obvious that a clearly established rule applies to [this] given set of facts that there could be no fairminded disagreement on the question. White, 134 S. Ct. at 1706. In other words, [h]abeas relief may not be granted on the basis that the state court applied clearly established law incorrectly; rather, the inquiry is whether the state court's application of clearly established federal law was objectively unreasonable.  Dennis, 834 F.3d at 281 (quoting Williams, 529 U.S. at 409). Moreover, whether a rule is unreasonably applied corresponds to the specificity of the rule itself: [t]he more general the rule, the more leeway courts have in reaching outcomes in case-by-case determinations.  Id. (quoting Harrington v. Richter, 562 U.S. 86, 102 (2011)).

A.

The parties agree that the question of whether the trial court misapplied the Pennsylvania Rules of Evidence is not dispositive. Rather, the question is whether the admission of the sisters' testimony in the context of the entire trial, w[as] sufficiently prejudicial to violate [his] due process rights, Donnelly v. DeChristoforo, 416 U.S. 637, 639 (1974).

At the crux of Allison's case is his contention that the admission of prior bad acts evidence was an error so egregious that the jury was unable to fairly weigh evidence against him. Reply Br. 8. Allison, however, cannot identify clearly established Supreme Court precedent that such evidence constitutes a violation of due process. See Estelle v. McGuire, 502 U.S. 62, 75 n.5 (1991) (We express no opinion on whether a state law would violate the Due Process Clause if it permitted the use of prior crimes' evidence to show propensity to commit a charged crime.).

Moreover, the Federal Rules of Evidence expressly allows such testimony in sex crime cases. In fact, Federal Rules of Evidence 413 and 414 provide that when a criminal defendant is accused of child molestation or sexual assault, the court may admit evidence that the defendant committed any other child molestation or sexual assault, and [t]he evidence may be considered on any matter to which it is relevant. Fed. R. Evid. 413, 414. No Court of Appeals which has considered the constitutionality of Fed. R. Evid. 413 or 414 has concluded that they violated due process, see United States v. Schaffer, 851 F.3d 166, 177 n.56 (2d Cir. 2017) (collecting cases across Courts of Appeal, all of which have held that Rule 413 or 414 do not violate the Due Process Clause), and the Supreme Court has not deemed either rule unconstitutional. Thus, Allison cannot successfully claim that admitting the prior bad acts evidence as propensity evidence is in itself contrary to or an improper application of clearly established federal law.

Allison argues that overly prejudicial testimony in violation of Rule 403  which serves as a limitation on the admissibility of character evidence  can also amount to a violation of due process. Nevertheless, Allison cannot overcome his burden of identifying facially contradictory Supreme Court precedent, or precedent that obviously forbids the admission of the sisters' testimony.

Allison cites to Dowling v. United States, 493 U.S. 342, 352 (1990) to argue that some evidence can be so prejudicial that it violates the fundamental conceptions of fairness. We agree that this general rule regarding prejudicial evidence and fundamental fairness exists. We next turn to whether the trial court's decision to admit the sisters' testimony was an objectively unreasonable application of this general rule. Williams, 529 U.S. at 409. We conclude that it was not.

In Dowling, evidence that the defendant had donned a mask and used a gun to rob a home was admitted to show that he wore a similar mask and used a similar gun to rob a bank two weeks later. In assessing Dowling's claim, the Supreme Court evaluated whether the admission of a prior bad act was substantively more prejudicial than probative. There, the Court noted that it ha[s] defined the category of infractions that violate fundamental fairness' very narrowly and upheld the trial court's decision to admit the evidence of the prior robbery because it was at least circumstantially valuable in proving petitioner's guilt. Dowling, 493 U.S. at 353. The Dowling Court did not evaluate the specific probative and prejudicial elements of the equation, and thus did not set a rule directly applicable to the facts of Allison's case.

To the extent that Dowling evokes the general principle that evidence or statements at trial could be so prejudicial to violate [the defendant's] due process rights, Donnelly, 416 U.S. at 639, Allison also has not demonstrated how such a general rule could yield the conclusion that the trial court's balancing of the probativeness of the testimony and its potential prejudice was objectively unreasonable based on Supreme Court precedent, Williams, 529 U.S. at 409, especially given how narrow the category of potential fundamental fairness infractions are, Dowling, 492 U.S. at 353.

Allison cites several other cases that are inapposite to his case. For example, in Chambers v. Mississippi, 410 U.S. 284, 300-04 (1973), the issue was whether the trial court's exclusion of certain testimony based on hearsay and adverse witness grounds deprived the defendant of his Sixth Amendment Confrontation Clause rights. That rule of constitutional law has nothing to do with Allison's case. Similarly, the Supreme Court's holding in Huddleston v. United States, 485 U.S. 681, 688-69 (1988), was not on the question of whether admission of prior bad acts was unduly prejudicial and violated a defendant's constitutional rights. Rather, the Court held that a district court does not need to make a preliminary finding regarding the proof behind a prior bad act pursuant to Fed. R. Evid. 104. Id. In Michelson v. United States, 335 U.S. 469 (1948), although the Court discussed the merits of common law rules excluding propensity evidence, it never stated that admission thereof amounts to a constitutional violation. Indeed, the central issue in Michelson was not whether prior bad acts evidence when admitted as propensity evidence would be a constitutional violation, but rather the propriety of reputational character evidence. In any event, the Court affirmed the conviction despite acknowledging shortcomings in the character evidence admission scheme that courts use. In Estelle, in which a father was found guilty of killing his infant child, the Court upheld admission of evidence that the child's prior injuries were a result of earlier abuse, noting that such evidence is probative and demonstrated [her] death was the result of an intentional act by someone, and not an accident. 502 U.S. at 69. It is not so obvious that these precedents apply to Allison's case, and declining to apply them here was not objectively unreasonable. White, 134 S. Ct. at 1702.

Because the admission of the sisters' testimony was neither contrary to nor involved an unreasonable application of clearly established Supreme Court precedent, the District Court's denial of Allison's petition on this basis was proper.

2.

Allison also argues that jury instructions prejudiced his constitutional rights, specifically taking issue with the trial court's language You've heard some evidence tending to prove that the defendant was guilty of some improper conduct for which he is not on trial now  [namely] conduct delivered against or toward at least two of the persons who testified against him. App. 549. Allison argues that this suggested he was guilty of the acts the sisters described (and possibly more) and reinforced and underscored the prior bad acts testimony. Allison Br. 24.

To the extent that Allison asserts that the instruction tending to prove that the defendant was guilty usurps the jury's role in determining whether Allison did in fact molest his sisters, or that it suggests Allison had assaulted additional children, that standalone argument is foreclosed for failure to exhaust state remedies. Nowhere in Allison's direct appeal (or, indeed, his federal habeas petition) is there any reference to either the factual predicates or the legal theory associated with such an argument.

Allison might also be arguing that the jury instruction is not only defective for the above reason alone, but also that it further prejudice[ed] him by emphasizing the bad act and therefore aggravated the prejudicial nature of the testimony. Allison Br. 24. This argument is unpersuasive because the language of the instruction does not aggravate any prejudicial aspect of the testimony. It does not even refer to the details of the testimony. The instruction only noted that the testimony existed and that the jury ought to use it for a limited purpose. Because Allison has not demonstrated a violation of or unreasonable application of clearly established law with respect to the jury instructions, his petition fails on that basis as well.

V.

For the reasons stated above, we will affirm the judgment of the District Court.

FOOTNOTES

. While the District Court and Magistrate Judge concluded that a number of Allison's grounds for relief were procedurally defaulted, they did not conclude that the claim at issue in this appeal was defaulted.

. Although Allison concedes that he did not raise these claims in his PCRA petition, he is deemed to have met the exhaustion requirement if he had properly raised the issue on direct appeal. Lambert, 134 F.3d at 513 (A petitioner who has raised an issue on direct appeal, however, is not required to raise it again in a state post-conviction proceeding.); Werts v. Vaughn, 228 F.3d 178, 192 (3d Cir. 2000). Moreover, that Allison did not appeal the intermediate court's rejection of his direct appeal does not bar him from seeking relief now because the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has deemed that a state prisoner need not petition the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in order to exhaust his state court remedies. Lambert v. Blackwell, 387 F.3d 210, 23334 (3d Cir. 2004) (Consequently, petitioners need not seek review from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in order to give the Pennsylvania courts a full opportunity to resolve any constitutional claims. ).

. There is a slight difference between the Pennsylvania Rules of Evidence 403, which provides that [t]he court may exclude relevant evidence if its probative value is outweighed by a danger of one or more of the following: unfair prejudice, confusing the issues, misleading the jury, undue delay, wasting time, or needlessly presenting cumulative evidence, and Federal Rule of Evidence 403, which provides that relevant evidence may be excluded if it is substantially outweighed.

. The state trial court's decision remarked on the reasons that the sisters' testimony in this case is probative, identifying what it characterized as important similarities between the three rapes. App. 44-47. Allison's argument that the lack of other corroborating evidence made the sisters' testimony even more prejudicial, Allison Br. 26, gets the logic backwards. The lack of other evidence makes their testimony more probative because its value in the case is higher. The lack of other evidence does not make any particular piece of evidence more inflammatory.The state trial court also concluded that while the admission of this prior bad acts evidence will be prejudicial  it is not unduly prejudicial. App. 48. Allison obviously disagrees, but fails to elicit a constitutional rule to the contrary. While the testimony was indeed of an extremely disturbing nature, so, too, were the allegations directly before the jury. The record does not show how the conduct described by the sisters was any more inflammatory than the conduct Allison was accused of at trial. See Schaffer, 851 F.3d 166, 183 (holding that video footage of the defendant assaulting young girls was not more inflammatory than the allegations at issueinvolving him assaulting a young girl in a similar manner); see also United States v. Gougis, 432 F.3d 735, 743 (7th Cir. 2005) (holding that evidence of the defendant's prior theft was indeed prejudicial to Brown's defense, but the vast majority of the government's evidence against a defendant is prejudicial to him. That's the idea. (internal citations, quotation marks, and alterations omitted)). In the absence of contrary Supreme Court precedent that would yield the trial court's conclusions objectively unreasonable, Allison cannot prevail.

. Allison cites to three of our decisions: Bronshtein, 404 F.3d 700, Lesko, 881 F.2d 44, and Government of the Virgin Islands v. Pinney, 967 F.2d 912 (3d Cir. 1992). These decisions are not dispositive because AEDPA does not allow a petitioner to rest on circuit precedent. Moreover, only the Pinney decision bears resemblance to Allison's specific substantive position in this case. Nevertheless, it is also unhelpful to Allison because the Court  reviewing a conviction on direct appeal  merely held that the admission of testimony regarding a prior sexual assault was improper common plan or scheme evidence under the Federal Rules of Evidence. It did not reach the issue of whether such evidence would violate the defendant's due process rights under the Constitution. Allison also cites to a number of cases involving the First Amendment, Reply Br. 5, which are even less relevant.

CHAGARES, Circuit Judge.
This is the hilarious moment a couple fail at their attempt at beach yoga.

At first the couple can be seen gearing up for their what should have been a romantic trip to the beach to practice their yoga poses.

It goes crashing down when they hold the pose for about two seconds with him laying on his back and holding her up by his feet.

Almost immediately after the couple begins their initial pose, their are struck by the sneaky tides.

The woman is knocked onto the shore while her male counterpart is thrashed against the waves.

He quickly moves from the shoreline and she scampers against the ocean toward the camera.

Gladly, neither of them were hurt and both can be heard laughing and giggling.

The video shows a couple practicing their yoga poses on the beach

The woman can be seen leaning her stomach against the man's feet and him lifting her up using his legs

Disaster strikes for the beach couple when the unsuspecting pair are whacked by the tides

Amongst the waves: Couple try to enjoy a nice at the beach but instead are whipped by the sly shore
With its wisteria-covered, honey-coloured stone cottages, it is hard to imagine anywhere as quintessentially English as the Cotswold village of Bledington.

So you can imagine how surprised the residents were to discover that they are not very English at all  but instead have DNA from 18 different parts of the world.

Although the last census lists the community as 95 per cent white British, a study has found that Bledington is actually a hotbed of diversity.

In fact, the average villager's DNA is just 42 per cent British. One resident learned she is 7 per cent Asian Indian, while others had genes from places as far away as the Pacific islands of Melanesia. Some were found to be as little as 3 per cent British.

The villagers of Bledington, Gloucestershire, who found out they were less British than they though they were

Their DNA is from all over the country, with less than half of it coming from Great Britain

As well as this, more than half of the villagers discovered they were related to their neighbours  including two close friends who turned out to be cousins.

The study, carried out in March by genealogy company Ancestry, is the first to examine the genetic make-up of an entire village community.

Ancestry said the Gloucestershire village was selected for its size, scenic Cotswolds location and community spirit.

Samples of saliva were taken from 120 residents, whose ages ranged from 19 to 93 and participants included everyone from the pub landlord to a local farmer.

Mick Newton, Ann Newton and daughter Sarah Wright read their results, and find out they have more to their blood than Britain

One of the villagers, Mick Newton, found out he had Scandinavian and Irish DNA, as well as a little bit of Italian

His wife Ann found she was mostly European, but almost as much of her DNA came from Europe West, as from Great Britain

THE DNA BREAKDOWN OF THE AVERAGE BLEDINGTON RESIDENT DNA region percentage Great Britain (Anglo Saxon) 42.54% Europe West (The region covered today by France and Germany) 20.61% Ireland/Scotland/Wales 17.03% Scandinavia 10.06% Iberian Peninsula (Spain/Portugal) 2.80% Italy/Greece 1.79% Europe East 1.66% European Jewish 1.58% Finland/Northwest 1.03% Caucasus 0.46% West Asia 0.24% Asia South 0.11% Asia Central 0.03% Africa North 0.03% Native American 0.01% Asia East 0.01% Middle East 0.01% Melanesia 0.01% Advertisement

Researchers analysed the genome of every villager, matching it to a vast database of DNA samples from over 700,000 locations across the globe.

Although more than half of locals didn't expect to find results from outside the UK, the study found that nobody in the picturesque village was 100 per cent Anglo-Saxon.

Kristen Turner, 48, a marketing manager, was told she is seven per cent Asian-Indian, making her the most genetically diverse participant.

She said: 'It's rather exciting to think I have something in common with people in Asia and India and it does make the world feel like a smaller place.

'I'm quite excited to be able to find out where that comes from in my ancestry and perhaps try and find out where they originated from, what their story was and how it joined my line.'

Left, Sue Windsor, a resident in the village of Bledington and right, Sigrid Lang picks up her results

Ancestry said the Gloucestershire village was selected for its size, scenic Cotswolds location and community spirit

Several of those tested found out they were distantly related to someone else in the village, as a third or fourth cousin

And Guy Chittenden, 24, a consultant, discovered he is just three per cent British. His genes were 75 per cent western European, 12 per cent Irish and seven per cent Scandinavian. He said he was 'shocked' by the results, adding: 'Perhaps I'm a love child.'

Andrew Packe, 66, who has lived in the village for more than three decades, had DNA that was 12 per cent Scandinavian.

He also discovered 46 genetic connections after taking the test, including neighbour Camilla, who turned out to be a third cousin. He said: 'It's not every day you get a new relative so close by.'

Meanwhile, local historian Sylvia Reeves, 93, was amazed to discover she is related to the son of a close family friend.

Sisters Gillian (left) and Sheila Truslove (right) also took party in the study. Six other locals were found to have surprising DNA matches to other Bledington residents, identified as fourth cousins or closer

Mrs Reeves and builder Steve Tyack, 46, had DNA which proved they share an ancestor four generations ago, meaning they are distant cousins.

'I've been here in Bledington for 56 years and I've known Steve's family ever since,' Mrs Reeves said. 'I would never have dreamt it especially because Steve is rooted round here whereas I came to Bledington by chance.'

Mr Tyack said: 'This whole experience has been wonderful, a real opportunity. It's really brought the community spirit back to Bledington.'

Six other locals were found to have surprising DNA matches to other Bledington residents, identified as fourth cousins or closer. Some 59 residents had distant cousins in the village.

Bledington, 22 miles east of Cheltenham, has a population of around 500. It has won village of the year awards in 2004 and 2012 for the closeness of its community.
Infamous gangster rap producer and music executive Marion 'Suge' Knight is trying to buy testimony in his upcoming murder trial, prosecutors claimed ahead of a court hearing on the matter Thursday.

Those allegations, however, are being denied by Knight, who is scheduled to stand trial at the Los Angeles County Superior Court in Downtown next year on homicide charges stemming from a January 2015 incident.

'I've never paid anyone, period, end of story,' Knight's attorney Matt Fletcher told the Daily News ahead of the hearing.

Suge Knight has been behind bars for over two years following the hit and run death of man in 2015

Knight and his lawyer, Matt Fletcher (pictured), are accused of collaborating in a scheme to pay off witnesses in Knight's up coming murder trial

'As far as I know, (witnesses) haven't been paid by anyone,' he said. 'I don't believe Suge Knight has the money to pay anyone.'

Knight is being tried for a hit-and-run incident that left one man dead and another man critically injured during a parking lot confrontation in Compton, California.

Knight turned himself in to LA Country Sheriffs the next day, and was charged with suspicion of murder.

Prosecutors say that they have recorded audio of Knight and Fletcher in a jail call discussing paying large sums to key witnesses who will testify that was the victim of an armed assault on the night of January 29.

'That's a fair motherf**ing investment, you know, 20, 25 thousand dollars to pay to these motherf***ers to get home?" Fletcher allegedly says during a March 2016 conversation.

Knight(left) pictured with recording artists Snoop Dogg (second left), Tupac Shakur and MC Hammer (right) in 1996

Fletcher later told the Daily News that he was referring to paying off a biker gang that he claims has cellphone video footage of the incident.

'We were sending people out to try to find versions of the videotape," Fletcher told The News.

'It would be a wonderful investment. TMZ would pay them. Radar would pay them,' he added.

DA paperwork obtained by the Daily News shows that prosecutors have called for an 'inquiry' into Fletcher, a precautionary step that will prohibit Knight from requesting a retrial if he claims his lawyer acted inappropriately.

Knight pictured with the late Tupac Shakur, who was murdered in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1996. Knight was driving the car the evening Shakur was murdered

Prosecutors also claim that Knight and Fletcher collaborated together to sell the main surveillance footage taken of the incident to TMZ for $55,000, violating a court order.

'They're accusing me of trying to sell the tape to TMZ,' Fletcher told The News. 'I wasn't even on the case then. I didn't have the videotape.'

Fletcher said he plans to challenge the DA on why they have the recordings in the first place, saying it violates client-attorney privilege.

But prosecutors contend that Knight relinquished that right when he initiated a phone call first with another party, and later patched in Fletcher to an already existing conversation.

'I find that to be rather disquieting,' Fletcher told The News.

Last week, Knight pleaded not guilty to threatening 'Straight Out of Compton' director Gary Gray for his depiction of Knight in the film.

Prosecutors say in August 2014 Knight threatened Gray via text message and verbally to stop production on the film or financially compensate Knight.

Knight has already spent two-and-a-half years behind bars as he waits for his trial to commence. Knight's trial to scheduled to begin next year.
Oregon State University professor Patti Lou-Watkins is once again offering the course that seeks to look at how 'weightism'

Students at a public university in Oregon can now gain college credit for learning about 'Fat Studies.'

Oregon State University professor Patti Lou-Watkins is once again offering the course that seeks to look at how 'weightism' - or a conscious or unconscious bias against fat people - is a 'social justice issue.'

Campus Reform reported that they had obtained a syllabus and that the class will invite students to observe 'body weight, shape, and size as an area of human difference subject to privilege and discrimination that intersects with other systems of oppression based on gender, race, class, age, sexual orientation, and ability.'

The intersectional feminist class will teach students how to engage in instrumental activism to 'counter weightism perpetuated throughout various societal institutions.'

Professor Lou-Watkins plans to show how perceived individual notions of fat shaming actually come from larger societal context and oppressive structures.

'My course now frames body image disturbances more as a function of oppressive societal structures than of individual pathology,' said Professor Lou-Watkins in a 2012 academic journal.

Weightism is a conscious or unconscious bias against fat people, and is a social justice issue

The 'war on obesity', the professor notes, has caused immense psychological harm on people who have attempted to lose weight.

She added: 'Weight bias is particularly evident among healthcare professionals, compromising the well-being of their patients.'

Campus Reform noted the the professor aims to include feminist pedagogy to assist in teaching her students about fat studies.

The intersectional feminist class will teach students how to engage in instrumental activism to 'counter weightism perpetuated throughout various societal institutions'

'I grew to embrace feminist pedagogy in terms of course content as well as classroom practices,' she said.

'My course now frames body image disturbances more as a function of oppressive societal structures than of individual pathology.'

OSU also offers fat acceptance-related class called 'Women, Weight, and Body Image,' which navigates 'weightism as a system of oppression that interacts with other forms of oppression.'
A 17-month-old boy died after being hit by a car outside a hotel  as family members screamed at the driver and beat their fists on the vehicle in anguish.

Eyewitnesses from nearby flats dialled 999 after hearing 'the most terrible scream' when the toddler was struck and the frantic aftermath.

The tragedy happened outside an Ibis hotel at Salford Quays, Greater Manchester, just after 9pm on Thursday.

Scroll down for video

More than a dozen police cars gathered by the Ibis Budget Hotel in Salford Quays, Greater Manchester, after responding to reports of a collision between a vehicle and a child at 9pm

Police inspected a car outside the Ibis Hotel following the incident, which happened at around 9pm

Witnesses described hearing people screaming and armed police flooding the area. Armed officers only attended because the unit was nearby at the time

Police are treating it as a 'tragic accident' and say that while they have taken statements from 'all parties' involved, the driver has not been arrested.

The little boy is believed to have been hit by a dark-coloured Toyota Rav-4 four-wheel drive car as his family made their way to the hotel's rear entrance.

The Toyota is believed to have been moving 'very slowly' forward around the car park when it struck the boy, who has not yet been named.

Police have not revealed any details about the driver, who eyewitnesses say is believed to be male.

One resident of flats overlooking the hotel car park said: 'We heard the screaming from our flat, it sounded like someone was in pain. We thought it was an acid attack or something like that.

'I came out and saw a woman hitting the car. She was screaming and crying. She was absolutely distraught and it's horrendous.'

Another resident, Alec Turnton, 35, who called 999, said he first heard a bang, then screaming.

A police officer inspects a car at the scene of a fatal crash in the carpark of the Ibis Budget Hotel in Salford

Officers entered the foyer of the Ibis Hotel at around 9.30, according to witnesses. Police were also seen entering the AC Hotel next door

He said: 'We live opposite and we saw the immediate aftermath of what happened. I remember just hearing the most terrible scream I've ever heard in my life from adults.

'We just heard someone screaming, 'she's killed him' or 'he's killed him' - I'm not sure which.'

He added: 'There were people screaming and there were two women I don't know if one was grandmother and one was (the boy's) mother. They were screaming and holding their heads.

'There was I think a man who got out of the car and there were five people around it. It was frantic and going crazy.

'They were just holding their heads and were devastated. The lady was white in her 50's and had a British accent. I think they took the baby inside the hotel. It's just tragic and awful. I just knew someone was dead.'

Mr Turton said police and paramedics were on the scene within a few minutes and he told officers he thought he heard 'a bang' before the screaming.

The Ibis hotel is located in Salford Keys, in Greater Manchester. Salford is north west of the main city centre

Lindsay Avery wrote on Facebook: 'I heard the screams and saw people in panic.' Pictured: The scene outside the Ibis Hotel

Greater Manchester Police said the little boy died at the scene despite the efforts of ambulance crew to save him.

Sergeant Brian Orr, of the force's serious collision investigation unit, said: 'This was a heart-breaking incident involving a young boy which has understandably left his family distraught and the thoughts of everyone are with them at this terrible time.

'At the moment this appears to have been a truly tragic accident and not a suspicious incident; however we have launched an investigation to establish a full understanding of exactly what happened.

The Toyota car was later removed from the scene for examination but the car park remained under police cordon yesterday.

Flowers were left at the scene by well-wishers including a group who are believed to be builders working in the area.

Nobody from the Ibis was available for comment .
A 12-year-old girl was fatally shot inside her home after a gunman opened fire on her house before the little girl's first day of middle school the next day.

Makiya Walls died shortly after being rushed to the hospital with several gun shot wounds in Victorville, California, on Wednesday night.

San Bernardino County police said an unknown gunman had exited his car and unloaded several bullets into a downstairs window of Makiya's home around 8.30pm.

The little girl, who was set to start her first day of middle school the next day, happened to be sitting near the window when she was struck.

Less than two hours before Makiya's death, her mother uploaded a photo of her, saying: 'Where does the time go? My pretty baby starts middle school tomorrow. I'm not ready!'

Makiya Walls, 12, (pictured with her mother) died shortly after being rushed to the hospital with several gun shot wounds in Victorville, California, on Wednesday night. An unknown gunman had opened fire on her home

Less than two hours before Makiya's death, her mother uploaded a photo of her, saying: 'Where does the time go? My pretty baby starts middle school tomorrow. I'm not ready!'

Police responded to a call to Makiya's home located at the 17000 block of Monaco Drive about 8.20pm, according to a press release.

Makiya had been 'inside the residence in close proximity to the front window' and was struck by the bullets', according to Sheriffs spokeswoman Jodi Miller.

The little girl was taken to a nearby hospital and although doctors performed life-saving procedures, she died from her injures shortly before 10pm that night.

Authorities are still searching for the gunman, described by police as a black man, who had fired at the house several times using a shotgun.

Makiya had her first day of middle school the next day. She happened to be sitting near the window when she was struck by bullets

Police said the suspect possibly fled the scene in a white four- door sedan that had an unknown make and model. Authorities have not released a motive yet.

Neighbor Ronnie Barraza said Makiya would often walk her dog on the sidewalk and he was 'devastated' by her death.

He added to the Daily Press: 'She was a good kid. She was a good little girl.'

A witness said she first thought the loud pops were fireworks.

Speaking to the Daily Press, Linda Fierro said: 'They were just too close together. Then, I saw the neighbors come out screaming that their daughter had been shot.'

An at-large suspect pulled up to the little girl's home (pictured) on the 17000 block of Monaco Drive about 8.20pm and fired several bullets through the downstairs window

Another woman claims that her son hear the gun being reloaded, adding: 'This is a decent neighborhood.

'Its quiet, no ones out at night partying or what have you and then something like this happens.'

Other family members were inside the residence at the time of the shooting but no other injuries were reported.

Police are still looking for the at-large suspect as of Thursday afternoon.
There are fears Melbourne is on the brink of a full-scale gangland war after the second shooting in Roxburgh Park this week.

Two teenagers were rushed to hospital in the early hours of Friday morning after multiple shots were fired on Orion Way.

The 16 and 18-year-old youths were shot in the leg and two others were was bashed in the same suburb where another man was shot dead on Wednesday.

The teens were hit with a number of bullets at 2.30am before they were rushed to hospital.

Two 20-year-old men were also found with 'blunt force trauma' injuries, police said.

There are fears Melbourne is on the brink of a full-scale gangland war after the second shooting in Roxburgh Park this week

Three men were rushed to Royal Melbourne Hospital in the early hours of Friday morning after multiple shots were fired on Orion Way

Detective Acting Inspector Mark Burnett said two groups of men met in the street and had an argument before the shots were fired.

'The victims are not cooperating with police due to their perceived fears of possible retribution,' Mr Burnett said.

It's believed that the men were from rival Middle Eastern gangs.

Roxburgh Park residents fear the shooting may have been a payback attack after a 21-year-old man was shot dead just three kilometres away two days earlier.

'I'm frightened for my family... I'm actually shocked there's another shooting,' a witness told Seven News on Friday.

'I'm scared for my family,' another local resident told Nine News.

Anwar Teriaki, 21, was killed just after midnight on Wednesday after an altercation between a group of men

'It's a very quiet neighbourhood... these things never happen around here.'

Anwar Teriaki, 21, was shot dead just after midnight on Coronet Avenue on Wednesday after an altercation between a group of men.

Mr Teriaki was reportedly believed to be an associate of the Tiba crime family.

The Tibas have been linked to at least six Melbourne shooting since last September, according to The Age.
Furious festival-goers have complained of 10 hour queues to get into BoomTown Fair with no water or toilet facilities.

Revellers trying to enter the festival in Winchester complained of sun stroke, dehydration and fighting in the queues as tensions boiled over.

Organisers blamed the lengthy queues on increased searched and delays opening the site due to the torrential rain yesterday.

But furious music fans and concerned parents blasted the festival and described the 'dangerous' situation as 'disgraceful'.

People trying to get into Boomtown Fair in Winchester complained of 10 hour queues

Francisco Hurtado, who is attending the festival with his wife and a friend, described the queue as a 'mass of people' with 'no crowd control or water'.

Mr Hurtado, from West London, left the queue after two hours when a fight broke out.

He said: 'There's no crowd control, there's no information for us and no stewards in sight.

'People are getting very angry as the hours go by. It's not a queue but a mass of people.

'We got here at 3pm but we moved about 20 metres in two hours and then someone started fighting so we've left the queue, it's not safe.

'I haven't seen any water dispensers. They [BoomTown] said there would be water points but I haven't seen any.

'Where I am, there's only eight Portaloos but what good is that for thousands of people?'

Festival-goer Kate Gregory took this picture of the lengthy queues getting into the event

Dominique Vulliamy Taylor whose 18-year-old daughter Coco was stuck in the queue, told MailOnline: 'My daughter is there with two friends in the queue.

'She's basically spent 10 hours getting in. She got there at 11am in the morning and has just got through now. Now they have to try and find their friends and put up their tents in the dark. They've got no water and there were no toilets.

'I am furious. They should have moved the Portaloos into the queues for people. Coco injured her back falling from her horse but has been standing for 10 hours with a back pack on, so her back is now crippled for the rest of the festival.

'Coco and her friends paid quite a lot of money to go to this festival but have now missed the whole of the first day. They have been planning it for six months. It's unacceptable from an organisational front but they should have then dealt with it.'

Irate festival-goers also vented their frustration on Twitter.

Kate Fitzgerald wrote: 'Health and safety disaster waiting to happen at BoomTown festival. Thousands of people not moving, no water, no toilets. Disgusting.'

Sadie McAdams said: 'The person next to me has just passed out. This is inhumane! My friend has got a heart condition and is unconscious! I need medical assistance now!'

Paige Smith complained: 'I've been in the queue for seven hours and haven't been able to reach any water! This is dangerous considering the weather.'

Paul Leicester said: 'No barriers or crowd control...thousands of people crammed in the heat, this is a disaster!'

Colette Gibbings said: 'Now BoomTown. Seriously! No water, no toilets, no food. Stuck in the middle and no way to even leave!'

Another commented: 'No toilets, no barriers, 60,000 people? F*** off BoomTown this is an absolute joke. Safe searches but unsafe crowds.'

One disgruntled reveller said: 'Been queuing for BoomTown for seven-and-half hours and still nowhere near the gates.'

Another said: 'My friend needs stitches, my girlfriend is stuck on the other side of the crowd, apparently people have passed out and got violent.'

Festival-goers faced 10 hour queues trying to get into BoomTown Fair in Winchester

Organisers had described the event as the 'most fully theatrical and immersive festival experience on Earth.'

Acts headlining this year include The Specials, M.I.A. and Toots and the Maytals.

A festival spokeswoman said: 'We were delayed in opening our gates early this afternoon due to the recent wet weather conditions.

'This delay in opening, along with the large-scale searching operation we are running this year have affected the time for people spent in the queues.

'The welfare of our attendees is absolute importance, we have been, and will continue to, send additional provisions and distributing water to those in the queues.

'Security, event management, medical and welfare teams are in position at all the gates and we are actively looking at ways to speed up the queues and get people into the festival.'
President Donald Trump said Thursday he that he is 'somewhat honored' by the backbiting in his inner circle because it's reflective of his aides' jealousy of one another as they try to get close to him.

Trump said the intelligence leaks in his administration are 'very serious' and need to be dealt with.

'And then you have the leaks where people want to love me, and theyre all fighting for love. Those are not very important, but certainly we don't like them. Those are little inner White House leaks,' he said. 'Actually Im somewhat honored by them.'

President Donald Trump said Thursday he that he is 'somewhat honored' by the backbiting in his inner circle because it's reflective of his aides' jealousy of one another as they try to get close to him

The president's applause for his staffers' rumor mongering in the press came during a question and answer session with reporters Thursday afternoon at his property in Bedminster.

Trump had just received a national security briefing on the conflict with North Korea.

He decided to take questions from the press for an extended period of time amid comparisons in the media to prior modern presidents, all of whom had held more than one solo press conference by now except him.

Asked about the pervasive leaks in his administration, Trump said, 'Were looking. Were always looking.

'We have two leaks. You have the leaks coming out of intelligence and various departments having to do with Syria, having to do with all sorts of different places, having to do frankly with North Korea. And those are very serious,' he said.

The other kind of leak is of unclassified information coming from top-level staff.

'But the important leaks and the leaks that the Attorney General is looking at very strongly are the leaks coming out of intelligence and we have to stop them for the security and the national security of our country,' Trump said.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions said last Friday that his department has tripled the number of leak investigations since Barack Obama left office, although he and other officials have declined to say how many are open.

He then raised the possibility that Justice would subpoena reporters who publish classified information.

Career investigators and prosecutors, Sessions said, have advised him to 'review' the department's policies that affect how such cases are handled.

'We respect the important role that the press plays and will give them respect, but it is not unlimited,' he told a room full of reporters.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions raised the possibility last Friday that the Justice Department could seek to subpoena reporters who publish leaked classified information

'They cannot place lives at risk with impunity. We must balance their role with protecting our national security and the lives of those who serve in the intelligence community, in the armed forces, and all law-abiding Americans.'

Sessions specifically said that the DOJ has tripled the number of 'criminal referrals' in leak cases in 2017, compared to previous years.

'This nation must end the culture of leaks. We will investigate and seek to bring criminals to justice,' he said.

'We will not allow rogue anonymous sources with security clearances to sell out our country any longer.'

The Trump administration has become overrun with leaks, including classified transcripts of a pair of phone calls President Donald Trump made in January to the leaders of Mexico and Australia the Washington Post published last week.

Faced with a federal subpoena for records that might indicate the identity of confidential sources, news organizations can choose to comply or instead resist.

But flouting a judge's order would open them up to contempt of court charges that can result in indefinite jail time until they provide what prosecutors demand.

In other countries like France and the United Kingdom, journalists can be subject to the whims of prosecutors and courts  and don't have so-called 'shield' laws to protect them.

Sessions didn't say on Friday what steps he would take to reevaluate the DOJ's positions on subpoenaing journalists.

He ignored a shouted question as he left the press conference about whether he intended to prosecute reporters.

But it's likely that law enforcement's reach would be limited to investigating leaks of classified or other material that jeopardizes national security.

Most 'leaks' during the Trump administration have focused on West Wing palace intrigue, especially related to power struggles behind the scenes.
A teenage girl who disappeared while walking her dog and was found two days later dead in a landfill died of 'homicidal violence', a medical examiner has determined.

Kaytlynn Cargill, 14, went missing on June 19 near her parents' apartment in Bedford, Texas and was killed in what the Tarrant County Medical examiner ruled on Thursday was a homicide.

No arrests have been made and police are remaining mum about any suspects or persons of interest in the case, the Star-Telegram reported.

The medical examiner did not reveal a cause of death and said the autopsy report was not yet completed.

Kaytlynn Cargill, 14, went missing on June 19 near her parents' apartment in Bedford, Texas and was killed in what the Tarrant County Medical examiner ruled on Thursday was a homicide

Police have defended their decision not to issue an Amber Alert at the time of Kaytlynn's disappearance, and said there was no evidence to indicate the girl was abducted or that there was any further risk to the community.

Kaytlynn last seen near her home around 6.20pm leaving to take her dog for a walk, according to the Bedford Police Department.

A neighbor told WFAA he saw the teen tie her dog's leash to a fence and ask friends to watch the animal, but she never returned.

'I didn't hear any yells and it happened right behind my balcony,' said neighbor Zach McDaniel. 'I heard no yells, no helps, no nothing.'

Police say friends of the girl gave 'different stories' when she first went missing.

The body of missing teenager, Kaytlynn Cargill (left and right), 14, who disappeared while out walking her dog on Monday, was found in a Texas landfill

A worker at the Arlington landfill (pictured) discovered a body. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner later confirmed the body found in the landfill was Kaytlynn

When Kaytlynn was reported missing, authorities said they had no reason to believe that she was in any danger, nor did they have any reason to suspect foul play.

The girl's body was found two days later, by a worker at the Arlington landfill about four miles away.

That landfill contracts to receive waste from Bedford and several other smaller municipalities near Arlington.

An obituary for Kaytlynn said that the teen loved animals and played softball and volleyball at school

'Kaytlynn was an optimist, with a heart bigger than anyone will ever know. Her energy and spirit shone through and was infectious to everyone around her,' the obituary said.

Anyone with information about Kaytlynn's death is urged to contact the Tarrant County Crime Stoppers at 817-469-TIPS.
The largest wildfire on record has been captured in new satellite images across western Greenland.

The images show a 'sizeable fire' about 90 miles (150 km) northeast of the town of Sisimiut.

The wildfire is estimated to stretch between 1.9 to 5.8 square miles (5 and 15 square km), with smoke reaching up to 1.2 miles (2 km) high.

Wildfires are unusual on the island, where temperatures rarely reach 10C (50F) in the height of summer, and 80 per cent of the land is covered by thick ice.

But Greenland has seen an 'exceptional' number this year, with as many as 40 fires reported so far - more than double the previous record of 19 set in 2015.

Experts have now linked two of these fires to peat that may have dried out as temperatures have risen.

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The largest wildfire on record (pictured) has been captured in new satellite images across western Greenland. The images show a 'sizeable fire' about 90 miles (150 km) northeast of the town of Sisimiut

WHAT IS CAUSING THE FIRES? Scientists claim that instead of exposed vegetation or shrubbery, the likely source of the fires is peaty soil. Peat is made up of partially decayed vegetation that burns like a fuel when dry. Experts say that the wildfires are 'smouldering' rather than blazing, indicating ground-level fuel, or carbon organic matter, rather than raised vegetation as seen in forest fires. Melting permafrost due to rising temperatures is the likely cause of the outbreak. As the ice melts it exposes peaty soil, leaving large areas susceptible to fires. Advertisement

Global warming has meant that across Greenland there is now less surface water than in the past.

This creates peaty soil and makes vegetation more susceptible to fire.

Satellite images have revealed a number of smoke plumes, forcing officials to warn hikers and tourists to stay away from the remote region.

Local police say billowing smoke from a blaze on the uninhabited island of Nassuttooq, covering an area of up to 6 square miles (15 square km) - the largest wildfire recorded - 'could result in people losing their bearings.'

'Usually when a wildfire is smouldering like that it's because there's a lot of ground-level fuel, carbon organic matter; that's why I assume that it's peat,' wildfire expert Professor Jessica McCarty, from Miami University, told BBC News.

The Greenland fire evolution since July 29 as captured by @ESA_EO 's #sentinel2 pic.twitter.com/Iuk9blyui9  Stef Lhermitte (@StefLhermitte) August 9, 2017

The Greenland fire evolution since July 29 as captured by the European Space Agency's Sentinel 2 satellite (credit: ESA / Stef Lhermitte)

The wildfire is estimated to stretch between 1.9 to 5.8 square miles (5 and 15 square km), with smoke reaching up to 1.2 miles (2 km) high. This satellite image shows a zoomed in view of the huge blaze

ARE THE WILDFIRES CAUSED BY CLIMATE CHANGE? Whether Greenland's fires are the result of climate change is still up for debate, and scientists will have to wait until the blazes have burned out to confirm the theory. 'This peat is less than 70km (44 miles) from the ice sheet,' said wildfire expert Professor McCarthy. 'It's a little difficult to believe that it would be degraded already without increasing melting and higher temperatures. 'But as a scientist we can't say it's definitely climate change until we've done the analysis after the fire.' Advertisement

'The fire line is not moving, the fire is not progressing like we'd see in a forest fire, so that means it's burning whatever fuel is on the ground.'

Melting permafrost due to rising temperatures is the likely cause of this outbreak, Professor McCarthy added.

Previous research around the town of Sisimiut shows that permafrost is degrading at a rapid rate in the region.

Locals say they have seen a number of 'soil fires' before, especially in the last 20-30 years.

Researchers are now studying satellite image records to look for evidence of previous outbreaks.

'The only record I found is the MODIS active fire record,' said Dr Stef Lhermitte from Delft University in the Netherlands.

Wildfires are unusual on the island, where temperatures rarely reach 10C (50F) in the height of summer and 80 per cent of the land is covered by thick ice. This satellite image, taken this week, shows the large wildfire in western Greenland

Scientists now say burning peat is responsible for at least two fires, which may have dried out as a result of global warming. This modified satellite image shows where the wildfire has spread so far in western Greenland

'It's a satellite that measures the temperature of the surface and can locate hotspots from fire.

'I think that fires have been there before but what's different is that this fire is big, in Greenlandic terms; that is unusual.

'It's the biggest one we have in the satellite record.'

More fires have been detected in 2017 in Greenland than in the previous 15 years combined, Dr Lhermitte said.

Climate change has contributed to the melting of Greenland's vast ice sheet in recent decades. More parts of the island are expected to become free of ice as rising temperatures free previously frozen regions, exposing areas of peat that are susceptible to fires

Greenland has seen an 'exceptional' number of wildfires this year, with as many as 40 reported so far - more than double the previous record of 19 set in 2015

Whether the fires are the result of climate change is still up for debate, and scientists will have to wait until the blazes have burned out to confirm the theory.

'This peat is less than 70km (44 miles) from the ice sheet,' said Professor McCarthy.

'It's a little difficult to believe that it would be degraded already without increasing melting and higher temperatures.

'But as a scientist we can't say it's definitely climate change until we've done the analysis after the fire.'

This satellite image taken last week shows the wildfire in western Greenland causing by exposed peat soil. Melting permafrost due to rising temperatures is the likely cause of the outbreak

This modified images shows the spread of the wildfire and its smoke in western Greenland. Researchers are now studying satellite image records to look for evidence of previous outbreaks

This graphic shows all of the active fires in Greenland since 2000, including the August 2017 fires. More fires have been detected in 2017 in Greenland than in the previous 15 years combined
A new study of Jamaican monkey bone fragments suggests that humans killed off the species after they settled on the creature's island home.

The research suggests that the Jamaican monkey may be the most recent primate species anywhere in the world to become extinct.

While scientists had previously suggested humans drove the Jamaican monkey to extinction, no evidence existed that the two lived in Jamaica at the same time.

Through carbon dating of monkey leg bone fragments, the new study shows that the monkeys lived alongside humans around 1,200 years ago.

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A new study of Jamaican monkey bone fragments suggests that humans killed off the mysterious species after they settled on its island home. Pictured is a fossilised piece of the lower jaw of the Jamaican monkey

JAMAICAN MONKEY According to fossil evidence, small primates - a group of mammals that includes humans and our closest monkey relatives - first arrived in Jamaica during the Miocene period between 23 million and 25 million years ago. They probably got there on mats of vegetation that can form during major weather events, like hurricanes, that could have carried them from the American mainland. Once on the island, they began adapting to its habitat, which would have been free of major predators and competition for resources, since rodents were the only other mammals on the island. They probably grew in size over time, becoming stouter than South American mainland monkeys but remaining under about 11 pounds (5 kilograms) in weight. According to previously studied fossilised teeth and other bones first found in island caves in 1920, the monkeys likely survived on fruit and nuts, had long tails, and lived in trees, hanging from the branches like sloths. Advertisement

The researchers, from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, say their study is the strongest evidence yet that the Jamaican monkey - Xenothrix mcgregori - overlapped with the country's first human settlers as they arrived from South America.

'We already knew that these monkeys lived in the same area as the humans because remains of both have been found in the same caves,' Dr Siobhan Cooke, lead author of the study.

'What we couldn't be sure of is whether they overlapped in time, but the new study suggests they did.

'At this time, we can't say how much of a role humans played in the extinction of X. mcgregorion Jamaica, but the timing is too coincidental for there to be no role.'

The team argue that although their finding is indirect, it is consistent with previous theories that humans sped up the species' extinction.

A combination of human predation, competition for resources, habitat destruction and the introduction of invasive species likely killed off the monkey.

'Understanding how this extinction happened and what role humans may have played could help us understand how extinctions are progressing today and what we can do to prevent them,' said Dr Cooke.

Dr Cooke said the evidence supports the idea that the monkeys survived longer than monkey species on other Caribbean islands - long enough to have overlapped with the arrival of native people from South America around 800 AD.

According to fossil evidence, small primates - a group of mammals that includes humans and our closest monkey relatives - first arrived in Jamaica during the Miocene period between 23 million and 25 million years ago.

They probably got there on mats of vegetation that can form during major weather events, like hurricanes, that could have carried them from the American mainland.

The research suggests that the Jamaican monkey may be the one of the most recent primate species anywhere in the world to become extinct. Pictured is the roof of the mouth of a Jamaican monkey skull

WHAT KILLED OFF THE JAMAICAN MONKEY? The Jamaican monkey probably survived long enough to overlap on the island with non-European humans. Archaeological remains suggest these humans had already arrived from the American continent around 1,200 years ago, or between 687 and 929 A.D. Other archaeological and fossil evidence suggests the earliest human populations in Jamaica were foragers who lived off of available local resources, together with some cultivation of native island and mainland plants. There is no direct evidence of humans hunting the monkeys for food, such as cut marks on monkey bones or monkey. But in addition to hunting, the clearing of land for farming and the introduction of invasive species can all put a deadly strain on native island populations. This is because they are adapted to a very specific environment and have nowhere else to go. Advertisement

Once on the island, they began adapting to its habitat, which would have been free of major predators and competition for resources, since rodents were the only other mammals on the island.

They probably grew in size over time, becoming stouter than South American mainland monkeys but remaining under about 11 pounds (5 kilograms) in weight.

According to previously studied fossilised teeth and other bones first found in island caves in 1920, the monkeys likely survived on fruit and nuts, had long tails, and lived in trees, hanging from the branches like sloths.

Clues to the animals' extinction emerged during the 1990s, when experts found a new set of bones in a cave on the southern coast of Jamaica.

The remains included cranial specimens and a leg bone, which scientists used in the new study.

Experts used radiocarbon dating on a fragment of the leg bone to estimate that the monkey died around 1,470 years ago - likely somewhere between 505 and 573 AD.

An artist's sketch of the monkey Callicebus donacophilus, a living species closely related to the Jamaican monkey, also known as Xenothrix mcgregori

The team then put that date in the context of all other radiocarbon dates from Jamaica.

'These new radiocarbon data make X. mcgregori the longest-surviving Caribbean primate, at least as far as we know,' said Dr Cooke.

'And its extinction was one of the most recent for any primate worldwide.'

In addition, Dr Cooke said that the Jamaican monkey probably survived long enough to overlap on the island with non-European humans.

Archaeological remains suggest these humans had already arrived from the American continent around 1,200 years ago, or between 687 and 929 A.D.

Other archaeological and fossil evidence suggests the earliest human populations in Jamaica were foragers who lived off of available local resources, together with some cultivation of native island and mainland plants.

There is no direct evidence of humans hunting the monkeys for food, such as cut marks on monkey bones or monkey.

But Dr Cooke said that in addition to hunting, the clearing of land for farming and the introduction of invasive species can all put a deadly strain on native island populations.

This is because they are adapted to a very specific environment and have nowhere else to go.
The year is 2030 and medical enhancement techniques have led to the creation of a new breed of elite super-workers.

Employee's performance is measured, monitored and analysed at every step by their corporate overlords.

These elite super-workers use technology to their advantage to become, stronger, faster and smarter.

It may sound like the plot of the next Hollywood science fiction blockbuster, but according to professional services firm PwC it could soon become reality.

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Medically enhanced elite super workers could be competing with automation and AI for employment by 2030, a PwC report claims (stock image)

PREDICTIONS FROM THE REPORT - Companies will grow to such a scale that some will become more powerful than nation states - Firms will push past the limits of human ability by investing in augmentation technology, medication and implants to give their people the edge - Human effort, automation, analytics and innovation will combine to push performance in the workplace to its limits - Human effort will be maximised through the use of physical and medical enhancement techniques and equipment - Workers' performance and wellbeing will be measured, monitored and analysed at every step - Companies will provide many services including children's education, eldercare and healthcare - Firms will monitor and measure obsessively, from the location of their workforce to their performance, health and wellbeing  both in and outside the workplace - Organisations will use the data to predict performance and importantly, to anticipate people risk Advertisement

The London-based firm's latest report draws on a survey of over 10,000 people across the UK, Germany, China, India and the US.

It examines four potential worlds of work in 2030, with competing forces shaping the employment landscape in each.

The emphasis placed on the importance of people, business, innovation and the environment will shape how heavily each of the four scenarios will impact the future.

Automation and Artificial Intelligence will affect every level of businesses and its people whatever the case, the report warns.

And megatrends including shifts in global economic power, depleted fossil fuels, extreme weather, increases in global population and an ageing workforce will also shape the landscape.

In a world where business is put first and 'corporate is king', workers will have to strive to stay ahead and use every advantage at their disposal.

The report states that, in this world, 'human effort is maximised through sophisticated use of physical and medical enhancement techniques and equipment, and workers' performance and well-being are measured, monitored and analysed at every step.

'A new breed of elite super-workers emerges.'

PwC says 70 per cent would consider using treatments to enhance their brain and body if this improved their employment prospects in the future.

To understand why this might be, the company examined people's attitude toward work.

Almost three quarters (74 per cent) of people surveyed by PwC said they saw it as their personal responsibility, and not their employers, to keep their skills up to date.

In a statement Jon Williams, partner and joint global leader of people and organisation at PwC said: 'The report outlines four very different worlds, each with huge implications for how we know work today.

'None of us can know with any certainty what the world will look like in 2030, but its likely facets of the four worlds will feature in some way and at some time.

Automation and Artificial Intelligence will affect every level of businesses and its people whatever the case, the report warns (stock image). Physical enhancement techniques and equipment could become the norm to keep up

THE LIMITLESS DRUG It may sound like something from 2011 thriller Limitless, but researchers have discovered a pill that helps adults learn new skills as quickly as children. A professor at Harvard rewired the brain of a visually impaired women to process images by giving her Alzheimer's drug donepezil. The pill boosts chemicals in the brain, such as serotonin and acetylcholine, which are both found in high concentrations in the brains of young children. These chemicals naturally reduce with age. Children under seven develop new skills rapidly because their brains go through what's called 'critical periods' of development. Due to high levels of certain chemicals and the fast growth of the brain, young children learn new languages, absorb information and pick up musical skills, for example, much faster than adults. In adults, these skills become harder as the brain reaches peak development and loses this 'elasticity'. Advertisement

'Machine learning and AI will help us do a much better job of workforce planning in the future, but we can't sit back and wait for the future of work to happen.

'Those organisations and workers that understand potential futures, and what each might mean for them, and plan ahead, will be best prepared to succeed.'

To many this may sound like a nightmare vision, similar to the world portrayed in the 1997 film Gattaca.

In it, Ethan Hawke's character Vincent Freeman dreams of becoming an astronaut but the society in which he lives is determined by eugenics.

This allows parents, especially the wealthy, to ensure their children inherit their best genetic traits.

Freeman who has inferior, natural, genes has to trick the system to realise his ambitions.

Despite the potential consequences to society, humanity seems ready to embrace other types of technological enhancement.

Companies are already offering microchip implants to their employees.

And a new generation of nootropics, drugs designed to improve cognitive abilities, have hit the headlines in recent years.

So it doesn't take much to imagine a future where such enhancements become the norm.

The majority of respondents (65 per cent) to the survey said that they believe technology will improve their job prospects.

Workers in the US (73 per cent) and India (88 per cent) were more confident than those in the UK (40 per cent) and Germany (48 per cent).

To many this may sound like a nightmare vision, similar to the world portrayed in the 1997 film Gattaca. In it Ethan Hawke's character Vincent Freeman (pictured) has to beat a society which views people like him, who have not had their genes enhanced, as inferior

Overall, nearly three quarters (73 per cent) believe technology will never replace the human mind and the majority (86 per cent) say human skills will always be in demand.

While respondents to the survey were positive about the impact of technology, with 37 per cent excited about the future world of work and seeing a world full of possibilities, there was still concern that automation is putting some jobs at risk.

Overall, 37 per cent of respondents believe automation is putting their job at risk, up from 33 per cent in 2014.

Megatrends including shifts in global economic power, depleted fossil fuels, extreme weather, increases in global population and an ageing workforce will also shape the landscape (stock image)

And over half (56 per cent) think governments should take action needed to protect jobs from automation.

Mr Williams added: 'Anxiety kills confidence and the willingness to innovate.

'With a third of workers worried about the future of their jobs due to automation, employers need to be having mature conversations now, to include workers in the technology debate.

'This will help them to understand, prepare and potentially upskill for any impact technology may have on their job in the future.

'The shift is nothing less than a fundamental transformation in the way we work, and organisations must not underestimate the change ahead.'
On October 12, a 10-30 meter (32-98 foot) asteroid is set to make a 'close' flyby of Earth.

The asteroid, named 2012 TC4, will pass just 4,200 miles (6,800 kilometers) from Earth for the first time since it went out of range in 2012.

Although NASA researchers are certain that it will not come any closer than this, if the asteroid did hit Earth, it could lead to a much more devastating level of impact than the 18-meter asteroid that hit the city of Chelyabinsk in Russia in 2013.

That particular blast injured about 1,500 people, and damaged over 7,000 buildings, and experts now say 2012 TC4 is 'something to keep an eye on.'

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On October 12, the 2012 TC4 asteroid will be just 4,200 miles (6,800 kilometers) from Earth for the first time since it went out of range in 2012. NASA is using the opportunity to test its 'planetary defense system'

NASA'S PLANETARY DEFENSE SYSTEM NASA hopes to use its international network of observatories to recover, track and characterize asteroid 2012 TC4. As it starts to approach Earth in the coming months, large telescopes will be used to detect it and establish the asteroid's precise trajectory. The new observations are expected to help refine knowledge about its orbit, narrowing the uncertainty about how far it will be from Earth at its closest approach in October. Advertisement

According to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the asteroid's next 'close-approach' to Earth will take place on December 29, 2019 - although at a much further distance of more than 21 million miles (34 million kilometers).

If it were to make impact with Earth's atmosphere, scientists predict the space rock would burn up before hitting the surface.

But, this could still cause damage and injuries at the ground level.

'It is something to keep an eye on,' Dr Judit Gyorgyey-Ries, an astronomer at the University of Texas McDonald Observatory, told Astrowatch.

'We could see an airburst maybe broken windows, depending on where it hits.'

Researchers however, are still uncertain of the asteroid's composition, which makes it difficult to predict what the effects of an impact on Earth would be.

A spokesperson for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory told the DailyMail.com:

'2012 TC4 was observed only briefly when it was discovered before it was too faint to see.

'The ongoing observation campaign and the data we collect during this flyby will provide more direct information on mineralogical composition, structure, size.

'Physical properties of an asteroid (composition, structure, size) and its velocity relative to the Earth will influence the effects on an impact.

'That is one of the reasons we perform follow-up observations  to determine those physical properties.'

NASA is also using the opportunity to test its network of observatories for its planetary defense system system, in the event an asteroid did actually hit Earth.

Dr Michael Kelley, a scientist working on the NASA TC4 observation campaign, said: 'Scientists have always appreciated knowing when an asteroid will make a close approach to and safely pass the Earth because they can make preparations to collect data to characterize and learn as much as possible about it.

Based on predictions made at NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies in Pasadena, California, 2012 TC4 will pass no closer than 4,200 miles from Earth, although it will more likely pass much farther away, as far as 170,000 miles (270,000 kilometers)

ASTEROID 2012 TC4 The asteroid was first discovered in 2012, when it sped past Earth, but it has been too distant and faint to see over the last five years. If the asteroid is 30 meters wide (98 feet), it is almost the size of a Boeing 737-500 plane, which is usually 31 meters (101 feet) It is is estimated to be between 10 and 30 meters in size, or nearly the size of a Boeing-737. On October 12, the asteroid is set to make a 'close' flyby of Earth. It will pass just 4,200 miles (6,800 kilometers) from Earth for the first time since it went out of range in 2012. Based on predictions made at NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies in Pasadena, California, it could also - and more likely will - pass much farther away, as far as 170,000 miles (270,000 kilometers). According to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the asteroid's next 'close-approach' to Earth will take place on December 29, 2019 - although at a much further distance of more than 21 million miles (34 million kilometers). Advertisement

'This time we are adding in another layer of effort, using this asteroid flyby to test the worldwide asteroid detection and tracking network, assessing our capability to work together in response to finding a potential real asteroid threat.'

NASA hopes to use its international network of observatories to recover, track and characterize 2012 TC4.

Dr Vishnu Reddy, assistant professor at the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory who is leading the campaign, said:

'This is a team effort that involves more than a dozen observatories, universities and labs across the globe so we can collectively learn the strengths and limitations of our near-Earth object observation capabilities.

This animation depicts the safe flyby of asteroid 2012 TC4 as it passes under Earth on Oct. 12, 2017. While scientists can't yet predict exactly how close it will approach, they'ew certain it will come no closer than 4,200 miles (6,800 kilometers) from Earth. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech

'This effort will exercise the entire system, to include the initial and follow-up observations, precise orbit determination, and international communications.'

Based on predictions made at NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies, 2012 TC4 will pass no closer than 4,200 miles from Earth, although it will more likely pass much farther away, as far as 170,000 miles (270,000 kilometers).

The asteroid was first discovered in 2012, when it sped past Earth, but it has been too distant and faint to see over the last five years.

But as it starts to approach Earth in the coming months, large telescopes will be used to detect it and establish the asteroid's precise trajectory.

THE CHELYABINSK IMPACT A meteor that blazed across southern Urals in February 2013 was the largest recorded meteor strike in more than a century. More than 1,500 people were injured by the shock wave from the explosion, estimated to be as strong as 20 Hiroshima atomic bombs, as it landed near the city of Chelyabinsk. The Chelyabinsk space rock smashed windows and damaged buildings for 58 miles around in 2013 when it exploded over Russia Officials can be seen standing next to a 20-foot (six-meter) hole in the ice of a frozen lake, thought to be the site of a meteor fall resulting from the space rock The fireball measuring 18 meters across, screamed into Earth's atmosphere at 41,600 mph. Much of the meteor landed in a local lake called Chebarkul. Scientists have uncovered more than 12 pieces from Lake Chebarkul since the incident. However, only five of them turned out being real meteorites. Advertisement

The new observations are expected to help refine knowledge about its orbit, narrowing the uncertainty about how far it will be from Earth at its closest approach in October.

Paul Chodas, a manager working on the project, said: 'This is the perfect target for such an exercise because while we know the orbit of 2012 TC4 well enough to be absolutely certain it will not impact Earth, we haven't established its exact path just yet.

'It will be incumbent upon the observatories to get a fix on the asteroid as it approaches, and work together to obtain follow-up observations than make more refined asteroid orbit determinations possible.'
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When the moon passes in front of the sun on August 21 for the historic total solar eclipse, day will briefly become night, before returning to brightness moments later.

According to NASA, this will effectively turn off the source of high-energy radiation in the ionosphere, a layer that extends from about 50 to 400 miles above Earth's surface.

The ionosphere is constantly changing in response to the sun's activity, and the upcoming eclipse will give scientists an unprecedented opportunity to study the mechanisms behind these changes.

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The August 21 eclipse will effectively turn off the source of high-energy radiation in the ionosphere, a layer that extends from about 50 to 400 miles above Earth's surface. The path of the eclipse, and the moon's shadow, is shown above. The varying colors illustrate how it will affect insolation

WHERE TO SEE THE TOTAL ECLIPSE The path of totality will stretch from Lincoln Beach, Oregon, to Charleston South Carolina. To find out exactly when and where it will be visible, visit NASA's interactive map, and click on a city along the path. Totality will cross the US from west to east, beginning at Lincoln Beach, Oregon, where totality will occur at 10:16 a.m. (PDT). It will the US over roughly an hour and a half, passing through Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and North and South Carolina. It will end near Charleston, South Carolina, at 2:48 p.m. (EDT), according to NASA. Advertisement

The ionosphere is an electrified layer of Earth's atmosphere, NASA explains.

It's in constant flux, growing and shrinking based on solar activity and space weather.

This, in turn, can cause disruptions to communication and navigation signals.

The three research teams backed by NASA will investigate this layer to find out more about the sun's role in its behaviour.

'The eclipse turns off the ionosphere's source of high-energy radiation,' said Bob Marshall, a space scientist at University of Colorado Boulder and principal investigator for one of the studies.

'Without ionizing radiation, the ionosphere will relax, going from daytime conditions to night-time conditions and then back again after the eclipse.'

The eclipse will see the sun briefly covered by the moon, blocking the radiation from hitting the ionosphere.

During this time, the researchers will be able to determine just how much radiation has been blocked, along with the area this extends to, and for how long.

'In our lifetime, this is the best eclipse to see,' said Greg Earle, an electrical and computer engineer at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia, who is leading another of the studies.

'But we've also got a denser network of satellites, GPS and radio traffic than ever before.

'It's the first time we'll have such a wealth of information to study the effects of this eclipse; we'll be drowning in data.'

The team will use automated communication or navigation signals to track the ionosphere's behaviour.

In a normal night-day cycle, the concentration of charged atmospheric particles waxes and wanes with the sun, according to NASA.

According to NASA, the ionosphere is split into three distinct regions based on what wavelength of solar radiation is absorbed. These are the D, E and F, with D being the lowermost region and F, the uppermost

The ionosphere is an electrified layer of Earth's atmosphere, NASA explains . It's in constant flux, growing and shrinking based on solar activity and space weather. This, in turn, can cause disruptions to communication and navigation signals

The new measurements will provide new insight on solar input and the ionospheric response, in a step toward better understanding these interactions.

'Compared to visible light, the Sun's extreme ultraviolet output is highly variable,' said Phil Erickson, a principal investigator of a third study and space scientist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Haystack Observatory.

'That creates variability in ionospheric weather. Because our planet has a strong magnetic field, charged particles are also affected along magnetic field lines all over the planet  all of this means the ionosphere is complicated.'

'In the daytime, ionospheric plasma is dense,' Earle said.

WHAT THEY WILL STUDY Marshall's team will use the Navy's network of VLF transmitters to study the D-region's response. Transmissions sent from Lamoure, North Dakota, will be monitored at receiving stations across the eclipse path in Boulder, Colorado, and Bear Lake, Utah. The data will be combined with observations from space-based missions as well, including NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory and NASA's Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager. Erickson's team, on the other hand, will investigate the E and F regions using more than 6,000 ground-based GPS sensors, and powerful radar systems at MIT's Haystack Observatory and Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. They'll also tap into data from space-based missions too. And, the MIT team will work with citizen radio scientists to send signals back and forth. Their data will track travelling ionospheric disturbances, and their effects. These disturbances are known to cause space weather patterns in the upper atmosphere, including atmospheric gravity waves, which can also be triggered by eclipses. Earle's team will be positioned across the country, in Bend, Oregon; Holton, Kansas; and Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter, South Carolina. The researchers will measure the ionosphere's height and density using instruments called ionosondes. They'll also combine their measurements with data from a nation-wide GPS network, as well as signals from the ham radio Reverse Beacon Network. Advertisement

'When the sun sets, production goes away, charged particles recombine gradually through the night and density drops.

'During the eclipse, we're expecting that process in a much shorter interval.'

When the concentration of the charged particles, called plasma, is denser, the signals are more likely to bump into them as they pass from the transmitter to the receiver.

This will alter the path of the signals themselves.

During the eclipse, the experts expect the signals will be stronger, as the atmosphere and ionosphere will absorb less transmitted energy.

'If we set up a receiver somewhere, measurements at that location provide information on the part of the ionosphere between the transmitter and receiver,' Marshall said.

PROTECTING YOUR EYES Viewers must also be prepared with the proper gear to protect their eyes during the event. Otherwise, NASA warns, you could 'severely hurt your eyes' The space agency says viewers should be equipped with special specs such as Rainbow Symphony, American Paper Optics, Thousand Oaks Optical, and TSE 17. These are just four that meet the ISO 12312-2 international standard. And, they warn that you should never look at the sun through an unfiltered camera, telescope, binoculars. According to NASA, eclipse glasses should be put on when the partial eclipse begins, meaning when the sun becomes partially covered by the moon. And, they should remain on for the entirety of the phases leading up to totality. Once the moon has completely blocked out the sun, causing it to suddenly become dark, viewers can then remove the glasses for a short amount of time. This may last just a minute, though, and the glasses will need to be put back on for the final stages of the eclipse. Advertisement

'We use the receivers to monitor the phase and amplitude of the signal. When the signal wiggles up and down, that's entirely produced by changes in the ionosphere.'

The researchers will transmit electromagnetic signals back and forth along the path of totality, which stretches from the coast of Oregon to the coast of South Carolina.

Doing this, they'll be able to collect data before and after the eclipse, to compare the eclipse response to the baseline.

According to NASA, the ionosphere is split into three distinct regions based on what wavelength of solar radiation is absorbed.

When the moon passes in front of the sun on August 21 for the historic total solar eclipse, day will briefly become night, before returning to brightness moments later

These are the D, E and F, with D being the lowermost region and F, the uppermost.

And, the researchers will be studying all of them.

'Just because the density is low, doesn't mean it's unimportant,' Marshall said.

'The D-region has implications for communications systems actively used by many military, naval and engineering operations.'

'We may even see global-scale effects,' Erickson said. 'Earth's magnetic field is like a wire that connects two different hemispheres together. Whenever electrical variations happen in one hemisphere, they show up in the other.'

THE TOTAL ECLIPSE 'CLOUDINESS MAP' The NOAA has revealed a 'cloudiness' map to help viewers prepare for potential visibility issues ahead of eclipse day. The darker the dot, the greater the chance for cloudiness at the hour of peak viewing during the total solar eclipse on August 21, 2017. Dots represent automated weather stations that reported the cloudiness data and show the 10-year cloudiness average for August 21, 20012010. Advertisement

Earle's team will be positioned across the country, in Bend, Oregon; Holton, Kansas; and Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter, South Carolina.

The researchers will measure the ionosphere's height and density using instruments called ionosondes.

They'll also combine their measurements with data from a nation-wide GPS network, as well as signals from the ham radio Reverse Beacon Network.

'We're looking at the bottom side of the F-region, and how it changes during the eclipse,' Earle said. 'This is the part of the ionosphere where changes in signal propagation are strong.'

The work could help pave the way for mitigation methods to fight radio signal disturbances, according to NASA.

And, it could lead to better understanding of the ionosphere.

'Others have studied eclipses throughout the years, but with more instrumentation, we keep getting better at our ability to measure the ionosphere,' Erickson said. 'It usually uncovers questions we never thought to ask.'
When T. E. Lawrence passed through Amman a century ago at the head of the Arab Revolt, the city had fewer than 6,000 inhabitants. The only aircraft flying in were Ottoman biplanes hoping to drop a bomb on the British officer's head.

Now the Jordanian capital has a population of more than four million and is a major international hub, served by architect Norman Foster's breathtaking Bedouintent-inspired Queen Alia Airport.

A desert delight: Petra is rightly considered to be one of the wonders of the world

In the Seventies and Eighties, before this boom, Amman was home to Fahrelnissa Zeid, the painter and sculptor whose fabulously bold abstracts and portraits are being rediscovered and given a major retrospective at London's Tate Modern.

Hoping for a glimpse of the world Fahrelnissa knew, I have come to Amman - and to Tannoureen, the sumptuous downtown restaurant that was once her home and studio.

Uniquely, perhaps, this allows me to dine on exquisite Arab mezze in what was once the artist's bedroom.

Jordan is a remarkable country. With no oil riches to speak of, it has still taken far more than its share of refugees displaced in the region's wars. Fahrelnissa was a refugee of sorts. When she died in 1991, aged 89, it was the end of a peripatetic life that was as noteworthy as her art.

She spent her teens in Ottoman Istanbul, then married Iraqi prince Zeid bin Hussein in 1933. She knew Hitler, Kemal Ataturk - the founder of modern Turkey - and in Fifties London, counted the Queen Mother as an acquaintance.

But she lost nearly all her royal in-laws when they were executed in the 1958 Iraqi military coup.

Eventually she found refuge here in Amman.

Fahrelnissa would not recognise the glass-clad towers and luxury hotels that exist now. The huge, cool suites with walk-in wet rooms at The Boulevard Arjaan, where I am staying, look down on the hotel's al fresco Italian restaurant and a plaza linked to swish shopping malls. Jordanians like to shop.

But many of the things she enjoyed remain. A lone bagpiper still plays a lament on the walls of the ancient citadel that stands guard over the Roman theatre and souk below. The remaining columns of the Temple of Hercules point to the heavens, as they have since the 2nd century.

Fahrelnissa's art melded modernism with Islamic and Byzantine styles. You can find a similar mix throughout Jordan - in the Byzantine mosaic map of the Holy Land at the Church of St George in Madaba; in the angular lines of the fabulous crusader castle at Kerak; in the patterns of the fabrics that Bedouin women still wear.

I encounter just such a woman in a Fahrelnissa portrait at Amman's Darat al Funun gallery.

This arty bolthole, an officer's club during the inter-war British Mandate, is full of contemporary Arab art as well as a small, brilliant collection of Fahrelnissa's work.

Close your eyes and listen hard enough, and the corridors still ring with shouts for Scotch and soda. I opt instead for several slices of the sweet cheese pastry kanafeh - an addictive Middle-Eastern dessert - at the rooftop cafe, and finish as Amman's mosques broadcast the evening call to prayer. The muezzins are pre-recorded these days, but the resulting cacophony, startling pigeons from the rooftops, is still haunting.

Jordan delights in such moments, though nothing is as striking as emerging from the perilously narrow rock cleft that leads to the cliff-face facade of the Treasury in Petra.

A three-hour drive from Amman, the city's temples, stairways and cisterns were carved out of stone by the Nabateans more than 2,000 years ago.

A monumental work of art as much as architecture, Petra had a hypnotic pull on Fahrelnissa, who visited often.

A capital combination: The King Abdullan I Mosque, one of the landmarks of Amman

On the drive back to Amman I take in Mount Nebo - where God allowed Moses to look out over the Promised Land in which he would never set foot. Then I dip down to Al-Maghtas, the Unesco World Heritage site on the River Jordan where Christ was baptised.

Finally, I follow Fahrelnissa's example and take a hot plunge at the artist's favourite Roman baths and springs at Hammamat Ma'in. High above the Dead Sea, this is a true oasis where the springs reach 60C, and desert valleys turn as vividly green as a Fahrelnissa canvas. Life, perhaps, imitating art.
She may be one of the only pilots in the world who had never herself been a passenger.

And at 30 years old, Anny Divya is also the youngest ever female commander of a Boeing 777 - an impressive feat given she grew up with few prospects, and had to learn English when she started training at 17.

'The first time I stepped onto an was aircraft to fly it,' the Mumbai-based Air India pilot tells MailOnline Travel. 'We belonged to a very humble background back then - we couldn't afford to travel in planes.'

At 30 years old, Air India pilot Anny Divya (pictured) is the youngest ever female commander of a Boeing 777

She gradually climbed the ranks at Air India, eventually completing advanced training in London where she first flew a Boeing 777

The Boeing 777 Anny commands is the worlds largest twin jet, a model with the capacity for up to 396 passengers.

But getting to fly it was no easy ride.

Anny, who was raised in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, puts her initial success down to the support of her parents.

'From a very young age when I used to look up at the sky, I always wanted to touch it and fly through the clouds,' she says.

'But it was only after my mother said I should become pilot and that I started to realise the dream it was possible.'

Anny attended flying school at the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi when she was just 17, earning herself a scholarship and completing her training at 19 years old.

Anny attended flying school at the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi when she was just 17, earning herself a scholarship and completing her training at 19 years old

Then she moved to Mumbai, where she landed a job at Air India.

'It was tough to adapt, to leave my parents and get out of my comfort zone,' she admits.

'Learning English and communicating with my peers was a struggle. But time and perseverance teaches you everything. So I am grateful to the people from whom I learnt every day.'

Anny gradually climbed the ranks at Air India, eventually completing advanced training in London where she first flew a Boeing 777.

'Flying is one profession where you better be good at what you do,' she remarks.

You better be good at what you do, because people's lives depend on you

'Because people's lives depend on you.'

So what does it take to make a great pilot?

Aside from having a good head for maths and physics, you need good motor skills, situational awareness, communication skills and multitasking abilities, Anny explains.

Anny struggled to leave her parents and learn English at first, but knuckled down and soon impressed her bosses

The Boeing 777 Anny commands is the worlds largest twin jet, a model with the capacity for up to 396 passengers

Asked whether it was harder to succeed as a woman, she remarks: 'I faced similar challenges as many other females in similar professions, so it was important to stay focused.

'Having a sense of professionalism at all times helped. Also I am blessed to have had good bosses - people with integrity and a very high sense of responsibility.'

Anny, who flies 70 to 80 hours per month, says that the best aspect of her job aside from the travel and the flying itself, is the pride of wearing uniform.

She's also made enough money to finance her siblings' studies abroad, and bought her parents a house.

When asked whether passengers are ever shocked or wary when they realise someone so young is in control of their flight, she says no.

'To the contrary, they are pleasantly surprised,' she reveals. 'Most people have been very appreciative.

'Sometimes they are awestruck.'
Going up against artists like Pink and Bastille in the charts is a tough brief for even the most successful musicians.

So many will no doubt view budget airline easyJet's debut album and single as being on the ambitious side - because they contain nothing but jet engine noise.

Jet Sounds, a pun on The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds, aims to help people sleep better and was inspired by research that confirms that white noise has sleep-inducing effects. All proceeds from the single will be donated to The Children's Sleep Charity.

Scroll down to hear it

White noise: Jet Sounds was recorded at 39,000ft en-route from London Gatwick to Nice and features nothing but the sounds of turbo fan engines

The single and extended cut album was recorded at 39,000ft en-route from London Gatwick to Nice. Listeners will be treated to the aural delights of a pair of CFM56, twin spool, high bypass, turbo fan engines.

White noise has long been used as a tool for helping parents sooth babies to sleep - the one relentless sound allows the brain to block out loud, peaking interruptions like barking dogs or shouting.

EasyJet's new carrier, the A320 Neo, boasts a quieter cabin - an attribute the airline wanted to share with customers.

'We thought we help our customers get a good night's rest in their own home, while helping to raise money to support The Children's Sleep Charity,' said Tina Milton, Head of Cabin Crew from Easyjet.

'Who knows we might even become the first airline to hit the UK top 40 single and album charts.'

White noise has long been used as a tool for helping insomniacs sleep

White Noise Machines can cost up to 40 to purchase, however, Jet Sounds is available to download as a single for 79p from iTunes and an album, which features an extended cut for 7.99.

'This is a fantastic, fun idea from Easyjet as we know repetitive, consistent white noise can help some people who suffer from disturbed sleep get a better night's rest - the gentle humming of a jet engine can help to support some children and families to get a better night's sleep,' said Vicki Dawson, Founder and CEO of The Children's Sleep Charity.

'We're delighted that Easyjet are donating the proceeds from the sale of the single and album to our charity, these funds will help us to further support children and families with sleep issues and provide accredited training for professionals.'
A Brit was left suffering for 26 hours with a broken back before seeing a doctor after a freak wave nearly killed him on a five-star holiday.

As there was only one doctor on the tiny African island of Boa Vista, floorer Shane Carter was stuck in an ill-equipped hospital coughing up blood for three days.

Shane and his fiancee Lacie Catchpole, both 27, from Essex, have hit out at travel firm Thomson, claiming they were abandoned and forced to contact the British Embassy and insurers to get an emergency flight home.

Shane Carter, now bedbound at home in Essex, pictured with his fiancee Lacie, was left suffering for 26 hours with a broken back before seeing a doctor after a freak wave struck him

The childhood sweethearts were just four days into the 2,000 all-inclusive holiday to Cape Verde when disaster struck whilst they were paddling in the crystal clear waters.

Suddenly a 10ft swell appeared out of nowhere and swept Shane into the air before dropping him on his head.

He would have been dragged out to sea if his quick-thinking jiu-jitsu loving fiancee hadn't pulled him to shore.

Reliving the horror, company director Shane said: 'It just happened so quickly. As soon as I hit the floor I knew I was in trouble. I thought I snapped my back as I'd broken a few bones in the past and I knew what it felt like.'

The childhood sweethearts were just four days into the 2,000 all-inclusive holiday to Cape Verde when disaster struck. Shane is pictured here on the way to hospital

As there was only one doctor on the tiny African island of Boa Vista, Shane, pictured in the ambulance, was stuck in an ill-equipped hospital coughing up blood for three days

After the doctor took 26 hours to arrive, Shane, pictured at the clinic in Cape Verde, and Lacie, both 27, have hit out at travel firm Thomson, claiming they were abandoned

Shane added: 'The pain was so intense and I just couldn't move, my legs just felt so numb and the waves were pulling me back out to sea.

'I thought I was going to die, it was just horrific.'

Despite dodging death, their nightmare had only just begun.

This started with a horrendous ambulance ride on cobbled roads which left Shane screaming in agony.

'It was the worst experience of my life,' he said.

'I had a broken back and it was just bouncing up and down and I was just screaming and passing out.'

The couple, pictured together on holiday, claim they were only once visited by a rep for Thomson

They say they were forced to contact the British Embassy and insurers to get an emergency flight home (pictured)

After the painful journey to the clinic they discovered there was no doctor, and claim he wasn't answering his phone - forcing them to wait 26 hours until he arrived.

The stunned pair say they didn't even have any food in the hospital, and when medical help arrived, the physician couldn't work out why he was coughing up blood.

As the pair couldn't speak Portuguese and the locals struggled with English, they were left in limbo after the brief examination - with the Thomson rep only visiting once.

When the doctor left, they were stranded in the clinic for two more days whilst they frantically called the Foreign Office and insurers.

Lacie, a mobile hairdresser, said: 'The whole thing was horrific. I just felt like we were completely on our own and we were getting nowhere.

'I genuinely did think he was going to die until the doctor came. It was a nightmare, there is no other way to describe it.'

Thankfully a jet was finally organised and flew them back to England, to Broomfield Hospital, in Essex, near their home.

It was there docs discovered he had a broken collarbone, fractured spine and a lung injury.

Now Shane is bedbound and heavily medicated and Lacie has to care for him whilst he recuperates.

She said: 'Thomson's care was just terrible. As soon as it happened they should have started trying to get us home but they just left us in this African country alone.

'Their level of care is not what we are used to.

'We want some sort of compensation, but the main thing is Thomson should not be providing five-star trips there if this is what people can expect.'

A spokesperson for Thomson told MailOnline: 'We were really sorry to hear of this accident. We have been in direct contact with Mr Carter to check on his welfare, and to better understand the situation with a view to resolving it.

'We reference Cape Verdes public beaches flag system and warn of the undercurrents on our website. When customers are in a resort we also reiterate this and the importance of paying attention to local advice.

'We would like to take this opportunity to reassure everyone that the health and safety of our customers is of paramount importance.

'We would also encourage everyone  wherever they are travelling to  to check the travel aware section of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for the latest information on staying healthy and safe abroad.'
He once made headlines for appearing 'drunk' during a post-Logies Today show broadcast.

But on Thursday, Karl Stefanvonic looked fresh and alert while co-hosting the Today show, the morning after attending David Jones' star-studded fashion show in Sydney.

In true form, the 42-year-old cracked a few jokes with his co-host Lisa Wilkinson and looked sharp and alert after his night out with girlfriend Jasmine Yarbrough.

No hangover here! Karl Stefanvonic looked fresh and alert while co-hosting the Today show on Thursday, the morning after attending David Jones' star-studded fashion show in Sydney

In 2009, Karl raises eyebrows when he began laughing uncontrollably and slurring his words on the Today show, the morning after attending the Logies.

He later admitted that he looked 'drunk' in a video posted to YouTube.

'I remember seeing it on Today Tonight and going 'Oh god.' I really was drunk, or at least I certainly looked and sounded drunk,' he said.

Slurring his words: In 2009, Karl raises eyebrows when he began laughing uncontrollably and slurring his words on the Today show, the morning after attending the Logies

'I was worried about it initially, but I think it broke down a barrier for me. It's that age-old theory in TV that if you haven't harmed anyone, the public might find it funny.'

On Wednesday, Karl and Jasmine put on a loved up display at the David Jones SS17 runway show.

Although they arrived separately, they looked every bit the couple once inside.

Happy together: They've been coy about their relationship but Karl and Jasmine put on a rare loved up display on Wednesday

Warm feelings: The pair attended the David Jones Spring/ Summer fashion show in Sydney together, and although they arrived separately, they looked every bit the couple once inside

The 33-year-old fashion designer stunned in a red velvet dress with a high neckline.

The fashion designer sat beside her TV presenter beau looking smitten and smiling widely as the pair shared a beverage.

Jasmine turned heads in her fire engine red dress which gathered gently at her neckline.

The modest gown also gathered at the waist and fell to mid thigh length with a small split at the back of the neck.

Happy: The fashion designer sat beside her 42-year-old beau looking smitten and smiling widely as the pair shared a beverage

Laughs: Jasmine appeared very amused by Karl, sharing a big laugh

Close: The TV host lay a gentle hand on his new girlfriend as they sat alongside one another

All smiles: Jasmine looked delighted through the event

Close pals: Richard Wilkins also sat with the pair

Raised shoulders gave the frock a slightly Victorian feel, as did the rich fabric.

She made the unusual choice of wearing backless flats that looked like slippers instead of high heels.

The shoes were also made of a red velvet and featured a scorpion design.

Jasmine wore her hair in a high bun with a plait running down the back of her head making for an interesting styling feature.

Bag check: The designer looked inside her purse at one point

Vintage: Raised shoulders gave the frock a slightly Victorian feel, as did the rich fabric

Stylish: A mauve lip and smoky eyes completed the look as did a pair of statement earrings

Hair do: Jasmine wore her hair in a high bun with a plait running down the back of her head making for an interesting styling feature

A mauve lip and smoky eyes completed the look as did a pair of statement earrings.

Karl looked suave in a dark blue suit and chatted to his girlfriend animatedly as they enjoyed drinks.

Richard Wilkins also sat with the pair, and at one point was seen making Jasmine laugh.

Riveted: Jasmine listened intently as Karl chatted to a friend

Laughter: The blonde carried wine and a card in her hand

Staying close: Jasmine stayed close to her man as they mingled

Close: The couple also put on a united front as they mingled with other guests

Retro: The model's modest gown also gathered at the waist and fell to mid thigh length with a small split at the back of the neck

Matching: Jasmine wore a deep mauve nail police that matched her dress

Cool shoes: Jasmine's slippers featured a scorpion design

Jasmine sipped wine and looked delighted throughout the evening.

The couple also put on a united front as they mingled with other guests after the runway event.

They remind by one another's sides as they mingled, and Richard was also close by to the pair as they worked the room.

Party time: The blonde spent some time with model Jordan Barrett and her business partner who looked equally stunning in a pink frock

The blonde spent some time with model Jordan Barrett and her business partner who looked equally stunning in a pink frock.

Karl recently told Stellar magazine that his romance with the 33-year-old is 'lovely' but he's taking it slow.

He said: 'I met her on a boat in Sydney. We have a really lovely relationship but it's got to be slow for a number of reasons.'
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She's the quirky beauty vying for Matty J's heart on The Bachelor.

And this week, bisexual midwife Natalie Holmberg admitted to getting a boob job and her 'lips done twice.'

The 26-year-old reality star told OK Magazine: 'I always liked big boobs.'

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'I always liked big boobs, it's shallow!' Bisexual Bachelor star Natalie Holmberg admits she's had a breast enlargement and her 'lips done twice'

'I mean, look, it's shallow, but we wake up every day and we put makeup on, and that's our culture... plastic surgery is just an extreme version of that.'

She added that people considering getting work done should have 'realistic' expectations.

'It's not going to change who you are as a person,' she explained.

'It's not going to change who you are as a person': Natalie added that people considering getting work done should have 'realistic' expectations

If you've got it! The South Australian reality TV star is pictured here flaunting her figure

Natalie - who hails from South Australia - left her rivals shocked and in fits of giggles on the premiere episode when she farted and burped at the cocktail party.

When first meeting Matty J, she also made headlines for joking that watching him on The Bachelorette last year had 'turned' her straight.

'So I was watching The Bachelorette last year and Matty J had his top off and I was thinking to myself, "Why was I in a relationship with a woman?"'

'I'm not going to say he turned me straight again, but in some ways he turned me straight again,' she said.

Controversial: When first meeting Matty J during the premiere, she also made headlines for joking that watching him on The Bachelorette last year had 'turned' her straight

Splitsville! Natalie is pictured with her ex girlfriend, Cat Williams (right)

The flippant comment on her sexuality upset some Bachelor viewers, who took to social media to express their concerns.

An angry fan tweeted: 'Dear Nat, you're allowed to say you're bisexual. Also let's not play the "Matty turned me straight" s**t because that's gross'.

Another viewer wrote: '"Turned me straight again" this chick needs a reality check, it's called being bisexual'.

She later defended herself on Facebook, writing that her comments were simply meant as a joke.

'Of course the sheer sight of his body did not "turn" me straight... of course it's being called "bisexual" or what ever society wants to label it,' she wrote.
Shannen Doherty has been living life to the fullest since being diagnosed as cancer- free back in April.

And on Wednesday, the 46-year-old actress opened up about how happy she was to be back to work acting following two years battling breast cancer via Instagram.

The starlet shared an image of her looking pretty and healthy while donning a long brunette wig, captioning the picture: 'I'm grateful for today. Grateful for everyday,' while thanking the cast and crew of her new project Heathers.

Counting her blessing: Shannen Doherty talked about how happy she was to be back at work following two years battling breast cancer in a Wednesday Instagram taken on set of the Heathers reboot

Shannen, who underwent a mastectomy, chemotherapy, and radiation during her battle, captured her hope and struggles in the lengthy caption.

'Was back on set today,' wrote the star, 'It's been a rough two years. Fighting cancer. As an actor, people bench you.'

'They assume you're too weak, not able etc etc. and yet it's something like work that invigorates and renews strength to conquer the unimaginable beast.

Never underestimate her! The 46-year-old star captured her hope and struggles in the lengthy caption, writing 'It's been a rough two years,' while revealing some were worried she was 'too weak' to get back to work. Above the starlet is seen while still in treatment in November 2016

Life's a stage! The former bad girl (seen yesterday with her hairstylist) wasn't letting naysayers knock her down, writing 'I'm grateful for today. Grateful for everyday,' while thanking the Heathers team 'for letting me play and be someone else today'

Shannen wasn't letting naysayers knock her down though.

'I'm grateful for today. Grateful for everyday,' she wrote, 'Thank you @heathers for letting me play and be someone else today.'

The star finished by singing her praises for the Heathers team: 'Great crew, great writers, great cast, great show, great director.'

'Hallelujah!' Back in 1988, the former Hollywood bad-girl famously played ambitious, bulimic Heather Duke besides Winona Rider, Kim Walker and Lisanne Falk in the cliquey cult classic

Hair raising! The Memphis native captioned a behind-the-scenes snap of her raven hairpiece: 'Back at work!'

The day before the Memphis native showed off while on set of the reboot of Heathers, sharing shots of her character's hair piece and her comfy trailer on Instagram.

The former Hollywood bad-girl famously played ambitious, bulimic Heather Duke in Michael Lehmann's cliquey cult classic penned by Daniel Waters.

But this time, Shannen is playing the 'pivotal' mysterious role of an entirely different Heather in Heathers.

Working hard or harly working! The actress showed off her comfy trailer digs the day earlier

The halls of Westerburg High will now be stomped by Brendan Scannell, whose popular yet evil Heath Duke is gender-queer in the modern reimagining.

American Crime Story's Selma Blair nabbed a recurring role as Heath's mother Jade, a 'stripper who is biding her time until her 82-year-old husband kicks the bucket' - according to THR.

The 10-episode hourlong dramedy - premiering January on the Paramount Network - will also feature James Scully, Grace Victoria Cox, Melanie Field, Jasmine Mathews, Nikki SooHoo, and Drew Droege.
She's the spokesperson for Rooms2Go, so it's no surprise that Sofia Vergara has an eye for interior design.

The Colombian beauty stepped out to do some furniture shopping in LA on Wednesday where she looked both chic and casual.

At the West Hollywood showroom, the Modern Family actress kept things simple in ripped jeans and a black blouse while jazzing up her look with a number of striking accessories.

Simple style: Sofia Vergara stepped out to do some furniture shopping in LA on Wednesday where she cut a casual figure in blue jeans and a black blouse

The Hot Pursuit actress, 45, offered glimpses of her bronze skin with the ripped pants while staying comfortable with her loose top.

On her feet, the model-turned-thespian added some drama with a pair of stacked heels while she slung a white purse across her body.

Even from afar Sofia appeared to glow, flashing a glimmering highlight on her cheeks along with rich brown lipstick and blunt bangs.

You glow girl! Even from afar the 45-year-old beauty appeared to glow, flashing a glimmering highlight on her cheeks along with rich brown lipstick and blunt bangs

Stacking the deck! On her feet, the model-turned-thespian added some drama with a pair of stacked heels while she slung a white purse across her body

The wife of Joe Manganiello was joined by a male friend at the furniture emporium who stayed on stand-by in case Sofia needed a second-opinion.

It seems like the 5foot7 beauty has had decorating on the mind lately.

Last Friday, she teased new ads for her partnership with Rooms To Go on Instagram.

Second opinion? The wife of Joe Manganiello was joined by a male friend at the furniture emporium who stayed on stand-by in case Sofia needed a second-opinion

Room for more? Though she's just trying to sell couches, Sofia oozes sex appeal in the ad as she slinkily lounges on a bed while clad in a sequined little black dress

Though she's just trying to sell couches, Sofia oozes sex appeal in the ad as she slinkily lounges on a bed while clad in a sequined little black dress.

But the starlet made an even more steamy display while going au naturale on this month's cover of Women's Health.

In the interview, the 45-year-old starlet talked about how she's come to terms with her changing figure, telling the magazine 'Even if you want to, at this time in your life, you cant be perfect. Its not that you hate it, or that youre upset about it, but it is our reality.'
Super Small Animals

Rating:

Animal Rescue Live: Supervet Special

Rating:

The mouse lemur of Madagascar has a superpower. This little primate, though a distant cousin of the gorilla, is so light and nimble that it can balance on the tips of twigs as it nibbles flowers.

Wildlife presenter Patrick Aryee has a superpower, too. He can make grizzled and cynical TV critics feel eight years old again.

Super Small Animals (BBC1) was a hit with its peerless archive of wildlife footage

Partly it was Patricks excitable delivery on Super Small Animals (BBC1) which shows how miniature species have adapted to survive in the big wide world, drawing heavily on the Beebs peerless archive of wildlife footage.

His eyes glistened as he hopped up and down, describing one clever quirk of evolution after another.

Ive never seen anything like this before, he gasped, as a cluster of fire ants formed a ball that floated on water.

So cute, he squeaked at a pygmy hippo baby.

Patrick is an eternal cub scout on a zoo trip.

The soundtrack added to the impression that this prime-time documentary was made for the CBeebies pre-school network  all bouncing tubas and comical xylophones, with a blast of Ravels Bolero for the money spiders that could skate on water.

But most of all, it was the way the Bristol University-trained biologist raced from one mini-creature to another, never lingering more than three minutes on anything, and sometimes devoting barely 30 seconds to a subject. It was as if he had a big bag of sweeties and was gobbling them in fistfuls.

Most animals hung around just long enough for Patrick to size them up with a strained comparison. He watched an ant lift a leaf: That would be like me trying to carry a van on my back, he declared.

A dung beetle trundled by, lugging a ball of what dung beetles like best. Patrick was hugely impressed: That is the equivalent of me pulling six fully loaded double-deckers!

He spoke like this so often that I began to suspect hes got an app on his phone to generate spurious comparisons automatically. As he compared the worlds smallest and largest chameleons, he told us: The weight difference between them is the same as between me and ten elephants.

All this bouncing, Peter Pan energy can tire you out, and by the end of an hour, Patrick was starting to remind me of the inexhaustible Tony Blackburn at a Seventies Radio 1 Roadshow.

If Super Small Animals had been planned as a whole series, it would quickly become too much. But as a hyperactive jaunt through the BBC Natural History Units back catalogue, picking out creatures that are less commonly seen on TV, this was great fun.

The stars of Animal Rescue Live: Supervet Special (C4) are much more ordinary than Patricks lemurs and chameleons, and still just as special. All this week, Professor Noel Fitzpatrick  on a weeks sabbatical from his veterinary surgery  is working with presenters Kate Quilton and Steve Jones, to find homes for hundreds of rescue pets.

All this week, Professor Noel Fitzpatrick (right) on a weeks sabbatical from his veterinary surgery  is working with presenters Kate Quilton (center) and Steve Jones, (left) to find homes for hundreds of rescue pets.

Theyve set themselves the target of rehousing all 120 residents at Newcastle Dogs and Cats Shelter, as well as lots of lost friends waiting for adoption at homes around the country.

From slobbery St Bernards to tubby micro-pigs and even a saucy parrot, theyre all lovable. Many viewers, of course, will be yearning to take home Noel himself, who is so madly dedicated to his patients that he often sleeps in his office and occasionally even in the dog kennels.

Sorry, ladies, theres only one Noel and you cant all have him. Get a kitten instead.
She announced her split from partner of 11 years, Liev Schreiber, last September.

But Naomi Watts, 48, looked in good spirits as she attended The Glass Castle premiere in New York, after opening up in a candid interview about family life.

Her glamorous appearance at the star-studded red carpet came after she discussed their co-parenting arrangement, revealing that while they are no longer together, they remain united as parents for their two sons.

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Candid: Naomi Watts, 48, looked in good spirits as she attended The Glass Castle premiere in New York, after opening up in a candid interview about family life

The British actress told Australian Women's Weekly that despite her differences with 49-year-old Liev, they both see eye to eye when it comes to raising children Alexander 'Sasha', 10, and Samuel Kai, seven, in a stable environment.

'Routine is a big part of it,' she told the publication.

'Obviously Liev and I are actors - there is some moving - but we've really tried to keep the boys in the same school. Give them structure, boundaries.'

Star factor: Her glam appearance at the star-studded red carpet (Fendi outfit and shoes/Judith Leiber clutch) came after she discussed their co-parenting arrangement, revealing they remain united as parents for their two sons

Pictured with Cindy Adams: Oscar-winner Brie Larson gives a bravura performance alongside Oscar nominees Naomi Watts and Woody Harrelson in a new trailer for The Glass Castle

This came as she appeared at the premiere of her latest flick in a glamorous silk Fendi ensemble and Judith Leieber clutch.

Injecting a splash of colour with a bold red lip and scarlet stilettos (also by the Italian label), accessorising with a metal clutch and some dazzling Anita Ko jewelry.

She was joined by Brie Larson and her host of co-stars.

Oscar-winner Brie Larson gives a bravura performance alongside Oscar nominees Naomi Watts and Woody Harrelson in a new trailer for The Glass Castle.

L-R: Chandler Head, Ella Anderson, Brie Larson, Jeannette Walls

Glam quartette! (L-R) Brie Larson, Max Greenfield, Naomi Watts, who added bling to her ensemble in the form of Anita Ko jewelry, and Jeannette Walls

Mingling: Brie Larson, Jeannette Walls (Author), Destin Cretton (Director, Writer)

Generations of actresses: Brie Larson, Naomi Watts with Chandler Head

Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and due for release August 11, the film's based on the 2005 memoir by Jeannette Walls, whom Brie portrays when she's an adult.

Woody and Naomi play Jeannette's parents Rex and Rose Mary, who are seen leading a nomadic and chaotic existence with the young Jeannette and her three siblings.

Last month, Naomi star surprised fans when she reunited with the Ray Donovan star for their son Sasha's birthday.

United: Despite ending their 11-year romance, Naomi and Liev remain united as parents for their two sons - Alexander 'Sasha', 10, and seven-year-old Samuel Kai

In a snap shared to Instagram, the exes were pictured coming together to help the youngster cut his birthday cake.

In May, Naomi told Vogue Australia she and Liev are on 'great terms' and that she is in no rush to dive back into the dating scene.

'I mean, I'm single, I'm co-parenting... I'm doing okay,' she said.

Reunited! Last month, Naomi star surprised fans when she reunited with the Ray Donovan star for their son Sasha's birthday

Friendly exes! Naomi previously said she and Liev are currently on 'great terms' and she is in no rush to dive back into the dating scene

While the former couple are getting on well following the breakup, the actress admits she does have her 'bad days'.

'There are good days and there are bad days and Liev and I are on great terms - we're trying to do our absolute best for the sake of the children and we hope to keep moving forward in that way.'

She added: 'He's fantastic dad, a wonderful, wonderful man, and we still want the absolute best for each other. So that's pretty much all I'll say.'

Over: Naomi and American actor Liev announced their split via a joint statement in September

Naomi and American actor Liev announced their split via a joint statement in September.

'Over the past few months we've come to the conclusion that the best way forward for us as a family is to separate as a couple,' a statement read.

'It is with great love, respect, and friendship in our hearts that we look forward to raising our children together and exploring this new phase of our relationship.'

Happy place: The Gypsy star said she feels in a 'good place' after their amicable split

They added: 'While we appreciate your curiosity and support, we ask the press to be mindful of our children and respect their right to privacy.'

The Gypsy star previously said she feels content after separating from Liev and that her focus is on their two children.

'I feel I'm in a good place in my life and I want to make sure my kids are healthy, my kids are happy and things are going to go well. Those are my hopes for me and for all of us,' she told News Corp.
She's been celebrating ten years of her reality show Keeping Up With The Kardashians.

And Kris Jenner was saying Spanx for the memories as she flashed her shapewear at lunch on Wednesday.

The 61-year-old reality television matriarch joined Scott Disick for lunch at Maria's Italian Kitchen in Woodland Hills, California.

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Oops! Kris Jenner was saying Spanx for the memories as she flashed her shapewear at lunch with Scott Disick on Wednesday

Her tan-colour shape-underwear was visible as her expensive Stella McCartney dress caught the wind during an embrace with the father of three of her grandchildren.

The mother-of-six looked youthful in the Japanese-flag inspired hanky-hem dress.

She added lace up white booties, as she stepped out with daughter Kourtney's ex to film scenes for KUWTK.

Bright! The mother-of-six looked youthful in the Japanese-flag inspired Stella McCartney hanky-hem dress

Still close: The 61-year-old reality television matriarch joined daughter Kourtney's ex boyfriend for lunch at Maria's Italian Kitchen in Woodland Hills, California

She covered her eyes with mirrored aviators, and bore a giant smile.

The momager's glossy brunette locks were looking fresh and loosely styled.

While Scott kept it casual with khaki combats and a fresh white Tee.

He sported box-fresh white sneakers as her greeted Kris with a friendly kiss.

Quick change: Kris was later spotted in a second outfit as she headed for dinner at Craig's in LA

Hot mama: She donned a sexy silky navy dress for her visit to the celeb hotspot

Bling: The momager accessorized in a pair of hefty diamond stud earrings

His ex, Kourtney, 38, is currently enjoying a vacation with toyboy Younes Bendjima, 23, in Egypt.

Over the weekend the hunky model shared a snap of the eldest Kardashian sitting on a private jet as he revealed: 'bringing this crazy ass somewhere she doesn't know'.

Scott shares children Mason, seven, Penelope, four, and Reign, two, with Kourtney.

Kris recently returned to LA following a whirlwind holiday in Europe on Tommy Hilfiger's yacht named Flag.

She spent time in St. Tropez, Greece and Italy with her friends as well as boyfriend Corey Gamble.
They have both enjoyed several years away from The Only Way Is Essex.

But Lauren Pope and Mario Falcone appear to be back in full force, as they stepped out for another stint of filming in Marbella, Spain on Wednesday.

The fitness fanatic, 34, looked typically glamorous in a saucy lace leotard and white flares as she arrived at the Mosaic Club with her pal, 29, to shoot more dramatic scenes for the new series.

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Comeback kids: Lauren Pope and Mario Falcone appear to be back in full force, as they stepped out for another stint of TOWIE filming in Marbella, Spain on Wednesday

Racy in lace: The fitness fanatic, 34, looked typically glamorous in a saucy leotard and white flares as she arrived at the Mosaic Club to shoot more dramatic scenes for the new series

The TV personality flaunted her enviably slender frame in the summery ensemble, which saw her team a raunchy lace leotard with elegant white flares.

Upping the sex appeal of the look, the plunging one-piece was formed of sheer white lace, to display her white bra and give a flash of her cleavage underneath.

Keeping the look sophisticated elsewhere however, Lauren then paired the risque number with trendy white flares, embellished with chunky gold buttons.

A bit of all-white: The TV personality flaunted her enviably slender frame in the summery ensemble, which saw her team a raunchy lace leotard with elegant white flares

Risque: Upping the sex appeal of the look, the plunging one-piece was formed of sheer white lace, to display her white bra and give a flash of her cleavage underneath

All eyes on me: Slinging a matching bag over one shoulder and accessorising with mirrored sunglasses, the reality star exuded natural glamour

Cinching in at her impossibly petite waist, the strides then skimmed her long and slender legs to their wide hem - which met striking gold gladiator sandals.

Slinging a matching bag over one shoulder and accessorising with mirrored sunglasses, the reality star exuded natural glamour as she arrived at the swanky beach club with her pal.

Mario meanwhile co-ordinated with Lauren in tight white jeans, paired with a casually stylish black polo shirt.

Leggy lady: Cinching in at her impossibly petite waist, the strides skimmed her long and slender legs to her gold gladiator sandals, as she arrived alongside her pal Mario (above)

Matching: Mario meanwhile co-ordinated with Lauren in tight white jeans, paired with a casually stylish black polo shirt

The pair appeared delighted to be back filming the reality show, as they laughed and giggled together on their way inside.

Lauren had first sparked speculation of whether she was to return to the show after appearing in the final episode of last season, while Mario was last seen on the show as a regular cast member in 2014.

The pair have since been seen on multiple outings in Marbella, implying they were to make an explosive return to the show this autumn.

Back with a bang: The pair appeared delighted to be back filming the reality show, as they laughed and giggled together on their way inside

Long time coming: Lauren had first sparked speculation of a return appearing in the final episode of last season, while Mario was last seen on the show as a regular cast member in 2014

Lauren left the ITVBe reality show in 2015, claiming afterwards that the filming of the series was by far the hardest she had experienced.

The TV star expressed that by that point, she had no mates left of the show and was struggling to balance her business ventures with filming.

She explained: 'I kind of had no mates left. The last series was not a fun series for me and I think the fun kind of went from TOWIE for me, and it made my decision a lot easier.

'I think it was just the right time, I had been thinking about it for a while.'

Star-studded: Joining them at the club was Mike Hassini, clad in a smart striped shirt and chinos

Casual: Meanwhile Chris Clark opted for a more low-key black shirt and shorts combo as he arrived, with his phone charger in hand

New girls in town: Newbies Ruby Lacey and Maddie Hooper (L-R) next made an appearance in equally stylish ensembles
They tied the knot during a secret ceremony in the Blue Mountains back in November last year.

And during an interview with The Morning Show on Thursday, model Jesinta Campbell opened up about her and husband Lance 'Buddy' Franklin's big day.

After choosing not to make any magazine deals but sharing some stunning images with Vogue Australia, the 25-year-old denied they got a 'freebie wedding.'

'We saved up and paid for it just like every other young couple': Jesinta Campbell denies her luxury Blue Mountains wedding to Sydney Swans' '$10 million man' Buddy Franklin was a 'freebie'

Their big day: They tied the knot in a secret ceremony in November

'A lot of our life is played out in the public eye, obviously both of our careers are very public and for us, keeping that day to ourselves was really important,' she explained.

'We didn't want drones floating around or having to get up and worry about paparazzi in the morning.

'We didn't do a magazine deal, and I said to Bud, "we are a young, Aussie couple, and we are going to save up, work hard and pay for our wedding ourselves, just like every other young couple has to in this country."'

Jesinta added that the couple wanted to have a wedding on their own terms.

Small and private: Jesinta added that they wanted to have their wedding on their own terms

'And that was really important for us to do that. And not have a freebie weeding. And also, do it on our terms,' she continued.

'We knew, (if) you give your wedding away to media outlets, they have full control over it, so we just wanted a small group of family and friends and it was the best day ever!'

Jesinta explained that after extra images of their day came out in Vogue and a handful of snaps were shared on social media, some fans thought they had a 'freebie wedding.'

Speculation: Jesinta explained that after extra images of their day came out in Vogue and a handful of snaps were shared on social media, some fans thought they had a 'freebie wedding'

'I had one person make a comment and said "it must be so nice having a free wedding.'' And I was like, "oh hang on mate, a bit of a keyboard warrior here, we didn't, we paid for everything ourselves and worked really hard for that, just like every other young Aussie couple."'

Indeed, under one snap of the pair kissing on their big day, shared to her Instagram last month, Jesinta told fans to check out the snaps on the Vogue Australia website.

'We shared our special day with Vogue Australia, the link is in my bio,' Jesinta wrote, before getting trolled.

'Is it still sharing if they pay you?,' one user remarked.

Jesinta replied, saying: 'Not a single part of our wedding was paid for or sponsored or remunerated through magazine deals.'

She added: 'We saved up and paid our own way like the majority of most young couples who get married.'

Gorgeous: On her big day Jesinta stunned in a tulle dress by Vera Wang while Sydney Swans' '$10 million man' Buddy, wore a Hugo Boss suit

Young love! The pair first went public with their relationship in October 2013 and got engaged in December 2014

On her big day Jesinta stunned in a tulle dress by Vera Wang while Sydney Swans' '$10 million man' Buddy, wore a Hugo Boss suit.

After marrying, Jesinta changed her last name to Franklin.

The pair first went public with their relationship in October 2013 and got engaged in December 2014.

At the time, he presented her with a 4.5 carat diamond ring by Nader Jewellers, estimated between $75,000 and $100,000.

In November 2015, the pair postponed their wedding, which was scheduled for January 2016, after Buddy stepped away from AFL due to an 'ongoing mental health condition' and epilepsy.
She's the law graduate who traded in an office job for Instagram modelling.

And despite boasting two million followers on Instagram, Pia Muehlenbeck still has her detractors, revealing trolls will often post negative comments on her page to try and 'antagonise' her.

Speaking to Cosmopolitan, the 27-year-old refuses to engage with her critics, explaining: 'I don't entertain them.'

'I don't entertain them': Instagram model Pia Muehlenbeck refuses to engage with trolls who try and antagonise her online

Pia, who has gained an impressive following through posting often scantily-clad photos of herself while travelling, told the magazine she tries not to feed negativity.

'I don't get a lot of those [sorts of] comments - I think that's because I don't entertain them,' she explained.

'I think most people who are writing things like that are just looking for a response. They are just trying to antagnoise and I just don't engage in it at all.'

But fortunately the busty brunette rarely encountered trolls, with the majority of her followers posting 'heart-warming' comments.

'I just don't engage in it at all': Pia told the magazine she tries not to feed negativity

Mostly positive: Fortunately the busty brunette rarely encountered trolls, with the majority of her followers posting 'heart-warming' comments

'I think if you put positive posts out there, then it resonates with people and they'll share how they feel,' Pia said.

Meanwhile Pia turned heads as she stepped onto the red carpet at a Priceline Pharmacy event on Tuesday.

Clad in a one-shouldered floral tea dress, the brunette beauty proudly showcased her smooth complexion and busty frame as she posed for photos.

My, how you've changed! Pia Muehlenbeck looked VERY different from her glamour girl days (right) as the 'Instagram model' stepped out in Sydney on Wednesday (left)

However, longtime fans would be forgiven for not recognising the former Gold Coast lawyer-turned-travel blogger, as she looked very different compared to photos from her early modelling career.

Pia, who appears to have embraced a more wholesome image in recent years, had previously posed topless on the cover of a Danish men's magazine.

She looked remarkably different in the European photo shoot, with her lips and eyebrows both appearing much thinner than they do today.

What a difference! Longtime fans would be forgiven for not recognising the former Gold Coast lawyer-turned-travel blogger in recent photos

Changing looks: Pia's cheeks also appear to be slightly fuller these days, compared to previous modelling photos (right)

Pia's cheeks also appear to be slightly fuller in recent photos of the 'social media influencer'.

These days, Pia regularly shares scantily-clad selfies with her two million followers, often using her online presence to plug products such as protein powder.

Speaking to Cosmopolitan magazine previously, Pia spoke without irony about the stress that comes with life as a professional Instagram model.

What she does best! Pia regularly shares scantily-clad selfies with her two million followers

Entrepreneur: She often using her online presence to plug products such as protein powder

'I work more hours now than I did as a lawyer. When it's your own business, it's really hard to figure out when to switch off,' she explained.

Pia also gave credit to her partner Kane Vato, who had helped launch and maintain her lucrative online profile.

'I'm lucky we are such a social media-obsessed world right now,' she said. 'Being in the right place at the right time is a big part of it. But also, Kane and I are both very business-minded.'

'While our friends were out on a Sunday having cocktails, we would be out creating content.'
Rumours of a romance swirled between The Bachelorette's Sam Frost and Geordie Shore's Gary 'Gaz' Beadle while filming Hell's Kitchen in Sydney in March.

But Sam, 28, claimed on Thursday that Gaz never actually socialised with her or their co-stars, adding that the English playboy was 'a bore'.

Speaking to OK! Magazine, the former reality TV star said: 'He never went to the wrap party or anything... I was like: "You're a bore!"

'He never went to the wrap party!' Sam Frost (pictured) claimed Hells Kitchen co-star Gary 'Gaz' Beadle was BORING and refused to socialise with the cast

Gary 'Gaz' Beadle is believed to be in Australia with his girlfriend Emma McVey.

Sam appeared to criticise the notorious lothario, adding: 'Gaz was boring... He never once came out socially with us. Like, the whole crew would go out afterwards for a drink and he never came.'

While Sam hit it off with former Ironwoman Candice Warner during filming, she didn't appear to warm to Gaz, saying: 'I wouldn't say he's a close friend.'

'Gaz was boring!': Sam appeared to slam the notorious lothario in the chat with OK! Magazine

No chemistry: While Sam hit it off with former Ironwoman Candice Warner during filming, she didn't appear to warm to Gaz, saying: 'I wouldn't say he's a close friend'

'She just keeps going and going and going': Sam also took a dig at former Real Housewives of Melbourne star Pettifleur Berenger in an interview with The Daily Telegraph last week

Sam also took a dig at former Real Housewives of Melbourne star Pettifleur Berenger in an interview with The Daily Telegraph last week, saying she 'talks a lot'.

'I talk a lot but she's like a kookaburra! She just keeps going and going and going Marco had to pull her up quite a lot about the fact she just doesn't stop talking.'

Sam's shady comments came just days after Pettifleur seemed to imply that The Bachelorette beauty wasn't grateful for her career success.

'I don't think it's clicked to Sam that she's done so well': Sam's shady comments came just days after Pettifleur (pictured) implied that The Bachelorette beauty wasn't grateful for her success

Speaking to OK! magazine, the 52-year-old said: 'I don't think it's clicked to (Sam) that she's done so well and she's in such an amazing place, and she is doing a lot more than what people her age are doing.'

Pettifleur continued: 'She is so fortunate, and I was basically trying to let her know how to really look at what she has and understand how fantastic she is, rather than, "I don't know what to do", and "Oh, my life"...'

Hell's Kitchen flopped in the ratings since its debut last weekend, even failing to win as many viewers as Seven's previous culinary disaster, Zumbo's Just Desserts.

Ratings failure: Hell's Kitchen flopped in the ratings since its debut last weekend, even failing to win as many viewers as Seven's previous culinary disaster, Zumbo's Just Desserts

Meanwhile, Sam has been seen filming scenes for long-running TV soap Home And Away this month in Sydney's Palm Beach.

Pictures on Thursday showed her character 'killing' Pia Miller's Katarina 'Kat' Chapman in a car crash, with on-set snaps showing the haunting aftermath.

Last month, Seven made the shock announcement that Sam, who has no previous acting experience, would be joining Home And Away as a permanent cast member.
It may be summertime but that doesn't mean Alessandra Ambrosio is taking a day off from working out.

The model was spotted leaving a yoga studio in Los Angeles on Thursday with her perfectly svelte torso on show.

The 36-year-old looked at ease as she protected herself from the sun with a white cap and pair of sunglasses.

Just breathe! Alessandra Ambrosio was spotted leaving a yoga studio in Los Angeles on Thursday with her perfectly svelte torso on show

Alessandra had a towel wrapped around her neck, her yoga mat in hand, and luxurious Louis Vuitton purse slung over her shoulder.

Hair slicked back into a ponytail, Alessandra looked gorgeous with her makeup-free complexion on show.

She accessorized the sporty look with a glamorous gold watch, a necklace, and several bracelets.

The star also had two brown bags and a cup in hand as she strolled down the sidewalk, glancing at her phone.

No throwing in the towel! Alessandra had a towel wrapped around her neck, her yoga mat in hand, and pricey Louis Vuitton purse slung over her shoulder

R&R: As one of the biggest names and modelling, Ambrosio looked relaxed as she enjoyed some time to herself

Keeping busy: The star had two brown bags and a cup in hand as she strolled down the sidewalk, glancing at her phone

As one of the biggest names and modelling, Alessandra looked relaxed as she enjoyed some time to herself.

The model is also a mother of two.

Alessandra has two children with her fiance Jamie Mazur: daughter Anja and son Noah, five.

Family life: Alessandra has two children with her fiance Jamie Mazur: daughter Anja and son Noah, five

The Victoria's Secret Angel recently claimed motherhood has altered her view of modeling.

'I used to be 100% comfortable on lingerie shoots - then I had a child, and it was more of a mental shift than anything else,' she previously told Net-A-Porter.

'Somehow it felt a bit weirder to be in lingerie once I was a mom.'
She has large footsteps to fill, but Maya Thurman-Hawke proved the apple doesnt fall far from the tree as she made her acting debut on Monday afternoon.

The daughter of Hollywood veterans Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke sported a semi-sheer nightgown while filming BBC drama Little Women in County Wicklow.

Despite chilly temperatures, Maya, 19, threw herself into her role as she waded out of the picturesque Irish regions Brittas Bay during one particularly dramatic scene.

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Quiet on set: Maya Thurman-Hawke, the daughter of Hollywood veterans Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke, sported a semi-sheer nightgown while filming BBC drama Little Women in County Wicklow on Monday

Bearing a striking a resemblance to her famous mother  whose film credits include Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill and The Avengers  the teenager waded back onto dry land as cameras rolled on the exterior set.

Maya plays 'willful and adventurous' Jo in the forthcoming drama, a three-part adaptation of the 1868 novel by Louisa May Alcott.

The actress will feature alongside a star-studded cast that includes BAFTA winner Emily Watson and screen legends Sir Michael Gambon and Dame Angela Lansbury.

Familiar feature: Maya bore a striking a resemblance to her famous mother  whose film credits include Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill and The Avengers

Committed: Despite chilly temperatures, Maya, 19, threw herself into her role as she waded out of the picturesque Irish regions Brittas Bay during one particularly dramatic scen

Fledgling actress Maya, who has largely stayed out of the limelight with the exception of a few red carpet appearances, is starting to make waves both in the acting and fashion worlds, becoming the face of British fashion giant AllSaints' SS17 collection last year and securing a number of high profile acting roles.

Speaking to Vanity Fair, she reflected on her low key introduction to the industry.

'The truth is, I have made very few public appearances, and when I have, my parents have been very careful to allow me to have my own experience,' she explained.

Rising star: Fledgling actress Maya, who has largely stayed out of the limelight with the exception of a few red carpet appearances, is starting to make waves both in the acting and fashion worlds

'The first "advice" I've gotten that comes to mind and probably some of the best has been not to worry about it too much and to smile if that will make you happy.'

Maya is Uma Thurman's oldest child with second husband Ethan Hawke, who she met on the set of 1997 film Gattaca.

The couple separated in 2003 and divorced two years later.
They're the radio hosts who have been working together for longer than many couples stay married.

And Kyle Sandilands has mocked Jackie 'O' Henderson's other long-term relationship - her marriage of 14 years to photographer Lee Henderson.

During an interview with The Morning Show on Thursday, the Sydney shock jock claimed Lee has 'just been kicking back for 20 years'.

'He's just been kicking back for 20 years!' Kyle Sandilands poked fun at Jackie O's husband Lee Henderson and claimed he 'won the Lotto' when he met the up-and-coming radio host

The KIIS FM stars were discussing their longevity, but Kyle couldn't resist taking a swipe at Jackie's 'ridiculous husband' Lee.

'I know Lee really well, and I've watched him from the backpacker he was, who won the lotto when he met Jackie,' he said.

'And he's just been kicking back for 20 years, like doing nothing!'

Laughing off Kyle's remarks, Jackie replied: 'He is a wonderful husband and father.'

He married well! The KIIS FM stars were discussing their longevity on Thursday's The Morning Show, but Kyle couldn't resist taking a swipe at Jackie's 'ridiculous husband' Lee (left)

Meanwhile, Kyle and Jackie were soon reminded about their last memorable appearance on The Morning Show.

Back in 2015, Kyle stripped shirtless in an attempt to demonstrate what a 'real' Australian male's body looked like.

Jackie told co-hosts Larry Emdur and Kylie Gillies she thought it was hilarious when Kyle unexpectedly took his shirt off.

'I thought it was awesome. I love it when he makes a fool of himself. I live for those moments,' she said.

Oops! Kyle and Jackie were soon reminded about their last appearance on The Morning Show

'I knew he would never live it down, but it was funny': Back in 2015, Kyle stripped shirtless in an attempt to demonstrate what a 'real' Australian male's body looked like

'I knew he would never live it down, but it was funny,' she added.

Jackie married Lee in 2003, and the couple welcomed their daughter Kitty in 2010.

She was previously married to British-Australian radio presenter 'Ugly' Phil O'Neil from 1994 to 1999.
Ian Thorpe says the pressure he felt to come out was something no young person should be subject to.

The Australian champion swimmer announced he was gay in 2014, after years of being asked about his sexuality.

Speaking to Australian Women's Weekly, the former Olympian said: 'I think its an inappropriate question for anyone, especially a child.'

'I think its an inappropriate question for anyone, especially a child': Ian Thorpe reveals the pressure he felt to clarify his sexuality while still a teenager (PICTURED: Age 15 in 1997)

Ian, now 34, came out at age 31.

The swimmer first grabbed world attention when he won the 1998 world 400m freestyle title in Perth, becoming, at 15, the youngest world champion in history.

He told the publication he struggled with rumours about his sexuality while competing in his teens.

'I felt because of the tone, I was accused of being gay, so I only ever thought of this as really a negative thing; that there must be something wrong with me,' he said.

'Because of the tone, I was accused of being gay, so I only ever thought of this as really a negative thing': He told the publication he struggled with rumours about his sexuality while competing in his teens

Loved up! Ian is now happy in a relationship with his model boyfriend Ryan Channing, 26, who he has been dating for the past 19 months

'You don't want to give someone who's prying into your life the opportunity to tell them': He revealed the mounting pressure to come out continued for more than a decade after he felt unbelievable pressure at just 16-years-old to come out as gay (PICTURED: 1997)

He revealed the mounting pressure to come out continued for more than a decade,

'Once you've started down that path and denied it, you continue and you don't want to give someone who's prying into your life the opportunity to tell them,' he said.

Ian previously told comedian and artist Anh Do that he felt unbelievable pressure at just 16-years-old to come out as gay due to public pressure.

The swimming legend said he was wished he had come out earlier in his life but also revealed he found it incredibly hard to come out to his family.

He said growing up he felt being gay meant he was a 'second-class citizen' and what he was doing was wrong.

However, Ian is now happy in a relationship with his model boyfriend Ryan Channing, 26, who he has been dating for the past 19 months.

Love is love: Ian and Ryan have been proud advocates of marriage equality

The couple have been proud advocates of marriage equality and recently weighed in on the marriage equality debate on the Morning Show on Tuesday.

'We don't have the right to get married which is quite apparent at this stage...I find what's going on in this marriage equality debate - it is disappointing,' Ian said.

The champion went on to criticise the government for being slow to act on the hot-button topic.
Former Home and Away star Johnny Ruffo has shocked his fans by revealing he has had emergency surgery to remove a brain tumour.

The 29-year-old TV star shared images of himself to his Instagram page on Thursday, which showed his post-operation scar.

Johnny, who rose to fame on The X Factor Australia, told Daily Mail Australia he went to hospital on Sunday with a migraine, before being rushed into surgery.

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Health scare: Former Home and Away star Johnny Ruffo shocked fans on Thursday by revealing he has had emergency surgery to remove a brain tumour

'On Sunday I went into hospital with a migraine. I had to have emergency surgery to have a brain tumour removed,' Johnny said.

He continued: 'I am on the mend and feeling positive. Keep me in your thoughts.'

Johnny's management confirmed to Daily Mail Australia that he is awaiting results to see if the tumour is benign or malignant.

Meanwhile, he wrote on Instagram that the health scare has helped 'put things into perspective'.

'Hoping for a positive result, keep me in your thoughts,' he added.

Staying strong: Johnny, who rose to fame on The X Factor Australia, told Daily Mail Australia he went to hospital on Sunday with a migraine, before being rushed into surgery

Scary times: Johnny's management confirmed to Daily Mail Australia that he is awaiting results to see if the tumour is benign or malignant

Fans sent Johnny well wishes on social media, with one commenting: 'Please get better soon and sending a lot of love your way.'

Another wrote: 'Sorry to see and here this. Hope you have a good recovery. Prayers and thoughts are with you.'

Johnny's management also shared an Instagram photo of Johnny in hospital after the operation, adding: 'You are in our thoughts and Prayers Ruffo. We love ya.'

Support: Johnny has been dating dancer Tahnee Sims for almost two years (pictured in March)

Blisfully unaware: The couple posed for a romantic selfie together just two weeks ago

Rise to fame: Johnny is pictured on Home and Away, where he played Chris Harrington

Johnny has been dating dancer Tahnee Sims for almost two years, with the couple posing for a romantic selfie together just two weeks ago.

Tahnee is an avid social media user, but has not posted on Instagram for the past week as she continues to support her boyfriend.

Last month, fan favourite Johnny told Studio 10 he was a 'mischievous' child and the 'troublemaker' of his family.

In February last year, he was disqualified from driving and fined more than $3,000 for a strong of offences including driving while his licence was cancelled.

Struggles: In February last year, Johnny was disqualified from driving and fined more than $3,000 for a strong of offences including driving while his licence was cancelled

He had previously pleaded guilty to driving an unregistered and uninsured white Audi S5 through Sydney's CBD in September 2015.

At the time, his lawyer Nic Angelov said Johnny understood he was unfit to handle the responsibilities of driving.

'His intention is to get the vehicle registered and then sell it,' Mr Angelov said.

Making headlines: In March 2014, Johnny also hit the headlines when photos emerged that showed him at a party sitting next to lines of a white substance

'He's going to get rid of the car. He accepts that the responsibilities (of driving) he has not met, and they are not for him.'

In March 2014, Johnny also hit the headlines when photos emerged that showed him at a party sitting next to lines of a white substance.

The photos were published in Woman's Day magazine, and were taken when Johnny was at the Four Seasons Hotel in Sydney.
Kevin Hart is being sued by a fan who claims he was beaten up by his security team.

Jay Collins brought a lawsuit against the comedian over an alleged incident on August 19, 2015.

The fan claimed he was an invited VIP guest to one of Hart's shows in Philadelphia on the night in question, according to TMZ.

Accused: Kevin Hart is being sued by a fan who claims he was beaten up by his security team

The suit claimed he was 'aggressively approached and detained by stadium security' - but doesn't say why.

The guards handed him over to Harts personal bodyguards, who brutally beat him, he claimed.

He accused Hart's team of threatening to tase him and then jammed the prongs of the tazer into his face, neck and back.

After that he says they threw him to the ground before striking him in the head, neck and shoulders, and kneeing him in the rib cage.

After show: Jay Collins brought a lawsuit against the comedian over an alleged incident on August 19, 2015 in Philadelphia

While on the way out he alleges they called him a 'bitch, p*ssy, coward.'

According to the site he is suing for 'a lot more' than $50k, claiming the Jumanji star should be held responsible for his bodyguards' actions.

Forbes revealed this month that Hart earned $32.5million this year alone.

On Wednesday night Hart shared a pic from a epic night of comedy at Radio City Music Hall.

He joined Amy Schumer, Chris Rock, Dave Chapelle, Jeff Ross and Donnell Rawlings on stage, and in an Instagram snap.

On Saturday TMZ also reported that police wanted to speak with Rawlings after he was accused of punching one of Chappelle's fans outside a hotel.
She's rocketed to fame as a body confidence role model, gaining a legion of fans for her enviable figure.

And Ashley Graham once again sent pulses racing, as she shared several saucy, behind-the-scenes snaps from the Jamaican set of her new Swimsuits For All campaign on Wednesday.

The 29-year-old IMG model slipped into a slinky black bikini, making the most of her hourglass physique.

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Earth angel: Ashley Graham shared several saucy, behind-the-scenes snaps from the Jamaican set of her new Swimsuits For All campaign on Wednesday

The model showcased her curvaceous figure in the California brand's $56 'Adventuress Kiev' string bikini, throwing up an array of expert poses.

Making the most of her ample assets and voluptuous hips, she threw her arms up against a pair of inflatable angel wings.

Another shot saw her sprawled out on the float as she stared seductively at the camera.

The Nebraska-born body activist promoted the plus-size retailer (ranging in sizes 4-34) while lounging on a $128 white Funboy 'Angel Wings' float in the warm ocean.

Life's a beach! The 29-year-old IMG Model showcased her curvaceous figure in the sizzling string bikini

Hard at work! The Nebraska-born body activist promoted the plus-size retailer while lounging on the angel wings float in the warm ocean

Ashley - who's reportedly staying at The Cliff Hotel - had her hair coiffed by Dominick Pucciarello and her bronzed make-up applied by Carmindy for the seaside shoot.

Graham - who boasts 7.2M social media followers - later donned the $50 'Captain Bubbles' underwire bikini alongside her protegee Marquita Pring.

Ashley previously spoke out about being propelled into the spotlight for her figure, crediting the rise of curvaceous bodies brought on by stars such as J Lo.

'I know I'm on this pedestal because of white privilege,' the groundbreaking 2016 SI cover girl said in Monday's New York Magazine.

Camera ready! Ashley - who's reportedly staying at The Cliff Hotel - had her hair coiffed by Dominick Pucciarello and her bronzed make-up applied by Carmindy for the seaside shoot

'I know I'm on this pedestal because of white privilege': Graham later donned the $50 'Captain Bubbles' underwire bikini alongside her protegee Marquita Pring (R)

'I'm getting a seat at the table': The Brooklyn-based brunette exercises regularly at New York's The Dogpound, but she eats French fries on her cheat days

'To not see black or Latina women as famous in my industry is crazy! I have to talk about it. I want to give those women kudos because they are the ones who paved the way for me.'

The A New Model author continued: 'I'm getting a seat at the table we've never had before, and I'm also pulling up a couple of seats around me. I know this isn't about me. Just one girl is not going to change the world.'

The Brooklyn-based brunette exercises regularly at New York's The Dogpound, but she eats French fries on her cheat days.

'Frizzy & curly': On Tuesday, Ashley revealed she was once a before/after model for an unnamed haircare company, which appeared in SkyMall back in 2000

The groundbreaking 2016 SI cover girl admitted: 'They just dropped a wig on me [for the after picture] though, so I knew the product probably didn't work'

Graham then noted: 'But you know that's 17 years in the making and look at me now!'

On Tuesday, Ashley revealed she was once a before/after model for an unnamed haircare company, which appeared in SkyMall back in 2000.

'They just dropped a wig on me [for the after picture] though, so I knew the product probably didn't work,' Graham admitted on Late Night with Seth Meyers.

'But you know that's 17 years in the making and look at me now!'

Now streaming on go90! Fans can catch the Toothbrush video vixen in her reality series The Ashley Graham Project, which was directed by her husband of seven years, Justin Ervin

Met in church back in 2009: The Miss USA pageant co-host and the LA-based cinematographer plan on having children 'within the next few years'

Fans can catch the Toothbrush video vixen in her reality series The Ashley Graham Project - now streaming on go90 XO - which was directed by her husband of seven years, Justin Ervin.

The Miss USA pageant co-host and the LA-based cinematographer - who met in church back in 2009 - plan on having children 'within the next few years.'

Ashley will also return as judge on cycle 24 of America's Next Top Model on VH1 alongside original host Tyra Banks, Paper creative director Drew Elliot, and stylist Law Roach.
Matthew Johnson recently confirmed he is 'very, very happy' after finding true love on The Bachelor Australia.

And the 30-year-old marketing manager has another reason to smile, as he just signed with one of Australia's top celebrity agents.

Matty J is now represented by IMG Talent, which also has The Bachelorette's Sam Frost and Sasha Mielczarek on its books.

The Bachelor star Matthew Johnson (pictured) has signed with IMG, the same celebrity talent agent as The Bachelorette's Sam Frost and Sasha Mielczarek

'We watched him win the hearts of Australia on the Bachelorette and again on this season of The Bachelor. The Talent Team at IMG are really looking forward to working with Matty,' David Malina, Vice President, Talent IMG, told Daily Mail Australia.

Matty rose to national fame last year as runner-up on The Bachelorette Australia, starring Georgia Love.

The Bondi native had been living in London for several years before returning to Sydney to be closer to his family.

The agency has proven invaluable to Sam Frost (left), who landed a 2Day FM breakfast show and an acting role on Home And Away post-Bachelorette

But his journey on The Bachelorette ended in heartbreak as Georgia instead chose plumber Lee Elliott as her winning beau.

Matty was confirmed as The Bachelor in early March this year, after weeks of rumours he had signed a contract.

It is understood he began filming in Sydney in late February. The finale reportedly took place three months later in Thailand.

Matty's journey on The Bachelorette last year ended in heartbreak as Georgia Love (left) instead chose plumber Lee Elliott as her winning beau

Signing with IMG suggests Matty may be looking to leave his marketing career behind and pursue opportunities in the media.

The agency has proven invaluable to Sam Frost, who landed a 2Day FM breakfast show and an acting role on Home And Away post-Bachelorette.

The Bachelor Australia continues Thursday at 7:30pm on Network Ten
Today, she is one of the most familiar faces in Australian television, having worked as a presenter for the likes of Nine News and A Current Affair.

But years before she became a local celebrity, Leila McKinnon was an adorable little girl with blonde hair and a cheeky smile.

On Thursday, the the Brisbane-raised journalist, 44, took to Instagram to share a throwback snap of herself looking almost unrecognisable, dressed in a quirky pinafore dress and knee-high stockings.

What a throwback! Years before she became a local celebrity, Leila McKinnon was an adorable little girl with blonde hair and a cheeky smile

'Throw back Thursday to when I discovered stripes and circles and argyle and checks and red and brown and blue and yellow and green were SUCH A STYLISH COMBO,' she quipped in the caption.

Her post was completed with the hashtags: '#tbthursday #farshion #tbt'.

The veteran journalist was born in Iran to an English mother and New Zealand father before moving to Brisbane, where she attended MacGregor State High School.

Familiar face! The veteran journalist was born in Iran to an English mother and New Zealand father before moving to Brisbane, where she attended MacGregor State High School

She has gone on to work as a presenter for Weekend Today, Nine News, A Current Affair, Nine News Morning Edition and Nine News Afternoon Edition.

The Channel Nine personality made headlines recently after she revealed details of her terrifying experiences with a stalker 14 years ago.

The journalist shared the 'slightly creepy' letter from her 'very busy stalker' to her Instagram account in March this year- sending chills down the spines of her followers.

Rising star: She has gone on to work as a presenter for Weekend Today, Nine News, A Current Affair, Nine News Morning Edition and Nine News Afternoon Edition

The scrawling note was sent to Today Tonight host Anna Coren, and read: 'Dear Anna, Caress me with loving and tender strokes, under a soft limelight, with Leila McKinnon.'

'P.S, I have many newsreaders and reporters to write to, so I have to compact two into one letter.'

Leila then added some colourful commentary to the bizarre note in her Instagram caption.

'14 years later I'm still amused by this slightly creepy letter to Anna Coren in which I'm somewhat of an afterthought,' she wrote.

The dark side of fame: The Channel Nine personality made headlines recently after she revealed details of her terrifying experiences with a stalker 14 years ago
She was celebrating turning 60.

But Melanie Griffith was looking typically ageless as she toasted her big day by dining out in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

The natural beauty was the perfect lady in red as she stepped out in a flattering silk dress in the trendy West Hollywood area.

Lady in red: Melanie Griffith looked sensation as she celebrated turning 60 in LA Wednesday

The Working Girl star was certainly walking with swagger as she made her way to her destination in her flattering frock and matching stilettos.

And the confident actress, who seems to have found the Fountain Of Youth, gave a cheeky grin as she made her way past the waiting photographers to make her into upmarket eatery Craig's.

Melanie is currently single, but she has had relationships with some of the world's most eligible men over the years.

Last year she said: 'I'm not really looking [for someone]. I'm just being. I figure, if I'm meant to have another relationship, I will. And if I'm not, then I wont,' though she also admitted to being, 'lonely and bored and confused.'

She started dating Don Johnson when she was just 14, and they married when she turned 18, though they split soon after.

Drinking at the Fountain Of Youth: The beauty looked ageless as she headed to dinner

Turning heads: She caused a stir as she prepared to dine out at upmarket eatery Craig's

Rearly impressive: Her flattering frock highlighted the actress' delightful derriere

They remarried in 1989, but separated after she fell in love with her married co-star, and future husband, Antonio.

And their daughter Dakota Johnson, the star of 2015 blockbuster Fifty Shades Of Grey, previously blasted the film industry, accusing it of being ageist towards female actresses.

The 27-year-old is unhappy that her mother and actress grandmother Tippi Hedren, 86, do not get more roles.

Dakota told Vogue: 'Why isn't my mother in the movies? She's an extraordinary actress. Why isn't my grandmother in the movies? This industry is f***ing brutal.'

Melanie is back on the market after her divorce from Antonio, which the couple said they were doing 'in a loving and friendly manner,' was finalised in December 2015.

In rude health: The natural beauty looked like she was looking forward to her slap-up meal




A basic principle of advertising in any form  whether in print, on TV, radio, billboards, in movie theaters, or online  is the value of repetition. The more times people read or hear something, the more likely the message is to make an impression; hopefully one that prompts them to purchase the product or service.During my time in the newspaper business, I served as a publisher for about a year. Id occasionally talk with advertisers who complained because theyd received little response from the ad that had appeared just one time.You have to run your ad more than once, Id explain. It might take several exposures before people will notice it and decide to be your customers.This principle also seems applicable to spirituality, whether for people being drawn to Jesus Christ or believers growing in their faith. Usually it requires hearing something more than once before it sinks in and we start to act on it.Writing to Christ followers in the city of Philippi, the apostle Paul wrote, Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me  put into practice (Philippians 4:9). Apparently, these people had numerous opportunities to hear from Paul and observe how his life aligned with what he preached. They were learning via the power of repetition.This should serve as motivation for us to eagerly share with others what God has taught us over time, whether were speaking to believers, seekers, or even apparently ardent non-believers.Reflecting over my own spiritual journey, I realize it was a long, cumulative process of being presented with biblical truth, meditating over it, and eventually resolving to implement it into my life. I can remember hearing many stories about Jesus as a boy, and reading the Bible as a young adult, but not until my early 30s did I start understanding how to relate this to my life.Recently I had an opportunity to converse with a young man about his education and career plans. His chosen field of endeavor is known for its antagonism toward Christian beliefs, but I commended him for his desire to serve as salt and light in such a challenging environment.As we talked, I offered some insights I had gained over the years, offering words of caution and a reminder of the importance to commit to God whatever we intend to do. For instance, I cited my life verses, Proverbs 3:5-6: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight, giving examples of how this passage has proved meaningful for my own life.My goal wasnt to persuade him to do exactly what I said, but to plant some seeds of biblical truth. This might have been the only time Ill see this young man face to face, and was hoping to impart some wisdom Ive acquired that might be useful for him in the future.I have a friend who drives for a ride-sharing service and prays every day for opportunities to talk with his passengers about the Lord. In his affable, non-intrusive manner, hes started numerous conversations by talking briefly about how God has worked in his life. His goal isnt to close the deal evangelistically, but to demonstrate the love of Christ to people whoever they are and wherever they happen to be spiritually.His hope is that God will use what he says either to move them closer to a life-changing relationship with Jesus, or to help them deepen in their day-to-day walk with Him. My friend realizes he might never cross paths with many of these people again, so hes intent on making the most of the opportunity (Colossians 4:5).Without question, we need to use wisdom whenever we speak with others about Jesus Christ. Especially strangers. Ephesians 4:15 says were to be speaking the truth in love, engaging with others out of genuine interest and concern, wanting to share with them the best news we could ever hear.At the same time, we shouldnt be timid when God swings open doors of opportunity. To borrow a phrase from the Seals and Crofts tune of the early 1970s, we may never pass this way again. We might never know how the Lord will use the words we share, but if done in the power of His Spirit, we can be assured He will use them!----Robert J. Tamasy is a veteran journalist, former newspaper editor and magazine editor. Bob has written hundreds of magazine articles, and authored, co-authored and edited more than 15 books. These include the newly re-published, Business At Its Best, Tufting Legacies, The Heart of Mentoring, and Pursuing Life With a Shepherds Heart. He edits a weekly business meditation, Monday Manna, which is translated into more than 20 languages and distributed via email around the world by CBMC International. To read more of Bob Tamasys writings, you can visit his blog, www.bobtamasy.blogspot.com, or his website (now being completed), www.bobtamasy-readywriterink.com. He can be emailed at btamasy@comcast.net.
He's the top model who has struck up an unlikely friendship with Karl Stefanovic.

And Jordan Barrett has lifted the lid on the Today host's whirlwind romance with Jasmine Yarbrough, describing them as an 'awesome' couple.

Speaking to Yahoo Be at the David Jones Spring-Summer Launch on Wednesday, the 20-year-old said: 'They've always been great.'

'They're great': Model Jordan Barrett says Karl Stefanovic and Jasmine Yarbrough make an 'awesome' couple

The Byron Bay-born supermodel told the website nothing had changed in Jasmine and Karl's relationship since he first met the couple.

'They're great, they've always been great,' Jordan said.

Revealing he had watched Karl on TV since he was a little kid, Jordan rubbished claims he found it strange the Today host was now dating his young friend Jasmine.

'They've always been great': The Byron Bay-born supermodel told the website nothing had changed in Jasmine and Karl's relationship since he first met the couple.

Loved up: Karl and Jasmine looked close as they made a rare public appearance together

'Not really! Its kind of awesome, I mean Karl is probably one of my favourite Australian people ever and always has been, so its cool,' Jordan explained.

But while Jordan is now getting chummy with his childhood idol, the model has 'no idea' if Karl and Jasmine will marry.

Meanwhile, the bromance between Jordan and Karl continues to blossom, with the unlikely pals hanging out at the David Jones Spring/Summer launch on Wednesday night.

On Thursday morning, Karl continued to fawn over the male supermodel on the Today show, gushing that Jordan 'looks like a summer dream' and is 'floaty and beautiful'.

Fancy seeing you here! On Wednesday night, Karl and Jordan enjoyed each other's company at the David Jones Spring/Summer launch

'(An) Australian model a young fellow who is carving it up around the world,' Karl explained to viewers.

'You know, the guy with the blond hair and he looks like a summer dream. Anyway he is a beautiful human being.'

In May, Jordan shared a photo to his Instagram of himself and Karl hugging each other backstage at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.

Bromance alert! They both cut suave figures in their blue suits as they walked around the exclusive event

The ladies' man straddled the Today host, with both men grinning as Karl's girlfriend Jasmine Yarbrough watched on laughing.

'Everything Karl does, Karl does it right @kstefanovic always and every time,' Jordan captioned the photo.

Jasmine was quick to comment: 'You must be pretty special getting the Stefanovic koala hug.'

Karl met Jasmine in December after splitting from his wife of 21 years, Cassandra Thorburn, in September.
He plays a hardman fixer in Ray Donovan.

But it looks like his character has bitten off more than he can chew going by the mangled face Liev Schreiber showed off as he filmed scenes for the show in New York on Wednesday.

The 49-year-old had a painful looking shiner, thanks to the magic of make-up, as he plodded along the street in the Big Apple.

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Eye don't believe it: Liev Schreiber showed off a shiner =on the set of Ray Donovan in New York on Wednesday

In addition to his mangled face, he was also turning heads due to his trendy suit, which is his character's trademark work wear.

In the Showtime programme his character works for a prestigious LA law firm which represents the rich and famous. As a fixer, he has to arrange bribes, payoffs, threats, and partake in even more extreme activities

In real life, Liev split from his partner of 11 years Naomi Watts last September.

And the 48-year-old beauty recently discussed their co-parenting arrangement, revealing that while they are no longer together, they remain united as parents for their two sons.

He's no Terry McCann: Liev's character does not seem to be as tough as Dennis Waterman's Minder

Abbey Road revisited: The actor recreated the famous Beatles cover with added bruises

Suit you sir: The actor was sporting one of his character's trademark trendy suits

The British actress told Australian Women's Weekly that despite her differences with 49-year-old Liev, they both see eye to eye when it comes to raising children Alexander 'Sasha', 10, and Samuel Kai, seven, in a stable environment.

'Routine is a big part of it,' she told the publication.

'Obviously Liev and I are actors - there is some moving - but we've really tried to keep the boys in the same school. Give them structure, boundaries.'

Last month, Naomi star surprised fans when she reunited with the Ray Donovan star for their son Sasha's birthday.

Bruiser: His mangled face was made possible due to the magic of make-up

And off he goes: No doubt fans can hardly wait to see what their favourite character is up to
She is no stranger to daring displays.

And Olivia Buckland continued to keep her fans happy as she took to Instagram to share a sizzling snap on Wednesday.

The former Love Island star, 23, showcased her curves in a low-cut red dress.

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Red-hot: Olivia Buckland continued to keep her fans happy as she took to Instagram to share a sizzling snap on Wednesday.

The bright dress skimmed her curvaceous figure, revealing a glimpse of her tattooed hips beneath the racy cut-out panels.

Featuring a plunging neckline which offered fans a view of the inking below her cleavage, she teamed the piece with a pair of patent killer heels.

Pulling the ensemble together with a bold red lip and wearing her blonde hair in tousled curves, she raise a glass of champagne, captioning the snap: 'When you can see Friday coming'.

Pressure: The 23-year-old recently revealed she's already starting to feel the pressure of planning her big day, admitting she's can feel herself becoming a bridezilla

Olivia fell head-over-heels with hunky scaffolder Alex Bowen infront of the nation's eyes on 2016's installment of Love Island.

And following a whirlwind engagement, Olivia Buckland, 23, has revealed she's already starting to feel the pressure of planning her big day, admitting she's already turning into a bridezilla.

Speaking exclusively to MailOnline at the launch of W7's Very Vegan beauty range at the beginning of the month, the Essex beauty discussed her anxiety ahead of her nuptials and the possibility of televising her wedding day.

Having met on the 2016 series of ITV2's Love Island, Olivia and Alex came in second place behind friends Cara de la Hoyde and Nathan Massey - who have since broke up.

Candid: Speaking exclusively to MailOnline at the launch of W7's Very Vegan beauty range, the Essex beauty discussed her anxiety ahead of her nuptials and the possibility of televising her wedding day

Following their stint on the popular series, the couple quickly moved in together in her native Essex in August 2016, before Alex popped the question during a romantic trip to New York in December after just five months of dating.

Now in the midst of planning their nuptials, Olivia revealed that she's already feeling the pressure of organising her special day, admitting that she's on the path to becoming a bridezilla after saying yes to a 2,069 Sophia Tolli dress on the TLC reality show in May.

'Its good. Im so busy that wedding plans have taken a back seat because Ive been so busy,' the calm reality star stated. 'But Ive got one of my best friends, who is a wedding planner on the case.

Head over heels: Olivia met Alex on the 2016 series of ITV2's Love Island where 12 single contestants battled it out for a prize fund of 50k in Majorca

The dress: Now in the midst of planning their nuptials, Olivia revealed that she's already feeling the pressure of organising her special day, admitting that she's on the path to becoming a bridezilla after saying yes to a 2,069 Sophia Tolli dress on TLC's reality show in May

'Shes helping me, weve started to get into it now. Were ordering different invitation templates, we might look at the venue next week so weve started to get the ball rolling but I think its going to be one of those ones where Ill need all hands on deck.

Before adding: 'I think I might turn into Bridezella at some point, just waiting for it to happen.'

Discussing the strain wedding planning can have, she explained that she has confined in her mother as she knows she'll get overwhelmed by the arduous process, like many brides.

On the case: She said: 'Its good. Im so busy that wedding plans have taken a back seat because Ive been so busy. But Ive got one of my best friends, who is a wedding planner on the case'

Waiting: Before adding: 'I think I might turn into Bridezella at some point, just waiting for it to happen' (Pictured her beau Alex)

Meltdown: She added: 'I went for dinner with my mum and we were talking about it,' she shared. 'She asked how Ill even cope with it (wedding planning) because I get such high anxiety from things that I know Im going to have a meltdown over it'

'I went for dinner with my mum and we were talking about it,' she shared. 'She asked how Ill even cope with it (wedding planning) because I get such high anxiety from things that I know Im going to have a meltdown over it.

'She said she didnt know how I was going to cope because Ill whittle down to nothing before the wedding. I do love being in control over things like that so there could potentially be a bridezilla on our hands.'

As the nation watched them fall in love on 2016's Love Island, Olivia revealed that they have been in talks to televise their wedding day, something she would 'never say never' to.

Document: As the nation watched them fall in love on 2016's Love Island, Olivia revealed that they have been in talks to televise their wedding day (Pictured with Alex on Love Island in 2016)

Interested: She admitted: 'Weve hand people come to us and ask if wed be interested, were always in the mix about it in different meetings but theres nothing been confirmed yet'

'Never say never': 'Were just waiting with what the deal is with the people that have approached us. Wed never say never'

She admitted: 'Weve hand people come to us and ask if wed be interested, were always in the mix about it in different meetings but theres nothing been confirmed yet.

'Were just waiting with what the deal is with the people that have approached us. Wed never say never.'

Away from the whirlwind of wedding chat, Olivia opened up about her Love Island co-star Emma-Jane Woodham's pregnancy - which she announced earlier in the week.

The 20-year-old beauty is currently expecting her first child with her childhood sweetheart Jordan - five months after splitting from Terry Walsh - and according to Olivia, she couldn't be happier.

Expecting: Emma-Jane Woodhams confirmed she is pregnant with her first child after reuniting with her childhood sweetheart Jordan (pictured above)

Moving on: News of the brunette beauty's pregnancy comes five months after her ex-boyfriend Terry Walsh confirmed their split

'I know we only found out on Tuesday as well,' she said. 'It was a shock to us as well. Shes really please and happy so its good to know shes happy about it. Theyre childhood sweethearts so it's quite a sweet little tale really.

'We've a girl Islanders whatsapp group where we all chat about it, Cara is in there as well so two babies on the way.'

Emma-Jane previously starred in the 2016 series of Love Island where she coupled up with tattooed Terry, bedding the hunk weeks after he also bedded Malin Andersson during the same series.

Following the series, they dated for eight months before calling time on their romance on February, with Terry announcing the split on Twitter: 'For people asking me or who it concerns me n Em have broken up. Were still friends. One chapter closes another must open.'

Weighing in: Reflecting on what Emma's ex would say about her pregnancy, Olivia shared: 'I havent talked to Terry in a really long time so I wouldnt really know what hed think about it'

Happy: She shared: 'Hes not really involved in any of that anymore, I dont know if him and Emma speak anymore so not sure. I guess hed just be happy for her. They left on quite good terms'

Reflecting on what Emma's ex would say about her pregnancy, Olivia shared: 'I havent talked to Terry in a really long time so I wouldnt really know what hed think about it.

'Hes not really involved in any of that anymore, I dont know if him and Emma speak anymore so not sure. I guess hed just be happy for her. They left on quite good terms.'

And while her pals Cara and Emma are expecting, Olivia insisted that she's too busy to think of kids just yet, but will be more than happy to babysit.

She said: 'Im so busy and always out and about, it would kind of be even impossible for me to try. I couldnt be pregnant because Im running around too much.

Success: The TV darling has seen her rise to fame overnight but while some of her former Islanders have faded into the background, Olivia has managed to carve a successful career, attaching her name to projects she believes in

New project: And now make-up fiend Olivia has teamed up with W7 Cosmetics for their Very Vegan collection - which has been fully certified by The Vegan Society

'Its nice that I have close friends having babies so I can cuddle them then give them right back. Im going to have to do so much babysitting.'

The TV darling has seen her rise to fame overnight but while some of her former Islanders have faded into the background, Olivia has managed to carve a successful career, attaching her name to projects she believes in.

And now make-up fiend Olivia has teamed up with W7 Cosmetics for their Very Vegan collection - which ranges from 6.95 to 14.95 and has been fully certified by The Vegan Society.

Adapting to their customers needs, the brand - which has never tested on animals -released their new collection which includes highlighter to an eyebrow kit and eyeshadow tin.

Helping hand: Lending her name to their new campaign, Olivia Buckland visited the Blue Cross Animal Hospital in London, which provides treatment for the pets of owners who cannot afford private vets' fees

All smiles: Following her visit, Olivia revealed she was delighted to be apart of the campaign and visit the animal hospital

Lending her name to their new campaign, Olivia Buckland visited the Blue Cross Animal Hospital in London alongside YouTube star Stephanie Lange, which provides treatment for the pets of owners who cannot afford private vets' fees.

Following her visit, Olivia revealed she was delighted to be apart of the campaign and visit the animal hospital.

'It was really nice to do things I truly believe in and I learnt a lot while I was there,' she gushed. 'When you start in the public eye, you start seeing things you never saw before and you use your platform to show it.

'Its really eye-opening and I think thats the key to being successful, stay true to yourself and do things your passionate about.'
She celebrated her 41st birthday just days ago in Paris.

But the party was over and it was business as usual on Thursday for Melissa George who was spotted touching down at Melbourne airport.

The Australian-native opted for casual-chic attire as she strolled through the airport carting a large metallic suitcase.

Back home! On Thursday, actress Melissa George (pictured) was spotted touching down in Melbourne ahead of her new movie premiere at the Melbourne International Film Festival

The former Grey's Anatomy star had travelled to her home country for the world premiere of her new movie The Butterfly Tree at the Melbourne International Film Festival on Friday.

Melissa, whose big break was playing Angel on Home And Away in the 1990s, wore blue jeans teamed with a plaid suit jacket.

Completing the look, the blonde bombshell added light brown sandals and a maroon handbag.

Casual-chic: The 41-year-old teamed jeans with a plaid suit and a maroon handbag

On Sunday, Melissa shared a picture of herself posing between two good looking Scottish bagpipe players during her birthday celebrations.

'Happy birthday to me,' she captioned the post.

Smiling gleefully, the stunner posed with her hands in the pockets of the musicians.

'Happy birthday to me': Melissa George celebrated turning 41 by posting an image of herself smiling gleefully as she posed with her hands in the pockets of bagpipe players

Bagpipe dreams: In another video the mother-of-two revealed the Scottish men had serenaded her with their pipes

In another video, the mother to sons Sola, one, and Raphael, three, revealed that the two men had serenaded her with their pipes .

'When you are in Paris but two Scottish lads walk by and play the bag pipes for your birthday,' she wrote alongside the footage.

Earlier in the year, Melissa revealed on Seven's Sunday Night that she had been violently attacked by her former partner Jean David Blac, 49, at their Paris penthouse in 2016.

She has since been embroiled in a bitter custody battle with her ex.
She's always been proud of her hourglass curves.

But Kim Kardashian's svelte physique was looking trimmer than ever as she joined her family to celebrate Kylie Jenner's 20th birthday in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

Whilst the night may have been all about her little sister, Kim, 36, ensured she'd still turn heads as she slipped into a figure-hugging purple gown for Kendrick Lamar's concert at the Staples Center.

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Dazzling: Kim Kardashian's svelte physique was looking trimmer than ever as she joined her family to celebrate Kylie Jenner's 20th birthday in Los Angeles on Wednesday

Featuring a scooping neckline, the glittering gown offered a look at her ample cleavage, whilst it cinched in at her slender waist and skimmed over her famously bodacious behind.

Ensuring all eyes would be on her fabulous figure, Kim opted for a neutral make-up palette that highlighted her flawless features.

She finished off the look by styling her raven locks in a slick centre parting that framed her pretty face.

Chest a glimpse! Whilst the night may have been all about her little sister, Kim, 36, ensured she'd still turn heads in a tight gown for Kendrick Lamar's concert at the Staples Center

Family fun: Kim (pictured with sisters Khloe, Kendall and Kylie) wore a gown with a scooping neckline that offered a look at her ample cleavage, whilst it cinched in at her slender waist

Kim's tiny figure comes amid reports she is expecting her third child with Kanye West - this time through a surrogate.

Following reports that the pair would pay $113,850 (87,228) for a surrogacy deal, UsWeekly have alleged they have now hired a surrogate who is 'three months pregnant'.

Kim - who suffered with life threatening placenta accreta during her first two pregnancies - is said to have begun searching for a surrogate in June and was referred 'by an agency'.

Natural beauty: Ensuring all eyes would be on her fabulous figure, Kim opted for a neutral make-up palette that highlighted her flawless features

Proud new parents to be? Kim's tiny figure comes amid reports she is expecting her third child with Kanye West - this time through a surrogate

Kim's outing came as Kylie Jenner officially kicked off her 20th birthday festivities, attending Kendrick Lamar's concert for the third time in a week.

As well as by Kim, the birthday girl was joined backstage at Staples Center by her momager Kris, big sister Kendall, and half-sister Khloe Kardashian.

The Lip Kit mogul - who will officially turn 20 on Thursday - got an affectionate hug from her new rapper flame, Travis Scott, who opened for The Damn Tour's three-night stand in LA alongside D.R.A.M.

Birthday girl: Kim's outing came as Kylie Jenner (pictured with Kendall) officially kicked off her 20th birthday festivities, attending Kendrick Lamar's concert for the third time in a week

Capturing much of the action was 33-year-old Khloe, who will celebrate her first anniversary with Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson next month.

For her special night, Kylie dressed down in a white tank mini-dress beneath a matching hoodie and sneakers selected by stylist Jill Jacobs.

The Keeping Up with the Kardashians stunner - whose BFF Jordyn Woods never left her side - also sported waist-length hair extensions by Tokyo Stylez as she treated herself to a bag of Dippin' Dots.

Though her sweet choice certainly wasn't reflective of the glamour inside her bash, as Snapchat posts revealed that there was also an ice sculpture of Kylie's hourglass figure, which her included her famous derriere.

PDA: The Lip Kit mogul got an affectionate hug from her new rapper flame, Travis Scott, who opened for The Damn Tour's three-night stand in LA alongside D.R.A.M.

'20!' Kylie Jenner officially kicked off her 20th birthday festivities Wednesday night at the Kendrick Lamar concert in downtown Los Angeles

Smooch: Capturing much of the action was 33-year-old Khloe, who will celebrate her first anniversary with Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson next month

Gaining entry: The Keeping Up with the Kardashians stunner - whose BFF Jordyn Woods never left her side - also sported waist-length hair extensions by Tokyo Stylez

Also spotted heading inside the venue was the Jenners' pal Hailey Baldwin rocking Daisy Dukes and thigh-high boots.

Kylie previously spoke about their tight friendship in Sunday's Life of Kylie premiere, announcing: 'I see Kendall, Bella [Hadid], and Hailey - they're out here every day, they just put their outfits together, they're made for this.

'I just feel like this fame thing is going to come to an end sooner than we think. I just don't know who I'm doing it for. Sometimes I wish I can do what they do. But that's not me.'

Leggy: Also spotted heading inside the venue was the Jenners' fellow nepotistically-privileged pal Hailey Baldwin rocking Daisy Dukes and thigh-high boots

The Calabasas native said on Sunday's Life of Kylie premiere: 'I see Kendall, Bella [Hadid], and Hailey - they're out here every day, they just put their outfits together, they're made for this'

The raven-haired socialite added: 'I just feel like this fame thing is going to come to an end sooner than we think. I just don't know who I'm doing it for. Sometimes I wish I can do what they do. But that's not me'

Earlier on Wednesday, Kylie - who who boasts 138.7M social media followers - shared Instagrams of herself lounging poolside in a nude string bikini while visiting Kris' Hidden Hills mansion.

The sultry snaps only highlighted how much the selfie enthusiast's appearance has dramatically changed since she was a Sierra Canyon School cheerleader back in 2012.

Kylie has admitted to having artificially-plumping lip injections from cosmetic dermatologist Dr. Simon Ourian at his Beverly Hills clinic Epione.

Babe: Earlier on Wednesday, Kylie shared Instagrams of herself lounging poolside in a nude string bikini while visiting Kris' Hidden Hills mansion

Suspicious: But the sultry snaps only highlighted how much the selfie enthusiast's appearance has dramatically changed since she was a Sierra Canyon School cheerleader back in 2012

Transformed: Jenner has only ever (reluctantly) admitted to having artificially-plumping lip injections from cosmetic dermatologist Dr. Simon Ourian at his Beverly Hills clinic Epione

The star has since gone on to launch her own cosmetics line.

According to Women's Wear Daily, the Time of the Twins author's company Kylie Cosmetics has amassed $420M in retail sales and she's projected to hit $1B by 2022.

Fans can catch more of the millionaire millennial on her eight-episode spin-off Life of Kylie, which airs Sundays on E!

Kylie's family will also compete for a reality TV trophy at the fan-voted Teen Choice Awards, which airs this Sunday on Fox.

'Tomorrow's my birthday launch!' According to WWD, the Time of the Twins author's company Kylie Cosmetics has amassed $420M in retail sales and she's projected to hit $1B by 2022

It's her turn: Fans can catch more of the millionaire millennial on her eight-episode spin-off Life of Kylie, which airs Sundays on E!
They both joined the cast of TOWIE earlier this year.

And Yazmin Oukellehou, and Amber Turner, both 24, proved they'd had no trouble adjusting to the series as they turned heads filming scenes for the Marbella special in Spain on Wednesday.

Showing off their incredible figures, the stars competed in flashing the most flesh as they joined the cast for filming by the sea.

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Two of a kind: They both joined the cast of TOWIE earlier this year. And Yazmin Oukellehou (L) and Amber Turner proved they'd had no trouble adjusting to the series as they turned heads filming scenes for the Marbella special in Spain on Wednesday

Leading the way, Yazmin donned a tiny pink bikini that struggled to contain her ample bust and offered a look at her taut stomach.

She teamed the garment with matching shorts, with the lace applique trim grazing her tanned and toned thighs as she teetered along in a pair of towering gold wedges.

Wearing her glossy chestnut locks swept away from her face, she showed off her stunning features and the result of her recent nose job.

Beach babe: Leading the way, Yazmin donned a tiny pink bikini that struggled to contain her ample bust and offered a look at her taut stomach

Legs eleven! She teamed the garment with matching shorts, with the lace applique trim grazing her tanned and toned thighs as she teetered along in a pair of towering gold wedges

Brunette bomshell: Wearing her glossy chestnut locks swept away from her face, she showed off her stunning features and the result of her recent nose job

In recent weeks, she was pictured leaving a clinic in Turkey covered in bandages following cosmetic surgery.

'So the cat is finally out of the bag,' Yazmin posted on social media last week. 'I can confirm that I had a rhinoplasty... It has only been 2 weeks and I can already see the results are going to be amazing.'

The Essex native enthused about how 'amazing' the results of her rhinoplasty were going to be after decided to get the plastic surgery following an accident which left her with a broken nose.

She added: 'I had a previous broken nose and deviated septum so surgery was the only option for me. I am so glad I did it as I was nervous at first but so happy that I can now breathe properly and that the small bump has gone.'

Glamorous gal pal: Yazmin may have looked sensational but she was vying for attention against Amber, who also looked incredible in a sexy black co-ord

Lacy lady! Showing off her impeccably toned abs, the blonde bombshell donned a black keyhole bikini that showed off her cleavage and donned sheer lace adorned trousers

Cheeky! Amber offered a look at her peachy posterior in the lace trousers

Blonde beauty: Highlighting her natural beauty, she lined her plump pout with a slick of pink lipgloss whilst her honey hued tresses were styled in big bouncy waves

Yazmin may have looked sensational but she was vying for attention against Amber, who also looked incredible in a sexy black co-ord.

Showing off her impeccably toned abs, the blonde bombshell donned a black keyhole bikini that showed off her cleavage and donned sheer lace adorned trousers.

Highlighting her natural beauty, she lined her plump pout with a slick of pink lipgloss whilst her honey hued tresses were styled in big bouncy waves that cascaded down her shoulders.

Flower power! Amber Dowding headed to the beach in a embroidered floral bikini

Looking good! The blonde bombshell paired her bikini top with a billowing black skirt

Newbies: The girls are no longer the new additions to the show, following the arrival of Georgia Kousoulou's best friends, Maddie Hooper (L) and Ruby Lacey

Pretty in pink: Maddie looked incredible in a tiny pink beach cover up that she wore over a sexy bikini and teamed with brown lace up shoe boots

The girls are no longer the new additions to the show, following the arrival of Georgia Kousoulou's best friends, Maddie Hooper and Ruby Lacey.

Lauren Pope will also feature in the series, after leaving the show in 2015.

The 34-year-old reality star looked sensational as she soaked up the rays in a vibrant pink swimsuit.

Well jel! Lauren Pope will also feature in the series, after leaving the show in 2015 and appeared in great spirits as she soaked up the sunshine on the beach

Pretty in pink: The 34-year-old reality star looked sensational as she soaked up the rays in a vibrant pink swimsuit

Chest a little! Having recently undergone a breast reduction, Lauren opted for swimwear that flattered her smaller bust

Baby got back! While Lauren's swimsuit was fairly conservative at the front, its rear was given a sexy spin with its backless finish

Finishing touches: The beauty paired the bright number with a white kaftan, which was emblazoned with a quirky black pattern and slipped her feet into gold flip flops

Ladies of luxury! The hair extensions mogul was joined on the beach by a female companion, with the pair sipping on exotic cocktails while reclining on their sun loungers

Having recently undergone a breast reduction, Lauren opted for swimwear that flattered her smaller bust.

But while the design was fairly conservative at the front, its rear was given a sexy spin with its backless finish.

She paired the bright number with a white kaftan, which was emblazoned with a quirky black pattern and slipped her feet into gold flip flops.

The TOWIE group touched down in Marbella over the weekend and are hard at work filming the latest series, which will air in September.

Chic: Chloe Sims cut a demure figure in a white vest top, which she paired with emerald green trousers

Lean in green: Chloe wore her vibrant ensemble with confidence as she sashayed into a nearby filming venue

Sipping pretty: Amber relaxed with a drink poolside as she watched the action unfold

Loving life: Amber was in high spirits as she chatted with her gal pals on the evening

Steady! Amber wobbled as she attempted to sprint over the sunloungers

Loving life: Amber seemed in great spirits as she enjoyed a cocktail whilst chatting to Yazmin

Quick dip! Mike Hassini took a break from filming to enjoy a swim in the azure sea

Loud and proud: Mike offset his toned, tanned skin in bright orange swimshorts

Outlandish: Pete Wicks donned an offbeat striped co-ord as he made his way to filming
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Pictures from the set of Home and Away in recent months have left little to the imagination when it comes to the fate of Katarina 'Kat' Chapman.

It's all-but-confirmed that Pia Miller's character, will fall for a 'mystery man' type, portrayed by Jake Ryan, before being killed by Sam Frost's as-yet unnamed villain.

Snaps released Thursday documented Kat and her unborn baby's funeral, while Jake, believed to be feeling guilt over the death, kept his distance.

SPOILER ALERT: Snaps from the set of Home and Away have documented the aftermath of Kat Chapman (Pia Miller's) funeral, showing her 'mystery' love interest (Jake Ryan), keeping his distance

The 33-year-old was seen along with the rest of the soap's main cast, who were filming the funeral near Pitt Town in Sydney's west.

But despite being spotted sharing a kiss with Kat, and being in the passenger seat when her car was run off the road, Jake played no part in the proceedings.

He stood and watched on from afar, a look of remorse and sadness painted across his face.

Later, he stood on some nearby steps, cutting a similar downtrodden, pensive figure.

A sad day for Summer Bay! It's all-but-confirmed that Pia Miller's character, will fall for the 33-year-old's character, before being killed by Sam Frost's as-yet unnamed villain

The end of an era: Pia Miller has starred as policewoman Kat Chapman on Home And Away since 2015

Instead following the rest of the cast, sporting formal-wear for the heart-breaking occasion, the tattooed hunk wore sunglasses and an unbuttoned shirt over a singlet.

Jake was spotted flaunting his acting chops with some teary close-ups, before being joined by a new blonde cast member.

The pair stood at what is almost certainly the grave of Kat and her unborn child, with the scene clearly taking place after the funeral.

Downtrodden: Opting to watch the funeral from afar, the casually-dressed love interest stood on some nearby steps, cutting a downtrodden, pensive figure

Logies alert? Jake was spotted flaunting his acting chops with some teary close-ups, before being joined by a new blonde cast member

Rest in piece: The pair stood at what is almost certainly the grave of Kat and her unborn child, with the scene clearly taking place after the funeral

Who's the dad? It's possible that Jake's character could be the father, although in recently aired episodes Pia's policewoman is dating George Mason's Martin 'Ash' Ashford.n carrying what appeared to be a children's casket

It follows directly from scenes shot earlier in the week, that saw Bachelorette alum Sam Frost make her debut with a literal bang.

Her character was witnessed running Pia Miller off the road in a fiery car crash.

Sam survived the incident, seen shooting the aftermath in a forest clearing on Tuesday.
In an interview with The Morning Show on Thursday, Kyle Sandilands confessed he's 'terrified' of his girlfriend Imogen Anthony.

But the revelation wasn't the only thing that caught the attention of viewers.

During the segment, the 46-year-old seemed to be attempting a more sleek look as he sported eyebrows that appeared to be freshly waxed.

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New look? Shock jock Kyle Sandilands (pictured) rocked noticeably thinner eyebrows during an interview on The Morning Show on Thursday

The KIIS FM shock jock's brows were noticeably thinner than his usual bushy look on the show, where he discussed his relationship with his 26-year-old girlfriend Imogen.

Kyle, who was joined by radio co-host Jackie 'O' Henderson, said that his fashion designer partner 'rules the roost'.

He also revealed he is too scared to step out of line when it comes to Imogen, explaining: 'I do exactly what she says.'

'We like doing the same sort of things, but if I say I don't want to do this, she doesn't like changing plans,' he said.

'I do exactly what she says': Kyle, who was joined by radio co-host Jackie 'O' Henderson (left) confessed in the interview that he was terrified of his girlfriend Imogen Anthony

Previously, Kyle has admitted to being to being 'lazy' in bed with his younger girlfriend.

'I just lay back there. I don't care, I don't even mind that I'm selfish,' the shock-jock revealed on KIIS FM's Kyle & Jackie O show.

He added: 'I used to put a big effort in, but now, no effort. Nothing.'

'She doesn't like changing plans': The radio star said Imogen (right) calls the shots when it comes to deciding on how the couple will spend time together

'I just lay back there': Kyle has previously admitted to being 'selfish' and 'lazy' in bed

Kyle also made headlines this week for complaining his social life was over because it felt like all of his mates are 'dead' following the recent drug arrests in Sydney.

Friends and colleagues of the radio star took to social media after he declared his 'loneliness' to mock the shock jock using the hashtag #KyleAndMe.

KIIS newsreader Brooklyn Ross was one of the people to jump on board the initiative, posting a photo which he captioned: 'Uploading a selfie with Kyle to show not ALL his friends have been arrested #KyleAndMe'.
There's been two rather flaccid 'romances' in the Celebrity Big Brother house so far this season.

And one of them, involving Sam Thompson and Amelia Lily, who is also being pursed by Chad Johnson, has sparked remarks from Sam's Made In Chelsea's co-stars.

Appearing on Lorraine on Thursday, Georgia Toffolo, Alex Mytton and Jamie Laing weighed in on the situation, that they have been watching from home.

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'He's half-werewolf!' Sam Thompson's Made In Chelsea co-stars weigh in on the CBB love triangle between him, Amelia Lily and Chad Johnson... who they think will 'eat him alive'

Triangle: Sam has become involved in a love triangle with Amelia and Chad

'I wish we could fast forward it to Sammy,' Toff said of her friend, clearly more concerned with watching what he gets up to in the house than any of the other celebs.

'Hes so energetic!' she said.

When asked about the love triangle Sam has become involved in, Jamie said of love rival Chad: 'I think Chad is half werewolf. Sam needs to be careful, he will eat Sam alive!'

The three reality stars are currently appearing in Made In Chelsea: Ibiza, which Toff said was 'very ambitious, plonking us lot on an island like Ibiza.'

Big fan: 'I wish we could fast forward it to Sammy,' Toff said of her friend, clearly more concerned with watching what he gets up to in the house than any of the other celebs

Drama: They touched on the drama that's taking place on the series, namely between Harry Baron and Jamie's girlfriend Frankie Gaff

What about Tiff? Sam is currently eyeing up Amelia, despite his off-screen romance with Tiffany Watson

Jamie said of love rival Chad: 'I think Chad is half werewolf. Sam needs to be careful, he will eat Sam alive'

Jamie added: 'It's intense and claustrophic. It's like being in a hot house.'

They touched on the drama that's taking place on the series, namely between Harry Baron and Jamie's girlfriend Frankie Gaff.

'I want to tell Harry off!' Toff said, referring to the Lothario's current tiffs with Frankie and Emily Blackwell. 'Ive always known what Harry's like. Theres something about Harry, I just dont get it!'

She also addressed the bombshell that came out on Monday's episode: that her on/off love interest Sam Prince had slept with someone else in her bed.

Candid: Toff also addressed the bombshell that came out on Monday's episode: that her on/off love interest Sam Prince had slept with someone else in her bed

Standing back: Alex added that he's been staying away from the dramatics this season, saying ' 'I have woken up and become the sensible one'

'I think Sam Prince looks up to the other boys on the show and thats when its goes wrong,' she mused, teasing Alex and Jamie. 'I have been doing the show for a while, some awful things have happened, and I've learnt that screaming and shouting wont help matters.

'I am trying to be grown up. But now Im regretting not throwing a drink in Sam Princes face!'

Alex added that he's been staying away from the dramatics this season, saying: 'I have woken up and become the sensible one!'

When asked if Spencer Matthews will ever return, Jamie dodged the question and instead revealed: 'He lives above me, my ceiling is his floor. He is always stomping around.'
She's made a shocking transformation from her sweet 2010 appearance on The X Factor as Chloe Mafia.

But Chloe, now known by the surname Khan but born Chloe Heald, appeared on This Morning on Thursday to reveal the devastating side effects her extreme plastic surgery makeover has left her with.

Revealing she has spent 100k on surgeries which include a nose job, lip enhancement, breast augmentation, liposuction, and bottom enlargement (known as Brazilian Butt Lift), the 24-year-old admitted the rhinoplasty has left her unable to smell or breath properly.

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Angry: Chloe Khan appeared on This Morning on Thursday to reveal the devastating side effects her extreme plastic surgery makeover has left her with

Speaking to Ruth Langsford and Ealmon Holmes, Chloe, who looks almost unrecognisable from her former self, said: 'I can't breathe or smell through my nose anymore'.

Explaining that she's spent an incredible 100k on overall surgery, Chloe admitted she thought she had done thorough research before committing to a new surgeon for her additional nose job- after she was unhappy with the results of her first one.

'My first nose surgery was on Harley Street, a British surgeon, conservative and minimal. He didn't want it to look freakish but I wanted it to be small. They wouldnt do what I wanted,' she said, her reason for deciding against returning to them.

Side effects: Revealing she has spent 100k on surgeries, the 24-year-old admitted the rhinoplasty has left her unable to smell or breath properly

Pre-surgery: Chloe 'Mafia', born Heald, seen before her various surgeries at her X Factor appearance in 2010 (left) and post surgery in 2017 (right). Her surgeries include a nose job, lip enhancement, breast augmentation, liposuction, and bottom enlargement

'I stalked this surgeon for two years on Instagram', she said, explaining her journey to finding her new doctor.

'He looked amazing. I looked at lots of different options, but it looked as though he was the best in the world, and he was in the Ukraine so I went there.

'I felt this guy in Ukraine would do exactly what I wanted'.

'I can't breathe or smell through my nose anymore', she said speaking to Ruth Langsford and Ealmon Holmes, dressed in a thigh-skimming white lace up dress

'I woke up during surgery,' she described, horrifically. 'It was a disaster from the get go'.

'I feel embarrassed to talk about it, and it's stupid, I wake up with nose bleeds, I can't smell perfume.. but it's a vanity thing', she admitted

But she was left more than disappointed with the results, slamming the surgeon.

'I woke up during surgery,' she described, horrifically. 'It was a disaster from the get go'.

'I have to tape it 20 hours a day with a roll of medical tape,' she revealed angrily.

'I stalked this surgeon for two years on Instagram', she said, explaining her journey to finding her new doctor

'I have to tape it 20 hours a day with a roll of medical tape,' she revealed angrily

'It looks okay because it's the morning right now, but in three hours it will look worse'.

'I feel embarrassed to talk about it, and it's stupid, I wake up with nose bleeds, I can't smell perfume.. but it's a vanity thing', she admitted.

And she plans to go for a third nose job to correct it yet again.

'I'm waiting until January and someone else will correct it for me, she said.

MailOnline has contacted Chloe's surgeon for comment.

Casual exit: She sported a black t-shirt mini dress and a mini Chanel clutch bag as she left the TV studios following her appearance

Showing off the results of her butt surgery: Chloe had fat taken from her waist, thighs and arms and injected into her bottom

And despite having copious amount of surgery, the mother-of-one is surprisingly not a fan of the procedures.

'I hate having surgery, I don't actually like it,' she admitted.

But it won't stop her having more.

'I wouldn't rule out more surgery but right now, no, don't want any', she concluded.

'I hate having surgery, I don't actually like it,' she admitted surprisingly (showing off the results of lipo on her waist and her sculpted figure)
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She's illustrious for her sensational hourglass figure and show-stopping curves.

But Salma Hayek admitted that she has never been disciplined when it comes to exercise, and is even less inclined since turning 50.

Opening up to NET-A-PORTER's digital magazine The EDIT, the Desperado star confessed she has never succumbed to the size pressures of Hollywood, though she insisted she does like to look good for her husband, French businessman Francois-Henri Pinault.

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Embracing her body: Salma Hayek admitted that she has never been disciplined when it comes to exercise, and is even less inclined since turning 50

She confessed: 'I will sometimes say, "I am 50 years old! Why do I have to look good? I already got my guy!" But then, I dont want to lose the guy, either.'

Admitting that she loves her shapely silhouette, the mother-of-one continued: 'I love the world "curvy"; it's artistic.

'A straight line can be boring. [But] I'm not going to lie to you, I would like the curve to go in instead of out in some places.'

The candid interview also saw Salma - who has been married to her husband Francois since 2009 - reveal that the chairman and CEO of luxury fashion conglomerate Kering also calls her 'electric'.

Candid: Opening up to NET-A-PORTER's The EDIT, the Desperado star confessed she has never succumbed to the size pressures of Hollywood, though she insisted she does like to look good for her husband, French businessman Francois-Henri Pinault

Confessing that her husband's love of fashion often sees him comment on her red carpet looks, Salma divulged that he also has a soft spot for her naturally curly tresses.

She explained: '[My husband] loves my curly hair. I say, "I cannot go to the event with my crazy curly hair," and he says, "But thats who you are  you are electrical. They connect you to the power and youre electric. Thats why your hair is like that".'

Though she admitted they don't always see eye to eye on her sense of style, quipping: 'I recently wore a pink wig. Naomi Campbell inspired me. My husband hated it; he said, "You are crazy".'

Wise: Salma also opens up about the unnecessary pressures women place on themselves in the candid interview

While she considers herself lucky in her own marriage, Salma also opened up about the unnecessary pressures women place on themselves in their attempts to satisfy in their jobs, marriages and even as mothers.

She affirmed: '[Women] are a lot more demanding of ourselves than men are. Its a horrible sensation  were not enough at work; were not enough for the guy whos cheating on us; were not enough for our children who always want more of us, no matter what we give.'

The Mexican-American producer also claimed that women have to do more hard work than men, protesting: 'Women work harder than men and are more demanding of themselves, yet they have the sensation they dont do enough, and therefore they are less daring about asking for a better position or salary.

'Men do a lot less, they are less demanding on themselves and their standards are lower, yet they feel entitled to ask for a raise or a promotion.'

Still smitten: The candid interview also saw Salma - who has been married to her husband Francois since 2009 - reveal that the chairman and CEO of luxury fashion conglomerate Kering also calls her 'electric'

Salma also opened up about the pitfalls of aging, revealing the worst thing hasn't been finding wrinkles, instead it's having to rely on reading glasses.

She confessed: 'The worst part of the aging process has been my eyes. Not the wrinkles  the eyes themselves.

'Im such a visual person and [now] I cannot read without depending on glasses. It has been really, really sad. The eyes, for me, thats worse than the menopause.'

While she's one of Hollywood's most beloved stars, Salma also admitted that she can sometimes turn into a 'b***ch', quipping: 'When Im unhappy, sometimes I become a b***h. Sometimes I drink a beer. It works. I also meditate. I breathe. But first, I become a b***h.

To see The EDITs full interview with Salma Hayek go to www.net-a-porter.com or download the free EDIT app at the App Store and Google Play.
She's the Australian actress currently embroiled in bitter battle with her ex-partner Jean-David Blanc over the custody of their two sons Sola, one, and Raphael, three.

And in an interview with The Project on Thursday night, Melissa George, 41, shared a heartbreaking update.

Down Under to promote her latest film The Butterfly Tree, the 41-year-old explained she couldn't bring her children with her and was dealing with the whole situation had been a nightmare.

'I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy': On Thursday, Melissa George (pictured) told The Project how hard it was to be embroiled in a bitter custody battle with her ex Jean-David Blanc

'My kids are not here, so I'm abiding by the rules right now, but it's day by day. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy,' she explained.

The Slap star was then asked how strong the desire was she to have her children in Australia with her.

She responded: 'To have my kids back here? Huge. They're Australian, so, yeah.'

'I'm abiding by the rules right now': The former Home And Away star said she was dealing with the situation 'day by day'

Family issues: Melissa (left) and Jean-David (right) have two sons together: Sola, one, and Raphael, three.

In March, the former Home And Away star tearfully told Channel Seven's Sunday Night that she was attacked by her former partner Jean-David in their Paris apartment in September last year  allegations which Jean-David has denied.

'It started with him on top of me with my arms locked above my head. I used my feet to get him off me... I wet the bed. I wet the floor,' Melissa told Sunday Night.

'I just went into a crazy moment of like, 'I'm in deep sh**.'' And so I just tried to fight for myself which made him more angry, which made me more angry.

'I used my feet to get him off me': In a tearful interview with Channel Seven's Sunday Night in March, Melissa claimed she was attacked by her former partner last September

Melissa was admitted to Cochin Hospital after presenting to a local police station with facial bruising and complaints of pain.

With the couple's relationship now in tatters, a much publicised custody battle has ensued.

The actress has previously claimed she is unable to work in France due to Visa issues and cannot work outside the country without leaving her sons behind.
He has just returned from a whirlwind '48 hour' trip to Iran, where he spent '50,000 on a total face revamp.'

And Rodrigo Alves, famously known as the 'Human Ken Doll', proudly displayed the results to a stunned Loose Women panel on Thursday's episode - while also listing off the further 400,000 cosmetic enhancements he has undergone.

However, his bid for perfection didn't go down too well with host Anne Diamond, who was criticised by Twitter for grilling him - with one person calling her, as well as Jayne Moore 'old bats' and asking for her to 'leave the show.'

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TV appearance: Rodrigo Alves was slammed by Anne Diamond on Loose Women as he proudly displayed the results of his 'total face revamp' following a whirlwind '48 hour' trip to Iran

Speaking enthusiastically on the show, Rodrigo revealed that he had a 'nose job ten days ago' and also a 'chin implant which came in the post.'

Ahead of his tenth rhinoplasty, he was warned by doctors that his nose could fall off if he opted for more adjustments.

But Rodrigo defied the odds as he unveiled his new nose, as well as his facial overhaul, as he took to the daytime chat-show.

While he was talking, a life-size image of him prior to his surgical endeavours was shown in the background - proving how much he has changed since.

Flaunting his figure: The Human Ken Doll' proudly displayed the results to a stunned Loose Women panel on Thursday's episode - while also listing off the further 400,000 cosmetic enhancements he has undergone

Not impressed: However, his bid for perfection didn't go down too well with host Anne Diamond, who was criticised by many Twitter for grilling him - with one person calling her, as well as Jayne Moore 'old bats' and asking for her to 'leave the show'

'Why are you doing this to yourself?': The broadcaster was clearly unimpressed by Rodrigo's look

'Old bats': Viewers flocked to Twitter with their opinions on Anne and Jayne interviewing Rodrigo

Revealing why he chose Iran to continue his cosmetic enhancements, he revealed: 'It's the number one country for the rhinoplasty.'

However his enthusiasm wasn't reciprocated by Anne Diamond and Jayne Moore who continued to question his numerous surgeries.

Anne in particular seemed horrified as she asked him: 'Why are you doing this to yourself? before claiming: 'You won't look like that when you're older!'

Viewers flocked to Twitter with their opinions on Anne and Jayne interviewing Rodrigo:

'Why do those two old bats think they have the right to patronise him? If he's happy and it's not hurting anyone, leave him be!'

Another continued the conversation: 'Totally agree with you. Anne was unnecessarily mocking him. She should be more professional.'

Updates: Speaking enthusiastically on the show, Rodrigo revealed that he had a 'nose job ten days ago' and also a 'chin implant which came in the post'

Ahead of his tenth rhinoplasty, he was warned by doctors that his nose could fall off if he opted for adjustments

Spotlight: Ahead of his appearance on the show, Rodrigo happily posed for cameras to flaunt his sensational transformation (Pictured R in 2015)

It was then noted: 'She seems to do that with many of the guests they have on. She's very rude.'

It was also echoed: 'I don't like Anne Diamond either, never have. I wish she'd leave the show.'

However, Rodrigo seemed oblivious to the criticism as he got up on his feet and modelled his new physique.

He also talked through his major transformation with a life-size cut-out of himself - which was labelled with price tags on various parts of his body.

Once upon a time: While he was talking, a life-size image of him prior to his surgical endeavours was shown in the background - proving how much he has changed since

Work it! During the show, Rodrigo flaunted his new batch of surgeries in his fitted grey three-piece suit, cream shirt and navy tie

Revealing why he chose the country to continue his cosmetic enhancements, he revealed: 'Iran is popular and the number one country for the rhinoplasty'

It seems like Rodrigo's quest for perfection may stem from his school days where he was bullied as he told the panel:

'Boys would push me down the stairs and push my face into the urinal. It made my wide nose.'

'My parents didnt notice and I didnt want to bother them as they were divorcing. If they had noticed, I would have probably gone down a different path,' he admitted.

However, knowing full well he would have his fair share of haters, Rodrigo defiantly revealed: Im not crazy, I have had psychological treatment but I don't have body dysmorphia.'

His own biggest fan: Rodrigo seemed oblivious to the criticism from Anne as he confidently posed for photos, in comparison to his meeker TV appearance in 2014

Loud and proud: He also talked through his major transformation with a life-size cut-out of himself - which was labelled with price tags on various parts of his body

While Anne and Jayne didn't seem too thrilled for Rodrigo, self-confessed plastic surgery lover Katie gave him a high five as she showed her support.

This comes after he exclusively revealed to MailOnline of his plans for gastric bypass surgery after putting on three stone.

The TV personality explained that his body was unable to handle any more liposuction procedures following his fluctuating weight.

He also confessed that in the past few weeks he has soared from spending 400,000 to $450,000 on his quest for perfection.

'You won't look like that when you're older!' Anne continued to display her confused and angry emotion on her face while speaking to Rodrigo

She gets it: While Anne and Jayne didn't seem too thrilled for Rodrigo, self-confessed plastic surgery lover Katie gave him a high five as she showed her support

Describing his next body enhancement, Rodrigo revealed: 'I'm now planning a gastric bypass surgery in September since my body cant handle lipos anymore.'

Alves has undergone liposuction numerous times in the past, but now it seems like his body is unable to handle it - causing him to opt for the extreme solution of gastric bypass.

The procedure will see his stomach divided into a small upper pouch and a larger lower remnant pouch and is typically used to treat morbid obesity.

The Human Ken Doll also informed MailOnline of the fresh new set of procedures he has had done during his trip to Iran at the Parsian Beauty clinic and has claimed he's 'spent 50,000 on a total face revamp.'

'Yesterday I had a vampire face lift with derma pen and PRP (Platelet-Rich Plasma). The aim of the procedure is to clear all my scars after all the surgeries that I have had while here in Iran.

Why hello! Alves looked in high spirits ahead of his appearance as he sauntered into ITV studios with a chic black bag

'My body can't handle lipo anymore': This comes after he revealed his plans for gastric bypass surgery after putting on three stone

Procedures: In his pursuit of what he believes is a perfect look, Rodrigo has spent 50,000 on a 'complete face revamp' in the last two weeks

The vampire facelift has become very popular by Kim Kardashian,' he noted in a popular culture reference.

He also admitted he had his tenth nose job using the cartilage from his ear - despite being told his nose could fall off as a result of more surgical procedures.

Rodrigo has also had a chin implant to make his face 'less square' - which he revealed was an early 34th birthday to himself.

In his quest for the perfect look, Rodrigo also underwent 'eye lift' and 'scar removal from his abs' - which stemmed from the doctor using cartilage from his ribs to make his nose last year (which failed).

Lastly he also had a new set of porcelain veneers fitted after his 'teeth broke' at surgery - which has resulted in him spending 450,000 on 62 cosmetic procedures.

Quest for perfection: The surgery addict recently confessed that in the past few weeks hr soared from spending 400,000 to $450,000 on his quest for perfection

New option: Alves has undergone liposuction numerous times in the past, but now it seems like his body is unable to handle it - causing him to opt for the extreme solution of gastric bypass, which is usually reserved for the morbidly obese

Under the knife: Gastric bypass will see his stomach divided into a small upper pouch and a larger lower remnant pouch and is typically used to treat morbid obesity

Procedures: He also admitted he had his tenth nose job using the cartilage from his ear, despite being told his nose could fall off as a result of more surgical procedures - Pictured at Iran's Parsian Beauty clinic with Dr Sameh Keshavarzian

Rodrigo also revealed he has been living a champagne jet-setting lifestyle, he admits that in reality, he has been worried sick and has been over-eating to make himself feel better.

He said: 'I have been stuffing my face like crazy and I've gained more weight than ever.

'All I want is to get this over and done with so I can focus on my new fashion collection and get in shape so that I can show off the clothes to the best of my ability.

'I hope that by September I will have full use of my nose and be able to start training in the gym and eating right.

'I have been suffering from anxiety lately which lead me to gain nearly three stone in weight and all my outfits are feeling really tight.'

Perfect shape: Rodrigo has also had a chin implant to make his face 'less square' - which he revealed was an early 34th birthday to himself
He became a household name after starring as Tyler Gage in the 2006 film Step Up.

And 11 years later, Channing Tatum showed off his dance moves once more - this time inside a convenience store.

The 37-year-old danced besides a store clerk named Beatrice at the Sunoco gas station in Statesville, North Carolina on Tuesday in a Facebook Live video.

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Time to dance: Channing Tatum showed off his dance moves once more - this time inside a convenience store

The Magic Mike star broke out his best moves during the six minute long video.

He kicked off the live video by picking up an iced coffee and his friend, who filmed the outing, grabbed a candy bar.

When he went to go pay, the clerk immediately recognized him.

She jokingly told Channing's friend to leave so she can spend time with the actor.

All the right moves: he 37-year-old danced besides the store clerk named Beatrice at the Sunco gas station in Statesville, North Carolina, as seen on his Facebook Live

'We're actually driving across the country,' he said when Beatrice asked him what they were doing in Statesville.

Another customer comes in and Beatrice says: 'You don't know who that it?'

Channing takes a seat behind her and tells the unknowing customer that he's the manager.

Beatrice says: 'And he believes you too,' adding 'he is not the manager.'

The music starts playing and Channing swivels his hips alongside Beatrice.

Wow: The music starts playing and Channing stars breaking out the moves with Beatrice

Looking good: The father of one kept it casual in a baseball cap and cargo bottoms

Channing captioned the Facebook video: 'Nothin better than a little dance party. Thank you, Beatrice s/o Sunoco Racing.'

The Magic Mike star is on his road trip to promote his film Logan Lucky.

In the movie, the father of one plays Jimmy Logan, who hatches a plan with his brother and sister to steal money from the Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina during the Coca-Cola 600 race.

Logan Lucky is set to be released on August 18, 2017.

Skilled: Channing captioned the Facebook video: 'Nothin better than a little dance party. Thank you, Beatrice s/o Sunoco Racing'

Good times: The Magic Mike star is on his road trip to promote his film Logan Lucky
He's been busy this year filming and promoting a string of blockbuster movies.

And aged 55, Tom Cruise shows no sign of slowing down after being spotted having another helicopter lesson in London on Wednesday.

The Hollywood action man looked cheerful as he disembarked the single engine Eurocopter AS350 Ecureuil - commonly know as a Squirrel and widely used by the RAF.

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Action man: Tom Cruise, 55, was pictured having another helicopter lesson in London on Wednesday ahead of filming Top Gun 2... 31 years after the original film

Dressed in relaxed clothing, the Mission Impossible star donned a wool sweater over a white t-shirt with blue jeans.

Sat in the cockpit holding the pilot controls, the helicopter landed safely although it is not clear who was flying the chopper.

Rushing out to greet the air traffic controllers, Tom's pearly whites were on full display while his muscular frame carried him across the tarmac.

Donning a pair of all black Nike trainers, Tom dashed across the landing pad after another fun day's flying practice.

Touchdown: Donning a pair of all black Nike trainers, Tom dashed across the landing pad preparing for another day's filming preparation

Tom is facing a busy schedule, having confirmed the Top Gun sequel in May, when he was promoting The Mummy.

Filming is believed to be taking place later this year and it is slated for release in 2019.

Action hero Tom is the only actor who has been confirmed for the movie sequel and production staff are remaining tight-lipped about the plot of the new film.

Career-maker: Top Gun's success 31 years ago helped solidify Cruise's star some three years after his breakout role in Risky Business

Air traffic control: Rushing out to greet the air traffic controllers, Tom's pearly whites were on full display while his muscular frame carried him across the tarmac

Practice makes perfect: Sat in the cockpit holding the pilot controls, the helicopter landed safely although it is not clear who was steering the helicopter

He was spotted preparing to film the movie's long-awaited sequel to the Eighties cult classic.

The Hollywood star has been learning to fly the helicopter in training for the role alongside his famous fighter jet position.

The action movie star wore his hair closely cropped and looked in a hurry following his flight practice.

Top Gun's success 31 years ago helped solidify Cruise's star some three years after his breakout role in Risky Business.

Starring as the cocky Maverick, alongside his wingman Goose - played by Anthony Edwards - the star became a Hollywood sex symbol as the fast talking, faster flying fighter pilot.

Hollywood smile: Tom is facing a busy schedule, having confirmed the Top Gun sequel in May, when he was promoting The Mummy

It looked like the crew were ready for anything to happen as Tom also passed an ambulance en route to the flying machine.

When the actor reached the helicopter he shook hands with the men who would be helping him fly the vehicle.

While one man held the doors open for him, Tom chatted to the group and motioned with his hands.

Hollywood charm: Filming is believed to be taking place later this year and it is slated for release in 2019

All smiles: Action hero Tom is the only actor who has been confirmed for the movie sequel and production staff are remaining tight-lipped about the plot of the new film

The long-awaited sequel to 1986's action film Top Gun will be called Top Gun: Maverick.

'I didnt want a number, you know what I mean?' the 54-year-old told Access Hollywood while in London on the promotional trail for his current summer thriller, The Mummy. 'You don't need a number.'

The A-list stalwart hyped the film in saying, 'We're going to have the same tone we did in the first one ... aviators are back, the need for speed.

'Were going to have big, fast machines. Its going to be a competition film, like the first one - its going to be in the same vein as the first one, but a progression for Maverick.'

Looking trim: The action movie star wore his hair closely cropped and looked in a hurry to get to the helicopter

Cruise played coy when asked about who would be co-starring with him in the sequel, as the original featured Val Kilmer, Kelly McGillis and Anthony Edwards, with Tim Robbins and Meg Ryan in the extended cast.

The new Top Gun film has even got the seal of approval from Val Kilmer, who played Tom 'Iceman' Kazanski in the military movie.

In a Reddit AMA, the actor wrote: 'They are being understandably quiet about the script, but I am sure it's going to hit every note it's supposed to after all these years!'

Val's character in the original film was Maverick's rival, but the pair eventually learned to work together.
She missed her little sister Kylie Jenner's 20th birthday celebration as she enjoys a sun-soaked Egyptian vacation with her toyboy beau.

But Kourtney Kardashian didn't look as though she was missing home too much as she posted a series of smouldering snaps and Snapchat videos from the couple's dream break.

Posing in a barely-there black bikini and khaki hotpants, the reality star, 38, seemed to be having a blast as she enjoyed her break with her man Younes Bendjima, 23.

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Beach body ready! Kourtney Kardashian, 38, posed in a barely-there black bikini as she continues to enjoy her Egyptian getaway with toyboy beau Younes Bendjima, 23

Hello, gorgeous! Enjoying the view, the mother-of-three posted a shot of her boyfriend's sculpted torso as the couple relaxed on a luxury yacht

Enjoying the view, the mother-of-three posted a shot of her boyfriend's sculpted torso as the couple relaxed on a luxury yacht.

Kourtney also uploaded a video of herself lounging about on the same vessel, arcing up one of her toned legs as the wind flung her hair round.

Showing off her cleavage and his chiseled chest, another selfie showed the pair strolling across a tiled floor as they headed out to dinner.

But aside from their beach days, the couple have been enjoying the more cultural side of Egypt too.

Taking in the vista! Kourtney missed her little sister Kylie Jenner's 20th birthday celebration as she enjoys a sun-soaked Egyptian vacation with her toyboy beau

Relaxation! The reality star also uploaded a brief video that Thursday of herself lounging about on the same vessel, arcing up one of her toned legs as the wind flung her hair round

Side by side! Showing off her cleavage and his chiseled chest, another selfie showed the pair strolling across a tiled floor as they headed out to dinner

Let me take a selfie! Kourtney posed in bikini bottoms and a tie-up top as she snapped away in front of the mirror for another selfie

Kourtney and Younes have been joined by pals on the trip, including Command PR owner and Kardashian family friend Simon Huck.

Simon posted an Instagram photo on Wednesday of himself and Kourtney standing in front of the iconic Sphinx of Giza.

Of course, being in Giza, they couldn't miss out on posing in front of the Great Pyramids as well.

Smiling ear to ear! Kourtney seemed to be having a fabulous time on her vacation

Iconic! The couple have been joined by pals on the trip, including Command PR owner and Kardashian family friend Simon Huck, who's posed with Kourtney in front of the Sphinx of Giza

'is on some Indiana Jones s***': Being in Giza, they couldn't miss out on posing in front of the Pyramids, which Younes has done for a photo he's posted to Instagram on Wednesday

Sextet! Another friend, Phil Riportella, posted a photo on Wednesday of himself, Kourtney, Younes, Simon and two other friends with one pyramid looming behind them

Humping along: The group went on a camel ride to see the pyramids earlier this week

Another friend, Phil Riportella, posted a photo on Wednesday of himself, Kourtney, Younes, Simon and two other friends with one pyramid looming behind them.

Meanwhile, Kourtney's younger half-sister Kylie Jenner officially kicked off her 20th birthday festivities Wednesday night as she attended Kendrick Lamar's concert for the third time in a week in downtown Los Angeles.

The birthday girl - who turned 20 on Thursday - was joined backstage at Staples Center by her momager Kris, big sister Kendall, and half-sisters Khloe Kardashian and Kim Kardashian West.

The Lip Kit mogul got an affectionate hug from her new rapper flame, Travis Scott, who opened for The Damn Tour's three-night stand in LA alongside D.R.A.M.

Growing up: Birthday girl Kylie Jenner (R) was joined at the Staples Center by her mum Kris (L), big sister Kendall (2R), and half-sisters Khloe (2L) and Kim Kardashian (M) on Wednesday

Posing with a bag of Dippin' Dots: Kylie and her 21-year-old model sibling are being sued over their $125 'Rap vs. Rock' T-shirts following Kendall's tone-deaf Pepsi commercial

Capturing much of the action was 33-year-old Khloe, who will celebrate her first anniversary with Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson next month.

For her special night, Kylie dressed down in a white tank mini-dress beneath a matching hoodie and sneakers selected by stylist Jill Jacobs.

The Keeping Up with the Kardashians stunner - whose BFF Jordyn Woods never left her side - also sported waist-length hair extensions by Tokyo Stylez as she treated herself to a bag of Dippin' Dots.

Though her sweet choice certainly wasn't reflective of the glamour inside her bash, as Snapchat posts revealed that there was also an ice sculpture of Kylie's hourglass figure, which her included her famous derriere.

PDA: The Lip Kit mogul got an affectionate hug from her new rapper flame, Travis Scott, who opened for The Damn Tour's three-night stand in LA alongside D.R.A.M.

'20!' Kylie officially kicked off her 20th birthday festivities Wednesday night at the Kendrick Lamar concert in downtown Los Angeles

Also spotted heading inside the venue was the Jenners' pal Hailey Baldwin rocking Daisy Dukes and thigh-high boots.

Kylie previously spoke about their tight friendship in Sunday's Life of Kylie premiere, announcing: 'I see Kendall, Bella [Hadid], and Hailey - they're out here every day, they just put their outfits together, they're made for this.

'I just feel like this fame thing is going to come to an end sooner than we think. I just don't know who I'm doing it for. Sometimes I wish I can do what they do. But that's not me.'

Comfort over style: For her special night, Kylie dressed down in a white tank mini-dress beneath a matching hoodie and sneakers selected by stylist Jill Jacobs

Smooch: Capturing much of the action was 33-year-old Khloe, who will celebrate her first anniversary with Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson next month

Earlier on Wednesday, Kylie - who who boasts 138.7M social media followers - shared Instagrams of herself lounging poolside in a nude string bikini while visiting Kris' Hidden Hills mansion.

The sultry snaps only highlighted how much the selfie enthusiast's appearance has dramatically changed since she was a Sierra Canyon School cheerleader back in 2012.

Kylie has admitted to having artificially-plumping lip injections from cosmetic dermatologist Dr. Simon Ourian at his Beverly Hills clinic Epione.

Babe: Earlier on Wednesday, Kylie shared Instagrams of herself lounging poolside in a nude string bikini while visiting Kris' Hidden Hills mansion

The star has since gone on to launch her own cosmetics line.

According to Women's Wear Daily, the Time of the Twins author's company Kylie Cosmetics has amassed $420 million in retail sales and she's projected to hit $1 billion by 2022.

Fans can catch more of the millionaire millennial on her eight-episode spin-off Life of Kylie, which airs Sundays on E!

Kylie's family will also compete for a reality TV trophy at the fan-voted Teen Choice Awards, which airs this Sunday on Fox.
It was critically acclaimed after its first season, which left viewers wanting more as Winston Churchill resigned as Prime Minister and Elizabeth II was accused of betraying her husband Philip.

But it seems the royal couple, played by Claire Foy and Matt Smith, are set for happier times amid the high drama of The Crown's second season.

In preview shots for the series, set for release on December 8, the Queen and her husband are seen cuddling up as they eagerly await the arrival of their fourth child Prince Edward.

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Baby on the way: It seems the royal couple, played by Claire Foy and Matt Smith (above), are set for happier times amid the high drama of The Crown's second season

Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Phillip appear to find some solace amid a turbulent 1960s London, as they happily cuddle up together in the palace, ahead of the arrival of their fourth child, Prince Edward.

With the pregnant monarch relaxing with her feet up after weeks of a taxing reign , her husband is seen affectionately holding her from behind - implying their marriage to be as strong as ever.

However a further shot hints at the strain in their marriage, with the couple poised far apart in a darkened room, with grim expressions on their faces.

Tense: However a further shot hints at the strain in their marriage, with the couple poised far apart in a darkened room - following accusations of Elizabeth's 'betrayal' to Philip

Further apart than ever: Implying a further drive between them, another still sees the monarch landing in another country, and greeting her people - with Philip stood sheepishly behind her

Elizabeth and Philip are thought to come under scrutiny from the public in season two, following claims the Queen 'betrayed' her husband - by adding a lengthy royal tour abroad to his Australia visit, to help him 'adjust' to life in her shadow.

Implying a further drive between them, another still sees the monarch landing in another country, and greeting her people - with Philip stood sheepishly behind her.

The photos come soon after the first trailer for the season was unveiled - hinting there is only more drama looming.

The exciting clip gave a hint at what's to come for the royals, as the Queen of England is heard uttering the words: 'The rumours still haven't gone away.'

'The rumours still haven't gone away': The drama looks set to escalate in trailer for The Crown season two... after star Claire Foy says 'there is not letup' for Queen Elizabeth II

Wild thing: Of her husband, she is told 'you married a wild spirit, trying to tame him is no use,' as images of Philip's royal tour following the Melbourne Olympics is show, as he watches exotic dancers perform for him on a fire-lit beach

Fans see an embittered-looking Elizabeth at the ballet as she is heard saying: 'I've learned more about humiliation in the past few weeks than I hoped I would in a lifetime.'

Of her husband, she is told 'you married a wild spirit, trying to tame him is no use,' as images of Philip's royal tour following the Melbourne Olympics is show, as he watches exotic dancers perform for him on a fire-lit beach.

'I've been Queen barely ten years and in that time I've had three prime ministers, not one has lasted the course,' Elizabeth says, referring to the events of her reign, shown across the dramatic season one.

Having returned to Britain, Philip says: 'I understand the prime minister's resignation.'

'I've learned about humiliation in the past few weeks': Fans see an embittered-looking Elizabeth at the ballet

Dramatic: It was critically acclaimed after its first season, which left viewers wanting more as Winston Churchill resigned as Prime Minister and Elizabeth II was accused of betraying her husband Philip

What's next? Netflix have released a trailer for The Crown's second season, which will be available from December 8

'It's not just the prime minister,' Elizabeth cuts across him, curtly.

He continues: 'Your mother, your sister and country; the whole relentlessness of it all, the fact it never stops, not for a minute.

'But is it not possible that among all those problems there are some of us who are there for you no matter what?'

The Queen then pauses and replies, coolly: 'If only.'

Crestfallen? Having returned to Britain, Philip says: 'I understand the prime minister's resignation.' 'It's not just the prime minister,' Elizabeth cuts across him, curtly

What went wrong? 'I've been Queen barely ten years and in that time I've had three prime ministers, not one has lasted the course,' Elizabeth says, referring to the events of her reign, shown across the dramatic season one

Michael C. Hall and Jodi Balfour also appear in the trailer, having been recruited to portray President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jackie Kennedy.

In addition, the second series also sees Matthew Goode star as Princess Margarets bohemian photographer husband, Tony Armstrong-Jones.

Implying the new character will cause huge tension among the royals, creator Peter Morgan said ahead of the series' debut: 'Tony is everything the palace isn't; seductive, dangerous, risque.'

The second season will see Queen Elizabeths marriage strained and her empire crumble under scrutiny - with her and her husband seemingly worn by the events.

Critical acclaim: The series garnered the cast and crew mass recognition by the likes of the Screen Actors' Guild, the Critics Choice and the Emmys over the past year

Back soon: Season two will start with Her Majestys Armed Forces fighting an illegal war in Egypt, and deal with Elizabeth's third Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, and his notorious scandal

Speaking to EW about the new series, actress Claire reflected: 'I think [Queen Elizabeth] starts to realise she needs to pay more attention to her personal life now that the other part of her life is going all right.

'The worlds changing faster than anyone can catch up with. There is no letup. She just keeps having to go from one crisis to another to another, and at some point, its about five crises at the same time and you have no idea how she manages to get up in the morning.'

The first series of the royal drama, which began just before Queen Elizabeth II's ascension in 1952, made its debut on Netflix last year - and was immediately met with rave reviews from fans and critics alike.

In the first installment of episodes, Matt and Claire the Queen and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh as their younger selves, between the years 1947 and 1955.

Coming up: The second season will see Queen Elizabeths marriage strained and her empire crumbles under scrutiny

Trial and tribulation: 'I think [Queen Elizabeth] starts to realize she needs to pay more attention to her personal life now that the other part of her life is going all right,' Claire said about the second season to EW

Sneak peek: The trailer also teases the appearance of Michael C Hall and Jodi Balfour as Jack and Jackie Kennedy

Netflix has invested a staggering 100 million in the royal drama, which is currently intended to have six series - making it the most expensive TV show to date.

Both the cast and crew garnered mass recognition by the likes of the Screen Actors' Guild, the Critics Choice and the Emmys in the year after its release.

Series two of The Crown started shooting last October, and is expected to begin with Her Majestys Armed Forces fighting an illegal war in Egypt, and deal with Elizabeth's third Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, and his notorious scandal.

The show is planned to have six seasons, however a vast amount of time progresses across the schedule - meaning the characters will naturally age.

It's a hit: Netflix has invested a staggering 100 million in the royal drama, which is currently intended to have six series - making it the most expensive TV show to date

Main man: Amid the exciting preview's, Matt Smith, who portrays Prince Phillip, stepped out in a sunny New York

Keeping cool: The actor appeared relaxed in bright blue jeans and a sports cap as he headed out in the city, after a busy few months filming season two of The Crown

Recasting: With the show slated to have six seasons, creator Peter Morgan recently admitted he did not want to use CGI to make the actors look older (Matt and Claire, 34 and 32, above)

Yet, show creator Peter recently confessed the use of make-up, or even CGI, to make the actors look older is not something that interests him.

'I feel that when we reach 1963-64 weve gone as far as we can go with Claire Foy without having to do silly things in terms of makeup to make her look older,' he said of the actress, who is currently 32 (Matt is 34).

Referring to what happens if a third season is commissioned - which it's likely it will be seeing as there is a six season arc planned - Peter told ScreenDaily: 'Wed probably need to think about the issue of recasting everybody and so those conversations are happening now.

'I couldnt tell you where well come out. Its a big thing to go on again. Everybody needs to look at one another and [ask] under which circumstances and what terms would we do it.'

Done his duty: Referring to what happens if a third season is commissioned, Peter admitted: 'Wed probably need to think about the issue of recasting everybody'
She recently split from her Love Island co-star Jonny Mitchell after he accused her of being unfaithful.

But Chyna Ellis made sure to show her ex what he was missing as she hit the beach in a very skimpy bikini on Thursday.

The 22-year-old flaunted her phenomenal physique in a crochet two-piece as she continued to soak up the rays in Mallorca alongside Tyne-Lexy Clarson.

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Kicking himself? Chyna Ellis made sure to show her ex Jonny Mitchell what he was missing as she hit the beach in a very skimpy bikini on Thursday

The beauty offset her tanned, toned physique in the vibrant bikini, which boasted provocative thong-style briefs.

Oozing glamour on the sands, Chyna styled her white tresses into loose waves and donned a pair of mirrored shades.

She looked in high spirits as she indulged in a game of bat and ball on the beach.

Meanwhile Tyne-Lexy, 20, opted for a swimwear style that was equally risque in a black swimsuit that flashed major underboob thanks to a large cut-out across the torso.

Sizzling: The 22-year-old flaunted her phenomenal physique in a crochet two-piece as she continued to soak up the rays in Mallorca alongside Tyne-Lexy Clarson

Chyna, who is also joined by Gabby Allen and Georgia Harrison in Mallorca, looks to be surrounding herself with her girlfriends after her short-lived romance with Jonny came crashing down.

Viewers of the Love Island Reunion episode watched in shock as the 26-year-old appeared to dump her on live TV, before claiming she cheated on him.

The Essex native has had her say in a very public Twitter spat with her former flame, venting her anger on social media on Saturday.

Declaring her innocence, the beauty revealed she was 'actually disgusted' by his behaviour and implied he was a snake by using four of the reptile emojis in a scathing tweet.

Peachy! The beauty offset her tanned, toned physique in the vibrant bikini, which boasted provocative thong-style briefs

Chyna wrote: 'So apparently I'm seeing 4 different guys at once and now I am a monster what is wrong with this guy actually disgusted!' (sic)

Earlier in the week, she wrote: 'Some people really have zero loyalties it makes me sad :(.' (sic)

But Jonny wouldn't let sleeping dogs lie as he responded a number of hours later, hitting back at his scorned lover in an explosive tweet.

Chyna, who is also joined by Gabby Allen and Georgia Harrison in Mallorca, looks to be surrounding herself with her girlfriends after her short-lived romance with Jonny came crashing down

He wrote: 'Pretty random selection of names If I was lying though. #justsaying.'

There is no love lost between the pair after Chyna branded him a 'pr**k' for brutally dumping her during the live reunion show on Sunday night.

Jonny claimed Chyna 'completely f**ked' him by sleeping with Ex On The Beach star Adam Oukhellou behind his back.

He also claimed the Essex beauty was texting Calum Best and TOWIE star Jon Clarke - and alleged that she admitted to only dating him to 'piggyback on the fame'.
Chris Pratt wrote the foreword to Anna Faris' forthcoming memoir Unqualified.

The timing of the book's release, which will hit shelves on October 24, comes soon after the couple announced the end of their eight year marriage.

The cover for the book, obtained by DailyMail.com, advertises the Jurassic Park star's foreword, which could pique readers' interest as it now serves as a memento of a happier time.

His words will live on but the marriage won't: Chris Pratt wrote the foreword to Anna Faris' forthcoming memoir Unqualified

The description of the book promises: 'Anna Faris has advice for you. And it's great advice, because she's been through it all, and she wants to tell you what she's learned.

'Her comic memoir and first book, Unqualified, will share Annas candid, sympathetic, and entertaining stories of love lost and won.'

'Part memoir, part humorous, unflinching advice from her hit podcast Anna Faris Is Unqualified, the book will reveal Annas unique take on how to navigate the bizarre, chaotic, and worthwhile adventure of finding love.'

Meanwhile, sources are now claiming that Chris' movie star status and skyrocketing fame might have contributed to the demise of the couple's eight-year marriage.

'Chris became this huge movie star and Anna wasn't getting any big jobs. She was the more famous and sexy one at the start of their relationship and then things took a turn,' a source told Us Weekly.

Competitive: Meanwhile, sources are now claiming that Chris' movie star status and skyrocketing fame might have contributed to the demise of the couple's eight-year marriage

Jealous? Friends say the work situation has reversed itself and Chris has gone on to become a major A-list star, while Anna has had a hard time finding big jobs

When the couple first started dating in 2009, Chris was just starting his stint on NBC's Parks and Recreation and had virtually no star power.

Anna, on the other hand, was starting to bonafide comedic actress with leading roles in House Bunny, Take Me Home Tonight and What's Your Number.

Friends say the situation has since reversed itself and Chris has gone on to become a major A-list star, while Anna has had a hard time finding big jobs.

The source added that the pair have always been a little competitive with each other.

'When they're in a big group, they each want to be the one telling the funniest joke,' the source told the magazine.

Ironically, Anna blamed her last divorce on the same issue.

The actress was married to actor Ben Indra, but got divorced in 2007 and blamed her career successes.

'That kind of destroyed my marriage,' she told Marie Claire in a 2011 cover story. 'The divide became too great.'

It's over: Chris and Anna reportedly split due to the actor's hectic work schedule

Anna and Chris announced their separation on Sunday evening following eight years of marriage, with other sources telling TMZ that their different family values were to blame.

A source told the site that Anna wanted to have more children, but Chris 'can't juggle a growing family with his career', which sees him shoot movies all over the world, leaving home for months at a time.

The couple share four-year-old son Jack, and were keen to stress in their split statement that they 'love him very much'.

The website reports that as well as Chris not wanting to have more children in the foreseeable future there are 'other personal reasons for the split, but the way they see family in the long-term was a big factor in their decision.'

Stuck in the middle: Following the shock announcement Jennifer Lawrence found herself in the middle of reports, as fans accused her of accusing the split

MailOnline have contacted Chris and Anna's representatives for comment.

Following the shock announcement Jennifer Lawrence also found herself in the middle of reports.

As the couple confirmed their separation, fans flocked to social media to bizarrely blame the actress, 26 - who starred in Passengers with Chris in 2016 - for the split.

Taking to Twitter, one wrote: 'I can't believe Chris Pratt and Anna Faris are splitting up this is all Jennifer Lawrence's fault.'

Proud parents: The couple share four-year-old son Jack, and were keen to stress in their split statement that they 'love him very much'

Despite there being no suggestion Jennifer had any involvement in the split, another wrote: 'Jennifer Lawrence broke up Chris Pratt's marriage lol.'

'Watch chris pratt and jennifer lawrence be a thing,' another Twitter user speculated.

Other fans were quick to recall the seemingly awkward exchange that Anna and Jennifer shared when embracing at the premiere of Passengers in December 2016.

Though the ladies hugged it out in front of photographers, Anna appeared to have a pained expression while Lawrence kept her hands claw-like instead of fully touching her co-star's wife.

Co-stars: Jennifer and Chris starred together in the 2016 sci-fi flick Passengers

Awkward? Fans were quick to recall the seemingly awkward exchange that Faris, 40, and Lawrence shared when embracing at the premiere of Passengers in December 2016

Rumors swirled in 2016 that Chris and Jennifer had hooked up while filming their sci-fi disappointment Passengers.

Though the claims were strongly denied by all parties involved, Anna opened up about how the rumors affected her in an interview in December 2016.

'It made me feel incredibly insecure,' she told Isla Fisher on her own podcast, Anna Faris Is Unqualified.

'Chris and I, we talk about this a lot,' she admitted. 'We grapple with a lot of the ideas of being a public couple.'

'I just remember feeling so hurt in a way that bothered me, because I didn't want to think of myself as somebody who could be affected by  tabloid s***.'

Saw it coming? Despite there being no suggestion Jennifer had any involvement in the split, fans flocked to social media in their droves

They married on the island of Bali two years later in July 2009, and share a four-year-old son, Jack.

'I take pride in how great my relationship is with Chris,' Anna continued.

'But having said that, of course, in this crazy world where he's off doing movies and I'm in LA raising our child, of course I'm going to feel vulnerable, like any normal human would.'

Watch this space? Fans put together the bizarre theory that Jennifer was involved in the split

Embrace: Though the ladies hugged it out in front of photographers, Anna appeared to have a pained expression while Lawrence kept her hands claw-like instead of fully touching

Pratt is now one of the most in-demand actors in Hollywood, with leading roles in Guardians Of The Galaxy, Jurassic World, The Lego Movie and The Magnificent Seven.

When asked how she deals with the rumors, Anna said 'I think it is to never respond; but she did admit 'My knee-jerk reaction was to be like 'f*ck you'.

The couple announced their split in a Facebook post on Sunday night, with Chris writing: 'Anna and I are sad to announce we are legally separating. We tried hard for a long time, and we're really disappointed.

'Our son has two parents who love him very much and for his sake we want to keep this situation as private as possible moving forward.

'We still have love for each other, will always cherish our time together and continue to have the deepest respect for one another.'

Claw-like: Jennifer kept her hands in an awkward position as she hugged her co-star's wife

The last time Pratt featured his wife on Instagram was in May when he gushed about the actress on Mother's Day.

Alongside a photo of Faris and their son, Pratt wrote: 'A big Mother's Day kiss and hug across the pond to my darling wife @annafaris and our sweet boy. I miss you both so much. I love you.'

Speaking back in late April at his Hollywood Walk of Fame star ceremony, Pratt affirmed how solid his and Faris' marriage appeared to be: 'I want to thank my wife Anna, I love you.

'You've given me so much. You gave me the greatest star in the galaxy in my little boy, I love him and I love you.

'We have bonded to make this molecule that is more important to me than air or water, and without it none of this means anything to me. With every challenge, with every day, week, month, decade, we become more bonded.

The promotion for the major films Pratt takes on also takes him around the world for weeks at a time, with Faris needing to stay in LA to shoot her sitcom, which records at Warner Brothers studios in Burbank.

It's been suggested that the split is partially down to the couple's hectic work schedules, with Faris busy with her sitcom and various other projects and Pratt taking on huge blockbuster movies.

He has spent most of this summer away in the UK and Hawaii shooting Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom; and although Faris and Jack visited him on location, Pratt's schedule would have been taxing on the family.

The promotion for the major films Pratt takes on also takes him around the world for weeks at a time, with Faris needing to stay in LA to shoot her sitcom, which records at Warner Brothers studios in Burbank.

'You make me laugh like nobody else. You're very caring, and thank you for your trust and your sacrifice - and for your dedication and your heart.

'I will do my best to protect it, and in return I will give you all of those things as well. You have my heart, my dedication, my trust.'

It's over: The couple (pictured on April 24) confirmed their shock marital split on Sunday

Due to separate career trajectories, Pratt has openly admitted they've struggled with his increasingly demanding work schedule over the last several years.

'It doesn't hurt that I'm with somebody who's been, for longer than me, super recognizable and famous and working nonstop,' Chris told BuzzFeed in December.

'It's a lot to ask somebody to understand, or expect somebody to understand, why you have to be away for so long. But she's, like, 'Dude, I get it, of course you have to go.''

And back in 2015, the Guardians of the Galaxy heartthrob defended that the globetrotting working streak would ultimately lead to 'the gravy years.'

'The way we work it out is we just take at least one moment every day to be present with one another,' Chris gushed to ET with Anna by his side.

'Whether or not we're in the same room, or the same state, or even the same country, we check in, you know?'

Jennifer has been dating director Darren Aronofsky, 48, for almost one year.

Heartbreaking: Pratt, 38, shared the news on his Facebook and Twitter accounts on Sunday
She's seven months pregnant with her first child and has just returned from a beautiful Hawaiian baby-moon.

And Heidi Montag showcased her blossoming bump in all its glory as she headed to the University of Southern California bookstore in Los Angeles with husband Spencer Pratt on Wednesday afternoon.

The reality star, 30, looked lovely as she slipped into a skintight LBD, which made the most of her changing shape.

Bumping along: Heidi Montag showcased her bump as she headed to the University of Southern California bookstore in Los Angeles with Spencer Pratt on Wednesday afternoon

The Hills starlet carried a black backpack on her shoulders and had a white iPhone in her hand as she walked through the campus.

Looking to be make-up free, Heidi wore a pair of black aviator sunglasses with her all-black ensemble.

The television personality kept comfortable in purple running shoes with hot pink socks for her afternoon of book shopping.

Heidi wore her platinum blonde locks loose around her shoulders and was radiating a pregnancy glow.

Hot mama! The reality star, 30, looked lovely as she slipped into a skintight LBD, which made the most of her changing shape

Sporting his signature blonde mustache and goatee, husband Spencer followed closely behind his pregnant wife.

The reality TV villain wore a navy t-shirt with a light blue pocket and a pair of grey shorts for his afternoon outing.

Spencer wore a long beaded necklace and matching bracelet as he carried a bright red iPhone in his right hand.

Small black sunglasses covered his eyes and he carried a bag of books as the couple strolled around the campus of his alma mater.

The happy couple celebrated their eight-year anniversary in April and had announced their pregnancy earlier that month.

Not long now: The Hills starlet carried a black backpack on her shoulders and had a white iPhone in her hand as she walked through the campus

Heidi and Spencer spent the last week enjoying the sand and sun on the Hawaiian island of Kauai for their babymoon.

She revealed in a Snapchat video late last month that she has already gained 25lbs in her pregnancy and anticipates gaining another 15lbs before she gives birth to the couple's first son.

'It was in my heart to have a boy', Heidi told US Weekly magazine. 'I thought Spencer really used to want a boy, and then a few months ago we had a conversation where he said, Lets just make sure its healthy. Boy or girl, I dont care".

'I hope to have a little girl one day, but for my first child, I really wanted a son.

'Im hoping to God that we dont just have one, but if we do, I wanted a son. I thought itd be a more natural bond for Spencer since he and his dad are so close.'
The Chattanooga Convention & Visitors Bureau has appointed Brian Murphy as the new vice president of Sales. He started at the CVB on June 26.

A welcome breakfast in his honor will be held Tuesday, Aug. 22 from 7:30-9 a.m. at the Chattanooga Convention Center, North Rotunda on the second floor (North end is closest to the Chattanooga Marriott Hotel).

Mr. Murphy brings more than 20 years of sales expertise in the hospitality industry. He was most recently the director of Sales & Marketing at the Omni Corpus Christi Hotel in Corpus Christi, Texas. Prior to that, he held sales manager positions at the Renaissance Austin, Marriott International  Texas Sales Office, and the Las Vegas Hilton.




She soared to fame in Love Island's second season, where she spent much time parading around the villa in her bikini.

And Olivia Buckland was back in her swimsuit as she posed for a Cocoa Brown by Marissa Carter tanning campaign in a sexy pink one-piece that highlighted her incredible figure.

Posing up a storm for the sultry photoshoot, the 23-year-old reality star was a vision of beauty in the snaps as she struck a series of coquettish poses.

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Swim-suits you! Olivia Buckland was back in her swimsuit as she posed for a new beauty campaign in a sexy pink one-piece that highlighted her incredible figure

High cut in design, the flesh-flashing swimsuit offered a look at her tanned and toned pins as well as her intricate leg inking, whilst she boosted her frame with a pair of glittering silver heels.

In another sexy snap, Olivia donned a cream crochet one-piece which showed off her sensational figure, whilst the scooping neckline flaunted her ample cleavage.

Wearing her golden locks slicked back in a high ponytail, the blonde bombshell opted for a neutral make-up palette that highlighted her stunning features.

Pretty in pink! Posing up a storm for the sultry photoshoot, the 23-year-old reality star was a vision of beauty in the snaps as she struck a series of coquettish poses

Legs eleven! High cut in design, the flesh-flashing swimsuit offered a look at her tanned and toned pins as well as her intricate leg inking, whilst she boosted her frame with a pair of heels

The risque snaps no doubt got her fiance Alex Bowen under the collar.

Speaking exclusively to MailOnline last month, the Essex beauty discussed her anxiety ahead of her nuptials and the possibility of televising her wedding day.

Having met on the 2016 series of ITV2's Love Island, Olivia and Alex came in second place behind friends Cara de la Hoyde and Nathan Massey - who have since broke up.

Following their stint on the popular series, the couple quickly moved in together in her native Essex in August 2016, before Alex popped the question during a romantic trip to New York in December after just five months of dating.

Chest a glimpse! In another sexy snap, Olivia donned a cream crochet one-piece which showed off her sensational figure, whilst the scooping neckline flaunted her ample cleavage

Now in the midst of planning their nuptials, Olivia revealed that she's already feeling the pressure of organising her special day, admitting that she's on the path to becoming a bridezilla after saying yes to a 2,069 Sophia Tolli dress on the TLC reality show in May.

'Its good. Im so busy that wedding plans have taken a back seat because Ive been so busy,' the calm reality star stated. 'But Ive got one of my best friends, who is a wedding planner on the case.

'Shes helping me, weve started to get into it now. Were ordering different invitation templates, we might look at the venue next week so weve started to get the ball rolling but I think its going to be one of those ones where Ill need all hands on deck.

Before adding: 'I think I might turn into Bridezella at some point, just waiting for it to happen.'

Blonde bombshell! Wearing her golden locks slicked back in a high ponytail, the blonde bombshell opted for a neutral make-up palette that highlighted her stunning features

Discussing the strain wedding planning can have, she explained that she has confined in her mother as she knows she'll get overwhelmed by the arduous process, like many brides.

'I went for dinner with my mum and we were talking about it,' she shared. 'She asked how Ill even cope with it (wedding planning) because I get such high anxiety from things that I know Im going to have a meltdown over it.

'She said she didnt know how I was going to cope because Ill whittle down to nothing before the wedding. I do love being in control over things like that so there could potentially be a bridezilla on our hands.'

Olivia Buckland is the new face of Cocoa Brown By Marissa Carter tan available at Superdrug, TESCO and Primark.

Cute couple: The risque snaps no doubt got her fiance Alex Bowen under the collar. Having met on the 2016 series of ITV2's Love Island, Olivia and Alex finished in second place
She's currently filming for the next series of TOWIE in Marbella.

And while Gemma Collins has become one of the UK's most well-known reality stars, she felt inspired to display her vocal prowess to locals in a Spanish car park, breaking out into the soundtrack from Sound Of Music.

The star, 36, flaunted her ample cleavage in a saucy fuchsia keyhole dress in the Instagram clip as she pranced around while singing The Hills Are Alive at the top of her lungs.

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Born to be a star! Gemma Collins felt inspired to display her vocal prowess to locals in a Spanish car park, breaking out into the soundtrack from Sound Of Music

Gemma famously attended the Sylvia Young Theatre School as a child and later participated in several theatre productions including musical The Sound of Music.

And her prior experience was evident as she did her best to emulate the mountaintop scene, spreading her arms wide just like Julie Andrews in the 1965 classic.

However, while Julie sang the iconic tune on lush green mountainous terrain, Gemma tried to make do in a car park - with a hint of mountains in the background.

Famous scene: The original 1965 film features Julie Andrews' singing her heart out on a lush green mountainous terrain

The car park is alive... with the sound of Gemma: However, while Julie sang the iconic tune on lush green mountainous terrain, Gemma tried to make do in a car park - with a hint of mountains in the background

She also dressed to impress in a bright flowing gown, which skimmed her curves and flaunted her busty assets with a saucy keyhole plunge.

The blonde also accessorised with a stylish straw hat as she exhibited her star status in the fun clip.

The appearance comes after she revealed her size 20 physique causes her anxiety and that she hates the pressure of filming The Only Way Is Essex scenes abroad while clad in a swimsuit.

Cheeky: She also dressed to impress in a bright flowing gown, which skimmed her curves and flaunted her busty assets with a saucy keyhole plunge

Making a statement: The blonde also accessorised with a stylish straw hat as she exhibited her star status in the fun clip

In a candid interview with Closer Magazine, the television personality said she feels 'trapped' when the cast frolic in exotic locations and sunbathes in private for fear of being stared at.

She said: 'I do get anxiety over my weight. When we film abroad it's a nightmare for me. You never see me sitting around the pool and I do miss out on a lot of fun.

'I feel like a trapped prisoner and I don't feel free to enjoy myself.'

The single star said she is desperate to settle down and have children, but thinks her weight is affecting her dating life.

'I feel trapped': The appearance comes after she revealed her size 20 physique causes her anxiety and that she hates the pressure of filming The Only Way Is Essex scenes abroad while clad in a swimsuit

'If I lost weight, I'd be more at ease with myself. I do think, 'Have I not got a boyfriend because I'm overweight? I think if I was slimmer, I'd go on more dates and be more secure in myself.'

The star who said she feels like a 'huge part' of her life is missing, voiced her hopes for the future, saying in the next five years she wants to be in Barbados, a size 14, with a handsome husband and three children.'

Back in April Gemma, who has battled fluctuating weight for years, revealed her weight loss after a fertility expert warned her that her high BMI levels would hamper her chances of conceiving

Speaking on Loose Women, the reality star vowed 'nothing will stop me' in her quest to become a mother, admitting that her best friend has now offered to be an egg donor after discovering her plight.
Rachel Riley was left red-faced after Countdown co-host Nick Hewer made a playful joke about boules on Wednesday afternoon.

The 73-year old prompted a ripple of laughter from Rachel and resident panellist Susie Dent after one of the popular shows daily conundrums was revealed to be Boules, a variation of the sedate British pastime.

Its a French game involving metal balls, you play it on rough ground, explained Susie. Its a little bit like bowls.

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Steady on: Countdown host Nick Hewer from made a playful joke about boules during Wednesday afternoon's edition of Countdown

Seizing the opportunity to poke some innuendo-laden fun at his European counterparts, Nick joked: These French codgers, they don't want to bend down to pick up their boules, so they have a magnet at the end of a piece of string.

Stifling a laugh, he added: Why exhaust yourself picking up your balls when you can do it with a magnet?'

The gag comes little more than a week after Rachel inadvertently spelled out the word "Orgasmed," much to the amusement of Susie, who added: 'Orgasmed is there for eight.'

Comedy: The 73-year old prompted a ripple of laughter from Rachel and resident panellist Susie Dent after one of the popular shows daily conundrums was revealed to be Boules, a variation of the sedate British pastime

Banter: These French codgers, they don't want to bend down to pick up their boules, so they have a magnet at the end of a piece of string,' joked Nick

Meanwhile Rachel has revealed she has no plans to marry her boyfriend Pasha Kovalev, as the pair are 'in love' and 'settled' as they are.

Talking to the Daily Express, the presenter explained she no longer feels pressure to get married, after splitting from her first husband Jamie Gilbert - who she insists is still a 'good friend'.

Explaining their decision, she told the paper: 'I am in love now. I dont feel I have to get married. I dont think I need that pressure any more.

Stifling a laugh, he added: Why exhaust yourself picking up your balls when you can do it with a magnet?'

'I dont worry about getting married or whether he is taking a long time in the morning or whether he has done the dishes,' she continued. 'That does not really bother me in the long term. I feel settled.'

The blonde also urged her fans to never give up on love, as she had never thought she would marry a man who grew up speaking a different language.

Rachel met Pasha back in 2013, when she was partnered with him on hit BBC series Strictly Come Dancing.
Jimmy Kimmel has had an emotional few months since his son Billy was born with a heart condition that will require three surgeries.

The late night host, 49, opened up to The Hollywood Reporter about his son and joked about his three-month-old's impressive accomplishments.

Jimmy revealed: 'He's doing great. Young Billy made his first visit to our office today. He's juggling. He's translating Flaubert from French into English. He's really an amazing kid. No  he smiles. That's pretty much it.'

Cracking jokes: Jimmy Kimmel jokes 3-month-old son Billy is already juggling after open heart surgery and reveals which Presidents reached out

'He's doing great. Young Billy made his first visit to our office today. He's juggling. He's translating Flaubert from French into English. He's really an amazing kid. No  he smiles. That's pretty much it,' Kimmel revealed of his three-month-old son

He continued: 'He is very interested in ceiling fans. He likes those a lot. I could get him to pay the same amount for Netflix just to watch ceiling fans.'

Jimmy explained Billy's medical situation during the opening monologue on the May 1 episode of his late-night chat show Jimmy Kimmel Live.

He told THR why he thought it was so important to talk about his son's medical situation, despite it being emotional for him.

'I knew I had to say something, and I knew that I would get emotional. It occurred to me that maybe we could make it into something positive.'

Opening up: Jimmy explained Billy's medical situation during the opening monologue of a May episode of his late-night chat show Jimmy Kimmel Live

Billy, whose mother is Jimmy's wife Molly McNearney, 'appeared to be a normal, healthy baby until about three hours after he was born' (pictured here in February while Molly was pregnant)

It turned into a political statement on health care, which is exactly what Kimmel intended.

'I had a lot of time to think at the hospital, and it just so happened that our government was deciding whether or not millions of people should have health care at that time. I think it made a big impact on American citizens,' he revealed. 'I'm not sure, based on how our so-called leaders voted, whether it made a big impact on the Senate or House.'

Billy, whose mother is Jimmy's wife Molly McNearney, 'appeared to be a normal, healthy baby until about three hours after he was born.'

While in the recovery room, 'a very attentive nurse at Cedars-Sinai Hospital - her name is Nanuzh - was checking him out and heard a murmur in his heart, which is common with newborn babies, but she also noticed he was a bit purple, which is not common.

Happy family: Jimmy also shared this photos of his family after Billy's surgery

Billy and Jimmy were taken to the neonatal ICU, where it was discovered 'Billy was born with a heart disease, something called tetralogy of Fallot with pulmonary atresia. It's hard to explain. Basically, the pulmonary valve was completely blocked, and he has a hole in the wall between the left and right sides of his heart.'

He also revealed that his son will have to go through more surgeries to fix the problem with his heart:

Billy will 'have to have another open-heart surgery in three to six months to close those holes, but they wanna wait until he's bigger, and then he'll have a third - hopefully non-invasive procedure - sometime maybe in his early teens to replace the valve he has now.'

Scary hospital: During his emotional monologue, the late night host opened up about his son's terrifying surgery and the coming operations he would need

Well wishes: Jimmy revealed President Obama sent the comedian well wishes after hearing about his son's surgery, but did not hear from President Trump

Jimmy revealed President Obama sent the comedian well wishes after hearing about his son's surgery, but did not hear from President Trump.

'[Obama] sent a very nice letter. He wished us the best and thanked us for speaking. President Clinton sent a letter. President [George W.] Bush sent a very nice letter. A number of congresspeople sent notes.'

He says he hopes to get President Trump on his show to talk about healthcare at some point.

'I would love to talk to him about this. I would like to see, as a father and a person who prides himself on speaking the truth, what he thinks.'

Molly and Jimmy also have a three-year-old daughter named Jane, and Jimmy has two sons by his ex-wife Gina Kimmel: 25-year-old Katie and 23-year-old Kevin.
Her estranged daughter Sidney Barney, 18, accused her of being 'mentally and emotionally abusive' in a Facebook post.

And on Wednesday, Real Housewives Of Orange County star Tamra Judge addressed the accusations in a now-deleted caption on a slideshow she shared to Instagram.

Tamra, 49, wrote: 'I love my daughter and I would NEVER abuse, hurt or neglect her in any way.'

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honest words: Tamra Judge addressed the accusations in a now deleted caption on a slideshow she shared to Instagram

The Bravo star penned: 'We had a great last day in Aruba. Rented a jeep and drove around the Island. Ended our night at the Brazilian steak house (we ate way to much) So many wonderful memories made. Although bittersweet,' she wrote in the now deleted Instagram caption, via Us Weekly.

Tamra continued: 'I want to say thank you to everyone that has reached out to me to see if Im okay. I/We are trying our best to enjoy our vacation.'

Adding: 'Thank you to my Mom who is not taking this very well and feels the need to defend me. I love you Mom. I love my daughter and I would NEVER abuse, hurt or neglect her in any way.'

Hurt: Tamra wrote: 'I love my daughter and I would NEVER abuse, hurt or neglect her in any way' on her Instagram; pictured: Sidney's graduation which Tamra posted online in June

She told her followers to 'not send Sidney negative messages or comments,' and asked them to 'direct them at me if you need to.'

Tamra ended it with: 'Thank you for all your love and support #godhasthisinhishands.'

The star has three children with her ex husband Simon Barney: Sidney, Sophia and Spencer.

On Monday Facebook post by her estranged daughter Sidney Barney, 18, accused the reality figure of being 'mentally and emotionally abusive.'

Sidney claimed her mother neglected her three youngest children throughout her divorce from Simon, her husband of more than 10 years.

Sidney claimed that Tamra was 'mentally and emotionally abusive.'

Staying strong: The reality star and her husband Eddie renewed their wedding vows in Aruba this Tuesday, marking four years of wedded bliss

The teen didn't hold back in her post, writing: 'She was no mother to me. This was an unhealthy environment for all of us kids and unfortunately I was the only one to recognize this and take steps to get out of that toxic environment.'

'I have explained this to her numerous times in court, in therapy, and when we would meet up that the ONLY reason I am not living with her is because she continues to do the things that pushed me out of her house.'

She continued: 'Like talking about me on the show/press/social media, doing embarrassing things on the show, lying to me and putting herself first to name a few.'

The reality star and her husband Eddie Judge renewed their wedding vows in Aruba on Tuesday, marking four years of marriage.

The duo appeared over-the-moon in pictures from their Caribbean re-commitment ceremony.

There, she wrote: 'Celebrating love with all the hate that's going on. My God bless your life because it's not always easy. But God has a plan.. a big plan.'

Her rock: The duo appeared over-the-moon in pictures from their Caribbean re-commitment ceremony, writing 'Celebrating love' with the Instagram

Harsh words: On Monday Facebook post by her estranged daughter Sidney Barney, 18, accused the reality figure of being 'mentally and emotionally abusive'

'The one thing I asked and have been asking for 4 years now has been to not talk about me because I dont want to be in the spotlight,' Sidney wrote.

'But Again breaking her promises as per usual, she puts herself, her fame, her reputation, and her bank account before me,' she finished.

This isn't a new battle for Tamra and Sidney.

In 2015, Sidney posted a strongly-worded message to her mother for airing out their family feud and subsequent estrangement for similar issues.

Family: Her daughter Sophia attended the re-comittment ceremony; pictured alongside her mother Tamra
She is an advocate for body confidence, and recently confessed she was 'repping it for the curvy girls' on TOWIE.

And Georgia Kousoulou was certainly not afraid to show her womanly figure off on Wednesday, as she put on a very cheeky display while filming the show in Marbella.

The reality star, 26, gave an eye-popping glimpse of her derriere in a tiny pair of denim hot pants as she joined her glamorous co-stars for dinner in the Spanish hot spot.

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Suns out, buns out! Georgia Kousoulou was certainly not afraid to show her womanly figure off on Wednesday, as she put on a very cheeky display while filming the show in Marbella

Cheeky: The reality star, 26, gave an eye-popping glimpse of her derriere in a tiny pair of denim hot pants as she joined her glamorous co-stars for dinner in the Spanish hot spot

The blonde beauty certainly set pulses racing in her skimpy ensemble, which showed off her sensational figure for all to see.

Georgia slipped into a saucy white bralet, which plunged at the neck and was formed of semi-sheer lace, to tease at her ample cleavage underneath.

Only upping the sex appeal however, the Essex lass paired the crop top with tiny high-waisted shorts, which rose to an eye-watering height at her rear to display her rounded derriere to all.

Bra-vo: Georgia slipped into a saucy white bralet, which plunged at the neck and was formed of semi-sheer lace, to tease at her ample cleavage underneath

Party in the back! Only upping the sex appeal, the Essex lass paired the top with high-waisted shorts, which rose to an eye-watering height at her rear to display her rounded derriere

Golden girl: Georgia accessorised with quirky feather drop earrings and a pair of rose gold Aviator shades, to glamorously tie her look together

The denims were adorned with chunky silver studs on the back pockets for a hint of glitz, which she mirrored in her sparkling diamante slider shoes.

Georgia accessorised with quirky feather drop earrings and a pair of rose gold Aviator shades, to glamorously tie her look together.

The TV star was the picture of confidence as she posed for cameras - having admitted when she first started TOWIE she wanted to 'rep it for the curvy girls'.

Co-ordinated: The denims were adorned with chunky silver studs on the back pockets for a hint of glitz, which she mirrored in her sparkling diamante slider shoes

Doing it for the girls: The TV star was the picture of confidence as she posed for cameras - having admitted when she first started TOWIE she wanted to 'rep it for the curvy girls'

The Essex beauty's fabulous figure is the result of an intensive work-out regime, previously confessing to MailOnline: ' I've been working so hard on my summer body, and do different exercises with my trainer everyday.'

Later discussing the creation of her own swimwear range, Summer Dreams by Georgia K, she added: 'It's perfect for women with curves. I've always had curves so it's great to be able to embrace them and feel comfortable in swimwear that flatters you.'

The TOWIE cast landed in the Spanish hot spot last week, to film the new series of their ITVBe reality show spin off: The Only Way Is Marbs.

Shaking things up however, the cast have been joined by some former favourites of seasons gone by, including fitness fanatic Lauren Pope and her pal Mario Falcone.

Sizzling: Her figure is the result of an intense fitness regime, confessing recently: ' I've been working so hard on my summer body, and do different exercises with my trainer everyday'

Jet-setter: The sun-soaked trip however marks yet another holiday for Georgia, who jetted to Mexico with her boyfriend Tommy Mallett, 25, last month

'The sensible ones': The pair (above), who have been together for almost three years, appear to be going from strength to strength

The sun-soaked trip however marks yet another holiday for Georgia, who jetted to Mexico with her boyfriend Tommy Mallett, 25, last month.

The pair, who have been together for almost three years, appear to be going from strength to strength, a stability that is not often found in TOWIE relationships.

Speaking on an episode of Lorraine last month, Georgia reflected on their romance: 'Were the only sensible ones that have stayed together for three years. We dont know anything different because we met on the show.

'Viewers have grown with our relationship, and theyve seen it every step of the way.'

Girls just wanna have fun: Meanwhile Georgia was joined at the dinner by her co-stars Chloe Meadows and Chloe Lewis (L-R)
She revealed it was nearly 90 degrees Fahrenheit that day.

And Ashley Graham sizzled as she frolicked about in a bright pink bikini during her trip to Jamaica on Thursday.

The 29-year-old took to social media to show off her gorgeous figure as she soaked up the sun with some pals.

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Sizzling! Ashley Graham sizzled as she frolicked about in a bright pink bikini during her getaway to Jamaica on Thursday

Ashley looked pretty glamorous with her violet tint sunglasses, gold hoop earrings, and pink shade of lipstick on.

The star was the picture of relaxation as she listened to music, enjoyed the summer weather, and hung out with friends after another long day of work.

Earlier Ashley channeled a mermaid as she participated in what looked to be a photo shoot.

Unable to move around in her black bikini top and bright blue mermaid fin, the star hopped down the stairs with the help of a pal - who later carried her back up.

Beach glam: Ashley looked pretty glamorous with her violet tint sunglasses, gold hoop earrings, and pink shade of lipstick on

Soaking up the sun! The star was the picture of relaxation as she listened to music, enjoyed the summer weather, and hung out with friends after another long day of work

But once she was set down, Ashley looked every inch the professional as she seductively posed beside the sea.

Ashley has been in Jamaica, working on a photo shoot for her new Swimsuits For All campaign lately.

The model has become the spokesperson for the full figured woman and has given a voice to a new generation of females embracing their curves.

What a catch! Ashley channeled a mermaid as she looked to be participating in a photo shoot

'Thank you Paul!' Graham expressed her gratitude for her pal as he helped her up the staircase

However, she does not enjoy the use of the term 'plus size' for models or women in general as she told The Cut.

'Its like, "Plus what?" ' she said. 'Thats something Ive always been told: "Youre not good enough because youre plus-size." '

She added, 'Im not here to ban the word from the dictionary.'
She recently turned 41, celebrating her birthday in style in Paris.

And Melissa George revealed her glowing and gorgeous visage following a TV appearance on The Project on Thursday night.

The former Home And Away star had just taken part in an emotional interview, where she opened up about her custody battle with her ex partner, Jean-David Blanc.

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Fabulous at 41: Melissa George, reveals her flawless and line-free visage following her recent birthday celebrations

Melissa brought Parisian chic to Melbourne, dressing in a sophisticated black blazer and multicolored wool split skirt.

She wore a pair of dainty black suede stilettos on her feet and clutched onto a red Hermes handbag.

She accessoried with a large pearl ring and gold hoop earrings.

The always flawless star revealed her line-free complexion, wearing a light application of foundation and a slick of her signature red lipstick for her beauty look.

Chic: Melissa brought Parisian chic to Melbourne, dressing in a sophisticated black blazer and multicolored split skirt

Her golden locks fell effortlessly around her shoulders in soft waves.

Giving the cameras a smile, Melissa hid her emotions well after taking part in a no doubt difficult interview.

The actress is currently embroiled in bitter battle over the custody of their two sons Sola, one, and Raphael, three.

In her interview with the Channel Ten program, Melissa shared a heartbreaking update.

Down Under to promote her latest film The Butterfly Tree, she explained she couldn't bring her children with her and was dealing with the whole situation had been a nightmare.

'I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy': The former Home And Away star had just taken part in an emotional interview, where she opened up about her custody battle with her ex partner Jean-David Blanc

'My kids are not here, so I'm abiding by the rules right now, but it's day by day. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy,' she explained.

The Slap star was then asked how strong the desire was she to have her children in Australia with her.

She responded: 'To have my kids back here? Huge. They're Australian, so, yeah.'

'I'm abiding by the rules right now': The former Home And Away star said she was dealing with the situation 'day by day'

Family issues: Melissa (left) and Jean-David (right) have two sons together: Sola, one, and Raphael, three

In March, the former Home And Away star tearfully told Channel Seven's Sunday Night that she was attacked by her former partner Jean-David in their Paris apartment in September last year  allegations which Jean-David has denied.

'It started with him on top of me with my arms locked above my head. I used my feet to get him off me... I wet the bed. I wet the floor,' Melissa told Sunday Night.

'I just went into a crazy moment of like, 'I'm in deep sh**.'' And so I just tried to fight for myself which made him more angry, which made me more angry.

'I used my feet to get him off me': In a tearful interview with Channel Seven's Sunday Night in March, Melissa claimed she was attacked by her former partner last September

Melissa was admitted to Cochin Hospital after presenting to a local police station with facial bruising and complaints of pain.

With the couple's relationship now in tatters, a much publicised custody battle has ensued.

The actress has previously claimed she is unable to work in France due to Visa issues and cannot work outside the country without leaving her sons behind.

Jean-David has denied the allegations.
He confirmed he had popped the question in Mykonos last month after one year of dating.

And Millie Mackintosh and Hugo Taylor looked more loved-up than ever on Wednesday night, as they enjoyed their first date night back in the UK as an engaged couple.

The Made In Chelsea stars could not take their eyes off each other as they cosied up for cameras at a rooftop screening of Breakfast at Tiffany's, held at the Bussey Building in Peckham.

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Besotted: Millie Mackintosh and Hugo Taylor looked more loved-up than ever on Wednesday night, as they enjoyed their first date night back in the UK as an engaged couple

The good-looking pair indulged in a number of sweet kisses and cuddles at the summer event, presented by Rooftop Cinema with American Airlines.

It is no wonder Hugo could not take his eyes off his wife-to-be, as she flaunted her leggy frame in one of her trademark chic ensembles.

The beauty, 28, displayed her impossibly long legs in a thigh-skimming leather mini skirt, which cinched in at her petite waist and tightly clung to her slender frame.

Cosy: The good-looking pair sweetly posed for cameras at the summer event, presented by Rooftop Cinema with American Airlines

Stunning: It is no wonder Hugo could not take his eyes off his wife-to-be, as she flaunted her leggy frame in one of her trademark chic ensembles

Going hell for leather: The beauty, 28, displayed her impossibly long legs in a thigh-skimming leather mini skirt, which cinched in at her petite waist and tightly clung to her slender frame

Adorned with grungy silver zips all over, the London native then softened her look with a feminine pink blouse, decorated with purple flowers and ruffles.

She added height to her frame with towering patent ankle boots, and let her outfit do the talking by opting against accessories, barring the huge sparkler on her left hand.

Leaving her hair in loose, tousled waves and adding minimal make-up to her face, the designer showcased her enviably glowing and sun-kissed complexion as she beamed for cameras.

What a frill: Adorned with grungy silver zips all over, the London native then softened her look with a feminine pink blouse, decorated with purple flowers and ruffles

All that glitters: She added height to her frame with patent ankle boots, and let her outfit do the talking by opting against accessories, barring the huge sparkler on her left hand

Natural beauty: Leaving her hair in loose waves and adding minimal make-up, the designer showcased her enviably glowing and sun-kissed complexion as she beamed for cameras

Meanwhile Hugo kept things more casual in a skinny jeans and cardigan combo, but maintained a summery feel with trendy dark sunglasses.

The romantic night marked Hugo and Millie's first outing in the UK since confirming their engagement.

Earlier this month, a representative of Hugo confirmed that he had popped the question to Millie during their romantic holiday in Mykonos.

I do! The romantic night marked Hugo and Millie's first UK outing since confirming they had become engaged in Mykonos - with Millie sharing a snap of her ring on Instagram (above)

They told MailOnline: 'I can confirm that Hugo and Millie did get engaged whilst they were on holiday in Greece.'

Despite not addressing the news on their social media accounts, Millie, who celebrated her birthday during the trip, had given followers a glimpse of her sparkling ring.

Dressed in a billowing white blouse and black hot pants, she angled her wedding finger towards the camera, writing: 'Big sleeve obsession'.

Moving on: The couple (pictured above with McFly's Dougie Poynter, L) went public with their romance in May 2016 - the same week Millie's divorce from Professor Green, 33, was finalised

Summer vibes: The pair seemed in good spirits as they chatted to their fellow guests on the sun-soaked roof top

The couple went public with their romance in May 2016 when they travelled to the Monaco Grand Prix for Hugo's 30th birthday - the same week that Millie's divorce from rapper ex Professor Green, 33, was finalised.

The pair had first dated in 2011 when they first appeared on Made In Chelsea, but the romance came to an abrupt end when it emerged Hugo had cheated on Millie with her friend, Rosie Fortescue.

At the time, Millie claimed she would always love Hugo, confessing in an interview: 'I loved him - those feelings dont disappear  but I just always have to remind myself why were not together.'

'I do think that, for the rest of my life, every time I see him, Ill get that feeling in my stomach. I dont think I could ever not get that butterfly feeling.'

Back on: The pair had first dated in 2011, but the romance came to an end when it emerged Hugo had cheated on Millie with her friend Rosie Fortescue

Star-studded: The al fresco bash was also attended by McFly's Dougie Poynter, in a printed bomber jacket (L) and Kaya Scodelario, in a slinky black jumpsuit (R)
She was a beloved member of the Summer Bay community.

And James Stewart's Home And Away character appeared inconsolable while filming the funeral service of Pia Miller's character on Wednesday in Sydney.

Stewart, who plays bad boy Justin Morgan, struggled to hold back the tears as he carried Katrina Chapman's coffin into the church.

Inconsolable: Home And Away bad boy Justin Morgan (played by James Stewart) couldn't control his tears as he attended the funeral for Pia Miller's character Katrina Chapman on Wednesday during filming for the soap

Dressed in a black suit, the actor teared up as he hoisted up the hearse alongside Alf Stewart (played by Ray Meagher) and two police officers.

He was later seen breaking down in tears as he stood next to Katarina's former love interest and the father of her unborn child Martin 'Ash' Ashford (played by actor George Mason).

Last week, it was rumoured that Pia's character Katarina would be killed off the soap after filming a car crash scene.

And on Wednesday, the cast were pictured looking downcast during a solemn funeral service on set in Sydney.

Two coffins were used during the scene, suggesting that both Kat and her unborn child died after the accident.

Tears: Dressed in a black suit, the actor teared up as held onto the hearse alongside Alf Stewart (played by Ray Meagher) and two police officers

The pictures follow footage that showed The Bachelorette's Sam Frost running Pia's character off the road in a dramatic car crash.

Pia appeared to play dead in a totaled car, with actor Jake Ryan in the passenger seat next to her.

Pia's character Kat emerges from the car looking scratched and bruised, but it appears her injuries were life-threatening.

A source on set previously told Daily Mail Australia that Pia's character is understood to be injured in the crash and dies.

Devastating: Last week, it was rumoured that Pia's character Katarina would be killed off the soap after filming a car crash scene

Summer Bay residents turned out for the service, waiting at the church for the hearse to arrive.

Pia's bad boy love interest and the father of her character's unborn child Martin 'Ash' Ashford was seen carrying what appeared to be a children's casket.

Carrying the small white box, he cut a distraught figure as he walked towards the cemetery.

He looked smart in a black suit, while placing his long blonde locks into a tidy bun pulled back from his face.

Stint over: Pia has starred as a policewoman on the series since 2015

It appears an officer send off for Pia's character was organised, as she has starred as a policewoman on the series since 2015.

The oak casket was adorned by a large floral arrangement.

Missing from the filming was newcomer Sam Frost, who is believed to have been involved in the fatal accident.

Sam's car was also smashed within the scenes, but will survive the ordeal for her future gig on the series.

After the funeral scene was finished, the stars were seen lightening the mood with a group hug and laughter.

Sad: Alf Stewart (played by Ray Meagher) also looked devastated in the scenes
For more than 84 years, TVA has had one mission: to serve the people of the Tennessee Valley to make their lives better. As the largest public power utility in America, TVA is doing everything possible to keep more money in customers wallets.

To find out what the utility is doing to ensure low power rates, we sat down with TVAs Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President John Thomas.

Why is keeping rates low important to TVAand the people of the Valley?

First and foremost, low rates are in TVAs statute. We are mandated by the Tennessee Valley Authority Act to keep rates as low as feasible.

From a practical sense, it is about improving the quality of life for the 9 million people of the Valley. Electricity is an essential service that everyone has to have. So, by reducing the price you pay, we can help improve quality of life.

From the business side, low power rates have a significant positive impact on economic development. Right now we have the lowest industrial electric rates among our peer utilitiesthis is a tremendous competitive advantage that makes the Valley an attractive place to do business. In the first three quarters of FY17, TVAs economic development efforts grew or retained 60,800 jobs and stimulated $6.4 billion in capital investment in the TVA service area. Keeping rates low improves our ability to attract large industries and to bring in jobshigh-paying jobswhich creates prosperity.

Has TVA been successful with this low-rate mission?

Yes. Right now two-thirds of Americans pay more for electricity than we do here in the Tennessee Valley. And we are always looking for new ways to drive energy costs even lower.

For those not familiar with how TVA operates financially, can you explain how you allocate the money consumers pay?

TVA is public power. That means every dollar you pay is invested into the power system right here in the Valley. It goes back to you.

Lets take a dollar bill and see where the money goes.



$.30 goes to fuel. It pays for things like coal, natural gas, nuclear fuel and purchased power.

$.30 goes to operations and maintenance (O&M). This is the cost of keeping our facilities staffed and operating.

$.25 goes to debt services. Think of this as the interest and principal on a home or car loan.

$.10 goes to capital investments that ensure the reliability of our assets. The new Watts Bar 2 nuclear unit and Allen and Paradise combined cycle plants are great examples of our investments to lower costs.

$.05 goes to taxes. This money is paid to eight states and is based on yearly power sales and property in that state.

What is TVA doing to keep rates low?

The simple answer is that we are driving costs out of our business at all levels. To do that, we created a 10-year long-range financial plan in 2013, and we are working the plan. The most significant success weve seen is that weve cut $800 million in O&M expenses, which is one of the two largest components in our rates. We have also improved our operational performance in part by creating more diversity in our generation portfolio. With the addition of natural gas to our generating portfolio, we have been able to reduce fuel costs by over $1 billion.

Between O&M and fuel costs, we have achieved almost $2 billion in savings.

Looking forward, does TVA have a strategy for continued low rates?

Absolutely. We are now about halfway through the 10-year financial plan. During the first five years, we focused on gaining efficiencies in our business as well as completing a very significant construction plan. Weve managed to reduce O&M expenses by $800 million and invested $16 billion in large capital projects. At this point, we are at the tail end of the construction period. We have done very well in executing the first five years. We need to continue driving more efficiencies to help reduce rates now and into the future.

As we look toward the second half of our plan, in the next five years we will focus on debt reduction. Reducing debt is important because one of the items in our rates is the debt-services costthe principal we pay on the bonds we borrow for construction and the interest we have to pay. It is no different than what you pay on your house mortgage. If we bring the debt down, we will have lower principal and interest payments. And, if we can pay off the money we borrowed faster, it will lower costs over the long run.

TVA and local power companies form a public power model. What is the value of public power?

From a financial perspective, we dont have shareholders whose dividends are paid through rates. Every penny is reinvested into the power system.

But the true value of public power goes above and beyond finances. It goes back to TVAs mission to serve the people of the Valley to make life better. Every TVA employee works each day to improve quality of life and meet our economic development goals of creating jobs and bringing capital investments to the Tennessee Valley.

We fulfill environmental stewardship activities and spend $100 million on recreational activities, such as campground and river preservation. As a result, a new study from the University of Tennessee shows that the annual value of recreation on the Tennessee River reservoir system for the region is nearly $12 billion and creates 130,000 jobs.

We are also investing $300 million in fiber optics to improve the reliability and resiliency of the transmission system. This initiative could assist with economic development opportunities for the Tennessee Valley. With a modernized fiber backbone for the transmission system, we have the potential to make fiber capacity available to help local communities and rural areas attract and retain jobs.

What the public power model provides goes far beyond the generation of electricity.

What part do TVA employees play in all this?

TVA is powered by people you knowyour family, friends and neighbors who are the heart and soul of our mission. If you work for TVA, you signed up for a job where you committed to improving the quality of life for 9 million people by keeping rates as low as feasible. That is part of the deal when you come to work. Every employee is expected to improve what they do, which impacts the efficiency of TVA overall. And the more efficiently TVA runs, the lower rates our customers pay.

Part of what our employees contribute, of course, depends on where they work. If youre working in a maintenance department at a plant, there are things you can do to make that plant run more reliably and more effectively to positively impact our fuel costs. As I mentioned earlier, we have reduced our fuel costs by nearly $1 billion. That is due to the hard work of the people in maintenance and construction crews who helped build Watt Bar 2 and our new gas plants. If you work in a corporate office, you can streamline and revamp processes for people in the field and our customers.

The bottom line: everyone at TVA has a part to play. Everyone can contribute. Were seeing those contributions paying off in a very real way, helping the Valley, and every employee can be proud of what theyve accomplished.
Alphabet, Google's parent company, reported 2016 sales of nearly $90 billion

Google's Belgian unit faces a tax probe, a report said Wednesday, after the US internet giant had to cough up hundreds of millions of euros in back taxes in Britain and Italy.

Many US and other multinational companies channel their European profits through low-tax jurisdictions such as Ireland to avoid massive bills running potentially into the billions.

Le Soir daily said that in its latest annual report, Google Belgium had informed shareholders that the authorities began an investigation last year into the company's 2014 and 2015 accounts.

"Google Belgium is negotiating with the Belgian tax authorities so as to reach an accord," the annual report reads.

The Belgian finance ministry said it could not comment on the matter as all tax matters were private, and gave no indication if the probe was routine or more serious.

For its part, Google Belgium said: "We pay all of the taxes due and comply with the tax laws in every country we operate in around the world."

"We remain committed to Belgium and helping grow the online ecosystem."

A source close to the matter said the two sides were talking about a regular audit but nothing more.

Google Belgium said in its annual report it had sales of 32 million euros ($38 million) last year, making a profit of 1.92 million euros and paying tax of 740,000 euros.

Alphabet, Google's parent company, reported 2016 sales of nearly $90 billion.

In May, Google agreed to pay 306 million euros to the Italian authorities to settle a probe into how it booked profits generated in Italy through Ireland, its European headquarters.

In contrast however, a French court ruled in July that Google did not have to pay 1.12 billion euros in back taxes because its Irish subsidiary was not tax liable in France.

Google, along with peers Apple, Facebook and Amazon have all come under pressure in Europe Union over their business and tax practices.

The European Union hit Google with a record 2.4 billion euro fine in June for abusing its dominant position in the search engine business while Apple was ordered last year to repay 13 billion euros in back taxes in Ireland.
A Palestinian man suffering from cancer lies at a hospital in Gaza City on April 6, 2017

The Palestinian Authority has dramatically reduced financial support for Gazans seeking medical care outside the blockaded Gaza Strip, WHO figures showed Wednesday, as president Mahmud Abbas seeks to squeeze the Hamas-run enclave.

The number of financial approvals from June, the most recent number available, was 80 percent lower than the monthly average for 2016, the World Health Organization said in a statement.

Just 477 Gazans were given financial approval to travel for treatment during the month, down from 1,883 in June the previous year.

The Palestinian Authority has officially denied any change in policy, but Abbas has been seeking to squeeze Gaza's rulers Hamas through a series of measures including reducing electricity payments.

"We will continue the gradual stopping of financial allocations to the Gaza Strip until Hamas commits to reconciliation," he said at the weekend.

In a statement to AFP, health ministry official in Gaza Medhat Muhesan condemned the "punitive measures".

"We need international organisations to pressure Abbas's government to stop the punitive measures against Gaza," he said.

Hamas seized Gaza from Abbas's Fatah party in 2007 and the two have been at loggerheads since.

Gazans seeking medical care outside of the strip must first apply to the Palestinian Authority for permission and financial aid, before seeking Israeli permits.

Poverty is widespread in the enclave, with unemployment at some 42 percent, while advanced medical equipment is lacking.

Last month, the United Nations's top humanitarian official in the Palestinian territories warned politicising medical care was unacceptable.

"The Palestinian Authority has been taking certain measures to at least slow access to proper health care," Robert Piper told AFP.

"These sorts of measures for us are not acceptable."
Supporters of Kenya's opposition leader Raila Odinga clashed with security forces in Kisumu, Kenya, on August 9, 2017, as they protest at the results of the national election

As he stood on a highway overpass watching riot police play a cat-and-mouse game with stick-wielding protesters in the streets of the Kenyan city Kisumu, Dickson Otieno thought to himself "not again".

Ten years ago, the city was wracked with violence after a disputed presidential vote, and there were fears it might happen again on Wednesday, not 24 hours after Kenyans voted in a general election.

"They should not do that," Otieno said of the rioters in the streets below him as they burned tyres and chanted slogans.

Despite a massive security deployment and calls for peace by Kenya's main politicians, unrest has broken out in some parts of Kenya after leading opposition politician Raila Odinga alleged that the electoral commission (IEBC) has been penetrated by computer hackers who rigged the vote against him.

Odinga is behind in the IEBC's preliminary results based on 14.6 million ballots counted, which show President Uhuru Kenyatta well on his way to winning a second term in office with 54.7 percent of the vote to Odinga's 44.8 percent.

As the sun rose on Wednesday, Odinga supporters in Kisumu, a stronghold of his on the shores of Lake Victoria, stood in angry knots on street corners, puzzling over the news.

"Something is cooking," said Steven Okeda, a 37-year-old primary school teacher. "What we are saying is, Uhuru Kenyatta has stolen the election and we will not accept that."

Kenyan police arrive to break up a protest from opposition supporters in Kisumu, western Kenya, on August 9, 2017

By late morning, the tension had boiled over in Kisumu's poor Kondele neighbourhood, and in some parts of the capital Nairobi.

Both areas were scenes of terrible violence after a disputed presidential vote in 2007 that degenerated into two months of politically motivated ethnic bloodshed and left 1,100 people dead and 600,000 displaced.

And in both cities on Wednesday, protesters chanted "No Raila, no peace", their rallying cry after the 2007 and 2013 elections which Odinga claims were stolen from him.

In Kisumu, a police helicopter hovered overhead as officers engaged in running battles with protesters, who would disperse as officers advanced, only to then re-emerge and re-group minutes later.

"If Raila is not president, we can't have peace," one protester told AFP shortly before tear gas again sent the crowd running. Later in the day police fired rubber bullets.

- 'Why are you doing this?'-

The violence was more severe in Mathare, a slum in Nairobi.

Police there said two protesters were killed.

Japheth Koome, police chief for Nairobi, said the two who were killed had tried to "attack our officers with pangas (machetes) and that's when the officers opened fire on them."

An AFP reporter saw the body of a young man who appeared to have been shot in the head lying in a narrow alley.

"You're Kenyans, why are you doing this?" protesters shouted at officers they blamed for the death as the man's mother stood nearby with her hands on her head, wailing.

All the unrest strikes Otieno as pointless. While he believes Odinga has been cheated, he sees no reason why the consequences of that should be borne by Kenyans.

"The problem is between Uhuru and Raila and should not involve the common man," he said.
Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, is under scrutiny in a federal probe into possible collusion between the Republican's campaign and Russian meddling in the 2016 US election

FBI agents seized documents in a raid on a home of former Trump campaign chief Paul Manafort last month as the explosive probe into Russia's interference in the 2016 election gains pace.

A Manafort spokesman confirmed the raid, which the Washington Post described as a pre-dawn search of Manafort's Alexandria, Virginia home just outside of Washington on July 28.

The Post said federal agents took away "documents and other materials" acting on a search warrant from independent special prosecutor Robert Mueller's investigation into possible collusion between President Donald Trump's election campaign and Russia.

"FBI agents executed a search warrant at one of Mr Manafort's residences. Mr Manafort has consistently cooperated with law enforcement and other serious inquiries and did so on this occasion as well," said Jason Maloni, a spokesman for Manafort.

The New York Times, citing a person briefed on the matter, said the agents took away tax documents and foreign banking records.

Manafort managed Trump's campaign until he was forced to resign in August amid reports that he was under investigation over millions of dollars he was allegedly paid by the pro-Russia former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych.

Manafort's private consulting business on behalf of Moscow-linked billionaire oligarchs have fueled concerns about possible collusion, and also questions about how he handled payments for his services.

He also took part in the June 9, 2016 meeting last year between Trump campaign officials, including son Donald Trump Jr. and son-in-law Jared Kushner, and a Kremlin-connected Russian lawyer on the promise of damaging information about Trump's election rival Hillary Clinton.

While the White House has downplayed the meeting as insignificant and said nothing came of it, critics said it indicated the campaigns willingness to consider cooperating with Russia.

US intelligence agencies say President Vladimir Putin ordered a covert effort to hurt Clinton's presidential effort last year and boost Trump's chances of winning.
Map of Nigeria locating an armed attack on a church in Ozubulu

Eleven worshippers gunned-down in a Nigerian church funded by a man accused by some of being a drug lord and described by others as a philanthropist may be victims of "gang war".

Just hours after the slaughter at the Sunday mass in St Philip's in the Ozubulu area of southeastern Anambra state, detectives linked the killings to local mafia-style syndicates that have influence well beyond Nigeria's shores.

"Information revealed that this is not unconnected to a kind of a 'gang war' between the children of the same village who are engaged in a warfare outside Nigeria," said Anambra state police commissioner Garba Umar, referring to South Africa.

Death threats had reportedly been made against the apparent target Aloysius Nnamdi Ikegwuonu, a wealthy young philanthropist who has been accused by some in the Nigerian media of involvement in the criminal underworld.

Such is Ikegwuonu's wealth that he had built roads and schools for the community and even appeared on advertising posters proclaiming his "humanitarian projects".

But on Sunday he was not in the church he had funded so lavishly, even donating three cars to new preachers, according to a local resident.

"The attackers went to the church where their target was supposed to be and started shooting at the crowd," said Umar, who put the death toll at 11, while witnesses say that as many as 20 parishioners could have been killed.

- 'Violence as a last resort' -

The gunman or gunmen -- the number of attackers is disputed -- then turned their weapons on Ikegwuonu's father and the congregation in frustration at failing to locate their target.

The trigger for such apparently random bloodshed may have been pulled in South Africa's sprawling commercial capital Johannesburg which is home to many thousands of Nigerians.

Speaking to the Nation newspaper, a spokesman for Ikegwuonwu denied commissioner Umar's claim that "the mayhem was as a result of a drug war".

The spokesman described allegations that Ikegwuonwu was involved in the drug trade as "evil and malicious" to the Punch newspaper.

But AFP has received testimony of a feud between him and a man called Obreche -- who is understood to be from the same state as Ikegwuonu, nicknamed Bishop.

According to the account, Obreche treated Ikegwuonu like a son and helped him with his commercial activities in Johannesburg.

But the bishop is alleged to have feared competition from Obreche and his affiliates, turning on the man and his organisation in 2013.

Anambra state governor Willie Obiano said in a statement on Monday he had been briefed that "this dangerous conflict has been going on for a while in the country where they both live" -- but did not name the men.

"We are dealing with a dangerous gang war that has spilled over to Anambra state," he said.

Valentina Pancieri, a researcher in the criminology department at the University of Cape Town, described such violence as "very, very rare".

"Nigerian syndicates don't usually compete against each other and, unlike the Italian, Russian or Mexican mafia, they use violence as a last resort because they don't want attention to be drawn to them in foreign countries," she told AFP.

Nigerian police said on Tuesday that they had made arrests in connection with the incident without disclosing the identities of those held or how many people had been detained.

"There is a high possibility that innocent members of the public are being arrested... while the real culprits possibly hide," said Emeka Umeagbalasi, an activist with campaign group Intersociety which called for outside scrutiny of the Anambra state police investigation.

In 2016, the church posted on Facebook that "no weapon formed or fashioned against Chief Aloysius Nnamdi Ikegwuonu shall ever prosper in Jesus' name".

For now, the 'Bishop' remains in play.
A Chinese rescue team prepares to search for earthquake survivors in southwest China's Sichuan province, which was struck by the 6.5-magnitude quake on Tuesday night

China on Thursday ramped up its response to an earthquake that killed 20 people and injured hundreds, sending supplies and personnel into the mountainous zone as rescuers fanned out to search for more victims.

AFP journalists in Jiuzhaigou, a popular tourist destination near the epicentre of Tuesday night's 6.5-magnitude quake, saw dozens of relief and military trucks rolling through the remote corner of Sichuan province.

Locals took refuge in blue relief tents in several makeshift camps or out on streets in towns as more than a thousand aftershocks jolted the region and landslides kept nerves on edge.

Jiuzhaigou is an area populated largely by ethnic Tibetans and Qiang people. Its scenic landscape is popular with mainly Chinese tourists who flock to its national park, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

More than 70,000 people have been evacuated from quake-hit towns and villages, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

Injured survivors of Tuesday's China earthquake sleep on the floor in a hospital. Some 431 remain injured, including 34 seriously hurt

Authorities were seeking to help more victims Thursday, with the Sichuan provincial fire department saying 16 tourists were stranded in a picturesque spot called Panda Sea.

More than 500 medical staff have been dispatched to the disaster zone, provincial official Qumushiha said at a press conference Thursday evening.

Authorities have said thousands of response personnel were sent into the area, as rescue workers search for at least four people still missing.

Yang Yongzhi was among a search team in red jumpsuits and hardhats who were forced by landslides to turn back Wednesday night after trying to press into cut-off valleys.

Nearly 60,000 people were evacuated from quake-hit towns and villages as more than 1,000 aftershocks hit the region

"We're responsible for finding if there are still people trapped over there. We're the first to go check," Yang said as the team prepared to make another attempt at reaching the isolated area.

The tremor evoked memories of a devastating 8.0-magnitude earthquake in the region in 2008 that left 87,000 people dead or missing, but the impact of Tuesday's disaster was comparatively light.

Authorities brought the death toll up to 20 on Thursday afternoon, with 431 injured, 34 seriously. A Frenchman and a Canadian woman were among those hurt.

- 'All-out efforts' -

The quake tore cracks in mountain highways and AFP journalists saw cars that had been smashed by giant falling boulders.

Following this week's 6.5-magnitude quake in China, some locals took refuge in blue relief tents in makeshift camps as menacing aftershocks and landslides kept nerves on edge

Some buildings in towns bore cracks, but few structures appeared to have sustained heavy damage.

One Jiuzhaigou hotel partially collapsed, however, and the body of a woman was pulled out of the rubble Thursday morning, provincial fire authorities said.

It was not known if others were still buried.

China quakes

So far, 200 million yuan ($30 million) in government relief funds has been allocated for quake relief, according to authorities.

The government of Aba prefecture, where Jiuzhaigou is located, issued an appeal for donations.

Authorities said 1,680 private homes across Jiuzhaigou's 17 townships suffered varying degrees of damage.

The local government said it had repaired 129 telecommunication towers or other installations that were damaged by the quake, restoring communications with much of the affected area.

Locals took refuge in blue relief tents in several makeshift camps or out on streets in towns as menacing aftershocks and landslides kept nerves on edge

President Xi Jinping had called earlier for "all-out efforts to rapidly organise relief work and rescue the injured" in the Sichuan quake.
Although marriage equality is supported by a majority of Australians, the country has not joined other nations in allowing homosexual couples the right to wed amid political bickering over how the issue should be addressed

Same-sex marriage advocates on Thursday launched legal action in Australia's highest court against a controversial government plan for a postal vote on the issue, as debate raged over whether the ballot should be boycotted.

Although marriage equality is supported by a majority of Australians, the country has not joined other nations in allowing homosexual couples the right to wed and the issue has dragged on after more than a decade of bitter political wrangling.

The opposition Labor Party, along with many gay rights campaigners, want a free parliamentary vote, with MPs not restricted by party policy.

But Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who supports marriage equality, is battling with right-wing members of his own Liberal Party, who are against legalising such unions.

His conservative government last year made an election pledge to hold a national referendum. On Wednesday the upper house Senate, where the government lacks a majority, rebuffed the poll plan for a second time, triggering a voluntary postal vote instead.

Both options are strongly opposed by gay marriage advocates, who argue that a national vote is expensive and will prove divisive, subjecting gay people and their families to hate speech.

Labor senator Penny Wong, a leading pro-gay marriage figure who has two children with her female partner, has accused the government of "handball(ing) a hard decision to the community", and also of failing to defend the LGBTI community against hate speech.

Marriage equality advocates said Canberra may also be exceeding its executive authority in holding the paper ballot, with the Public Interest Advocacy Centre Thursday commencing proceedings in the High Court to stop it.

"We will be arguing that by going ahead without the authorisation of parliament, the government is acting beyond its power," said the advocacy group's chief Jonathon Hunyor.

"These are important issues about the way that power is exercised by governments and the role of parliament in our democracy."

Under the government's plans, costing Aus$122 million (US$96 million), ballots will be sent out by the Australian Bureau of Statistics from September 12, with the outcome of the voluntary vote announced in mid-November.

If a majority of Australians vote "yes", the government would hold a free vote in parliament on the issue, with MPs not bound by party policy or the postal ballot's result.

If there is a "no" outcome, there would be no parliamentary vote.

Some supporters have argued for the public ballot to be boycotted as it would open the door to hate speech against the LGBTI community.

Former High Court judge and prominent gay marriage supporter Michael Kirby said Thursday he would shun the postal vote as it was "irregular and unscientific".

"It's just a complete political improvisation and it's completely unacceptable and it should stop," Kirby, who is gay, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

"And I feel as a citizen I'm being treated in a second-class way."

Prime Minister Turnbull on Thursday spoke out against the calls for a boycott.

"I encourage every Australian to exercise their right to vote on this matter. It's an important question," he told reporters in Canberra.
Actor Adrianne Palicki (L) and Creator/Writer/EP/Actor Seth MacFarlane of 'The Orville' speak onstage during the FOX portion of the 2017 Summer Television Critics Association Press Tour in Beverly Hills, California

As the world clamors for the first "Star Trek" series in a more than decade, a streamlined usurper with no interest in Klingons is entering the space race.

Sci-fi parody "The Orville," from Emmy award-winning Seth MacFarlane, debuts two weeks before "Star Trek Discovery" and critics have been remarking on the striking similarities.

Squint and you might think "The Orville," which debuts on Fox on September 10, was a re-run of "The Next Generation," save for the blue uniforms.

When it was presented at the Television Critics Association summer press tour in Los Angeles on Tuesday, journalists wondered aloud if Fox was worried about being sued.

"Seth's intention is to do something that clearly pays homage to 'Star Trek,' that clearly was inspired a lot by Star Trek," Fox Television Group chairman and CEO Dana Walden said.

"He (also) talks about 'The Twilight Zone,' a show that examines the human condition in the future... through little morality plays."

Walden said no one associated with "Star Trek" would think of the similarities between the two shows as "anything other than a compliment."

Set 400 years in the future, MacFarlane's series follows the exploits of the U.S.S. Orville, an exploratory ship with a crew facing the wonders and dangers of space, as well as more mundane problems.

Down on his luck after a bitter divorce, Planetary Union officer Ed Mercer, played by MacFarlane, finally gets the chance to command his own ship.

- Levity -

Determined to prove his worth, his first setback comes when the first officer assigned to his ship turns out to be his ex-wife Kelly (Adrianne Palicki).

As the new commander, Ed assembles a qualified but odd-looking crew, including Bortus, an alien from a single-sex species, Isaac, an artificial life-form from a machine society and Yaphit, a gelatinous creature.

It's not just the premise of "The Orville" that has the ring of familiarity.

Many of its crew members are "Star Trek" alumni going back decades, including veteran producer Brannon Braga, an intern on "The Next Generation" in 1990 who worked his way up to becoming a key creative figure on three of the franchise's four modern series.

Also on board are Robert Duncan McNeill, who worked on "Voyager," and Jonathan Frakes, who played bearded first officer Will Riker in "Next Generation" and is directing an episode of "Discovery" as well.

The show has its share of jokes but plays more like a dramedy than the broad comedy of Mel Brooks's "Spaceballs" (1987) suggested by the marketing.

"Because we're an hour-long show, it can't just be gag, gag, gag," says MacFarlane, an ardent Trekkie who created hit animated show "Family Guy" and directed live action comedy "Ted" (2012).

"There has to be some reality from where the comedy comes from... We really see it as a sci-fi comedic drama. We allow ourselves room for levity in ways that a traditional sci-fi show doesn't. We're trying to break new ground."

Conceived in a more innocent age than the dystopian sci-fi movies of the 2000s, the original "Star Trek" series was imbued with the optimism of its creator Gene Roddenberry.

- 'Nightmare scenario' -

MacFarlane said he wanted to make sci-fi happy and upbeat again, adding that it "can't all be 'The Hunger Games,' it cant all be the nightmare scenario."

"I'm tired of being told everything is grim and dystopian and people are going to be murdered for food," he said.

"I miss the hopeful side of science fiction. Now things are very grim."

Explaining how his show would be different from "Star Trek," he pointed to the serious, grounded tone the new "Discovery" series appears to be taking.

"I think they've chosen to go in a different direction and it's worked very well for them in recent years. What's happened is that has left open a space that has been relatively unoccupied for a while," he said.

"In a lot of ways, 'James Bond' moved into a different area than classic 'James Bond' and then 'Iron Man' came along and filled that void."

While relatively unknown, "The Orville" ought to reach a larger audience than "Discovery," as Fox is a widely-available broadcast network.

"Discovery" only goes out on the CBS All-Access streaming service after the September 24 pilot, guaranteeing a more specialized audience.

"I think there is room for two shows on a spaceship. There are more than two cop shows," said David Goodman," executive producer of "The Orville."

"I don't see us competing with them."
Ravi Karunanayake, 54, stepped down from cabinet amid questioning over his connection to an insider trading scandal at Sri Lanka's central bank after the new government was elected in January 2015

Sri Lanka's foreign minister resigned Thursday after being linked to a controversial financial trader under investigation for allegedly causing millions of dollars of losses to the island's coffers.

Ravi Karunanayake, 54, stepped down from the cabinet amid questioning over his connection to an insider trading scandal at Sri Lanka's central bank after the new government was elected in January 2015.

"I am not guilty of any of the allegations, but I am resigning my portfolio to ensure that opponents are not able to destabilise our unity government," Karunanayake said.

Karunanayake has testified before an investigation ordered by President Maithripala Sirisena into then-central bank governor Arjuna Mahendran, who was sacked last April.

Mahendran was accused of misconduct surrounding alleged favours for his son-in-law, Arjun Aloysius, a bond dealer.

At the inquiry proceedings last week, Karunanayake, who is also the deputy leader of the ruling United National Partner (UNP), admitted his family had dealings with the controversial bond dealer, but insisted he was not involved in bond dealings.

Karunanayake, who was finance minister when the scandal broke, was given the foreign ministry in a cabinet reshuffle in May.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said the decision reflected well on his government, which came to power promising to tackle corruption.

"Today, the minister (Karunanayake) has shown that this government will not interfere in the investigations," Wickremesinghe said.

"Even when he is not guilty, he has shown he is stepping down on a matter of principle."

Opposition leader R Sampanthan applauded Karunanayake for quitting, but noted that he was entitled to the presumption of innocence.
Palestinian teenager Ahmed Manasra is escorted by police at a hearing during his original trial on October 30, 2015 when he was still 13

Israel's supreme court on Thursday reduced the sentence of a Palestinian teenager who became a symbol of a wave of Israeli-Palestinian violence in 2015.

Ahmed Manasra, now 15, was sentenced to 12 years last November after being found guilty of the attempted murder of two Israelis, a 20-year-old and a 12-year-old boy, in a stabbing attack with his cousin in a Jewish settlement in annexed east Jerusalem.

The sentence was reduced to nine and a half years by the court, his lawyer Leah Tsemel told AFP.

A 180,000 shekel ($47,000, 43,000 euros) fine will remain in place, she said.

"It is not the best we wanted, but that's what we got," she said.

At the beginning of a wave of violence that began in October 2015, then 13-year-old Ahmed Manasra and his 15-year-old cousin Hassan entered the Jewish settlement neighbourhood of Pisgat Zeev and stabbed the two Israelis.

Hassan was shot dead by security forces.

The stabbings led to a propaganda war between Palestinians and Israelis, sparked by surveillance footage later released of the incident.

Israelis saw the youthful age of the attackers as proof that they had been indoctrinated by propaganda.

Footage of a bloodied Ahmed, who was hit by a car as they fled, on the ground as Israeli Jews shouted abuse at him after the attack sparked anger among Palestinians.

Since October 2015, 293 Palestinians or Arab Israelis and 47 Jewish Israelis have been killed, according to an AFP toll.

Israel says the majority of Palestinians were attackers, though others were killed at protests or during raids.
Middle Valley Church of God announces that Pastor Mitch McClure will speak on the topic, 'You've God This Covered in the 10:30 a.m. service on Sunday. This sermon is part of a sermon series designed to demonstrate the hope found in the person of Jesus Christ.

Pastor McClure will lead the congregation in a time of communion, prayer and worship on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. All are invited to participate in this event.

Each Sunday at 9:30 a.m. Sunday school classes are available for all age groupings.

Presently Senior Adult Pastor Craig Paul is leading an interactive Bible study on grief recovery each Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the administrative classroom. The Bible study will include discussion as to causes of grief and how to discover recovery. A discussion guide will be presented to all participants.

All are invited and encouraged to participate in any or all of these services.

Middle Valley Church of God is at 1703 Thrasher Pike in Hixson. For more information, please contact the church office at 843-1539.
Former US Secretary of State John Kerry and South Africa's former president Thabo Mbeki are part of the international team of observers at Kenya's elections

Foreign observers deployed to oversee Kenya's general elections called Thursday for patience while votes are counted as accusations by the opposition of rigging sparked angry protests.

Opposition candidate Raila Odinga, who is trailing behind incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta, on Wednesday claimed massive hacking of an electronic system for sending votes to a national tallying centre in Nairobi.

Former US Secretary of State John Kerry, leading an observer team from the Carter Centre, expressed confidence in the integrity of the system, introduced in a bid to avoid fraud in a country prone to post-poll violence.

"We believe the IEBC (election commission) put in place a detailed, transparent process of voting, counting, reporting and securing the vote, all of which lends significant credibility and accountability," Kerry told a press conference.

Polling officers have been sending results electronically to Nairobi, which are showing up in real time on a public website, but these need to be backed up with forms signed by them and party agents in each of the 40,883 polling stations.

Odinga, aside from claiming the electronic results are a "sham", has complained about delays in the sending through of the forms, further fuelling suspicion about manipulation.

Kerry said his observer team had witnessed party agents counting ballots together, and deciding together which were valid or not before signing off on final tallies.

"All of this provides an extensive traceable trail of agreement by many parties on the paper balloting process and therefore on the outcome," he said.

Some 400 international observers were present for Tuesday's vote, and their team leaders from the African Union, Commonwealth and European Union called for calm and restraint.

"They are working around the clock," said the EU's Marietje Schaake.

It's important they have the time to do these procedures well. We continue to urge everyone to be calm, to be resilient and to be peaceful," she added.

Ghanaian former president John Mahama, who is leading the Commonwealth delegation, also urged Kenyans to give the IEBC "proper time and space to complete the results process with necessary due diligence.

"It is vital that all political leaders maintain peace and calm, exercise patience and not stampede the process," he added.

Mahama noted that the "opening, voting, closing and counting process at polling stations were credible, transparent and inclusive".

South Africa's former president Thabo Mbeki, at the head of the African Union mission, agreed. He said the opposition's hacking complaints should be looked into by the IEBC, saying this was not the mandate of observers.
A photo taken in March 2006 and obtained from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) shows the bodies of young men believed to be Somali refugees, found on Yemen's Red Sea coastline in Shabwa province

Six migrants drowned and 13 went missing Thursday when smugglers forced 180 Ethiopian migrants off a boat bound for Yemen, a day after a similar incident left 50 dead, the International Organization for Migration said.

Survivors managed to make their way to Shabwa province, along Yemen's Arabian Sea coastline, which is now under the control of Yemeni troops backed by the United States.

An IOM spokesperson in Yemen told AFP the majority of the Ethiopian migrants appeared to be teenagers and young adults.

The war in Yemen has left over 8,300 people dead and displaced millions since March 2015, but the country continues to draw migrants from the Horn of Africa seeking work in the prosperous Gulf countries further north.

On Wednesday, human traffickers also forced more than 120 Somali and Ethiopian migrants into rough seas off Yemen to avoid arrest by local authorities, leaving at least 50 dead and 22 missing, the IOM said.

IOM teams, working with the International Committee of the Red Cross, found the bodies of 29 migrants in shallow graves along the Shabwa coast. They had been buried by survivors.

The average age of those on board was 16.

"The smugglers deliberately pushed the migrants into the waters since they feared that they would be arrested by the authorities once they reach the shore," an IOM emergency officer in Aden told AFP.

Laurent de Boeck, the IOM Yemen Chief of Mission, said the boat's crew immediately returned to Somalia to pick up more migrants to bring to Yemen on the same route.

"The suffering of migrants on this migration route is enormous. Too many young people pay smugglers with the false hope of a better future," he said.

Long the poorest Arab country, Yemen is suffering from what the United Nations has labelled the "largest humanitarian crisis in the world".

On top of years of fighting between the Saudi-backed government and Shiite Huthi rebels allied with Iran, the country is witnessing a cholera outbreak that has killed almost 2,000 people and a looming famine.

The IOM estimates some 55,000 migrants have nonetheless left the Horn of Africa for Yemen since the start of 2017, more than half of them under the age of 18.

It says the journey is particularly dangerous at this time of year due to high winds in the Indian Ocean.
Tuareg fighters of the Coordination of Movements of the Azawad (CMA) have clashed repeatedly with the pro-government Platform group despite the 2015 ceasefire

Former rebels are holding child prisoners in their stronghold city of Kidal following clashes with a rival armed group in northern Mali, the United Nations said Thursday.

Fighting between the ex-rebels of the Coordination of Movements of Azawad (CMA) and the pro-government Platform group has worsened in recent weeks in northern Mali, in repeated violation of a 2015 ceasefire.

The CMA said in late July it was holding dozens of prisoners in Kidal, a city it controls, after dismantling a base of the GATIA militia -- part of Platform -- and killing several of its fighters.

But Guillaume Ngefa, director of the human rights division of the UN mission to Mali, said Thursday that eight of those being held were children and possibly child soldiers.

And he detailed what he said were human rights abuses perpetuated by both sides.

"We were able to establish that the armed groups had minors in their ranks," Ngefa said in a statement.

"What is extremely concerning is that among the 33 people currently held prisoner by the CMA in Kidal, eight are children."

United Nations investigators had carried out seven different missions to the north and discovered evidence of mass graves and rampant rights abuses, he added.

These included "summary executions, kidnappings and torture, destruction of property and theft," he said, elaborating on Saturday's statement of the discovery of the mass graves.

The number of bodies and the cause of death of those buried remains unknown.

Ngefa also raised the possibility of compensation for the victims of the abuses. The UN would support families wishing to lodge legal cases against the perpetrators, while continuing to investigate 33 outstanding complaints, he said.

The US State Department said on July 31 it was "greatly disturbed at reports of reprisal killings of civilians and the discovery of unmarked grave sites..."

If the allegations proved founded, it added, "the perpetrators must be brought to justice".

The conflict dates back to 2012, when key cities in northern Mali fell under the control of jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda, who exploited an ethnic Tuareg-led rebel uprising.

The armed groups accused of abuses by the UN operate in areas where Mali's army is absent or has a very limited presence.

Although the Islamists were largely ousted by a French-led military operation, attacks have continued on UN and French forces, civilians and the Malian army.

Allegations of collusion between the former rebels and jihadists continue to circulate.
Hit with tough new UN sanctions, North Korea responds with mass rallies, threats and a war or words with Washington

In slapping its seventh set of sanctions on North Korea, the United Nations has adopted its toughest measures yet against the regime -- but how effective they will be in changing Pyongyang's behavior is another matter.

Days after the UN unanimously approved the US-drafted sanctions, aimed at thwarting the North's nuclear weapons programs, Pyongyang railed against the measures as US President Donald Trump and North Korea's Kim Jong-Un traded fiery threats.

Crucial to their success is whether Beijing and Moscow enforce the sanctions -- which could cost North Korea $1 billion a year in revenues.

The sanctions impose a full ban on North Korean exports of coal, iron and iron ore, lead and lead ore as well as fish and seafood.

Despite the skepticism of experts, UN diplomats think they will be applied more strictly than in past efforts.

Their fate hinges largely on China, which accounts for 90 percent of trade with North Korea but is suspected of failing to enforce past UN measures, even after voting in their favor.

Member states are required to regularly report on the implementation of sanctions -- a duty Beijing, the North's sole major ally, has skirted in the past, according to a diplomat speaking on the condition of anonymity.

But another diplomat emphasized, "The trend is to implementation."

And Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has vowed that Beijing "will for sure implement the new resolution 100 percent, fully and strictly."

If China follows through on that promise, the North may be tempted to trade through other countries. The United States recently lectured Thailand, for example, about the need to seriously clamp down on North Korean exports.

UN sanctions regimes have sometimes come under fire for harming general populations rather than their targeted leaders. But they worked well in South Africa to build pressure against apartheid, and more recently to rein in Iran's nuclear program.

But such change takes time: in Iran's case more than a decade.

- Loose enforcement? -

When it comes to North Korea, "so far, the impact of these and other sanctions in order to change the DPRKs actions appears to be limited," said Alexander Gabuev, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Moscow Center.

"Moscow has an ambiguous position" on economic sanctions against North Korea, he said. Past resolutions "are strangling Russia's economic cooperation" with the North and have hurt the corporate interests of powerful Russian players, he said in a recent analysis.

A top target of the sanctions adopted August 5 is the fish and crustacean industry -- some 29 percent of North Korean exports from that sector are destined for Russia. And according to Chinese customs figures, Beijing imported $50 million in North Korean fish and shellfish in June alone.

Echoing the view of many experts, Thomas H. Lee, a law professor at Fordham University in New York, said enforcement of even preexisting sanctions has been loose.

But the latest set "will really hurt the North Korean leadership," he predicted.

And if sanctions fail to change the regime's behavior, the Security Council still has other options, such as an oil embargo or the return home of North Korean nationals working abroad.

A new report on the implementation of UN sanctions against North Korea is expected in September.
This photo taken on May 5, 2016 shows crew members of China's South Sea Fleet taking part in a drill in the Xisha Islands, or the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea

An angry Beijing warned off a US warship after it sailed near an artificial island in the disputed South China Sea in the latest operation aimed at loosening the Asian giant's grip on the strategic waterway.

Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the actions of the USS John S. McCain had violated Chinese and international law, "seriously" impairing the country's sovereignty and security.

"China is strongly dissatisfied with this," Geng said in a statement, adding that Beijing would lodge an official protest with Washington.

The USS John S. McCain destroyer sailed within six nautical miles of Mischief Reef -- an artificial island built by China -- on Thursday as part of a "freedom of navigation" operation, a US official said.

The reef is part of the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, which is the scene of rival claims between China and neighbouring countries.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the US official told AFP a Chinese frigate sent radio warnings at least 10 times to the USS McCain.

"They called and said 'please turn around, you are in our waters'," the official said. "We told them we are a US (ship) conducting routine operations in international waters."

The official said the interactions were all "safe and professional," with the operation lasting about six hours from start to finish, but Geng said such operations "seriously endanger lives".

The freedom of navigation operation was the third of its kind carried out by the United States since President Donald Trump took office in January.

- Overlapping claims -

The US move came four days after the United States, Australia and Japan denounced Beijing's island-building and militarisation of the South China Sea on the sidelines of a security forum of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Manila.

A security think tank, the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI), released satellite images on its website which it said showed that China was expanding artificial islands, contradicting Beijing's assurance that it stopped such activities two years ago.

China claims nearly all of the sea, through which $5 trillion in annual shipping trade passes and which is believed to sit atop vast oil and gas deposits.

Its sweeping claims overlap with Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei -- all ASEAN members -- as well as Taiwan.

But in recent years Beijing has managed to weaken regional resistance by courting some ASEAN members.

On Sunday China scored a coup when ASEAN ministers issued a diluted statement on the dispute and agreed to its terms on talks at the Manila meeting.

China insists that a much-delayed code of conduct between it and ASEAN members over the disputed sea must not be legally binding, a demand to which Southeast Asian countries have so far acquiesced.

Chinese defence ministry spokesman Wu Qian said the situation in the South China Sea has "stabilised" due to the "joint efforts" of China and neighbouring countries but the US operation threatened "peace and stability in the region".

"The US military's provocative actions will only encourage the Chinese military to further strengthen the defence capacity building and firmly defend national sovereignty and security," Qian said.

The operation also comes amid soaring tensions on the Korean peninsula over Pyongyang's missile programme, and as the United States seeks to push China into more assertively restraining North Korea.

Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Chris Logan declined to comment on whether there had been a freedom of navigation sailing but he said the United States would continue to do such operations.

"All operations are conducted in accordance with international law and demonstrate that the United States will fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows," he said.
Italian authorities last week impounded a boat operated by German aid organisation Jugend Rettet on suspicion its crew effectively collaborated with people traffickers in a way that facilitated illegal immigration

The Libyan navy on Thursday ordered foreign vessels to stay out of a coastal "search and rescue zone" for migrants headed for Europe, a measure it said targeted NGOs.

Six years since a revolution that toppled longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi, Libya has become a key departure point for migrants risking their lives to cross the Mediterranean to Europe.

Tens of thousands of migrants have resorted to paying people traffickers for the journey, often on overcrowded and unseaworthy boats.

Charities have dispatched boats to rescue migrants from drowning, while Libya and Italy -- where the vast majority land -- have worked together to stem the flow.

"We want to send out a clear message to all those who infringe Libyan sovereignty and lack respect for the coastguard and navy," Libyan navy spokesman General Ayoub Qassem told a news conference in Tripoli.

General Abdelhakim Bouhaliya, commander of the Tripoli naval base where the conference was held, said: "No foreign ship has the right to enter" the area without authorisation from the Libyan authorities.

Libya has "officially declared a search and rescue zone", said Bouhaliya, without specifying the scope of the exclusion zone.

Qassem said the measure was aimed against "NGOs which pretend to want to rescue illegal migrants and carry out humanitarian actions".

He urged humanitarian organisations to "respect our will... and obtain authorisation from the Libyan state even for rescue operations".

Italy has also said it wants to keep a tighter rein on NGOs helping the multinational search and rescue operation by making them sign up to a new code of conduct.

Italian authorities last week impounded a boat operated by German aid organisation Jugend Rettet on suspicion its crew effectively collaborated with people traffickers in a way that facilitated illegal immigration.

- 'Right to asylum at risk' -

Libyan navy spokesman Ayoub Qassem gives a press conference at a Tripoli naval base on August 10, 2017, as the navy bars foreign vessels from a coastal "search and rescue zone" for migrants headed for Europe, a measure it said targeted NGOs

Its crew is suspected of taking on board migrants delivered directly to them by people traffickers, and of allowing the smugglers to make off with their dinghies to be used again.

The Libyan coastguard has accused NGOs of aiding people traffickers in their lucrative business.

Italy has sent naval vessels at the request of Libya's UN-backed Government of National Accord to assist Tripoli in intercepting migrants, on a mission disputed by rival authorities in eastern Libya.

More than 111,000 migrants have reached Europe by sea so far this year, the vast majority of them arriving in Italy, according to the latest figures from the International Organization for Migration.

Over 2,300 have died attempting the crossing.

On Tuesday, the United Nations's new envoy to Libya endorsed Italy's drive to stem the flow of migrants leaving the North African state for Europe, despite misgivings among human rights groups.

Rights campaigners fear Italy's focus on strengthening the Libyan coastguard to ensure boatloads of migrants are intercepted before reaching international waters could place thousands of people with a right to asylum at serious risk.

But Ghassam Salame, a former Lebanese culture minister appointed in June to head UN operations in Libya, described the cooperation between Tripoli and Rome as a "very constructive" way of dealing with an acute problem.

"It would be absolutely unrealistic to ignore the seriousness of the challenge of irregular migration," Salame said after meeting Italian Foreign Minister Angelo Alfano in Rome.

Apart from the Libyan navy providing technical assistance to the coastguard, Rome has also supplied Tripoli with new patrol boats and training.

Alfano said the cooperation was beginning to bear fruit, in a reference to a more than 50-percent fall in the number of migrants rescued at sea during July, compared to the same month in 2016.
Freed South African Hostage Stephen McGown (L), who was held hostage by Al-Qaeda in Mali for nearly six years, alongside his wife Catherine (R) tells the medis he was well treated

South African hostage Stephen McGown, who was held by Al-Qaeda in Mali for nearly six years, said Thursday he had been well treated but was distraught to have not be freed before his mother died.

Speaking just 10 days after being released, he said he had converted to Islam in the Sahara desert, and added that he was determined to be positive after his ordeal.

McGown, 42, sat next to his wife Catherine as he spoke for an hour to reporters, saying he had no idea if a ransom was paid, and telling how he was sometimes held in handcuffs and chains at night with two other hostages.

"I did my best to see the best in a bad situation," McGown said, looking in good health and smiling regularly despite recently suffering from severe fever, headaches and meningitis.

"I didn't want to come out an angry person and be a bigger burden on my family," he said.

"Sometimes you are miserable and you want to fight everyone (but) I did not want to become a mess. I want to come home a better person."

He paid tribute to his mother who died in May, saying she was "an amazing lady and I can imagine the difficulties she went through."

"I don't want to harbour resentment. I will forgive, I will move on," he said.

McGown built a simple hut of grass and sticks to survive the cold desert nights when he often had only one blanket, and said that he feared for his life three times in the first three months after he was captured in 2011 while on holiday in Mali.

McGown was kidnapped at a hotel in the historic trading city of Timbuktu in Mali's north along with Swede Johan Gustafsson and Dutchman Sjaak Rijke, both of whom were subsequently released.

- Ransom denials -

The South African government has insisted that no ransom was paid to secure McGown's release, which was completed on July 29, but some reports have suggested $4.2 million was handed over.

Imtiaz Sooliman, head of the Gift of the Givers charity which helped to free McGown, said the kidnappers at first demanded 10 million euros ($11.7 million) for each of the three hostages.

Sooliman said he was not involved in any ransom payment and dismissed reports of the $4.2 million payment.

Gustafsson, 42, who was released in June, said Thursday he hoped that his government was telling the truth when it said its policy was not to pay ransoms.

"Personally, I think it's wrong. It puts other people in danger... They can use that money in their war machinery," said Gustafsson, speaking to journalists. It was also his first press conference since being released.

The South African government has insisted that no ransom was paid to free Stephen McGown, held hostage by Al-Qaeda in Mali for nearly six years, despite some media reports saying $4.2 million was handed over.

McGown, with a long beard and hair, said he had been better treated after converting to Islam, and was given better clothing and food.

"Before the desert, I was a Christian. I entered (Islam) of my own accord," he said.

"I see many good things in Islam. It requires a very good character, a very strict character."

He added that his captors thought that US President Donald Trump would draw more Muslims to fight against the West.

McGown admitted to being "in the dark" over world events in the last six years as the hostages had only had a radio for a short time and no books in English.

McGown, Gustafsson and Rijke were abducted by Al-Qaeda's North African affiliate Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in November 2011.

Rijke was freed in April 2015 by French special forces.

AQIM was one of several jihadist groups that took control of Mali's north in 2012 before being ousted by a French-led military operation launched in January 2013.
Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih (R) and Iraqi Oil Minister Jabbar al-Luaybi hold a joint press conference in the Saudi Red Sea resort of Jeddah on August 10, 2017

OPEC's top two producers agreed Thursday to strengthen their commitment to production cuts, as the oil cartel reported a collective increase in output last month in a setback for its deal to pump less.

The pledge from Saudi Arabia and Iraq, the first and second largest OPEC producers, came after their oil ministers met in the Red Sea city of Jeddah.

Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih and his Iraqi counterpart Jabbar al-Luaybi also vowed to ensure coordination of their nations' oil policies, according to the Saudi Press Agency, as the Arab neighbours seek to upgrade strategic ties.

OPEC states and other oil producers agreed in November to cut output until March 2018, in its long-haul gambit to erode a world oil glut and boost prices.

But despite the commitment, crude production by OPEC members saw an uptick in July, including by Saudi Arabia which had championed efforts by the cartel and allied independent producers to extend an output freeze.

Output from the 14 cartel members hit 32.87 million barrels per day (mbd) last month, OPEC said in its monthly report on the oil market, up from 32.69 mbd in June.

The inability of some members to cut ouput has raised doubts about OPEC's capacity to enforce the November deal.

Saudi Arabia and Iraq have suffered huge economic pain because of sliding oil prices.

Luaybi's visit symbolises a growing rapprochement between Riyadh and Baghdad as the kingdom seeks to increase its influence in Iraqi politics and undercut the say of regional rival Iran.

The minister also met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah to discuss "joint opportunities in the economic fields and energy in particular", SPA reported.
US President Donald Trump, seen here with Vice President Mike Pence, says his "fire and fury" warning to North Korea over its missile and nuclear programs was perhaps not forceful enough

US President Donald Trump doubled down on his warnings to North Korea Thursday, saying his threat to rain "fire and fury" on it maybe "wasn't tough enough."

Speaking alongside Vice President Mike Pence at his New Jersey country club, Trump also said China could do "a lot more" to pressure Pyongyang to end its nuclear weapons program.

Responding to North Korea's dismissal of his dire warnings as "nonsense," Trump told reporters: "maybe it wasn't tough enough."

"They've been doing this to our country for a long time, many years," he said. "It's about time that somebody stuck up for the people of this country and for the people of other countries. So if anything, maybe that statement wasn't tough enough."

Trump warned North Korea this week it faced "fire and fury like the world has never seen" if it continued to threaten the United States with its missile and nuclear programs.

That prompted a defiant Pyongyang to threaten a missile attack on Guam, a tiny US territory in the Pacific that is home to a major US air and naval facilities.

The saber rattling set off diplomatic alarm bells, as well as mixed messages from Trump aides about US intentions.

But Trump pushed aside the concerns, telling reporters "there are no mixed messages."

He said North Korea "should be very, very nervous. Because things will happen to them like they never thought possible, okay."

He said the United States remained open to negotiations and once again suggested that he expected China to do more to bring North Korea into line.

"I think China can do a lot more. I think China will do a lot more," he said.

"I will tell you this, North Korea better get their act together or they're going to be in trouble like few nations have ever been in trouble in this world, okay?"
This picture taken on August 9, 2017 and released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on August 10, 2017 shows a rally in support of North Korea's stance against the US, on Kim Il-Sung square in Pyongyang

The crisis over North Korea's nuclear program heated further Thursday, with President Donald Trump underscoring his threat to rain "fire and fury" on Kim Jong-Un, saying the stark warning maybe "wasn't tough enough."

The latest escalation in the long-simmering stand-off has set the world on edge, with stock markets down and jittery observers now openly pondering whether the risk of nuclear conflict is real.

But despite the unpredictable nature of both Kim and Trump, other officials in the US adminstration have sidestepped the president's strident rhetoric.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson assured Americans they should not be losing sleep over the crisis, while Pentagon chief Jim Mattis issued a very carefully worded statement that warned North Korea it would be "grossly" outmatched in any conflict.

- War -

Pentagon scenarios for military intervention range from limited surgical strikes on nuclear targets to a preemptive "decapitation" attack to take out Kim or force a popular uprising that would lead to regime change.

A man looks at replicas of a North Korean Scud-B missile (R) and South Korean missiles at the Korean War Memorial in Seoul on August 10, 2017

But any sort of military action would bring enormous, and unknowable, downsides. Mattis has repeatedly warned of devastating consequences, saying it would be "like nothing we have seen since 1953," referring to the end of the Korean War.

Kim has amassed artillery units along the border with South Korea, whose capital, Seoul, is only about 35 miles (55 kilometers) away.

Limited shelling and rocket fire would likely lead to mass casualties in the city of 10 million and experts warn that any conflict would quickly escalate, with geopolitical repercussions, upheaval of the global economy and huge death tolls.

Still, when asked Thursday what could be tougher than "fire and fury," Trump said: "We'll see."

- Too soon? -

Joel Wit, a senior fellow at the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University and an expert on the North's nuclear weapons program, said the current conversation is overplaying the likelihood of war.

"There are a lot of statements going back and forth that are escalating tensions, but in the real world, on the ground, particularly in North Korea but I suspect also in South Korea, life goes on," he said.

It is almost harvest season in North Korea and Kim has not ordered any mobilization of work forces away from the fields or factories, 38 North analyst Joe Bermudez added.

He said it would not behoove Kim to enter into a conflict as any mobilization could cause massive food shortages.

"Kim Jong-Un is not a stupid person," Bermudez said. "It is unlikely that he would mobilize the nation at this point in time."

- China and economic pressure -

The UN Security Council at the weekend passed a new set of sanctions against Pyongyang over its weapons programmed, including bans on the export of coal, iron and iron ore, lead and lead ore as well as fish and seafood from the impoverished state.

Verbal escalation between N. Korea and the US

The measures were approved unanimously -- including by China, the North's sole major ally and economic lifeline -- and Russia.

Their fate hinges largely on China, which accounts for 90 percent of trade with North Korea but is suspected of failing to enforce past UN measures, even after voting in their favor.

Trump has repeatedly tried to pressure China into taking a harder line on North Korea, but Beijing is fearful of a collapse of Kim's regime.

"I think China can do a lot more," Trump said Thursday, adding that if Beijing ramps up its pressure on Pyongyang he would take a more favorable view of America's trade deficit with the Asian giant.

- Back to the negotiating table -

North Korea is now nuclear armed and has reportedly produced a nuclear warhead small enough to fit on its rockets, leading some to say the time to take military action has already passed, and the world will need to learn to live with a nuclear North Korea.

Jeffrey Lewis, an expert with the California-based Middlebury Institute of International Studies, said the US will quickly come to the conclusion that there are no good military options.

US President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence speak to the press on August 10, 2017, where Trump underscored his threat to rain "fire and fury" on Kim Jong-Un, saying the stark warning maybe "wasn't tough enough"

"The only thing that's left is to talk to the North Koreans ... about reducing tension and trying to solve some of the security disputes -- and not getting rid of the nuclear weapons."

Lisa Collins of the Center for Strategic and International Studies said that most experts recognize the only real viable solution at this point will come through some sort of negotiations and diplomatic settlement.

Through the 2000s, six-party talks among China, Russia, Japan, South Korea, North Korea and the US appeared to draw Pyongyang, then under the rule of Kim's father Kim Jong-il, toward some level of outside nuclear monitoring and a possible slowdown in their program.

But that process collapsed in 2009, and since gaining power two years later, Kim has dismissed the idea of talks.
The FEED Co. Table & Tavern will celebrate their second anniversary on Thursday. In addition to offering many specials throughout the day, they will also be holding a VIP party in their new event space that will benefit the Tennessee River Gorge Trust.

Tickets are $50 and will include dinner by Chef Charlie Loomis, two drinks, and live music by Broke Down Hound.

The menu includes smoked pork shoulder with Kansas City BBQ sauce, BBQ Springer Mountain Farms chicken with Carolina Gold sauce, cole slaw, roasted red potato salad, and Hawaiian rolls.

Tickets are limited and can be purchased at www.trgtandfeed.eventbrite.com.

For more information call Sarah Quattrochi at 653-0091.


A picture shows the international airport in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on January 22, 2017

An Arab coalition allied with Yemen's government on Thursday requested UN help to re-open Sanaa airport, in an apparent response to aid groups' demand that the airport be allowed to receive flights delivering relief.

Yemen's capital Sanaa is controlled by Shiite Huthi rebels allied with Iran, who for two years have fought the Saudi-backed government of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi for control of the country.

Aid groups, along with the Huthis, on Wednesday appealed to the Saudi-led Arab coalition to allow the delivery of desperately-needed supplies to Yemen, which now faces a deadly cholera epidemic and the imminent threat of famine.

The Saudi-led coalition forced the closure of Sanaa airport in August 2016 to all but a few UN aid flights on the grounds that the airport was a main channel of arms smuggling for the rebels.

Coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Maliki on Thursday called on the United Nations to "contribute to the resumption of commercial and passenger transport to Sanaa airport".

"The closure of Sanaa airport and the limitation of flights to solely those carrying aid was due to concerns for the safety of civilian travel and commercial flights, as well as the smuggling of weapons by the Huthis," al-Maliki said in a statement carried by the official SPA news agency.

UN officials in Yemen contacted by AFP were not immediately reachable for comment.

The coalition last month banned a UN flight carrying humanitarian aid workers and journalists from taking off from Djibouti to Sanaa.

More than 8,300 people have been killed and 44,000 wounded since the Saudi-led coalition intervened in the Yemen war to support the Hadi government.

Close to 2,000 Yemenis have also died of cholera since April and another 600,000 are expected to contract the infection this year.

The UN has called Yemen the "largest humanitarian crisis in the world".
US President Donald Trump -- shown here with Russia's President Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit in Germany in July -- has long argued for better ties with Moscow

President Donald Trump on Thursday thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin for ordering the US embassy in Moscow to slash its staff -- boasting that this would cut payroll costs.

Last month, the Kremlin demanded that Washington reduce its diplomatic footprint in Russia by 755 employees -- both US diplomats and local staff -- and close two compounds.

This was seen as marking a historic new low in post-Cold war Russia-US relations but Trump, who has long argued the case for closer ties, said after a meeting with top aides in New Jersey he saw a silver lining in the crisis.

"I want to thank him because we're trying to cut down our payroll and, as far as I'm concerned, I'm very thankful that he let go of a large number of people because now we have a smaller payroll," Trump declared.

"There's no real reason for them to go back. I greatly appreciate the fact that we've been able to cut our payroll of the United States. We're going to save a lot of money."

The United States and Russia are at loggerheads over Moscow's armed intervention in Ukraine and Washington's imposition of economic sanctions on Kremlin allies.

Ties were further clouded by Russia's interference in last year's US presidential election, which US intelligence agencies say was designed to help Trump get elected.

Trump's supporters have dismissed this idea but a US special prosecutor is investigating allegations that members of his campaign colluded with Russian sources.

Last month, US lawmakers passed a law toughening sanctions imposed on Russia for corruption, rights abuses, subversion of Western politics and backing Ukrainian separatists.

Trump opposed the bill, which further blocks him from removing sanctions without consulting Congress, but begrudgingly signed it into law.

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has embarked on a wholesale review of State Department operations aimed at cutting costs and refocusing on new objectives.

While in Manila earlier this week, Tillerson had said his department would respond to the Kremlin's order to cut their Moscow staff before a September 1 deadline.
President Donald Trump says he did the US military a 'great favor' by banning transgender troops

President Donald Trump said Thursday that he did the US military a "great favor" by banning transgender troops from the armed forces.

Trump, speaking to reporters at his New Jersey country club, said the issue of transgender service members had been "complicated" and "confusing" for the military.

"Look, I have great respect for the (transgender) community," Trump said. "I think I have great support -- or I've had -- great support from that community.

"I got a lot of votes."

But Trump said the issue of transgender troops has been a "very difficult situation" for the US armed forces.

"As you know, it's been a very complicated issue for the military," he said. "It's been a very confusing issue for the military.

"I think I'm doing the military a great favor."

In a series of three tweets last month, Trump upended an Obama-era policy of more than a year that allowed transgender troops to serve openly.

His announcement came with little or no coordination with the Pentagon and landed while Defense Secretary Jim Mattis was on vacation, leaving the astonished department scrambling to come up with a coherent response.

Five transgender women in the US military filed suit against Trump and the Pentagon this week over the ban.

In a lawsuit filed in federal court Wednesday, the five plaintiffs from the Air Force, Coast Guard and the Army said they faced uncertainty about their futures, including whether they would be fired or lose post-military and retirement benefits.

The lawsuit was filed against Trump, Mattis and various other senior military officials by the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and GLAAD, a legal advocacy group.

All the unidentified "Jane Doe" plaintiffs were previously men who have transitioned to being female.

The number of transgender troops among America's 1.3 million active duty service members is small, with estimates ranging from between 1,320 and 15,000.

In the two weeks since Trump's tweets, the White House has still not provided the Pentagon with clear directives on how it should implement a transgender ban, so the current policy remains in place for now.
Media mogul Rupert Murdoch's News Corp operates the Wall Street Journal as well as British and Australian newspapers

US media group News Corp on Thursday reported a loss in the past quarter, hit by declines in advertising and writedowns at its global newspapers.

The company controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and his family reported a loss of $430 million in the fiscal quarter ending June 30.

Revenues slipped 6.6 percent from a year ago to $2.08 billion.

The group, which operates the Wall Street Journal as well as British and Australian newspapers, also took a hit from the strong dollar.

News Corp was required to take a charge of $464 million to mark down the value of its assets at British newspapers, the company said.

The news and information unit saw a 10 percent drop in revenue in part "due to weakness in the print advertising market," the company statement said.

It said digital accounted for 26 percent of segment revenues in the quarter, helped by gains in online subscriptions to the Wall Street Journal, which now has more than 1.2 million paid subscribers.

The group also operates the HarperCollins publishing house and has digital assets including the realtor.com real estate website.

The company retained most of the print operations of the original News Corp when it was broken up in 2013 into two separate firms as part of a plan to "unlock value" for shareholders.

The breakup led to the creation of a separately traded 21st Century Fox, which includes most of the film and television properties in the Murdoch empire.

Murdoch, 86, began a gradual withdrawal from both companies in 2013, and now shares the title of chairman with his eldest son Lachlan at both firms.
NEW YORK (AP) - Three former executives of a major cocoa company were arrested Tuesday on charges that they defrauded lenders out of hundreds of millions of dollars by lying repeatedly about the company's financial condition.

Acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim announced the arrests of executives of Transmar Commodity Group Limited, saying evidence against the men included emails in which they discussed using fake financial records to maintain a $250 million to $400 million line of credit from banks.

Kim said the men carried out the fraud from at least 2014 through at least December 2016 while working for a cocoa company that supplied some of the world's largest confectionary conglomerates.

William F. Sweeney Jr., head of New York's FBI office, said the executives manipulated the value of the company "in more ways than one, in order to receive loans they didn't qualify for - plain and simple."

Those charged in an indictment were identified as Peter G. Johnson, 68, of Harding Township, New Jersey, Peter B. Johnson, 38, of Morristown, New Jersey, and Thomas Reich, 59, of Montvale, New Jersey.

Prosecutors said Peter G. Johnson was Transmar's president and chief executive officer while his son, Peter B. Johnson, was responsible for the operations of Transmar affiliate Euromar Commodities. Reich worked in Transmar's finance department.

Attorney Shalom Stone, representing Peter B. Johnson, said his client "has done nothing improper or illegal" and "looks forward to his day in court."

"He is confident that he will be exonerated," Stone added.

Lawyers for the other two defendants did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
BANGKOK (AP) - A military court in Thailand on Wednesday sentenced a man to 20 years in prison in the Southeast Asian country's latest conviction on charges of insulting the monarchy.

The legal monitoring group iLaw said that Tara, whose last name it withheld to protect his privacy, was convicted and sentenced on six counts of lese majeste, as the offense is known, for uploading online six audio files made by a critic of the monarchy.

It said that Tara has been held without bail since January 2015 and pleaded guilty to receive a more lenient sentence. The court accordingly reduced the penalty for each count from five years to 3  years' imprisonment. The maximum penalty per count is 15 years.

According to iLaw, the court said that Tara had "wronged the monarchy, which greatly affects the people's feelings."

At least 93 cases of lese majeste involving 138 people have been prosecuted since the military seized power in 2014, according to the legal aid group Thai Lawyers for Human Rights. Rights groups say the government's actions are a way of silencing critics and asserting political control.

Thai Lawyers for Human Rights said in a report this week that use of lthe ese majeste statute, once relatively rare, increased markedly after a military coup in 2006, and escalated further after the 2014 military takeover.

Since 2014, the group said, the law was extended in practice to cover people who clicked "like" or "share" on Facebook, even when they did not write the post in question, and those who made satirical posts about the pets of the monarch.

Tara was convicted for spreading audio files produced by "DJ Banpodj," an underground internet talk show host known for his strong criticism of the monarchy. "DJ Banpodj" was arrested in 2015, and according to iLaw, at least five other people have been charged with lese majeste for sharing audio clips produced by his network.
CAMDEN, N.J. (AP) - A man who has repeatedly used telephone dating services to lure and defraud women out of thousands of dollars was sentenced Wednesday to five years in prison.

Patrick Giblin also must pay $39,130 in restitution, federal prosecutors said. He had pleaded guilty in February to traveling to launder money.

Giblin, 53, posted ads on telephone dating services throughout the country from January 2013 to December 2014. He sought to lure women into relationships and would then ask them for loans that he did not intend to repay, prosecutors said. He victimized more than 10 women in various states.

Giblin would tell the women he wanted a relationship and needed a loan to relocate to their area, prosecutors said. He would then have his victims wire him money or have them transfer money onto a payroll/debit card that he used. Prosecutors said he used some of that money to buy cellphone minutes so he could defraud more women.

The former Ventnor resident was sentenced in 2007 for a similar scheme and in 2015 for violating terms of his release.

Giblin was also sentenced in Pennsylvania in 2013 for escaping from a halfway house in Philadelphia, where he was living following the completion of the 2007 sentence. Giblin initiated the scheme in the most recent case at about the time that he escaped, prosecutors said.
LONDON (AP) - The man accused of kidnapping a British model in Italy painted a picture of big money, international intrigue and spine-chilling dealings as a member of Black Death, an organization selling drugs, guns and murder on the dark web.

The reality of Lukasz Pawel Herba's life appears to be more prosaic, riddled with exaggerations and contradictions. Investigators are picking through his story to sift truth from myth - and uncover whether the shadowy Black Death group really exists.

___

In this image made from video taken on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017, model Chloe Ayling speaks with the media outside of her house in Surrey, England. The lawyer for British model Chloe Ayling says police are holding a suspect in her kidnapping. The 20-year-old says she was lured to Italy with the promise of a photo shoot, then drugged and kidnapped by a man who advertised her as a sex slave on the criminal "dark web." Ayling says her captor released her at the British consulate in Milan. Her lawyer acknowledges that aspects of the case seem bizarre. (RAI via AP)

WHAT HAPPENED?

Italian police have arrested 30-year-old Herba over the abduction of Chloe Ayling, who says she was lured to Milan on the pretext of a photo shoot. When she arrived, she says she was drugged, stuffed into a suitcase and held at a rural house by criminals who threatened to auction her into sexual servitude, while also demanding a $300,000 ransom from her agent.

Six days after the alleged July 11 abduction, Herba took Ayling to the British Consulate in Milan. He was detained on suspicion of kidnapping to extort money and falsifying documents.

___

WHO IS LUKASZ HERBA?

Herba was born in Poland and lives in Oldbury, a town in the West Midlands area of central England. He shared an apartment in a low-rise building with his elder brother Michal, who is registered as running a road haulage firm. British police searched the apartment after Lukasz's arrest, and say they took away computers for forensic examination.

Local resident Sinead Boyce told Britain's Sun newspaper that Herba rarely spoke to his neighbors, and was sometimes seen wandering around with a rat on his shoulder.

On Facebook, Herba claimed to be chairman of the board of Karmerg, a company whose website describes it as "a well-recognized technology trade expert" in the fields of chemistry, electronics, biology and physics. There is no public listing in Britain for such a company. The website lists the names and email addresses of several alleged employees, none of whom responded to requests for comment.

___

WHAT IS BLACK DEATH?

On a website lurking in the murkier depths of the internet, Black Death claims to be "an organized crime group based in eastern Europe." Its home page, captured by EU police agency Europol, contains a picture of figures wearing pointed masks associated with the 14th-century bubonic plague.

The site lists services including blackmail, murder, the supply of guns, bombs and drugs and the sale of trafficked women. Three alleged women for sale are listed, with ages, nationalities and measurements and asking prices ranging from $120,000 to $750,000.

The site even has a recruitment section, with job openings including "superhacker" and a "radioactives expert."

It's far from clear, however, whether the group actually delivers on any of its supposed services.

The "sale" information has more in common with fantasy abduction scenarios presented in Hollywood movies like "Taken" than with typical human trafficking cases. And when a journalist, Joseph Cox, examined the site in 2015, he found that one of the photographs of a young woman supposedly up for sale had been lifted from a pornography video.

Thomas Rid, a professor of security studies at King's College London who has studied the dark web, said there is little evidence of "an assassination or kidnapping service 'hit job'" advertised on the dark web actually being executed.

"We have precedents of people claiming they would provide that type of service, but as far as I know ... I don't think this has ever happened," he said.

Europol's dossier doesn't express a view on whether Black Death actually provides the services it advertises. Europol said it couldn't comment because there is "a live investigation ongoing" in an EU member state.

___

WHAT DOES HERBA SAY?

Ayling told investigators that Herba bragged about having earned $15 million over the last five years selling women on the internet. According to court documents obtained by The Associated Press, she said he told her that "at least three girls a week are sold, and when the buyer is tired of the girl he purchased in the auction, he can give to another person, and that when she is no longer of interest she is 'fed to the tigers.'"

Italian prosecutor Paolo Storati said Herba was dangerous and also appeared to have "traces of mythomania" - a tendency to exaggerate or tell lies.

Herba also downplayed his involvement in the kidnapping, telling investigators it was orchestrated by a group of Romanians who paid him 500,000 pounds ($649,000) to rent properties around Europe. He said he became involved with the Romanians because he has leukemia and needs money to pay for medical treatment.

Italian police say he didn't provide the names of doctors or other evidence he is ill.

He also told police he wasn't present when Ayling was kidnapped, but came to her aid when he saw her photos posted in an online auction.

The two had met three months before in Paris, when Ayling went to a modelling job that was cancelled. Lukasz told investigators he called the job off when he realized the Romanians intended to kidnap her.

Herba's lawyer, Cosmo de Rose, declined to comment.

"Trials happen in the courtroom," he said.

___

Colleen Barry reported from Milan. Associated Press writer Raphael Satter in Paris contributed to this report.

Italian Police's seals are placed on the shut gate of the photo studio, where according to investigators, Lukasz Pawel Herba, a Polish citizen with British residency, kidnapped compatriot model Chloe Ayling in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2017. Ayling who says she was kidnapped in Milan broke down in tears when confronted by investigators with a witness who said she had gone to buy shoes with the alleged kidnapper. According to a transcript of model Chloe Ayling's deposition obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press, the 20-year-old model initially said she was held at a remote farmhouse for six days without ever leaving. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
CAIRO (AP) - Scores of Egyptian former ministers, state officials and diplomats on Wednesday rallied in defense of the former head of the Library of Alexandria who was sentenced earlier this month to three years in prison on charges of squandering public funds.

Over 150 signatories expressed support for Ismail Serrag Eddin, founding director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, in a joint statement, saying that they value his work for the library.

It's unclear what - beyond a public show of support - the statement seeks to accomplish.

Among the signatories was former Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa and Africa's nominee for UNESCO, Moushira Khattab.

Eddin was accused by library employees of wasting 20 million Egyptian pounds, about $1.12 million, by paying hefty salaries to top advisers and privately traveling abroad at the library's expense.

___

This story has been corrected to show that 20 million Egyptian pounds is about $1.12 million.
FARGO, N.D. (AP) - A U.S. federal court has sentenced a Canadian man to six months in prison for his part in a human smuggling operation.

Victory Omoruyi pleaded guilty in May to transport of illegal alien. Authorities say he helped move nine Nigerian citizens and asylum seekers to the Canadian border from North Dakota on April 14.

Omoruyi's attorney, David Dusek, asked for a sentence of time served. U.S. District Judge Ralph Erickson said during Wednesday's sentencing hearing in Fargo that Omoruyi deserves prison time because it was a for-profit scheme to unlawfully move people across the border.

After sentencing, Dusek said he tried to get Omoruyi a lighter sentence so he could return to Canada. Dusek had no further comment.

Omoruyi's wife, Michelle Omoruyi, is facing human smuggling charges in Canada.
The beautification projects at Orchard Knob Middle School The beautification projects at Orchard Knob Middle School The beautification projects at Orchard Knob Middle School The beautification projects at Orchard Knob Middle School Previous Next

Students at Orchard Knob Middle School kick off the new school year with some brand new spaces.

This summer, community organizations and volunteers worked together to beautify Orchard Knob Middle School.

Principal Tiffany Earvin said she cannot wait to see the looks on returning students faces. To see the community come together in this way, to help our students, is just amazing. I have always known the incredible potential of our OKMS Yellow Jackets, and I feel with this boost to their learning spaces, the sky is the limit, Ms. Earvin said.

Orchard Knob Middle School expanded last years beautification day to a full week this year. As a result, nearly 400 volunteers and more than 40 different organizations including church groups, non-profits and neighborhood organizations gathered to help refresh the school with murals and paint, new furniture, landscaping and more.

The Highland Park Neighborhood Association adopted the OKMS Library this year. HPNA president Emerson Burch said, Neighbors saw a great opportunity to serve local kids and teachers by contributing to their school. Throughout Beautification Week, we met current and former OKMS students who shared how much it meant to them to see their library being cared for and transformed. One young woman walked in and immediately exclaimed, If the library looked like this when I was here, I would have wanted to read all the time! That unprompted reaction made it clear that we had found a beautiful opportunity to serve.

Local artist Brent Sanders created the large yellow murals in the multipurpose room. He said, "It was great to step away from the easel for a change and work to design an environment using simply color and shape. My hope is that I've helped to create a space that will inspire and energize the students as well as giving them a pleasant atmosphere to thrive."

Andy Michaud, the trustee of the UNfoundation added, The time my daughter and I were able to spend volunteering at OKMS was invaluable. The opportunity to experience first-hand the vast needs of the school, the enthusiastic spirit of the students and teachers, and the incredible diligence and creativity of the volunteers was a true eye opener and a blessing for both of us. We are grateful to have been a small part of such an enormous, well organized and executed project! What's next?!"

Local artist and 800 Collective founder, Josiah Golson, said, It was a truly special opportunity to help beautify the school through art and in collaboration with both OKMS staff and the community at large. The experience for me was a reminder of how individuals can create incredible change for our youth when coming together.

Orchard Knob Middle School is ready to open the doors to the brand new school year first thing tomorrow morning.






PHOENIX (AP) - Sheriff Joe Arpaio brushed off his recent criminal conviction in U.S. court as a "petty crime" and insisted he won't seek a pardon from President Donald Trump, despite the pair regularly sharing the stage at political rallies during the 2016 campaign.

In an interview with The Associated Press, the former sheriff of metro Phoenix said he was astonished he was found guilty of a crime last week after more than 50 years in law enforcement.

"S-U-R-P-R-I-S-E-D," Arpaio said of the misdemeanor for defying a court order to stop traffic patrols that targeted immigrants.

FILE - In this Jan. 26, 2016, photo, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is joined by Maricopa County, Ariz., Sheriff Joe Arpaio at a campaign event in Marshalltown, Iowa. Arpaio says he isn't asking now President Donald Trump to issue a pardon for his misdemeanor conviction last week for defying a judge's order to stop his immigration patrols, even though he endorsed Trump and shared the stage with him at several rallies during the 2016 campaign. The former six-term sheriff of metro Phoenix said he doesn't expect anything in return for his support of Trump and that he doesn't feel abandoned by the president. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

He said he won't rule out running for office again and remains steadfast in his support of Trump.

"I was with him since day one, and I am with him until the end. I don't ask him for anything. He can throw me into the swamp and cover me up in garbage, and I'd still support him," Arpaio said.

The lawman known for launching immigration crackdowns was set to be sentenced on Oct. 5. The 85-year-old faces up to six months in jail, though attorneys who have followed the case doubt someone his age would be incarcerated.

Trump's victory fueled speculation that Arpaio would seek a pardon to have his legal troubles erased. His criminal attorneys have declined to say whether they were seeking relief from the president on Arpaio's behalf.

While the former sheriff told the AP that he's fighting his legal battles without Trump's help, Phoenix news station KTVK-TV reported that Arpaio said during an interview he wanted to know why the president wasn't rescuing him.

"Somebody ought to ask the president, where is he," Arpaio told the station.

Arpaio showered Trump with support during the presidential campaign. Trump has invoked Arpaio's name in his calls for tougher immigration enforcement and used some of the same immigration rhetoric and advocated for tactics that made the Arizona lawman a national name a decade earlier.

The lawman appeared for Trump at rallies in Iowa, Nevada and Arizona, including a huge gathering in the affluent Phoenix suburb where the sheriff lives. Arpaio also gave a speech at the Republican National Convention in which he said Trump would prevent immigrants from sneaking into the country.

Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton in Arizona by 3 percentage points.

In Arpaio's case, his attorneys have vowed to appeal the verdict and the former sheriff said he isn't surrendering. He said the worst legal trouble he had faced were two parking tickets.

"Here I am at the end of my career sitting at a defense table in a contempt-of-court case," Arpaio said.

He took solace in the fact his conviction isn't a felony.

"It's only a misdemeanor. You can run for anything you want with a misdemeanor. It's a petty crime," Arpaio said.

___

Follow Jacques Billeaud at twitter.com/jacquesbilleaud. His work can be found at https://www.apnews.com/search/jacques%20billeaud .
SEATTLE (AP) - A giant summertime festival celebrating all things marijuana has drawn support or at least toleration over the years from officials in Seattle, the largest city in one of the first states to legalize recreational pot.

Police have handed out bags of chips and looked the other way as thousands lit up at HempFest. Mayor Ed Murray has addressed the gathering, as has City Attorney Pete Holmes, a sponsor of Washington's legal pot law.

But in a skirmish that highlights the often confusing nature of legal marijuana laws, city regulators have taken an interest in some much smaller events put on by Seattle Events, the nonprofit that runs HempFest - going as far as to issue a $1,000 fine accusing it of operating a marijuana business without a license.

FILE--In this Aug. 16, 2013, file photo, people walk past the main stage at the first day of Hempfest, Friday, Aug. 16, 2013, in Seattle. Seattle on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2017, agreed to drop a $1,000 fine issued to the nonprofit organization that runs HempFest--the annual summer marijuana celebration. The city accused the organization of operating a marijuana business without a license but later said it had no evidence the group violated the law. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, file)

The June citation stemmed from a party of about 75 people that the organization held at a home with private event space on April 20, the holiday celebrating marijuana culture. The party was for HempFest members only, but memberships could be purchased at the door.

A city inspector said he observed attendees using marijuana. However, his declaration in support of the citation did not explain how the group had operated a marijuana business in violation of city law.

"It's a head-scratcher to us," Seattle Events President Vivian McPeak said. "It's a private gathering with a small amount of people. They're all adults. They brought their own cannabis. We don't sell marijuana or anything like that."

The city dropped the citation and the fine Tuesday after The Associated Press questioned whether the group had actually violated the law.

Recreational marijuana is legal in Washington state for people 21 and over. Under city law, a "marijuana business" is any person or entity that grows, processes, sells or transports marijuana for gain or which "allows for consumption on their premises." It defines "premises" as the site of a marijuana producer, processor or retailer.

The Department of Finance and Administrative Services dropped the citation after further review and consultation with prosecutors, spokeswoman Julie Moore said in an emailed statement.

"We do not have sufficient evidence that the location where the conduct occurred meets the definition of 'premises' as currently defined in the Seattle Municipal Code," Moore wrote.

She added: "Consumption on any business premises is considered a felony under state law. As such, FAS inspectors keep abreast of any event for which consumption of marijuana is advertised as a feature of an event."

Inspectors have attended seven "cannabis-centric" events this year and issued citations at three of them, she said.

They showed up at a HempFest party in June and bought two memberships so they could check it out undercover, organizers said. They left after finding no violations, McPeak said.

In contesting the citation, HempFest attorney Fred Diamondstone suggested that because marijuana is legal for adults, they have a right to gather on private property and partake together.

State law bans using marijuana in public. It also makes it a felony to operate a "marijuana club" - defined as a group that "conducts or maintains a premises for the primary or incidental purpose of providing a location where members or other persons may keep or consume marijuana."

For McPeak, the notion that his group might be cited for hosting a small party where people smoked pot while it freely attracts more than 100,000 people to HempFest every summer highlights a key paradox of Washington's legal marijuana law.

"Washington is a state where cannabis is called legal," he said. "If you're homeless, if you're in public housing or you're a tourist, you can buy cannabis, but there's no place to imbibe it."

This year's HempFest is Aug. 18-20.

___

Follow Gene Johnson at https://twitter.com/GeneAPseattle

FILE--In this Aug. 17, 2012, file photo, Matt Galanti, 17, of Bothell, Wash., left, smokes marijuana from a glass bong at the opening day of the pro-marijuana rally Seattle Hempfest as friends Zach Casselman, 18, of Bothell, and Clay Graeber, 20, of Bothell, look on. Seattle on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2017, agreed to drop a $1,000 fine issued to the nonprofit organization that runs HempFest--the annual summer marijuana celebration. The city accused the organization of operating a marijuana business without a license but later said it had no evidence the group violated the law. (AP Photo/Gene Johnson, file)
CINCINNATI (AP) - The Latest on a woman accused of pretending to be a doctor and making up a story about her son having terminal cancer (all times local):

9:10 p.m.

The GoFundMe fundraising website says people who gave money to an Ohio woman accused of making up a story about her son having terminal cancer will get refunds if it turns out she scammed them.

A GoFundMe spokesman said Wednesday donors are protected in the rare case a fundraising campaign is misused.

Prosecutors say Monika Burgett shaved her son's eyebrows and head and took photos of him to post on the GoFundMe site to raise $40,000. They told jurors at her trial she convinced doctors at a Cincinnati hospital she was a doctor while they cared for her 3-year-old son.

Burgett's lawyer acknowledges she lied about being a doctor but says she was trying to help her son, who now lives with his father in Texas.

___

12:05 p.m.

Ohio prosecutors say a woman pretended to be a doctor to get unnecessary medical treatment for her preschool-age son, who she falsely claimed had terminal cancer.

A Hamilton County prosecutor told jurors Tuesday that 39-year-old Monika Burgett falsely claimed her 3-year-old son had cancer and convinced relatives and doctors at a Cincinnati hospital that she was a doctor. The Cincinnati Enquirer reports (http://cin.ci/2uoHIwu ) Burgett's son was treated with drugs including methadone before doctors reported suspected child abuse to the county's family services.

The now-5-year-old boy was removed from Burgett's custody in 2016. Court records show he lives with his father.

Burgett is on trial for child endangering and other offenses.

Her attorney says Burgett was trying to get help for her son's medical problems but lied about being a doctor.
A disabled man was hospitalized with maggot infections twice after the creatures invaded his breathing tube while he lay helpless in a New York state care home.

Steven Wenger, 41, has been hooked up to a ventilator for 26 years after a car accident left him unable to walk, speak or breathe on his own.

But nurses found an invasion of maggots crawling in his breathing tube twice, something that is unheard of in modern American health care.

It was the first of two maggot infestations that led to multiple emergency room trips for Wenger and a state investigation that found days of neglect from caretakers at the group home.

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Walter Wenger visits his severely disabled son, Steven, in a hospital in Kingston, New York, where he was moved after maggots were twice found in the area around his breathing tube while living in a state group home

The report from the state investigation found that the infestation of maggots was due to neglect from the employees at the New York state group home

What is myiasis and how did MAGGOTS get into this man's breathing tube? Maggots, or larvae, can hatch just about anywhere including indoors. They normally come from common house flies, beetles or moths. Myiasis happens when fly larvae infect an open wound. This typically does not happen in the United States because the larvae normally need a tropical or subtropical environment. WHERE IS IT FOUND: South America

Africa

Caribbean Islands People from the United States typically get myiasis after travelling to one of these areas. TYPES: Obligate occurs normally in tropical areas where the larvae feast on a living host. These larvae are unable to thrive unless they have living tissue.

occurs normally in tropical areas where the larvae feast on a living host. These larvae are unable to thrive unless they have living tissue. Facultative is more common in care homes and hospitals. The larvae use wounds or chronic lesions to live in. This can be prevented by adequately cleaning the wounds of patients. SYMPTOMS: Lumps form where larvae inhabit

Larvae might move under the skin

Visual sign of larvae in a wound TREATMENT: Surgically removing the larvae

Consistently cleaning the wound after

Medication might be given by provider Proper hygiene is important to treat myiasis. Sources: CDC and Nursing Times Advertisement

The Associated Press managed to obtain a confidential report about Wenger's case.

His father, Walter Wenger, transferred his son to a new hospital after finding out about the neglect.

'We have a health care system, which is probably and claimed to be the best in the world,' Walter said to AP. 'But from my experience with my son this is at best a third-world country.'

New York state investigated the group home in Rome, New York, but then kept it confidential.

'I know Steven isn't important to anyone else,' said Walter, 'but he's a child of God and no one should be treated like this.'

Walter considered moving his son back to the facility since it is so close to his home, but the facility wouldn't take Steven.

"Now that he's got maggots they want him out," he said. "He's a side of beef that no one wants."

In New York and most other states, details of abuse and neglect investigations in state-regulated institutions for the disabled, addicted and mentally ill are almost never made public.

'If a complaint is substantiated, there should be a pretty detailed report ... but you cannot get that information,' said Robyn Grant, director of public policy at the National Consumer Voice For Quality Long-Term Care, a Washington-based advocacy group.

While many states provide extensive information about hospitals and nursing homes, Grant said, most are relatively silent when it comes to care of the disabled in state-regulated facilities.

In New York, which has one of the nation's largest disabled-care systems, abuse and neglect probes are overseen by the state's Justice Center for the Protection of People With Special Needs.

Spokesman William Reynolds said it cannot release detailed information on its cases - even with identifying material removed - because of state and federal rules involving medical and personnel privacy, and law enforcement investigations.

But advocates for the disabled and some lawmakers say the Justice Center is keeping too much information hidden.

It is rare to find maggots inside of breathing tubes in modern American health care. The New York investigation found a lack of care from the nurses at the facility, but no one was punished

A confidential report on the state investigation determined the infestations of maggots at the group home in Rome, New York were the result of neglect by caregivers

Steven was in a car accident 26 years ago that left him unable to walk, speak or breathe on his own. He is hooked up to a ventilator to keep him alive

This might be to protect Andrew Cuomo's administration from embarrassing headlines or to protect the flow of billions in Medicaid dollars to a sprawling system responsible for about 1 million disabled, addicted and mentally ill people.

'What the hell are they hiding?' asked Harvey Weisenberg, a former state lawmaker whose son who is disabled. 'They won't tell the public, or anybody for that matter, what they're doing.'

It's a system so tightly closed that State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli was stonewalled this year when he tried to audit the Justice Center.

He obtained just 8 percent of the reports requested on the 82,000 abuse and neglect complaints between 2013 and 2016.

'What's troubling is this cloud of secrecy that seems to cover their operations,' said DiNapoli, a Democrat. 'So you don't know if they're doing the job that they're expected to do.'

High-profile cases involving criminal charges are often announced in news releases.

But as for more routine cases, the Justice Center discloses only broad statistics on the thousands of neglect and abuse allegations made each year, and whether they were substantiated.

Those include everything from inadequate supervision of patients to physical abuse, sexual assault and death.

Last year, for example, it reported substantiating 4,169 cases of abuse or neglect in public and private care regulated by the state.

Getting more details, even by Freedom of Information request, is difficult.

Steven has since been moved to a new group home that is farther away from where his father lives. Walter considered keeping Steven at the other group home but officials said no

Abuse and neglect probes are overseen by the New York State Justice Center for Protection of People with Special Needs. Some advocates for the disabled and lawmakers said it is hard to obtain information about what happens at some of these facilities

It took advocates eight months to get a bare-bones listing of the numbers of deaths and sexual assaults by facility over a 2-year period, and finding out the punishments imposed is even harder.

The Justice Center reported that 251 employees at state-owned facilities lost their jobs in 2016 over abuse or neglect. Yet more than three-quarters of the substantiated cases happened at privately run facilities, and state officials say they don't track what happens to those employees.

New York is no outlier. In Florida, home to one of the most open government records policies, officials routinely cite privacy laws to withhold details about deaths of people in state care.

Walter talks to a reporter at his home in Canastota, New York. Details of abuse and neglect investigations in state-regulated institutions for the disabled are almost never made public

Two 2016 federal inspector general reports faulted Massachusetts and Connecticut for failing to document or properly report all their serious cases of abuse and neglect. California's highest court chided health officials in a 2015 case for redacting records on abuse so heavily that they revealed only 'scant' information.

In the absence of publicly available information, Leslie Morrison, director of investigations for the advocacy group Disability Rights California, advises families to do their own shoe-leather detective work.

'Go visit the facility. There's nothing better than walking around, doing a sniff test, doing it unannounced,' she said. 'If you can get in the door, that is. If you can't get in the door, that might suggest something to me also.'

In Wenger's case in a group home in the upstate New York city of Rome, state investigators found that the 41-year-old man's maggot infestations were the result of several days of neglect by caretakers who were supposed to keep the tracheostomy clean.

Justice Center officials said the six-month investigation couldn't pinpoint the employees at fault, so no one was punished. Instead, investigators suggested the home 'consider' brushing up on training on the care of tracheostomies. State officials confirmed that training was done.

Maggots in a tracheostomy are almost unheard of in the developed world, with only a few cases in the medical literature, according to experts. Maggots in bedsores are more common.

'If someone is keeping everything wiped clean, it shouldn't happen,' said Dr. Karl Steinberg, a San Diego-area physician who has served as medical director for hospices and nursing homes.

Maggots are typically associated with filth, since flies deposit their eggs on dead or decaying tissue.

New York's investigation found no evidence the infestation was caused by unsanitary conditions in the eight-resident group home, known as Individual Residential Alternative-3, or IRA-3.

Instead, the author of the investigative report offered another possible explanation: Since Wenger was regularly taken outside for fresh air, the maggots may have been laid on him by flies lured by the smell of manure spread on a vegetable farm across the street.

The owner of the farm disputed that theory, saying he doesn't use manure.
VIENNA (AP) - Production of crude oil across all OPEC countries rose again in July, to above the level the cartel has agreed would be the upper limit - and above the estimated level of global demand.

The cartel said Thursday in a market report that its countries' production rose for a third month in July, by 173,000 daily barrels, to an average of 32.9 million barrels a day.

That puts it above the 32.5 million barrels a day that the group had agreed in November would be their limit. The cartel agreed in May to extend the production limit to March next year in an effort to support market prices. But that intention has sometimes been difficult to put into practice because not all countries were observing the commitment.

July's increase in production also puts output above the estimated global demand for OPEC oil this year of 32.4 million barrels a day.

The price of crude has largely hovered around or below $50 a barrel in recent months, about half what it was in 2014. On Thursday, the benchmark traded in New York was up 33 cents at $49.89 a barrel.
MANILA, Philippines (AP) - A U.S. warship sailed close to a Chinese man-made island in the disputed South China Sea in an operation that challenged China's excessive territorial claims in busy international waters, a U.S. Navy official said Thursday.

The official told The Associated Press that Chinese vessels were in the vicinity when the USS John S. McCain sailed in a "routine" freedom of navigation operation near Mischief Reef Thursday. It was not immediately clear if the Chinese demanded the U.S. destroyer leave as they have done in the past.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to speak to the press about the matter.

In this photo taken Saturday, Aug. 13, 2011, the USS John S. McCain (DDG-56) destroyer sails off the coast of Vietnam. A Navy official says the USS John S. McCain has sailed close to a Chinese man-made island in a freedom of navigation operation in the disputed South China Sea. (AP Photo/Na Son Nguyen, File)

China, which claims the South China Sea virtually in entirety, has protested such U.S. military operations, which President Donald Trump's administration has continued partly to reassure allies locked in territorial rifts with Beijing.

Tensions escalated a few years ago when China began to build seven reefs, including Mischief, into islands, including three with runways, which the U.S. and China's neighbors fear could be used to project Beijing's military might and potentially obstruct freedom of navigation.

The U.S. is not involved in the long-seething disputes in the busy and potentially oil- and gas-rich waters involving China, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. Washington, however, has declared it is in its interest to ensure that the conflicts are resolved peacefully and that freedom of navigation and overflight remain unhampered.

In the latest sail-by, U.S. military officials notified Philippine counterparts of the maneuver, a Philippine official told the AP, adding Filipino forces were not involved.

Philippine marines stationed in a marooned ship on a disputed shoal may have monitored the U.S. Navy operation because they are based near Mischief Reef, the official said.

U.S. Pacific Fleet spokeswoman Lt. Cmdr. Nicole Schwegman said all Navy operations "are conducted in accordance with international law and demonstrate that the United States will fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows."

"That is true in the South China Sea as in other places around the globe," she said.
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - A semi-official Iranian news agency is reporting that a young Iranian man who was arrested, convicted and sentenced to death as a child, has been executed.

Amnesty International called Thursday's execution of Alireza Tajiki "shameful." Tajiki was 15 years old when he was arrested six years ago for murder and sodomy.

The Thursday report by Ana.ir quoted general prosecutor of Shiraz city Ali Salehi as saying the execution took place Thursday morning and was "legal." He said Tajiki had a "fair and just" prosecution.

Salehi said Iran's Supreme Court upheld the execution following an appeal.

Under Iranian law, murder, rape, sodomy and armed rubbery are punishable by death.
LONDON (AP) - Britain is wrestling with a volatile nexus of crime, race and religion, after 18 people were convicted of sexually abusing women and girls as young as 15.

One woman and 17 men were convicted of or admitted to charges including rape, supplying drugs and inciting prostitution in a series of trials that ended this week at Newcastle Crown Court in northeast England.

The crimes follow a pattern that has become grimly familiar from cases across Britain in the last few years. The convicted men mostly come from South Asian Muslim backgrounds. Their victims - who were plied with drugs and alcohol before being abused at parties, in taxis or in back rooms - are mostly white.

Undated handout photo issued by Northumbia Police on Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2017, of (top row left to right) Abdul Sabe, Habibur Rahim, Badrul Hussain, Abdulhamid Minoyee, Jahanger Zaman, Monjur Choudhury, (middle row left to right) Taherul Alam, Hassan Ali, Nadeem Aslam, Mohammed Azram, Yassar Hussain, Saiful Islam, (bottom row left to right) Eisa Mousavi, Prabhat Nelli, Mohibur Rahman, Nashir Uddin, Redwan Siddquee and Carolann Gallon, who have been found guilty following the force's Operation Shelter into child sexual exploitation in Newcastle. Britain is wrestling with a volatile nexus of crime, race and religion, after 18 people were convicted of sexually abusing young women and girls as young as 15. (Northumbia Police via AP)

The prosecution of child-grooming gangs in Rochdale, Rotherham, Oxford and now Newcastle has raised uncomfortable questions. Some allege that the crimes were long ignored by authorities afraid they would be branded racist or fearful the allegations might inflame ethnic tensions.

Sarah Champion, a British lawmaker from Rochdale, said Thursday that the causes of abuse weren't being tackled "because people are more afraid to be called a racist than they are afraid to be wrong about calling out child abuse."

Ken Macdonald, Britain's former chief prosecutor, said some of the blame lay with particular communities who regarded "vulnerable and disordered young girls (as) just opportunities for sexual abuse."

"It is a disease of racism and sexism that will not abate until it is confronted culturally in homes, schools and places of worship as a question of dignity, respect and equal rights," he said.

The recent high-profile cases aren't typical of all child sexual abuse. Most abused children are victimized online, at home or in institutions such as schools, and most of the perpetrators are white men. Police say that in the year to October 2015, 12 percent of offenders in child sexual exploitation cases were from South Asian backgrounds, and 59 percent were white.

But former prosecutor Nazir Azfal, who brought the Rochdale abuse gang to trial, says Pakistani men are disproportionately involved in the sort of "street grooming" seen in Newcastle.

He says factors may include sexist attitudes to women and other "cultural baggage," and the large number of South Asian men working in the nocturnal economy.

"These young girls are invariably looking for warmth, for transport, for food, for mind-numbing substances," he said. "The predators are hiding among the takeaway workers and taxi drivers."

Some experts say the focus on South Asian perpetrators masks how widespread child sexual abuse is, and overlooks the fact that victims are often ignored by authorities because of their youth and troubled backgrounds.

Helen Beckett, an expert on child sexual exploitation from the University of Bedfordshire, said focusing on one ethnic group risked missing other patterns of abuse.

"The emphasis that we've had on (abuse) being perpetrated by Asian males means that that is often what we are looking for, and therefore are more likely to find," she said.

"We know child sexual exploitation takes so many different forms. "

Since the Rochdale case shocked the nation in 2012, police and lawyers have worked hard to prosecute grooming gangs - though some police tactics have drawn criticism. A child welfare group expressed alarm at a police decision in Newcastle to pay a convicted child rapist to act as an informant.

Steve Ashman, head of the Northumbria Police force, acknowledged that paying a convicted pedophile "may appear repugnant," but said his information had been crucial to convicting the gang.

He said police had "thrown the kitchen sink" at the crime of child sex abuse, deploying 50 officers for more than three years in an operation that has netted 93 convictions, including the ones this week.

Afzal said there had been progress, but that much more needs to be done.

"You turn over a stone and you will find this kind of behavior pretty much everywhere in this country," he said. "The demography might change but the behavior remains the same. Where there are available and vulnerable young girls, and boys, there are predators.

"There is no community where women and girls are safe. None."

___

Follow Jill Lawless on Twitter at http://Twitter.com/JillLawless
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) - The Rochester Red Wings are changing the International League team's name for one game to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the creation of the city's signature dish: "the garbage plate."

The Minnesota Twins' Triple-A affiliate is wearing uniforms with the name Plates and a customized logo when it takes the field against the Norfolk Tides on Thursday night.

They're honoring Alexander Tahou (TAH'-hoh), who during World War I started serving two hot dogs or hamburgers, a heap of home fries and macaroni salad smothered with a meat-based hot sauce, topped with raw onions, mustard and ketchup.

Later dubbed a garbage plate, the dish remains a popular item at his late son Nick's Rochester restaurant. Nick's son, Alex Tahou, will receive a special Plates jersey with the number 100 on it.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) - The Latest on an investigation of eggs tainted with an illegal pesticide in Europe (all times local):

7:35 p.m.

Romanian authorities say they have seized a ton of imported eggs suspected of being contaminated.

In this photo taken Monday, Aug. 7, 2017 Eggs are kept fresh in an egg-box in a laboratory of the Chemical and Veterinary Investigation Office in Krefeld, Germany. Dutch investigators detained two men Thursday who are suspected of being involved in the illegal use of pesticide at poultry farms that sparked a massive food safety scare in several European countries. (Marcel Kusch/dpa via AP)

The Veterinary Health Authority said in a statement that authorities discovered 1,000 kilograms (2,200 pounds) of eggs before they had reached supermarket shelves. They had arrived in the western city of Timisoara from Germany.

It said the eggs, found Wednesday, were believed to be tainted with the pesticide Fipronil. Authorities will incinerate the eggs.

It was the first report of contaminated eggs in Romania, a European Union member.

___

4:30 p.m.

Reports of possibly tainted eggs linked to the pesticide scandal in the Netherlands and Belgium are cropping up in several countries.

Luxembourg's government has said that it received eggs from a Belgian producer whose eggs were found to contain Fipronil. Some eggs were sent back, while others were used in minced meat and luncheon meat. The remaining minced meat has been destroyed.

In Denmark, 40 eggs from a farm affected by Fipronil have been found at a baker, Nikolai Kuhn Hove of the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration told Denmark's TV2 channel. The eggs were seized Wednesday and the state agency said it would continue to monitor the situation.

Britain's food safety watchdog says far more eggs from affected farms have been imported than previously thought.

Dutch authorities arrested two men Thursday on suspicion of involvement in the illegal use of the pesticide Fipronil in poultry farms.

___

3:30 p.m.

British food safety authorities say far more eggs possibly tainted with the pesticide Fipronil have been imported to the United Kingdom from elsewhere in Europe than previously thought. But they say the number is a tiny fraction of the eggs consumed each year in the country.

The Food Standards Agency says it's likely that the number of eggs that have come to the UK is closer to 700,000 than the 21,000 officials previously believed had been imported.

The agency has issued a list of recalled processed foods including sandwiches and salads in which the eggs were found, but added that many eggs were mixed with other eggs from unaffected farms, so any Fipronil residues would be diluted.

The agency says that 85 percent of eggs eaten in the United Kingdom are laid there and "we have no evidence that eggs laid in the UK are contaminated or that Fipronil has been used inappropriately in the UK."

Millions of eggs have been pulled from supermarket shelves across Europe but no illnesses have been reported.

___

2:45 p.m.

Dutch investigators have detained two men suspected of being involved in the illegal use of pesticide at poultry farms that sparked a massive food safety scare in several countries.

Dutch prosecutors said in a statement Thursday that the two men detained during a series of raids are directors of a company that allegedly used Fipronil in egg farms.

Though no illnesses have been reported, prosecutors said there is evidence that public health has been threatened by "the delivery or application of the biocide Fipronil in poultry houses in the egg sector."

The raids in the Netherlands were carried out as part of a joint action with Belgian authorities.

Millions of eggs have been pulled from supermarket shelves in Germany as well as Belgium and the Netherlands.

___

3 p.m.

Dutch and Belgian authorities are carrying out raids as part of a criminal investigation into the illegal use of pesticide at poultry farms.

Marieke van der Molen of the Dutch National Prosecutor's Office says investigators from the country's food safety watchdog are conducting the raids in the Netherlands. She did not provide details on which companies or individuals were targeted.

Van der Molen says the Dutch raids on Thursday are part of a joint action with Belgian authorities.

Dozens of producers in the two countries are being investigated for eggs containing Fipronil, which is potentially dangerous. However, no cases have been reported of people falling sick.

As a result of the scandal, millions of eggs have been pulled from supermarket shelves in Germany as well as Belgium and the Netherlands.
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Congressman Tom Graves, Georgia State Senator Jeff Mullis, Walker County Sole Commissioner Shannon Whitfield and others toured the Audia and Roper manufacturing plants in Walker County on Wednesday.

Both companies continue to expand operations locally.

Congressman Graves and Commissioner Whitfield spoke with a group of Roper employees about the need for more manufacturing jobs in America and the necessity for local, state and federal cooperation to support continued growth.






BANGKOK (AP) - Russia's foreign minister has held talks with Thailand's top officials on counterterrorism, cybersecurity and North Korea.

Thursday's visit by Sergey Lavrov came just two days after U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson traveled to Bangkok. Both officials took part in meetings in the Philippines with counterparts from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations that focused heavily on North Korea's push to advance its nuclear weapons and missile programs.

Lavrov said after discussion with Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai that they agreed the United Nations should be the vehicle for a resolution of tensions over North Korea, which has been trading threats of war with the United States.

Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai, right, welcomes his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Aug. 10, 2017. Lavrov is in Thailand marking 120th diplomatic relations between the two nations. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) - A sentencing hearing in a Medicare fraud case against a prominent Florida eye doctor separately accused of bribing New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez was postponed Thursday at the last minute.

Attorneys for Dr. Salomon Melgen, 63, said in court documents they and prosecutors agreed to postpone Friday's sentencing hearing until December. He was convicted in April on 67 counts that prosecutors say resulted in more than $100 million being stolen from the federal government.

Melgen's attorneys said in court documents the delay is necessary because the hearing could take longer than a day. They declined further comment. Federal prosecutors declined comment.

The sentencing hearing is now set for after next month's scheduled federal bribery trial for Menendez and Melgen in New Jersey.

Prosecutors said Melgen gave Menendez gifts in exchange for visas for Melgen's foreign mistresses. Menendez also interceded with Medicare officials investigating Melgen's practice and pressured the State Department to intervene in a business dispute Melgen had with the Dominican government, prosecutor said. Menendez and Melgen have denied wrongdoing in that case.

Sentencing guidelines in the Medicare case recommended that Melgen receive a term of between 30 years and life.

Prosecutors frequently use the prospect of a long prison sentence as leverage to convince defendants to testify against others to get a more lenient sentence. But there's been no indication in court documents or by lawyers that Melgen is cooperating with the government against Menendez.

Melgen became politically active in 1997, when he treated Florida Democratic Gov. Lawton Chiles, who appointed him to a state board.

He was soon hosting Democratic fundraisers at his 6,500-square-foot (605-square-meter) North Palm Beach home and he eventually became friends with Menendez. Melgen paid for trips he and the senator took to France and to the doctor's home at a Dominican resort.

Menendez reimbursed Melgen $58,500 after the trips became public knowledge.

__

Associated Press writer Curt Anderson in Miami contributed to this report.
Former Vice President of India Mohammad Hamid Ansari

A top retiring Indian official embarrassed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist government by saying Muslims were feeling insecure under his rule following attacks on them by Hindu hardliners on mere suspicion that they were killing cows considered holy by majority Hindus.

In an interview with state-run Rajya Sabha television channel broadcast Thursday, Hamid Ansari said intolerance was growing in India with Hindu hardliners questioning the nationalism of Muslims who comprise nearly 14 percent of India's 1.3 billion people.

Ansari, a Muslim, ended his second five-year term as India's vice-president, a ceremonial position, on Thursday.

He said he had conveyed his concerns to Modi and some of his ministers.

Ansari was a career diplomat before taking up the constitutional position.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi (left) talks with Vice-President Hamid Ansari

A statue of a cow is seen during a protest and fast by Indian Hindu devotees against the slaughter of a cow in the southern state of Kerala

He said he has heard more about the issue in north India.

'There is a feeling of unease, a sense of insecurity is creeping in,' Ansari said.

He also said the breakdown of authority at different levels to the point that the 'Indianness' of some citizens was being questioned was a disturbing thought.

Modi, a Hindu, has long had an uneasy relationship with Muslims, in large part because he, as chief minister of Gujarat state, was in command in 2002 when communal riots killed more than 1,000 people, most of them Muslims.

Bollywood actress Shabana Azmi, right, joins other to protest against a spate of violent attacks across the country targeting the country's Muslim minority, in Mumbai, India

Modi denied any involvement in the killings by Hindus.

Ansari's views were immediately challenged by Venkaiah Naidu, a top leader of Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party and Ansari's successor who will assume office on Friday. He will hold a ceremonial position and conduct the proceedings of the upper house of India's Parliament like the speaker of the powerful lower house.

Naidu said he disagreed with the view that intolerance was growing.

'Compared to the entire world, minorities are more safe and secure in India and they get their due,' Naidu said in an interview with the Press Trust of India news agency.

Cows are revered in the Hindu scriptures as the 'mother' of civilisation and many worshippers equate the slaughter of cows or eating beef as blasphemy

The prime minister and others in his party have rarely spoken about the killings of Muslims over the past three years, leading some rights activists to accuse Modi and his government of tacitly supporting the attacks.

Modi has said he felt enraged by those masquerading as cow protectors to commit crimes.

There have also been a spate of deadly attacks against atheist thinkers who campaigned against religious superstitions after Modi's government came to power in 2014.
LOGANVILLE, Ga. (AP) - The father of a 7-year-old girl had to scramble after a foster care worker took her - and not another girl with a similar name - from their school in suburban Atlanta.

Sean Harris says he panicked when he went to pick up his daughter from after-school care and discovered she wasn't there.

Then he went to her school and was told she was released to a state employee. That worker was supposed to retrieve a different girl who has the same last name and a first name that shares all but one letter. The Division of Family and Child Services blames the mixup on Gwinnett County Schools, whose spokeswoman Sloan Roach says the family's concerns are understandable.

Harris said his daughter is scared to go back to school.
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed says conflicts in Nigeria and Congo are marked by extremely high levels of sexual and gender-based violence - and both countries have "dismayingly low levels of women's political participation."

She told the U.N. Security Council Thursday that her most important message from a joint U.N.-African Union mission to the two countries from July 19-27 that focused on women in conflict is that greater investment is needed in women and girls "if we are to have sustainable peace and development."

Mohammed said sexual violence is widespread in Congo, where 3.8 million people have fled fighting.

United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, left, addresses the Security Council meeting on peace and security in Africa, Thursday Aug. 10, 2017 at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

In northern Nigeria, where Boko Haram is active, she said, "abductions, forced marriage and the use of women as suicide bombers have taken a terrible toll."
NEW YORK (AP) - Credit Suisse has banned the trading and use of Venezuelan bonds, as the political and financial crisis in the South American country escalates.

The bank will no longer trade, nor accept as collateral, two specific types of Venezuelan securities as well as any bonds the country issued from June 1 going forward, according to a company spokeswoman who was not authorized to give her name. Further, any businesses who wish to do business with Venezuela and deal in any assets there will have to go through additional screening.

The ban comes as the U.S. considers a range of economic sanctions against the government of President Nicolas Maduro, who is facing mounting international criticism over a crackdown on opponents and moves to consolidate power. In the memo, the bank cited "recent developments and the political climate" in the country for the ban.

The Trump administration has sanctioned 30 government officials or loyalists since April, including Maduro himself.

Venezuela in the midst of a severe economic downturn caused by poor government policies and low oil prices. The country's bonds are one of the few ways the current government is able to raise money to support its collapsing economy.

But as the country's political crisis has worsened, the bonds issued by the government as well as the state-owned oil company PDVSA have become a point of contention and concern for investors who increasingly worry they are supporting an oppressive regime as well as a country that is a great risk of defaulting on its debts. Goldman Sachs came under political pressure earlier this year for buying a reported $2.8 billion in Venezuelan bonds on the open market at a significant discount.

National Assembly President Julio Borges, leader of the country's opposition, has sent more than a dozen letters to leading global banks warning them of the risk to their reputations and bottom line if they throw a lifeline to Maduro. Borges also threatened not to recognize any bonds issued by Maduro's government if the opposition were to come back into power.

The country has debt payments coming due this year of around $6 billion and is estimated only to have $10 billion in cash remaining, largely tied up in gold bars.

The Trump administration has not ruled out the possibility of banning oil Venezuelan oil imports, a step that would deprive the country of its main source of hard currency and could hasten a debt default. Other options on the table include a ban on exports of light U.S. crude that Venezuela depends on to process its oil. That could also raise the risk of default by significantly reducing Venezuela's oil production.

____

AP reporter Joshua Goodman contributed to this report from Caracas.
CNN has fired conservative commentator Jeffrey Lord after he tweeted a Nazi salute at a critic.

A network spokesperson confirmed on Thursday that Lord was no longer with the network and said 'Nazi salutes are indefensible.'

The statement came hours after Lord tweeted the Nazi slogan 'Sieg Heil!' at Angelo Carusone, the head of a liberal advocacy group, Media Matters for America.

Lord said in a telephone interview Thursday night that he respected CNN and its journalists, but fundamentally disagreed with the network's decision to fire him.

CNN fired its conservative commentator Jeffrey Lord on Thursday after he tweeted a Nazi salute at a critic

He said his 'Sieg Heil!' tweet was not an endorsement of Nazism or fascist tactics, but was meant to mock Media Matters and its use of boycotts of advertisers of conservative voices such as Sean Hannity, which Lord equated with fascism.

'I want to make something very clear. I have nothing but respect, affection and love for CNN. I think the world of CNN,' Lord said.

'I think they're terrific people and serious people.'

He called himself a 'First Amendment fundamentalist' and called CNN's decision disappointing.

'From my perspective CNN caved on the First Amendment of all things. I disagree. I respectfully disagree.'

He declined to get into specifics of how he was fired, saying he wanted to keep that a private conversation.

Lord tweeted the Nazi slogan 'Sieg Heil!' at Angelo Carusone, the head of a liberal advocacy group, Media Matters for America

Retained by CNN in August 2015, Lord was an indefatigable on-air supporter of Donald Trump throughout his candidacy and since his election. A contributor to the conservative magazine The American Spectator, Lord is a former aide to Jack Kemp and Ronald Reagan.

He had repeatedly clashed with Media Matters president Angelo Carusone, whose group condemned CNN for employing him as a commentator.

Following a harsh exchange of tweets with Carusone earlier this week, Lord posted an article for The American Spectator on Thursday morning, calling Carusone's group the 'Media Matters Fascists' and casting them as 'anti-free speech bigots who, in typical fascist style, make it their mission to shut down speech they don't like.'

During the day, the Twitter sparring resumed with Lord finally responding to Carusone with the tweet: 'Sieg Heil!'

In subsequent tweets, he insisted he meant he was 'mocking Nazis and Fascists.'

Conservative commentator Jeffrey Lord (above at a Trump rally in 2016) was fired by CNN on Thursday after he tweeted a Nazi salute at the head of a liberal advocacy group

A network spokesperson confirmed on Thursday that Lord was no longer with the network. Lord is pictured above preparing for a CNN broadcast from his home office last September

'I believe in a writer's toolbox there are several ways you deal with people,' Lord said. 'One of them is to mock them.'

During his presence on CNN's airwaves Lord had frequently riled CNN hosts including Anderson Cooper and Don Lemon, fellow commentators, and viewers with many of his statements.

During Super Tuesday election night coverage in March 2016, he argued that the KKK was a left-wing organization because of Democrats' support of it many decades before. In April, he called President Donald Trump the 'Martin Luther King' of health care.

Lord said he did not know what his next steps would be, but said he didn't intend to stop speaking out about the First Amendment and other issues.

Asked about how he felt about having a tweet end his CNN career, Lord said he wasn't necessarily surprised given the vitriol Twitter can provoke. Ironically, he said, tweeting more was a New Year's resolution.

He said he had received 'a tidal wave of support' from conservatives after his firing.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - The Latest on Kansas medical regulators weighing whether to discipline a doctor over a teenager's abortion: (all times local):

5:10 p.m.

A doctor facing possible disciplinary action over allegations that he broke Kansas law in handling a 13-year-old girl's abortion told medical regulators he was unaware of the patient's age - and that staff at the Planned Parenthood clinic was to blame.

Dr. Allen Palmer told the Kansas State Board of Healing Arts during a hearing Thursday that he would have relied on Planned Parenthood's staff to inform him if the patient during the December 2014 procedure was younger than 14 because he didn't do abortions on patients so young.

Palmer is accused of failing to preserve fetal tissue from the abortion and submit it to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.

The petition by the board's deputy litigation counsel says Palmer was a part-time Planned Parenthood contractor solely tasked with performing abortions for patients in their first trimester.

The board deferred a ruling, which is expected within 30 days.

___

2:30 p.m.

Kansas' regulatory medical board is weighing disciplinary action against a doctor who Planned Parenthood self-reported may have violated state law in handling a 13-year-old girl's abortion.

The Kansas State Board of Healing Arts on Thursday was to discuss a petition alleging Dr. Allen Palmer illegally failed to preserve fetal tissue from the 2014 abortion and submit it to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.

The petition by the board's deputy litigation counsel says Palmer was a part-time Planned Parenthood contractor solely tasked with performing abortions for patients in their first trimester.

The petition says Palmer's attorney has insisted his client inadvertently violated the state law and regulations because he wasn't aware of them.

A man who answered the phone at a Missouri listing for Palmer hung up on the reporter.
European Commission president Jean Claude Juncker and his team racked up a 27,000 euro (24,450) expenses bill for European Union taxpayers by chartering a private jet for a one-night visit to Rome.

Documents released by the Commission after a two-year battle with human rights group Access Info revealed that the 28 commissioners accumulated a near-500,000 euro (452,770) expenses bill in two months last year. Among the papers were claims for so-called air taxis  private jets which commissioners are supposed to charter when there are no commercial options available.

Mr Juncker, as part of a nine-person delegation, chartered one such jet for a trip to Rome on February 25 and 26 2016 at a cost of 26,351 euros (23,862)  described by Nigel Farage as outrageous and clearly over the top.

Nigel Farage called Jean Claude Juncker's team's 27,000 euro expenses bill 'outrageous' (Victoria Jones/PA)

According to the website for Brussels Airport, there are currently six daily flights between the Belgian capital, home to the Commission headquarters, and Rome, while there is an extra flight from Brussels South Charleroi airport.

Commission deputy chief spokeswoman Mina Andreeva said the private jet was chartered by Mr Juncker and the delegation because there was no viable commercial plane available that would fit the presidents agenda and stressed the 2,927 euro (2,650) per person cost of the flight.

At the Commissions regular midday press briefing, Ms Andreeva also described flights on air taxis as hard work, which includes reading documents with your files and marking them, adding: So I think you will be disappointed as to the travelling experience.

Commission deputy chief spokeswoman Mina Andreeva said 'There is no Brexit bill' (Jane Barlow/PA)

Asked if the cost of the flights would be included in the so-called divorce bill Britain is being asked to pay to settle budget commitments, she replied: The flights are part of the yearly budget that the Commission has and that is audited and there is an administrative section so its within this section that we can spend travel expenses and this is outlined in the yearly budget.

As to a Brexit bill, there is no Brexit bill; there are outstanding commitments that need to be paid and this is part of the negotiations, but the travel costs are governed by our rules and are part of the annual budget which again is publicly available.

Commenting on the revelations, former Ukip leader and current MEP Mr Farage said: Outrageous! Juncker spending 27,000 euro on a private jet at taxpayers expense is clearly over the top especially when many normal flights are available.

I suppose these junket expenses are all part of the make-believe Brexit bill which these commissioners have plucked out of thin air and trying to extort from our Government.
Three young men have been jailed for killing a student outside his halls of residence in a trivial row over a dirty look.

Djojo Nsaka, 19, and two friends were returning to their digs at Middlesex University in Wembley, north London, when they were attacked in the early hours of the morning.

The father-of-one tried to calm the situation but was stabbed in the chest and collapsed in a pool of blood as his friends ran off. The court heard he was killed because of the double stupidity of making something out of nothing and carrying knives.

Lady Justice, holding scales and a sword, on top of the Old Bailey

Prosecutor Willam Boyce QC told the jury: It had gone from pulling a face to, I am going to kill him, bring him outside, within the course of a day. And before another day had elapsed they had done just that  they had killed one of the boys.

After two and a half days of deliberations, an Old Bailey jury found Donald Davies and Mukeh Kawa, both 21, from Colindale, north London, guilty of murder. The pair were jailed for life with a minimum of 26 years. Their co-accused Ali Tas, 21, also from Colindale, was cleared of murder but convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to seven and a half years.

The court heard how Mr Nsaka started a course at Middlesex University in September and lived in halls of residence with Daniel Tamfuri and Chris Bonda. On January 18, the three friends were walking through the university when one of the defendants, Kawa, passed by and gave Mr Tamfuri a screw-face look, jurors heard.

Djojo Nsaka was killed close to Wembley Stadium

The next day, they asked a female friend of Kawas why he stared at them angrily and she accused Mr Tamfuri of giving him the screw-face expression. He told her to tell Kawa he should be humble and she replied in sarcastic tones: Dont worry, I will tell him, jurors heard.

The friends were out in Camden when the defendants arrived at the halls to have it out with them, jurors were told. A security guard ejected the men and overheard one of them tell Mr Tamfuris girlfriend: I dont beat girls, bring your boyfriend. Im gonna kill him, bring him outside. As they left, one of them shouted: Watch, watch, watch, the court heard.

The three students returned at about 1am and were approached by the three men in a dark green Rover car. The driver, Tas, shouted: Humble who, humble whom, what you saying? He punched Mr Bonda in the face and Kawa produced a large knife from the waistband of his trousers and tried to stab him with it, the court heard. Mr Bonda saw a third man, matching the description of Davies, also produce a knife.

The victim shouted to them to stop, saying allow it, but Kawa continued saying humble who? Mr Nsaka threw a traffic cone at the men but was left behind as his friends ran back into the halls of residence, the court heard.

A neighbour saw him collapse on the ground in a pool of blood as the three men got back into the car. He was pronounced dead just before 2am.

Following the convictions, Mr Nsakas family said they struggled to understand how their loved one who was not a fighter could have been killed. They said in a statement that he had a heart of gold and never held any grudges and was at university because he wanted to better himself.
Someone In Chicago Has A 'COVFEFE' License Plate

By Rachel Cromidas in News on Aug 9, 2017 10:58PM



President Donald Trump may have moved on since the day he tweeted, and then deleted, something about "negative press covfefe," but that doesn't mean we have to. Chicagoans have already been known to troll Trump for his policy agenda, tweets and recorded statements, so it was probably only a matter of time before an Illinois license plate that says "COVFEFE" came onto our radar.

The car was spotted Wednesday afternoon in Logan Square, though as Chicagoan and Instagram user Katie Buitrago points out, this plate has probably been delighting local photographers for a while. We think it speaks for itself:

I wonder how many people have instagrammed this license plate #covfefe A post shared by Katie Boo (@breadheadedstranger) on Aug 9, 2017 at 3:19pm PDT

This Illinois resident isn't the only one having fun with the seven-letter, possibly meaningless word/typo: Another COVFEFE car was spotted in Indianapolis earlier this week.
A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after pulling up outside a police station with a body in the car.

West Midlands Police said a BMW parked up outside West Bromwich police station at about 10.20am on Thursday.

On the front passenger seat was the body of a man.

General image of a police officer

Body found in car  man arrested on suspicion of murder: https://t.co/fmBHznobAl pic.twitter.com/k4ew6ByHX6  West Midlands Police (@WMPolice) August 10, 2017

The 40-year-old driver was arrested and the stations front office closed, as part of the scene cordon.

Detective Inspector Harry Harrison, of West Midlands Police, said: A post mortem examination will take place in due course  but at this early stage we suspect the man died some time before the body was driven to West Bromwich.

The driver has been arrested and we are examining CCTV and street cameras in a bid to piece together where the car had travelled from before arriving.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp insists there is no bid that will persuade the club to sell Philippe Coutinho.

Barcelona are understood to have had a follow-up offer of around 90million for the Reds playmaker rejected on Wednesday, having already seen a 72million bid turned down last month.

Klopp has been firm in his stance that the Brazil international is not for sale.

Jurgen Klopp, right, speaks to Philippe Coutinho during the EFL Cup semi-final at Southampton

And the manager was quoted on Thursday as telling Sky in Germany: From a financial standpoint there is no price limit to let him go. A price at which we are ready to give in.

Our goal is to have the best possible team so we want to keep our guys and add new ones. That is our plan. Liverpool is not a club that has to sell players. That is set in stone. So what they pay in the end doesnt matter.

Barca have plenty of money to spend, having sold Coutinhos compatriot Neymar to Paris St Germain for a world-record 200.6million last week.

Ready for Watford. 



Pics from the Reds' preparations today: https://t.co/RPAs4jvj0o pic.twitter.com/YryOc626I9  Liverpool FC (@LFC) August 10, 2017

Coutinho, who joined Liverpool from Inter Milan for 8.5million in 2013, signed a new five-year deal with the Merseyside outfit in January that did not include a buy-out clause.

The 25-year-old was their leading scorer with 14 goals in all competitions last term, a season that saw Klopps men secure a fourth-placed finish in the Premier League.

Liverpool open their 2017-18 campaign with Saturdays league clash against Watford at Vicarage Road and there are doubts over whether Coutinho will be available for the match, with him having been receiving treatment this week for a back issue.
DAKAR, Aug 9 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Most African migrants suffer abuse, torture and rape as they cross lawless Libya in pursuit of a new life in Europe, Oxfam said on Wednesday as it urged Europe to offer safer routes.

The voyage from Libya across the Mediterranean Sea to Italy - often on flimsy boats run by people smugglers - is the main route to Europe for migrants from Africa, with more than 95,000 people having set sail this year, and 180,000 in 2016.

Before they even embark on the perilous sea leg of their voyage, many migrants end up detained in Libya, and face abuse, extortion, and forced labour at the hands of armed groups, criminal gangs and smugglers, aid agencies say.

Migrants who made it to Italy told Oxfam how they were kept in cells full of dead bodies, forced to call their families to demand ransom money, and beaten and starved for months on end.

Three-quarters of the 160-odd arrivals interviewed by the charity saw a fellow migrant tortured or killed, while at least eight in 10 said they suffered 'inhuman or degrading treatment'.

"These are people who are escaping war, persecution and poverty - and yet in Libya they encounter another hell," Roberto Barbieri, head of Oxfam Italy, said in a statement.

Several African migrants who were once detained in Libya have told the Thomson Reuters Foundation of the 'hell' they endured - beaten, raped and watching others die.

All but one of the 31 women migrants who spoke to Oxfam said they had faced sexual violence in Libya. Esther, a 28-year-old from Nigeria, told the charity she had suffered a miscarriage after regular beatings during her five months in detention.

"I lost my poor little child who was in my womb due to the beatings ... and my sister died from the beatings and abuse. I lost a lot of blood without receiving any help," she told Oxfam.

Many women migrants take birth control such as contraceptive injections before leaving home as they fear rape and falling pregnant along the journey, activists say.

Oxfam urged European nations to stop pursuing migration policies that prevent people leaving Libya by sea, which the charity said puts migrants at risk of abuse and exploitation.

"People must come first," said Barbieri of Oxfam. "The EU should provide safe routes for people to come to Europe and have access to a fair and transparent processes for claiming asylum." (Writing By Kieran Guilbert, Editing by Lyndsay Griffiths.; 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 Inna Lazareva

YAOUNDE, Aug 10 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A celebrated Indian nun who rescues Cameroonian women from slavery in the Middle East has called for greater support for victims to help them recover from the horrors of being drugged, raped and abused.

Sister Vanaja Jasphine says she has identified more than 200 women who have been trafficked from the central African nation and enslaved in the Middle East in recent years.

The 39-year-old nun last year helped to bring home 14 trafficking victims, whom she refers to as Cameroon's "children".

A rising number of African women are heading to the Middle East for domestic work, driven abroad by the lack of jobs at home, rights activists say. Yet many have their passports confiscated and end up trapped in modern-day slavery.

"One woman was thrown from the balcony of a two-storey building by her employer after she accidentally burnt her boss's shirt whilst ironing," Jasphine said of a victim in Kuwait.

Others are drugged and turned into sex slaves - being raped multiple times a day and even forced to have sex with animals.

"They come home with a lot of trauma," Jasphine, coordinator of the Justice and Peace Commission of Kumbo, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a seminary in the capital Yaounde.

"Sometimes, a (woman forced to be a) sex worker can be exploited 15 times a day - physically, mentally, she's drained ... she's gone," added the nun, who moved to northwest Cameroon almost a decade ago to work with the country's poorest.

"In the end, she doesn't have anything. She comes back in the same dress she left in."

Jasphine was hailed in June as one of eight global heroes in the fight against trafficking at the launch of the United States' annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report, which grades countries on their efforts to stamp out modern-day slavery.

But Jasphine has no time for celebrations.

She is too busy seeking funding, counselling and support for victims left traumatised by their ordeal abroad.

TRAFFICKERS CHANGE TACTICS

Jasphine says she identifies trafficking victims by working with activists, community leaders and civil society groups.

To raise awareness about their plight, she has helped organise demonstrations, where women have marched with placards reading: 'Bring back our suffering daughters'.

"We got a lot of support from the people," said Jasphine.

"It touches every heart because they (the people) feel: 'It's my own child who is affected, who is exploited'."

She has also lobbied government officials, all the way to the country's prime minister, to do more to help the women.

Cameroon has made strides towards meeting the U.S. minimum standards to end trafficking, having provided services to some victims and sent a delegation to the Middle East to discuss Cameroonian workers' rights, the 2017 TIP report said.

Yet the state has not funded repatriation for slavery victims stranded in the Middle East, and continues to rely on civil society groups to bring trafficking cases to its attention and provide most services for victims, the report said.

The government has tried to crack down on Cameroonians travelling to the Middle East, but traffickers have changed tactics, and are instead flying women via Nigeria, Jasphine said.

She said the government must now do more to help those coming home.

Although her organisation and other groups try to help victims get back on their feet, take them to hospital and provide counselling, it is simply not enough, the nun warned.

"It is very disheartening," Jasphine said, showing a series of distressed text messages from one of the women she helped to rescue from Kuwait, who is now struggling financially.

"Much more needs to be done." (Reporting By Inna Lazareva, editing by Kieran Guilbert and Emma Batha.; 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 Yeganeh Torbati and Sarah Marsh

WASHINGTON/HAVANA, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Cuba said on Wednesday it was investigating allegations by the United States that unspecified "incidents" caused physical symptoms in Americans serving at the U.S. Embassy in Havana, after two Washington-based Cuban diplomats were expelled.

"Cuba has never, nor would it ever, allow that the Cuban territory be used for any action against accredited diplomatic agents or their families," the foreign ministry said in a statement late on Wednesday. "It reiterates its willingness to cooperate in the clarification of this situation."

Havana said it had started a "comprehensive, priority and urgent investigation" into the alleged incidents after it had been informed of them by the embassy in February.

Earlier on Wednesday, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters that the exact nature of the incidents was unclear, but Americans serving in Cuba had returned to the United States for non life-threatening "medical reasons."

The United States first learned of the issues at the embassy in late 2016, she said.

"We don't have any definitive answers about the source or the cause of what we consider to be incidents," Nauert said. "It's caused a variety of physical symptoms in these American citizens who work for the U.S. government. We take those incidents very seriously, and there is an investigation currently under way."

As a result, the United States on May 23 asked two Cuban officials in Washington to leave the country and they have done so, Nauert said, an action that Cuba described as "unjustified".

"What this requires is providing medical examinations to these people," Nauert said. "Initially, when they'd started reporting what I will just call symptoms, it took time to figure out what it was, and this is still ongoing. So we're monitoring it."

A U.S. government official said several colleagues at the U.S. embassy in Havana were evacuated back to the United States for hearing problems and other symptoms over the past six months. Some subsequently got hearing aids, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Washington and Havana re-established diplomatic relations in 2015 after more than five decades of hostilities, re-opening embassies in each other's capitals and establishing a new chapter of engagement between the former Cold War foes.

President Donald Trump rolled back part of his predecessor Barack Obama's policy toward Cuba, but has left in place many of the changes, including the re-opened U.S. Embassy in Havana. (Reporting by Mohammad Zargham and Yeganeh Torbati in Washington and Sarah Marsh in Havana; Editing by G Crosse, Toni Reinhold)
By Fabian Cambero

SANTIAGO, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Ireland's Mainstream Renewable Power is confident it will be able to maintain a steady pipeline of power projects in Chile, an executive told Reuters on Wednesday, even as some firms have soured on the country's renewable sector in recent years.

Aela Energia, a joint venture between Mainstream and British private equity firm Actis, on Wednesday announced it had sealed $410 million in bank financing to construct two wind farms with total capacity of 299 megawatts in the South American nation.

The financial close on the farms, known as Sarco and Aurora, marks one of the biggest wind power deals in Chile, which has seen a wind and solar energy boom in recent years due to a steady regulatory framework and near-perfect conditions for such sources of power.

But it also comes as falling energy prices, transmission grid issues and sluggish demand from the nation's key mining sector begin to sow doubts among some investors.

Still, Mainstream remains optimistic, the company's commercial manager for Chile, Daniel Canales, said on Wednesday.

He said the firm was looking to some of the banks that financed Sarco and Aurora to help its plans to build wind farms needed to fulfill 986 megawatts in contracts Mainstream was awarded by the Chilean government last year.

"We've started conversations with the current banks, looking toward the next platform," Canales said.

He added that Mainstream had received "significant" interest from outside firms looking to partner on new wind projects. In April, Reuters reported that one of those firms was U.S. industrial conglomerate General Electric Co.

In neighboring Argentina, Mainstream is also very interested in participating in upcoming public power auctions, Canales said.

However, he said the Argentine market required structural changes to realize its full potential, such as improved regulations, investments in transmission and less macroeconomic uncertainty.

"Because of that we're thinking about entering on a small scale, with a well-located project," he said.

(Reporting by Fabian Cambero; Additional reporting by Nicolas Misculin in Buenos Aires; Writing by Gram Slattery; Editing by Joseph Radford)
By Dahlia Nehme and John Davison

BEIRUT, Aug 10 (Reuters) - After fighting against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for six years, rebel soldier Abu Mohammed laid down his arms as part of a peace deal in his home town of Moadamiya last year.

But he has now fled Syria into Turkey. His reason: the Syrian army told him to report for duty and he feared being sent to his death fighting his former allies or Islamic State.

"We're tired of war and bloodshed, we've had as much as we can take," Abu Mohammed said in a phone interview from Turkey.

The 27-year-old, who declined to give his full name, said he had signed onto the peace deal in Moadamiya, a Damascus suburb that was a rebel stronghold until last year.

He said he had been told the Moadamiya agreement would exempt him from frontline duty. "We stayed in the town on that basis."

But this spring, he heard that men from Moadamiya had been conscripted not to serve locally but to fight for the government against rebel soldiers.

"People began to get worried," he said, adding that he left after the army gave him 48 hours to report for military service.

Reuters could not independently verify the account of other soldiers from Moadamiya being taken to fight on front lines, but it echoed that of a second former rebel from Moadamiya.

Declining to be named, he said defectors were being sent to the front lines in breach of agreements communicated to them verbally by what is officially termed a "reconciliation committee", consisting of officials and local representatives of a defeated area.

The government minister responsible for local agreements, Ali Haidar, denied the state had broken any commitments in Moadamiya, saying accusations it had were being promoted by foreign states and rebels "annoyed" by the agreements.

He said many former rebels had joined the army, and hundreds had been "martyred in the front lines against terrorism".

The rapid succession of agreements in former rebel strongholds near Damascus such as Daraya, Qudsaya and al-Tal underline how far the scales have tipped in Assad's favour in the war that spiralled out of protests against his rule in 2011.

It is part of a dramatic reversal of fortunes for Assad since 2015, aided militarily by Russia and Iran.

Fear of conscription has been a major sticking point in the local agreements, a diplomatic source said, helping to encourage residents to leave for rebel-held areas of northern Syria in what Assad's opponents call a policy of forced displacement.

The government has given safe passage to thousands of rebels and civilians out of government-held territory under the deals.

Syrian officials say people are free to choose whether to go or stay put and that the deals are designed to secure peace and restore state services and authority to recaptured areas.

DEEP SCARS

After crushing centres of rebellion in the big cities of western Syria, the Syrian government has brokered agreements with many areas that were once in the hands of rebel fighters.

As part of these deals, rebels have the choice of taking safe passage to territory held by insurgents in northern Syria. They can also stay behind on condition that they hand over guns and sign a pledge to never take up arms against the state.

Syrian law states that all men must complete 20 months of military service once they turn 18, a term that can be extended in wartime. It does not apply to men who have no brothers.

The Syrian military has long been seen as overstretched in the war, leaving the government heavily dependent on Iran-backed Shi'ite militia allies from across the region in its fight against rebel areas in western Syria and Islamic State militants to the east. The former rebels fear being sent as cannon fodder.

In the case of Moadamiya, where the deal was finalised in September, conscription was meant to be confined to local areas, according to diplomatic and humanitarian sources and local officials involved in the talks.

The psychological scars of Syrias seven-year old conflict run particularly deep in Moadamiya. The area was one of several near Damascus targeted by chemical weapons in 2013. The West blamed the government for the attack which used sarin gas. Damascus denied any role.

The local agreement for the area resulted in hundreds of rebel fighters and their families being evacuated to Idlib. Others, like Abu Mohammed, decided to remain behind and turn in their weapons.

IN HIDING

As part of the agreement, the Syrian state flag was raised again over government buildings in Moadamiya. Restrictions on movement in and out of the area - which is still surrounded by the army - were eased.

There is no longer any armed presence inside the town, even from the government side, according to several residents and former opposition activists contacted by Reuters.

Yet the second former rebel contacted by Reuters by phone said he and around 100 others there had gone into hiding, fearing enlistment to a front line where he might be killed.

"The defectors are now stuck in Moadamiya, they won't leave," said the former rebel, who defected to the rebellion in 2012 during his military service and who refused to give his name for fear of discovery.

He said he was recently summoned to a meeting where defectors were threatened with arrest if they did not show up for duty. "Some of them joined up, others didn't," he said.

"I thought of leaving, but my financial situation is very bad," he said, adding that he would need to pay people smugglers $2,600 to get out Syria.

"I can't think of anything now. I have nothing to think about, I have no dreams or a future."

Abu Mohammed said he was smuggled out to Turkey with the help of friends in rebel-held Idlib in northern Syria. He said he had sold his house in Moadamiya to finance his passage.

A 50-year-old man whose two eldest sons face conscription said in a separate telephone interview that they needed "psychological preparation" if they were to return to the army.

"For a young man who not that long ago was fighting the regime, after six years of war - if you now make him join the side he was fighting against, this is a problem," said the man, who gave his name as Mahmoud.

Haidar, the minister for national reconciliation, said the terms of reconciliation deals grant former militants and men who abandoned military service six months before conscription once their "legal status is settled".

Former fighters in many areas had expressed a desire to join local security units operating under government supervision to safeguard their areas as part of the reconciliation agreements, Haidar said in written answers to questions from Reuters.

The state had no objection to this, he said, without saying whether it had been offered to defectors as an alternative to frontline duty.

(Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Philippa Fletcher)
By Mitra Taj and Marco Aquino

LIMA, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Peru fears Venezuela may be headed toward civil war as a political crisis deepens and its economy implodes under the rule of socialist Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Peru's foreign minister told Reuters on Wednesday.

Speaking a day after summoning his counterparts from across the region to Lima to condemn the "rupture of democratic order" in Venezuela, Ricardo Luna said Maduro's support at home and abroad had shrunk as he seeks to consolidate power through the constituent assembly, a powerful new body run by the ruling Socialist Party loyalists.

Peru has been one of Venezuela's harshest critics since centrist President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski took office a year ago, replacing a former ally of late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez.

Luna called Maduro's accusation that Kuczynski is conspiring with U.S. President Donald Trump "absurd."

Peru's concern, he said, is the humanitarian crisis that has already sent waves of Venezuelan refugees to neighboring nations, including some 40,000 to Peru in the past six months.

"Our fear is that you really have a low-intensity civil war, which would produce a humanitarian crisis of great proportions," Luna said in an interview in his offices in Lima.

"It's not necessarily going to happen, and it's not easy to compare it to major crisis such as the one we have in Syria. But it is a large country. It's a complex situation. It's something that's been building in time," Luna said.

More than 125 people have died in clashes in Venezuela since the opposition began sustained protests in April. On Sunday, Venezuelan authorities quelled an attack on a military base by soldiers and armed civilians, killing two of them in a dramatic escalation of unrest.

Luna said Maduro's "autocracy" does not appear to have sufficient support among Venezuelans to hold on to power for several decades as Cuba's government has, and it may not be long before the oil-producing country's economy collapses completely.

"The last leg can last weeks, months, or even half a year. Not more than that," Luna said.

Peru is evaluating new ways to pressure Venezuela to enact democratic reforms, including expelling Venezuela's ambassador from Peru or reducing Peru's diplomatic presence in Venezuela, Luna said.

While Maduro might shrug off the Lima Declaration signed by 12 nations on Tuesday, including Canada, Brazil and Mexico, the collective condemnation sends a signal to the world that most in the region no longer sees Venezuela as a democracy, Luna said.

The new bloc plans to meet to discuss Venezuela again at the United Nations General Assembly.

(Reporting By Mitra Taj and Marco Aquino; Editing by Michael Perry)
ANKARA, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Turkish authorities have detained a suspected Islamic State militant of Russian origin after he allegedly planned to use a drone to bring down a U.S. plane at the Incirlik air base, Dogan News Agency said on Thursday.

Dogan, citing security officials, said Russian national Renat Bakiev was detained after police surveillance showed him scouting the southern city of Adana, where the base is located, with the aim of carrying out his attack.

Bakiev told authorities that he was a member of Islamic State and planned to use a drone to bring down a U.S. plane and carry out an attack against U.S. nationals, Dogan said.

Authorities said he had also scouted an association of the Alevi religious minority in Adana. He described Alevis as "enemies of Allah", and criticised President Tayyip Erdogan, while being interrogated, Dogan said.

Turkey has been a partner in the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State forces, providing the coalition with access to Incirlik air base to wage strikes against the militants.

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. It has also refused entry to at least 38,269 individuals. (Reporting by Dirimcan Barut and Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by David Dolan and Dominic Evans)
By Stephanie Nebehay and Charlotte Steenackers

GENEVA/BRUSSELS, Aug 10 (Reuters) - About 180 Ethiopian and Somali migrants, many weakened by hunger and drought in their home countries, were forced from a boat into rough seas off Yemen by smugglers on Thursday and 19 were presumed drowned, the U.N. migration agency said.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) had earlier estimated the death toll higher, at 55.

It was the second such deadly incident in as many days off Shabwa province in southern Yemen, where 50 teenage African migrants were "deliberately drowned" on Wednesday by a smuggler who forced 120 passengers off his boat, the IOM said.

"Throughout the journey, migrants had been brutally treated by the smugglers," it said in a statement that described migrants being forced to squat during the 24-36 hour journey to save space, with no access to a bathroom.

"If one of the migrants accidentally moved, he would be beaten or even killed," the IOM said.

Twenty nine dead bodies washed up on the shore after Wednesday's tragedy while 27 others made it alive to the shore, it said.

"They were shocked, exhausted and quite desperate," Laurent de Boeck, the IOM Yemen Chief of Mission, told Reuters in an interview in Brussels.

Smugglers were pushing migrants into the sea away from the mainland for fear of government boats, amid reinforced border controls, or to avoid encountering armed groups on shore in the war-torn country. They were then going back to Africa to pick up more migrants.

"The smugglers are panicking," de Boeck said, adding that reinforced border controls along the coast could be having a counter-productive effect.

NEW TREND?

IOM spokeswoman Olivia Headon said dropping migrants off near the shore could mark the start of a new trend.

"These people are really thin. There is an ongoing drought situation in Somalia and Ethiopia. Some may not have had much strength to make it alive to the shore," she added.

Referring to the 19 people feared drowned in Thursday's incident, the IOM statement said: "Staff from IOM... found six bodies on the beach - two male and four female. An additional 13 Ethiopian migrants are still missing (unaccounted for)."

Already this year 55,000 migrants have taken the hazardous route from the Horn of Africa to Yemen to seek opportunity in the Gulf region, IOM said. The majority of migrants are young males between the ages of 12 to 25 from Ethiopia, it says.

The route is popular because it is cheaper than others, but when they arrive migrants often fall victims to abuse.

Yemen itself is riven by a two-year civil war in which forces loyal to the Saudi-backed government are pitted against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.

Rescue operations at sea and policing to clamp down on the situation are extremely limited in the region, de Boeck said.

"The difficulty is also that this is a criminal network which is organised not only in Yemen but also in Somalia, in Djibouti as well as Ethiopia," he added. (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva and Charlotte Steenackers in Brussels; Writing by Stephanie Nebehay and Alissa de Carbonnel; Editing by Richard Balmforth and Gareth Jones)
Chance The Rapper Will Give 30,000 Backpacks To Kids At The Bud Billiken Parade

By Stephen Gossett in News on Aug 10, 2017 8:33PM



Chance the Rapper performs at Lollapalooza, 2017 / Photo: Annie Lesser

We guess Chance the Rapper already had his official Lollapalooza afterparty, but ever since it was announced that the Chatham rapper would be this year's Grand Marshall at annual the Bud Billiken Parade, it felt like that would be the real capstoneat least as far as Chicagoans are concerned.

Turns out Chance is indeed planning some big things for the Bronzeville tradition. In partnership with STATE Bags and Chance's outreach organization, SocialWorks, the rapper will hand out 30,000 backpacks filled with "essential supplies" at the parade on Saturday, just in time for the start of the school year.

@SocialWorks_Chi and @StateBags will be giving away thirty thousand (30,000) stuffed backpacks at the Bud Billiken & #BBBash on Saturday. pic.twitter.com/YXqp5weyPL  Lil Chano From 79th (@chancetherapper) August 9, 2017

Even beyond his high-profile donations to Chicago Public Schools, Chance has been outspoken with his criticism when it comes to education fundinga trend which continued with the backpacks announcement.

"Due to a lack of political leadership by the state and city on the topic of education, SocialWorks will begin to take initiative during the 2017-18 school year to ease some of the immense pressure put on teachers, students and parents," said Chance in a release. "We admire the work we've seen by STATE and are proud to partner with them as we work towards enhancing education and the conversation around funding formulas nationally."

The Bud Billiken parade kicks off at 10 a.m. on Saturday, at King Drive and Oakwood Blvd. Route information is available here. Chance seems to be excited about it.

I'm tryna have "The Bud" trending NOW THRU SUNDAY. WE INNAT JOINT ITS A WRAP YYYY  Lil Chano From 79th (@chancetherapper) August 10, 2017



In the meantime, relive Chance's hometown Lollapalooza blowout from last week with our photo gallery and recap here.
HANOI, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Vietnam's sole refinery operator Binh Son Refining (BSR) plans to sell 4 percent of its shares in an initial public offering in November and to sell another 49 percent of its shares to strategic investors next year, its chairman said on Thursday.

BSR, which runs the Dung Quat oil refinery, Vietnam's only operating refinery, would offer shares at 14,600 dong each in its IPO on November 7, BSR chairman Nguyen Hoai Giang said.

The company expects to raise 1.9 trillion dong ($83.6 million) from selling 4 percent of its shares in the IPO, Giang said, which would value the entire company at around $2.1 billion.

It is uncertain when the company would be listed. In Vietnam, listing and IPO are separate processes.

The refinery operator's IPO is part of Vietnam's wider drive to privatise state-owned enterprises to boost performance. The slow privatisation process has gained more momentum since a new government took office last year.

BSR also plans to sell an additional 49 percent stake to one or more strategic investors next year. Spain's Repsol S.A. and Vietnam National Petroleum Corp, or Petrolimex, are among companies that have expressed interest in BSR's strategic sale, Giang said.

Petrolimex and BSR on Thursday signed an agreement where Petrolimex would prioritise buying Dung Quat's oil products, liquid petroleum gas and petrochemical products and exporting the refined products to Laos and Cambodia, the companies said in a statement.

About 17 investment funds have also expressed interest in BSR's stake sale, Giang added.

The stake sale plan still needs approval from the government, which wholly owns BSR via state oil and gas group PetroVietnam, and Giang expected a decision to be made within the next three weeks.

Dung Quat refinery's full-year production this year is expected to reach 6.1 million tonnes, equivalent to about 122,000 barrels per day (bpd), nearly 20 percent higher than its initial target partly due to a tax cut on sales of gasoline and diesel fuel from the refinery.

The refinery has a total capacity of 6.5 million tonnes per year. ($1 = 22,729 dong) (Reporting by Mai Nguyen; Editing by Adrian Croft)
By Luis Jaime Acosta

BOGOTA, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Colombia's Marxist ELN rebels may declare a temporary unilateral ceasefire for Pope Francis' visit next month if it fails to reach agreement with the government on a bilateral truce, a guerrilla leader said late on Wednesday.

The National Liberation Army (ELN) and President Juan Manuel Santos's government are negotiating a peace deal in Ecuador that may allow the two sides to halt hostilities while the pope is visiting Colombia, the guerrilla leader said, but less than a month before he arrives no deal is in sight.

"We're going to make all the necessary effort so that the ceasefire is bilateral, but if it's not achievable we will consider the possibility of making it unilateral," Pablo Beltran, the ELN's chief negotiator, told Reuters in a phone interview from Quito.

"His holiness Francis is a pope who has returned the church to think in terms of the impoverished and excluded majorities. He is a progressive pope and anything we Colombians can do to receive him is a gesture for the support he gives to the peace process," he said.

The government and the ELN, the second-largest insurgent group, began formal peace negotiations in February after more than three years of secret talks on an agenda and logistics.

Santos has demanded that the ELN stop kidnappings, hostilities against civilians and attacks on oil infrastructure to move toward a bilateral ceasefire, but the group says the attacks are defensive and a reaction to military offensives against its fighters.

The ELN has about 2,000 combatants and is considered a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union. It was inspired by the Cuban revolution with the support of radical Catholic priests and emerged in 1964.

Beltran also said the ELN has moved into areas once occupied by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which signed a peace deal with the government late last year, ending its part in a half-century conflict that has killed more than 220,000 people and displaced millions.

Many former FARC areas are being overrun with right-wing paramilitary groups and so the ELN is protecting the civilian population, Beltran said.

It will be tough to conclude peace negotiations before Santos leaves office next year, so talks must progress firmly so that the next administration feels pressured to continue with the process, he said. (Reporting by Helen Murphy; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)
Prof. Alfred H.A. Soons

Pics by Waruna Wanniarachchi

Prof. Alfred H.A. Soons is an Emeritus Professor of Public International Law at the Utrecht University. He is an expert in the Law of the Sea. Currently he is a member of the Advisory Body of Experts on the Law of the Sea of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC/ABE-LOS) of the UNESCO. He also serves as Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Council of the Netherlands Defence Academy and is an Adjunct Professor of International Law at the University of Curacao. Soons has been involved in international litigation at the International Court of Justice and arbitral tribunals. He has served as chairman of two ICC arbitral tribunals, and was a member of the Arbitral Tribunals in the Iron Rhine Railroad (Belgium/Netherlands) and the South China Sea disputes (Philippines v. China).



In his recent visit to Sri Lanka- at the request of the Moragoda International Law Trust- to deliver a series of lectures on the Law of the Sea, he sat with the Daily Mirror to share his expertise on illegal fishing by Indian fishermen, traditional fishing rights, piracy, sea level rising and other concerns.



Excerpts of the interview:



Q In this day and age what are some of the intricate issues that have arisen in the area of the Law of the Sea?



Fishing, in particular, high seas fishing is a major issue because there is a really serious problem of overfishing resulting from illegal and unlawful fishing. The fish stocks in many parts of the world are seriously threatened. Another issue that is being addressed, but rather inadequately, is related to genetic resources. The Law of the Sea Convention doesnt cover this area. This pertains to the making use of certain resources in the deep sea bed, an area where pharmaceutical companies are interested in with regard to the production of medicine. This doesnt include mineral resources. However, negotiations are taking place regarding the making of laws to cover this area.



There is also the problem of human trafficking; illegal migrants at sea. At the moment its an urgent problem in the Mediterranean Sea with people trying to get to Europe from North Africa. There is the problem of piracy in the Indian Ocean. This problem has grown on the West coast of Africa, and is sometimes visible in the South China Sea and the surrounding areas. There are also strategic issues in the background. For instance what the US is concerned about is some countries trying to ensure the freedom of navigation in this part of the sea. This type of navigation might be threatened by the actions of certain coastal States.



A good example is the confrontation you see between the US and China in the South China Sea. There is a series of bigger issues relating to the Ocean including the law of the sea. In my workshop here we are addressing all these issues, hopefully from a Sri Lankan perspective.

They can only fish if they have a licence.

Going for International Arbitration is regarded more as a confrontational action in Asia.

The 1974 treaty at first sight seems to indicate that there are no traditional fishing rights left.

If India doesnt take reasonable measures that can be expected from such a country to prevent this, it can be held responsible.

The area in a territorial sea is under the full sovereignty of the State.

I dont think that sea level rise as such is a major issue for a country like

Sri Lanka.

They exploited- more or less jointly- the fishery resources of Palk Bay and the Gulf of Mannar, for centuries

We could make an analysis based on the treaties in force and the practice of the past decades

If Sri Lanka is entitled to refuse these Indian fishermen, you (Sri Lanka) could arrest them



There is, for instance, the claim made by Sri Lanka for an extended continental shelf- a huge area of sea bed to the east and South of Sri Lanka where perhaps, in the future mineral resources may be found. We dont know yet. But Sri Lanka has made its submission. In two or three years time that will be taken up by the Commission. That is a development that is potentially relevant for Sri Lanka- the extension of the area where it has jurisdiction or control over resources.



QDespite agreements in 1974 and 1976- which clearly demarcate the International Maritime Boundary Line- Tamil Nadu fishermen continue to poach in Sri Lankan territorial waters. Can they still enter our waters and fish?



No. They can only fish if they have a licence. There are no explicit provisions in the treaty to allow fishing. At least not in what Ive seen. I know its a complex issue because if someone from Tamil Nadu was here, he/she would explain why a person thinks he/she has traditional fishing rights. But I dont know what the basis of that assertion is. If you look at the text- where there is agreement- the areas as far as I know, were used for fishing by artisanal fishermen from both countries. They exploited- more or less jointly- the fishery resources of Palk Bay and the Gulf of Mannar, for centuries or even longer. But this was artisanal fishery-the small scale fishery. When fishing Vessles used for commercial fishing entered the area, I think mostly from the Indian side, the situation changed.



QHow do you think the two governments should address this issue?

In the background you have the political relationships between the two countries. Then there is the complexity within India where the states have a stronghold-Tamil Nadu in this case. There are all kinds of political and diplomatic complexities here related to the relationship between the two countries.



You can view this strictly from a legal point. We could make an analysis based on the treaties in force and the practice of the past decades. And then say whether its lawful or unlawful for these Indian fishermen to continue fishing. If the conclusion would be, that it is unlawful, then the next question is how do you go about this? In theory you could say that we want an authoritative decision from a judge from an International Arbitrary Tribunal. In theory its possible. May be it is even possible without the agreement of the two States, so either Sri Lanka or India could unilaterally start this. This is how many European countries would ultimately handle the matter because in Europe the legal approach would not be considered necessarily as a confrontational way of solving problems. In Asia this is not the case. As far as I understand, in Asia its regarded more as confrontational action.

You can send coastguards and the Navy there and arrest all Indian fishing vessels on the east side of the line. You arrest them. You fine them. Confiscate their ships. That is possibly the most effective way



India is a powerful country and Sri Lanka perhaps less. So there you could get all these factors about power relationships. What do you want to achieve? But that is a political process. If Sri Lanka is entitled to refuse these Indian fishermen, you (Sri Lanka) could arrest them. You can send coastguards and the Navy there and arrest all Indian fishing vessels on the east side of the line. You arrest them. You fine them. Confiscate their ships. That is possibly the most effective way because then you are preventing them from returning. This is what the Indonesians seem to do with illegal fishing. They bring the illegal fishing vessels. Take the crew off and sink the ships. The crew is then repatriated to where they came from. These are harsh measures. But in theory if you have an adequate coastguard you can take all kinds of measures. But the question is do you really think its good for the overall relationship with your neighbour?



QYou just mentioned that Sri Lanka could go for International Arbitration. In the South China Sea dispute the Permanent Court of Arbitration- in which you were a member of the Tribunal- found(among other things) that China had violated Philippines sovereignty rights in its Exclusive Economic Zone(EEZ) by failing to prevent Chinese fishermen from fishing in the zone. Does this decision mean that China is bound to take action to prevent this kind of thing happening again? What are the implications of this decision?



This is somewhat different from the Sri Lanka-India scenario because here it is fishing in the historic waters, in the territorial sea. May be there is also illegal fishing in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), but that is a different matter. The Palk Bay and the Gulf of Mannar are internal waters of the territorial sea. In the South China Sea case, the tribunal came to the conclusion that China- as the flag State of Chinese fishing vessels- had unlawfully refrained from preventing its fishing vessels from continuing to fish. The simple fact that a fishing vessel under the Chinese flag would fish in the EEZ of another State isnt necessarily an unlawful act by China or the flag State in general. Things can change when things go on and they are reported.



The Government of India should also take action to prevent illegal fishing. What the Tribunal said in its award in the South China Sea case on this particular issue was that China should have taken more action to prevent its nationals from fishing there. In fact it looks like China was protecting Chinese vessels against the Philippine Governments law enforcement vessels. That isnt allowed.



QLast month when the Fisheries and Aquatic(Amendment) Bill was tabled in Parliament, which reportedly had severe penalties including increased fines on vessels which trespassed on Lankan territorial waters, Tamil Nadu fishermen opposed the Bill vehemently. They urged the Indian authorities to discuss the matter with Sri Lanka, so that their livelihood isnt destroyed. Is such a reaction justifiable?



It all depends on the legal determination of the situation- whether there is an entitlement of Indian fishermen to the fishery resources. Do they indeed still have traditional fishing rights allowing them to fish? If so under what conditions? It cant be an unconditional right. Even if an Indian fisherman would have some entitlement to fish in the Sri Lankan part of the waters then surely they have to comply with Sri Lankan conservation measures. The Indians have only some authority even while possessing fishing rights when they are protesting against Sri Lankas new national legislation. Otherwise it doesnt make any sense. They must have said that based on their view that they have historic rights.



Q Does International law provide any recognition to traditional fishing rights?

Yes, there are provisions in the Law of the Sea Convention Treaty. The answer in general is that there have been some decisions by arbitral tribunals where this was recognized. In certain conditions, traditional fishing rights can exist in areas under coastal States sovereignty, not in the exclusive economic zone, but in the territorial sea or archipelagic waters or historic waters.



QDoes this right exist between India and Sri Lanka?



Thats my point. In theory they can exist. But the 1974 treaty, to me, at first sight seems to indicate that there are no traditional fishing rights left. There is no provision in that treaty about the continuance of traditional fishing rights. There is only a provision on navigational rights. Traditional navigation doesnt encompass fishing.



I dont have the full records of the negotiations. If traditional fishing rights had been discussed in the negotiations explicitly and not taken care of in a provision, then I think they were extinguished in 1974. If they werent discussed, the matter could be different, in the sense that India could indeed say that this is the boundary, but it leaves unaffected the reciprocal traditional rights of local fishermen. These are highly complicated legal issues that you can only determine with a thorough study of the record of what happened in the past. I have read a little bit about it, but only from the Sri Lankan side. I havent looked at any material from the Indian side

If that is the Indian position then you have a clear dispute between India and Sri Lanka on the existence of traditional fishing rights notwithstanding the 1974 agreement



QIs the Government of India bound by the International Law to take action against poachers who are arrested in Sri Lankan waters and subsequently released?



Along the lines of the awarding of the South China Sea case, a flag State (India) is obliged to take action to prevent vessels from flying its flag during poaching. That doesnt mean that India is responsible for each and every case of poaching. But if India doesnt take reasonable measures that are expected from a country like India, to prevent this, India can be held responsible. The least a country could do, and that is of course the Indian government and not Tamil Nadu, is to take the decision that these vessels are unlawfully arrested because they were exercising traditional fishing rights. If that is the Indian position then you have a clear dispute between India and Sri Lanka on the existence of traditional fishing rights notwithstanding the 1974 agreement. But the least India could do if this isnt the case is to take a few measures including telling its fishermen to stop, but also make a reasonable effort by the Indian coast guard to prevent these activities.



QA few months back a Tamil Nadu fisherman was shot dead allegedly by the Navy (The Navy has denied this claim). Is a State allowed to exercise violence to protect its resources within its territorial waters?



Unless in self-defence, if the Tamil Nadu fishermen were attacking the Sri Lankan coastguard or Navy, killing fishermen isnt something one is supposed to do. It depends on the circumstances. What you can do is warn and arrest. You dont shoot a burglar who isnt threatening you, even if the burglar is in your house. If he surrenders you have to arrest him.



QThe Port City Project on reclaimed land has raised concern among environmentalists that it affects the marine eco system and coastal belts. When The Port City is built within territorial waters does that mean that the State can do whatever it wants within territorial waters?



The area in a territorial sea is under the full sovereignty of the State. So for this purpose its just like any activity on land. But the State has to respect its international obligations. You cant allow activities which would harm nature and environment, in a way that is prohibited by nature conservation treaties the State is a party to. Any activities by the Government here should respect the States international obligations, just like respect for human rights.



QIn March this year Somalia pirates seized an oil tanker with eight Sri Lankan crew members on board. Its reported that Nigeria experiences nearly one pirate attack a week. Why is it so difficult to control piracy in sea waters?



Thats more a policy question than a legal question. I say because its about the operation capabilities of States to counter piracy or even the policies of the State to prevent piracy at all,like in Somalia. It is said that in Somali, pirates were originally fishermen who started to become pirates because they couldnt fish anymore due to the fish being taken by European trawlers.



If the Nigeria police effectively controlled the coastal areas, perhaps, piracy wouldnt take place there. Its a huge coast and its difficult to control. You need a lot of police and that costs money. Sometimes people who conduct these piratical acts do them because they are poor and its the only way available for them to raise money. This is organized crime. We dont want people to become pirates at all. But if you have pirates, to have counter piracy operations you need a coastguard, Navy and Police.



QIn the face of rising sea levels resulting from global warming, what are the possible effects a country- an Island- like Sri Lanka could face?



Sri Lanka is an Island with high elevated territories. In some areas you have low-lying areas. You may have even some very low lying islands off the coast. If the sea level rise in this century becomes more than 1metre that could seriously affect the coast.



The coast will retreat landwards. You will lose some land, or islands. I dont think that sea level rise as such is a major issue for a country like Sri Lanka. Sea level rise is a major issue for the Maldives. There is an existential problem for them. They will lose half their islands. Their future is seriously threatened. By losing islands you not only lose lands. They will also lose maritime areas, the exclusive economic zone generated by those islands. If the coast vanishes your entitlement to the territorial sea or the exclusive economic zone vanishes under the current rules of the Law of the sea.
Apple, the worlds most renowned and progressive technology brand, has appointed Abans PLC as the authorized distributor and importer of Apple productsin Sri Lanka.



Having released the all new Apple MacBook Pro with Touch bar and iPad 2017 series earlier this year, Abans has always been the first to introduce Apples latest innovations to the Sri Lankan market with each product fulfilling the globalized preferences as expressed by local consumers.



This significant milestone illustrates Abans primary aim of launching globally reputed brands that will steadily improve the lifestyles of Sri Lankan citizens. Having redefined the retail space within Sri Lanka for over 30 years, Abans has always focused on collaborating with brands that underscore innovation, quality and excellence as an integral part of their value systems.



In addition, Abans craved a unique niche for Apple in the Sri Lankan market when it first became an Apple authorized reseller in 2007. Now Apple, through Abans ardent efforts in marketing and sales, has become the most popular brand amongst Sri Lankan customers today.



Abans will currently distribute the entire range of Apple electronics through its vast island wide network ofmore than 400 showrooms and 15 Apple-Abans iStores.This will include the iPhone series namely iPhone 5S, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus;the Mac lineup such as MacBook Air, MacBook, MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, iMac, iMac Pro, MacPro and MacMini; and Apple accessories particularly the AirPod, Apple TV and many more.



Customers can further purchase genuine Apple products from Abans trusted Apple partners Futureworld, BT Options and Tabz by DPJ Holdings. Since these retailers have been certified by Apple as authorized resellers in Sri Lanka, Abans has extended its special promotional facilities to them so that everyone can get the chance to purchase Apple. Individuals will also be given the opportunity to explore a comprehensive assortment of Apple devices and experience free live demonstrations at these Apple-accredited agents.



Moreover, consumers can head over to the Abans-Apple Service Centre, Sri Lankas most trusted Apple Service Provider, located at Racecourse Colombo, and attain specific services and repairs for any Apple product that has been purchased at Abans and all other authorized resellers or any other source from across the world. Each technician present at the Abans-Apple Service Centre is Apple-certified and possesses a strong proficiency in conducting the most complex service and repair jobs using state-of-the-art machinery. Abans will also honour international Apple warranties and repair the commodities covered under a valid Apple warranty free-of-charge.



Visit your nearest Abans-Apple iStores, Future World, BT Options or Tabz (DPJ Holdings) outlet to check out the latest Apple range. You can also contact the following for more information: Abans  011 5 999 000; Futureworld -- 011 259 0361; BT Options -- 011 255 5911; and Tabz by DPJ Holdings -- 0115 500 505.
Master Sivalingam:

By Dr. S. Jeyasankar, Eastern University



Mr. S. Sivalingam, better known as Master Sivalingam, is an icon of storytelling and the Tamil bow-song tradition. He is a unique individual who has touched the hearts and minds of the Tamil community for more than steady five decades.



His unending passion for storytelling and the bow-song (Villupaattu), and his mastery of this  through live performances, radio and eventually television  has created its own history by shaping the lives and personalities of those who have witnessed him perform.

A unique individual who has touched the hearts and minds of the Tamil community for more than steady five decades



The tradition of storytelling has a long history among the Tamils. Master Sivalingams lone position in carrying on this tradition in a modern Sri Lanka creates a space to imagine the position storytelling held in the past among the larger Tamil community.



Master Sivalingam, as he is popularly known, or Vanoli Mama (Radio Uncle) for his acclaimed performances on radio in the seventies, travels by bicycle to perform his art of storytelling among children in the village and in the city.



His storytelling is marvellous. He has the power to keep children spellbound while engaging them as participants and subjects in both storytelling and storyline.



His gestures and voice modulations enliven the performances and he captivates his audience with outbursts of laughter, applause, giggles and a pattern of timely questions, to which children respond instantly. He spins his tales with every part of his being  not only with words, sentences and sounds, but with his whole body thus provoking and responding to the childrens evident delight.

His unending passion for storytelling and the bow-song (Villupaattu), and his mastery of this  through live performances, radio and eventually television  has created its own history by shaping the lives and personalities of those who have witnessed him perform



In his live performances, he uses motion as a critical part. On radio, he relies on words and sounds alone to create colourful images and vivid scenarios. Whether live or on air, he holds the same power over children, making them feel his immediate presence within their personal space. With widespread access to television, he has been able to share his storytelling with the nation.



Master Sivalingam skillfully navigates these three different spheres, thereby offering all children an equally marvellous experience.



Revered Master Sivalingam brings great pride to the country, and his presence in the lives of so many children plays a critical role in shaping the contemporary Tamil identity.



Honouring Master S. Sivalingam and his pivotal role in the national imagination through art is a way of celebrating our great past, while underscoring the need to keep these traditions alive now and in future.
A protest organized by a group of disabled soldiers continued for the second day outside the Fort Railway station yesterday in Colombo. The protesters urged the government to resolve their issues. Pics by Kushan Pathiraja
Sri Lankan Ambassador to Qatar A.S.P. Liyanage requested the President and Prime Minister to hold the Ambassadors' Conference scheduled this month despite the no confidence motion brought against Foreign Minister Ravi Karunanayake.

Speaking to the Daily Mirror, Ambassador Liyanage said the countrys diplomatic mission should continue despite political turmoil.

The Ambassadors' Conference was scheduled to be held on August 28 and 29 in Sri Lanka and we have already informed emissaries about the event. Although the venue is yet to be finalised, initial arrangements for the event have been made, he said.

The conference would allow ambassadors to collectively discuss diplomatic trends and plan out their future missions.

There maybe allegations levelled against Minister Karunanayake, but he is someone who has good diplomatic ties with foreign countries. He travelled to Qatar during the crisis to ensure the safety of Sri Lankan expatriates, the ambassador said.

However, when contacted the Foreign Affairs Ministry, the Daily Mirror was told its officials were yet to schedule a date convenient for the President, Prime Minister and other high ranking officials to participate in the event.(Darshana Sanjeewa)
Minister of Justice and Buddha Sasana Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said the sale of Hambantota Harbour - a public asset-to the Chinese was a wrong and assured the public that he would not rest until he regains its ownership on behalf of the people.

In an interview with our sister paper the Sunday Lankadeepa the minister recalled that as a politician he had always done what was right by the country and fought against corruption. As a result he said he had been able to secure government resources worth more than Rs.1,000 billion which included the Sri Lanka Transport Board, Sri Lanka Insurance Company and Litro Gas Company and vest them with the people.

The deal with China in relation to the Hambantota Harbour is decisive within the sphere of global politics as it has prompted India to demand possession of the oil tanks in Trincomalee, the minister said.

He warned that as 89 per cent of the ships arriving at the Colombo Harbour were there for re-export these ships would not want to sail an extra 400 nautical miles to Colombo when with the further expansion taking place at the Hambantota Harbour they could dock there and unload their goods. This would then end up turning the Colombo Harbour into a swimming pool while the Chinese company with a major stake in the Hambantota Port would flourish.

The minister stressed that whether he was still in the government or was forced out he would continue his fight against corruption and the tyrannical attempt by the Chinese to take over the world of trade. (Prasanna Sanjeewa Thennakone)
Science, Technology and Research Minister Susil Premajayantha yesterday said he was disappointed with certain activities of the government and that even SLFP leaders did not accept his ideas.

Addressing the media at the SLFP Head Quarters, the minister said the United National Party did not accept the ideas of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP)

He also said some have come to power with the intention of selling state resources but the SLFP would not do so.

There was a practice of selling state properties during the previous United National Party (UNP) governments. Since then the Sirimavo Bandaranaike SLFP government had taken back state institutions which were under Western rule, he said.

The Minister alleged: The UNPers in the past while in power sold state properties and its still repeating same. Recently, the government had sold 80% of the Hambantota Port to the Chinese firm. Without selling the Port we should have a plan of proper management. For that we have the relevant people and resource persons.

What happens is that policy makers are not listening to the advise of professionals in the country. That was the problem of drawing the government to sell its property. There should be a proper plan to provide jobs to 10 million youth as what the government promised , Minister Premajayantha said.

Every commercial enterprise has a business plan. First of all the government has to think whether they are capable of managing the State institution . If the plan was not applicable, the government should implement another plan. Without thinking of any business plans, I think this government had come to power with an idea of selling its properties, he said.

The whole world is moving to different paths with the development of new technology. Without drawing the country according to the requirement of the fast movement, there was no point of handing over or selling state organizations to some other countries. That shows where we are heading to , he said.

After the Hambantota Port, there is a possibility of selling the SriLankan Airlines, like wise even the Katchatheevu island, the Minister said. (Chaturanga Pradeep)

Video by Janaka
Some 43 files on which investigations had been completed by the FCID, the Bribery Commission and the CID on various crimes have been forwarded to the AGs Department some two years ago and they are gathering dust.,Cabinet spokesman and Minister Rajitha Senaratne said today.

Dr. Senaratne expressed his disappointment and disapproval on what he called a go slow policy by the Attorney Generals Department on cases against politicians and top officials of the Mahinda Rajapaksa regime and a quick and no hold barred attitude to file involving charges against Yahapalana politicians.

Minister Senaratne told the weekly cabinet news briefing held in Parliament today that the entire country and the government expected the AGs department to show the same efficiency, haste and speed to file charges against ministers and officials who robbed the country and committed various crimes including murders and embezzlement of billions of rupees of public money and added sadly this was not happening.

I think a probe on the performance of the AGs Department is also a necessity. I am aware that the some 83 files on which investigations have been completed on various crimes by the FCID, the Bribery Commission and the CID have been forwarded to the AGd Department some two years ago and gathering dust. No charges have been filed against any of these crimes. Dont forget that this is the department that took months if not years to identify the signature of former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Minister Senaratne said sarcastically.

He said the AGs Department took only a few days to inquire the alleged abduction case against Colombo District UNP Parliamentarian Hirunika Premachandra and a complaint against his son Gampaha District Parliamentarian Chatura Senaratne and added the AGs Department probed these two complaints in an unusual swiftness.

Minister Senaratne accused that a lady state counsel even allegedly instructed to expedite the inquiry against Mr. Senaratne.

Minister Senaratne also expressed reservations on the ongoing probes by the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) on the bond scam and said it was appointed by President Maithripala Sirisena for a specific investigation but now it has ventured into probing non relevant or unnecessary matters such as leasing out of apartments to Ministers that has made the main issue complex and confused.

Have you ever heard cabinet Ministers are brought before commissions of inquiry and questioned by state counsel before in the same way how Minister Karunanayaka was cross examined by the Additional Solicitor General very aggressively before the PCoI? Under the Rajapaksa regime a state counsel was not permitted even to open a file against a government minister of official. This is the difference the Yahapalana government has introduced, he added.

Minister Senaratne said the PCoI has made a request to extend its term of inquiry by another 3 months and questioned as to whether it was to probe the bond issue or any other matters and added the task of the PCoI was not to provide sensational news to the media.(Sandun A Jayasekera)

Video by RM
SlutWalk Accuses New 'Progressive Zionist' Group Of 'Disgusting' Appropriation Of Annual Protest

By Stephen Gossett in News on Aug 10, 2017 6:09PM



Photo of Slutwalk 2012, via Samantha Abernethy.

Nearly two months after events at Chicago's Dyke March launched a controversy about the Star of David what constitutes Zionist expressions, a rift is emerging between a group of leftist activists and self-described "Zionist progressives" ahead of an annual march against rape culture.

SlutWalk Chicago says it does not support a group called the Zioness Movementa just-emerged organization that plans to join SlutWalk's annual demonstration on Saturday afternoon. SlutWalk accuses the group of appropriating the day to promote a "nationalist agenda"a charge that a Zioness organizer called "bigoted."

Amanda Berman, a New York-based attorney and one of the leaders of Zioness, told Chicagoist that the organization was founded in order to address the "alienation of sincere progressive Zionists from important social justice movements and civil rights causes." The group advocates for the same women's rights, civil rights, sexual rights and anti-patriarchy causes as SlutWalk, insists Berman, who serves as Director of Legal Affairs at The Lawfare Project, a group that describes itself as the legal arm of the pro-Israel movement.

The purpose [of Slutwalk] is to say women should be free to wear what they want with out being targeted, to wear nothing in fact We want to express ourselves, too. We are progressive Jewish Zionists and in fact maybe there may be progressive non-Jewish Zionists" present, Berman said.

The group largely grew out of feeling "targeted and discriminated against" after the Dyke March controversy, in which two women carrying rainbow pride flags with Stars of David were ejected. (Each side offered different accounts.)

SlutWalk Chicago had originally said the protestwhich is scheduled for Saturday at noon, at Lake Shore Parkwould similarly prohibit "Zionist displays" before updating its stance, while also underscoring that Stars of David were never to be banned. A statement released in July noted that "all symbols of faith and heritage are welcome."

While Zioness claims solidarity with the anti-racist. anti-sexist, pro-queer mission of SlutWalk, the people behind the annual protest were suspicious of Zioness and declared their lack of support for the new group in a statement released on Thursday morning.

SlutWalk Chicago said in the statement:



"SlutWalk Chicago does not support the 'Zioness progressives' planning on coming to the walk Saturday. We at SlutWalk Chicago stand with Jewish people, just as we stand for Palestinian human rights. Those two ideologies can exist in the same realm, and taking a stance against anti-semitism is not an affirmation of support for the state of Israel and its occupation of Palestine. We oppose all oppressive governments whether they be the United States or Israel, as we recognize these regimes often disproportionately oppress women and femmes. We find it disgusting that any group would appropriate a day dedicated to survivors fighting rape culture in order to promote their own nationalist agenda. On Saturday, SlutWalk will march against rape culture, against victim blaming, against slut shaming, against whorephobia, and for all survivors internationally."

Berman meanwhile pushed back against a link being drawn between Zioness and support of Israeli policy. "I am not the government of Israel, that's not who I am," Berman told Chicagoist. "To exclude me because they oppose the government of Israel is to say that because I am Jewishand therefore they think that I may be responsible for the policies of the Israeli governmentis deeply offensive to me and bigoted." Berman also denied that the group was co-opting the day. "There are Jewish victims and survivors of rape. There are Zionist women who face sexual assault," she said.

A SlutWalk organizer responded on behalf of the group that Slutwalk thinks Zioness was "putting their position on Israel ahead of their identities as or solidarity with survivors." The organizer also claimed that the group's flyer was released in a misleading fashion so as to imply a link between the groups.

The organizer told Chicagoist:


Following long periods of discussions, where there were disparities, the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) has shown some consistency in the build up to the ban on using disposable polythene.(The law will be effective from September). This decision will help minimize environmental issues caused by polythene usage.

Its also fitting to note that the Central Environment Authority (CEA) has used all its tricks to promulgate the ban on polythene and the countrys law governing its usage.



Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, in his capacity as the Minister of Mahaweli Development and Environment, has proposed the implementing of a set of short, mediumand long term measures to minimize the use of polythene in Sri Lanka.



The measures recommended by the committee of intellectuals appointed to study the polythene issue received the approval of the Cabinet.

Short term measures proposed by President Sirisena to address the polythene issue:

Prohibition of polythene use for decorations at all events.

Implementation the prevailing regulations for the prohibition of, use, sale and production of polythene equals or less than 20 microns.

Allowing the use of polythene less than 20 microns for essential activities only on the approval of Central Environmental Authority

Prohibition of sale, importation and production of lunch sheets.

Banning of sale, importation and production of containers, plates, cups and spoons.

Prohibition of the sale of processed or cooked meals packed in polythene containers.

Promotion of providing paper, cloth or reed bags or biologically degradable and environmental friendly plastics for customers when purchasing items.

Prohibition of burning polythene and plastic in open places.

Introduction and promotion of biologically degradable polythene and plastics.

Imposing of 15% CESS during the importation of plastic raw material and related products and providing 5% out of that to the CEA to manage polythene and plastic waste.

Glass bottles must be made a renewable item

Hemantha Withanage

Centre for Environmental Justice Executive Director Hemantha Withanage revealed to the Dailymirror.lk that he was one of the committee members of the Eminent Panel appointed to study polythene use. I was in fact affirmative on this regard and in a position to ban even plastic bottles which havent come under the new regulatory process. But I am glad that the law has been enforced after quite a few attempts in the past, he said. Withanage proposed that glass bottles could be made renewable as the best alternative for the use of plastic bottles. He recommended the use of oil papers, wax paper bags and items made of sugarcane as the substitutes for polythene and plastic products.



I should mention that many people who are in support of banning polythene and are waiting to adapt themselves with the use of items made of materials harmless to nature. When this issue came under the spotlight in 1995, it was extremely difficult for the people to get used to it. But after more than 20 years, if anybody says that its still inconvenient to get used to it, that is actually ridiculous. If countries like Rwanda, Morocco, Kenya and most of the European countries can totally ban the use of polythene, why are we incapable of doing it? Lets do it for the sake of all Sri Lankans, he pointed out. He said that the use of polythene should have been nipped in the bud. Therefore, the people of Sri Lanka should make use of this opportunity to do away with the use of polythene and get used to other alternatives. He underscored that Sri Lanka is ranked 5th in the world with regard to disposing garbage in the sea. He also requested the general public to join hands to support this new program and strive to totally eliminate polythene use from Sri Lanka.

Tax and VAT concessions for biodegradable material and machinery

Ajith Weerasundara

Nevertheless, CEA Waste Management Director Ajith Weerasundara said that they would grant concessions regarding Taxes and VAT during the importation of biodegradable raw material and manufacturing machinery.



We are in a firm position as to put this law into effect irrespective of any circumstances. Central Environment Authority (CEA) as a responsible branch aspires to conserve the environment. For that, we need the assistance and co-operation of the general public, Weerasundara said. He mentioned that 10%-15% of polythene is inclusive in the total garbage collected daily and that one individual consumes 5kg of polythene per year which could exceed up to 7.2kg in the Western Province.

We have discussed with the polythene manufacturing companies as to how they should face the music. We have recommended some of the products which are biodegradable. Some companies have supported our suggestions, but a few havent, Weerasundara said.

Substitutes should be environmental friendly

Jagath Gunawardena

Senior Environment Lawyer Jagath Gunawardena when contacted, categorically stated that the problem wasnt regarding the use of polythene, but the manner in which it was disposed of .

The lack of manageable procedures for the disposal of polythene has been the core issue during the past

The lack of manageable procedures for the disposal of polythene has been the core issue during the past. I dont say that the banning of polythene isnt relevant. Its absolutely essential and pertinent. The government should see that viable alternatives will be accommodated, he opined. Gunawardena further emphasized that substitutes should be environmental friendly and come under the provision of Consumer Affairs Authority.

Govt. should carry out subsidiary measures

Sajeewa Chamikara

Environmentalist and Environmental Conservation Trust Director Sajeewa Chamikara told Dailymirror.lk that even though it was a bit late to implement the laws for the ban of polythene, the Governments move was greatly commendable and applicable.



I must say that the polythene issue has become a severe threat to Sri Lanka. Although, several implementations had been put into action, they werent as effective as they should have been.



Therefore, we should be thankful to this Government and the Central Environment Authority for their endeavours to implement the laws and the regulations to ban the use of polythene with effect from September 1, Chamikara said.



He stressed that if we were to make this a reality, an apposite mechanism in the form of alternatives should be regulated to replace polythene. He pointed out that the government had regulated tax concessions for the importation and manufacturing of biodegradable raw material.



The government should carry out subsidiary measures for the polythene manufacturers and the public before the law comes into effect to adapt themselves to the new alternatives.



When introducing alternative modes, the Government should ensure that their prices are affordable. The Government should take the pertinent steps to motivate the manufacturers of polythene. Otherwise, this will also be ineffective as it was evident for couple of times in the past, he affirmed.

Chamikara further said that standards should be maintained and there should be legitimacy in enforcing the laws with respect to the ban on polythene, so as to not make it a

mere prohibition.

Unseen obstacles

In a brief interview with Dailymirror.lk , Sri Lanka Plastic Industry Association Chairman Sarath Wijesinghe, unearthed that the plastic industry in Sri Lanka would soon be in a tight spot due to the ban on polythene.



The Government hasnt provided enough time for the manufacturers to adjust themselves to alternative conditions. When there are more than thousand registered plastic factories at which there are more than 12,000 employees, the government hasnt monitored its structures before banning polythene. Its not fair, Wijesinghe said.



He further said that more than 2 million lunch sheets are used daily in relative areas in Colombo. He went on to state that once the ban on polythene is effective, people will have to use items like boxes.

In order to wash them with water, it would require 5 litres of water per day.



He asked whether the Government could provide 5 litres of water per day only to Colombo? Therefore, they urged the Government to view this issue in a different perspective and take efficient action to see that the provisions proposed are fair.
Solahart Australia together with Alpha Thermal Systems (Pvt) Ltd., the sole distributor for Solahart domestic and commercial hot water systems in Sri Lanka held an educational seminar at Jetwing Colombo 7 recently.



James Brown, International Manager Asia for Solhart Australia made a presentation citing case studies of nearly 100 commercial projects in Sri Lanka.



Kushan Jayasuriya , Director Projects of Alpha Thermal Systems (Pvt) Ltd., addressed the group of engineers and consultants and discussed about the Solahart experience in Sri Lanka and the customer feedback with regard to the installations. He also made a presentation on the Solar power electricity generation projects carried out in Sri Lanka by Alpha Solar Energy Systems (Pvt) Ltd., the sole agents in Sri Lanka for Solarworld Germany.



A large number of reputed engineers and consultants attended this programme conducted by the only total solar energy and energy conservation company in Sri Lanka with over 35 years of experience. The company always believed in offering quality products and services with highly qualified and experienced technical staff.
A tense situation prevailed at the Eastern University on Tuesday (8) when a large group of students surrounded the university's administrative building 'Senate House' and held it's Vice Chancellor (VC) captive, citing certain demands.

Speaking to the Daily Mirror over the phone last night (9) Vice Chancellor Prof. T. Jayasingam said a group of students had forcibly entered the university's Senate House on Tuesday evening and had forcibly occupied it blocking all exits.

The VC said he had been held captive and had not been allowed to leave the Senate House by the students over several demands including the provision of adequate hostel facilities.

During the melee that had ensured a security officer had suffered a fractured arm. University property was also damaged by the students, the VC alleged.

Prof. Jayasingam said the police was informed about the incident and arrived on the scene but they had failed to bring the situation under control and release him and his staff. The rest of the staff had been allowed to leave the premises later on leaving behind, he said.

Meanwhile, Eravur Police said a situation had been reported about some 200 Second Year students who had entered the administrative building by force in protest as they have not been allowed to sit for their examinations by the university administration.

They said the students had launched a protest inside the university premises and had moved into the administration building, the Senate House.

The police said that they have already deployed several teams at the scene but had failed in their bid get the VC of the university released. (Chaturanga Pradeep and Thilanka Kanakarathne)
Hurriyat hawk Syed Ali Shah Geelani urging mainstream leaders to join the separatist outfit in Kashmir is just another diversionary tactic to throw off the ongoing NIA probe against the Hurriyat brass, and is aimed more at his own survival.

Coming from Geelani, this overture is neither new nor unique. He had given a similar call in August 2008, at separatist leader Shiekh Abdul Aziz's memorial service.

That it comes only days after the NIA reportedly found evidence against Geelani in a terror funding case is no surprise. Such a pitch was made in July 2016 too - in a joint statement issued by Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik.

That Independent MLA Engineer Rashid has expressed his willingness to join Geelani is no surprise either. At least he was speaking his mind - a thing that too many Kashmiri leaders cannot be accused of doing in recent times.

As soon as the spotlight of the NIA probe fell on the Hurriyat leaders and some of them were arrested, reports emerged that at least a couple of mainstream political leaders opened backchannel talks with the families of the arrested leaders.

Reportedly, they did their utmost to convince them that the state government was doing everything in their power to get them released.

What was the hurry? Well, the Hurriyats fatigue is growing - for one. Slain militants wrapped in the flags of the Islamic State, unfurling of IS flags at rallies and protests across the Valley, growing disenchantment of the Kashmiri youth over the status quo - and all its symbols - including the Hurriyat, Hizbul Mujahideen, restrictions, lack of growth and opportunities - almost everything.

In search of a new identity, they may have started to migrate towards the IS and its borderless, pan-Islamic ideology. It is a reason for concern for the government and the security establishment, but it will turn out to be a bigger concern for the non-performing assets of the Hurriyat.

Their writ still runs in the Valley but having no programmes to engage the youth in constructive causes, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference will find, at a point of time, that the ideology of a pan-Islamic movement cannot be checked either by Pakistan or its intelligence agencies, or by the already beleaguered Hurriyat.

The very Hurriyat ideology of projecting Kashmir as a Muslim issue is now backfiring. Questions are being asked - just whose aspirations does the Hurriyat represent? - the youth, the orchard owners, the houseboat and hotel owners, maybe traders? None of them  the Hurriyat represents themselves and no one else.

Flush with funds - both from their Pakistani masters and from the Indian state and central government that provide them with a long list of perks - they have become landlords of their own domain.

Their families are not directly or indirectly engaged in the conflict - most of them are not even in Kashmir or India for that matter. There are others to be sacrificed at the altar of Kashmir - young boys and girls of the Valley, its labourers, traders, why the very free spirit of Kashmir, its famed Kashmiriyat.
I'd like to wish the people of India a happy Partition Day ahead of next Tuesday, and hope they all manage to wallow fully in the misery and anguish that August 15 represents to them each year.

To the British that is precisely what the date represents  and nothing more. Seventy years after the Raj ended, this day still does not for them mark the birth of by far the biggest, most multifarious and hotly contested democracy in history, that has overcome far greater and more recurrent challenges to its integrity than any other democratic state in modern times  from invasion to political assassinations and natural calamities. For them, it marks only Partition.

As the day nears, the British are indulging in their usual morbid historical voyeurism. The Guardian has run several articles already, raking over the horrors. One of them even ridiculously asserted that Indians are "in denial" about what took place then, unaware of the museum and countless archives they have devoted to its memory.

The BBC is even officially running a Partition Series with television, radio and online programmes delving into the myriad traumas suffered. And London's main cultural hub, the Southbank Centre, ran talks and events earlier this year related to it, as have many other venues in Britain.

1st Independence Day flag-hosting in India. [Photo: Sociochick]

The large number of Punjabis in the UK  from both India and Pakistan  is one reason for this obsession, as is the deluded notion among the British to foster a wholly bogus "British-Asian" identity for all those whose origins are in the subcontinent  as though a cab-driving Mirpuri in Bradford and his burqa-wearing cousin-wife share some essential bond with cosmopolitan Gujarati Londoners working for Goldman Sachs.

Indians in Britain live very different lives from Pakistanis, being, on the whole, much better educated, more prosperous and more at ease with the general culture. While Indians tend to make money and then leave their old immigrant neighbourhoods for more affluent and thus whiter areas, Pakistanis very often live in ghettos composed of people who are from the same region they hailed from, very often still practising endogamous marriage with relatives from the old country.

The annual hand-wringing over Partition, however, is one thing that both communities can be involved in, and so the British make the very most of it, herding everyone into a collective bellyaching that might foster some artificial sense of unity, before everyone returns to their normal lives that are very much and increasingly unrelated to each other's.

While for Indians, August 15 marks the moment they finally rid themselves of the retarding constipating influence of the British that had held them back for centuries, for the British the day can only be regarded through the lens of tragedy. Their neurotic focus on Partition is not because the tragedy is an Indian one (which it was for many Indians, but by no means all) but because it is so excruciatingly British they cannot even bring themselves to admit its true relevance to them. They are the ones in denial about it, not Indians.

A refugee special train at Ambala Station during partition of India. [Photo: Reuters]

Partition was the last great historical event the British participated in. After that, they were dumped on the sidelines of history, to exist either as obedient American lackeys or resentful passengers in the European Union, ever sulky at not being top-dogs and having to comply with the general will of the EU  a petty bitterness that eventually drove them to Brexit.

The British have not, and never will again, be involved in something as momentous in scale and ramifications as Partition: the creation of two enormous countries, the deaths of millions of people and the displacement of many times more. They are so consumed by it each year because it allows them to wallow in the fading memory of a time when they were a people who mattered, though they try to disguise it with as many phoney pieties as possible, talking of their shame at the reckless irresponsibility in dividing so many people so hastily and wishing it had been done differently  wilfully hiding what a calculated move it had always been.

Twenty years before 1947, both Jinnah and the idea of a Muslim state were unknown. It was British patronage that allowed both to thrive as they sought to undermine the Indian National Congress. And it was Cold War politics, as much as the sectarianism they sowed, that made the British divide the subcontinent, creating the western-allied Pakistan as a buffer-state to obstruct Soviet influence in India.

None of this  widely discussed in India  is ever brought to light in Britain, where Partition is only regarded as a tragic mistake the British were forced into making by the uncontrollable hatreds of peoples they had hitherto painstakingly tried to civilise.

The "mistake" narrative of Partition is also, of course, a typically snide British means of regarding Indian independence itself as a mistake. To this day  despite the Himalayan scale of evidence to the contrary  the British feel they did Indians a big favour by colonising them, and that Indians might be better off if they still ruled them.

The British left behind a country so exploited and looted that its four-hundred million people were over 80 per cent illiterate, with an average life-expectancy of only 30. It is Indians themselves, through their own heroic efforts, who increased literacy almost four-fold and more than doubled life-expectancy  and also build companies and industries of global proportions, as well as send a mission to Mars and countless other achievements that seemed completely beyond them in 1947.
Disadvantaged women need to receive more attention and protection through the implementation of the country's first anti-domestic violence law ratified over a year ago, according to a workshop held on Aug. 9 in Beijing.

The workshop, jointly organized by UN Women, Equality NGO (Weiping) and Women's Network against AIDS (WNAC), allowed dozens of participants from UN agencies, governments, academic centers and grass-root organizations to exchange views about how to protect marginalized women suffering from AIDS, disabilities, abuse and violence.

According to Yuan Wenli, Secretary-General of WNAC, in China, almost half of the women living with HIV have undergone at least one form of domestic violence, the rate being about 23 percent higher than the number of ordinary women so affected.

"Disadvantaged women, such as, women living with HIV, are often more susceptible to violence and harm, and are more easily ignored," said, Julie Broussard, country program manager of UN Women China.

"To achieve the goal of gender equality and women's empowerment, stakeholders must pay close attention to disadvantaged groups, and speed up action."

Feng Yuan, co-founder of the charity organization Equality and Coordinator of the project funded by United Nations Trust Fund, said her research indicated that concerns over domestic violence have been showing signs of abating.

Pertinent reports and micro-blogs concerning domestic violence reached 1,454 during the first half this year, while, last year it was 4,186. The figure also fell from 615 to 376 in March year-on-year, when China's legislative and political advisory bodies held their annual meetings, known as the "two sessions."

China's anti-domestic violence law has empowered those threatened by domestic violence to file for court restraining orders within 48 hours. Once the order is mandated, it is effective for six months. Any violators of the order will face a fine of 1,000 yuan (US$152.6) or detention of up to 15 days.

According to the Supreme People's Court, courts at all levels in the country had issued 1,284 orders by June, this year.

However, while briefing on the research, Feng revealed that the problems, such as, insufficient promulgation of gender equality in remote and underdeveloped regions, problems with victim privacy, unfriendly service attitudes and twisted views of domestic violence, still discourage women falling prey to domestic violence to seek legal protection.

WNAC representative Ming Mei said, research samples among women living near the border between China's Yunnan Province and Myanmar have shown that those who found to be HIV positive probably undergo more domestic violence, which, to a certain extent, may result in severe and enduring depression.

According to Yuan, some victims of domestic violence have to put up with the bullying, abuse and stigma because they are not economically independent while the continuous insults and assaults have led to loss of personal dignity. Therefore, it is imperative to ensure they receive support, encouragement and hope.

Zhou Kai, National Program Officer of UNAIDS, said relevant authorities and organizations should form a concerted frontline to help disadvantaged women escape the shackle of domestic violence and prevent further bullying and abuse when they resort to public assistances. One of the services she exemplified is the buttressing of healthcare institutions.

"Doctors should ask more than simply prescribing medicines to people suspected of encountering domestic violence," Zhou explained.

Guo Ruixiang, Program Coordinator of UN Women in China, called for the Chinese government to accept major accountability by involving the entire society in enforcing the anti-domestic violence law to prevent the victims from being further hurt while speaking out to call for help.
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Police recently busted a drug production ring, capturing eight suspects and seizing over 100 kg of chemicals used in the production of methamphetamines in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

An investigation was launched after a man from Heshan was suspected of producing drugs on Aug. 3, police in the city of Laibin said Thursday.

Police located a drug production facility in Lingnan township and raided the location on Aug. 4. Four suspects were caught and 105.73 kg of ephedrine was seized.

Another four suspects were later caught in Laibin.

Further investigation is underway.
 Flash

U.S. FBI agents conducted a predawn raid of home of Paul Manafort, former chairman of Donald Trump's presidential campaign in Alexandria, Virginia, a spokesperson for Manafort confirmed Wednesday.

"FBI agents executed a search warrant at one of Mr. Manafort's residences," Manafort's spokesperson said in a statement.

"Mr. Manafort has consistently cooperated with law enforcement and other serious inquiries and did so on this occasion as well," the statement said.

FBI agents, using a wide-ranging search warrant, raided Manafort's home without advance warning in the predawn hours of July 26, the Washington Post reported earlier Wednesday, quoting people familiar with the special counsel Robert Mueller probe into ties between Trump's campaign and Russia.

The agents departed the home with various records whose significance is unclear and materials Manafort had already provided to the Congress, said the report.

Manafort has voluntarily provided documents to both the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Senate and House intelligence committees, in compliance with their investigation into possible Russian election interference.

The Trump campaign submitted more than 20,000 pages of records to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Aug. 2, the deadline to send over records to the committee.

Among them, Manafort reportedly provided about 400 pages, including his foreign agent advocacy paperwork. These documents are required by the Senate judiciary panel to include notes Manafort took while attending a meeting with the president's eldest son Donald Trump Jr. and a Russian lawyer at Trump Tower in June 2016.

Manafort, a lobbyist and political consultant in the 1980s, resigned from the Trump campaign last August amid questions about his pro-Russia foreign business ties. He has come under intense scrutiny in the investigation into Russian election meddling since last year.
Democrat Justin Fairfax and Republican Jill Vogel faced off in their first debate in the race for lieutenant governor Wednesday with less than three months until the election.

Their discussion, which was sponsored by the Senior Statesman of Virginia and held at Piedmont Virginia Community College, covered a number of topics, such as womens health, climate change, campaign finance and Confederate monuments across Virginia.

Fairfax is a former federal prosecutor and Vogel is a state senator from Fauquier County.

On the subject of womens health and reproductive rights, Fairfax advocated for more choice and freedom. He also referenced an ultrasound bill Vogel sponsored in 2012 that received severe backlash.

The legislation, Senate Bill 484, would have forced women to submit to an ultrasound before getting an abortion, the Richmond Times Dispatch reported.

Vogel eventually withdrew the legislation after what she said were hyper-partisan attacks.

I can assure you that there was nothing in that bill that took any rights away from women or forced them to do anything against their will, she said. It was simply an informed consent bill, but all the partisan rhetoric around this issue was so offensive, and frankly so offensive to me, I withdrew the bill.

Vogel frequently reiterated afterward that shes not running for lieutenant governor to take away anyones rights, period. She also stated she is for expanding choice and rights with respect to womens health.

Both candidates agreed that climate change is real and would be a real threat to Virginia if not addressed. Vogel said sea level rise poses a national security threat, as well.

It has an enormous impact on our military, and I have met with representatives from the military to try to have a discussion about what we can do in partnership, she said. It is critical that we make this a priority and make certain that we are directing the resources that we can to the communities that need it most, to address changes that are going to be necessary for infrastructure and support those communities now before it is too late.

One question submitted by the audience asked if either candidate would support limits on campaign finance in Virginia. Vogel said limits should not be imposed, as campaign contributions are a matter of free speech.

Fairfax said he is in favor of limits, and that taking unlimited money out of politics would allow more people to participate in the democratic process.

I think that actually hurts democracy rather than helps it, he said.

The two candidates also differed on Confederate statues. Vogel said she believes history needs to be taught and not erased, and that the significance of the monuments is critical to both Virginian and American history.

She also said she does not believe taxpayer money should go toward destroying or erasing historic monuments.

Fairfax said that the statues and other monuments of the Confederacy have different meanings to different people, and that these decisions are best left to the localities.

There are different histories and different lived experiences with these monuments, and you can't simply say because it doesn't affect you it doesn't affect everybody else, he said. It looks at a very divisive and divided time in the history of the Commonwealth of Virginia. I believe the localities are doing a thoughtful job about how they are going to handle monuments in their particular jurisdictions, as it should be.

A recent poll from Virginia Commonwealth University found Fairfax ahead of Vogel with 43 percent support among likely voters, compared to 38 percent for Vogel.

Fifteen percent of likely voters polled were undecided.

The poll was conducted by VCUs L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs from the middle to end of July.

Fairfax won the Democratic Primary against two opponents with 49 percent of the vote and 252,226 votes total.

Vogel won a close race with nearly 43 percent and 151,880 votes.

Bob Gibson of the University of Virginias Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service said the tone of the debate was civil.

I think they didn't really attack each other, they attacked each other's positions as appropriate, he said. And I think they each represent a huge part of their political party, so they are sort of running what today would be called positive campaigns.

Another lieutenant governor candidate debate is expected in September, but no other details have been announced yet, Lauren Zehyoue, spokeswoman for Fairfaxs campaign, said.

Senior Statesmen of Virginia will hold a forum for two local House of Delegates races next month.

The group will host 25th District candidates Del. Steve Landes, R-Weyers Cave, and Democrat Angela Lynn on Sept. 13 at the Senior Center starting at 1:30 p.m. That forum will be followed by another featuring 58th District candidates Del. Rob Bell, R-Albemarle, and Democrat Kellen Squire at 2:30 p.m.

The election is Nov. 7, and the deadline to register to vote is Oct. 16. More information can be found at elections.virginia.gov.
For those looking to avoid Saturdays Unite the Right event, there will be more than a dozen counter-events including prayer services, music and public education opportunities available  including a series of free lectures at the University of Virginia.

Ahead of Saturdays event, Westminster Presbyterian Church on Thursday will hold a 7 p.m. prayer service. At 7:30 p.m., the Charlottesville Office of Human Rights will lead a presentation and discussion called the History of Race and Ethnicity in Charlottesville at Congregation Beth Israel, at 301 E. Jefferson St.

At 8 p.m. Friday, Congregate Charlottesville will hold a mass meeting at St. Pauls Memorial Church, at 1700 University Ave. Speakers will include nationally-known activist, commentator and author Cornel West and the Rev. Traci Blackmon.

On Saturday, almost a dozen counter events are planned, beginning at 6 a.m. with the Love Over Fear sunrise service at First Baptist Church, at 632 W. Main St.

At 8 a.m., the Charlottesville Clergy Collective will gather at the Jefferson School City Center to march to McGuffey Park and First United Methodist Church.

From 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., the Peoples Action for Racial Justice rally will be held at McGuffey Park and Justice Park, sponsored by Together Cville and the Charlottesville Center for Peace and Justice. It will feature teach-ins, speeches, prayer, meditation, music and art.

The event is designed to be a peaceful protest against all forms of white supremacy, racial intolerance and discrimination, according to organizer Walt Heinecke. Calling Charlottesville the epicenter of larger issues of race and inequality throughout the U.S., Heinecke said he hopes people will leave his event with a better idea for how to start solving those issues.

White supremacy happens all the time; it is the rule, not the exception, Heinecke said. If the people of Charlottesville and the nation are waiting for the right moment to organize for a racially just and truly multicultural society, this is the moment to become focused.

This is not about statues, its about statutes, he said. The PARJ will focus on what citizens can do going forward on August 13 to build a stronger community based on the principles of racial harmony and justice.

Heinecke urged anyone who comes to the downtown area on Saturday to engage in nonviolent, civil protest. The goal of his event is to lawfully and peacefully assemble for racial justice and equity, he said.

Were trying to build a movement to undo the roots of the current issues of inequality in Charlottesville and the United States, Heinecke said. Its not all about the alt-right.

From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Albemarle-Charottesville NAACP will hold an advocacy training event at Burley Middle School, at 901 Rose Hill Drive.

From 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., the Charlottesville Black Lives Matter chapter will host Art in Action performances in opposition to hatred at Champion Brewing, at 324 6th Street SE. For more information or to sign up for a performance slot, visit facebook.com/cvilleblm.

Prayer services will be held at First United Methodist Church from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and from 12 to 1 p.m. at Unity of Charlottesville, at 2825 Hydraulic Road.

From noon to 5 p.m., the Charlottesville Clergy Collective and Charlottesville Peace Initiative will co-host alternative peace-building activities at Common Ground Healing Arts at the Jefferson School City Center.

A Back to School Block Party will be held from 3 to 9 p.m. at Tonsler Park.

The University of Virginia also will offer a day of events displaying its commitment to mutual respect and inclusion, according to a news release.

Faculty and staff members will facilitate discussions on constitutional rights and citizenship; community dynamics and polarization; local history and other topics focusing on the theme of peaceable democracy.

The discussions will be free and open to the public.

Some of the UVa events include:

 Enfranchising Citizens in the United States: A Short History, led by Professor of History Brian Balogh and University of Richmond President Emeritus Ed Ayers;

 Whats Right about Conservatives Today, led by William Antholis, director of the Miller Center for Public Affairs;

 Freedom of Speech and Assembly: Whats Protected and Whats Not, led by UVa School of Law Professor Douglas Laycock; and

 Race and Education, led by assistant professor of Educational Psychology Natalie Palacios.

UVa President Teresa A. Sullivan said she hopes the series of seminars opens a door to a community-wide conversation on critical issues facing the Charlottesville community and the nation, according to the news release.

The events allow us to do what a public university does best: engage in open, critical, reflective conversation, always in pursuit of the common good, Sullivan said.

The discussions  scheduled to be 25 to 55 minutes long  will begin at 11 a.m. and will be held in three UVa libraries: Alderman, Clemons and the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections auditorium.

For a complete list of seminars, visit president.virginia.edu/events-planned-august-12.

Not wanting to draw attention to the Unite the Right event on Saturday, Charlottesville dance groups  including the Charlottesville Salsa Club  will hold the Unite the Pride Flashmob for Equality from 6 to 7 p.m. Sunday on Charlottesvilles Downtown Mall. The groups plan to dance to the song Imagine, and the public is invited to join.

Following the event, the groups will hold an after party at The Ante Room with all proceeds going to the Charlottesville chapter of the International Rescue Committee.

For more information, search Flashmob  Unite the Pride on Facebook.
Some county residents want the Albemarle Board of Supervisors to renegotiate or end the revenue sharing agreement the county has with the City of Charlottesville.

The revenue sharing agreement was approved in 1982 in a deal to prevent the city from annexing valuable county land, but required the county to share some of the revenue generated by that land with Charlottesville.

At its meeting Wednesday, the board had a work session on the history of the agreement, frequent questions about the pact and its benefits to the county facilitated by county attorney Greg Kamptner.

During a public hearing after the work session, Phillip Fassieux, who has spoken out against the revenue sharing agreement, told the county to create independent advisory committee to look at leaving the revenue sharing agreement.

Im calling for the county to appoint an independent advisory committee comprised of legal professionals for the specific purpose of researching and evaluating possible legal strategies for exiting the revenue sharing agreement, he said. Because of the county attorneys office public support and consistent support for maintaining the agreement, the boards counsel is not in a position to be able to provide acceptable legal advice which would be accepted by county residents.

He called the countys situation bad financial management, and said the board must look to the agreements ongoing impacts on Albemarle residents.

With this years payment of over $15.8 million, that amount couldve fully funded repairs and improvements at Woodbrook Elementary School or even helped to keep Yancey Elementary school open, Fassieux said. Instead, county residents were convinced we needed to take out a $35 million loan instead.

Another resident was concerned about the citys budget surplus in relation to the agreement.

Part of that money is ours, we should get a portion of that surplus and I think its up to the board of supervisors to send them a letter and ask for it, Harold Pillar said.

According to county documents, since 1983, the county has transferred $311,803,547 to the city.

The payment amount varies and is derived from a formula that looks at the populations of the city and the county, the value of locally assessed taxable real property, and the true real property tax rates of the city and the county, as determined by the Virginia Department of Taxation.

A cap on the amount of revenue transferred prevents the annual payment from exceeding 0.1 percent of the locally assessed value of taxable real estate. The revenue transferred to the city has been reduced by the cap in 26 of the 35 years the agreement has existed.

The state in 1987 imposed a moratorium on land annexation from counties by cities. The state legislature has renewed the moratorium each time it has been set to expire. In 2016 the moratorium was extended until 2024.

During his presentation, Kamptner answered many questions that have been asked by county residents, and said that the county was not under duress when the agreement was made.

He added that the agreement is not taxation without representation because county residents voted for it, and that the moratorium did not frustrate the purpose of the agreement, among other things.

Albemarle County has a dense enough population to theoretically qualify for immunity from annexation, Kamptner said. The agreement precludes the county from applying for immunity, but it exceeds the required population of at least 50,000 and minimum density of 140 people per square mile.

Even if the agreement was not in place, Kamptner said, the moratorium would prevent the county from pursuing immunity.

Sheffield also asked about the definition of assessed value in the agreement, to which Kamptner said he would check with the finance department.

For me, the whole sticking point is that we put land use valuation into effect to preserve that pristine rural landscape that the city uses to sell itself to growth and whatever else, and it just seems to be counter-productive, almost a paradox then, they ignore that we put something in place to preserve the rural character, Sheffield said.

He also said that the board cant ignore that the agreement frustrates residents.

I find kind of intriguing, and I do mean intriguing, is that the city and county have never gotten together to actually put a solid case of how this community is better because of this agreement, he said. If that existed, our jobs in communicating with our constituents about this issue would be so much easier and its not out there.

Supervisor Rick Randolph said that part of the problem is getting this information out to residents.

The media doesnt look at it as vitally important, but we understand, in terms of our effectiveness of our jobs, the public needs to know about this and know about the complexity, but actually the simplicity of it which is its a contract that has to be honored, Randolph said.

The Free Enterprise Forum, a local public policy organization, last week released The Hindsight Report, which showed that from 2001 to 2016, the county took in $65 million more in tax revenue from land that had been eyed by Charlottesville for annexation than it paid in revenue sharing to the city.

The report was the subject of a two-part series in The Daily Progress.

Randolph said the board members need to talk about it with community advisory committees and when theyre running for reelection.

The city obviously, they take it for granted, he said. They dont see it as a disadvantage, whereas people in the county see it as a disadvantage, and thats obscured some of the benefits that have accrued to the city because of this agreement.

Chairwoman Diantha McKeel said she doesnt think the city realizes how often county residents ask about the agreement.

In my conversations over the last two or three years about this, city councilors are surprised that we have any residents even questioning it because they just live in a different world, she said. Its just not on their radar screen.

The board of supervisors and city council are scheduled to have a joint meeting in September.
Bengaluru: Tata Motors on Thursday announced its decision to call off the potential partnership talks with Czech car manufacturer Skoda.

The company said that after performing a joint technical feasibility and commercial evaluation of a potential collaboration, both firms concluded that the envisioned areas of partnership may not yield the desired synergies as originally assessed, based on intense and constructive discussions.

The two companies, however, have decided to keep in touch for future areas of collaborations.
New Delhi: The government will continue to support Air India during the disinvestment process and honour committed financial obligations till any further direction, union minister Jayant Sinha told the Lok Sabha on Thursday.

In a written reply, he said cost reduction steps coupled with the implementation of the turnaround plan has resulted in an improved performance of Air India as it is "showing a turnaround on both operational and financial parameters" A group of ministers, headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, is looking at the modalities for strategic disinvestment of Air India and its five subsidiaries.

In June, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) gave its in- principle approval for the disinvestment.

"During the disinvestment process, the government would continue to support Air India as per approved turnaround plan and would honour committed financial obligations till any further direction," Sinha said in another written reply.

The minister of state for civil aviation was responding to a question on whether the disinvestment process would affect the fiscal discipline of the airline. The turnaround plan, which was approved by the previous UPA government in 2012, for the loss-making Air India provides for equity infusion of Rs 30,231 crore up to 2021, subject to the national carrier achieving certain milestones.

As part of the plan, various steps have been taken to cut costs and losses. These include route rationalisation and enhanced utilisation of new fleet. In one of the written replies, the minister said Air India has been suffering net losses over the past many years.

"However, these losses have been gradually coming down and in 2015-16 fiscal, the company has posted a moderate operating profit," he added.

The airline has a debt burden of more than Rs 50,000 crore. Sinha said Air India has constituted an integration cell to redress the employees' grievances arising due to "anomalies in increment, high personal pay, PF protection and drop in salary etc."

Besides, there are open house meetings by Air India's CMD and ED (Integration) as well as station visits by the CMD to carry out inspection and meetings with employees.

The minister was replying to a query on whether Air India has changed the work environment and work culture for their employees to make the organisation more competitive and check further losses.

When asked about the reaction of the employees to these measures, Sinha said, "employees' reaction is positive and morale is also high".

On whether Air India has drawn up a proposal to offer voluntary retirement scheme to around 15,000 employees before disinvestment, he replied in the negative. The minister also said the airline has not purchased any aircraft in the last three years.
Shares of RCom closed at Rs 22.3 a unit, down by 2.62 per cent compared to previous close at BSE.

New Delhi: Telecom operator Reliance Communications, which is reeling under debt of about Rs 45,000 crore, plans to issue shares to lenders for the debt that it has raised from them, as per a regulatory filing of the company.

The board of RCom is scheduled to meet on August 12 which will consider convening annual general meeting of shareholders to enable the firm seek their nod for converting debt into equity shares.

In a regulatory filing RCom said that the board will consider and approve matters related to merger scheme between the company and Aircel along with other deleveraging measures.

The board will in the same meeting will consider "approving notice convening annual general meeting seeking shareholders' enabling approval for various items including conversion of debt into equity shares, if and when required, for issue of privately placed non-convertible debentures/ other debt securities".

The RCom board will also consider update on the ongoing strategic debt restructuring scheme of the company. The company has defaulted on some of the payments to lenders and it has received time till December for strategic restructuring plan under which it will get a seven-month standstill to service loans amounting to Rs 45,000 crore.

Anil Ambani-led RCom has earlier blamed "freebies" offered by a new telecom operator -- an apparent reference Reliance Jio run by his elder brother Mukesh Ambani-- for woes of the sector even as it has denied having delayed any payment of debt by more than three months from the due dates.

The company has announced sale of mobile towers to Brookfield Infrastructure and combination of its wireless business with Aircel group which, on completion of the deal, will reduce existing debt by up to Rs 25,000 crore.

Shares of RCom closed at Rs 22.3 a unit, down by 2.62 per cent compared to previous close, at the BSE on Wednesday.
The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) will on Friday hear pleas by Parsvnath Developers and Kavit Industries against trading restrictions imposed on their shares by SEBI.

New Delhi: The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) will on Friday hear pleas by Parsvnath Developers and Kavit Industries against trading restrictions imposed on their shares by exchanges on markets regulator Sebi's directions.

The tribunal on Thursday stayed trading restrictions imposed on JKumar Infraprojects and Prakash Industries, which were also on a list of 331 "suspected shell companies" referred by the government to Sebi.

Trading restrictions were imposed on these companies with effect from August 8 after which many of them approached SAT.

While Parsvnath Developers had also filed its appeal on Wednesday, the tribunal has listed it for hearing on Friday. Kavit Industries' plea is also listed for Friday, as per the cause list of the SAT.

Hearing began on pleas by JKumar Infraprojects and Prakash Industries on Wednesday and SAT on Thursday stayed the trading restrictions imposed them. These shares can resume normal trading from Friday.

Kavit Industries, a Gujarat-based firm, is manufacturer and supplier of edible oil, and Parsvnath Developers is a Delhi-based real estate company.

The Gujarat-based firm on Thursday posted a net profit of Rs 31 lakh for the three months ended June 30, higher than Rs 7.4 lakh reported in the year-ago period. Besides, the company's revenue rose to Rs 30 crore in the period under review from Rs 2.59 crore in the April-June period of 2016-17.

Markets regulator Sebi, on Monday, had asked the stock exchanges to restrict trading in shares of 331 "suspected shell companies", some of which have investments by several well-known domestic and foreign investors.

The move came after the watchdog received the list of such companies from the corporate affairs ministry and many of the 331 firms are under the scanner of the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) and the Income Tax Department.

On August 8, many of the companies tagged annual reports and other financial along with their filings to press upon the exchanges that they are not shell companies and are in compliance with all regulations.

Out of the 331 companies on the list, more than 160 are actively traded shares on the exchanges.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) is considering linking the unique identification number to voter ID cards.

Mumbai: The 12-digit Aadhaar number, that is becoming integral to our daily life, may soon be linked to our voter identification cards.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) is considering linking the unique identification number to Elector's Photo Identity Cards (EPIC), popularly known as voter identification cards. According to a report in Moneycontrol, the Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology P P Chaudhary told the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, that the linking will be beneficial for various electoral services.

Chaudhary said the move will implemented be "at an appropriate time".

The Election Commission had earlier moved the Supreme Court, asking for permission to obtain Aadhaar details of voters to link it to their database.

The apex body had directed that: The unique identification number or the Aadhaar card will not be used by the respondents for any purpose other than the PDS scheme and in particular for the purpose of distribution of foodgrains, etc. and cooking fuel such as kerosene.

However, in recent times, Aadhaar has been made compulsory for various services like PAN, filing of income tax returns, availing government subsidies, etc.
Mumbai: It seems the government wants to take its battle against black money and tax evasion a step farther. After making Aadhaar compulsory for many schemes and projects, the government now plans to make it mandatory for stock market investors.

Soon, the 10-digit unique identity issued by the Unique Identification of Authority of India may be made compulsory for stock market investors, as market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India and the government are planning to put in place a mechanism that will prevent black money from coming into stock market.

The proposal aims at preventing black money from coming into stock markets, as it is suspected that some investors convert their unaccounted wealth into white through stock market investments. It has also been suspected that the practice of tax evasion also takes place through such investments.

A report in The Economic Times quoted two people familiar with the development as saying that the government has now realised the importance of linking Aadhaar with transactions at the financial markets. It now also firmly believes Permanent Account Number or PAN may not be enough to plug tax leaks.

The report also quotes an unknown top official at a financial services firm who says that officials at Sebi have informally consulted a few market intermediaries and have sought their opinion on the proposed plan. However, it was not made clear whether Aadhaar will replace PAN card as the sole important document required for all securities transactions.

The government has made linking of Aadhaar with PAN compulsory for filing income tax returns, earlier only PAN card was required for filing taxes. Aadhaar has also been made mandatory for opening bank accounts or connecting the card with the existing accounts.
Mumbai: Actress Kangana Ranaut said maybe it is her destiny that she has to fight hard to get everything in life but she has made peace with it.

The actress, who launched the trailer of her next, 'Simran' on Tuesday evening, said she often wondered about her journey in Bollywood.

"My journey has been quite different. While flying to Mumbai for the conference, I was thinking about all sorts of questions that would be asked to me here. So I thought, 'Has my journey really been unusual or is it only me who thinks that way?'

"But the one aspect that is striking about my journey is that I have to fight for everything in life, even the smallest of the things. I don't know why it happens. Maybe it is my destiny, but I have made peace with it."

The actress said people might give her several tags, but she will eventually take what is hers.

"A lot of you might think, 'to be or not to be' but it is okay or like you guys use the word rebel, ladaku... I don't take offence to that... I will take what is mine, be it by fighting or any other means."

At the event, she was accompanied by director Hansal Mehta, who revealed that much before they collaborated for 'Simran', he had approached her with a film post her debut in 'Gangster'.

"I was pursuing her for a film since years. In fact, I had called her to my office for a script narration, just after 'Gangster'. I was confident she will say yes. But she refused," Mehta said.

To which, Kangana quipped, "I don't remember this incident at all. He said his ego was hurt a lot. But this is the story of my life, whether I remember or not, I definitely hurt ego."

'Simran' is scheduled to release on September 15.
Mumbai: Popular Malayalam actor Dileep,arrested in connection with a case of plotting the abduction and sexual assault of a noted South Indian actress in February today moved the Kerala High Court seeking bail.

The court had dismissed his bail application on July 24 after finding that the investigation in the case was progressing and the mobile phone, stated by the prosecution as a key evidence in the case, had not been recovered.

The actor in his fresh plea today submitted that the scenario has completely changed and he is not the kingpin of any criminal conspiracy or even a participant therein.

The petitioner said he is not the perpetrator of any criminal offence.

"He is only the unfortunate victim of an orchestrated media campaign and proceedings of a group of police officers acting on the pre-conceived notion of guilt of the petitioner and wanting to implicate him as an accused," the petition said.

"Continued detention will not serve any useful purpose for further investigation, if any, and that being so his further detention is unjust," the petitioner submitted.

The petitioner said in his entire life, he has never seen, met or talked with prime accused in the case Pulsar Suni.

He never knew him by name or face and there is not even a remote possibility of any such person meeting him at any point of time. He alleged that there was a 'large-scale conspiracy' hatched by a small but powerful section of film industry and certain others who could manage police, media and political leaders to spread utter falsehood and malicious stories about him for months together.

It ultimately resulted in his being implicated and arraigned as accused in the case about three months after the submission of the final report against the accused in the actress abduction and molestation case.

The actor also submitted that his continued detention was delaying the shooting and release of movies affecting the livelihood of people associated with them.

He was arrested on July 10 and since then for the last more than a month he is in custody.

"The accused is influential and is likely to tamper with the evidence if bail is granted at this stage," the court had said while rejecting his bail application earlier.

Dileep, charged under various sections of the IPC, including for hatching criminal conspiracy for abduction and assault of the actress in a moving car on February 17, is currently lodged in a jail in his home town Aluva.

The police have claimed that the conspiracy to abduct and assault the actress and film the act was hatched by Dileep and Pulsar Suni, the prime accused in the case.

In their remand application, they had also claimed that Dileep had a grudge against the actress for letting his former wife know about his alleged affairs and had hatched a conspiracy to take revenge way back in 2013.

Six persons, including Pulsar Suni, have been arrested in connection with the actress abduction and molestation case.

The actress, who has worked in Tamil and Telugu films, was abducted and allegedly molested inside her car for two hours by the accused, who had forced their way into the vehicle and later escaped in a busy area here.
The pictures that Akshay Kumar and Varun Dhawan shared on Twitter.

New Delhi: Whenever it comes to promote his films, Akshay Kumar has always gone the extra mile.

And in his promoting spree, his immense support to the army personnel is very evident too.

The 49-year-old actor, who was in the national capital to promote his upcoming movie 'Toilet: Ek Prem Katha,' met the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force.

Taking to Twitter, he posted a picture with a caption, "Lovely visiting the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force this morning. Nothing but deepest respect for their never-dying spirit!"

Lovely visiting the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force this morning. Nothing but deepest respect for their never-dying spirit! pic.twitter.com/UiKeNN6b3K  Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) August 9, 2017

Varun Dhawan was also present at the occasion.

Got to spend the day with our commandos at the indo-Tibet border police camp. #realheroes #inspired. pic.twitter.com/GKyASkDBe3  Varun Dhawan (@Varun_dvn) August 9, 2017

Meanwhile, Akshay is doing all it takes to raise curiosity around his film. He recently collaborated with Kaya Constructs to make public toilets in many cities, including Delhi and Mumbai too.

Helmed by Shree Narayan Singh, the movie also stars Bhumi Pednekar in a pivotal role.

The film releases on August 11.
Mumbai: Bollywood actor Sitaram Panchal, who was battling with cancer for the past three years, complained of breathlessness on Thursday morning and was rushed to a hospital. He breathed his last at around 7:45 am.

The Paan Singh Tomar actor was suffering from kidney and lung cancer and was also financially compromised. In the month of July, Panchal put up a social media post seeking financial assistance for his treatment.

His wife Uma spoke to a leading daily about his deteriorating health condition. She had said, Ever since the cancer was detected in January 2014, he has taken Ayurvedic treatment. It was only recently that he started a new homeopathic medicine, following which, his condition worsened and we discontinued the medicines.

On Wednesday, his son Rishabh Panchal posted a picture of him with his parents wishing them on their 26th marriage anniversary.

Despite the Haryana government offering a sum of rupees 5 lakh, the actor refused to switch to allopathic treatment and continued with his Ayurvedic medicines.

Sitaram Panchal was best known for his roles in films like Paan Singh Tomar, Jolly LLB 2, Bandit Queen, Slumdog Millionaire, Peepli Live and The Legend of Bhagat Singh.
Dhanush is indeed an individual who is supremely talented. Apart from being an actor, writer and director, this star is all set to venture into a different zone altogether. The actor and his team are now planning to venture into web series.

We started planning for a web-series two years ago and we also started our research on it. We even planned to launch an app, but then because of VIP 2 we had to shift our focus and give all our time for this film, explains the actor.

So we have pushed it to next year. But, its very much happening. We will be resuming our web series plan next year. I will be backing it, but Im not acting in it right now. We will be expanding it region by region, he added.

Many superstars, who concentrate on their acting commitments, prefer to turn director very late in their career. However, Dhanush who recently directed a film Pa Paandi says he is ashamed that he turned director so late in his career.

He says, I think I am too late I should have directed a film a few years back. I feel ashamed I have not done anything and now only when I am 34, I am writing a film, which is like really late. The actor is now busy shooting for Vada Chennai.
Having acted in over 50 films, Karunakaran has carved a special place for himself in the industry. After acting with Rajinikanth, he is now excited about his next outing Vivegam starring Ajith. When I received the offer to act alongside Ajith sir, I couldnt miss the opportunity. Siva sirs script was so impressive that I agreed to be a part of this prestigious project. Im quite excited to see the intro scene of Ajith sir in theatre! says Karunakaran in his chat with DC.

The Thiri actor adds that shooting in certain locales was challenging. I play APS, a translator. We shot in extreme weather conditions in Belgrade, Sofia and Plovdiv and due to the cold weather, we used to get back ache. There would be tedious work, but it was made to look effortless by the hard work and energy of Siva, Ajith sir and the entire team, he shares.

Karunakaran tells us that he essays a serious role in Kalavu, which has Kalaiyarasan as the hero. I would say, my character has grey shades in it. It is in dubbing stage right now. Apart from this, I also have Veera with Krishna and Sillukuvaarpatti Singam with Vishnu Vishal, he adds.

The actor reveals that his next film with legendary director Priyadarshan will be a refining experience. Within three days of the shoot, I realised that Im a just beginner in acting. This film is an important one in my career. I reprise the role of Soubin Shahir in this flick, which is a remake of Maheshinte Prathikaaram, he concludes.
The much revered movie in Malayalam, Chemmeen is celebrating its 52nd birthday this month. On August 19, the day when the film hit the screens for the first time in Kerala, is celebrated in a unique way in the capital city. A food festival named Chemmeen, is hosted by Uday Suites in Shanghumugham for a week till August 27.

Highlight of the fest will be home made delicious food cooked in mud pots. The chefs coming on these days are called Karuthamma who serves some lip-smacking delicacies cooked at home. On all days, foodies can also enjoy watching the movie Chemmeen at the venue. Actor Madhu will be honoured on the occasion.
Arati, all of 20-years-old, slips off the stage and into a seat at Chowdaiah Memorial Hall, smiling and aglow after several hours of rigorous rehearsal. "This is my first experience with contemporary dance," she announces brightly, three days before Attakkalari's Diploma in Movement Arts and Mixed Media programme draws to a close. One of 17 scholarships students, Arati, who trained in Bharatnatyam back from Kerala, comes from an agrarian family - her father, a farmer, also makes ends meet as a coolie. "My parents have always been supportive of me," she says emphatically.

Her year away from home has done her wonders - "I was very shy when I first came here, also because I couldn't speak in English," she says, although she converses fluently in the language now. "All I knew was Bharatnatyam. I had always wanted to study martial art forms like Kalaripayattu and Silambam, but I'd never had the chance until now. I think I want to stay and train here for another year."

The Mixed Media programme, explains Attakkalari founder Jayachandran Palazhy focuses on vocational training, teaching students choreography, lighting techniques and pedagogy. "We're trying to inculcate in-depth training that will allow them to study further as well." Which has resulted in a wide variety of students - a doctor out to understand the effects of dance and dance-related injuries on the body, a young woman working to overcome a disorder in her hip - "Dance engages all parts of the brain, from coordination to spatial awareness to picking up on musical cues. Whether you want to be a dancer or not, there's a lot to learn."

The students are chosen based on auditions and Palazhy remarks that the emphasis is strictly on talent. "When we think of dance or music, we tend to look at people who been trained. However, that requires access, which requires resources. There are a lot of people who are very keen but have never had the chance. It all depends on your aptitude and your desire to dance."

About 40 students will graduate on August 14, performing 10 pieces put together by choreographers from around the world. These include classical dance forms like Bharatnatyam and ballet, contemporary pieces and folk and martial arts traditions like Kalari and Chhau.

"The idea is to bring classical and contemporary forms together," said Palazhy. "That way, classical exponents have access to contemporary traditions and vice versa. A student can make tremendous progress after a year of learning Bharatnatyam, also because of the structured way in which it is taught. That's something we want to bring to contemporary dance as well."

Interestingly, a large number of boys sign up for the course as well, which Palazhy says is a big leap from his own days as a student. "Back then, boys never learned how to dance. It was a very clandestine thing for me, saving up my pocket money and attending a dance class where I was the only boy. Those inhibitions have faded now." Maite larraneta, artist in residence from Spain, explores the dimen ions of touch in Contact, turning existing stereotypes on their heads as girls lift and toss the boys around (with commendable ease).

The performance includes five contemporary dance pieces, three Bharatnatyam, one Kalari and one Chhau piece.

Infographic

Guru Sapan Kumar Acharya makes his presence felt when he sits down before a tabla, providing his dancers with effortless percussion. The dhoti-clad boys make their entrance on stage, putting up a spectacular show of might, punctuated with running back flips and cartwheels, part of the Puruliya tradition. "Weapons like bows and arrows and swords are often used during the performance." The tradition, which has been carried down orally for 800 years draws from everyday life and from nature. The girlscelebrate the grammar of Chhau in a piece he titles Sagar, performed in the Seraikalla tradition. Acharya is a fifth generation exponent of Chhau.

Getting 40 dancers to work in tandem is a challenge," said Iarraneta, a choreographer from Madrid who specialises in the Contact and Release technique. "They're two contemporary forms - Release is based on image work. This involves the study of anatomy, so dancers can understand the different kinds of movements - "Do they originate in the skin, the muscle or the bone," explains larraneta. "Imagination plays an important role as well, the movement is like a meditation, almost." Contact deals with movement based on touch - "it's about getting close to another person and sharing your weight, so you can lift someone ostensibly much larger than you.

What: Graduation Day 2017

When: August 14, 7 pm

Where: Chowdaiah Memorial Hall
Bengaluru: "My poems are not mine they come to me from the void, I am a greedy old man," says Kashmiri poet Ayaz Rasool Nazqi in his book, Songs of Light. "I don't sit down everyday, thinking, 'I'm going to write a poem about this'. A genuine poet never decides these things. If it has to come, it will come, it has its own calendar and schedule. Even the language chooses those of us who write in a few of them," he said. Nazqi ambles back into the Poet's Lounge after his panel, "Poems Without A Home," at the Bengaluru Poetry Festival and makes straight for a quiet corner. As he begins to talk, however, face lit up with a smile, of Rumi's Masnavi, Khayyam's Rubaiyat and of course, of his father, the celebrated Kashmiri poet and scholar, Mir Ghulam Nazqi, people in the vicinity leave their seats and drift slowly towards him, just to hear him speak.

"I'm a proud Kashmiri," he says. Born and raised in a land of conflict, Nazqi writes poems of peace. "That's what poetry is about. There is a difference between writing a press note, a protest note and a poem." Poetry of Resistance has drawn youngsters to it in droves - "When I actually look into those compositions, there is protest, there is resistance. But there is no poetry. I am not detached from my immediate society, what happens there is very dear to my heart. As a poet, however, my first commitment is to my art."

This, he says, is the "durability and longevity of poetry. It comes because of its universality and should transcend time and space." Bloodshed, violence, guns - contemporary poetry is choked with metaphors of death and conflict - "The situation in Kashmir informs all that we write. You can't keep it out. I can't. But what happens if the conflict is resolved? Do we poets shut shop?"

Born into a family of poets and scholars, Nazqi began scribbling poems when he was around six years old. "I went on to become a veterinary doctor," he said.

His serious writings began when he decided to translate his father's work - "He wrote his quatrains in Urdu and I translated them into English, keeping the rhyme and metre intact. It came to me that way and was well received." Echo, A Son's Tribute was published in 1999, by which time Ayaz Nazqi's name had already begun to appear in a number of journals and magazines. A year later, he brought out his first collection of poetry - he has three collections in Kashmiri, three in Urdu and one in English.

"We grew up in a family where scholarship was linked to spirituality. My father wrote about the trials of the self, of life, death and truth. This is how we were raised and it removed us from the immediacy of divisive thought," he says, telling the story of a Scottish woman who reached out to him on social media. "I may write about violence, but a reader at the other end of the world should be able to relate. If you can identify with one line of my poetry, I am satisfied."

Nazqi is currently finishing a work of fiction, Satisaras: The Land of Demons. Taken from local myths, the name comes from the popular belief that the land was once a great lake, ruled by a demon.

"It will trace 5000 years of Kashmiri history, with my characters moving from one epoch to the next," he explained.
Drinking a pint of beer may trigger productivity and help you think out of the box for your artistic tasks (Photo: Pixabay)

London: Suffering a creative block? Drinking a pint of beer may trigger productivity and help you think out of the box for your artistic tasks, a study suggests.

Scientists from the University of Graz in Austria found that people performed better in a range of creative tasks after drinking moderate amount of alcohol.

In one word association test, a pint of beer for men, or around 350 mililitres (ml) for women, increased test scores by around 40 per cent.

In the test, participants were given three words and asked to think of a word that can be connected to each  for example, the word 'pit' can be attached to 'peach', 'arm' and 'tar'.

Alcohol helps remove parameters which surround a problem, allowing more creative thought, researchers said.

However, while alcohol boosted creativity it decreased 'executive function'. This may impede tasks that require motor skills, such as painting or dancing.

"Anecdotal reports link alcohol intoxication to creativity," Mathias Benedek, from the University of Gras, was quoted as saying by 'The Telegraph'.

"Alcohol impaired executive control, but improved performance in the Remote Associates Test," said Benedek, lead author of the research was published in the journal Consciousness and Cognition.

"Beneficial effects are likely restricted to very modest amounts of alcohol, whereas excessive alcohol consumption typically impairs creative productivity," he said.
Bengaluru: The latest study by the Indonesian tourism ministry shows that between January and May 2017, there were 1,83,558 Indian visits to Indonesia, which is an increase of more than 20% in comparison to the same period last year.

The affordable travel packages attract Indian tourists more. From destination weddings to weekend gateways, Indonesia is becoming one of the preferred holiday destinations for Indian tourists, said Mr Saut Siringoringo, the consul general of consulate general of the Republic of Indonesia. The Indonesian Tourism Ministry on Wednesday held a business meeting between Indonesian sellers and Indian buyers to promote Indonesian tourism in the city. Talking on the sidelines, Mr Siringoringo said that tourism is the top fourth contributor to Indonesias gross domestic product (GDP).

We aim to make tourism the number one contributor to our nations GDP by 2020, he said. The increasing number of Indians travelling to Indonesia has also resulted in more airlines connecting both the countries. After Garuda Indonesia started operating from Mumbai to Jakarta in December 2016, Indonesia AirAsia also followed suit, opening the air route from Mumbai to Denpasar (Bali) in May 2017. Batik Air began operating between Chennai and Denpasar in July 2017 as well. The tourism ministry expects more airlines to follow the move by Garuda Indonesia, AirAsia and Batik Air to open air route to connect India and Indonesia, said Mr I Gde Pitana, the deputy minister for international tourism development of Indonesia. The country will also promote destinations beyond Bali, which include Lake Toba, Tanjung Kelayang, Tenjung Lesung, Seribu Islands, the Borobudur, Bromo-Tengger-Semeru cluster, Mandalika, Labuan Bajo, Wakatobi and Morotai.
Modern humans may have exited Africa and arrived in Southeast Asia over 70,000 years ago, study finds. (Photo: Pexel)

Melbourne: Modern humans may have exited Africa and arrived in Southeast Asia over 70,000 years ago, much earlier than previously thought, scientists said on Thursday.

The study led by researchers at Macquarie University in Australia also suggests that humans could have potentially made the crossing to Australia even earlier than the accepted 60,000 to 65,000 years ago.

The dating of a cave site in West Sumatra in Indonesia, called Lida Ajer, provided researchers the first evidence for rainforest use of modern humans.

"Rainforests are not the easiest place to make a living, especially for a savannah-adapted primate, so it suggests that these people were ahead of the curve in terms of intelligence, planning and technological adaptation," said Gilbert Price from University of Queensland in Australia.

As a result of thorough documentation of the cave, reanalysis of the specimens, and a new dating programme, it was confirmed that the teeth found there were of modern humans, Homo sapiens, and dated back 73,000 years.

A barrage of dating techniques were applied to the sediment around the fossils, to overlying and underlying rock deposits in the cave and to associated mammal teeth, indicating that the deposit and fossils were laid down between 63,000 to 73,000 years ago, researchers said.

The study was published in the journal Nature.
Internet got a new hot sensation when Market Bosworth Police releases a video of a handsome policeman talking about reckless scooter riders. While it remains to be seen if the message has hit the mark, the video did leave women swooning over his rugged good looks rather than listening to a discussion a possible anti-social behaviour.

The officer in question, Rich Heath has received a volley of attention from women after the video on irresponsible drivers was posted on Facebook.

In the video, Rich can be seen saying that at the moment there's a real concern in relation to anti-social behaviour in regards to scooters driving recklessly and irresponsibly, causing distress to the community.

While he appealed to the community for help in finding the people involved it seemed that women from the area were far more interested in talking about the ruggedly good looking policeman.

The majority of the comments that followed the video saw women talking about his good looks and begging to be arrested. Heath was called handsome, gorgeous while one girl simply wrote wow.

While one female admirer wrote I might need arresting soon, another lady wrote, May just buy a Scooter  pcso's are certainly getter fitter!

One female admirer commented: 'I might be old . But I still no a good looking fella wen I see one . One word, gorgeous.'

'This video is going viral due to his looks,' said another.

But this is not a new case, it seems that Mr Heath has a history of swaying women admirers whenever he comes on a video with one lady commenting, I love it when this officer posts on here cause I know the comments are gonna blow up with women who fancy him.'
New Delhi: Amid the rapidly evolving developments in the Chandigarh stalking case which has taken the nation by storm, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Kirron Kher on Wednesday dispensed a sliver of advice saying that the same rules and restriction should be imposed on both boys and girls, when it comes to safety.

"Every boy should be kept inside the house at night since that is when problems are being created..Why is there danger at night and not during the day? They should tell boys not to go out at night too," Kher told the media outside the Parliament.

Earlier, Haryana Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Subhash Barala on rebuffed the claim of pressurising or influencing the Police in the Chandigarh stalking case, in which his son Vikas is an accused.

"Neither we tried to politicise this issue nor to pressure or influence the Chandigarh Police in the probe. Whatever allegation is being made we want the police to probe the same efficiently. I don't think police is being careless on this issue," Barala told the media.

Barala reiterated his earlier statement and said the victim Varnika Kundu is like his daughter.

"Varnika Kundu is like my daughter and the daughter of the nation. As soon as I got to know about the notice issued by the Police, I informed Vikas and asked him to come and cooperate in the probe. Earlier also he co-operated with the police," he said.

Meanwhile, Vikas Barala and the other accused Ashish Kumar appeared in Chandigarh Sector 26 Police Station.

A notice was issued to both the accused under 160 Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and the case has been filed against Barala under Section 354D (stalking), 341 (wrongful restraint), 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and 185 MV Act (rash driving).

Vikas Barala was arrested on August 5 on the charges of stalking and harassing the IAS officer's daughter Varnika Kundu in Chandigarh. He was, however, granted bail on the same day.
Yadav had emphatically said that he would continue to be part of the coalition of secular parties (Photo: PTI)

Patna: A close aide of Sharad Yadav on Wednesday hinted that the JD(U) veteran could form a new party. However, K C Tyagi, JD(U) principal general secretary and another close aide of Yadav, termed any such proposed move as "rumour".

Differences have surfaced between Yadav and JD(U) president Nitish Kumar over joining hands with the BJP after dumping the coalition with the RJD and the Congress.

Vijay Verma, a senior JD(U) leader and a trusted aide of Yadav, said, "Sharadji is in touch with old friends and is pondering over the political situation. Forming a new party is one of the options to which a serious thought is being given."

Yadav had emphatically said that he would continue to be part of the coalition of secular parties and had met Congress leader Gulam Nabi Azad and CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury, he told PTI over phone from Madhepura.

Verma said that the veteran socialist leader has ruled out joining the NDA government at the Centre as a minister.

Asked who are the others to whom Yadav has spoken, he refused to take names but said "his (Yadav's) social network is widespread".

JD(U) MPs Ali Anwar and M P Veerendra Kumar, who opposed the decision to go with the BJP, have met Yadav over the issue.

Yadav, who is presently a JD(U) Rajya Sabha member, had kept silent over Kumar's decision to dump the Grand Alliance over the graft case against Lalu Prasad's son and former Bihar deputy chief minister Tejaswi Prasad Yadav.

He had later publicly expressed unhappiness over joining hands with the BJP.

"People's mandate was not for it (joining hands with the BJP)," Yadav had said outside the Parliament on July 31 and termed the disintegration of the Grand Alliance "unpleasant" and "unfortunate".

Bihar JD(U) spokesman Ajay Alok dismissed media reports of Yadav being angry with the party.

"According to Hindu calender after current Sawan season comes Bhado and then Sharad...There is no anguish anywhere," he said.

Tyagi, told PTI over phone, "Yadav had expressed surprise (over decision to join hands with the BJP) but never said I protest against this."

"I have seen Sharadji closely for the past 40 years and know that he had parted ways with Lalu Prasad on the issue of corruption...How can he go with Lalu?" he asked.

Kumar had on Monday said, "It is not necessary that everybody should always agree on everything. One can have divergent views. The decision to break the Grand Alliance was taken by Bihar JD(U) at its executive meeting which I had to abide by."

"The JD(U) is registered with the Election Commission as a regional party in Bihar and hence going against the decision of the state party was not possible for me," he had said and added that the JD(U) national executive meeting here August 19 would deliberate on the issue in detail.

RJD chief Lalu Prasad, who has launched a blistering attack against Kumar after the disintegration of the alliance, in a bid to utilise the situation had appealed to Yadav to "come out from there (JD-U) and join hands with secular parties to protect the country from communal forces".

He had, however, clarified that Yadav has not been requested to join the RJD but be part of a country-wide movement against communal forces. Prasad has also invited Yadav for a RJD rally at Patna on August 27.
TTV Dhinakaran also said that he will go to the AIADMK office whenever he pleases as nobody can stop him from doing so. (Photo: ANI/Twitter)

Chennai: AIADMK (Amma) leader TTV Dhinakaran on Friday assured that the party is working towards the merger faction, adding it could even take place before October 17.

"We are working towards the merger of the factions, very soon you will hear a good news. It could be even before October 17," Dhinakaran told media in Chennai.

The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) was divided into two factions following the death of J Jayalalithaa in December last year. While former chief minister O Panneerselvam leads the AIADMK Puratchi Thalaivi Amma (PTA), ruling AIADMK (Amma) is led by Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami.

Talking to mediapersons on Friday, Dhinakaran said that he will go to the AIADMK office whenever he pleases as nobody can stop him from doing so.

"AIADMK party office is my office and nobody can stop me from going there," Dhinakaran added.

Dhinakaran was last released on bail after being in Tihar jail for a month in the Election Commission bribery case.

Dhinakaran, after meeting AIADMK general secretary VK Sasikala in Bengaluru jail, on Thursday said that Sasikala had asked him to 'wait and watch' for two months before taking any steps to unite the faction-ridden party.

Dhinakaran met Sasikala at Parappana Agrahara central prison in Bengaluru, and had said that he enquired about her health and discussed party affairs with her.
Slinger research firm School Perceptions presented the 19th draft of a 12-page survey regarding a potential future Chippewa Falls School District referendum to the Chippewa Falls School Board on Wednesday.

A previous survey draft was presented to the board on July 18.

The survey will attempt to gauge community support for a district-wide school improvement effort, involving schools in Chippewa Falls, Lake Wissota, Lake Hallie and Jim Falls. One of the most expensive items on the survey is a potential rebuild of the Chippewa Falls Senior High School.

This renewed effort from the school board comes after two referendums that failed to pass in November 2016, to the tune of $61.2 million and $98 million, respectively.

The surveys current form makes a new Chippewa Falls High School its first and most prominent question, asking the community if they approve of a new high school, swimming pool, expanded classrooms and other improved facilities.

In its Aug. 9 meeting, the board discussed moving a new high school to a less prominent spot in the survey. Board president Amy Mason suggested that the community would feel insulted if asked about a new high school so soon after it rejected a $98 million November 2016 referendum for a new high school. The failed referendum garnered 38 percent approval.

The $90-million question failed, so why make the high school the starting point (of the survey)? Mason said.

Board members Pat Allen and Amy Heinz said they felt the new high school was an appropriate place to begin. I know the referendums were the voice of the public ... but were trying to get a more sophisticated public perception. There is worry that there may be some offense. Didnt we already do this? But I think were looking for clean data that isnt fogged by previous referendums, Allen said.

The board agreed to keep the high school at a prominent point in the survey.

The current draft of the survey also expanded a question on Stillson Elementary, asking the community about its interest level in replacing Stillson, and asking for a vote on potential new build sites.

Finally, the board discussed the end of the survey, where the community would be asked to comment on two long-term options that outline two routes the district could take. Long-Term Option 1 outlines building a new high school and renovating other schools, costing up to $182 million. Long-Term Option 2 suggests the high school be remodeled, not rebuilt, and includes renovating other schools; that option has a cost of up to $180 million.

School Perceptions president Bill Foster recommended the survey include both Long-Term Options for the public to view. This is where school districts are criticized for not having a plan for the next 20, 30, 40 years, Foster said.

Lastly, the community is asked to vote on how much theyd be willing to spend on new facilities, beginning at $65 million up to $180 million, and to prioritize their choices for the facilities that would be updated.

A final survey will be presented to the board at its Tuesday, Aug. 15, meeting, where the board will vote to approve or reject it. The public can view the full survey draft at cfsd.chipfalls.k12.wi.us under the Districts tab and the Board Agendas and Meetings subheading.

Chippewa Falls Superintendent of Schools Heidi Taylor-Eliopoulos said in July that she expects the survey to begin in mid-September, and results to be presented to the board in October.
The Assembly elections scheduled for next year may come as a boost for Mayor G. Padmavathi

BENGALURU: With Mayor G. Padmavathi's term ending in September, the race has begun for the prestigious post in the city. Despite its ups and downs, the coalition of the Congress, JD(S) and independents has survived and this year too, a Congress candidate is likely to become the Mayor.

Top Congress circles are already discussing the various probables. As per the roster system, this year's mayor post is reserved for a Dalit (SC) candidate and the fight is between Mr Sampath Raj, who is the corporator from Devara Jeevahalli, and Mr L. Govindaraju, who is the Subash Nagar corporator.

Mr Raj, who said that he is in the fray for the post, listed reasons for his likely elevation. Being elected as a corporator from one of the most backward areas in Bengaluru, I have worked for the uplift of the urban poor since 2010. I have also raised my voice on issues ranging from drinking water to roads."

Mr Raj, an engineering graduate from M.S. Ramaiah College, argued that he is a grassroots worker, who has toiled for the victory of Congress leaders like C.K. Jaffer Sharief and Roshan Baig. He said that he also worked closely with the winning candidate during the Gundlupet Assembly by-election.

On the other hand, Mr Govindaraju is a three-time corporator fro Subash Nagar, which falls under the constituency of KPCC president Mr Dinesh Gundurao. Congress sources maintained that top leaders, including Bengaluru Development Minister K.J. George and Energy Minister D.K. Shivakumar, are likely to put their weight behind Mr Raj, as Mr Govindaraju is originally from the JD(S) who joined the Congress in 2005.

Further, it is rumoured that Mr George is in favour of Mr Raj as he feels there have been no Mayors from Bengaluru East. Mr Govindaraju was not available for comments.

Padmavathi's term may be extended

Assembly elections in Karnataka are due next year. But with drought looming large over the state again, the Congress may go for elections before the completion of its five-year term in office, top sources in the party said.

The leadership is thinking of extending the tenure of incumbent Mayor G. Padmavathi till the elections are over, as this will avoid the problem of negotiating with its partner JD(S)) and independent candidates, they said.

Ms Padmavathi told Deccan Chronicle, It is left to senior members of the party and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to either extend my tenure or to choose another candidate. Last time, in the election year of 2013, former Mayor Venkatesh Murthy's term was extended by a few months keeping elections in mind. The same thing might happen this year too.
China already has 300 PLA soldiers at the standoff site. On the Sikkim side of the border, the Indian Army has deployed about 350 soldiers. (File photo/Representational)

Beijing: The Doklam faceoff between India and China, which started on June 16, continues with the People's Liberation Army (PLA) increasing presence near the standoff site.

According to a report in The Indian Express, PLA has pitched around 80 tents and deployed nearly 800 troops a kilometre away from the Doklam plateau. However, China has not positioned a full PLA infantry battalion at the site.

China already has 300 PLA soldiers at the standoff site. On the Sikkim side of the border, the Indian Army has deployed about 350 soldiers.

The Indian Army has not recorded any movement on the Chinese side yet, the IE quoted its sources as saying.

In the meantime, the Indian Army has decided to conduct an Operational Alert  a two-week long annual training of the Army units, which familiarise themselves with their area of operation  in August instead of September or October.

The Indian Army has also denied making any unusual movement.

India and China have been locked in a face-off in the Doklam area of the Sikkim sector for over 50 days after Indian troops stopped the Chinese Army from building a road in the area.

China claimed it was constructing the road within their territory and has been demanding immediate pull-out of the Indian troops from the disputed Doklam plateau.
Vikas Barala and his friend stalked and chased an IAS officer's daughter after midnight on Friday. (Photo: ANI)

Chandigarh: After massive outrage on streets and in the Parliament, the accused in the Chandigarh stalking case, Vikas Barala and his friend Ashish Kumar, will appear before a Chandigarh court on Thursday.

The Vikas Barala, son of Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Haryana unit President Subhash Barala, and his friend Ashish Kumar were arrested on Wednesday when they appeared in Chandigarh Sector 26 Police Station after being summoned in the case.

Director General of Police Chandigarh Tajender Singh Luthra Chandigarh on Wednesday said they were arrested on charges of attempt to abduction and IPC 365 and 511 have been filed against them.

Police arrested the duo after examining the CCTV footage of the incident, saying that they have sufficient evidence against the accused persons.

The Chandigarh Police had asked Vikas to appear before the Station House Officer at 11 am 'sharp'. But the state BJP chief's son appeared almost after three hours.

The notice was issued to both the accused under 160 Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and the case has been filed against Barala under Section 354D (stalking), 341 (wrongful restraint), 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and 185 MV Act (rash driving).

Vikas and Kumar were arrested on August 5 on charges of stalking and harassing IAS officer's daughter Varnika Kundu in Chandigarh late on Friday night. They were, however, granted bail the same day.

Subhash Barala broke his silence on the matter on Tuesday after being mute for over three days and said, Varnika "is like my daughter". He assured action against his son.
In a pilot project, the GHMC is sending booth level officers to every household. So far, 7.5 lakh voters have been covered under this. (Representational image)

Hyderabad: Nazari Naksha, the Intensive Revision Of Electoral Rolls (IRER) undertaken by GHMC in the 15 Assembly constituencies, has detected thousands of fictitious voters.

In the Khairatabad constituency, 12,000 non existing voters were deleted. The invalid voters were mostly falling under categories like death. Duplicate entries were found in large numbers in constituencies in citys south corridor and the peripheral belt like Kapra, LB Nagar, Kukatpally and Quthbullapur.

In a pilot project, the GHMC is sending booth level officers to every household. So far, 7.5 lakh voters have been covered under this.

This exercise will put an end to bogus voting. Nearly 8 lakh bogus voters are expected to be axed from the list after the new exercise, said a source.

The Election Commission of India has issued a revised schedule for conducting the IRER. The GHMC is undertaking the pilot project as part of the IRER.

Earlier, voters living in the same house were allocated booths in different polling stations. Cases like death and duplication have to be personally reported to the Election Commission for deleting the names from the list. Due to this, multiple voting was difficult to curb. The IRER survey, however, has changed this with help of software.

Under the new programme, voters will be registered within their local booth area or the local police station limit. This will help weed out multiple voting.

Besides, the inspecting officer will physically check if the voter is present, dead, shifted or bogus.

In case of a correction, the voter can approach the EC. New eligible voters can also register under the IRER.

GHMC is also linking the house number with the voter cards. The new house numbering system is assigned wherever it is missing. In case voters have shifted, their names will be recorded accordingly, said GHMC commissioner Dr B Janardhan Reddy. This exercise will put an end to bogus voting, said a source.

What they say

The deletion of fictitious voters has upset a few elected representatives, as it will decrease their vote bank. Despite welcoming the move, Politicians from various parties have a different say on the revision of electoral rolls.

Naraparaju Ramchander Rao

The revision of voters list in Hyderabad has to be undertaken carefully. Bogus voters have to be eradicated. Invalid voters are present in many constituencies. The geo tagging and location of polling booths should be scientific to enable voters to locate the polling booths in their areas. The revision of the voters list will have an impact on the next elections. So, the results will be surprising.

Naraparaju Ramchander Rao,

MLC, BJP city president.

Mynampally Hanmanth Rao

The IRER will make the voting process transparent. The polling stations are mapped online. Inspectors will visit houses to verify the existing details. New voters can also register. All kinds of duplications will be cleared.

Mynampally Hanmanth Rao,

TRS Greater Hyderabad President.

Marri Shashidhar Reddy

I welcome the Intensive Revision Of Electoral Rolls (IRER). In 2015, the Chief Minister had instructed the chief election officer and the GHMC commissioner to delete 15 lakh bogus voters. I am not sure whether such instructions are given this time also.

Marri Shashidhar Reddy,

Senior leader from the Congress.

Syed Amin Jafri, AIMIM, MLC

Every year the election commission takes up the summary revision. But the intensive revision will make a fresh list by linking the house numbers. The AIMIM has been asking the election commission to conduct the intensive revision as the summary revision may not be of great help. The IREA will clean up the list and all eligible voters will get a chance to enrol.

Syed Amin Jafri,

AIMIM, MLC .
The trial was stalled for two years from 2012 as investigating officer M. Diwakar, a former ACP of the SIT, was out of the country. It resumed upon his return. In June 2016, the court rejected bail application of Nafees Biswas of West Bengal, one of the accused. (Representational image)

Hyderabad: The Metropolitan Sessions Court of Nampally will pronounce its judgement on Thursday in the Begumpet Task Force Office bomb blast case that is approaching conclusion after 12 years.

On October 12, 2005, a bomb blast at the Task Force Office killed a home guard and a Bangladeshi bomber. A Special Investigation Team of the Central Crime Station conducted an inquiry and found the Harkatul Jihad Islami of Bangladesh to have been involved in the blast.

It arrested 10 persons, identified as Mohammed Abdul Zahid, Abdul Kaleem, Shakeel, Syed Haji, Ajmal Ali Khan, Azmat Ali, Mahmood Baroodwala, Shaik Abdul Khaja, Nafees Biswas and Bilaluddin, a Bangladeshi citizen, and filed chargesheets against them.

The SIT claimed that two accused, Mohammed Abdul Shahid alias Bilal and Gulam Yazdani, had been killed in encounters in Pakistan and New Delhi. It alleged that they were the masterminds behind the Task Force Office bombing.

The case filed after the bombing was split into two. In the first part, examination and cross examination have been completed, and arguments of the defence are being heard. In the second part, witnesses for the prosecution are still being heard.

The trials began in 2007. Of the 20 accused mentioned in the chargesheets, eight were arrested.

In 2010, the HC granted an injunction on an alteration in the case. The injunction was vacated within a year when the case was shifted from the Metropolitan Sessions Judge to the Special Court for Communal Disturbances.

The trial was stalled for two years from 2012 as investigating officer M. Diwakar, a former ACP of the SIT, was out of the country. It resumed upon his return. In June 2016, the court rejected bail application of Nafees Biswas of West Bengal, one of the accused.
Hyderabad: Three students of a primary school in Chawni Nade Ali Baig in Old City were forced, by the school authorities, to fetch potable water from a public tap. The incident occurred on Wednesday, and it was filmed by a few onlookers.

In the videos, three students of the Government Primary School Chawni Nade Ali Baig No. 1, which is located at Dabeerpura, are seen holding a steel pot filled with water and struggling to carry it from the tap to their school. They are clad in their school uniforms.

Amjedullah Khan, the spokesperson for Majlis Bachao Tehreek, said that the teachers ordered students to collect water from a public source and bring it to the school. Ironically, the school also serves a midday meal. Imagine how the students must be managing without water, he said.

He asked the State government to immediately make provisions for the supply of water to the school, and for stern action to be taken against the school authorities. The government, without providing proper facilities, is forcing students to turn into child labourers. If a person employs a child, a case is registered against him, Mr Khan said.in this case, Mr Khan said. The school authorities were unavailable for comment.
Chennai: Based on a report filed in Deccan Chronicle titled TN tribes face extinction, the Madras high court on Wednesday took suo motto action and impleaded two respondents to a writ petition on tribal welfare. In a major boost to the oppressed tribal fraternity, the bench comprising justice M. Venugopal and justice P.D. Audikesavalu expanded the scope of a writ petition by appointing IFS officer Archana Kalyani, former director of Tribal Welfare, as amicus curiae to assist the court in the matter.

The bench observed that for an effective and efficient administration there was need for suo motto action in this case and passed orders to include the registrar general and census commissioner, ministry of home affairs and the director of tribal research centre, TN to be respondents in a writ petition filed by tribal welfare associations.

There was an article in DC saying that the TN tribes face extinction and the pendency in issuing certificates is alarming. Though newspaper reports cannot be taken as documents or evidence before the court of law, the court is concerned about the tribal welfare, observed the bench. The court discussed the efficacy of state department officials in resolving the issues related to tribes. Received wisdom is that tribes reside in hilly terrain, but this news item says that more tribes are now living in plains of Dharmapuri and Thiruvannamalai, bench said.

The judicial staff also shared copies of DC with the battery of lawyers present at court hall no. 6 that discussed the issue for more than two and half hours. The matter is posted for next hearing on September 23.

Alleging that there were prejudiced officers in the state Adi Dravidar department who were holding up the welfare of tribes, including in the issuance of caste certificates, senior lawyer R. Vaigai quoted a contempt case against the state Adi Dravidar and Tribal welfare department secretary P. Annamalai. DC had broken that story too in November 2015 with an audio tape transcript in which a controversial IAS officer alleged that state pleaders and judges were part of a corrupt cartel that collects money and renders 'justice' for deserving STs to avail caste certificates.
Kolkata Mayor Sovan Chatterjee, who is also the West Bengal Minister for Environment, Fire and Emergency Services and Housing was allegedly shown in the Narada tapes accepting money from a businessman and then wrapping it with a towel. (Photo: PTI | File)

Kolkata: Kolkata Mayor and Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Sovan Chatterjee was interrogated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Kolkata on Thursday in connection with the Narada tapes scam.

An ED official said Chatterjee, one of the several TMC leaders allegedly featured in the tapes, arrived at the CGO complex office in Kolkata just before 12 noon and stayed inside for more than seven hours.

Chatterjee, who is also the West Bengal Minister for Environment, Fire and Emergency Services and Housing was allegedly shown in the Narada tapes accepting money from a businessman and then wrapping it with a towel.

The tapes purportedly showed CEO of Narada News, Matthew Samuels offering money to the leaders while posing to be a businessman.

Another TMC leader and West Bengal Urban Development minister Firhad Hakim was also interrogated by ED on Wednesday in this connection.
AIAMDK's Karnataka unit secretary and Dhinakaran loyalist V Pugazhenthi termed as a 'drama', the AIADMK Amma faction led by Palanisamy questioning the authority of Dhinakaran, besides that of jailed party chief VK Sasikala. (Photo: File)

Chennai: The TTV Dhinkaran camp in AIADMK on Thursday hit out at Chief Minister K Palanisamy for questioning the authority of the Deputy General Secretary, terming it as a "betrayal" and warned him of a backlash.

Two senior leaders of the Dhinakaran camp also called Palanisamy a "traitor".

AIAMDK's Karnataka unit secretary and Dhinakaran loyalist V Pugazhenthi termed as a "drama", the AIADMK Amma faction led by Palanisamy questioning the authority of Dhinakaran, besides that of jailed party chief VK Sasikala.

"These decisions are not binding on us. Party supporters will not accept this. They have poked their eyes with their own fingers," he told reporters.

"We are holding consultations with our Deputy General Secretary (Dhinakaran). Anything can happen. This is the peak of betrayal where Palanisamy has ventured into," he said.

Such decisions cannot be taken by a few office-bearers, as was done on Thursday, but is a larger exercise with a number of them required to take decisions, Pugazhenthi said.

He vowed "to teach a lesson to traitors."

The leader also alleged the possibility of role of former chief minister and rebel faction chief O Panneerselvam in Thursday's developments.

"There could be behind the screens agreement with Panneerselvam," he alleged.

Another Dhinakaran loyalist, Nanchil Sampath, said the Chief Minister-led camp had come out with a "unilateral announcement" questioning the former's authority.

"By doing such a thing, Panneerslevam has got an important place in the list of traitors. History has seen many traitors and this is another betrayal," he said.

He questioned the Palanisamy camp's reasoning that Dhinakaran's appointment was not valid for the fact that he had not been a member of the party for five years prior to the appointment, since the late Chief Minister and party supremo J Jayalalithaa had expelled him in 2011.

Sampath recalled he had quit the Vaiko-led MDMK in December 2012 and was appointed the party's deputy propaganda secretary that very day by Jayalalithaa then.

"Where were they then. Did these rules expire then?" he asked.

He said Dhinakaran himself will announce the future course of action following today's developments.
The iconic charkha (spinning wheel), made famous by Mahatma Gandhi, played a stellar role in mobilsing the masses across the country to fight a formidable empire, where the sun never set.

Bengaluru: One of the highlights of India's freedom struggle against the British imperialism was the Swadeshi movement, which strived to promote indigenous products, especially handlooms and handicrafts.

The iconic charkha (spinning wheel), made famous by Mahatma Gandhi, played a stellar role in mobilsing the masses across the country to fight a formidable empire, where the sun never set.

As India will soon be celebrating its 70th Independence Day, it is worth pondering if the country has realised its purpose of gaining freedom from colonialism and the current status of these cottage industries.

The indigenous Indian textile Industry, with its weavers, handlooms and handicrafts have been relegated to oblivion by machine crafted products.

However, Aikyam Community of Sustainable Living, a city based community initiative, along with Bhoomi College and Ragi Kana, another citizen led movement, is encouraging urban dwellers to come forward and be part of the movement through its Swaraj - Handloom Discovery Week.

After agriculture, handlooms and handicrafts are the biggest source of livelihood for the rural India. It is time we give it some dignity, said Anantha Sayanam, co-founder of Tula India , a Chennai based not for profit venture around organic Indian cotton that is also participating in the celebration. They are not only sustainable but by buying one khadi shirt, you may be touching the life of one weaver, he said.

In spite of various incentives, the industry is dying because of cost-cutting and a lack of demand. Cost is the main concern. One weaver can weave eight metres of khadi a day, while a machine can weave three times more. But, saving a few bucks will come to haunt us in the future in a very dark way, he observed. He lamented about the grave lack of awareness among the people. By and large, today's population has almost zero knowledge on the technical aspects of fabrics or how healthy a particular fabric is to wear. Just as they are unaware of what the carbon footprint is, they are unaware of energy use and use of toxic chemicals. We need to change that, says Sandeep Anirudhan, founder of Aikyam Community of Sustainable Living.

He felt the Khadi and Village Industries Commission was not trying hard enough to promote these industries.

Modern businesses are focused on marketing and advertising, whereas handlooms are traditionally a home industry, like an informal collective activity among communities. They are never marketed well and do not employ effectively, he said.

Agreeing to this view Sayanam said, Khadi industry is a victim of the lack of political will. Only during political propaganda does a PM sport a khadi jacket. While it is all forgotten the next day.

The Handloom Discovery Week will be held at three different venues, at Bhoomi College on August 11, at Atta Galatta on August 12 and at Ragi Kana on August 13 from 9am to 5pm.

The week will have talks on sustainability of the indigenous textile industry from experts like Arup Rakshit from Mahatma Gandhi Gramodyog Sewa Sansthan, a movement for revival of Muslin along with playwright and activist Prasanna.

In addition, products manufactured by the weavers of all these collectives will be on display and sale at each of the fixtures. There will be a demonstration of charkha by volunteers.
Jerrod Niemann is a Midwestern boy and an unabashed beer fan. Those two qualifiers make the Kansas native and award-winning country musician a perfect fit to headline Leinenkugels 150th anniversary celebration on Friday evening.

I sing songs from the heart  and/or the liver, Niemann said Wednesday during a phone interview with the Herald.

Niemann will perform at the Northern Wisconsin State Fair grandstand on Friday at 8 p.m., as part of a three-day celebration of Leinenkugels 150 years of brewing in Chippewa Falls.

Niemann admits hes a fan of Leinenkugels brews, and that the brand has even won over a tough customer: his wife of three years, Morgan Petek.

The only beer my wife will drink is (Leinenkugels) Summer Shandy. Ill try to bring some home for her, but I dont know if itll make it back, Niemann joked.

Niemann says Leinenkugels attendees will hear both past hits and material from his upcoming album, This Ride, which will drop October 6.

Niemanns work spans the country genre: early hits like Lover, Lover highlighted his easygoing acoustic sound; new material introduces strains of hip-hop, R&B and blues.

The one thing that unites all of Niemanns music? A sense of fun. I feel like I record more party songs than anybody else in country music, he said.

Jerrod Niemann will perform at the Northern Wisconsin Fairgrounds, 225 Edward St., on Friday, August 11 at 8:00 p.m. Admittance is free with a ticket to the Leinenkugels 150th Anniversary celebration. See a full events schedule and purchase tickets at www.nwsfa.com/events/2017/leinies-150th. 1-day tickets start at $18, 2-day tickets at $35. Attendees must be 21 or older.
Sharad Yadavs statement comes at a time when speculation is gaining that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar may remove him for 'indulging in anti-party activities'. (Photo: PTI/File)

Patna: Cracks within the JD (U) became wider on Thursday after senior leader Sharad Yadav said he was still part of the Mahagathbandhan.

Yadavs statement comes at a time when speculation is gaining that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar may remove him for indulging in anti-party activities.

Sharad Yadav arrived in Patna on Thursday and will remain in Bihar for the next three days. During his Bihar tour, he is likely to hold series of public meetings to understand what people feel about Nitish Kumars decision to break Grand Secular Alliance.

"Nitish Kumar has broken the trust of 11 crore people. The mandate was in favor Mahagathbandhan and I am here to interact with people to know what they feel about the issue, JD (U) senior leader Sharad Yadav told reporters in Patna on Thursday.

Sharad Yadav is currently leading a faction of leaders in JD (U) who are upset with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumars decision to leave the grand secular alliance and join hands with the BJP.

The two parties had contested assembly elections against each other on different manifesto but later formed a government. This has happened for the first time in last 70 years. His (Nitish Kumar) decision has created a crisis. Sharad Yadav said in Patna on Thursday.

Insiders told this newspaper that JD (U) national president Nitish Kumar may take disciplinary action against Mr. Yadav during the national executive meeting scheduled to be held on August 19.

Sources also said that Sharad Yadav may form his own party along with other dissident leaders of the JD (U) after his expulsion.

None of the JD (U) legislators including those who were considered close to Sharad Yadav was present when he arrived at Patna airport on Thursday. However, Ramai Ram was the only leader from the party who was seen welcoming him along with RJD workers. Ramai Ram was sidelined by the JD (U) after he had lost the assembly elections in 2015.

Party has nothing to do with his Bihar trip. This is his personal tour, JD (U) spokesperson Niraj Kumar said.

Sources close to Sharad Yadav hinted that he may also attend RJDs BJP Hatao Desh Bachao rally scheduled to be held on August 27.

During the assembly elections in 2015, Nitish Kumar and Lalu Yadav along with Congress party had formed a Mahagathbandhan to keep BJP out of power in Bihar.

Nitish Kumar had resigned from his post on July 26 after Lalu Yadav repeatedly ignored his demand for public explanations from his son Tejashwi Yadav against whom the CBI had registered FIR in connection with corruption cases.

The move had surprised everyone including the RJD and Congress party which had formed the grand alliance just twenty months earlier hoping to rule Bihar for the full term of five years.
New Delhi: Outgoing Vice President Hamid Ansari said on Wednesday that there is a feeling of unease and a sense of insecurity among the Muslims in the country, asserting the "ambience of acceptance" is now under threat.

Ansari, whose second five-year term as the Vice-President ends on Thursday, made these remarks in the backdrop of incidents of "intolerance" and cow vigilantism.

Stating that he had flagged the issue of "intolerance" with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his cabinet colleagues, Ansari, 80, also described the questioning of citizens over their love for India as a "disturbing thought".

Asked in an interview on Rajya Sabha TV whether he shared his concerns with the prime minister, Ansari said that he had. "Yes...yes. But what passes between the Vice President and the Prime Minister in the nature of things must remain in the domain of privileged conversation," Ansari, who is also the Rajya Sabha Chairman, said.

He said that he has also flagged the issue with other union ministers. "Well, there is always an explanation and there is always a reason. Now it is a matter of judgement, whether you accept the explanation, you accept the reasoning and its rationale," he said when asked about the response of the government.

In the interview, Vice President Ansari referred to incidents of lynching and 'ghar wapsi' and alleged killings of rationalists as a "breakdown of Indian values, breakdown of the ability of the authorities at different levels in different places to be able to enforce what should be normal law enforcing work and over all the very fact that Indianness of any citizen being questioned is a disturbing thought."

"Yes it is a correct assessment," Ansari said when asked whether he agreed with the assessment that the Muslim community is apprehensive and that it was feeling insecure as a result of the kind of comments made against them.

"Yes it is a correct assessment, from all I hear from different quarters, the country; I heard the same thing in Bangalore, I have heard from other parts of the country, I hear more about it in north India, there is a feeling of unease, a sense of insecurity is creeping in," he said.

Asked whether he felt that the Muslims are "beginning to feel that they are not wanted", Ansari said, "I would not go that far, there is a sense of insecurity."

He said India is a plural society that has for centuries, not just seventy years, has lived in a certain "ambience of acceptance" which is now "under threat". He was of the view that the propensity to be able to assert your nationalism day-in and day-out is "unnecessary".

"I am an Indian and that is it," he said.

Ansari was of the view that while tolerance is a good virtue, it is not a sufficient virtue. "...therefore you have to take the next step and go from tolerance to acceptance," he said.

At an event in Bengaluru on Sunday, Vice President Ansari said that the "version of nationalism" that places cultural commitments at its core "promotes intolerance" and arrogant patriotism.

Responding to a question on comments made by some BJP leaders related to minorities, he said he would not talk about people in politics or about political parties. "But to me, every time such a comment appeared or came to my knowledge; I mean my first reaction was that, A: the person is ignorant, B: that he is prejudiced and C: he does not fit into the framework that India has always prided to itself on, which is to be an accommodative society," he said.

Responding to questions on triple talaq, Ansari said it is a social aberration, not a religious requirement. "Firstly, it is a social aberration, it is not a religious requirement. The religious requirement is crystal clear, emphatic, there are no two views about it, but patriarchy, social customs have all crept into it to create a situation which is highly undesirable," he said.

He said the courts do not have to step in as the reform has to come from within the community. "The courts can say that we don't recognise it. That's all. I mean a marriage has to be recognised on certain occasions by the system of the state. And if a state functionary at a particular point of time refuses to recognise a happening which may be the product of a triple talaq, that s it," he explained.

To a poser on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, Ansari said, "the problem has always primarily been a political problem. And it has to be addressed politically."

He agreed to a suggestion that politicians are ducking the problem. "That's my impression. And I m not the only one in the country...when young boys and girls come out on to the streets and throw stones day after day, week after week, month after month, it's something to worry about because they are our children, they are our citizens."

"Something is obviously going wrong. What exactly, I am not the final word on it, but I think there are enough people in the country who are worried about it. Eminent people belonging to different political persuasions and their worry must be taken on board," the Vice President said.
An official from the Telangana State Council of Higher Education said, All colleges have accepted the notice. Many students are taking the quiz. (Representational image)

Hyderabad: Universities and colleges are trying to instill nationalism among their students, in accordance with the UGCs orders.

A notice was issued to universities and private colleges, including JNTU, EFLU and UoH on Wednesday, asking them to encourage students to participate in an online quiz being conducted to mark the 75th anniversary of the Quit India Movement. An official from the Telangana State Council of Higher Education said, All colleges have accepted the notice. Many students are taking the quiz.

Students claim that the frequency of such notices has increased. Notices have been sent out on the occasions of Martyrs Day, Handloom Day and other days of national importance.

Mr Manudeep Singh, an MBA student, said, The UGC is taking new steps to instill a feeling of national pride during Independence week. It should be taken in the right spirit.

Educational experts say that enforcing nationalism will not produce the desired outcome. Ms Swati Reddy, a member of the Save Education Society, says, Ill feelings about being forced to take the quiz should not arise. Students should be given the freedom to participate in it. Most universities are hotbeds of nationalism, and no step should lead to arguments.

The quiz may be accessed on the MyGov website. It is also available on the Narendra Modi app, which can be downloaded from the Google PlayStore. One can log in using Facebook or Gmail credentials. The quiz portal, will remain active until August 15. The quiz takes 10 minutes and has 18 questions about the Quit India Movement and related events. Students will receive certificates upon successful completion of the quiz.

Heads of universities have been requested to appoint nodal officers to ensure that students register for the quiz.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami during a meeting with ministers and senior leaders at the party office in Chennai on Thursday (Photo:DC)

Chennai: The stage is now set for the merger of the two factions of the AIADMK with the camp led by chief minister Edappadi K Palanisamy openly declaring the appointment of TTV Dhinakaran as deputy general secretary by his aunt VK Sasikala as illegal and asking him to refrain from creating confusion in the party through his actions.

On the eve of his crucial meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, Palanisamy chaired a meeting of party office bearers and passed a resolution suggesting that the post of General Secretary in the AIADMK will be kept vacant as a tribute to J Jayalalithaa, who passed away on December 5, 2016.

Sources said it also mean that after the merger, O Panneerselvam will not be the general secretary of the party, but will only lead a committee that would run the party and coordinate with the government. The merger, being facilitated on Modis wish, is expected to take shape formally after they return from New Delhi on Friday night or Saturday.

Sources also told Deccan Chronicle that there was a high probability of Palanisamy and Panneerselvam meeting in New Delhi to stitch up the merger that is expected to infuse stability into the AIADMK government, which has been facing uncertainty ever since Jayalalithaa passed away.

Both leaders  Palanisamy and Panneerselvam  will face the media together to announce the merger very soon, a senior leader said.

The party also effectively distanced itself from Sasikala since it admitted that her appointment as general secretary after the death of Jayalalithaa has been challenged in the Election Commission. In an effort to drive home the point that only the office bearers appointed by late Jayalalithaa continue to steer the AIADMK, KA Sengottaiyan and Dindigul C Sreenivasan, who were appointed as presidium chairman and treasurer by Sasikala in February, did not sign the resolution, though they attended the meeting.

It was a concerted decision not to include their names to send the message loud and clear that Jayalalithaa is still supreme in the party and appointments made by her still stands, a senior party leader said.

The much-awaited meeting evoked the expected reactions from the OPS and Dhinakaran factions. Panneerselvam himself welcomed the move and said the EPS camp has crossed half way and that he was waiting for it to complete the journey.

For the first time, Panneerselvam indicated that the merger efforts could see the light of the day when he said any decision on unification would keep in mind the aspirations and wishes of the cadre.

On his part, Dhinakaran rejected EPS camp' resolution saying no one has the right to remove him from the post of deputy general secretary.

He also wondered how the Palanisamy camp could comment against Sasikala when they themselves had furnished an affidavit to the EC, endorsing her appointment as party chief.

The resolution was hard-hitting on Dhinakaran as it noted that late Jayalalithaa expelled him from the party in 2011 and his re-induction into the AIADMK in February 2017 was in violation of the party bylaws, since he failed to continue as primary member for five years.

Another significant aspect of the resolution signed by 27 office bearers, including Palanisamy, is that it did not use the honorific of 'Chinamma' to refer Sasikala, as was the practice in the past.

When office-bearers appointed by Puratchi Thalaivi Amma are leading the party in unison, appointments made by him (Dhinakaran) with intent to create confusion in the AIADMK will not bind the party cadres. Since the appointments are not legal in accordance with the bylaws of the party constitution, party cadres are request to reject such statements, the resolution said.
New Delhi: The Central Information Commission has asked the Union culture ministry to respond to an RTI plea on whether the Taj Mahal is a mausoleum built by Shahjahan or a Shiva temple gifted to the Mughal emperor by a Rajput king.

The question  forwarded as an alternative narrative of history and the subject of various court cases  which reached the CIC through an RTI plea is now at the culture ministrys door.

In a recent order, information commissioner Sridhar Acharyulu said the ministry should put to rest the controversy and clarify doubts about the history of the white marbled mausoleum, considered one of the wonders of the world.

Mr Acharyulu recommended the ministry give information on its stand on the cases related to the provenance of the Taj Mahal, and on the frequent claims based on historian P.N. Oak and advocate Yogesh Saxenas writings.

He noted that some cases in courts, including the Supreme Court, were dismissed while some were pending.

Mr Acharyulu said the Archaeological Survey of India, being a party in some cases, must be holding the counters (affidavits) filed on its behalf and by the culture ministry. The commission directs the ASI to share those copies with the appellant before August 30, 2017, he said.

The CIC was pulled into the debate after an applicant, B.K.S.R. Ayyangar, approached the ASI through an RTI application asking whether the monument in Agra was the Taj Mahal or Tejo Mahalaya.

Many people stating that Taj Mahal is actually Tejo Mahalaya: that this was not constructed by Shahjahan, but was gifted by Raja Maan Singh; hence give the facts as per ASI reports, he asked.
Two persons who were arrested in Old Task Force blast case being brought to the Nampally court on Thursday. (Photo: DC)

HYDERABAD: If all the accused in the task force suicide bombing case are innocent then the question is who actually aided the suicide bomber?

The acquittal of the accused in the suicide bomb case has exposed the failure of the prosecution and the investigation agencies in zeroing in on the culprits even after dragging the case for 12 years. Senior retired police official Mr B. Reddenna said, Delay is the main reason for the acquittal. As the investigation officials changed over the years, the witnesses also failed to depose properly. A quick trial is the only remedy for this.

The prosecution heavily depended on circumstantial witnesses. The suicide bomber, Dalin, came all the way from Chittagong to Hyderabad via the porous Indo-Bangladesh border. Interestingly, Zahed, brother of Shahed Bilal, Harkat-ul-Jihad Al Islami South India chief, was also acquitted. Shahed Bilal and his brother, Samad, are reported to have been killed in an encounter in Karachi in Pakistan in 2007. All those persons, who were charged with sheltering the suicide bomber, are acquitted, giving a server blow to the police and prosecutors.

A senior city police official said, Two separate chargesheets were filed in 2006 and 2010 by splitting the case. The case was initially investigated threadbare when Mr A.K. Mohanty was the commissioner of police. The prime accused was arrested within six months. During those days there were no CCTV cameras. In the absence of eyewitnesses, we had to depend heavily on circumstantial evidence and witnesses. Two Bangladeshis, involved in the case, were also accused in other terror cases, including train blasts, in Uttar Pradesh.

The trial started in 2007 in one of the chargesheets. In 2010, the High Court granted an injunction, which was revoked in a year when the case was shifted from the metropolitan sessions court to the special court for communal disturbances.

In 2012, the trial was stalled for two years as the investigating officer, M. Diwakar, was out of the country. The bombing was carried out by the Bangladeshi national to avenge the killing of Mujahid Salim by the Gujarat police in 2004. The suicide bomber was wearing slippers made in Bangladesh which was the first clue in the case.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday posted for hearing on August 14, petitions relating to the grant of remission to the seven convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, who are in jail for the last 26 years.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice directed the matter to be listed for hearing on August 14 on a `mention made by counsel Prabu seeking early hearing of the case, which was last heard in August 2016.

In August 2016 a three-judge bench of justices Ranjan Gogoi, P.C. Pant and A.M. Kanwilkar had adjourned the hearing after counsel for Tamil Nadu submitted that the review petitions were still pending. Subsequently the review petitions were dismissed against the findings of the five-judge Constitution bench that TN can release the convicts only after consultation with the Centre and consultation will mean concurrence or approval.

In December 2015 a five-judge Bench had held that the State has no power to order suo motu release of seven convicts, viz Murugan, Santhan, Periarivalan (whose death sentence was commuted to life sentence) and that of Nalini, Robert Pius, Jayakumar and Ravichandran, serving life term by granting remission. The court had held that in cases investigated by the CBI, the State can grant remission only with the consent of the Union Government.

However, the court had said the validity of the order passed by the TN government on February 19, 2014 to release the convicts by granting them remission will be considered afresh by another three-judge bench in the light of the principles laid down in this verdict.

The court had rejected the submission that life sentence would mean only 14 years and the trial courts cannot award fixed terms of sentence, viz 20 or 25 years or life sentence for the rest of their life. The right to claim remission, commutation, reprieve etc. as provided under Article 72 or Article 161 of the Constitution will always be available being Constitutional Remedies untouchable by the Court.
Rachakonda police arrested Gabriel and his girlfriend and one more person at the Greenhood Apartments in Yapral on Thursday (Representational Image)

Hyderabad: The West Zone Task Force has arrested a 25-year-old Nigerian and his girlfriend. The police also conducted raids at several places on Thursday where Nigerians are staying to check their visas and other documents.

The arrested accused, Gabriel Aja, 25, belongs to Port Harcourt in Nigeria. Rachakonda police arrested Gabriel and his girlfriend and one more person at the Greenhood Apartments in Yapral on Thursday. The Nigerians, who were arrested in a drug smuggling case had revealed that Gabriel was supplying drugs to them.

Gabriel, a key figure in the Nigerian drug racket that operates from its base in Goa, was picked up from Kowkoor near Yapral on Wednesday. Police recovered cocaine, heroine and a laptop from him.

According to the police, his girlfriend was also taken into custody. Gabriel came to Hyderabad on a business visa and has been overstaying since two years. He rented a place in Kowkur and has been operating from Goa. He was earlier arrested in connection with drug peddling and had come out on bail, said the police.

According to sources, there are around 6,000 Nigerians in Hyderabad police commissionerate and another 4,000 in Cyberabad and Rachakonda commissionerate.

The raids were conducted by a West Zone Task Force team in Banjara Hills, Langer Houz, Asifnagar, Rajendra-nagar and Humayun-nagar police station areas on Thursday.

We checked 101 Nigerians, Yemenis and South Africans. 34 were detained for staying after visa expiration, said SI L. Bhaskar Reddy of West Zone Task Force.
Hyderabad: The Hyderabad HC on Thursday sought to know the reasons from the government for its failure to conduct the Language Pundit Common Entrance Test in the last two years, despite designating a convener to do so.

Justice Challa Kodandaram, while dealing with a petition by one Balaraj and seven others seeking to direct the government to conduct LPCET, asked counsel representing the education department to file a counter affidavit explaining the reasons.

Counsel for the petitioners told the court that a majority of the 42 language pundit training colleges in TS were on the verge of shutting down with no students since the LPCET is not being conducted.

He reminded that last year, a single judge of the HC had passed an order on a petition by the management of a college directing the government to conduct LPCET within six weeks, but the government was refusing to conduct LPCET. Counsel for the government informed the judge that they were moving an appeal against the order of the single judge.

While adjourning the case, the judge told the government counsel to explain the actual rule in his counter affidavit.

No stay on Mallannasagar

The HC on Wednesday expressed its disinclination to stay the tender process for Mallanna-sagar reservoir.

Justice A. Ramalin-geswara Rao was dealing with a plea by G. Lakshmi and others, challenging the tender notification of July 20, for construction of the reservoir without environmental clearance. TS Advocate-General D. Prakash Reddy told the court that Mallannasagar was part of the Kaleswaram project and the government requires 17,000 acres.

Stating that petitioners had only small parcels of lands, he said for the benefit of a few persons, a mega project like Kaleswaram that will serve drinking and irrigation purpose of hundreds, cannot be stalled. He said without paying compensation, the lands of the petitioners wont be taken.

Ch. Ravi Kumar, counsel for the petitioners, contended that the issuing the tender notification without obtaining environmental clearance was illegal.

While urging the court to stay the tender process, Mr Kumar said that the petitioners moved the court keeping in view the larger public interest. The judge said that for the sake of a few people, stalling the project is not proper. The judge adjourned the case for four weeks and asked the A-G to file a counter affidavit.

Parents told to file application

The HC on Thursday directed commissioning parents to submit applications to the medical, health and family welfare department for taking custody of their babies born from surrogacy within a week. The department was told to decide as per law.

The bench was dealing with a suo motu case based on a letter by Justice Suresh Kumar Kait to the CJH referring to reports carried on June 19, 2017 in DC regarding raids on Sai Kiran Hospital & Kiran Infertility Centre for carrying out surrogacy without following due norms. B.S. Prasad, counsel for the health department said they had issued show cause notices to the hospital.

The bench adjourned the case for two weeks. Counsel for Sai Kiran Hospital & Kiran Infertility Centre sought time to submit reply.
a Vice-President Hamid Ansari on Monday said a free media was not only beneficial, but necessary in a free society and any attack on the freedom of press would jeopardise the citizens' rights.

When faced with "unjust restrictions" and the "threat of an attack", self-censorship in the media could have an "opposite effect", aiding the covering up of abuses and fostering frustration in the marginalised communities, he said.

Ansari said the constitutional framework provided for the required intervention by the State to ensure a smooth working of the press and society, but the laws made it clear that it should only be in the interest of the public.

By the same token, the State should not impede the free flow of information which would go a long way in protecting and promoting the citizens' rights, he added.

"The media, if it is to remain true to its calling, has to do likewise," Ansari said after releasing the National Herald newspaper's commemorative publication, '70 years of India's Independence', in the presence of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi at a function in Bengaluru.

The vice-president also said, "In an open society like ours, we need a responsible press to hold those in power to account. That is why the freedom of press under Article 19(1) (A) of the Constitution is subject only to reasonable restrictions in the interest of the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, public order, decency, contempt of court, defamation and incitement to an offence."

He said in this age of "post-truths" and "alternative facts", where "advertorials" and "response features" edged out the editorials, "We would do well to recall (Jawaharlal)

Nehru's vision of the press playing its role of a watchdog in a democracy and look at the ethos and principles that powered his journalism."

Noting that Nehru, who founded the National Herald newspaper, believed that the media was a pillar of democracy, Ansari said he envisioned a free, unfettered and an honest press.

"He watched over the interests of the mediapersons in an independent India."

The Working Journalists Act, which tried to give a degree of protection to the journalists to ensure the freedom of press, was largely the former prime minister's doing, he said.

"The Act, I believe, is now in disuse and short-term contracts, which make the journalists beholden to the preferred lines of the publications, are in vogue," he said.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said it was heartening to note that Associated Journals Limited was reviving the National Herald newspaper by launching its English website and resuming its phased publication as a multi-media outlet, focussing primarily on news in a digital form.

He said he was sure that the newspaper would re-emerge as a "potent voice of all the right-thinking people of India".
When historians review Donald Trump's presidency, they may look back at two events this past week as pivotal: unprecedented Republican and institutional resistance to the president from Capitol Hill to the Pentagon, followed by his installation of a tough new chief of staff.

At this point, it's hard to say which of these will prevail. Increasingly wary Senate Republicans make clear they won't readily follow Trump's lead. And new staff chief John Kelly faces a tough job in bringing order to White House chaos, because the central problem in Trump's unpopular, ineffectual presidency is Trump.

It took several days in which his administration seemed to be imploding for the president to trigger the long-rumored shake-up. Normally, any of these would be seen as signifying major trouble:

Trump's open and covert warfare against his own attorney general, the first senator to back his long-shot candidacy, produced a sharp reaction from Jeff Sessions' former colleagues. They told the president in no uncertain terms they would not consider a successor if he was fired.

A directive to reverse former President Barack Obama's acceptance of transgender people in the military, issued with minimal discussion and consultation in Trump's unconventional manner with a series of tweets, drew bipartisan condemnation. The nation's top military officer refused to implement it, pending receipt of a more formal order.

Trump's new communications director, another political neophyte who boasted he "loves" the president, set off an unprecedented spectacle by trashing Chief of Staff Reince Priebus in vulgar and scatological language to a reporter who promptly made his conversation with Anthony Scaramucci public.

And Trump began the week with another one of his embarrassingly un-presidential performances, turning a speech to the Boy Scout Jamboree that should have been focused on broadly acceptable subjects like American values into yet another political paean to himself.

The climax of the disastrous week came when a stripped-down version of the long-promised bill to repeal and replace Obamacare collapsed in a dramatic early morning Senate vote on which three GOP senators provided the crucial votes for the year's biggest Republican legislative disaster.

Though that defeat was no orphan but had many parents, Trump reacted with a barrage of tweets threatening further efforts to undermine Obamacare. He then fired Priebus, the former Republican national chairman who had seemed over-his-head in trying to manage Trump and his White House.

His successor, a Marine general widely respected among his peers, has succeeded as secretary of homeland security in cracking down on illegal immigration, making it one of the administration's more effective parts. Such staff changes are not uncommon in new administrations; Bill Clinton replaced his initial, overmatched chief of staff with a more experienced Washington hand.

But Clinton's choice, Leon Panetta, was a former congressman with two decades of political and governmental experience. By contrast, Kelly is a career military officer without political experience, who only met Trump months ago. He takes over a White House in which several top aides, plus members of Trump's family, are not used to taking orders from a chief of staff. But Kelly immediately showed his clout by firing Scaramucci.

In one sense, last week was the inevitable result of a president with neither governmental experience nor much interest in learning the ropes. But it also reflected the impact of Trump's preoccupation with the simmering investigations into whether his campaign improperly colluded with the Russians during the 2016 election campaign.

His clash with Sessions stems directly from his view the attorney general acted improperly in recusing himself from the Russia probe because of his role in the Trump campaign. That and Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey, also because of the Russia probe, led to appointment of Independent Counsel Robert Mueller.

And all indications are that Mueller has taken a broad view of his responsibilities that includes looking at Trump's business ties to the Russians, a subject the president has sought to keep off limits.

Many GOP senators who reacted so strongly against Trump's threats to fire Sessions were motivated by their belief his real target was Mueller. If he tries to fire the independent counsel, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina warned, "it could be the beginning of the end" of Trump's presidency.

That may be an exaggeration at this stage, given the fact that Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee, which would launch any impeachment proceedings, made clear last week they are more interested in investigating 2016 loser Hillary Clinton than Trump.

Still, if Gen. Kelly can't cope with the loose cannon in the Oval Office, last week's institutional resistance to the neophyte president will be only the beginning of his problems.
The Amma faction of the AIADMK, led by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E Palanisamy, met at the party headquarters in Chennai on Thursday. (Photo: ANI/Twitter)

Chennai: Stage is now set for the merger of two factions of the AIADMK with the camp led by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palanisamy openly declaring that TTV Dhinakaran, who was appointed as deputy general secretary by his aunt VK Sasikala, holds no post in the party.

A resolution signed by 26 office bearers of the AIADMK, including Palanisamy, asked party cadre to ignore appointments made by Dhinakaran, who they accused of creating confusion in the party. The resolution also noted that Sasikala's appointment as General Secretary after the death of J Jayalalithaa has also been challenged before the Election Commission.

"We called Amma as the permanent general secretary of the AIADMK and we would like to continue with our proclamation," the resolution said.

The major development is that O Panneerselvam will not be the general secretary of the party, but will lead the committee that would take care of the party and coordinate with the government. In the committee, three members from each of the factions would be nominated.

The merger would formally take shape after OPS and EPS meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Friday. Both leaders are expected to appear before the media most likely on Saturday in Chennai.

Though there are few elements in the party who support Dhinakaran, soon they will be "disciplined", party insiders said.

The meeting of ministers and top leaders on Thursday were convened to work out the modalities before finalising the pact in New Delhi.

Senior ministers including KA Sengottaiyan P Thangamani, SP Velumani, Dindigul C Seenivasan, D Jayakumar and other key functionaries attended the meeting.

The BJP leadership has been keen on the merger of the two factions and has pressed both the groups to complete the merger talks as early as possible. The Chief Minister on Monday said he expected to see the merger very soon and his comments had come after the AIADMK (PTA) complained that the ruling group had not shown interest in the merger.

According to party sources, merger talks made much progress after AIADMK (Amma) deputy general secretary Dhinakaran made arbitrary appointments for many of his supporters in the party, besides releasing a schedule of campaign tour.

There is intense pressure on both the groups since no one wants a general election and wanted to save the government. Dhinakaran had taken up the authority of making appointments for the party and said he had been authorised to make such moves by Sasikala.
Chennai: The merger talks between the two AIADMK factions are heading towards its final phase and Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami is convening a meeting of ministers and top leaders at party headquarters on Thursday to work out the modalities before finalising the pact in New Delhi.

Senior ministers including KA Sengottaiyan P Thangamani, SP Velumani, Dindigul C Seenivasan, D Jayakumar and other key functionaries would attend the meeting to be held in the morning.

According to the agreement, Palaniswami would continue as the Chief Minister and the ministers would continue in their posts. Former chief minister O Panneerselvam would lead the seven-member committee to manage the party affairs till the general council is convened and formal elections take place.

In the committee, three members from each of the factions would be nominated. After finalising the agreement, the Chief Minister would go to Delhi to attend the swearing-in ceremony of vice president Venkaiah Naidu. He would meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other BJP leaders to finalise the merger modalities.

The BJP leadership is keen on the merger of the two factions and has pressed both the groups to complete the merger talks as early as possible. The Chief Minister on Monday said he expected to see the merger very soon and his comments had come after the AIADMK (PTA) complained that the ruling group had not shown interest in the merger.

According to party sources, merger talks made much progress after AIADMK (Amma) deputy general secretary TTV Dhinakaran made arbitrary appointments for many of his supporters in the party, besides releasing a schedule of campaign tour.

There is intense pressure on both the groups since no one wants a general election and wanted to save the government. Dhinakaran had taken up the authority of making appointments for the party and said he had been authorised to make such moves by party general secretary VK Sasikala.
New Delhi/Ahmedabad: As BJP chief Amit Shah arrived in Delhi late Wednesday night to a huge welcome at the airport by party stalwarts, marking Shah's completion of three years as party chief on the same day that he was elected to the Rajya Sabha, all eyes will be on his debut performance in parliament after remarkable poll strategies won the BJP and the NDA, governments in 18 of India's 29 states.

The 52-year-old leader formally resigned Wednesday as a legislator from Gujarat and at a party felicitation in Gandhinagar said it was a special day for him as he began a new innings representing his state in the Upper House of Parliament.

Although there is intense speculation he will become a member of the cabinet in the Narendra Modi government, the BJP chief said he would not be a minister. In fact, eyeing states like West Bengal, Kerala and Odisha, Shah openly pledged to better the BJP's 2014 track record in 2019, when PM Modi will seek a second term. Pointing to his own success, Shah had told party workers in Haryana, only a week ago,: "I'm giving my example. I was a booth worker. I began by plastering posters. Without any political background, I've been made the chief of the world's biggest party."

However, the Gujarat RS polls showed a chink in his armour when he could not best Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's political aide Ahmed Patel, who too returned to Delhi last night to a huge welcome, after he won in a contest that pitched these two master strategists against each other.

The difficulty with which Ahmed Patel, a seasoned Gujarat politician, won his seat amid defections and cross-voting, also exposed the weakness of the Congress months before assembly elections in Gujarat, in which Amit Shah has pledged to win a record 150 of the state's 180 seats. "If we win 150 assembly seats in the December elections, then all three Rajya Sabha seats will come to us next time," Shah told party workers. For Ahmed Patel, the mystery over his secret supporter could presage a split in the JD(U) whose legislator backed him , defying his party diktat.

"The morale of our party workers has skyrocketed after this win. With this victory, we will have to set a target of winning more than 125 seats in the coming elections. Our next target is to win the 2017 elections," Patel said. The Congress has been out of power in Gujarat for more than two decades.
Chennai: Hitting back at the EPS camp that virtually removed him from the party, TTV Dhinakaran on Thursday asserted that he was still in control of the ruling AIADMK and warned of a surgical strike against any leader, including Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami, if they continue to target him.

Contending that only the Election Commission had the powers to decide on the legality of his appointment as deputy general secretary by his aunt VK Sasikala in February, Dhinakaran tore into the chief minister and his colleagues accusing them of adopting double standards while dealing with him.

I have powers to even act against the Chief Minister if he continues to act against the interest of the party. They are scared since they have something to hide and their fear only compounded when I announced that I would undertake a statewide tour from Monday. The EPS camp is saying something in the Election Commission and exactly opposite outside, Mr Dhinakaran told reporters in Thanjavur.

The Chief Minister and his colleagues are indulging in forgery to continue in power. I am under no compulsion to answer to those who indulge in 420 (IPC section for forgery) activities. Only the Election Co-mmission can decide about my appointment (as deputy general secretary), he added and asserted that those who commit mistakes will correct it or they will be reformed.

Dhinakaran put up a brave face despite the number of MLAs supporting him continuing to dwindle with only P Vetrivel and Thanga Tamilselvan being the prominent faces that are speaking in his favour. Sources in the EPS camp said the number of MLAs supporting Dhinakaran has come down to just 10 and that a majority of them who expressed support to him in June have returned to their factions.

Reminding once again that it was the Sasikala family, against whom the party is up in arms now, that installed the Edappadi Palaniswami Government after O.Panneerselvam revolted in February, Dhinakaran said those in power should think at least once on what could have happened if Sasikala did not rally party MLAs around her.

They (EPS camp) are adopting double standards and it is evident from the fact that Dindigul C Sreenivasan is still drawing salary from the party as Treasurer, a post that was given to him by Sasikala. Why should he continue to draw salary if he thinks the appointment of Sasikala itself is illegal, Dhinakaran asked.

Dhinakaran wondered how the Palaniswami camp could comment against Sasikala when they themselves had furnished an affidavit to the EC, endorsing her appointment as party chief. He was also caught on the wrong side when he accused the EPS camp of illegally using the letterhead of AIADMK, which has been frozen by the Election Commission. In its order, the EC had clearly said the name of AIADMK should not be used only for the purpose of RK Nagar by-election.
Chennai: State Cooperation Minister Sellur K. Raju on Sunday dared actors Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan, the two top stars of Tamil cinema, to join the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, if they wished for the well-being of the people.

If Rajini and Kamal really intend to do good to the people of the State, they should join AIADMK, the Minister said. If Kamal points out to their mistakes after joining the AIADMK, they would be ready to rectify them.

Rajinikanth

But the actor should not levy charges on us without proof and without entering politics, Mr. Raju emphasised during a chat with reporters in Madurai.

Both Rajini and Kamal had expressed displeasure over the functioning of the Tamil Nadu government and hinted that they would enter politics. While Rajini said the system has become rotten and it should be changed, Kamal asked his fans and public to launch online complaints to the ministers concerned.

Kamal Haasan

On Saturday, Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami had dared the actor to join politics and said he would then give him a befitting reply. Municipal Administration Minister S.P. Velumani too had challenged Kamal Haasan to prove the existence of corruption in the government and also asked if he was ready share the details of taxes paid for his movies. He had also threatened to probe the actor's tax history, to find evidence of wrongdoing.

On legislator Arukutty switching loyalties to the ruling AIADMK (Amma) group, from the rebel AIADMK (Puratchi Thalaivi Amma) camp he said, This is just a beginning. Arukutty has come first. The rest too will join us soon.
The malware entered the North Carolina Transmission plant's computer network via email last August, just as the criminals wanted, spreading like a virus and threatening to lock up the production line until the company paid a ransom.

AW North Carolina stood to lose $270,000 in revenue, plus wages for idled employees, for every hour the factory wasn't shipping its crucial auto parts to nine Toyota car and truck plants across North America, said John Peterson, the plant's information technology manager.

The company is just one of a growing number being hit by cyber-criminals looking for a payday. While online thieves have long targeted banks for digital holdups, today's just-in-time manufacturing sector is climbing toward the top of hackers' hit lists. Production lines that integrate computer-imaging, barcode scanners and measuring tolerances to a hair's width at multiple points are more vulnerable to malevolent outsiders.

"These people who try to hack into your network know you have a set schedule. And they know hours are meaningful to what you're doing," Peterson said in an interview. "There's only a day and a half of inventory in the entire supply chain. And so if we don't make our product in time, that means Toyota doesn't make their product in time, which means they don't have a car to sell on the lot that next day. It's that tight."

He said that creates pressure on manufacturers to make the criminals go away by paying the sums demanded. "They may not know what that number is, but they know it's not zero. So what is that number? Where do you flinch?"

Last August at the 2,200-worker Durham transmission factory, the computer virus coursed through the plant's network, flooding machines with data and stopping production for about four hours, Peterson said. Data on some laptops were lost, but the malware was blocked by a firewall when it tried to exit the plant's network and put the hackers' lock on the plant's computer network.

The plant was hit again in April, this time by different crooks using new malware designed to hold data or devices hostage to force a ransom payment, Peterson said. The virus was contained before affecting production, and no ransom was paid to either group, he said.

Manufacturers, government and financial firms are now the top targets globally for illicit intrusions by criminals, foreign espionage agencies and others up to no good, according to a report this spring by NTT Security. A survey of nearly 3,000 corporate cyber security executives in 13 countries last year by Cisco Systems Inc. found about one out of four manufacturing organizations reported cyberattacks that cost them money in the previous 12 months.

Since 2015, US manufacturers considered "critical" to the economy and to normal modern life, like makers of autos and aviation parts, have been the main targets of cyber attacks - outstripping energy, communications and other critical infrastructure, according to Department of Homeland Security incident response data. The numbers may be imprecise because companies in key industries often don't report attacks for fear of diminished public perception.

But attacks demanding ransom against all US institutions are spiralling higher. The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center received 2,673 ransomware reports in the year ending last September - nearly double from 2014.

While manufacturers are increasingly preying to these cyber-stickups, it may just be because criminals are playing the odds and striking as many enterprises of all types as they can across a targeted region, said John Miller, who heads a team at cybersecurity firm FireEye that tracks money-driven online threats.

Attackers "aren't necessarily going after manufacturing to the exclusion of other sectors or with a preference above other sectors. It's more that, 'OK, we're going to try to infect everybody in this country that we can,'" Miller said.

One high-profile example came in May and June when auto manufacturers including Renault shut down production after they were swept up in the worldwide onslaught of the WannaCry ransomware virus. But attackers also are increasingly injecting ways to remotely control the robots and other automated systems that control production inside targeted factories.

The threat of computer code tailored to hit specific targets has been around since researchers in 2010 discovered Stuxnet, malware apparently designed to sabotage Iran's nuclear program by causing centrifuge machines to spin out of control. Stuxnet is widely believed to be a covert American and Israeli creation, but neither country has officially acknowledged a role in the attack.

Malicious software that attacked Ukraine's electricity grid last December was built to remotely sabotage circuit breakers, switches and protection relays, researchers said. Cyberattacks that reach into industrial control systems have doubled in the past two years in the US to nearly four dozen so far in the federal fiscal year that ends in September, outstripping last year's total, according to DHS data.

"I think the emerging threat you're going to see in the future now is really custom ransomware that's going to be targeted more toward individual companies," said Neil Hershfield, the acting director of the DHS team that handles the emergency response to cyber attacks on industrial control systems.

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Raja Krishnamoorthi is a member of the US House of Representatives. (Photo: Twitter)

Washington: Expressing concern over the Sikkim standoff between India and China, an influential US lawmaker has accused Beijing of taking provocative steps that have resulted in the escalation of tensions between the two Asian giants.

"I'm very concerned about what is happening on Doklam Plateau. I believe that China has taken certain provocative steps that have escalated into the current standoff on the plateau," Raja Krishnamoorthi, the Congressman from Illinois, said.

Krishnamoorthi, 44, just returned from a short trip to India during which he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi this week and had a discussion on a wide range of issues.

He said the standoff issue did not come up during his meeting with the prime minister in New Delhi.

Talking about his views on the standoff, he said, "I have urged a diplomatic solution, a peaceful diplomatic solution to the current standoff, and I'm very hopeful that it can come about."

"It's very important that no country take provocative steps, especially in border disputes in the region," said Krishnamoorthi in response to a question.

The US has maintained its silence on the Sikkim standoff between the armies of India and China.

"We have seen these reports (on the standoff). We refer you to the Governments of India, China, and Bhutan for further information," a State Department spokesperson told PTI when asked about the American stand on the current Doklam standoff.

The US last month also had avoided commenting on the Sikkim standoff.

Meanwhile, analysts here criticised China for its aggressive stance.

Will Edwards, an Asia-Pacific and defense analyst at The Cipher Brief, recently wrote that the Chinese road could have serious strategic implications for Indias defence of its home territory due to a geographic feature that leaves India vulnerable.

"Allowing the Chinese road project to continue could provide Beijing with an avenue for its troops to strike the Chickens Neck, a narrow strip of land connecting Indias northeastern states to the rest of the country that could be severed in the event of conflict," he wrote.
Trump's unexpected remarks prompted North Korea to say it was considering plans to fire four intermediate-range missiles to land 30-40 kilometres (18-25 miles) from Guam, home to about 163,000 people and a U.S. military base that includes a submarine squadron, an air base and a Coast Guard group. (Photo: AFP)

Washington/Seoul: North Korea is working on plans for a missile strike near the US Pacific territory of Guam, calling President Donald Trump's warning of "fire and fury" a "load of nonsense" and that only "absolute force can work on him."

Pyongyang's state-run KCNA news agency issued an update on its strike plans after Trump's incendiary comments on Tuesday that threats to the United States from Pyongyang would be met with "fire and fury."

Trump's unexpected remarks prompted North Korea to say it was considering plans to fire four intermediate-range missiles to land 30-40 kilometres (18-25 miles) from Guam, home to about 163,000 people and a U.S. military base that includes a submarine squadron, an air base and a Coast Guard group.

The army will complete its plans in mid-August, ready for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's order, KCNA said on Wednesday, citing General Kim Rak Gyom, commander of the Strategic Force of the Korean People's Army.

The news agency said Trump "let out a load of nonsense about 'fire and fury'," adding "sound dialogue is not possible with such a guy bereft of reason and only absolute force can work on him."

On global markets, the strong rhetoric and sharp increase in tensions drove investors out of stocks and other risky assets on Wednesday and into textbook safe havens like gold and Treasuries.

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis issued a stark warning earlier on Wednesday, telling Pyongyang the United States and its allies would win any arms race or conflict.

"The DPRK should cease any consideration of actions that would lead to the end of its regime and the destruction of its people," Mattis said in a statement, using the acronym for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The United States and South Korea remain technically still at war with North Korea after the 1950-53 Korean conflict ended with a truce, not a peace treaty. North Korea regularly threatens to destroy the United States.

Tension in the region has risen since North Korea carried out two nuclear bomb tests last year and two intercontinental ballistic missile tests in July. Trump has said he will not allow Pyongyang to develop a nuclear weapon capable of hitting the United States.

On Wednesday, Trump followed up his "fire and fury" warning with a boast about U.S. nuclear capabilities.

"My first order as President was to renovate and modernize our nuclear arsenal. It is now far stronger and more powerful than ever before," Trump tweeted. "Hopefully we will never have to use this power, but there will never be a time that we are not the most powerful nation in the world!"

Trump's "fire and fury" remarks prompted warnings from U.S. officials and analysts not to engage in rhetorical games with Pyongyang.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who was in Guam on a previously scheduled visit, played down the rhetoric, saying he did not believe there was an imminent threat from North Korea and "Americans should sleep well at night."

Trump's "fire and fury" warning was meant to send a "strong message to North Korea in language that (North Korean leader) Kim Jong Un would understand, because he doesn't seem to understand diplomatic language," Tillerson said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Guam Governor Eddie Calvo dismissed the threat and said the island was prepared for "any eventuality" with strategically placed defences. He said he had been in touch with the White House and there was no change in the threat level.

North Korea, pursuing missile and nuclear weapons programs in defiance of U.N. Security Council resolutions, accuses the Washington of devising a "preventive war" and has said any plans to execute this would be met with an "all-out war, wiping out all the strongholds of enemies, including the U.S. mainland."

Washington has warned it is ready to use force if needed to stop North Korea's ballistic missile and nuclear programs but that it prefers global diplomatic action, including sanctions. The U.N. Security Council unanimously imposed new sanctions on North Korea on Saturday.

United States military officials played down the potential for military conflict. Three U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the United States had not moved additional assets into the region after North Korea's threats against Guam.

"Just because the rhetoric goes up, doesn't mean our posture changes," one official said. "The only time our posture goes up is based on facts, not because of what Kim and Trump say to each other," the official added.

While Trump said the nuclear arsenal was more powerful than ever before, U.S. officials say it takes decades to actually modernize nuclear weapons. Trump signed an executive order in January to initiate a review of the country's nuclear policy.

A senior administration official who deals with the Korea issue said the "fire and fury" comment, which was Trump's strongest warning yet for North Korea, was "unplanned and spontaneous."

"There had not been any discussions about escalating the rhetoric in response to Kim's statements or about the possible effects of doing that," the official said.

But White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters national security officials had been aware of the tone of Trump's message before he gave it.

"The words were his own. The tone and strength of the message were discussed beforehand," Sanders said.

Critics included fellow Republican John McCain, head of the Armed Forces Committee in the U.S. Senate, who said Trump should tread cautiously. "You've got to be sure you can do what you say you're going to do," McCain said in a radio interview.

Democratic Senator Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the committee, said Trump's words were counterproductive. "Defusing the North Korea threat will take smart, steady leadership and stronger diplomatic ties with our key allies," Reed said.

Republican Senator Cory Gardner said the administration needed to lean on China, North Korea's closest ally, using sanctions. "It's time to hold China accountable for their refusal to shut off trade with North Korea," Gardner said.

China, despite its anger at Pyongyang's missile and nuclear programs, described the situation as "complex and sensitive," and urged calm and a return to talks.

"China calls on all sides to uphold the main direction of a political resolution to the Korean peninsula nuclear issue, and avoid any words or actions that may intensify the problem and escalate the situation," the government said in a statement sent to Reuters, repeating its customary stance.
President Barack Obama and President-elect Donald Trump shake hands following their meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington.(Photo: AP)

Washington: President Donald Trump has continued with the India policy of his predecessor Barack Obama and the support for the Indo-US relationship transcends political parties here, an influential Indian-American lawmaker has said.

"I think that his India policy so far has been somewhat of a continuation of what President Barack Obama did and, before President Obama, what President Bush had done," Democratic Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, a vocal critic of the foreign policy of Trump, said.

Noting that the continuity shown by Trump on the Indo-US relationship was a good thing, he said the current US administration sees India as an important counterweight to the influence of China in the region.

Krishnamoorthi, who just returned from a short trip to India during which he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said, "I think that whatever we can do in the US Congress and here in America to basically, as I said, make sure that Asia remains a stable and economically prosperous place. We have to do that."

"US-India relationship is a special partnership, so we have to do everything we can to enhance this partnership and to make sure that the great progress that we've already seen continues and that it remains mutually beneficial to both countries. I personally believe that it will continue to do so," he told PTI.

Krishnamoorthi said he had a wide ranging talk with the prime minister.

"It was a formal meeting where we talked everything from, 'How do we strengthen our relationship between the US and India' to the fact that the relationship really transcends political parties at this point, really, on both sides, but especially here in the US," he said on his return from his maiden India trip as a US lawmaker.

New Delhi-born Krishnamoorthi, 44, this year was sworn in as a member of the US House of Representatives.

"I think that both Republic and Democratic administrations have now successfully continued to build the relationship across a range of sectors," he said.

"Everything from our security partnership to expanding commercial ties, to bolstering our cultural exchanges and so forth. That's a very positive development, and I told him that I was committed to doing everything I could to continue that work in the US Congress," he said.

"I also mentioned to him (prime minister Modi) that the relationship is broadening, deepening, and growing across a number of areas and, just as India is keen to attract US investment, we in the United States are very keen to attract Indian investment, especially in places like my own fine congressional district in the Chicago area," Krishnamoorthi said.

He said the recently implemented Goods and Services Tax (GST) would help American companies in a big way.

"One thing that we talked about is the implementation of the new GST in India and how I think that that's going to help American companies do business in India, how it will help us to export more goods to India, but also how it will really help all Indians as well. I think that was a topic that was one where we agreed that a simplified tax system is really the best way to go," he said.

Krishnamoorthi said US lawmakers are keen to develop closer ties between the two countries in the area of security partnership.

"We want to make sure that we do everything we can to enhance our security coordination, counter terrorism efforts, ways that we can also, quite frankly, ensure that certain parts of the region in Asia remain, open for trade, open for democracy to flourish, open for our way of life to succeed," he said.

During his meeting with Modi, Krishnamoorthi said he urged the prime minister to visit the Chicago area.

"I extended an invitation to him to come to Chicago and I'll be very honest, I was somewhat selfish and said, 'Please visit my congressional district, as well'. So we'll see. He told me that he's definitely very interested in coming to Chicago, so I'm hoping that happens in the near future," he said.
More than 60 current and former Google employees are considering suing the tech giant over allegations of sexism and pay disparities.

James Finberg, the civil rights attorney working on the possible legal action on behalf of the women, told the Guardian they believe that they have earned less than men at Google despite equal qualifications and comparable positions. Others have struggled in other ways to advance their careers at the company due to a culture that is hostile to women, Mr Finberg told the newspaper.

Google has been caught in a maelstrom after James Damore, a male software engineer at the tech firm, in a 10-page manifesto argued that men occupy more leadership roles than women in tech due to biological differences. Since then he has been fired.

Mr Finberg said he has interviewed about 30 Google staffers so far and some claim that they are paid $40,000 less than their male co-workers in the same role. Google, however, has vehemently denied its salaries are discriminatory. They are concerned that women are channeled to levels and positions that pay less than men with similar education and experience, Mr Finberg told the Guardian.

Of the more than 60 women who have reached out to the attorney in the past three weeks, Mr Finberg said about half still work for Google. He also said that more than a dozen of the former female staffers among the 60 claimed that discrimination played a role in their decision to leave the company.

A former senior manager who recently left Google told the Guardian she repeatedly learned of men at the same level as her earning tens of thousands of dollars more than her, and in one case, she said she had a male employee join her team with a higher salary despite the fact that she was his superior. Its demoralising, said the worker, who requested anonymity
GFA Relief Team Links with Temple Leaders to Help Flood-Hit Buddhist Community

GFA (Gospel for Asia) leader Dr. K.P. Yohannan assists in 'great act of kindness' supply distributions in wake of severe flooding

WILLS POINT, Texas, Aug. 10, 2017 / Christian Newswire / -- Gospel for Asia-supported (GFA) workers worked alongside Buddhist priests to bring relief to some of those worst hit by the severe flooding that left thousands of Sri Lankans in desperate need.

Photo: GFA (Gospel for Asia) founder and director Dr. K.P. Yohannan (center) helps distribute relief supplies in a predominantly Buddhist community while visiting Sri Lanka to see the organization's ongoing relief efforts after severe flooding.

GFA founder and director Dr. K.P. Yohannan was among the GFA team members who helped deliver supplies to families in the south Indian Ocean island nation--official religion Buddhism--where flood waters as high as 18 feet submerged homes and destroyed crops.

In association with leaders and trainee priests at the local Buddhist temple, the GFA-supported group distributed relief packages containing rice, meat, sugar and spices, as well as matches and candles and toiletries.

"We were grateful to be able to join forces to offer practical help to people in such a time of need," said Yohannan. "We welcome the opportunity to work with anyone and everyone who wants to help the poor and needy. When disaster strikes, as it has in Sri Lanka, what matters most is for everyone to come together and try to help.

"In all these situations, there is one question the local people keep asking us: why are we doing this? Our answer always remains the same. It is because of the love of Christ."

One of the Buddhist leaders expressed appreciation for the aid distribution, noting that it demonstrated "there is no division of race, caste or religion, but that everyone can join together as one to help." A local community leader said that the visitors were the first Christian group to offer help in the predominantly Buddhist area, while another called the distribution "a great act of kindness."

GFA-supported teams have been widely active in relief efforts since Sri Lanka was hit by bad flooding in May. Landslides triggered by heavy rain left many communities cut off and without power. Around 200 people died, and many thousands were left homeless and without food, fresh water, or a source of income. Since then, parts of the country have also been affected by drought.

GFA-supported "compassion teams" have taken fresh food and water, medical and cooking supplies, clothing and bedding to some of the most affected communities. They have also helped clean wells and repair pumps to provide fresh water.

"Sri Lanka continues to need our prayers, and our help," said Yohannan. "We hope that through both, people will come to know God's love and care for them in this difficult time."
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to speak to the press about the matter. (AFP)

Manila: A US warship sailed close to a Chinese man-made island in the disputed South China Sea in an operation that challenged China's excessive territorial claims in busy international waters, a US Navy official said Thursday.

The official said that Chinese vessels were in the vicinity when the USS John S. McCain sailed in a "routine" freedom of navigation operation near Mischief Reef Thursday. It was not immediately clear if the Chinese demanded the US destroyer leave as they have done in the past.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to speak to the press about the matter.

China, which claims the South China Sea virtually in entirety, has protested such US military operations, which President Donald Trump's administration has continued partly to reassure allies locked in territorial rifts with Beijing.

Tensions escalated a few years ago when China began to build seven reefs, including Mischief, into islands, including three with runways, which the US and China's neighbors fear could be used to project Beijing's military might and potentially obstruct freedom of navigation.

The US is not involved in the long-seething disputes in the busy and potentially oil- and gas-rich waters involving China, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. Washington, however, has declared it is in its interest to ensure that the conflicts are resolved peacefully and that freedom of navigation and overflight remain unhampered.

In the latest sail-by, US military officials notified Philippine counterparts of the maneuver, a Philippine official told the AP, adding Filipino forces were not involved.

Philippine marines stationed in a marooned ship on a disputed shoal may have monitored the US Navy operation because they are based near Mischief Reef, the official said.

US Pacific Fleet spokeswoman Lt. Cmdr. Nicole Schwegman said all Navy operations "are conducted in accordance with international law and demonstrate that the United States will fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows."

"That is true in the South China Sea as in other places around the globe," she said.
The 17 men and one woman were found guilty of offences including conspiracy to incite prostitution, rape and drugs. (Photo: File/Representational)

London: An Indian-origin man is among 18 people convicted of child sex offences by a UK court on Wednesday.

Prabhat Nelli is among mostly Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Iraqi, Iranian and Turkish-origin men found guilty of involvement in a sex grooming network in the town of the Newcastle in north-east England.

The men plied vulnerable girls, some as young as 14, with drink and drugs before assaulting them, the Newcastle Crown Court was told.

In a series of four trials at the court, juries found the men guilty of a catalogue of nearly 100 offences ranging from rape, human trafficking, conspiracy to incite prostitution and drug supply between 2011 and 2014.

"This investigation all began after one initial police enquiry in December 2013, an enquiry which led to the significant uncovering of sexual abuse which was being hidden away in our community," said Chief Constable Steve Ashman of Northumbria Police, which led inquiries to investigate claims of sexual abuse against girls and young women by mostly Asian men.

"By the end of January 2014, Operation Sanctuary was set up and we had already made nearly 30 arrests. To date we have arrested 461 people, spoken to 703 potential complainants and have found 278 victims. In total, we now have 93 convictions delivering more than 300 years of imprisonment in addition to today's convictions," Ashman said.

According to the police investigation presented in the court, victims revealed they had been raped, exploited or sexually abused while intoxicated by either drink or drugs, often both.

On occasions the victims were so inebriated that they were abused while they were unconscious. The girls met the men through other friends and social media.

The men would contact them at all hours of the day and night to say they had alcohol and drugs for them and would pay for taxis to collect them. They would be bought vodka and drugs like MCAT and cocaine.

"The sexual exploitation of vulnerable people is in my opinion the challenge of our generation. It is a huge task that we are faced with. To date Operation Sanctuary has been the most complex investigation in this forces' history and has not stopped. There is a wider debate as to how this is to be tackled by moving forward," added Chief Constable Ashman.

The others convicted in the case include Eisa Mousavi, Mohammed Ali, Nashir Uddin, Monjur Choudhury, Taherul Alam, Habibur Rahim, Badrul Hussain, Carolann Gallon, Saiful Islam, AbdulHamid Minoyee, Abdul Sabe, Jahanger Zaman, Nadeem Aslam, Mohammed Azram, Yassar Hussain, Redwan Siddquee and Mohibur Rahman.

The 17 men and one woman were found guilty of offences including conspiracy to incite prostitution, rape and drugs. During the various trials in the case, the court was told that Northumbria Police also recruited a sex offender, who can only be named as XY, to assist the force with its investigation into child sexual exploitation in Newcastle.

During legal submissions, XY gave evidence to the court and made a series of allegations against the police, including claims of racism and that he was asked to plant drugs.

Judge Penny Moreland rejected his evidence in its entirety, describing it as "inherently unreliable" and "clearly dishonest".

A spokesperson for Parents Against Child Sexual Exploitation (PACE), said: "Sadly we know that child sexual exploitation has been widespread throughout the country and it can affect any child or family. It is good that the perpetrators have finally been brought to justice."

"There has been immense trauma inflicted on those young people and their families. There will be lessons to be learned," the spokesperson said.
Many communities in Nepal view menstruating women as impure and in some remote areas they are forced to sleep in a hut away from home during their periods, a custom known as chhaupadi. (Photo: Pixabay/Representational)

Kathmandu: Nepal's parliament on Wednesday criminalised an ancient Hindu practice that banishes women from the home during menstruation.

Many communities in Nepal view menstruating women as impure and in some remote areas they are forced to sleep in a hut away from home during their periods, a custom known as chhaupadi.

The new law stipulates a three-month jail sentence or a 3,000 rupee fine ($30), or both, for anyone forcing a woman to follow the custom.

"A woman during her menstruation or post-natal state should not kept in chhaupadi or treated with any kind of similar discrimination or untouchable and inhuman behaviour," reads the law, passed in an unanimous vote.

It will only come into effect in a year's time.

Chhaupadi is linked to Hinduism and considers women untouchable when they menstruate, as well as after childbirth.

They are banished from the home -- barred from touching food, religious icons, cattle and men -- and forced to sleep in basic huts known as chhau goth.

Last month a teenage girl died after being bitten by a snake while sleeping in a chhau goth.

Two other women died in late 2016 in separate incidents while also following the ritual -- one of smoke inhalation after she lit a fire for warmth, while the other death was unexplained.

Rights activists say many other deaths likely go unreported.

The Supreme Court banned chhaupadi more than a decade ago but it is still followed in parts of Nepal, particularly in remote western districts.

Lawmaker Krishna Bhakta Pokhrel, who was part of the committee that pushed through the bill, said he hoped the new law would finally see an end to the custom.

"Chhaupadi didn't end, because there was no law to punish people even after the Supreme Court outlawed the practice," Pokhrel said.

Women's rights activist Pema Lhaki described the law as unenforceable because it is related to a deeply entrenched belief system that is harder to change.

"It's a fallacy that it's men who make the woman do this. Yes, Nepal's patriarchal society plays a part but it's the women who make themselves follow chhaupadi," she said.

"They need to understand the root cause, have strategic interventions and then wait a generation," she added.
#WATCH: Government primary school in Uttar Pradesh's Mirzapur turned into a 'dance bar' by locals on the night of #RakshaBandhan pic.twitter.com/NGz8YypQCc  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) August 9, 2017

Students and teachers at this government primary school in Uttar Pradesh's Mirzapur district, about 300 kilometres from here, were shocked to find empty bottles of liquor littered on the floor of their class rooms, when they reached the school after it opened the day after 'Raksha Bandhan' festival.It later turned out that the premises of the school had been turned into a dance bar on the night of the festival on Monday.The matter came to light on Wednesday, when a video showing footage of dance by the bar girls, went viral on the social networking sites.According to the reports, the dance program had been organised by the panchayat chief of Tetaraiya village under Jamalpur block in the district.Reports said that the 'pradhan' had taken the keys of the primary school from the headmaster after it was closed on Saturday. The 'pradhan', had told the headmaster that the premises was needed to organise a cultural program on the occasion of 'Raksha Bandhan' festival.Liquor was also served at the program, according to the reports. The video footage also purportedly showed liquor flowing freely during the dance.The headmaster found empty liquor bottles littered on the floor of the class rooms, when he opened the school on Tuesday, the reports said.Reports said that he reported the matter to the district basic education officer. District education officials said that the matter would be thoroughly inquired into and action would be taken against those responsible. The officials also said that they were trying to verify the authenticity of the video.Earlier also there have been instances of schools and even police stations in different parts of the state turning into dance bars on many occasions.






Modis developmental agenda as well as party president Amit Shahs organisation skills will be key to the BJPs electoral strategy for the next year polls, a senior party functionary said here on Wednesday.



As Shah is visiting Bengaluru for three days from August 12 to meet leaders of various wings of the BJP, the state unit will virtually kick off the election preparations.



We will seek votes on the NDA government's three-and-a-half year corruption-free administration at the Centre and against the Siddaramaiah regimes misgovernance in the state, he said. The party will be cautious not to get drawn into comparison between the Siddaramaiah government and the previous BJP regime in the state as it had suffered an image dent due to corruption charges and saw three chief ministers in five years.



Claiming that the BJP was never on the back foot to fight against the alleged corrupt practices of the Congress government in Karnataka, the BJP leader said a resolution was passed at the just-concluded BJP state executive committee meeting clearly stating that it vowed to fight against corruption.



Despite the Congress criticism that the recent Income Tax raids on Energy Minister D K Shivakumar were due to political vendatta, people of Karnataka did not suspect the intention of the Modi government, whose initiative to fight against black money and benami properties have received kudos across the country, he said.



On the state unit leaders failure to utilise the I-T raids against Shivakumar to intensify fight against the corruption in the Congress government, he said that the state leaders will launch a fight as more evidence against ministers come out in the public domain.



On corruption charges against its own leaders, he said such politicians will be kept at bay in the run-up to the polls.



Insisting that the BJP is ready for early elections, if the ruling Congress decides to dissolve the Assembly, the leader said that since winning Karnataka is the top most priority for the party, it would work with full force and unitedly.





Karnataka BJP president B S Yeddyurappa may be the chief ministerial face of the party, but the saffron party will fight the next year Assembly polls with Prime Minister Narendra Modis credible face and on anti-corruption plank.
Outgoing Vice President Hamid Ansari said there is a feeling of unease and a sense of insecurity among the Muslims in the country, asserting the "ambience of acceptance" is now under threat.



Ansari, whose second five-year term as the Vice-President ends today, made these remarks in the backdrop of incidents of intolerance and cow vigilantism and comments made by some saffron leaders regarding the minority community.



Stating that he had flagged the issue of intolerance with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his cabinet colleagues, Ansari, 80, also described as a "disturbing thought" that Indianness of citizens was being questioned.



Asked in an interview to Karan Thapar on Rajya Sabha TV whether he shared his concerns with the prime minister, Ansari replied in the affirmative. "Yes...yes. But what passes between the Vice President and the Prime Minister in the nature of things must remain in the domain of privileged conversation," the Rajya Sabha Chairman said.



He also said that he has flagged the issue with other union ministers too. "Well, there is always an explanation and there is always a reason. Now it is a matter of judgement, whether you accept the explanation, you accept the reasoning and its rationale," he said when asked about the response of the government.



In the interview, Ansari referred to incidents of lynching and 'ghar wapsi' and killings of rationalists as a "breakdown of Indian values, breakdown of the ability of the authorities at different levels in different places to be able to enforce what should be normal law enforcing work and over all the very fact that Indianness of any citizen being questioned is a disturbing thought."



"Yes it is a correct assessment," Ansari said when asked whether he agreed with the assessment that the muslim community is apprehensive and that it was feeling insecure as a result of the kind of comments made against them.



"Yes it is a correct assessment, from all I hear from different quarters, the country; I heard the same thing in Bangalore, I have heard from other parts of the country, I hear more about in north India, there is a feeling of unease, a sense of insecurity is creeping in," he said.



Asked whether he felt that the muslims are beginning to feel they are not wanted, Ansari said, "I would not go that far, there is a sense of insecurity."

He said India is a plural society that for centuries, not for seventy years, has lived in a certain "ambience of acceptance" which is now under threat.

He was of the view that the propensity to be able to assert your nationalism day in and day out is "unnecessary".



"I am an Indian and that is it." Ansari was of the view that while tolerance is a good virtue, it is not a sufficient virtue. "...therefore you have to take the next step and go from tolerance to acceptance," he said.



At an event in Bengaluru on Sunday, Ansari said the "version of nationalism" that places cultural commitments at its core promotes intolerance and arrogant patriotism.



Responding to a question on comments made by some BJP leaders related to minorities, he said he would not talk about political people or political parties.



"But to me, every time such a comment appeared or came to my knowledge; I mean my first reaction was that, A: the person is ignorant, B: that he is prejudiced and C: he does not fit into the framework that India has always prided to itself on, which is to be accommodative society," he said.



Responding to questions on triple talaq, Ansari said it is a social aberration, not a religious requirement. "Firstly, it is a social aberration, it is not a religious requirement. The religious requirement is crystal clear, emphatic, there are no two views about it but patriarchy, social customs has all crept into it to create a situation which is highly undesirable," he said.

He said the courts do not have to step in as the reform has to come from within the community.



"The courts can say that we don't recognise it. That's all. I mean a marriage has to be recognised on certain occasions by the system of the state. And if a state functionary at a particular point of time refuses to recognise a happening which may be the product of a triple talaq, thats it," he explained.



To a poser on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, the former diplomat said, "the problem has always been primarily a political problem. And it has to be addressed politically." He agreed to a suggestion that politicians are ducking the problem.



"Thats my impression. And Im not the only one in the country...when young boys and girls come out on to the streets and throw stones day after day, week after week, month after month, it's something to worry about because they are our children, they are our citizens.



"Something is obviously going wrong. What exactly, I am not the final word on it, but I think there are enough people in the country who are worried about it. Eminent people belonging to different political persuasions and their worry must be taken on board," the Vice President said.
High drama prevailed in the ruling AIADMK "Amma" camp led by Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Wednesday with the party announcing that the appointment of TTV Dhinakaran as party deputy general secretary was null and void.



A resolution was adopted in this regard at a meeting chaired by Palaniswami at AIADMK headquarters in Chennai in which 27 senior leaders and ministers participated and signed the paper.



Reacting to decision to side-line him from the party, Dhinakaran contended that he was duly appointed by party general secretary VK Sasikala and he still has the rights to appoint or remove office bearers from the party.



"They did a great mistake. It is illegal and against the law. I still hold the post, which was duly appointed by general secretary", Dhinakaran said.



"I started to work for the party. The resolution cannot stop me", he said adding that he has all the rights to expel or appoint anyone in the party. "I can take action for anti-party activities", Dhinakaran said and hinted that action would be soon taken against the resolution.



The resolution said Dhinakaran's appointment as deputy general secretary is illegal as per the party rules. "He cannot hold the post since he was not party member for continues five years", the AIADMK said.



The AIADMK also said that Dhinakaran was creating confusion by appointing several party office bearers. "Therefore, Dhinakaran's announcement to appoint office bearer also invalid", it said.



The resolution pointed out that even Election Commission of India (EC) did not recognise Dhinakaran's post.



With regard to Sasikala, the AIADMK said she is not in a position to carry out her duties now and there are several cases against her appointment as the general secretary.



Virtually side-lining both Sasikala and Dhinakaran from the party, the resolution said the party could not see any one other than Jayalalithaa as the general secretary.



Hinting of a merger of the two warring factions, the resolution referred to the famous proverb that ''unity is strength''



The decision of AIADMK to shut the doors on Dhinakaran assumes significance since the move makes a step closer to the merger of the two warring factions.



The rebel group led by former Tamil Nadu chief minister O Panneerselvam main demand for the merger was to keep away jailed VK Sasikala and her nephew Dhinakaran clan from the party affairs.



Reacting to the developments, Panneerselvam's faction said the merger is possible unless another demand such as CBI probe into the "mysterious" death of Jayalalithaa is initiated.
The Rajya Sabha today heaped lavish praises on Chairman Hamid Ansari, who relinquishes office after a decade, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior members lauding him for upholding constitutional norms.



Praising Vice President Ansari, Modi said the Chairman did his best to uphold the Constitution. The Vice President is the Chairman of Rajya Sabha.



The Prime Minister said the Chairman's experience as a career diplomat would have helped him in conducting the business of the Upper House. Modi said he too had benefited immensely from Ansari's insights on diplomatic issues on several occasions.



The Prime Minister noted that Ansari's family has had an illustrious history of over 100 years in public life. Conveying his best wishes to Ansari and wishing him a long life, Modi said the outgoing chairman has also kept himself physically fit.



Leader of the House and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said "in the life of this House, today is very important occasion. We are bidding farewell to you after you complete 10 years as the distinguished Chairman of this House."



Jaitley said the House witnessed both disruptions as well as high quality debates during the tenure of Ansari. Noting that the job of the chairperson of the House was "a very challenging and thankless job", he said while the political character of the House has changed, "nothing remains indefinitely held up" and a consensous is eventually reached.



Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad praised Ansari for the way he conducted the proceedings of the House. Recalling his long association with Ansari, Azad said the Chairman was given several honorary degrees by different countries, but he never used them.



SP member Ram Gopal Yadav said Ansari conducted the House without any discrimination and never allowed any legislation to be passed in din. He hoped the next Chairman too would continue the tradition.



Trinamool Congress leader Derek O'Brien told the House that Ansari does Yoga and routinely goes for evening walks to maintain good health. He said Ansari has been eating sandwiches at lunch for the past 40 years and it "must be a world record".



He appreciated Ansari for extending the working hours of Rajya Sabha from 5 pm to 6 pm.

CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury also hoped that in future too legislations would not be allowed to be passed amidst din.



He said Ansari's decision to shift the Question Hour timing from 11 am to noon has yielded good results as more questions are now taken up. Yechury also appreciated of Ansari's initiative of starting the Rajya Sabha TV channel.
Judicial Watch Victory: Federal Court Orders State Department to Conduct a Search of Benghazi Emails of Hillary Clinton's Closest Advisors

WASHINGTON, Aug. 10, 2017 / Christian Newswire / -- Judicial Watch announced that on August 8, 2017, D.C. District Court Judge Amit P. Mehta ordered the State Department State "to search the state.gov e-mail accounts of Huma Abedin, Cheryl Mills, and Jacob Sullivan," former aides of Hillary Clinton during her tenure as Secretary of State. The State Department is ordered to search in those accounts "for records responsive to [Judicial Watch's] March 4, 2015, FOIA [Freedom of Information Act] request." (A separate Judicial Watch FOIA lawsuit first broke open the Clinton email scandal.)

Judge Mehta described Judicial Watch's Clinton Benghazi FOIA lawsuit as "a far cry from a typical FOIA case. Secretary Clinton used a private e-mail server, located in her home, to transmit and receive work-related communications during her tenure as Secretary of State." Further:

[I]f an e-mail did not involve any state.gov user, the message would have passed through only the Secretary's private server and, therefore, would be beyond the immediate reach of State. Because of this circumstance, unlike the ordinary case, State could not look solely to its own records systems to adequately respond to [Judicial Watch's] demand.

***





[The State Department] has not, however, searched the one records system over which it has always had control and that is almost certain to contain some responsive records: the state.gov e-mail server. If Secretary Clinton sent an e-mail about Benghazi to Abedin, Mills, or Sullivan at his or her state.gov e-mail address, or if one of them sent an e-mail to Secretary Clinton using his or her state.gov account, then State's server presumably would have captured and stored such an e-mail. Therefore, State has an obligation to search its own server for responsive records.





***





State has offered no assurance that the three record compilations it received [from Secretary Clinton and her aides], taken together, constitute the entirety of Secretary Clinton's e-mails during the time period relevant to Plaintiff's FOIA Request. Absent such assurance, the court is unconvinced "beyond material doubt" that a search of the state.gov accounts of Abedin, Mills and Sullivan is "unlikely to produce any marginal return."





***



Accordingly, the court finds that State has not met its burden of establishing it performed an adequate search in response to Plaintiff's FOIA Request and orders State to conduct a supplemental search of the state.gov e-mail accounts of Abedin, Mills, and Sullivan.

"This major court ruling may finally result in more answers about the Benghazi scandal  and Hillary Clinton's involvement in it  as we approach the attack's fifth anniversary," said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. "It is remarkable that we had to battle both the Obama and Trump administrations to break through the State Department's Benghazi stonewall. Why are Secretary Tillerson and Attorney General Sessions wasting taxpayer dollars protecting Hillary Clinton and the Obama administration?"
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) today moved the Supreme Court seeking an order to probe various aspects of the plea of a Muslim man whose marriage with a Hindu woman was annulled by the Kerala High Court that described the case as an instance of 'love jehad'.



A bench comprising Chief Justice J S Khehar and Justices A K Goel and D Y Chandrachud issued notice to Kerala-native Shafin Jahan and state police on the fresh plea of NIA that it needed a specific order to investigate the entire spectrum of the case having an alleged element of 'love jihad' as well.



Additional Solicitor General Maninder Singh, appearing for the probe agency, told the court that NIA will have to collect documents and other materials from the state police and would require a specific order for conducting probe.



The bench considered the submission and fixed the NIA's plea for hearing at 2 PM today itself.



Earlier, the apex court had asked the NIA to file a report before it on August 16.

The court had on August 4 sought the response of the state government and the NIA on Jahan's plea challenging the high court order annulling his marriage.



The NIA has recently conducted probes into some cases of 'love jihad,' in which some women were allegedly being sent to Syria to join ISIS.



Terming the case as "serious" and "sensitive", the court had asked the father of the woman to bring material on record in support of his claims on the alleged marriage of his daughter and that there was a "well-oiled systematic mechanism" for conversion and Islamic radicalisation.



Jahan, who had married the woman in last December, had moved the apex court after the Kerala High Court annulled his marriage saying that it was an insult to independence of women in the country.



The woman, a Hindu, had converted to Islam and later married Jahan.

It was alleged that the woman was recruited by Islamic State's mission in Syria and Jahan was only a stooge.



The high court, while declaring the marriage as "null and void", had described the case as an instance of 'love jihad' and ordered the state police to conduct probe into such cases.
Indias largest Internet firm Flipkart Ltd on Thursday announced its biggest ever private equity investment led by Japans SoftBank Vision Fund.



According to official sources, the funding is a mix of primary and secondary capital led by SoftBank Vision Fund, the worlds largest technology-focused investment fund.



The investment is part of the previously announced financing round, where Flipkart had raised capital from three of the worlds premier technology companies  Tencent, eBay and Microsoft. After this financing round, Flipkart will have in excess of $4 billion of cash on its balance sheet.



The company made it clear that the current investment is part of the previously announced financing round, where Flipkart had raised capital from three of the worlds premier technology companies  Tencent, eBay and Microsoft.



After this financing round, Flipkart will have in excess of $4 billion of cash on its balance sheet. Commenting on the development, Flipkart co founders Binny Bansal and Sachin Bansal said that it is a monumental deal for Flipkart and India.



Very few economies globally attract such overwhelming interest from top-tier investors. It is recognition of Indias unparalleled potential to become a leader in technology and e-commerce on a massive scale, stated the co-founders.



SoftBanks proven track record of partnering with transformative technology leaders has earned it the reputation of being a visionary investor. Were excited to welcome the Vision Fund as a long-term partner as we continue to build our business with a focus on serving the needs of all Indians, and driving the next phase of technology adoption in India, said the co-founders in a joint statement. The investment comes at a time when Flipkart's efforts to buy Snapdeal didn't materialise.
The two accused the high profile Varnika stalking case, Vikas Barala, the son of Haryana BJP chief, and his accomplice Aashish, have denied charges of attempted abduction against them during interrogation by the police since yesterday, it is learnt. The accused were remanded to two days in police custody after they were produced before the Court on Thursday.



They have denied the attempted abduction charge entirely but have admitted to be have been on the route that was taken by Varnika that night, sources said, adding that Vikas told the police that he had gone out that evening with his friend to replace shoes from a Mall. He admitted to have had a bottle of beer that night. The case is now headed for a long drawn legal battle. Vikas and the other accused managed to get to prepare their defence in case since they were out roaming freely in the last few days after the police bailed them out initially. The police said, the two day remand period will be utilized to corroborate the evidence and statement given by the accused.



The Chandigarh police on Wednesday had re-arrested Vikas Barala and his accomplice after they were charged with attempted abduction in the case. They have been charges with fresh IPC sections of the IPC (365 and 511) which attract a maximum punishment of 7-years. The investigation has been shrouded in suspicion, at least until the accused were arrested on Wednesday.
Amid much wide media speculation of an imminent split in the Janata Dal (United), former party president and Rajya Sabha member Sharad Yadav arrived in Bihar to read the pulse of the people. Sharad, who is on a three-day visit to the State, has expressed his unhappiness over Nitishs unilateral decision to snap ties with the RJD and the Congress, and form another Government with the support of BJP-led NDA.



Thursday was an eye-opener for the veteran parliamentarian when he landed at the Patna airport. Not one JD (U) MLA, MLC or any MP came to either receive him or express solidarity with the former party president who has been nursing grudges against Bihar Chief Minister ever since he was replaced as JD (U) president by Nitish.



Sharad, who lost 2014 Lok Sabha polls at the hands of a Bahubali (muscleman-turned-politician) Pappu Yadav (now expelled from RJD) from Madhepura, was never a mass leader. A Socialist from Jabalpur (in Madhya Pradesh), who won a bypoll in 1974 after completing his engineering, Sharad had to depend on leaders like Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar to enter the Parliament in the post-Mandal era.



When Sharad lost the last LS poll three years back, he was JD (U) national president and, therefore, Nitish accommodated him in Rajya Sabha to salvage his image, given his seniority and respectability within the party.



But now that Sharad has raised a bogey of revolt against Nitish, the veteran parliamentarian runs the risk of being isolated and eventually thrown out of the JD (U) much like his predecessor George Fernandes.



George, who too turned a rebel after being mentor of Nitish since Samata Party days, was replaced by Sharad as the JD (U) chief. George was even denied Lok Sabha ticket in 2009 from Muzaffarpur, his bastion (from where he won three times since 1977), reportedly at the behest of Nitish whose writ runs in the party ever since Samata Party merged with the JD (U). Humiliated and isolated, George contested as an Independent but lost the deposit in his fiefdom.



Sharad too is likely to meet the same fate if he continues to spew venom against Nitish. The JD (U) has nothing to do with Sharad Yadav, who is on a personal visit to Bihar. Let him gauge the public mood. The man, who has made Lalu Prasad, Tejashwi and Misa Bharti as his icons, should also explain why he quit when he was charged in Hawala scam, the JD (U) spokesperson Neeraj Kumar, considered a close Nitish aide, was unsparing in his attack on Sharad.



Sources in the JD (U) argue that to split the party, which has 71 MLAs, one needs to have the support of at least 48 MLAs. Forget 48 legislators, not even one MLA was there at Patna airport to receive Sharad ji. Of the two leaders Ramai Ram and Ram Badan Rai, who were present there, one lost the 2015 Assembly polls, while the other has no connection with the JD (U), said Neeraj.



Sharad, who is touring Sonepur and will visit Muzaffarpur and Sitamarhi in the next couple of days, would escape any disciplinary action till he does not attack Nitish personally. The day he defies this unwritten rule, his fate would be sealed. And this could happen on or before the JD (U) national executive meets in Patna on August 19.






Dhinakaran, who is Sasikala's nephew, said his post was a nominated one and the party general secretary could name office-bearers to such posts. He asserted that the appointments he made were valid as well and these were in tune with party bye-laws. He also cited Sasikala naming Forest Minister Dindigul C Srinivasan as party treasurer.



The Minister could operate the bank accounts only because his appointment by Sasikala was valid, he said. After the then treasurer O Panneerselvam was expelled from the party, Srinivasan was named treasurer.



Dhinakaran said the same leaders who were now talking against them were the ones who had campaigned for him in the RK Nagar bypoll which was subsequently cancelled.



Dismissing the meet chaired by Palaniswami as caused by fear and selfish motives, he said the AIADMK was in the control of the party chief and himself.



"For sure all steps will be taken for the party's growth. If the situation warrants, surgical action will be taken," he said, adding it does not matter if it was Chief Minister Palaniswami or others.



"We have the courage to take action and we have the support of cadres to do it." Without naming anyone, he said action would be taken against those who had "forgotten" about who had appointed them to their current positions in the government and those who had joined hands with rivals to continue on their posts.



Palaniswami's name was proposed by Sasikala for Cm's pst at a hurried meet at a nearby resort after a Supreme Court order convicted her in an assets case.



Dhinkaran said the Palaniswami camp's act of coming out against him was due to several fears and one of them was that he was going to start my state wide tour "to strengthen the party".



"They have given these statements out of fear," he said. He claimed that the chief minister's camp had wantonly misinterpreted party rules to say that his appointment was against the party law and also questioned their using the letterhead of undivided AIADMK which was barred by the EC.



Dhinakaran said the incumbent AIADMK regime was set up by party general secretary Sasikala and hence it should not face any threat. He said he still had the "good heart" of ensuring that the government does not face any "danger" because of the "selfishness and wrong moves" of some leaders.



"Nothing of that sort will happen. But those who commit mistakes will correct it or they will be reformed," he said when asked if the government faced any threat.



In the same breath, without naming the Palaniswami camp, he said "they only want to protect their office and are not worried about the party".



He alleged that they were in the mindset of "decamping with whatever was available." Dhinakaran is perceived to command the loyalty of approximately 30-35 legislators in the 234 member House.



"No one can confuse cadres... they are clear," he said adding that the people too were closely following. They knew who were "ungrateful" and who were "good people" and it would be reflected in the 2019 Parliamentary elections.



To a question if he would welcome back Panneerselvam, he said "not only O Panneerselvam, even those from other parties are welcome".



T T V Dhinakaran today warned of "surgical action" against Chief Minister K Palaniswami and rubbished the party statements questioning his appointment as AIADMK (Amma) Deputy General Secretary and that of party chief V K Sasikala.As Sasikala's handpicked CM raised a banner of revolt against her, Dhinakaran wondered how the Palaniswami camp could comment against Sasikala when they themselves had furnished an affidavit to the EC, endorsing her appointment as party chief."They are talking something outside and have stated something different in the affidavit furnished with the EC," he said and claimed that such an attitude amounted to "cheating."He said when the Chief Minister's camp had agreed that Sasikala's appointment was done by the party leadership, the subsequent appointments done by her, including naming him as party deputy general secretary, was valid too.
Tata Motors today said it has ended talks with Volkswagen group's auto maker Skoda on their proposed partnership following feasibility issues, a move that comes just over four months after they had entering into the agreement.



The company said a joint technical feasibility study has found that strategic benefits for both parties are below the desired levels, although it has kept the doors open for future collaborations with the VW group.



"We have evaluated the technical feasibility and degree of synergies for the envisioned partnership. We have concluded that the strategic benefits for both parties are below the threshold levels," Tata Motors CEO and Managing Director Guenter Butschek said in a statement.



He, however, said: "We remain positive of exploring future opportunities with the Volkswagen group".



The statement said Tata Motors and Skoda Auto had performed a joint technical feasibility and commercial evaluation of a potential collaboration.



"Based on intense and constructive discussions, both the companies have jointly concluded that the envisioned areas of partnership may not yield the desired synergies as originally assessed," it added.



The two companies have decided to keep in touch for future areas of collaborations, it added.

Tata Motors, Volkswagen group and Skoda had in March this year announced entering into a long-term partnership for joint development of products with the first rollout expected in 2019.



Based on the strategic alliance, Tata Motors had planned to launch products in the Indian market starting calendar year 2019. On the other hand Skoda Auto was to take the lead on behalf of the Volkswagen Group to drive forward work towards development of vehicle concepts in the economy segment.



However, in June it emerged that the partnership had run into rough weather, with differences over use of platform and doubts related to business viability.



The two companies were exploring using Tata Motors' AMP (Advanced Modular Platform) with VW technology, specially electronics, for products meant for emerging markets in order to gain significant cost advantage over VW's MQB-A platform.



It had turned out expensive and there was a realisation that the business proposition of such a collaboration was not as attractive as it was assumed.








A woman cleans a tablecloth after a church service at the Grace and Truth Deliverance Ministries in Palatka, Fla., on June 18. (Zack Wittman/For The Washington Post)

As the sun set along the widened expanses of the St. Johns River, Palatka Mayor Terrill Hill grabbed a cooler filled with beer and climbed aboard the Pride of Palatka. Inside the red-and-white riverboat sat a group of visiting environmental enthusiasts, eager to see the attraction locals hoped could revive the rural town they love.

Sam Carr, a Palatka native who runs a local outdoor activities promotion group, told passengers theyd soon be immersed in a waterworld of green marshes and moss and mangroves, of tall birds wading in the current and alligators lingering in the water.

The travelers hoped the old river might be the key to a prosperous future for a rural community that, like many others across the United States, has been largely left behind by the modern economy. They envision bed-and-breakfasts along the water, condominiums rising for retirees who might prize the view, and tourists flocking to experience a rare pocket of undisturbed, natural Florida.

This is our best thing, Carr said.

As Carr continued his talk, the sky turned dark and gray. The waves rose, and, in the distance, lightning flashed.

We have to leave the boat, he said as the group began to evacuate.

The return to the river would have to wait.

Palatka, a city of 10,400 swaddled by potato farms and a paper mill that employs a small fraction of the workers it once did, is desperate for an economy to call its own.

Abandoned by retailers that have moved out of their city, and disappointed that President Trump hasnt yet delivered on his promise to restore economic opportunity to small communities, the people here say they dont have much choice.

The alternative would be to allow their beloved home to become the next example of a dying American small town. To help save it, some have started homegrown carwashes and small restaurants and bars selling craft beers. Others have worked with developers to build apartments downtown. And officials here are striving to turn the riverfront, a resource that is unique to their city, into a future hub for tourism and a draw for retirees.

We have to tap into our locals, our entrepreneurial spirit and our aspirations to substitute what is happening around us, said Hill, 44, who grew up here, left to get degrees from Howard University and the University of Florida, and returned to open a law practice.

Some here thought this would be a year of revival. Trump had vowed a major deal to pour trillions into roads, bridges, water systems and other infrastructure projects that Palatka, like many other communities, has been seeking for years. Some Democrats, even in these tense times, said they were eager to work with him.

Instead, the only Kmart went out of business this spring, and the towns beloved J.C. Penney closed its doors last week, eliminating dozens of jobs and the only thing around that resembles upscale shopping.

Opioid abuse is rampant, and 1 in 10 residents continue to live in public housing. The school system ranks among Floridas worst. And the citys pipes are so old that the water sometimes comes out the color of rust.

One by one, the institutions that Palatka officials had wanted to depend on were proving unreliable. Requests this year for financial assistance from Washington and Tallahassee have gone unanswered. A plea by the mayor to J.C. Penneys corporate headquarters to reconsider shuttering the department store was shot down.

A mural honoring the Lawson family and the Mary Lawson Hospital is displayed over a parking lot behind a Dairy Queen. (Zack Wittman/For The Washington Post)

In some ways, the strategy of self-reliance is a return to the citys past.

For decades, Palatkas leaders and residents had embraced their bubble. Politicians rejected plans over the years to build highways that would have connected Palatka to Interstates 75 and 95, spurring growth. Back then, they were afraid growth might change things too much.

Sixty miles south of the sprawling city of Jacksonville, residents here have relished their lifestyle in a place Hill calls the last bastion of old Florida  shaggy trees, old houses with worn-out roofs, accents that were more like Montgomery, Ala., than Miami.

From the citys founding, residents relied on the river to attract thousands of jobs. It once brought in a furniture manufacturing plant and a paper mill.

And, in a city whose population is close to evenly split between blacks and whites, Palatka residents take pride in their values. Whites here largely rejected the Ku Klux Klan when it was terrorizing black residents in other parts of north Florida, according to Vice Mayor Mary Lawson-Brown, 81, who is black. Lawson-Browns grandmother operated an integrated hospital; her grandfather ran the funeral home. No one could be born or buried in town without help from a black person.

We were still a segregated city, especially on Sunday, Lawson-Brown said. But we didnt have any racial riots. . . . Everyone wanted to preserve Palatka.

Over the past two decades, however, the small city has been forced to contend with the realities of the global economy.

The furniture manufacturer closed in 2003, citing competition from Chinese imports, according to news reports at the time. About 650 people lost their jobs. The old factory building sits on River Street, unused and empty.

Automation and competition led to jobs at the paper mill, which is owned by Georgia-Pacific, being slashed by a third, to 850, over the past 12 years, according to public affairs manager Terry Hadaway.

By 2013, local leaders were horrified to learn that an expert hired by the Florida League of Cities had found that Palatka was the states only dying city.

The designation was based on pure statistics  more deaths than births, more people moving out than moving in. But it stung.

For Hill, the label served as an inspiration to make the leap into politics. In 2014, he ran for mayor with the slogan Helping Our Palatka Evolve, and persuaded one of his friends to run for the city commission. They won overwhelmingly, and Hill became the second black mayor in Palatkas history.

By 2016, the five-person city commission was all black. Four commissioners were younger than 50.

The city needed fresh ideas, said Ed Killebrew, a white fifth-generation Palatkan. And they were all from here, so they understood what we needed.

When it came to the presidential election, Killebrew, like many others in this traditionally Democratic city, made a similar calculation.

There was only one candidate who I felt knew what we needed, Killebrew said. That was Trump.

And what does Palatka need?

Help, he said.

Play Video Meet the rural Americans who fear theyre being forgotten Hear from rural voters in Ashtabula County, Ohio, as they describe the most important issues to them. (McKenna Ewen, Whitney Leaming, Whitney Shefte/The Washington Post)

This place is kind of hollow

To understand the citys troubles, Killebrew suggested, take a stroll through the Palatka Mall. Foot traffic was reduced by online retail, and other stores left for bigger cities throughout the country.

When Killebrew was growing up, he remembered going with his family to shop for Boy Scout uniforms downtown and lining up along the main street for the annual Christmas parade.

Then came the mall in 1981, taking all the major businesses within its enclosed peach-colored walls. Its anchor was the J.C. Penney, which had put its first Florida store in Palatka in 1928 and employed a generation of workers, mostly women, who generally did not seek to work in the sulfurous-smelling mill.

For years, the new mall was filled with people, and it bustled with commerce.

Today, there are almost no people and hardly any commerce. The mall sits as an empty, dimly lit shell where lizards race up and down with abandon. The parking lot in front of the old J.C. Penney is empty.



Empty storefronts line the halls of the Palatka Mall. (Zack Wittman/For The Washington Post)

Hill had tried to make the case for J.C. Penney to stay.

In April, he wrote to the companys chief executive in Plano, Tex., to explain how much his city depended on the department store. He noted Palatkas low rate of car ownership and said many residents could not easily get to the nearest store, 30 miles away in St. Augustine. There is a local bus service that caters to seniors.

We have lost too many major retail chain stores, Hill wrote.

The companys senior counsel, Arnold Grothues, responded five days later. He was not convinced.

We are sensitive to the fact that this is a blow to our associates in those stores and to the communities they have served, Grothues wrote, according to a copy of the letter provided by the city. But I must stress that the decision is final.

A J.C. Penney spokesman declined to comment.

At the mall one recent afternoon, Jaquese Smith, 18, sat on a bench in front of a closed jewelry shop. He had graduated from Palatka High with a 3.2 grade-point average but could only find a job working for Wendys. He quit after a manager asked him to shave his goatee, an infringement he felt was not worth the $8 an hour.

So Smith had come to the mall to visit one of the only storefronts with a tenant  the Army recruitment office.

The military is probably the best place for me to get some opportunities and to earn some benefits, he said.

This place is kind of hollow, he added. Everythings closing. Kmart gone, J.C. Penneys gone. Im just saying, you kind of wonder whats next.

City officials have the same question. The closures of retail stores not only mean a loss of jobs but also a decline in sales tax revenue that can be used to address the citys many needs.

Palatkas cracked and rusty water pipes, some of which havent been replaced since 1886, seemed to be exactly the type of problem both parties in Washington wanted to address.

But Palatka has had a tough time finding an ally, according to City Manager Terry Suggs.

The citys population made it slightly too big, by about 500 people, to be eligible for federal grants and loans to assist rural communities with waste-management problems , Suggs said.

Suggs said he sent emails, made phone calls and visited with lawmakers in the hope of securing waivers so Palatka might qualify for assistance. But no decision has been made.

We need folks in Washington to get their act together! Suggs said.



An old bicycle converted into an art project is tied to a streetlight. (Zack Wittman/For The Washington Post)

Among those to hear from Suggs was Rep. Ted Yoho, the Republican congressman whose district includes Palatka. Yoho counseled patience.

The Trump administration is just getting started, he said. It has taken a while for nominees to get approved, so it will just take some time.

The city also appealed to the state for $1.5 million to help with water treatment during the most recent legislative session in the spring.

State Rep. Bobby Payne (R), who represents Palatka, said he couldnt even get the bill out of committee. Larger communities tend to have more clout in the budget process. Well keep trying, Payne said.

The citys lobbyist in Tallahassee, Yolanda Cash Jackson, said Palatka will always have disadvantages.

They dont have a giant tax base, and they are Democrats in a Republican state, Jackson said. So its easy for their problems to get lost. And they do.

On a recent evening, residents flocked to Beulah Baptist Church, ready for a revival. The preacher commanded the worshipers to be hopeful even in the presence of hardship.

Every time I step forward, it feels like Im taking two steps back, he said. But after all Ive been through, I aint gonna let nothing, or nobody, take my joy! Grab it! Get your joy back!

Applauding him was Isaac Brinson, 44, whose smile displayed his teeth capped with gold grills with dollar signs on them.

Brinson, who as a felon lost his voting rights, said he would not have supported Trump had he been allowed to cast a ballot. But he said he appreciated Trumps ability to hustle. He was a hustler, too.

Brinson said he had planned on using the money he earned from selling drugs to help start a day-care center. Then he was arrested. When he returned from prison, he opened his own business because he couldnt get a job.

I took a bucket, some detergent and one of those sticks with a large brush and started my own carwash, Brinson said. Now, I dont even wash cars. I have two people working for me each day. Thats what we need to do here.

Hill figured the city would need that kind of moxie, just on a larger scale. Everyone had to hustle. When Suggs heard that the owner of Bass Pro Shops was coming to town for a bass tournament this year, he and the mayor traveled to the private airport to try to persuade him to build a store in Palatka.

There have been a few good signs. The paper mill announced in June that it was adding a new processor to the factory, bringing 80 more jobs to the community.

Georgia-Pacific was also working with the local school board to train high school students to prepare them for the manufacturing jobs of today.

We have confidence that Palatka and the surrounding area can support the kind of skilled employees we need now, but more importantly, in the future, said Karen Cole, a company spokeswoman.

She added, You cant underestimate the value of a positive, long-term relationship with a community, which we very much have in Palatka.

A 10-minute drive from the mill, a local accountant and his wife had bought space downtown to start Uncork and Unwind, with $7 craft beer and the most expensive wine in town. Sitting on a stool there one evening was Killebrew drinking a Raging Blonde with real estate agent Robbi Correa and the owner.

If we just improved our education system, we can have more jobs, said the owner, David Griffith, who was tending the bar.

But we need good jobs, Killebrew said. This way people can stay.

They were happy that there were more jobs coming to the mill but feared how long it would be until, once again, technology rendered them irrelevant.

Correa, a retired teacher from Connecticut, cast her hopes on tourism. If more people saw the river, she said, they would choose to retire here, as she did.

Their conversation took place on the same afternoon Hill and the visiting environmental enthusiasts had to evacuate the boat. After climbing out, the group dined in a local welcome center on food from the Golden Corral and discussed how building hiking and biking trails had improved other small towns in Florida.

From the windows, they could see the sky clearing in shades of blue and pink.

Carr, who led the group off the boat, looked again to the St. Johnss flowing waters.

They walked out of the center and headed back to the docks. As the last speckles of the days sun sparkled on the river, they climbed aboard the Pride of Palatka and trailed away. After the rain, the conditions seemed just right.
Six top militant commanders, including LeT's Abu Dujana, and Burhan Wani's successor Sabzar Ahmad Bhat of Hizbul Mujahideen, were among 132 terrorists killed in encounters with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir, so far this year, according to official figures.



Security forces and police are going after the militants, as they have fiercely intensified operations to hunt them down by acting on the hit-list of top terrorist leaders in Kashmir.



The number of terrorists killed in the past seven months this year is the highest in the same period over the past seven years.



"As many as 132 terrorists have been killed in encounters with police and security forces in Kashmir Valley in over seven months this year," a senior security official told PTI.

While 115 militants have been killed till July-end, as many as 17 militants have been killed since then till August 9, as per official statistics.



While 38 LeT militants were killed in over seven months till August 9, 37 Hizb terrorists were eliminated along with three of the al-Qeada-linked Zakir Musa group, and another 54 unidentified militants were killed, mostly on the LoC.



"The relentless operations by the security forces have defeated the desperate attempts by Pakistan and its agents to spread terror in Jammu and Kashmir. Operations will be continued," a senior Army officer said.



The slain militants included six top commanders of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Hizbul Mujahideen who were killed in fierce encounters in Kashmir during the period.



Top Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander Abu Dujana, a Pakistani national wanted in connection with several terror attacks, and his aide, were gunned down on August 1 by security forces in Hakripora area of Pulwama district.



Dujana was wanted for many attacks on security forces and political workers in south Kashmir.

He was variously described as a category 'A' or 'A++' militant by Army and police officials. He was carrying a reward of Rs 10 lakh on his head.



On July 1, another top LeT commander Bashir Lashkari and militant Azad Malik were killed in a firefight with security forces in Anantnag's Brenti village of Dialgam belt in south Kashmir.



Lashkari was involved in the killing of six policemen in the district's Acchabal area on June 16. On May 28, top Hizb militant Sabzar Ahmad Bhat, 27, who was a close associate of slain Hizb commander Burhan Wani, was among two militants killed in an encounter in Tral, in south Kashmir.



Sabzar, who was seen as the successor of Wani, dropped out of school in his Rathsuna hamlet in Pulwama to join the Hizb in March this year. Wani was killed on July 8 last year.



On July 12, Sajad Gilkar was among three Hizb militants killed by security forces in Budgam district of central Kashmir.



Gilkar had played a key role in the lynching of Mohammad Ayub Pandith, a deputy superintendent of police, near Jamia Masjid in Nowhatta area of capital Srinagar on June 22.



Besides them, top LeT commander Abu Haris was killed in Bandipora in north Kashmir on February 14, followed by killing of Abul Ali in Budgam on April 22, while Abul Mala, Anis Bhai and Abu Mansoor of LeT were killed in Kupwara on March 15, Abu Umar of LeT was killed in Sopore on January 3, Abu Maviya was shot dead in Bandipora on January 10 and Sher Gujri was slain in Pulwama on March 9.



Most of the encounters took place in south Kashmir's Pulwama, Shopian and Anantnag, apart from Bandipora and Kupwara in north Kashmir and Budgam in central Kashmir, sources said.

In 2010, the highest number of 156 militants were neutralised in the first seven months of the year followed by 102 in 2017, 77 in 2016, 61 in 2011, and 51 each in 2014 and 2015 respectively, the data revealed.



Similarly, 43 militants were killed in 2013, followed by 37 in 2012. The hunt for commanders and terrorists of various outfits has been intensified under operational strategy, security officials said.



The counter-terrorist grid continued to maintain dominance and deny any space to the terrorists.



Synergised hard-intelligence-based joint ops with the J&K Police and Central Armed Police Forces have been the hallmark of these operations, they said.



Police and security forces pinned down and killed those involved involved in the killing of seven policemen and lynching of Pandith immediately, officials said, adding, that a massive hunt has been launched to track down LeT commander Abu Ismail who has emerged as the mastermind of the deadly attack on Amarnath pilgrims on July 10.



In June, the Army released a "hit-list" of 12 top militants who it aims to "go after". The hit-list carried the names and pictures of the militants along with the areas they are active in and the strikes carried out by them. Some on the list, including Dujana, have been eliminated over the past one month or so.
A court today acquitted 10 persons for lack of evidence in a case of bomb blast nearly 12 years ago at Hyderabad police's Task Force office in the city, in which a home guard was killed.



T Srinivas Rao, judge of the seventh additional metropolitan sessions court here, absolved the accused, nine of whom were in jail.



A Bangladeshi bomber had walked into the Task Force office located in Greenlands area here on October 12, 2005 and detonated an Improvised Explosive Device (IED), killing the home guard and himself.



A special investigation team (SIT) of the Central Crime Station conducted an inquiry and suspected the role of an international terror organisation in the blast.



The investigating team later filed a charge sheet and named a total of 20 persons in it. The SIT arrested 10 persons and claimed that three other accused died in different incidents and the remaining seven were absconding.



The counsel representing six of the 10 arrested accused, Mohammed Abdul Azeem, told PTI that while one of the 10 arrested men got bail, the other nine were still in prison.



When contacted, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Detective Department) Avinash Mohanty said they will study the court order and then decide whether to go for an appeal against the judgement.



Reacting to the judgement, MIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi in questioned whether the the investigating officers will be made accountable.



"In the 2005 Hyd task (force) office bomb Blast( case, police couldnt prove conspiracy , but the accused lost 10 years of their lives languishing in jails, Owaisi tweeted.



The SIT filed the chargesheet in 2006.
In a major relief to former Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram's son Karti Chidambaram, the Madras High Court on Thursday stayed a lookout circular (LOC) issued to him by the Union Government in connection with Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) case.



When Karti's petition came up for hearing, Justice M Duraisamy granted interim stay and directed the concern Ministry to file its affidavit by September 4.



Karti's counsels Gopal Subramanian and Satish Parsaran argued that the LOC issued againt their client was "politically motivated".



Additional Solicitor General G Rajagopalan contended that Karti had no locus standi to challenge the LOC issued against him since he did not appear before the Enforcement Directorate even after summons were issued.



He also told the High court that the notice was served to prevent Karti from fleeing India like liquor baron Vijay Mallya.



Counsels representing Karti strongly objected to the comparison with Vijay Mallya by the Solicitor General.



Recently, Karti also approached the Madras High Court challenging the summons issued by CBI.



The CBI had registered a FIR against Karti and INX Media along with eight others for alleged irregularities in granting FIPB clearance to the media house for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in 2007.



In May, CBI conducted raids on the residential and business premises of Karti in Chennai in connection with the case.


Amid growing differences among the Veerashaiva-Lingayat community leaders on the issue of separate religion status, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah today said the government has no stand on the matter.



The chief minister also said that a "misconception" is being created that he instigated the separate religion demand. "Government has no stand on this. There is this misconception that I started the issue," Siddaramaiah said.



He said the Veerashaiva Mahasabha had organised a felicitation for him and requested him to ask the Centre to recommend an independent religion status to them.



"I said they should unitedly give the request and that the government after examining it will make the recommendation. What is wrong in that? The issue was not initiated by me, it is they who made the request," he told reporters in Chamarajanagar district.



Leaders and pontiffs who are propagating that Lingayats are separate from Veerashaivas, today held a meeting in the city to plan their strategy. Stating that several religious and community leaders had made requests for separate religion status, Siddaramaiah said "I have only told them to come together with a request."



The clamour for granting separate religion status to the dominant Veerashaiva-Lingayat community has grown after Siddaramaiah reportedly gave an assurance. At an event organised by the Mahasabha, he had assured that he was ready to make a recommendation to the Centre if the entire community reached a consensus.



As the issue gained momentum, resentment brewed within the community over projecting Lingayats and Veerashaivas as the same. While one section under 'Akhila Bharata Veerashaiva Mahasabha' has demanded separate religion status, asserting that Veerashaiva and Lingayats are the same, the other wants it only for Lingayats as they believe that Veerashaiva is one among the seven sects of Shaivas, which is part of Hinduism.



The Veerashaiva-Lingayat community that pays allegiance to the 12th century "social reform movement" initiated by Basaveshwara has a substantial population in Karnataka, especially in the northern parts of the state. They are also present in parts of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Telangana, among others.



Though Congress support to a separate religion cause ahead of the 2018 assembly polls was seen as an attempt to cause damage to the BJP, which enjoys considerable support from the community, it now stands divided between Lingayat and Veerashaiva cause.



The BJP and several sections of the Hindu community are opposed to the move to give Veerashaiva-Lingayat separate religion status and have accused the Siddaramaiah government of dividing the society to draw political mileage ahead of assembly elections due early next year.
Hoping to form a 'mahagathbandhan' (grand alliance) to counter the BJP in the next Lok Sabha polls in 2019, Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo Akhilesh Yadav would be attending Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav's proposed rally in Patna on August 27.



BSP supremo Mayawati, however, has not yet decided on attending the RJD rally.



Akhilesh, while speaking to reporters here on Thursday said that he would take part in the rally at Patna as he wanted the opposition parties to form a 'mahagathbandhan' to ''thwart'' the BJP's attempt to return to power in 2019.



It was however not clear if the SP patron Mulayam Singh Yadav with whom Akhilesh had been having a running feud would also be participating the rally.



Akhilesh remained tightlipped when asked if the opposition would take on the BJP unitedly in the forthcoming by-polls to two Lok Sabha seats in UP to be vacated by chief minister Yogi Adityanath and deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya. ''No decision has yet be taken in this regard...you (media) will have to wait,'' he quipped.



The SP supremo claimed that both Adityanath and Maurya did not want to contest the assembly by-polls as they felt that they might lose. ''Both of them are afraid of facing the people and hence the saffron party has been luring our MLCs so that these two and others may get elected to the legislative council,'' he said.



BSP supremo Mayawati, according to the sources, has not yet taken any decision on attending the RJD rally. Lalu Yadav had offered to send her to Rajya Sabha on his party's ticket from Bihar.



''A decision will be taken in this regard in the next few days,'' said a senior state BSP leader while speaking to Deccan Herald here.


Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, during whose tenure Ansari had become the Rajya Sabha Chairman, hailed his contribution and said the country keeps on progressing despite challenges largely because of people like him.



Singh said he had received maximum possible guidance and cooperation from the outgoing Chairman.



Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad praised Ansari for the way he conducted the proceedings of the House.



Recalling his long association with Ansari, Azad said the Chairman was given several honorary degrees by different countries, but he never used them.



SP member Ram Gopal Yadav said Ansari conducted the House without any discrimination and never allowed any legislation to be passed in din. He hoped the next Chairman too would continue the tradition.



Trinamool Congress leader Derek O'Brien told the House that Ansari does Yoga and routinely goes for evening walks to maintain good health. He said Ansari has been eating only sandwiches at lunch for the past 40 years and it "must be a world record".



He appreciated Ansari for extending the working hours of the Rajya Sabha's day from 5 pm to 6 pm.



CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury also appreciated Ansari for not allowing any bill to be passed in din and hoped that the practice will be continued.



He said Ansari's decision to shift the Question Hour timing from 11 am to noon has yielded good results as more questions are now taken up. Yechury also appreciated of Ansari's initiative of starting the Rajya Sabha TV channel.



Deputy Chairman P J Kurien said he had enjoyed working with Ansari. "You protected me, you guided me and you corrected me," he said, adding "if we were to choose our destiny, then we all would pass a resolution to have Chairman Hamid Ansari for another term."



K Rehman Khan (Congress) said his days as Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman earlier were his best days when he worked under Ansari's guidance.



Naresh Agrawal of Samajwadi Party said people are known by the Chair they hold, but Ansari had shown that the Chair is known by the person holding it.



"You tought me discipline and I thought the point of order to this House," he said. Anu Agha (Nom) said she has seen Ansari's anguish when the House was being disrupted. "We will miss your dignified presence and we look forward to guiding the nation with your love and wisdom".



K Parasaran (Nom) said Ansari had added dignity to the office of the Rajya Sabha Chairman.

Others who spoke include Amar Singh, Virender Kumar, Roopa Ganguly and Narendra Jadhav.

On his last day as Rajya Sabha Chairman, Hamid Ansari was today accorded a warm farewell by leaders from across the political spectrum, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that he had done his best to uphold the Constitution.Ansari served two terms as the Vice President by virtue of which he was the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha as well.M Venkaiah Naidu will take over as the next Chairman of the Upper House of Parliament tomorrow. Members, while bidding farewell to Ansari, recalled his contribution towards enriching Parliament's functioning. Most of them appreciated his constant endeavour to stick to the rules and not allowing any legislation to be passed during din.Some members also said that his decision to change the timing of the Question Hour from 11 am to 12 pm every day had proved beneficial. Interestingly, there were also a few remarks of praise vis-a-vis the fitness of the 80-year-old Ansari as well.In his remarks, the prime minister said, "On behalf of the citizens and both Houses of Parliament, I express gratitutde for the services you have rendered as Vice- President of the nation."Modi said the outgoing Rajya Sabha Chairman had done his best to uphold the Constitution. Referring to Ansari's career, he said his tenure as a diplomat was focussed on West Asia and had been associated with the "same kind of atmosphere, same kind of ideology and same kind of people".The prime minister said that even after retirement from service, Ansari had mostly worked with the Minority Commission and Aligarh Muslim University."Your work remained limited in a particular area. But during these 10 years, you had to deal with a different kind of responsibility (in running the House). Each moment, you had to remain confined to the Constitution and you made a good effort."There may have been some struggle within you (all these years) but from now onwards, you won't have to face this dilemma. You will have a feeling of freedom and you will get an opportunity to work, think and talk according to your ideology," Modi told the outgoing Chairman.Talking about Ansari's diplomatic career, the prime minister quipped that the way a diplomat talks or shakes hands, have a meaning and it cannot be understood immediately.Modi said though he did not have much interaction with Ansari, he had understood a lot from him whenever they met."I hope you will continue to guide the nation in moving forward on the path laid down by the Constitution," he added.Conveying his best wishes to Ansari and wishing him a long life, Modi noted that the outgoing Chairman has also kept himself physically fit.Leader of the House and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said it was a very nostalgic occasion for both Ansari as well members."The chairperson's job is a very challenging job in this House ... This House, unlike in 1950s and 1960s, now has a changed character. It really reflects the strength of the parties in the state."The character of this House is that things start with a lot of acromonius debate, noise, disruptions but eventually you would have seen during your tenure that nothing remains indefinitely held up," he said.At the end of the day, Jaitley said, the system of political consensus works in the Upper House and consensus is eventually reached, irrespective of who is in the government and who is in the opposition.Jaitley added that a Chairman's job is also a thankless job and "you take the good with not so good"."We have seen at times, when we members, have disrupted the House, your anguish was visible. It used to be more visisble in your concluding statement at the end of the sessions," he said.He said that Ansari's tenure might have seen disturbances but it also saw a high quality of debates on many occasion."I am sure you retire from this House with great memories. We all recollect the sage advice that you kept giving to us and through us to the country from time to time... We will always have memories of you as the Chair and how you lent dignity to the quality of the debates in the house while presiding over it," the finance minster said.
Opening the doors for a possible merger of the two AIADMK factions, Chief Minister K Palaniswami-led Amma faction today challenged the authority of its Deputy General Secretary TTV Dhinakaran, a move hailed by the rebel camp as an "awakening."



A meeting presided over by Palaniswami said the appointment of Dhinakaran as deputy general secretary was against party rules. Dhinakaran is nephew of jailed party chief V K Sasikala, Chaired by the chief minister, originally a loyalist of Sasikala, the meeting is seen as his most categorical assertion in party affairs since taking over the reins in February this year amid reports that the merger of the two factions could take place before August 15.



Reacting to the development, a defiant Dhinakaran later told reporters in Thanjavur that the party was still under his control.



The Palaniswami camp had in April announced the sidelining of Dhinakaran and Sasikala from the party affairs and the state government.



The latest turn of events prompted the AIADMK Puratchi Thalaivi Amma headed by former chief minister O Panneerselvam to hold its own consultations and hail the rebellion against Dhinakaran as an 'awakening'.



The current move in both camps is being perceived as one step closer to a merger of the warring factions through efforts to ease out Sasikala and Dhinakaran.



Dhinakaran's appointment was under the scrutiny of the Election Commission, the AIADMK (Amma) led by Palaniswami said, wondering how the former could make new appointments at such a juncture.



The fresh developments come days after Dhinakaran sought to assert his position in the party by returning to active party work after a two-month hiatus after his arrest in a case related to alleged attempt to bribe the Election Commission officials.



On August 4, Dhinakaran had announced appointment of some new office-bearers, considered his loyalists.



Citing this, a resolution by the Palainiswami camp said today's meeting made it clear that such appointments by Dhinakaran was not binding on any party cadre and asked them to reject it.



"...(the appointments) will not bind any AIADMK cadre to create unnecessary confusion in our party and such appointments are not valid under party law. Cadres are requested to reject them," it said.



Significantly, the meeting also said though Sasikala was made general secretary following the death of party supremo and late chief minister Jayalalithaa in December last year, she could not function in the post now in 'view of extraordinary circumstances."



"Though Sasikala's appointment as general secretary was till such time the formal election of a new general secretary as per party laws, she could not function in view of extraordinary circumstances," the resolution said.



This was an apparent reference to Sasikala's conviction by the Supreme Court in the disproportionate assets case in February last and her subsequent incarceration in a Bengaluru jail to serve her four year term.



Also, Sasikala's appointment had been challenged and it was pending before the EC, the meeting noted.



Under such circumstances, the party was being run by top functionaries appointed by AIADMK Amma (a reference to the camp led by Palaniswami), it said.



Top functionaries and senior state cabinet ministers led by Palaniswami attended the meeting.



The rival Panneerselvam camp, which also held its own consultations, described the move by the chief minister's camp as an "awakening."



It, however, remained firm on its demands--- a probe into the late chief minister J Jayalalithaa's death and expulsion of Sasikala and her family from AIADMK, as a precondition for merger talks.



The Amma faction's joining hands against Dhinakaran was kind of an "awakening," Pannerselvam aide KP Munusamy said.



"They have woken up now only. That awakening should not be confined to Dhinakaran and we will laud them if it extends to Sasikala's family also," he said.

However, there was no change in their stand on the two key demands for holding merger talks, he said.



He said the rebellion against Dhinakaran, "a man not acceptable to us," was a first possible step towards the merger talks, he said when asked if today's developments can be viewed as a precursor to the possible unification.



"Wait and watch our activities if they expel (Sasikala and all of her family)," he said.

Finance Minister D Jayakumar, a senior leader in the Amma camp, expressed hope of the unification even happening by August 15.



"We are confident. Hope so," was Jayakumar's brief response when mediapersons sought his reaction on reports that the merger could happen by August 15.



However, Dhinakaran appeared to put up a brave face even as he stopped short of announcing action against the chief minister for the virtual coup against him.



"I have the authority to take action against anybody who is acting against party's interest," he said.



"For sure, all steps will be taken for party growth. If the situation warrants, surgeries will be performed..."



He hinted action would be taken against those working against the party having forgotten who gave them the posts, and joining hands with rivals, he said.



Taking on the Palaniswami camp, he said they had several fears and one of them was over his upcoming state-wide tour. "I am going to start my state-wide tour. They have given these statements out of fear," he added.



Dhinakaran further said when the chief minister's camp had agreed to Sasikala's appointment as party head, the subsequent appointments by her including, naming him as party deputy general secretary, was also valid.



The camp had also filed affidavits in the EC supporting the candidature of Sasikala and himself and wondered why they were backtracking now, he said.



Dhinakaran said his post was a nominated one and the party general secretary could name office-bearers to such posts. He asserted that the appointments he made were valid and in tune with party bye-laws.



He also cited Sasikala naming Forest Minister Dindigul C Srinivasan as party treasurer after the expulsion of incumbent Panneerselvam.



Dhinakaran said the incumbent AIADMK regime was set up by party general secretary V K Sasikala and hence it should not face any threat.



Munusamy dismissed as "speculation" by media, reports that Panneerselvam would be made deputy chief minister as part of the unification deal.


Haryana BJP President Subhash Barala's son Vikas and his friend Ashish Kumar are the accused in the case.



BJP member from Chandigarh Kirron Kher told the Lok Sabha that Home Minister Rajnath Singh had given clear instructions to the police not to yield to any political pressure and do whatever was right.



No political pressure should be entertained, no phone calls and do what is right, she said quoting the Home Minister's directions to the Chandigarh Police.



Kher sought to project the abduction attempt as a societal problem and asked Hooda not to politicise it.



There is a progressive India and there is a very regressive India, she said lamenting some sexist and misogynist comments made by political leaders in Parliament.









The Modi government on Thursday told the Lok Sabha that the accused in the stalking and alleged attempt to kidnap a young woman in Chandigarh will not be let off.The explicit assurance from the government came after the opposition Congress voiced apprehension of the flip-flop done by the police in the abduction attempt of Varnika Kundu in Chandigarh.The entire nation will keep a close watch on the government and the administration till this case is taken to its logical, legal conclusion, Congress leader Deepender Hooda said in the Lok Sabha.His reference to a BJP spokersperson attempting to slander the victim of the abduction attempt on social media led to a war of words with the ruling party members.There will be no let off... I assure the House that law will take its course and the Government is taking appropriate action, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar told the Lok Sabha.Earlier, Hooda demanded action under the relevant sections of the Information Technology Act against those trying to malign the image of the victim on social media by raking up some old photographs.
In secret, behind locked gates, our Nation's Oldest City dumped a landfill in a lake (Old City Reservoir), while emitting sewage in our rivers and salt marsh. Organized citizens exposed and defeated pollution, racism and cronyism. We elected a new Mayor. We're transforming our City -- advanced citizenship. Ask questions. Make disclosures. Demand answers. Be involved. Expect democracy. Report and expose corruption. Smile! Help enact a St. Augustine National Park and Seashore. We shall overcome!
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's word to the warring AIADMK leaders to effect a patch-up has apparently spurred them to revive efforts to merge their factions.



Modi's "friendly counsel" to Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi K Palanisamy and rival AIADMK leader O Paneerselvam was said to have been made during their separate meetings with him in Delhi recently, a key AIADMK functionary said.



The functionary's assertion came in the context of sudden spurt in political activity in Chennai on Thursday. Signalling a step closer to the rebel faction led by Panneerselvam, the ruling faction of AIADMK headed Palaniswami on Thursday passed a resolution against party deputy general secretary and VK Sasikalas nephew, TTV Dhinakaran, by declaring recent party appointments he made last week null and void.



The resolution, however, stopped short of expelling him and Sasikala from the party, which is one of the main pre-condition of the OPS camp for the merger. But it said the appointment of Dhinakaran as deputy general secretary, who was expelled from the party once by Jayalalithaa, is not acceptable.



With Palaniswami and Paneerselvam arriving in Delhi on Thursday evening to take part in Friday's swearing-in ceremony of new Vice-President elect Venkaiah Naidu, there was speculation as to whether they could have a meeting of sorts to thrash out the sticky points standing in the way of a merger.



The PM said to have conveyed to both the leaders that they should keep in mind the political stability of the state government and not let a sense of drift prevail because of the demise of their leader and former Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalithaa last December.

Interestingly, neither faction is ready for a fresh poll when four more years are left before the next assembly polls. Also, their political future has been hanging in balance after the Election Commisssion recognised their split but froze the "two leaf" poll symbol of the AIADMK following their competing claims.

The BJP's interest is to ensure that a unified AIADMK backs the NDA government on crucial issues in Parliament while allowing the saffron party to organise itself in Tamil Nadu. It may even welcome the entry of the AIADMK in the Modi government. Also, the BJP is not keen on early assembly poll as its unit is hardly in a position to gain electorally, party officials say.



A merger may facilitate both the sides to reach an agreement to aproach the EC afresh for defreezing the symbol. But, for that to happen, both sides need to work out a formula that would take care of the interests of Palanisami and OPS.



Palanisami is unwilling to give up the CM's post. He is said to have offered to OPS the post of deputy CM. But this proposal is not acceptable to OPS who was CM from December 6, 2016 to February 16, 2017 when he was replaced by Palanisami on the orders of Sasikala.



Interlocuters are said to have come up with alternative proposals including one that envisages OPS as "working general secretary" of the AIADMK while letting Palanisami stay on as CM. That would mean Palanisami manages the government while the party is controlled by OPS. Also, if OPS agrees to be deputy CM, he could have the portfolio of home. OPS can then take credit for acting on one of the maindemands of the OPS --for a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the death of former chief minister J Jayalalithaa, party insiders said.



But a worry for Palanisami is that Dhinakaran has warned he would try to topple his government with the support of 37 MLAs supporting Sasikala. Currently, the state government has only 123 MLAs against the minimum number of 118 required to stay on in office.



But if Palanisami and OPS patch up, they should be able to stave off the threat posed by Dhinakaran. They can together ensure that all AIADMK MLAs stay back with the faction that has majority and power, with the BJP government at the Centre acting as a benefactor, AIADMK leaders said.



Dhinakaran has faced a challenge from senior AIADMK leaders ever since he was was named deputy general secretary by his aunt Sasikala, who is currently lodged in a Bengaluru prison after being convicted in the disproportionate assets case. In June this year, Dhinakaran got bail in a case in which he was charged of trying to bribe Election Commission officials for obtaining the AIADMKs two leaves symbol in the RK Nagar bypoll. Dinakaran was the party candidate in the bypoll necessitated by the death of Jayalalithaa. The poll was later countermanded.




A TV news channel on Thursday evening aired a telephone conversation which it claimed was with India's most wanted Dawood Ibrahim, now holed up in Pakistan's Karachi, and its reporter.



The 19-minute conversation, the channel CNN-News 18 claimed, began with Dawood himself picking up the phone and asking the caller who he was when the reporter takes his name.



It said the intelligence agencies have verified and authenticated the voice in the conversation, which was taped on May 31 this year, to be that of Dawood.



"Who is this?" Dawood purportedly said when the caller asked whether he was the underworld don. Immediately, he gave the phone to another person, which the channel said was his close aide Javed Chotani, who carry on with the conversation.



The purported voice of Dawood was also heard from the background sometimes prompting Chotani.

The channel said they called on a Karachi number but the conversation showed that Dawood and his aide were trying to deny that they were using a Karachi number.



When the reporter asked whether they are in Karachi, Chotani asked who said so while Dawood is heard saying, "don't waste time". Chotani then purportedly said, according to the transcript released by the channel, "fear God. You are wasting time. Who are you talking to? Who are you interviewing? Do you know anything?"



It also claims that reports of Dawood being seriously ill was not true as Dawood himself saying that there was nothing but blood pressure shooting up. There were reports that he suffered heart attack and later it was said he was down with gangrene.



Officials in the Ministry of Home Affairs said the report reaffirms the government's assertion that Dawood is given safe haven in Pakistan.






Homegrwon Tata Motors on Thursday announced that it has ended talks with Germanys Volkswagen Groups Skoda on a proposed partnership, following feasibility issues  a move that comes just four months after they had entered the agreement.



Tata Motors and Skoda Auto have performed a joint technical feasibility and commercial evaluation of a potential collaboration. Based on intense and constructive discussions, both the companies have jointly concluded that the envisioned areas of partnership may not yield the desired synergies as originally assessed. Nevertheless, the two companies have decided to keep in touch for future areas of collaborations, Tata Motors said in a statement.



Further, Tata Motors Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Guenter Butschek stated, We have evaluated the technical feasibility and degree of synergies for the envisioned partnership. We have concluded that the strategic benefits for both parties are below the threshold levels.



He, however, said: We remain positive of exploring future opportunities with the Volkswagen group.



Long-term talks

Tata Motors, Volkswagen Group and Skoda had in March this year announced entering into a long-term partnership for joint development of products, with a target to roll out the first product in 2019.



Based on the strategic alliance, Tata Motors had planned to launch products in the Indian market starting 2019. On the other hand Skoda Auto was to take the lead on behalf of the Volkswagen Group to drive towards development of vehicle concepts in the economy segment.





In June, it emerged that the partnership had hit a road block, with differences over platform use and business viability issues.



The Skoda brand has assessed and evaluated a potential strategic collaboration with Tata Motors over recent weeks and months. In doing so, both companies have concluded that at present, neither the technical nor the economic synergies are achievable to the extent desired by both parties. As a result, a planned strategic alliance will no longer be pursued for the time being, Skoda said in a statement.



Both companies would like to emphasise that following the intensive and constructive discussions of the last few months, they are not ruling out possible future collaborations, the statement from the company added.


Canadian billionnaire Prem Watsa-owned Fairfax Group, along with HAL, is gearing up for starting domestic flights from the old airport.



Fairfax, which recently became the single largest stakeholder in Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), and HAL have initiated a dialogue in this regard.



Other stakeholders such as the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Airports Authority of India, Director General of Civil Aviation and the Karnataka government are also involved in this initiative, sources familiar with the development told DH.



"Fairfax is looking at a solid business model so that operation of the old airport becomes viable. Besides running the airport, Fairfax is ready to get involved in operating a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility or a special economic zone (SEZ) for aerospace industries," said a government source privy to this development.



The possibility of HAL airport resuming operation for domestic flights is currently slim due to the concession agreement signed between the civil aviation ministry and private airport operator. As per the agreement, a second airport within a radius of 150 km from the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) at Devanahalli is not permitted. However, this clause is likely to be relaxed if Fairfax Group, which is operating KIA, does not oppose the move to operate a second airport.



Recently, HAL wrote to the Ministry of Civil Aviation requesting its inclusion in the list of airports identified for regional connectivity scheme UDAN, so that domestic travel can be made affordable.



"I would like to inform you that HAL has written to the civil aviation ministry to include the airport in the list of airports under UDAN. Currently, HAL is not in the list. HAL has the airport infrastructure in Bengaluru to undertake domestic flight operations 24/7," a HAL spokesperson said.



The move by HAL is viewed by aviation industry experts as a step to lure Fairfax to start operating domestic flights from the defence ministry-owned HAL airport.



Commenting on the development, Karnataka Tourism Minister Priyank Kharge said the state government is ready to cooperate with the Centre and Fairfax to run the HAL airport in a profitable way. "It will boost the tourism and industrial sectors of the state. The central business district of Bengaluru is looking at an airport which eases traffic and expands connectivity, Kharge said.






By Lindy West

9 August 2017

SEATTLE (The New York Times)  The weather forecast for Seattle on Wednesday reads 89 degrees, smoke. We first noticed the smoke, drifting down from wildfires still burning in British Columbia, around Aug. 2, just as a heat wave sent temperatures spiking well into the 90s (the historical average for that week is 77) and the ubiquitous Pacific winds dwindled to a standstill. Natures air-conditioning is broken, the National Weather Service told the Seattle Times.

The sky turned brown and opaque. The neighboring city of Bellevue, which normally glitters above Lake Washington to the east, disappeared. The mountains disappeared. I havent seen a tree move in a week. Its as though a giant cloche has been placed over the whole region, like God is playing molecular gastronomy and we are her smoked langoustine cotton candy duck balloons. You can feel the air on your skin, powdery and wrong, somehow both sweltering and clammy. Residents have been warned not to exercise; people with asthma are clutching their inhalers, white-knuckled.

Theres a mental health impact, too. To live in Seattle is to exist, perpetually, in the bargaining stage of grief. From October through May, generally speaking, it drizzles. Every day. This past fall and winter, we broke a 122-year-old record for rain and had only three sunny, mild days in six months. What gets us through the gray, like a mantra, is the promise of summer. Summers in Seattle are perfect, bright blue and fresh, and all winter long we assure ourselves, over and over, This is worth it, for that. Please let this one be a good summer, a long summer, a real Seattle summer. We need it. Its our medicine.

This smoke is stealing our summer. People are on edge. Traffic seems worse. Yesterday, in the car, my husband was telling me about two guys he saw fighting on the street, when I got distracted by two guys fighting on the street. Its been a freaky, tense time.

It was evocative, to put it mildly, to read in The Times about a forthcoming federal climate change report while choking on hot, brown smoke.Not only are human behaviors primarily responsible for climate change, the report says, but the repercussions are not some vague abstraction for distant equatorial communities or our faceless descendants to deal with. Americans are feeling the impacts of climate change right this second.

In the United States, Lisa Friedman wrote, the report concludes with very high confidence that the number and severity of cool nights have decreased since the 1960s, while the frequency and severity of warm days have increased. The report also notes that cold waves are less common and heat waves are more common. [more]
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An Exeter University scientist has told how she witnessed an alleged drugs war stabbing as she walked home from a night out in the centre of the city.

The biologist was passing the junction of York Road and Oxford Road when she saw three men setting on a third and one holding a knife.

A jury at Exeter Crown Court has been told the alleged attack was part of a turf war between a Somali gang known as The Chyna Crew and local drug dealers.

Abdirahman Abukar, aged 19, of Alum Rock Road, Birmingham, Abdirahman Kadir, aged 21, of no fixed address, and Ibrahim Mohammed, aged 18, all deny rape, false imprisonment and kidnap.

They also deny assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. Abukar and Kadir deny possession of a shotgun with intent to endanger life or cause fear of violence.

Amber Olivia, aged 22, formerly of Laburnum Road, Exeter, denies conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm and possession of heroin with intent to supply.

The 28-year-old victim of the alleged rape has told the jury how she feared for her life after being held at gunpoint and subjected to a humiliating series of ordeals, which included being forced to have full sex with Abukar and oral sex with the others.

The prosecution say the three men broke off their assault on the woman to go out in search of Mr Kelly, who was located with the help of Olivia.

The jury were read a statement from Exeter University biologist Kelly Anderson, who was on her way home with a colleague from having a drink at the Rusty Bike when they walked up York Road.

She said:"I saw four males running towards York Road. I heard shouting and at that point it did not look like three men chasing the other. They seemed to be running as a group.

"We stopped at the junction and could see it was an argument and the males were shouting aggressively at each other. There was no-one else around them and they went into the centre of York Road.

"One of the men went to the ground and the others seemed to kick his legs away and push him over. He crumpled and the group punched and kicked him.

"We were both distracted for a moment looking for our phones to call 999 and when I looked back the man was trying to fend them off with one arm.

"At this point one of the three males pulled out a knife. I recall the blade catching the street light and I saw the knifeman thrusting it towards the man on the ground.

"He was on the ground trying to arch his back. We were shouting and telling them to get off. This made them stop, combined with the fact they had subdued him and realised quite a lot of people were standing around.

"They ran off and as they did so one of them shouted at us 'you bitches saw nothing'. I saw the other man stand up again and begin shouting. He was saying 'is that all you got' and then he slumped to the ground.

Ian Dixey, prosecuting, said Mr Kelly was uncooperative with police at hospital and did not let them take his clothes to look for forensic evidence.

The jury have also heard more details of an incident 15 day before the alleged rapes and stabbing in which the door of flat in Wynford Road, Exeter, was blasted with a shotgun.

Devon and Cornwall police force armourer Michael Barker said three shots were fired, probably from a sawn-off shotgun. They were all at close range and two sent pellets into the hall of the flat through two front door windows, which were shattered.

He said:"Had anyone been either side of the door it may have resulted in serious injury or been fatal. It was indiscriminate firing with total disregard for those inside. Anyone, even at the end of the corridor, could have been seriously injured."

Police who were called to the flat after neighbours heard shots found the door locked. They were not allowed in for 20 minutes until they threatened to force entry.

Tenant Drew Morgan was not at home but police were let in by a man called Toby Brophy. They found Amber Olivia asleep in the bedroom and both claimed not to have heard the shots.
Some food companies have been labelled scandalous for continuing to avoid transparency in the amount of sugar in their products.

Health expert group Action on Sugar has carried out research on 25 leading breakfast cereals and found many which are perceived as healthy alternatives are actually loaded with sugar.

Following a truly healthy lifestyle is an important part of preventing obesity and type 2 diabetes, and Action on Sugar is concerned many food manufacturers are deliberately deceiving shoppers.

The group says this is because they are failing to label their products using the Department of Healths recommended colour-coding approach, which is based on the simple traffic-light system.

Eat Natural, Lizis, Natures Path, Paleo Foods Co., Rude Health and Dorset Cereals are among the companies that do not print any nutrition labelling on the front of their packets at all, Action on Sugar said, noting some of their products contain high levels of sugar.

The research was carried out with the help of an app called FoodSwitch UK, which provides the user with information about how much sugar, salt and fat is contained in each food item.

Katharine Jenner, who is the campaign director of Action on Sugar and FoodSwitch UK, said: Its scandalous that certain food manufacturers are still refusing to be transparent when it comes to front of pack nutrition labelling. If there is no front of pack label with one brand, shoppers should assume they are hiding something  so buy another brand instead.

The survey showed Bear, Jordans, Kelloggs and Nestle do use front of pack labelling, but without the colour-coded system it can be difficult for consumers to fully understand what they are buying.

It is thought that by introducing clearer nutritional content to all cereal packaging, 45 teaspoons of sugar could be reduced every month. It is because of this that Action on Sugar is urging all companies to be consistent with their food labelling so people know exactly what it is they are buying.

Benedict Jephcote, Editor of Diabetes.co.uk, said: The call by Action of Sugar makes a strong point about the call to help the consumer be aware of how much sugar is in food.

Unfortunately, the traffic light system is itself far from perfect as it demonises the perfectly healthy saturated fats found in foods such as full fat yoghurt, nuts and avocado.

For more information on eating healthily and how much sugar is found in food, visit the Low Carb Program.
Samsung is all set to launch the latest Galaxy Note 8 on August 23 in New York, however, latest rumours suggest you might need to wait much longer to get your hands on the smartphone

Samsung has let everyone know that August 23 will be the launch date of its upcoming flagship phablet, the Galaxy Note 8. Everything else, from specs to design are still speculation and rumours. Amidst all this buzz around the smartphone, a Korean website ETnews claims to know Samsungs strategy or roadmap for the Galaxy Note 8 availability. This report focuses on launch and availability dates of Samsungs next flagship in its home market of South Korea.

ETnews claims that the duration of pre-order of the Galaxy Note 8 will be longer than that of the Galaxy S8. The website further reports that after the launch, the Note 8 will be demonstrated at various outlets from August 25-31, so as to let consumers get a feel of the device. The report further claims that Samsung is going to hold pre-orders between September 1-10 and that the device will finally become available on September 15.

The Galaxy Note 8 is expected to sport a 6.3-inch Super AMOLED display with a Quad HD+ resolution of 2960 x 1440 pixels. The handset might feature the company's Infinity Display design, first seen on the flagship Galaxy S8 series with an aspect ratio of 18.5:9. Keeping with the tradition of the Note series, the Galaxy Note 8 may feature slightly squared-off corners as opposed to rounded corners found on the Galaxy S8+ with a 6.2-inch display.

Samsung claims that the upcoming Note 8 will be the ultimate multi-tasking device. It needs to be, as Samsung will be going up against Apples latest upcoming iPhone. The latest Apple iPhone is expected to be unveiled early September. Consumers are most likely to go for a phone with better specs and ready availability. Samsung seems to be doing everything it can to go toe-to-toe with Apples upcoming tenth anniversary iPhone. This is going to be a watch-worthy competition in which users are probably the winners. The company is hosting the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event on August 23, 2017 where the Galaxy Note 8 will finally be unveiled.
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The Bhutanese government has refuted Chinese claims that Bhutan had agreed to China's claims on Doklam and has asked concerned parties  India and China - to refer to their past statement on the issue, even as a Chinese student laid bare China's false claims on Doklam saying Beijing has been misleading Chinese people for years over Doklam, which it has appropriated from a weaker neghbour. ''China has occupied Doklam for years. Bhutan does not have the ability to reclaim the land,'' the Quora post by the international Chinese student at a US university said. ''Although I am a Chinese, I feel I am obligated to tell my fellow Chinese the truth: China entered the territory of Bhutan,'' a law student at America's Washington University in St Louis wrote on Quora Days after the Chinese foreign ministry claimed that Bhutan had confirmed to them that Doklam was not a part of its territory, the Bhutanese government has refuted claims by a Chinese diplomat that it has no dispute with China over Doklam. ANI quoted Bhutanese government officials as saying that their position on the border standoff remains unaltered. "Our position on the border issue of Doklam is very clear. Please refer to our statement which has been published on the web site of Bhutan's foreign ministry on June 29, 2017." A few days ago, a senior Chinese diplomat, Wang Wenli, made the shocking claim that Bhutan had conveyed to Beijing via diplomatic channels that the area where the standoff between New Delhi and Beijing is going on was not in its territory. The deputy director general of the department of boundary and ocean affairs in China's foreign ministry had reportedly briefed Indian delegation yesterday on this claim. "After the incident, the Bhutanese made it very clear to us that the place where the trespassing happened is not Bhutan's territory," said Wang. The Chinese diplomat did not provide any proof to substantiate her claim, which was immediately rejected by Bhutan. Bhutan had protested to the Chinese government, accusing it of violating a bilateral pact after its troops tried to construct a road in the Doklam area on 16 June. A statement issued by India's External Affairs Ministry on June 30 said, "On June 16, a PLA (People's Liberation Army) construction party entered the Doklam area and attempted to construct a road. It is our understanding that a Royal Bhutan Army patrol attempted to dissuade them from this unilateral activity." India had also cited the Bhutanese foreign ministry as emphasising that "the construction of the road inside Bhutanese territory is a direct violation of the 1988 and 1998 agreements between Bhutan and China and affects the process of demarcating the boundary between these two countries. They have urged a return to the status quo as before June 16, 2017." India also conveyed to the Chinese government that the road construction would represent a significant change of status quo with serious security implications for it. India says both sides should first pull back their troops for any talks to take place. Wang said Bhutan is observing the actions being taken by both Indian and Chinese troops from its territory. Bhutan has no direct diplomatic relations with China and maintains contacts with Beijing through its diplomatic mission in New Delhi.








Malaysia's Petronas to set up office, plant in India with LNG focus

Malaysian government-run energy major Petronas is aiming to expand its liquefied natural gas (LNG) business in India, and is scouting for a stake in a terminal capable of handling its LNG product. It is also looking to enter into more long term contracts for supply LNG and scaling up its lubricants business.

Petroliam Nasional Berhad, better known as Petronas, currently operates in India's petrochemicals, lubricants and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) segments and also supplies crude and LNG to various Indian companies.

Petronas, which has been in business with Indian companies for over two decades, is for the first time setting up headquarters for all its local businesses in Delhi, and has appointed a general manager to head it.

"We are looking at opportunities to invest in the LNG infrastructure in India and to bring LNG here to meet the increasing demand," said Datuk Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin, president & group chief executive. However, he did not say if the company was in active talks with any Indian company for a stake purchase.

Ariffin also said that Petronas, with a turnover of about $46.1 billion, will expand its lubricants business in India, for which it is setting up a manufacturing plant in Patalganga, around 100 km south of Delhi, for about $50 million (about Rs320 crore).

Currently, the company's market share in this segment is in single digits and the aim is to grow by at least three times in the next five years. It is spending another $100 million to expand its lubricants segment. Globally, it is among the top 10 players in terms of market share in lubricants.

India contributes about $1.5 billion to Petronas's annual revenue and Ariffin expects this to rise. To understand the Indian market better, earlier this month all the top executives of the Malaysian energy major spent a week in India, visiting various companies here. The focus was to understand India's transformation into digital space, the Petronas CEO said.

"India is a very exciting market for us given its growth rate of 7 per cent and its energy deficit. It is our largest market for crude and that relationship will continue. We are very bullish on petrochemicals, LNG and lubricant business in the country," Zulkiflee told reporters in Delhi.

LNG market in India is fast growing and we have so far sold 15 cargos in spot market. We want to sell more on a long-term basis. The biggest bottleneck for LNG supply in the country is infrastructure and we are looking at opportunities to build it to connect unserviced markets," Zulkiflee said.

The company is scouting for opportunities to develop projects or acquire equity stakes in regassification units and pipelines.

Zulkiflee said his company's team visited India to meet non-energy companies in a first of its kind initiative. He said interactions with companies like Infosys, Bharti Airtel and startups such as Paytm were encouraging given Petronas' thrust in digitisation.
The New Hampshire attorney general's office sued Purdue Pharma yesterday, over allegations that the drug manufacturer has continued its deceptive marketing of OxyContin in a state that has been called the ''ground zero'' of the opioid epidemic. The state alleged in a civil complaint that Purdue Pharma, while downplaying the risk of addiction of the drug, overstated its effectiveness, claimed it is nearly impossible to abuse and failed to report shady prescribers. This comes as the latest action by state, county and local governments against prescription opioid manufacturers who allegedly indulged in fraud and deceptive marketing. The attorney general's office has been investigating half a dozen drug companies and their marketing practices for two years. The opioid problem has continued to grow over the time with nearly 500 people dying of overdoses in 2016 - a nearly 10-fold increase since 2000. The state was termed ''ground zero'' by the deputy administrator of the US Drug Enforcement Administration for the crisis. ''To defeat the epidemic, we must stop creating new users, and part of that is making sure these highly addictive and dangerous drugs are marketed truthfully and without deception and in such a way as not to minimise addiction risks or overstate benefits to patients,'' said deputy attorney general Ann Rice, AP reported. The lawsuit filed in Merrimack County Superior Court claimed that Purdue Pharma significantly downplayed the associated risks of OxyContin addiction and engaged in marketing practices that "opened the floodgates" to opioid use and abuse. The lawsuit follows a state top court ruling that set aside a ruling barring the enforcement of subpoenas against Purdue and four other drugmakers because of the use of a private law firm by the office of the attorney general. According to the complaint, the Stamford, Connecticut-based company had spent hundreds of millions of dollars since the 1990s on misleading marketing that overstated the benefits of opioids for treating chronic, rather than short-term, pain.








A new show that is currently being filmed across Donegal will showcase the county to over two million people in the United States when it goes to broadcast.

Samantha Browns brand new PBS travel show Love of Travel is filming scenes for a Wild Atlantic Way episode this week.

The visit, which will see Samantha Brown experience and film from Donegals Northern Headlands and Sligos Surf Coast, was organised by Failte Ireland, in conjunction with Tourism Ireland.

Samantha Browns Love of Travel show seeks out little known spots and haunts where innovators are creating a brand new travel experience.

From food and drink, art and design, culture or adventure each episode focuses on not just how to visit a destination but how to belong to it.

During her visit to Donegal, Samantha and her filming crew will explore Sliabh League; learn how to weave at Eddie Dohertys Handwoven Tweed Shop; enjoy horseback riding on Tullagh Bay Beach, pick up a few words of Gaeilge in the Gaeltacht area of Gaoth Dobhair and meet with Moya Brennan of Clannad to discuss the importance of Irish music.

The Head of International Publicity with Failte Ireland, Ciara Sugrue said: Failte Ireland is delighted to have the opportunity to showcase the Wild Atlantic Way to such a large US Audience. The ethos of Love of Travel is to show visitors that the only way to experience a destination is to get out there, meet the people, hear the stories and feel their passion so Samantha Brownes interest in the Wild Atlantic Way is a testament to the experiences and businesses on the ground."

Ms. Sugrue said that it was hoped that the show would encourage people to choose Ireland as their destination.

She said: As the North American market continues to grow, it is our hope that shows like this will encourage even more US travellers to choose Ireland as their next must-visit destination.

The filming crew will travel the county this week, captivating all the beauty that Donegal has to offer.
Irish Water is to replace a section of water main near Ballindrait village, Sinn Fein Councillor Gary Doherty said today.

The proposed works will see 1.6km of piping replaced on the Regional Road R264 between Ballindrait village and the Murlog Junction with the N14.

Speaking today, Thursday, Cllr. Doherty said he welcomed the confirmation he received this morning that Irish Water are to replace the section of water main.

"I have made repeated representations on behalf of residents in this area to Irish Water regarding repeated bursts and water outages which have caused huge disruption to areas such as Ballindrait, Tober and Argary," Cllr. Doherty said. "I sincerely hope that this new section of water main will go some way to preventing further such water outages in these areas."

He said the proposed works are scheduled to be completed by mid-October and will be followed by road resurfacing works that are hoped to be completed during the school Halloween holidays.

"I will continue to work with residents in the area to keep them updated on these works, and I will continue to lobby Irish Water for further mains upgrading funding which is badly needed to prevent the unacceptable water outages we have seen in the last few years," Cllr. Doherty said.
Two people have been shot in Dothan city parks since late May, which might give some folks pause. Our parks are not dangerous places, and Dothan police hope to ensure they stay that way.

Following a shooting in Wiregrass Park off Third Avenue in late May, a young man who had just finished high school was badly wounded and later died from his injuries. Two other teenagers -- Andrew D. Winn, 15, and Ashanti T. Williams, 16 -- were later captured in Florida and face murder charges in the death of Kendarrius (K.D.) Martin.

On Monday, Eric Dozier was shot while walking in Gussie McMillon Park, a neighborhood park between East Newton and Pryor streets on Dothans East side. Doziers assailant is still at large.

Shortly after the Martin murder, Dothan Police Chief Steve Parrish approached the Dothan City Commission with a request for permission to apply for a grant through Community Oriented Policing Services to pay for additional officers to assign for patrols in public park areas. The grant funding, if approved, would require a 25 percent match from city coffers.

It will be money well-spent; in fact, commissioners should consider footing the entire bill should the grant application be denied.

While these incidents arent likely random assaults, Parrish believes that an increased police presence will prevent similar criminal activity in the future.

We agree. City parks should be havens  safe spaces where children can play without worry and where families can gather for happy occasions.

Those with bad intent must take their trouble elsewhere.
The Alabama Army National Guard's 186th Engineer Company, based out of Dothan, has been called to active duty and will have a deployment ceremony Sunday.

The ceremony will be at the Dothan Civic Center at 1 p.m.

The company will deploy approximately 160 Alabama National Guard soldiers to the U.S. Central Commands area of responsibility in order to improve current installations.

The unit specializes in the construction of roads, airfields, berms, building foundations, and the clearing and grubbing of forested areas. The company will conduct some additional training at a mobilization station before deploying overseas.

Civilian officials, as well as senior Alabama National Guardsmen, will attend the ceremony to send off the soldiers of the logistics team. The general public is invited and encouraged to attend to show their support for the soldiers and their families.
Great news for Louth man Mark McAuley, who has been named on the Irish show jumping team for Friday's Aga Khan Nations Cup, at the Dublin Horse Show in the RDS.

Mark, a native of Ardee, rides the 13-year-old grey gelding Miebello, a horse owned by Eva Lundin.

Ireland has won the Aga Khan trophy 23 times since it was first awarded in 1926, with their last victory coming in 2015.

The 2017 Irish Aga Khan team will line out as follows:

Wexfords Bertram Allen with Molly Malone V owned by Ballywalter Farms

Louths Mark McAuley with Miebello  owned by Eva Lundin

Tipperarys Denis Lynch with RMF Echo  owned by Rushy Marsh Farm LLC

Meaths Cian OConnor with Good Luck  owned by Adena Springs & Ronnoco Jump Ltd

The draw for the order of jumping will take place at the RDS later this afternoon.

The Dublin Nations Cup for the Aga Khan trophy starts at 3pm on Friday and is live on RTE2 television with the programme starting at 1.45pm.

The Aga Khan Nations Cup will also be shown live on FEITV for viewers outside Ireland.
People in Louth and across Ireland are in for a treat this weekend, with the news that the annual Perseid meteor shower will be visible in our skies.

The meteor shower runs from July 17 to August 27 but it is this weekend, on August 12, when it reaches its peak.

Astronomy Ireland say that the best time to spot the display is between 1am and dawn on August 12.

According to Space.com, typical rates for this type of meteor shower are around 80 meteors per hour but in some years the rate can go as high as 150-200 meteors per hour.

Space.com says that all you need to catch the meteor shower is some darkness and a bit of patience.

Apparently when watching a meteor shower, you are actually watching pieces of comet debris heating up as they enter our atmosphere and then burn up in a bright burst of light, streaking a path across the sky as they travel at 37 miles per second.

Astronomy Ireland advise that people should allow 20 minutes for your eyes become accustomed to the dark.
When I was growing up, helping others was part of what was expected as a decent human being. You were discreet and perhaps even private about such activities.

It was almost unseemly to be helping out and then talking about it. Over the years things have changed and while for some of us discretion is still a preferred way of operation, these days more often than not the act of giving back is an integral part of your personal and company brand DNA. Philanthropy and giving back to the community is a contemporary employer brand attraction and business imperative. It can allow your company to be a facilitator for good, improve brand social equity, grow sales, connect people, attract and retain great talent, and deliver social impact in the communities you live and operate in.

There are great examples of what to do and what not to do out there. From the highlights of Facebook moving into their new HQ and donating to local schools (but then being accused of buying the local community off) to Atlassians employer brand booming by giving staff time off to donate to charity work during business hours.

If you want it to work well for you there are a few steps that will help

Match up your brand strategy with the charity or purpose  do your core values align?

If you want to help staff feel great  check in, is this a charity that they will care about? Otherwise you could be faced with more frowns than smiles.

Spec the time, the scope and the budget of the investment  when heart strings are being pulled its easy for things to get out of hand.

Do it because you want to, not because you feel you have to.

Remember, Australia is politically correct obsessed  check in with what is considered acceptable.

Over the years, weve been first to pay for local community stalls in local fairs, weve donated time to Clean Up Australia, provided PR skills for The White Knight Foundation (preventing alcohol fuelled violence amongst the young), conducted many Cancer Council Morning Teas and helped run a big event for Good Beginnings for a better start for young children 0-12 amongst others. Weve donated time, money and skills. Ive given time off to staff for philanthropy and I have spoken at Not-For-Profit events.

For selecting an outreach program, a checklist helps

Does it make me feel good  yes!

Does it interest customers and prospects  certainly!

Does it provide help to others  absolutely!

Does it provide colourful images for social media and web  sure!

Does it make my team feel good  beware, not always.

Not everyone is interested in everything so choose your charity or area of help carefully. The good news is the options and topics are as many as there are methods and ways of giving.

I have tended to ask my team each year to choose one single area of focus each year from reducing violence, community, dogs, children and we have followed that  sometimes extending for a two-year period or more.

Giving back and social action can better engage stakeholders, unite your company, align company values to communities in need and can drive measurable results and business performance.

If you want to get the real measurement right (and I am a big believer in you cant manage what you cant measure) you can google and search for platforms such as Benojo. Benojo and platforms like it strategically and meaningfully create, deliver and measure what you do with your employees and customers in your social impact outcomes.

In my experience, charitable giving has been joyful, rewarding, and also contentious, more time consuming or expensive than I first thought, and potentially political. Not everyone is interested in one kind of charity so one of the issues is trying to find one size that fits all. Giving free reign to team members to follow their passion is ideal at first sight but difficult to manage if those interests sway into the political or politically correct arena. I have seen clients receive bad publicity from the charity work they have chosen to follow so this is worth considering.

On the flip side, can a brand (or individual) afford NOT to be engaged in giving back in some way? The relationships, excitement, fun and sheer feel good factor of giving back is surely one of the fabrics of society and personal worth. I know that my company will continue to give back to the community and be proud of our socially responsible brand.

About the author:

Sharon Williams is a pioneer in the Australian marketing and PR industry. She is a CEO, Fellow of the PRIA, international speaker, personal brand expert, entrepreneur, mentor, marketer, media commentator and frequent mainstream editorial contributor. Under Sharons leadership and entrepreneurial flair, Taurus is now recognised as one of Australias highest profile agencies, offering unparalleled levels of service to global corporations including Advance, UTS:INSEARCH, Appster, Napoleon Perdis and Clean Up Australia.

See also: Do you inspire loyalty in your customers?
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.
The American Technology Council, which President Donald Trump established this spring by executive order, has four years to rebuild the federal governments information technology structure.

A massive reboot of both hardware and software will be necessary to bring government computers up to modern standards. The effort will force many government agencies to shift years of floppy disk and other outdated storage technologies to current cloud storage systems, and to adopt big data and machine learning solutions.

The ATC is comprised of cabinet members and top officials of related agencies. Both the executive order and the ATC it created terminate on Jan. 20, 2021.

The ATC, which is headed by Senior Advisor to the President Jared Kushner, met last month to set an agenda for collaborating with industry leaders to forge a new technology plan.

The ATCs goal is to promote the secure, efficient and economical use of information technology to achieve its mission. Toward that end, the federal government must transform and modernize its information technology operations and the systems it uses to deliver digital services, according to the executive order.

Council members will coordinate advice to the president on technology policies and processes. The council is tasked with coordinating the vision, strategy and direction for the federal governments IT reboot.

Two major impediments could hinder full achievement of the presidents IT goals, said Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT.

First is the sheer complexity of the federal governments IT assets, systems and management, he told the E-Commerce Times. The second is the compartmentalized culture of many or most federal departments and agencies.

Is an IT Reboot Needed?

An IT reboot is not necessary, suggested King, who favors expanding what the Obama administration started instead. The previous administrations accomplishments include appointing the first U.S. chief technology officer, and bringing greater order and innovation to federal agencies IT efforts.

Consideration of those ongoing efforts was curiously absent during the ATC meeting, said King.

Rebooting, or starting all over again, rather than building on that solid, existing foundation, is likely to waste time and money, he warned.

There is a clear need for the ATC initiatives, according to Brian Chappell, senior director at BeyondTrust, who cited a recent survey of federal IT managers.

An overwhelming majority of federal IT managers (81 percent) said that the federal governments aging IT infrastructure had a significant impact on their agencies cybersecurity risk, Chappell told the E-Commerce Times.

It is statistics like this that make initiatives like the American Technology Council essential in starting the drive toward not only modernizing the federal government and the services it provides, but also  and more importantly  improving the safety of U.S. citizens and government staff using those services.

Deja Vu All Over Again

Budget concerns are a major barrier to system modernization, said Tami Gallegos, federal manager at BeyondTrust.

Eighty-one percent of survey participants mentioned budget as a major roadblock, she pointed out.

Sixty-nine percent of the respondents expressed concern about losing information during the conversion, which would have a negative impact on their ability to achieve their missions.

This is a very complex proposition that will require talent and expertise across several technology cycles to get the job done, Gallegos told the E-Commerce Times.

Enterprise-focused IT vendors, including those involved with the ATC, should be able to offer valuable solutions to many of the federal governments IT infrastructure problems, said Pund-ITs King. However, it will take more than a few months to develop, design and deploy replacements for such massively complex systems.

A notable shift in the political landscape due to the 2018 mid-terms and the 2020 election could result in a new Congress and/or a new president starting the process all over again, he said.

Repeal and Replace Gov IT?

Information technology dynamics have changed dramatically in the last few years, according to David King, director of solutions marketing at Commvault. The need to introduce new applications more quickly and in dramatically larger volumes has altered the interaction between IT operations and the organizations that they support. [*Editors Note  July 25, 2017]

Hybrid cloud, virtualization, big data analytics and machine learning have provided new options to deliver those applications and derive new value from the information they produce.

If you are willing to consider doing things in a different manner, the results can be remarkable, King told the E-Commerce Times, so a reboot in how the federal government does infrastructure technology is a necessity.

Modernizing the current IT infrastructure and shedding legacy architectures will require a much more data-centric philosophy, he noted. It will be necessary to eliminate cumbersome data silos and make it easier to access big data and machine learning systems.

What Is Needed

The American Technology Councils agenda is to lay important groundwork, according to Dux Raymond Sy, CTO of AvePoint public sector.

However, the ATC may not go far enough to upgrade the governments IT infrastructure, which is a worrisome prospect, he said.

Government IT should embrace artificial intelligence, use commercial technology, and prioritize coding in schools, he suggested.

Moving from legacy technologies to the cloud is critical, and action will be required in three key areas to achieve a successful reboot of the U.S. IT infrastructure, Sy told the E-Commerce Times.

Influencing decision makers to muster the political will to change how government works is the first step for the ATC, he said.

What is slowing down government IT is the overlapping numbers of government agencies that are counterintuitive in modern technology, noted Sy. The irony is that new technology is designed for agility and more responsiveness. This is counter to how the government works. How the government works has to change.

Reach for the Sky

The second step for the ATC is to promote more government and private industry collaboration, noted Sy. The formation of the ATC is a good beginning toward creating a stronger IT partnership with other government agencies, but the government must be committed to executing the recommended changes.

Artificial Intelligence could be a vital part of any IT innovation efforts, but for AI to work, it needs to reside in the cloud.

The federal government is moving towards harvesting cloud technology, said Sy, which is a necessary step toward maximizing commercial technology.

No single government agency is tasked with overseeing innovative thinking about technology, so having an agency such as the ATC is great, according to Sy. Unless there is authority attached to that agency, though, nothing will move beyond merely discussing ideas.

Having government agencies move to the cloud is a good first step  but then what? The government can not behave like a homeowner who moves into a big new modern house but then continues to use worn out furniture and house maintenance policies from their old, rundown structure, Sy cautioned.

How long will it take? Its doubtful that it will take much time for the government to move into the cloud, he said. The bigger question is this: How does the government maximize the new IT infrastructure?

Forward-Looking Education

The third essential action the ATC must take is investing in technical education for the next generation, according to Sy. That includes improving computer education teaching goals in schools.

We need to make coding skills a much larger priority than it is now, he urged. The council needs to consider how to maximize commercial technologies that already exist.

Voices for Innovation is a strong advocate for more government spending on technological education. This is an area our government has to consider and address soon, said Sy.

Sy cited two examples of governments with forward-looking IT policies: Singapore and Estonia. Singapore has two agencies responsible for government IT and technology innovations.

These two agencies are in lockstep with all other Singapore government agencies, Sy said.

Estonia is one of the most modern and forward-looking governments out there leveraging IT, he added.

Initially, the intent was to modernize the Estonian governments IT. Then the plan was to follow through with better services and innovations. They have done that today, Sy pointed out.

Out With the Old

The days of upgrading technology hardware every five years are long gone. The government must focus on upgrading technology daily  and that way of thinking about technology innovation should be introduced at a formative age, Sy suggested.

How many government agencies are still using outdated hardware and software? The answer is mind-boggling. There are still government agencies using floppy disks to store data, he said.

Too many government agencies and IT workers are stuck in the old IT mindset. We spend a boatload of money, and once we spend money on upgrades we must wait another five-to-10 years to consider something new, Sy lamented.

That is what government IT is suffering from, he maintained.Two reasons explain why government IT has fallen into such a bad disarray: One is the bureaucracy, or its lack of political will. It is that mindset of if it aint broke, dont fix it.'

The second reason is the government attitude toward cost and spending taxpayers money.

How many times do we see government waiting to step up and make change only when bad things happen? Well, really bad things are happening today with malware, ransomware and really serious network breaches. The government has to step up, Sy said.

Getting There

Wheels are turning in some quarters to overcome governments big legacy obstacles in adopting AI/big data/machine learning systems, said Chris Nicholson, CEO of Skymind.

The government is grappling with outdated technology and a cumbersome procurement process.

They are reaching out through groups like DHS Silicon Valley office to  do deals with startups that have never worked with government before and have unique technology to offer, Nicholson told the E-Commerce Times.

Getting technology right will occur only if the government understands how new technologies can help agencies fulfill their missions, he said.

The government is planning on using powerful open source technology on top of their legacy systems. A lot of government has invested in Java and the [Java Virtual Machine], and there are many, powerful tools for big data and AI for the JVM stack, he said.

Small Steps to Success

An IT reboot as a necessary and inevitable change, in Nicholsons view, even if it is difficult to accomplish. It will involve educating people, connecting people, and empowering them to make hard decisions about how to build new systems.

In government, no one wants to fail or be seen to fail, but when you are building new systems, you are actually experimenting with the world, seeing what works and trying again, he said.

To avoid overall failure, the reboot needs to involve projects that are small enough to prove themselves at a scale where failure matters less, suggested Nicholson. That involves taking small risks and betting on new tech in order to understand its potential.

That is how you shape the future, he said. If failure is going to happen, it should happen small and early, so that you can get the big projects right. A lot of people on the ATC know this because they have built companies, made bets, failed, and corrected course until they succeeded.

*ECT News Network editors note  July 25, 2017: Our original published version of this story attributed David Kings comments to Craig McCullough, vice president of U.S. federal sales at Commvault. Per Commvaults Daniella Kohan, the quotes the company shared with us actually came from King.
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(Photo: REUTERS / Anindito Mukherjee)A worker of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rides his bicycle past the party's campaign billboard featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi outside their party headquarters in New Delhi February 10, 2015. Upstart anti-establishment Aam Aadmi Party crushed the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in an election for the Delhi assembly on Tuesday, smashing an aura of invincibility built around Prime Minister Narendra Modi since he swept to power last year. The billboard reads: "One India, Best India"

More than a hundred prominent Indian Christians have written to the heads of all churches and Christian communities, urging support for civil society in its struggle to safeguard India's secular credentials and cultural and religious diversity.

They released an open letter on Aug. 4, with the 101 signatories noting a dangerous shift in the country "from a pluralist, secular, democracy to a Hindu Rashtra," Vatican Radio reports.

Shortly after the Open Doors website, the monitors persecution against Christians worldwide issued a statement Aug. 8 saying,

"If the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) has its way, India will soon be unified under one religion, one culture, and one language."

It was a reference to the group known as RSS that is an extremist Hindu nationalist organization that is said to have the backing of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Open Doors had reported that in the first quarter of 2017 there were 248 persecution incidents in which Christians were harassed, threatened or attacked for their faith.

More recent records, said Open Doors, indicate the number of incidents in first six months of 2017 is now up to 410 incidents.

This represents an enormous increase in persecution as there were only 441 incidents reported in 2016 for the entire year.

The Aug. 4 open letter signatories noted "a systematic design to undermine the Indian Constitution," saying that "official machinery often seems to be working in tandem with the vigilantes" in carrying out street lynching of innocent victims, on the basis of religion and caste.

'MUTE MEDIA'

Amid all this they noted, the "media seems mute, silent in self-censorship, coerced by the State, or leashed by its corporate owners."

The open letter is written at a time, reported Vatican Radio when several people have fallen in recent mob lynchings and vigilantism over consumption of beef or trading in cows and beef.

In the latest incident, it said, a Christian pastor was shot dead in northern Punjab state on July 15 and police have not identified culprits.

Among the signatories to the open letter are rights activist Jesuit Father Cedric Prakash, rights activist and journalist John Dayal, rights activist Father Ajay Kumar Singh, several lawyers, priests, nuns and lay people working in the field of education, law and social activism.

The letter accused the Indian government of "double talk" saying while it supports the global fight against terrorism, at home "it is not concerned with violent nationalism of the mob wreaking terror on the weak and the marginalized."

The prominent Christians observed that between 2014 and 2016, under the BJP-led government, more than 600 episodes of violent acts have taken place against their communities.

It said, further, violence against low-caste Dalits and Muslims have surged according to the National Crime Records Bureau.

Speaking to The Hindu newspaper, one of the signatories, A. C. Michael, a former member of the Delhi Minorities Commission said that the open letter is a wake-up call to all Christians.

He said they should not to be passive any more but to "raise their voice against the violence that the country is witnessing today against the common man," and to "spread the truth."
(Photo: Peter Kenny / Ecumenical News)Rev. Martin Junge, general secretary of The Lutheran World Federation, talks to advocacy training meeting for faith-based organizations from around the world at Geneva's Ecumenical Center in Geneva on July 7, 2017

Rev. Martin Junge, general secretary of The Lutheran World Federation has been awarded the German city of Augsburg's 2017 Peace Prize for his work in connecting the "global north" and the "global south."

The Lord Mayor of Augsburg Dr. Kurt Gribl announced this year's recipient on August 8 before guests attending the annual Augsburg Peace Festival, in the Bavarian city's town hall.

The prize is awarded by the city every three years since 1985 recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to promoting peaceful coexistence of different religions and cultures.

Announcing the 2017 laureate, Mayor Gribl described Junge as a "patient bridge-builder between the continents, who, due to his theological influence and his roots, connects Europe as the global north and South America as the global south."

Regional Bishop Michael Grabow of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria, responsible for the Augsburg district, and chairperson of the peace prize jury, praised Junge.

He said Junge, a Chilean who studied his theology in Germany is an expert on the theological and church tradition of European Lutheranism that is strongly inspired by Latin American theology.

"His thinking and acting links a conscious spiritual character of the church with an active responsibility for the world. At the same time, he is a powerful actor for a globally defined self-understanding of the Lutheran church," Grabow said.

"I feel honored and I'm grateful for the Augsburg Peace Prize. It encourages us in the Lutheran World Federation and me personally to continue on the path of reconciliation between churches and religions," Junge said upon receiving news about the award.

He said the prize, "is a fitting tribute to LWF's active ecumenical and interfaith engagement, from which I have learned that dialogue pays off."

Junge noted, "Whether it is between people or between communities of faith, sustained dialogue leads to growth in trust and mutual understanding, and is the key catalyst for overcoming differences."

He described the rapprochement between the LWF and the Roman Catholic Church over 50 years of dialogue as an important example.

"The 2016 Joint Commemoration of the Reformation in Lund by Lutherans and Catholics and the signing of the 'Wittenberg Witness' with the World Communion of Reformed Churches are important recent milestones to recommitting and expressing anew the spirit that inspired the Peace of Augsburg," Junge said.




Chinese liver fluke parasite found in farmed pangasius in Vietnam

Scientists from the Norwegian National Institute of Nutrition and Seafood Research (NIFES) have found the parasite Chinese liver fluke in farmed pangasius in Vietnam.

They said the discovery was "surprising". 'We did not expect to find Chinese liver fluke. This is a new parasite species for the Mekong Delta,' said NIFES scientist Arne Levsen, who, together with Vietnamese scientists, did a parasitological study that analysed farmed pangasius in Vietnam.

The Chinese liver fluke is a dangerous parasite that can be transferred to people through consumption of raw or only lightly processed freshwater fish from China and Southeast Asia. In the human body, Chinese liver fluke thrives in the gall bladder and the bile ducts of the liver.

"Serious infections with hundreds of flukes can cause inflammation and blockage of the bile ducts, often with jaundice-like symptoms. In a worst-case scenario, the parasite can even cause liver cancer", Levsen explained.

Because of the finding, Levsen advised tourists visiting Vietnam and Southeast Asia to avoid local, only lightly processed fish dishes, as proper heating is required to kill the parasites.

Warning

"If you do not know if the seafood you're offered has undergone proper heat treatment, don't eat it. This goes for all seafood, including crabs and prawns, which may contain other parasites that can be dangerous", he said.

Besides analysing 865 farmed fish, the scientists checked 130 wild pangasius from basically the same area for parasites.

But no Chinese liver flukes were found in the wild fish. As to where the parasite came from, Levsen said they were trying to find out.

"Our present working hypothesis is that the parasite was brought along with broodstock from areas where the parasite occurs naturally.

"It probably originates in other regions of Southeast Asia such as Thailand or South China. We are now comparing various genes to check if there are any genetic footprints that enable us to trace the flukes back to their area of origin", the NIFES scientist said.




UK beef finds new export market in Philippines

The Philippines has opened its market to UK beef, which now joins pork, poultry, lamb and dairy on the list of UK food and drink shipped to the Southeast Asian country.

According to AHDB Beef & Lamb, market access for beef was withdrawn in 1996 due to BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy or mad cow disease) concerns and the ban was lifted in 2001. This latest deal, estimated to be worth 34 million (37.6 million) over the next five years, follows a visit from a delegation of inspectors from the Philippines last year, it said.

"Securing market access for our world-class beef to the Philippines is a huge vote of confidence for a sector that already exports more than 350 million around the world, including Hong Kong and Canada", Food Minister George Eustice said.

"The UK beef industry is the envy of the world and this strong demand globally for our traditional breeds reared to the highest welfare standards is what drives our exports and creates opportunities for our farmers", he added.

Dr Phil Hadley, AHDB's international market development director, for his part, said: "We are delighted the Philippines has approved UK beef exports, a market we already export pork to. The decision indicates future expansion for UK agriculture and our growing export markets globally".

According to the beef and lamb division of the UK Agriculture & Horticulture Development Board, the Philippines is the largest food and drink market in Southeast Asia with meat consumption expected to grow by 10% over the next five years.

Meanwhile, Northern Ireland hailed the Philippines' approval of UK beef imports as a "major boost" for the agri-food industry in Northern Ireland.

"I am delighted that the Philippines has granted approval for Northern Ireland plants to export beef to their markets", said Northern Ireland's chief veterinary officer, Robert Huey.

He said the approval for Northern Ireland "is testament to the rigorous standards that are in place to produce high-quality, safe and wholesome meat".




Tongwei eyes expansion in Philippines as Beijing-Manila ties warm

Chinese company Tongwei Group is looking to expand its business in the Philippines as the relation between the country and China improves in recent times.



According to Chen Xi, project manager of Development Department of Tongwei Co., Ltd., the company previously attempted without success, potential ventures in aquatic, livestock and poultry feeds for the Philippines market. "Negotiations did not work out," Chen told Philippine News Agency.



Tongwei, which has more than 170 affiliated companies and over 20,000 employees in China and Southeast Asia, is eager for "more opportunities", specifically in South Asia and Southeast Asia, Hu Rongzhu, vice president of Tongwei Group, revealed in an interview at the company's new headquarters in Chengdu, Sichuan province, China.



"Our products are very competitive in terms of cost and quality," he added.



As one of China's top agricultural companies, Tongwei Group has the biggest sales volume in agriculture, animal husbandry and fishery.



For 20 years straight, its aquatic feeds dominates the Chinese market with a 20% share.
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The death of a man on the M11 is being treated as suspicious, after police found an object had struck the windscreen.

A van left the road and collided with a tree around 4.50pm on August 9 on the northbound carriageway near Birchanger between junctions 7 and 8.

The driver, aged in his 60s, sadly died at the scene. Police are treating the incident as suspicious and are appealing for witnesses.

Drivers are advised to seek alternative routes and to give extra time for their journeys, as the northbound side is currently closed between the junctions for Harlow and Bishop's Stortford. The Goose Lane bridge is also closed.

Officers want to speak to drivers who were travelling on the M11 in the Birchanger area, either north or southbound, between 4pm and 6pm.

They also want to speak to drivers who saw anyone acting suspiciously on the Goose Lane bridge or saw what happened.

If you have any information, contact the Serious Collision Investigation Unit on 01245 240590 or email collisionappeal@essex.pnn.police.uk


The organisation that advises the UK Government on immigration policy is seeking views on the kind of visas and work arrangements that should be made available after the country leaves the European Union in March 2019.The Migration Advisory Committee is seeking answers to a number of scenarios outlined in call for evidence document, which will not necessarily become part of its advice, but which it wants feedback on.It points out that in an international context, the free movement arrangement within the EU is unusual. The Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement between Australia and New Zealand is one of the only current comparable models.It is looking for the views of a wide range of interested parties from all parts of the UK such as businesses, employers, recruiters, trade unions, academics, think tanks, representative bodies and Government departments and hints that age, education and skill are all likely to become issues taken into account after Brexit.It also asks what effect a reduction in the number of workers coming from EU countries would have and whether businesses and employers have made contingency plans for such an outcome as well as how they are recruited.It points out that restricting immigration is common, and countries outside of the EU do so. Countries outside the EU set their own immigration policy, and none of them unilaterally give freedom of movement to the citizens of other countries. For example, Canada, a country often perceived as being relatively open to migrants, has no free movement agreement with any other country. The few bilateral agreements that do exist, such as between Australia and New Zealand, are between similar countries, the report says.It explains that the current UK work related migration system for non-European Economic Area citizens has a clear preference for higher skilled workers. Those admitted through the work route have to be in graduate level occupations and meet minimum salary thresholds.Currently, the UK migration system does not have an explicit work route for lower skilled workers from outside the EEA, because the view has been taken that free movement ensures a sufficient supply from within the EEA.Changes to the UK immigration system might affect lower skilled workers more than higher skilled workers. Sectors and businesses are likely to react differently to a reduction in low-skilled migration. On the one hand, a reduction in the supply of low skilled migrants might push up wages and costs to businesses, which could translate into higher prices for consumers, the report explains.On the other hand, a reduction of fairly cheap low skilled migrants could force businesses to substitute labour for capital, boosting productivity, it adds.It will also be looking at the potential of a points based immigration system post Brexit. Such systems are used in many countries such as Australia, Denmark, Japan, Netherlands, and New Zealand. This means that migrants with characteristics that are desired, according to their levels of education, occupation, age, receive more points.A successful migrant has to have more than a certain number of points. Although entry may be based on potential alone, the right to remain in the country may be dependent on having demonstrated a certain level of labour market success.It may be that a system would favour younger people. Schemes in Australia, New Zealand and Canada give young people aged under 30 automatic two year visas to work. The report suggests offering the same opportunity to EU citizens in the UK would be beneficial.Younger migrants have a longer working life ahead of them so have a higher chance of making a net positive contribution to public finances and they are perhaps considered to assimilate more successfully, the paper says.
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The San Antonio breakfast taco market is getting some new competition: H-E-B.

And the grocer is getting weird with it.

Among the more traditional taco fare, customers who roll up to the True Texas BBQ drive-thru at the supermarket chains new store at Bulverde Road, which opens Friday, will find breakfast tacos with brisket, avocado, pickled red onions, rajas and cotija cheese.

People play with pizza, said Randy Evans, H-E-Bs executive chef and director of restaurants. Who wouldve thought pineapple and ham could go together? But someone did it and said, Hey, that works.

Evans added, Doing tacos in San Antonio, you cant just throw something together.

The Texas-Sized Signature Breakfast Tacos are among several changes the company is experimenting with at its 118,000-square-foot Bulverde store, which will anchor a retail center being developed by local firm Fulcrum Development south of Loop 1604 on the citys Northeast Side.

The competition is intense in the $669 billion U.S. grocery industry, and H-E-Bs latest moves are necessary to win over shoppers who increasingly value convenience and a more enjoyable in-store shopping experience, analysts say.

Food retailers and supermarket chains have worked to add services such as curbside pickup or at-home delivery to pry shoppers eyes away from Amazon as the Seattle-based e-commerce company moves from grocery delivery to operating physical grocery stores. Amazon reportedly eyed H-E-B as a potential takeover target before it entered a $13.7 billion bid to buy Austin-based organic grocery chain Whole Foods and its 465 stores in June.

Grocery store chains are also increasingly opening sit-down restaurants to get shoppers into physical stores, said Phil Lempert, a food industry analyst with SupermarketGuru.com

These retailers are searching for what their point of difference is, Lempert said. Theyre discovering that this is it.

The True Texas BBQ restaurant at the Bulverde store is the seventh in H-E-Bs brand of barbecue restaurants, but its the first of the companys in-store restaurants to offer drive-thru service, company spokeswoman Dya Campos said. The San Antonio company currently manages a dozen in-store restaurant brands.

Customers can order their brisket, pulled pork and coleslaw through a mobile True Texas BBQ mobile application and pick up their order, Campos said. But customers can also eat their meals at the stores sit-down restaurant or on the patio, perhaps while drinking a glass of one of the eight Texas craft beer brands the restaurant will have on tap, Campos said.

H-E-B is also rapidly expanding its curbside delivery service, which allows customers to place their grocery orders online and pick them up at a later time.

In April, the service was available at 22 of the companys stores. Now, customers can use the service at 45 stores  including the Bulverde store and a new 93,000-square-foot store opening in November at the intersection of Alamo Ranch Parkway and Alamo Parkway on the citys far West Side. The company is spending at least $3.7 million expanding the service to stores throughout the state, according to estimated construction costs provided to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.

H-E-B plans to offer the service at 100 stores by the end of 2017, Campos said, calling it a result of high customer demand.

Voter Guide: What to know for the midterm election Your guide to the Texas and San Antonio races and candidates on the Nov. 8 ballot.

Its a very fast and convenient way to get a really large shop done, Campos said. You dont have to take the kids out of the car.

Shoppers dont have to physically visit H-E-B stores to complete their grocery run. H-E-B is expanding its partnership with the $99 subscription delivery service Shipt in San Antonio and Austin, as well as adding new delivery markets in Killeen, Temple and College Station  expanding the partnerships reach to 4.6 million Texas households.

But H-E-B customers in areas where those services are available havent stopped shopping in the companys physical stores, Campos said.

Loving the shopping experience and the food experience has not gone away, Campos said.

Both new San Antonio stores will feature Optical by H-E-B, the supermarket chains prescription eyewear offering. The brand was previously available at two stores in Hutto and Spring.

H-E-B will also expand its portfolio of nine convenience stores with a Bulverde location that will have its own food offerings, filling station and carwash. Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation records show construction on the convenience store is slated to cost $3 million and end in October.
When parents and staff drove up to Career Paths High School on Wednesday, they were greeted by a large banner emblazoned with NOW ENROLLING in red block letters.

But Texas Education Agency officials who met with them that evening stressed there was no hope the troubled charter district that ran it and three other campuses, called the San Antonio School for Inquiry and Creativity, would serve any students for the upcoming school year.

The school is going to be closed, said Ron Rowell, director of governance at the TEA. It will not open up on Sept. 1.

At separate information sessions, state officials instead told staff and parents about their options after the closure, which was ordered in July after the TEA spent months investigating wide-ranging complaints about the districts leadership and school conditions.

Officials said they intended to recapture state funds that had been allocated to some of the districts schools that had been improperly operating.

The state appointed a three-person board of managers to handle other administrative matters related to the closure, including distributing student transcripts and employment records to former teachers and staff and handling SASICs assets, TEA officials said.

The board includes Judy Castleberry, who currently serves as a state conservator for South San Antonio Independent School District.

The TEA upheld the revocation of SASICs charter at a hearing July 26. Five days earlier, its superintendent, Tonja Nelson, resigned when notified that the state planned to shut down the district, school employees said.

The upheaval started in February, when complaints that the schools had served spoiled food that sickened students led to parent meetings where numerous other allegations were leveled against Nelson.

In March, the TEA briefly closed SASIC schools before allowing them to finish the 2016-17 school year while the state investigation continued under the eye of a TEA monitor.

The investigation found SASIC had operated campuses at unapproved locations, failed to comply with criminal background check requirements for employees and failed to protect the health, safety, and welfare of students.

The probe didnt substantiate complaints of nepotism leveled against Nelson, nor allegations that the district failed to adhere to data collection standards.

According to the investigation, SASIC had operated at four unapproved sites at various times: SASIC Preparatory Academy at 2507 Fredericksburg Road, Monticello Kinder Academy at 4106 San Pedro Ave., Monticello High School at 5300 Heath Road and an office facility called the CTE Career Center at 4616 San Pedro.

The Heath Road campus previously had been called the Academy of Careers and Technologies, a school Nelson ran until its charter was revoked for failure to meet state accountability requirements.

State law requires open-enrollment charter schools to amend their charters with the approval of the state education commissioner and obtain a certificate of occupancy before starting school operations at a new location.

As the investigation got underway, Nelson told the San Antonio Express-News that SASIC operated just two schools. The district was reporting student attendance at approved locations when the students actually were at unapproved sites, TEA officials said Wednesday.

Additionally, the TEA found school leaders falsely reported that the district had complied with employee fingerprinting and background check requirements in 2015 and 2016.

Thirty of the districts 107 employees hadnt been fingerprinted as of Feb. 16, the investigation showed.

Finally, the TEA reviewed food inspection reports that indicated a kitchen was stocked with ground beef that had been thawed and refrozen, and confirmed other complaints about the sanitation and condition of equipment and food in the school kitchens, which led to the finding that the district had jeopardized student health and safety.

TEA representatives arriving at Career Paths couldnt access the building at first because the district had changed the locks.

Former staffers met with them outside in the late afternoon heat, fanning themselves with packets explaining how to request employment records, verify salaries with the Teacher Retirement System and apply for unemployment benefits with the Texas Workforce Commission.

The air-conditioned building was open in time for the parent meeting.

Rowell, the TEA governance director, told the former employees he didnt know how much money was left to cover paychecks and other expenses.

We take care of staff first, IRS second, (Teacher Retirement System) third and unemployment fourth, Rowell said. Rent and that kind of stuff, gas, electric  thats if theres money left.

Buddy Calvo, who was a coordinator at Career Paths until he was laid off in June, asked if Nelson and other SASIC administrators would be held accountable for the districts demise. Rowell said he didnt know if Nelson held a certification against which sanctions could be levied.

Attempts to reach Nelson for comment Thursday were unsuccessful.

Unhappy parents crowded into a classroom at the high school were told they did not immediately need their childrens transcripts before enrolling them at other schools.

If parents had receipts for copies of transcripts  for which SASIC had been improperly charging $5  the state would reimburse them, officials said.

This school seemed to be operating and everybody seemed to know it was operating, so thats where my confusion comes from, one parent told the officials.

The reason we didnt know about the unapproved sites is because the student data was reported through the approved sites, responded Heather Mauze, director of charter school administration for the TEA, to several gasps from parents.

Parent Edward Cadena said he was unsure where he was going to enroll his two sons, who are entering fourth and fifth grades. He said he had no complaints about the education his boys received at SASIC but understood why other parents were upset about the situation.

Were going to be alright, Cadena said. Well fall on our feet. We always do.

lcaruba@express-news.net
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UVALDE - Jack D. Youngs attorney wants to see what evidence the state has compiled on the March 29 crash that killed 13 church members before Young, accused of causing it, decides how hell plead to numerous felony indictments.

The only survivors of the head-on collision on U.S. 83 were Young, who authorities say admitted consuming prescription pills and texting while driving, and one passenger on the small bus carrying congregants of the First Baptist Church New Braunfels home from a retreat.

The 20 year-old defendant from Leakey faces 13 two-count indictments charging him with intoxication manslaughter and manslaughter, and one two-count indictment accusing him of intoxication assault and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

His lawyer, Rogelio F. Munoz, revealed that no decision on the pending pleas has been made after the cancellation of a hearing Wednesday on a defense motion to reduce the bond set for Young. He has been held under $380,000 bail at the Uvalde County Jail since he surrendered June 28.

Munoz said the hearing on the motion was postponed until Aug. 24, the same date set for Youngs arraignment, to give the defense time to undertake discovery of the investigative records compiled by the Department of Public Safety and prosecutors.

Weve got to wait until we have discovery before we proceed with the hearing, said Munoz, who added he hopes state District Judge Camile DuBose reduces Youngs bond to a reasonable amount, but did not cite a figure.

District Attorney Daniel Kindred said the hearing was postponed at Munozs request.

Were opposed to the bond reduction, Kindred said.

If Young does post bond, DuBose has set numerous conditions hed have to meet.

Besides submitting to weekly urine testing, hed have to wear a GPS device to monitor his movements, adhere to a 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew and equip his vehicle with a device that prevents its operation by an intoxicated driver.

Young was not in the courtroom at the Uvalde County Justice Center on Wednesday. His father, Ben Young of Leakey, was there but declined comment.

Likewise, four relatives of people killed in the incident wouldnt speak about the case as they waited in the courtroom for the hearing while lawyers for dozens of defendants in other cases conferred with Assistant District Attorney Christina Busbee.

One family member of a bus passenger killed in the wreck expressed mixed feelings about the case when reached by phone last month.

It just breaks our heart that this young man is having to go through this. Were very torn, said the woman from San Antonio who asked that her name not be published. If there comes a time when it comes to court where we can address him, thats when well speak, in our victim impact statement.

Its still hard to get over, she said.

zeke@express-news.net
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A brief rain shower fell on the gravestones at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery as Dominador Soriano, San Antonios last World War II Filipino veteran, was laid to rest Wednesday.

Soriano, 101, fought against the Japanese during World War II, served as a lawyer on behalf of Filipino farmers and traveled around the world before settling in San Antonio.

He died July 31 of a hemorrhagic stroke.

Soriano served with both the Philippine army and the U.S. Army during World War II and was one of fewer than 7,000 such veterans living in the U.S.

Some of them fought in the Philippine Scouts, which merged with U.S. Army formations shortly before Japan invaded in 1941 and were among the first U.S. forces to see combat in the war.

As an officer, Soriano commanded Echo Company of the 83rd Infantry Regiment, troops who fought under the command of Gen. Douglas MacArthur. From an outpost on the eastern shore of Cebu Island, he and his men watched Japanese ships passing through the Tanon Strait in the early days of the war.

Japanese troops quickly overwhelmed the islands, trapping 76,000 Filipinos and Americans on the Bataan Peninsula. The Japanese turned into a force like that of Genghis Khan, Soriano said in his written recollections.

His unit retreated into the mountains, where he was shot in the leg by Japanese machine gun as he hid behind a coconut tree.

In April 1942, Soriano heard over the radio that Bataan had fallen. His men knew that the Japanese would come for them next. I told my men to go home and not surrender, Soriano said.

Soriano organized a guerrilla force. The years that followed were filled with intrigue and violence. One wrong step could lead to imprisonment by the occupying Japanese. His wife hid pictures of him under a bamboo tree to conceal his presence.

His luck ran out on a rainy day in July 1944. As he visited his family, he was surprised to find two Japanese soldiers. Two Filipino collaborators were with them. They arrested him, brought him to a sugar cane mill and beat him with a 2-inch-thick pipe.

He was quickly released but could hardly walk. It was like being saved from the gallows, he said.

He continued working for the resistance until Japan surrendered Aug. 15, 1945.

Over the following decades, Soriano became a lawyer in a newly independent nation, where he fought on behalf of local farmers. His family arrived in the U.S. in 1971, when Soriano was 52. In 2012, he settled in San Antonio, where two of his children live.

In 2001, the Army awarded Soriano a Purple Heart for wounds suffered as a result of hostile actions.

Soriano had said a decision made in the aftermath of the war still irked him. In 1946, President Harry S. Truman signed the Rescission Act, which retroactively stripped Filipinos of service benefits during World War II. The decision always bothered Soriano.

They were supposed to be regarded as those who helped win the war against Japan, daughter Carmelita Haverly recalled, and then after some of the benefits were dropped ... they werent happy with that at all.

Recognition arrived in 2016, when Congress authorized the awarding of a single Congressional Gold Medal, the nations highest civilian honor, to the estimated 250,000 Filipinos who fought under U.S. command in the war.

San Antonio, too, honored Soriano last fall with a similar resolution. And Mayor Ron Nirenberg recognized Soriano last week in a short statement at City Hall.

Capt. Soriano became the Filipino communitys voice and champion in Military City, U.S.A., Nirenberg said.

Soriano spent his final days volunteering for the Catholic church next to his house. Through the church, he prepared food for families on the West Side.

He would be there, counting all the potato chips, 125 bags, Haverly said. He would count out loud  1, 2, 3, 4! Next, the carrot sticks, 125 carrot sticks. He would count those out loud too.

He assembled one last batch  200 bags with mayonnaise, mustard and salt-and-pepper packets for meals for hungry families  before he died, his daughter recalled.

His one last job, Haverly said. Wherever he is, he wanted to be involved.
Now Playing: During the warmer months in San Antonio, Mexican free-tailed bats call the cracks under I-35 home. The thousands of bats leave their home at dusk for locals to spectate. Video: San Antonio Express-News

The San Antonio River Authority, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and Bat Conservation International hosted the fifth annual Bat Loco Bash on Tuesday.

The free event included a bat parade, food trucks, live music and bat friends. It also included information about the bat colony that lives under the I-35 bridge and the role bats play in the ecosystem.
Ever since the Washington Post broke the news that North Korea could fit a nuclear warhead atop a missile that could reach the continental United States, Americans have been trying to figure out what's going on.

So, of course, they turned to Google.

Search interest for, "How to survive a nuclear attack" surged Tuesday and has remained high ever since.

If you compare that search with, "How to get rich" and "How to get famous" - something the Washington Post's Christopher Ingram did on Twitter Wednesday night - you'll see a sudden priority change.

President Donald Trump told reporters Tuesday that if North Korea continues to make threats toward the United States, "they will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen."

His statements prompted an almost immediate response from North Korea, which issued its own statement saying it was "carefully considering" plans to launch a preemptive strike in the U.S. territory Guam.

The state-run media later reported plans to launch rockets into the water about 17 miles from Guam's shores by mid-August.

Since then, Americans have been thinking a lot about Guam, according to Google Trends.

Many of the searches pertain to where Guam is (it's roughly 2,000 miles southeast of North Korea).

But Texans, especially those in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, appear more interested in Puerto Rico than Guam.

Despite the dictator's recent popularity, Trump is still the more popular of the two leaders, information which we're sure he receives in his daily, highly classified, news briefing.
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A federal judge in Austin on Wednesday threw out Texas request to have the states so-called sanctuary cities law declared constitutional. A challenge to the law by several cities continues in San Antonio.

In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks found that Texas did not have standing to sue Travis County, the city of Austin and others that officials believed would challenge the law. The state filed its lawsuit May 7, the day Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 4, which punishes local governments that limit questions by police about immigration status and that dont honor federal immigration detainers.
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Military experts say tensions over North Koreas ambitions to develop a nuclear-tipped ICBM are higher this week than at any time since the mid-1990s  and perhaps ever  putting 26,000 U.S. troops in South Korea on a near-war footing.

The American forces include 4,300 soldiers from the 1st Cavalry Divisions 2nd Brigade Combat Team at Fort Hood

Where the saber-rattling will end isnt clear.

The rhetoric escalated this week when President Donald Trump said that if North Korea escalates threats involving nuclear weapons, they will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen.

Defense Secretary James Mattis warned Wednesday in a statement that North Korea should cease any consideration of actions that would lead to the end of its regime and the destruction of its people.

He went on to say that Pyongyangs actions will continue to be grossly overmatched by ours and would lose any arms race or conflict it initiates.

More Information The American troop presence in Korea Experts have long said that U.S. troops have remained in South Korea since the 1953 armistice in part to serve as a guarantee that America would defend the peninsula in the event of another war. Here is a look at troops and civilians in the country. Army ---------- 15,026 Navy ----------- 311 Marines ---------- 148 Air Force ---------- 7,628 Coast Guard -------- 1 Reserve ----------- 297* Defense Department Civilians -- 3,136 Total Active, Reserve, Civilians -- 26,547 SOURCE: Defense Manpower Data Center, March 2017 * These troops are from the Army, Air Force and Navy See More Collapse

Thousands of American troops trained this week on the Korean Peninsula, including the Fort Hood combat brigade. While a U.S. Forces Korea spokesman, Col. Chad Carroll, wouldnt discuss specific exercises involving ground troops, the Air Force has continued widely reported missions to Asia from Andersen AFB in Guam.

The island, the Air Forces largest base west of Hawaii, has seen B-1 bombers fly a series of high-profile missions with Japanese and South Korean pilots.

Those missions have been part of planned exercises as well as flexible-response flights designed to show support for allies in the region, said Maj. Phil Ventura, a spokesman for the Pacific Air Force in Hawaii.

On the ground, U.S. Forces Korea reported that the 8th U.S. Army and South Korean forces recently conducted a live-fire exercise in response to an ICBM test by Pyongyang. In late June, two Army Tactical Missile System missiles, called ATACMS, and two from South Koreas Hyunmoo II system, were fired within hours of a North Korean launch.

A Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system  designed to strike nuclear missiles in flight  also recently was deployed to the Korean Peninsula.

Trump and President Moon Jae-in of South Korea discussed North Koreas missile launch in a phone call three days ago, a White House release states. The two countries recently spearheaded a U.N. Security Council resolution placing stiffer sanctions on North Korea.

In Seoul, nothing has changed as a result of Trumps tweets, Greg Scarlatoiu, director of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, said in a phone call from South Korea.

The people of South Korea have lived under the overwhelming threat and the sheer mass of the North Korean military for several decades now, he said Wednesday evening. People are not rushing to grocery stories to empty shelves, its life as usual.

Any war would put Seouls population of 10 million in the crosshairs of North Korean artillery and missiles. When Scarlatoiu heard the rhetoric used by Trump and other American officials recently, he interpreted it as tough talk directed at the North Korean government.

The only language the Kim regime understands is the language of force, Scarlatoiu said. Signs of weakness or indecisiveness are always exploited.

Those familiar with U.S. efforts to counter North Koreas nuclear and missile programs, which are thought to threaten Guam, Hawaii and the West Coast, say the superheated rhetoric from both sides is becoming a real worry.

Retired Marine Lt. Gen. Paul Van Riper expressed concerns about the comments, which this week including a North Korean warning that it is ready to teach the U.S. a severe lesson with its strategic nuclear force if its attacked.

I dont think its been like that anytime in the past, said Van Riper, who led the Marine combat development command and was a mentor to Mattis. He called the escalating tension the most serious in history, not just recent history.

Retired Air Force Gen. Gene Habiger, who led the U.S. Strategic Command in the mid-1990s and lives in San Antonio, wasnt as bothered by the comments. His concern: technological advances that have allowed the North to develop nuclear bomb and missile technology.

I have had North Korea on my radar screen since I took over STRATCOM in 1996, that was 21 years ago, and nothing really has changed except the rhetoric, he said. The other things thats changed is the North Koreans have built  a missile that has a range to reach the United States. And according to press reports, they have developed a warhead they can put on that missile, which is no easy task.

There is a long history of North Korean aggression dating to its invasion of the South in summer 1950. China entered the conflict that winter, after U.S.-led forces drove deep into the North, resulting in a bloody stalemate and an often-violent armistice that took effect 64 years ago last month. More than 33,700 troops were killed in combat.

If the Norths leaders strike some as crazy, one expert said, theyre not.

It is not an irrational decision to look at the United States and for Kim Jong-un to  come to the conclusion that having been identified as a member of the axis of evil, they may be on that list, said retired Army Lt. Col. Dave Davis, who spent seven years as a negotiator on the DMZ with the U.N. Armistice Commission. And if you are suffering, as his people suffer, it is also useful to do everything you can to convince your own people that they must suffer more more and increase their efforts to prevent the United States from attacking them.

That has long been a unifying principle in North Korea.

Though social media exploded with anxiety this week after Trumps comments, with one person asking, Is Trump tweeting the U.S. into a war on North Korea? Davis and others discounted the likelihood of a military clash.

I dont think were close to war, but certainly were seeing escalating rhetoric on both sides and that raises the potential for miscalculation, said retired Air Force Col. P.J. Crowley, a former assistant secretary of state for public affairs and author of Red Line, a recently published book about the U.S. role in Syria.

Keir Lieber, a nuclear weapons expert at the Center for Security Studies at Georgetown University, said any war with Pyongyang would lead to nuclear destruction, explaining: A conventional war on the Korean Peninsula is highly likely to escalate to nuclear war due to the American way of war and the North Korean incentive to use nuclear weapons to avoid a catastrophic defeat.

Lieber and his colleagues recently ran a simulation in which the U.S. used targeted low-yield nuclear missiles to destroy North Korean nuclear facilities. In the simulation, smaller nuclear missiles destroyed North Koreas nuclear capabilities at the cost of only 150 lives, Lieber said, compared to the 2 million to 3 million killed in an exchange of larger, high-yield weapons.

The beginning hours of any military operation in North Korea, Lieber said, is going to result in the targeting of North Korea nuclear sites.

Both Crowley and Davis, the U.N. negotiator, agree that nuclear weapons are the Kim dynastys insurance policy against invasion.

What the president has said since coming into office that hes prepared to solve the North Korea problem one way of the other, Crowley said, adding that he thinks Trump has underestimated how complex the issue is and how risky it is, particularly for those who remain within reach of North Koreas conventional capability.

Going to war with North Korea is a lose-lose, Davis said, predicting the United States ultimately will tolerate a nuclear North, rather than fight a costly war to stop it.

If bellicose, Pyongyangs leaders are also very, very cautious about the survival of the regime and would put off a confrontation until theyre confident North Korea is a genuine nuclear power, said Nick Eberstadt, an economist with the American Enterprise Institute.

The North doesnt want greater international trade as Iran did but one very specific thing, he said, citing its propaganda  unification of the much larger, richer and stronger South under Kims rule.

It sounds so preposterous. How does the shrimp eat the whale. How does the tiny one absorb the big one? But that's what they want, Eberstadt said. Its important to take seriously what they say.  They are as serious as a heart attack about being a nuclear power.

sigc@express-news.net
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AUSTIN - After tea-party lawmakers threatened a fight over a rule to prevent the House from changing proposed new property tax restrictions, the idea was withdrawn Thursday.

House Calendars Committee Chairman Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi, said he had listened to Republicans and Democrats before deciding to remove the proposed rule from consideration.

Hunters move caused a stir as the special session ticks to its end next week. The House is scheduled to consider the tax bill  a top priority of Gov. Greg Abbott  on Saturday.

The no-amendments rule was proposed to honor commitments that the bills sponsor, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dennis Bonnen, made to fellow lawmakers in order to move it through the process and get it to a floor vote in the House.

If the bill changes, itll kill it, Bonnen, R-Angleton, reiterated Thursday.

Despite the dustup, the scheduled tax debate is an important sign of House movement on Abbotts agenda as some proposals - including a bill restricting which restrooms transgender people can use - are being left by the wayside.

In another bit of progress on Abbotts priorities, the House voted for two must-pass sunset bills to keep several state agencies operating, including the Texas Medical Board. The legislation already has been approved by the Senate, so a final vote by the House will send them to Abbott for his consideration. That vote is expected Friday.

With this, everything sunset is to the governor, said Rep. Larry Gonzales, R-Round Rock, chairman of the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission.

With regard to the property tax revamp, Bonnen said he believes he has enough support in the House to keep the bill in its current form. But tea-party lawmakers have said they want to offer amendments to more tightly tie local officials hands when they propose raising property taxes.

Under current law, people can petition for a rollback election if cities, counties and special districts raise property tax revenues more than 8 percent.

Senate Bill 1 by Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, as approved by senators, would lower the threshold to 4 percent and make the rollback election automatic if revenue is collected over that amount.

Bonnens committee approved a 6 percent threshold. Both measures contain exemptions, although their details differ.

The Calendars Committee approved the no-amendments rule in scheduling the bill for a Saturday floor debate.

The rules dustup is a result of the competing interests at play over the proposed tax restrictions.

Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, in pushing the measure, say property owners are bending under the weight of their tax bills.

Local officials around the state, including San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg, are against the bill. They say it would interfere with their ability to raise the revenue they need to provide services in areas including public safety.

The critics also say that because the bill doesnt do anything about the public school systems heavy reliance on property taxes, it wont make a real dent in peoples tax burden.

The rollback proposal was approved by the Senate in the regular session that ended May 29, but it didnt get a House vote. Abbott subsequently put the proposal on the special-session agenda, which he controls, and the Senate quickly passed it with the 4 percent threshold.

The 6 percent threshold offered in the House is seen as more palatable by Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff. He said he would prefer that the state let local officials control their revenues, but that the county could life with the 6 percent margin.

pfikac@express-news.net

Twitter: @pfikac
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City Manager Sheryl Sculley will present City Council today with a $2.7 billion budget that includes 40 new police officers, 43 new firefighters and allocates more to street maintenance and VIA Metropolitan Transit.

The fiscal year 2018 budget  the largest San Antonio ever has seen  takes effect Oct. 1. It maintains a flat tax rate, yet grows by 5 percent overall, with a general fund increase of 4.4 percent.

The total consolidated budget for the FY 2018 is $2.7 billion, and the general fund is $1.2 billion. Restricted funds and the capital budget account for $858 million and $639 million, respectively.

Sculley told the San Antonio Express-News Editorial Board on Wednesday that the budget blueprint was drawn up based on input from both the public and the council during a June goal-setting session.

Each time we have a new group that comes into office, some of them have different ideas or different direction, she said. This budget does focus on and begins the process to more quantifiably focus on equity within the community.

The proposal calls for transferring $4.3 million to VIA in fiscal year 2018 to increase the frequency of bus trips on seven key routes. That transfer would increase to $10 million in the following fiscal year.

Those earmarked funds mark a big win for Councilman Rey Saldana, whod led the charge for increasing VIAs funding. His initiative had been blocked under then-Mayor Ivy Taylor but has support from Mayor Ron Nirenberg.

Under Sculleys proposal, San Antonio would add 40 new police officers and 43 additional firefighters, in addition to a new ladder truck and ambulance for the Fire Department.

The spending plan also would finish out a three-phase process of beefing up the number of 911 call takers. The proposed budget would fund the addition of 34 new positions, according to a budget document provided to the newspaper.

Meanwhile, the city and San Antonio Professional Firefighters still have not reached any agreements  or even begun negotiating  on a new collective-bargaining agreement.

The contract remains in evergreen, meaning the city continues to pay 100 percent of the health care premiums for firefighters, their spouses and children. They havent gotten negotiated pay raises since the contract fell into evergreen in 2014, but they continue to see wages rise under various increases related to specialty pay, tenure and other contractual elements, Sculley said.

That the San Antonio Police Officers Association reached a deal last September on a new contract that has reduced the citys burden on health care costs. Theres some $87.5 million in cost avoidance over the life of the contract, Sculley said, which has given the municipality some room to add the EMS unit and ladder truck.

If adopted, the proposed FY 2018 budget would increase the starting hourly wage for civilian city employees from $13.75 to $14.25. San Antonio is on target to increase that wage to $15 in the 2019 fiscal year.

The upcoming budget will reflect a $100,000 grant to be added to $150,000 the council approved in a mid-year adjustment to fund immigrant legal services. The money will be spent, among other things, on education efforts on immigrant rights and legal representation in deportation cases.

Sculley is proposing to increase funding for street maintenance from $64 million to $99 million, including a program targeting improving street conditions in Council Districts 1, 2, 3, 5 and 10. Plans also call for adding some $5 million of sidewalk funding to the $78 million that was approved in the 2017 bond program, Sculley said.

Even before he was sworn in as mayor, Nirenberg called for increased spending on lane striping across San Antonios streets. Sculley heeded the call and is recommending an increase from $1 million to $5.8 million.

The proposed budget includes some recommended fee increases as well.

Monthly solid waste fees are scheduled to increase for medium and large carts, from $20.93 to $21.93 and from $22.18 to $24.68, respectively. Sculleys recommendation also includes negligible stormwater fee increases.

After Sculley presents the budget to the City Council today, officials will spend the next several weeks poring over the documents details. Ultimately, the council likely will tweak some of the recommendations before adopting the budget in September.

JBaugh@express-news.net

Twitter: @jbaugh
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Animal Care Service officers retrieved two rain-drenched raccoons this week from a dumpster, but not without a tussle from the pair upset at being taken away from their treasure chest of assorted snacks.

A Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation volunteer called the citys 311 non-emergency number to ask for help in picking up the raccoons during Mondays storm. Field Services Manager Aimee DeContreras and Field Services Supervisor Manuel Flores went to the scene behind a middle school on the Northeast Side, where the rascals had burrowed themselves deep into the wet trash and debris.

RELATED: North Texas woman shares photos, videos of repeated raccoon break-ins at apartment

The volunteer said time was of the essence  a garbage truck was scheduled to empty the dumpster that morning. And it was still raining.

As the sour stench of rotting trash surrounded the rescuers, Flores gently explored the soggy trash with a catch pole and finally tipped open the top of a box where they spied the wet, teenage raccoons huddled together, on all fours, looking like doused weasels. Behind them was a bag of shredded sun chips, an empty orange soda can and their next target, a large plastic bag of oatmeal creme pies.

They had a plethora of food to choose from, DeContreras said.

RELATED: San Antonio celebrates International Cat Day with all the kitty tweets

The pair froze when they were spotted, Flores said.

As the downpour increased, Flores nudged the box and the raccoons raised up on their hind legs, screeching and growling. He slipped the noose of the catch pole over the midsection of one of the raccoons, capturing it with the help of a net and locking it in a large plastic crate.

The other turned its back, motionless as a rock.

After securing the first raccoon, Flores retrieved the second scamp the same way. Once the young scavengers were reunited they calmed down.

RELATED: Photos show inside San Antonio airport's special restroom for traveling dogs, therapy animals

An ACS spokeswoman said the raccoons,which will be tested for disease, would be relocated if theyre healthy to another wooded area, away from people.

Flores said when food is thrown away in a residential bin or dumpster, it should be done in a manner that prevents wildlife access. Theres a list of helpful hints on what to do when encountering wildlife at the ACS website: http://www.sanantonio.gov/Animal-Care/Animal-Health-Welfare/Wildlife.

DeContreras said after they secured the pair, they checked the dumpster for any more critters. They only found shredded snacks and the bag of oatmeal creme pies.

I wish ultimately the dumpster had a protective bar (to prevent opening). This one was wide open, DeContreras said. But Im glad this had a good outcome. Manuel saved them.

vtdavis@express-news.net
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AUSTIN  A proposal to require automatic rollback elections if cities or counties raise local property tax rates above a certain level will be considered by the Texas House on Saturday under action by the House Calendars Committee.

The committee voted Wednesday to put the bill on the House calendar.

It also voted to prevent any amendments from being offered to the bill when its debated. The ban on amendments will require a vote by the full House to be maintained.

The property tax measure, a top priority for Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, didnt get a House vote in the regular session that ended May 29. Abbott then put it on the agenda of the special session, which he controls.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, said during the regular session that there wasnt enough support in the chamber to pass automatic rollbacks. Bonnen since has said that House backing is growing for the proposal.

The automatic rollback proposal has been vehemently opposed by local officials, including San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg, who say it would hamper their ability to provide key services, including police and firefighting services.

Law enforcement and local officials have come to the Texas Capitol to oppose the legislation. They came again Wednesday, when Live Oak Mayor Mary Dennis said smaller cities are against it even though theyd be exempt from the current legislation.

Theyre going after big cities this time. Theyll go after us next time, Dennis, Texas Municipal League president, told the San Antonio Express-News.

Under current law, people can petition for a rollback election if cities, counties and special districts raise property tax revenues more than 8 percent.

Senate Bill 1, as approved by senators, would lower the threshold to 4 percent and make the rollback election automatic if revenue is collected over that amount. Bonnens committee approved a 6 percent threshold, also making elections automatic if revenue increases are higher. Both measures contain exemptions, although their details differ.

If approved by the House, the bill would go to the Senate for consideration of changes. The Senate could ask for a committee to negotiate differences.

Rep. Byron Cook, a Corsicana Republican who serves on the Calendars Committee, said the no-amendments rule was approved by the panel to keep the bill clean.

I dont think it would have happened otherwise, Cook said of the committee vote to schedule the bill for debate.

pfikac@express-news.net

Twitter: @pfikac
AUSTIN  As a property tax revamp heads toward a House vote Saturday, tea-party-aligned lawmakers are promising to attack a rule that would prevent them from making it tougher for cities and counties to raise tax revenue.

The bills author, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dennis Bonnen, said Wednesday that if theyre successful in fighting the no-amendments rule, theyll kill the proposal.

The battle illustrates the delicate balancing act when it comes to the bill that would institute automatic rollback elections if cities, counties and special districts raise property tax revenue over a certain level.

Local officials, including Mayor Ron Nirenberg, strongly oppose the bill, saying it would impair their ability to raise the revenue they need to provide public safety services and other necessities.

Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick are just as vigorously pushing the measure, saying property owners are bending under the weight of their tax bills.

The rollback proposal was approved by the Senate in the regular legislative session but it didnt get a House vote. Abbott subsequently put it on the special session agenda, which he controls, and the Senate promptly passed it again.

The House Calendars Committee voted Wednesday to put the bill on the chambers schedule for consideration Saturday. The committee also voted to prevent any amendments from being offered during House debate.

The rule to ban amendments will require approval by the full House to be maintained.

Rep. Matt Schaefer said he would attempt to be recognized by House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, to change the rule when its brought before the chamber. Changing it would require a rules suspension, said Schaefer, a Tyler Republican who heads the Texas Freedom Caucus in the House.

Understatement of the year, Schaefer said when asked by reporters whether hed like to offer amendments to the bill.

Under current law, people can petition for a rollback election if cities, counties and special districts raise property tax revenues more than 8 percent.

Senate Bill 1 by Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, as approved by senators would lower the threshold to 4 percent and make the rollback election automatic if revenue to be collected is over that amount. Bonnens committee approved a 6 percent threshold. Both measures contain exemptions, although their details differ.

I like 4 better than 6. I like including all property  owners rather than the huge exclusions that are in this bill, Schaefer said. You have made a substantive statement about property tax reform by not allowing amendments. A vote for that rule is a vote against stronger property tax reform.

To get enough support to get the bill approved in committee and scheduled for a floor vote, Bonnen said he made a commitment to keep the rollback threshold at 6 percent. Opening the bill up to amendments could result in wholesale changes to it.

He simply wants to create disruption and Washington, D.C.-style politics to ensure nothing ever, ever happens in Texas, so we wont stand for that, Bonnen said of Schaefer. The only way for this bill to pass is to keep it clean, because of the commitments we made to get it out on the floor. If he wants to protect property taxpayers, hell pass this bill and well go visit with the Senate about what we can do.

Bonnen didnt bring a rollback bill to the House floor for a vote in the regular session because, he said, there wasnt enough support to pass it. He has said House members appear more willing to consider the issue in the special session. But he said Wednesday that he isnt sure if there are enough House votes to pass the bill.

I would think people would want to provide protection to taxpayers, but well find out, he said.

If approved by the House, the bill would go to the Senate for consideration of changes. The Senate could ask for a committee to negotiate differences.

I couldnt even imagine trying to pass a bill with no amendments, said Bettencourt when asked about the House actions. The House is the House. I guess well see.

Local elected officials and law enforcement repeatedly have come to the Capitol to oppose the legislation. A group came again Wednesday, when Live Oak Mayor Mary Dennis said smaller cities are against it even though theyd be exempt from the current proposal.

Theyre going after big cities this time. Theyll go after us next time, said Dennis, who also is president of the Texas Municipal League.

Critics say that if lawmakers want to relieve local property tax bills, they should address the school funding system, which relies heavily on local property taxes.

Theres a push to address the school funding system in the special session, which ends next week. But there is disagreement between the House and Senate on the best way to pursue changes.

pfikac@express-news.net

Twitter: @pfikac
From digitized microfilm / From digitized microfilm

On Aug. 14, 1945, Japan surrendered unconditionally to the Allies, effectively ending World War II. The lead story by the Associated Press delivered the news with this short but stirring lead paragraph: Japan surrendered unconditionally tonight. Historys most destructive war is over.

But even more succinct was the word above the masthead in all caps, PEACE!
Missionaries and masons who built San Antonios mission churches some 250 years ago used astronomy, mathematics and creative architecture to create solar illumination events  strategic projections of sunlight onto an altar, statue or other iconic image  to coincide with a feast day or change of season.

The phenomenon, common in Spanish mission churches, is thought to have been used to convert indigenous populations to Christianity, connecting them to celestial patterns and seasons tied to farming and hunting. But observers and scholars have only really known about and studied solar events at two mission churches in San Antonio in recent years.

Franciscan missionaries and masons of the mission era are believed to have used architectural technologies developed by the Romans more than 2,000 years ago. They created worship spaces that could use natural light from the sun, which was considered sacred and used to gauge the passing of time and seasons by indigenous hunter-gatherers when missions were built in the 1700s and early 1800s.

One of the major celestial events of the year in San Antonio, a rare double solar illumination at Mission Concepcion, will occur Aug. 15, as the church observes the Feast of the Assumption, starting at 6 p.m., with a Mass celebrated at 7. If the sky is clear, the full illumination will be seen about 6:30 p.m.

The evolution of that event dates nearly 20 years ago, when a California researcher who later studied and helped explain the solar illumination in San Antonio was beginning to research a similar phenomenon in one of the historic mission churches on the West Coast. In an article published last year by The Conversation US, an independent online publication, Ruben G. Mendoza, professor of archaeology at Cal State University at Monterey Bay, recalled hearing from a parish priest about a spectacular solar illumination at Mission San Juan Bautista on Dec. 12, 1997.

A group of pilgrims observing the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe had asked to be admitted to the church early that morning. When the pastor entered the sanctuary, he saw an intense shaft of light traversing the length of the church and illuminating the east half of the altar, Mendoza wrote.

Though intrigued, Mendoza was studying the missions architectural history and assumed that the event was not related to his studies. But he returned a year later and witnessed it himself.

An intensely brilliant shaft of light entered the church through a window at the center of the facade and reached to the altar, illuminating a banner depicting the Virgin of Guadalupe on her feast day in an unusual rectangle of light, he wrote. As I stood in the shaft of light and looked back at the sun framed at the epicenter of the window, I couldnt help but feel what many describe when, in the course of a near-death experience, they see the light of the great beyond.

Upon further study, Mendoza found that the buildings position was strategically aimed at harnessing the morning light Dec. 21, the winter solstice, for dramatic effect. Native Americans of the mission once held raucous ceremonies that were intended to make possible the resurrection of the dying winter sun, he wrote.

In 2011, the Los Angeles Times reported on the winter solstice illumination at San Juan Bautista.

As roosters crowed, a luminous rectangle appeared on the wall just to the left of the altar. Turning gold and then fiery, it slowly moved over the altar. At that moment, someone threw open the churchs great double doors and a river of light shot down the 188-foot-long main aisle. One by one, parishioners were led to the altar for their moment in the sun, the Times reported.

It also was partly by happenstance in 2003 when George Dawson, a volunteer docent who had heard similar tales, discovered a double-illumination at Mission Concepcion, one of four federally run Spanish mission sites in San Antonio, all with active Catholic parishes. Because it was about 6:30 p.m., when the church and mission grounds were typically closed, Dawson was the first person in recent years to witness rays of sunlight illuminating two key points in the church.

He realized that day was Aug. 15, the annual Feast of the Assumption, a sacred day that the Franciscans would have celebrated at the mission some 250 years ago.

I got goose bumps. I finally knew what was going on in this church, Dawson told the San Antonio Express-News in 2006. I rushed home and told my wife. On the drive home, I was the only person in the world who knew.

The church, built in 1755, has two windows through which daylight illuminates key points of its interior on sacred religious and key astronomical dates. On the feast day of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which dates to the eighth century, sunlight penetrates a window and moves onto the face of Mary in a painting behind the altar, while another beam of light shines into the dome of the church onto the center of the cross-shaped building. In Catholic theology, Marys body was assumed into heaven instead of being buried.

Dawson, a retired banker who had begun volunteering at Concepcion in 2001, had heard a cryptic legend from at least one other guide that sunlight beaming through a 10-inch round window, called an occula, above the church entrance sometimes created an awe-inspiring effect.

According to the 2006 Express-News article, light also shines through the occula and onto the main altar April 13 and Aug. 29. Light also enters one of the four small windows atop the churchs 54-foot-high dome and crosses the north altar Dec. 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception; Dec. 12, the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe; and Dec. 21, the winter solstice.

Mendoza was among the experts consulted on the solar illuminations at Concepcion. A solar event later discovered at Mission Espada is said to occur each year on Oct. 4, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, when morning daylight illuminates the wall behind the altar through a small window above the entry door.

Also, Mission Espiritu Santo in Goliad State Park also is said to experience a solar illumination in mid-April.

In a survey of 21 California missions, Mendoza determined that 14 were situated and designed to produce solar events on seasonal solstices or equinoxes. Two others had solar events on feast days. In New Mexico, all but four of 22 mission churches studied have solar events on the vernal or autumnal equinox. Through his work, Mendoza has so far identified about 60 illumination sites in the western United States, Mexico and South America.

shuddleston@express-news.net

Twitter: @shuddlestonSA

COMING FRIDAY: A longtime tradition: creatively cooling off in the dog days of summer.
Jock Romes family has farmed the same farmstead in southern Scotland for more than 300 years. While they still milk cows and raise Galloway beef cattle, pigs, and black face sheep, Jock has taken a different approach to marketing than his parents and grandparents.

The original stone and brick farm buildings no longer house live cattle but have been renovated into a beautiful complex including a butcher shop, deli, and restaurant featuring their meats and vegetables, and a gift shop featuring local craftsmen.

An older gentleman with high energy, Jock met us at the butcher shop and treated us to tea, coffee and cakes along with the history and future plans for their farm.

People the key

With more than 1,000 acres and multiple production and retail enterprises, good managers and staff are key contributors to the Kilnford Barns Farm Shop and Ingleston farm success.

Historically, the farm milked 450 Holstein cows, but when faced with the prospect of building a new barn to accommodate the increasing size of their Holsteins, they made a unique decision. The Holsteins were sold, and they switched to 460 Danish Jersey cows in a flying herd.

English is our common language, but they lost me with flying herd!

Translation: Only mature milking and dry cows make up their herd today  a flying herd.

Milked twice a day, the Jerseys average 51 pounds of 5.8 percent fat and 3.9 percent protein milk, which is marketed to Grahams (Scotlands largest independent dairy) on a Jersey Gold Top contract. Current milk price was 35 pence per liter or about $20.44 per cwt.

Jock indicated that some processors are starting to penalize for milk with less than 3.8 percent butterfat.

Danish Jerseys

The original Jerseys were sourced from Denmark and they go back regularly for replacement heifers. Why? The Danes are producing the type of animals that they desire, and with IBR in their area, they are able to breed the imported heifers and bring them into production without the health and reproductive issues associated with the disease.

The cows are all bred AI to Belgian Blue or Limousin sires. Current calving interval is 370 days. Both male and female crossbreds are raised and sold as finished cattle.

Currently, their butcher shop features Galloway beef, but they are considering offering some of the Jersey crosses along with some additional marketing.

Average size

The Ingleston herd is mid-size in the Scottish industry. Scotland currently has roughly 980 dairy farms with an average herd size of 180 head. Herd size ranges from 60 to 1,000 cows with few herds outside of that range.

Biggest challenge

One of the biggest challenges for dairy and livestock farmers in Scotland is winter stored feed. Tons (literally!) of grass and small grains are harvested as pasture, dry hay (limited due to weather) and haylage. Corn silage is highly desired, but a challenge to grow.

Ingleston Farm feels the additional $130 per acre cost to start corn under plastic is a sound investment and our insurance policy. In only one year out of seven would they be comfortable growing corn without plastic.

This is a special plastic that the corn actually grows through in about six weeks after danger of frost is over.

The farm has a small herd of 20 registered Galloway cattle, and purchases an additional 1,000 head of Galloway steers to finish each year. More than a third of these animals are marketed through their butcher shop.

The first group of this years steers had just been brought into a large, well-bedded pen two days before we visited the farm. They were not happy to see us as they had been grazing extensively. They are quite hairy and have to be clipped before they are sent to slaughter.

This was the only group of livestock we saw on many farm visits that did not like strangers. It is a testament to Scottish stockmanship that on all the other farms, even groups of finishing cattle that had been purchased from multiple sources and grouped together in the past several months were extremely calm, curious, and friendly.

Jock also explained that they purchase and finish around 1,000 blackface lambs each fall, finishing them on grass.

Six lambs a week are marketed through the farms butcher shop. The rest of the lambs are marketed to Sainsburys, a large United Kingdom grocer, for their Taste the Difference brand.

Willingness to change

Most farms that we visited had close relationships to these grocers and are very aware of changing consumer preferences.

Three hundred years of a family farming the same land. This farm could have fallen victim to what International Farm Management Congress speaker Charles Dudgeon of Savillo Real Estate Sales, referred to as IAB, or Its Always Been.

The butcher shop and restaurant had always been a barn for housing live cattle. The dairy barn had always been for Holsteins. The farm had always sold their products to the wholesale market.

Look at the farms website at https://www.kilnford.co.uk/. See some of the ways that Jock Rome and his team of managers chose not to be limited by IAB thinking.
Do you suffer from IAB? OK, so I learned that acronym from Dianne Shoemakers column this week. It stands for Its Always Been, and Im guessing we all have had bouts of it, and may even need therapy or treatment to cure it.

Its human nature and its physics. Remember good ol Newtons Laws of Motions? The first addresses inertia: An object remains in motion (or rest) unless it is compelled to change that state by forces impressed on it.

Shoemaker recently traveled to Scotland for the International Farm Management Congress where she heard the phrase from speaker Charles Dudgeon of Savillo Real Estate Sales. Her column this week shares how a family farm  in business for more than 300 years!  shifted major gears to position itself for the next 300 years. Out with the Holsteins, in with the Jerseys. The historic stone barn that had always housed livestock now houses a butcher shop and restaurant. Forget selling to the commodity market.

Her column mentioned that many of the farms she visited had unique and growing relationships with grocers, which reminded me of another UK speaker I heard in May at the Alltech Ideas Conference.

There, Nic Parsons, agriculture manager for the dairy sector within Tesco Stores Ltd., explained how that store chain rebranded its supply chain for milk to Fair for Farmers. It wanted to establish long-term relationships with its farmers, and encourage consumers to likewise support local farmers. Tesco pays guaranteed prices, set for three months at a time, and offers long-term contracts.

Its British, its good for farmers, and we look after the farmers were working with, and its good for the health and welfare of cows, Parsons explained.

The new idea took some explaining, Parsons added, especially to convert farmers to the idea that they are part of a bigger supply chain. We needed evolution, he added.

Tesco has expanded its concept to include similar marketing and outreach with lamb, pork, beef and potato producers, and are developing it with poultry, as well.

Theres a lot more to it (Tesco requires certain quality, service and innovation practices, and rewards the top 5% with a quota of more liters at a better price), but the emphasis is on bridging that link between farm and table, via a key retail partner.

And this connection was highlighted even more last week when I downloaded a new report  at 306 pages make that a book!  from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Harvesting Opportunity: The Power of Regional Food System Investments to Transform Communities.

I havent even begun to digest its contents, but the book created in tandem with the USDA, explores everything  and I mean everything  about the interconnection between food production, food distribution and food purchases as 1) a means of economic development; 2) a food system that benefits low- and moderate-income households, too; 3) a tool for healthier living; and 4) a matter of national security.

Theres a lot to chew in this book, and no doubt youll be hearing more from it in this space. But the links  the alliances, the partnerships, the new communication  up and down the production and supply chains are part of a new way of thinking about food and agriculture in the U.S.

Trying to banish IAB? Read this book and call me in the morning.
COLUMBUS  The Ohio AgriBusiness Association (OABA) will donate $50,000 to complete the endowed scholarship fund that was started last year.

In 2016, the Ohio AgriBusiness Association Educational Trust announced a $100,000 endowed scholarship fund with Ohio State University.

The trust made an initial contribution of $50,000 to start the fund. The associations matching donation, approved by the board of directors, will complete the endowment, making it eligible for matching funds from OSU through the Ohio Scholarship Challenge.

The endowment will provide $8,000 annually in scholarship revenue, in perpetuity, to students studying agriculture at the Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and the Agricultural Technical Institute (ATI) in Wooster.

In addition to the endowment, the OABA Educational Trust provides more than $35,000 annually in scholarships. The scholarship program provides financial assistance to students enrolled in agriculture-related fields attending Ohio State University and Ohio State ATI, Clark State Community College, Wilmington College and Central State University.
COLUMBUS  There are some scary-looking scoundrels on the loose.

Wanted posters for the "Dirty Dozen" are popping up on social media and locations in town. Hopes are that locals will be able to identify the gang members, leading to their capture.

Keen-eyed citizens can collect a cool $250 if they're right.

The contest is part of a promotion for the Columbus Days celebration taking place next week.

This year's event has a Wild Wild West" theme, so it seemed fitting to come up with a fun competition featuring local celebrities on wanted posters to help market Columbus Days.

That's just one way the theme is being highlighted, said Sandie Fischer, events planner and entrepreneur/membership developer with the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce and chairperson for this years Columbus Days.

Along with returning activities such as the Columbus BBQ Classic, live music and parade, a few special additions have been wrangled up. These include a mechanical bull and jail cell created by Duo Lift, both of which will be featured in Frankfort Square during Columbus Days.

The celebration kicks off Aug. 17 with a performance by the Columbus Community Band followed by three more days of fun, music and food.

Fischer said those featured on the wanted posters are well-known individuals. However, they might not be as easy to recognize decked out in clothing and other accessories, including facial hair, that were popular during Wild West times.

The wanted posters are up at the chamber office, in the windows of the old Schwesers building at the corner of 27th Avenue and 13th Street and on the Columbus Days Facebook page.

Forms for the contest can be found at the chamber website, www.thecolumbuspage.com, or the chamber office. They can be turned in at the chamber ahead of time or by "high noon" on Aug. 19 to the information booth during Columbus Days in Frankfort Square. Those who identify all 12 correctly will be entered to win the cash prize.

The Dirty Dozen isnt the only promotional competition for Columbus Days. A golden "Buffalo Bill" Cody coin is hidden somewhere in Columbus. The person who finds the coin and turns it in at the chamber office can win $300 cash or a days rental of Henry on 11th.

Clues can be found on the Facebook pages for Henry on 11th and Columbus Days.
HARRISBURG, Pa.  The Center for Dairy Excellence and Penn State Extension Dairy Team are hosting a Dairy Industry Breakfast for dairy professionals and agri-business representatives Aug. 16, 6:45-8:30 a.m. during Penn States Ag Progress Days.

Chuck Nicholson, Penn State Smeal College of Business professor, will discuss preliminary findings that have been gathered in Phase 1 of the Pennsylvania Dairy Industry Study.

Attendees can share their input on the findings to use in Phase II of the study, which results in recommendations for future growth of the Pennsylvania dairy industry.

The free event will take place in the downstairs section of the Little Red Barn that is located on the Ag Progress Days grounds.

Pre-registration is required to ensure an accurate meal count. To register, visit centerfordairyexcellence.org/august-16-dairy-industry-breakfast/

To learn more, visit centerfordairyexcellence.org or contact Melissa Anderson at manderson@centerfordairyexcellence.org or 717-346-0849.
By Ryan McGeeney

2017 is the 18th annual National Farmers Market Week

Division of Agriculture supports farmers markets in a number of ways throughout the state

Farmers markets account for about $2 billion in farm-direct spending in U.S.

Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson will sign a proclamation this Friday, declaring Aug. 6-12 as Farmers Market Week in the State of Arkansas.

The proclamation puts the state in line with a larger national effort to recognize the importance of farmers markets in individual food economies around the country. The U.S. Department of Agriculture declared Aug. 6-12 National Farmers Market Week.

This week marks the 18th annual celebration of farmers markets around the country. Ron Rainey, Professor of Economics for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, will be present for the signing of the proclamation at the State Capitol Building, which is scheduled to take place 9:45 a.m. Friday.

Rainey said the Division of Agriculture supports and assists growers and farmers markets in a variety of ways at the local, county and state levels.

In some counties, the local Cooperative Extension Service agent may actually manage a farmers market in the county, Rainey said. In other areas, the agent may simply be helping a grower to find a market. Food and Consumer Science agents with extension often do cooking and food prep demonstrations at farmers markets, and on the state level, I try to help answer questions about how state or federal regulations may apply to growers selling their produce at those markets.

According to information from the USDA, the number of farmers markets have increased by more than 60 percent since 2009, with more than 8,500 markets around the country, and account for about two-thirds of the $3 billion spent annually on farm-direct products in the United States.
By Philip Ling  CBC News

The most significant concern, U.S. auditors said, was that Canadian government plant inspectors were not checking for residual feces and digestive waste materials on each carcass in slaughterhouses prior to export.

Auditors noted that government inspectors appear to not be conducting carcass-by-carcass post-mortem inspection to ensure freedom from contamination, noted the audit. Conducted in 2016, it was released this spring but garnered little attention.

This could be a significant finding for the [U.S. Food Safety and Inspection Service] and could be inconsistent with [U.S.] requirements.

Post-mortem inspection procedures that do not ensure carcass-by-carcass inspection . . . raise significant questions about the Canadian system, American officials wrote in the audit.

The audits were conducted in September 2016 in slaughterhouses in Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec and shared with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency in April.

Our goal is to achieve a common understanding about how two inspection systems meet the same food safety outcome

U.S. requirements on imported meat

The United States requires carcasses to be inspected by a government inspector to confirm they arent contaminated before they are stamped inspected and passed. The rule applies both to meat from the U.S. and carcasses imported into the country.

The U.S. government could temporarily ban Canadian plants from exporting their products to the United States if the requirements arent met.

The CFIA declined CBC News request for interview, but issued a statement insisting Canadas food system is safe.

Both Canada and the U.S. have rules that prohibit the production of meat from carcasses that are contaminated, said CFIA spokeswoman Maria Kubacki. Both countries have high standards for food safety. Canada and the U.S. have different approaches to verify that carcasses are free of contamination, and neither Canada nor the U.S. tolerates contamination on food animal carcasses.

But the American audit pointed out about 60,000 kilograms of Canadian meat and poultry products were rejected by the United States for various public health reasons between 2013 and 2015.

Meat contaminated by manure, ingesta (food from the animals digestive system) or other bodily fluids such as milk is the primary way for pathogens, such as E. coli, to spread.

An E. coli outbreak at an XL Foods plant in southern Alberta in 2012 was detected by U.S. inspectors and led to the largest meat recall in Canadian history. Eighteen people in Canada got sick from eating the beef. (XL Foods was sold in 2013 to JBS South America of Brazil.)

The CFIA statement added that discussions with its U.S. counterparts to address the U.S. concerns are ongoing.

Our goal is to achieve a common understanding about how two inspection systems meet the same food safety outcome, Kubacki said.

Bob Kingston, president of the Agriculture Union representing food inspectors in Canada, said he is not surprised at all by the American audit results, pointing to a need to hire more front-line inspectors.

Union says resources stretched

Canadians should be disappointed and angry, Kingston said in an interview with CBC News.

If you take a look at almost every single deficiency in this agency for the last decade, they all go back to resources, he said. At the end of the day, CFIA has an extremely competent group of people who are stretched beyond their limit.

The inspection staffs go home with their fingers crossed hoping theyre not going to get some bad news because of something they missed, Kingston said.

In its spring budget, the Liberal government promised an additional $149 million over five years, starting with $37 million this year, to renew core food safety inspection programming delivered by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Health Canada.

The 2016 U.S. audit came two years after another audit raised concerns about meat processing in Canada, particularly over testing for Listeria monocytogenes, the same bacteria responsible for a listeriosis outbreak in deli meats linked to 22 deaths in 2008. American officials say CFIA has since resolved those issues.



Source: Meatbusiness
Wheat: Net sales of 464,300 metric tons for delivery in marketing year 2017/2018 were up noticeably from the previous week and 11 percent from the prior 4-week average. Increases were for Indonesia (115,000 MT, including 70,000 MT switched from unknown destinations), South Korea (70,000 MT), Algeria (58,000 MT), the Philippines (51,500 MT, including 45,000 MT switched from unknown destinations), and Chile (45,500 MT, including 30,000 MT switched from unknown destinations). Reductions were reported for unknown destinations (46,800 MT), Malaysia (9,000 MT), and China (1,700 MT). Exports of 568,200 MT were down 3 percent from the previous week, but up 9 percent from the prior 4-week average. The primary destinations were Japan (155,300 MT), China (108,300 MT), the Philippines (71,500 MT), Taiwan (50,300 MT), and Chile (32,500 MT).

Exports for Own Account: Exports own account totaling 21,200 MT for Italy was applied to new or outstanding sales.

Corn: Net sales of 52,000 MT for 2016/2017 resulted as increases for Japan (88,100 MT, including 92,700 MT, switched from unknown destinations and decreases of 5,700 MT), Mexico (87,600 MT), Peru (56,800 MT, switched from unknown destinations), Colombia (16,400 MT, switched from unknown destinations), and Honduras (13,500 MT, including 12,300 MT switched from unknown destinations). Reductions were reported for unknown destinations (248,100 MT) and Panama (500 MT). For 2017/2018, net sales of 628,400 MT were reported primarily for Colombia (275,000 MT), Mexico (194,100 MT), and unknown destinations (124,800 MT). Reductions were reported for Nicaragua (9,000 MT), Costa Rica (1,000 MT), and Taiwan (300 RB). Exports of 973,500 MT were down 11 percent from the previous week, but unchanged from the prior 4-week average. The primary destinations were Japan (328,100 MT), Mexico (245,400 MT), Colombia (108,900 MT), South Korea (74,200 MT), and China (68,800 MT).

Optional Origin Sales The current optional origin 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: No net sales were reported for the week. Exports of 500 MT were reported to Japan.

Sorghum: Net sales reductions of 2,200 MT for 2016/2017 were reported for China. For 2017/2018, net sales of 145,500 MT were reported for unknown destinations (138,000 MT) and Japan (7,500 MT). Exports of 102,000 MT were down 39 percent from the previous week, but up 6 percent from the prior 4-week average. The destinations were China (99,300 MT) and Mexico (2,800 MT).

Rice: Net sales of 9,100 MT were reported for 2017/2018, which began August 1. Increases were reported for Mexico (7,100 MT), Canada (800 MT), Hong Kong (500 MT), and Japan (500 MT). A total of 254,500 MT in sales were outstanding on July 31 and carried over to 2017/2018. Accumulated exports in 2016/2017 totaled 3,519,600 MT down 5 percent from the prior years total of 3,359,600 MT. Exports for 2016/2017 totaled 49,000 MT and were primarily to Venezuela (28,900 MT), Mexico (8,100 MT), Guatemala (6,300 MT), and Canada (1,400 MT).

Exports for Own Account: The current exports for own account outstanding balance is 200 MT, all Canada, and is carried over to 2017/2018.

Soybeans: Net sales of 45,000 MT for 2016/2017--a marketing-year low--were down 81 percent from the previous week and 83 percent from the prior 4-week average. Increases were reported for the Netherlands (149,000 MT, including 140,400 MT switched from unknown destinations and decreases of 2,600 MT), China (80,200 MT, switched from unknown destinations), Indonesia (78,800 MT, including 50,000 MT switched from unknown destinations and decreases of 1,900 MT), Mexico (22,900 MT), and Peru (14,800 MT, switched from unknown destinations). Reductions were reported for unknown destinations (283,300 MT), Spain (65,000 MT), and Egypt (2,400 MT). For 2017/2018, net sales of 639,300 MT were reported for China (184,000 MT), unknown destinations (141,300 MT), Mexico (119,900 MT), and Spain (65,000 MT). Exports of 612,300 MT were down 14 percent from the previous week, but up 28 percent from the prior 4-week average. The destinations were primarily China (187,000 MT), the Netherland (149,000 MT), Indonesia (75,000 MT), Pakistan (68,600 MT), and Egypt (57,600 MT).

Exports for Own Account: The current outstanding balance of 14,000 MT is for Canada.

Soybean Cake and Meal: Net sales of 6,000 MT for 2016/2017 resulted as increases for Venezuela (30,000 MT, switched from unknown destinations), Canada (11,600 MT), Colombia (10,000 MT), and the Philippines (8,100 MT). Reductions were reported for unknown destinations (64,500 MT), China (30,000 MT), and Nicaragua (300 MT). For 2017/2018, net sales of 136,500 MT were reported primarily for the Philippines (43,000 MT), Colombia (41,500 MT), Mexico (21,900 MT), and El Salvador (12,000 MT). Exports of 186,100 MT were down 2 percent from the previous week, but up 27 percent from the prior 4-week average. The destinations were primarily the Philippines (91,500 MT), Mexico (43,900 MT), Canada (15,700 MT), Israel (11,000 MT), and Guatemala (7,100 MT).

Soybean Oil: Net sales of 27,700 MT for 2016/2017 were up noticeably from the previous week and 65 percent from the prior 4-week average. Increases were reported for Canada (21,900 MT), Jamaica (3,500 MT), Mexico (1,100 MT), and the Dominican Republic (1,100 MT). Exports of 25,300 MT were down 20 percent from the previous week, but up 12 percent from the prior 4-week average. The destinations were primarily Canada (22,100 MT), Mexico (3,100 MT), and Lebanon (100 MT).

Cotton: Net sales for 2017/2018, which began August 1, totaled 75,800 RB. Increases reported for Vietnam (25,100 RB), Thailand (15,800 RB), Mexico (10,000 RB), Pakistan (7,700 RB), and China (7,400 RB), were partially offset by decreases for Japan (2,400 RB). A total of 745,300 RB in sales were carried over from the 2016/2017 marketing year, which ended July 31. Exports for the period ending July 31 of 102,200 RB brought accumulated exports to 13,823,100 RB, up 64 percent from the prior years total of 8,419,600 RB. The primary destinations were Vietnam (22,800 RB), Turkey (21,700 RB), Mexico (12,800 RB), South Korea (8,500 RB), and Indonesia (5,800 RB). Exports for August 1-3 totaled 114,000 RB, with Turkey (30,400 RB), Vietnam (27,700 RB), China (14,700 RB), India (9,700 RB), and Mexico (8,800 RB) being the primary destinations. Net sales of Pima for 2017/2018 totaled 1,400 RB. Increases reported for China (2,400 RB), India (1,700 RB), and Mexico (100 RB), were partially offset by decreases for Hong Kong (2,400 RB) and Peru (400 RB). A total of 42,800 RB in sales were carried over from the 2016/2017 marketing year, which ended July 31. Exports for the period ending July 31 of 500 RB brought accumulated exports to 590,500 RB, up 15 percent from the prior years total of 513,300 RB. The destinations were Peru (400 RB) and El Salvador (100 RB). Exports for August 1-3 totaled 5,300 RB, with China (3,100 RB), Switzerland (1,300 RB), and Indonesia (400 RB) being the primary destinations.

Optional Origin Sales: The current optional origin outstanding balance for 2016/2017 of 7,900 RB is for Indonesia.

Exports for Own Account: New exports for own account totaling 1,400 RB were reported for Indonesia. The current outstanding balance of 70,700 RB is for Indonesia (47,900 RB), Taiwan (13,100 RB), India (3,800 RB), Bangladesh (2,800 RB), South Korea (2,100 RB), Vietnam (500 RB), and Pakistan (500 RB).

Hides and Skins: Net sales of 525,600 pieces reported for 2017, all whole cattle hides, were up 1 percent from the previous week and 26 percent from the prior 4-week average. Increases were primarily for China (394,700 pieces), Thailand (41,100 pieces), Mexico (39,400 pieces), South Korea (37,700 pieces), and Taiwan (9,600 pieces). Reductions were reported for Hong Kong (7,500 pieces). Exports of 438,900 pieces reported for 2017, all whole cattle hides, were down 3 percent from the previous week, but up 18 percent from the prior 4-week average. Exports were primarily to China (258,500 pieces), South Korea (83,800 pieces), Mexico (31,900 pieces), Thailand (31,200 pieces), and Taiwan (12,400 pieces).

Net sales of 162,700 wet blues for 2017 were down 4 percent from the previous week, but up 32 percent from the prior 4-week average. Increases were reported for Italy (75,200 unsplit), China (31,100 unsplit), Vietnam (19,200 unsplit and 10,200 grain splits), and Brazil (10,400 unsplit). Exports of 98,700 wet blues for 2017 were down 27 percent from the previous week and 9 percent from the prior 4-week average. The primary destinations were Italy (42,300 unsplit), China (29,100 unsplit), Thailand (7,500 unsplit), Mexico (6,800 grain splits), and Taiwan (5,500 unsplit). Net sales of splits totaling 15,200 pounds for 2017 were for China (10,200 pounds) and South Korea (5,000 pounds). Exports of 129,100 pounds for 2017 were down 16 percent from the previous week and 37 percent from the prior 4-week average. The destinations were China (126,100 pounds) and South Korea (3,000 pounds).

Beef: Net sales of 16,400 MT reported for 2017 were up 44 percent from the previous week and 31 percent from the prior 4-week average. Increases were reported for Japan (9,500 MT), Hong Kong (1,900 MT), South Korea (1,500 MT), Mexico (1,300 MT), and Canada (1,000 MT). Reductions were reported for Egypt (400 MT) and Cote DIvoire (100 MT). Exports of 14,700 MT were down 3 percent from the previous week, but up 3 percent from the prior 4-week average. The primary destinations were Japan (5,400 MT), South Korea (2,900 MT), Mexico (1,700 MT), Hong Kong (1,500 MT), and Canada (1,000 MT).

Pork: Net sales of 18,900 MT reported for 2017 were up 7 percent from the previous week and 30 percent from the prior 4-week average. Increases were reported for Hong Kong (4,200 MT), Japan (3,000 MT), Mexico (3,000 MT), South Korea (2,300 MT), and Canada (1,500 MT). Exports of 17,300 MT were down 4 percent from the previous week, but unchanged from the prior 4-week average. The destinations were primarily Mexico (7,500 MT), Japan (3,300 MT), Canada (1,700 MT), South Korea (1,300 MT), and Hong Kong (1,100 MT).

Source : USDA
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When corporations try to pay the least amount of tax possible, their defense is usually based on delivering shareholder value. What company shouldnt seek the lowest tax bill possible? But the line between tax avoidance  using legal means to lower tax bills  and criminal tax evasion is blurry.

Too often governments and accountants collude to bend laws. Some laws on the books can also be deemed morally unacceptable because of the role (conflict of) interested lobbyists played in writing them.

This need not be the case but it will take a conscious steps on the part of both governments and business to change the current culture of secrecy. It should be a priority. Tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance by multinational companies deprives developing and developed countries alike of resources that could otherwise be used for social services such as schools, hospitals, and infrastructure.

And then theres the reputational and legal risks: Google, for example, was fined by the EU commission to pay a massive 11 billion ($14.3 billion) for illegal state aid from Ireland.

There are estimates that U.S.-based multinational companies hold $2.72 trillion offshore to avoid paying U.S. taxes  roughly equal to the GDP of France or the United Kingdom. Based on these numbers these companies owe various tax bodies approximately $803 billion in taxes, and experts estimate an additional $142 billion is lost each year to aggressive use of tax havens.

When companies establish subsidiaries in offshore secrecy centers, relocating their books rather than their actual businesses, they are removing themselves not only from tax jurisdiction but from legal enforcement. They are actively concealing their business from owners and other stakeholders. In some cases it is to avoid tax, in others it might be to conceal bribes. Oxfam found the 50 largest U.S. companies had 1,600 subsidiaries in offshore centers between them.

But it is not only offshore centers that collude to reduce corporate tax bills. Tax breaks and the design of tax systems can also be influenced by lobbying, which has a legitimate function but can also be abused.

In the UK, representatives of large businesses are involved directly in the design of tax laws that could advance their own interests. In the United States, lobbying by private equity firms has contributed to the maintenance of a tax loophole  the carried interest tax loophole  from which they directly benefit.

At the EU level, 98 percent of the experts advising the Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union come from the industry it is supposed to regulate.

The LuxLeaks revelations showed the world that many multinational companies made special tax arrangements with Luxembourg specifically to lower their global tax bill. The sweetheart deal Apple had negotiated with the Irish government had the firm pay as little as 0.005 percent tax.

There are a number of steps that governments and business must take to stop the manipulation of tax regimes for the benefit of the few, rather than the many.

First, law-makers should to coordinate their policies internationally, close relevant legislative gaps and impose fines for undue corporate practices.

Second, companies should assess whether aggressive tax planning is legal and whether it is legitimate or perceived as legitimate by their stakeholders. The UN Principles for Responsible Investment have issued helpful guidance on corporate tax responsibility.

Third, investors and lawmakers must demand higher standards. Some investors already do by requesting companies at a minimum report on revenue and earnings attributed to each country of operation and the amount of taxes paid in each. Governments should legislate for this too.

The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) requires participating companies disclose all payments to host governments. In the EU companies from the extractive, logging and financial sector are required by law to disclose this information. But in the United States, the Administration and Congress unfortunately recently withdrew a relevant provision for the extractive sector.

Fourth, there must be transparency of beneficial ownership information, kept in a publicly accessible central register that regulators, financial institutions, business partners, investors and citizens can

The most effective way for companies to tick the five boxes would be to publish their tax policy along with their annual financial statements or as part of Sustainability or Corporate Citizenship reports.

If this was a global requirement, there would be no question of corruption, tax avoidance or over aggressive evasion; it would simply be transparent tax planning.

_____

Jermyn Brooks, pictured above, is Chair of Transparency Internationals Business Advisory Board and a founding member of the World Economic Forums Partnering against Corruption Initiative (PACI)
Are you twins? Its a question my sister Heather and I have heard at least a million times.

Hollie Overton and Heather

There was a time when that question made us roll our eyes, knowing that the discussion would include questions like Can you feel each others pain? Or Do you ever swap places on boyfriends/family, etc.? As children, all we wanted was to fit in, which wasnt easy when you grow up in a small Texas town, pale, freckled, identical gingers in a sea of blonde and dark-haired children. Initially, we embraced our twinness, allowing and even encouraging our mother to buy us identical outfits, and finding comfort in our sameness. But as we grew older, our quest to be recognized for our individual achievements became an issue. People would congratulate Heather on winning the spelling bee when I had nabbed the top prize. I endured endless praise for placing first at a storytelling event when I wasnt even on the team. To make matters worse, boys couldnt tell us apart. My heart broke when my crush danced with me at a Halloween party in sixth grade, then returned to school the next day telling everyone how pretty Heather looked.

As the years passed, we accepted we were alike in more ways than just appearance. Together we made the decision to move to New York to study acting. But still no one could tell us apart, and I had to resort to wearing a watch, so we had an easy way to point out who was who. Then one day feeling frustrated by my acting career, I signed up for a memoir writing class. Id always written, jotting ideas and short stories down in journals, but this was the first time I was setting out on my own. The class, filled with mostly senior citizens praised my work and opened up the possibility that I had talent as a writer. Writing became my thing, a way to separate Heather and I from one another. Before long, we found the courage to go our separate ways. Heather stayed in New York to finish her studies and I headed to LA to pursue my acting and writing.

At first, it was difficult but as time went by, we grew confident in who we were as individuals, not just the twins. After five years, we reunited in LA. The time apart had given us what we lacked all those years before--- a stronger sense of self. Now we were able to embrace our sameness because we understand and accepted our differences, even if they aren't apparent to the outside world. In fact, it was Heather who encouraged me to write my first novel, Baby Doll, a story about identical twins and what happens when one is kidnapped and returns home seven years later. When I began writing my second novel, The Walls, an exploration of domestic violence and the bonds that test a family, my sister was by my side, cheering me on. Now when we hear, Are you twins? were in sync, happy to discuss our relationship. We know how lucky we are to go through this world with our best friend and doppelganger by our side.

The Walls by Hollie Overton is published by Century and is out now, priced 12.99
Miranda's Big Mistake  Jill Mansell

This was the first Jill Mansell book I ever read, in my early twenties, and I instantly wanted to hang out with the characters. I was genuinely sad to leave them when I reached The End and have re-read the book several times since  it inspired me to write stories of my own and made me want to create the kind of characters my own readers would want as friends.

Holly Hepburn by Tamsyn Murray

Pride and Prejudice  Jane Austen

Another book I discovered in my early twenties, when I fell in love with Lizzy and her clever, funny observations of society and family life. I cringed at Mrs Bennet and the unbearable Mr Collins, and wanted to shake some sense into Lydia. Then of course there's a certain Mr Darcy  I add a pinch of him into every hero I write.

The Memory Book  Rowan Coleman

This story of a young woman with early-onset dementia made me cry buckets. But for all that, I smiled a lot too and was totally swept up in the story. It's obviously a tricky subject but it doesn't shy away from the emotional highs and lows and it is all handled so deftly that I couldn't put the book down. I'd quite like to be Rowan Coleman when I grow up.

Our Mutual Friend  Charles Dickens

Is there anyone better than Dickens at writing villains? From Fagin to Uriah Heep, he's the master of creepy monsters hiding in plain sight, and with this book, he gives us Silas Wegg  a social parasite with his eye on a hefty inheritance. Wegg is a villain I love to hate  obsequious, sneaky and nasty to his core, but also oddly pitiable.

Jamaica Inn  Daphne du Maurier

Dark and atmospheric, this book inspired and shocked me in equal measure. It transported me back to Cornwall's smuggling past and I fell in love with the lonely, windswept inn of the title. I was especially excited to discover on a recent trip to Cornwall that you can actually stay at the Jamaica Inn  that's definitely going on my to-do list.

Two Weddings and a Baby  Scarlett Bailey

I'm a sucker for a book set in Cornwall and this one ticks all my boxes: gorgeous seaside setting  tick, fabulous heroine  tick, unconventional hero  tick. Poldore is so wonderfully described  I wish it was real so I could visit. I also loved meeting the characters I knew from Scarlett's other books. A fantastic summer read that probably planted the seed to write my own Cornish town.

The Affair  Gilli Paul

This book oozes old-fashioned sophistication and charm. Set in 1960s Rome, when Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton were filming Cleopatra, the descriptions of the people and places were so vivid that it was the next-best thing to a time machine  I really felt as though I was there, watching the action unfold. And I now have a slight Elizabeth Taylor obsession. Sumptuous and thoroughly Italian  just like the best gelato.

When I Fall in Love  Miranda Dickinson

No one does feel-good stories with a tender heart quite like Miranda Dickinson and this tale of a young widow who learns to live again after losing her husband is a real treat. A lot of the action takes place in an ice cream shop, which very much appeals to my sweet tooth but it's the characters that have stayed with me the longest  the hallmark of a great book. And did I mention the ice cream?

Together  Julie Cohen

A searing, unforgettable love story that will leave you thinking about it long after you've finished reading. The way that the book is structured means that the reader initially meets the characters in the present day and only find out the truth about their lives together at the very end. A masterclass in conveying emotion through the page  I defy you not to be moved.

The Power  Naomi Alderman

A barn-storming, oh-so-clever exploration of the patriarchy, the matriarchy and the inevitably corrupting nature of power. I was gripped by this book right from the very first page and have been recommending it to EVERYONE. One of those stories that really makes you think, with an absolute killer of a last line. And oh, the characterisationI wish I'd written it.

The Picture House by the Sea by Holly Hepburn is published on Thursday 10th August by Simon & Schuster UK
Award-winning author Theresa Breslin writes a piece for us upon the release of her new novel, The Rasputin Dagger, a love story set in the Russian Revolution.

Theresa Breslin

Ive written over 40 books and my historical novels are read by adults and young adults and have been translated into many languages.

As a child I desperately wanted to travel - anywhere, everywhere. Turns out that its one of the huge bonuses of being a writer. Ive been invited to speak all over the world: from Chichester to China, from Saltcoats to San Francisco.

It was on a trip to Istanbul that I saw the fabulous Topkapi Dagger. Right away I knew that I wanted to write a book featuring a mysterious dagger which wields a strange power over the person who owns it. A dagger which carries a deadly curse

Ive always been keen on history and especially interested in weird characters from the past. The wild mad monk Rasputin, who was said to be a German spy in league with the Tsarina, was an absolute must for me to explore.

It seemed apt to have a book out in 2017, the Centenary Year of the Russian Revolution. And I wanted to tell part of the story of the Bread Queue Women whose protests in February 1917 led to the abdication of the Tsar, and thereafter to revolution.

I like writing in first person and wrote this book with two first persons. Nina and Stefan tell whats happening to them through their stormy relationship, from when they first meet and clash, amid the dangers and chaos of a city in revolt.

I love doing the research for my work. For my previous titles, come the end of the year Id go sauntering through Italy, Spain or France, while at home folks were facing the winter weather. However, hard reality struck when doing research for this new novel, The Rasputin Dagger. Its set during the Russian revolution and I ended up in Siberia in late November

I found Russia a magical and moving country, full of diverse peoples and I wanted to reflect this in the book. A century ago this vast sprawling Empire, about one sixth of the worlds land mass, was incredibly difficult to govern. The very thought of it is overwhelming and gave me a certain amount of sympathy for the predicament of Tsar Nicholas II, his wife and their children.

The physical form of writing fascinates me - from ancient Sanskrit texts through medieval manuscripts to modern Baby Kruffy. Im fond of calligraphy and can do a passable Cursive Chancery Script (its the manuscript original of our present Italic typeface). Superb attention to detail by my publishers has resulted in The Rasputin Dagger having elegant title pages and headers with a definite Russian resonance.

Some of my work has been translated into the Russian language. Id be delighted if my Russian publisher takes The Rasputin Dagger.
'EastEnders' actor Aaron Sidwell is reportedly quitting the soap to return to the West End.

Aaron Sidwell

The 28-year-old star - who plays the part of Steven Beale, who's falsely claimed to have a brain tumour to convince Lauren Branning to marry him - has told show bosses of his intention to leave, with Aaron eyeing a return to the stage in the coming months.

A source said: "Obviously this storyline has caused a lot of controversy.

"Things are coming to a head on screen, but it's going to be the end of Aaron's time on the show."

The actor has already received offers to return to London's West End, with an insider admitting he "loves working in theatre".

The source told The Sun newspaper: "He's got offers of parts in the West End and a tour of the musical 'Wicked', and he loves working in theatre, so that's on the agenda.

"The outcome of the storyline is being kept under wraps. He's sworn to secrecy and so is everyone else in the cast and crew."

This comes shortly after it was reported that new 'EastEnders' boss John Yorke has lifted a ban on the show's cast appearing in pantomimes.

Soap stars have historically turned to money-spinning productions as a means of boosting their earnings and John has decided to lift the ban on the 'EastEnders' cast accepting such roles in a bid to improve the overall mood on set.

A source said: "John has made it his mission to meet with disgruntled stars and find out what has gone wrong. He had a mountain to climb with some of them - but he's really had an effect and people are already much happier.

"His aim was to get some of the big names back onside and secure their futures - and his plan is working."
What a great start to August with temperatures in the 70s and low 80s. I usually dread this time of year because of the extreme heat. I moved back into the Columbus city limits in March and love all of the activities there are to do in town. We truly have a great community with so many activities and opportunities to get involved.

Next week we will be celebrating Columbus Days at Columbus Art Gallery by having Calico Quilt Club amazing quilts on display from Aug. 16-19. This is truly an amazing display. There is a small fee to see the quilts, but it's well worth it. Also, dont forget to visit the gallery gift shop in Frankfort Square on Saturday during Columbus Days. Everything will be 25 percent off  cards, pottery, jewelry and much more.

We are also featuring a new exhibit by Carolyn Albracht from Aug. 21 to Sept. 1. Her work is watercolor with fantastic application of color. Albracht is a Nebraska artist and grew up in Grand Island. She lived in Aurora where she ran an art gallery for over a decade before moving to Wayne.

Albracht is a graduate of the University of Nebraska at Kearney with a Bachelor of Arts degree in studio art and psychology, master's from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in museum studies, teaching certificate for K-12 art education from UNL and most recently a doctorate in education studies from UNL.

Albracht moved to Wayne a few years ago to teach at Wayne State College. She enjoys teaching and is very active in her community. Albracht has a new art gallery she recently opened called the Blue Cat Gallery & Studio in Wayne. She has found that her love for teaching and art go together.

My main mission is to provide another culture venue for Wayne. They were looking for somebody who could help bridge and build relationships between the campus and the community, and having an art center in a small town is how Ill be able to do that part of the job that I was asked to do.

Albracht has shown her work all over Nebraska, including Lincoln, Omaha, Aurora, Kearney, Hastings, Wayne, Alliance and Grand Island at Prairie Winds Art Center just to name a few places. She has also shown her work as far away as Texas.

We welcome her to the Columbus Art Gallery with her exhibit called Contemplation on display from Aug. 21 to Sept. 1 and reception on Aug. 31 from 5-7 p.m. Our sponsors for the exhibit are The Columbus Telegram and Nebraska Arts Council.

Please plan to join us in the lower level of Columbus Public Library.
Myanmar should take steps to raise foreign direct investment (FDI) from China in labour-intensive sectors, such as garments, to boost the countrys economic transformation, according to a briefing paper published by UK-based think tank Overseas Development Institute (ODI). Given its economic size and proximity, China should be the preferred partner, it says.The briefing paper by Stephen Gelb, Foreign direct investment and economic transformation in Myanmar, was published recently by Supporting Economic Transformation (SET), an ODI-led programme funded by the British Department of International Development (DFID) that aims at providing practical policy support to governments and their partners in development countries.

Myanmar should take steps to raise foreign direct investment (FDI) from China in labour-intensive sectors, such as garments, to boost the country's economic transformation, according to a briefing paper published by UK-based think tank Overseas Development Institute (ODI). Given its economic size and proximity, China should be the preferred partner, it says.#

The briefing paper is a summary brief of the ODI report of the same title, which explores the potential for FDI to positively contribute to economic transformation and poverty-reduction in Myanmar, focusing mainly on garments and construction.China, the largest foreign investor in Myanmar, already has substantial investments in the Myanmarese garments sector, a major job creator. The study urges Myanmar to further ease entry restriction for foreign firms, undertake active investment promotion in garments through complementary reforms in finance and trade policy, expand training to tackle shortage of high-level skilled manpower, and engage with buying firms, especially global retail or apparel corporations.Noting the scarcity of competitive local firms as a need for FDI, the study attributes that to the shortage of entrepreneurial, management and technical skills. High-level skills are a more binding constraint than shop-floor production skills and the foreign-owned firms have very few local managers.In the longer term, Myanmar should follow the Bangladesh example, where tertiary education institutes dedicated to the garment industry increased the supply of managers and high-skill technicians in the industry, it says.Chinese and Hong Kong-linked garment firms have produced few benefits, linkages or spillovers in Myanmar beyond export and job creation, the study adds. (DS)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
ACN prices remained unchanged in Asia on Wednesday due to modest business activity in the region.

ACN prices remained unchanged in Asia on Wednesday due to modest business activity in the region. In FE Asia, ACN prices kept steady and assessed at...#

In FE Asia, ACN prices kept steady and assessed at US$ 1465/ton on Wednesday as compared to Tuesday.

ACN prices remained unchanged in Asia on Wednesday due to modest business activity in the region. In FE Asia, ACN prices kept steady and assessed at...#

In SE Asia, ACN prices remained steady and quoted at US$ 1480/ton on Wednesday as compared to previous day.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
As part of the first stage of expansion of the Gujarat refinery, oil marketing company IndianOil will design its IndMax unit for high yields of propylene. The company is planning to integrate the refinery with a polypropylene unit of 420 million metric tonnes per annum (mmtpa) capacity, being set up as a downstream petrochemical unit of IndMax.

Aimed at meeting the increasing demand in the region, IndianOils board has approved the first stage of expansion of the Gujarat refinery at an estimated cost of Rs 150.34 billion. This expansion will enhance the refinerys crude oil processing capacity from the existing 13.7 mmtpa to 18 mmtpa.

According to Sanjiv Singh, chairman, IndianOil, the new refinery configuration proposed will take into account the likely disruptions in the fuel supply/demand scenario in the future and will have built-in flexibility in its operations for strong integration with downstream petrochemical units.

As part of the first stage of expansion of the Gujarat refinery, oil marketing company IndianOil will design its IndMax unit for high yields of propylene. The company is planning to integrate the refinery with a polypropylene unit of 420 million metric tonnes per annum (mmtpa) capacity, being set up as a downstream petrochemical unit of IndMax.#

Gujarat Refinery, which went on stream in October 1965 as a 1 mmtpa unit, heralded Indias capabilities to build refineries on its own. In the same vein, we are now proposing to incorporate IndianOils own R&D technologies for both IndMax and kerosene hydrodesulphurisation units, Singh said.

The IndMax unit is being designed for high yields of propylene, for which a polypropylene unit of 420 mmtpa capacity is being set up as a downstream petrochemical unit as part of the refinery configuration, he added. Polypropylene is used in a variety of applications, including textiles.

IndianOil is also pursuing a 60-mmtpa integrated refinery-cum-petrochemicals project on the west coast jointly with other oil marketing companies like BPCL and HPCL. (RKS)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - August 09, 2017) - American Hotel Income Properties REIT LP ("AHIP") (TSX: HOT.UN) (TSX: HOT.DB.U) (OTCQX: AHOTF) announced today its financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2017. The following comments should be read in conjunction with AHIP's unaudited condensed consolidated interim financial statements and management's discussion and analysis ("MD&A") for the three and six months ended June 30, 2017 which are available on AHIP's website at www.ahipreit.com and on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Q2 2017 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

During the second quarter, AHIP continued its disciplined investment strategy through the acquisition of premium branded, select-service hotels located within larger secondary U.S. markets with diverse and stable demand from both corporate and transient travelers. AHIP completed a transformative acquisition with the purchase of 18 Marriott and Hilton branded, select-service hotels totaling 2,187 guestrooms located in high-barrier to entry secondary metropolitan markets located along the Eastern Seaboard of the United States.

"In the second quarter, AHIP executed on our pragmatic acquisition strategy to diversify the portfolio geographically with strong, demand focused hotels that deliver higher margins with lower volatility, and our results reflect that growth. As a result, year-over-year, AHIP's hotel portfolio has grown by 41% to 113 hotels with premium branded, select-service hotels making up over 66% of total guestrooms and over 75% of total revenues," said Rob O'Neill, CEO of AHIP. He continued, "With such rapid growth also come the challenges of professionally integrating the 23 newly acquired hotels into the operations systems of our exclusive Hotel Manager, and the opportunities to deploy the approximately $64 million of cash which remains available for both investment in capital improvements and further accretive acquisitions."

In Q2 2017, revenues increased by 56.0% to $69.5 million, EBITDA rose by 47.7% to $22.3 million, funds from operations ("FFO") increased by 38.4% to $14.5 million, while adjusted funds from operations ("AFFO") rose 34.0% to $12.5 million, in each case, as a result of the addition of new hotels.

THREE MONTHS ENDED JUNE 30, 2017 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

Total revenues for the quarter increased by 56.0% to $69.5 million compared to $44.5 million for the same quarter last year as a result of the acquisition of new hotels between reporting periods.

Total portfolio revenue per available room ("RevPAR") growth for the quarter was 12.8% led by occupancy increases of 2.6% and average daily rate ("ADR") increases of 10.0%. Notable pro-forma RevPAR gains were achieved in Ohio, Tennessee and Florida with growth rates of 10.5%, 9.9% and 5.2%, respectively. This was offset by pro-forma RevPAR declines of 5.0% at the DFW property caused by new supply. Pro-forma RevPAR includes operating results for periods prior to their ownership by AHIP.

Net loss for the quarter was $5.5 million as a result of a partial write-down in the value of an Oak Tree Inn located in Nebraska. When excluding the write-down, AHIP would have generated net income of $1.9 million compared to net income of $3.5 million in the prior quarter. Diluted net loss per Unit was $0.06 compared to a diluted net income per Unit of $0.10 in the prior year.

For the quarter, FFO was up 38.4% to $14.5 million (2016 - $10.5 million) and AFFO was up 34.0% to $12.5 million (2016 - $9.3 million) as a result of the net addition of 33 hotels over the past three quarters.

For the quarter, Diluted FFO per Unit was $0.23 (2016 - $0.30) and Diluted AFFO per Unit was $0.20 (2016 - $0.27).

Same-property revenue RevPAR for Branded Hotels was down 1.6% with strong performance in Florida which saw RevPAR increases of 6.5% offset by weakness in Pittsburgh and Amarillo, which saw RevPAR declines of 8.1% and 10.0%, respectively. When excluding these two weaker regions, AHIP's Branded Hotels would have generated RevPAR increases of 0.8%.

Total portfolio same-property revenues for the quarter were $42.2 million (2016 - $43.6 million) with Rail Hotel revenues decreasing due to lower guaranteed revenues from recent rail crew contract renewals and Branded Hotel revenues impacted by the entrance of new supply in certain markets and displacement occurring at certain properties undergoing mandatory PIP renovations. Total portfolio same-property NOI was $14.8 million (2016 - $16.9 million) lower as a result of higher labor costs and lower revenues.

EBITDA for the quarter was up 47.7% to $22.3 million compared to $15.1 million in the same period last year and EBITDA margin declined to 32.2% (2016 - 34.0%).

The AFFO payout ratio during the quarter was 84.8% (2016 - 61.0%) reflecting the issuance of Units from the June 2017 Offering, the net proceeds of which were partially invested late in the quarter.

AHIP's interest coverage ratio for the second quarter was 3.7x (2016 - 4.3x).

AHIP's mortgages have an average term of 8.0 years (2016 - 7.7 years) and a fixed weighted average interest rate of 4.60% (2016 - 4.56%).

AHIP paid monthly distributions of $0.054 per Unit during the quarter, which is equivalent to $0.648 per Unit on an annualized basis.

As at June 30, 2017, AHIP had an unrestricted cash balance of $28.1 million, a restricted cash balance of $50.7 million and an unutilized revolving line of credit of $10.0 million.

AHIP's debt-to-gross book value as at June 30, 2017 was 53.9% within AHIP's target range of 50% to 55%.

SECOND QUARTER DEVELOPMENTS

On June 9, 2017, AHIP completed a public offering, on a bought deal basis, of: (i) 19,410,000 Units at a price of Cdn$10.35 ($7.6935) per Unit, for total gross proceeds of approximately Cdn$200.9 million ($149.3 million); and (ii) approximately $48.9 million aggregate principal amount of 5.00% convertible unsecured subordinated debentures due on June 30, 2022 (the "Debentures") at a price of $1,000 per Debenture (collectively the "June 2017 Offering"). The gross proceeds included the issuance of 1,050,000 Units from the partial exercise of the Unit over-allotment option and approximately $6.4 million aggregate principal amount of Debentures from the full exercise of the Debenture over-allotment option.

On June 22, 2017, AHIP completed the acquisition of 18 premium branded Marriott and Hilton select-service hotels located in Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York and Connecticut for a total purchase price of $395.0 million (or $186,000 per key) excluding $12.4 million in mandatory change of ownership PIPs. This acquisition was partially funded by proceeds from the June 2017 Offering and $236.2 million in long term, fixed rate mortgage financing with terms of 5 to 10 years, interest rates of 4.46% to 4.53% and significant interest-only periods.

SIX MONTHS ENDED JUNE 30, 2017 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

Total revenues for the period increased by 54.9% to $131.2 million compared to $84.7 million for the same period last year as a result of the acquisition of new hotels between reporting periods.

Total portfolio RevPAR growth for the period was 14.8% led by occupancy increases of 3.2% and ADR increases of 11.3%. Notable gains were achieved in Ohio, Tennessee and Florida with pro-forma RevPAR gains of 10.9%, 6.6% and 4.2%, respectively. Pro-forma RevPAR includes operating results for periods prior to their ownership by AHIP.

Same-property RevPAR for Branded Hotels was flat with strong performance in Florida which saw RevPAR increases of 6.9% offset by weakness in Pittsburgh and Amarillo, which saw RevPAR declines of 8.3% and 3.8%, respectively. When excluding these two weaker regions, AHIP's Branded Hotels would have generated RevPAR increases of 2.3%.

Net loss for the period was $3.1 million as a result of a partial write-down in the value of an Oak Tree Inn located in Nebraska. When excluding this write-down, AHIP would have generated net income of $4.2 million compared to net income of $2.0 million in the prior period. Diluted net loss per Unit was $0.05 compared to a diluted net income per Unit of $0.06 in the prior year.

For the period, FFO was up 47.7% to $26.1 million (2016 - $17.7 million) and AFFO was up 44.7% to $22.3 million (2016 - $15.4 million) as a result of the 34 new hotels added over the past three quarters.

EBITDA for the period was up 51.9% to $39.2 million compared to $25.8 million in the same period last year and EBITDA margin declined slightly to 29.9% (2016 - 30.5%).

The AFFO payout ratio for the period was 90.0% (2016 - 73.9%) reflecting the issuance of Units from the June 2017 Offering, the net proceeds of which were partially invested during the period.

Ian McAuley, President of AHIP commented, "Our Hotel Manager's expertise in sales, revenue and yield management contributed to our Branded Hotels portfolio outperforming its competitive set, despite headwinds at certain properties that are expected to persist." Mr. McAuley continued, "In addition, AHIP invested $5.4 million in capital expenditures including mandatory PIP renovations at our hotels which resulted in some guest displacement, and partially impacted our operating results, though the guest experience improvements are expected to generate positive returns in the coming months. Our asset management strategy is expected to result in greater cash flows and provide AHIP investors with consistent annual yields of approximately 8.0%, while significantly improving the quality of our hotel portfolio through accretive acquisitions and value-added capital expenditures."

Q2 2017 FINANCIAL RESULTS CONFERENCE CALL

Management will host a conference call at 4:00 p.m. (Eastern), 1:00 p.m. (Pacific) on Thursday, August 10, 2017 to review the financial results and corporate results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2017.

To participate in this conference call, please dial one of the following numbers approximately 10 minutes prior to the commencement of the call, and ask to join the AHIP conference call.

Dial in numbers: North America Toll free: 1-877-291-4570 International or local Toronto: 1-647-788-4919

CONFERENCE CALL REPLAY

If you cannot participate on Thursday August 10, 2017, a replay of the conference call will be available by dialing one of the following replay numbers. You will be able to dial in and listen to the conference call replay two hours after the call end time, and the replay will be available until Thursday August 17, 2017. An audio recording of this conference call will also be available at www.ahipreit.com under the "Investor Info/Presentations & Calls" tab.

Please enter replay PIN number 53624988 followed by the # key.

Replay dial in North America Toll free: 1-800-585-8367 numbers: International or local Toronto: 1-416-621-4642

NON-IFRS MEASURES

Certain non-IFRS financial measures are included in this news release, which include NOI, EBITDA, FFO, Diluted FFO per Unit, AFFO, Diluted AFFO per Unit, interest coverage ratio, AFFO payout ratio and debt-to-gross book value. These terms are not measures recognized under International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS") and do not have standardized meanings prescribed by IFRS. Real estate investment trusts often refer to NOI, FFO, Diluted FFO per Unit, AFFO, Diluted AFFO per Unit, and AFFO payout ratio as supplemental measures of performance and interest coverage ratio and debt-to-gross book value as supplemental measures of financial condition.

Debt-to-gross book value, NOI, EBITDA, FFO, Diluted FFO per Unit, AFFO, Diluted AFFO per Unit, interest coverage ratio and payout ratio should not be construed as alternatives to measurements determined in accordance with IFRS as indicators of AHIP's performance or financial condition. AHIP's method of calculating NOI, EBITDA, FFO, Diluted FFO per Unit, AFFO, Diluted AFFO per Unit, interest coverage ratio, AFFO payout ratio and debt-to-gross book value may differ from other issuers' methods and accordingly may not be comparable to measures used by other issuers. For further information, please refer to AHIP's MD&A dated August 8, 2017, which is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on AHIP's website at www.ahipreit.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

Certain statements in this news release may constitute "forward-looking" information that involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, and it may cause actual results, performance or achievements or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements or industry results expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Forward-looking information generally can be identified by the use of terms and phrases such as "anticipate", "believe", "could", "estimate", "expect", "feel", "intend", "may", "plan", "predict", "project", "subject to", "will", "would", and similar terms and phrases, including references to assumptions. Some of the specific forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to: the sustainability and nature of AHIP's distributions; management's acquisition strategies for the growth of AHIP; and AHIP's long-term objectives.

Forward-looking information is based on a number of key expectations and assumptions made by AHIP, including, without limitation: a reasonably stable North American economy and stock market; the continued strength of the U.S. lodging industry; AHIP will be able to successfully integrate properties acquired into its portfolio; capital markets will provide AHIP with readily available access to equity and/or debt financing on terms acceptable to AHIP; the accuracy of third party reports with respect to lodging industry data; and the value of the U.S. dollar. Although the forward-looking information contained in this news release is based on what AHIP's management believes to be reasonable assumptions, AHIP cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with such information.

Forward-looking statements are provided for the purpose of presenting information about management's current expectations and plans relating to the future and readers are cautioned that such statements may not be appropriate for other purposes. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties and should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results. Those risks and uncertainties include, among other things, risks related to: general economic conditions; future growth potential; Unit prices; liquidity; tax risk; tax laws currently in effect remaining unchanged; ability to access capital markets; competition for real property investments; environmental matters; the value of the U.S. dollar; and changes in legislation or regulations. Management believes that the expectations reflected in forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions and information currently available; however, management can give no assurance that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. Additional information about risks and uncertainties is contained in AHIP's MD&A and annual information form for the year ended December 31, 2016, copies of which are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

The forward-looking information contained herein is expressly qualified in its entirety by this cautionary statement. Forward-looking information reflects management's current beliefs and is based on information currently available to AHIP. The forward-looking information is made as of the date of this news release and AHIP assumes no obligation to update or revise such information to reflect new events or circumstances, except as may be required by applicable law.

ABOUT AMERICAN HOTEL INCOME PROPERTIES REIT LP

AHIP is a limited partnership formed under the Limited Partnerships Act (Ontario) to invest in hotel real estate properties located substantially in the United States and engaged primarily in growing a portfolio of premium branded, select-service hotels in larger secondary markets with diverse and stable demand generators as well as long standing contractual railway customers.

AHIP's long-term objectives are to build on its proven track record of successful investment, deliver reliable and consistent U.S. dollar denominated distributions to unitholders and add value through ongoing growth of its diversified hotel portfolio.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Additional information relating to AHIP, including AHIP's unaudited condensed consolidated interim financial statements for the three and six months ended June 30, 2017, AHIP's MD&A dated August 8, 2017, and other public filings are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

THE TORONTO STOCK EXCHANGE HAS NOT REVIEWED AND DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR THE ACCURACY OF THIS NEWS RELEASE.

For further information, please contact:



Andrew Greig

Investor Relations

American Hotel Income Properties REIT LP

Suite 1660 - 401 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, B.C. V6B 5A1

Phone: 604-633-2857

Email: agreig@ahipreit.com
LONDON, August 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

This award is one of the prestigous nomination for leading brands of all industries across the globe. The Global Brands Magazine (GBM), trusted international online and print magazine in the United Kingdom awarded VPBank Finance Company's FE CREDIT brand the title "Best Consumer Finance Brand in Southeast Asia 2017." This is the second consecutive year GBM nominated and granted award to FE CREDIT, and the first time the scope of this award is expanded to Southeast Asia region, compares to 1st award in 2016 in Vietnam only.

With its key products and services such as personal loans, two-wheeler loans, consumer durables loans and credit cards, by the end of 2016, FE CREDIT is leading the consumer finance market with a market share of 48.42%, three times higher than the 2nd player in the Vietnam consumer finance market. Source: Stoxplus.

(Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/543668/Kalidas_Ghose_CEO_FE_CREDIT.jpg )

On this occasion, Mr Kalidas Ghose, CEO of FE CREDIT shared: "It is a great honor of FE CREDIT to receive this distinguished award. It acknowledges our pioneer achievements to improve service quality, to diversify our products range and networks and constantly apply advanced technologies in order to best serve our customers, partners and investors. In 2017, again, FE CREDIT proudly affirms our position as the market leader in the Vietnam consumer finance market, benchmarking with the world's best practices. We are committed to nurture people future across Vietnam who is often neglected by banks with better financial products and services."

The award winners were selected and chosen from a competitive group of entrants, all of whom demonstrated unique and exceptional service delivery towards evolving financial sectors, not only in the same country but also within their regional areas. FE CREDIT was awarded this honor for its exceptional commitment to Innovation, Quality, Branding Activities, Technology Application, Risk Management, Customer Service and Performance, contributing to the robust financial environment in Southeast Asia. The Award announcement is now on GBM's official website: http://www.globalbrandsmagazine.com/award-winners-2017/

About FE CREDIT

Being one of the few pioneers in the Consumer Finance industry, after 7 years of operation, FE CREDIT has establishe consumer finance a solid foundation to become the market leader of the c market. FE CREDIT currently provides consumer lending services with key products such as personal loans, two-wheeler loans, consumer durables loans and credit cards with flexible loan period from 6 to 36 months, simple application procedures, rapid disbursement period and dedicated consulting services.

Up to now, FE CREDIT has served nearly 6 million customers, cooperated with more than 5,500 partners in more than 9,000 points of sale across the country. We focus on sustainable development and commit to realize the dreams of millions of Vietnamese people through the provision of completed financial products and services to consumers.

For more information, please contact:

FE CREDIT Marketing Center - VPBank Finance Company Limited (VPB FC)

Address: Level 2, REE Tower Building, No. 9 Doan Van Bo, Ward 12, District 4, Ho Chi Minh City

Phone: +84-8-3911-5212

Email: pr@fecredit.com.vn



Website: www.fecredit.com.vn
SINGAPORE, August 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Mambu helps to transform existing operations and launch new products to potentially reach Globe's 60 million customers

Mambu, the SaaS banking engine, today announced it will be powering the consumer and business lending products of Fuse, the lending arm of Filipino financial technology firm Mynt, by September 2017.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130924/642408-a )



Launched in 2015, Mynt is a subsidiary of leading Philippine telecom company Globe Telecom which has a customer base of over 60 million. Mynt is increasing access to financial services through mobile money, micro-loans and technology by leveraging the mobile and store networks of its partners and parent company in a country with 113% mobile penetration but only 31% banking penetration.

Mynt launched its lending business, Fuse, in 2016 to address the credit vacuum in the Philippines. Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which account for 99.6% percent of total registered companies in the country, as well as individuals face significant difficulty in accessing credit from incumbents due to stringent credit decisioning, limited authentication documentation and lack of collateral.

John Rubio, President and CEO of Mynt said: "Most Filipinos do not have credit history on which future financial transactions may be based. This, in turn, leads to poor access to legitimate credit facilities and proliferation of informal lenders. Through Fuse, we are changing this scenario in order to provide financial services in a non-traditional manner that will benefit the majority of our population who are unbanked."

"Mambu understood our vision and is enabling us to rapidly create, launch, and service tailored products that address the local market needs," said Anthony Thomas, President and CEO of Fuse. "In Mambu we have found the right partner to accelerate and scale our lending business, as well as power innovative and secure consumer and business loan products."

The solution's flexibility will allow Fuse to overcome some of the challenges specific to the Philippines by autonomously configuring them for the market.

"Mambu's SaaS model provides Fuse with a best-in-class solution which benefits from continued enhancements and requires little resource to maintain," said Thomas. "We will be able to scale, integrate with the latest technologies and be ready to manage the significant transaction volumes we anticipate."

"Leveraging the agility of the Mambu SaaS banking engine we will enable Fuse to provide innovative and much needed loan products to Filipino businesses and consumers," said Chiou Hao Chan, Mambu Managing Director, APAC. "Mynt is in an ideal position to disrupt the market and meet consumer demand for convenient and safe digital lending. We anticipate an increasing number of telcos and third-party providers in APAC will move into the financial services market and look forward to supporting this shift."



About Fuse Lending, Inc. (Fuse)

Fuse is a tech-based lending company in the Philippines that provides fintech-enabled loans including micro, personal, and business loans, without the usual restrictions applied by banks and other lending institutions to its customers. It is operated by Mynt, a fully-owned subsidiary of Globe Telecom.

For more information, visit http://www.fuselending.com. Follow us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/fuselending.

About Globe Fintech Innovations, Inc. (Mynt)

Mynt is a fully-owned subsidiary of Globe Capital Venture Holdings, Inc. that provides innovative and first-in-world fintech solutions to consumers, merchants, and organizations. Its purpose is to enable financial access for consumers and merchants by disrupting traditional channels through digital financial technology services. It operates two fintech companies: GCash, a micropayment service that transforms the mobile phone into a virtual wallet for secure, fast, and convenient money transfer, and Fuse, a tech-based lending company that enables Filipinos to get personal and business loans through use of mobile technology, alternative data, and innovative credit scoring methods. For more information, visit http://www.mynt.xyz .

About Mambu

Mambu is the SaaS banking engine powering disruptive loan and deposit products. We are the lean alternative to cumbersome core banking systems. Helping our clients to successfully start up new business ventures, transform existing operations, launch new products and expand into new markets. Mambu provides financial institutions of all sizes with the agility to rapidly design, launch, service and scale their banking and lending portfolio.

Launched in 2011, our technology powers over 5000 loan and deposit products which serve over 3 million end customers. With more than 180 live operations in over 40 countries, ranging from FinTech revolutionaries to traditional banks, Mambu is helping financial institutions evolve and thrive in the digital age.

For more information, please visit our website or follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
SINGAPORE -- (Marketwired) -- 08/09/17 -- Experian, the world's leading global information services company, has promoted its Managing Director for India, Mohan Jayaraman, into the newly created role of Regional Managing Director Asia Pacific for Decisions Analytics (DA), Business Information Services (BI) and Data.

In his new role, Mohan will drive greater collaboration across Experian's Product, Consulting and Analytics business. Mohan will also assume responsibility and management of Experian Japan's Decision Analytics and Business Information business. Vaishali Kasture, a senior banking, IT and financial services executive will succeed him as Country Manager of India, bringing with her 24 years of experience in roles such as Lead Partner for Banking and Financial Services with Deloitte Consulting India and Managing Director for Goldman Sachs based in Bangalore.

The appointments come at a time where Asia's business information sector is expected to grow on the back of the rapid development and the emerging middle classes of Southeast and South Asia, and as China continues to orientate towards a consumer and service driven economy.

"Experian is focused on accelerating the execution and realization of our Asia Pacific and global strategy," said Ben Elliott, CEO of Experian Asia Pacific. "These appointments will enable us to leverage our core assets of talent and expertise, in positions that strengthen our capabilities and allow us to meet the challenges and opportunities of the disruptive economy."

"Mohan's appointment is also a clear recognition of the outstanding growth he has led in India and of Experian's commitment to creating significant opportunities for our people," said Ben Elliott. "We are excited to be able to bring more expert and diverse leadership into our global senior management team. This has contributed positively to our business growth and is a strategic advantage for Experian."

Experian is the only company of its kind, bringing together the most advanced analytics, business and consumer information, and technology to unlock the power of data -- powering opportunities, improving lives and make a difference in society.

"Data is fundamental to the world we live in and Experian helps unlock the power of data to create opportunities for consumers, businesses and society" said Mohan Jayaraman. I look forward to growing our presence within Asia Pacific and powering the ambitions of our customers and the communities we work in."

Mohan first joined Experian in 2010 as Chief Operating Officer in India, before assuming the mantle of Managing Director a year later. In the role, he has been instrumental in growing Experian India's multiple business lines to scale. He has also been an active participant in industry and regulatory forums related to the Credit information and the Analytics space. He was previously the Head -- Payment Solutions and Analytics with ICICI Bank Limited, where he managed the debit and credit cards businesses and the enterprise analytics division for the bank.

About Experian

Experian is the world's leading global information services company. During life's big moments -- from buying a home or a car, to sending a child to college, to growing a business by connecting with new customers -- we empower consumers and our clients to manage their data with confidence. We help individuals to take financial control and access financial services, businesses to make smarter decisions and thrive, lenders to lend more responsibly, and organisations to prevent identity fraud and crime.

We have more than 16,000 people operating across 37 countries and every day we're investing in new technologies, talented people and innovation to help all our clients maximize every opportunity. We are listed on the London Stock Exchange (EXPN) and are a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

Learn more at www.experianplc.com or visit our global content hub at our global news blog for the latest news and insights from the Group.

Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=3161442



Contact:



Andrew Wong / Riley Kim

Blue Totem Communications

Email Contact

+65 91993623




Fujitsu Limited Public and Investor Relations Tel: +81-3-6252-2176 URL: www.fujitsu.com/global/news/contacts/

TOKYO, Aug 10, 2017 - (JCN Newswire) - Fujitsu Limited today published the Fujitsu Group Environmental Report 2017, which summarizes the Group's environmental results for fiscal 2016 in light of the "Fujitsu Group Environmental Action Plan (Stage VIII)," which sets out the Fujitsu Group's environmental goals for three years beginning with fiscal 2016. The English language of this report version is scheduled for release in September.In fiscal 2016, Fujitsu further raised awareness of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and by providing ICT, contributed to cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 7.37 million tons. In addition, greenhouse gas emissions from Fujitsu Group facilities were reduced by 9.4% compared to fiscal 2013 levels, through such efforts as energy-saving measures in various facilities and the optimization of manufacturing processes. Moreover, Fujitsu set a new quantitative goal to make renewable energy account for at least 6% of its total energy usage by fiscal 2018, as part of its broader aim of expanding the use of renewable energy.According to the "Fujitsu Climate and Energy Vision," the medium-to-long term environmental vision Fujitsu committed to in May 2017, the company aims to reduce its own CO2 emissions to zero by 2050. The scenario outlining the reduction of CO2 in this vision has been approved for its scientific basis by the international Science Based Targets(1) initiative.The Fujitsu Group aims to create a prosperous, sustainable society and contribute to resolving issues in society and the environment by achieving its Environmental Action Plan (Stage VIII) and Climate and Energy Vision.Important Fiscal 2016 Accomplishments under the Fujitsu Group Environmental Action Plan (Stage VIII)1. Providing ICT products and services that contribute to the sustainable development of societyThe Fujitsu Group took the occasion of the adoption of the SDGs by the UN in 2015 to redouble its efforts to contribute to the resolution of various issues in the environment and society by providing ICT services, with goals such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions and ensuring a stable food supply. In fiscal 2016, providing highly effective environmental solutions contributed to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 7.37 million tons.In addition, Fujitsu is working to improve the environmental value of its products over their lifecycle, developing products with high energy efficiency and products with high resource efficiency. In fiscal 2016, Fujitsu developed servers using Vapor and Liquid Loop Cooling, an industry-first high-efficiency cooling technology, and the world's lightest 13.3" laptop.2. Reductions in greenhouse gas emissions at Fujitsu Group business locationsIn fiscal 2016, Fujitsu greatly exceeded its goal for the year of limiting its greenhouse gas emissions to less than an increase of 1.6% over fiscal 2013, instead achieving a reduction of 9.4% against the same baseline, through such measures as manufacturing process efficiencies, appropriate operation of air conditioning equipment through the use of energy management tools, and the deployment and updating of the best available technology in each location of business. Going forward, Fujitsu will work to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions by increasing the energy efficiency of its cooling systems through new technologies that allow for the visualization of energy consumption at business locations, just-in-time modeling for climate control in data centers, and machine learning technology using AI.In addition, as part of its overall goal to expand renewable energy usage, Fujitsu has set a new, quantitative goal of expanding the percentage of renewable energy it uses to at least 6% by fiscal 2018. Fujitsu has been promoting renewable energy use in its locations outside Japan, in particular, such as in the UK and Finland, and its share of usage of renewable energy was 5.2% (133GWh) in fiscal 2016. Going forward, Fujitsu will not only further expand its use of renewable energy, it will also take measures such as developing a regional energy coordination simulator to optimize its use of renewable energy, and researching charging control methods to raise the efficiency of rechargeable batteries.(1) Science Based TargetsAn initiative established jointly in 2015 by a number of organizations, including the World Resources Institute and UN Global Compact. It encourages companies to set goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions based on scientific evidence, in order to limit the global temperature increase to less than 2degC over pre-industrial revolution temperatures.About Fujitsu LtdFujitsu is the leading Japanese information and communication technology (ICT) company, offering a full range of technology products, solutions, and services. Approximately 155,000 Fujitsu people support customers in more than 100 countries. We use our experience and the power of ICT to shape the future of society with our customers. Fujitsu Limited (TSE: 6702) reported consolidated revenues of 4.5 trillion yen (US$40 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017. For more information, please see http://www.fujitsu.com.* Please see this press release, with images, at:http://www.fujitsu.com/global/about/resources/news/press-releases/Source: Fujitsu LtdContact:Copyright 2017 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved.
VERY STRONG OPERATIONAL AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE IN H1 2017

IMPORTANT MILESTONE ACHIEVEMENTS

EXPANSION OF CUSTOMER BASE AND SIGNIFICANT NEW PARTNERSHIPS

ACQUISITION OF APTUIT TO EXPAND LEADERSHIP IN EXTERNAL INNOVATION (AFTER PERIOD-END)

Evotec AG (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: EVT, TecDAX, ISIN: DE0005664809) today reported financial results and corporate updates for the first half of 2017.

FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE REFLECTING A STRONG BUSINESS

Group revenues: 37% increase to EUR 103.4 m (H1 2016: EUR 75.5 m);

EVT Execute revenues up 26% to EUR 100.4 m (H1 2016: EUR 79.8 m);

EVT Innovate revenues up 78% to EUR 21.1 m (H1 2016: EUR 11.8 m)

Adjusted Group EBITDA increased by 64%to EUR 26.0 m (H1 2016: EUR 15.8 m);

Adjusted EBITDA for EVT Execute up 26% to EUR 28.4 m (H1 2016: EUR 22.5 m); Adjusted EBITDA for EVT Innovate of EUR (2.4) m (H1 2016: EUR (6.6) m)

R&D expenses slightly decreased by 5% to EUR 8.5 m (H1 2016: EUR 9.0 m)

Strong strategic liquidity position of EUR 187.0 m (prior to Aptuit acquisition)

EVT EXECUTE CONTINUING HIGH-QUALITY STRATEGY GROWTH

Multiple new and extended integrated drug discovery agreements, e.g. with Dermira, Asahi Kasei Pharma, Blackthorn Therapeutics and STORM Therapeutics (after period-end)

Significant progress within ongoing alliances (e.g. Bayer alliance in endometriosis)

Cyprotex contributing positively and integration on track

EVT INNOVATE MOMENTUM AND MILESTONES

Important milestone achievements (e.g. kidney disease alliance with Bayer, iPSC diabetes alliance with Sanofi)

Strong focus on iPSC platform through new strategic collaborations with Censo Biotechnologies and Fraunhofer IME-SP (after period-end)

Unique biobank approach through NURTuRE consortium in kidney diseases

BRIDGE model gaining momentum (e.g. two funding rounds in LAB282 projects)

Grant from IFB Hamburg in immunotherapy/immuno-oncology

CORPORATE

Novo Holdings A/S new strategic investor in Evotec holding >10%

Change in Evotec's Supervisory Board: Michael Shalmi joined Supervisory Board

Continued strategic investments and company formation activities (e.g. Eternygen, Forge Therapeutics, Facio Therapies)

Acquisition of Aptuit (after period-end)

GUIDANCE 2017 CONFIRMED

All elements of the financial guidance comfortably confirmed

1. FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE REFLECTING A STRONG BUSINESS

In the first half of 2017, Evotec's Group revenues grew to EUR 103.4 m, an increase of 37% compared to the same period of the previous year (H1 2016: EUR 75.5 m). This increase resulted primarily from three factors: the strong performance in the base business, the Cyprotex DMPK business contribution (EUR 12.3 m) and increased milestone payments. Revenues from milestones, upfronts and licences increased significantly to EUR 13.3 m compared to the same period of the previous year (H1 2016: EUR 6.9 m) including predominantly milestones from the collaborations with Bayer in endometriosis and kidney diseases and Sanofi in diabetes. The higher milestone achievements also positively affected the gross margin, which increased to 35.8% in the first six months of 2017 (H1 2016: 34.5%).

The slight decrease of Evotec's R&D expenses to EUR 8.5 m (H1 2016: EUR 9.0 m) results from the reallocation of projects to the Celgene collaboration portfolio, which is recognised in costs of revenue. Evotec's selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses increased by 34% in the first half of 2017 to EUR 15.8 m (H1 2016: EUR 11.8 m) and were mainly impacted by Cyprotex administration as well as an increased SG&A headcount (Business development and administrative functions) in response to company growth and transaction expenses, e.g. Aptuit. Adjusted Group EBITDA in the first half of 2017 increased by 64% to EUR 26.0 m (H1 2016: EUR 15.8 m). Evotec's operating income in the first half of 2017 amounted to EUR 18.2 m (H1 2016: EUR 8.4 m).

Liquidity, which includes cash and cash equivalents (EUR 87.9 m) and investments (EUR 99.1 m) amounted to EUR 187.0 m at the end of June 2017 (31 December 2016: EUR 126.3 m). This strong increase is mainly due to the capital increase with Novo Holdings A/S announced in February 2017, whereas floating loan facilities have been reduced significantly.

Revenues from the EVT Execute segment amounted to EUR 100.4 m in the first six months of 2017 and significantly increased compared to the prior-year period (H1 2016: EUR 79.8 m). Included in this amount are EUR 18.1 m of intersegment revenues (H1 2016: EUR 16.2 m). This increase is primarily attributable to a strong performance of the base business and the Cyprotex contribution. The EVT Innovate segment generated revenues of EUR 21.1 m (H1 2016: EUR 11.8 m), which consisted entirely of third-party revenues. This increase compared to the prior-year period mainly results from milestone payments from Bayer and Sanofi as well as revenues from the Celgene collaboration. Gross margin for EVT Execute amounted to 29.4% while EVT Innovate generated a gross margin of 46.1%. R&D expenses for the EVT Innovate segment amounted to EUR 10.4 m in the first half of 2017 (H1 2016: EUR 11.9 m). In the first half of 2017, the adjusted EBITDA of the EVT Execute segment was strong at EUR 28.4 m and significantly improved compared to the prior-year period (H1 2016: EUR 22.5 m). The EVT Innovate segment reported an adjusted EBITDA of EUR (2.4) m (H1 2016: EUR (6.6) m).

2. EVT EXECUTE EVT INNOVATE

EVT EXECUTE CONTINUING HIGH-QUALITY STRATEGY GROWTH

The strong operational performance of the first quarter 2017 successfully continued into the second quarter 2017 in the EVT Execute segment. With EUR 12.3 m revenue contribution in the first half of 2017, Cyprotex had a very strong start and its integration into the Evotec Group is proceeding ahead of plan. Furthermore, Evotec has been consolidating its US footprint in the first half of 2017 to streamline processes and services.

In addition and amongst other highlights, Evotec entered multiple new integrated drug discovery alliances. In its new multi-year, integrated drug discovery collaboration with Blackthorn Therapeutics, the focus is on delivering best-in-class small molecules that modulate novel targets expressed in key brain regions for the regulation of behavioural disorders and on ultimately selecting a pre-clinical development candidate. Furthermore, Evotec extended its existing agreement with STORM Therapeutics shortly after period-end into an integrated alliance to focus on new small molecule epigenetic drugs for oncology and other diseases.

Furthermore, strong progress was achieved in Evotec's existing alliances. In the first six months of 2017, a significant pre-clinical milestone was reached in its alliance with Bayer in the field of endometriosis. Furthermore, a clinical milestone was reached in this collaboration shortly after period-end for the progression of the second programme from the alliance portfolio into Phase I clinical development. This alliance has been extended year until 2018.

EVT INNOVATE MOMENTUM AND MILESTONES

The first half of 2017 in EVT Innovate was characterised by important achievements in strategic alliances (e.g. milestones in kidney alliance with Bayer and iPSC diabetes alliance with Sanofi) and an acceleration of innovation across various ventures. Strong progress was made within the strategic iPSC-based alliance with Celgene in neurodegeneration. Evotec continues to invest into the further development and expansion of its iPSC platform and entered into new strategic collaborations with Censo Biotechnologies and Fraunhofer IME-SP (shortly after period-end) to strengthen its comprehensive iPSC network. Furthermore, Evotec joined the NURTuRE (National Unified Renal Translational Research Enterprise) consortium in kidney diseases, which provides Evotec with access to patient samples including kidney biopsies, blood, serum and urine for an in-depth histological and molecular analysis to identify and validate targets and biomarkers. In addition, Evotec's BRIDGE model is also gaining momentum. This was demonstrated by the successful presentation of two rounds of awards in 2017 in its LAB282 BRIDGE alliance with Oxford University.

3. CORPORATE

CONTINUED STRATEGIC INVESTMENTS AND COMPANY FORMATION ACTIVITIES

Alongside its EVT Innovate strategy, Evotec continues to participate in strategic investments and company formations. By doing so, Evotec demonstrates its willingness to accelerate innovation also by taking equity stakes in companies to ideally balance risks and rewards. Along these lines, Evotec further expanded its relationship with Forge Therapeutics by participating in Forge's latest funding round (Series A) and participated in Facio Therapies' 2017 funding round.

ACQUISITION OF APTUIT (AFTER PERIOD-END)

After period-end on 30 July 2017, Evotec announced a definitive agreement under which Evotec will acquire Aptuit, a partner research organisation for integrated outsourced drug discovery and development solutions for 300 m (approx. EUR 256 m; EUR/$ fx rate of 1.17) in cash. This acquisition is financed through a mix of existing cash reserves and an additional new EUR 140 m senior debt facility. This transaction will strengthen Evotec's position as the leading global player in the external innovation marketplace. Furthermore, it grows Evotec's business substantially and extends the value chain offering through to Investigational New Drug ("IND") submission and beyond to integrated drug substance and drug product and commercial manufacture. The acquisition will be accretive to Evotec's revenues, make a significant contribution to Evotec's EBITDA and is expected to close in Q3 2017.

4. GUIDANCE 2017 CONFIRMED

All elements of the financial guidance are comfortably confirmed.

Guidance 2017 Actual 2016 Group revenues More than 15% growth EUR 164.5 m Adjusted Group EBITDA1) Significantly improved compared to 2016 EUR 36.2 m R&D expenses Approx. EUR 20 m EUR 18.1 m

1) EBITDA is defined as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation of intangibles. EBITDA excludes contingent considerations, income from bargain purchase and impairments on goodwill, other intangible and tangible assets as well as the total non-operating result.

Webcast/Conference Call

The Company is going to hold a conference call to discuss the results as well as to provide an update on its performance. The conference call will be held in English.

Conference call details

Date: Thursday, 10 August 2017

Time: 02.00 pm CEST (01.00 pm BST/08.00 am EDT)

From Germany: +49 69 22 22 29 043

From UK: +44 20 3009 2452

From USA: +1 855 402 7766

From France: +33 170 750 705

Access Code: 37969784#

A simultaneous slide presentation for participants dialling in via phone is available at http://www.audio-webcast.com/, password: evotec0817.

Webcast details

To join the audio webcast and to access the presentation slides you will find a link on our home page www.evotec.com shortly before the event. A replay of the conference call will be available for 24 hours and can be accessed in Europe by dialling +49 69 22 22 33 985 (Germany) or +44 20 3426 2807 (UK) and in the USA by dialling +1 866 535 8030. The access code is 654573#. The on-demand version of the webcast will be available on our website: https://www.evotec.com/article/en/Investors/Finance/Financial-Reports-2015-2017/188/6/26.

NOTE

The 2016 and 2017 results are not fully comparable. The difference stems from the acquisition of Cyprotex PLC ("Cyprotex"), effective 14 December 2016. The results from Cyprotex are only included from 14 December 2016 onwards. The accounting policies used to prepare the half-year report are the same as those used to prepare the audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2016.

ABOUT EVOTEC AG

Evotec is a drug discovery alliance and development partnership company focused on rapidly progressing innovative product approaches with leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, academics, patient advocacy groups and venture capitalists. We operate worldwide providing the highest quality stand-alone and integrated drug discovery solutions, covering all activities from target-to-clinic to meet the industry's need for innovation and efficiency in drug discovery (EVT Execute). The Company has established a unique position by assembling top-class scientific experts and integrating state-of-the-art technologies as well as substantial experience and expertise in key therapeutic areas including neuroscience, diabetes and complications of diabetes, pain and inflammation, oncology and infectious diseases. On this basis, Evotec has built a broad and deep pipeline of more than 80 partnered product opportunities at clinical, pre-clinical and discovery stages (EVT Innovate). Evotec has established multiple long-term discovery alliances with partners including Bayer, CHDI, Sanofi or UCB and development partnerships with Sanofi in the field of diabetes, with Pfizer in the field of tissue fibrosis and with Celgene in the field of neurodegenerative diseases. For additional information please go to www.evotec.com and follow us on Twitter @EvotecAG.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

Information set forth in this press release contains forward-looking statements, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements contained herein represent the judgement of Evotec as of the date of this press release. Such forward-looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, and which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in these forward-looking statements. We expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any such statements to reflect any change in our expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

First half-year 2017 results

Key figures of consolidated interim income statement

Evotec AG and subsidiaries

In TEUR except share data and per share data



January to June Change April to June Change 2017 2016 in 2017 2016 in Revenues 103,396 75,454 37 53,212 37,975 40 Gross margin in 35.8 34.5 34.3 35.6 Research and development expenses

(8,542)

(9,033)

(5)

(3,891)

(4,647)

(16) Selling, general and administrative expenses

(15,790)

(11,757)

34

(8,476)

(6,390)

33 Impairment of intangible assets



(1,417)



Other operating income (expenses), net

5,553

4,592

21

2,660

3,149

(16) Operating result 18,234 8,389 117 8,524 5,645 51 Adjusted Group EBITDA* 26,010 15,833 62 12,777 8,599 49 Net income 10,118 2,721 3,234 3,893 Weighted average shares outstanding

143,068,464

132,380,544

146,382,976

132,426,779 Net income (loss) per share (basic and diluted)

0.07

0.02

0.02

0.03

Before contingent considerations, income from bargain purchase and excluding impairments on goodwill, other intangible and tangible assets as well as the total non-operating result

Segment information:

First six months 2017

In TEUR





EVT Execute

EVT Innovate

Intersegment eliminations

Evotec Group External revenues 82,317 21,079 103,396 Intersegment revenues 18,042 (18,042) Gross margin in 29.4 46.1 12.0 35.8 R&D expenses (342) (10,368) 2,168 (8,542) SG&A expenses (12,365) (3,425) (15,790) Impairment of intangible assets Other operating income (expenses), net

4,420

1,133



(5,553) Operating result 21,173 (2,939) 18,234 Adjusted EBITDA* 28,413 (2,403) 26,010

Before contingent considerations, income from bargain purchase and excluding impairments on goodwill, other intangible and tangible assets as well as the total non-operating result]

First six months 2016

In TEUR



EVT Execute

EVT Innovate

Intersegment eliminations

Evotec Group External revenues 63,623 11,831 75,454 Intersegment revenues 16,189 (16,189) Gross margin in 28.8 50.0 18.1 34.5 R&D expenses (46) (11,921) 2,934 (9,033) SG&A expenses (9,345) (2,412) (11,757) Impairment of intangible assets (1,417) (1,417) Other operating income (expenses), net

3,256

1,336



4,592 Operating result 16,882 (8,493) 8,389 Adjusted EBITDA* 22,473 (6,640) 15,833

Before contingent considerations, income from bargain purchase and excluding impairments on goodwill, other intangible and tangible assets as well as the total non-operating result

Key figures of consolidated interim statement of financial position

Evotec AG and subsidiaries

In TEUR

30 June 31 Dec Change 2017 2016 in Cash, cash equivalents and investments 187,049 126,270 48 Working capital 723 (8,822) Current and non-current loan liabilities 7,815 28,607 (73) Total stockholders' equity 314,212 213,936 47 Total assets 421,482 351,366 20

Language: English Company: Evotec AG Manfred Eigen Campus Essener Bogen 7 22419 Hamburg Germany Phone: +49 (0)40 560 81-0 Fax: +49 (0)40 560 81-222 E-mail: info@evotec.com Internet: www.evotec.com ISIN: DE0005664809 WKN: 566480 Indices: TecDAX Listed: Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Stuttgart, Tradegate Exchange

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170809006288/en/

Contacts:

Evotec AG

Gabriele Hansen, +49.(0)40.56081-255

VP Corporate Communications Investor Relations

gabriele.hansen@evotec.com
CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - The New Zealand dollar weakened against other major currencies in the Asian session on Thursday. The NZ dollar fell to more than a 3-week low of 0.7265 against the U.S. dollar and nearly a 2-month low of 79.92 against the yen, from an early 2-day highs of 0.7368 and 80.99, respectively. Against the euro and the Australian dollar, the kiwi dropped to nearly a 3-month low of 1.6147 and a 3-week low of 1.0838 from an early 3-day highs of 1.5961 and 1.0704, respectively. If the kiwi extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 0.71 against the greenback, 78.00 against the yen, 1.62 against the euro and 1.09 against the aussie. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
COLUMBUS  Families gathered on the stage inside the Central Community College-Columbus Fine Arts Theater, waving small American flags.

The word "congratulations" came up more than once.

Twenty-nine immigrants became United States citizens Wednesday during the naturalization ceremony at the local college.

Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce President K.C. Belitz reminded audience members about the important role immigrants have in America, despite all the recent "noise" on the topic.

This country has always been a country of immigrants, Belitz said. And that will never change."

CCC-C President Matt Gotschall also spoke about the importance of immigration and his appreciation for those coming to the community.

Today we look back on our own ancestry, Gotschall said. The oath that will be pledged today was written in 1790. It encourages us all to spread liberty and justice all over the world."

Gotschall encouraged the new citizens to be engaged by serving their communities, employers and families and offered his congratulations.

Were here to help if you need it, he added.

After receiving his certificate, Marshall Leslie, originally of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, helped end the ceremony by leading the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Ive been in the States since 1999, Leslie said. I wanted to gain citizenship in order to vote in the next election.

The same was true for Tong Fang from China.

"I hope to be able to vote someday, Fang said. But I am proud. This was mostly an important achievement.

Other immigrants changed their citizenship for family reasons.

Lazaro Sanchez, originally from Mexico, has been in the United States for 30 years.

I used to live in Juarez, but I moved to Dakota City 30 years ago, Sanchez said. By becoming an American citizen, I know this will make it easier for me to travel back and forth to see my family.

Senior U.S. District Judge Richard Kopf said the nation has plenty to boast about.

It is customary to speak with our immigrants about how wonderful the United States is, Kopf said. We should be thankful for the immigrants for helping to make us even better. What would Boston be without the Irish brogue? What would Milwaukee be without its German food? Wouldnt Miami be a boring expanse of sand without the Cubans? We know you will enrich this nation and I say to you, thank you.

Belitz shared similar thoughts.

These immigrants add their strength and talent to our community and nation as a whole, he said. They add strengths to our local melting pot. I know they will continue to strengthen our nation with this oath and with their next steps toward their futures."
OSLO, Norway, Nov. 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --LINK Mobility Group ASA (LINK) confirms its strategy, and reports solid revenue growth in the third quarter of 2017 which is traditionally a slow quarter. The strong figures are the result of high organic growth and successful acquisitions. LINK has closed multiple transactions which will further strengthen the market position in Norway and Spain through the acquisitions of Vianett and GMS, and entering the Polish, Bulgarian and French market through the acquisitions of Comvision, Voicecom and Netmessage. LINK has also signed a term sheet regarding the acquisition of the Italian entity Totalconnect. LINK is one of Europe's leading and fastest growing companies within the industry.

The strong organic revenue growth in the quarter, confirms the positive underlying trend of solid growth in the market for mobile messaging and mobile solutions delivered by LINK. LINK achieved operating revenues of NOK 298 million in the third quarter, up 129 percent compared with corresponding period last year. The overall market conditions have been favorable, resulting in a messaging volume of 934 million, and an organic growth in the Mobile Messaging segment of 36 percent

The adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter is reported at NOK 32 million, an increase of NOK 22 million from same quarter last year. The EBITDA margin is reported at 10.8 percent, an increase of 2.8 percentage points versus same quarter last year.

The financial position is good, with a cash position of NOK 289 million. LINK has mandated ABG Sundal Collier ASA and Danske Bank to arrange for a tap issue of EUR 30 million on the existing bond agreement subject to inter alia market conditions. If successful, net proceeds from such transaction will be used to provide funding for future acquisitions in line with the acquisition strategy towards 2018.

"Q3 was a strong quarter for LINK in a typically low season with holiday's across our markets. We had strong recruitment of new customers and additional sales of mobile messaging and solutions to our existing customers. A strong quarter where we closed acquisitions in Spain, Poland, Bulgaria and France. Our customer base has now grown to a healthy 16 000 enterprises, with a good balance of large enterprises and SME enterprises. This gives us an excellent platform to continue penetrating our markets going forward with state of the art mobile messaging and solutions. There is a vast number of Enterprises in our markets that will benefit strongly from using LINK's mobile messaging and solutions services going forward." Says Arild Hustad, CEO of LINK.

A presentation will be held by CEO Arild Hustad and CFO Thomas Berge regarding the third quarter reporting at 12:00 on Thursday 9th of November in the office of Arctic Securities, Haakon VIIs gate 5, Oslo. Please register attendance at events@arctic.com.

For further information, please contact:

Arild Hustad

CEO

arild.hustad@linkmobility.com

+47-95-24-19-30

Thomas Berge

CFO

thomas.berge@linkmobility.com

+47-41-31-90-28

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

The following files are available for download:
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.
The LEGO Group today announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Niels B. Christiansen, 51, as CEO of the LEGO Group effective October 1, 2017. Christiansen was most recently CEO of global industrial technology company, Danfoss, a position he held for nine years until end of June 2017. Christiansen replaces Bali Padda, 61, a long-standing LEGO Group executive, who will assume a special advisory role with LEGO Brand Group.

This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170809006297/en/

The LEGO Group appoints Niels B. Christiansen as CEO (Photo: Business Wire)

Jrgen Vig Knudstorp, Executive Chairman of LEGO Brand Group said, 'Niels is a great leader who delivered outstanding results while CEO of Danfoss. There, he transformed a traditional industrial company into a technology leader. His experience in digitalisation and globalisation, implementing a transformative strategy, and creating an agile, high performing, international team will benefit the LEGO Group. The Board is confident that under Niels, the LEGO Group will continue to flourish and bring play experiences to more children around the world.'

Knudstorp said the transition to a new CEO occurred more rapidly than the Board had anticipated.

'Bali has been part of the LEGO Group family for the past 15 years. He played an integral role in the turnaround of the LEGO Group and during his time as CEO created a solid foundation from which to continue to transform the company. He is a great friend and a wonderful ambassador for the LEGO brand,' said Knudstorp.

Niels B. Christiansen has spent more than 25 years in business leadership. He began his career at management consultancy, McKinsey and power tools manufacturer, Hilti, and became CEO of GN Netcom aged 33. He joined Danfoss in 2004 and became CEO in 2008. During his tenure, the company doubled in size to 39 billion DKK, increased its global footprint and transformed its portfolio in response to changing customer demands. Danfoss is a family-owned, Danish-based global technology company which specializes in infrastructure, food supply, energy efficiency and climate-friendly technology solutions.

Christiansen said, 'I am honoured to have the opportunity to join an organisation as iconic and purpose-driven as the LEGO Group. I have loved building with LEGO bricks since I was a child. As I look at the challenges facing this generation of children, the Group's mission, to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow, is more important and urgent than ever. I am looking forward to working with the Board, the family and the LEGO Group team as we embark on the next phase of global growth.'

..ends

About Niels B. Christiansen

Niels has broad experience leading large, global high-tech companies. He was most recently President CEO of Danfoss A/S, a position he left in June 2017. Niels joined Danfoss in 2004 as Executive Vice President and a member of the Executive Committee for Danfoss A/S. He became Chief Operating Officer in 2005, Vice-CEO in 2006 and President CEO in 2008.

Niels began his career as a management consultant at McKinsey Co. Following this he joined Hilti Corp as Vice President Corporate Development. In 1997, he joined GN Netcom, moving to the role of President CEO in 2000. In 2003, he was appointed Group Executive Vice President at GN Store Nord.

He is Chairman of the Board of William Demant Holding A/S and Axcel and a Member of the Board of AP Mller-Maersk A/S and Technical University of Denmark (DTU).

About the LEGO Group

The LEGO Group is a privately held, family-owned company with headquarters in Billund, Denmark, and main offices in Enfield, USA, London, UK, Shanghai, China, and Singapore. Founded in 1932 by Ole Kirk Kristiansen, and based on the iconic LEGO brick, it is one of the world's leading manufacturers of play materials.

Guided by the company spirit: "Only the best is good enough", the company is committed to the development of children and aims to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow through creative play and learning. LEGO products are sold worldwide and can be virtually explored at www.LEGO.com.

For more news from the LEGO Group, information about our financial performance and responsibility engagement, please visit http://www.LEGO.com/aboutus.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170809006297/en/

Contacts:

The LEGO Group

Roar Rude Trangbaek

Tel: +45 79504348

RRT@lego.com
The membership offers merchants access to award-winning, data-driven omnichannel payment and fraud solutions



AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands, 2017-08-10 09:00 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Acapture, a global, data-driven omnichannel PSP, has recently become a member of the Merchant Risk Council (MRC). It joins a community of 450 companies from 30 countries committed to improving ecommerce payments and supporting risk management efforts.



The MRC membership is a major step for Acapture, emphasizing its dedication to developing and improving payment solutions that match the needs and challenges of today's merchants. Being part of a community that shares the same drive to make commerce safe and profitable provides Acapture with an opportunity to learn and better understand the main fraud and risk challenges that merchants are confronted with.



With Acapture joining the MRC community, merchant members will have access to Acapture's data-driven payments solutions designed to increase revenues through improved authorization rates, fraud reduction, checkout experience and customer journey insights with the help of data science. Next to these award-winning payment solutions, MRC merchants will benefit from the extensive cutting-edge research that Acapture releases on a regular basis, examining the most important commerce topics and trends.



"We're delighted to become an MRC member," said Cheng Liem Li, CCO Acapture, "Joining this great community and working together with peers and merchants to push this exciting industry supports us in our pursuit of innovation and delivering custom machine learning products that can cater multiple ecommerce business models."



Acapture's latest research reports exploring either different ecommerce verticals, future trends in consumer behaviour, regulatory changes or technology trends shaping the commerce industry are available on acapture.com.



About Acapture



Acapture is the subsidiary company of Payvision, one of the world's fastest growing global card acquiring networks. Licensed as a payment institution by the Dutch Central Bank, Acapture combines with Payvision to maximize the revenues of merchants and help them grow their business globally. This is done through a complete data-driven omnichannel payment solution, capable of managing a payment at every stage, from checkout to fund collection to settlement.



Together with its parent company, Payvision, Acapture, was awarded Best PSP at the 2017 MPE Awardsin Berlin, and it specializes in maximizing revenue for merchants and marketplaces with international ambitions. Acapture's system features SlicePay for simplified allocation of funds to multiple parties from a single transaction, data science management for improved authorization rates, a one-day integration using one RESTful API, flexible, consolidated reporting, a streamlined reconciliation process, global card acquiring and the ability to handle 80+ of the most popular alternative payment methods and 160+ transaction currencies.



For more information about Acapture, please check www.acapture.com and follow us on Twitter @Acapture_Global, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and Corporate blog.



About MRC



With the vision of making commerce safe and profitable everywhere, the Merchant Risk Council is the leading global trade association for eCommerce fraud and payments professionals. The MRC was established in 2000 by a small group of merchant professionals from leading consumer brands who all shared a mutual goal of improving eCommerce payments while supporting their organizations' risk management efforts. In 2010, the MRC expanded its community to Europe, and currently supports over 450 member companies in over 30 countries.



For further information, please contact:



Alina Geosanu | PR & Communications Assistant; e-mail: alina@payvision.com

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
TOKYO, Jan 29, 2018 - (JCN Newswire) - DENSO Corporation, one of the world's largest automotive suppliers, today announced it has developed a new standard vision sensor that detects pedestrians at night, cyclists, road signs, driving lanes and other road users. Working in conjunction with a millimeter-wave radar sensor, the new vision sensor allows automobiles to automatically activate emergency braking when obstacles are identified, helping reduce accidents and improve overall vehicle safety. It is featured in the 2018 Toyota Alphard and Vellfire, which were released in January this year.The new sensor illustrates how DENSO supports the widespread adoption of safety technologies that will play a critical role in the advancement of future mobility. It improves night vision by using a unique lens specifically designed for low-light use, and a solid-state imaging device with higher sensitivity. These innovations help the sensor better identify other road users and different-shaped road signs, such as triangular, rectangular, and octagonal signs used in Japan, Europe, and the United States. An improved white-line detection algorithm and road-edge detection algorithm also broaden the operating range of lane-keeping assistance and lane departure alert functions, while a 40% size reduction from previous models reduces costs and makes installation easier.DENSO has been developing technologies and products to help create a society free from traffic accidents. These technologies support DENSO's continued pursuit to deliver a safe and secure automotive society for all people around the world.About DensoDENSO Corporation, headquartered in Kariya, Aichi prefecture, Japan, is a leading global automotive supplier of advanced technology, systems and components in the areas of thermal, powertrain control, electronics and information and safety. Its customers include all the world's major carmakers. Worldwide, the company has more than 200 subsidiaries and affiliates in 38 countries and regions and employs nearly 140,000 people. Consolidated global sales for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2014, totaled US$39.8 billion. Last fiscal year, DENSO spent 9 percent of its global consolidated sales on research and development. DENSO common stock is traded on the Tokyo and Nagoya stock exchanges. For more information, go to www.globaldenso.com, or visit our media website at www.densomediacenter.com.Source: DensoContact:Copyright 2018 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved.

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
LONDON, Aug. 10,2017 /PRNewswire/ --CompTIA, the world's leading technology association, today opened registration for its 2017 EMEA Member and Partner Conference. This year's gathering is scheduled for 17 and 18 October at etc.venues County Hall in London.

EMEA's leading IT solution providers, vendors, distributors, training companies, academies and content publishers will meet for two days of collaboration, discussion and networking focused on the latest technologies, trends and strategies to help grow their businesses and the industry.

"Whether it's the growing demand for cloud-based technology solutions and 'as-a-service' options, or budding interest in emerging tech such as artificial intelligence and smart homes and communities, the current marketplace is rich with opportunities for channel companies," said Kelly Ricker, executive vice president, events and education, CompTIA.

"At the same time, technology companies face daunting challenges, most notably, around the need to bring more workers into the industry," Ricker continued. "We'll cover both areas - opportunities and challenges - with advice from the industry's top thinkers and resources that can enhance any business."

Among key topics to be addressed is the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the primary law regulating how companies protect EU citizens' personal data. The GDPR, which becomes effective on May 25, 2018, imposes a uniform, consistent data security law across the entire EU.

The session titled "GDPR - A Roadmap to Being Compliant" will review guidelines from the Information Commissioner's Office on the 12 steps to GDPR compliance; and offer advice and tools on how to make a great practical start on the journey toward compliancy goals.

"Any company that markets goods or services to EU residents, regardless of its location, is subject to the regulation," Ricker noted. "GDPR will have an impact on data protection requirements globally, with stiff penalties and fines for non-compliance."

CompTIA's two-day conference will feature unique educational session tracks for two audiences:

IT channel companies and executives looking for opportunities to network and share best practices that they can put directly to action back at work.

CompTIA training and academic partners interested in the latest developments related to CompTIA's certification program.

Delegates who attended the 2016 EMEA Member and Partner Conference gave the event high marks. Nine in ten attendees said the conference had a positive impact on their business; 93 percent rated their experience as positive; and the same percentage said they would recommend the conference to a friend.

More information on the 2017 CompTIA EMEA Member and Partner Conference is available at https://www.comptia.org/emea/home. To register for the conference visit https://www.comptia.org/emea/register.

CompTIA: Building the Foundation for Technology's Future

The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) is the world's leading technology association, with approximately 2,000 member companies, 3,000 academic and training partners, over 100,000 registered users and more than two million IT certifications issued. CompTIA's unparalleled range of programs foster workforce skills development and generate critical knowledge and insight - building the foundation for technology's future. Visit CompTIA online, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter to learn more.

Contacts:

Mike Cheng

AprilSix Proof (for CompTIA)

mike.cheng@aprilsixproof.com

+44 (0)20 3141 2975

Steven Ostrowski

CompTIA

sostrowski@comptia.orgbr/>+1-630-678-8468

Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/320820/comptia_logo.jpg
PORTLAND, Oregon and PUNE, India, January 18, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

According to a recent report published by Allied Market Research, titled, "Enterprise Wearable Market by Product Type, Technology, and End User: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2017-2023," the global enterprise wearables market was valued at $3,232 million in 2016, and is projected to reach at $32,418 million by 2023, growing at a CAGR of 38.8% from 2017 to 2023.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140911/647229 )



North America dominates this market presently, followed by Europe. In 2016, China dominated the market in Asia-Pacific; similarly, Germany led the overall market in the European region. At present, the U.S. dominates the market in North America.

Do Enquiry for Sample Report@https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/4518

Rise in healthcare awareness and increase in mobile penetration drive the demand for the enterprise wearables market. Further, the benefits such as ease of use, flexibility, and convenience fuels the market growth rate. However, high cost of enterprise wearables and rising data security and privacy concern impedes the market growth.

In 2016, the Bluetooth technology segment dominates the global enterprise wearables in technology segment, in terms of revenue. However, based on product type, wrist wear and head wear leads the global market followed by eye wear in year 2016.

Healthcare segment leads the enterprise wearables market by end user in 2016 in terms of revenue. However, aerospace & defense segment is anticipated to depict highest CAGR throughout the forecast period.

Do Enquiry before purchasing Report@https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/4518

KEY FINDINGS OF ENTERPRISE WEARABLES MARKET STUDY:

Wrist wear generated the highest revenue of the global electric vehicle chargers market, in 2016.

In 2016, Bluetooth technology generated the highest revenue among the enterprise wearables market.

Asia-Pacific is anticipated to exhibit a highest CAGR during the forecast period.

is anticipated to exhibit a highest CAGR during the forecast period. In 2016, the healthcare segment contributed the highest market shares in the enterprise wearables market.

The key players profiled in the report include Apple Inc., Alphabet Inc., Adidas AG, Eurotech S.p.A, Fitbit Inc., Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd, Sony Corporation, Seiko Epson Corporation, Misfit Inc., and Xiaomi Inc.

Ask for discount before buying@ https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/get-discount/4518

About Us:

Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain.

We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry.

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Web: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com
DUBLIN, October 31, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

The "Enterprise Metadata Management Market - Global Forecast to 2022" report has been added to Research and Markets' offering.

The Enterprise Metadata Management market is expected to grow from USD 2.67 Billion in 2017 to USD 7.85 Billion by 2022, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 24.1% during the forecast period. Centralized data management, increasing business data volume, operational excellence and data quality management, governance, and risk and compliance management are expected to be the driving factors for the overall growth of the market.

The Enterprise Metadata Management market report provides detailed insights into the global market, which is segmented on basis of components, applications, metadata type, deployment models, industry verticals, and regions. Each of these markets are further subsegmented and analyzed based on the current adoption trends and future market scenarios. In the component segment, the tools segment is estimated to hold the largest market share throughout the forecast period, as a variety of enterprise metadata management solutions serve a variety of purposes, such as resource discovery and stringent non-compliance penalties on the breach of any confidential data that might be internal or external to the company in the developed countries of North America and Europe.

The cloud deployment model is expected to have a higher adoption rate than the on-premises deployment model and this trend is expected to continue throughout the forecast period. Cloud-based solutions are majorly deployed by large enterprises owing to various factors, including the reduced operational costs, simple deployments, and higher scalability. Cloud-based enterprise metadata management solutions are expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Among organization sizes, the increasing adoption can be observed among large enterprises, and the segment is expected to continue its dominating market position during the forecast period. The Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) segment with the increasing focus on improving the customer experience is likely to have the highest growth rate during the forecast period.

The Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) industry vertical is expected to have a dominant market share throughout the forecast period, owing to the increasing corporate data and customer critical information in this sector. In addition, the increasing customer transactions outside the branch through multiple channels, such as web, chat, mobile, and social media, are expected to lead to the higher adoption of enterprise metadata management solutions.

Companies Mentioned



Adaptive

ASG Technologies

Cambridge Semantics

Centricminds

Collibra

Data Advantage Group

IBM

Informatica

Oracle

SAP

Talend

Topquadrant

Key Topics Covered:



1 Introduction



2 Research Methodology



3 Executive Summary



4 Premium Insights



5 Market Overview And Industry Trends



6 Enterprise Metadata Management Market Analysis, By Application



7 Enterprise Metadata Management Market Analysis, By Metadata Type



8 Enterprise Metadata Management Market Analysis, By Component



9 Enterprise Metadata Management Market Analysis, By Business Function



10 Enterprise Metadata Management Market Analysis, By Deployment Model



11 Enterprise Metadata Management Market, By Industry Vertical



12 Geographic Analysis



13 Company Profiles



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/mv7phb/enterprise

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

press@researchandmarkets.com



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716
Harrison Wong



HKTDC Communication and Public Affairs Department Katherine Chan Tel: +852 2584 4537 Email: Katherine.cm.chan@hktdc.org Sam Ho Tel: +852 2584 4216 Email: sam.sy.ho@gmail.com

HONG KONG, Oct 10, 2017 - (ACN Newswire) - Organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) and coinciding with Amazon Fashion Week TOKYO Spring/Summer 2018 (16-22 October), the Fashion Hong Kong Month will present a wide array of international promotional events for the entire month of October, so as to bring Hong Kong's fashion designers and their collections to Japan and the world. This event is also one of the celebratory events of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's (HKSAR) 20th Anniversary.The Fashion Hong Kong Show and After-show Party are scheduled on 17 October and will be presented at the official venue Shibuya Hikarie's Hall A, which is the largest, in order to include more fashion movers and shakers, media and celebrities. Apart from Harrison Wong's label of HARRISON WONG and Polly Ho's LOOM LOOP, Meiking Ng and design duo Yi Chan and Lary Cheung, will showcase the latest collections of their labels MEIKING NG and HEAVEN PLEASE+ in the show, presenting dynamic Hong Kong designs on the global fashion stage.14 Hong Kong Fashionable Brands DebutFrom 1 October to 2 November, a total of 14 Hong Kong fashion and accessories brands, including the 4 Fashion Hong Kong Runway Show designers and 10 accessories brands, will be presented in the Fashion Hong Kong Month. Aside from Fashion Show and After-show Party, the Fashion Hong Kong Showroom will be set up to facilitate potential collaboration opportunities between Hong Kong designers and overseas counterparts, while displays and pop-up stores will also be in place at various locations in Tokyo to further enhance the exposure of Hong Kong designs.The runway collections of the 4 designer brands, together with 10 accessories brands, will not only be available for sale at the pop-up stores but also at Goxip, a Hong Kong online fashion shopping start-up, as part of the "See Now, Buy Now" trend.On the technology front, Fashion Hong Kong has partnered with local fashion tech start-up, Casetify to present a Fashion Hong Kong x Casetify promotion. The 4 designers' designs will be available for print on Casetify phone cases, allowing the latest trendsetters to wear Hong Kong designs on all fronts.Supported by a series of promotions, the HKTDC will introduce Hong Kong fashion designs to all industry players participating in Amazon Fashion Week TOKYO. Fashion Hong Kong is an initiative created by the HKTDC to promote local designers and labels in international fashion events in support of Hong Kong's economic growth and creativity. Since its debut in 2015, Fashion Hong Kong has staged numerous world-class runway shows in Tokyo Fashion Week, New York Fashion Week and Copenhagen Fashion Week.Tokyo Stage Highlights Our Young Fashion DesignerAnother highlight in Tokyo is the Asia Fashion Collection - Tokyo Stage, scheduled on 16 October 2017. Hong Kong young designer Key Chow will showcase his latest collections of KA WA KEY and work with designers from Japan, Korea and Taiwan to present a vibrant fashion show.Details of Event ProgrammeFashion Hong Kong Month (1 October - 2 November 2017)Organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC)Powered by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (Tokyo)Supported by Goxip and Casetify- Fashion Hong Kong Showroom (1-31 October 2017)Venue: H3O Fashion Bureau, Demeure Minami Aoyama #906, 6-7-5 Minami Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo- Asia Fashion Collection - Tokyo Stage (15 October 2017)Venue: EBIS303, Tokyo- Fashion Hong Kong Show and After-show Party (17 October 2017)Venue: Shibuya Hikarie Hall A, 9/F Shibuya Hikarie, 2-21-1 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo- Pop-up Store (14 October - 31 October 2017)Venue: Laforet Harajuku, 2F Container, 1-11-6 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo- Pop-up Store (24 October - 2 November 2017)Venue: Destination Tokyo, LUMINE EST. B2F, 3-38-1 Shinjuku Shinjuku-Ku TokyoFashion Hong Kong Official Webpage: www.fashionhongkong.comFashion Hong Kong Official Instagram: @hktdcfashionhkPhoto download: http://bit.ly/2zbWJVkAbout HKTDCEstablished in 1966, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body dedicated to creating opportunities for Hong Kong's businesses. With more than 40 offices globally, including 13 on the Chinese mainland, the HKTDC promotes Hong Kong as a platform for doing business with China, Asia and the world. With 50 years of experience, the HKTDC organises international exhibitions, conferences and business missions to provide companies, particularly SMEs, with business opportunities on the mainland and in international markets, while providing information via trade publications, research reports and digital channels including the media room. For more information, please visit: www.hktdc.com/aboutus. Follow us on Google+, Twitter @hktdc, LinkedIn.- Google+: https://plus.google.com/+hktdc- Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/hktdc- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/hong-kong-trade-development-councilSource: HKTDCContact:Copyright 2017 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved.
BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - At 4:30 am ET Thursday, the Office for National Statistics is scheduled to release U.K. industrial output and foreign data for June. Economists forecast industrial production to climb 0.1 percent and manufacturing to remain flat on a monthly basis in June. The U.K. visible trade deficit is seen narrowing to GBP 11 billion in June from GBP 11.86 billion in May. Ahead of these data, the pound fell against its major rivals. As of 4:25 am ET, the pound was trading at 0.9041 against the euro, 1.2530 against the Swiss franc, 1.2968 against the U.S. dollar and 142.60 against the yen. 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.
LINCOLN  Gov. Pete Ricketts said Wednesday he's trying to lure Canadian businesses to Nebraska as part of his trade mission focused largely on agriculture, manufacturing and other major industries.

Ricketts said he spoke with a company, which he declined to identify, about expanding its operations into the state. The trade delegation pitched the state to companies in an event dubbed, "Why Nebraska?"

The five-day trade mission is part of an effort to connect Nebraska and Canadian companies. It will include meetings with government, agricultural and manufacturing officials in Toronto and Ottawa. Ricketts said the trip marks the first visit by a Nebraska governor.

"It's up to us to have strong relationships," Ricketts said on a news conference call between stops.

Ricketts has said he chose Canada for a trade mission because it's Nebraska's largest export market, and thus the state's best customer. The trade delegation is comprised of state agriculture and economic development administrators, the Nebraska Farm Bureau, Nebraska Corn Growers, Nebraska Cattlemen Association and Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce.

Ricketts said he also had several discussions about the North American Free Trade Agreement, which he supports. Representatives from the United States, Mexico and Canada are scheduled to begin talks next week to renegotiate the agreement.

"We also want to make sure we keep in mind the big picture that NAFTA has been tremendously successful," Ricketts said. "That's an important relationship that we don't want to disrupt."

Many of the conversations with Canadian officials have focused on agricultural exports, such as corn and dairy products, said Mark McHargue, the Nebraska Farm Bureau's first vice president. Nebraska exported $468 million worth of agriculture goods to the country last year, according to data provided by the Nebraska Department of Agriculture.
"The voices of China. The faces of China. The stories of China."

SHANGHAI, Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- China Focus marked the launch of its inaugural annual theatre showcase at the Edinburgh Fringe on August 4, 2017 (Friday). This event kicked off the run of 7 top Chinese productions at the UK's famous theatre festival - for the first time, the Chinese government is bringing a masterful and diverse array of award-winning contemporary talent from East to West.

Key players from the China Focus programme converged in one of the country's creative capitals for this event, along with officials from the Chinese cultural sector, the Fringe, the Scottish government, and members of the press. Mr. Xiang Xiaowei, Minister Counsellor of Cultural Affairs Embassy of the People's Republic of China to the UK; Ms. Julia Amour, Director of Festivals Edinburgh; Ms. Shona McCarthy, Chief Executive, Festival Fringe Society; Mr. Li Ming, Vice President, China Shanghai International Arts Festival; and Mr. Zhao Miao, Director of Luocha Land, were among the guests attending the reception.

China Focus is Edinburgh Fringe Festival's celebration of excellence in Chinese theatre and dramatic production, with all of the high quality art performances supported by The Bureau for External Cultural Relations, Ministry of Culture,P. R. China. Each is a contemporary show that blends both China's traditional and its contemporary creative currents. Promoting Chinese heritage and cultural products among international markets, this year's showcase features the dramatic and audiovisual intrigue of Luocha Land, The Dreamer, China Goes Pop, The Boor, New City New Sound, Macbeth, and Treasure Trove of Shadow. Traditional Chinese opera, dance, acrobatics, shadow art, as well as modern jazz and pop music, fuse in a programme like nothing you've seen at this festival before.

In 2018 and beyond, China Focus will continue to grow as a mainstay of Edinburgh Fringe's Chinese cultural showcase, bringing the most exciting, innovative, and weighty productions to the Fringe. The project will continue to blend and bridge the two increasingly diverse and innovative cultural melting pots in both the UK and China.

Supported by:

The Bureau for External Cultural Relations, Ministry of Culture, P. R. China

Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture, Radio, Film & TV

Organised by:

The Centre for China Shanghai International Arts Festival

Co-Organised by:

Branding Shanghai

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/543901/Luocha_Land_photo_by_Branding_Shanghai.jpg

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/543902/The_Dreamer_photo_by_Branding_Shanghai.jpg
DGAP-Ad-hoc: ALLGEIER SE / Key word(s): Half Year Results Allgeier SE: Allgeier reports double-digit revenue growth in H1 2017 and results affected by investments 10-Aug-2017 / 10:25 CET/CEST Disclosure of an inside information acc. to Article 17 MAR, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. _Munich, August 8, 2017 -_ For the first six months of its 2017 financial year (January 1, 2017 to June 30, 2017), Allgeier SE (ISIN DE0005086300, WKN 508630) reports double-digit growth in its total operating revenue, according to preliminary figures. As planned, the first-half results are affected by extensive investments in establishing the Enterprise Services and Experts business areas. These investments occurred mainly in significant staff hiring and the creation of new corporate structures. The operating result is also burdened by relatively higher production costs in the Technology business area due to the appreciation of the Indian rupee. Q2 2017 business trends In the second quarter of 2017 (April 1, 2017 - June 30, 2017), the Group reported a 13 percent year-on-year increase in total operating revenue to EUR 142 million on the basis of preliminary results (previous year: EUR 126 million, with all prior-year figures relating to continuing operations). Adjusted consolidated EBITDA (EBITDA before effects that qualify operationally as extraordinary or relating to other accounting periods) of EUR 4.8 million was below the previous year's result (previous year: EUR 10.3 million). Preliminary consolidated EBITDA for the second quarter amounted to EUR 4.8 million (previous year: EUR 7.9 million). Preliminary consolidated EBIT (earnings before interest and tax) stood at EUR 1.5 million (previous year: EUR 5.2 million). H1 2017 business trends In sum, preliminary total operating revenue generated across the Group during the first half of 2017 rose by 14.6 percent compared with the first six months of 2016 to reach EUR 276 million (previous year: EUR 241 million). Adjusted consolidated EBITDA (EBITDA before effects that qualify operationally as extraordinary or relating to other accounting periods) stood at EUR 9.5 million (previous year: EUR 15.4 million). Preliminary consolidated EBITDA amounted to EUR 10.1 million (previous year: EUR 13.4 million). Preliminary consolidated EBIT (earnings before interest and tax) stood at EUR 4.0 million (previous year: EUR 8.1 million). While Group value creation (total operating revenue less direct personnel and other costs) rose by 14.9 percent during the first half of the year, according to preliminary figures, the result for the first half of 2017 was reduced by considerable investments in expanding the Enterprise Services and Experts business areas, as planned. The Enterprise Services area significantly increased its personnel costs year-on-year during the first half-year through hiring more than 400 staff, mainly SAP specialists. The Experts area raised its personnel costs at a disproportionally rapid rate year-on-year as it hired a net total of approximately 80 staff. The Management Board regards this as a considerable investment in growth and in future business development in the years 2018 and beyond. Key balance sheet financials as of June 30, 2017 Equity amounted on a preliminary basis to EUR 124.0 million as of June 30, 2017 (December 31, 2016: EUR 116.9 million). The Allgeier Group had EUR 61.1 million of liquid assets available (on the basis of preliminary figures) as of the balance sheet date (December 31, 2016: EUR 71.8 million). Preliminary total assets stood at EUR 357.0 million as of June 30, 2017 (December 31, 2016: EUR 344.4 million). Outlook for H2 2017 On the basis of its current planning, the Management Board expects the double-digit year-on-year growth to continue during the second half of 2017. According to Group planning, total operating revenue is to increase by 20 percent during the second six months of 2017, with especially the Enterprise Services business area making a disproportionately significant contribution. Adjusted consolidated EBITDA (EBITDA before effects that qualify operationally as extraordinary or relating to other accounting periods) is expected to report slight growth in the single-digit year-on-year percentage range in the second half of 2017, according to planning. All of the aforementioned IFRS figures are preliminary. All of the figures for the previous year relate to the continuing operations. The interim report for the first half of 2017 of Allgeier SE will be published on August 31, 2017, when it can be viewed at www.allgeier.com. Contact: Allgeier SE Corporate Communications & Investor Relations Dr. Christopher Grosse Wehrlestrasse 12 81679 Munich Tel.: +49 (0)89/998421-0 Fax: +49 (0)89/998421-11 Email: ir@allgeier.com Web: www.allgeier.com Allgeier SE is one of the leading IT companies for digital transformation: with a growth strategy oriented to innovations and future trends, as well as an integrative business model, Allgeier exploits the opportunities that digitalization offers. Three operating segments with individual specialist and sector-related focus areas work together for around than 3,000 customers from almost all business sectors. With over 6,800 salaried employees and more than 1,300 freelance experts, Allgeier offers its customers an extensive one-stop-shop range of solutions and services. Based on a highly flexible delivery model, Allgeier covers the entire IT service spectrum from on-site through to nearshore and offshore: with a strong business pillar in India, the company secures flexibility and maximum scalability of services, as well as highly qualified high-end software development expertise. Allgeier customers include globally operating groups as well as innovative medium-size business operations that aim to secure strategic advantages through high-performance IT solutions, intelligent software and flexible personnel services. This Munich-based, fast-growing Group maintains more than 100 branches in the region of Germany, Austria and Switzerland, in nine further European countries, as well as in India, Singapore, Vietnam, Mexico and the USA. Allgeier generated EUR 498 million of revenue in its continuing operations in 2016. Allgeier SE ranks first in the 2017 Lunendonk(R) special analysis of "Leading German Medium-Sized IT Consultants and System Integrators". According to the Lunendonk(R) 2017 market segment study "The Market for Recruiting, Mediating and Managing IT Freelancers in Germany", Allgeier Experts ranks among Germany's top three IT personnel service providers. Allgeier SE is listed on the Regulated Market of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (WKN 508630, ISIN DE0005086300). For more information, visit: www.allgeier.com. 10-Aug-2017 CET/CEST The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. Archive at www.dgap.de Language: English Company: ALLGEIER SE Wehrlestrae 12 81679 Munchen Germany Phone: +49 (0) 89 - 99 84 21 0 Fax: +49 (0) 89 - 99 84 21 11 E-mail: info@allgeier.com Internet: http://www.allgeier.com ISIN: DE0005086300 WKN: 508630 Indices: CDAX Listed: Regulated Market in Frankfurt (General Standard); Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Tradegate Exchange End of Announcement DGAP News Service 600441 10-Aug-2017 CET/CEST

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 10, 2017 04:25 ET (08:25 GMT)
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - October 24, 2017) - Benz Mining Corp. (TSXV: BZ) (the "Company" or "Benz"), is pleased to announce the completion of its 2017 diamond drilling program. A total of nine (9) planned drill holes totaling 2,114.22 m were completed at the Mel Zinc-Lead-Barite project in south-east Yukon. Assay results from this year's program are expected by the end of November and will be released as they become available. Sample material from these holes will allow the Company to undertake metallurgical testing once all assay results have been received and reviewed.

Drilling focused on the Mel Main Zone, which hosts an Inferred Mineral Resource of 5.28 million tonnes averaging 6.51 % zinc, 1.86% lead and 45.05% barite reported in a National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report prepared for Benz, by H. Leo King, P.Geo. and G.H. Giroux, P.Eng., which can be found on SEDAR under the company's profile.

The completed program provides new drill data to confirm the existing deposit model generated by previous operators. Diamond drilling targeted gaps within the deposit model, where previous drill spacing was too wide-spaced, and will provide data on metal grade continuity in these areas. Information collected from this year's program will be used to increase the confidence level of the current Inferred Mineral Resource and upgrade its category. All the diamond drill holes completed in 2017 intersected mineralized intervals comprising sphalerite, galena, and barite, where predicted by the model.

Core samples from the drill holes have been shipped to ALS Minerals in Whitehorse, YT, where they will be prepared and then shipped to ALS's laboratory in North Vancouver, BC for analysis.

Surface mapping and trenching demonstrate that mineralization along the favourable stratigraphic contact can be traced at surface for at least 125 m and possibly up to 150 m north on strike from the Mel Main Zone resource model. Visible sphalerite, galena and barite mineralization were observed in two trenches along this strike extension. Only one drill hole has been drilled along this extension; historical hole 75-13 intersected 13.5% zinc and 1.15% lead over a 0.76 m intercept from 198.12 to 198.88 m depth down-hole; barite was not analyzed. Hole 75-13 confirms that mineralization observed in the trenches extends to a significant depth over this northern strike extension. This northern extension of the Mel Zone mineralization provides the Company with good potential for a significant expansion of its current resource. This area will be included for testing in future drill programs.

Two additional trenches further north exposed the contacts of the favourable stratigraphy, and although no visible mineralization was encountered, this work confirms a new 2017 interpretation that the prospective stratigraphy continues further north than previous operators had projected. This opens an additional area not previously considered for exploration.

Field investigation traced the southern projection of the Mel Main Zone resource model under low swampy ground, an area without bedrock exposures and where trenching could not be undertaken. Further drilling will be required to test the open southern projection of the Mel Main Zone resource model; which also provides good potential for expansion of its current resource during the next exploration season.

Technical information in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Michael Gareau, P.Geo., Vice President of Geology for Benz and a qualified person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101. M. Gareau completed a field visit to the Mel Project from Oct. 19 to 21, 2017 during which he reviewed 2017 drill core, the Mel trenching and other aspects of the exploration program.

Shareholders can view pictures from the 2017 drilling program at Mel property, by visiting the Company's website. www.benzmining.com

Miloje Vicentijevic, President and CEO states, "I am pleased to provide confirmation that we have intersected mineralization in all of the nine holes in our first diamond drill program. Further analysis to identify mineralized targets for large drilling program will be completed by Michael Gareau (Benz VP Exploration and Qualified Persons under the definition of Canadian National Instrument 43-101), Mathew Dumala (Archer Cathro) and Mr. Leo King (Benz Advisor to the Board). I would like to thank to all of them for thorough analytical process and field performances to confirm the existing mineral resource, define next drilling targets, to continue to develop it into a large Zinc/Lead asset."

About Benz Mining Corp.

Benz is focused on acquiring and developing mining assets in safe jurisdictions and is led by a team of experienced mine developers. In March 2017, the Company entered into a purchase agreement to acquire the Mel zinc-lead-barite project located in southeast Yukon (Company news release dated March 13, 2017).

On behalf of the Board of Directors of Benz Mining Corp.

Miloje Vicentijevic, President and Chief Executive Officer

For more information please contact

Benz Mining Corp.

Telephone: 604.617.1239

Email: info@benzmining.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 accuracy or adequacy of this release.
VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - August 10, 2017) - GoldQuest Mining Corp. (TSX VENTURE: GQC) (FRANKFURT: M1W) (BERLIN: M1W) ("GoldQuest" or the "Company") is pleased to report assay results from the latest 4-hole batch of drill holes from its ongoing Tireo exploration drill program. The holes are all from the recent Cachimbo Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide (VMS) Discovery. All drilling occurs within the Company's 100% owned Tireo Concessions, which hosts the multi-million-ounce Romero Project in the Dominican Republic.

Highlights:

TIR-17-35 intersected two gold mineralization zones including:

46.6 metres of 1.08 g/t gold

And 11.7 metres grading 6.34 gold

Including 1.3 metres grading 47.7 g/t gold, 30 g/t silver, 2.32% zinc and 0.18% copper

Assays from four holes at Cachimbo are reported herein. All four holes, TIR-17-33, 34, 35 and 36 intersected gold within the upper strata-bound polymetallic massive and semi-massive sulphide horizon of the VMS system. Hole TIR-17-35 intersected a second lower zone of mineralization which may be proximal to the feeder to the system and future drilling will follow up. The mineralization remains open along strike and down-dip of the Cachimbo discovery hole, TIR-16-09, which intersected 5 metres grading 14 g/t gold, 74 g/t silver, 12% zinc and 1% copper (see release dated January 10, 2017).

Hole TIR-17-33 was collared approximately 50m south-east of the discovery hole at the same platform as hole TIR-17-32. The hole confirms that the upper mineralization horizon is dipping to the east. Holes TIR-17-34/35 and 36 were collared approximately 160 metres to the south-east of the discovery hole. Hole TIR-17-34 suffered a mechanical failure just as it entered the mineralization zone and had to be abandoned. Hole-17-35 hit the intended target of hole TIR-17-34 and intersected a second deeper zone with higher gold and base metal grades.

Drilling continues at Cachimbo and will test areas along strike to expand the mineralization envelope as the Company continues to explore for a potential copper-gold rich feeder system, like the Romero Deposit.

"About a year ago we launched our regional Tireo drilling campaign seeking new significant gold deposits. Today we are proud to share results from the latest holes from the definition phase of our Cachimbo discovery," commented Bill Fisher, GoldQuest's Executive Chairman. "It is early days and with each new hole we unveil more of the story of the Cachimbo geology and its potential. We are proud of our successes and in our continued ability to find gold in this emerging mineral district."

A plan map and cross-sections showing the Cachimbo drilling can be found at the following links.

Plan Map: http://goldquestcorp.com/images/Cachimbo_PlanView_August_8_2017.pdf

Section B-B':

http://goldquestcorp.com/images/20170808_Section_B_-_B_August_8_2017.pdf

Table 1. Tireo Drilling Intersections

-------------------------------------------------------------- Hole From (m) To (m) Length (m) Au g/t Ag g/t Cu % Zn % -------------------------------------------------------------- TIR-17-33 85.34 90.27 4.93 0.71 6.51 0.01 0.07 -------------------------------------------------------------- and -------------------------------------------------------------- 92.72 98.5 5.78 1.26 102.87 0.01 0.10 -------------------------------------------------------------- and -------------------------------------------------------------- 103.53 106.68 3.15 0.66 17.89 0.01 0.06 -------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------- TIR-17-34 106.01 111.25 5.24 0.87 6.57 0.03 0.30 -------------------------------------------------------------- hole stopped due to mechanical failure while in mineralization -------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------- TIR-17-35 105.82 152.4 46.58 1.08 1.68 0.01 0.09 -------------------------------------------------------------- including -------------------------------------------------------------- 120.31 132.5 12.19 2.37 2.34 0.02 0.16 -------------------------------------------------------------- and -------------------------------------------------------------- 186.75 198.4 11.65 6.34 4.37 0.03 0.33 -------------------------------------------------------------- including -------------------------------------------------------------- 188.34 189.6 1.26 47.70 30.00 0.18 2.32 -------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------- TIR-17-36 103.57 117.25 13.68 1.47 9.08 0.04 0.44 --------------------------------------------------------------

*Interval grades are calculated using uncapped assays. Gold values did not exceed 47.7 g/t which is below the capping level for Romero of 72.2 g/t. Intervals may not represent true widths. There is insufficient drilling to determine the exact orientation of the mineralized zones at this time.

Table 2. Collar locations and hole directions for Tireo holes

------------------------------------------------------ Hole Easting Northing Elevation Azimuth Dip ------------------------------------------------------ TIR-17-33 266,342 2,097,245 1196 225 -75 ------------------------------------------------------ TIR-17-34 266,459 2,097,243 1188 225 -90 ------------------------------------------------------ TIR-17-35 266,459 2,097,243 1188 225 -85 ------------------------------------------------------ TIR-17-36 266,459 2,097,243 1188 225 -70 ------------------------------------------------------

QA/QC

As part of the Company's Quality Assurance and Quality Control procedures (QA/QC) the Company reviews results from Certified Standard Reference materials (CRSM or Standards), which are inserted at a rate of five per 100 samples. Within the results disclosed herein there were no samples with results outside of the recommended tolerances for the standards. In GoldQuest's drill programs, composite intervals were chosen using a combination of geological criteria and mineralization, averaging around two metres core length. The drill core is cut in half with one half of the core sample shipped to ACME Labs by GoldQuest technicians. The remaining half of the core is kept at the Company core shack for future assay verification, or any other further investigation. Assays within intervals below the 0.005 g/t detection limit for Au were given a zero value. All drill samples were prepared and screened by ACME Labs (Vancouver); metallic fire assay and multi"element ICP"MS were assayed by ACME Analytical Laboratories (Vancouver). Gold values are determined by standard fire assay with an AA finish, or, if over 10.0 g/t Au, were re"assayed and completed with a gravimetric finish. Copper and zinc values exceeding 0.2% were re-assayed with a 4-acid digestion and AAS finish. When zinc values exceeded 10% a classic titration was carried out for zinc. QA/QC included the insertion and continual monitoring of numerous standards, blanks and duplicates into the sample stream, at random intervals within each batch. The comprehensive GoldQuest Quality Assurance and Quality Control protocols can be viewed on GoldQuest's website at: http://www.goldquestcorp.com/index.php/corporate/corporate"governance.

The information in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Jeremy Niemi, P. Geo., Vice President, Exploration of GoldQuest and a Qualified Person for the technical information in this press release under NI 43"101 standards.

About GoldQuest

GoldQuest is a Canadian based mineral exploration company with projects in the Dominican Republic. GoldQuest is traded on the TSX"V under the symbol GQC and in Frankfurt/Berlin with symbol M1W. The Company is well funded to carry out the exploration programs reported on in this release and to advance the development of its Romero gold/copper discovery, also located in the Tireo Formation of the Dominican Republic.

Forward"looking statements:

Statements contained in this news release that are not historical facts are forward"looking information that involves known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Forward"looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the 2015 drill program, the results of the drill program and the interpretation of the results of the drill program, further drilling, the timing of drilling and assay results, mineral resource estimates, the merits of the Company's mineral properties, future drill programs and studies, and the Company's plans and exploration programs for its mineral properties, including the timing of such plans and programs. In certain cases, forward"looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "has proven", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "potential", "likelihood", "appears", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "at least", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "should", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved".

Forward"looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward"looking statements. Such risks and other factors include, among others, risks related to uncertainties inherent in drill results and the estimation of mineral resources; commodity prices; changes in general economic conditions; market sentiment; currency exchange rates; the Company's ability to continue as a going concern; the Company's ability to raise funds through equity financings; risks inherent in mineral exploration; risks related to operations in foreign countries; future prices of metals; failure of equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; accidents, labor disputes and other risks of the mining industry; delays in obtaining governmental approvals; government regulation of mining operations; environmental risks; title disputes or claims; limitations on insurance coverage and the timing and possible outcome of litigation. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could affect the Company and may cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward"looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward"looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, do not place undue reliance on forward"looking statements. All statements are made as of the date of this news release and the Company is under no obligation to update or alter any forward"looking statements except as required under applicable securities laws. Forward"looking statements are based on assumptions that the Company believes to be reasonable, including expectations regarding mineral exploration and development costs; expected trends in mineral prices and currency exchange rates; the accuracy of the Company's current mineral resource estimates; that the Company's activities will be in accordance with the Company's public statements and stated goals; that there will be no material adverse change affecting the Company or its properties; that all required approvals will be obtained and that there will be no significant disruptions affecting the Company or its properties.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

CONTACT INFORMATION

GoldQuest Mining Corp.

www.goldquestcorp.com



GoldQuest Mining Corp.

Julio Espaillat

President & Chief Executive Officer

+1"829"919"8701

JEspaillat@GoldQuestCorp.com



GoldQuest Mining Corp.

Bill Fisher

Executive Chairman - Toronto

+1"647"271"4505

BFisher@GoldQuestCorp.com


Infrared imaging: "We need to look even further."

SHENZHEN, China, August 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Under the highly competitive ecosystem in the infrared imaging market, the "More than Moore" market research and strategy consulting company Yole Developpement (Yole), in collaboration with China International Optoelectronic Expo (CIOE), is organizing the 2nd Executive Infrared Imaging Forumon September 7 in Shenzhen, China, alongside the 19th CIOE this year. This second edition is focused on the latest technical innovations and market status. During an impressive one-day program, Yole and CIOE invite you to get a comprehensive overview of the IR imaging industry including technical insights, market trends and related figures and competitive landscape. Agenda & registration are now available.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/543911/UBM_Herong_Logo.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/543912/CIOE_logo_EN_Logo.jpg

Uncooled Infrared imaging market has been initially driven by defense applications. Innovation and cost reduction enabled the implementation of a new commercial market segment including thermography, surveillance, PVS[1] and more applications. Today the uncooled IR camera market is showing an 8% CAGR[2] between 2016 and 2022 reaching almost US$ 4.4 billion at the end of the period. In 2016, two leading companies, FLIR and ULIS, both with different market strategies and solutions, owned more than 75% of the total market (in volume). These results are part of the latest technology and market analysis from Yole, titled Uncooled Infrared Imagers market & technology trends, released last week.

"The future of uncooled IR imagers is bright," announces Yole's Senior Analyst, Dr. Eric Mounier. "Driven by dynamic commercial applications which continues to expand really quickly, this industry is showing significant emerging applications that could impact the market evolution. We are at the very beginning of new large volume applications."

All imaging players are on the look and try to confirm its market positioning. Besides FLIR and Ulis, many others players are also benefiting from IR imaging market growth. CIOE-Infrared Application Expo, is the first as well as the only professional infrared exhibition in China. The event gathers nearly all the global leading brands in this industry such as Newport, Thorlabs, Thales, Flir, Ulis, PI, SAT, Guide Infrared, DALI, NVG, Magnity, and Suruga Seiki. The latest exhibitor list is available now. Just pre-register to know more.

Market indicators are all there to expect the wide market adoption of uncooled IR imaging technologies. On September 7, in Shenzhen, China, Yole and CIOE offer a great opportunity to meet the leaders of this industry, understand the latest technical challenges and identify the business opportunities. The on-site cocktail and coffee break networking activities will ensureallparticipants have enough time to communicate with each other. ULIS, Hikvision, Heimann Sensors, Optris, JIR Infrared, Oxford Instruments, SST Vacuum Reflow Systems, The Australian National University, ENAS Fraunhofer and more are part of the 2017 program.

Sponsored by Optris, Sunny IR Optics and ULIS, the 2nd Executive IR Forum has been created thanks to Yole analysts' expertise and input from the industrial experts.

Yole and CIOE enjoy collaborating and building this second edition. "Both organizations combine their expertise to propose a valuable program to the world's IR imaging community," comments Jean-Christophe Eloy, President & CEO at Yole. "The sheer number of attendees proved the success of the previous edition, with almost 50% coming from the Chinese market."

"During one day, this forum brings together a world class panel of users and application experts," asserts Eric Yang, Secretary General of CIOE. "The program is a great opportunity for attendees and speakers to get up-to-date insights about the status of the IR imaging industry."

For more information, please contact: derek.deng@cioe.cn.

About China International Optoelectronic Expo (CIOE) (www.cioe.cn)

Established in 1999, CIOE is the largest show of its kind in the world featuring over 3,200 optoelectronic brands and their latest products in the area of 110,000 sqm at the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center. There are 6 concurrent specialized expositions focusing on Optical Communications and Sensors, Lasers, Infrared Applications, Precision Optics, LEDs, Emerging Display, Sapphire Technology & Touch Screen and Photonics Innovations.

Media Contact:

Shirly Yi

Tel: +86-755-88242569

Email: shirly.yi@cioe.cn
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 08/10/17 -- (All amounts expressed in U.S. Dollars unless otherwise stated)

Torex Gold Resources Inc. (the "Company" or "Torex") (TSX: TXG) is pleased to report production of 74,487 ounces of gold and its financial results for the second quarter of 2017, as ramp-up continues at its El Limon Guajes Mine (ELG) in southwest Mexico. This release should be read in conjunction with the Company's second quarter 2017 Financial Statements and MD&A on the Company's website or on SEDAR.

Fred Stanford, President & CEO of Torex stated: "Q2, 2017 was an excellent operating quarter, with significant progress made in the ramp-up of the operations. The processing plant team increased throughput by 26% over Q1, and effectively achieved design throughput levels in June. The mining team increased production by 30% over Q1. Operating costs per tonne were within 2% of target and recoveries at 86%, were consistent with design expectations at the grade processed. The costs per ounce sold were significantly affected by the timing of revenues and the grade processed in the quarter. There were approximately 10,000 ounces 'produced' in the quarter, for which, based on timing of shipments, revenue was not received. (Over 7,000 ounces in dore, and over 3,000 ounces of gold in carbon fines awaiting processing.) The average grade processed in the quarter, at 2.37 g/t is 9% below the average reserve grade. Such variability in grade is expected for a skarn deposit. The tonnes mined in the quarter reconciled positively (113%) against the reserve model for grade. There were higher grade tonnes available to be mined, but they sit below the pit wall that was damaged in the rock slide of 2016. The safety catch benches were lost in that slide and with rainfall at 180% of average in the first half of the rainy season, out of an abundance of caution, most of the mining of this high grade has been deferred to Q4 and potentially Q1, 2018, depending on the length and continued severity of the rainy season." He added, "Providing guidance during the unpredictability of a ramp-up is a bit of a mugs game, but our current expectation is that we will be at the low end of provided guidance for ounces and that will put us at the high end for costs per ounce. Unfortunately, since the rainy season tends to end around the end of Q3, achieving guidance will be dependent on getting the high grade tonnes through in Q4. The Sub-Sill is another source of high grade tonnes, which will be helpful. The drilling programs in the Sub-Sill continue to provide very encouraging results and an update will be provided in the near future. The SART plant construction continues to track to schedule."

HIGHLIGHTS

Ramp up progresses very well

-- Plant throughput in the quarter, 1,189 kt, averaged 13,063 tpd, or 93% of design capacity of 14,000 tpd in the quarter, and 13,790 tpd in June. -- Mine production in the quarter, 8,376 kt, averaged 92,044 tpd, an increase of 30% over the prior quarter. -- Gold recovery in the quarter averaged 86%, consistent with design expectations for the lower grades processed.

Positive grade reconciliation for the quarter of 113% to the reserve model

-- Positive total ounce reconciliation of 102% to the reserve model for the quarter.

New loan facility strengthens balance sheet and increases flexibility for funding growth options

-- Debt refinancing was announced in June 2017, executed in July, to replace the project finance facility.

Higher grade tonnes deferred to H2/2017 as a safety precaution during a heavy rainy season

-- Average grade in the quarter of 2.37 gpt is lower than reserve grade, resulting in higher costs per ounce.

Outlook

-- The Company expects to be at the low end of the annual guidance for ounces resulting in the higher end for costs per ounce.

Sub-Sill infill drilling continues to impress with a 97% hit ratio

-- Sub-Sill infill drilling demonstrated the continuity of high grade gold mineralization and initial very high grade Sub-Sill ore was delivered to the processing plant in June 2017.

Financial results

-- Net income totalled $5.1 million, or $0.06 per share, on a basic and diluted basis for the quarter, and $14.0 million, or $0.18 per share, on a basic and $0.17 per share on a diluted basis for the six months ended June 30, 2017. -- Adjusted net earnings(1), which excludes, amongst other items, unrealized derivative and foreign exchange gains and losses, totalled $0.8 million, or $0.01 per share on a basic and diluted basis for the quarter, and $6.7 million, or $0.08 per share on a basic and diluted basis for the six months ended June 30, 2017. -- Earnings from mine operations totalled $14.9 million for the quarter, and $30.9 million for the six months ended June 30, 2017. -- Cash flow from operations totalled $15.3 million for the quarter, and $35.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2017. -- Revenue totalled $86.6 million and cost of sales totalled $71.7 million, or $1,048 per ounce of gold sold for the quarter. Revenue totalled $173.6 million and cost of sales totalled $142.7 million, or $1,026 per ounce of gold sold for the six months ended June 30, 2017. -- Gold sold for the quarter totalled 68,398 ounces sold for total proceeds of $84.9 million at an average realized gold price(1) of $1,241 per ounce. Gold sold for the six months ended June 30, 2017 totalled 139,145 ounces for total proceeds of $171.7 million at an average realized gold price(1) of $1,234 per ounce. -- Cash balances as at June 30, 2017 totalled $77.2 million (including restricted cash of $15.7 million). -- Total cash costs(1) of $706 per ounce of gold sold for the quarter, and $688 per ounce of gold sold for the six months ended June 30, 2017. -- All-in sustaining costs(1) of $991 per ounce of gold sold for the quarter, and $957 per ounce of gold sold for the six months ended June 30, 2017. -- Ore in stockpile as at June 30, 2017 was 0.5 million tonnes at an average estimated grade of 1.51 gpt. (1) Total cash costs, all-in sustaining costs, average realized gold price and adjusted net earnings are financial performance measures with no standard meaning under International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS"). Refer to "Non-IFRS Financial Performance Measures" in the Company's Q2 2017 Management's Discussion and Analysis for further information and a detailed reconciliation.

Please refer to Figure 1 for "Average Tonnage Processed Per Day and Throughput Rate" and Figure 2 for "Guajes and El Limon, Reconciliation of Grade and Ounces".

Qualified Persons

Scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Dawson Proudfoot, P.Eng., Vice President, Engineering of Torex Gold Resources Inc. and a Qualified Person under NI 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

Conference Call

The Company will host a conference call today at 9:00 am (ET) where senior management will discuss the Second Quarter 2017 operational and financial results.

Access the conference call as follows:

Webcast access: A live audio webcast of the conference call will be available on the Company's website at www.torexgold.com.

Telephone access:Please call the numbers below approximately ten minutes prior to the scheduled start of the call. Toronto local or international 1 (416) 915-3239

Toll-Free (North America) 1 800-319-4610 Toll-Free (France) 0 800-900-351 Toll-Free (Switzerland) 0-800-802-457 Toll-Free (United Kingdom) 0 808-101-2791

The webcast will be archived on the Company's website.

About Torex

Torex is an emerging intermediate gold producer based in Canada, engaged in the exploration, development and operation of its 100% owned Morelos Gold Property, an area of 29,000 hectares in the highly prospective Guerrero Gold Belt located 180 kilometers southwest of Mexico City. Within this property, Torex has the El Limon-Guajes Mine, which announced commercial production in March of 2016 and the Media Luna Project, which is an early stage development project, and for which the Company issued a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) in 2015. The property remains 75% unexplored.

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Notwithstanding the Company's efforts, there can be no guarantee that the Company will not face unforeseen delays or disruptions. Forward-looking information also includes, but is not limited to, the expected successful ramp-up and achieving full production, the plans to complete the construction of the SART plant on time and budget and expected successful start-up, commissioning and operation of the SART plant and the expected cost saving from the operation of the SART plant, the expected continued operation of the tailings filtration plant at design levels, plans to complete the access ramp to El Limon Deep, plans to mine and process the material from the Sub-Sill area and the expectation that the material will help achieve the production guidance targets, plans to complete the infill and step-out diamond drilling program on the Sub-Sill deposit, plans to upgrade the mineral resource estimate and complete a mine plan for the Sub-sill deposit and other future exploration and development, continued safety and security, and access to the ELG Mine. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects", "estimates", "intends", "anticipates" or "believes" or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", or "will be taken", "occur", or "be achieved". Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including those risk factors identified in the Company's annual information form ("AIF") and management's discussion and analysis ("MD&A"). Forward-looking information is based on the reasonable assumptions, estimates, analysis and opinions of management, which may be identified in the AIF or MD&A, made in light of its experience and its perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, as well as other factors that management believes to be relevant and reasonable in the circumstances at the date that such statements are made, but which may prove to be incorrect. Such assumptions, estimates, analysis and opinions include, without limitation, the continued ramp-up to full production and continued operation of the tailings filtration plant at design levels, timely access to the high grade material, the timely completion of construction, start-up and commissioning of the SART plant and expected cost savings, the mineral resource estimate for the Sub-Sill deposit, the timing and receipt of any required approvals and permits, the ability of the Company to obtain qualified personnel, equipment and services in a timely and cost-efficient manner, the ability of the Company to obtain financing on acceptable terms, the ability of the Company to access the Morelos Gold Property and the ability to conclude the land access agreements for Media Luna. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and expectations reflected in such forward-looking information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking information because the Company can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. 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. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

To view the figures associated with this news release, please visit: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/Figures_1_and_2_Torex.pdf

Contacts:

TOREX GOLD RESOURCES INC.

Fred Stanford

President and CEO

(647) 260-1502

fred.stanford@torexgold.com



Gabriela Sanchez

Vice President Investor Relations

(647) 260-1503

gabriela.sanchez@torexgold.com




MONTREAL, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 08/10/17 -- Knight Therapeutics Inc. (TSX: GUD) ("Knight"), a leading Canadian specialty pharmaceutical company, today reported financial results for its second quarter ended June 30, 2017. All dollar amounts are in thousands except for per share amounts. All currencies are Canadian unless otherwise specified.

Q2-2017 Highlights

-- Revenues reached $2,840, an increase of $1,345 or 119% over the same period in prior year -- Cash flows from operations were $3,371, an increase of $289 or 9% over the same period in prior year -- Submitted Probuphine for approval by Health Canada -- Issued additional secured loan tranches of US$1,807 to 60 Degree Pharmaceuticals ("60P") -- Contributed capital of $6,190 and received distributions of $1,222 from strategic fund investments

Subsequent Events

-- Realized gain of $1,457 on disposal of common shares of Merus upon the close of its acquisition by Norgine B.V. -- Medison Biotech (1995) Ltd.'s ("Medison") board of directors declared and approved dividends of $2,466 (ILS7,068) -- Issued an additional secured loan of US$10,000 to Synergy CHC Corp. ("Synergy")

"This past quarter was highlighted by continued revenue growth, as well as the submission of Probuphine for approval by Health Canada, bringing a novel product one step closer to improving the health of Canadians," said Jonathan Ross Goodman, CEO of Knight. "In the quarters ahead, we will continue to be focused on advancing our pipeline and capitalizing on GUD opportunities for growth."

Financial Results

Revenue for Q2 2017 was $2,840, an increase of $1,345 or 119% versus Q2 2016. Revenue for the first half of 2017 was $4,230, an increase of $2,027 or 92% versus the first half of 2016. The increase is due to the addition of Movantik as well as to an increase of Impavido sales.

Operating expenses for Q2 2017 were $4,246, an increase of $1,513 or 55% versus Q2 2016. The increase is explained by commercial activities including sales force promotion of Movantik, an increase in the number of employees as Knight expands commercialization and prepares to launch new products in Canada, and the fees related to the submission of Probuphine for regulatory approval by Health Canada.

Interest income for Q2 2017 was $5,698, a decrease of $426 or 7% versus Q2 2016. The decrease is driven by a lower average loan balance outstanding, offset by an increase in the average cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities balances due to proceeds from equity raises in June and December 2016.

Share of income of associate for Q2 2017 was $96, a decrease of $709 or 88% versus Q2 2016. The decrease is due to Medison's lower net income mainly attributable to increases in marketing and selling expenses linked to new product launches as well as to an increase in the amortization of fair value adjustments recorded by Knight.

Net income for Q2 2017 was $459, a decrease of $3,987 or 90% versus Q2 2016. Net income for the first half of 2017 was $6,506, an increase of $1,583 or 32% versus the first half of 2016.

As at June 30, 2017, Knight had $761,161 in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities and 142,765,432 common shares outstanding. From this strong cash position, Knight will continue to pursue business and corporate development opportunities.

Product Updates

During the quarter, Knight submitted a new drug submission for Probuphine for approval by Health Canada. Probuphine, indicated for the treatment of opioid drug dependence, is a subdermal implant designed to deliver buprenorphine continuously for six months following a single treatment, promoting patient compliance and retention. Knight entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with Braeburn to commercialize Probuphine in Canada in February 2016.

According to IMS data, Movantik sales in Canada were $213 and $381 for the three and six-month periods ended June 30, 2017. In December 2016, Knight entered into an agreement with AstraZeneca for the rights to Movantik in Canada and Israel under which Knight is responsible for all commercial, regulatory and certain supply chain activities. Movantik is the first once-daily oral peripherally-acting mu-opioid receptor antagonist for the treatment of opioid-induced constipation in adult patients with non-cancer pain who have had an inadequate response to laxative(s).

Strategic Lending Updates

During the three-month period ended June 30, 2017, Knight issued an additional US$1,356 to 60P. As at June 30, 2017, Knight had issued a total of US$4,197 to 60P as part of a secured loan agreement. The loan bears interest at 15% per annum and matures on December 31, 2020.

Subsequent to quarter end, Knight issued an additional secured loan of US$10,000 to Synergy which bears interest at 10.5% per annum and matures on August 9, 2020. As part of the transaction, Knight will receive a success fee paid at maturity, plus other consideration. In 2015, Knight issued two loans to Synergy totaling US$11,500 which have a current remaining balance of US$3,100 and are scheduled to be fully repaid by January 20, 2018.

Conference Call Notice

Knight will host a conference call and audio webcast to discuss its second quarter results today at 8:30 am ET. Knight cordially invites all interested parties to participate in this call.

Date: Thursday, August 10, 2017 Time: 8:30 a.m. EST Telephone: 1-877-223-4471 or 647-788-4922 Webcast: http://www.gudknight.com/ or http://bit.ly/2u1eeo9 This is a listen-only audio webcast. Media Player is required to listen to the broadcast. Replay: An archived replay will be available for 30 days at http://www.gudknight.com/.

About Knight Therapeutics Inc.

Knight Therapeutics Inc., headquartered in Montreal, Canada, is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on acquiring or in-licensing innovative pharmaceutical products for the Canadian and select international markets. Knight Therapeutics Inc.'s shares trade on TSX under the symbol GUD. For more information about Knight Therapeutics Inc., please visit the company's web site at www.gudknight.com or www.sedar.com.

Forward-Looking Statement

This document contains forward-looking statements for Knight Therapeutics Inc. and its subsidiaries. These forward-looking statements, by their nature, necessarily involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements. Knight Therapeutics Inc. considers the assumptions on which these forward-looking statements are based to be reasonable at the time they were prepared, but cautions the reader that these assumptions regarding future events, many of which are beyond the control of Knight Therapeutics Inc. and its subsidiaries, may ultimately prove to be incorrect. Factors and risks, which could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations are discussed in Knight Therapeutics Inc.'s Annual Report and in Knight Therapeutics Inc.'s Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2016. Knight Therapeutics Inc. disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information or future events, except as required by law.

INTERIM CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (In thousands of Canadian dollars) (Unaudited) As at June 30, 2017 December 31, 2016 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ASSETS Current Cash and cash equivalents 527,879 514,942 Marketable securities 233,282 221,108 Trade and other receivables 7,598 6,440 Inventories 839 790 Other current financial assets 35,779 51,789 Income taxes receivable 5,456 4,683 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total current assets 810,833 799,752 Property and equipment 68 32 Intangible assets 13,482 14,153 Other financial assets 84,073 90,643 Investment in associate 78,003 80,113 Deferred income tax assets 5,521 6,077 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total assets 991,980 990,770 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY Current Accounts payable and accrued liabilities 3,123 3,207 Income taxes payable 6,617 5,659 Other balances payable 610 537 Deferred other income 250 355 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total current liabilities 10,600 9,758 Deferred other income 292 417 Other balances payable 908 877 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total liabilities 11,800 11,052 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shareholders' equity Share capital 761,063 760,447 Warrants 785 785 Contributed surplus 11,138 9,469 Accumulated other comprehensive income 22,102 30,431 Retained earnings 185,092 178,586 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total shareholders' equity 980,180 979,718 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total liabilities and shareholders' equity 991,980 990,770 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- INTERIM CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME (In thousands of Canadian dollars, except for share and per share amounts) (Unaudited) Three months Six months ended ended June 30 June 30 2017 2016 2017 2016 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Revenues 2,480 1,135 4,230 2,203 Cost of goods sold 472 535 760 781 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gross margin 2,008 600 3,470 1,422 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Expenses Selling and marketing 1,050 154 1,413 168 General and administrative 2,329 2,055 4,797 4,234 Research and development 867 524 1,283 807 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- (2,238) (2,133) (4,023) (3,787) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Depreciation of property and equipment - 10 - 18 Amortization of intangible assets 320 122 646 163 Interest income (5,698) (6,124) (11,558) (10,940) Other income (334) (354) (642) (1,453) Net loss (gain) on financial assets 1,056 (783) (2,319) (2,512) Share of net income of associate (96) (805) (415) (1,659) Foreign exchange loss 1,306 357 1,549 4,127 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Income before income taxes 1,208 5,444 8,716 8,469 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Income tax expense Current 628 578 1,108 3,119 Deferred 121 420 1,102 427 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net income for the period 459 4,446 6,506 4,923 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Attributable to shareholders of the Company Basic earnings per share 0.003 0.039 0.046 0.046 Diluted earnings per share 0.003 0.039 0.045 0.045 INTERIM CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS (In thousands of Canadian dollars) (Unaudited) Three months Six months ended ended June 30 June 30 2017 2016 2017 2016 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- OPERATING ACTIVITIES Net income for the period 459 4,446 6,506 4,923 Adjustments reconciling net income to operating cash flows: Deferred tax 121 420 1,102 427 Share-based compensation expense 1,018 810 1,864 1,883 Depreciation and amortization 320 132 646 181 Accretion of interest (1,106) (1,741) (2,184) (2,846) Realized (gain) loss on financial assets (665) 514 (1,641) (142) Unrealized (gain) loss on financial assets 1,721 (1,297) (678) (2,370) Foreign exchange loss 1,344 367 1,549 4,127 Share of net income from associate (96) (805) (415) (1,659) Other adjustments 71 (151) (231) (293) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3,187 2,695 6,518 4,231 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Changes in non-cash working capital related to operations (2,341) 387 (1,436) 963 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends from associate 2,525 - 2,525 2,423 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cash inflow from operating activities 3,371 3,082 7,607 7,617 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- INVESTING ACTIVITIES Purchase of marketable securities (98,182)(135,726)(142,473)(283,125) Purchase of intangibles - - - (2,924) Issuance of loans receivables (1,807) (2,598) (1,807) (37,449) Purchase of equities (120) (3,999) (2,939) (7,460) Investment in funds (6,190) (3,392) (10,331) (9,225) Proceeds from sale of marketable securities 106,073 81,878 126,559 234,104 Proceeds from repayments of loans receivable 2,266 1,005 30,324 2,023 Proceeds from disposal of equities 2,806 616 3,515 6,235 Proceeds from distribution of funds 1,222 - 3,376 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cash inflow (outflow) from investing activities 6,068 (62,216) 6,224 (97,821) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- FINANCING ACTIVITIES Issuance of shares upon bought deal - 218,552 - 218,552 Proceeds from share option plan - - 345 - Proceeds from share purchase plan 50 22 93 50 Issuance of share purchase loans - (200) - (200) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cash inflow from financing activities 50 218,374 438 218,402 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Increase in cash during the period 9,489 159,240 14,269 128,198 Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of the period 519,522 204,785 514,942 237,481 Net foreign exchange difference (1,132) (312) (1,332) (1,966) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cash and cash equivalents, end of the period 527,879 363,713 527,879 363,713 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Marketable securities, end of the period 233,282 274,710 233,282 274,710 Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities, end of the period 761,161 638,423 761,161 638,423 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Contacts:

Knight Therapeutics Inc.

Jeffrey Kadanoff, P.Eng., MBA

Chief Financial Officer

514-484-GUD1 (4831)

514-481-4116 (FAX)

info@gudknight.com

www.gudknight.com








1. U.S. acceptance of coexistence as the only alternative to atomic war.

2. U.S. willingness to capitulate in preference to engaging in atomic war.

3. Develop the illusion that total disarmament of the United States would be a demonstration of moral strength.

4. Permit free trade between all nations regardless of Communist affiliation and regardless of whether or not items could be used for war.

5. Extension of long-term loans to Russia and Soviet satellites.

6. Provide American aid to all nations regardless of Communist domination.

7. Grant recognition of Red China. Admission of Red China to the U.N.

8. Set up East and West Germany as separate states in spite of Khrushchev's promise in 1955 to settle the German question by free elections under supervision of the U.N.

9. Prolong the conferences to ban atomic tests because the United States has agreed to suspend tests as long as negotiations are in progress.

10. Allow all Soviet satellites individual representation in the U.N.

11. Promote the U.N. as the only hope for mankind. If its charter is rewritten, demand that it be set up as a one-world government with its own independent armed forces. (Some Communist leaders believe the world can be taken over as easily by the U.N. as by Moscow. Sometimes these two centers compete with each other as they are now doing in the Congo.)

12. Resist any attempt to outlaw the Communist Party.

13. Do away with all loyalty oaths.

14. Continue giving Russia access to the U.S. Patent Office.

15. Capture one or both of the political parties in the United States.

16. Use technical decisions of the courts to weaken basic American institutions by claiming their activities violate civil rights.

17. Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers' associations. Put the party line in textbooks.

18. Gain control of all student newspapers.

19. Use student riots to foment public protests against programs or organizations which are under Communist attack.

20. Infiltrate the press. Get control of book-review assignments, editorial writing, policymaking positions.

21. Gain control of key positions in radio, TV, and motion pictures.

22. Continue discrediting American culture by degrading all forms of artistic expression. An American Communist cell was told to "eliminate all good sculpture from parks and buildings, substitute shapeless, awkward and meaningless forms."

23. Control art critics and directors of art museums. "Our plan is to promote ugliness, repulsive, meaningless art."

24. Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them "censorship" and a violation of free speech and free press.

25. Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV.

26. Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as "normal, natural, healthy."

27. Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with "social" religion. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity which does not need a "religious crutch."

28. Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the ground that it violates the principle of "separation of church and state."

29. Discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate, old-fashioned, out of step with modern needs, a hindrance to cooperation between nations on a worldwide basis.

30. Discredit the American Founding Fathers. Present them as selfish aristocrats who had no concern for the "common man."

31. Belittle all forms of American culture and discourage the teaching of American history on the ground that it was only a minor part of the "big picture." Give more emphasis to Russian history since the Communists took over.

32. Support any socialist movement to give centralized control over any part of the culture--education, social agencies, welfare programs, mental health clinics, etc.

33. Eliminate all laws or procedures which interfere with the operation of the Communist apparatus.

34. Eliminate the House Committee on Un-American Activities.

35. Discredit and eventually dismantle the FBI.

36. Infiltrate and gain control of more unions.

37. Infiltrate and gain control of big business.

38. Transfer some of the powers of arrest from the police to social agencies. Treat all behavioral problems as psychiatric disorders which no one but psychiatrists can understand.

39. Dominate the psychiatric profession and use mental health laws as a means of gaining coercive control over those who oppose Communist goals.

40. Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce.

41. Emphasize the need to raise children away from the negative influence of parents. Attribute prejudices, mental blocks and retarding of children to suppressive influence of parents.

42. Create the impression that violence and insurrection are legitimate aspects of the American tradition; that students and special-interest groups should rise up and use united force to solve economic, political or social problems.

43. Overthrow all colonial governments before native populations are ready for self-government.

44. Internationalize the Panama Canal.

45. Repeal the Connally reservation so the United States cannot prevent the World Court from seizing jurisdiction over nations and individuals alike.
DRUMMONDVILLE, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 08/10/17 -- NAPEC Inc. ("NAPEC" or "the Corporation") (TSX: NPC) reported its results today for the second quarter ended June 30, 2017. All amounts are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Financial highlights Three months ended Six months ended June 30 June 30 (in thousands of dollars, except the number of shares and per- share data) 2017 2016 2017 2016 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Revenues 112,159 77,779 221,509 170,412 EBITDA(1) 9,078 4,835 17,901 11,400 Net earnings (loss) 534 (897) 1,128 (1,273) Per share - basic and diluted ($) 0.01 (0.01) 0.01 (0.02) Weighted average number of outstanding shares (basic, in thousands) 103,923 79,866 103,923 79,866 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ( 1 ) Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. Not an IFRS measure. See "Non-IFRS Measure" below for a reconciliation.

"NAPEC posted another solid performance in the second quarter. Our broader reach in the United States translated into strong revenue growth, especially in services related to natural gas networks, following the acquisition of PCT Contracting LLC ("PCT") last November. In Canada, some delays in the execution of an important contract affected our activities, but this work will continue until the beginning of 2018. Also, the increase in high value-added services and disciplined cost management gave rise to a significant increase in operating profitability," said Pierre L. Gauthier, President and Chief Executive Officer of NAPEC.

SECOND QUARTER RESULTS

Revenues for the second quarter of 2017 were $112.2 million, up 44.2% from $77.8 million a year earlier. The increase reflects the addition of PCT's operations related to the construction, maintenance and repair of natural gas networks, which represented revenues of $16.4 million in the second quarter of 2017. Furthermore, the currency conversion effect resulting from fluctuations in the value of the Canadian dollar increased the value of U.S.-dollar-denominated revenues by approximately $4.2 million in the second quarter of 2017, compared to the same period in 2016.

Excluding these items, NAPEC recorded organic revenue growth of $13.8 million or 17.7%. This growth mainly reflects an increase in revenues from contracts related to electricity projects for industrial, commercial and institutional customers, contracts related to the construction, maintenance and repair of electrical substations and contracts related to renewable energy sources.

EBITDA for the second quarter of 2017 amounted to $9.1 million or 8.1% of revenues, compared to $4.8 million or 6.2% of revenues in the second quarter of 2016. The increase in monetary terms was mainly due to higher business activity, while the increase as a percentage of revenues reflects a better revenue mix, with a larger proportion coming from high value-added services, and lower selling, general and administrative expenses as a percentage of revenues.

NAPEC concluded the second quarter of 2017 with net earnings of $534,000 or $0.01 per share, basic and diluted, compared to a net loss of $897,000 or $0.01 per share, basic and diluted, a year earlier.

As at June 30, 2017, NAPEC had a backlog of $471 million, up from $417 million as at June 30, 2016.

SIX-MONTH RESULTS

Revenues for the six-month period ended June 30, 2017 were $221.5 million, up from $170.4 million for the six-month period ended June 30, 2016. The addition of PCT's activities represented revenues of $28.4 million, while the currency conversion effect increased the value of U.S.-dollar-denominated revenues for the six-month period ended June 30, 2017 by approximately $600,000 compared to the same period in 2016. Excluding these items, revenues increased by $22.1 million or 13.0%.

EBITDA amounted to $17.9 million or 8.1% of revenues, compared to $11.4 million or 6.7% of revenues a year earlier. Net earnings for the first six months of 2017 were $1.1 million or $0.01 per share, basic and diluted, compared to a net loss of $1.3 million or $0.02 per share, basic and diluted, for the first six months of 2016.

FINANCIAL POSITION

As at June 30, 2017, long-term debt, including the current portion, was $88.3 million, compared to $94.1 million three months earlier. The decrease mainly reflects the repayment of $5.6 million in long-term debt in the second quarter of 2017. As a result, the long-term debt to equity ratio was 0.74 as at June 30, 2017, down from 0.77 three months earlier. As at June 30, 2017, the Corporation had a cash balance of $5.0 million and an amount of $20.5 million was used from its $50.0 million authorized renewable credit facility.

OUTLOOK

"We are satisfied with the progress shown over the first half of the year, and we are confident to post organic revenue growth in 2017. The demand for our services remains strong in the majority of our market niches, especially in the United States. In this context, we are aiming to capture cross-selling opportunities across our network and further increase the scope of our high value-added services," concluded Mr. Gauthier.

CONFERENCE CALL

NAPEC will hold a conference call to discuss its results on Thursday, August 10, 2017 beginning at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Interested parties can join the call by dialling 647-788-4922 (from Toronto and overseas) or 1-877-223-4471 (from elsewhere in North America). If you are unable to participate, you can listen to a recording by dialling 1-800-585-8367 and entering the code 48705744 on your telephone keypad. The recording will be available from 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, August 10, 2017 until 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, August 17, 2017.

Those wishing to join the webcast and presentation can do so by clicking on the following link: http://www.napec.ca/en-CA/investor-relations/calendar-financial-activities/upcoming-activities

NON-IFRS MEASURE

EBITDA is a measure that has no standardized meaning under IFRS and is therefore considered a non-IFRS measure. As a result, this measure may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. This measure is presented and described in this press release in order to provide additional information regarding the Corporation's liquidity and its ability to generate funds to finance its operations.

The following table is a reconciliation of EBITDA as used by the Corporation to reported net earnings (loss).

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reconciliation of EBITDA to net Three months ended Six months ended earnings (loss) June 30 June 30 (in thousands of dollars) 2017 2016 2017 2016 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net earnings (loss) for the period 534 (897) 1,128 (1,273) Plus: Finance charges 1,790 1,085 3,393 2,460 Income tax expense (recovery) 314 (1,196) 879 (1,423) Depreciation and amortization 6,440 5,843 12,501 11,636 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- EBITDA 9,078 4,835 17,901 11,400 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This document contains forward-looking statements that reflect management's current expectations regarding future events. Forward-looking statements are based on a number of factors and include risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ from forecast results. Management assumes no obligation beyond what is required under the law to update or revise forward-looking statements pursuant to new information or future events.

OVERVIEW OF THE CORPORATION

NAPEC is a company operating in the energy sector. The Corporation is a leading provider of construction and maintenance services to the public utility and heavy industrial markets, mainly in Quebec, Ontario and the eastern United States. NAPEC and its subsidiaries build and maintain electrical transmission and distribution systems, solar panel farms and natural gas networks. The Corporation also installs gas-powered and electric-powered heavy equipment for utilities, gas-fired industrial power plants and petrochemical facilities in North America. The Corporation also offers environmental construction and road matting services.

Additional information on NAPEC can be found in the SEDAR database (www.sedar.com) and on the Corporation's website, at www.napec.ca.

Contacts:

Source:

NAPEC Inc.



Pierre L. Gauthier

President and Chief Executive Officer

819-479-7771

p.gauthier@napec.ca



Mario Trahan, CPA, CMA

Chief Financial Officer

819-479-7771

m.trahan@napec.ca



MaisonBrison

Martin Goulet, CFA

514-731-0000

martin@maisonbrison.com






CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - The Australian and NZ dollars slipped against their major counterparts in early European deals on Friday, as European shares dropped on disappointing earnings updates and investors digested comments by ECB President Mario Draghi at the Frankfurt European Banking Congress.



The German DAX was down 0.1 percent, France's CAC 40 index was declining 0.2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was losing 0.3 percent.



Speaking in Frankfurt, the European Central Bank President Mario Draghi defended the bank's monetary policy, saying there is little evidence that the monetary policy is currently doing harm to banks' profitability.



'If there are any negative effects of low rates on net interest income in the future, they should be largely offset by the positive effects of monetary stimulus on the other main components of profitability, such as the quality of loans and therefore on loan-loss provisions,' he told.



In the U.S., Special Counsel Robert Mueller issued subpoena to over a dozen top campaign officials in mid-October, calling for documents and emails related to Russia, the Wall Street Journal reported.



Investors look ahead to U.S. housing starts data due for release later in the day for more direction.



In economic front, data from Statistics New Zealand showed that NZ's output producer price index rose 1.0 percent on quarter in the third quarter of 2017.



That followed the 1.3 percent increase in the previous three months.



Both the aussie and the kiwi dropped against their major rivals in the Asian session.



The kiwi weakened to a 1-1/2-year low of 0.6783 against the greenback, off its early 2-day high 0.6883. The next possible support for the kiwi is seen around the 0.66 region.



The kiwi slipped to a 6-month low of 76.36 versus the yen, 3-day low of 1.1130 versus the aussie and more than a 2-year low of 1.7386 against the euro, from its early highs of 77.51, 1.1043 and 1.7166, respectively. If the kiwi extends decline, 75.00, 1.12 and 1.75 are likely seen as its next support levels against the yen, the aussie and the euro, respectively.



Simultaneously, the aussie declined to a 1-1/2-year low of 1.5638 versus the euro, near 5-month lows of 0.7542 versus the greenback and 84.87 versus the yen, coming off from its early highs of 1.5504, 0.7608 and 85.85, respectively. The aussie may possibly challenge support around 0.73 against the greenback, 83.00 against the yen and 1.58 against the euro.



The aussie hit 0.9617 against the loonie, its lowest since July 2016. Next key support for the aussie-loonie pair is seen around the 0.94 mark.



Looking ahead, at 8:00 am ET, Deutsche Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann speaks at the Frankfurt European Banking Congress.



In the New York session, Canada CPI, U.S. housing starts and building permits for October are due.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
Expanding sulfur processing capacity and enhancing environmental sustainability

Jacobs Engineering Group Inc.'s (NYSE:JEC) proprietary EUROCLAUS sulfur recovery technology was selected by Tupras for its new sulfur recovery units that will be installed in the company's Izmit, Izmir and Kirikkale refineries in Turkey.

Jacobs' EUROCLAUS sulfur recovery technology will expand Tupras' crude slate by processing more sour crudes while reducing its environmental footprint, delivering industry leading SO 2 emissions abatement. Under the contract terms, Jacobs will provide technology licensing, basic engineering and start-up services.

"This award builds on the successful delivery of similar plants in Tupras' refineries and fortifies our reputation as a global leader of sulfur recovery technologies," said Jacobs Mining Minerals and Specialty Chemicals Senior Vice President and General Manager Andrew Berryman."Supporting our clients in their efforts to reduce their environmental footprint is fully aligned with Jacobs' vision to provide solutions for a more sustainable world."

Jacobs is one of the world's largest and most diverse providers of full-spectrum technical, professional and construction services for industrial, commercial and government organizations globally. The company employs over 54,000 people and operates in more than 25 countries around the world. For more information, visit www.jacobs.com.

Statements made in this release that are not based on historical fact are forward-looking statements. We base these forward-looking statements on management's current estimates and expectations as well as currently available competitive, financial and economic data. Forward-looking statements, however, are inherently uncertain. There are a variety of factors that could cause business results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements. For a description of some of the factors which may occur that could cause actual results to differ from our forward-looking statements please refer to our Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2016, and in particular the discussions contained under Items 1 Business, 1A Risk Factors, 3 Legal Proceedings, and 7 Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations. We do not undertake to update any forward-looking statements made herein.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170810005012/en/

Contacts:

Jacobs Engineering Group Inc.

Salim Rahimi, 214-583-8428
Frankfurt am Main (ots) -- VC fundraising climate ascends to new heights - Assessment of VC deal flow assessment dips - Satisfaction with entry prices at rock bottomThe mood on the German private equity market reached a new high in early summer. The business climate index of the German Private Equity Barometer climbed by 3.4 points to 65.2 balance points in the second quarter of 2017. The indicator for the current business situation rose by 3.5 points to a new peak of 68.6 balance points while the indicator for business expectations increased by 3.3 points to 61.8 balance points. The submarkets trended in opposite directions yet again. Confidence among early-stage investors fell slightly, while later-stage investors were more confident again.The business climate in the venture capital market cooled off marginally in the second quarter. The indicator for the early-stage segment declined by 3.4 points to a still very solid level of 56.3 balance points in the second quarter of 2017. Investors took a basically unchanged view of their current business situation, but are more pessimistic about future business: the indicator for the current business situation fell by 2.1 points to 57.6 balance points while the indicator for business expectations decreased by 4.6 points to 55.0 balance points. The fundraising climate on the VC market has virtually leapt to a new record high, and exit, promotional and tax environments continue to be assessed as very good. In contrast, the indicators for entry prices, pressure on write-downs, deal flow level and quality deteriorated to a substantial degree in some cases.Following a reprieve at the beginning of the year, sentiment in the later-stage segment of the private equity market reached a new record high. The business climate indicator rose by 8.0 points to 71.5 balance points in the second quarter of 2017. Investors have never rated their business situation better. The indicator for the current business situation climbed 7.1 points to 76.3 balance points while the indicator for business expectations increased by 8.9 points to 66.6 balance points.The improvement in the business climate in the later-stage segment was boosted by the fundraising climate - which continues to be good despite a noticeable slowdown - and very good exit opportunities. In addition, demand picked up significantly. The levels and quality of deal flow improved considerably in early summer. Later-stage investor satisfaction with entry prices, however, fell slightly again and reached a new historic low."Equity investors' dissatisfaction with high entry prices is understandable," said Dr Jorg Zeuner, Chief Economist at KfW, "but they reflect the high potential of many new business models. Digital business models, in particular, are often readily scalable. If they are successful, investors can expect enormous value increases. Start-ups also know this, of course, and go into negotiations with investors with the corresponding degree of confidence. SMEs are aware of their quality as well and expect interested investors to be ready to pay a certain amount. All of that is reflected in entry prices."Ulrike Hinrichs, Managing Director of the German Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (BVK), added: "Market participants are increasingly sceptical about current valuation levels, whether in the venture capital or in the buyout segment. But valuations are not a major burden at the moment, as we are currently observing lively investment activity in all market segments. Private equity firms will not pay just any price either, and we are still nowhere near the much-debated bubble. Rather, firms are looking to reap benefits from the market situation. On the seller side, the current environment holds good opportunities for attractive valuations for equity sales. Those who are now selling can definitely do something to boost their fund performance."KfW calculates the German Private Equity Barometer exclusively for the Handelsblatt together with the German Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (Bundesverband Deutscher Kapitalbeteiligungsgesellschaften -BVK). An in-depth analysis with data spreadsheet and graphic for the current German Private Equity Barometer can be found at www.kfw.de/gpeb.Originaltext: KfW digital press kits: http://www.presseportal.de/nr/41193 press kits via RSS: http://www.presseportal.de/rss/pm_41193.rss2Pressekontakt: KfW, Palmengartenstr. 5 - 9, 60325 Frankfurt Kommunikation (KOM), Christine Volk, Tel. +49 (0)69 7431 3867, Fax: +49 (0)69 7431 3266, E-Mail: Christine.Volk@kfw.de, Internet: www.kfw.de
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 08/10/17 -- African Gold Group, Inc. (TSX VENTURE: AGG) ("AGG" or the "Company") has granted a total of 12,275,000 stock options to certain officers, directors and consultants of the Company pursuant to the Company's stock option plan. The stock options vest immediately and may be exercised at a price of $0.06 per option for a period of five years from the date of grant. This grant of options is subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

About African Gold Group

African Gold Group is a Canadian exploration and development company with its focus on West Africa. African Gold Group is focused on the development of the Kobada Gold Project in Mali, a low capital and operating cost gold project with potential to produce more than 50,000 ounces of gold per annum. For more information regarding African Gold Group visit our website at www.africangoldgroup.com.

Qualified Person

The technical and scientific contents of this press release have been prepared under the supervision of and have been reviewed and approved by Cesare Morelli B.Sc. (Pr.Sci.Nat.) who is a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes certain "Forward-Looking Statements." All statements, other than statements of historical fact included herein, including without limitation, statements regarding future plans and objectives of African Gold Group; statements regarding the Kobada Gold Project, statements regarding the grant of stock options; and statements regarding the ability to develop and achieve production at Kobada are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from African Gold Group's expectations have been disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in African Gold Group's documents filed from time-to-time with the TSX Venture Exchange and other regulatory authorities. African Gold Group disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward looking statements whether resulting from new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contacts:

African Gold Group, Inc.

Stephan Theron

Chief Executive Officer

+1 (416) 722 6744

stheron@trigonmetals.com

www.africangoldgroup.com




New headquarters strengthen drug discovery services and translational research, and generate new employment opportunities in Scotland

REPROCELL Europe Ltd (REPROCELL), a leading provider of products and services for research in stem cells, drug discovery, human tissues and 3D cell culture and a member of the REPROCELL Group, has opened its European headquarters in Glasgow, UK. The REPROCELL Centre for Predictive Drug Discovery at West of Scotland Science Park was inaugurated by Scotland's First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon. The new headquarters will enable the company to strengthen its pharmaceutical industry-targeted drug discovery services and translational research, and generate new employment opportunities in Scotland.

The company's relocation to the West of Scotland Science Park was supported by 150,000 of Regional Selective Assistance from Scottish Enterprise in December 2016. Since then, REPROCELL has invested a further 630,000 to expand its European headquarters and develop its product and service offering.

REPROCELL has expertise in the development of predictive assays using stem cells, 3D tissue models and fresh human tissues, which offer the pharmaceutical industry novel tools for investigating the safety and efficacy of new drug candidates early in the drug discovery process. The Centre for Predictive Drug Discovery will allow the company to continue to develop these lines of business by growing its Glasgow-based workforce and expand operations to focus on the launch of new services.

Commenting on the company's new Scottish headquarters Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister of Scotland said: "Life sciences is an exciting and developing growth sector for Scotland's economy and it is testament to confidence in the sector that REPROCELL has decided to base its European operations here. The jobs that are being created and safeguarded will provide significant benefit to the surrounding area and I am looking forward to seeing the company go from strength to strength in the future."

Dr David Bunton, CEO of REPROCELL Europe Ltd said: "Scottish Enterprise has worked closely with the company in Scotland, Europe, US and Japan to provide business support. This has included work from SDI field colleagues in Japan and across Europe to help identify potential customers, as well as tailored company support on the ground in Scotland to look at new market opportunities globally and extend existing testing services."

Rhona Allison, Company Growth Senior Director at Scottish Enterprise, said: "REPROCELL's new expertise in stem-cell reprogramming and 3D cell culture, together with its world class facilities are a further and significant boost to Scotland's growing life sciences capabilities. The company's confidence in Scotland is testament to the country's global reputation in the sector and we look forward to continuing to work closely with the REPROCELL team to help them realise their growth ambitions."

ENDS

For an image please contact lorna.cuddon@zymecommunications.com

For information about REPROCELL Europe www.reprocell-europe.com

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170810005568/en/

Contacts:

REPROCELL Europe Ltd

Dr David Bunton

CEO

david.bunton@reprocell.com

or

Zyme Communications

Lorna Cuddon

lorna.cuddon@zymecommunications.com
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / November 30, 2017 / Monmouth Real Estate Investment Corp. (NYSE: MNR) will be discussing their earnings results in their Q4 Earnings Call to be held on November 30, 2017 at 10:00 AM Eastern Time.

To listen to the event live or access a replay of the call - visit https://www.investornetwork.com/company/391.

To receive updates for this company you can register by emailing info@investornetwork.com or by clicking get investment info from the company's profile.

About Investor Network

Investor Network (IN) is a financial content community, serving millions of unique investors market information, earnings, commentary and news on the what's trending. Dedicated to both the professional and the average traders, IN offers timely, trusted and relevant financial information for virtually every investor. IN is an Issuer Direct brand, to learn more or for the latest financial news and market information, visit www.investornetwork.com. Follow us on Twitter @investornetwork.

SOURCE: Investor Network
EDMOND, OK -- (Marketwired) -- 08/10/17 -- As time passes, an individual's skin tissue naturally becomes vulnerable to a multitude of different factors that can compromise a smooth, healthy-looking facial appearance. Whether caused by the natural aging process, genetics, excessive sun exposure, or other external influences, skin damage can arise in a number of forms. Prominent wrinkle formation, residual acne scars, the development of hyperpigmentation and discoloration, excessive skin laxity, and other dermal imperfections often hinder many men and women from achieving the youthful, even skin tone they desire. While the cosmetic effects of skin damage were once irreversible, innovative advances in medical-grade skin treatments and surgical skin reconstruction can now allow many individuals to attain their aesthetic ideal. In fact, some treatments result in little to no downtime for most patients. Board-certified Oklahoma City facial plastic surgeon Scott Shadfar, MD says a variety of both surgical and non-surgical treatments available at his practice are designed to effectively renew the skin and restore a radiant complexion, providing interested patients with an array of options.

According to Dr. Shadfar, many dermal concerns can be addressed through non-invasive treatments that can work to improve the tone and texture of a person's skin. He notes that treatments like laser skin resurfacing -- a revelatory method of comprehensive skin enhancement -- can be customized to combat the effects of sun exposure and minimize prominent signs of aging. Dr. Shadfar says many patients can also benefit from laser skin resurfacing for acne scars, which can help to diminish their appearance. Depending on a patient's unique needs, laser therapy can be utilized to reach different layers of the dermis through emission of the appropriate wavelengths. This can improve the appearance of wrinkles, blotchy pigmentation, dark spots, unwanted hair, and over 20 other skin concerns for rejuvenation that can all be achieved without piercing the skin tissue with a surgical blade.

Additionally, Dr. Shadfar speaks to the effectiveness of chemical peels, a strategic formulation of various solutions and concentrates that can regenerate new skin growth after separation of the skin's surface layers. Dr. Shadfar says this medical-grade exfoliation can often reverse the effects of sun damage, diminish wrinkling, lighten discoloration, and smooth the texture of one's skin in results comparable to those of laser skin resurfacing.

Dr. Shadfar reveals that these non-surgical procedures can typically be performed adjunctively with cosmetic injectable or dermal filler treatment for more complete and total skin enhancement. He says BOTOX Cosmetic and other minimally invasive products can further enhance areas of the face, targeting specific areas exhibiting signs of wrinkles, fine lines, and other concerns. In this way, facial skin can be renewed and smoothed until the desired aesthetic outcome is obtained.

For individuals seeking longer-lasting results than those that can be provided with minimally invasive techniques, Dr. Shadfar often recommends the facelift and/or eyelid rejuvenation procedures, depending on the patient's needs and goals. Sun damage, smoking, the natural process of aging, and other factors often cause skin tissue to sag, consequently resulting in a tired or aged appearance. Dr. Shadfar says a facelift can cultivate a more refreshed look and feel by tightening and smoothing skin in the cheeks, jowls, and areas of the neck. He notes that individuals with significant eyelid "drooping" or under-eye bags can additionally benefit from eyelid surgery, a procedure designed to remove excess eyelid skin and/or fat to create a more refreshed aesthetic. Dr. Shadfar can perform both treatments as stand-alone surgeries or simultaneously, depending on individual preference.

Ultimately, there are many ways to reduce, and even eliminate, skin damage. Dr. Shadfar says one of the most important determinations an individual can make when considering treatment is ensuring they are in the care of a well-qualified professional. As summer goes on, Dr. Shadfar encourages individuals to minimize skin damage by protecting themselves from excessive sun exposure, and to be aware that there are a plethora of different rejuvenative services that can be utilized when necessary.

About Scott Shadfar, MD

Dr. Scott Shadfar is a board-certified facial plastic surgeon. He began his studies while attending Oklahoma City University, where he graduated summa cum laude and continued his medical training at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine. There, he graduated at the top of his class and completed his surgical residency in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck surgery. Dr. Shadfar was subsequently granted one of the most prestigious fellowship programs in the country and is now an active member of the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. He is heavily involved in medical research and journal publication while continuing his role as founder and president of the Aesthetic Institute of Oklahoma. Dr. Shadfar is available for interview upon request.

To view the original source of this press release, click here:

http://www.drshadfar.com/practice-news/oklahoma-city-facial-plastic-surgeon-discusses-surgical-and-non-surgical-treatments-to-reverse-signs-of-skin-damage/

Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=3161674



Contact:



Aesthetic Institute of Oklahoma

4509 Integris Parkway

Suite 200

Edmond, OK 73034

(405) 534-4358



Rosemont Media

(858) 200-0044

www.rosemontmedia.com






WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has challenged in court a ban announced by President Donald Trump on transgender personnel in US military.



Lawyers from ACLU filed a complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland on behalf of six serving transgender members of the armed forces.



A directive that Trump signed on August 25 bars enlistment by transgender individuals, prohibits coverage for certain critical medical procedures, and bans those currently in the military from serving. The Secretary of Defense was given discretion to determine how to carry out that ban.



The lawsuit argues that the ban violates the constitutional guarantees of equal protection and substantive due process by singling out trans-gender individuals for unequal and discriminatory treatment.



Every justification that the President offered in support of the ban has already been reviewed and debunked by the Department of Defense itself when it adopted a policy permitting military service by transgender individuals last year, the complainants argued.



They pointed out that barring trans-gender individuals from joining the military and discharging those who are already serving is exceedingly costly and undermines national security and military readiness.



The policy of ban on transgender people in US military was lifted by Barack Obama's administration last year.



In June 2016, after comprehensive review of the issue, the Department of Defense concluded that the ban served no legitimate purpose and that open service by transgender people would serve the military's best interests. Since that time, thousands of transgender service members have begun to serve openly. Between 4,000 and 10,000 US active-duty and reserve service members are believed to be transgender.



Earlier this month, five US service members who are transgenders had legally challenged the ban on military personnel who belong to the community.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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Thunder Bay, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - August 10, 2017) - White Metal Resources Corp. (TSXV: WHM) ("White Metal" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has received assays from trench sampling from a new copper discovery on the newly staked 100%-owned Far Lake Property located 80km north west of Thunder Bay, Ontario. The copper showing was discovered while prospecting a series of new logging roads and has now been traced and channel sampled along a 300m strike length. The best channel sample composite across the copper-rich zone returned 3.54% Cu over 3.0m which included the highest individual sample of 4.96% Cu over 1.0m. The mineralization is associated with a north-south trending structure within a silicified monzonite intrusive body. A total of 12 channel samples between 0.5 to 1.0m in length were collected from 5 trenched / exposed outcrops. The Company is planning ground geophysical surveys of induced polarization (IP) and magnetics to help identify additional targets along and perpendicular to the current strike direction. Further trenching and sampling will be utilized as follow-up on any intriguing anomalies.

The Company has also received results from two samples taken on the Copper Island trenches on the Shebandowan Property, located approximately 70km west of Thunder Bay. The selective grab samples collected from the mineralized zone returned assays up to 8.71% copper, 4.09gpt gold, 8.71gpt silver and 5.79% copper, 1.11gpt gold and 5.79gpt silver. Future work on the Copper Island trend will include deep penetrating electromagnetic geophysical techniques to determine if there are conductive responses located below previous shallow penetrating geophysical surveys conducted during historical work efforts.

The Company would also like to report that it has received the assay results from the Shebandowan trenching program and no significant results were obtained.

Paul E. Nielsen, PGeo, is the qualified person responsible for this release and has prepared, supervised and Approved the preparation of the scientific and technical disclosure contained within the release.

About White Metal Resources Corp (TSXV: WHM):

White Metal Resources Corp is a junior exploration company exploring in Canada and currently has 35,691,073 common shares issued and outstanding.

For complete up-to-date information on the Shebandowan Property please follow the link provided below: http://www.whitemetalres.com/shebandowan-property.html.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of White Metal Resources Corp.

"Michael Stares"

Michael Stares, President and CEO

NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS NEWS RELEASE.

The information contained herein contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking statements relate to information that is based on assumptions of management, forecasts of future results, and estimates of amounts not yet determinable. Any statements that express predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance are not statements of historical fact and may be "forward-looking statements."

Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation: risks related to failure to obtain adequate financing on a timely basis and on acceptable terms; risks related to the outcome of legal proceedings; political and regulatory risks associated with mining and exploration; risks related to the maintenance of stock exchange listings; risks related to environmental regulation and liability; the potential for delays in exploration or development activities or the completion of feasibility studies; the uncertainty of profitability; risks and uncertainties relating to the interpretation of drill results, the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; risks related to the inherent uncertainty of production and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses; results of prefeasibility and feasibility studies, and the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations; risks related to gold price and other commodity price fluctuations; and other risks and uncertainties related to the Company's prospects, properties and business detailed elsewhere in the Company's disclosure record. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. These forward looking statements are made as of the date hereof and the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. Actual events or results could differ materially from the Company's expectations or projection

For further information contact:

Michael Stares

684 Squier St.

Thunder Bay, ON P7B 4A8

Phone: (807) 628-7836

Fax: (807) 475-7200
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - August 10, 2017) - Bayhorse Silver Inc., (TSXV: BHS) ("Bayhorse" or the "Company") has received successful results from Steinert US (Steinert) of the approximately 3,275 kg that was submitted for the ongoing Ore-Sorting testing on the Bayhorse Silver Mine mineralization using the KSS 100 XRay Transmissive (XRT) Ore-Sorter that the Company has purchased.



The 3,275 kg low grade (95.36 g/t or 2.78 oz/t) material supplied to Steinert for the testing was to establish a potential cut-off grade for the Bayhorse Silver Mine mineralization. The test, utilizing XRT and Laser sorting, resulted in recovery of 14% of the mass grading 261.61 g/t (7.64 oz/t) Ag for a 275% upgrade.



The Company believes that this test provides substantiation for assigning a lower cut-off grade of 2.5 oz/t (85.5 g/t) Ag for the mining and processing of the Bayhorse mineralization. As disclosed in the Company's news release BHS2017-13, Herdrick (1981) estimated, using a 7.5 oz/t (233.27 g/t) cut off grade, that an average mining grade at the Bayhorse Mine would be 17 - 20 oz/t Ag (528 g/t - 622 g/t).



Silver King, in its 1984 mining program that focused on the Big Dog zone, used a much higher cut off grade of 6 oz/t (186 g/t) than is being planned. A mine plan showing the 1984 Mining Program Mined Rounds Assays can be viewed on the Company's web site. 100 mineralized rounds were mined averaging 57.18 tons per mined round. (Boleneus assay map - 2011)



Of the feed into the Ore-Sorter, 2,817.2kg (86%) averaging 68.34 g/t (1.97 oz/t) Ag was rejected. The feed material tested had a crush size of -50mm with the best recovery in the size range from 10mm to 25mm.



Bayhorse CEO Graeme O'Neill comments "Assigning a cut-off grade is an extremely important step in establishing a mine. A 2.5 oz/t cut-off is an excellent number as the lower the cut-off the greater the potential mining recovery and the 86% rejection of the mass is far better than expected". "As the Company is planning on a 100 ton/day operation, rejecting 86% of the mined material at the Ore-Sorter means it only has to further upgrade that 14 tons mineralization per day to the proposed direct shipping grade. We believe the Ore-Sorter is going to play a significant role in reducing crushing and processing operating costs".



The Company advises it is not basing any decision to produce on a feasibility study of mineral reserves demonstrating economic and technical viability and also advises there is increased uncertainty and specific economic and technical risks of failure associated with any production decision.



This News Release has been prepared on behalf of the Bayhorse Silver Inc. Board of Directors, which accepts full responsibility for its contents. Dr. Clay Conway, P.Geol., a Qualified Person has prepared, supervised the preparation of, or approved the technical content of this press release.



On Behalf of the Board.



Graeme O'Neill, President

604-684-3394



Bayhorse Silver Inc., a junior exploration company, has earned an 80% interest in the historic Bayhorse Silver Mine, Oregon, USA. Bayhorse is also earning a 75% interest in the past producing Bridging the Gap Project, consisting of ASARCO's historic Crown Point, Silver King, Ranger, Wyoming, Curlew, and Blackhawk silver/lead/zinc mines in Idaho's Silver Valley. The Company has an experienced management and technical team with extensive exploration and mining expertise.



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.
CRESCO, PA -- (Marketwired) -- 08/10/17 -- NSAV Holding, Inc. (OTC: NSAV), today announced that its subsidiary, Hemp Beer Inc., will officially launch its e-commerce website on September 5, 2017. The state of the art website will market Hemp Beer and a host of related products. Hemp Beer Inc., will be spun-out as a separate publicly traded company later this month. NSAV plans to develop and market a premium line of hemp beer in both the U.S. and China, two of the world's largest beer consumers. Analysts forecast the global hemp-based foods market to grow at a CAGR of 20.3% during the period 2016-2020.

Last week the Company announced that it will spin-off 20% of Hemp Beer Inc. to its shareholders, who will be awarded with a share dividend based upon their holdings of NSAV on the August 22, 2017 record date. Shareholders will receive approximately one share of Hemp Beer Inc. common stock for every 17 shares of NSAV common stock that they hold on the record date. The dividend will be payable on or around September 5, 2017.

James Tilton, president of NSAV stated, "There can be no denying that online sales of hemp related items, especially food and beverage products, are increasing at an unimaginable rate and NSAV is poised to take full advantage of this. I'm sure all of our shareholders can now see why I chose Hemp Beer to be our first spin-off into a standalone public company."

NSAV's vision is the establishment of a fully integrated technology company that provides turnkey technological solutions to the legal medical cannabis and hemp industries, as well as other areas of the medical industry. Over time, the Company plans to provide a wide range of services such as software solutions, e-commerce, advisory services, financial services, patents and trademarks and information technology.

For further information please contact NSAV at 1 (480) 326-8577 or tenassociates33@gmail.com

The NSAV corporate email address is info@nsavholdinginc.com

The NSAV corporate website can be accessed at http://nsavholdinginc.com

The NSAV Twitter account can be accessed at https://twitter.com/NSAV_MJTechCo

The NSAV Facebook account can be accessed at https://www.facebook.com/NSAVHolding

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which are intended to be covered by the safe harbors created thereby. Investors are cautioned that, all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including without limitation, the ability of NSAV Holding, Inc. to accomplish its stated plan of business. NSAV Holding, Inc. believes that the assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements contained herein are reasonable, any of the assumptions could be inaccurate, and therefore, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking statements included in this press release will prove to be accurate. In light of the significant uncertainties inherent in the forward- looking statements included herein, the inclusion of such information should not be regarded as a representation by NSAV Holding, Inc. or any other person.

Contact

TEN Associates LLC

1 (480) 326-8577

tenassociates33@gmail.com




BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - Photo sharing app Instagram added a new feature to go live with friends. The app's video feature has been very popular and millions have been using it on a daily basis. The new feature is expected to be more fun and also helpful to add friends to live discussions. One can discard the video after the live session is over. In a blog post, Instagram said it is easy to add a guest and one needs to just tap a new icon on the bottom right side. As one contact is added to the live session, the display will be split into two. It will be easy to remove one and add another contact during a live session. The added person can choose to exit from the live video. The new feature is under testing and is expected to roll out globally in a few months. Instagram was launched seven years ago as iOS app. However its android version was released two years later. As of April 2017, the rapidly growing image sharing app has 700 million registered users. The app was acquired by Facebook in 2012 for $1 billion. 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.


BENTONVILLE (dpa-AFX) - A display in a Walmart store that appeared to market firearms as a back-to-school item has backfired on the retail giant, with several people taking to social media to express their outrage.



A sign in a Walmart store that read 'Own the school year like a hero' was placed directly above a glass case filled with rifles. Photos of the sign above the gun display spread like wildfire on social media.



Walmart has condemned the display and said it is working to identify the store that put up the exhibit. The company has apologized for the incident.



Twitter user Ismail Kidd Noorzai posted the photograph of the display on his Twitter page. The image, which was reportedly taken at a Walmart store in Evansville, Indiana, triggered angry responses from customers on social media. Several people felt it related to the mass shooting incidents in schools in the U.S.



Some of Walmart's earlier marketing strategies too have met with angry responses from customers.



In September 2016, Walmart was heavily criticized after the retail giant stacked up packages of soda cans to look like the World Trade Center at a Florida store. The retail giant meant it to be a tribute to 9/11 victims ahead of the 15th anniversary of the terrorist attack, however, it backfired and was criticized by everyone.



Last month, Walmart issued an apology after a third-party vendor on its website used a racial slur to describe a product. The seller used N-word to describe the color of a hair net used for weaves.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de


WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A vast majority of Americans think special counsel Robert Mueller should be able to investigate President Donald Trump's finances as part of the probe of alleged Russian meddling in last year's election, according to the results of a new CNN poll.



Seventy percent of Americans said Mueller should be able to investigate whether Trump had any financial dealings with Russia, while 25 percent said the president's finances should be off-limits to investigators.



The poll showed a significant partisan divide on the issue, as 52 percent of Republicans said Trump's finances should be off-limits, while 91 percent of Democrats and 72 percent of Independents said the president's finances are fair game.



Last month, a report from Bloomberg citing a person familiar with the probe said Mueller has expanded the investigation to include Trump's business transactions.



Mueller is reportedly examining a broad range of transactions involving Trump's businesses as well as those of his associates.



The report came a day after Trump suggested in an interview with the New York Times that Mueller would be crossing a 'red line' by looking into his and his family's finances.



'I would say yes,' Trump said when asked if Mueller's investigation would cross a 'red line' if it expanded to look at his family's finances. 'I think that's a violation. Look, this is about Russia.'



The CNN poll also found that 60 percent of Americans think Russian interference in the election is a serious matter that should be fully investigated, although 38 percent said the probe is mainly an effort to discredit Trump's presidency.



Fifty-nine percent also said they disapprove of Trump's handling of the Russia investigation compared to 31 percent that approve.



Not surprisingly, Republicans are far more likely to say they approve of Trump's handling of the investigation than Democrats or Independents.



The CNN survey of 1,018 adults was conducted by SRSS from August 3rd through 6th and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / August 10, 2017 / The following statement is being issued by Levi & Korsinsky, LLP:

To: All persons or entities who purchased or otherwise acquired securities of Axiom Holdings, Inc. ("Axiom Holdings") (OTC PINK: AIOM) between October 14, 2016 and June 19, 2017 . You are hereby notified that a securities class action lawsuit has been commenced in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. To get more information, go to: http://www.zlk.com/pslra-sba/axiom-holdings-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) Axiom lacked control over the merger process sufficient to ensure that the Agreement with CJC would be completed; (ii) accordingly, the Agreement with CJC Holdings, Ltd. ("CJC") was never completed; (iii) the Company's issuance of shares to the CJC Shareholders was thus improper; and (iv) as a result of the foregoing, Axiom's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.

On June 19, 2017, Axiom issued a press release revealing that it identified discrepancies related to prior news announcements in response to a subpoena from the Securities and Exchange Commission. The following day, the Company issued another press release, advising investors that "it now appears the merger was never completed" and advising investors that it would rescind the shares that were issued to CJC Shareholders in connection with the merger.

If you suffered a loss in Axiom Holdings, you have until August 21, 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
OTTAWA, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 08/10/17 -- In a decision rendered last week, the Federal Court of Appeal has ruled against the Federal Minister of Transport, confirming CUPE's position that safety is paramount in the operations of airlines in Canada.

"This is a major wake-up call for Transport Canada. The safety of passengers and crew must come first, before any other consideration," said Mark Hancock, National President of CUPE.

In October 2013, the Minister of Transport granted Sunwing Airlines an exemption from the then 1:40 attendant-passenger ratio, authorizing them to have only one flight attendant for every 50 passengers and to make changes to their flight attendant manual, making certain emergency steps optional, as opposed to mandatory, in order to comply with evacuation rules.

To operate with the exemption, the Minister required that Sunwing demonstrate it was able to complete a partial evacuation simulation within 15 seconds. After failing three attempts, a Transport Canada Inspector suggested Sunwing make the "blocking command" - used to get passengers to assist in crowd control during evacuation procedures (e.g. "You there in the yellow shirt, block the aisle") - discretionary as a strategy for shaving seconds off. Sunwing conducted a fourth test, omitting the blocking command, and was successful.

The Transport Canada Inspector advised Sunwing it should make an application for approval of a change to its Flight Attendants Manual, making the blocking command non-mandatory and that it should conduct an internal risk assessment. Two days later, Sunwing sent a written request for approval of the changes without attaching a report or detailing the risk assessment that it conducted. Transport Canada immediately approved the changes.

CUPE applied for a judicial review of this decision. CUPE's position was that these changes should not have received approval since the risk assessment undertaken by Sunwing had not been reviewed by Transport Canada and no reasons were given for the decision to authorize the change.

The Federal Court of Appeal confirmed that the decision of a Transport Canada Inspector to approve the change to Sunwing's flight attendant manual was unreasonable, as no comprehensive review had taken place. The Court ruled that an Inspector's decision may be reasonable only if it does not "compromise the safety of passengers or crew." In this case, not only did the Inspector fail to review Sunwing's risk assessment, but there was also no evidentiary basis to substantiate the assumption that passengers would not likely block a Sunwing flight attendant needing to open an emergency exit.

This decision gives hope that a separate court challenge, launched by CUPE regarding the 1:50 ratio, will also be successful. In June, a unanimous report from the House of Commons Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities recommended "that the federal government revise the 50:1 passenger to flight attendant ratio in consultation with stakeholders and experts on flight attendant ratios, while keeping the security of Canadians as a top priority."

"We are hopeful that the government will take note of their decision and will follow through with the adoption of the Committee's report in the House of Commons in order to reinstate the safer 1 to 40 ratio as soon as possible," concluded Charles Fleury, CUPE's National Secretary-Treasurer.

Representing more than 11,500 flight attendants employed by nine airlines, CUPE launched the Safer Skies campaign to pressure the Federal government to restore the safer ratio of one flight attendant for every 40 passengers.

Contacts:

Hugh Pouliot

CUPE Media Relations

613-818-0067

hpouliot@cupe.ca




LAS VEGAS, Jan. 11, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Shenzhen QYSEA Technology Co., LTD, a leading underwater drone provider which has won the CES Innovation Award for 2 consecutive years, has unveiled its flagship product FIFISH P3 at CES 2018.

FIFISH P3 is an amazing underwater drone that allows incredible underwater exploration, photography and video, at a truly professional level.

Equipped with anAmbarella chipset, a1-Inch SONY CMOS Sensor and a162 degree FOV ultra-wide angle lens, FIFISH P3 can capture 4K HD Footage & 20-Megapixel photos underwater. In addition, the4000 Lumens LED lights with 8 adjustable levels of brightness ensure you can capture more detail with higher performance in dark environments. FIFISH P3 delivers true-color imaging with stability and reliability even in poor ocean conditions.

Equipped with FIFISH APP, FIFISH P3 allows users to watch the epic moments in real-time. Itcan alsobeautify videos or pictures as you wish.With the click of a button, FIFISH apps allow you to instantlyshare stunning underwater moments to all social media platforms such as Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, WeChat.

FIFISH P3 live broadcasted an underwater shooting of the Maldives at CES 2018 and it proved to be of surprisingly high quality.It is well known water quality, water brightness and water depth will affect the quality of photography or videography. The FIFISH P3's amazing live broadcast revealed its impressive performance to viewers. In addition to underwater shooting, FIFISH P3 includes a myriad of applications such as search and rescue, archaeology, dam detection, hydrological monitoring, aquarium project, tourism projects, underwater route survey, commercial photography etc. All of them haveproven to begreat successes.

FIFISH has a vision of launching a new era of ocean exploration with innovative technology and intends to build an internet marine science and technology museum. Although met with many obstacles, all were overcome with enthusiasm and a firm belief in striving for a better marine life!

At the end of January, FIFISH P3 will be launched on Indiegogo. To learn more about the FIFISH P3 please visit the homepage: https://www.qysea.com/product.html

About FIFISH

FIFISH is a world-leading underwater drone brand of Shenzhen QYSEA Technology Co., LTD. It is dedicated to provide truly professional underwater drones for shooting enthusiasts & underwater sports manics to explore the ocean.

For further cooperation, please contact partner@qysea.com, sales@qysea.comor +86-755-2266-2313.

Photo - http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/627471/FIFISH_p3.jpg
Symphony Labs to catalyze new digital transformation opportunities

Symphony Ventures, the global services firm specializing in Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and Intelligent Automation, today announced it has appointed seasoned RPA expert Chris Gayner to spearhead the development of Symphony Labs. Symphony Labs will explore burgeoning trends in business automation through experimentation and collaboration across the firm's ecosystem of partners and stakeholders. Working with thought leaders in business, technology and wider fields such as psychology, Gayner and the Labs team will explore new ways of working and thinking through automation.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171121005164/en/

Chris Gayner, Director of Labs, Symphony Ventures (Photo: Business Wire)

While interest in automation continues to explode, enterprises struggle to optimize their automation investments. A Horses for Sources (HfS) study cites specific challenges using automation tools effectively, overcoming project siloes and establishing success milestones. Symphony Labs seeks to help organizations overcome such challenges, maximize their automation tools and pave the way for innovation. Under Gayner, Symphony Labs will identify breakthrough opportunities enabled by new solutions, and empower clients, partners and industry stakeholders to leverage them. More specifically, Symphony Labs will:

Act as a watchtower for new solutions for both Symphony and its clients

Collaborate with Symphony's ecosystem of partners and stakeholders around new ideas and market offerings

Leverage virtual and physical spaces to showcase Symphony's work, as well as the work of partners and clients

"Symphony Labs is a space to ideate and envision what's possible," said Gayner. "It's an environment to experiment with new tools and technologies, showcase our work and the work of our partners and clients, and educate and support global talent. Our mission is to catalyze change and propel ourselves, our partners and enterprises everywhere into the Future of Work."

Gayner joins Symphony as Director of Labs from Genfour (now Accenture), an early pioneer in RPA. As Genfour's marketing director, he established the company as a commercial and brand leader in automation technology, expanded its global footprint and positioned it for a successful exit.

"Chris' vision for the Labs, and for the industry more broadly, is perfectly aligned with Symphony's," said Ian Barkin, co-founder and chief strategy officer, Symphony Ventures. "Having been entrenched in digital operations for years, he brings an unparalleled understanding of both the challenges and opportunities associated with RPA and wider digital transformation. His experience, coupled with a passion for ushering in better ways of working, is exactly what we need to accelerate enterprise transformation and become a catalyst for change."

Symphony will open its first physical Labs location in 2018. For more information, visit the site.

About Symphony Ventures

Symphony Ventures is a global consulting, implementation and managed services firm specializing in Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Intelligent Automation and other inspired delivery models to help enterprise clients digitize operations. Symphony has clients in more than 21 countries in every major industry and works with a roster of leading software providers including UiPath, Blue Prism, NICE Systems, Kryon Systems and Celaton. In response to changing market trends, the company continues to expand its digital ecosystem of tools to offer expanded solutions for clients. Symphony has headquarters in London and offices in the U.S., Poland, Latin America and India.Founded in 2014, Symphony has been ranked an RPA Service leader by HfS Research, a leading service delivery automation (SDA) provider by Everest Group, a Cool Vendor by Gartner and received the 2017 Blue Prism Partner Award for Best Practice and Implementation. For more information, visit http://www.symphonyhq.com and follow the company on Twitter at @SymphonyVenture or LinkedIn as Symphony Ventures.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171121005164/en/

Contacts:

Symphony Ventures

Version 2.0 Communications

Kristen Leathers, 1-617-426-2222

kleathers@v2comms.com
SAN JOSE, CA--(Marketwired - August 10, 2017) - Tech CU (Technology Credit Union) today announced that it has won two CUNA awards: second place for the Desjardins Adult Financial Education award and an honorable mention for the Dora Maxwell Social Responsibility Community Service award.

A prestigious CUNA honor, the Desjardins award recognizes Tech CU for its work aimed at educating both members and nonmembers in financial literacy -- particularly for its Family Banking product which is designed to simplify financial transactions between family members. The tool allows both a parent and child to link accounts, transfer money, track balances and monitor transactions -- all at no charge. The tool can also be used by an adult child trying to help an elderly parent manage their money/assets.

Additionally, the award honored Tech CU's:

Partnerships with City Year, training their AmeriCorps members on the importance of savings and smart credit usage; and Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits, where Tech CU provides financial education to those who are working in and for the community at various nonprofits.

Partnership with SavvyMoney -- providing educational videos from nationally-known financial expert Jean Chatzky, along with access to a free credit score and credit monitoring.

Comprehensive, financial education portal, which contains a variety of articles, calculators and resources on the company web site to help answer commonly-asked questions on everything from credit and debt, to applying for a mortgage.

Free seminars on topics ranging from estate planning to investing.

Global Members Program designed to assist individuals establish credit who are new to the country or the workforce.

"In addition to making sure our members' information is safe and protected, we spend a lot of our time thinking through how we can make their lives easier. Often this is in the form of financial education -- providing unbiased resources that they can trust. Whether it's providing members with a free credit score or a seminar on how to manage investments, we strive to meet their need for knowledge," said Todd Harris, CEO of Tech CU.

The CUNA Dora Maxwell Social Responsibility Community award honored Tech CU for its work with the Second Harvest Food Bank's Stand Up for Kids Campaign. In 2016, Tech CU was able to raise thousands of dollars -- providing more than 7,000 meals for families in need.

"At Tech CU, we believe that we have a social responsibility to help improve the health and wellbeing of the communities we serve. We do this by partnering with great organizations and donating both time and money," said Janikke Klem, VP of Community and Government Relations at Tech CU. "Despite the wealth in Silicon Valley, and due to the high cost of living, hunger and malnutrition are pervasive. One in three local kids may not be getting enough to eat. To help combat this, we partnered with Second Harvest Food Bank."

ABOUT TECH CU

Tech CU (techcu.com) is a $2.4 billion credit union serving more than 90,000 members throughout the San Francisco Bay Area -- including employees of such companies as Tesla, eBay, Applied Materials, Nvidia and Facebook. A federally insured, not-for-profit organization, we put the financial interests of our members ahead of shareholder profit by helping members achieve their financial goals on their terms and by sharing the benefits of our growth. Founded in 1960 by a group of forward-thinking employees at Fairchild Semiconductor, today we continue to be an industry leader, providing innovative financial products for all stages of our members' lives, including personal banking, wealth management, private banking, commercial lending and business banking. Tech CU consistently achieves high marks for its customer satisfaction and maintains a 5-star rating from Bauer Financial, the nation's largest independent rating service for financial institutions. And, with mobile and online banking, 65,000+ surcharge-free ATMs worldwide (more than Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo combined) and convenient branch access to our financial experts, Tech CU makes 24/7 banking easy and empowering.

Contact Information:

Linden Kohtz

Public Relations

(512) 964-3784

lkohtz@techcu.com
Frost & Sullivan's Manufacturing Leadership Council encourages industrial leaders to grasp the competitive opportunities of Manufacturing 4.0 digital technologies, collaborative structures, enterprise-wide innovation, and sustainable production strategies to drive growth today and in the future.

SANTA CLARA, California, Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --The Manufacturing Leadership Council (MLC), the world's foremost executive leadership organization dedicated to driving transformational growth for the world's manufacturing companies, announces its 2017 to 2018 Critical Issues roadmap to Manufacturing 4.0.

The Council's 800+ members have identified the most urgent and important Critical Issues disrupting the manufacturing industry over the next twelve months as it pursues a more efficient, agile, and data-driven future.

The Council's new agenda has a sharper focus on harnessing the power of digital Manufacturing 4.0 technologies and advanced analytics to boost efficiency and flexibility; highlights the rising importance of enterprise-wide collaboration and disruptive innovation for competitive gain, and stresses the need for new leadership skills and digitally-savvy workforce cultures to increase the effectiveness and speed of transformational initiatives.

The Council's 2017/2018 Critical Issues agenda includes:

Factories of the Future

The Collaborative Manufacturing Enterprise

Manufacturing Enterprise Innovation

Transformative Technologies in Manufacturing

Next-Generation Manufacturing Leadership & the Changing Workforce

Manufacturing 4.0 Sustainability

Cybersecurity in Manufacturing

Full descriptions of the Council's 2017/2018 Critical Issues agenda are available on www.ml-council.com/critical-issues and in the August issue of the Manufacturing Leadership Journal on www.mljournal-digital.com.

"The Council's new Critical Issues agenda focuses on the technological, organizational, and leadership changes that manufacturers must orchestrate for a successful journey to Manufacturing 4.0," said David R. Brousell, Co-founder of the Manufacturing Leadership Council. "All across the globe, from country to country, M4.0 initiatives and programs are underway, reshaping the competitive environment and raising the stakes for all companies. The challenges before manufacturing leaders are indeed great, but the rewards of success with Manufacturing 4.0 are even greater."

Based on extensive consultation, exclusive research, and key front-line insights from senior-level Council members across multiple industry sectors, the MLC's new Critical Issues agenda is designed to help manufacturers of all sizes align their leadership strategies and business models for a successful journey to the digital industrial age.

About the Manufacturing Leadership Council

Founded in 2008, the Manufacturing Leadership Council's mission is to inspire and support manufacturing executives to achieve transformational growth for themselves, their companies, and the industry at large through enlightened leadership. With 800 senior-level members from many of the world's leading manufacturing companies, the Council focuses on the intersection of advanced technologies and the business, identifying growth and improvement opportunities in the operation, organization and leadership of manufacturing enterprises as they pursue their journeys to Manufacturing 4.0. In support of its mission, the Council produces an extensive portfolio of thought-leading content, networking events, research, industry awards, and professional development products, programs, and services for its members.

For more information and membership details, please visit www.ml-council.com

About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, works in collaboration with clients to leverage visionary innovation that addresses the global challenges and related growth opportunities that will make or break today's market participants. For more than 50 years, we have been developing growth strategies for the global 1000, emerging businesses, the public sector and the investment community. Contact us: Start the discussion

Contact: Jaylon Brinkley

Corporate Communications - North America

P: (210) 247.2481

F: (210) 348.1003

E: jaylon.brinkley@frost.com

www.ml-council.com
101 startups accepted into their accelerator programs

SUNNYVALE, California, Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Plug and Play has revealed the elite group of startups accepted into their Fall 2017 batches. Each of these startups will be joining one of six programs running concurrently over the next three months: Brand & Retail, Energy & Sustainability, Fintech, Food & Beverage, New Materials & Packaging, and Supply Chain & Logistics. Participation for startups requires no equity or fees. Plug and Play only accepted 3% of the qualified startups that applied to this latest cohort. The list of admitted companies is posted on their website: http://bit.ly/pnpfall2017

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/543877/Plug_and_Play_biggest_startup_ecosystem_in_the_world.jpg

"After reviewing 2,800 startups, we are proud to welcome the 101 startups into our innovation platforms. Together, with our team members and community, Plug and Play's goal is to showcase the startups to at least 30 corporate partners and 30 investors per vertical in the next 100 days," comments Saeed Amidi, Founder & CEO of Plug and Play. "For us, the success of our programs can be shown by how many pilots the startups run with our partners and the amount of additional funding they raise from our VC and Angel co-investors. This gives startups the greatest opportunity to grow."

Plug and Play runs each of their 12-week industry-specific programs twice per year, accepting 10-20 startups per batch and connecting them to Plug and Play's ecosystem of 180 corporate partners and 200 venture capitalists. The startups accepted represent an international group with over a fourth of the companies from countries such as Canada, Ghana, Hong Kong, Israel, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Plug and Play works with startups at various stages of growth. The Fall 2017 batches are made up of 57% seed stage, 25% early stage, and 18% growth stage startups.

"We're ecstatic about the quality of startups we have accepted in these upcoming batches. Over the next 3 months, we will give these startups access to world-class mentors, tier one VCs, and C-level executives to propel their businesses to success," says George Damouny, Principal of Plug and Play Ventures. "As an investment group, we will have a lot of fantastic investment opportunities and I'm super excited to be working closely with these startups."

Startups will graduate October 24th - 26th at Plug and Play's Fall Summit.

Media Contact:

Allison Romero

(408)524-1457

allison@pnptc.com
BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The Swiss stock market ended Thursday's session with a loss, extending the weakness from the previous session. The pullback has dropped the market below the 9,000 point level. Investors remain concerned by the escalating tensions between the United States and North Korea. The Swiss stock market fluctuated between small gains and losses during the first half of Thursday's session. However, the weak opening on Wall Street pushed the market definitively into negative territory. The Swiss Market Index decreased by 0.86 percent Thursday and finished at 8,949.86. The Swiss Leader Index dropped 1.08 percent and the Swiss Performance Index lost 0.93 percent. Staffing firm Adecco Group sank 6.4 percent as it posted muted growth in second-quarter net income. Zurich Insurance reported better than expected results for the first half of the year, but slipped 0.4 percent. The index heavyweights all finished in the red Thursday. Novartis declined 0.6 percent, Nestle weakened by 0.7 percent and Roche fell 0.8 percent. Credit Suisse dropped 1.6 percent and UBS surrendered 0.7 percent. Swiss Re and Swiss Life each forfeited 1.8 percent and Baloise lost 1.7 percent. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
A.M. Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of "a-" of Polskie Towarzystwo Reasekuracji S.A. (Polish Re) (Poland). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (rating) is stable.

The ratings of Polish Re reflect the explicit support provided by its ultimate parent, Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited (Fairfax), in the form of a legal binding guarantee with an indefinite term. The rating affirmations also consider Polish Re's volatile risk-adjusted capitalisation, historically weak underwriting performance and uncertain business profile.

In addition to the explicit parental guarantee, Fairfax continues to provide technical and capital support, as well as other forms of assistance to Polish Re, which includes technical reserving support and investment management services. In 2015, Polish Re participated in Fairfax's acquisition of QBE Insurance Group Limited's (QBE) branch operations in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia. As part of the transaction, Polish Re provided a 100% quota share protection for new and renewal business underwritten by the former QBE branch operations. In the first half of 2016, Fairfax migrated this business to its newly established direct insurance company based in Luxembourg, which now underwrites new policies written out of the former QBE branches. At the same time, the quota share arrangement between Polish Re and the former QBE insurance operation expired.

In 2016, Polish Re's gross written premiums decreased by 39% to PLN 263 million, driven largely by the discontinuation of the quota share arrangement with the former QBE branches acquired by Fairfax. Polish Re's risk-adjusted capitalisation remained stable in 2016. However, A.M. Best believes the sufficiency of Polish Re's risk-adjusted capitalisation over the medium term will likely depend upon a sustained improvement in technical performance and a smooth run-off of its Polish motor third party liability (MTPL) reserves.

Polish Re produced an underwriting loss of PLN 4.7 million in 2016 (2015: profit of PLN 3.7 million), driven largely by reserve strengthening in the Polish MTPL run-off portfolio and adverse currency movements. These were softened by favorable reserve development in other lines of business. Although A.M. Best expects Polish Re's withdrawal from the unprofitable MTPL segment to support a lower level of claims activity in the longer term, adverse run-off experience could still arise from legislative changes in Poland's motor liability regime. In addition, technical results are likely to remain affected by the impact of the global softening in reinsurance conditions on pricing.

Polish Re continues to face material challenges in improving its competitive position, owing to its limited business profile in the highly competitive international reinsurance market. Although management's decision to withdraw capacity from the unprofitable MTPL segment is expected to benefit Polish Re's future performance, it has also altered materially the company's business profile, increasing its susceptibility to a volatile operating environment.

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/20170810005933/en/

Contacts:

A.M. Best

Martina Seydoux, +44 20 7397 0308

Financial Analyst

martina.seydoux@ambest.com

or

Salman Siddiqui, +44 20 7397 0331

Associate Director

salman.siddiqui@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
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 08/25/17 -- Effective immediately the shares of AAN Ventures Inc. will be reinstated for trading.

The Company has rectified the default situation that gave rise to the suspension.

AAN Ventures Inc. previously announced a name change to Parana Copper Corporation and a share consolidation of its issued and outstanding common shares on a one (1) post consolidation share for each one point five (1.5) pre-consolidation common shares. No fractional shares will be issued. All fractional shares will be rounded to the nearest whole number.

As a result, the outstanding shares of the company will be reduced to approximately 37,835,387.

The shares will begin trading under the new name and symbol on August 28, 2017.

Please note that all open orders will be cancelled at the end of business on August 25, 2017. Dealers are reminded to re-enter their orders taking into account the share consolidation.

Trading on a Consolidated Basis: August 28, 2017

Record Date: June 7, 2017

NEW SYMBOL: COPR

NEW CUSIP: 699355103

NEW ISIN: CA 6993551036

Contacts:

Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE)

Listings

(416) 367-7340

Listings@thecse.com

www.thecse.com




DUBLIN, August 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Silk Market by Type (Mulberry Silk, Tussar Silk, and Eri Silk), Application (Textile, and Cosmetics & Medical), and Region (Asia-Pacific, North America, Europe, Middle East & Africa, and South America) - Global Forecast to 2021" report to their offering.

The silk market is projected to reach USD 16.94 Billion by 2021, at a CAGR of 7.8% from 2016 to 2021

Silk is witnessing increase in demand in the Asia-Pacific region, mainly in China. Asia-Pacific is the largest producer of raw silk with easy availability of raw materials in the region. Silk finds application majorly in the textile industry. Increasing demand for silk from the textile industry has promoted the usage of silk. Furthermore, technological advancements in the sericulture industry are expected to drive the silk market.

Based on type, the mulberry silk segment is projected to lead the silk market from 2016 to 2021. Mulberry silk is majorly used in the textile industry. Mulberry silk is used in blends made with other natural fibers such as cotton to enhance the properties of the base fiber. The improving quality of silk is expected to increase the demand for mulberry silk and drive the silk market in the future. Tussar silk is the second-largest type of silk used after mulberry silk.

The Asia-Pacific region was the fastest-growing market for silk, in terms of value and volume, in 2015 and this trend is expected to continue till 2021. China, India, Uzbekistan, and Thailand are lucrative markets of silk in the Asia-Pacific region. The demand for silk is primarily driven by increasing population and export of textile goods in these countries. In addition, the domestic demand for silk in China and India is significantly influencing the demand for silk in the region.

Though the silk market is gaining importance, few factors are restraining the demand for silk from the textile industry. China is the largest producer of raw silk in the world. This increases the dependency on China for raw materials, which is considered as a major restraint for growth of the silk market.

Companies such as Anhui silk Co. Ltd. (China), Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, Inc. (U.S.), Wujiang First Textile Co., Ltd. (China), Wujiang Wanshiyi Silk Co., Ltd. (China), and Zhejiang Jiaxin Silk Corp., Ltd. (China) are the leading players in the global silk market.



Key Topics Covered:



1 Introduction



2 Research Methodology



3 Executive Summary



4 Premium Insights



5 Market Overview



6 Industry Trends



7 Silk Market, By Type



8 Silk Market, By Application



9 Silk Market, By Region



10 Company Profiles



Amsilk GmbH

Anhui Silk Co. Ltd.

Bolt Threads Inc.

China Silk Corporation

Entogenetics, Inc.

Jiangsu Sutong Cocoon & Silk Co.

Jinchengjiang Xinxing Cocoon Silk Co., Ltd.

Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, Inc.

Shengkun Silk Manufacturing Co., Ltd.

Sichuan Nanchong Liuhe (Group) Corp.

Spiber Technologies

Wensli Group Co. Ltd.

Wujiang First Textile Co., Ltd.

Wujiang Wanshiyi Silk Co. Ltd.

Zhejiang Jiaxin Silk Co., Ltd.

For more information about this report visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/9rkl3w/silk_market_by

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

press@researchandmarkets.com



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA and LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM -- (Marketwired) -- 08/10/17 -- BTL GROUP LTD. (TSX VENTURE: BTL) ("BTL" or the "Company"), at the request of IIROC, wishes to confirm that it is not aware of any corporate development, news or undisclosed material change to the Company or its operations that would account for the recent volatility in the stock market activity.

ABOUT BTL GROUP LTD. AND INTERBIT

Operating from both Canada and the UK, BTL is an enterprise technology platform provider that is developing Interbit, a proprietary private blockchain. Via the Interbit platform, BTL can help companies greatly reduce risks and costs by securely streamlining existing IT infrastructures. To date, BTL has successfully demonstrated how Interbit can innovate system processes for leading companies in the finance, energy and gaming sectors.

Interbit is a fast, encrypted and scalable multi-chain technology platform. Via its suite of APIs and smart contracts, Interbit allows businesses from across the world to improve efficiency in trading and operations, accelerate development of internal systems, and embrace new revenue generating opportunities, while providing the high levels of security, resilience and auditability required in regulated enterprise environments.

With offices in Vancouver and Canary Wharf in London, BTL is positioning itself as a front-runner in the blockchain ecosystem, partnering with and enabling enterprises on Interbit in order to improve their existing IT systems.

Website: www.btl.co

Twitter: https://twitter.com/blockchainltd

Certain statements in this release are forward-looking statements, which include further development of BTL's business relationships and business and the development and success of BTL's technologies and products, and other matters. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such information can generally be identified by the use of forwarding-looking wording such as "may", "expect", "estimate", "anticipate", "intend", "believe" and "continue" or the negative thereof or similar variations. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are based will occur. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve numerous assumptions, known and unknown risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, that contribute to the possibility that the predictions, estimates, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will not occur. These assumptions, risks and uncertainties include, among other things, the state of the economy in general and capital markets in particular, the development of competitive technologies, the marketplace acceptance of BTL's technologies and products, as well as those risk factors discussed or referred to in BTL's annual Management's Discussion and Analysis for the year ended December 31, 2016 available at www.sedar.com, many of which are beyond the control of BTL. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release. Except as required by law, BTL disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Additionally, BTL undertakes no obligation to comment on the expectations of, or statements made by, third parties in respect of the matters discussed above.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contacts:

Angus Campbell, Inquiries

+44 (0) 20 7100 0850

Angus.Campbell@staturepr.com



Guy Halford-Thompson, CEO

+1 855 256 5246

guy@btl.co




TORONTO, ONTARIO and THE WOODLANDS, TEXAS -- (Marketwired) -- 08/10/17 -- UpSnap Inc. (CSE: UP)(CSE: UP.CN)(CNSX: UP) ("UpSnap" or the "Company"), a leading provider of mobile advertising solutions, today announced the election of its Board of Directors from its Annual General Meeting ("AGM") of Shareholders, held on August 10, 2017.

Shareholders elected Bruce Howard (CEO and Director), Heather Burrer, Michael Inskip, Rance Walls and Daniel Hilton.

"We are very excited to have Daniel Hilton join our board," said Bruce Howard, CEO of UpSnap. "Over the past few quarters we have been investing in making our technology more efficient and improving the quality of our revenue, resulting in us reporting our first quarter of profitability. We are confident that we have built the strong foundation needed to scale our business and further accelerate growth through potential acquisitions."

The Shareholders of the Company also overwhelmingly passed the following resolutions:

a. The appointment of the auditors for the ensuing year and authorization of the Corporation's board of directors to fix the remuneration of the auditors b. The option to consolidate the share capital of the Corporation on the basis of fifty (50) existing Common Shares for one (1) new Common Share at a later date, if necessary

About UpSnap

UpSnap provides highly-targeted, data-driven mobile advertising to attract the ideal audience for brands big and small. Combining first-party proprietary data and real-time analytics, UpSnap goes beyond location to deliver app agnostic and results-driven campaigns that produce qualified and engaged customers.

Caution Regarding Forward Looking Information

Certain information set out in this News Release constitutes forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "hope", "plan", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "intend", "could", "might", "should", "scheduled", "believe" and similar expressions. The forward- looking information set out in this News Release relates to future events or our future performance and includes: (i) information concerning the positive effect of new leadership on revenue growth.

Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of the Company believes are reasonable assumptions on the date of this news release, the Company cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve substantial known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which cause actual results to vary from those express or implied by such forward looking statements. These statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results, and they will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether or not such results will be achieved.

The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof and based on what management of the company believes are reasonable assumptions. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or publicly revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable securities laws. Furthermore, the Company does not assume responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of the forward looking statements set out in this news release. The Company's forward looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by the foregoing cautionary statements.

The CSE has not reviewed, approved or disapproved the content of this press release.

Contacts:

Alex Pekurar, CPA, CA

Chief Financial Officer

UpSnap Inc.

416-619-3903

apekurar@upsnap.com



Babak Pedram

Investor Relations

Virtus Advisory Group Inc.

416-644-5081

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Technavio has announced the top five leading vendors in their recentglobal construction repaint market 2017-2021report. This market research report also lists 12 other prominent vendors that are expected to impact the market during the forecast period.

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Technavio has published a new report on the global construction repaint market from 2017-2021. (Photo: Business Wire)

Competitive vendor landscape

According to the research analysis, the global construction repaint market consists of some major global vendors with manufacturing facilities located around the world. These key vendors are operating through strategic partnerships. New capacities are being set up by the vendors to ensure proximity and easy access to the fast-growing markets of China and India. There are also a sizeable number of regional vendors with significant market shares. The major vendors in the market seek to expand their presence through either M&As or joint ventures to gain easy access to growing markets and dilute the risk from regional businesses.

"The paints and coatings industry has been under immense pressure from regulatory authorities to reduce the environmental impact of their products, especially paints. Commercialization of advanced technologies to produce bio-based versions of the existing chemicals and newer bio-based compounds with new functionalities is providing considerable opportunities for the paints and coatings manufacturers to manufacture bio-based paints," says Hitesh Bhatia, a lead analyst at Technavio for paints, coatings, and pigments research.

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Technaviomarket research analysts identify the following key vendors:

Akzo Nobel

Akzo Nobel was formed through the merger of Akzo and Nobel industries. It is one of the major manufacturers and suppliers of specialty chemicals, paints, and performance coatings worldwide. The company serves customers from the transportation, consumer goods, building and infrastructure, and industrial sectors. The company has products under the brand name Bermocoll, which is a high-quality sodium carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) that can be used as a thickener and stabilizer in waterborne paints.

PPG Industries

PPG Industries is involved in the manufacturing and distribution of coatings, specialty materials, and glass products. It provides protective and decorative coatings, paints, and glass-related solutions for the consumer goods, industrial, construction, and transportation industries. The company manufactures color with specific color tools such as COLORCLIX and COLORSENSE GAME. It has themed color palettes such as Fallingwater, Hacienda, Up North, and Colors of Rhode Island.

RPM International

RPM International manufactures and markets sealants, high-performance coatings, and specialty chemicals. The company manufactures paints and coatings under the brand name of Rust-Oleum. It has a wide range of products such as paints, automotive and concrete coatings, primers, and wood care products for both industrial and decorative markets. The company's leading brands include Rust-Oleum and Varathane.

The Sherwin-Williams Company

The Sherwin-Williams Company is a provider of coating solutions and advanced paint. The company specializes in the development, manufacture, distribution, and sale of paints, coatings, and related products to professional, industrial, retail customers. The company manufactures epoxy resins, which are used to manufacture paints and coatings.

W. R. Grace

W. R. Grace is a specialty chemicals and specialty materials company. The company has an even global presence with 110 manufacturing units all over the world. It offers products and solutions for several industries. The company manufactures industrial and specialty coatings such as SYLOID A, which is a matting agent for high-performance and low-gloss paints. SYLOID A-Series silicas are available in several grades that offer superior performance attributes related to stain and scrub resistance, flow and leveling, burnishing, hiding, and smoothness.

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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.

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VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 08/10/17 -- Desert Star Resources Ltd. (TSX VENTURE: DSR) ("Desert Star" or the "Company") is pleased to announce it has agreed to terms on a non-binding Early Deposit Precious Metals Purchase Agreement ("PMPA") with Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (TSX: WPM) (NYSE: WPM) ("Wheaton") under which Wheaton will pay Desert Star cash consideration totaling US$65 million for up to 100% of the payable silver production and up to 100% of the payable gold production from the Company's Kutcho Cu-Zn-Ag-Au Project in northwest British Columbia. In addition, Wheaton will make ongoing production payments to Desert Star equal to 20% of the applicable spot prices of silver and gold delivered. An additional payment of up to US$20 million will be payable to Desert Star should the processing capacity increase to 4,500 tonnes per day ("tpd") or more within five years of attaining commercial production, compared with the 2,500 tpd operation contemplated in the 2017 Prefeasibility Study ("2017 PFS").

Under the terms of the proposed PMPA, Desert Star will be advanced US$7 million as an early deposit ("Early Deposit") with payments to be used to fund feasibility study expenditures. The balance of the US$65 million would be payable in instalments during construction of the Kutcho Project. Wheaton has also agreed to participate in up to 14% of a proposed Desert Star equity financing to a maximum of C$4 million where the use of proceeds include the acquisition of the Kutcho Project by Desert Star (the "Acquisition"), as previously announced on June 15, 2017. The precious metals stream is subject to completion of a definitive PMPA, completion of the Acquisition and other customary conditions.

"The agreement with Wheaton represents a significant milestone towards the Acquisition and subsequent development of the Kutcho Project," stated Vince Sorace, President and CEO of Desert Star. "Wheaton's involvement validates our conviction in the Kutcho Project. We believe it is an exceptional opportunity, with significant near-term upside potential in the project economics, throughput expansion and increase of the existing mineral reserves and resources. The Early Deposit structure allows Desert Star the flexibility to advance Kutcho through a Feasibility Study and to a construction decision with significantly reduced dilution to shareholders."

In addition to the proposed PMPA with Wheaton, Desert Star announces an agreement between the Company and Capstone to extend the outside date for the completion of the Acquisition from August 31, 2017 to September 30, 2017.

Desert Star's financial advisor with regard to the precious metals streaming financing is Macquarie Capital Markets Canada Ltd.

Transaction Highlights

-- Proposed Early Deposit and equity financing participation provides for funding of approximately C$13 million which represents in excess of 30% of the Acquisition and projected Feasibility Study expenditures. -- Balance of the upfront deposit payment of US$58 million represents approximately 35% of the estimated initial capital costs with the precious metals stream representing approximately 7% of revenue from the Kutcho Project based on the assumptions utilized in the 2017 PFS. -- Precious metals streaming results in a further increase to the current after-tax IRR of 27.6% detailed in the 2017 PFS. -- Expansion payment of up to US$20 million provides capital support for Desert Star's proposed expansion of Kutcho's potential. -- Equity investment results in Wheaton becoming a significant shareholder of Desert Star and strong alignment with all Kutcho stakeholders.

Transaction Overview

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Upfront Wheaton will make upfront cash payments totaling US$65 million. Payment ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stream Wheaton will be entitled to purchase 100% of the silver and gold production from the Project until 5.6 million ounces of silver and 51,000 ounces of gold have been delivered, at which point the stream will decrease to 66.67% of the silver and gold production for the life of the mine. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Production Wheaton will make an ongoing cash payment equal to 20% of the Payment applicable spot price of silver and gold for each ounce delivered under the agreement. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Early US$7 million of the US$65 million will be paid by Wheaton on an Deposit early deposit basis to fund Feasibility Study expenditures ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Expansion Wheaton would make an additional payment of up to US$20 million Deposit should the Kutcho Project processing throughput be increased to 4,500 tpd or more within 5 years of attaining commercial production. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wheaton Wheaton will have the option to terminate the PMPA following Option delivery of a Feasibility Study or after two years if the Feasibility Documentation has not been delivered to Wheaton by such date. Should Wheaton so withdraw, it would forfeit US$1.0 million and be eligible to receive only 9.23% of the payable gold and silver from Kutcho or, in certain circumstances, be paid in cash over time. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Security & In order to secure the Company's obligations under the PMPA, the Guarantees Company will grant Wheaton a first ranking security over its assets. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Desert Star Acquisition of Kutcho

Desert Star signed a Definitive Agreement dated June 15, 2017 to acquire 100% of Kutcho Copper Corp. from Capstone Mining Corp., subject to certain conditions precedent, as disclosed in the Company's news release on June 15, 2017. Completion of the Acquisition remains subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval. Highlights of the Acquisition include:

-- Desert Star to acquire 100% interest in Capstone's wholly-owned subsidiary Kutcho Copper Corp. which holds 100% interest in the Kutcho project. -- Desert Star to pay Capstone C$28.8 million cash upon closing. -- Capstone to become 9.9% shareholder of Desert Star at the completion of the Acquisition. -- Fort Capital is DSR's financial advisor in connection with the Acquisition

Project Overview

-- The Kutcho project is located in northern British Columbia, approximately 100 kilometres east of Dease Lake and Highway 37, and consists of one mining lease and 46 mineral exploration claims encompassing 17,060 Hectares. -- Mineralization at Kutcho comprises three "Kuroko-type" volcanic massive sulfide ("VMS") deposits aligned in a westerly plunging linear trend. The largest deposit, Main, comes to surface at the east end of the trend, with Sumac followed by Esso down plunge to the west. -- Over C$50 million of historical project expenditures that provided the basis for the 2017 PFS. Desert Star's study includes parameter changes consistent with current market conditions, such as capital expenditures, operating costs, metal prices and foreign exchange rate.

2017 Prefeasibility Study Highlights

-- Pre-tax NPV (8% discount rate) of C$423 million and IRR of 34.6%(1). -- After-tax NPV (8% discount rate) of C$265 million and IRR of 27.6%(1). -- Life of mine ("LOM") net pre-tax cash flow C$801 million and LOM free cash flow (after-tax) of C$533 million. -- 12-year mine life with 2,500 tonne per day production rate for a total life-of-mine payable production of 378 million pounds of copper and 473 million pounds of zinc, plus by-product gold and silver. -- Average annual production of 33 million pounds of copper and 46 million pounds of zinc, plus by-product gold and silver. -- Initial capital costs, including 15% contingency, for a 100% owner- operated mine are estimated at C$220.7 million excluding sunk capital to the start of construction. -- Operating costs of C$73.72/tonne of material milled. -- Unit operating costs of US$1.60/lb copper excluding by-products, and US$0.59/lb copper net of by-products. -- Pre-tax payback of 3.3 years and post-tax payback of 3.5 years. -- Probable Mineral Reserve(2) of 10.4 million tonnes averaging 2.01% copper, 3.19% zinc, 0.37 g/t gold and 34.61 g/t silver. A 1.5% Cu cut- off grade was used for mineral reserve estimation of the Main zone and 1.0% Cu cut-off for the Esso zone and is based on the 2011 mine plan. -- Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources(3) at a 1.0% copper cut-off grade of 16.9 million tonnes averaging 1.89% copper, 2.87% zinc, 0.36 g/t gold and 32.8 g/t silver. -- Inferred Mineral Resources(4)(5) at a 1.0% copper cut-off grade of 5.8 million tonnes averaging 1.33% copper, 1.64% zinc, 0.24 g/t gold and 23.2 g/t silver. (1) Using metal prices of US$2.75/lb copper, US$1.10/lb zinc, US$17.00/oz silver and US$1,250/oz gold and a currency exchange rate of 0.75 USD/CAD (2) A Probable Mineral Reserve is the economically mineable part of an Indicated Mineral Resource, and in some circumstances a Measured Mineral Resource, demonstrated by at least a Preliminary Feasibility Study. This study must include adequate information on mining, processing, metallurgical, economic and other relevant factors that demonstrate, at the time of reporting, that economic extraction can be justified. (3) Measured and Indicated Resources are inclusive of Probable Mineral Reserves. Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. (4) The economic analysis contained in the 2017 PFS does not include inferred resources. (5) Inferred mineral resources are estimated based on limited geologic evidence and sampling, sufficient only to imply but not verify geological and grade or quality continuity.

Qualified Person: Rory Kutluoglu, B.Sc. P.Geo., a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has read and approved all technical and scientific information contained in this news release. Mr. Kutluoglu is the Company's Vice President Exploration. The QP verifies that sufficient data verification was conducted for the 2017 PFS and that this data is adequately representative of the project.

Vince Sorace, President and CEO, Desert Star Resources Ltd.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release contains certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements" with respect to the Company within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including statements with respect to the proposed PMPA and Acquisition, estimated mineral resources and mineral reserves, the timing and amount of estimated production, costs of production, capital expenditures, commodity price assumptions, the Company's ability to successfully obtain all regulatory approvals and permits to commence and conduct mining operations, environmental risks and title challenges. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Although Desert Star believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance, are subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results or realities may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements.

Such material risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, Desert Star's ability to negotiate a final binding PMPA, obtain all requisite approvals for the proposed PMPA and Acquisition, including approval of the TSX Venture Exchange, the Company's ability to raise sufficient capital to fund its obligations under the Acquisition or under its property agreements going forward, to maintain its mineral tenures and concessions in good standing, to explore and develop Kutcho or its other projects, to repay its debt and for general working capital purposes; changes in economic conditions or financial markets; the inherent hazards associates with mineral exploration, and mining operations, future prices of copper and other metals, changes in general economic conditions, accuracy of mineral resource and reserve estimates, the ability of Desert Star to obtain the necessary permits and consents required to explore, drill and develop Kutcho and if obtained, to obtain such permits and consents in a timely fashion relative to Desert Star's plans and business objectives for the projects; the general ability of Desert Star to monetize its mineral resources; and changes in environmental and other laws or regulations that could have an impact on the Company's operations, compliance with environmental laws and regulations, aboriginal title claims and rights to consultation and accommodation, dependence on key management personnel and general competition in the mining industry. Forward-looking statements are based on the reasonable beliefs, estimates and opinions of Desert Star's management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by law, Desert Star undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.

Contacts:

Desert Star Resources Ltd.

Vince Sorace

President and CEO

info@desertstar.ca

www.desertstar.ca




Regulatory News:

Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. (LN:PSH) (NA:PSH) today announces that it has purchased, through PSH's agent, Jefferies International Limited ("Jefferies"), the following number of PSH's ordinary shares of no par value (ISIN Code: GG00BPFJTF46) (the "Shares"):

Date of purchase: 10 August 2017 Number of Shares purchased: 35,162 Shares Highest price paid per Share: 1,106 pence 14.36 USD Lowest price paid per Share: 1,095 pence 14.22 USD Average price paid per Share: 1,097.97 pence 14.26 USD

PSH intends to cancel these Shares. The net asset value per Share related to this Share buyback is USD 17.75 GBP 13.66 which was calculated as of 8 August 2017. After giving effect to the above Share buyback, PSH has 238,444,660 outstanding Shares. The prices per share in USD were calculated by Jefferies.

The number of PSH Management Shares and the 1 special voting share (held by PS Holdings Independent Voting Company Limited) has not been affected.

About Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd.:

Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. (LN:PSH) (NA:PSH) is an investment holding company structured as a closed-ended fund that makes concentrated investments principally in North American companies.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170810006122/en/

Contacts:

Maitland

James Devas, +44 20 7379 5151

Media-pershingsquareholdings@maitland.co.uk
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 08/10/17 -- Trevali Mining Corporation ("Trevali" or the "Company") (TSX: TV)(LMA: TV)(OTCQX: TREVF)(FRANKFURT: 4TI) has released financial results for the three months and six months ending June 30, 2017. Second quarter ("Q2") net income was US$0.1-million, or 0 cent per share on concentrate sales revenues of US$47 million and EBITDA(1) for the quarter came in at US$10.8 million.

This release should be read in conjunction with Trevali's unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and management's discussion and analysis for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2017, which is available on Trevali's website and on SEDAR. As at January 1, 2017 the Company has changed is presentation currency to the U.S. dollar (US). All financial figures are in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

Q2-2017 Results Highlights:

-- Concentrate sales revenue of $47 million, up 110% versus $22.4-million in Q2-2016 -- EBITDA(1) of $10.8 million -- Net income of $0.1 million or $0.00 per share -- Income from mine operations of $10.1 million, increase of over 150% from Q2-2016 -- Total cash position of $21.4 million and working capital of $12.5 million -- Quarterly consolidated zinc production of 29.9 million payable lbs, lead production of 9.9 million payable lbs and 385,505 payable ozs. of silver; 43.5 million payable lbs of Zinc Equivalent ("ZnEq")(2) -- Consolidated site cash costs of $0.49 per pound of payable ZnEq(2) produced or $49.75/tonne milled -- Santander site cash costs of $37.82/tonne milled, in the mid-range of 2017 annual cost guidance of $35-40 per tonne milled -- Caribou site costs were $60.61 per tonne milled, marginally above the 2017 annual cost guidance of $55-60 per tonne milled reflecting the transition process to owner-operated mining -- Provisional realized commodity selling prices for Q2-2017 sales was $1.20 per pound zinc, $0.98 per pound lead and $16.85 per ounce silver

"Ongoing optimization initiatives through the second quarter at Caribou delivered incremental improvements and site operating costs are in line with forecast ranges," stated Dr. Mark Cruise, Trevali's President and CEO. "As previously disclosed, increased water at Santander in early-Q2 delayed production development of the higher-grade Magistral North zone by approximately one quarter while pumping infrastructure upgrades are finalized. At Caribou, zinc recoveries improved over the quarter as ongoing operational efficiencies continue to be implemented. The transition to owner-operated underground mining at Caribou over Q2 has already resulted in realized production improvements with record production logged in July."

"Additionally, we are very pleased with the overwhelming shareholder approval in Q2 of our previously announced transaction to acquire the Rosh Pinah and Perkoa zinc mines from Glencore," continued Dr. Cruise. "With anticipated closure of the transaction in late August, Trevali will transform into a top-10 global zinc producer and create a premier pure-play zinc miner with sector-leading leverage to the commodity all as the macro-zinc environment remains very bullish due to global production shortfalls and LME zinc warehouse inventories being drawn down to an almost 9-year low."

Q2-2017 Financial Results and Conference Call

The Company will host a conference call and audio webcast at 10:30AM Eastern Time on Friday, August 11, 2017 to review the financial results. Participants are advised to dial in 5-to-10 minutes prior to the scheduled start time of the call.

Conference call dial-in details:

Toll-free (North America): 1-877-291-4570

Toronto and international: 1-647-788-4919

Audio Webcast: http://www.gowebcasting.com/8588

Summary Financial Results (US$ millions, except per-share amounts)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q2-2017 Q2-2016 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Revenues $47.0 $22.4 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Income from mining operations $10.1 $4.3 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net income (loss) $0.1 ($0.2) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Basic Income per share $0.00 ($0.00) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Q2-2017 Consolidated Santander and Caribou Production Statistics and 2016 Comparison

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q2-2017 Q2-2016 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tonnes Mined 371,802 177,415 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tonnes Milled 431,093 219,086 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Payable Production: Zinc lbs 29,949,149 15,157,944 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lead lbs 9,912,095 5,575,792 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Silver Oz 385,505 222,121 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Zinc Equivalent lbs Payable Produced 43,478,281 24,229,762 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Site Cash Operating Costs per ZnEq Payable lbs Produced(2) $0.49 $0.32 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Cash Operating Cost per ZnEq Payable lbs Produced(2) $0.88 $0.70 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Site Cash Operating Cost per Tonne Milled $49.75 $35.64 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Consolidated Sales Statistics and 2015 Comparison

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q2-2017 Q2-2016 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Zinc Concentrate (DMT) 31,596 17,112 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lead Concentrate (DMT) 11,948 4,964 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Payable Zinc lbs 27,644,763 15,229,650 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Payable Lead lbs 9,828,395 5,711,542 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Payable Silver Oz 379,577 222,166 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Revenues(4) $46,986,000 $22,400,000 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Average Realized Metal Price: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Zinc $1.20 $ 0.89 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lead $0.98 $ 0.78 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Silver $16.85 $17.09 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Zinc Equivalent lbs Sold(3) 41,186,175 24,433,262 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- (1) EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) is calculated by considering Company's earnings before interest payments, tax, depreciation and amortization are subtracted for any final accounting of its income and expenses. The EBITDA of a business gives an indication of its current operational profitability and is a NON-IFRS measure. (2) ZnEq Payable Pounds Produced = ((Zn Payable lbs Produced x Zn Price)+(Pb Payable lbs Produced x Pb Price)+(Cu Payable lbs Produced x Cu Price)+(Au oz Payable Produced x Au Price)+(Ag oz Payable Produced x Ag Price))/Zn Price. (3) ZnEq Payable Pounds Sold = ((Zn Payable lbs Sold x Zn Price)+(Pb Payable lbs Sold x Pb Price)+(Cu Payable lbs Sold x Cu Price)+(Au oz Payable Sold x Au Price)+(Ag oz Payable Sold x Ag Price))/Zn Price. (All metal prices are the average realized metal price for the period). (4) Revenues include prior period adjustment.

Santander Zinc Mine, Peru

Q2-2017 Santander Production Statistics and 2016 Comparison

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q2-2017 Q2-2016 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tonnes Mined 148,698 177,415 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tonnes Milled 205,401 219,086 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Average Head Grade (%) Zinc 3.70% 4.16% Lead 0.87% 1.39% Silver (oz/t) 1.24 1.32 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Average Recoveries (%) Zinc 87% 89% Lead 81% 87% Silver 67% 73% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Payable Production: Zinc lbs 12,070,046 15,157,944 Lead lbs 3,049,724 5,575,792 Silver oz 181,949 222,121 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Zinc Equivalent lbs Payable Produced 17,249,658 24,244,311 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Site Cash Operating Costs per ZnEq Payable lbs Produced(2) $0.45 $0.32 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Cash Operating Cost per ZnEq Payable lbs Produced(2) $0.91 $0.70 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Site Cash Operating Cost per Tonne Milled $37.82 $35.64 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Q2-2017 Santander Sales Statistics and 2016 Comparison

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q2-2017 Q2-2016 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Zinc Concentrate (DMT) 14,104 17,112 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lead Concentrate (DMT) 2,978 4,964 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Payable Zinc lbs 12,141,233 15,229,650 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Payable Lead lbs 2,740,815 5,711,542 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Payable Silver Oz 171,206 222,166 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Revenues(4) $19,343,000 $22,400,000 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Average Realized Metal Price: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Zinc $1.17 $ 0.89 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lead $0.98 $ 0.78 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Silver $16.90 $17.09 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Zinc Equivalent lbs Sold(3) 16,909,941 24,433,262 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- (1) EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) is calculated by considering Company's earnings before interest payments, tax, depreciation and amortization are subtracted for any final accounting of its income and expenses. The EBITDA of a business gives an indication of its current operational profitability and is a NON-IFRS measure. (2) ZnEq Payable Pounds Produced = ((Zn Payable lbs Produced x Zn Price)+(Pb Payable lbs Produced x Pb Price)+(Cu Payable lbs Produced x Cu Price)+(Au oz Payable Produced x Au Price)+(Ag oz Payable Produced x Ag Price))/Zn Price. (3) ZnEq Payable Pounds Sold = ((Zn Payable lbs Sold x Zn Price)+(Pb Payable lbs Sold x Pb Price)+(Cu Payable lbs Sold x Cu Price)+(Au oz Payable Sold x Au Price)+(Ag oz Payable Sold x Ag Price))/Zn Price. (All metal prices are the average realized metal price for the period). (4) Revenues include prior period adjustment.

Over the second quarter the Santander mill continued to operate above its 2,000 tonne-per-day nameplate capacity by approximately 13 percent with 205,401 tonnes of mineralized material being milled giving quarterly zinc production of 12.1 million payable pounds, 3.0 million payable pounds of lead and 181,949 payable ounces of silver.

Q2 site cash operating costs were $37.82 per tonne (or $0.45 per zinc equivalent payable lb produced), within the 2017 annual cost guidance of US$35-$40 per tonne milled. (Please refer to Non-IFRS Measures in the June 30, 2017 Management Discussion and Analysis).

Mine and mill metal unit production was below plan due to excessive rainfall during the recent mountain wet season while planned pumping infrastructure upgrades were in progress. This necessitated rescheduling of the mine sequencing during the second quarter and resulted in lower-grade material, approximately 3.7 per cent zinc versus 4.5 per cent zinc planned, being processed and subsequent lower payable zinc production. Due to the delayed access to planned higher-grade stopes being deferred by approximately one quarter, the planned production during the remainder of 2017 will not be sufficient to make up the zinc unit deficit. These higher-grade production stopes will now be extracted in Q1-2018; consequently, the Company is revising Santander payable zinc production guidance downward on a full-year basis with lead and silver production guidance remaining unchanged.

Subsequent to the end of Q2, average Santander zinc head grades have been increasing as mining operations sequence into higher-grade zones of the deposits.

The Phase I, approximately 13,000-metre, 2017 Santander exploration drill program commenced during the quarter utilizing both surface directional and underground drill rigs. The aim of the program is to aggressively probe the depth and lateral extents of the Magistral and Santander polymetallic systems that remain open for expansion in addition to converting additional inferred tonnages into higher confidence categories to support longer-range mine planning. Contingent on success, Phase II drilling will continue to define and expand the mineralized systems.

2017 Santander Mine Production Guidance

The 2017 revised production guidance estimate for the Santander mine is:

-- 52-57 million pounds of payable zinc in concentrate -- 12-14 million pounds of payable lead in concentrate -- 700,000-900,000 ounces of payable silver

Site cash costs for 2017 are estimated at approximately US$35-40 per tonne milled (please see Cautionary Note on Forward Looking Statements at the end of this document).

Caribou Zinc Mine, Canada

Q2-2017 Caribou Production Statistics and Q1-2017 Comparison

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q2-2017 Q1-2017 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tonnes Mined 223,104 222,264 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tonnes Milled 225,692 232,880 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Average Head Grades % Zinc 5.50% 6.15% Lead 2.45% 2.68% Silver (oz/t) 2.179 2.29 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Average Recoveries % Zinc 78% 75% Lead 61% 64% Silver (in lead concentrate) 39% 38% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Payable Production: Zinc lbs (pounds) 17,879,104 19,619,395 Lead lbs (pounds) 6,862,370 8,107,773 Silver Oz 203,556 217,085 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Zinc Equivalent lbs Payable Produced 26,228,623 29,199,484 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Site Cash Cost per ZnEq Payable lbs Produced(2) $0.52 $0.49 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Cash Cost per ZnEq Payable lbs Produced(2) $0.86 $1.06 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Site Cash Operating Cost(2) per Tonne Milled $60.61 $61.17 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Q2-2017 Caribou Sales Statistics and Q1-2017 Comparison

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q2-2017 Q1-2017 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Zinc Concentrate (DMT) 17,491 24,966 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lead Concentrate (DMT) 8,970 10,092 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Payable Zinc lbs 15,503,529 21,773,627 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Payable Lead lbs 7,087,580 7,873,706 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Payable Silver oz 208,371 203,078 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Revenues(4) $27,643,000 $40,318,000 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Average Realized Metal Price: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Zinc $1.22 $1.27 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lead $0.98 $1.04 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Silver $16.84 $17.70 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Zinc Equivalent lbs Sold(3) 24,276,234 31,217,344 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- (1) EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) is calculated by considering Company's earnings before interest payments, tax, depreciation and amortization are subtracted for any final accounting of its income and expenses. The EBITDA of a business gives an indication of its current operational profitability and is a NON-IFRS measure. (2) ZnEq Payable Pounds Produced = ((Zn Payable lbs Produced x Zn Price)+(Pb Payable lbs Produced x Pb Price)+(Cu Payable lbs Produced x Cu Price)+(Au oz Payable Produced x Au Price)+(Ag oz Payable Produced x Ag Price))/Zn Price. (3) ZnEq Payable Pounds Sold = ((Zn Payable lbs Sold x Zn Price)+(Pb Payable lbs Sold x Pb Price)+(Cu Payable lbs Sold x Cu Price)+(Au oz Payable Sold x Au Price)+(Ag oz Payable Sold x Ag Price))/Zn Price. (All metal prices are the average realized metal price for the period). (4) Revenues include prior period adjustment.

Q2-2017 production at the Caribou Mine saw ongoing optimization initiatives and improvements to zinc recoveries. In Q2, Caribou produced 17.9 million pounds of payable zinc, 6.9 million payable pounds of lead and 203,556 payable ounces of silver. Recoveries averaged 78% for zinc, 61% for lead and 39% for silver. Mill throughput for Q2 was 225,692 tonnes. Lower Q2 production was a result of transitioning mining operations from contractor to owner operated and sequencing of underground mining operations through a lower-grade section of the mine plan. Subsequent to Q2, July production has set a new operational record since the inception of underground mining at Caribou with monthly mine production of 96,485 tonnes or an average of 3,112 tonnes-per-day. Given that mining team integration and training is ongoing the Company feels that additional operational improvements are feasible on a go forward basis.

During Q2, the Caribou mine successfully transitioned to owner-operated underground mining, with minimal disruption, and the new Sandvik-supported mine fleet is now essentially fully operational. It is anticipated improved operational efficiencies should deliver mine cost savings of approximately $5-to-6 per tonne going forward.

Q2 site cash costs at Caribou were $60.61 per tonne, trending lower than Q1 site cash costs of $61.17. The Company anticipates significant savings in overall Caribou operating costs will be achieved once site transitions fully to owner operated status in the second-half of 2017 (Please refer to Non-IFRS Measures in the June 30, 2017 Management Discussion and Analysis).

2017 Caribou Mine Production Guidance

The 2017 production guidance estimate for the Caribou mine is:

-- 90-93 million pounds of payable zinc in concentrate -- 30-32 million pounds of payable lead in concentrate -- 800,000-900,000 ounces of payable silver

Site cash costs for 2017 are estimated at approximately $55-60 per tonne milled (please see Cautionary Note on Forward Looking Statements at the end of this document).

While not included in the Q2-2017 Financial Statements, second quarter production from the Rosh Pinah mine in Namibia and Perkoa mine in Burkina Faso (that are both being acquired from Glencore PLC under definitive agreements announced earlier this year (see March 13, 2017 news release TV-NR-17-06) and with an effective date of April 1, 2017)(5) are reported below.

Rosh Pinah Zinc Mine, Namibia(5) Preliminary Q2 Rosh Pinah production was 24.8 million pounds of payable zinc, 3.2 million payable pounds of lead and 67,997 payable ounces of silver. Recoveries averaged 86% for zinc, 67% for lead and 40% for silver. Mill throughput for the quarter was 164,320 tonnes.

Rosh Pinah Mine Q2-2017 preliminary production statistics

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q2-2017 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tonnes Mined 165,187 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tonnes Milled 164,320 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Average Head Grades: Zinc 9.51% Lead 1.39% Silver (ounces/ton) 1.03 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Average Recoveries (%): Zinc 86% Lead 67% Silver 40% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Concentrate Produced DMT (dry metric tonnes): Zinc 26,366 Lead 3,620 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Concentrate Grades: Zinc 51% Silver in zinc conc. - Lead 43% Silver in lead conc. 18.5 oz/t ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Payable Production: Zinc (pounds) 24,788,624 Lead (pounds) 3,153,673 Silver (ounces) 67,997 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

2017 Rosh Pinah Mine Production Guidance

The 2017 production guidance estimate (on a full-year basis) for the Rosh Pinah mine is:

-- 100-105 million pounds of payable zinc in concentrate; -- 9-11 million pounds of payable lead in concentrate; and -- 200,000 ounces of payable silver.

Total site cash costs for 2017 are estimated at approximately US$45-50 per tonne milled (please see Cautionary Note on Forward Looking Statements at the end of this document).

(5) Contingent on the closing of the Transaction, which is expected to occur on or before August 31, 2017. The Transaction has an effective date of April 1, 2017. Constitutes forward-looking information. See "Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements at the end of this document.

Perkoa Zinc Mine, Burkina Faso(5) Preliminary Q2 Perkoa mine production was 46.6 million pounds of payable zinc with an average recovery of 95%, a record quarter for Perkoa operations. Mill throughput for the quarter was 161,755 tonnes.

Perkoa Mine Q2-2017 preliminary production statistics

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q2-2017 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tonnes Mined 183,720 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tonnes Milled 161,755 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Average Head Grades: Zinc 16.31% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Average Recoveries (%): Zinc 95% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Concentrate Produced DMT (dry metric tonnes): Zinc 47,551 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Concentrate Grades: Zinc 52% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Payable Production: Zinc (pounds) 46,612,401 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

2017 Perkoa Mine Production Guidance

The 2017 production guidance estimate (on a full-year basis) for the Perkoa mine is 165-170 million pounds of payable zinc in concentrate.

Total site cash costs for 2017 are estimated at approximately US$95-100 per tonne milled (please see Cautionary Note on Forward Looking Statements at the end of this document).

(5) Contingent on the closing of the Transaction, which is expected to occur on or before August 31, 2017. The Transaction has an effective date of April 1, 2017. Constitutes forward-looking information. See "Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements at the end of this document.

Transaction Update

Following overwhelming shareholder approval of 99.8% in favour of the transaction to acquire Glencore's African Zinc assets (the "Assets"), the Company is finalizing the $190-million debt component of the transaction as announced on March 13, 2017. The new senior secured facility is to be comprised of $160 million in a term loan, and a $30-million revolving working capital line (the "Facility"). Preliminary pricing for the Facility ranges from LIBOR plus 3-to-4 percent. The loan syndicate, comprised of five global banks and led by The Bank of Nova Scotia and Societe Generale, has completed all technical due diligence and the Company has received preliminary credit approval from all syndicate members, subject to final legal documentation. Proceeds from the facility will be used to acquire the Assets and to refinance a portion of Trevali's existing debt. The Facility is subject to customary due diligence and legal compliance and is ongoing.

The Company and its lenders remain on track to finalize the Transaction on or before August 31, 2017, subject to receipt of requisite regulatory approvals (including in respect of antitrust matters) and other customary closing conditions.

Qualified Person and Quality Control/Quality Assurance

EurGeol Dr. Mark D. Cruise, Trevali's President and CEO, and Paul Keller, P.Eng, Trevali's Chief Operating Officer, are qualified persons as defined by NI 43-101, have supervised the preparation of the scientific and technical information that forms the basis for this news release. Dr. Cruise is not independent of the Company as he is an officer, director and shareholder. Mr. Keller is not independent of the Company as he is an officer and shareholder.

ABOUT TREVALI MINING CORPORATION

Trevali is a zinc-focused, base metals mining company with two commercially producing operations.

The Company is actively producing zinc and lead-silver concentrates from its 2,000-tonne-per-day Santander mine in Peru and its 3,000-tonne-per-day Caribou mine in the Bathurst Mining Camp of northern New Brunswick. Trevali also owns the Halfmile and Stratmat base metal deposits, located in New Brunswick, that are currently undergoing a Preliminary Economic Assessment reviewing their potential development. Additionally, the Company has entered into a definitive agreement with Glencore PLC to acquire a portfolio of zinc assets from Glencore, including an 80.08% interest in the Rosh Pinah mine in Namibia, a 90% interest in the Perkoa mine in Burkina Faso, an effective 39.24% interest in the Gergarub project in Namibia, an option to acquire 100% interest in the Heath Steele property in Canada and certain related exploration properties and assets.

The common shares of Trevali are listed on the TSX (symbol TV), the OTCQX (symbol TREVF), the Lima Stock Exchange (symbol TV), and the Frankfurt Exchange (symbol 4TI). For further details on Trevali, readers are referred to the Company's website (www.trevali.com) and to Canadian regulatory filings on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors of

TREVALI MINING CORPORATION

Mark D. Cruise, President

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release 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. Statements containing forward-looking information express, as at the date of this news release, the Company's plans, estimates, forecasts, projections, expectations, or beliefs as to future events or results and the Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation to, update such statements containing the forward-looking information. Such forward-looking statements and information include, but are not limited to statements as to: the expected benefits of the proposed Transaction, the closing the Transaction, including the anticipated timing thereof, the satisfaction of all conditions to closing the Transaction and the subscription receipt offering which closed in escrow on March 31, 2017, including, without limitation, obtaining all necessary consents and approvals, the completion of the debt financing, the Company's plan to prepare a new PEA for its Halfmile and Stratmat properties, the accuracy of estimated mineral resources, anticipated results of future exploration, and forecast future metal prices, expectations that environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-economic, political, marketing or other issues will not materially affect estimates of mineral resources. These statements reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies.

These statements reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the company, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements contained in this news release and the Company has made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Such factors include, without limitation: fluctuations in spot and forward markets for silver, zinc, base metals and certain other commodities (such as natural gas, fuel oil and electricity); fluctuations in currency markets (such as the Canadian dollar and Peruvian sol versus the U.S. dollar); risks related to the technological and operational nature of the Company's business; changes in national and local government, legislation, taxation, controls or regulations and political or economic developments in Canada, the United States, Peru or other countries where the Company may carry on business in the future; risks and hazards associated with the business of mineral exploration, development and mining (including environmental hazards, industrial accidents, unusual or unexpected geological or structural formations, pressures, cave-ins and flooding);

risks relating to the credit worthiness or financial condition of suppliers, refiners and other parties with whom the Company does business; inadequate insurance, or inability to obtain insurance, to cover these risks and hazards; employee relations; relationships with and claims by local communities and indigenous populations; availability and increasing costs associated with mining inputs and labour; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development, including the risks of obtaining necessary licenses and permits and the presence of laws and regulations that may impose restrictions on mining; diminishing quantities or grades of mineral resources as properties are mined; global financial conditions; business opportunities that may be presented to, or pursued by, the Company; the Company's ability to complete and successfully integrate acquisitions and to mitigate other business combination risks; challenges to, or difficulty in maintaining, the Company's title to properties and continued ownership thereof; the actual results of current exploration activities, conclusions of economic evaluations, and changes in project parameters to deal with unanticipated economic or other factors; increased competition in the mining industry for properties, equipment, qualified personnel, and their costs. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty or reliance on forward-looking statements. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated, described or intended. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements or information to reflect changes in assumptions or changes in circumstances or any other events affecting such statements or information, other than as required by applicable law.

Trevali's production plan at the Caribou Mine is based only on measured, indicated and inferred mineral resources, and not mineral reserves, and does not have demonstrated economic viability. Trevali's production plan at the Santander Mine is based on both proven and probable reserves and on measured, indicated and inferred mineral resources; mineral resources by definition do not have demonstrated economic viability. Inferred mineral resources are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves, and there is therefore no certainty that the conclusions of the production plans and Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) will be realized. Additionally, where Trevali discusses exploration/expansion potential, any potential quantity and grade is conceptual in nature and there has been insufficient exploration to define a mineral resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the target being delineated as a mineral resource.

We advise US investors that while the terms "measured resources", "indicated resources" and "inferred resources" are recognized and required by Canadian regulations, the US Securities and Exchange Commission does not recognize these terms. US investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of the material in these categories will ever be converted into reserves.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States. The securities described herein have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the securities laws of any state and may not be offered or sold within the United States, absent such registration or an applicable exemption from such registration requirements.

The TSX has not approved or disapproved of the contents of this news release.

Contacts:

Steve Stakiw

Vice President, Investor Relations and

Corporate Communications

(604) 488-1661 / Direct: (604) 638-5623

sstakiw@trevali.com




LAVAL, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 08/10/17 -- Savaria Corporation (TSX: SIS), one of North America's leaders in the accessibility industry, discloses its results for its second quarter ended June 30, 2017.

Highlights:

Second quarter 2017 results, including revenue, gross margin and adjusted EBITDA(1), reached unprecedented levels.

Quarter ended June 30, 2017

-- Record revenue of $39.1 million, up $9 million or 30.1%; -- Record gross margin of $13.1 million, up $3.3 million or 34%; -- Operating income of $4.5 million, up $616,000 or 16%; -- Record adjusted EBITDA of $6.5 million, up $1.5 million or 28.8%; -- Acquisition of Span-America Medical Systems, Inc. ("Span") on June 16, 2017.

Six months ended June 30, 2017

-- Record revenue of $70.3 million, up $14 million or 24.8%; -- Record gross margin of $24 million, up $5.7 million or 31.2%; -- Record operating income of $9.1 million, up $1.5 million or 20.2%; -- Record adjusted EBITDA of $11.6 million, up $2.7 million or 29.9%. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- (in thousands, except per-share amounts and percentages - Quarters Ended Unaudited) June 30, -------------------------------------------- 2017 2016 Change ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Revenue $ 39,134 $ 30,086 30.1 % ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gross margin $ 13,123 $ 9,795 34 % % of revenue 33.5% 32.6% n/a ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net income $ 2,764 $ 2,763 - % % of revenue 7.1% 9.2% n/a Earnings per share - diluted $ 0.07 $ 0.08 (12.5)% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Adjusted EBITDA $ 6,533 $ 5,074 28.8 % % of revenue 16.7% 16.9% n/a Adjusted EBITDA per share - diluted $ 0.16 $ 0.14 14.3 % ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- (in thousands, except per-share amounts and percentages - Six Months Ended Unaudited) June 30, ------------------------------------------- 2017 2016 Change --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Revenue $ 70,260 $ 56,302 24.8% --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gross margin $ 23,968 $ 18,262 31.2% % of revenue 34.1% 32.4% n/a --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net income $ 6,101 $ 5,146 18.6% % of revenue 8.7% 9.1% n/a Earnings per share - diluted $ 0.16 $ 0.15 6.7% --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Adjusted EBITDA $ 11,637 $ 8,958 29.9% % of revenue 16.6% 15.9% n/a Adjusted EBITDA per share - diluted $ 0.29 $ 0.26 11.5% --------------------------------------------------------------------------- (1) Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and business acquisition costs (see section Compliance with International Financial Reporting Standards)

A Word from the President

"Our second quarter marked key achievements for Savaria in its quest to be the North American leader in the mobility industry. Revenue reached $39 million, representing an increase of 30% over the second quarter of 2016. Adjusted EBITDA hit $6.5 million, an increase of 29% over the same quarter in 2016. The revenue increase was driven by a 18% increase in residential elevator sales and the sales of 37 inclined platform lifts for a Bus Rapid Transit in Wuhan, China, by our division in Huizhou. This contract was extended to include 10 more lifts that will be installed in July 2017. Excluding the sales coming from Span acquisition, the sales increase would have been 19 %", declared Marcel Bourassa, President and Chief Executive Officer of Savaria.

"A major milestone for Savaria was the successful acquisition of Span that closed on June 16, 2017. This initiative yields two key benefits for Savaria: firstly, it adds medical beds and therapeutic surfaces to the Savaria portfolio of products and secondly, it provides a strong distribution network in both the home care and long-term care markets for Savaria's new line of patient lift products.

"With a strong balance sheet and solid operating results, Savaria strives to continue its excellent organic growth while seeking out opportunities to grow through additional acquisitions," concluded Mr. Bourassa.

Outlook 2017

Factoring in the benefits of the acquisition of Premier Lifts that was completed in February 2017 and of Span in June 2017, the Corporation adjusts its forecast of revenue to approximately $187 million and adjusted EBITDA to a range of $29.5-$30.5 million for the twelve-month period ending December 31, 2017, excluding any new acquisitions.

Dividend

As per the Corporation's dividend policy, the Board of Directors has declared a dividend of 6.5 cents ($0.065) per common share for the second quarter of 2017. The dividend is payable on September 5, 2017, to shareholders of record of the Corporation at the close of business on August 21, 2017. This is an eligible dividend within the meaning of the Income Tax Act.

Savaria Corporation (savaria.com) is one of North America's leaders in the accessibility industry. It provides accessibility solutions for the physically challenged to increase their comfort, their mobility and their independence. Its product line is one of the most comprehensive on the market. Savaria designs, manufactures, distributes and installs accessibility equipment, such as stairlifts for straight and curved stairs, vertical and inclined wheelchair lifts, as well as elevators for home and commercial use. Following its recent acquisition, Savaria also manufactures and markets a comprehensive selection of pressure management products for the medical market, medical beds for the long-term care market, mattress overlays and foam pillows for the retail market and certain products for the industrial market, primarily foam products. In addition, Savaria converts and adapts vehicles to be wheelchair accessible. It also operates a network of franchisees and corporate stores through which new and recycled accessibility equipment is sold. Factoring in its most recent acquisition, Savaria will record around 70% of its revenue outside Canada, primarily in the United States. It operates a sales network of some 400 retailers in North America and employs some 800 people. Its principal plants are located in Laval and Magog (Quebec), Brampton and Beamsville (Ontario), Greenville (South Carolina) and Huizhou (China).

Compliance with International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS")

The information appearing in this press release has been prepared in accordance with IFRS. However, the Corporation uses EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA per share for analysis purposes to measure its financial performance. These measures have no standardized definitions in accordance with IFRS and are therefore regarded as non-IFRS measures. These measures may therefore not be comparable to similar measures reported by other companies. Reconciliation between net income for the period and EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA per share is provided in the Reconciliation of EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA per share with Net Income section below.

Cautionary Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain information in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements" regarding Savaria, including, without being limited thereto, understanding of the elements that might affect the Corporation's future, relating to its financial or operating performance, the costs and schedule of future acquisitions, supplementary capital expenditure requirements and legislative matters. Most frequently, but not invariably, forward-looking statements are identified by the use of such terms as "plan", "expect", "should", "could", "budget", "expected", "estimated" "forecast", "intend", "anticipate", "believe", variants thereof (including negative variants) or statements that certain events, results or shares "could", "should" or "will" occur or be achieved. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors liable to cause Savaria's actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those set forth in or underlying the forward-looking statements. Such factors notably include general, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties. Although Savaria has attempted to identify the key elements liable to cause actual measures, events or results to differ from those described in the forward-looking statements, other factors could have an impact on the reality and produce unexpected results. The forward-looking statements contained herein are valid at the date of this press release. As there can be no assurance that these forward-looking statements will prove accurate, actual future results and events could differ materially from those anticipated therein. Accordingly, readers are strongly advised not to unduly rely on these forward-looking statements.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/savariabettermobility

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Mobilityforlife

Reconciliation of EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA per share with net income is provided below. Complete financial statements and the management's report for quarter ended June 30, 2017 will be available shortly on Savaria's website and on SEDAR (www.sedar.com).

Reconciliation of EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA per share with Net Income

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- (in thousands of dollars Quarters Ended Six Months Ended - Unaudited) June 30, June 30, ---------------------------------------------------- 2017 2016 2017 2016 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net income $ 2,764 $ 2,763 $ 6,101 $ 5,146 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Plus: Interest expense 152 195 334 391 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Income tax expense 1,510 1,054 2,657 1,931 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Depreciation of fixed assets 444 295 812 620 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amortization of intangible assets 211 172 398 340 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Less: Interest income 146 61 263 126 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- EBITDA $ 4,935 $ 4,418 $ 10,039 $ 8,302 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Business acquisition costs, realized and unrealized 1,263 656 1,263 656 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Value adjustment on acquired inventories 335 - 335 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Adjusted EBITDA $ 6,533 $ 5,074 $ 11,637 $ 8,958 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Diluted weighted average number of commonshares outstanding 40,641 35,087 39,140 34,451 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Adjusted EBITDA per share - diluted $ 0.16 $ 0.14 $ 0.29 $ 0.26 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Contacts:

Helene Bernier, CPA, CA

Vice President, Finance

1-800-931-5655, ext. 248

helene.bernier@savaria.com



Marcel Bourassa

President and Chief Executive Officer

1-800-661-5112

marcel.bourassa@savaria.com

www.savaria.com




HONG KONG / ACCESSWIRE / August 10, 2017 / ZZLL Information Technology Inc. ("ZZLL" or the "Company,") (OTCQB: ZZLL), would like to provide the following update to its shareholders, with respect to a recent share price decline and trading activity.

It has come to the attention of ZZLL's management that a New Zealand financial service provider, Asia Finance Corporation Limited ("AFC" also known as London Capital NZ Ltd.) was placed into liquidation on May 23, 2017 by order of the High Court of New Zealand, Wellington Registry pursuant to Section 241(2)(c) of the Companies Act 1993. ZZLL recently received notification of this liquidation in a letter dated July 24, 2017.

Certain owners of ZZLL shares ("the Owners") previously deposited shares with AFC, who had opened trading accounts with a Canadian dealer in order to execute trades on behalf of AFC clients. These accounts were frozen by the British Columbia Securities Commission ("BCSC") due to AFC breaching Section 34(a) under the Securities Act, RSBC 1996, c.418 (persons who must be registered). AFC voluntarily filed to surrender its New Zealand registration in July 2015. A settlement was reached between the BCSC and AFC on July 17, 2016.

It was understood by ZZLL share Owners that their shares would be returned to them, and legal action was under taken to claim their shares. Indeed, in letters sent to the BCSC by AFC's counsel (Crengle Shreves & Ratner) on February 4, 2016 AFC clearly identified the Owners and supported their claims to the rightful return of their share holdings. The Owners counsel also sent letters to the BCSC on February 4, 2016 stating their claim and asking to have their securities transferred to them, and are now also stating their claim with the liquidators (Ecovis KGA Ltd). Nonetheless, it now appears the Owners share positions are being liquidated.

http://www.interest.co.nz/business/88955/after-leaving-trail-destruction-its-wake-nzs-asia-finance-corporation-being

Sean Webster, CEO of ZZLL, stated, 'We are very disappointed with this liquidation of our shareholders stock, due to the behavior of certain individuals at AFC. It appears they have devastated many investors and companies around the globe with their illegal activities.' He added, 'We will take all necessary actions to protect our shareholders and the Company, and look forward to updating the market with our Company's positive business activities in the near future.'

About ZZLL Information Technology Inc.:

ZZLL Information Technology Inc. (OTCQB: ZZLL) and its wholly owned subsidiary, Syndicore Asia Limited, will be a provider of syndicated media and E-Commerce platforms in the Asia Pacific region. Syndicore's Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprise, Hunan Syndicore Asia Limited, will endeavor to develop its E-Commerce, video content, and video streaming capabilities in China. In addition, Z-Line International E-Commerce Company Ltd. (a majority owned subsidiary of ZZLL) is a Hong Kong based E-Commerce company that will provide consumer-to-consumer, business-to-consumer and business-to-business-sales services via web portals.

Safe Harbor

All statements other than statements of historical fact that are included in this press release and that mention activities, events or developments that we believe may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. The use of words such as "anticipate," "continue," "estimate," "expect," "may," "project," "should," "believe," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this press release include those regarding whether the Owners share positions are being liquidated, and whether ZZLL's will update the market with the Company's positive business activities in the near future.

Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Risks that might cause actual results to differ from these projections include, but are not limited to, those discussed in ZZLL's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, 10-Q and other documents filed by the Company from time to time with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains statements that constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements appear in many places in this release and include all statements that are not statements of historical fact regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of ZZLL Information Technology, Inc. (the 'Company'), its directors or its officers with respect to, among other things: (I) financing plans; (ii) trends affecting its financial condition or results of operations; (iii) growth strategy and operating strategy. The words "may," "would," "will," "expect," "estimate," "can," "believe," "potential," and similar expressions and variations thereof are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's ability to control, and actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements since they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which are, in some cases, beyond the Company's control and which could, and likely will, materially affect actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. The Company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the company's expectations include, but are not limited to, those factors that are disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in documents filed by the company from time to time with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulatory authorities.

Contact:

Sean Webster

Email: info@zzlliti.com

Tel: 852-3705-1571

SOURCE: ZZLL Information Technology Inc.
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - August 10, 2017) - Ateba Resources Inc. (CSE: ATR) ("Ateba" or the "Company") announces the resignation of Ashley Makuch as sole director, President, Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary. The following individuals have been appointed to fill the vacancies created by these resignations:

Lisa McCormack, President, Chief Executive Officer, Corporate Secretary and Director: Ms. McCormack is currently Corporate Secretary of Barkerville Gold Mines Ltd. Prior thereto, Ms. McCormack served as Corporate Secretary of Kerr Mines Inc. from December 2013 to July 2016, Vice-President, Legal of Northern Gold Mining Inc. from October 2012 to June 2013, Corporate Secretary of Trelawney Mining and Exploration Inc. from January 2011 to June 2012 and Corporate Securities Law Clerk with Irwin Lowy LLP from August 2006 to December 2010 and from September 20, 2013 to present. Ms. McCormack has served as an officer and/or director of several private and public corporations.

Arvin Ramos, Chief Financial Officer and Director:Mr. Ramos holds a degree in commerce and is a member of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario. Mr. Ramos has over 15 years of business experience, having supported a broad range of industries, including mining, technology and banking. During the same period, he has served as Chief Financial Officer of several junior mining companies.

For more information, please contact:

Lisa McCormack

Chief Executive Officer

Tel: (416) 361-2515

The Canadian National Stock Exchange has not reviewed this press release and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

This news release may contain forward-looking statements including but not limited to comments regarding the timing and content of upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt of property titles, potential mineral recovery processes, etc. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore, involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements.
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 08/10/17 -- Trisura Group Ltd. ("Trisura" or "Trisura Group") (TSX: TSU) today announced financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2017 and new management appointments, including the appointment of Jimmy Doyle as Chief Financial Officer.

"Trisura had an excellent quarter. We began trading on the TSX, delivered solid results in our Canadian operations, and continued to develop our international operations. Our new US entity, Trisura Specialty Insurance Company, received its license to operate as a non-admitted surplus line insurer in all states in the US. We are now focused on gaining a rating for Trisura Specialty Insurance Company to enhance our ability to source business." said Greg Morrison, CEO of Trisura.

Second Quarter 2017 Financial Results

Q2 2017 Highlights

-- Strong growth in Q2 across both gross and net premiums written, increasing 25% and 8% respectively compared to the same period in 2016 driven by increased activity in our Risk Solutions group at Trisura Guarantee Insurance Company ("Trisura Guarantee"). -- Consistent underwriting results with net underwriting income of $3.3 million compared to $2.8 million in Q2 2016, driven by strong underwriting performance at Trisura Guarantee. -- Combined ratio of 84% and ROE of 13.8% at Trisura Guarantee. -- Net income of $1.8 million compared to $2.4 million in Q2 2016 with the reduction due to corporate expenses related to the spinoff of Trisura (the "spinoff") and the launch of our US platform. -- Continued development of our US platform, with the receipt of our US license to operate as a non-admitted surplus line insurer subsequent to quarter-end. -- Strong capital position with increase in shareholders' equity of $34.8 million since December 31, 2016 principally as a result of the cash injection made by Brookfield Asset Management Inc. ("Brookfield"), prior to the spinoff. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- $ 000 Q2 2017 Q2 2016 $ Variance Gross premiums written 43,336 34,548 8,788 Net premiums written 26,968 24,973 1,995 Net underwriting income - P&C Business 3,266 2,658 608 Combined Ratio - P&C Business 84.2% 85.8% (1.6%) ROE on P&C Business over past 12 months 13.8% 17.3% (3.5%) Net underwriting income (loss) 1,428 1,497 (69) Net investment income 1,593 1,818 (225) Net income (loss) 1,760 2,443 (683) Comprehensive (loss) income (1,676) 4,732 (6,408) Shareholders' Equity (Q2 as at Dec 31, 2016) 105,703 70,888 34,815 Earnings per common share, basic and diluted, $ 0.30(i) n/a Book value per share $ 18.18 n/a

(i) $0.30275 EPS for the quarter ended June 30, 2017 attributable to Brookfield Asset Management Inc. prior to spinoff on June 22, 2017 and to Trisura shareholders post-spinoff.

Note: P&C Business reflects Trisura Guarantee operations only. ROE is calculated on comprehensive income of Trisura Guarantee. See M&DA for further details.

Capital

-- The minimum capital test ("MCT") ratio of Trisura Guarantee was 266% as at June 30, 2017 (272% as at December 31, 2016), which comfortably exceeds regulatory requirements of 150%. -- Trisura International Insurance Company ("Trisura International")'s capital of $25.7 million as at June 30, 2017 was well in excess of its regulatory capital requirement of $0.3 million. -- Trisura Group had a debt-to-capital ratio of 22.3% as at June 30, 2017 compared to 32.5% as at December 31, 2016 with the reduction reflecting the continuing repayment of Trisura's bank loan and the capital contribution at spinoff.

Investments

-- Trisura's investment income in Q2 2017 was $1.6 million, compared to $1.8 million in Q2 2016.

Management Appointments

Trisura Group continued to develop its management team and group infrastructure in anticipation of future growth. Jimmy Doyle, currently the Chief Risk Officer of Trisura and the head of Trisura International, has been appointed Chief Financial Officer of Trisura to succeed Allen Taylor. Mr. Doyle's Chief Risk Officer role at Trisura will be incorporated into his mandate as CFO. David Scotland, currently Vice President, Finance & Controller at Trisura Guarantee, will be taking on the additional role of Vice President, Finance at Trisura, assisting Mr. Doyle as CFO.

"Allen Taylor was instrumental in our spinoff, and oversaw our initial quarterly results as a standalone public company; we appreciate the valuable work he has done for Trisura." said Greg Morrison. "Jimmy Doyle and David Scotland have been very involved within Trisura's businesses for many years. We look forward to Jimmy and David playing a strong leadership role in the financial management of Trisura, as we continue to execute our growth strategy."

These management appointments will take effect on August 15, 2017 and the services agreement between Brookfield and Trisura under which Brookfield provided CFO services to Trisura will be terminated at that time.

Investment Committee and Management Services Agreement

The Board of Directors of Trisura has formed an Investment Committee (the "IC") comprised of independent directors Paul Gallagher, Bart Hedges, and David Nowak to oversee the investments of Trisura Group. The IC has approved a management services agreement with Trisura's largest shareholder, Partners Value Investments LP ("PVI"). Pursuant to this agreement, PVI will provide David Clare to act as Chief Investment Officer of Trisura Group. The management services agreement will be reviewed annually and is cancellable on 30 days' notice.

About Trisura Group

Trisura Group Ltd. is a leading international specialty insurance provider operating in the surety, risk solutions, corporate insurance and reinsurance segments of the market. Trisura has three principal regulated subsidiaries: Trisura Guarantee Insurance Company, Trisura International Insurance and Trisura Specialty Insurance Company. Trisura Group is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "TSU".

Further information is available at http://www.trisura.com/group. Important information may be disseminated exclusively via the website; investors should consult the site to access this information. Details regarding the operations of Trisura Group are also set forth in regulatory filings. A copy of the filings may be obtained on Trisura Group's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements and Information

Note: This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian provincial securities laws and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities regulations. Forward-looking statements include statements that are predictive in nature, depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, include statements regarding the operations, business, financial condition, expected financial results, performance, prospects, opportunities, priorities, targets, goals, ongoing objectives, strategies and outlook of Trisura Group, as well as the outlook for North American and international economies for the current fiscal year and subsequent periods, and include words such as "expects," "anticipates," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "seeks," "intends," "targets," "projects," "forecasts" or negative versions thereof and other similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as "may," "will," "should," "would" and "could."

Although we believe that our anticipated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements and information are based upon reasonable assumptions and expectations, the reader should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and information because they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond our control, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Trisura Group to differ materially from anticipated future results, performance or achievement expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and information.

Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated or implied by forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: the impact or unanticipated impact of general economic, political and market factors in the countries in which we do business; the behavior of financial markets, including fluctuations in interest and foreign exchange rates; global equity and capital markets and the availability of equity and debt financing and refinancing within these markets; strategic actions including dispositions; the ability to complete and effectively integrate acquisitions into existing operations and the ability to attain expected benefits; changes in accounting policies and methods used to report financial condition (including uncertainties associated with critical accounting assumptions and estimates); the ability to appropriately manage human capital; the effect of applying future accounting changes; business competition; operational and reputational risks; technological change; changes in government regulation and legislation within the countries in which we operate; governmental investigations; litigation; changes in tax laws; ability to collect amounts owed; catastrophic events, such as earthquakes and hurricanes; the possible impact of international conflicts and other developments including terrorist acts and cyber terrorism; and other risks and factors detailed from time to time in our documents filed with the securities regulators in Canada.

We caution that the foregoing list of important factors that may affect future results is not exhaustive. When relying on our forward-looking statements, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. Except as required by law, Trisura Group undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether written or oral, that may be as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Trisura Group Ltd. Consolidated Statements of Financial Position Unaudited, C$ thousands As at June 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- $ 000 2017 Q2 2016 Q4 Cash and cash equivalents 160,344 122,096 Investments 190,151 194,393 Premiums and accounts receivable and other 24,388 22,069 Deferred acquisition costs 35,306 30,985 Recoverable from reinsurers 57,317 47,120 Fixed and intangible assets 1,964 2,116 Deferred tax assets 647 622 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total assets 470,117 419,401 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Accounts payable, accrued and other liabilities 18,483 25,434 Reinsurance premiums payable 13,448 13,461 Unearned premiums 107,119 90,612 Unearned reinsurance commissions 7,094 4,928 Unpaid claims and loss adjustment expenses 166,670 163,970 Loan payable 30,400 34,100 Minority interests 21,200 16,008 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total liabilities 364,414 348,513 Shareholders' equity 105,703 70,888 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total liabilities and shareholders' equity 470,117 419,401 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trisura Group Ltd. Consolidated Statements of Operating Results Unaudited, C$ thousands For the three-month and six-month periods ended June 30 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- $ 000 Q2 2017 Q2 2016 Q2 2017 YTD Q2 2016 YTD Gross premiums written 43,336 34,548 71,951 59,928 Net premiums written 26,968 24,973 46,434 42,263 Net premiums earned 19,948 17,818 37,577 33,478 Fee income 128 95 3,057 3,046 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total underwriting revenue 20,076 17,913 40,634 36,524 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net claims 3,072 5,839 7,337 14,260 Net commissions 6,256 5,775 12,888 11,715 Premium taxes 1,093 860 1,990 1,596 Operating expenses 8,227 3,942 15,562 10,472 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net claims and expenses 18,648 16,416 37,777 38,043 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net underwriting income (loss) 1,428 1,497 2,857 (1,519) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net investment income 1,593 1,818 2,337 8,031 Foreign exchange gains (losses) 130 (26) 115 (178) Interest expense (263) - (539) - Change in minority interests - - (5,158) (160) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Income (loss) before income taxes 2,888 3,289 (388) 6,174 Income tax expense (1,128) (846) (1,887) (1,760) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net income (loss) 1,760 2,443 (2,275) 4,414 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other comprehensive (loss) income (3,436) 2,289 (2,671) (4,468) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Comprehensive (loss) income (1,676) 4,732 (4,946) (54) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trisura Group Ltd. Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows Unaudited, C$ thousands For the three-month and six-month periods ended June 30 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- $ 000 Q2 2017 Q2 2016 Q2 2017 YTD Q2 2016 YTD Net income (loss) from operating activities 1,760 2,442 (2,275) 4,414 Non-cash items to be deducted: Depreciation and amortization 175 143 290 271 Unrealized (losses) gains (77) (363) 46 (493) Change in minority interests - - 5,158 160 Change in working capital operating items 14,702 (2,385) 8,652 (1,104) Realized (losses) on AFS assets (336) (957) (364) (1,040) Income taxes paid (967) (1,775) (5,155) (1,797) Interest paid (256) - (524) (4) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net cash from (used in) operating activities 15,001 (2,895) 5,828 407 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Proceeds on disposal of investments 15,420 31,208 19,832 31,503 Purchases of investments (115,618) (16,938) (119,662) (18,890) Sales (purchases) of capital assets (66) (706) (107) (799) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net cash (used in) from investing activities (100,264) 13,564 (99,937) 11,814 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends paid - (1,643) - (1,643) Shares issued 140,270 - 140,270 - Shares redeemed - (2,000) - (2,000) Repayment of notes payable (36) (34) (355) (274) Repayment of loans payable (1,000) 212 (3,700) (6,641) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net cash from (used in) financing activities 139,234 (3,465) 136,215 (10,558) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net increase (decrease) in cash 53,971 7,204 42,106 1,663 Cash at beginning of the period 109,344 91,237 122,096 101,388 Currency translation (2,971) (933) (3,858) (5,543) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cash at the end of the period 160,344 97,508 160,344 97,508 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Contacts:

David Clare

Tel: 647-503-6516

Email: dclare@pvii.ca




CALGARY, ALBERTA -- (Marketwired) -- 08/10/17 -- Canacol Energy Ltd. ("Canacol" or the "Corporation") (TSX: CNE)(OTCQX: CNNEF)(BVC: CNEC) is pleased to report its financial and operating results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2017. Dollar amounts are expressed in United States dollars, except as otherwise noted.

Charle Gamba, President and CEO of the Corporation, commented: "During the second quarter of 2017, we made solid progress on all aspects related to our gas business in Colombia. This included 1) making two new gas discoveries at Canahuate-1 and Toronja-1 which tested 28 MMscfpd and 46 MMscfpd of gas respectively, 2) having our auditors Gaffney, Cline & Associates prepare an independent prospective resource audit for 47 individual prospects and leads which aggregates to an unrisked mean of 2 trillion standard cubic feet or a risked mean of 482 billion standard cubic feet of conventional natural gas prospective resource on our gas exploration blocks, and 3) continued to consolidate our exploration position with the acquisition of a 50% operated working interest in the SSJN 7 E&P contract, all in the Lower Magdalena Valley Basin. The management team is particularly excited about the implications of the Toronja-1 gas discovery, which open up an entirely new prospective gas exploration fairway across our 1.1 million net acres on our five gas blocks in the Lower Magdalena Valley Basin. As we announced on Wednesday August 9, 2017, we also confirmed the financing of the Sabanas gas flowline project which will add 40 MMscfpd of new production capacity in December 2017. We are also pleased to report a net income of $11.8 million for the three months ended June 30, 2017, a 5% increase from $11.2 million in 2016, which contributed to a strong adjusted funds from operations of $45.2 million for the six months ended June 30, 2017, a 12% increase compared to the same period in 2016.

For the remainder of 2017, the management team is focused on 1) completing the Sabanas gas flowline project on time to lift gas production to 130 MMscfpd in December of 2017, and 2) adding more gas reserves via our exploration drilling program which will include the Pandereta-1 and Gaitero-1 exploration wells, thus allowing the Corporation to move closer to its target of lifting gas production to 230 MMscfpd in December 2018. Canacol also reiterates production guidance of 18,000 to 19,000 boepd for 2017."

Highlights for the three and six months ended June 30, 2017

(Production is stated as working-interest before royalties)

Financial and operational highlights of the Corporation include:

-- Realized contractual sales volumes increased 1% and 25% to 17,195 boepd and 17,616 boepd for the three and six months ended June 30, 2017, respectively, compared to 17,017 boepd and 14,120 boepd for the same periods in 2016, respectively. The increase for the six month ended June 30, 2017 is primarily due to increase in gas production in Esperanza and VIM-5 as a result of the additional sales related to the Promigas pipeline expansion. -- Average production volumes increased 4% and 25% to 17,162 boepd and 17,077 boepd for the three and six months ended June 30, 2017, respectively, compared to 16,423 boepd and 13,680 boepd for the same periods in 2016, respectively. The increase for the six month ended June 30, 2017 is primarily due to increase in gas production in Esperanza and VIM-5 as a result of the additional sales related to the Promigas pipeline expansion. -- Adjusted funds from operations for the six months ended June 30, 2017 increased 12% to $45.2 million compared to $40.3 million for the same period in 2016. Adjusted funds from operations for the three months ended June 30, 2017 decreased 10% to $24.2 million compared to $26.9 million for the same period in 2016. Adjusted funds from operations are inclusive of results from the Ecuador Incremental Production Contract (the "Ecuador IPC") (see full discussion in MD&A). -- Total petroleum and natural gas revenues for the six months ended June 30, 2017 increased 28% to $78.9 million compared to $61.6 million for same period in 2016. Total petroleum and natural gas revenues for the three months ended June 30, 2017 decreased 4% to $37.3 million compared to $38.9 million for same period in 2016. Adjusted petroleum and natural gas revenues, inclusive of revenues related to the Ecuador IPC, for the six months ended June 30, 2017 increased 21% to $90 million compared to $74.4 million for the same period in 2016. Adjusted petroleum and natural gas revenues for the three months ended June 30, 2017 decreased 5% to $43 million compared to $45.4 million for the same period in 2016. -- Net income increased 5% to $11.8 million for the three months ended June 30, 2017 compared to $11.2 million for the same period in 2016. Net income decreased 67% to $3.8 million for the six months ended June 30, 2017 compared to $11.7 million for the same period in 2016. -- On March 24, 2017, the Canahuate-1 exploration well was spud. The Canahuate-1 well is located three kilometers ("kms") north of the Corporation's Jobo gas processing facility and is targeting gas-bearing sandstones within the Cienaga de Oro reservoir ("CDO"). The well encountered 124 ft. md (86 feet true vertical depth) of net gas pay with average porosity of 18% within the primary CDO reservoir target. Two different zones were completed and flow tested at a combined rate of 28 MMscfpd of dry gas. Work is underway to tie the Canahuate-1 well into the Corporation's gas processing facility at Jobo. -- During the three months ended June 30, 2017, the Toronja-1 exploration well was spud at the Corporation's VIM-21 block. The well reached a total depth of 7,200 feet measured depth ("ft. md.") in six days. The well encountered gas between 4,875 to 6,256 ft. md. with average porosity of 20% within the primary Porquero sandstone resevoir target. Two different zones were completed and flow tested within the Porquero resevoir. The first zone test was perforated between 4,865 to 4,884 ft. md. and flowed at a stabilized rate of 24.4 MMscfpd of dry gas. The second zone tested was perforated between 6,249 to 6,257 ft. md. and flowed at a final stabilized rate of 21.9 MMscfpd of dry gas. Work is currently underway to tie the Toronja-1 exploration well into the Corporation's gas processing facility at Jobo. -- Net capital expenditures including acquisitions for the three and six months ended June 30, 2017 was $30.6 million and $54.6 million, respectively, while adjusted capital expenditures including acquisitions, inclusive of amounts related to the Ecuador IPC, was $30.6 million and $55.5 million, respectively. -- At June 30, 2017, the Corporation had $25.6 million in cash and $62.9 million in restricted cash and continues to be well within all of its banking covenants.

Outlook

For the remainder of 2017, the Corporation will focus on: 1) the drilling of the Pandereta and Gaitero gas exploration wells on its VIM-5 E&P contract located in the Lower Magdalena Basin, and 2) the construction of the gas flowline connecting the Corporation's gas processing facility at Jobo to the Promigas connection point at Bremen, which will add 40 MMscfpd of additional transportation capacity and lift Corporation gas production to 130 MMscfpd on December 1, 2017.

The Corporation plans to spud the Pandereta-1 exploration well during the first week of October 2017. The well is targeting prospective gas resources within the proven CDO sandstone reservoir, and is anticipated to take five weeks to drill and test. Upon completion of the Pandereta-1 well, the rig will be mobilized to drill the Gaitero-1 exploration well, location approximately three kms to the north. The well is targeting prospective gas resources within the CDO sandstone reservoir and is anticipated to take approximately five weeks to drill and test.

On August 9, 2017, the Corporation signed an agreement for the construction, operation and ownership of the 82 kms long Sabanas gas flowline from its Jobo gas plant to the connection point with the Promigas S.A. gas pipeline at Bremen. Pursuant to the agreement, the $41 million Sabanas gas flowline project will be financed through a $30.5 million investment by a group of private investors and a $10.5 million contribution from Canacol (the investors and Canacol, collectively the "Owners"), with each holding its interest in the Sabanas gas flowline in separate companies. Canacol's financial contribution to the project will be almost entirely satisfied by costs incurred to date, and as such will not involve the issuance of new equity or affect its current cash position. The tariff for the Sabanas gas flowline is similar to other regulated tariffs in the region and, as customary, the tariff will be borne by the offtakers of the gas. Under the terms of the agreement, Canacol is not required to either sign a ship or pay commitment to the benefit of the Owners, or place a corporate guarantee in favour of the Owners. The Owners engaged Horizon Capital Management Inc. ("Horizon") as advisor for this transaction, and will pay a fee of 3.5% on the $30.5 million of private funds raised. Two members of Canacol's board of directors have participated in the private investor financing for an aggregate amount of $10.5 million. Under the terms of the agreement with Horizon, Canacol has the option, valid until the commissioning of the pipeline, to divest up to an additional $3 million of its share of the project, thus lowering its investment to approximately $7.5 million plus the leasing of the compression as previously announced.

Construction of the Sabanas gas flowline connecting Jobo to the Promigas connection point at Bremen is proceeding on schedule, with first gas transportation anticipated on December 1, 2017. Approximately 55% of the tubulars have arrived on location, with the remainder expected on location in September. The compression stations are anticipated to arrive in the third week of August from the Port of Houston. All forestry, archeological, and environmental permits have been obtained and 100% of the right of way has been negotiated and purchased. Civil works at the two compression station locations commenced the first week of August 2017, and digging and laying of the tubulars is anticipated to commence the last week of August 2017. Flowline laying will occur simultaneously at both Jobo and Bremen at either end of the 82 kms route, with flowline laying anticipated to be completed the first week of November 2017. Commissioning of the compression stations and pressure testing of the flowline is anticipated to be completed by the third week of November 2017.

The productive capacity of the Corporation's current gas wells is approximately 195 MMscfpd, and that of the Corporation's gas processing facilities located at Jobo approximately 200 MMscfpd, more than adequate to lift production to 130 MMscfpd in December 2017 when construction of the Sabanas gas flowline is complete. As previously announced, Canacol executed a ten year take-or-pay contract for 40 MMscfpd of gas at contractual terms comparable to the Corporation's current US dollar denominated gas sale contracts, which is expected to be transported by the Sabanas gas flowline commencing in December 2017.

Three months ended June Six months ended June Financial 30, 30, 2017 2016 Change 2017 2016 Change ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total petroleum and natural gas revenues, net of royalties 37,283 38,926 (4%) 78,866 61,626 28% Adjusted petroleum and natural gas revenues, net of 43,007 45,390 (5%) 89,982 74,390 21% royalties(2) Cash flow provided by operating activities 11,130 13,764 (19%) 28,669 21,013 36% Per share - basic ($) 0.06 0.09 (33%) 0.16 0.13 23% Per share - diluted ($) 0.06 0.08 (25%) 0.16 0.13 23% Adjusted funds from operations (1) (2) 24,236 26,870 (10%) 45,183 40,321 12% Per share - basic ($) 0.14 0.17 (18%) 0.26 0.25 4% Per share -diluted ($) 0.14 0.16 (13%) 0.26 0.25 4% Net income and comprehensive income 11,770 11,245 5% 3,828 11,706 (67%) Per share - basic ($) 0.07 0.07 - 0.02 0.07 (71%) Per share - diluted ($) 0.07 0.07 - 0.02 0.07 (71%) Capital expenditures, net, including acquisitions 30,572 5,046 506% 54,572 20,594 165% Adjusted capital expenditures, net, including 30,648 5,376 470% 55,466 21,325 160% acquisitions (1)(2) Jun 30, Dec 31, 2017 2016 Change ------------------------- Cash 25,582 66,283 (61%) Restricted cash 62,891 62,073 1% Working capital surplus (1) 54,719 64,899 (16%) Bank debt 273,940 250,638 9% Total assets 795,067 787,508 1% Common shares, end of period (000's) 174,932 174,359 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Three months ended June Six months ended June Operating 30, 30, 2017 2016 Change 2017 2016 Change ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Petroleum and natural gas production, before royalties (boepd) Petroleum (3) 3,487 4,018 (13%) 3,496 4,273 (18%) Natural gas 13,675 12,405 10% 13,581 9,407 44% Total (2) 17,162 16,423 4% 17,077 13,680 25% Petroleum and natural gas sales, before royalties (boepd) Petroleum (3) 3,500 4,045 (13%) 3,508 4,312 (19%) Natural gas 13,563 12,331 10% 13,487 9,331 45% Total (2) 17,063 16,376 4% 16,995 13,643 25% Realized contractual sales, before royalties (boepd) Natural gas 13,695 12,972 6% 14,108 9,808 44% Colombia oil 1,933 2,294 (16%) 1,973 2,575 (23%) Ecuador tariff oil (2) 1,567 1,751 (11%) 1,535 1,737 (12%) Total (2) 17,195 17,017 1% 17,616 14,120 25% Operating netbacks ($/boe) (1) Esperanza (natural gas) 24.35 27.24 (11%) 25.06 27.37 (8%) VIM-5 (natural gas) 19.24 24.57 (22%) 19.44 24.35 (20%) LLA-23 (oil) 19.31 12.45 55% 20.32 10.39 96% Ecuador (tariff oil) (2) 38.54 38.54 - 38.54 38.54 - Total (2) 23.25 25.58 (9%) 23.91 24.90 (4%) (1) Non-IFRS measure - see "Non-IFRS Measures" section within MD&A. (2) Inclusive of amounts related to the Ecuador IPC - see "Non-IFRS Measures" section within MD&A. (3) Includes tariff oil production and sales related to the Ecuador IPC.

This press release should be read in conjunction with the Corporation's unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements and related Management's Discussion and Analysis. The Corporation's has filed its unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements and related Management's Discussion and Analysis as of and for the three and six months ended June 30, 2017 with Canadian securities regulatory authorities. These filings are available for review on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Canacol is an exploration and production company with operations focused in Colombia and Ecuador. The Corporation's shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol CNE, the OTCQX in the United States of America under the symbol CNNEF, the Bolsa de Valores de Colombia under the symbol CNEC and the Bolsa Mexicana de Valores under the symbol CNEN.

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "target", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur, including without limitation statements relating to estimated production rates from the Corporation's properties and intended work programs and associated timelines. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. The Corporation cannot assure that actual results will be consistent with these forward looking statements. They are made as of the date hereof and are subject to change and the Corporation assumes no obligation to revise or update them to reflect new circumstances, except as required by law. Information and guidance provided herein supersedes and replaces any forward looking information provided in prior disclosures. Prospective investors should not place undue reliance on forward looking statements. These factors include the inherent risks involved in the exploration for and development of crude oil and natural gas properties, the uncertainties involved in interpreting drilling results and other geological and geophysical data, fluctuating energy prices, the possibility of cost overruns or unanticipated costs or delays and other uncertainties associated with the oil and gas industry. Other risk factors could include risks associated with negotiating with foreign governments as well as country risk associated with conducting international activities, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Corporation. Other risks are more fully described in the Corporation's most recent Management Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A") and Annual Information Form, which are incorporated herein by reference and are filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Average production figures for a given period are derived using arithmetic averaging of fluctuating historical production data for the entire period indicated and, accordingly, do not represent a constant rate of production for such period and are not an indicator of future production performance. Detailed information in respect of monthly production in the fields operated by the Corporation in Colombia is provided by the Corporation to the Ministry of Mines and Energy of Colombia and is published by the Ministry on its website; a direct link to this information is provided on the Corporation's website. References to "net" production refer to the Corporation's working- interest production before royalties.

Use of Non-IFRS Financial Measures - Due to the nature of the equity method of accounting the Corporation applies under IFRS 11 to its interest in the Ecuador IPC, the Corporation does not record its proportionate share of revenues and expenditures as would be typical in oil and gas joint interest arrangements. Management has provided supplemental measures of adjusted revenues and expenditures, which are inclusive of the Ecuador IPC, to supplement the IFRS disclosures of the Corporation's operations in this press release. Such supplemental measures should not be considered as an alternative to, or more meaningful than, the measures as determined in accordance with IFRS as an indicator of the Corporation's performance, and such measures may not be comparable to that reported by other companies. This press release also provides information on adjusted funds from operations. Adjusted funds from operations is a measure not defined in IFRS. It represents cash provided by operating activities before changes in non-cash working capital and decommissioning obligation expenditures, and includes the Corporation's proportionate interest of those items that would otherwise have contributed to funds from operations from the Ecuador IPC had it been accounted for under the proportionate consolidation method of accounting. The Corporation considers adjusted funds from operations a key measure as it demonstrates the ability of the business to generate the cash flow necessary to fund future growth through capital investment and to repay debt. Adjusted funds from operations should not be considered as an alternative to, or more meaningful than, cash provided by operating activities as determined in accordance with IFRS as an indicator of the Corporation's performance. The Corporation's determination of adjusted funds from operations may not be comparable to that reported by other companies. For more details on how the Corporation reconciles its cash provided by operating activities to adjusted funds from operations, please refer to the "Non-IFRS Measures" section of the Corporation's MD&A. Additionally, this press release references working capital, EBITDAX and operating netback measures. Working capital is calculated as current assets less current liabilities, excluding non-cash items, and is used to evaluate the Corporation's financial leverage. EBITDAX is defined as consolidated net income adjusted for interest, income taxes, depreciation, depletion, amortization, exploration expenses, share of joint venture profit/loss and other similar non-recurring or non-cash charges.

Consolidated EBITDAX is further adjusted for the contribution to adjusted funds from operations, before taxes, of the results of the Ecuador IPC. Operating netback is a benchmark common in the oil and gas industry and is calculated as total petroleum and natural gas sales, less royalties, less production and transportation expenses, calculated on a per barrel of oil equivalent basis of sales volumes using a conversion. Operating netback is an important measure in evaluating operational performance as it demonstrates field level profitability relative to current commodity prices. Working capital, EBITDAX and operating netback as presented do not have any standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and therefore may not be comparable with the calculation of similar measures for other entities.

Operating netback is defined as revenues less royalties and production and transportation expenses.

Realized contractual gas sales is defined as gas produced and sold plus gas revenues received from nominated take or pay contracts.

Boe Conversion - The term "boe" is used in this news release. Boe may be misleading, particularly if used in isolation. A boe conversion ratio of cubic feet of natural gas to barrels oil equivalent is based on an energy equivalency conversion method primarily applicable at the burner tip and does not represent a value equivalency at the wellhead. In this news release, we have expressed boe using the Colombian conversion standard of 5.7 Mcf: 1 bbl required by the Ministry of Mines and Energy of Colombia. As the value ratio between natural gas and crude oil based on the current prices of natural gas and crude oil is significantly different from the energy equivalency of 5.7:1, utilizing a conversion on a 5.7:1 basis may be misleading as an indication of value.

Contacts:

Canacol Energy Ltd.

Investor Relations

+1 (214) 235-4798

IR@canacolenergy.com

www.canacolenergy.com




CALGARY, Alberta, 2017-08-11 00:10 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Serinus Energy Inc. (TSX:SEN) (WARSAW:SEN) ("Serinus", "SEN" or the "Company"), is pleased to report its financial and operating results for the three months ended June 30, 2017.



Q2 2017 Highlights



-- During Q2 2017, production from Tunisia averaged 329 boe/d, a decrease from 1,206 boe/d in Q2 2016. Lower production during 2017 was due to the shut-in of fields in Tunisia. Chouech Es Saida field has been shut-in since February 28, 2017, due to labour issues. In addition, from May 22, 2017 the Sabria field was also shut-in due to continued social unrest in the southern part of the country. Both fields currently remain shut-in. -- The netback for Tunisia in Q2 2017 was $2.00 per boe, compared to $11.71 per boe in 2016. The lower netback was driven by lower production driving up costs on a boe basis. -- Funds from operations was an outflow of $1.5 million for Q2 2017 (2016: $0.7 million) comprised of a loss from operations in Tunisia of $1.0 million and a corporate loss from operations of $0.6 million, partially offset by funds from operations in Romania of $0.1 million, resulting in total negative funds from operations for the quarter. On a year to date basis, funds from operations was an outflow of $1.3 million, as compared to an inflow of $2.0 million in the comparative period of 2016. Funds from operations from Tunisia was $0.0 million and Romania $0.1 million, which when offset by the corporate loss of $1.4 million, resulted in negative funds from operations year to date. The sale of Ukraine in 2016 and lower production in Tunisia in 2017 contributed to the decrease in funds from operations. -- The net loss for the six month period ended June 30, 2017 was $2.1 million, compared to a net loss from continuing operations of $8.1 million in Q2 2016. -- On May 9, 2017, the Company signed an Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Commissioning Contract ("EPCC") with Confind S.R.L., a Romanian company, for the construction of a gas facility and associated flowlines and pipelines for Moftinu development in Romania. Construction commenced in Q2 2017 with anticipated first gas in Q1 2018. -- At June 30, 2017, the Company was not in compliance with the consolidated financial debt to EBITDA ratio, the consolidated debt service coverage ratio and the Tunisian debt service coverage ratio on its debt held with EBRD. Subsequent to June 30, 2017, EBRD formally waived compliance with these ratios for the period ended June 30, 2017. The implication of this waiver is that the debt repayments will follow their original scheduled repayment terms and the bank will not be acting on its security as a result of the breach.



Summary Financial Results (US$ 000's unless otherwise noted)



Three Months Ended June 30 2017 2016 Change Oil and Gas Revenue 1,342 4,080 (67 %) Net Income from Continuing 31 (3,994 ) 101 % Operations per share, basic and diluted 0.00 (0.05 ) Funds from Continuing Operations (1,463 ) (714 ) 105 % per share, basic and diluted (0.01 ) (0.01 ) 7 % Capital Expenditures 1,453 611 138 % Average Production (net to Serinus from continuing operations) Oil (Bbl/d) 244 882 (72 %) Gas (Mcf/d) 509 1,942 (74 %) BOE (boe/d) 329 1,206 (73 %) Average Sales Price (from continuing operations) Oil ($/Bbl) $ 47.25 $ 41.25 15 % Gas ($Mcf) $ 6.32 $ 4.35 45 % BOE ($/boe) $ 44.85 $ 37.18 21 % June 30 December 31 2017 2016 Cash & Cash Equivalents 16,019 4,297 Working Capital (deficit) (23,319 ) (38,475 ) Long Term Debt - - Shares Outstanding 150,652,138 78,629,941 Average for Period 150,650,674 78,629,941



General & Financial Highlights



-- Revenue, net of royalties, from Tunisia for the three and six months ended June 30, 2017 decreased to $1.2 million and $3.6 million, compared to $3.8 million and $7.0 million in the comparative periods of 2016. The decrease in 2017 was attributable to lower production, partially offset by higher commodity prices and lower royalty rates. -- Total royalties paid decreased from $0.5 million in Q2 2016 to $0.1 million in Q2 2017. Much of this decrease was due to lower production offset by higher average commodity prices. -- Serinus made capital expenditures of $1.5 million in Q2 2017, of which $1.4 million was expended in Romania and $0.1 million was expended in Tunisia. -- At June 30, 2017, the Company was not in compliance with the consolidated financial debt to EBITDA ratio, the consolidated debt service coverage ratio and the Tunisian debt service coverage ratio on its debt held with EBRD. Subsequent to June 30, 2017, EBRD formally waived compliance with these ratios for the period ended June 30, 2017. The implication of this waiver is that the debt repayments will follow their original scheduled repayment terms and the bank will not be acting on its security as a result of the breach. However, given the covenant was breached as at June 30, 2017, Serinus has reclassified its long-term debt to current in the financial statements, as required under accounting standards. There is a risk that the Company will continue to violate certain financial covenants relating to its debt held with EBRD, particularly given the current commodity prices and the shut-in of production in Tunisia. Although the EBRD has previously provided waivers for covenant breaches there is no certainty this will occur in the future. If these covenants are not met, the debt may therefore become payable on demand. -- In June 2017, the Company closed the sale of its indirect wholly owned subsidiary that held an interest in Syria Block 9, for which Force Majeure had been declared on July 16, 2012 due to conditions arising from the instability in the country. The impact of this sale was that payables in the amount of $2.2 million relating to this asset have been reversed through the income statement and presented as a gain on sale. This represents management's ongoing initiative to strengthen the Company's balance sheet through the divesture of non-core assets.



Operational Highlights



-- During Q2 2017, production from Tunisia averaged 329 boe/d, a decrease from 1,206 boe/d in Q2 2016. Lower production during 2017 was due to the shut-in of fields in Tunisia. Chouech Es Saida field has been shut-in in since February 28, 2017, due to labour issues. In addition, from May 22, 2017 the Sabria field was also shut-in due to continued social unrest in the southern part of the country. Both fields currently remain shut-in. -- In Tunisia, the Company incurred $0.1 million of capital expenditures for the three month period ended June 30, 2017. In Romania, the Company incurred $1.4 million of capital expenditures for the three month period ended June 30, 2017. In Q2 2017 construction commenced on the Moftinu gas plant. Incurred costs included permitting and licencing, land rentals and ongoing engineering study costs as well as costs associated with the Bucharest office.



Outlook



The Company is focusing on Romania as the impetus for growth over the next several years. The Moftinu gas development project is a near-term project that is expected to begin producing from the gas discovery wells Moftinu-1001 and Moftinu-1000 in early 2018. The Company signed an EPCC contract on May 9, 2017 and has commenced construction in Q2 2017 of a gas plant with 15 MMcf/d of operational capacity, with expected first gas production in the first quarter of 2018.



The Company is also developing the drilling program to meet work commitments for the extension and plans to drill two additional development wells (Moftinu-1003 and 1004) with a potential third well in 2018. The Corporation sees potential production from these wells being able to bring the gas plant to full capacity in late 2018.



In Tunisia, the Company's plans to focus on carrying out low cost incremental work programs to increase production from existing wells, including the Sabria N-2 re-entry and installing artificial lift on another Sabria well, are dependent on resolution of the social issues in Tunisia and the Company being able to restart production in a safe and sustainable environment. The Corporation views Sabria as a large development opportunity longer term.



Production volumes decreased in the second quarter to 329 boe/d, as compared to 1,206 boe/d in the comparable period of 2016. In Q2 2017, the decrease in production is attributable to the shut-in of the Chouech Es Saida field since February 28, 2017 and the Sabria field since May 22, 2017. The shut-in of these fields was due to social unrest in southern Tunisia that has stopped all oil & gas production in the region.



Full production in Tunisia for 2017 is dependent on the successful resolution of the social unrest in southern Tunisia and the associated security and safety issues this unrest has created.



Supporting Documents



The full Management Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A") and Financial Statements have been filed in English on www.sedar.com and in Polish and English via the ESPI system, and will also be available on www.serinusenergy.com.



Abbreviations



bbl Barrel(s) bbl/d Barrels per day boe Barrels of Oil Equivalent boe/d Barrels of Oil Equivalent per day Mcf Thousand Cubic Feet Mcf/d Thousand Cubic Feet per day MMcf Million Cubic Feet MMcf/d Million Cubic Feet per day Mcfe Thousand Cubic Feet Mcfe/d Thousand Cubic Feet Equivalent per Equivalent day MMcfe Million Cubic Feet MMcfe/d Million Cubic Feet Equivalent per Equivalent day Mboe Thousand boe Bcf Billion Cubic Feet MMboe Million boe Mcm Thousand Cubic Metres CAD Canadian Dollar USD U.S. Dollar



Cautionary Statement:



BOEs may be misleading, particularly if used in isolation. A BOE conversion ratio of 6 Mcf:1 bbl is based on an energy equivalency conversion method primarily applicable at the burner tip and does not represent a value equivalency at the wellhead.



About Serinus Serinus is an international upstream oil and gas exploration and production company that owns and operates projects in Tunisia and Romania.



For further information, please refer to the Serinus website (www.serinusenergy.com) or contact the following:



Serinus Energy Inc. Serinus Energy Inc. Calvin Brackman Jeffrey Auld Vice President, External Relations & Strategy Chief Executive Officer Tel.: +1-403-264-8877 Tel.: +1-403-264-8877 cbrackman@serinusenergy.com jauld@serinusenergy.com



Translation: This news release has been translated into Polish from the English original.



Forward-looking Statements This release may contain forward-looking statements made as of the date of this announcement with respect to future activities that either are not or may not be historical facts. Although the Company believes that its expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable as of the date hereof, any potential results suggested by such statements involve risk and uncertainties and no assurance can be given that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. Various factors that could impair or prevent the Company from completing the expected activities on its projects include that the Company's projects experience technical and mechanical problems, there are changes in product prices, failure to obtain regulatory approvals, the state of the national or international monetary, oil and gas, financial , political and economic markets in the jurisdictions where the Company operates and other risks not anticipated by the Company or disclosed in the Company's published material. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature, they involve inherent risks and uncertainties and actual results may vary materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statement. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements in this announcement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this announcement, unless required by law.

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Preliminary Prospectus Filed

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / August 10, 2017 / Maple Leaf Short Duration 2017-II Flow-Through Limited Partnership (the "Partnership") is pleased to announce that it has filed a preliminary prospectus (the "Prospectus"), dated August 9, 2017, with the securities commissions or similar authorities in each of the Provinces and Territories of Canada relating to the initial public offering of units of the Partnership.

Partnership Objectives & Benefits - National Class Units

The Partnership is designed to provide holders of National Class Units ("National Class Limited Partners") with an investment in a diversified portfolio of Flow-Through Shares of Resource Companies incurring Eligible Expenditures (as those terms are defined in the Prospectus) across Canada with a view to maximizing the tax benefits of an investment in National Class Units and achieving capital appreciation and/or income for National Class Limited Partners. National Class Limited Partners must be residents of Canada or liable to pay Canadian income tax.

Investors are expected to receive tax deductions for 2017 of approximately 100% of the amount invested based on and subject to certain conditions as set forth in the Prospectus.

Partnership Objectives & Benefits - Quebec Class Units

The Partnership is designed to provide holders of Quebec Class Units ("Quebec Class Limited Partners") with an investment in a diversified portfolio of Flow-Through Shares of Resource Companies incurring Eligible Expenditures principally in the Province of Quebec with a view to maximizing the tax benefits of an investment in Quebec Class Units and achieving capital appreciation and/or income for Quebec Class Limited Partners. Quebec Class Units are most suitable for investors who reside in the Province of Quebec or are liable to pay income tax in Quebec.

Investors are expected to receive tax deductions for 2017 of approximately 127% of the amount invested based on and subject to certain conditions as set forth in the Prospectus.

Liquidity Event

The investment portfolios of both the National and Quebec Class Units will be actively managed in such a way as to preserve the ability to undertake a future liquidity event, such as a rollover into a mutual fund corporation.

The Syndicate

The syndicate of agents for the offering is being led by Scotia Capital Inc. and includes CIBC World Markets Inc., National Bank Financial Inc., BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc., GMP Securities L.P., Canaccord Genuity Corp., Desjardins Securities Inc., Industrial Alliance Securities Inc., Manulife Securities Incorporated, Raymond James Ltd., Echelon Wealth Partners Inc. and Laurentian Bank Securities Inc.

A copy of the Prospectus can be obtained from any agent.

Offering Jurisdictions

Each of the Provinces and Territories of Canada.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT

Hugh Cartwright, Chairman

MAPLE LEAF FLOW-THROUGH PROGRAMS

Tel: 1-866-688-5750

Email: info@mapleleaffunds.ca

Web: www.MapleLeafFunds.ca

SOURCE: Maple Leaf Short Duration 2017-II Flow-Through Limited Partnership
TORONTO, 2017-08-11 00:41 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mandalay Resources Corporation ("Mandalay" or the "Company") (TSX:MND) today announced revenue of $44.1 million, adjusted EBITDA of $12.1 million and consolidated n?et loss of $10.1 million, or $0.02 loss per share, for the second quarter of 2017.



The Company's condensed and consolidated interim financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2017, together with its Management's Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A") for the corresponding period, can be accessed under the Company's profile on www.sedar.com and on the Company's website at www.mandalayresources.com. All currency references in this press release are in U.S. dollars except as otherwise indicated.



Commenting on second quarter of 2017 results, Dr. Mark Sander, President and CEO of Mandalay, noted, "Mandalay's financial performance in the second quarter of 2017 was negatively affected by the operating suspension at Cerro Bayo in response to the June 9, 2017, flooding of the Delia NW mine, as previously discussed in the Company's production and sales report issued for the quarter (see Mandalay July 12, 2017, press release). Suspension of operations caused reduced silver and gold production, and therefore revenue, at higher cost per ounce than planned.



"Operations at Cerro Bayo remain suspended pending completion of the investigation of the cause of the event and the risk assessment of restarting mining in the vicinity of Laguna Verde. In addition, the Chilean regulator, Sernageomin, has issued a decree that it must approve a request to reopen based on the results of the risk assessment. This process is likely to add an additional one to two months to the one to two months months needed to complete the risk assessment, making it unlikely that we will be in a position to restart mine development and production this year. Therefore, we are providing revised guidance for 2017 assuming no Cerro Bayo production or capital spending for the rest of the year while maintaining guidance for Bjorkdal and Costerfield."



Dr. Sander continued, "Looking at the Company's operations, Bjorkdal delivered record gold production for the quarter at low cash cost per ounce. The annualized rate of production during the quarter was approximately 64,000 ounces per year. We are pleased that the grade control program continues to function well and that the debottlenecking actions we took in the open pit and underground mines at the end of the first quarter performed exactly as planned. Second quarter results reflected higher than planned mill feed grades as well as higher mining rates and we expect continued good performance from Bjorkdal for the rest of the year."



Dr. Sander continued, "Costerfield continued to deliver dependable performance in the second quarter of 2017, producing 14,300 gold equivalent ounces at a very sound cash cost of $648 per ounce, and at an all-in cost of $962 per ounce. We expect continued performance at these levels for the balance of the year."



Dr. Sander concluded, "The Company's balance sheet remains in a strong position after the re-structure of the exchangeable loan with Gold Exchangeable Limited. We paid off half of the $60 million of the loan and amendended the terms of the remaining $30 million, including an extension of the maturity date to May 2022 (see Mandalay May 24, 2017 press release). When combined with our new $40 million revolving credit facility announced in July, 2017, (see Mandalay July 25, 2017, press release), we have ample funding to maintain our capital investment program in our existing mines, restart Cerro Bayo, and maintain working capital. We also have the ability to act quickly on attractive acquisition opportunities that may arise, which remains a core strategic objective for the Company."



Second Quarter 2017 Financial Highlights



The following table summarizes the Company's financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2017 and 2016:



Three months Three Six months Six Ended June months Ended June months 30, 2017 Ended 30, 2017 Ended June 30, June 30, 2016 2016 $'000 $'000 $'000 $'000 Revenue 44,124 54,166 89,497 104,60 8 Cost of Sales 30,030 29,927 62,018 61,353 Adjusted EBITDA* 12,130 22,127 23,542 39,389 Income from mine operations 14,094 24,239 27,479 43,255 before depreciation and depletion Adjusted net income before (6,933 ) 5,154 (9,284 ) 7,781 special items* Consolidated net (loss) income (10,10 ) 3,611 (12,45 ) 4,760 5 6 Cash capex* 12,998 11,472 25,090 20,529 Total assets 320,06 355,10 320,06 355,10 2 0 0 0 Total liabilities 126,81 142,99 126,81 142,99 1 6 1 6 Adjusted net (loss) income per $ (0.02 ) $ 0.01 $ (0.02 ) $ 0.02 share* Consolidated net (loss) income $ (0.02 ) $ 0.01 $ (0.03 ) $ 0.01 per share



* Adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net (loss) income before special items, cash capex and adjusted net (loss) income per share are non-IFRS measures. See "Non-IFRS Measures" at the end of this press release.



During the second quarter of 2017, Mandalay sold 12% fewer ounces of gold equivalent versus the second quarter of 2016. At the same time, average silver and antimony prices rose 2% and 41% quarter-over-quarter, respectively, while the average gold price remained almost constant quarter-over-quarter. The net effect is that Mandalay's revenue of $44.1 million in the second quarter of 2017 was $10.1 million lower than in the second quarter of 2016.



Total cost of sales across the Company was approximately constant when comparing the second quarter of 2017 to the second quarter of 2016. At Costerfield, cost of sales increased by $1.0 million, where fewer tonnes at lower grade were mined and processed to produce fewer gold equivalent ounces than in the year-ago period. Per tonne mining and milling costs at Costerfield remained nearly constant through this expected decline in ore grades. Total cost of sales at Cerro Bayo increased by $1.3 million in the second quarter of 2017 relative to the second quarter of 2016 mainly due to inventory movement from a reduction in the level of ore inventory at June, 2017. Cost of sales decreased by $2.0 million at Bjorkdal, due to the build-up of ore inventory over the quarter from the record quarter of production in the second quarter of 2017, compared to the inventory movement recognized in the second quarter of 2016. Consolidated administrative costs remained virtually constant, increasing slightly by $0.2 million in the second quarter of 2017.



Mandalay generated $12.1 million in adjusted EBITDA in the current quarter, $0.7 million higher than in the previous quarter, and $10 million lower than the second quarter of 2016. This led to a consolidated net loss of $10.1 million in the second quarter of 2017 versus a loss of $2.3 million in the first quarter of 2017. Second quarter results were adversely affected by the expenses of search efforts related to the flooding incident at Cerro Bayo and accrual of estimated future costs stemming from the event. Non-cash adjustments include the write-off of the remaining carrying value of mining interests associated with the Delia NW mine, a loss of $0.5 million of property, plant and equipment, and certain other costs.



Mandalay ended the second quarter with $18.4 million in cash and cash equivalents.



Second Quarter Operational Highlights



The table below summarizes the Company's capital expenditures and operational unit costs for the three and six months ended June 30, 2017 and 2016:



Three Three Six Six months months months months ended ended ended ended June 30, June 30, June 30, June 30, 2017 2016 2017 2016 $'000 $'000 $'000 $'000 Costerf ield Gold produced (oz) 8,933 12,252 16,920 24,685 Antimony produced (t) 765 962 1,506 1,962 Gold equivalent produced 14,300 17,023 27,191 33,989 (oz) Cash cost* per oz gold $ 648 $ 530 $ 682 $ 521 equivalent produced All-in cost* per oz gold $ 962 $ 772 $ 996 $ 756 equivalent produced Underground capital devel. 1,099 Nil 1,876 Nil & open pit prestrip Capital purchases 1,465 1,289 2,480 1,594 Capital exploration 1,398 1,155 2,386 2,113 Cerro Bayo Silver produced (oz) 359,45 462,46 794,53 977,67 7 2 3 8 Gold produced (oz) 3,174 3,818 5,909 8,154 Cash cost* per oz silver $ 12.31 $ 8.45 $ 13.29 $ 9.26 net byproduct credit All-in cost* per oz silver $ 24.05 $ 16.54 $ 23.25 $ 17.84 net byproduct credit Underground capital devel. 2,518 2,505 5,882 3,903 & open pit prestrip Capital purchases 339 1,031 1,354 2,458 Capital exploration 114 787 497 1,306 Bjorkd al Gold produced (oz) 16,112 12,648 26,760 24,833 Cash cost* per oz gold $ 824 $ 967 $ 954 $ 897 produced All-in cost* per oz gold $ 1,081 $ 1,212 1,220 1,138 produced Underground capital devel. 2,596 2,138 5,860 4,885 & open pit prestrip Capital purchases 1,297 1,752 3,050 2,757 Capital exploration 671 748 1,082 1,491 Consoli dated Gold equivalent produced 38,491 39,653 70,972 79,618 (oz) Average cash cost* per oz $ 853 $ 811 $ 914 $ 781 gold equivalent Average all-in cost* per oz $ 1,173 $ 1,095 $ 1,243 $ 1,069 gold equivalent Underground capital devel. 6,213 4,643 13,618 8,788 & open pit prestrip Capital purchases 3,698 4,166 7,089 6,955 Capital exploration 2,568 3,103 4,759 5,668



*Cash cost and all-in cost are non-IFRS measures. See "Non-IFRS Measures" at the end of this press release.



Costerfield gold-antimony mine, Victoria, Australia



Costerfield's production of 14,300 ounces gold equivalent in the second quarter of 2017 was higher than in the first quarter of 2017, although it remained approximately 16% less than in the year-ago quarter. Lower production in the second quarter of 2017 compared to the second quarter of 2016 was expected, as a year ago Mandalay was mining in the heart of the highest-grade portion of the Cuffley lode and currently is mining lower-grade parts of the deposit. Absolute operating costs continued to be well-controlled at Costerfield. Lower production arising from lower grades translated into higher cash costs per ounce of gold equivalent than in the year-ago quarter.



Bjorkdal gold mine, Sweden



In the second quarter of 2017, Bjorkdal achieved a record production quarter under Mandalay management as the mining bottlenecks reported with first quarter production were relieved and larger volumes of higher grade ore were consistently delivered to the mill. Consequently, cash operating costs in the current quarter were lower at $824 per ounce of gold, much lower than $967 per ounce gold reported in the year-ago quarter.



Cerro Bayo silver-gold mine, Patagonia, Chile



Cerro Bayo production in the second quarter of 2017 was lower than in the second quarter of 2016 due entirely to the operating suspension in response to the flooding event. Prior to the suspension, Cerro Bayo was closely tracking both production and cost performance anticipated in the revised guidance of February 16, 2017.



Challacollo, Chile



Mandalay completed its water exploration program in the second quarter of 2017, finding a significant supply of groundwater. The Company has applied for the surface rights to construct a permanent water production well in a process that will take several months.



La Quebrada



The La Quebrada copper-silver project in central Chile remained on care and maintenance throughout the period. Spending on care and maintenance at La Quebrada was less than $0.1 million during the second quarter of 2017.



Lupin and Ulu



The Lupin and Ulu gold projects in Nunavut, Canada were acquired with the Elgin acquisition in late 2014 and are currently held for sale as non-core assets. On October 31, 2016, the Company entered into a definitive agreement for the sale of both projects, however a transaction was not completed due to a C$9 million increase in the bonding requirements for the Lupin project that was imposed shortly before the planned closing date. In light of the increased bonding requirement, the Company is transitioning to final reclamation of the Lupin and Ulu projects, which it firmly believes can be accomplished for the original bonded amounts or less. At the same time, the Company has held discussions with stakeholders (Kitikmeot Inuit Association, Nunavut Water Board and Indigenous and Northern Affairs of Canada (INAC)) on the right-sizing of the Ulu site to enable WPC to conduct exploration work on the property, and continues discussions with WPC and INAC on a possible sale or optioning of the Lupin project, before final reclamation is complete.



2017 Revised Full Year Guidance



In light of the ongoing operating suspension at Cerro Bayo, the Company has revised its 2017 guidance. The revised guidance assumes that the Cerro Bayo operating suspension will continue for the balance of the year, leading to no further production and dramatically reduced capital spending. The Company maintains its previously issued guidance for Costerfield and Bjorkdal:



Total Cerro Costerfi Bjorkda Challacol Bayo eld l lo Saleable Ag produced oz mill. 0.8 0.8 Saleable Au produced oz '000 85-95 5.9 30-35 52-58 Saleable Sb produced t '000 3.2-3. 3.2-3.7 7 Total Saleable Au Eq oz '000 114-12 16 46-54 52-58 produced* 8 Cash Cost per Au Eq. $/oz 925-97 1,086 710-780 860-910 oz** 5 Capital expenditure USD 44-49 7 12-14 24-27 1 mill. Exploration USD 8 2 3 3 mill.



*assumes full-year 2017 prices: Au $1,185/oz, Ag $16.72/oz, Sb $7,701/t **MND total cash cost per Au Eq. oz includes corporate overhead spending. Cash cost per Au Eq. oz is a non-IFRS measures. See "Non-IFRS Measures" at the end of this press release.



Conference Call



Mandalay's management will be hosting a conference call for investors and analysts on August 11, 2017 at 8:00 am (Toronto time).



Analysts and interested investors are invited to participate using the following dial-in numbers:



Participant Number: (201) 689-8341 Participant Number (Toll free): (877) 407-8289 Conference ID: 13668200



A replay of the conference call will be available until 11:59 pm (Toronto time), August 25, 2017 and can be accessed using the following dial-in number:



Encore Toll Free Dial-in Number: (877) 660-6853 Encore ID: 13668200



About Mandalay Resources Corporation:



Mandalay Resources is a Canadian-based natural resource company with producing assets in Australia, Chile and Sweden, and a development project in Chile. The Company is focused on executing a roll-up strategy, creating critical mass by aggregating advanced or in-production gold, copper, silver and antimony projects in Australia, the Americas, and Europe to generate near-term cash flow and shareholder value.



Forward-Looking Statements



This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including guidance as to anticipated gold, silver, and antimony production and production costs in the future. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Actual results and developments may differ materially from those contemplated by these statements depending on, among other things, changes in commodity prices and general market and economic conditions. The factors identified above are not intended to represent a complete list of the factors that could affect Mandalay. A description of additional risks that could result in actual results and developments differing from those contemplated by forward-looking statements in this news release can be found under the heading "Risk Factors" in Mandalay's annual information form dated March 31, 2017, a copy of which is available under Mandalay's profile at www.sedar.com. Although Mandalay has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.



Non-IFRS Measures



This news release may contain references to adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net income, cash cost per saleable ounce of gold equivalent produced, cash cost per saleable ounce of silver produced net of gold credits, site all-in cost per saleable ounce of gold equivalent produced, site all-in cost per saleable ounce of silver produced net of gold credits, all-in costs and cash capex, all of which are non-IFRS measures and do not have standardized meanings under IFRS. Therefore, these measures may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers.



Management uses adjusted EBITDA as a measure of operating performance to assist in assessing the Company's ability to generate liquidity through operating cash flow to fund future working capital needs and to fund future capital expenditures, as well as to assist in comparing financial performance from period to period on a consistent basis. Management uses adjusted net income in order to facilitate an understanding of the Company's financial performance prior to the impact of non-recurring or special items. The Company believes that these measures are used by and are useful to investors and other users of the Company's financial statements in evaluating the Company's operating and cash performance because they allow for analysis of its financial results without regard to special, non-cash and other non-core items, which can vary substantially from company to company and over different periods.



The Company defines adjusted EBITDA as income from mine operations, net of administration costs, and before interest, taxes, non-cash charges/(income), intercompany charges and finance costs. For a reconciliation between adjusted EBITDA and net income, please refer to page 14 of management's discussion and analysis of the Company's financial statements for the first quarter of 2017.



The Company defines cash capex as cash spent on mining interests, property, plant and equipment, and exploration as set out in the cash flow statement of the financial statements.



The Company defines free cash flow as a measure of the Corporation's ability to generate and manage liquidity. This term does not have a standard meaning and is intended to provide the reader with additional information.



For Costerfield, saleable equivalent gold ounces produced is calculated by adding to saleable gold ounces produced, the saleable antimony tonnes produced times the average antimony price in the period divided by the average gold price in the period. The total cash operating cost associated with the production of these saleable equivalent ounces produced in the period is then divided by the saleable equivalent gold ounces produced to yield the cash cost per saleable equivalent ounce produced. The cash cost excludes royalty expenses. Site all-in costs include total cash operating costs, royalty expense, accretion, depletion, depreciation and amortization. The site all-in cost is then divided by the saleable equivalent gold ounces produced to yield the site all-in cost per saleable equivalent ounce produced.



For Cerro Bayo, the cash cost per saleable silver ounce produced net of gold byproduct credit is calculated by deducting the gold credit (which equals saleable ounces gold produced times the realized gold price in the period) from the cash operating costs in the period and dividing the resultant number by the saleable silver ounces produced in the period. The cash cost excludes royalty expenses. The site all-in cost per saleable silver ounce produced net of gold byproduct credit is calculated by adding royalty expenses, accretion, depletion, depreciation, and amortization to the cash cost net of gold byproduct credit, dividing the resultant number by the saleable silver ounces produced in the period.



Also for Cerro Bayo, saleable equivalent gold ounces produced is calculated by adding to saleable gold ounces produced, the saleable silver ounces produced times the average silver price in the period divided by the average gold price in the period. The total cash operating cost associated with the production of these saleable equivalent ounces produced in the period is then divided by the saleable equivalent gold ounces produced to yield the cash cost per saleable equivalent ounce produced. The cash cost excludes royalty expenses. Site all-in costs include total cash operating costs, royalty expense, accretion, depletion, depreciation and amortization. The site all-in cost is then divided by the saleable equivalent gold ounces produced to yield the site all-in cost per saleable equivalent ounce produced.



For Bjorkdal, the total cash operating cost associated with the production of saleable gold ounces produced in the period is then divided by the saleable gold ounces produced to yield the cash cost per saleable gold ounce produced. The cash cost excludes royalty expenses. Site all-in costs include total cash operating costs, royalty expense, accretion, depletion, depreciation and amortization. The site all-in cost is then divided by the saleable gold ounces produced to yield the site all-in cost per saleable gold ounce produced



For the Company as a whole, cash cost per saleable gold equivalent ounce is calculated by summing the gold equivalent ounces produced by each site and dividing the total by the sum of cash operating costs at the sites plus corporate overhead spending.



For further information: Mark Sander President and Chief Executive Officer Greg DiTomaso Director of Investor Relations Contact: 1.647.260.1566

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
GreenMantra Technologies, a Brantford, Ontario, Canada-based clean technology company, will receive $2.2m from Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC).

The company will use the funds for construction of a demonstration plant that will convert waste polystyrene into modified styrenic polymers for use in inks, foam insulation and other applications.

Led by Kousay Said, president and chief executive officer, GreenMantra Technologies produces high-value polymers from waste plastics. Using a proprietary catalyst and conversion process, the company converts waste polyethylene and polypropylene plastics, such as film, bottle caps and food containers, into specialty synthetic waxes. These waxes are used in various applications in the coatings, plastics processing, adhesives, roofing and paving industries.

The demonstration plant, to be constructed at GreenMantras existing manufacturing complex in Brantford, will have an anticipated initial annual capacity of 1,000 metric tons per year. The design and engineering of the new facility will begin this year, with construction starting in 2018.

FinSMEs

10/08/2017
New Delhi: The government will continue to support Air India during the disinvestment process and honour committed financial obligations till any further direction, union minister Jayant Sinha told the Lok Sabha on Thursday.

In a written reply, he said cost reduction steps coupled with the implementation of the turnaround plan has resulted in an improved performance of Air India as it is "showing a turnaround on both operational and financial parameters"

A group of ministers, headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, is looking at the modalities for strategic disinvestment of Air India and its five subsidiaries. In June, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) gave its in-principle approval for the disinvestment.

"During the disinvestment process, the government would continue to support Air India as per approved turnaround plan and would honour committed financial obligations till any further direction," Sinha said in another written reply.

The minister of state for civil aviation was responding to a question on whether the disinvestment process would affect the fiscal discipline of the airline.

The turnaround plan, which was approved by the previous UPA government in 2012, for the loss-making Air India provides for equity infusion of Rs 30,231 crore up to 2021, subject to the national carrier achieving certain milestones.

As part of the plan, various steps have been taken to cut costs and losses. These include route rationalisation and enhanced utilisation of new fleet.

In one of the written replies, the minister said Air India has been suffering net losses over the past many years.

"However, these losses have been gradually coming down and in 2015-16 fiscal, the company has posted a moderate operating profit," he added.

The airline has a debt burden of more than Rs 50,000 crore.

Sinha said Air India has constituted an integration cell to redress the employees' grievances arising due to "anomalies in increment, high personal pay, PF protection and drop in salary etc."

Besides, there are open house meetings by Air India's CMD and ED (Integration) as well as station visits by the CMD to carry out inspection and meetings with employees.

The minister was replying to a query on whether Air India has changed the work environment and work culture for their employees to make the organisation more competitive and check further losses.

When asked about the reaction of the employees to these measures, Sinha said, "employees' reaction is positive and morale is also high".

On whether Air India has drawn up a proposal to offer voluntary retirement scheme to around 15,000 employees before disinvestment, he replied in the negative.

The minister also said the airline has not purchased any aircraft in the last three years.
Bhutan has raised with the Indian government serious concerns about the impact the implementation of the goods and services tax will have on its industry and economy, according to industry representatives and government officials of that country. The trade between two the countries has shifted to slow lane after India introduced its biggest tax on 1 July.

Bhutan's worries arise from the fact that India is the key transit route for its goods and an important trading partner. The country's economy has strong links with India.

Already, Thimphu has sent two finance ministry delegations to discuss the implications of and concerns about the GST. India has, however, said it needs three months' time to look into the matter.

Bhutan has raised three immediate issues with regards, said an official with the Bhutan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, who attended the meeting between the Bhutanese delegation and the Indian government officials.

For one, GST has rendered the items Bhutan exports to India costlier and those that the country imports from India cheaper. Bhutan is worried that this may result in a spike in imports, depleting the country's rupee reserves.

In case of exports and imports, the GST is levied at the entry points and not at the point of sales. Bhutan wants India to allow it to levy the tax at the point of sales. In fact, the country has stopped imports of vehicles from India for want of legal clarity on how GST can be imposed.

"We want to be careful in ensuring that it is legally possible to move sales tax from point of entry to point of sales," Prime Minister of Bhutan Tshering Tobgay said in an interaction with local journalists on Friday.

The second issue Bhutan has raised is the GST on transportation. This has a negative impact on the industry there as the country has no rail connectivity and is entirely dependent on India for transit for both imports and exports. The delegation has sought revocation of this levy.

The third issue is the huge amount of paper work that is rendering the movement of consignments painful. The Bhutanese officials have requested a proper and efficient system to ease out the documentation processes.

Another issue that Bhutan is facing is the loss of revenue. According to an estimate, the country may lose up to Rs 140 crore a year as the GST regime puts an end to excise duty refunds. The loss may widen to Rs 290 crore once petroleum comes under the GST ambit.

As much as 90 percent of Bhutan's imports come from India and these include cooking gas, fuel and kerosene which are at a subsidised rate.

"India has said it will look into the concerns without compromising on the law," said the industry official. "Both the countries have decided to solve them through bilateral talks," he added.

Industry troubled

The Bhutanese industry is worried as the companies see their profit margins falling with increased competition from Indian goods.

The companies in the country always have had an advantage due to excise duty exemption they enjoyed. With the GST kicking in, they will be forced to cut the prices, squeezing their margins.

A case in point here is ferro silicon exports. The commodity was tax free earlier but comes under 18 percent bracket under GST. The Bhutanese players will have to cut the price in order to compete in the Indian market. This will put pressure on their profit margins.

The exports to India have frozen with over about 100 trucks stuck along the border and companies are incurring losses on account of this.

The Association of Bhutanese Industries in the meantime has approached the Bhutanese government and are waiting for a resolution.

"The government will have to come with other alternatives to motivate industries, said the vice president of the association, Chimi Dorji Norbu.

According to the official mentioned earlier, if India is not considerate to the concerns of the Bhutanese industry the government will have to follow in the footsteps of India and revamp its tax policies lock, stock and barrel.
Mumbai: A number of companies, including Parsvnath Developers, JKumar Infraprojects and Prakash Industries, on Wednesday moved the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) against Sebi classifying them as "shell companies", contesting that their businesses are legitimate.

Defending the move, Sebi said it took the action after receiving the list of companies from the corporate affairs ministry. Several other firms are expected to take similar recourse to challenge the market regulators decision asking stock exchanges to restrict trading in 331 firms for being "suspected shell companies".

JKumar Infraprojects and Prakash Industries told SAT that their businesses are legitimate and that they are not shell companies. The tribunal asked Sebi as to why the matter was not investigated before issuing the circular. The companies also submitted that the regulator got the information from the corporate affairs ministry and subsequently asked the exchanges to investigate and take action. The hearing at the tribunal has been adjourned till Thursday (today).

According to the submissions, the list of 331 companies was received by Sebi on 9 June and the circular was issued on 7 August. The tribunal wanted to know what action was taken during the intervening period. The regulator is expected to give its reply today.

In their appeals, the companies have named the exchanges as opposite parties. The term shell company is not defined under the Companies Act but Corporate Affairs Minister Arun Jaitley had told the Lok Sabha recently that many such entities have been found to be indulging in large scale tax violations.

Contrary to general perception, shell companies are apparently being referenced here for those suspected to have indulged in abetment of tax evasion and money laundering activities post- demonetisation, including through share dealings, regulatory sources said. Many of those stocks also saw huge jump in their prices and volumes after demonetisation in November last year.

Last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said 37,000 shell companies indulging in tax evasion had been detected and more than three lakh firms were under the scanner for suspicious dealings after demonetisation. Sebi has asked the exchanges to restrict trading in shares of 331 "suspected shell companies", some of which have investments by several well-known domestic and foreign investors.

The BSE on Wednesday imposed maximum trading curbs on five remaining firms from Sebi's list of 331 suspected shell companies. With the latest move, the exchange has expanded the restrictions to a total of 167 stocks. Out of the list, trading in 164 companies was already suspended for various penal reasons or as part of surveillance measures, before Sebi issued directions to the stock exchanges seeking actions against 331 firms, alleged to have indulged in tax-related and other violations.

In a statement, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) said it has started collecting information about the 48 firms, that are listed on its platform, out of the list of 331 companies. Out of the 331 companies, shares of more than 160 firms are actively traded on the exchanges. "We have filed an appeal before SAT. Our plea is to set aside the Sebi order. We are not a shell company and we have complied with all the rules and regulations and not evaded any tax," Parsvnath chairman Pradeep Jain said.

On Tuesday, many of the companies tagged annual reports and other financials along with their filings to press upon the exchanges that they are not shell companies and are in compliance with all regulations.

"We are shocked to find our company's name amongst the list of suspected shell companies as a result of which, our equity shares...are being shifted to GSM VI on the stock exchanges. As a result, our company's securities may be traded only once in a month on a trade to trade basis and Sebi has envisaged a "financial audit" thereby implicitly castigating us and tarnishing our reputation," Parsvnath had said.

Similarly, J Kumar Infraprojects had said it is not a shell company and suspicion of the regulator is uncalled for.

Prakash Industries had also said that directions issued by Sebi are "totally devoid of merit and uncalled for. Besides, there has never been an occasion when our company has indulged in any kind of malpractices in stock market".

In a communication sent to the BSE, the NSE and the Metropolitan Stock Exchange on Monday, Sebi had asked them to keep the 331 shares in stage six of the Graded Surveillance Mechanism (GSM) with immediate effect. These entities would be subject to independent audit and if required, forensic audits could also be initiated to check their credentials.

Apart from initiating a "process of verifying the credentials/fundamentals of such companies", the exchanges have also been asked to appoint an independent auditor to carry out audit of these entities. If necessary, even forensic audit could be ordered to verify their credentials and fundamentals.
Mumbai: Private carrier Jet Airways has lowered its business class base fares for both domestic and international travel by 20 percent, while the economy class travel has also become cheaper by 30 percent under a discounted sale scheme.

The special six-day celebratory fare sale, which commences from midnight on Thursday, is to mark India's 70th Independence Day, Jet Airways said in a release.

The sale, starting 11 August, offers 30 percent discount on economy class base fares and 20 percent on premiere (business) class fares, it said.

Another full service carrier, Vistara, announced earlier this week heavily discounted all-inclusive fares, starting as low as Rs 799 for economy class and Rs 2,099 for premium economy under its "48 hours only" Freedom to Fly sale offer.

Tickets purchased as part of the sale for domestic flights will be valid for travel from 5 September while for the international flights the promotional tickets will be valid from 15 September, Jet Airways said.

The discount in base fares is applicable on both one-way and return tickets, Jet Airways said, adding customers can book tickets for 44 domestic destinations and 20 international destinations.
New Delhi: In a jolt to Sahara chief Subrata Roy, the Supreme Court on Thursday rejected his plea to put on hold the auction process of the group's Aamby Valley property in Pune district of Maharashtra valued at Rs 34,000 crore.

The apex court told Roy that his proposal of paying Rs 1,500 crore if the auction process was halted or postponed was allowing it to make a statement "willing suspension of disbelief" (believe the unbelievable).

A bench, headed by Justice Dipak Misra, said the auction process will go on according to the schedule and if Rs 1,500 crore is paid by the contemnor (Roy) into the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)-Sahara refund account by 7 September, then it may pass an appropriate order.

"We are not inclined to entertain the prayer of the contemnor. The prayer is hereby rejected. If any agreement is reached by the group to raise money, then appropriate orders will be passed," a bench also comprising Justices Ranjan Gogoi and AK Sikri said.

During the hearing, senior advocate Kapil Sibal said that the auction process of Aamby Valley which would start with the publication of a notice on 14 August, should be postponed at least until 16 September enable Roy to arrange the money.

"Your proposal is making us to make a statement that it is a willing suspension of belief", it said.

Sibal said that hotels in New York have been sold and soon money would be coming into the Sahara account after which Rs 1,500 crore would be deposited into the SEBI-Sahara refund account by 7 September, as had been directed by the court.

"Our request is that the auction process for Aamby Valley, which will be initiated by way of publication of a notice should be postponed until 16 September, as the value of the property will fall drastically once it is put on sale in public domain," Sibal said.

He said that Sahara has been on verge of entering an agreement with a Mauritius-based company to raise money, but for that purpose, the auction process has to be postponed for the time being.

"We are negotiating a deal of subscription agreement whereby an investor will invest 1.67 billion dollars in Aamby Valley out of which around Rs 5000 crore will be given to the SEBI-Sahara refund account," he said.

Senior advocate Arvind Datar, representing the SEBI, opposed the proposal of the Sahara chief saying that every time a process starts, the group came up with some objection in order to delay the process.

He said that it was a global auction and interested parties from across the world would participate and Rs 4.4 crore had already been spent in initiating the process.

"It will not be appropriate if the auction process is stalled," he said and added that according to SEBI's research, the said Mauritius-based company, named by Sahara, did not exist.

To this, the bench said it was not going to pass any order and the auction process would not be stalled or postponed.

It said the group could pursue the negotiation with the investor and the court would pass an order at the appropriate time.

Roy had moved the apex court seeking to put a hold on the auction process to sell the group's property by the official liquidator of the Bombay High Court.

The apex court had on 25 July asked the embattled Sahara chief to deposit Rs 1,500 crore in the SEBI-Sahara account by 7 September and said that it might then deliberate upon his plea seeking 18 months more time for making complete repayment.

The court had simultaneously approved the draft sale notice and terms to dispose of the property prepared by the official liquidator of the Bombay High Court.

"The official liquidator shall publish the sale notice as given by him and the notice shall be published on 14 August. The steps which are required to be taken for the publication of the sale notice, are allowed," the court had said.

The Sahara Group had earlier sought 18 months' time to repay around Rs 9,000 crore balance amount of the principal amount of Rs 24,000 crore.

Sibal, however, had said that according to the group, the remaining amount was around Rs 8,000 crore and it had made all efforts to deposit the money.

Roy, who has spent almost two years in jail, has been on parole since 6 May last year. The parole was granted the first time to enable him to attend the funeral of his mother. It has been extended since then.

Besides Roy, two other directors Ravi Shankar Dubey and Ashok Roy Choudhary were arrested for failure of the group's two companies, Sahara India Real Estate Corporation (SIRECL) and Sahara Housing Investment Corp Ltd (SHICL) to comply with the court's 31 August, 2012 order to return Rs 24,000 crore to their investors.

Another company director Vandana Bhargava was not taken into custody.
New Delhi: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday said it will pay Rs 30,659 crore dividend to the government for the year ended 30 June, less than half of what it paid in the previous year.

The cental bank had in the previous year paid Rs 65,876 crore dividend to the government.

"The Reserve Bank's Central Board, at its meeting held on Thursday, approved the transfer of surplus to the Government of India amounting to Rs 30,659 crore for the year ended June 30, 2017," RBI said in a statement.

It did not give reasons for paying less dividend.

RBI had in 2014-15 paid Rs 65,896 crore dividend and Rs 52,679 crore in the year prior to that.

The dividend payout was less than Rs 33,010 crore in 2012-13.
New Delhi: Around 23 lakh students graduating from over 13,000 industrial training institutes across the country may soon be awarded certificates equivalent to the ones given to Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) and Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Board pass-outs.

A proposal for the establishment of a separate board benchmarked with the quality standards of CBSE and ICSE, which was mooted by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, has been accepted by the Ministry of Human Resources Development.

"First time we have decided, and the HRD ministry is on the same page, that we are going to establish a Board for a certification of equivalence of CBSE and ICSE to all these 2.3 million students (in ITIs)," Union Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy said addressing the media on Wednesday.

He said the ministry was working in the direction to establish a national board so that exams all over the country are conducted on the pattern involving 70 percent practical and 30 percent elective subjects.

Rudy asserted that Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) will come up like CBSE and ICSE schools in the days to come, adding that the ministry has completely revamped their infrastructure requirements and syllabus.

The minister said the figure of 2.5 percent skilled workforce in India put out by the National Sample Survey Organisation was "not true" as there were many areas which have not been captured while arriving at the outcome.

Rudy said the ministry was looking at the services sector "in a big way" towards skilling its workforce to meet the demands of the industry.

At another event here, Rudy said the government is imparting skill-based training for entry-level jobs and employment opportunities for people in the unorganised sector including those seeking to work abroad as drivers and domestic help.

"Ideally, such basic skills should be imparted at the school-level itself but since it did not happen, it is being taken up separately by the government," said Rudy while addressing an Assocham Skill India Summit.

Rudy also said there have been many instances where people went abroad to work as a driver or as domestic help but since they were not aware of the rules, law and order of that foreign country they got caught and were imprisoned for unknowingly doing something wrong.

He, however, conceded that the government is finding it difficult to train as many people in accordance with the demand of the industry.
As expected some of the alleged shell companies done in by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) crackdown on them have gone to the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT), and might receive suitable redressal. But that does not mean the government was wrong or hasty in cracking down on shell companies.

Last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi while addressing chartered accountants at their annual general meeting in Delhi said as many as 1 lakh shell companies have been de-registered and 37,000 more have been identified for further action.

Angry commentators and editorials question the Sebi action and term it as being unfair as neither the investors nor the companies have been told in black and white what their fault was. In other words, one of the fundamental principles of natural justice, audi alteram partem (hear the other side) has been violated. This, according to them, is unjust coming as it does from a quasi-judicial body like the Sebi.

For the uninitiated, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on 7 August, 2017 forwarded a list of 331 suspected shell companies to the stock exchanges directing them to take corrective action. Accordingly, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on 8 August placed 162 companies out of the total 331 in the list, in the stage VI of the Graded Surveillance Measure (GSM) with immediate effect.

Under the stage VI of GSM framework, trading in these identified securities shall be permitted only once a month under trade-to-trade category. Further, any upward price movement in these securities shall not be permitted beyond the last traded price and additional surveillance deposit of 200 percent of trade value shall be collected form the buyers which shall be retained with exchanges for a period for five months.

To slap first and then ask questions is indeed bad, but critics have been presumptuous when they allege lack of any enquiry on the part of the authorities before the crackdown.

The government has mined enormous and copious amount of data on shell companies and their activities. It is acknowledged that incorporation has been abused in this country as indeed elsewhere for carrying on nefarious activities including tax evasion and parking ill-gotten assets. The anonymity conferred by faceless companies is the main attraction for crooks.

Lifting off of the corporate veil is a well-recognised and time-tested weapon in the arsenal of justice to unearth activities inimical to the nation. If inquiry reveals prima facie wrongdoing, then the government must act forthwith lest it is accused of closing the stables after the horses have bolted.

Now comes the question of interests of shareholders and investors in the shares of the listed companies. While it is true that listing is the gravitas for investors in shares as it guarantees free entry and exit on transparently determined terms in the bourses, it is equally true that investors invest at their own peril if they are not sufficiently vigilant before parting with their money especially in the primary market at the time of IPO.

True, companies have been mandated to come clean through their prospectuses and other offer documents but no amount of precaution is too much because wrongdoings do occur despite disclosures.

Investors ought to wonder what a company is doing. There are investors who blindly follow the market in a spirit of herd-mentality. It is surprising that they did not demur despite knowing the companies concerned in some cases did not carry on any activity much less showed turnover.

Suspension of trading does hurt investors and the market but it is inevitable when nations interests have to be protected. If it turns out that the government and the Sebi have indeed been high-handed with some companies, then that is altogether a different issue to be addressed separately.
New Delhi: Flipkart on Thursday said SoftBank Vision Fund, the world's largest technology-focused fund, has invested in the e-commerce company to become one of its largest shareholder.

Without disclosing the amount invested, the company said: "This is the biggest ever private investment in an Indian technology company."

In a statement, it said: "The investment is part of the previously announced financing round, where Flipkart had raised capital from three of the world's premier technology companies - Tencent, eBay and Microsoft.

"After this financing round, Flipkart will have in excess of $4 billion of cash on balance sheet."

In a tweet, Binny Bansal, co-founder and CEO, Flipkart welcomed SoftBank Vision Fund.

Excited to welcome Softbank Vision Fund as a long-term partner in @Flipkart!A true recognition of Indias potential https://t.co/yGoGUEpOzz  binnybansal (@binnybansal) August 10, 2017

Earlier this month PTI had reported, citing industry sources, the Japanese conglomerate is looking at investing about $2 billion in the home-grown e-commerce major.

This investment assumes significance as SoftBank-backed Snapdeal last month called off merger talks with Flipkart.

SoftBank, which has investments in Indian start-ups like Snapdeal and cab aggregator Ola, had committed investments worth $10 billion in India in 2014. In May this year, SoftBank pumped in $1.4 billion (over Rs 9,079 crore) in Indian digital payments platform, Paytm.

SoftBank Vision Fund, founded by SoftBank Group Chairman Masayoshi Son, operates as a separate entity. It also has participants like Apple, Foxconn and Public Investment Fund of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

SoftBank in May had said the fund will target "meaningful, long-term" investments in companies that seek to enable the next age of innovation.

The fund would acquire minority and majority interests in both private and public companies, ranging from emerging technology businesses to established, multi-billion dollar companies that require substantial growth funding.

For Flipkart, the funding would provide it with more arsenal to compete with the US-based Amazon.

The two players have been locked in an intense battle for leadership in the Indian market and have been pumping in millions of dollars to strengthen infrastructure as well as bring more sellers and buyers online.

In April this year, Flipkart had raised $1.4 billion from Microsoft, eBay and Tencent at a valuation of $11.6 billion.

Amazon, on its part, has pumped in close to $600 million across various units in India since January this year.

(With PTI inputs)
New Delhi: US-based cab aggregator Uber today said its India business has grown over 100 percent year-on-year, driven by strong adoption of services like Pool and expansion into smaller cities.

Uber India, which competes with SoftBank-backed Ola, said it has seen the number of completed trips on its platform grow from 19.2 million in July 2016 to 41.3 million in July this year, a jump of 115 percent.

On sequential basis, the company registered a growth of 6.4 percent from 38.8 million completed trips in June 2017.

"Uber launched in India four years ago as the 18th country for us with just 3 employees. Today, we have over 1,000 employees and continue our exponential growth journey," Uber President India and South Asia Amit Jain told PTI.

The company is focussed on providing affordable and reliable rides as well as providing livelihood opportunities to thousands of driver partners, he added.

"Our July 2017 numbers mark a 115 percent growth over the same month last year. We continue to innovate on new products like UberMoto, UberHire and use technology to further streamline rider and driver acquisition, retention and marketplace efficiency," Jain said.

Uber has already completed 500 million trips in India. It operates in 29 Indian cities and has 2.85 lakh active driver partners on its platform. It sees about 8 million monthly active riders.
New Delhi: Denial of government benefits because of lack of Aadhaar or problems in its authentication is violation of norms and the violators should be punished, UIDAI CEO Ajay Bhushan Pandey said on Wednesday.

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) -- the agency responsible for issuing the 12-digit number -- termed the assertion by some activists who doubted Aadhaar removing bogus beneficiaries as "distorted". It went on to term the activists' claims targeting Aadhaar as statements made with "malafide intent".

"Their inferences arise from a skewed approach and draws misconstrued interpretations to pass off incorrect assumptions on Aadhaar," Pandey said in an e-mailed statement. He termed Aadhaar as a technology for people's empowerment and not as a tool for exclusion or denial.

Stating that so far over 116 crore people have the 12-digit unique identification number and almost 99 percent adults have been covered under it, Pandey said the Aadhaar Act itself "mandates that not even one person be denied of benefits for the lack of Aadhaar". He said regulations too cast a "responsibility" on the agency requiring the identification number to enrol its beneficiary and provide the individual with benefits till the person is given Aadhaar.

The Act also provides for statutory protection to those who are unable to authenticate because of worn-out fingerprints or other reasons such as technical faults.

Pandey clarified that in case a person has difficulty in getting fingerprints authenticated on a machine, he and she has the option to provide a copy of the Aadhaar card and can receive the benefits till the system is rectified.

"The field agencies have been accordingly instructed through the notifications issued by the government. In spite of this, if a person is denied because he does not have Aadhaar or he is unable to biometrically authenticate, it is undisputedly a violation of instructions issued by the government and such violators have to be punished," he said.

To claim that Aadhaar is responsible for denial of benefits is nothing but a "misconstrued fact presented with malafide intent", he said. "... such denial-related offences at the local level have to be dealt by local law enforcements," Pandey pointed out.

Asserting that distribution of benefits through Aadhaar authentication makes it harder to fudge records and deny genuine beneficiaries, he pointed out that overall the system brings greater accountability and empowerment as it makes impersonation and denial of rights more difficult.
New Delhi: Jet Airways on Wednesday said Vinay Dube has joined as its chief executive officer after receipt of all requisite government and regulatory approvals. An Indian American, Dube's appointment was approved by the airline's board of directors on 30 May. Jet Airways has been without a full-time CEO since Cramer Ball quit in February 2016. Since the exit of Ball last year, there have been two acting CEOs -- Gaurang Shetty and Amit Agarwal.

In a release, the airline said Dube has joined the company as CEO "after receipt of all requisite government and regulatory approvals". His appointment also comes at a time when the airline is facing challenging business conditions. Dube has served in various roles at Delta Airlines, Sabre Inc and American Airlines in the US, Europe and Asia.

"Vinay (Dube) will lead the executive management committee to deliver on our strategic objectives, at a time when the Indian aviation market is poised to develop manifold going forward," Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal said.

Under Dube's leadership, Goyal said the airline would accelerate the momentum of turning around the company as well as deepen relationship with strategic partner Etihad Airways.

"I am indeed happy to return to India after more than three decades to join the country's premier international airline at an extremely interesting and exciting time. I look forward to meeting the organisation's objectives with the support of the entire management team and employees, in order to strengthen and grow the airline and its illustrious legacy," Dube said.

In a filing to the stock exchanges, Jet Airways said the civil aviation ministry, through a letter today, granted security clearance for the appointment of Dube as CEO.

Consequently, Amit Agarwal ceases to be the acting CEO of the company, the filing added. Agarwal continues to be the chief financial officer of the company, it said in another filing.

Prior to the appointment, Dube had served as Senior Vice President (Asia Pacific) at Delta Airlines. He was also a board observer at China Eastern.

"During his tenure in Asia, Vinay (Dube) successfully led the turnaround of the Airline in the Asia Pacific markets, restructured the network, established strategic partnerships, worked extensively on brand-building and successfully brought about a transformation in the work culture of his teams," the release said.
When it was announced that Charlize Theron would star in an action film directed by one of the guys who made John Wick, one couldnt be more pumped. The trailer delivered on the promise as the film seemed like an incredibly cool, atmospheric cold war thriller with insane action sequences. The film, unfortunately, is a bit of a let down.

The elements are all present  Theron as a super duper spy who can kick multiple asses simultaneously, action scenes with long takes and realistic punching and kicking, as well as moody cinematography and a ton of sex appeal. If only the story department worked a little harder to match up to the rest of the film.

Its 1989, at the height of the Cold War  Theron plays Lorraine, an MI6 agent summoned by her boss (Toby Jones) and a mysterious CIA man (John Goodman) to debrief them on a top secret mission she was involved in a few days ago. She was sent to Berlin to kill the faceless Satchel, a rogue British agent who had been feeding information to the Russian KGB. She teams up with David (James McAvoy) for the mission but finds herself in deeper trouble than she had anticipated. Naturally the mission goes quite wrong and Lorraine spends the rest of the film thrashing shady double agents, Russian oligarchs and their henchmen.

The formulaic story structure takes away from the solid atmosphere built in the film. Anyone who has watched a few dozen thrillers with double agents will figure out the films reveal within a few minutes. Even John Wick was formulaic but the execution set it apart from previous films with similar plots so the cliches didnt matter. There was also a sense of self-awareness in that movie which is sorely missed in Atomic Blonde which takes itself far too seriously. The tone is relentlessly highbrow when the material it executes is cringe-inducingly low brow, ending in a bland and forgettable cocktail.

There is a lesbian sub plot which exists for no reason but to titillate and then give Therons character someone to root for and ultimately save from the bad guys. Sofia Boutella who played the Mummy in the recent remake is once again wasted in a role that looks promising and badass but is dealt a really bad hand as a damsel-in-distress. Theron herself isnt as likable as Reeves in John Wick  merely looking cool in every scene doesnt really cut it, more so because her Furiosa character is so similarly sullen in nature.

The action choreography is of course delightful; a 10-minute one-take action sequence set on a staircase is particularly eye popping. The problem is there isnt enough action in the film to justify a full fledged movies length, and the slack pacing really tests your patience levels in your wait for the next big but kicking sequence. Director David Leitch is making Deadpool 2 next  hopefully he brings his skill set from John Wick than from this movie.
A safe haven where drug users inject themselves with heroin and other drugs has been quietly operating in the United States for the past three years, a report reveals.

None were known to exist in the U.S. until the disclosure in a medical journal, although several states and cities are pushing to establish these so-called supervised injection sites where users can shoot up under the care of trained staff who can treat an overdose if necessary.

In the report released Tuesday, two researchers said they've been evaluating an underground safe place that opened in 2014. As a condition of their research, they didn't disclose the location of the facility  which is unsanctioned and potentially illegal  or the social service agency running it.

The researchers offered little data, and their main finding was that no one died while injecting at the safe place. There were two overdoses on site, which were reversed by staff members using the overdose medication naloxone.

Advocates and some politicians in recent years have called for government-sanctioned injection sites as the U.S. grapples with the opioid epidemic. More than 52,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2015  the most ever  fueled by soaring abuse of heroin and prescription painkillers. Government statistics for the first nine months of last year, also released Tuesday, show overdose death rates continuing to spiral.

Some say the new report could have an impact on efforts to establish safe injection sites around the U.S. Such sites have been backed by lawmakers in New York, California and other states, along with officials in cities like Seattle, San Francisco and Ithaca, New York.

"It shows people that it's possible" to operate one of these in the U.S., said Lindsay LaSalle, an attorney with Drug Policy Alliance who has helped draft safe haven legislative proposals in six states.

Injection sites are legal in countries including Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Switzerland where medical professionals monitor drug users. They also provide clean needles to prevent the spread of infectious diseases like HIV or hepatitis C. Ideally, they also steer users into treatment and other services.

Some experts say new approaches are needed to fight the opioid epidemic, including safe havens. But they've faced legal and political hurdles. Critics have argued these places may undermine prevention and treatment, and seem to fly in the face of laws aimed at stopping use of deadly illicit drugs.

Safe injection sites are different from syringe exchange programs, which were once controversial but now exist in 33 states.

The underground safe haven is open between four and six hours a day, five days a week, according to Alex Kral, a San Francisco-based researcher with RTI International, and Peter Davidson of the University of California, San Diego. Their report was published online in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

The space consists of two rooms  an "injection room" with five stainless steel stations with mirrors and stools and a room next door where users are monitored afterward. There are trained staff on hand, but no one who is medically licensed, according to the researchers. Smoking is not allowed there, but drugs like heroin, pain pills, cocaine and methamphetamine are.

Use of the space was by invitation only. Most visitors are white, homeless men. It was used 2,500 times over two years by over 100 people, although researchers say the exact number of participants isn't known because the facility relies on anonymous surveys.

There's no data on deaths or drug use by clients who injected when the site was closed and it's not known whether any went into treatment, Kral said.

The study also didn't look at issues opponents worry about, like whether creation of a safe place is associated with an increase in people beginning to try drugs, said Jonathan Caulkins, a drug policy expert at Carnegie Mellon University who nonetheless applauded the organization's effort to try to stop overdose deaths.
NEW DELHI: Controversial self-styled godman Swami Om was arrested by the Delhi Police on Wednesday, 9 August, on charges of theft. The case dates back to a complaint filed by Om's brother over nine years ago. Om's brother had accused the former Bigg Boss contestant of stealing bicycles along with some documents, the police said.

Om, real name Vinodanand Jha, was declared a proclaimed offender by the Saket Court in Delhi last year in the case, the police said.

In November 2008, an FIR was registered at Lodhi Colony police station against him on a complaint by his younger brother Pramod Jha.

Pramod had accused him of breaking the lock of his bicycle shop in Lodhi Colony along with three men and stealing 11 bicycles, expensive spare parts, a sales deed for a house and other important documents, a police officer said.

Last year, a non-bailable warrant was issued against him by the Saket court which subsequently declared him a proclaimed offender in the case.

The godman was hiding in a house in northeast Delhi's Bhajanpura and was arrested by a joint team of Lodhi Colony police station and Inter-State Cell of Crime Branch, the officer added.
Ranveer Singh is one of the most versatile actors of his generation  be it in roles like the passionate conman in Lootera or the Maratha general in Bajirao Mastani. The actor, will now reportedly, be seen in cop's avatar, in Rohit Shetty's next, as per DNA. The filmmaker had earlier said that the film will be an out-and-out action entertainer.

The film will reportedly be a remake of the 2015 Telugu hit film Temper, directed by Puri Jagannadh. Temper is the story of a corrupt cop who joins hands with a sumggler and makes money, illegally.

He is eventually shown the righteous path by his girlfriend, with some help from an honest constable. Temper had NT Rama Rao Jr and Kajal Aggarwal in leading roles.

Shetty is yet to confirm that he will be adapting the Telugu film for Bollywood.

Currently, Singh is shooting for Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Padmavati, after which he shall begin working for Zoya Akhtar's Gully Boys alongside Alia Bhatt. Shetty had earlier confirmed that the actor will start working on the film as soon as he finishes his prior commitments. Singh has never played a cop before in his life and this role will probably add another dimension to his already flourishing acting career.
With Imtiaz Ali's film, Jab Harry Met Sejal, flickering at the box-office currently after receiving lukewarm response from critics and the public, social media seems to be inundated with funny tweets and memes describing the movie-watching experience as sheer ordeal. One such funny tweet by the editor-in-chief of The News Minute, however, wasn't taken in good humour. Reason being, she had committed the grave mistake of comparing JHMS to Tamil Superstar Vijay's 2010 release, Sura.

It was reported earlier, how Dhanya Rajendran, a Bengaluru-based journalist and editor-in-chief of The News Minute, was trolled, abused and threatened on social media after she tweeted about her experience of watching the SRK-Anushka Sharma film.

The incident escalated when Twitter profiles, seemingly of Vijay's fans, bombarded Rajendran with hate messages and posts, and the count went up to 63,000 as reported by NDTV.

Rajendran, through her posts later, indicated that the backlash was an organised exercise in targeting her. She even brought out pictures and statistics to reinforce her claim.

After she filed a complaint with the Chennai police, the Cyber Crime Branch started investigating the matter and identifying the culprits. According to a report by The News Minute, an FIR has been filed under IPC sections 354 D (stalking), 506(1) (criminal intimidation), 507 (criminal intimidation by an anonymous communication), 509 (insulting the modesty of women), section 67 of IT Act (publishing obscene material), section 4 of TN Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act, and section 6 of the Indecent Representation of Women Act.

Vijay issued a statement decrying the incident. He said, "I respect women a lot. Everybody has the right to criticise anyones film. It is my view that no woman should be spoken of in a demeaning way for any reason or any time. Everyone has to praise womanhood. I request that nobody should share hurtful and wrong views about women on social media."
Jammu: Six top militant commanders, including LeT's Abu Dujana, and Burhan Wani's successor Sabzar Ahmad Bhat of Hizbul Mujahideen, were among 132 terrorists killed in encounters with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir, so far this year, according to official figures.

Security forces and police are going after the militants, as they have fiercely intensified operations to hunt them down by acting on the hit-list of top terrorist leaders in Kashmir.

The number of terrorists killed in the past seven months this year is the highest in the same period over the past seven years.

"As many as 132 terrorists have been killed in encounters with police and security forces in Kashmir Valley in over seven months this year," a senior security official told PTI.

While 115 militants have been killed till July-end, as many as 17 militants have been killed since then till 9 August, as per official statistics.

While 38 LeT militants were killed in over seven months till 9 August, 37 Hizbul militants were eliminated along with three of the Al-Qeada-linked Zakir Musa group, and another 54 unidentified militants were killed, mostly on the LoC.

"The relentless operations by the security forces have defeated the desperate attempts by Pakistan and its agents to spread terror in Jammu and Kashmir. Operations will be continued," a senior army officer said.

The slain militants included six top commanders of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Hizbul Mujahideen who were killed in fierce encounters in Kashmir during the period.

Top Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander Abu Dujana, a Pakistani national wanted in connection with several terror attacks, and his aide, were gunned down on 1 August by security forces in Hakripora area of Pulwama district.

Dujana was wanted for many attacks on security forces and political workers in south Kashmir.

He was variously described as a category 'A' or 'A++' militant by army and police officials. He was carrying a reward of Rs 10 lakh on his head.

On 1 July, another top LeT commander Bashir Lashkari and militant Azad Malik were killed in a firefight with security forces in Anantnag's Brenti village of Dialgam belt in south Kashmir.

Lashkari was involved in the killing of six policemen in the district's Acchabal area on 16 June.

On 28 May, top Hizbul militant Sabzar Ahmad Bhat, 27, who was a close associate of slain Hizbul commander Burhan Wani, was among two militants killed in an encounter in Tral, in south Kashmir.

Sabzar, who was seen as the successor of Wani, dropped out of school in his Rathsuna hamlet in Pulwama to join the Hizbul in March this year. Wani was killed on 8 July in 2016.

On 12 July, Sajad Gilkar was among three Hizbul militants killed by security forces in Budgam district of central Kashmir.

Gilkar had played a key role in the lynching of Mohammad Ayub Pandith, a deputy superintendent of police, near Jamia Masjid in Nowhatta area of capital Srinagar on 22 June.

Besides them, top LeT commander Abu Haris was killed in Bandipora in north Kashmir on 14 February, followed by killing of Abul Ali in Budgam on 22 April, while Abul Mala, Anis Bhai and Abu Mansoor of LeT were killed in Kupwara on 15 March, Abu Umar of LeT was killed in Sopore on 3 January, Abu Maviya was shot dead in Bandipora on 10 January and Sher Gujri was slain in Pulwama on March 9.

Most of the encounters took place in south Kashmir's Pulwama, Shopian and Anantnag, apart from Bandipora and Kupwara in north Kashmir and Budgam in central Kashmir, sources said.

In 2010, the highest number of 156 militants were neutralised in the first seven months of the year followed by 102 in 2017, 77 in 2016, 61 in 2011, and 51 each in 2014 and 2015 respectively, the data revealed.

Similarly, 43 militants were killed in 2013, followed by 37 in 2012.

The hunt for commanders and terrorists of various outfits has been intensified under operational strategy, security officials said.

The counter-terrorist grid continued to maintain dominance and deny any space to the terrorists.

Synergised hard-intelligence-based joint ops with the Jammu and Kashmir Police and Central Armed Police Forces have been the hallmark of these operations, they said.

Police and security forces pinned down and killed those involved involved in the killing of seven policemen and lynching of Pandith immediately, officials said, adding, that a massive hunt has been launched to track down LeT commander Abu Ismail who has emerged as the mastermind of the deadly attack on Amarnath pilgrims on 10 July.

In June, the army released a "hit-list" of 12 top militants who it aims to "go after".

The hit-list carried the names and pictures of the militants along with the areas they are active in and the strikes carried out by them.

Some on the list, including Dujana, have been eliminated over the past one month or so.
Srinagar: In Srinagars trade heartland, Lal Chowk, the local cab drivers sound like doomsayers. They are talking about the possible political fallouts in Kashmir, in case the Supreme Court of India abolishes Article 35A of the Constitution of India that restricts any Indian citizens other than state subjects of Jammu and Kashmir from acquiring immovable properties or having voting rights.

In that case, expect a deadly turmoil in Kashmir! Gulzar Ahmad, a driver, tells his colleague.

At a furlong distance, three hawkers selling garments sound no different.

Imagine a day when settlers will come here, live in our neighbourhood, and call the shots with the aid of their army over us," says a hawker, adding, I think, an Israeli model stands completed now.

The others could only offer sighs than to comment or intervene over his 'no fun' remark.

Such 'distressed' talks have overtaken the Valley since last week. It is reminding people of those 'talks of revolt' that took place in the Kashmir Valley before Burhan Wanis killing last summer in an encounter with forces.

These discussions are taking place inside offices, shops, streets, buses and inside homes. The idea of losing their permanent residency, employment, property, and scholarship, to outsiders, in case the Article 35A is removed or altered, is keeping Kashmiris on the edge.

Near Srinagars Tourist Reception Centre (TRC), Mushtaq Ahmad is eagerly waiting for passengers. This burly man in his mid-twenties is quite aware of the 'onslaught on Kashmirs special status'.

"Kashmiris wont allow tinkering with our state subject law. We still repent the day when our leader Sheikh Abdullah committed a blunder by trusting the Delhi (government)," says Ahmad.

But now, he says, as a train of tourists comes out of the TRC after registration, The government of India must know that it isnt the same Kashmir as before. Any attempts to alter our constitutional status will be opposed tooth and nail."

This defiant mood has to do with the petition filed by an NGO 'We the Citizens' in the Supreme Court in 2014, seeking to scrap Article 35A.

Article 35A of the Constitution empowers the Jammu and Kashmir legislature to define its "permanent residents" and their special rights and privileges. It was added to the Constitution in 1954 through a presidential order.

After serving notices to both, the state as well as Centre, the apex court only received counter-petition filed by the state government.

The BJP-ruled Centre refused to file an affidavit, but instead sought a "larger debate". The Centres posturing has unsettled the mood in the Valley with political commentators asserting that the Narendra Modi-led government is actually clearing all decks to scrap the article to settle outsiders in the Valley.

In fact, a larger sense prevails in the Valley that the BJP government wants to resolve the Kashmir issue through demographic changes.

While the Opposition and separatist camps in Kashmir have threatened an uprising over the judicial tinkering of the Article 35A, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has warned the central government that any such attempts wont leave any "tricolour upholder" in the Valley.

The commoners in the Valley are getting mentally prepared for putting up a "bigger battle" to safeguard their constitutional positioning.

Zubair Bhat, a Srinagar-based cab driver says his debt burden has increased over the years with unrest in the Valley. Commenting on the controversy, he says, "On the one hand, the government of India calls for peace in Kashmir, while on the other hand, it threatens the very idea of it by resorting to the courts to achieve its political motives."

"Now, tell me, who is playing the role of a 'terrorist' in Kashmir?"

In restive Maisuma, the stronghold of pro-freedom leader Yasin Malik, the buzz is getting shrill. Many residents who often take the security forces head-on through street protests here see a 'Hindutva pattern' in the latest controversy.

"Ever since the PDP formed a coalition government with the BJP, every person in Kashmir knew that there would be tension. This is an RSS government," says Amir Ilahi, a youth who calls himself a JKLF ideologue. "But we will make sure we do not accede to their wishes and demands."

In uptown Srinagar, many pose a question as to why the People's Democratic Party (PDP) is still in alliance with the BJP. In this 'new' Srinagar neighbourhood known to house the government officialdom, the mood might not be militant, but the locals are flaying the Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP-BJP government.

Every Kashmiri is politically sound as we are living in a political disturbed and conflict zone. How come RSS thinks that they can fool people of Kashmir by resorting to such tactics?" says Javeed Dar, a trader in Hyderpora.

In Srinagars MA Road, which is lately witnessing a string of protests by students of a womens college, against the security crackdown on Kashmiris, a college-goer Insha Mir blames Modi and his government for triggering fresh tensions in the Valley.

"They want to keep this violent cycle going," says Mir, a womens college sophomore. "They wish for Kashmir to get disturbed, like in 2016, and that our people should again get killed or injured with pellets, slapped with cases under the Public Safety Act and be taken to the jails and police stations."

In Kashmirs restriction zone aka Downtown Srinagar, the discussions revolve around Delhis (central governments) "decadal deceit" with the people of Kashmir.

India simply wants Kashmir, not Kashmiris, says Mohammad Yaseen, a retired PHE engineer, of Rajouri Kadal, the bastion of Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq. "Otherwise, they would have never said that Indians will come and settle here to help change the azadi discourse. But they are mistaken. Such attempts hardly undo the legitimate demands."

In the narrow lanes of Habba Kadal, a non-migrant Kashmiri Pandit, who only gives his first name to protect his identity, calls the 'article 35A controversy' as New Delhi's foolishness.

"So far, the government of India has not been successful in getting the Kashmiri Pandits back to Kashmir, and now this blatant attempt to create a mini-India out of Kashmir is simply nonsensical, says Suresh.

"They only know how to trigger tensions in Kashmir. They should come and live here for a week as a commoner, and then give these nonsensical statements."

Suresh adds that even his migrant Pandit brethren dont want to return to the Valley, which is affected because of the everyday killings, strikes, and lack of jobs.

From hawker to grocers, and from manufacturers to dealers, everyone stands united in their view.

"Every Kashmiri wants to fight. I know my business will also suffer, but I can manage with sookhi dal roti (dry rotis) than allowing any sinister designs to alter the demography of my Valley, says an hotelier in Srinagar.

Meanwhile, Mohammad Yaseen Khan, president of Kashmir Traders and Manufacturers Federation (KTMF) in Srinagar says that when people are faced with atrocities, it is a natural tendency to fight against it.

"India should take note that it is a politically disturbed state and if they (the Centre) falters with our law, not only in Kashmir, but 80 percent of the state will be affected and there will be violence all around."

Safeena Wani is a Srinagar-based freelance writer and a member of 101Reporters.com, a pan-India network of grassroots reporters. She tweets as @safeena_wani
Lucknow: Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday launched a scathing attack on the Yogi Adityanath government, alleging that crime is spiralling and law and order is crumbling in Uttar Pradesh.

Addressing the media, the former chief minister said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that came to power promising to spruce up the law and order machinery in the state has failed to deliver on it.

He said the Adityanath government's track record in the almost six months so far has been "abysmal".

"Policemen are being beaten up, officials being threatened and the hapless public hounded by criminals as the state government is appearing helpless and uninterested in improving things," he said.

"There is serious disenchantment with the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government. The criminals are running amock and the power of police is eroding fast," the former chief minister said.

Taking a dig at the inclusion of former Samajwadi Party MLC Bukkal Nawaab into the BJP party fold, Akhilesh Yadav said: "BJP was claiming to take action against the land mafia but was now taking them into their party."

"Bukkal Nawaab is accused of fraudulently taking compensation on the Gomti Riverfront Project, a land that did not belong to him."

"Now only the government can explain how will it take action against such people," the 44-year-old leader said.

Pointing out how a young schoolgirl was hacked to death in public by criminals in Ballia, he said it's a shame that the state government was claiming to have taken action.

Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speeches ahead of the assembly polls that accused SP workers and leaders of running the Uttar Pradesh police stations, Akhilesh Yadav questioned "who was running them now?".

He said crime was not under control and extortion by the police was on the rise.

"We had given Dial 100 services to the state which was appreciated by all, the present government has destroyed this public-oriented project as well," he said.

Akhilesh Yadav said all the promises of jobs have turned out to be "a farce". He also brought up the examination paper leak of a sub-inspector recruitment process and demanded action by the Adityanath government.

He also claimed that his party workers in Auraiyya, Agra, Mainpuri, Kannauj and other party strongholds were being victimised and targeted by the police.

"I personally spoke to the Director General of Police Sulkhan Singh, but it is apparent that he is not in a position to say or do anything," Akhilesh Yadav stated.
China's recent indirect threat of entering Kalapani seems to have set the alarm bells ringing regarding India's security situation near the borders with Nepal and China.

Located close to the Indo-Nepal border in Uttarakhand's hilly Pithoragarh district, Kalapani is currently under the Indo-Tibetan Border Police's (ITBP) watch. Nepal has, in the past, attempted to stake a claim over this disputed land, while China is also located close by.

A recent statement by China's foreign ministry had brought up Kalapani for the first time. "What if we enter Kashmir or Kalapani in Uttarakhand?" asked Wang Wenli, deputy director general of Boundary and Ocean Affairs, part of China's foreign affairs ministry.

At a time when Indian and Chinese forces are involved in a stand-off near the tri-border junction at Doka La, this statement has acquired additional significance.

Moreover, it's the second instance of Chinese threats near the Uttarakhand border. A year ago, there was a report about increased Chinese activity in the grazing lands of Bara Hoti, located in the state's Chamoli district.

China's threat also underlines the very urgent need for building proper infrastructure near the international border areas of Uttarakhand. Until not very long ago, Rajnath Singh had showed his concern for faster development work, like construction of roads, bridges, etc. along the 3,488-km India-China border, at a meeting with chief ministers of five Himalayan states. Among the five is Uttarakhand, which shares a 345-km border with China. Not surprisingly, there is history of transgression in these areas from China.

There are three Uttarakhand districts that lie on the border with China: Uttarkashi, Chamoli and Pithoragarh. These are all hilly regions that are suffering from large-scale migration away to the cities. In fact, locals can recall stories about Himalayan passes that were used to connect Tibet for trade purposes, until the 1962 war.

If Pithoragarh has the Belchadhura Pass and Lipulekh Pass, which are the routes taken by the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, the Mana Pass, Niti Pass, and Barahoti grasslands are in Chamoli district. Uttarakashi's Nilong Pass was known for its traditional trade and business links between India and Tibet. However, all of it came to an end following 1962. Nelong Pass in the Nelong Valley is also close to the China border. But since the war took place, locals residing in the valley moved to Uttarkashi. Now locals need permit to enter the valley. Prior to the war, trade with Tibet was the economic mainstay of these villages. Even today, a narrow wooden bridge, known locally as Gartang Gali, bears testimony to these times.

It appears that China considers India most vulnerable when it comes to the Uttarakhand border. Beijing has developed good infrastructure and has enabled easy movement of troops on its side of the border, while India hasn't been able to do the same in Pithoragarh and Uttarkashi. Villages located on the border areas continue to wait even for basic amenities. A crucial road link to the last Indian post, of Lipulekh in Dharchula village, is still to take proper shape. The Lipulekh Pass is used mostly by Kailash Mansarovar pilgrims to reach the famous pilgrimage site in Tibet. The Border Roads Organisation is working on this 76-km project through a rugged and very difficult mountainous terrain.

Closer to the China border is Niti Valley in Chamoli district. It was once a village with about 250 families, but fewer than 50 of these now live here. Living a nomadic life, they keep moving to the state's plain regions in the winter, returning to Niti in the summer months.

Barahoti, a grassland area in Chamoli district, is connected to Joshimath through roads and has a 100-km motorable road up to Rimkhim, the last Indian post. As per reports published in Firstpost earlier, the dispute at Barahoti dates back to the British days when, as per a 1952 intelligence Bureau report, Hoti was popular among traders going to Tibet during the summers. But in 1954, with the Panchsheel Agreement on trade and pilgrimage in Tibet, India stopped trade with Tibet.

During an internal security meeting held in New Delhi in 2013, Uttarakhand's then chief minister Vijay Bahuguna revealed that China made 37 incursion attempts between 2007-2012 in Barahoti. In July last year, transgressions were reported from Barahoti, while some more were again reported in July this year. Reports also came to light after a few days through grazers who take their cattle to the meadows.

A weak second line of defence is clearly reflected in this situation, which is arising due to poor infrastructure on the border areas, and Uttarakhand may have to pay a hefty price in future. Reports of transgression and intrusions reach the local administrations very late, and it is definitely not a good sign when it comes to the security of this hilly state.
On Sunday, Union minister Arun Jaitley flew to Thiruvananthapuram in a military transport  at the taxpayers' expense  to condole the death an RSS worker hacked to death, allegedly by CPM cadres.

Now, there is nothing wrong per se in Jaitley visiting anyone who has suffered a grievous loss, especially if the visit is made in his capacity as a citizen. But the moment he turned up with all the might of the State at his back, the equation changed.

Given that the situation in Kerala is devolving into an all-out political gang war, Jaitley should have used the occasion to visit the families of slain CPM workers. This would have had a positive effect and hopefully, put a temporary end to the madness that grips the state.

But it doesn't end there.

As defence minister, Jaitley ought to have blown his stop at his staff for placing him in this incredibly awkward position. He was poorly advised. Even as he shared his grief and expressed his sorrow at the death of the RSS worker, only a short distance away sat another grieving family: Of 25-year-old Sukhoi pilot S Achudev, who was killed in a jet crash in Arunachal.

It was incumbent on Jaitley, as a government representative and defence minister, to have made this mini detour and called on the grief-stricken parents of this young pilot who gave up his life serving his country.

The underlying message from politicians: The defence minister had no time to meet the parents of the man who served the nation and gave his life up for her. Who cares for those in uniform?

If the armed forces are a bit miffed at this, they have a good reason to be.

In all fairness, Jaitley probably did not know that the bereaved family was nearby. This is where his entourage comes into the picture. Surely, they should have done their homework. Surely, you can see why some would be upset if you took an air force plane to visit the home of someone killed in service of the party but not the home of someone who died serving the nation.

Couldn't his team have figured this out during the visit? After all, this is the defence ministry. Don't they know a plane went down and two good men lost their lives? Many soldiers have given up their todays for our tomorrows at the border. They come home in coffins and with full military honours. But has the defence minister attended those funerals or grieved with their families?

Jaitley might not think he has done anything wrong. That this is the norm. For him, the RSS worker was more important and those belonging to the BJP's ideological fountainhead needed to be appeased. After all, the air force isn't going to create a ruckus. They're professionals.

However, if Jaitley wants to continue to enjoy the perks of being defence minister, he must do the right things by his boys. With Jaitley sauntering off to Goa and displaying a thorough lack of interest in this vital portfolio, we now have a part-time defence minister whose speciality is finance.

The government cannot seem to find a full-time defence minister. Which tells you exactly how much they value our men in uniform.
Mumbai mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar on Thursday announced that Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has passed a motion to make singing of 'Vande Mataram' compulsory in all the civic-run schools, ANI reported. It will come into effect after Municipal Commissioner Ajoy Mehta gives his administrative nod to the proposal.

BMC passes notice of motion to make Vande Matram compulsory in BMC run schools; will be sent to state govt for final decision: Mumbai Mayor pic.twitter.com/wtPH1WNrRx  ANI (@ANI) August 10, 2017

The decision was taken after BMC's general body meeting on Thursday. The Madras High Court ruling had triggered a political slugfest in the Maharashtra Legislature, with a BJP MLA demanding its implementation in schools and colleges of the state, while the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and Samajwadi Party MLAs strongly opposing the proposal.

According to The Times of India, a first-time BJP corporator from Goregoan Sandeep Patel had tabled a notice demanding that Vande Mataram should be compulsorily sung in all BMC schools at least twice a week. His proposal was supported by the ruling Shiv Sena, and Mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar who approved it on Thursday.

Patel was quoted as saying, "The song as such would only increase patriotism in the minds of children. Therefore, I strongly felt that the BMC should consider this proposal." He was of the opinion that the song should also be sung in all BMC statutory committee meetings.

However, during the meeting, Samajwadi party leader Rais Shaikh strongly opposed the proposal and demanded a poll over the issue and said that he did not oppose singing Vande Mataram; however, there is no need to make it compulsory in schools.

According to The New Indian Express, he was quoted as saying, "...I also love my motherland but according to our religion, 'vandan' is allowed only for 'Allah and no one else." The Congress and Samajwadi Party corporators boycotted the proceedings, alleging that they were not allowed to put forth their views.

The Financial Express said Dalit leader Ramdas Athawale had earlier supported the proposal and said that theres nothing wrong if one does not wish to sing Vande Mataram. He was quoted as saying,Everybody should recite Vande Mataram, but if it is not recited what will go wrong?..."

The proposal was even supported by a senior BJP MLA Raj Purohit, who had assured that he would meet Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and seek his intervention to make it compulsory for everybody to sing the national song at any event. He was of the opinion that every event should begin with Vande Mataram and end with Jana Gana Mana.

Patel was inspired by the recent Madras High Court verdict that made Vande Mataram compulsory in all schools, colleges and universities at least once a week, which too was questioned and criticised by several people. This Firstpost article also argues that the constitutionality of such a verdict is unclear.

"The courts job is to give pronouncements according to the laws of the land. From which law of the land do these singing frequencies of once a month or Monday/Friday originate? What is a valid reason for not singing the song? Is the refusal of a Tamil to compulsorily sing praises of Mother Bengal a valid reason? The song is in Bangla. Which article of the Constitution states that a Tamil must know a certain Bangla song? If a Tamil doesnt know a Bangla song (a Bangla song translated into Tamil is still a Bangla song) or refuses to learn it, what article of the Constitution forces anyone to learn Bangla? None, as far as I know," the article reads.

The same argument can perhaps be made for the BMC schools in Mumbai, in the state of Maharashtra. Why should a Maharashtrian child be expected to learn and know a Bengali anthem?

The Opposition too has asserted that the move was "unacceptable", however, later clarified that they aren't opposing Vande Mataram but the way it is being implemented in the city is unconstitutional. The Opposition is planning to meet the commissioner and put across their point in the coming week.
HARRISBURG  Vodka, ginger beer and lime, thrown in a copper mug, make a Moscow mule.

Iowa is now banning the popular cup these beverages come in due to health concerns.

Studies show the cocktail and the cups may be able to cause copper poisoning.

The Iowa Alcoholic Beverage Division recently adopted the FDA code prohibiting copper from coming into direct contact with foods that have a pH below 6.0.

Lime has a pH level of 5.5.

Copper was always said to be a possibility for health concerns. Some would leach into your product. I think its the acidic acid that has something to do with it, said Gary Tyber, a bartender at the Sturges Speakeasy in Harrisburg.

The state Department of Health says excessive ingestion of copper, from mugs, plates or silverware, can cause nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.

Some people say (the copper) enhances the flavor, some people say it makes the drink that much colder, Tyber said.

According to state Department of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported multiple outbreaks of copper poisoning from contaminated beverages. Pennsylvania has no plans to ban copper cups unless the FDA and CDC order it.

The Health Department also says most copper mugs are lined with tin or stainless steel, making them safe to serve and eat or drink from.
New Delhi: As a debate raged over the special status to Jammu and Kashmir, the Centre will explain to the Supreme Court the legal aspects of Article 35-A of the Constitution, which empowers the state legislature to define permanent citizens.

Attorney General KK Venugopal is expected to explain before the Supreme Court the legal aspects of Article 35-A, which gives special status to the state under Article 370, home ministry officials said.

Since the petition is focused on procedural issues, the Attorney General would be presenting the legal aspects as enumerated in the Constitution, the officials in the know of the development said.

The Supreme Court last month had asked the Centre to file a reply within three weeks to a writ petition filed by an NGO seeking that Article 35-A be struck down.

The PIL said the state government, under the guise of Article 35-A and Article 370, which grants special autonomous status to the state, has been discriminating against non-residents who are debarred from buying properties, getting a government job or voting in the local elections.

Article 35-A was added to the Constitution by a presidential order in 1954.

Article 370 grants special status to Jammu and Kashmir, while Article 35-A, added to the Indian Constitution through a presidential order, empowers the Jammu and Kashmir legislature to define the state's "permanent residents" and their special rights and privileges.

While the Jammu and Kashmir government contested the petition saying the president had the power to incorporate a new provision in the Constitution by way of an order, the Centre recently expressed its reservations.

It filed a reply and requested the three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India JS Khehar to refer the matter to a larger bench as constitutional issues were involved in the case.
Haryana BJP chief Subhash Barala's son Vikas and friend Ashish Kumar, who had been arrested on Wednesday and charged with the attempted abduction of 29-year-old-Varnika Kundu, were sent to a two-day police custody, media reports said.

The duo was produced before a magistrate court on Wednesday afternoon after hours of interrogation.Police sought remand of the two accused from the court, saying it wanted to reconstruct the crime scene.

Civil judge Barjinder Pal Singh remanded the two accused to police custody till 12 August.

The defence submitted before the court that the case is based merely on apprehension of kidnapping, which has been built under pressure.The defence counsel submitted that media trial was going on in the case, further pointing out that no recoveries were to be made from the two accused.

India Today reported that the accused denied that the allegations of having chased, stalked or trying to kidnap Varnika.

Contradicting their earlier statements, the accused also denied having known her, the report added.

PTI reported that Vikas and Kumar were re-arrested on Wednesday after they were charged with a non-bailable offence of attempted abduction under section 365 of the IPC and section 511. It relates to an attempt to commit an offence punishable with life or other imprisonments.

DGP Tejinder Luthria had said on Wednesday, "There are many things from the crime scene that we need to clarify and hence we would request the court to allow us to take Luthria into police custody. We also need to reconstruct the route they took," Luthria said.

They had earlier been arrested on 5th August following the woman's complaint but released on bail as they had been booked under bailable sections of the IPC and the Motor Vehicles Act.

The stalking incident  and their release  triggered a nation-wide outrage and a spate of protests.

The two accused on Wednesday joined the police investigation at the sector 26 police station, where they were grilled and later arrested.

With inputs from PTI
Haryana BJP chief Subhash Barala's son Vikas, accused of allegedly stalking and attempting to kidnap Varnika Kundu in Chandigarh, is not the only Barala family member to have been involved in a case of violence against women.

According to NDTV, a case has been filed against Subash's relative Vikram Barala aka Vicky, for allegedly kidnapping a minor girl from their ancestral village in Fatehabad.

Vikram and Vikas's cousin Kuldeep Barala have also been accused of threatening the girl to prevent her from speaking about the kidnapping.

Kuldeep, who was one of the first from the Barala household to jump to Vikas' defence, had resorted to victim shaming Varnika. He had shared a photo of the victim in a now deleted Facebook post, with two men, and had implied that she was drunk at the time of the incident to malign her character.

According to Times of India, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has asked Haryana Police to file a status report into an investigation of allegations that Subhash's nephew Kuldeep and others had pressured a minor girl from Fatehabad into changing her statement after she was allegedly kidnapped by Vikram in May.

"Till date, no action has been taken against the respondents because they are very influential people and close relatives of MLA of the Tohana constituency (Subhash Barala). Hence, local police under their influence are not taking any action," Times of India quoted the complainant as saying.

According to NDTV, the minor girl's lawyer had said that the accused had threatened and browbeaten the victim into keeping silent about the kidnapping.

An India Today report reveals that besides the kidnapping, the accused Vikram has also been accused of beating up a youth and then locking him inside the trunk of his car.

A case under section 323, 341, 506 and 427 of the IPC was registered against Vicky at a Tohana police station last month, but he is still roaming free, the report says.
Vikas Barala, the son of Haryana BJP chief Subhash Barala, has confessed to chasing the car of Varnika Kundu, according to an NDTV report.

Vikas and his friend Ashish Kumar, who were arrested on charges of trying to abduct Kundu, the 29-year-old-daughter of an IAS officer, will be produced before a local Chandigarh court Thursday.

The police, after interrogating Vikas for nearly three hours, said it had both CCTV footage and eyewitnesses, according to the NDTV report.

On Monday, Chandigarh Police said that there was no CCTV footage of the incident.

Deputy Superintendent of Police had said that they attempted to obtain footage from nine CCTV cameras along the route, from Sector 7 to Housing Board traffic light point, the five-kilometre stretch where Varnika was reportedly chased, but all were found to be "non-functional".

However, on Tuesday, following the flak from the victim and her family, the police confirmed that it retrieved CCTV footage of the incident.

The Chandigarh Police have retrieved footage of five CCTV cameras on the route, capturing the chase of victims vehicle by the alleged vehicle of the accused, a Chandigarh Police officer was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

The non-bailable charge of attempting to abduct under Section 365 of the IPC and Section 511, which relates to attempt to commit an offence punishable with life or other imprisonment, had been pressed against Vikas and his friend.

This is the second time that Vikas and his friend Kumar have been arrested in the stalking case, which has triggered nationwide outrage and a spate of protests. The two were earlier arrested on Saturday following the woman's complaint but released on bail as they had been booked under bailable sections of the IPC and the Motor Vehicles Act.

The victim, Varnika, had alerted the police on Friday night that two youth were chasing her along a five-kilometre stretch. She said that the two men followed her in their SUV pulled up the vehicle close to her car several times and even tried to block her way.

The victim's father, a senior Haryana IAS officer who had taken to social media to urge people to fight crime against women, said he had full faith in the system and was grateful to Chandigarh Police for "saving" his daughter's life.

On Monday, however, he said that his family would move court if the charges against the accused were diluted.

With inputs from PTI.
New Delhi: The Congress Thursday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of "hypocrisy" in fighting corruption and alleged that his government is systematically weakening anti-corruption laws made under the previous UPA regime.

Party spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said the prime minister's slogan of corruption-free governance has turned hollow and asked him to take action against leaders of the BJP in various states who are embroiled in various scams.

"We urge the prime minister to stop the sermons and take action against corruption. Start by cleaning up your own house," he said.

Singhvi said though the prime minister came to power with the slogan of "Na khaoonga, na khaane doonga" (Neither will I indulge in corruption nor allow anyone else to do so) but his track record is exactly the opposite.

"His government has a terrible track record of systematically crippling the anti-corruption legislations that the UPA government had set up. For three years, the nation is asking 'Where is the Lok Pal? Why is the PM protecting the corrupt?" he said.

Singhvi also said that the prime minister's "deafening silence" and lack of action on the numerous scams involving the BJP in states and the Centre are for all to see, even as he cited various alleged scams like the Vyapam, GSPC, Lalit Modi, and the paddy scams. "Our democracy is being taken for a ride. The Congress and the people of India will resist and not rest till the PM matches his words with actual action. End the hypocrisy, Mr Prime Minister," he said, adding that the Modi government's promise to fight corruption is "plain political gimmickry".

The Congress leader also claimed that 31 percent of BJP ministers have criminal cases against them. A total of 18 percent of them face serious criminal charges like attempt to murder, murder, rape, kidnapping and crimes against women.

The Congress also released a white paper titled The Systematic Crippling of Anti-Corruption Laws by Modi Sarkar and a state-wise list of alleged BJP involvement in scams and criminal cases against BJP MPs.

Singhvi cited the example of Whistleblowers Protection Act which has been weakened by introducing a requirement that information released must first be obtained using RTI. He said the Prevention of Corruption Act has been weakened by making it easy to prosecute a coerced bribe giver but extremely difficult to prosecute a bribe taker.

The Congress leader said the Right to Information Act has also been eroded and the introduction of electoral bonds is a part of an elaborate scheme to smother accountability and transparency.

He alleged by employing methods of coercion, intimidation, misuse of state agencies and money power, the BJP has "stolen" the mandate of the people in Goa and Manipur while its "corrupt" practices to lure MLAs were foiled in Gujarat recently.
Agartala: A CPM party office was set on fire and four party supporters were injured at Khumulwng allegedly by the activists of the Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura (IPFT), police said on Thursday.

SP, Police control, Harkumar Debbarma said, when the IPFT activists set fire on the bikes it engulfed the area and the party office caught fire from the burning bikes on Wednesday. Four CPM activists were also injured.

Police recovered 15 burnt bikes from the scene.

Meanwhile, CPM state party Secretary Bijan Dhar claimed that seven activists of CPM were injured in the incident and 25-27 bikes were burnt down by the IPFT activists.

He alleged that when the leaders and activists gathered in the party office following a party meeting in a nearby hall the IPFT activists attacked the party office.

Dhar said that the IPFT in league with opposition BJP were trying to subvert the atmosphere of peace in the state.
Editor's note: This is the last in a series of three ground reports from Doka La that look at the state of the region in light of the fluctuating animosity between India and China.

Curiosity got my goat, nearly. After all Im a journalist and the India-China spat on Bhutans turf is all over WhatsApp, so I too got sucked in. So, just for the heck, I wrote to Army Headquarters for permission, which reached me via WhatsApp. The next thing I know, Im on a flight to Bagdogra Air Force Airport. Confident Ill be in Doklam in no time, I hired a cab from the airport. I was through Chickens Neck in a jiffy, heading like an arrow to Gangtok Base.

Being the friendly sort, I struck up a conversation with the cabbie. I asked him about Nathu La and how I could get there. He called up a fellow driver friend to take me to Nathu La Pass from the base. I was beginning to feel things werent as bad as portrayed in the media. At 8 pm, I was booking another cab at Gangtok Base. This cabbie told me to get a valid Army pass. I told him I had permission from the headquarters in Delhi. The next day, I woke up at 6 and headed for the local Army unit. The guard at the gate stopped me. I showed him the AHQ letter. He said he couldn't help, his seniors were all out, patrolling. The guy was like ice on Everest, wouldnt melt.

Dash to Nathu La

I had wasted four precious hours. I explained it to the cab driver Norbu Hakshi, a wily chap. He wanted a report on Buddhists on fast over issues that concerned them published in Delhi and I said OK to that. He called in a border cab to take me to Nathu La. Border cabs can move freely. They have local passes. This cabbies name was Shangnu Dorje. We haggled over fare for a minute. I was desperate, so we settled on a figure and got started. Crossing the next Army barrier was easy. The local pass did the trick. The cab took the road to Nathu La Pass. It was a pathetic excuse for a road. After about 30 km we were in a village and I told the cabbie to stop. I stepped out, started clicking pictures and talking to the villagers. But the cab driver shouted at me to come and sit in the cab. He said I was a galat-type person. I showed him my documents. He said he was taking me back to Gangtok Base.

Silver lining after a hard day

Two days into my trip to Doka La and nothing to show for it. Back in Gangtok, I spotted a chaiwallah and told the cabbie to halt. I bought a cup of tea and sipped. Soon, a dozen soldiers came and started talking, about Doka La no less. I kept my face in the cup and my ears pricked. I learnt that 70% of the forces at Gangtok Base had moved to the Line of Actual Control. A soldier said Chinese bunkers were made of steel. Then they compared Chinese and Indian supply lines. One of them said the PLA had better supply chains. I told him to validate his point. He pulled up some photographs on his mobile. I looked up and realised they perhaps suspected me to be an enemy mole. The sewadar (orderly) running the place told me to get the eff out of the place.

Read Part 1 of the series

Read Part 2 of the series

The other route

Beaten, I went back to Norbu. I was cold and the jacket I had brought from home was poor foil. Norbu, knowing I had had no success, agreed to help me if I wrote about Buddhist Relay Fast. I let him blackmail me. He told me hed get me a police pass up to Kupuk village for a price. I went to bed at 11 pm and was up at 4 am. It was 22 July. We left with Norbu promising hed send the police pass on my WhatsApp. After 60 kilometres we were on the Old Silk Road. The cabbie told me this was the road China wanted. I found the road in terrible condition. Then, Norbu called to tell that his police officer was on leave, so no police pass. The cab driver said hed get me past the army barrier. We went past barrier and Kupuk without being hollered at. The cab stopped at a deserted spot. It was about 1 pm. I saw army bunkers, red flags and warning signboards. I clicked pictures and shot videos. About 5 km ahead we stopped again. But the eerie silence and bad vibes of the place made me take a U-turn.

Night at tea kiosk in Kupuk

When we reached Kupuk village it was late. My cabbie got me lodgings in a house of tin a tea-kiosk in front, and three-partitioned off rooms behind. I positioned myself at the front. And sure enough, a group of soldiers gathered. Some had just returned from border duty. Others were to join duty. They talked. I listened. One of them told another that the Jat Regiment was manning the front row with only cameras. I gathered from the talk that war was inevitable. One young soldier explained to the others how the Chinese road construction machine was waylaid with an Indian earth-moving machine. We got orders to stop them at any cost, he said. The soldiers remained at the kiosk till midnight.

The place

During my failed foray into Nathu La, I saw only one human settlement. No-man's land starts from where army bunkers begin. There is an army post after every kilometre. Hooters are installed at intervals to sound the alarm. There is snow and frost and fog and it drizzles intermittently. Visibility is challenged but soldiers have all-weather equipment to see through fog and suspicious characters. People survive on rice and potato. Rice, beef and yak meat. Soldiers I saw were all young and chirpy. Most of them had just flown in from Srinagar, Valley-hardened. Many were Special Forces. Tall guys with a swagger, sure-footed.

And the secret is spilled out

Next morning on 23 July, I went up a hill to take some pictures. My bad luck. I was spotted. I was questioned. I showed them my AHQ credentials. Nevertheless, I was told to scoot. I came down the hill in double step. I was tired, sleep-starved and hungry. I dozed off in the car, only to be jolted awake. The cab was circled by a ring of soldiers. In hid my camera mobile phone in the car. I was asked to step out. My other mobile and laptop were confiscated. The soldiers frisked me, checked my luggage; scanned the contents of my laptop and my other mobile. Not finding anything I might pass on to the PLA, they comforted me with a cup of tea. Then, I was told to scram. I took my leave with a light heart. The flight out from Bagdogra was late by two hours. I was assured that I was back home, safe.

Manoj Kumar is a Chandigarh-based freelance writer and a member of 101Reporters.com, a pan-India network of grassroots reporters.
Essential Products, the smartphone startup founded by a co-creator of the Android mobile operating system, Andy Rubin, has raised $300 million in new funding and signed up retailers to sell its first device, it said on Wednesday.

The $699 phone, with a titanium and ceramic case, will compete directly against new devices from Samsung Electronics and Apple Inc this holiday season. Retailers include Best Buy, Amazon, and carriers Sprint Corp in the United States and Telus Corp in Canada, Essential said in a statement. The company, founded by Chief Executive Andy Rubin in late 2015, said Access Technology Ventures led the funding round, which brought its total investment raised to $330 million.

Strategic investors also included Tencent Holdings Ltd, electronics contract manufacturer Foxconn, and Amazon, which participated via its Alexa Fund. Previous investors Redpoint Ventures and Playground Global also participated.

A release date for Essential's phone will be announced next week, President Niccolo De Masi said in an interview.

The timing and distribution of the new phone could be critical during a year with many new releases. The Essential Phone will only be displayed in Sprint and Best Buy retail stores in the United States, compared with the vast distribution network of the market leaders. In September, Samsung is expected to unveil its Galaxy Note 8, and Apple is expected to announce its highly anticipated 10th anniversary iPhone.

Some of the Essential phone's features, like a detachable 360-degree camera, are also available on Samsung models, which are bulkier.

"It's going to be extraordinarily challenging," Bob O'Donnell of Technalysis Research said by phone. "The initial specs of the phone look good, but not necessarily unique."

Amazon, Best Buy and Essential will sell unlocked versions of the phone that can be used on any network. But carrier discounts could encourage buyers, R 'Ray' Wang of Constellation Research said in an interview. He said he expected Sprint to charge $300 with a two-year contract.

Sprint did not return a request for comment. Wang also said the presence of two strategic investors from Asia signals Essential's broader goals.

"It's not just about US distribution. This is going to be a global phone," Wang said. "The biggest phone markets are China, India and the US."

Essential will focus on "building a brand in the Western World" before expanding to other countries, De Masi said. It would consider sales of "low single-digit millions" of phones in its first year a success, he added, noting that production was limited by the unusual materials of titanium and ceramic. Most phones have aluminium or plastic casings.

"Over the next five to 10 years, we will have the same retail footprint and product diversity as Samsung and Apple," he said.
Ranchi: A special CBI court on Thursday continued recording of evidence of Lalu Prasad's witness in a multi-crore fodder scam case.

Prasad had refused the recording of evidence saying he had moved the Jharkhand High Court for change of court.

The CBI court recorded the evidence of Sunil Kumar. He was summoned in the special CBI court of Shivpal Singh hearing the fodder scam case relating to Deoghar Treasury pertaining to fraudulent withdrawal of money in the 1990s.

Yadav's advocate Prabhat Kumar said Prasad Thursday submitted to the special CBI court that he had moved the high court for the change of court for the hearing of the matter. So he should be given exemption from recording the evidences on Thursday.

The court, however, fixed the hearing at 2 pm on the application of Prasad to adjourn the recording of the evidence of his witness in the case. The court rejected the application. The recording of evidences of the witnesses would continue on Friday.
New Delhi: Outgoing Vice-President Hamid Ansari on Wednesday said there is a feeling of unease and a sense of insecurity among the Muslims in the country, asserting the "ambience of acceptance" is now under threat.

Ansari, whose second five-year term as the Vice-President ends on Thursday, made these remarks in the backdrop of incidents of intolerance and cow vigilantism and comments made by some saffron leaders regarding the minority community.

Stating that he had flagged the issue of intolerance with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his cabinet colleagues, Ansari, 80, also described as a "disturbing thought" that Indianness of citizens was being questioned.

Asked in an interview to Karan Thapar on Rajya Sabha TV whether he shared his concerns with the prime minister, Ansari replied in the affirmative.

"Yes...yes. But what passes between the Vice-President and the prime minister in the nature of things must remain in the domain of privileged conversation," the Rajya Sabha Chairman said.

He also said that he has flagged the issue with other union ministers too.

"Well, there is always an explanation and there is always a reason. Now it is a matter of judgement, whether you accept the explanation, you accept the reasoning and its rationale," he said when asked about the response of the government.

In the interview, Ansari referred to incidents of lynching and 'ghar wapsi' and killings of rationalists as a "breakdown of Indian values, breakdown of the ability of the authorities at different levels in different places to be able to enforce what should be normal law enforcing work and over all the very fact that Indianness of any citizen being questioned is a disturbing thought."

"Yes it is a correct assessment," Ansari said when asked whether he agreed with the assessment that the Muslim community is apprehensive and that it was feeling insecure as a result of the kind of comments made against them.

"Yes it is a correct assessment, from all I hear from different quarters, the country; I heard the same thing in Bangalore, I have heard from other parts of the country, I hear more about in north India, there is a feeling of unease, a sense of insecurity is creeping in," he said.

Asked whether he felt that the Muslims are beginning to feel they are not wanted, Ansari said, "I would not go that far, there is a sense of insecurity."

He said India is a plural society that for centuries, not for seventy years, has lived in a certain "ambience of acceptance" which is now under threat.

He was of the view that the propensity to be able to assert your nationalism day in and day out is "unnecessary".

"I am an Indian and that is it."

Ansari was of the view that while tolerance is a good virtue, it is not a sufficient virtue. "...therefore you have to take the next step and go from tolerance to acceptance," he said.

At an event in Bengaluru on Sunday, Ansari said the "version of nationalism" that places cultural commitments at its core promotes intolerance and arrogant patriotism.

Responding to a question on comments made by some BJP leaders related to minorities, he said he would not talk about political people or political parties.

"But to me, every time such a comment appeared or came to my knowledge; I mean my first reaction was that, A: the person is ignorant, B: that he is prejudiced and C: he does not fit into the framework that India has always prided to itself on, which is to be accommodative society," he said.

Responding to questions on triple talaq, Ansari said it is a social aberration, not a religious requirement.

"Firstly, it is a social aberration, it is not a religious requirement. The religious requirement is crystal clear, emphatic, there are no two views about it but

patriarchy, social customs has all crept into it to create a situation which is highly undesirable," he said.

He said the courts do not have to step in as the reform has to come from within the community.

"The courts can say that we don't recognise it. That's all. I mean a marriage has to be recognised on certain occasions by the system of the state. And if a state

functionary at a particular point of time refuses to recognise a happening which may be the product of a triple talaq, thats it," he explained.

To a poser on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, the former diplomat said, "the problem has always been primarily a political problem. And it has to be addressed politically."

He agreed to a suggestion that politicians are ducking the problem.

"Thats my impression. And Im not the only one in the country...when young boys and girls come out on to the streets and throw stones day after day, week after week, month after month, it's something to worry about because they are our children, they are our citizens.

"Something is obviously going wrong. What exactly, I am not the final word on it, but I think there are enough people in the country who are worried about it. Eminent people belonging to different political persuasions and their worry must be taken on board," the Vice President said.
Thiruvananthapuram: BJP in Kerala on Thursday made it clear that indiscipline and anti-party activities would not be tolerated, a day after the party took disciplinary action against state secretary VV Rajesh for allegedly leaking an internal report connected with a medical college scam.

BJP state president Kummanom Rajasekharan in a Facebook post said party's firm stand was that indiscipline and anti-party activities would not be tolerated at any cost.

Party had stripped Rajesh and Yuvamorcha State Secretary Praful Krishna of all responsibilities.

Action against Krishna was taken for allegedly collecting donations by printing fake receipts during the national executive meeting in Kozhikode last year.

"Party upholds clean and value based politics", he said adding, BJP would take action against wrong doers irrespective of their position.

Central leadership of the party also wanted stern action against such persons, he said.

Rajasekharan said widespread propaganda against BJP was on over the medical college clearance issue and fake receipt matter.

The party had no roles on these matters, he said.

"In both these cases, there were deliberate campaign by some persons to defame the party", he said.

Party also received certain complaints in this regard also, he said.

BJP would take action against any one who attempted to defame the party through corruption and irregularities.

The BJP state unit had come under a cloud recently after an internal party commission report surfaced in the media, which stated that a party functionary had allegedly received Rs 5.60 crore for getting Medical Council of India clearance to a private medical college at nearby Varkala.

The party had expelled RS Vinod, convener of the party Co-operative cell, whose name was mentioned in the report.
If it was for Dalit student Rohith Vemula, why not for another Dalit Rajesh and "if it was for Akhlaq or Junaid, why not for Mohd Ayub Pandith? were some of the questions posed to the public by a group of 'right-wing' intellectuals, academics, artists and students who came together for 'Where are you?', a public debate at Jantar Mantar.

We have created an independent banner Where Are You? which is a soul searching slogan for all who continue to remain apathetic to ghastly incidents like the killing of innocents in Kerala by the CPM cadre and those who are selective in defining intolerance, said one of the members of the group on Wednesday evening.

'Where are you?' comes close on the heels of 'Not in my name', another protest by a group of intellectuals and artists, held at Jantar Mantar on 28 June, to raise questions on the mob lynching of Junaid and other atrocities in the country. The questions raised on 28 June's meet were countered on Wednesday with "why one should question killing of Junaid only, and why not Mohd Ayub Pandith?"

The objective of 'Where are you' was why a particular group of intellectuals question atrocities selectively. In the backdrop of the brutal murder of Kerala RSS worker SL Rajesh, who had received 80 wounds all over his body with his hands chopped, the group emphasised on "ideological polarisation among intellectuals" and "why do they maintain stoic silence or selectively voice their resentment".

Unlike now, Kerala had always been a tolerant state. The first mosque in the country was built here when Prophet Mohammed was alive. The local ruler gave permission to a group of Arab traders who visited here and wanted to have a place of worship. Similarly, the first Syrian Christian church was built in Kerala, said BJP Rajya Sabha member Balbir Punj while addressing the gathering.

But now, the CPM-led government has shown an extreme form of intolerance. Even in the past, the second Sarsanghchalak of RSS, Guru Golwarkerji, was attacked in 1948 when he was addressing a public meet in Kerala. The CPM cadre has brutally killed many like Rajesh. It has to be stopped, Punj added.

Sandeep Mahapatra, former JNU Students Union president from Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and Supreme Court counsel also expressed his view on the violence. He said violence purported in the name of caste, religion and ideology is a catastrophic distortion in our democracy which needs to be battled. It is akin to medievalism and acts as the enemy of modern democratic and liberal values. "When an Indian gets killed whether on the border or inside the country, he/she is an Indian and no discrimination should be made on the basis of religion, caste or political ideology, whether its Rajesh or Rohith Vemula," Mahapatra said.

Citing the recent Chandigarh stalking case of Varnika Kundu, Mahapatra said, The stalking case is highly condemnable and everyone should raise voice against such crimes. But, why did the same people who condemned the Chandigarh incident, go silent on the brutal rape and murder of a minor girl in Shimla? Why did the same set of intellectuals who condemned the lynching of Junaid, remain silent in the case of Kashmir police officer Mohammed Ayub Pandith? Isnt it an intellectual hypocrisy of taking a selective ideological stand?

When the question of the Sangh taking a selective stand on such issues came up, an RSS functionary answered in negative. RSS sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwatji condemned lynching in the name of gau raksha. The Sangh issued a statement when Vemula committed suicide, the functionary said.

Panchajanya  the Hindi weekly publication of the Sangh  had come up with a cover story on the ground realities in Kerala 'Kannur ke qaatil' ('Murderers of Kannur') in May 2016, which divulged details on how the CPM cadres attacked and killed RSS workers and others. The report drew the national media's attention in a big way.

The movement Where are you was initiated in Delhi and is aimed at creating public awareness on the Kerala atrocities and to question the so-called Left intellectuals about their selective stand. Several facts get buried in Kerala and fail to reach Delhi. These people who raise their voice in case of Vemula and Junaid, maintain a stoic silence when it comes to Rajesh or Jigisha. This is an attempt to polarise violence. Such elements shouldnt have any place in the democracy, remarked Hitesh Shankar, the editor of Panchajanya.

Rajkumar Falwaria, professor and deputy Proctor of Delhi University added, If we see History, even in the past, the Communist never allowed any voice other than theirs and ruthlessly crushed those who had questioned them. Stalin allegedly killed 2 crore people and there are similar allegations of Mao in China. Something similar happened in Kerala too."

Falwaria went onto add,"CPM worker Chandrashekhar was killed when he questioned his party before quitting it. Now, due to active social media, such incidents are coming to the fore unlike in the past. In a democracy, the state has a moral obligation to operate in accordance with the letters and spirit of the Constitution. Violence is simply opposed to the survival and endurance of liberal democracy.
New Delhi: The government proposes to fund a permanent solution to floods in the North East including Assam, the Lok Sabha was informed on Thursday.

Replying to a calling attention motion on the problem of floods in various parts of the country, Minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju also rejected claims of Opposition that the government has failed to respond to the "annual feature" of floods in time and gives little financial assistance to states to deal with the calamity.

Initiating the discussion, Gaurav Gogoi (Congress) alleged that the government was in deep slumber like the mythological Kumbhkaran and fails to take quick action when calamity like floods hits various parts of the country. He said as per a revised formula, the financial liability of the states has increased in tackling floods.

Gogoi claimed that the central government has ignored its responsibility, and even the CAG has criticised the flood management programme.

Saugata Roy (TMC) alleged that while funds for BJP-ruled Gujarat and Assam were released, no provision was granted for West Bengal. "We feel there is political discrimination," he said.

Rijiju said the Centre does not discriminate, and two installments of state disaster response fund have already been given to the state. For desilting of the Damodar river, another Rs 130 crore have been given to the state government.

He said the state has to first submit a memorandum to the Centre to get funds for floods and added that the document is yet to be submitted.

The floods have so far claimed 962 lives. While 206 people have been injured, 23 are reported to be missing, Rijiju said.

The minister also rejected suggestions that the government's response to floods was often delayed and said the constant practice is to ensure that rescue is followed by relief and rehabilitation. He said Rs 100 crore has been earmarked to find a permanent solution to floods in the northeastern region. Experts will help find a solution, he said.
Imphal: Security forces have arrested a militant, who was allegedly involved in the killing of the chief of Kuki National Liberation Front from Churachandpur district, a senior police officer said on Thursday.

Security forces arrested a militant identified as Ngamminlen Haokip on Wednesday night at around 9 pm, after they received information about the presence of some armed militants hiding in a hut at Kinkin locality of Churachandpur district, Superintendent of Police of Churachandpur, R Balwal told PTI.

An operation was carried out "jointly by teams of state police commandos and a team of Assam Rifles", the SP said.

One pistol, one hand grenade, three live rounds and one detonator were seized from the possession of the arrested militant identified Ngaminlen Haokip, he said.

"Two people were involved in the killing of KNLF chief Tonglianlal Haokip on August 3 but the main accused Boithang Haokip is still absconding," the SP added.
Srinagar: A Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant, part of the outfit's north Kashmir module, was on Thursday arrested from Baramulla district, police said.

During 'naka' checking on Seer Amargarh Road near Railway Crossing, Seer Sopore, in Baramulla district, one person jumped the naka and fled to a nearby orchard, a police official said.

Accordingly, the area was cordoned-off by the police and security forces, and the suspect was apprehended. He was identified as Ishfaq Ahmad Kanna, a resident of Jamia-Qadeem Sopore, the official said.

Kanna had recently joined the LeT, and a pistol, a pistol magazine, five pistol rounds and two UBGL grenades were recovered from his possession.

The official said the militant was part of Lashkar module in north Kashmir.

Before joining LeT, Kanna worked as an active recruiter and an over-ground worker (OGW) for the outfit in Sopore and other areas of north Kashmir, the official said.

He was involved in a grenade-throwing case on Sopore police station, the official said.
Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis is on the top of the world right now. Not only did he manage to save his government from any unnecessary criticism, he also sent the protesters home without making a noise. The fact that the chief minister handles both the home and urban development ministry in the government, Fadnavis has also found personal satisfaction in the way the city municipal corporation, police and other government agencies worked together in handling the over 3 lakh citizens who marched from Veer Jijamata Udyan in Byculla to Azad Maidan.

But these are not the sole reasons for Fadnavis' happiness. Fadnavis is happy because his strategy to control the Maratha Kranti Morcha has worked. He not only managed to earn the confidence of the Maratha community and portray to them that the BJP government is with the 34 percent population in Maharashtra, he also assured them that he will solve their problems in future.

Fadnavis handled the Maratha Kranti Morcha very tactfully. He spent the first nine months convincing the organisers not to hold the rally in Mumbai. He is believed to have even assured the them that the government will solve their problems and offer facilities given to other castes who fall under Other Backward Classes.

But when the Maratha Kranti Morcha core committee announced their decision to hold the rally on 9 August in spite of the chief minister's assurances, Fadnavis and his close aide worked on a strategy to make a mega announcement for the Maratha community. At the same time, Fadnavis remained constantly in touch with Maratha Congress leader Narayan Rane and BJP-affiliated MP Sambhaji Raje from Kolhapur.

His strategy worked. For, the Maratha Kranti Morcha, which was known as a faceless movement  despite being held in 57 places across the Maharastra before the Mumbai edition  for the first time saw three political faces onto the dais  Raje, Nitesh Rane, and NCP MLC Narendra Patil.

However, not all were influenced by Fadnavis' scheme of things. Several of the participants who were present in Mumbai saw through it.

"It's managed by the chief minister and following a ready made script," alleged Santosh Kale, a participant in the Mumbai rally from Nanded. Speaking with Firstpost, he said, "In the last Winter Session of the Assembly also, the chief minister announced many of the things that he announced on Wednesday."

"We return empty handed with no big relief for the community. The reservation issue is in court, the Kopardi rape accused has not been hung for over a year. It's all because of the selfish the government and our so-called leaders walking with the government for their personal benefit," he alleged.

Rajendra Kondhre, who is a senior leader of the Maratha community and have been actively participating in agitations for the last two decades, said, "We are not fully satisfied with Fadnavis's Wednesday announcement. In December 2016, he announced that Rajashri Shahu Maharaj Education Training Institute called SARATHI, but till last week they have not even allocated an office for it. Why is the government sitting on this file for the last seven months?"

Kondhre also questioned the government's real intentions behind announcements like skill-development-based employment and setting up of district-wide student hostels and a state backward commission.

"All these are time-consuming schemes. The reservation issue has been referred to the state backward commission, which will study the feasibility of reservations for Marathas. The commission will not only study Maratha reservation but also reservation for OBCs, STs and SCs. So, it's a long process, which will take minimum 3 to four years to complete," says Kondhre, adding, "the State Backward Commission hasn't gotten an office for the last six months."

Kondhre informs that though Wednesday's march from Veer Jijamata Udyan to Azad Maidan in Mumbai was the last Maratha Kranti Morcha, the movement is not over. "In the coming weeks we are meeting once again, and will plan our new strategy with a new dimension for part two of Maratha Morcha," claimed Kondhre.

Kondhre is not the only person unhappy with the announcements Fadnavis made on Wednesday. NCP strongman and former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar said that the government is making fool of the people.

"Now they have announced a cabinet sub committee for reservation. Fadnavis is only announcing big education schemes but at the end of the day, they are only lollipops for the Community. It's a complete eyewash," alleged Pawar.

Santosh Kale Patil, one of the firebrand leaders of the Maratha Morcha said, "I am not hesitant to say that the Morcha was hijacked by non-BJP leaders in consultations with Fadnavis. The chief minister smartly handled all the three big names from the Maratha community and used them to coordinate with the Maratha Community. Why did Raje, Nitesh and Patil come to the dais and announce what the state government had done for the Maratha? It was well-planted and scripted."

Swati Nakhate, a young girl from the Beed districts of Marathwada region who participated in the silent march told Firstpost that the Maratha community is not satisfied fully. "There are good announcements, but nothing has been delivered in the last eight months. So, we are going to hold a meeting in the coming week and then draw a new force for the movement," she added.

Many youngsters are also unhappy because the government has not given any written assurance on the topic, she said.

Fadnavis made several announcements on Wednesday including setting up of a committee to discuss and the demands of the Marathas as well as a grant of Rs 5 crore to build hostels for students in every district. Fadnavis has also instructed the Backward Commission to submit a report on the feasibility of reservations for Marathas.
Its about reservations in government jobs and educational institutions. Communities based on religion or geography have always successfully used show-off strength as a tool to break the will of governments and achieve these. They go to any extent, from holding cities to ransom to destroying public assets, to see that their goals are achieved. The community label-holders have emerged even stronger after 70 years of independence  driving divisions within because there is no common foreign enemy now. Thus, we keep seeing recurring events where communities fight for their cause. There is no concept of interest of the whole nation, only communities. Jats did it in February, 2016, Dalit Mulsims have done it in 2010; as have the Patels of Gujarat, the Kammas of Andhra Pradesh and the the Marathas of Maharashtra.

The Maratha Kranti Morcha on Wednesday brought Mumbai to a standstill. Over three lakh Marathas thronged South Mumbai, showed their strength, and brought the Devendra Fadnavis government to its knees to concur with their demands, mainly on the issue of reservation for jobs and education.

Some of us might remember a strange demand from another community  a religion-based one. It was made by All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeens president Asaduddin Owaisi in January this year, ahead of the BMC budget. Owaisi urged BMC to allocate budget resources to Muslims in the corporation, in proportion to their strength. Muslims represent about 21 percent of the population in the wards of BMC. Hence, logically, Rs 7,770 crore should go to the welfare of the community, Owaisi said. Going by that logic, the BMC needed to have a Christian budget, Buddhist budget and Sikh budget as well.

At that time, Aashish Shelar, president of the Mumbai unit of BJP, countered Owaisis demand as a communal one and even demanded a probe. BJP wants the speech to be probed. We are against any division of budget on communal lines. In fact, we are also against any divide on communal lines. We condemn the communal and objectionable statement by Owaisi. We have filed a complaint with the EC and want them to take action, Shelar had said. Owaisis demands were ignored eventually, on the basis that community-based favours is a dangerous idea.

Now cut to the present scenario.

Isnt it ironic that some seven months after this, the BJP government in the state has to succumb to the demand from another community  the Marathas?

The only difference here is that this time, it isnt a religion-based community and no election/budget season is on. But the underlying theme remains the same  sops to a community to appease them, not based on merit or any other universal criteria.

The moment Fadnavis nearly agreed to the demand of Maratha leaders by asking the backward commission to look into the reservation issue in a time-bound manner, it was only a matter of time that a similar demand came from other communities as well. A section of MLAs, which included Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Azmi and AIMIM MLA Waris Pathan, sought an answer from the Fadnavis government for ignoring legislations on providing reservations to Muslims. Azmi also said that the country would never make any progress unless Muslim interests are taken care of by the government. Muslims wont be the last. Similar demands for community-based sops can come from others too in the coming days.

Fadnavis couldnt have done much. Marathas constitute more than a third of the Maharashtra population and are a precious vote bank. The protests have been on for a long time. No chief minister, unless he is on course for political suicide, can afford to ignore such pressure groups. This is the second time that Fadnavis is capitulating to pressure groups. A few weeks ago, he did so by agreeing to the farm loan waiver costing the exchequer Rs 40,000 crore after speaking vehemently against the ills of it initially.

Income-based reservations

It is time the country looked past community-based reservations and at least moved to income-based reservations in education and government jobs.

Jobs and education opportunities must be given to the economically weak, not based on their caste or religion.

There is no end to community-based reservations; this will be a recurring demand and no government can be partial to a particular community. The transition wouldnt be easy for India. But, at least an effort should be made to change, as French economist Thomas Piketty, who wrote Capital in the 21st Century, said in this December, 2015 interview to The Indian Express: I am not saying caste-based reservation system should be replaced right away by an income-based reservation system but you know I think this could be one possible evolution in the long run."

After 70 years of independence, there is merit in thinking beyond caste-based reservations to income-based, merit-based reservations. Such a system will benefit all, including the economically and socially backward communities of the country. But that change requires political will and consensus among caste/communities.

If the political will is absent, be sure we have not heard the last of kind of morchas that Mumbai witnessed on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, Mumbai was engulfed in a sea of orange as lakhs of protesters took to the streets in a planned march. This was the 58th such protest being organised by the state's Maratha community, exactly a year after the first one took place in Aurangabad.

The trigger for the first protest was the gangrape and murder of a 15-year-old girl in Kopardi village of Ahmednagar. On 13 July, 2016, the teenage Maratha girl was allegedly gangraped and murdered by four Dalit youths, who inflicted injuries all over her body and broke her limbs before throttling her.

The incident had sparked public outrage as well as a political slugfest. It also sparked off a movement which saw silent protest marches across the state.

The demands

The main demand of the protestors was that the death penalty be given to the accused in the Kopardi case. However, the number and scope of the demands have increased over the last 12 months.

The other actions which have been demanded from the authorities are:

Quota in education and government jobs for the community

Dilution of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities Act)

Loan waivers to farmers to prevent suicides

Guaranteed rates for agricultural produce

The demands have received widespread social and political support across the state, with almost all the major parties of Maharashtra claiming solidarity with the protestors. The BJP government has been under pressure to fulfil at least a few of the demands, and on Wednesday, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis promised he will provide them

Devendra Fadnavis' promises

After meeting representatives of the protestors on Wednesday, Fadnavis announced that the community would get educational concessions which are currently given to OBCs. A report in DNA quoted Fadnavis as saying, "High court has sent the matter to the OBC commission. The state government has asked the commission to submit its report to the high court within the stipulated time, so that we can provide reservation benefits to the community."

He also said that Maratha students would be given 'Rajarshi Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj scholarships' for 605 courses, which were earlier exclusive to SC/ST students.

The reservations issue is currently before the Bombay High Court, but Fadnavis insisted that the state government had taken a strong legal position on the issue, reported Livemint.

He, however, stopped short of announcing quotas for Marathas in government jobs.

Fadnavis also said that a Cabinet sub-committee would be formed to review the implementation of various welfare schemes meant for the community. In particular, farmers with loans of over Rs 10 lakh would receive help from the government. Fadnavis also promised that funds for skill training for 3,00,000 farmers would be given and loans under Rs 10 lakh would be made available to them.

He further allocated Rs 5 crore to each district to allow them to construct hostels for Maratha students. The government would also initiate various schemes, including providing 18 Maratha communities with caste identification cards. The process to get caste certificates will be streamlined as well, to ensure that they can be obtained with ease.

Fadnavis also said that the investigation into the Kopardi gang-rape was in its final stages. He added that arguments would soon begin in the fast-track court.

Do the promises match up to the demands?

After the meeting, the delegation of six Maratha girls who had held talks with Fadnavis announced that the Maharshtra government had "accepted all their demands", according to Livemint. There were also indications that this was the final morcha, indicating they were satisfied with the government's response.

But were the demands actually met? The chief minister did announce sops for the Marathas and it is clear that the protests have had an effect. If nothing else, they showed the sheer numerical support that the cause has, with people from across the state pouring into Mumbai to take part in the protest.

In actual terms, however, it's only an assurance that was given by the state government  nothing has actually been implemented. Moreover, reservations in government jobs, another key demand, hasn't even been promised. So, the protestors' demands are incomplete at best.

As for the gangrape case, the government can also do little, and the law will have to take its course, but at least the sheer public scrutiny on the issue will ensure that the progresses isn't delayed.

Finally, it is the farmers who come away with the most benefits as the government has sought to tackle the loan problems which have plagued them for a long time and made Marathwada a household name.

The jury is thus still out on the protests and whether they have had an impact, but at least the Marathas have made everybody sit up and take note. They also take their place alongside the Jats in Haryana, Dalit Mulsims in Uttar Pradesh, Patels in Gujarat and Kammas in Andhra Pradesh as communities whose voices can no longer be ignored.

With inputs from agencies
New Delhi: The ruling NDA government has been the most active among Indian governments earlier in proceeding against persons with unaccounted income stashed away in foreign bank accounts, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Thursday.

"No other government has been as active as the current one in the matter of foreign accounts," Jaitley asserted in the Rajya Sabha during the debate on the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill.

"Every account in the Panama Papers has been investigated. Whether it is Liechtenstein, HSBC...in each case, the government is in touch with the authorities of these countries," he said, referring to cases arising out of the Panama Papers disclosures and of accounts reported from the Geneva branch in Switzerland of HSBC Bank and from Liechtenstein.

"Prosecutions have been filed...assessments are being done," Jaitley said on action taken by the Income Tax department on such cases, adding that there is no prohibition on disclosing the names in cases where legal proceedings have been started.

Jaitley told the Lok Sabha earlier this month that money in foreign countries was reported from four sources, including HSBC, International Consortium of Journalists and Panama Papers.

"In cases of which we are receiving details, we send notices, assess their income tax details and raise tax demand. According to the law, criminal proceedings are also carried out. In HSBC and now in Panama Papers, the proceedings will be carried out," he said.

The Income Tax department has filed over 100 cases of prosecution against those entities whose names have appeared in an HSBC Geneva bank list.

This move followed India's Supreme Court in 2015 giving a list of 628 entities in the HSBC Geneva branch, that was furnished to it in a sealed envelope by the central government, to the Special Investigation Team constituted by the court.

India has enacted the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015, to deal with the menace of black money stashed abroad.
Kolkata: The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday questioned West Bengal Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim in connection with the Narada sting probe, an official said.

"He has appeared before our investigating team and was interrogated today (Thursday) as a part of Narada sting probe," an ED official said.

The Trinamool Congress leader was allegedly caught on video tape while asking for money to be given to one of his accomplices in exchange for a promise to dole out favours to a fictitious company. The clipping was uploaded on the Narada news portal in March last year ahead of the assembly elections in West Bengal.

Apart from Hakim, state Transport Minister Suvendu Adhikari and Panchayats, Rural Development and Public Health Engineering Minister Subrata Mukherjee were also summoned by the investigating agency.

The agency had also asked Kolkata Mayor and state Minister Sovan Chatterjee to appear before it.

Party MP Sultan Ahmed and city's Deputy Mayor Iqbal Ahmed were also interogated by the ED in connection with the case.
Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga is disputing early results in the country's presidential election that put his long-standing rival, incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta, ahead.

The Kenyan election commission's website showed that with 97% of stations reporting, Kenyatta was leading with 54.32% of the votes to Odinga's 44.8%. Eight candidates were in the running for the presidency but no other challengers have received more than 0.3% of votes.

Odinga's complaints of election irregularities have stoked fears of aggrieved supporters taking to the streets in a scenario reminiscent of 2007's post-election violence.

Confrontations between police and protesters in Nairobi and the western city of Kisumu have been reported and they have drawn concern from human rights activists.

"Police have a duty to protect people from harm, but they must not use the violent acts of a few to restrict the right of others to protest peacefully. They must also ensure the safety and rights of independent election observers, and media reporting on the results," said Muthoni Wanyeki,, Amnesty International's Regional Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes.

"Political leaders must also play their part by publicly urging their supporters to refrain from violence."

Final results from Kenya's Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) are expected to be released in the coming days -- officially, the agency has a week to declare -- but it appears Kenyatta, who leads the Jubilee Alliance, is on track for an outright win, which requires one vote more than 50%.

But in a televised news conference on Wednesday morning, Odinga, a 72-year-old former political prisoner, flatly rejected the preliminary results as "fictitious" and "fake" while arguing that the election authority's systems had been "hacked" to manipulate the results in his rival's favor.

Odinga, who is running for a fourth time, alleges hackers infiltrated the IEBC systems using the identity of Chris Msando, a top election official who was tortured and murdered a week before the vote.

"What the IEBC has posted as results of the Presidential Elections is a complete fraud based on a multiplier that fraudulently gave Uhuru Kenyatta votes that were not cast," he said in a series of tweets. "We have uncovered the fraud. Uhuru must go home. The IEBC must be fully accountable," he added.

Over 400 international election observers -- including officials from the US and the European Union -- were deployed across the country to monitor voting, the tallying process and some of the post-election period.

An EU overseas mission monitor told CNN the group would present its preliminary findings at a press conference on Thursday.

The heads of the international election observation missions in a statement Wednesday urged all parties to follow the tallying process and also called for proper security and the avoidance of "excessive use of force."

It urged candidates and parties "to use the legally provided channels of dispute resolution in case of any dissatisfaction with the process and to urge their supporters to remain calm."

The missions said some teams are on the ground and observing the post-election period. The missions include teams from the EU, the African Union, the Carter Center and International Conference of the Great Lakes Region.

"The IEBC has put in place a process to provide for the integrity and transparency of the elections that should be allowed to continue. To achieve this, IEBC personnel need to be able to work freely in a secure environment, with time to complete the process," the joint statement said.

Kenya's last election in 2013 was mainly peaceful, but a decade ago, the country plunged into widespread violence in the aftermath of the 2007 vote.

More than 1,000 people were killed in months of ethnic violence in the aftermath of the 2007 vote when Odinga -- defeated by then-President Mwai Kibaki -- also claimed the vote was rigged.

Tuesday's election was a peaceful and enthusiastic affair with a huge turnout and a few minor delays and technical issues reported. Several polling stations that were affected by delays were kept open until almost midnight to ensure that all could vote.

In response to Odinga's claims, IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati said it appears the opposition's issues stem from results transmission rather than with the whole election. He reminded voters that the results being displayed online are not final figures.

Kenyan law states that electronic reporting must be double-checked and verified by physical paper forms from polling stations before the IEBC can declare a winner. Chebukati said the voting authority intends to uphold that requirement.

"We set up a system which has carried us through and when Kenyans went to vote, it worked for them, it worked for us -- the IEBC," he said.

"The system is set up to do results transmission but we have had concerns raised and we cannot as a commission ignore those concerns. We want to look at the original forms, verify and at the end of the day, do an audit and those (hacking) questions will be answered."

The Kenya Human Rights Commission, too, denounced the "unverifiable results" which if left unaddressed could "create serious political instability."

The statement from the independent organization included several examples of discrepancies between the preliminary results on the IEBC website and the original paper copies signed by party agents at various polling stations.

The IEBC and opposition have called for calm and are urging voters to "maintain the peace" while the final results are being tabulated.

But as Odinga cried foul on Wednesday, reports were emerging of pockets of protests in three opposition strongholds.

Two protesters were shot and killed by police in the slum area of Mathare on the outskirts of Nairobi, two sources who aren't being named for their safety told CNN.

"Police fired straight at the people... One man was shot in the head, another man was shot in the chest," said one witness, who lives on the street where about 40 demonstrators were gathered. The protesters then fled leaving the bodies lying in the street, the same source said.

In the Kibera slum in Nairobi, a community leader who runs a local NGO said protests have now spread there too. He estimated some 1,000 people were demonstrating, with the unrest "gaining momentum."

In Kisumu's Kondele area, a local journalist told CNN that riot police were on the scene engaged in "running battles" with a group of around 500 to 600 "agitated youths."

Odinga was born in Kisumu area, a Luo region in western Kenya, a Luo himself, Odinga is very popular in the city. Kenyatta is an ethnic Kikuyu -- largest of the country's more than 40 ethnic groups.

CNN's Dominique van Heerden, Briana Duggan and Farai Sevenzo contributed to this report from Nairobi while Lauren Said-Moorhouse wrote from London. CNN's Joe Sterling contributed to this report from Atlanta.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday reportedly warned BJP MPs who don't attend Parliament that they may not get to contest the next Lok Sabha polls if they persist with the habit.

Addressing the Bharatiya Janata Party's parliamentary party meeting, Modi also praised Amit Shah on completing three years as the BJP President and on being elected to the Rajya Sabha, saying he had brought back the culture of hard work known in the Jan Sangh days.

Informed sources said Modi told the meeting that the party was bigger than any individual and asked why MPs should be reminded about the need to attend Parliament.

According to sources, Modi said there should not be any need to issue whips to ensure their attendance.

"What are you and me? The party is everything...You do what you want to, I will see in 2019," Modi was quoted as saying, in apparent hints that they may be denied nomination in the next election.

Modi also reminded the members that Amit Shah will be in Parliament now and they should be regular in attending the sittings.

It was the first meeting of the BJP parliamentary party attended by Shah after being elected from Gujarat to the Rajya Sabha.

The BJP is the successor to the Bharatiya Jan Sangh, which merged into the Janata Party in 1977. The BJP was formed in 1980.

Modi said it was easy to run a political party while being in the opposition but relatively difficult when it was in power.

He urged the BJP MPs to work for the success of "Tiranga Yatra" (9-15 August) and "Sankalp Yatra" (15-30 August).

Stressing that the freedom movement from 1942 to 1947 was decisive in ending British rule, Modi said a similar effort had to be made in the next five years to take India to new heights by 2022, the 75th anniversary of the country's Independence.
New Delhi: Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain on Thursday said 753 cases of swine flu (influenza H1N1) were reported between 1 January and 6 August, adding that enough stocks of medicine were available to tackle the disease.

The minister told the house that 365 dengue cases, 246 chikungunya cases and 356 malaria cases were also reported in Delhi.

"People should not panic. There is no dearth of medicines and vaccines for swine flu in Delhi. We have reserved 1,000 beds in 19 government hospitals for such patients," Jain told the Assembly while making a suo motu statement on swine flu and vector-borne diseases.

He advised people to avoid self-medication and to wash hands at regular intervals since the disease was contagious.

"We will also provide medicines for swine flu to private hospitals free of cost. We have allowed chemists to keep medicines but to sell these only on medical prescription," Jain said.
Mumbai: Over 1,000 Muslim clerics and imams have called on the United Nations to take action against the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack mastermind and Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed for his "anti-India" activities.

They on Wednesday passed a resolution to this effect at a gathering in Mumbai, a cleric said, adding more than 1,000 Muslim clerics and imams supported the motion.

The resolution, which also denounces the JuD along with several other Pakistan-based terror outfits, has been forwarded to the UN Security Council's Counter-Terrorism Committee with a copy marked to the Prime Minister's Office, said Abdur Rahman Anjaria, head of city-based NGO Islamic Defence Cyber Cell.

Anjaria, who introduced the resolution, said, "Hafiz Saeed and the terror outfits he heads are threat to global peace. He calls India enemy No. 1 but he is the enemy of Islam and humanity."

"Apart from demanding action against the India-hater from the UN Security Council's Counter-Terrorism Committee, we have apprised the PMO about the same," he told PTI.

Anjaria added, "We passed the resolution at a gathering held at a madrassa and unanimously denounced JuD and several other Pakistan-based terror outfits which are hellbent on harming our country."

The cleric said Kashmir is an internal issue of India and no third party should interfere in it.

"We have dispatched our resolution to Amr Abdellatif Aboulatta, chair of the UN Security Council's Counter-Terrorism Committee at the Security Council," he said.

In 2015, Anjaria had initiated the world's biggest fatwa against the terror outfit Islamic State and got it signed by over 1,000 Indian Muslim clerics and imams.
Islamabad: Pakistan Thursday accused India of committing more than 600 ceasefire violations in 2017, which resulted in the killing of over 34 Pakistani civilians.

Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria also accused India of altering the demography of Jammu and Kashmir by settling non-Kashmiris in the state.

"The former Adviser to the PM on Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz, had written a letter to the UNSG underscoring the Indian attempts," he said at the weekly press briefing here.

He claimed that India committed more than 600 ceasefire violations which resulted in killing of over 34 civilians.

He also accused that India allows limited access to United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP), which has been mandated to monitor peace at LoC and report back in case of any violations.

India maintains that UNMOGIP has outlived its utility and is irrelevant after the Simla Agreement and the consequent establishment of the Line of Control.
New Delhi: A parliamentary committee on Thursday endorsed an amendment to a bill which provides for setting up of a tribunal on inter-state river water disputes with finality of authority.

The Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill, 2017, introduced in the Parliament in March, seeks to set up a single, permanent tribunal to adjudicate all such disputes subsuming existing tribunals.

The parliamentary panel, under the chairmanship of lawmaker Hukum Singh, noted the amendment in the bill entails that the decision of the tribunal bench will be final and binding on the parties to the dispute.

It also noted that such decisions will have the same force as an order or a decree of the Supreme Court.

About the provision to deal with the situation where the states and union territories fail to abide by the award of the bench or tribunal, the panel said the ministry has informed that they can be persuaded to do so.

"Besides, the party states are expected to abide by the awards or else it amounts to a breakdown of the constitutional machinery and there are provisions in the Constitution to deal with such eventuality," the panel said in its report tabled in Parliament on Thursday.

It said the Constitution debars any other court to exercise jurisdiction in respect of any such dispute under the ISRWD Act, 1956.

However, the apex court has been exercising its jurisdiction under some articles of the Constitution for considering the matters related to awards given on inter-state river water dispute, it noted.

"The Committee, therefore, endorses this clause  which seeks giving finality to the award of the Tribunal so as to avoid the endless litigation on the disputes. However, the Committee would refrain from interpreting any Constitutional provision in this regard," it said.
Amritsar: Five policemen were injured when a group of people allegedly attacked them in an attempt to forcibly take custody of an accused involved in sacrilege incident, police said on Wednesday.

Police had arrested one Ranjit Masih for allegedly being involved in a sacrilege incident at village Ramdas falling in Ajnala Town.

When the accused was being taken to the police station, a group of Sikhs asked policemen to hand him over to them so that they could teach him a lesson, said SSP Parampal Singh.

When policemen refused, the mob allegedly attacked them following which the SHO of the police station, Ramdas Vipan Kumar and four of his junior colleagues were injured. Their mobile sets were also snatched, police said.

The SSP reached the spot with additional force and rescued the policemen and the accused.

A case has been registered against 20 persons for attacking the police team under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.
Allahabad: Claiming that a high Goods and Service Tax (GST) rate on old contracts adversely affecting those in the business, a body of railway contractors in Allahabad on Wednesday threatened to go on a strike on 20 August.

"There is no clarity as to how the GST will be implemented with respect to old railway contracts. Contractors have received no payments since 1 July on account of this confusion.

"We had recently met Railway minister Suresh Prabhu with the request to come up with a solution, but to no avail", national vice president of Indian Railway Infrastructure Providers Association, Ashok Kumar Pathak told reporters in Allahabad.

He alleged that while Prabhu placed the ball in the court of the GST council, the latter refused to take any responsibility by asking us to sort out the matter with the ministry.

Pathak said the bone of contention was the GST having been fixed at 12 percent which was much higher than the VAT which contractors had been paying prior to the new tax regime.

"VAT payable in states like Rajasthan was as low as one per cent while in Uttar Pradesh it was not more than four per cent. On 5 August, the GST council fixed GST rates for both old and new contracts at 12 percent. This would hit the contractors badly.

"We have, therefore, been requesting that as far as old works are concerned, contractors be made to pay not more than four per cent towards GST while the rest may be borne by the Railways," he said.

"Left with no options, we have decided to observe a nation-wide strike on 20 August. We hope that the government acts in time and we are not forced to do anything that adversely affects railway operations across the country," he added.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed a woman to terminate her pregnancy after the doctors opined that the 24-week-old foetus was suffering from cardiac anomaly and if born alive, the infant would have to undergo surgeries having a risk of high mortality.

The apex court relied on the report of the medical board which suggested that if born alive, the baby will certainly not grow into an adult.

It took into account the report of the medical board, constituted to examine the 24-year-old woman, which said that despite several surgeries, such children do not achieve normal oxygen level and would remain physically incapacitated and the life span would be limited.

"In these circumstances, it is difficult for us to refuse the permission to the petitioner (woman) to undergo medical termination of pregnancy. It is certain that the foetus, if allowed to be born, would have a limited life span with serious handicaps which cannot be avoided. It appears that the baby will certainly not grow into an adult," a bench comprising Justices SA Bobde and L Nageswara Rao said.

The bench directed that termination of her pregnancy would be performed by the doctors of Pune-based BJ Government Medical College where she had undergone medical check-up in pursuance of the court's direction.

The medical board, in its report, told the apex court that, "the surgeries that will be necessary on the foetus have been reported to carry high morbidity and mortality."

"The life span of these children even after corrective surgeries is limited as described in medical literature," the report said.

The bench also noted in its order that as per opinion of an eminent surgeon, most of such children do not live till the adult life and their life is precarious due to problems resulting from low oxygenation in the body.

"In view of the above, we consider it appropriate in the interests of justice and particularly, to permit the petitioner to undergo medical termination of her pregnancy under the provisions of Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971," the bench said.

The woman had moved the court for permission to terminate her pregnancy.

Section 3(2)(b) of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act prohibits abortion of a foetus after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Kerala Police to render "all assistance" to the NIA in ascertaining whether there is any wider amplitude to the issue raised by a Muslim man whose marriage was annuled by the Kerala High Court that described it as a case of "love jehad".

A bench comprising Chief Justice JS Khehar and Justice DY Chandrachud took serious note of the objection raised by the counsel for Kerala-native Shafin Jahan that he was opposing the NIA's plea to peruse the investigation record of the case. The bench said that it gathered the impression that "the petitioner (Jahan) does not desire the correct and independent view of the controversy" be brought before the court.

However, the bench allowed Jahan to respond to the plea of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) seeking court's direction for Kerala Police to allow it to have access to the investigation records of the case.

"We want the whole picture. Why should anybody be doubting the NIA. Are you doubting the NIA," the bench observed. Earlier in the day, the NIA had moved the apex court seeking a direction that it be allowed to have access to the police records relating to the investigation into the case.

Jahan, who had married a Hindu woman in last December, had moved the apex court after the Kerala High Court annulled his marriage saying that it was an insult to independence of women in the country.

The woman, a Hindu, had converted to Islam and later married Jahan.

It was alleged that the woman was recruited by Islamic State's mission in Syria and Jahan was only a stooge. The high court, while declaring the marriage as "null and void", had described the case as an instance of 'love jihad' and ordered the state police to conduct probe into such cases.
The deafening war drums that the Chinese media beat over the Doka La standoff almost makes Arnab Goswami sound like a radio jockey or an evangelist preaching peace and harmony. But the shrill hysteria in Beijing hides the fix that their leader Xi Jinping finds himself in over the border tension with India.

Xi's acolytes in China credit him with superior wisdom and an ability to cure the world of all evils, ranging from mosquito menace to nuclear proliferation. But the Chinese president is right now at a total loss on how to wriggle out of a bizarre situation arising from the Doka La faceoff.

Xi's immediate crisis is that of presenting himself as a world statesman dedicated to eternal peace at the BRICS summit that he is hosting in the first week of next month, while his underlings shout themselves hoarse about a war against India on a daily basis. Perhaps the decibels of the Chinese bluff and bluster will be lowered as the summit at Xiamen in China nears, but the irony of the situation on the border will not be lost on BRICS nations.

For this year's summit of BRICS  a grouping comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa  China, as the host, has picked the high-sounding theme of "stronger partnership for a brighter future".

Even as the soldiers of China and India have dug their heels in Doka La, with their noses almost touching, Xi will find it awkward to share the platform with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the summit. The heads of Brazil, Russia and South Africa may politely hide their amusement as Xi and Modi shake hands and rig up contented smiles for cameras. India's External Affairs spokesman Gopal Baglay will perhaps tweet yet another picture that he will insist speaks a thousand words, but nobody will be fooled.

It will be indeed awkward for both the leaders, but more so for Xi, because he is the one who is hosting the summit and he wants BRICS to be a hunky dory affair in appearance and reality.

Solution before BRICS summit?

A Reuters report from China quotes diplomats as saying that Beijing would like to resolve the border issue before the BRICS summit and ensure that nothing dampens what China wants to be "a show of cooperation and friendship" among developing countries.

But that won't be easy. So, China wants to put the onus on India, ignoring the fact that the border standoff was its own doing. In the first place, it was China's move to build a road on a territory that Bhutan claims to be its own, India's commitment to protecting Bhutan and the strategic threat that the road poses to India itself that started off the tension on 16 June. China began something that it has no clue how to end  by next month.

Xi's catch-22 dilemma can't be worse: China is right now not in a position to either withdraw troops from Doka La or declare war on India.

Withdrawal of troops would make Xi a Knight of Peace at the BRICS summit. But the price that he must pay for it is too dear in his domestic theatre for him to even consider. For Xi, that will be a huge loss of face within China, where he wants to be seen as a man who will restore lost glory to his country. "Xi dada", as the Chinese (are permitted to) call him, can't afford to look like a man turning tail in the battlefield.

More importantly, any treatment of India by Xi with velvet gloves will not be taken kindly during the run-up to the all-important Communist Party Congress, to be held probably in November, where he is sure to get approval for his second term.

An end to the Doka La stalemate appears unlikely before this party event, and even tougher before the BRICS meet, unless something unforeseen develops.

At this party conclave, Xi has elaborate designs to not only ensure that the Politburo Standing Committee continues to be packed in his favour but will also try to prepare the ground for a third term for himself in 2022. The image of a weakling is the last thing Xi wants for himself if he must realise his dream of turning into a leader more powerful than Deng Xiaoping.

And declaring war against India at this juncture comes with other, equally big risks. At the BRICS summit, he will be seen as a narcissistic bully, and any pleasant homilies from him about peace will sound shallow and ridiculous. And it will fuel fears of small countries that are part of Xi's One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative over China's hegemonic designs.

What perhaps worries Xi more is the assessment of military experts that any operation against India in Doka La's tough terrain is not guaranteed to produce a victory for China. A defeat at India's hands could upset his plans at the party Congress.

But before the party meet, it's the BRICS summit that Xi must be losing sleep over. Already smarting from India's boycott in May of the OBOR summit, Xi must be aware that whatever pretences he  and Modi  put up at the summit, it will be hard for the participating countries to see BRICS as a homogenous group.

China's miscalculated, mistimed move

Xi must be wishing now that he had started off the road-building adventure in Doka La after both the BRICS summit and the party Congress. But perhaps he never expected India to come on the scene and then stick to its guns.

Meanwhile, Chinese "experts" are doing what they are best at: turning the tables on India. Take for instance Hu Zhiyong, a research fellow at the Institute of International Relations of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. Blaming India squarely for the tension, he said that it would be "embarrassing" for India to attend the BRICS summit if the issue was not resolved by then. Hu added: "In other words, China is standing on a moral high ground."

Yes, China is on a high ground, but it isn't a moral one: it's a strategic one. By building a road up to the high-altitude Zomplri (Jampheri) mountain ridge, China wants to be in striking distance of the "Chicken neck" that connects India's North East region to the rest of the country.

As for now, the constant noise from China is not only an assault on Indian ears but also an affront to India's intelligence.

Author tweets @sprasadindia
Dear Editor:

In watching what's going on in America lately, one has to wonder how long before those of us with enough common sense left says enough.

Since Trump's election, we no longer have to doubt which part the main line media supports. The Democratic party, and in particular the part's far left segment, has taken over to continue what President Obama put on the fast track with his far left agenda. The level of liberal left lunacy has reached a point not seen in America since the '60s. No wonder those carrying out this lunacy are the offspring of the Woodstock culture.

The academia left has, for the most part, brainwashed the last two generations of grade school to graduate school students into thinking America's past values and deeds have been all wrong. In part, they want to return America to European values, which is what the founding fathers left to get away from. If someone never attended or quit attending school early, they would be considered illiterate.

What about those who never attended or quit attending a place of worship? Yet we have these people making policies that go directly against God's word.

What's wrong today is that more are turning away from God and thinking man knows better. Thus truth becomes whatever they want it to be and facts no longer matter.

I believe The Democratic Party today is endorsing more anti-God, anti-America dysfunctional hysteria that if left unchecked will be the downfall of America. Unfortunately, what the Democratic party fails to see and understand is whose agenda they actually are supporting. And for the worship part, it's better to hear God's truth preached to half a house than political correctness to a full house.

Robert Schlusser

Carlisle
The standoff between the armies of India and China in Bhutan's Doka La continues even after more than 45 days. Previously, it was expected that the logjam would be broken diplomatically before the People's Liberation Army's 90th-anniversary celebrations but that did not happen, despite Indian national security adviser Ajit Doval's meeting with his Chinese counterpart as well as with President Xi Jinping.

Leaders from both the countries have put their reputations at stake and none of the two sides wants to be seen as to have buckled under pressure. Chinese state media has constantly breathed fire after Beijing made the happenings at Doka La public, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was slated to meet US president Donald Trump in Washington.

What is at stake at the site of the Doka La standoff cannot be underestimated. It has as much to do with the future of the global order as it has to do with the six-decade long border tensions between the two Asian giants. Since the time this crisis started, the Chinese have constantly accused India of interfering in their territorial dispute with the tiny Bhutan and, therefore, have asked India to unilaterally withdraw its troops operating on foreign soil.

In reply, New Delhi has invoked its treaty with Bhutan, whereby India is obliged to come to Bhutan's aid during a security crisis. It has also recalled an understanding reached with Beijing in 2012, that says that any border dispute with a third country affecting both the parties will be solved with each other's consent. Doka La is one such dispute, as Chinese construction activities in there may affect the status quo at the China-India-Bhutan trijunction.

It is not easy for India to yield to the Chinese demand of unilaterally withdrawing its troops and open threats of military use by the Chinese are only making the situation worse. If India  the Asian giant which is now almost equal to China in terms of population  recedes in the face of military threats, then not just Bhutan but other small Asian countries having territorial disputes with China will quickly surrender before Beijing's belligerence.

Since the 1962 India-China war, PLA has tested every Indian prime minister who was getting politically strong at home. In 1967, when Indira Gandhi was firmly establishing herself in power, Indian and Chinese troops clashed at the Nathu La mountain pass, which left 190 Indian and 400 Chinese soldiers dead.

After Rajiv Gandhi came to power with a record parliamentary majority, there was again a standoff at Samdorong Chu in 1986, when the Chinese tried to build a road there. Indians refused to back off and airlifted a whole mountain brigade, deploying troops in an aggressive manner. Finally, the Chinese blinked and the crisis culminated into bilateral talks over the border dispute which have been going on since then without any breakthrough.

After coming to power with India's first full majority government in three decades, Modi too got a taste of Chinese pressure tactics. As Modi hosted Xi in his home state of Gujarat, a PLA contingent erected camps in Ladakh's Chumar. This could have been a major embarrassment to Modi who, during his election campaign, had strongly criticised soft policies of previous United Progressive Alliance governments towards China and Pakistan. India had to quickly mobilise 4,000 troops before the situation was resolved.

All these military standoffs between India and China were over border disputes. This time though, the Chinese started to build a road in the Doka La plateau, which is a subject of the Bhutan-China territorial dispute. This road, if constructed, will put a narrow land strip connecting hinterland India with its north-eastern states under hazard of a quick Chinese assault.

But that is not the only reason Chinese suddenly got this idea. Along with India, Bhutan too boycotted China's One Belt One Road (OBOR) summit held in May in Beijing. This happened after Chinese called upon India to join the OBOR summit, giving up its reservations and strategic narrow-mindedness.

Indian objections to OBOR relate to its constituent China-Pak Economic Corridor (CPEC), which passes through parts of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Gilgit-Baltistan, regions that are claimed by India. After the Doka La crisis got triggered, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson again invited India to join OBOR and talked about integrating CPEC with the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) corridor. Until India remains defiant, linking BCIM with CPEC will be impossible.

It is an age old principle of geopolitics that a land power tries to gain access to the sea and tries to evolve into a maritime power. China is trying to do that through CPEC, which provides it access to the sea through an alternative route, thus reducing its dependence on the Malacca Strait  through which most of its oil imports pass and which can be easily blockaded by navies of India or the United States.

But most of the Pakistani territory through which the CPEC passes has Islamist and ethnic separatist insurgencies. Chinese professionals working in Pakistan have been repeatedly targeted by Islamists as well as Baloch separatists. Now, even Sindhi secessionists in Pakistan are starting to target the Chinese.

Recently, Chinese engineers narrowly escaped an IED blast in Karachi's Bin Qasim, responsibility for which was later claimed by a Sindhi insurgent group called Sindhudesh Liberation Army. There are regular agitations in Gilgit-Baltistan against CPEC as well. In the Punjab province, the Chinese have tried to co-opt Islamist groups like Jaish-e-Mohammad by repeatedly blocking United Nations Security Council sanctions against its chief Maulana Masood Azhar.

But sooner or later, the possibility of a clash of Chinese with Islamists is very much on the cards as news of restrictions imposed by the Chinese government on Islamic religious practices in Xinjiang continues to pour in Pakistani media. Recently, Associated Press reported on how in a central China city, Communist Party's propaganda officer instigated locals to bury a pig's head at the site of an upcoming mosque to stall its construction.

A large body of Uighur Muslim separatists continues to find havens in Pakistan and despite the growing Chinese influence, Islamabad has done little to expel them. The prominent Uighur Islamists that were killed in Pakistan died in US drone attacks. Then there is the chronic political instability of Pakistan, where no elected prime minister has ever been able to complete his or her term.

All this puts many question marks on the ultimate success of CPEC and the Chinese are painfully aware of this. Risks associated with CPEC may have an overall negative impact on OBOR on the whole. That's why China now wants to "synergise" CPEC with BCIM under the umbrella of the belt and road initiative.

If India allows that, however, Chinese goods will get land access to a market comprising of a population of close to 1.5 billion as well as access to the Bay of Bengal, and thus to the Indian Ocean through major Indian and Bangladeshi ports. China can still gain access to the Bay of Bengal through Myanmar without Indian help but that will not remove the Indian naval threat, but only double it.

On the other hand, if India joins BCIM, China will get more trade leverage in India, given the weakness of India's manufacturing sector. It will also help in automatically checking the increasing Indian tilt towards the United States, thus dissipating a more palpable future strategic alliance between US, India, Japan and Australia.

India may not like BCIM to be made part of a framework which has CPEC as its main constituent. From the Indian point of view, joining OBOR will mean an indirect acquiescence to the construction of CPEC over the territory claimed by it and even regularising Pakistani claims.

Such has been the Chinese eagerness to make India join OBOR that the Chinese Ambassador to India even offered to rename CPEC to address India's concerns. As India has so far refused to oblige, angry Chinese are trying to coerce it into submission to a new Asian order, led by China. Bhutan has been chosen as the theatre because, unlike Nepal and Myanmar, it has so far refused to join OBOR which is no less annoying for the Chinese.

As India has so far refused to oblige, angry Chinese are trying to coerce it into submission to a new Asian order, led by China. Bhutan has been chosen as the theatre because, unlike Nepal and Myanmar, it has so far refused to join OBOR which is no less annoying for the Chinese.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court will soon examine a proposal for having "singular examination" under a centralised selection mechanism to select judicial officers, to fill up vacancies in subordinate judiciary, which stands at over 20 percent of the sanctioned strength.

A 'concept note' on the matter has been prepared by senior advocate Arvind Datar, who has been appointed amicus curiae (friend of court), to assist the apex court which has on its own taken up the task of evolving the centralised selection mechanism to deal with large vacancies in the lower judiciary, which is affecting speedy disposal of cases.

The note also highlighted that the sanctioned strength of district and subordinate judges in India at present is approximately 21,000, and out of these, nearly 4,800 positions are lying vacant.

The Supreme Court had on 4 August indicated that it was inclined to go ahead with a proposal for the central government-funded CSM even if there was no amicable consensus among various high courts and the states, and had said that if the need arose it might accord a day-long hearing on the issue later this month to resolve the objections to the proposal.

The 'concept note' made public by the apex court has given details of vacancies in the subordinate judiciary and has proposed to have a District Judges' Recruitment Examination (DJURE) under the CSM to make the process of appointment smooth.

It said approximately 300 vacancies need to be filled up each year through direct recruitment/examination: DJURE with an aim to provide "a regular pool of meritorious candidates to recruitment and selection bodies for State Judicial Services across India".

"It is indeed distressing that several vacancies for district judges are not filled due to the lack of qualified and meritorious advocates. This is perhaps due to the absence of a regular/periodic examination system.

"In most states, the examinations are held in an ad-hoc fashion. There is no syllabus to enable candidates to prepare in advance. The uncertainty and irregularity are what the District Judges Recruitment Examination aims to eradicate," the note said.

It said that under the CSM, candidates would be able to write a single common examination, namely the DJURE, and be considered for selection in all the states for which they fulfil the eligibility criteria.

"The proposed DJURE would not compromise the autonomy of the states in regulating the terms of recruitment or the conditions of service. This is what distinguishes the DJURE from an All India Judicial Service. All existing rules regarding reservation, eligibility and service conditions in the states would continue to be in force," the note said.

The proposed mechanism only seeks to centralise the preparation of merit list which is based on the performance of a candidate in a written examination, it said, adding that the DJURE will not alter the existing eligibility criteria in different states.

It proposed that DJURE examination could consist of 600 marks: four papers of 100 marks each, and 200 marks for interview.

It said that idea of instituting a CSM has been agreed in principle by most high courts in the country.

As per the details provided in the note, Gujarat has the maximum vacancy of 820 judges in subordinate judiciary out of a sanctioned strength of 1,953, followed by Bihar where 809 posts are lying vacant out of a sanctioned strength of 1,825 judicial officers.

Among other states with large vacancies are Uttar Pradesh, which has a sanctioned strength of 2,262 with 588 vacancies, Karnataka with 376 vacancies and the national capital of Delhi with 302 vacancies.

The least number of vacancies were found in Sikkim with four posts vacant, out of sanctioned strength of 18 judges.

"The DJURE is the first step towards creating a regular annual examination for selecting a meritorious pool of candidates from which appointments can be made to district judiciary.

"This will generate a tremendous opportunity to younger members of the Bar to systematically prepare for such an examination," the note said and suggested that for now the DJURE should be used for appointing district judges alone.

It further suggested that to improve the quality of the lower subordinate judiciary, the Supreme Court may also direct high courts to conduct annual examinations for the same, along the lines of the DJURE.

The bench had clarified that the centralised process would not affect their rules, reservation or language and it would be like a UPSC examination.

The note, which has been put up on the Supreme Court website, also proposed a fixed time-table of holding DJURE as it will "enable an advocate, unsuccessful in a given year, to try harder and make further attempts in a planned manner for the subsequent years".

It, however, clarified, that DJURE will merely present a pool of candidates from whom judges can be recruited, after an interview with the selection authority.

"The selection will remain with the respective high courts in accordance with Article 233," it added.
New Delhi: Suspected Al-Qaeda militant Zeeshan Ali, deported to India from Saudi Arabia Wednesday evening, was Thursday sent to police custody for two weeks in a case of alleged conspiracy, making provocative speeches to recruit Indian youths and establishing a base for the terror outfit.

#Visuals Suspected Al-Qaeda terrorist Zeeshan Ali who was deported to India from Saudi Arabia yesterday sent to 14-day police custody. pic.twitter.com/pR1H5eqSYh  ANI (@ANI) August 10, 2017

Additional sessions Judge Sidharth Singh remanded the accused in custody for a fortnight after the special cell of Delhi Police said he was required for interrogation.

Ali's name, along with that of 11 others, was disclosed by Syed Anzar Shah and four others  Mohd Asif, Zafar Masood, Mohd Abdul Rehman and Abdul Sami  arrested in the case earlier.

The probe agency sought his 20-day custody saying he was required to be taken to various places as part of the probe. The plea was, however, opposed by advocate MS Khan, appearing for the accused.

On Wednesday, the Delhi Police's Special Cell had arrested Ali whom they were searching for over a year, ever since three alleged AQIS (Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent) operatives were arrested in 2015.
A suspected Al-Qaeda linked terrorist was arrested from Delhi while he was trying to flee to Nepal, according to a report in NDTV.

The suspect, Raza-Ul-Ahmed, is a member of Ansar Bangla, a Bangladesh-based terror outfit affiliated with Al-Qaeda.

According to a report in DNA, Ahmed was involved in a fake currency racket in India and was being pursued by West Bengal Police for a long time.

Ahmed was arrested by Delhi Polices Special Cell and was later handed over to the West Bengal police.

Financial Express cited police sources as saying that Ansar Bangla is becoming more active in India and many of its operatives have snuck into the country using forged documents.

On Sunday, another suspected Ansar Bangla militant was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad from Muzaffarnagar.

Police said the suspect Abdullah was living in Muzaffarnagar for the past month and he had been living in Deoband since 2011.

He was living under an assumed identity and even got his Aadhar card and passport made.

Police said that Abdullah was involved in preparing fake identities for terrorists, especially from Bangladesh, and used to help them find safe hideouts in India.

With inputs from ANI
The Supreme Court on Thursday will be hearing a petition by senior advocate Indira Jaising which challenges the manner in which senior advocates are appointed in India. The petition suggests replacing the existing system with a 100 point scale by which designations will be made, moving away from voting method to interviews and open discussion concerning appointments.

The Advocates Act of 1961 prescribes that there shall be in India two classes of advocates, advocates and senior advocates. The senior advocates shall be those advocates who have been designated by the high court or the Supreme Court if they are of the opinion that by virtue of ability virtue ability, standing at the Bar or special knowledge or experience in law, they are deserving of such distinction.

In practice, the process of appointments is governed by the rules of the high court and the rules of the Supreme Court. Usually, the procedure across the country is that for an advocate to be designated, there is a requirement that the full court (i.e all the judges in that court) be in favour of it via a vote. At the Bombay High Court, there is a requirement that the designation is approved by at least two-thirds of the judges who are voting other high courts have similar rules that regulate their own procedure.

This leads to an interesting problem though, the rank of seniority is one that is held nation wide if the designated senior advocate continues to hold their rank before other high courts and the Supreme Court. The high court at Bombay, for example, has a sanctioned strength of ninety-four judges while the high court for Tripura has a sanctioned strength of only four. This has over the years led to the rather distasteful practice of some advocates seeking to be designated by courts that are smaller in size and then ceasing to practice in that court altogether.

Further, the process is rather opaque, the candidates are not interviewed and the old English practice of secret soundings continues informally controlling these designations resulting in a system that is not as meritocratic as one would hope and one that doesn't reflect the broad range of diverse interests at the Bar. For example, between the years 2000-2015 not one Dalit senior advocate was appointed by the Supreme Court, nor was there any person who was disabled. There is also a massive gender imbalance that is present. There is an underrepresentation of lady advocates when one sees the list of senior advocates in India. There are far more gentlemen who get appointed to seniority even though lady advocates make up a significant portion of the Bar.

So the first question that ought to be asked is why have senior advocates in the first place? Senior advocates have some limitations concerning their practice, for example, they cannot file a vakalatnama in court and therefore in order to brief a senior advocate there is a need for another advocate to be on record. The idea being that this would create an environment where senior advocates would devote their time to matters concerning important questions of law. They would also be able to impart dispassionate advice to the parties they act for, as they do not represent them directly and will be able to bring in an added degree of research and skill to handle particularly complex matters.

The role of a senior advocate is one that is needed, it allows for signalling experience at the Bar and also allows for specialisation as seniors can ideally devote more time to certain areas of law that ordinarily practitioners cannot. The financial reward of seniority is obvious but that's often not the sole driver. There is a sense of social prestige and recognition among one's peers that increases the demand for these designations.

England reformed their procedure of appointing senior advocates (in England, they are called King's/Queen's Counsel) in 2003. While the appointment is still made by the Crown, there is now a system whereby the appointments are recommended by a commission. The commission consists of lay members, judges and other lawyers. Applicants apply for designation and are then interviewed by the committee. A much fairer system than the one that is exclusively dependent on the judges of a particular court. Further, this reformed system allows for a certain element of transparency in the process. Something that the present process in India lacks.

There are many ways to reform the current system and once discussions about reform were to happen, there will surely be a myriad of ideas that would be expressed about reform. One that is quite apparent though is that this process needs urgent reform.
Gwalior: Three men suspected of having links to the Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) have been arrested in Gwalior, the police said on Thursday.

Balkar Singh (45), Satendra Singh (26) and Balvindar Singh (22) were arrested by a joint team of Punjab and Madhya Pradesh's anti-terrorism squads from separate places in the district, said Inspector Yashwant Goyal of the Thatipur police station.

He said Satendra was arrested from the Thatipur police station area.

The trio are accused of supplying arms to the KLF, a Sikh separatist group. They have been arrested under the Arms Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, and taken to Punjab, the inspector said.
New Delhi: Vice President-elect M Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday expressed his disapproval of disruptions in Parliament and said he would enforce rules to run the Rajya Sabha but also seek cooperation from members.

A day before he is sworn in as vice president, Naidu said the government needs parliamentary approval to push legislations so it can implement the agenda for which it had received the people's mandate.

"Both Houses of Parliament have the responsibility to have legislators discuss them (government bills). That is the duty of legislatures. If we do not allow the House to function, then how do you legislate? That is why I said earlier if a government proposes, opposition opposes, then let the House dispose either way," Naidu told PTI.

As vice president, Naidu will be the Rajya Sabha chairman and the government is hopeful that his presence will result in the House running more smoothly. Opposition members, who out number treasury benches in the House, have often blocked its legislations.

"We must be mature enough to conduct the proceedings of Parliament in a smooth and meaningful manner. The chair is not only a presiding officer but also custodian of the House.

"He is duty-bound to run it in accordance with responsibilities cast on him under rules, procedures and conventions. It is for the Chair to enforce rules but also seek cooperation from members," said the 68-year-old leader and former Union minister.

As custodian of the rights and privileges of members, he will see to it that the House is run smoothly according to the procedures laid down, Naidu said.

The responsibility, he added, lies equally with members,

There was an impression about Parliament functioning and it needed to be corrected, Naidu said, a reference to frequent disruptions resulting in fall in productivity.

The former BJP president and four-term Rajya Sabha member said everyone should respect the mandate of the people once elections were over. The verdict of the people was binding on all.

This mandate was on account of some promises, principles and manifesto, he said, adding that it was the government's duty to implement it, at times by getting legislative approval from both Houses of Parliament.

Naidu quoted former President Pranab Mukherjee's advice to MPs that they should discuss, debate and decide but not disturb Parliament, and said they should follow him.

He also referred to the pledge adopted at a special session of Parliament on the occasion of the golden jubilee of Independence to make his point about the need for the House to run smoothly.

The pledge said, "... the prestige of Parliament be preserved and enhanced, also by conscious and dignified conformity to the entire regime of rules of procedure and conduct of the business of the... refraining from transgressing into the official areas of the House, or from any shouting of slogans..."

Noting that the protocol demands of his new job may not allow him much freedom to being among people, something he always cherished, Naidu said he was "immensely satisfied" with his life as an active politician, now coming to an end, at least for the next five years.
On the 75th anniversary of the Quit India Movement on Tuesday, both the Congress and BJP paid homage to the watershed moment.

While the Congress Working Committee passed a resolution reiterating the importance of the Quit India Movement, BJP's youth wing planned a 'Bharat Jodo Abhiyan' (Unite India Campaign) to mark its 75th anniversary.

During this politically charged time, it is important to remember Mahatma Gandhi's words on 8 August, 1942 in Bombay (now Mumbai) ahead of the Quit India Movement, in which he asked people to adopt ahimsa (non-violence) during the struggle for India's independence.

Here is the full text of Gandhi's speech:

Before you discuss the resolution, let me place before you one or two things, I want you to understand two things very clearly and to consider them from the same point of view from which I am placing them before you. I ask you to consider it from my point of view, because if you approve of it, you will be enjoined to carry out all I say. It will be a great responsibility. There are people who ask me whether I am the same man that I was in 1920, or whether there has been any change in me. You are right in asking that question.

Let me, however, hasten to assure that I am the same Gandhi as I was in 1920. I have not changed in any fundamental respect. I attach the same importance to non-violence that I did then. If at all, my emphasis on it has grown stronger. There is no real contradiction between the present resolution and my previous writings and utterances.

Occasions like the present do not occur in everybodys and but rarely in anybodys life. I want you to know and feel that there is nothing but purest Ahimsa in all that I am saying and doing today. The draft resolution of the Working Committee is based on Ahimsa, the contemplated struggle similarly has its roots in Ahimsa. If, therefore, there is any among you who has lost faith in Ahimsa or is wearied of it, let him not vote for this resolution.

Let me explain my position clearly. God has vouchsafed to me a priceless gift in the weapon of Ahimsa. I and my Ahimsa are on our trail today. If in the present crisis, when the earth is being scorched by the flames of Himsa and crying for deliverance, I failed to make use of the God given talent, God will not forgive me and I shall be judged unwrongly of the great gift. I must act now. I may not hesitate and merely look on, when Russia and China are threatened.

Ours is not a drive for power, but purely a non-violent fight for Indias independence. In a violent struggle, a successful general has been often known to effect a military coup and to set up a dictatorship. But under the Congress scheme of things, essentially non-violent as it is, there can be no room for dictatorship. A non-violent soldier of freedom will covet nothing for himself, he fights only for the freedom of his country. The Congress is unconcerned as to who will rule, when freedom is attained. The power, when it comes, will belong to the people of India, and it will be for them to decide to whom it placed in the entrusted. May be that the reins will be placed in the hands of the Parsis, for instance-as I would love to see happen-or they may be handed to some others whose names are not heard in the Congress today. It will not be for you then to object saying, This community is microscopic. That party did not play its due part in the freedoms struggle; why should it have all the power? Ever since its inception the Congress has kept itself meticulously free of the communal taint. It has thought always in terms of the whole nation and has acted accordingly...I know how imperfect our Ahimsa is and how far away we are still from the ideal, but in Ahimsa there is no final failure or defeat. I have faith, therefore, that if, in spite of our shortcomings, the big thing does happen, it will be because God wanted to help us by crowning with success our silent, unremitting Sadhana1 for the last twenty-two years.

I believe that in the history of the world, there has not been a more genuinely democratic struggle for freedom than ours. I read Carlyles French Resolution while I was in prison, and Pandit Jawaharlal has told me something about the Russian revolution. But it is my conviction that inasmuch as these struggles were fought with the weapon of violence they failed to realise the democratic ideal. In the democracy which I have envisaged, a democracy established by non-violence, there will be equal freedom for all. Everybody will be his own master. It is to join a struggle for such democracy that I invite you today. Once you realize this you will forget the differences between the Hindus and Muslims, and think of yourselves as Indians only, engaged in the common struggle for independence.

Then, there is the question of your attitude towards the British.

I have noticed that there is hatred towards the British among the people. The people say they are disgusted with their behaviour. The people make no distinction between British imperialism and the British people. To them, the two are one. This hatred would even make them welcome the Japanese. It is most dangerous.

It means that they will exchange one slavery for another. We must get rid of this feeling.

Our quarrel is not with the British people, we fight their imperialism.

The proposal for the withdrawal of British power did not come out of anger. It came to enable India to play its due part at the present critical juncture. It is not a happy position for a big country like India to be merely helping with money and material obtained willy-nilly from her while the United Nations are conducting the war. We cannot evoke the true spirit of sacrifice and velour, so long as we are not free. I know the British Government will not be able to withhold freedom from us, when we have made enough self-sacrifice. We must, therefore, purge ourselves of hatred. Speaking for myself, I can say that I have never felt any hatred. As a matter of fact, I feel myself to be a greater friend of the British now than ever before. One reason is that they are today in distress. My very friendship, therefore, demands that I should try to save them from their mistakes. As I view the situation, they are on the brink of an abyss. It, therefore, becomes my duty to warn them of their danger even though it may, for the time being, anger them to the point of cutting off the friendly hand that is stretched out to help them. People may laugh, nevertheless that is my claim. At a time when I may have to launch the biggest struggle of my life, I may not harbour hatred against anybody.
The 58th Marathi Kranti Morcha went off peacefully in Mumbai on Wednesday, with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis assuring Marathas of reservations in educational institutes and jobs as well as special sops for farmers and students.

The protest rally, which saw participation from nearly three lakh members of the Maratha community from across the state, was held for the first time in Mumbai.
Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi in Delhi on Thursday to discuss the legal challenges to Article 35A of the Constitution, official sources said.

The chief minister, who is scheduled to leave for Delhi in the afternoon, is also likely to meet leaders like JD(U)'s Sharad Yadav on the issue of Article 35A that gives special status to the state and has been challenged in the Supreme Court, they said.

Mehbooba is keen to build consensus against scrapping the Constitutional provision, which empowers the Jammu and Kashmir legislature to define the state's "permanent residents" and their special rights and privileges, they said.

In a surprise development, Mehbooba had called on Opposition National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah this week to seek the support of his party on the issue.

Abdullah had told her that she should meet the prime minister, all the important central ministers and also the BJP leadership to convince the Sangh Parivar against striking down the constitutional provision.

The chief minister has also held meetings with leaders of other Opposition parties in the state, including Jammu and Kashmir Congress president GA Mir and DPN chief Ghulam Hassan Mir.

Sources in Mehbooba's Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said striking down Article 35A will be "a catastrophe for all mainstream political parties in Kashmir".

It will be nothing short of a "tsunami" for mainstream politicians as protection of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir within the Indian Constitution is the "cornerstone of their politics", they said.

On the latest developments, NC spokesman Junai Mattu tweeted: "On #35A, bizarre of @MehboobaMufti to seek a consensus against BJP WHILE in an alliance with the BJP. She wants to have AND eat the cake".

"That is the crux of her dilemma - run with the hare & hunt with the hounds. She wants to govern with the BJP & oppose their politics with us," the party's working president, Omar Abdullah, said in a tweet.

The controversy erupted in 2014 after an NGO 'We the Citizens' filed a PIL in the Supreme Court seeking Article 35A be struck down.

The Jammu and Kashmir government, under the guise of Articles 35A and 370, which grant special autonomous status to the state, has been discriminating against non-residents, who are debarred from buying properties, getting government jobs or voting in local elections, the PIL said.

Article 35A was added to the Constitution by a presidential order in 1954, it said.

While the state government contested the petition, saying the president had the power to incorporate a new provision in the Constitution by way of an order, the Centre, recently, expressed its reservations.
      :    AQI 300  ,          
Chennai: The rebellion against AIADMK (Amma) faction deputy general secretary TTV Dinakaran by Chief Minister EK Palaniswamy may have heightened the expectations of a merger of the rival factions of the ruling party in Tamil Nadu, but the rebel Puratchi Thalaivi Amma camp on Thursday remained steadfast on two of its main demands.

The O Panneerselvam-led camp said there was no change in its demand for a probe into the death of late chief minister J Jayalalithaa, besides the expulsion of jailed party chief VK Sasikala and her family from the AIADMK, to hold the merger talks.

The assertion came even as a senior leader in the AIADMK (Amma) camp expressed hope of the merger taking place by 15 August.

"We are confident. Hope so," was the terse response from Finance Minister D Jayakumar when reporters sought his reaction on reports that the merger could happen by 15 August.

His statement came on a day when Palaniswamy and others in his camp questioned the authority of Sasikala and Dinakaran in the party's writ, a move seen as having opened up the possibilities of a merger of the two AIADMK factions.

But, the rival Puratchi Thalaivi (Amma) camp said there was no change in its earlier demands.

"As we had announced earlier, the first demand is a probe into Amma's (Jayalalithaa's) death, while the other is the expulsion of Sasikala and her family from the party. We had already said that the (prospects of a) merger will be discussed only if these demands are met," key Panneerselvam aide KP Munusamy said.

"There is no change in our original demands," the former Tamil Nadu minister told reporters.

The rival faction rebelling against Dinakaran, "who is not acceptable to us", would be the first possible step towards the merger talks, he said, when asked if Thursday's developments could be viewed as a precursor to the merger.

"Wait and watch our activities if they expel (Sasikala and all of her family)," he said.

The Amma faction joining hands against Dinakaran was an "awakening", Munusamy said, adding that the camp had earlier accepted him as its deputy general secretary.

"They have woken up only now. This awakening should not only be confined to Dinakaran and we will laud them if it extends to Sasikala's family as well," he said.

Asked about reports of a compromise formula, under which the deputy chief minister's post would be offered to Panneerselvam as part of the unification process, Munusamy said it was a "speculation" and that only the media was making such claims.

"He (Panneerselvam) is a leader struggling to protect the people and the party and he cannot be lured by such offers of posts," he said.
The alphabetical algebra of Tamil Nadu politics is taking shape. The formula is EPS + OPS - TTV x BJP = NDA. The math will be formally unveiled on Independence Day, just days before two AIADMK MPs, one from either camp, are sworn in as ministers of state in Team Narendra Modi at the Centre.

But before the Central ministry hopefuls shop for new veshtis, the cabinet in Chennai is being given a makeover. Sources aware of the new set-up that has been worked out say that the AIADMK will now have a party affairs coordinator (though the exact nomenclature has not yet been finalised). O Panneerselvam will occupy this post, effectively making him the party chief. Chief minister Edappadi Palaniswami will also be the deputy party affairs coordinator. A core committee of six leaders which is likely to include senior leaders like KP Munusamy, Vaithilingam, Natham Vishwanathan, will be the third tier of the party that will report to the party affairs coordinator and the deputy.

What this essentially means is that the present party structure of a general secretary will not be touched, because that case is before the Election Commission. What will be done instead is to create a parallel power structure and treating this AIADMK as AIADMK (Amma) rather than the original AIADMK under Jayalalithaa. This makes it less of a merger and more of an acquisition of the AIADMK (Puratchi Thalaivi Amma) of Panneerselvam by the ruling faction.

The argument in favour of operating in this grey area is that in any case the party's two leaves symbol is frozen. OPS will withdraw his camp's case on the party symbol so that the AIADMK can eventually get hold of the symbol.

The reverse will come into effect at Fort St George. EPS will continue as chief minister while OPS is being asked to become deputy chief minister with the PWD portfolio. The Panneerselvam camp is demanding that the home ministry also be allotted to him. Two more MLAs from OPS camp  K Pandiarajan and Semmalai  will be inducted into the cabinet as well. Health minister C Vijayabaskar, tainted by the Income Tax raids, could be shown the door.

However, the decks have not been completely cleared for Panneerselvam's return to the cabinet. In a complete departure from the manner in which the AIADMK operated under Jayalalithaa, a clearer picture is likely to emerge after both Palaniswami and Panneerselvam visit Delhi on Friday to attend Venkaiah Naidu's swearing-in ceremony as vice-president.

OPS also feels that having been chief minister of Tamil Nadu thrice, albeit for short durations, becoming deputy chief minister will show him as a power-hungry politician. Those advising him have however, told him to get in first, holding the carrot of a promotion later.

What this deal means is that the return of the native takes place without his principal condition of Sasikala's removal or a probe into Jayalalithaa's death being met. OPS has agreed to it because frankly his hand was forced by the rumblings within his faction.

In the past two months, some MLAs in his group have expressed unhappiness that they have not gained anything by staying by Panneerselvam's side. Legislator VC Arukutty's decision to go back to the ruling AIADMK was an indication that MLAs could choose the return flight and enjoy the perks of power instead of surviving aimlessly in a rump group. Panneerselvam saw the writing on the wall.

Not that there was no pressure on EPS as well to call a truce. Much of this rush has happened also because of TTV Dinakaran's decision to appoint 40 new office bearers. EPS realised that if he did not react to it, it would give Dinakaran's legitimacy within the party. Which is why six months after Sasikala appointed her nephew as deputy general secretary, EPS suddenly realised that the appointment is in violation of party bylaws and declared his post illegal.

So does the latest round of Aaya Panneerselvam Gaya Dinakaran leave the Mannargudi family out in the cold? Given the unpredictable nature of AIADMK politics, it would be foolhardy to underestimate Dinakaran. He has the support of at least 12 to 15 MLAs and while he may not be able to bring down the government, the narrative of an AIADMK completely surrendering to the BJP, would work for him if he uses it intelligently.

Apart from a Chennai-based political analyst, a Union minister has been the go-between between the AIADMK camps and New Delhi. The Dinakaran camp has already rubbished the merger moves by getting inspired by the prime minister and the Vice-President-elect and coined acronyms for the two AIADMK leaders. Dinakaran supporters have labelled OPS as 'Old Permanent Servant' and EPS as 'Effective Powerful Servant' to the BJP.

While the merger will bring some closure to the long-drawn out yawn drama in Tamil Nadu, it is unlikely that the new power structure will come with a warranty period.
Chennai: In a jolt to VK Sasikala, a meeting presided over by Chief Minister K Palaniswami on Thursday said the appointment of TTV Dinakaran as deputy general secretary was against party rules.

This is the first time that Palaniswami has made a categorical assertion about the status of Dinakaran's appointment by his aunt Sasikala on 14 February just ahead of her incarceration.

Formally expelling both Sasikala and Dinakaran was among the pre-conditions the Panneerselvam camp, which is also holding consultations on the possibility of merger, had made.

The move in both camps is being perceived as coming one step closer to a merger of the two camps by easing out Sasikala and Dinakaran.

Noting that Dinakaran's appointment was also under the scrutiny of the Election Commission, the AIADMK (Amma) led by Palaniswami wondered how Dinakaran could make new appointments at such a juncture.

On 4 August Dinakaran had made several appointments including that of his loyalists to various party posts. Citing it, a communique to the party cadres, said the meeting also asserted that such appointments being done by him "will not bind any AIADMK cadre to create unnecessary confusion in our party and such appointments are not valid under party law. Cadres are requested to reject them."

Significantly, the statement said, "Though Sasikala's appointment as general secretary was till such time the formal election of a new general secretary as per party laws, she could not function in view of extraordinary circumstances," an apparent reference to her getting jailed in the disproportionate assets case in February last.

Also, Sasikala's appointment was challenged and it is pending in the EC, the statement noted. Under such circumstances, the party was being run by top functionaries appointed by Amma (a reference to the camp led by Palaniswami), it said. Top functionaries and senior state cabinet ministers led by Palaniswami attended the meeting.

Following Jayalalithaa's death in December 2016, the AIADMK split into different factions. One faction is led by Panneerselvam, who rebelled against the leadership of Sasikala. The other two factions are led by Palaniswami and Sasikala.

The AIADMK camp led by Palaniswamy has continued to keep its doors open for the rebel leader O Panneerselvam-led faction to facilitate a rapprochement.

The merger talks between the two AIADMK factions are now inching towards its final phase.

According to a Deccan Chronicle report, after the merger, Palaniswami would continue as the chief minister while former chief minister O Panneerselvam would lead the seven-member committee to manage the party affairs till formal elections take place.

On 1 August, it was reported that the BJP was willing to play the role of mediator between the two factions of AIADMK. BJP has been trying to extend its base in South India by forming an alliance with the AIADMK.

It was believed that depending on the outcome of the talks, AIADMK is likely to join the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre.

With inputs from PTI.
Gandhinagar: BJP chief Amit Shah on Wednesday asked the party workers to work towards achieving the target of winning 150 of the total 182 seats in Gujarat in the upcoming Assembly polls.

He said "Mission 150" would ensure that the BJP wins three Rajya Sabha seats in the state next time. Election to the three Rajya Sabha seats in Gujarat were held on Tuesday. While Shah and Union minister Smriti Irani were elected to the Upper House of Parliament, party candidate Balwantsinh Rajpur was defeated by Congress veteran Ahmed Patel.

Shah, who resigned as the state MLA on Wednesday, told the cadres that the magic number of 150 achieved in the upcoming elections would make it possible for the BJP to win the Rajya Sabha seats, irrespective of the number of votes a candidate gets.

He was speaking at the felicitation function organised at the party's state headquarters at Kamalam here. Irani and Rajput were also felicitated on the occasion.

Shah and Irani have made their maiden entry into the upper house.

"Today, the assembly secretary was explaining to me that Balwantsinh was defeated by around 0.40 votes, and could have won, had he got that many votes. But if we get 150 seats (in the upcoming state election), all our three candidates will win," Shah said.

He exhorted the party workers to achieve the party's "Mission 150" and begin preparation for the same. "Mission 150 will be achieved in December (when the polls are likely to be held)...The kind of development works that the BJP has done in Gujarat, people will support us in December. The way BJP has been supported by the people in the state, our organisation is invincible," he said.

Earlier in the day, Shah resigned as the MLA of Naranpura assembly seat in Ahmedabad, after being elected as the party's Rajya Sabha member from Gujarat. Shah tendered his resignation to Gujarat Assembly Speaker Ramanlal Vora, where he made an hour-long farewell speech.

In his speech, Shah continued his attack on the opposition Congress stating that the party's leadership was responsible for the crisis it faced. Shah also expressed confidence that the BJP would achieve its mission 150 target on the basis of the "development works" done by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who served as state chief minister for 13 years.

"The 20 years that I served as MLA, were the golden years for the BJP and the state," he said. "In no other states we have found the ideals of development established in Gujarat. Narendrabhai (Modi) took development everywhere (during his tenure as CM), which is why the country gave him such a huge majority," he said.
New Delhi: A bill which seeks to deal with the insolvency of financial service providers was on Thursday referred to a joint committee of Parliament.

'The Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance Bill, 2017', was introduced in the Lok Sabha by Minister of State for Finance Arun Ram Meghwal.

Soon after, it was referred to the 30-member committee comprising members of both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.

The committee is expected to submit its report during the next session.

The bill provides for the establishment of a resolution corporation with powers relating to the transfer of assets to a healthy financial firm, merger or amalgamation, liquidation to be initiated by an order of the National Company Law Tribunal.

It can also designate certain financial providers as systematically important financial institutions, the failure of which may disrupt the entire financial system, said the 'Statement of Objects and Reasons' of the bill.

It also provides for the creation of corporation insurance fund, corporation resolution fund and corporation general fund.

"The proposed legislation together with the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 is expected to provide a comprehensive resolution mechanism for the economy with the objective of protecting consumers of specified service providers and public funds thereby contributing to the stability and resilence of the financial system," the statement said.

Several opposition members, including Bhartruhari Mahtab (BJD), Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury (Congress) and Saugata Roy (TMC), objected to the decision to refer the bill to the joint committee, saying the move amounted to weakening the department related standing committees.

Mahtab wanted to know the "hidden agenda" behind referring the bill to the panel and not the standing committee.

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs SS Ahluwalia said that members should be happy that a joint committee is being set up to scrutinise the bill as its suggestion would be accepted by the government.

"You will more leverage as a member of the joint committee in suggesting changes to the bill," the minister said, adding there was no hidden agenda behind setting up the panel.
Jammu: Blaming Article 370 of the Constitution for creation of a "separatist emotion", the Jammu and Kashmir unit of the BJP said on Thursday that the time has come for the people of the state to say goodbye to it and also Article 35A.

Both these articles, instead of being beneficial to the people of the state, have done a great damage and hamper progress and development, claimed Jammu and Kashmir BJP spokesperson Virender Gupta.

"The time has come when the people of Jammu and Kashmir should say goodbye to Article 370 and ask the Government of India to revoke Article 35A," he said.

Article 370 grants special status to Jammu and Kashmir while Article 35A empowers the state legislature to define permanent citizens.

"The prevailing situation in the Valley shows that Article 370 has created a separatist psyche and acts as a breeding ground for separatist emotion", Gupta said.

The Article is responsible for keeping the settled issue of Jammu and Kashmir alive, motivated and encourages the separatists and external forces to interfere in the internal matters of India and challenge the integrity of the country, he added.

He said that Article 370 has led to increasing alienation of the people of the Valley from India and in taking them away from the national mainstream.

The Kashmiri leadership for its own vested political interests always indulged in a competitive game to exploit the people in the name of Article 370, he alleged.

The BJP spokesperson said that in spite of large scale funding from the Government of India, Jammu and Kashmir has not been able to develop its own sustainable economy and has remained underdeveloped and backward in many fields.

Industrialists and business houses from outside hesitate to open ventures in the state and as a result it is facing the crisis of unemployment and migration of skilled and talented youth to the rest of the country, he added.

"Academicians and experts from the rest of the country are discouraged because of the Article to contribute in the educational growth of the state", he claimed.

Gupta alleged that Article 370 is also responsible for widening the mistrust and alienation between the people of the Valley and those of Jammu and Ladakh regions.

He called upon the people of Jammu and Kashmir to also look into the utility of Article 35A claiming it was "most discriminatory" and differentiated between men and women with regard to their rights as citizen of the state.

The BJP is a part of the ruling alliance in Jammu and Kashmir where it has partnered the PDP.
New Delhi: Accusing the Congress of politicising the case of a BJP leader's son chasing a woman in Chandigarh, Union minister Ananth Kumar on Thursday said there is no political pressure on police and the law will take its own course.

The issue was raised in the Lok Sabha during Zero Hour by Congress leader Deepender Hooda, who slammed ruling party members for "character assassination" of the woman, who was chased by Vikas Barala - the son of Haryana Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Subhash Barala.

The parliamentary affairs minister said it was government's duty to protect women and it acted accordingly.

"It is the duty of government to protect women... In this case, both government and police have taken prompt action," Kumar said, adding: "The law will take its own course. I urge my friends from Congress not to politicise the issue."

Raising the issue, Hooda had said: "They (BJP leaders) question why the girl was there...I ask what the boy was doing there?"

BJP MP from Chandigarh Kirron Kher said: "I would like to thank Chandigarh Police for prompt action. The girl has also thanked police for quick action."

"People must also realise that there is a procedure...she did not mention the charge of abduction in front of the magistrate," Kher said.

The MP also slammed those who questioned why the girl was out late in the night.

"What is wrong in a girl being out late in the night or enjoying a drink? The problem is not that women are out late in the night, but that that boys are out late in the night. So boys should not be allowed to stay out late," she said.

Kher also said that home minister Rajnath Singh had told Chandigarh Police not to be influenced by any political pressure.

"Home ministry has instructed police that no political pressure should be entertained. I have stood up for the rights of the girl. It is not about my party or your party, it is a social problem," she added.
New Delhi: The government on Thursday asserted in the Lok Sabha that those involved in stalking and alleged attempt to abduct a 29-year-old woman in Chandigarh will be punished.

The government assurance came after the issue was raised by Congress member Deepender Hooda and led to a war of words with the BJP members.

Hooda demanded action against the culprits as well as those who are trying to hurt the image of the victim on social media.

Haryana BJP chief's son Vikas Barala and his friend Ashish Kumar are the accused in the case.

Hooda wanted to know why no female officer was present when the statement of the victim was recorded under Section 164 of CrPC before the SDM.

BJP member from Chandigarh Kiron Kher shot back, saying Union home minister Rajnath Singh had given a clear direction to the police not to yield to political pressure in the case and do whatever is right.

She also said that boys should not be allowed out during nights while the girls should be allowed.

Stressing that she had also stood up for the rights of the girls, Kher said one should accept that there are societal norms.

While one section is progressive, the other is not so, she said and lamented "misogynist" comments made some political leaders in past.

As the two sides trade charges, parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar assured the members that "whosoever has committed the wrong would be punished. No one will be let off."

The minister said even the "victim is appreciating" the prompt action taken by the Chandigarh police".

Kumar urged the Opposition parties to desist from giving a political colour to the sensitive issue. He stressed that it is the duty of the government to safeguard the women.

The two accused in the case were re-arrested on after they were charged with a non-bailable offence of attempted abduction under section 365 of the IPC and section 511, which relates to an attempt to commit an offence punishable with life or other imprisonment.

A Chandigarh court on Thursday remanded them to a two-day police custody.
New Delhi: Bidding farewell to outgoing Vice President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said his diplomatic stint in West Asia has had an influence on him and that he could freely pursue his "basic ideology" now after shedding Constitutional duties.

Speaking in the Rajya Sabha, he mentioned about the career of Ansari, whose tenure as the Chairman of the Upper House came to an end on Thursday.

"On behalf of the citizens and both Houses of Parliament, I express gratitude for the services you have rendered as Vice President of the nation," Modi said.

He hoped that Ansari would "continue to guide the nation in moving forward on the path laid down by the Constitution."

Modi noted that Ansari belonged to a family which has been in public life for about 100 years and that his grand parents had served as the head of a national party or in the Constituent Assembly.

"You come from a family whose ancestors were associated at some of point of time with the Congress party and the 'khilafat movement'," he said.

The prime minister then talked about the diplomatic career of 80-year-old Ansari.

"A major part of your career was associated with West Asia as a diplomat. You spent many years of your life in that circle, in that atmosphere, in that ideology, in that debate and lived among such people," he said.

Modi said that even after retirement from service, Ansari's work remained in the "same circle" as he worked with the Minority Commission and Aligarh Muslim University.

"But during these 10 years (as Vice President), you had to deal with a different kind of responsibility (in running the House). Every moment, you had to remain confined to the Constitution and you made a good effort to fulfill it.

"There may have been some struggle within you (all these years) but from now onwards, you won't have to face this dilemma. You will have a feeling of freedom and you will get an opportunity to work, think and talk according to your basic ideology," he told the outgoing Rajya Sabha chairman.

Modi said though he did not have much interaction with Ansari, he had got insight into many issues from him whenever they met before or after his foreign visits.

Talking about the traits of a career diplomat, he said he understood these only after becoming the prime minister.

"You cannot understand immediately what is the meaning of their smile or what is the meaning of the way they shake hands. Because they have been trained like this. I am sure those traits would have been used (by Ansari) in the Rajya Sabha over the last 10 years for the benefit of the House."

Conveying his best wishes to Ansari and wishing him a long life, Modi noted that the outgoing Chairman has also kept himself physically fit.
On Tuesday noon when a mail for the logistical requirement for a three-camera shoot with all accessories and technical support was sent to the persons concerned for Vice-President Hamid Ansaris interview at his residence 6, Maulana Azad Road, what caught their eyes was the name of the anchor Karan Thapar.

It instantaneously became a huge talking point for Thapar, a senior journalist, in no way associated with Rajya Sabha TV. Thapar, who is known for his highly critical views on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his politics, and his government, had not appeared on any of the television channel's shows.

When the contents and the transcript of the interview came out, it surprised a large number of people in the country not just because of what Ansari, who has been the Vice-President of India for the last 10 years, said but also because of the way the interviewer framed the questions to him. For a good portion of the interview, it seems as if a prominent Muslim leader  social or political  was being interviewed, and not the Vice-President of India.

Though the interview was telecast a good 24 hours after the transcript was released, at 8 pm on Thursday, Ansari revelations have taken everyone by surprise. Ansari said that in the Parliament which he has been presiding for a decade  in India of 2017  there was breakdown of Indian values, breakdown of the ability of the authorities at different levels in different places to be able to enforce what should be normal law enforcing work and over all the very fact that (the) Indianness of any citizen being questioned, (and that) is a disturbing thought.... He also said that the 17.2 crore Muslims (2011 census) in the country constituting 14.2 percent of India's total population are living with a "feeling of unease" and a sense of insecurity is creeping in among them.

Ansari has not been a politician. He was a career diplomat and then the Congress-led UPA government picked him up to head the National Minority Commission and later nominated him for the post of vice-president. He has the distinction of being the only second vice-president after Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan to serve for two consecutive terms. But on the last few days in office, Ansari has spoken more like a political leader whose views are same as that of the Congress party, which nominated him to the top post, and the stated view of its topmost leaders'  Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Digvijay Singh  on the subject.

Ansari is conveying to the world that Muslims in India have been living in a sense of fear and anxiety after the Modi government came to power.

On more than one occasion, Thapar either explicitly or implicitly asked him to respond to his leading questions not just as a vice-president but also as a Muslim. Sample this question from Thapar: "I will tell you from my mind why that Swamy Vivekanandas quotation is so important. Its because in recent years, and I mean in recent years, not just weeks and months, the string of comments made by BJP men, members, ministers as well as leading figures of the Sangh Pariwar seem to target the Muslim community in particular. I wont name people, but there was a minister who talked about haramzade and Ramzade. There was a chief minister who said Muslims are welcome in India but they must give up eating beef, there was the head of the RSS who said that all Indians are Hindus, and immediately a senior minister added and Hindutva is the identity of India and there was an MP who went on to become a chief minister who said that for every Hindu girl converted to Islam, he would personally convert a hundred Muslim girls to Hinduism. You are not just vice-president, you are also a Muslim sitting and hearing this, and how did you as an individual feel on (when) these comments were being made and made by people in power and positions of responsibility."

Then there is another interesting element. If one goes through the transcript and makes a simple count, one would come to know that nearly 2,750 words have been devoted to questions and answers between Thapar and Ansari on insecurity among Muslims.

Thapar asks, I want to use this moment vice-president to talk about the general situation in the country today because I know it is one that concerns the large sections of the country. Hardly a day goes by without us reading about cow vigilante attacks, earlier we read about lynchings, we have read about beef bans, people who refuse to say Bharat Mata Ki Jai have been publically told that they should leave the country, there have been accusations of love jihad, ghar wapsi campaigns and even killings of rationalists. How do you view all of this? Sitting in this house, how did you view all of this?"

To that Hamid Ansari responds, saying, ...breakdown of Indian values, breakdown of the ability of the authorities at different levels in different places to be able to enforce what should be normal law enforcing work and over all the very fact that (the) Indianness of any citizen (is) being questioned, is a disturbing thought."

Then Thapar asks, "Are they (Muslims) beginning to feel they are not wanted?"

Ansari responds, "I would not go that far, there is a sense of insecurity."

Thapar seeks further clarity, asking, So, you were talking with specific reference to the mood of the country in 2017? To which, Ansari replies, Oh absolutely.

While Ansari is relinquishing the honourable post of the vice-president, he lets it known that contentious issue such as reservation for Muslims in jobs and educational institutions has his endorsement, albeit he does not want to call it reservation but wants it to be called "affirmative action".

Though a section of people have been voicing concerns and speaking in the same manner and fashion since Modi's advent to power in May 2014, Ansari's views become supremely important to the world for the fact that the post represents over 120 crore citizens of the country. His message would be viewed with certain seriousness outside of India and may potentially be used by some hostile nations to target India.
ST. LOUIS - Maria Ruiz of Farmington was named to the Dean's List for the spring 2017 semester at Washington University in St. Louis. Ruiz recently graduated from the university's College of Arts & Sciences.

To qualify for the Dean's List in the College of Arts & Sciences, students must earn a semester grade point average of 3.6 or above and be enrolled in at least 14 graded units.

Washington University in St. Louis is counted among the world's leaders in teaching, research, patient care and service to society.

The university draws students to St. Louis from about 90 countries and all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The total student body is more than 14,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students.

The approximately 3,600 faculty teach in seven schools: Arts & Sciences, Brown School, Olin Business School, Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, School of Engineering & Applied Science, School of Law and School of Medicine. The university has been affiliated with 24 Nobel laureates, many of whom did a significant portion of their award-winning work at the university.

The university offers more than 90 programs and almost 1,500 courses leading to bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in a broad spectrum of traditional and interdisciplinary fields, with additional opportunities for minor concentrations and individualized programs.
Srinagar: In a development that has caused a flutter in Jammu and Kashmir, independent MLA from the border area of Langate in Kupwara, Engineer Rashid, has offered to join the Hurriyat Conference. The two time MLA was working as an engineer in Jammu and Kashmir Project Construction Corporation (JKPCC) and was accused of being the spokesman of the militant outfit, Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), before he joined mainstream politics and contested the elections in 2008.

The plunge of former militants or even their sympathisers into mainstream politics was not against the trend. Congress MLA from Bandipora, Usman Majeed, was a militant before he turned to fight against them and became a legislator. In the current PDP-BJP dispensation, Social Welfare Minister Sajad Gani Lone is a politician whose father, Abdul Gani Lone, was considered to be the founder of Hurriyat. Lone gave up separatist politics and went to the extreme of supporting BJP and was one of the first few politicians from Kashmir to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, before the former chief minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, clinched a power sharing deal with the BJP.

However, Rashids joining of mainstream politics and now offering to work with either of the factions of Hurriyat headed by Mirwaiz Umer Farooq and Syed Ali Shah Geelani is a development that is dramatic. Although earlier former chief minister and National Conference president Farooq Abdullah praised the Hurriyat ahead of the Srinagar parliamentary elections in April, the offer to join the separatists by any mainstream politician in Kashmir is a first of its kind. Rashid was in 2006 accused of being the spokesman of JeM and he fought the case at a Srinagar court and was acquitted of the charges in 2012. Two years later in 2008 he resigned from the JKPCC to contest as an independent candidate from Langate assembly seat and got elected as an MLA. He won the 2014 election as well from the seat.

But as an MLA, Rashid talked about giving the people the right of joining Pakistan through the vote of self-determination, which forced the BJP members to seek his expulsion as a legislator. He also faced suspension as an MLA and has been critical of both the NC and PDP targeting them for the "sufferings of people of Kashmir." Rashid was attacked by the BJP MLAs earlier in the Legislative Assembly after he organised a beef party at the Srinagar MLA hostel. The issue had snowballed into a major controversy and senior BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh, had to apologise on behalf of his MLAs for the attack on Rashid as Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and NC working president Omar Abdullah condemned the action.

Before Rashid announced his plans to join Hurriyat, his party members including the Awami Itehad Party (AIP) spokesman Inam-ul-Nabi were in touch with the separatists in Kashmir. Inam went to meet Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz on Thursday to discuss the possibility of Rashid joining the separatist outfit, but he said "the authorities didnt allow me to meet Mirwaiz."

Offering to join Hurriyat for the larger Kashmir cause of right to self-determination, Rashid in a statement said, "It is not the time to blame each other but work for resolution of Kashmir dispute and stop New Delhi from its utterances and efforts. It is indulging in changing the dispute nature of J&K."

The Langate MLA said that he was responding to the offer of Hurrriyat that mainstream politicians should join the separatists.

Rashid told Firstpost that he was forced to fight elections after the excesses committed by the government forces on him. He also said that he was seeking appointment with Geelani, Mirwaiz and Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chairman Yaseen Malik and other pro-freedom leaders to discuss joining the separatists.

A poster child of controversies Rashid would often praise Geelani and Mirwaiz in the Assembly, when others accused him of reneging on his oath to abide by the Indian Constitution. Rashid even said that Geelani and Mirwaiz were the true representatives of Kashmiri people while lashing out at Omar Abdullah asking him to desist from carrying out attacks on Geelani.

Omar had questioned the locus standi of Geelani to give a call for protection of Article 35A when he had not been recognising the Indian constitution. Before Rashid made his offer public, he had supported the 12 August call of the Hurriyat Conference against any move to scrap Article 35A that bars the people from outside in owning the properties in Kashmir.
A split within Janata Dal United could be on the cards, with the party distancing itself from Sharad Yadav, who will be in Bihar for his two-day public interaction programme, which will commence from Thursday.

Yadav had congratulated Congress' Ahmed Patel after Tuesday's victory in Gujarat Rajya Sabha polls and soon after, JD(U) sacked Yadav's confidante as the general secretary.

On Wednesday morning, Yadav took to Twitter to congratulate the Congress veteran on his victory. In response, Patel thanked Yadav for his support throughout his campaign.

Heartiest congratulations on your victory in Rajya Sabha election in spite of toughest hurdles. Wish you all success in your career. pic.twitter.com/ICNTmq02nY  SHARAD YADAV (@SharadYadavMP) August 9, 2017

Patel won his seat to Rajya Sabha by a single vote on Tuesday. JD(U)'s Chhotubhai Vasava, a tribal leader of South Gujarat, said he voted for the Congress as the ruling BJP had done little for the tribal people and the poor in the last 20 years. He also said that the move was against his party chief and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's decision to join hands with the BJP in Bihar.

The JD(U) MLA's claim came at a time when the party has forged ties with the BJP in Bihar to form government.

Within the next few hours of Vasava's claim, JD(U) expelled Arun Srivastava, who is Yadav's close confidante, from the post of party general secretary for "unauthorisedly" writing to the Returning Officer of Gujarat Assembly appointing an election agent for the crucial Rajya Sabha election. A letter to this effect was served to Srivastava by KC Tyagi.

"The party president (Nitish) has taken a serious note of the issue and has relieved you of your responsibility from the post of general secretary," Tyagi said in his letter to Srivastav. "The act of yours not only amounts to anti-party activity, breach of discipline but is also treachery," Tyagi said in the letter.

JD(U) unit presidents from at least 14 states have written to Nitish, raising questions over the manner in which he announced the decision to break the alliance based on secularism, The Indian Express reported. They also demanded a collective decision on the issue. Vasava was among those who wrote the letters.

Yadav, who was the JD(U) chief for years before Nitish took over, has called the new Bihar alliance a betrayal of the people's mandate in the Bihar Assembly elections two years ago. Yadav was displeased with Nitish's decision taken without consulting senior party leaders at a time when Opposition unity was to be strengthened. "Sharad Yadav felt ignored and is likely to take a final stand soon," a JD(U) leader told IANS.

Turning away from Yadav's state-wide visit, the JD(U) has dubbed it as Yadav's personal initiative.

JD(U) spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said that the former Union minister, will be visiting Bihar in his personal capacity. "Yadav is not visiting Bihar on JD(U) invitation. So, where is the question of the party at all?," he said.

Yadav will begin his visit to seven districts, including Patna, Muzaffarpur, Samastipur, Supaul, and Madhepura. According to a JD(U) MLC, Yadav will "meet party leaders and workers loyal to him to know their stand and read the political situation carefully before taking any decision."

The tensions within the JD(U) have been building up for months. As he worked his way to revive his partnership with the BJP, Nitish's support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's big reforms like demonetisation and GST rollout was not received well by Yadav.

Yadav is likely to continue working closely with Opposition parties like Lalu Prasad's RJD and the Congress, attacking Nitish and the BJP. Similar to Nitish's detour to the BJP, an ally he had earlier parted ways with in 2014, Sharad Yadav does not seem too keen to continue with the current ruling alliance in Bihar. They had split in 1997 after Lalu Yadav was charged in the fodder scam.

With inputs from agencies
New Delhi: In contrast to BJP and RSS claims that Kerala's ruling Marxists are on a killing spree, the CPM has said that it has lost more members to political violence than any other party in the state since 2000.

"The BJP, under the direction of the RSS, has begun an all-India campaign directed against the so-called violence of the CPM against the RSS-BJP workers," an editorial in the CPM journal People's Democracy said.

"But the concocted facts cannot be sustained. According to Kerala Police figures, between 2000 and 2017, 85 CPM workers were killed as against 65 of the RSS-BJP. These figures themselves reveal who has borne the brunt of the attacks," it said.

It said a RSS-BJP game plan in Kerala had been unfolding after the BJP failed to make a significant impact in the May 2016 assembly election.

"It fell back on its longstanding method of launching violent attacks targeting CPM workers all across Kerala," it said.

"The outcry orchestrated by the RSS at the national level, about Marxist violence against the RSS-BJP workers, is an indication of its growing frustration at its inability to put the CPM on the defensive and to destabilize the functioning of the LDF government," the editorial alleged.

Pointing out the alleged corruption scandals that it said had engulfed the BJP state unit, the CPM claimed that it was to divert attention from this that the BJP-RSS had resorted to engineering clashes with the CPM.

"The killing of an RSS worker being blamed on the CPM has nothing to do with politics. It was a quarrel about control of a local market and the man who led the gang which committed the murder has no links with the CPM and has a known criminal record."

The editorial added: "The RSS should realize that its violent tactics will not work in Kerala."
When Kamal Kishore Khosla dreamt of his own ghosla in the eponymous film, he missed an easy trick. Instead of slogging and saving for a nest all his life, fighting with greedy builders, he could have just dreamt of becoming a chief minister. That would have guaranteed him lifelong accommodation in one of the prime properties in many states in India.

Land grab now has the legitimacy of democracy in India. Many state governments are now allowing former chief ministers to become lifelong guests of the state government by occupying a bungalow of their choice, in the city of their choice, for free.

If this isn't organised loot, what is?

Consider the case of Rajasthan, for instance. A few days ago, one of its prominent leaders, Jaipur (Sanganer) legislator Ghanshyam Tiwari, met the governor to ask him to turn down a bill that allows former chief ministers the privilege of staying in a government house for the rest of their lives.

In his memorandum to the governor, Tiwari alleged that the bill was a crude attempt by his party's chief minister Vasundhara Raje at grabbing land in the poshest address in Rajasthan  Civil Lines, Jaipur. Tiwari alleged that the Raje government had passed the bill so that the chief minister could live in 13, Civil Lines  the bungalow she has been occupying since 2008  even after her tenure ends. Tiwari said the property is worth a whopping 'Rs 2000 crore'.

Similar post-retirement sinecures are becoming the privilege of many other politicians. Earlier this week, the Madhya Pradesh government allowed former chief minister Babu Lal Gaur to occupy a bungalow without paying a penny for the rest of his life. Gaur, a stop-gap chief minister between 23 August, 2004 and 29 November 29, 2005, was ousted from the Shivraj Chouhan cabinet recently.

The perk is primarily Chouhan's carrot for Gaur's silence and cooperation. But, it makes a mockery of the professed aim of his party to deny politicians the privilege of leeching off public money  of the chief ministers being chief sevaks, not lifelong recipients of the government's doles. Incidentally, the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh had recently passed an order increasing his own salary by an obscene 600 percent.

What exactly entitles a former chief minister  or for that matter any elected representative  the right to grab land? They are, after all, just elected representatives chosen to do a particular job for a specified period of time. And, like all other sevaks, pradhans or otherwise, they should be asked to vacate government accommodation immediately after completing their tenure.

But, state after state has allowed the farce of a chief minister passing a bill that secures his or her own retirement at the public's expense. Soon after he won the recent Assembly elections, one of the first decisions by Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh was to allow his predecessors, himself and his potential successors to remain sarkari guests till the end of their privileged lives.

Similarly, in Uttar Pradesh, former chief ministers are allowed to live in government bungalows in Lucknow for the rest of their lives, even when their tenures have been short-lived and riddled with charges of corruption, accumulation of disproportionate assets and land grabbing.

The decision to let chief ministers and other retired public representatives live off people's wealth is unique to India. In many advanced democracies, even prime ministers and presidents are asked to find their own shelter  remember David Cameron's quick exit from 10, Downing Street post Brexit?  and pay for it once their term ends.

This is the logical and legal thing to do because elected representatives do not serve for free. During their tenures, they are paid hefty paychecks  Chouhan for instance charges around Rs two lakh per month plus other perks for being Madhya Pradesh's mukhya sevak  and post-retirement, they are guaranteed a decent pension. So, why should they be allowed free accommodation?

Perhaps such decisions could have made on humanitarian grounds, or because of security risks. But, why exactly should a former royal like Raje, whose family owns palaces and real estate across India, be allowed the luxury of occupying a bungalow worth crores in the heart of Rajasthan's capital? Similarly, what entitles a former royal like Amarinder and his predecessor Parkash Singh Badal to government aid?

Also, even if former chief ministers are too poor to finance their own living, what is the logic behind giving them palatial bungalows for the rest of their lives? Why can't the Gaurs and Rajes of Indian politics live in smaller houses or flats that cost little to acquire and maintain?

Truth is, this organised and legalised land-grab is a vestige of our feudal past. Once elected, politicians start believing, like the Mughals, nawabs and kings, that they too have acquired the right to live in luxury for the rest of their lives. And since the Khoslas  the veritable aam aadmi  are busy fighting for their own ghosla, such loot goes on unnoticed, unchecked and unreported.
New Delhi: Former prime minister Manmohan Singh, during whose tenure Hamid Ansari had become the Rajya Sabha chairman, on Monday hailed his contribution in the House and said the country keeps on progressing despite challenges largely because of people like him.

Bidding farewell to Ansari in the Rajya Sabha on his last day, Singh said he had received maximum possible guidance and cooperation from the outgoing chairman.

The Congress leader said he has often wondered what keeps this country moving forward despite challenges.

He then quoted an Urdu couplet of Iqbal which says, "Kuch baat hai ki hasti mit-ti nahin hamari; warna sadiyon raha hai dushman daur-e-zaman hamara. (There is something about us that despite adversity, we survive)."

"When I reflect on India's history, the tensions, the challenges that our country faces from time to time. Yet it keeps on going, progressing..., it is largely because people of your capacity have guided this country in various capacities from time to time," Singh said to Ansari.

Singh also described Ansari as his friend, philospher and guide.

Ansari was the Rajya Sabha chairman due to his position as the Vice-President of India. He was elected as the Vice-President 10 years ago after the then-UPA government nominated him to the post.
The Congress on Thursday accused the Narendra Modi government of "systematically crippling" the anti-corruption legislation enacted by the UPA government and said it had not lived up to its assurance of fast-tracking criminal cases faced by BJP MPs.

Briefing reporters in New Delhi, Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi alleged that the Whistle Blowers Protection Act and Prevention of Corruption Act had been weakened and the Right to Information Act has been eroded.

"The government has a terrible track record of systematically crippling the anti-corruption legislation that the UPA government had set up," Singhvi said.

He said the Whistle Blowers Protection Act has been weakened by introducing a requirement that the information released must first be obtained by RTI.

Singhvi said the Prevention of Corruption Act has been weakened by making it easy to prosecute a coerced bribe giver but extremely difficult to prosecute a bribe taker.

"The electoral bonds is part of an elaborate scheme to smother accountability and transparency," he said.

Singhvi said the prime minister in his maiden speech in Parliament had said that he would fast-track criminal cases against MPs and promised to dispose of cases in a year.

"Three years have passed. The cases against sitting MPs and MLAs remain unresolved," he said.

Singhvi said, "31 percent of ministers in the BJP government face criminal cases and 18 percent face serious criminal charges".
It's becoming clear that Narendra Modi's call for a 'Congress-mukt Bharat', made back in 2014, when he was the prime ministerial candidate, wasn't just a rhetorical tool but a serious statement of intent.

But what exactly does the expression signify? And more accurately, what do Modi and Amit Shah mean by the slogan? Does it mean the end of Congress as a political entity? By this parameter, it has to be said that they have been quite successful; Congress has been reduced to just 44 Lok Sabha seats, and has governments only in a handful of states. The grand old party has been driven almost to the point of political obscurity.

But even as Congress undergoes a period of existential crisis, as admitted by senior leader Jairam Ramesh, BJP seems insatiable in its desire. Consider how Congress' power-broking backroom czar Ahmed Patel was caught in a desperate struggle to retain a Rajya Sabha seat he used to once take for granted.

Or do Modi and Shah mean the death of Congress as a monolithic patron of power at the Centre, one that created, nurtured and sustained a veritable ecosystem of incestuous elites who tightly control all avenues of intellectual, social, political and economic capital?

As economist and author Sanjeev Sanyal wrote last year in Project Syndicate, "Many countries have powerful elites with outsize influence, but in India, dynastic elites control the top echelons in every sphere of public life: politics, business, the media, and even Bollywood. Many of these dynasties have roots that stretch back to the colonial era, implying at least seven decades of dominance. Every point of leverage  from government contracts and industrial licenses to national awards  is used to maintain this ecosystem of power."

But by this yardstick, BJP has failed to make much headway. Though the sheer political power that it wields has enabled it to corner the top constitutional posts in the government's executive wing, it simply lacks the bandwidth to challenge Left-Congress' hegemony among the entitled elites who still hold sway over intellectual and political discourse despite facing pressure from social media that allows a greater democratisation of voices. BJP would be aware that this is a much bigger and longer battle.

But is Congress only a political entity? A patron and ringmaster of an ecosystem? No. It is simultaneously also an ideological fount. And it is here that it is at its most powerful and hardest to defeat. Any effort to make India truly 'Congress-mukt' must confront this reality. The idea of Congress is synonymous with the idea of India as we know it. And it is here that Modi, who envisions for India an alternate idea, must fight his bitterest battle.

By far the greatest challenge to BJP's rise as the new pan-Indian hegemonic force comes from Congress' rich legacy of icons and luminaries who have collectively defined India's struggle against British colonialism and left indelible imprint on its national consciousness.

Critics might point out that the Congress party that shaped the idea of India as an independent, democratic, nation-state out of an ethno-linguistic cluster of competing cultures, religions and nationalities is long dead, replaced in the 80s by a wing that perpetuated a dynasty at the cost of nation-building. But this is a quibble. For all purposes, the current version of Congress  hobbled, crippled and bankrupt of ideas  continues to enjoy the fruits of that rich legacy, and uses the past as a crutch to mask its present inabilities.

The task before Modi's BJP is to challenge this legacy. This is an extremely difficult project because he must find a way to marry two stark incompatibilities. On one hand, BJP uses nationalism as a pan-Indian ideological platform to spread its footprint, on the other hand, it suffers from a paucity of easily recognisable national political icons, nearly all of whom are tied to the Congress.

It is fascinating how the Modi government is trying to address this dichotomy. There has been a relentless attempt to de-contextualise illustrious leaders such as Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel, BR Ambedkar, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and even Mahatma Gandhi from their Congress roots and project them simply as great leaders of nation-building project who were way above partisan party lines and constraints.

This is essential, because it makes it easier for Modi, who has fashioned himself as the nation-builder of India in the new millennium, to lay a claim to their legacy and project BJP as the true torchbearer of nationalism. Modi's job has been made somewhat easier by Congress' blinkered focus on one dynasty to the exclusion of other luminaries in its ranks and the last three years have seen the party making a mad scramble to hold on to Ambedkar or Patel's legacies.

In his 30-minute Lok Sabha speech on the 75th anniversary of the 'Quit India Movement', Modi did not make even a single reference to Jawaharlal Nehru or Congress, which in its AIC session on 8 August, 1942, had passed a resolution for the movement. Instead, Modi made frequent references to Gandhi, Ram Manohar Lohia, Chandrashekhar Azad, Jayaprakash Narayan, Bhagat Singh, Subhash Bose, Rajguru, Lal Bahadur Shastri and Sukhdev.

Neither did Arun Jaitley, who in his speech merely mentioned that two former prime ministers have fallen prey to terrorism. This is not an accidental overlook but a continuation of a well thought-out strategy. Consider the number of times Modi and some ministers of his Cabinet have made salutary references to Ambedkar, Bose, Sardar Patel or Gandhi.

This naturally forces Congress on the defensive, and we find Sonia Gandhi or Ghulam Nabi Azad hasten to defend the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty's role in Indian political history and the primacy of Congress and its icons.

But even as it does so, the Congress unwittingly gets boxed into a narrower ideological prism, pushes itself into the past and increasingly fails to connect with the young demography. This consequently reduces Congress' position as a greater ideological threat. Modi seems to be winning the intriguing battle of ideas.
New Delhi: Over 6,400 corruption cases, involving 115 politicians, probed by the CBI are pending trials in various courts, the government said on Thursday.

The CBI has registered 339 cases of alleged corruption this year till June, involving 487 government employees, 660 private individuals and 14 politicians, Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.

The agency had in 2016 registered 673 such cases against 2,842 people, including six politicians. In 2015, 617 corruption cases were registered by the CBI against 5,957 accused, including 21 politicians, he said.

Giving details of the cases pending trials, Singh said, a total of 6,663 such cases were being heard in the courts. In 2016, the number of pending cases was 6,502, the minister said.

A total of 6,414 corruption cases (up to 30 June, 2017) were pending trials in courts, he said. A total of 16,875 government employees, 18,780 private persons and 115 politicians are accused in these cases, Singh said.

He said over 1,800 corruption cases (1,005 in 2016 and 878 in 2015) have resulted in conviction in past two years.

Up to 30 June, 199 cases have ended in conviction. A total of 420 people  228 government employees and 192 private persons  have been convicted in these cases, the minister said.
New Delhi: The Rajya Sabha bid an adieu to three members whose term comes to an end with the close of the Monsoon session on Thursday.

These members are Sitaram Yechury of the CPM, D Bandyopadhyay of the Trinamool Congress and Dilip Pandya of the BJP.

While nine members are retiring after the session, six of them will be back as they have been re-elected.

Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien, while thanking the retiring members for their invaluable contribution, said they should forgive and forget if he had been harsh with them.

He termed Yechury as an excellent parliamentarian and said the nation will be benefited from his contribution.

Yechury has set high standards of political behaviour, he said.

The leader of the House and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said Yechury was a "veteran in politics" who raised the level of debates during his two terms in the Upper House.

In a lighter vein, he also quipped that the CPM leader had never had the opportunity of being in government and had had the privilege of making comments which are idealistic and but not practical or implementable.

Referring to Bandyopadhyay, a former civil servant, Jaitley said he was impressed with him.

About Pandya, he said he was most regular in attending the proceedings.

The leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad chose the occasion to point out the importance of the Upper House while noting that there had been suggestions from the ruling party to abolish the Rajya Sabha.

He said a host of stalwarts had been members of the Rajya Sabha and named a number of them, like BR Ambedkar, Indira Gandhi, HD Deve Gowda, IK Gujral, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh.

Besides, three Presidents  Zakir Husain, Pranab Mukherjee and Ram Nath Kovind, have been members of the Upper House.

Azad said Yechury's loss was not only to the opposition but to all as some people do not belong to any political party and belong to the nation.

He praised Bandyopadhyay for his punctuality and took a dig at the BJP for the exit of Pandya, saying a committed RSS worker like him should have been in the first rows.

Samajwadi Party MP Ram Gopal Yadav, who shares his seat with Yechury, turned emotional and could not complete his speech while bidding farewell to the CPM leader.

Derek O'Brien of Trinamool Congress said Yechury, who belongs to bitter rival CPM, is a politician who has set high standards.

He wished luck to Yechury for his upcoming book "The Left is Always Right".

About Bandyopadhyay, he said he is a strict disciplinarian and termed Pandya as "soft spoken."

D Raja (CPI), Tiruchi Siva and A Navaneethakrishnan too made warm comments about the retiring members.

The House earlier adopted three motions that pertained to appointment of members to the joint committee on the right to fair compensation and transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2015, appointment to the joint committee on the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 and election to the joint committee on offices of profit.
New Delhi: Vice-President-elect M Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday rejected as "political propaganda" the view that there is a sense of insecurity among minorities in the country, apparently a rejoinder to outgoing Vice-President Hamid Ansari.

Though Naidu did not name anyone, his comments are seen as a response to Ansari's remarks in a TV interview that there was an unease and a sense of insecurity among Muslims in the country, and that "ambience of acceptance" is now under threat.

"Some people are saying minorities are insecure. It is a political propaganda. Compared to the entire world, minorities are more safe and secure in India and they get their due," Naidu told PTI.

He also disagreed with the view that there is growing intolerance, saying Indian society is the most tolerant in the world because of its people and civilisation.

There is tolerance that is why democracy is so successful, he said.

The former BJP president also cautioned against creating a divide in the nation by singling out one community, saying it will draw adverse reaction from other communities.

"If you single out one community, other communities will take it otherwise. That is why we say all are equal. Appeasement for none justice for all," the 68-year-leader and former Union minister said.

He said history has proved that there is no discrimination against minorities.

"They (minorities) got in prominent positions including constitutional responsibilities because there is no discrimination, and also on account of their merit," he said.

Noting that India's uniqueness is its unity in diversity, he said sarva dharm sadbhav and secularism is in the mind and blood of India.

"India is secular not because of political leaders but because of its people and civilisation," he said.

Ansari's remarks come against the backdrop of incidents of alleged intolerance and violence by self-proclaimed cow protectors, for which Opposition parties have attacked the central government.

Asked about incidents of alleged intolerance, Naidu said India is a huge country and there could be some "stray" occurrences, which are "nothing but aberrations".

He, however, added,"Nobody can justify attacks on fellow citizens on the basis of community". Such incidents should be condemned and action should be taken by appropriate authorities, he said.

Naidu also said that some people blow out of proportion such incidents for political considerations. Some go to the extent of "defaming" the county by raising such issues at the international forum.

Some do it to create a rift between communities and derive political mileage, he said, adding the basic problem arises due to vote bank politics and due to treating a community as a vote bank.

A day before he takes oath as India's next vice-president, he said his advice to politicians is not to drag communities into politics.
In my town halls around Missouri, its pretty clear what folks think of Washington D.C.

Nothing gets done. Its just partisan gridlock. Democrats and Republicans cant work together. And its regular people back home who are paying the price. Too often, its true. And that reality is one of the disheartening things about the state of Congress.

But sometimes, you fight hard enough and long enough, and get enough allies along the way, that you get a breakthrough.

Thats what happened this month. It wont make national headlines, since its not a scandal or partisan food fight. But this week, after a two-year effort, I passed into law a bill to provide reliefand recognitionto a true American hero right here in Missouri.

That hero is Mr. Arla Harrell, who lives in Macon, Missouri. He was one of 60,000 U.S. servicemen during World War II who was forced to participate in experiments in which he was intentionally exposed to mustard gas. Since the testing at Camp Crowder in Missouri, Arla has suffered from multiple chronic ailments, including several linked to his mustard gas exposure.

But because the experiments were highly classified, he was forced to take an oath of secrecy that prevented him from discussing his experience with his family, or even his doctor. Even after the oath of secrecy was lifted in the 1990s, the Department of Veterans Affairs has denied more than 90 percent of mustard gas claims from these veterans, and only 40 veterans are currently receiving any benefits due to their exposure.

Two years ago, when I first heard about this, it made me think of my dadwho also served in World War IIand how furious Id be if he was treated this way.

When a Missouri veteran is mistreated, I take it personally, and Ill take the fight to anyone, anywhere, to make it right.

So I launched an investigationand when I uncovered the details, I immediately got to work.

Inspired by Arlaand with the help of his loving and determined familymy staff and I battled a decades-long run of ineptitude and failure at the VA. I enlisted my friend, Republican Senator Johnny Isakson of Georgia, who is Chairman of the Senates Veterans Affairs Committee. I worked with Republican Congresswoman Jackie Walorski of Indiana, who introduced companion legislation in the U.S. House. We rallied support from veterans service organizations like the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the American Legion.

And I button-holed President Trumps VA Secretary, David Shulkin, often enough that he eventually overruled his agencys opposition to my bill, and pledged his personal support to our cause.

This month, I passed my bipartisan Arla Harrell Act as part of a larger veterans bill, and now the bill is on its way to President Trump for his signature into law. Once signed, it will require a re-examination of Arlas benefits claim, and will include Camp Crowder on the list of sites where exposure occurred. It will mandate a quick review of all previously denied claims. And importantly, it will place the burden on the VAinstead of the veteransto prove or disprove such exposure.

After all these years, its less about the benefits that Arla deserves, and will now receiveits about recognizing what he sacrificed for this country, and that he and his family deserve to hear three simple words from their government.

We believe you.

Thank you, Arla Harrell. For all youve sacrificed.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter on Wednesday to congratulate Amit Shah for completing three years as the Bharatiya Janata Party chief. Modi said that under Shah's leadership, the BJP has expanded its base in several areas and diligently worked towards nation-building.

Under Amit Shah, the party has indeed spread its presence and influence to unexplored areas in the country since 2014.

Congratulations to Shri @AmitShah on completing 3 successful years as @BJP4India President.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 9, 2017

Shah was appointed as BJP president on 9 July, 2014, but it was not until a month later that the party's national council approved the decision of its parliamentary board. Shah completed three years in office on Wednesday, at a time when he is about to begin another chapter in his political career as a member of the Rajya Sabha from Gujarat.

Although BJP suffered a couple of political defeats in state elections since Shah took over, it has also recorded unprecedented victories in other states.

The party's first defeat was in February 2015, when a resurgent Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi meted out an embarrassing defeat to the BJP, reducing it to three members in the 70-member assembly. A few months later in November, BJP lost in Bihar to the Mahagathbandhan led by Nitish Kumar's JD(U) and Lalu Prasad's RJD with Congress as the smaller partner. This was followed by BJPs senior leaders  led by the likes of LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi  launching a frontal attack on Shah in the aftermath of the defeat. But even the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar broke down last month, and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar formed government with the BJP in the state.

Perhaps one of Shah's biggest accomplishments lies in expanding the BJP beyond its traditional strongholds. It registered a debut victory in Assam in 2016, and now has governments in Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur. It is also preparing to put up a strong fight against the ruling Left Front in the Tripura Assembly elections scheduled for February 2018.

Shah has also led the party to unprecedented victories in Maharashtra and Haryana. In both these states, the BJP won the polls after it decided to sever ties with old allies such as the Shiv Sena and Haryana Janhit Congress in the two states respectively. The emphatic Uttar Pradesh victory has also been the latest feather in Shahs cap.

This dramatic change in BJP's electoral fortunes can perhaps be traced back to a membership drive that Shah undertook after taking charge as the party president. As Livemint reports, BJP crossed 100 million in 2015, the highest ever. It was the first attempt to transform the BJP into a mass-based political party, the report says, as before the launch of this campaign, the BJP had only 35 million members in its fold. Even with that number, it had succeeded in winning 171.6 million votes to etch its historic win in the 2014 general elections.

The BJP's political dominance, furthered with Shahs tenure at the helm, made it the first party since the Congress in 1993, to be in power (either alone or in alliance with friendly parties) in 18 states  the BJP had never tasted power in seven of them  besides being at the helm in the Centre.

Shah's success is also a result of his efforts at building an organisational structure for the party through rallies, and public and private meetings. According to The Indian Express, Shah has been part of 800 organisational meetings at various levels for election micro-management in 16 states and 575 rallies or public meetings across the country over the last three years.

The 52-year-old Shah also has held more than 75 meetings for government-BJP coordination on various issues of governance like One Rank One Pension, land acquisition legislation, Jat reservation, NJAC, Yoga Day, MUDRA scheme among others during this period, Financial Express reported. In an attempt to maintain a good coordination between BJP and RSS, Shah also participated in more than 82 BJP-RSS meetings.

Shah is also known to be rough with Opposition parties, both during his rallies and on interviews to media houses. Business Standard reported that he looks at the Congress party, and some in the media, to have launched a witch hunt against him that first led to his imprisonment for three months and later a court decision kept him from entering Gujarat. The CBI case was related to his alleged role in the fake encounter killings of Sohrabuddin Sheikh and others. When you shoot at the king, you need to ensure that you finish him off. For if the King lives, he is sure to come after you, a senior BJP leader says of the Congress-led UPAs efforts to fix Modi and Shah and how the two are now on a mission to sound the death knell of the Congress party, the report added.

Currently, Shahs efforts are focussed on expanding the BJPs presence in a new set of states where it has never had a prominent presence: West Bengal, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, and for the bigger picture, on making the party "invincible".
tech2 News Staff

Google recently fired James Damore, an employee who was the author of the 10-page anti-diversity manifesto. After the document went viral, it received a lot of flak from not only Googlers but from many others who read the document as well.

Last weekend, a 10-page document written by a Damore expressed a need for Google to stop its diversity campaigns and focus on "ideological" diversity. He went to the extent of saying that women in the same position as men were paid less not due to any bias, but because of inherent biological differences between the genders.

Damore tried to defend his position in an interview with Bloomberg, stating that he was hurt at Google's decision to fire him and felt betrayed. According to Damore, he had written the 10-page memo a month back and there have been several additions done to it since. "I did update it and take in a lot of feedback. So what the document is now, is what I largely believe is the scientific consensus for a lot of these issues," said Damore. He claims that he had shared the document with many of Google's diversity programs as well as individual Googlers, but no one ever reprimanded him for these ideas. It was only after it became viral that the upper management started shaming him, he says.

On being asked if he regretted anything in this whole process, Damore said that it was hard to regret anything. "I think I am trying to help Google and the world, by not confining ourselves to our ideological echo chambers where only one side of the story can be heard. And it is totally intolerant to other viewpoints. And even scientific evidence," said Damore. He, however, wasn't very forthcoming when asked about what exact 'scientific evidence' he was talking about.

This firing episode has given the alt-right in the US a reason to protest. Calling Google a 'diversity cyberbully', many alt-right supporters have started a crowdfund for Damore and are demanding a boycott of Google. On being asked if he identified with the alt-right, Damore said that he was a centrist. "I don't think that we should have such a strong ideology that really divides different people. I think there is a lot that we can do to bring people together. I am very sympathetic to some of the same struggles that some of the conservative people at Google face," said Damore.

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has offered a job to Damore as he called out Google's censorship policies.

1/ Censorship is for losers. @WikiLeaks is offering a job to fired Google engineer James Damore. https://t.co/tmrflE72p3  Julian Assange  (@JulianAssange) August 8, 2017

Meanwhile, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki wrote a response to the questions raised by Damore in a piece on Fortune. Her response was triggered by a question her daughter asked her, "Mom, is it true that there are biological reasons why there are fewer women in tech and leadership?

Wojcicki said that she was fortunate to have received support from Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Eric Schmidt and others in her career. But she also said that time and again, she had her abilities and commitments questioned, her comments and ideas ignored until they were presented differently by other men and so on.

"So when I saw the memo that circulated last week, I once again felt that pain and empathised with the pain it must have caused others. I thought about the women at Google who are now facing a very public discussion about their abilities, sparked by one of their own co-workers," says Wojcicki.

Defending Google's policy of free speech and responding to commentators who called the employee-firing an act of Google going back on its word, Wojcicki said that while employees have a right to their views, it cannot be a free for all. She said that companies can take action against employees who make unlawful statements and try to perpetuate negative stereotypes about women or create hostile work environments.

After Damore's document went viral over the last weekend, Google's vice president for Diversity, Integrity and Governance Danielle Brown had sent a memo to Googlers saying that the company did not endorse the vision expressed in the 10-page document. According to Recode, even Google CEO Sundar Pichai sent out a memo saying that the employee had violated Google's code of conduct and that the post had "crossed the line by advancing harmful gender stereotypes in our workplace. To suggest a group of our colleagues have traits that make them less biologically suited to that work is offensive and not OK."
Reuters

Moscow-based cyber security firm Kaspersky Lab said on Wednesday it would withdraw antitrust complaints made in Europe against Microsoft after the US technology giant agreed to change how it delivers security updates to Windows users.

Both companies simultaneously announced a resolution to nearly a year of disputes that included Kaspersky alleging that Microsoft had erected unfair obstacles for independent security vendors on its Windows 10 operating system.

Kaspersky Lab in June accused Microsoft of abusing its dominance in the personal computer market to unfairly harm third-party antivirus providers in how it distributed its own Defender antivirus software on Windows 10.

Company founder Eugene Kaspersky said at the time that Microsoft had removed Kaspersky's antivirus software when customers installed Windows 10 in order to make users adopt Defender, which he derided as an "inferior" product.

Microsoft had denied breaking any laws and said that its goal was to help protect Windows 10 customers from cyber security threats.

In a blog post published late Wednesday, Microsoft said it would work more closely with anti-virus vendors before software updates are launched to help mitigate compatibility issues.

The Redmond, Washington-based company said it will also allow antivirus providers to issue their own alerts and notifications to customers before and after subscriptions have expired and provide vendors more visibility and certainty around its update release schedules.

In a statement, Kaspersky said Microsoft's proposed approach had addressed its concerns raised with Russia's Federal Antimonopoly Service, and said that it was "taking all steps necessary" to withdraw its antitrust complaints made with the European Commission and Germany's national competition regulator.

It added that the two companies had held "fruitful discussions" in recent months about how "anti-virus services should operate in the Windows ecosystem to help ensure a safe environment for Windows users."

The detente comes as Kaspersky Lab is facing mounting accusations from US intelligence officials and lawmakers that the company may be vulnerable to Russian government influence.

Kaspersky Lab has repeatedly denied having ties to any government or that it has helped any government conduct cyber espionage.
AFP

Mozilla, the non-profit which runs the Firefox internet browser, said today it was launching a drive against fake news as fact-checking software backed by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar got its first run-out in public. The US-based open source group said it was investing in people, programs and projects in a new initiative to actively disrupt misinformation online.

It said the internets ability to power democratic society suffers greatly because of fabricated stories, such as the Pope endorsing Donald Trump for the US presidency and Indias 2,000-rupee note containing a tracking device. The Kenyan election this week has also seen both bogus BBC and CNN news reports circulating on social media.

Mozillas innovations director Katharina Borchert told AFP that it was working on tools for Firefox and better online education with media groups, universities, and tech activists.

The Mozilla Information Trust Initiative comes as an automated real-time fact-checking engine developed by the Full Fact Foundation was demonstrated in London. The group, which is backed by Omidyar and Hungarian-born investor and philanthropist George Soros, said its software is capable of spotting lies in real time and was used to fact-check a live debate at the House of Commons.

Full Fact has been working with Britains Office of National Statistics on the project, which they insisted was still very much at the test stage.

As the proponents of propaganda and misinformation become more sophisticated in their use of technology, it is important that fact checkers do not fall behind in our fight against it, Full Fact said. This is an important investment in the future of fact-checking, Stephen King, of the Omidyar Network, told The Guardian newspaper.

You only have to look at the number of initiatives that have risen up to address this challenge, either by tech companies or other organisations to see how worrying this phenomenon is to so many, Borchert added. Whether its become a big enough priority is perhaps a better question, she said, arguing that it was time for rival news organisations to rally around to confront fake news.
Reuters

Tesla Inc is developing a long-haul, electric semi-truck that can drive itself and move in "platoons" that automatically follow a lead vehicle, and is getting closer to testing a prototype, according to an email discussion of potential road tests between the car company and the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), seen by Reuters.

Meanwhile, California officials are meeting with Tesla on Wednesday "to talk about Tesla's efforts with autonomous trucks," state DMV spokeswoman Jessica Gonzalez told Reuters.

The correspondence and meeting show that Tesla is putting self-driving technology into the electric truck it has said it plans to unveil in September, and is advancing towards real-life tests, potentially moving it forward in a highly competitive area of commercial transport also being pursued by Uber Technologies Inc and Alphabet Inc's Waymo.

After announcing intentions a year ago to produce a heavy-duty electric truck a year ago, Musk tweeted in April that the semi-truck would be revealed in September, and repeated that commitment at the company's annual shareholder meeting in June, but has never mentioned any autonomous-driving capabilities.

Tesla has been a leader in developing autonomous driving capability for its luxury cars, including the lower-priced Model 3, which it is beginning to manufacture.

Several Silicon Valley companies developing autonomous driving technology are working on long-haul trucks. They see the industry as a prime early market for the technology, citing the relatively consistent speeds and little cross traffic trucks face on interstate highways and the benefits of allowing drivers to rest while trucks travel.

Some companies also are working on technology for "platooning", a driving formation where trucks follow one another closely. If trucks at the back of the formation were able to automatically follow a lead vehicle, that could cut the need for drivers.

Prototype tests

An email exchange in May and June between Tesla and Nevada DMV representatives included an agenda for a June 16 meeting, along with the Nevada Department of Transportation, to discuss testing of two prototype trucks in Nevada, according to the exchange seen by Reuters.

"To insure we are on the same page, our primary goal is the ability to operate our prototype test trucks in a continuous manner across the state line and within the States of Nevada and California in a platooning and/or Autonomous mode without having a person in the vehicle," Tesla regulatory official Nasser Zamani wrote to Nevada DMV official April Sanborn.

No companies yet have tested self-driving trucks in Nevada without a person in the cab. On July 10, Zamani inquired further to the Nevada DMV about terms for a testing license, an email seen by Reuters shows.

California DMV spokeswoman Gonzalez said that Tesla had requested a meeting on Wednesday to introduce new staff and talk about Teslas efforts with autonomous trucks. She said that the DMV was not aware of the level of autonomy in the trucks.

Tesla declined to comment on the matter, referring Reuters to the previous statements by Musk, who has discussed the truck in tweets and at the annual shareholder meeting.

Nevada officials confirmed the meeting with Tesla had occurred and said that Tesla had not applied for a license so far. They declined to comment further.

Sceptics

Musk has said that potential customers are eager to get a Tesla electric long-haul truck, but he faces doubt that the company can deliver.

While established trucking companies and truck manufacturing startups have poured resources into electrifying local package delivery fleets, battery range limitations have largely kept the industry from making electric trucks that travel across swaths of the country.

Lithium ion battery researcher Venkat Viswanathan of Carnegie Mellon University said electric long-haul trucking is not economically feasible yet.

Your cargo essentially becomes the battery, Viswanathan said of the massive batteries that would be needed to make range competitive with diesel.

Diesel trucks used for cross-country hauls by United Parcel Service Inc can travel up to 500 miles (800 km) on a single tank, according to UPS's director of maintenance and engineering, international operations, Scott Phillippi. By comparison, the company's electric local package delivery trucks travel up to 80 miles on a full charge.
Dhaka: A private helicopter carrying a wedding party landed by mistake inside a high-security prison on Thursday, sparking massive security concerns amid reports that terrorists were planning an attack on the jail to free the militant inmates.

According to the officials, the guards at Kashimpur Central Jail detained the five passengers, all members of an expatriate Bangladeshi family, for a brief period but the pilot, reportedly a retired air force officer, flew away with the plane after sensing his mistake.

"This happened by mistake but the incident made us concerned as there are intelligence reports that terrorists could launch attacks to free militant inmates from this jail," said Inspector General of prisons Brigadier General Syed Iftekhar Uddin.

He said the armed jail guards immediately cordoned off the helicopter as it landed on the prison ground and briefly detained the passengers but the plane flew away immediately.

The prison chief said the helicopter service management apologised for the mistake and the passengers were freed after brief interrogation and allowed to join the wedding reception at a nearby village.

According to media reports, a Bangladeshi living in Malaysia chartered the helicopter to join the relative's marriage ceremony along with his wife and children.
New Delhi: Any escalation of tension between India and China on the Doka La standoff will be potentially "very disruptive" for the countries of the region and both sides should try to resolve the issue amicably, the United Arab Emirates said on Wednesday.

UAE's minister of state for foreign affairs Anwar Gargash said his country has been keeping an eye on the issue and hoped that both the great powers will find a way to resolve it.

Gargash on Wednesday held talks with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj covering all major bilateral and regional issues.

During the meeting, Swaraj requested Gargash to ensure welfare of Indian workers in his country and address their grivenaces. To which, he assured that the UAE government will sympathetically consider concerns of Indian blue-collar workers.

The face-off between the armies of India and China in Doka La is also understood to have figured at the meeting.

"Any escalation between two great powers--India and China-is potentially very disruptive for all of us. More we have a way in adressing the the issue between these two great nations, I think we will feel more stable," he told reporters.

Gargash said he conveyed to Indian leaders that the dispute a number of Arab countries including the UAE are having with Qatar will not impact the Indian community as well as Indian interests in the region.

At the same time, he accused Qatar of attempting to destabilise the Gulf region by openly supporting extremism, terrorism and jihadist elements and said that country must abandon such destructive policy.

Asked about terror attacks on India from Pakistani soil, he said the UAE has been very vocal against such attacks and asserted that terrorism in the name of pushing political agenda cannot be tolerated at all.

He said terrorism must be dealt with firmly and all countries must come together to combat the menace, cautioning against politicisation of religion.

Gargash said ties between India and the UAE have intensified to a great extent over the last few years, adding the focus of the cooperation is now on strategic and political sphere.

Asked about investment in India from the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth funds, the minister said a framework has to be put in place for investments.

He said both sides are working together to ensure that investments in India from Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth funds are on a solid institutional ground.

"I think we are working on this together. It will be a collective effort in order to make sure that our investments in India are on solid institutional ground," he said.

Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital, has a sovereign wealth fund of $800 billion. India has been eyeing the fund, parked with the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, for its infrastructure sector.

"We have huge appetite for India. We need a legal framework (for investment). There is a huge potential," he said.

The minister indicated that the investments from the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth funds will come to India through its National Infrastructure and Investment Fund (NIIF).

India is the UAE's number one trading partner and the annual trade currently stands at nearly $60 billion. The UAE, a major player in the Gulf region, is a strategically important country for India.
Failure of the Republican Party to repeal and replace Obamacare has started an intra-party squabble between President Donald Trump and party's Senate leader, Mitch McConnell, with both criticising each other openly.

McConnell fired the first shot on Monday, partly blaming Trump for setting "artificial deadlines, unrelated to the reality of the complexity of legislating", which resulted in the perception that Republicans have failed to follow through on their campaign promises.

"Our new president has, of course, not been in this line of work before and I think had excessive expectations about how quickly things happen in the democratic process," McConnell added, reported CNBC.

Trump on Wednesday hit back at him on Twitter:

Senator Mitch McConnell said I had "excessive expectations," but I don't think so. After 7 years of hearing Repeal & Replace, why not done?  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 9, 2017

Can you believe that Mitch McConnell, who has screamed Repeal & Replace for 7 years, couldn't get it done. Must Repeal & Replace ObamaCare!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 10, 2017

The exchange came less than two weeks after the Senate rejected repeated attempts by McConnell to muscle legislation through his chamber, scuttling President Barack Obamas health care law. The House of Representatives approved its version in May, but its Senate failure  thanks to defecting Republican Senators  marked the collapse of the party's attempt to deliver on vows to erase Obama's law.

One of the most prominent promises of his presidential campaign, the repeal of Obamacare, has been high on Trump's priority ever since he took up the reins.

Trump had repeatedly used Twitter to pressurise McConnell to find votes to repeal the health care bill. But his tweet on Wednesday was an unusually personal reproach of the 33-year Senate veteran, reported AP, adding McConnell is deeply respected by his Republican colleagues and Trump will need him to guide the next major Republican priority through the chamber  a tax system overhaul.

Citing an unnamed source, The New York Times wrote that before his tweet, Trump spoke on phone with McConnell to express his disappointment in the senator's comments about him, and reiterated his resolve to repeal the law.

Republicans have a 52-48 majority in the Senate, making the crash of their bill acutely painful for the party. Yet, The New York Times wrote that by antagonising McConnell, Trump risks upending an already charged relationship with lawmakers who have joined him in the Republican government.

With inputs from AP.
After Iran president Hassan Rouhani was criticised by reformists for lack of women in his new Cabinet line-up, he appointed two female vice-presidents on Wednesday, but continued to face flak.

The announcement came one day after Rouhani had unveiled an all-male list of ministers to Iranian Parliament, which was seen as a betrayal by reformists who backed his re-election campaign in May.

A day later, there was small comfort in the appointment of two women as vice-presidents who do not require parliamentary approval.

Massoumeh Ebtekar, known internationally for her role as spokesperson during the 1980 US embassy hostage crisis, was named vice-president in charge of women's affairs, having previously run the environment brief.

Laya Joneydi was appointed vice-president for legal affairs, while another woman, Shahindokht Mowlaverdi, was named special advisor for citizens' rights.

Rouhani, a moderate cleric who had three female vice-presidents during his previous term, has several more deputy positions to fill and it was unclear if any would go to women.

However, it would be the exception and not the norm, for the role of women in Iranian politics has always been limited. Since the Iranian revolution of 1979, only 49 women have served in the Iranian parliament  accounting for only 3 percent of all parliamentary seats, according to The Guardian.

The article also said candidates who wanted to get involved in Iranian politics needed to be considered 'Rajol-e-siasi', or statesmen, which made it tough for women because female lawmakers were expected to have conservative Islamic values while also accepting the social development in women's rights.

In fact, outspoken female parliamentarians have even been jailed for their views.

The condition of women in other areas of development, like education, has improved considerably since the Iranian revolution. For example, in 1976, the female literacy rate was 35 percent, which rose to 52 by 1986, according to this an article in The Diplomat. In 2013, girls in Iran aged between 15 and 24 years had near universal literacy.

But when it comes to politics, women continue to face obstacles. In 2013, around 30 women had signed up to run for president but the Guardian Council had rejected their candidacies solely on the basis of gender.

Even before the revolution, two women served as Cabinet ministers under the Amir-Abbas Hoveida premiership, but were not given important roles.

Of course, there has been considerable development too. Even though women served in Parliament in the 80s and 90s, the taboo against this was abolished during the presidency of Seyed Mohammad Khatami.

Over the past week, the expected lack of women has been a focus of criticism by reformists, who say Rouhani is probably bowing to pressure from the religious establishment.

In his first term, Rouhani did have three women among his large cohort of vice-presidents, who do not require parliamentary approval.

Ironically, the sole female minister since Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution came under Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Rouhani's hardline predecessor, whose health minister Marzieh Dastjerdi served between 2009 and 2013.

Rouhani sailed to victory in May over hardliner Ebrahim Raisi with the backing of reformists after vowing to improve civil liberties and rebuild ties with the West.

With inputs from AFP
Washington: An Indian origin activist placed a giant inflatable rooster bearing a striking resemblance to President Donald Trump near the White House to protest his "weak" and "ineffective" leadership.

Taran Singh Brar, a documentary filmmaker, installed the 30-foot "Chicken Don" balloon between the official residence of the US President and the famous Washington Monument on Wednesday, Washington Examiner reported.

A USA Today report cited Brar as saying that he obtained all necessary permits for the installation from the National Parks Service and the US Secret Service. The angry-looking chicken has golden-orange hair and hand gestures in Trump's style.

"We are out here to criticise our President for being weak and ineffective as a leader," Brar said in the footage posted on Twitter, adding that Trump also "seems afraid" to release his tax returns.

"He seems afraid to stand up to (Russian president Vladimir) Putin and now he's playing a game of chicken with North Korea. Yet he wants a military parade in DC. It's all incongruous, and we are here to make fun of him for that," Brar said.

The inflatable's arrival divided opinion on the social media, with Twitter users at odds over whether the stunt was "pathetic" or "cute".

The topic quickly gained momentum and the hashtag #TrumpChicken was trending in the US on Wednesday.

"Not a comment on Trump or his presidency, but I just kind of love the inflatable chicken w/Trump hair. It is really cute!" wrote one user on Twitter.

Another user wrote: "President Trump tells nuclear power North Korea there will be 'Fire & fury' and democrats inflate a chicken? Insanity."
Bismarck Board of Aldermen and the Mineral Area College Board of Trustees will each hold meetings today.

The Bismarck Board of Aldermen meets in regular session at 7 p.m. tonight in the city's old train depot at 901 E. Main St.

According to the tentative agenda, the board will consider a request from First Baptist Church in Bismarck for the closing of Cedar to Spruce streets in front of the church on Sept. 23 for its annual car show; hear from Dana Melancon about property at 631 W. Main St.; hear from Carol Elam regarding tall weeds on West Main Street; consider approval of a citywide yard sale on Sept. 9; and OK Highway 32 property bids.

The meeting is open to the public.

The Mineral Area College Board of Trustees will be meeting in regular session at 2 p.m. today in the VanHerck Boardroom.

According to the tentative agenda, the board will hear an update from Dean Roger McMillian and Workforce Development Director Bev Hickam regarding the ApprenticeshipUSA Update, the state of Missouri report by MAC president, Dr. Steve Kurtz, summer census and fall 2017 enrollment reports; and reports from Classified Staff and the Faculty Forum.

In old business, the board will consider approval of the second reading of Board Policy Article III and learn the results of bids for remodeling of the North College Center.

In new business, the board will consider approving the submission of the 2017 nonprofit corporate registration report; fiscal year 2017 projected tax rate revenues; the agreement with Missouri Baptist University; an amendment with American Food and Vending; and modification to board policy pertaining to sick leave, personal leave and vacation, as well as modifications to Worker Compensation Policy.
Tehran: Iranian president Hassan Rouhani appointed two female vice presidents on Wednesday, a day after coming under fire from reformists for nominating no women ministers.

Massoumeh Ebtekar, known internationally for her role as spokesperson during the 1980 US embassy hostage crisis, was named as vice president in charge of women's affairs, having previously run the environment brief in Rouhani's office.

Laya Joneydi was appointed as the vice president for legal affairs, while another woman, Shahindokht Mowlaverdi, was named as a special adviser for citizens' rights.

Rouhani, who had three female vice presidents during his previous term, still has several more deputy positions to fill and it was unclear if any would go to women.

The lack of any women among Rouhani's new ministers, announced on Tuesday, has been strongly criticised by his reformist allies who say he has bowed to pressure from the religious establishment.

Rouhani, a moderate cleric, sailed to victory in May over hardliner Ebrahim Raisi with the backing of reformists after vowing to improve civil liberties and rebuild ties with the West.

But he faces a difficult balancing act in seeking to address popular pressure for reform while assuaging conservative opinion in parliament and other power centres behind the scenes.
Seoul/ Washington: North Korea dismissed on Thursday warnings by US President Donald Trump that it would face "fire and fury" if it threatened the United States as a "load of nonsense", and outlined detailed plans for a missile strike near the Pacific territory of Guam.

North Korea's apparently rapid progress in developing nuclear weapons and missiles capable of reaching the US mainland has fuelled tensions that erupted into a war of words between Washington and Pyongyang this week, unnerving regional powers and global investors.

Trump's unexpected remarks prompted North Korea to say on Thursday it was finalising plans to fire four intermediate-range missiles over Japan to land 30-40 km (18-25 miles) from Guam, more than 3,000 km (2,000 miles) to the south.

Guam is home to about 163,000 people and a US military base that includes a submarine squadron, an air base and a Coast Guard group.

"Sound dialogue is not possible with such a guy bereft of reason and only absolute force can work on him," a report by the North's state-run KCNA news agency said of Trump.

The army will complete its plans in mid-August, ready for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's order, KCNA reported, citing General Kim Rak Gyom, commander of the Strategic Force of the Korean People's Army.

While North Korea regularly threatens to destroy the United States and its allies, the report was unusual in its detail.

Masao Okonogi, professor emeritus at Japan's Keio University, said the North Korean reports suggested Pyongyang was issuing a warning or advance notice of changes to its missile testing programme rather than threatening an attack.

"I believe this is a message saying they plan to move missile tests from the Sea of Japan to areas around Guam," he told Reuters. "By making this advance notice, they are also sending a tacit message that what they are going to do is not a actual attack."

Boasts about Power

The United States and South Korea remain technically still at war with North Korea after the 1950-53 Korean conflict ended with a truce, not a peace treaty.

US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis issued a stark warning earlier on Wednesday, telling Pyongyang the United States and its allies would win any arms race or conflict.

"The DPRK should cease any consideration of actions that would lead to the end of its regime and the destruction of its people," Mattis said in a statement, using the acronym for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Tension in the region has risen since North Korea carried out two nuclear bomb tests last year and two intercontinental ballistic missile tests in July. Trump has said he will not allow Pyongyang to develop a nuclear weapon capable of hitting the United States.

On Wednesday, Trump boasted about US nuclear capabilities.

"My first order as President was to renovate and modernize our nuclear arsenal. It is now far stronger and more powerful than ever before," Trump said on Twitter. "Hopefully we will never have to use this power, but there will never be a time that we are not the most powerful nation in the world!"

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who was in Guam on a previously scheduled visit, played down the rhetoric, saying he did not believe there was an imminent threat from North Korea and "Americans should sleep well at night".

Earlier on Wednesday, Guam Governor Eddie Calvo dismissed the threat and said the island was prepared for "any eventuality" with strategically placed defences. He said he had been in touch with the White House and there was no change in the threat level.

Heading towards confrontation

North Korea accuses the Washington of devising a "preventive war" and has said any plans to execute this would be met with an "all-out war, wiping out all the strongholds of enemies, including the US mainland".

Washington has warned it is ready to use force if needed to stop North Korea's ballistic missile and nuclear programmes but that it prefers global diplomatic action, including sanctions. The U.N. Security Council unanimously imposed new sanctions on North Korea on Saturday.

China, North Korea's main ally, has consistently urged both sides to work to lower tensions.

Influential Chinese state-run tabloid the Global Times said the North Korean nuclear issue was heading towards confrontation and it was time for the United States to respond to Pyongyang's security concerns.

"North Korea has almost been completely isolated by the outside world. Under such extreme circumstances, Pyongyang will weigh all its possible options," it said in an editorial on its website on Thursday. "Washington should stimulate Pyongyang's desire to engage with the outside world and return to the international community."

A senior US official who deals with the Korea issue said the "fire and fury" comment, which was Trump's strongest warning yet for North Korea, was "unplanned and spontaneous".

"There had not been any discussions about escalating the rhetoric in response to Kims statements or about the possible effects of doing that," the official said.

However, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters national security officials had been aware of the tone of Trump's message before he gave it.

"The words were his own. The tone and strength of the message were discussed beforehand," Sanders said.
Islamabad: Islamabad and Kabul have decided to resume talks at a high level by convening a meeting of the Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Economic Commission (JEC) next month after a delay of almost two years, the media reported on Thursday.

It will be the first high-level talks between the two neighbouring countries since November 2015, reports Dawn news.

The proposal for resuming talks on economic issues in Kabul next month was made by Afghan Ambassador to Pakistan Hazrat Omar Zakhilwal during a meeting with finance minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday.

"It will be a great opportunity for Islamabad and Kabul to repair their diplomatic and business relations which have discontinued since November 2015," an informed source told Dawn news.

The Finance Minister welcomed the proposal and said mutually convenient dates be decided to hold the session next month.

The two sides also discussed various issues of mutual interest, including the current state of bilateral relations, especially in the context of economic cooperation.

The JEC is a highly important forum that takes into consideration important issues, including trade facilitation, enhancement of bilateral and transit trade, highway and railway projects, scholarship scheme for Afghan students, as well as potential joint ventures in various other sectors, reports Dawn news.

One of the fallout of the suspension of talks was a decline in bilateral trade.

Pakistan's exports to Afghanistan dropped by a significant 27 percent over the past one year, owing to several factors.
Islamabad: Pakistan's ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday urged people to guard their mandate so that elected representatives are not removed through "undemocratic" means, days after he was disqualified by the Supreme Court for holding office over the Panama Papers scandal.

Sharif, who was forced to quit before time for the record third time, addressed a huge rally in downtown Rawalpindi, after starting his journey from Islamabad to Lahore to project his political strength.

Sharif has resumed a long road trip back to his hometown, Lahore, via the Grand Trunk (GT) Road after an overnight stay in Rawalpindi as his procession enters its second day on the streets. He held a meeting with party leaders at Punjab House there, Rawalpindi, before starting his journey.

Sources in Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) said that Sharif was not happy with the turnout in the city and asked party leaders to make more targeted efforts to bring out the supporters.

PML-N leaders are in the process of making arrangements for more supporters to attend the rally, and as the convoy sets off towards Lahore once again.

Sharif, 67, said that it was pity that none of the prime ministers in the 70-year history of the country have been allowed to complete their tenure.

"Every prime minister in this country was given one-and-a-half-year tenure, on average, to govern. Some were executed, some jailed, some handcuffed, and some exiled," he said.

He asked the people to make a pledge to guard their mandate so that elected representative are not removed through undemocratic ways.

"Make a promise me that you would get your mandate respected. Promise me you won't allow your prime minister to be humiliated this way," he said.

He warned the supporters that their elected leaders would again be sacked in future if "you do not protect your rights". "It has happened with me for the third time. Is this not an insult to your vote?" he said.

He criticised the court verdict by saying that the judges said there was no charge of corruption, then asked why he had been disqualified if there is no case of misappropriation. "I leave this for history to determine," said Sharif.

He posed a question the gathering, if they accept the decision. The public responded with big "No", prompting Sharif to say: "One court gave its decision, now this people court is given its decision".

He termed the gathering as verdict by the people court  a referendum.

"This gathering here serves as a referendum. The court of the people of Pakistan has given its verdict in my favour," he said.

Sharif also announced that he respects the decision despite serious reservations. He said he was not struggling for his restoration.

"I am going home and I do not want you to get me restored. But I want you to stand with me for the development and betterment of the country," he said.

Later the crowd dispersed peacefully while Sharif went to the Punjab House in Rawalpindi to spend the night.

On Wednesday, it took him more than 12 hours to cover about 30 km distance which takes about half an hour under normal circumstances.

Last month, a five-member apex bench had found Sharif "unfit to hold office", ruling that he had been "dishonest to the parliament and the courts in not disclosing his employment in the Dubai-based Capital Free Zone Establishment company in his 2013 nomination papers."
Dubai: At least five migrants drowned and 50 went missing on Thursday when smugglers forced 180 Africans off a boat bound for Yemen, a day after a similar incident left 50 dead, the International Organization for Migration said.

A total of 25 people were being treated for injuries on a Yemeni beach on the Red Sea, said the UN migration agency, which could not immediately confirm the nationalities of the casualties.

On Wednesday, people traffickers forced more than 120 Somali and Ethiopian migrants into rough seas off Yemen to avoid arrest by local authorities, leaving at least 50 dead and 22 missing, the IOM said.

Early this morning, a human smuggler forced 120+ Somali & Ethiopian migrants into the sea off #Yemen. https://t.co/pPbwuYPcha  IOM (@UNmigration) August 9, 2017

IOM teams, working with International Committee of the Red Cross representation, found the bodies of 29 migrants in shallow graves along the coast of Shabwa province in southern Yemen.

They had been buried by survivors. The average age of the migrants was 16. Long the poorest country in the Arab world, Yemen has been called the "largest humanitarian crisis in the world" by the United Nations.

A brutal war since March 2015 between its Saudi-backed government and Shiite Huthi rebels allied with Iran, a cholera outbreak and the looming threat of famine have left nearly 10,300 people dead and displaced millions.

Yet Yemen continues to draw migrants desperate for work in the stable and prosperous Gulf, accessible by land through its border with Saudi Arabia.

IOM estimates some 55,000 migrants have left the Horn of Africa headed for Yemen since the start of 2017. "This journey is especially hazardous during the current windy season in the Indian Ocean. Smugglers are active in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, offering fake promises to vulnerable migrants," IOM said.
Damascus: At least 30 civilians were killed in US-led airstrikes on the Islamic State positions in Syria's Raqqa city, a monitor group has said.

Nine women and 14 children were among those killed in the airstrikes on Monday, Xinhua news agency cited the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) as saying on Tuesday.

The Britain-based watchdog group said the toll was likely to rise as many were critically injured.

The group, however, did not mention the number of injured persons in the latest strikes.

The attack is the latest in a series of airstrikes carried out by the US-led coalition that also inflict casualties on civilians.

The Bashar-al Assad-led government has urged the United Nations to dissolve the US coalition, calling it "illegal". The Syrian government has said the US forces were committing "crimes" by killing civilians on a daily basis.

The coalition earlier this week intensified airstrikes, targeting Islamic State positions in its main stronghold in Raqqa, and killing tens of civilians.

According to the media, the US-led coalition had used white phosphorus in the attacks this week.

The US has been backing the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in their push to capture Raqqa from the Islamic State, enabling the SDF to capture 55 per cent of Raqqa following a two-month battle.

While the SDF is advancing inside Raqqa, the Syrian Army and tribal forces are fighting the extremist group in the countryside, coming close to the last Islamic State-held town of Madan in the city.

The army and allied troops have already reclaimed the western and southern countryside of Raqqa.
WHY DONT YOU READ THESE?
Istanbul: Turkish authorities on Thursday issued arrest warrants for 35 employees of media groups on suspicion of links to the alleged mastermind of the failed 2016 coup Fethullah Gulen, the state-run news agency said.

Nine people have been detained so far, Anadolu news agency said, adding that the suspects were accused of using a messaging app allegedly used by Gulen to mobilise followers in Turkey and of belonging to a "terror" group.

Thousands of people have already been arrested in Turkey for using the Bylock messaging app, which the authorities say was used by Gulen supporters to coordinate actions ahead of the plot.

The latest arrests come amid growing alarm over press freedom in Turkey under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in particular under the state of emergency imposed in the wake of the failed July 2016 coup and which remains in place.

Gulen, an Islamic preacher who lives in the US state of Pennsylvania, denies any link to the botched putsch.

Those detained include a former columnist for the Turkiye daily Ahmet Sagirli and the current website editor at the leftist opposition Birgun daily Burak Ekici.

Turkey ranks 155 on the latest Reporters Sans Frontieres (Reporters Without Borders) world press freedom index, below Belarus and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

According to the latest figures from the P24 press freedom website, there are 164 journalists behind bars in Turkey, most of whom were detained under the state of emergency.

In one of the highest profile cases, 17 staff from the Cumhuriyet daily  one of the few voices in the media in Turkey to oppose Erdogan  last month went on trial for aiding "terror" groups.

While most of the suspects in that case have been released from pre-trial detention, four Cumhuriyet journalists, most of whom have been held for eight months, remain behind bars.

The crackdown has also affected foreign reporters and freelance French journalist Loup Bureau was detained last month on charges of links to a Kurdish militia Ankara regards as a terror group.
United Nations: The United Nations on Wednesday urged those fighting in Syria's Raqqa to remember "obligations to protect civilians," voicing concern over the tens of thousands of people still trapped without access to aid.

An estimated 10,000 to 25,000 people are stuck in the city, the Islamic State group's main stronghold, said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric, who noted that "exact figures remain difficult to verify due to the situation on the ground."

"Access to Raqqa is not currently possible for the UN, due to the fighting on the ground," Dujarric said during his daily briefing.

"We remind all military actors of their obligations to protect civilians and ensure humanitarian access, in line with international humanitarian law."

In July humanitarian organizations distributed aid, including food and medications, to some 263,000 people out of at least 46 sites within the Raqqa region, Dujarric said.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-Arab alliance backed by an international coalition battling Islamic State, entered Raqqa city two months ago.

But the force's progress has been hindered by Islamic State which is fighting hard to hang on to the de facto Syrian capital of the "caliphate" it self-proclaimed in June 2014.

The SDF is backed by the US-led coalition battling Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, which has supplied weapons, air cover and a limited number of troops.

The fight for Raqqa has prompted tens of thousands of civilians to flee, with many wounded by crossfire or Islamic State-planted explosive devices during their escape.
Manila: A Navy official says a US warship has sailed close to a Chinese man-made island in a freedom of navigation operation in the disputed South China Sea.

The official tells The Associated Press that Chinese vessels were in the vicinity when the USS John S McCain sailed near the Mischief Reef on Thursday.

It was not immediately clear if the Chinese challenged the Americans and asked the US destroyer to leave as they have done in the past.

Filipino security official says the Philippine military was notified by US officials of the operation aimed at challenging China's territorial claims in the disputed waters but added that Philippine forces were not involved.

China has protested such US military manoeuvres, which President Donald Trump's administration has continued.
As tensions have risen in the last week, North Korea announced a detailed plan on Wednesday to launch a salvo of ballistic missiles toward the Guam, a US Pacific territory. This has come after the two countries exchanged a fresh salvo of verbal attacks which saw President Donald Trump vowing to give a befitting reply to the isolated kingdom with 'fire and fury'.

This scenario does not come as a surprise to the world community as both the countries have long been engaged in a war of words. However, this time the threat has reached a "new stage", warned the Japanese defense ministry.

In an article in The Washington Post, two US officials said that the developments signalled that North Korea had crossed "a key threshold on the path to becoming a full-fledged nuclear power". The report also estimates that North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un had up to 60 nuclear weapons under his control until last month.

North Korea has been under UN sanctions since 2006 over in order to curtail Pyongyang's ballistic missile and nuclear programmes. However, this has not deterred the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea as it continues to be an avid aggressor in international politics.

However, BBC reports that North Korea's people are among the world's poorest in terms of per capita gross national income

So, how exactly is North Korea  an isolated kingdom with sanctions and an economy contracted due to a drought  rising up to the US?

Washington-based think tank C4ADS says that Pyongyang is "far from being isolated, (and) is globally active through its overseas networks," which are helping to raise the funds and materials the country needs for its weapons programmes.

The report also showed how a number of "gateway firms" are being used to gain access to the international finance market. In July, the Trump administration imposed sanctions on a Chinese bank, two Chinese citizens and a shipping company for helping North Korea's nuclear and missile programmes.

Last year, a Chinese businesswoman was accused of using "layers of shell and front companies" to conduct activities on behalf of North Korea.

Since years, North Korea has been surviving with the support of US' direct rival, China. With a boost of 4.6 percent exports from China, North Korea's economy grew at its fastest pace in 17 years in 2016.

On the other hand, Russia is also seen criticising Washington's handling of North Korea. In May, Russian president Vladimir Putin expressed his willingness to dispatch a diplomatic delegation to play the role of a mediator in the region.

In May, when China halted energy exports to North Korea, Russia has stepped in to help and established itself as the rogue countrys leading international ally. USA Today reported that in addition to a boost in coal exports, the two countries reached a labour immigration agreement to expand a programme that already employs 40,000 North Korean labourers in Russia.

Russian firms like the Independent Petroleum Company, Ardis-Bearings LLC, and Igor Aleksandrovich Michurin, have been involved in oil and other sectors in business.

With a backing from the two mighty powers, China and Russia, North Korea's threat seems to be getting more real than ever.
Mineral Area College announced its designation as a registered entity of apprenticeship programs for multiple occupations at a presentation held Wednesday afternoon at a partnering Park Hills business.

Thanks to a $67,000 grant from the Missouri Division of Workforce Development, part of the states Apprenticeship USA grant, MAC can now sponsor registered apprenticeship programs (RAPs) and it has begun doing so this week with two southeast Missouri businesses  Lee Mechanical in Park Hills and Mondi in Jackson.

Bev Hickam, MACs director of workforce development, said RAPs are a unique partnership between a business and, often, an educational entity like a community college or technical college. Participants in the apprenticeship program usually get on-the-job training and college credit simultaneously.

In Lee Mechanicals case, the grant is helping the full-service mechanical contractor secure a registered apprenticeship program for the position combination welder.

We knew Lee Mechanical faced a skills gap with regards to hiring experienced welders, and they needed additional welding skills for their current workforce, Hickam said. A registered apprenticeship will provide Lee Mechanical with a structured training program for new hires and incumbent workers who need to skill up. Lee Mechanical will provide the hands-on skills training and MAC will provide part of the classroom training.

"MAC began working with Lee Mechanical a few months ago on the Standards of Apprenticeship for the 'combination welder' post and began putting together some on-the-job training, competencies, curriculum and classes, along with the combination of some classes over at the college, too."

According to Hickam, the community college also helped Lee Mechanical recruit applicants, maintain apprenticeship records and served as intermediary with other state and federal agencies.

Aaron Willard, training director for Lee Mechanical, said hes looking forward to seeing how the apprenticeship program develops.

"The combination welder apprenticeship program is going to be a three-year program," he said. "It is a hybrid program between on-the-job training and classroom training. It will basically take a person who is wanting to get into the welding trade, be it somebody who is looking for a position or somebody already with the company that is doing labor work or another skill set without welding that wants to get into it.

"It will give them the opportunity to get hands-on experience, learn the skill set over this three-year period of time. It will also be a dual benefit for us in the community because the area is lacking skilled trade help. It's very evident, not only in welding, but with other skill trades.

As generations age and retire, succession plans are part of any thriving companys strategy. We have good-paying jobs but they require skill, a willingness to learn and adapt, and experience. The apprenticeship programs will complement the training programs we already have in place, but MACs partnership will mean a lot in terms of helping us recruit and train talent.

Hickam said Lee Mechanicals apprenticeship program is a three-year program. Participants enrolled in the program will get a minimum of 5,000 structured on-the-job training hours, 241 hours of related classroom instruction, 15 college credit hours, industry recognized credentials and pay increases based on their progression through the program. Completion results in a Department of Labor Registered Apprenticeship Certificate.

Career & Technical Education Dean Roger McMillian said the college is excited to be able to serve area employers by sponsoring registered apprenticeship programs.

We look forward to working with additional employers who wish to establish registered apprenticeships within their companies, he said.

In addition to Lee Mechanicals RAP, two more have been developed in partnership with Mondi Jackson, a flexible packaging manufacturer located in Jackson.

The colleges workforce development department promotes economic opportunities and focuses on developing a skilled workforce for the region. Contact Bev Hickam, 573-518-2182 or bhickam@MineralArea.edu, for more information.
Despite Gov. Eric Greitens recent executive order creating a prescription drug monitoring program for the entire state, the St. Francois County Commission announced at its meeting Tuesday its intention to follow through with an ordinance passed in June creating a program for monitoring the prescribing and dispensing of schedule 2, 3 and 4 controlled substances in the county.

The bill, passed unanimously by the commissioners at their June 27 meeting, also authorizes the acceptance of grants and donations to support the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) and applies to all unincorporated and incorporated areas and municipalities in the county.

Missouri has had the dubious distinction of being the only state in the nation without a monitoring program to identify people acquiring excess prescriptions for addictive painkillers and tranquilizers, as well as the physicians who overprescribe them. Greitens issued his executive order after another attempt to pass a bill creating a monitoring program in the state failed to pass once again during the last legislative session.

Opponents of a drug monitoring program in the Missouri General Assembly argued that in other states with a database, patient privacy has been breached, saying a drug database infringes on personal liberty.

Sen. Will Kraus, a Lees Summit Republican who helped derail the legislation this year, said the government should not be in the business of creating databases to track law-abiding citizens.

At Tuesday's commission meeting, Associate Commissioner Patrick Mullins provided an update on the ordinance in light of Greitens' executive order in July.

"Commissioners, I've been in discussion with our St. Francois County Health Department and the statewide PDMP declaration  the executive order signed by the governor  is basically another tool to fight the opioid epidemic. It is not a traditional drug monitoring plan.

"Express Scripts, which is an insurance company and not a pharmacy, will basically be data-mining information from ripped scripts through patients' insurance since they cover prescriptions for most insurances, circumventing the pharmacies. This statewide PDMP has a goal of putting the focus on providers, identifying illegal behaviors by prescribers and enforcement  an example, regulatory action against them."

Mullins stressed that, despite the governor's action, St. Louis County is moving forward with their program and partnering with providers to give them information and support.

"There still seems to be little information from the executive order," he said. "The feel is that we are moving in a direction toward an eventual true statewide PDMP, but there will need to be legislation and not just an executive order in the future phases to make it a reality."

According to Mullins, Greitens' executive order is "just a piece of the puzzle" and does not provide a total solution to the problem.

"The governor and [Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services] are still encouraging counties to pass legislation like we did," he said. "It's gotten to the point where the director is even willing to go out to the local counties in support of what we've already passed to get them on board. We'll see what happens."

Earlier in the meeting, the commission received the August sales tax collection report from County Clerk Mark Hedrick.

"It was up for August and for the year at this point in time  I stress, at this point in time  we are up about 3.65 percent," he said. "There's no guarantee that it's going to continue. I think last year it was up and then it went down."

Presiding Commissioner Harold Gallaher admitted there is no way of knowing why the county sales tax is up for the month compared to last year's.

"I don't know if it's more stores or a better economy," he said. "It's probably a combination of things that caused it to go up. So, just take a shot and hope for the best is all we can do."

Immediately after the sales tax report, Hedrick discussed the property tax rollback for sales tax.

"Every year the county has to roll back the property tax for the sales tax," he said. "We use the first six months  which was in the ballot issue when this was passed a long time ago. The first six months of the year, you take that sales tax and you have to roll that amount back  which we do every year.

"We're having to roll back a little less this year than we did last year due to a couple of things. One thing is that the six months of sales tax wasn't up like it is right now. The other is that the assessed value went up a little bit more, so we don't have to hold back as much as we did."

According to Hedrick, last year the county had to rollback .275 in the general fund. This year the rollback is only .268, so the general fund levy will be up a small amount compared to last year.

"Last year the general fund levy was .0533," he said. "This year it will be .0603."

Gallaher interjected, "So, what you're saying is that the total between the sales tax and property tax income has got to be roughly the same."

Hedrick replied, "Yes, it has to be the same. There is a very small percentage of variation in that. We're actually rolling back $2,029,467.64."

Commissioners unanimously approved the rollback and then set 10 a.m. Aug. 22 for the public hearing on this year's tax levy. It will be held prior to the regular meeting in the commissioners' chamber on the third floor of the courthouse annex.

Later in the meeting, Commissioner Mullins announced that a thank you note had been received from the North County Board of Education expressing appreciation for the Road and Bridge Department's paving of the road that runs in front of North County High School.

"How that came about is, for a number of years we always assumed that MoDOT was responsible for that," Mullins said. "MoDOT couldn't find anything in the records. The city of Bonne Terre couldn't find anything in the records.

"Last year I was contacted by Brian Okenfuss. He took over the position from the previous engineer  a gentleman by the name of Dale Kenneman, a very good man. They were cleaning out boxes in a closet. Well, they came across one box and found an agreement dated back to 1972 between MoDOT and the county. Basically it said it was our baby.

"So, we did the right thing. We stepped up to the plate. We budgeted for it and we paved it. Now we're looking at meeting with the city of Bonne Terre and they're going to look at taking that road over and it's going to be their responsibility."

In other action, the commissioners approved the appointment of Jared Arnett, Brandy Kennon, Julie McCarver and Michelle Ramirez to the St. Francois County Mental Health Board; and approved the seeking of bids for precast culverts by the Road and Bridge Department.
P.F. Changs CEO Michael Osanloo on Wednesday said President Donald Trumps business policies will be a great help to the food industry.

I dont think most Americans fully appreciate how complicated and regulatory-driven it is to do business in America. The reality is that the president and a business-minded administration is a boon to the industry and I think the president is doing a lot of things that will positively affect our industry and the broader economy, he told FOX Business Lauren Simonetti.

Osanloo believes the Trump administration will have tax reform done before 2018.

Im confident the taxes wont go up for sure and I think that was a danger we all faced. Im very optimistic that there will be tax reform and that the taxes will go down.

According to an annual survey by the National Business Group on Health, large U.S. business owners will be required to pay higher prices in order to provide health insurance coverage to their employees.

Osanloo weighed in on how rising health care costs affect major businesses.

The reality is that ultimately it ends up either affecting your bottom line or your prices go up. Its affecting us in a lot of different places. You have to be smart about how much youre investing back in the business and what you are giving your investors versus customers versus your teams. There is always a balance, you cant just think of one constituent, he said.
Meal kit delivery service Blue Aprons (NYSE:APRN) post-IPO struggles continued Thursday, as shares plummeted after executives warned that the launch of a new production facility in Linden, New Jersey is costing more than expected.

Blue Apron CFO Brad Dickerson said the company plans to reduce spending on marketing efforts in the second half of the year due to unexpected complexities at the Linden facility. The launch of the new plant, which is set to replace a Jersey City facility slated to close in October, is generating higher-than-expected labor costs, even as production volume has lagged behind expectations.

These issues are also having a meaningful impact to our revenue expectations, as the delays to rolling out our new product offerings create headwinds to acquisition of new customers and challenges around on-time, in-full rates impact retention of newer customers, Dickerson said.

Aside from the Linden facility costs, Dickerson said lower-than-expected revenue from Blue Aprons June IPO factored into the decision to reduce marketing costs. The company spent $34.5 million, or 14.5% of its net revenue, on marketing in the second quarter, down from $60.6 million in the first quarter. Further reductions are expected later in the year.

Shares fell by as much as 18% in early trading and were hovering at roughly 14% as of late Thursday morning. Blue Apron beat analyst expectations with $238.1 million in quarterly revenue, but reported losses of 47 cents per share, or $31.6 million.

Company CEO Matthew Salzberg said the near-term issues were not expected to have an impact on Blue Aprons long-term business.

We are transitioning more volume from our older Jersey City center to Linden, and Linden will represent a larger percentage of our national volume in the back half of the year, Salzberg said. During this ramp phase, Linden will be operating at a significantly worse margin than our other centers. However, we still believe that Linden will ultimately become our most efficient center when fully scaled.
Ford's (NYSE:F) division in Germany said on Thursday that all its vehicles and engines, including its latest diesel motors, comply with current emissions guidelines.

Ford is not using illegal devices to cheat on emissions tests, the carmaker's German division said by email.

Germany's WirtschaftsWoche magazine reported earlier on Thursday that the U.S. carmaker's mid-sized Mondeo model was being inspected by the German vehicle authority KBA for the possible use of cheating devices.

Ford said it has been contacted by the KBA about its Mondeo 2.0 TCDi model and has pledged to cooperate with the German authority.
Germany's federal prosecutors say they've opened an investigation into whether Vietnam conducted illegal espionage in Berlin, after a Vietnamese national wanted by that country on embezzlement charges was kidnapped here and spirited home.

Federal prosecutors said in a statement Thursday they believe Trinh Xuan Thanh was kidnapped July 23 in the German capital.

Vietnam had requested the extradition of Thanh, 51, on embezzlement charges, which carry the death penalty.

He'd sought asylum in Germany and German authorities kicked Vietnam's intelligence attache out of the country after the alleged kidnapping and summoned the ambassador.

Vietnam last week said Thanh had turned himself in, calling it "regrettable" that Germany accused Hanoi of kidnapping.

The Vietnamese embassy wouldn't comment by phone and didn't immediately respond to an e-mailed query about the latest development.
In segment from Motley Fool Answers, Alison Southwick and Robert Brokamp are joined by senior Motley Fool analyst Simon Erickson to talk about the disruptive trends of artificial intelligence, robotics, and automation. They consider what it means to the economy, and to the individual, that the job market is quite this ripe for disruption by machines.

And, in fact, Erickson takes an optimistic view on what rising automation could do for the nature of human work and society more broadly. But what we're sure you want to know is what kind of jobs are least susceptible to being replaced.

A full transcript follows the video.

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This video was recorded on June 13, 2017.

Alison Southwick: Hey, here's a fun stat.

Robert Brokamp: Yes, what's that stat?

Southwick: You're going to find this stat terrifying; however, I find it intriguing and Simon's going to find it ... I don't know.

Brokamp: Stimulating.

Southwick: Stimulating. So, according to PwC, 40% of jobs in the U.S. may be vulnerable to replacement by robots in the next 15 years.

Brokamp: Just 15 years?

Southwick: Just. See, you've got 15 years before you're out of a job, Robert Brokamp. I'm going to get a robot to sit in that chair and say, "Buy an index fund!"

Simon Erickson: The Brobot.

Brokamp: A Brobot! There you go.

Southwick: "Buy and hold!"

Brokamp: Both you and my wife will buy one.

Southwick: "Pay attention to fees!" This show's going to be amazing.

Brokamp: Is that how I sound? Thank you very much.

Southwick: No, that's how the Brobot will sound. So apparently the U.S., more than other countries, is at risk of losing jobs to automation. Thirty percent of jobs in the United Kingdom, compared to 35% in Germany and, surprisingly, 21% in Japan -- my theory is it's because they've already replaced so many people with robots. They love their robots over there.

Brokamp: Yes, that's true.

Southwick: Joining us to help unpack what could be a terrifying stat is Simon Erickson. You heard him on "Answers Answers" just now. "As heard on 'Answers Answers.'" He's stuck around to help us unpack the potentially very disruptive industry of AI, automation, and robotics. So Simon, thank you for joining us.

Erickson: Glad to be, here. Thanks for having me, Alison.

Southwick: All right, Bro. You're going to kick off our discussion.

Brokamp: Well, I'm not an expert on this, but I read articles about it here and there, and as you folks know, and long-term listeners know, I'm kind of an awfulizer. I'm always scanning the universe for what's going to be the worst-case scenario and what's going to ruin my life.

So when I see these headlines about robots taking over everything, and headlines about Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking saying that AI is going to destroy humankind, it catches my attention. So while I'm not an expert, I have read things here and there, and then I know Simon covers it, so I thought, "Let's invite him and see if he can make me feel at least a little better."

Erickson: Less awful.

Brokamp: Less awful, yes.

Erickson: Got it. OK.

Southwick: Let's go.

Brokamp: There's two components here, really. First of all, is your job safe, and second of all, what about your portfolio? Is it safe, and how can you profit from this if this really is an emerging trend? So let's start with jobs. Alison presented some stats. I've read similar stats from other folks as well. Some of them have broken up not into specific jobs but different job types, like the skills that you do: physical skills, information gathering, information processing, being empathetic, and things like that.

For example, one study said that about 45% of tasks today could be automated. Even 20% to 30% of a CEO's job could be automated if we wanted to do that. What do you think?

Erickson: The way that I think about that -- I looked at the same study, too. McKinsey did a pretty thorough study on this. It said all these jobs are at risk, but I think the way to frame this is you're not replacing human beings. You're replacing the work that people are doing today.

And robots, for a lot of that work, can be more efficient and a lower cost for companies. Companies will make financial decisions based on return on investment, and I think that a lot of that work like you described, Bro, especially physical labor. Anything that might be data collection and processing. Stuff like that could be more efficiently done by robots, which frees people up to do other things.

Some of the tasks that we saw that really are the least susceptible to having robots disrupt include managing others, or having expertise in certain fields, just like we've seen things over time. We saw that the plow replaced a lot of physical farming hours. The internet replaced librarian hours. And in the coming years, maybe we're going to see self-driving cars replace a lot of taxi driver hours.

For society as a whole, these are pretty big gains that are letting us do other things with that time, but it is replacing jobs that are shifting to other things now. That's the way that I frame it.

Brokamp: And that's the challenge. Can these people who are doing these jobs go find other jobs? One of the reports that I read from Morningstar pointed out that first of all -- this is something we all heard -- that the wage of the middle-income household or worker hasn't really grown. Part of that is because the classic middle-income factory worker for a lot of the last century was someone who is doing one of these jobs that has now since been replaced by robots.

And while some of these jobs that will be eliminated, people will be able to find other jobs, will they be able to make the same amount of income? Or will there be so many jobs that the income inequality will be even greater? What does that look like? Who's going to profit from this change? Will it be people who own capital? Who own stocks? Those are some of the concerns people have.

Alison Southwick has no position in any stocks mentioned. Robert Brokamp, CFP has no position in any stocks mentioned. Simon Erickson 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.
Stalwart U.S. ally Kuwait will continue to grant visas to North Korean laborers whose wages allegedly aid Pyongyang in evading international sanctions, its government told The Associated Press on Thursday before its ruler travels to Washington to meet President Donald Trump.

In a statement responding to an AP story , Kuwait also said it never stopped issuing work visas for North Koreans, refuting a major State Department human trafficking report released in June that applauded the Mideast nation for taking steps to limit their presence.

Kuwait's response shows the challenge the U.S. faces in trying to convince Gulf nations to cut back on using thousands of North Korean workers on major construction projects and to close government-run restaurants in the region. Experts and analysts say the money earned from those enterprises helps Pyongyang buy luxury goods and build the missiles it now uses to threaten the U.S. territory of Guam, as well as other parts of the U.S. and America's Asian allies.

Kuwait currently hosts 6,064 North Korean laborers, the country's Public Authority of Manpower said in a statement sent to the AP by the Information Ministry.

That's more than double the estimate offered by two officials with knowledge of Pyongyang's operations in the Gulf who spoke to the AP. Speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence reports, they earlier said some 2,500 North Koreans worked in Kuwait.

Kuwait also dismissed the notion it cut off the laborers from coming to its construction sites.

"There are no plans to expel North Korean laborers and Kuwait has never done so," the statement said.

However, in June, the State Department said that Kuwait had stopped issuing new worker visas to North Korean laborers. Former Secretary of State John Kerry also had applauded Kuwait in 2016 for stopping direct flights by North Korea's state-run Air Koryo as a means to stop "an illegal and illegitimate regime in North Korea."

The State Department's June report alleged that since 2008, North Korean sent over 4,000 laborers to Kuwait "for forced labor on construction projects, sourced by a North Korean company operated by the Workers' Party of Korea and the North Korean military."

"According to these reports, employees work 14 to 16 hours a day while the company retains 80 to 90 percent of the workers' wages, and monitors and confines the workers, who live in impoverished conditions and are in very poor health due to lack of adequate nutrition and health care," the State Department said.

The U.S. Embassy in Kuwait City did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauer in Washington said Thursday that North Korean workers in Kuwait "would obviously be a concern to us."

"The government of Kuwait will be taking further measures in response to the dangerous and provocative behavior of DPRK regime within the coming days, we are told," she said, using an acronym for North Korea.

Late Thursday, Kuwait's state-run KUNA news agency issued a statement saying the nation remains committed to U.N. sanctions targeting North Korea.

Most North Korean workers in the Gulf earn around $1,000 a month, with about half being kept by the North Korean government and another $300 going toward construction company managers, the officials said. That leaves workers receiving $200 for working straight through an entire month, they said. Even $200 a month can go a long way in North Korea, where the per-capita income is estimated at just $1,700 a year.

Outside of Kuwait, Pyongyang sends workers to the Gulf countries of Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, all U.S. allies. The workers face conditions akin to forced labor while being spied on by planted intelligence officers, eating little food and suffering physical abuse, analysts and officials say.

Gulf nations keep their ties with North Korea largely quiet while supplying oil and natural gas crucial to the economies of Pyongyang adversaries South Korea and Japan.

For Kuwait, the ongoing North Korea crisis puts the tiny, oil-rich nation in a tough position diplomatically. Kuwaitis even today will embrace Americans they meet in the street over the U.S.-led 1991 war that ended Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's occupation of the country.

The country hosts some 13,500 American troops, many at Camp Arifjan south of Kuwait City, which also is home to the forward command of U.S. Army Central. Guam, which Pyongyang now threatens to target , hosts 7,000 American troops  showing the strategic importance of Kuwait to the U.S.

But Kuwait also hosts North Korea's only embassy in the Gulf, through which Pyongyang conducts all its diplomatic affairs.

Kuwait's 88-year-old ruler, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, is scheduled to travel to Washington in September to meet Trump. The visit by Sheikh Sabah comes as he's been trying to mediate a dispute between Qatar and Arab nations, though North Korea potentially could come up at the meeting as well.

However, Kuwait's long embrace of America shouldn't be seen as it giving up making its own foreign policy decisions, said Shafeeq Ghabra, a political science professor at Kuwait University. Hosting North Korean laborers is part of that, he said.

"Being very close doesn't mean we become identical," Ghabra sad.

___

Follow Jon Gambrell on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jongambrellap . His work can be found at http://apne.ws/2galNpz .
EpiPen maker Mylan (NASDAQ:MYL) reported second quarter earnings this week, listing increased generic drug competition stemming from the FDAs reorganization efforts as one reason for missing Wall Street expectations  a trend that could be detrimental for pharmaceutical companies in the U.S., but good for consumers.

Increasing access to generic drugs is a top priority for the FDA as part of its efforts to address the increasing price of drugs, an FDA spokesperson said in a statement to FOX Business Thursday. The agency is committed to pursuing ways to streamline the generics drug review process  reducing the number of review cycles necessary, [enhancing] development and review of complex generic products, and [combating] gaming that frustrates and delays generic competition.

On Wednesday, Mylan CEO Heather Bresch said the company saw increased competition resulting from [the] FDAs focus on accelerating the approvals of third, fourth, or fifth generics. On the other hand, the company said a lack of emphasis on improving approval times for first generics or more complex and niche products is due to the agencys reorganizationaimed at improving the drug approval process. Mylan issued a more conservative outlook on the companys financial performance moving forward due in part to the falling prices of generic drugs.

And that pain, stinging pharmaceutical companies in the U.S., could continue for the foreseeable future as the FDA commits itself to increasing competition.

Speeding the approval of generic medicines and approving more of them will help competition and ultimately help hold down costs for patients, Holly Campbell, senior director of communications at PhRMAthe leading trade group representing U.S. companies in the pharmaceutical industry, told FOX Business Thursday. The FDA is focused on promoting a competitive marketplace that works for patients.

The FDA told FOX Business Thursday that it is not only approving more generic drugs than ever before, but that it expects to achieve record high approvals this year.

However, lower prices, while beneficial to consumers, could spell trouble for pharmaceutical companies.

Last week, generic drug maker Teva (NYSE:TEVA), said price erosion and a higher volume of FDA approvals negatively impacted its business performance. Shares of the drugmaker plunged 18% following the announcement of second quarter earnings that missed analyst expectations.

Last month, Novartis generic drug branch, Sandoz, reported that sales fell 15% in the United States during the second quarter due to pricing pressure in the generic drug retail sector.

The whole sector in generics is feeling pricing pressure in the U.S. and this has been clearly shown in IMS data, which shows high single-digit decline, Richard Francis, Sandoz CEO, said during the companys most recent earnings call. We see pricing pressure as a way of life, particularly in the generics business, particularly in the U.S.

AbbVie had no comment on the FDA reorganization. Merck, GlaxoSmithKline, Eli Lilly and Amgen did not return FOX Business requests for comment by the time of publication.
Morgan Stanley is looking around Manhattan for a possible new global headquarters and may be leaning toward the hot Hudson Yards district, as the amount of space the bank is asking brokers to seek out is constraining its options.

The bank issued a request for proposal for 1.9 million square feet, said one source. The request's size essentially limits the company's choices to new construction and leaves few places outside of Hudson Yards capable of meeting the request.

The space requested equals the combined 1.335 million square feet that Morgan Stanley occupies in its current global headquarters at 1585 Broadway in Midtown and the 564,900 square feet at its investment management headquarters at 522 Fifth Avenue.

Morgan Stanley is under no pressure to move as it owns both buildings. Staying and renovating its New York headquarters is an option also actively under consideration, according to a second source with knowledge of the bank's thinking.

The bank, which declined to comment for this story, has ruled out a move to downtown Manhattan, the second source said.

Highly visible companies such as KKR, BlackRock , Time Warner and others are leaving Midtown for Hudson Yards, a vast privately funded development rising over the Penn Station rail tracks near the Hudson River that has been led by Related Cos.

Driving the projects at Hudson Yards are demographics and office design as companies aim to capture an urban workforce, said Jesse Keenan, a professor at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design.

Morgan Stanley, like other companies seeking the open floor plans and higher ceilings typical of the new 60-story towers, needs flexible work teams and spaces that can adapt to changing markets over the course of a building's useful life, he said.

Morgan Stanley may only seek a little more 1 million square feet, the first source said.

One potential option in Hudson Yards is a 65-story tower with 2.85 million square feet and open-air terraces designed by Danish architect Bjarke Ingels whose plans were announced by developer Tishman Speyer early last year, the second source said.

Another close-by possibility is Brookfield Property Partners' Manhattan West project, both sources said.

Brookfield and Tishman declined to comment.

That amount of space sought by Morgan Stanley is significant as it can give life to a development waiting for backers, said Norman Sturner, president and chief executive of advisory firm MHP Real Estate Services.

"Leasing the building or most of it overnight, that's to die for  that's a kill," Sturner said, adding that Morgan Stanley can bide its time.

"The tenant is always in the driver's seat at that level."

(Reporting by Herbert Lash and Olivia Oran; Editing by Daniel Bases and Steve Orlofsky)
Nvidia Corp reported lower-than-expected quarterly revenue in its fast-growing data center and automotive businesses, overshadowing a strong profit beat driven by sales of gaming devices such as Nintendo Co Ltd's Switch.

Nvidia shares were down 5 percent in extended trading on Thursday.

The company's shares have surged more than 181 percent over the past year, one of the strongest performances across the benchmark S&P 500 index.

"Nvidia was priced for perfection heading into earnings," said Loop Capital analyst Betsy Van Hees.

The company  which has been diversifying into newer technologies including self-driving cars and artificial intelligence  originally came into prominence in the gaming industry for designing graphics processing chips, that are also used for cryptocurrency mining.

Nvidia said revenue from its automotive business rose 19.3 percent to $142 million, but also fell short of analyst expectations of $146.2 million, according to financial and data analytics firm FactSet.

Revenue from Nvidia's data center business  which counts Amazon.com Inc's Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Corp's Azure cloud business among its customers  more than doubled to $416 million but missed estimates of $423.3 million, according to FactSet.

The company's net income more than doubled to $583 million, or 92 cents per share, in the second quarter ended July 30, from $261 million, or 41 cents per share, a year earlier.

Analysts had expected the company to earn 70 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Operating expenses rose more than 20 percent, as Nvidia increased hiring for its growth initiatives, which Van Hees said was behind the pressure on shares as investors digest the increase in spending.

The Santa Clara, California-based company's revenue rose 56 percent to $2.23 billion, beating estimates of $1.96 billion.

Nvidia said on Thursday it expects revenue for the third-quarter to be $2.35 billion, plus or minus 2 percent. Analysts had expected third-quarter revenue of $2.13 billion.

(Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)
Oil prices fell more than 1.5 percent on Thursday, as a bruising day on Wall Street bolstered fears of slowing demand amid lingering concerns over a global oversupply of crude.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude <CLc1> settled down 97 cents or 1.96 percent to $48.59 a barrel. Brent crude futures <LCOc1> were down 80 cents or 1.52 percent to $51.90 a barrel.

U.S. stock indexes fell sharply on Thursday, with the Dow and the Nasdaq posting triple-digit point declines, as investors fretted over escalating tensions between the U.S. and North Korea.

The falling U.S. stock market translated to weakness in the oil market, said Phil Flynn, analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago.

"That raised concerns about demand," he said, "The demand picture gets murky as stocks go down. Gold has stayed up so that confirms my suspicions its a fear trade."

On the supply side, Russian oil producer Gazprom Neft <SIBN.MM> considers it "economically feasible" to resume production in mature fields after a global agreement among OPEC and non-OPEC countries expires, a representative of the company said.

And while the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries raised its outlook for oil demand in 2018 and cut its forecasts for output from rivals next year, yet another increase in the group's production suggested the market will remain in surplus despite efforts to limit supply. [nL5N1KW3S0]

OPEC said its oil output rose by 173,000 bpd in July to 32.87 million bpd, led by the exempt producers plus top exporter Saudi Arabia, citing figures it collects from secondary sources.

Crude prices are down nearly 7 percent so far this year, pressured by concern that output cuts by OPEC and its partners may not eliminate the global crude glut.

"$50 seems to be a formidable foe for the crude bulls," said Flynn.

Global crude stocks remain above their longer-term averages and with the U.S. summer driving season nearly at an end, Wednesday EIA data showed gasoline inventories rose for the first time in eight weeks.

EIA data also showed inventories in the United States are at their lowest since October, having fallen for 10 of the last 12 weeks.

While prices rose on Wednesday after the lower U.S. inventory numbers, Gene McGillian, manager of market research at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut said that information was not enough to sustain a rally.

"It seems like the market wants to go higher," he said, "The market is searching for it, the question is will it get it."

(Additional reporting by Amanda Cooper in London, Aaron Sheldrick; Editing by David Gregorio and Chris Reese)
Walmart said Thursday it's investigating a photo that's attracted interest on social media by purporting to show a sign reading "Own The School Year Like A Hero" atop a gun-filled case in one of the company's stores.

The sign is apparently one that's used in Walmart's current superhero-themed "back to school" marketing campaign, but the company said in a statement that "what's seen in this photograph would never be acceptable in our stores."

Walmart spokesman Charles Crowson said the company hasn't determined which store might have displayed the sign above guns, or even if the photo is real.

The photo showing the "Own The School Year" sign atop a six-sided glass display case filled with rifles has attracted attention on social media, drawing comments of outrage and mentions of school shootings.

Crowson said Walmart is "exploring all possibilities," including whether an employee unintentionally erected the sign, if it's a prank, or if the image was edited to show something that doesn't exist.

He said Walmart believed early Wednesday that the photo was taken inside one of its Evansville, Indiana, stores after speaking to a person who said they posted the photo online. But Crowson said a comparison of photos and video of the sporting goods departments in the company's two Evansville stores that sell firearms showed it wasn't taken inside either one.

"We're still trying to track down which store it is," he said. "We are all working right now to positively identify this as quickly as possible."
A group that represents farmers is calling the costs of saving imperiled salmon in the largest river system in the Pacific Northwest unsustainable and is turning to the Trump administration to sidestep endangered species laws.

The Columbia-Snake River Irrigators Association wants the government to convene a Cabinet-level committee with the power to allow exemptions to the Endangered Species Act. Known as the "God squad" because its decisions can lead to extinctions of threatened wildlife, it has only gathered three times  the last 25 years ago during a controversy over spotted owl habitat in the Northwest.

The irrigators association is frustrated with court rulings it says favor fish over people, claiming the committee could end years of legal challenges over U.S. dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers and bring stability for irrigators, power generators and other businesses that rely on the water.

Environmental groups call the request a publicity stunt and say it could hurt fishing companies and others that rely on healthy runs of federally protected salmon and steelhead.

The association sees hope in a series of pro-industry environmental decisions by President Donald Trump. His administration has rescinded an Obama-era rule that would shield many small streams and other bodies of water from pollution and development, enacted policies to increase coal mining on federal lands and proposed giving Western states greater flexibility to allow development in habitat of sage grouse, a threatened bird.

Darryll Olsen, association board representative, said the irrigators requested the committee during former President Barack Obama's tenure but got nowhere. He said the Trump administration has been encouraging during talks, leading to a formal request last month for a meeting with Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke.

"What we're asking for is that the secretary give direction to the (Interior) Department to work with us to review the steps for implementing the God squad," Olsen said.

Zinke can gather the committee, which he would chair and would include other natural resource agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency. It also would include representatives from Washington state, Oregon, Idaho and Montana.

If five of the federal committee members agree, they could exempt U.S. agencies from Endangered Species Act requirements for one or more of the thirteen species of salmon and steelhead listed since the early 1990s.

The irrigators group, which has 120 members growing food crops in Washington state and Oregon, expects to meet with Zinke soon, Olsen said.

Interior spokeswoman Heather Swift said in an email that the agency could not comment on a committee that had not been formed and that she had no information about Zinke's meetings.

Joseph Bogaard, executive director of a coalition of conservation, commercial, sport fishing and business groups called Save Our Wild Salmon, blasted the irrigation association's request.

"It's a terrible idea that will deliver great harm to the people and businesses of the Pacific Northwest," said Bogaard, whose coalition relies on the fish to produce millions of dollars of revenue.

A federal judge ruled last year that the government had not done enough to improve salmon runs despite spending billions of dollars and urged it to consider removing four dams on the lower Snake River.

Todd True, a lawyer with the environmental law firm Earthjustice who represented some plaintiffs in that 2016 ruling, said the God squad request should go nowhere.

"There isn't any basis to convene the committee because there are reasonable alternatives to save the fish," he said, pointing to the dam removal option. "Their removal would be a big step forward."

This year, fish counts at dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers have been well below the 10-year average, which biologists blame on droughts in 2014 and 2015 and warming ocean conditions.

Various results have emerged the three times the God squad has convened. It refused to grant an exemption for a Tennessee dam in the 1970s over a fish called the snail darter. Regarding crane protection in the Midwest, a settlement was reached before the panel offered a decision.

In 1992, it voted to sidestep protections for the northern spotted owl and allow the Interior Department to sell timber on land in Oregon.
Jordan Sekulow, executive director for the American Center for Law and Justice, on Wednesday explained how the watchdog group uncovered the email alias of former Obama Attorney General Loretta Lynch.

We figured out exactly what the alias email account was for Loretta Lynch. She had it acknowledged through an attorney previously that she had the alias email account but no one knew what it was. I say that because if you go back now through past FOIAs [Freedom of Information Act] even, you may be able to find instances where now you know that AG was on emails. That you would not have known before. We found this out because she actually replied, he told the FOX Business Network's David Asman on "After the Bell."

The former attorney general used the alias Elizabeth Carlisle to conduct government business at the Justice Department, which included emails related to a meeting with former President Bill Clinton on the tarmac of a Phoenix airport in June 2016 during the presidential campaign.

President Trump took to Twitter on Tuesday to slam the press for not wanting to cover the private meeting, saying: E-mails show that the AmazonWashingtonPost and the FailingNewYorkTimes were reluctant to cover the Clinton/Lynch secret meeting in plane.

E-mails show that the AmazonWashingtonPost and the FailingNewYorkTimes were reluctant to cover the Clinton/Lynch secret meeting in plane.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 8, 2017

The emails Trump was apparently referring to were published by the ACLJ on Friday and showed reporters requesting comment from DOJ officials regarding the meeting.

New York Times reporter Mark Landler sent an email to then-director of the Justice Department Public Affairs Office Melanie Newman reading: Ive been pressed into service to write about the questions being raised by the Attorney Generals meeting with Bill Clinton.

Washington Post reporter Matt Zapotosky also emailed Newman writing: My editors are still pretty interested in it, and Im hoping I can put it to rest by answering just a few more questions about how the meeting came about who approached who, and how did they realize they were in the same place?

Additionally, Sekulow discussed the legality of Lynchs use of an alias.

I dont know that its illegal for the alias to exist. I dont think that there is a problem there. As long as you are actually on the server, so long as you are not hiding information that should be available to the public with that alias and we know that its part of it, he said.
Retired CIA station chief Daniel Hoffman said Wednesday Russias intent to meddle in the 2016 presidential election was meant to disrupt the United States' electoral system.

The conclusion I draw based on the evidence is that what Russia wanted was to soil our democratic institutions, and in particular, our electoral process, Hoffman told FOX Business David Asman.

Last year, a Russian lawyer named Natalia Veselnitskaya found herself in the middle of a controversy after a meeting she had with President Donald Trumps eldest son, Donald Trump Jr. The sit-down with Trump Jr. renewed Democratic allegations of collusion, though she denied any connection to the Russian government.

The cipher brief expert referred to Veselnitskaya as a fellow traveler who did the bidding of the Kremlin as a lawyer and said Russia has always looked to discredit the American political system.

[Vladimir Putin] is ultimately concerned with his own regime security and he is cognizant that his own opponents, many who will risk their lives protesting on the streets of Russia, derive their ideological inspiration from the United States. He wants to degrade that, Hoffman said.

When asked if theres any evidence of collusion between the Trump administration and Russia, Hoffman said, I havent seen any evidence, no.
WASHINGTON (AP)  The two-year-old U.S. diplomatic relationship with Cuba was roiled Wednesday by what U.S. officials believe was a string of bizarre incidents that left a group of American diplomats in Havana with severe hearing loss attributed to a covert sonic device.

In the fall of 2016, a series of U.S. diplomats began suffering unexplained losses of hearing, according to officials with knowledge of the investigation into the case. Several of the diplomats were recent arrivals at the embassy, which reopened in 2015 as part of former President Barack Obama's reestablishment of diplomatic relations with Cuba.

Some of the diplomats' symptoms were so severe that they were forced to cancel their tours early and return to the United States, officials said. After months of investigation, U.S. officials concluded that the diplomats had been exposed to an advanced device that operated outside the range of audible sound and had been deployed either inside or outside their residences. It was not immediately clear if the device was a weapon used in a deliberate attack, or had some other purpose.

The U.S. retaliated by expelling two Cuban diplomats from their embassy in Washington on May 23, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said.

U.S. officials told The Associated Press that about five diplomats, several with spouses, had been affected and that no children had been involved. The FBI and Diplomatic Security Service are investigating.

Cuba employs a state security apparatus that keeps untold numbers of people under surveillance and U.S. diplomats are among the most closely monitored people on the island. Like virtually all foreign diplomats in Cuba, the victims of the incidents lived in housing owned and maintained by the Cuban government.

However, officials familiar with the probe said that investigators were looking into the possibilities that the incidents were carried out by a third country such as Russia, possibly operating without the knowledge of Cuba's formal chain of command.

The U.S. officials weren't authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. Cuban officials declined to comment on the incident.

Nauert said that investigators did not yet have a definitive explanation for the incidents but stressed they take them "very seriously," as shown by the Cuban diplomats' expulsions.

"We requested their departure as a reciprocal measure since some U.S. personnel's assignments in Havana had to be curtailed due to these incidents," she said. "Under the Vienna Convention, Cuba has an obligation to take measures to protect diplomats."

Nauert said the department had reminded Cuba of its international obligation to protect foreign diplomats.

U.S. diplomats in Cuba said they suffered occasional harassment for years after the restoration of limited ties with the communist government in the 1970s, harassment reciprocated by U.S. agents against Cuban diplomats in Washington. The use of sonic devices to intentionally harm diplomats would be unprecedented.

___

Weissenstein reported from Havana.
Lack of a new education funding formula prevented Illinois on Thursday from sending hundreds of millions of dollars to 852 public school districts, punching a hole in their budgets just weeks before classes start.

Governor Bruce Rauner's use of a veto this month to rewrite a funding formula bill stopped the twice-monthly August-to-June flow of state aid to schools totaling $6.7 billion in fiscal 2018.

"The fact that these payments are not being made threatens the opening of schools in some districts, is causing cuts to be made to educational services to children and unfortunately is a reflection of the political gridlock and dysfunction in our state," said Roger Eddy, executive director of the Illinois Association of School Boards.

An impasse between the Republican governor and Democrats who control the legislature left Illinois without a complete budget for an unprecedented two fiscal years. Lawmakers enacted a fiscal 2018 budget in July over Rauner's vetoes.

The initial fiscal 2018 state-aid payment schools were scheduled to receive on Thursday was the first Illinois ever missed, according to state Comptroller Susana Mendoza. To ease the blow, her office distributed $429 million in grants that schools were owed in March for transportation and other costs.

The comptroller's office said schools received about $244 million twice a month in state aid in fiscal 2017, which ended June 30. It was unclear how much the initial fiscal 2018 payment would be because of the lack of a funding formula.

The school grants had been delayed as Illinois' unpaid bill backlog ballooned to over $15 billion.

Rauner has called for quick action by the General Assembly to accept his changes to the bill, which was passed in May without a veto-proof majority, or to send him separate legislation reflecting what he wants so school operations will not be threatened.

The Senate is scheduled to take up school funding on Sunday, while the House returns to session on Wednesday. Failure by the two chambers to muster a required three-fifths majority vote to override or accept changes Rauner made to the bill would kill the measure.

Eddy said without state aid, some districts may be able to keep their doors open only for weeks, while others will be forced to tap reserves or borrowing to keep operating.

The cash-strapped Chicago Public Schools, the main target of Rauner's veto action, will start classes in September and will remain open for the school year, Mayor Rahm Emanuel said on Wednesday.

Fitch Ratings warned last week that some districts, including junk-rated CPS, could face credit downgrades in the event of an extended school funding impasse.

(Reporting By Karen Pierog; Editing by Dan Grebler)
The tensions continue to mount between North Korea and the U.S., but despite concerns the North Korean leadership is a loose cannon, Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) suggests it is a ruse.

aThey may act crazy but theyare pretty smart, that leadership, as evidenced by them being in power and the way in which they act crazy in order to achieve a rational goal,a Brooks told the FOX Business Network's Connell McShane.

Brooks notes that America has for decades used the mutually-assured destruction doctrine in its national security, he believes that the North Koreans are actually not a major risk.

aThe North Korean leaders, they want to live and itas that incentive to live that I would submit is a deterrent to their actually ever launching a first strike against the United States of America. They know that they have no missile defense system, they know that we can utterly destroy that nation.a

On the other hand, Brooks suggests Iran is more of a threat because the mutually-assured destruction doctrine would be ineffective.

aA greater risk is not North Korea but it's Iran where youave got a people who are driven by a religion that on occasion suggests that itas okay for them to commit national suicide if they take out Israel, the little satan, and America, the great satan, in the process of committing national suicide.a
Oregon is raising the minimum age for buying tobacco and e-cigarettes in the state to 21, bringing its regulations into line with sales of marijuana products.

The new law, signed by Governor Kate Brown on Wednesday and taking effect on Jan. 1, bans under-21s from buying tobacco products and vaping devices, and makes vendors liable for fines for under-age sales.

The current age limit in the state is 18.

The higher age already applies in California, Hawaii, Maine and New Jersey.

Oregon residents aged 21 and older have been able to buy marijuana for recreational use since 2015.

About 7,000 people die from cigarette-related illnesses a year in Oregon, according to the state's public health department.

About 70 percent of U.S. adults support raising the tobacco purchasing age, including 57 percent of smokers, according to a 2013 study published in Tobacco Control, an international peer review journal on tobacco use.
Dr. Sebastian Gorka, deputy assistant to President Trump, told FOX Businessa Stuart Varney of Varney & Co. Thursday that North Korea has apainted themselves into a cornera and anyone who confronts the United States will fail.

aAnybody who goes up against the United States of America, anyone, will lose and that definitely includes North Korea,a Gorka said.

Gorka said the Trump administration wonat disclose its military strategy towards North Korea and classified the deployment of B1-bomber over the Korean peninsula as acertain necessary steps.a

aItas not a good idea when you are playing poker to show your hand and it is a very bad idea when you are doing geo-strategy with a pariah Stalinist state like North Korea,a he said.

The deputy assistant to the president echoed Secretary of State Rex Tillersonas warning that North Korea can curb the conflict.

aNorth Korea has the ball in their court,a Gorka said. aThey can de-escalate at any moment by sending a clear message, no more nuclear testing, no more ballistic missile that is what we are waiting to see.a
President Donald Trump said on Thursday that his administration was in the process of drawing up paperwork to declare the countrys opioid epidemic a national emergency, despite refusal to do so at a press briefing on the topic earlier this week.

"The opioid crisis is an emergency and I'm saying officially right now it is an emergency," Trump told the media. "We're going to draw it up and we're going to make it a national emergency. It is a serious problem, the likes of which we have never had."

By declaring the issue a national emergency, the government will have more flexibility to work past regulations and other potential barriers.

On Tuesday, during a briefing specifically on the opioid epidemic from New Jersey, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price refused to declare it a national emergency.

In the area of public health emergency have been focused on a specific area, a time-limited problem, Price said. We believe that, at this point that the resources that we need or the focus that we need to bring to bear to the opioid crisis, at this point, can be addressed without the declaration of an emergency, although all things are on the table for the president.

Last week the Presidents Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis urged Trump to declare the nations opioid epidemic a public health emergency, likening the death toll related to drug overdoses to experiencing a September 11th every three weeks.

President Trump has not faltered on the importance of combating the opioid epidemic since the campaign cycle, employing tough rhetoric and continuously calling it a major problem for the country.

According to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control, in the third quarter of 2016 an estimated 19.9 out of every 100,000 people in the U.S. died from drug overdoses, compared with 16.7 in the year priordistinguished as a significant increase by the agency. Between the third quarter of 2015 and the same period in 2016, the drug overdose death rate registered at 18.5 out of every 100,000 people. Overdose-related deaths climbed higher throughout the first nine months of 2016, according to the CDC, and an estimated 142 individuals die every day.
President Donald Trumps administration has continued to indicate they prefer to work out a bipartisan deal on tax reform and one of the groups theyve turned to is the moderates within the Democratic Party, the Blue Dog Coalition.

The 18-member Blue Dog Coalition, known for being the moderate Democrats within the House of Representatives, have been preparing behind the scenes for the possibility that they may be called upon to work with the administration and possibly be critical yes votes in case the Republican majority cant get the job done on their own, FOX Business has learned.

On June 15, Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.), policy co-chair of the Blue Dogs, sent a letter to lobbyists, think tanks and advocacy groups, inviting them to listening sessions to give them a chance to express what they would like to see in a bipartisan tax plan. More than 15 groups accepted the request and met with Lipinski in late July, including the AFL-CIO, the Tax Policy Center and the National Federation of Independent Business, according to people familiar with the matter.

The group has also met with representatives from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Maya MacGuineas, President of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, according to Democratic aides.

A spokeswoman for the Chamber of Commerce confirmed the meeting to FOX Business.

I can confirm that we met with them on tax reform, and we will continue to engage all sides of the political spectrum on the number one issue for the business community  pro-growth tax reform, the spokeswoman said.

MacGuineas would not confirm or deny meeting with the Blue Dogs.

Five days after Lipinski sent his letter to members of K-Street, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn and Legislative Affairs Director Marc Short, had a casual dinner with members of the Blue Dog Coalition on Capitol Hill to hear their ideas on what they hoped to see in a new tax reform bill.

Lipinski spoke to FOX Business in an exclusive interview, confirming the meeting with the White House officials but also noted they havent heard from them since then and are continuing to hope to be part of their future plans.

They said to keep the lines of communication open. Nothing has gone beyond that and we havent seen anything specific in and out of the plan. When we met with them, we talked about what the issues are and what the difficulties were going to be, Lipinski said.

A White House spokeswoman did not return calls for comment.

While dinner attendees considered the get together friendly and informative, some members of the Blue Dog Coalition left with more questions than answers, wondering if the administrations plan was based on wishful thinking and if there was enough evidence to back up their hope that broad tax cuts will be paid for, in part, by an increase in economic growth.

In an exclusive interview with Fox Business, Congressman Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), a member of the Blue Dog Coalition and of the House Ways and Means Committee, said that the administrations plan to pay for tax cuts through economic growth is an unrealistic goal.

I believe it needs to be paid for and not with smoke and mirrors. It has to reasonably score and needs to be revenue neutral. It cant just be paid for on a hope and a wish, Thompson said.

Cohn, in an interview with Stuart Varney on Friday, reaffirmed that tax cuts will be paid for by growing the economy. When you lower the corporate rate from 35% down to 15%, that 20% has an enormous multiplier effect in the U.S. economy. Of course we are going to get growth by lowering the business rate, he said at the time.

It wasnt clear at the meeting in June if the White House would be able to conjure together a bill that would be revenue neutral, which is the bare minimum of what the Blue Dogs would want to see in a bipartisan tax plan.

According to Thompson and Lipinski, the group has expressed some of their broader expectations on crafting a tax reform package with White House officials and House leadership, including Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Kevin Brady (R-Texas).

They say the Blue Dogs hope to see a plan that increases economic growth, the reduction of rates for middle income workers, broadening the revenue base, lowering the corporate tax rates and it being revenue neutral.

The caucus is expected to release more detailed tax reform principles in September.

One of the unknowns for the moderate Democrats is where House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) stands on working with their group.

So far, theres been no outreach from the speakers office and if hes relying on getting a bill passed through the House with only conservative Republicans, experts say theres no guarantees that tactic will work out in their favor.

Mark Mazur, director of the Urban Brookings Tax Policy Center and former assistant secretary for tax policy in the Treasury, said in an interview with FOX Business, Ryan might need the Democrats after all. Its a hard one because I think if Republicans are going to use reconciliation and plan to do it as Republicans alone, theres still no guarantee it will pass, Mazur said. They have a narrow majority in both chambers and its hard to do.

Lipinski also said he was disappointed with the lack of outreach from Ryans office to the Blue Dogs but also insisted that the House Speaker did meet with the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus.

Its disappointing that Speaker Ryan hasnt reached out to the Blue Dogs, but I have to say with the problem solvers caucus back in June. I cant get into details. The issue of tax reform did come up. The Speaker did seem interested what Democrats were thinking about tax reform at that time. Im hoping this is not going to be a situation that republicans cook up a plan and come looking for democrats come on board, Lipinski said.

A spokeswoman for Ryan did not return calls for comment.
Chris Pratt wrote the foreword for his wife Anna Faris upcoming memoir before the Hollywood couple announced their split.

The book, titled Unqualified, is described as a comic memoir that will share Anna's candid, sympathetic, and entertaining stories of love lost and won," and slated for release on Oct. 24, according to E! News. The cover of the book shows Faris and wording at the bottom stating: Foreword by Chris Pratt.

The foreword's text has not been released.

Pratt, 38, and Faris, 40, announced their separation Sunday on social media after more than eight years of marriage.

JENNIFER LAWRENCE IS BEING BLAMED FOR CHRIS PRATT, ANNA FARIS SPLIT

Pratt released a statement on Facebook stating: We tried hard for a long time, and we're really disappointed. Our son (Jack) has two parents who love him very much and for his sake we want to keep this situation as private as possible moving forward. We still have love for each other, will always cherish our time together and continue to have the deepest respect for one another."

The Mom star recently dished about her marriage to Pratt in an interview with Live Happy magazine that took place in June for the magazine's October issue. The issue is on newsstands now.

"I recently visited Chris in London while he was shooting Jurassic World 2, and he rented a boat that took us up and down the Thames," Faris told Live Happy. "He had scones and it was wildly romantic. He's constantly doing really romantic things like that which are so wonderful. But I also think that for us, our best date is an afternoon at our Washington home. Chris will put our crab pots out early in the morning, and later that day, we'll eat fresh crab with a little butter and just look at the scenery."

CHRIS PRATT, ANNA FARIS SPLIT COULD BE FINANCIAL NIGHTMARE, DIVORCE LAWYERS SAY

"I think that's one of the many reasons we fit so well together, Faris said. "We get each other because even though we met under the lights of Hollywood, we're from the same place. We both know the same trees and smells and birds. It sounds corny, but those are things that ground us in everything outside of Hollywood."
It seems like Rachel Lindsay's former suitor isn't too happy with her final choice on "The Bachelorette."



Eric Bigger, who was the second runner-up on Lindsay's season, spoke out on the "Almost Famous" podcast Wednesday, saying Lindsay made the wrong choice when choosing Bryan Abasolo over Wisconsin business owner Peter Kraus.

"Honestly, from watching the show [Monday] night for the first time, I don't think she picked the right man in that moment," Bigger told hosts and "Bachelor" alums Ben Higgins and Ashley Iaconetti.

"I felt bad for [Bryan,]" he added. "It seemed like he was a rebound."

'BACHELOR IN PARADISE' SCANDAL: TIMELINE OF EVENTS

Though Bigger admitted he thought Abasolo, a chiropractor from Miami, was going to win over the Texas-based attorney's heart during filming for the show, watching the finale had changed his mind.

"I could be wrong, but that's what it looked like in my eyes and maybe the feelings they had for each other [are] different from what I see. But man, it was tough," Bigger said.

He said in his opinion it appeared that Lindsay chose Abasolo because "she had to, as opposed to what she felt."

"From the heart, I really think she was more with Peter but in the mind Bryan made sense," Bigger explained. "We need challenges in life to change. With what happened at the end with [Bryan,] she didn't have a challenge with him. Peter was a challenge. You want what you can't have."

Lindsay's heart-wrenching break-up with Kraus was played out during Monday night's three-hour season finale. Lindsay, who repeatedly said she was on the show to "find a husband, not a boyfriend," ultimately let Kraus go because he wasn't committed to proposing in the end. Kraus then agreed to propose to show, but the bachelorette rejected the idea because she believed he would resent it later.

Lindsay later said she ended things with Kraus because they had "deep-rooted" issues, not because he wouldn't propose. She also told ET on Tuesday though she told Kraus she loved him, she wasn't "in love" with him.

'THE BACHELORETTE' RECAP: RACHEL GETS ENGAGED, RUNNER-UP SUITOR SNAPS

"I think there's a difference between 'I love you' and' I'm in love with you.' Rachel actually told me she was in love with me back in the fantasy suites," Abasolo told ET.

But Bigger said he felt Abasolo might have been a "consolation prize" because he was willing to propose.

"I just pray it's not that. But from what I saw, I was like 'Woah,'" he said, adding that he believes the couple will make it to the alter if "they're willing to sacrifice, commit and love each other unconditionally."

"And if not, I don't think it's going to work."
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Justin Theroux should stick to acting, his Greenwich Village neighbor says in a no-holds-barred lawsuit over the stars $1 million apartment renovation.

Theroux, who is married to Friends star Jennifer Aniston, first sued attorney Norman Resnicow, his downstairs neighbor at 71 Washington Pl., in May claiming the lawyer has made it his twisted sport to bully and intimidate him.

Now Resnicow is hitting back with a counter-suit calling Therouxs story of a so-called years-long harassment campaign as fictional as the television series in which he recently starred.

Theroux plays an unstable ex-cop in HBOs supernatural drama The Leftovers.

The actors suit is less a legal pleading than a press release to be used by Therouxs publicist to recount a lurid tale of petty vindictiveness, Resnicow gripes in his Manhattan counterclaim.

Resnicow, 69, says in the new court papers that Theroux, 45, is the real nuisance  exploding in out-of-control anger over the trimming of ivy on the building and abandoning yowling rescue dogs in his apartment while he de-camped to California.

Resnicow responds to claims that he cut off water to Therouxs roof deck by blaming the spigot spat on the actor.

The water line froze and burst because Theroux inexcusably delayed for months the removal of his then-deck as necessary for the roofers to repair the years-long leaks from Therouxs terrace directly into the Resnicows living room, according to court papers.

As for allegations that Resnicow shut off his neighbors electricity access?

There has not been any shutting offas Theroux could have easily ascertained merely by plugging a lamp into the electrical box on his terrace, according to the countersuit.

Resnicow lists other un-neighborly incidents including the time in August 2015 when a 16 square foot hunk of ceiling collapsed on him in bed one morning while he was recuperating from open heart surgery.

A Theroux workman had removed a chunk of wooden flooring to install piping, and his hand slipped and broke the ceiling above the sleeping Norman, according to court papers.

Resnicow and his wife have had to deal with 10 years of exposure to various varieties of noises, he complains in court papers.

Especially the years of endless day and night barking, yowling and crying of the several rescue dogs Theroux left for several years in the apartment after he de-camped for California (with those sad, isolated, lonely dogs only visited periodically by Therouxs hired (non-resident) dog walker/feeder), the countersuit says.

Then there was the 2016 incident when weekend house guests of the Resnicows were awakened at about 3:00 a.m. on a Saturday night by what sounded to them like someone repeatedly and deliberately dropping heavy health club weights on the floor directly above them.

Norman Resncow put under Therouxs door a handwritten note complaining of the nights inexcusable noise interfering with the sleep of tired guests; no response ever came, according to the filing.

The neighbors at the eight-unit co-op were not always enemies.

Resnicow reveals that the actor once asked him to handle on a discreet basis the exiting of Therouxs longtime live-in girlfriend from his apartment because Theroux had broken up with her and was living in a hotel.

This led Norman to having to deal with the girlfriends angry sister, he says in court papers. Theroux has lived in the building since 2001. He married Aniston in 2015.

Hes suing Theroux for legal fees and other damages.

An attorney for Theroux declined to comment on the pending litigation.

This article originally appeared in the New York Post.
Kendall Jenner is ready to cut her losses on her expensive West Hollywood mistake.

The reality star-turned-model, 21, is off-loading the $6.5 million Los Angeles-area home she bought off of Emily Blunt and John Krasinski last summer, according to TMZ.

Its believed that Jenner has already found a buyer for the residence, though its unclear how much its being bought for, a source told the website.

Built in 1958, the 4,800-square-foot house features six bedrooms and five bathrooms and sits on a .36-acre lot, according to Realtor.com.

Jenners year in the home, which her mom reportedly warned her off of buying for security reasons, has been eventful. In March, burglars made off with $200,000 worth of jewelry from the residence, and last August police arrested a man who followed her up her own driveway.

This article originally appeared in Page Six.
While the world continues to be fascinated with the life and works of the late Princess Diana, two of the most important figures in her life are finally opening up about her tragic death. Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Prince Harry will sit down on camera to discuss the days following their mothers death in a new documentary.

NBC will air a two hour examination of the tumultuous week following the death of Diana, specifically how it impacted her sons and the role they played in helping their country mourn in the aftermath. Diana, 7 Days is set to air in September to help mark the 20 year anniversary of her death.

PRINCESS DIANA BIOGRAPHER SPECULATES ON WHY SHE CHOSE HIM

Part of the reason why Harry and I want to do this is because we feel we owe it to her, Prince William said in a statement released by the network. I think an element of it is feeling like we let her down when we were younger. We couldnt protect her. We feel we at least owe her 20 years on to stand up for her name and remind everybody of the character and person that she was. Do our duties as sons in protecting her.

NEW DOCUMENTARY ABOUT PRINCESS DIANA CREATES STIR

Williams brother, Harry, echoed those sentiments, saying, When she died there was such an outpour of emotion and love which was quite shocking. It was beautiful at the same time, and it was amazing now looking back at it. It was amazing that our mother had such a huge effect on so many people. When youre that young and something like that happens to you, I think its lodged in here, there, wherever  in your heart, in your head and it stays there for a very, very long time. I think its never going to be easy for the two of us to talk about our mother, but 20 years on seems like a good time to remind people of the difference that she made, not just to the Royal Family but also to the world.

The documentary also promises interviews with family, close friends, political figures and journalists.
"Real Housewives of Orange County" star Tamra Judge is defending her parenting despite what her estranged daughter says.

Judge, 49, took to Instagram on Wednesday to address daughter Sidney Barney's Facebook post that accused her of being a neglectful parent, People Magazine reported.

"I want to say thank you to everyone that has reached out to me to see if Im okay. I/We are trying our best to enjoy our vacation. Thank you to my Mom who is not taking this very well and feels the need to defend me. I love you Mom," Judge wrote in a since-deleted caption.

"I love my daughter and I would NEVER abuse, hurt or neglect her in any way," the reality TV star added.

Judge is in Aruba renewing her vows with husband Eddie Judge amid the drama. On Monday night, Barney, who lives with her father Simon Barney, Judge's ex-husband, posted a lengthy Facebook message saying her mother was "mentally and emotionally abusive."

"The reasons I left my mothers house are that she was neglectful (leaving us at home with no food or simply ignoring us entirely), she constantly put herself first and the biggest reason was that she was mentally and emotionally abusive. She was no mother to me," the 18-year-old wrote.

She then said part of the reason her parents separated was because Judge's love for being in the spotlight.

"Not even two weeks after I graduated she posted a photo of me and shared it with her one million followers knowing that it would get picked up by the press. The one thing I asked and have been asking for 4 years now has been to not talk about me because I dont want to be in the spotlight," Sidney wrote, adding that her mother disregarded her request and posted the photos anyway.

"But Again breaking her promises as per usual, she puts herself, her fame, her reputation, and her bank account before me. If she really wanted a relationship she would keep her promises and recognize that it is no one else's fault but hers that I do not want her in my life," Barney said.

"My mom has been portraying the innocent erased mother whose daughter was estranged from her due to divorce and an evil ex husband when in actuality she is the sole reason why I do not want her in my life and will not have a relationship with her," Barney wrote.
Chuck Norris may be celebrated actor, martial arts champion, and beloved veteran of the Air Force, but to many young fans, the red-blooded American hero is an Internet sensation.

In 2005, a series of jokes known as Chuck Norris Facts began to circulate on the Internet that focused on his heroism and superhero strength.

However, the 77-year-old (whose real name is Carlos Ray Norris) wasnt laughing  at first.

EXCLUSIVE: 'WILL & GRACE' STARS DISH ON REVIVAL

He didnt know if they were just making fun of him at first, Sheree J. Wilson, his co-star on Walker, Texas Ranger, told Fox News. He was like, Whats this about?' And it turned out to be the fact that people really admired him. Revered him. Like Chuck Norris doesnt do push-ups, he pushes the earth down. Chuck Norris can cure cancer with a single tear. Theyre just so funny.

Once Norris got in on the joke, he came to love the "facts."

We had a ball just laughing, making up Chuck Norris jokes, said the 58-year-old actress. He can laugh at himself. Hes the real deal Hes very familiar [with the memes]. I think somebody sent me a T-shirt that has 100 jokes about him on it. I am going to wear it the next time I see him.

Wilsons lasting friendship Norris has endured since Walker, Texas Ranger, which ran from 1993 until 2001. They first met on the set of the film Hellbound in 1993, which was directed by sibling Aaron Norris.

Wilson, who initially believed the movie was going to be shot in Chicago, was being relocated to Israel and she had to fly out in three weeks. But before then, casting director Mary Jo Slater recommended Wilson to CBS for the role of D.A. Alex Cahill, resulting in an audition. However, Wilson had no idea who else was starring in the series.

About five weeks of being in Israel, Chuck walks on the set and he looks like the cat that swallowed the canary, she recalled. Hes smiling at me, got his arms crossed, and laughing. He said, Youre not going to believe this. Seems to me that they sent me these audition tapes for the top people for my TV series Seems like they want this girl name Sheree Wilson to play the D.A.'

"We had the biggest laugh. We left Israel on December 21 and by January we were in Texas filming. We had already worked together for three months, so we worked well together and it was seamless.

And Wilson insisted Norris is very much the iconic persona recognized by fans.

He is the real deal, she said. So when he says dont cross that line or you might get kicked in the face, he means it. It happened on occasion with some amateur little guys that got too excited being in a scene with Chuck Norris. But hes such a strong family man. He cares so much about children.

"It started with the Kick Drugs Out of America program Hes taken so many inner city kids off the streets, out of gangs, and turned their lives around. Hes a completely dedicated family man to his own family, as well as a much bigger, extended family He cares about our vets, cares about our country. Theres no surprise about him except he has a great sense of humor as well.

And even though Walker, Texas Ranger" came to an end 16 years ago, it lives on. Wilson pointed out its still on the air worldwide and fans are finding inspiration from it now more than ever.

Theres so many scary things happening right now in our world, she said. Theres a lot of terror and terrorists People still want to know that the good guys are winning. And in our show, that was very clear. There are good guys and there are bad guys.

"And the good guys always win and the bad guys will get kicked in the head... Its just a little bit of hope for the good. And its good morals and values. Thats what our show is about It has a massive appeal for just that, some moral fiber and hope in the world.
Maguire Meats butcher shop is shaking up how its patrons consume their cocktails by infusing its meats with classic drink combinations.

The latest is a Smirnoff vodka and Red Bull mixture that is infused into the sausage links. Keelan Maguire of Maguire Meats in Irvinestown, Ireland, told Belfast Live that this combination was the craziest one they could come up with, and so they went with it.

GRILLING HOT DOGS ON A RAKE IS APPARENTLY QUITE EFFECTIVE

It seems to be working out pretty well  in the same interview, Maguire said, they seem to be very popular.

The Irvinestown butcher is not the only one in Ireland playing with their food. Over in Belfast, Mc Cartneys of Moira has several alcoholic meat options on their menu. They sell a staple beef sausage infused with Guinness and recently added two summer sausages  one with hard cider and another with gin and tonic.

The sisters, Sarah Price and Judith Millar, who run the Belfast establishment told the Belfast Telegraph their reasoning behind the new flavor ideas.

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS

We thought we would try and drum up a bit of interest with new sausage flavors," said Sarah Price. "I had this notion about gin and tonic as a flavor, as it's a very popular and cool and trendy thing at the minute."

From crazy to trendy, the boozy barbecue fixation seems to be only popular in the United Kingdom as of now. No word yet on if its making its way across the pond to the United States  but it probably wont make it here before the end of barbecue season.
A Walmart pharmacy in Oklahoma is reportedly under investigation after a woman accused the store of mixing three different prescriptions into one pill bottle.

Gina McCurtain filled a prescription in early July following a recent shoulder surgery. She told KFOR that there were two other similar looking pills inside her prescription bottle, which she claims to have taken for around two weeks.

I started getting real fast heartbeat, didnt know why, McCurtain said.

McCurtain, a diabetic, told the news station that her first prescription of Percocet filled by the pharmacy inside the Walmart Neighborhood Market in Oklahoma City was correct. In late July, McCurtain and her husband noticed there were different pills in the bottle from a prescription filled on July 11, according to KFOR.

WALMART APOLOGIZES FOR 'OWN THE SCHOOL YEAR LIKE A HERO' GUN DISPLAY SIGN

When the woman took the pills back to the Walmart pharmacy on July 25, the muscle relaxant Methocarbamol and anti-depressant Bupropion were found mixed in with the Percocet.

McCurtain told the news station she was once prescribed Bupropion, but the milligram prescribed was different than the one she found intermixed. She also said she disposes of pills she no longer takes.

In a statement to KFOR, Senior Corporate Communications Manager Charles Crowson said the accused pharmacy couldnt confirm McCurtains claim.

"We work hard to ensure that we live up to the high standards weve set for ourselves and that our customers have come to expect. We have quality control processes in place to help ensure our customers receive the correct medications. We reviewed this situation and after speaking with associates, examining store video and discussing the matter with the customer, we could not confirm her claim. In fact, two of the drugs returned to our store came from a supplier we do not use at this stores pharmacy. We take this seriously and remain open to discussing this further with our customer if she has any additional information on this incident."

N-WORD USED ON WALMART WEBSITE TO DESCRIBE PRODUCT COLOR

McCurtain has since filed a complaint with the Oklahoma State Board of Pharmacy, KFOR reported.

The boards executive director said situations like this are a priority, and that incorrectly filled prescriptions are rare and not easy to prove.

The director said she sent the complaint to a compliance officer and will hopefully have answers in the upcoming week.
Dont call Ashley Judd sweetheart.

The actress slammed an airport employee for referring to her by the pet name, as well as putting his hands on her.

This is the kind of thing to me that happens which I categorize as everyday sexism, she fumed in a Facebook Live video on Saturday. And it is so easy to let it go and not to speak up, particularly when it is so easy for someone to push back and say, Oh, I was just being polite. So I was coming through security and a guy said Hey sweetheart, and I said, Im not your sweetheart, I am your client. So I was already setting a boundary.

KLM DUTCH ROYAL AIRLINES TWEETS PRO-GAY AD, GETS TROLLED FOR MISSING THE MARK

Judd, 49, didnt specify at which airport the incident occurred, but had been traveling through Europe over the weekend to film Berlin Station. She claimed the offenses didnt end there.

When I was setting my things out, he said, Hey nice dress! I didnt hear him say anything about the attire of any of the other folks in the entire line and I am in one of the most traveled airports in the world. Im surrounded by lots and lots of other people dressed in lots of different kinds of dress.  And then guess what happened next? He touched me, she alleged.

PLAZA HOTEL ACCUSED OF IGNORING SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND ENDORSING 'RAPE CULTURE' IN LAWSUIT

I didnt see him touch anybody else. And I turned around and I said, That was unnecessary. By that time, you know, my skin was burning, my feet are burning  its so hard to continue to set these boundaries when someone continues to push, she explained. And then for good measure, he just said one more time, Have a good day sweetheart!

Judd spoke to a manager about the experience, which she said ended positively.

Im very happy to report that the manager with which I spoke immediately apologized  He had a very long conversation with the employee and he also assured me that their training  is to call people sir and madam, and that touching someone is totally inappropriate.

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS

She added, I also spoke with the manager about how our dream, our ideal, would be that we would record this little Facebook Live post together, but because he was in uniform, he wasnt able to do that. I think its really important if were discussing the problem, also to highlight a solution.

This story originally appeared in The New York Post.
Students at a school in Dickson County, Tenn., are getting press attention for how they dress.

TDickson County High School requires all students to wear "a collared and/or crew neck top with sleeves. According to the dress code rules online, in addition to strict rules about what tops to wear, there are equally strict punishments  offenders spend the remainder of the day in in-school suspension. However, in an article published by a the local lNews Channel 5, students may return to class once they have changed clothes.

DOES YOUR STOMACH ACTUALLY SHRINK IF YOU EAT LESS?

One high school senior, Tori Taylor, showed up to school with a seemingly innocuous pink crew neck top with quarter-length sleeves. After she arrived, she was yanked out of class for wearing the wrong type of crew neck shirt.

In a statement to News Channel 5 Network, Taylor says she was told that it wasnt the right type of crew neck top.

Unsure of what the right type of crew neck was, Taylor took to Twitter with a picture of the offending top, with the caption reading, please tell me whats wrong with this????

She then followed up her initial wrong crew with another outfit that violated the dress code  a white crew neck shirt with a floral print top over it.

Other students agreed with Taylor and started sharing their own dress code infractions, as well as their frustrations with the schools militant dress code.

I spent a lot of money on my school clothes for my senior year, said Taylor to New Channel 5. I cant afford to buy a new set of school clothes just to question if it will be ok.

Taylor continued with: I just feel it needs to be explained better. They need to do a better job presenting it to us.

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS

In an emailed statement, the principal of the school defended their strict dressing guidelines, and how far they go to ensure all students understand the policy:

Dickson County High School is proud to build good relationships with students, parents, and our community. We have a great school and we strive every day to keep it that way. The purpose of our dress code is to assure students will dress and groom in a clean, neat, and modest manner in order not to distract or interfere with the educational environment of the school. For the most part, 99 percent of our students have come to school within our dress code guidelines. As a reminder, we have communicated with students, parents, and community our dress code expectations for this school year.

Though, as others have pointed out, if the goal is to not distract or interfere with education, pulling children out of class is not the way to go about dealing with dress code infractions.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuels decision to sue the Department of Justice because its asking the Chicago Police Department to obey the law perfectly illustrates the dangerous disdain the modern Left has for normal Americans.

On July 25, Attorney General Jeff Sessions asked all cities, states, and territories applying for a very specific federal law enforcement grant to adhere to three new, very reasonable measures: To openly communicate with the Department of Homeland Security; to allow DHS officers to meet with locally-held prisoners who live in the country illegally and have been arrested for non-immigration related crimes; and to give the Department 48 hours notice before releasing such prisoners.

These are fairly simple, practical, common sense requirements  which the vast majority of cities and states gladly meet. Of course, federal, state, and local agencies should talk to and work with one another to enforce our laws. Federal agents shouldnt be expected to consult a crystal ball to track down and deport people here illegally who are committing crimes  especially since local police know better than anyone about criminal aliens operating in their communities.

Yet, Mayor Emanuel is defending Chicagos so-called sanctuary status, claiming that these requirements, sow fear in local immigrant communities and ultimately make the people of Chicago less safe.

Mayor Emanuel would like us to believe that he is concerned about the safety of his citizens, but his lawsuit is nothing more than a political charade. He is literally welcoming more criminals to the streets of Chicago.

Really? Chicago  where 4,331 people were shot and 762 were killed last year  will be less safe? Who exactly does the Mayor think will be made safer if local police let criminal noncitizens back on the streets instead of cooperating with federal authorities to deport them?

I agree with Hispanic 100 Spokesman Steve Cortes, who says cities like Chicago deserve a different title. Cortes made the case on Fox & Friends last week saying, its not sanctuary for the victims of these crimes, its not sanctuary for the cops who have to deal with known criminals Id rather call them renegade cities.

Cortes did not stop there though. After calling Chicago the most dangerous city, in the Western world, he pointed out that Emanuel is a renegade mayor, as well.

Instead of worrying about protecting the children of Chicago, hes worried about protecting known criminal illegal immigrants  thats a renegade action, Cortes said.

Chicago is not alone. The Washington Times reported in March there were nearly 500 states, cities, counties, or other jurisdictions across the country that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration officials.

That only accounts for about two percent of all cities, counties and states, but this is a big problem because these renegade jurisdictions potentially serve as safe havens for dangerous international crime gangs, such as MS-13, that endanger all our communities.

These gangs pose significant threat to American citizens. As I explain in my #1 New York Times best-selling book Understanding Trump, according to the Drug Enforcement Administrations 2015 National Drug Threat Assessment the most dangerous and significant drivers of drug-related crime in the United States are multinational cartels from Mexico.

The DEA reported that the foundation of these cartels is the network of people who run the drug trade infrastructure inside U.S. borders. Specifically, the DEA said, Actual members of Mexican TCOs are usually sent to important U.S. hub cities to manage stash houses containing drug shipments and bulk cash drug proceeds.

Now, if you led an international drug cartel, would you set up shop in a city where your undocumented gang members would be deported upon arrest or one like Chicago, where local police looked the other way once you made bail?

Mayor Emanuel would like us to believe that he is concerned about the safety of his citizens, but his lawsuit is nothing more than a political charade. He is literally welcoming more criminals to the streets of Chicago.

In his response to the lawsuit, Attorney General Sessions struck exactly the right tone.

They have demonstrated an open hostility to enforcing laws designed to protect law enforcement  Federal, state, and local  and reduce crime, and instead have adopted an official policy of protecting criminal aliens who prey on their own residents No amount of federal taxpayer dollars will help a city that refuses to help its own residents, Sessions said.

Hopefully, the other renegade states, cities, and counties in our nation will heed the Attorney Generals warning and leave their renegade ways behind them.
Southern Methodist Universitys recent decision to relocate a memorial to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks over concerns students might be triggered caused outrage across the fruited plain.

But the university announced late Wednesday they are reversing that decision and will allow Young Americans for Freedom to post nearly 3,000 American flags on the Dallas Hall Lawn to honor those killed by the Muslim terrorists.

Click here for a free subscription to Todds newsletter: a must-read for Conservatives!

Grant Wolf, chairman of the SMU Young Americans for Freedom chapter, confirmed a partial agreement had been reached.

YAF will continue to work to ensure that the new policy, which will supersede the previous policy language regarding coercion and harassment, reflects the terms of the agreement reached and effectively protects the freedom of expression, Wolf told The Todd Starnes Show.

The university had initially banished all lawn displays, citing a revised policy aimed at protecting students from harmful or triggering messages.

SMU stressed that its policy covered all lawn displays, not just the 9/11 memorial. The relocation of the memorial was roundly denounced and condemned by students, alumni, donors and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.

I thank the students from across campus who came together in the spirit of mutual respect and civil discourse to achieve this outcome, said SMU President R. Gerald Turner in a prepared statement. Throughout these discussions, students have expressed their commitment to freedom of expression  a value the University shares.

SMU said they reached an agreement with student leaders to return displays to the prominent lawn space.

This agreement provides dedicated spaces for lawn displays while also preserving open spaces for studying, classes, events and recreation, a university statement read. The goal is to balance the needs of all campus community members in use of this historic space.

Young Americans For Freedom should be commended for taking a noble stand. They recognized that free speech was under assault and they did something about it.

And I suspect many readers of this column called, emailed and petitioned Southern Methodist University to reverse its policy. College students do not have a constitutional right not to be offended.

What happened at Southern Methodist University is an example of how a wrong can be righted when freedom lovers stand together.

Well done, patriots!
Partisan politics is far less predicated on doing the right thing at the right time than on doing the things that will help garner (and subsequently hold) political power. It is important to understand this when Republicans and conservatives ask what the pending admission to the Union of the United States largest, state-sized territory, Puerto Rico, would bring to the table.

What Puerto Rico has already brought over the course of 119 years as an unincorporated territory are significant contributions to the national defense, as well as to our nations rich cultural patrimony. Instead of lobbing pro-forma objections to statehood such as Puerto Ricos massive structural debt (which would necessarily be resolved prior to admission), we on the right should begin to ask ourselves what might happen if Congress were to ignore (or worse, reject) Puerto Ricos vote in support of statehood.

One objection mindlessly bandied about within conservative circles is the fallacy that admitting Puerto Rico automatically adds five liberals to the House and two liberal senators. The House has been frozen in place at 435 seats since 1929, pursuant to the Permanent Apportionment Act of 1929. We didnt add any new House seats for the respective admissions of Alaska and Hawaii, thus, we wouldnt add any new seats for Puerto Rico unless that statute were to be repealed.

Such House seats would likely be apportioned over from liberal states with declining populations (such as Illinois or New York), and Puerto Rico has actually shown an ability to elect Republicans to federal office. If you are a House Republican, wouldnt you rather trade Luis Gutierrez for Luis Fortuno?

If you are a Republican - whether an elected official, a member of the Consultariat, or a member of conservative media - know that what you gain by supporting Puerto Rican statehood is simply this: the continued stability of the Electoral College, of the makeup of Congress, and of the region.

Congressional rejection of the expressed democratic will of Puerto Rican voters would only lead to the islands political implosion, pushing anywhere from 500,000 to 700,000 residents to the mainland...mostly, mind you, to Florida and Texas. And when they arrive to these warm-weather states, Democrat operatives will be awaiting these fleeing Puerto Ricans with open arms, blank voter registration forms, and grievance propaganda directed at the evil congressional Republicans that forced them off the island- with no ready GOP response.

Pop quiz, hotshots: if you truly believe the nativist spiel about Puerto Ricans and their politics, would you rather contain that potential fallout to five House seats and two out of 102 Senate seats, or do you risk majorities in Congress and in the Electoral College?

Independence, you say? Why not just have Congress rid itself of Puerto Rico with a unilateral grant of independence once the nasty debt stuff is all sorted out? Dont even think about it, unless you want to push that earlier 700,000 figure to 1.3 million. On its best day at the ballot box, independence has never garnered more than five percent of the vote on the island, and even failed to crack one percent in last months status vote.

Besides, given the ideological proclivities of the pro-independence movement, it is highly likely that an independent Puerto Rico would not be free for long, and swiftly fall into the Castro-Maduro axis of influence. If our national security matters to you, then stop and seriously consider the implications of creating another Marxist vassal state with 5 or 6 million of its descendants living on American soil and embedded within all levels of society and government.

Over the course of multiple free and fair elections, the people of Puerto Rico have expressed their desire to join the Union as the 51st state. Although circumstances bar a hasty admission, it is time for Congress to do the right thing. I am hopeful that my Republican friends, moved to recognize and defend the legitimate civil rights of over 3 million Americans, will soon see that the greatest risks lie in continuing to do nothing.
Editor's note: The following column originally appeared in The Resurgent.

President Trump is engaged in a mild war of words with Mitch McConnell on Twitter. McConnell thinks the president has expectations way too high, but as the president rightly points out, the GOP has promised to repeal ObamaCare for seven years.

McConnell was just lying. Do we really think he wants to repeal ObamaCare? His state expanded ObamaCare a few years ago. He has a political interest in ensuring it stays.

Meanwhile, the president is endorsing Luther Strange for the Senate in Alabama. This is not how one drains the swamp.

Lest anyone forget, Strange got his appointment to the Senate after convincing the Alabama state legislature not to impeach Governor Bentley. Only after getting into the Senate did the legislature proceed.

On top of that, several Alabama politicians and others have come forward with credible allegations that Strange was in on his own corrupt practices and one person claims Strange was actually in on a bribery conversation, though there is no allegation Strange took a bribe himself.

Strange is a pillar of the establishment status quo and will not rock Mitch McConnells boat. In fact, Strange is one of McConnells oar hands in the boat.

The president, supporting a man like Strange, is not supporting a conservative and is not supporting a man who is truly pledged to advance the presidents agenda.

The president is just solidifying Mitch McConnells power base. Both of Stranges opponents are on record opposing McConnells continued leadership of the Senate.

This is not how the president drains the swamp and I have to question who on earth is giving him this political advice. Instead of fighting the status quo, the president is propping it up.
Earlier this week, the Trump Department of Justice told the mayor of Chicago that it would cease funding grants to the Chicago Police Department that had been approved in the Obama administration because Chicago city officials were not cooperating with federal immigration officials.

The DOJ contended that Chicago officials were contributing to lawlessness by refusing to inform the feds of the whereabouts of undocumented foreign-born people, thereby creating what the feds derisively call a sanctuary city, and Chicago officials have argued that their police officers and clerical folks are not obligated to work for the feds.

Who is correct?

The concept of a sanctuary city does not mean it is a place where federal law is unenforced by the feds. Rather, it is a place where local authorities have elected not to spend their tax dollars helping the feds to enforce federal law. The term sanctuary city is not a legal term but a political one. The Trump administration has used the term to characterize the governments of towns and cities that have created safe havens for those who have overstayed their visas by refusing to tell the feds who these folks are and where they can be found.

Can local authorities refuse to help the feds enforce federal law? In a word, yes. There is no legal obligation on the part of local authorities to help the feds with manpower or resources or data to enforce federal law within the jurisdiction of those local authorities.

During the Clinton administration, when Congress passed legislation that directed local law enforcement to enforce a federal gun registration scheme, the Supreme Court invalidated the statute. It ruled that the feds cannot commandeer local and state officials and compel them to enforce federal laws; the feds can enforce their own laws.

The federal compulsion, the court held, violated the Guarantee Clause of the Constitution, which guarantees a representative form of government in every state. If the feds could enter a state and nullify the will of elected state officials not to spend state tax dollars, that would unconstitutionally impair representative government in those states.

Can the feds withhold federal funds from cities that refuse to cooperate in the enforcement of federal law? Yes and no. In the post-World War II era, Congress began purchasing state compliance with its wishes in areas that the Constitution did not permit it to regulate. Stated differently, since Congress can spend money on any matter it wishes, as long as it is arguably for the general welfare, but it cannot regulate for the general welfare, it has used its power of the purse as a way around the constitutional limitations on its regulatory powers.

This is legalized bribery of the states.

In the Reagan administration, Congress offered hundreds of millions of dollars to the states to repave federal highways if the states lowered their maximum speed limits to 55 miles per hour. South Dakota objected. Its government wanted the federal cash for the highway repaving but did not want to lower its speed limits.

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the feds. It held that South Dakota is free to reject federal dollars, but if it accepts them, it must accept the strings that accompany them, as long as those strings are clearly spelled out before the cash flows and rationally related to the expenditure of the federal funds. Because repaving highways and the maximum speeds that vehicles would travel on them were rationally related, South Dakota had to choose between its cherished liberal speed limits and federal cash. No surprise, it chose the cash.

Now back to sanctuary cities. When the Obama administration offered Chicago and other cities cash to purchase new police communication equipment, it attached strings to those offers -- but compliance with federal immigration authorities was not among them. Chicagos complaints about DOJ threats are constitutionally sound because federal strings can be imposed only by Congress and they cannot be imposed retroactively.

Thus, federal funds awarded in the Obama administration without the string of cooperation with immigration authorities attached may not be interfered with by the Trump administration. If the feds do withhold committed funds that lack a cooperation condition attached, a court will invalidate that withholding.

Is the refusal to cooperate with the feds a form of nullification? In a word, yes. Federal law is superior to local law in areas that are primarily or exclusively federal, and immigration is unambiguously federal. Yet having pockets throughout the country without local cooperation with the feds fosters what the courts have called laboratories of democracy.

Stated differently, if the local government in Manhattan or Chicago or Seattle aggressively protects undocumented immigrants who live there in return for the purchasing power and cultural diversity that immigrants bring, that may relieve social and legal pressure on governments elsewhere and will be a social experiment -- a laboratory of democracy -- worthy of cultural and political scrutiny and perhaps even indifference when it comes to the feds.

Many Trump supporters see in the president a champion who will rid the country of those they see as unlawfully here, and they also see in liberal big-city mayors politicians pandering to interest groups. But there is a rich history to federalism, and there are two sides to its coin. The rich history is that of state and local resistance to the tyranny of the majority in Washington -- a resistance as old as the country itself. The refusal of Massachusetts authorities to cooperate with the feds in the enforcement of the federal Fugitive Slave Act comes to mind.

The other side of the coin is unthinkable to my conservative brethren. If Hillary Clinton had been elected president along with a Democratic Congress and it had offered state and local governments federal funds with strings attached requiring cities to make abortions available on demand, they all would be whistling a very different and very federalism-based tune.
This week, U.S. intelligence agencies made it known  through a leak  that Kim Jung Uns brutal regime in North Korea now has the means of delivering nuclear weapons on the U.S. homeland. For reasons that should be the subject of a congressional inquiry, this existential threat was apparently just discovered after years of collaboration between Iran and the Democratic Republic of North Korea [DPRK].

One has to wonder how our intelligence services failed to discern how one of the poorest countries on the planet, where grass is a vegetable, could afford to develop and build miniature nuclear warheads and ICBMs capable of hitting the U.S. Did the Obama Administration know about the nuke-ICBM collusion between Tehran and Pyongyang when Secretary Kerry was negotiating the Iran Deal?

Those are important questions. But right now, the most important issue is: What we should do about this clear and present danger?

Clearly, the carrot & stick policies pursued since the Clinton administration have failed miserably. Despite two and a half decades of international and unilateral sanctions, diplomatic overtures, offers of aid, and the Obama administrations fatally flawed strategic patience, Kim Jung Un now has the capability of killing millions of our countrymen.

President Xi has to believe that unless he acts  quickly  the U.S. will take pre-emptive military action against the DPRK with catastrophic consequences for North Korea and the Peoples Republic of China.

In many respects, the threats posed by Pyongyang are more serious than what President Kennedy faced during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. Kennedy could be fairly certain Nikita Khrushchev and the Soviet leaders werent going to start firing nuclear weapons at us  because they wanted to survive. Thats why Mutually Assured Destruction [MAD] worked. There is considerable doubt whether the leaders in Pyongyang [or Tehran] have the same survival instincts as the Russians.

On August 8, President Trump broke with his predecessors and warned the world, Pyongyang will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen unless Kim Jung Un desists from threatening the U.S.

A day later, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis issued a statement urging the DPRK to cease any consideration of actions that would lead to the end of its regime and destruction of its people."

President Trumps critics now claim his words are exacerbating the problem and Washington needs to back down, wait for new UN Sanctions to work and even, as Senator Dianne Feinstein urges, start another fruitless face-to-face dialog with Kim while he continues working with the ayatollahs to acquire more nukes & ICBMs.

Thats simply irrational. If the DPRK already has nuke weapons & means of delivering them on our homeland, the messages from the Commander-in-Chief and the SecDef are the only responsible course of action  as long as it is believed by the intended audience. And that audience isnt in Pyongyang  its in Beijing.

President Trump needs to persuade President Xi and the politburo in Beijing that its in the best interests of the Chinese people to act now to stop Pyongyangs nuke-ICBM program.

Xi has to believe that unless he acts  quickly  the U.S. will take pre-emptive military action against the DPRK with catastrophic consequences for North Korea and the Peoples Republic of China. Xi is certainly aware hostilities on the Korean peninsula will likely result in up to 20% of the DPRK population [25 million] fleeing on foot across Yalu & Tumen rivers & take to the sea like boat people from Vietnam in 1975.

President Trump now needs to back up his words with actions. Here are ten of them he can order tomorrow to convince President Xi that were deadly serious:

1. Press ROK President Moon to accept as many THAAD systems as we can deliver.

2. Ask Israel to consider providing Iron Dome, Arrow, Iron Beam, even Davids Sling systems to ROK to help defend Seoul against DPRK artillery on the DMZ.

3. Return the U.S. Tactical Nuclear weapons to the ROK that we withdrew in December 1991.

4. Deploy another Carrier Strike Group to the region & more long-range strike a/c & air-to-air tankers to Guam, Okinawa and ROK.

5. Deploy Search & Rescue [SAR] assets to ROK and ask Xi if we can base some SAR assets to China to recover downed air-crews [Its unlikely he will agree but it may wake up the politburo in Beijing].

6. Deploy the hospital ships USNS Mercy from San Diego to Pusan & USNS Comfort from Norfolk to Japan.

7. Deploy a USN/USMC Marine Expeditionary Unit to an off-shore station in the region.

8. Deploy more ISR assets [satellites, etc.] to update target lists. That were doing so is sure to leak.

9. Deliver biological & chemical protection equipment to the ROK.

10. Urge Japanese Prime Minister Abe to visit Beijing with the mission of convincing PRC President Xi he will get the credit and be remembered in history as The Leader Who Took Us Back From the Brink...

All these actions [with the possible exception of #10] are necessary before we could initiate effective military operations against the DPRK. Taking these steps now may help convince President Xi and the PRC politburo that the U.S. is deadly serious  and may preclude the necessity of going to war.
Fact: The United States and its allies in the Asia-Pacific would demolish North Korea in any conceivable military scenario. Even if our worst fears are realized, and Kim Jong Un decided to lash out with nuclear weapons, Washington would ensure Pyongyang was turned into atomic ashwhat would clearly be the end of the so-called hermit kingdom.

But what is lost in our recent conversations of war and peace in Asia today are two key questions: Just how bad would such a conflict be and what happens when the war is over?

Stop and think about it for a second. If we accept the fact that a war fought on the Korean peninsula -- if waged with no nuclear, chemical or biological weapons, which is by no means a certaintyit stands to reason that the number of conventional weapons used by North and South Korea, America and likely Japan or others would flatten large sections of the Korea peninsula. To make matters worse, such carnage would likely spread to the Japanese home islands, U.S. military bases around the region or even Guam, Hawaii or Alaska.

To focus our minds around this terrifying problem, let us consider for a moment just one of the many very real scenarios that could occur in what would be a Second Korean War. If, for example, North Korea were to launch a salvo of artillery shells into Seoul, South Koreas capitaljust a mere 35 miles from the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that separates north and souththe devastation could be catastrophic. Imagine countless skyscrapers and tall buildings collapsing to the earth, millions of people fleeing to mass transit and clogging all exits out of one of the worlds largest cities. It would be, in many respects, 9/11but times a hundred. The rebuilding of downtown Seoul would be in the billions of dollars, not to mention the rebuilding of countless peoples lives. Just that one act alone, in what could be the opening chapter of a war the brutality of which we have not seen in generationsnot to mention would be magnified on social media many times overwould horrify us all for generations to come.

And the above is just a small example of what could happen. If we expand this out a little more, what if North Koreain a future scenario where President Trump begins a massive buildup like the First or Second Gulf Warsdecides to strike first and launch not only attacks on Seoul, but deploy the full weight of his conventional military forces in an all-out assault against the South? While there are countless examples of how this could be operationalized, three come to mindall equally terrifying.

First, Kim could launch the full weight of his 1.1-million-man army, 4,300 tanks and countless artillery and rocket batteries to attack the South. While his forces are old (much of it armed with 1950s technology), the sheer amount of these weapons ensures they would do incredible damage. And yes, Washington and Seoul would be able to destroy the clear majority of Kims army quickly, but the devastation left in its wake could be catastrophic.

Next, Kim could just decide to fire off his over 1,000 missiles in wave after wave of terror strikes on Seoul, Tokyo and U.S. military bases around the region. Such attacks, especially if carried out against major cities in South Korea or Japan, would drive mass panic throughout each nation. While it stands to reason North Koreas missiles arent as accurate as America's or other major powers like Russia or China, they could be used as the ultimate terror weapondoing perhaps more damage to peoples psyche, tearing away at any notion that Pyongyang could not reach out and strike them at a moments notice.

Third, North Korea could decide to deploy its massive force of 200,000 special forces in a clandestine assault on the South. We know Pyongyang has dug countless tunnels under the DMZ into South Koreasome that have been discovered are now even tourist attractions. Even if they sent a small force of several thousand troops to the South, the Seoul government would have to launch a massive manhunt to catch these forces, who could spread terror and mayhem throughout the country.

As if all of this isnt bad enoughand keep in mind these are the simplest of examples, such a war would have many layers of horrorthere is what happens after, and that might be the most troubling prospect of all.

Remember, if North Korea is defeated without becoming an atomic graveyard, North and South Korea would need to be reunited. Think the scale of the Syrian Civil War seems incalculable or rebuilding Iraq or Afghanistan is challenging? A destroyed North Korea with massive damage done to the South could make any of those pale in comparison.

Take for example the most immediate challenges that would have to be solved quickly. Who would oversee what is left of North Korea and actually run the country? Do you allow some members of the North Korea government, who know the country best, to stay on in some fashion? What do you do with what remains of Kims military? And for that matter, what do you do with Kim if he lives?

Then, how do you feed a starving North Korean population of 25 million people? How can you logistically bring enough resources in to feed the hungry when there are no roads, bridges or transportation network to do it?

Not only would you have both sides needing trillions of dollars in reconstruction aid but you would need to somehow figure out how to rebuild a North Korean society that has been brainwashed by decades of rule by the Kim family.

We must also consider what the outside world will think of Korean unification, and that means China. What will Beijing do, seeing a united Korea that would likely be a strong U.S. ally and potentially still hosting U.S. troops in the years to come? While far into the future, a strong, united Korea could be a powerful counterweight to China, and along with Japan, a powerful U.S. friend. How would Beijing react?

And what about Kims network of concentration camps. Who is to be blamed, shamed and charged with crimes against humanity? How can you help perhaps as many as 200,000 people who have had their lives destroyed in a fashion not seen since the days of Nazi Germany and Adolf Hitler?

In all fairness, the scenarios I have laid out only scratch at the surface of what a war on the Korean peninsula would look like. If such a war were to involve nuclear, chemical or other weapons of mass destruction, the devastation would be beyond our imagination.

Therefore, all sides, especially the brutal regime of Kim Jong Un, should think twice about proceeding down the path towards conflict. Because in a Second Korean War, no one wins.
So Google fired the employee who wrote an internal memo that went viral titled Googles Ideological Echo Chamber: How bias clouds our thinking about diversity and inclusion. The fired Google engineers name is James Damore. Ironically, he was let go for perpetuating gender stereotypes when he was actually protesting the thought control of political correctness.

Damores memo begins: I value diversity and inclusion, am not denying that sexism exists, and dont endorse using stereotypes. When addressing the gap in representation in the population, we need to look at population level differences in distributions. If we can't have an honest discussion about this, then we can never truly solve the problem.

Just after this he says, Googles political bias has equated the freedom from offense with psychological safety, but shaming into silence is the antithesis of psychological safety. This silencing has created an ideological echo chamber where some ideas are too sacred to be honestly discussed.

Read the memo and decide its merits for yourself. It is 10 pages long and I might argue with a few parts of it, but I wouldnt argue with its desperate attempt at honesty, a voice against a political wind of oppression.

Now, the benefits of this federal database to policing might be profound. But it could also be used to record what political gatherings you attend, whether you attend AA meetings, or if you go to a gun show, and who was with you when you did.

Whats important now is to hear what Damore was trying to tell Google.

Liberalism used to be anchored in the media centers of New York and Washington, D.C. Now it is increasingly centralized into the southern portion of the San Francisco Bay Area known as Silicon Valley. This one tiny progressive enclave controls the huge social-media machines of Google, Facebook and more. They control the messaging for how the young, and even many of those who are older, get their news. Their political viewsand how they shun those who dont share themare pushed across these platforms.

To keep our freedom, we need to understand how this is affecting us and what we can do about it.

And its not just thought control through one-sided, ideological messaging coming through this sector. Increasingly, our government is using that very same technology and information - to gather information about you.

Heres an example: Motorola now says theyre working with Neurala, a startup that specializes in artificial intelligence software, to make cameras that automatically search for persons or objects of interest. This means Motorola products, such as its Si500 body camera used by police departments, might use facial recognition to identify you.

Now you might be thinking: So what, my mug shot has never been taken by the police so I'm not in their database? Sorry to tell you this, but there is a very good chance your photo is indeed in the FBI's system  the database police departments use.

As a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found, a majority of the photos in the FBIs Next Generation Identification System come from (at least) eighteen state drivers license bureaus and from those submitted for passports.

The FBI also just published a final rule in the Federal Register claiming the right not to tell you if your biometrics are in the Next Generation Identification Systemcreating an exception to the Privacy Act.

The FBI began its advanced-biometric Next Generation Identification System in 2010 by adding facial recognition to a fingerprint database. The GAO reported that the FBI didnt inform us or publish a privacy impact assessment about this, even though they are required to do so by law.

Now, the benefits of this database to policing might be profound, as this technology used on dash cams and body cameras could help the police find wanted criminals, missing persons or to identify people who have violent criminal records.

But it could also be used to record what political gatherings you attend, whether you attend AA meetings, or if you go to a gun show, and who was with you when you did.

Think about that.

I know, a lot of people might say its only natural for U.S. intelligence agencies and police departments to want to use the latest technology. Were the good guys, the intel and police people think. Just trust us. Which is exactly what government cyber warriors have said to me as I researched and wrote my new novel, Kill Big Brother, a contemporary work of fiction that shows us where we are going and how to keep our freedom in this digital age.

The thing is, we need good police work, not massive oversight of all American citizens. And government is going straight to Silicon Valley to form alliances that give them massive amounts of data on us  massive amounts of data (information that should have Fourth Amendment protections, by the way) that overwhelms law enforcement without necessarily improving it.

The NSA, meanwhile, cant say  when asked by Congress  how many American citizens have been eavesdropped on by government (without warrants) via Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act, legislation intelligence agencies want made permanent law before it expires in December.

So what we have is an often one-sided, political ideology being pushed by Silicon Valley via social media and a government that is increasingly using the technology and data from these companies to collect information on you.

This is either a recipe for a Big Brother-style dystopia or for a smarter more technological system. If we prefer to create the latter  which we should  we need to demand freedom of expression from tech firms (as James Damore tried to do) and to push Congress to update laws to restrict government where necessary from taking away our freedom.

Without a doubt, the FBI and NSA and other government entities need to remain strong. But they need to do so without reducing our freedom in order to empower themselves.
The political tug-of-war between North Carolinas Democratic governor and the Republican-led legislature continues to heat up with new accusations coming almost daily.

On Wednesday, the states Republican Party accused Gov. Roy Cooper of violating campaign finance laws. They allege a conference he attended in June, which was hosted by the North Carolina Advocates for Justice, broke the rules because it featured a Roy Cooper fundraiser session. State law prohibits politicians from soliciting donations while the legislature is in session.

A day earlier, Cooper called out the GOP legislature for trampling on his authority, in a legal filing.

Tuesdays filing, part of a larger suit filed in May, claims Republicans have an appetite for reducing the authority meant solely for the governor.

The General Assembly introduced numerous bills aimed at diminishing the Governor's and the courts' constitutional authority and taking that authority for itself, the document reads.

One of the three issues raised in the filing was the governors state budget proposal in which he claims the GOP targeted his plans for funding education and the environment.

Cooper pushed back against what he says is the General Assemblys unconstitutional attempt to dictate what he must include in his proposed budget to fund private school vouchers.

Cooper also challenged other provisions that direct how to spend federal block grants and North Carolina's $87 million initial share of a nationwide emissions settlement with Volkswagen. The lawsuit argues that the funds should be administered by the executive branch, in accordance with either federal law or a federal court.

GOP Senate leader Phil Berger said in a statement to Fox News the governor is asking the courts to anoint him as both executive and the legislature.

We expect the judiciary will see through his thinly-veiled power grab, follow the constitution and dismiss this frivolous lawsuit, he said.

Coopers filing also blasts the GOP for not respecting the fundamental principles of representative government and the basic guarantees of the North Carolina Constitution.

This comes eight months after Cooper initially threatened to sue over Republican bills to limit his power. In December, confrontations escalated once Cooper won the 2016 election by a narrow margin. Republican lawmakers then aimed to protect the conservative state policies and programs aimed to scale back who Cooper could bring into office and erase his ability to shape statewide elections boards.

Coopers office didnt return comment, though his attorney told Fox News they cannot speak further on the governors legal filing.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Terace Garnier is a Fox News multimedia reporter based in Columbia, South Carolina. Follow her on twitter: @TeraceGarnier
The Texas House passed this week a GOP-backed bill which requires women to pay for a separate health insurance supplement for non-emergent abortions.

The legislation, which passed with a final vote of 92 to 46 Wednesday, bars insurance plans from covering elected abortions. Should a woman want insurance to help alleviate the costs from a non-emergent abortion, she would need to purchase an additional insurance supplement.

The bill does not provide exceptions for rape or incest.

Because of that, opponents of the H.B. 214 bill  which still has to pass Texas Senate  have said it requires women to purchase rape insurance.

Read on for a look at what the bill does  and how rape insurance came to be.

What is rape insurance?

Democrats who spoke out against the bill said they did so because it would force women to buy insurance in case of a rape.

Democratic State Rep. Chris Turner compared the proposed plan to a person who has basic health insurance who has to add on a vision plan or someone who has a simple home insurance plan but adds on flood insurance.

DEMOCRATS DIFFER: SHOULD PARTY BACK ANTI-ABORTION CANDIDATES

No woman plans to be raped. No parent plans for their child to be a victim of incest, Turner told Fox News. The idea that a woman would be forced to consider purchasing for herself - or a parent would be forced to purchase for their child - essentially a rape insurance policy should be abhorrent.

No woman plans to be raped. No parent plans for their child to be a victim of incest.  State Rep. Chris Turner

He continued, I think its abhorrent, its sick, its cruel.

Turner introduced an amendment to the bill that would include an exception for cases of rape and incest, but it failed.

A Republican lawmaker who voted for the bill both Tuesday and Wednesday declined to comment on the record but did say the term rape insurance was offensive and exploited rape victims for a political gain.

Has it been used before?

This isnt the first time the term rape insurance has been used in conjunction with a bill backed by anti-abortion lawmakers and activists. Currently, 10 other states restrict all private insurance coverage of abortions.

INDIAN GIRL, 10, GRANTED ABORTION AFTER RAPE

Michigans Republican-led legislature approved a controversial abortion bill in 2013 that prohibited insurers from paying for abortions unless a woman already had purchased a separate coverage plan.

Republican Gov. Rick Snyder vetoed a similar measure, but it was still passed through the states little-known citizen-initiated law when the anti-abortion group "Right to Life of Michigan" garnered enough signatures to pass it.

Then-state Sen. Gretchen Whitmer, the minority leader at the time, said she was grateful that she was not impregnated when she was raped more than two decades ago.

As a legislator, a lawyer and a mother of two girls, I think the fact that rape insurance is even being discussed by this body is repulsive, she said.

NEW ARKANSAS ABORTION LAWS BLOCKED BY FEDERAL JUDGE

Idaho, Kentucky and Missouri placed restrictions on abortion coverage in 1980. And since 2011, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Utah have also enacted restrictions for women who wish to use insurance to help cover abortions, according to a Think Progress report.

Utah does have an exception for victims of rape, incest or fetal impairment.

What have other responses been to the bill?

State Rep. John Smithee, the Republican who authored the bill, has defended the legislation as he said it gives individuals more options.

The bill simply provides the individual with the option to purchase coverage for elective abortions or not, Smithee said in a statement to Fox News. It is nothing more than allowing the individual to make the choice rather than the insurance company.

"A woman who is victimized by the perpetrator of a rape would still be fully covered for her medical expenses under the terms of her insurance just as she is now," Smithee continued. "The only procedure not covered would be the actual abortion. That is true today in the vast majority of policies whether this legislation passes or not. Thus, to characterize this legislation as having anything to do with rape victims is pure political rhetoric of the worst sort."

This isnt about who can get an abortion. Its about who is forced to pay for an abortion, he previously said.

ALASKA LAWMAKER CENSURED OVER ABORTION COMMENT

Heather Busby, the executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Texas, slammed the bill and criticized some politicians for remaining single-mindedly fixated on pushing abortion out of reach in our state.

Texans should be able to make reproductive health decisions, including the decision to have an abortion, with dignity and respect and without politicians interfering with abortion coverage bans like HB 214, Busby said in a statement to Fox News.

"Texas Right to Life," an anti-abortion non-profit, said following the bills passage in the state House that anti-abortion Texans are one step closer to no longer involuntarily subsidizing the abortions of others through their premium[s] and tax dollars.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A Virginia college student was sentenced this week to 100 days incarceration for submitting fraudulent voter registration forms listing the names of dead people and other faulty information for a political organization connected to the Democratic Party.

Andrew J. Spieles, 21, was sentenced in federal court Tuesday for knowingly transferring false Virginia voter registration forms during the 2016 election, according to the Justice Department.

Spieles, a student at James Madison University, worked as a staffer for Harrisonburg Votes -- a group affiliated with the Democratic Party -- and was paid to register voters in the area during the weeks leading up to the 2016 election. Spieles job was to register as many voters as possible; he reported to Democratic campaign headquarters in Harrisonburg, Va., according to the DOJ.

After filling out a registration form, Spieles entered the voter information into a computer system used by the Virginia Democratic Party. Each week, someone would hand-deliver paper copies to the Registrars Office in Harrisonburg.

Last August, however, an employee from the Registrars Office contacted law enforcement after another worker recognized a registration form submitted in the name of the late father of a Virginia judge. The office then discovered multiple instances of falsified forms. Some were in the names of deceased individuals, and others had incorrect middle names, birth dates and Social Security numbers, according to the Justice Department.

Spieles admitted he prepared all 18 of the false voter registration forms by obtaining information from walk sheets given to him by the Virginia Democratic Party. Spieles said no one else participated in the crime.

Spieles' fraud was punishable by up to a year in prison and a $100,00 fine, but he reached a plea agreement with Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeb Terrien that limited his sentence to between 100 and 120 days behind bars, according to a EAGNews.org.
Dr. Sebastian Gorka, the deputy assistant to the president, told Fox News' "Hannity" Wednesday that the White House "will no longer put up with appeasement" of North Korea's nuclear weapons program.

"[North Korea] is an evil, evil regime, as bad as anything we know from the Soviet Union," Gorka told host Sean Hannity. "That nation is a pariah. That nation is in flagrant breach of international laws with regard to nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, but this is when the appeasement ends."

Gorka also echoed Defense Secretary James Mattis' warning to North Korea not to "invite the destruction of its people" with military action.

MATTIS WARNS NORTH KOREA NOT TO INVITE 'DESTRUCTION OF ITS PEOPLE'

"You dont go to war with America, whoever you are, unless you wish to commit suicide," he said. "We arent just a superpower, we are a hyperpower. World history has never seen a nation as powerful as our great nation.

"Therefore," Gorka added, "North Korea needs to understand the blackmail stops, and if you get into an arms race ... with the United States of America, you will lose."
President Trump's Twitter assault on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell continued Thursday, as the frustrated commander-in-chief resumed his criticism of the Republican leadership for not advancing the GOP agenda.

Trump's Day II morning tweet criticized McConnell, R-Ky., for failing to pass a plan to repeal and replace ObamaCare, and came hours after a tense 10-minute phone call between the two.

TRUMP BLASTS MCCONNELL OVER 'EXCESSIVE EXPECTATIONS' REMARK, SOURCE SAYS

"Can you believe that Mitch McConnell, who has screamed Repeal & Replace for 7 years, couldn't get it done. Must Repeal & Replace ObamaCare!" Trump tweeted Thursday.

Later in the day, Trump tweeted: "Mitch, get back to work and put Repeal & Replace, Tax Reform & Cuts and a great Infrastructure Bill on my desk for signing. You can do it!"

The day before, while much of the media focused on the threat North Korea poses to the United States, Trump lashed out at McConnell on Twitter.

Senator Mitch McConnell said I had excessive expectations, but I dont think so. After 7 years of hearing Repeal & Replace, why not done? Trump tweeted Wednesday afternoon.

The presidents tweet was seemingly in response to comments McConnell made in a Rotary Club meeting in his home district earlier this week.

McConnell explained to constituents the complexity of legislating in response to questions regarding the lack of a repeal and replace of ObamaCare.

TRUMP TARGETS MEMBERS' OWN HEALTH PLANS AFTER OBAMACARE REPEAL FALLS FLAT

A Congress goes on for two years. Part of the reason I think that the storyline is that we havent done much is because, in part, the president and others have set these early timelines about things [that] need to be done by a certain point, McConnell said Monday. Our new president, of course, has not been in this line of work before, and I think had excessive expectations about how quickly things happen in the democratic process.

The president has repeatedly expressed his discontent with Republicans in both the House and the Senate for their failure to pass a plan to repeal ObamaCare and replace it with a new health care plan. The administration was left without a major legislative win before the August recess, with lawmakers, seemingly, willing to shift their focus from health care to tax reform when they return to Capitol Hill.

And after fighting Republicans tooth-and-nail for years on their repeal and replace message, Democrats have started touting a slew of proposals aimed to improve the ailing health care system.

DEMS SUDDENLY SCRAMBLING TO COME UP WITH OBAMACARE FIX

Some Senate Republicans have welcomed Democrats to the process. Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., said they needed to stick with health care and bring it to a resolution.

The end is going to be sitting down with our colleagues from the other side of the aisle and getting something passed, Flake said on Fox News Americas Newsroom.

Senate hearings to discuss health care, in a bipartisan fashion, are set to begin September 4.
White House Deputy Assistant to the President Sebastian Gorka retreated Thursday from remarks implying it was "nonsensical" for Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to discuss the likelihood of military action against North Korea.

In an interview with BBC radio, Gorka reacted to a statement by Tillerson that a conflict with the isolated communist state was not imminent and that "Americans should sleep well at night."

"The idea that Secretary Tillerson is going to discuss military matters is simply nonsensical," Gorka said at the time. "It is the job of [Defense] Secretary [Jim] Mattis, the secretary of defense, to talk about the military options, and he has done so unequivocally ... That is his mandate."

Gorka sought to clarify his remarks Thursday afternoon in an interview on Fox News' "Your World with Neil Cavuto."

"I was admonishing the journalists of the fake news industrial complex who are forcing our chief diplomat into a position where they are demanding he makes the military case for action when that is not the mandate of the secretary of state," Gorka told host Liz Claman. "Thats why we have a department of defense. If a journalist doesnt know the difference between the secretary of state and the department of defense, they should hand in their credentials. Its just absurd lack of understanding."

Gorka said that Tillerson had "done an amazing job" to help guide new sanctions against North Korea through the United Nations Security Council, but "when reporters try to force him to make statements regarding military options, they have no idea what theyre talking about, and if they think thats a story, theyre not journalists."
The governor of Guam said Thursday there was no heightened threat on the island after North Korea issued a statement that it would develop a plan by mid-August to launch four missiles at the U.S. Pacific territory.

Guam Gov. Eddie Calvo dismissed the Norths statements, saying they came from a positon of fear, Reuters reported.

On Wednesday the North Korean state-run media agency, KCNA, released a statement saying the communist nation would complete its plan to attack waters near Guam within just a week, adding that the action against Guam would be "an effective remedy for restraining the frantic moves of the U.S. in the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and its vicinity."

The statement followed a tweet by President Trump praising what he described as the growing U.S. nuclear arsenal, adding, Hopefully we will never have to use this power, but there will never be a time that we are not the most powerful nation in the world!

North Korea dismissed Trumps recent threat of fire and fury as a load of nonsense.

Calvo went on to say that while there is some concern among the public, there are defense mechanisms in place:

There is a defense umbrella contained within South Korea, there is a defense umbrella for Japan, there are naval assets between Korea, Japan and Guam, and there is a missile defense system of Guam that make up a multi-level defensive umbrella.

Guam is home to a U.S. military base that includes a submarine squadron, an air base and a Coast Guard group, Reuters reported, as well as 163,000 residents.

Looking to reassure the people of Guam, Calvo said, at this point, based on what facts are known, there is no need to have any concern regards heightening the threat level.

On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson visited Guam, in part to also reassure its population. White en route, Tillerson explained Trump's "fire and fury" remarks.

"I think what the president was doing was sending a strong message to North Korea in language that Kim Jong Un would understand, because he doesnt seem to understand diplomatic language," Tillerson said, as Fox News reported.

Fox News' Lucas Tomlinson and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
Paul Manafort's prison stay was extended Wednesday  nearly a week after he was sentenced to 47 months on bank and tax fraud charges in a separate case. The former Trump campaign chairman is now slated to spend a total of 81 months in prison.

He was given extra prison time at his second sentencing in connection with his guilty plea related to foreign lobbying and witness tampering.

In August, Manafort became the first Trump campaign associate to be found guilty by a jury as part of Special Counsel Robert Muellers long-running probe. He was convicted of eight bank and tax fraud charges at that time.

PAUL MANAFORT SENTENCED ON FOREIGN LOBBYING AND WITNESS TAMPERING CHARGES

Manafort has been the subject of an investigation over his dealings in Ukraine several years ago  he didnt file as a foreign agent until June 2017. But Mueller has incorporated that investigation into his probe of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election and possible collusion with Trump associates.

Manafort was convicted on multiple counts of financial fraud last year in connection with his Ukranian work, and is in prison. In November, Mueller accused Manafort of lying "on a variety of subject matters" since his plea deal, thus violating that agreement.

Read on for a look at Manafort's work with the Trump campaign and how he is connected to the Russia investigation.

What kind of foreign work did Manafort do?

A GOP operative who worked for former Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, Manafort reportedly began his work in Republican politics in the 1970s.

Eventually, Manafort was hired by former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, a controversial pro-Russia politician who was ousted from power twice. After Yanukovych was elected president in 2010, Manafort reportedly stayed on as an adviser and worked on other projects in Eastern Europe, including the Party of Regions political party.

Manafort also worked for Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska. In 2005, Manafort allegedly came up with a plan to influence U.S. politics, business dealings and the media in order to greatly benefit the Putin government, according to The Associated Press.

Deripaska is a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and signed a $10 million annual contract with Manafort in 2006; they maintained a business relationship until at least 2009.

Financial records obtained by The New York Times indicated that Manafort was in debt to pro-Russian interests by up to $17 million prior to joining Donald Trumps presidential campaign.

He also took more than a dozen trips to Moscow and frequently talked to Putin allies over a period of about 10 years, McClatchy reported. He traveled to Kiev at least 19 times in 20 months after the February 2014 removal of Ukraines pro-Russia leader.

How was Manafort involved with Trump's campaign?

Manafort joined Trump's presidential campaign in March 2016 to help wrangle delegates ahead of the Republican National Convention in Ohio, something he'd done for former President Gerald Ford.

Just two months later, Manafort became Trump's campaign chairman.

Manaforts resignation from the campaign was announced on August 19, 2016, after The Times reported that he'd received $12.7 million in undisclosed cash payments from Yanukovychs pro-Russian party between 2007 and 2012.

Manafort and Donald Trump Jr., the president's eldest son, met with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya in June 2016. She reportedly was said to have damaging information on Trumps campaign rival, Hillary Clinton, which was "part of Russia and its governments support for Mr. Trump."

What was Manafort charged with?

Along with his former business associate Rick Gates, Manafort was initially indicted in October 2017 on multiple counts that included: conspiracy against the U.S., conspiracy to launder money, false statements and failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts.

Nearly four months later, in February 2018, the pair were hit with additional tax evasion and bank fraud charges. These charges involved much of the same conduct Manafort and Gates were initially accused of, but the amount of money Manafort said to have laundered through offshore accounts increased to $30 million.

In June 2018, Mueller's team brought additional charges of obstruction of justice against Manafort and Konstantin Kilimnik, an associate. The charges against Manafort and Gates dont relate to allegations of misconduct during Trumps campaign.

Mueller also accused Manafort of secretly paying former European politicians to lobby on behalf of Ukraine.

Manafort was found guilty of eight counts in August in the first trial victory for Mueller's team. The judge declared a mistrial on 10 other counts after jurors failed to reach a unanimous verdict.

In September, Manafort pleaded guilty as part of an agreement with Mueller's team ahead of his second trial. According to Politico, the plea deal includes a 10-year cap for how long Manafort will be in prison. It also includes allowing Manafort to serve his time for both trials concurrently.

He received a nearly 4-year prison sentence on March 7 after a federal jury in Virginia convicted him on eight counts of bank and tax fraud last year. A week later, on March 13, he received an additional three and a half years on foreign lobbying and witness tampering charges.

Manafort previously maintained his innocence despite all of the charges brought before him  but he has since expressed remorse for his actions.

"I am sorry for what I have done and all the activities that have gotten us here today," Manafort said in a written statement in March, begging a judge for mercy.

Fox News' Ann Schmidt, Jake Gibson, Alex Pappas, Matt Richardson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
It would be one thing for President Trump to threaten fire and fury if Congress were in session right now.

Congress is on the traditional August recess, however, as Trump bolsters his language against North Korea, warning not only of fire and fury but of an unprecedented response if Pyongyang follows through on any threat to hit Guam, a U.S. territory.

But imagine if Congress were huddling in Washington at this time instead of lawmakers spread to the four winds for the August recess.

Pandemonium would engulf Capitol Hill. There would be fiery speeches on the House and Senate floors. News conferences. Lawmakers would demand emergency, classified briefings from senior officials.

Are we going to war? What if someone makes a miscalculation? What if everyone overplays their hands?

Reporters would stake out lawmakers at every Capitol Hill outpost. The basement of the Russell Senate Office Building. The Senate subway tunnel leading to the Capitol. The corridor between Statuary Hall and the House chamber. The elevator hallways near the House and Senate floors. The Speakers Lobby.

The gravity would multiply. Members of Congress would weigh in  or be forced to weigh in  and take positions about North Korea, the administrations stance, the presidents approach and  shock, what lawmakers should do about all of this.

Defense Secretary James Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson spoke to senators just last week about the possibility of a revamped, congressional authorization to combat ISIS -- the authorizations the Bush, Obama and Trump administrations use to justify fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and even the Philippines date back to 2001 and 2002. The Constitution grants Congress the right to declare war, not the president. Considering the global consequences, one might think Congress ought to bless any operation involving North Korea.

Alas, Trumps fulmination about North Korea came with barely a lawmaker in Washington due to the congressional break. Sure, some lawmakers showed up on TV to comment on Trump ratcheting up tensions with Pyongyang. And telephones still work for interviews.

Some members of Congress dismissed Trumps invective as a sure way to supercharge the conflict rather than calm things down.

However, this all went down with Congress out of session. That altered the dynamic dramatically.

Many Republicans, exhausted from trying to clarify, defend and interpret the presidents off-hand remarks and pre-dawn tweets, were more than happy to be away from the Capitol and not comment. Meantime, Democrats saw this as President Trump again simply being President Trump: spitting sulfuric language much the way hes been known to vent about TV hosts.

And then in the middle of it all, Trump announced on Twitter he was formally endorsing Sen. Luther Strange, R-Ala., in the Alabama primary next week over Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., and former state Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore. It seemed odd for the president to momentarily drop North Korea and descend into electoral politics to publicly endorse Strange. The endorsement of Strange came at the same time many wondered if they were about to witness a real-time screening of Dr. Strangelove.

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, sidestepped Trumps bombast and focused on troops who could be called to war.

It is time for Congress to stand up with them and provide the equipment, training and resources they need and deserve, said Thornberry. The House has already acted to increase funding for our troops, including more funds for missile defense systems that could play an important role on the Korean Peninsula.

Voluble Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., published a remarkably efficient statement.

We need to be firm and deliberate with North Korea, but reckless rhetoric is not a strategy to keep America safe, said Schumer.

By contrast, scribes in the office of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., published three full paragraphs about Trump and North Korea.

The President's most recent comments are recklessly belligerent and demonstrate a grave lack of appreciation for the severity of the North Korean nuclear situation, said Pelosi. His saber-rattling and provocative, impulsive rhetoric erode our credibility and weaken our ability to reach a peaceful resolution to this crisis, and must immediately end.

Of course, now theres word that North Korea may attempt to move against the U.S. territory of Guam located 2,100 miles south of Pyongyang.

Guams non-voting representative to Congress, Del. Madeleine Bordallo, initially declared that North Koreas threats were troubling. But Bordallo asserted she was confident that Guam remains safe and protected.

Less than 12 hours later, Bordallo circulated another statement. This one sounded more dire.

North Koreas most recent threat to target Guam is dangerous and it further heightens tensions in our region, said Bordallo.

She also took notice of Trumps antagonism. I strongly urge the President to explore every avenue to peacefully respond to it and avoid further escalating this situation, she said.

On Thursday, she said Trump needs to tone down the rhetoric.

Circumstances would be more kinetic if Congress were meeting amid the pounding of the war drums. Dont forget that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell initially said his body would meet this week. But the Kentucky Republican dashed those plans after the Senate stumbled on health care and forged an agreement to confirm a slate of Trumps nominees, stalled for weeks by Democrats.

Instead it is August. Congress has gone fishin.

In the summer of 2013, lawmakers rushed back to Washington a few days early for special briefings on the Obama administrations proposal to strike Syria. But the plan never gained traction despite a parade of lawmakers trouping through the Capitol before the end of the recess. Congress never formally considered any military plan for Syria. Without a congressional blessing, the Obama administration moved only incrementally against the Syrian regime as the ISIS problem multiplied.

So everyone is left now with Trumps threatening to unleash fire and fury. It means a lot on the global stage. But it would rattle everyone a lot more if Congress were meeting now.

Capitol Attitude is a weekly column written by members of the Fox News Capitol Hill team. Their articles take you inside the halls of Congress, and cover the spectrum of policy issues being introduced, debated and voted on there.
A last-ditch attempt by Democratic senator Bob Menendez (N.J.) to avoid a federal corruption trial slated to start next month was rejected by a federal judge on Wednesday.

Menendez, accused of giving political favors to Florida eye doctor Salomon Melgen in exchange for campaign contributions and gifts, asked that the case against him be dismissed on account of the Supreme Court's 2016 decision to overturn the corruption conviction of former Virginia governor Bob McDonnell (R.).

Menendez's attorneys argued that none of the alleged assistance he offered Melgen were "official acts," and therefore, based on the Supreme Court's McDonnell decision, the legal argument against him was invalid.

U.S. District Court Judge William Walls said the determination of whether Menendez performed an "official act" in his attempts to benefit Melgen will be made during the trial, which is set to begin on Sept. 6.

"Whether the acts alleged in the Superseding Indictment satisfy the definition of an official act under McDonnell is a factual determination that cannot be resolved before the Government has the opportunity to present evidence at trial," wrote Walls in his rejection of the dismissal request.

Menendez received campaign contributions from Melgen, in addition to flights on private jets and luxury vacations.

Click for more from The Washington Free Beacon.
A federal judge has ordered the State Department to search the state.gov email accounts of Hillary Clinton aides Huma Abedin, Cheryl Mills and Jacob Sullivan for records related to Benghazi, as part of a watchdogs Freedom of Information Act lawsuit.

U.S. District Judge for the District of Columbia Amit Mehta made the call Tuesday, describing the FOIA lawsuit filed by Judicial Watch in March 2015 as a far cry from a typical FOIA case.

He noted that Secretary Clinton used a private e-mail server located in her home, to transmit and receive work-related communications during her tenure as Secretary of State.

The sole remaining dispute in this case is the adequacy of States search for responsive records, Mehta wrote in his opinion and order, noting the State Department has argued the search through Clinton aides emails is likely to be unfruitful.

But Mehta wrote that the State Department has not, however, searched the one records system over which it has always had control and that is almost certain to contain some responsive records: the state.gov email server.

FAVOR FACTORY? HUMA EMAILS REVEAL CLINTON ALLIES SEEKING JOBS, MEETINGS

If Secretary Clinton sent an email about Benghazi to Abedin, Mills, or Sullivan at his or her state.gov email address, or if one of them sent an e-mail to Secretary Clinton using his or her state.gov account, then States server presumably would have captured and stored such an email, Mehta wrote. State has an obligation to search its own server for responsive records.

The conservative watchdog group is engaged in numerous FOIA lawsuits seeking records pertaining to the actions of the last administration -- including, in this case, records regarding the response to the 2012 terror attack in Libya.

The court ordered that the State Department conduct a supplemental search of Abedin, Mills and Sullivan state.gov email accounts, and set a deadline of Sept. 22 for the department to update the court on the status.

This major court ruling may finally result in more answers about the Benghazi scandaland Hillary Clintons involvement in it as we approach the attacks fifth anniversary, Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said. It is remarkable that we had to battle both Obama and Trump administrations to break through the State Departments Benghazi stonewall.
Miami-Dade County invited the fury of activists when it became the first in the nation to give up its sanctuary status for illegal immigrants  but the decision, it seems, might be paying off.

Republican Mayor Carlos Gimenez said he has received a letter from Acting Assistant U.S. Attorney General Alan Hanson confirming the countys compliance, a requirement to receive certain DOJ funding. As a result, he announced the county remains eligible for a nearly half-million dollar grant.

The statement appeared to refer to an existing grant, noting the money already is being used to boost the local police departments intelligence gathering and police operations with investments in technology and specialized equipment. But the DOJ letter indicates the countys immigration decision could clear the way for future funding as well.

Gimenezs decision to drop the countys sanctuary city status in January sparked outrage at the time from local immigrant advocates who accused the Cuban-born mayor of betraying the countys tradition of welcoming immigrants.

A few days later, the county commission rejected emotional pleas by some residents and voted 9-3 to support the mayors decision.

The commission said it sided with Gimenez because of threats made by the Trump administration to withhold federal funding from cities and counties refusing to cooperate with federal immigration officials to deport people living in the country illegally. The DOJ letter could serve as a message to sanctuary jurisdictions across the country that cooperation means funding.

It comes as cities like Chicago and New York are openly fighting the Trump administration over the policy.

On Monday, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel sued the Trump administration  naming Attorney General Jeff Sessions as a defendant  over the funding threats, prompting the Department of Justice to accuse Emanuel of caring more about protecting illegal immigrants than legal residents in his city.

Chicago will not let our police officers become political pawns in a debate, Emanuel said. Chicago will not let our residents have their fundamental rights isolated and violated. And Chicago will never relinquish our status as a welcoming city.

Chicago stands to lose $3.2 million from the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants for refusing to cooperate with the feds.

While the showdown over sanctuary cities has been heating up in recent months, a number of smaller communities have quietly shed their status. They include: Dayton, Ohio; Saratoga, N.Y.; Bedford, Pa.; and Finney County, Kan.

Last month, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement also announced that 18 counties in Texas had agreed to work with federal agents to review the immigration status of inmates in their local jails and turn over those suspected of immigration violations.

The 287(g) agreement trains local law enforcement to check if people they have in custody are in violation of U.S. immigration law. The 20-year-old program has expanded under Trump.

Sixty communities now have active 287(g) agreements  twice as many as a year ago, according to ICE officials.
The Social Security Administration gave $1.3 million in benefits to criminals, including individuals who had already defrauded the government, according to a new audit.

The inspector general for the agency found that just over 50 representative payees who were felons received benefits even though they should have been barred from receiving payments. Representative payees are individuals who are responsible for administering benefits for someone who cannot manage payments themselves, such as their children or a disabled family member.

"Of the cases we reviewed, 51 individuals were serving as payees for 70 beneficiaries although the payees had been convicted of violating criminal sections of the Social Security Act, payee fraud, or other criminal felonies," the inspector general said. "SSA paid the 51 payees about $1.3 million in beneficiaries' benefit payments after their convictions."

Thirty-nine criminals continued to receive benefits after the Social Security Administration implemented a policy in 2014 that banned felons from receiving benefits for others.

The agency bars individuals from receiving benefits on behalf of another if they have been convicted of fraud, robbery, or homicide.

Click for more from The Washington Free Beacon.
President Donald Trump ripped into Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., in a tense private phone call Wednesday morning, a source familiar with the call told Fox News.

The source said Trump was reacting angrily to McConnells remarks at a Rotary Club speech Monday in his home state of Kentucky in which he suggested that the president, given his lack of political experience, suffers from excessive expectations about what both chambers of Congress can get done.

During the approximately 10-minute phone call, the source said, the president curtly told McConnell he did not appreciate the criticism and still expects Republican leaders to push for repealing ObamaCare, even though that has largely been shelved for now.

The source added that Trump also told McConnell he is unhappy with U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who cast a decisive vote against repealing ObamaCare without a replacement in place. McCain, who is battling brain cancer, also slammed the presidents aggressive rhetoric on North Korea this week.

The source said the president mused to McConnell that he does not understand why the majority leader is allowing McCain to keep his powerful chairmanship of the Senate Armed Services Committee after bucking the party.

The barb-filled phone call between Trump and McConnell -- the Senate leader whom the president still needs to shepherd the rest of his legislative agenda -- came hours before the president's Wednesday afternoon tweet expressing more gentle public annoyance over McConnells remarks.

Senator Mitch McConnell said I had excessive expectations, but I dont think so, the president tweeted. After 7 years of hearing Repeal & Replace, why not done?
After declaring the nations opioid epidemic a public health emergency in October, President Trump revealed his plans to crack down on the health crisis.



His plan, which he discussed in March, includes harsher penalties for drug traffickers and lowering the amount of drugs needed to trigger mandatory minimum sentences for dealers.

These are terrible people and we have to get tough with those people, Trump said of traffickers and dealers. This isnt about committees ... this is about winning a very tough problem.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 115 Americans die daily from opioid-involved deaths. Opioids, including prescriptions and heroin, killed 42,000 people in the U.S. in 2016  the highest on record.

Its important that the full weight of the federal government  with each Cabinet department determining their role in the crisis  is involved in tackling the epidemic, said Tom Coderre, a former official with the Obama administrations Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

The opioid crisis is multi-faceted and multi-dimensional. Its not like there is a secret weapon out there, Coderre, recently hired as a senior adviser to Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo to help combat the opioid crisis, told Fox News.

Heres a look at what the Trump administration has proposed to deal with the crisis.

Death penalty

Trump has often mused that certain countries  such as Singapore  have fewer issues with drugs because of the harsh penalties dealers can face if caught. He has argued that a person in the U.S. can receive the death penalty or life in prison for shooting one person, but a drug dealer who potentially kills thousands spend little to no time in jail.

When the president unveiled his plan to combat the epidemic, he brandished the death penalty as a fitting punishment for traffickers.

Drug traffickers kill so many thousands of our citizens every year, Trump said. That's why my Department of Justice will be seeking so many tougher penalties than we've ever had and we'll be focusing on the penalties that I talked about previously for big pushers, the ones that are killing so many people, and that penalty is going to be the death penalty.

He added, Other countries don't play games ... But the ultimate penalty has to be the death penalty.

"The ultimate penalty has to be the death penalty."  President Trump

The Justice Department said the federal death penalty is already available for several limited drug-related offenses, including violations of the drug kingpin provisions of federal law.

Attorney Gen. Jeff Sessions issued guidance to all U.S. attorneys, urging them to "hold opioid manufacturers and distributors accountable for unlawful practices."

"[T]his should also include the pursuit of capital punishment in appropriate cases," he said. "Congress has passed several statutes that provide the Department with the ability to seek capital punishment for certain drug-related crimes."

Sessions added, "I strongly encourage federal prosecutors to use these statutes, when appropriate, to aid in our continuing fight against drug trafficking and the destruction it causes in our nation."

Mandatory minimum sentencing

Trump has called on Congress to pass legislation which would lower the amount of drugs needed to trigger a mandatory minimum sentence for dealers who knowing distribute illicit opioids.

Congress already has plans to weigh a range of bills targeted at curbing the epidemic.

Republican Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina have put forth a bill that includes lowering the amount of fentanyl needed to invoke mandatory minimum sentences in certain distribution cases.

Fentanyl is a high-risk type of opioid used by doctors to treat pain.

Its past time the punishment matched the crime when it comes to opioid distribution and trafficking, Cotton said in a statement.

Graham added, Increasing these mandatory minimums is well-justified.

More research, less prescriptions

Part of Trumps plan to attack the nationwide crisis is to increase research and development through public-private partnerships between the federal National Institutes of Health and pharmaceutical companies.

With the public health emergency declaration, officials are able to more easily deploy state and federal workers, secure grants for the unemployed and shift funding from certain programs  such as HIV or AIDs programs  to provide substance abuse treatment for certain individuals.

Trump wants to see the number of opioid prescriptions cut by one-third within three years. He also called for expanding access to proven treatment and recovery efforts.

Awareness campaign

Trumps plan includes broadening education and awareness as well  something he called for last fall when he declared the opioid epidemic a public health emergency.

This awareness campaign includes broadcasting great commercials to scare kids from dabbling in drugs. Trump also announced the creation of a new website, CrisisNextDoor.gov, where people can share their stories about addiction.

Gary Mendell, founder and CEO of the nonprofit Shatterproof, said the crisis needs more attention and awareness, which the president can provide. An emergency declaration, he told Fox News, creates recognition ... and awareness around the country that this epidemic needs right now.

Past declarations

In October, Trump declared the crisis a national public health emergency, short of the national state of emergency sought by a presidential commission he put together to study the issue. It was renewed in January.

HHS has issued public health emergency declarations in the wake of natural disasters as well as the spread of diseases.

The agency issued its first declaration for the Zika virus in Puerto Rico in August 2016. It was last renewed in April 2017.

Public health emergencies were also declared in New York following Hurricane Sandy in November 2012 and in Missouri following a series of storms and tornadoes in May 2011.

Fox News' Elizabeth Llorente and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A top lawyer for President Trump slammed the special counsels office over the FBI raid of former campaign manager Paul Manaforts Virginia home, accusing investigators of committing a gross abuse of the judicial process for the sake of shock value  and employing tactics normally seen in Russia not America.

Trump attorney John Dowd leveled the complaints in an email sent to a Wall Street Journal reporter who wrote about the Manafort raid. The email was obtained by Fox News.

The email reflects Trumps legal team moving to protect the president, amid speculation that the raid could be part of a broader effort to squeeze Manafort for information on Trump.

"These methods are normally found and employed in Russia not America.  John Dowd, attorney for President Trump

Dowd, in his note, questioned the validity of the search warrant itself, calling it an extraordinary invasion of privacy. Dowd said Manafort already was looking to cooperate with congressional committees and said the special counsel never requested the materials from Manafort.

MANAFORT HOME RAIDED BY FEDS

These failures by Special Counsel to exhaust less intrusive methods is a fatal flaw in the warrant process and would call for a Motion to Suppress the fruits of the search, Dowd wrote, arguing the required necessity of the warrant was misrepresented to the Court which raises a host of issues involving the accuracy of the warrant application and the supporting FBI affidavit.

Dowd also said agents seized privileged and confidential materials prepared for Mr. Manafort by his counsel to aid him in his cooperation with the Congressional committees, adding:

Thus, it appears the Search Warrant here was obtained by a gross abuse of the judicial process by the Special Counsel's office. In addition, given the obvious unlawful deficiencies, this extraordinary invasive tool was employed for its shock value to try to intimidate Mr. Manafort and bring him to his needs. These methods are normally found and employed in Russia not America.

The special counsels office declined to comment when reached by Fox News.

It was revealed Wednesday that FBI agents had raided Manaforts Virginia home in late July, one day after he met voluntarily with members of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

The search warrant seems to indicate that investigators may have had reason to believe Manafort could not be trusted to turn over all of the records sought, The Washington Post reported.

Manafort resigned as Trumps campaign manager in August 2016 amid questions regarding his business dealings in Ukraine. Special Counsel Robert Mueller has taken over a criminal investigation into Manaforts financial dealings, which began even before the 2016 election, as he probes Russian meddling in the campaign and possible coordination with Trump associates.

Trump has tried to distance himself from Manafort, though the relationship between the two goes back years.

Andrew Napolitano, senior judicial analyst for Fox News, said Wednesday on Outnumbered that the raid indicates the FBI did not trust that Manafort would preserve the materials they wanted. Further, he speculated the pressure on Manafort could ultimately be part of an effort to get to Trump.

He said the danger for the president is that the FBI will indict Manafort "for something irrelevant to the campaign and the Russians and then squeeze him for what he knows that they can use against the president."

The tough note from Dowd regarding the search warrant is a departure from the tone set in recent days. Dowd earlier this week told USA Today that Trump and Mueller have sent messages back and forth and that Trump appreciates Muellers work.

A spokesman for Mueller told Fox News that there have been communications among special counsel attorneys and the presidents outside legal team, as well as the presidents special counsel, Ty Cobb. The spokesman told Fox News those communications have been very professional and very cooperative from both sides.

Fox News John Roberts and Brooke Singman contributed to this report.




A watchdog group is urging the Federal Election Commission to investigate the Democratic National Committee and a former consultant for allegedly soliciting illegal contributions from the Ukrainian government by seeking information about then-Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort.

The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT) filed a complaint with the FEC on Wednesday, accusing the DNC and former Ukrainian-American consultant Alexandra Chalupa of breaking federal law.

Chalupa was brought into the broader debate regarding Russia's 2016 election meddling and potential collusion with the Trump campaign when Politico published a report months ago revealing she met with officials in the Ukrainian Embassy last year.

According to FACTs complaint, a political officer in the Ukrainian Embassy was instructed to help Chalupa conduct opposition research on Trumps campaign -- specifically, to help expose ties between Manafort and Russia.

The Ukrainian Embassy in Washington, D.C., did not respond to Fox News' request for comment.

FACT alleged that Chalupa received improper in-kind contributions -- which they define as anything of value, including information and leads, the fruits of paid research, or similar investigatory activity to a political committee -- regarding Manafort while employed by the DNC.

Since Chalupa was being paid by the DNC at the time of the collusion, this constitutes an illegal, in-kind contribution, FACT said in a statement, noting federal law "prohibits accepting or receiving anything of value from foreign nationals."

FEC guidelines are broad regarding what can be considered an in-kind contribution but list advertising, print and consultant services, and more.

The FACT complaint also notes that the DNC subsequently acknowledged that they had knowledge of the research obtained by Chalupa on behalf of Ukrainian officials.

"We can tell that at, one point, someone from the DNC acknowledged the information, though they denied using it," FACT's general counsel, Kendra Arnold, told Fox News. "Were hopeful the FEC does a full investigation and gets to the bottom of what happened here."

The FEC told Fox News they have not yet received FACTs complaint.

Both Chalupa and the DNC have downplayed their involvement and pushed back against the allegations regarding collusion with the Ukrainian government.

Chalupa declined to comment for this article.

A DNC official told Fox News that Chalupa did not represent the DNC during her interactions with the Ukrainian embassy related to allegations of opposition research, and said the DNC did not receive research from the Ukrainian government either.

TRUMP'S NOT ALONE: CONGRESS DIGGING INTO DNC-UKRAINE CONNECTION

The DNCs claim that they did not use the information given to them by Ukrainian government official is preposterous and a bad excuse for breaking the law, Matthew Whitaker, FACTs executive director, told Fox News. The bottom line is a paid member of the DNC went to greath lengths to actively seek out opposition research on the Trump campaign from a foreign government and for that they should be held accountable.

The meeting resurfaced in the news last month, when President Trump began questioning why the Justice Department was not investigating Ukrainian efforts to sabotage his campaign amid the special counsel probe.

If theres been any evidence of collusion in 2016 actually happening, it would have been between the DNC and the Ukrainian government, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said last month.

But the DNC slammed the accusations and said the White House was pushing a narrative to distract from the Trump campaigns willingness to work with a hostile foreign government to interfere in our election.

No one is buying it, a DNC spokeswoman told Fox News. Trump and some of his family watched for months as the Kremlin attacked our democracy, and did nothing but encourage and celebrate their efforts.

WHITE HOUSE GOES ON OFFENSE, SLAMS DNC, CLINTONS FOR 'COLLUSION'

Also last month, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, penned a letter to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, asking about the extent to which Chalupa may have worked with Ukrainian officials to hurt the Trump campaign. Grassley also questioned whether the Justice Department was investigating Chalupa.

Last month, Chalupas attorney told Fox News the allegations were nothing more than misdirection from the Russia investigation.

Believe me, if there was anything to this Ukraine red herring, we wouldve heard about it a long time ago, Conrad Nowak, Chalupas attorney, said, noting that his client worked for the DNCs ethnic-American outreach. Chalupa was nothing more than an individual involved in ethnic relations, not unlike countless other ethnic and heritage communities throughout the United States.
A giant star near the center of our galaxy hints, once again, that Albert Einstein was correct about gravity.

A group of astronomers in Germany and the Czech Republic observed three stars in a cluster near the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy. Using data from the Very Large Telescope in Chile, among others, the researchers tracked how the stars moved as they went around the monster black hole.

One of the stars, called S2, showed slight deviations in its orbit that might indicate relativistic effects, scientists said. If the observations are confirmed, then it shows that Einstein's theory of general relativity holds even under extreme conditions  in gravity fields produced by objects like the galactic center's black hole, which contains the mass of 4 million suns. General relativity says that massive objects bend the space around them, causing other objects to deviate from straight lines they would follow absent any forces on them. [The Strangest Black Holes of the Universe]

"Most relativity tests are done with our sun and the stars, so they are in the 1-solar-mass or few-solar-mass[es] limit," Andreas Eckart, a professor of experimental physics at the University of Cologne in Germany, who led the research team, told Space.com. "Or with the [Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory] recently, that's a few 10s of solar masses."

The stars used in the observations are so close to the black hole that they move at 1 or 2 percent the speed of light, Eckart said, and they approach to within only about 100 times the Earth-sun distance of the black hole itself, which is quite close by galactic standards, he said. (Pluto averages about 39 times the Earth's distance from the sun, which is about 93 million miles or 150 million kilometers).

Using orbiting bodies to show relativistic effects is not new; observations of the planet Mercury in the 19th century showed that its movements deviated from what Isaac Newton's theory of gravity predicted. At first, astronomers thought they had evidence of another planet, which they dubbed Vulcan. Einstein was able to show in 1915 that relativity could explain the deviation.

Mercury's motions proved Einstein correct, but the sun's gravity is weak compared to that of a supermassive black hole. This is why Eckart and his team set out to see if Einstein's theory held up in a more extreme environment. While gravitational lensing, the bending of light by massive objects, shows that massive objects bend space, the recent research is the first time anyone has taken precise measurements of any object orbiting so close to a black hole.

The measurement itself is not as precise as it might be, Eckart said. Future work will get a better read on the stars' positions and narrow down the result. He said one plan is to get better spectrographic measurements, which would reveal S2's movement more precisely.

Follow us @Spacedotcom , Facebook and Google+ . Original article on Space.com .
Microsoft's Surface family suffered a major blow Thursday, August 10, as Consumer Reports not only pulled its recommendation forallSurface-branded products, but moved them into the dreaded "not recommended" category. The consumer watchdog publication cited concerns over longevity and a remarkably high failure rate in its statement summarizing its decision.

"New studies conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center estimate that 25 percent of Microsoft laptops and tablets will present their owners with problems by the end of the second year of ownership," Consumer Reports said.

To clarify, it's not just the new Surface Laptop that has drawn criticism from Consumer Reports, but the entire lineup -- the Surface, the Surface Pro, Surface Book,and the new Surface Laptop. These products are now "not recommended" by the consumer watchdog publication, but a few products in particular received even more devastating news, in that their previous recommendations are being reversed.

Both the Surface Laptop, 128GB and 256GB versions, and the Surface Book, 128 and 512GB versions, are losing their previous recommendations on account of their unusually high failure rates.

Microsoft defended its products, stating that the Surface lineup is more reliable than Consumer Reports claims.

"Microsoft's real-world return and support rates for past models differ significantly from Consumer Reports' breakage predictability," Microsoft told Consumer Reports. "We don't believe these findings accurately reflect Surface owners' true experiences or capture the performance and reliability improvements made with every Surface generation."

Microsoft's statement very carefully maneuvers around the Consumer Reports data, stating that the Surface improves with each generation, and that should be taken into account when considering failure rates.

Even if true, that avoids the question of currentreliability. Stating that a product's failure rate goes down with each successive generation doesn't exactly speak to the core issue -- that Surface products reportedly have a reputation for failing the people who buy them. The fact that they might fail less than they used to isn't going to matter to someone who just shelled out upwards of $1,000 on a product that might only last around two years.

One reason for the reportedly high failure rates could be that Microsoft is relatively new to PC manufacturing.

The reality is that Microsoft has very little experience in some of the newer categories its entering very rapidly, which may expose it to more risk of problems in manufacturing, a chief analyst at Jackdaw Research, Jan Dawson, told Reuters.

The problem here is that Consumer Reports and Microsoft each have their own data supporting their respective conclusions. Of course, only one of these two companies actually has a vested interest in people believing the Surface products are reliable. The other just wants to make sure you're able to make an informed decision about which products you buy.
Maine's Governor Paul LePage may be in hot water after censoring people on his official Facebook page.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Maine has filed a lawsuit against LePage on behalf of two women who say the governor deleted their comments on his Facebook page and blocked them from further commenting.

The ACLU says LePage uses his Facebook page, titled "Paul LePage, Maine's Governor," to perform government business, so blocking people who disagree with him "constitutes viewpoint discrimination and government censorship in violation of the US and Maine constitutions."

The ACLU of Maine sent a letter to LePage on July 24 demanding he stop censoring users on his page and restore blocked users. They requested a written response within two weeks and never received one.

The governor's office did not immediately respond to PCMag's request for comment, but posted a statement about the matter on Facebook arguing that the page is "Paul LePage's official politician page - not a government page."

"This page was started by volunteers in the governor's first campaign to support his candidacy," the statement reads. "After that time it became his official political page. This page has never been managed by taxpayer-funded state employees." The message goes on to say that the page "has always noted it is for those who support the governor."

The ACLU obviously disagrees. They argue that the page is, indeed, an official government page: the governor and his staff use the page to share information and press releases, the page has been "verified," and up until July 24 it was also linked to from the official Maine.gov website.

"Social media has quickly become a crucial tool for constituents to express their opinions to public officials," ACLU of Maine Attorney Meagan Sway said in a statement. "Free speech must be protected from government censorship on Facebook just as is it in any other public forum."

The suit comes after Facebook in March introduced a feature called Town Hall that helps people find and connect with their elected representatives and in June rolled out constituent badges to help elected officials find and connect with their constituents on the platform. Constituent badges are designed to help elected officials more easily identify comments from people who live in their district. If you opt to turn it on, a little badge will show up next to your name when you comment on content shared by your representatives.

This article originally appeared on PCMag.com.
Retro keyboards are becoming more popular and one startup has a promising design.

Elretron's Penna keyboard appears to have legs, outweighing the competition, thanks to its stunning design that comes amid a retro feel.

The keyboards appeal lies in its combination of old-time typewriter aesthetics with modern keyboard technology. And it promises to offer the opposite of the experience you get on Apples newest Butterfly MacBook keyboards, which have shallow key strokes to accommodate Apples thin designs.

IPHONE 8'S FIVE BEST (AND MOST LIKELY) FEATURES



The satisfying, solid click that the Penna and other retro keyboards aim for is derived from a mechanical switch. Keyboards with full individual switches date back decades, the best example being the old IBM Model M keyboard.

That set the standard for desktop PC keyboards throughout the 1980s and 1990s.

The Penna keyboard offers a choice of circular- or square-shaped keys as well as three switch options for different typing experiences. There are red, blue, or brown switches, with different colors for different levels of clickiness and resistance.

Elretron has also added a nice touch on the side of the device by including a lever that is reminiscent of the old typewriter levers used as a carriage return. In this case, its used to create macros for recording keystrokes that can automate frequently-used key combinations or words.

The Penna connects with Bluetooth and is designed to be compatible with devices running Windows, iOS and Android. In an idle state, it is expected to last on two AA-sized batteries up to 6 months, though the literature doesnt yet mention active battery life and the company did not respond to a request for comment about it.

HP'S VIRTUAL REALITY SIMULATOR WILL BUILD A COLONY ON MARS

As with any small crowdfunded startup, there is risk. The company must meet production target dates and compete in a competitive marketplace.

Our products [are] already validated byprototype [and] have been redesigned after additional modifications, the company says on its Web site. All manufacturing facilities are located in South Korea to maintain highest quality in production line, the company adds.

It comes in four colors and the Solid Basic Pack is listed at $119 if it's pre-ordered now, (but more if you buy after it ships).

It is slated to ship in December of this year.


Preparing teens for their futures with soft skills Businesses of every size and industry continue to identify labor shortages as a top challenge  across the country and...

Where to find non-partisan ballot information Thank you for your non-biased bullet points explaining the three state ballot proposals in "A look at the three state...
Police in Texas have arrested a Houston-area woman after identifying her in connection with two separate road rage incidents.

Amanda Downs, 25, of Baytown, was arrested in La Porte Friday and charged with assault with a deadly weapon.

Investigators say Downs was captured on video Aug. 2 pointing what appeared to be a gun out the window of a Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck at a fellow driver.

Officers recognized Downs from a previous road rage incident that had been reported last month. La Porte Police said both incidents took place on approximately the same stretch of State Road 225.

Detectives found Downs' truck in an industrial park, Fox 26 reported. The department said Downs confessed to her role in both incidents and gave up a weapon -- not a gun, but a folding knife cast in the shape of a handgun.

The accuser in the second incident, Ben McNeil, told KHOU that Downs created a dangerous situation.

"The La Porte Police Department wants to remind the motoring public that Road Rage can quickly escalate to the point where a person is seriously injured or killed," the department said in a statement. "If you are a victim of Road Rage, call 911 and immediately begin driving toward the nearest police station or public place."

Click for more from Fox 26.
The U.S. Coast Guard rescued a Navy pilot from water outside Key West Wednesday afternoon after his jet crashed, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

The Coast Guard was notified just after 1 p.m. that a Navy F-5N jet pilot was in the water, around 20 nautical miles southeast of Key West, and needed help.

Watchstanders with the 7th District Command Center diverted an Air Station Miami MH-65 Dolphin Helicopter crew and an HC-144 Ocean Sentry airplane crew to find the pilot, a news release from the Coast Guard said.

CUBAN DIPLOMATS KICKED OUT OF US AFTER AMERICANS EXPERIENCE 'PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS' IN CUBA

The pilot had shot off an emergency smoke signal and was spotted around 1:15 p.m. Soon afterwards, crews carefully lifted him from the water. He was brought to Lower Keys Medical Center in good condition, according to the statement.

The jets crash-landing now marks 13 non-combat crashes of U.S. military aircraft in 2017  up more than 50 percent during the last year, Fox News has learned.

Fox News' Lucas Tomlinson contributed to this report.
A former Alabama high school teacher who pleaded guilty in 2014 to sending sexual text messages to a teenage male student has been locked up again.

Authorities in Blount County arrested 35-year-old Crystal Gilliland Clowdus on Wednesday after she was discovered volunteering to be a classroom mom for her fifth-grade child at an elementary school, WBRC FOX6 reported.

Under Alabama law, registered sex offenders may not work or volunteer at schools or any facility that primarily serves children.

Clowdus is charged with a violation of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, according to jail records.

LOOPHOLE SETS FREE TEACHER, 27, WHO HAD VODKA-FUELED SEX ROMP WITH TEEN BOY STUDENT

The 35-year-old was arrested back in December 2013 on a charge of transmitting obscene material to a child, Al.com reported.

The 15-year-old student said at the time Clowdus sent him pictures on his cell phone, according to court records. In the pictures, Clowdus was nude and partially nude, and also sent text messages saying she would like to have sex with him, officials said.

She pleaded guilty in 2014 to transmitting obscene material to a minor, according to Al.com.

MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHER, 50, ARRESTED FOR SEX TRYST WITH TEEN BOY STUDENT

The ex-teacher received a 10-year sentence, but nine of those years were suspended, the news outlet reported

Following her one year in detention, Clowdus was ordered to have a five-year probation period and ordered to register as a lifetime sex offender in addition to surrendering her teaching license.
A California man convicted of rape in the late 1990s was arrested after it emerged he was working as a security guard at a rape counseling center, police said.

Damon Rodgers, 40, was arrested July 27 for carrying a gun and switchblade, according to ABC 7 Chicago. Rodgers is not allowed to possess those items because he is a convicted felon.

"He was followed down the street and ultimately pulled over by ourselves and units from the Southwest Policing District. Mr. Rodgers was cooperative. He was removed from his vehicle and was in possession of a loaded firearm," Sgt. Israel Reyes of the Fresno Police Department said.

Police also found Rodgers, who was convicted of rape and attempted rape in 1998 was employed at Rape Counseling Services in Fresno as a security guard, according to International Business Times.

HEART-STOPPING MOUNTAIN LION ENCOUNTER CAUGHT ON VIDEO

"Mr. Rodgers was in possession, and to our surprise, was working at Rape Counseling Services at the time," Reyes said.

Reyes said the counseling center was not aware of Rodgers convictions.

"They weren't aware of it, obviously, and they were very shocked, and I believe they immediately took action with the security company that they hired," Reyes said.

Officials were tipped off after a Tri County Security guard saw a Facebook post Rodgers wrote inquiring about a gun holder. The guard was aware of Rodgers history and contacted authorities.

DUNKIN DONUTS MIGHT BE CHANGING ITS NAME, STARTING WITH CALIFORNIA LOCATION

Rodgers received a guard card from the state in 2016 but under a modified name. He was charged with being a felon in possession of a gun, according to International Business Times.
A Florida group trying to preserve Confederate monuments is backing a new effort: erecting a statue of Snooty the manatee.

The only thing is, the Florida branch of Save Southern Heritage doesn't want a Snooty statue to replace a Confederate war memorial.

Snooty, the 69-year-old manatee, drowned last month after getting caught in a maintenance tube at a Bradenton museum. An online petition seeks to replace a Confederate monument at the Manatee County courthouse with a memorial to Snooty.

Save Southern Heritage issued a press release Thursday saying it supports a Snooty statue, just not at the courthouse.

Spokesman David McCallister says they have urged county officials not to move the Confederate monument, but Snooty also is part of Florida history and heritage. "We all loved Snooty," he said.
Critics of the sanctuary city crackdown say it will chill immigrants from helping ICE go after MS-13 gang members, but the feds say they have plenty of tools  including a change in visa status - to win cooperation from the immigrant community.

The options seem to be paying off, with investigators from ICEs Homeland Security Investigations saying immigrant cooperation is making a big difference in the fight against the lethal and ruthless MS-13 gang.

In an atmosphere where cooperating with law enforcement is a death sentence imposed by the gang, most illegal immigrants appear to be more concerned about how to obtain legal resident status than financial reward, said one investigator who declined to be identified.

But at the same time, critics warn that the visa tool should be used only sparingly, since it could lead to fraudulent claims.

One of the fierce defenders is Eddy Wang, Section Chief, HSI Contraband Smuggling and Gang Unit, who said, We wouldnt be able to close a good number of our cases without the cooperation of the immigrant community.

Gang members prey on the immigrant community by co-opting their children, exploiting the vulnerable with drugs, and violence. They dont want to be victims so they work with us.

Whats more, Wang said, contrary to the public perception that ICE/HSI agents conduct massive sweeps through illegal immigrant communities, they actually reach out to them and explain the options available to let them live without the specter of gang violence.

We have a very robust victim assistance and community outreach program that informs the illegal immigrant community what their options are for legal resident status if they cooperate with law enforcement, Wang said.

Among these are asylum, the S visa for witnesses and informants; T visa, which applies to victims of human trafficking; and the U visa, for victims of violence.

According to USCIS spokeswoman Anita Rios Moore, the agency holds webinars for law enforcement and stakeholder groups about the U-Visa and other immigration relief programs.In the last two years, USCIS has held 21 national webinars for more than 4,000 law enforcement officers, community groups, and practitioners, she said.

But Jessica Vaughn, Director of Policy Studies, Center for Immigration Studies, cautions against overly promoting the program due to the high risk of fraud and says law enforcement has other options.

I think it is a good tool if used sparingly to reward people who are critical in especially significant prosecutions, not just as a back-door green card for anyone who has been the victim of a crime, Vaughn said. Experience shows when it is promoted, large numbers of people try to use it as a way to stay here, even if they have nothing significant of value to offer in any case.

Vaughn said people will go so far as to make up stories of being victimized and shop around for a police department that will sign off on the U visa application.

According to Vaughn, ICE often prefers Significant Public Benefit Parole because they have more control over the witness and they can withhold or terminate the benefit if the witness becomes uncooperative or turns out to have nothing worthwhile to help the case. If the U visa were offered instead, they cant take it back easily and the victim could clam up, leaving them with nothing.

Any police department can tell you stories of fraudulent victimization claims to try to get the visa, she said. I assure you, if there is an appropriate possibility to use it in a gang case, ICE is already on top of it.

Wang countered by saying fraud is difficult because ultimately law enforcement has to verify and sign off on the victims application.

Wang said he was frustrated by what he thought was the distortion of the program by special interest groups, adding the primary role of HSI in fighting crime was to work with victims, regardless of their immigration status, and arrest criminals.

We dont check the immigration status of victims or witnesses, Wang said. When you politicize public safety theres no winners, just losers.

Effective suppression of MS-13 relies heavily on the cooperation of residents in the Central American community and even gang members themselves looking to save their own skin or escape the clutches of a violent culture. But in order to achieve this bond of trust, a viable carrot must be offered.

Wang said HSI is now seeing the fruit of these labors.
In a rebuke of President Donald Trump, Republican Sen. John McCain declared Thursday that "America is adrift in Afghanistan" as he promoted a war strategy that would expand the U.S. counterterrorism effort and provide greater support to Afghan security forces.

McCain, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said the U.S. needs to put strict conditions on continued assistance to Afghanistan, and require the Kabul government to demonstrate "measurable progress" in curbing corruption, strengthening the rule of law and improving financial transparency.

"Nearly seven months into President Trump's administration, we've had no strategy at all as conditions on the ground have steadily worsened," said McCain, a leading voice in Congress on national security matters. "The thousands of Americans putting their lives on the line in Afghanistan deserve better from their commander in chief."

McCain said bluntly, "We are losing in Afghanistan and time is of the essence if we intend to turn the tide."

The Arizona lawmaker said he'll seek a vote on his "strategy for success" in Afghanistan when the Senate returns in September and takes up the annual defense policy bill.

His plan calls for sending in more U.S. combat forces, although he doesn't say how many. But McCain wants them to be less constrained in carrying out missions against the Taliban, al-Qaida, a growing Islamic State affiliate and other extremists.

The plan, McCain said, is to "deny, disrupt, degrade, and destroy the ability of terrorist groups to conduct attacks against the United States, its allies, or its core interests."

Frustrated by his options, Trump has withheld approval of a long-delayed strategy as he searches for a plan that will end the stalemate and allow U.S. forces to pull out of America's longest war. It's been nearly 16 years since the United States invaded the then Taliban-ruled country in response to the al-Qaida attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

The United States has about 8,400 troops in Afghanistan. Trump has so far resisted the Pentagon's recommendations to send almost 4,000 more to expand training of Afghan military forces and bolster U.S. counterterrorism operations. The deployment has been held up amid broader strategy questions, including how to engage regional powers in an effort to stabilize Afghanistan.

These powers include U.S. friends and foes, from Pakistan and India to China, Russia and Iran. Pentagon plans aren't calling for a radical departure from the limited approach endorsed by former President Barack Obama, and several officials have credited Trump with rightly asking tough questions, such as how the prescribed approach might lead to success.

McCain, however, has grown increasingly impatient. During a committee hearing in June, he told Defense Secretary Jim Mattis that he had been confident the administration would deliver a plan for Afghanistan within a month or two after taking office.

"So all I can tell you is that unless we get a strategy from you, you're going to get a strategy from us," McCain said at the time.

Mattis said he understood the urgency and acknowledged, "We are not winning in Afghanistan right now."

The amendment he plans to propose adding to the defense policy bill calls for a "long-term, open-ended" U.S.-Afghanistan partnership that includes an "enduring U.S. counterterrorism presence."

He also recommends expanding U.S. training assistance to the Afghan security forces so they can capably fight the Taliban and other militant groups. McCain proposes longer-term support that will allow the Afghans to develop and expand their own intelligence, logistics, special forces and airlift operations.

McCain's approach envisions better harnessing U.S. military and civil strengths in pursuit of a negotiated peace process that leads to Afghan political reconciliation and eventual diplomatic resolution to the war.

He also proposes to punish neighboring Pakistan with graduated diplomatic, military and economic costs "as long as it continues to provide support and sanctuary to terrorist and insurgent groups, including the Taliban and the Haqqani network."

Among the Taliban's factions, the strongest is the Haqqani network, which has deep ties to Pakistan and its intelligence agency. The relationship dates to the 1980s Afghan war against the Soviet Union, which had sent in more than 100,000 soldiers to support the pro-communist Afghan government.

___

Contact Richard Lardner on Twitter: http://twitter.com/rplardner
A newly released report is urging state, local, and federal governments to allow sites where people can inject themselves with drugs under supervision as part of an effort to prevent overdose deaths  but cities are hesitant to agree.

A safe consumption site already has opened at an undisclosed U.S. urban area and a report in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine reported life-saving benefits for drug users as well as improved conditions for the surrounding community.

The study was approved by University of California, San Diego, and monitored by Alex Kral, an epidemiologist at RTI International and Peter Davidson, a medical sociologist at UC San Diego School of Medicine.

The results were released Tuesday in an evaluation of the site since it began in September 2014.

The site has overseen 2,574 injections by more than 100 users, with only two overdoses that were revived by naloxone - the reverse-overdose drug - by supervisors. The majority of participants were white, homeless males who most commonly used heroin as their drug of choice.

The doctors concluded that the site prevented injection-related injury and disease among the users and averted public shoot-ups. They argued that under a sanctioned site, they would be able to serve more people, provide more services, and unveil the full benefits the sites have to offer.

So they called on lawmakers to break down the barriers blocking injection sites from being implemented.

It is time for local, state, and federal governments to consider removing legal barriers such that a comprehensive pilot of this innovative intervention can be implemented, Kral and Davidson wrote in the report.

Modeled on the safe consumption site in Vancouver, Seattles King County passed a plan in January to open the first two injection sites in the United States.

That brought a quick response from lawmakers in Seattle, who began opting out of the proposal to host one of the sites.

As of Tuesday, three cities within the county voted pre-emptively to ban injection sites.

Federal Way council member Martin A. Moore represents the most recent county to push back against injection sites. He said such an implementation would be a warm welcome to drug dealing, property crime, violence, prostitution, and urban blight in the community.

The injection-site idea is an unproven, extreme experiment with questionable benefits and huge, huge drawbacks, Moore told Fox News in an email.

The Initiative 27 coalition also launched a campaign in May to pass a ban on illegal drug consumption sites in King County and has obtained 70,000 signatures.

Democrats and Republicans alike agree that this is the wrong direction for the county, campaign manager Keith Schipper told Fox News.

The not in my backyard sentiment is fundamentally rooted in the nations stigma against substance abuse, according to Northeastern University Professor of Law and Health Sciences Leo Beletsky. He predicts that safe consumption spaces must undergo the same process as marijuana legalization and reveal its effects from a couple of pioneering sites, then scale up across the nation.

Law did not lead, innovation happened first, Beletsky told Fox News. [Marijuana] experimentation helped to advocate and create the evidence that then changed the law. Waiting for state and federal reform to implement is not how progress has been made.

In the American Journal of Public Health, Beletsky reported that evidence of existing facilities have shown promise in reducing harms and social costs associated with injection drug use.

Ten countries, Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and Switzerland, have had ongoing experimentation with consumption spaces.

What the research has shown from the ten countries who have had these sites from the last two decades is that they help the communities, Kral told Fox. It reduces public injections, needles in the streets, crime and violence in the neighborhood, demand for ambulance services - and people who use these services are less likely to overdose, less likely to get infectious diseases and more likely to get involved in drug treatment.

In the U.S., California, New York City, Boston and Ithaca, N.Y., have dabbled with the idea, but none has taken official steps towards implementation.

The leading contributor to the epidemic is the nations health care system, according to the Opioid Commission led by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. In a letter addressed to the president, Christie cited a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration report that four out of every five new heroin users began with prescription opioid abuse.

President Trump on Thursday said he was declaring the opioid crisis a national emergency. Doing so was the most urgent recommendation in a letter sent last week to the president by his own opioid commission.
A high school teacher in Utah arrested earlier this year for a tryst with a 17-year-old male student is out of jail due to a legal technicality.

Sarah Lewis, a former teacher at Landmark High School in Spanish Fork, admitted to having sexual intercourse with the male student in her Payson home, according to a probable cause statement obtained by KUTV.

The 27-year-old admitted in court to giving the student vodka prior to having sex, and then told the teen to deny their relationship if anyone ever asked.

She was originally arrested in January and charged with rape, which was later reduced to one count of forcible sexual abuse. The ex-teacher's public defender, Tom Means, advised her to enter a plea of guilty, meaning she would face between 1 and 15 years in state prison.

MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHER, 50, ARRESTED FOR SEX TRYST WITH TEEN BOY STUDENT

But Means then found an amended statute in Utah Code that states, "if a minor is 16 or 17 years old, the rape charge can be reduced to Unlawful Sexual Conduct, when applied to a person who holds a relationship of special trust: such as an adult teacher, employee, or volunteer," according to court documents obtained by KUTV.

Utah law applies stricter punishments if there is more than a seven year age gap between the minor and the offender.

The ex-teacher was then charged with a third degree felony instead of the first degree rape felony, and released with no further jail time.

A local defense attorney told KUTV the change in the law creates balance, and isn't a loophole.

"Legislators have taken the teacher portion out of the equation," Stephen R. Allred, a defense attorney with Zabriskie Law Firm, told KUTV. "I don't consider this a loophole. These 16 and 17 year olds do have a choice, and they have chosen to engage in this."

ONE-TIME 'TEACHER OF THE YEAR' GETS 10 YEARS IN JAIL OVER TEEN BOY SEX PARTIES

County prosecutors however believe anyone under the age of 18 can't legally consent to sexual activity.

"Lewis occupied a position of special trust as a teacher," Deputy Utah County Attorney Ryan Peters told the television station.

Lewis taught at Landmark High School, an alternative school with about 340 students in grades 10-12, and the schools website listed her as a social studies teacher and dance instructor, according to FOX13 Salt Lake City.

Lana Hiskey of the Nebo School District told FOX13 that Lewis was hired in 2014 and taught girls and boys dance classes in a program Lewis created.
A former counterterrorism expert for Turkeys national police said the Islamic State is getting smarter about bypassing Western security and that events like last months failed terror plot in Australia are likely to occur more frequently.

Ahmet S. Yaylas comments in the Wall Street Journal came after reports emerged last week that the attempted terrorist attack in Australia involved explosives shipped from Turkey.

Yayla said he believes that as ISIS fighters are driven out of places like Mosul and Raqqa, the group will be more likely to mobilize its sympathizers around the globe.

GUAMS GOVERNOR DISMISSES N. KOREAN THREAT, CALLS IT POSITION OF FEAR

The governor of Guam, Eddie Calvo, said Thursday there was no heightened threat on the island following North Koreas warning that it would develop a plan by mid-August to launch four missiles at the U.S. Pacific territory.

Calvo dismissed the claims, saying they came from a "position of fear."

North Korea released a statement Wednesday saying it would complete its plan to attack waters near Guam within a week, adding that the action against Guam would be an effective remedy for restraining the frantic moves of the U.S.

JAPAN READY TO PROTECT GUAM, DEFENSE MINISTER SAYS

Japans new defense minister said Thursday that his nation's military could shoot down a missile before it reaches Guam, further undermining North Koreas latest threat.

Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said that, in such a scenario, Japan has the right to activate its Aegis destroyer missile defense system because any attack on Guam would be considered an existential threat to Japan. He also cited Japan's mutual defense agreement with the U.S.

President Trump had pledged earlier this week to meet any threats from North Korea with a response of fire and fury.

DB COOPER MYSTERY: POTENTIAL PHYSICAL EVIDENCE UNCOVERED IN SEARCH

A crew of volunteer cold-case investigators, led by a former FBI agent, say they believe they have discovered potential evidence in the 46-year-old mystery of D.B. Cooper.

On Nov. 24, 1971, a man who called himself Dan Cooper hijacked a Northwest Orient Boeing 727 and demanded a $200,000 ransom. After receiving the money, the man jumped out of the plane wearing a suit and a parachute.

Thomas Colbert, a TV and film executive, along with his team, claim to have found a potential strap that was located right where a credible sources claimed the chute and remaining money are buried.

No traces of Cooper have ever been found, aside from some bundles of cash that were recovered in the 1980s.

TRUMP BLASTS MCCONNELL OVER EXCESSIVE EXPECTATIONS REMARK, SOURCE SAYS

President Trump criticized Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in a phone call Wednesday morning, after McConnell suggested the president suffers from excessive expectations about what both chambers of Congress can get done.

A source told Fox News that the 10-minute phone call consisted of the president telling McConnell he did not appreciate the criticism and still expects GOP leaders to push for repealing ObamaCare.

Trump also expressed disappointment with Sen. John McCain, who cast a decisive vote that ultimately killed the most recent attempt at repealing ObamaCare.

FBN COVERAGE

PIZZA WARS: WHY DOMINOS COULD PASS PIZZA HUT AS INDUSTRY LEADER

BASEBALL EXECS SAY MARLINS BIDDERS SHRINKING, PRICE TAG HOVERS AT $1B

ELVIS PRESLEYS FORMER BEVERLY HILLS ESTATE FOR RENT

COMING UP ON FBN

7:30 a.m. ET  Sir Martin Sorrell, WPP CEO, will be on Mornings with Maria.

4:00 p.m. ET  Eddie Calvo, Governor of Guam, will be on After the Bell.
Officials in New Orleans urged residents Thursday to move their vehicles to higher ground in certain neighborhoods, amid continued problems with the city's water pumps that has forced two officials out -- as more rain is due.

Mayor Mitch Landrieu's office said in a news release the city has lost service to one of its turbines, which powers most of the pumping stations that service the East Bank of New Orleans.

As a result of the power outage, the systems capacity to drain storm water from the streets is diminished. Currently, five of the sewerage and water board's six turbines are out of service, according to FOX 8. All but two were out of service before the fire and resulting otage.

The lone turbine, along with power from Entergy, can still power 38 of the citys 58 available pumps located west of the Industrial Canal, city officials said at a press conference.

"We are at risk if we have a massive rain event that comes up at the last minute and creates the kind of flooding we had," Landrieu told reporters, referring to flooding the city experienced during the weekend. "The power we have available to us now will not be enough to pump the city out in the time needed."

The mayor said the city will be vulnerable for the next 24 to 48 hours, FOX8 reported.

This could be as early as later [Thursday], or it could be longer. We just do not know yet, Landrieu said.

The Orleans Parish School Board closed schools and its central administrative offices Thursday because of diminished pumping capacity, according to FOX 8.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said at a news conference he signed a declaration of emergency "out of an abundance of caution."

"This is a serious situation," he said, but stressed now is not the time to panic.

The city's municipal pumping system is supposed to move water out of the low-lying city, and is separate from the $14.5 billion spent in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, as reported in the New York Times, to construct levees, flood walls, gates and pumps to block storm surge from tropical systems.

The Gulf Coast is in the middle of hurricane season, and thunderstorms are also prevalent in New Orleans during August.

Crews were on site Thursday working to repair the downed turbine and secure backup power to restore power to the pumping stations, FOX8 reported.

We are going to do everything in our power to secure this additional equipment and to get the plant back in order," Landrieu said.

Due to the potentially severe weather that could result from high water, residents were being told to call 911 to report street flooding and life-threatening emergencies. Residents were also being advised to remain indoors during heavy rainfall.

"The chief has been instructed to make sure that the police department is ready and prepared in the case that we need them. Chief McConnell has been instructed to have the fire department ready," Landrieu said.

Earlier this week, city officials said the water-pumping system was fully operational, and all 24 pumping stations were working at full capacity.

But after the system failed to keep up with a storm during the weekend that dropped 9.4 inches of rain in three hours, the truth about the state of the water pumps began to emerge.

Despite what the public had been led to believe, city council members were then told that pumping stations in two of the hardest-hit areas went down to half- to two-thirds capacity on Saturday, according to FOX8.

"It is unacceptable that the public was not only uninformed, but misinformed as to our drainage system functionality during the flood," Council Member LaToya Cantrell said in a statement Wednesday.

The disclosure has had a ripple effect on the water authority, NOLA.com reported.

Cedric Grant, one of Mayor Mitch Landrieu's top deputies and the head of the Sewerage & Water Board, told the city council at the start of its meeting Tuesday he would retire at the end of hurricane season, which lasts through November.

Public Works Director Mark Jernigan submitted his resignation shortly after the meeting, when he was asked whether his agency had done enough to clean the catch basins that feed the drainage system.

Landrieu said he also wanted the board to fire Joseph Becker, the Sewerage & Water Board's general superintendent.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A North Carolina woman was released from jail Tuesday, a day after allegedly dumping a pot of boiling water on children she believed were involved in criminal activities, police said.

Sekia Wadsworth, 34, allegedly threw the scalding water on the children around 9:20 p.m. Monday while they were in an Asheville apartment, Fox Carolina reported. Police said Wadsworth thought the children "had engaged in criminal activity."

The children, ages 11 and 12, received non-life threatening injuries, WLOS reported.

Wadsworth was arrested later that night and charged with assault inflicting serious injury and assault on a child under 12.

Wadsworth posted $4,000 bail Tuesday night and was released.

It's not clear if or how she may have known the children.
An NYPD cop was shot in Brooklyn by a deranged man with a rifle  who opened fire on him moments after he entered his apartment  and then barricaded himself inside before taking his own life, police said.

Officer Hart Nguyen, of the 75th Precinct, was hit twice in the bulletproof vest and once in the arm while responding to a call of an emotionally disturbed person at a residence in 149 Ridgewood Ave. in Cypress Hills, the sources said.

He was rushed to Jamaica Hospital and was expected to survive.

The vest definitely saved him, Mayor de Blasio said at a press conference on Thursday night.

It was initially unclear if anyone else was inside the apartment while the suspect was holed up, but sources said it was the mans mother who called the police on him.

The mother called 911 because her sons an EDP, a source explained. When [the officer] gets into the apartment, he comes out of the bedroom shooting.

Police officials later revealed that the worried woman had told cops that her son was not violent  and unarmed  but acting erratically.

Click here for more from The New York Post.

Click for more from Fox 5.
Sparks flew Tuesday night at a Nevada city council meeting, but it had nothing to do with what was being discussed.

In the midst of the Boulder City council meeting, a woman's purse erupted into flames and smoke billowed as it was perched on her lap, startling attendees, some of whom screamed and jumped.

The purse was tossed on the ground, singeing the carpet and leaving burn marks on the sidewalk outside, FOX 5 Las Vegas reported.

"I just knew something was wrong. I saw the smoke and said: 'That's not right,'" Boulder City Fire Chief Kevin Nicholson told FOX 5. "It was an exciting and unique evening."

Nicholson said the woman only suffered minor burns on her leg, and did not have to go to the hospital. After the purse was extinguished, the meeting was able to continue.

As to the cause of the incident, Nicholson said the woman's cell phone was fine, but a battery in her purse somehow malfunctioned and burst into flames.

The fire chief recommended that people should make sure they are following manufacturer's recommendations in storing batteries for devices.

"You do need to be careful what you do put in your purse, and I know a lot of people like to bring a lot of things with them," Nicholson said.
A school board in Portland, Ore., has dropped Lynch from the names of two elementary schools, claiming it had negative connotations and made some people feel uncomfortable.

The move Wednesday evening by the Centennial School Districts board also included a slight alteration to the name of a third school.

But the move has sparked criticism, including on social media, from some community residents and former students.

They claim the boards decision is a sign of political correctness running amok.

The district had received complaints in recent years that the names of Lynch Meadows Elementary School, Lynch View Elementary School and Lynch Wood Elementary School reminded them too much of lynch mobs and lynchings, conjuring the image of people being hanged by an angry mob, KATU reported.

All three schools were named after the Lynch family, who donated land for the schools more than a century ago.

Theres disagreement over the derivation of lynch mob and lynching. Some say it started with an 18th century politician named Charles Lynch, NPR reported. Others link the words to Capt. William Lynch, an 18th century Virginian who was a proponent of quickly dispensed justice  although accounts vary.

Complaints suggested that the names of Lynch Meadows Elementary School, Lynch View Elementary School and Lynch Wood Elementary School could make people feel uncomfortable as the word "lynch" has negative associations.

On Wednesday, the school board agreed to drop Lynch from both Lynch Meadows and Lynch Wood Elementary. But it agreed to rename Lynch View Elementary as Patrick Lynch Elementary School, KOIN 6 reported.

As Sharlene Giard, the school boards chairwoman, told the community Wednesday: We have children of color and other cultures and we want to make sure that they are able to cross the threshold of those three schools and be comfortable in their surroundings.

We have children of color and other cultures and we want to make sure that they are able to cross the threshold of those three schools and be comfortable in their surroundings.  Sharlene Giard, chairwoman, Centennial School District

But after the school boards decision, community members voiced their dissatisfaction.

Im just disheartened because where will it stop? one local resident said, according to KOIN 6. Any moment someone could be offended by any name. Do we keep changing the name of everything? That would be the question, right?"

Its official. We are now Meadows Elementary School. I wont change the name of the group! wrote Andrea Vaughn in a Facebook group called Lynch Meadows Elementary School Alumni.

Another former student, Rob Grimes, criticized the school district on its Facebook page, calling the boards decision pure ignorance. He accused the board of disrespecting the Lynch family that donated the land.

"This isn't even a matter of political correctness because it wouldn't apply or make sense in this case, Grimes wrote. This is just pure ignorance and playing to the fears or concerns of the very few.
The second suspect in a reported rape at a University of Central Florida "Christmas in July" frat party turned himself in to police Wednesday night.

Antonio Candido, 22, a UCF alum, was arrested on charges of sexual battery and false imprisonment, FOX35 Orlando reported.

Candido's arrest comes a day after 22-year-old Alpha Tau Omega member Alexander Garces appeared before a judge. Garces is also charged with sexual battery and false imprisonment.

The woman who alleged she was raped reported the attack on Friday, though the incident allegedly occurred on July 22.

Also on Wednesday, UCF suspended the frat at the center of the incident -- the third time in five years the on-campus group has been disciplined.

UCF officials sent letters to Alpha Tau Omega, accusing the fraternity of lying after the woman reported the rape to police last month.

The letters obtained by The Orlando Sentinel state the fraternity withheld information or provided false, misleading, incomplete or incorrect information to university workers or police.

The school also accused the fraternity of violations including disruptive conduct and underage drinking. A hearing scheduled for Aug. 23 will determine whether the suspension stands.

FLORIDA COPS HUNT FOR SECOND MAN IN REPORTED RAPE AT UCF FRATERNITY PARTY

The fraternity released a statement Wednesday obtained by the Orlando Sentinel, saying it would work with the school and that Garces has also been suspended by the group.

The fraternity will continue to work with UCF officials, and will take part in the August 23rd hearing, the statement said. The second man being sought by police is an alumnus of the chapter, and his membership has been suspended by the fraternity.

A letter from the university obtained by the Sentinel said the interim suspension was unusual, but is used where the welfare of any individual, the student body, or any part of the university or its community is concerned.

It is important for the parties affiliated...to actively support the student conduct process as we seek an appropriate resolution that will further underscore the value of being members of the fraternity and sorority life community at the University of Central Florida, the letter reads.

Police said Garces invited the woman upstairs during the party with the other man -- now identified as Candido -- and, once in the bedroom, the woman told police that Garces became "very aggressive," according to the arrest report.

UCF FRATERNITY MEMBER ACCUSED OF RAPING STUDENT AT CAMPUS PARTY

When they entered the room, one of the men allegedly locked the door and began blasting music from a cellphone. Garces sat on the couch, forcefully pulled the victim's legs toward him and started touching her sexually, according to the report.

The woman performed oral sex on Garces, hoping it would stop the attack, police said. But Garces continued to be aggressive.

Garces eventually left the room, but Candido then allegedly forced the woman onto the bed, pinning her down and raping her.

The woman fled the party when Candido abruptly left. Police said surveillance footage corroborated what the woman described after she said she was raped, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

Fox News' Katherine Lam and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
China's government expressed "strong dissatisfaction" with the U.S. on Friday over the U.S. Navy's latest "freedom of navigation" operation in the South China Sea.

On Thursday, a U.S. Navy official said the destroyer USS John S. McCain sailed past Mischief Reef, one of China's man-made islands in waters that China claims it controls.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said in a statement the U.S. move undermined Chinese sovereignty and security and endangered the safety of frontline personnel from both sides.

China routinely protests such operations, which President Donald Trump's administration has continued partly to reassure allies locked in territorial disputes with Beijing.

Geng said the Chinese navy "identified the U.S. warship, warned and expelled it."

With all eyes on North Korea, and President Trump promising "fire and fury" for Pyongyang over its nuclear and missile programs, the U.S. Navy quietly dispatched the USS John S. McCain, a guided-missile destroyer, within 12 nautical miles of Mischief Reef.

It was the third time the Pentagon has conducted a "freedom of navigation" challenging China's claims in the region since Trump took office. Fox News first reported the previous incident in July.

A US Navy P-8 reconnaissance plane flew nearby to monitor Thursday's operation, according to a separate defense official. It did not take part in the operation

USS Dewey, another guided-missile destroyer, sailed by Mischief Reef in May.

Twelve nautical miles from shore marks the territorial boundary for all nations. Since the U.S. and international community reject China's claim to the island and the surrounding sea, the passage of a U.S. destroyer close by the island amounts to a protest of sort, known as a "freedom of navigation" operation in Pentagon argot.

China has built seven artificial islands in the region in the past few years.

Reuters first reported the Thursday operation.

The warship is named after the father and grandfather of U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who were both U.S. Navy admirals. The senator visited the warship in Vietnam in June.

The official said this latest freedom of navigation operation was planned in the past few weeks. They have been occurring roughly each month since May.

Trump has been calling on China to do more to rein in North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs, but with little success.

The Trump administration did manage to get China and Russia's support for a unanimous 15-0 UN Security Council resolution last weekend which aimed to take $1 billion in exports away from the rogue communist regime.

This story includes reporting from the Associated Press.


An Indiana Walmart has apologized after a photo went viral showing a sign on a gun display that read: Own The School Year Like A Hero.

Walmarts corporate office said the store has taken down the sign. The office apologized over Twitter after users tweeted the photo at the store giant demanding answers, according to The New York Daily News.

INDIANA MAN ACCUSED IN OFFICER DEATH MAY FACE DEATH PENALTY

This REALLY isnt acceptable, Walmart wrote to a concerned tweeter. The signs gone and were looking into how this could have happened.

Walmart wrote to another upset social media user: The sign had no business there and was taken down as soon as we were alerted. We are very sorry."

INDIANA TEEN GIRL MURDERS: TIP LEADS TO CONFESSION IN DECADE-OLD COLD CASE

Leeanna May, who posted a picture of the sign, told the Washington Post she saw the display at a Walmart in Evansville. However, Charles Crowson, senior manager of Walmarts corporate communications, told Fox News the photo was not taken at the Evansville store. Crowson said Walmart is actively searching to identify the store.



The sign over the gun display evoked grim memories of the multiple school shootings that have occurred in the U.S. Some users on social media initially questioned if the photo was even real, or if it was photoshopped to slander the store, WTHR reported.

Whats seen in this photograph would never be acceptable in our stores, Crowson told Fox News. We regret this situation and are looking into how it could have happened.
North Korea launched what it called a successful missile in August that flew over Japan and into the northern Pacific Ocean  an apparent threat to Guam, according to its state run media.

After the launch, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for even more weapons launches targeting the Pacific Ocean to advance his countrys ability to contain the U.S. territory of Guam, state media said.

The launch seemed designed to show that North Korea can back up a threat to target Guam, if it chooses to do so, while also establishing a potentially dangerous precedent that could see future missiles flying over Japan.

Guam, a U.S. territory in the western Pacific Ocean, is tiny  but its strategic location is of great importance, especially to the U.S. military.

Heres a rundown on the island and its significance.

Location

Roughly 2,100 miles south of North Korea, Guam is one of the U.S. territories closest to Asia.

Guam, which is 210 square miles, is nearly 4,000 miles west of Hawaii.

Its proximity to China, Japan, the Philippines and the Korean Peninsula has long made the island an essential position for the U.S. military.

Military importance

Reportedly called Americas permanent aircraft carrier by military commanders, Guam is home to some 7,000 U.S. service members. Its total population is more than 162,000, according to the latest census data.

The U.S. keeps a Naval base and Coast Guard station in the south, and an Air Force base in the north that saw heavy use during the Vietnam War.

While already taking up 30 percent of the island, the American military has been seeking to increase its presence by relocating thousands of Marines, who are currently based in Okinawa, Japan, to Guam.

Former Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work said in 2014 that Guam increasingly has become a strategic hub for the U.S. military.

Guam has always been a central part of our plans, Work said then. Certainly, a central part of the Navys plans, but now a central part of the entire Department of Defenses plans.

Guam is also armed with the U.S. Armys missile defense system  known as the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD  the same system recently installed in South Korea.

While the 162,000 Guamanians on the island rely primarily on tourism, the U.S. military is also essential to the islands economy.

Relationship with the U.S.

Though Guam was initially claimed by Spain in 1565, it became a U.S. territory in 1898 during the Spanish-American War.

Japan seized it for more than two years during World War II. But in 1950, an act of Congress made it an unincorporated organized territory of the United States.

Guam has limited self-government, with a popularly elected governor, small legislature and a non-voting delegate in the U.S. House of Representatives. Residents do not pay U.S. income taxes or vote in the general election for president, but they are U.S. citizens by birth.

Guams response

Despite the growing concerns and threats, Guamanians feel reassured and protected by the military.

"I feel that the presence of the military on Guam will help us a lot," said Virgie Matson, 51, a resident of Dededo, Guam's most populated village. "They are here to protect the islands, just in case something happens."

A missile launched from North Korea would only take about 14 minutes to reach the island, Guam Homeland Security spokeswoman Jenna Gaminde told the Pacific Daily News. And if a missile would be fired, Guam residents would be notified immediately through alert sirens.

In an interview with Fox News, Guam Gov. Eddie Calvo dismissed the continuing threats from North Korea, chalking them up to the nations position of fear.

There is a defense umbrella contained within South Korea, there is a defense umbrella for Japan, there are naval assets between Korea, Japan and Guam, and there is a missile defense system of Guam that make up a multi-level defensive umbrella, Calvo said.

Calvo thanked Trump for his support in a recent phone call and said "everyone should be unifying behind our president."

"Mr. President, as the governor of Guam representing the people of Guam and as an American citizen, I have never felt more safe or as confident with you at the helm," Calvo said. "We need a president like you, so I'm just so thankful, and I'm glad you're holding the helm, sir."

Trump responded that Guam shouldn't "have to worry about a thing." He also said tourism in Guam will "go up ten-fold."

Guam Lt. Gov. Ray Tenorio called Kim Jong Un the demon in the rising tensions and said threats from North Korea arent uncommon.

We know that multiple layers of defense that protect our island, along with the rest of our partners and our allies in the region, we have confidence in them, Tenorio told Fox Business.

"An attack or threat to Guam is a threat or attack on the United States," Calvo, who has been in contact with White House officials said. "They have said that America will be defended."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Government authorities arrested six individuals in Iran for allegedly teaching Western dance moves, including Zumba, and creating videos which they uploaded and posted on social media.

The six, four men and two women, were reportedly detained by Irans Revolutionary Guard officers in the town of Sharhoud in the northeastern Semnan province late Tuesday, according to Iranian media.

A team teaching Western dance moves to boys and girls and uploading clips to social media applications such as Telegram and Instagram have been arrested, Hamid Damghani, a local Guards commander said, adding that the group also sought to promote an alternative lifestyle including not wearing the Hijab, a compulsory Muslim head covering for women in Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Zumba, a Latin American dance and fitness program, has become popular globaly in recent years, with estimates of 15 million people taking Zumba classes across 180 countries each week.

More recently, Zumba classes were outlawed by Irans Sports for All Federation for being contrary to Islamic precepts.

Click for more from The Foreign Desk.
As Iraqi Kurds count down the weeks until their landmark independence referendum, U.S. and Baghdad officials are warning the non-binding vote could be undermine the fight against ISIS.

Kurds, concentrated in the northern part of the war torn nation, maintain a semi-autonomous region that relies on funding from Baghdad. The Kurds, who number nearly 6 million in Iraq, have been instrumental in the battle to expel ISIS from its stronghold of Mosul and surrounding cities and villages, working with both Baghdad and the U.S. The vote for independence is set for Sept. 25.

The referendum is going to be held because of Kurdish peoples intense heartiness for being independent."  Sami Ergoshi, spokesman for the KRG Prime Minister, Nichervan Barzani

The Iraqi Kurdistan Government is a strategic partner in our common fight against ISIS in Iraq. That being said, the U.S. continues to support a federal, prosperous, unified and democratic Iraq. We do not support a referendum at this time, a State Department official told Fox News this week. A referendum now, even this non-binding one, could have catastrophic consequences for Baghdad-Erbil cooperation that is essential to defeat ISIS.

Communication between Baghdads Iraqi Forces and the Kurdish capital Erbils Peshmerga to defeat ISIS  which still holds some 30 percent of the total territory it once controlled inside Iraq  is crucial. Yet, the Baghdad and Kurdish governments are still themselves at odds over vast swaths of disputed land.

Finally, things appear to be going right between the two  fighting a common enemy, and doing it well. So why destroy relations now? There is a real concern this referendum will be disruptive, raise the temperature in the whole region and lead to a land grab, one high-ranking Iraqi official, who requested not to be named as he was not authorized to speak to the media, told Fox News. The disputed territories must be handled first.

Key areas in the country, including parts of Kirkuk and Nineveh Governorates, are among these contested areas. Furthermore, critics say, the Kurdish government does not currently have a functioning parliament  given it was suspended almost two years ago after President Masoud Barzanis term ended  but he declined to step down given the crisis of the then-burgeoning ISIS.

The referendum also poses regional and international concerns. Turkey has already warned that holding the referendum will be a grave mistake, and Iran has been very vocal in its position that the disintegration of its neighbor will spell danger for the region as a whole.

Kurdistan will need at least 10 years of U.S. support to sustain its affairs, projected Ammar Kadhim Alshiby al Amry, a ranking parliament member representing State of Law bloc  the bloc aligned with former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Kurds in Turkey and Iran and Syria will find strength in this referendum to ask for a similar move in their countries.

And even though the September referendum is expected to be met with a resounding yes in favor of independence, it does not instantly mean that a unilateral secession will take place. Rather, it is likely to function as a potent negotiating tool with Baghdad and other international powers on the issue.

ISIS, SQUEEZED OUT OF IRAQ AND SYRIA, NOW 'REGROUPING' IN LIBYA, ANALYSTS SAY

HOW ISIS USES HUMAN SHIELDS IN FIGHTING COALITION FORCES

But despite the U.S, Baghdad and much international opposition, the Kurds are standing strong and officials told Fox News that it will not be delayed.

The referendum is going to be held because of Kurdish peoples intense heartiness for being independent. Kurds, including all ethnic and minority groups, believe that an independent Kurdistan is the end of all sorrows and persecution which has historically been done against the Kurds, Sami Ergoshi, spokesman for the KRG Prime Minister told Fox News.

Kurish suffering under the reign of Saddam Hussein, who used chemical weapons against them in 1988, together with their instrumental role in fighting ISIS, has instilled a feeling among them that they have earned their independence - and U.S. support.

When ISIS was knocking at their door on the border, the Kurds fought for their homeland. They have sacrificed a lot, said Luke Coffey, director of the Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy at the Heritage Foundation. They have proven a dependable ally to the United States.


About two dozen people suspected of being migrants from Africa surprised sunbathers in Spain on Wednesday when they came ashore and jumped off of an inflatable boat.

The migrants were captured on video on a black inflatable boat coming ashore in Cadiz, on the southern Spanish coast. As the boat pulls into shallow water, those onboard leapt out and ran toward the shore.

One onlooker asks in an astonished voice: "What's going on?"

Carlos Sanz, who shot the video while on vacation in Cadiz, said the group quickly vanished and police arrived some time later.

Spanish officials couldn't immediately be reached for comment after office hours.

Disembarkations by migrants on Spanish beaches aren't common but have happened before, especially in cities with African enclaves like Melilla and Ceuta, which border Morocco.

Thursday morning, about 700 migrants tried to storm the border crossing between Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta and Morocco. None of them managed to make it across.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
British police on Thursday arrested a man who allegedly pushed a woman in front of a double-decker bus while he was out jogging, police said.

The incident, which occurred earlier this year in the Chelsea area of the city, was captured on video.

London's Metropolitan Police said a 41-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm.

The man, who has not yet been identified, was taken to a south London police station, where he remains in custody, police said.

The 33-year-old victim was walking across the Putney Bridge on May 5 when the runner knocked her onto the road and into the path of an oncoming double-decker bus. The bus narrowly missed her.

BRITISH POLICE HUNT FOR JOGGER WHO ALLEGEDLY PUSHED WOMAN IN FRONT OF BUS

After the bus stopped, passengers rushed off to help the woman, who only sustained minor injuries from the incident.

According to Met Police, the jogger returned to the bridge 15 minutes later. The victim tried to speak to him, "but he did not acknowledge her and carried on jogging," police said.

Officials released surveillance footage of the incident Tuesday, and received "a good response" after asking the public for information, police said.
The family of a Canadian pastor released from a North Korean prison says he is now on his way home.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed Thursday that Hyeon Soo Lim has been released and will soon be reunited with his family. He had been serving a life sentence since 2015 for alleged anti-state activities.

The Korean Central News Agency on Wednesday reported the pastor had been released on what it called "sick bail," but no other details were given.

Family spokeswoman Lisa Pak said in a statement Thursday that "there is a long way to go" in terms of Lim's healing and said he needs privacy while receiving unspecified medical attention.

Lim is a South Korean-born Canadian in his 60s. He was convicted and sentenced in 2015.
Russia's Culture Ministry says that a controversial historical film about the last Russian czar's affair with a ballerina has been cleared for release.

"Matilda," which is about Nicholas II's relationship with Matilda Kshesinskaya, has drawn virulent criticism from some Orthodox believers and hard-line nationalists, who see it as blasphemy against the emperor, glorified as a saint by the Russian Orthodox Church.

Critics have pushed for banning the film, which is set to be released on the centennial of the 1917 Bolshevik revolution. Ramzan Kadyrov, the Kremlin-backed regional leader of Chechnya, has recently joined the movie's opponents.

Director Alexei Uchitel has rejected the accusations and prominent Russian filmmakers have come to his defense.

On Thursday, the Russian Culture Ministry announced that the film has received official clearance.
The Islamic State group is getting smarter about circumventing Western security, and events like last months failed terror plot in Australia are likely to occur more frequently.

Thats the assessment of a former counterterrorism expert for Turkeys national police following news reports last week that the Australian plot involved explosives and components that were shipped from Turkey.

Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Ahmet S. Yayla, an adjunct professor at George Mason University in Virginia, says the bomb materials used in the aborted attack likely arrived in Australia via air cargo  probably aboard a passenger jet -- evading all security measures.

Although the Australian operation ultimately failed, it was the type of plot that Western nations can expect to see more often, says Yayla, who from 2010 to 2013 led the counterterrorism and operations department of the Turkish National Police in Sanliurfa.

Make no mistake, Yayla writes. Islamic State jihadists will continue trying to carry out spectacular terrorist attacks in the West.

Make no mistake. Islamic State jihadists will continue trying to carry out spectacular terrorist attacks in the West.  Ahmet S. Yayla, Turkish counterterrorism expert

The reason: As ISIS fighters are driven out of places like Mosul, Iraq, and Raqqa, Syria, the terrorist group will be more likely to mobilize its sympathizers around the world, he says.

More precautions needed

As a precaution, governments across the West need to review the shipping and handling procedures for air cargo in their countries and enhance security measures to avoid plots similar to the one that occurred in Australia, Yayla urges.

He also suggests that NATO-member countries encourage Turkish authorities to crack down on jihadist cells operating in the country.

As Reuters has reported, two men  brothers Khaled Khayat and Mahmoud Khayat -- have been charged with conspiring to commit last months failed attack in Australia.

The reasons why the bombing plan was aborted arent entirely clear, but at a news conference Friday, Australian authorities said Khaled Khayat intended to have his brother unwittingly carry an explosive device aboard an airliner, but ultimately decided to end the mission.

The plan was one of the most sophisticated plots that has ever been attempted on Australian soil, Australian Federal Police Deputy Commissioner Michael Phelan said during the news conference, as Fox News reported.

The suspects based in Australia received the explosive materials from Turkey and went to the airport with the bomb in their luggage, authorities said, but abandoned the plot just before reaching airport security screening.

The suspects instead began working on a separate device that could release highly deadly hydrogen sulfide toxic gas, Yayla writes.

The Australian authorities found out about the terror plot almost two weeks later, following a tip from a foreign intelligence service, Yayla notes.

A senior diplomat in a position to know directly about the incident confirmed to Fox News the specifics of the plot and the authorities actions.

Lone Wolfs Handbook

Meanwhile, Yayla writes, ISIS supporters in Turkey last month published a 60-page Lone Wolfs Handbook, a manual for teaching terrorists how to make a bomb or drive a truck into a crowd of pedestrians.

But it is not only so-called lone wolves who are a threat, Yayla writes. The Australian bomb plot was coordinated with an ISIS commander, possibly in Raqqa, who coordinated and guided the Khayat brothers for more than three months.

The commander had the bomb assembled with military-grade and high-end explosives, Yayla writes.
An alleged ISIS plot involving a drone attack on Turkey's Incirlik air base -- which is used by the U.S. Air Force -- was foiled Thursday when Turkish authorities arrested a Russian national suspected of being an Islamist militant.

Renad Bakiev, who previously traveled to Syria, was detained in the southern city of Adana for planning the drone attack, police said in a statement. Officials said he admitted to surveying the Incirlik air base to plan out his strike, and attempted to attack Americans -- but he was unsuccessful.

Adana police said Bakiev had ties to ISIS and also intended to assault the local Alevi community -- a religious minority ISIS regards as heretics. The religious group is also the largest one in Turkey and is an offshoot of Shia Islam.

Bakiev told police he wanted to kill Alevis because they were "enemies of Allah," the Dogan news agency reported.

While planning the attack, Bakiev, using the Telegram messaging app popular with ISIS militants, asked other extremists to buy a drone for nearly $800, police said.

The U.S. Air Force has used Incirlik air base, near the city of Adana, as a staging post for its air campaign against ISIS in Syria and Iraq since 2015.

ISIS militants have used armed drones to deadly effect in Iraq and Syria, converting commercial drones to carry small explosives.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This is the barristers daughter who attacked her school orchestra love rival with acid after she started dating her ex-boyfriend.

Jealous Emily Bowen, 18, poured drain cleaner into fellow pupil Molly Youngs viola case in a revenge attack that has left the victim scarred for life.

A Scottish court has heard that following the attack Bowen wrote a fake letter demanding she commit suicide  and pretended the note came from her victim.

The calculating letter was written six weeks after the attack.

Talented musician Molly, also 18, suffered horrific burns to her legs when she lifted her instrument from a shelf and the liquid, which was 91 per cent sulphuric acid, splashed over her.

She was left screaming in pain at Knox Academy in East Lothian, Scotland.

Edinburgh Sheriff Court heard Bowen looked up acid attacks online after discovering Molly was dating her ex-boyfriend.

Caging her for 21 months, Sheriff Michael OGrady QC described her crime as utterly wicked."

CLICK TO READ MORE FROM THE SUN.
Tens of thousands of North Koreans gathered in a Pyongyang square Wednesday to cheer on their countrys dictator, hailing Kim Jong Uns fiery rhetoric and saluting the tinpot tyrants nuclear lust  even as it inches the impoverished nation toward an apocalyptic confrontation with the United States.

A mammoth army of the countrys workers, dressed alike in white button-down shirts, and with many sporting matching red ties, raised banners lauding the North Korean military and raised their right fists in the air in a public gesture of solidarity with Kim Jong Un. The images of a united North Korea come with a caveat, however; the participants in the rally likely had little choice but to attend and cheer enthusiastically, as freedom of expression is a punishable offense in the autocratic regime.

The stunning rally comes amid escalating North Korean threats to attack the U.S. territory of Guam; Pyongyangs continuing tests of intercontinental ballistic missiles; a Tuesday report that North Korea has miniaturized nuclear weapons; and President Trumps own statement that additional North Korean threats would be met with fire and fury.

Images of the rally were released by North Koreas state media organ, KCNA, the outlet which has also carried the countrys uniquely-worded statements dismissing Trump as bereft of reason and warning only absolute force can work on him. Pictures of the rally could not be immediately independently verified.

One of the large propaganda signs carried by protesters stretched nearly 20 people across and showed a trio of fierce North Korean military members, holding grenades and rifles, and seemingly ready for battle.

Other attendees, dressed in black, belonged to the countrys elite class, The Independent reported. They applauded the animated displays of the white shirt-wearing workers.
Production of crude oil across all OPEC countries rose again in July, to above the level the cartel has agreed would be the upper limit  and above the estimated level of global demand.

The cartel said Thursday in a market report that its countries' production rose for a third month in July, by 173,000 daily barrels, to an average of 32.9 million barrels a day.

That puts it above the 32.5 million barrels a day that the group had agreed in November would be their limit. The cartel agreed in May to extend the production limit to March next year in an effort to support market prices. But that intention has sometimes been difficult to put into practice because not all countries were observing the commitment.

July's increase in production also puts output above the estimated global demand for OPEC oil this year of 32.4 million barrels a day.

The price of crude has largely hovered around or below $50 a barrel in recent months, about half what it was in 2014. On Thursday, the benchmark traded in New York was up 33 cents at $49.89 a barrel.
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Russia's foreign minister has held talks with Thailand's top officials on counterterrorism, cybersecurity and North Korea.

Thursday's visit by Sergey Lavrov came just two days after U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson traveled to Bangkok. Both officials took part in meetings in the Philippines with counterparts from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations that focused heavily on North Korea's push to advance its nuclear weapons and missile programs.

Lavrov said after discussion with Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai that they agreed the United Nations should be the vehicle for a resolution of tensions over North Korea, which has been trading threats of war with the United States.
Ugandan officials say a Rwandan refugee has been kidnapped by unknown people in the capital, Kampala.

Apollo Kazungu, a government commissioner in charge of refugees, says Rene Rutagungira was known to refugee officials before the incident this week.

Ugandan police and U.N. officials did not immediately comment.

Over the years, some Rwandan exiles and refugees in Uganda have complained about the risk of abduction by Rwandan agents.

Douglas Asiimwe, a refugee officer, says it is not possible to give bodyguards to Rwandan refugees despite the threats.
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A Swedish man kidnapped by Islamic extremists in northern Mali nearly six years ago and released in June says he converted to Islam "to save my life."

The 42-year-old Johan Gustafsson made his first public appearance Thursday. He told reporters that fleeing his captors had been "out of the question."

He had been on a motorcycle tour in Africa when he was seized. A South African also freed in recent days is expected to speak later Thursday.

Sweden insists it never paid any ransom and Gustafsson's release was obtained through negotiations.

Gustafsson says he doesn't know what led to his freedom and says he thinks it's wrong to pay ransoms.

"I hope they let me out because they were tired of me," he says.
A Caroline County man who pleaded guilty on Thursday to a pair of charges tied to a suspected illegal drug ring will serve more time in prison for drug and weapons convictions than he did for a 1989 homicide.

George Thomas Cushing Jr. pleaded guilty in Caroline County Circuit Court to a weapons charge and probation violation tied to recent drug convictions. Five other charges were dropped.

He was ordered to serve a total of six years on the weapons charge and probation violation. Cushing pleaded guilty to three felony drug manufacturing charges in March. He was ordered to serve a 10-year sentence for those offenses, for a total sentence of 16 years.

The charges stem from a suspected drug ring police investigated for more than a year.

Cushing, 45, was arrested along with 10 other suspects in May 2016 after police raided two residences as part of the 13-month investigation.

At the time, Cushing was charged with distributing heroin, possessing prescription pills with the intent to distribute and three counts of possessing a firearm after having been convicted of a violent felony.

A polite Cushing said in court Thursday that he had a drug problem and apologized for letting down my family.

The drug charges arent Cushings first brush with the law.

In 2003, he pleaded guilty to killing a prostitute who was found 14 years earlier, stabbed to death, on a service road near a pair of motels in Carmel Church. The area was and still is a trucker hot spot along Interstate 95.

Police said Cushing and his uncle met Anna Marie Pina at the truck stop on Sept. 22, 1989, and the three left in a truck. Pinas body was found the following day. The 25-year-old had been choked and stabbed 10 times in the chest, neck and back, according to Free LanceStar articles at the time.

Cushing was a 17-year-old living in Caroline when he killed Pina. The case remained unsolved until his 1999 arrest. Cushings uncle also was charged in the case, but was acquitted.

Cushing was found guilty and handed a 40-year sentence for robbing and killing Pina. All but 15 years of the sentence was suspended.

Caroline Commonwealths Attorney John Mahoney said Cushing got out early on parole, having served only about five years for the homicide.

Cushing also has lived in North and South Carolina. At the time of his 1999 arrest, he had an address in Lori, S.C.

Cushing ran afoul of the law in South Carolina, too.

In 2009, Horry, S.C., police named him a suspect in the sexual assault of two children and were searching for him. According to one news report, the mother of the children said he threatened to kill them.

Cushing was eventually arrested and pleaded guilty to committing or attempting to commit a lewd act with a child. He was ordered to serve a year and a half in jail for the offense.
A MEMBER of a friends family had a baby recently and I got a text telling me all about the blessed event.

The message, of course, contained information about how much the baby weighed and how long he was.

That got me wondering why a babys weight is so important. After all, these little guys are all going to grow up to be overweight adults.

Now I can understand if the child is premature and weighs only 2 or 3 pounds, but if he is pretty averagesay between 5 and 9 poundswhats the big deal?

Of course, every once in a while we hear about an 11- or 12-pound baby and we shake our heads and say, Whew! Id hate to be that mother!

This kind of birth weight makes for good conversation.

Ever wonder who was the first doctor or midwife to weigh a baby and why? Personally, I can come up with no good reason other than curiosity.

I suppose humans have to put a number on everything and we start at birth. I can understand why we record the day and year of birth, but a babys weight?

Maybe we want to be able to say, Junior, you were only 4 pounds when you were born and now look at youyou just broke the bathroom scales!

Well, those chicken nuggets will do that to a feller.

I know weight is important during later life. Being too fat is hard on everything from your heart to your cars rear suspension. But when youre born, what difference does it make?

Maybe the first person who weighed a newborn baby wanted bragging rights over the guy down the road.

Ha, ha! My baby weighs 2 pounds more than your baby!

Or maybe some doctor intended it to be a scientific experiment; you know, record a persons weight at birth and then weigh him again when he dies. But if that was the case, the idea certainly didnt catch on. Ive never seen a persons final weight listed in an obituary.

Weighing a child at birth does explain one thingwhy babies cry soon after they enter this world. Ill lay you odds that started when the first girl baby was weighed and her weight recorded. That gal screamed bloody murder because no woman of any age wants anyone to know how much she weighs.

And to write her weight down and spread it all over the neighborhood? It is a wonder she didnt smack the doctor instead of it being the other way around.

I guess when the girls cried because they were being weighed, the boy babies figured they had to cry, too. Women lead the way, you know.

I suppose well never find out how the tradition got started, but the big question following a birth announcement is always, How much did the baby weigh?

Why it makes any difference Ill never know, but that just the way it is, a part of our culture, like measuring rainfall.

Maybe with small babies, parents just need to save up their money to buy more chicken nuggets. But then large babies start eating nuggets at an earlier age. So, I guess it all balances out.

Anyhow, I dont have a clue why we weigh babies at birthexcept the really small ones and the really big ones.

Just something to think about while sitting in traffic.
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So much for civility.

More than 500 people gathered Wednesday in the Virginia Historical Society auditorium for the contentious first public hearing of Mayor Levar Stoneys Monument Avenue Commission. The event, held with the intent to gather input on how best to add context to the Confederate statues lining Monument Avenue, bordered on chaotic as more than 40 speakers weighed in and tempers flared.

The standing-room-only crowd weathered a tense, two-hour hearing that saw members of the commission attempt in vain to keep the conversation civil as speakers offered opposing viewpoints. Audience members, at points, heckled or shouted down some speakers with whom they disagreed.

Wednesday evenings event was the first of two scheduled public hearings for the commission. Attendees who wished to speak were assigned a number upon entry. Organizers decided beforehand that 50 people chosen by raffle could talk for two minutes or less but did not stick with that plan throughout the night, allowing some to speak without having had their numbers called.

Gregg Kimball, the Library of Virginias director of education and outreach and the commissions co-chair, reminded speakers early in the night, when some chose to take up whether the statues should stay or go, that the commission was not holding the hearing to consider that.

If you want that middle ground, we need to find out what that middle ground is, he said.

The commission asked attendees to share what adding context to the monuments should look likeand what, if any, monuments they would add to the avenue if given the chance.

Henry Kidd, who identified himself as a former national officer of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, objected to adding context.

Every tourist who comes to Richmond wants to see Monument Avenue; they dont want to see a politically correct Monument Avenue, Kidd said.

Many people said adding signage to the monuments isnt objectionable, so long as it doesnt cast the men depicted in a negative light. Some suggested adding statues of prominent African-Americans to acknowledge their contributions to the city and state. Others said the monuments should remain untouched.

Thelma Brown said she didnt see her ancestors honored when she looked at Monument Avenue. She called the monuments a reflection of oppression, and said they cause her pain.

Virginia has a debt to pay, and were waiting, she said.

Speakers suggested adding several prominent African-Americans to the avenue to recognize their historical contributions or significance. Names proposed included L. Douglas Wilder, the nations first elected black governor; Gabriel Prosser, who led a slave rebellion in 1800; and John Mitchell Jr., a pioneering African-American journalist.

Others lobbied for a monument to African-Americans enlisted in the Confederate military.

Despite efforts to keep the meeting civil, tensions rose throughout the night as speakers decried or defended the monuments and what they believe they stand for.

George Knight of Fredericksburg said the monuments represent white supremacy and questioned why Richmond continued to house participation trophies for the Confederacy.

You lost, get over it already! he shouted.

A mixture of applause and boos drowned him out.

Down with white supremacy! he said before leaving the mic to return to his seat.

Kimball chastised him.

Sir, you know, we really dont need that, he said. I hope you all did hear what I said at the beginning of this. We dont need inciting people. We need conversation.

The following speaker, Travis Toombs, said Monument Avenue was a Confederate memorial and that if anyone wants to build more monuments, they could do it elsewhere.

Theres an entire rest of the city to add statutes to whatever you so choose to, said Toombs, a Petersburg resident.

An hour and a half into the hearing, organizers kicked a woman out for shouting down a speaker who had run over his allotted time. She had previously spoken and was interrupted by audience jeers and asked to wrap up when her remarks ran long. A police officer escorted her out, and more attendees followed voluntarily.

One of those who left, Paul Benson, said he was doing so because the event was no longer fostering a constructive conversation.

Its theater of the absurd, Benson said.

As politicians in Charlottesville and New Orleans have pursued the removal of Confederate statues in their cities, Stoney has taken a different tack, publicly stating that he believes Richmonds monuments should remain.

In June, he formed a 10-person panel of community leaders, academics and historians and tasked them with exploring how best to add context to the statues that will tell the whole story. Those include Confederate Gens. Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee and J.E.B. Stuart; the president of the Confederate States of America, Jefferson Davis; and Confederate naval commander Matthew Fontaine Maury.

Stoneys stance has drawn criticism from people and organizations on both sides of the debate.

Some speakers questioned why the mayor wasnt present at Wednesdays public hearing. Stoney did not attend because he was at a conference in Salt Lake City, said his spokesman, Jim Nolan.

This meeting is about hearing the public, not hearing the mayor, Nolan said before the hearing.

As the proceedings drew to a close, Sarah Driggs, a member of the commission, told the audience that she was unhappy with what unfolded.

Im disappointed in how many people got up tonight just to make a speech.  Were here to hear ideas, Driggs said.

Members of the audience began to heckle her. Kimball, again, intervened. Im not sure this is going to be very productive, so Im just going to say thank you for coming out; we have another event coming up, he said.

The second public hearing is scheduled for Sept. 13 at the Virginia Historical Society.
RICHMONDDemocrat Ralph Northam maintains a six-point lead over Republican Ed Gillespie in the Virginia governor's race about three months ahead of the November election, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll.

Northam, Virginia's lieutenant governor, received 44 percent of the vote to 38 for Gillespie, former head of the Republican National Committee, and 4 percent for Libertarian Cliff Hyra in the Quinnipiac survey released Wednesday.

The race is competitive in spite of President Donald Trump's low approval rating in Virginiathe only Southern state the president did not carry.

While 61 percent of Virginia voters disapprove of the president's job performance, 36 percent approve, according to the survey.

"The Virginia governor's race leans toward Democratic Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, but not overly so," said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll.

"With three months until Election Day, the race remains competitive."

Gillespie "apparently has been able to convince many voters that he is his own man," Brown said. "Gillespie is within 6 percentage points of Northam despite President Donald Trump's unpopularity in the Old Dominion."

Hyra's 4 percentage points mean that in a tight contest "Hyra could become a factor in the race," Brown said.

Quinnipiac surveyed 1,082 Virginia voters from Aug. 3-8. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.

Virginians do not register by party, but Gillespie's camp took issue with the poll's sample, arguing that it will not reflect Virginia's electorate in November.

In the Quinnipiac survey, 24 percent of respondents said they consider themselves Republicans, 36 percent as Democrats, 34 percent as independents, with 5 percent as "other" or "don't know."

Northam's campaign said Gillespie has "barely moved the needle," although he and his allies have spent about $1.3 million in the contest.

Vice President Mike Pence will attend a Gillespie fundraiser in Richmond on Saturday, Aug. 19. That date coincides with an Americans for Prosperity conference at the Richmond Marriott, where Gillespie is scheduled to speak.

AFP, a national conservative policy advocacy organization backed by billionaires Charles and David Koch, is bringing its 11th annual volunteer conference to Richmond.

The Virginia Public Access Project, a nonpartisan tracker of money in state politics, said on Tuesday that AFP has reported spending more than $250,000 in the last two weeks in an effort to influence the outcome of Virginia's governor's race, mostly on anti-Northam mailers and door hangers.

Northam led Gillespie by 5 percentage points in a Virginia Commonwealth University poll released on Tuesday.

Gillespie and Northam were tied at 44 percent apiece in a July 24 poll released by Monmouth University's Polling Institute.

In Quinnipiac's June 21 poll, the first released after the June 13 primaries, Northam led Gillespie by 8 percentage points, 47 percent to 39 percent.
Lisa B. Begle, 56, passed away Tuesday, August 8, 2017 at Hughes Home with her loving family by her side. She had waged a 25-year battle with multiple sclerosis with great courage. Lisa was born November 3, 1960 in Washington, D.C. She grew up in McLean and Great Falls. A graduate of Herndon High School, Lisa received her bachelor's degree from George Mason University. She was a member of Alpha Chi National College Honor Society. After graduating from George Mason, Lisa worked for Balmar Printing and Graphics at Tysons Corner for a number of years in the graphic arts department and later in other departments where she met her husband, David. Survivors include her mother, Marie H. Bojinoff; brother Neil Bojinoff and his wife, Jennifer. She was preceded in death by her husband and the love of her life, David Begle; and her father, Christy M. Bojinoff. The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. on Monday, August 14 at Covenant Funeral Service, Fredericksburg. A service will be held at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, August 15 at the funeral home chapel. Burial will be at later date in Arlington National Cemetery. Online guestbook at covenantfuneralservice.com.
Can you believe it? The kids are back in school already. Waitthat's only in Culpeper County, for now. Hope we didn't startle you, with summer break blowing by as quickly as it does. Several other area districts go back next week, while Fredericksburg, Stafford and Spotsylvania hold off until the day after Labor Day.

In any event, it's about time to shift into school-year mode, a frame of mind that changes from year to year as kids progress from kindergarten through high school. But some things remain constant, such as: What you get out of school depends on how much you are willing to put into it. And that applies to parents as well as students.

The students are the ones who (hopefully) go to school everyday, but their parents' involvement can make a big difference, whether it's helping with homework and providing a quiet place to do it, attending back-to-school night to meet their teachers, or just showing an interest in what the student is studying and (hopefully) learning. In other words, as study after study has found, the more parents communicate with their students, the greater their level of achievement in school.

But those lines of communication should also extend to the students' teachers and school administrators, and the dialog can begin with four small words: How can I help?

According to a recent Free LanceStar report, the King George Education Foundation has set out to provide basic back-to-school supplies for kids in need because it's important for students to start out on as level a playing field as possible.

That made Sharon James, coordinator of communications for King George schools, curious. She surveyed county teachers about how much they spend on supplies for their students who lack them. Ninety-five percent of the 135 teachers who responded said they spend money out of their own pocketsto the tune of $380, on average, every year.

This personal investment is on top of the dedication and commitment that so many teachers bring to the classroom every day, and considering those incorrigible students who can make some classes almost impossible to teach, these teachers merit elevation to saint or hero status.

Parents can help out by asking teachers what they need to make their classrooms more hospitable. Maybe it's boxes of tissues or bottles of hand sanitizer or some other supplies that always run short.

Perhaps the biggest contribution every parent can make is to send to school students who are ready to learn, students who realize that by applying themselves they can be as successful as they want to be. Send students who want to be challenged, not students who need to be babysat. Send students who want to help their fellow students, not bully them.

The best school experience goes beyond the classroom. Students should be encouraged to take part in activities at their schools, whether it's the fifth-grade safety patrol, writing for the newspaper or running for class president. Good athletes and musicians are always in demand. Every school is a small city unto itself, and the students are its citizens, each with a responsibility to contribute or lead in some way.

So whether the big decision your family will face this year is choosing the right superhero lunchbox, or choosing the right college or university, the start of school is always an auspicious occasion. Make sure this year is as good as it can be by taking an active role with your student and your school, and everyone will be better off for it.
Drawing on deep expertise

Galloway is just one of several world leaders in pathogen-associated cancers at the Hutch, said Clurman. Her peers in the field include Dr. Nina Salama, a renowned expert in H. pylori, the bacterium associated with ulcers and stomach cancer; and Dr. Edus Hootie Warren, an immunologist who researches Burkitt lymphoma, a cancer common in sub-Saharan Africa that is commonly linked to infection with Epstein-Barr virus, or EBV. Salama holds the Dr. Penny E. Petersen Memorial Chair and developed some of the first genomic tools to identify H. pylori strains most associated with stomach cancer.

Warren also heads Fred Hutch Global Oncology, which grew out of collaborations between Hutch researchers and Ugandan scientists examining the role of viruses such as Kaposi sarcoma herpesvirus, EBV, HPV and HIV in the development of cancer. In 2008, the scientific partnership was formalized in the UCI/Hutchinson Center Cancer Alliance.

For more than a decade, Hutch global oncology researchers have delved into the biology of pathogen-associated cancers and have become experts at assessing the barriers to providing cutting-edge cancer care in low-resource settings  and how to overcome them. The close connections between Fred Hutch Global Oncology and the Pathogen-Associated Malignancies IRC helps scientists identify which infectious agents and related cancers most impact human health around the world  that is, where opportunities exist for research to make the biggest difference for patients. Collaboration between these experts will also enhance their ability to test strategies for delivering new therapies, diagnostics and approaches to prevention.

Galloway and Hutch leaders also envision that the research conducted through the new center will inform and be informed by another area of Hutch strength: immunotherapy. Immunotherapy harnesses components of the immune system to fight cancer, and Hutch scientists have long been pioneers in the field, forging living therapies that are helping to save lives.

Many of the ways that we initially deal with pathogen-associated cancers are likely to be through immunotherapeutic approaches, Clurman said.

Fred Hutch launched its first IRC, dedicated to immunotherapy research and development, just last year. Understanding how the immune system responds to cancer-causing pathogens  and how they can circumvent its defenses  will improve immunotherapeutic approaches to treating cancer, including cancers caused by infections.

Technological advances have improved the speed at which scientists can pinpoint immunotherapy targets and develop new therapies based on those targets; viruses that persist in host cells may be uniquely vulnerable to this approach.

Merkel cell carcinoma is an ideal example of how a confluence of new technologies and progress in different fields of research can lead to lifesaving advances. In 2008, researchers capitalized on improved research tools to definitively link Merkel cell polyomavirus to Merkel cell carcinoma, or MCC, a particularly aggressive skin cancer. Since then, Galloway and Dr. Paul Nghiem, a world expert in MCC at the University of Washington and Fred Hutch, have developed a test to predict recurrence of the rare disease, and Nghiem helped pioneer the use of immunotherapy for patients with this cancer. The latter, a drug that helps unleash the immune system, earlier this year was approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat MCC. Now Nghiem and colleagues at the Hutch are also exploring ways to use MCC patients own immune cells against their tumors.
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A surge in applications to build biomass boiler installations under the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) could significantly increase woodchip demand over the next year, potentially creating opportunities for landowners with timber to sell.

At present, about 350,000t of chip and pellet goes into the UK heating sector.

This could grow to 500,000t-600,000t in 12 months if all proposed RHI applications for medium- to larger-scale biomass plants (200kW-0.5MW capacity) are built.

See also: Offshore wind expansion: What it means for farmers affected

There has been a surge in applications for medium-scale biomass boilers ahead of the most recent non-domestic RHI tariff cuts and before implementation of planned RHI reforms, which were published last year.

The reforms will see existing tariff bands replaced with a single rate for all scheme sizes.

Parliamentary approval of the reforms has been delayed until after the summer recess, leaving a brief window of opportunity for schemes to be accredited under existing support rates.

Although 25-50% of these plants may not be built, there are still opportunities to supply the growing demand in feedstock, says David Turley, National Non-Food Crops Centres lead consultant for bio-based feedstock.

Market opportunities

Biomass boilers used for heating typically require about 1t of dried woodchip a year (30% moisture) for every kilowatt installed. Demand is higher for industrial applications and is less seasonal, says Mr Turley.

Wood pellets are popular among smaller domestic boilers, whereas woodchip is preferred for medium-scale systems, he says.

In many cases this is sourced from surrounding woodland, but external supplies are also important.

The key issue for biomass boiler operators is logistics, and the ability to source local woodchip. Given its bulky nature, transport is expensive, he adds.

The forest wood supply sector is becoming increasingly rationalised into hubs of fewer, larger companies, sourcing material from a network of local suppliers.

Mr Turley encourages anyone considering supplying woodchip to talk to existing suppliers before committing money to chipping or drying facilities. There are opportunities, but it has to be done professionally, he says.

Quality (EN Plus) domestic pellets sell for about 250/t bagged, or less for blown supply. Woodchip has a range of moisture contents, which affects price.

Screw auger-fed systems require smaller, consistently sized chips (<5cm), so market demand can be segregated.

Dried woodchip (30% moisture) sells for about 90-120/t delivered. Self-supply can undercut such figures and improve payback times significantly, Mr Turley says.

*The commercial power sector remains the UKs largest wood energy user, accounting for about 0.5m tonnes of domestic oven dried wood annually.

Most (about 85%) is consumed as pellets, with woodchip making up the remainder. The power sector also takes a further 7m tonnes of wood imported from areas such as the US, Canada and Baltics, plus just under 1m tonnes of recovered/recycled wood.
There currently are 93 Fisher Houses in the United States and in Europe with plans for more.
A Monroe man should spend more than six years in prison for sodomy and drug delivery charges, a Benton County Circuit Court judge ruled Wednesday.

Marcos Romualdo Salgado pleaded no contest to one count of second-degree sodomy in accordance with a plea agreement with state prosecutors. The charge stemmed from allegations Salgado sexually abused a child younger than 12 between the years of 2012 and 2014.

The act of sodomy in the states opinion in regards to a very young child is one of the most horrendous acts by an adult against a child, Chief Deputy District Attorney Ryan Joslin said.

Salgado, who was shackled and wore black and white striped prison scrubs, spoke little during the hearing and communicated with the aid of a translator. Salgados attorney, John Rich, said his client denies the sexual abuse allegations but did not wish to go to trial and risk a higher sentence. A plea of no contest in Oregon still results in a conviction of the crime.

Judge Locke Williams sentenced Salgado to six years and three months in prison and three years and nine months of post-prison supervision. Salgado must also pay $800 in restitution to the ABC House, a child abuse intervention center in Albany, and register as a sex offender.

Also during the hearing, Salgado pleaded guilty to three counts of delivering methamphetamine within 1,000 feet of a school. Joslin said Salgado was a regular deliverer of substantial amounts of meth into this community.

Williams sentenced Salgado to five years and nine months in prison on the drug charges, but the sentence should be served at the same time as the sexual abuse case, he ruled.

Rich said Salgado will likely be deported from the United States when he is released from prison.
The Benton County Historical Museum's "World of Ideas" summer lecture series continues Monday with Richard Engeman's "Chop Suey for All: Chinese Cooks in Oregon."

The program begins at noon in the museum's Moreland Gallery.

The former manuscript and archives head and public historian at the Oregon Historical Society, Engeman will talk about the history of Chinese immigrants to Oregon and their adaptation to the American food landscape as well as the rise of their family-operated restaurants.

Engeman is a writer, speaker and consultant in the field of Oregon and Pacific Northwest history with a particular expertise in food history.

Attendees are invited to bring a brown bag lunch. Beverages and cookies will be served.

Lectures are free to Benton County Historical Society members. All others are charged $5 per lecture. Oregon State University students with current identification may attend free.
Movies playing in mid-valley theaters as of Friday. Complete and updated Movie Scene listings can be found online.

NEW

ANNABELLE: CREATION

(Horror-thriller, R, 109 minutes, playing at the Regal 7 in Albany and the AMC Corvallis 12) A dollmaker (Anthony LaPaglia) and his wife (Miranda Otto) take in a group of orphaned goals. But a haunted doll lurks inside the house in this new chapter in the Conjuring series. Directed by David F. Sandberg, who generated plenty of scares in Lights Out.

THE GLASS CASTLE

(Drama, PG-13, 126 minutes, playing at the Regal 4 in Corvallis) A young woman (Brie Larson) reflects on her unconventional upbringing by her artsy, nonconformist parents (Woody Harrelson and Naomi Watts) in this movie adaptation of the memoir by Jeannette Walls. The movie was directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, who also did Short Term 12, the movie that served as Larsons breakthrough.

AN INCONVENIENT SEQUEL: TRUTH TO POWER

3 stars

(Documentary, PG, 100 minutes, playing at the Darkside in Corvallis) The sequel to 2006's Oscar-winning "An Inconvenient Truth" follows Al Gore around the globe as he meets with young (and practically worshipful) recruits to the climate change cause. The final scenes, urging viewers to sign up and get involved, make it seem as if we've been watching an infomercial all this time.

THE NUT JOB 2: NUTTY BY NATURE

(Animated comedy, PG, 95 minutes, playing at the Regal 7 in Albany and the AMC Corvallis 12) Surly the squirrel (Will Arnett) rallies his animal friends to help destroy an amusement park thats been built on the site of their beloved park. This animated sequel also features the voices of Katherine Heigl, Maya Rudolph, Bobby Moynihan, Jackie Chan, Jeff Dunham, and Bobby Cannavale.

13 MINUTES

(Historical drama, R, 114 minutes, playing at the Darkside in Corvallis) A historical drama detailing the true story of a clockmaker (Christian Friedel), who tried to assassinate Adolf Hitler in 1939 with a homemade bomb in a Munich beer hall. Oliver Hirschbiegel, the director of the Hitler flick Downfall, directed this one as well.

CONTINUING

THE DARK TOWER

1 star

(Horror-fantasy, PG-13, 94 minutes, playing at the Regal 7 in Albany and the Regal 4 in Corvallis) As the Man in Black, Matthew McConaughey is supposed to send chills down your spine, but he's nothing but a preening, one-dimensional goof. That's just one of the many unfortunate elements in this Stephen King adaptation plagued by washed-out cinematography, mediocre special effects and stilted dialogue. (Richard Roeper, Universal Press Syndicate)

DETROIT

4 stars

(Historical drama, R, 143 minutes, playing at the Regal 7 in Albany, the Regal 4 in Corvallis and the AMC Corvallis 12). Arriving almost exactly 50 years since the Detroit riots of 1967, Kathryn Bigelow's "Detroit" is a searing, pulse-pounding, shocking and deeply effective dramatic interpretation of events in and around the Algiers Motel, where police tortured, abused and assaulted a dozen "suspects," murdering three of them. (Richard Roeper, Universal Press Syndicate)

A GHOST STORY

3 stars

(Fantasy drama, R, 93 minutes, playing at the Darkside in Corvallis) Killed in a car crash, a musician (Casey Affleck) is reborn as a mute, silent presence witnessing the grief of his wife (Rooney Mara) at their house, and much more. It's roughly 60 percent disturbingly beautiful and 40 percent achingly self-conscious. (Richard Roeper, Universal Press Syndicate)

KIDNAP

2  stars

(Action thriller, R, 81 minutes, playing at the Regal 7 and the AMC Corvallis 12) Halle Berry is onscreen almost every second as a mom giving minivan chase to the captors who just snatched her 6-year-old son. It's decent escapist action, but repeats itself to the point of becoming ridiculous. (Richard Roeper, Universal Press Syndicate)

ATOMIC BLONDE

3  stars

(Action thriller, R, 115 minutes, playing at the AMC Corvallis 12) On the strength of this ultra-violent and deliriously entertaining thriller and "Mad Max: Fury Road," Charlize Theron now is officially an A-list action star. The camerawork in one brutally funny fight sequence is cinematic jazz  amazing to behold. (Richard Roeper, Universal Press Syndicate)

THE EMOJI MOVIE

(Animated comedy, PG, 90 minutes, playing at the Regal 7 in Albany and the AMC Corvallis 12). In a world set inside a smartphone, an emoji named Gene (voiced by T.J. Miller) is ashamed that he has multiple facial expressions while his colleagues only have one each. So he sets out on an adventure to be like everyone else. Other voices are provided by James Corden, Anna Faris, Jennifer Coolidge, Patrick Stewart, Sofia Vergara, and Maya Rudolph.

DUNKIRK

4 stars

(War drama, PG-13, 106 minutes, playing at the Regal 7 in Albany, the Regal 4 in Corvallis and the AMC Corvallis 12) Christopher Nolan's faithful and deeply respectful retelling of one of the most pivotal battles in World War II is a gripping, deeply involving and unforgettable film that ranks among the best war movies of the decade. (Richard Roeper, Universal Press Syndicate)

GIRLS TRIP

(Comedy, R, 122 minutes, playing at the Regal 4 in Corvallis) Four black girlfriends (Regina Hall, Tiffany Haddish, Jada Pinkett Smith and Queen Latifah) decide to get back together after five years apart, and set their sights on partying at the Essence Festival. Larenz Tate, Mike Colter and Kate Walsh co-star in director Malcolm D. Lees new flick.

MAUDIE

3  stars

(Biography, PG-13, 117 minutes, playing at the Darkside in Corvallis) Treated as an outcast, a fisherman's housekeeper (Sally Hawkins) in Nova Scotia becomes something of a celebrity for her paintings. This is one of the most beautiful, life-affirming, uplifting movies of the year, capable of moving us to tears of appreciation for getting to know the title subject. (Richard Roeper, Universal Press Syndicate)

VALERIAN AND THE CITY OF A THOUSAND PLANETS

(Sci-fi fantasy, PG-13, 137 minutes, playing at the AMC Corvallis 12) Based on a series of French comic books, the new film from director Luc Besson follows adventurers Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne) as they try to stop villains from destroying Alpha, an intergalactic metropolis where thousands of alien species live in harmony. Clive Owen, Rihanna, Elizabeth Debicki and Ethan Hawke also star.

THE BIG SICK

4 stars

(Romantic comedy, R, 119 minutes, playing at the AMC Corvallis 12) In a fictionalized version of real events in his life, Kumail Nanjiani plays a comedian whose new girlfriend (Zoe Kazan) falls ill and goes into a medically induced coma. Funny and smart and wise and silly, it is without a doubt one of the best romantic comedies I have seen in a long time. (Richard Roeper, Universal Press Syndicate)

WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES

3  stars

(Sci-fi action, PG-13, 133 minutes, playing at the AMC Corvallis 12) Vengeful after a human attack on their compound, Caesar (Andy Serkis, brilliant and heartbreaking) and his ape allies go on a mission to take out the officer responsible (Woody Harrelson). The result is a war movie more serious and much darker than most big-budget midsummer blockbusters. And a whole lot more captivating. (Richard Roeper, Universal Press Syndicate)

SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING

3  stars

(Action adventure, PG-13, 133 minutes, playing at the Regal 7 in Albany and the AMC Corvallis 12). The best thing about the latest Spider-Man (the terrific and well-cast Tom Holland) is that he's still more of a kid than a man. Even with a goodly amount of explosions and action, this scaled-down adventure plays less like an ultimate-stakes battle than a John Hughes teen-angst romance/comedy meshed with a superhero saga. (Richard Roeper, Universal Press Syndicate)

BABY DRIVER

4 stars

(Action, R, 113 minutes, playing at the AMC Corvallis 12 and the Pix in Albany) Edgar Wright's "Baby Driver," about a savant of a getaway driver (Ansel Elgort) working for a criminal mastermind (Kevin Spacey), crackles with originality and dark humor and teems with perfectly timed action sequences. If you see this movie and tell me you didn't have a great time, we're going to have to talk about your idea of a great time. (Richard Roeper, Universal Press Syndicate)

DESPICABLE ME 3

1  stars

(Animated, PG, 90 minutes, playing at the AMC Corvallis 12) Gru, the lovable villain from the first two Despicable movies, must cope not just with a long-long brother but a new baddie: Balthazar Bratt, a former child star. Steve Carell returns to voice Gru and Trey Parker of South Park voices Balthazar. Other voices include Russell Brand, Miranda Cosgrove, Kristen Wiig and Steve Coogan. There are Minions as well, but the overall film is less than the sum of its parts: Its wacky but dull. (Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service)

CARS 3

3 stars

(Animated adventure, G, 100 minutes, playing at the Pix in Albany) Just when you thought this Disney-Pixar franchise was out of gas, along comes a lovely, clever and entertaining generational tale with tons of heart, a simple and effective storyline, wonderful candy-colored visuals and winning voice work from the talented cast of returning regulars and welcome newcomers. (Richard Roeper, Universal Press Syndicate)
Welcome to my genealogy blog. Genea-Musings features genealogy research tips and techniques, genealogy news items and commentary, genealogy humor, San Diego genealogy society news, family history research and some family history stories from the keyboard of Randy Seaver (of Chula Vista CA), who thinks that Genealogy Research Is really FUN! Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2006-2021.
An opportunity for foodies and beer lovers to get lost in a world of food and drink from a hand-selected range of food trucks and breweries from around New Zealand.
kacylee at 10-08-2017 08:53 AM (5 years ago) (f)

According to Mrs. Julie Okah-Donli, Director-General, National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP).Libya will deport 540 Nigerians , beginning from Aug. 10..... This was disclosed on Wednesday in Osogbo, at the inauguration of the North-West Zonal Command Office of the agency.

According to Mrs. Julie Okah-Donli, Director-General, National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP).Libya will deport 540 Nigerians , beginning from Aug. 10..... This was disclosed on Wednesday in Osogbo, at the inauguration of the North-West Zonal Command Office of the agency.

She said that the deportees would be brought back to Nigeria in three batches of 180 each.



The NAPTIP boss said that more than 2000 Nigerians were deported from various part of the world from February till date, over various migration offences, including human trafficking.



Okah-Doni disclosed that the agency had rescued and supported more than 12,000 victims of human trafficking, and also secured 325 convictions since its inception in 2003.



She decried the rising trend of deportation of Nigerians from different parts of the world, especially in Africa, and described the situation as frightening.



Okah-Donli, who described human trafficking as a modern day slavery, urged stern measures to end it.



She reaffirmed NAPTIPs commitment to implementing the Trafficking in Persons(Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act of 2015, and declared that there would be no sacred cows.



Okah-Donli identified Osun, Ekiti and Ondo among the endemic states in trafficking in persons in Nigeria, saying that all hands must be on deck to change the trend. She said that the deportees would be brought back to Nigeria in three batches of 180 each.The NAPTIP boss said that more than 2000 Nigerians were deported from various part of the world from February till date, over various migration offences, including human trafficking.Okah-Doni disclosed that the agency had rescued and supported more than 12,000 victims of human trafficking, and also secured 325 convictions since its inception in 2003.She decried the rising trend of deportation of Nigerians from different parts of the world, especially in Africa, and described the situation as frightening.Okah-Donli, who described human trafficking as a modern day slavery, urged stern measures to end it.She reaffirmed NAPTIPs commitment to implementing the Trafficking in Persons(Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act of 2015, and declared that there would be no sacred cows.Okah-Donli identified Osun, Ekiti and Ondo among the endemic states in trafficking in persons in Nigeria, saying that all hands must be on deck to change the trend.

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 10-08-2017 08:53 AM (5 years ago) | Addicted Hero
caconservative said: In order for the FBI to acquire a search warrant, they had to believe there was evidence Manafort was hiding. It's been a few days now, any such evidence surfacing? I've heard nothing. Click to expand...

Why would you expect Mueller, an actual professional with ethics, to go blabbing to the paper?And I guess he actually knows how to gather a group around him that respects him so there aren't any leaks.Donnie Dumbfuck should take lessons from him.
Hundreds Of Hostages Freed After Rare Joint IS-Taliban Attack In Afghanistan

August 08, 2017

The Taliban released 235 hostages from a remote village in northern Afghanistan where it allegedly massacred as many as 50 mostly Shi'ite civilians in a rare joint assault with Islamic State insurgents, officials said on August 8.

"This evening, 235 people, including women and children, were released from Mirza Olang as a result of mediation by the local elders and provincial officials," Zabihullah Amani, a spokesman for the provincial governor, told AFP.

"They have been safely evacuated to Sar-e Pul city, but there are still an unknown number of people being kept hostage there," he said.

An Afghan security source told AFP there were still around 100 people being held hostage in Mirza Olang, situated in the Sayad district of Sar-e Pul Province, after insurgents captured it over the weekend.

Taliban and IS fighters working together in a rare joint operation killed around 50 men, women, and children in the mainly Shi'ite village on August 5 after overrunning a government-backed militia in a two-day battle, according to local officials, who also said they took about 150 families captive.

The Taliban denies it was a joint operation, saying a group under one of its commanders carried out the attack.

However, local villagers reported seeing fighters carrying both the white banner of the Taliban and the black banner of the Islamic State extremist group.

The Taliban has for years fought to install strict Islamic law and drive foreign forces out of Afghanistan, and it fiercely opposed IS's local affiliate when its first appeared in Afghanistan in 2015.

Any sign the two groups are now joining forces would alarm Western governments concerned about Afghanistan once again becoming a base for militant groups aiming to strike foreign targets.

The Al-Qaeda militant group worked with the Taliban and made Afghanistan its home base before the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. IS started out as an offshoot of Al-Qaeda's Iraqi affiliate before the two extremist groups became rivals.

The slaughter of civilians, most of them Shi'ites, has been a trademark of IS and its extremist brand of Sunni Islam. The majority of those killed in Mirza Olang were shot or beheaded, Amani told AFP.

Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri told AFP that 34 civilians were known to have been killed.

The discrepancy in the number of casualties highlights the difficulty of verifying information from poor, mountainous areas of Afghanistan made inaccessible by fighting and poor communications.

"Despite the efforts of elders, the bodies of the victims have not been recovered," Zaher Wahdat, the provincial governor, told Tolo News, an Afghan television channel.

"Two hundred and thirty-five hostages have been released. They are so shocked they can't even speak to tell us about any more other hostages," he said.

Amani, the provincial spokesman, said that dozens of Taliban and IS group fighters, under the command of a local Taliban commander who he claimed pledged allegiance to IS, launched a coordinated attack on the area on August 3.

Some 330 families escaped the area after warnings from the Taliban, but most of the civilians killed in the incident died while trying to leave, Reuters reported.

The insurgents defeated the Afghan local police after a 48-hour battle before massacring civilians, Amani said.

The Taliban confirmed capturing Mirza Olang but said it did so alone. It also denied allegations the insurgents killed civilians.

Taliban and IS fighters have regularly clashed in Afghanistan over the past two years, but security sources say they have teamed up in the past to strike Afghan forces in certain areas.

The release of hostages came after Afghan special forces amassed and launched an operation to retake the village.

"Commando forces have been deployed to the area, air strikes are being carried out as we speak, and commanders on the ground are busy planning the recapture of the valley," said Waziri, the Defense Ministry spokesman, promising that "the terrorists will pay for their crimes."

Sediq Sediqi, a spokesman for the Afghan government, told AFP it was difficult to know how many civilians were killed or captured but said "President Ashraf Ghani has instructed everyone to do everything to safeguard those people."

Ghani, whose government has recently been besieged by protests from Afghan civilians angry that the government is not protecting them from terrorist attacks, has vowed "revenge" for the attack.

With reporting by AFP and Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/hostages-235- freed-rare-joint-islamic-stte-taliban-attack-afghanistan- shia-mirza-olang-/28666160.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., Coalition Continue Strikes to Defeat ISIS in Syria, Iraq

From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release

SOUTHWEST ASIA, Aug. 9, 2017  U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria yesterday, conducting 31 strikes consisting of 41 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 25 strikes consisting of 32 engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, three strikes destroyed three ISIS supply routes.

-- Near Raqqa, 22 strikes engaged 15 ISIS tactical units and destroyed 20 fighting positions, an improvised explosive device, ISIS engineering equipment, a logistics node and a command-and-control node.

Strikes in Iraq

In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted six strikes consisting of nine engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Huwayjah, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed three vehicle-borne-IED facilities.

-- Near Beiji, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed a staging area and a vehicle.

-- Near Kisik, two strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed two command-and control-nodes and an IED factory.

-- Near Rawah, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit.

-- Near Tal Afar, a strike destroyed three vehicle-borne-IED facilities.

Other Recent Strikes

Officials also reported results today from nine other recent strikes consisting of 17 engagements for which details were unavailable at the time of yesterday's report:

-- Near Raqqa, an Aug. 6 strike destroyed 10 ISIS fighting positions and two mortar systems.

-- Near Raqqa, six Aug. 7 strikes engaged three ISIS tactical units and destroyed three fighting positions, an ISIS communications tower and a mortar system.

-- Near Tal Afar, two Aug. 7 strikes destroyed two IED facilities and a vehicle-borne-IED factory and suppressed five ISIS mortar teams.

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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Philippine slams outside interference in South China Sea dispute

People's Daily Online

(People's Daily Online) 16:54, August 09, 2017

Philippine Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano on Tuesday warned countries outside of the South China Sea, denouncing their interference in the disputed water.

The remarks come on the heel of a joint statement issued by the U.S., Japan, and Australia on Aug.7 calling on China and the Philippines to abide by the 2016 arbitration ruling on South China Sea.

In response to the accusation, Cayetno said the Philippines is sovereign and independent and will not be instructed by other nations when it comes to the South China Sea issue. The Secretary also noted that the Philippines will decide what is best for the country's national interest.

Though the U.S., Japan, and Australia are not claimants in the South China Sea, they have been constantly vocal on the dispute, calling for so-called "Freedom of Navigation" to satisfy their own needs.

Countries in the region, on the other hand, have reached certain consensus on the issue. The foreign ministers of the Association of Southeastern Asian Nations (ASEAN) issued a joint communique on Sunday, in which they took note of the improving situation in the South China Sea over the past year, agreeing that promoting peace, stability, and prosperity in the region will benefit all parties.

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Yemen's governing body urges active EU role in conflict resolution efforts

Iran Press TV

Wed Aug 9, 2017 7:2AM

Yemen's Supreme Political Council, which runs state affairs, has voiced its readiness to support any measure aimed at resolving the deadly conflict in the impoverished state, calling on the European Union (EU) to play an active role in the process.

Saleh Ali al-Sammad, the Council's head, made the remarks in a meeting on Tuesday with Antonia Calvo Puerta, the head of the EU delegation to Yemen, the official Saba' Net news agency reported.

Sammad expressed hope that the EU would draw the world's attention to the sufferings of the Yemeni people, citing the bloc's influence on the United Nations' Security Council member states.

The UN should play a positive and constructive role to settle the Yemen crisis regardless of any pressure to do otherwise, he added.

The Yemeni official also urged the EU to make efforts to alleviate the plight of the Yemenis, especially those residing in the country's southern provinces, where the terrorist groups of Daesh and al-Qaeda are active.

Sana'a has also called on the International Committee of the Red Cross to monitor the conditions of the Saudi prisons, where Yemenis are being held, Sammad pointed out.

Puerta, for her part, stressed that the EU pursues a political solution to the Yemen crisis rather than a military one, underlining the need to resume talks between the countries' opposite sides.

She further expressed concern over the humanitarian situation in Yemen.

The EU official also hailed Yemen's Houthi Ansarullah movement and the General People's Congress party for backing the dialogue process.

Saudi Arabia has been leading a brutal military campaign against Yemen for more than two years to eliminate the Houthis and reinstall a Riyadh-friendly former president. The Saudi military campaign, however, has failed to achieve either of the goals.

The protracted war, which has been accompanied by a naval and aerial blockade, has already killed over 12,000 Yemenis, with the US and the UK providing the bulk of weapons used by Saudi forces and giving coordinates for the airstrikes.

The Saudi-led offensive has also taken a heavy toll on Yemen's infrastructure and led to a humanitarian crisis.

Almost 2,000 people have died since the outbreak of a Cholera epidemic in April, according to the latest figures provided by the World Health Organization (WHO).

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Vietnam, US agree to strengthen military ties amid Chinese dispute

Iran Press TV

Wed Aug 9, 2017 5:13AM

Vietnam and the United States have agreed to forge deeper military ties, and an American aircraft carrier has been scheduled to visit the southeast Asian country amid a territorial dispute between Vietnam and China.

During a Tuesday meeting in Washington, Vietnamese Defense Minister Ngo Xuan Lich and his American counterpart James Mattis agreed that a strong military relationship between the two countries would serve their common interests, including freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.

The two top military officials further agreed on a visit by a US aircraft carrier to Vietnam next year, the first such visit since the end of the Vietnam War in 1975.

US President Donald Trump had discussed the possibility of the warship's visit to Vietnam with the Asian country's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc when they met at the White House back in May.

"The Secretary welcomed Vietnam's engagement and growing leadership in the Asia-Pacific region," read a statement issued by the US Defense Department after the meeting between the two defense ministers.

Pointing to the agreement, Vietnamese government consultant Ha Hoang Hop said it was consistent with Hanoi's diplomatic strategy of being open to all countries.

"Vietnam is not willing to compromise on issues of sovereignty and also makes its own preparations," he said.

Vietnam is involved in a territorial dispute in the South China Sea with regional power China. Tensions have further climbed since June, when Vietnam started drilling for oil and gas in an offshore block that Beijing disputes. The exploration was suspended following diplomatic protests from China but the broader dispute lingers.

China was also angered by Vietnam's position at an Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting last weekend, when it held out for language in a communique that pointed to concerns about Chinese island-building and militarization in the South China Sea.

The US, an extra-regional country, has been taking the side of China's rival claimants in the regional disputes, which also involve the Philippines, Taiwan, Brunei, and Malaysia.

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US Building Base in Near Daesh-Held Tal Afar - Iraqi Military

Sputnik News

20:24 09.08.2017

According to an Iraqi army source, United States is constructing a military base in northern part of Iraq in the vicinity of the city of Tal Afar.

ANKARA (Sputnik)  The United States is constructing a military base in northern part of Iraq in the vicinity of the city of Tal Afar controlled by the Daesh (outlawed in Russia) terrorist group, an Iraqi army source said Wednesday.

"The establishment of the base came upon talks held between U.S. and Iraqi forces Friday in Mosul's Zammar district," Lt. Col. Mahdi Khafaji told the Turkish Anadolu news agency.

The Iraqi lieutenant colonel added that more than 50 percent of the base had already been constructed and US special forces had already been deployed at the facility.

According to the official, the base is expected to be used for operations to drive Jihadists from Tal Afar.

On July 26, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi pledged to liberate Tal Afar from the terrorist group in the same resolute manner in which the liberation of Iraq's Mosul was conducted. Mosul was liberated on July 9.

 Sputnik

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India Continues to Violate China's Sovereignty in Donglang - Foreign Ministry

Sputnik News

19:45 09.08.2017(updated 22:28 09.08.2017)

Spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry stated that India must withdraw all of its personnel and equipment to the Indian side of the border in the disputed area of Donglang.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  With 53 Personnel and a bulldozer staying illegally in Chinese Territory, India continues to seriously violate China's sovereignty, a spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement Wednesday.

"As of August 7, India still has 53 Personnel and one bulldozer staying illegally in Chinese Territory. China want to stress that India must withdraw all of its personnel and equipment to the Indian side of the border. No matter how many Indian soldiers remain in Chinese territory, it is still a serious violation of China's sovereignty," the statement, as quoted by the Overseas Edition of People's Daily Newspaper, said.

Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi said on July 25 that India must pull its military units back from Chinese territory in Donglang at the Indian-Chinese border near the state of Sikkim to deescalate tensions.

India and China have been locked in a border standoff since mid-June. The confrontation occurred after Indian troops blocked the construction of a road carried out by China in the disputed area of Donglang, where Delhi supports Bhutan's territorial claims.

China insists that the territorial dispute in Sikkim was resolved as long ago as in 1890, when China and the British Empire signed the so-called Convention of Calcutta defining the borders in Sikkim. However, India-backed Bhutan is convinced that Beijing's attempt to extend a road to the Donglang area runs counter to a China-Bhutan agreement on maintaining peace in the region until the dispute is resolved.

Border face-offs between Indian and Chinese troops occur on an almost daily basis at different parts along the 4,057-kilometer (about 2,521 miles) Line of Actual Control between the two nations. China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) clashed with Indian forces twice in the Sikkim region in 1967. Sikkim became an Indian State in 1975 and China indirectly recognized India's control over Sikkim in 2003, upon agreement that India accepts Tibet as part of China.

 Sputnik

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Hanoi, Beijing Call Off Meeting as South China Sea Drama Brews

Sputnik News

03:55 09.08.2017(updated 09:37 09.08.2017)

A bilateral meeting slated to be held between Chinese and Vietnamese officials on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum over the weekend was scratched at the last minute, as tensions simmer in the South China Sea over a disputed oil field.

The diplomats "already met," an anonymous Chinese Foreign Ministry official told the Japan Times, though Vietnamese officials have not provided a reason explaining why the meeting was canceled.

Beijing and Hanoi recently disputed an oil field located in "Block 136-03" in the South China Sea, with Beijing reportedly vowing to attack Vietnamese bases in the Spratly Islands for sending ships to the area for oil exploration. Repsol, a Spanish-owned oil firm, leased rights to the area under dispute from Hanoi and has invested $300 million making it a commercially-viable asset.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry confirmed that it had taken "practical actions" to maintain the status quo in the South China Sea. Approximately $5 trillion worth of goods transit the waterway annually.

 Sputnik

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FBI Raided Trump Campaign Chief's Home Last Month

By Ken Bredemeier August 09, 2017

U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation agents raided the home of President Donald Trump's former campaign chief in the pre-dawn hours late last month, intensifying their probe of Russian interference in last year's presidential election.

The raid on the home of Paul Manafort, a long-time Republican political operative who has had deep financial ties to Russia and Ukraine, occurred just outside Washington in suburban Virginia and without warning.

Aides to the 68-year-old Manafort confirmed Wednesday that federal agents executed a search warrant on July 26, seizing documents and other materials.

The raid came just hours after Manafort had met voluntarily with the Senate Intelligence Committee, one of several congressional panels investigating possible collusion between Trump campaign officials and Russian officials aimed at helping Trump win last November's election.

The raid, however, was conducted as part of the criminal probe overseen by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. He is a former FBI director who was named to probe the links between the Trump campaign and Moscow, and whether Trump obstructed justice by firing James Comey, another former FBI director, while he was leading the agency's investigation before Mueller took over.

Trump said days after ousting Comey that he was thinking of "this Russia thing" when he decided to fire Comey, later boasting to Russian officials at a White House meeting that he'd been relieved of "great pressure" by dismissing Comey, whom he described as "crazy, a real nut job."

Manafort's activities on behalf of Trump and lobbying connections to Russia before he headed the Trump campaign from June through August of last year are one focus for Mueller and congressional investigators.

Trump Tower meeting

Of particular interest is a June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower in New York that Manafort attended along with Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

The younger Trump set up the meeting after an exchange of emails with an intermediary representing a Russian attorney, whom the go-between said would hand over incriminating material about Trump's election opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton. The younger Trump was told the lawyer represented the Russian government in its efforts to help Trump win.

Since then, the younger Trump and Kushner have told investigators that the lawyer had no material damaging to Clinton, and that nothing came of the meeting.

The White House has said that President Trump was unaware of the meeting at the time it occurred, but acknowledged recently that he "weighed in" on a statement his younger son released to The New York Times claiming that the meeting was about U.S. sanctions against Russia and Moscow's subsequent ban on adoptions of Russian children by Americans. It was an explanation for the meeting that unraveled within days, when its link to the campaign became clear after the younger Trump disclosed the contents of the emails.

With his election effort floundering at the time, Trump named Manafort as his campaign chief in June 2016, but his tenure lasted only a couple months.

He resigned as questions surfaced about millions of dollars he reportedly received for lobbying efforts on behalf of former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych, a pro-Moscow ruler toppled in the 2014 Ukrainian uprising who fled to Russia as violence erupted in the streets of Kyiv.

It was not known when Trump might have learned of the raid on Manafort's home.

But just hours after it occurred on July 26, in a Twitter comment, Trump criticized Attorney General Jeff Sessions for not firing the acting FBI director at the time, Andrew McCabe, whom Trump described as a friend of Comey's who had headed the investigation of Clinton's use of a private email server while she was secretary of state and had cleared her of wrongdoing.

The U.S. intelligence community has concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin personally directed a campaign aimed at helping Trump claim the White House. Trump has largely been dismissive of the Russian investigations, deriding them as a "witch hunt" and an excuse by Democrats to explain his upset victory over Clinton at a time when major U.S. pollsters were predicting she would win.

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Cholera Threatens to Sweep Across South Sudan During Rainy Season

By Lisa Schlein August 09, 2017

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is calling for rapid action to prevent a cholera epidemic in South Sudan from spiraling out of control as the rainy season in the country progresses.

More than 18,000 cases of cholera, including 328 deaths have been reported in South Sudan since June 2016. The International Organization for Migration warns the number of cases and deaths is likely to grow as the rainy season this year will leave as much as 60 percent of the country inaccessible by road.

IOM spokeswoman, Olivia Headon, tells VOA a combination of factors including the ongoing crisis, the rainy season and the movement of displaced people across the country is making it extremely difficult to contain this deadly disease.

"So, if you are maybe infected with cholera or someone in your family if you come in contact with this and then you move to a different part of the country, you are also bringing the infection with you," she said. "We hope that it does not spiral out of control and IOM with other partners in the U.N. and NGO [non-governmental organization] implementers on the ground are working so it does not."

IOM reports the scale of needs in this conflict-ridden country is unprecedented, with more than 7.5 million people dependent on humanitarian aid. The agency says disease outbreaks, such as cholera, are particularly dangerous for displaced and vulnerable populations. This includes children under five, thousands of whom are severely acutely malnourished and at risk of dying without therapeutic help.

Headon says IOM and partners are leading oral cholera vaccination campaigns across South Sudan. She says they are distributing cholera kits, including jerry cans, water treatment supplies and soap. She says aid workers also are repairing boreholes and conducting hygiene promotion in cholera-affected areas across the country.

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Kenyatta Appears Headed for Re-election as Opposition Claims Fraud

By Jill Craig August 09, 2017

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta appeared late Wednesday to be headed for re-election, while his opponent was charging that massive fraud had occurred in voting the day before.

Kenya's election commission said that with results from 96 percent of polling stations counted, Kenyatta led opposition leader Raila Odinga 54 percent to 44 percent.

Officials have up to a week to verify the results and announce a winner.

But Odinga alleged hackers had carried out a "massive and extensive" attack on the election commission's computer system and that the results announced so far were fraudulent.

'We caught them'

"What the IEBC [Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission] has posted as results on the presidential elections is a complete fraud based on a multiplier that fraudulently gave Uhuru Kenyatta votes that were not cast," Odinga said. "The fraud Jubilee [Kenyatta's party] has perpetuated on Kenyans surpasses any level of voter theft in our country's history. This time, we caught them."

The head of the commission, Ezra Chiloba, responded, telling reporters, "We have not been able to find any attempts of hacking and our position is ... that our systems are intact."

Rafael Tuju, secretary-general of the Jubilee Party, dismissed Odinga's accusations as disingenuous and appealed for calm.

"These results are not coming from out of the blue. They are marked by facts, and you cannot claim that results are fake with respect to presidential and you welcome the areas where your governors and your members of parliament have won convincingly," Tuju said.

Kenyatta and Odinga have a deep rivalry. They ran against each other in the 2007 and 2013 presidential elections. After he lost in 2013, Odinga alleged that votes had been tampered with and challenged the result in court. The 2007 election was followed by violence fueled by ethnic divisions that killed more than 1,000 people.

Protest in Kisumu

Shortly after Odinga spoke Wednesday, several hundred protesters in his western stronghold of Kisumu burned tires and clashed with police, who fired tear gas.

Also, five men with knives stabbed people at a polling station in the town of Hola. Police shot and killed two of the attackers, and the other three escaped.

One report said that one person, a poll worker, had been stabbed to death. It was unclear who carried out the attack and why.

In addition to choosing a president, voters also decided on senators, governors, women's representatives of the national assembly, members of the national assembly, and members of the county assemblies.

Former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is part of the international election observation mission. He said the the long lines he saw at polling stations Tuesday was a sign Kenyan voters were committed.

"It's too early for us to draw any kinds of conclusions, so we're not. But, obviously, given what's happened in the past and given the stakes for the future, this is a very, very important election, and clearly the citizens of Kenya are taking it very, very seriously," Kerry said.

'Nothing bad has occurred'

Hellen Mazitoh, 32, a voter from the Githogoro slum in Nairobi, waited in line for well over seven hours, but said she wasn't complaining.

"Let me say, the election mood is good," she said. "People are voting. Once they vote, they are going home. Nothing bad has occurred. Nobody left. People are responding well."

Voter Emmanuel Musundi Wamukundi, 33, waited for more than four hours at his polling station in Nairobi. He said the lines were a bit disorganized in the beginning, but otherwise, things seemed to be running smoothly.

"I mean, it's patriotism. This is for my country, and I want to be involved in it," said Wamukundi. "I want my voice to be heard, and it's the only thing I can do to change things."

The electoral commission said heavy rain hampered voting in three parts of the country  Turkana North, Baringo and Samburu  and helicopters were required to airlift materials and polling officials.

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North Korea Threatens Attack Plan for Guam by Mid-August

By Ken Bredemeier August 09, 2017

North Korean state media on Wednesday quoted General Kim Rak Gyom as saying Pyongyang was "about to take" military action targeting the U.S. western Pacific territory of Guam, home to sizable U.S. Air Force and Navy facilities.

Kim, who commands the Strategic Force of the Korean People's Army, said the North would finalize a plan by mid-August to fire four mid-range missiles known as Hwasong-12 rockets toward the island. After passing over Japan, they would be expected to land in waters 30 to 40 kilometers off the shores of Guam.

The plan, unusual in its level of detail, would then go to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and "wait for his order," General Kim said, according to state news agency KCNA.

Guam is home to about 163,000 people; 7,000 of them are U.S. military personnel.

General Kim's statement was the latest retort in a swift and potentially deadly exchange between Pyongyang and Washington.

Earlier Wednesday, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said North Korea risked annihilation if it started a war, and he told Pyongyang it must end its pursuit of nuclear weaponry.

Pyongyang called 'overmatched'

Mattis said North Korea "should cease any consideration of actions that would lead to the end of its regime and the destruction of its people." The reclusive communist nation, he added, "must choose to stop isolating itself and stand down its pursuit of nuclear weapons."

Mattis, whose remarks came in a statement, warned that the U.S. and its allies "now possess the most precise, rehearsed and robust defensive and offensive capabilities on Earth." He said any North Korean military operation "will continue to be grossly overmatched by ours and would lose any arms race or conflict it initiates."

Mattis, a retired Marine Corps general, spoke out after President Donald Trump, in the midst of an exchange of bellicose threats with North Korea, declared that the United States nuclear arsenal "is now far stronger and more powerful than ever before."

In an early-morning Twitter comment, Trump said his first order as president after taking office in January "was to renovate and modernize our nuclear arsenal." He added that he hoped "we will never have to use this power, but there will never be a time that we are not the most powerful nation in the world!"

It was not immediately clear what overhaul of the country's nuclear weaponry Trump was referencing. The president has called for a big increase in military spending, including research into and development of new weapons, but Congress has yet to enact a fiscal 2018 spending plan.

Trump's latest assessment of the country's potent military strength came less than a day after he issued a stark warning to North Korea. If Pyongyang continues its threats against the United States, the president declared, "they will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen."

Intended tone

Some critics have questioned the vehemence of Trump's "fire and fury" remarks. White House aides said Wednesday the words were improvised by the president before he spoke to reporters late Tuesday at his vacation home in New Jersey, but they emphasized that the president's comment certainly reflected the tone he meant to convey to North Korea.

Before Trump spoke out, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and members of the National Security Council were clear that he "was going to respond to North Korea's threats ... with a strong message in no uncertain terms."

However, the top U.S. diplomat, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, sought to downplay the threats Pyongyang and Trump had leveled at each other following last week's unanimous vote by the U.N. Security Council to impose new, more stringent sanctions on North Korea. The new penalties are intended to reduce Pyongyang's income from exported goods and labor by at least $1 billion  one-third of its current annual earnings  and thus to force an end to its nuclear weapons development.

On a refueling layover in Guam as he returned to Washington from a trip through Southeast Asia, Tillerson said, "I think Americans should sleep well at night and have no concerns about this particular rhetoric of the last few days." Tillerson added that Trump, as commander in chief, "felt it necessary to issue a very strong statement directly to North Korea."

Defense capability

The secretary of state continued: "I think what the president was just reaffirming is that the United States has capability to fully defend itself in any attack and defend our allies. And we will do so. And so, the American people should sleep well at night."

Tillerson said Trump's rhetoric was intended for North Korean leader Kim, in words he "would understand, because he does not seem to understand diplomatic language."

North Korea had said earlier Wednesday that its armed forces were "carefully examining" a plan to launch missile strikes against Guam. American military bases on the U.S. Pacific island territory are thought to hold the largest U.S. arsenal of nuclear weapons outside the continental United States.

Tillerson said he never considered rerouting his jet's refueling stop.

"I do not believe that there is any imminent threat, in my own view," Tillerson said.

The governor of Guam, Eddie Calvo, said authorities there were "prepared for any eventuality," but they do not feel they are under threat. "Guam is American soil ... not just a military installation," Calvo added, and noted that he had been assured by the White House that any attack on the island would be considered an attack on the United States.

Tillerson said he hoped the U.N. sanctions and the world community, including China and Russia, "can begin to persuade [North Korea] that they need to reconsider the current pathway they're on and think about engaging in a dialogue about a different future."

VOA's Steve Herman, Margaret Besheer and Carla Babb contributed to this report.

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UN Diplomats Mull Options on North Korea

By Margaret Besheer August 09, 2017

On Saturday, August 5, the U.N. Security Council unanimously increased international pressure on North Korea, imposing the toughest sanctions to date on the rogue nation to compel it to stop pursuing nuclear and ballistic weapons.

The negotiations took several weeks and were, at times, difficult. Not unusual when it comes to working out targeted sanctions against Pyongyang.

Negotiations on the previous two sanctions resolutions took about three months each.

The United States led the discussions along with China, the North's main ally. U.S. negotiators managed to win some tough concessions from China, including the removal of a cap on coal exports from North Korea and replacing it with an all-out ban. They also hit other sectors, including iron and iron ore, and lead and lead ore, as well as seafood.

Combined, the export revenue losses to Pyongyang are expected to be about $1 billion a year  or a third of their entire export income  if the sanctions are fully enforced.

"Nuclear and ballistic missile development is expensive," U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley told Security Council members after the vote. "The revenues the North Korean government receives are not going toward feeding its people," she noted.

The council hopes to choke funding to the illicit weapons program while nudging leader Kim Jong Un to a diplomatic and political settlement.

Getting to sanctions

This is the latest and progressively toughest round of sanctions imposed on North Korea since its first nuclear test in 2006. They were necessitated by two intercontinental ballistic missile launches in July  which showed that Pyongyang may now have the capacity to bring the U.S. mainland and much of Europe into its crosshairs.

The strength of the sanctions also indicates that even Beijing's patience with North Korea is wearing thin.

"I think on the Chinese side, just by agreeing to these measures, the sectoral stuff, they would never have agreed to this just a couple of years ago," one Security Council diplomat said. "I think [this] demonstrates that they actually believe that some solution will require applying additional pressure of this sort  measures that have a role on economic impact," the diplomat added.

Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the United States is not interested in regime change or its collapse, sending its military into North Korea or the immediate reunification of the Korean peninsula. He also left the door open to dialogue with Pyongyang.

China's U.N. ambassador, Liu Jieyi, seized on those remarks after backing the new sanctions resolution, even giving Tillerson's comments a name.

"It's our hope that the U.S. side will translate these 'four no's' into concrete policies toward the DPRK," Liu said, using the abbreviation for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Some observers question whether Tillerson was trying to smooth the way for Beijing to accept the new sanctions. Former U.S. deputy ambassador to the U.N. and North Korea sanctions negotiator David Pressman disagrees.

"I think it's largely consistent with U.S. policy and what U.S. policy has been for some time," said Pressman, now a partner with law firm Bois, Schiller and Flexner. "Obviously, it is helpful for the Chinese to be reminded that our policy has not changed."

Analysts say that for the latest round of sanctions to have any impact, China needs to fully implement them. That is something Beijing has been accused of not always doing in the past.

"Will they now faithfully implement the spirit of the resolution? That is something that requires more than political courage to raise your hand and vote for something, it requires a practical enforcement that to-date has been lax," Pressman said.

Next steps

"While the Security Council has done good work, the members of the Security Council  and all U.N. member states  must do more to increase the pressure on North Korea," Ambassador Haley said Saturday. "We must work together to fully implement the sanctions we imposed today and those imposed in past resolutions."

That also could include secondary sanctions on countries that do not enforce the measures imposed on North Korea.

While it is full speed ahead on the pressure track, North Korea also needs an "off ramp," the Security Council diplomat said, similar to what the major powers did for Iran in negotiating the deal that brought their nuclear program under international monitoring and lifted sanctions.

"There needs to be a direction where this country can go, where it can take the steps it needs to take," the diplomat said of Pyongyang.

What that would be and how to get there is still under discussion, but it almost certainly would include a return to some format of international talks.

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India's Foreign Defense Procurement Jumps Eightfold Under Modi Regime

Sputnik News

20:58 09.08.2017(updated 21:24 09.08.2017)

The purchases, mainly from the US, Russia and Israel, are aimed either at plugging shortages or advancing the modernization of India's armed forces.

New Delhi (Sputnik)  The modernization of India's armed forces has progressed at a rapid pace over the last three years, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government promptly cleared as a huge number of defense procurements that had been stalled by the previous regime.

According to latest official figures, the Indian government signed 23 contracts worth $12.1 billion with foreign vendors in the last financial year, ending March 2017, with the twin objective of addressing shortages and continuing upgrades.

"The Indian Defense Ministry signed 23 contracts with foreign vendors worth $12.1 billion during the last financial year," Subhash Bhamre, India's minister of state for defense said in Parliament. The figure was $4.3 billion in 2015-16 and $1.69 billion in 2014-15.

Modi took over as prime minister after the National Democratic Alliance's landslide victory in the May 2014 general elections. Under the previous regime lead by the United Progressive Alliance, modernization plans for the army moved sluggishly.

One of Modi's main visions has been 'Make in India'  a program that aims to enhance India's own defense production capability by ensuring the transfer of technology, eventually reducing import dependency in the defense sector.

However, government records show that there has been minuscule ($0.165 million) foreign direct investment in the defense sector in last three years. In the absence of technological know-how, India continues to be dependent on the import of critical defense equipment including aircraft, rockets, missiles, artillery guns and ammunition.

For the fiscal year 2017-18, the Indian government has allocated approximately $13 billion out of the total defense budget of $41.1 billion for the procurement of defense equipment. Earlier this week, the Defense Ministry asked for an additional fund of $3 billion, citing the need for additional purchases of critical ammunition. The country's apex auditing body, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), in its recent report highlighted the fact that the ammunition currently possessed by India's defense forces is not even adequate for a full-scale war of about 10 days.

The Defense Ministry's demand is yet to be responded to by the Finance Ministry, which is facing a tough time as the country's fiscal deficit is already touching a record 80.8 percent of the budgeted target for the current fiscal year.

 Sputnik

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On Nagasaki Anniversary, North Korea Threat Tests Japan's Nuclear Taboo

By Henry Ridgwell August 09, 2017

As North Korea and the United States increase rhetoric on Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program, long-held taboos are being broken in neighboring Japan  the only country to have suffered nuclear bombardment, at the end of World War II.

Analysts say the debate over whether Tokyo should develop nuclear weapons of its own is moving from the far right fringes to the political mainstream.

A Japanese Defense Ministry White Paper this week echoed reported concerns within the U.S. intelligence community, that Pyongyang has achieved the key final step of miniaturizing nuclear warheads  enabling it to deliver atomic bombs.

Former Japanese Defense Ministry adviser Narushige Michishita, now an analyst at Tokyo's National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, says the country would have minimal warning in the event of a nuclear missile launch.

"It's quite likely even that North Korea can attack Tokyo with nuclear weapons today. And so if missiles are launched, it will reach Japan within 10 minutes," said Michishita. "From the time we detect the missile until the time it impacts on Japanese territory, we would have six or seven minutes."

North Korea is believed by some observers to have more than 200 so-called "No Dong" missiles capable of carrying warheads that put Japan well within range. An attack on a crowded city like Tokyo would put hundreds of thousands of lives at risk.

Japan's constitution allows military action only in self-defense. Some lawmakers want that definition extended to allow Japan to acquire preemptive strike capabilities to counter North Korea.

Hawkish conservatives go further, among them Finance Minister Taro Aso. He has argued that Japan should keep open the option of developing nuclear weapons as a deterrent. The country already has a large stockpile of nuclear fuel from its civilian power program.

The issue is openly debated in South Korea. But polls show just five percent of Japanese want their country to be a nuclear power.

Security analyst Kuni Miyake, with Tokyo's Canon Institute of Global Affairs, said, "We face the threat from North Korea. But it doesn't mean we will react with nuclear weapons. I don't think we will go nuclear in the foreseeable future. Even if South Korea might go, we will be the last."

Narushige Michishita questions whether nuclear weapons would offer Tokyo diplomatic leverage.

"If we possess nuclear weapons and say we would retaliate if North Korea used nuclear weapons against us, is it credible? I don't think so. And North Korea is not trying to attack us with nuclear weapons. They would be threatening us to do so in order to prevent us from assisting South Korea. That's their objective," said Michishita.

This week marked the anniversary of the 1945 Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear bombings, which killed hundreds of thousands of people. The commemorations were clouded by renewed fears of war on the Korean peninsula.

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Four Pakistani Soldiers Killed in Gunfight with Militants

By Ayaz Gul August 08, 2017

Officials in Pakistan say a gunfight with militants in a northwestern district near the Afghan border Wednesday left four soldiers dead, including a high ranking officer.

The military said the early morning clash occurred when security forces raided a terrorist hideout in the Sherotkai area of the Upper Dir district and militants, including two suicide bombers, entrenched there, retaliated with heavy gunfire.

'Terrorist' captured

One bomber blew himself up while the other was killed during the firefight and a third "terrorist" was captured, it said.

"An officer and three soldiers sacrificed their lives while foiling a devastating terrorist activity," the statement added.

A spokesman for the anti-state Pakistani Taliban claimed its fighters engaged the raiding troops and killed them.

"These cowardly attacks on our law enforcing agencies can never flinch our resolve to back-off or slow down in our resolve to continue with anti-terror operations," Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said in a separate statement.

Spy officer killed by IS

Islamic State has also taken credit for some of the recent attacks on Pakistani security forces.

The Middle East-based terrorist group through its Amaq global media outlet claimed responsibly for Tuesday's assassination in Multan of an officer of the country's main spy agency, ISI.

Earlier this year an ISI officer's bullet-riddled body was found on a busy road in the southern Pakistani city days after he was kidnapped. IS claimed it was behind the killing.

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June 21, 1924  Aug. 4, 2017

Kenneth Ken Dayton Bielman of Corvallis, died August 4 in Albany. He was 93.

Ken was born in Bucoda, Washington, the son of Cue J and Olga M Bielman.

He started school in Beaverton, subsequently attending Welches School at Mt. Hood, Washington School in Corvallis, Woodstock School in Portland and Taft and Rose Lodge Grade Schools matriculating in 1938. His secondary school years were spent at Taft Union High at Lincoln City, graduating with the class of 1942.

From birth until he entered the military he went by his middle name, Dayton.

Early in WWII, Ken spent a year in the US Merchant Marines prior to spending two and a half years in the US Coast Guard where he attained the rank of Electronics Technician First Class.

During the 1946-47 school year, he studied music at Lewis & Clark College before transferring to the School of Engineering at Oregon State College, (OSC), where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in1950.

Ken married Alta June AJ Myles of Portland June 15, 1948. They had four children, Steve, Lyn, Mark and Clayton, all of whom attended grade and high schools in the Corvallis school system. Ken and AJ were divorced in 1971.

On September 15, 1972 Ken married Iva Jewell Julie Crownover of Denver, Colorado, the mother of three children, Michael, Scott and Cheryl.

While still attending OSC in 1948, Ken joined CH2M HILL Consulting Engineers as a surveying assistant, later becoming a fulltime employee (employee number 12), after receiving his engineering degree. Assigned to the Water/ Wastewater Discipline, Ken served as a project engineer until 1971 when he was transferred to Denver to open a new regional office for the firm.

In 1978, he transferred to Atlanta to manage that office until 1981 when he and his wife Julie moved to Alexandria, Egypt, to fill the role of Manager of Design for the huge wastewater project that the firm had undertaken.

In 1983, at the conclusion of the design phase of the Alexandria project, Ken transferred to Amman, Jordan, to serve as Program Manager for two wastewater projects outside of Amman.

In 1984, he returned to Corvallis to head up the Water and Wastewater Departments in the Corvallis office, but continued his involvement with the International Division of the firm in the Mid-East and in Southeast Asia until his retirement in 1990.

After retirement, he continued to work as an on-call water engineer on projects in Cyprus, Dubai, Saudi Arabia and Turkey for another 10 years, retiring fully in 2000.

Ken had a deep fondness for music beginning with violin, guitar and saxophone in his early years, and finally settling on piano for the rest of his life as a part-time jazz pianist. Starting in 1941, he played with big bands and small jazz ensembles and as pianist in Dixieland Jazz Bands.

Ken is survived by Julie, his wife of 45 years; his three sons, Steve, Mark, and Clay; three step children Mike, Scott and Cheryl; grandchildren, Steve Bielman II, James Bielman, Matt Bielman, Simon Bielman, Cameron Bielman, Abbey Bielman and Justin Labhart all on the Bielman side; Jennifer Wenning and Brian Crownover on the Crownover side; and 13 great grandchildren with one on the way.

Lyn preceded her father in death.
S.Korea closely monitoring possible DPRK "provocation" after strike warning against Guam: official

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 13:18, August 09, 2017

South Korea's unification ministry said Wednesday that the country was closely monitoring "possible provocation" of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) after Pyongyang's warning of preemptive missile strikes against the U.S. island of Guam in the Pacific.

Seoul's unification ministry spokesman Baek Tae-hyun told a press briefing that the authorities of South Korea and the United States were closely watching relevant moves in preparation for the DPRK's "further provocation."

Baek said the South Korean military authorities maintained a complete defense readiness in preparation for several possible situations, noting that it would be important for the DPRK "to stop provocation and change attitude."

The remarks followed the DPRK's warning of preemptive missile strikes against the U.S. military base of Guam in response to two U.S. strategic bombers which were sent again Tuesday to South Korea.

Earlier in the day, the spokesman of the Strategic Force of the Korean People's Army (KPA) of the DPRK was quoted by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) as saying the military was examining an operational plan for an enveloping missile strike at areas around Guam with its intermediate-range ballistic missiles, called Hwasong-12.

According to the KCNA report, the U.S. military flew two B-1B bombers, which are based on the U.S. Anderson Air Force Base in Guam, Tuesday over the Korean Peninsula. The bombers have been "threatening and blackmailing" the DPRK through their frequent visits to the sky above South Korea, the KCNA said.

Just hours before the DPRK's strike warning, U.S. President Donald Trump warned Pyongyang that if it continues to threaten the U.S., the DPRK would face "fire and fury" the world has never seen.

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South Korean President Calls for Urgent Enhancement of Defense Capabilities

Sputnik News

07:42 09.08.2017

South Korea must urgently and completely reform its defense system in view of the threat of North Korea, according to South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  South Korea must urgently and completely reform its defense system in view of the threat of North Korea, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Wednesday.

"I believe we might need a complete defense reform at the level of a rebirth instead of making some improvements or modifications," Moon said, as quoted by the Yonhap news agency, adding that one of the urgent tasks that the country is facing is to secure defense capabilities "to counter North Korea's nuclear and missile provocations."

Earlier in the day, North Korea announced it was considering the possibility of carrying out missile strikes near the Pacific island of Guam, where US Andersen Air Force Base and the Naval Base Guam in Apra Harbor are located.

On Tuesday, Japanese Defense Ministry in its annual White Paper stated that North Korea could have developed the technology for production of a miniaturized nuclear warhead to arm its missiles. Since 2006, North Korea has carried out five tests of nuclear weapons, with Pyongyang claiming it tested a miniaturized nuclear warhead during the latest one, conducted in September 2016.

On Saturday, the UN Security Council unanimously approved a resolution tightening the sanctions against North Korea, following the latter's two most recent ballistic missile launches, carried out in July.

 Sputnik

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Syrian Gov't, Opposition Unsure When to Meet After Faction Refuses to Take Part

Sputnik News

18:39 09.08.2017

The date of the forthcoming meeting of the Syrian opposition groups has not been agreed on yet, because Qadri Jamil, the leader of the Moscow platform of the opposition, refused to attend the event, High Negotiations Committee (HNC) spokesman Riyad Naasan Agha told Sputnik on Wednesday.

DUBAI (Sputnik)  Earlier in the month, members of the HNC said that Riyadh would gather the representatives of other opposition movements on August 15. At the same time, on Monday, Naasan Agha told Sputnik that the date of the meeting has not been determined yet.

"The date [of the meeting] has not been approved yet, because Qadri Jamil has refused to go to Riyadh," the spokesman said, commenting the reports about the date of the meeting.

The Syrian opposition taking part in Geneva settlement talks is not homogeneous as there are a number of platforms uniting different opposition groups with various views on several aspects of the country's future. The platforms are mostly named after the places where they had been established, such as the Cairo and the Moscow groups. HNC was formed in Riyadh.

 Sputnik

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Ukraine cancels deal with Russia on joint military exports

Iran Press TV

Wed Aug 9, 2017 4:58PM

Ukraine has scrapped an inter-governmental military agreement with Russia that prevented unauthorized export of jointly developed weapons and equipment.

The government of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko decided to kill the agreement on Wednesday, more than 13 years after it came into effect, Russia's TASS news agency reported.

Approved by both sides on March 24, 2004, the pact was based on a 1993 agreement on military and technical cooperation that allowed the two countries to jointly develop and manufacture military equipment and deliver them to other countries.

The 1993 agreement prohibited either side from selling or transferring military products and information jointly developed or modernized after January 1, 1992 to a third party, including foreign private individuals, legal entities or international organizations.

The new deal was aimed at establishing interaction between Ukraine and Russia in the export of military goods to third parties.

Ukraine has suspended the shipments of military goods to Russia since late March 2014, in the wake of the Crimean Peninsula's reintegration with Russia as a result of a referendum amid conflict in Ukraine's restive east.

In June that year, Poroshenko fully banned military cooperation with Russia.

Kiev put further restrictions on military ties with Russia in August 2014, when the country's National Security and Defense Council instructed the government to reduce the export of military and dual-purpose goods to Russia.

The council only made exceptions for space hardware Moscow used for research and space exploration for peaceful purposes as part of its contributions to international space projects.

Ukraine has been named as the world's eighth exporter of armaments by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. According to a study cited by The Washington Post, around 70 percent of Ukraine's defense-related exports flowed to Russia before 2014, amounting to some $1 billion.

The Post reported in 2014 that various Ukrainian companies were providing the Russian military with a wide range of products, including around 300 helicopter engines, as well as gas-turbine engines for warships. Russia has already started replacing the products with domestic versions.

The daily also claimed that Russia's heavy nuclear missiles such as the SS-18 Satan were designed by "Ukraine-based researchers" while many other Russian missiles relied on parts coming from Ukrainian factories. Russia has replaced the missile with a domestically-developed heavier version called RS-28 Sarmat.

The curtailment of military ties is expected to hit the Ukrainian military, since its is heavily dependent on Russian weapons. The country has managed to develop a robust air force by employing advanced Russian equipment such as the S-300, Buk and Osa air defense systems.

The US is planning to prevent Ukraine from using Russian tech by offering its own range of military products.

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English Estonian

Tallinn, 2017-08-10 08:50 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AS Tallink Grupp Unaudited Consolidated Interim Report Q2 2017

In the second quarter (1 April  30 June) of the 2017 financial year Tallink Grupp AS and its subsidiaries (the Group) carried 2.6 million passengers which is 6.8% more compared to the second quarter last year. The Groups unaudited revenue for the second quarter increased by 6.0% to the total of EUR 259.9 million. Unaudited EBITDA for the second quarter increased by 35.1% to the total of EUR 48.9 million (EUR 36.2 million, Q2 2016) and unaudited net profit increased by 83.2% to the total of EUR 17.9 million (EUR 9.8 million, Q2 2016).

In the second quarter, the Groups revenue and operating result was impacted by following operational factors:

- After the rerouting of ships in December 2016, the carriage capacity increased on number of operated routes;

- In the second quarter of 2017, one cruise ferry operated the Tallinn  Helsinki route cruise service compared to two cruise ferries in the same period last year;

- In financial year 2017 the Easter holidays seasonal traffic fell into the beginning of the second quarter, last year the holidays were in the first quarter.

Sales and segments

The Estonia-Finland routes second quarter revenue increased by 3.0% compared to same period last year, the increase is driven mainly by growth in the passenger number and cargo volume that was supported by added capacity. In the end of January, the new LNG fast ferry Megastar started operating the Tallink Shuttle service on the Tallinn-Helsinki route next to fast ferry Star and replaced fast ferry Superstar. The new ship accommodates approximately 40% more passengers and the car deck capacity is almost doubled compared to the replaced ship. The feedback on the new ship has been very positive from all customer groups and partners.

The Estonia-Finland segment result for the second quarter increased by 24.7% compared to the same period last year and amounted to EUR 19.8 million, the growth is derived mostly from the new Shuttle vessel Megastar. The segment result was supported by growth of passenger number, higher average revenue per passenger, increase of number of transported cargo units and lower operating expenses. Starting from February 2017 there is no charter hire cost from fast ferry Superstar.

The Finland-Sweden routes second quarter revenue increased by 4.8% compared to same period last year, the growth was supported by 7.1% higher passenger number on the routes. The number of cargo units transported increased by 2.4%. The segment second quarter result increased by EUR 6,4 million, compared to same period last year and amounted to EUR 9.4 million.

The Estonia-Sweden routes second quarter revenue increased by 5.6% compared to same period last year, the growth was supported by 6,8% higher passenger number on the routes. The number of cargo units transported increased by 2.8%. The segment result decreased by 12.5% in the second quarter and amounted to EUR 3.7 million compared to same period last year.

The Latvia-Sweden route second quarter revenue increased by 55.7% compared to same period last year and the number of cargo units transported increased by 59.3%. The second quarter segment result decreased to EUR -0.6 million, starting from December 2016 two ships are operating on the route compared to one ship in the second quarter last year.

Earnings

In the second quarter of the 2017 financial year the Groups gross profit increased by EUR 11.0 million compared to the same period last year and amounted to EUR 59.3 million. The second quarter EBITDA increased by EUR 12.7 million and was EUR 48.9 million. The second quarter growth was driven by higher passenger number from holiday season effects and added capacity, more optimal operating cost on Tallinn  Helsinki route with three vessels but the result was also impacted by higher fuel cost compared to same period last year.

The net finance costs decreased by EUR 1.4 million compared to the second quarter last year, there are EUR 1.7 million lower interest cost and total EUR 0.3 million lower losses from exchange rate differences and cross currency and interest derivatives revaluations compared to same period last year.

The income tax on dividends in amount of EUR 4.1 million was recorded in the second quarter costs, compared to EUR 0.3 million in same period last year.

The Groups pretax profit for the second quarter more than doubled compared to the same period last year and amounted to EUR 22.0 million. The unaudited net profit for the second quarter of the 2017 financial year was EUR 17.9 million or EUR 0.027 per share compared to the net profit of EUR 9.8 million or EUR 0.015 per share in the same period last year.

Results of the first 6 months of 2017

In the first 6 months (1 January  30 June) of the 2017 financial year the Group carried 4.5 million passengers which is 3.4% more compared to the same period last year. The Groups unaudited revenue for the period increased by 3.0% to the total of EUR 451.4 million. Unaudited EBITDA for the first 6 months was EUR 54.1 million (EUR 52.4 million, 6M 2016) and unaudited net loss was EUR 2.4 million (EUR 2.2 million, 6M 2016 net loss).

The financial result of the first 6 months of 2017 was impacted by the scheduled maintenances of five cruise ferries in the first quarter of 2017 and carriage capacity increase on number of routes from the rerouting of vessels in December 2016. In the first half of the year the competition on the maritime traffic in between Estonia and Finland has increased which has put pressure on ticket prices.

Financial position

In the second quarter the Groups net debt decreased by EUR 37.2 million to a total of EUR 653.7 million. The net debt to EBITDA ratio was 4.3 at the end of the second quarter.

The total liquidity, cash and unused credit facilities, at the end of the second quarter was EUR 92.2 million (EUR 123.6 million, 30 June 2016) providing a strong financial position for sustainable operations. The Group had EUR 82.0 million (EUR 92.3 million, 30 June 2016) in cash and equivalents and the total of unused credit lines were at EUR 10.2 million (EUR 31.3 million, 30 June 2016).

KEY FIGURES OF THE Q2 2017

For the period Q2 2017 Q2 2016 Change % Revenue (million euros) 259.9 245.2 6.0% Gross profit (million euros) 59.3 48.3 22.8% Net profit for the period (million euros) 17.9 9.8 83.2% EBITDA (million euros) 48.9 36.2 35.1% Depreciation and amortisation (million euros) 21.5 19.4 11.1% Investments (million euros) 5.3 18.7 -71.7% Weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding1 669 882 040 669 882 040 0.0% Earnings per share 0.027 0.015 83.2% Number of passengers 2 587 033 2 423 057 6.8% Number of cargo units 91 819 84 392 8.8% Average number of employees 7 582 7 281 4.1% As at 30.06.17 31.03.17 Change % Total assets (million euros) 1 739.0 1 730.2 0.5% Total liabilities (million euros) 948.0 937.1 1.2% Interest-bearing liabilities (million euros) 735.7 763.2 -3.6% Net debt (million euros) 653.7 690.9 -5.4% Net debt to EBITDA 4.33 4.99 -13.2% Total equity (million euros) 791.1 793.1 -0.3% Equity ratio (%) 45.5% 45.8% Number of ordinary shares outstanding1 669 882 040 669 882 040 0.0% Shareholders equity per share 1.18 1.18 -0.3% Ratios Q2 2017 Q2 2016 Gross margin (%) 22.8% 19.7% EBITDA margin (%) 18.8% 14.7% Net profit margin (%) 6.9% 4.0%

EBITDA: Earnings before net financial items, share of profit of equity accounted investees, taxes, depreciation and amortisation

Earnings per share: net profit / weighted average number of shares outstanding

Equity ratio: total equity / total assets

Shareholders equity per share: shareholders equity / number of shares outstanding

Gross margin: gross profit / net sales

EBITDA margin: EBITDA / net sales

Net profit margin: net profit / net sales

Net debt: Interest-bearing liabilities less cash and cash equivalents

Net debt to EBITDA: Net debt / 12-months trailing EBITDA

1 Share numbers exclude own shares.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF PROFIT OR LOSS AND OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

Unaudited, in thousands of EUR Q2 2017 Q2 2016 6M 2017 6M 2016 Revenue (Note 3) 259 858 245 234 451 406 438 055 Cost of sales -200 579 -196 972 -377 257 -363 315 Gross profit 59 279 48 262 74 149 74 740 Sales and marketing expenses -19 334 -18 303 -37 114 -36 595 Administrative expenses -12 844 -14 259 -25 454 -26 277 Other operating income 213 1 073 336 1 573 Other operating expenses -9 -12 -144 -28 Result from operating activities 27 305 16 761 11 773 13 413 Finance income (Note 4) 5 417 1 766 7 908 4 362 Finance costs (Note 4) -10 696 -8 413 -17 969 -19 686 Profit/-loss before income tax 22 026 10 114 1 712 -1 911 Income tax -4 112 -333 -4 126 -335 Net profit/-loss for the period 17 914 9 781 -2 414 -2 246 Other comprehensive income/-expense Exchange differences on translating foreign operations 629 -107 18 -165 Other comprehensive income for the period 629 -107 18 -165 Total comprehensive income/-expense for the period 18 543 9 674 -2 396 -2 411 Basic and diluted earnings per share (in EUR per share, note 5) 0,027 0,015 -0,004 -0,003

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION

Unaudited, in thousands of EUR 30.06.2017 31.12.2016 ASSETS Cash and cash equivalents 81 959 78 773 Trade and other receivables 49 412 38 674 Prepayments 14 274 7 926 Income tax prepayments 0 91 Inventories 51 623 38 719 Current assets 197 268 164 183 Investments in equity-accounted investees 363 363 Other financial assets 354 348 Deferred income tax assets 18 795 18 791 Investment property 300 300 Property, plant and equipment (Note 7) 1 471 712 1 304 897 Intangible assets (Note 8) 50 236 50 127 Non-current assets 1 541 760 1 374 826 TOTAL ASSETS 1 739 028 1 539 009 LIABILITIES AND EQUITY Interest-bearing loans and borrowings (Note 9) 152 803 106 112 Trade and other payables 109 410 103 280 Dividends payable to shareholders 20 100 4 Income tax liability 4 087 10 Deferred income 44 935 30 895 Current liabilities 331 335 240 301 Interest-bearing loans and borrowings (Note 9) 582 880 452 793 Derivatives (Note 6) 33 749 32 359 Non-current liabilities 616 629 485 152 Total liabilities 947 964 725 453 Share capital (Note 10) 361 736 361 736 Share premium 639 639 Reserves 70 998 68 774 Retained earnings 357 691 382 407 Equity attributable to equity holders of the Parent 791 064 813 556 Equity 791 064 813 556 TOTAL LIABILITIES AND EQUITY 1 739 028 1 539 009

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
Gold Mineral Resource Highlights include:



An Indicated Mineral Resource comprising 1.3 million ounces of gold and 6.5 million ounces of silver

An Inferred Mineral Resource comprising 1.0 million ounces of gold and 7.3 million ounces of silver

Updated Mineral Resource estimates have been completed for the Umuna Prospect and the Ewatinona Prospect

Further interpreted significant extensions of current mineralisation are observed on surface along strike and at depth at both Umuna and Ewatinona

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 10, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- WCB Resources Ltd (WCB or the Company) (TSX.V:WCB) is pleased to announce an updated mineral resource reported in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101") for the Umuna Zone and Ewatinona Prospects on its Misima Island Project in Papua New Guinea. A Technical Report by Skandus, Resource Consultants, supporting this news release will be filed on SEDAR within 45 days.

The updated mineral resource is supported by recent detailed surface mapping and channel sampling incorporating additional structural measurements and interpreted geological controls. Geological and grade domains were constrained using the geological drill data. Channel sample data including gold distribution, geology, structural orientation in combination with drill data confirmed the presence of ancillary fault splays.

The mineral resource reported is incorporated within a conceptual open pit at each deposit with results being reported at a USD$1,200 per oz gold price.

As per previous recommendations, procedures and protocols utilised in previous resource estimates were adopted in this estimate.

Cameron Switzer, President and CEO said "This resource upgrade is the culmination of an extensive systematic campaign aimed at further understanding the geological controls on the gold distribution on Misima and the application of this data to the drill data base. This resource refinement is critical not only for further understanding of the potential commercialisation opportunity but for determining the next phase including optimal drill planning targeting zones of high economic sensitivity. This further demonstrates the upside and opportunity that the project can potentially deliver with further exploration activity.

The Misima Mineral Resource3 comprises:

Deposit Material Classification Cutoff

g/t Au Tonnes Mt Gold

g/t Au Silver

g/t Ag Au Moz Ag Moz Umuna Oxide Indicated 0.37 5.0 0.7 10.8 0.1 1.8 Inferred 0.37 7.5 0.8 12.9 0.2 3.1 Primary Indicated 0.45 34.6 1.1 4.3 1.2 4.7 Inferred 0.45 17.6 1.1 6.1 0.6 3.5 Subtotal Indicated 39.6 1.0 5.1 1.3 6.5 Inferred 25.1 1.0 8.1 0.8 6.5 Ewatinona Oxide Inferred 0.37 1.6 0.7 3.1 0.04 0.2 Primary Inferred 0.45 6.4 1.0 3.0 0.2 0.6 Subtotal Inferred 8.0 0.9 3.0 0.24 0.8 Misima Total

Indicated 39.6 1.0 5.1 1.3 6.5 Inferred 33.1 1.0 6.9 1.0 7.3 Notes 1. Rounding may cause apparent computational errors 2. Reported at USD1,200/oz. gold price USD16/oz. silver price within an optimised pit run at USD1,400/oz. gold price USD16/oz. silver price and costs provided by WCB and Mining One. 3. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.

1. Umuna Prospect:

Umuna is described as a continuous region of gold and silver mineralisation that has previously been commercially extracted via a continuous open pit over a strike length in excess of 3.0 km. This zone is interpreted to represent a major fault zone within which mineralisation is typically developed in areas of increased fracture density and shearing. A series of mineralised fault splays are also observed controlling the higher grade portions of the dominant Umuna structure. Mineralisation is developed as disseminations, stockworks, fracture vein networks, breccias, skarns and replacements. A strong lithological control was previously interpreted, with "greenstone" being the preferred host for the fracture - stockwork development and limestone for the skarns and replacements. Recent mapping has defined a strong sub volcanic intrusive association to stronger developed mineralisation. A strong base metal association of Zn, Pb  Cu. This hydrothermal system is ascribed a generic classification of an Intermediate Sulphidation Epithermal system having significant volumes of massive silica near surface and an extensive sericite - carbonate - chlorite halo in deeper levels. The deposit appears to be zoned from both an alteration perspective and a geochemical perspective. The Umuna mineralisation is spatially related to porphyry Cu Au style alteration and mineralisation.

2. Ewatinona Prospect:

The Ewatinona Prospect is located in the Quartz Mountain district to the west of the Umuna Prospect and was previously the region where Misima Mines Pty Ltd (MMPL), extracted an estimated 240,000 ounces of gold from 3 small open pits. Geological features and ore characteristics including geochemistry and metallurgy were similar to that at Umuna, however with the development of albite alteration a deeper system exposure level is interpreted.

Ewatinona is a moderately to shallow north east dipping sheeted vein array controlled by a major north west trending fault. Minor zones of hydrothermal brecciation are also observed.

3. About the Misima Resource Estimate:

Approximately 86Mt was mined from 1989 to 2004 at an average grade of 1.46 g/t Au and 15.6 g/t Ag. Metallurgical recoveries over the life of mine averaged 91.5% for gold and 43.9% for silver. Project economics at the time were based on a USD$300 per ounce gold price. The nominal cut-off grade used for extraction was 0.7 g/t Au. Mining activity ceased in May 2001 and milling of low grade remnant stockpiles finished in 2004.

Mining was completed via a staged development process that resulted in six planned pit extensions at Umuna (termed Stage 1 to Stage 6). In addition, exploration success at Tonowak (fault splay) resulted in a subsequent final open pit on a major fault splay being mined. This staged mine development process resulted in the backfilling of Stages 1 through to Stage 5 with waste.

Mining of the softer, oxidized ore at Ewatinona, Kobel and Maika satellite pits enhanced mill throughput.

Umuna

The mineral resource is based on historical data including 1,945 drill holes and includes geological input from 144 trenches. Drill data have been converted from the Geolog format used by MMPL, to an MS Access format. Drill data included assays (Au, Ag, Cu, Pb, and Zn), geology, sample type (RC, diamond), and oxidation state. These data were imported into Datamine. Resource domains were constructed using appropriate spaced and orientated drill sections and the limits of mineralisation were modelled using a combination of both geological and assay data from exploration drill holes and blast holes using a mixture of implicit and explicit modelling techniques. A total of six mineralisation domains (each split into oxide and fresh) were defined over a strike length of 3.0 km. Drill sample lengths were composited to 2 m, compositing within each of the domains. Top cuts were applied ranging from 5.0 g/t Au to 25 g/t Au in the various domains.

Variography was completed to confirm previously used average variograms and where required new parameters were fitted to each of the domains. Dynamic Anisotropy was used in the estimation process to allow for re-orientation of the search and estimation processes.

Model limits were based on the extent of the mineralised domain wireframes and the block size of 5 m (east mine grid), 15 m (north mine grid) and 10 m (vertical) was utilised as it best reflects drill spacing, general anisotropy and the scale of the model and past mining.

Grade estimation was completed in Datamine. The estimation method utilised was Ordinary Kriging with Inverse Distance Squared and Nearest Neighbour estimates completed for model verification purposes. A minimum of 5 composites and a maximum of 25 composites were used to estimate each block. Density values were assigned to the model blocks according to material type (Oxide 2.10 tpm3, Fresh 2.49 tpm3, Fill 1.90 tpm3 and Water 1.0 tpm3) in accordance with the densities determined during previous production.

Validation of the estimated model was achieved using several processes that included Model Walk Through, where the model grade tenor was compared to drillholes in section and in plan. Comparison was undertaken of estimation methodologies from Ordinary Kriging, Inverse Distance Squared and Nearest Neighbour with results supporting the Ordinary Kriging results. In addition, data from the 467,316 blasthole assays was utilised to generate a comparison between the as mined blasthole data and the as mined exploration drill hole resource data for all material as well as drill hole composites compared to the remnant resource data using Swath Plots generated along north, south and elevation axes.

Ewatinona

The Mineral Resource is based on historical data including 389 drill holes. Drill data have been converted from the Geolog format used by MMPL, to an MS Access format. Drill data included assays (Au, Ag, Cu, Pb, and Zn), geology, sample type (RC, diamond), and oxidation state. These data were imported into Datamine. A bounding Resource envelope was constructed using appropriately orientated and spaced drill sections and the limits of mineralisation were modelled using a combination of both geological and assay data from exploration drill holes and blast holes using a mixture of implicit and explicit modelling techniques. A single domain was defined over a strike length of 0.77 km, which was split into fresh and oxide. Drill sample lengths were composited to 2 m, compositing within each of the oxide domains. Top cuts were applied ranging from 11.5 g/t Au to 17.5 g/t Au in the various domains.

Variography was completed on the blasthole data and on exploration drilling within the mineralised domains and confirmed the orientation of the short scale sheeted veins.

Model limits were based on the extent of the mineralised domain wireframes and exploration potential. The block size of 10 m (east mine grid), 10 m (north mine grid) and 5 m (vertical) was utilised as it best reflects drill spacing, general anisotropy and the scale of the model and past mining.

Grade estimation was completed in Datamine. The estimation method utilised was Ordinary Kriging with Inverse Distance Squared and Nearest Neighbour estimates completed for model verification purposes. A minimum of 3 composites and a maximum of 25 composites were used to estimate each pass 1 block with no more than 4 composites being accepted from a single drill hole. Density values were assigned to the model blocks according to material type (Oxide 2.21 tpm3, Fresh 2.45 tpm3, Fill 1.90 tpm3 and Water 1.0 tpm3) in accordance with the densities used for previous resource estimations.

Model validation was achieved using several processes that included Model Walk Through, where the model grade tenor was compared to drillholes in section and in plan. Comparison was undertaken of estimation methodologies from Ordinary Kriging, Inverse Distance Squared and Nearest Neighbour with results supporting the Ordinary Kriging results. In addition, data from the 7,212 blasthole assays was utilised to generate a comparison between the as mined blasthole data and the as mined exploration drill hole resource data for all material as well as drill hole composites compared to the remnant resource data using Swath Plots generated along north, south and elevation axes.

General

The reported Mineral Resource was limited via a Whittle optimised pit generated by Mining One Consultants to provide a realistic limit on the reported resource and ensure that it meets the reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction test to be reported as a mineral resource. Mining One used cost inputs provided by WCB validated against Mining Ones experience of reasonable assumptions related to operating and processing costs, to produce the constraining pit. In order to ensure there were reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction, the blocks reported were within a constraining pit based on USD$1,400 per oz Au and USD$16 per oz Ag. These prices are the 4 year rolling averages for the relevant metals rounded down.

The surfaces utilised in the Whittle Pit Optimisations were constructed using the MMPL surface survey data validated and supported by differential GPS survey pick up.

Mineral Resource classification has been based on the confidence in the drilling and survey data quality, resulting from the retrieval of further data from the previous mining records and recent site surveys demonstrated in the 2013 and 2015 technical reports. This recovered data has allowed the verification of the input data for the Mineral Resource estimate. Given the increased confidence in the data, classification is then based on combinations of drillhole spacing, search ellipse pass parameters, the number of drill holes influencing the block estimate and a minimum number of samples used to estimate the block grades as well as variance generated during the estimation. The increase in Inferred resources is due to extending previous domains as well as incorporating a new skarn mineralisation domain where geological continuity of the WCB geological model has been demonstrated and strengthened from surface structural and geochemical information.

Qualified Persons

The technical and scientific disclosure of the Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resource estimate has been reviewed and approved by Mr Scott Andrew McManus a Member of the Australasian Institute of Geoscientists and a Registered Professional Geologist (Information Geoscience And Mining), and a full time employee of Skandus Pty Ltd who is a "qualified person" as defined by the National Instrument 43-101. Mr McManus is independent of WCB and has reviewed and approved the contents of this news release with respect to the Mineral Resource estimate.

About EL1747 Misima

Misima Island has previously demonstrated mineral deposit pedigree through the past production of 4.0M ounces of gold and 20M ounces of silver from various operations but most recently the Misima Mine owned by Placer Dome Asia Pacific. This mine ceased open pit production in 2001 and closed in 2004.

WCB can earn up to a 70% interest in EL1747 Misima from Pan Pacific Copper (through its subsidiary Gallipoli Exploration (PNG) Ltd) by spending a total of AUD$9.0 million within a staged timeframe subject to standard regulatory approvals. WCB has obtained an initial 49% equity interest in Gallipoli Exploration (PNG) Ltd and is well progressed towards an additional 21% interest.

About WCB Resources

WCB is an aggressive minerals exploration and development company that brings together a strong, interdisciplinary, and proven management team with the ability to take a project from discovery right through to operation.

WCBs strategy is to build shareholder value through acquisition, exploration and development of copper gold projects. This strategy is being developed by a synthesis of WCBs core skills in project evaluation, structured acquisition, exploration and project development and operations, areas where WCB directors and executives have significant experience.

We believe that our capabilities and experience, combined with an efficient corporate structure, provide tremendous potential upside for investors. WCB is engaged in an ongoing search and evaluation of additional copper gold projects in the Asia Pacific region.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

Cameron Switzer

President and Chief Executive Officer

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward Looking Statements: This news release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, including, without limitation, statements about potential mineralisation, the estimation of mineral resources, the realization of mineral resource estimates, interpretation of prior exploration and potential exploration results, the timing and success of exploration activities generally, the timing and results of future resource estimates, permitting time lines, metal prices and currency exchange rates, availability of capital, government regulation of exploration operations, environmental risks, reclamation, title, and future plans and objectives of the company are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on a number of material factors and assumptions. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include failure to obtain necessary approvals in respect of a transaction, unsuccessful exploration results, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, results of future resource estimates, future metal prices, availability of capital and financing on acceptable terms, general economic, market or business conditions, risks associated with operating in foreign jurisdictions, uninsured risks, regulatory changes, defects in title, availability of personnel, materials and equipment on a timely basis, accidents or equipment breakdowns, delays in receiving government approvals, unanticipated environmental impacts on operations and costs to remedy same, and other exploration or other risks detailed herein and from time to time in the filings made by the company with securities regulators. Mineral exploration and development of mines is an inherently risky business. Accordingly the actual events may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. For more information on the Company, investors should review their annual filings that are available at www.sedar.com. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

The Company relies on litigation protection for forward looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from those described in the news release as a result of numerous factors, some of which are outside the control of the Company.
Sept. 21, 1947  Aug. 2, 2017

Rose Dawn Merrick, 69, passed away from cancer on Aug. 2, 2017, surrounded by family at Conifer House in Corvallis.

She was born on Sept. 21, 1947, in Moab, Utah, the first of four children, to Melvin and Wanda (Shields) Westwood. The family lived in Ogden, Utah, then Pullman and Wenatchee, Washington, before moving to Corvallis when she was in the 7th grade. She graduated from Corvallis High School, Class of 1965, with honors.

On Sept. 10, 1966, she married her college sweetheart Richard Summers. In August 1970, the young couple was in a tragic car accident near Reedsport, which took Richard's life.

On Dec. 23, 1976, she married Bruce Merrick with whom she enjoyed 28 years of marriage, and had two children, Marissa and Brendan. Bruce passed way from cancer on Feb. 22, 2005.

Rose lived in Corvallis for much of her life but also lived in Washington, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado and California. She earned a bachelors degree in Sociology and Womens Studies from Oregon State University in 1986.

While she was a student, Rose volunteered at the OSU Womens Center and Services for Students with Disabilities where she was involved with several projects, including financial aid for women in higher education, funding for a handicap access ramp into the Womens Center building, and an investigative report on the need for University-sponsored child care programs. Prior to her retirement in 2007, she worked as an administrative assistant in various OSU departments and particularly enjoyed working for the Extension Sea Grant program.

Rose had an affinity for Native American art and culture, as well as an interest in her Celtic heritage. In recent years, her love of genealogy flourished as she researched all branches of her and her late husbands family trees gathering family records for more than 20,000 people dating as far back as the 15th century.

Rose worked as a loving caregiver to her parents, and will be remembered for her acts of kindness and compassion.

She is survived by her father, Melvin; children, Marissa Merrick of Federal Way, Washington and Brendan Merrick of Watertown, South Dakota; siblings, Nancy and her husband Robert Neary of Corvallis, Kathryn Kyriss of Salem, and Robert Westwood and his wife Rebecca of Albany; and many extended family members.

She was preceded in death by her husband Richard, her husband Bruce, and her mother Wanda.

Cremation services were provided by DeMoss-Durdan.

A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 17 at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Church in Corvallis.

Memorial contributions can be made to Heartland Humane Society and Benton Hospice Service.
We can all recall simpler days, when life wasnt as complicated as it is today.

Days when hardly anyone locked their homes or cars. Days before when jobs in industries such as textiles or furniture were plentiful, before globalization and multinational companies in search of higher profits shifted them first to Central America and then to Asia.

And to deal with a changing world, we try to hang on to as many vestiges of those times as we can, as an emotional anchor, so to speak, to keep us grounded.

One of those traditions in Southside comes at the time of a loved ones death. When mourners proceed from the site of the funeral service to the burial site, its been tradition for a police escort to lead the procession of the hearse, the family and mourners  a lead escort and as many officers as needed to direct traffic at stoplights and intersections to keep the procession intact.

Danville Police Chief Phillip Broadfoot, though, has proposed ending the practice, which dates back decades. Several funeral home operators and residents have voiced their opposition and have asked City Council to intervene. Its a matter of respect, they say, both to the deceased and to the families.

Chief Broadfoot, though, says its simply a matter of cold, hard numbers and the priorities of modern law enforcement. The Danville Police Department, which has 131 sworn officers when fully staffed, is down 17 sworn positions. Funeral escorts require two to three officers, depending on the number of stoplights that must be crossed. Officers must either be brought in on their time off or be shifted from one duty to another on their live shifts to staff the procession, taking them away from active duty.

We have to agree with the chief on this matter: At this time, there are higher priorities for the Danville Police Department, specifically getting a handle on the burgeoning homicide rate in the city. In 2016, Danville laid to rest 16 homicide victims, a record for a single year. So far this year, weve mourned nine victims, the latest a 16-year-old girl shot to death just last Sunday morning. At the rate were going, 2017 could tie 2016 and possibly surpass that tally.

The murder rate is just the most severe crime that needs the full attention of DPD officers: The drug trade, gangs and other illegal activities are all intertwined in the rising homicide rate; tackling them will help get the murder rate under control as well.

The Lynchburg Police Department stopped escorting funeral processions years ago. Pittsylvania County sheriffs deputies provide escorts but only when manpower permits. In North Carolina, High Point, Winston-Salem and Greensboro do not provide on-duty escorts, but extra duty or off-duty officers may for a fee set by the city, which may be something worth looking into for Danville.

In Danville, the fact of the matter is that we simply dont have the police staff to do so. In a department with a 13 percent vacancy rate for sworn positions, resources must be directed to the highest priorities of crime fighting. Funeral procession escorts unfortunately are not at the top of that list.

We urge City Council to allow Chief Broadfoots decision to move forward, and we urge funeral home operators and families to understand that this isnt a sign of disrespect for deceased loved ones, but a matter of protecting and serving the living.
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Vancouver, August 9, 2017 - Lupaka Gold Corp. (TSXV: LPK) (FSE: LQP) ("Lupaka Gold" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the Company has received Tranche 1 of the US$7,000,000 PLI Financing Agreement announced in the Company's news release of May 16, 2017. Pursuant to a recent amendment of the PLI Financing Agreement, the PLI financing proceeds will be provided by PLI in three tranches: Tranche 1 - US$1,600,000 (received, net of related fees); Tranche 2 - US$2,000,000; and Tranche 3 - US$2,500,000.

With the receipt of Tranche 1, the Company has completed its initial Invicta community payment obligations, has bought back the Franco Nevada royalties tied to Invicta, and paid the required PLI Financing Agreement-related finders' fees.

Tranche 2 of the PLI Financing

Receipt of Tranche 2 will take place once the Lacsanga Community Agreement is registered in the Public Registry system in Peru, which is currently in progress.

Tranche 3 of the PLI Financing

With the above-referenced royalty buy-back, Franco Nevada will be terminating its related mortgage security registration against the Invicta concessions, which will allow PLI to obtain a first charge on the Invicta concessions. The perfection of PLI's first charge on the Invicta property and the Company raising US$2,000,000 are the only significant conditions precedent remaining to be completed in order to receive Tranche 3.

"We are pleased to be able to get the Franco Nevada royalty buy-back out of the way and meet our community agreement obligations", stated Gordon Ellis, CEO. "This will speed up the release of Tranche 3 and assist the Invicta Project to achieve its objective of production before the end of 2017. We have all of the necessary development, infrastructure and mine upgrade contracts in place, and we look forward to commencing such work as soon as possible."

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as the term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy of this news release.

About Lupaka Gold

Lupaka Gold is a Peru-focused gold explorer and developer with geographic diversification and balance through its interest in asset-based resource projects spread across three regions of Peru.

Invicta Gold Project - the Company's 100%-owned Invicta Gold Project is a well-developed, poly-metallic gold-copper underground deposit located approximately 120 kilometres by road north of Lima. Management expects to commence production in 2017 by using third-party mining contractors and utilizing the adit and workings completed by previous owners.

Extraction of mineralized rock would be focused on accessing Invicta's Measured and Indicated resource estimates, which are comprised of:

Measured - 131,000 tonnes grading 6.65 grams per tonne ("g/t") gold equivalent for 28,000 contained ounces ("ozs") of gold, from: 18,000 ozs Au grading at 4.29 g/t, 133,000 ozs Ag grading at 31.71 g/t, 2,119k lbs Cu grading at 0.73%, 1,110k lbs Pb grading at 0.39% and 1,105k lbs of Zn grading at 0.38%.

Indicated - 8,513,000 tonnes grading 3.43 g/t gold equivalent for 939,000 contained ozs of gold, from: 573,000 ozs Au grading at 2.09 g/t, 4,285,000 ozs Ag grading at 15.65 g/t, 79,048k lbs Cu grading at 0.42%, 45,171k lbs Pb grading at 0.24% and 53,482k lbs of Zn grading at 0.21%.

An Inferred resource estimate of 2,534,000 tonnes grading 2.90 g/t gold equivalent for 236,000 contained ozs of gold has also been established.

The resources are stated at a 1.30 g/t gold equivalent cut-off. Metal prices assumed for the gold equivalent calculation are US$1,500/oz for gold, US$32.50/oz for silver, US$3.90/lb for copper, US$1.05/lb for lead and US$1.00/lb for zinc. The gold equivalent calculation assumes 100% metallurgical recovery, and does not account for any smelting, transportation or refining charges. See further disclosure regarding the calculated gold equivalent cut-off grade, as below.

Invicta's approved EIA allows for mine production of 1,000 tpd, although the current mining plan is limited to 400 tpd.

Cautionary Note Regarding the Invicta Production Decision

The decision to commence production at the Invicta Gold Project and the Company's plans for a mining operation as referenced herein (the "Production Decision and Plans") were based on economic models prepared by the Company in conjunction with management's knowledge of the property and the existing estimate of measured, indicated and inferred mineral resources on the property. The Production Decision and Plans were not based on a preliminary economic assessment, a pre-feasibility study or a feasibility study of mineral reserves demonstrating economic and technical viability. Accordingly, there is increased uncertainty and economic and technical risks of failure associated with the Production Decision and Plans, in particular the risk that mineral grades will be lower than expected, the risk that construction or ongoing mining operations are more difficult or more expensive than expected, the risk that the Company will not be able to transport or sell the mineralized rock it produces to local custom toll mills on the terms it expects, or at all; production and economic variables may vary considerably, due to the absence of a detailed economic and technical analysis according to and in accordance with NI 43-101.

Josnitoro Gold Project - the Company holds an option to earn a 65% interest on this project from Hochschild Mining plc The project is located approximately 600 kilometres by road southeast of Lima in the Department of Apurimac, southern Peru, within which lies the Las Bambas mine (MMG Ltd.) and the Constancia mine (HudBay Minerals). Historical work on the disseminated gold zones includes over 170 shallow drill holes and extensive surface trenching, as well as artisanal mining.

Crucero Gold Project - the Company holds a 100% interest in the Crucero Gold Project located in southern Peru. Crucero has an Indicated mineral resource estimate of 1,003,041 ozs Au contained in 30,919,873 tonnes at 1.02 g/t gold (capped) and an Inferred mineral resource estimate of 1,027,806 ozs Au contained in 31,201,648 tonnes at 1.03 g/t gold (capped). These mineral resource estimates have been constrained by a conceptual pit shell in order to support reasonable prospects of economic extraction as set out in the CIM Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves and NI 43-101.

About Pandion Mine Finance

Pandion is the general partner of PLI Huarura Holdings LP and is a mining-focused investment firm backed by MKS PAMP Group and Ospraie Management, LLC that provides flexible financing solutions to developing mining companies.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Gordon L. Ellis, President & C.E.O.

(604) 681-5900

or visit the Company's profile at www.sedar.com or its website at www.lupakagold.com

Qualified Person

The technical information in this document has been reviewed and approved by Julio Castaneda Mondragon, MAIG, the President of Lupaka Gold Peru S.A.C., a Peruvian subsidiary of the Company, and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Castaneda has verified the scientific and technical information, including sampling, analytical and test data underlying the information or opinions contained in this news release.

The Invicta Gold Project resource estimates referred to in this news release are disclosed in the technical report dated April 16, 2012, titled "Technical Report on Resources, Invicta Gold Project, Huaura Province, Peru" (the "Invicta Technical Report"), and prepared by SRK Consulting (U.S.) Inc., which is available at www.sedar.com under Lupaka Gold Corp.'s profile. The metal prices used to calculate the gold equivalent cut-off grade in the Invicta Technical Report are based on prices at the time. Investors are cautioned that current metal prices are now lower and as a result, the above-referenced cut-off grade could be materially affected based on current prices. Investors are further cautioned that the prices of precious metals can fluctuate in wide ranges over short periods of time.

The Crucero A-1 mineral resource estimates referred to in this news release are disclosed in the technical report with effective date January 17, 2013, amended and re-stated October 22, 2013, titled "Technical Report for the Crucero Property, Carabaya Province, Peru", and prepared by Tetra Tech WEI Inc. and SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc. The Technical Report is available at www.sedar.com under Lupaka Gold's profile.

Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward Looking Information

All statements, trend analysis and other information contained in this press release relative to anticipated future events or results constitute forward-looking statements. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein, including, without limitation, statements relating to the receipt of and anticipated use of proceeds of the PLI financing, the Company's plans and intentions for Invicta, the expected benefits from a Company owned processing facility and mineral resource estimates, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions, estimates and opinions of management at the date the statements are made that the Company believes are reasonable, including: that the payment of the Gold Prepayment Amount is consummated on the anticipated terms, that the supplies, equipment, personnel, permits, and local community approvals required to conduct the Company's planned pre-production and development activities will be available on reasonable terms, that the Company will be able to comply with the delivery and other obligations in the Amended Agreement, that the contemplated Company owned processing facility will, if acquired or constructed, achieve the expected benefits, that results of exploration activities will be consistent with management's expectations and that the Company will not experience any material accident, labour dispute, or failure of equipment and with respect to the planned mining operations at Invicta; that pre-production mine development can be completed in the time and for the cost projected; that the Company will be able to obtain funding for planned production expenses; that mineralization at Invicta will be of the grades and in the locations expected; that the Company will be able to extract and transport mineralized rock efficiently and sell the mineralized rock at the prices and in the manner and quantities expected; that permits will be received on the terms and timeline expected and that other regulatory or permitting issues will not arise; that mining methods can be employed in the manner and at the costs expected and that such methods yield the results the Company expects them to. However, forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such risks, uncertainties and other factors include, among others: all of the risks described in this news release; failure of the PLI financing to complete on the proposed terms or at all, including due to the Company's inability to complete the conditions precedent, the risk that the contemplated Company owned processing facility will not be completed or will not achieve the expected benefits, the risk that actual results of exploration and development activities will be different than anticipated; that the Company will not be able to comply with the delivery or other obligations in the Amended Agreement and the risk that PLI will enforce its security over the Company's assets, including its mineral properties; that cost of labour, equipment or materials will increase more than expected; that the future price of gold will decline; that the Canadian dollar will strengthen against the U.S. dollar; that mineral resources are not as estimated; unexpected variations in mineral resources, grade or recovery rates; risks related to shipping mineralized rock; the risk that local mills cannot or will not buy or process mineralized rock from the planned production for the prices expected or at all; risk of accidents, labour disputes and other risks generally associated with mineral exploration; unanticipated delays in obtaining or failure to obtain community, governmental or regulatory approvals or financing; and all of the risks generally associated with the development of mining facilities and the operation of a producing mine, as well as the risks described in the Company's annual information form, which is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results to not be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information due to the inherent uncertainty thereof. Lupaka Gold does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements except as required by applicable securities laws. Investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.


VANCOUVER, Aug. 10, 2017 - Bravura Ventures Corp. (CSE: BVQ; OTC: BRVVF; FRA: 23B) ("Bravura" or the "Company") wishes to announce it has entered into a LOI dated August 9, 2017 to acquire 100% of the approximately 1200 hectare Kahuna Cobalt-Silver Property (collectively, the "Kahuna Property" or the "Property"), located 37km south of Cobalt, Ontario.

"This transaction increases our land position in an important mining camp and also achieves two objectives. First, we have established a meaningful land position that specifically focuses on rich cobalt deposits. Second, we have improved the overall quality of cobalt showings in our portfolio."

About the Kahuna Cobalt Property:

Location

The Kahuna Cobalt property is located 14 km northeast of the town of Temagami and 37km south of the town of Cobalt near the eastern border of Ontario. The district is mining friendly having a rich history of cobalt and silver production.The epicentre of past producing cobalt mines in Ontario.

Property Status and Configuration

The Kahuna Cobalt property is comprised of 77 claim units and covers approximately 1,200 ha.

Access and Infrastructure

The Property is accessible by boat from Lorrain Lake which is accessed by 12 km of well maintained gravel surface roads off of leaving a major paved highway connecting the nearby town of Temagami and New Liskeard. The property is located 12 km from rail and power distribution lines.

Mineralization

Cobalt and silver mineralization occurs in calcite veins within the Nipissing Diabase as erythrite and native silver.

History

Friday Mines Limited operated the property in the 1920's sinking a shaft and drifting on a 10 inch wide calcite vein with cobalt mineralization producing cobalt ore. In the 1960's, Gibson Mines Limited explored the property and found cobalt and silver mineralization. More recently, in 1998 a portion of the property was staked a small soil survey reported anomalous cobalt and gold in the soil.

Agreement terms

Bravura plans to acquire 100 per cent of the Kahuna property in a share exchange agreement in consideration for:

Payment for an amount of $300,000 and the issuance of one million common shares to be paid upon closing.

"The Ontario Cobalt area, we feel is the most prolific Cobalt area in all of Canada. We look to focus our resources and make further acquisitions, while developing existing assets to increase our shareholder value focused in this region."

Qualified Person

Mike Waldegger, P.Geo, is the qualified person as defined in NI 43-101, that has reviewed and approved the contents of this press release.

Bravura Ventures Corp.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF BRAVURA VENTURES CORP.

"Greg Burns"

______________________

Greg Burns, Director

Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information

Historical data for the prospects were performed under supervision of a Professional Engineer or a geologist, and believed to be of good quality, with drill core and underground sampling results from fire assay analyses by B.C. Certified Assayers. However, under NI43-101 policy historical information included in this release has not been verified by a QP, and as such cannot be relied upon and must be treated as historical in nature.

This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including statements that address capital costs, recovery, grade, and timing of work or plans at the Company's mineral projects. Forward-looking information may be, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "plan", "planned", "continue", "expect", "thought to", "project", "predict", "potential", "targeting", "intends", "believe", "opportunity", "further" and others, or which describes a goal or action, event or result such as "may", "should", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be undertaken, occur or achieved. Forward-looking information in this press release includes, but is not limited to, statements regarding expectations of management regarding the acquisition of the Property and includes that address future mineral production, reserve potential, potential size or scale of a mineralized zone, potential expansion of mineralization, potential type(s) of mining, potential grades as well as to the Company's ability to fund ongoing expenditure, or assumptions about future metal or mineral prices, currency exchange rates, metallurgical recoveries and grades, favourable operating conditions, access, political stability, obtaining or renewal of existing or required mineral titles, licenses and permits, labour stability, market conditions, availability of equipment, accuracy of any mineral resources, anticipated costs and expenditures. Assumptions may be based on factors and events that are not within the control of the Company and there is no assurance they will prove to be correct. Such forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, which may cause the actual results to materially differ, and/or any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Such forward-looking information is subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or developments to differ materially from those contained in the statements including, without limitation, the risks that the Company may not have the funds necessary to make its payments pursuant to the Agreement, that the CSE may not approve the transaction, and other factors beyond the control of the Company.

Additional information on risks and uncertainties can be found within Financial Statements and other materials found on the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. Although Bravura has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, 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 statements. Bravura withholds any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless required by law.

SOURCE Bravura Ventures Corp.







Contact

800 - 1199 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6E 3T5, Tel.: 604.283.1722 / Fax: 1.888.241.5996


Val d'Or, QuAbec (FSCwire) - Hinterland Metals Inc. (HMI: TSX-Venture) (Hinterland) is pleased to announce that it has staked 102 mineral claim units (5,750 hectares) in two blocks within the Urban-Barry Greenstone Belt located in the eastern part of the Abitibi Sub-province. The Urban-Barry Greenstone Belt has an east-west extent of 135 kilometres and varies from 4 to 20 kilometres wide (http://www.hinterlandmetals.com/i/maps/Skyfall/skyfall-comp.pdf).

The newly staked claims are directly adjacent to Osisko Mining Inc.s Urban-Barry property and similarly are underlain by a series of northeast-trending, southeast-dipping, tholeiitic volcanic rocks. The volcanic stratigraphy is intersected by numerous faults, either sub-parallel to the stratigraphy or northeast-trending at a high angle to the stratigraphy. The volcanic rocks are in places within the Belt intruded by syn-volcanic to late (post mineralization) intrusions. Osiskos Windfall project is the most advanced project in the Belt with a 400,000 metre deposit definition drilling program underway (www. osiskomining. com/projects/urban_barry). BonTerra Resources Inc. is the second most active company in the area with a 40,000 metre drill program underway at its Gladiator project (www. bonterraresources. com/en/gladiator/overview). The Skyfall claims, located approximately 40 kilometres due east of the Windfall and Gladiator projects, have seen limited previous exploration work with only one documented drill hole. Hinterland intends to seek joint venture or equity financing to fund exploration on Skyfall.

Mark Fekete, P.Geo is the designated qualified person as defined in Section 1.2 in and for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 that reviewed and approved the technical content of this release.

For more information please contact:

Mark Fekete, President at 1-819-354-5244

Zak Dingsdale, Director at 1-905-269-0797

E-mail: info@hinterlandmetals.com

Website: www.hinterlandmetals.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. This release may contain forward-looking statements that are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to vary materially from targeted results. Such risks and uncertainties include those described in the Company's periodic reports including the annual report or in the filings made by the Company from time to time with securities regulators. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly release the result of any revision of these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date they are made or to reflect the occurrence of an unanticipated event.

To view this press release as a PDF file, click onto the following link:public://news_release_pdf/Hinterland08102017.pdfSource: Hinterland Metals Inc. (TSX Venture:HMI)

To follow Hinterland Metals Inc. on your favorite social media platform or financial websites, please click on the icons below.

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Copyright  2017 Filing Services Canada Inc.
VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - August 10, 2017) - Millrock Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE: MRO) ("Millrock" or "the Company") is pleased to provide an update on its exploration activities in Alaska, British Columbia, and Mexico, as well as its growth plans for 2017 and beyond.

Keeping in line with the Project Generator business model, Millrock has continued to generate numerous high-quality projects over the past four years. Most recently, the Company has added two new projects to its portfolio: the La Navidad and El Picacho gold projects in Sonora State, Mexico.

Presently, Millrock has three partner companies funding work on five different projects. Total 2017 exploration expenditures are estimated to be US$5.1 million, and revenues from management fees are estimated to be US$380,000, with most of the activity, expenditures, and revenues to come in the latter half of 2017.

Reflecting on Millrock's current exploration activities, President and CEO, Gregory A. Beischer, stated: "During the industry downturn Millrock moved boldly to grow its property portfolio. Now that metal prices and investor sentiment have improved, we are ramping up exploration efforts significantly. With robust drilling budgets now in place, we have a good chance to make a discovery that will benefit all Millrock shareholders."

The following highlights the company's current exploration activities:

Alaska:

Liberty Bell Project -- Gold

In July, Millrock executed a geochemical exploration program on its Liberty Bell Project. More than 1,600 soil samples were collected from the property as well as stream sediment and rock samples. Results should be received in August and compiled with existing project data to select drill targets for 2018.

A subsidiary of Kinross Gold Corp. is the funding partner at Liberty Bell. They can earn a 70% interest in the project by making exploration expenditures of US$5.0 million over four years. Millrock is entitled to receive advanced minimum royalty payments and management fees as the project operator. A full project description can be found here.

Stellar Project -- Copper and Gold

On July 26th, 2017, Millrock announced that it had closed the sale of the Stellar copper-gold project to Coventry Resources ("Coventry") for a 10.6% stake in the company. Coventry owns the nearby Caribou Dome ("CD") copper deposit, which is reported by Coventry, to have a high-grade resource that is described in this Coventry press release.

Upon closing of the transaction, Coventry announced that it had successfully raised AUS$5.5 million. Coventry will fund a major drilling campaign on the Stellar Project this year, as well as surface exploration work at CD. The program, which will be operated by Millrock on behalf of Coventry, will see two drill rigs working at the high-grade Zackly copper-gold skarn deposit. The program's primary objective is to bring the historic, high-grade, copper-gold resource at the Zackly skarn deposit to meet the standards of the Australian Joint Ore Reserves Committee resource. Approximately 3,000 meters are planned in 20 holes. Additionally, baseline environmental studies will be conducted at both Zackly and CD in anticipation of moving the combined project toward a pre-feasibility study in 2018.

For a description of the Stellar Project, click here. A detailed outline of the program can be found on Coventry's website here. A description of the CD project can be found at this link.

Mexico:

La Navidad Project, Sonora State -- Gold

On June 13th, 2017, Millrock announced that it had entered into an option to purchase agreement on the La Navidad gold project. The concessions under option are adjacent to surrounding concessions already held by Millrock. The district-scale land package covers more than 25,000 hectares (some titles still pending) in the Magdalena di Kino Mining area of Sonora State, Mexico. Immediately following the property acquisition, Millrock entered an option to joint venture agreement with Centerra Gold Inc. ("Centerra"), in which Centerra can earn an 80% interest in the project.

Past work has shown gold mineralization over significant drill intervals with good grade, as indicated in Millrock's press release which can be accessed at this link.

A surface program of soil sampling, geological mapping, induced polarization and magnetic surveys is presently underway. Pending confirmation by Centerra, it is anticipated that drilling will be done on the project in the fall of 2017.

El Picacho Project, Sonora State  Gold

On June 8th, 2017, Millrock announced it had entered an option agreement to purchase the El Picacho project. The concessions cover approximately 6,300 hectares, located in Sonora State, Mexico. Numerous gold occurrences are known to exist on the concessions, which are thought to have the potential for an orogenic gold deposit of similar nature to the nearby San Francisco Gold Mine operated by Alio Gold Inc.

The project has been made a "designated project" under the terms of a strategic alliance agreement in place between Centerra and Millrock.

Millrock is currently conducting a surface program of soil sampling, geological mapping, induced polarization surveys, and mag surveys in anticipation of a winter 2017 drilling campaign. A full project description can be found here.

Los Chinos and Los Cuarentas Projects, Sonora State -- Gold

These projects had been the subject of an option to joint venture agreement with Centerra. Recently, Centerra elected to terminate the option. Millrock is working to secure new partners for the projects.

British Columbia:

Oweegee Dome Project -- Copper-Gold Porphyry and Volcanogenic Massive Sulfide

On June 14th, Millrock formed an option to purchase agreement with TSX-V company Sojourn Ventures (TSX VENTURE: SOJ) ("Sojourn"). Sojourn is in the midst of raising an initial $1.0 million to fund the first stage of work on the Oweegee Dome project this summer and bring the property to full drill readiness for summer 2018. Stream sediment surveys, mapping, and prospecting in the areas of conductive zones identified by geophysical surveys are planned. An amount of $300,000 is budgeted for the project. Millrock would operate and be entitled to a 10% management fee. Upon completion of the financing, the transaction will close and Millrock will be a significant shareholder of Sojourn. A more detailed description of the project can be found here.

Willoughby Project -- High-Grade Gold

In addition to the Oweegee Dome project, Sojourn will also fund a $200,000 exploration program on the Willoughby high-grade gold project, located south of Oweegee Dome. The program will start by prospecting the margins of glaciers which have receded substantially since the last exploration effort in 2008. The project, which is known to host some very high-grade gold mineralization over significant drill intervals, is described further here.

Exploration on both Oweegee Dome and Willoughby is expected to start in mid-August.

Millrock's President and CEO, Gregory A. Beischer, stated: "With a number of exploration programs in place for the second half of 2017, we are excited and encouraged to see that the work and determination we had put in throughout the downturn is paying off. We look forward to executing on the numerous programs in place and are well-positioned to create shareholder value through discovery in the coming months and years."

Stock Option Grant:

A new employee of Millrock has been granted 75,000 incentive stock options. The options to purchase Millrock shares can be exercised at a price of $0.37 for a period of five years from today's date.

The technical information within this document has been reviewed and approved by Gregory A. Beischer, President, CEO and a director of Millrock Resources. Mr. Beischer is a Qualified Person as defined in NI 43-101.

About Millrock Resources Inc.

Millrock Resources Inc. is a premier project generator to the mining industry. Millrock identifies, packages and operates large-scale projects for joint venture, thereby exposing its shareholders to the benefits of mineral discovery without the usual financial risk taken on by most exploration companies. The company is active in Alaska, British Columbia, the southwest USA and Sonora State, Mexico. Funding for drilling at Millrock's exploration projects is primarily provided by its joint venture partners. Business partners of Millrock have included some of the leading names in the mining industry: Centerra Gold, First Quantum, Teck, Kinross, Vale, Inmet, Altius, and Riverside.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

"Gregory Beischer"

Gregory Beischer, President & CEO

Some statements in this news release contain forward-looking information. These statements address future events and conditions and, as such, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the statements. Such factors include without limitation the completion of planned expenditures, the ability to complete exploration programs on schedule and the success of exploration programs.

"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."
Vancouver, August 10, 2017 - Portofino Resources Inc. (TSXV: POR) ("Portofino" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that its geological team has completed an initial site visit to one of two lithium brine salar properties in Catamarca, Argentina subject to a letter agreement ("LOI") previously announced. The site visit objectives were to undertake a water and brine sampling program sufficient to confirm historical sampling methodology completed previously by consultants working on behalf of the local concession owner. The sampling was focused on a 1600-hectare (core) area (within Project 1) with historically reported sampling results averaging approximately 263 ppm Lithium.

Project 1 comprises a 30,000-hectare claim block located southwest of the Salar del Hombre Muerto where FMC Lithium is producing lithium carbonate and Galaxy Resources is developing its Sal de Vida project.

The LOI gives Portofino the right to acquire up to an 85% interest in Project 1, as well as a second lithium brine property, (Project 2) which is located approximately 10 kilometres ("km") from the Chile border and north of Neo Lithium Corp.'s 3Q project and encompasses a 3,950-hectare claim block. A site visit to Project 2 was planned, but had to be postponed due to excessive snow blocking access roads.

The LOI transaction is subject to completion of due diligence, execution of a definitive agreement and TSX-V exchange approval.

Historical exploration work commissioned in 2012 by the vendor of both projects included geological mapping, sampling of surface waters, auger sampling of brines, and compilation of the distribution of Lithium and Potassium grades within the basins. Eight surface water and 51 auger brine samples were analyzed and results averaged: 257 mg/l of Lithium and 8,710 mg/l of Potassium for Project 1; 274 mg/l of Lithium and 7,521 mg/l Potassium for Project 2.

The Company and its Qualified Professionals have not verified the historical sample collection methodology or analytical results, but believe the historical results are relevant. Future work by Portofino, will be required to verify the historical results.

Qualified Person

The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Andrew J. Turner, B.Sc., P.Geol. of APEX Geoscience Ltd., who is the Company's Geological Consultant and is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

About Portofino Resources Inc.

Portofino is a Vancouver, Canada based Company focused on acquiring, exploring and developing mineral resource projects in the Americas.

On Behalf of the Board,

"David G. Tafel"

Chief Executive Officer

For Further Information Contact:

David Tafel

CEO, Director

604-683-1991

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release may contain forward looking statements concerning future operations of Portofino Resources Inc.. (the "Company"). All forward- looking statements concerning the Company's future plans and operations, including management's assessment of the Company's project expectations or beliefs may be subject to certain assumptions, risks and uncertainties beyond the Company's control. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and that actual performance and exploration and financial results may differ materially from any estimates or projections.


$36.6 million at June 30, 2017 in cash and equivalents

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Aug 10, 2017) - Sabina Gold & Silver Corp. ("Sabina") or (the "Company") (TSX:SBB) reports the financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2017.

"Much was accomplished during the second quarter as we continued to advance the Back River Project through basic engineering, optimization studies and our environmental assessment efforts. We are pleased that our final public hearings in Cambridge Bay in late May resulted in a positive recommendation for the Project from the Nunavut Impact Review Board on July 18th. This is a milestone de-risking event for the Company and the Project. We are now awaiting a decision from the Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada," said Bruce McLeod, President & CEO. "In addition, the exploration success we had at the Goose Project this spring has provided opportunities to extend the mine life of the project. In particular, grades at the Vault Zone are more than double the average grade of the Back River resource and could offer opportunities to positively impact Project economics. We have commenced our summer drilling campaign with a focus on the Vault Zone and look forward to the results."

Q2, 2017 Highlights:

The Company had cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments of $36.6 million at June 30, 2017.

Subsequent to the quarter, on July 18, 2017, the Nunavut Impact Review Board recommended to the Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada that development of the Company's Back River gold project should proceed to the licensing phase.

During the quarter, the Company completed its first phase exploration drilling program at the Goose property. Positive results from this program included the expansion of mineralization on both the Umwelt and Llama deposits. Drill hole 17GSE511B at the Umwelt "Vault" zone returned 16.86 g/t Au over 13.5 m from 734.00 m to 747.5 m, including 27.11 g/t Au over 7.95 m from 736.75 to 744.70 m. Drill hole 17GSE513 at Llama returned 6.52 g/t Au over 8.3m.

Subsequent to the quarter, following the positive results from the first phase of the exploration program, the Company announced an expanded summer drilling program with a focus on the Unwelt Vault Zone.

On June 29, 2017, the Company engaged Cutfield Freeman & Co as its financial advisor for project financing of the construction of the Back River Project.

Subsequent to the quarter, on July 28, 2017, the Company announced a non-brokered private placement flow-through financing of 2,105,265 flow-through common shares at a price of $2.85 per share for total gross proceeds of approximately $6.0 million. The financing is scheduled to close in two tranches, one on August 15, 2017 and the second on or about September 10, 2017 and is subject to certain conditions including, but not limited to, the receipt of all necessary approvals, including the approval of the Toronto Stock Exchange. The total gross proceeds from the financing must be used to incur Canadian exploration expenditures as defined by the Income Tax Act (Canada) by December 31, 2018.

For the quarter ended Jun 30, 2017, the Company reported net loss of $0.6 million or $0.00 per share.

Financial Results

For the three months ended June 30, 2017, the Company reported a net loss of $0.6 million or $0.00 per share, in comparison to a net income of $0.2 million or $0.00 per share in the corresponding period of 2016. The difference quarter over quarter was primarily the result of lower sales of Pure Gold Mining Inc. ("Pure Gold") shares in 2017 compared to 2016.

For the six months ended June 30, 2017, the Company reported a net loss of $2.0 million, unfavourable by $1.6 million compared to the same period of 2016. The increase in loss period over period was mainly due to a timing difference in the granting of stock options and a higher net gain realized on the sale of Pure Gold shares in the six-month period ended June 30, 2016.

For the full June 30, 2017 interim financial statements and Management's Discussion and Analysis, please see the Company website at www.sabinagoldsilver.com or on SEDAR.

SABINA GOLD & SILVER CORP.

Sabina Gold & Silver Corp. is a well-financed, emerging precious metals company with district scale, world class undeveloped assets in one of the world's newest, politically stable mining jurisdictions: Nunavut, Canada.

In September, 2015, Sabina released a Feasibility Study on its 100% owned Back River Gold Project which presents a project that has been designed on a fit-for purpose basis, with the potential to produce ~200,000 ounces a year for ~11 years with a rapid payback of 2.9 years. At a US$1,150 gold price and a 0.80 exchange rate, the Study delivers a potential after tax internal rate of return of approximately 24.2% with an initial CAPEX of $415 million.

In addition to Back River, Sabina also owns a significant silver royalty on Glencore's Hackett River Project. The silver royalty on Hackett River's silver production is comprised of 22.5% of the first 190 million ounces produced and 12.5% of all silver produced thereafter.

All news releases and further information can be found on the Company's website at www.sabinagoldsilver.com or on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. All technical reports have been filed on www.sedar.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws (the "forward-looking statements"), including our belief as to the extent, results and timing of exploration programs and various studies including the FS, and exploration results, reserves estimates, potential production from and viability of the Company's properties, production and operating costs and permitting submission, timing and receipt of necessary permits and project approvals for future operations and access to project funding. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, as there can be no assurance that the future circumstances, outcomes or results anticipated in or implied by such forward-looking statements will occur or that plans, intentions or expectations upon which the forward-looking statements are based will occur. While we have based these forward-looking statements on our expectations about future events as at the date that such statements were prepared, the statements are not a guarantee that such future events will occur and are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors which could cause events or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors and assumptions include, among others, the effects of general economic conditions, commodity prices, changing foreign exchange rates and actions by government and regulatory authorities and misjudgments in the course of preparing forward-looking statements. In addition, there are known and unknown risk factors which could cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Known risk factors include risks associated with exploration and project development; the need for additional financing; the calculation of mineral resources and reserves; operational risks associated with mining and mineral processing; fluctuations in metal prices; title matters; government regulation; obtaining and renewing necessary licences and permits; environmental liability and insurance; reliance on key personnel; the potential for conflicts of interest among certain of our officers or directors; the absence of dividends; currency fluctuations; labour disputes; competition; dilution; the volatility of the our common share price and volume; future sales of shares by existing shareholders; and other risks and uncertainties, including those relating to the Back River Project and general risks associated with the mineral exploration and development industry described in our Annual Information Form, financial statements and MD&A for the fiscal period ended December 31, 2016 filed with the Canadian Securities Administrators and available at www.sedar.com. Although we have attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. We are under no obligation to update or alter any forward-looking statements except as required under applicable securities laws. This news release has been authorized by the undersigned on behalf of Sabina Gold & Silver Corp.

Bruce McLeod, President & CEO

375-555 Burrard Street, Two Bentall Centre

Vancouver, BC V7X 1M7

Tel 604 998-4175 Fax 604 998-1051

http://www.sabinagoldsilver.com
On this years list of top 10 policy and technology priorities, the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) named cybersecurity No. 1.When people think about cybersecurity, they often focus on the vulnerabilities of hardware and software systems. For example, as Governing reported in late July , several local governments across the U.S. are using a Russian brand of security software that the federal government fears could be leveraged by the foreign country for cyberespionage.But, as Rajiv Das, chief security officer for the state of Michigan explains: There are two aspects to cybersecurity: One is the systems side, and the other is the human side.Agnes Kirk, chief information security officer for Washington state, agrees. The human factor is critical. Its been demonstrated as the weakest link in cybersecurity.When cities, counties and states dont adequately train their workforces, experts warn that the entire entity is at heightened risk of cyberattack. Luckily, a growing number of governments are beginning to catch on and are working to improve their cyber-hygiene.One important element of this is limiting technology access to people who genuinely need it and giving those people the necessary training to protect it. A study released in late April by Verizon reported that one of the most common reasons for a breach in the public sector is misuse of privilege.Washington state has been highly successful at avoiding serious breaches of its digital integrity. Why? Every state worker is required to undergo cybertraining.First and foremost, the training expresses the idea that cybersecurity is everyones job -- not just the job of the IT department. Employees are shown the IT resources available to them, including an easy way to have an expert review a suspicious email before responding. Then, employees are taught how their specific jobs can turn them into targets.If they cant relate it to their job, then its hard to care, says Kirk.Perhaps the biggest cyberthreat on the horizon is the prospect of "phishing," or disguising of malicious software inside harmless-looking links in emails or pop-ups. One employee's click on the harmful link can open the gates for people to steal privileged data, including Social Security numbers and birth dates. It can even give hackers the ability to lock data and charge governments to unlock it, using a type of malicious software referred to as "ransomware."Bingham County, Idaho, for example, paid $3,500 in ransom to unlock encrypted data in February. But the true cost of the attack was far greater -- nearly $100,000 , which was needed to cover the conversion to manual processes during and immediately following the attack, repair the damaged server, and heighten security and training. According to the, the county is still recovering, and operations may not return to normal until 2018.Fortunately, many states are increasingly using a proven technique to keep employees from falling into a phishing hole.They send something like 10,000 employees an email and monitor how many of those click on that link, and then they try to change users behavior, says Doug Robinson, executive director of NASCIO.Its working for Delaware: Employees phishing click rate dropped from 23 percent in August 2013 to 1 percent in February, according to Elayne Starkey, the states chief security officer.Despite that success, Starkey is still concerned by the oft-heard notion that the bad guys are always going to be one step ahead of the good guys when it comes to cybersecurity.Thats the kind of mentality were trying to fight against, she says. We dont want our employees to give up.
As the saying goes, "The poor pay more." This is certainly true when it comes to energy costs: Low-income households (both owners and renters) pay more for energy per square foot than their affluent counterparts. And as a percentage of income, low- and moderate-income families pay up tomore than average on utility bills.Energy efficiency is part of the solution: It can reduce energy burdens by as much as 30 percent. But even the best-intentioned efficiency programs often fail to reach low- and moderate-income households. Those households may not be able to take advantage of incentives because they lack the upfront capital to invest in efficiency upgrades, for example. And they lose out on tax incentives because they don't live in high-efficiency housing or can't afford to purchase newer fuel-efficient vehicles.So as cities boost their investments in their own energy-efficiency programs, urgent questions arise for local leaders: Are our programs reaching the people who need them most? And if not, how can they be redesigned and retargeted to meet that goal?To answer these questions, the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy has introduced three new "equity metrics" to its City Energy Efficiency Scorecard , a biennial report that ranks 51 large cities on their efforts to save energy. For the first time, the 2017 Scorecard assesses cities' and utilities' efforts to bring energy efficiency to underserved markets. Two measures evaluate the efficiency programs available to low-income and multifamily utility customers, while the third assesses cities' efforts to provide affordable housing in transit areas.The results are striking. On the first two metrics, only 11 cities and their utilities received full credit for reaching both low-income and multifamily customers: Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Minneapolis, Providence, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose and Seattle. This represents roughly 20 percent of the cities included in the Scorecard, suggesting that many more cities and their utilities could step up to serve low-income households.The report offers some inspiring case studies. For example, San Diego partners with its utility, San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E), to provide rebates for installing energy-efficient products in apartment buildings, mobile-home parks and condominiums. SDG&E also offers direct subsidies to low-income customers for efficiency upgrades.And as part of Minneapolis' Clean Energy Partnership , natural-gas and electric utilities coordinate with the federal government's Weatherization Assistance Program to upgrade the efficiency of their low-income customers' homes. The utilities also offer incentives for multifamily building owners, and higher incentives are provided to owners of affordable apartments."We have known for some time about the inequitable participation in utility energy-efficiency programs," said Luke Hollenkamp, Minneapolis' sustainability program coordinator, "so we are working closely with our utilities, Xcel Energy and CenterPoint Energy, to tackle this issue. The first step was identifying in our partnership's 2016 Annual Report neighborhoods that are lagging in program participation; the second step is to engage with community organizations to pilot new strategies to underserved communities. Then we will be able to target outreach to those areas with the greatest need."On the third metric -- provision of affordable housing in areas served by transit -- there is even more room for improvement. Only three cities earned full points here: Los Angeles, New York and Portland, Ore. The challenges, of course, are stark. Because of gentrification and urban sprawl, low-income communities are increasingly isolated and inadequately served by affordable, efficient transportation. People living in those communities are often dependent on cars, which can mean costly expenditures for vehicles, fuel, insurance and maintenance.In the Scorecard, cities earned points by requiring affordable housing for new developments in transit-oriented areas or by preserving existing affordable housing in those areas. The three cities that did well in this category offer tax abatements and/or other incentives for the construction of affordable housing within a short distance of light-rail station areas. For example, Los Angeles' Metro adopted guidelines for its joint development portfolio to include a minimum of 35 percent affordable housing units, and its Transit Oriented Communities Loan Program supports affordable housing in transit-oriented areas.Energy efficiency and public transit offer extraordinary benefits -- for the planet, for public health and for our pocketbooks. But the 2017 City Energy Efficiency Scorecard shows that those benefits are not yet distributed equitably. Going forward, cities must be intentional about investments in energy efficiency, ensuring that those investments reach the low- and moderate-income households that bear the heaviest burden from high energy costs.
In the years since the Great Recession, theres been a lot of effort made to ensure a government is sharing its complete fiscal picture. In many cases, this transparency push has resulted in a governments bottom line going from a surplus to a shortfall thanks to the introduction of things like pension and retiree health benefit liabilities to annual balance sheets.But some think governments are still leaving a few things off the ledger. Dag Detter and Stefan Folster, co-authors of the new book , say localities are failing to realize the true value of the public assets they own, such as airports, convention centers, utilities and transit systems, just to name a few. The public sector owns a lot of commercial assets, says Detter, a Swedish investment advisor and expert on public commercial assets.But, he adds, it doesnt manage the risk of increased costs associated with those assets very well. Then, the inclination is to give [management] away to the private sector, he says. But when you do that, you also have to give away the upside.The solution, according to the authors, is independent management and governance. Detter says cities could realize their hidden wealth potential if their commercial assets were bundled together and managed by a politically independent urban wealth fund. Such a structure, Detter says, would allow these assets to be turned into bigger profit-generators for cities.As an example, Detter points to Cleveland, which reported capital assets of more than $4 billion in 2014. To him, there are several flaws with this estimate. First, thanks to a legal quirk, many assets acquired before 1980 are not accounted for at all. Second, the city reports the value of its assets based on historic costs instead of the likely market value, which Detter estimates could be three or even seven times more. If Cleveland put its assets into an urban wealth fund, a modest yield of 3 percent on a fund with a market value in the neighborhood of $30 billion could amount to an income of $900 million a year. Thats nearly double what the city earned in tax revenue in 2014 and is money that could be spent on infrastructure, health care and other critical needs.Doing such a thing in the U.S. would require a lot of work. For instance, a city or county would not only have to determine all its assets market value, but it would also have to develop a strategy for them. The example Detter and Folster give in their book is Copenhagen, which through a publicly owned, privately driven urban wealth fund revitalized its waterfront and financed a citywide transit system without raising taxes.John Ryan, principal of the infrastructure recapitalization firm InRecap LLC, says U.S. cities could adopt a piecemeal approach by lumping a handful of similar assets together for a mini urban wealth fund. Whats more, many localities could utilize existing quasi-public development corporations by expanding their focus from just new development to existing assets.Ryan adds that urban wealth funds dont necessarily have to be as profit-driven as Detter envisions. To him, the larger point is that governments arent focused enough on their long-term wealth. Ignoring that part of the balance sheet, he says, causes officials to make short-term decisions about finances.If you think all you have to work with to deal with emerging long-term liabilities are short-term cash and whatever assets you have on the shelf, then it will seem that theres not much choice but to use gimmicks or kick the can, he says. But if instead you believe that you have some long-term assets that maybe arent so obvious but could be the raw material for good long-term solutions, at least youll start to look for better, more sustainable options.
Critics Left and Right

Georgia Debate

Consumers in 16 states can take advantage of sales tax holidays this yeargoing on frenzied shopping sprees to buy items such as backpacks, computers and school clothes tax-free. But states confronting budget woes and a long list of spending priorities are questioning whether the hyped-up shopping events are worth the cost.Left-leaning critics say the holidays are regressive and cost states money that could be spent on other priorities. Right-leaning groups agree that they are regressive, and argue that they dont attract new business for retailers. Instead, they say, the holidays just concentrate buying into a single weekend.For more than a decade after New York started the modern trend in 1997, the number of states with annual sales tax holidays grew steadily. But the count peaked at 19 in 2010, and this years tally is one fewer than last year. The liberal Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy estimates that states lost $300 million due to sales tax holidays in 2016.The holidays spark buying sprees and big advertising campaigns. For a few days this month in Texas, shoppers can buy backpacks worth up to $100 without paying sales tax. In Missouri, graphing calculators get the tax-free treatment this weekend, and in Virginia, it applies to generators, chainsaws and other hurricane preparedness items, along with school supplies.But despite the excitement, for many states the numbers are not adding up.Charley Ballard, an economics professor at Michigan State University, said two closely related factors may have helped to take the shine off sales tax holidays. Lawmakers are feeling pressure from their constituents to do things that require money, Ballard said. At the same time, the holidays havent unleashed the promised burst of economic growth.Georgia lawmakers voted this year to scrap the states July sales tax holiday, which applied to clothes, school supplies and computers. Massachusetts, which gave up its holiday in 2016, rejected efforts to reinstate it this year in the face of a budget deficit. Republican Gov. Charlie Baker this week filed legislation to designate a tax-free weekend in August, but House and Senate leaders are opposed to the idea, so Bakers proposal is unlikely to advance.In Florida, Republican Gov. Rick Scotts plan to expand the sales tax holiday from three days to 10 was rebuffed by the Legislature. In Wisconsin, Republican Gov. Scott Walkers plan for a two-day holiday was scrubbed by lawmakers in favor of eliminating the personal property tax for businesses. In Oklahoma, the sales tax holiday for school clothes and shoes was on the chopping block to help close a budget deficit, but survived by one vote.In Georgia, retailers fought hard to keep the holiday in place. But policymakers came around to realizing that the benefits of the sales tax holiday didnt outweigh the cost, said Wesley Tharpe, research director of the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, a progressive group.Most consumers saw only modest savings at the register, Tharpe said. But the state lost out on $42 million in taxes in fiscal 2016, according to Georgia State University researchers.Advocates for the holidays, led by retailers, argue that they bring in shoppers who buy not just the items that are tax free, but lots of other impulse items that are not. And, they argue, the holidays help level the playing field for brick and mortar retailers who face stiff competition from online sales, much of which are tax exempt.The sales tax holiday has given us a two-day equalizer, said Bill Rennie, vice president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts. Consumers have responded.Tax holidays in many states are limited to clothing or schools supplies. But in Massachusetts, the holiday applied to purchases of a wide variety of items, and Rennie said the weekend was the biggest of the year for retailers, surpassing Black Friday. It was very important to folks especially in the furniture, appliances, electronics and jewelry businesses, he said.But for lawmakers looking for ways to plug an estimated $430 million budget hole, those arguments werent convincing.This is the kind of policy that makes a great press release, but isnt necessarily good economic policy, said Ballard. Who could be against sales tax holidays so that little Susie can buy her pencils without having to pay sales tax? But like any tax gimmick  you give a tax break to somebody, you are going to lose revenue.The liberal ITEP group says sales tax holidays are inherently unfair because they favor better-off consumers who can shift purchases to holiday times, while lower-income, paycheck-to-paycheck folks cant do that.A study by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago in 2010 found that households with married couples with young children earning more than $30,000 are the only ones that statistically significantly increase consumption during sales tax holidays.The Tax Foundation, a right-leaning think tank, agrees that the holidays dont effectively target tax relief to low-income individuals. In a report last month, the group also complained that the holidays allow politicians to arbitrarily pick which products and industries to favor with the exemptions, and are a distraction from comprehensive tax relief.Some critics contend that consumers might save even more without the holidays, as retailers would mount sales of their own timed to events such as back-to-school.Bill Fox, director of the Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Tennessee, said he took advantage of Tennessees recent holiday to buy several pairs of running shoes. That 9  percent I saved is minuscule in terms of savings,  he said. The stores would be giving a much better discount if they had a sale. Back-to-school sales would have been like 25 percent off, not 9 percent, and people would have saved more.In Georgia, lawmakers decided during this years legislative session not to renew the states sales tax holiday, but did find other products and industries to favor.Rep. Jay Powell, the Republican chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said he did not encourage renewing the holiday because I dont think that it accomplishes any useful purpose. People are going to buy what they buy, regardless of the holiday, he said, pointing to a Georgia State University study that said people who were able to do so just bunched their purchases into one weekend, that would have normally been spread over the summer.While deciding not to renew the sales tax holiday, the Legislature did vote to add new tax credits and expand existing ones, which Powell said will provide more jobs in the state. And more jobs, he said, means more money in the pockets of Georgians to purchase more goods, with or without holidays.Georgia extended the states film tax credit to include post-production work, including editing and music production, and capped the expenditure at $5 million next year, $10 million in 2019 and $15 million from 2020 through 2022. And the Legislature implemented a rural markets tax credit program, estimated to cost $60 million over six years, that backers say will create jobs in rural parts of the state that are losing population.Retailers in the state were disappointed by the move. This is not allowing consumers an opportunity to save some money and is hurting retailers by not having this very popular weekend, said James Miller, communications director of the Georgia Retail Association.Miller suggested that Georgia residents who live near states with a sales tax holiday, including Florida, Alabama and South Carolina, would simply drive over the border and shop there.The cross-border issue also came up in Massachusetts, since neighboring New Hampshire doesnt have any sales taxes.New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, a Republican, took note. He tweeted:Daily reminder to Massachusetts shoppers that every day is a Sales Tax Holiday in New Hampshire!"
State taxpayers would need an estimated 25 years to recoup up to $2.85 billion in proposed cash payments to bring a Taiwanese firm's display screen plant to southeastern Wisconsin, a report released Tuesday found.The analysis by the Legislature's nonpartisan budget office determined that if the Foxconn Technology Group plant operated at full expected employment levels -- and attracted large numbers of jobs to Wisconsin through supplier companies -- then state taxpayers would recoup their investment in 2043.In Foxconn's industry -- the competitive world of consumer electronics -- the market could see multiple upheavals over those two and a half decadesThe report by the Legislative Fiscal Bureau relied on projected jobs and investment numbers generated by Gov. Scott Walker's administration and a consulting firm paid by Foxconn.The fiscal bureau found that over the next 15 years, state taxpayers would pay out $1 billion more to Foxconn than the additional taxes that would be generated by the deal. Additional public incentives would include environmental exemptions, lower utility rates and a still undisclosed tax subsidy from local governments of which the state is guaranteeing up to 40% in case the deal fails.Walker spokesman Tom Evenson said the trade amounts to an "excellent investment for our entire state.""This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that brings high-tech manufacturing back to America, right here in Wisconsin," Evenson said. "Wisconsin is offering $3 billion for a $10 billion investment, $10.5 billion in new payroll, and 13,000 direct jobs."The long payoff on the project is due to both the size of the cash payments to the electronics giant and to the fact that in Wisconsin companies pay virtually no corporate or income taxes on profits from manufacturing. That eliminates a major source of repayment for taxpayers that would be available if the award had been made to a different type of company, such as a financial services provider.Senate Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling (D-La Crosse) said she remains skeptical of the deal."I'm not convinced that handing over $3 billion in state subsidies to a foreign corporation is the best deal for Wisconsin families and small businesses. Even under Governor Walker's best-case scenario, we wouldn't see a return on this investment for at least 25 years," Shilling said.Senate Republicans discussed the incentive package Tuesday and plan to meet again Thursday with Mark Hogan, the head of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. and a key negotiator for the state on the Foxconn deal, said a spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau).Fitzgerald and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) have not yet said how Tuesday's analysis might influence their views on the legislation to help Foxconn.In calculating the additional taxes from the deal, the fiscal bureau relied on Foxconn-funded projections that company suppliers and local businesses such as restaurants would also create 22,000 good jobs outside the plant, for a total of up to 35,000.The memo noted it is difficult to project what will happen with Foxconn over the next several decades. Projections developed by the Walker administration "must be considered highly speculative," the Legislative Fiscal Bureau noted in its report.The memo did not account for additional investments to which Foxconn might later commit, such as a second facility the company is considering siting in Dane County. It also focused more on the costs and benefits to state taxpayers than to other groups, such as the Foxconn workers who could draw down up to $700 million a year in payroll from the company.The analysis also assumed that the jobs being generated by the deal in Racine and Kenosha counties would all be filled by Wisconsin workers. If 10% of the new jobs are filled by Illinois residents driving across the border, then it could take another two years to pay back state taxpayers' investment, the report found.And if Foxconn stuck with 3,000 workers -- its initial project employment instead of its eventual peak employment level of 13,000 -- the "break-even point would be well past" 2045, the report found.GOP lawmakers have downplayed any potential downside to a Foxconn deal, with Sen. Duey Stroebel of Saukville saying recently it posed "no risk" to taxpayers. The report made clear that even under optimistic scenarios the deal would involve risk and the better part of a generation to pay off.In the short term, state government's bottom line could benefit from the Foxconn development.That's because building the plant would create more than 10,000 construction jobs and spark other economic activity that could boost state tax collections by $83 million over the next two years, the report found.To receive state payments under the deal, Foxconn would first need to make investments in the plant and hire workers.If by 2021 the company had hired 13,000 workers, then by the next year Foxconn could receive up to $119.6 million in annual cash payments, according to a memo from the state Department of Revenue that was also released Tuesday. Those payments could last more than a decade.In addition, the company could receive up to $192.9 million in state payments for investments in its plant in each of seven years running from 2020 to 2026. So by the 2022 fiscal year the state could be making an annual payment of $313 million to Foxconn.The jobs at the plant would have starting salaries of $41,600 a year and the average pay would be $53,900 plus benefits, state officials have said.
Collecting trash is one of the most dangerous jobs in the country. In fact, garbage workers are far more likely to die on the job than police officers or professional firefighters.One of the biggest dangers they face is being hit by other drivers swerving to pass the trucks along their routes. Thats why lawmakers in 16 states have passed Slow Down to Get Around laws in recent years.The details vary, but most of the laws increase penalties for drivers who hit trash workers. In many cases, the laws also require drivers to treat trash trucks the same way they would treat emergency vehicles: by changing lanes or traveling at 10 to 15 mph slower than the posted speed limit.The legislative push comes at a time when fatality rates for trash workers are on the rise: They hit their highest point in a decade in 2015, the last year for which federal data is available. Not all of those on-the-job deaths were caused by traffic crashes, but some say that risk is rising because of distracted driving.The majority of the incidents are when a worker is behind a truck and a driver is distracted," says David Biderman, executive director of the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) who has been tracking the issue for a decade. "Usually, its a cell phone, but it can also be reaching for a soda or yelling at the kids."Garbage trucks often operate in residential neighborhoods in the morning when people are rushing to get to work or school and the sun is still low in the sky, making it harder for drivers to see. Meanwhile, the trash collectors are behind their trucks, with their backs to traffic. They cant see when a car is headed their way and not slowing down.Michigan was the first state to pass a Slow Down to Get Around law in 2009. Its law lets prosecutors bring felony charges against drivers who kill or injure people working around garbage trucks and other roadside vehicles. The other states that have passed similar laws are Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.Its tough to assess how much of an effect Michigans law -- or those that followed -- has had on fatality rates because many other factors could also influence the results, says Biderman. The number of U.S. traffic deaths overall, for example, appears to have increased the last two years, as the economy improved and Americans began driving more.Industry groups like SWANA, along with cities and trash-hauling companies, have also tried to make the public more aware of the dangers facing garbage and recycling workers. For nearly a decade, theyve used social media, truck decals, rallies and public service announcements to promote the message. Fairfax County, Va., even brought a trash truck covered with a Slow Down to Get Around logo to the funeral of a trash worker in a nearby Maryland county who was struck on the job.People are generally receptive to slowing down for trash workers, Biderman says, but passing new state laws can be a tougher sell. In a few states, he says, proposals stalled because lawmakers were concerned that once they added provisions for garbage workers, accommodations would have to be made for other types of workers, like tow truck operators or utility workers.Theyre concerned about the slippery slope, he says. Frankly, Im shocked that that would be a reason not to enact legislation, because were going to have to protect more people.Biderman urges lawmakers to consider the alternatives.Unfortunately, one of the great catalysts for this legislation is when a worker gets struck and killed by a driver, he says. Its hard for lawmakers to vote against a widow who just lost her husband, testifying in favor of a Slow Down to Get Around bill. "What I say when I talk to state legislators is: Lets not wait for that horrible thing to happen.
On Wednesday, in the afternoon, at Government House, His Excellency the Honourable Paul de Jersey AC and Mrs Kaye de Jersey hosted an afternoon tea for 2017 Queensland Country Life Miss Showgirl Finalists, where the Governor addressed guests.
Description

GIS - 10 August, 2017: The Metro Express Ltd has awarded the Turnkey Design and Construct Contract to Larsen & Toubro Limited for a fixed sum of MUR 18, 799, 880, 000 following recommendations made by the Singapore Cooperation Enterprise. The sum allocated is inclusive of provisional sums works, and with no variation and extension of time of execution, and without being detrimental to the norms and the standards of quality and safety as spelt out in the Request for Proposal.

The implementation of the project is scheduled to start in September 2017 and to be completed in November 2021. The sector stretching from Rose Hill to Port Louis is expected to be operational in September 2019.

A Traffic Engineering Unit, with the Korea Expressway Corporation, the Mauritius Research Council, and the Ministry of Public Infrastructure and Land Transport, has been created to address issues of traffic interference.
Description

GIS  10 August 2017: The third edition of the Mauritius CIO (Chief Information Officers) Summit, a networking conference for the topmost influential decision-makers of Mauritius in the ICT sector, will be held on 16 August 2017 at the Westin Turtle Bay Resort & Spa, in Balaclava.

The main objective of the Summit is to offer an opportunity for the region's leading CIOs to network with the industry's brightest minds, discover cutting-edge insights into the latest tech trends, and share invaluable experiences with their peers.

It is organised by the International Data Corporation, in collaboration with the National Computer Board, Westcon, Maxtec, Sage, Stulz, State Informatics Ltd and VMware. Participants are CIOs, IT Directors, Managers and Senior Executives representing Mauritius' leading technology thinkers.

The event is designed to appeal to those with a strategic focus on business, and on the role that technology plays in their organisation's ability to remain competitive.
Description

GIS - 10 August, 2017: A workshop focusing on Risk Management on Cooperative Credit Unions kicked off this morning at the Gold Crest Hotel, in Quatre-Bornes. A joint initiative of the Ministry of Business, Enterprise and Cooperatives and the Mauritius Cooperative Savings and Credit League, the workshop is being held in the context of International Credit Union Day 2017.

In his opening address, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Business, Enterprise and Cooperatives, Mr D. Gaoneadry, underscored that the workshop will help raise awareness regarding risk management and the implications of major changes in legislations so as to ensure a smooth-running of activities of Cooperative Credit Unions

He underlined that Government reckons the importance of the cooperative sector serving as catalyst to engender development. He pointed out that the Mauritian Cooperative Movement has a turnover nearing Rs5.5 billion each year, among which a round Rs2.2 billion is generated by the credit union. This clearly indicates that Credit Unions add to the socio-economic development of the country, he added.

To strengthen the sector it is imperative that it adopts the practice of good governance and Government intends to provide the appropriate financial, fiscal and policy support to this end, he highlighted.

In this regard, a set of rules and regulations has been elaborated to ensure that cooperatives abide by the provisions of cooperative law with the underlying vision of charting the way forward to a modern and viable cooperative sector.

The Permanent Secretary concluded by laying emphasis on the need to reengineer and boost the sector by encouraging women and young people to join the organisation.
Confronted with the difficult task of creating accurate models to predict yields and shockwaves from the nations modern nuclear arsenal, officials at a national lab in California have returned to a surprising source: original post-World War II films of above-ground tests that will be declassified and posted online  and could serve as a resource to state and local governments.The U.S. stopped testing a quarter-century ago, but it continues to refurbish aging devices, and needs accurate predictions of how those weapons would perform. At the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in Livermore, Calif., nuclear weapons physicist Greg Spriggs has been tasked for more than a decade with writing and updating computer code to predict fallout.Hes long had difficulties in using test films created more than half a century ago under extreme circumstances on sometimes unstable stock, then stored under varying conditions. The answer, Spriggs realized more than a decade ago, was to move from analyzing copies of tests to re-examining at the original tests themselves.Trouble was, his models wouldnt agree with the data  so as a sanity check, he convinced his supervisor to let him scan about a dozen of the estimated 10,000 such films that exist to check cloud heights and dimensions.When data and model still didnt align, something not entirely unexpected occurred: His boss gave him the job of reanalyzing all the films to obtain usable data.What were hoping to get out of this project is to generate a bunch of benchmark data, particularly concerning the yield of a nuclear device, Spriggs told. Then, we can run our codes and try to recalculate some of these old weapons; and if were able to actually reproduce the yield that we measure, then we can go back to the [National Nuclear Security Administration] and say, Look, were doing a good job. Our codes are validating what we did and we think that our new predictions are going to be correct.'"Joined by film technician and expert Jim Moye and supported by a staff that includes programmer Jason Bender, Spriggs began the painstaking process of scanning and scrutinizing scientific-grade films done by the company EG&G, now part of Aecom but still renowned for its contributions to high-speed photography during the past eight decades.The group has only located about 6,500 films, has scanned more than 4,200 of them, and analyzed about 500.But thanks to hours of laborious work along with some recent technological developments by Bender, Livermore hopes to go live around the end of the year with a website documenting its work, and to continue releasing scanned images from declassified films. Examples can currently be found in the LLNL Atmospheric Nuclear Tests playlist on its YouTube channel.A final report on the project, Spriggs told, likely wont be complete for as long as two years.Nolan OBrien, LLNLs public information officer and communication manager, said the project has attracted a lot of positive attention even from people that we traditionally might expect to be Internet trolls or anti-nuclear deterrent in general.Theyre praising the transparency thats kind of involved in this project. In an essence, what Greg and his team are doing is theyre finding ways to apply new techniques and technologies to get better answers without having to go back to testing, OBrien toldOne of the inherent issues that prompted the work Spriggs, Moye and others are doing may not always be considered in scientific circles: shrinkage.EG&G, incorporated in 1947 by Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Harold Edgerton and grad students Kenneth Germeshausen and Herbert Grier, did fine work on the tests, those interviewed agreed.It used at least 50 cameras in every shoot; and while Livermore hasnt yet been able to locate more than 30 films of any one test, EG&Gs comprehensive data sheets  which documented camera locations, lens focal lengths, filters, emulsion types and other particulars  proved crucial to reanalyzing the films.But during the past 50 years, the film stock used has changed, shrinking by anywhere from 1.5 percent to 2.5 percent, Spriggs said. So long as the films shrink equally throughout in a proportional sense, they can be reanalyzed accurately.Changes must be reflected and measured, for a weapons yield is calculated by first measuring the shockwave position then the yield  and so if a shockwave is incorrectly calculated by 1 percent, the yield will be off by 5 percent.Despite the changes to the film stock, Moye said in an LLNL video on the labs YouTube channel that he is very surprised by their condition, which is generally good.Scanning the films for digital capture enabled their measurement by computer, and Bender created a tool using Python software that automates the reading of the images optical density to more quickly find a fireballs edge.The tool, which the Spriggs said brings the team great hope, speeds analysis from about four hours per film to three to four minutes. Its currently testing and could be out of beta mode anytime between the end of summer and the end of the calendar year.Concurrently, Spriggs and other personnel are watching anywhere from 50 to 200 test films per month, and subsequently declassifying them.Its a combined process that he and Moye said could have significant value for state, county and local governments despite the fact that the threat of nuclear war has diminished since the height of the Cold War, when these films were produced.I think one thing that [Hurricane] Katrina taught us was that you need to be prepared and just put something down on paper. Sometimes it doesnt always work the way you think its going to work. A lot of emergency response personnel try to prepare for a nuclear detonation. Theres a usefulness to this, thats basically a training aid for our civilian defense personnel, Spriggs said, noting staffers hope, naturally, that such an attack never comes.Moye said the process has been real interesting and rewarding from a scientific and preservation standpoint.Its exciting when I hear that lot of good data is coming from these films," he said, "and then at some point in the future, now that its being scanned and preserved digitally, scientists in the future can look at this and who knows what else they can glean from it."
Smart parking in Oxford, Miss., has been and remains a work in progress.City parking officials got off to a false start in 2012 with a license plate recognition effort that failed to deliver. It was a good idea but the technology just wasnt there yet, said Parking Director Matt Davis.The city turned the situation around with a 2014 upgrade to smart meters. That effort is yielding positive outcomes, and now Oxford has its eye on emerging sensor technologies.To understand the trajectory of parking technology in this Northern Mississippi municipality, it helps to rewind a few years. In 2012 increased tourism and an expanding university population at Ole Miss were straining parking around the historic downtown area, called The Square. Free parking meant cars lingered in premium spaces, which was bad for business and discouraged visitors.License plate recognition or LPR seemed like a tech-savvy solution to enforce time limits. If cars stayed in place beyond the two-hour limit, an automated system would take note and issue a citation. But the geo-location technology wasnt ready for prime time: The LPR system often would erroneously ticket vehicles that had moved across The Square and were in fact parking legally.Such systems have improved in recent years, but at the time it just was not up to par, Davis said.In 2014, the city sought out a new solution, with local leaders paying visits to multiple cities of comparable size: 25,000 people, swelling to 50,000 when the university is in session. They gathered reams of parking information from Athens, Ga.; Fayetteville, Ark.; and Charleston, S.C., talking to parking directors and technicians alike.We wanted to know what works and what doesnt work," Davis said. "We just asked every question we could think of."In considering their options, planners first looked at kiosk systems where a single pay here station might serve 15 or so cars on a block. But The Square didnt have the power or telecommunications infrastructure needed to support kiosks, and the system seemed inconvenient. Either parkers would have to remember their plate number or remember their spot number, or else put a receipt on the dashboard.This last seemed especially unlikely. We looked at this in use elsewhere, Davis recalled. You would go up to a car and there would be 50 receipts on the dashboard and youd have to figure out whether the current one was there. Its an enforcement nightmare.The team instead settled on 300 individual smart meters from IPS Group , a $390,000 investment. The meters are smart largely in the diversity of pay options they offer. Users can insert coins, use a credit or debit card, or pay with a smartphone app. The city and the university both favor Passport parking software for payments.The meters have been a financial boon. The citys parking operations used to lose an average of $20,000 per month, IPS reports. Parking revenues exceeded $500,000 in the eight months after the meters went in.In addition to revenue, the meters produce data. They report ongoing activity, and can tell operators how much coinage they are holding, so parking officials know when its time to dispatch a collector.It will show me exactly when you paid the meter, how you paid and how much you paid, Davis said. We use the data for our financials. We can say this percentage of people pay with coin versus credit. We can say which are the major areas where people are parking. We can see the different activity at different times of day.This helps the city to do budgeting and it helps the parking department make best use of its human capitol. We know what times of the day are most busy, so I know whether to schedule a guy for 3 p.m. or 10 a.m. on any given day, David said.The parking upgrade did bring with it challenges, especially on the administrative side.We didnt have the ordinances in place for this. We didnt have the policies for how to enforce this, Davis said. The parking department wrote out the rules and worked them through with city attorneys before rolling them out for public comment and eventual city council approval. We wanted to be sure we had a legal framework in place so everything would be in the ordinances and the policies when the meters came out.The city still is ironing out details in the technology. The primary batteries in the meter are reaching the end of their expected three-to-five-year life cycle, so those are starting to get swapped out. On the plus side, IPS recently added American Express as a payment option, giving users a little more flexibility.But parking never sits still for long. With the smart meters ticking away, Davis has his eye on emerging sensor technologies as a possible next step.We know there are sensors that can tell you how many spaces on our square were occupied and paid yesterday at 10 oclock in the morning. We do think that could help us with enforcement. Maybe there is one place where more cars are not paying, so we can tell our guys to skip the south side of The Square and focus on the north side for the next hour, he said.Still, Davis is moving with some care, given public sensitivity around parking issues. For example, hes intrigued by sensors that can be programmed to zero out a meter when a car pulls away, effectively blocking one parker from piggybacking on someone elses quarter.We talked about it and we immediately got hit hard by a bunch of citizens. We are doing the best we can to improve downtown  and we had a few people call us greedy! he recalled. So while that option is not likely to materialize, Davis continues to watch developments, looking for ways to make the citys smart parking even smarter still.
(TNS) - Federal disaster officials have agreed to chip in $22.8 million to help California pay the estimated $500 million cost of the Oroville Dam crisis.Victor Inge, a spokesman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said Wednesday that the reimbursement is to cover some costs associated with the emergency as well as for removing the massive pile of debris that washed down from the spillway and plugged the Feather River channel below the dam.Inge said the states requests for reimbursement still are being reviewed, and additional payouts could take several more months.Department of Water Resources spokeswoman Erin Mellon said Wednesday during a biweekly conference call with reporters that she expects more money to come the states way.That was just the first of many reimbursements, Mellon said.It has been uncertain whether Donald Trumps administration would agree to reimburse California after Februarys spillway crisis at the countrys tallest dam. The state has asked the federal government to pay up to 75 percent of the costs of the emergency and ongoing repair and recovery efforts.The Trump administration approved a disaster declaration in the spring that would make the state eligible for millions of dollars in emergency funding, but a state official warned lawmakers in May that how much the feds pay could depend on whether the federal government concludes the state properly maintained the dams spillway before it crumbled.Was this deferred maintenance? Bill Croyle, the then-acting DWR director, asked members of the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee. Is there a maintenance issue here, because theyre not going to cover that. If its an emergency response, theyre going to cover.State officials have insisted for months that they maintained the dam to current standards and that routine federal and state inspections found no evidence to suggest the dams main flood-control spillway was about to disintegrate. But thats what happened Feb. 7 as state officials drained water from Lake Oroville to make room as a powerful warm, winter storm sent huge flows pouring into the states second-largest reservoir.The lower portion of the half-mile-long spillway developed a gaping hole that began to expand as water hit it. Fearing more damage would be done to the battered chute, dam operators killed the flows and allowed the lake to rise to the point that water started to cascade over an adjacent emergency spillway  a concrete lip perched above an unlined hillside  that never had been used.On Feb. 12, officials ordered the cities below the dam to evacuate when the hillside below the emergency spillway appeared ready to wash away. The DWR eventually got a handle on the crisis after reopening the battered main spillway and lowering the lakes water level. But water roaring down the spillway destroyed the chutes lower portion and plugged the river channel with rock and concrete.A recently released federal inspection report further illustrates the extent to which officials were caught off guard by the crisis. In late 2014, federal inspectors said it was so unlikely the main spillway would crumble that there wasnt need for further studies to plan for that emergency scenario.Federal inspectors concluded that, based on engineering studies, inspections and other geo-technical information they reviewed, the main spillway chute was in good condition, and the underlying rock is very competent. Competent is a term that engineers and geologists use to describe the ability of rock to resist erosion.The DWR posted the heavily redacted document on its website in late July. The Sacramento Bee had requested the inspection report and other records in February through the Public Records Act, but the state originally denied the publications request, citing a law aimed at preventing information about critical infrastructure from being used by terrorists.Outside experts have told the Bee since February that it is obvious that engineers who designed the dam overestimated the strength of the rock and material underneath the spillway. Oroville Dam was completed in 1968. The DWR hopes to have the spillways repaired and ready for use in time for the winter rainy season.2017 The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, Calif.)Visit The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, Calif.) at www.sacbee.comDistributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
#MukhyaKanthriCBN Is Trending In Social Media!

YSR Congress party president Y S Jaganmohan Reddys comment that Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu was not a Mukhya Mantri (chief minister), but a Mukhya Kantri (chief looter), seems to have gone down well into the common people.

The comment has been trending in the social media for the last two days with tremendous response from the netizens.

The comment under the hashtag -- #MukhyaKantriCBN has been retweeted by over 7,000 people on the twitter. And the count is going up still.

Jagan made an aggressive attack on the chief minister stating that the latter had failed to implement even a single promise he had given to various sections of people including farmers, women, unemployed and minorities.

The chief minister is known for his duplicity, double-dealing and treachery. And now, he is coming before you to seek votes again. There is nothing wrong, if people like Naidu are gunned down on streets in public glare, Jagan said.

He alleged that Naidu had amassed huge wealth of over Rs 3.5 lakh crore by indulging in various scams right from land pooling in Amaravati to illegal sand mining, Jagan said with the ill-gotten money, the TDP president had lured 21 YSR Congress party MLAs into his party by offering them posts and cash.
Yep, in Iowa too



The good news Tuesday night was that Democrat Phil Miller beat Republican Travis Harris for a state House seat that includes Van Buren County, most of Jefferson County and a bit of Davis County (House District 82). The special election was called after Democrat Curt Hanson died in June. It's considered a swing district with 6,611 registered Republicans, 6,257 registered Democrats and 5,738 voters without partisan affiliation. The district went for Obama over Romney, narrowly, but this year swung heavily for Trump--by a whopping 21.3% margin. (Bernie beat Hillary in the district's caucuses last year and probably would have beaten Trump. In Jefferson County Bernie took 654 votes toTrump's 223. Cruz won the GOP caucus but Cruz and Trump combined only took 493 votes and even if you throw in 3rd-place Rubio's 104 votes, Bernie still got more votes than all of them together!)





Tuesday's results were 4,021 votes for Miller (53.8%), a veterinarian who serves on the Fairfield school board, and 3,324 votes for Harris (44.5%). The 82nd is the reddest Democratic-held House seat in Iowa, having swung swung from a tiny 50-48% Obama win to 57.8-36.4% Trump triumph, and the Republicans had every reason-- on paper at least-- to think they would recapture it this week.





Jefferson County-- with the 2 biggest cities in the district (Fairfield and Vedic City)-- was where Miller lives and why he won, having beaten Harris there 2,792 to 1,200, giving him the margin he needed to withstand the GOP advantages in Davis and Van Buren counties. Absentee ballots favored Miller and Miller's field and GOTV operations were much stronger than the Republicans'. The Republicans put their money into ads absurdly trying to make a connection between Miller... and Nancy Pelosi , which independent voters laughed off, and in carrying on about a school board vote Miller took to allow transgender students to use bathrooms that aligned with their identified gender.





The state House district is in the heart of Iowa's only congressional district (IA-02) still held by a Democrat (Dave Loebsack). It is a major 2018 target for the Republican Party, which feels that Trump's 49.1% win over Hillary (45.0%)-- a pretty massive swing from Obama's 55.8-42.7% win over Romney in 2012-- indicates that they can beat Loebsack. The special election last night is very likely to take some wind out of those sails. But if you'd like to help Loebsack-- or any of the progressive and populist Democrats in districts Trump won-- Blue America has a nice new contribution page for that, which you can access by clicking on the ActBlue thermometer on the right. And, remember, the average swing away from Trump for Republican candidates in special elections so far this year has been 13 points-- which, if that is what happens in the 2018 midterms, predicts the biggest ass-whooping the GOP has gotten since their agenda brought on the Great Depression at the end of the 1920s and the beginning of the 1930s.

Iowa's Senate Democratic Leader, Rob Hogg, was celebratory this morning and he sent out a list of upcoming events Iowa Democrats have scheduled for the next couple of weeks. Just in case you're visiting and want to meet some like-minded activist progressives...
The California Energy Commission awarded more than $16 million to Equilon Enterprises, LLC, which does business as Shell Oil Products US, to develop seven new hydrogen stations in Northern California.

Three will be located in San Francisco, one in Walnut Creek, one in Berkeley and two in the Sacramento region. The stations will help expand the hydrogen refueling network in California. With the latest approval, the Energy Commission has funded 60 stations statewide, with 29 currently in operation.
In March 2017, EPA and the US Department of Transportation announced the Trump Administrations decision to revisit the Midterm Evaluation Process, which was established as a part of the 2012 final greenhouse gas emissions standards for model years 2017-2025. This requires EPA to determine, no later than 1 April 2018, whether the 2022-2025 standards determined by the previous administration are appropriate. If the Agency believes that the final determination issued by the past administration is not realistic, it would submit a new proposal for public comment.

In a joint Federal Register notice , the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) opened the public comment period on the reconsideration of the January 2017 Final Determination for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions standards for cars and light trucks for model years (MY) 2022-2025. ( Earlier post .) Separately, EPA is also taking comment on whether the MY 2021 standards are appropriate. The Agency is inviting the public to submit relevant data and information that can inform a final determination of the standards.

The comment period will be open for 45 days after the notice is published in the Federal Register. EPA will also hold a public hearing for this notice, with the date and location of the public hearing to be announced in a supplemental Federal Register document.

In its 26 July 262017 Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for Model Year 20222025 Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) stated that as part of its upcoming Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) rulemaking, it may evaluate the model year 2021 standards it finalized in 2012 to ensure they remain maximum feasible (See 82 FR 34742).

In the interest of harmonization between the GHG and CAFE programs, EPA is also requesting comment on whether the light-duty vehicle greenhouse gas standards established for model year 2021 are appropriate.

As part of the rulemaking establishing GHG standards for MYs 2017-2025, EPA included a Mid-term Evaluation for the MY 2022-2025 standards. EPA regulations require EPA to determine whether or not the existing standards for model years remain appropriate under section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act. The Final Determination is the last step in a Midterm Evaluation process and must be completed by 1 April 2018.

Among the early reactions to the announcement:

By reopening the midterm evaluation, EPA is bringing back questions that have already been asked and answered. In fact, EPA concluded a thorough assessment earlier this year that found the targets through 2025 could be met at an even lower cost than EPA had previously estimated. And by expanding the review to include Model Year 2021, EPA is opening the door even further to eroding standards beyond what was previously contemplated. If EPA goes through with its review, they should leave 2021 off the table and they must conduct a fair, transparent assessment that includes the voices of consumers. If progress toward more efficient vehicles is put in reverse, consumers are the ones who will bear the financial burden. Shannon Baker-Branstetter, policy counsel for Consumers Union

Redoing the midterm review of national fuel economy standards is an egregious act of government waste that could result in the rollback of essential consumer protections. If automakers are allowed to slack off on making cars run more efficiently, Americans will be forced to spend thousands of dollars more on gas, instead of on their families. Jack Gillis, Consumer Federation of Americas (CFA) Director of Public Affairs and author of The Car Book

In order to keep our air clean and our climate safe, we must protect and strengthen clean car standards. The EPAs previous technical review of the current fuel economy standards shows that the standards are not only well within reach, but are already working. Due to technological innovation initiated by the standards, the cars speeding off dealership lots at a record pace are cleaner and more efficient than ever before. A new administration is no reason to shift progress to reverse. Sierra Club Legislative Director for Transportation Andrew Linhardt
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The key is introducing curvature to the landscape that constrains the way defects propagate. The researchers call this tilt grain boundary topology, and they achieve it by growing their materials onto a topographically curved substratein this case, a cone. The angle of the cone dictates if, what kind and where the boundaries appear. The research is the subject of a paper in the journal ACS Nano.

Researchers at Rice University and their colleagues at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have learned to manipulate two-dimensional materials to design in defects that enhance the materials properties. Combining theory and experimentation, they showed its possible to give 2D materials specific defectsespecially atomic-scale seams called grain boundaries. These boundaries may be used to enhance the materials electronic, magnetic, mechanical, catalytic and optical properties.

Grain boundaries are the borders that appear in a material where edges meet in a mismatch. These boundaries are a series of defects; for example, when two sheets of hexagonal graphene meet at an angle, the carbon atoms compensate for it by forming nonhexagonal (five- or seven-member) rings.

Rice theoretical physicist Boris Yakobson and his team have already demonstrated that these boundaries can be electronically significant. They can, for instance, turn perfectly conducting graphene into a semiconductor. In some cases, the boundary itself may be a conductive subnanoscale wire or take on magnetic properties.

But until now researchers had little control over where those boundaries would appear when growing graphene, molybdenum disulfide or other 2-D materials by chemical vapor deposition.

The theory developed at Rice showed growing 2-D material on a cone would force the boundaries to appear in certain places. The width of the cone controlled the placement and, more importantly, the tilt angle, a crucial parameter in tuning the materials' electronic and magnetic properties, Yakobson said.

Experimental collaborators from Oak Ridge led by co-author David Geohegan provided evidence backing key aspects of the theory. They achieved this by growing tungsten disulfide WS 2 ) onto small cones similar to those in Rices computer models. The boundaries that appeared in the real materials matched those predicted by theory.



(a) A triangular WS 2 crystal flake. (b) Modeled time progression of crystal growth on a flat surface (formally a cone with 2a = ). (c) Experimental SEM image of WS 2 crystal grown on flat substrate. (d) Modeled progression of crystal growth on a conical surface with 2a = 19.2 (or  = /3). (e) Experimental image of WS 2 crystal grown on a conical substrate. (f) Simulations of crystal growth for a series of different cones, with 2a = 19.2, 28.9, 38.9, 47.2, 60. (g) Color-coded plot of the orientation field  for (f). Blue represents  = 1(grain), and white represents  = 0 (substrate); in (g) cyan represents substrate. Credit: ACS, Yu et al. Click to enlarge.

The nonplanar shape of the substrate forces the 2-D crystal to grow in a curved non-Euclidian space>. This strains the crystal, which occasionally yields by giving a way to the seams, or grain boundaries. Its no different from the way a tailor would add a seam to a suit or a dress to fit a curvy customer. Boris Yakobson

Modeling cones of different widths also revealed a magic cone of 38.9 degrees upon which growing a 2-D material would leave no grain boundary at all.

The Rice team extended its theory to see what would happen if the cones sat on a plane. They predicted how grain boundaries would form over the entire surface, and again, Oak Ridge experiments confirmed their results.

Yakobson said both the Rice and Oak Ridge teams were working on aspects of the research independently.

It was slow going until we met at a conference in Florida a couple of years back and realized that we should continue together. It was certainly gratifying to see how experiments confirmed the models, while sometimes offering important surprises. Now we need to do the additional work to comprehend them as well. Boris Yakobson

Rice graduate students Henry Yu and Nitant Gupta are co-lead authors of the paper. Co-authors are former Rice postdoctoral researcher Zhili Hu, now at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and researchers Kai Wang, Bernadeta Srijanto and Kai Xiao of Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Geohegan is the functional hybrid nanomaterials group leader at Oak Ridges Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences. Yakobson is the Karl F. Hasselmann Professor of Materials Science and NanoEngineering and a professor of chemistry.

The US Department of Energy Basic Energy Sciences and its Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences and the Office of Naval Research supported the research.

Computer resources were provided by the Night Owls Time-Sharing Service and its National Science Foundation-supported DAVinCI supercomputer, both administered by Rices Center for Research Computing; the resources were procured in partnership with Rices Ken Kennedy Institute for Information Technology.

Resources
A survey recently conducted by Green River Main Street will be discussed during an upcoming meeting Aug. 17, which will give residents a chance to voice their opinions about what they would like the organization to do in Green River.

The meeting will take place at Western Wyoming Community Colleges Green River Campus Aug. 17, starting at 5:30 p.m.

Jennie Melvin, the citys Main Street manager, said the city received more than 160 responses to its survey. Some of those responses highlighted needs residents have identified for years, such as the desire for a second grocery store.

Other...
A new CEO for the Green River Chamber of Commerce will start working Monday according to a media release from the chamber.

Irene Parsons was recently hired to replace Rebecca Eusek, who left the position for a job with the Wyoming Business Council. Parsons, a 41-year resident of Wyoming and University of Wyoming graduate, formerly worked for Sen. John Barrasso as his field representative in Southwest Wyoming, where she was responsible for communication with Sen. Barrasso and his staff.

Irene is well versed in many aspects of business and community development, education and workforce tra...
Hazy skies have become a common sight throughout Southwestern Wyoming as smoke from numerous fires in the western United States and Canada comes through the area.

The smoke has resulted in healthcare professionals warning residents with respiratory problems to stay indoors because of the declining air quality.

Sweetwater County Public Health released a media release encouraging people to avoid heavy outdoor exercise. Public healths release stated those with heart and respiratory conditions are susceptible to smoke-related complications. A separate release issued by Memorial Hospital of S...
RENO  With the discovery of illegally planted northern pike in Comins Lake, the Nevada Department of Wildlife is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the prosecution of those responsible.

Conviction for this crime would be a misdemeanor, but the crime also carries hefty civil penalties that can reach into the tens of thousands of dollars.

The reward money has been donated by several sportsmens groups, including Nevada Bighorns Unlimited and the Operation Game Thief Citizens Board.

Weve invested tremendous time, money and resources in eliminating pike from this fishery. The person illegally planting fish is costing sportsmen money that could be better spent, and they are destroying one of Nevadas most productive and heavily utilized fisheries, said Chief Game Warden Tyler Turnipseed. This is an ugly and damaging act, and we intend to find who did it.

In 2015, NDOW spent more than $250,000 to remove illegally stocked northern pike that had decimated the trout fishery at Comins Lake. Since then, NDOW worked to rebuild the fishery with the introduction of trout and largemouth bass, all designed to benefit the sportsmen of White Pine County and visitors from all over the country.

This malicious and illegal act seriously endangers our effort to restore this important fishery for local anglers and those who travel to White Pine County to enjoy amazing fishing, said NDOW Fisheries Chief Jon Sjoberg.

At its peak in 2004 Comins Lake reached 35,000 angler use days, an estimate of how many people fish a body of water per year based off angler questionnaires, making it the fourth most visited fishery in the state behind only Lake Mead, Lake Mohave and the Truckee River.

With the introduction of pike, that number fell to around 2,000 angler use days by 2013. The money spent by anglers using Comins also dropped from over $2 million to around $73,000 during that same time frame.

Northern Pike are not native to Nevada, and when introduced into certain waterways, this voracious predator consumes all the natural resources in a given waterway, destroying native fish first and eventually causing a collapse of the invasive pike as well. Theres a reason why pike are considered an invasive species in Nevada, said Sjoberg. The people illegally introducing pike are destroying a fishery, not creating a new one.

Anyone with information on this illegal introduction of pike can call the OGT hotline at 800-992-3030. Follow Turnipseed on Twitter for the most up to date information @Chief_GW_NV for up to the minute information on boating, wildlife and water safety in Northern Nevada.
Dear Editor,

The Founders promised that ours would be government by, of and for the people. It appears that the governed are being ruled by the governing. The servants are running the estate. Instead of us telling them what to do in Washington, they are telling us what they will and will not do. No! Enough!

Now is an extremely critical time for us to claim our government and assert control. We presume an inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. How can anyone conclude that these do not include health? Its our government. We can guarantee whatever we deem necessar...
Dear Editor,

Moneys dominance over politics is the number one problem our nation faces. It is a growing crisis that prevents us from tackling anything else. We have now reached a stunning point: Either we are a country that makes decisions based on the common good, or one where the size of your wallet determines the worth of your ideas. Either we uphold the values of a representative democracy, or we allow greed and wealth to destroy the great American experiment in self-governance.

I am fully committed to working with all of you and with Americans across our country to pass a 28th Ame...
Having a place to grieve the loss of a child is something a parent felt the Riverview Cemetery needed.

Cristy Price of Green River knows all to well how difficult the grieving process can be.

Price, the mother of Maicy Braden, 17, who died Oct. 3, 2016, when her vehicle was struck by a semi truck, is trying to raise enough money to purchase an Angel of Hope statue.

Although this has started as a result of Maicys accident, the Angel of Hope statue is for all members of our community, Price said. The intent is to provide a place for grieving parents; any and all grieving people wh...
SPRING CREEK  Spring Creek business owners voiced opposition to a proposed commercial business permit fee before the Spring Creek Association Committee of Architecture Tuesday night, a charge the association intends to use for road expenses.

Several business owners and representatives spoke at the meeting, with some saying it is a burden on small businesses who already have other business-related expenses.

The permit fee, modeled after the City of Elkos tiered structure, is intended to have Spring Creek business owners help pay for road maintenance related to business traffic, said COA Chairwoman Diane Parker.

After hearing community input, the committee made motions to have the permit requirements include only commercial businesses based in Spring Creek and to have the fees be based on gross receipts. It would exclude home occupation businesses and licensing for liquor.

A home occupation permit for $50 is encouraged by the SCA, who would advertise the business as a benefit for applying.

In the final vote, the committee approved a tiered rate capped at $300,000 in gross receipts:

$5,000 to $100,000$50 annual fee

$100,000 and $300,000$200 fee

$300,000 and up- $300 fee

During discussion, COA member Brien Park agreed with finding a simplified rate and stressed that the permit fees were necessary to improve the association as a whole. He disagreed with the idea that the fees were a tactic to get more money from business owners.

We need more participation from the community to make our community better and sometimes that participation is money, Park said.

Park also said the COA could revisit the issue in three years if it became a major concern  I would hope nothing shuts down, Park added.

COA member John Featherston said he favored a flat rate for consistency, understanding some businesses may be unwilling to disclose financial information.

Recognizing small businesses, Parker and COA Vice Chairwoman Jill Holland agreed that a tiered rate protected them with a low fee of $50.

We dont want to hurt them, we want to help them, Holland said.

Explaining her thoughts to the committee, Kenna Sorenson, manager of the Spring Inn, told the committee she and her husband, Jeff, had put a lot of money into cleaning up the property and had not made a profit on their business because of reduced construction.

Fifty or one hundred dollars isnt going to make or break us, but everybody does this  for commercial, Sorenson. Its everybody nickel and diming.

Sorenson said she was happy that her concerns had been heard by the committee and that the liquor requirement was removed.

SCA director and business owner Paddy Legarza told the committee her business carried licenses in Elko, Winnemucca and Humboldt County and said she thought a tiered system was simplest and more fair to businesses.

Legarza also said in her business experience, she did not remember a rate increase in any of those locations and believed that the association would not look at an increase in the fee, which would give comfort to the permit holders.

Melanie Billat, of Billat Construction, said after the vote that the permit would be an additional fee on top of other charges for professional, state and city licenses. She also stated the fees were higher than Elkos for many of the tiers.

Bob Buckely, co-owner of Arms R Us, told the committee he did not agree with the permit and was opposed to any fee put forth because his business was a high gross and low-profit business. He said a flat rate was reasonable.

Buckley said while he didnt have a problem with being asked to support the community, he does it out of generosity, not because somebody is telling me to do this. They dont have the right.

SCA President Jessie Bahr, who was present during the COA meeting, explained that roads in residential areas are maintained on a five-year cycle, but because of heavy use of roads in areas zoned commercial, those roads need frequent attention, which means additional funds.

Permits are not uncommon, as every area that has business typically has some sort of fee for these reasons, Bahr said.

A letter to commercial business owners could be mailed in the next week or two and is set to go into effect Jan. 1, 2018 with all commercial businesses required to apply by Jan. 31.
HAGATNA, Guam  The tiny U.S. territory of Guam feels a strong sense of patriotism and confidence in the American military, which has an enorm
On its face, the General Assemblys defunding of the Department of Justice looks like petty payback from a Republican majority to Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein.

But its actually much worse than that. In conjunction with other actions taken by the General Assembly in crafting its $23 billion budget, there appears to be part of an overall strategy of making the people  especially the poor  more powerless.

Consider another action that was not so easily explainable. As reported by Taft Wireback in July, the budget writers also eliminated a $1.50 surcharge on certain court fees.

It didnt qualify as a tax cut, nor did it save money in the budget. The surcharge was levied in court costs paid only by those found guilty of various offenses.

Why would the budget writers care about a $1.50 surcharge? That small charge translated into $1.7 million yearly in legal aid to low-income residents.

There is no public defender for civil-court matters, such as home foreclosure, renter eviction, disability cases, veterans benefits, disaster relief and restraining orders.

Eliminating the surcharge certainly was not a mistake or an oversight on the part of the GOP majority. Not only did legislators cut the surcharge, they made it difficult for future budget writers to restore that funding.

As they have done in the past, GOP leaders used the budget to change the law, striking down the Access to Civil Justice Act.

This general statute recognizes the states responsibility to ensure that even its most indigent residents have legal representation in the civil courts.

The exact wording of the statute, passed in 1989, says, The General Assembly of North Carolina declares it to be its purpose to provide access to legal representation for indigent persons in certain kinds of civil matters.

The 2017 General Assembly abandoned this purpose in one sentence with no floor debate and no awareness on the part of many representatives that they were doing so.

Enabling legislation will now have to be passed before any funding can be restored  not that the current leaders of the General Assembly would have any interest in doing so.

On the contrary, it appears the GOP majority is quite intentional in making sure the residents of North Carolina cant fight back. The UNC Board of Governors, stocked by the General Assembly with GOP members, is moving to bar the UNC Law Schools Center for Civil Rights from litigating civil rights cases on behalf of North Carolina residents.

The General Assembly also reduced the funding for the next two fiscal years for emergency judges, who are assigned to help reduce case backlogs and step in when sitting judges have medical or other emergencies. The funding cut did not include emergency judges for business court  another example of the GOP tendency to privilege businesses and corporations over individuals.

The $10 million cut from the Attorney Generals budget is directed precisely at attorneys whose job it is to defend the public, who work to prosecute criminals and keep them behind bars, who save taxpayers millions of dollars by defending against frivolous suits, who keep corporate bad actors in line, and who protect our clean air and water, Stein said.

Unveiled with no warning in the final version of the budget, the cut was protested by Democrats, but not a single Republican spoke to explain or defend it. The cuts were also opposed by statewide organizations of police, sheriffs and district attorneys  groups who are united in a focus on justice, not politics.

A survey by left-leaning Public Policy Polling found a bipartisan majority of 60 percent of voters oppose the cuts, and 58 percent disapprove of the General Assemblys overall performance.

Executing indefensible legislation has become so easy that Sen. Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) and Rep. Tim Moore (R-Cleveland) dont even bother trying to justify it. As long as they, and the rest of the GOP majority, can maintain their gerrymandered districts, they dont have to explain their actions or worry about the General Assemblys 18 percent approval rating.

Emboldened by their grip on power, they have pushed a conservative agenda that has curtailed the voting rights of state residents, cut unemployment benefits to the lowest in the nation and refused to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, leaving more than 400,000 low-income adults without health care coverage.

Now they have moved to deny the states poorest residents any means of defending themselves against commercial and corporate interests or claiming benefits they rightly deserve.

This is not just a case of political payback. It is a further, concerted effort to disenfranchise the poor.
Authorities in Turkey are arresting more journalists today in a continuing crackdown on political opposition to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"Some 150 media outlets have also been shut down and around 160 journalists are in jail, according to the Turkish Journalists' Association," the Israeli publication Haaretz reports.

Which brings to mind President Donald Trump's congratulatory phone call to Erdogan in April after the Turkish strongman won a sham referendum giving him even greater power.

And their White House meeting in May, where the subject of human rights, of course, was not mentioned. Later, Erdogan watched as his security guards beat up protesters outside the Turkish embassy in Washington.

The fact is that Trump admires such leaders, whether in Turkey, Russia, Poland, Hungary, China or the Philippines, and probably envies their ability to exert authority over political foes, legislatures, the courts and the media  all of which Trump attacks harshly when it suits them. Fortunately, he lacks the power to arrest the opposition in this country.

Trump is especially disdainful of the media, which he calls the "enemies of the people." In Turkey, the president can make that pronouncement and back it up by arresting and imprisoning journalists.

Any other U.S. administration would lodge protests with the Turkish government about its actions. We can be sure there will be no such rebuke from this one.
Greensboro College will hold a free information session on its new paralegal certification education program from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Aug. 8 in 109 Proctor Hall West on campus.

Participants will be able to learn more about the program, which will be offered from 6 to 10 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays, Sept. 5-Dec. 16, plus 9 a.m. to noon Saturdays.

Recent college graduates, career changers, individuals looking for a professional field and current legal assistants or paralegals are particularly encouraged to enroll.

For information, visit https://www.greensboro.edu/certification-and-innovative-programs/ or email Suzanne Suddarth at suzanne.suddarth@greensboro.edu.

Salvation Army store to celebrate renovation

The Salvation Army Family Store at 307 W. Gate City Blvd. in Greensboro is hosting a Re-Grand Opening event on Aug. 10 revealing its renovated store and updated inventory.

This is the busiest Family Store among three in Greensboro.

The ribbon cutting will be at 9 a.m. Hot dogs will be served from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

For information, call 336-235-0352 or email spencer.loman@uss.salvationarmy.org.

Teachers can apply for supply-box program

The Kids in Need Foundation is accepting applications for its Teacher Supply Boxes program, which provides essential school supplies to pre-K-12 teachers of children in need.

To be eligible, applicants must be a certified pre-K-12 teacher in the United States and work for a school in which 70 percent of the students receive free or reduced-price lunches.

For information, visit https://www.kinf.org/programs/supplyboxes/. Applications are due Aug. 14.

Entrepreneurship firm

to host networking event

Lady Bizness, a social entrepreneurship and engagement company, will hold a networking event from 6 to 8 p.m. Aug. 10 at the Stay and Play Hourly Drop-in, 5314 W. Friendly Ave. in Greensboro.

There will be refreshments and vendors.

Registration is encouraged for this free event; visit www.ladybizness.com.

Church to hold annual back-to-school festival

Trinity Worship Center will hold its ninth annual back to school festival, Schoolstock, from 9 a.m. to noon Aug. 12 at the Holly Hill Mall in Burlington.

Last year the church distributed 2,500 book bags with school supplies to children.

For information, call 336-585-0605 or visit www.trinityworship.net.

Church sets womens

event with beach theme

Centenary United Methodist Church will hold a beach-themed retreat for women from 7 to 9 p.m. Aug. 25 and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Aug. 26.

The cost is $15 which covers registration, supplies, lunch and child care.

Scholarships are available.

The church is at 2300 W. Friendly Ave. in Greensboro.

The registration deadline is Aug. 16; call 336-299-9643 to register.

Oak Ridge Town Park to host music event

A Music in the Park event featuring Robert Tilley and The Hard Time Band will begin at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 12 at the Amphitheatre in Oak Ridge Town Park, 6231 Lisa Drive in Oak Ridge.

Hot dogs, hamburgers and soft drinks will be sold.

Attendees should bring seating and they are encouraged to make donations to help pay the band.

For information, call 336-580-0133.

March for Science hosts eclipse viewing party

March for Science Greensboro is organizing a fun, safe and educational eclipse viewing experience beginning at 1:30 p.m. on Aug. 21 at Center City Park, 200 N. Elm St. in Greensboro. There will be music and hands-on activities.

The eclipse will be at 93.76 percent in Greensboro; it will seem almost total.

The group is currently raising funds to offset the cost of the eclipse event. For information, contact marchforsciencegreensboro@gmail.com or visit march4sciencegso.wordpress.com.
Just when it appeared that art activities in Winston-Salem might slow down for a minute, along comes the 10th Music Carolina SummerFest to put that silly notion to rest.

The series of events, formerly known as the Carolina Summer Music Festival, will start on Aug. 10 with A Beethoven Celebration and end on Aug. 27 with Will You Remember: Music of the Great War, a collaboration with Piedmont Opera.

Throughout August, there will be a total of seven musical events, including country, classical, dance, jazz and cabaret in venues throughout Winston-Salem.

To celebrate the festivals 10th anniversary, Joe Mount and Jacqui Carrasco, the co-directors,

are bringing in a contribution from the visual arts as well. Red Tree, by local composer and artist Kenneth Frazelle, appears on all the festivals promotional material. Art-lovers may win the original painting in an online raffle at www.musiccarolina.org.

This years dance component, The Patsy Project, is coordinated by Christina Soriano, an associate professor of dance at Wake Forest University who works with diverse populations. It is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 12, in Brendle Recital Hall at WFU.

The Patsy referred to in the title is Patsy Cline. Part of the late 1950s and early 1960s Nashville sound, Cline successfully crossed over into pop music and was one of the most influential, successful and acclaimed vocalists of the 20th century. She died at the age of 30 in private plane crash.

Martha Bassett and her six-piece band will play a set of songs from their coming record to open the show and then will accompany the dancers in the second part of the program. The Dan River Girls will also perform. Bassetts new record is set for release on Oct. 8.

Even though Patsy Cline is generation-specific, there is a timeless quality to her music, Soriano said. Its music that musicians love.

Her voice is so honest, Bassett said. You can just hear the sadness in her voice. Its just so real, and it is so challenging for me. Its intimidating. Ive listened to her all my life, and I dont sound like her, but Im doing my best to be emotionally honest with the songs.

The set list includes familiar songs such as Walking After Midnight, I Fall to Pieces and Crazy and deeper tracks, such as Seven Lonely Days and Half as Much.

Its been great to get back to it, Bassett said. Ive been been in Patsy-land for the past couple of months.

It is ripe ground for choreographic content, Soriano said. We can work with her pervasive themes of loss and heartache, but we can make fun of it too.

Sorianos company for this project comprises about 25 people. It includes children in the WFU Community Ballet program, WFU and Salem College students and faculty, professional dancers, older adults in the WFU Lifelong Learning program and people from her community class with such neurodegenerative conditions as Parkinsons Disease.

There is magic that happens when you get children, older adults and everybody in between in a dance studio together, Soriano said.

Ive worked a lot with the Van Dyke Group in Greensboro, and its different than playing for swing dancers, Bassett said. When youre playing for choreographed dances, you have to watch the tempo. Bassetts band is popular with area swing dancers.

Other SummerFest events

The 10th season opens just as the first festival in 2008 ended: with A Beethoven Celebration, which features pianist Peter Kairoff, violinist Jacqui Carrasco and cellist Evan Richey in Wake Forests Kulynych Auditorium.

The festival will take a turn for the grown-up with an evening of cabaret at a new festival venue, the Muddy Creek Music Hall.

In Not for Children: A Musical Revue of Women Behaving Badly, vocalist Mary Siebert and pianist Robert Rocco will lace unexpected songs together, style-hopping and exposing tongue-in-cheek similarities from the perspective of the worldly wise woman of a certain age.

During the show, which is recommended for adults only, the audience can buy food from Muddy Creek Cafe and draft beer and wine from the bar.

The Vivaldi Project, a group based in Washington, D.C., will perform on Aug. 19, in a concert called Discovering the Classical String Trio.

The Vivaldi Projects playing has been described as superb by both Strings and Fanfare magazines. The group will play overlooked 18th-century string trios, presenting rich and varied works by lesser-known composers such as Giardini and Rolla, as well as familiar ones by composers such as Haydn and Boccherini.

The Giannini Brass will return to Old Salem with Star Spangled Brass, a free pops and patriotic concert on Aug. 22 in Salem Square. The audience should bring chairs and blankets. The program will include Sousa marches and Broadway show tunes.

On Aug. 26, Music Carolina will present its 10th Great American Songbook concert at Old Salem with I Get a Kick Out Of You, featuring Bassett and the Music Carolina Jazz All-Stars. The program will include the musicians favorites from past retrospectives of composers such as Cole Porter, Duke Ellington and Burt Bacharach.

Music Carolina fans have a chance to vote on a favorite song at www.musiccarolina.org, and the winning song will be a surprise selection that evening.

Piedmont Opera again collaborates with the Music Carolina SummerFest for Will You Remember: Music of the Great War, the final festival concert.

Commemorating the 100th anniversary of the war to end all wars, the concert will explore how music responded to this culture-changing event and present a variety of World War I era vocal music, from Maurice Ravel to Jerome Kern.
A life in music has given Max Baca a wealth of interesting stories: growing up among Tex-Mex legends, having a Rolling Stone try to buy his instrument, recovering from a bug flying into his mouth.

I ended up getting an abscess in my throat in Chicago, Baca said from his home in San Antonio, Texas. Some kind of beetle or bug when I was singing just flew right into my mouth and lodged in the back of my throat. Im in the middle of a song, trying to spit this thing out.

Baca founded Los Texmaniacs 20 years ago and will bring his group to Greensboro for the National Folk Festival in September.

They are among the leading exponents and really cultural ambassadors for the conjunto tejano tradition, said Blaine Waide, programming manager for the National Council of the Traditional Arts. Its very much a border tradition. When Max speaks of it as Tex-Mex music, that really captures it. Its more of a hybrid thats born where traditions intersected political and cultural boundaries.

Baca sings and plays the bajo sexto  a 12-string variation on a guitar that includes bass and guitar strings. His nephew, Josh Baca, plays accordion for Los Texmaniacs. Noel Hernandez plays bass and Lorenzo Martinez plays drums, though family and work obligations will force Martinez to miss the National Folk Festival. Daniel Martinez, another drummer from San Antonio, will take his place.

Flying insects are an occupational hazard in a career that has netted Baca a Grammy Award and taken him around the world and into recording studios with music legends. Fortunately, the encounter with the bug earlier this summer did no permanent damage, though it ultimately required a trip to the emergency room.

Thank God everything turned out OK, Baca said.

He has deep roots in the world of conjunto tejano. The genre was born in south Texas more than a century ago when traditional Mexican musicians picked up the accordion, which settlers from Germany and Czechoslovakia introduced to the region. Baca grew up in Albuquerque, N.M., where his father played accordion in a band popular in New Mexico and Arizona.

His dad taught him to play accordion at age 5. By age 7, he had added bass to his repertoire and joined his fathers group.

I remember going to these Indian pueblos, and wed play these fiestas and Jamaicas (Catholic church festivals), and they would tell my dad, We love that chicken scratch you guys play, Baca said. I would think, What are they talking about? My dad just went along with it  he thought it was just a type of polka or something.

Chicken scratch is a form of dance music favored by the Tohono Oodham people of Arizona. Its another Mexican-European hybrid that incorporates polkas and other styles. The name comes from dance moves involving heel kicks that resemble a chicken scratching in the dirt.

Bacas father befriended Flaco Jimenez, a legendary accordionist whose own father is credited with expanding conjunto music in 1936 by introducing lyrics on a record. All previous conjunto records had been instrumental, Baca said.

Year later, Baca would join Jimenez as a member of Texas Tornadoes. The all-star tejano band formed in 1989 as the Southwestern answer to the Traveling Wilburys, bringing Jimenez together with Freddy Fender, Augie Meyers and Doug Sahm.

The Rolling Stones asked Jimenez and Baca to contribute to their 1994 album Voodoo Lounge.

I never thought in my wildest dreams I would win a Grammy, much less record with the greatest rock and roll band, Baca said.

Keith Richards was in the control room of the recording studio and merely waved at Baca  until he spotted Bacas bajo sexto and made a beeline for it. Baca explained the instruments tuning and let Richards try it out.

He was like, Wow, what a sound! Baca said. He goes, You wanna sell it? It totally caught me off guard. It was my first bajo that my dad bought me in 1972. I said, I dont know  my father gave me this. He said, Sentimental value, I understand. But you just name your price.

Baca agonized over the decision, but ultimately turned Richards down. That same bajo sexto will soon go to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, becoming part of a new music gallery in the National Museum of American History, Baca said.

He formed Los Texmaniacs in 1997 after leaving the Texas Tornadoes. The group has recorded several albums, including the Grammy-winning Borders y Bailes for Smithsonian Folkways in 2009. Baca and Jimenez recorded a duo album for Smithsonian Folkways in 2014 called Legends and Legacies.

Los Texmaniacs latest album, Americano Groove, features collaborations with Alejandro Escovedo and members of Los Lobos. The group is working on a new album for Smithsonian Folkways that will include a cover of Woody Guthries Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos) sung by Lyle Lovett.

Its all about immigration issues and stuff like that, crossing the borders, Baca said. Its a pretty good time for that.
Aug. 10, 1977

Postal employee David Berkowitz, 24, was arrested in Yonkers, N.Y., accused of being Son of Sam, the gunman who killed six people and wounded seven others in the New York City area. The serial killer had terrorized the city for more than a year with a .44-caliber revolver. As History.com recounts, Because Berkowitz generally targeted attractive young women with long brown hair, hundreds of young women had their hair cut short and dyed blond during the time he terrorized the city. Thousands more simply stayed home at night. After his arrest, Berkowitz claimed that demons and a black Labrador retriever owned by a neighbor named Sam had ordered him to commit the killings. Berkowitz is serving six consecutive 25-years-to-life sentences.
GREENSBORO  North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein said Thursday hes hopeful that state legislators will reconsider the last third of a $10 million budget cut to the N.C. Department of Justice.

Im completely committed to finding a solution to this because I just cant accept the alternative, Stein said in an hourlong interview with News & Record editors and reporters. And neither should the people.

Stein announced last week that he had eliminated 45 positions from the state Department of Justice to comply with a $10 million budget cut from the General Assembly.

Those positions, including 16 vacant jobs and some of the departments most senior attorneys, comprised about $3.5 million. The department was able to negotiate with partner agencies and commissions to save another $3 million, leaving about $3 million left to trim.

Theres a third left to go, and Im just not prepared to make that cut, Stein said. It will have too much of an impact on public safety and on the taxpayer. My request of the legislature remains the same: to please look out for the people of North Carolina and reconsider the cut.

Republican lawmakers have defended the cut, saying that Steins department had expanded over recent years and that the reductions would not have sweeping implications for the state.

We have again looked at his budget, looked at those things that he is charged constitutionally and statutorily with doing, and believe that the funding level is more than adequate for him to be able to do his job, Senate leader Phil Berger of Eden said at a news conference in June.

The $10 million funding reduction, inserted into the state budget at the last minute, can only come from positions that are paid for through the general fund, which Stein said comprises about $18 million of his $88 million budget.

The bulk of those positions are lawyers in the departments criminal division, who represent the state when convicted criminals appeal their convictions.

Local prosecutors will be tasked with handling some of those cases, including appeals involving misdemeanors and revoked probations. But many of them arent trained to do so, said Howard Neumann, Guilford Countys chief assistant district attorney.

There are some things that the attorney generals office does that are specialized skills and those are skills we dont have, he said. We are trained as trial lawyers, but we have little, if any, education about how to carry a case through to the next level in the appellate courts.

Stein sent a memo warning district attorneys of the changes, which are slated to take effect Sept. 1. Neumann said his office remains in a holding pattern for now, waiting to see if legislators will revisit the matter before then.

Thats our strategy right now: Sit and wait, he said. Weve got our fingers crossed that the legislature is going to stop playing games with the budgets of state agencies and give us the funds we need.

Its unclear when  or if  lawmakers will consider Steins request. The General Assembly will reconvene next week to consider legislative redistricting, then again for a short session in May, roughly two months before the beginning of a new fiscal year.

Stein said hes prepared to wait rather than trim additional jobs from his office.

I just think the budget issue was a poor decision. I think it was not well considered or responsible, he said. I am committed to doing everything in my power to make sure that public safety is not in jeopardy.
In the midst of disasters, while many are fleeing for their lives, emergency personnel are the ones running toward the crisis.

Their heroic efforts and disregard for their own safety for the sake of others is what earned one Winston-Salem firefighter the honor of N.C. Firefighter of the Year.

Firefighter John Powell received the award Wednesday for his actions during Hurricane Matthew in October 2016.

I truly dont feel deserving of these accolades, Powell said as he accepted the award from the N.C. State Firefighters Association. But as firefighters, we not only have a responsibility to each other but to the community in the city and in this great state of North Carolina.

Powell went to Princeville, an Edgecombe County town in eastern North Carolina, during the October disaster and found a harrowing scene. The local fire station had been destroyed, along with three fire engines, Winston-Salem Assistant Fire Chief Harry Brown said.

The fire station was largely being run out of a tent in a gas-station parking lot.

Powell took over as acting chief after his twin brother, the fire chief of the Princeville Volunteer Fire Department, nearly drowned when he was swept underwater while trying to rescue people trapped in a submerged car.

Powell, who has been with the Winston-Salem Fire Department for 13 years, served as interim fire chief for a month while his brother recovered.

Powell stood out during Hurricane Matthew for his leadership, extraordinary courage and professionalism that exemplifies the definition of brotherhood, Brown said at Wednesdays public-safety briefing.

After Powell, a father of four, returned home, he began collecting money and gifts eventually totaling $3,000 to help the Princeville community, which was one of the hardest hit by the hurricane and subsequent flooding.

The historically significant town was founded by freed slaves. Hurricane Matthew and Tar River flooding left 80 percent of the town under water. The town was similarly devastated by Hurricane Floyd in 1999.

To say he went above and beyond is an understatement, Brown said. He is definitely a man of honor.
North Carolina Republicans appeared to fall just short in Tuesdays General Assembly elections of gaining large enough majorities to override Gov. Roy Coopers vetoes on their own. But their seat gains eroded further the Democrats ability to block bills on abortion and other highly contested legislation. The Senate GOP increased their seats to the number needed to have a veto-proof majority. But Speaker Tim Moore said that House Republicans were one seat shy of a similar threshold. Moore said Wednesday he's confident House Republicans can get help from Democrats in an override. But that could be more difficult on abortion restrictions, which Cooper and other Democrats campaigned against.
DURHAM  Andre Vann's new book, "Images of America: African Americans of Durham County" is filled with 217 carefully chosen images of black residents and institutions.

The 127-page history book shows the black churches, businesses and schools and elected officials, doctors, lawyers, ministers, educators and ordinary citizens who helped shape the county's economic, political, educational, social and religious landscapes from the 1880s to the present.

For Vann, the coordinator of university archives at N.C. Central University, one photo stood out among the hundreds as best capturing the spirit of African Americans in the Durham community.

So, he chose that photo of six black aviation pioneers from 1945 to grace the cover of the book, which was released July 31.

"That picture there sort of attests to the uniqueness of Durham," Vann said. "These men came home after World War II and had the nerve  had the nerve to say we're going to establish a flying school."

Using the GI Bill, the veterans established the Bronze Wings Flying Club and learned to fly on an air strip on land where Northern High School now stands.

All of them went on to become certified, licensed pilots.

The photo was taken by the late Alex Rivera, a renowned photojournalist who established the public relations office at N.C. Central University.

Vann said the story about the Bronze Wings Flying Club is one of the lesser known stories on a deep and rich list of well-known stories he's collected in the book through photos collected from some of the subjects, members of their families, other community members and libraries.

Black economic, political prowess

One of the better-known stories is that of the Black Wall Street, and Vann's book includes numerous images that reflect the historic economic prowess of Durham's African American community.

The images range from John Merrick and Dr. Aaron Moore, co-founders of N.C. Mutual Life Insurance Co., to Maceo Sloan Jr., who founded Sloan Financial Group, a financial holding company and Vivian Rogers Patterson, an African-American female banking pioneer.

Most local residents will quickly recognize present-day political leaders such as Mayor Bill Bell; state Rep. Mickey Michaux, the late Jeanne Lucas, North Carolina's first African American female state senator; and the late Howard Clement, the long-serving member of the Durham City Council.

"For Mayor (Bill) Bell, I'm glad to document for generations to come that this is the end of his cycle (as an elected official)," Vann said. "He's in there on numerous of fronts because he was the first African-American chair of the Board of County Commissioners here and at the same time, one of the longest-serving mayors in the history of Durham."

The book is dedicated to Durham's first black mayor, the late Chester Jenkins, who was Vann's mentor and friend and also Maggie Poole Bryant, now 102 years old, who has helped Vann, a Henderson native, broaden his understanding of the Durham community and its history.

Bryant, who contributed photos to the book, said she thinks it is "remarkable" and hopes that it finds its way into the hands of young people.

"Young people today don't know about the early Durhamites who helped to make Durham," she said.

Judge A. Leon Stanback, who appears in Chapter Six, which is devoted to education, politics and civil rights, said Vann accurately captures the contributions African American made to Durham.

"Anyone who wants a quick dive into Durham's history would do well to review that book," Stanback said.

Clara Watson Lawson, appears in Chapter Four with members of her family, including her husband, the late Robert Lawson, who was the official NCCU photographer from 1992 until his retirement in 2013.

She said the book contains a lot of information that she didn't know and the pictures help to put faces with some of the names of people she's often heard stories about.

"There are some names in the book that I've heard before, especially the women, but I didn't have a picture in my mind of them," Lawson said.

White benefactors

Surprisingly, not all of the faces in Vann's book are black.

Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans, a Duke descendent who was devoted to philanthropy, and her husband Dr. James Semans, are featured in the book because of their strong ties to Lincoln Hospital and other community projects that benefited African Americans.

He said Semans represented the third generation of the Duke family to support the hospital and various other projects in the African-American community.

"I had to include her," Vann said of Semans. "She had such an imprint on this neighborhood and community. You have to honor those where honor is due, and honor is due there."

First person in the book

While the Bronze Wings Flying Club easily won the cover of Vann's book, it is Margaret "Maggie" Ruffin Faucette, a native of Hillsborough who moved to what was then Durham Station in 1866 after marrying William Faucette, who is the first person profiled.

Faucette, who Vann describes as a "woman of high Christian principles," gave the first $1 toward construction of the new White Rock Baptist Church Building.

"It's not by accident that I started off with a woman and one who founded the White Rock Baptist Church in 1866," Vann said. "We're talking about a 150-year-old institution, White Rock Baptist Church, that is here today because this woman left Hillsborough, North Carolina and journeyed into Durham and the Hayti community, established, along with a group of others this church. It's this enduring story of someone who lived that experience, passed on, but the institution still survives today. That's part of the narrative of who we are."

A whole chapter of the books is devoted to churches and prominent religious leaders.

African American firsts

Chapter Five is titled "Durham's African American firsts" and includes such stalwarts as the late John C. Scarborough Sr. "the dean of black funeral home directors" who came to Durham in 1906 and became the first African-American licensed embalmer in North Carolina.

It also features the late Elna B. Spaulding, who in 1974 became the first African American to serve on the Durham County Board of Commissioners.

Beverly Washington Jones, a former member of the Durham school board who co-authored a previous pictorial book with Vann, is included in the chapter because she is the first African-American woman to earn a doctorate in history from UNC Chapel Hill.

Other firsts include Willie Covington who became the first elected black register of deeds in 1996 and Sharon Davis who was elected to the same post in 2016, the first African-American female to hold the job.

___

Information from: The Herald-Sun, http://www.herald-sun.com
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The book pulls no punches.

It sharply condemns conservatism for its role in a culture of vicious dehumanization, not to mention its sins of incoherence, rejection of empirical fact and plain hypocrisy. Writing of the rush by the conservative party, i.e., the GOP, to embrace the regrettable Donald Trump during the last election, the author is blunt and unsparing. Never has a party so quickly or easily abandoned its core principles ...

No, these are not new complaints; they have been made repeatedly in recent years. But what makes this particular bill of charges against conservatism and the Republican Party noteworthy is not the substance but the source.

Meaning, a self-described proud conservative and a lifelong Republican  Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona. Flakes new book, Conscience of a Conservative  the title is an ode to Barry Goldwaters 1960 tome of the same name  takes conservatism and the GOP to task in no uncertain terms. Its being called an act of moral courage. It might even be one.

At the very least, the book is timely, particularly in its lamentation of the hatefulness  the word is not too strong  of the nations political divide. Flake captures this starkly in one painful anecdote:

January of 2012, President Obamas State of the Union address. Flake is sitting next to a friend, Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who is still recovering after being shot in the head the year before. During President Obamas applause lines, Gabby wanted to stand up but was unable to do so on her own, so I helped her. That often left me standing, a lone Republican among cheering Democrats.

He stood, he writes, not to support the president, but to help a cherished and brave colleague. Which should have been patently obvious to anyone with eyes and a functioning conscience, but it apparently made little difference to those who sent him furious text messages and emails during and after the speech, taking him to task for this act of political apostasy.

As noted, Flakes Conscience is being widely lauded. The Washington Post called it brave. USA Today dubbed it courageous. Columnist Michael Gerson said it was the single largest act of political bravery of the Trump era.

Youll get no argument here. But you will find an observation: This courage would be more impressive had it shown itself sooner. The GOP, after all, didnt lose its mind when Trump came to town. Rather, it was the loss of its mind that made Trump possible. And that loss predates his presidency by a good two decades.

How much of the dysfunction of those years  the baseless 24/7 investigations, the birther idiocy, the Islamophobia, the death panels, the obstructionism  might have been ameliorated by a little in-the-moment conservative courage? Republicans are not asked to abandon their low taxes, small government orthodoxy. No ideology, after all, has a monopoly on good ideas.

But this is not about ideology. Rather, its about the GOPs en masse retreat from reason, responsibility, statesmanship and simple decency.

This retreat has been objectively obvious for years, but the list of Republicans willing to stand up and concede the obvious has been pathetically small. Now Flake adds his name, making it ... slightly less small.

Brave? OK. But that bravery is irrelevant until and unless his conservative conscience touches someone elses. His party, his people, need to acknowledge their dysfunction, need to own it  and fix it.

Otherwise, hes still standing alone while the wrong people applaud.
President Donald Trumps threat to North Korea on Tuesday was terrifying, if he meant exactly what he said.

North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States. They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen, the president said in a calm, steely tone. He has been very threatening beyond a normal state. They will be met with fire, fury and frankly power the likes of which this world has never seen before.

That can be interpreted to refer to a nuclear strike. Trump seemed to confirm that in a tweet on Wednesday morning in which he boasted that our nations nuclear arsenal is now far stronger and more powerful than ever before.

Trumps Tuesday statement came in response to news that North Korea may have built a nuclear warhead light enough for delivery by in intercontinental ballistic missile  possibly one capable of reaching the United States. Combined with reckless language issuing from Pyongyang, that is frightening.

But Trumps words are also troubling. Presidents dont talk like that. They must be measured and precise. It is unclear what Trump was saying. Does he mean that continued threats from North Korea will trigger a nuclear first strike by the United States? If Trump was drawing a red line, North Korea immediately crossed it by threatening to fire missiles at Guam, a U.S. territory in the Pacific. So what will the president do now? Hes already made the ultimate threat. What comes after that?

Just days earlier, the U.S. won a diplomatic victory with a unanimous U.N. Security Council vote to impose tough new economic sanctions on North Korea. Trump touted the achievement. He should realize sanctions will take time to choke North Koreas already weak economy. So why escalate the war talk now?

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who was in Asia and traveling to Guam, offered assurances that war is not imminent. The American people should sleep well tonight, he said.

What about the nights to come? Can the threat of a preemptive strike by the U.S. prod the paranoid Kim Jong-un to attack first? Experts say hes unlikely to abandon his nuclear-weapons program, which he believes  rightly or wrongly  guarantees his countrys security.

The United States has avoided the use of nuclear weapons since dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki 72 years ago this week to force Japans surrender and end World War II. Through the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the Cold War, even through the harrowing Cuban Missile Crisis, wise leaders stood back from the brink of nuclear destruction.

Everyone knew what was at stake and understood the devastating capabilities of these weapons. They didnt brag about it or engage in blustery rhetoric and threats.

Wise leaders in Washington today  Defense Secretary James Mattis, National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, members of Congress  must prevent the unthinkable.
ROCKINGHAM COUNTY  For the first time since 1918, the United States will experience a solar eclipse from coast to coast on Aug. 21.

For three minutes on that Monday afternoon, the moon will completely block out the sun.

In order to experience the complete eclipse, viewers will need to be in the 70-mile-wide path that stretches from California through South Carolina, crossing only the corner of North Carolina southwest of Asheville, according to NASA.

Rockingham County will experience a partial eclipse from about 1:14 to 4:03 p.m., reaching maximum eclipse at about 2:42 p.m.

During this time, the sun will be about 92 to 93 percent obscured by the moon for viewers in Rockingham County.

Beginning at 1:30 p.m. on Aug. 21, the Rockingham County Public Libraries in Eden, Reidsville, Madison and Stoneville will host a viewing of the eclipse, open to the public. This event comes in partnership with the Star/Net Project.

Guests are encouraged to bring a sunhat and a lawn chair.

In order to safely view the eclipse, viewers will need eye protection much stronger than a standard pair of sunglasses.

Ophthalmologist Carroll Haines of Rockingham Eye Associates wrote in a Cone Health news release, The radiation from the sun floods the retina in the back of the eye, releasing a flood of chemicals that can damage the retina when light-sensing cells become overwhelmed. Since this damage is painless, people often do not realize what is happening.

Symptoms include watery and sore eyes, difficulty seeing the shape and detail of objects, discomfort with bright light, seeing objects unusually colored and seeing objects distorted.

Depending on how long the viewers eyes are exposed to the suns rays, damage could be mild, returning to normal after a time, or cause permanent damage.

While it is possible to view a total eclipse without a filter, Rockingham County will only experience a partial eclipse and eye protection will be necessary.

To avoid eye damage, NASA recommends using solar viewing glasses, eclipse glasses or personal solar filters that meet the current international standard ISO 12312-2. Cameras, telescopes and binoculars magnify light and will require solar filters when viewing the eclipse to prevent eye damage.

While supplies last, Rockingham County Public Library branches are giving out free solar viewing glasses.

To receive a pair, visit your local public library. Adults must sign a liability waiver form. Parents must sign the form for children 18 and under. Adults cannot sign the form on behalf of another adult who is not present.

Solar glasses or filters that are scratched or damaged should not be used.

Haines recommends putting on solar viewing glasses while looking down before looking up to the sun.
Jason Miller and A.J. Delgado on Wednesday confirmed the birth of their son, but the former campaign staffers to President Donald Trump offered differing accounts of their relationship to a New York tabloid and on Twitter.

Miller, who was named White House communications director during the presidential transition - and who is married to another woman - confirmed the birth of son William to the New York Post, which reported that the child was the result of a campaign fling with Delgado. Miller told the tab that his wife has accepted the child. The couple have two children of their own, including a daughter born in January.

"My wife and I, along with our two daughters, are excited to welcome William into the world and into our family, and we appreciate the well wishes we've received from so many," Miller told the New York Post.

So all's happy, right? Maybe not.

Delgado, a Trump adviser and member of the transition team, swiftly clapped back on Twitter, saying she and Miller had dated for two months and that Miller had told her he was separated from his wife. She also disputed Miller's statement. "I'm not sure what Jason means that he and his wife are excited to welcome Will. Really? News to me."

It wasn't the first sign of discord between the two. Before Miller suddenly resigned on Christmas Eve, saying he wanted to focus on his family, Delgado replied to the news of his impending White House job with an eyebrow-raising tweet. "Congratulations to the baby-daddy on being named WH Comms Director!" she wrote at the time. Delgado also appeared to call Miller "The 2016 version of John Edwards," a reference to the failed Democratic presidential candidate who had an affair with his campaign videographer.

And in her tweets Wednesday, Delgado accused Miller of airing their personal lives. "Wasn't my choice to discuss this but since Jason went to Page Six, I guess I now have to share," she wrote, implying that she had taken her version of events to McKay Coppins, a reporter for the Atlantic. "Stay tuned."

Before joining the Trump campaign, where he shared spokesman duties with former White House press secretary Sean Spicer, Miller was a top communications aide for the presidential campaign of Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. Delgado is an attorney and a former Mediaite columnist who was one of Trump's most steadfast defenders, including after the release of the "Access Hollywood" tape in which Trump can be heard making lewd remarks about women.

The pair made news in October when the New York Post reported that they, along with another Trump aide and several journalists, were seen in a Las Vegas strip club on the night before the final presidential debate. The New York Post on Wednesday reported that Miller fathered their child "following a wild night out in Las Vegas."

But Delgado appeared to dispute that, too. "Love how the Page Six article implies it was a 'Vegas' love child," she wrote late Wednesday. "Hm, no."

Washington Post News Service (DC)
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STAMFORD  The era of colonial India-themed dining on a downtown restaurant row was short-lived.

Viceroy Publik House, which billed itself as a British pub with Indian influences, has closed after about three months in business at 211 Summer St. The approximately 2,000-square-foot restaurant aimed to evoke the colonial British Raj period. The Viceroy name refers to the title of the colonial ruler of British India.

Another opportunity arose for the owner, Linda Kavanagh, the restaurants publicist, said in an email Tuesday.

Husband-and-wife owners Lakshman Bennabattula and Ramya Subramanian could not be reached for comment.

Dishes included Shepherds pie, fish and chips, Faroe Islands salmon and bangers and mash, along with Indian staples such as spicy vindaloo, madras and samosas.

Weve had this idea for over a year in our heads, Subramanian said in an interview in May. I didnt want to be like a cliched Indian restaurant because thats been tried and tested.

Viceroy earned enthusiastic reviews, including an editors pick nod from Stamford Magazine as the best new restaurant in Stamford.

Bennabattula and Subramanian, who are natives of the southern Indian city of Chennai, also owned the Arka restaurant that preceded Viceroy at 211 Summer. The property underwent an extensive renovation between the December closing of Arka and the April 22 debut of Viceroy.

The propertys future is uncertain with for lease signs hanging in the ground-level and upstairs windows. A message left for the number listed on those signs was not returned.

Amid the demise of Viceroy, two more restaurants are set to open within the coming weeks in the same restaurant corridor on Summer Street between Broad and Main streets. Bar Zepoli at 75 Broad St. will have a menu with Italian-American influences, while Flinders Lane at 184 Summer St. will specialize in Australian cuisine.

pschott@scni.com; 203-964-2236; twitter: @paulschott
Johnsie Gooslin spent Jan. 16, 2015, tending his babies - that's what he called his marijuana plants. More than 70 of them were growing in a hydroponic system of his own design. Sometimes, he'd stay in his barn for 16 hours straight, perfecting his technique.

That night, he left around 8 o'clock to head home. The moon was waning, down to a sliver, which left the sky as dark as the ridges that lined it. As he pulled away, the lights from his late-model Kia swept across his childhood hollow and his parents' trailer, which stood just up the road from the barn. He turned onto West Virginia Route 65. Crossing Mingo County, he passed the Delbarton Mine, where he had worked on and off for 14 years before his back gave out. Though Johnsie was built like a linebacker, falling once from a coal truck and twice from end loaders had taken a toll. At 36, his disks were a mess, and sciatica sometimes shot pain to his knees.

Still, he managed to lift the buckets that held his plants; friends sometimes helped. In another part of the barn, they had set up a man cave with a big-screen TV and girlie posters. When they weren't transplanting and trimming, they played video games and discussed their passion for cultivating pot. None of them had studied marijuana like Johnsie, but they all loved growing, seeing it not just as a hobby or a way to make a buck but as an act of compassion.

"Mostly the people that bought were older men and women, Vietnam veterans and people that's been hurt," Johnsie told me. "I mean, to hear them say, 'You know, ever since I started smoking your pot, I ain't touched a pain pill ... " He trailed off, shaking his head, but it was clear what he meant. In a state with one of the nation's highest rates of overdose deaths, most of them opioid-related, it felt good to give people an alternative, one that even the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said this year has never caused an overdose fatality.

Minutes after leaving the barn, Johnsie parked in the light of his own trailer, a newly remodeled 14-by-60 that he shared with his wife, Faye, and 14-year-old daughter Bethany. His phone rang. It was a neighbor from Rutherford Branch Road, where the barn stood. Cops were there, asking about him.

Inside, Johnsie dialed his mother. Two officers, she told him, were standing in her living room. She handed the phone to one of them. Though he didn't have a search warrant for the barn, the officer said he could get one, according to Johnsie. "But," he said, "I think it would be better if you come and talk to me first." (This account is based largely on Johnsie's recollection. Neither arresting officer was permitted to be interviewed for this story, but it is consistent with a description of Johnsie's case in the 2015 West Virginia State Police Annual Report.)

Johnsie hung up. He'd placed cameras around his building and vented it out the back, but people were packed tight into that narrow hollow. It was only a matter of time before someone figured out what was inside. Turning to his wife, he said, "Look, I'm going up there, and I'm going to jail."

With Skoal tobacco, his one chemical vice, pressed tightly against his cheek, Johnsie drove back to Rutherford Branch Road, where officers met him outside. "It's like this. I got your dad. I got a lot of pot on him," Senior Trooper D.L. Contos told him. This was no surprise. Sam Gooslin had smoked pot for decades, and half of Johnsie's pot went to him. His dad relied on it to ease pain from lung cancer, a new ailment layered atop others - diabetes, a stroke, four heart attacks and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

"He's a Vietnam veteran," Johnsie recalls Contos saying. "I respect that. I don't want to see a veteran go to jail. If you make me go get a search warrant, I'm taking you to jail, and I'm gonna get your dad on felony conspiracy charges because he's taking the blame on what's going on up there."

Johnsie had only one option. He crossed the road and unlocked the barn, opening a series of doors to release a flood of light. The officers paused. One said he had busted hundreds of marijuana operations and had never seen anything like this. For the next two hours, Johnsie walked the officers through his process. He explained the role of the lights and hydroponics; why he placed three plants in a bucket, not one; how he used gibberellic acid to push the plants at just the right time. At the end, he recalls Contos telling him they had to seize his plants, but, referring to Johnsie's equipment and supplies, he said, "I'm not going to take it away. One day, this might be legal."

The first time Johnsie planted pot, he was 14. He stole a single seed from his father and buried it. "I didn't know what I was doing," he recalls. "I was just a kid being a kid." That seed barely grew, but it did take root in a sense. Years later, while still working in the mines, he began reading about marijuana cultivation. Though he'd already learned that he couldn't smoke it himself (every attempt made his heart race and left him paranoid), the science behind the plant, the act of nurturing it, enthralled him. After he stopped working at the mine about five years ago, and after his father gave him the barn, Johnsie tried growing marijuana again, this time treating the exercise more as a science experiment.

He was actually the third generation of Gooslins with a passion for pot. His father didn't grow it but smoked it constantly. His grandfather, a former Kentucky constable, was just the opposite. He never used marijuana but sold it to supplement his retirement income. At one time this sort of thing wasn't uncommon, says 1st Sgt. Michael Smith, who heads West Virginia's drug-eradication efforts: "It was generally local individuals that would go back in the woods and, similar to the image of old-time moonshiners, they would get them a clandestine location and take care of their crops. Families would grow marijuana. ... They would hand it down."

Reliable estimates of the size of the marijuana market in West Virginia are hard to come by. According to the group NORML, which advocates for marijuana legalization, pot has been West Virginia's most valuable cash crop for the past 20 years.

Lately, however, marijuana has been overshadowed by opioids, which are devastating parts of coal country. In Mingo County, where Johnsie lives, a single pharmacy pumped out 9 million hydrocodone pills over just two years, according to a 2016 investigation by the Charleston Gazette-Mail. That was enough for every man, woman and child in the area to have 350 of them. Hydrocodone was part of a new generation of opioids that pharmaceutical companies introduced in the United States in the past two decades and heavily marketed to doctors as posing minimal risk for addiction. That, of course, wasn't true, and as government officials cracked down on prescription opioids, they became prohibitively expensive, pushing addicts in West Virginia and elsewhere toward illegal substitutes, including heroin, which ran about a third the price.

The Mountain State is now ground zero of one of the worst drug crises in our nation's history. In 2015, 725 people died of overdoses in the state, the highest rate per capita in the country. Last year, that figure grew another 15 percent, reaching a staggering 844 deaths. That averages to one West Virginian dying from an overdose every 11 hours. Eighty-six percent of the state's overdose deaths in 2016 involved an opioid.

While there are no easy answers to the opioid crisis, a growing body of research suggests that legalizing marijuana could help. More than a dozen states with legal medical marijuana have recorded significant drops in overdose deaths from other drugs, including heroin, according to a 2014 study in JAMA: the Journal of the American Medical Association. A 2015 pilot study by Yasmin Hurd at the Behavioral Health System's Addiction Institute at Mount Sinai found that cannabidiol, a compound in marijuana, minimized cravings for opioids, making it easier for participants to stop using them. And unlike methadone, an opioid that is used in drug treatment to minimize cravings for opioids, cannabidiol was not addictive. Hurd is pursuing further research but argues that legislators must address this epidemic now. "You can't wait for all the ducks to be lined up," she says. "You sometimes have to make bold steps."

Attempts to decriminalize marijuana in West Virginia date to at least 2010, but for years no bills made it out of committee. As of 2015, the year of Johnsie's arrest, stalwarts in the Republican-dominated legislature still could not bring themselves to legalize marijuana for medical use. But younger lawmakers would not let the issue go.

One of the leading proponents of loosening restrictions on marijuana in West Virginia is Democratic state Del. Mike Pushkin, who represents parts of Charleston and its surrounding areas. Pushkin is an unconventional pol - a cabdriver and folk musician who has spoken about his own struggles with addiction. He once told the Charleston Gazette-Mail how he spent 11 years living from crisis to crisis. "I'm sure there were times that my mother would have thought it more likely she would be attending my funeral than she would be attending my swearing-in at the Capitol," he said.

It took a spiritual awakening to get his addiction under control. To stay sober, he told me, he volunteers at detox facilities and talks to addicts in area jails. This experience informs his policy positions. He's sure West Virginia can't arrest its way out of this drug crisis. And he has pushed his colleagues to consider marijuana in a new light. "While marijuana is described as a gateway drug, that's not proven," he says. "What is proven is that a lot of people who are prescribed painkillers get hooked on heroin."

Though he spent only 14 hours in jail, Johnsie returned to his trailer a different man. The police did not confiscate his equipment, but he was still charged with a felony for cultivating marijuana. That, combined with his back problems, made it nearly impossible to find work. He was not allowed to leave the state, which meant he could not move to a place where he could grow marijuana legally.

With his $1,000 or so in monthly pot sales gone and Faye making just $9 an hour as a cashier at a gas station, cash was dwindling fast. They had begun receiving $129 in food stamps, but that didn't help much. "Three people eats more than that in a week," Faye says.

Johnsie's lawyer, Wesley Kent Varney, chose for strategic reasons not to rush his case, instead engaging in a slow, courteous dialogue with Mingo County Prosecuting Attorney Teresa Maynard. He thought he could get Johnsie off on a technicality, in part because the pot the police confiscated later disappeared.

Varney told me police also found no marijuana "bricked up" for shipping, no scales, not even any large sums of money - making this a low-priority case for Maynard. Even when she proposed a plea bargain that would have put Johnsie under home arrest, Varney sat on the option, hoping to get a better deal. (Maynard declined to comment for this story.)

That approach kept Johnsie free, but his family's losses started adding up. Debt collectors began calling. Both their cars were repossessed. "Before I was arrested," he says, "we was both pushing an 800 credit score. Wasn't nothing we couldn't buy on credit at any given time. Now, I think mine is 500 and hers is like 470. Pitiful."

About a year after his arrest, the bank came for their trailer - the nicest place Johnsie had ever lived, and just about the only home his teen daughter could remember. The family got 24 hours' notice. Their sole option was moving to the battered trailer next door that had passed hands in Faye's family over and over until it was empty and rusting with bent underpinnings and insulation peeking through holes in the walls.

It was raining that day, and no one could help. That left Johnsie, with his bad back, and Faye to carry their belongings through the mud. They hauled all they could but ended up leaving a lot. "We worked ourselves to death," Faye recalls, "and we just couldn't do it."

She didn't go outside when the repo guys came. Instead, she watched through a leaky aluminum-framed window as they hitched up their trailer and hauled it off. Her living-room furniture, desk and bed frame were still inside.

After that, Johnsie rarely left home. During the days, while his daughter was at school and Faye at work, he alternated between his computer chair, where he read articles about marijuana reform elsewhere (Massachusetts, Maine, California and Nevada would all legalize adult use of the drug in 2016), and the window. There, he'd chew tobacco and stare at bare soil, where their old home had rested.

In May 2016, Pushkin introduced a bill in the West Virginia House of Delegates to let adults grow, use and possess a limited quantity of marijuana, provided that they paid a one-time fee of $500. That month, he told the Charleston Gazette-Mail that he didn't have high hopes for its passage. He was right: It wasn't even debated in a committee. But it did spark media attention and prompted an eye-opening brief from the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, which showed that a marijuana tax could be a boon for the state, generating as much as $194 million annually if the drug were legal for adult use. That would be enough to eliminate West Virginia's projected deficit and create a $183 million surplus, a dramatic improvement in a place that's been slashing everything from higher education to Medicaid as it tries to stay afloat.

Indeed, Pushkin's argument for marijuana legalization had a strong economic component. "They're not having the types of budget issues in Colorado that we're having here," he told the Charleston Gazette-Mail. In Colorado, where pot is now fully legalized, the industry created 18,000 full-time jobs in 2015 alone. New Frontier Data, a financial consultancy in Washington, estimates that by 2020 the marijuana industry will create upward of a quarter of a million jobs in the United States, more than manufacturing is expected to create.

It's hard to imagine anywhere that could use these jobs more than West Virginia. Since the 1980s, both coal and manufacturing in the Mountain State have been in a steep decline. As these industries have dried up, so have others that rely on them - such as freight rail, which has cut jobs by the thousands and begun pulling up tracks.

Smart leaders would have diversified their economy decades ago, but that didn't happen here. "We've been relying on the extraction industries for far too long," Pushkin told me, noting that West Virginia is not just experiencing a budget crisis or even a drug crisis. The state's population is shrinking; many who stay are depressed by their prospects and taking poor care of themselves. A National Bureau of Economic Research paper published in February found a positive correlation between a county's unemployment rate and its opioid overdose death rate. And a link between unemployment and drug use was also confirmed by a meta-analysis of 28 studies, including 10 done in the United States, that appeared in the June issue of the International Journal of Drug Policy. Diabetes rates exceed 150 percent of the U.S. average in some parts of West Virginia, and obesity is just as severe. Pushkin sees the opioid crisis as more of a symptom of the underlying economic one. "When you see countries that are based on one industry, those are mainly Third World countries," he says. "We're really like a Third World country inside the United States."

In his rundown trailer, with no end to his legal limbo in sight, Johnsie soon faced another setback. His father had begun having seizures. They became so routine that Johnsie was not alarmed when, on June 24, 2016, he got a call informing him that Sam Gooslin was bound for the hospital. But this time, when Johnsie arrived and said his name at the nurse's station, a chaplain approached. "I knew then it wasn't good," he recalls. No one was sure, but they thought his father might have had another stroke. This one was just too big.

As the two-year anniversary of his arrest approached, Johnsie found himself without his father, unable to pursue his passion and flat broke. He grew more reclusive and stopped having people over because he was ashamed of where he lived. "Gained 20 pounds," he says. "Just sitting and waiting on death."

But just as he began to feel like he was fighting a losing battle, Maynard, who had lost her reelection bid, decided to step down early. The incoming county prosecuting attorney, Jonathan Jewell, was inheriting a mound of cases. Varney was quick to point out a case that the new prosecutor could settle fast - one where the defendant, Johnsie, had kept his nose clean for two years while on bond. This was a gift to Jewell, who scheduled a hearing for Jan. 31. (Jewell did not respond to requests for comment.)

For several nights prior, Johnsie lay awake, thinking about all that had happened. Beside his sleeping wife, with his daughter just a thin, splintered wall away, he tried to picture their future. He couldn't work coal, not with his back like it was, or even stand at a register all day. That and growing marijuana was about all he was qualified to do.

He could probably get a job at a legal growhouse in California. He knew somebody who knew somebody who owned one. But Johnsie was a good-old-boy conservative. He supported Trump and pokes fun at liberals. He loves guns and four-wheeling. "I just don't know if I can handle California," he once told me. Plus, how could he uproot Bethany while she was doing so well in school - taking advanced placement classes? He wouldn't dare do anything to upset her future.

The morning of his hearing, Johnsie rose bleary-eyed and, with Faye, drove under a bright winter sky. The 20-minute ride was quiet. They didn't know what to expect at the Mingo County Courthouse. Inside, things moved fast. Each lawyer said a few words, and within 10 minutes, West Virginia Circuit Court Judge Miki Thompson dismissed the case without prejudice. For the first time in two years, Johnsie was truly free. He and Faye drove back to their side of the county and, at the gas station where she worked, celebrated with ice cream cones.

Meanwhile in Charleston, Pushkin and like-minded lawmakers saw an opening to try again for legalization. In late 2016, both gubernatorial candidates had publicly supported legalizing medical marijuana. And some of their colleagues were showing a new openness to it. In February, he backed legislation focusing on medical marijuana. While it met with familiar opposition in the House of Delegates, a similar bill wove through the state Senate with bipartisan support. This forced the House speaker and other old-guard Republicans to soften their stance. The bill not only made it out of committee, it was debated on the House floor - and an amended version passed.

The bill permits patients to use pot derivatives, such as oils and pills, but prohibits smoking the plant or growing it at home. Just 10 growers will be authorized statewide, and the price to play will be steep - a $50,000 registration fee. On April 19, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, D, signed it into law.

Many lawmakers who voted for the bill were reacting to public pressure and media scrutiny. And although the law passed, there is no certainty that the trend toward loosening restrictions on marijuana will continue. "Close to half the people who voted for that [legislation] are against medical cannabis," Pushkin told me, "but we got something on the books. I do believe we can fix it." A bill he introduced to tax medical marijuana is in committee. Beyond that, Pushkin admits, he is still figuring out what to do next.

Johnsie doesn't like coffee. Rather than order anything at the coffee shop where he and I are meeting Pushkin on a Friday in May, he waits at an empty table, nervous and fidgeting. I get hot tea, and we talk about how unlikely this sit-down is. With his background, Johnsie never imagined he'd talk to a man who could help undo laws that ruined his life. But when I told Pushkin about Johnsie weeks before and asked if they could meet, the delegate said yes.

Coming off an 11-hour shift of cab driving, one that took him clear to Ohio and back, Pushkin walks in while wiping rainwater from his shirt. Both men wear jeans. Pushkin's jeans have a hole over the left pocket. Johnsie's are paired with a button-down for the occasion. Though neither looks their part - a West Virginia delegate and a former pot grower - they somehow appear to belong at the same table.

With a handshake and a nod, they begin a slow discourse on the new marijuana law. Johnsie may have found a financial backer, a Michigan businessman who visits Mingo County's ATV trail a few times a year, but breaking into legal marijuana production would be much easier if the fee were lower. He references a provision that's popular in other states, one that assigns "caregivers" to patients. These licensed professionals help people get and use their marijuana. They can even grow it for them. By his own admission, Pushkin doesn't know a lot about the provision, but he's always looking for new ideas. "I wouldn't mind going back and trying to get that in," he later tells me, showing the kind of openness that defines his vision for West Virginia.

Pushkin still sees tremendous potential in his home state. Charleston, for instance, has the kind of "cultural capital" that attracts newer industries - prewar buildings galore, gritty warehouses begging to become lofts, and indie businesses that include a sprawling bookstore-cafe-gallery and a new art-house cinema. In many ways, it resembles Pittsburgh or Asheville, North Carolina, before those cities became hipster meccas, and Pushkin looks to those places as models. Legalizing recreational use of marijuana could be another asset, a way to boost tourism and retain young people. "I want to fight to make it the kind of state friends want to move back to," he later says. "I want to help make this a cool place again."

The scruffy delegate pauses to sip his coffee, and Johnsie fiddles with his phone. Quiet passes between them until Johnsie begins to talk about his passion for marijuana. "I'd fall asleep at night studying," he says, "with the laptop still on." He describes the intricacies of growing, his hydroponic technique, how he kept his plants budding.

Pushkin looks down. When he first learned about Johnsie, he said, "I'm sorry that this prohibition has turned somebody who was just trying to help their father into a criminal."

Sitting across from this man who lost everything, who had been stripped of his home and livelihood, who is no longer permitted to pursue his passion, Pushkin grips his mug. "This is the kind of story that needs to be told in the statehouse," he says and shakes his head.

The two talk a few minutes more until Pushkin's coffee is gone. He stands up and - though many politicians wouldn't have even entertained a conversation with a former marijuana grower - he extends his hand. "I'm going to give you my number," he says, looking Johnsie in the eye. "Call anytime you need help."

After they part, Johnsie and I go for pizza; then he drives an hour in the rain, back to Mingo County, where he and Faye have been keeping their expenses low. She has saved just enough to buy a used car. He now drives a 17-year-old truck inherited from an uncle and spends his days making low-cost improvements to his trailer.

While hanging drywall one day to cover torn wallpaper and exposed wires, he deliberates on his future. He still hates the idea of moving to another state. West Virginia gets ahold of you, he once told me, and won't let go.

Maybe he can get one of those 10 marijuana-farm licenses. Maybe the legislature will make it easier for regular people to take part in this new industry. He's not sure how exactly, but he's determined to grow his "babies" again.

He beams at the thought. "Hook the water and electricity up, and I'd have seeds in the cups tonight," he muses and spits chewing tobacco into an empty bottle. "I'm ready to go anytime, when the law says you can do it."
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GREENWICH  Native Venezuelans and their supporters set up at Town Hall Thursday seeking signatures for a petition condemning political violence and ongoing strife in the South American country as human rights violations

The petition, part of an international effort to be sent to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, calls for the court to either begin or deepen its investigation of what it claims are crimes by Venezuelan officials and the military.

We have to do this, said Marla Velez, a Stratford resident and Venezuelan native who has been going around the state to gain support as part of a campaign that began in April.

We are so lucky to be here but not everyone is this lucky. We see it every day on the news and we are very connected with our people in Venezuela through social media, she said.

We know whats happening. We see people who are going through garbage cans looking for food and dont have medicine. People are sending the food and medicine but people are struggling to survive every day. We are doing the best we can but nothing seems to end it and we want to help any way we can, she said.

Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro has been under heavy international criticism, including from the United States, for what reports describe as torture and other human rights violations. He recently installed a new loyalist legislature with the power to rewrite Venezuelas constitution.

The country has been subject to massive street protests. The U.S. placed new sanctions on the Venezuelan government officials earlier this week.

Thursdays effort at Town Hall was one of several signature-gathering efforts in Connecticut. Organizers have appeared in Norwalk, Stamford, New Haven and Bridgeport. Velez said the group had collected more than 3,000 signatures before coming to Greenwich.

We dont have any goal for how many signatures we want to collect other than we want as many as possible, Velez said. We are part of the non-profit organization VST Mundo which stands for Venezuela Somos Todos and means we are all Venezuela. We have a group of 60 coordinators around the world because we want people to know about the human rights violations that are being committed.

Velez was joined on Thursday by Greenwich resident Rosanna Mini, who is also a Venezuelan native.

Im lucky to be living in the U.S., but its very painful, Mini said Wednesday. People are dying in the hospital, they dont have medicine. They need more medicine, they need food, clean water  and they need freedom.

Velez said people had been receptive throughout the day.

We are very gratified to see the response we have gotten, she said. The people still need to know more, but people are hearing a lot about it these days.

The young people are being killed and tortured by the Venezuelan government, Velez said. The young people are the future for our country. If they kill them, what future is waiting?

kborsuk@greenwichtime.cpm
Learning and development programs are currently seeing increased prioritization at organizations across industries. In the digital age, fast and flexible innovation depends on the quality, quantity and accessibility of information. With this growing need for accumulated knowledge, companies and employees are placing a special emphasis on workplace education. According to a study by PwC, millennials now make up the largest segment of the United States workforce, and they tend to agree that training and development are the most valuable benefits employers can provide. One unique approach Ive leveraged is encouraging discomfort to drive employee growth.

During my work at MuleSoft, a San Francisco-based enterprise software company, Ive found that the best way to promote ongoing education is to place ourselves in new and unfamiliar situations. I first joined the company as the head of employee services, initially charged with running our global facilities, planning internal events like happy hours and offsites, driving our monthly all hands meeting and owning our annual company conference MeetUp. I had been working for less than two weeks when I was asked to join the project team for a major field sales event that was outside of my job description.

Related: All Business Is Personal: Employees Need Human Connections at Work

The task was to help plan our week-long sales kickoff, in which the entire global field team would be temporarily relocated to the tiny town of Braselton, Ga. The 300-person event was larger than anything Id ever planned, and we had under a month to pull it together. These challenges, though initially daunting, were incredibly rewarding for my professional development. I tackled the steep learning curve of running production for the general session, built incredibly important relationships with field leaders and executives, and learned a lot about how we produce content and the technical requirements to make it happen. I wholeheartedly believe uncertainty and discomfort are vital in the modern workplace, and in order to grow, these are exactly the kind of stretch opportunities that we need.

Helping run sales kickoff, despite being technically outside of my job description, accelerated my ability to successfully plan our company-wide MeetUp each year. The event runs for a week in San Diego and addresses four main goals: 1) aligning on company strategy, 2) learning new skills, 3) working through issues, and 4) building new relationships. Each of these goals have one thing in common: They embrace challenges beyond the scope of our day-to-day work. It is a demanding week that requires incredible energy and stretch from everyone in the company. Heres how we do it:

Expand social circles.

Though it sounds simple, interacting with new people can be a huge catalyst for both personal and professional development. According to a survey conducted by Globoforce, 89 percent of respondents indicated that work relationships made an impact on their overall quality of life. Breaking outside of our everyday lines of communication helps cultivate empathy and alignment in the workplace.

Related: 4 Tips to Take Struggling Employees to the Top of Their Game

At MuleSoft, we encourage new interactions by stressing the importance of facetime. In our global offices, we utilize an open floor plan where no one has an office and everyone shares common spaces. Our calendar system is also completely public, allowing employees across all teams to view individual schedules and invite colleagues to meet. This commitment to accessibility generates novel social interactions every day.

When planning MeetUp, we drive relationship-building by randomized seating at meals, holding company-wide team building challenges and activities, and even asking Muleys to have roommates! We also try to create ways for people to get to know our wide range of personalities; last year, we conducted a carpool karaoke contest, an 800-person game of Connections (like Assassin but without the violent undertones), and a host of off-site activities including surfing and indoor skydiving.

After the event, the difference in our workplace dynamic is palpable. Fresh perspectives help employees communicate with colleagues across teams and locations with newfound patience and mutual understanding.

Enforce cross-functional learning.

According to a 2017 report conducted by Gallup, only four in 10 employees agree that in the last year they have had opportunities to learn and grow. Furthermore, only three in 10 agree that there is someone at work who encourages their development. The report states that one significant way to boost engagement is to challenge employees in positive ways. Stepping outside of their intellectual comfort zones is one of the best ways to learn and grow.

At MuleSoft, we maintain multiple cross-functional teams to promote each others ongoing learning. It is often easy to settle into siloed functions, solving familiar problems with the same people each day. However, working within these isolated functions will ultimately stagnate team growth.

Related: You're More Likely to Succeed If You Enjoy the Process

When teams are learning from one another, they are able to look at problems more holistically. Throughout the year, we run a series of discussions called Muley Talks, in which department leads are challenged to condense their major initiatives and functions into a 20-minute public presentation. Each talk is followed by an open Q&A. Through Muley Talks, we provide a space for employees to take charge of their own learning and ask questions about different roles within the company.

During MeetUp, we enable cross-function collaboration through employee-led training sessions. Last year, Steven Butt, a senior software engineer, trained the entire global talent team on how to make your own API with a presentation called MuleSoft 101. Vera Wang, a senior corporate communications manager, hosted a media training session for our regional spokespeople. Brian Miller, our VP of business development, had his team facilitate a discussion on the importance of building a partner ecosystem.

When employees push themselves to work and learn alongside other teams, they develop new critical thinking and communication skills.

Encourage ownership.

We want to create an environment where everyone has something new to contribute and where people can proudly own their work. Sometimes, that means providing our employees with the tools and resources necessary for innovation and then letting them take the drivers seat.

The MeetUp Hackathon is one way in which we encourage employee autonomy. Over the course of 36 hours, last years teams created 33 new and unusual projects using MuleSoft technology. When time was up, our engineers presented their projects to the rest of the company, old-school science-fair style.

Related: 7 Excellent Reasons to Focus on Employee Engagement

Many of the projects showed promise for continued use after MeetUp. For example, one team built a Chrome extension that could quickly evaluate APIs on any customer or prospect website, proving immediately useful for sales teams. Another team built a project that awarded social media interactions to MuleSoft by releasing a piece of candy from a dispenser. This could help the talent team conduct demonstrations at career fairs.

By giving employees the freedom to innovate outside of everyday operations, we can promote both personal and company growth.

The comfort zone is one of the largest threats to growth. When you integrate discomfort and unfamiliarity into your learning and development programs, big things can happen. One of MuleSofts core values is fearlessness because we believe that challenging the status quo requires courage. If you take the time to foster courage and confidence in your employees, great culture and awesome ideas will follow.

Related:

Abu Dhabi Global Market And KPMG Invite Applications For Fintech Challenge

Why We Built a Company-Wide Event That Encourages Discomfort

Top 10 Powerful Moments That Shaped Social Media History Over the Last 20 Years



Copyright 2017 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved



This article originally appeared on entrepreneur.com


Back from the dead  and worth an immediate revisit. Photo: Konstantin Sergeyev

As of this Sunday, Schillers will be no more. We lost French Roast. Mayahuel went down just a couple days ago. Change in New York is inevitable. It can also be painful  especially when that change means a spot you love (or once loved) will close for good. New York may be the best eating and drinking city in the world, but it increasingly feels like low-key neighborhood places  you know, spots where you can actually just show up and get a seat and not spend $300 on dinner  are closing with alarming regularity. Its time to celebrate the places like this that still exist. There are too many to name here  and everyone has a favorite that deserves some love  but this list of 22 bars and restaurants is a good start.

Sardis

Even if you dont want to go for the full beef, veal, and cannelloni au gratin, you should head upstairs anytime you see a Broadway show for a Manhattan, Martini, or brandy Alexander. Its where the Tonys were dreamed up. And now that Angus McIndoe is gone, it and Joe Allen are kinda all thats left of dreamlands like that.

Corner Bistro

This has been arguably the reigning burger in town since before Ed Koch was the mayor. Other heirs to the crown have shown up over the years, and even if it doesnt seem quite as great as it once did, its still the stuff of legend. The kitchen doesnt close until 3:30 a.m., and that burger only gets better as the night wears on.

Great Jones Cafe

After flatlining last month, it looked like this Nolita Cajun spot was a goner. And then, suddenly, it wasnt. Go now, lest anything like that should happen again.

Doris

Its cool now to open in Bed-Stuy, but Doris has long been a neighborhood staple, and walking inside feels like escaping into a Santa Fe kibbutz or whatever Greek island Mamma Mia! was set on. Make it your Tuesday spot, when the happy hour lasts all night.

Gowanus Yacht Club

With the luxury buildings going up on the banks of the Gowanus Canal, this outdoor dives name feels a little less ironic than it once did. The place is still great, though: Its as close to picnicking or barbecuing as you can get in a restaurant, with all of the fun and none of the cleanup.

Toms Restaurant

The uptown diner made iconic in all those Seinfeld episodes is still cash-only, but worth that minor 21st-century hassle. Try the off-menu Broadway shake, a mix of chocolate and coffee. And they still make $8 banana splits, bless them.

Margon

Sandwich-fiend Aziz Ansari once declared Margons Cuban sandwich to be the best in the city, and nobody has proven him wrong yet. But even their simple, creamy oatmeal is ideal, and pairs well with a cortadito. Dont sleep on the Dominican fried chicken, either.

Shanghai Deluxe

This spot on Mott is incredibly friendly, and agile with complicated orders. Get a mountain of soup dumplings, but trust in your servers discretion. The more you go, the more they trust you to know off-menu offerings.

Punjabi Deli

Grab a samosa or aloo-tikki patty for just $1.25. But the real treat is to dive into a $5.50 large plate of rice with three hot vegetarian items, plunk down at one of the handful of stools or counter space, and watch a wilder side of New Yorks hustle and bustle unfold in real time before your eyes. Most important: Dont cheat yourself out of the kulfi or kheer.

Grey Dog

When this local chains original location on Carmine Street closed, regulars held a funeral for it. It reopened a few years later on the same block. With perhaps the friendliest staff in the city, frequent patrons can easily find a spot to turn into an extension of their living room.

Hungarian Pastry Shop

Across the street from the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, its a little-known secret that this tiny cafe does the heavy lifting on the neighborhoods divinity. Their Russian coffee (espresso, hot chocolate, whipped cream) is the Gary Shteyngart of caffeinated drinks: daring, playful, and sweet.

Coppelia

Entire Spanish-guitar serenades should be written about this 24-hour Cuban diners lomo saltado  which, yes, is Peruvian, but dont be that person  paired with an avocado milkshake. Its good for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. The bar is built well for camaraderie with the staff, who might tell you about the cinnamony canela cocktail.

Franks Cocktail Lounge

This narrow Fort Greene institution is where you go when you want a drink and some company, but have absolutely no interest in anything even vaguely related to mixology.

Grounded

This coffee shop on Jane Street has the madcap vibe of a friend who is really into horoscopes and sound baths. Its a bright, plant-filled oasis in the style of a casual, couch-filled, pre-Starbucks coffee shop, like the iconic Central Perk from Friends. Its seasonal teas and coffees are thoughtful without being pensive, and fun without being campy. Its the kind of coffee shop where the bulletin board still matters.

Nancy Whiskey Pub

Crouching into its upstairs mezzanine and looking out over the sawdust saloon is to know a New York that only exists in movies and the hearts of those brave few souls who dont Yelp or Instagram. Its one of the rare, special places in the city where it makes lots of sense to order the chicken tenders.

Shopsins

The smaller Essex Market echo of what had been a booming Carmine Street monument to decision paralysis might not survive the mammoth changes that are currently afoot. But its exhaustive, chameleon menu  butterscotch milkshakes! White-sausage gravy!  is the perfect reminder that holes-in-the-wall can still lead to wonderland.

Bagels on the Square

If your morning commute passes through West 4th Street and you dont stop at Bagels on the Square  yes, even if it means getting out of the subway  then, to be honest, youre doing this city all wrong. All of the deliciousness of a soup Nazi with none of the intimidation.

Walkers

Tribecas go-to bar and grill, it is everything you would expect from that description. Bartenders who know your name (and pour commendably stiff Martinis). Families sitting in the back dining rooms. And a no-frills burger thats surprisingly great.

Julius

The oldest gay bar in the city  it began as a grocery store in 1840, then a gentlemens club bar since 1864  also serves a mean $6 burger from its open-air kitchen. Whether feasting on food, drinks, or Mr. Right Now, its multigenerational appeal and antic let-it-all-hang-out coziness make it the perfect breeding ground for adventurous raconteurs and the playful man-about-town.

The Rusty Knot

When Taavo Somer opened this spot in 2008, it was with the aim that it would age into the perfect dive bar. Now, nearly a decade later, that has happened. It retains its beach-blanket-bungalow-den vibe and is packed with nooks where friends convene.

Veselka

Look at you. Youre too thin. All that stress of life in the big city. I hope its worth it. But, eat. You need to eat. Youre still growing. Try some borscht. And some kielbasa. And some bigos. And veal goulash. And some stuffed cabbage. More cabbage than that. Do you want to eat it or just taste it? Cmon. Eat up.

P.J. Clarkes

If it was good enough for Jackie O every weekend; its good enough for you. This Mad Menera throwback  the original location, on Third Ave  is the kind of place where the staff will both coax and rib you with pal-o-mine familiarity.
Its always important to stretch before you work out. Photo: Melissa Hom

A weeklong series dedicated to exploring everything thats happening in the world of ice cream right now.

Ice cream is many things: Cooling, sweet, quite possibly the most delicious thing ever invented. But it is not usually stretchy. At least not in the U.S. In Turkey, however, ice-cream vendors can pull, stretch, and toss their ice cream like a Jersey Shore show-off playing games with taffy. New York is filled with all sorts of amazing ice-cream creations, but until now, this stretchy Turkish ice cream known as dondurma has been extremely difficult  almost impossible, really  to find Stateside. Thats all about to change, though: Lezzetli Mediterranean Ice Cream is the first American brand of what its owners call chewy ice cream.

The full name for this ice cream is Maras dondurma, for the city it purportedly comes from, and it belongs to a family of chewy, dense ice creams also found in the Eastern Mediterranean. These sweets get their characteristic qualities from plant-derived ingredients. Salep, the ground-up tuber of an orchid, thickens it, while mastic or gum arabic lends it elastically and a higher melting point to help withstand the blistering Mediterranean sun. All varieties are worked with mallets or paddles during the freezing process, and getting that trademark elasticity means putting in work. Its also very dense to the point of almost being tough. True to the owners claims, you can actually chew it, and it has a hint of savoriness and a piney flavor from the resinous mastic.

Dondurma is still exceedingly rare in the U.S. The few places that do make it include Bay Ridges Cedars Pastry and Las Vegass Marash, which has expanded into California. Why this is the case isnt exactly clear, but Robyn Eckhardt  the author of the EatingAsia blog and the forthcoming Istanbul and Beyond  thinks it probably has to do with the labor involved, and that Maras-dondurma producers tend to be specialists.

Now, though, Lezzetli is poised to be a gateway drug into the world of chewy ice cream. Turkey has banned salep exports, so this version is thickened with konjac flour, as well as guar gum, vegetable glycerin, carrageenan gum, and locust-bean gum. As a result, co-owner Roberto Escobar is quick to qualify that their ice cream, which he says he worked on for two years, isnt exactly dondurma.

We wanted to re-create the experience of chewy, textured ice cream found in Turkey and the Levant. Its kind of a meld of all of them, he says. We make more of a creamier version of it, while still having some of that chewiness, without it being as chewy and tough as the traditional one.

The most traditional of the five flavors is the Mastiha, flavored pungently with Chios mastic oil. If youre having trouble imagining what that tastes like, think of something thats lightly aromatic like pistachio ice cream with some pleasant evergreen. The other flavors are Chios vanilla, named for the Greek island with its own DOP mastic and with a gentler dose of that mastic oil; chocolate thats flavored with orange blossom; spiced date that is not unlike a grown-up Pumpkin Spice; and a tart cherry that would make a good pie filling.

Here is how you get some: After debuting in a few New York grocery stores like Kalustyans, Zabars, and Brooklyn Harvest earlier this year, Lezzetli has introduced nationwide shipping via Goldbely and Sweetist. Escobar says they plan to expand retail beyond the tristate within the year, but that theyre not ready to divulge their full plans just yet.

The question is whether Americans will, broadly speaking, be into taffy texture in their ice-cream pints. Lezzetlis version might not be as chewy or elastic as true Maras dondurma, but its texture and lightly savory taste can still seem unusual for unacquainted palates. (A couple New York staffers were confused, possibly expecting candyless Ben & Jerrys.) Its still dense, can be folded, and a spoonful will  Grub did the hard work of fact-checking this  sit on your tongue for a full minute before totally melting. Thats one of the primary appeals of dondurma: that you really get to savor it for longer. Which may be a convincing enough argument for ice-cream-obsessed Americans.
Unappetizing. Photo: ABC News

In June, it became clear that Beef Products, Inc.s Draconian $5.7 billion pink slime lawsuit wasnt going to bankrupt ABCs news division after all. The two sides settled very rapidly, just three weeks into the South Dakota meat producers case, and ABCs official statement calling it an amicable resolution was conspicuously devoid of an apology or retraction.

But parent company Walt Disney had to release its latest earnings report yesterday, and that means the world finally gets to see what the investigative series (which blasted lean finely textured beef as borderline unsafe and scarcely meat by definition) cost them. The grand total seems to be at least $177 million.

Disney relegated the disclosure to a small-font footnote on the report, describing a mysterious $177 million loss in connection with settlement of litigation. There is no denying thats a lot, but the at least is because, as CNN Money explains, its probably not the full amount to which BPI is entitled. In fact, BPIs lawyer says the amount was definitely worth even more, but wouldnt specify how much beyond calling it extraordinarily favorable. The extra, whatever it comes to, is presumably being covered by ABCs insurance.

Regardless, $177 million is historically large  likely the most ever paid in a media defamation lawsuit. CNN estimates its on par with a whole years worth of advertising revenue for World News Tonight. ABC still stands by its reporting, though, and the 2012 report remains as prominent as ever on the ABC News website.
Pulaski Co: Frozen pizza, anyone? No injuries but cleanup will take time. Expect delays #artraffic #arnews pic.twitter.com/JBgvrNkNnZ  Arkansas Department of Transportation (@myARDOT) August 9, 2017

No one thought a highway food accident would ever top the Anheuser-BuschFrito-Lay snackcident. Then a deli-meat truck hit a bread truck in New Jersey. And yet neither can compare to yesterdays accident on Arkansass Interstate 30, when an 18-wheeler crashed and spilled hundreds of frozen pizzas onto the road.

Boss at work today: "There's a truck accident on I-30 at baseline and I need you to go check it out. There's free pizza"

Me: uh pizza? pic.twitter.com/zVd65FyH5i  Jackson Haynie (@JacksonHaynie) August 9, 2017

The good news  aside from the pizza  is that no one was hurt in the accident. Fortunately it did not turn into a horrendous disaster, Arkansas DOT spokesman Danny Straessle told Arkansas Online. Except for the loss of the pizza, I guess.

The accident did cause traffic to back up almost ten miles, and the freeway was closed for four-and-a-half hours as authorities cleaned up the mess. Unfortunately, pizza wasnt the only thing they were cleaning. The trucks trailer was ripped open, spilling diesel fuel all over the road and onto the pizzas, some of which were in turn run over by cars.

Tractors were called in to scoop up the pizzas and load them into dump trucks, while others outfitted with vacuums and mechanical brooms cleaned up the cheese, pepperoni, and sauce smearing the pavement. The only positive side effect? The scene of the accident, Straessle says, started to smell like a pizzeria. Oh, and this video of tractors scooping up frozen pizzas off a highway.
Lately, when we tune in or read national political news, its virtually the same stuff every day. If youre watching a left-leaning outlet like CNN or MSNBC, or reading the New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today or HuffPost, its almost all about either Russia or some leak from the White House.

If youre watching Fox, its almost always about how the deep state is undermining the Trump Administration or the corruption of the Obama Administration.

The following discussion should not be read as anti-Trump, but simply as appropriate questions that folks should ask about the federal government. Unless you believe the federal government should be trusted without question, you should be watching with a skeptical eye what is happening inside the Beltway.

Our concern is: What is really happening behind the scenes in Washington while the media is focusing on just a couple areas of subject matter?

We hear that a large number of regulations from the Obama years have been eliminated. Which ones, though? We certainly cannot count on the media from any point on the political spectrum to cover this, as they are so focused on Russia or the Clinton Foundation, etc.

Could Trump Administration people themselves be the source of the leaks? Follow us on this one. If the administration leaks something, Fox will jump all over it as the deep state strikes again trying to bring down Trump. CNN or MSNBC will jump all over it, showing once again how unprofessional our president and his people act.

We have another question: What is this administration doing while the media is focused on the leaks? Obsessing about leaks and Russia certainly blinds the fourth estate to the nuts and bolts of what is really going on with the Trump Administration.

For all that any of us know, except perhaps those in the administration itself, our country is being fundamentally transformed behind the scenes without that meddling press getting in the way.

Why is this a problem?

Well, if the country is being transformed in a libertarian conservative way, it is probably good in our eyes. But, we honestly dont know what direction this transformation is taking, or the long term benefits or damage a transformation could cause.

But, in this age of news organizations being concerned solely about ratings and readership, they lead with what makes the biggest splash. If theres a political food fight, its the featured coverage, while real investigative journalism is dead.

And our country is not better for it.

There was a time, not long ago, when journalists actually practiced true and diligent investigative journalism. In fact, it was expected and revered. It could cost reporters or editors their jobs if they just threw something together and it turned out to be false news, fabricated to make a political point.

Not anymore. Sloppy, aggressive reporting seems to be the order of the day. Get the story out there immediately at all costs. The news outlet can simply walk it back later if it turns out to be a fabrication or careless error.

This is damaging our republic. It weakens our Constitution. It ill serves all of us.

We urge the media, both left and the right, to get away from their talking points and rants.

Liberals, drop the Russia matter; if there was any fire under the smoke, we would have seen it by now.

Conservatives, drop the push to press Obama administration officials for specifics on corruption unless and until real evidence shows a basis to prosecute. Meantime, no fishing expeditions.

Focus on what is happening day to day in this administration. What regulations are being eliminated? What changes are happening at the Veterans Administration? What standards are being changed at the Department of Education?

Ask questions and actually do some good old fashioned investigative reporting.

If what is happening is actually something that should benefit the country, report on it that way. Show some balance.

However, if what is happening could do long term, significant damage to the public, it needs to be investigated and reported to our citizens as well.

We count on a free press to protect our republic, regardless of who occupies the White House.




Haiti - FLASH : Vast operation against Haitians in DR, 510 arrests !





This week, following information from the intelligence services on the location of undocumented migrants, the Directorate General of Migration (DGM) carried out a vast operation of migratory control in various localities of the province of Santiago Rodriguez (North West of the Dominican Republic).



60 inspectors and agents of the DGM with the support of dozens of soldiers of the 4th Infantry Brigade of the Dominican Army, in coordination with the Public Prosecutor of the Santiago Rodriguez Province, carried out operations in the localities of Los Tomines, La Joya, Cambelen, Fello Rosario, Villa Polin, Las Espinas, Cerro Dulce, Alto de Cana, Cruce de Maguana, Guayabal, Mejoramiento Social, El Limon and El Guano.



510 foreigners of Haitian origin were arrested during these one-day operations. After a process of identification and screening, 182 Haitian nationals, including 161 men and 21 women, some of whom were engaged in prostitution, were deported to Haiti by the Dajabon border crossing.



General Maximo William Munoz Delgado, Director General of DGM, confirmed that these surprise operations will continue in other provinces of the national territory in order to continue to locate and deport all foreigners living in an irregular situation on Dominican territory, which contravenes the provisions of Law 285-04.



SL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Diaspora : Message from the Chicago Consul





Lesly Conde, Consul General of the Republic of Haiti in Chicago, makes it his duty to remind the entire Haitian community that Monday, August 14, 2017 Brings back the 226th anniversary of the Bois Caiman ; a very important event in the history of mankind, since it led to the creation of the first black republic of the world.



On this occasion, the Haitian Congress to Fortify Haiti will organize, with the support of the Consular Mission, on Friday, August 11 from 7:30 am, a recreational, cultural and patriotic evening at the local Kizin Creole located at 2311 W. Howard, Chicago II. On the agenda: Message from the Consul General. A snack and refreshments will also be offered.



This year again, we are counting on a good participation of the members of the community in this important activity which celebrates a moment in history whose symbolism must never be forgotten.



On Saturday, August 12 Haiti will participate in the Caribbean Carnival of Chicago. The parade will begin at 1:00 pm at Midway Plaisance, between Stoney Island and Cottage Grove. This participation is sponsored by the Consulate General of Haiti.



The Consulate General of the Republic of Haiti in Chicago hopes that the community will proudly participate in these two activities which make August a month historically and culturally significant.



HL/ HaitiLibre


















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Quintessential Brands wins Cockspur distribution deal

By Lisa Riley

Quintessential Brands has signed a deal as the UK distributor for Cockspur rum.

From September 1st, the spirits brand will be distributed through Quintessential Brands off- and on-trade distribution arms - Essential Drinks and Marblehead Brand Development respectively, taking over from current distributor, Whyte & MacKay, which will relinquish the brand at the end of August.

The partnership with Quintessential Brands would help bring the fun, excitement and growth back to Cockspur, said Steve Wilson, chief executive officer of Woodland Radicle Ventures, which recently purchased the brand.

Warren Scott, co-founder and chief executive officer of Quintessential Brands said: Cockspur rum is a brand with great potential in the UK right now; it epitomises the fun, relaxed party vibe of Barbados where the brand was born over 130 years ago and its this authenticity that appeals to the growing legion of rum drinkers in the UK today.
NWTC hits the road

By Jo Gilbert

The company behind the Botanist has adapted its offering to four wheels so that it can tour the country with its cocktails and craft beers.

New World Trading Company (NWTC) is responsible for popular gastropub chain the Botanist, which can be found in 14 cities scattered predominantly across the north of England.

But now, via an adapted Citroen HY van, the company is now offering customers the option to travel to travel to them, rather than the other way around.

The Wanderer, a vintage-style mobile bar, will be available for private hire, including weddings and corporate events.

It will operate a fully working bar stocked with specialist spirits, mixers and world beers.

It will also be able to visit sponsors Plymouth Gin, which is believed to be produced from the UKs oldest working gin distillery.

Nick Whitby, head of bars at NWTC said: We get inundated with requests asking if we can provide our cocktails and drinks for their private celebrations. The Wanderer is perfect for this. The vehicle has been adapted to house a sleek bar but it also promises to deliver our highest standard of award winning cocktails and drinks no matter where the celebration is, up and down the country.

Plymouth Gin has roots going back to 1793, before being acquired as part of Pernod Ricard takeover of Swedish company V&S Group in 2008.








Finally, the role of the C-suite should never be underestimated. Telstras program (see boxout below) was so successful because former CEO David Thodey was one of the highest givers of recognition. This was visible to all employees through recognition news feeds, helping make recognition a new communication channel.

TWO RECOGNITION SUCCESS STORIES



 Telstra completely rethought the way it looked at R&R five years ago to help the organisation put the customer at the centre of its employees worlds. Zing was the resulting recognition program  social, peer-to-peer, democratic. The result: a 12% lift in attitudes to how employees are recognised and rewarded at Telstra. And a new, positive recognition language about Zinging was created!



 A regional Asia-Pacific airline determined that the reward element of its R&R strategy wasnt increasing peoples engagement. By increasing the stand-alone value of recognition, they were able to reduce their reward spend by 80%, yet increase the recognition activity by over 100%. Recognition is no longer contingent on reward.

Recognition in the flow of work

To truly create a culture that fosters recognition, its necessary to build recognition into the flow of work so employees dont have to think about recognising someone, they are able to just do it.

The Achievers Employee Success platform, now in Australia through Grass Roots, makes it easier for businesses to integrate more recognition activity in the one place. Using open APIs  widgets that can be deployed in just about any application  and modules such as Engagement Pulse, the Achievers hub ensures that employees dont have to access multiple systems, removing a key barrier for businesses looking to develop their R&R strategy.

Native mobile apps then extend the usability of technology. You can empower your employees now to witness a great act at the end of a day and have an employee recognise another for thinking Customer First. That persons manager reads the recognition, promotes it via an Everyday Award  think a nominal fixed value such as $50  and the recognised employee gets a double burst of recognition. And with the mobile app, employees can see the recognition immediately and can even spend the reward on a treat or the basics such as shopping on their way home.

A helping hand

Truly meaningful reward and recognition strategies need to be broader and to encompass more elements than ever, as the nature of what people want to be recognised for, and the different types of reward that now exist, add complexity to a dramatically different HR environment. Technology  and trusted business partners  can ensure your workplace not only survives these tumultuous times, but thrives.



GRASS ROOTS

Grass Roots is one of the worlds leading providers of customer and employee engagement solutions. With our Achievers Employee Success platform we help businesses better engage their employees through social recognition, helping increase employee engagement and ultimately creating a happier, healthier and safer workplace. Visit www.achievers.com.au to find out more.
Avoid carousels that can't be paused or stopped



Carousels are commonly used on websites to provide a useful way to highlight featured content or portray key messages visually or with text in a revolving display. However, the moving or scrolling content can be a distraction for most people. In particular, it can be a problem for people who have difficulty reading or understanding content quickly or are easily distracted by moving content. Giving users the opportunity to pause or stop a carousel with a pause button is a way to give your users more control over how they can perceive the content that best suits their individual needs.

Can your website be navigated using only a keyboard?



Some users may have a temporary disability with a broken arm, or when they are carrying a small child. Others may have a permanent disability with RSI, arthritis, or hand tremors. There are also people who use assistive technologies such as screen readers. All of these user groups rely on the use of a keyboard to navigate through a website, which is why it is important to make sure your website is accessible via keyboard use. The best way to test this is to see if you can navigate and use your website using only a keyboard.



Include a 'skip to content' link

Following on from keyboard use, including a skip to content link is incredibly useful for keyboard users. If keyboard users have to navigate through a lot of links at the top of a page before getting to the actual content every time they load a new page, it makes the experience rather frustrating. Providing a hidden link that appears at the top of the webpage allows a keyboard user to bypass repeated content in the navigation bar, and go straight to the main content. It is easy to implement with simple code, and WebAIM provides a way to do this.



Does your website have images of text?

People with low vision, visual tracking problems, or cognitive disabilities like to be able to adjust the text of a website that best accommodates their needs. This could be changing the colour contrast, the size and spacing of text, and the font family. If images of text are used on a website, customising the text is impossible. If your website includes images of text, try viewing it in a high colour contrast mode. You will see that the text does not change colour, which makes it difficult for someone with low vision to read it. It is important to make sure that all text on a website can be customisable. The only exceptions to this is if the image of text itself can be customisable, or if the image of text is essential to the information on the website, for example a companys branding logo.

Like to know more?
There is no definitive definition of an inherent requirement, according to Kerryn Tredwell, partner in Hall & Wilcoxs employment practice.



But when courts reference this term they are talking about the fundamental duties that make up a role, such that if an employee didnt perform any one of those duties they wouldnt really be performing the role.



A simplistic example would be a truck driver who cannot drive; they would not be able to perform the inherent requirements of the role. In contrast there is an example of an accounts clerk who takes the cash to the bank every Friday and takes a car to get there. However, should they not be able to drive  relating to poor eyesight or other reason  they would not be able to perform that part of their role.



However, is that an inherent requirement of the role? Probably not because taking that one duty or responsibility away doesnt fundamentally change the job of the accounts clerk. Its always somewhat open to interpretation but usually its a commonsense judgment, said Tredwell.



Inherent requirements were particularly relevent in a recent court case that highlights the differences between the Fair Work Act and the Disability Discrimination Act



Mr Shizas, a lawyer by trade, had always wanted to be a police officer. He applied to the Australian Federal Police (AFP) but his application was knocked back on the basis that he had an arthritic condition and therefore didnt meet the medical requirements of the AFP.



Mr Shizas requested a review of the case and made a second application, which was also rejected. However, the AFP did not have it all its own way  and herein lies the lesson for other employers.



Where this case holds interest for HR professionals is how it unfolded. Mr Shizas originally bought a discrimination claim in the Australian Human Rights Commission. He subsequently changed his mind and instead applied under the general protections laws in the Fair Work realm. The case highlights differences in the inherent requirements defence in each of those realms.



Its a defence in both jurisdictions to rely on the fact that a person cant perform the inherent requirements of the job, but that defence works in very different ways and thats the issue that this case threw up and where not much attention has been paid before, said Tredwell.



All about the decision-maker



In general protections cases involving discrimination, the employer or prospective employer bears the onus of proving that no part of the reason for the relevant act or conduct was unlawfully discriminatory.



In relation to Mr Shizass first application, the AFP could not discharge this onus because it failed to produce evidence as to who made the decision to reject the application, and why. This resulted in the Court finding that the first refusal breached the general protections provisions of the Fair Work Act.



Tredwell said that this case highlights why, in general protections claims, it is critical to identify who the decision maker is.



Who is the person who made the decision thats being complained about? Because youre going to have to prove that that persons reason was not unlawful, she said. The only way to prove that is to effectively have that person as a witness and to have them give evidence about why they made the decision they made.



Tredwell said that in most hierarchical organisations, often its not just one person who makes a decision  for example, it might be a manager making a decision about whether or not to terminate someones employment but its then signed off or approved by someone more senior up the chain. That can muddy the waters as to who actually made the decision.



Sometimes you will have multiple decision-makers and youll then have to prove that the reasons for the decision made by all those people were completely lawful, Tredwell said.



However, the news was better for the AFP in relation to the second refusal, which the Court accepted was the result of the relevant decision-makers genuine belief that the candidate, on account of his disability, was at a substantial risk of injury and therefore unable to safely perform the inherent requirements of the role.



Although the Court accepted that such a belief was probably mistakenly held in this case, there was enough evidence of the belief itself, and that it was genuinely held, for the Court to uphold the inherent requirements defence.



The Court issued a declaration that the first refusal to employ the candidate was a breach of the FW Act, but otherwise dismissed the application with no further orders for relief.



Tredwell adds that had the claim been brought under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth) (DDA), as originally intended, the outcome may have been different in relation to the second job application made by Mr Shizas.



Under the DDA, it doesnt matter if an employer genuinely thinks a disability will place the employee in harms way; it needs to be established that the person cannot perform the role in fact. In other words, its not up to the decision-makers subjective view, but rather whether the candidate can objectively carry out the jobs inherent requirements.



This means it is not a question of what the decision-maker subjectively believed, but whether the individual was objectively able to carry out the inherent requirements of the position, said Tredwell.



Tredwell said the most the most common type of claim employees bring is an unfair dismissal claim, which comes forward in the Fair Work Commission. General protections claims, also handled by the FWC, are newer but becoming increasingly common. Discrimination complaints, in her experience, make up a much smaller percentage of complaints, and she believes employers would be much less familiar with the discrimination jurisdiction.



However, she added that the often subtle differences between each act create potential difficulties for employers  they need to understand each to avoid liability, and decisions need to be carefully documented. Employers who dont understand the repercussions of each may leave themselves exposed if, for any reason, they are found to have discriminated against an employee, she says.



In conclusion, Tredwell said this case is a reminder for businesses that when potential issues of discrimination arise in relation to decisions being made, both the general protections and discrimination frameworks need to be kept in mind, and decisions carefully documented, as different considerations need to be taken into account to avoid liability.
(Reuters) Short sellers are increasingly targeting Hong Kong-listed Chinese companies they allege have committed accounting tricks, market manipulation and fraud. And thats despite mounting hostility faced by investors who bet against stocks. This year, there have been nine campaigns by short sellers against Hong Kong-listed companies as of mid-July, a record for the period, according to data from Activist Insight. This time last year there had been only two and in 2015 six. Short sellers said increasing capital flows between mainland China and Hong Kong, spurred by Beijings recent moves to open up its equity markets, were exacerbating corporate governance problems in Hong Kong.

To read this article:
(Reuters) Puerto Ricos bankruptcy, aimed at restructuring $72 billion of debt, violates the U.S. Constitution and should be dismissed, the Aurelius Capital Management hedge fund said in a court filing on Monday. The U.S. commonwealths federally appointed oversight board initiated its debt-cutting proceeding in May under a law known as PROMESA. Puerto Rico is barred from traditional municipal bankruptcy protection under Chapter 9 of the U.S. code.

To read this article:
During its first few months in office, the Trump Administration set out an ambitious roadmap for rolling back environmental and energy regulations, particularly those adopted during the Obama years. Purportedly, the idea is to unchain the economy from environmental shackles and foster a climate of regulatory certainty for businesses.

In truth, the policy rhetoric coming out of the White House may well be creating the opposite effect. Fortunately for industries of the 21st century and the fate of the planet itself, Trumps bark is likely to be larger  perhaps much larger  than his ultimate bite.

Lets take a concrete example. A month after his inauguration, President Trump signed an executive order directing the administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to review and potentially rescind or revise an Obama-era regulation defining the term waters of the United States under the Clean Water Act (CWA). Such orders have no teeth; administrative agencies must take action to give them real-world legal effect.

In June, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, who, as Oklahoma attorney general, sued in 2015, to block this very Obama rule, obliged. He issued a proposal to rescind the new waters of the United States definition and reinstate the pre-Obama definition. In announcing this proposal, EPA stated that the rescission is intended to ensure certainty as to the scope of [Clean Water Act] jurisdiction.

To understand whats wrong with this proposal, we need to take a step back. The Clean Water Act is Americas bedrock water quality law, designed both to reduce pollution and to protect rivers, lakes and wetlands from destruction. But the law only reaches waters of the United States  a phrase that Congress did not define. That task has fallen to the courts, and on a number of occasions landed in the lap of the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Supreme Courts most recent case on this issue only muddied the waters. In 2006, the Court issued a ruling that consisted of five separate written opinions. Four conservative justices voted for a narrow definition, four liberal justices voted for a broader definition, and Justice Kennedy  the deciding vote  proposed yet a third definition. This confusing result left both regulators and those who follow regulations more uncertain than ever about which waters are covered by the law.

In response, the Obama EPA set out to develop a rule that would provide more clarity and certainty. It engaged in an extensive multi-year outreach and received more than a million public comments. Interested parties from virtually every perspective participated. The resulting rule, in which no party got everything it wanted, was accompanied by 50 pages of explanation to help guide those who must comply with the law.

This is the rule that Mr. Pruitt now wants to rescind. If the Trump EPA makes good on its proposal to reinstate the previous regime, even temporarily, those who implement the law and those who must follow it face years of more uncertainty.

First, the rescission itself will undoubtedly be challenged in court. Second, to replace the rescinded rule with something new, the administration must go through a new rule-making process, one that will likely take significant time. Finally, any new definition at the end of that process will draw its own protracted legal fight. In the meantime, well be stuck with the previous case-by-case approach that everyone agrees is unworkable.

A similar drama is unfolding in the climate space. President Trumps two executive orders on energy policy directs agencies to review all rules that potentially burden domestic energy production and directs the EPA to open vast swaths of U.S. coastal waters to offshore drilling, a historically controversial and much-litigated idea.

The centerpiece of the Obama Administrations strategy to comply with the Paris Climate Agreement  the Clean Power Plan is, of course, under threat from President Trump. Years in the making, and like the water rule, vetted through an expansive stakeholder outreach and public process, the Clean Power Plan will not get the United States to its Paris targets. But it is a first step that gives states a significant hand in developing their own strategies for moving toward a low-carbon economy.

In the end, Trump is on a fools errand to unravel a decade of slow but steady progress toward a clean energy economy. The world  and yes, even the United States  is inexorably transitioning away from fossil fuels. That transition will require global retooling of technology and infrastructure in every sector  power generation, transportation, military, industrial, commercial, residential. If Trump wants to translate the economic populism message of his campaign into real economic opportunity, the place to start is with policies that foster energy innovation in the private and public spheres and provide businesses and consumers with the certainty they need to make sound investment decisions.

Forward-thinking businesses and policymakers would be smart to ignore Trumps misdirected executive orders and silly Tweets and plan, instead, for the transformative economy headed our way. Looking backward can only bring chaos and heartache.

Deborah A. Sivas is the Luke W. Cole Professor of Environmental Law at Stanford Law School, where she serves as Director of the Environmental Law Clinic, Director of the Environmental and Natural Resources Law & Policy Program, and Senior Fellow at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment. Professor Sivas's litigation successes include challenging the Bush administration's gas mileage standards for SUVs and light trucks, and holding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency accountable for regulating the discharge of invasive species in ship ballast water. Her current scholarship, teaching and lawyering efforts focus on coastal, freshwater, public lands and climate/energy policy.
Justice Minister Charles Flanagan has hailed the "dedication" of gardai after arrests in relation to an alleged attempted gangland hit.

Gardai have also arrested a man suspected of being linked to international terrorism.

Mr Flanagan said gardai had faced "difficult challenges" but the intelligence-led arrests demonstrated their "hard work".

"I believe it's important that we acknowledge the dedication of the hundreds of hard-working Garda Siochana throughout the country," he said.

Two men suspected of being on their way to a gangland hit were arrested on Monday when armed gardai intercepted a van in Dublin's Kylemore Road.

It is believed the intended victim was former gang member Michael Frazer, who has survived a number of attempts on his life.

The two suspects can be held for up to seven days.

In a different case, an Algerian man in his 40s suspected of producing false passports for jihadi activists was arrested in Drumcondra on Tuesday.

Fighters

His arrest was part of an overseas investigation into support cells for Islamic State fighters. His alleged link to the support cells was unearthed during a search in Greece where crucial documents were found. Officers from London's Metropolitan Police contacted gardai and sought assistance in the case

The man was released from custody last night and a file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.

In relation to the broader issue of international terrorism, Mr Flanagan said there was, "no evidence of any likely threat" to Ireland.

"[But] there is absolutely no room for complacency," he added. "We must at all times remain vigilant."

He said that the Government receives security briefings "at the highest level" and he was pleased with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar's decision to establish a national security committee.

It met for the first time last month. "We continue to share intelligence through the Garda Siochana and the Defence Forces at the highest level with out EU colleagues," said Mr Flanagan.
A senior member of the Kinahan cartel has been arrested in Spain by heavily-armed police officers.

The dramatic early morning raid, some 60 miles south of Barcelona, followed a tip-off by gardai.

The 34-year-old north inner city hood, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was arrested over the 2010 murder of Eamon 'The Don' Dunne.

The senior cartel player was previously arrested in relation to the murder but was never charged.

However, he is facing serious charges that were brought against him after Dunne was gunned down at The Fassaugh House pub in Cabra.

The cartel criminal spent a number of weeks in jail before getting bail and fleeing Ireland almost seven years ago.

It is understood that when he arrived in Spain he hooked up with his associates in the Kinahan cartel.

A European Arrest Warrant was issued for his arrest in relation to the serious charges he faces here.

Gardai have been hunting the major league gangster for more than two years.

The manhunt came to an end early yesterday morning when Spanish police, operating on vital information given to them by gardai, stormed a hotel room in Tarragona, a port city on the Costa Dorada.

Secret

It is believed an Irish woman was in the room with the gangster when police burst in.

They were armed with machine guns and wore military fatigues in the top secret operation.

It is understood the gangster - who is believed to have been previously based in the Kinahan stronghold of Marbella on the Costa del Sol - was on holiday when he was arrested.

The feared thug is expected to be brought before a court in Madrid today, when he will be asked if he agrees to his extradition to Ireland.

If he agrees, he will appear before the courts here before the end of the month.

If extradited, he will probably be jailed in the so-called 'Kinahan wing' of Mountjoy Prison, where many of his associates are housed, some of whom face trial for feud- related crimes.

However, if he contests the extradition arrest warrant, he can expect to face many months in a hell-hole prison while his case is dealt with by Spanish courts.

"Either way, whatever he decides to do, he will be in jail for a long time," said a source last night.

"This is considered a good thing because of his key involvement in the Kinahan cartel.

"Gardai have been hunting this man for a number of years and are delighted with the brilliant co-operation they have received from the authorities in Spain."

The mobster is considered a "trusted" member of the international crime syndicate, with access to large amounts of cash.

He is believed to have used a number of aliases since he went on the run and is wanted by other European police forces in relation to separate crimes.

The north inner city flats where he lived are now the focus of heavily-armed garda checkpoints as officers try to keep a lid on the long-running, bitter gangland feud between the Kinahans and the Hutch mob.

The ongoing war between the two criminal gangs has already claimed 12 lives.

Robbery

The arrested criminal is a close associate of Barry Finnegan (38), another key cartel associate and a criminal who was also arrested in connection with the murder of Eamon Dunne.

It is believed Dunne was killed because the murders he was involved in were attracting too much garda attention to the cartel's crime network.

Dunne was a major crime figure, having assumed control of the Finglas-based drugs and armed operation previously led by Martin 'Marlo' Hyland.

His gang was a major importer of drugs, supplying them to smaller operations throughout the country, and is suspected of being involved in up to 15 gangland killings before his murder by the cartel.
Laurie Berry and her son Luca at the Forty Foot in Sandycove

Dublin swimmers were determined not to be deterred by reports of anti-social behaviour at one of the city's most popular bathing spots as they basked in the warm weather yesterday.

Despite recent calls by Dun Laoghaire TD Richard Boyd Barrett for Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan to address anti-social issues at the iconic Forty Foot in Sandycove, people enjoying the amenity told the Herald how safe and friendly they found the area.

Laurie Berry and her son Luca (9) were home visiting Ireland from Italy and said Sandycove beat sandy Italian beaches during the summer.

"We really enjoy the area, it's quite small and with young children you can see them at any point," said Laurie.

"When it's high tide they enjoy jumping off the rocks. My son is nine and he wouldn't be a very strong swimmer so it is perfect."

Esmay Rothschild, who is from Dalkey and is in her 70s, is a regular swimmer at the Forty Foot and was also enjoying the sun with her daughter, Katy Heslip (35), and granddaughter, Lily.

"I come down a good bit, I haven't seen any problems. It's always been quite quiet when I've been here, I always come down for a swim and with my grandchildren," said Esmay.

Katy, however, said she had heard stories about theft in the area during the high temperatures earlier in the summer.

"There have been a few incidents of people rooting in bags, and things have been stolen, it happened to a friend of ours," she said.

Sun

Mother-of-three Emma Kavanagh echoed Katy's reports of phone robberies in the area, saying she tried to avoid bringing her children for a swim there later in the day.

"I'm originally from the area, and there has been some anti-social behaviour over the years," she said.

"Once the sun comes out, the gangs would come down. A friend's daughter had her phone stolen about three weeks ago, and there have been fights even when there are kids around. I always try to get down early and be gone by the time everyone comes down."

Overall, there was a positive atmosphere among the crowds.

Peter Harold (68), from Crumlin, said it was his family's favourite place in Dublin Bay, and suspected anti-social behaviour was a problem on many beaches during good weather.

"We haven't seen any anti-social behaviour," he said.

"We would be out every second Sunday and never came across anything unruly. In fact, it's really beautiful here and we've never come across anyone 'blaggarding' or the likes.

"We love this part of the bay, it's a nice place to go with the family. It is safe but you will of course get that anti-social behaviour everywhere, maybe young lads with drink.

"I'd hate to see it and it's not acceptable, but I've never been intimidated along the bay."

Phil Sheehan, also in her 60s, said she never felt threatened, regularly visiting the coastal attraction for a weekly swim.

"It's a very enjoyable place, and I've never experienced any anti-social behaviour," she said.

"I come down at least once a week to go swimming and have a picnic.

"It's a very safe place, maybe the anti-social behaviour is at night when I'm not here."
A car rammed into a group of soldiers in a suburb of Paris yesterday, injuring six, before speeding off and sparking a manhunt that a judicial source said ended with the suspect's arrest on a motorway.

In an attack that authorities said bore the stamp of terrorism, the driver appeared to have lain in wait for the soldiers in a pedestrian zone near their base in Levallois-Perret.

The affluent suburb in the north-west of Paris is home to France's domestic counter-terrorism agency.

Several dozen troops from Operation Sentinel, launched in the wake of Islamist attacks in Paris in early 2015, are based there.

Deliberate

The car accelerated into the troops, who were starting their patrol, when they were a few metres away, French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb told reporters outside the hospital where the three more seriously injured victims were being treated.

"This was a deliberate act, not an accident," Mr Collomb said, adding that counter-terrorism investigators had taken up the case.

A judicial source said the unarmed suspect was arrested on a motorway in northern France following a manhunt.

A bullet-riddled BMW was pictured at the scene.

One policeman was injured by a stray bullet in the operation.

The Levallois-Perret attack was the 15th on soldiers and police since they were deployed in large numbers nationwide after a series of Islamist militant attacks over the past two-and-a-half years.

Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly said yesterday's attack was proof there remained an active threat and that the 7,000-strong Sentinel force was "more necessary than ever".

Three soldiers had light injuries, Ms Parly said, while three others were more gravely hurt - but not as seriously as previously thought.

Levallois-Perret mayor Patrick Balkany called it a "disgusting" act of aggression that was "without any doubt" premeditated.

Jean-Claude Veillant, a resident of an apartment building directly above the scene, witnessed part of the attack.

"I heard a loud noise, the sound of scraping metal," Mr Veillant said.

"Shortly after, I saw one of the badly wounded lying in front of the Vigipirate [army patrol] vehicle and another one behind it receiving treatment."

Islamist militants, or Islamist-inspired attackers, have killed more than 230 people on French soil since January 2015, including one attack on Paris and another on the Riviera city of Nice.

Operation Sentinel has put heavily-armed French combat troops in public view, as they patrol key sites in military fatigues, at an annual cost running into hundreds of millions of euro.

While it did not prevent the November 2015 attack in which gunmen killed 130 people in Parisian cafes and a concert hall, Sentinel troops have disarmed or killed would-be attackers on several occasions.

Assailant

These include a February incident in which a machete-wielding assailant attacked soldiers outside the Louvre art museum, and another last Saturday at the Eiffel Tower.

An assailant also shot a policeman dead on the Champs-Elysees avenue in the capital in April.

Levallois-Perret is just 5km from city centre landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower and the Elysee presidential palace.
BRISTOL, Va.  An opened door caught the eye of a Bristol, Virginia, inmate Wednesday, resulting in a large-scale manhunt when he escaped, authorities said.

At about 2:10 p.m. Wednesday, Bristol Virginia Sheriff Jack Weisenburger said an inmate, identified as Steven Andrew Thompson, who also faces felony charges in a string of recent break-ins in Washington County, Virginia, managed to escape from the jail.

He was brought up front to be processed, Weisenburger said. He was in the course of being processed when a visitor was leaving the jail. The door was opened, and he bolted out and ran.

The sheriff said deputies began chasing the man on foot as he ran across Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard toward the railroad tracks. The deputies lost sight of him when he ran into the woods along the tracks, the sheriff said.

Thompson is believed to have taken off his orange jail outfit and may have obtained other clothes during the manhunt.

Officers from Bristol, Virginia, and Bristol, Tennessee, responded, as well as the Washington County Virginia Sheriffs Office, Virginia State Police, the U.S. Marshals Service and the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. Multiple K-9 units and a helicopter were also called to the area to search for Thompson.

For several hours, police combed a number of neighborhoods and woods and responded to possible sightings by local residents.

Early on in the search, police were searching the neighborhood around Goodson Street and Williams Street, where Thompson may have gone into the creek. At one point, police were called to the area of East Mary Street and Reservoir Street, where a resident is believed to have spotted the man. Officers said Thompson may have tried to break into a home at the corner.

Police searched areas along Booher Road, Second Street, Springdale Road, State Street and East Mary Street throughout the evening. A helicopter used infrared technology after dusk to search for the man. Armed officers also combed the area in and around East Hill Cemetery late Wednesday.

Sgt. Steve Crawford of the Bristol Virginia Police Department said he originally took Thompson into custody on Tuesday afternoon. He said Washington County, Virginia, authorities had asked local police to be on the lookout for the man.

Crawford spotted Thompson in a vehicle and conducted a traffic stop. The man did not cooperate during the stop, and Crawford said officers had to subdue him before taking the man into custody.

Thompson was arrested and charged with possession of ammunition by a felon and obstruction of justice. He was taken to the city jail, where warrants out of Washington County were being served at the time of the escape on Wednesday, Weisenburger said.

The Washington County warrants stem from a string of daytime break-ins reported in recent weeks near Bristol and Abingdon. Sheriff Fred Newman said the break-ins began in mid-June and were reported in the Benhams area. They have since spread into the Goose Creek, Wyndale Road, Reedy Creek, Gate City Highway and Rich Valley Road areas.

Through efforts of the Washington County Sheriffs Office Criminal Investigation Division and Patrol Division  and assistance from a citizen who lived near one of the incidents  police were able to develop a suspect, Newman said.

Thompson has been charged with two counts of breaking and entering and one count of grand larceny in the incidents.

Newman said Bristol Virginia Police assisted with the investigation, which is ongoing. He said additional charges and arrests are expected in connection with the burglaries.

Any victim of a daytime break-in where jewelry, coins or other personal items were taken should contact Lt. James Blevins or Detective Brandon Tweed at the Sheriffs Office at 276-676-6000.

Authorities said Thompson has a lengthy criminal record in New York.

Thompson is described as a white man, about 5 feet 11 inches tall, with brown eyes and closely cut brown hair. Its unknown if he is armed, but police ask residents to not approach him. Residents were asked to lock their doors on Wednesday as police searched for Thompson.

Anyone with information about Thompsons whereabouts is asked to call 911 or the Bristol Virginia authorities at 276-645-7400.
Update 10 p.m.: The Washington County Sheriff's Office reports that Steven Andrew Thompson, 30, the escapee from the Bristol city jail, faces charges in a string of recent break-ins.

Sheriff Fred Newman said Thompson has been charged with two counts of breaking and entering and grand larceny. Additional charges and arrests are possible.

Nearly a dozen daytime break-ins have been reported since mid-June in the Benhams community, and surrounding areas.

A large-scale manhunt near the state line in Bristol was still active late Wednesday.

BRISTOL, Va. -- Authorities are searching for an inmate who escaped from the Bristol Virginia Jail Wednesday afternoon.

The man, Steven Andrew Thompson, was last seen near Goodson and Williams Streets.

Thompson is 30 years old, 5 feet 11 inches tall and has brown eyes and closely cut brown hair, according to a news release.

According to authorities, Thompson was pulled over by the Bristol Virginia police on Tuesday sometime after 4 p.m. He was arrested on possession of ammunition by a felon and obstruction of justice.

On Wednesday afternoon, Thompson was near the front of the Bristol Virginia Jail being served warrants at the same time a visitor was leaving. That's when he bolted for the door, according to police.

Officers tried chasing him. Bristol Virginia Sheriff Jack Weisenburger said they lost contact with him near the railroad tracks not far from the Bristol Train Station.

Police say Thompson is not known to be armed.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Bristol Virginia Police Department at 276-645-7400 or call 911.

Agencies searching for Thompson are the Bristol Virginia Police Department, Bristol Tennessee Police Department, Virginia State Police, Bristol Virginia Sheriff's Office and the U.S. Marshals Service.
BRISTOL, Va.  Bristol Virginia Mayor Kevin Mumpower said his vision is to market Bristol as the Tri-Cities Metropolitan area  as a big city in a big state.

Its time for Bristol to go big or go home, he said to business leaders from both sides of State Street during his address at the fifth annual Bristol Chamber of Commerce State of the Cities Luncheon at the Bristol Train Station on Wednesday.

In order to bring his vision to fruition, Mumpower said he needs the cooperation of the surrounding communities.

We have around 17,000 people in Bristol, he said. And we cant do this alone, so we plan to partner with Washington County, Virginia, [and] Sullivan County, Tennessee, and reach out to Bristol, Tennessee.

He said the city also has plans to hire a top-notch, professional economic developer that has relationships with U.S. and international businesses.

We havent settled on one person for the position, Mumpower said by phone Wednesday afternoon. We are just now developing a plan of how to move forward.

He also said that the citys team has to move big and move fast.

We have to have a good team and a good plan, he said. With the citys new Chief Financial Officer Tamyra Spradlin, we have financial responsibility. Now we need economic growth and action in order to move forward. And we need to move forward like there is no tomorrow  so were not going to slow down.

He added that his vision for the city will bring challenges and stress to the citys team  which consists of himself, Vice Mayor Kevin Wingard, Councilmen Doug Fleenor, Bill Hartley and Archie Hubbard, City Manager/Attorney Randy Eads and Spradlin.

But stick with us, he said. Because by 2020 we want three or four manufacturers, the exits fully developed, the school system looking new, and commercial training centers. Thats where were going  thats the bottom line, and thats where this team is going to take us.

Bristol Tennessee Mayor Jack Young said that Bristol is so multifaceted that its difficult to point to just one thing that identifies it as a community  giving a nod to the citys new logo,  Bristol is.

Bristol is our students, businesses, education, shopping, art and culture, he said. Its racing, innovative, families and home.

Young then touted whats on the horizon for the city in 2017-18.

We are working on the citys first comprehensive plan to chart out the next 20 years, the third Hiring Expo at Bristol Motor Speedway will be taking place later this year, the new Fire Department at The Pinnacle is slated to be opened in October, and we are getting $27 million in school funds from Sullivan County, Tennessee.

Sullivan County received a bond allocation of just over $140 million earlier this year for the first phase of school facilities plans for the countys school system  Bristol Tennessee City Schools, Kingsport City Schools and Johnson City Schools.

Each school system will split the bond money according to average daily attendance: Sullivan County Schools will receive nearly $67.2 million, Bristol Tennessee City Schools will receive $27 million, Kingsport City Schools will receive nearly $45.3 million, and Johnson City Schools will receive $520,700.

Young also encouraged those in attendance to look around the community.

For me, Bristol is business, Young said. Its opportunities and home. Come partner with me, and discover all that Bristol is.
A Virginia State Police trooper has been indicted on two felony charges in Scott County, Virginia.

Matthew Morgan Phillips, 28, of Bristol, Virginia, was indicted Monday on charges of rape by force, threat or intimidation, and forcible sodomy by force, threat or intimidation, according to Scott County Circuit Court records.

One count of the indictment states Phillips did commit rape by having sexual intercourse with a complaining witness on or about Jan. 12 to Jan. 23, 2017. It adds that the act was committed against the victims will.

According to the second count, Phillips did commit forcible sodomy with the complaining witness on or about Sept. 21 to Oct. 3, 2014. Again, the indictment states the act was accomplished against the will of the witness.

The court documents do not indicate the number of alleged victims.

The grand jury met Monday and heard evidence from Virginia State Police Sgt. G.S. Lewis, the indictment states.

Phillips has until his Aug. 15 court date to turn himself in to authorities.

The commonwealths attorney of Scott County recused himself in the case because Phillips is a trooper in the county. Russell County Commonwealths Attorney Brian Patton was appointed special prosecutor.

A search warrant had been filed and executed at the troopers residence earlier this year, according to records in Bristol Virginia Circuit Court. Officers sought and recovered the troopers cellular phone, the warrant states.

Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said Phillips has been suspended without pay pending the outcome of the investigation. He was hired in June 2011, Geller said.
The recent events and stories published by many news sources regarding President Trump and his administration dealing with President Putin and Russia brought back some memories of a trip my wife and I took to Russia several years ago. This was a short time after President George W. Bush met with Putin in Russia and made a famous statement, so typical of him: I looked into his eyes and saw his soul.

A short time after this, we were on a Russian riverboat trip somewhere between Moscow and St. Petersburg. A professor at Moscow State University was invited to speak to our group. She made some surprisingly open and very candid remarks about President Putin and his rise to power. I asked her about Bushs remark. She responded, I do not know what he saw, but I can assure you that he did not see what he thought he saw.

She talked about Putins rise which often involved a very rough-and-tumble existence, using physical force when necessary to get what he wanted. He is or was a KGB agent and used his position to gain access to a variety of secrets of other governments, which were a major interest to him.

With his KGB background, it can be said that he is a dangerous person with whom to associate.

President Trump and some of our government representatives seem to be cultivating a relationship with this Communist government more interested in gaining control of other countries  including the United States of America. Do they not realize what these people with their background are after?

Trump should take a closer look at what Russia did to the Ukraine. Does he really think he can have a peaceful and profitable relationship with Putin? Apparently, he thinks he can.

The people that Trump and his family are associating with are KGB trained to take advantage of others who are naive enough to think they are on equal ground. Trump may wake up before it is too late, but he does not listen very well, as evidenced by his time as president.

Our country has probably never had an administration wrecked by so many squabbles, inter-family problems, resignations and accusations. Trump does not seem interested in resolving them. His answer is always to blame to others, accusing them of creating fake news. In the words spoken many years ago by Gov. Frank Clement of Tennessee, how long, America, o how long.
Maryland cross country: Hubs' Stine, Leopards girls each finish second

North Hagerstown sophomore Lauren Stine had the top performance by a Washington County athlete, placing second in the Class 3A girls race.
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The Statesville woman who became an overnight celebrity after a chance encounter with Channing Tatum this week said she didn't even know who the heartthrob actor was during his visit to the West Front Street Sunoco station.
NEWTON  A teen made his first appearance before Catawba County District Court Wednesday, less than 24 hours after being charged with the murder of a Newton man.

Lennon Riley Henderson, 16, was charged with the murder of Harry Lewis Bruner Jr., 40, with the possibility of life in prison without parole if convicted.

According to family members, Henderson and Bruner were related.

Bruners body was found in his home north of Maiden Saturday morning off of U.S. Highway 321 Business after firefighters responded to a fire in his home.

The cause of the fire is still being investigated by the Catawba County Fire Marshals Office and North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.

Catawba County Sheriff Coy Reid said Tuesday in an interview that autopsy reports revealed a single gunshot wound to Bruner.

We believe someone set the fire once they shot (Bruner), Reid said Tuesday, with the suspect now being identified as Henderson.

We do know that (Bruner) did have a large amount of cash that he had come into, and we havent been able to find that, Reid said.

Catawba County District Court Judge Clifton Smith presided over the hearing.

Henderson opted for court-appointed council, and was appointed Mitch Walker as an attorney.

Assistant District Attorney Corey MacKinnon was in attendance representing the 25th District Attorneys Office.

Tonda Mabe, Bruners half-sister, spoke about her reaction to Saturdays incident after the hearing Wednesday.

Shock, Mabe said, describing her reaction. Its a tragedy, its going to tear the family further apart.

I just want everybody to be in prayer for all of us, Mabe said. I dont know what else to say, its just a tragedy.

Mabe said that Bruner loved poetry and was an avid collector of numerous items, including comics, knives and guns.

Bayleigh Henderson, Lennons sister, and her husband Tyler Roberts were in attendance for Wednesdays hearing as well.

Hes a sweet and caring kid, Henderson said about her brother.

Hes innocent, Roberts said. He was set up.

Roberts claimed two other men, former friends of Lennon Henderson, carried out the crime and pinned the blame on Lennon. Bayleigh Henderson agreed with her husbands statement.

No bond was set by Smith on Henderson, with a probable cause hearing date set for Aug. 28.
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Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar has always gone the extra mile. During his promoting spree, his immense love for the defence forces was evident.

The 49-year-old actor, who was in the national capital to promote his upcoming movie Toilet Ek Prem Katha, visited the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force.

Taking to Twitter, he posted a picture with a caption, Lovely visiting the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force this morning. Nothing but deepest respect for their never-dying spirit!

Lovely visiting the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force this morning. Nothing but deepest respect for their never-dying spirit! pic.twitter.com/UiKeNN6b3K  Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) August 9, 2017

Varun Dhawan was also present at the occasion. Got to spend the day with our commandos at the indo-Tibet border police camp. #realheroes #inspired, he tweeted.

Got to spend the day with our commandos at the indo-Tibet border police camp. #realheroes #inspired. pic.twitter.com/GKyASkDBe3  Varun Dhawan (@Varun_dvn) August 9, 2017

Meanwhile, Akshay is doing all it takes to raise curiosity around his film. He recently collaborated with Kaya Constructs to make public toilets in many cities, including Delhi and Mumbai too.

Asked if he plans a special screening of Toilet Ek Prem Katha for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose Swachh Bharat Abhiyan forms the crux of the film Akshay said, I would love to show it to him, but I am sure he has lots to do for our country rather than just watching this film. But yes, wed love to show it to him.

Helmed by Shree Narayan Singh, Toilet Ek Prem Katha also stars Bhumi Pednekar and Anupam Kher in a pivotal role. The film releases on August 11.

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When I first saw the trailer of Toilet: Ek Prem Katha, I marvelled at how an issue like open defecation could become the subject of a Bollywood romance.

The Hindi film industry has always tried to play an important role on matters of social reform and change. If I grew up on a routine dose of films like Bimal Roys Sujata, which adroitly took on the issue of casteism, I also came to appreciate V Shantarams works like Do Aankhen Baarah Haath  a cinematic bid at ensuring jail reforms. Through stories, song-and-dance sequences and lilting melodies, these films gently nudged us to bring in change.

Who can forget Raj Kapoors socially relevant films of the 1950s, often written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas and VP Sathe? That was then...

When I recently watched the trailer of Shubh Mangal Saavdhan, a remake of hit Tamil comedy Kalyana Samayal Saadham, I couldnt help but smile at how wonderfully it had tackled a serious issue such as erectile dysfunction. A couple of years ago, Vicky Donor bravely dealt with sperm donation while having us in splits at the same time.

Akshay Kumars film Toilet: Ek Prem Katha attempts to tackle the issue of open defecation. (TEPKTheFilm/Facebook)

Even though social customs such caste, sati and window remarriage were passionately debated in the past, nobody wanted to talk about sex, personal hygiene and even health concerns. Thankfully, thats not the case anymore.

These were pretty much my sentiments when I saw the first trailer of Toilet: Ek Prem Katha. Its lead actor, Akshay Kumar, deserves a pat on the back for bringing a social taboo out in the open and forcing people to think. To be fair, he has been doing this for a while now  he even approaches patriotism through the prism of self-reflection and change rather than enemy-bashing.

Watching that scene from the trailer where a woman beckons Bhumi Pednekar to join the lota party who are waiting for her belcome (welcome) brought back memories of the stories I heard growing up. One of them was about my mother, of course.

It was the late 1960s. My mom had been married for four years. A wedding at my paternal aunts ancestral village forced everybody to relocate there for a while.

My uncle was a prosperous zamindar. His house was a large and spacious one, quite unlike my grandfathers cloistered place in Sambalpur  my ancestral hometown in Odisha. As it was their first function, everybody was in attendance.

A recent survey by Quality Council of India (QCI) conducted in 4626 villages across India found only 62.54% households have access to toilets. (TEPKTheFilm/Facebook)

My uncle, of course, played the perfect host without bothering to note that his home did not have toilets. No household in the village  rich or poor  had one, and even the residents century-old association with the British did not succeed in changing that. In fact, having a toilet in the home was thought to be polluting. You had to go the fields to perform this unclean act.

Matters of privacy were the least of their concerns. The fact that it could be particularly problematic for women never really crossed their minds. It didnt matter that not everybody feels the urge to defecate in the morning. An accidental snake or insect bite? You must be kidding!

My mother was married into a family of humble means, but her own family was better off. My maternal grandfathers home had an Indian-style toilet since the time it was built back in early 1950s. Growing up, mom never faced such issues. But married life threw up a whole new challenge.

Back in the village, a day before the wedding, mom was jolted out of sleep by my aunt to join her in the fields. She was mortified to know the reason, but found herself unable to refuse. So, out they went into the darkness with a lantern and a lota. The fields were empty with not a soul in sight, and the stillness of the dark morning seemed to ensure some privacy. Cold comfort  mom refused to join in, choosing to stand at a distance. My aunt, however, was not encumbered by any such qualm. She was used to the routine, having been married into this milieu at the tender age of 14.

Those two days were the most miserable in my moms life; she ate little and drank next to nothing. It was only when she returned home, back to familiar surroundings, that she finally started breathing easy.

A maternal aunt of mine also faced a similar situation. Married off at the age of fifteen in the mid 1950s, she was packed off to the familys ancestral village. My uncle, an irrigation engineer, was posted in far-flung places where family accommodation was not allowed. Stuck in a new place all by herself, she was clearly uncomfortable in her surroundings.

But while other matters could eventually be tackled in the long run, what she simply couldnt adjust to was the custom of open defecation  a norm in the village. Distraught, she cried her heart out during her next visit to her parents place. Worried for his daughters well-being, my grandfather had a word with her in-laws  after which she stayed in their Cuttack home (which had all the necessary arrangements). In time, a toilet was constructed at their village home.

Years later, while doing a story on Dr Bindeshwar Pathak  founder of the Sulabh Sanitation and Social Reform Movement  I visited his office in Delhi. During a tour of the premises, he showed me a model of their cheap and easy-to-install Indian toilet that consumed less water as well. Dr Pathak had come up with this solution while dealing with that scourge called manual scavenging, which  unfortunately  is still prevalent in India.

In the process, I realised that open defecation is still in practice because of an age-old habit. In fact, a recent survey by Quality Council of India (QCI) conducted in 4626 villages across India found only 62.54% households have access to toilets  the number in Bihar was 30% while Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand followed at 37%. The situation in parts of urban India is no different where open defecation is still seen where people dont have access to a toilet.

Its time the call against it became a mass movement. Films like Toilet: Ek Prem Katha should be a move in the right direction.

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Bollywood actor Sitaram Panchal, best known for his performance in Irrfan Khans Paan Singh Tomar, died Thursday morning after a three-year-long battle against lung cancer. Panchal worked with Akshay Kumar (Jolly LLB 2), Irrfan Khan (Paan Singh Tomar) and several other A-listers of the industry. He was 54.

The actor complained of breathlessness earlier in the morning and was rushed to the hospital. He passed away there at around 7.45 am. His last rites will take place this evening.

Sitaram Panchal with his wife and son.

He died today morning. He was suffering from cancer and was unwell. He wasnt keeping well in the last few months, family sources said.

Panchal was suffering from kidney and lung cancer and was also facing financial crisis. Last month, he had put up social media posts seeking financial help for his treatment. Speaking to HT, his wife Uma had said hes been bedridden for the past 10 months. Ever since the cancer was detected in January 2014, he has taken Ayurvedic treatment. It was only recently that he started a new homeopathic medicine, following which, his condition worsened and we discontinued the medicines, she said.

Sitaram celebrated his 26th wedding anniversary on Wednesday. His son, Rishabh, posted a picture of the actor and wished his parents.

Even after Haryana government offered Rs 5 lakh for the actors treatment, he continued his Ayurvedic medicine and did not switch to allopathic treatment.

The Cine & TV Artistes Association (CINTAA) also posted about Sitarams condition and sought help from well wishers. A fund raiser had also been created for the cause and it reportedly collected Rs 1,06,575. The description for the fund0-raiser said, Actors like Sitaram Panchal are at the bottom of the Bollywood pyramid. They dont get paid as well as the top celebrities nor do they have those many connections. However these actors work just as hard to make our Bollywood movies a delight to watch. When these actors fall in trouble, they dont have a large safety net to rely on.

Sitaram has also worked in Bandit Queen, Slumdog Millionnaire, Peepli Live and The Legend of Bhagat Singh.

(With PTI inputs)

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There is a certain joy in visiting your alma mater, and actor Neha Dhupia experienced the same when she visited Delhi Universitys Jesus and Mary College (JMC) on Wednesday. The insta-active actor, started posting stories about her visit even before entering the college campus, and kept her followers updated.

I am so excited! Cant believe Im here after all these years. And, from what Ive heard, there are 2000 girls waiting to talk to me. I dont even know what Im gonna talk on, said Neha.

An Instagramstory that actor Neha Dhupia shared during her visit to her alma mater. (Neha SDhupia/Instagram)

It wasnt hard to imagine the excitement of JMC girls, on meeting their star-senior, and the continuous camera flashes were testimony. I was so excited to see Neha. The best part was that she wasnt here to promote anything; she just came to meet her college juniors. We had a fun interactive session, where she answered our queries without any hesitation. She shared her memories of JMC and made us feel so proud of our college, says Ankita Kamra, a JMCite.

There's no joy like coming back to your alma mater. So much has changed yet everything feels familiar. #JesusandMaryCollege Gosh! These girls know how to make someone feel special. thank you for everything. My way way way juniors...  #backtocollege A post shared by Neha Dhupia (@nehadhupia) on Aug 9, 2017 at 12:30pm PDT

Filled with nostalgia, Neha walked to her classroom through the hallways, and even conversed with the present principal and the staff. Reminiscing her college days, Neha said, Thats where my class used to be; in this very corridor. This is kinda nostalgic and I may cry, but I have fake eyelashes and I dont wanna mess that up!

As the girls bid her a teary farewell, one among them, Shruti, said: Her connect with the college is so strong. I think, I love JMC a little more now because of her.

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Bollywood actor Richa Chadha, who is gearing up for her upcoming film, Fukrey Returns, has been down with swine flu and has been on a break for the last one week. However, the actor was present at the teaser launch of Fukrey Returns, the sequel to the surprise hit Fukrey (2013), but kept her interaction to a minimum.

Aamir Khan and wife Kiran Rao have also been diagnosed with the disease and have been away from public events ever since. They are being treated at their residence.

Actors Pulkit Samrat, Richa Chadda, Varun Sharma and Manjot Singh along with director Mrighdeep Singh Lamba during the special preview of their upcoming film Fukrey Returns in Mumbai on Aug 8. (IANS)

When asked about her illness, she told Indian Express later, Yes. I am better now. Had to go to the Fukrey event as well last night. Feeling weak, but better now. Earlier, she posted a picture where we can see her wearing a face mask. She wrote on Instagram, I wasnt taking a break. so God gave me one. Hehe. #MeTime?

I wasn't taking a break so God gave me one. Hehe. #MeTime? A post shared by Richa Chadha (@therichachadha) on Aug 4, 2017 at 7:22am PDT

Aamir Khan and his wife Kiran Rao could not attend the Satyamev Jayate Water Cup 2017 prize distribution programme at Balewadi on Sunday (August 6) evening as they were infected with H1N1 virus. Shah Rukh Khan attended the event on Aamirs request. In a video message, Aamir had said, We really wanted to attend the ceremony, but recently, after a test, I was diagnosed with H1N1, that is swine flu...I have been asked to take rest and cannot go and attend any public function so I am skipping the event so that others do not contract it.

Directed by Mrighdeep Singh Lamba and co-produced by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani, Fukrey Returns also features Pulkit Samrat, Ali Fazal, Manjot Singh, along with Richa. Fukrey Returns is set for a theatrical release on December 8.

Meanwhile, Richa is riding high on the success of her debut web series, Inside Edge. The actor was first recognised for Anurag Kashyaps Gangs of Wasseypur (2012) where she played the role of Manoj Bajpayees wife.

Watch Fukrey Returns teaser here:

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Television actor Shweta Tiwaris daughter Palak, is ready to make her Bollywood debut with the film, Quickie.Made by Oddball Motion Pictures, the film is a teen comedy. Talking about her debut, Palak says, This is my first film and I am really looking forward to it. I just hope it will be a great journey, like I expected it to be, and people will appreciate this film.

The film will feature Palak alongside Darsheel Safary of Taare Zameen Par fame. Sharing her experience of working with him Palak says, I have a great time working with Darsheel. He is very experienced and a great actor. It was really fun working with him.

The film tells the story of two teenage strangers who decide to have a one-night stand in a city that never sleeps. The film also features Bhavin Bhanushali, Prabhjyot Singh, Caitlin Burke, Vinny Miranda, among others.

Writer and director of the film, Pradip Atluri says, Teen Comedy is an unexplored and a neglected genre in India. Imagine the stories that can come out of twisted hormones and questioning minds. Most of our so called teenage films have characters who are 20 to 30 years old. The idea was to make a teenage film with real teenagers. Darsheel, 20, and Prabhjyot fit the bill instantly, but finding the lead actress became a difficult task. We auditioned hundreds of girls, and even thought that maybe we should go with an older girl. But after 4 months of searching, we came across Palak, 17, who blew us away with her acting skills, subtle expressions, and confidence in the audition. Also the fact that she is a teenager helps her to get into the character easily and aids her performance.

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Twinkle Khanna has vented on Twitter about how frustrated she is with her daughters hair, and is looking for tricks to cut it. The author and former actor came up with the idea that she will cut 4-year-old Nitaras hair and blame it on the braid-chopping gang.

The baby refuses to trim her hair! Should I snip it at night & blame the braid chopping entity who it seems has now moved to bombay as well?, she wrote in the tweet.

The writers fans also joined her in on the joke. One commented that she should do it and blame it on God, another urged her not to dis-tress her daughter. Please dont dis-tress the baby. Her grandma will be displeased for sure, he wrote.

The baby refuses to trim her hair!Should I snip it at night & blame the braid chopping entity who it seems has now moved to bombay as well?  Twinkle Khanna (@mrsfunnybones) August 9, 2017

Another fan gave her better ideas on how to get her daughter to cut her hair. Rupande Mehta wrote, I tell mine your hair wont grow if you dont trim it. It works every time. Mona Arora said, Try n convince her with hope of healthier n better hair quality .. rest you know how to weave story for enlighting news to ya baby.

Actors Kushal Tandon and Jennifer Winget also poked fun at the phenomenon with a funny picture.

Hey winget I know ur tired of your braid,let me take care of those......#braid in# braid outto cut or not to cut !@jenniferwinget1 A post shared by Kushal Tandon (@therealkushaltandon) on Aug 6, 2017 at 12:56am PDT

Hey winget I know ur tired of your braid,let me take care of those, he wrote as the caption.

Over the last few days, many women in villages of Delhi, Gurgaon and across Haryana have complained of their hair being chopped off while they were either sleeping or unconscious. Panicked villagers suspect black magic and have been resorting to superstition to safeguard themselves  such as hanging chillies and lemons to ward off evil spirits. Rumours, ghost stories and suspicions of witchcraft are being bandied around among villagers, while women have been advised to tie their hair while travelling.

Its difficult to sift what is real from the chaff. The incidents have been blamed on several culprits  strange-looking men, a woman dressed all in black and even a woman who takes the shape of a cat. Police say they have been scouring CCTV footage, but suspect that the braid-chopping is the handiwork of anti-social elements. No arrests have been made yet.

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Sanjay Dutt, who is making a comeback to films with Bhoomi, shared that he was really nervous on the first day of the shoot. I was very nervous on the first day but when the first shot was okay, I got into the rhythm, he said, during the launch of his movies trailer.

The Munna Bhai star also revealed that launching the trailer today was an intentional decision, to mark his daughter Trishalas birthday. Yes, it was an intentional decision. It is her birthday today. We miss her here. No better day to release the trailer, said Dutt.

The trailer shows Sanjay and Aditi who share a strong bond but a tragic turn of events gives a traumatic twist to their lives. At almost three minutes, the video may seem slightly lengthy but brings forth the anger and the love that a hurt father nurtures.

Further during the event, Dutt spoke about his biopic and noted that he shares a great relationship with Ranbir, not because of the film, but because of the relationship that their families share. Adding, I hope nothing has been shown about my love life in the movie.

When asked whether he was skeptical about what parts of his life will be shown in the biopic, Dutt stated, I was not skeptical at all because Raju, me and Abhijaat sat for many many hours and I played the cards right out in front of them. Ive got nothing to hide and I have never had nothing to hide.

He even talked about wife Maanayata and sister Priya, My relationship with Maanayata and my children helped me. Priya was very close to my dad, that too helped me for the role.

Directed by Omung Kumar and produced by Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Sandeep Singh and Omung Kumar, Bhoomi is slated to release on September 22.

The Sanjay Dutt starrer is all set to lock horns with Shraddha Kapoors Haseena Parkar, which also releases on September 22.
In the early 1990s in Bombay, poetry, or prose for that matter, was not about getting prizes. Or even being recognized in a bookshop or a restaurant. It was a defiant and dangerous personal vocation. Something like the helpless inner voice that urges a prospective Christ to climb his cross as a matter of course, and drive the first nail with his free hand.

Poetry was a romantic, seemingly interminable act of self sacrifice. First it required a measure of self abuse. Then with luck words came. And they would sound real. For better or worse, that has changed . Writing is a career now. A performance. A mime of the self. A frantic if studied method to hang on to what may not be there anytime now: an award, a fellowship, a flung nickel, an air ticket. And it involves one of the most tiring tasks an intelligent human can embark on: self promotion.

Vijay Nambisan was capable of neither. In one of Vijays prose works, Language as Ethic, he argues from the heartand shores up those arguments from his phenomenal intellect  that at the core of communication is not even words and images, but integrity. Devoid of it, language assumes a political and manipulative nature. On the surface of it, the premise sounds like the plea of an honest man to all to be good. But it explains, typical of Vijays work, as in a flash, why a whole culture is incapable of facing up to truth at just about every level. And a peoples proneness to collective delusions.

In the Bombay of the 90s there was a bunch of people from different generations who, more or less, spoke the then young Vijays alien language: poetry. Dom Moraes, Arun Kolatkar, Adil Jussawalla, Nissim Ezekiel, Eunice De Souza, Jeet Thayyil to name a few. In my perception, at that time, among the senior poets Dom was closer to youngsters like us than the others. Dom was particularly encouraging of Jeet, Vijay, and me, regular visitors to Doms residence in Sargent House, Allana Road, Colaba.

In the Bombay of the 90s there was a bunch of people from different generations  like writer-poet Dom Moraes (left) and publisher David Davidar who, more or less, spoke the then young Vijays alien language: poetry.

Dom had written, perhaps excessively kind, introductions and blurbs for the three of us, and recommended us to David Davidar, who published the now landmark Penguin Gemini series. As far as I can recall  and there is not much I am able to forget  most of us were on some mood altering substance or the other most of the time, and had a certain contempt for what Vijay described as the Corporate Poet. And he did not mean just poet. He was against suits, boots, hats. And an equal measure of contempt for time; why else would we all try so desperately to fast-forward our clocks?

One of the accidental meeting points of the younger lot of poets was the Debonair magazine, whose office then was in Worli, housed in an unpretentious building. It would be always hot inside. And then there would be areas where it was wintry. The air conditioning was uneven. At the time, Anil Dharker was running it, and, like a classic literary editor, he was open to new writers. The poetry editor for a while, if I recall correctly, was Imtiaz Dharker.

When Dharker quit, Adil Jussawalla took over. It was at this time that I first met Vijay. I had gone there, mid-morning, to follow up on an article; Vijay was in Adils cabin. He saw me and came out, grinning like he had met a cousin long lost. We went down to the bar round the corner and had a few. Sometime in the twilight hours, we parted, and all I could take away from that meeting was that I was supposed to meet him the next morning, at his paying guest room, close by.

I went, nursing the by now familiar hangover, and knocked on the door. Vijay opened it, but his face had undergone drastic restructuring. The night before he had fallen flat down the stairs on his chin, and was lighter for three or four teeth. There was blood on the stairs. I went back, in search of phantoms similar to Vijay. But could not find too many  even over the years.

Adil Jussawalla (in picture) took over as the poetry editor of the Debonair magazine after Imtiaz Dharker quit in the 90s. (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT Photo)

I mention these details of the inner workings in the literary alleys of Bombay of that rather unchronicled decade because Vijay stuck to that life, took several more falls. Lost more than his teeth.

The others moved on or tried to move from that unforgiving, transgressive life, in which words had to be bought with a little bit of life in exchange, an unsustainable trade.

Vijay bought into solitude, sometimes hating it, sometimes, choice-less, loving it. It gave him, I imagine, a martyrs identity. He was the knight of poetry, and he was going to ride the horse of life to death. The smarter among his friends veered away from that track.

Through it all, Vijay wrote. Not much, but a little that said a lot. For him it was hard to separate a way of living from a way of writing. To create, he had to destroy. And his own body seemed the closest at hand.

He knew what he was doing. And, to me, it felt like a kind of vengeance. I was not sure vengeance against what. Most likely against himself. Between suicide and murder, he would choose the first. He knew his ways of life hurt people who loved him the most; his family; his very caring wife, Dr Kaveri Nambisan, a fine novelist herself. A few times, he went off alcohol; but he unerringly came back to, as he puts in a different contest, in Reminders of Gain : The call of the arrow/Summons the bow//

There are the usual articles doing the rounds that Vijay was a recluse. That word is a much-prostituted one in literary descriptions because it is used as if reclusion is a kind of extreme glamour of the eccentric. But then this is a place where the press described him as the first all India poetry champion in 1988.

The truth was that Vijay was dysfunctional. The only place he could be himself and find a transcendental value was in the world of words. He was close to a few people. That kept shifting. For a while, or so I think, he was quite my comrade in arms; in alms, too. The early years in Bombay for instance. Then we drifted. In his later phase, he was perhaps close to Jeet.

Vijay Nambisan was close to poet and writer Jeet Thayil. (Pradeep Gaur/Mint)

In between, I moved to Pune to head the Times of Indias edition there. Vijay and Kaveri had taken up a house in Lonavla, where he said the clouds passed through his head, if he opened the window. I never did make it to Lonavla.

In the car from office to my house once, Vijay said, You have become a different man. All the while I wondered how to tuck him in bed, given his slightly accusatory mood. This was around the time he had done a rare, cadenced translation of selected portions of Poonthanams Jnana Paana, (Song of Wisdom).

Poonthanam was a great 16th century Bhakti poet who more or less wrote the rules of the Malayalam language and literature. He was a devotee of Krishna, especially after the accidental death of his infant child. Poothanams rival in Krishna bhakti was Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri, a rather superior  he was one of Indias first astronomers, and he was a great mathematician and linguist as well  brahmin who wrote, Narayaneeyam in Sanskrit. Poothanams work made literature accessible to the Malayalee non-brahmin. One of the great questions in Malayalam literature has been: Which work is better? Or which works better?

When Vijay said he was going to translate these ancient poets to English, I remember asking him, whos going to read it. Vijay asked for some salt. Because he sweated a lot, he would mix salt in alcohol. It was all quite scientific at one level. I got him salt. He blew some smoke in my direction and grinned his famous grin. He didnt care. Thats what he meant. The market did not enter into the world of his words. His integrity was a voice that he could ever rely on to impel him to triumphs and disasters.

Later, he said the translation was no easy job. Though Vijay, like quite a few IIT-ians, had a photographic memory, he was not fluent in reading or writing Malayalam, even though he asserted his provenance and ethnicity wherever possible.

What he did was to ask his father  who, when I met him once at his home in Bangalore, seemed both proud and worried about his prodigal son  for literal translations and then trans-created it beautifully into rhythmic wisdom.

Consider the opening lines of his work: O yesterday the things we did not know would come!/And O the things we do not know will come today!/Now we behold those soon pass away!/ We are not told how long theyll stay with us.

There is a touch of Hamlet here: Theres a special providence in the fall of a sparrow. If it be now, tis not to come. If it be not to come, it will be now. If it be not now, yet it will come  the readiness is all.

At the time when the book came out, it was mostly criticized for his self-confessed ignorance of the vernacular, and his own agnosticism. To my mind, it was a spectacular act of literary courage, though not easy to distinguish from self indulgence, and dare.

Through it all Vijay drank. Went into detox. Came out. Wrote. Smoked. He smoked, I had often thought, as an antidote to alcohol. It was a break from what he was doing to his liver. For this, he had to destroy his throat and lungs. Either way, he would pay a price.

He paid it. Because the rest of the world of his 90s had changed. They had become gentrified. All the more reason he had to stay the course. He was the last man standing. What he thought of the change he said a few years ago in Outlook: Eighteen of the happiest months in my life were spent in rural Bihar. It may sound like reverse snobbery, but I cant help that. My wife and I were honoured members of the community, no one tried or wanted to shoot us, and the nuns looked after us like friends. What more could we want? A Learjet?

This was the stay that went into the writing of his funny and insightful work: Bihar is in the Eye of the Beholder. It explained, as perhaps only a poet could, the intricate workings of a place that failed to work. And still survived like a trick that explained the tawdry magic of India. This book too was commissioned by David Davidar of Penguin, with whom Vijay had a productive relationship.

Thats saying a lot. Vijays ties changed with the tides of his mind. People betrayed him, by just not calling him up. In his mind, and I believe he is right, he was one of the few genuine artistes who deserved recognition, but would do nothing outside the covers of his books, to wangle it.

His latest collection, which was released last year, First Infinities, has some remarkable poems. It was perhaps justly brought out by an alternative publishing house, Hemant Diwates Poetrywala. Some of the poems suffer from a certain vulnerability to fall into the rhymes and rhythms, which take the poet away from the place he intended to end up in when he set out. But more often than not, the music ends in notes you did not think resided in them. Its only the fine permutation of the words that makes possible a beauty which was not there till Vijay thought it up:

Snow

Crisp in the winters morning,

Softly all through the night,

What is this without warning,

Falling and white?

I have never seen snow

But I can imagine it quite 

Not how it tastes, but I know

It falls and is white.

One morning Ill open the door

To bring in the mornings milk,

And all around therell be snow 

Fallen and still.

How Ill roll in the stuff!

How Ill tumble and spin!

Until the neighbours cry, Enough!

And send me back in.

These are times when people die to live. Vijay lived to die. And write. I am glad I walked part of the way with him. He was the light. And he burnt furiously while he was there.

C P Surendran is a poet, novelist, and journalist.
Indias largest Internet firm Flipkart Ltd has raised a fresh round of capital from SoftBank Vision Fund, increasing the companys cash reserves to more than $4 billion in its battle against arch-rival Amazon India.

Flipkart didnt disclose the amount but said that the SoftBank investment comprises a mix of primary and secondary capital. Mint had reported earlier that SoftBank would invest more than $1.5 billion in Flipkart by putting in fresh capital and buying shares from Tiger Global Management, Flipkarts largest shareholder. Mint couldnt immediately ascertain the exact amount of the deal.

The SoftBank investment, which has been reported by Mint and other publications for months, comes after Flipkarts proposed takeover of Snapdeal, SoftBanks portfolio company, collapsed last week.

This is a monumental deal for Flipkart and India. Very few economies globally attract such overwhelming interest from top-tier investors. It is recognition of Indias unparalleled potential to become a leader in technology and e-commerce on a massive scale. SoftBanks proven track record of partnering with transformative technology leaders has earned it the reputation of being a visionary investor, Flipkart co-founders Binny Bansal and Sachin Bansal said in a joint statement.

Flipkart said the SoftBank investment, which is the biggest-ever private investment in an Indian technology company, will make the Vision Fund one of the largest shareholders in the online retailer.

The investment is part of the latest financing round into Flipkart, which had raised $1.4 billion from Tencent, eBay and Microsoft in April.

We want to support innovative companies that are clear winners in India because they are best positioned to leverage technology and help people lead better lives. As the pioneers in Indian e-commerce, Flipkart is doing that every day, said Masayoshi Son, chairman and CEO of SoftBank Group Corp.
The government will continue to support Air India during the disinvestment process and honour committed financial obligations till any further direction, Union minister Jayant Sinha told the Lok Sabha on Thursday.

In a written reply, he said cost reduction steps coupled with the implementation of the turnaround plan has resulted in an improved performance of Air India as it is showing a turnaround on both operational and financial parameters

A group of ministers, headed by finance minister Arun Jaitley, is looking at the modalities for strategic disinvestment of Air India and its five subsidiaries. In June, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) gave its in- principle approval for the disinvestment.

During the disinvestment process, the government would continue to support Air India as per approved turnaround plan and would honour committed financial obligations till any further direction, Sinha said in another written reply.

The minister of state for civil aviation was responding to a question on whether the disinvestment process would affect the fiscal discipline of the airline.

The turnaround plan, which was approved by the previous UPA government in 2012, for the loss-making Air India provides for equity infusion of Rs 30,231 crore up to 2021, subject to the national carrier achieving certain milestones.

As part of the plan, various steps have been taken to cut costs and losses. These include route rationalisation and enhanced utilisation of new fleet.

In one of the written replies, the minister said Air India has been suffering net losses over the past many years.

However, these losses have been gradually coming down and in 2015-16 fiscal, the company has posted a moderate operating profit, he added.

The airline has a debt burden of more than Rs 50,000 crore.

Sinha said Air India has constituted an integration cell to redress the employees grievances arising due to anomalies in increment, high personal pay, PF protection and drop in salary etc.

Besides, there are open house meetings by Air Indias CMD and ED (Integration) as well as station visits by the CMD to carry out inspection and meetings with employees.

The minister was replying to a query on whether Air India has changed the work environment and work culture for their employees to make the organisation more competitive and check further losses.

When asked about the reaction of the employees to these measures, Sinha said, employees reaction is positive and morale is also high.

On whether Air India has drawn up a proposal to offer voluntary retirement scheme to around 15,000 employees before disinvestment, he replied in the negative.

The minister also said the airline has not purchased any aircraft in the last three years.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday said it will pay Rs 30,659 crore dividend to the government for the year ended June 30, less than half of what it paid in the previous year.

The cental bank had in the previous year paid Rs 65,876 crore dividend to the government.

The Reserve Banks Central Board, at its meeting held today, approved the transfer of surplus to the Government of India amounting to Rs 30,659 crore for the year ended June 30, 2017, RBI said in a statement.

It did not give reasons for paying less dividend.

RBI had in 2014-15 paid Rs 65,896 crore dividend and Rs 52,679 crore in the year prior to that.

The dividend payout was less than Rs 33,010 crore in 2012-13.
Haryana BJP chiefs son Vikas Barala and his friend Ashish Kumar will appear in a Chandigarh court on Thursday, a day after their arrest on charges of trying to kidnap a disc jockey in a case that has caused widespread anger.

The two were arrested five days after they allegedly followed 29-year-old Varnika Kundus car in a midnight chase in Chandigarh, the shared capital of the states of Punjab and Haryana.

During the 20 minutes they followed her, their SUV pulled up close to her car several times and even tried to block her way, Kundu said in her complaint to police.

The harassment created uproar and raised question about safety of women in Chandigarh, considered a safe city for them, and rest of the country.

The case has also embarrassed the ruling BJP, which has launched a save daughters campaign targeted at states such as Haryana notorious for female infanticide.

The Opposition has accused the party of trying to shield the accused and demanded the resignation of Vikass father Subhash Barala. The party has defended its Haryana chief, saying the father cant be held responsible for his sons alleged misdeeds.

After initial flip-flops that invited charges of going soft on the accused, the Chandigarh Police on Thursday slapped stringent charges of attempt to kidnap and attempt to commit offence punishable with life imprisonment against the two men.

The arrests and new charges are based on legal opinion, new pieces of evidence in the form of CCTV footage, statement of witnesses and the map of the route, Chandigarh director general of police Tajender Singh Luthra said.

Barala and Kumar were briefly arrested on August 5 but were released as charges against them, including stalking, were bailable.
Uttarakhand can take a leaf out of Tamil Nadus book to appoint retired divisional forest officers as honorary wildlife wardens to keep a check on poaching and illegal wildlife trade.

Drought-hit Tamil Nadu shares boundary with Karnataka which is home to one of the largest tiger populations in India. Both the states were once the theatre of notorious poacher Veerapan. Tamil Nadu lost two tigers this year as compared to Uttarakhands 11, according to the National Tiger Conservation Authoritys official database Tigernet.

Uttarakhand has 24,240 sqkm (45.32%) under forests of its total 53, 483 sq km of geographical area. The forest department comprises 13 circles, 44 divisions, 284 ranges and 1,569 beat.

The warden system was abolished after Uttarakhand was carved out of Uttar Pradesh in 2000. Prior to the bifurcation, honorary wardens were present in eastern, western, trans Himalayan and in northern divisions. The forest department had demanded four honorary wildlife wardens in 2014 for Kotdwar, Gopeshwar, Ramnagar and Dharchula. Later, it was scaled down to two - one each in Garhwal and Kumaon. The file is, however, gathering dust at the state secretariat.

Chapter II, clause 4 (b) of The Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 lays provision of appointment of chief wildlife warden, wildlife wardens, honorary wildlife wardens (appointed in protected areas) and other officer necessary for conducting various duties.

Under the Wildlife Protection Act and the Indian Penal Code, honorary wildlife wardens are deemed as public servants and have powers to initiate investigation, arrest and even search during the time of emergency. And, all this come without paying any salary to them.

Its been more than three years since the proposal of anti-poaching cell was submitted to the government which had a flagship point of appointing honorary wildlife wardens, additional principal chief conservator of forest, wildlife and intelligence, Dhananjai Mohan said.

Contrast it with the situation in Tamil Nadu, the southern state recently appointed 20 honorary wildlife wardens to check wildlife crime. I dont know of any such proposal. And if there is one, I will consider it. We will also engage our retired staff as they have experience, forest minister Harak Singh Rawat told Hindustan Times.

Former principal chief conservator of forest (PCCF) Srikant Chandola asserted the warden system was of immense support to the intelligence network before the state was formed. The wardens used to lead sources which helped in cracking wildlife crime even before it was committed.

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Gorkhas from India and Nepal will begin a walk from Haridwar till Kathmandu on Friday to mobilise public opinion for reinstating the Himalayan country as a Hindu nation.

The chief coordinator of the walk, Padam Prasad Subedi, said the campaign would commence on Friday from the banks of sacred Ganga and conclude at Pashupathi Nath temple in Kathmandu on April 14. Subedi has arrived in Haridwar with dozens of volunteers from Nepal.

We are getting overwhelming support from both Nepal and India for this initiative that will restore Nepals unique identity across the globe as being a fully Hindu nation, he said.

Spiritual-religious gurus of India are also supporting us. Jagad Guru Shankaracharya Swami Raj Rajeshwaram Maharaj and Mahamandaleshwar Shyam Sundar Das Shastri will welcome and bless volunteers undertaking this yatra, said Subedi.

Acharya Hari Haranand, who is mobilising Indian saints for this movement, said at the sanctum sanctorum of Braham Kund, Har-Ki-Pauri, religious rituals will be held, seeking Gangas blessing for fulfilment of our objective.

Shamsher Bahadur, Gorkha Sandesh foundation founder, said: We are mobilising Hindus both in Nepal and India to restore the hill country as the lone Hindu nation. 82% of Nepals population is Hindu. If Arab countries and Pakistan can declare themselves as Muslim nations, why not Nepal as Hindu nation.

The Himalayan nation was the worlds only Hindu monarchy until it became secular after emerging in 2006 from a civil war. Two years later it embraced democracy and abolished the 239-year-old monarchy.
The ministry of civil aviation has shot down the proposal of Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) to increase passenger security fee. The ministry has proposed to create a consolidated fund to meet the security expense at Delhi airport which DIAL had also suggested.

As per plans, sources said, the passenger security fee (PSF) collected from passengers will go to the consolidated fund and all expenses will be managed out of it.

The DIAL, which operates the Delhi airport, had said that there is a need to increase passenger security fee (PSF) as they are unable to carry on day to day security-related operations. Currently, every departing passenger pays Rs 200 as security fee, which DIAL wants to increase. However, a senior ministry official said that increasing the fee is not a solution and is not the right way forward.

If the PSF has remained constant, passenger flow has increased which lead to increase in the money collected. Increasing the fee will not solve anything as after few months the operator will come again for increase in fee, a civil aviation ministry official said.

The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) had recently written to the civil aviation ministry seeking their intervention in releasing dues of about Rs 655.40 crore from DIAL. The ministry is also considering audit of Delhi airports PSF account.

The consolidated fund will be used for salary and other operational expenses. There will be a different fund for security equipment required for the airport. The account of all the airports will be common so that money can be diverted wherever it is required, the official added.

The cost of deployment of CISF is borne by the installation where it is in place and the amount goes to a consolidated fun of Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). MHA pays the salary to CISF.

Sources said, till September 2012, there used to be regular payment but after that DIAL started paying less. DIAL collects R 22-24 crore as passenger security fee (PSF).

Out of the the PSF of Rs 200 collected from each departing passenger, Rs 130 is collected towards security component while Rs 70 is collected as facilitation charge. In 2016-17, DIAL collected Rs 382 crore from passengers but paid Rs 204 crore to CISF claiming rest of the amount is paid as loan interest, service tax and administrative charges.

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A day after an Uber cab driver allegedly abandoned a Delhi-based lawyer and his 60-year-old mother midway after misbehaving with them in Bhondsi area of Gurgaon, the lawyer has sought an apology from the cab aggregator.

Kaushik Barua, 25, has threatened to file a PIL (Public interest Litigation), if Uber does not issue an apology in the media and take corrective steps. The victim hails from Guwahati and has been living in Delhi for the last seven years.

The driver treated us in an inhuman manner. It was raining heavily and he dumped me and my mother without once thinking about our well being, Kaushik said. He also said that the driver should be sent for counselling.

Barua had booked an Uber cab on Monday to go to Saket from Bhondsi after attending a satsang at a farm house. He alleged that the driver forced them to walk in the rain and then misbehaved. He also refused to take them to the destination.

Uber has assured action against the driver.

We have internally reviewed the matter. Uber does not condone racism in any manner or form and we are taking immediate action to address the issue, said an Uber spokesperson, pointing to the allegation that the driver referred to the native place of the passengers.

We sensitise driver partners to treat riders equally and without discrimination of any sort. For us sensitisation begins with our Terms of Use that clearly prohibit discrimination of any kind, be it caste, religion, age, disability, gender, marital status, among others, the spokesperson said.
Its 2017 and its shameful that even in this day and age, women are not safe in India, say women who work late hours .The Chandigarh stalking case has only highlighted the gravity of the problem. Crimes against women in this country seems like a disease with no cure.

Varnika Kundu, the 29-year-old DJ, who lives in Chandigarh, was returning home late night when she was stalked, chased and almost kidnapped by two men driving an SUV. She barely managed to escape. Varnika and her father both shared their ordeal on Facebook. The men were arrested after Varnika filed a complaint, only to be let off because one of them was Vikas Barala, son of Haryana BJP chief Subhash Barala. But later, they were arrested again due to social media pressure. However, BJP state vice-president Ramveer Bhatti questioned the victim while speaking to the media, saying that why she was out was so late in the night? These regressive remarks have now led to a Twitter campaign #AintNoCinderella, where women can be seen posting photos of them enjoying a night out in the city, in an attempt to shame BJP state vice-president Ramveer Bhatti.

We got in touch with Delhi- based female DJs and television anchor Gurbani Judge, who condemn this shameful incident and tell us why their life is not easy.

Gurbani Judge, TV anchor, 29

When these incidents happen and people make statements such as why was she out late?, its hard to come up with words to explain the stupidity of these statements. Its not surprising that offenders will influence/ buy their way out of jail. It happens everywhere. Its sad to see the ignorance of people in this age as well. If things continue this way, women in the country will never be free, they wont be able to live their lives freely.

Sonya Khanna Aka DJ Sonya, 29

Yes, like many other jobs now, DJs have to work at night. People working at restaurants as chefs, servers, people at BPO, cops, journalists, doctors the list is endless. I am from Delhi and I have been tailed and followed a few times after my shows. I generally drive myself to and back from work because I dont trust cab drivers at that hour of the night. What happened in Chandigarh is very sad but then it happens almost everywhere and is absolutely not justified. I have been fortunate enough to run into police cars while I was being followed and they came to my rescue and followed me back home.

Now, being out late in the night does not give anyone the liberty to harass me. After all, the man is out too at the hour and Im not harassing him. In my opinion, a harsh punishment to the offenders should alert everyone who plans to participate in such horrific acts. Also, we need an active helpline for women safety. I tried calling the numbers mentioned on the Internet and no one ever responds. But I truly believe that the fear of harsh punishment will do the job for the time being.

Swati Tewerie Aka DJ Sway, 28

When a female DJ performs on stage,men should respect them, they should respect the art and the artist, instead of getting drunk and trying to reach the console and do stupid things. We go there to make people forget about their worries. We keep everyone on the dance floor the entire night and thats our passion, so please respect that. But these kind of men think that if a female is working late night wearing short clothes, she must be easy. Hence, they try to get close some how, take pictures, and they often send cheesy messages on Facebook. And after the party gets over, they even try to follow the artist. Is that the way to show your manhood ? I have played in many cities and countries but the type of crowd I see in Delhi, Ive never seen any where else. They try hard to show that they are like VIP s, they try to climb on the console after getting drunk. It makes the artist very uncomfortable, but they just dont understand that. Not all the men are like that . But majority of them have money and they are educated and yet they behave like illiterates. I have a question to the crowd who party, get drunk and misbehave with women. Why do you create ruckus and misbehave when you see a pretty girl? Guys , please dont show your manhood by forcing a girl, show it by respecting her and giving her own space to grow.

Gouri Sharma Aka DJ Gouri, 28

Its outrageous that we as females have to deal with this sort of nuisance and torture in 2017. If a guy can go out at night, so can a girl. Its high time we realised that its not a big deal. These guys obviously dont care about the law since they know even if things get out of hand, they can always get out of the situation with the help of their connections. Hats off to Chandigarh police for being assertive and to Varnika for being brave. So many of these incidents dont come out, as people dont want to share because of what might follow. We surely should expose them so that they realise and feel guilty for what they have done.

There are times when guys abuse, pass lewd comments or insult us on social media. It kind of boosts their ego. Its a brave thing that we do. Entertaining the crowd, playing music in the night is not easy.

Kamya Arora Aka DJ Kamya, 28

Its very shameful. Again, a clear cut example of power being misused. A DJ is not the only one who works late hours.It is one of the professions where people work at night to earn.Here, a man was misbehaving with a woman. Whether she is a DJ or not is immaterial. Nothing on earth gives an excuse to a man to misbehave with a woman. Whats more disgusting is to see how some people on social media are trolling the victim without even realizing that it could have been their own daughter, sister or mother in her place. Would they still have trolled the women of their family the same way? What wrong did Varnika do? Worked at night and was driving back home from work? The illiterate and regressive minds would obviously see stepping out at night as the cause of this unfortunate incident because they have nothing better to think in their defence . These people are the reason for men to break laws and get away with it . I am not the one to stand back if a man misbehaves with me. I always make sure to give it back to the offender.

Anamika Sachdeva Aka DJ Ana, 28

I work nationally and internationally. Being a DJ, we are suppose to work late night like till 2am or sometimes till 3:00 am as well. When I entered this profession, my parents were against it. They were like are you crazy working so late in the night? Its not safe. While going for my gigs, I am extremely vigilant. I note down the cab number, and try to enquire everything about the driver. So far, I have been lucky that I have not encountered any situation like Varnika. However, its common to encounter drunk party goers, who are always on the look out for trouble. Women in this profession have to be on guard all the time.

Dipika Pandey Aka DJ Dipika, 27

All of us face these kind of abuses quite often. And we fail to report them just by saying its not a big deal ! Women need to report every abuse they face and not feel ashamed about it ! The whole nation needs to empower women and help them instead of trying to dump these issues in the bin. While playing a live set, its not uncommon to see drunk men trying to get physically intimate .We are lucky that most of the times we are protected by bouncers otherwise who knows what will happen.

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A white gypsy hired by the Delhi Police to serve one of its quick response teams (QRTs) was stolen from south Delhis Kotla Mubarakpur village on Sunday morning, leaving the police in a tizzy ahead of the Independence Day.

The police are afraid the vehicle could be misused by criminals as it could give them easy access to sensitive places. Police fear thieves could have intentionally targeted this vehicle as it has Delhi Police written on it.

The theft happened around 5am on Sunday, but the police have no clue about the vehicle yet. They have formed multiple teams to trace the vehicle, but have failed to locate it.

According to Ishwar Singh, DCP (south), the white gypsy with a soft roof was among several such vehicles rented by the police to help police teams quickly reach crime spots or people in distress. One such vehicle is attached with each police station, the officer said.

In this case, the gypsy was of Tughlaq Road police station and was driven by a private person hired by the Delhi Police, the DCP said. The driver reported to the quick response team.

After his duty ended at around 10pm on Saturday, the driver took the gypsy to Kotla Mubarakpur village where he lives. He parks the vehicle in the neighbourhood, not far from his home.

But when he wanted to report to duty on Sunday morning, he could not spot the vehicle. He immediately alerted the police after which an investigation was launched, said the DCP.

The DCP said that a CCTV camera installed near the parking area had caught the theft. Someone is seen driving away the gypsy at 5.06am. The camera could not capture the thiefs face, the DCP said.

Having finished questioning the current driver, the police has also interrogated another man who had left the drivers job recently. But the former driver was found innocent, police said.
The Delhi government on Wednesday said its mohalla sabha project has failed to take off as it still awaits the Lieutenant Governors approval.

On the second day of the Delhi Assemblys monsoon session, urban development minister Satyendar Jain said funds to the tune of Rs 350 crore for mohalla sabhas remained unutilized in the last financial year.

This year too the same amount has been allocated and if the L-G doesnt clear it, the money will lapse. I am giving an open offer to the opposition to send us as many suggestions as possible so we can make this system of de-centralisation of power a better one, Jain said.

The bill, passed by the Delhi Assembly, enables the formation of mohalla sabhas through which people will get a say in development works and fund allocation in their areas.

Mid-day meal

The House discussed the alleged deficiencies in implementing the mid-day meal scheme in Delhi schools. Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said the government had finalised an NGO that would build a kitchen and cook meals for 40,000 students.

The matter has been stuck for long now as the previous L-G was giving land for the purpose only for 3.5 years while other states give it for around 10 years, Sisodia said.

Now, we have zeroed in on an NGO that would build one kitchen on the land sourced by themselves and for another land the Delhi government urges DDA to change its land use so it can be used for the purpose, he added.

Unauthorised colonies

The AAP government plans to carry out development works in around 1,700 unauthorised colonies through the irrigation and food control department, Delhi UD minister Satyendar Jain said.

Replying to a question, Jain said that at present, only the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC) carries out civic projects in such colonies.

Government has made a plan to allow irrigation and flood control department to look after the development works in around 1,700 unauthorised colonies along with DSIIDC, Jain told the House.

The decision came after some MLAs complained that there has been a delay in executing development works in unauthorised colonies falling under their constituencies.

Two Bills tabled in the House

The Delhi government reintroduced two Bills in the assembly. Sisodia tabled the Delhi Netaji Subhash University of Technology Bill 2017 and Minimum Wages (Delhi) Amendment Bill, 2017

. These Bills were earlier passed by the assembly in 2015 but the Centre had returned them Bills on technical grounds.

The Minimum Wages Bill stipulates steep penalty for violating labour laws and the NSIT Bill is aimed at upgrading the premier engineering institute as Netaji Subhash University of Technology.

Opposition rakes up issue of medicines

At the beginning of the session, Leader of Opposition, Vijender Gupta, raised the issue of shortage of medicines, surgical consumables and equipments in Delhi government hospitals.

The government itself admitted in its circular dated August 8 that the chief minister had observed that the system is much below the mark. It is the same CM who had made a declaration on January 11, 2016 that all Delhi hospitals will have 100% medicines, Gupta said.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Thursday banned plastic bags thinner than an average human hair in the capital, stepping in to eliminate the most common shopping accessory that clogs sewers, pollutes the environment and even kills cattle.

In an interim order, a bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar also slapped a fine of Rs 5,000 on anyone found in possession of non-biodegradable plastic bags less than 50 microns, which is the thickness of a human hair.

Microns, short for micromillimetre, is the global measurement unit for thickness of plastic bags. The thinner the bag, the more harmful they are to the environment.

The green court directed the Delhi government to seize the banned bags within a week.

However, implementing the NGT order could be a tough job as a similar ban by the Centre last year failed to make stop the use of such bags.

Officials and manufacturers say the banned bags are made by unregistered units which find many takers because of their cheaper products.

According to manufacturers, the market share of thin bags is not more than 25%.

Plastic waste have been identified as one of the major source of environmental pollution as they dont decay naturally. Besides choking drains, water-bodies and adding to the load of the already-exhausted landfill sites, there are instances of cattle eating and dying after choking on plastic bags.

Most of the garbage bags used at homes are above 50 microns, said Bharati Chaturvedi, the director of Chintan Environmental Research and Action Group.

The NGT mandated the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) to implement this ban with help from the municipal corporations, which are in charge of waste management.

Officials said the civic bodies will start an awareness drive through advertisements.

The Plastic Manufacturing Association, part of the petitoner All India Plastic Industries Associations, welcomed the ban.

The use and manufacturing... is already banned under the Plastic Management Handling Rules 2016. These bags have zero reusable value and thats why environmentalists were insisting upon ending its use, said Rajesh Mittal, a member of PMA.

The green court also asked the AAP government and the DPCC to file an affidavit on steps taken to implement the ban.

Last month too the NGT criticised the Delhi government over rampant use of plastic in the national capital despite the 2016 ban.
Vehicle owners in Delhi-NCR will have to mandatorily furnish a valid pollution-under-control (PuC) certificate to renew their annual insurance papers, the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday.

A bench of justices MB Lokur and Deepak Gupta pronounced this order while hearing a case pertaining to rising air-pollution levels in the national capital.

Though this was one of the suggestions given by the court-appointed Environment Pollution [Prevention and Control] Authority (EPCA), the Centre opposed it. The Union ministry of transport had submitted in its response that the two requirements cannot be merged because while insurance-renewal is an annual feature, PuC checks are required to be carried out at short intervals.

Countering the argument, advocate Aparajita Singh  who is assisting the court on the EPCAs behalf  said periodicity of the PuC and insurance papers should not be an obstacle. She said the vehicle owner should either present their last four or two PuC certificates while applying for insurance renewal.

In a directive aimed at enhancing the efficiency of PuC centres, the Supreme Court directed the government to monitor them on a regular basis. It also asked the authorities to issue specifications for the kind of equipment required to be installed at PuC centres, so regulatory violations can be curbed.

Solicitor general Ranjit Kumar informed the bench that the government was also exploring the possibility of alerting vehicle owners once their PuC documentation expires. We will develop a system under which a message will be sent to the owner, reminding him or her to apply for the PuC certificate upon its expiry. This will let vehicle owners know that they are under supervision, he said.

The Supreme Court has issued several directives, including the imposition of 1% cess on new diesel vehicles with an engine capacity of 2000cc or above, to cut down on pollution levels.

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The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Delhi has planned a three-week long mass campaign to connect with youths with national flag as its central theme. The first programme  which is part of Bharat Jodo Abhiyan  was held on Wednesday evening at Vijay Chowk on the 75th anniversary of the Quit India movement.

Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) president and Lok Sabha member from Mumbai North Central Poonam Mahajan handed over the national flag to youth leaders of Delhi BJP and other states in the presence of union ministers Ananth Kumar, Kirren Rijiju, Babul Supriyo and Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari.

Speaking at the event, Mahajan urged youth workers to replicate similar events in their respective districts to spread the ethos of Bharat Jodo.

Just as the Quit India movement was a watershed moment in the history of Indian Struggle for Independence, Bharat Jodo Abhiyan will be a landmark in bringing the youth together in the nation building process, said Mahajan.

Retired military personnel, OROP beneficiaries and war widows were also felicitated at the event.

Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari said all Lok Sabha MPs, MLAs, office bearers, and workers will go to their respective areas across the city holding the tricolour.

Lok Sabha MPs will lead the march in their respective constituencies. We will also appeal residents of the city to hoist the flag at their houses. During the campaign, BJP workers will carry out various activities to celebrate nationalism, he said.

Sources in the party said the event had been planned on Prime Minister Narendra Modis directions. On August 16, the Delhi BJP will kick start its 15-day Tiranga yatra to instil nationalism in young population.

The idea is to create a New India, unified in the quest for development and equality for all, at the center of Indias development agenda. The campaign is also against divisive forces within the nation, said Impreet Singh Bakshi, vice president of Delhi BJPs youth wing.
Two alleged al Qaeda linked militants have been arrested in Delhi in different joint operations of central agencies, the Delhi Police and West Bengal police a week ahead of the Independence Day celebrations.

One of the two, identified as Syed Mohammed Zishan Ali, was arrested by the Delhi Police from the Delhi airport after being brought back from Saudi Arabia. Sources said Ali was wanted by the Indian agencies for more than a year.

A native of Jamshedpur in Jharkhand, Ali and his brother Syed Mohammed Arshiyan were allegedly operating from Saudi Arabia. Sources said Ali is married to the sister of Sabeel Ahmed, a cousin of the 2007 Glasgow International Airport (UK) attack mastermind Kafeel Ahmed. Kafeel had moved from Bengaluru to Saudi Arabia in 2010-11.

The two brothers were on the central intelligence agencies radar ever since their names surfaced during the interrogation of some members of the Indian sub-continent module of Al Qaeda (AQIS), including Cuttack-based cleric Abdul Rehman. These members were arrested in 2015 for their alleged role in planning some terror strikes in the country, police said.

In another operation, a 25-year-old suspected member of al Qaeda was arrested last week by the Delhi Police special cell. The arrested militant is from Bangladesh and is an active member of AQIS, special cell officials said.

MM Oberoi, joint commissioner of police (special cell) confirmed that their team arrested Raja-ul-Ahmed on inputs shared with them by the West Bengal police that was already looking for the wanted al Qaeda-linked terrorist. Oberoi, however, refused to share details related to the date and place of Ahmeds arrest in Delhi.

The entire operation was of the West Bengal police and we only helped them nab the suspect. All we can share is that the Bengal Police shared specific information about the location of the suspect. Our team raided the place and arrested him, Oberai said, adding that Ahmed was handed over to the West Bengal police soon after they arrived in Delhi.

Sources said central intelligence and security agencies were also informed about Ahmeds arrest. His joint interrogation was done while he remained in the custody of the special cell.

Ahmed was grilled about his purpose of visit to Delhi to find out if he was sent to the city by his handlers in al Qaeda to carry out terror activities in the capital during the Independence Day celebrations, a source in the special cell said.

Officials alleged that Ahmed is originally a member of Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), an al Qaeda inspired Islamic extremist group in Bangladesh. They said ATB is a sub-module of AQIS. His interrogation has revealed that he was planning to fell to Nepal.

It has also been learnt that Ahmed was also allegedly instrumental in pushing fake Indian currency notes, allegedly printed in Pakistan and supplied by ISI, into India through porous Indo-Bangladesh borders in West Bengal. The West Bengal police was reportedly looking for Ahmed for his alleged role in smuggling of fake Indian banknotes into India from Bangladesh.

Al Qaeda is an international terror group that was founded by slain terrorist Osama bin Laden. The group was behind the 9/11 attacks on World Trade Center in New York and Pentagon, the headquarters of the United States defence department.
Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia on Wednesday wrote to Delhi lieutenant governor Anil Baijal, asking him to put the teachers recruitment process by the staff recruitment board on hold till the education department formulates a policy to give weightage to guest tutors.

In his letter, Sisodia, who holds the education portfolio, said no files related to teacher recruitment are being shown to him and are being sent directly from the department of education to the L-Gs office via the chief secretary.

This is not the first time the Delhi government and the L-Gs office have sparred over control of the departments. The Delhi government has in the past been at loggerheads with former L-G Najeeb Jung over running of the anti-corruption branch and posting of officers in key departments among many other issues.

Sisodia said the recent advertisement by the Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board (DSSSB) for hiring of teachers only mentions the age relaxation to be given to guest and contract teachers but does not say anything about weightage or preference to be given to them.

The Delhi government had in October 2015 approved the policy to give weightage and age relaxation to guest and contract teachers employed in its schools. But the then LG had approved the policy of age relaxation in 2016 based on the advice of the additional solicitor general.

Sisodia said that since, then the legal position on the issue has changed in light of the Supreme Court judgments upholding the policy of giving weightage to guest and contract employees in case of permanent vacancies.

He said he has given repeated instructions to the chief secretary and directorate of education. Therefore it is a source of great surprise to me that such an advertisement has been issued by DSSSB, given the repeated instructions I have given on the issue to the concerned officers over the last few months...., he said in the letter.

Not only this, no files related to teacher recruitment are being shown to the minister-in-charge but are being sent directly from the DOE to the honble L-G via the chief secretary. Officers have told me that this is as per the directions of the honble L-G, the letter said.

Sisodia said education as a subject comes under the purview of the elected government. He said the government has invested heavily in the training of teachers, including guest teachers, who have been part of all teachers training programmes for the last two years.

However, with one stroke of pen, when we remove these 17000 guest teachers, we would have a negative impact on our government schools as these teachers have experience of teaching in our schools, and have been trained to deal with the specific problems of children in our school, the letter said.

Sisodia said the removal of 17,000 guest teachers will result into unemployment and also adversely impact the government schools.
The Supreme Court on Thursday pulled up the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) for setting different question papers for students taking the National Eligibility-Cum-Entrance Test (NEET) in regional languages and said there should be a common paper for all aspirants.

A bench headed by justice Dipak Misra also asked the education board to set out steps in its affidavit to carry out the NEET - common entrance test for admission into medical and dental courses - in the future while ensuring that the difficulty level in the questions is maintained.

The main paper can be in English and questions can be translated into regional languages, the bench told the CBSE lawyer and additional solicitor general, Maninder Singh.

The three-judge bench was hearing a petition filed by NGO Sankalp Charitable Trust on whose plea the top court had last year ruled that NEET would be the single-window exam to admit students in all medical and dental colleges across the country.

Petitioners lawyer senior advocate Indira Jaising said the standard of question papers in English and regional languages were different. She cited data and ratio between the number of students who took NEET in English and Hindi and equivalent ratio with respect to the students who qualified in support of her submission.

Jaising argued questions in regional languages were not identical to the questions in Hindi and English and there was a difference in the level of difficulty.

Singh admitted the discrepancy but said the difficulty level was the same. As long as the difficulty level is the same, it passes the test of uniformity, Singh told the bench.

The Medical Council of India (MCI) informed the top court that questions were first prepared in English and then translated into Hindi. Since experts were not available to translate questions, different questions with similar difficulty level were set.

The court listed the matter for a hearing on October 10.

Nearly 12 lakh candidates across India appeared for the NEET on May 7 in 10 languages including English, Hindi and others.

Many students, who took the exam, earlier approached the court, saying the questions set for them in regional languages were tougher compared to the ones set for candidates writing the exam in Hindi and English.

The top court declined to nullify NEET on July 15, saying it would affect over six lakh candidates who cleared the test.

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Recently, a 16-year-old boy from a Chandigarh school, Harshit Sharma, claimed to have received an incredible job offer from Google that promised to pay him Rs 12 lakh a month. After official enquires and statements from Google, it was revealed that no such offer was made. A doctor then diagnosed him with confusional psychosis. The boy was brought in a confused state. He did not recognise anyone. He kept refusing food, and did not cooperate, the doctor had said.

Clinical psychologist Seema Hingorrany says, I would call it a psychotic disorder. Those who suffer from it go away from reality. They see and experience things very differently. Disorientation is part of psychosis. The boy probably had a fractured self-esteem, and didnt get validation. He might not have had a safety net at home. When we treat such patients, we ask them about their social support ecosystem, she says.

In India, the taboo around mental health disorders is still strong. Many refuse to get help fearing judgement or being labelled. Family members should be alert and bring their love one to a therapist if they see worrying signs, Hingorrany says. If a person is imagining birds/fictional TV characters speaking to them, and more importantly, if the person is talking back to them, thats a sign of trouble. Often they have a fear of the dark or unknown. So they will avoid places like movie theatres. They might spend more time watching TV or on the internet as a way to avoid reality. They might tell you they feel scared, but may not tell you of what. People suffering from psychotic disorders are quite guarded.

Thats all the more reason for families and friends to remain vigilant. Hingorrany shares a few more symptoms to watch out for:

Becoming a recluse

Eating too much or too less

Mumbling to oneself

Frequent crying

Hallucinations are a tell-tale sign of a mental health disorder. (Shutterstock)

Hingorrany lists other disorders which twist your idea of reality:

1) Schizophrenia

Those suffering from schizophrenia find it difficult to say whats real and whats not. Some symptoms include:

* Confused thought and speech

* Trouble concentrating

* Hallucinations

2) Dissociative Identity Disorder

Two or more distinct personalities exist in one individual. This usually happens because of trauma. Some of the symptoms include:

* Mood swings

* Losing track of time and sitting in the same position for hours

* Suicidal tendencies or thoughts

3) Traumatic Brain Injury

As the name suggests, this happens when an external force injures the brain. Some of the symptoms include:

* Difficulty in concentrating

* Difficulty in balancing

* Blurred vision

* Slurred speech

4) Mild/Brief Psychotic Disorder

This happens when symptoms surface suddenly, and can also be cured in a short period of time. At times, this can happen to people suffering from OCD. Some of the symptoms include:

* Disorganised thinking

* Hallucinations

* Trouble with memory

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For a long time, I just wanted to not be seen. I wanted to wear bigger clothes and hide, says Maria Odugba in a video shared by The New York Post. This was before she took to yoga in 2014.

Gotta train yourself to do things that scare you. |  @hgbrospictures A post shared by Maria Odugba  (@asap.yogi) on Aug 8, 2017 at 4:19pm PDT

Since then, the 23-year-old Florida girl has achieved what many say is impossible: She tilted the weighing scale needle from 186kg to an impressive 131kg. In an interview to the Daily Mail, she said, Ive been overweight my whole life, ever since I was a kid and my dad owned a pizza restaurant. I didnt actually have an oven in my house until I was probably 15, so everything I ate came from a restaurant.

After being diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) at 13 and, more recently, hyperthyroidismboth of which can lead to weight gain as a side effect -- Odugba tried different ways to lose weight. But all her efforts were in vain.

A Masters student of Exercise Physiology at UCF, Maria is also a yoga-instructor, breaking the notion that being fit means being thin. Society has this horrible perception of bigger people. People see me and have no idea of my huge accomplishment... they only see that I am still fat. It doesnt matter if you just lost 200 pounds or if you just started your journey to health youre still gathered in the group of people who let themselves go or made the choice to be fat  she writes in an Instagram post.

there's no competition when you're manifesting your own lane. | #longtimenoyoga A post shared by Maria Odugba  (@asap.yogi) on Aug 4, 2017 at 7:13pm PDT

Now, not only does she motivate her over 74k Instagram followers, Maria also inspires many struggling with their body weight to love and accept themselves, whatever their size, with her blog asapyogi.com.

Most people think if you arent seeing physical changes then whatever youre doing isnt working, but that isnt the case, she writes in her blog. As much of a physically journey that weight loss is, it is also mental.

you don't know how long it took to finally come alive..| #thistimelastyear A post shared by Maria Odugba  (@asap.yogi) on Jun 30, 2017 at 8:02pm PDT

Today Maria is a natural at performing splits and twisting like a pretzel. Yoga is the best thing that has ever happened to me, she says. Its not just a hobby, its allowed me to open new doors that I never thought were possible for me.

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After filing for divorce in September 2016, Angelina Jolie is rumoured to have called off her divorce with husband Brad Pitt. According to a report in US Weekly, a source has revealed the divorce is off.

They havent done anything to move it forward in several months and no one thinks they are ever going to, the source said. The actors ended their relationship after spending 12 years together. They got married in 2014 and are parents to six children: Maddox, 16, Pax, 13, Zahara, 12, Shiloh, 11 and 9-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne.

This file photo taken on February 17, 2017 shows Hollywood star Angelina Jolie (2nd L) and her children including Maddox Jolie-Pitt (C) as they gather at the royal residence for a meeting with Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni in Siem Reap. (AFP)

The separation was set in motion after a plane trip last year in September where Brad allegedly created chaos in a drunken stupor. There were also rumours that he abused their oldest son Maddox.

Angelina wasted no time in filing for divorce just a couple of days later. However, Brad was cleared of the allegations and in January the pair agreed to use a private judge in their divorce case.

In recent interviews to GQ and other publications, Brad has revealed how he has completely given up drinking. I cant remember a day since I got out of college when I wasnt boozing or had a spliff, or something...Im really, really happy to be done with all of that. I mean I stopped everything except boozing when I started my family. But even this last year, you know  things I wasnt dealing with. I was boozing too much, he said.

Pitt said he loved wine, adding truthfully I could drink a Russian under the table with his own vodka. I was a professional. I was good.

He said he has quit drinking, replacing alcohol with cranberry juice and fizzy water.

He got sober to try and win her back, the source told US Weekly. He knew he had a problem that he had to take care of. And thats all she ever wanted.

Everyone thinks they are going to get back together ... It wouldnt be surprising if they announced that theyre calling it off and trying to work things out, the source added.

Angelina is currently awaiting the release of her Netflix film, First They Killed My Father.

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A lesbian lovemaking scene featuring Charlize Theron and Sofia Boutella has been completely axed from Atomic Blonde, the Cold War spy thriller set to release in India Friday.

Speaking with The Quint, CBFC chief Pahlaj Nihalani refused to comment on the matter when the reporter brought up how a same-sex scene in Deepa Mehtas Fire was retained 21 years ago. You must ask why it was passed by whoever was in my place back then, he said.

The list of cuts recommended by the CBFC says, Delete the visual of the hand touching the bare breast in bed of two ladies, and delete the entire love-making (having sex).

Watch the rest of the scene here

In addition to the sex scene, shots of Therons bare butt in the bathtub have been asked to be removed. Shots of her nipples visible under a sweater, and a separate scene in which she is topless, have also been ordered out. Words like c**t, c**k, b***s, b***h, p***k , and c*******r have been asked to be removed from the subtitles, but not from the soundtrack.

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In celebration of its 125th anniversary, the latest issue of Vogue will feature an exclusive interview with Jennifer Lawrence. The magazine commission four artists - Bruce Weber, Annie Leibovitz, Inez and Vinoodh - to create the stars look, which ranged from lavish photoshoots to a fine art painting.

In the interview, Lawrence, who will next be seen in Darren Aronofskys psychological thriller, Mother!, made a reference to the leak of her private photos in 2014.

At the peak of her career, Jennifer Lawrence talks love, liberty and the freedom to be herself. https://t.co/jYnDUjFO82  Vogue Magazine (@voguemagazine) August 10, 2017

Its scary when you feel the whole world judges you, she says. I think people saw (the hacking) for what it was, which was a sex crime, but that feeling, I havent been able to get rid of it. Having your privacy violated constantly isnt a problem if youre perfect. But if youre human, its terrifying. When my publicist calls me, Im like, Oh, my God, what is it? Even when its nothing. Im always waiting to get blindsided again.

The September issue has arrived! #AnnieLeibovitz photographed #JenniferLawrence for one of her four covers in honor of our 125th anniversary. See all four in the link in our bio, and pick up your copy of the magazine on @amazon. Photographed by Annie Leibovitz, styled by @tonnegood. #Vogue125 A post shared by Vogue (@voguemagazine) on Aug 9, 2017 at 5:02am PDT

The September issue is here! We commissioned @bruce_weber to photograph one of #JenniferLawrences four covers. Tap the link in our bio to see them all, and pick up your copy on @amazon. Photographed by @bruce_weber, styled by @tonnegood. #Vogue125 A post shared by Vogue (@voguemagazine) on Aug 9, 2017 at 5:04am PDT

To celebrate #Vogue125, @inezandvinoodh photographed #JenniferLawrence for one of her four September issue covers. Tap the link in our bio to see them all, and pick up your copy on @amazon. Photographed by @inezandvinoodh, styled by @tonnegood. #Vogue125 A post shared by Vogue (@voguemagazine) on Aug 9, 2017 at 5:07am PDT

Lawrence was part of a large-scale attack on the iCloud accounts of celebrities, after which almost 500 private pictures were circulated online. In March 2016, 36-year-old Pennsylvania resident Ryan Collins agreed to plead guilty to one count of unauthorised access to a protected computer to obtain information resulting in a 18-month sentence.

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A court acquitted on Thursday all the 10 accused in the 2005 suicide bombing that killed a home guard and wounded a constable in a Hyderabad police task force office.

Among the suspects is a Bangladeshi man named Halaluddeen.

The metropolitan sessions court dismissed the case after 11 years as the prosecution failed to produce evidence against the accused people.

The suicide attack on October 12, 2005, was a first in Hyderabad.

A youth, identified as Dalin from Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, walked into the office at Begumpet with a backpack around 7.30pm. He set off the bomb in the backpack when home guard Satyanarayana, who was on sentry duty, stopped him.

The explosion brought down the building. Dalin and Satyanarayana died on the spot, while constable Venkat Rao suffered grave wounds.

A special investigation team (SIT) held the Bangladesh-based Harkatul Jihad-e-Islami (HUJI) responsible for the blast and suspected the involvement of locals as well. Based on circumstantial evidence, investigators zeroed in on 20 suspects initially.

Police later discovered explosive material RDX from a house in the Old City area of Hyderabad.

The investigation led police to Bidar in Karnataka, where a HUJI operative was arrested.

Police found that some of the accused, including prime suspects M Shahed alias Bilal and Ghulam Yazdani, had fled to Pakistan and Bangladesh and a few others died in shootouts with security forces in the neighbouring countries.

The SIT then narrowed down its charge-sheet to 10 people. But it could not produce foolproof evidence against them.

As the case fell flat, MA Haji, Abdul Kaleem, Shakeel, Syed Haji, AA Khan, Azmath Ali, Mahmood Baroodwala, SA Khaja, Nafees and Halaluddeen, who is from Bangladesh, were declared innocent.

Abdul Azeem, counsel for the accused, told reporters after the acquittal that police arrested them without proof of their involvement in the bombing.

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Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday launched a scathing attack on the Yogi Adityanath government, alleging that crime is spiralling and law and order is crumbling in Uttar Pradesh.

Addressing the media, the former chief minister said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that came to power promising to spruce up the law and order machinery in the state has failed to deliver on it.

He said the Adityanath governments track record in the almost six months so far has been abysmal.

Policemen are being beaten up, officials being threatened and the hapless public hounded by criminals as the state government is appearing helpless and uninterested in improving things, he said.

There is serious disenchantment with the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government. The criminals are running amock and the power of police is eroding fast, the former Chief Minister said.

Taking a dig at the inclusion of former Samajwadi Party MLC Bukkal Nawaab into the BJP party fold, Akhilesh Yadav said: BJP was claiming to take action against the land mafia but was now taking them into their party.

Bukkal Nawaab is accused of fraudulently taking compensation on the Gomti Riverfront Project -- a land that did not belong to him.

Now only the government can explain how will it take action against such people, the 44-year-old leader said.

Pointing out how a young schoolgirl was hacked to death in public by criminals in Ballia, he said its a shame that the state government was claiming to have taken action.

Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modis speeches ahead of the assembly polls that accused SP workers and leaders of running the Uttar Pradesh police stations, Akhilesh Yadav questioned who was running them now?.

He said crime was not under control and extortion by the police was on the rise.

We had given Dial 100 services to the state which was appreciated by all, the present government has destroyed this public-oriented project as well, he said.

Akhilesh Yadav said all the promises of jobs have turned out to be a farce. He also brought up the examination paper leak of a sub-inspector recruitment process and demanded action by the Adityanath government.

He also claimed that his party workers in Auraiyya, Agra, Mainpuri, Kannauj and other party strongholds were being victimised and targeted by the police.

I personally spoke to the Director General of Police Sulkhan Singh, but it is apparent that he is not in a position to say or do anything, Akhilesh Yadav stated.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi has called a meeting of 18 opposition parties on Friday, the last day of Parliaments monsoon session, to discuss the future course of action of the joint opposition and chalk out a strategy against the Modi government.

The meeting will be chaired by Sonia Gandhi. Janata Dal (United) leader Sharad Yadav has been invited for the meeting. He is in Bihar on a three-day visit.

West Bengal Chief minister Mamata Banerjee is slated to attend the meeting.

The meeting is likely to discuss the opposition rally called by RJD chief Lalu Prasad in Patna on August 27, which will target the newly-formed BJP-JD-U alliance in Bihar under Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. The Janata Dal (United) President last month snapped ties with Grand Alliance of Rashtriya Janata Dal and Congress to form government in Bihar with the BJP.

Sharad Yadav on Thursday declared in Patna that he was still with the Grand Alliance of the RJD and Congress.

He is also organising a conclave in New Delhi on August 17, which will be attended by opposition leaders.
On August 3, 2017, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah addressed a press conference in Rohtak, Haryana, and made some claims about the performance of the central government and the state government, both led by Shahs BJP.

IndiaSpend fact-checked some of his major claims and found one right and two wrong.

Claim 1: In past three years of BJP rule, 18,000 villages have been electrified and by May 2018, all villages will be electrified.

Fact: No more than 14,125 villages have been electrified till August 8, 2017, according to the governments dashboard that monitors real-time data on electrification.

The target is 18,452 villages that were not electrified when the BJP everywhere came to power in May 2014 of which 966 (5%) are uninhabited.

Therefore, 3,361 villages are yet to be electrified.

The BJP target of electrifying all villages by May 2018 was promised by Piyush Goyal, minister of state for power, coal, new and renewable energy and mines, Indian Express reported on May 20, 2017.

To achieve the target, the government would have electrify 336 villages every month till end of May 2018.

Electrification does not equate to electricity for all, FactChecker reported on November 19, 2015.

Almost 96% villages in North India are electrified but only 69% of homes have electricity, IndiaSpend reported on October 1, 2015 based on a report by Access to Clean Cooking Energy and Electricity  Survey of States (ACCESS) that drew data from six states.

The definition of electrified village has changed over the years. Before October 1997, a village was classified as electrified if electricity was used within its revenue area for any purpose whatsoever.

After October 1997, a village was declared electrified if the electricity was used in the inhabited locality within the revenue boundary of the village for any purpose whatsoever.

The ministry of power defines a village (from 2004-05) as electrified if:

1. Basic power infrastructure, such as a transformer and distribution lines, is provided in the inhabited locality as well as associated dalit bastis (Dalit settlements, which are often excluded from village facilities), where they exist.

2. Electricity is provided to public places such as schools, panchayat (village council) offices, health centres, dispensaries and community centres.

3. The number of households electrified should be at least 10% of the total number of households in the village.

Habitations with population below 100 are still excluded from Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gram Jyoti Yojana, (Deen Dayal Upadhyay Village Electrification Progamme, DDGJY) as the FAQs section of its website explains:

Question: The main village has been electrified but our habitation is left out, when will it be electrified? Whom should I approach?

Response: Habitations with population below one hundred are not included as per the approved DDUGJY programme. It is proposed to cover the left out habitations, if any, in the phase-II of the programme. The commencement of phase-II is to be decided by the Govt. of India.

Claim 2: By 2022, we will ensure every household has electricity.

Fact: As on August 7, 2017, 42.35 million households (24%) are yet to be electrified of a target of 178.8 million. To achieve this target by end of 2022 (though he didnt mention end of 2022 explicitly), the government needs to electrify 0.65 million households every month.

In July 2017, 0.34 million households were electrified, according to latest data.

Therefore, to achieve the 2022 target, households have to be electrified faster than the current rate.

Claim 3: By 2022, we will also achieve our vision of clean India,and till now, around 4.5 crore toilets have been built.

Fact: He is correct. As on August 7, 2017, 45.7 million household toilets have been built, according to data from Swachh Bharat Mission (Clean India Mission).

Claim 4: Under the chief ministership of Manohar Lal Khattar, Haryana has reached a sex ratio at birth of 950.

Fact: He is wrong.

On April 8, 2017, Khattar had tweeted a newspaper report based on official data and claimed that Haryana had indeed reached a sex ratio at birth of 950.

A month prior to this tweet, he had tweeted: The sex ratio at birth has increased to 938, from the earlier 850. Our Govt. will achieve the sex ratio target of 950 by this year.

The sex ratio at birth has increased to 938, from the earlier 850. Our Govt. will achieve the sex ratio target of 950 by this year.  Manohar Lal (@mlkhattar) March 15, 2017

An audit of figures by the campaign team of Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (Save the girl, educate the girl) found that the data reported by eight of 10 districts in the first quarter of this year were misrepresented and fudged, The Times of India reported on May 13, 2017.

In some cases, they were inflated. In others, newborn girls were registered on priority in the quarter under review while male children were registered in the next quarter to manipulate the final outcome.

The audit, which began in April, found that Panipat, which ranked second in the January-March list with a sex ratio of 1,007 (yes, more girls than boys) had overshot the actual number by 135. The revised number stands at 872.

NOTE:

The figure of 336 villages per month in claim 1 was calculated by target villages per month = Villages not electrified yet/total months. There are 10 months from August 2017 to May 2018.

The figure of 0.65 million households per month in claim 2 was calculated as following: Target households per month = Households not electrified yet/total months. From beginning of 2018 to end of 2022, there are 60 months. And add five months to it including August. Therefore, total months= 65.

(Filed Under: Fact Check)

(FactChecker.in is fact-checking initiative, scrutinising for veracity and context statements made by individuals and organisations in public life.)
JD(U) leader Arun Kumar Srivastava, whose role in the highly contentious Gujarat Rajya Sabha, earlier this week, led to his sacking as general secretary of the partys unit in that state, has claimed partys dissenting leader Sharad Yadav enjoys the support of nearly 20 JD (U) MLAs in Bihar.

It is true that nearly 20 legislators are with us, but in case of split in the JD (U), their membership of the Bihar legislature will be in danger. We dont want that to happen. Time will tell who is where, said Srivastava, who was here on Thursday, accompanying Sharad as he embarked on a tour of the state.

If the nearly 20 legislators, claimed by Srivastava to be backing Sharad, are all sitting MLAs, it is a very significant number, considering the chief minister Nitish Kumar-led JD (U) has a total of 71 MLAs in the state.

Srivastava was sacked from the post of party general secretary for unauthorisedly writing to the Returning Officer of the Gujarat assembly, appointing an election agent for the crucial Rajya Sabha election there.

This happened after the JD (U)s sole MLA in Gujarat Chhotubhai Vasava said he voted for Congress candidate Ahmed Patel in the RS poll because the BJP had been looting the state for the last 20 years and he was opposed to his party chief Nitish Kumar joining hands with the BJP.

The party president (Nitish Kumar) has taken a serious note of the issue and has relieved you of your responsibility from the post of general secretary, Tyagi said in his letter to Srivastava, considered a close confidante of Sharad Yadav.

The act of yours not only amounts to anti-party activity, breach of discipline but is also treachery, Tyagi said in the letter.

Srivastava appeared to defy the JD (U) official leadership by accompanying Sharad, whose open disapproval of Nitish Kumars action to break the grand Alliance and join hands with the BJP, has put him at odds with Kumar.

On Thursday, Srivastava hit back at the party leadership for removing him without even serving a show-cause notice. He, however, ruled out the possibility that he and Sharad Yadav might leave the party to float a new one.

Why should we leave the JD-U? We have been involved with its creation and we will remain here. Those who feel that JD (U) is only confined to Bihar should form a new party. We will continue to work for the ideals the party was formed to serve. We will face whatever action is taken against us by the party, he said, without elaborating his camps next move.

Yes, I did openly say that breaking the alliance was not the right decision. I am a man of the JP-movement and voicing ones opinion is no crime. Sharadji is doing the same. That is the minimum one expects in a democratic party, he said.

Srivastava, an old war horse of the JD (U),who since the Samata Party (1994-2003) days, was always with Kumar during his nation-wide tours till a few months ago, claimed 14 state unit presidents had also categorically written to the leadership that they were not for breaking the GA.

Srivastava said he had appointed polling agents in the past also but nobody, including Sharad Yadav, had ever questioned his decision as had happened this time.

He said the decision to break ties with the BJP in 2013 was taken at the JD (U) national convention, but last months decision to jettison the GA and rejoin forces with the BJP was taken unilaterally. He also appeared to suggest Sharad was misled into leaving the JD (U) presidentship in 2016.

Sharadji was asked to make way for Nitishji as party president on the pretext that (RLD leader) Ajit Singh and Babulal Marandi (JVM) wanted to join us. Sharadji resigned. But look, what has happened today, he added.

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More evidence was emerging by Thursday to show that the pilferage of public money by Srijan Sahayog Mahila Vikas Samiti, a Sabour (Bhagalpur)-based NGO, was threatening to blow into a major scam in terms of money involved and spread.

As such, the state government, on Thursday, ordered immediate physical verification of all accounts maintained by district administrations across Bihar. This was after it was found that hundreds of crores of rupees had been fraudulently transferred to the NGOs account(s) in Bhagalpur district, using fake cheques.

Preliminary investigations have indicated that nearly Rs 355.70 crore have been illegally transferred from three headsland acquisition (Rs 270 crore), urban development schemes (Rs 70.70 crore) and district administration (15 crore)into the account of the NGO. The sum involved may increase, chief secretary Anjani Kumar Singh said.

The fraudulent withdrawal is being investigated by Economic Offences Unit (EoU) with an open mind, he said, while declining to comment on involvement of politicians, as was inferred by the media from a statement of chief minister Nitish Kumar here on Wednesday.

It is a matter of pure crime. The modus operandi involved the complicity of Srijan office bearers with bank officials, who managed to transfer funds from district administration account into their own with the help of forged signatures of the district magistrate, he said.

The involvement of the custodian of the respective accounts into which the state government transferred funds under different heads, cannot be ruled out. Hence, three FIRs have been filed with Bhagalpur Kotwali police against the promoters of Srijan Mahila SahyogAmit Kumar and his wife Priya Kumari, bank officials and government employees entrusted with administering the funds, he said.

It is an instance of highly organised form of fraudulent transfer of government money. It smacks of involvement of people well versed with the processes involved. Its spread in other districts cannot be ruled out, he said.

As to when the fraud started, the CS said this would unfold as the investigation progressed. But the scam did not surface earlier as the fraudsters put sufficient amount into the accounts, as soon as they got hold of information that a pay order had been issued. This ensured that cheques were not dishonoured for want of sufficient balance. However, one cheque bounced, which exposed the scam, he said.

The probe into the incident led to the discovery that the stipulated money was not present in the account, neither there was any trail of the transactions. But such huge transfers cannot take place without the involvement of bankers, as the normal banking practice is to cross verify the payment of high value cheques in excess of five digit threshold, the CS explained.

RJD chief Lalu Prasad has already termed the scam as bigger than the fodder scam, in which he has been convicted, and demanded a CBI enquiry.

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The Code on Wages Bill that seeks to fix a national minimum wage for all categories of over 40 crore unorganized sector workers and provide a fixed timeline for their payment -- in some cases only through electronic means or cheque -- was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.

The Code provides for the government to determine the minimum wages every five years using factors like skills required for the job, arduousness of work, geographical location of work place and other aspects.

Such wages are to be fixed on recommendation of panels comprising an equal number of representatives of employers and employees, and independent persons, according to the Code on Wages, 2017, Bill.

Under this, the government will fix the number of hours of work that would include a day of rest every seven days. The payment for work on a day of rest will not be less than overtime rate.

Introducing the Bill, labour minister Bandaru Dattatreya said The Code on Wages Bill will consolidate and amend the laws relating to wages and bonus.

The Bill seeks to amalgamate four laws -- the Payment of Wages Act 1936, the Minimum Wages Act 1948, the Payment of Bonus Act 1965 and the Equal Remuneration Act 1976.

It is for simplification, rationalisation and making it less cumbersome. No way workers right is being infringed... It is going to bring in a historical change in the wages for workers and universal minimum wages will be implemented for the first time in India, Dattatreya said.

The Bill will help generate employment and attract entrepreneurs, he said, adding that there are 44 labour laws which are being clubbed in four codes and the Bill introduced today deals with the code on wages.

40 crore unorganized sector workers can avail universal minimum wage. The Bill has a very large perspective. As far as workers right is concerned, it is in no way exploitation of workers, Dattatreya said.

As N K Premachandran (RSP) opposed the introduction of the Bill in such a short notice, the government sought to assuage the concerns, saying the Bill is being only introduced and discussion will take place later.

The Code stipulates that the wages are to be paid in coin or currency notes or by cheque or through digital or electronic mode or by crediting the wages in the bank account of the employee and the government may specify industrial or other establishment where the salary will be paid only through cheque or digital mode.

Daily wages have to be paid at the end of the shift while the weekly ones on the last working day of the week. Workers engaged in fortnightly employment will get wages before the end of the second day after the end of the working period.

For the monthly earner, the payment will have to be made before the expiry of the seventh day of the succeeding month.

Where an employee is removed or dismissed from service as also when he or she resigns, the wages payable shall be paid within two working days.

The Code provides employers with authority to make deductions from the wages only in case of fines imposed, absence from duty, damage or loss of goods expressly entrusted with the employee custody, housing accommodation and amenities and services.

A bonus at the rate of 8.3 per cent of wage earned or Rs 100, whichever is higher, will be paid.

Any employer paying to any employee less than the amount due in wages or bonus or any other dues will be punishable with a fine of up to Rs 50,000, the Code said.

Repeat offence within five years will be punishable with imprisonment of 3 months or fine of up to Rs 1 lakh, or with both.

The central government under the Code will fix the national minimum wage as also for different states or areas.
Senior JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav said on Thursday he was still with the grand alliance as he began a three-day tour in which he is expected to rally together party leaders against their president and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar.

Yadavs comments underscore the rift between him and Kumar after the Bihar CMs decision to dump the grand alliance partnership with Congress and the RJD, and realign with the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The beginning of Yadavs tour on Thursday coincided with comments from JD(U) members who are against Kumar that they might seek to expel him or at least formally split the party. Sharad Yadav is seen as the leader of the faction.

The disintegration of grand alliance government in Bihar has broken the trust of 11 crore citizens of the state, Yadav told mediapersons after reaching Patna, his first visit to the state since the government change.

I am going to meet the people and will discuss the situation. I have not done any preparation for this. I will stay overnight and will talk to people on this issue. There is a crisis of confidence among the people, he said.

Yadav will visit nearly eight to ten constituencies where he is expected to hold talks with several JD(U) who are unhappy with Kumars unilateral decision last month.

I was one of those who asked the people of state to vote for the grand alliance. I consider it a responsibility to maintain. The people are hurt with the break-up of alliance, he said.

Surprisingly, none of the JD(U) legislators close to Yadav were present to receive him at the Patna airport.

Only two JD (U) leaders  Ramai Ram and Rambadan Rai (who later joined BJP) -- and a large number of supporters, said to be from the RJD, welcomed him. Both Ram and Rai had lost the last assembly election.

RJD chief Lalu Prasad on Wednesday extended support to Yadavs visit and recognised him as the real JD(U).

Prasad had said on Wednesday, the grand alliance still exists as RJD, the Sharad Yadav-led JD(U) and Congress are partners. Yadav also backed the alliance, saying, I stand by the mahagathbandhan.

The presence of JD(U) leader Ram at the airport triggered unease in the party leadership, sources said, with JD(U) Muzaffarpur district president recommending action against him. Party sources said that JD(U) state president has sought a report on leaders who had gone to meet Yadav at the airport.

Yadavs arrival triggered speculation that the party may take action against him, but a spokesperson rejected the suggestion. All talks of split and action against Yadav are wrong, said party spokesperson Neeraj Kumar.

The JD (U), which had distanced itself from Yadavs visit, called it a RJD-sponsored yatra.

Not even a panchayat pramukh was present to welcome him. It is an RJD sponsored visit, the JD(U) spokesperson said.

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Rajya Sabha election: After Ahmed Patel victory, Congress expels 8 Gujarat MLAs for cross-voting

Cracking down on dissidents in Gujarat, the Congress on Wednesday expelled for six years eight of its MLAs who cross-voted in Tuesdays Rajya Sabha election. AICC general secretary in-charge of Gujarat unit Ashok Gehlot said he has also recommended the expulsion of six of its legislators who had earlier resigned as MLAs. Three of them had later joined BJP. Asserting that indiscipline will not be tolerated in the Congress, Gehlot said those expelled were indulging in anti- party activities. The MLAs are: Shankarsinh Vaghela, his son Mahendrasinh, Raghavji Patel, Bhola Gohil, Dharmendra Jadeja, P K Raulji, Amit Chaudhary, Karan Patel. Read the story here.

Chandigarh stalking case: Vikas Barala, friend arrested, charged with bid to kidnap

In a U-turn, the Chandigarh Police on Wednesday again arrested Haryana BJP president Subhash Baralas son Vikas and his friend Ashish Kumar and booked them under non-bailable sections of attempt to kidnap in the case of stalking Varnika Kundu, a disc jockey (DJ) and the daughter of an IAS officer. Both the accused, who surrendered at the fortified Sector 26 police station on a rainy afternoon amid high drama and media presence, were interrogated for more than two hours before being booked under Sections 365 (kidnapping or abduction with intent to confine a person) and Section 511 (attempt to commit offence punishable with life imprisonment) of the Indian Penal Code. Read the story here.

How a lawyer-politician helped Ahmed Patel defeat BJP rival in Gujarat RS poll

While Tuesdays Rajya Sabha election was widely viewed as a clash between two master strategists, Sonia Gandhis political secretary Ahmed Patel and BJP president Amit Shah, it was senior state leader Shaktisinh Gohil who scored the winning shot for the Congress camp. Gohil, who was acting as the Congress agent in the polling station, first sought the invalidation of two votes cast by Congress rebel MLAs around 3 pm. The party leadership informed him that the returning officer has promised to look into the matter. I saw both Raghvji Patel and Bhola Gohil flashing their ballot papers to the BJPs polling agent. This happened in the presence of BJP chief Amit Shah, who was one of the three candidates fielded by the party, the 57-year-old MLA said. Read the story here.

53 Indian soldiers and a bulldozer present at Doklam, says China amid standoff

Fifty-three Indian soldiers and a bulldozer were present at the Doklam area, a report in a state-run daily said on Wednesday quoting the Chinese foreign ministry. The ministry, according to the Global Times, asked India to withdraw its troops and equipment from what it called the Chinese territory. India should withdraw its troops and equipment...They have gravely infringed on Chinas sovereignty, the ministry was quoted as having said by the daily. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang last week said that there were 48 Indian soldiers and one bulldozer in Doklam area as of August 2. Read the story here.

Why Kalapani is crucial and the Chinese threat should not be taken lightly

Experts have said that India should take the Chinese threat of entering Kalapani in Uttarakhand seriously to keep an eye on activities across the border. A senior Chinese foreign affairs ministry official on Tuesday rejected Indias suggestion for a simultaneous withdrawal of troops to end the Doklam standoff and asked what New Delhi would do if it enters Kalapani region in Uttarakhand or Kashmir, news agency PTI reported. Kalapani is a 35 square kilometre area in the hill states Pithoragarh district under control of Indo Tibetan Border Police. Uttarakhand shares an 80.5-km long porous border with Nepal and a 344-km border with China. Read the story here.

Dalai Lama cites Hindi Chini Bhai Bhai slogan, says Doklam standoff not serious

The Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama said on Wednesday the border standoff between India and China in the Doklam area of Sikkim is not a very serious issue and that the two neighbours will have to live side by side. The Dalai Lama said India and China have gone through phases in the past when they used harsh words against each other and added the only way forward is the Hindi Chini, Bhai Bhai. Even in 1962 (India-China war), Chinese forces which reached Bomdila (in Arunachal Pradesh), eventually withdrew. India and China have to live side by side, the Dalai Lama said. Read the story here.

Marathas storm SoBo in silence, CM Devendra Fadnavis blinks

More than two lakh Marathas demanding reservation in jobs and education marched on South Mumbai roads on Wednesday morning. Responding to this show of strength, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis announced a package of incentives  much of which was a repetition of schemes announced last year. Some of the decisions announced include extending benefits of concessions in fees to 605 vocational courses, so far applicable to OBCs, to Maratha students. The state also announced skill development training to three lakh students from farmers families and offered interest free loans of up to Rs 10 lakh to start new ventures and Rs 5 crore to set up hostels for Maratha students in every district. Read the story here.

Exception in marital rape law: Govt defends no action for forced sex with wife aged 15-17

The Centre on Wednesday defended in the Supreme Court a provision in the Indian Penal Code (IPC) that does not penalise a man for forcibly having sex with his wife aged between 15 and 17, saying the exception in rape law was meant to protect the institution of marriage. Centre made its submission before a bench headed by Justice MB Lokur, which is hearing a petition filed by NGO Independent Thought urging the court to intervene and read down section 375 (2) of IPC  an exception under the rape law  that permits a man to have sex with a girl aged between 15 to 17 if she is married to him. Read the story here.

Amit Shah sets 150-seat target for BJP in Gujarat assembly election

BJP chief Amit Shah today asked the party workers to work towards achieving the target of winning 150 of the total 182 seats in Gujarat in the upcoming Assembly polls. He said Mission 150 would ensure that the BJP wins three Rajya Sabha seats in the state next time. Shah, who resigned as the state MLA on Wednesday, told the cadres that the magic number of 150 achieved in the upcoming elections would make it possible for the BJP to win the Rajya Sabha seats, irrespective of the number of votes a candidate gets. Read the story here.

Sharad Yadav, others unhappy with Nitishs withdrawal from Grand Alliance

The possibility of a split in Bihars ruling Janata Dal (United) swirled on Wednesday, after the party broke ranks with the RJD and Congress to form a new government with the BJP on July 27. Several JD(U) leaders, including former party chief Sharad Yadav, are said to be unhappy with chief minister Nitish Kumars alleged unilateral decision to withdraw from the three-party grand alliance and realign with the BJP. Talk of a division increased after Yadav declared a four-day tour of Bihar from Thursday to assess the mood of party workers. Besides, RJD chief Lalu Prasad also fanned the flames on Wednesday, saying the grand alliance still exists as his party, the Sharad Yadav-led JD(U) and Congress are partners. Read the story here.

Russia probe: FBI raids home of Trumps ex-campaign chairman

FBI agents on July 26 raided a home owned by Paul Manafort  once the head of Donald Trumps presidential campaign  in connection with the ongoing probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election and alleged collusion by the US presidents aides, reports have revealed. Agents working for special counsel Robert Mueller arrived unannounced early morning at Manaforts home in Alexandria, Virginia, one day after he appeared at a closed-door hearing on Capitol Hill. Investigators are reported to have carried away various records  tax documents and foreign banking accounts  including documents already turned over by him to investigators. Read the story here.

Wrestler dies in Ranchi owing to electric shock

A promising national level wrestler Vishal Kumar Verma died of electrocution at a water-logged Jaipal Singh Stadium in Jharkhand capital Ranchi on Tuesday, state wrestling association secretary, Bhola Nath Singh, said. Vishal Kumar Verma, who won gold at the last Jharkhand state competition in both freestyle and Greco-Roman categories, was pumping out water that had collected near the state wrestling body office when he was electrocuted and fell unconscious. Read the story here.
Around half-a-dozen houses and a bridge were flattened in an overnight cloudburst in Bangapani area in Uttarakhands Pithoragarh district, officials said on Thursday.

More than two dozen cattle were washed away in the rains that followed the cloudburst at Kanar and the debris of the houses are being searched to ascertain if there was any loss of life.

Rains continued to wreak havoc in many other parts of Uttarakhand and landslides have been reported from many places.

#WATCH Uttarakhand: Bridge washed away after cloudburst in Pithoragarh's Madkot, 56 goats drowned, SDRF at the spot. pic.twitter.com/YH4StDrI8p  ANI (@ANI) August 10, 2017

The Badrinath highway was blocked near Lambagad for over two hours and traffic was blocked at Tanakpur national highway in Pithoragarh for several hours. More than 100 link roads continue to be in shambles, with vast regions in the hill tracts remaining cut off.

More than 20 metres of the highway at Pinola between Joshimath and Govindghat was washed away in the rains, affecting the Hemkund Sahib and Badrinath annual pilgrimage.

Rescue teams have been rushed from Munsyari and Dharchula. The district officials said that the exact extent of damage was unknown yet as the region where the cloudburst took place in an interior place.

The weather department has predicted heavy rains in the next 24 hours at many places including Dehradun, Pauri, Chamoli, Pithoragarh, Nainital and Haridwar in the hill state.

In Haridwar, the Ganga has breached the warning mark of 293 meters.
A CPI(M) party office was set on fire and four party supporters were injured at Khumulwng allegedly by the activists of the Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura (IPFT), police said on Thursday.

SP, Police control, Harkumar Debbarma said, when the IPFT activists set fire on the bikes it engulfed the area and the party office caught fire from the burning bikes on Wednesday. Four CPI(M) activists were also injured.

Police recovered 15 burnt bikes from the scene.

Meanwhile, CPI(M) state party Secretary Bijan Dhar claimed that seven activists of CPI(M) were injured in the incident and 25-27 bikes were burnt down by the IPFT activists.

He alleged that when the leaders and activists gathered in the party office following a party meeting in a nearby hall the IPFT activists attacked the party office.

Dhar said, the IPFT in league with opposition BJP were trying to subvert the atmosphere of peace in the state.
The TTV Dinkaran camp in AIADMK on Thursday hit out at chief minister K Palanisami for questioning the authority of the deputy general secretary and termed it as a betrayal, warning him of a backlash.

Two senior leaders of the Dinakaran camp also called Palanisami a traitor.

AIAMDKs Karnataka unit secretary and Dinakaran loyalist V Pugazhenthi termed the events as drama after the AIADMK Amma faction led by Palanisami questioned the authority of Dinakaran and that of jailed party leader V K Sasikala.

These decisions are not binding on us. Party supporters will not accept this. They have poked their eyes with their own fingers, he told reporters.

We are holding consultations with our deputy general secretary (Dinakaran). Anything can happen. This is the peak of betrayal where Palaniswami has ventured into, he said.

Such decisions cannot be taken by a few office-bearers, as was done today, but is a larger exercise with a number of them required to take decisions, Pugazhenthi said.

He vowed to teach a lesson to traitors.

The leader also alleged the possibility of role of former chief minister and rebel faction chief O Panneerselvam in Thursdays developments.

There could be behind the screens agreement with Panneerselvam, he alleged.

Another Dinakaran loyalist, Nanchil Sampath, said the chief minister-led camp had come out with a unilateral announcement questioning the formers authority.

By doing such a thing, Panneerslevam has got an important place in the list of traitors. History has seen many traitors and this is another betrayal, he said.

He questioned the Palanisami camps reasoning that Dinakarans appointment was not valid for the fact that he had not been a member of the party for five years prior to the appointment, since the late chief minister and party supremo J Jayalalithaa had expelled him in 2011.

Sampath recalled he had quit the Vaiko-led MDMK in December 2012 and was appointed the partys deputy propaganda secretary that very day by Jayalalithaa then.

Where were they then. Did these rules expire then? he asked.

He said Dinakaran himself will announce the future course of action following todays developments.
Any escalation of tension between India and China on the Dokalam standoff will be potentially very disruptive for the countries of the region and both sides should try to resolve the issue amicably, the United Arab Emirates said on Wednesday.

UAEs minister of state for foreign affairs Anwar Gargash said his country has been keeping an eye on the issue and hoped that both the great powers will find a way to resolve it.

Gargash on Wednesday held talks with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj covering all major bilateral and regional issues. The face-off between the armies of India and China in Dokalam is understood have figured at the meeting.

Any escalation between two great powers -- India and China -- is potentially very disruptive for all of us. More we have a way in adressing the the issue between these two great nations, I think we will feel more stable, he told reporters.

Gargash said he conveyed to Indian leaders that the dispute a number of Arab countries including the UAE are having with Qatar will not impact the Indian community as well as Indian interests in the region.

At the same time, he accused Qatar of attempting to destabilise the Gulf region by openly supporting extremism, terrorism and jihadist elements and said that country must abandon such destructive policy.

Asked about terror attacks on India from Pakistani soil, he said the UAE has been very vocal against such attacks and asserted that terrorism in the name of pushing political agenda cannot be tolerated at all.

He said terrorism must be dealt with firmly and all countries must come together to combat the menace, cautioning against politicisation of religion.

Gargash said ties between India and the UAE have intensified to a great extent over the last few years, adding the focus of the cooperation is now on strategic and political sphere.

Asked about investment in India from the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth funds, the minister said a framework has to be put in place for investments.

He said both sides are working together to ensure that investments in India from Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth funds are on a solid institutional ground.

I think we are working on this together. It will be a collective effort in order to make sure that our investments in India are on solid institutional ground, he said.

Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital, has a sovereign wealth fund of USD 800 billion. India has been eyeing the fund, parked with the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, for its infrastructure sector.

We have huge appetite for India. We need a legal framework (for investment). There is a huge potential, he said.

The minister indicated that the investments from the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth funds will come to India through its National Infrastructure and Investment Fund (NIIF).

India is the UAEs number one trading partner and the annual trade currently stands at nearly USD 60 billion. The UAE, a major player in the Gulf region, is a strategically important country for India.
A parliamentary panel on Thursday expressed apprehension that due to slow pace of work, the government may miss the deadline of making river Ganga clean by 2020.

The Standing Committee on Water Resources, in its Demand for Grants (2017-18) for Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, asked the ministry to fast track the projects to ensure expeditious cleaning of the river.

The committee, in the report tabled in Parliament on Thursday, noted with utmost concern that so far only four sewage treatment plant (STP) projects -- two at Haridwar, one each at Varanasi and Mathura -- have been taken up.

It also noted that few more projects are expected to be taken up under hybrid annuity-based Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.

In this model, a part of the capital investment is paid by the government through construction-linked milestones and the balance through an annuity over the contract duration.

Keeping in view the slow pace of work, the committee are constrained to believe that the targeted completion of cleaning of Ganga river by December 2020 may remain unaccomplished, the panel said.

It also asked the ministry to apprise of the details of the total expenditure incurred by the National Mission for Clean Ganga so far and outcome achieved thereby.

Deploy territorial army

The panel also suggested that the government deploy Territorial Army battalions for conserving river Ganga from Uttarkhand to West Bengal.

In its report on Resettlement of Ex-Servicemen the Parliamenary Standing Committee on Defence, stressed on the need to physically ensure protection of revered Ganga on its entire course.

Nothing could be more efficient than the TA battalions raised for the protection of Ganga be deployed from Shivpuri in Uttarkhand to Ganga Sagar (in West Bengal), the panel said.

The Indian Territorial Army (TA) is a second line of defence after the regular army. It comprises 10-15% of the regular soldiers, approximately 50% of them are ex-servicemen and the rest are recruited from local areas. The Ecological Task Force (ETF) battalions of the TA have been raised to execute specific environment-related projects, with military like culture, by enrolling ex-servicemen.
The Chandigarh stalking case has put the spotlight on the increasing incidence of harassment of women by phone in Himachal Pradesh.

Women in Himachal Pradesh are increasingly at the receiving end of lewd calls. At 151%, Himachal Pradesh has the third highest tele-density in the country next only Delhi (254%) and Mumbai (181%). Locals attribute it to the telecom revolution in Himachal initiated by former Union Telecom Minister Sukh Ram.

The number of telephone exchanges increased tremendously during his tenure. Later the BSNL and other companies expanded their networks in rural areas, General Manager, BSNL, M.C Singh told HT. There are nearly 1.3 lakh landline connections in Himachal against 80 lakh mobile phone subscribers.

The large number of phones has led to an increasing incidence of their misuse to harass women. Ironically, Mandi, the home town of Sukh Ram, recorded the maximum number of such cases the last five years. There were 45 cases of harassment via telephones in Mandi district while Shimla reported 42 of the total 256 cases registered in the entire state.

In 2011, the police introduced a Short Message Service wherein women, who were reluctant to visit police stations, could register their complaints on their mobiles. In the last five years, more than 15,761 mobile phone subscribers have filed a slew of complaints through SMS at various police stations We have already taken some steps and more are being taken. More police helplines are being set up in the state, Director General of Police Somesh Goyal told HT.

The police registered FIRs against 326 persons for harassing women on telephones in last five years

Five years ago, the Shimla police had constituted anti-Romeo squads deputing policemen in civvies to record the activities of youths harassing women, especially outside girls colleges. But over time, the drive was abandoned and no reasons were given for it. This year only 17 cases of eve-teasing have been registered so far.

Calling for more effective steps, Sheetal Sharma, a woman activist, warned: There are a variety of personality issues that can cause a man to start obsessing about a woman to the point of stalking her. Stalkers are known to break laws and terrorise their victims. They must be dealt with sternly.

Women can report the matter on 9459100100.

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Spread across 39,117 sq kms, more than 26 times the size of Delhi, Bastar division in Chhattisgarh comprising seven districts is a Maoist hotbed with rebels and security forces engaged in offensives since 1980 when the region was still a part of Madhya Pradesh. Chhattisgarh itself was carved out of MP on November 1, 2000.

Bastars child sex ratio for ages 0-6 has seen a decline from 1009 to 991 per between 2001 and 2011. While the literacy rate rose to 54.94% in 2011, it still lags behind the national average of 74.04%. (Ritesh Mishra / HT Photo)

About 70% of Bastars population of around 1,413,199 is tribal according to the 2011 census. Gonds, Abhuj Marias and Bhatras are among the main tribes. Security forces reach out to locals for information but Maoists are quick to brand them as informants, at times after trial in their dreaded Jan Adalats (kangaroo courts) with punishment being death.

A Gond man from Pedawada village in Darbha spotted during his tribes hunting ritual, arrow in hand. (Ritesh Mishra / HT Photo)

Gonds go out hunting for game in groups during festivals and share the meat, mostly from wildfowl. Animal rights activists oppose this ritual and say animals are also killed during the Parad festival, but Gonds insist they respect their forests and animals and hunt only for subsistence, not sport.

A Gond woman in Sukma district, known as the Maoist stronghold in Bastar, carries firewood. Excursions beyond village bounds are not a frequent experience for most. (Ritesh Mishra / HT Photo)

Weekly haats or rural markets are the lifeline of Bastars villagers, who rarely venture out to cities for larger purchases.The haat is about 8 km from their village and they cover it in foot once every week after harvest.

A woman vendor awaits customers for sweetmeats and savories at the weekly haat in Bhainsasur village, 15 km inside the forests near Antahgarh block in south Bastar. (Ritesh Mishra / HT Photo)

Many areas of Bastar are practically out of bounds for journalists from mainstream media organisations without the nod of authorities and help of security personnel. Even with official approval, having local contacts is the key.

A busy day at Geedam bazaar in the interiors of Dantewada district, the largest of its kind and known for cockfighting. (Ritesh Mishra / HT Photo)

The marketplace has two claims to fame. First, it is the districts biggest village bazaar. Second, it hosts the most raucous of cockfighting in the region. Cockfights, while illegal see roosters with sharp blades tied to their legs locked in duel, mostly to the death. Despite police crackdowns, villagers organise the fights and betting is prevalent.

An exterior view of the Bastar Dhaba prominently featuring a mural of Che Guevara. The artists identity is unknown. (Ritesh Mishra / HT Photo)

The eponymous Bastar Dhaba, sporting a mural of Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara, came up in Antahagarh block in Kanker district last year. There are no eateries after this one for people travelling to Narayanpur district, about 54 kms away. While the origins of the mural are unknown, but it is a talking point among people from cities who often stop by the eatery.

A post office in Tarandul village of south Bastar with an earthen roof. Even schools in the region employ bamboo and thatching out of security concerns. (Ritesh Mishra / HT Photo)

Maoists target concrete buildings in Bastars interiors to prevent security personnel from setting up camps. Moreover, most villagers are too poor to buy material for concrete structures and get them ferried. Locals rely on bamboo, wood, and thatch roofing.

A tribal woman peers out the Visakhapatnam-Kirandul Express, the only one running through Dantewada. (Ritesh Mishra / HT Photo)

Mobile networks are non-existent or dodgy in many parts of Bastar making communication with the outside world spotty. A train operates daily and is the only one running through Maoist-hit Dantewada. According to railway officials, the stretch between Kirandul and Kumar Shadra, after Geedam, is highly Maoist-infested.
The army has ordered evacuation of a frontier Sikkim village near the site of a tense India-China border standoff, the Peoples Daily newspaper said on Thursday.

The Indian military refused comments on the report by the neighbouring Asian giants biggest newspaper, which also happens to be the Communist Party of Chinas mouthpiece.

But army sources denied any evacuation or plans for such an action in Sikkim.

The Peoples Daily tweeted: Indian troops on Thu orders evacuation of Nathang village, near site of two-month standoff between #Chinese and #Indian armies.

#Indian troops on Thu orders evacuation of Nathang village, near site of two-month standoff between #Chinese and #Indian armies pic.twitter.com/2SfsoUWSwI  People's Daily,China (@PDChina) August 10, 2017

The tweet carried a picture showing the two points where the Indian military allegedly crossed the mutually recognized boundary.

The Peoples Daily account about the evacuation matches reports in sections of Indian media that said the villagers have been asked to vacate their houses immediately.

Beijing has taken an aggressive stand since the standoff between Indian and Chinese soldiers began on June 16. It accuses New Delhi of trespass and preventing its soldiers from building a road in the disputed region of Doklam, located at a strategic tri-junction between India, China and Bhutan.

According to Bhutan and India, Doklam is part of Bhutanese territory. Beijing says Indian troops should withdraw from the Doklam plateau, while New Delhi maintains that the planned Chinese road will have serious security implication for India.

The Chinese rejected Indias suggestion for a simultaneous withdrawal of troops to end the longest border faceoff between the neighbours in nearly three decades.

The Indian Army is said to have rescheduled a routine training exercise of troops from the Siliguri-based 33 Corps because of the border dispute.

Sources said the schedule of Operation Alert, a two-week training exercise for troops to familiarise with the area, was advanced from late September to early August.

India hopes to settle the crisis through bilateral talks, despite the Chinese sabre-rattling.

War is not a solution and India would resolve the standoff with China through dialogue, foreign minister Sushma Swaraj said in Parliament last week. But China has not budged from its stand that India must unilaterally withdraw its troops from Doklam.

Even if there is one Indian soldier even for a day it is still a violation of Chinas sovereignty, Wang Wenli, a top Chinese foreign ministry official said earlier this week.

The Indian side has also many tri-junctions. What if we use the same excuse and enter the Kalapani region between China, India and Nepal or even into the Kashmir region between India and Pakistan? she asked.
A feeling of unease and insecurity is creeping in among Muslims in India, vice president Hamid Ansari said, joining a growing number of leaders who have expressed concerns over attacks on minorities.

Ansari, who completed two terms as vice president on Thursday, said that there is a breakdown of Indian values and of the abilities among authorities at different levels in different places to be able to enforce what should be normal law enforcing work.

Overall, the very fact that Indianness of any citizen being questioned is a disturbing thought, he said in his parting interview to Rajya Sabha TV, released on Thursday.

On Wednesday, Congress president Sonia Gandhi raised similar concerns during a speech in Parliament where she urged people to not let dark forces diminish Indias core values.

Neither Ansari nor Gandhi named any party or individual in particular, but their statements can be seen to allude to the leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party, which the Congress party and other opposition outfits often accuse of pandering to right-wing Hindu ideologies.

Ansari was a member of the Congress before being nominated Vice President in 2007.

In his interview, Ansari said that he shared his apprehensions to the Prime Minister and other cabinet ministers, but refused to divulge details of their interaction on the plank that what passes between the vice president and the Prime Minister in the nature of things must remain in the domain of privileged conversation.

Ansari was asked a question on his lecture at the National Law School in Bengaluru earlier this month where he said rejuvenating secularisms basic principles was becoming a challenge.

Yes, it is a correct assessment. From all I hear from different quarters, the country. I heard the same thing in Bengaluru, I have heard from other parts of the country, I hear more about in north India. There is a feeling of unease, a sense of insecurity is creeping in, he told journalist Karan Thapar during the interview after being asked to reflect on his statement in Bengaluru.

The outgoing vice president also ruled out the possibility of Indian Muslims being influenced by militant outfits.

Ansari, the only two-term vice president after S Radhakrishnan, also voice advice for Muslim community.

Do not create for one self or ones fellow beings an imaginary situation which is centuries back, when things were very different. I mean the whole idea was that what are the challenges today... The challenges today are challenges of development, what are the requirements for development; you keep up with the times, educate yourself, and compete...

He said the issue of Triple Talaq is a social aberration and the reform has to come from within the community. The religious requirement is crystal clear, emphatic, there are no two views about it but patriarchy, social customs has all crept into it to create a situation which is highly undesirable.

Former union minister Venkaiah Naidu has been elected as his successor and Ansari thinks that the nature of the job (chairman of Rajya Sabha) will dictate the response and there is no reason why the Opposition will not get a fair deal under Naidus chairmanship.
Ivanka Trump, daughter of US President Donald Trump and his advisor, is likely to visit Hyderabad in to take part in the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES). The meet will take place on November 30 which will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

During his meeting with President Trump in Washington in June, Modi had invited Ivanka for the GES, which started in 2010. Officials said whether Ivanka will be visiting other cities or not will be known in the coming days as the two sides work out the details of the high-profile visit.
After kicking up a controversy last week by asking people to shoot Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on the streets for failing to fulfil pre-election promises, YSR Congress party president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday triggered yet another uproar by calling for hanging Naidu in public.

What is wrong in asking for Naidus hanging for cheating the public with false promises? Jagan asked, while addressing a series of road shows in Nandyal in Kurnool district, where by-elections are scheduled to be held on August 23.

Jagans comments came almost at the same time when chief electoral officer Bhanwarlal told media he had received the explanation from the YSR Congress party president for his inflammatory comments against the chief minister during his public meeting at Nandyal on August 3. I am sending a report on his explanation to the Election Commission, which will take a decision, Bhanwarlal said.

During the Nandyal public meeting, Jagan had alleged that Naidu had failed to implement even a single promise he had given to various sections of people including farmers, women, unemployed and minorities. The chief minister is known for his duplicity, double-dealing and treachery. And now, he is coming before you to seek votes again. There is nothing wrong, if people like Naidu are gunned down on streets in public glare, Jagan said. He is not a Mukhya Mantri (chief minister), but a Mukhya Kantri (chief looter).

The EC took suo motu cognizance of his comments and served a notice on him on August 7 seeking an explanation from him. In his reply, Jagan said he had made the comments only out of anguish that the TDP government had failed to fulfil the election promises and that he had nothing personal against Naidu.

But on Thursday, the YSRC chief once again made a similar comment against the chief minister. He alleged that Naidu had been blatantly using money and muscle power in the by-election by luring all sections of the people unmindful of the fact that none of his election promises was fulfilled even three years after coming to power.

He is now repeating the same promises and is reiterating the same assurances which he did not fulfil during his three years in office. While the entire cabinet had hit the streets for this by-election and Naidu has been lavishly spending the ill-gotten wealth to lure voters, he alleged.

His latest comment evoked strong reaction from the TDP leaders. It appears Jagan has lost his mental balance. The EC should disqualify him from contesting elections forever, senior TDP leader and irrigation minister Devineni Umamaheshwara Rao said.

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A group of JD(U) leaders are considering expelling their president Nitish Kumar, sources in the party said on Thursday, threatening to bring into open a growing resentment against the Bihar chief minister who dramatically dumped the partys old alliance partners last month to realign with the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Former JD(U) president Sharad Yadav, the second-most prominent face in the party, is regarded as the head of the faction unhappy with Kumars decision. Yadav was set to begin on Thursday a three-day tour of Bihar in which he will meet members of the party.

Kumars unilateral decision to walk out of the Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) violates the mandate of the 2015 assembly elections. Twelve state unit presidents met Yadav recently to condemn the decision. We are exploring legal and constitutional options (on expelling Kumar as the party president), former party general secretary Arun Srivastava said.

Srivastava was suspended on Tuesday for his anti-party activity in appointing an election agent for the recent Rajya Sabha by-polls in Gujarat without consulting the party president.

The fight between legislators loyal to Kumar and those backing Yadav is likely to lead to a showdown at the partys August 19 national executive meeting in Patna.

In case there is a formal breakaway, the two factions will need to approach the Election Commission to claim the party name and the symbol (arrow).

A similar predicament arose when Tamil party AIADMK split after J Jayalalithaas demise. The Election Commission froze the partys two leaves symbol, while awarding new symbols to the two factions led by O Paneerselvam and TTV Dinakaran.

In case the EC takes a similar position, Kumar will need to take measures to float a new party. Such a course will bring to surface the grave resentment that already exists against party workers, the JD (U) rebels say.

Kumars hold over the party rank and file is expected to be tested at the Patna meeting of the party national executive on August 19. The rebel faction, sources said, have planned sharp attacks against Kumar over his decision to align with the saffron party.

They are also planning to convene a parallel national convention sometime next month.

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Jharkhand police are contemplating legal action against some leaders of the Adivasi Mahasabha, an influential tribal group, for allegedly instigating anti-national activities.

A senior UN official, who allegedly attended the tribal organisations meetings, is also under the scanner, police sources said.

Mahasabha for the last few years has been spearheading a campaign against the BJP-led state governments alleged anti-tribal policies.

On the occasion of the World Indigenous Day on Wednesday, the tribal body allegedly gave a call to boycott Independence Day celebrations and refrain from saluting the Tricolour.

Addressing a public rally at Gopal Maidan in Jamshedpur, some leaders of the organisation also allegedly appealed to the indigenous people to return their voters identity card to the government and banned all forms of elections in tribal areas.

The leaders accused the government of denying indigenous communities the rights guaranteed to them by the Constitution, claiming tribal are being treated as slaves in the country.

They asked tribal families not to send their children to school for ID celebrations on August 15.

Police and intelligence agencies have videographed the entire proceedings of the meeting and submitted a report to the government suggesting legal action against the leaders.

This is unacceptable. We cannot allow people to misuse their right to freedom of expression to accomplish their ulterior motives, said a senior police officer on condition of anonymity.

Jamshedpur senior police superintendent Anoop T Mathew said action would be initiated against the leaders after examining the video.

If we come across any evidences that could be deemed as anti-national, we would not hesitate to lodge an FIR against them, he said.

Another police officer said they are also tracking the movement of vice-chairperson of United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues Fulman Choudhary.

He has been reportedly attending meetings of the tribal bodies where anti-India speeches were made.

Addressing Wednesdays meeting, Mahasabha general secretary Krishna Hansda accused the state government of victimising tribals by branding them Naxalites or Maoists.

We want the government to clearly define who is a Maoist and what according to it is Naxalism, he said.

In a tribal-dominated state like Jharkhand, the government takes no time to branding anyone who speaks against the establishment as a Maoist or Naxalite and pushes them behind bars. The tribals are deprived of their rights to express their views democratically, he added.

Another Mahasabha leader Krishna Hansda claimed tribals are not free in Jharkhand.

They (tribal people) are forced to follow systems that are detrimental to their interests. The constitution has given certain rights and privileges to indigenous people, but the government doesnt want to follow them. Hence, there is no point for tribals to participate in Independence Day celebrations, he said.

The BJP government here had recently amended two century-old tenancy laws that prohibited the government from acquiring agricultural land owned by tribal people for non-agricultural purposes.

The Mahasabha took the lead opposing the bills, prompting the governor to suggest their repeal.

The tribal body recently declared non-cooperation movement against the government by rejecting government schemes and programmes.

It also prohibited entry of non-tribals in the tribal villages.
Senior Congress leaders Jyotiraditya Scindia and Jai Prakash Agarwal will meet party legislators and other functionaries in Patna on Friday to discuss the political situation in Bihar after chief minister Nitish Kumar dumped the Grand Alliance and renewed his ties with the BJP.

Scindia, the partys chief whip in the Lok Sabha, and Agarwal, a former Delhi unit chief, will elicit views of the Bihar leaders on the impact of Kumars move on Congress and also discuss the future strategy, including the alliance politics.

A Bihar Congress functionary told Hindustan Times that the two leaders will hold a collective interaction with all state office-bearers and also separately meet individuals at the party headquarters at Sadaqat Ashram in Patna. However, Congress general secretary in-charge of Bihar, CP Joshi, will not be present.

The visit by the central team is also seen as an attempt by the Congress high command to address the leadership issue in the state.

The current Bihar Congress president, Ashok Chaudhary, has been facing rebellion for a long time now. A large number of state leaders had repeatedly urged the central leadership to replace him in view of his holding the important education portfolio in the Mahagathbandhan government, arguing that he was unable to devote much time to organisational matters.

But that arrangement has since changed, with Kumar forming a coalition government with the BJP.

Chaudhary, once considered close to Kumar, was instrumental in persuading the Congress high command to fight the 2015 assembly elections with the Janata Dal (United) leader as the face, a move that eventually forced Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad to agree to the formula and form the Mahagathbandhan or Grand Alliance against the BJP.

For more than two years now, the Congress leadership has been hunting for a new chief in Bihar but was unable to do so due to the states caste complexities.

Soon after Kumar took oath as chief minister for the sixth term on July 27, with BJP as his junior partner, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi had summoned Chaudhary to Delhi and held detailed discussions with him on the overall political situation and the state of affairs in the organisation.

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Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti is expected to leave for New Delhi on Thursday amid a debate on an article in the Constitution which grants special privileges to the state.

According to local news agencies in Srinagar, Mufti is likely to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other political leaders to discuss the political fallout of abrogation of Article 35A.

Mufti is also likely to meet leaders of other political parties to apprise them of the fallout .

Article 35A, added to the Indian Constitution through a presidential order of 1954, empowers the Jammu and Kashmir legislature to define the states permanent residents and their special rights and privileges.

The Article has come under focus recently after two Kashmiri women approached the Supreme Court, challenging it as they contended that it had disenfranchised their children.

At a recent event in Delhi, Mufti said if Article 35A was tinkered with, there will be no one in Kashmir to uphold the national flag.

Opposition political parties have suggested to Mufti to lead an all-party delegation to the PM over the issue.

The chief minister has called on NC patron Dr Farooq Abdullah, JKPCC president GA Mir and other opposition leaders in the last two days over the issue.

The meeting is being viewed as a major political development as the coalition partners PDP and BJP are not on the same page regarding the issue.

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Come September, beauty queens in Arunachal Pradesh will have to contend with a quota system.

Organisers of the 10th Miss Arunachal beauty pageant have introduced a special quota for women belonging to three underprivileged tribes  Lisu, Nah and Puroik -- with roots in China.This comes amid mounting tensions between India and China over a border dispute in Bhutans Doklam.

The audition for Miss Arunachal 2017 is scheduled from September 10 to October 15 across the state.

The auditions will be held across the state next month. But contestants from the three tribes will be given direct entry for the contest, Tai Roket, the in-charge of the pageant, said.

The heads of the apex body of each of these communities have been asked to send representatives for the contest, he added.

Our objective is not only to celebrate physical beauty but also inner beauty, raise self-esteem of girls from remote areas and prepare them to face the world confidently, Kipa Niba, the pageants organising secretary told HT from state capital Itanagar.

The quota system is not the only first for Miss Arunachal contest that Arunachal Guild for Cultural Integration is organising. Participation comes with a two-point rider  each contestant must have a minimum height of 5.2 ft and must have passed class 12. Among the older conditions is 18 years as minimum age for participation.

Lisu, Nah and Puroik are minority tribes with a history of deprivation, and young women from these communities deserve to showcase their beauty and talent, even with a certain degree of reservation, Niba added.

A majority of the Lisu people live in China, Myanmar and Thailand. About 5,000 of them inhabit Changlang district of Arunachal.

Considered foreigners earlier, the Lisus were evicted from a cluster of villages in Changlangs Vijaynagar circle by the Assam Rifles in 1964. They were derecognised as Indians in 1980 but got back their citizenship in 1994.

The Buddhism-practising Nah people inhabit five villages close to the Tibet border in Taksing circle of Upper Subansiri district. The circle is a days walk from the nearest place with a semblance of a road.

Remoteness has not been an issue for the Purioks, who were once considered a slave tribe associated with the numerically stronger Nyishi community. The Puroik population is estimated to be more than 10,000, and they are found in more than 50 villages of districts such as Kurung Kumey, East Kameng and Papum Pare.

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The number of security force personnel killed in Maoist-affected areas was more than that in conflict-hit Jammu and Kashmir this year, the government has said, with left-wing insurgency accounting for the death of 67 soldiers out of 106 casualties in the first seven months of 2017.

According to data provided by the Union home ministry, Maoist attacks not only claimed more lives but the number of violent incidents was also more in states hit by left-wing insurgency.

The ministry said 2017 witnessed 504 incidents of Maoist violence, which is more than double the number of militant attacks in J-K where 194 such incidents were reported until July.

Data regarding left-wing extremism was provided by Union minister of state for home Hansraj Gangaram Ahir in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday while responding to questions posed by Supriya Sule, Heena Vijaykumar, Mohite Patil, PR Sundaram, Satav Rajeev and Dr Jayavardhan.

Ahir gave the data on incidents in Kashmir while responding to a question posed by Telugu Desam Partys Jayadev Galla.

Official data said out of the 504 incidents in Maoist-hit areas, February witnessed 95 violent incidents, followed by 86 in January and 85 in May. A total of 18 security personnel died in March followed by 11 in February this year.

Seventy-six violent incidents were reported in April which also recorded the highest killings of security force personnel. Twenty-five CRPF personnel were killed and six others wounded in an ambush carried out by Maoists in Chhattisgarhs Sukma district in the same month.

The number of civilians killed in Maoist-hit areas this year stands at 103 with April reporting 24 of them.

In J-K, where the Centre has intensified its counter-insurgency operations, 194 militant attacks took place until July 31 in which 115 militants and 39 security personnel were killed.

According to data provided by Ahir, 222 militant attacks took place in 2014, 208 in 2015, and 322 last year.

A total of 44 militants were arrested this year, a number lower than last year when 79 were arrested. In 2014 and 2015, 70 and 67 militants were arrested respectively.

Casualties suffered by the security forces in ceasefire violations by Pakistan in 2017 stood at five till July 11.

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Over 1,000 Muslim clerics and imams have called on the United Nations to take action against the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack mastermind and Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed for his anti-India activities.

They on Wednesday passed a resolution to this effect at a gathering here, a cleric said, adding more than 1,000 Muslim clerics and imams supported the motion.

The resolution, which also denounces the JuD along with several other Pakistan-based terror outfits, has been forwarded to the UN Security Councils Counter-Terrorism Committee with a copy marked to the Prime Ministers Office, said Abdur Rahman Anjaria, head of city-based NGO Islamic Defence Cyber Cell.

Read more | Hafiz Saeeds JuD launches political party in Pakistan

Anjaria, who introduced the resolution said, Hafiz Saeed and the terror outfits he heads are threat to global peace. He calls India enemy No. 1 but he is the enemy of Islam and humanity.

Apart from demanding action against the India-hater from the UN Security Councils Counter-Terrorism Committee, we have apprised the PMO about the same, he told PTI.

Anjaria added, We passed the resolution at a gathering held at a madrassa and unanimously denounced JuD and several other Pakistan-based terror outfits which are hellbent on harming our country.

The cleric said Kashmir is an internal issue of India and no third party should interfere in it.

We have dispatched our resolution to Amr Abdellatif Aboulatta, chair of the UN Security Councils Counter- Terrorism Committee at the Security Council, he said.

In 2015, Anjaria had initiated the worlds biggest fatwa against the terror outfit Islamic State and got it signed by over 1,000 Indian Muslim clerics and imams.
The ruling NDA government has been the most active among Indian governments earlier in proceeding against persons with unaccounted income stashed away in foreign bank accounts, finance minister Arun Jaitley said on Thursday.

No other government has been as active as the current one in the matter of foreign accounts, Jaitley asserted in the Rajya Sabha during the debate on the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill.

Every account in the Panama Papers has been investigated. Whether it is Liechtenstein, HSBC... in each case, the government is in touch with the authorities of these countries, he said, referring to cases arising out of the Panama Papers disclosures and of accounts reported from the Geneva branch in Switzerland of HSBC Bank and from Liechtenstein.

Prosecutions have been filed... assessments are being done, Jaitley said on action taken by the Income Tax department on such cases, adding that there is no prohibition on disclosing the names in cases where legal proceedings have been started.

Jaitley told the Lok Sabha earlier this month that money in foreign countries was reported from four sources, including HSBC, International Consortium of Journalists and Panama Papers.

In cases of which we are receiving details, we send notices, assess their income tax details and raise tax demand. According to the law, criminal proceedings are also carried out. In HSBC and now in Panama Papers, the proceedings will be carried out, he said.

The Income Tax department has filed over 100 cases of prosecution against those entities whose names have appeared in an HSBC Geneva bank list.

This move followed Indias Supreme Court in 2015 giving a list of 628 entities in the HSBC Geneva branch, that was furnished to it in a sealed envelope by the central government, to the Special Investigation Team constituted by the court.

India has enacted the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015, to deal with the menace of black money stashed abroad.
Jammu and Kashmir police arrested a newly-recruited Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant in north Kashmirs Sopore on Thursday, officials said.

The police said that a pistol with magazine, five pistol rounds and two UBGL grenades were recovered from this possession.

A police spokesperson said that a joint checkpoint was established by police, armys 52-RR and 177 CRPF Bn on Seer Amargrah road near Railway Crossing Seer, Sopore.

During Naka checking, one person after noticing the joint checkpoint fled away to a nearby orchard. The area was immediately cordoned off by the police and security forces, and the suspected person was apprehended, the spokesperson said.

The official said that the person was later identified as Ishfaq Ahmad Kanna , a resident of Jamai-Qadeem Sopore of district Baramulla who was recently recruited by LeT.

 Before joining LeT, he worked as an active recruiter or over the ground worker for LeT outfit in Sopore and other areas of north Kashmir, the spokesperson said.
The Delhi high court said on Thursday that not recruiting married women in the armys legal arm, called judge advocate general (JAG), amounts to hostile and 100% discrimination.

JAG officers provide legal help to the army, including advising presiding officers of court martial proceedings. A major general holds the post of judge advocate general.

The high court made the observation hearing a petition that alleged that keeping married women off the JAG is institutionalised discrimination.

Today women are fighter pilots and you say they are not fit for the JAG. What is the logic behind ousting married women? the court asked.

The petition sought a direction to the Centre to hire married woman law graduates in the JAG.

The government responded that the bar applied to unmarried men and women during the nine-to-ten-month training period in the army.

Another petition said only gainfully employed men were recruited in the Territorial Army, the countrys second line of defence after the regular army.

Why are women not fit for the Territorial Army? the court sought to know.

The government replied that women were not recruited in the Territorial Armys infantry division, but there is no bar in hiring in other sections.

The court directed the army to give written replies for both cases in the next hearing on August 24.

Gender parity in the armed forces have been a raging debate since India began recruiting women to non-medical positions in the military in 1992. Only 2.5% of its more than one million personnel are women  most of them administrators, intelligence officers, doctors, nurses or dentists.

India, which has one of the largest armies in the world, has resisted allowing women in combat roles, citing concern over their vulnerability if captured and the stress of frontline deployments.

But the government took steps last October towards gender equality in the male-dominated profession, allowing the air forces woman pilots to fly warplanes on an experimental basis.
Police in Odishas Maoist-affected Malkangiri district arrested three persons on charges of smuggling cannabis worth Rs 1 crore in an oil tanker that was on its way to Sukma district in neighbouring Chhattisgarh on Thursday.

Malkangiri superintendent of police Jagmohan Meena said based on a tip, police searched the stationary tanker and found sacks of ganja inside. Police arrested the tanker driver Yasmin Bhagel of along with his two helpers, Sona Madhi and Raghu Kalkada of Malkangiri.

Considered as the epicentre of cannabis cultivation in Odisha, Malkangiri district is frequented by traders from Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi, said a source aware of the clandestine trade. Cannabis cultivation flourishes most in the Maoist bastion in Kudumulgumma block of the district, the source added. For over a decade, traders from other states have been visiting Malkangiri every year to buy cannabis at rates between Rs 800 and Rs 1,000 a kg, said the source.

In 2010, the Uttar Pradesh special task force seized 3,000 kg of cannabis worth around Rs 10 crore from a truck in Lucknow. The truck had reached UP from Balimela area of Malkangiri district .

Police officials said cannabis traders have always used ingenious ways of carrying the narcotics. In November 2014, police officials of Jeypore found 40 kg of cannabis in an unnumbered ambulance on the Malkangiri-Boipariguda route. In January 2015, Koraput police seized a truck that had 380 kg of cannnabis hidden in a separate chamber under its wooden body. A cannabis haul was once made from an extra fuel tank of a car.

An investigation by former Odisha police chief Amarananda Pattanayak and his team in 2003 stated cannabis was being cultivated at the behest of Maoists.

Taking advantage of the geographical situation and inaccessibility, Maoists are using the local tribals for clandestine cultivation of ganja. The local tribals are engaged by the drug mafia for cultivation and then transporting them through deep jungles to select places from where middlemen and drug peddlers ferry the consignment to several places, the investigation report said.
Indias next vice president Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday dismissed allegations of insecurity among Muslims as a political propaganda, a day after his predecessor Hamid Ansari flagged a growing unease among the countrys minority community.

Though Naidu did not name anyone, his comments are being seen as a response to Ansari, who told a government-run TV channel on Thursday that insecurity was creeping in among Muslims in India and that there was a breakdown of Indian values.

Some people are saying minorities are insecure. It is a political propaganda. Compared to the entire world, minorities are more safe and secure in India and they get their due, Naidu said.

Naidus political stand left many surprised as it came a day ahead of his swearing in to the countrys second-highest constitutional position, a post neutral of party affiliations.

In his parting interview to Rajya Sabha TV, Ansari also pointed out alleged failure of law enforcing agencies, seen as a reference to growing incidents of mob lynchings over cow smuggling.

Naidu, a former BJP president, cautioned against highlighting one community as it might result in adverse reaction from other communities.

If you single out one community, other communities will take it otherwise. That is why we say all are equal. Appeasement for none, justice for all, 68-year-old Naidu said.

Naidu the second leader with an RSS-BJP background to be elected VP after Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, also stressed that India is secular not because of political leaders but because of its people and civilisation.

The BJP lashed out at Ansari and Prime Minister Narendra Modi took subtle digs at the outgoing VP.

There might have been some uneasiness in you. But probably that worry will no longer be there for you. There will be the joy of freedom for you. You can act, think and talk according to your fundamental ideology, Modi said during Ansaris farewell, underlining that his ancestors were closely associated with the Congress.

You have spent a large part of your diplomatic career in West Asia. After retirement, you worked in Minority Commission or Aligarh University, so your circle remained the same, Modi added.

In his farewell speech, Ansari reminded the government and opposition of their duties, quoting Indias first vice president Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan to say, Democracy can become a tyranny if opposition parties are not allowed to criticise government policies. The opposition also has no right to disrupt the House.

BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya questioned if Ansari was looking for political shelter after retirement.

I condemn his comments. He is still a vice president and such comments do not suit his offices dignity, Vijayvargiya said.

Ansaris comments also drew a sharp rebuke from other RSS affiliates, including the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP).

With his remarks that Muslims feel insecure in the country, Ansari has insulted the post of the vice president, the government and the entire Hindu community, VHP joint general secretary Surendra Jain said.

It is unfortunate that Ansari followed (Md Ali) Jinnah rather than adopting the paths of former president APJ Abdul Kalam and freedom fighter Maulana Azad, Jain said.

But Ansari found support from senior lawmakers including Congress Ghulam Nabi Azad and CPMs Sitaram Yechury who referred to the outgoing VPs comments. The opposition parties accuse the BJP-led NDA government of not doing enough to rein in fringe groups targeting minorities since Narendra Modi government came to power in 2014.

Modi had earlier spoken out against atrocities on minorities, especially by cow protection groups and asked states to take action but critics say it came too late.

Naidu also condemned the activities of cow vigilant groups and demanded action against them.

(With PTI inputs)

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Pakistan on Thursday accused India of committing more than 600 ceasefire violations this year which resulted in the killing of over 34 Pakistani civilians.

Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria also accused India of altering the demography of Jammu and Kashmir by settling non-Kashmiris in the state.

The former Adviser to the PM on Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz, had written a letter to the UNSG underscoring the Indian attempts, he said at the weekly press briefing in Islamabad.

He claimed that India committed more than 600 ceasefire violations which resulted in killing of over 34 civilians.

He also accused that India allows limited access to United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP), which has been mandated to monitor peace at LoC and report back in case of any violations.

India maintains that UNMOGIP has outlived its utility and is irrelevant after the Simla Agreement and the consequent establishment of the Line of Control.
On his last day as Rajya Sabha chairman, Hamid Ansari was on Thursday accorded a warm farewell by leaders from across the political spectrum, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that he had done his best to uphold the Constitution.

Ansari served two terms as the vice president by virtue of which he was the chairman of the Rajya Sabha as well.

M Venkaiah Naidu will take over as the next Chairman of the Upper House of Parliament on Friday.

Here are the highlights of the day:

6:00 pm: Lok Sabha adjourned for the day.

5:47pm: Dont politicize Chandigarh stalking case, law will take its course. Even the girl appreciated prompt action by Police: Parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar.

5:45 pm: MPs in the Lok Sabha speak on the issue of safety of women in the country.

5:50 pm: Rajya Sabha adjourned till Friday.

5:08 pm: MoS finance Arjun Ram Meghwal introduces Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance (FRDI) Bill, 2017 in the Lok Sabha.

4:12 pm: Is the government shying away from its responsibility as owner of banks, asks Jairam Ramesh on transfer of additional powers to bank regulator RBI.

4:09 pm: Rajya Sabha resumes discussion on Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill 2017.

4:02 pm:. Rajya Sabha member Anand Sharma says in Wednesdays commemorative discussion on Quit India Movement, a member mentioned Nathuram Godse as a patriot. Urges the House to remove it from record.

2.48pm: Amid farewell speech, Digvijaya Singh takes up the issue of Narmada Bachao Andolon leader Medha Patkar in Madhya Pradesh.

2.30pm: Rajya Sabha bids farewell to outgoing members.



1pm: Democracy will become a tyranny if it doesnt allow the opposition to question the governments policy, vice president Hamid Ansari says as he demits the office.

12.32pm: In the Lok Sabha, Gaurav Gogoi of Congress demands Rs 1000 crore package for northeastern states affect by the recent floods.

12.27pm: People love your great statesmanship, says former prime minister Manmohan Singh.

12.26pm: As PM of India, I received maximum possible guidance and cooperation from you, says Manmohan Singh.

12.01pm: In the Lok Sabha, Satabdi Ray from AITC demands equal pay for female sportspersons.

11.50am: Lok Sabha discusses promotion and development of sports.

11.35am: You stood like a rock in defence in the interest of this House, you brought gravitas to the Rajya Sabha, says Sitaram Yechuri, whose term as a member of the House also ends today.

11.15am: Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad, thanks Hamid Ansari for his contribution to the nation as the vice president of India.

11.12am: Your diplomatic insights were invaluable, especially when I discussed with you before and after my bilateral visits: PM Modi tells outgoing vice president Hamid Ansari.

11.10am: Prime Minister Hamid Ansari has been a career diplomat, what it means I got to know when I became PM, observing him I saw mannerisms of career diplomat.

11.08am: Vice president Hamid Ansari ji leaves with great memories, his contribution has been important, says Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Rajya Sabha.

11am: Rajya Sabha members bid farewell to vice president Hamid Ansari on his last working day.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday warned BJP MPs that their leisure time in the Parliament might be over now that party president Amit Shah had become a Rajya Sabha member.

The BJP was left red-faced in the Upper House last week when the Congress exploited thin attendance in the treasury benches to amend a bill on constitutional status to OBC Commission. Several ministers had skipped the voting, which upset the Prime Minister.

Addressing the last meeting of BJPs parliamentary party in the monsoon session, the PM reiterated his displeasure at MPs skipping Parliament sittings despite clear instructions to attend them.

He made a very brief mention about the issue, a BJP MP present in the meeting said. The PM mostly spoke on how MPs need to pull up their socks and start taking their assignments seriously. Modi told the MPs that the party was above him and all of them.

The Prime Minister hoped that Shahs presence in the Parliament will bring about favourable outcomes for the BJP. Shah got elected to the Rajya Sabha from Gujarat on Tuesday.

Outside, BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayavargiya echoed Modis views and said that Shah was a strict boss who has strong disliking for indiscipline. MPs will be on their toes now, he said. Modi also praised Shah for working towards making the BJP a robust organisation and the worlds largest political outfit. It is not easy to run the party when it is in power, Modi said.

At the parliamentary party meeting, Modi also set out targets for party legislators and suggested that they start preparing for the next parliamentary elections from now.

BJP parliamentarians and leaders have been asked to take out a Tiranga Yatra from August 9 to 15 and a Sankalp Yatra from August 15 to 30.

Modi said that like the 1942 sankalp (resolve) to get independence saw the light of the day in 1947, the BJP should resolve in 2017 to weed out social ills, such as corruption, by 2022. You were sceptical about the Tiranga Yatra last year, Modi told the partys MPs. But the response to it left all of you impressed.

Shah, too, spoke at the meeting about the recent Rajya Sabha election in Gujarat and how the Congress got the support of just 44 MLAs when it originally had the backing of 61.

Shah suggested that Ahmed Patel would have lost the election if the votes of two Congress MLAs were not declared invalid.

He managed to win with a margin of 0.41%, Shah said, adding that the party was working towards winning at least 150 out of a total of 182 assembly seats in the election that is due later this year.

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A councillor affiliated to the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) was shot dead by three men on a motorcycle near Saguna Mor at Danapur in Patna early on Thursday.

Police said Kedar Rai, who represented the citys ward number 15, was out for his morning walk when the incident occurred. Though the politician was rushed to a private health facility in a critical condition, he died during the course of the treatment. The body was then sent for a post-mortem examination.

Patna senior superintendent of police Manu Maharaaj said two people have been arrested on the basis of a statement from the victims family. We are confident of nabbing the culprits soon, he added.

The murder is suspected to be the fallout of a land dispute. Rai owned considerable immovable property in the area, and was known to be feuding with the land mafia for many years now. Nearly 20 criminal cases were also lodged against him at the local police station.

The Patna police had recommended invoking clause 3 of the crime control act to extern Rai from the area for a month before the municipal elections in June. Though no such action was eventually taken against the councillor, he was made to compulsorily appear at the Danapur station every day for that period.

Efforts are on to nab the assailants, police said.
The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered Kerala police to hand over its probe report to the National Investigating Agency (NIA) and provide all assistance and cooperation so that it could give its inputs on the plea of a Muslim man whose marriage with a Hindu woman was annulled by the Kerala high court describing it as a case of love jihad.

A bench headed by Chief Justice JS Khehar brushed aside the vehement opposition by petitioner Shafin Jahan, who had approached the court seeking access to his wife - a Hindu who converted to Islam - and setting aside of the Kerala high court order that annulled his marriage.

We want to know whether it is an isolated case in a small pocket or if it has wider ramifications. We dont want to be in the grey area, the bench, also comprising Justice DY Chandrachud, told the petitioners counsel Haris Beeran.

The order came on NIAs plea that said it cannot assist the bench without going through the documents related to the case.

On August 4, while issuing a notice on the mans petition the court asked NIA to give its inputs on the matter. It had termed the case as serious and sensitive. Lawyer of the womans father contested the petitioners plea to direct personal presence of the woman, a homoeopath doctor.

Earlier in the day, the NIA rushed to the CJI court and said it needed formal orders for the agency to access case records. Without this, we cannot give the entire picture, additional solicitor general Maninder Singh told the bench, which agreed to hold an urgent hearing in the afternoon.

Its pertinent to know if the issue goes beyond the local area and whether its a national security issue or not. If the NIA says its not then that the end of the matter, the court told Beeran.

During the last hearing, the womans father had agitated before the court that the Jahan was involved in a well-oiled mechanism for conversion and Islamic radicalisation.

The two sides in the case are so opposed to one another that they cannot look at each other. Its like a coin but we want to see both sides of the coin. We cannot close our eyes as you want us to. We want s clear picture, the bench said after Beeran contended he was opposed to the NIA probe at present but not sharing of probe documents.

However, the court remained unconvinced and recorded in its order that the petitioner was not desirous of an independent view of the case. As per the court order, NIA will file its report before it on August 16 when the court will hear the matter again.

The court has also asked the father of the woman to bring material on record in support of his claims on the alleged marriage of his daughter.

Jahan, who had married the woman in December last year, moved the top court after the HC scrapped his marriage saying that it was an insult to the independence of women in the country.

It was alleged that the woman was recruited by Islamic States mission in Syria and Jahan was only a stooge.

The Kerala HC declared as null and void and described the case as an instance of love jihad and ordered the state police to conduct a probe into such cases.

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Patna Former Janata Dal (United) president Sharad Yadav indicated a possible split in the party on Thursday, openly defying Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar to say he wasnt happy with the decision to sink the Grand Alliance government and seek support from the BJP.

Talking to reporters in Sonepur, Sharad Yadav said he would go to the people to study the situation and share their anguish, roughly two weeks after Nitish resigned during a high-voltage tussle with erstwhile alliance partner Rashtriya Janata Dal over corruption allegations.

Sarkari log nai party mein shamil ho gaye (People in government have joined a new party). The sarkari (government-led) JD(U) is being run by Nitish Kumar and I am with the JD(U), which has the support of people of Bihar, he said on his way to Muzaffarpur for the first of a series of meetings.

The JD(U) leader and Rajya Sabha MP declared that he was still with the Grand Alliance of the RJD and the Congress. I still stand with Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) that was given a mandate by 11 crore people in Bihar in the 2015 assembly polls to rule for five years, Yadav said soon after his arrival at Patna airport from Delhi this afternoon.

RJD chief Lalu Prasad on Wednesday had extended wholehearted support to Yadavs visit and said he (Sharad) was the real JD(U), stoking talks of an imminent split.

Yadavs visit to state, his first since the JD(U) broke away from the Grand Alliance to form a new government with the BJP, has sparked talks of a possible division in the JD(U).

The disintegration of Grand Alliance government in Bihar has broken the trust of 11 crore citizens of the state, Yadav said, pointing out the competing manifestoes that the Grand Alliance and the BJP-led NDA had put during the 2015 polls. Its for the first time in history of the country that the two manifestos of rival groupings have mingled.

Sharad Yadav is said to be upset with Nitishs dramatic switch that came after weeks of tussle over graft charges against Lalu and his son Tejashwi, also the deputy chief minister. The fall of the Grand Alliance government was seen as a huge blow for opposition unity, and many in Bihar feel that Nitish Kumar betrayed the popular mandate, which overwhelmingly backed the Grand Alliance over the saffron coalition in 2015.

Sharad Yadav, who will visit eight to ten assembly constituencies during the next three days, said he would meet people to discuss the repercussions of the withdrawal of the grand alliance in the state.

I was one of those who asked the people to vote for the Grand Alliance. I consider it a responsibility to maintain my stand. The people are hurt by recent happenings, he said.

Yadavs show of defiance has triggered speculation that the party may take action against him, but a spokesperson rejected the suggestion. All talks of split and action against Yadav are wrong, said party spokesperson Neeraj Kumar. Yadav refused to comment on the issue.

Earlier, Yadav arrived on three day visit to Bihar on Thursday morning. Surprisingly enough, none of the JD(U) legislators close to Yadav were there to receive him at Patna airport. Only two JD(U) leaders  Ramai Ram and Rambadan Rai (a former RJD legislator) - and a fairly large number of supporters, said to be from the RJD, welcomed him. Both Ram and Rai had lost the last assembly election. Even on way to Muzaffarpur, he was received by Sonepur RJD MLA and other RJD leaders at different places.

The presence of Ramai Ram at the airport triggered unease in the party leadership, sources said, with JD(U) Muzaffarpur district president recommending action against him. Party sources said that JD(U) state president sought a report on leaders who had gone to meet Yadav at the airport.

The JD(U), which distanced itself from Yadavs visit, called it a RJD-sponsored yatra. Not even a panchayat pramukh was present to welcome him, a JD(U) spokesperson said.

STRAP

MAKING A POINT Says disintegration of GA government has broken trust of 11 crore people; its for the first time in history of the country that the two manifestos of rival groupings (BJP-JDU in 2015) have mingled

QUOTE

I was one of those who asked people to vote for the alliance. I consider it a responsibility to maintain my stand. People are hurt by recent happenings

Sharad Yadav, former JD(U) chief

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Social media is being used to disrupt the smooth adoption of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), say top functionaries of the government. There are several sectors where social media campaigns have been created by people with vested interests to create dissent against GST, said a top government functionary.

GST kicked in on July 1, and the past one month has seen a more or less smooth adoption, albeit discontent among some sector-specific traders and manufacturers.

Mindful of the disruptive potential of a new indirect tax, the government has been closely watching reactions to GST since its implementation.

Since the announcement of the 4-tiered rates of GST, various groups have been vocal on social media, for example, the 5% tax on assistive devices for the physically challenged; an issue that also found favour with Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi.

Last month, Gandhi had accused the Modi government of being insensitive and tweeted: GST on disability aids like wheelchairs and Braille typewriters once again shows this governments complete insensitivity towards our most vulnerable. Congress Party demands a full rollback of this disability tax that will put millions of our disabled people through further hardship.

Several representative groups also held protests against the move to tax devices for the disabled, from Braille to talking books, wheelchairs etc.

Since the final consumer tax is lower than the tax on inputs, a manufacturer can claim refund. If these devices were taxed at zero percent then there would be no tax credits making them more expensive, said the functionary quoted above.

While devices for the disabled are taxed at 5%, but inputs and raw material for manufacturing of these assistive devices attract 18% GST. So manufacturers can seek tax credit for inputs.

So these are outrages manufactured with vested interests. It is easy to spread as most people dont bother to understand logic of taxing a product, said a government source who did not wish to be quoted.

Sources point to the outrage that a 12% tax on sanitary napkins caused. Activists, political parties and citizens took to social media condemning the government for neglecting needs of women.

But finance ministry officials explained that the GST rate of 12% is a shade lower than 13.7% in the previous indirect tax regime.

This was a campaign engineered by Chinese companies, alleged a government source. Imports from China account for a quarter of the sanitary napkin market, and without GST and the input credits it offers, local makers would lose out to these imports, explained the source.

Same is the case with GST on hybrid cars, alleged sources. They say that a foreign automaker is behind the campaign against GST on hybrid cars.

Under GST, all hybrid automobiles attract the top tax rate of 28% plus a 15% cess. This is the same rate as that for large luxury cars and SUVs.

Communication experts have always credited BJP and its supporters for effective use of social media. It is ironic that they are now at the receiving end of social media campaigns. They were the first movers when its comes to fully utilising the impact of social media campaigns, said an activist who has been protesting against the 5% GST on disability devices. He did not wish to be named.

The government is confident that the benefits of GST will soon convince the cynics to drop their protest against the new indirect tax.

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A parliamentary panel has asked the Ministry of housing and urban affairs to strictly instruct the states which have diluted the rules under the real estate law to either amend it or re-notify them in line with the letter and spirit of the Act.

The Committee on Subordinate Legislation, headed by BJP MP Dilipkumar Mansukhlal Gandhi, said that rules notified by some of the states were not in consonance with the spirit of the Act.

It also observed that rules were skewed in favour of builders, hurting the consumer interests particularly in areas like definition of ongoing projects, penalties for non- compliance and dealing with structural defects.

The panel noted that the Ministry had taken up the matter with the states during consultation meetings and also written to them to adhere to the letter and spirit of the Act.

The Committee are distressed to note that the Ministry have not clearly spelt out the ways and means in this regard.

The Committee, while recognising that each state have their respective development laws, sanctioning procedures, and other land related unique issues, recommend that the Ministry should strictly instruct the states to either amend their rules or re-notify them in line with the letter and spirit of the Act, the Committee said in its report, tabled in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.

The Committee also expressed its dismay over the delay in framing of the rules by many states.

The state governments were required to notify the rules by October 31, 2016.

It said, as per the information submitted by the Ministry, only 12 states/UTs had notified the rules, while 16 were in the process of notifying them.

Four states--Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Nagaland--had some constitutional issues over land ownership, while three states--Manipur, West Bengal and Goa-- have not provided any information on the notification of the rules under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act 2016.
Vice president-elect M Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday rejected as political propaganda the view that there is a sense of insecurity among minorities in the country, apparently a rejoinder to outgoing vice president Hamid Ansari.

Though Naidu did not name anyone, his comments are seen as a response to Ansaris remarks in a TV interview that there was unease and a sense of insecurity among Muslims in the country, and that ambience of acceptance is now under threat.

Some people are saying minorities are insecure. It is a political propaganda. Compared to the entire world, minorities are more safe and secure in India and they get their due, Naidu told PTI.

He also disagreed with the view that there is growing intolerance, saying Indian society is the most tolerant in the world because of its people and civilisation.

There is tolerance that is why democracy is so successful, he said.

The former BJP president also cautioned against creating divide in the nation by singling out one community, saying it will draw adverse reaction from other communities.

If you single out one community, other communities will take it otherwise. That is why we say all are equal. Appeasement for none justice for all, the 68-year-leader and former Union minister said.

He said history has proved that there is no discrimination against minorities.

They (minorities) got in prominent positions including constitutional responsibilities because there is no discrimination, and also on account of their merit, he said.

Noting that Indias uniqueness is its unity in diversity, he said sarva dharm sadbhav and secularism is in the mind and blood of India.

India is secular not because of political leaders but because of its people and civilisation, he said.

Ansaris remarks come against the backdrop of incidents of alleged intolerance and violence by self-proclaimed cow protectors, for which opposition parties have attacked the central government.

Asked about incidents of alleged intolerance, Naidu said India is a huge country and there could be some stray occurrences, which are nothing but aberrations.

He, however, added that Nobody can justify attacks on fellow citizens on the basis of community. Such incidents should be condemned and action should be taken by appropriate authorities, he said.

Naidu also said that some people blow out of proportion such incidents for political considerations. Some go to the extent of defaming the county by raising such issues at international forum.

Some do it to create rift between communities and derive political mileage, he said, adding the basic problem arises due to vote bank politics and due to treating a community as vote bank.

A day before he takes oath as Indias next vice president, he said his advice to politicians is not to drag communities into politics.
Two of the four friends, who damaged window glasses of more than 60 cars in Alwar after getting drunk in a birthday party, were arrested, police said on Thursday.

Narendra Yadav, a student of RR College, invited his friends Shakti Yadav, Rishikesh Yadav and Ajit Yadav  to celebrate his birthday in Arya Nagar on the August 4 night.

They drank till 1am. Narendra and Shakti then went to the railway station area to get food. After a hotel owner refused to give them food, they had a brawl with him. While returning home, they broke glasses of a few cars parked in Arya Nagar, said additional superintendent of police (city) Paras Jain.

After reaching home, Narendra, Ajit and Rishikesh went on Shaktis motorcycle with an iron rod and a lathi and started breaking window glasses of vehicles in Scheme Number 8, Panchvati, Sanjay Colony, Alkapuri and Bank Colony, Jain told media persons. Glasses of more than 60 vehicles were broken, he said.

During interrogation, arrested Rishikesh and Ajit said Narendra had told them that they should do such an activity that people of Alwar would remember his birthday for a long time, Jain said.

Police got CCTV footage from Sanjay Colony, which showed them smashing car glasses. We showed the footage to more than 600 people. A student of RR College gave us clue about them. Rishikesh and Ajit were arrested, Narendra and Shakti are still at large, the ASP said.

Narendra, a B Sc final student of RR college, has earlier a case against him at Aravalli police station. Ajit is a third-year student and Rishikesh a first-year student of same college, Jain said. The qualification of Shakti is not known, though he studied in the same college.

The Alwar SP had constituted 11 teams to arrest the culprits. During their search, police also arrested another two youths who had broken window glasses of 10-12 vehicles in Kala Kia Housing Board after consuming liquor. But they (the two) have no link with the four friends, Jain said.
Students of class 1 to 9 of the Government Girls School of Rishabhdeo are unable to write English correctly exposing the awful standard of education.

District collector Bishnu Charan Mallick during his surprise visit to the school on Wednesday found that the students of senior classes cannot write English correctly.

During the visit, he asked class 9 students to write English alphabets, but they could not write them.

Besides, the collector learnt that students of class 7 are not having a math teacher for long.

When Mallick asked school principal Jaimala Kharadi, she tried to convince him by saying there was no need to have a separate math teacher for class 7 as any teacher can teach the subject.

Outraged over the situation, the collector directed the principal to make proper arrangement and lay emphasis on improving quality of education.

Later, the collector took a class to teach the students alphabets and told them way to calculate distance between their school and homes by giving a live demonstration.

While talking to HT, Mallick said: Not having a math teacher is not a big issue, my concern is that class 9 students cannot even write English alphabets correctly... Soon, a math teacher will be appointed in the school.

I have not taken strict action against any of the teachers as to give them a chance to improve the level of education, the collector said.

According to the Annual Status of Education Report - 2016, 66.3% children of class 1 from rural Rajasthan could not even read capital letters in English. In addition, nearly 30% students of class 8 could not read simple words such as man, big, pen etc. The survey covered some 37,000 students in 985 villages in all 33 districts of Rajasthan.

In rural India, 53.2% students of class 1 could not read capital letters of English.
Uma Kesh, a nurse at Advanced Medical Research Institute (AMRI) in Salt Lake, a prominent private healthcare facility, died on Thursday morning because of alleged negligence by the authorities. The 27-year-old nurse was on night shift when she collapsed.

Uma was not well since Monday but her application for medical leave was not granted, alleged her colleagues who assaulted Gaurab Nayar, head of the human resource department. The agitated employees said Uma had been complaining of severe headaches but no diagnosis was done. She continued to work and take care of patients.

Read: 89 dead in Kolkata hospital fire

Death of the nurse brought AMRI back to the headlines for the second time in six years. In December 2011, more than 90 patients were chocked to death - some were too ill to even move - when smoke from a fire at the basement of the AMRI Gariahat unit in south Kolkata engulfed the upper floors.

It was the worst hospital disaster in the country and chief minister Mamata Banerjee ordered stern action against the owners. In February this year, Banerjee pulled up several private hospitals for deaths caused by negligence and cautioned AMRI authorities as well at a public meeting.

Read: Mamata imposes strict regulations on private hospitals, to target schools & colleges soon

Other nurses at AMRI, Salt Lake said Uma collapsed in the wee hours of Thursday. She was rushed to the emergency department where doctors prescribed a CT scan but it wasnt done. She was not even taken to the intensive care unit, they alleged and said a complaint would be lodged with the police.

The employees claimed that hospital authorities wanted the CT scan to be done at the government-run ESI Hospital where employees of private firms are entitled to treatment at subsidised rate. Uma, however, could not make it. She was declared dead at 7.30 am.

We will investigate the incident and take action if anyone is found guilty. I cannot say anything more till the probe is over, said AMRI group CEO Rupak Baruah.
The ongoing political turmoil in Darjeeling hills of West Bengal where an indefinite bandh has paralysed life for the past 57 days has also put Bengals biggest festival, Durga puja, into great uncertainty. With no road map for defusion of tension in sight, some community puja organisers in the hills have already decided to cancel the pujas.

The pujas will be held between September 26 and 30. The entire north Bengal hills are observing a shutdown called by a number of political parties of the hills that are fighting for a separate state of Gorkhaland. The agitators have vowed to continue the bandh till their demand for a separate state is sympathetically considered.

Read: Gorkhaland stir: Bengalis of Darjeeling feel alienated after burning of historic hall in Kurseong

A few community pujas are held in the hills out of which at least two are more than 100 years old.

The charred remains of Raj Rajeswari Hall in Kurseong. (HT Photo)

Among the oldest pujas is the one organized at Raj Rajeswari Hall in Kurseongs Down Hill Road. The British era heritage hall run by Bengali Association of Kurseong was set ablaze in the wee hour of July 19 by miscreants.

This year the people of Kurseong will miss the puja, said Arun Mohan Ghosh, secretary of Bengali Association of Kurseong. The entire hall is totally gutted, we dont have a place to organise puja, he added. This venue used to be the main attraction in Kurseong during Dussera festival.

This community puja was once patronised by the families of Subhas Chandra Bose and Rabindranath Tagore.

Read: Darjeeling unrest: 50 days on, no end to protest demanding Gorkhaland

The fate of the oldest puja organised at Nripendra Narayan Bengal Hindu Hall (NNBHH), Darjeeling is uncertain. Raju Biswas, one of secretaries of the puja committee said, Printing of invitation cards should have been over by this time.

We are not sure whether we will be able to organise the puja this year. We will meet in 10 days and decide, said Biswas. The puja completed its centenary in 2014.

In its centenary year, the puja in Kurseong was organised with considerable pomp. People from all castes and communities contributed to the kitty. More than half a km long stretch from Kurseongs Dharmasala up to the Hall was decorated with lights and a huge pandal was erected at the venue.

Read: Darjeeling unrest: Mamata Banerjees stand will fuel Gorkhaland demand

The idols were carried by Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) in a toy train for immersion.

Though the pujas were organsied by the Bengali Association, it was non Bengalis who participated in the pujas with all the enthusiasm and devotion, said Ganesh Pradhan, a resident of Kurseong.

Even Muslims contributed for the puja in Darjeeling town. Last years budget was about Rs 4.5 lakh.

In Tindharia, 27 km from Siliguri, the organisers appeared determined to hold the puja that entered in its 96th year this year. The puja started at Brahma Mandir Prathamik Pathsala (popularly known as Bangla School) at Shankar Niwas, continues to be the main attraction during Dussera festival.

No matter what the situation is, the puja would be organised. We cannot afford to snatch the little happiness people get every year during Durga puja, said Chandra Bhadur Bhujel, a primary school teacher and executive committee member in last years organising committee in Tindharia.

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A government primary school in a Mirzapur village in Eastern Uttar Pradesh turned into a dance party venue on the night of Rakshabandhan when relatives of the local village head apparently decided to celebrate a birthday party.

The school at Tetraihiya Kala Khurd in Jamalpur was closed on Monday due to the festival. When teachers reached on Tuesday, they found the premises littered.

Locals told them that it was the result of a party organised by village head Ramkesh Yadavs family.

#WATCH: Government primary school in Uttar Pradesh's Mirzapur turned into a 'dance bar' by locals on the night of #RakshaBandhan pic.twitter.com/NGz8YypQCc  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) August 9, 2017

Assistant teacher Ashok Kumar informed the basic shiksha adhikari Praveen Kumar Tiwari about the incident. Tiwari instructed a block education officer (BEO) to carry out a probe in the matter.

Assistant teacher Ashok Kumar informed me that village head Ramkesh Yadav organised a dance party on school premises. It is a very serious and highly objectionable move. The BEO has been asked to prepare a detailed report in the matter, Tiwari told Hindustan Times on a phone call.

Tiwari said that the report with a request for action against the village head will be submitted to the district magistrate and the chief development officer.

Ramkesh Yadav, the village head, accepted that a party was organised but denied attending. He said that he went to a relatives house in a nearby village.
The police have begun probe into the braid cutting incidents reported in various districts. During investigation, some victims told cops that they cut their hair on the advice of sorcerer while others claimed their braid was chopped by large Indian civet  Bijju. A few also said a cat cut their hair.

6 more cases in Muzaffarnagar Muzaffarnagar: Six new cases of womens hair being mysteriously chopped off while they were either asleep or unconscious surfaced in Muzaffarnagar on Wednesday. ASP Ombeer Singh said in some cases police teams had started investigations but in most of the braid cutting cases cops were not informed by victims.

Hari Ram Sharma, IG (law and order), said cases of braid chopping had been reported in nearly a dozen districts. On the plea of the victims, the police registered FIRs in Gorakhpur, Agra, Bareilly, Moradabad and Mathura. The police were probing into these incidents, he said.

Read more: Now, braid cutting scare reaches Lucknow

On August 1, an FIR was registered against a sorcerer, Chandrabhan Das at Campeerganj police station in Gorakhpur district after a girl said she cut her braid on the advice of Das. In Munda Pandey village of Moradabad, a woman complained that a Bijju cut her hair while she was asleep in her house. An FIR was registered under the Wildlife Act.

On Wednesday, an FIR was registered by the Gomti Nagar police station after a woman of Vinay Khand complained that a cat cut her braid. The police recovered scissors from the spot.

Earlier, an FIR was registered in Agra after villagers lynched a 62-year- old woman, accusing her of being a witch who cut the hair of a girl. The police took the accused into custody, said Sharma. A FIR was also registered in Bareilly after a 12-year-old girl complained that her braid was cut mysteriously, he added.

DGP Sulkhan Singh urged people not pay heed to rumours.

Read more| Delhis braid-cutting mania: Another mass hysteria calls for mass lessons in rationality

The state police urged people to register complaint with the police regarding hair cutting incidents and said no gang was involved in hair cutting incidents.

Social organisations and officers had been advised to educate people in this regard through social media and legal action would be taken against elements who try to spread rumors and create panic among the people.
Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav blew the bugle for an attack on BJP-led governments at the Centre and in Uttar Pradesh by launching the statewide Desh Bachao, Desh Banao campaign from Faizabad on Wednesday.

Recalling the historic significance of August Kranti, Yadav said it was on this day on August 9, 1942 that the Quit India Movement was launched to end the British rule in India.

Socialists played a significant role in the Freedom Movement. And it is now upon us to fulfill the dreams and aspirations that our forefathers had envisioned for the country, he said. Four months after the party suffered a crushing defeat in the UP assembly polls, this was the first public show by the SP and the former CM who exhorted the party workers to highlight the failures of the BJP government both at the Centre and in the state.

Yadav unveiled a statue of freedom fighter Rajbali Yadav at a college named after him on the occasion of his death anniversary at Madna in Faizabad district. Commenting on the latest round of resignations by party MLCs, he said, I had said that a conspiracy was hatched against me by some of my party leaders who were hand-in glove with the BJP. Those who took tacit support of the BJP earlier have today openly joined the BJP.

The SP national president said it was strange that leaders of a party, which had secured a landslide win, were afraid to face the electorate and had instead chosen to get elected through the backdoor by provoking defections and resignations to secure a seat in the legislative council.

Be it income-tax raids, horse trading or any other arm-twisting method, the BJP government is willing to go to any extent to ensure its victory, he said, referring to the Rajya Sabha elections in Gujarat.

He did not rule out the possibility of a grand alliance in UP ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in 2019.

He said his party was willing to talk to BSP chief Mayawati on the issue. Taking a potshot at Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, Yadav said, I used to listen to his speeches in which he talked about the DNA of a person. I never realised then that even he had NDA in his DNA.

Winning and losing elections is part of a democratic cycle. But why is there so much focus on my family alone in the country, he wondered and added that he would attend the Rashtriya Janata Dal rally in Bihar to strengthen the non-NDA alliance.

SP CONVOY ZIPS PAST TOLL PLAZAS WITHOUT PAYING TOLL

On the way back to Lucknow after the public meeting in Faizabad, the convoy of the former UP CM zipped past the toll plaza near Barabanki without paying toll tax. The toll plaza manager claimed at least 175 vehicles that were part of the SP chiefs convoy did not pay the toll tax.
With some incredible roles in her kitty, Vidya Balan can surely be described as an actor with a substance. In Lucknow on a rainy afternoon, complexities of tasks at hand notwithstanding, she looks eager to talk, joke and discuss everything under the sun, just when HT City catches up with her

Your last outing Srijit Mukherjis Begum Jaan failed to leave a mark. Does failure, or success for that matter affects you?

Success has its own sweet taste. It gives you a kick and of course you are under a hangover for quite some time. Failure, however, brings you back to the reality that everything in life is temporary. But I enjoy both the phases. Failure of a film affects me and I try to reason it but for a very short span. I do have a realization that its all part and parcel of your profession.

You are in the city of Nawabs. How does it feel coming back here?

I love this city as well as this state. I have been here many a times but this time Im getting to see a different face of Lucknow as Im en-route to my next destination, Gopal Kheda. This is a first time I am here in monsoon and trust me the city looks all beautiful in this weather too.

You have started getting associated with different causes at a very early stage of your career. What is it that makes you take time out and take on such causes?

I really believe that first we have to be a part of the change that we want to see in our society. And as an actor I have a virtue of making my cause reach out to many out there so I want to take as many genuine causes I can at a point of time. Like for this cause Nihar Naturals Shanti Amlas Pathshala Funwala, I joined the brand as a beauty product but they came up with this noble idea of taking education to kids in villages. So this was a bonus for me. Its this cause of education that got me here this time.

As an actor I have a virtue of making my cause reach out to many out there so I want to take as many genuine causes I can.

Whats your take on the ongoing debate on nepotism in the film industry?

See I have never experiences nepotism in the industry and I am very happy with my journey of more than a decade. And this debate has actually become too boring to say anything as much has been said over this. But yes I would like to add one thing that nepotism exists everywhere not just film industry. Its in politics, business, jobs, you just name it and you will realise what I mean by saying so.

Your love for sarees is known wordwide... what is it with sarees?

I love sarees. Now toh people even gift me sarees...(laughs). Its synonymous with me today. And trust me I have no qualms accepting this.

Have you tried chikan sarees from Lucknow?

Oh! Of course I have bought many... then I also got many...smiles...but my favourite is a mustard nine yard piece of fine chikan with net embroidery. And one more thing its not just sarees I also want to take a film based in or around this city soon. Im keeping my fingers crossed.

Lastly...tell us about your upcoming projects?

Tumhari Sulu is slated for December release. Its a happy film for change with a slice of life. I know people are going to love it.
Cracking the whip, chief minister Yogi Adityanath ordered the suspension of 11 officials, including Nautanwa SDM and two SHOs, during his visit to Maharajganj on Thursday.

The action came hours after the CM held a meeting with the officials to review law and order, health and development schemes and found laxity on the part of a few officials. Among the officials who faced action are four doctors who have been absent from duty for long.

The CM said a probe had been ordered against the doctors. Salary of four months will be deducted from their account.

SDM, Nautanwa, Girish Chandra Srivastava, SHOs of Punderpur and Pharenda Vinod Kumar Rao and Chandresh Yadav, casualty medical officers Dr Shailesh Kumar and Ravi Singh, ADO, basic, Mohammad Muzammil, assistant agriculture officer BN Joshi and XCN, PWD, Arshad Kamal were among the officials who faced action.

Yogi, who held a Janta Darbar at Gorakhnath Temple before leaving for Maharajganj, also attended a sahbhoj (community feast) with 90 members of Dalit community at a slum area in Chainpur village of Maharajganj.

The chief minister was served vegetarian food in pattal (plates made of leaves).

He asked the people to keep social harmony intact by ending the practice of untouchability. He also inaugurated a school in Ghooghli area.

Earlier, addressing a press conference after inspecting Gorakhnath Hospital run by the temple trust, Yogi said his government aimed at providing 10 lakh houses to the poor in rural areas and two lakh in urban areas under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.

The government is also planning to promote agro-based industry in UP. The new industrial policy will open the doors for industries in the state, especially in east UP, which has lagged behind in terms of industrialisation, Yogi said.

He said the government was planning to create second generation ethanol from agriculture waste which was burnt by farmers. The idea will also help in complying with the orders of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) which has raised objection over burning of agro-waste as it causes pollution, he added.

Replying to a query, Yogi said the new government was focussing on the revival of sugar industry. Out of the five closed sugar mills, the ones in Pipriach and Munderwa will be reopened soon, he said.

Speaking on AIIMS at Gorakhpur, Yogi said work was in progress and the government was trying to start an OPD and classes from next year.

Replying to a query on encephalitis, the CM said he chaired a meeting with principal secretaries of health, medical education and other departments in this regard. ICU facilities for affected children have been made operational in 20 districts for treatment of encephalitis. Doctors have been directed to ensure no deaths take place in the absence of treatment, he said.
Eleven minutes, 53 messages  thats all it took for a cybercriminal to steal Rs1.83 lakh from a 53-year-old retired Indian Revenue Services (IRS) officer last week.

Police are in the process of finding out how the fraudster got the mans credit card details.

They said the man, Sanjay Singhal, is an Andheri resident. He is a practicing lawyer and has an account in a government bank in Mumbai. On August 4, Singhal was on his way home from work when he got 53 messages from his bank between 8.03 pm and 8.11 pm, informing him that Rs1.83 lakh had been withdrawn from his account.

The cybercriminal spent the money to buy items online. He paid in euros and dollars. He spent some of the cash to pay his Netflix and Vodafone bills. He also bought equipment from a store in France.

I had my card with me the whole time. The fraudster stole all my cash in just 11 minutes. If there is a mandatory gap of five minutes between transactions, it will help victims of cybercrime block their cards after the first transaction itself. This feature is used by the election commission in electronic voting machines, Singhal told HT.

I suspect that a gang is involved, he added.

A police officer, who did not wish to be identified, said he was trying to ascertain where the money was withdrawn from.

Singhals card details must have been compromised. It is possible that he paid some bills or made purchases online, and saved his card details on that site. That is where the fraudster must have got them from, said cyber expert advocate Vicky Shah.

He added that while Indian websites require a one-time password for authentication, international websites do not make this mandatory.

Past cases

July - A lawyer from Lokhandwala in Andheri (West) lost Rs62,000 to debit card fraud last month. Her money was withdrawn in America, said police. After she asked her bank for a refund, she was told to approach her local police station, where a case was filed against the unidentified fraudster.

June - Investigations into a card cloning racket, unearthed by the Bandra police, revealed that six waiters stole the credit and debit card data of 1,000 customers. Police are in the process of ascertaining how much money they made.

May - A 23-year-old woman from a posh Andheri (West) society was robbed of Rs1.33 lakh after a fraudster accessed her debit card details. As she had her card with her at the time, police suspect that either her card was cloned or its details stolen.

April - A 32-year-old real estate developer from Oshiwara in Andheri (West) lost Rs1 lakh to debit card cloning.

March - A 35-year-old woman working as a domestic help in Mumbai lost Rs80,000 to debit card fraud after a cybercriminal cloned her card and withdrew the money in two transactions in Delhi. The woman alleged that the fraudster was able to conduct a second transaction despite her getting the card blocked.

Stay safe online

Never give your credit or debit card to a stranger.

Never give your personal details or details of your credit or debit cards to people who call you claiming to be executives or managers of your bank. Always remember that bank officials will never call their customers.

Never hand your cards over to waiters after a meal. Always swipe the card and enter the PIN yourself. Ensure that you cover the keypad with your hand while typing so no one can see what your PIN is.

Never write your four-digit PIN on the ATM card or its cover. If it is stolen, the thief has all the information he needs to withdraw your money.

As far as possible, try to keep the balance in your account to a minimum so even if your card is stolen, you will not lose much.
The mother of a 12-year-old rape survivor from Mumbai plans to file a petition in the Supreme Court today, seeking permission to abort the childs 27-week-old foetus.

The move comes a month after the courts did not permit a 10-year-old girl from Chandigarh, who was sexually assaulted by a relative, permission to abort her foetus. They held that late-stage abortion could threaten her life, a view shared by a committee of medical experts who examined her.

The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971, does not allow abortions beyond 20 weeks of pregnancy, though courts have made exceptions if the foetus has a serious medical abnormality or if the mothers life is at risk.

Doctors, however, say pregnancy and delivery at age 15 or younger can be dangerous.

The Mumbai girls pregnancy came to light after she gained weight. Her mother took her to a doctor, who referred them to gynaecologist Dr Nikhil Datar, who offers legal aid to women who want an abortion after the deadline.

Datar said he has evaluated the case. It is extremely sad that she cannot undergo an abortion right away. Both the mother and daughter are disturbed, he said.

He added that the mother asked the local police station to file an FIR. The girls father is currently out of town, he said.

What does the law state?

In India, the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971, allows abortion only up to 20 weeks of gestation. A woman wanting to abort the foetus after the 20th week of pregnancy is granted permission to abort only if the pregnancy involves a risk to her life, affecting her physical or mental health. The new MTP Amendment draft bill 2014, which is yet to be passed is slated to extend the abortion cut-off to 24 weeks.
Air India will be receiving its third-party order to conduct a C1 check  one of the major checks  from SpiceJet for its aircraft. This check is mandatory. The aircraft will be handed over to SpiceJet in six days.

This comes as a result of an MoU signed between the national carrier and SpiceJet in August last year. This order will not only generate income for India but also aim to decrease its loan.

Air India Engineering Services Limited (AIESL) conducted a C check for the first time for Jet Airways, followed by GoAirs Airbus A320 in November.

Every aircraft requires checks divided into A, B, C, C2 and D categories.

A and B checks are considered minor. An aircraft undergoes C1 check after 1,125 days of flying, while C2 check is done after 2,250 days of flying and requires three weeks of repairing, The most rigorous check is under the D category. An aircraft undergoes a D check if it has flown for 3,000 days irrespective of the number of hours.

The airline on Sunday has organised an event marking the beginning of the MRO work with SpiceJet. While the national carriers top officials will be part of this handing over event, the chief guest will be chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who will be accompanied by civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju and others.
NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan (R) welcomes First Vice President of the Cambodian Senate Nay Pena in Hanoi on August 9th (Photo: VNA)



She made the remarks while receiving First Vice President of the Cambodian Senate Nay Pena in Hanoi on August 9th.

She welcomed Nay Penas official visit to Vietnam when the two countries are celebrating 50 years of diplomatic ties (June 24th, 1967). She congratulated Cambodia on the successful communal elections last June, voicing her belief that the elections results will be an important prerequisite for the success of the general election in 2018.

The NA and people of Vietnam are very happy with the big and comprehensive attainments the Cambodian people have obtained over the past years, she added.

Applauding the outcomes of the talks between Senate First Vice President Nay Pena and Vietnams NA Vice Chairwoman Tong Thi Phong, Chairwoman Ngan affirmed that the Vietnamese parliament always prioritises reinforcing the two countries traditional friendship and all-round cooperation.

She also asked her guest and the Cambodian Senate to continue assisting Vietnamese expatriates to settle down in the country and integrate into the local society so that they can serve as a friendship bridge linking the two nations.

Nay Pena once again thanked the Vietnamese Party, State and people for helping the Cambodian people escape from the Pol Pot genocidal regime.

He noted Cambodia and Vietnam are neighbours who stood side by side in the fights for each countrys independence. Hence, their traditional solidarity, friendship and cooperation must continue to be nurtured by the two peoples, thus those relations will expand to more areas.

On this occasion, Chairwoman Ngan asked Nay Pena to convey her invitation to Cambodias Senate President Samdech Say Chhum and NA President Samdech Heng Samrin to attend the 26th annual meeting of the Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum, slated for January 2018 in Vietnam./.
Is this the manner in which a Union Home Minister acts under pressure of his electorate? questioned the Bombay high court on Thursday, while expressing displeasure over the conduct of former Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde, who took personal interest in protecting an illegal structure named Sushil Sabhagriha at Solapur. The court also questioned the order of former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, who on Shindes application, stayed the proposed demolition of the structure.

This is the manner in which the Union home minister acted under pressures of his electorate, said a bench of justice Bhushan Gavai and justice Makarand Karnik, disapproving the conduct of the two politicians. The other aspect that irked the judges was that the chief minister has no authority to entertain an appeal against the notice issued for demolition of an illegal structure and to stay such proposed demolition.

Can that be a ground for condoning the illegal manner in which the government functioned, asked the bench after Chavans lawyer sought leniency, saying now the appeal had been withdrawn, the stay order was gone even the government had changed.

The bench has now directed advocate DG Dhanure, counsel for the Solapur Municipal Corporation, to ensure the illegal portions of the offending structure are demolished within two weeks. It also directed Chavan to file an affidavit in reply to the petition explaining his position.

It was hearing a petition filed by Vijaykumar Mahagaonkar challenging the January 17, 2014, order passed by the then chief minister staying demolition of the illegal marriage hall at Solapur named after the local Congress leader.

Responding to the petition, Shindes counsel, advocate Vishwajeet Kapase, submitted that the owner of the land, now deceased Vishnupant Kothe, was a Congress worker and Shinde had merely requested the chief minster to look into the matter after satisfying himself that the requisite permissions were in place.

Kapse said he was shown the permission granted by the municipal corporation to put up the construction and the Congress leader was made to believe the civic body had issued a demolition notice despite having the requisite permissions. Kapse said the former Union minister neither intended to seek nor sought protection for any illegal construction.

Earlier, another bench headed by justice Abhay Oka had also criticised the Congress leaders. This is one of the rare cases where the learned Union home minister personally went to the then chief minister and sought a stay on the demolition, justice Oka had said during the course of earlier hearing on the petition.

But the bench had allowed the land owners to withdraw the appeal filed before the chief minister and granted them liberty to initiate proceedings for regularisation of the structure.
Alleging bias against autorickshaw drivers, the Republican rickshaw chalak malak union, Dombivli, has decided to protest on August 13. The 500 members of Republican rickshaw chalak malak union will protest outside Dombivli (East) traffic division office. The members alleged that the officials were acting only against auto drivers and not private vehicles owners for violating traffic norms. They said the protest will start at 11am and will conclude soon, without inconveniencing commuters.

Acting on the numerous complaints from Dombivli residents, the traffic police and the regional transport office (RTO) collectively initiated a special drive to crack the whip on errant auto drivers in the twin cities. Most of the complaints were pertaining to refusal to, plying fourth seat and overcharging.

Why is the traffic police targeting only us when there are schools buses and trucks plying in the city illegally? Law has to be equal for all, said Rama Kakde, president of the union. If the residents can raise their complaints, even we can. There are factors, other than us, which adds to the congestion in the city.

The union members also claimed that vehicles of driving school violate norms by driving on the city streets during peak instead of teaching their students at an open space. The members also demanded deployment of a traffic police personnel at every legal auto stands and said it would curb the cases of refusal automatically.

Before taking action, we will meet all the auto union members and hear out their demands. The traffic police is taking action against all the violaters, said a traffic police inspector.

A few of the demands

Act against other vehicles violating traffic norms and not just autorickshaws

Deploy a traffic police personnel at every legal stands to curb the errant behaviour of auto drivers

Ban driving schools from teaching their students on the city streets rather than open spaces

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The protest

What : protest by Republican rickshaw chalak malak union dombivli.

When : August 13

Where: Dombivli East traffic unit.

Time : 11 am

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The allegations of corruption and irregularities against ministers is likely to be raised by the Opposition on the final day of the monsoon session of the state legislature on Friday. Thursday saw friction between the Opposition and ruling parties as the former accused the government of shielding corrupt ministers by not allowing a discussion on the same in the legislature.

In the legislative council, the demanded that the government should sack housing minister Prakash Mehta and industries minister Subhash Desai and constitute an inquiry against them. The government should constitute an inquiry, headed by a high court judge against the two ministers,demanded the Opposition leader in the upper house, Dhananjay Munde.

Congress legislator Ashok (Bhai) Jagtap said the Opposition had given proof against 19 ministers earlier. Now, two more ministers have been added to the list. Rather than taking action against them, the government has been shielding them. Now, almost half the ministers in this government are tainted, Jagtap said.

Earlier, proceedings in the Maharashtra assembly were disrupted on Thursday as the Opposition Congress-NCP alleged that the government dropped the issue of corruption of its ministers from the days agenda because it wanted to shield its corrupt ministers.

As the ongoing monsoon session of Maharashtra legislature is in its last week, the Opposition wanted discussion on corruption charges against housing minister Mehta and industries minister Desai. However, on Thursday Opposition legislators alleged that the subject was dropped from the motion to be discussed in the assembly.

In protest, the Opposition members disrupted proceedings, demanding that they should be allowed to choose issues they want to be discussed. They also threatened to boycott the proceedings. The issue was raised by former speaker and senior NCP legislator Dilip Walse Patil.

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis assured the Opposition that it will not happen again. He, however, added this is not the first time changes in the Oppositions motion was made by the Speaker.

The development has come at a time two senior ministers of the Fadnavis government  Prakash Mehta and Subhash Desai  are facing charges of corruption and Opposition has been demanding their resignations and a probe into the allegations against them.
The state government on Thursday tabled the Maharashtra Witness Protection and Security Bill 2017 to protect witnesses and their relatives through the course of investigation in criminal cases.

Under the bill, brought in accordance with the Supreme Court directives and recommendations of the Law Commission of India, witnesses in offences punishable with death or imprisonment for more than seven years (rape, murder and kidnapping of minors) and their families will get police protection to help them depose without fear.

The bill has a provision for formation of state- and district-level committees headed by senior police officers to monitor the cases and decide the extent and nature of protection. The witnesses can approach the committee if they get threats.

Read: Supreme Court pitches for witness protection programme

With the bill, the state expects an improvement in conviction rates; drop in cases of witnesses turning hostile and pendency of cases. Such provisions [protection] will give witnesses the confidence to come forward and help law enforcement and judicial authorities, the bill states.

The move will help us improve conviction rate and decrease the rate of pendency of court cases. The rate of the witnesses turning hostile will also come down, said an official.

Other bills passed

The Assembly passed a bill empowering the state government to levy 3% stamp duty on ready reckoner rates on gift deeds of immovable property within family. The existing stamp duty on such transfers is just Rs500.
Devanand Shinde, vice-chancellor (V-C) of Shivaji University, Kolhapur, who is filling in for the University of Mumbai (MU) V-C Sanjay Deshmukh said declaring delayed examination results was his priority.

Shinde took charge of the post on Wednesday, after Deshmukh was asked to go on an indefinite leave amid the mess in MUs examination department. The university has missed several deadlines to declare results and thousands of answer sheets remain to be evaluated.

In addition to his current responsibilities, the Kolhapur university V-C will lead MU. Speaking to HT on Thursday morning, a day after he took charge, Shinde, who is in Mumbai, said he is still trying to understand the universitys examination and assessment system. I dont know much about MUs system and I havent had much of a briefing. But I plan to visit both the Fort and Kalina campuses of the university and understand the issues, he said.

Shinde was the head of chemical technology department at Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University (BAMU), Aurangabad, before he became Shivaji University V-C two years ago. He has also handled the charge of Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) V-C for a few days.

However, this will be Shindes first experience with the on-screen assessment system, a feature Mumbai university had introduced this year for all exams. Shivaji University has a manual assessment system, although we have been using information and communication technology in some of our activities, he said.

Meanwhile, Dhiren Patel, the director of Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI), who has been appointed as a temporary pro V-C has already started his work. He said the universitys evaluation system has some issues that need to be addressed. The university doesnt have a vision document. I have set up a committee to follow-up with the stakeholders and push them to carry out their responsibilities, he said.

Deshmukh has been under fire for his decision to overhaul the assessment process by adopting an on-screen marking (OSM) system. The decision caused a huge delay in the results, as MU couldnt appoint an agency for a long time and the technical glitches continue to plague the system. The governor had set July 31 as the deadline to declare all the results. But the university failed to do so. Several student organisations had demanded that Deshmukh be sacked.

However, the OSM isnt the only ambitious plan of Deshmukh that has been served a reality check. His plans to set up a campus in the United States, expand the infrastructure at Kalina campus and create an endowment fund have seen little progress. He was forced to go back on other decisions such as purchasing an aircraft to train students in flying, scrapping internal assessment and re-evaluation of internal exams.

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A man who promised 200 people lucrative jobs in Dubai and Saudi Arabia and cheated them of Rs40.2 lakh was arrested just as he was boarding a flight at the Bangalore airport.

Abdul Salaam Abdul Rashid, 53, was about to escape to Dubai, the police said.

According to the RAK Marg police, Rashid had recently rented an apartment in Sewri. He would tell his victims he was a Navy Doctor and was employed with the CBI for five years. He told them he owned large properties in West Asian countries, and showed them pictures of bungalows and properties to lure them.

One of his victims was his neighbour at Sewri. Shabeera Abdul Gani Aaga told HT, Rashid recently rented an apartment next to ours, so during Eid, I would send him meals as he was staying alone. He then showed me pictures of his Dubai property claiming it was his and asked if I fancied a job in Saudi Arabia.

Rashid told his victims he would help them get a job of serving people in Haj. The victims were told they would get a salary of Rs35,000, but around Rs2-3 lakh as tips. So I agreed to go. But he asked if I could get more people. I arranged for 53 more people and depending on their capabilities, I was told to take Rs20,000 from each of them, said Aaga.

Rashid collected all their passports and fled. Early on July 24, I saw him leaving with a bag . He told me he was going to get the tickets and visas for us. He asked me to be ready, said Aaga.

When Rashid did not come back, a case was registered. The police got a tip-off Rashid was at Bangalore Airport.They told the local police, who caught him as he was entering the flight.

The police recovered 200 passports from his Sewri apartment. He also had cases at police stations in Kerala and in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai. Rashid was booked under section 420 of the IPC. The RAK Marg police team was in Kerala on Thursday to hand him over.

.

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Two unidentified men robbed a senior citizen of his gold chain worth Rs62,500 in Malad (East) on Tuesday.

Between 2.15 pm and 4.15 pm, Ravindra Sawant, 61, was walking near Pushpa Park Subway when the accused approached him.

The two told him to keep an eye on his gold chain as it was dangerous to walk around a secluded spot with valuables, said an officer.

Police said the two men initiated a friendly conversation with Sawant and soon convinced him to remove his gold chain. They then fled with it.

Police registered a case under sections of Indian Penal Code for cheating and act done with common intention. They are examining CCTV camera footage of the area and relying on Sawants description of the accused to trace him.
Muslim clerics in Mumbai have asked young members of the community to celebrate Independence Day by hoisting the national flag at masjids and madrasas (religious schools).

Muslims played a pivotal role in the battle for independent India. The youth should not forget their contribution, said Maulana Syed Moinuddin Ashraf, popularly called Moin Miya, from Sunni Jama Masjid and founder of Maharashtra Muslim Front.

A meeting of Ulemas (Muslim scholars) was held to discuss preparations for Independence Day celebrations on Tuesday. Religious leaders urged the Ulemas to spread the message of patriotism among young Muslims. The reason for holding such a meeting was to ensure that more people join and celebrate Independence Day with great enthusiasm. The young crowd should remember the martyrs and pass on these values to their children, the Maulana added.

Other Muslim organisations welcomed the decision, but said they wondered whether such a decision was made to thwart allegations of being unpatriotic. It is a positive decision, but could also have been a response to Hindus who have been pressuring us. However, the day is celebrated by people of all faiths, said Feroze Mithiborewala, national co-convener, Indian Muslims for Secular Democracy.

All-India Ulema, a body of Muslim community scholars, refused to comment on the move.

Ulema organisations will meet once more to plan further arrangements next week.
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) will approach the court seeking custody of Narne Ramakrishna, a chemist who supervised the manufacturing of party drug mephedrone (MD) worth Rs10 crore, which was seized in Palghar last week.

Chemist accused in 2015 case As much as 14.8kg of mephedrone was seized in raids at Andheri and Mira Road. The accused included two jewellers, Jayantilal Kothari and Pankaj Kothar. The other accused are Sanjay Srivasthav, Kaluram Choudhary, Siraj Panjwani, Guddu Shaikh, Narne Ramakrishna and Suleiman Rangaiwala. The agency alleged that Kaluram was the financier while the rest helped him buy and circulate the drug.

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) raided Shivam Pharma and Chemicals in Tarapur MIDC and seized 882.2 litres of mephedrone in liquid form. The agency arrested Jyotsna Srivastava, her brother-in-law Dhananjay Srivastava, Surendra Chowdhary and Ramakrishna.

Jyotsnas husband Sanjay Srivastava, is currently lodged in Arthur Road jail along with his accomplice Kaluram Chowdhary in connection with a 2015 case, in which 14.8kg of MD was seized. Ramkrishna is wanted in the same case.

The agencies believe Ramkrishna acted on instructions Srivastava allegedly passed to the gang from jail.

He is accused of using his knowledge and expertise to prepare the banned drug, for which he was paid Rs20 lakh. The NCB is investigating if more people were involved in its manufacturing.

We were searching for Ramakrishna. We will now ask the court to remand him in our custody, Kumar Sanjay Jha, NCB zonal director, Mumbai and Goa region, told HT.

Acting on a tip-off, the NCB had also searched for Ramakrishna in Hyderabad, but was unable to trace him.

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In yet another trouble for Shiv Sena leader Sunil Shitap, who was arrested in connection with the building collapse in Ghatkopar, residents of Powai have filed a complaint with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to demolish his Rumours Lounge (formerly known as Rude Lounge).

They have alleged that the lounge is illegal. A civil court is hearing the case.

When the place is illegal, how does it have permission from the excise and the health departments? According to the Supreme Court orders, no establishment can serve alcohol within 100 metres of an educational institute. The area also has a temple, said Balbir Singh, president of Powai Vikash Pratisthan.

In 2015, the Shipping Corporation of India filed a complaint to the assistant engineer (building and factory), S-ward, asking him to remove the structure from the location. When HT contacted the corporation, the authorities refused to divulge details.

Earlier in 2009, the BMC issued a notice to the lounge under section 351 of the MMC Act and asked Shitap to demolish the structure. But he got a court stay in the case.

There was a nursery and a helmet shop before the lounge was built, said a resident.

The place was then owned by the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada).

According to records obtained by HT, Mhada issued a notice to Shitap in 2016, alleging that they were illegally using the place. Shailesh Shetty, who handles operations at Rumours, told HT that he was not aware of various notices.

Taking cognisance of the complaint by residents, the S-ward authorities removed all cigarette stalls a week ago, but failed to take action against Rumours.

Speaking to HT, a BMC official said that these stalls were removed because they occupied the place recently.

Though, a notice was issued to Rumours in 2009, we cannot proceed in the matter unless asked by the court. The hearing is on in the matter and there is a stay on the structure. When asked if the lounge was illegal, the officer said that an eatery is allowed next to an educational institute, said the official.

Shitap was arrested on July 25, the day the building collapsed, while contractor Anil Mandal was arrested on July 29. Both of them are in police custody.

Consultants get 15 days to audit unsafe buildings in city

Following the Ghatkopar building collapse that claimed 17 lives, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has asked its consultants to submit structural stability reports of all dilapidated buildings within 15 days. There was no timeline specified by the BMC before this, which led to delays in reports.

According to the notification, if structural consultants fail to comply with the new timeline, they will be removed from the panel and can even be blacklisted.

After a building collapse at Dockyard Road in 2013, which killed 61 people, the BMC started to carry out structural audits of buildings older than 30-year-old. As structural audits reports varied, many disputes occurred between residents and owners.

To iron out anomalies, the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) was formed in 2014. The TAC plays a crucial role in deciding the nature of dilapidated buildings in the city. Buildings under the C1 category are the most dangerous and need to be demolished.

The TAC has a final say whether a building will go for redevelopment or needs repairs. In the Ghatkopar building too, the residents were in dispute with Shitap, who had claimed that the building needed to be redeveloped.

Residents and owners can appoint structural consultants empanelled by the BMC to carry out structural stability of the building.

Consultants (each appointed by different parties) have to undertake specific scientific tests such as velocity test, cement aggregate, chemical analysis among others listed by the civic body and have to submit the report for the TAC to study.
Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and Nay Pena, Chairman of the Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP) Central Committees Inspection Commission and First Vice President of the Cambodian Senate (Source: VNA)







The Party leader hosted a reception for Nay Pena, Chairman of the Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP) Central Committees Inspection Commission and First Vice President of the Cambodian Senate, in Hanoi on August 10th.

Trong said Nay Penas visit to Vietnam is of significance as it takes place in the context that the two countries are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic ties.

He noted with pleasure the enhanced relations between the two Parties and nations across fields, significantly contributing to political stability, and socio-economic development in each country.

Applauding outcomes of the talks between the two Party Inspection Commissions, General Secretary Trong suggested them intensify the sharing of information and experience in the inspection and supervision work.

For his part, Nay Pena thanked Vietnam for its valuable support to Cambodia during the struggle for national liberation, helping Cambodian people escape from the Pol Pot genocidal regime, as well as the during the cause of national reconciliation, construction and defence.

Cambodia will work together with Vietnam to take the long-standing friendship and comprehensive cooperation to a new high, he said.

Earlier, Nay Pena held talks with Tran Quoc Vuong, Politburo member, Standing member of the Secretariat, and head of the PCC Commission for Inspection.

The two sides briefed each other on the situation of their respective Parties and countries, and discussed orientations for cooperation between the two commissions.

During their stay in Vietnam, the Cambodian delegation had a working session on inspection and supervision work with the Hanoi Party Committee and its inspection commission, and visited several economic facilities in the northern province of Bac Ninh./.
In a few months, restaurants, multiplexes and malls in the city can remain open till late or even for 24 hours. The condition: The establishments will require police permission.

The state government on Wednesday passed the Shops and Establishment (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Bill, enabling owners or shops, hotels, theatres and multiplexes in the state to keep their establishments open round the clock, with an easier process to get permissions and licences.This will mean malls, multiplexes, restaurants and even small shops can be kept open till late in the night, especially on weekends.

The management of such establishments can also take the required permission online.

Currently, shops have to be closed by 10pm, with a grace period of 15 minutes. Restaurants are to shut by 12:30am and 1.30am with police permission. Paan and cigarette shops have to pack up by 1pm and other commercial establishments by 9:30pm. After the new rules are enforced, however, shops and malls can remain open until midnight and management can keep restaurants and pubs open even later.

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said although the shops will have the freedom to work extra hours, they will have to seek police permissions. He said the norms to be followed will be finalised by the police, depending on the location and the area of the establishment. Fadnavis, while speaking on the bill when it was passed on Wednesday in the Assembly, said: The permissions will be based on the areas and the locations and the police will decide on the timings based on repercussions on the law and order, he said.

The government made it clear establishments will have to follow all the existing rules related to labour laws and make adequate security arrangements for women. While offering ease of doing business, we have also ensured the interests of the workers are safeguarded. We have made provisions for strict monitoring of CCTV installation and mandatory night drops for women working the night shift. Establishments that fail to follow these provisions will face strict action, labour minister Sambhaji Patil Nilangekar told HT.

The Assembly passed the bill late on Wednesday. It will now require clearance of the legislative council, after which it will go to the President of India as the subject is from the concurrent list. If it is not passed by the council owing to shortage of time as the session is slated to end on Friday, the government may think of issuing an ordinance with permission from the President. The entire procedure may take anywhere from three to six months.

The bill has been in accordance with the Model Shop Act proposed by the Centre to facilitate the ease of doing business. The sate government, however, proposed some changes in the model act.

The establishments will have to employ workers in three shifts and give them all the facilities if they are operating 24x7. The bill also makes it mandatory to comply with the existing labour laws and also have increased the leaves for workers employed in these organisations. Maharashtra has become the first state to implement the central governments Model Shop Act, which puts an end to the inspector raj. The bill will enable 38 lakh establishments to either operate without licence if they employ less than ten workers or get online licences in case more than ten workers.

This will not only end the inspector raj but also will generate employment. Maharashtra has become first state to adopt the Model Shop Act and this will now pave way for other states to follow the provision we incorporated, Sambhaji Patil Nilangekar.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed a 26-year-old woman from Nalasopara to abort her foetus in the 25th week of pregnancy. The order was passed on the basis of a medical report submitted by panel of doctors from JJ Hospital.

The foetus was diagnosed with anencephaly, a neurological disorder that causes absence of major portion of the skull and scalp, in the 19th week of pregnancy. Babies born with the condition have very little or no chance of survival.

We consider it appropriate in the interest of justice and permit the petitioner to undergo medical termination of pregnancy under the provisions of Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971, said the apex court bench.

Doctors from JJ Hospital, who were asked to analyse the condition, mentioned in their report that medical evidence suggests no point in allowing the pregnancy to continue since the foetus would not be able to survive outside the uterus without a portion of its skull.

Sneha Mukherjee, lawyer of the petitioner said , The family comes from outskirts of Mumbai where there were no nursing homes, which could abort the child. Moreover, the nursing home didnt even refer her to a centre which could provide the abortion facility and by the time she reached an equipped center, she had already crossed the 20th week, said Mukherjee.

This is the tenth case in recent times where women had to tap the doors of the Supreme Court to allow them to abort a foetus with life-threatening conditions. Section 3(2)(b) of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act prohibits abortion of a foetus after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
The Supreme Court allowed a 23-year-old pregnant woman from Satara to terminate her 26-week pregnancy on Thursday. The petitioners lawyers welcomed the verdict since the report submitted by BJ Medical College had said advised otherwise.

The report had said that continuation of pregnancy did not pose as a risk to the life of the mother. This is the first instance in which SC has defied the medical report. In past cases, abortion has been allowed or denied based only on the medical report.

The 26-week-old foetus was diagnosed with a continental cardiac anomaly known as Hypoplastic Right Heart Syndrome in the 22nd week of pregnancy. The anomaly causes underdevelopment of the right side heart chambers, valves and related blood vessels, hampering blood flow to lungs and oxygen levels.

Doctors said the minute cardiac anomalies are only picked up after 20-22 weeks, unless latest technologies and highly qualified radiologists are involved. On the request of SC, BJ Medical College submitted a report which said that numerous corrective surgeries, during and after the birth of the child will be needed but the rate of survival will remain negligible. However, the report also mentioned that pregnancy is not dangerous for the woman.

It wasnt an open and shut case where there is definite answers for survival of the child and harm to mother. Moreover, since the report mentioned no risk to the mother, we explained the board about quality of life of the mother and child and effectiveness of corrective surgeries. After an hour, the board approved abortion, said Sneha Mukherjee, lawyer of the petitioner.

Experts from BJ Medical College said they were bound by the law to submit the report in the framework of Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act 1971. We cannot suggest if the SC should or shouldnt allow abortion. Even in this case, we informed the board about the feasibility of child survival but also made it clear that there was no physical danger to the mothers life because there is none, said one of the expert committee members.

The expert added that interpretation of the report needs to include the womans mental health, familys financial capability and availability of medical resources before taking a decision.
At least 55 children of Madan Mohan Malviya School in Noida fell ill on Thursday allegedly after consuming deworming tablets provided by the health department.

The children were admitted to hospital after they complained of sickness, vomiting and stomach ache after consuming albendazole tablets.

The tablets were administered to the students by health department officials on the occasion of National Deworming Day. On this day, students in schools across India are given the tablets.

At least 55 children were brought to our hospital after they reportedly complained of sickness after consuming albendazole tablets. Of these 55 students, eight have been kept under observation as their health deteriorated and the rest have been discharged. None of the children is in danger, said Dr DK Singh, chief medical superintendent, Super Specialty Child PGI Hospital.

According to the students, they were given the tablets after lunch break. The school in Sector 53 has over 700 students from classes 1 to 10.

We had our lunch till 10.30 am and at 11 am, we were called down to the assembly ground for taking the tablets. Soon after consuming the tablet, I started feeling dizzy and threw up. My friends also fell ill, said Haripal, a student of Class 4.

Parents rushed to the hospital after receiving information about the incident.

The schools principal confirmed that the students fell ill after taking the medicine.

A total of 500 students from Class 2 to Class 7 were given the tablets. As soon as the students fell ill, we informed the hospital for emergency ambulance service. Some students were brought by ambulance and some by private transport, said principal, Mahesh Chauhan.

According to the health department officials, there is a possibility that the students fell ill due to the side effects of the tablet.

There are different side effects of the medicine and it is difficult to ascertain why the students fell ill. It might be because of the food intake but we cant confirm anything right now, said Dr Vikas, physician attending to the children.

By 3 pm, majority of the children were sent back to their homes after preliminary check-up by the doctors. However, six of them were held till 4 pm as they complained of stomach ache and dizziness.

Dr Anurag Bhargav, chief medical officer, declined setting up of any inquiry committee on the incident.

We are taking action as per the reports being received. For now, we will send a sample of the tablet to the drug department for tests. Future course of action will be decided after that, said Dr Bhargav.

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In yet another incident of crime on highways in western Uttar Pradesh, the family of a crockery businessman travelling from Delhi to Baraut was waylaid on the state highway 57 (SH-57) in Ghaziabad late Wednesday night and robbed of their valuables at gunpoint.

The robbers made off with jewellery and cash from the family that was travelling in a Hyundai Accent car after holding the women and children at gunpoint.

Mohammad Shehzad, one of the victims, said that he and his brother, Waseem, had gone to Nizamuddin in Delhi to escort his brothers wife, who got married a fortnight ago, to their residence. The family was travelling to Baraut and was cornered by the armed robbers who were travelling in a Honda City car around 11pm near Sonu Dhaba on SH-57 in Loni.

A total of seven persons  Shehzad, his wife, his two children, Waseem and his wife, and their father  were in the vehicle at the time of the incident.

They cornered our car and one of the men got out holding a car axle in his hand. He broke the window on the drivers side and held me at gunpoint. Two more robbers held my wife and my six-year-old son at gunpoint. We had no option but to surrender. We requested them to take the belongings but to spare our lives. The incident lasted for five to seven minutes and the robbers took our cash and jewellery, he said.

The family said that the robbers took jewellery worth Rs2.5 lakh from two women, Rs50,000 and three mobile phones. After the armed robbers fled, the family was left with one phone that they used to call the police emergency number.

The control room personnel started asking questions instead of our repeated requests for help and a PCR van. After finishing the call, they called us again and started questioning. I got angry and told them to send help first. I assured them that I would answer all their questions at the scene of the crime. A PCR van arrived after nearly 30 minutes after the robbers had fled, said Waseem, Shehzads brother.

The family was taken to Tronica City police station, where they lodged an FIR for robbery against the unidentified persons. The family said that there were four robbers, who were not wearing any mask, in all and said that they were aged between 20 and 22 years.

We have registered an FIR into the incident and teams have started an investigation to trace the culprits. The familys allegation that police response was delayed could be due to fear. We have three PCR vans posted on the state highway, till the border of neighbouring Baghpat. The road here is broken in patches and one of our PCR was barely 300-400 metres from the spot of the incident, said Durgesh Kumar Singh, circle officer (Loni).

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Nearly ten days after class IV student Arman Sehgal died at the GD Goenka School campus on August 1, members of various opposition political parties and associations arrived at the district headquarters to protest and demanded immediate arrest of the school authorities.

Following the incident, Armans parents have lodged an FIR under sections of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and destruction of evidence against the school authorities. However, the police have failed to make any arrest stating that their investigations are still on.

We are not satisfied and had there been some action in the case, many people would not have come here for protest. There has been no arrest so far in the case. It is not the only case. Police is acting in a similar way in so many other cases as well. There have been protests against fee hike but the issue is yet to be resolved and parents are suffering, said Swatantra Yadav, a senior Congress leader.

More than 100 leaders from parties, including the Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party, Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Lok Dal and other associations took part in the protest march at district headquarters.

We went to meet the district magistrate and also the senior superintendent of police but they were not present in office. There is absolutely no headway into the case. Armans parents have also staged protest and running from pillar to post to get him justice. However, the grieving parents are yet to get any assurance from authorities, said Satish Sharma, another Congress leader.

The protesters also went to the office of district magistrate and senior superintendent of police but the two officials were busy with their official assignment as the deputy chief minister had arrived for a private function in the city.

Apart from justice to Armans parents, we also demand that the district administration should also initiate checking at various schools and see to it that safety guidelines are followed as per norms. This will ensure that no other student suffer the similar incident like Arman did, said Suresh Bansal, former MLA from Bahujan Samaj Party.

The protesters later met Rajesh Kumar Yadav, additional district magistrate (finance & revenue) and submitted a memorandum.

We assured that their memorandum will be forwarded to the SSP for further action. They were also demanding checking of the affiliation of the school. We told them that we have written to the district inspector of schools for checking up the school affiliation documents, Yadav added.

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Many parents of students of the GD Goenka School at Indirapuram demanded the school authorities to assure the safety of their children and reopen the school which has been shut since August 3.

On August 1 a class IV student, Arman Sehgal died after he allegedly fell inside his school premises and his parents later lodged an FIR against the school authorities.

Armans parents on Tuesday staged a dharna outside the school which was closed on Tuesday as well. They have lodged an FIR against the school officials for culpable homicide not amounting to murder and destruction of evidence.

However, the sequence of events has led the school authorities to close down the school. Dozens of parents on Wednesday arrived at the school but found it locked. The parents have been facing issues since there is no progress in the classes.

The school authorities must open the school as children are suffering and they must ensure the teachers are there so that classes are held as per schedule. We sympathise with parents of the victim but the school management is not turning up and not coming into the picture. I went to the school on Wednesday and found no one. Some policemen were standing and guards were on the main gate, said Sonu Tyagi, a parent.

They said they get messages from school for some administrative work and still do not know when the school will open.

The case is now between Armans parents and the school management. It will be decided with time. But other children should be allowed to continue with classes for now. Their studies are suffering, he added.

Dozens of parents also arrived on Wednesday but had to return without any further intimation from the side of the school.

We also received message that school will not open. There were some messages that school is closed due to the death of the student. Studies of other children should be continued. There is no one available at school. There is no message for coming days as yet. The management should come and take responsibility to open the school, said Seema, another parent.

They should come forward and assure parents about the safety of our children which is a prime concern. Reason for closure is known to everyone after the incident. I want to get assured that I can leave my children without any concern at school. Even if studies get affected for 3-4 days, I want assurance about the safety of children. The school authorities have to come forward and face parents, she added.

Apart from the police investigation, the district magistrate had also initiated a magisterial inquiry which is already underway but has drawn a naught till Wednesday. Rajesh Kumar Yadav, additional district magistrate, who is also the inquiry officer, had to postpone his visit on Tuesday and Wednesday as the school remained closed.

No one has come to get his statements recorded during the inquiry period. We have spoken to the district inspector of schools to get in touch with school officials and ask them to open. If other parents give us complaints about closure of the school, we will take action, Yadav added.

Since the incident happened, the school authorities have remained incommunicado. When Hindustan Times tried to contact the principal and the vice principal of the school, their mobile phone remained switched off or were not reachable.

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A 25-year-old software engineer who is employed with an IT company was arrested by the police in connection with the alleged suicide of a woman on Tuesday in Sector 62.

The police said the woman, 24-year-old Shweta Kumari, had come from Patna and worked at the companys Sector 62 office. She lived with two women colleagues in an apartment in Shakti Kunj area of Sector 62, the police said.

Shweta allegedly committed suicide on Tuesday around 4pm by hanging from a ceiling fan in the apartment when her flatmates were at work. The police said the matter was reported to them when the two women returned and found the doors locked from the inside. Shweta had studied BTech in computer sciences from a university in Chennai.

The police suspect that she had committed suicide around 4pm on Tuesday and had not attended her office.

The flatmates knocked the doors repeatedly, but there was no response from the inside. They were frightened and called the victim but she did not respond to phone calls, following which they broke the door and saw her hanging from the fan, the police said.

The two women informed the police and a team rushed to the apartment. The police recovered a suicide note from the pocket of the victim, in which she had mentioned about her relationship with a man identified as Ankush Gandotra, a resident of Delhi.

The woman and Gandotra worked in the same company and Gandotra has been taken in for questioning now.

Station house officer of Sector 58 police station, Anil Pratap Singh, said, The deceased mentioned that she was in a relationship with Gandotra for the last two years. In the note, she stated that he had impregnated her. It was also mentioned that she came to know Gandotra was getting married to someone else. When she asked him to marry her, Gandotra refused and this could have led her to commit suicide.

Gandotra was arrested from his house in Rohini area of Delhi and a case of abetment to suicide was registered against him. He was produced in court and sent to judicial custody, Singh added.

After receiving information about their daughter, the womans parents reached Noida and the body was handed over to them. Shwetas father said, She was working with TCS since 2015 and Gandotra was also there. She had talked to me about her friendship with him.

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At least 14 more cases of swine flu have been confirmed by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) till Thursday, thereby taking the total count of H1N1 swine flu patients to 47 here.

Earlier, the count of positive swine flu cases was 33. On Wednesday evening, eight more cases were confirmed and on Thursday evening, six more cases were confirmed. The total count is now 47, said GK Mishra, district malaria officer, Ghaziabad health department.

The district health department of Ghaziabad has dispatched fresh samples of suspected swine flu cases to the Delhi lab for test.

On Tuesday, we had dispatched 27 new samples and then on Wednesday and Thursday, we sent nine cases for confirmation. Results usually come after 48 hours in the Delhi based laboratory, said Mishra.

At Gautam Budh Nagar, the count of positive swine flu cases has remained at 33 with no fresh cases confirmed by NCDC lab.

We have not yet dispatched any fresh samples as the results of the samples we had dispatched earlier are awaited, said Dr Anurag Bhargav, chief medical officer, Gautam Budh Nagar.

Swine Flu is an infection caused by swine influenza viruses that is endemic in pigs. It is a highly contagious disease and can be easily spread from a patient through saliva and mucus particles.

The Ghaziabad administration has finally turned its attention towards rising number of cases of swine flu in the district. On Wednesday evening, district magistrate Ministi S held a meeting with the officials of the health department and asked them to propagate the prevention medicines and sanitation campaign in the city.

DM has asked us to propagate that the health department will provide medicines to the patients of swine flu. Also, a list of private and government hospitals that provide medicines for swine flu will be broadcasted on local TV channels, added Mishra.

The health department has also started surveying areas where positive cases of swine flu have come up.

We are currently tracking these areas to check their sanitation and cleanliness level. Patients from whom samples are collected are provided precautionary medicines so that their health doesnt deteriorate till the next 48 hours, said Mishra.

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When cyber-security professionals were polled recently at their annual BlackHat conference in Las Vegas, 60% said they expected the United States to suffer a successful attack against its critical infrastructure in the next two years. And US politics remains convulsed by the aftermath of Russian cyber interference in the 2016 election. Are cyber-attacks the wave of the future, or can norms be developed to control international cyber conflict?

We can learn from the history of the nuclear age. While cyber and nuclear technologies are vastly different, the process by which society learns to cope with a highly disruptive technology shows instructive similarities. It took states about two decades to reach the first cooperative agreements in the nuclear era. If one dates the cyber-security problem not from the beginning of the Internet in the 1970s, but from the late 1990s, when burgeoning participation made the Internet the substrate for economic and military interdependence (and thus increased our vulnerability), cooperation is now at about the two-decade mark.

The first efforts in the nuclear era were unsuccessful United Nations-centered treaties. In 1946, the US proposed the Baruch plan for UN control of nuclear energy, and the Soviet Union promptly rejected it, locking itself into a position of technological inferiority. It was not until after the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 that a first arms control agreement, the Limited Test Ban Treaty, was signed, in 1963. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty followed in 1968, and the bilateral US-USSR Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty in 1972.

In the cyber field, Russia proposed a UN treaty to ban electronic and information weapons (including propaganda) in 1999. With China and other members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, it has continued to push for a broad UN-based treaty.

The US resisted what it saw as an effort to limit American capabilities, and continues to regard a broad treaty as unverifiable and deceptive. Instead, the US, Russia, and 13 other states agreed that the UN Secretary General should appoint a group of governmental experts (GGE), which first met in 2004.

That group initially produced meagre results; but, by July 2015, it issued a report, endorsed by the G20, that proposed norms for limiting conflict and confidence-building measures. Groups of experts are not uncommon in the UN process, but only rarely does their work rise from the UNs basement to a summit of the worlds 20 most powerful states. But while the GGEs success was extraordinary, last month it failed and was unable to issue a consensus report for 2017.

The GGE process has limitations. The participants are technically advisers to the UN secretary general rather than fully empowered national negotiators. Over the years, as the number of GGE member states increased from the original 15 to 20 and then to 25, the group became more unwieldy, and political issues became more intrusive. According to one diplomat who has been central to the process, some 70 countries have expressed interest in participating. But as the numbers expand, the difficulty of reaching agreement increases.

There is a wide range of views about the future of the GGE process. A first draft of a new report existed at the beginning of this year, and the able German chairman argued that the group should not rewrite the 2015 report, but try to say more about the steps that states should take in peacetime.

Some states suggested new norms to address data integrity and maintenance of the Internets core structures. There was general agreement about confidence-building measures and the need to strengthen capacity. The US and like-minded states pressed for further clarification of the earlier agreement that international laws of armed conflict, including the right of self-defense, apply in cyber space, but China, Russia, and their allies were reluctant to agree. And the deterioration in US-Russian relations soured the political climate.

Moreover, whereas some states hope to revive the GGE process or enlarge it into a broader UN process, others are skeptical, and believe that future progress will be limited to discussions among like-minded states, rather than leading to universal agreements.

Norms that may be ripe for discussion outside the GGE process could include protected status for the core functions of the Internet; supply-chain standards and liability for the Internet of Things; treatment of election processes as protected infrastructure; and, more broadly, norms for issues such as crime and information warfare. All of these are among the topics that may be considered by the new informal International Commission on Stability in Cyberspace established early this year and chaired by former Estonian Foreign Minister Marina Kaljurand.

Progress on the next steps of norm formation will require simultaneous use of many different formats, both private and governmental. For example, the 2015 agreement between China and the US to limit industrial cyber espionage was a bilateral accord that was later taken up by the G20.

In some cases, the development of norms among like-minded states can attract adherence by others at a later point. In others, such as the Internet of Things, norms for security standards may benefit from leadership by the private sector or non-profit stakeholders in establishing codes of conduct. And progress in some areas need not wait for others.

A regime of norms may be more robust when linkages are not too tight, and an over-arching UN treaty would harm such flexibility at this point. Expansion of participation is important for the acceptance of norms, but progress will require action on many fronts. Given this, the failure of the GGE in July 2017 should not be viewed as the end of the process.

Joseph S. Nye is a professor at Harvard and a member of the Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace

The views expressed are personal

Project Syndicate, 2017
The project will construct hydrological observation facilities to monitor the water level of rivers and dams and the rainfall in the basin of the Huong river, as well as a water-related disaster management information system to mitigate flood disasters in the general Huong river basin.

The coastal area of Central Vietnam is often struck by typhoons, resulting in storm and landslide disasters each year. Disaster risk reduction is an important challenge from the perspective of preventing human casualties and economic loss. In particular, a heavy rainy region where flood disaster occurs frequently is the Huong river basin of Thua Thien-Hue province, due to inappropriate water releases from dams during torrential rains.

Vice Minister of MARD Hoang Van Thang (right) and JICA Vietnams Chief Representative Fujita Yasuo

at the signing ceremony. (Courtesy photo: JICA Vietnam)

Effective operation of three dams in the basin (Binh Dien, Huong Dien and Ta Trach dams) and precise river management during heavy rains are priorities as seen by Prime Minister directive issued in 2013 for proper dam management and stronger safety measures.

Besides, the project will increase the number of hydrological observation points which monitor the water level of rivers and river flow volume in the Huong river basin (around 2,800 square kilometers) and shorten the intervals at which rainfall and water level information is disseminated from 60 to 10 minutes, thereby contributing to improve the capacity in managing dams and rivers, leading to the prevention and mitigation of water-related disasters.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and Thua Thien-Hue Peoples Committee are executing agencies of the project, which is planned to operate within 24 months, including detailed design work and the bidding period.

Equipment of the project are: an X-band radar system, hydrology observation stations (10 locations), closed-circuit televisions (14 locations), real-time dam operation systems, direct communication networks (seven lines), an information management system, a multiple information display, a digital signage system for fighting floods, a direct commanding unit, a topographical survey, and a river channel cross-section survey./.
Pakistans political history is full of power shows, street rallies and long marches, some successful, some destructive. On Wednesday, ousted and disqualified prime minister Nawaz Sharif started what he cynically called a drive back home. Many saw this march as his last-ditch attempt to undo a devastating Supreme Court decision against him and to pre-empt corruption cases that could land him and his family in jail.

Amid jets and helicopters flying over Islamabad and despite warnings by security agencies including the Military Intelligence, Inter-Services Intelligence and Intelligence Bureau that there were terrorist threats on the 170-mile long Grand Trunk Road to Lahore, Sharif took to the streets in desperation.

The ousted leader has used such street demonstrations of power several times in the past, as have others including late Benazir Bhutto and Imran Khan.

Sharifs last such outing was in 2009 when he started a march to seek restoration of Supreme Court chief justice Iftikhar Choudhry who was sacked by General Pervez Musharraf in 2007.

Despite promises, the new President Asif Ali Zardari refused to reinstate him and thus Sharif led a lawyers and civil society march in 2009 for his restoration.

Immediately the then army chief, General Ashfaq Kayani, intervened and the chief justice was restored before Sharif could leave his stop over at Gujranwala in central Punjab. It was a big success for Sharif, the then Opposition leader and a blow to Zardari.

But it was the army, which put its stamp on national politics, regaining ground lost during General Musharrafs nine years. Ironically when Sharif took to the streets then he was fighting for the judiciary.

His march now is against the judges, who have rendered a verdict in the Panama Papers case, ending his political career, removing him from both the prime ministers office and the all-important head of his party. It is now a battle for his survival.

Traditionally long marches in Pakistan have produced destructive results against democracy.

In 1958, Khan Abdul Qayyum Khan of Frontier province, the home of Frontier Gandhi, Ghaffar Khan, led a march from Peshawar to Rawalpindi and military rule was instantly imposed by General Ayub Khan.

When Zulfikar Ali Bhutto came to power and rigged elections in 1977, similar street shows by the opposition led to General Zia ul Haqs 11-year long martial law. In the decade of 90s, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif alternatively took to the streets and toppled each other, mostly with the help of the deep establishment. In 2000, General Musharraf sent Sharif into exile for seven years.

On his return in 2007 and after Benazir Bhuttos murder, Sharif started off where he had left and in 2009 he led the march for the judiciary. He was paid back in 2014 when now opposition leader Imran Khan marched on Islamabad from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa against rigged elections. Sharif barely escaped then.

Imran Khan again marched on Islamabad in 2016 against corruption of Sharif, revealed by Panama Papers and this time succeeded in forcing the Supreme Court to take up the case which finally ended in Sharifs ouster from power in July.

The important factor is that while street power has played a significant role in changing political fortunes, it was always the deep establishment  army and judiciary  that took life and death decisions.

Contrary to the past, Nawaz Sharifs protest now is to save his own skin and his family, facing charges of widespread corruption.

Interestingly the two key players of the deep establishment are either neutral or opposed to him and his show on the streets could misfire big time as there is no larger democratic principle involved. Sharif keeps talking of a deep conspiracy but has not revealed anything as he wants to charge sheet the army and the judiciary. His dilemma is that publicly he cannot accuse anyone.

He has lost his office and his party. He fears the family will also slip out of his hands.

By showing a large following on the streets he wants to re-establish his hold but the odds are heavily tilted against him.

Shaheen Sehbai is a senior Pakistani journalist

@ssehbai1

The views expressed are personal
Three sewage workers died in Delhis Lajpat Nagar area on August 6. After the deaths, much of the outrage has been directed at a contractor, who sent them to unclog the drains without safety gear, contravening the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013. The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) distanced itself from the matter, saying: The matter will be clearer after an inquiry. But prima facie it appears that the four who were working there had no links to either the DJB or the contractor in the area. It is quite strange, such a case has never happened before. However, the matter would seem stranger if you consider that the deaths occurred in Jal Vihar, an area named after the DJBs office located there, and in sewage pipes that are built and managed by the DJB. The workers were cleaning 21 sewage chambers, suggesting that there was a significant blockage in the lines.

Going by the DJBs statement, perhaps residents engaged the contractor directly, or it is possible a DJB contractor sub-contracted his work? It is also possible that the lines could not be unclogged by suction machines because they were blocked with plastic waste, construction debris and other solid waste, which should never be in sewage lines.

According to the norms, storm water drainage networks and sewage lines should never be inter-connected as they are designed for different kinds of load. In a well planned and managed sewage system, mixing random loads of rain water and solid waste would throw the system out of balance. However, in the DJBs world, natural water channels, storm water drains and sewage systems are inter-linked and supplement each others inadequacies  creating a deadly cocktail of solid and liquid waste, creating public health and environmental risks.

This sort of norm-less public engineering kills sewage workers. Perhaps with safety equipment and better training could have lessened the risks, but if your job is to hold your breath and swim in sewage water, what sort of training and safety equipment could prepare you for it?

Blocked sewers create situations that are dangerous and we need to hold accountable the people who create such situations. All the more so if people and institutions who hold the responsibility to provide essential public services are funded by us.

So if the DJB and the Delhi government is serious about an inquiry into the deaths, they should look into where the sewer line was flowing from, to where, and what were the reasons why the sewer line was blocked?

Such a panel must also look into whether the DJB has mechanisms to monitor when sewer lines become blocked, and their protocols to address such situations. It should also look into whether the DJB had received any complaints from the public about it and its response. This does not mean we neglect to pursue contraventions of the manual scavenging law, but if we are to end the practice of unsafe cleaning of sewer lines, we must shine a torch on the systemic malpractices that create conditions for unsafe cleaning.

Arkaja Singh is fellow, Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi

The views expressed are personal
A 31-year-old Iranian student has accused a Pune-based college professor of seeking sexual favours in return for assistance with her PhD course.

Kothrud police booked Shivaji Borhade  a staffer at the Yashwantrao Mohite College  in this connection on Wednesday. According to the complainant, Borhade made the proposition when she approached him for guideship.

The student, who recorded her conversation with the professor on her mobile phone, had come to Pune to acquire a doctoral degree. Borhade said he would help me with the PhD degree, provided I did what he asked, she stated in her complaint.

The Yashwantrao Mohite College is affiliated to the Bharati Vidyapeeth, a deemed university.

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Five days after Varnika Kundu was allegedly stalked by Vikas Barala, son of Haryana BJP chief Subhash Barala, and his friend, HT spoke to women disc jockeys (DJs) who share similar tales of being followed and how such instances are a common occurrence.

Sonaya Khanna, a DJ based in Delhi said, Yes I have been tailed and followed a few times after my shows. I generally drive myself to and from work, as I dont trust cab drivers late at night. I have been fortunate enough to have met police cars while I was being followed and they came to my rescue to leave me at home safely.

She is in the profession for the past ten years. She has been a regular artist performing in the city clubs and nearby areas here.

What happened in Chandigarh is very sad but then it happens almost everywhere and is a crime. I am being out at night does not give anyone the liberty to harass me. Also, we need to have an active helpline for women safety, I have tried calling the numbers mentioned on the internet and no one ever responds, Khanna said.

What men and boys on streets should realise that India has transformed a lot during the past three decades. Night life has become a part and parcel of ones life because women employed in hotel industry, information technology, hospitality sector work till late hours in the evening and even past midnight. They return home alone at these odd hours, she adds.

Another woman DJ, based in Delhi, said on the condition of anonymity that, Although it is unfair but I feel the problem lies with the clubs allowing stag (men accompanied by women) entries, which have turned out to be a source of problem on occasions. The stags are the ones which prove to be the party spoilers and there is a need to have a proper profiling of the people coming to party. That is why I always prefer the organisers to encourage more couples when Im performing.

I had also faced problems during song requests as people who are high would repeatedly try and come near the playing area. But now after four years of experience I have managed to control such situations, said Dimple Phillora, a freelancer DJ based in UT. She has played in Ludhiana, Amritsar and Delhi.
3 suspected Khalistani militants held by Punjab police, MP ATS in Gwalior

A joint operation by the Madhya Pradesh anti-terrorist squad (ATS) and Punjab police busted an alleged terror module and arrested three men said to be associated with the Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) from the Dabra region of Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh. For more, click here

Stalking case: 2-day police remand for Vikas Barala, his friend Ashish

Admits driving SUV to drop Ashish in Panchkula but denies stalking Varnika; defence lawyer alleges media trial under pressure. Read more

Chandigarh stalking: Women DJs share similar tales, say need to monitor people visiting clubs

What happened in Chandigarh is very sad but then it happens almost everywhere and is a crime. I am being out at night does not give anyone the liberty to harass me, a DJ based in Delhi said. Read more

Gangsters in Punjab buzzing on social media: Cops want Facebook to block accounts

ADGP says directions issued to police in all districts to prepare a list of accounts they want blocked and write to the US-based company. Read more

Women in Himachal Pradesh more prone to phone-stalking

In 2011, the police introduced a Short Message Service wherein women, who were reluctant to visit police stations, could register their complaints on their mobiles. Read more

UK MP wants names of Sikh hardliners off govts blacklist

The MP, who was in Phagwara on Wednesday, said, Many Sikhs have been waiting for last 30-35 years to come to their native places and meet family members in Punjab. Read more

For more stories, visit www.punjab.ht

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The wait is finally over! The first single from Mersal -- Aalaporaan Thamizhan -- is out. The song was shared on Saavn and has been trending on Twitter since.

As the teaser promised, the song is high on beats yet has its lyrical stretches. In typical AR Rahman style, it moves from a beats-intensive tempo to soft lilting melodious moments in a seamless fashion.

Featuring several vocalists -- Kailash Kher, AV Pooja, Deepak, AR Rahman and D Sathyaprakash -- the song has a certain mass appeal feel to it. People have been commenting on it, calling it pukka mass to awesome song.

Sharing the song on Twitter, industry tracker Ramesh Bala said that the song has peppy beats and has a scope for dance.

#AalaporaanThamizhan - Very peppy beats from @arrahman - Sold lyrics.. Good scope for dance.. A Perfect Intro song https://t.co/kVKXp7QHEv  Ramesh Bala (@rameshlaus) August 10, 2017

Fans were in raptures listening to the song.

Mersal Hussain said it was A proud salute to Mersal Team , especially @Lyricist_Vivek for this grandeur lyrics of Tamil language.

#AalaporaanThamizhan A proud salute to Mersal Team , especially @Lyricist_Vivek for this grandeur lyrics of Tamil language. pic.twitter.com/pWeWTSPJ2g  Mersal Hussain (@Therisadam) August 10, 2017

Gemini Rajah commented that he cried listening to it. Heres what he wrote on Twitter: #AalaporaanThamizhan dono why but while hearing this song goosebumps,water coming in ma eyes,proud ????????tamilandaaaa.

#AalaporaanThamizhan dono why but while hearing this song goosebumps,water coming in ma eyes,proud tamilandaaaa  Gemini rajah (@GeminiRajah) August 10, 2017

VB has this to say: #AalaporaanThamizhan - powerful lyric & mass music!! Theatre adhira poguthu!!! Cant wait!!

#AalaporaanThamizhan - powerful lyric & mass music!! Theatre adhira poguthu!!! Cant wait!!  vb (@vbzu) August 10, 2017

Mersal stars Ilayathalapathy Vijay, who will be seen in three difference avatars. He will play a panchayat head, a magician and a farmer. While the first and second looks were shared a while back, the third one was shared on Wednesday. In one of his earlier looks, Vijay is seen donning a traditional garb and twirls his moustache. The poster shows him with the backdrop of Jallikattu, and many are reading it as a reference to the controversy in January regarding the popular sport. The second look shows him as a magician, a role for which he apparently took some lessons. The latest poster shows him playing Holi.

Mersal also stars Kajal Aggarwal, Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Nithya Menen. It has been directed by Atlee and is set for a grand release during Diwali.

Follow @htshowbiz for more

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The Central Board of Film Certification has been under fire from moviemakers for a long time now.

Spearheading the fight against the censor board was Bollywood director Alankrita Shrivastava, who eventually managed to get a U/A certificate for Lipstick Under My Burkha by voluntarily snipping a few bits. However, just when Pankaj Nihalani and his team thought the public spat over the lady-oriented film was finally buried and done with, Shrivastava came up with posters that allegedly showed censor board authorities the middle finger.

Down south, Tamil director Ram tried to spin a similar trick with the posters of his third film Taramani - slated for release on August 11. Censor board officials, however, did not take the bait.

Ram recently released two posters that seemed to be hitting out at the board, which allowed the release of Taramani on an adults-only certificate with the muting of just one word. This is what the first one had to say: According to the censor board, a movie can get the U/A certificate if it has a man drinking his alcohol raw. However, if a movie has a woman doing the same thing, it gets A. This is why Taramani is A.

The second poster made the same allegation, but more provocatively. Why did you leave me and go for the movie? Because its an adult film, baby.... F*** you, can only men be adults? it quipped.

However, Ram told this writer over the phone the other night that he has no issues with the censor board. Though the movie could have bagged the U/A certification with 14 cuts, he had instead decided to let it go relatively untouched with the A tag. After all, the directors sense of artistic expression would have been in tatters if he had allowed the movie to be butchered.

Admittedly, Taramani -- named after the famous IT corridor running along Old Mahabalipuram Road in south Chennai - will lose out on some of its audience, and some re-censoring would be required to acquire satellite television rights. That would be a frightful bore, but still better than the alternative.

However, if theres one thing I have noticed in Chennai and other places over the years, the alphabet A is meaningless when it comes to movies. Children - barely eight or nine years old - are allowed to walk into theatres to watch films meant for adults. And now, with theatre revenues in Tamil Nadu tumbling, theatre managements are only too happy to sell a ticket to whoever comes by.

The standard response one gets from parents taking their children for screenings of A-rated films is: We did not know it was meant for older people. But then, how can they possibly not notice the red-ink stamp that boldly proclaims A on their movie ticket?

Taramani has been directed by director Ram and its his third film.

Taramani, in any case, is not meant for minors. It has adult content - not necessarily steamy sex or gory violence - that the censor board believes is unsuitable for those under 18 years.

All I know about Taramani is that it focuses on a heterosexual relationship, with Andrea Jeremiah and newcomer Vasanth Ravi playing the key roles. The movies trailer shows all-too-clearly the kind of uneasiness and insecurity a man suffers from. While the movie showcases a very confident Jeremiah on the one hand, on the other is a man with several issues. Ravi does not like seeing his girlfriend in what he believes is a short skirt, finds it irksome that she should have so many Facebook friends when he has just a few, and becomes especially disturbed by her declaration that a woman is the final authority on who shes going to bed with.

Ram, who first came to my attention through his 2013 release Thanga Meengal (Goldfish), seems to be veering in a completely new direction with Taramani.

The previous film was a powerful take on how ill-paid teachers in private schools deeply affect the psyche of students.

Given the kind of sensitivity with which Ram handled Thanga Meengal, I am sure Taramani will present a fresh look at gender equations in a state where stalking has traditionally been seen as an expression of love. But now that its established as a crime, one wonders what alternative methods are employed by Ravi in trying to woo Jeremiah.

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Walking through central Bruges is like a romantic journey into the past. With centuries-old gabled buildings lining a web of canals and cobblestone streets, the vibe is quintessential old-world Europe. Bruges is also one of the most beautiful cities in Western Europe, a place that has been called the Venice of the North. And the best part: you can travel solo.

Located about an hour northwest of Brussels, not far from the North Sea, Bruges is the capital of West Flanders in the Flemish region of Belgium. The city was spared major damage during the two World Wars. Much of its medieval architecture is intact, earning the historic centre of town a UNESCO World Heritage Site designation in 2000. Just walking the streets and along the canals is worth the trip, but there are a few must-see sites around the city, including an early work by Michelangelo. Here are some:

The Church of Our Lady in Bruges. (Shutterstock)

The market: The large square at the city centre is one of the most picturesque and bustling places in Bruges. A marketplace starting in 958, The Markt (Market Square) is often filled with pedestrians and bicycles crisscrossing past statues of medieval freedom fighters such as Jan Breydel and Pieter de Coninck. The square is framed by the majestic Belfry Tower and Provincial Palace, seat of the West Flanders Provincial Court. Old, gilded houses with cafes on the ground floor line the rest of the square. Wednesday is market day, where traditional Belgian fare can be found.

Church of our Lady : The spire of Our Lady towers above the city at 381 feet (116 meters) and claims to be one of the worlds tallest brick structures. Inside its like an art museum, filled with exquisite paintings, detailed woodcarving and elaborately-painted tombs. The real treat is Michelangelos marble Madonna and Child, believed to be created around 1505 and the only one of his statues to leave Italy during his lifetime. Tickets for the museum are 6 euros for adults, 5 euros for seniors and kids 11 and under free.

Note: The church is currently undergoing major renovation that wont be completed until next year.

Belgium has a small coastline along the North Sea, but its worth seeing. (Shutterstock)

Groeninge Museum: Built on the site of the medieval Eekhout Abbey, the Groeninge Museum has a wide range of Belgian art, including paintings from the 18th and 19th century neoclassical and realist periods, Flemish expressionism and post-war modern art. The main focus of the collection is the works of the Flemish Primitives, including Jan van Eyck, Hans Memling and Hugo van der Goes.

Fee: 8 euros for adults, 6 euros for seniors, kids 11 and under can visit for free.

Begijnhof: This site is a quiet escape from the hustle and bustle in the rest of the city centre. Founded in 1245, it was the home of Beguines, a group of women who lived pious lives without being part of a convent or monastery. Now, a home for sisters of the St Benedict Order, it features an expansive lawn planted with poplars, homes, an active church and a small museum that recreates the living quarters of a Beguine.

Saint Johns House Mill: The Netherlands is famous for its multitude of windmills, but Bruges has four of its own. The Saint Johns House Mill, built in 1770, is the only one open to visitors. Located on the northeast side of town, the Saint Johns House Mill is also the only mill still in its original spot and still grinding grain.

Closed on Mondays. Fee: 3 euros for adults, 2 euros for seniors, kids aged 11 and under can visit for free.

North Sea: Belgium has a small coastline along the North Sea, but its worth seeing (in the summer, at least) and only about 30 minutes from Bruges. Oostende is the largest town and the main transportation and fishing hub. Beach towns dot the coast, from Knokke near the Netherlands to De Panne near France. The beaches and dunes are perfect for a wide range of outdoor activities, from swimming and windsurfing to land yachting (think sailboat on wheels). The North Sea is very shallow, so low tide could mean a long walk to reach the water.

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Angry viewers have started a petition, addressed to Smriti Zubin Irani, Union Cabinet Minister of Textiles and Information and Broadcasting (Additional Charge), to get television show Pehredaar Piya Ki off air. The show tells the story of 9-year-old boy and 18-year-old woman who are married to each other.

The petition was posted by a Mansi Jain on Change.org and over 51,000 people had already signed it by Thursday 4pm. The petition reads, Pehredar piya ki. - A 10 year old impressionable little kid( piyaa) caressing and stalking a lady whos more than double his age and filling sindoor in her maang is being telecasted at prime time -8:30pm on sony. (Family time) It is to be devoured by the entire Nation. Imagine the kind of influence it will steadily and perpetually infuse in the viewers mindset. We want a ban on the serial. We do not want our kids to be influenced by such tv serials. Join us in signing the petition to ban this serial (sic).

In recent episodes, the couple was sent into a room for their suhagraat and will soon leave for a honeymoon in London.

Pehredaar Piya Ki aired its first episode two weeks ago. It tells the story of the young prince who is put under the care and security of his adult wife. Even the promos got a lot of flak for showing a romantic relationship between a child and an adult. The trailer showed child actor Afaan Khan put vermillion on Tejaswi Prakash, causing a furore among viewers.

The shows synopsis on YouTube reads: While Diya takes up her duty of a wife and wilfully commits to the relationship, Ratan is enamored by her beauty and considers her to be a pari from the fairy tales he has heard from his Maasa. Though being a miss matched couple, both create a comfortable world for themselves. While 9-year-old husband tries to cheer up his wife Diya with his cute gestures, Diya keeps up the promise to protect him and nurture their relationship. Will Diya and Ratan rewrite the pages of history with their love story? Is age only a number when it comes to finding true love? Watch the unfolding of a beautiful fairytale as Pehredaar Piya Ki presents the most unique Jodi on Indian television (sic).

The actors during the suhaagraat scene.

Television actor Karan Wahi has expressed his disappointment at the makers of the show on Facebook in July. Dear producer and channel, I understand we cant make shows like How I Met Your Mother and Friends, and honestly I dont expect us to also, but for the love of god and for the reason we all got in this industry please dont sell me stupidity in the name of content which gives TRP because honestly no one is watching this, he wrote in the post.

Actor Suyyash Rai, who is a part of the show, posted on Instagram saying that Karans views are his own and the show doesnt support child marriage. Guys, whatever Karan Wahi said its his point of view. No one can question him neither me nor you guys. But this doesnt change the fact that we, the whole team of #PPK, we love this show and we all have worked really hard for it and we still are and we will. Our motive is to entertain you guys not promote child marriage or anything. This show is different , please dont judge it and jump onto conclusions, he had written.

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Some 180 young Ethiopian and Somali migrants, many weakened by hunger and drought in their home countries, were forced from a boat into rough seas off Yemen by smugglers on Thursday and 55 were presumed to have drowned, the UN migration agency said.

It was the second such incident in as many days off Shabwa province in southern Yemen, where 50 teenage African migrants were deliberately drowned on Wednesday by a smuggler who forced 120 passengers off his boat, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.

Smugglers were pushing migrants into the sea away from the mainland so as to avoid encountering possibly armed groups on shore in the war-torn country. They were then going back to pick up more migrants.

We have seen five bodies and can confirm five dead ... Fifty are still missing from this incident, so 55 are presumed dead, IOM spokeswoman Olivia Headon told Reuters.

It may be the start of a new trend, smugglers know the situation is dangerous for them and they could be shot at, so they drop them near the shore and turn around and get more, she said.

IOM officials spoke to 25 of the latest survivors, many in need of medical assistance and counselling support, she said.

These people are really thin. There is an ongoing drought situation in Somalia and Ethiopia. Some may not have had much strength to make it alive to the shore, she added.

The migrants reported that 100 other survivors had already left the beach.

Already this year 55,000 migrants have taken the hazardous route from the Horn of Africa to Yemen to seek possible opportunities offered in the Gulf, IOM said.

Yemen itself is riven by a two-year civil war in which forces loyal to the Saudi-backed government are pitted against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.
A private helicopter carrying a wedding party landed by mistake inside a high security prison on Thursday, sparking massive security concerns amid reports that terrorists were planning an attack on the jail to free the militant inmates.

According to the officials the guards at Kashimpur Central Jail detained the five passengers, all members of an expatriate Bangladeshi family, for a brief period but the pilot, reportedly a retired air force officer, flew away with the plane after sensing his mistake.

This happened by mistake but the incident made us concerned as there are intelligence reports that terrorists could launch attacks to free militant inmates from this jail, said Inspector General of prisons Brigadier General Syed Iftekhar Uddin.

He said the armed jail guards immediately cordoned off the helicopter as it landed on the prison ground and briefly detained the passengers but the plane flew away immediately.

The prison chief said the helicopter service management apologised for the mistake and the passengers were freed after brief interrogation and allowed to join the wedding reception at a nearby village.

According to media reports, a Bangladeshi living in Malaysia chartered the helicopter to join the relatives marriage ceremony along with his wife and children.
An open-air installation is to open along an old section of the Berlin Wall at the weekend, featuring photos of soldiers patrolling the former deadly border, and stories of those persecuted behind it.

Beyond the Wall 229-metres (250 yards) long and facing the West is designed to keep alive the memory of the dividing wall put up by Communist East German authorities nearly 56 years ago on August 13, 1961.

It fell in November 1989 due to mass popular pressure and the decline of Soviet Union power.

The new exhibition features stills from videos that German-American artist Stefan Roloff shot of the Berlin Wall from the west in 1984 including East German soldiers peering through binoculars, climbing ladders up to watchtowers and walking along the Wall.

There are very few authentic places where you can still see whats left of the Wall, Klaus Lederer, a Berlin senator responsible for culture told a news conference.

The open air installation along the East Side Gallery section of the Wall combines video stills of the former border area between East and West Berlin. (AFP Photo)

The exhibition also features stories and silhouettes of people whose lives were affected by the Wall including a man who authorities accused of having a fetish, a woman arrested for receiving a postcard from a friend in West Berlin, and another woman who whose apartment was bugged by the East German Stasi secret police.

Mario Roellig is one of the victims whose story is told. The Stasi interrogated and imprisoned him after he tried to flee to the West to be with his boyfriend. He remembers a Stasi officer telling him they would find him anywhere.

Years later, when Roellig was working in a shop in reunified Berlin, he realised a customer inquiring about cigars was his Stasi interrogator. Roellig asked for an apology but the man screamed that his sentence was rightful.

Its important to talk about it so I can get rid of the fear of this place, that time and above all the perpetrators who are still around, he told Reuters at the Wall.

Visitors look at the art installation Beyond The Wall. (Reuters Photo)

Roellig who now lives in western Berlin said memories of the past bubble up when he crosses a border and he feels unable to ever spend a night at his parents home in eastern Berlin.

To this day I cant stay there overnight as I seem to still be anxious that the Wall will be put back up and Ill be on the wrong side again, he said.

Roloff, the artist, meanwhile believes his exhibition is particularly relevant at a time when US President Donald Trump wants to build a wall along the border with Mexico.

For me its not necessarily a historic project even though it shows things from a time that has passed. Its a continuing phenomenon. There have been walls as long as people have existed and unfortunately theyll continue to exist, he said.
Former Pakistani premier Nawaz Sharifs rally through Punjab province entered its second day on Thursday, evoking a mixed response as thousands gathered to receive him at some places while the turnout in his partys stronghold of Rawalpindi was lower than expected.

Sharifs political caravan slowly made its way into the rural areas of Punjab province en route to his hometown of Lahore. However, key leaders from Sharifs ruling PML-N party were conspicuous by their absence, with some commentators suggesting this could be a reflection of disagreements within the party.

But Sharif, who was disqualified by the Supreme Court last year for not being honest about his assets, remained unfazed by any of this and insisted the rally was the first step to bringing his party back to power in next years general elections.

On the way to Jhelum, considered to be half way between Islamabad and Lahore, Sharif asked his supporters: "Do you accept the court's decision? Did you not vote for me as your prime minister?"

He then added: "I have come out onto the streets with a case against your disqualification. There are no allegations of corruption against me."

Sharif travelled from the garrison city of Rawalpindi to Ayub Park with his convoy but then separated from the other vehicles shortly after 2 pm. His armoured vehicle picked up speed and proceeded to Jhelum with a police escort. He passed a number of camps where small groups of PML-N workers had gathered to listen to him, the media reported.

Large numbers of police were deployed in Islamabad and Rawalpindi on Thursday, as compared to the first day of the rally, but fewer cars were accompanying Sharifs procession.

What was said to be a show of the PML-N's political muscle - especially in Rawalpindi, which has traditionally been a stronghold for the PML-N - had a lower turnout of supporters than expected, despite the party describing the ousted premier as "the prime minister of hearts".

Before his departure from Rawalpindi's Punjab House on Thursday morning, Sharif held a meeting with PML-N officials, including interior minister Ahsan Iqbal and Marvi Memon, and expressed anger at the local administration over the low turnout for his rally.

Local news channels reported that PML-N leaders were in the process of making arrangements for more supporters to join the rally, and as the convoy set off towards Lahore once again, senior leaders Abid Sher Ali and Amir Muqam were seen trying to galvanise supporters crowded alongside the route of the motorcade. PML-N leader Mushahidullah Khan claimed a rally of this size had "never happened in Pakistan before".

"As the rally gets closer to Lahore, it will surpass all other jalsas of the past. I believe the people of Islamabad and Rawalpindi should be congratulated for having stood by Nawaz Sharif," he said.

Questions have also been raised about the absence of familiar PML-N faces from the rally, who could possibly have drawn a greater crowd of supporters than relatively new faces such as Talal Chaudhry and Daniyal Aziz. Although Chaudhry and Aziz were very visible during the Panamagate proceedings in the Supreme Court, it is PML-N stalwarts such as Shehbaz Sharif, Khawaja Asif and Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan who were conspicuous by their absence.

Punjab chief minister Shehbaz Sharif, the younger brother of the former premier, too was absent, as was his son Hamza Shahbaz. Shehbaz's wife, Tehmina Durrani, known for being vocal and candid on matters related to the Sharif family, asked Sharif in a series of tweets on Wednesday not to put his brother in a tight spot, saying Shehbaz should have been spared the responsibility of protecting and assisting his own partys rally.
A Pakistan Air Force pilot has been killed after his plane crashed due a technical fault during a routine operational flight in the countrys Punjab province, a statement said on Thursday.

The plane crashed in the Sabzazar area of Mianwali, some 350-kilometre from Lahore, on Tuesday.

According to a statement issued by the Air Forces media wing, the pilot of the aircraft lost his life as he failed to eject at the time of the crash.

Wing Commander Mohammad Shahzad was flying an F-7 aircraft when it encountered a technical fault and crashed near the Sabzazar area of Mianwali, some 350-km from Lahore, late on Tuesday, it said.

The body of the deceased pilot was recovered from the site of the incident and shifted to Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Base MM Alam, Mianwali, where the funeral prayers were also offered, the statement said, adding that an investigation into the crash has been launched by the air force.

According to an eyewitness, the fighter jet crashed in a forest just after take-off from MM Alam airbase (Mianwali).

He said soon after the incident the air force personnel reached there and cordoned off the area.

According to reports, some 10 F-7PGs/FT-7PGs (aircraft) have crashed during the last 10 years or so.

The PAF has more than 50 of the Chinese-made aircraft in its fleet.
Dr Ruth Pfau, a German doctor and nun who was popularly known as Pakistans Mother Teresa for dedicating her life to healing leprosy patients, died today at a private hospital in Karachi. She was 87.

She died after a prolonged age-related illness.

Dr Pfau first visited Pakistan in 1960 and was so touched by the plight of leprosy victims that she decided to stay forever in the country to treat them.

She was 29 when landed in Karachi for the first time. She founded the Marie Adelaide Leprosy Centre in Karachi in 1962 and later set up its branches in all provinces of Pakistan, including Gilgit-Baltistan, and treated over 50,000 families.

Due to her tireless efforts, the World Health Organisation in 1996 declared Pakistan one of the first countries in Asia to be free of leprosy.

She was a messiah and magic healer for her patients. She played a dynamic role in removing the stigma attached to the healing of leprosy patients, said Mervyn Lobo, the CEO of Marie Adelaide centre.

Dr Pfau was granted Pakistani citizenship in 1988. She was awarded the Hilal-e-Imtiaz - Pakistans second highest civilian award - in 1979 and the Hilal-e-Pakistan in 1989.

She was also awarded the Staufer Medal at the German consulate Karachi in 2015.

German-born nun Ruth Pfau attends a press conference at Marie Adelaide Leprosy Centre in Karachi, Pakistan January 25, 2014. Picture taken January 25, 2014. (REUTERS)

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi announced a state funeral for Dr Pfau, saying she may have been born in Germany, but her heart was always in Pakistan.

The entire nation is indebted to Ruth Pfau for her selfless and unmatched services for the eradication of leprosy. We are proud of her exemplary services and she will remain in our hearts as a shining symbol in times ahead, according to a statement issued by the PM office.

The funeral mass will be held on August 19 at St Patricks Cathedral, and thereafter she will be laid to rest in the Christian Cemetery (Gora Qabristan).

President Mamnoon Hussain expressed deep regret at Pfaus death. The Pakistani nation pays tribute to Dr Pfaus selfless efforts, the president said.

In a tweet, the Inter-Services Public Relations, the media wing of the Pakistan Army, said Dr Ruth would be remembered as an ambassador of humanity.

Dr Pfau was born in 1929 in Germany and lived through the horrors of the World War II.

She joined the Society of Daughters of the Heart of Mary and was assigned to go to India but landed in Karachi for a brief stay due to some visa problems.

Her interaction with leprosy patients in the port city motivated her to change the plan and stay rest of life in Pakistan to help the patients.

In a statement, the German embassy said that German ambassador Martin Kobler expressed his heartfelt condolences and sympathies to the representative of the Maria Adelaide Leprosy Centre.

With great concern we have got the sad massage of the death of Dr Ruth Pfau. She was a devoted Christian nun and a member of the society of Daughters of the Heart of Mary. We are losing with her an important symbol of the German Pakistan friendship. Her services will never be forgotten.
Pope Francis has ordered a Belgian Catholic charity to stop offering euthanasia in its psychiatric hospitals.

In May, the Brothers of Charity group announced it would allow doctors to perform euthanasia at its 15 psychiatric hospitals in Belgium, one of only two countries  along with the Netherlands  where doctors are legally allowed to kill people with mental health problems, at their request.

To qualify, people must be in a state of unbearable suffering and at least three doctors, including one psychiatrist, must be consulted.

The charity said in a statement that euthanasia would only be performed if there were no reasonable treatment alternatives and that such requests would be considered with the greatest caution.

We respect the freedom of doctors to carry out euthanasia or not, the group said, noting that this freedom was guaranteed by law.

The Vatican press office said this week that the pope had asked the Belgians not to perform euthanasia.

The Catholic Church opposes euthanasia and the Holy See has begun investigating the decision to allow the procedure, which was made by the groups lay board of directors.

The Belgian charitys administrative headquarters in Rome issued a statement in May, arguing that allowing euthanasia goes against the basic principles of the Catholic Church.

This is the very first time a Christian organization states that euthanasia is an ordinary medical practice that falls under the physicians therapeutic freedom, wrote the charitys superior general, Rene Stockman, who delivered the request from Pope Francis via two letters.

This is disloyal, outrageous and unacceptable.

Mattias De Vriendt, a spokesman for the Belgium charity, said it had received the Vaticans request but had not yet responded.

We will take our time in the next few weeks to evaluate these letters, de Vriendt said. He said the charitys hospitals had received requests from patients seeking euthanasia recently but could not say whether any procedures had been performed.

The vast majority of patients seeking euthanasia in Belgium have a fatal illness like cancer or a degenerative disease. While the number of people euthanized for psychiatric reasons accounts for only about 3 percent of Belgiums yearly 4,000 euthanasia deaths, there has been a threefold increase in the past decade.

Critics have previously raised concerns about Belgiums liberal approach to euthanasia while advocates say that people with mental health illnesses should be granted the same autonomy as those with physical diseases.

The American Psychiatric Association says that doctors should not prescribe any methods to people who are not terminally ill to help them die.
A security campaign against Shiite Muslim gunmen in eastern Saudi Arabia has reduced dozens of buildings in the town of Awamiya to ruins and forced thousands of residents to flee.

Security forces have been trying for three months to flush out gunmen responsible for years of attacks on police in the small town of 30,000 that has been the centre of protests by minority Shiites against the Sunni government.

Journalists on a government tour of the town on Wednesday were the first outside witnesses of the damage caused by the fighting in the otherwise tightly controlled kingdom, a key Western ally and the worlds top oil exporter.

Reporters escorted by special forces in armoured vehicles saw streets in Awamiyas old quarter transformed into a war zone a world away from the sparkling cityscapes elsewhere in the energy-rich Gulf.

What SSSF did is destroying whole #Awamia by bullets and missiles and forcibly displacing residents for 7 uncaught militants. #awamiasiege pic.twitter.com/SwV3PyrVpW  Angry Qatifi (@AngryQatifi) August 9, 2017

There was no fighting during the tour, although residents reported an explosion and gunfire shortly afterwards.

Rusted-out cars lay half-flattened next to wrecked homes pocked with hundreds of bullet holes.

Crudely photocopied portraits of martyrs - one apparently 16 years old - were tacked on to lamp posts and buildings.

The land which is mixed with the blood of martyrs gets sufficiently watered by Gods light to defeat the mighty, said graffiti along one rubble-strewn street.

FINAL PUSH

Fighting picked up this month when elite forces joined an operation that began in May to tear down the old quarter, known as al-Musawara, to prevent gunmen using its narrow streets to evade capture.

Casualty figures have not been published, but an interior ministry representative said eight members of a police rapid reaction team and four special forces troops had been killed since the latest campaign began.

Residents said nine civilians had been killed in the violence in the past week and more than 20,000 had fled or been evacuated to safer towns and villages nearby.

Activists said five fighters and 23 civilians were killed in the fighting. Among them was a three-year-old boy, who died on Wednesday after having been shot in his familys car by an armoured vehicle in Awamiya in June.

The ministry representative said the old quarter had been empty except for terrorists for the past six months, but the security forces had to wait until families left adjacent areas before they could begin their final push.

The authorities say they are clearing the area to build an attractive district of shopping centres, office buildings, green spaces and fountains in place of al-Musawara.

We informed everyone in the community there would be development stages for several areas in Qatif, starting with Musawara, said Esam Abdullatef Almulla, the regions acting mayor.

He dismissed concerns raised by United Nations experts in April that the demolition of the 400-year-old neighbourhood threatened Awamiyas cultural heritage, saying the majority of the community accepted the project.

Of course, we didnt get approval from everyone, but most Qatif and Awamiya residents wanted to see their neighbourhoods developed, said Almulla.

The government compensated residents who had to leave with more than 800 million riyals ($200 million), he said, and has demolished about 80 out of 488 homes in Musawara.

NOT YET FINISHED

Footage on social media on Wednesday showed security forces celebrating by linking arms and dancing in a circle, their automatic weapons raised in the air.

But the fighting may not yet be over, and the campaign may sow more discontent among the Shiite population, which complains of discrimination. Saudi authorities deny that charge.

Posters of local Shia religious leader Nimr al-Nimr, whose execution last year set off a wave of protests and prompted a break in diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran, still hung throughout the town.

Around ten bulldozers worked to demolish more buildings and clear up the detritus of combat, and the soldiers driving them still wore their helmets and body armour.

The bright pink walls of a childs bedroom lay exposed on the first floor of a collapsed house. A dog wandered around the towns abandoned streets, dragging an orange leash behind him.
At least 56 people have drowned over the past 24 hours, and dozens remain missing, after human traffickers forced 300 African migrants off two Yemen-bound boats and into the sea.

Survivors -- all Ethiopian and Somali migrants -- managed to make their way to Shabwa, a southern province along Yemens Arabian Sea coastline, the International Organization for Migration said.

The war in Yemen has left over 8,300 people dead and displaced millions since 2015, but the impoverished country continues to draw migrants from the Horn of Africa seeking work in prosperous Gulf countries further north.

At least six people drowned on Thursday after human smugglers forced 180 Ethiopians off their boat and into the choppy waters of the Arabian Sea, an IOM spokesperson told AFP.

Thirteen people remained unaccounted for, the spokesperson said. The majority of the migrants appeared to be teenagers and young adults.

On Wednesday, traffickers also forced more than 120 Somali and Ethiopian migrants into the rough seas off Yemen to avoid arrest by local authorities, leaving at least 50 dead and 22 missing, IOM reported.

IOM teams, working with the International Committee of the Red Cross, found the bodies of 29 migrants in shallow graves along the coast of Shabwa, currently under the control of Yemeni troops backed by the United States.

They had been buried by survivors.

The smugglers deliberately pushed the migrants into the waters since they feared that they would be arrested by the authorities once they reach the shore, an IOM emergency officer in Aden, where the Yemeni government is based, told AFP.

- Shocking and inhumane -

Laurent de Boeck, IOMs Yemen mission head, said the boats crew immediately returned to Somalia on Wednesday to pick up more migrants headed to Yemen on the same route.

He described the forced drownings as shocking and inhumane.

The suffering of migrants on this migration route is enormous. Too many young people pay smugglers with the false hope of a better future, he said.

Long the Arab worlds most impoverished country, Yemen has all but collapsed in what the United Nations has called the largest humanitarian crisis in the world.

Years of fighting between the Saudi-backed government and Shiite Huthi rebels allied with Iran have been compounded by a cholera outbreak that has killed almost 2,000 people and the looming threat of famine.

The IOM estimates some 55,000 migrants have however left the Horn of Africa for Yemen since the start of 2017, more than half of them under the age of 18.

The journey is particularly dangerous at this time of year due to high winds in the Indian Ocean.

Despite the war, smugglers -- who are highly active in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden -- have continued to offer passage through Yemen, which shares a land border with Saudi Arabia.

In March, a helicopter opened fire on the vessel carrying over 140 Somali passengers in the Red Sea off the Yemen coast, killing 42 civilians and wounding another 34.

A confidential UN report, seen by AFP in June, said the attack constituted a violation of international humanitarian law and was most likely carried out by a Saudi-led military coalition backing Yemens UN-recognised government.

The coalition has denied that its forces were operating in the area when the vessel carrying Somali refugees came under attack.

.
Sri Lankas foreign minister resigned on Thursday after being linked to a controversial financial trader under investigation for allegedly causing millions of dollars of losses to the islands coffers.

Ravi Karunanayake, 54, stepped down from the cabinet amid questions over his connection to an insider trading scandal at Sri Lankas central bank after the new government was elected in January 2015.

I am not guilty of any of the allegations, but I am resigning my portfolio to ensure that opponents are not able to destabilise our unity government, Karunanayake said.

Karunanayake has testified before an investigation ordered by President Maithripala Sirisena into then-central bank governor Arjuna Mahendran, who was sacked last April.

Mahendran was accused of misconduct surrounding alleged favours for his son-in-law, Arjun Aloysius, a bond dealer.

At the inquiry proceedings last week, Karunanayake, also the deputy leader of the ruling United National Partner (UNP), admitted his family had dealings with the controversial bond dealer but insisted he was not involved in bond dealings.

Karunanayake, who was finance minister when the scandal broke, was given the foreign ministry in a cabinet reshuffle in May.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said the decision reflected well on his government, which came to power promising to tackle corruption.

Today, the minister (Karunanayake) has shown that this government will not interfere in the investigations, Wickremesinghe said. Even when he is not guilty, he has shown he is stepping down on a matter of principle.

Opposition leader R Sampanthan applauded Karunanayake for quitting but noted that he was entitled to the presumption of innocence.
World Bank ready to use ProZorro to procure goods, services in Ukraine

The World Bank has confirmed its readiness to use the ProZorro public procurement system to procure goods, labor and services in Ukraine, according to a posting on the website of the Economic Development and Trade Ministry of Ukraine.

"The World Bank has finished the appraisal of the ProZorro public procurement system: the bank confirmed its readiness to use the system for its procurement in Ukraine for two procedures," First Deputy Economic Development and Trade Minister Maksym Nefyodov wrote on his Facebook page on Thursday.

The ministry said that the World Bank assessed the system to see that the ProZorro meets the requirements of the Multilateral Development Bank (MDB).

Nefyodov said that the World Bank also approved a list of changes required for other types of procurement.

"First of all, this is a possibility of holding multicurrency auctions," he said.
External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj arrived in Nepal on Thursday for a two- day visit, during which she will participate in a BIMSTEC ministerial meeting at a time when India is pushing for a larger role for the regional grouping.

Her visit comes just ahead of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deubas trip to India beginning on August 23. It is also ahead of a visit by Chinese vice premier Wang Yang to Nepal against the backdrop of the India-China military standoff at Doklam near the Sikkim border.

Besides participating in the BIMSTEC meeting, Swaraj will meet President Bidhya Devi Bhandrai, Prime Minister Deuba, leader of opposition KP Oli, CPN-Maoist Center chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda and leaders of Madhes-based parties.

Officials said Swaraj is expected to discuss bilateral relations and take stock of the latest political developments in Nepal to set the tone for Deubas visit.

Nepal is closely watching Indias efforts to promote BIMSTEC after a stalemate in the working of Saarc because of differences between New Delhi and Islamabad. Indias enthusiasm for BIMSETC was first manifested during the BRICS-BIMSTEC Outreach Summit in Goa.

So, Indias position on BIMSTEC is crucial, said a Nepalese official who did not want to be identified.

The foreign ministers of Nepal, India, Bangladesh and Bhutan are participating in BIMSTEC ministerial meeting while Myanmar and Thailand have sent their deputy foreign ministers. Deuba will inaugurate the meeting on Thursday evening.

The eighteenth session of the BIMSTEC senior officials meeting began in Kathmandu on Thursday morning. Nepal is the current chair of the grouping and the members will discuss several issues, including fixing the dates for the fourth summit to be held in Nepal later this year.

At the top of the agenda for the meeting are finalising a free trade agreement among BIMSTEC members, including negotiations on market access for professionals and reducing the duty on trading goods. Issues such as trade in services and goods, investments and connectivity are also expected to figure in the meet.
Visiting external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj on Thursday met Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba ahead of his trip to New Delhi and discussed wide range of bilateral issues.

Swaraj arrived in Kathmandu earlier in the day to participate in BIMSTEC ministerial meeting, which she will address on Friday. Her visit is being seen as part of Indias diplomatic outreach to Nepal against the backdrop of the tense India-China standoff at Doklam.

There was no official word on whether Swaraj raised the Doklam issue with Deuba. However, it is believed that the matter would have figured in the talks as Chinese vice premier Wang Yang is set to visit Kathmandu next week.

Swaraj, visiting Nepal for the first time since Deuba was sworn-in in June, discussed an expanded bilateral agenda reflecting the updated national priorities of Nepal, said a statement from the Indian embassy. Progress in reconstruction activities and cooperation in hydropower was also discussed. Both sides agreed on the possibility of cooperation in infrastructure, connectivity and energy.

According to Dinesh Bhattarai, foreign relations adviser to Deuba, all pertinent issues were discussed in the meeting, ranging from the latest political developments in Nepal to Indias developmental assistance to Nepal and the status of India-funded projects.

The meeting was mainly focused on Deubas visit to India beginning on August 23, he said. Swaraj, according to Bhattarai, told Deuba that India is all set to welcome him.

 The meeting was mainly focused on PMs upcoming India visit and how both sides can optimise the opportunity, he said.

After meeting Deuba, Swaraj called on the President Bidhya Devi Bhandari, and the two leaders discussed ways to enhance cultural linkages and people-to-people contacts.

Relations between India and Nepal were dented by a five-month economic blockade at the border that ended last year, but since then, the ties have improved. Dueba, through his visit to New Delhi, aims to further consolidate ties and will discuss pending Indian ventures in Nepal, including energy and infrastructure projects and cross-border connectivity.
Community-driven hospitality company Airbnb is offering visitors to rent out US President Donald Trumps early childhood home in Queens, New York, the media reported.

The former Trump residence, located in Jamaica Estates, a wealthy neighbourhood in Queens, is available for $725 per night, reports CNN.

The listing features five bedrooms and three-and-a-half bathrooms, along with an original kitchen and opulent furnishings (that) represent the style and affluence in which the Trumps would have lived, according to the Airbnb advertisement.

This is a unique and special opportunity to stay in the home of a sitting president.

Built by the Presidents father, Fred Trump in the 1940s, the Tudor-style home is where Donald Trump lived until he was four years old, and the propertys address is listed on his birth certificate.

The 2,500 sq.ft home was sold last December to real estate investor Michael Davis, who flipped the property to an unnamed bidder in March for $2.14 million.

Misha Haghani, founder of Paramount Realty USA, which oversaw the propertys auction last year, told CNN on Wednesday that the value of the Trump home goes beyond the brick and mortar.

Clearly theres value in the property thats intangible in nature, Haghani said, adding Thats why theres demand for tenants to live there on a nightly basis, just to say they stayed in the home of the sitting President.

The Airbnb ad adds that there is no relationship with the White House, the President, Donald Trump or the Trump organisation in any way.

Along with space for 20 guests, the listing also touts that there is a giant cut-out of Trump in the living room, which makes for a great companion for watching Fox News late into the night.

However, Haghani told CNN that the cut-out wasnt there when we sold the home.

In the past, Trump has often mention about his time at the residence.

When then-presidential candidate Trump was shown a photo of his old residence in an appearance on NBCs The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon, Trump said I had a really good childhood; oh, thats sad to look at that, I want to buy it.
Two top aides to Nikki Haley, the American ambassador to the UN, have quit their posts, at a time of rising tensions between the US and North Korea.

Haleys chief of staff Steven Groves and her communications director Jonathan Wachtel resigned  departures which have come ahead of Haleys trip to Vienna to review Irans nuclear activities with the UNs International Atomic Energy Agency, Bloomberg reported.

Journalist Laura Rozen first broke the news on Twitter, which was then retweeted by NBCs Evan Rosenfeld. Haley responded to the latters post, tweeting that both were leaving due to family concerns.

Thanks for your concern. Both Jonathan & Steve have recently encountered family concerns. They will always be a part of the team & dear friends, she wrote.

Thanks for your concern.Both Jonathan&Steve have recently encountered family concerns.They will always be a part of the team & dear friends.  Nikki Haley (@nikkihaley) August 10, 2017

Groves joined Haleys team from conservative think tank Heritage Foundation and according to Politico, was known to be sceptical of international institutions and multilateral agreements. Wachtel had joined Haley from Fox News, where he had covered the United Nations.

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A Navy official says a US warship has sailed close to a Chinese man-made island in a freedom of navigation operation in the disputed South China Sea.

The official tells The Associated Press that Chinese vessels were in the vicinity when the USS John S. McCain sailed near the Mischief Reef Thursday. It was not immediately clear if the Chinese challenged the Americans and asked the US destroyer to leave as they have done in the past.

A Filipino security official says the Philippine military was notified by US officials of the operation aimed at challenging Chinas territorial claims in the disputed waters but added that Philippine forces were not involved.

China has protested such US military manoeuvers, which President Donald Trumps administration has continued.
Had you known George Washington in 1774, you might have admired his skill as an Indian fighter, but you would not have predicted he would one day become his countrys paragon of virtue.

No, virtue is not the first word that would have come to mind. Try greedy, perhaps, or cunning. The young Washington was a man on the make. He wanted to get rich. He bought, sold and traded slaves, raffling off some in a lottery and permanently dividing families. After arranging to marry the richest widow in Virginia, Martha Dandridge Custis, he wrote a series of passionate love letters to the wife of one of his best friends. And then there was his insatiable craving for land, which led him to cheat some of the men he had commanded in the French and Indian War out of acreage they had been offered as an incentive to join the fight. As biographer Ron Chernow put it, Washington exhibited a naked, sometimes clumsy ambition.

Although virtue was not the right word for Washington, it was the word many men sought to have associated with their names. Virtue carried important meaning in the culture of 18th-century America. Although later generations used virtue to characterize a womans sexual innocence, to Washington and his contemporaries, it was a quality accorded great men. Virtue comes from the Latin vir, for man. To be labeled virtuous, a man had to be willing to sacrifice his comfort, if not his life, for the greater good of society. That wasnt Washington before the Revolutionary War.

Yet by the end of his life, Washington embodied the definition of virtue better than any of the founding fathers. And for good reasonhe served without pay for eight years as commander of the Continental Army, and after his victory at Yorktown, he walked away from the power to be a king and returned to his farm. As president, he rejected royal titles thrust on him, choosing instead a more humble Mr. President. He could have stayed on as president for the rest of his life, but after two terms he walked away from power again and returned to his cherished Mount Vernon. Perhaps most amazing of all, in his will he freed his nearly 200 slavesworth millions of dollars in his time. He was the only founding father to do so. Somehow, the ambitious young narcissist had grown to be a man of wisdom and even virtue. The story of how and why Washington made that transition begins with one of his worst moral transgressionsswindling the men who served under him in the French and Indian War.

In 1754, as Britain and France prepared to go to war in the Ohio River Valley, the Virginia House of Burgesses voted to form a full-time provincial regiment. The officer corps was easily staffed, and Washington took over the regiment as colonel. But Governor Robert Dinwiddie anticipated difficulty signing up common soldiers, so he offered an enlistment bonus: Once Britain won control of the Ohio Valley, 200,000 acres of conquered territory were to be divided up among the troops. Dinwiddie made it clear that the land should only be given to common soldiers, not to officers.

The war dragged on until 1763, far longer than anyone had anticipated. And just as Britain signed a peace treaty in Paris, the Indian revolt known as Pontiacs Rebellion broke out on the frontier. Caught off guard, the British tried to purchase peace by drawing the Proclamation Line of 1763, which prohibited settlers and speculators from encroaching on Indian territory west of the Appalachian Mountains. That, however, was the very acreage Dinwiddie had promised his soldiers. It was also land that George Washington had been eying, hoping to buy up large plots, then subdivide them and sell them to farmers at a profit. The greatest estates we have in this colony were madeby taking upthe rich back lands, Washington once advised a neighbor. Rich back lands were now on the other side of the mountains, and Washington didnt want to miss his opportunity to obtain title to some of them.

With the Crown standing between him and the land he coveted, Washington devised a plan. In December 1769, he petitioned Virginias executive council to make good on Dinwiddies promise to the soldiers. He filed his petition in behalf of himself and the officers and soldiers, signaling his hope that regimental officers would also share in the bounty. Washington asked the council to waive official surveying fees, which were, he said, much beyond what a poor soldier is able to bear. Instead, he urged that the veterans be allowed to hire their own surveyor. When the petition was granted, Washington arranged for William Crawford, his associate, to survey the land. In the fall of 1770, Washington and Crawford set off together to tour the bounty lands, located in what is now West Virginia and Pennsylvania.

The following year, the executive council distributed 170,000 acres of the land, holding the rest in reserve for future claimants. Fifty-two enlisted men got a total of 20,800 acres, 400 acres each. But 150,000 acres went to Washington and his fellow officers. Washington got 18,500 acres, nearly as much as all the enlisted men combined. Nonetheless, he wasnt satisfied. He approached several of his fellow veterans and offered to buy up their claims. In these discussions, he spread the false notion that there was a strong chance of our never getting the land at all. He convinced his comrades-in-arms to part with their claims for next to nothing, and eventually latched onto an additional 5,000 acres.

Later, when the 30,000 acres held in reserve were allocated, Colonel Washington picked up another 3,000 acres. He also obtained land through a royal bounty programboth directly and by purchasing land from his fellow veterans. (Washington instructed his brother Charles, who represented him in these transactions, to hold down the purchase price by approaching the men in a joking way, rather than in earnest, at first.) All told, Washington who, as an officer, was originally entitled to no land at allended up with more than 27,000 acres.

Washington also connived to get some of the best acreage available. The most valuable land lay along rivers, where occasional floods revitalized the soil and where crops could be loaded directly onto boats, avoiding the enormous expense of overland transportation. Virginia officials did not want the first land recipients to grab all the best parcels, so the House of Burgesses decreed that the river frontage of any tract could not be greater than three times its depth (the distance it ranged back from the river). When Washingtons friend Crawford divided up the land, he simply ignored the requirement. Tracts he set off for

Washington ran right along the rivers and extended only a short distant inland. By contrast, other officers generally received about a mile and a half of river frontage, and their tracts ranged as far as five miles back from the river. In setting off Washingtons elongated allotments, Crawford violated the oath of colonial surveyors, which he had conveniently neglected to swear. Washington may have thwarted the intentions of the legislature, but he could not evade the wrath of his fellow veterans. Officers had trusted Crawford and Washington to act as their representatives, but both men had betrayed them. Crawford was soon reporting that the officers were a good deal shagereend [chagrined] that Washington had snapped up much of the best riverfront property. The commander of the regiment had received, as even he acknowledged, the cream of the lands.

At least one of Washingtons fellow officers, Major George Muse, complained to him directly, in a letter written on Christmas Eve 1773. Muses letter is lost to history but it was sufficiently scathing to inspire Washington to fire off a sizzling reply. Washington called Muse ungrateful and dirty and accused him of stupidity and sottishness. Speculating that Muse must have been drunk when he wrote the letter, Washington reminded him that drunkeness is no excuse for rudeness and warned him to expect a violent response if he ever repeated his accusation. Washington also asked sarcastically why Muse thought he deserved more land than the other men: do you think your superlative merit entitles you to greater indulgences than others?

That was, of course, a question that could have been asked of Washington.

All in all, the colonels behavior had been amoral at best. He had defrauded the very men who risked their lives to fight for him. At the time, Washington was in his early 40s, an age when most mens moral characters are set for life. But he was about to morph, radically and for the better.

What changed George Washington?

No one can truly understand the inner workings of another persons mind. And men of Washingtons time tended not to bare their souls and share their feelings about personal matters. But enough evidence exists to make educated guesses about what factors brought about Washingtons moral metamorphosis. They include money, the death of a teenager, infertility and the Revolutionary War.

In 1759, Washington catapulted into the upper reaches of the colonys unofficial aristocracy by marrying Martha. But he still faced money troubles. In the 1760s, the expensive additions he made to Mount Vernon outdid his ability to pay for them. Then Washington received an unexpected windfall. Patsy, one of Marthas children by her first marriage, died from an epileptic seizure in 1773. The news was nearly as devastating for Patsys stepfather as it was for her mother. For Washington, however, there was a silver lining. Half of Patsys 16,000 fortune went to her mother, but English common law granted husbands absolute control of their wives property, so the effect of Patsys premature death was to rescue her stepfather from great debt. Washington never again had to worry about money.

Wealth does not necessarily secure greed, of course, and Washington might have remained just as acquisitive after Patsys death. But something else happened at about the same time: Washington came to the unhappy realization that he would never become a father. Hed spent much of the 1760s assuming that Martha (who was 27 when they married) would become pregnant. But one year succeeded another without children. The reason why may never be known, but one of its results seems clear: By 1770 or so, Washington knew he would never have heirs. Did that recognition make him a less greedy person?

Washington thought so. In drafting his first inaugural address, he wrote, the Divine Providence hath not seen fit, that my blood should be transmitted or my name perpetuated by the endearing, though sometimes seducing channel of immediate offspring. This personal misfortune was a boon to the nation, he felt, since I have no child for whom I could wish to make a provisionno family to build in greatness upon my countrys ruins. Washington deleted this passage from the final draft of his speech, but it offers a rare insight into the workings of his mind. He seemed to be thinking I will never father sons to carry my name and my fortune into the future. If I am to be remembered by posterity, it will be for my accomplishments as a general and a statesman.

In 1775, not long after Washington came to the realization that he would never sire a dynasty, the Continental Congress gave him a shot at a different kind of immortality by appointing him commander of the American army in the Revolutionary War. Washington accepted the appointment, although he knew that if he failed to defeat the strongest nation on earth, he would likely be hanged as a traitor. He announced that he would serve without pay.

Americans longed for a national hero, and Washington, tall, handsome and brave, fit the bill. He was quickly dubbed father of his country, and in time he earned that title with daring military featsthe expulsion of the British from Boston, the hairbreadth escape from Long Island, and the Christmas night crossing of the Delaware, to name just three events from 1776. Washingtons soldiers revered him and in this war, unlike the previous one, he did not let them down, treating them as surrogate sons, constantly pleading with Congress to provide them with better food, better supplies and decent pay.

I have never left your side one moment, Washington told his officer corps at the end of the war. I have been the constant companion and witness of your distress. This was true. Between the spring of 1775 and the summer of 1781, Washington did not return to his beloved Mount Vernon even once, although no man would have begrudged him the trip.

General Washington served selflessly, and at wars end, in imitation of Cincinnatus, he lay down his sword and returned to his farm, relinquishing any thought of converting his military renown into political power. After two terms as president, he resigned that post as well. Nor did he entirely reconsider his love of wealth. He spent much of the 1780s battling what he called the willful and obstinate sinners who squatted on his ill-gotten western lands without paying him rent. Well into the 1790s, he continued to sell slaves he regarded as insufficiently respectful. Some of them never saw their families again.

Washington wasnt perfect. He never claimed to be. After his death in 1799, it was his hero-hungry countrymen who proclaimed him a paragon of virtue, and so Americas myth-making proclivity soon turned a very human Virginia aristocrat into a saint. But when the mythology and the hype are stripped away, this truth remains: George Washington performed two extremely rare featswhile changing the world, he changed himself, too.

Woody Holton is a professor of history and American studies at the University of Richmond. He is the author of Abigail Adams, Enslaved Americans and the Revolutionary War and Unruly Americans and the Origins of the Constitution.

Originally published in the February 2012 issue of American History. To subscribe, click here.
JKX cuts average daily production in Ukraine by 9.1% in seven months of 2017

Oil and gas company JKX Oil & Gas Plc in January-July of 2017 reduced the average daily production of hydrocarbons in Ukraine by 9.1% (by 372 barrels of oil equivalent, boepd) compared to the same period in 2016, to 3,719 boepd.

According to a company report on the website of the London Stock Exchange, in particular, gas production fell by 5.3%, to 18 million cubic feet per day (MMcfd), oil and condensate by 22.7%, to 719 boepd.

At the same time, according to the website, the Russian assets of JKX demonstrated an even more rapid decline: the average daily production of hydrocarbons in January-July 2017 decreased by 23.9% (by 1,478 boepd), to 4,697 boepd. Gas production fell by 24%, to 27.9 MMcfd, oil and condensate by 21.5%, to 51 boepd.

However, JKX partially offset the decline in production in Ukraine and Russia by new production in Hungary. During this period, the average daily production of the company in this country was 158 boepd.

In general, the average daily production of hydrocarbons by JKX in all countries of its presence in January-July 2017 fell by 16.5%, to 8,575 boepd.
Female Chicago rapper Katie Got Bandz was reportedly arrested Monday for identity theft, according to the Cook County Sheriffs Office (See below).

The 24-year-old rapper whos real name is Kiara Johnson was given bail of $50,000, which she paid on Wednesday and ultimately freed her.

Katie took to Twitter Wednesday evening to let the world know shes a free woman. Bitch Im Free she tweeted out.

For what its worth however, Sam Charles, a reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times, claims Katie was actually first booked back in June, but after allegedly missing some court dates, a judge issued a warrant for her arrest and kept her without bail. It was then reportedly reduced to $50,000, and she apparently bonded out Wednesday afternoon.

So all in all, shes currently a free woman & can hopefully get back in the studio. The last weve heard from Katie was 2015s Drillary Clinton 3 project, while her Katie Blanco project has still kept fans waiting.

Katie is due back in court on August 21st, when well find out more information. Stay tuned.

Katie Got Bandz
This winters bitter spat between Nicki Minaj and Remy Ma was merely the latest chapter in a decades-long hip hop battle for supremacy between the Queens and Bronx. The interborough rivalry dates back as early as 1987, when the South Bronxs Boogie Down Productions squared up (lyrically) against Queens Juice Crew.

BDP formed in the mid-1980s after a then-homeless KRS-One attempted to steal subway tokens from the 166th Street Franklin Armory Mens Shelter, where Scott La Rock worked. They would soon join forceKRS on the mic, Scott on productionand forge a sharp, politically charged style that would soon be heard New York and the country over.

This article revisits songs from Boogie Downs five albums: Criminal Minded (1987), By All Means Necessary (1988), Ghetto Music: The Blueprint of Hip Hop (1989), Edutainment (1990), and Sex and Violence (1992). Click through the image gallery to read on.

South Bronx

South Bronx | Criminal Minded (1987)

The fabled Bridge Wars began when Marley Marl and MC Shans Juice Crew released The Bridge, which seemed to claim their native Queensbridge as the true birthplace of hip hop. Affronted, Boogie Down Productions clapped back with the acerbic diss South Bronx.

Instead of trying to take out LL / You need to take your homeboys off the crack.

The Bridge is Over

The Bridge Is Over | Criminal Minded (1987)

South Bronx prompted Juice Crew to clap back with Kill That Noise  which then elicited what is widely regarded as one of the finest diss tracks in hip hop history, a template for all future diss tracks: BDPs The Bridge Is Over.

Manhattan keeps on making it, Brooklyn keeps on taking it. Bronx keeps creating it, and Queens keeps on faking it.

Super Hoe

Super Hoe | Criminal Minded (1987)

The original Mr. Steal Your Girl, Scott La Rock opens Super Hoe by regaling KRS-One with a story about his sordid exploits with two big-butt females. Impressed, KRS proceeds to gas up Scotts superhuman powers of seduction over the next three verses.

The Super-Hoe is loose in your section / And hes armed with a powerful erection.

Stop the Violence

Stop the Violence |

Scott La Rock was tragically gunned down while attempting to mediate a dispute over a girl six months after the release of Criminal Minded. KRS-One spoke on his thought process behind Stop the Violence, from BDPs sophomore album By All Means Necessary, in a 1998 interview:

BDP was basically designed for twofold purpose. One was to grasp that street image, the street life we live and to put it in a mainstream sense. Because the ghetto has no one to speak for them. None of the rap artists would speak on non-violence because it wasnt cool. It wasnt the fad at the time. So here comes BDP again. We come out with a record Stop the Violence. Now, being that this is on my second album, we had already gained the respect of the ghetto-oriented kid. Criminal Minded is it So theyre listening now. Violence really is a way of life. It is the intelligent people who curb it, who rise up above it and say, were gonna try and stop it. Peace doesnt come with a flower. If you really want world peace, you have to take it.

My Philosophy

My Philosophy | By All Means Necessary (1988)

KRS-One is in many ways the model for the modern rapper. On My Philosophy, he codified his rap blueprint: his opposition to the the whims of the industry, his intention to speak to and for the common man, and his desire to destroy all trifling emcees.

How many MCs must get dissed / Before somebody says, Dont fuck with Kris!

Im Still #1

Im Still #1 | By All Means Necessary (1988)

Pusha T has listed By All Means Necessary as among as his favorite rap albums ever.

KRS-One was the epitome of hip-hop and storytelling, Push told Complex. KRS-One is a rap god, but he and Chuck D get passes [for being positive]. You look at KRS-Oneand who Scott LaRock was to him and how he went downand he could have easily turned that into angst and anarchy. He could have been like, Fuck it. You just did this, and it really could have went all the way bad, and it didnt. He still kept his stance.

We sort of succumb to the bullshit and the negativity, and these guys fought against all of that shit. They fought and put out music with the best of them. They still prevailed. These albums are reflections of them, and thats why I give them that competitive spirit. They didd something harder than probably everybody on my list.

The Style You Havent Done Yet

The Style You Havent Done Yet | Ghetto Music: The Blueprint of Hip Hop (1989)

KRS-One on Ghetto Music: The Blueprint of Hip Hop, as told by Vibe:

Lets look at the music more than just sounds and lyrics. Lets look at this even from a spiritual point of viewlets start questioning the philosophies and the theologies that are around us. This is where we started doing songs like You Must Learn and Why Is That. We were questioning what everyone thought was real. We were questioning the interpretation of the Bible. We were questioning how black kids were being taught in school.

Jack of Spades

Jack Of Spades | Ghetto Music: The Blueprint of Hip Hop (1989)

In a 2001 interview with AV Club, KRS-One spoke on hip hops most encouraging most encouraging characteristic:

That it is the only place where Dr. Martin Luther Kings I have a dream speech is visible. When Dr. Martin Luther King said, I have a dream Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain, in his time, Stone Mountain was the Klan headquarters. Today, with the help of hip-hop, theyre all hip-hoppers up there. And when I say hip-hoppers, I mean black, white, Asian, Latino, Chicano, everybody. Everybody. Hip-hop has united all races. Hip-hop has formed a platform for all people, religions, and occupations to meet on something. We all have a platform to meet on now, due to hip-hop. That, to me, is beyond music. That is just a brilliant, brilliant thing.

Loves Gonna Get Cha

Loves Gonna Get Cha | Edutainment (1990)

KRS-One on Edutainment, as told by Vibe:

Right around this time the Gulf War is humming. We thought America was setting up for urban warfare in the United States. But it was really urban warfare in the Middle East. It was too controversial to speak of. You really had to speak about these things behind closed doors and with friends. This is why we started steering hip-hop in an even more conscious direction because we knew it was still commercial. When we were making Edutainment I started talking about hip-hop as a culture. I started really building up an idea of a hip-hop nation.

Duck Down

Duck Down | Sex and Violence (1992)

KRS-One on Sex and Violence, as told by Vibe:
Travellers are playing a cat-and mouse game with German authorities.

A large group of Irish Travellers, also called Pavee, are currently facing trouble in Germany. The group travels with around 80 cars hitched to trailers, as well as transporters and motorhomes. The Dusseldorf Police confirmed that around 500 Irishmen were yesterday in Niederrhein/Dusseldorf. As wild camping without permission is not allowed in Germany, the authorities are requesting the group to leave the occupied areas. However, a deadline set by the police as of August 8 2 p.m. has been ignored. At the same time, they obviously offered up to 100 Euro per vehicle for an extension until Wednesday. The Irish Travellers finally left Dusseldorf and moved back to another place closed to the Dutch border, where they had been already chased only a few days ago.

Local authorities of different cities in Germany were trying to prohibit the visit of the Irish Travellers. The travellers had negative experiences in the previous years from barriers erected around their camping places in order to not allow the group to settle down. German police have reported trouble between Travellers and local citizens in the area.

The Irish Travellers visit Germany, in particular the Land Nordrhein-Westfalen, each year in August to celebrate the catholic feast of the Assumption of Mary into Heaven on 15th August.
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Texas is on the verge of following just a handful of states that have gone as far as banning insurance coverage of abortions, not just people who have coverage through the health exchanges through the Affordable Care Act, but also for all private insurance plans.

For some groups opposed to abortion rights, the fact Texas hasn't already joined other states, including most of the South, in restricting abortion coverage in health plans through the Obamacare exchanges has been a source of frustration.
Ex-Google engineer James Damore says problems with the company's culture and diversity programs prompted him to write the memo on gender differences that ignited a social media firestorm and led to his dismissal.

Damore, who went from employee to outcast upon the memo's circulation, said in his first public comments that he penned the document out of a love for Alphabet's Google. Damore was a software engineer at the search giant's Mountain View, Calif., headquarters until Monday afternoon, when he said he was fired for "perpetuating gender stereotypes." His missive - published internally to Google employees last week - argued that conservative viewpoints are suppressed at the company, and biological differences explain in part why more men work in software engineering than women.

"A lot of this came from me seeing some of the problems with our culture at Google, where a lot of people who weren't in this groupthink just felt totally isolated and alienated," he told YouTube chat-show host Stefan Molyneux in an interview posted online. "There were many people that came to me and said, 'Yeah, I'm thinking of leaving Google because this is getting so bad.' "

"I really thought this was a problem Google had to fix," he added.

Damore said he was exploring legal remedies and revealed he created the document - started on a 12-hour flight on a work trip to China - after attending a "secretive" diversity training session that rubbed him the wrong way. "There was a lot of just shaming: 'No, you can't say that. That's sexist.' There's just so much hypocrisy in a lot of the things that they were saying," he said. "I decided to create the document to clarify my thoughts."

'Just shaming'

In a second interview on YouTube Wednesday, Damore specified that he believed the diversity policies he heard discussed at the meeting were "illegal" and that teams at Google under pressure to increase diversity among their workers made hiring decisions based on candidates' race or gender. A Google spokesperson disputed the characterization of the meeting as "secretive" and said the company is transparent about its diversity policies and practices.

Many in Silicon Valley denounced Damore's arguments, including Google CEO Sundar Pichai, who said Monday in a memo to employees that the engineer's manifesto violated Google's code of conduct and that suggesting "a group of our colleagues have traits that make them less biologically suited to that work is offensive and not OK."

But others, mainly right-wing groups, agreed with his description of a "politically correct monoculture" and in particular, saw Google's decision to fire him for voicing an unpopular opinion as proving exactly his point. Julian Assange tweeted that WikiLeaks would hire Damore, adding "Censorship is for losers." Gab.ai, a far-right social network, also offered Damore a job, calling his writing "a beautiful work of art."

Harvard degree

On his LinkedIn profile, Damore, 28, says that he has a Ph.D. from Harvard University in systems biology, which his supporters noted as a credential for him to talk about the biological differences between men and women. A Harvard spokeswoman said Damore only completed a master's in systems biology, a field that uses quantitative methods to study biological systems such as cells and organisms. A spokesman for the University of Illinois confirmed he has a Bachelor of Science degree in molecular and cellular biology from 2010. Damore is reportedly from suburban Chicago.

Damore didn't go into his future plans apart from acknowledging a number of job offers. He did admit the scale of the social-media backlash had taken him by surprise, conceding it was a "blind spot" of his and that he was still struggling to understand the severity of the public reaction. Damore also said he was surprised by the size of his support.

He reflected on how Silicon Valley culture discourages the airing of right-leaning sentiments.

"Definitely those who aren't on the left feel like they need to stay in the closet and not really reveal themselves," Damore said. Those people "actually mask and say things they don't believe."

Free speech issue

Though one might argue for a right to free speech, such protections are generally limited to government and other public employees - and to unionized workers with rights to disciplinary hearings before any firing, labor experts say.

Broader protections are granted to comments about workplace conditions. Damore argues in a federal labor complaint that this applies to his case, but the experts disagree.

"By posting that memo, he forfeited his job," said Jennifer Lee Magas, public relations professor at Pace University. "He was fired for his words, but also for being daft enough to post these thoughts on an open workplace forum, where he was sure to be met with backlash and to offend his colleagues - male and female alike."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Although the Trump administration has backed a plan to cut down on the number of "low-skilled" immigrants who come to the United States, America's farms have recruited more and more of them in recent years as the flow of undocumented workers from Mexico reversed course.

That's the upshot of a report published today by the nonprofit, nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute, which traced the rise of workers brought in on H-2A visas for seasonal agricultural workers. Unlike the H-2B program for other types of seasonal workers, like the groundskeepers and hotel workers that Donald Trump has brought in to staff his resorts, the H-2A program has no cap.
Ten years ago, "An Inconvenient Truth," the groundbreaking, Oscar-winning film about Al Gore and his passionate climate change activism, ended with a simple challenge: "Are you ready to change the way you live? The climate crisis can be solved."

A decade later, the former vice president and Nobel Peace Prize winner is the first to concede that not enough of the world has met that challenge - and that what is being done, isn't being done fast enough. "Wow, we could lose this struggle," he recalls thinking at one point.

But that moment of doubt, recounted in "An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power," was apparently just that: a moment. The overriding sentiment in this sequel is one of optimism.

Now, that may come as a surprise to many, especially given what we journalists would call one heck of a news peg: The decision by President Donald Trump, in June, to withdraw the United States from the 2015 Paris climate accord - a landmark pact that Gore worked tirelessly to help achieve. (Indeed, directors Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk went back to the editing room to update their movie with this momentous news.)

But, as this sequel makes clear, Gore's not looking to the White House - or the presidential Twitter feed - to fuel his optimism.

More Information 'An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power' Rated PG: for thematic elements and some troubling images Running time: 98 minutes xxx1/2 See More Collapse

He's looking instead to countries like Chile, rapidly increasing its use of renewable energy. In the U.S., he's looking to individual governors, business leaders, mayors - like Dale Ross of Georgetown, Texas, who with one small scene pretty much becomes the breakout star of this film. The jovial Ross is a conservative Republican and mayor of, in his words, "the reddest city in the reddest county in Texas." But he tells Gore that his city went green because it made economic sense for his constituents.

Plus, he adds, it's only common sense: "The less stuff you put in the air, the better it is." Gore replies happily: "Can I use that line?"

Yes, humor has its place, even in a film that's intended as a warning about, um, the potential death of the planet and all its life forms. Gore's a lot grayer and still dead serious about his work, but he's also the guy who likes to introduce himself as "Al Gore - I used to be the next president of the United States." People laugh, and then he says he doesn't think it's very funny, and they laugh again. And then he teaches, cajoles, explains - part pastor, part science teacher, part tour guide.

The film begins with a sampling of naysayers - and to be sure, Trump isn't the only one. At a 2007 hearing, Oklahoma Republican Sen. Jim Inhofe asks Gore: "How come you guys never seem to notice when it gets cold?"

The filmmakers track Gore across the globe, to climate leadership training sessions from Tennessee to Asia, or to the glaciers of Greenland, where he treads on melting ice. We watch him negotiate with officials in India, who listen, but also note that the United States should live up to its own commitments before making demands of developing nations. In one of many effective bits of footage, we see pedestrians in India try to navigate streets literally melting in 120-plus degree heat.

Gore gets a chance to silence critics of a scene in the first film, who said he was exaggerating when he projected that ground zero in lower Manhattan could be flooded by rising waters. News footage from Hurricane Sandy in 2012 shows the flooding of the 9/11 Memorial Museum site, then under construction.

In Paris, at the climate conference, Gore's energetic dealmaking includes convincing a U.S. solar energy company to make an offer that convinces India to sign the pact.

The Paris trip is not without humor as well: When Gore and aides are stuck in traffic, they switch to the Metro, where they encounter a student delegation from China that seems convinced he actually won the presidency. "Is he still the president?" they ask.

The message of this sequel is twofold: urgency and hope. Things are bad, Gore is saying, but here's what's happening that's really exciting. And he has no doubt that mankind will save the planet. He may have wanted to be president, but Gore has surely found his calling, and his own energy seems more renewable than ever.
A driver is behind bars after leading officers on a police chase early Thursday that ended in southwest Houston.

The chase started about 2 a.m. on Lands End when officers tried to pull the driver over for a traffic violation, said Lt. Larry Crowson with the Houston Police Department.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson played down the possibility of U.S. military intervention with North Korea on Wednesday after days of escalating threats between President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un. That back-and-forth mirrors the American public's mixed support for military action to thwart the Asian nation's growing military capability.

Polls released this week showcase the tenuous public support for military involvement. A CNN poll released Monday found 50 percent support taking military action in response to North Korea's development and testing of weapons that could reach the U.S. mainland.

But a CBS News poll conducted by the same survey firm over the same period found just 29 percent saying the North Korean threat requires military action now, while twice as many said the threat can be contained (60 percent).

Two other surveys earlier this summer by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and Fox News found support ranging from 40 to 51 percent among adults and registered voters, respectively.

By itself, the inconsistent support for military action suggests Americans are reluctant about the idea. A July Washington Post-ABC News poll illustrated one likely reason: 74 percent said they were concerned about the possibility of getting involved in a full-scale war with North Korea.

It's also notable that the range in support for military action across polls is smaller among Democrats (between 22 and 35 percent) than among Republicans (between 48 and 74 percent), an indication their support is more malleable.

But the range in support also corresponds with different question wording and contexts in each poll. No survey question wording or context is perfect, and all represent each research team's attempt to put the question in the most relevant context. But beyond helping explain why they found differing results, the varying framings help explain what may drive support for military action today and in coming debates.

Take the Fox News survey, which found the greatest support for intervention, with 51 percent supporting and 37 percent opposing military action to stop North Korea from continuing to develop its nuclear weapons program. This straightforward question came immediately after a related question asking whether North Korea could be stopped "through diplomacy alone," or whether military force would be necessary, with voters saying the latter by nearly 2 to 1. The initial question may have reminded respondents of the ineffectiveness of diplomacy to deter North Korea's nuclear program over many years. Respondents who agreed military action would be necessary likely found it difficult to oppose military action when offered the option.

The CNN poll, which found 50 percent backing military action, asked whether North Korea "is capable of launching a missile that would be able to hit the United States, including Hawaii," to which 77 percent of adults said yes. The following question framed the purpose of potential military action as a "response to its development and testing of weapons that could reach the U.S. mainland." It's certainly accurate that North Korea is trying to develop weapons that can hit the U.S. mainland, and the large majority who said the country is currently capable of this suggests it may be a potent consideration.

Contrast the Fox and CNN results with the Chicago Council poll finding 40 percent in support of military action. The survey asked about support as part of a series of "actions to pressure North Korea to stop building its nuclear weapons program." It first asked about support for allowing the country to possess nuclear weapons, which was opposed by more than 7 in 10 respondents. It next asked about support for tighter sanctions on the country, which 76 percent supported, and then asked about support for conducting airstrikes targeting North Korea's nuclear production facilities. The survey did not prime specific concerns about diplomacy's effectiveness or North Korea's ability to attack the United States, although it's possible respondents were less supportive of military action when it was offered alongside the option of sanctions.

The CBS News poll finding the least support for military action, 29 percent, differed in several ways from other questions. Respondents were asked to choose one of three options regarding North Korea's development of weapons:

North Korea is a threat requiring military action now.

North Korea is a threat that can be contained right now.

North Korea is not a threat.

The first option's pointed phrasing of "military action now" may have diminished support among Americans who think military action may eventually be necessary, as highlighted in the Fox poll. But 60 percent of CBS poll respondents selected the second option's vague suggestion maintaining diplomatic efforts for the time being, while just 7 percent said North Korea was not a threat.

To read a little more into these polls based on their question ordering: The CBS and Chicago Council polls clearly suggest a preference for maintaining diplomatic efforts over military intervention at this point. But the CNN poll indicates that the week's revelations that North Korea has developed miniature nuclear warheads that could be delivered by its intercontinental ballistic missiles may boost support for military action. And the Fox survey points to Americans' skepticism that diplomacy will be effective in getting North Korea to end its nuclear weapons program, an argument the Trump administration would likely make in justifying military action.

Trump's popularity is also a key consideration as it will color reactions to any future military engagement with North Korea. The CBS poll released this week found a 61 percent majority who said they were "uneasy" with Trump's ability to handle the situation, similar to the 63 percent who trusted Trump "just some" or "not at all" in the Post-ABC poll last month. Other polls find more people approve of Trump's handling of North Korea, although he is underwater on this front, with between 37 and 41 percent giving him positive marks.

Poll methodology details:

CNN: August 3-6 by cellular and landline phone among 1,018 adults; 3.6-point margin of sampling error.

Fox News: July 16-18 by cellular and landline phone among 1,020 registered voters; 3-point margin of sampling error.

Chicago Council: Conducted June 27-July 19 online among 2,020 adults using GfK's probability-sampled online panel; 2.4-point margin of sampling error.

CBS News: Conducted Aug. 3-6 by cellular and landline phone among 1,111 adults; 4-point margin of sampling error.
Yuzhny seaport (Odesa region), the largest port in Ukraine in terms of transshipment, in January-July 2017 increased cargo handling by 6.4% compared to the same period last year, to 25.29 million tonnes.

According to live data from the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority, the port in the seven months boosted transshipment of exported cargo by 7.5%, to 19.37 million tonnes, imported freight by 31.1%, to 3.29 million tonnes, while transshipment of transit goods decreased by 5%, to 2.61 million tonnes, and cabotage goods by 16.4 times, to 30,000 tonnes.

According to the types of cargo, the port during this period reduced transshipment of liquid cargo by 13.2%, to 2.06 million tonnes, but increased the handling of dry bulk goods by 8.1%, to 22.55 million tonnes, and packaged goods by 26.7%, to 690,000 tonnes.

As reported, the first half of 2017 Yuzhny port increased cargo transshipment by 7.3%, to 22.105 million tonnes, in particular exported freight by 8.7%, to 17 million tonnes, imported goods by 31%, to 3 million tonnes, while transshipment of transit cargo decreased by 10.4%, to 2.087 million tonnes.
BRIDGEWATER, N.J. - As President Donald Trump amplified his bellicose warning to North Korea on Wednesday, senior administration officials rushed to reassure a suddenly jittery world that they stood behind his sentiments, if not necessarily his language.

What many outside the White House - and some on the inside - interpreted as an undisciplined presidential eruption threatening nuclear conflict, was just Trump's way of expressing an agreed policy of pressure on Pyongyang, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters.

"The words were his own. The tone and strength of the message were discussed beforehand," Sanders said of Trump's threat on Tuesday to meet North Korean provocations with "fire and fury like the world has never seen." At the State Department, spokeswoman Heather Nauert agreed, insisting that "we are all singing from the same hymn book."

But U.S. allies and a number of Trump aides and lawmakers instead saw a disturbing dissonance, and lack of coordination, as the administration confronted its most potentially consequential foreign policy crisis to date.

As North Korea's military on Wednesday expanded its threat to strike Guam, warning of "simultaneous fire of four" intermediate-range ballistic missiles and describing Trump's statements as "a load of nonsense," top U.S. national security officials publicly struggled to straddle a line between backing the president and trying to calm the upheaval he had generated.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, returning from an East Asia trip to build support for diplomatic pressure on Pyongyang, called it a "pretty good week" for global unity.

Asked about Trump's "fire and fury" remarks as he flew from Malaysia to a refueling stop in Guam early Wednesday, Tillerson responded by directing attention toward Sunday's "unanimous U.N. Security Council resolution strengthening sanctions against North Korea, with China and Russia joining us."

In warning North Korea, Tillerson said, Trump was merely speaking in language that its leader, Kim Jong Un, "can understand."

"I think the president just wanted to be clear to the North Korean regime on the U.S. unquestionable ability to defend itself . . . and its allies," he told reporters aboard his aircraft. "Americans should sleep well at night [and] have no concerns about this particular rhetoric of the last few days." Among its more provocative statements, Pyongyang threatened Tuesday to direct its ballistic missiles toward Guam.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, traveling on the West Coast, struck a similarly sober middle ground. "While our State Department is making every effort to resolve this global threat through diplomatic means," Mattis said in a statement released by the Pentagon, "it must be noted that the combined allied militaries now possess the most precise, rehearsed and robust defensive and offensive capabilities on Earth."

"The DPRK regime's actions will continue to be grossly overmatched by ours and would lose any arms race or conflict it initiates," he said. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea, or DPRK, is North Korea's official name.

Not everyone inside the administration was taken aback by Trump's remarks. One of the president's favored spokesmen, White House adviser Sebastian Gorka, ratcheted up the brinkmanship, saying in a television interview Wednesday morning that the situation "is analogous to the Cuban missile crisis."

Appearing on "Fox & Friends," the Trump-friendly morning show on Fox News Channel that the president often watches, Gorka said: "We are not just a superpower. We were a superpower. We are now a hyperpower. Nobody in the world, especially not North Korea, comes close to challenging our military capabilities, whether they're conventional, whether they're nuclear or whether they're Special Forces."

Gorka continued with a direct threat to the North Koreans: "So this message is very clear: Don't test this White House, Pyongyang."

Meanwhile, some key U.S. allies and international partners pushed back on the escalating rhetoric between Trump and North Korea, and called for greater efforts to open diplomatic talks.

Germany's Foreign Ministry called on "all parties for moderation" and said that "saber-rattling won't help." The spokeswoman for the European Union's foreign policy chief agreed that "a lasting peace and denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula must be achieved through peaceful means" and said "that excludes military action."

In New Zealand, Prime Minister Bill English called Trump's comments "not helpful" in a standoff that was already "very tense." Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull warned that responding to North Korea's threats with "fire and fury" would have "catastrophic consequences" worldwide.

South Korea called the situation "very serious" but said it did not believe a crisis was imminent, according to Yonhap news agency.

Reaction from Congress was mixed, with Democratic lawmakers almost universally condemning Trump's language as erratic and dangerous.

"President Trump's inflammatory rhetoric undermines our global credibility and is unlikely to de-escalate the situation," Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said. "We need fewer fiery words and bombastic tweets from the president and his cable TV surrogates, and more effort to work with our international partners to expand missile defense and deterrence."

A few Republicans argued that it could be a strategic move to eliminate the North Korean threat.

"President Trump has drawn a red line," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said on CBS. "He's not going to contain the threat; he's going to stop the threat."

Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., said on CNN: "Why not give it a shot to say, 'You talk about fire and fury, you say you are going to bury the United States in fire and fury. Hey, we got some fire and fury for you, too, if you want to play that game.' "

But some senior White House officials and Trump allies, all of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to offer frank assessments, expressed concern that his comments were more off-the cuff than strategic and bypassed the normal policy vetting and coordination process that other presidents have used to keep them on message.

Two senior White House officials said that as Pyongyang intensified its own rhetoric in recent days after the U.N. vote, Trump discussed with Chief of Staff John Kelly and other advisers a strategy to escalate his response and deliver a more aggressive and overt challenge to North Korea. The message Trump delivered Tuesday afternoon - neither scripted nor formally vetted by his top advisers, according to officials with knowledge of the matter - was "unexpected, but it wasn't surprising," one of the officials said.

Still, the conflicting messages from the administration in the span of 24 hours gave the impression of "people just stumbling around in the dark," said one senior Republican close to the White House.

"This is one of the most important things a president of the United States has ever done," this Republican said. "We're talking about the possibility of war here - and war with a pretty unstable, supposedly nuclear power. You want to make sure your rhetoric goes through a process."

Some Trump supporters argued that diplomacy and measured responses have brought only failure, as North Korea has expanded its arsenal of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles in recent years. "But it's hard to make the case that going toe-to-toe with Kim Jong Un in a hyperbole contest is going to make the kind of difference in the equation that we're looking for," said one North Korean expert who has served in both Republican and Democratic administrations.

"You can't out-crazy Kim Jong Un," said the expert. "Moreover, if we and the North Koreans are exchanging a barrage of threats, it's hard to see a good outcome. To make good on those threats would be devastating and to back down from those threats is humiliating."

The president followed up his Tuesday comments with remarks Wednesday morning on Twitter. His "first order as President," he tweeted, "was to renovate and modernize our nuclear arsenal. It is now far stronger and more powerful than ever before." The president added, "Hopefully we will never have to use this power, but there will never be a time that we are not the most powerful nation in the world!"

Nuclear experts noted, however, that while former president Barack Obama launched a multiyear modernization effort, Trump's order merely directed a "nuclear posture review" that is not yet completed, and that there have been no substantive changes in the arsenal.

During a meeting on the opioid crisis Tuesday, Trump responded to a question from the press corps about North Korea's nuclear provocations and said they would be "met with fire and fury and frankly power, the likes of which this world has never seen before."

Another senior White House official voiced frustration that Trump's use of the phrase "fire and fury" had been interpreted as a depiction of nuclear strikes and said his words should not necessarily be taken literally.

"People on TV who know nothing about North Korea are claiming this is nuclear escalation," this official said. " 'Fire and fury' doesn't always mean nuclear. It can mean any number of things. It is as if people see him [Trump] as an unhinged madman."

Asked whether Trump came up with the phrase "fire and fury" on his own, the official replied, "Absolutely."

---

DeYoung reported from Washington. Carol Morello at Andersen Air Force base in Guam, Anne Gearen and Elise Viebeck in Washington, and Rick Noack in London contributed to this report.

- - -

Video: Why tiny Guam is in North Korea's crosshairs

Tensions between North Korea and the United States escalated on Aug. 8, after President Trump warned the country to stop threatening the U.S.

Short URL: http://wapo.st/2hL629M

Embed code:
As with most things Trump, the furor over the "fire and fury" has divided the nation in two - those who believe the president is a loose launchpad, impulsively blurting whatever flits through his mind, and those who believe his inflammatory talk is a wily combination of politically savvy instincts and a gut-driven populism that simply aims to please.

When President Donald Trump went off script Tuesday to deliver a startling threat to North Korea - "They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen" - it was as if the nation relived the most lurid themes of the 2016 campaign in one chilling moment.

Last fall, Hillary Clinton's campaign used as one of its final weapons a TV ad featuring a longtime nuclear missile launch officer who warned against voting for Trump: "I prayed that call would never come. Self-control may be all that keeps these missiles from firing."

Then, quick-fire, a series of clips of Trump on the stump: "I would bomb the s--- out of them." "I want to be unpredictable." "I love war."

"The thought of Donald Trump with nuclear weapons scares me to death," Bruce Blair, the retired launch officer, says in the ad. "It should scare everyone."

It very nearly did: Voters made clear last fall that they trusted Clinton vastly more than Trump on the use of nuclear weapons - by 57 percent to 31 percent in a Fox News poll in October, for example.

But Trump voters often said that their reasons for supporting him outweighed their sense that he could be dangerously impulsive - and they repeatedly expressed confidence that the national security apparatus would keep him in check.

AL DRAGO/NYT

Now, facing a reality test of that theory, Americans are coming to conclusions both predictable and surprising.

Trump's critics tend to view his "fire and fury" threat as evidence of a president gone over the edge.

"Trump is fulfilling expectations of someone who lashes out dangerously at real and perceived challengers," said Blair, the former launch officer who is now a research scholar at Princeton University. "He is raising the risk of a conflict that escalates to nuclear war. He has proven time and again to be . . . unable to apply a deft hand at diplomacy."

But the president's defenders see him working from the gut, with admirable instincts to protect the nation and take pride in American power.

Fred Doucette, a longtime Trump supporter who is assistant majority leader in New Hampshire's House of Representatives, watched Trump's appearance Tuesday and was disappointed that he didn't declare a national emergency on opioid abuse, but pleased to hear the president deliver a strong message to North Korea.

"The president spoke in a language that Kim Jong Un understands - and, personally, I think they should follow up on that and show them that we mean business," said Doucette, 52, a Navy veteran and retired firefighter and paramedic. "I assume the president spoke with his generals and his Cabinet first."

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the president's remarks were no harbinger of imminent nuclear war but rather tough talk designed to send Kim a clear message. "Americans should sleep well at night," Tillerson said.

Doucette said he does exactly that. "When the phone rings at 3 a.m., I want Donald Trump to be the president that answers that phone call," he said. "I sleep well at night with President Trump, very well."

Last fall, 10 former Air Force nuclear launch officers issued an open letter warning that Trump "should not be entrusted with the nuclear launch codes . . . He has shown himself time and again to be easily baited and quick to lash out, dismissive of expert consultation and ill-informed of even basic military and international affairs."

But on Wednesday, those officers were no longer united in their view of Trump.

"The reaction to this is not wholly rational," said one of the signatories, who spoke on condition that he not be named because his employer has not authorized him to speak on the record. "A lot of people are caught up on Trump the character - and he is erratic - without thinking about whether there's historical precedent for this kind of language. I'm actually a little relieved that Trump is crawling inside the North Koreans' helmets. I would not have chosen those words, but he did put the fear of God into them."

But another of the former "missileers" said Trump's fiery rhetoric was evidence of exactly what he had warned about last fall. "He speaks impulsively and he acts impulsively, and I don't know what restraints there are on President Trump," said Mark Lussky, a retired lawyer who served on a missile combat crew from 1972 to 1976. "He doesn't know how to back down on anything."

At the core of the anxiety over Trump's remarks is the worry that the president made his threat without consideration of what might follow. The sheet of paper he held in his hand was about opioid abuse, not the conflict with North Korea. Yet the White House was quick to issue assurances that, as press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, although Trump's "words were his own . . . the tone and strength of the message were discussed beforehand" by Chief of Staff John Kelly and others on the National Security Council.

Presidents don't usually improvise comments on global crises. "What would be 'normal' in the Bush or Obama or Clinton administrations would be for the combination of strategic communications people and policy people - including the national security adviser - to develop, in consultation with the State Department and the Defense Department, a messaging strategy with top lines that they felt the president needed to emphasize," said a senior diplomat who served in all three administrations.

To many Trump critics, the president's remarks were of a piece with what seems like a casual attitude toward wielding the unfathomable power of America's arsenal. On the campaign trail, he said that any Iranian vessels that "make gestures at our people . . . will be shot out of the water." Trump, who attended a military academy as a teenager and repeatedly dodged the draft for the Vietnam War, had hoped to add tanks and heavy military equipment to his inaugural parade in January but was overruled.

Trump was dining with Chinese President Jinping Xi at Mar-a-Lago in early April when he authorized an airstrike on a Syrian airstrip. As he later described the moment, "We're now having dessert. And we had the most beautiful piece of chocolate cake that you've ever seen, and President Xi was enjoying it. And I was given the message from the generals that the ships are locked and loaded, what do you do? And we made a determination to do it, so the missiles were on the way."

The Clinton campaign ran ads focused on Trump as commander in chief throughout October, including one spot that showed Trump asking "Why can't we use nuclear weapons?"

"One of the great concerns voters had, particularly independent voters, was the threat of somebody that impulsive, that erratic, that unprepared, having control over the nuclear codes," said Jim Margolis, the campaign's media adviser.

Some of those voters acknowledged Trump's erraticism yet voted for him anyway. "There may have been a presumption that if elected, Trump would settle down, become more presidential, less crazy in his taunts and that the cocoon of security advisors around him would keep him in check," Margolis said. "Clearly, that presumption was wrong."

Another anti-Trump spot, made by a super PAC run by former senator Bill Bradley, targeted Ohio voters and evoked the famous 1964 "Daisy" ad for then-President Lyndon Johnson that capitalized on fears that his Republican challenger, Barry Goldwater, was too reckless to be trusted with nuclear codes.

Bradley's ad showed the mushroom cloud of an atomic bomb detonating, and it showed TV host Chris Matthews telling Trump that "nobody wants to hear" a presidential candidate talk about using nuclear weapons.

"Then why are we making them?" Trump replies.

This story was originally published on washingtonpost.com.

The Washington Post's Karen DeYoung contributed to this report.
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Jeff Wagner took the oath of office as Pasadena's mayor July 1. In a sense, though, it was just this week that he truly emerged as an independent leader.

The moment came not in a rousing speech, but in a news release distributed via email. It landed in my inbox at 9:51 a.m. Wednesday.

"Pasadena mayor plans to bring bus service back to the city," the headline says. City officials, according to the announcement, are working out details of a plan to resume - and to improve on - the service provided by Harris County Transit from 2010 to 2012.

The decision is important for practical and symbolic reasons.

Resuming bus service will help thousands of Pasadena residents get to jobs, medical appointments and other destinations. It will provide mobility to those without cars and an alternative to others who may find the modest fare ($1 for a single ride) easier on their budgets than paying for gasoline, insurance and maintenance.

But Wagner's decision also represents a policy break from his predecessor, Johnny Isbell, who'd served as mayor on and off since 1981 but couldn't seek re-election this year because of term limits. The City Council voted 5 to 3 in October 2012 to end the service, but the council was following the lead of Isbell's administration.

"The ridership wasn't worth anything," Roy Mease, who headed the city's economic development agency, said at the time. "The program wasn't justified for the money being spent."

The 600 people who signed a petition asking the city to maintain the service no doubt saw it differently. No transit agency recovers its full costs through fares; buses are a public service, like schools or law enforcement.

More Information Bus service revival plans Here are some details of Pasadena's plans to revive public bus service. The city is finalizing a plan to renew an agreement for four bus routes totaling about 70 miles in low-income neighborhoods and other areas with high need. The proposed routes include stops at San Jacinto College, Strawberry Clinic and Bayshore Medical Center, as well as at retail, grocery and pharmacy chains. The six-days-per-week service will also give Pasadena residents access to existing Harris County Transit routes and will connect to the Houston Metro system near Richey Road. The city will hold public meetings in September to introduce the new service to residents and to seek their feedback on the proposed routes. See More Collapse

Within days of Wagner's inauguration, the new administration began discussions with Harris County Transit, a division of the county's community services department that now provides bus service in Baytown.

Baytown and Pasadena were among the Harris County cities that opted out of the Metropolitan Transit Authority's service area and thus don't pay Metro's 1-cent sales tax.

Bus service 'welcome'

Many of the working-class residents of Pasadena's mostly Latino north side - the people most likely to benefit from bus service - might not have voted for Wagner.

His decision to restore the service shows he is reaching out beyond his base on the city's more affluent, predominantly Anglo south side.

Some of these south-side voters, in fact, are probably leery of bus service - believing, like some of those who responded to my recent column on the FM 1960 area, that buses may attract criminals and vagrants.

But in this case, at least, those voices didn't prevail.

Latino activist Cesar Espinosa, who led protests at City Hall on the day of Wagner's inauguration, told me the decision to restore bus service was encouraging - but only as a first step. A trial over a lawsuit challenging a change in the City Council structure portrayed Pasadena's leaders as hostile to Latino interests, and repairing that damage will be one of Wagner's greatest challenges.

"We know that there has been a need for bus service, and this is obviously something that's welcome," said Espinosa, the executive director of FIEL Houston. "But really, it's something the city should already have been doing."

Wagner has also named two Latinos to top city posts, tapping ex-Houston City Council member James Rodriguez as chief of staff and Pasadena Police Department veteran Al Espinoza as police chief.

Mayor 'collaborative'

So far, though, Wagner hasn't shown much interest in engaging with the reporters who cover him. Shortly after his runoff victory in July, he told me he would sit for an interview after he was sworn in. I'm still waiting.

Wagner may have grown accustomed to delegating media inquiries to press aides during his 30 years as a Houston police officer. But talking to reporters is part of the job of an elected official - particularly the mayor of a city of 150,000 with a strong-mayor form of government.

City Councilman Cody Ray Wheeler, a Latino who was part of a group that consistently opposed Isbell on contentious issues, told me this week that he remains optimistic about the new administration - even though Wagner, as a councilman, usually sided with Isbell.

Wheeler said the bus service decision was encouraging. He also mentioned the recent announcement of planned improvements to Richey Street on the city's north side - a project that had languished under Isbell.

But the biggest difference, Wheeler said, is that the new mayor is far more collaborative than his predecessor.

"He doesn't have his boot heels dug in on everything," Wheeler said. "I understand we're not going to get everything we want, but we're working together."
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Nearly a half-century after he left the battlefields of Vietnam, Eddie Neas this week completed a mission of another kind: Presenting the weathered and tarnished dog tag of a serviceman who died there to the man's family in Magnolia.

Neas, who is from New Jersey, delivered a single dog tag to Magnolia resident Brian Freed during a ceremony Tuesday night. The dog tag belonged to Freed's brother, Marine Lance Cpl. David Freed, who was killed in action in September 1968 during the Vietnam War.

Neas came upon the dog tag during a return to Vietnam in 2016 and set out to find Freed's family.

Through tears, Neas and Brian Freed came together before a packed Magnolia City Council chambers to honor David, who was only 19 at the time of his death.

"Everybody has a piece of the puzzle," Neas said. "The piece of the puzzle for me was this dog tag. I don't know why I was selected, but I found a dog tag and I had to do something with it."

The journey of David Freed's dog tag home from Vietnam began almost 18 months ago. Neas traveled back to Vietnam in March 2016 as part of the College of the Ozarks' Patriotic Education Travel Program.

College of the Ozarks is a private, Christian, liberal arts college in Point Lookout, Mo.

A group that included Neas, 11 other veterans and a dozen students traversed cities such as Can Tho, Saigon, Cu Chi, Da Nang, Hue City, Dong Ha and Hanoi to learn more about the war.

subhead

"While in Khe Sahn, a Vietnamese peddler approached me," Neas recalled in his presentation Tuesday night. "He was selling items on a tray, pieces of shrapnel, spent bullets  but what caught my eye was a dog tag with the initials D.B. Freed  and on it the letters USMC."

At that moment, Neas knew what he had to do. After some time haggling with the peddler, Neas purchased the dog tag for the equivalent of $25 and set in motion his quest to return the dog tag to the fallen Marine's family.

"I was not going to leave without it," he said.

Back at his hotel, Neas began an internet search to find D.B. Freed.

"The first thing I did was go to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall and put his name in," Neas recalled. "I found out that David was KIA in September 1968. Emotions hit me."

Neas and several students discovered that a Lance Cpl. Freed was born in New Jersey, not far from where Neas and his wife, Linda, live.

Neas also learned that the soldier was buried in the Long Island National Cemetery. "I saw his site was maintained by his brother Brian."

Neas emailed Brian. But the process stalled after Neas realized he had referred to David as "Dennis." Brian responded that it was not his brother.

"I apologized to Brian, but a month or two went by without a response," Neas said. "I had to start making this right."

subhead

Neas then reached out to several veterans groups. With help from several veterans, Neas located Brian Freed and his family in Texas and tried to contact him via Facebook. A self-described internet skeptic, Brian Freed discarded Neas' information, thinking there was no way it could be true.

In a last-ditch effort, Neas contacted the Magnolia Police Department to see if they could help. Police Chief Terry Enloe and Administrative Assistant Martha Mueller tracked down Freed and went to his home.

"Because of the chief and the City of Magnolia, I am here tonight to return this dog tag to David's family where it belongs," Neas said.

Freed, a quiet man, was overcome by emotion as he held the dog tag for the first time.

"I was 10 years old when he died," Freed said. "I didn't get to know him. I miss him. This means more than Eddie will ever know."

Freed said he is grateful to Neas for returning his brother's dog tag. Neas said it was his duty.

"I had to do something," Neas said. "People ask, 'Why didn't you keep it?' Because it isn't mine. They ask, 'Why didn't you leave it in Vietnam?' Because it doesn't belong there."
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After three decades on death row, the Harris County killer who left a trail of bodies across Texas in 1983 finally got his way.

Raymond DeLeon Martinez died Wednesday of natural causes. He never saw the inside of Huntsville's death chamber.

A diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic with an IQ of 65, Martinez was one of the state's longest-serving death row prisoners. The erstwhile prison gang leader narrowly avoided an execution date in 2006, kept alive only by his attorneys' ferocity in fighting his case - which was awaiting a decision from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in light of the 71-year-old's intellectual disability.

"I think there was a decent chance that the ruling would have gone in his favor," said attorney Kenneth Williams, who represented Martinez toward the end of the decades-long appeals process.

"It was pretty obvious to me that he was a seriously mentally ill person so I think that it's unfortunate that the system doesn't deal with a person like him better," he added.

"It's a sad, tragic story."

The summer of 1983 was Martinez's reign of terror.

Just months after he finished a 14-year prison sentence, Martinez and two accomplices kicked off a three-bar robbery spree. At Don Ramon's Lounge, the trio killed a patron, Moses Mendez. Two days later, they slaughtered Long Branch Saloon bar owner Herman Chavis, shooting him repeatedly in the back at his Houston establishment.

Afterward, Martinez and one of his confederates fled to Fort Worth, where Martinez shot and killed his sister Julia Gonzales and her boyfriend, Guillermo Chavez.

System 'flawed'

On July 21, while staying at the Big State Motel in Houston, then 37-year-old Martinez killed prostitute Tracey Pelkey because he didn't like her attitude, according to Texas Department of Criminal Justice records.

But when he was found guilty and sent off to death row in July 1984, his case was only just beginning.

In 1988, the court overturned his capital murder conviction for the saloon slaying, ordering a new trial in light of jury selection problems.

During a retrial the following year, prosecutors alleged that the string of brutal killings was intended to enhance his status in the Texas Syndicate, a notorious prison gang.

In March 2006, Martinez was slated to meet his fate in Huntsville. But a last-minute stay bought him more time, and the following year the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals invalidated Martinez's death sentence, unanimously deciding the trial court judge had failed to let jurors consider mitigating evidence like the killer's history of mental illness.

In 2009, a Harris County jury sent Martinez to the death house for a third time.

"It does not speak well of the system that he had death sentences overturned so frequently," Williams said. "I think it's another indication of the flawed death penalty system here in Texas and the United States."

Mental health problems

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court sent the case back to the 5th Circuit, asking the lower court to reconsider their ruling in light of a decision regarding fellow death row inmate Bobby Moore.

Though Moore had been given a capital sentence decades earlier for a 1980 grocery store slaying, in March a five-justice majority ruled that Texas courts had used an outdated and "unacceptable method" for determining his intellectual disability.

That decision overturned the state's method for evaluating intellectual disability and gave new life to appeals like Martinez's.

"We were sitting here waiting (for a decision), any day now," Williams said.

Martinez had a fifth-grade education and a long history of mental health problems and criminal convictions.

"It was pretty obvious to me that he was a seriously mentally ill person," Williams said.

In 1964 he served a two-year prison sentence for burglary, and starting in 1966 he had three stays at the Wichita Falls State Hospital. In 1967 a Comanche County jury found him not guilty by reason of insanity for a burglary charge.

But two years later he went back to prison, this time for armed robbery and jail breaking.

He was released in December 1982, seven months before his bloody crime spree across the Lone Star State.

Toward the end of his life, Martinez became hard of hearing and had difficulty communicating with his attorney in person. Six months before his death, Martinez detailed his health ailments, including heart problems, in a letter to his lawyer.

"He just had such a long, very sad history of mental illness that the system was never able to handle," Williams said.

"I am glad that he was able to die a natural death and not be executed."

It was during a routine 11 a.m. security check on Wednesday at the Polunsky Unit in Livingston that guards found Martinez unresponsive in his cell. He was taken to the infirmary, where he was pronounced dead, according to a TDCJ spokesman.

Respected death penalty lawyer Patrick McCann, who represented Martinez earlier in the appeals process, laughed upon hearing of his former client's death.

"He won then," he said.
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LEVALLOIS-PERRET, France - A man rammed his car into a group of soldiers near Paris, injuring six, and then was cornered by police in a highway manhunt - the latest in what's become a disturbingly familiar pattern of attacks targeting French security forces.

It's unclear what motivated the driver, who was hospitalized with bullet wounds after the calculated Wednesday morning ambush and an hours-long police chase. Authorities said he accelerated his BMW into a cluster of soldiers in what prosecutors are investigating as a potential terrorist attack.

Grateful president

President Emmanuel Macron went to Twitter to express his "congratulations to the forces of order that apprehended the perpetrator of the attack," and also to urge continued vigilance across the country.

Macron's government painted the incident in the suburb of Levallois-Perret as proof of the need to approve a new security law critics contend infringes on liberties and would put France in a permanent state of emergency.

Wednesday's attack caused no deaths and hurt no civilians, but set nerves on edge: It was the seventh attempted attack on security forces guarding France this year. Others have targeted prominent sites like the Eiffel Tower; Wednesday's attack hit the leafy, relatively affluent suburb of Levallois-Perret that is home to France's main intelligence service, the DGSI, and its counterterrorism service.

"We know it was a deliberate act," Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said.

Defense Minister Florence Parly called it a reminder extra security measures imposed in recent years are "more necessary than ever."

The suspect was seen waiting in a black BMW in a cul-de-sac near the Levallois city hall and a building used as a staging point for soldiers in France's operation to protect prominent sites, according to two police officials, who weren't authorized to be named.

A group of soldiers emerged from the building to board vehicles for a new shift when the car sped up and rammed into them, its force hurling the soldiers against their van, one of the officials said. Collomb said the car first approached slowly then sped up about 5 yards from its target.

Suspect arrested

A resident described hearing a scream of pain, then soldiers chasing the fleeing car.

Authorities checked video surveillance of the area and police fanned out and stopped numerous cars as they searched for the attacker.

Then, on the A16 highway near the English Channel port of Calais, police stopped what Prime Minister Edouard Philippe called the "principal suspect."

Police officers opened fire during the arrest to subdue the man, and the suspect was injured along with an officer hit by a stray police bullet, a judicial official said. The suspect was hospitalized, the official said, but his condition wasn't immediately clear. Authorities have not identified the suspect.
JOHANNESBURG - Up to 50 migrants from Somalia and Ethiopia were "deliberately drowned" when a smuggler forced them into the sea off Yemen's coast, the U.N. migration agency said Wednesday, calling the drownings "shocking and inhumane."

International Organization for Migration staffers found the shallow graves of 29 of the migrants on a beach in Shabwa, the agency's statement said.

At least 22 migrants remained missing, the IOM said. The passengers' average age was around 16, the agency said.

The waters between the Horn of Africa and Yemen have been a popular migration route despite Yemen's ongoing conflict.

The smuggler forced more than 120 migrants into the sea Wednesday morning as they approached Yemen's coast, the IOM statement said.

"The survivors told our colleagues on the beach that the smuggler pushed them to the sea when he saw some 'authority types' near the coast," said Laurent de Boeck, the IOM's chief of mission in Yemen. "They also told us that the smuggler has already returned to Somalia to continue his business and pick up more migrants to bring to Yemen on the same route."

IOM staffers provided aid for 27 surviving migrants who remained on the beach, while other migrants left.

The IOM says about 55,000 migrants have left Horn of Africa nations for Yemen since January, with most from Somalia and Ethiopia. A third of them are estimated to be women.
The State Property Fund of Ukraine (SPF) has postponed the sale of blocking stakes in PJSC DTEK Dniproenergo and DTEK Dniprooblenergo from August 17 to August 31 because of the delay in the license of Kyiv International Stock Exchange, as it was planned to hold the auction on it, the press service of the agency has reported.

The auction will be held on the PFTS platform on August 31.

As reported, DTEK has not decided yet whether to participate in SPF auctions on the sale of shares in power companies.
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Rapid, near-unabated development is eating away at what remains of the Houston area's freshwater wetlands, habitat crucial to maintaining a healthy Galveston Bay watershed, leaders of two nonprofit agencies said Wednesday as part of a "report card" on the bay's health.

The loss of freshwater wetlands was one of the biggest takeaways of the report released Wednesday, the third year the bay has been graded by the environmental advocacy group Galveston Bay Foundation and the Houston Advanced Research Center, a nonpartisan research group.

The groups graded the overall health of the Galveston Bay watershed - including not only the bay, but the multitude of bayous, creeks and rivers that drain into it in eight counties surrounding Houston - as a "C," or "adequate for now."

The grade, according to the report, means that while the bay is healthy in some areas, such as recreational use and nutrient levels in the water, it still faces "monumental issues."

The report cites habitat loss, a large oil spill near Galveston last year and sea levels that have risen almost 2 feet since records first were kept in the early 20th Century as some of the threats keeping the bay from receiving a higher grade.

"We're trying to raise awareness for the bay," said Bob Stokes, president of the Galveston Bay Foundation. "There are likely things we can all do to improve the health of Galveston Bay."

The report card comes as state and federal funding for environmental projects is expected to drop significantly, Stokes said. The Trump administration has proposed not allocating any money for the Galveston Bay Estuary Program, and state funding has been cut routinely over the last several years.

More Information Grading the bay The 2017 Galveston Bay Report Card has six categories on which the health of the bay is graded. Human health risks: C Water quality: A Wildlife: C Habitat: D Coastal change: C Pollution events and sources: C See More Collapse

Cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration also have slowed the federal agency's ability to complete wetland surveys and surveys of oyster reefs, leading to incomplete information when it comes to grading the watershed.

Stokes said he expects that by the time budget negotiations finish in Washington, there will be some federal funding for the estuary program.

The report covers six categories. Five of those categories received a grade of C or lower: human health risks, wildlife, habitat, coastal change and pollution. Water quality received an "A" grade.

Other key takeaways from the 2017 report, said Lisa Gonzalez, president and CEO of the Houston Advanced Research Center, include the rise in sea levels. Gonzalez and Stokes pointed to climate change and the Houston region's subsidence as reasons that sea level poses a greater threat to coastal communities.

Gonzalez said the frequency of coastal flooding also was concerning.

"That's something that we've been watching," she said.

Pollution, also, was a concern. Stokes and Gonzalez pointed to an 88,000-gallon oil spillnear Battleship Texas in September 2016 that polluted the bay. The report encourages citizens to put pressure on local officials to "prioritize bay cleanup."

Invasive species also have wreaked havoc on the local ecosystem. Gonzalez pointed to armored catfish that burrow into and erode the banks of bayous; tallow trees that drop leaves that stop the growth of other plants around it; and water hyacinth and giant salvinia that choke waterways and lakes, ruining the natural habitat.

The report encourages people to volunteer to restore habitat or conserve their land.

Dioxins and other pollutants near the San Jacinto River's confluence with the bay also have made fishing and crabbing there dangerous. Blue crabs - a local commercial fishery - face contamination dangers, affecting the restaurant industry in addition to people's daily sustenance.

This year's report card is the last one that was part of the program's original $720,000 grant from the Houston Endowment. Gonzalez said she was talking to the foundation for the next round of funding, which likely will be announced in February.
An editorial on this page earlier this week mentioned a visit that a bandaged Mark White made to the editorial board in 2015. The former Texas governor had just had minor surgery to remove skin cancer on his ear and nose. When he arrived, he apologized that he might be a little woozy from pain medication.

What was so pressing that White chose to attend a meeting rather than spend the morning recuperating? White was concerned about our state's benign neglect of its most iconic sites, not only the San Jacinto battleground, but Gonzales, Goliad and Washington-on-the-Brazos.

Although the Texas General Land Office is currently in the process of working with the private sector to develop a long-term strategic plan for the Alamo, these other historic sites are worthy of maintenance, repair and reimagining, too.

Remember while the Texians lost the Battle of the Alamo, they won the battle of San Jacinto. The Battle of the Alamo lasted only 13 days, while the Declaration of Independence written and signed at Washington-on- the-Brazos is the bedrock of our statehood today.

These historic places need additional resources to more profoundly convey the momentous events that happened there. Finally, although the Texas Historical Commission has generated Texas Independence Trail maps and educational materials, more could be done to weave the sites together into one cohesive experience.

Tragically, White, 77, died of a heart attack on Saturday before seeing his vision realized. But Gov. Greg Abbott should honor White's memory by creating the Mark White Legacy Committee. The governor could gather knowledgeable and influential history lovers around the state and direct them to come up with a plan to give all our state's major historic sites the attention that White advocated for and that they deserve.

The committee's first step would be to cut through bureaucratic red tape and determine which agency should have primary responsibility for maintenance and development of all the major sites on the Texas Independence Trail. Now, the Texas Parks and Wildlife and the historical commission sometimes have oversight of different aspects of the same site.

Our state's history is incomparable, and the only way to understand its war for independence is to see it for yourself. Visitors need to stand where Col. James Fannin surrendered, along with some 300 of his men. They need to go see the original "Come and Take It" cannon on display at the Gonzales Memorial Museum along with a replica of the famous flag. They need to take a close look at the sabers, swords, bayonets and other weapons used by both sides in the Battle of San Jacinto housed now at its museum, commemorating the spot where the Texas militia under Sam Houston thoroughly routed the Mexican forces.

White was also right in the middle of the creation of a museum at the San Felipe de Austin State Historic Site, the headquarters of Stephen F. Austin's colony, and of an effort to save another treasured Texas icon: the USS Texas.

Heritage tourism not only helps pass on the Texas values of respect for freedom and democracy to the next generation, preservation brings jobs to communities. According to Preservation Texas, arts and culture tourists stay longer, bring more people and spend more than the average tourist.

"I don't know what the budget would look like-but we need to do it right," White told us two years ago. Abbott can make a right start by appointing a blue-ribbon committee bearing White's name, and charging it with the task of making our past more accessible and alluring to young and old visitors.
The long view

Regarding Trump warns North Korea it could face 'fire and fury' (Page A1, Wednesday), perhaps the latest set of threats between Kim Jong-Un and President Trump will finally break the impasse of what is most likely the world's most dangerous regimes, but need for caution remains, if only for a single, simple reason. China sent more than a million men to stop MacArthur's forces in 1950 because they viewed a reunified, pro-U.S. Korea as unacceptable. Estimates are that anywhere from 175,000 to a half million Communist Chinese died in Korea between 1950 and 1953. (About 36,000 Americans died during the same period there.) China paid for the North's independence handsomely.

While it is good news that Beijing voted with the rest of the Security Council on the latest round of sanctions, we should not see that as some sort of green light for a preemptive strike on North Korea. We must remind ourselves that China would likely not take U.S. action against its neighbor lying down. So while I fret about Kim's nuclear program, I am far more concerned about a U.S. intervention that might trigger Chinese response.

Yes, we should be worried about the massive bombardment Kim's armies can hurl against Seoul, but we should also remember that China might choose to protect the North if U.S. forces move against the North Korean nuclear arsenal. The North's is a fledgling nuclear force. China has a fairly mature one, capable of laying waste to hundreds of targets across the United States. I pray that the president's generals have no desire to commence hostilities on the Korean peninsula as we may well find our nation at war with China, with her mobile ICBMs and nuclear missile subs, as well.

Chris Bronk, Houston
Neither President Donald Trump's "Fire and Fury" nor Kim Jong-Un's most recent threat about Guam provide a path to sensibly resolve the growing North Korea nuclear crisis. On the other hand, South Korea's new President, Moon Jae-in, has made overtures to its neighbor to hold direct military talks. While these efforts may appear to run counter to the Trump administration's hard line, they create a much-needed opportunity to change the course of our dealings with Kim Jong-Un.

His successful launch of two Hwasong-14 missiles in July set a new bar for engagement with the world and resulted in new, tougher United Nations' sanctions. Now armed with a verified delivery system for nuclear attack, North Korea rightfully commands our imminent attention.

The hermetically enclosed country and its brutal tactics make intelligence collection about Kim Jong-Un's plans and interactions problematic. His ruthless and seemingly erratic psychological profile make reliance on deterrence deeply unsettling. While efforts like "Left of launch," missile shield development and other alternative paths should be undertaken, they cannot be our only line of action. It is at this moment that we need to resurrect the six-party talks buoyed by robust sanctions passed by the United Nations' Security Council.

The first iteration of six-party talks among North Korea, China, Russia, South Korea, Japan and the United States took place from 2003 to 2007 and eventually led to a nuclear shutdown and path toward diplomatic normalization. Although Pyongyang's nuclear progress slowed, it all fell apart in 2009 when North Korea conducted another nuclear test.

While claiming it would never relinquish its nuclear program, Pyongyang seemingly longs for recognition from the international community. Moreover, it clearly and desperately needs financial aid and resumption of trade to ensure continuity of the regime, best secured by the lifting of international sanctions and an easing of tensions with its potential economic partners. Over the long run, Pyongyang would like to receive long-standing security guarantees through the normalization of diplomatic relations with the U.S. and Japan as well as the demilitarization of the Korean Peninsula.

Japan will likely be willing to join in because it feels the most pressing existential threat from Pyongyang. China wants to ensure that the regime in Pyongyang does not collapse, causing a refugee crisis and ceding a strategic territorial buffer. Similar to China, Russia enjoys a steady flow of cheap labor and advantageous trade from North Korea, while helping Pyongyang causes sufficient turmoil in the international order. For both the Russians and Chinese, these nuclear tests provide a welcome preoccupation of American attention away from many other pressing international affairs. But multilateral efforts without China and Russia will not carry a sufficient incentive to compel compliance. A diplomatic path is probably the only way we can draw these parties in.

Moon's current proposal for bilateral talks with Kim is an effort to improve communications and reduce the risk of military clashes along the 38th parallel. His overture is a first step that could create conditions to prompt China to float a resumption of talks. Progress to bring all the parties together is expected to be slow, but there are several areas that could slowly help build trust.

In addition to all parties negotiating a lessening of economic sanctions and defusing military tension, one area where Japan holds leverage to engage both North and South Korea would be a willingness to discuss mutual grievances associated with its historical occupation of Korea. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's strongman bona fides would make him a legitimate interlocutor. For its part, Japan would like to have a full inquiry into North Korean abductions of its citizens from the '70s and '80s and see all of its abducted citizens returned.

Detractors are right to remind us that North Korea never really abandoned its program during the previous six-party talks; but there is no other viable path than to start talking with the principal parties. And we have learned from previous errors - North Korea is an unreliable negotiating partner and it will not easily yield even to the most crippling pressure. Despite the past, there is a pressing need to start a dialogue with hopes of molding it more effectively going forward. Even while negotiating, we must remain skeptical and verify that North Korea is indeed holding its end of the bargain.

The end goal is a treaty with Kim Jong-Un that includes the incremental denuclearization (or at a minimum a cessation on further development of its program) based on a robust verification protocol - in exchange for diplomatic and economic reintegration with the world. The alternative is military action.

Devine is a former CIA chief of worldwide operations, president of The Arkin Group, a business intelligence firm, and author of "Good Hunting." Yamamoto is a Japanese policy analyst and author of "Taken! North Korea's Criminal Abduction of Citizens of Other Countries."
I was talking the other day to a wise executive friend, and he recalled for me something his favorite boss liked to say: When people rise to the top of an organization and get power, they usually do one of two things: "They either swell, or they grow."

Donald Trump has swollen.

Every character flaw he had before taking office - from his serial lying to his intellectual laziness to his loyalty just to himself and to his needs - has grown only larger and more toxic as he has been president. He seems not to have grown a whit in the job. He has surprised only on the downside - never once challenging his own base with new thinking or appearing to be remotely interested in being president of all the people, not just his base.

What strikes me most about Trump, though, is how easily he still could become more popular - fast - if he just behaved like a normal leader for a month: if he reached out to Democrats on health care, taxes or infrastructure; stopped insulting every newsperson who writes critically about him; stopped lying; stopped tweeting inanities; and actually apologized for some of his most egregious actions and asked for forgiveness. Americans are a forgiving people.

With the Dow at 22,000 and unemployment at 4.3 percent, this guy could actually become more popular outside his base without much effort. That's scary. But it would require Trump doing something he has shown no ability or willingness to do - to grow in office, not just to swell.

Still, Democrats would be wise not to count on Trump swelling forever or on Robert Mueller taking him down. Whatever happens, Democrats need to win the argument with at least some Trump/GOP voters. Democrats have many ways to counter any new and improved Trump. I'd start by acknowledging a simple fact: Some things are true even if Donald Trump believes them!

That is, Trump's core base of support - those people who he says would stick by him even if he shot someone "in the middle of Fifth Avenue" - are people who have heard and appreciated all his nativist dog whistles: from his slur that Barack Obama was not born in America to his focus on voter suppression to his restricting transgender people in the military to his reversing affirmative action and imposing immigration restrictions. That white nationalist constituency is beyond the reach - for good reason - of any Democratic candidate.

But Trump did not win, and could not win again, with that group alone. His genius was expanding beyond that nativist core with just enough votes in the right places to get him over the top - by pushing other buttons. These were things that many conservative and centrist voters believe in their guts, even if they don't articulate them.

Trump connects with these gut issues and takes them in a destructive direction. Democrats need to connect with them and to take them in a constructive direction.

What issues? Here's my list:

- We can't take in every immigrant who wants to come here; we need, metaphorically speaking, a high wall that assures Americans we can control our border with a big gate that lets as many people in legally as we can effectively absorb as citizens.

- The Muslim world does have a problem with pluralism - gender, religious and intellectual - and suggesting that terrorism has nothing to do with that fact is naive; countering violent extremism means constructively engaging with Muslim leaders on this issue.

- Americans want a president focused on growing the economic pie, not just redistributing it. We do have a trade problem with China, which has reformed and closed instead of reformed and opened. We have an even bigger problem with automation wiping out middle-skilled work, and we need to generate more blue-collar jobs to anchor communities.

- Political correctness on college campuses has run ridiculously riot. Americans want leaders to be comfortable expressing patriotism and love of country when globalization is erasing national identities. America is not perfect, but it is, more often than not, a force for good in the world.

When you connect with voters in their guts, they feel respected, and when they feel respected, they will listen to anything - including big issues that are true even if Democrats believe them. Such as the fact that a majority of Americans like Obamacare and want to see it built to last, and a majority of Americans do not like the way Trump is despoiling the environment and bringing back coal.

Indeed, the biggest wind power states in America - Texas, Iowa, Kansas, South Dakota, Oklahoma and North Dakota - are all red states.

But to be heard, they need candidates who can pass a gut check with the more moderate Trump/GOP voters. Just 10 percent of Trump voters would suffice. Trump's core base is solid, but he's clearly losing the soft support around his core. Democrats can grow into the soft support - as long as they're smart and Trump continues to just swell.

Friedman is a New York Times columnist.
lier this week, multinational professional services firm Deloitte announced the launch of its first Future of Work Center of Excellence (CoE), a $27.6 million, first-of-its-kind platform making its global debut in the heart of Singapore.Deloittes new center is pegged to anticipate market disruptions, address the skills mismatch challenge, and identify future job requirements by developing a suite of data analytics, automation tools, and workforce-planning cloud models.The CoE is a joint effort between Deloitte and SkillsFuture  along with a number other Smart Nation initiatives  and supported by the Economic Development Board (EDB).Singapore has critical needs for new learning models, for educational institutions to catch up with new technologies, and for the workforce to embrace new skills and new careers, says Philip Yuen, CEO, Deloitte Southeast Asia and Singapore. The flagship Future of Work CoE will navigate through these challenges and develop solutions in the areas of workforce planning, talent acquisition, and automation tools.Just as importantly, it will position Singapore as a global hub, and Deloitte as a global leader, in addressing the opportunities and challenges related to the future of work, he said.Over the next three years, the CoE will train and employ Singaporean workers in areas such as data science, UX, HR analytic, actuarial science, and natural language processing, among others.Skills shortages are a constant challenge across our workforce in almost every industry and geography, explains Indranil Roy, Future of Work lead, Deloitte Southeast Asia. To adapt to the future of work, businesses will need people with skills that include digital know-how, management capability, creativity, entrepreneurship, and complex problem solving. This, in turn, will drive job creation and economic growth for countries.With the Singaporean CoE as its flagship center, Deloitte plans to launch multiple centers in the US, UK, and Canada over the next few years.
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) has achieved declaration of a deal between public joint-stock company Azot and public joint-stock company Cherkasyoblenergo invalid. According to this deal, damage of over UAH 57 million was caused to the interests of the state in the person of Energomarket state-owned enterprise.

"Ukraine's higher business court on August 3, 2017 upheld the claim of the NABU in full amount, leaving unchanged the rulings of courts of lower instances," the press service of the NABU said on Wednesday.

The bureau recalled that the contract between Azot and Cherkasyoblenergo was signed in April 2016. It envisaged the setoff of identical counterclaims between the companies, which is not in line with the law on electricity and the rules of using electricity. Azot in December 2015 and January 2016 avoided paying for electricity consumed.

The NABU launched investigation into the crime in summer 2016.

The higher business court declared the deal invalid under Articles 203, 215 and 228 of the Civil Code of Ukraine.

"Azot is to send UAH 57 million to the special regime current account of Cherkasyoblenergo. When the funds are sent, the wholesale electricity market rules will apply to them," the NABU said.

As reported, the state in the person of the State Property Fund holds 46% of shares in Cherkasyoblenergo, UkrESCO holds 25% of shares and Svarog Asset Management of Konstantin Grigorishin  24%.

Azot (Cherkasy) is part of Ostchem Group of Dmytro Firtash.
Coming from a broken home, an only child, subjected to abandonment, rejection and lack of nurturing, I left school at 16 with few qualifications and very little going for me. I had no role models, no network and no plan. But! I did have a curious mind, a vivid imagination and a wicked sense of mischief and it seemed opportunity and luck were always by my side.

Carolyn pictured in Leeds. Photographed by Amelia Troubridge as part of Innovate UK's #infocus women in innovation campaign, an initiative to create diverse models for women in STEM.

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I fell onto the bottom rung of the technology ladder and painstakingly dragged myself up, inch by inch. After completing a part-time degree in IT and Business, I then picked up an MBA with distinction. I found my love of learning, on my terms. The formative years of my career were always in male teams, men who were generally paid more than I to do the same job. It was from these men that I learned some of my biggest lessons: to take a shot at anything I wanted, irrespective of whether I was qualified to do it; to shamelessly talk about my achievements; and to sometimes use so-called 'macho' behaviour = to get things done. I earned their respect because I could hold my own in a technical discussion and life was OK. All my money was spent on my biggest passion - travel - and I've always been a ferocious champion of women and a role model for women in technology. The top of the corporate ladder was pretty cool. I led technology teams for ITV, BBC, Sony Music and easyJet and these jobs afforded me lots of international travel. One of those trips changed my life. In 2008, after a particularly boring solo stay in LA, with no opportunity to get out and see the city, I decided to put my technology skills, my passion for travel and my drive to support other women together to create a social platform to connect women business travellers. Maiden Voyage was born and I waved goodbye to the security and status of corporate life.

With opportunity and luck by my side, the press loved it and Maiden Voyage quickly became recognised as an innovative start-up. Within one year it had won the Business Travel Show Innovation Awards beating big brand names such American Express and Carlson Wagonlit. Of course it hasn't been easy: I've run out of money, had a serious meltdown, a crisis of confidence, and danced over and over again with my familiar friend 'rejection', but I wouldn't have it any other way. Not a day goes by when somebody doesn't tell me how much they appreciate the difference I'm making for other women. Likewise, the most amazing women have stepped into my circle and I'm now blessed with an enviable black book of awesome women mentors, sponsors and role-models.

Last year I entered the infocus Women in Innovation Awards. I won't lie, the process was arduous, the detail required to enter was epic and the interviews were ferocious! They really put me through my paces, and there was no question about this being 'easy, free money'! Winning the business support package however has brought with it the most amazing opportunities, like being featured in the Infocus exhibition at the Getty Gallery alongside women who inspire me to tears; women who are working on cures for cancer, space systems or just really innovative ways to challenge long-established norms. I think it was super innovative of the UK government to collaborate with one of the world's top photographers Amelia Troubridge. Amelia's energy is breath-taking, really very special. In that day she did more to unshackle and liberate me from the old macho habits that my male corporate colleagues had taught me than all those years where I'd tried, unsuccessfully, to be a 'honorary man'. I suddenly had permission to not just be an innovator but to be a woman innovator and proud, and that inspires me every day to steer other women away from the mistakes I've made throughout my career and entrepreneurial journey, to get them to their desired results faster and fearlessly.

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To see the rest of the #infocus women in innovation photography series, shot by Amelia Troubridge in partnership with Innovate UK and Getty Images, visit: http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/collaboration/boards/DPwzhXTL606QygeKCaWd0g
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Peter Nicholls / Reuters

As Nick Timothy, a key architect of the Conservatives' dreadful General Election campaign, puts his head above the parapet yet again, my mind travels back just over a year to the day when Theresa May, Timothy's former boss, stood outside Downing Street and told us that her government would "be driven not by the interests of the privileged few, but by yours [ordinary, working people]".

This brand of conservatism is widely attributed to Timothy and was branded 'Erdington Conservatism' after the constituency he is from and the one I represent. While the Tories can repeat platitudes about appealing to working people and representing the most vulnerable in our society, the opposite is virtually always the case. We will never let the Conservative Party get away with any rebrand which paints themselves as the party of the working class when wages continue to be squeezed, living standards continue to fall and the rich receive further tax cuts.

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The people of Erdington, one of Britain's poorest constituencies, have paid a heavy price for the failure of the Tories. Falling living standards and stagnant wages, cuts hitting disabled people hardest, 1,500 people in Erdington alone punished by the Bedroom Tax and a growing crisis in health and social care.

In their city, Birmingham City Council has seen cuts to its budget of 700million, the highest in local government history. This has meant 26 Children's Centres now facing closure across the city. Schools are facing such extreme budget pressures that they are laying off teaching staff and cutting time off the school day to save money. Timothy was a driving force in Theresa May's team when she was Home Secretary and she approved cutting 20,000 police officers across the country, including over 1,700 in the West Midlands. All the while, not once did Erdington Conservatism stick up for the people of Erdington. Instead, they simply offered slavish support to their government.

We were told repeatedly prior to the election that this new Conservatism would lead to a Tory victory in Erdington as one of Theresa May's gains on her way to a landslide victory across the country. They even talked up their high prospects of victory as a 'Portillo moment'. How wrong they were. We increased Labour's majority in Erdington from 5,000 to over 7,200 in June's election and this was reflected elsewhere as the Party enjoyed its biggest vote share increase since 1945.

Put simply, the Tories failed. The country has had enough of the longest squeeze in living standards in recent memory, rising prices but falling wages and the progressive degrading of the public realm. While Nick Timothy planned for Theresa May to have a 'strong and stable' general election and pass through Brexit without the 'saboteurs', constituents on the doorstep told a different story.

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We were told time and time again that the real issues people care about were ongoing cuts to the police service, squeezed school budgets and the chronic under-funding of the NHS. The country saw through the Tories' spin and were inspired by the radical hope and change offered by the Labour Party.

And locally, my constituents saw through the fraudulent prospectus of the Erdington Conservatives. They thought that the odd bit of litter picking while trying to paint themselves as the 'party of the working class' would mean they could ride the crest of their wave into government. Well, to paraphrase the immortal words of Ricky Tomlinson: party of the working class? My arse.

It now turns out that Nick Timothy has no shame at all. After advising the Prime Minister to repeatedly claim she would support the 'just about managing', he joins his campaign mate Sir Lynton Crosby in being handsomely rewarded for abject failure, far more than 'just about managing'. While Crosby was paid 85,000 per day for the disastrous campaign, Timothy has since left government and fallen into not one, but two jobs, writing for The Sun and the Daily Telegraph. If any ordinary person had performed as poorly in their job as these two did, they would not expect such extraordinary rewards.

And while he enjoys the comfort his two new jobs will bring him, he leaves behind the very people of Erdington he once pretended to champion.
I have fallen victim to social media envy on more than one occasion. There, I said it, I'm a bitter, twisted, envying billy no mates. I didn't used to be, there was a time when I had a large circle of friends and my home was a buzzing social hub. Then I moved away from London at a time my son was of an age that I wasn't going to make any new friends through him.

If you remember the American sitcom 'Cheers', from the 80's and 90's, you'll know what I mean when I say I do have a place to go 'where everyone knows your name'. But it just ain't the same anymore. My home isn't filled with children running about causing chaos while I sip on a...well....chug a pint of beer with me mates.

So this is when the social media envy kicked in. Especially now during holiday and wedding season. All the photos of people sharing those special moments, surrounded by friends and family; people living 'normal' lives, doing 'normal' things. None of which I ever do. But then it struck me, having friends means being invited to 'do' things that cost money, lots of money.

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These days hen and stag nights are no longer 'nights', but short breaks. Hens boating along the river in Cambridge, stags flying off to Prague for a long weekend of drinking cheap beer; Ayia Napa, Ibiza, and Amsterdam, to name but a few popular destinations. Then there's the cost of being a wedding guest; new outfit, pressie, travel etc... and heaven forbid you're asked to be a bridesmaid and you have to actually work with bridezilla for your supper. If you're chief bridesmaid you'll probably be asked to be a Godparent as well, more expense, and the pressure of not forgetting that birthday every year, and Christmas presents. I dated a guy once who was so lovely that he was Godparent to more children than you could imagine; I did not feel envy when I saw how many presents he had to buy and wrap at Christmas.

I have a very tight budget, not much in the way of money for 'extras', so on reflection I don't think I'd like to go for a meal with a bunch of friends. I can picture the scenario, I order the cheapest item on the menu and pretend I'm on a health kick as I 'enjoy' my iced tap water. The bill arrives, and the prosecco drinking girlies, who have no idea what it's like to be poor, decide it would be easier for everyone if the bill is split between us. To be honest, if I did have friends they wouldn't be like that, but you know what I'm getting at.

When Facebook decides to present you with a little slideshow of your year/month/season with your buddies, there are only ever photos of me, on my own. Instead of feeling sorry for myself I need to remember friendship comes at a price. At Christmas I buy for four people, my son, my boss, my colleague, and the six year old son of a friend. Most of them get something from the charity shop; a 1 hardback book in excellent, clean condition; a nice shiny, unchipped piggy bank; a bracelet, that to be honest could have done with a wee wash in soapy water to get rid of that musty, rusty smell that accompanies cheap old jewellery, and a tie that I didn't notice was a bit wide and more suited to the 70's. There was even enough money to buy a string of advent pockets that I decided to get and keep for my non-existent grandchildren.

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After the handshakes comes the hard work. When the Government signed up to an ambitious World Health Organization target on hepatitis C virus (HCV), it was welcome news for thousands of patients, doctors and loved ones living with or affected by this life-changing infection. But for the more than 200,000 people in the UK estimated to be living with HCV, it was far from the end of the story.

Even with the best will in the world and all the necessary finances, reducing numbers living with the infection by 90% and numbers dying from it by 65% before 2030 would be a tall order. Britain is only one partner in this fight, of course, but given the current economic environment in the health service, it seems unlikely that we will successfully contribute to meeting those targets. Only with a shift in approach to prevention and treatment will we see real change.

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Reduction in numbers living with HCV broadly requires two activities: treatment of patients already infected and prevention measures to interrupt transmission. With regard to the latter, there is much that can be done, but that is not currently happening. The main risk factors are blood transfusion before the onset of donor screening (1991 in the UK), intravenous drug use, and medical procedures where needles and syringes are reused. HCV is therefore commonest amongst people who inject (or have injected) drugs and people who have moved to the UK from high prevalence countries.

Opiate substitution therapy and needle exchange programmes are highly effective at aiding prevention and now widely available in the community. Yet to date, the prison service has failed to acknowledge that drug use occurs in our jails and has not allowed needle exchanges to be established. The link between drug use and crime results in a high prevalence of HCV infection amongst the prison population.

Likewise, we could do more in terms of treatment. There is no vaccine to prevent someone getting HCV, a liver infection acquired through blood-to-blood transmission which may result in cirrhosis, liver failure or liver cancer, but there are drugs that cure it in more than nine out of ten patients. The majority can take the drugs without any side effects or complications.

In 2015 NHS England set up 22 networks around the country to deliver treatment, initially prioritising those patients with the most advanced stages of disease. The scheme was a resounding success and saw virtually every UK patient with cirrhosis be treated. However, for financial reasons, the number of courses of HCV treatment was limited to 10,000 per year, meaning that many patients with the infection continue to wait for treatment.

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Mark Brunning, a patient who has successfully completed a course of antiviral medicine and is now living free of hepatitis C, recalls what this waiting period was like:

"Waiting for treatment was a horrible experience for me. I had the virus for around 25 years and was diagnosed about 22 years ago so it's been a long time waiting for a viable treatment. There were years of walking a tightrope between hope for a cure and anxiety over the damage being caused as I waited."

Added to this, later this year we will encounter a new challenge with HCV treatment networks. Some areas will run out of patients to treat. HCV rarely causes symptoms until the final stages of liver failure or cancer so diagnosis relies on recognition of potential risk factors and a simple blood test. Yet public awareness about HCV infection is extremely low, with fewer than 40% informed that they have it. It is vital to mobilise public health initiatives to increase the rate of diagnosis and enhance the opportunity for treatment at an earlier stage.

Recovered patient David Rowlands says that raising awareness is key to addressing this: "Previously I had a poor experience of testing and felt stigmatised and embarrassed within the clinic setting. Testing for hepatitis C should empower and give people an opportunity to get their health back on track. Moving forward the global community needs to come together to raise awareness & influence change. We need to break down the stigma around hepatitis C as we have seen in the HIV community and increase regular testing, treatment and care in non-clinical settings to reach high-risk populations."

The obvious places to initiate HCV testing are in community drug and alcohol clinics and in prisons, yet a bureaucratic 'dog's dinner' acts as a barrier to this happening, resulting in low rates of HCV testing. Clinics are commissioned through cash-strapped local authorities while commissioning tenders rarely require HCV infection testing and Public Health England has no authority to insist it takes place. Meanwhile, prisons healthcare is currently introducing a system of opt-out testing for HCV infection at the time of admission, but data from pilot studies suggest uptake is disappointingly low, while treatment for HCV-infected patients in prison is not comprehensively available.

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I had pretty much deduced that I was going to be told I had cancer that day. I just knew.

It didn't make hearing the word any easier. The feeling of that moment was shockingly surreal - nothing dramatic, just numbing and totally life changing. I could still take in what the consultant was saying and follow the conversation, until she said chemotherapy.

That was when I had to interject to clarify my worst thoughts, that this was actually really serious! My consultant brushed this off with casual, collected prowess - she made it sound so normal and was totally confident that they could get rid of the cancer and operate on me within six months.

I'm not ashamed to say that by this point everything had started going fuzzy, I felt sick and feared an embarrassing situation was approaching. I asked to lie down, but it didn't help - it merely bought me enough time to ask for a cardboard bowl just in time to catch the contents of my stomach. My consultant still cool as a cucumber thought it best to take a break and sent me to have a mammogram before discussing my treatment any further.

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Having a mammogram is painless: stand upright with your baps out and be sandwiched between vice-like plates for some in-depth photos of your breasts - easy - just not so much when you're in shock. It was when in my final 'mammo-pose' when I felt the undeniable urge and need to sit down; next thing I know I'm horizontal, back to the floor and awaking from my first ever faint! In true British style, my first thought was to apologise to the nurse who had caught me and saved me from a swift bang to the head: "they just told me I have cancer, I'm sorry to put you out like this - I've never fainted before". It was then that I saw my first 'cancer face' - the expression of shock, sadness and speechlessness all rolled into one.

Before that day I'd only been in hospital to have my children - I'd never been 'ill', so this was a pretty eventful afternoon for me; it just didn't end with the endorphins having a new baby to show off brings. To say it didn't go as expected is an understatement; what I thought would be confirmation of a little bit of cancer that would require a quickie operation and a few days off work had quickly snowballed into something that just doesn't happen to you. I can't have cancer! I have two children, I'm really enjoying being back at work - I have plans, I don't have time for this! None of that matters now, it's all been stripped back and it's simple - I must get well and rid my body of this disease.

From that afternoon I gained:

1 x 1.5cm cancerous tumour

1 x CT scan appointment to check my body for any other cancer

1 x MRI appointment for my breasts to examined to grade my cancer

1 x BRACA2 gene testing appointment to assess if this was something I needed to protect myself from in the future

1 x Assisted conception appointment to discuss freezing my eggs IF I ever wanted more children

1 x Oncology appointment to discuss my upcoming chemotherapy

1 x Consultant appointment for half way through my treatment to discuss surgery options

1 x Key worker

1 x Bag filled with a lot of leaflets and information on cancer, hair loss, telling children and life with cancer

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And equally I lost or stood to lose:

1 x summer holiday - to be cancelled immediately due to my urgent need for treatment

1 x realistic chance of conceiving a potential 3rd child

1 x head of hair

1 x successful return to work

1 x healthy immune system

1 x mid thirties of my choice

1 x freedom to make plans for the foreseeable future

1 x life with my family and friends (morbid I know, but it's the reality of the disease)
ICRC transports more than 120 tonnes of humanitarian aid to uncontrolled territories of Donetsk region

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has sent seven trucks with humanitarian aid weighing more than 120 tonnes to the territory of the Donetsk region, which is uncontrolled by Kyiv, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine has said.

"Yesterday, seven trucks from the International Committee of the Red Cross passed through the Novotroyitske checkpoint into the uncontrolled territory," the press service of the State Border Guard Service said on Thursday.

It is noted that vehicles transported goods for medical use and construction materials for the residents of the Donetsk region with a total weight of about 121 tonnes.
The Affordable Housing Trust owns this property at the corner of Cole Avenue and Maple Street and a parcel on Summer Street near North Hoosac Road. Habitat for Humanity wants to put one home on each lot, but some town officials are encouraging multi-family homes.

Williamstown Housing Trust Approves Habitat for Humanity Proposal



Affordable Housing Trustee Stan Parese discusses the purchase and sales agreement on two town-owned housing lots.

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.  The Affordable Housing Trust on Wednesday accepted a proposal to develop two town-owned building lots, but it remained open to further discussion about how many housing units could fit on one of them.

The trust voted, 7-0, to authorize a purchase-and-sales agreement with Northern Berkshire Habitat for Humanity, the only respondent to the request for proposal the trustees issued on lots it purchased on Summer Street and at the corner of Cole Avenue and Maple Street.

Officials from the North Adams-based non-profit, an affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International, have expressed a preference for putting one single-family home on each of the two lots, a preference they stated again at Wednesday's meeting on the third floor of Town Hall.

"Cole Avenue is an awful small lot," Habitat Board President Paul Austin said, referring to the .46-acre lot.

Habitat for Humanity board members also noted the slope at the property's west end and their parent organization's preference for homes that give homeowners yards. Austin said the group had explored "zero-lot-line" homes, a model that maximizes density, in the past and gotten negative feedback from the prospective homebuyer.

The chairwoman of the town's Planning Board addressed the Affordable Housing Trust on Wednesday to ask whether the trustees and Habitat would consider a "higher density" development on the Cole Avenue lot.

"Some of you are aware that the Planning Board over the last year has been looking at housing in Williamstown," Amy Jeschawitz said. "The initiative we're looking at is changing the current zoning to allow more multi-family housing by-right in town.

"We have targeted the area around Cole Avenue, around Williamstown Elementary School, that whole corridor. That is the most desirable place right now for new people moving to our community to live. It's walkable. It's close to the college. It's where people want to be."

Any proposals from the Planning Board likely would not go to town meeting until at least May 2018. But as an affordable housing project (the land was purchased with Community Preservation Act funds, and the homeowner would need to make at or less than 80 percent of the area median income to qualify), the development would qualify for development under the commonwealth's Chapter 40B provision. Under Chapter 40B, homes can be built that otherwise would not conform to local zoning bylaws.

Jeschawitz suggested that the Habitat project could be ahead of the curve -- meeting a high-density target eyed by her board before any changes are made to the zoning bylaw to allow similar multi-family housing in market-based developments.

The housing trust's RFP was agnostic on the subject of multi-family housing. On the subject of density, its preferences for projects are stated as "More on the site, the better while remaining sensitive to neighborhood."

If Wednesday's meeting was any indication, the neighborhood's sensibilities may run counter to the idea of multiple housing units on the site.

Maple Street resident Madeline Levy told the trustees she objected to the idea of multiple residences on the property and that she was speaking on behalf of at least one of her neighbors who could not attend the meeting.

"The trend has been away from having multi-family houses in the neighborhood," Levy said. That's what I'm in favor of. I think that lot should have one home on it."

Northern Berkshire Habitat for Humanity Board members Elisabeth Goodman and Keith Davis, both Williamstown residents, said they had spoken with residents in the Cole-Maple neighborhood who "expressed a preference for a single-family home."

Jeschawitz countered that the the Cole Avenue neighborhood is largely composed of homes that predate the town's zoning bylaws.

"If you look at the historical makeup of that neighborhood, you can see how that has expanded and grown through the decades," Jeschawitz said. "The lot you have at Cole and Maple Street is in a multi-family area. Directly across the street is a two-family house. Directly across from that is Church Corner [a 2011 affordable housing development] with eight units on a slightly larger lot size.

"If you compare it to lots in that neighborhood, most are ranging from .1 to .25 acres and some already have multi-family housing on them.  What I'm saying to you is, there is a higher use for that .46 acres than to put a single family home on it. You can fit a duplex or three or four units on there. I know it can be done. Habitat in Pittsfield has done duplexes in the past.

"We're not going to be making any more land in Williamstown. We have what we have right now. And from what we've found over the past year, that area of town is very desirable."

Goodman, the Habitat board member and an attorney, negotiated the purchase-and-sales agreement with trust board member and attorney Stanley Parese.

She suggested that the idea of increasing the number of homes on the Cole Avenue site should not hold up the board's decision on the Habitat proposal, which the AHT was considering for a second straight meeting.

"We responded to your RFP, and we're the only responder," Goodman said. "We can look at this issue, but I don't think this should hold up the agreement tonight. The proposal we have and what Northern Berkshire Habitat for Humanity usually does is single-family homes. If you proposed a certain number of units, we could have vetted it with our architect.

"We're willing to say we'll consider [higher density development] but not bind ourselves right now to a multi-family house."

The trustees' Wednesday vote to approve the purchase-and-sales agreement is not the end of the conversation. The two sides and the Department of Housing and Community Development will need to negotiate the final documents that will control the project, and, in accordance with the RFP, Habitat for Humanity will have to hold a community outreach session to get feedback from the neighborhood about the design of the projects.

Northern Berkshire Habitat for Humanity does plan to develop the Cole Avenue site first, and it hopes to have shovels in the ground as soon as April 1, 2018, Austin told the trustees on Wednesday.

In other business, the trust approved, 7-0, its 14th award under the DeMayo Mortgage Assistance Program. The $15,000 grant will go toward the down payment for the home of a family of four, first-time homebuyers who have been renting in town for seven years.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has announced in absentia suspicion "to the first deputy of the Income and Taxes Ministry of the People's Republic of DPR" for funding actions to violently change the constitutional system, as well as for financing terrorism.

Detectives of the SBU Directorate in Donetsk region established that the former official of the district fiscal service of Donetsk in late 2014 took the office of "the first deputy minister of income and taxes of the DPR." He was responsible for the collection of taxes in the "budget" of the so-called DPR, and redistributed the collected funds among the combat units for the purchase of military equipment, ammunition, and engineering equipment, the SBU's press center said on Wednesday.

The SBU said that, given the fact that the accomplice of terrorists was located on the territory of the Donetsk region temporarily uncontrolled by the Ukrainian authorities, he was suspected of being (in absentia) under Part 4 of Article 110-2, Part 1 of Article 258-3 and Part 3 of Article 258-5 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine on the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples has drawn attention to the systematic and widespread violation of human rights by Russia in the occupied Crimea and expressed confidence that all the perpetrators of the occupation will be held accountable.

"Today, the International Day of the World's Indigenous People is celebrated together with the world community in Ukraine. Its main theme this year is the anniversary of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples," the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine said in a statement on Wednesday.

It is noted that on this day, Kyiv once again draws attention to the systematic violations by the Russian Federation of human rights on the territory of the temporarily occupied Crimea and the city of Sevastopol (Ukraine), where the UN monitoring mission on human rights recorded numerous facts of "repressions against citizens of Ukraine on account of the ethnic descent, ethnically and politically motivated persecution by state bodies of the Russian Federation."

"The need to stop human rights violations on the peninsula by Russia, including the persecution of Crimean residents on a national basis, is noted in resolutions and decisions of the UN General Assembly, the UN Council on Human Rights, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and other international organizations," the statement says.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry recalled that Russia's gross violations of human rights on the territory of Crimea temporarily occupied by that country became the basis for Kyiv's appeal to the International Court of Justice with a claim that Moscow violated the norms of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry recalls that on April 19, 2017 the court ordered the Russian Federation to refrain from applying measures that impede the activities of the representative bodies of the Crimean Tatar people, in particular the Mejlis, and provide education in the Ukrainian language.

"Ukraine will continue making every effort to completely de-occupy the territory of Crimea, restore its sovereignty and territorial integrity and human rights of all peoples and national minorities living on its territory. We realize that all those guilty of the temporary occupation of Crimea, as well as systemic and large-scale violations of human rights in this territory will be brought to justice. We are sure of further support of the international community in this matter," the Foreign Ministry said in the statement.
Over the past day, militants have opened fire 16 times on the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the press center of the ATO headquarters has reported.

"As a result of the shelling, one Ukrainian soldier received a battle trauma," the ATO staff said on Facebook on Thursday morning.

On Wednesday noon, militants from the same direction, the village of Kalynove, attacked the Ukrainian strongholds in the Luhansk sector six times using different types of weapons.

In the Mariupol sector, Ukrainian positions near Starohnativka and Talakivka were shelled from the mortars of 82-mm caliber, 120-mm mortar was used in the area of Vodiane, Pavlopil and Hnutove.

In addition, at about 21:00, the militants attacked fortified positions of the ATO forces using a Grad (Partisan) portable rocket launcher. At least 27 shells landed in the area of Shyrokyne and another 15 near Vodiane.

In the Donetsk sector, on Wednesday evening, the illegal armed formations for almost two hours were firing on Ukrainian strongholds in the southern outskirts of Avdiyivka and Butivka coal mine, using various types of weapons.

The headquarters of the Anti-Terrorist operation said that the constant fire provocations of the militants would be strongly repulsed every time.
IDF Honors Soldier Who Took Down Halamish Terrorist

The Fellowship | August 10, 2017 IDF Honors Soldier Who Took Down Halamish Terrorist

Last month, those who stand for Israel were horrified when a terrorist entered the home of a family celebrating Shabbat and the birth of a new grandchild, stabbing and killing three. Algemeiners Barney Breen-Portnoy reports that the off-duty IDF soldier who shot and stopped the attacker is being commended for his bravery:

Staff Sgt. I.  the off-duty Israeli solider who shot the Palestinian terrorist who murdered three members of the Salomon family in Halamish last month  will receive a special commendation for his action, the IDF announced on Wednesday.

The soldier  a member of the elite Oketz canine unit  is being honored for his show of courage and judgment that prevented a graver tragedy, the military said.

The soldiers father, Shimon Maoz, who went to the scene of the attack alongside his son after they heard the commotion coming from the Salomon home, will get a certificate of appreciation.

The soldier fired one pistol shot through a window to take down 19-year-old terrorist Omar al-Abed
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Days after Stephen Colbert paid tribute to the second shortest lived White House Communications Director the United States has ever seen, The Late Show has announced Anthony Scaramucci as next Mondays guest.

The Mooch was fired late last month by White House Chief of Staff John Kelly who, ironically, was supposed to be kept in check by The Mooch.

Late night TV hosts were quick to mock the House of Cards-esque situation, Colbet joking: He said he was going to fire everybody and he delivered.

Tweeting out the booking, Colberts Late show account commented: On Monday 8/14 Anthony Scaramucci will be my guest This is just a heads up for our censors to get ready!

Moochy was reportedly fired because Donald Trumps administration didnt want to be associated with someone who spoke about fellow staff with the vulgar tones, The Mooch having infamously mocked Reince Priebus and Steve Bannon.

Whats perhaps strange about the Colbert appearance is that Mooch recently cancelled a high-profile appearance at Politicon.

Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Show all 22 1 /22 Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Donald Trump's international Presidential trips French President Emmanuel Macron and US President Donald Trump AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips French President Emmanuel Macron and US President Donald Trump talk as they leave the Army Museum at Les Invalides in Paris AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips German Chancellor Angela Merkel and US President Donald Trump arrive for the group photo at the G7 Taormina summit on the island of Sicily in May 2017 Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Mr Trump was pressed on the subject at the G7 summit in Italy Getty Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump gives a speeech at the Warsaw Uprising Monument on Krasinski Square Getty Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump and Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May during a ceremony at the NATO headquarters before the start of a summit in Brussels, Belgium Reuters Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Montenegro's Prime Minister Dusko Markovic is seen to the right of Donald Trump at a Nato summit in Brussels REUTERS Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Pope Francis meeting with US President Donald J. Trump EPA Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Pope Francis poses with US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump arrives at Palazzo del Quirinale ahead of the meeting with Italian President Sergio Mattarella Ufficio Stampa Presidenza della via Getty Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump is seen during a joint press conference with the Palestinian leader at the presidential palace in the West Bank city of Bethlehem AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas meets US President Donald Trump PPO via Getty Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks with US President Donald Trump prior to the President's departure GPO via Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands after delivering a speech at the Israel Museum AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump lay a wreath in the Hall of Remembrance as White House senior advisor Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump watch on during a visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial museum AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump visit to Yad Vashem Holocaust museum in Jerusalem accompanied by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu GPO via Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump takes his seat before his speech to the Arab Islamic American Summit in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia Reuters Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, US President Donald Trump and US First Lady Melania Trump look at a display of Saudi modern art at the Saudi Royal Court in Riyadh AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump and Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud take part in a signing ceremony at the Saudi Royal Court in Riyadh AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips King Salman presents Donald Trump with The Collar of Abdulaziz al-Saud Medal at the Royal Court Palace on 20 May AP Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump is welcomed by Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud upon arrival at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump walk on the South Lawn prior to their first foreign trip Getty Images

Meanwhile, Colbert has been bringing in record ratings, beating Jimmy Fallon by over 900,000 viewers. No doubt the Mooch episode will be one of the most watched in recent memory.
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Sulphates and parabens are chemicals present in many popular shampoos. Theyre included to help create that delicious foam that many of us associate with a deep clean  however, that doesnt mean theyre always a good thing. In fact, these ingredients could actually do more harm than good.

Sulphates (sometimes known as SLSs or SLESs) can strip your hair and scalp of moisture, leaving it feeling fragile and dry. They can also damage hair extensions and, if your hair has been dyed, cause colour to fade faster by removing the pigments.

So, its no wonder many hairdressers recommend that we ditch sulphate and paraben-laden shampoos for good, and opt for products that offer a deep clean without compromising our hairs integrity. Luckily, many beauty brands have developed innovative sulphate-free formulas that put hair health first.

There are a number of different options out there, and many of them not only provide a gentler clean and reduce damage, but also help in other ways too. Depending on your hair needs, you can pick a sulphate- and paraben-free free product that will also add volume, tame frizz or even enhance your colour.

Read more:

How we tested

To help you on the path to happier and healthier hair, weve rounded up nine of the best shampoo and conditioner combinations that ditch sulphates, parabens, or both.

Each of these shampoos were tested on long hair that has been colour-treated and tends to feel quite damaged. We tried them out on wet, unwashed hair, and used the recommended amount of product, usually roughly the size of a 50p piece. We rubbed the liquid over our scalp, working it into the roots, before rinsing thoroughly.

The products that impressed us the most created a rich lather and enabled us to give our hair a good scrub. Delicious scents elevated our experience, and it was important that there was no trace of residue, grease or stickiness left behind  the best shampoos left our hair feeling clean, fresh and healthy. Here are the results

The best sulphate-free shampoos 2022 are:

Best sulphate-free shampoo overall  Davines melu sulphate-free shampoo: 19.50, Feelunique.com

 Davines melu sulphate-free shampoo: 19.50, Feelunique.com Best sulphate-free shampoo for coloured hair  Color Wow color security sulphate-free shampoo: 19.50, Lookfantastic.com

 Color Wow color security sulphate-free shampoo: 19.50, Lookfantastic.com Best sulphate-free shampoo for curly hair  John Frieda frizz ease dream curls SLS/SLES sulphate-free shampoo: 6.99, Boots.com

 John Frieda frizz ease dream curls SLS/SLES sulphate-free shampoo: 6.99, Boots.com Best sulphate-free shampoo for fine hair  Maria Nila pure volume sulphate-free shampoo: 23, Sallybeauty.co.uk

 Maria Nila pure volume sulphate-free shampoo: 23, Sallybeauty.co.uk Best luxury sulphate-free shampoo  Virtue recovery sulphate-free shampoo: 38, Feelunique.com

 Virtue recovery sulphate-free shampoo: 38, Feelunique.com Best sulphate-free shampoo for blondes  Kevin Murphy blonde angel wash sulphate-free shampoo: 26.50, Amazon.co.uk

 Kevin Murphy blonde angel wash sulphate-free shampoo: 26.50, Amazon.co.uk Best sulphate-free shampoo for gorgeous smelling hair  Sachajuan thickening sulphate-free shampoo: 23, Feelunique.com

 Sachajuan thickening sulphate-free shampoo: 23, Feelunique.com Best sulphate-free shampoo for damaged hair  Moroccanoil moisture repair sulphate-free shampoo: 17.85, Lookfantastic.com

 Moroccanoil moisture repair sulphate-free shampoo: 17.85, Lookfantastic.com Best sulphate-free shampoo for sensitive scalps  Noughty care taker scalp soothing sulphate-free shampoo: 7.99, Lovenoughty.co.uk

Davines melu sulphate-free shampoo, 250ml Best: Sulphate-free shampoo overall Rating: 10/10 From its minimalist packaging to the cornflower blue hue of the product inside, this shampoo is a wonderful choice from the get-go. We took a dollop of the shampoo, which is thick and creamy, and massaged it through our roots. It produced a soft lather, with delicate bubbles, and it didnt take long to rinse all of the shampoo out  despite its rich consistency, it didnt leave any residue behind. When we dried off our hair, it was left looking silky and noticeably healthier than before. Its full of active natural ingredients which work to reduce breakage and improve the hairs flexibility  fantastic if youre trying to grow your hair longer. However, we think this shampoo would work for a range of different hair types and lengths, especially those who need a little extra care due to damage or dryness. And, since we are all trying to be a little greener these days, we were happy to see that the ingredients in Daviness melu shampoo are all vegan, while the packaging is 100 per cent carbon neutral and recyclable. Buy now 19.50 Feelunique.com {{#hasItems}} Price comparison {{#items}} {{ merchant }} {{ price }} Buy now {{/items}}

Color Wow color security sulphate-free shampoo, 250ml Best: Sulphate-free shampoo for coloured hair Rating: 9/10 Whether you opt for grey-coverage, highlights or a quirky shade, colouring your hair does unfortunately cause damage  so its important to opt for products that will protect both your strands, and your chosen hue. Color Wow products are formulated specifically to care for coloured hair, helping to preserve dyes and reduce the impact of chemical treatments. This sulphate-free shampoo is a gentle cleanser that creates a creamy, delicious-smelling foam, making wash days a delight. We massaged it into our scalp and noticed that it removed dirt and build-up from using hair styling products. After blow-drying, we found that our hair was soft to the touch and even looked shinier than usual. This shampoo would be particularly good for shades that are prone to fading, such as rainbow brights, reds and deep brunettes. And, after a trip to the salon, its definitely worth the investment  think of it like insurance for your new hair. Buy now 19.50 Lookfantastic.com {{#hasItems}} Price comparison {{#items}} {{ merchant }} {{ price }} Buy now {{/items}}

John Frieda frizz ease dream curls SLS/SLES sulphate-free shampoo, 250ml Best: Sulphate-free shampoo for curly hair Rating: 8/10 Although sulphates can be damaging to all hair types, many hairdressers recommend that people with curly hair are particularly wary of them (check out the Curly Girl Method if youre not already clued up on it). A sulphate-free haircare routine is a great way to help keep your curls and waves under control. The John Frieda frizz ease range has been around for almost 30 years, and is unparalleled when it comes to budget-friendly products that tame wayward hair. This shampoo, along with its sister conditioner (6.99, Boots.com), certainly lives up to its long heritage. We took a dollop of the product, and applied it to our wet hair, rubbing it until a light foam appeared. After washing, our hair felt clean, but it hadnt been stripped down  rather, it felt as if it had been gently cleansed. We allowed our hair to dry naturally and found that our waves looked healthy, and even a little bouncy, with a good level of definition. Plus, the usual fuzziness was dramatically reduced, thanks to the shampoos inclusion of rosehip oil which adds moisture without weighing the hair down. Buy now 6.99 Boots.com {{#hasItems}} Price comparison {{#items}} {{ merchant }} {{ price }} Buy now {{/items}}

Maria Nila pure volume sulphate-free shampoo, 350ml Best: Sulphate-free shampoo for fine hair Rating: 8/10 Maria Nila is fast becoming a cult favourite in the beauty world, and for good reason  the Stockholm brands all-vegan products are both effective and a joy to use. This pastel pink bottle is sure to cheer up your bathroom shelves, and the formula inside makes a great foundation for a body-boosting haircare routine. The rose-coloured shampoo is a little thinner in consistency than other shampoos, so we were careful when dispensing it into our hands. However, its viscosity allowed us to easily spread it around our scalp, and move it around our head. The foam created is light and fluffy, and smells lightly fruity. After rinsing off, we allowed our hair to dry naturally, and were pleased to see that it looked voluminous and healthy. There wasnt a hint of greasiness, and our hair even felt a little bit stronger  a major bonus for hair that sometimes feels a little fragile. Buy now 23 Sallybeauty.co.uk {{#hasItems}} Price comparison {{#items}} {{ merchant }} {{ price }} Buy now {{/items}}

Virtue recovery sulphate-free shampoo, 350ml Best: Luxury sulphate-free shampoo Rating: 8/10 Virtues recovery shampoo is a deluxe buy full of reparative ingredients that aims to transform lacklustre hair. It not only contains quinoa and grapefruit extract, but is also packed with the brands patented human keratin technology, which adds protein to repair hair strand-by-strand. This shampoos packaging is reminiscent of a high-end moisturiser  it even feels luxurious as you squeeze it. We didnt need to use too much as this rich formula is very thick, almost like toffee both in colour and consistency. Rubbing it into our hair, we found that it foamed up a little less than regular shampoos, but given its density, this wasnt surprising. It feels more akin to a cleansing treatment than a daily wash, and this is the perfect way to add a sense of indulgence to your haircare routine. We think it will work especially well for fine to medium hair that needs some TLC, thanks to its strengthening properties. Luxury like this doesnt come cheap  but if you want to treat yourself (or a loved-one) to an excellent product that will really protect your hairs integrity first, then this is the way to do it. Buy now 38 Feelunique.com {{#hasItems}} Price comparison {{#items}} {{ merchant }} {{ price }} Buy now {{/items}}

Kevin Murphy blonde angel wash sulphate-free shampoo, 250ml Best: Sulphate-free shampoo for blondes Rating: 9/10 Purple shampoo is an excellent way to maintain your blonde hair, and this offering from Kevin Murphy is one of the best out there. The pearlescent formula shimmers under the light, and is bursting with a sweet fragrance that is never overpowering. We applied it to our hair and left it to work its magic for around three minutes. Not only is it free from sulphates, which can damage already brittle blonde hair, but it also contains shea butter, meaning that it deeply hydrates while it tones your strands. The result is hair that looks like we stepped straight out of the salon. Gone are the tell-tale yellow tones that show how long its been since we last visited the hairdresser, and in their place are cool, platinum highlights that are shiny and natural-looking. We recommend investing in a bottle and using it once a week, or every three to four washes, to keep your blonde looking brilliant. Buy now 26.50 Amazon.co.uk {{#hasItems}} Price comparison {{#items}} {{ merchant }} {{ price }} Buy now {{/items}}

Sachajuan thickening sulphate-free shampoo, 250ml Best: Sulphate-free shampoo for gorgeous smelling hair Rating: 9/10 With its deep, coffee-coloured bottle and minimalist white label, this shampoo from Swedish brand Sachajuan is a truly stylish pick. In place of the sulphates, this shampoo contains ocean silk which is said to nourish and protect the hair. It also contains UV and heat protectants to further promote hair health and keep it in excellent condition. We used a generous dollop of the formula to wash our locks, and found that it foamed up well. The fresh, energising scent means this shampoo is a great way to start the day, and our hair was left feeling wonderfully clean. After rinsing and drying, our hair felt plumper than usual, and it was a good way to prep our tresses for a voluminous style. It stayed in place and didnt fall flat, even hours later. And, as an added bonus, the scent lasted all day  with each swish of our hair providing a subtle burst of fragrance. Buy now 23 Feelunique.com {{#hasItems}} Price comparison {{#items}} {{ merchant }} {{ price }} Buy now {{/items}}

Moroccanoil moisture repair sulphate-free shampoo, 250ml Best: Sulphate-free shampoo for dry hair Rating: 9/10 Moroccanoil is known for its line of products infused with argan oil, which has been used for centuries to hydrate wayward tresses. The sulphate-free moisture repair shampoo is infused with the hero ingredient, and is a great choice for hair-wash day if your strands are prone to feeling parched. The silky formula has the same scent Moroccanoil devotees will associate with the brand, and we were pleased to see how well it foamed up on our scalp. After working it through our hair and rinsing, we found that it had cleaned well without compromising on hydration  a very welcome result. We dried off our hair and noticed that it felt smoother than usual, with fewer flyaways and a glossy quality. It might be a little too intense for those with thin hair, but thick hair will drink up this nourishing product. And, for even better results, you can couple the shampoo with the equally hard-working Moroccanoil moisture repair conditioner. Buy now 17.85 Lookfantastic.com {{#hasItems}} Price comparison {{#items}} {{ merchant }} {{ price }} Buy now {{/items}}

Noughty care taker scalp soothing sulphate-free shampoo, 250ml Best: Sulfate-free shampoo for sensitive scalps Rating: 9/10 If you suffer from a dry, itchy scalp, making the switch to a sulphate-free shampoo could definitely be a smart decision. This shampoo from Noughty is not only free from sulphates, but the 97 per cent natural formula has also said goodbye to silicones, parabens and several other irritants. We applied the shampoo to our scalp, taking care to disperse it all over our head, and found that it bloomed plenty of tiny bubbles. Those hoping for some heavenly scents will be left waiting, but for good reason  strong fragrances can make itchy scalps even less happy. The shampoo contains bisabolol, a plant-based ingredient, and oatmeal extract to soothe the skin and restore balance. This might take time, and you may need to use it a few times before feeling the results. However, after using it for a few days, and swapping hot water for cooler water, we did find that our skin did indeed feel calmer and less sensitive  an excellent result for a very reasonably priced product. Buy now 7.99 Lovenoughty.co.uk {{#hasItems}} Price comparison {{#items}} {{ merchant }} {{ price }} Buy now {{/items}}
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Cornish gin, sure. There cant be many corners of the globe nowadays which dont have an artisan gin maker or three. Cornwall has six or seven, though only Tarquins, the first, can boast Best Gin Award 2017 from the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, the Oscars of hooch. But Cornish Pastis? When I ask, even the barmaid in Wadebridges White Lion directs me across the road to the pastry-laden shelves of the Cornwall Pasty company.

Just outside Wadebridge, on a high plateau of expansive crop fields, giant wind turbines and the distant view of the sea, Tarquin Leadbetter welcomes me to his Southwestern Distillery. The pasty connection was fun at first, he says, but hes about to change the smart pea-green labels to read simply Pastis. Tarquins is far from a novelty for joke postcards, having itself won a Double Gold Award in San Francisco in 2016, the year of its creation. A secondary product of the big ex-cowshed distillery on a farm-turned-mini industrial estate, Tarquins Cornish Pastis is produced, like the gins, in small batches of three hundred bottles, in rare old fashioned Spanish flame-fired copper pot stills. It was first distributed from the boot of his car and latterly by a five-strong professional sales team.

Devon-born, a politics and economics graduate from Bristol University, but also a Cordon Bleu trained chef, Leadbetter gave up a City job in emerging markets analysis six years ago to invest a small bequest in his dream business: something in the food world. It was the beginning of the artisan gin boom, and Leadbetter joined in, using trial and error and a toy-like mini still to refine his recipe. Things went well from the start. I was lucky to be the first in Cornwall, he comments, I got a really good local reception. Hes doubled production every year since. This month, hes got a big new still ready to go on line and a new head distiller about to join the ranks  ex-Bombay Sapphire no less, but conveniently for Southwestern Distillery, a sea and surf fan.

It was experimenting with the various herbs and plants he uses for gins, specifically fennel, the cousin of aniseed which defines a pastis, that started Leadbetter thinking. The blend he developed uses also  among numerous other ingredients  orange peel, and, a unique local touch, gorse picked from the cliffs down the road at Constantine Bay.

Leadbetter with the new still, ready to begin production

To road-test his pastis, Leadbetter directs me to a rambling stone inn in the delightful little village of Saint Tudy. All the usual Cornish gastro-star suspects use Tarquins products, including Nathan Outlaw at Port Isaac and Rick Stein just down the road in Padstow. Frankly Id rather drown myself in the Camel Estuary than spend an evening in tripper-clogged summertime Padstow, so the Saint Tudy Inn is perfect. Furthermore, the proprietor/chef Emily Scott and manager/barman Alex Rowland have been primed by Leadbetter to provide me with some tasting drinks and dishes.

Food and drink news Show all 35 1 /35 Food and drink news Food and drink news Healthy living makes us more inclined to binge, research suggests Gluten-free breads, dairy-free milks and other plant-based products have been some of the most favoured foods in British supermarkets this year. However, while were busy filling our shopping trolleys with gluten-free goodness, were also jamming it with junk food and alcohol, new research suggests Getty/iStock Food and drink news Growing list of Vegan celebs Making the switch to veganism is a major lifestyle choice, one that many claim can improve energy levels, lower the risk of cardiovascular disease and clear up any skin issues. Beyonce, Natalie Portman and Jessica Chastain are among the growing list of Hollywood stars who have eschewed animal products from their diets in recent years. Theres also been an increasing number of professional athletes who have gone vegan, such as boxing champions Mike Tyson and David Haye, thus debunking the myth that following a plant-based diet will leave you feeling weak and malnourished. AFP/Getty/NARAS/iHeartMedia Food and drink news McDonald's has announced the launch of a new vegan burger on its menu in Germany This will mark the first time the German franchise of the fast food chain has offered a vegan burger to its customers. The Big Vegan TS burger consists of a patty made from soy and wheat. It is served in a classic sesame seed bun, and contains salad, tomato, pickles and red onion. McDonald's Germany Food and drink news Drinking too many protein shakes could lead to an increased risk of obesity and a reduced lifespan, a new study has claimed Researchers from the University of Sydney's Charles Perkins Centre carried out an investigation to determine the impact excessive consumption of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) has on the body. BCAA supplements are often consumed in the form of powder, which is then added to water to make a shake. Published in journal Nature Metabolism, the study found that while BCAAs help to build muscle, they can also negatively impact an individual's temperament, cause weight gain and lead to a shortened lifespan Getty Images/iStockphoto Food and drink news Britain consumes more chocolate than any other country Most people love chocolate but it turns out no one does more than the Brits  with the average Brit found to have consumed 8.4 kg of chocolate in 2017, according to new data. Chocolate consumption around the world is on the rise, according to Mintel Global New Products Database (GNPD), which found that in the past year alone, Easter chocolate production has risen by 23 per cent Food and drink news 'Easter eggs should be banned for children under four' Dr Becky Spelman, chief psychologist at Harley Streets Private Therapy Clinic, is calling for Easter eggs to be banned for consumption for children under the age of four, claiming that giving them the opportunity to binge on chocolate so young will give them an unhealthy relationship with food later on. "This is a nightmare situation for parents of this generation as they have no idea how to teach their children to delay their response to cravings, she said, explaining that too many young kids binge on these chocolates because their parents dont know how to stop them. "Once a child starts overeating behaviour at a young age its very hard to turn things around for them in terms of food and their eating habits moving forward, leading to obesity from at very young age," she added PA Food and drink news Pineapple overtakes avocado as the UK's fastest-selling fruit According to Tesco, pineapple has overtaken avocado as the UKs fastest-selling fruit, with sales increasing by 15 per cent in 2017. In comparison, avocado sales rose by just under 10 per cent last year. The popular supermarket says the surge in popularity comes as shoppers buying the versatile fruit are beginning to use it as a main ingredient in everything from curries and barbecues, to juices and cocktails Getty Food and drink news Marks & Spencers launches stoneless avocados Rather than the result of genetic modification, the avocados are formed by an unpollinated avocado blossom. The fruit develops without a seed which in turns stops the growth, creating a small, seedless fruit. Whats more, the skin is actually edible, unlike a regular avocado. The flesh is much like that of a normal avocado - smooth and creamy, pale in colour and rich in flavour M&S Food and drink news Office teabags contain 17 times more germs than a toilet seat, reveals study The average bacterial reading of an office teabag was 3,785, in comparison to only 220 for a toilet seat. Other pieces of kitchen equipment also stacked up highly in their findings, with the bacterial readings averaging at 2,483 on kettle handles, 1,746 on the rim of a used mug and 1,592 on a fridge door handle Getty Images/iStockphoto Food and drink news New study shows drinking more coffee leads to a longer life There is good news and a final hope for coffee addicts and lovers. You will now be able to drink coffee for longer as new study shows its can lead to a prolonged life. Scientists showed that those who drank between two and four cups of coffee a day had 18% lower risk of death compared to non-coffee drinkers. PA Food and drink news Coke Zero is replaced with Coke Zero Sugar Coca-Cola is pulling the plug on its Coke Zero. The much loved drink will be replaced with a new improved taste. The move, backed with a 10 million campaign, is said to come from Coca-Cola supporting people to reduce their sugar intake. Coca-Cola want people make this move while not sacrificing sugary taste of Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola Food and drink news Starbucks introduce new avocado spread The avocado craze has grown from hipster brunch restaurants to Starbucks. Starbucks have introduced their new avocado spread earlier this year and it has the internet in debate. Some argue that it not a spread but guacamole while others question if there is any avocado in there at all. When buying the new spread you can also buy an optional toasted bagel. It is a must try for all avocado connoisseurs. Starbucks Food and drink news New Mars chocolate bar The iconic British chocolate bar is about to get its partner in crime. The new bar, named Goodness Knows, will replace the gooey caramel goodness of the mars bar with oats. It is said to be more like a Florentine biscuit with a thin dark chocolate bottom. While being moderately healthy Mars says that is has good intentions. One pack has 154 calories and will sell for about 90p. Mars Food and drink news Wine prices could increase because of Brexit Wine lovers across the UK might soon have to shell out close to a quarter more for their favourite tipple after Brexit, as a weaker pound and sluggish economy takes its toll, a new study shows Rex Food and drink news Chocolate may be good for the heart A new study, published in the British Medical Journal: Heart, found that moderate chocolate intake can be positively associated with lessening the risk of the heart arrhythmia condition Atrial Fibrillation Getty Images/iStockphoto Food and drink news Brits throw away 1.4 million bananas each year British families are throwing away 1.4 million bananas that are perfectly good to eat every day at cost of 80m a year, new figures have shown PA/Armin Weigel Food and drink news Rosemary sales spike over exam time There has been a surge a surge in sales of the herb rosemary after a recent study found it helps improve memory. According to high street health food chain Holland & Barrett, sales of the herb have increased by 187 per cent compared to the same time last year Getty Images/iStockphoto Food and drink news Gluten-free diets 'not recommended' for people without coeliac disease Avoiding wheat, barley and rye in the belief that a gluten-free diet brings health benefits may do more harm than good, according to a team of US nutrition and medicine experts Getty Images/iStockphoto Food and drink news Starbucks launches two new coffee-based drinks Starbucks is launching two new coffee-based drinks in the UK, as it strives to tap into consumers growing appetite for healthy beverages. The Cold Brew Vanilla sweet cream and the Cappuccino Freddo, will both be available in stores throughout the UK from the start of May Twitter/@SbuxCountyHall Food and drink news Cadburys Dairy Milk Tiffin is making a permanent comeback after 80 years The Cadbury Dairy Milk Tiffin, first produced in 1937, is making a permanent comeback to the UK. The raisin and biscuit-filled chocolate bar is being launched after a successful trial last summer saw 3 million chocolate treats  at the cost of 1.49 for each 95g bar- purchased by nostalgic customers Cadburys Food and drink news Pizza restaurant makes worlds cheesiest 'Scottie's Pizza Parlor' in Portland Oregon has created the worlds cheesiest pizza using a total of 101 different cheese varieties. Facebook/Scottie's Pizza Parlor Food and drink news A pizza joint in Portland Oregon has created the worlds cheesiest pizza using a total of 101 different cheese varieties. Why not eating before a workout could be better for your health A study published in the American Journal of Physiology by researchers at the University of Bath found you might be likely to burn more fat if you have not eaten first Getty Images/iStockphoto Food and drink news New York restaurant named best in the world A New York restaurant where an average meal for two will cost $700 has been named the best in the world. Eleven Madison Park won the accolade for the first time after debuting on the list at number 50 in 2010. The restaurant was praised for a fun sense of fine-dining, blurring the line between the kitchen and the dining room Getty Images Food and drink news Why you crave bad food when youre tired Researchers at Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University in Chicago recently presented their results of a study looking into the effects of sleep deprivation upon high-calorific food consumption. 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New data from nationwide food-delivery service Deliveroo reveals there was a surge in Brits ordering desserts in February compared to the first month of 2017 Getty Images/iStockphoto Food and drink news US congress debates definition of milk alternatives A new bill has been created that seeks to ban dairy alternatives from using the term milk. Titled the DAIRY PRIDE Act, the name is a tenuous acronym for defending against imitations and replacements of yogurt, milk, and cheese to promote regular intake of dairy every day. It argues that the dairy industry is struggling as a result of all the dairy-free alternatives on the market and the public are being duped too Getty Images Food and drink news Cadburys launches two new chocolate bars UK confectionary giant Cadbury has launched two new chocolate bars, hoping to lure those with a sweet tooth and perhaps help combat some of the challenges it faces from rising commodity prices and a post-Brexit slump in the value of the pound.The companys new products will be peanut butter and mint flavoured. They will be available in most major super markets as 120g bars, priced at 1.49, according to the company Cadburys Food and drink news You can now get a job as a professional chocolate eater The company responsible for some of your favourite chocolate brands  think Cadbury, Milks, Prince and Oreo  have officially announced an opening to join their team as a professional chocolate taster. The successful candidate will help them to test, perfect and launch new products all over the world. Getty Images/iStockphoto Food and drink news MSG additive used in Chinese food is actually good for you, scientist claims For years, weve been told MSG (the sodium salt of glutamic acid) - often associated with cheap Chinese takeaways - is awful for our health and to be avoided at all costs. But one scientist argues it should be used as a supersalt and encourages adding it to food. Getty Images/iStockphoto Food and drink news Lettuce prices are rising Not only are lettuces becoming an increasingly rare commodity in supermarkets, but prices for the leafy vegetables seem to be rising too. According to the weekly report from the Governments Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, a pair of Little Gem lettuces had an average market price of 0.86 in the week that ended on Friday, up from an average of 0.56 in the previous week  thats an almost 54 per cent increase. Getty Images Food and drink news Do-It-Yourself restaurant To encourage more people to cook and eat together, IKEA has launched The Dining Club in Shoreditch  a fully immersive Do-It-Yourself restaurant . Members of the public can book to host a brunch, lunch or dinner party for up to 20 friends and family. Supported by their very own sous chef and maitre de, the host and their guests will orchestrate an intimate dining experience where cooking together is celebrated and eating together is inspirational Mikael Buck / IKEA Food and drink news Ping Pong menu with a twist Gatwick Airport has teamed up with London dim sum restaurant Ping Pong to create a limited edition menu with a distinctly British twist; including a Full English Bao and Beef Wellington Puff, to celebrate the launch of the airports new route to Hong Kong Food and drink news Zizzi unveil the Maamgharita Unique pizza art has been created by Zizzi in celebration of the Queens 90th birthday. The pizza features the queen in an iconic pose illustrated with fresh and tasty Italian ingredients on a backdrop of the Union Jack Food and drink news Blue potatoes make a comeback Blue potatoes, once a staple part of British potato crops, are back on the menu thanks to a Cambridge scientist turned-organic farmer and Farmdrop, an online marketplace that lets people buy direct from local farms. Cambridge PhD graduate-turned farmer, Adrian Izzard has used traditional growing techniques at Wild Country Organics to produce the colourful spuds, packed with healthy cell-protecting anthocyanin, which had previously disappeared from UK plates when post-war farmers were pushed towards higher-yielding varieties

The first point to note is that millennial consumption, as Leadbetter says, is not the traditional southern French pastis and water, but heavily skewed towards use in cocktails; with interest in pastis benefiting from the cult status attached to its loucher relative, absinthe. So out goes my mental cliche of a hybrid Cornish-Provencale tableau, with weather-beaten seadogs in striped jerseys sipping tumblers of cloudy liquid while following the petanque on their iPhones.

Tarquins range (left-right): the Sea Dog Navy Strength Gin, Cornish Gin, Cornish Pastis

Instead, a smart and pristine bar/restaurant interior with matching clientele and a succession of multi-hued, multi-ingredient tipples concocted by Rowland, a veteran of the booming cocktail culture of Polzeath. The least challenging is a pleasant aperitif of sparkling South African wine just tinted with pastis. The most striking an outsize wine goblet  Tarquins own trademark glassware  crammed with ice and shocking pink liquid, a little flame-filled passionfruit shell coracle bobbing on the surface. This is a Rick Grimes, a modification of a classic Zombie tiki drink (ie Polynesian-themed tropical cocktail), named in homage to the protagonist of Rowlands favourite TV series, The Walking Dead. Nice work on both linguistic and alcoholic grounds.

And so to the kitchens input. The classic use of pastis in French cuisine is, of course, with fish, which suits Cornwalls own piscine slant perfectly. Scott already uses Pernod in her fish stew, but is changing to Tarquins for the softer, sweeter taste. The stew is actually too tomato-heavy for this distinction to be apparent, and the better elements of the tasting menu are the subtler ones, particularly some excellent scallops with sparing hints of nduja and pastis, and a sirloin steak finished with deliciously savoury garlic and pastis butter. To follow theres good pastis ice cream and, yes, a pastis Espresso Martini from Rowland. By which time I consider Ive earned a good nights kip. And no pastis in my morning tea, please, not even ablaze in a floating passionfruit coracle.

Recipe for a Rick Grimes

25ml Tarquins Cornish Gin

25ml Tarquins The Seadog Navy Strength Gin

12.5ml Cointreau

12.5ml Tarquins Cornish Pastis

25ml Vanilla Sugar Syrup (Homemade)

25ml Fresh Lime Juice

25ml Fresh Lemon Juice

25ml Edmond Briottet Passionfruit Liqueur

3 Dashes of Angostura Bitters

A whole passionfruit

Finished with a half passionfruit shell filled with a blend of Cornish Pastis and The Seadog Navy Strength Gin, set on fire and dusted with icing sugar.

Buy Tarquins Cornish Pastis 70cl from Amazon 35.86, Master of Malt 35.57
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The former Google engineer, whose controversial memo has triggered a nationwide debate on gender differences and diversity efforts in technology, defended his views in an interview on Wednesday with Bloomberg Television, saying company executives are smearing him in its wake.

James Damore, who until Monday worked as an engineer on video and image search at Alphabets Mountain View, California, headquarters, said he initially shared the 3,300-word memo internally a month ago. But it was only after the memo went viral that company leaders banded together to make him an outcast, he said on Bloomberg TV. When he initially circulated the memo, no one high up ever came to me and said, No, don't do this, even though there were many people who looked at it, Damore said. It was only after it got viral that upper management started shaming me and eventually firing me.

The memo, which was leaked to the public over the weekend, argues that conservative viewpoints are suppressed at Google and that biological differences between men and women explain in part why so few women work in software engineering. Even if someone in Google management had agreed with some of the arguments put forth in his piece, they wouldnt have felt safe speaking up, he said.

There was a concerted effort among upper management to have a very clear signal that what I did was harmful and wrong and didn't stand for Google, Damore said. It would be career suicide for any executives or directors to support me.Damore also said that some Google employees who expressed support for him have been contacted by human resources.

That's absolutely untrue, a Google spokesman said about the claim. The company declined to comment further beyond a memo that Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai wrote to employees on Monday, which said that to suggest a group of our colleagues have traits that make them less biologically suited to that work is offensive and not OK.

Recommended Google employee fired over diversity memo considers legal action

In response to his memo, Susan Wojcicki, head of Googles YouTube, wrote on Wednesday that she felt pain and asked if the argument would also stand if applied to underrepresented racial minorities in tech. Damore said that was a false analogy that was trying to smear my image rather than just looking at the evidence. Damore worked more than four years at Google, joining the company after holding research positions at Harvard University, Princeton University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He graduated from the University of Illinois with a bachelor of science degree in 2010, then completed a masters at Harvard.

Damore has been pushing back against the company before and after his firing. He said he had several meetings with human resources last week about what he described as illegal hiring practices inside Google that favour certain candidates because of their gender or race. He also filed a charge Monday with the National Labor Relations Board alleging that Google threatened his protected concerted activities, according to a filing of the complaint. A Google spokesman disputed Damores claim that the companys hiring practices are illegal.

Damore said he is planning to pursue legal action but declined to say on what grounds or whether he had hired a lawyer. He also said he had been advised not to talk to the press.

He said there are many capable women at Google and that he wrote the memo to help the company improve its policies and prompt conversations that werent happening.I'm trying to make Google and the world in general a better place by not confining us to our ideological echo chambers, he said.

Challenged about the message women would take from his memo, Damore maintained that his views wont discourage young girls who are considering going into software engineering.

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. 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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

There are simply fewer women that want to get into these fields, he said. If you're a girl and you're interested in technology, that's great.

If anyone is interested in technology they should just pursue it, he added. It's a great field.

Bloomberg
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The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 will be released in mid-September, according to an alleged launch roadmap that has just leaked.

The smartphone is set to launch on 23 August, before shipping to consumers a few weeks later.

Samsung will officially release the Note 8 on 15 September, according to a new report from South Korean publication ETNews.

12 useful WhatsApp features you didnt know existed Show all 12 1 /12 12 useful WhatsApp features you didnt know existed 12 useful WhatsApp features you didnt know existed Unsend messages You can unsend a message by tapping and holding it, hitting the Delete symbol and selecting Delete for Everyone. The feature works for all types of messages, but only if they were sent less than seven minutes ago. 12 useful WhatsApp features you didnt know existed Dodge the blue ticks WhatsApps blue ticks show when sent messages have been read, but you can disable them buy going to Settings > Account > Privacy > Read Receipts. However, bear in mind that, by doing so, youll lose the ability to see when your own sent messages have been read. Another, more fiddly way of reading your messages without triggering the blue ticks, is enabling Aeroplane Mode before opening your messages - just remember to close the app before switching Aeroplane Mode off again. 12 useful WhatsApp features you didnt know existed Hide your 'last seen' time Prevent your friends from finding out when you were last online by hiding your last seen time. Go to Settings > Account > Privacy > Last Seen. As is the case with disabling read receipts, hiding your last seen time will also stop you from seeing anybody elses. 12 useful WhatsApp features you didnt know existed Limit data usage You can control how much data you munch through on WhatsApp by limiting the types of media you automatically download on a mobile connection. Go to Settings > Data Usage and choose the best option for you. 12 useful WhatsApp features you didnt know existed Customise notifications If youre expecting an important WhatsApp message from someone, set a custom notification for them by opening the chat, tapping their name at the top and hitting Custom Notifications. 12 useful WhatsApp features you didnt know existed Format your messages To jazz up any of your messages, simply highlight it by tapping and holding it, hit the More Options key on the pop-up menu and tap the formatting option you want - bold, italic, strikethrough or monospace. 12 useful WhatsApp features you didnt know existed Type hands-free You can get Siri or Google Assistant to type your WhatsApp messages out for you by saying either Hey Siri or Okay Google, followed by the name of the person you want to message and the actual contents of the message. 12 useful WhatsApp features you didnt know existed Mark chats as unread When youve read a message but cant reply to it straight away, you can set a visual reminder by marking it as unread. On Android, long-press the conversation, and on iOS, swipe from left to right on a chat. 12 useful WhatsApp features you didnt know existed Email entire conversations You almost certainly wont do this on a regular basis, but its a handy option to have. You can export entire conversations - complete with emoji and media attachments - by hitting More inside a chat a selecting Email Chat. 12 useful WhatsApp features you didnt know existed Mass-message contacts You can send the same message to lots of your contacts without lumping them all into one group, much like the BCC option on email, by hitting the New Broadcast option on the apps main menu. 12 useful WhatsApp features you didnt know existed Pin conversations You pin up to three contacts and groups to the top of your WhatsApp conversation list by tapping and holding a chat, then hitting the pin icon. 12 useful WhatsApp features you didnt know existed Make things easier to find You can easily mark key messages with a star, allowing you to find them easily when you need to. Just tap and hold a message and hit the star icon to save it, and return to it later by selecting Starred Messages in WhatsApps main menu.

The electronics company itself is yet to reveal an official release date, but the leak matches up with earlier rumours weve seen.

As expected, that means it will go head-to-head with Apples newest iPhones, which will also come out next month.

The Note 8, the successor to the catastrophic Note 7 had to be recalled after models started exploding, will be revealed at an event in New York later this month.

Its expected to be larger than the enormous Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus, featuring a 6.3-inch, 2,960 x 1,440 display.

It will look a lot like it too, but come with a productivity-focused stylus, which is the Note lines hallmark.

Images of the handset published by technology tipster Evan Blass show off an attractive device, but question marks have been raised about its rear-mounted fingerprint sensor.

It was the worst thing about the S8 and S8 Plus, badly affecting the user experience, and Samsung doesnt appear to have changed it very much.


When the trainer aircraft crashed near Almaty (Kazakhstan), an ethnic Ukrainian who was a citizen of Kazakhstan died, the Ukrainian Embassy in Kazakhstan told Interfax-Ukraine.

"As it became known to the embassy, the deceased instructor pilot had the citizenship of Kazakhstan, but he is an ethnic Ukrainian," the press service of the embassy told Interfax-Ukraine on Thursday.

Earlier on this day, the press service of the Civil Aviation Committee of the Ministry of Investment and Development of Kazakhstan reported that at 09:53 on Thursday (local time), while performing the training task at a distance of 2 km from the Azem aerodrome control point (Almaty region, 43 km from Almaty), the Tecnam P-2002JF aircraft crashed (registration number UP-LA321).

Director of the department of investigation of traffic accidents and incidents of the ministry, Zhanibek Taizhanov, said that after the plane took off from the conveyor, a stall occurred, resulting in the aircraft being burnt and completely destroyed. At the time of the incident of the aircraft a pilot-instructor and a cadet were on board - both have been killed. The ministry creates a commission to investigate the circumstances of the accident.

At the same time, a number of Kazakhstani mass media report that as a result of the plane crash, pilot instructor Kurchenko, born in 1977, who according to preliminary information was a citizen of Ukraine, and cadet E.Abishev, born in 1996, died.
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At the Porthminster Beach Cafe in St Ives on the Cornish coast, the staff issue a standard sign-off as they hand over your panini or prawn baguette, as second-nature to them as an American diner waitress exhorting a departing customer to have a nice day.

Watch out for the gulls.

Pity the unwary traveller who heads out of the shelter of the cafe canopy and on to the open beach without heeding this warning. It might seem just a short hundred yard walk in the glorious sunshine from cafe to the pop-up tent enclosed by windbreaks where you have made your camp, but the staff arent in any way exaggerating.

Its a war zone out there, and your fingers, your arms, even your mouth are the collateral damage. Your lunch is the prize. And the gulls are the aggressors.

Recommended People feeding seagulls to be fined in new crackdown

I know, for once I was that foolhardy holiday-maker, proudly brandishing my wares from the cafe at the distant specks of my family sitting by the shoreline. I had fulfilled the hunter-gatherer role. I was returning triumphant from the long queues. I had food!

Had being the operative word. Just like no one expects the Spanish Inquisition, nobody sees the gulls in the seconds before they strike. They are white streaks, feathered arrows, Exocet missiles locking their beady eyes on their target as sure and as true as any hi-tech guidance system. One second I was waving a baguette, the next my hand was empty and my lunch was on the sand, a yellow beak tearing into the paper bag, prawns flying around as several other gulls materialised out of nowhere to help the triumphant dive-bomber dispose of his booty. Oh, the humanity.

Claire Field: 'We have even seen adults and young children with cuts around and inside their mouths'

Once seagulled, twice shy. We have holidayed in St Ives every year since, and I have not again fallen victim to the gulls. But for every savvy survivor who returns, each summer brings a new intake of wanderers unschooled in the ways of the gulls, who have read the stories but think them exaggerated or one-offs. And every year I see, sometimes two or three times a day, what happens When Seagulls Attack.

Seagull attacks are on the rise in Cornwall and people are getting injuries in their mouths was the headline on a news story on the website of Cornish newspaper the West Briton last week. Well, ewww. But true. The gulls are literally taking the food from the mouths of babes. Claire Field, community pharmacist based at Carbis Bay, told the newspaper: "My colleagues at the Leddra pharmacy may see one or two people a week when the birds are nesting who have been hurt by an aggressive seagull.

However, the reality is that there are probably more people who have been attacked by them but have decided to treat the wounds themselves rather than seek the advice of a pharmacist.

"We have even seen adults and young children with cuts around and inside their mouths as well as their hands where sneaky seagulls have swooped down to take their food.

Sitting on the beach last week, I regularly heard the traditional cry of dismay from an astonished adult relieved of a bacon sandwich just feet from the cafe, the dumbfounded momentary silence filled by the wailing of a small child as an ice-cream was cruelly snatched from their little hands, the swooping of wings as other gulls joined the fray, the high-pitched cawing of one gull on the group.

All the time, theres one gull making a hell of a racket when a successful sortie is carried out. Is it a triumphant bugle-call? An alert to other gulls wheeling overhead that theres food on the go? The tribal chieftain making sure something is left for him?

They are very raucous birds, points out Tony Whitehead of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Sometimes youll get a young gull making a kind of mewling, begging noise, other times they can be quite noisy just to warn others of potential danger all around them.

Such as, presumably, the presence of several people whove just had their pasties nicked.

Its difficult not to imbue the gulls with some kind of malign intent and dark intelligence. They look organised. Perched on the banners flapping above the Porthminster cafe, the gulls are permanent lookouts, keeping their beady eyes peeled for people leaving the cafe queue laden with goods. Up above, air-support gulls ride the thermals in ever-decreasing spirals, ready to put their wings back and dive, dive, dive. There are even ground troops, gulls who stalk between the sunbathers, sometimes just standing there and staring at you, as though they can see straight into your very soul, or at least into the polystyrene box protecting your breakfast.

Which is all rubbish, of course. Whitehead points out that the gulls  the ones in St Ives are most likely herring gulls  are really just trying to rub along with us. Theres a lot of hysteria sometimes, he says, especially a couple of years ago when there was an incident when a small dog was killed which co-incided with David Cameron visiting Cornwall. He was asked a question about the gulls and said there should be a national conversation about them.

That was 2015, the summer when gull attacks were the silly season story du jour. Barely a day would go past without some horrific attack straight out of Alfred Hitchcocks movie The Birds based, of course, on a short story by Cornwalls own Daphne du Maurier. Whitehead says, People often talk about gulls being aggressive, but theyre not setting out to attack people. Theyre often fed by tourists, and they cant distinguish between a chip or a bit of pasty thats being offered, or just being carried. Theyre clever, but theyre not that clever. And they do lack manners.

Still, these arent small birds. Imagine your cat, covered in feathers with a long beak and two scaly legs. Theyre that big, just not in any way cat-like. But for all their size and noise and fuss, theyre also sort of invisible. We expect to see seagulls at the seaside, just like we expect to see rock pools and seaweed and a family having a subdued argument over the right way to dismantle a beach tent. Gulls are crayoned Vs in a childs picture of the beach, they are rendered in wood and ranked on the shelves of the gift shops, their distant cries are the soundtrack to your holiday.

Art imitates life: a woman attacked by seagulls, by Banksy. Perhaps a little too Hitchcockian (PA)

What we dont expect is that they are actually going to attack us. To attack us in our very mouths. But what can be done?

The town council does not have any control over the actions of seagulls, says the website of St Ives Town Council, rather apologetically. Well, quite. I dont think anyone was actually blaming the local burghers directly, nor expecting the councillors to go out and have a quiet word in the gulls shell-likes. Still, they do have some advice, and have created a leaflet to help both residents and holiday-makers, saying: Having had to deal with requests about the aspects of their behaviour which cause a nuisance to people, we are able to give seagull advice. It is also advisable not to feed the gulls, and to either avoid eating outside, or eat outside with care, as the gulls commonly swoop to snatch food.

And it isnt just the food, says the Town Council: Seagull colonies can present problems including noise nuisance, fouling washing and cars and even swooping at people, usually to protect the gulls chicks or to snatch food. There can also be damage to roofs and gutters, and blockage of gas flues by nesting materials can have serious consequences if gas fumes are prevented from venting properly.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 9 November 2022 Australia and Spain play during the Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup group A match at the Copper Box Arena, London PA UK news in pictures 8 November 2022 A migrant attempting to communicate with journalists is pinned against a fence by members of staff, before being taken out of view, at the Manston immigration short-term holding facility, located at the former Defence Fire Training and Development Centre in Thanet, Kent PA UK news in pictures 7 November 2022 Handout photo issued by Just Stop Oil of a protester who has climbed a gantry on the M25 between junctions six and seven in Surrey, leading to the closure of the motorway PA UK news in pictures 6 November 2022 A grey seal with its pup, at the Donna Nook National Nature Reserve in north Lincolnshire, where they come every year in late October, November and December to give birth to their pups near the sand dunes, the wildlife spectacle attracts visitors from across the UK PA UK news in pictures 5 November 2022 Demonstrators with placards calling for a General Election march near the Houses of Parliament AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 4 November 2022 A peacock is seen in the early winter sunshine in the Dutch Gardens in Holland Park AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 3 November 2022 Florence Kasumba, Letitia Wright, Tenoch Huerta and Lupita Nyongo attend the European Premiere of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in London Getty UK news in pictures 2 November 2022 A red squirrel gathers nuts in Pitlochry, Scotland Reuters UK news in pictures 1 November 2022 Englands Tara-Jane Stanley scores their sides seventh try against Brazil during the Womens Rugby League World Cup group A match at Headingley Stadium, Leeds PA UK news in pictures 31 October 2022 GBs James Hall competes during the mens parallel bars qualification at the World Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 October 2022 People dressed in Halloween costumes paddle board along the river Avon in Christchurch, Dorset PA UK news in pictures 29 October 2022 Members of the public take pictures as police officers remove activists from a road during a Just Stop Oil protest, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 28 October 2022 A cosplayer attends the MCM Comic Con London 2022 at the ExCel Centre in London Reuters UK news in pictures 27 October 2022 98-year-old D-Day Veteran Bernard Morgan, whose story is among those featured on the giant poppy wall, during the launch of The Royal British Legion 2022 Poppy Appeal, at Hay's Galleria in central London PA UK news in pictures 26 October 2022 A meerkat explores a pumpkin in the enclosure at Wild Place, Bristol, where some of the animals are having pumpkin treats as part of their environmental enrichment PA UK news in pictures 25 October 2022 King Charles III welcomes Rishi Sunak during an audience at Buckingham Palace, where he invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA UK news in pictures 24 October 2022 Rishi Sunak celebrates with Tory MPs outside the Conservative Campaign Headquarters after becoming the new leader of the Conservative Party Reuters UK news in pictures 23 October 2022 The Green Man at October Plenty, Borough Market's annual Autumn Harvest festival, in London, which returns for the first time post pandemic PA UK news in pictures 21 October 2022 Sculptor Peter McKenna puts the finishing touches to a pumpkin that will form part of the Planet A Hebden Bridge Pumpkin Trail in the West Yorkshire town PA UK news in pictures 20 October 2022 Britains Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street in central London to announce her resignation AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 19 October 2022 Salmon leap up Stainforth Force on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales as they swim upriver to their spawning grounds during the annual Salmon migration PA UK news in pictures 18 October 2022 Just Stop Oil protesters continue their protest for a second day on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links Kent and Essex and which remains closed for traffic, after it was scaled by two climbers from the group PA UK news in pictures 17 October 2022 Hundreds of students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator's Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in Fife PA UK news in pictures 16 October 2022 A protester holds a placard during a march into central London at a demonstration by the climate change protest group Extinction Rebellion AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 15 October 2022 A member of the public drags an activist who is blocking the road during a "Just Stop Oil" protest, in London, Britain REUTERS UK news in pictures 14 October 2022 Germanys Womens double skulls during day one of the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals at Saundersfoot beach, Pembrokeshire PA UK news in pictures 13 October 2022 Family and mourners arrive at St Michael's Church, in Creeslough, for the funeral mass of 49-year-old mother of four Martina Martin, who died following an explosion at the Applegreen service station in the village of Creeslough in Co Donegal on Friday PA UK news in pictures 12 October 2022 Motorists in Coventry pass trees showing autumnal colour PA UK news in pictures 11 October 2022 A woman and her dog in the the North Sea at Tynemouth Longsands beach before sunrise PA UK news in pictures 10 October 2022 Police officers remove a campaigner from a Just Stop Oil protest on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace, London PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2022 A drummer plays during the Diwali on the Square celebration, in Trafalgar Square, London PA UK news in pictures 8 October 2022 Timothee Chalamet attending the UK premiere of Bones and All during the BFI London Film Festival 2022 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2022 Two young male fallow deer lock antlers in Dublins Phoenix park as rutting season begins PA UK news in pictures 6 October 2022 The Princess of Wales during a cocktail making competition during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland PA UK news in pictures 5 October 2022 Greenpeace protesters interrupt Prime Minister Liz Truss as she delivers her keynote speech to the Conservative Party annual conference PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2022 Prime Minister Liz Truss and Britains Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng wearing hard hats and hi-vis jackets, visit a construction site for a medical innovation campus in Birmingham AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2022 British artist Sam Cox, aka Mr Doodle, reveals the Doodle House, a twelve-room mansion at Tenterden, in Kent, which has been covered, inside and out in the artist's trademark monochrome, cartoonish hand-drawn doodles PA UK 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Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3. Manchester City FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 October 2022 Protesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don't Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the day AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 September 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her governments mini-budget Getty UK news in pictures 29 September 2022 The Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. 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Which all sounds pretty serious, especially if youve just hung out a load of washing. So, again, what can be done? Kill them, says one Facebook group. Kill them all.

Seagulls might be a protected bird, but I strongly disagree with this, writes the founder of the We Need A Seagull Cull page. They are proving to be more like a pest everyday. They dig the hell out of our weekly bin bags, and are causing disease, apart from randomly attacking people, especially when they have their young nesting on our roofs. They are known as rats in the sky, so it begs the question why are we protecting rats in the sky? Are we going to wait until we have a modern day plague? Or a child is hurt or baby killed in its own pram? Let's get our message across to get a law passed to hunt these vermin down.

Whoof. Strong words. But the un-named owner of the page is quite right, seagulls are a protected species. They dont, however, have any Royal Charter or anything. Theyre protected just like any other bird, under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, says Whitehead. Just to stop people going around killing birds whenever they feel like it.

In Berwick, vigilantes are wandering the streets with firearms to sort out the gull problem

That didnt stop actual armed vigilantes taking to the streets to sort out the gull problem, at least according to Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the Conservative MP for Berwick-upon-Tweed (proving this is a nationwide problem, not one restricted to Cornwall). In February, she told a Westminster debate on the gull issue: Last summer someone took it upon themselves to institute their own cull, which, while appreciated in some quarters, brought the risk that people are having to take the law into their own hands to deal with these really difficult and aggressive birds. Which means there are people wandering the streets of Berwick with firearms who really shouldn't be doing so.

And there are provisions in place for culls, or bird control, where needed. Licences can be issued in cases of, say, gulls interfering with agriculture or air traffic control.

Of course, this is utterly a problem of our own making. The gulls are the Frankenstein monsters created by the prevalence of nesting sites, waste and plentiful food that come with any built up human area, especially by the seaside. We might prefer them to be out plucking pilchards from the sea and looking scenic on our postcards, but the fact is weve taught the gulls the very worst of human nature. Why forage for your own food every night when theres a McDonalds next door?

According to Whitehead, though, the gulls we see eyeing up our suppers in seaside towns are a minority; the majority of gulls still feed on fish straight from the sea.

He says: Gulls didnt nest in urban areas until the 1930s and 1940s. After the war, the human population increased and the increase in buildings meant suitable nesting habitats were created for them in towns. This also meant the gulls were safer from predators, so their own productivity increased with more young surviving.

The food aspect is really a bonus to them. Theyve started to see humans as a source of food, through waste and through people feeding them. A lot of councils are doing good work in not having waste left on the streets for too long and some places are fining people who feed gulls.

Whitehead believes that through measures like this humans and gulls can learn to live alongside each other much more peaceably. And sitting in the Porthminster Beach Cafe, I can acknowledge that they are often rather splendid creatures, clean and sleek and quite noble looking.

Then one nudges with its beak a whole double-scoop of rum and raisin ice cream that its knocked off the waffle cone of a distraught child, rolling it in the sand and then scarfing it down its gullet in one gulp. The sight quite puts me off my bacon, brie and cranberry panini, and I order another bottle of Tribute. Thus far, the gulls have not taken to stealing beer, as far as I know. Now there would be a nightmare of truly Hitchcockian proportions, and you can guarantee that if that day ever arrives, the war between the humans and the gulls will truly step up a notch.
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North Korea and Donald Trump continued their sabre rattling on Wednesday as North Koreas military called Mr Trump bereft of reason.

The military statement, carried on Koreas state-run news agency KCNA, also warned that only absolute force can work on the US President, according to the Associated Press.

Tensions have escalated in recent days after Mr Trump warned North Korea would with be met with fire and fury if it continued to threaten the United States. It was the most provocative statement yet in a steady stream of criticisms and warnings Mr Trump has issued since taking office.

After issuing the warning, Mr Trump kept up the bellicose rhetoric, claiming falsely on Twitter that my first order as President was to renovate and modernize our nuclear arsenal.

Reiterating previous threats, North Koreas statement also said the isolated nation would formulate plans for historic enveloping fire at Guam, a small Pacific island and US territory that serves as an American military outpost.

A pair of American bombers left Guams Andersen Air Force Base to fly a mission in collaboration with Korean and Japanese fighter jets earlier this week, according to the US Pacific Air Forces, which Lt. Col. Daniel Diehl said in a press release was a demonstration that our air forces stand combat-ready to deliver airpower when called upon.

In pictures: North Korea military drill Show all 8 1 /8 In pictures: North Korea military drill In pictures: North Korea military drill North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un watches a military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill A military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) is seen in this handout photo by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill A military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) is seen in this handout photo by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill A military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill A military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill This image made from video of still images broadcast in a news bulletin by North Korea's KRT, shows what was said to be a 'Combined Fire Demonstration' held to celebrate the 85th anniversary of the North Korean army, in Wonsan, North Korea. KRT via AP Video In pictures: North Korea military drill This image made from video of still images broadcast in a news bulletin by North Korea's KRT, shows what was said to be a 'Combined Fire Demonstration' held to celebrate the 85th anniversary of the North Korean army, in Wonsan, North Korea. KRT via AP Video In pictures: North Korea military drill This image made from video of still images broadcast in a news bulletin by North Korea's KRT, shows what was said to be a 'Combined Fire Demonstration' held to celebrate the 85th anniversary of the North Korean army, in Wonsan, North Korea. KRT via AP Video

Speaking to reporters en route to Guam, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Mr Trump was sending a strong message to North Korea in language that Kim Jong-un can understand in response to North Korean rhetoric having ratcheted up louder and louder and more threatening. He downplayed the risk of a military confrontation between the two nuclear-armed nations.

 Rex Tillerson explains Donald Trump's North Korea comments

I do not believe that there is any imminent threat, Mr Tillerson said, adding that the administration hoped this pressure campaign, which the entire world now has joined us incan begin to persuade the regime to change its behaviour.
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Malia Obama is taking advantage of time off before starting at Harvard University.

The former president's daughter has been taking a "gap year" before classes start this fall.

Malia was most recently shown dancing to The Killers at Lollapalooza festival in Chicago this weekend, in footage obtained by TMZ.

Here's a look at her life so far:

Malia Obama was 10 when Obama took office.

(AP/Jae C. Hong (AP/Jae C. Hong)

She spent her teens growing up in the White House.

(The White House (The White House)

With her younger sister, Sasha.

Sasha (L) Malia (R) (Gary Cameron/Reuters)

After moving from Chicago to Washington DC, both Malia and Sasha began school at prestigious Sidwell Friends School in Washington D.C. The school has been described as "the Harvard of Washington's private schools." Theodore Roosevelt's son, Richard Nixon's daughter, Bill Clinton's daughter, and Al Gore's son all attended the school in the past.

(AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

The family spent every August vacationing in Martha's Vineyard from when the president took office in 2009. They missed one year in 2012 when he was campaigning for re-election.

(AP Photo/Susan Walsh (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

In her last year of school, Malia interned on the set of "Girls."

She then graduated from high school in June 2016. She toured several East Coast Ivy League schools before settling on Harvard where she will begin her freshman year in the fall of 2017, graduating with the class of 2021.

(AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Both of her parents attended Harvard Law School. In the meantime, she's taking a "gap year."

(XPX/STAR MAX/IPx (XPX/STAR MAX/IPx)

In February, she worked with television studio The Weinstein Company for their marketing team in New York.

There's also been time to relax. In June, she went on a 10-day family vacation to Indonesia.

(AP Photo/N. Agung Nugroho (AP Photo/N. Agung Nugroho)

Read more:

 How much the best paid workers in 20 professions earn

 Seven outdated mens style rules that you can now ignore

 16 skills that are hard to learn but will pay off forever

Read the original article on Business Insider UK.  2017. Follow Business Insider UK on Twitter.
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For many years Andre Geim was best known for designing an experiment that looked more like a parlor trick than a serious piece of scientific research. One Friday evening, in a moment of boredom at his Dutch lab, the Soviet-born physicist casually poured a glass of water onto a super-electromagnet. When the water struck the magnet it didnt spill to the floor, as Geim had expected, but instead began to float as a cluster of pristine liquid balls. Geim, with characteristic wit and flourish, published his findings in the April 1997 issue of Physics World alongside a picture he took of a live frog sitting pensively on the levitating droplets.

Shortly after Geim arrived at Manchester University in 2001, he began hosting Friday night sessions for students to conduct what he calls curiosity-driven researcha similar way to demonstrate the value of impromptu experimentation. In 2002, following one of these gatherings, Geims attention was drawn to a ball of used Scotch tape in a nearby wastepaper bin. On it was a grey residue, from where it had been stuck to a piece of graphite. Geim, who specializes in minutely thin materials, placed the tape under an atomic microscope and found the layers of residual carbon were thinner than any hed seen before. Immediately he suspected he had found graphene, a one atom-thin material (a strand of human hair is between 100,000 and 300,000 atoms thick) that had, until this moment, been only a white whale of speculation among theoretical physicists.

In the subsequent weeks Geim worked 14-hour days with one of his Ph.D. students, Konstantin Novoselov, to discover graphenes extraordinary properties. The material, it turned out, was 200 times stronger than steel; electrons would whisk across its honeycomb-like structure 1,000 times quicker than in copper. The commercial value of the material soon became clear. A clutch of patents illustrate its potential uses: mobile phones with folding screens, ultra-long-life batteries, aircraft wings and high-speed trains. In 2015, to quicken the arrival of these products, Manchester University launched the National Graphene Institute, a project supported by 1 million a year ($1.3 million) in funding from the EUs Graphene Flagship, Europes largest ever joint research project.

Alchemising research into commerce often takes years. But graphenes world-changing moment may be at hand. The materials hexagonal lattice makes it a potential sieve, one that could be used to filter nanoparticles, organic molecules, and even salt from water. United Nations estimates suggest that, in just eight years, 14 percent of the worlds population will encounter water scarcity. Graphene could present a new, affordable, and potentially ubiquitous way in which to turn salt water into drinking water. In a climate-changed world, graphene might even save lives. Geim and Novoselov shared a Nobel Prize in physics for their work on graphene in 2010.

All of this potential came into doubt on June 23, 2016, when 51.9 percent of those who voted in the UK chose to leave the EU. Geim describes himself as a Eurosceptic. Yet he watched the results of Brexit trickle in with a sense of gathering dismay (At about 4am it became clear that the Remainers were likely to lose, he told me. I went to bed acknowledging the human species were not very smart animals.). Geims response was typical of that of many scientists, for whom freedom of movement and cross-border partnerships are indispensable. A Brexit survey run in March by Nature found that of the 907 U.K. researchers who were polled, around 83 percent believed the UK should remain in the EU. Paul Drayson, former minister of science in the Department for Business, told Scientific American: The very idea that a country would voluntarily withdraw from Europe seems anathema to scientists. In Geims case, he and most of his engineers are not British by birth. Indian and Chinese nationalities dominate, followed by Russians, Ukrainians, Italians, Spanish and Polish. All of his funding comes from the EU. The Brexit result has cast thick doubt about how money and people will flow to and from the UK.Brexit result has cast thick doubt about how money and people will flow to and from the UK.

Recommended Thousands join London March for Science as part of global protest

Geim washes an old mug in a grimy kitchen in the corridor along from his office at Manchester University. While the 12 months following the Brexit vote have been characterized by confusion about where the U.K. will stand in its future of dogged isolation, Geim seems clear on what will happen next. Nothing positive can be expected, he says. Geim speaks with an Eeyore-ish languidness, that can, as we move into his office, seem gloomy. We cannot even expect a neutral outcome anymore, he says. The question now is simply: to what extent is this going to be a disaster for science in the U.K. Geim suspects the U.K. will be summarily kicked out of crucial scientific collaborations such as the European Innovation Council and Horizon 2020, an enterprise touted as the biggest EU Research and Innovation program ever which provides almost 80 billion ($94 billion) to researchers seeking to take their ideas from the lab to the market.

Geims bracing straightforwardness is born of experience. He came to the U.K. in the late 1980s with just 1 in his pocket. Having served Soviet Russia, Geim knows only too well the risks of blinkered national hubris and isolationism. In practical terms too, he has already seen the effects. Every year Geim receives a steady flow of applications from abroad seeking to join the Marie Curie research program in Manchester. In 2017 he has received no applications at all.

The danger Brexit poses is vast to British scientific researchthat long and storied tradition which, from Newton to Hunter, from Turing to Crick, has enabled the U.K. to put its name to a multitude of world-altering discoveries. Sticklers will argue that Newtons discovery of gravity, or Turings foundational work in computing happened without EU subsidy. But none could seriously contest that British scientists have flourished within the framework the EU has created for collaborative science, and the structures it has provided to facilitate that enterprise.

Even before Brexit, the level of U.K. science spending stood below 0.5 percent of GDP, a lower percentage than any other G8 nation. Loss of additional funding would compound the pressures placed on scientific institutions. Even if the British government manages to compensate for the financial shortfall, the psychological effects of Brexit will linger. In 2015, long before the Brexit vote, Dr. Sara Kendrew, an astronomer at Oxford University, warned of anti-immigrant rhetorics ambient effects. Our foreign-born scientists are part of the hidden face of migration in this country, she wrote in The Guardian. They work extremely hard to teach and mentor students at our universities  and bring in millions of pounds in research funds.

The cri de coeur of Brexit reflects the body politics diminishing interest in, bordering on outright dismissal of, facts and expertise. As Michael Gove, then U.K. Justice secretary and leading Brexiteer, notoriously put it last year: the people have had enough of experts. Its a position reflected elsewhere in the world. The election of a TV celebrity and real estate mogul to the office of the U.S. Presidency has ushered in what many perceive to be a systemic assault on the sciences in the Anglo-Saxon world.

There was, for example, Trumps appointment of Scott Pruitt to lead the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a man who had previously stated his belief that there was no need for an E.P.A. There was the Trump administrations dismissal of climate change as a realityscouring all mentions of the term from the White Houses website on inauguration day. And dont forget the administrations proposed $620 million (13 percent) cut to the National Science Foundation in its 2018 budget, and a cut of $3.1 billion (22 percent) to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the nations single largest funder of basic science.

There has been resistance. On April 22, a day to celebrate Planet Earth each year, more than a million people gathered in some 600 cities to stage a March for Science. In Washington, where 100,000 gathered, a sea of bobbing placards displayed slogans ranging from the droll (Science is Real. Your Alternative Facts are -1) to the rallying (Science Belongs To Everyone). Among the event organizers 21 stated aims was the desire to affirm science as a vital feature of a working democracy, and a call for evidence-based policy. How did science, a discipline that works in clear facts and demonstrable data, come to be so viciously contested and politicized?

It wasnt always this way. In 1959 the Republican Dwight Eisenhower named George B. Kistiakowsky, a Harvard chemist, as his Presidential science adviser. The following year, when the presidency passed to Democrat John F. Kennedy, Kistiakowsky continued to serve. His post was considered immune to politics.

In those days, it fell to experts to explain their scientific findings, and to politicians to debate the best way in which to react to those findings. Now, more often, politicians debate not the policy but the facts themselves. What scares me and many other people in academia is not only the decline in rational thinking, says Geim. Its also the sense that politicians have started to put ideology in front of pragmatism. Politicians should never do this. They may play the popular vote, but not at the expense of making well-informed decisions.

Geim may as well be talking about Brexit.

Collaborations between U.K. and European scientists were instrumental in the Large Hadron Collider project that discovered the Higgs Boson particle. The Human Brain Project is reliant on U.K. and EU partnerships, as is the European Space Agency. Speaking to the BBC, Paul Nurse, Nobel Prize winner and director of The Francis Crick Institute, said: Being in the EU gives us access to ideas, people and to investment in science. U.K. scientists currently receive close to 1 billion annually for research from the EU. Professor Robert Young, who leads the research Graphene project at the University of Manchester, estimates that U.K. universities receive 1.60 for every 1 they put in to European research funding. Between 2007 and 2013, the U.K. sector supported EU projects by spending 5.4 billion, and was rewarded in return with funds of around 8.8 billion.

In November 2016, hoping to salve fears within science and academia, British Prime Minister Theresa May pledged 2 billion a year to plug the gap left by EU finding. But since Mays failed attempt to solidify her partys lead in the recent General Election, many other campaign assurances have toppled. The governments promise that it will replace EU funding to scientific institutions cannot, Geim says, be relied upon. Science is always a long game, so any sympathy which is left in the government will be overshadowed by needs to fund other casualties of Brexit: the NHS, public services and so on There will be real and immediate cuts in funding.

Not everyone shares Geims pessimism. Before the referendum, the pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca pledged to build a new research campus in Cambridge for some 500 million. The site will become its home of oncology research, as well as housing scientists focused on respiratory, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Work is continuing on the campus, despite the Brexit result, with occupation scheduled for next year. Cambridge has been a successful place to do science for the last 800 years, and it will be a good place to do science for the next 800 years or more, says Mene Pangalos, executive vice-president of AstraZenecas Innovative Medicines and Early Development Biotech Unit.

The company has a long history in the U.K., having started pharmaceutical research here in 1936. Around 70 percent of the companys product was developed in the U.K., including numerous cancer medicines. The company currently sells 70 different medicines in the U.K., which may help to explain Pangaloss positive, if measured, perspective. Brexit hasnt changed our plans, he says. Our commitment to the U.K. is for the long term.

Nevertheless, AstraZenecas recent research would have been impossible without the EU. The development, manufacturing and export of medicines in the U.K. have all benefited from being a part of the EUs collaborative research programs, clinical trials and regulation frameworks, admits Pangalos, As well as, of course, free movement of goods throughout the EU and to countries where the EU has trade agreements. All of these are threatened by the result of the vote. AstraZeneca currently employs staff from 68 nationalities in the U.K., whose right to live and work here, particularly if they earn less than 35,000 a year, the current threshold that dictates whether or not a non-EU worker is allowed to remain, is threatened. Science knows no borders, so to invent the best medicines, you need the best people, he says. We want speedy resolution between the U.K. and EU on the future status of EU nationals currently employed in the U.K. and their families.

As of June, an estimated 150,000 EU citizens who have already applied for permanent residency cards as a means of securing their future in the U.K. will have to apply again for a new settled status register. The EU, by contrast, offered a lifetime guarantee that Britons living in Europe could continue to enjoy all rights they held, along with the right to freedom of movement to work or retire in any other EU country of their choice. The contrast between the two offers resulted in Donald Tusk, the president of the European council, warning that Theresa Mays plan was so underwhelming it may have damaged the EUs efforts to protect Britons in the EU.

EU nationals who are members of Prospect, the British union for scientists and engineers, are similarly fearful of their right to stay. Bearing in mind we have significant number of members who are non-U.K. nationals theres an increasingly angry sense that those people are being used as bargaining chips in the Brexit negotiations, Sue Ferns, Prospects deputy general secretary, told me. Many organizations are heavily reliant on EU funding and although the government has given some guarantees, science doesnt just work like that. We need longer-term assurances.

Dame Nancy Rothwell, vice chancellor of Manchester University, told me that undoubtedly the institution will lose some staff. Its my job to be optimistic, she said, when I point out the contrast in tone between her and Geims outlooks. We recruited a very senior member of staff from Italy the month after the vote, and he just shrugged his shoulders and said, I am coming anyway. But undoubtedly there have been a few who have you know chosen not to come, and of course, we don't know how many have simply decided to not apply at all.

The politicization of science is fraught because, as graphene demonstrates, the road from research to commercial product is often long and never straight. A 1939 essay by Abraham Flexner noted: Throughout the whole history of science, Flexner wrote, most of the really great discoveries which had ultimately proved to be beneficial to mankind had been made by men and women who were driven not by the desire to be useful but merely the desire to satisfy their curiosity. This is the familiar pattern of research: years of investigation and experimentation done in the hope that, some day, all that effort will, in some small or extravagant way, change the world.

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

Compared to schools and hospitals, which have clear and immediate benefits, the payback from investment in the tectonic business of scientific research is harder to quantify. Science faces a huge political challenge right now, says Prospects Ferns. Long term projects are vulnerable. The only time this kind of work gets public recognition is when there is a crisis  But you cant turn the tap on and off.

To illustrate the point, Dame Rothwell points to the 2002 winners of the Nobel prize: a trio who became the first to fully sequence the genome of an organism, in this case, a tiny worm. The work took decades, without a clear end benefit, yet was eventually responsible for unraveling aspects of AIDS, arthritis and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimers. I always like to quote that story to politicians, says Rothwell. The work led to massive breakthroughs, but nobody could have predicted it.

For Geim, the Brexit result and its threat to his research and development of graphene is sufficient that he is considering leaving both Britain and the EU. Just a year ago I was completely settled here, and despite, as you can imagine, many offers from around the worldthe best possible placesI turned everything down. Leaving was never even a consideration for me. But during the last few months that has changed I can only imagine how many others are thinking the same. Singapore. China. There are many options. Maybe it is inevitable? Probably it is inevitable.

Bloomberg
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Scientists have cleared a major barrier to transplanting organs from pigs into humans after removing threatening viruses from the animals' DNA.

The new research opens up the possibility of breeding animals to harvest their organs to meet the demand for new tissue.

Some challenges, including major ethical objections still remain, but experts said the breakthrough is a significant step towards pig-to-man transplants, also known as xenotransplantation.

The shortage of organs for transplants is one of the biggest challenges to modern medicine, and the current supply of tissue meets only a tiny amount of the total demand, the authors said. But the ability to breed pigs specifically for that purpose would allow that to be easily addressed, since they have similar organs to ours and can be bred in large numbers.

Science news in pictures Show all 20 1 /20 Science news in pictures Science news in pictures Pluto has 'beating heart' of frozen nitrogen Pluto has a 'beating heart' of frozen nitrogen that is doing strange things to its surface, Nasa has found. The mysterious core seems to be the cause of features on its surface that have fascinated scientists since they were spotted by Nasa's New Horizons mission. "Before New Horizons, everyone thought Pluto was going to be a netball - completely flat, almost no diversity," said Tanguy Bertrand, an astrophysicist and planetary scientist at NASA's Ames Research Center and the lead author on the new study. "But it's completely different. It has a lot of different landscapes and we are trying to understand what's going on there." Getty Science news in pictures Over 400 species discovered this year by Natural History Museum The ancient invertabrate worm-like species rhenopyrgus viviani (pictured) is one of over 400 species previously unknown to science that were discovered by experts at the Natural History Museum this year PA Science news in pictures Jackdaws can identify 'dangerous' humans Jackdaws can identify dangerous humans from listening to each others warning calls, scientists say. The highly social birds will also remember that person if they come near their nests again, according to researchers from the University of Exeter. In the study, a person unknown to the wild jackdaws approached their nest. At the same time scientists played a recording of a warning call (threatening) or contact calls (non-threatening). The next time jackdaws saw this same person, the birds that had previously heard the warning call were defensive and returned to their nests more than twice as quickly on average. Getty Science news in pictures Turtle embryos influence sex by shaking The sex of the turtle is determined by the temperatures at which they are incubated. Warm temperatures favour females. But by wiggling around the egg, embryos can find the Goldilocks Zone which means they are able to shield themselves against extreme thermal conditions and produce a balanced sex ratio, according to the new study published in Current Biology journal Ye et al/Current Biology Science news in pictures Elephant poaching rates drop in Africa African elephant poaching rates have dropped by 60 per cent in six years, an international study has found. It is thought the decline could be associated with the ivory trade ban introduced in China in 2017. Reuters Science news in pictures Ancient four-legged whale discovered in Peru Scientists have identified a four-legged creature with webbed feet to be an ancestor of the whale. Fossils unearthed in Peru have led scientists to conclude that the enormous creatures that traverse the planets oceans today are descended from small hoofed ancestors that lived in south Asia 50 million years ago A. Gennari Science news in pictures Animal with transient anus discovered A scientist has stumbled upon a creature with a transient anus that appears only when it is needed, before vanishing completely. Dr Sidney Tamm of the Marine Biological Laboratory could not initially find any trace of an anus on the species. However, as the animal gets full, a pore opens up to dispose of waste Steven G Johnson Science news in pictures Giant bee spotted Feared extinct, the Wallace's Giant bee has been spotted for the first time in nearly 40 years. 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The bones belonged to two large rodent species and a small shrew-like animal New Mexico Museum of Natural History Science news in pictures Fabric that changes according to temperature created Scientists at the University of Maryland have created a fabric that adapts to heat, expanding to allow more heat to escape the body when warm and compacting to retain more heat when cold Faye Levine, University of Maryland Science news in pictures Baby mice tears could be used in pest control A study from the University of Tokyo has found that the tears of baby mice cause female mice to be less interested in the sexual advances of males Getty Science news in pictures Final warning to limit "climate catastrophe" The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has issued a report which projects the impact of a rise in global temperatures of 1.5 degrees Celsius and warns against a higher increase Getty Science news in pictures Nobel prize for evolution chemists The nobel prize for chemistry has been awarded to three chemists working with evolution. Frances Smith is being awarded the prize for her work on directing the evolution of enzymes, while Gregory Winter and George Smith take the prize for their work on phage display of peptides and antibodies Getty/AFP Science news in pictures Nobel prize for laser physicists The nobel prize for physics has been awarded to three physicists working with lasers. Arthur Ashkin (L) was awarded for his "optical tweezers" which use lasers to grab particles, atoms, viruses and other living cells. Donna Strickland and Gerard Mourou were jointly awarded the prize for developing chirped-pulse amplification of lasers Reuters/AP Science news in pictures Discovery of a new species of dinosaur The Ledumahadi Mafube roamed around 200 million years ago in what is now South Africa. Recently discovered by a team of international scientists, it was the largest land animal of its time, weighing 12 tons and standing at 13 feet. In Sesotho, the South African language of the region in which the dinosaur was discovered, its name means "a giant thunderclap at dawn" Viktor Radermacher / SWNS Science news in pictures Birth of a planet Scientists have witnessed the birth of a planet for the first time ever. This spectacular image from the SPHERE instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope is the first clear image of a planet caught in the very act of formation around the dwarf star PDS 70. The planet stands clearly out, visible as a bright point to the right of the center of the image, which is blacked out by the coronagraph mask used to block the blinding light of the central star. ESO/A. Muller et al Science news in pictures New human organ discovered that was previously missed by scientists Layers long thought to be dense, connective tissue are actually a series of fluid-filled compartments researchers have termed the interstitium. 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Until now, the use of pig organs in humans has been held back in large part by fears about retroviruses that are found in pigs and could prove fatal to humans, if they made their way into the body, and could then cause an epidemic as they spread from human to human. Porcine endogenous retroviruses, known as Pervs, are a permanent part of the gene and so appeared be impossible to remove.

But the researchers have now successfully removed those Pervs from the pig genome, using the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technique that allowed them to produce Perv-free, living pigs. That, in turn, removes one of the biggest barriers to organ transplantation from pigs to man.

This represents a significant step forward towards the possibility of making xenotransplantation a reality, said Darren Griffin, a professor of genetics at the University of Kent. The chance of transmitting PERV from the pig organ to the human cells was a significant barrier and the study shows yet another application of the CRISPR-Cas9 system.

By comprehensively demonstrating that PERV is the problem that we suspected that it may be, then providing a solution, the authors present a very elegant study. However, there are so many variables including ethical issues to resolve before xenotransplantation can take place.

Those ethical worries are significant, and include a consideration of the harm and benefit brought to the person receiving the heart. Though scientists have eliminated the biggest barrier to safety in putting a pigs heart into a human, there remain risks  and those risks would have to be balanced by ethical committees.

It would also be difficult to ensure that people could give proper consent to the procedure, which could be used in the most dire of circumstances.

But those objections may fade if it becomes clear that the transplants will be useful. When human organ transplantation was beginning, in the 1960s and 1970s, many opposed the idea  but those objections were put aside when it became clear how effectively transplants could keep people alive.

In the US, the government tightly regulates all xenotransplants, in large part because of fears about diseases caused by Pervs.

In the UK, such work was once regulated by a body called the United Kingdom Xenotransplantation Interim Regulatory Authority (UKXIRA), but that was disbanded in 2006 amid a recognition that activity in the industry had slowed. The British regulation would now be decided by the Human Tissue Authority, a non-departmental body of the Department of Health.

Official bodies including the World Health Organisation have warned about the danger of so-called xenotourism, where people might fly to countries with more lax regulations to receive treatment. Some companies have already conducted trials in countries including Mexico.

In the UK, its likely that authorities would press for caution given the grave concern about the effects of such experiments. But the significance of any potential treatment for organ failure would mean that regulators would certainly not get in the way.

I think we would say that the regulatory approach would be proceed, with caution, said Jonathan Montgomery, who is professor of health care law and chair of the Health Research authority as well as having served as chair of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics.

This sounds promising. But it doesnt yet take away the anxieties about the safety of the process.

Piglets that were born after having their genes edited (eGenesis)

That would mean that ethicists would have to see far more evidence that the transplants had been safe to use in humans, for instance.

When it does come to be tested, it would be done on people that werent relying on it as their last resort, said Professor Montgomery. It would be too much of a risk to try it on people that didnt have any other option, and it would be difficult to get informed and free consent from people who saw it as their only option.

Some experiments in primates suggest that a pigs heart may not be rejected immediately, despite the vast difference between the two animals, if it is treated in the right way.

In 2015, researchers reported that they had put a pigs kidney that had been edited to get rid of -gal, the antigen that would cause a human to reject a pigs heart, into a baboon. The baboon lived for 136 days.

As well as the work to put a pigs organ into a human, some work on xenotransplantation is looking at the possibility of growing human organs inside another animal. Those organs would be genetically edited so that they would in effect be a persons  except they would have formed inside of a pig or other animal, from which they would be extracted and then placed into the human.

And doctors already use some parts of animals, including heart values, in surgery on humans.

Successful transplantation of tissues and organs from animals to man has been one of the goals of modern medicine for the last 20 years, said Ian McConnell, emeritus professor of veterinary science at the University of Cambridge. It has been seen as an important strategy to overcome the chronic shortage of human organs for transplantation in man.

There are several medical procedures using pig tissues such as heart valves in cardiac surgery, insulin producing pancreatic cells to correct diabetes in man and corneal transplants which have been used safely in man for many years. The safe use of pig organs such as kidneys in xenotransplantation has been seen as an approach which could be used to overcome the shortage of donor organs in human transplantation.

The use of human organs for transplantation only meets a small percentage of the total and growing number of individuals in desperate need of organ transplantation. It is a huge unmet need of modern medicine. But the use of animal organs such as pig kidneys and hearts is not without serious ethical and biosecurity concerns.

In the first part of the new research  published in the journal Science  the scientists demonstrated for the first time that Pervs can make their way from pigs into humans, proving that there is a high risk for any transplant. But the second part looks at solving that, by using gene editing techniques to remove Pervs.

That risk of infection had been the primary thing that shut down plans to develop xenotransplantation, which has been a dream of scientists since at least the 1960s. Many companies shut down their work on the idea in the 2000s, fearing that the challenge of Pervs wouldnt be overcome.

Historically, anxieties about the transmission of viruses have been significant because of diseases like HIV, said Professor Montgomery. That would mean any clinical research would require a high degree of confidence that such problems could be avoided, he said.

The shortage of human organs and tissues for transplantation represents one of the most significant unmet medical needs, the scientists write in the paper. Xenotransplantation holds great promise.

Porcine organs are considered favourable resources for xenotransplantation since they are similar to human organs in size and function, and can be bred in large numbers.

The researchers behind the study said that they would be conducting more work to engineer the Perv-free pigs so that they could become even safer to potentially use in humans. The pigs grown in the lab could eventually serve as the foundation for animals that one day have their organs harvested for humans, they suggested in the conclusion to their paper.

"This is the first publication to report on Perv-free pig production, said Luhan Yang, co-founder and chief scientific officer at biotech company eGenesis, which led the research.

"We generated a protocol to enable multiplex genome editing, eradicated all Perv activity using Crispr technology in cloneable primary porcine fibroblasts and successfully produced Perv-free piglets.

"This research represents an important advance in addressing safety concerns about cross-species viral transmission.

"Our team will further engineer the Perv-free pig strain to deliver safe and effective xenotransplantation."

But a number of obstacles remain, said Professor McConnell.

At this stage this work provides a promising first step in the development of genetic strategies for creating strains of pigs where the risk of transmission of retroviruses in vivo organ transplantation has been eliminated, he said.

It remains to be seen whether these results can be translated into a fully safe strategy in organ transplantation. Even if organs from these gene-edited pigs could be safely used to overcome virus transmission there remain formidable obstacles in overcoming immunological rejection and physiological incompatibility of pig organs in humans.
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An 11-year-old girl was left with severe burns to her face and shoulders after her friend allegedly poured boiling water over her at a sleepover.

Jamoneisha Merritt was rushed to Harlem Hospital in New York on Tuesday morning, while a 12-year-old girl was arrested and charged with assault.

The victim suffered second-degree burns on her body and reportedly endured severe pain for hours as doctors tried to soothe her injuries.

Jamoneisha's cousin, Yolanda Richardson, told WABC-TV the two girls had argued, and the 12-year-old told the younger girl if she went to sleep they were going to do something to her.

It was allegedly part of a growing social game called the "Hot Water Challenge" in which an unsuspecting victim has hot water thrown on them, according to NY1. The challenge is popular among teenagers and last week a girl in Florida died after drinking boiling water.

Jamoneisha fell asleep on a sofa and awoke at 4am to someone pouring boiling water over her. Much of the skin was burned off her face and neck, and she remains in a serious but stable condition in hospital.

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Her family said she was usually a bundle of joy but had been left emotionally scarred by the incident, according to NBC News.

"I could only be with her [in hospital] for a little bit, because I can't hold myself together," her cousin added. "I don't want her to see me cry."

The 12-year-old girl was charged as a juvenile and the case will be handled in a family court. No other children are facing charges at this stage, police said.
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A man posing as a policeman has been convicting of murder after he was filmed smothering and suffocating his victim.

Jason Marshall, 28, tricked Peter Fasoli, 58, into allowing himself to be bound and gagged at Mr Fasolis bungalow in Northolt in 2013.

Marshall was caught on a laptop camera smothering Mr Fasoli with a sheet of cling film. He then set the building alight in an attempt to cover his actions.

Although Marshall thought he had killed Mr Fasoli, it is possible he was still alive when the fire was started.

Marshall, who had pretended to be an undercover police or MI5 officer during the course of the murder, fled the country and went on to commit another murder in Italy three weeks later.

A relative of Mr Fasoli discovered the footage on the laptop almost two years after the incident, leading to Marshalls extradition and arrest.

Sally-Anne Russell from the CPS said: Jason Marshall murdered Peter Fasoli after being invited into his home. He suffocated him before lighting a fire to cover his tracks.

If it hadnt been for Mr Fasolis own laptop footage, Marshall may have escaped justice. That video, which was extremely disturbing, clearly showed Marshalls true intentions and undermined any false account he could give, leading to todays guilty verdict. Our thoughts are now with Mr Fasolis family.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. 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Marshall was found guilty of murder and arson and is due to be sentenced at a later date.
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Newcastles West End is buzzing on a sunny afternoon as shoppers dart in and out of an eclectic mix of Asian food stores, pawn brokers and salons while families stroll in the sunshine.

A little girl runs past and disappears around a corner before being dragged back by her panicked mother.

What did I tell you about running away on the Westgate Road, she admonishes. Its not safe in these streets.

Recommended More than 700 victims of sexual exploitation in North East

The district is the nucleus of a grooming gang that abused more than 100 girls and young women at sex parties where they were drugged and assaulted in unassuming terraced houses stretching either side of the high street.

The girl had unwittingly run into Strathmore Crescent, the former home of 35-year-old rapist Saiful Islam, one of 18 abusers convicted as part of a three-year police investigation into sexual exploitation.

Accomplice Yassar Hussain, 28, used his home in the next street over to be used for the so-called sessions and has been jailed for the offence, as well as witness intimidation and assault after he told a young girl everybody wanted her six feet under.

I knew him to say hello to, he seemed normal to look at, says a woman who lives nearby. I think they sold drugs but we didnt hear anything else.

Canning Street in Newcastle, where grooming gang member Yassar Hussain lived (Lizzie Dearden)

Like many locals met by The Independent, she was angry at the secrecy surrounding the police investigation  codenamed Operation Shelter  because of reporting restrictions since the start of trials in 2015.

They protect the paedophiles but what are they doing for these kids? she asks, pointing at children playing in a nearby park. Whats being done for them?

Some neighbours are suspicious of the police operation, either because they believe officers had covered up the abuse until Wednesdays verdicts, or because they think they are prejudiced against the Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities where most of the convicts originated.

I think most people are angry that they used a child rapist to catch them, says a man washing his car, referring to the recruitment of an informant known as XY who was paid almost 10,000.

If they knew people were up to something, why couldnt they use some other kind of surveillance? Its common sense.

Northumbria Police have defended using the sex offender, whose evidence was dismissed in court, saying he was told not to attend sex parties and did not commit any crimes while providing valuable intelligence on the gangs movements.

 Ken Macdonald on Newcastle sex ring: "This is a profoundly racist crime"

Ian Horsfall, a 56-year-old who has lived in Newcastles West End for his whole life, is cursing himself for not reporting suspicious activity he now believes was linked to the grooming to police.

I used to see big groups of young girls, aged maybe 12 to 15, coming up and down the road arguing and drunk, he recalls.

Guys would drive up and down the road and if they saw a young woman, theyd pull over and stop.

Youd hear them asking do you want a lift, love? but theyd speed off when I got close.

I wish Id taken the registration, I should have called the police.

Mr Horsfall remembers seeing police breaking down the door of a nearby house belonging to one of the abusers during raids that started in 2014.

At the time I hadnt a clue why, he adds. There were rumours that a paedophile lived there but we didnt know until now.

Northumbria Police Chief Constable Steve Ashman and Pat Ritchie, chief executive of Newcastle City Council (PA)

Using cars to target vulnerable girls on the street was one of several tactics used by abusers including Islam, who raped a drunk teenager picked up from outside a supermarket.

The court heard he told his wife he was going fishing and claimed to be offering the 15-year-old girl a warm seat in his car on a bitter night before buying her Malibu and taking her to a house used by friends to abuse their victims.

Other members of the gang met targets through social media or other girls, contacting them day and night to urge them to come to chill or join sessions where they would be given drugs and alcohol.

Some victims were coerced into sex using violence, threats and money, while others were incapacitated and woke to find themselves being raped.

One location of the so-called sex parties was a top floor flat in Todds Nook, where one teenager was raped three times by 42-year-old Eisa Mousavi.

A man drinking tea at the bottom of the tower block says he has heard nothing of the abuse during his 16 years living in the flats.

Toods Nook in Newcastle, where 'sex parties' were held by a grooming gang in a top floor flat (Lizzie Dearden)

Newcastle is a good city, John says. If it can happen here, it can happen anywhere.

Greg Stone, a local councillor, recalls what appeared to be isolated cases of sexual exploitation being raised since around 2007, but says the scale of the abuse did not become clear until Operation Sanctuary at the start of 2014.

It has so far identified more than 700 potential victims across Northumberland and Tyne and Wear and resulted in over 400 arrests, with more expected as women and girls continue to come forward on dedicated helplines.

Some of these girls were children in care and thats clearly a concern for the council, says Mr Stone, from the opposition Liberal Democrats.

The West End has a high population of ethnic minorities and also of long-term disadvantaged white communitiesI suspect there often isnt a high level of family support and concern.

Theres also the question of how much of this was seen by other people, and how long it has been going on for.

The same is being asked across Newcastle, where the scandal is simmering below the surface of apparent normality, dominating conversations at the citys shop counters, street corners and bus stops.

Mr Stone says that as local communities recover from their shock and work to stamp out the attitudes underpinning the abuse, it is time for nationwide action to ensure the exploitation uncovered in Rotherham, Rochdale, Oxford and now Newcastle are not repeated.

There needs to be a national approach, he adds. This is happening in too many places for it to be down to local circumstances.

Lessons need to be learnt so it cant happen again.
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The BBC presenter Jeremy Vine has been criticised for suggesting the man who pushed a pedestrian in front of a London bus was likely to have been a banker.

A Twitter poll published by the Radio 2 host invited users to guess the profession of the jogger, who caused a woman to fall into the path of oncoming traffic along Putney Bridge in May.

All three options offered by Vine were for jobs in the financial sector, and the poll attracted over 1,000 votes before the presenter deleted it four hours later.

Some Twitter users condemned the poll, calling it very insulting to those in such professions and prejudicial and inflammatory, while others called for Vines resignation from the BBC.

Andrew Bridgen, the Conservative MP for North West Leicestershire, accused Vine of embarking on a sort of class war while displaying a huge lack of judgement.

I bet the attacker doesnt earn as much as Jeremy Vine. The licence-fee payer would expect better from someone costing them around 15,000 a week, Mr Bridgen told the Daily Mail.

CCTV released by police earlier this week appeared to show the unidentified jogger shoving the woman to his right with both hands, causing her to fall head-first into the road.

Police are appealing for information on the incident on 5 May (Metropolitan Police)

The bus driver quickly swerved and narrowly missed the 33-year-old pedestrian, who was left with minor injuries. The Metropolitan Police said the vehicle stopped immediately and passengers on board rushed to the victims aid.

Officers have issued an appeal for any witnesses to the incident or anyone who recognises the jogger to get in touch by contacting Putney Safer Neighbourhood Team on 020 8785 8874, calling 101 or tweeting @MetCC.

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No arrests have yet been made, the Met said on Thursday morning, but the force confirmed it had had a huge response to the appeal.

The jogger was described as being white, in his early- to mid-thirties, with brown eyes and short brown hair. He was wearing a light grey t-shirt and dark blue shorts.

Information can be reported anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online.
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More than 700 women and girls have been identified as potential victims of sexual exploitation in the North East and authorities expect the figure to rise following the conviction of a high profile grooming gang.

A dedicated helpline was receiving calls within hours of the verdicts tied to Operation Shelter, which targeted a group of abusers operating in Newcastle, and investigators hope the publicity will encourage more people to come forward.

Steve Ashman, the Chief Constable of Northumbria Police, said the largest ever trials of connected grooming gang was certainly not the end of the work.

All the resources are still there and theres plenty of work coming through from victims feeling they have the confidence and the strength to trust us, he told The Independent.

Weve got to be in a position where current and historic victims have the confidence to take that courageous step.

There may be many more victims out there and we are appealing to them to come forward.

Canning Street in Newcastle, where grooming gang member Yassar Hussain lived (Lizzie Dearden)

Chief Constable Ashman said that women and girls will not be forced to give evidence and that the primary aim to protect victims and help them recover from the horrific abuse they have endured.

Northumbria Police and Newcastle City Council have set up a joint sexual exploitation hub staffed by police, social workers, health professionals, psychologists and voluntary groups.

Pat Ritchie, the councils chief executive, said all the programmes and helplines that grew out of the grooming case would remain in place for the foreseeable future.

Weve gone through a number of inter-related trials but it would be naive to think that issue is gone and that its not going to continue, she told The Independent.

We have to continue to support victims and make it clear that this sort of exploitative behaviour and awful crimes are not acceptable in our city.

The councils Director of People, Ewen Weir, who is responsible for social services, said authorities had been gearing up for an influx of new potential victims after the huge publicity surrounding the trials.

He added: Weve been working really hard for the past three years on how we tackle this with our partners.

Weve already had some contacts overnight.

(Northumbria Police/PA (Northumbria Police/PA)

A total of 17 men and one woman were convicted of offences including rape, sexual abuse, supplying drugs and trafficking for sexual exploitation after a three-year investigation that could only be made public when the last trial ended on Wednesday.

Prosecutors said the gang targeted vulnerable women and girls, meeting them on social media, at so-called sex parties or even preying on them in the street under the pretext of offering a warm car or safe place to say.

Victims were offered money, alcohol and drugs including cocaine and mephedrone, being forced or coerced into sex, or becoming incapacitated and waking up to realise they were being raped.

Some originally believed they were in loving relationships with defendants and said they initially had sex with their friends out of a sense of loyalty, while others were beaten, threatened or locked in rooms if they refused.

Police were heavily criticised for paying a convicted child rapist almost 10,000 to gather intelligence on the grooming gang, who were mainly operating in Newcastle West End between 2010 and 2014.

The NSPCC was among the groups condemning the decision, which has generated suspicion of the police operation in Newcastle and triggered attempts by some defence lawyers to have the criminal case thrown out of court.

Chief Constable Ashman said he recognised recruiting the informant known as XY would be a huge issue morally but insisted he had been instructed not to attend the parties where abuse took place and that the Independent Police Complaints Commission had found no issue with the operation.

Toods Nook in Newcastle, where 'sex parties' were held by a grooming gang in a top floor flat (Lizzie Dearden)

I think it has been a distraction from what we think is a hugely successful operation, he added.

Police have also pledged to monitor members of the grooming gang when they are released from prison, with some convicted of lesser crimes including drugs supply expected to be freed in little over a year.

Chief Constable Ashman said officers would be even more determined to disrupt any re-offending but hoped that the local community would change attitudes to ensure that the stigma and shame of involvement in exploitation, as well as the threat of fresh punishment, would deter any past or future offenders.

The investigation came under the umbrella of the wider Operation Sanctuary, which has been covering all sexual exploitation in Northumberland and Tyne and Wear since 2014.

It has resulted in a total of 93 convictions for abusers imprisoned for more than 300 years in total.

Police said convicts were mainly not white but came from a diverse range of backgrounds including Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Indian, Iranian, Iraqi, Kurdish, Turkish, Albanian and Eastern European.

Local authorities have rejected claims of political correctness influencing the probe  an accusation that was levelled at Rotherham Council by Theresa May during her time as Home Secretary.

Mr Weir said an event on safeguarding vulnerable people was requested by members of the black and ethnic minority (BAME) community earlier this year and that everyone he had met was as abhorred as anyone by the abuse uncovered.

There are men from all sorts of backgrounds, including white men, in this, he added.

In terms of religion, Ive seen no evidence personally that it is a big driver and I think its over-simplistic to claim otherwise.

 Sarah Champion on Newcastle sex ring: "The majority of the perpetrators have been British Pakistani

Chief Constable Ashman echoed the sentiment, saying his officers work was not impacted by religion, race or nationality.

He added: Were not politically correct, I dont care about the background of individuals: we find them, we arrest them and we put them behind bars.

Ms Ritchie said the one characteristic shared by the perpetrators was the willingness to exploit vulnerable women and girls and that discussions needed to tackle the attitudes underpinning the abuse.

She said local authorities would continue preventative work to raise awareness in the communities of both offenders and victims, as well among bar owners, door staff, taxi drivers, teachers and council workers to spot the signs of exploitation.

Weve learned a lot about and way in which these crimes are committed and the complexity of it, she said.

The first and foremost focus has been on providing the right support for girls and young women to talk about what is happening and begin to tackle it.

The council chief executive said much of the abuse discovered is based on control, fear and intimidation that women will be helped to escape through support and measures like rehousing.

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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

Newcastle City Council, which has spent around 4m on anti-exploitation work since 2013, has learnt from the investigations in Rotherham, Rochdale and Oxford and hopes to pass its expertise on in turn.

The authority will also be publishing the results of the serious case review by the end of the year, which will examine how the sexual exploitation exposed by Operation Sanctuary spread unchecked for so long.

Some of the victims were in council care, while others were known to social services and council employees had been called to noise complaints during sex parties where girls were being abused.

Im sure there will be things to learn and we will act on them, Ms Ritchie said. I dont think you would ever be complacent about something like this and think weve got everything cracked.

I think we all need to learn from one another in terms of this happening in different places. Whats different here in Newcastle is that we are going out and looking for it.

Ms Ritchie believes grooming gangs are active in many, if not all, other areas of the UK and her suspicion is shared by Northumbria Police.

This is not unique to Tyneside, Chief Constable Ashman said. Whatever people might think about what weve done, we could not have worked harder than this.

I think theres every likelihood that this is happening in every town and city across the country but you wont find it until you look for it.
The Tbilisi City Court on Thursday continued hearing a case in which former President Mikheil Saakashvili is charged with misappropriating public funds amounting to about 8 million lari (over $3 million).

The proceedings, which the Georgian media have dubbed 'the Jacket Case', are now in their third year.

The prosecution has accused Saakashvili of spending funds from the Special State Protection Service budget on his numerous trips abroad, staying at the most expensive hotels, visiting restaurants, and acquiring expensive clothes (i.e. jackets) and accessories for personal use.

At the hearing on Thursday, the prosecution charged Saakashvili with inviting a young and good-looking masseuse from Germany and paying for her services from the Special State Protection Service's budget.

However, Temur Janashia, a former head of the Special State Protection Service, said in court that the service had not paid for the German masseuse's services for Saakashvili.

Roman Gotsiridze, a leader of the Untied National Movement party founded by Saakashvili, told journalists on Thursday that setting a precedent of scrutinizing a former president's expenses might cost the incumbent authorities dearly.

"The allegations that Saakashvili wasted public funds go beyond any normal limits. He has even been accused of unreasonably spending money on funeral wreaths for the late former Polish President Kaczynski and Czech President Havel. I warn the incumbent authorities that, when someone else comes in their stead, they'll be reminded of every shashlik [a dish of skewered and grilled cubes of meat] eaten at public expense," Gotsiridze said.

The Georgian prosecution service has also opened three other criminal cases against Saakashvili on abuse of office charges.
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Images have emerged reportedly showing the dark web advert used to try to sell British model Chloe Ayling.

The 20-year-old claims she was held captive for almost a week after being lured to Milan, Italy, for what she was told was a photo shoot. Her alleged captor, Lukasz Pawel Herba, reportedly drugged her and placed her in a large suitcase in a car boot.

Mr Herba has claimed he only became involved under duress from a Romanian gang living in Birmingham.

 Chloe Ayling speaks to reporters and poses for photos outside her home upon return to the UK

Recommended Chief suspect in Chloe Ayling case denies knowingly committing crime

The images in the advert are said to have been taken at a farmhouse near Turin, Italy, where Ms Ayling was allegedly held hostage for up to six days as her abductors tried to sell her as a sex slave.

They show a young blonde woman lying on a hard stone floor dressed in a pink leotard.

In one of the pictures, a leaflet from a group calling itself Black Death asking potential buyers to bid at upwards of $300,000 has been placed on the womans stomach.

The pictures were emailed to a number of British newspapers several weeks ago but appear to have been ignored until now.

Kidnapped model Chloe Ayling, 20

Did you know chloe ayling has been kidnapped in italy and is now for sale by russian mafia ???, the email reads. See attachament (sic).

i been sending wit codes but ppl dunno how to open so i send unprotected now.

it will be f***n hot mateeee.

Attached with the email was a document advertising the criminal gangs kidnapping services and information on its latest victim.

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

The message contained details of Ms Aylings measurements, where she was abducted and held and the date of the auction to sell her.

Referring to the groups victims as merchandise, the advert promises a doctor will test the women for the sexually transmitted diseases and whether they are pure.

The gang says its victims can be transported globally and advertises its activities, saying: If you wish, we can kidnap a specific target for your needs. That service will be rather expensive, especially for targets outside Europe.

The advert claims the abductors do not sell girls that are terminally ill, pregnant, have STDs or are young mothers. It has been suggested the gang let Ms Ayling go after realising she had a two-year-old son.

She was released after being driven to the British consulate in Milan.

While some people have raised doubts about her story, her lawyer, Francesco Pesce, said investigators believed her claims.

Italian prosecutors have said they believe the model was kidnapped and dont see any inconsistencies in the story.
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People entering courts are being asked to sip bottled water to prove it is not acid following a spate of attacks involving corrosive substances.

Judges, lawyers and journalists are also required to perform the sip tests as well as members of the public.

The latest measure was announced by the Ministry of Justice following calls for urgent action to prevent such life-changing attacks.

A security guard at Cardiff Crown Court told the Daily Mail that he believed the measure was justified.

Recommended Amber Rudd backs Met Police over potential rise in street searches

It would be very easy to conceal in a plastic bottle so when people come through and into the court we have to ask them to take a sip of their drink to prove that it isn't acid.

One family came into the court with a little boy who looked about three of four years old and was carrying a child's beaker.

We had to ask the parents to take a sip of the drink to prove it wasn't acid, but it was the little boy who took the sip of the drink so we could allow them into the court.

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

A statement from Her Majestys Courts and Tribunals Service said: We take the safety and security of court users and staff extremely seriously, which is why were bringing in enhanced safety measures across the court estate.

We keep our security procedures under constant review, and will always take action where appropriate.

Recommended Deliveroo riders refuse to work in parts of London after acid attacks

The new protocol comes after new judicial guidelines were issued allowing for life sentences for criminals convicted of carrying out acid attacks  even if they missed their targets or failed to inflict serious harm.

The number of crimes using acid or other noxious substances has more than doubled in London over the last three years, official figures show.

There has also been a less dramatic increase in other parts of the country, with fears that acid is becoming the weapon of choice for gangs in preference to knives.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd has announced the Poisons Act of 1972 is to be reviewed following fears the sale of acid needs to be regulated. Ms Rudd has given her backing for the police to have greater powers of stop and search to try and stamp out the horrific offence.
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Nearly a quarter of a million people are experiencing acute forms of homelessness across Britain, with rough sleeping set to rise by 76 per cent in the next decade unless the Government takes long-term action to tackle the problem, a charity has warned today.

In what critics have condemned as a national scandal, a total 159,000 households are sleeping rough or living in unsuitable temporary accommodation and experiencing other forms of acute homelessness, marking a rise of nearly a third since 2011, according to a new analysis conducted for Crisis.

Of these, 57,000 are family households  consisting of 82,000 adults and 50,000 children  indicating that a growing number of families are being forced out of their housing and forced to live in unsuitable conditions.

The report, carried out by Heriot-Watt University, reveals that 9,100 people were sleeping rough in 2016, while 68,300 households were sofa surfing, 19,300 were living in unsuitable temporary accommodation and 37,200 were living in hostels.

A further 26,000 households were living in other circumstances, with 8,900 sleeping in tents, cars or on public transport, more than 12,000 living in squats and 5,000 in womens refuges or winter night shelters.

(Crisis (Crisis)

It comes after an analysis by The Independent of official statistics revealed the number of families being declared homeless had increased by more a third since the Conservatives took power in 2010.

Nearly 60,000 families were declared homeless by local authorities in England between April 2016 and March 2017  a rise of 34 per cent on the same period in 2010-11, the analysis found.

Thousands of families have subsequently been living in B&Bs, which often sees them crammed into one room and sharing limited bathroom and cooking facilities with strangers for more than six weeks, which is illegal under the Homelessness (Suitability of Accommodation) Order 2003.

An even larger number of single working age people were sleeping rough in Britain in the past year, with more than 100,000 recorded to have experienced acute forms of homelessness.

Drawing on detailed economic modelling, the Crisis report forecasts that the increase is set to continue at a growing pace, with overall numbers estimated to rise by more than a quarter in the coming decade (27 per cent) and households in unsuitable temporary accommodation set to nearly double (93 per cent).

The latest report also looks at how different policies could make an impact on this projected rise. Based on the model, a 60 per cent increase in new housing could reduce levels of homelessness by 19 per cent by 2036, while more prevention work could reduce levels by 34 per cent in the same period.

Jon Sparkes, chief executive of Crisis, said: This year, Crisis marks its 50th anniversary, but thats little cause for celebration. We still exist because homelessness still exists, and todays report makes it only too clear that unless we take action as a society, the problem is only going to get worse with every year that passes.

That means more people sleeping on our streets, in doorways or bus shelters, on the sofas of friends or family, or getting by in hostels and B&Bs. In order to tackle this, we need to first understand the scale of the problem.

Regardless of what happens in peoples lives, whatever difficulties they face or choices they make, no one should ever have to face homelessness. With the right support at the right time, it doesnt need to be inevitable. There are solutions, and were determined to find them and make them a reality.

'I spent three months sleeping in my car'

Paula Blennerhassett, 48, found herself homeless three years ago after a workplace accident prevented her from working and the mobile home site she had been living in went into administration.

Without anywhere else to live, and without her parents to fall back on, Ms Blennerhassett ended up sleeping in her car for three months.

Paula Blennerhassett was homeless for two years, during which she spent three months sleeping in her car (Andrew Walmsley)

It was scary sleeping in my car. I could put towels and blankets up against the window for a bit of privacy, but I didnt know who was outside. I didnt know if I was safe, Ms Blennerhassett told The Independent.

After three weeks, she moved into a hostel in Oxford, where she lived alongside other homeless people, many of whom were drug and alcohol addicts.

There were lots of alcoholics and drug addicts there, which made things quite hard while I was trying to study for accounting. I watched people Id become friends with become very ill in there, she recalled.

After two years of homelessness, Ms Blennerhassett is now living in a flat in Chipping Norton, with the help of Crisis. But she looks back on those years and feels failed by those in power.

The Government offered very little support. It was very much wait your turn. While living in my car I was emailing David Cameron, but nothing could be done. The local authorities hands were tied as they tried to deal with so many major cuts, she said.

Nobody wanted to take the time to look at whats going on. I dont think Id even be here without the charities that helped me.

Responding to the Crisis report, Shadow Housing Minister John Healey described the rise in homeless as a national scandal, blaming it on Tory policies such as cuts to housing benefit and cuts to funding for services supporting homeless people.

It is a national scandal that in 21st century Britain the number of people experiencing homelessness is spiralling upwards, he said.

These new figures are a terrible reminder of the consequences of Conservative Ministers seven years of failure on housing. The number of people sleeping rough fell under Labour but has risen every year under the Conservatives and has now doubled since 2010.

This is a direct result of decisions made by Conservative Ministers: a steep drop in investment for affordable homes, crude cuts to housing benefit, reduced funding for homelessness services, and a refusal to help private renters.

Ministers must now back Labours plans to fix the housing crisis and end rough sleeping by the end of this Parliament.

A Liberal Democrat spokesperson meanwhile said: In 2017 no-one should be homeless, living in a bed and breakfast or worrying whether they will have a roof over their head from one month to the next.

This is a national scandal which the Government are failing to tackle, so it will only get worse. We need more homes built and they need to be truly affordable.

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Britain is one of the richest nations on earth, it is an utter disgrace that thousands of people are still sleeping rough on the streets every night.

A spokesman for the Department for Communities and Local Government said: This Government is determined to help the most vulnerable in society and were working to make sure people always have a roof over their head.

We know this is an issue Government cant solve alone and so welcome Crisis support for our commitment to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping.

Alongside investing 550m to 2020 to address the issue, were implementing the Homelessness Reduction Act, which will require councils to provide early support to people at risk of becoming homeless. Theres more to do and ministers will set out plans shortly.
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The enormous scale of modern slavery and human trafficking in the UK has been revealed in a major official report, with hundreds cases affecting every large town and city in the country.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) said the scale of the issue is far more prevalent than previously estimated, and warned that the threat is continuing to expand.

There are currently more than 300 live police operations targeting modern slavery in the UK, with alleged victims as young as 12 being sold to families in the UK from Europe, the report reveals.

Operational activity focusing on labour and sexual exploitation, coordinated by the NCA through May and June, led to 111 arrests in the UK and some 130 people being encountered who may be considered as victims.

Linked activity also took place on mainland Europe resulting in around 40 further arrests and the launch of 25 further investigations.

Will Kerr, director of vulnerabilities at the NCA, said: The more that we look for modern slavery, the more we find evidence of the widespread abuse of the vulnerable.

The growing body of evidence we are collecting points to the scale being far larger than anyone previously thought. This should not be acceptable in any way, shape or form.

Responding to the report, Kevin Hyland, the independent anti-slavery commissioner, said the fight against modern slavery must go beyond arrests, and extend into more convictions as well as improved intelligence gathering and better support for victims.

Arrests have been made by police, victims rescued and convictions secured. But the real work starts now. We need to see more convictions and criminals behind bars, Mr Hyland said.

We need to see information gathered and mined for intelligence that leads to organised networks dismantled. And we need these victims to be supported and cared for so that they are no longer vulnerable to traffickers and slave masters.

It is my hope that the campaign launched today by the NCA leads to an increased awareness among the British public, so that we can pride ourselves on being a nation that will not tolerate the evil of modern slavery.

The report comes a day after Mr Hyland accused the NCA came of not taking the crime seriously enough and allowing important information about modern slavery offences to sit dormant on databases.

Speaking to the Evening Standard on Thursday, Mr Hyland said measures to protect other potential victims had not been taken, in a failure he likened to allowing a rapist to run around London without police taking action.

The number of people being referred into the National Referral Mechanism (NRM)  the UKs official framework for identifying victims of human trafficking  has risen steadily in recent years. Almost 1,400 victims, including cases of sexual exploitation and domestic servitude, were identified last year.

Kate Roberts, head of the Human Trafficking Foundation, said in order to tackle the problem and help victims there must be improvements in the recording of data.

We know modern slavery and human trafficking are a much bigger problem than is being identified, yet were still stumbling around because we dont have proper data, she told The Independent.

The Anti-Slavery Commissioner has been calling for improvement on data gathering for years. It is alarming that were still hypothesising so much. It is a hidden crime but we need to be better at collecting figures.

Ms Roberts also warned that improved systems must be in place to support victims once they are identified, which would in turn encourage more victims to come forward.

Data-collection needs to go on beyond the point of identification, but to do that we need to support these people. Its got to be about providing support for victims beyond the NRM, she said.

Some victims are in slavery and arent approaching the NRM because they dont believe it will help them. We need a system where adult victims approach it, so we need to provide more support.

A report published by the Work and Pensions Committee in April found recording of data collected by the NRM was generally substandard, and accused the mechanism of being nothing but a piece of paper to victims.

The Independent revealed in May that hundreds of slavery victims in the UK were being abandoned by the authorities as soon as they are identified, placing them at risk of falling straight back into the hands of traffickers.

Charities said they were being left desperately trying to fill in the gaps as vulnerable people fall into destitution, alcoholism and exploitation because of a lack of government-funded care.

Responding to the report, Anne Read, director of anti-trafficking and modern slavery for The Salvation Army, said: The news today from the NCA is consistent with trends we have witnessed over the past six years of managing the Government contract to support all adult victims of modern slavery in England and Wales.

The number of people being referred to The Salvation Army for specialist support to start their recovery from exploitation at the hands of human traffickers continues to rise year-on-year.

Speaking specifically on child-trafficking and child slavery victims, Ryan Mahan, of ECPAT, a campaigning organisation working to prevent child trafficking, said: There are two scandals at work here. Every year, more and more adults and children are subjected to unimaginable forms of abuse and exploitation in the UK.

Despite this, victims continue to be denied access to the vital services they need to recover and rebuild their lives. Authorities must stop prioritising immigration control targets over the safety of victims, which leaves scores of the children we work with vulnerable to missing, re-trafficking and deportation.

Barnardos chief executive, Javed Khan, said: These new figures show the shocking scale of modern slavery in the UK but its important to remember that it does not only affect adults.

Traffickers do not care how young their victims are and Barnardos has provided support to children of all ages, including babies who have been trafficked.

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

A Home Office spokesperson said: Modern slavery is a barbaric crime which destroys the lives of some of the most vulnerable in our society.

This Government has taken world-leading action to tackle it, giving law enforcement agencies the tools they need, toughening up sentences and increasing support and protection for victims.

We continue to support the work of the National Crime Agency to leave criminal networks of traffickers and slavers nowhere to hide. Earlier this year we launched the Joint Slavery and Trafficking Analysis Centre to provide high quality intelligence analysis to assess the threat posed by modern slavery, and to support an increased operational response to this horrendous crime.
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They said they had a room. But not for me, just for my children. I was crying. The children were crying. They were scared. It felt likely life was being taken away from me.

Sarah* and her three children became homeless in May last year. The small London flat the family had been living in flooded, and the fire brigade told her it was no longer safe for them to live there.

The mother-of-three was an undocumented Nigerian woman with no recourse to public funds, but the family had an application pending with the Home Office for the family's leave to remain on human rights grounds. She didnt foresee the threat of having her children, aged seven, 10 and 14  all born in the UK and attending school  being taken into care.

It took three days to organise an appointment with Haringey Council, during which Sarah and the children were able to stay with a friend. They arrived at the council at 11am on a Thursday in early June 2016 hoping to get some form of interim support, and were seen to at around 3pm.

Within several hours, Sarah was reportedly told no support was available for the family. With nowhere to go, they remained in the council offices until they were forced out when they closed, at which point they went to a 24-hour police station.

She said it was there that she was informed over the phone by an out-of-hour social worker that Haringey Council could house her children but not her.

They knew I had nowhere to go. I asked, Where are we going to sleep? I felt like I had done something wrong. They came back and said theyd found a room, but not for me, just for the children, she told The Independent.

They didnt have any sympathy. I said, Youre trying to take my life away. I was crying and crying. My kids were just crying. We were there until 2am. They kept coming and saying the same thing.

In a state of desperation, Sarah phoned the mother of her 10-year-old daughters friend, who was woken up by the call but agreed to house the family for the remainder of the night.

The following day, she returned to the council with her documents, but was told again that the only option was for the local authority to house the children without her.

After intervention from a solicitor, the family was given a temporary room in a shared house while the council carried out an assessment of the childrens needs. The room had one double bed and one single bed for the four of them. They stayed there for four months.

We had one room for all of us. My daughter slept on the single, and I slept in the double with the two boys, Sarah said. There was a disabled man there, and someone with mental health problems. We were given no money. It was very difficult.

In October, Haringey Council closed the case following the assessment. They gave the family 10 days to leave the temporary accommodation, saying they couldnt support them because the family had resources they could call upon.

However, Sarah and her children were left destitute. North East London Migrant Action (NELMA), an activist group campaigning on behalf of families with no recourse to public funds, helped Sarah find refuge for her and her family, staying first with a Christian charity and later with a NELMA volunteer.

A spokesperson for Haringey Council said the council could not comment on individual cases, but was "very aware" of its responsibilities in supporting those seeking refuge with no recourse to public funds and always looked to provide this support "efficiently and with compassion".

They added that the local authority was currently supporting 71 households with no recourse to public funds, including 151 children.

The Children Act 1989 states that local authorities must safeguard the welfare of children in need in their area and so far as is consistent with that duty, promote the upbringing of such children by their families.

Recommended More than nine in 10 asylum seekers wrongly denied emergency support

But organisations working with people with no recourse to public funds have told The Independent of multiple cases in which people approaching local authorities for housing were told social services would accommodate the child but not the parent.

Benjamin Morgan, a coordinator of NELMA's accompanying scheme for destitute migrant families, told The Independent: Many local authority social services departments have created a climate of fear, misinformation and intimidation to stop destitute migrants accessing support theyre entitled to.

"Local authorities are knowingly disregarding their duty to some of the most vulnerable families in London, and the threat of taking children into care is being used to deter families from turning to them for help."

It comes as it emerged that nearly a quarter of a million people are experiencing acute forms of homelessness across Britain, with charities warning that rough sleeping set to rise by 76 per cent in the next decade unless the Government takes long-term action to tackle the problem.

The Independent revealed earlier this year that ethnic minorities have borne the brunt of spiralling homelessness, with the number of BAME families accepted as homeless having increased by 58 per cent in six years, compared with 34 per cent of households categorised as White.

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

A spokesperson for Haringey Council said: We are very aware of our responsibilities in supporting those seeking refuge with no recourse to public funds and always look to provide this support efficiently and with compassion..

Cases of this nature can be very complex, which is why we have a number of measures in place to ensure we are constantly monitoring these services and making improvements where necessary.

Measures have included commissioning two audits  one to ensure all our cases meet statutory expectations and good practice and another to look at the processes around securing support for those who need it.

*The womans name has been changed to protect her identity
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A double-decker bus has crashed into a shop on a busy London high street, leaving two female passengers trapped on the upper deck.

A total of nine people suffered minor injuries when the bus hit the building in Lavender Hill, near Clapham Junction railway station in south-west London shortly before 7am.

The route 77 bus driver has been taken to a south London hospital and the two passengers were eventually rescued from the top deck.

Police said paramedics had treated "a number of passengers" at the scene.

London Fire Brigade, London Ambulance Service and the Metropolitan Police at the scene of the crash in Lavender Hill, near Clapham Junction train station (Brendan Pfahlert/PA)

One passenger reported the driver said he "blacked out" before the collision.

Photos on social media showed the bus on the pavement and smashed into the front of the Poggen Pohl Kitchen Design Centre.

Glass lay shattered across the ground and paramedics could be seen tending to people on the top deck.

Firefighters with cutting gear appeared to be trying to cut the trapped passengers free from the top of the bus.

Andrew Matthews, 34, of Wandsworth Town, told the Press Association he was one of around a dozen passengers on the bus.

He said: "I was on the top floor at the back, fortunately.

"I noticed the bus drifting. I heard a smash and saw the roof of the shop going through [the bus] from the front left. It went to the fourth or fifth row.

"I wedged myself in, bracing myself. As soon as the bus came to a stop there was yelling, screaming.

"I noticed a lady wedged in the front right-hand side. She was screaming for help. There was a lot of blood."

Amy Mullineux, 40, a nurse from Wandsworth Common, was also on the bus and said the driver told her he had lost consciousness before the crash.

"I spoke to him. He said he blacked out before the bus hit the shop.

"He doesn't remember hitting anything. The paramedic told me they think he had some kind of fit."

Solange Morin, 33, who lives close to the scene and was hoping to catch the bus before she saw it crash, said: "I saw this woman [in the bus] shouting and banging on the glass.

"Everybody shouted 'fire, fire'. I went on to the bus. I talked to her and was holding her hands.

"She was pinned. I wouldn't have been able to get her out.

"She was so scared because people were shouting fire. There was a lot of smoke."

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

Police said there were no life-threatening or life-changing injuries.

London Fire Brigade, London Ambulance Service and the Metropolitan Police were on the scene.

Transport for London said a "full investigation is under way".
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Boris Johnson should be jailed over claims made before the EU referendum, Brexit Secretary Davis Davis' former chief of staff has suggested.

James Chapman, who quit the role in June, said "leading Brexiteers" would be behind bars over campaign mistruths "if we had effective electoral law".

Referring to Foreign Secretary Mr Johnson by name, he cited Vote Leave's claim that the UK leaving the EU would free up an extra 350m for the NHS.

Mr Chapman, former political editor of the Daily Mail and spin doctor for George Osborne, delivered an ominous forecast on Brexit in a series of tweets this week.

First he described quitting the EU as a "catastrophe" and called for "sensible MPs" to form a new party to reverse to result of the referendum".

He then took aim at Mr Johnson, saying: "Let's be honest, if we had an effective electoral law leading Brexiteers would now be in jail #wheresmy350maweekboris."

James Chapman (left) and the Brexit Secretary David Davis (PA)

His comments on Twitter provoked responses from politicians on both sides of the Brexit divide.

Labour MP Wes Streeting said they were a "striking warning from a notable source", while Liberal Democrats leader Vince Cable wrote: "I agree with David Davis ex chief of staff. The public should have a chance to exit from Brexit.

Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage asked which side Mr Chapman had been "really working for in the Brexit department".

The former journalist, who now works for a public relations firm, responded: "Not yours. We are going to grind you and your appalling party into the dust. How's the German citizenship application going?"

Mr Chapman worked as Mr Osborne's director of communications as the ex-Chancellor campaigned to keep Britain in the EU.

In a bizarre twist he then became top aide to Mr Davis last summer, taking up a key role in the Whitehall department responsible for overseeing Brexit.

Shortly after leaving his role at the Department for Exiting the European Union ahead of the general election, Mr Chapman said his former boss Mr Davis had been hamstrung by Theresa Mays red-line on ending the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice.

He addressed several of his posts this week to ministers, highlighting the difficulties of the UK leaving the EU and hinting at discontent among senior Conservative MPs.

He tweeted Business Secretary Greg Clark: "I know you dont agree with this nonsense, but can you confirm itll take 7 years to implement alternative Euratom regime?

He also asked Karen Bradley, the Culture Secretary, whether she could confirm all US broadcasters are moving out of London because of the PMs deranged hard Brexit and asked Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt how "millions of UK tourists will maintain [the] right to emergency healthcare".
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International observers have praised the handling of Kenyas presidential election, with the European Union mission saying it had seen no sign of manipulation despite opposition complaints and scattered protests.

Police fired live rounds and tear gas as they clashed with opposition supporters in one Nairobi neighbourhood on Thursday but most of the capital and the rest of the country were calm after four people were killed in violence on Wednesday.

President Uhuru Kenyatta has taken a commanding lead but his rival, veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga, has rejected provisional electronic results, saying figures released so far are fictitious and that election systems had been hacked.

As they wait for final results to be tallied and confirmed, many Kenyans are nervous of a repeat of the clashes that killed about 1,200 people after a bitterly contested 2007 election.

Recommended Two dead in Kenya election clashes amid fears protests will spread

In its first assessment of Tuesdays poll, the European Unions election observer mission said it had seen no signs of centralised or localised manipulation of the voting process. Marietje Schaake, head of the mission, said the EU would provide an analysis of the tallying process in a later report.

Provisional results released by the election commission showed Kenyatta had won 54.3 per cent of votes, ahead of Odinga on 44.8 per cent  a lead of 1.4 million votes with 97 per cent of polling stations reported.

John Kerry, the former US Secretary of State heading the Carter Center observer mission, said the election system, which is ultimately based on the original paper ballots cast, remained solid and all sides should wait for electronic tallies to be double-checked against hard copies. The process that was put in place is proving its value thus far, Kerry said. Kenya has made a remarkable statement to Africa and the world about its democracy and the character of that democracy. Dont let anybody besmirch that.

Kenyas election commission said that it hoped to have all results centralised by midday on Friday and would announce a winner soon after that. It confirmed there had been an attempt to hack into its system but said it had failed.

Thabo Mbeki, the former South African president in charge of the African Union observer mission, praised the poll so far. It would be very regrettable if anything emerges afterwards that sought to corrupt the outcome, to spoil that outcome, he said.

Reuters TV footage showed police firing live rounds as they clashed with youths throwing stones in Kawangware slum. One injured or dead person was rushed from the scene in a sack.

Angry protests had erupted on Wednesday in opposition strongholds in Nairobi and the western city of Kisumu, with demonstrators burning tyres in the streets.

Police shot dead one protester in Nairobi. One person was killed by a machete-wielding gang that attacked a tally centre in coastal Tana River county, and police shot dead two of the assailants.

On Thursday morning, some market stalls and shops were open in Kisumu and more vehicles were on the street than a day earlier.

A group of workers sitting in the shade said they were eager for daily life to return.

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

We dont want to fight, said driver Evans Omondi, 28, wearing a polo shirt and jeans. We want to go back to work.

The men said they were worried by Odingas allegations but that they could not afford the consequences of violence in their city, which saw some of the worst clashes a decade ago.

Traffic flowed on Nairobis usually gridlocked streets but an increasing number of businesses opened.

Kenyatta, a 55-year-old businessman seeking a second five-year term, held a lead of about 10 per cent from the start of Tuesdays counting, the culmination of a hard-fought contest between the heads of Kenyas two political dynasties.

Odinga contested and lost Kenyas last two elections, which he also said were rigged. He has urged his supporters to remain calm but said: I dont control the people.

He posted 50 pages of computer logs online to support his hacking claims, but they were inconclusive, according to Matt Bernhard, who studies computer security in election systems at the University of Michigan.

In 2007, tallying was halted and the incumbent president declared the winner, triggering an outcry from Odingas camp and waves of ethnic violence that led to International Criminal Court charges against Kenyatta and his now-deputy, William Ruto.

The cases against them collapsed as witnesses died or disappeared.
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The freshly friendly relationship between the US and Cuba appears to have soured after officials said that had been secretly made deaf.

The hearing loss has been blamed on a secret sonic weapon and is just one a series of bizarre incidents that have upset US officials working in Cuba. The US has kicked out two Cuban diplomats in an attempt to address the strange incidents.

US investigators have concluded that the country's diplomats were being hit with an advanced device that can send out sound that is inaudible but can cause huge damage to the ears of a person around them, which appears to have been left either inside or near the diplomats' houses. It's not clear whether the device was meant as a weapon or if it also served some other purpose.

Pictures of everyday life in Cuba Show all 20 1 /20 Pictures of everyday life in Cuba Pictures of everyday life in Cuba A man rides his modified bicycle past a vintage American car in Havana Getty Images Pictures of everyday life in Cuba A taxi sits parked by Ancon Beach waiting for returning bathers in Trinidad Getty Images Pictures of everyday life in Cuba Afrocuban carnival group "Los componedores de batea" performing in the streets of La Habana Vieja Rex Pictures of everyday life in Cuba Pastel colours for an ice-cream place and a vintage American car in Cienfuegos after sunset Rex Pictures of everyday life in Cuba A man on the phone in a bookshop in Old Havana (Habana Vieja) selling books and displaying propaganda poster of the Cuban Revolution Rex Pictures of everyday life in Cuba Street Musicians in Santiago De Cuba Rex Pictures of everyday life in Cuba A man works to repair his classic American car after it broke down along the Prado, a wide avenue that runs from Parque Central to the Malecon seafront highway, in Havana Getty Images Pictures of everyday life in Cuba Members of the 'Ladies in White,' a group founded by the partners and relatives of jailed dissidents that regularly protests against the Cuban government, demonstrate on the streets of Havana Getty Images Pictures of everyday life in Cuba Street vegetables vendor in Havana Getty Images Pictures of everyday life in Cuba The sun setting through the palm trees and creates long shadows on the pool deck at this resort in Cuba Varadero Rex Pictures of everyday life in Cuba General view of a street in Havana Getty Images Pictures of everyday life in Cuba A girls plays on a street in Havana Getty Images Pictures of everyday life in Cuba Girls walk past graffiti art along the Paseo de Marti, the wide boulevard that runs through the heart of the historic Old Havana neighborhood in Havana Getty Images Pictures of everyday life in Cuba A woman smokes her Havana cigar Getty Images Pictures of everyday life in Cuba A man harvests tobacco leaves for drying at a tobacco drying house on a co-op plantation in Pinar del Rio Getty Images Pictures of everyday life in Cuba Men play chess on a street in Havana Getty Images Pictures of everyday life in Cuba Locals take part in a gay parade in Havana Getty Images Pictures of everyday life in Cuba Scene of the Memories Paraiso Azul resort in Santa Maria Key Getty Images Pictures of everyday life in Cuba Beach on the Bay of Pigs, Zapata Peninsula Pictures of everyday life in Cuba Divers swimming above coral reef in Caribbean Sea Rex

Towards the end of last year, US diplomats began to suffer mysterious hearing loss, according to investigators. Many of them had arrived recently at the embassy, which had reopened the year before, as part of Barack Obama's new attempt to reestablish relations with the country.

Some of the diplomats even had to leave their post and come back to the US.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the U.S. retaliated by expelling two Cuban diplomats from their embassy in Washington on May 23. She did not say how many US diplomats were affected or confirm they had suffered hearing loss, saying only that they had "a variety of physical symptoms."

The Cuban government said in a lengthy statement late Wednesday that "Cuba has never permitted, nor will permit, that Cuban territory be used for any action against accredited diplomatic officials or their families, with no exception."

The statement from the Cuban Foreign Ministry said it had been informed of the incidents on Feb. 17 and had launched an "exhaustive, high-priority, urgent investigation at the behest of the highest level of the Cuban government."

It said the decision to expel two Cuban diplomats was "unjustified and baseless."

The ministry said it had created an expert committee to analyze the incidents and had reinforced security around the U.S. embassy and U.S. diplomatic residences.

"Cuba is universally considered a safe destination for visitors and foreign diplomats, including U.S. citizens," the statement said.

US officials told The Associated Press that about five diplomats, several with spouses, had been affected and that no children had been involved. The FBI and Diplomatic Security Service are investigating.

 Trump says a America has 'rejected the Cuban people's oppressors'

Cuba employs a state security apparatus that keeps many people under surveillance and US diplomats are among the most closely monitored people on the island. Like virtually all foreign diplomats in Cuba, the victims of the incidents lived in housing owned and maintained by the Cuban government.

However, officials familiar with the probe said investigators were looking into the possibilities that the incidents were carried out by a third country such as Russia, possibly operating without the knowledge of Cuba's formal chain of command.

Nauert said investigators did not yet have a definitive explanation for the incidents but stressed they take them "very seriously," as shown by the Cuban diplomats' expulsions.

"We requested their departure as a reciprocal measure since some US personnel's assignments in Havana had to be curtailed due to these incidents," she said. "Under the Vienna Convention, Cuba has an obligation to take measures to protect diplomats."

US diplomats in Cuba said they suffered occasional harassment for years after the restoration of limited ties with the communist government in the 1970s, harassment reciprocated by US agents against Cuban diplomats in Washington. The use of sonic devices to intentionally harm diplomats would be unprecedented.

Additional reporting by agencies
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More than $10,000 (7,700) has been raised for a mosque in Minnesota after it was firebombed in what the mayor called "an act of terrorism."

Donald Trump and the White House have so far remained silent about the bombing, despite Muslim leaders urging him to condemn it as a terrorist attack.

The explosion at Dar Al-Farooq Islamic Centre in Bloomington happened on Saturday morning just before morning prayers and caused extensive damages to the imam's office, but did not injure anyone.

The FBI said it was an "improved explosive device."

 White House defends silence on mosque bombing, says it might have been faked by liberals

A GoFundMe crowdfunding page raised more than $87,000 (67,000), while a LaunchGood page raised more than $21,000 (16,000).

Well-wishers have also left flowers outside the mosque.

Mohamed Omar, the mosque's director, said his community is grateful for the support it has received from the public.

While the bombing was "horrific and tragic," Mr Omar said, "on the other hand, good people came out, and they outnumber that one bad guy, and we are so pleased and so happy to see this community coming together in our support."

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

Governor Mark Dayton visited the mosque on Sunday and called the bombing a "wretched" terrorist act. Islamic leaders in Minnesota and nationwide have said they are waiting for the president to say something similar.

But Mr Trump's adviser, Sebastian Gorka, said the White House would withhold comment until the investigation is complete, suggesting it may have been a hoax orchestrated "by the left."

The mosque opened in 2011 at the site of a former elementary school and serves people primarily from the area's large Somali community.

Minnesota has the largest Somali community in the US, roughly 57,000 people, according to the latest census figures.
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As rhetoric between the United States and North Korea becomes increasingly aggressive, a former US Secretary of Defense has predicted the two nations are heading for "some form of conflict".

William Perry, who spent years negotiating with the North Korean government aftert being sent as an envoy to Pyongyang by President Bill Clinton in 1999.

In a hugely rare trip for a US official - unthinkable in the current climate - he was tasked with brokering an agreement with North Korea that it not develop a nuclear arsenal in exchange for economic benefits or no imposition of economic sanctions.

 North Korea threatens Guam attack plan after Trump's 'fire and fury' warning

And speaking to The New York Times' The Daily podcast, Mr Perry said he believed he was on the verge of success with this, until President George W Bush was elected in 2000 and shut down the talks.

Kim Jong-un is in a much stronger position now the country has developed nuclear weapons, and Mr Perry gave his view on the likely outcome of the current escalation of tensions between the two countries.

"In the direction we're moving now, I see us heading toward some sort of a conflict," Mr Perry replied.

"Even a minor military conflict could do incredible damage to South Korea and a major conflict, another Korean war - even if it was a conventional war - we could easily see a million casualties.

"And beyond that the very real likelihood that, as North Korea started to lose that conventional war, which they would, they then might resort to the use of nuclear weapons and a last-minute armageddon, you might say."

North Korea has been flexing its military might in recent weeks and months with missiles tests, and President Trump's responses have been getting increasingly bellicose, his most recent this week promising "fire and fury the likes of which the world has never seen" if Pyongyang threatens the US.

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

Following this statement, North Korea outlined detailed plans to strike the US Pacific territory of Guam.
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A bill which forces women to buy separate insurance coverage for having an abortion has been approved by the Texas House of Representatives.

The measure will ban insurance coverage for abortions and require women who want coverage to go out of their way and buy a separate plan for an abortion.

The bill, which does not make exceptions for abortions that follow rape, incest or fetal abnormalities, now awaits a vote in the Senate.

The measure has been condemned by Democrats who argue it is equivalent to forcing women to buy rape insurance.

"Women and parents will be faced with the horrific decision of having to purchase 'rape insurance' to cover them if they are victimised," Democratic Representative Chris Turner said in a statement. "This is not only ridiculous, but it is cruel."

He added: Women dont plan to be raped. Parents dont plan for their children to be victims of incest. Asking a woman or a parent to foresee something like that and buy supplemental insurance to cover that horrific possibility is not only ridiculous, it is cruel.

Democratic state representatives sought to disrupt the bill and add seven amendments which would introduce exceptions such as rape, incest, ectopic pregnancies, fetal abnormalities, and the mothers mental health.

Democratic Representative Donna Howard said: Are you suggesting I would have to force my daughter to continue a pregnancy from a rapist? You dont want to subsidise that? Thats how far were going to go with this?

Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Show all 22 1 /22 Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Donald Trump's international Presidential trips French President Emmanuel Macron and US President Donald Trump AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips French President Emmanuel Macron and US President Donald Trump talk as they leave the Army Museum at Les Invalides in Paris AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips German Chancellor Angela Merkel and US President Donald Trump arrive for the group photo at the G7 Taormina summit on the island of Sicily in May 2017 Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Mr Trump was pressed on the subject at the G7 summit in Italy Getty Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump gives a speeech at the Warsaw Uprising Monument on Krasinski Square Getty Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump and Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May during a ceremony at the NATO headquarters before the start of a summit in Brussels, Belgium Reuters Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Montenegro's Prime Minister Dusko Markovic is seen to the right of Donald Trump at a Nato summit in Brussels REUTERS Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Pope Francis meeting with US President Donald J. Trump EPA Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Pope Francis poses with US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump arrives at Palazzo del Quirinale ahead of the meeting with Italian President Sergio Mattarella Ufficio Stampa Presidenza della via Getty Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump is seen during a joint press conference with the Palestinian leader at the presidential palace in the West Bank city of Bethlehem AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas meets US President Donald Trump PPO via Getty Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks with US President Donald Trump prior to the President's departure GPO via Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands after delivering a speech at the Israel Museum AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump lay a wreath in the Hall of Remembrance as White House senior advisor Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump watch on during a visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial museum AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump visit to Yad Vashem Holocaust museum in Jerusalem accompanied by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu GPO via Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump takes his seat before his speech to the Arab Islamic American Summit in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia Reuters Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, US President Donald Trump and US First Lady Melania Trump look at a display of Saudi modern art at the Saudi Royal Court in Riyadh AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump and Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud take part in a signing ceremony at the Saudi Royal Court in Riyadh AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips King Salman presents Donald Trump with The Collar of Abdulaziz al-Saud Medal at the Royal Court Palace on 20 May AP Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump is welcomed by Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud upon arrival at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump walk on the South Lawn prior to their first foreign trip Getty Images

Critics attacked the bill as being politically-motivated and ultimately needless and unnecessary given insurance plans in Texas rarely tend to offer abortion coverage in the first place. It is likely abortion rights groups will challenge the measure in court if it were to be implemented.

Nevertheless, Republicans argue the measure will stop opponents of abortion being forced to foot the bill for the procedure.

"It's a question of economic freedom and freedom in general," Republican Representative John Smithee, the bill's sponsor, said in the House debate on Tuesday before it was passed 95 to 51 a day later.

Recommended Meet the woman travelling delivering abortion drugs by drone

If it were to be enacted, the bill would come into force on 1 December and would make Texas, the most-populous Republican-controlled state in the US, the 11th state to curb abortion coverage in private insurance plans written in the state.

The bill does contain an emergency clause, meaning women whose lives would be in danger from continuing a pregnancy would be able to use general insurance plans to cover their abortions regardless of whether their insurance is via a private health plan, the Affordable Care Act, or the state,.

While abortion has become an increasingly partisan issue in the US in recent years, this has dramatically increased under a Trump administration. In the six months Donald Trump has been in the White House, women's rights group have accused the president of waging a war on womens healthcare.

The billionaire property developer demonstrated his commitment to anti-abortion policies on his fourth day in office - he signed an executive order barring US funding for any international aid groups which give women information about abortion, even if they do not perform the procedures.

This reinstated and expanded the global gag rule, meaning a wide range of health organisations combating HIV or the spread of Zika will be banned from all US global health funding if they also provide counselling, referrals, or services for safe and legal abortion.
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More than 60 members of Congress have signed on to a letter condemning President Donald Trumps latest comments on North Korea.

The letter  addressed to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, and written during the Congressional recess  expressed the legislators profound concern over the statements made by President Trump that dramatically increased tensions with North Korea and raised the specter of nuclear war.

Mr Trump had recently declared that he would send fire and fury to North Korea if they did not cease their threats to the United States. At a press conference on Thursday, he mused that the warning may not be tough enough.

The North Korean government responded by threatening to attack the US territory of Guam.

Mr Trumps statements, the Congress members wrote, are irresponsible and dangerous, and also senselessly provide a boon to domestic North Korean propaganda which has long sought to portray the United States as a threat to their people".

The group called upon the Trump administration to support the constitutional amendment requiring a preemptive nuclear strike to be authorised by Congress  an idea supported by several Republican Congress members, too.

The Congress members also supported Mr Tillersons calls for direct talks with North Korea, and asked for information on the steps being taken to advance such a dialogue.

Mr Tillerson has been a moderating voice in the conflict of late, telling Pyongyang in a statement that the US is not your enemy, we are not your threat.

We would like to sit and have a dialogue about the future, Mr Tillerson said.

In pictures: North Korea military drill Show all 8 1 /8 In pictures: North Korea military drill In pictures: North Korea military drill North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un watches a military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill A military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) is seen in this handout photo by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill A military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) is seen in this handout photo by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill A military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill A military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill This image made from video of still images broadcast in a news bulletin by North Korea's KRT, shows what was said to be a 'Combined Fire Demonstration' held to celebrate the 85th anniversary of the North Korean army, in Wonsan, North Korea. KRT via AP Video In pictures: North Korea military drill This image made from video of still images broadcast in a news bulletin by North Korea's KRT, shows what was said to be a 'Combined Fire Demonstration' held to celebrate the 85th anniversary of the North Korean army, in Wonsan, North Korea. KRT via AP Video In pictures: North Korea military drill This image made from video of still images broadcast in a news bulletin by North Korea's KRT, shows what was said to be a 'Combined Fire Demonstration' held to celebrate the 85th anniversary of the North Korean army, in Wonsan, North Korea. KRT via AP Video

That rhetoric has been largely overshadowed by Mr Trumps comments, and by those of advisers such as Defence Secretary James Mattis.

Mr Mattis warned on Wednesday that North Koreas actions "will continue to be grossly overmatched by ours," and that Pyongyang should cease consideration of actions that will lead to the end of the regime and destruction of its people".

National security adviser HR McMaster has also warned that a preventative strike remains a possibility.

Madeleine Bordallo, a Representative from Guam, said such statements are "unhelpful anf dangerous," and have directly threatened the safety of her constituents.

"It is imperative that President Trump and his Administration work towards a peaceful solution to this situation and refrain from any action that could lead toward a military conflict," she said.
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Donald Trumps habit of calling media coverage he doesn't like fake news is Orwellian, and its happening right now, right here, a media scholar has said in a discussion about the President's online TV network.

Tom Rosenstiel, the executive director of the American Press Institute, said Mr Trump's recently launched real news series on his Facebook page  viewed by critics as another effort by the President to discredit traditional, independent news organisations  smacks of state-run news, and were not supposed to have state-run news in the United States of America.

The series, part of a broader Trump TV project, is produced at Trump Tower and is reportedly paid for by Mr Trump's re-election fund.

In the first segment, Lara Trump  the wife of Mr Trumps son, Eric Trump, and a former Inside Edition producer  declared, I bet you havent heard about all the accomplishments the president had this week because theres so much fake news out there!

What makes Trump different is that hes systematically trying to delegitimize the news as an institution because they wont cover him the way he wants to be covered, Mr Rosenstiel said in an interview with Vox. Thats whats different here. Hes actively provoking people to distrust the news, to distrust information that doesnt come from him. This is what demagogues and despots do.

The second segment of Mr Trump's series posted on Sunday featured former CNN commentator Kayleigh McEnany as the host.

In the 90-second video, Ms McEnany  who was also just hired as the spokesperson for the Republican National Committee  summarised positive news for Mr Trump, announcing he has created more than 1 million new jobs. She also noted the low unemployment rate, high consumer confidence and surging stock market and concluded, President Trump has clearly steered the economy back in the right direction.

As the Washington Post article made so clear, is that even though these are only 90 seconds long, its riddled with errors and inaccuracies, Mr Rosenstiel said. That means Trump can spread media content that fact-checking independent journalists would never publish.

Iran's 'Trumpism' contest Show all 10 1 /10 Iran's 'Trumpism' contest Iran's 'Trumpism' contest AFP/Getty Images Iran's 'Trumpism' contest AFP/Getty Images Iran's 'Trumpism' contest AFP/Getty Images Iran's 'Trumpism' contest AFP/Getty Images Iran's 'Trumpism' contest AFP/Getty Images Iran's 'Trumpism' contest AFP/Getty Images Iran's 'Trumpism' contest AFP/Getty Images Iran's 'Trumpism' contest AFP/Getty Images Iran's 'Trumpism' contest AFP/Getty Images Iran's 'Trumpism' contest AFP/Getty Images

While the July jobs report was better than expected and the unemployment rate is the lowest it's been since 2001, the Post reported, Mr Trump did not change the direction of the economy, which had already been improving under his predecessor, former President Barack Obama.

During the last six months of the Obama administration, the economy added slightly more jobs than it did during the first six months of Mr Trumps presidency, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Others have also attacked the Trump TV online newscasts. Michael McFaul, the USs former ambassador to Russia, tweeted, Wow. Feels eerily like so many state-owned channels I've watched in other countries.

George Orwell's 1984, first published in 1949, features fictional devices known as telescreens, which the government in the book uses to broadcast propaganda about its military victories, economic production figures and spirited renditions of the national anthem.

Positive-spin, week-in-review videos were also made by the Obama White House. However, they did not focus on dispelling media coverage the president or his administration didnt like.
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In Americas most abundant agricultural region, where immigrant pickers have long sustained the economy, many farmers are less concerned with the illegal immigration decried by Donald Trump than with finding enough people to harvest their crops.

As Mr Trump pushes the tougher immigration policies that helped propel him to the oval office, California farmers continue their years-long wait for a federal solution to a lingering labour shortage.

The United States hasn't had major immigration reform since 1986, said Ryan Jacobsen, executive director of the Fresno County Farm Bureau. We haven't came up with a program that helps to solve the labour situation, and thus were in the situation were in now.

The labour pool for Californias agriculture industry is linked directly to immigration. According to a federal survey, more than 90 per cent of crop workers in California are foreign-born, although that share has dipped slightly over the last few decades. More than two million immigrants are estimated to live illegally in California - nearly a quarter of the total population of such immigrants across America.

And more than with any other domestic policy issue, Mr Trumps agenda has been defined by a harder line on immigration. The President has sought a freeze on refugees, embraced a proposal to drastically slash immigration numbers and regularly blamed illegal immigration for economic stagnation.

But the dearth of farmworkers began before Trump launched his presidential campaign, said Norm Groot, executive director of the Monterey County Farm Bureau. He said labour shortages have periodically plagued farmers in his county, a leading producer of strawberries and lettuce, thanks to failed federal immigration policy.

In particular, Mr Groot said, the lack of a guest worker program or a path to legalisation for the people living in our communities for decades and working in our fields has done damage - a problem he said has been exacerbated as permanent residents age and a farmers have seen lack of replacements coming to California.

People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Show all 16 1 /16 People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Demonstrators march during the "Day Without Immigrants" protest in Chicago, Illinois, February 16, 2017. Theopolis Waters/Reuters People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Demonstrators march during the "Day Without Immigrants" protest in Washington, DC, U.S., February 16, 2017. Aaron P. Bernstein/Reuters People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Protesters march in the streets outside the Texas State Capital on 'A Day Without Immigrants' February 16, 2017 in Austin, Texas. The crowd, which grew to well over a thousand participants, marched from the Austin City Hall to the Texas State Capital. Across the country hundreds of restaurants and eateries are closing for the day to protest President Trump's immigration policies and to highlight the contributions of immigrants to U.S. business and life. Drew Anthony Smith/Getty People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Protesters march in the streets outside the Texas State Capital on 'A Day Without Immigrants' February 16, 2017 in Austin, Texas. Drew Anthony Smith/Getty People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants AUSTIN, TX - FEBRUARY 16: Protesters march in the streets outside the Texas State Capital on 'A Day Without Immigrants' February 16, 2017 in Austin, Texas. Drew Anthony Smith/Getty People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Demonstrators march during the "Day Without Immigrants" protest in Chicago, Illinois, February 16, 2017. Theopolis Waters/Reuters People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Demonstrators march during the "Day Without Immigrants" protest in Chicago, Illinois, February 16, 2017. Aaron P. Bernstein/Reuters People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Protesters march in the streets outside the Texas State Capital on 'A Day Without Immigrants' February 16, 2017 in Austin, Texas. The crowd, which grew to well over a thousand participants, marched from the Austin City Hall to the Texas State Capital. Across the country hundreds of restaurants and eateries are closing for the day to protest President Trump's immigration policies and to highlight the contributions of immigrants to U.S. business and life. Drew Anthony Smith/Getty People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Protesters march in the streets outside the Texas State Capital on 'A Day Without Immigrants' February 16, 2017 in Austin, Texas. Drew Anthony Smith/Getty People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Protesters march in the streets outside the Texas State Capital on 'A Day Without Immigrants' February 16, 2017 in Austin, Texas. Drew Anthony Smith/Getty People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Protesters march in the streets outside the Texas State Capital on 'A Day Without Immigrants' February 16, 2017 in Austin, Texas. Drew Anthony Smith/Getty People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Protesters march in the streets outside the Texas State Capital on 'A Day Without Immigrants' February 16, 2017 in Austin, Texas. Drew Anthony Smith/Getty People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Protesters march in the streets outside the Texas State Capital on 'A Day Without Immigrants' February 16, 2017 in Austin, Texas. Drew Anthony Smith/Getty People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Protesters march in the streets outside the Texas State Capital on 'A Day Without Immigrants' February 16, 2017 in Austin, Texas. The crowd, which grew to well over a thousand participants marched from the Austin City Hall to the Texas State Capital. Across the country hundreds of restaurants and eateries are closing for the day to protest President Trump's immigration policies and to highlight the contributions of immigrants to U.S. business and life. Drew Anthony Smith/Getty People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants High school student Kathia Suarez holds up a sign as she protests with others outside the Grayson County courthouse in downtown Sherman, Texas, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017. LM Otero/AP People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants High school senior Vicky Sosa holds a sign outside the Grayson County courthouse in downtown Sherman, Texas, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017. In an action called "A Day Without Immigrants," immigrants across the country are expected to stay home from school, work and close businesses to show how critical they are to the U.S. economy and way of life. LM Otero/AP

Apricot farmer Daniel Bays recounted a similar story: the children of an earlier generation of pickers are reluctant to follow their parents into the fields, and you dont have the newer immigrants coming in just because of our broken immigration policy and broken guest worker programmes, the Stanislaus County grower said.

Migration data bear out those demographic trends. According to the Pew Research Center, the number of Mexicans leaving America for their home country exceeded the number moving to America by more than 100,000 over the period spanning 2009 to 2014.

Its no secret that the number off individuals coming here from other countries has substantially went down not only compared to last year but compared to the last several years, Mr Jacobsen said.

Farmers have responded to the lack of labour by trying to retain current workers with incentives like bonuses and by mechanising their operations, according to a report by UC Davis agriculture professor emeritus Philip Martin.

Not finding enough people to pick crops before they rot is one of those constant fears for farmers, Mr Jacobsen said. But this year, be said, theres definitely some additional concern about having enough hands.

 Trump promises immigrants won't be able to access welfare for five years- a law which already exists

Multiple factors could be contributing, Mr Jacobsen said, including a later and wetter spring that has shifted the harvest window and an improving economic situation in Mexico. But whatever the exact mix of causes, in Fresno County - a crop-heavy hub in Californias Central Valley where almonds and grapes grow in abundance - farmers are looking to the looming harvest season with trepidation.

I expect the next six weeks to really be telling the tale as to where we stand with our labour force, Mr Jacobsen said.
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Donald Trump has pushed back against Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnells contention that the President had excessive expectations about the speed of the democratic process, further displaying the strained relationship between the White House and Congress over the failure of Republican efforts to dismantle Obamacare.

Senator Mitch McConnell said I had excessive expectations, but I don't think so, Mr Trump tweeted. After 7 years of hearing Repeal & Replace, why not done?

Mr Trump and Congress failed to secure a major legislative victory during the Presidents first 200 days in office. The Senates Republican leaders also suffered a heavy loss less than two weeks ago when they were unable to garner enough support for legislation that would have rolled back portions of the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare.

Recommended Trump receives criticism from Congress members over North Korea remark

After his last defeat on healthcare, Mr McConnell said the Senate would move on to other matters. But Mr Trump has continued to tweet about the issue, and wrote that unless the Republican Senators are total quitters, Repeal & Replace is not dead!

During a Rotary Club gathering in Kentucky on Tuesday, Mr McConnell expressed his frustration with what he sees as Mr Trumps tendency to make statements that do not match the realities of the legislative process.

So part of the reason I think people feel were underperforming is because too many artificial deadlines  unrelated to the reality of the complexity of legislating  may not have been fully understood, he said.

For example, as the House of Representatives was in the midst of negotiations about its Obamacare replacement bill in February, the President declared that Congress was in the final stages of its bill and said it would be ready for submitting in March. While the House unveiled its bill in March, the lower chamber didnt pass the legislation until May. The Senate didnt even begin voting on a healthcare bill until July.

Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Show all 22 1 /22 Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Donald Trump's international Presidential trips French President Emmanuel Macron and US President Donald Trump AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips French President Emmanuel Macron and US President Donald Trump talk as they leave the Army Museum at Les Invalides in Paris AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips German Chancellor Angela Merkel and US President Donald Trump arrive for the group photo at the G7 Taormina summit on the island of Sicily in May 2017 Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Mr Trump was pressed on the subject at the G7 summit in Italy Getty Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump gives a speeech at the Warsaw Uprising Monument on Krasinski Square Getty Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump and Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May during a ceremony at the NATO headquarters before the start of a summit in Brussels, Belgium Reuters Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Montenegro's Prime Minister Dusko Markovic is seen to the right of Donald Trump at a Nato summit in Brussels REUTERS Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Pope Francis meeting with US President Donald J. Trump EPA Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Pope Francis poses with US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump arrives at Palazzo del Quirinale ahead of the meeting with Italian President Sergio Mattarella Ufficio Stampa Presidenza della via Getty Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump is seen during a joint press conference with the Palestinian leader at the presidential palace in the West Bank city of Bethlehem AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas meets US President Donald Trump PPO via Getty Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks with US President Donald Trump prior to the President's departure GPO via Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands after delivering a speech at the Israel Museum AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump lay a wreath in the Hall of Remembrance as White House senior advisor Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump watch on during a visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial museum AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump visit to Yad Vashem Holocaust museum in Jerusalem accompanied by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu GPO via Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump takes his seat before his speech to the Arab Islamic American Summit in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia Reuters Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, US President Donald Trump and US First Lady Melania Trump look at a display of Saudi modern art at the Saudi Royal Court in Riyadh AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump and Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud take part in a signing ceremony at the Saudi Royal Court in Riyadh AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips King Salman presents Donald Trump with The Collar of Abdulaziz al-Saud Medal at the Royal Court Palace on 20 May AP Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump is welcomed by Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud upon arrival at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump walk on the South Lawn prior to their first foreign trip Getty Images

Our new president, of course, has not been in this line of work before. And I think he had excessive expectations about how quickly things happen in the democratic process, Mr McConnell said.

However, Republican leaders in Congress also set deadlines. Legislators left Washington for the August recess without having achieved any of the major legislative victories that top Republicans had promised in January to finish by now.

Mr McConnell warned the audience on Tuesday to not prematurely judge the current Congress and urged them to evaluate the performance of legislators when it finishes. He also added that Mr Obama did not not sign his signature healthcare into law until more than a year after taking office.

Along with Mr Trump, Dan Scavino, the White House director of social media, hit back against Mr McConnell, tweeting: More excuses. @SenateMajLdr must have needed another 4 years - in addition to the 7 years -- to repeal and replace Obamacare.....

Fox News host and Trump ally Sean Hannity called Mr McConnell a weak, spineless leader on Twitter and said the majority leader needed to retire.
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Donald Trumps warning that North Korea would face fire and fury like the world has never seen if it continues to threaten the US has been criticised by members of Congress from both political parties.

Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer called the Presidents comments reckless, while the House of Representatives top Democratic deemed the rhetoric belligerent.

We need to be firm and deliberate with North Korea, but reckless rhetoric is not a strategy to keep America safe, Mr Schumer said in a statement.

Republican Senator John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told a radio station in Phoenix, Arizona that great leaders he has seen don't threaten unless they're ready to act.

And I'm not sure President Trump is ready to act, Mr McCain said.

Senator Ben Cardin, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Mr Trump sent the wrong message in his comments about North Korea.

I think it was just the wrong message and elevated the situation rather than showing the international community that there is hope for a diplomatic solution, Mr Cardin told MSNBC.

I think the international community is looking to the US for leadership to avoid a military confrontation with North Korea that could well involve nuclear weapons, he added.

President Trump is not helping the situation with his bombastic comments, Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein said in a statement.

Representative Eliot Engel, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said Trump undermined American credibility by drawing an absurd red line.

Make no mistake: North Korea is a real threat, but the President's unhinged reaction suggests he might consider using American nuclear weapons in response to a nasty comment from a North Korean despot, Mr Engel said.

The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

Republican Senator Dan Sullivan said a preemptive strike against the North Korean regime would require congressional approval.

[I]f one of the military options that the administration is looking at is a preemptive war on the Korean peninsula launched by the United States, that would require the authorization of Congress, Mr Sullivan told Fox News.

Article I of the US Constitution is very clear about that, he added.

Mr Sullivan said if North Korea were to attack the US first, Trump would have more authority to respond.

Obviously, as the commander in chief, the president can react to attacks on the country in a way that he has broader authority on that, he said. I was mentioning the discussions of a preemptive war on the peninsula, that clearly goes in the realm of the authorisation of Congress.

While Mr Trumps warning to North Korea rattled several members of Congress, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham was more supportive of the President.

President Trump has basically drawn a red line... He's not going to contain the threat, he's going to stop the threat, Mr Graham told CBS. He's going to pick homeland defence over regional stability and he has to. ...We've failed for 30 years, it's time to try something new.
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The Governor of Guam, the US territory threatened with attack by North Korea, has backed Donald Trump's fiery rhetoric toward the nuclear-armed nation, saying that a President who whole-heartedly embraces forceful retaliation over attacks on US territory is what I want.

Days of escalating rhetoric between the Trump administration and the regime of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un have alarmed Asian allies - and placed the Pacific island in the middle of a global political crisis - after Mr Trump made clear that any further action from Pyongyang over its banned missile and nuclear programmes will be met with fire and fury.

That statement, with its undertones of renewed conflict on the Korean peninsula, prompted a matching show of belligerence from North Korea. The countrys state-run media claimed it was formulating plans to strike the US territory of Guam with historic enveloping fire and taunted Mr Trump as bereft of reason and someone for whom only absolute force can work.

It is not the first time North Korea has threatened Guam, a small United States territory that hosts a US military outpost. But the North Korean militarys claims via state media that it would have plans to strike Guam with four missiles completed by mid-August reverberated around the world.

In an interview with Fox News, Guam Governor Eddie Calvo struck a defiant note and backed Mr Trumps sabre-rattling.

I want a president that says that if any nation such as North Korea attacks Guam, attacks Honolulu, attacks the west coast, that they will be met with hell and fury, Mr Calvo said during an appearance on Tucker Carlson Tonight.

North Korea's state run KCNA news agency said that the country's army will complete the plans in mid-August for the firing of four missiles, citing General Kim Rak Gyom, commander of the Strategic Force of the Korean People's Army. The plans called for the missiles to land in the sea only 18 to 25 miles from Guam.

In remarks to reporters in Guam, Mr Calvo struck a reassuring tone, saying "this is not the time to panic," according to the Pacific Daily News.

The war of words between the two nations was sparked by reports that North Korea had successfully miniaturised a nuclear weapon to place atop a ballistic missile. Tensions had already been raised by two intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests by Pyongyang in July and NBC News reported on Thursday that multiple US intelligence agencies - including the CIA - now agreed that the North had taken the significant step of miniaturising a weapon.

In pictures: North Korea military drill Show all 8 1 /8 In pictures: North Korea military drill In pictures: North Korea military drill North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un watches a military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill A military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) is seen in this handout photo by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill A military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) is seen in this handout photo by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill A military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill A military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill This image made from video of still images broadcast in a news bulletin by North Korea's KRT, shows what was said to be a 'Combined Fire Demonstration' held to celebrate the 85th anniversary of the North Korean army, in Wonsan, North Korea. KRT via AP Video In pictures: North Korea military drill This image made from video of still images broadcast in a news bulletin by North Korea's KRT, shows what was said to be a 'Combined Fire Demonstration' held to celebrate the 85th anniversary of the North Korean army, in Wonsan, North Korea. KRT via AP Video In pictures: North Korea military drill This image made from video of still images broadcast in a news bulletin by North Korea's KRT, shows what was said to be a 'Combined Fire Demonstration' held to celebrate the 85th anniversary of the North Korean army, in Wonsan, North Korea. KRT via AP Video

The US Air Force spotlighted a mission flown from Guam by two American bombers, which a military official touted in a statement as a sign that our air forces stand combat-ready to deliver airpower when called upon. Secretary of Defence James Mattis released a statement underscoring Americas demonstrated capabilities and unquestionable commitment to defend ourselves from an attack, noting the readiness of our ballistic missile defense and nuclear deterrent forces. Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera, speaking to the countrys parliament, reiterated that Japan had the right to intercept a North Korean missile heading for Guam.

The rhetoric has left countries in the region uneasy with a number calling for calm. China also rebuked Mr Trumps role in escalating tensions via a piece in state outlet Xinhua, warning that such a hostile approach will do little but make things worse.

Reality has shown that tough tit-for-tat confrontations can lead nowhere, and that only dialogue can help address reasonable security concerns of the related parties for a solution acceptable to all, ensure denuclearisation on the peninsula and bring a lasting peace to the entire region, the editorial said.

Back in the US, senior Democrats had called the language "reckless" with some of those in Congress arguing that strikes on North Korea would require their sign off. However Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said on Thursday that Mr Trump wouldn't need Congressional approval but urged his colleagues to grant it as a "last resort".

It would be very smart if the Congress could come together and tell the president 'you have our authorisation to use military force ... as a last resort.' That would sent a signal to North Korea and China, that would probably do more good to avoid war than anything I could think of, Mr Graham told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. He added that passing a military authorisation for North Korea would require Democrats to take their hatred of Donald Trump and park it.

Mr Graham also backed Mr Trump to back-up his words with action.

If negotiations fail, he is willing to abandon 'strategic patience' and use pre-emption, he said. I think he's there mentally. He has told me this.

I'm 100 percent confident that if President Trump had to use military force to deny the North Koreans the capability to strike America with a nuclear-tipped missile, he would do that, Mr Graham added.

Some officials in the Trump administration have sought a calmer tone, with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson saying earlier in the week that Mr Trump was engaging in a pressure campaign that, along with engagement of China and Russia, would deter North Korean aggression. Both nations representatives on the United Nations Security Council voted last week to impose new sanctions on North Korea in an effort to force the nation to abandon its nuclear ambitions.

However, former diplomatic officials have criticised Mr Trump. Susan Rice, who served as national security adviser to Barack Obama, wrote an opinion piece lambasting Mr Trump's "dangerous" path and warning that the president had either indulged in the "folly" of an empty threat or was pondering the "lunacy" of war. Former US Secretary of Defense William Perry, who served in Bill Clinton's administration, warned in an interview with The New York Times that America and North Korea could be "heading toward some sort of a conflict," which he predicted could result in a million casualties even if no nuclear weapons were used.

As for Mr Trump - who received a security briefing on the situation on Thursday - White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders made clear that certainly nothing has changed in the president's thinking on North Korea given the latest developments.
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As the war of rhetoric between the Trump administration and the regime in North Korea show few signs of cooling down, Hawaii has become the first US state to prepare for a possible nuclear attack.

Reports have recently emerged of the hermit countrys ability to fit a nuclear war head on an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), leading to Donald Trump and the government of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un trading threats over use of force.

Several experts have agreed that the possibility of an actual attack is incredibly low  some have called it a suicide mission by Mr Kim  but emergency planners are still taking steps to prepare just in case.

The 1.4 million residents of the states chain of islands would have approximately 15 to 20 minutes from the time of a launch until impact of the bomb, according to state officials.

The US militarys Pacific Command would take about five minutes to characterise a launch, where the missile is going, which means the population would have about 15 minutes to take shelter, Vern Miyagi, administrator for Hawaiis Emergency Management Agency, told CNN. However, he also said the threat was not mature.

Still, a warning system with air sirens similar to that employed during the Cold War is in the works. A system like this has not been tested in Hawaii since the 1980s.

Hawaii already has one warning system in place for natural disasters  hurricanes, tsunamis, and flooding  which is tested on the first business day of every month from a bunker buried in the Diamond Head crater.

The state is currently working on a public education campaign and mobile text alerts for the new nuclear attack warning system. A target date in November has been set to test the new warning system, potentially sounding the new sirens after one of the monthly tests of the natural disasters system.

In pictures: North Korea military drill Show all 8 1 /8 In pictures: North Korea military drill In pictures: North Korea military drill North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un watches a military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill A military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) is seen in this handout photo by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill A military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) is seen in this handout photo by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill A military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill A military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill This image made from video of still images broadcast in a news bulletin by North Korea's KRT, shows what was said to be a 'Combined Fire Demonstration' held to celebrate the 85th anniversary of the North Korean army, in Wonsan, North Korea. KRT via AP Video In pictures: North Korea military drill This image made from video of still images broadcast in a news bulletin by North Korea's KRT, shows what was said to be a 'Combined Fire Demonstration' held to celebrate the 85th anniversary of the North Korean army, in Wonsan, North Korea. KRT via AP Video In pictures: North Korea military drill This image made from video of still images broadcast in a news bulletin by North Korea's KRT, shows what was said to be a 'Combined Fire Demonstration' held to celebrate the 85th anniversary of the North Korean army, in Wonsan, North Korea. KRT via AP Video

Hawaiians have also been told to double the usual seven days of emergency supplies to keep on hand in case of a natural disaster.

Mr Miyagi, a retired Army major general who served in Pacific Command, said it is the nuclear fallout that could end up killing people after the initial impact, unless people know what to do. The most dangerous area is 10 to 20 miles (16 to 31 km) from the blast, but radiation fallout could occur in an almost 100 mile radius. The key message is to take shelter immediately, he said.

The state is also looking to see how it can fund fallout shelters, leftovers from the Cold War that have gone unused for decades. Hawaii has had a population boom since then and currently do not have enough for shelters for all its residents.

Hawaii is not alone in its preparations. Guam, a US territory approximately 2,000 miles (3450 km) southeast of Pyongyang, has been directly threatened by Kim Jong-un on multiple occasions.

The island is home to two US military bases and is the home port for nuclear submarines and Guamanians, though they do not vote for US presidents, do have party delegates in Washington DC.

Resident Mitch Thompson told the Associated Press he thinks a lot of people have no confidence that the White House will do the right thing under the circumstances.

Guam is armed with the US Armys defence system known as the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence, or THAAD, which can intercept missiles.

Though North Korea does not seem to have mastered some aspects of a nuclear attack, particularly managing the re-entry into the atmosphere of a nuclear-armed ICBM, some mainland US cities on the west coast like San Francisco in northern California also have begun preparing for a possible attack.

Drills will be run this autumn for what to do in case a dirty bomb, a smaller scale attack. The city will also use its current mobile text emergency alert system.
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A Republican colleague of John McCain has suggested that the Arizona firebrands late night vote against repealing Obamacare may have been influenced by the mans recent brain cancer diagnosis.

Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson, who voted in favour of repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act, made the comments during an appearance on a morning radio program in Chicago.

Im not going to speak for John McCain, you know, he has a brain tumour right now, that vote occurred at 1:30 in the morning, some of that might have factored in, Mr Johnson said.

The statement caught the radio show host off guard, who followed up by asking: Really?

Again I dont know exactly what  we really thought  and again I dont want speak for any senator, Mr Johnson continued. I really thought John was going to vote yes to send that to conference at 10:30 at night. By about 1, 1:30, he voted no. So you have talk to John in terms what was on his mind.

Mr McCains vote came just days after he returned to Washington from his home state, where he had recently been diagnosed with an aggressive type of brain cancer.

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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. 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Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. 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. 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The Arizona senator had already explained his reasoning for voting against his partys healthcare bill after seven years of the GOP vowing that they would do just that. After the vote, he said that he had voted the way he did because he didnt think that it would actually reform our health care system.

While the amendment would have repealed some of ObamaCares most burdensome regulations, it offered no replacement to actually reform our health care system and deliver affordable, quality health care to our citizens, he said.

A spokesman for Mr McCain later said that Mr Johnsons comments were bizarre and deeply unfortunate.

Mr McCain's vote on that healthcare repeal vote proved decisive in the GOP's effort to repeal Obamacare, and was the latest blow to party leadership that had promised for years to end Obamacare.
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North Korea has dismissed Donald Trumps warning of fire and fury if it threatened the United States as a load of nonsense, and outlined plans to launch four missiles towards the US territory of Guam.

As the war of words between Pyongyang and Washington intensifies, North Koreas state run news agency KCNA said the preparations for the strike could be ready in days.

The report said Hwasong-12 rockets would be fired directly over Japan and would land in the sea roughly 30km (17 miles from Guam).

The plan is yet to be officially approved by Kim Jong Un, but according to General Kim Rak Gyom, commander of the Strategic Force of the Korean People's Army, the plans will be complete by mid- August, KCNA reports.

Tensions between the two countries have reached a nadir after the US discovered North Koreas nuclear missile technology had advanced faster than anticipated.

The news prompted Mr Trump to warn on Tuesday that any further action by the country would be met by fire and fury and frankly, power, the likes of which the world has never seen before.

On Wednesday, North Korea said it had the island territory of Guam in its sights and branded Trump bereft of reason.

Sound dialogue is not possible with such a guy bereft of reason and only absolute force can work on him, a report by the North's state-run KCNA news agency said of Mr Trump.

Guam is home to about 163,000 people and a US military base that includes a submarine squadron, an air base and a Coast Guard group.

However, Masao Okonogi, professor emeritus at Japan's Keio University, told Reuters the North Korean reports suggested Pyongyang was issuing a warning or advance notice of changes to its missile testing programme rather than threatening an attack.

In pictures: North Korea military drill Show all 8 1 /8 In pictures: North Korea military drill In pictures: North Korea military drill North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un watches a military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill A military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) is seen in this handout photo by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill A military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) is seen in this handout photo by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill A military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill A military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill This image made from video of still images broadcast in a news bulletin by North Korea's KRT, shows what was said to be a 'Combined Fire Demonstration' held to celebrate the 85th anniversary of the North Korean army, in Wonsan, North Korea. KRT via AP Video In pictures: North Korea military drill This image made from video of still images broadcast in a news bulletin by North Korea's KRT, shows what was said to be a 'Combined Fire Demonstration' held to celebrate the 85th anniversary of the North Korean army, in Wonsan, North Korea. KRT via AP Video In pictures: North Korea military drill This image made from video of still images broadcast in a news bulletin by North Korea's KRT, shows what was said to be a 'Combined Fire Demonstration' held to celebrate the 85th anniversary of the North Korean army, in Wonsan, North Korea. KRT via AP Video

"I believe this is a message saying they plan to move missile tests from the Sea of Japan to areas around Guam," he said.

"By making this advance notice, they are also sending a tacit message that what they are going to do is not an actual attack."
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Five active duty transgender service members have sued Donald Trump and members of his administration, asserting that the US President's ban on transgender military service is unconstitutional.

In their complaint filed in Washington DC federal court, the members say that Mr Trump's directive, expressed on Twitter, has already unsettled and destabilised their "reasonable expectation of continued service". They added that the White House has turned the President's tweets into "official guidance, approved by the White House counsel's office, to be communicated to the Department of Defense."

The five anonymous plaintiffs, named in the case as Jane Does, are identified as service members who "collectively have served this nation for decades in various branches of the US military" and have "informed their chain of command that they are transgender" since last year's policy change.

Mr Trump announced in a series of tweets last month that he would reverse a decision by his predecessor President Barack Obama to allow transgender people to serve openly in the US armed forces. The directive sparked uncertainty about the future of thousands of transgender people already serving in the US military.

"The United States Government will not accept or allow...transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the US military," Mr Trump wrote. "Our military must be focused on decision and overwhelming...victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail."

In their complaint, the service members wrote that to reinstate a ban on open service by transgender people "violates both the Equal Protection component of the Fifth Amendment and the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution".

Attorneys for the service members asked a federal judge to block the implementation of Mr Trump's directive immediately.

Neither the White House nor the Department of Defense has yet conveyed or promulgated a new policy on transgender service members.

The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the US military, previously said there will be "no modification" to the military's transgender policy after Mr Trump's tweets until the directive had been received by the Secretary of State and guidance for implementation had been issued.

Mr Trump's directive came just weeks after Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said the government was reviewing the issue to determine if allowing transgender individuals to enlist would impact its "readiness and lethality".

But Mr Trump's comments were widely condemned within the military including by 56 former generals and admirals, while transgender soldiers dared the US President to kick them out and criticised him for being a "war dodger".

The White House did not immediately respond to The Independent's request for comment regarding the lawsuit.
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More than half of Republican voters surveyed said they would be in favour of suspending the 2020 election if Donald Trump asked for more time to weed out illegal voters, a new poll shows.

According to the poll, run by two academic researchers and published in the Washington Post, 52 per cent of those Republicans would agree with postponing the election if the President felt it was necessary.

That bumps up to 56 per cent if Republicans in Congress were behind the action as well.

The poll was conducted between 5 June and 20 June, comprising interviews of 1,325 Americans, with 650 self-identifying as Republicans.

Following the election, Mr Trump has repeatedly said "millions of illegal votes" were cast during the election, but no proof has been presented to the public.

He has even established the Presidential Commission on Election Integrity, led by Vice President Mike Pence and Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach.

He has also repeatedly claimed that voter fraud was a problem and benefited Hillary Clinton - she won the popular vote by three million ballots - despite his win. He said "we have a lot to look into" regarding the deceased, illegal voting by immigrants and undocumented persons and voters registered in multiple states.

However, several studies and analyses done by universities and the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office all said the same thing: voter fraud or impersonation of voters is extremely rare.

Despite all the evidence, 47 per cent of the Republicans surveyed think Mr Trump actually won the popular vote and an overwhelming 73 per cent think "voter fraud happens somewhat or very often".

A majority, 68 per cent, also believe that "millions of illegal immigrants voted."

In terms of how this support breaks down, it is "more prevalent among Republicans who were younger, were less educated, had less factual knowledge of politics and strongly identified with the party."

Though no one in the administration has proposed such a move, the results show that more than half of Republicans "are amenable to violations of democratic norms".
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Donald Trump has said that his fire and fury threats against North Korea have not been tough enough as he warned Pyongyang risks being in trouble like few nations have ever been.

After days of escalating rhetoric between the Trump administration and North Korea over the threat posed by Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programmes, the President showed no signs of toning down his language, even as 60 members of Congress signed a letter protesting his irresponsible and dangerous statements.

Its about time someone stood up for the people of our country, the US President told reporters as part of two separate addresses to the media before and after a security briefing with top advisers.

Mr Trump said earlier this week that North Korea faces retaliation with fire and fury unlike any the world has seen before if it continues to threaten the US, rattling both allies and adversaries and leading to the letter of complaint from Congress sent to Secretary of State Rex Tilleron on Thursday.

Frankly, the people who were questioning that statement, was it too tough? Maybe it wasnt tough enough, Mr Trump said. And were backed 100 per cent by our military, were back by everybody and were backed by many other leaders. And I noticed that many senators and others came out today very much in favour of what I said. But if anything that statement may not be tough enough.

Taking specifically about North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the President said: He has disrespected our country greatly. He has said things that are horrific. And with me, he's not getting away with it. He got away with it for a long time between him and his family. ... This is a whole new ball game.

Mr Trump's latest remarks came after North Korea's state-run media claimed it was formulating plans to strike the US territory of Guam with historic enveloping fire and taunted Mr Trump as bereft of reason and someone for whom only absolute force can work.

In pictures: North Korea military drill Show all 8 1 /8 In pictures: North Korea military drill In pictures: North Korea military drill North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un watches a military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill A military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) is seen in this handout photo by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill A military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) is seen in this handout photo by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill A military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill A military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill This image made from video of still images broadcast in a news bulletin by North Korea's KRT, shows what was said to be a 'Combined Fire Demonstration' held to celebrate the 85th anniversary of the North Korean army, in Wonsan, North Korea. KRT via AP Video In pictures: North Korea military drill This image made from video of still images broadcast in a news bulletin by North Korea's KRT, shows what was said to be a 'Combined Fire Demonstration' held to celebrate the 85th anniversary of the North Korean army, in Wonsan, North Korea. KRT via AP Video In pictures: North Korea military drill This image made from video of still images broadcast in a news bulletin by North Korea's KRT, shows what was said to be a 'Combined Fire Demonstration' held to celebrate the 85th anniversary of the North Korean army, in Wonsan, North Korea. KRT via AP Video

It is not the first time North Korea has threatened Guam, a small United States territory that hosts a US military outpost. But the North Korean militarys claims via state media that it would have plans to strike Guam with four missiles completed by mid-August prompted Mr Trump's latest response. When asked if he was considering a preemptive strike, Mr Trump responded: We dont talk about that. I never do. But he did say that would soon be announcing a plan to invest billions of dollars in missile defence to protect the US.

The President said the US has been negotiating with North Korea for 25 years and that his nation would always consider negotiations - but blamed his predecessors for a lack of progress. President Bill Clinton, he said, was weak and ineffective, while President Barack Obama didnt even want to talk about it, he added.

The people of this country should be very comfortable, Mr Trump said. And I will tell you this: If North Korea does anything in terms of even thinking about attack of anybody that we love or we represent or our allies or us, they can be very, very nervous. Ill tell you why. And they should be very nervous. Because things will happen to them like they never thought possible, OK? Hes been pushing the world around for a long time.

Mr Trump added that was not a dare - perhaps reflecting the fact the US and North Korea had been trading threats - but was instead a statement of fact.

 North Koreans stage massive rally in show of defiance against Donald Trump

Speaking after Mr Trump, US Defence Secretary James Mattis said that the US military was ready to respond to an attack by North Korea but that the US prefers a diplomatic response.

The latest war of words between the US and North Korea was sparked by reports that North Korea had successfully miniaturised a nuclear weapon to place atop a ballistic missile. Tensions had already been raised by two intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests by Pyongyang in July and NBC News reported on Thursday that multiple US intelligence agencies - including the CIA - now agreed that the North had taken the significant step of miniaturising a weapon.

The rhetoric has left countries in the region uneasy with a number calling for calm. China also rebuked Mr Trumps role in escalating tensions via a piece in state outlet Xinhua, warning that such a hostile approach will do little but make things worse.

Reality has shown that tough tit-for-tat confrontations can lead nowhere, and that only dialogue can help address reasonable security concerns of the related parties for a solution acceptable to all, ensure denuclearisation on the peninsula and bring a lasting peace to the entire region, the editorial said.

Mr Trump also said that new sanctions on North Korea approved by the UN Security Council last week that could slash by a third the country's $3 billion annual export revenue probably will not be as effective as a lot of people think it can be, unfortunately. Mr Trump praised China and Russia for backing the sanctions, but said that China could be doing more to help the US rein in North Korea, suggesting that if China does so, he may change his views on trade between Americans and the Chinese - a topic which he has constantly said he will do something about.

We lose hundreds of billions of dollars a year on trade with China, Mr Trump said, referring to the large US-China trade deficit, which he has repeatedly railed against. They know how I feel. Its not going to continue like that. But if China helps us, I feel a lot differently toward trade, a lot differently toward trade.

Senior Democrats had called the language reckless with some of those in Congress arguing that strikes on North Korea would require their sign off. However Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said on Thursday that Mr Trump wouldn't need Congressional approval but urged his colleagues to grant it as a last resort.

It would be very smart if the Congress could come together and tell the president 'you have our authorisation to use military force ... as a last resort.' That would sent a signal to North Korea and China, that would probably do more good to avoid war than anything I could think of, Mr Graham told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. He added that passing a military authorisation for North Korea would require Democrats to take their hatred of Donald Trump and park it.

 In 90 seconds: North Korea and Kim Jong-Un

Mr Graham also backed Mr Trump to back-up his words with action.

If negotiations fail, he is willing to abandon 'strategic patience' and use pre-emption, he said. I think he's there mentally. He has told me this.

I'm 100 percent confident that if President Trump had to use military force to deny the North Koreans the capability to strike America with a nuclear-tipped missile, he would do that, Mr Graham added.

Some officials in the Trump administration have sought a calmer tone, with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson saying earlier in the week that Mr Trump was engaging in a pressure campaign that, along with engagement of China and Russia, would deter North Korean aggression.

However, former diplomatic officials have criticised Mr Trump. Susan Rice, who served as national security adviser to Barack Obama, wrote an opinion piece lambasting Mr Trump's dangerous path and warning that the president had either indulged in the folly of an empty threat or was pondering the lunacy of war. Former US President Jimmy Carter also rebuked officials in both nations over their threatening language.

The harsh rhetoric from Washington and Pyongyang during recent months has exacerbated an already confrontational relationship between our countries, and has probably eliminated any chance of good faith peace talks between the United States and North Korea, Mr Carter said.
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Donald Trump has said he may consider asking Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to step down down if the upper chamber's top Republican fails to accomplish the President's legislative laundry list.

Asked if Mr McConnell should resign, Mr Trump said: "I'll tell you what, if he doesn't get repeal and replace done, if he doesn't get taxes done, meaning cuts and reform, and if he doesn't get a very easy one done  infrastructure ... then you can ask me that question."

Mr Trump had previously blasted Mr McConnell for the Senates failure to pass a healthcare bill before members of Congress left Washington for the August recess.

Mitch, get back to work and put Repeal & Replace, Tax Reform & Cuts and a great Infrastructure Bill on my desk for signing. You can do it!, Mr Trump wrote in his latest tweet.

Earlier on Thursday, Mr Trump tweeted, Can you believe that Mitch McConnell, who has screamed Repeal & Replace for 7 years, couldn't get it done. Must Repeal & Replace ObamaCare!

When asked about Mr Trumps relationship with the majority leader on Thursday, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters: You can see the presidents tweets. Obviously theres some frustration. I dont have anything more to add.

Mr Trumps attack on Mr McConnell appears to be in response to the majority leaders comments at a Rotary Club gathering saying the perception that Congress is underperforming is because too many artificial deadlines  unrelated to the reality of the complexity of legislating  may not have been fully understood.

Our new president, of course, has not been in this line of work before. And I think he had excessive expectations about how quickly things happen in the democratic process, Mr McConnell said.

On Wednesday, Mr Trump tweeted: Senator Mitch McConnell said I had excessive expectations, but I don't think so. After 7 years of hearing Repeal & Replace, why not done?

Before the President posted his first critical tweet, he reportedly called Mr McConnell to express his disappointment, according to the New York Times.

Ms Sanders said she did not know how long their conversation was, but that healthcare was certainly discussed.

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

Mr Trump and Congress failed to secure a major legislative victory during the Presidents first 200 days in office. The Senates Republican leaders also suffered a heavy loss less than two weeks ago when they were unable to garner enough support for legislation that would have rolled back portions of the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare.

After his last defeat on healthcare, Mr McConnell said the Senate would move on to other matters. But Mr Trump has continued to tweet about the issue, and wrote that unless the Republican Senators are total quitters, Repeal & Replace is not dead!

Pundits have said that publicly targeting Mr McConnell may not be a good strategy for the President, as he needs the majority leader as an ally to pass any legislation, especially a tax code rewrite.
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The American military is ready with a plan to strike North Korean missile sites in a preemptive attack if Donald Trump decides to do so.

The plan involves flying a B-1B heavy bomber from Andersen Air Force Base in Guam accompanied by satellites, drones, higher jets, and aerial refuelling warplanes. Training for the mission has been ongoing, and there have been 11 practice runs for a similar mission since May when the training was accelerated.

Of the military options  [President Trump] could consider, this would be one of the two or three that would at least have the possibility of not escalating the situation, retired Admiral James Stavridis, the former Supreme Allied Commander Europe, told NBC.

 North Koreans stage massive rally in show of defiance against Donald Trump

There are six B-1B bombers positioned in Guam, about 2,100 miles by air to North Korea. The bombers have been heavily used in both Afghanistan and Iraq, and have been updated since then.

The news of the potential operations comes as the relationship between the US and North Korea has become very strained. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Mr Trump have engaged in a heated back and forth of threats. Recently, Mr Trump promised fire and fury if Mr Kim didnt stop threatening the United States. In response, Mr Kims government signaled they were considering an attack on Guam if Mr Trump didnt cool his tough talk.

Both countries appear to be more than willing to push the other further and further with the threats, however, in spite of assurance from US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who has said that Americans have no reason to worry about an impending war.

In pictures: North Korea military drill Show all 8 1 /8 In pictures: North Korea military drill In pictures: North Korea military drill North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un watches a military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill A military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) is seen in this handout photo by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill A military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) is seen in this handout photo by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill A military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill A military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill This image made from video of still images broadcast in a news bulletin by North Korea's KRT, shows what was said to be a 'Combined Fire Demonstration' held to celebrate the 85th anniversary of the North Korean army, in Wonsan, North Korea. KRT via AP Video In pictures: North Korea military drill This image made from video of still images broadcast in a news bulletin by North Korea's KRT, shows what was said to be a 'Combined Fire Demonstration' held to celebrate the 85th anniversary of the North Korean army, in Wonsan, North Korea. KRT via AP Video In pictures: North Korea military drill This image made from video of still images broadcast in a news bulletin by North Korea's KRT, shows what was said to be a 'Combined Fire Demonstration' held to celebrate the 85th anniversary of the North Korean army, in Wonsan, North Korea. KRT via AP Video

Should Mr Trump choose the attack plan that includes the B-1B bomber, they would be targeting approximately two dozen North Korean missile-launch sites, test grounds and other facilities, sources told NBC.

Defense Secretary James Mattis, following the exchange of threats, released a statement saying that the Pentagon was prepared for any escalation to violence including an offensive attack or a defensive, retaliatory attack.

While our State Department is making every effort to resolve this global threat through diplomatic means, the statement said, it must be noted that the combined allied militaries now possess the most precise, rehearsed and robust defensive and offensive capabilities on Earth.
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China has warned the US and North Korea not to "play with fire" amid escalating tensions between the two countries.

State media urged for careful dialogue to defuse the nuclear stand-off after Donald Trump vowed to unleash "fire and fury" in response to threats from Pyongyang.

North Korea dismissed the US President's warning as "a load of nonsense" and outlined plans to launch four missiles towards the US territory of Guam as the war of words intensified.

The state-run China Daily newspaper said "the threatening rhetoric from Pyongyang cannot be taken lightly" after North Korea's nuclear missile technology advanced faster than anticipated despite international scrutiny and strict sanctions.

Its editorial described the "latest round of sabre-rattling between Pyongyang and Washington" as "particularly ominous", adding: "This mutual finger-pointing has pulled both into a spiral of escalating distrust and hostility, which is the biggest obstacle to resolving the crisis."

An editorial in the Chinese state-run Xinhua news agency also criticised the hostile rhetoric, warning there was "no room for any related party to play with fire".

It said "the bottom line on the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula is that there must not be any armed conflict," adding "an uncontrolled situation and even perhaps any accidental spark could trigger a conflict and prove to be a disaster".

Protesters call for peaceful negotiations with North Korea at a demonstration outside the White House on Wednesday (Reuters)

The piece called for North Korea to suspend its ballistic missile and nuclear programmes and said US and South Korea should halt joint military drills in a bid to enable talks between Pyongyang and Washington.

China, North Korea's largest trading partner and Communist ally, has previously been criticised for failing to rein in Pyongyang's nuclear programme or aggressive rhetoric.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. 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In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. 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Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

Last month Mr Trump claimed "China could easily solve this problem", adding "they do nothing for us with North Korea, just talk".

His condemnation contradicted a June tweet in which he said: "While I greatly appreciate the efforts of President Xi & China to help with North Korea, it has not worked out. At least I know China tried!"

US-North Korea relations reached a nadir after reports Pyongyang had produced a nuclear warhead small enough to fit on an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

In a press conference at his New Jersey property on Tuesday, Mr Trump warned that North Korean ruler Kim Jong-un "best not make any more threats to the US".

He added: "They will be met with fire and fury and frankly power the likes of which the world has never seen before."
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People in Japan are reportedly rushing to buy bomb shelters amid rising tensions over North Koreas missile capabilities.

Along with South Korea, Japan is considered to be most at risk from an attack by Pyongyang after continued threats and frequent missile tests that usually land in Japanese waters.

Some Japanese bomb shelter companies have reportedly had to implement a waiting list system, while sales of air purifiers have also soared amid fears of a chemical attack.

Even shelter manufacturers overseas have been inundated with enquiries. One US firm based in Texas told Bloomberg it had seen a doubling of requests in recent weeks, of which around 80 per cent were from Japan.

Bomb shelters generally cost the equivalent of several thousand pounds but large ones are on sale for millions.

The Japanese government considered the current threat to be real enough to broadcast a television advert advising people to shelter in a strong building in the event of a missile attack. It has also moved missile defence units into the centre of Tokyo in anticipation of a possible rocket attack. Images showed the mobile unit deployed outside the Defence Ministry.

Some towns and cities have also carried out practice drills to make residents aware of what they should do in the case of an attack.

Experts say a North Korean missile could hit Japan just 10 minutes after being launched.

It comes as South Korean President Moon Jae-in told his military commanders to speed up preparations for protecting the country from a possible missile strike from the north.

In pictures: North Korea military drill Show all 8 1 /8 In pictures: North Korea military drill In pictures: North Korea military drill North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un watches a military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill A military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) is seen in this handout photo by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill A military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) is seen in this handout photo by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill A military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill A military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill This image made from video of still images broadcast in a news bulletin by North Korea's KRT, shows what was said to be a 'Combined Fire Demonstration' held to celebrate the 85th anniversary of the North Korean army, in Wonsan, North Korea. KRT via AP Video In pictures: North Korea military drill This image made from video of still images broadcast in a news bulletin by North Korea's KRT, shows what was said to be a 'Combined Fire Demonstration' held to celebrate the 85th anniversary of the North Korean army, in Wonsan, North Korea. KRT via AP Video In pictures: North Korea military drill This image made from video of still images broadcast in a news bulletin by North Korea's KRT, shows what was said to be a 'Combined Fire Demonstration' held to celebrate the 85th anniversary of the North Korean army, in Wonsan, North Korea. KRT via AP Video

Mr Moon is also reported to have asked Donald Trump for permission to produce more powerful ballistic missiles. A current agreement with the US limits the size of missile South Korea is allowed to develop to 500kg. The country wants to raise that to at least 1000kg, The Times reports.

Japan has also said it is considering whether to upgrade its missile capabilities in the face of the mounting threat.

The escalation comes after North Korea announced it was preparing a plan to fire four missiles into the sea off the US territory of Guam.

The threat followed the UN Security Councils decision to impose new sanctions on North Korea at the urging of the US and its allies.

Donald Trump vowed that North Korea would suffer fire and fury the like of which the world has never seen if the threats continued.

US B-1B bombers carried out training drills with South Korean and Japanese jets in a show of force. Further joint military exercises are being planned for later in the month.
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Japan could legally intercept a North Korean missile headed towards Guam, Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera said on Thursday in remarks reported by Kyodo news service.

Onodera told a lower house of parliament committee that Japan would be allowed to hit a missile headed towards the US Pacific territory if it was judged to be an existential threat to Japan, Kyodo said. This is a reiteration of the Japanese government's position.

Experts say Japan does not currently have the capability to shoot down a missile flying over its territory headed for Guam.

Reuters
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Officials in Italys southern Puglia region have demanded a more concerted response to a lesser-known organised crime syndicate, the day after gunmen killed four people in an ambush, including two people who witnessed the hit.

The president of the Foggia province of Puglia, where the shootings occurred near an abandoned railway station on Wednesday, is calling for more uniformed law enforcement and more highly trained investigators to combat the Foggia crime syndicate, blamed for 17 killings this year alone.

I am deeply shocked by the ferocity of the mafia ambush, Foggia president Francesco Miglio said before an emergency meeting of law enforcement led by Italys interior minister on Thursday. The barbarity even hit two innocent workers who were silenced only because they happened to be present for the crime.

The ambush in the town of San Marco in Lamis has put the spotlight on a long-overlooked crime syndicate that authorities say arrived in Foggia  the spur of the Italian boot  decades ago as an offshoot of the Naples Camorra, expanding from asserting control in agriculture to tourism and the drug route from Albania.

The Italian parliament has sent a commission to the area to study the phenomenon at least twice in recent years, and an investigative unit of the Carabinieri police was recently assigned to Foggia for the first time.

Still, the so-called fourth mafia, has never garnered national media attention like that of the Sicilian Cosa Nostra, the powerful Calabrian Ndrangheta or the Camorra itself.

This extremely barbarous form of criminality in Foggia has been too long considered a second-class mafia, a top anti-mafia prosecutor, Franco Roberti, told RAI state radio. He said it has been linked to 300 murders over the past three decades, 80 per cent unsolved.

In Wednesdays hit, a local crime boss appears to have been the main target when gunmen travelling in a car opened fire on another vehicle, killing the boss and his driver, who was identified as his brother-in-law. The killers then chased down another vehicle containing two local residents who apparently happened to witness the shootings, and killed them.

Investigators said they were trying to understand if the attack was the result of a vendetta between clans feuding over territory, or if it is a skirmish in a wider mafia war.

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Anti-mafia investigators said in a recent report that the Foggia organised crime syndicate had two main groups, one on the Gargano peninsula and the other inland, and was considered one of the most dangerous in Italy for the number of unsolved killings and the pervasive climate of omerta, an unwritten rule of silence, among the population.

The Foggia mafia is particularly ruthless and impenetrable, operating on a primordial level, Roberti told the Turin daily La Stampa. As we have seen in the recent dramatic episode, it is decidedly more violent and aggressive than the more organised mafias like the Ndrangheta, Cosa Nostra and Camorra.

AP
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A three-year-old boy has died from injuries sustained from gunfire in the contested Saudi town of Awamiyah, the childs uncle and several activists have confirmed to The Independent.

Sajaad Mohamed Abu Abdallah, who would have turned four in October, passed away on Wednesday at nearby Dammam Maternity and Childrens Hospital, where he had been cared for since a bullet hit him in the torso and right hand in the 12 June incident.

Sajaads uncle  who asked not to be named  said that he, his sister, her five-year-old daughter and her son Sajaad tried to drive past Awamiyah police station, one of the main headquarters for the Saudi security services in the stand-off with armed Shia protesters, when the shooting occurred.

X-rays provided by the family showed that several fragments remained in the childs torso at the time of his death

There was an armoured vehicle with a mounted gun turret outside the station, he said, and a road barrier which meant he had to take an exit to the right.

So I slowed down and I heard shooting. When I heard this, I sped up. I was twisting and turning and then I heard shooting at the car. My sister and her five-year-old daughter were crying and Sajaad was silent. I looked back and saw he was injured my sister cried and took him to the front seat, the man said. They then drove to the nearest medical centre.

The street had been completely empty at the time, he added, and there had been no warning before the shooting began.

Photographs taken by Sajaads uncle showed that one bullet entered the car through the left rear door, where the boy was sitting. It hit the toddler in the right hand, then travelled through his waist and exited his body.

X-rays provided by the family showed that several fragments remained in the childs torso at the time of his death.

The boys family, and pro-Awamiyah activists, say that the fatal wounds could not have been the result of anything other than the security forces armed car aiming at civilians.

The Saudi government was contacted for comment on the allegation that its troops or police had caused the boys death, but did not immediately respond.

In a statement provided on 12 August, a government spokesperson said that the child is the latest victim of heavily armed gunmen who have been firing indiscriminately in the same area, resulting in the death and injury of a number of citizens and members of the security forces.

"The deliberate targeting of civilians, let alone children is whole-heartedly abhorrent and contravenes every moral code," the spokesperson added.

The Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) and European-Saudi Organisation for Human Rights (ESOHR), among other organisations, are now calling for an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding Sajaads death.

At least one other child  a two-year-old boy  has been killed in the clashes between government forces and armed Shia protesters in Awamiyah, in Saudi Arabias eastern Qatif province, since violence broke out on 10 May.

Locals say between 12-25 people have died in indiscriminate shelling and sniper fire which has completely flattened parts of the old al-Musawara neighbourhood. Riyadh has repeatedly denied such claims.

While there has been periodic violence, including car bombs and attacks on police in the region since 2011 Arab Spring calls for equality for the countrys minority Shia citizens, a full-blown siege situation developed in May after attempts to evict residents from Awamiyah turned violent three months ago. The militarised conflict between the state and its citizens is unprecedented, Human Rights Watch previously told The Independent.

Information from the contested district has been difficult to verify as it is heavily controlled by the Saudi state, but sources both inside and outside the city say that the humanitarian situation for Awamiyahs 30,000 residents has been untenable  people have been too afraid to leave their homes, and in many cases the electricity supply and water had been shut off.

Journalists were allowed into the area on a government-chaperoned trip for the first time in months on Wednesday, reporting back scenes of devastation more usual in a war zone than one of the wealthiest cities in the Gulf.

Rusted cars and half-destroyed buildings were peppered with bullet holes.

The land which is mixed with the blood of martyrs gets sufficiently watered by Gods light to defeat the mighty, a Reuters report said one piece of graffiti read.

The neighbourhood was deserted, suggesting the heaviest fighting may be over after most residents fled the town in the last week through two government-approved routes out. At least one explosion was heard later in the day.

In a statement provided to The Independent on 8 August, a spokesperson for the Saudi government said that Due to its narrow streets, the al-Musawara neighbourhood became a haven for terrorists and suspicious activities ranging from terrorism and kidnapping to selling drugs and weapons, which is why it had been targeted for demolition and redevelopment.

Locals had been given ample notice and compensation for moving,

"The residents of Awamiyah left the town voluntarily, to allow the security forces to restore law and order, and were provided with temporary accommodation and compensated for the move. The forms and amounts of compensation received varied depending on individual circumstances and as a result remain confidential," the authorities said, although several local accounts contest these claims.

While some accommodation in nearby towns has been provided, it has been criticised as not nearly enough to cope with demand.

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

There are reportedly huge discrepancies in what is on offer. Pictures shared by activists and a Berlin-based Saudi lawyer attempting to help those moved out their homes show cramped and very dirty apartments meant to house large families.

While people living nearby initially opened their doors to those fleeing Awamiyah, a 3 July letter reportedly from the Ministry of Social Development shared with The Independent ordered local charities to stop providing shelter or other help for those displaced because the security sensitive operation lay outside their geographical remit.

In April a UN panel condemned the Saudi governments redevelopment plans, accusing the authorities of attempting to forcibly remove residents from Awamiyah without offering adequate resettlement options in an operation which threatens the historical and cultural heritage of the town with irreparable harm.

Esam Abdullatef Almulla, the regions acting mayor, dismissed the UNs concerns on Wednesday, telling reporters: We informed everyone in the community there would be development stages for several areas in Qatif, starting with Musawara.

Of course, we didnt get approval from everyone, but most Qatif and Awamiya residents wanted to see their neighbourhoods developed, he added.
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All state employees in Iraq were given a day off on Thursday as an extreme summer heatwave gripped the country.

Temperatures in the capital of Baghdad reached 50C by midday, and around 48-49C in other major cities such as Mosul in the north and Basra in the south.

While searing heat is a part of every Middle Eastern summer, an issue from Prime Minister Haider al-Abadis office said that government workers were not expected to come into work because of the exceptionally brutal conditions.

Heatwaves in Iraq normally knock out power supplies. On Thursday many people on social media reported that their electricity or air conditioning had stopped working for hours at a time.

The country broke heat records in 2016: last July, Basra - at 54C - became the hottest place on earth outside Death Valley. At the time Baghdad declare a mandatory four-day holiday to help people cope.

The conditions in Iraq this year are impacting the fight to drive the last Isis militants from the country following their defeat in Mosul in June.

The fighters cling on in Hawija and Anbar, driving internally displaced people to flee fighting every day.

New arrivals often reach camps after walking for hours, dodging Isis IEDs (improvised explosive devices), sniper and mortar fire  a journey even more dangerous while dehydrated under the scorching summer sun.

Southern Europe and Canada have also been affected by heatwaves which have caused devastating wildfires in the last month.

The 2017 increase in extreme weather is due to global warming, scientists say.

European Commission research released last week predicted that 150,000 people a year could die as a result of extreme weather events by 2100 if the world does not combat the effects of climate change.
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At least 19 migrants are presumed to have drowned after 160 people were forced from a boat into rough seas off the coast of Yemen by smugglers in what may be a worrying new trend, the UN migration agency has said.

The report from the International Organisation for Migration came less than a day after it said up to 50 migrants from Ethiopia and Somalia were deliberately drowned by smugglers who pushed them from a separate boat off the coast of Shabwa province in southern Yemen.

Were wondering if this is a new trend, Olivia Headon, an IOM spokesperson, told The Independent. The smugglers are well aware of whats happening in Yemen, so it may just be theyre trying to protect their own neck while putting other peoples lives at risk.

Six bodies were found on the beach, while 13 remain missing, presumed dead, Ms Headon said.

 Solving Africa's drowning crisis with life jackets made from scratch

Smugglers were pushing migrants into the sea away from the mainland for fear of government boats, amid reinforced border controls, or to avoid encountering armed groups on shore in the war-torn country, the IOM said.

They were then going back to Africa to pick up more migrants.

Recommended 50 refugees killed after smugglers throw them off boat

The passengers were mostly from Ethiopia and had an average age around 16-years-old.

In the first drowning on Wednesday, smugglers pushed 120 passengers into the water using guns and other weapons.

The narrow waters between the Horn of Africa and Yemen have been a popular migration route despite Yemens ongoing civil war.

Migrants, most of them Ethiopians, try to make their way to the oil-rich Gulf countries.

The situation in Yemen Show all 14 1 /14 The situation in Yemen The situation in Yemen Houthi supporters trample on a US flag during a gathering mobilizing more fighters into several Yemeni battlefronts, in Sana'a, Yemen EPA The situation in Yemen People carry the coffins of men, who were killed in the recent Saudi-led airstrikes during their funeral, in the Old City of Sanaa, Yemen AP The situation in Yemen Pro-government fighters give food to Yemeni children on the road leading to the southwestern port city of Mokha. Yemeni rebels are putting up fierce resistance in a key Red Sea port city where they are encircled by pro-government force Getty Images The situation in Yemen A Yemeni stands in front of a graffiti protesting US military operations in war-affected Yemen, in Sana'a, Yemen. According to reports, US Special Forces troops allegedly disembarked from US helicopters in the Yemeni town of Yakla and attacked several houses belonging to members of the terrorist group Al-Qaeda, killing three high-ranking Al-Qaeda members and nine civilians, six women and three children. One American serviceman has been killed and three injured in the attack EPA The situation in Yemen US Special Forces troops allegedly disembarked from US helicopters in the Yemeni town of Yakla and attacked several houses belonging to members of the terrorist group Al-Qaeda, killing three high-ranking Al-Qaeda members and nine civilians, six women and three children. One American serviceman has been killed and three injured in the attack EPA The situation in Yemen A Yemeni female fighter supporting the Shiite Huthi rebels, and carrying weapons used for ceremonial purposes, takes part in an anti-Saudi rally in the capital Sanaa Getty Images The situation in Yemen Yemeni female fighters supporting the Shiite Huthi rebels, and carrying weapons used for ceremonial purposes, take part in an anti-Saudi rally in the capital Sanaa Getty Images The situation in Yemen A boy shouts slogans next to pro-Houthi fighters, who have been injured during recent fighting, during a rally held to honour those injured or maimed while fighting in Houthi ranks in Sanaa, Yemen Reuters The situation in Yemen Balls of fire and smoke rise from a Houthi-held military camp following alleged Saudi-led airstrikes, in Sana'a, Yemen EPA The situation in Yemen Yemenis search under the rubble of damaged houses following reported Saudi-led coalition air strikes on the outskirts of the Yemeni capital Sanaa Getty Images The situation in Yemen A Yemeni boy looks on as Yemenis search under the rubble of damaged houses following reported Saudi-led coalition air strikes on the outskirts of the Yemeni capital Sanaa Getty The situation in Yemen A Yemeni boy sits amidst the rubble of damaged houses following reported Saudi-led coalition air strikes on the outskirts of the Yemeni capital Sanaa AFP/Getty The situation in Yemen Marine One with US President Donald Trump flies with a decoy and support helicopters to Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware, for the dignified transfer of Navy Seal Chief Petty Officer William 'Ryan' Owens who was killed in Yemen Getty Images The situation in Yemen US President Donald Trump aboard the Marine One to greet the remains of a US military commando killed during a raid on the al Qaeda militant group in southern Yemen on Sunday, at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, US Reuters

Along the route, they are vulnerable to abuse by armed trafficking rings, many of them believed to be connected to the armed groups involved in the war.

Theyre sold this idea of a future that probably doesnt even exist in the gulf countries where they can make money they wouldnt make at home, where they can get a job and start providing for themselves or their families, Ms Headon said.

Unfortunately this dream can become death, because they are not equipped with all the information about the dangers of the route.

She added: Right now, its the windy season, its not safe to be in these small boats crossing these waters. Yemen is in conflict, they might be aware of that, but they might not know the whole extent.

What it comes down to is that they know the risks, but theyve got this pitch that has been sold to them by these salesmen, these absolute criminals. Its like a balancing act: Do I stay here or do I go to this place that has been sold to me as heaven, even when I know the risk and could be abused along the way?

Yemens conflict itself is a deadly risk. In March, Somalias government blamed the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen for an attack on a boat that killed at least 42 Somali refugees off Yemens coast.

More than 111,500 migrants landed on Yemens shores last year, up from about 100,000 the year before, according to the Regional Mixed Migration Secretariat, a grouping of international agencies that monitors migration in the area.

Already this year 55,000 migrants have taken the hazardous route from the Horn of Africa to Yemen to seek possible opportunities offered in the Gulf, the IOM said.

Yemen itself is beset by a two-year civil war in which forces loyal to the Saudi-backed government are pitted against Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
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Women fighters danced to Kurdish songs in a village in northern Syria on Wednesday after completing their military training to join the battle against Isis.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of local militias supported by a US-led coalition, had given the 210 women a 15-day course in armed combat.

Trainers taught the women weapons handling, tactics and first aid.

The goal... is to stand up against Daesh, to stand up to them and tell them that the woman is strong, said new recruit Layla Hussein, using the Arabic acronym for Isis.

Jihan Sheikh Ahmed, the SDF spokeswoman for the Raqqa campaign, said the women would be mainly deployed to the battlefront against Isis in Raqqa.

Another course will start in two months, she added, and there will be more as the demand continues.

Hussein said her training had included ideology sessions.

The SDF is dominated by the Kurdish YPG militia, which follows the leftist ideology of Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) that has fought a three-decade insurgency in Turkey.

The spokesman for the US-led coalition initially said all the women who had been trained in that group were Arab but later said it was checking that information. A witness to the ceremony said some of the new fighters were Kurdish.

Since the beginning of the revolution and continuing on until now, the main casualties of war have been women, said Sarya Mahmoud, a trainer and commander in the YPJ, the all-female brigade in the YPG.

The female fighters give hope to women in the towns they liberate, Mahmoud said, because we're going to free them and give them the volition they lost years ago, not just from Daesh, but from the male mentality and the government mentality.

In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Show all 30 1 /30 In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian family arrives at a checkpoint, manned by pro-government forces, at the al-Hawoz street roundabout, after leaving Aleppo's eastern neighbourhoods Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian woman, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, reacts as she stands with her children in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood, after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian pro-regime fighters, gesture as they drive past resident fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighbourhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighbourhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood , after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian pro-regime fighters, gesture as they drive past residents fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood, after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian pro-regime fighter speaks with a child, as residents flee violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood. Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighbourhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops AFP/Getty Images In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Smoke rises as seen from a governement-held area of Aleppo, Syria Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian soldiers targeting rebels-held areas in the eastern neighborhoods in Aleppo, Syria. According to media reports, the army is now holding on 99 percent of Aleppois eastern neighborhoods EPA In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian pro-government forces patrol Aleppo's eastern al-Salihin neighbourhood after troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian soldiers rest following the battle at al-Sheik Saeed neighborhood in Aleppo, Syria EPA In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian pro-government fighter walking past closed shops in the Bab al-Nasr district of Aleppo's Old City. Once renowned for its bustling souks, grand citadel and historic gates, Aleppo's Old City has been rendered virtually unrecognisable by some of the worst violence of Syria's war Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria The crucial battle for Aleppo entered its 'final phase' after Syrian rebels retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances. The retreat leaves opposition fighters confined to just a handful of neighbourhoods in southeast Aleppo, the largest of them Sukkari and Mashhad Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian civilans arrive at a checkpoint, manned by pro-government forces, at the al-Hawoz street roundabout, after leaving Aleppo's eastern neighbourhoods. Syria's government has retaken at least 85 percent of east Aleppo, which fell to rebels in 2012, since beginning its operation Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian civilians flee the Sukkari neighbourhood towards safer rebel-held areas in southeastern Aleppo Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrians celebrate in the government-held Mogambo neighbourhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, after rebel fighters retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrians celebrate in the government-held Mogambo neighbourhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, after rebel fighters retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances. The fall of Aleppo would be the worst rebel defeat since Syria's conflict began in 2011, and leave the government in control of the country's five major cities Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian refugee Aliya inside the tent where she lives with her husband and ten children in a camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian refugee women and children outside the entrance to their tents in the refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA Wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA Wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee woman outside the entrance to the tent where her family live, in the refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A vehicle drives past a mosque at night in Idlib, Syria. Picture taken with a long exposure Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Damaged buildings stand in the rebel-controlled town of Binnish in Idlib province, Syria Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria The night sky is seen through damaged windows in the rebel-controlled town of Binnish in Idlib province, Syria Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Damaged buildings stand in the rebel-controlled area of Maaret al-Numan in Idlib province, Syria Reuters

The new SDF fighters came from different parts of northern Syria, including Deir al-Zor, Raqqa, and Aleppo, and will be deployed directly to Raqqa, where the SDF launched a campaign to seize the city from Isis forces in early June.

Isis has lost large expanses of territory in Syria over the last year to separate campaigns waged by the SDF, the Russian-backed Syrian military, and Turkey-backed Syrian rebels.

Reuters
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Israeli authorities in the occupied West Bank have seized the solar panels powering a school for Bedouin children near Jerusalem, ignoring a High Court petition over their removal in the process, local media has reported.

The solar panels, which were the sole source of electricity for a preschool and primary school in building in the Bedouin village of Abu Nuwar, were installed illegally without proper planning permissions, the Israeli Civil Administration said.

The were confiscated on Wednesday afternoon despite the fact a High Court decision on a petition challenging the removal order had not yet been reached, Haaretz newspaper reported.

 Israel razes West Bank homes of Palestinian attackers

The High Court ended up issuing a temporary restraining order against removing the panels, but it came an hour after they had already been dismantled.

While the fact a appeal was filed does not legally compel the authorities not to act, it is usual for the authorities to wait for a decision to be handed down.

This is not the first time that the Civil Administration takes action in contravention of the law while ignoring judicial orders, in an effort to create a fait accompli in the field, attorney Alaa Mahagna told Haaretz.

The enforcement actions reflect the Civil Administrations approach to the Bedouin communities in the West Bank, he said.

The judge presiding over the case has told the state it must produce a detailed report into how and why the solar panels were removed.

On August 8, inspectors from the administration found unauthorised construction that included the solar panels. The next day, the panels and additional equipment that were placed at the site illegally were taken. A short time afterwards, the Justice Ministry received a copy of the petition filed to the High Court of Justice in this regard and only later was an injunction given, a statement from the Civil Administration said.

Critics of Israeli activity in the occupied West Bank regularly point out that building permissions for new Palestinian homes and infrastructure are almost impossible to obtain.

Last month, the Netherlands has lodged a complaint with the Israeli government after dozens of Dutch solar panels donated to a West Bank village were confiscated by Israeli authorities on the same grounds.
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Budget airline easyJet has announced plans to move into the music industry with the release of a single and album comprised entirely of engine noise.

Jet Sounds will be available to buy tomorrow and the company say they hope listening to the tracks will help people get to sleep.

Experts believe that listening to white noise could have sleep-inducing effects. Recent research has found that the monotonous hum allows the brain to block out sleep interruptions by displacing background noise and muffling sounds such as traffic, snoring and barking dogs which can cause people to wake up.

Recordings of white noise have also been used to calm babies and help people focus when studying.

Recent research by the Sleep Council revealed that 22 per cent of adults in the UK sleep badly every night.

Sleep expert Dr Sandra L Wheatley consulted on production of the record. She said: The soft, repetitive, ambient drone of white noise can drown out sounds, gently settle the brain and aid the on-set of sleep.

There is also strong evidence that it can dampen out disruptive noises that can disturb our slumber. The low throb of a powerful jet engine is ideal for this. easyJet have captured the perfect tones.

Jet Sounds will also be released on vinyl

The white noise was produced by two CFM56 turbo fan engines on a flight between London Gatwick and Nice. Jet Sounds will be available to download on itunes, with the single priced at 79p and the extended album at 7.99. All proceeds will be donated to The Childrens Sleep Charity.

A 10-hour recording of engine noise is also available on easyJets YouTube channel. There will be limited edition vinyl prints available via easyJets Twitter page, too.

Tina Milton, easyJets head of cabin crew, said: Since the introduction of the NEO plane with its quieter cabin, weve created a more relaxed environment for our customers. We thought we would share this experience and help our customers get a good nights rest in their own home, whilst helping to raise money to support The Childrens Sleep Charity.

Vicki Dawson, founder and CEO of The Childrens Sleep Charity, said: This is a fantastic, fun idea from easyJet as we know repetitive, consistent white noise can help some people who suffer from disturbed sleep get a better nights rest - the gentle humming of a jet engine can help to support some children and families to get a better nights sleep.

Were delighted that easyJet are donating the proceeds from the sale of the single and album to our charity, these funds will help us to further support children and families with sleep issues and provide accredited training for professionals.
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A Spanish village has been banned from calling itself the home of the Smurfs.

The tiny Andalusian enclave of Juzcar, which is home to only 250 people, was painted blue in 2011 as part of a publicity stunt by Sony Pictures to promote The Smurfs 3D movie.

Once a traditional white village, every building in the picturesque spot changed its look to sport the distinctive Smurf blue, in what was supposed to be a temporary measure.

But tourism started to develop in the area, with visitors travelling to see the magical realm and locals voted to stick with the new colour. They organised Smurf themed events, murals and sculptures appeared and some even dressed up as the blue, hat-clad creatures.

The blue look was meant to be temporary but locals voted to keep it (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

As one of the most recognisable villages in Spain and at around an hours drive from the coast, newly blue Juzcar began attracting up to 80,000 tourists a year.

This led to a dispute between the town hall and the heirs of Pierre Culliford, known as Peyo, the Belgian artist who created the Smurf comics. It was believed to be settled when locals agreed to pay 12 per cent to the Culliford estate on all Smurf related royalties.

However, last week the council of Juzcar announced that from 15 August all Smurf related activities and references to Smurfs must cease.

Recommended Spanish village happy to be left feeling blue by Smurfs

The information, posted online, was headed important information for tourists and announced that the village had lost the authorization to market itself as a Smurf town. It added that: From Tuesday 15 August there will be no more statues or references to that brand.

There was no further explanation from the council about the events that led up to this decision and they have said they "have nothing further to comment" on the matter.

Sony Pictures originally chose the village as it is famous for its fungi, which grow in the surrounding hills, and Smurfs are known for their love of mushrooms.
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This week, the Met Office has warned that a heatwave is set to sweep over parts of the UK, with temperatures expected to soar as high as 34C in the south-west on Friday.

Whether youre a lover of alfresco dips, are looking for an alternative way to get fit or want to fill your summer with some family-friendly activities, a trip to one of the UKs many outdoor pools should feature highly on your to-do list.

Yet, as pools can get quite busy, its always a good idea to check the pools website to see if you need to pre-book.

From Brighton to Cornwall and South London, The Independent has put together a list of some of the countrys best outdoor swimming spots that will guarantee you the best of British summer.

So, all thats left for you to do is strip off, jump in and enjoy some alfresco fun.

Saltdean Lido

Where? Saltdean, Brighton.

Opened in 1938, Saltdean is the only Grade II-listed coastal lido in the country and has even been described as one of the seven wonders of the English seaside by Historic England.

After undergoing restoration, the heated pool re-opened in 2017 when it successfully welcomed over 40,000 visitors and picked up two Brighton & Hove Business Awards - Best New Kid on the Block & Best Hospitality Leisure & Tourism.

Opening times are Mondays to Fridays, 7am to 3.30pm, and weekends, 7am to 5pm. Tickets cost 6 for an adult swim or 160 for a season ticket.

Admission: Adult 6.

Visit the website here.

Bude Sea Pool

Where? Bude, Cornwall.

A semi-natural amenity that was built in the 1930s to provide a safe environment for people to swim in, the Bude Sea Pool lies under the curve of the cliffs in a picturesque conservation area near the civil parish of Bude-Stratton.

Almost 50,000 people visit Bude Sea Pool every year, making it the number one visitor attraction in the town. Access to the pool is unrestricted and free of any admission charge.

The pool is currently managed by the Friends of Bude Sea Pool (FoBSP), a local charity that aims to preserve, improve and enhance the site for the benefit of the local community and thousands of people who visit the town every year.

Visitors do not need to book slots to visit the pool, and admission is free.

Admission: free.

Visit the website here.

Brockwell Lido

Where? Herne Hill, South London.

One of London's most attractive heated pools, the art deco lido built in 1937 is celebrating its 85th birthday in 2022.

The much-loved local landmark boasts an award-winning cafe, ivy-covered brick and sundecks, making the whole place feel like an oasis amid the urban chaos.

The Grade II-listed location was the focus of Lucy Blakstad's documentary Lido, which was first broadcast on BBC Two in 1995, and was the setting for a Libby Page's book called The Lido that was a bestseller in 2018.

Pool sessions are available to adults for 8, and children over five years old for 5, and sessions should be booked online before arriving. Opening hours are from 6.30am to 9pm, Monday to Thursday; 6.30am to 7pm on Fridays; and 7.30am to 6.30pm on weekends.

Admission: Adult 8, child 5.

Visit the website here.

Droitwich Spa Lido

Where? Droitwich Spa, Worcestershire.

The Droitwich Spa Lido, like so many others, went through a period of decline in the 20th century, until a massive refurbishment over the period of two years meant it opened its doors once more in the summer of 2007.

Now it is one of Britains last remaining inland, open air saltwater pools and is heated to a Mediterranean 23C.

The lido also boasts a sun terrace, cafe and childrens wet play area with water cannons and fountains.

All lido sessions must be pre-booked before visiting, and can be done so on the pools app or online.

Admission: Adult from 4, child (over 4) from 3.50. Memberships begin at 38 per month.

Visit the website here.

Hathersage Swimming Pool

Where? Hathersage, Derbyshire.

An open-air swimming pool nestled in the hills of the Peak District, Hathersage Swimming Pool first opened way back in 1936.

With water heated to 28C, hot poolside showers, lawns and views of Stanage Edge and Hathersage Church, the spot continues to be a popular tourist attraction.

Over the last few years the Parish Council and local people have raised over 100,000 to replace the old fashioned changing facilities and install disabled toilets, with further refurbishment planned for the future.

Tickets for non-members are released every Friday to book for the week ahead (Monday to Sunday), and the lido holds monthly night swims to live music.

Admission: Adult 7, child 4, and under-4s free. Season passes start from 177.

Visit the website here.

Jubilee Pool

Where? Penzance, Cornwall.

Battered by storms in 2014, and following two years of closure and a 3 million restoration, the Jubilee Pool opened its doors wide again in 2016.

This spectacularly sited lido down on the foreshore has a main pool, a geothermal pool, an all-weather changing room, and treatment rooms.

The Jubilee Pool Cafe sits on the sites top terrace and offers a seasonal takeaway menue including local tray bakes from St Ives Bakery.

It will be open seven days a week from July, and season memberships start from 28 per month or 176.40 up front.

Admission: Adult 6 for the main pool, 11.75 for the heated geothermal pool. Child 4.50 for the main pool, 8.20 for the heated pool. Under-4s free.

Visit the website here.

Parliament Hill Fields Lido

Where? Gospel Oak, North London.

Built in 1938 and Grade II-listed, the Parliament Hill Fields Lido is the only stainless steel lined outdoor pool in the country which gives the water a metallic shimmer.

The 60m open-air lido is unheated, but wetsuits are permitted at the lifeguards discretion. Lane swimming is available between 7am to 10am, and 6pm and 8.30pm most days, with the evening session unavailable on Tuesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Open swimming sessions are available from 10.30am to 1.30pm, and 2.30pm to 5.30pm every day.

Morning and evening sessions do not require bookings, but the open swimming sessions do. Tickets are released on Monday at midday for the week ahead.

It also boasts a paddling pool for under-fives and a cafe.

Admission: Adult 7.45, Child 2.25.

Visit the website here.

Bristol Lido

Where? Clifton, Bristol.

Grade II-listed, and the oldest heated outdoor swimming pool in Britain, Bristol's lido has good reason to feel proud of its heritage.

A secluded oasis tucked within a charming courtyard of Georgian terraces, it's a positively chic hang-out, with a restaurant and spa making it feel more like a luxury hotel than your average council pool. It's open daily year-round and is heated to 20-24 degrees.

The spa boasts a sauna, steam room, and hot tub, while the chlorine levels in the pool are kept as low as possible thanks to the lidos wash naked policy.

Non-members can pre-book a two-hour session which includes access to the pool, sauna, steam room, and hot tub for 20. Slots are available from 10am to 3pm daily. Childrens access is restricted to between 2pm and 4pm, but these do not need to be pre-booked.

Memberships start from 69 per month, and includes access to the pool and spa facilities from 7am to 10pm daily.

Admission: Adult 20, Child 7.50

Visit the website here.

London Fields Lido

Where? Hackney, East London.

London Fields Lido in Hackney boasts a 50m Olympic size, heated outdoor pool thats open all year round.

The swimming pool offers lane swimming all day, while swimming lessons for children and adults, and one-to-one swimming lessons are available during its dedicated swimfit sessions.

Facilities also include a cafe as well as a large sundeck and sunbathing area.

The pool is open to visitors seven days a week, and opening hours are 6.30am to 9pm.

Admission: Adult 5.40, Child 3.15.

Visit the website here.

Stonehaven Open Air Pool

Where? Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire.

Stonehaven might have an average summer daytime temperature of 15 degrees, but who cares when the water in this pool  which was built in 1934  is heated to a balmy 29 degrees?

Britain's most northerly lido, the Olympic-sized 50m pool offers fun sessions for children, lane swimming and even midnight swims that mean you can take a dip beneath the stars to disco music.

The pool is open from July to September each year, with admissions from 10am to 7.30pm most days, but it is open until midnight on Wednesdays.

Admission: Adult 6.20 (8.30 for the midnight swim), Child 3.90 (5.55 for the midnight swim).

Visit the website here.
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I reacted to Brexit in the same way that any other liberal continental European would, or did. I was confused, upset, angry, disappointed. As a journalist I also felt frustrated. When you suddenly have the feeling that a country which exercises freedom of the press makes a decision that potentially jeopardises its own wellbeing, then journalism has somehow failed.

Confessed subjectivity and best-possible objectivity

During the referendum campaign I tried to gain a deeper understanding of what it was about being German that made me respond to it the way I did. I am very sceptical of journalists who claim their reports are objective. I do believe in facts, just to be clear on that. But I think an approximation of objectivity can only be achieved if the subjective narrator  in this case the journalist  understands, acknowledges and reveals their own subjective viewpoint.

The majority of my colleagues in the UK make their opinion on certain issues very clear, whereas in Germany, many journalists still believe that they can tell a story as it really was, even though modern media studies usually reject this. But my delight in reading the wonderfully straightforward and very entertaining views of the British press gradually began to fade away when my attention was diverted to mass provocation in right-wing publications. Stirring up hatred can never be the function of journalism.

In how far what you write about something or someone is as revealing about you as about what you are describing is something I dealt with while working on numerous different topics as a correspondent in Germany, France and East Asia.

When I arrived in the UK I had to learn that large sections of the Conservative Party talk similarly to Nigel Farage. And though it contradicted everything I had ever heard about trade negotiations  especially with China  this is a country in which leading politicians appeared to seriously believe they would be better off making a deal with China than to be represented alongside other markets. That baffled me.

 The horrendous travel rules awaiting Britons after Brexit

It was easy to understand the position of those anti-Europeans left economically deprived by globalisation and, I would claim, by their own government. Many really believe things cant get any worse for them, and travelling throughout the Midlands and Wales it is quite easy to see why.

The biggest challenge for me was to try and understand those Brexiteers who enjoy all of the advantages that come with belonging to the EU but still decided to demonise it for being either a socialist conspiracy or a particularly grotesque embodiment of capitalism.

In a more or less desperate attempt to view the situation more objectively, I visualised to what extent the EU is an institution particularly profitable to Germany, politically and economically, and the way it has been glorified by the Germans throughout recent history. I came to realise how distorted the German view of the EU is  distorted by affection, as opposed to the hostility I was observing in the UK.

For the vast majority of Germans, being European is seen as a perfect way of being a good German. Europe to us has always meant a widening of horizons; a shining future in exchange for a dark past. Its political benefit is obvious, but what is discussed less often is the economic advantage the EU offers Germany, sometimes at the expense of others.

The issue of how far this economic benefit is behind our supposed non-material admiration for the EU is discussed even less. When it became clear the UK, on reviewing its cost-benefit calculation, considered the EU to be unprofitable, it was perceived by the Germans as a narcissistic insult.

As a German you are used to people not wanting to have anything to do with Germany, but rejecting the European Union, specifically the idea of European solidarity, is so difficult to understand it is almost unforgivable, mainly, of course, because Europe saved us.

Recommended Holocaust survivors issue stark warning over dangers of fascism in UK

Germany was a nation rescued from fascism by the Brits (among others) and, despite the fact, quite rightly, Germany found itself at the very bottom of every national ranking it was once again allowed to have a say  make decisions even. Europe helped Germany gradually make its way back into the circle of civilised nations and that is why renouncing the EU is considered particularly unsettling.

That is one reason. The other is that the EU was an institutionalisation of a painful recognition in the wake of the Second World War  nationalism was the origin of fascism. It was to embody the fact conflict is best avoided through co-operation and by considering everyone as equal. It is difficult to see Brexit as anything other than an expression of a feeling of superiority; were better off without you. Because we are better.

Disbelief

Despite how surprising the result of the EU referendum was for almost everyone including Boris Johnson (reassuringly, most of my British colleagues were as stunned as I was) it was still possible to make sense of it and after months of reading, interviewing and reporting I felt well prepared. We had made visits to every corner of the country for our documentary Das gespaltene Konigreich (The disunited Kingdom).

We travelled through Northern Ireland, Scotland, the South of England and the Midlands, where very often not a single person had anything positive to say about the EU and believed it was responsible for all problems facing the UK  unemployment, lack of integration, low wages, overcrowded schools and hospitals, traffic and the downfall of British industry.

 Tom Peck on Double Take: Parliamentary sketch writers are currently redundant in Brexit Britain

I was genuinely shocked by the state of some of the towns, and by the many people I met who felt neglected and who were now driven by resentment. It made me feel very German because I longingly thought of the bundesfinanzausgleich (equalisation payment mechanism), a system that aims at balancing the wealth of the Bundeslander and leads to a fairer distribution of funds throughout the country.

Whenever I returned to London from these trips I gave a truthful report of how it seemed increasingly unlikely that the UK would remain in the EU. But always, after a few days back in London and some time to soak up the predominantly pro-European sentiment, and the analyses by political economists that people will always vote for economic security I found myself back in the safe familiarity of the bubble. I even put down 52 per cent for Remain in our office bet. Since we are predominantly German, we didnt put any money in. Luckily.

My reluctance to believe in what I had seen and heard, rather than what seemed sensible to me, may also explain why certain aspects of our reporting to Germany from the UK didnt really sink in. Denial. Not because of the echo-chamber phenomenon, and not because we manipulated what was happening in any way, but because the average German views Brexit with even more disbelief than a German correspondent in the UK.

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

I dont know how often I and my colleagues told audiences of millions that, yes, the Brits have voted for Brexit and it will happen. Yet in Germany there is still the unfaltering belief that the Brits deeply regret what has happened. The days succeeding the referendum result only reinforced this belief.

The German audience watched the mass desertion by those who would have been responsible for seeing it through  Cameron, Farage, Johnson, Gove. This, and the soundbites from one or two taxi drivers grumbling that probably nothing would change for them anyway, consolidated the opinion that someone would somehow realise what a fatal error it all was and would straighten things out again. Even in February this year a news presenter asked me: Is there really no going back?

No. Even on June 24 there was no going back. But the way it seems to be developing is not starting to gnaw away at the well-meaning belief of the German Europhile. They are also refusing to believe it in Scotland, which leads German news anchors to ask foreign correspondents like me: Would the Scots rather stay with us (in the EU)?

Nationalism

Us against them. This was the message the Leave campaign sent out. The most serious piece of collateral damage in the fallout of the referendum is that nationalism in Great Britain has fuelled that of other countries. Tit for tat. Bizarrely those promoting this ideology dont seem to understand it. How else is it possible to explain why Theresa May would announce during her speech at Lancaster House that she was ready to wave goodbye to the single market, at the same time convinced the EU would offer the UK a good deal.

Her reasoning: I do not believe that the EUs leaders will seriously tell German exporters, French farmers, Spanish fishermen, the young unemployed of the eurozone, and millions of others, that they want to make them poorer, just to punish Britain and make a political point. This coming from Britain, a safe refuge for pragmatism, the understatement and ironic distance.

Of all people the Brits, who the Germans admire and envy for so many things, have fired the starting pistol on an era of post-truth. Four million people voted for Nigel Farage in the last election, 17 million were seduced by Boris Johnson and convinced by Michael Gove that we have all had enough of experts. They will now be drawn into a Brexit a la Theresa May which, in my view, is likely to be most damaging to anyone who does not belong to the ultra-rich elite.

Balance in the face of lies

The role of the UK media in the referendum was very educational. As mentioned, I very much admire British journalism in general, but as soon as things started to become serious, it wasnt much fun anymore. Its very partisan nature eventually came to dominate both sides of the campaign making it seem as though it was okay to leave out factual arguments.

That was one extreme. But the post-referendum discussion surrounding the BBC was even more revealing. In an attempt to occupy the middle ground throughout the debate the BBC was then accused its reporting had been too balanced.

This is a lesson I hope will be learned in Germany, especially now we are preparing for general elections in September. Breitbart news hasnt made its debut in Germany yet, and there is much doubt as to whether the concept will catch on there, simply because of the medias very different perception of itself and its role.

The lesson I have learned from the UK media and from Brexit also leaves me thinking it would be much more beneficial for German mass media to take on clear positions. Now, more than in a long time, a journalist who is, as a result of professional research and investigation of their own subjectivity, convinced of the fatal consequences of a certain political path has a responsibility to make it known.

Translated by Elizabeth Moseley

Brexit,Trump and the media is edited by John Mair, Tor Clark, Neil Fowler, Raymond Snoddy OBE and Richard Tait CBE and published by Abramis, Bury St Edmunds

Available to Independent readers for a special price of 19.95 by emailing Richard@abramis.co.uk
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I can see the opinion poll headline now: 60 per cent of people claim they voted Remain in the 2016 referendum, with only 40 per cent honest enough to admit they backed Leave. The problem for those who still count themselves Remainers is that this headline is very unlikely to appear before we leave the EU in March 2019.

Hindsight is a wonderful gift. When Tony Blair joined the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, two out of three people supported it. But that is not how many remembered it by 2015, when 43 per cent insisted they had opposed the war at the time and only 37 per cent had supported it, according to YouGov. By then, the conflict was deeply unpopular, with twice as many people believing it had been wrong than right.

I suspect something similar will happen on Brexit, although much will depend on the state of the economy. The disaster predicted by Project Fear hasnt happened yet, but there are some worrying signs. Both sides in the referendum campaign are still re-running it, desperate to be proved right, one cabinet minister told me ruefully.

 Sir Simon Fraser: Brexit talks damaged by Cabinet splits which leave UK without a coherent strategy

When we can finally judge, what will matter is what the public thinks. If they blame an economic slowdown on leaving the EU, a genuine sense of Regrexit could take hold. But when? Despite the hopes of those dubbed Remainiacs by their opponents, the UK will probably have left by the time this happened. Todays polls show a nation still split down the middle on Brexit. Some Remainers now think, to cite Theresa Mays latest mantra, we should just get on with it.

However, there is a ray of hope for the remaining Remainers: the transitional deal towards which the Cabinet is heading would keep the UK very close to the EU for another two or three years after 2019. So there would be a longer period for Bremorse to set in. (I am not saying it will. I hope the economy doesnt suffer, but it might).

This is one reason why some hardline Brexiteers suspect Chancellor Philip Hammonds motives in pushing for a transitional deal. They would prefer a clean break in 2019. If the EU talks broke down and the UK left without any agreement, there would be no hugging the EU close and so surely no way back.

I dont think the Chancellor is hatching a wicked plot to keep the UK in the EU; he accepts we will leave the single market and customs union in 2019, even as he wants to retain their benefits for up to three years. But some Whitehall officials speak quietly of a soft landing that would allow the UK to keep its long-term options open. Even after the transitional period ended in 2021 or 2022, the UK would stick close to the EU market and copy its regulations (with no influence when they were drawn up). Over time, the UK could decide to diverge from the EU if the benefits of trade deals with non-EU countries became clear (although the Treasury remains to be convinced). The advantage of what officials call this parallel lines approach would be that the UK would suffer less of an economic hit while new trade deals were negotiated. Remember: the EU-Canada agreement took seven years.

If trade deals did not flow, there might be one last chance for Remainiacs to push for a return to the EU. The election due in 2022 could play a part, just as this years is now forcing May to soften her hard Brexit. It is not impossible that Parliament would vote for a second referendum, if there were public support for one.

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

Rejoin would be a much more difficult message than Remain, admitted one prominent pro-EU campaigner. But the demographics might help; last year, seven out of 10 in the 18 to 24 age group backed Remain, while almost two in three 65-year-olds voted Leave. The turnout among younger voters might well be higher next time.

The Liberal Democrats, lonely and squeezed out in June, might find some new friends. Labours stance on Brexit is confusing to put it mildly  but crucially, the party has retained the flexibility to adopt stronger opposition if the public mood shifts.

Foresight is a wonderful thing too and much of this might never happen. Politicians may remain too frightened of the charge of overturning last years referendum. And yet the June election has made it more possible than it was by opening the door to a longer transition. In the end, the UKs future will be decided by voters rather than politicians who will dare to move only if the public does. Perhaps more of them should lead rather than follow.
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Terrifying, certainly, but it may be no bad thing that the world is starting to contemplate exactly what a confrontation between the United States and North Korea might look like. Whether via-long range missiles or the very short-range bombardment or invasion of South Korea; whether aimed at the US mainland or a military base such as Guam; whether nuclear or conventional, the consequences of such a war vary only in the speed at which they would lead to an apocalypse. Millions would die, more would be horribly injured and starve, the environmental damage would be vast and most likely irreparable, the world economy would be driven into depression, and, in fact, it would resolve precisely nothing, unless the view is taken that the only way to preserve stability in North-east Asia is to turn the region into a graveyard.

That, after all, is the logic behind the octane of nuclear deterrence  the credible notion of mutually assured destruction. It has been tested many times before, not least during the periodic flare-ups in the Cold War between the US and the Soviet Union. More recently it has kept an uneasy peace between the likes of India and Pakistan; Israeli possession of such weaponry may even have stalled any modern pre-emptive war against her by hostile neighbours.

 Trump threatens North Korea with 'fire and fury' amid nuclear weapon reports

Yet never in history has such a potential scale of destruction been in the hands of two men less suited to the task of keeping the peace. For the other way of contemplating the situation facing the whole world today is to consider that the fate of the planet is in the hands of Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un, their respective bizarre hairstyles symbolising their bizarre world view. Impatient, hypersensitive, insecure, dynastic, bullying, vain the two men are hardly a mirror image, and there is no moral equivalence between democratic, freedom-loving America and the Stalinist hermit kingdom in North Korea, but the similarities in personality are, to say the least, disturbing.

Nor is there any equivalence about who is now holding the world hostage. It is the Democratic People's Republic of Korea that is defying United Nations resolutions in its quest to become untouchable, and, thus, ensure the continuance of Kims rule and that of his family. It is North Korea, not America that is setting off rockets to intimidate its neighbours. It is Kim who executes political dissidents, up to and including his half-brother, famously ambushed at Kuala Lumpur airport. And it is Kim, his father and grandfather who has starved, duped and used his long-suffering people for the most cynical of motives.

All that the rest of the world, as near helpless bystanders, can do is to press on President Trump the need for caution, even as Kim is making direct threats to American lives and territory, and to tone down the rhetoric about fire and destruction, which makes little difference to Kim in any case, except perhaps to wind him up. We can also beg China to use whatever leverage it has over its unruly ally, and orchestrate the other powers in the region  South Korea, Japan, Russia, Australia and the smaller ASEAN countries to continue to use whatever diplomatic channels remain.

For now, though, we are staring into an abyss.
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Every year, Vogues infamous Met Gala in New York  a fundraiser for the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art  takes to the global stage; it is the most ostentatious performance of fashions tie to celebrity culture there is. With tickets starting at $50,000 a guest, and a hyper-exclusive A-list guest list, designers team up with celebrities to construct looks according to the theme of the Mets Costume exhibition. The upcoming theme was announced yesterday  it is Fashion and Religion (cue *gulp*).

This isnt the first time a Met Gala theme has sparked controversy. In 2015, their Through the Looking Glass retrospective  celebrating the ways Western designers have drawn inspiration from Asia  was criticised for cultural appropriation and insensitivity. But I fear this years will be even more problematic.

There are a few critical issues at play. The first being that out of all religions, Christianity will inevitably take centre-stage as the most iconic according to fashions exclusive hierarchy.

Met Gala 2017 Show all 14 1 /14 Met Gala 2017 Met Gala 2017 Kim Kardashian at The Met Gala 2017 Met Gala 2017 Tracee Ellis Ross at The Met Gala 2017 Getty Images Met Gala 2017 Zoe Kravitz at The Met Gala 2017 Met Gala 2017 Zendaya at The Met Gala 2017 Getty Images Met Gala 2017 Solange Knowles at The Met Gala 2017 Met Gala 2017 Rihanna at The Met Gala 2017 Met Gala 2017 Madonna at The Met Gala 2017 Getty Met Gala 2017 Kylie Jenner at The Met Gala 2017 Met Gala 2017 Katy Perry at The Met Gala 2017 Getty Images Met Gala 2017 Jennifer Lopez at The Met Gala 2017 Met Gala 2017 Jaden Smith at The Met Gala 2017 Met Gala 2017 Pharrell Williams and Helen Lasichanh at The Met Gala 2017 Met Gala 2017 Cara Delevingne at The Met Gala 2017 Met Gala 2017 Bella Hamid at The Met Gala 2017 Getty Images

Christian iconography has long been popular in mass culture, with models and pop stars adopting the roles of contemporary saints. In 2016, for instance, Dolce and Gabbana released their Bible-inspired fall collection; this featured ecclesiastical images of the Virgin Mary and Child on jumpers, and models dressed in the colours of medieval panels with halos to boot. British designer Christopher Kane similarly used Christian iconography in his spring 2017 collection.

And the way female music artists have blended pop with biblical iconography is now a tried and tested formula  theres Madonna, obviously, but Lady Gagas self-presentation as a Mother Monster  in costumes decked with crucifixes  or Beyonces presentation as the child-bearer of prophets are more recent examples.

Ive often found these images subversive and empowering  especially Beyonces reclaiming of Christianity as a powerful black woman. But in the context of the Met Gala, what worries me is the paralleling of A-list Hollywood culture with the Christian faith. Seeing that the vast majority of designers and celebrities will be white, and that Christian iconography will be in the spotlight so relentlessly, the Met Gala will be yet another reminder that the West gives itself first place in the cultural league table.

When discussing the intended exclusivity of the Met Gala guest list, a New York socialite commented on Page Six that when the ticket is $50,000 and you received Annas stamp of approval, its a foregone conclusion that youre worth being there. Vogue, of course, considers itself the driving force that decides who the contemporary aristocracy are; in fact, onlookers are encouraged to feel outside the inner circle. Blending these Western capitalist fantasies with fashions deification of Christian iconography might only enforce constructs which tell us that Western ideals are success by default  even when it comes to faith.

Coupled with this is the problematic appropriation of other faiths in the fashion industry. Twice, Lady Gaga has appropriated Muslim attire for pop-cultural gain. In 2012, Gaga appeared at a London Fashion Week event with silk and fur covering her mouth like a niqab, decked with Arabian jewels frosting her forehead. For another event, she arrived on the runway in a full pink burqa that entirely cloaked her face.

Both stunts coincided with her promotion for the diabolical trite that was Artpop, and its accompanying song Aura about the burqa, in which Gaga sings: Im not a wandering slave, I am a woman of choice. My veil is protection for the gorgeousness of my face, as well as: Enigma pop star is fun, she wear burqa for fashion. Its not a statement as much as just a move for passion.

 Kim Kardashian arrives at Met Gala

All too often the Western pop and fashion industry sees the burqa as merely a sartorial gimmick which can be used to make a comment about our own views on femininity. This erases complexity and nuance, such as the fact that for many Muslim women, the burqa is used as a way to privilege intellectual attributes over the sexual, or for religious purposes. And in places like Saudi Arabia, of course, wearing the abaya is not a choice but a legal necessity, making it frankly insulting when white celebrities co-opt it at will.

This insensitive appropriation has been happening for decades; take, for instance, Karl Lagerfelds use of Quran verse on the breastplate of a Chanel dress in his infamous Quran dress. In Islam, the dramatically calligraphic rendering of our scripture is imbued with spirituality, and it is not meant for Claudia Schiffer on a runway.

So as the upcoming Met Gala invites the world to gaze across its red velvet rope, lets be sure to question how religion is being celebrated. Crucially, lets not allow the images created to re-enforce the Western hierarchies and constructs one hopes culture would disrupt.
The film set of an ancient Jedi Temple under construction at Ceann Sibeal in Kerry for the making of Star Wars Episode VIII

Ireland is going to have to gain a competitive edge in order to fend off a decrease in the number of British tourists coming here in the wake of Brexit.

Figures from the UK market were the only blotch on Tourism Ireland's mid-year report, which shows that 182,000 more people came to Ireland than in the first half of 2016.

Overseas visitors are up by 4.2pc, but the number from Britain is down 6.4pc.

Tourism Minister Shane Ross said the British figures were "a concern, not a surprise" but that a 21.6pc jump in tourists from North America "more than compensates for it".

He said: "It's too early to state definitively what the reasons for this decline are. It is clear that the sterling depreciation following the Brexit referendum has made Ireland and every other EU destination more expensive for British travellers."

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The minister added: "Maintaining the overall competitiveness in our tourism industry is vital at this time."

Tourism Ireland has commissioned research into the British market, which found that people are likely to travel less and spend less in the wake of Brexit. However, the numbers travelling from Britain to many competitor countries in the EU is growing, despite Brexit.

The CEO of Tourism Ireland, Niall Gibbons, said the situation was "very challenging" and that Irish companies needed to be "very conscious that the British consumer is looking for real value".

He continued: "Certainly, the British are still travelling abroad. Competitiveness is going to be absolutely key here. Ireland was always the one that was most likely to be hit hardest because we're closest to the UK and most dependant on it."

The Department of Tourism has set out its key priority for the Brexit negotiations, including:

Maintaining a liberalised aviation regime;

Preserving the common travel area;

Avoiding a hard Border;

Retaining Irish-British visa arrangements.

Currently, tourists from India and China can obtain a single visa that allows them travel in both Ireland and Britain - but this could be jeopardised by the UK's decision to leave the EU.

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Tourism Ireland will shortly launch an "extensive programme" of promotions.

This will include a greater emphasis on what it describes as a "culturally curious audience", which is less impacted by currency fluctuations.

Towards the end of the year, there will also be a new global campaign to highlight Ireland's connection with the 'Star Wars' movies to coincide with the release of 'Episode VIII: The Last Jedi'. Mr Gibbons said they would be "taking every opportunity to capitalise on the huge publicity around the film".
Ireland can reap the economic benefits from the EU-Japan trade deal, especially in terms of agri-exports, according to Ireland South MEP Sean Kelly.

Currently Japan is Ireland's 11th most important trading partner and Mr Kelly said that Japan is keen on importing more EU agricultural products, particularly dairy goods.

In 2013, Ireland exported over 1.6bn worth of goods to Japan, mostly from the agri-food, pharma/medical, ICT and financial services areas. Ireland imported just over 1bn worth of goods from Japan.

"An EU FTA with Japan opens up the possibility of growing that trade surplus substantially," Mr Kelly said.

Read more: Egyptian beef deal in the pipeline as price pressures see finishers change tack

The outline deal between the EU and Japan plans for the scrapping of duties on many European cheeses such as Gouda and Cheddar (current duties are 29.8pc).

In addition it will allow the EU to increase its beef exports to Japan substantially, while on pork there will be duty-free trade in processed meat and almost duty-free trade for fresh meat, according to the MEP.

43,500 tonnes of Irish beef are currently sent to Japan at a tariff of 38.5pc, which could be reduced to 9pc over 15 years.

"The EU-Japan FTA is good news for Ireland, especially with regard to concerns for the trading impact of Brexit  new markets are vital.

Being an EU Member State gives Ireland access to the Single Market and to new trading opportunities. More trade means more jobs," added Mr Kelly.

Read more: Japans biggest bank 'set to move investment operations from London to Amsterdam' because of Brexit

Last month Japan's Ministry of Finance (MOF) has said the country will raise tariffs on frozen beef imports from the US and other countries from August to protect domestic producers.

Tariffs on frozen beef will jump to 50pc from the current 38.5pc between August 1 and the end of March next year, as a "safeguard" mechanism to protect domestic farmers is being triggered, the ministry said in a statement.

The increase will be the first time the tariff mechanism has been tripped for beef imports since it was last triggered for chilled beef in August 2003, the farm ministry said.

Japan is the world's third-largest economy, with a population of about 127 million. EU firms already export over 58bn in goods and 28bn in services to Japan annually.

A final text on the proposed EU-Japan FTA deal will be presented by the end of the year, before coming before the European Parliament for review, as well as EU Member States.

(Additional reporting by Reuters)
Financier Derek Quinlan's bid to revive his career through the proposed acquisition on behalf of European investors of Brussels' Finance Tower from the real estate giant Breevast has taken an extraordinary twist after one of the Dutch company's owners, Frank Zweegers, was arrested.

Mr Zweegers was arrested last Thursday on the Italian island of Capri when, during a routine check of luxury yachts, police discovered that there was an outstanding European arrest warrant against him in Belgium.

According to the Dutch newspaper 'Volkskrant', the warrant stems from allegations that Mr Zweegers paid thousands of euro in bribes to the former head of the Belgian federal judicial police, Glen Audenaert.

Mr Audenaert is alleged in return to have lobbied for the federal police's headquarters to be moved to the RAC complex in Brussels in 2013. The RAC complex was owned at the time by Breevast - Mr Zweegers' company.

While Mr Audenaert admitted in 2012 that he had received money from Mr Zweegers, he insisted that it had been a gift to him and his wife - a personal friend of Mr Zweegers.

In a statement issued last Monday, Mr Zweegers denied paying any money to Mr Audenaert.

A spokesperson for Mr Zweegers said that the businessman "did not commit any criminal offence in this matter" and "fully cooperated in the investigation of the Belgian judiciary".

Mr Zweeger's spokesperson also rejected claims made in the Belgian media that he had refused to meet with Belgian detectives for questioning.

"Since 2012 Mr Zweegers asked three times through his lawyer to be allowed to give a statement with the investigating court, but the Belgian judiciary never responded. He is therefore also very surprised by this European arrest warrant," the spokesperson said.

In a brief statement following Mr Zweegers' arrest, a spokesman for Breevast said: "Frank Zweegers states that he fully cooperates with an investigation conducted by the Belgian judicial authorities. We emphasise that Breevast is not a party in this case. There are no suspicions of involvement against the company."

Asked by the Irish Independent if the arrest of Mr Zweegers might have an impact on Derek Quinlan's negotiations with Breevast for the proposed purchase of the Finance Tower in Brussels, a spokesman for Mr Quinlan declined to comment.

A source close to the negotiations insisted however that Mr Zweegers "was not involved in any way with the Quinlan Real Estate negotiations which are ongoing".

Mr Quinlan and Quinlan Real Estate are acting as the lead adviser to a group of European property investors seeking to acquire the Finance Tower.

While the financier is understood not to have any equity stake in the potential 1.3bn transaction, should he manage to secure the deal to buy the 31-storey (200,000sqm) building, it would represent the largest single real estate transaction by value in Belgian history.

The successful acquisition of the Finance Tower would also prove to be a remarkable turnaround in Mr Quinlan's fortunes following the crash, and the transfer of his various companies' borrowings on to the books of Nama.

While the financier's principal boom-era operation, Quinlan Private, and its associated entities had some 11bn in assets under management at their peak, the onset of the global economic crisis in 2007 and the subsequent implosion in property markets here and internationally saw him enter Nama in 2010 as one of its most-indebted borrowers.

Coupled with his involvement in an array of investment partnerships, Mr Quinlan's borrowings were reported to be in the region of 3.5bn before he embarked on an aggressive round of asset disposals aimed at paying down his debts to Nama and his other bank creditors.

Included in those sales were the financier's disposal of his stake in the Maybourne Hotel Group, which owns London's world-famous Claridge's, Berkeley and Connaught Hotels; the Knightsbridge estate, and the Citigroup skyscraper.
A new analysis by business group IBEC suggests that Brexit could hit farm incomes by as much as 3,000.

It comes as a recent report by InterTradeIreland and the ESRI quantified the expected impact on the food and drink sector of a Hard Brexit.

The report showed that in a worst case scenario (with WTO tariffs, non-tariff barriers and 10pc rise in sterling/euro from 2016 levels) exports of food & beverage manufacturing to the UK could fall by 45% or 2.1 billion.

Total food and beverage manufacturing turnover is 27bn, of which 4.6bn comes from UK exports.

As such this hard Brexit scenario would reduce overall food and beverage manufacturing output in Ireland by around 8pc permanently.

IBEC modelling extending from these findings, suggests a 2.1 billion fall in Irish food and beverage manufacturing exports would translate to a fall of over 415 million in demand for farm output.

Applying this to figures from Teagascs National Farm Survey it suggests that the immediate impact on Irish exports to the UK alone would translate to a steep reduction in farm output of around 3,000 per farm annually (across 140,000 farms).

Assuming a proportional fall in variable costs this would result in a net 6.5pc fall in average farm incomes overall and up to a 9.5pc fall in incomes for livestock farms.

Further potential impacts of Brexit on product displacement, funding on the CAP or domestic consumer demand are not taken into account.

The IBEC analysis also shows that around 243,000 workers, or 13.2pc of the employed population, work in the most Brexit exposed sectors such as agri-food and beverages, tourism, transport and traditional manufacturing.

The counties with the highest exposure to a hard Brexit are Cavan (28pc), Monaghan (27pc), Kerry (22pc) and Longford (21pc) with over one in five workers in each of those counties employed in exposed sectors.

Meanwhile exposure is lowest, as expected, in urban areas. The least exposed counties include Cork and Galway cities along with the four Dublin local authorities and their surrounding counties.
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Wednesday released on humanitarian grounds a Canadian man who was serving life sentence for alleged anti-DPRK activities, according to Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

"Rim Hyon Su (Hyeon Soo Lim), a Canadian civilian, was released on sick bail according to the decision of the Central Court of DPRK on Aug. 9, 2017 from a humanitarian viewpoint," said the KCNA.

"He had been under the penalty of indefinite hard labor as he conducted hostile deeds against DPRK," said the report.

The release came one day after a high-level Canadian government team led by Daniel Jean arrived here Tuesday.

The national security advisor to the Canadian prime minister and special envoy of the latter came to discuss the case of the Canadian pastor after Swedish charge d'affaires ad interim here met with Rim, 62, last month.

During the meeting, Rim reportedly talked about his health condition, and asked the charge d'affaires ad interim "to convey his request to the Canadian government for making active efforts" for his release.

Sweden has consular affairs duty for Canadian citizens in the DPRK.

In December 2015, South Korean-born Rim was sentenced to life education through labor for committing hostile acts against the DPRK during his stay in the country.
A buoyant trade for weanlings was reported at last week's sale in New Ross. Strong competition between shippers and farmers ensured excellent demand for the 290 animals on offer and a full clearance of stock.

Top grade Belgian Blue bulls of the Italian market were the pick of the sale, with prices ranging from 900 to 1,190 with the 1/kg. The top price of 3.53/kg was paid for one such Belgian Blue, with shippers paying 1,660 for the 470kg weanling.

Farmers were the main takers for heavy Limousin and Charolais bulls in the 480-550kg weight range. These generally made between 1,150/hd and 1,350/hd.

Farmers and exporters servicing the Turkish market competed for bulls in the 320-430kg weight bracket. Prices for these ranged from 850/hd to 1,160/hd. Angus bulls off the dairy herd sold for 1.90-2.30/kg.

Expand Close New Ross Mart Manager Richard Kirwan with auctioneer Jim Bush / Facebook

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Whatsapp New Ross Mart Manager Richard Kirwan with auctioneer Jim Bush

There was a similarly lively trade for heifer weanlings, with prices from 2.60/kg to 3.80/kg or 700/hd to 1,060/hd.

Mart Trade

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Last week I questioned whether mart prices from two weeks ago had reached a tipping point.

Despite a factory squeeze that started mid June, shaving between 10-15c/kg off the base bullock price and similar off the heifer, things didnt look too bad for 2017 so far.

However as we slip into August apprehension is starting to permeate as factory bosses continue to squeeze the price of beef. The unease started to affect the price of lesser quality stock late last month with George Chandler of Kilkenny noting that plainer bullock was back by 10-30/hd.

Last week, mart managers described trade as steady with plainer stock easier. In Carnew plainer animals were said to be easier by 20/hd.

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Whatsapp Belgian Blue, weight 380kg, price 1,070

Last weeks ringside figures support this analysis with all bullock categories up to 599kgs seeing average falls of 5-7c/kg while the 600kg+ bullock eased back just 2c/kg to 2.03/kg.

What is very interesting when you delve into the statistics is not so much which weight categories moved up or down, its how the figures for the various breeds within those weight categories moved over the last two weeks.

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Looking specifically at the staple of the purely grass finisher, the Friesian bullock.

The Friesian over 600kgs appeared the most susceptible to factory price movements with overall average mart prices falling by 5c/kg or 30/hd last week, while the general average of all bullocks at this weight fell by just 2c/kg or 12/hd.

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Whatsapp This Limousin, weight 425kg, sold for 930

However once I started to go down into the more storish animal under 600kgs things changed noticeably.

The average fall from two weeks ago in the 500-599kg section was 7c/kg last week thats 35-42/hd yet the Friesian bullock only fell by 3c/kg, 15-18/hd.

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Whatsapp Martin O'Keefe from Taghmon, Wexford at the sale

The 400-499kg weight category recorded an average price fall of 6c/kg or 24-30/hd, yet the Friesian bullock at this weight actually gained 3c/kg on average from the week before. In the 300-399kg section average overall prices fell by 5c/ kg last week but the Friesian bullock only averaged a 4c/kg reduction.

Whats going on? With factory prices going in reverse and mart price averages following suit why is the humble Friesian, that plainer bullock, appearing to hold his own and then some?

Is it because it is only early August and if you have grass to eat why buy anything fancy at bigger money that might also need the expense of extra feeding? Or do factory price reductions hit those more expensive fancy cattle harder than most would care to admit?

1 BLESSINGTON

BEEF and forward store bullocks made from 610-950/hd over the /kg while in the 500kg section prices ranged from 570-830/hd over the /kg. Among the more storish types prices ran from 360- 775/hd over the weight. Beef and butcher heifers followed their bullock counterparts very closely with prices ranging from 610- 920/kg, while stores from under 300kgs to 400kgs plus made from 400-630/ hd over their weight. Beef cows sold from 340-680/hd with the weight with feeders making from 160-340/hd over their weight.

2 BALLYMOTE

TRADE was firm with plenty of interest despite threats of factory price cuts. Among the dry cows with possibly further potential were a 635kg Limousin at 2.00/kg and a 625kg Belgian Blue cross who made 1.76/ kg while a 745kg Simmental cross was probably going the shorter road at 1.80/ kg. Moving to the bullocks some of the more choice prices were the 2.35/kg paid for 625kg Charolais, while down the lighter end a 355kg Limousin clicked 2.53/kg.

3 DOWRA

ALTHOUGH reported as slightly easier, trade here still saw heifer weanlings up to 300kgs make from 1.90-3.10/ kg, with those from 300-400kgs making from 1.80-2.90/kg. Heavier heifers from 400-500kgs averaged from 1.90-2.90/ kg with anything over 500kgs making from 1.80-2.40/kg. The bull weanling trade saw farmers put the squeeze on shippers for the very top quality animal leading to bulls under 300kgs making from 2.10-3.30/kg with heavier types selling from 1.80-2.90/ kg. Store bullocks under 500kgs made from 1.90-2.90/kg with those above this weight coming in at between 1.80-2.45/kg. Dry cows sold from 160-1.90/kg with store cows making up to 1.80/kg

4 CARNEW

THERE was a big entry of stock with trade for quality beef and stores continuing strong while the plainer animal was easier by about 20/hd. Beef and forward bullocks made from 600-960/hd with the /kg with good quality stores making from 450-870 with the weight. The Friesian bullock saw his base slip to 175/hd over the /kg although the heavier Friesian hit 620/hd with their weight. Beef heifers sold from 620-945/hd with the weight with store heifers ranging from 340-780/ hd with the /kg. Friesian bull calves made from 60-180/hd with continental bulls selling from 250-440/hd.

5 TULLOW

TRADE was steady but prices for some of forward cattle seemed to reflect the current difficulty in the beef trade as one local commentator put it. Difficulties aside youd still have to part with2.25/kg for two 720kg Charolais and 2.40/kg for a 700kg single. The average for the majority of forward continentals was between 2.15-2.25/kg. Trade for heifers was also steady with prices for Hereford and Angus in the 2.05/kg region up to a top of 2.45/ kg for continentals. The weanling trade saw with 300kg bulls most suitable for shipping selling from 2.80-3.00/kg while strong demand for 400-440kg types saw their price settle between 2.40-2.60/kg.

6 RAPHOE

WITH farmers, shippers, butchers and factory agents all present at Raphoe mart competition was keen. Bullocks sold from 2.15-2.70/kg with bulls making from 2.20-2.80/kg. The heifer trade saw prices of 2.25/kg at the lower end up to 2.80/kg for the better animal. Fat cows made from 600/hd for those in need of feeding to 1,690/hd for the more finished article.
Further increases in milk prices could be on the cards as global dairy markets remain strong.

Local industry sources conceded that prices for July supplies are likely to harden further on the back of continuing buoyant international demand.

"Right now there is nothing out there that will radically change matters, so we are looking towards a further improvement in milk prices," one processor source said.

Although the GDT index fell back 1.6pc last week, the overall tone of international dairy markets remains positive.

Industry analysts point out that milk supply and demand remain in balance, with output in Europe remain static, while supply growth in the US and New Zealand is being absorbed by increased American domestic demand and heightened Chinese buyer activity respectively.

Meanwhile, ICMSA has urged dairies to close the gap that exists between Irish milk processors and their European counterparts.

While most Irish processors are working off of a base of 33-34c/l, Gerald Quain of ICMSA pointed out that Ireland lagged behind the EU average milk price by 1.6c/kg.

The ICMSA representative said there was no justification for the price gap and he rejected what he described as the "carefully cultivated notion" that the lag between Irish and European prices had been closed.

"The Irish milk price is still in 14th place at EU level, a position which - when you consider our investments at processing level and our grass-based natural system of milk production - is very disappointing," Mr Quain said.

"As of May, the EU average was still 1.6c/kg above our figure. That difference translates to almost 5,000 over a year for a 300,000-litre dairy farmer," he pointed out.
Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed has been called on to increase reference costings for grant-aided work under the TAMS on-farm investment scheme.

IFA Rural Development Chairman Joe Brady raised this matter with Minister Creed last month and at the most recent Charter of Farmers Rights meeting.

He made the case that the adjustment in costings is necessary given the recent increases in building materials and other costs such as labour and fittings.

Brady said if costings are not regularly updated the value of grant aid due to the farmer is reduced.

The percentage of grant aid is based on the standard or reference cost payable at either the basic 40% grant rate or in the case of young farmers at 60%.

He said it is important that the grant paid broadly relates to the actual costs incurred.

The IFA Rural Development Chairman said the Department of Agriculture must take account of all the data available to them that clearly show building costs have increased over the past 12 months.

The most recent CSO Wholesale Price Index for Building and Construction materials officially confirms that price for all materials increased by 3.4% in June 2017 compared to June of 2016. For example ready mixed mortar and concrete has increased by 2.4%; structural steel by 7.5%; sand and gravel by 6.9%; cement by 4.4%, stone/sand/gravel by 6.9%, and labour costs increased by 2.5%*.

In the case of own labour, where a farmer carries out some of the work, it is currently costed at 12.50/hr. This needs to increase to 15/hr. This would be in line since it was last reviewed in 2010.

There is evidence that the costs being quoted by building contractors is increasing to justify costings increases.

Brady said that costings to determine grant aid apply at the time of Department approval for grant aid. The impact of a costings increase would mean that a farmer gets a more accurate rate of grant relative to investment costs incurred, excluding VAT.

It is not acceptable that a situation is now arising whereby farmers were promised either a grant of 60% or a grant of 40% with the Department basing their costings on outdated 2015 and earlier figures he concluded.
Engineering, environment and design consultancy firm Sweco UK is continuing its expansion with the opening of a new office in Cork.

The company already has experience delivering projects across Ireland, including the implementation of telemetry systems with Irish Water and the development of the SSEs Galway Wind Park.

In addition, Sweco has worked on a number of major transportation projects in Ireland including the M8 Cashel to Mitchelstown motorway, the M50 upgrade in Dublin and the M3 Clonee to Kells motorway scheme in Meath.

The Cork team is currently working on the Oweninny wind farm in Mayo, phase two of the A1 junctions project in Northern Ireland and will shortly commence tender design work on the A6 Dungiven to Drumahoe dualling scheme also in Northern Ireland, the company said.

Read more: Warren Buffett unit to open Dublin office

The Cork office will complement Swecos 12 locations in the UK.

Initially the office will be occupied by a team of four transportation experts, but the team will also contribute to multi-disciplinary services being delivered by the consultancy buildings, energy, environment, transportation and water and asset management business units.

"We chose to open in Cork to establish a permanent presence in Ireland which will further enhance the service provided to our clients based in the country and operating within it," Sweco UK managing director, Max Joy, said.

Cork-based Sweco operations director, John Nolan said that the company was looking forward to adding to the team in Cork "while continuing to provide Swecos recognised expertise and multi-disciplinary approach to project design and delivery."

In the UK, Sweco employs 800 people and in addition to Cork, has offices in Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, London, Maidenhead, Manchester, Newcastle, Peterborough, Solihull and Stockton.
Tom Finn, CEO of Affidea Ireland, says the HSE needs leadership if it is to change to better serve the needs of the people

The Irish arm of European healthcare clinic chain Affidea is planning to invest 25m here over the next couple of years as it expands its number of clinics and rolls out new patient services.

Affidea Ireland, which already has 10 full-service clinics in Ireland will open new outlets in Galway and Limerick, and is also eyeing smaller clinics in Midlands towns.

And in a move set to bring it in direct competition with the VHI Swiftcare clinics in Dublin and Cork, Affidea Ireland is also going to start treating minor injuries and ailments at some of its outlets by the end of the year, according to CEO Tom Finn.

VHI announced in June that it is to close its three clinics in Dublin and Cork to non-VHI members from September 1.

With its wider clinic footprint, Affidea Ireland will now pose a significant threat to VHI.

Affidea already offers a suite of advanced diagnostic screening for patients for a range of potentially serious conditions, using state-of-the art technology including MRI and CT scanners.

Mr Finn said that the company has been looking at providing so-called 'adjacencies' for some time, in order to expand the types and number of services it offers patients. Its clinics are open to everybody, with or without health insurance.

"That's always been part of our adjacencies plan - to look at minor injuries," Mr Finn told the Irish Independent. "We have the space in clinics. Irrespective of VHI's decision, that's something we would have been looking at anyway.

"We'd already planned to have it up and running in some places by the last quarter of this year. It's part of our 2025 strategic plan to evolve the company from just diagnostics to providing as many of the adjacent services that we can.

"By 2020 we'll have a lot of those services in place, particularly in relation to outpatients and minor injuries, and various other out-of-hours services," said Mr Finn.

Affidea recently opened a 3.6m clinic in Tallaght, south Dublin, and a 2.7m clinic in Waterford.

It has 10 standalone clinics in Ireland, and also has a presence within Sligo General Hospital, and also in Northern Ireland.

Mr Finn said the company has invested 15m in its network in Ireland over the past couple of years.

As part of its expansion plan, the company is also considering smaller clinics in Midlands towns.

"There are a few smaller towns towards the Midlands that we'll look at with a different model, a different kind of centre," he said. Such clinics won't have all the highly advanced diagnostic tools available in larger clinics.

"The bigger cities have flagship centres that would have minor injuries and all the other adjacencies," he said.

Mr Finn also railed against the practice in public hospitals where insurance companies are often billed for the same services provided to patients with insurance, as the patients would have received anyway as a public patient.

"You go into a hospital now and your insurance company is billed 700 or 800 a night irrespective of which bed you're in, which I think is fundamentally wrong," said Mr Finn, a former HSE executive.

"As a taxpayer, I'm already paying for that bed. I agree with the anger of the insurance companies.

"It is fundamentally a stealth tax on people."

Read the interview in full
Gerard Brady has been appointed the new head of Ibec's Tax and Fiscal Policy unit.

He will have responsibility for shaping and driving Ibec's tax, economic and fiscal policies.

Gerard joined the organisation in 2013 and most recently held the position of Senior Economist.

His role involved regular analysis of economic issues for a business audience and policy engagement on economic and tax policy issues, along with advising companies and sectoral organisations.

He is a current member of BusinessEuropes tax policy committee and its EcoFin committee, as well as being a Board Member on the National Statistics Board.

Prior to joining Ibec, Gerard worked as a lecturer in economics in University College Cork.

He was the winner of the Foundation for Fiscal Studies Miriam Hederman O'Brien prize for research on fiscal policy in 2013.
Ward Solutions have launched a new GDPR consultancy service aimed to help Irish businesses cope with the new data protection rules coming into force.

Ahead of the new regulation, which comes into effect across the EU from May 25 next, the IT security firm has invested 300,000 in staff training, accreditation and new hires to make this new service available.

According to the information security provider, a dedicated team of fifteen consultants will solely work on helping organisations in Ireland comply with the incoming General Data Protection Regulation.

The team have attained GDPR-specific certifications such as the Certified Data Protection Practitioner from ICS Skills, the EU General Data Protection Regulation Certificate from the International Board for IT Governance, and the Certificate in Data Protection Practice from the Law Society of Ireland.

"Demand for this service is so high that fifteen of our experienced data privacy consultants are now working solely on GDPR, and will be continuing to do so for the foreseeable future," Paul Hogan, chief technology officer, Ward Solutions, said.

"We are forecasting new revenues of 500,000 from this service alone, which will have an enormously positive effect on the company on the whole."

Expand Close Pictured (L-R) are: Pat Larkin, CEO, Ward Solutions, and Paul Hogan, CTO, Ward Solutions / Facebook

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Whatsapp Pictured (L-R) are: Pat Larkin, CEO, Ward Solutions, and Paul Hogan, CTO, Ward Solutions

The new GDPR will replace extremely outdated data protection regulation - last amended in 2003, before many of the most ubiquitous holders of personal data  Facebook, Instagram, Twitter  were even created.

Failure to demonstrate compliance could lead to companies facing fines of up to 20m or 4pc of global turnover, depending on which is greater.

As part of Ward's new offering, the consultants will help companies to assess compliance readiness and identify the different types of data in their possession.

Furthermore, the firm's Data Protection Officer as-a-service will provide companies with access to an information security privacy specialist who will provide expert knowledge of GDPR and data privacy best practice - and oversee the implementation of GDPR.

"This new GDPR consultancy service from Ward Solutions will enable Irish companies to identify what personal data they are processing, where it is located and what their legal justifications for processing are," said Mr Hogan.

"This will allow organisations to establish whether or not the manner in which they process personal data is compliant with GDPR."
High-level contacts between senior figures at Cantor Fitzgerald and Merrion Capital do not mean a deal is imminent, insiders have told the Irish Independent.

US-owned Cantor Fitzgerald lost out three years ago in a takeover battle for Merrion to a bid led by a group of the firm's own management.

The Irish Independent has learned that senior managers at both firms have more recently discussed the potential for consolidation in the sector as a response to rising regulatory costs, but that did not advance to specific merger talks.

If detailed discussions that could lead to a takeover of Merrion by bigger rival Cantor Fitzgerald developed it would have to be notified to both firms' boards and to the Central Bank, as regulator, and it is understood that has not happened.

A senior figure at Merrion said it is not currently engaged in talks that could lead to a sale.

Cantor Fitzgerald Ireland is known to be targeting growth in Ireland to build scale, after the US brokerage acquired the former Dolmen Securities in 2012.

The Dublin-based business is led by Ronan Reid and recently completed an Irish bolt-on acquisition of L&P Group, an advisory service for charities, trusts, not-for-profit organisations and religious orders.

That followed a takeover last year of the management of thousands of former Rabo Direct investment accounts after the Dutch bank pulled out of the sector here.

An inside source said Cantor Fitzgerald would look at buying Merrion if came up for sale. The firm has recently hired a number of former Merrion staff.

It would likely face competition from Investec and Goodbody Stockbrokers, as well as potentially from Bank of Ireland, which said this month that it is targeting growth through acquisition in the wealth management sector.

However, Merrion Capital, led by CEO Patrick O'Neill and majority-owned by staff, is understood to see itself as a consolidator in the wealth management sector in its own right.

The firm has recently rebranded its main customer arm as Merrion Private as part of a shift from pure stockbroking to wealth management and is understood to be eyeing bolt-on deals of its own in that segment of the market, where it already has around 2bn in assets under management.
Revenue at Kerry Group rose by 4.8pc year on year to 3.2bn in the six months to 30 June, according to the companys interim management report.

The increase was driven by strong organic growth and price increases.

Despite what the company described as "significant adverse currency movements" and increased raw material pricing, trading profit at the group increased by 5.2pc on the same period last year to 338.4m.

Trading margins were maintained at 10.6pc.

Read more: Greencore revenue boosted by new US sales

During the period business volumes grew by 3.8pc, compared to the same period in 2016, reflecting a good performance in American markets, an improved performance in the European, Middle East, and African regions and double digit growth in the Asia-Pacific region.

However Kerry was not immune to currency fluctuations, which contributed to an adverse 1pc translation impact and an adverse 0.4pc transaction currency impact to revenue relative to the same period last year.

Breaking down the results by business segment, the companys Taste & Nutrition business delivered strong growth of 4.2pc in business volumes, while pricing increased by 1.7pc.

Kerry Foods' business volumes increased by 2.3pc and divisional pricing increased by 1.9pc across the half year to 30 June.

Adjusted earnings per share increased by 7.5pc to 143.8 cent, while its basic earnings per share increased by 0.9pc to 127.6 cent.

The companys interim dividend of 18.8 cent per share represents an increase of 11.9pc over the 2016 interim dividend.

During the period, the group completed three bolt-on acquisitions, Tianning Flavours was acquired in China, Taste Master was acquired in Australia, and Ben Alimentos was acquired in Brazil.

Read more: Stan McCarthy of Kerry Group joins the board of Ryanair

Kerry also reached agreement to acquire Hangman Flavours in China.

Describing the results as a "strong overall business performance", Kerry Group CEO Stan McCarthy said the company was "outperforming" market growth rates.

"Taking into account increased currency translation headwinds of 4pc and a 2pc improvement in underlying performance at constant currency rates, we now expect to achieve growth in adjusted earnings per share of 3pc to 7pc on a reported basis to a range of 333.1 to 346 cent per share," Mr McCarthy said.

Earlier this year Kerry Group announced that Mr McCarthy will step down as CEO of the company at the end of September.
UN ready to help with quake victims in China: spokesman

UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations is ready to help the victims in the earthquake in China's Sichuan province, said UN Secretary-General's spokesman Stephane Dujarric on Wednesday.

The United Nations extends condolences to the Chinese people and government over the earthquake and is on standby to help, Dujarric told a press briefing.

The spokesman said the Chinese government has lots of experience in search and rescue, but the United Nations is still ready to help should the Chinese government request international assistance.

Nineteen people were killed so far and more than 200 injured when a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck a remote area in Sichuan province in southwest China late Tuesday.
Blockbuster films like Batman v Superman, which took 2.8m at the box office, helped the Ward family boost profits at its chain of cinemas

Blockbusters including 'Batman v Superman' and 'Dead Pool' helped one of the Ward family movie firms to increase its profits by 33pc to 1.28m last year.

According to new accounts filed by Irish Multiplex Cinemas, the business enjoyed profits of 1.28m and this followed profits of 965,287 in 2015. The firm is one of a number of Irish cinema firms operated by the Ward family who own the Savoy cinema in Dublin which plays host to many movie premieres.

The firm has multiplex cinemas in Dun Laohgaire, Athlone, Dundalk, Killarney and Ballymena.

The firm paid a dividend of 207,000 last year the same as 2015.

The firm's accumulated profits increased from 7.991m to 9.068m and at the end of December last, shareholder funds totalled 11.35m

Ireland, with France, had the joint highest per capita cinema attendance in Europe last year.

The Ward business was also helped last year by the largest grossing movies of the year including 'Bridget Jones's Baby' - 4.1m; 'Finding Dory' - 3.52m; 'The Secret Life of Pets' 3.4m; 'The Jungle Book' - 3.15m; 'Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find To Them' - 2.923m; 'Batman v Superman; Dawn of Justice' - 2.8m; 'Suicide Squad' - 2.77m; 'Rogue One' - 2.71m; 'Deadpool' - 2.57m and 'Captain America; Civil War' - 2.4m.

The firm's cash increased last year reduced from 2.7m to 990,994.

Numbers employed by the firm last year increased from 42 to 44 made up of 34 in operations and 10 in administration.

Staff costs at the firm increased from 811,708 to 832,053 while directors received no remuneration.

The Wards and Andersons controlled about half of the Irish cinema market between them until they went their separate ways in 2013.

Half brothers Leo Ward and Kevin Anderson went into business together in the 1940s. The extended families fell out over plans by the Andersons to open a new cinema in Dublin to compete with their joint operations.
The global payments industry is growing and its champions must straddle the globe - that's the main reason behind US market leader Vantiv's 8.85bn takeover of Worldpay Group, its British counterpart.

It's not a straightforward bet: the valuation is high, cost overlaps are relatively few and the proposed co-CEO structure is awkward. Everything must grow for Vantiv to justify the price it's paying. On Wednesday, Vantiv put some extra meat on the bone for Worldpay shareholders - without changing the financial terms.

The combined company will now seek a secondary listing in London, something that should allow investors restricted to holding UK stocks to share in any upside created by the deal.

The companies expect to eliminate $200m annually of pre-tax costs within three years of the deal. One-time restructuring and integration expenses are pegged at $330m. The fleshed-out proposals won't move the needle much.

The $200m figure is broadly in line with what analysts had been predicting, based on the most obvious overlap the two companies have in the US market. That suggests the kind of easy cost savings investors like to see are limited.

The US only accounts for about 15pc of Worldpay's underlying Ebitda.

Worldpay shares ticked up 0.1pc, to 384 pence on Wednesday, not far short of the implied 397 pence-a-share Vantiv is offering in cash and stock.

As important is what's not on the page. The prospects for revenue growth, cross-selling and new market opportunities haven't been quantified.

Worldpay and Vantiv together process about $1.5trn of payments annually - and this is an industry in growth mode.

McKinsey expects the global ecommerce market will double in size to about $4 trn between 2015 and 2020.

The duo will need macroeconomic trends to hold up and for clients to follow.

Vantiv has a lot of experience integrating acquisitions, with recent purchases including Mercury Payment for $1.7bn and Moneris USA for $425m.

Yet Worldpay is on a much bigger scale.

Having two co-CEOs, one reporting to the other, will only complicate things.

Some Worldpay investors would have preferred a fatter premium, no doubt, but this is an already pricey acquisition for Vantiv. The target trades at 29 times forward earnings, according to Bloomberg data, a premium to Vantiv and Danish peer Nets A/S.

Looking several years ahead, unhappy Worldpay shareholders may have a point: as spending on technology dwindles, so earnings should rise. With no other bidder on the horizon, though, Vantiv is offering a handy exit route in the short term. In the medium term, a lot will need to go right for Vantiv to justify the price.

As it is, the deal looks like a triumph of hope over easy savings. (Bloomberg Gadfly)
From a global perspective, the political crisis in Lower Saxony, which was triggered by the defection of a Green parliamentarian, looks a storm in a teacup. But for investors in Volkswagen, a snap election due in October could be a turning point for political meddling in the carmaker.

Lower Saxony owns 20pc of VW's voting stock, making it the company's second-largest shareholder. Opinion polls suggest that Prime Minister Stephan Weil, a Social Democrat, may lose his job to his Christian Democrat challenger Bernd Althusmann. The latter accuses Mr Weil of not managing the VW stake professionally and has called for an overhaul.

He has a point. Both the state's representatives on VW's supervisory board are regional career politicians with little insight into the global car-making industry. They focus on protecting local jobs, and work closely with trade unions, which appoint half of the supervisory board members. The result is a lack of effective checks and balances that makes the carmaker prone to value-destructive strategies and misconduct like the diesel emissions scandal.

Ideally, Lower Saxony would sell its stake, which is currently worth 7.7bn. Rival carmakers BMW and Daimler do not have state governments as shareholders, and both have outperformed VW. German labour laws are strong enough to give workers influence without a state shareholder. Yet any politician who severed the historic link between Lower Saxony and VW would face accusations of flogging the family silver.

Althusmann has suggested that one of the board seats should be occupied by a car expert rather than a politician.

That would be a start. Doing away with the undue privileges over other shareholders should be on the agenda, too. It should waive its right to make board appointments without approval of other shareholders and its right to veto key decisions like opening and closing plants.

If Lower Saxony started to deal with VW at arm's length, it would eventually turn into a more normal company. That's a precondition for corporate success, which would ultimately be good for workers and shareholders - and for local politicians.(Reuters Breaking Views)
Donald Trump's threats of "fire and fury" against North Korea gave global stockmarkets the jitters yesterday, with markets in Europe sharply down after the US President's comments.

Ireland's ISEQ Overall Index was more than 1pc lower by mid-afternoon, joining a rout amongst wider European indices.

France's CAC-40 was 1.7pc lower, while Germany's DAX was down 1.4pc as markets headed for the latter part of the session. The UK's FTSE-100 had declined than 0.8pc. There was renewed nervousness in France after a car rammed a group of soldiers in a suspected terrorist attack.

"Trump's comments about North Korea have created nervousness and the fear is if the President really means what he said: 'fire and fury'," said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Think Markets in London.

"The typical text book trade is that investors rush for safe havens," he added.

Trump's remarks on Tuesday that North Korea would face "fire and fury like the world has never seen" sent Wall Street lower yesterday morning. (Additional reporting by Reuters)
Almost 80m (88m) has been spent on Northern Ireland's biggest road scheme from the Border to Derry - despite the project being stalled for a decade.

The A5 Western Transport Corridor was given the go-ahead by the Northern Ireland Executive in 2007. It would see the A5 upgraded to a dual carriageway from the Border, near Aughnacloy in Co Tyrone, via Omagh and Strabane to Derry.

The 90km dual carriageway was estimated to cost between 650m and 850m and could lessen journey times by up to 20 minutes.

But for 10 years it has been in limbo amid legal wrangles and funding issues - and throughout that time the bill has continued to spiral.

The expenditure by the North's Department for Infrastructure since November 2007 totals 77,002,796. That is equivalent to more than 22,000 a day. More than 20m has been spent since April 2013, when a High Court ruling slammed the brakes on the scheme.

Revised plans were put forward and the first phase of the scheme could get under way later this year.

Yet the final completion date will now be years after the original 2015 deadline - and well over the 800m initial budget.

The Northern Ireland Executive agreed to proceed with the A5 project in July 2007. A preferred route was announced in 2009. However, the project - the single largest road scheme ever undertaken in Northern Ireland - has been dogged by a series of setbacks.

Around 400m (442m) was due to come from the Irish Government, but in 2011 most of this funding was withdrawn.

Three months later, it was announced that the project would be broken up and built in phases. Then in April 2013 a High Court judge quashed a decision to proceed with the scheme. At this stage, some 56.4m had already been spent.

A fresh legal challenge was attempted last August, but was thrown out in November.

During his visit to Northern Ireland last week, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said Dublin remained committed to part-funding the road.

The current 77m bill includes 46,952,685 on consultants, 20m on contractors, 3.9m on ground investigation, 1.049m on "services" and 2.7m on land-related costs including compensation.
Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan has hailed the "dedication" of gardai following an arrest in relation to a suspected link to international terrorism, as well as the foiling of an alleged attempted gangland hit.

Mr Flanagan said there had been "difficult challenges" facing the force in recent times but the intelligence-led arrests were an example of the "hard work" of Garda members.

"I believe it's important that we acknowledge the dedication of the hundreds of hard-working Garda Siochana throughout the country," he added.

An Algerian national in his 40s suspected of producing false passports for jihadi activists was arrested in Drumcondra on Tuesday.

It came as part of an overseas investigation into support cells for Isil fighters.

His alleged link to the support cells was unearthed during a search in Greece, where crucial documents were found.

Officers from London's Metropolitan Police contacted gardai and sought assistance in the case.

The man was released from custody last night and a file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Separately, two men were arrested on Monday when armed gardai intercepted a van on Dublin's Kylemore Road, which was carrying the men who were suspected of being on their way to a gangland hit.

It is believed the intended victim was former gang member Michael Frazer, who has survived a number of attempts on his life. The two suspects can be held for up to seven days.

In relation to the broader issue of international terrorism, Mr Flanagan said there was "no evidence of any likely threat to Ireland".

But he added: "There is absolutely no room for complacency. We must at all times remain vigilant." He said that the Government got security briefings "at the highest level".

He said: "We continue to share intelligence through the Garda Siochana and the Defence Forces at the highest level with our EU colleagues."
Locals have been left furious after a gang of youths left behind hundreds of kilos of rubbish at a protected national park in Kerry.

It is thought up to 60 youths attended an unofficial rave in Derrynane National Park over the August bank holiday weekend, leaving human waste, condoms and other rubbish in their wake.

Ross Duffy, who lives near the park, said youths have flocked to the Derrynane dunes every August bank holiday over the past couple of years, but this year things got out of hand.

"This is becoming a bigger problem every year but it is getting out of control now. This year it was off the charts," he told the Irish Independent.

Mr Duffy said he spent four hours "trawling through waste" with his wife to clean up after the teenagers on Sunday. "We saw a lot of garbage blowing across the dunes. There must've been 300kg of waste. The OPW came and removed the waste with a tractor," he said.
Equality minister Charlie Flanagan has said the problem of gender pay gaps in Ireland is "much bigger than RTE" and he wants to see progress on the issue across society.

He said the overall difference in pay between men and women was still in the order of 14pc in favour of male employees, adding: "It's too high. I want that narrowed."

Mr Flanagan was speaking as he launched a public consultation process to help the Government tackle the pay gap.

Employers, trade unions, educational institutions and members of the public will have six weeks in which to make submissions on what can be done to improve the situation.

The issue blew up in the wake of the BBC publishing a lengthy list of its highest earners in recent weeks, which was dominated by male presenters.

Questions over gender pay equality at RTE were raised after it had emerged that newscaster Sharon Ni Bheolain earned tens of thousands of euro less than her 'Six One' co-anchor Bryan Dobson.

And when RTE subsequently revealed the pay details for its top 10 highest-earning stars in 2015, there were just three women among their ranks - Miriam O'Callaghan, Marian Finucane and Claire Byrne.

'Late Late Show' presenter Ryan Tubridy topped the list on 495,000.

Former head of the Workplace Relations Commission Kieran Mulvey is currently conducting an independent review of gender equality at RTE.

Mr Flanagan said there had been progress in tackling the gender pay gap in Ireland in recent years but he is concerned that it remains too large.

He noted that the issue had been "a matter of public controversy in recent times" and said he would hold a conference for stakeholders on gender pay balance in the autumn.

Consultation

Mr Flanagan was asked about concern over gender pay gaps at RTE. He replied: "While RTE is an issue, I don't believe it's the entire issue.

"I believe this is much bigger than RTE or any single entity be they public or private and I want to see progress made right across society. This is a most important equality issue that I want to see dealt with."

Mr Flanagan said he was anxious to hear the public's views, adding: "I invite RTE and all other stakeholders to participate in what can be an exciting endeavour as we move towards the equality agenda and narrowing the gap that I've said is far too broad."
Hanna Sheehy Skeffington with her husband Francis on their wedding day

An Irish activist is recreating her grandmother Hanna Sheehy Skeffington's 1917 journey across the US, where she helped spread the word about the battle for Ireland's independence.

Revolutionary hero and pacifist Francis Sheehy Skeffington had been shot without trial by a British firing squad in Easter week 1916.

A year later, his widow, Hanna, escaped to the United States under a false passport and delivered powerful speeches across the country, exposing the truth about her husband's death and Ireland's fight for independence.

She spoke to capacity crowds from New York to San Francisco.

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Now the couple's grand-daughter, Dr Micheline Sheehy Skeffington, will bring the historic tour back to life.

Starting in September, Micheline, a plant ecologist who lives just outside Galway, will travel by ship to New York. She will locate the recording of the false names of Hanna and her son Owen (Micheline's father) when they were registered at Ellis Island.

She will then travel on to the archive section of Carnegie Hall, where Hanna gave her first speech on January 6, 1918.

From there, she will travel to Boston, Chicago and St Louis.

Micheline will be accompanied on the epic journey by a documentary crew and the footage will become part of a new film 'Hanna and Me: Passing on the Flame'.

"Both my grandparents were prominent feminists and Hanna is well known in Ireland for her suffrage activities," said Micheline, who recently took early retirement from NUI Galway.

"But her political career and her contribution to the Irish struggle for independence are largely forgotten, possibly in part because she was a woman.

"This is why I want to give as much publicity as I can to her epic journey 100 years ago."

The film will look at the fight for human rights from 1917 to 2017 through the lives of one family in Ireland along with the support of Irish-Americans.

An online fundraising drive has been started.
Patients will have more choice of minor injury clinics with a new chain opening up. Affidea, the privately owned chain of European healthcare clinics, is to start treating minor injuries and offering additional services at its outlets.

The move will put it in direct competition with the VHI's Swiftcare business.

VHI announced during the summer that it is going to block access to its Swiftcare clinics to non-VHI members from September.

The popular VHI clinics have helped ease some pressure on busy hospital A&Es. Open from 8am to 10pm, 365 days a year, they have short waiting times and patients can be treated for anything from a sore throat or minor burns to a broken arm.

But from September 1, the three Swiftcare clinics - two in Dublin and one in Cork - will only be open to VHI policyholders. The decision could have significant consequences for the insurer as Affidea takes it on in the healthcare market.

Affidea is planning to provide treatments at its network of 10 clinics around the country - four of which are in Dublin.

Treatment of minor injuries will start at some of them by the end of this year and it is planned that all its clinics will have such services by 2020.

Affidea also has clinics in cities and towns including Cork, Waterford, Letterkenny, Naas and Mallow and is planning to open clinics in Galway and Limerick.

It also attracts many customers from Northern Ireland.

The clinics already offer advanced diagnostic screening services for patients, using machines such as MRI scanners.

Affidea's busiest clinics typically open from 7am to 8pm, but often stay open until midnight.

Its MRI scans - performed using machines more advanced than are found in any hospital here - cost 245 in Dublin and vary at other clinics. An X-ray costs between 65 and 120.

The installation cost of an MRI scanner of the type used by Affidea is about 1m.

"Irrespective of VHI's decision, treatment of minor injuries is something we would have been looking at anyway," said Affidea Ireland's CEO, Tom Finn, who is a former HSE executive.

He added: "We'd already planned to have it up and running in some places by the last quarter of this year. It's part of our 2025 strategic plan to evolve the company from just diagnostics to providing as many of the adjacent services that we can.

"Over the past couple of years, we've spent probably 15m on new centres, remodelling centres and replacing equipment. We have quite an aggressive expansion plan for the remainder of this year and into next year."

Affidea, which employs about 300 people, will invest an additional 25m in its Irish chain in the next two years.

Last year, the company opened a clinic in Letterkenny, Co Donegal. Mr Finn said it didn't even advertise for radiographers for the clinic, but filled all the vacancies with locals keen to move home from places such as the UK and Australia.

Radiographers earn about 10pc more with Affidea than with the HSE, but Mr Finn said it was also difficult to compete with benefits provided by the public service.

Mr Finn, who was once nicknamed the "minister for outsourcing" when we worked at the HSE, also slammed public hospitals for charging insurance companies to treat patients for services they would have received for free anyway as a public patient.

"You go into a hospital now and your insurance company is billed 700 or 800 a night, irrespective of which bed you're in, which I think is fundamentally wrong," he said.

"As a taxpayer, I'm already paying for that bed. I agree with the anger of the insurance companies. It is fundamentally a stealth tax on people.

"I would be very much on the side of the insurers on this. I think it's fundamentally wrong that any citizen of Ireland is forced to pay for something that they're entitled to for free."
Left to right: Orla OConnor, National Womens Council of Ireland, Donal Buggy, Irish Cancer Society, and Tanya Ward, Childrens Rights Alliance, during a briefing to sign a Contract against Cancer. Photo: Gareth Chaney

A coalition of more than 30 health, children's and women's groups is urging parents to disregard the 'fake news' about the virtually non-existent side-effects to the HPV vaccine that can save hundreds of Irish women a year from developing cancer.

Citing the alarming 50pc drop in the uptake of the free vaccine among teenage girls in Ireland last year due to a misinformation campaign spread on the internet and social media, the HPV Vaccination Alliance was launched in Dublin yesterday.

Members, including the Irish Cancer Society, the Irish Medical Organisation and the National Women's Council of Ireland, are urging parents to ignore the erroneous hype about the vaccine and have their teenage daughters - and sons - vaccinated before they become sexually active.

The Gardasil vaccine protects the body against the human papilloma virus (HPV), which is a group of 170 similar viruses that are spread through sexual and skin-to-skin contact. Some 18 strains can go on to trigger cancers of the cervix, vulva and vagina in women as well as cancers of the penis, anus and rectum in men.

Both men and women can also develop cancers of the anus, throat, neck and mouth due to HPV exposure.

Donal Buggy, head of services and advocacy at the Irish Cancer Society (ICS), said 420 cases of HPV-related cancers had been diagnosed this year alone, while an average of 90 Irish women a year die from cervical cancer. "For the first time in our lifetime there is a means to eradicate this cancer," he said.

Due to an online campaign by some well-meaning but misinformed parents, symptoms of illnesses such as chronic fatigue have been wrongly linked with the vaccine, said Dr Robert O'Connor, head of research at the ICS. "If people go into Google, they'll immediately see these things. They don't appreciate they have no basis in fact whatsoever," he said.
A major international study has found that out of all the countries in the world that have a blasphemy law, Ireland's is the least restrictive.

Ireland had the lowest score out of 71 countries in a report analysing the extent to which such laws are in conflict with international human rights laws. At the other end of the scale were Iran and Pakistan, which can both impose the death penalty for blasphemy offences.

The report, by the US Commission on International Religious Freedoms, comes just months after blasphemy laws here came under the international spotlight when gardai launched an investigation into comments made by comedian and actor Stephen Fry.

The probe was abandoned after gardai failed to find a large group of people outraged by Mr Fry's comments on an RTE show in which he questioned the existence of God in a world where there is so much misery.

Under the controversial 2009 legislation, it is illegal to publish or utter a matter that is grossly abusive or insulting in relation to matters held sacred by any religion, thereby intentionally causing outrage among a substantial number of adherents of that religion.

Read More

One of the report's authors, human rights consultant Joelle Fiss, said the case showed that even if a person intends to blaspheme in Ireland, it is unlikely they will be prosecuted.

The report said the countries which scored lowest in the study were those which adhered closest to international law principles and have blasphemy laws which neither discriminate against different belief groups nor protect a state religion through punitive measures.

Fines of up to 25,000 are possible for blasphemy offences under the 2009 Defamation Act. However, no one has ever been prosecuted.

The Constitution mandates that blasphemy be an offence and the 2009 legislation was enacted to give it a clear definition in law. Former Taoiseach Enda Kenny signalled earlier this year there would be a referendum on the issue. The report found Ireland was among three countries whose laws allow for fines for the offence of blasphemy. The others are Spain and Switzerland.

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The most common punishment internationally among blasphemy laws is imprisonment, with 86pc of all states imposing a prison penalty, while a few countries have lashings and the death penalty.

Ms Fiss called for the Irish law to be repealed in the interest of safeguarding debate.

"Ireland should repeal its blasphemy law to reaffirm that debating ideas, or even criticising religions, is not equivalent to inciting to hatred," she said. Ms Fiss said another reason to repeal the law would be to express solidarity with those who continue to be "persecuted in the name of blasphemy".
This is the moment a pair of brazen thieves grabbed a valuable bicycle from outside a Dublin home while it's owner left it unattended for just seconds.

A video, posted online by 360 Cycles in Clontarf, shows one of their head mechanics Marius Judickas parking his carbon racing bike outside an apartment complex in the Dublin suburb at the weekend.

The 31-year-old, who is originally from Lithuania, leaves it for just seconds and in that time a pair of young men, who are already on two bicycles, walk by.

One of the men grabs the valuable bike and moves to cycle off but Marius is quick to react and jumps on the thief's back.

The pair tussle with Marius eventually escaping with only a few scratches.

Writing on Facebook the shop asks: "How quick can a bike be robbed?? Less than 17 seconds based on this video.

"One of our head mechanics was very lucky to get away with about 200 worth of damage rather than losing his carbon racing bike.

"This happened in Clontarf over the weekend and we would like to urge all bike owners to lock their bikes at all times even if you are just leaving it for under a minute."
The Prefabricated unit for rent in Drimnagh. Picture: PJ Garvey via Daft.ie

This is the one-bedroom prefabricated unit being advertised for rent in Dublin city for 1,300 a month.

The advertisement was placed online today and auctioneer PJ Garvey says he has already received a flood of enquiries.

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Sitting on a private property on Galtymore Road in Drimnagh, South Dublin the property has a kitchen, bedroom and bathroom.

Mr Garvey explained that unit has been fully insulated and has gas fire central heating.

"On the outside it looks like a prefab that you may have gone to school in but inside it couldn't be more different.

"It has everything that a modern property would have and more. There is heat board insulation and full gas fire central heating."

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Mr Garvey explained that the prefab is at the rear of an existing private property on Galtymore Road.

Asked if it might be a solution to Dublin's rental crisis the estate agent said: "It could be a short term solution."

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A number of people have already responded to the advertisement on Daft.ie and Mr Garvey admitted that they weren't all positive.

However he said the vast majority of calls have been from people interested in leasing the unit.

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"I won't have any trouble leasing it. I am showing it tomorrow and I am confident there will be a large crowd to see it."

The minimum lease on the property is one year and at the time of publication it had been viewed over 10,300 times.
CHENGDU, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Ground and air forces from the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Western Theater Command are carrying out relief operations following a deadly earthquake in southwest China's Sichuan Province Tuesday.

A total of 1,285 soldiers, 90 vehicles and 9 aircraft have been dispatched to the affected area, while more forces are on standby awaiting confirmation of casualties and damage.

All-out efforts are being made to rescue the injured as this is the current focus of the operations, the Western Theater Command said.

The PLA Central Theater Command also participated in the rescue work. Two IL-76 planes from the theater command transported 88 national earthquake rescuers, 5 sniffer dogs and rescue equipment to Huanglong airport in Jiuzhaigou County on Wednesday.

The earthquake hit Jiuzhaigou at 9:19 p.m. Tuesday at a depth of 20 kilometers, leaving at least 19 dead and 247 injured, including 40 in serious condition, according to local authorities.
Sean Hale (Back row with glasses) says people in Guam are 'calm'

An Irish man in Guam has said that locals are "very relaxed" about the North Korean missile threat to the island.

Speaking to Independent.ie, Sean Hale said life on the island has been mellow and relaxed since the threats.

With the local Guamanians, everyone is living their day-to-day jobs. We are a very relaxed and mellow people, Sean said.

Sean (37) is the General Manager of Shamrocks Gastropub in Guam and was born to Irish parents on the Island.

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He said: "I do consider myself a local but, if people do ask, I always say I'm Irish and proud. Love my heritage. I'm a very proud Irishman."

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North Korea has spelled out its plan to launch a volley of ballistic missiles towards Guam, dismissing US President Donald Trump's threats of "fire and fury" as "a load of nonsense".

Its pretty much been a normal day. There is a lot of media attention and stuff going around on Facebook around the North Korea threat, but as far as Im concerned no one is threatened," he said.

Following reports that North Korea might be able to launch a nuclear warhead tipped missile capable of reaching targets on the United States mainland, Mr Trump warned that "it faces retaliation with fire and fury unlike any the world has seen before".

North Korea immediately called Mr Trump's rhetoric a "load of nonsense" that was aggravating a grave situation.

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North Korea further announced it was preparing a plan to fire four of its Hwasong-12 missiles over Japan and into waters around Guam, the tiny US Pacific territory island which hosts 7,000 military personnel on two main bases and has a population of 160,000.

Sean, who has relatives in Cork, said he has been in Guam for 37 years and his family arrived in 1962.

Some people may be overreacting. Of course, it's a big thing and a big threat. We take it to heart when it comes to anyone threatening the island but I have full faith in the military, he added.

He said there is a major Navy and Air Force presence in Guam and that he had also spent 10 years in the infantry.

We have a great military here and they have done us right. There have been no problems. We have a great defence system here, Sean added.
Dr Ben Stevens (left) was looking to find the Irish family of his birth father Gerry Monaghan (right)

A London doctor who issued an online plea to find his estranged father's Irish family has revealed that he tracked them down in less than 24 hours.

Ben Stevens, a paediatrician in Hertfordshire, was left at a London hospital by his mother as a baby and later adopted when he was five by a loving family.

The 35-year-old began searching for his birth parents around six years ago. However he was heartbroken to discover that his father, Gerry Monaghan, from Co Donegal, had died tragically in a suspected hit-and-run just one year earlier.

On Monday he issued an appeal on Independent.ie for help locating Gerry's Irish family. His father, who struggled with alcohol addiction throughout his life, lost touch with his Irish roots.

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He said: "I would like to meet my relatives and to say 'Hi'. I would like them to see that I turned out pretty okay I am a paediatrician and I have a very happy life."

And it wasn't long before his call was answered. Less than 24 hours later, Geraldine Monaghan who is originally from Ballyshannon but living in the Midlands, contacted this website to say she believed she was Ben's aunt.

Ms Monaghan said: "It was such a huge shock seeing Gerard's face again as we did not know where he had gone. I had no idea he had passed.

"This is such a huge shock for us. it is bittersweet to learn of Gerard's death and then to learn that I had a nephew that I wasn't aware of."

Ms Monaghan (57) went on to explain that she has a brother Bernard (58) and a sister Martina (51). Furthermore she revealed that their mother, Ben's grandmother, is still alive and "sharp as a razor".

Independent.ie put Ben in contact with Geraldine and today he revealed that they had already spoken at length over the phone and sent multiple whatsapp messages.

"I have spoken to my two aunts Geraldine and Martina. I'm very happy talking to everybody. I think they were very much in shock.

"I think they were very happy that I turned out okay and they were excited that I actually existed."

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Dr Stevens said they have already made arrangements to meet up. Coincidentally Martina Monaghan is travelling to near where he lives in two weeks time.

And in the next few months he is hoping to travel over to Ireland with his father's ashes at last.

"I haven't had a chance to think about my first cousins yet. I would especially like to go over and meet my grandmother.

"I will try get over in the next few months. They seem like very nice people."

"I am fascinated to know more about my birth father. I would like to know about where he grew up and my family."
The search is continuing for Shane Rock who has been missing since last Friday.

An extensive search for the 24-year-old who was last seen in Duleek, Co. Meath on August 4, has failed to turn up any clues.

"We've found nothing, not a thing," his mother Majella O'Dwyer told Independent.ie.

"We've got a good few possible sightings but the gardai investigated them all and nothing has come of them."

The last known sighting of Shane was around 8.50am last Friday.

Ms O'Dwyer said her son left a note.

"He hasn't been well for a while, he has a mental health issue. It got worse the past few weeks because he hasn't been taking his medication," said Ms O'Dwyer.

"He had been in hospital but was released on Wednesday on the condition that he'd continue to take his medication but he didn't. He stopped."

His sister Shauna (21) has been left "distraught" by her brother's disappearance.

"Shauna would do anything for him. She'd been talking to him the week before he left and asked him if he'd like to go fishing with her and her boyfriend. He enjoyed fishing," said Ms O'Dwyer.

"His phone hadn't been working in the weeks before he left so Shauna got him a new one. When he went missing we initially thought he'd gone to her house to collect the new phone."

Shane, who is originally from Swords in Dublin, had been living with his aunt in Duleek for the past two years.

He had just completed a college course in healthcare studies in June and his mother said he had been pleased with his exam results.

He is described as 5'9'', of slim build with brown hair and blue eyes.

Ms O'Dwyer said he has no phone or money with him.

Searches have been carried out around Duleek village and Swords. The searches have been co-ordinated by the Meath Civil Defence and the gardai.

Ms O'Dwyer said she has been "overwhelmed" by the support of the volunteers.

"People have been out searching night and day. They've been amazing. We won't give up hope."

Gardai have confirmed to Independent.ie that the remains of Shane Rock have been found.

If you have been affected by the issues raised in this article please contact the Samaritans on 116123 for support or visit the website on www.samaritans.org.

Pieta House can be contacted on 1800 247 247. For more information on Pieta House visit www.pieta.ie.
The judge-led inquiry into the Olympic ticketing fiasco has not been undermined by a lack of co-operation from key players including Pat Hickey, Transport Minister Shane Ross has insisted.

The 226-page report will be formally released next Monday, with the minister saying people should read it in full before reaching their own conclusions.

The Irish Independent has already revealed that Judge Carroll Moran expresses unhappiness that relevant parties including the International Olympic Committee (IOC) did not participate in the process.

It is almost a year since the inquiry was commissioned on a non-statutory basis. Its final report heavily criticises former Olympic Council of Ireland president Pat Hickey - but stops short of pointing to any evidence that he was involved in a ticket touting ring.

The 72-year-old is awaiting trial in Brazil where he is charged with forming a criminal cartel and illicit marketing.

Mr Hickey and the IOC cited the ongoing legal process in Rio as their reason for not engaging with Mr Justice Moran.

The Rio Organising Committee failed to reply to correspondence from the judge.

At the time of the inquiry's establishment, Mr Ross was criticised by Opposition parties for not setting up a Commission of Investigation which would have powers of compellability.

Asked if he now regrets the way the probe was structured, the minister replied: "The answer to that really is no, I don't regret the course we took. Certainly not. You'll see why when you get the report."

He added: "I don't think the report is undermined by anything. The report is the report and I think people should make their own judgements when they get it.

"We would have preferred obviously if everybody had co-operated but that's a matter for themselves."

In his report, the judge recommends against the establishment of a full Commission of Investigation for a variety of reasons, including the potential cost to the State.

At the same time, he says, there may be "information significant to issues herein of which the inquiry is unaware by reason of the silence of the parties not participating".

Initially, the report was to be complete within 12 weeks which would have seen its publication last December.

Mr Ross said: "I would have preferred if it was shorter. Of course I would. The judge came back looking for extra time, we gave it to him."

He declined to comment on any of the details of Mr Justice Moran's conclusions revealed in the Irish Independent this week.

"I can't comment on what I have read at the moment. Obviously it would be wrong. Hopefully it'll be published next week. I'd ask everybody to read it for themselves and make up their own mind," he said.

The report will say that during his time at the helm of the OCI Mr Hickey used an authoritarian style of leadership.

Once the report is published, the Oireachtas Sport's Committee will invite Mr Hickey to attend a special sitting, along with Mr Ross, current OCI President Sarah Keane, and John Treacy and Kieran Mulvey of Sport Ireland.
Sinn Fein has hit out at one of its former staff members who alleges he quit the party after vile comments were made about Mairia Cahill during an internal meeting in Leinster House.

Matt Treacy, who previously worked as a parliamentary assistant for Kerry TD Martin Ferris, claims a number of former colleagues made derogatory comments about Ms Cahill after she spoke out publicly about her treatment by Sinn Fein.

Mr Treacy said the meeting took place on a Monday in Leinster House - just days after Ms Cahill appeared on RTE television to discuss her rape ordeal at the hands of the IRA and her subsequent appearance before a so-called 'Kangaroo Court'.

Mr Treacy, a one-time IRA fugitive who spent four years in prison, has since quit the party and publicly claimed the treatment of Ms Cahill during the alleged meeting in Leinster House was the "final straw".

Ms Cahill sent a series of queries to Sinn Fein in recent days after Mr Treacy's claims were published in the 'Sunday Independent'.

After the Irish Independent contacted the Sinn Fein press office, the party released a statement distancing itself from the allegations.

"These allegations are completely unfounded," the press office said.

"Sinn Fein does not condone the use of derogatory or misogynistic language against any person under any circumstances.

"Mr Treacy never raised this issue while he was a Sinn Fein member or while he was a staff member."

Mr Treacy is one of a number of former and current party figures who have spoken out about the inside workings of Sinn Fein in recent weeks.

The party is split down the middle in Wicklow amid an ongoing row involving TD John Brady. In Tipperary, there is an ongoing investigation into allegations made by party members against some colleagues.
UK firm Go-Ahead is to run 24 Dublin Bus routes, beginning in November next year.

The National Transport Authority (NTA) awarded the contract to what it described as one of the largest bus operators in London following a competitive tendering process.

The firm will operate nine orbital routes, and 15 local routes. It already operates regional bus services in the UK, buses on behalf of Transport for London and three rail franchises.

NTA chief executive Anne Graham said the move was designed to improve services.

This is ultimately about improving bus services for Dublin and the NTA is confident that passengers will benefit from this decision, she said.

It has also been the experience internationally that introducing some level of competitive tendering into PSO services like this, usually results in a better deal for passengers and for the public in general.

Under the provisions of the tender, not only will service levels on the routes in question be maintained, they will actually be increased by about 35pc. So passengers in areas served by these routes have no absolutely reason to worry about this change. Matters such as fares, frequency and scheduling for the service will all be set by the NTA, and not the operator.

There will be no change for passengers, although the new fleet may have a different livery. The NTA will retain control of fares, services and the fleet. The NTA said the contract was akin to that operated for Luas services, where the State owns the infrastructure and a private company operates services.

In some cases, service levels on some routes will be increased. The NTA also plans to re-introduce single-deck buses on some routes.

As Dublin Bus withdraws from the routes, additional services will be provided on the remaining services it provides.

Ultimately, over the next two years, bus customers in Dublin are going to see a large increase in the number and range of services, Ms Graham added.

The affected routes are the 17, 17a, 18, 75, 76, 76a, 102, 104, 175, 33a, 33b, 45a, 59, 63, 111, 114, 161, 184, 185, 220, 236, 238, 239 and the 270.
After just giving birth to her first child with partner Damian O'Farrell, broadcaster Sile Seoige has said she is enjoying the "pure magic" of being a mother.

An advocate of 'natural birthing', the 35-year-old sought the assistance of a doula, which loosely translated from Greek means 'caregiver of women'.

Writing in her online baby diary, Seoige revealed the decision was due to studies which showed that having a doula as a member of the birth team can decrease the overall caesarean rate, length of labour, use of oxytocin and requests for an epidural.

As the movement to de-medicalise childbirth continues to grow, the presence of a doula either during pregnancy, delivery or after baby has arrived is becoming increasingly popular in Ireland, with many women opting for assistance throughout the whole process.

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Lisa Murrin and her partner Dave have just welcomed twin boys, Noah and Dylan. As both parents work full time (he as a school teacher and she as head of operations in a family catering business), having another pair of capable hands to help with the new arrivals was essential.

"When we discovered we were having twins, we knew we would need some sort of home help," says Lisa (29).

"Through the Rotunda, we were given Jen Crawford's information and within minutes of calling her, we knew doula care was for us as, from the outset, her calm nature made everything easy.

"She came to our house and we spent a full day going through the lead up to birth, the birth itself and the post-partum.

"This was invaluable as we learnt so much about what to expect and our rights as parents in making decisions throughout the birthing process."

Lisa, who lives in Clontarf, Co Dublin, found the personal care much better than being in a large antenatal group - and throughout her pregnancy, was in constant contact with her doula.

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But it was just after her babies were born that Jen's presence proved invaluable when it became clear that getting them to feed was a very difficult process.

"I came home 30 hours after the birth and immediately we knew, once again, that we had made the right decision in having a doula," she says. "Our aim on the first night was to get the boys to latch together as I wanted to be able to feed them at the same time so we could get into a routine from the word go. But Dylan had jaundice and Noah wasn't feeding, so myself, Dave, Jen and the boys spent nine hours together and eventually we got them both latching.

"Jen answered the million questions we had and I can safely say that without her advice and knowledge our experience would have been radically different."

Over the course of the next week, Lisa's doula visited every other day to ensure everything was going to plan and after 10 days, when she was happy the new family had established a routine, reduced her time to once a week for three to four hours at a time.

The babies are now seven weeks old and the new mum says hiring a doula has been the best decision she has made so far.

"While it's not cheap, it was worth its weight in gold and gave our new family the best start we could have hoped for," says Lisa.

Doula services start at around 900, but Jen says this affords new mothers a huge amount of help and comfort.

"The wonderful thing about a doula is that they are a constant support," she says. "They are a listening ear, a wealth of evidence-based, non-biased information and the one familiar face in all the comings and goings of the busy hospital as our shift only ends after baby arrives - so we're there as long as it takes.

"Often a mum will say that my presence was very important as it helped them stay calm and relaxed. A doula is with you 100pc and knows your wishes - that peace of mind and continuity of care is invaluable in my opinion." The full-time doula says while midwives undoubtedly do a wonderful job, they are over-stretched.

"We are very lucky to have amazing midwives in Ireland, but our maternity services are understaffed," she says. "In most cases, women don't get to meet their midwife ahead of time, which is a pity as it's so lovely when they do.

"Instead some women see many staff throughout their pregnancy and will usually have more than one midwife during the birth. But a recent Cochrane review (2017) has yet again confirmed that women and babies have improved outcomes if a woman is accompanied by a trained doula - as well as their birth partner."

Tracy Donegan, a trained midwife and founder of gentlebirth.com, agrees.

"The most recent evidence is very clear - mothers who have a trained doula with them in labour have better outcomes, are less likely to need an epidural and more likely to breastfeed," she says. "Doula care also significantly reduces the risk of having a caesarean. Having continuous support, right from that first contraction at home through to the first hours after birth, is an essential part. And it's important to note that no hospital in Ireland provides continuous care for every woman - midwives leave when their shift is over and if mum is admitted in early labour, she is left alone with her partner to cope with minimum support on a busy antenatal ward."

Donegan is one of the few certified doula trainers in Ireland, and explains: "The hands-on training, where they learn the physical comfort measures, is usually over a two-day workshop. Before attending the workshop, doulas also take a six-week online mindfulness for birth professionals training course and will have completed a reading list and assessments.

"After attendance at the workshop, the doula has to provide three evaluations from mothers from three births the doula has supported. An important aspect of the training and certification is the evaluations that are submitted by the midwives/consultants that the doula worked with. This ensures professionalism and collaboration with care providers."

She advises women to choose their doula wisely. "Post-partum doulas are gaining popularity in Ireland, but as the profession is unregulated, I recommend choosing one who is a member of a professional body in Ireland, such as the Irish Doula Association."

To learn more, visit doulacare.ie or doula.ie

Doulas: everything you need to know

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* A doula is an experienced non-medical birth companion who provides continuous physical and emotional support before, during and after labour.

* A doula will have undertaken formal training with a doula organisation and are often mothers themselves.

* The role involves discussing birth options, offering support during pregnancy, labour and after the baby is born.

* Support during labour can be ensuring mum has enough to eat and drink, offering breaks to partner, providing massage or acupressure or just listening to concerns and helping to find solutions.

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* After delivery, support can include help with feeding, sleeping and getting used to looking after a new baby.

* The cost of doula services start from 900.
BEIJING, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- "Beam me up, Scotty." The famous "Star Trek" catchphrase has launched teleporting daydreams the world over.

Now Chinese scientists have completed an experiment straight out of the realms of science fiction - quantum teleportation - from the ground to the world's first quantum satellite.

The experiment was similar in some ways to the Star Trek mode of transport, except that the scientists beamed up the quantum states of photons rather than people.

The results of the quantum teleportation experiment - Quantum Experiments at Space Scale (QUESS) - via the quantum satellite was published in the latest issue of the academic journal Nature.

The satellite is named "Micius" after a 5th century B.C. Chinese philosopher and scientist who is credited as the first person ever to conduct optical experiments

The reviewers of Nature commented that the results represent an important breakthrough in the quest for quantum communication over long distances. This goal is very challenging and new.

Pan Jianwei, lead scientist of QUESS and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, explained that quantum teleportation allows faithful transfer of unknown quantum states from one object to another over a long distance, without physical travel of the object itself. Long-distance teleportation has been recognized as a fundamental element in protocols such as large-scale quantum networks and distributed quantum computation.

However, previous teleportation experiments between distant locations were limited to a distance of about 100 kilometers, due to photon loss in optical fibers or terrestrial free-space channels. An outstanding challenge for building a global-scale "quantum internet" is to significantly extend the range for teleportation, Pan said.

A promising solution to this problem is exploiting satellite platforms and space-based links, which can conveniently connect two remote points on Earth while greatly reducing channel loss, because most of the photons' transmission path is in empty space, said Pan.

In the experiment, the scientists transmitted quantum states of photons from a ground station about 5,100 meters above sea level in Ali Prefecture, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, to the satellite 500 km above.

To optimize the link efficiency and overcome the atmospheric turbulence, a series of techniques were developed, including a compact ultra-bright source of multi-photon entanglement, narrow beam divergence, high-bandwidth and high-accuracy acquisition, pointing and tracking, according to Pan.

This work established the first ground-to-satellite up-link for faithful and ultra-long-distance quantum teleportation, an essential step toward a global-scale quantum internet, Pan said.

Quantum physics is the study of the universe's basic building blocks at a scale smaller than atoms. These tiny particles behave in a way that could overturn assumptions of how the world works.

Entanglement is one of the strange properties of quantum physics. It so confounded Albert Einstein that he described it as "spooky action at a distance" in 1948.

Scientists found that when two entangled particles are separated, one particle can somehow affect the action of the far-off twin at a speed faster than light.

This magic-like connection has inspired the idea of quantum teleportation.

The first paper expounding the idea of quantum teleportation was published by six physicians in 1993.

In 1997, Austrian quantum physicist Anton Zeilinger, tutor of Pan Jianwei, succeeded in the first experimental verification of quantum teleportation. Since then, scientists have demonstrated quantum teleportation with different physical systems such as atoms, ions, electrons and superconducting circuits.

Meanwhile, the limit for quantum teleportation is constantly expanding.

Pan's research team was awarded the Physics World 2015 Breakthrough of the Year "for being the first to achieve the simultaneous quantum teleportation of two inherent properties of a fundamental particle - the photon," according to PhysicsWorld.com.

Pan regards the achievement as a step toward the teleportation of more complex quantum systems.

Despite the progress, Pan said, the prospect of using it to beam people is still a distant dream. The technology is now mainly applied in the areas of quantum communication and computing.

But like most sci-fi fans, Pan hopes that day will come: "It's a common dream to see what's beyond our solar system. However, our life is limited, and we could grow old before we get out of the solar system in a spacecraft."

But as a vehicle to the stars, quantum teleportation might carry generations to come, Pan said.
The eldest child in a family is most likely to speed, get fines for motoring offences and have road traffic collisions.

Younger siblings, take heart: youre probably a better driver than your parents golden child, the first-born.

According to a new study, the eldest child in a family is most likely to speed, get fines for motoring offences and have road traffic collisions.

And at the other end of the scale, youngest children tend to be the safest drivers.

The research, carried out by British company Privilege Car Insurance, assessed the driving habits of 1,395 motorists.

They found that 89 per cent of older siblings are likely to speed, 47 per cent to annoy other drivers by cutting them off, 46 per cent to hog the middle of the road and 35 per cent to get fined.

17 per cent of first-born children admitted to applying makeup while driving and 30 per cent to using their phone at the wheel.

These were all higher rates than that of younger siblings, meaning first-borns have been in more collisions than middle and youngest children.

In families with multiple children, the youngest turned out to be the best driver - 42 per cent cut up other drivers and 36 per cent hog lanes on the motorway.

Although technically first-born, it turns out only children are even better drivers still, being the least likely to cruise in the middle of the road or outside lane (31 per cent), or cut someone up while driving (36 per cent).

The researchers also found that excuses for bad driving varied depending on birth order. While middle and youngest children are most likely to lay the blame on other drivers annoying them (28 per cent), eldest children say they only have bad road etiquette if theres a good reason, such as being late (18 per cent).

Charlotte Fielding, head of Privilege DriveXpert, said: Sibling rivalry is a famous family issue, in particular when arguing over who is the better driver.

Younger drivers with DriveXpert telematics policies are given a score based on their safe driving ability.

This technology can not only encourage safe driving and reward those who do so with lower insurance premiums, but can also help siblings decide once and for all who is best behind the wheel.
Aer Lingus has unveiled what it says is its largest ever winter schedule, including 350 extra transatlantic flights.

The 2017/18 winter schedule includes a new direct flight from Dublin to Miami, and a new winter route to Bilbao in Spain (until now, this was a summer service).

The thrice-weekly Bilbao service will operate in November, December and March only, with lead-in fares from 54.99 each way.

In total, 300,000 additional seats are being added - 194,000 of which will be rolled out across short-haul services on European routes.

These include an additional peak morning flight from Dublin to London.

Transatlantic capacity will grow by 13pc, aided by a new Airbus A330-300, which will be in operation for the full winter season, the airline says.

The new, three-times weekly Miami route commences on September 1st. Lead-in fares are quoted from 249 each-way during the winter months.

Aer Lingus is also boosting its Dublin to Toronto capacity by 96pc, with four flights a week operated on a larger Airbus A330, it says.

This Winter is our biggest yet with considerable expansion of our long-haul and European networks," said Mike Rutter, its Chief Operating Officer.

"The increasing recognition that [our] Dublin Hub is the fastest, cheapest and least hassle way to visit North America is underpinned by a further 13pc increase in transatlantic seats from Dublin this winter," he added.

Celebrating its announcement, Aer Lingus has launched a flash sale offering 50 off return trips to North America - if booked before midnight on August 15 on aerlingus.com.

Other developments include a doubling of frequency on the winter Dublin-Hamburg service (10 flights per week), and increased capacity on its Zurich services.

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PBS presenter Samantha Brown at Sliabh League in Donegal with local guide Paddy Clarke, left, and Liam Campbell from Failte Ireland. Photo: Clive Wasson

A US travel show is in Ireland this week exploring Donegal's Northern Headlands for an audience of nearly two million viewers.

Samantha Brown's new PBS show 'Love of Travel' is filming for a Wild Atlantic Way episode which is set to air later this year.

The visit, which will see Brown experience and film from Donegal's Northern Headlands and Sligo's Surf Coast, was organised by Failte Ireland, in conjunction with Tourism Ireland.

Ciara Sugrue, head of international publicity with Failte Ireland, said:

"Failte Ireland is delighted to have the opportunity to showcase the Wild Atlantic Way to such a large US audience. The ethos of 'Love of Travel' is to show visitors the only way to experience a destination is to get out there, meet the people, hear the stories and feel their passion - so Samantha Brown's interest in the Wild Atlantic Way is a testament to the experiences and businesses on the ground.

"As the North American market continues to grow, it is our hope shows like this will encourage even more US travellers to choose Ireland as their next must-visit destination."

Ms Brown's new show will seek out the little-known spots and haunts where innovators are creating a brand-new travel experience.

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Those who felt that the world might be a safer place with Donald Trump out of the White House - if only for a holiday - have now found out just how wrong they were. The chilling warning from the 45th president of the US, intended to rein in North Korea's Kim Jong-un, was irresponsible to the point of recklessness.

His hyperbole and menace mirrored the worst of the North Korean despot's own diatribes. Mr Trump is the most powerful man on the planet addressing one of the most unstable. Instead of talking him down from a ledge, he will only have wound him up further.

Two things are worth remembering about Kim Jong-un: one, he craves attention and desperately wants to be taken seriously as a global player; two, he is a highly dangerous and cold-blooded killer with nuclear weapons. Mr Trump's flame-throwing rhetoric took account of neither.

In the past, Americans had the comfort of knowing that their own side in the conflict was measured, serious and in control. Such reassurance has now been shaken. That is a worry not just for the US, but for the world. Drawing red lines for someone who sees no other colour and relishes defiance is futile and foolhardy in the extreme.

Mr Trump's declaration that "North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States, they will be met with fire and fury and, frankly, power, the likes of which this world has never seen before" raises the spectre of nuclear war - a spectre we have thankfully not had to countenance for 70 years since the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Since World War II, there have been many false alarms and close calls. The risk is all too real. Remember, the US and Russia keep thousands of nuclear missiles on launch-ready alert. The US nuclear arsenal is supposedly maintained for one purpose only: deterrence. The other side must believe the threat is real. Dealing with a risk like North Korea requires patience, tact and diplomacy. For instance, sanctions can hurt without obliterating. As Archbishop Desmond Tutu once put it: "If you want peace, you don't talk to your friends, you talk to your enemies."

Wild, intemperate threats with the prospect of mutually assured destruction in play are not the answer. Much will now depend on whether China is prepared to play the role of world leader, which it claims to have been denied.

Talk cheap as ever when it comes to housing crisis

"With families living in B&Bs and hotels for up to three years, they should no longer be termed 'emergency' accommodation," Nuala Ward, director of investigations with the Ombudsman for Children, quite reasonably claimed last night. After all, no emergency should last for 36 months, not if a Government is serious about it.

Earlier this week, we pointed out that the Government had actually stopped publishing the homeless figures on a quarterly basis, despite earnest commitments to tackle the problem. Just as Simon Coveney had done before him, the new Housing Minister, Eoghan Murphy, has made all the right noises, but the crisis continues. The soothing words are still cold comfort to those eating their meals off the floor, as reported by Focus Ireland yesterday. Today, we reveal how builders have committed to building fewer than 1,300 affordable homes priced at 300,000 or less in Dublin - despite being in line for a refund of development levies.

Meanwhile, the latest data from the CSO confirms that house prices continue to rise, due to the lack of new homes coming on stream. Prices rose by 11.6pc in the year to June, up 5.5pc compared with the same period last year.

When it comes to solving the housing crisis, it seems that talk is as cheap as ever as prices go off the charts.
It seems as if French President Emmanuel Macron's honeymoon is already over. The 39-year-old (one of a triumvirate of youthful leaders of 'new politics' of which our own Leo Varadkar and Canada's PM Justin Trudeau are the others) has found his people have turned against his plan to nominate his wife to a formal First Lady role.

The 64-year-old Brigitte Macron is glamorous, chic and constantly champions French fashion designers (why wouldn't she?), but it seems that as far as a job title goes, she isn't considered up to public office.

Despite a lustrous career as a literature teacher in an elite school, 275,000 people have signed a petition to ensure she isn't appointed by her husband, despite Mr Macron confirming no public funds would be paid to her.

It comes at an awkward time when parliament is about to sign a "morality law" forbidding the hiring of family members for politicians and his challenger in the election, Francois Fillon, saw his campaign collapse after funds were directed to his children and other family members.

Mrs Macron currently has a small staff, essential for dealing with mail, trips and charities, which are the lot of any political leader's partner, paid for by the State, but that's about it. The French constitution doesn't currently recognise the 'First Lady' as a formal title for the wife of the president, nor give her any formal role - nor, however, does it rule it out.

She's given up her job to support her husband's presidency, so why not the title to go with it? Well, the unease appears to be understanding what she would be responsible for, and the French, having already been through an extraordinarily bloody revolution against their royal family, are clearly loathe to have any connotations of a 'first family', which may appear to set itself above the common people.

But surely a First Lady role can be designed as other republics do, so as to be benign, but not unimportant? Mr Macron made no secret of the fact that he wanted a role for his wife to be defined while he was campaigning. How to do it, and what it is, appears to be the stumbling block.

Our own Sabina Higgins could be an excellent role model. She is not paid but she comes to the forefront when she believes she has something to contribute. Only last week, she gave a highly charged speech against the genocide of the Roma people during World War II.

Of course, we've had more experience with 'first gentlemen' here, one of whom - Dr McAleese - chose to involve himself in politics as a go-between in Northern Ireland relations; the other, Mrs Robinson's husband, shied away from any formal role. Both were accepted by us and played their roles to perfection.

First Ladies don't go unnoticed, but they can be as public, or private as they wish.

In the States, of course, the First Lady's role has become almost fraught with finding a 'cause'. Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton opted for full hands-on involvement in health care and children's issues; Melania Trump, not so much (yet).

What could Brigitte Macron do? Should she simply wear a nice outfit and trot a pace behind? What a waste of a mind, a brain and an opportunity.

Should she, as her husband intended, set up in the Elysee Palace with a full team, a list of charitable causes and prominent speeches? Would she detract from her husband's message? Would it conflict with the government? This seems to be what the voters are afraid of.

So a middle ground would seem to be the right way forward... at least until the French discover what they have in their president's wife. Certainly, her background in education would be a start - her knowledge of literature and art is said to be extensive, so a safe, non-threatening line in supporting projects of this nature could work.

The French must decide that for themselves, but Mr Macron's pushing of the issue may simply lead to his own stuff being pushed off the table.

The petition against Mrs Macron ended with a pointed, but deeper complaint which might hit at the heart of the matter: it tellingly poses the question: what happens if the next president is a woman? Is France ready for its first official 'First Man'?

As a country which has elected two women presidents, we can reassure the French compellingly. We don't yet know if our new Taoiseach is prepared to attend public events with his partner by his side, but I'm sure we'll all cope admirably if he does.
The North Korean nuclear threat is a "hinge" moment for the United States and China, and for the new international order both nations say they want.

If Washington and Beijing manage to stay together in dealing with Pyongyang, the door opens on a new era in which China will play a larger and more responsible role in global affairs, commensurate with its economic power. If the great powers can't co-operate, the door will slam shut - possibly triggering a catastrophic military conflict on the Korean Peninsula.

President Donald Trump's bullying style obscures the extent to which he has tried to marry US policy on North Korea with that of China. For the most part, he has been surprisingly successful. Beijing and Washington have mostly been aligned, as in this past weekend's unanimous UN Security Council vote in favour of additional sanctions against Pyongyang to punish its continued missile tests.

Washington's diplomatic goal, although it hasn't been stated publicly this way, is to encourage China to interpose itself between the United States and North Korea and organise negotiations to de-nuclearise the Korean Peninsula. The US threat is if China doesn't help the United States find such a diplomatic settlement, America will pursue its own solution - by military means if necessary.

Mr Trump amped up the rhetoric on Tuesday, telling reporters: "They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen."

The US threat may be a bluff, but with Trump, you never know. Top US officials understand that a pre-emptive war against North Korea could result in horrendous loss of life and a post-conflict outcome that would be worse for all parties. But when national security adviser HR McMaster says that a nuclear-armed North Korea is "intolerable" to Mr Trump, one should assume he means it - and that he is preparing a menu of military options.

Now comes the moment of nuclear brinkmanship. North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho, in reaction to the UN vote and Chinese-American calls for talks, said: "We will under no circumstances put the nukes and ballistic rockets on the negotiating table." Is he bluffing? Again, we don't know. Some diplomats saw ambiguity in the vagueness of Mr Ri's conditions for any talks. But many leading analysts believe that North Korea, rather than stepping away from the edge, is racing toward having an operational nuclear-missile capability that can strike the United States, as a matter of self-protection.

Two intelligence assessments added increased urgency to the crisis. The US Defence Intelligence Agency concluded late last month that North Korea has mastered the technology for a miniaturised nuclear warhead that could sit atop a missile that could hit the United States. A white paper by Japan's Defence Ministry reached a similar conclusion and warned that the nuclear threat was now an imminent problem.

North Korea's rhetoric blasts the United States. But in a deeper way, it's China that's being put in an intolerable position by Pyongyang. China has been flashing red lights about the North Korean programme for more than a year. President Kim Jong-un's regime responded by conducting North Korea's fifth nuclear test last September and continuing its missile tests, despite urgent Chinese warnings. Mr Kim's slap to Beijing even included assassinating his half brother Kim Jong-nam, who was under Chinese protection. North Korea's defiance of the United States and China is rooted in its ideology of 'juche', or militant self-reliance. The official North Korean website sums up the philosophy as "independence in politics, self-sufficiency in the economy and self-reliance in national defence" - a creed that promotes go-it-alone confrontation.

What's at stake in this confrontation was underscored by discussions last weekend at an annual gathering of the foreign policy establishment called the Aspen Strategy Group. This year's meeting included five Trump administration officials, as well as a collection of former top officials from previous Republican and Democratic administrations.

A confidential assessment by the Defence Intelligence Agency says North Korea has already developed a miniaturised nuclear weapon that can fit on top of an ICBM. Among the clearest points of consensus among former officials was that the North Korea crisis provides what one participant called a "catalytic" moment. If China and the United States can find a common path and resolve the crisis peacefully, they will succeed in "modernising the global order", which was the broad topic of the Aspen discussions.

And if they fail? If Mr Trump's fiery rhetoric alienates Beijing rather than motivates it? If Pyongyang decides to test its doctrine of self-sufficiency with a roll of the nuclear dice? If Mr Trump becomes the first president since John F Kennedy to truly find himself at the nuclear brink? One way or another, the coming months will shape global security for many years ahead. ( Washington Post)
The Hunger Games star is one of the brands muses and ambassadors.

Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence wears a T-shirt emblazoned with the words we should all be feminists in a new advertising campaign for Dior.

The 26-year-old US star poses in a selection of pared back, black and white images for the French fashion houses autumn 2017 collection, with the statement T-shirt taking centre stage throughout.

With her hair pulled back away from her face, the acclaimed Hollywood star poses in garments including loose-fitting jeans and a blazer, while showing off several different Dior handbags.

Dior said Jennifer was captured just as she is in the campaign, shot by photographer Brigitte Lacombe.

The items were designed by Diors creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri.

Jennifer, who has modelled for the 70-year-old brand since 2012, is cited as one of its muses and celebrity ambassadors, and she frequently wears Dior creations at public events.

Jennifer is best known for starring as Katniss Everdeen in the Hunger Games franchise and for her Oscar-winning role in Silver Linings Playbook, as well as American Hustle, Passengers and Joy among many others.
A file picture taken in August 14, 1996 shows Denmarks Queen Margrethe with her husband Prince Consort Henrik in there southern France residence of Chateau Caix in Cahors

Queen Margarethe of Denmark and Prince Henrik of Denmark emerge from the Cathedral following the wedding ceremony of Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg and Princess Stephanie of Luxembourg at the Cathedral of our Lady of Luxembourg on October 20, 2012 in Luxembourg, Luxembourg

Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and Prince Henrik of Denmark attend Te Deum Thanksgiving Service To Celebrate King Carl Gustaf's 40th Jubilee at The Royal Palace on September 15, 2013 in Stockholm, Sweden. (Photo by Ragnar Singsaas/Getty Images)

Queen Margarethe of Denmark (L) and Prince Henrik of Denmark arrive for the Prince's 80th birthday celebration gala in Copenhagen on June 1, 2014. AFP PHOTO / Scanpix Denmark/ MADS NISSEN

Portrait of Queen Margrethe of Denmark and her husband Prince Henrik, March 16th 1972. (Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik of Denmark attending a gala dinner for the Diplomatic Corps at Amalianberg Castle, Denmark, March 15th 1973. (Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Danish Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik greet well-wishers from the balcony on the occasion of the Queen's 76th Birthday celebration at Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen on April 16, 2016. / AFP / Scanpix Denmark / Marie Hald / Denmark

Prince Henrik of Denmark isn't backing down.

Last week, the 83-year-old royal revealed he won't be buried with his wife Queen Margrethe (77), because he is still bitter about not being named king consort during their 50 year marriage.

His official title is prince consort, which is standard for his position, but he has hit out at his wife for not upgrading the title.

"If she wants to bury me with her, she must make me a king consort. Finished. I do not care," he told Se og Hr, while sounding like someone who definitely cares.

Expand Close Portrait of Queen Margrethe of Denmark and her husband Prince Henrik, March 16th 1972. (Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Portrait of Queen Margrethe of Denmark and her husband Prince Henrik, March 16th 1972. (Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Henrik went on to cite gender inequality for her high position in the Danish royal family and he believes he would be shown more respect in a non-royal marriage.

"My wife has decided that she would like to be queen, and Im very pleased with that. But as a person, she must know that if a man and a woman are married, then they are equal."

"My wife hasnt shown me the respect an ordinary wife should show her spouse."

"Shes the one playing me for a fool. I didnt marry the queen to get buried at Roskilde."

Expand Close A file picture taken in August 14, 1996 shows Denmarks Queen Margrethe with her husband Prince Consort Henrik in there southern France residence of Chateau Caix in Cahors / Facebook

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Whatsapp A file picture taken in August 14, 1996 shows Denmarks Queen Margrethe with her husband Prince Consort Henrik in there southern France residence of Chateau Caix in Cahors

In the end, he's issued his wife, and the mother of his two children, an ultimatum - either cough up a title or she's spending eternity without him.

"Its my wife and not me that can do anything about this matter. If she wants me buried with her, she has to make me king consort. End of story. I couldnt care less."

Video of the Day

The couple are currently on holidays in France together and Henrik says they still "love each other", which must make for one hell of a dinner conversation.
Chief of Mission of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Yemen Laurent de Boeck speaks during an interview with Reuters in Brussels, Belgium, August 10, 2017. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir

Some 180 young Ethiopian and Somali migrants, many weakened by hunger and drought in their home countries, were forced from a boat into rough seas off Yemen by smugglers on Thursday and 55 were presumed drowned, the U.N. migration agency said.

It was the second such incident in as many days off Shabwa province in southern Yemen, where 50 teenage African migrants were "deliberately drowned" on Wednesday by a smuggler who forced 120 passengers off his boat, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.

The IOM said it feared the incidents might mark the start of a new trend in people-smuggling that could lead to more deaths.

Twenty nine dead bodies washed up on the shore after Wednesday's tragedy while twenty-seven others made it alive to the shore, it said.

Expand Close Chief of Mission of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Yemen Laurent de Boeck speaks during an interview with Reuters in Brussels, Belgium, August 10, 2017. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir / Facebook

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Whatsapp Chief of Mission of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Yemen Laurent de Boeck speaks during an interview with Reuters in Brussels, Belgium, August 10, 2017. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir

"They were shocked, exhausted and quite desperate," Laurent de Boeck, the IOM Yemen Chief of Mission, told Reuters in an interview in Brussels.

Smugglers were pushing migrants into the sea away from the mainland for fear of government boats, amid reinforced border controls, or to avoid encountering armed groups on shore in the war-torn country. They were then going back to Africa to pick up more migrants.

"The smugglers are panicking," de Boeck said, but added that reinforced border controls along the coast could be having a counter-productive effect. "They (the smugglers) are basically continuing their business by killing people," he said.

After migrants were forced into the seas on Thursday, the IOM counted five bodies. "50 are still missing from this incident, so 55 are presumed dead," IOM spokeswoman Olivia Headon told Reuters.

"It may be the start of a new trend," she said. "They drop them near the shore and turn around and get more."

IOM officials spoke to 25 of the latest survivors, many in need of medical assistance and counselling support, she said.

"These people are really thin. There is an ongoing drought situation in Somalia and Ethiopia. Some may not have had much strength to make it alive to the shore," she added.

The migrants reported that 100 other survivors had already left the beach.

Already this year 55,000 migrants have taken the hazardous route from the Horn of Africa to Yemen to seek opportunity in the Gulf region, IOM said. The majority of migrants are young males between the ages of 12 to 25 from Ethiopia, it says.

The route is popular because it is cheaper than others, but when they arrive migrants often fall victims to abuse.

Yemen itself is riven by a two-year civil war in which forces loyal to the Saudi-backed government are pitted against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.

"It will continue to be a trend, the smugglers bring migrants; the Yemen war doesn't stop them," de Boeck said.

"Once they arrive though, there are other criminals waiting for them ... they are trapped and tortured until their family pays."

Rescue operations at sea and policing to clamp down on the situation are extremely limited in the region, he said.

"The difficulty is also that this is a criminal network which is organised not only in Yemen but also in Somalia, in Djibouti as well as Ethiopia," he added.
Lawyer Jonathon Hunyor, right, speaks after lodging an application in the High Court in Sydney for an injunction to prevent a vote on gay marriage through a non-binding ballot by mail (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

Gay rights advocates have filed a court challenge to the government's unusual plan to canvass Australians' opinion on gay marriage next month, while a retired judge said he would boycott the survey as unacceptable.

The mail referendum is not binding, but the conservative government will not legislate on the issue without it. If most Australians say No, the government will not allow Parliament to consider lifting the nation's ban on same-sex marriage.

Lawyers for independent politician Andrew Wilkie and marriage equality advocates Shelley Argent and Felicity Marlowe applied to the High Court for an injunction that would prevent the so-called postal plebiscite from going ahead.

"We will be arguing that by going ahead without the authorisation of Parliament, the government is acting beyond its power," lawyer Jonathon Hunyor said.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the government had legal advice that the postal ballot would withstand a court challenge.

"I encourage every Australian to exercise their right to vote on this matter. It's an important question," he said.

Gay-rights advocates and many politicians want Parliament to legislate for marriage equality now without an opinion poll, which they see as an unjustifiable hurdle to reform.

Retired High Court judge Michael Kirby, a gay man who supports marriage equality, dismissed the ballot as "irregular and unscientific polling".

"It's just something we've never done in our constitutional arrangements of Australia, and it really is unacceptable," he told Australian Broadcasting Corp.

Mr Kirby would not comment on the legality of the government proceeding with the 122 million Australian dollar (74 million) ballot without Parliament's approval, but said: "I'm not going to take any part in it whatsoever."

Plebiscites in Australia are referendums which do not deal with questions that change the constitution. Voting in referendums is compulsory to ensure a high turnout and that the legally-binding result reflects the wishes of a majority of Australians.

The government opted for Australia's first-ever voluntary postal plebiscite after the Senate twice rejected 135 million Australian dollars (82 million) in funding for a conventional plebiscite, in which votes are cast in ballot boxes.

Pollster Martin O'Shannessy said a market researcher would be able to provide a more accurate picture of Australians' attitudes toward gay marriage through telephone polling for less than 1.2 million Australian dollars (727,550).

The accuracy of the postal ballot could be damaged by low voter response and responses coming primarily from voters with strong views on both sides of the argument, said Mr O'Shannessy, a partner at Sydney market research firm Omnipoll.

"I would say that the process is open to significantly more risk than an opinion survey," he said.

Successive opinion polls show most Australians support gay marriage. But national referendums in Australia rarely change the status quo. Gay rights advocates fear that on an issue that does not directly affect most Australians, a majority might be persuaded to opt against change.

AP
A man who killed a retired lecturer is on the run after absconding from prison.

Anthony Curry (43) left HMP Kirkham in Lancashire in the UK between midday and 2pm on Wednesday and is described by police as "clearly a dangerous individual".

He was jailed for 12 years at Preston Crown Court in July 2013 after admitting the manslaughter of Christopher Proctor (88) whose body was recovered from his fire-ravaged bungalow.

Curry had earlier ransacked the Blackburn home of the great-grandfather - whom he had befriended over time - with his girlfriend, and they stole his wallet and bank card.

Both went to a nearby cash machine to draw money out but they were thwarted because Mr Proctor had changed his pin number hours earlier.

Curry returned alone to the bungalow, where it is thought Mr Proctor suffered a cardiac arrest "out of fear and shock", the court heard.

The heroin addict then set about trying to destroy evidence of his wrongdoing by torching the property in Pleckgate in the early hours of November 10 2012.

Curry, formerly of Dyson Street, Blackburn, also pleaded guilty to arson, burglary and two attempted thefts.

Clare Randall, then aged 31, from Dewsbury, was jailed for two years and five months after she pleaded guilty to burglary and two attempted thefts.

Sentencing the pair, Mr Justice Macduff said that reading the victim impact statement from Mr Proctor's anguished daughter "makes me want to weep".

The judge said: "What a tragic case - this lovely old man, 88 years old, vulnerable, living alone, a retired lecturer, a degree from Cambridge, relatively well-off and targeted by people like you. And not the first time you had targeted him.

"You say you are sorry. So you should be.

"I have read the impact statement from his daughter. I have read it three times now. It makes me want to weep."

On Thursday, Detective Sergeant Madeleine Park, of Blackpool Police, said: "We are appealing for information leading to Curry's whereabouts.

"He is clearly a dangerous individual and we would urge anyone who sees him or knows where he is not to approach him but instead contact police.

"Furthermore, I would ask Curry, if he sees this appeal, to do the right thing and contact officers so he can be returned to prison."

Curry is described as white, 5ft 8in and of stocky build with brown hair. He has a tribal tattoo on his neck, a tattoo of a dot close to his left eye and tattoos on his arms featuring a dragon and rose.

He has links to the Blackburn, Preston and Cumbria areas.

Anyone with information should contact police on 101 quoting log reference 1131 of August 9.

A Prison Service spokesman said: "Public protection is our top priority. When an abscond takes place, police are immediately notified and are responsible for locating the offender.

"Those who do abscond are returned to much tougher, closed prisons where they will have to serve additional time."
The chief suspect in the alleged kidnap of a British model in Milan has said he did not knowingly take part in any crime.

Lukasz Pawel Herba says his involvement stems from wanting to raise money to treat his leukaemia and he was hired by a group of Romanians to rent properties around Europe to store garments they were selling, according to reports.

Expand Close Suspect Lukasz Pawel Herba. Photo: PA / Facebook

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He is also said to have told investigators he posed as a photographer and met Chloe Ayling. He said he was paid 500,000 (553,000), found out the Romanians intended to kidnap her, and backed out.

His side of the story has emerged as Ms Ayling's representatives dismissed doubts about the ordeal.

Italian police said she was snatched last month by a group calling itself 'Black Death'.

She is believed to have been drugged and transported in a bag to an isolated village near Turin, where she was held for six days as her captors tried to auction her online for sex.

As more details emerged about the sinister episode, including that Ms Ayling went shopping for shoes and groceries with her captor, her lawyer and an agent have spoken out to defend her.

Francesco Pesce said it is "evil" to suggest she was involved, while Phil Green, of Supermodel Agency, said what took place was "real and very frightening".
A court in Iraq has sentenced 27 Isis soldiers to death by hanging over their role in a massacre of up to 1,700 army recruits in 2014.

One of Isis earliest gruesome propaganda videos was of the execution-style killings at Camp Speicher in northern Iraq when the organisation launched its surprise offensive over the border from Syria in June that year.

There were between 4,000 and 11,000 cadets stationed at the base near Tikrit when Isis overran it.

Isis divided up their captives depending on whether they were Shia, Sunni or non-Muslim, and murdered an estimated 1,095 non-Sunni soldiers, a later inquiry by Iraqs Human Rights Ministry estimated.

The true number of men still missing is not known, but estimates suggest it could be up to 1,700 people.

The victims were trucked to various locations, including a former palace of Saddam Hussein, lined up and shot at point black range, beheaded, or choked to death.

Some bodies were disposed of in the Tigris River, and at least 12 mass graves were discovered when Iraqi coalition forces managed to retake the city and surrounding area in 2015.

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As well as this weeks sentencing, 36 Isis members were hanged in August 2016 after being found guilty of the same crime in a mass trial. Another 25 suspects have been released due to a lack of evidence.

The sentenced men have the right to appeal the courts decision.

The death sentences come as rights groups have expressed concern over possible abuses of men accused of being in Isis following the recapture of the city of Mosul, which effectively means the end of Isis rule in the country.

More than 5,000 men suspected of fighting on behalf of the militants are thought to be currently held in overcrowded and stiflingly hot conditions in local prisons.

Prisoners are infected with diseases, lots of health and skin problems, because theyre not exposed to the sun, one prison warden told the AP last month, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The majority cant walk. Their legs are swollen because they cant move.

Read More

For many Iraqi soldiers and civilians, there is very little sympathy for those accused of fighting with Isis.

But detainees protest their innocence  and organisations such as Human Rights Watch have repeatedly accused Iraqi forces of unlawful interrogations, beatings and even executions of men and boys believed to be part of Isis that could amount to war crimes.
A tugboat pulls the whale from the bow of the Grand Princess cruise ship in Ketchikan, Alaska (Ketchikan Daily News/AP)

US marine experts have launched an investigation after a cruise ship entered an Alaska port with the carcass of a humpback whale on its bow.

The 949ft Grand Princess, from the Princess Cruises fleet, pulled into Ketchikan on Wednesday morning with the whale lodged on its submerged bulbous bow - a device designed to avoid wave-making.

Princess spokesman Brian O'Connor said the company was surprised and saddened to discover the whale.

"It is unknown how or when this happened as the ship felt no impact," he said.

"It is also unknown, at this time, whether the whale was alive or already deceased before becoming lodged on the bow."

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is investigating the incident.

Mr O'Connor said navigators spotted no whales near the ship as it sailed overnight towards Ketchikan, near the southern tip of the Alaska Panhandle just north of British Columbia.

Photos indicated that the whale, said by the Ketchikan Daily News to be about 20ft, might be a juvenile.

The ship, with a capacity of 2,600 passengers and a crew of 1,150, was starting its third day of a 10-day round-trip cruise that originated in San Francisco.

The cruise line had a comprehensive whale avoidance programme, Mr O'Connor said.

Crews have guidelines on how to operate after spotting whales and alter courses and reduce speed to avoid them.

Ships must not approach within 100 yards of humpback whales and must limit observation time to 30 minutes, Mr O'Connor said.

Vessels near humpback whales are required to proceed at a "slow, safe speed" of 10 knots or below, he added.

NOAA Fisheries spokeswoman Julie Speegle said t hree distinct populations of humpbacks swim in Alaska waters.

The Western North Pacific population remains endangered, the Mexico population is listed as threatened and the Hawaii population is no longer listed.

Whales from the three populations overlap in feeding grounds, Ms Speegle said.

A necropsy - animal autopsy - will be held to determine the cause of the whale's death.

Ketchikan director of ports and harbours Steve Corporon said a tugboat towed the whale eight miles to Blank Inlet on Gravina Island for the procedure.

It is the second time in two years that a whale has been carried on the bow of a cruise ship into an Alaska port.

An endangered fin whale was spotted on the bulbous bow of Holland America's Zaandam in May 2016 as it prepared to dock in Seward.

AP
CONCORD  City Manager Brian Hiatt has informed the mayor and City Council of his plans to retire from the City of Concord with a target date of March 2018.

Hiatt started as Concords City Manager in October 1998. Among the most tenured of active professional local government managers in the state, he has 37 years of experience working for local governments in North Carolina.

He made the following statement to city staff in an email earlier today:

It will be extremely hard to leave the City of Concord organization, but it is time for me to prepare to move on to my next challenge and spend more time with my family. I wanted to give the Mayor and City Council plenty of notice so they can be well on their way in selecting their next City Manager.

Concord is a special place to live and work. I have been blessed to work for Mayors and Council Members with constructive agendas focused on doing what they feel is best for the citizens of Concord, and they have provided direction leading to so many significant accomplishments. I have also been able to work with a great team of coworkers including deputy and assistant managers, department heads and hundreds of coworkers delivering services on the front line. These coworkers are, and always have been, the backbone of our organization.

In the meantime, there is plenty to do over the next months. One of the great things about Concord is there are always positive activities and challenges. I look forward to continuing to work with our team toward accomplishment of the Councils many goals.
In this edition of India Briefing Magazine, we make the case for why now is the right time for foreign firms t...
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The military border standoff between China and India in the Dong Lang area (Doklam) reveals Indias geopolitical ambitions and motivation to use protecting Bhutan as an excuse for its own superpower dream. To defuse the crisis, India should immediately withdraw its troops from the area.

The current standoff began in mid-June, when hundreds of Indian border troops crossed the boundary in the Sikkim Sector of Doklam and advanced into territory claimed by China to obstruct the construction of a road. The assumption that China is the aggressor is just plain wrong. We have repeatedly stated that Doklam has always been part of Chinas territory, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said on Jul. 5. There is no disagreement on the fact that Doklam belongs to China, he added.

India has long sought to dominate Asia. India considers China, which crushed India in the 1962 war, as its most serious security threat, an unclassified document on Indias strategic interests concluded. In an intelligence assessment, the US argued that Indias key objectives have remained largely unchanged since independence in 1947. Preeminent among these objectives is the desire to obtain recognition from its neighbors of Indias status as the regions leading power, the document said, adding, India seeks to curb the influence of others in the region.

Making territorial claims on Bhutans behalf suggests that these long-held objectives remain as important today as they were years ago. According to an editorial in the Peoples Daily by Zhong Sheng, or Voice of China, Indias intrusion into the area under the pretext of helping Bhutan not only violated Chinas territorial sovereignty, but challenged Bhutans sovereignty and independence. Now, Bhutan is stuck in the middle of a geopolitical conflict that could spiral out of control and lead to a wider regional conflict.

All this suggests that the conflict started by India is not about protecting Bhutan, but about India trying to realize its superpower dream.

Fortunately, the two countries can and need to cooperate in many areas. For example, India benefits from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, a multilateral financial institution founded to help increase connectivity across Asia. Three projects have been approved to date, including a power project and an infrastructure development project. Most recently, the bank approved a $329 million loan to build access roads to approximately 4,000 villages in all 33 districts of Gujarat. In addition, another six projects are being considered by the bank. At the same time, more Chinese companies are investing in India, and Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for closer cooperation.

India is also a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which means India has a voice on the important regional political, economic, and security issues that directly affect it. Furthermore, China and India are members of the BRICS association, an important platform for cooperation among major emerging economies, as well as members of the G20, the premier forum for international economic cooperation and global governance. In addition, China and India could always further enhance cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, which India is still reluctant to join in.

This is to say that the relationship is complicated, but China and India do not need to see each other as rivals for leadership in Asia. There is always the strategic dimension to relations, but emphasis should be placed on strengthening cooperation. For example, China and the Philippines are working out their differences on the South China Sea issue, and China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) endorsed a framework for a maritime code of conduct, an important step to ease tension in the strategic waterway. This shows that conflict is not inevitable. Steps can be taken to lower tensions and peacefully resolve differences, and India should follow suit.

But China has made it clear that its patience is wearing thin and is not endless. If the Indian side truly cherishes peace, what it should do is to immediately pull back the trespassing border troops to the Indian side of the boundary, Geng said on Aug. 3. Given the high stakes and the importance of good relations with China, the best strategy for India is to stop playing geopolitical games and turn its attention to finding ways to prevent future conflict between two growing neighbors.
For the thousands of individuals who suffer from the effects of sickle cell anemia, pain is a common part of their lives.

The inherited disease causes red blood cells of mostly people of African descent to deform into a sickle shape. This inhibits the red blood cells from carrying oxygen throughout the body, which can cause severe pain and organic damage.

So, many of those suffering from sickle cell anemia are prescribed a variety of powerful pain killer derivatives.

Their desire to receive relief may be viewed through the biased lens of racism and criminalization as a result of the opioid epidemic and deter them from receiving care for their pain.

Many of these painkillers are equal in strength to oxycodone, which many people with sickle cell anemia have been taking since they were children.

They are also the same drugs that are at the center of the nations current opioid addiction epidemic, which has been causing thousands of individuals addicted to these and other strong painkillers to overdose and die.

Thus, federal and state governments are seeking to pressure doctors to limit their prescriptions of such drugs to patients to curb the deadly trend.

Judy Anderson, the executive director of the Sickle Cell Anemia Association of Hampton Roads, says a growing number of people who are suffering from sickle cell anemia may be severely impacted by the governments effort to curb opioid addiction.

Sickle Cell Anemia Association of Hampton Roads is the leading advocacy group in southeastern Virginia for people suffering from the disease.

During a recent interview on the issue, Anderson told the Guide that doctors are being ordered to screen and review the prescriptions of people with sickle cell anemia to determine the necessity of their use of the strong painkillers.

These people are not addicted to these drugs, said Anderson. They are dependent on them because of the pain they are experiencing throughout their lives.

One lady who called the office Monday, July 10, told me she took her last pain pill the previous Friday, said Anderson. Her doctor is reviewing her case and has not written her a new prescription.

Anderson continued: Unable to get her pain meds, I am sure she will end up in a hospital, because she went to the emergency room to have her pain treated.

Anderson said that the woman is bedridden and has other ailments along with sickle cell anemia.

Recently, Anderson has devoted more attention to helping people like this woman and others who may be caught up in the governments effort to curb opiate addiction by curbing the number of pain killer prescriptions doctors can administer.

Anderson said doctors have been telling sickle cell anemia patients to buy 880 milligrams Tylenol or other over-the-counter pain killers to thwart their discomfort.

But that is just like taking a baby aspirin, she said. Its a Band-Aid. It does nothing for these people.

Anderson mentioned one man who was recently released from a state prison who had no physician to contact upon returning to his community. He is one of the individuals her agency has been working with to help him get through this crisis.

Despite Andersons efforts, the emergency room may be his only option for treatment. Further, even physicians in the emergency room may assume that because he is a young, Black male, that he is addicted to painkillers and may not treat him effectively.

Anderson said that in April 2016, in the wake of the growing opioid addiction and related deaths due to overdoses, hospital emergency departments in Virginia received guidelines aimed at curbing opioid misuse and addictions.

There were 14 new guidelines issued by the state, which directed doctors to avoid prescribing painkillers and to give patients no more than a three-day supply in extreme cases. These guidelines were endorsed by the Virginia Hospital and Health Care Associations and the Virginia College of Emergency Physicians.

According to the Virginia Department of Health, the state saw 822 opioid overdose deaths in the first nine months of 2016, compared with 811 in all of 2015.

Almost three people a day are dying in Virginia from an opioid overdose, either prescription or illegal, said David E. Brown, director of the states Department of Health Professions.

For the first time, the regulations apply specific guidelines to Virginia providers, dictating how many opioids can be prescribed depending on the situation and stipulating that other pain treatments should be considered before opioids are prescribed.

Before prescribing opioids, providers must do a thorough physical examination and determine the patients history. The patient also must be given Naloxone  a life-saving drug that can reverse the effects of an overdose.

Part of the effort by the new guidelines, according to Anderson, was to limit the number of people using opioid-based painkillers in the long run.

But, according to Anderson and other advocates, in the short term, addicts seeking relief for their pain may go to street vendors and secure heroin or the more deadly painkillers, such as Fentanyl.

Fentanyl is a potent, synthetic opioid pain medication with a rapid onset and short duration of action and is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. Some Fentanyl derivatives may be as much as 10,000 times more potent than morphine.

Anderson said people who are suffering pain episodes due to sickle cell anemia and have had prescriptions for pain meds delayed because their physicians are reviewing their cases should go to the emergency room anyway.

She said ER physicians may hospitalize them and administer pain-relieving medicines. However, the patients will not be released with a prescription of painkillers, due to new state regulations.

If that happens, Anderson said the patients should go back until their prescriptions have been filled.

Anderson said that a medicine called Hydroxyurea, which has been used in chemotherapy for cancer, has been found to be effective in bolstering the bodys resistance to problems associated with sickle cell anemia and relieving pain.

Its the only option they have, Anderson said.
A cancer diagnosis is life changing, but it doesnt have to take over. Social workers are able to provide support and connect patients to programs and resources that help deal with facing cancer. The IU Health Simon Cancer Center offers support through social work, spiritual and psychological care, complementary therapies and more. Read on to find answers to common questions from patients with a new cancer diagnosis.

What are some tips on sharing a new diagnosis with friends and family?

Only the patient can decide when the time is right to tell others about their diagnosis and how much information they wish to disclose. Telling those close to you can help take in the reality of the diagnosis, as well as ease the burden. There are websites designed to help keep others informed in your care without the stress of having to repeat information, which a lot of patients find to be helpful.

It is also helpful for patients to consider topics that might be triggers or too sensitive to talk about and plan responses to these questions. An example would be someone questioning medical decisions or religious views related to cancer. Having open and honest communication can be very beneficial.

Some days, its nice to focus on things other than the disease. How can this be explained to concerned friends and family?

The patient can be upfront about when they do and do not want to speak about their cancer. Its important to participate in normal activities with friends and family. Laughing and talking about things other than cancer can be a nice distraction. Viewing the cancer patient as the same person that family and friends have always known will help retain a sense of normalcy.

A cancer diagnosis adds stress and can affect what we find enjoyable. What are some ways to reduce stress and enjoy the moment?

Having distress is a common symptom of a cancer diagnosis. Trying to keep life as normal as possible during the cancer journey can be beneficial in still being able to enjoy life and reduce stress. Patients may develop a new support network or new ways of coping with stress during the disease process. This can also be a time to develop new interests or hobbies.

Friends and family are offering to help, but that can be overwhelming. How is this best handled?

Be specific about what the needs are. Sometimes having a designated spokesperson can be helpful for the patient to not become overwhelmed. Setting up a calendar can also be helpful and keep things organized. Encourage friends and family to visit only when the patient is feeling well.

What other tips do you have for cancer survivors?

Learning to live with uncertainty and only controlling what you can is a major part of survivorship. Being involved in your health care, getting back to your normal life and making changes in your lifestyle are among the things you can control.

Its good to work toward having a positive attitude, which can help you feel better about life now. Remember you dont have to act positive all the time. Dont beat yourself up or let others make you feel guilty when youre feeling sad, angry, anxious or distressed. These feelings are a normal part of survivorship. Give yourself, your family and those around you time.

What are some of the support services offered to patients and families at IU Health?

IU Health offers a variety of support services to patients and families all free of charge.

The Complete Life Center offers appearance consultations, art therapy, creative expression, massage therapy, music therapy, narrative therapy, support groups and yoga.

The Cancer Resource Center offers education, wig bank and fitting, transportation assistance, clinical trial matching and community resources.

First Mondays Support Group Program has groups on art and wellbeing, brain tumors, caregivers support, children of parents with cancer, coping with chronic lymphocytic leukemia and slow-growing lymphoma, coping with multiple myeloma, living with cancer and bereavement.

Melissa Renbarger, MSW, LSW, is a social worker at IU Health Simon Cancer Center.
The NAACP is being very clear about potential dangers African-Americans and other people of color may face if they travel to Missouri.

Last week, the organization issued a travel advisory warning prospective visitors of the looming danger they may encounter while in Missouri. This travel ban was the first of its kind for the NAACP and unchartered territory for the 108-year-old organization.

In a statement issued by the Missouri NAACP State Conference, the organization warns, individuals traveling in the state are advised to travel with extreme CAUTION. Race, gender and color-based crimes have a long history here.

Some recent accounts of such crimes include the case of Tory Sanford. Last May, Sanford, 28, got lost on his way to Memphis and eventually ran out of gas. Authorities still dont know why, but Sanford was taken into custody. He was never officially charged with anything, however he was involved in two altercations with jail personnel in his cell. Sanford later died, though details of his death have not been released.

Another instance that the NAACP cited as grounds to issue the travel advisory included the death of Srinivas Kuchibhotla, a 32-year-old Indian man who was shot at a bar by a man who yelled, Get out of my country.

The NAACP also referenced the decades-long tension that exists between the police and minorities in the community, specifically African-American minorities. The world watched in 2014 as the body of Michael Brown, 18, lay lifeless in the middle of a street for hours  in clear view of residents and motorists. Brown was shot by a Ferguson police officer who was later cleared of all charges.

And if those examples werent enough to validate NAACPs advisory, consider the fact that Black drivers in Missouri are 75 percent more likely to be stopped and searched than white drivers.

While the aforementioned instances and countless others were contributing factors in the NAACPs decision to issue the travel advisory, they werent the only reasons. Senate Bill 43 also played a tremendous part.

Senate Bill 43 is a new state law in Missouri that makes it more difficult to sue for discrimination, specifically housing and employment discrimination.

According to Gerald Early, chair of African and African American Studies at Washington University in St. Louis, Before (SB43) a plaintiff had to show that race and gender bias was a contributing factor to dismissal. Under 43, the plaintiff must prove that bias was, in effect, the sole reason that explains the treatment he or she received.

When I first learned of the ban, I understood completely why the NAACP determined it best to issue the advisory. In addition to genuinely warning visitors of potential danger, the advisory also draws close attention to the disruptive and highly concerning behavior tolerated in Missouri  behaviors that are, unfortunately, also tolerated in most states across this country. Perhaps by exposing it, more people will stand up against injustice. But it will take more than African-Americans to eliminate discrimination. We need the help of other minorities, including those in the LGBT community. We also need our white brothers and sisters to advocate with us. We simply need to join forces with people who have pure hearts and earnest intentions. Only then will we see substantial change relative to discrimination and other forms of injustice.

Missouris SB 43 takes me back to the Jim Crow era when Blacks faced discrimination, taunting, torturing and even murder  all because they were Black. Yet, actually holding a person accountable for their misdeeds was literally impossible, because Blacks had no standing in court, nor would their claims be recognized.

Remembering the obstacles of the past and how we circumvented them will help us as we strategize for current-day solutions to problems that are actually generations deep.
BEIJING, Aug. 10 -- As Chinese scientists accomplish all their planned experiments with the world's first quantum satellite, they are devising new studies and aiming to launch more quantum satellites to build a hack-proof global quantum communications network.

China launched the satellite, Quantum Experiments at Space Scale (QUESS), nicknamed "Micius" after a 5th Century B.C. Chinese philosopher and scientist, on Aug. 16, 2016.

Its three major scientific goals -- quantum key distribution, quantum entanglement distribution and quantum teleportation -- have been achieved a year ahead of schedule, and related articles have been published in academic journals Science and Nature.

Micius's designed life is two years, so Chinese scientists are making new plans for extended experiments with the satellite.

Pan Jianwei, lead scientist of QUESS and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), said they will cooperate with scientists in Europe to conduct intercontinental quantum key distribution.

Quantum key technology is used in quantum communications to make eavesdropping impossible and to perfectly secure the communication.

Scientists are conducting quantum key distribution experiments with a ground station in Graz, Austria. By the end of August, it will be able to make an intercontinental quantum secure call with a Chinese station, said Pan.

Chinese scientists also plan to conduct intercontinental quantum key distribution research with Germany and Italy. Ground stations in the two countries will be ready by the end of 2017, Pan said.

The intercontinental experiment shows Micius can work not only with Chinese facilities, but with facilities in other countries too, Pan said.

His research team is looking to integrate quantum communications with the traditional fiber network to securely transmit information and make the technology more practical.

They also plan to conduct long-distance quantum key distribution based on quantum entanglement, which will be more secure than current quantum key distribution. Pan hopes this can be achieved by the end of this year.

Their longer-term aim is to set up a global quantum communications network.

Peng Chengzhi, chief designer of the scientific application system of QUESS, said the low-earth-orbit satellite has a limited coverage area and time for each ground station. It takes several days for Micius, orbiting at an altitude of 500 kilometers, to revisit any point on earth.

"When Micius flies over China, the experiment window is about 10 minutes," said Wang Jianyu, chief commander of the satellite. "But if we have a satellite in orbit at 10,000 kilometers, the time for quantum key distribution could be several hours. And if we have a satellite in orbit at 36,000 kilometers, it can cover a third of the earth all the time.

"To increase the coverage, we plan to send satellites to higher orbits and construct a satellite constellation, which requires developing many new technologies," Wang said.

Currently, Micius can only conduct quantum communication in the earth' s shadow; that is to say, it can only work at night to avoid interference from sunlight.

However, higher-orbit satellites will spend less time in the earth's shadow. So Chinese scientists have to acquire the technology to enable space-based quantum communication in the daytime, Peng said.

Recently, Chinese scientists realized free space quantum key distribution at a distance of 53 kilometers in daytime, breaking one of the key technical barriers to a quantum satellite constellation.

"We hope to form a ground and space integrated quantum communications network in about 10 years, and apply it widely in fields such as national defense, government affairs, finance and energy, and promote the formation of emerging industries of strategic importance," said Pan. "We also hope to use space-based quantum technology to explore and examine basic physical theories such as quantum gravity."
Last week, the Department of Justice announced a new initiative to investigate discrimination against white students in university admissions. This is a disturbing step backward. Critical priorities like protecting voting rights, civil rights and human rights continue to struggle for limited resources and attention. Yet, with this announcement, Attorney General Jeff Sessions is choosing to use our taxpayer dollars to instead challenge affirmative action in college admissions, which has repeatedly been found constitutional by federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court.

Despite our countrys rapidly changing demographics, we have not made enough progress in ensuring a clear path to opportunity for historically disadvantaged minorities. Today, minorities make up a greater portion of our population than ever before, yet many universities continue to significantly lag in minority admissions. In fact, according to the Washington Post, 42 percent of white students ages 1824 are enrolled in college, compared to 35 percent among African-Americans. Without programs to help qualified minority students overcome longstanding institutional biases, these enrollment numbers could be even smaller.

Too often, the debate over affirmative action is oversimplified as a laudable goal to promote diversity. But it is critical to recognize and understand the factual and historical basis that necessitated the tool of affirmative action to remedy decades of state-sponsored segregation and unwillingness to equally enforce the laws.

Many of us are familiar with pioneers like Ruby Bridges and James Meredith, who publicly stood up for their rights to receive an education. But, we must also remember less obvious systemic changes that resonate today. Communities witnessed the proliferation of countless academies that were opened for white students who were afraid to attend newly integrated public schools with children who did not look like them. Some states actually paid out-of-state tuition to avoid integrating Black university students.

Without understanding the history and the continuing importance of affirmative action as a tool, it is possible to misunderstand and perceive this as something optional instead of something still necessary. Statistics abound which demonstrate the persistent racial and socio-economic disparities faced by minority students. The painful and pernicious legacy of slavery and legal segregation is still being felt by students in underperforming schools or with parents who, because of past discrimination, are unable to guide them into college. We have made progress, but minority students are still struggling for high-quality educational opportunities.

The Department of Justice is essentially arguing that promoting parity for minority students, who are overcoming lingering bias resulting from generations of discrimination, is unacceptable if it risks inconveniencing white students. In my role as the founder of the House Higher Education Caucus, Im committed to all students achieving the full extent of their potential. This means embracing that, as a nation, our diversity is our strength. We are at our best when we are opening doors, not when we are building walls. When people of all backgrounds have the opportunity to succeed, America succeeds.

Rep. Carson represents the 7th District of Indiana. He is First Vice Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and one of two Muslims in Congress. Rep. Carson sits on the House Intelligence Committee and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Contact Rep. Carson at carson.house.gov/contact.
According to a study commissioned by LISC Indy, five census tracts have experienced displacement, causing the percentage of African-Americans to drop some significantly in several neighborhoods. The study done by the Center for Community Progress shows the Near Eastside neighborhoods of Cottage Home and Holy Cross experienced a 56 percent decline in their African-American population from 20002014. During this same time, the overall African-American population actually grew citywide by 17 percent. In Fall Creek Place, dramatic displacement turned a predominantly African-American community into a predominantly white, more affluent community. Several statistics not included in the study is the 314 percent increase in residents with bachelors degrees or the 723 percent increase in households making over $150,000 a year in Fall Creek Place, all statistics I found in the same U.S. Census Bureau reports they would have used to complete their study.

Census tract 3910, which covers part of downtown and the near-west side, were mentioned in the study as having gentrified even further. The western third includes a lot of what was once known as the Negro Meridian Street, the center of culture, commerce and wealth for the African-American community. Having grandparents from both sides of my family who lived, worshiped, owned businesses and property in that quadrant, I know how disheartening it has been to previous generations who lived through the gentrification of Indiana Avenue and erasure of their cultural history and identity.

The numbers in the report show that the area surrounding Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Park is gentrifying, and the overall population has decreased. This directly corresponds with the affordable housing being demolished in the area and being replaced with lower density condominiums.

A total of five census tracts are considered gentrifying in this study, and most show a rise in home value, household income, residents with bachelors degrees, coinciding with a decline in their African-American population. The report also discusses general neighborhood decline and the growing level of poverty in Indianapolis as compared nationally. Even with these issues, the study concludes that only 2 percent of Indianapolis population lives in gentrified neighborhoods. However, statistics highlighting the actual number of residents displaced were not included in the report. In prepared remarks, Bill Taft, executive director of LISC Indianapolis, and several other panelists referenced this study at a July 25 community conversation organized by IUPUI SPEA. But does this gentrification study truly tell the full story about gentrification in Indianapolis? Is gentrification really just limited to a small percentage of Indianapolis neighborhoods?

A draft research study fraught

with errors

The gentrification study can be found on the LISC Indianapolis website and has been referenced and quoted by city officials, the IndyStar, NUVO magazine, Indiana Economic Digest and more, but the report itself has challenges. It is fraught with errors and clearly states on Page 1: This is a draft research brief for limited public distribution. It has not yet been finalized for publication. Simply put, some of the numbers do not add up. For example, Table 12(A) shows percentage changes for median household income and median house value that are inaccurate, because the numbers have been transposed on the table.

Table 13, showing the racial and economic composition of Indianapolis census tracts, has values that never add up to their citywide numbers listed at the bottom of the table. It also shows the percentage of African-Americans living in three different income tracts: lower, middle and upper. Inexplicably, this percentage only adds up to 75 percent, leaving us to wonder where the remaining 25 percent of African-Americans live.

Even allowing for the known mathematical errors, the study seems to treat each census tract as a remote island that has no effect or direct relationship to neighboring census tracts that, it concluded, had not experienced gentrification. To further clarify, it is important to remember that the census tracts that researchers collect data about are not aligned with natural neighborhood, commercial or typical geographical boundaries that define Indianapolis. The admitted gentrification going on in Census Tract 3910 logically has to have an effect on the Ransom Place and Flanner House neighborhoods in the adjacent census tract. The rampant gentrification going on in Fall Creek Place (Census Tract 3516) has to have an effect on the adjacent census tract containing Mapleton Fall Creek, where theres been a 68.7 percent increase in median household income from the same time period and a drop in the African-American population in the past five years. Interestingly enough, Governing Magazine and the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland have both produced studies on gentrification in Indianapolis neighborhoods using the same Census Bureau data, and both determined twice as many census tracts are gentrified/gentrifying as the LISC-commissioned report from the Center For Community Progress. If city officials and nonprofits charged with helping Indianapolis neighborhoods rebuild and improve the quality of life for residents are to be effective, they must have the most accurate, up-to-date information available to inform their decision-making and strategy.

The city of Indianapolis, LISC, foundations and all community development nonprofits have challenges ahead in implementing more equitable development. These are not challenges unique to Indianapolis, as a lot of major cities and foundations are taking a closer look at statistics trying to find out how they can better avoid funding gentrification and displacement while still developing a strong city core that is used by a diverse segment of the population. I have no doubt that solutions will be found by having more transparent dialog among metropolitan development departments, nonprofits and residents working to effect change in their own communities.
Leroy Smith has seen several facets of the criminal justice system. In 2010, the 50-year-old Gary, Indiana, natives most recent  and, he says, his final  stint in the Marion County jail system came after being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Smith, an already convicted felon, was hanging out with a group of men when police approached. A pipe belonging to one of them, which he says contained less than a nickels worth of crack-cocaine, landed near his feet. He took a plea for the Class D drug felony charge and spent 90 days in a place hed come to know  Marion County Jail II.

Being in the county jail is worse than being in the prison system. One reason is because you have no movement. It was hard being in there.  Youre stuck to one place. You picture a warehouse thats caged up with bunk beds. Thats how they house men. Its like cattle, like putting a herd of cattle in a pen, said Smith.

Day in and day out, he said, all activities from meals to showers and everything in between took place there.

Theres nothing there for (inmates) to be rehabilitated. You have overcrowded county jails, they dont have programs. Theyre basically just spending time there, he said. Because of that, its really screwing the system up and (screwing) our communities up. If I go in some place looking for a change and dont get it, Im coming out the same way.

After being released from jail, Smith spent a year on probation while enduring bouts of homelessness and joblessness. Smith said it was hard.

I had to find a job, and if I didnt (the court) would violate me. I had to go to classes, and if I didnt go and pay those fees, they would violate me (for that), as well.

Smith said he was responsible for paying more than $100 each week over the course of nearly two months for mandatory classes, in addition to probation fees and paying out-of-pocket for his court-mandated drug screenings.

Once youre in the system and labeled as a felon, its hard to survive out here. And also being a Black man in America, its hard, he said. We shouldnt commit crime. Im a firm believer in that and have learned that over the years, but how are you gonna tell someone not to commit a crime when they dont have food to put on the table, clothes on their backs  they dont have four walls to get out of the different weather environments?

Smith said he believes more solutions are needed outside of the criminal justice system to help people. On the other side of his own incarceration experience, Smith  with the help of his pastor James Jackson of Fervent Prayer, wife Rosie and children  found a new lease on life. He found a way to influence others who have gone through similar situations. After a fateful meeting at a fast-food restaurant shortly after his release, a then-homeless Smith met David Sherron of Unto Him Ministries. Since then, Smith has done volunteer work and street ministry. Recently, the group fed 1,000 homeless Indianapolis residents. Im giving back what somebody didnt give me, he said.

One of the things that I believe is that incarceration is not the answer all the time.  We need programs for individuals to come out and be able to change their way of living. I think that these leaders need to come out from behind their offices and into the battlefield with us to pull these people out of the gutter.

Looking beyond lockup

In his inaugural State of the City address, Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett announced a comprehensive plan for criminal justice reform.

The proposed plan, which includes initiatives to decrease the numbers of arrests through specialized mental health and addiction services, crisis intervention training for law enforcement and first responders, pre-trial support, bail reform and pre-arrest diversion, among other elements, has been lauded by a number of city officials.

City-County Council President Maggie Lewis said the plan is better than those presented in the past due to its focus on reform and community impact rather than just facilities.

Its a better approach, because it gets to the root cause of why folks end up in the criminal justice system, she said.

According to data from the Marion County Sheriffs Department, more than 900 of the countys inmates at any given time suffer from mental illness, and the number of inmates dealing with opioid addiction has drastically increased in recent years. The cost of detaining those with mental illness is an estimated $8 million per year.

Lewis, who worked for several years in the social services sector, said the goal is to reduce these numbers.

If it was just about building a new jail with more beds to lock people up, I wouldnt support it, she said.

The citys plan intends to intervene in cases involving mental illness and addiction before arrest happens, by referring people to a new Assessment and Intervention Center (AIC) run by the Marion County Health and Hospital Corporation.

The AIC will be housed on the Community Justice Campus on the citys southeast side at the site of the former Citizens Gas and Coke Utility Plan. The countys criminal, juvenile and civil courts will be relocated there, as well.

Additionally, Marion County jails I and II will be consolidated into one facility housing 2,6003,000 beds. Having everything accessible in one area, Lewis said, will help those in need better navigate the system.

Sheriff John Layton agrees. Its imperative to me, and I think any sheriff, that these facilities are co-located, he said.

Having all county courts in one area, along with a new pre-trial services agency, could potentially decrease the number of inmates who are incarcerated again due to issues like failing to appear in court or lack of access to post-incarceration resources. The agency will employ navigators to assist in this process.

Though facilities improvement is just one small part of the multilayered plan, the sheriff was careful not to downplay its significance.

(The Marion County Jail) is a fossil. It is outdated, he said. A new facility, he noted, will make the job of deputies more efficient and keep inmates safer through the use of wristbands to track inmates whereabouts, as well as the addition of 300 beds set aside in a separate therapeutic unit specifically for inmates with mental illness.

This is about three to four years away, and this sheriff will never sit in the seat of running it.  This new jail will be able to service the community for many generations to come. Its a much better situation than where we are now, he said.

Scrutinizing the system

Recently, the City-County Council approved the allocation of $20 million to the Hogsett administration for the design and planning of the campus. In total, the project is slated to cost $575 million. The administration has been adamant in stating it will not require any additional tax dollars to complete, and funds will accrue through efficiencies found in consolidating jails and other facilities, as well as cutting personnel. Closing Marion County Jail II, which is owned and operated by private company Core Civic, is expected to save the city $16.5 million each year.

Though the measure passed by a vote of 177, some councillors, like Republican Marilyn Pfisterer, voiced their dissent. Pfisterer pointed out the uncertainty of Medicaid funding to cover the costs of mental health treatment due to the not-yet-resolved fate of the Affordable Care Act.

$20 million is a lot of money, and there needs to be scrutiny. The councilors need to ask tough questions. It forces the administration to go back and make sure that their numbers actually make sense and that they are doable, said Lewis, adding that the council is not losing sight of other important issues in the city like food access, infrastructure and raising wages for City-County employees. Trying to find that balance is important.

Lewis noted that getting buy-in from the Twin Aire neighborhood, where the facility will be located, was of utmost importance.

When you talk about making neighborhoods better and improving quality of life, no one is coming out the gate saying, Build a jail in my neighborhood. Thats not the first thing that comes to mind, she said. (City leaders) had conversations early on about what they wanted and didnt want to see. We didnt want this to just be our plan  because these people who are going in and out of jail are coming back to our communities, and we all want them to be successful.

Erin Marshall, a member of Decarcerate Marion County and the No New Jail Indianapolis Coalition, feels that despite the plans promised benefits, several irredeemable flaws persist.

I dont want to see an expansion of incarceration in my state, she stated. Incarceration, jails and prisons are used to deal with problems that should be dealt with through mental health care and general health care for people.

Marshall shared that her first up-close experience with the criminal justice system came during her time running a food pantry in Bloomington, Indiana. Seeing, in her mind, a direct connection between incarceration and poverty caused her to act. In 2008, Decarcerate Monroe County was formed and Marshall joined. Their initial action was to oppose the building of a justice campus in Monroe County.

The plan for Indianapolis, she said, is, similar to proposals that are popping up around the country in that its liberal expansion of mass incarceration. Its interesting because in the proposal they acknowledge that mass incarceration exists and its a problem that we disproportionately incarcerate poor, mentally ill and people of color, said Marshall. The thing about it that blows my mind is that they recognize all these things, but the solution is to expand incarceration. I think that in a lot of ways they have good intentions and understand the problem, but theyre trying to fix the problem with the wrong tools.

Marshall said she has read the citys proposal and after speaking with service providers and mental health professionals, she is not convinced the intended outcomes are plausible.

We need more money for education. Thats one way we can decrease reliance on criminal justice. But that money comes out of different funds. I think the city feels like there are only certain things they have the power to influence, she said. They dont have power over IPS closing, but they can build a justice complex. I get that thats their goal, and I appreciate where theyre coming from, but I think theyre wrong. The plan is flawed.

Leroy Smith
Swami Om is one of the most controversial self-styled Godman. Even though he didnt win the show, he has been in news for all the wrong reasons.

And now, an agency report claims that Swami Om has been arrested in a case filed by his brother. According to claims made by the police, his brother has accused Swami Om of stealing bicycles along with some documents from his shop nine years ago. Last year, he was also declared as a serial offender by the Saket Court in Delhi.

Colors

In November 2008, a FIR was registered at Lodhi Colony police station against him on a complaint by his younger brother Pramod Jha.

Pramod had accused him of breaking the lock of his bicycle shop in Lodhi Colony along with three men and stealing 11 bicycles, expensive spare parts, sale deed of the house and important documents, a police officer said.Last year, a non-bailable warrant was issued against him by the Saket court which subsequently declared him a proclaimed offender in the case, the officer said.

Colors

The police officer added that Swami Om was hiding in a house in northeast Delhi's Bhajanpura and was arrested by a joint team of Lodhi Colony police station and Inter-State Cell of Crime Branch.
Neha Dhupia might have stopped appearing in Bollywood films but she knows how to still be at the centre of it all. The actress is friendly with all the A-listers, all thanks to her brand new chat show, No Filter Neha.

Twitter

The stars end up spilling beans that they don't even reveal on Koffee With Karan or otherwise. Neha herself being the host doesn't shy away from talking about important issues. Whether it's about body shaming or how men should shave or not, Neha is unapologetic about her opinions.

Twitter

A leading daily asked her about the burning topic Varnika Kundu's case in the country right now and Neha didn't mince her words even once. The actress said,



The fact that it happened in Chandigarh, is appalling. For her to speak up bravely, its like leading by example. Its the most normal thing to do. What she is saying is so obvious. Its like me saying its a sunny day. It takes that one woman to show the way and now you will see a lot many women speaking up. Why hold back just because you are a woman?

ANI

Well, she has a valid point because right after that, another woman came up and has filed the case against the culprit. More power to such girls like Varnika and Neha to empower other women to speak up against the wrong.
The expectations from Imtiaz Ali and Shah Rukh Khans collaboration in Jab Harry Met Sejal were really high and the excitement level was on to a different level altogether. But when the movie hit the screens, it disappointed fans so much that even the ardent fans of the filmmaker as well as the actor couldnt stop themselves from expressing it. Whats more? One person even tweeted to Sushma Swaraj for help while watching the film.

However, Pakistani actors Saba Qamar and Imran Abbas had a totally different take on the film. They loved it and couldnt stop praising it on Instagram. However, the fact that they loved the movie didnt go down well with a lot of people who ended up trolling them in the comments section.

cliffpakistan.files.wordpress.com

Saba wrote a post on Instagram describing how much she loved the movie, on which Imran also commented explaining the movie as a masterpiece.

instagram.com/sabaqamarzaman/

And then the trolling began!

Instagram/sabaqamarzaman/

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Instagram/sabaqamarzaman/

Instagram/sabaqamarzaman/

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Do you agree with Saba Qamar and Imran Abbas or do you think that the trolls were justified? Tell us in the comments section below.
Ranbir Kapoor is the heartthrob of Bollywood - the man many women secretly dream about. Hes a flirt too; at least thats what the perception of people is about him.

He has had many girlfriends including Katrina Kaif and Deepika Padukone, and he is smart when it comes to managing his relationship. Remember how in an episode of Koffee With Karan, he had admitted that he saves his girlfriends number as Battery Low? And also that he would also save their numbers with male names?

Twitter

But is he really a flirt? Imtiaz Ali says he is not. The ace director, who has delivered romantic masterpiecesincluding Rockstar and Tamasharoping in the actor in the lead role, says he is a disaster when it comes to flirting. He tries but gets nervous and ends up in a disaster-like situation.

pinimg.com

Ranbir I think is the biggest disaster. I think he is a victim of flirtation rather than the guys who propagate it, the propagator, flirts, he told Neha Dhupia on her podcast show.

Twitter

Furthermore, he narrated how he liked a Delhi girl while they were shooting in the city but was too shy to approach her.

Ranbir Kapoor? The same chap? Is he a flirt? Not at all! I mean he tries. He tries but he just gets very nervous about it. There was a time when he kind of liked a girl in Delhi. We were shooting so I said, well, I'm going to introduce her to you because I know her and so, have a chat. So he said ya ya do that. Then I went to talk to her about something else and he was so nervous, he kept clawing at me and trying to pull me back because he thought that Im going to say something which will spill his beans.What beans? That my friend finds you attractive? He couldnt bear to have that known about him. So this is not the sign of a flirt at all.

Imtiaz Ali, are you talking about Bharti Malhotra who Ranbir was rumoured to be dating?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Has said that India will not backtrack from its commitment to a clean energy future. "Paris or no Paris, it is our conviction that we have no right to snatch from our future generation their right to have a clean and beautiful earth," he said.

AP

ALSO READ: Modi Took A Stroll With Putin In A Park And We've Got Pictures To Prove It's The Next Modi-Obama Friendship!

At the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, Modi told reporters: "We should leave to the new generation an earth that is beautiful and clean."

Asked by the moderator on which side of the climate change debate he stood, and whether he disagreed with Donald Trump's stand, Modi said: "I don't think I should go this side or that. This subject is of future generations and I would go towards future generations. It is part of our thinking and for that reason, we do not believe in exploitation of nature. We people do not have the right to take more than necessary from nature."

AP

He told the gathering in the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin: "I have in a simple way stated the dream of 'new India'. I quoted from 5,000-year-old Vedas to say humans have a right to milk nature but have no right to exploit it."

Stressing that one of the four Vedas - the Atharvaveda - encapsulated dedication to nature 5,000 years ago, the PM said India's economic growth was based not on the exploitation of nature but on its use and preservation and on respecting it. He said India was targeting 175gw of renewable energy by 2022, adding that India was setting up more power-generation capacity in renewable energy sector than in thermal.

AP

He asserted that India would be a responsible nation with regard to climate and work towards zero-defect, zero-effect manufacturing, entailing no detrimental effect on the environment. He said programmes such as LED bulb distribution had already resulted in huge power savings.

As per its promised action under the Paris agreement, India is committed to install 175gw of solar, wind and biomass electricity by 2022, reduce its emission intensity (emission per unit of GDP) by 33-35% from its 2005 levels by 2030, create an additional carbon sink of 2.5-3 billion tonnes of carbon di-oxide equivalent by 2030 thr-ough additional forest and tree cover and produce 40% of electricity from non-fossil fuel resources by 2030.

AP

However, India has said it would be in a position to meet its non-fossil fuel-based energy target if it got adequate financial and technological support, a point which perhaps prompted Trump to flag that India had made its participation in the Paris accord contingent on billions and billions of foreign aid.

But Trump was completely wrong on this point. India has so far not received any aid for pushing its clean energy goal. "Our government is committed irrespective of the stand of anyone, anywhere in the world. It has been the stand of Prime Minister Narendra Modi," environment minister Harsh Vardhan said.
Social irritability is at its all time high because of distant relatives and family members who sabotage your cool in front of your friends and question your swag. A lot of Facebook videos, memes and articles surface over the plight of having family and relatives on your Facebook profile and basically the inability of not being able to hide your personal life from them.

thefriendz

But as a matter of fact, it's just not them you should be worried about. Facebook now has everyone, including IT department, police and government.

A Bengaluru-based real estate broker landed himself in a lot of trouble after he posted pictures from a ceremony he conducted.

Suryanarayana/Facebook

K Suryanarayana organized a pooja at his place where he adorned the podium with enormous cash and gold pots. Soon after the ceremony, the photos from the event landed on social media and spur eyes of the storm on him.

The photos that show Suryanarayana along with his wife standing next a pile of cash and gold instigated debates and concerns about his income and the amount of tax he was paying.

But Suryanarayana carried on his post and said that he's made this fortune the hard way. He went on to add that he withdrew Rs. 88 lakh from the bank especially for the pooja and used 1.23Kg gold to decorate the pooja room.

Suryanarayana/Facebook

Anyway, his pleas and explanation are tone deaf; people are stating that at a time when Congress leaders are being raided relentlessly, how come people like Suryanarayana are kept away from the raids.

Suryanarayana further stated that he has gained all his earnings in the most humble ways and that he initially started as an auto driver. He also claims that this year he's paid over Rs. 13 lakh as taxes and maintains assets worth Rs. 15 crore.
Most of us have been coerced into believing that cops across the country are avaricious and perennially lazy, as a result, we've often jumped into 'bashing' debates without giving the situation a second thought.

wikimedia

But that's not entirely true.

Just last month a cop in Bengaluru stopped President's convoy to let an ambulance pass and a cop helped a pregnant woman deliver a healthy baby. If you're unaware of the aforementioned, we're sure that you'd know about Rekha Mishra - the cop who saved over 434 children runaway children in one year.

There's no dearth of talent of humanity in the cop business and just that has been proved by another one in the service fraternity.



A Facebook user, Mankan Bammi , shared his personal experience while he was driving by Delhi's Paschim Vihar. The user was stuck in the jam in front of Radisson hotel since it was raining heavily, which is when he noticed a cop helping everyone.

In his post, he urged everyone to mellow down on the cop-bashing and appreciate them for the good work they put out on daily basis.
Hyderabad police have arrested two people including a doctor after a 19-year-old engineering student died following an alleged illegal abortion at a private nursing home.

According to police, the girl had visited the Anusha Maternity Hospital and Nursing Home, Vanasthalipuram, on August 5 with her boyfriend, for an abortion in her seventh month of pregnancy.

The doctor, identified as Girija Rani, had charged Rs 20,000 for the procedure.

Babygaga/Representational Image

"She (the deceased) was administered a pill on admission, following which the foetus was aborted. The girl, however, experienced heavy bleeding and fell unconscious. Later the doctor asked her boyfriend to shift her to another hospital where she was declared brought dead," Vanasthalipuram police station sub inspector Dharavath Vijay said.

Representational Image

The girl was a second-year student of an engineering college in Ibrahimpatnam and was living at a private hostel at D N Reddy Nagar. She had met her photographer boyfriend at a function over a year ago and later entered into a relationship with him.

The girl's parents were unaware of her pregnancy or her admission to the hospital for an abortion.
With Indian and Chinese troops standing eyeball to eyeball at Doklam, a Sanskrit book being taught in several CBSE-affiliated schools in Madhya Pradesh is telling students that India won the 1962 war.

"What famously came to be known as Sino-India war of 1962 was won by India against China," this is the sweeping claim in the Sanskrit textbook 'Sukritika', volume-3, meant for class 8 students.

TOI

Published by the Lucknow-based, Kriti Prakashan Pvt Ltd, the book is written by five authors, including professor Umesh Prasad Rastogi and grammar expert Somdut Shukla, both of whom have passed away.

The three others include Madhu Singh, Lalita Sengar and Nisha Gupta. The bizarre misinformation appears in the eighth chapter, titled, 'Shri Jawaharlal Nehru'. Listing Nehru's achievements, it narrates how the first PM of India mobilised forces and morale after China invaded India. "During Jawaharlal Nehru's tenure as Prime Minister, China waged war against India in the year 1962. With efforts of Nehru, India defeated China," the book says. And thousands of schoolkids are growing up with this distortion of history. The 1962 War took India by surprise and although Indian soldiers often fought to the last man and last round, it was a Chinese victory.

BCCL/Representational Image

TOI tried repeatedly to contact the publishers but there was no answer. The three other authors couldn't be contacted. The head of Sanskrit department of Lucknow University, Ram Sumir Yadav, told TOI that Prof Rastogi passed away last year.

"I can't comment on what he has written in the book," he said. Teachers and parents are outraged by this misinformation in a school textbook. Madhya Pradesh Parents' Association secretary Prabodh Pandya said: "This is exactly what we have been fighting over for years but unfortunately our pleas fell on deaf ears. How much proof does government need to say no to books by private publishers? Isn't this blooper serious enough to make NCERT books mandatory?" said Pandya.
A massive inflatable chicken with 'Donald Trump hair' took passersby by surprise near the White House.

Meet, documentary filmmaker Taran Singh Brar, who was daring enough to release the Chicken Don as a form of 'visual protest'. "Trump is too chicken to release his tax returns, to stand up to Putin," he told the local media.

RT to thank Taran Singh Brar, mastermind of inflated #TrumpChicken

He says "Trump's too chicken to release tax returns & stand up to Putin" pic.twitter.com/tCOK0IfLZC  The Hummingbird (@SaysHummingbird) August 10, 2017

"The tallest thing they usually allow on the Ellipse is the national Christmas tree," he said. "They gave me a waiver for the 30-foot tall Chicken Don."

He released the giant chicken near the Washington Monument with due permission from the National Park Service and the Secret Service.

Twitter users quickly posted dozens of images of the irate-looking fowl with a golden pompadour seemingly glaring down at the White House from a nearby green space known as the Ellipse. The chicken even appeared clearly in the background of a major news networks live interview.

"We are out here to criticise our president for being weak and ineffective as a leader and being too afraid to release his tax returns, too afraid to stand up to Putin and now engaged in a game of chicken with Kim Jong Un," Mr Brar was quoted as saying by the Washington Examiner.

Wayment, who inflated a trump chicken behind the White House? pic.twitter.com/q6tb9Qh40v  TheShadeRoom (@TheShadeRoom) August 10, 2017

"Yet he wants a military parade in DC. It's all incongruous, and we are here to make fun of him for that," Mr Brar said.

The golden-orange hair and hand gestures in Trump's style is available for purchase on eBay for USD 1,500. Brar started an online fund raising campaign for this unique protest. "Hey everybody! We are raising money to bring Chicken Don to the White House. Help the Chicken cross the road... Pennsylvania Avenue," he wrote on his fund raising post
After years of ill-treatment that Nepalese women have gone through, the country's parliament finally took a call to criminalise the ancient practice of isolating them during their period.

Reuters

In the ancient custom known as chhaupadi, women are deemed to be impure and contaminated while menstruating. And so, they are are barred from touching, men, cattle and religious icons and made to live in small huts for five days.

The new law stipulates a three-month jail sentence or a 3,000 rupee fine ($30), or both, for anyone forcing a woman to follow the custom.

A woman during her menstruation or post-natal state should not kept in chhaupadi or treated with any kind of similar discrimination or untouchable and inhuman behaviour," reads the law, passed in an unanimous vote.

Reuters

Although the ritual has been illegal for a decade, women are still thrown out of their homes once a month, The precarious practice has compromised the life of many young women who live in dire conditions.

"Supreme court ruled against chhaupadi 12 years ago, but it was not effective because it issued just guidelines. But it also directed that in case the guidelines were ineffective, there should have been a law passed against chhaupadi, so that's what happened now." said Mohna Ansari, a member of national human rights commission to Al Jazeera

Reuters

Legislation is currently pending in parliament that would criminalise this menstruation ritual and will only come into effect in a year's time.

Last month a teenage girl died after being bitten by a snake while sleeping in a chhau goth. Two other women died in late 2016 in separate incidents while also following the ritual -- one of smoke inhalation after she lit a fire for warmth, while the other death was unexplained.
Amazon is looking to hire over 1,000 people, mostly software professionals, in India. The hires will cater largely to research and development for the company's divisions, including Amazon.com, Amazon.in, the devices business, and the cloud-computing division, Amazon Web Services (AWS).

AFP/Representational Image

The hiring was limited only by the availability of talent in the required technologies, and it was looking to hire as many as possible.

Amazon's website lists 1,245 open positions in India on its careers page as of Wednesday evening. It has around 50,000 people on its rolls in the country. India is currently the second largest workforce centre for Amazon after the US. Globally, it has 3.41 lakh employees.

"The numbers are mind boggling. We're looking at a fully functional tech organisation in India and are hiring varied skills across several job families. India is a big focus area for talent," Dale Vaz, director of software development at Amazon India, said.

Reuters

It is looking for talent in tech nology spheres like research scientists, data analytics, natural language processing, artificial intelligence machine learning and Android developers. AWS is looking to hire 195 people in India. Among the open positions, 557 are in Bengaluru, 403 in Hyderabad and 149 in Chennai. "We process a lot of data and are always looking for data-processing and profiling engineers," Dale Vaz said.

The Bengaluru centre is the largest for Amazon in India. The Chennai centre focuses on devices like Kindle and Fire. The recruitment number for Bengaluru alone is higher than for any other centre outside of the US, including London, Luxembourg (where the global CTO of consumer business sits), Dublin, Berlin and Tokyo.

BCCL/Representational Image

Terry Hanold, vice-president of international consumer technology in Amazon, said the talent and excitement he saw in India was similar to that in Silicon Valley 20-30 years ago.

While app development is a focus globally, India, a mo bile-first market, focuses more on mobile and app. "We are always looking for Android app developers who can solve India-specific problems like the fragmentation of the An droid universe with smaller capacity handsets and the poor connectivity and speed in India. We've seen the India team reinventing the Amazon app experience," Vaz said.
An earthquake hit Jiuzhaigou County in Sichuan Province at 9:19 p.m. Tuesday at a depth of 20 kilometers, according to China Earthquake Networks Center. All 47,000 tourists have been safely relocated in less than 24 hours after the quake, local news site scol.com.cn.
A 49-year-old man, Akinola Olumide, has been arraigned before an Ikeja Magistrates Court for allegedly collecting N9m from some intending travellers under the pretext of procuring visas for them.

Olumide was arraigned before a magistrate, Mrs. O.A. Olayinka, on 14 counts bordering on theft.

The police prosecutor, Sergeant Donjor Perezi, said the defendant committed the offence between December 2015 and December 2016 at several places, including the Ijaiye, Alagbado, Idimu and Ipaja areas of Lagos State.

He said Olumide collected money from the victims, telling them he could procure visas to North Cyprus and Macedonia for them. He was alleged to have fled with the money.

Perezi said the offences were punishable under sections 409, 317, 288, 285 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2011.

The charges read in part, That you, Akinola Olumide, and others at large, in the Lagos Magisterial District, did fraudulently obtain the sum of N2,659,000 from one Adebayo Benjamin, under the false pretences of procuring a North Cyrus travelling visa, a representation you knew to be false.

Olumide pleaded not guilty to the charges and was granted bail in the sum of N1.5m, with two sureties each in like sum.

The case was adjourned till October 2, 2017.

Source: ( Punch Newspaper )
The opposition of the African National Congress (ANC) party in South Africa, the Democratic Alliance (DA) on Wednesday called for the dissolution of the South African parliament and a national election to be held, one day after its no-confidence motion in President Jacob Zuma was defeated.

The leader of the opposition party, Mmusi Maimane said the party would bring the motion to dissolve parliament to the assembly on Thursday and request that it be debated as soon as possible.

Zuma, who has been dogged by accusations of corruption and mismanaging the economy, survived an attempt in parliament to force him from office on Tuesday.

He was left politically wounded after some members of his ruling African National Congress (ANC) party voted with the opposition.

Maimane told a news conference in Cape Town that the result showed the ANC was divided and the country needed a new beginning.

The ANC may have won in the no-confidence motion in parliament yesterday, but it has lost the confidence of the country, Maimane said.

We believe the voters should now have the chance to express their opinion about the conduct of the ANC in defending Jacob Zuma.

In short, we believe that parliament should be dissolved now so that the country can hold an early election.

Zumas term as South Africas president is due to run until 2019, when an election is scheduled.

It was not clear whether the motion would be allowed and parliamentary officials could not be reached for comment.

Wednesday is a public holiday in South Africa and government offices and financial markets were closed.

Zuma, who has held power since 2009, has now survived nine no-confidence votes despite a record in office marred by allegations of sleaze and influence-peddling.

He hailed his win as a victory for the ANC.

Source: ( PM News )
US Defence Secretary, Jim Mattis , has sent warnings to North Korea to avoid actions that could lead to the end of its regime and the destruction of its people.

The Pentagon chief also said Pyongyang would be grossly overmatched in a war against the US and its allies.

His stark warning comes a day after President Donald Trump threatened North Korea with fire and fury.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson sought to assure Americans there was no imminent threat.

In Wednesdays strongly worded statement, Mr Mattis called on Pyongyang to halt its arms programme.

The DPRK (Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea) must choose to stop isolating itself and stand down its pursuit of nuclear weapons, the US Marine Corps general said.

While our state department is making every effort to resolve this global threat through diplomatic means, it must be noted that the combined allied militaries now possess the most precise, rehearsed and robust defensive and offensive capabilities on Earth.

Pyongyangs actions will continue to be grossly overmatched by ours and would lose any arms race or conflict it initiates, Mr Mattis added.

Mr Trump  who has said he will not allow Pyongyang to develop a nuclear weapon capable of hitting the US  boasted earlier on Wednesday of Americas atomic arsenal.

In early morning tweets from New Jersey where he is on holiday, the president said the US nuclear stockpile was more powerful than ever before.

He added that he was hopeful we will never have to use this power

The tweets come amid escalating rhetoric between the two sides.

North Koreas state-run KCNA news agency said on Wednesday that Pyongyang was carefully examining a plan to strike the US territory of Guam.

The Pacific island is home to US military bases, strategic bombers and about 163,000 people.

Stopping in Guam to refuel after a trip to South East Asia, Mr Tillerson said he was hopeful a global pressure campaign involving Russia and China could lead to new dialogue with Pyongyang about a different future.

Americas top diplomat also defended President Trumps language.

He said North Korean leader Kim Jong-un did not understand diplomatic language, and a strong message was needed that he could understand.

Mr Tillerson added the situation had not dramatically changed over the last few days, and that Americans should sleep well at night.

China has urged calm, describing the situation as complex and sensitive.

Source: ( BBC )
Libya have deported 540 Nigerians , beginning from Aug. 10,according to Mrs. Julie Okah-Donli, Director-General, National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP).

This was disclosed on Wednesday in Osogbo, at the inauguration of the North-West Zonal Command Office of the agency.

She said that the deportees would be brought back to Nigeria in three batches of 180 each.

The NAPTIP boss said that more than 2000 Nigerians were deported from various part of the world from February till date, over various migration offences, including human trafficking.

Okah-Doni disclosed that the agency had rescued and supported more than 12,000 victims of human trafficking, and also secured 325 convictions since its inception in 2003.

She decried the rising trend of deportation of Nigerians from different parts of the world, especially in Africa, and described the situation as frightening.

Such massive deportations are not good for us as a people. Government at all levels must take steps to halt it by initiating measures that will reduce the vulnerability of our people to being trafficked.

We must also strive to enlighten our people to resist the temptation to leave the country at all cost, she said.

Okah-Donli, who described human trafficking as a modern day slavery, urged stern measures to end it.

She reaffirmed NAPTIPs commitment to implementing the Trafficking in Persons(Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act of 2015, and declared that there would be no sacred cows.

Okah-Donli identified Osun, Ekiti and Ondo among the endemic states in trafficking in persons in Nigeria, saying that all hands must be on deck to change the trend.

Nigeria is a source, transit and destination country. Women and young girls are recruited for sexual and labour exploitation in parts of Europe, the Middle East and even within the African continent.

This calls for concerted action by all as Nigerians cannot make meaningful progress in its human capital development index, with a sustained depletion of her young and brightest stars.

Gov. Rauf Aregbesola, who was represented by his Special Adviser on Security Matters, Mr Tope Adejumo, promised that the state government would collaborate with the agency to minimise human trafficking.

In his remarks, a former governor of the state, Mr Olagunsoye Oyinlola, who is also the royal ambassador of the agency, said that he was ready to support the agency in its war against human trafficking.

Oyinlola urged the agency to take the campaign against human trafficking to the grassroots, using the native language as a means of communication.

Source: ( PM News )
A man identified as Hambali Musa, has been remanded in prison by a Jos Upper Area Court sitting in Kasuwan Nama, Jos North Local Government Area, for allegedly raping a two-year-old girl.

The presiding judge, Suleiman Lawal, denied the accused bail, contending that the offence of rape was not bailable

The Prosecutor, Sgt. Ibrahim Gukwat told the court that one Aminu Musa reported the case on July 3, at Nassarawa Police Station.

Gukwat said Musa, of Dulla Jos, reported that on June 29, his wife Layuza Lukman, informed him that the little girl jerked and cried endlessly when she tried to wash her private part.

The prosecutor said when the toddler was asked what the cause of her pains was, she mentioned the name of the accused as the one who had carnal knowledge of her.

The prosecutor said the offence contravened Section 283 of the Penal Code.

The accused, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge, and his prayer for bail was turned down by the court.

The case has been adjourned till Aug.21 for mention.

Source: ( PM News )
Stakeholders are preparing for the 10th anniversary of the death of author of This is Our Chance, James Ene Henshaw, AKEEM LASISI writes

Ten years after the death of celebrated playwright, James Ene Henshaw, his works have continued to enjoy a peculiar status in the history of modern literature in Nigeria. While many people still acknowledge the impact of This is Our Chance, which is Henshaws one of the most popular plays, more children are also discovering the work because it is finding its way back to schools and the stage.

Critics and other lovers of Henshaws books have also continued to pay attention to it. Some of these responses are complementing efforts of the James Ene Henshaw Foundation, where his son, James Ene Henshaw Jnr, plays a prominent role. When the 10th anniversary of his passage will, thus, be observed in Calabar on August 16, there will be a lot for lovers of the stage and African culture to savour.

Henshaw was a prolific writer who carved a niche for himself especially in playwriting. Some of his other notable works include Medicine for Love; Children of the Goddess, Dinner for Promotion, Enough is Enough; and A Song to Mary Charles.

Although he ceased to be published after Enough Is Enough was released in 1976, he still wrote prodigiously, writing for pleasure as he called it. As a result, Henshaw Jnr says, he left a significant body of unpublished work mostly for young people and children. He hopes that these will see the light of day in due course.

One thing for which Henshaw will be remembered is the fact that his was the first attempt to be regarded as an authentic African drama written and performed by African people. As Henshaw himself recounted about This is Our Chance, he had set out, consciously, to write plays whose scenes take place in surroundings not far removed from Africa, and hence familiar with the ordinary African. In an excerpt from one of his compilations, he said, These plays, I hope, will be of interest to the general public and may help in a small way to give the true impression that various West African communities have many problems, feelings and interests in common.

A critic, Andrew Arikpo, recently in an article put this in perspective when he wrote, Henshaws dramatic philosophy contributed greatly to his popularity. His subject matter, which deals directly with African culture and traditions, focuses on major issues familiar to both his African and Western audience. For this reason, Henshaw prefaces most of his plays, in the manner George Bernard Shaw does, with elaborate introductions that discuss thematic concerns and other ancillary matters connected with the works. Thus, both the foreign and African producers/readers are helped to see the proper perspectives from which the works are to be approached, studied, analysed and evaluated.

Some have, however, argued that Henshaws plays are not as deep and stylistically ambitious as those of, say, Wole Soyinka and J. P. Clark. But another literary scholar, Dr. Emmanuel Babatunde, seeks to absolve Henshaw of stylistic laziness. In an academic paper, he notes that his first two volumes  This is Our Chance and Children of the Goddess  are remarkable for their folk-tale-like straightforwardness and simplicity.

Henshaw has in fact modified some popular African tales in plays like This is Our Chance, The Jewels of the Shrine and Magic in the Blood. All he has done is to transplant them (just as any brilliant traditional story-teller does) into fairly contemporary times so that they have relevance to communities undergoing changes as a result of their contact with foreigners and foreign ways of life. In each case, Henshaw brings in some elements of modernism so that the moral of the play is applicable to a developing community faced with the problem of the choice of a way of life. Henshaw has a moralistic intention in these plays, he notes.

James Henshaw Jnr still has a fond memory of the play-wright. According to him, he was a quiet and unassuming man who guarded his privacy very much.

He says, He was also a deeply religious man and an absolutely devoted husband and father. In reflection, as an adult now, being aware of the demands being a writer can put on a person  the intense single-mindedness and dedication required  I cant help feeling that he may have sacrificed an even greater literary career for the wellbeing of his family. This says a lot about the man.

He adds that the deceased never isolated his writing from his family life. It was usual to find pieces of his writing strewn around the house.

In the mid-1970s, when Henshaw retired from medical practice, he led a quiet life in his home town, Calabar, playing the role of an esteemed senior citizen. His typical daily routine involved spending the early part of the day in his library writing. In the afternoon a continuous stream of relatives, friends, representatives of various organisations, and students from both local and foreign universities, would beat a path to the door for intellectual and humorous discourse.

The James Ene Henshaw Foundation was set up in December 2013, to maintain and promote his literary legacy. The idea for the not-for-profit initiative stemmed from the playwrights own concern and desire for the literary works that reflect the experiences of African audiences, as well as encourage the appreciation and participation of young people in the dramatic arts.

The mission of the foundation is to enhance young lives through creativity and skill development. In furtherance of this vision, it works to inspire people who do not normally engage with the arts to become active participants. It also promotes emerging African writers and supports projects where young people can engage in creative activities. The foundation will play a major role in the 10th anniversary programme.

Meanwhile, the writers son says Henshaw is survived by his wife Caroline, eight children and 17 grandchildren.

Source: Punch
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission ( EFCC ) linked the offence to a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke.

The Commission who wanted the money forfeited to the Federal government told Justice Chuka Obiozor via an ex parte application that the N7.6bn was part of a sum of $153,310,000 which Diezani allegedly siphoned from the coffers of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation sometime in 2014.

The EFCC also alleged that Mrs. Alison-Madueke stashed the money in three banks, and the Federal Government had since February last year, through an order granted by another judge, Justice Muslim Hassan also of the Federal High Court, recovered part of the money from the other banks.

The anti-graft agency recalled that the Federal Government had recovered N23.4bn, $5m and another N9.08bn out of the $153.3m.

It urged the court to order Sterling Bank to deliver up to the Federal Government the N7.6bn still in its custody.

Justice Obiozor granted the order and directed the commission to cause it to be published.

He then adjourned till August 28, 2017, for the bank and any other interested party to appear before him to show to know why the funds should not be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.

Source: ( Channels Television )
According to the Head of Operations at the zonal office, Mr Ibrahim Bappa, the sum is made up of N221,336,884.06 and $17,600 (about N6.4m) recovered from various persons under investigation by the commission.

Mr Bappa, who disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday, added that the anti-graft agency also screened 865 suspects arrested within the period from the 220 petitions it received.

He noted that 130 petitions have been referred for investigation and 10 cases currently under prosecution in courts while the remaining 80 petitions have been referred to sister agencies for further investigation.

The EFCC official said that there is a high degree of hope for the Commission to prosecute financial crimes, judging by the cooperation of the judiciary in Kaduna State in giving speedy trials to its cases.

He revealed that interim forfeiture orders have been obtained from the court in respect of some of the assets which he alleged were illegally acquired by some individuals, while the N49m recovered at the Kaduna International Airport has also been temporarily forfeited to the Federal Government.

Bappa further urged members of the public to be wary of fake Facebook accounts of the Acting Chairman of the EFCC, Mr Ibrahim Magu, which said was fraudulently designed to dupe unsuspecting victims.

Nigerians are further advised to be suspicious of business proposals with quick and high-profit returns, as it may be bait by fraudsters to swindle them of their hard earned assets, he said.

The Commission also asked all financial institutions to ensure strict compliance with the Know Your Customer requirement  a condition under the Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2011  before opening accounts both for individual and corporate bodies.
The Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG), in charge of Zone 5, with headquarters in Benin, Mr Abubakar Mohammed, on Wednesday presented 10 cheques worth N12.8 million to families of 10 deceased officers.

In a statement issued by, Mr Emeka Iheanacho, the Zones Police Public Relations Officer, said that the money was from the Nigeria Police Group Life Assurance Claim Settlement Scheme.

It said that the gesture was to assist the survivors of the heroes, who paid the supreme price by sacrificing their lives for Nigeria.

The statement quoted Mohammed as condoling the beneficiaries on the demise of their husbands, noting that no amount of money was enough to replace their bread winners.

It further quoted the AIG as reaffirming the Forces commitment to the welfare of its officers and men, in the efforts to encourage them to put in their best toward ridding Nigeria of criminals.

The statement indicated that seven beneficiaries from Edo Command received N7,694,769 million, while three from Delta Command received N5,107,210 million.

Source: ( PM News )
A One-day training was organised by the Kogi Government on Wednesday for its forestry officers, guards and contractors on forestry tariff and tree planting in the lead up to the re-opening of its forests.

The government had placed a ban on forestry activities in the state on March 17, 2016, so as to enable the government to have total control of its forests.

In her address, the Commissioner for the Environment and Natural Resources, Mrs Rosemary Osikoya, said that the training was aimed at preparing all the stakeholders to come on board.

She said that all those coming on board would go through the process basically to ensure the enforcement of laws that were enacted to protect the forest resources.

For the forests to be re-opened; there are certain preconditions that must be met in ensuring internal security for effective forest utilisation, management, conservation and sustainable development.

Climate change is aAlthough we are generating revenue for the government, our first interest is for the people of Kogi to have an environment that is safe, healthy and of benefit to everybody.

s a result of too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere because of massive deforestation in our environment, which has a direct correlation between the health and wellbeing of the people.

Today, we are here to educate ourselves as saw millers, timber contractors, forest officers and other stakeholders on those things we must do as our respective functions and keep them, she said.

Besides, the commissioner said that Kogi had about 194 massive erosion sites by over 50 per-cent assessment, especially in the eastern parts of the state.

Osikoya also said that the state government had earmarked 20 hectares of land for 2017 tree planting, saying that Gov. Yahaya Bello would inaugurate the tree planting and formally re-open the forests on Thursday, Aug. 10.

She noted that the Bureau of Public Private Partnership (BPPP) had managed the process for selecting the timber contractors in a very transparent way, adding the training was held to educate them on their scheduled functions.

She thanked Gov. Bello for his commitment and dedication in ensuring that Kogi adopted a good approach to the safety of the environment.

Mr Julius Abu, Assistant Director, Extension, Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria (FRIN), told NAN that the training was meant to expose the states forest officers and timber contractors to the states new tariff on forestry produce.

He said the tariff reflected the new sale prices of forestry produce which the state government had just launched because the old ones had been overtaken by events.

We have come up with a new tariff which will now guide the sales of forestry produce as soon as the forests are reopened.

The Revenue Office will collect the money but the forest officers and guards are the managers of the forests.

We are also here to put the forest officers and guards through on what they should know and the instruments they should use in measuring trees and log volume for prospective buyers.

The state is going into real afforestation projects right from this year and for the state to effectively plant trees and manage forests, it must have competent forestry managers, he said.

Abu urged the citizens and other stakeholders to support the implementation of the new forestry tariff and other environmental programmes for the benefit of the people.

Mr Yakubu Ocholi, a Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the Governor on Emergency Management, commended the governor for his efforts to make the environment people-friendly.

He also lauded Bello for ensuring that the states forest resources were well-preserved and effectively utilised for the benefit of the citizens.

Ocholi advised the forest guards to give quality service delivery, while refraining from taking laws into their own hands.

Source:( PM News )
The activities at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, has appeared to be normal in spite of the two recorded deaths and over 100 people under surveillance for Lassa Fever.

News correspondents who visited the hospital report that from the gate, people were seen entering the institution unperturbed.

Patients were also being attended to by doctors and nurses at the Accident and Emergency Unit; hospital cleaners were also seen with masks and gloves cleaning the hospital wards and environment.

However, people were not allowed to enter or move close to the Isolation Centre where over 100 people are still under surveillance.

Some of the hospital staff who spoke anonymously to the correspondents said they were scared of treating patients because they did not want to be the next victims.

According to them, some of the 100 people who are under surveillance are still moving around and working in the hospital.

Most of us, especially those in the laboratories, work with limited equipment and instruments without appropriate safety measures in place.

Everybody needs to be very careful because a lot of people came in contact with those two people that died and those that treated them, a health work disclosed.

The Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) also confirmed that one of their members had tested positive for Lassa Fever.

The President of ARD, LUTH, Dr Adebayo Sekunmade, said that the management of the hospital was managing the situation.

Some resident doctors volunteered to treat those 100 people under surveillance but we want the management to handle the situation more carefully.

The volunteer resident doctors and nurses should not come to the general wards or move around the premises.

They should be appropriately monitored and also protected so as prevent further casualties, Sekunmade said.

Two different people who brought their relatives for treatment at the Accident and Emergency units also spoke to NAN.

Mr Kunle Adeoye said that his sister was transferred from a private hospital to LUTH for treatment.

According to him, he is not aware that there is Lassa fever outbreak alert and does not also know how to guard against it.

I am not aware of the Lassa fever outbreak; I dont even know how to prevent getting it, I am so concerned about my sisters treatment.

I believe the management will handle the situation to avoid further spread of the disease, Adeoye said.

However, Mr Seun Aina said he heard about the Lassa fever from his sibling and asked that their father, who is in LUTH for treatment, should be treated well without further complications.

My father is suffering from stroke, he said. I am scared but I seriously have faith in God that my father will not be infected with the Lassa fever.

Reacting, Dr Omojowolo Olubunmi, Consultant Neurologist and NMA Lagos Chairman, said: LUTH has treated two patients for Lassa fever in the past one week and they both died within few days of admission.

Each of the two patients presented very late and died in spite of efforts to salvage them.

The first was a 32-year old pregnant lady with bleeding disorder who died after a stillbirth; post-mortem examination had been conducted before her Lassa fever status was eventually suspected and confirmed.

No less than 100 different hospital workers exposed to this index case are currently being monitored.

A resident doctor from the Department of Anatomic and Molecular Pathology, who took part in the autopsy was later confirmed with the disease and is currently on admission and responding well to treatment at the Isolation Ward of LUTH.

Omojowolo said that Prof Chris Bode, the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of LUTH, had visited the Isolation Centre on Tuesday in the company of his top management staff.

He added that the CMD spoke with the doctors and staff to boost morale and assure them of the hospitals support.

He had enjoined all LUTH workers to maintain a heightened level of alert in the wake of this new outbreak and observe universal precautions in handling all suspected cases of this viral hemorrhagic fever.

LUTH has always worked closely with officials of the Lagos State Ministry of Health in handling a number of diseases of public importance such as rabies, cholera, Lassa fever and the recent spate of diarrhoeal disease at the Queens College.

Both the Lagos State Ministry of Health and the Federal Ministry of Health have responded swiftly to contain this present Lassa fever outbreak, he said.

According to the NMA President, they agencies have mobilised human and material resources to trace the sources and extent of the disease, follow up on potential contacts, identify early and test suspected cases.

There are adequate materials for containment of the disease while drugs have been made available to treat anyone confirmed with the disease.

The Centre for Disease Control (CDC) in Nigeria has also been contacted.

Two other suspected cases from Lagos State are also presently admitted and quarantined while undergoing confirmatory laboratory tests.

Omojowolo described Lassa fever as an acute febrile illness with bleeding and death in severe cases, caused by the Lassa fever virus which has an incubation period of 6 to 21 days.

The virus, a member of the virus family Arenaviridae is zoonotic or animal-borne.

About 80 per cent of human infections are without symptoms; the remaining cases have severe multiple organ diseases, where the virus affects several organs in the body such as the liver, spleen and kidneys.

Lassa fever virus host is the multi-mammate rat called Mastomys natalensis which has many breasts and lives in the bush and around residential areas.

On the mode of transmission, he said: The virus is shed in the urine and droppings of the rats, hence can be transmitted through direct contact, touching objects or eating food contaminated with these materials or through cuts or sores.

Its transmission also occurs in health facilities where infection prevention and control practices are not observed.

Person to person transmission also occurs, especially when a person comes in contact with the virus in the blood tissue, secretions or excrements of an infected individual.

The onset of the disease is usually gradual, starting with fever, general weakness, muscle and joint pains, prostration and malaise.

After a few days, headache, sore throat, muscle pain, chest pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, cough and abdominal pain may follow, he told NAN.

In severe cases, facial swelling, fluid in the lung cavity, bleeding from the mouth, nose, vagina or gastrointestinal tract and low blood pressure may develop; shock, seizures, tremor, disorientation and coma and death may be seen in the later stages.

In case of any suspected case of Lassa fever, notify the response team in LUTH on 08058019466, 08058744780, 07035521015 and 08023299445, Omojowolo said.

Source: ( NAN )
The Nigeria Air Force has raided the highly dreaded Sambisa forest to deal heavy blows on the dreaded Boko Haram sect.

Nigerian Air Force

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) on Tuesday raided Boko Haram hideouts in Sambisa forest and killed several insurgents, The Nation reports.

A statement issued by NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Olatokunbo Adesanya, said few terrorists were seen evacuating the remains of dead Boko Haram fighters after the strikes.

The NAF statement which was supported with a video footage reads: In furtherance of operations to completely defeat the Boko Haram Terrorists (BHT) Organization, on August 7, 2017, the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Component of Operation Lafiya Dole conducted an Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) mission over Parisu, in the Sambisa general area.

During the ISR mission, a large group of Boko Haram Terrorists (BHTs) was seen converging under a tree close to a prominent zinc-roofed structure. Part of the structure was concealed by the foliage of a tree, making it a seemingly unobtrusive gathering point for the terrorists.

A confirmatory ISR mission indicated that the structure was indeed a BHT hideout, housing a large number of terrorists. Accordingly, on August 8, 2017, the Air Component detailed fighter aircraft to strike the target in succession.

Following the first and second strikes, the building was completely destroyed and the location was strafed during the third attack. The fourth attack was re-directed to a close by building, where BHT activity was also noticed.

Subsequent Battle Damage Assessment revealed that the BHT hideout was completely reduced to rubble and several BHTs were killed while a few of them were seen evacuating the casualties.
The Nigerian Army said that it killed six terrorists in Dikwa Local Government Area of Borno during an operation to dislodge the remnant of Boko Haram insurgents in the state.

Brig. Gen. Sani Usman, the Director, Army Public Relations, in a statement in Maiduguri on Wednesday, disclosed that the insurgents were killed on Monday

Troops of 22 Brigade Dikwa under 7 Division of Operation LAFIA DOLE in conjunction with Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), ambushed suspected Boko Haram terrorists between Bulabirin and Mongole villages in the area.

During the encounter, the troops neutralised six terrorists, while several others sustained various degrees of injuries, it revealed.

Kukasheka explained that the troops recovered six bicycles, three dane guns and one machete from the insurgents.

He reiterated the commitment of the Nigerian Army to sustain the tempo and clear unrepentant Boko Haram insurgents from the shores of Nigeria.

In the same vien, the Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen. Tukur Buratai has ordered troops of the Operation Lafia Dole to be more professional and responsible to reduce casualties during their operations.

He gave the directives while. at military formations in Wollari and Bama in Borno state. Defence correspondent Ismail Musa reports that visit is in line with the recent presidential renewed directives to the Military to swiftly eradicate the insurgents.

Source:( PM News )
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Navy, Senator Isah Hamma Misau (APC, Bauchi) said police officers pay as much as N2.5million to get special promotion through the Police Service Commission (PSC).

Misau, a retired police officer told DailyTrust when contacted on the bribery scandal allegedly rocking the PSC.

A source had told our correspondent that police officers pay as much as N500,000 to benefit from the special promotion being coordinated by the PSC and office of the Inspector General of Police.

The source said: Officers pay as much as N500,000 to get promoted. It is only those that pay the money and those who are close to the top echelon of the police and politicians that are benefitting from the special promotion. Special promotion, which is supposed to be reward for gallantry and outstanding performance, has turned to cash and carry. Otherwise, why is that officers who are serving in the Northeast have not benefitted? Why is that all those who have benefitted are those manning juicy posts and close to politician? he said. But when contacted to speak on it, Misau said: You are talking about N500, 000, its beyond that. A serving police officer aware of the trend has told me that they pay as much as N2.5 million to get special promotion. Other sources have also confirmed to me. So it is nothing but fact.

Misau who is member of the anti-corruption committee of the Senate said he would discuss the issue with the leadership of the Senate, when they resume from annual recess next month.

We cannot just fold our hands and allow this to continue. The special promotion should be reversed as it was done during the time of Nuhu Ribadu. Unless this is done the lives of Nigerians would no longer be secured. The special promotion is highly compromised, he said.

He added that: Corruption is not only associated with money, it has many forms and money for promotion is part of it. We have to urgently address this because the consequence is what we are witness today.

Our correspondent reports that in 2008, a former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Malam Nuhu Ribadu and 138 others were demoted over special promotion scandal.

Also speaking, a serving police officer (name withheld) said the trend has negatively affected performance and morale, saying bribe for promotion was one of the reasons the country was recording increase in cases of crime.

Im tired of the bribe for promotion. Junior officers are being promoted and deployed to strategic locations. I swear if I have capital I wouldve resigned from the force, he said.

At the weekend, some lawyers and activists under the aegis of United Global Resolve for Peace (UGRFP), urged Acting President Yemi Osinbajo to look into the favouritism and exclusion in the ongoing promotion in the police.

Meanwhile, the Police Service Commission (PSC) has denied a report that its officials are in the habit of collecting bribes from police officers to facilitate their promotion.

When contacted the spokesman of the Commission Ikechukwu Ani said, It is not true. The Commission has not and will never collect bribes for promotion.

The IGP sends recommendations and the Commission considers the promotion and takes a decision. (DailyTrust)
The Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, who spoke in Umahia yesterday has disclosed that he is not afraid of getting re-arrested by the Federal government.

He revealed that his rearrest would also quicken the actualization of the Republic of Biafra dream and asked why will I be re-arrested and nobody is going to arrest Tanko Yakassai or Ango Abdulahi because of what they have been saying?

He said:

If you arrest me, Biafra will come even quicker than we anticipate. I am not afraid of being arrested. I have been there before and if need be, I will also be there again. I will be very happy if they re-arrest me. If we are hoping for 90% compliance with the boycott of Anambra State Governorship election, my arrest will make the compliance 100%.

but why will I be re-arrested and nobody is going to arrest Tanko Yakassai or Ango Abdulahi because of what they have been saying? Is it because they are Fulani? They own Nigeria? They are immuned to arrest? Is arrest only meant for Biafrans and not for Fulani? Who will arrest Lawal Daura of DSS for flouting court order to release Bright Chimezie Isinwa of IPOB? The Fulanis say whatever they like and go free and nobody holds them accountable because they own Nigeria.

I go to anywhere I want to go. I dont listen to threats. They motivate me rather than dampen my spirit. That thing people say I cannot do is what I love to do. When the time comes, I will go to Lagos if I have to go to Lagos. I have friends with connections in Lagos, Fani Kayode is my friend and he is in Lagos. If I try to visit him in Yoruba land, then I must see him in Lagos.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has, told Nigerians for the umpteenth time, that the Corporation is not recruiting into any of its department for now.

The latest clarification is coming on the heels of a fresh recruitment advert purportedly from the Corporation being circulated by e-mails and on various social media platforms.

A statement by the Corporations spokesman, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, disclosed that the advert which is on a fake letterhead complete with NNPC logo is purportedly signed by the Group Managing Director, Dr. Maikanti Baru, and the Chief Operating Officer, Refineries, Mr. Anibor Kragha, and directs unsuspecting applicants to send their applications to a fake e-mail address: [email protected]

Shedding more light on the scam, Mr. Ughamadu said another form of the scam involved text messages, e-mails, and letters inviting gullible job seekers for fake job interviews at the NNPC Towers and other locations across the country with a view to extorting money from them.

He called on members of the public, especially applicants, to discountenance any of such adverts or spurious invitations for job interviews as the Corporation was currently not recruiting, stressing that anyone who entertains such invitations does so at his or her own risk.

Mr. Ughamadu advised that anyone contacted for the purpose of the fake recruitment should not hesitate to report such invitations to relevant law enforcement agencies, adding that the Corporation would continue to engage security agencies on the scam.

He said NNPC Management under the leadership of Dr. Maikanti Baru would sustain the prevailing culture of transparency and accountability which has witnessed the conduct of open public bidding in sourcing for contractors and suppliers of goods and services for its day-to-day operations, including recruitment exercises, stressing that NNPC will advertise all vacant positions in national newspapers whenever it was ready to recruit.
Talented Abuja based Nollywood actor, Olayemi Bakare has advised Nigerians to churn the habits of discrediting the efforts of local and indigenous producers, as they are really doing their best despite the challenges in the country, adding that they still give the nation world class productions despite these challenges.

Speaking during an interview, the prolific actor stated that many Nigerians use the word local to depict something inferior meanwhile, something being produced locally only means that it is being produced internally and not low quality.

Speaking further,Bakare said that many local movies and other products are far better than some of their foreign counterparts but we usually dont see the good things about the local ones because we have our mindsets fixed on foreign goods only.

Without meaning to discredit our foreign colleagues and i must admit they are far ahead for obvious reasons, but I personally have seen some really poor quality Hollywood movies on M-Net Zone. These movies have terrible mistakes which even some of the low budget films in Nollywood can never make. You, see not everything that is foreign that is faultless. There are many items imported from abroad that are really nothing to write home about when placed side by side with homemade products. Nobody is perfect. We are all humans and constantly striving towards improving, Olayemi Bakare says.

The actor harped it that the government has been trying its best to develop the local industry while they have never ceased to encourage Nigerians to buy Nigeria to grow Nigeria, according to him, all hands must however be on deck to ensure this vision becomes a reality.

Nigerians are are the backbones we need to become like Hollywood. If Nigerians support us as much as they support foreign movies, we will be competing favourably with Hollywood. Nigerian support is just so powerful and we know this. We really need it and that is why we have been striving to please Nigerians with the movies we are producing nowadays all in spite of the general economic challenges every Nigerian entrepreneur is facing. Most of the Nollywood movies in the Cinemas right now are 100 percent Hollywood standard, but majority of Nigerians will not know about them because they dont go to watch movies at the Cinemas. So please go to the Cinemas every now and then and see the efforts we ave made

Source: News Every Hour
Young couple Austin Wesson and Rebekah Bouma from Kansas, have been killed in a car crash just a day after vowing to spend the rest of their lives together.

The couple who fell in love at a Christian mission trip to South Africa six months ago, got married on Friday, though their joy turned to tragedy only hours later.

According to Daily News the new lovebirds Ford F-150 left a road south of Wichita and smashed into a tree.

Wesson was pronounced dead at the scene of the rural road, with Bouma surviving at a local hospital until Monday morning.

Sedgwick Countys Lt. Lin Dehning said that investigators are looking at reasons Wesson could have lost control of his pickup truck, including possible mechanical problems with the vehicle.

He said it is not known how long the pair had been on the side of the road before another driver found and reported the crash.
Copper Nears Important Area Taurus Trading LLC - Sat Nov 12, 11:33AM CST Watch price action between 3.9615 and 4.1167.

Elections, inflation and crop reports bring volatility Sidwell Strategies - Sat Nov 12, 11:28AM CST Black Sea Corridor Renewal ahead

Americans Are Saving Less. Heres How to Save More. Young & The Invested - Sat Nov 12, 6:00AM CST Several recent data studies show that Americans, after saving heavily during the pandemic, are starting to pull money from those savings. We discuss how to maintain healthy savings habits.

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%)
The relationship strength developed over the years between China and Africa has sent a clear message that the West has stopped being Africas only option when it comes to aid and development.

China's "no-strings attached" development assistance and promises of growth has caused a good number of African countries becoming increasingly drawn to these realities.

Two female engine drivers gesture before the operations of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) in Mombasa, Kenya, on May 31, 2017. Kenya began operations on the Chinese-built Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) Wednesday. (Xinhua/Sun Ruibo)

Protecting investors is amongst key important elements of a flourishing market economy or financial investment institution. This is mainly because investors are important to the financial markets, and so therefore it is very important to protect their interests.

Investors protection involves various measures established to protect them so as to safeguard them from malpractices, bad laws and other forms of insecurities, etc.

Investors protection requires investors to be fully informed about available market opportunities, conditions, challenges, their purchases, transactions, affairs of the company that they have invested in and the like.

These are most (if not all) of the opportunities good Chinese investors have been yearning for in Africa over the years after they have succeeded in pumping billions of US dollars to revitalize the battered African economy.

The so-called colonial masters in the West have not helped Africa that much, this has resulted in most African countries turning to China, not for recolonization as alleged, but to create a better partnership to increase trade and investments, enhance socio-cultural and economic advancement and for the overall aim of bettering the lives of people.

Chinas Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, said in a 2015 tour of Kenya that "China absolutely will not take the old path of Western colonists, and we absolutely will not sacrifice Africa's ecological environment and long-term interests."

Chinese President Xi Jinping is always assuring that China aims to develop infrastructure, improve agriculture and reduce poverty on the continent.

The relationship strength developed over the years between China and Africa has sent a clear message that the West has stopped being Africas only option when it comes to aid and development.

China's "no-strings attached" development assistance and promises of growth has caused a good number of African countries becoming increasingly drawn to these realities.

Hence, the protection of Chinese investors in African countries will not only promote economic gains but also become a clear pointer to the fact that China will be more than willing to encourage more of its citizens to invest in the continent. If there are good policies and institutions in place, African countries can use Chinese investment well to grow their economies.

The reasons as to why the West is not much comfortable with the rapidly developing Sino-Africa relationship is a topic for another day, but by all indications their misconceptions have not in any way hinder the forward-looking relationship.

Many Africans now believe that China is a major partner than their colonial masters in mostly Europeans Countries, some of which would want the resources China is pouring in Africas development to be selfishly diverted to them.

There has been an increase in trade volume alone from US$10 billion to over US$100 billion between China and Africa over the last decade. With Chinese trade, people now have values for monies. Most Chinese Investors are willing to transfer skills to Africans, create employment, willing to pay and providing opportunities leading to economic prosperity.

Most Chinese companies operating in Africa believes in skills transfer mainly because they want to reduce the cost of hiring the services of expatriates who mostly require bumper pay, flight ticket, work permits, etc. Training locals and paying them salaries saves lots of resources that could be used to increase investment.

Africans see Chinese as hardworking people who have no time to rest, and they (Africans) want to follow this good path to better off their own societies.

The existing trust between Africa and China must not be allowed to be hampered by the so-called Western misconception of Chinese colonialism in Africa.

It therefore behooves African Countries to further strengthening the tie for greater opportunities ahead. Protecting Chinese Investors could be an important tool in this path.

Chinas Deputy Director General of Department for African Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has disclosed that African countries should put in place good reforms for the protection of Chinese investors and to open the way for more investment opportunities.

Addressing African journalists on Tuesday, Dai Bing said in a meeting with African journalists in Beijing that "one of the setbacks to the existing bilateral cooperation is the frequent change of mandates and leadership in African Countries. It sometimes hinders the bilateral cooperation. At times we have to scrap a whole agreement and delay investment plans when such issues occur. Some African countries lack favorable policies like good taxation and investment policies to protect foreign investors, which results in some companies finding it difficult to operate in the continent for a longer period."

Speaking on some major challenges affecting bilateral cooperation between African countries and China, Dai said although inter-country wars have reduced drastically, some countries have internal security problems whilst others have the problems of piracies and criminals that are giving headache to some investors, thereby affecting the bilateral cooperation.

"African countries have a long way to go, especially in building their infrastructure. The infrastructure in Africa is a problem, as some countries could not provide good electricity, roads, railway and water to attract investments," the Deputy Director General said, noting further that China is always looking for common developments that will enhance a win-win situation for the two economies.

China and Africa have succeeded in maintain good friendship, brotherly and good partnership in development. Although issues do emerge from time to time, but there has not been a major one for over 50 years which disturbs the relationship.

China does not pursue any unilateral interest when pursuing development in Africa, which is why the issue of having a comprehensive partnership came up at the 2015 Johannesburg Summit of Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, where a $60billion pledge was made by President Xi Jinping for ten cooperation projects that are geared towards building very good development systems in Africa, such as infrastructure, agriculture, education, health, etc.

China has trained thousands of talents from various fields in Africa, which helps capacitate local talents, and hopes to give experience and expertise to managerial experts.

China and Africa need to be pragmatic in seeking for key development results. There are lots of Chinese companies operating in Africa, with services provided at low rates. China and Africa should be close and deep-down in heart and should see each other at equitable feet.

What has emerged in recent years is that fact that Chinas enterprises are major players in investment, which is why the country has shifted its cooperation from trade in commodity to industry capacity cooperation.

China is ready to open up more cooperation with African countries for the benefit of both people, and its investments in the continent need to be better protected.

Note: Abu Bakarr Kargbo is a Senior Staff Writer of Standard Times Newspaper in Sierra Leone and an intern at Peoples Daily Online.
WARKWORTH, ON (August 10, 2017)- The name on the gate leading into the pit area may have changed and the track layout is different, but Warkworth, Ontarios Derek Lynch is excited about returning the site of one of the biggest victories of his racing career.

Its hard to believe its been 30 years, said the 46 year-old, when talking about his 1988 win at the McKerlie-Millen Classic, in a race that had more than 100 entries. The former Cayuga Speedway has been very good to me over the years and itll be great to get back there Saturday and Sunday, August 26th and 27th for a pair of 75 lap events with the APC Pro Late Model Tour.

His extensive motorsports calling began in karting in 1981 and transitioned to stock cars in 1986, Derek Lynch has an impressive resume behind the steering wheel and behind the scenes. His win list includes a U.S. Memorial Day checkered flag in 1994 at Thunder Road in Barre, Vermont, the Oxford 250 in 1994 and a NASCAR Pintys Series victory at Cayuga, while being named NASCAR Pintys Series Driver of the Year in 2007. Along the way, there were also selected starts on the NASCAR North Tour in 1995 and 1996, as well as events with the Ontario Super Late Model and ACT Series.

Lynch also logged time working in the North Carolina NASCAR shops of Bobby Allison Racing, Stavola Brothers, Darrell Waltrip Motorsports and Dale Earnhardt Incorporated. From 2004 to 2012, he was General Manager at Kawartha Speedway in Fraserville, Ontario; but his first love has always been turning laps at some of the finest raceways in North America.

Everyone has been talking about the first ever event at Jukasa since the 2017 APC Pro Late Model schedule was announced, Lynch said. I think the track will be similar to how I remember it, but with the new asphalt, there will likely be a ton of grip. Well get a chance to run some practice laps to get a feel for the place and make some set-up notes prior to the race. Thatll help get the car ready for action. From there, almost anything can happen.

In addition to the Twin 75s, that will also include NASCAR legend Ken Schrader, at Jukasa, Derek Lynch is also scheduled to run the Great Canadian 100 on Saturday, September 16, at Delaware Speedway. Neither event would be possible without the help of his crew, including his father Dave Lynch, Bill Hasiuk, Kevin Ardron, Gene Depot and Bob Franks. Lynch also thanks his uncle Mike Lynch at Mike Lynch Auto Body for paint work on the car, along with Howie Crowe, Larry Crowe Sr. and Larry Crowe Jr.

Sponsorship support for the #15 Dodge Charger comes Jerry, Bob & Bill Hasiuk and their families at Hasiuk Trailer Rentals, Bryan Cathcart & Denise McCullough from Apsley-Peterborough Transport and John, Mark & Dave Stewart from J.J. Stewart Motors.

Prepared by: Jim Clarke, Clarke Motorsports Communications/First Draft Media

clarkemotorsports@hotmail.com, www.facebook.com/clarkemotorsports

613.968.6410
The head of a multinational bank has deflected claims that its life insurance business will be a hard sell despite a number of other domestic entities looking to exit the capital-intensive life sector.



The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) confirmed on Wednesday that it was in talks with unnamed third parties about the potential sale of CommInsure and its NZ life insurance business Sovereign. Other options for the businesses include retaining them, or initiating a reinsurance arrangement.



CBA chief executive Ian Narev said the "outcome of these discussions are still uncertain" and said the life businesses were attractive to buyers, while refusing to divulge how much the businesses might be worth, Australian Financial Review reported.



"What's become apparent is that there is some appetite in the broader insurance world in having discussions with us and [they] are very interested in the business. What we do know is that there are people who have a view that it is a very, very good business and have a very high level of interest," Narev said, adding: "We'll see if minds will meet on it.



Narev denied that the decision to review the future of its life insurance arm has got anything to do with the insurance scandal that broke out last year, of which it was later cleared by the corporate watchdog, the report said.



"There has been a bunch of very long term strategic planning... This has got nothing to do with that, and nothing to do with any changes in capital areas... It is core to our vision to be able to provide life insurance to our customers but if we can find a better way of doing it we are open to it  but [it has] nothing to do with those events," the CBA boss said.



CBA announced Monday its full-year results for the year ended 2017 where it posted a 1% drop in its insurance income compared to the previous year. It also reported a 9.5% increase in claims due to Cyclone Debbie, with Comminsure retail life declining 12.7%. The business saw a 1% increase in average in-force premiums, however, AFR said.





Related stories:

CBA may divest its life insurance business - report

Reviews into insurance arm to remain confidential
A police officer in the UK has been given close to $20,000 (12,000) in compensation after being bitten by a flea at work.The monster claim for the mini bite saw the detective sue West Midlands Police, which also had to pay over $6,800 (4,185) in legal fees.A West Midlands Police spokesperson told The Daily Mail that the flea bite resulted in emergency surgery for the officer but the eye watering sum has attracted criticism.The flea bitten detective wasnt the only claimant that West Midlands Police has recently faced, The Daily Mail reported, with 14 serving officers also suing the force.One officer tripped at work and was given payments of over $8,000 (5,000), with another two officers injured due to manual handling given over $9,800 (6,000) and $14,000 (8,573) respectively.Ray Egan, a former West Midlands Police officer, said that the flea claim was absolutely baffling.I was a policeman for over 20 years, and I cant even imagine what would have happened if Id gone to my senior officer and started moaning because Id been bitten by a flea, Egan told The Daily Mail. Id have been kicked out the office with a clipping round the ear, Id have thought.The West Midlands Police spokesperson noted that the force looks to its insurers for guidance on any claims it faces.Compensation pay-outs are only made following the assessment of appropriate medical evidence by insurers and solicitors who then make a recommendation to the force as to what the pay-out should be, the spokesperson said.The force does have liability insurance in place which operates in respect of compensation claims made as a result of injury.
Insurtech and investments in technology need to be more than just innovation theatre or feel good activities as the industry could be facing its Kodak moment, an expert has said.With data and expertise at the feet of insurance incumbents, the industry cannot ignore changes in customer behaviours, or else traditional firms could go the way of the forgotten camera company.Brent Lehmann, general manager affinity & commercial  Australasia, at Willis Towers Watson, said that for those still on the fence about insurtech and the impact it could have on the industry, it boils down to two simple choices.You either want to win in this environment or you dont want to die, it is as simple as that, Lehmann told Insurance Business. Either you embrace the journey that insurtech can deliver and understand what it can do to take your business to another level, or you dismiss it as a passing fad or phase.I think those that dismiss it as a passing phase might come to a harsh realisation that it is not a passing phase at all.Lehmann noted that while the level of insurtech investment globally has been increasing, and Australia will look to follow suit over the coming years, talk about the subject currently outweighs action.In Australia, Lehmann said that IAG is currently leading the pack in terms of its investment in technology, with other large insurers set to follow suit. For brokers, Lehmann noted that the developments in technology are equally as concerning as they are for insurers, as currently there is not enough commitment to innovation from within the broking landscape.The biggest challenge our industry has here, and it is a widely known fact, is that corporate innovation is known to be 10 times harder because of the all the encumbrances that slow down large organisations, Lehmann continued. Insurance, in particular, is such a conservative industry that it could be even worse than 10 times harder.Lehmann said that technology will continue to be a vital issue for the industry as generational shifts become more apparent. With Gen X more likely to utilise and seek out technology than previous generations, and with younger generations moving into more senior roles, the trend lines are set.The expectation they have in terms of the relationship that they want with the insurance industry is very different to the last generation, Lehmann continued. That alone is going to help drive the acceleration of this insurtech phenomenon.
USG has promoted Becca Faust to production manager and Amy Whiting to brokerage manager in its Canonsburg, Penn., office.

This move is the most recent change USG has implemented in its plan to expand operations nationwide and continue to provide innovative solutions for the risk management industry.

Faust joined USG as a production assistant in 2014 and has been a producer and broker since 2015. She is a member of USGs Presidents Club and currently holds the designation of senior vice president.

In her new position, Faust will oversee production development for the sales teams and take on leadership responsibilities in addition to continuing to grow her book of business.

Whiting joined USG in 2001. She is also a member of USGs Presidents Club, currently holding the designation of senior vice president.

In her new role, she will work to develop brokerage carrier relationships, provide team education and training and expand USGs large account offerings in addition to continuing to grow her book of business.

USG has 21 locations and four subsidiaries: USG Insurance Services Inc., a national wholesale and managing general agent operation; BFS: Brokers Financial Services, a premium finance company; AAU: Allied American Underwriters, the specialty division of USG; and Into Innovations, a full service marketing, advertising and technology provider for the industry.

Source: USG

Topics Agencies Pennsylvania
The Maryland Insurance Administration has appointed Erica J. Bailey as its associate commissioner of compliance and enforcement.

Bailey brings 15 years of experience to the team, including the last ten investigating healthcare fraud as a prosecutor.

As associate commissioner, Bailey will oversee the team responsible for regulatory oversight of domestic and foreign insurance companies, insurance producers, title agents, public adjusters and bail bondsmen operating in Maryland.

The Compliance and Enforcement Units primary mission is to protect consumers from deceptive marketing, unfair claim settlement practices, underwriting and premium rating abuses, and misrepresentation of insurance coverage. The unit enforces regulatory compliance by companies and insurance producers with applicable state laws and regulations. It also oversees the licensing of insurance producers.

Prior to joining the Maryland Insurance Administration, Bailey served most recently as Attorney Advisor in the District of Columbia Office of the Inspector General, Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. In that capacity, she led a global team tasked with investigating Medicaid fraud allegations and prosecuting cases. Previously, Bailey managed the Virginia Attorney Generals Medicaid Fraud Control Units eDiscovery and litigation support team, as well as the Civil Investigations Unit.

Source: Maryland Insurance Administration

Topics Legislation Fraud Maryland
Liu Yunshan, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, meets with 57 scientists and experts who are enjoying a state-sponsored summer vacation at Beidaihe, a popular northern seaside resort in north China's Hebei Province, Aug. 9, 2017. Entrusted by President Xi Jinping, Liu extended greetings and good wishes to the scientists and experts. (Xinhua/Wang Ye)

BEIDAIHE, Hebei, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- A senior Communist Party of China (CPC) official called on the country's leading scientists to remain steadfast in making innovations in science and technology on Wednesday.

Liu Yunshan, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, made the remarks at a meeting with 57 scientists and experts who are enjoying a state-sponsored summer vacation at Beidaihe, a popular northern seaside resort near the Chinese national capital.

Entrusted by President Xi Jinping, Liu extended greetings and good wishes to the scientists and experts.

Liu urged them to make more efforts in innovation to help China boost its voice in the world and contribute to the realization of the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation.

Specialists should carry forward the excellent tradition of the older generation of scientists and learn from role models such as Huang Danian, a late geophysicist who devoted his life to making contributions in education and scientific research, Liu said.

Liu encouraged them to serve the people and the country, and greet the opening of the 19th CPC National Congress with outstanding results.
Lawyers for a man suspected of killing his millionaire grandfather in 2013 have met with a judge in a lawsuit over the sinking of his boat with his mother onboard.

Nathan Carmans boat sank last year. His mother is now presumed dead.

His insurance company is refusing to pay for the loss of his boat, saying that he made incomplete, improper, and faulty repairs to the vessel the day before it sank and that he knew it was unseaworthy.

Lawyers for Carman and the insurance company met Monday behind closed doors with a federal magistrate judge in Rhode Island to discuss the case.

Both sides declined to comment after the hearing.

A court filing shows the judge issued a pretrial order that sets deadlines for discovery and other matters.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Tropical Storm Franklin made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane in eastern Mexico during Wednesday night with estimated maximum winds of 85 mph, according to a report issued by Weather Underground.

Over the Bay of Campeche, the storm became the Atlantic Basins first hurricane of 2017, making landfall around midnight on Thursday, central daylight time. Despite weakening rapidly, the report said, the storm will pose a dangerous flood threat for some inland locations into Friday.

Franklin has now weakened to a tropical storm and will continue to move inland, roughly between Veracruz and Mexico City, said Weather Underground.

A storm surge of 4-6 feet was expected around the time of landfall near and north of the center along the eastern Mexican Bay of Campeche coast, said the report, noting that those elevated water levels should subside quickly Thursday morning.

The most serious threat could come from rainfall flooding, added the report. Up to 15 inches of rain may fall in eastern Mexico through Thursday associated with Franklins final move inland. Flash flooding and mudslides are likely to be major concerns as Franklin grinds across this regions mountainous terrain, it said.

Although Franklins circulation was expected to fall apart over Mexico, the report said, the storm could bring an additional 3-9 inches of rainfall in southwestern Mexico as it heads to the Pacific Ocean.

[Editors Note: Weather Undergrounds report, published on Aug. 10, was compiled by Chris Dolce.]

Source: Weather Underground

Related:

Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters Windstorm Hurricane Mexico
The volume of completed mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the global insurance industry continued dropping during the first six months of 2017 to 170 deals, compared to 186 deals reported for the second half of 2016, according to Clyde & Co.s mid-year M&A update.

Activity is now down 24 percent from a recent high point in H1 2015 when there were 225 deals, the report said, attributing the more cautious environment in part to increased regulation in China, political uncertainty as a result of Brexit in the UK and the ongoing political and economic uncertainties in Greece, Italy and Russia.

Diving into the regions, the report said that M&A activity was up in the Americas, Middle East & Africa and down in Europe and Asia.

The Americas completed 86 transactions during H1 2017, compared to 81 during last years second half. The Middle East and Africa also reported a slight increase at eight deals this year, compared to just two in H2 2016. On the other hand, European deals dropped 28 percent during the first half of 2017, which Clyde & Co. attributed in part to the distraction of Brexit.

Completed M&A deals in Asia Pacific fell to 22 during the first half from 36 in H2 2016, partly due to temporary monetary controls in place in China.

U.S. Market

Addressing the M&A scene in the U.S., Vikram Sidhu, a Clyde & Co. partner based in New York, said U.S. deal activity in the second half of 2017 may not be as robust as the first half.

The caution is driven by several factors, including lesser clarity about what President Trumps administration and the Republican Congress might be able to achieve with respect to issues such as tax reform as well as global uncertainty on issues ranging from the effects of Brexit to North Korea, noted Sidhu, who specializes in insurance transactional and regulatory matters.

European Market

In Europe, uncertainty persists with Brexit acting as a significant brake on M&A activity, according to Andrew Holderness, global head of Clyde & Co.s Corporate Insurance Group.

Transactions have been overtaken on the corporate agenda by Brexit preparations as companies realize that there is no time to lose, he said. Elsewhere in Europe, political and economic uncertainty in markets as far apart as Greece, Italy and Russia continue to weigh heavy on investor sentiment.

Nevertheless, insurers across the globe continue to investigate every avenue  both organic and inorganic  in an attempt to deliver growth to shareholders in a difficult trading environment, he went on to say.

Technology Tops M&A Agenda

Although insurtech investment dropped in the first quarter of the year  with funding at US$280 million, versus US$500 million in Q1 2016  the use of technology as a solution to deliver growth remains a priority for many businesses around the world, according to the Clyde & Co. report, quoting figures from Startupbootcamp and PwC.

The insurance industrys focus on and interest in insurtech continues unabated  whether it is the development of insurtech organically within insurance companies and groups or through investments and acquisitions, said Sidhu.

The reason for such keen interest? He explained that the industry recognizes that insurtech promises to bring about dramatic changes in the near future to almost every aspect of the business.

Market Pressures Drive Disposals

The rise of broker facilities and an increasing number of managing general agents entering the market is putting additional pressure on insurers and may result in an increasing number of businesses being put up for sale, said Clyde & Co.

Investment returns remain under pressure and abundant liquidity in the market means theres little room to differentiate on price, noted Holderness.

One key area left in which to generate value is by addressing the cost structure and we will continue to see deals  such as Sompos acquisition of Endurance, the largest of the year so far  driven by a combination of desire to broaden international reach as well as to generate economies of scale, he added.

Optimistic Outlook

Deals are still getting done and a merger or acquisition remains an attractive route to generating value, said Holderness. While insurers continue to consider all the tools at their disposal in the quest for growth, there is good reason to expect that more M&A will get over the line in the coming six months.

Holderness noted that deal making hot-spots are likely to include China where the regulatory environment is expected to ease and allow a pent-up wave of M&A activity to resume, while overseas expansion is set to continue.

The run-off market is another area that has been attracting attention with Enstars acquisition of QBEs legacy business just one example of this trend, he continued.

Indeed, run-off M&A activity is expected to continue and may even accelerate as a result of Brexit, Holderness affirmed. Continental insurers that decide not to write new UK business or vice versa after March 2019 will still have to decide what to do with their legacy books, and run-off specialists will be keen to offer a solution.

Source: Clyde & Co.

Topics Mergers & Acquisitions USA Legislation Tech Europe China
Wisconsin environmental officials are over-regulating large livestock operations, imposing pollution requirements that are tougher than federal law and arbitrarily changing runoff standards without going through the rule-making process, a trade association says in a lawsuit.

The Dairy Business Association filed the lawsuit in Brown County on July 31. It alleges the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has changed requirements for concentrated animal feeding operations to treat runoff. The department last year stopped allowing farmers to move runoff through patches of vegetation to filter pollution without going through the administrative rule-making process, the lawsuit said.

The department also has assumed oversight of calf hutches without going through the rule-making process, the lawsuit added.

Whats more, the agency is illegally requiring all the feeding operations to obtain a pollution discharge permit regardless of whether they actually discharge any pollution into state waters. That requirement violates state statutes that say the departments pollution rules cant be tougher than federal law, which requires a permit only for actual pollution discharge.

The lawsuit seeks judicial orders prohibiting the department from enforcing the new runoff guidance as well as declaring the regulation of calf hutches invalid and the rule requiring blanket discharge permits unenforceable. No court activity has been scheduled yet, according to online records.

The self-aggrandizement by state agencies expanding their regulatory authority threatens the very nature of our republican form of government by undermining the representative democratic foundations upon which it is laid, the lawsuit said.

A department spokesman declined comment, saying the agency doesnt talk about pending litigation.

The lawsuit comes as conservationists are calling for tougher pollution standards for concentrated feeding operations.

State auditors last year found that the department wasnt following its own policies for policing pollution from large livestock farms and wastewater treatment plants. The audit also found a permit backlog for large farms as state employees didnt have enough time to closely monitor the farms operations.

Were not looking for a free pass on regulations, the dairy groups president, Mike North, said in a news release announcing the lawsuit. Were asking DNR to follow the rules.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Lawsuits Legislation Agribusiness Pollution Wisconsin
When it was announced in June that San Diego, Calif.-based Arrowhead General Insurance Agency Inc. was selected as the program administrator for QBE North Americas small commercial insurance portfolio, it immediately raised one big question.

Why was a carrier with a strong history of writing small commercial business for many years in the U.S. using a program administrator?

That question was put to Jamie Luce, senior vice president of commercial insurance at QBE. He was quick with an answer.

To help it drive a more efficient engagement on small commercial for agents and brokers, Luce said.

In short, QBE will be relying upon Arrowhead for the technology to manage its small commercial business in an arrangement the principals see as an alternative to carriers having to invest more in their legacy technologies or rely on insurtech developments.

Luce called it a unique solution because its taking a large amount of small commercial business and using the Arrowhead platform to create more efficient engagement for our overall book.

Arrowhead, a subsidiary of Brown & Brown Inc., is a national insurance program manager for commercial and personal products. QBE North America, headquartered in New York, is an operating division of Sydney, Australia-based QBE Insurance Group Ltd.

Luce and Steve Boyd, president of Arrowhead, talked with Insurance Journal about the deal and what it will mean to their clients and the agents they deal with.

QBEs small commercial insurance portfolio consists of property/casualty business accounts under $100,000 in premium.

Effective July 1, agents were given access to a broader array of products and services through an operating platform for the small commercial market, according to those involved in the deal.

The QBE small commercial business will be the centerpiece of Arrowheads offering, complementing its other products in the small commercial space. The program will be called Arrowhead core commercial.

As the insurance provider, QBE will retain full financial responsibility for premiums and losses and manage the products and appetite for risk, and as the program administrator Arrowhead will perform all underwriting and servicing responsibilities on behalf of QBE, with the exception of claims management, which will remain with QBE.

QBE underwriters and operations professionals assigned to commercial accounts under $100,000 in premium have become part of the Arrowhead team. Walter Grote, senior vice president in small commercial for QBE, now leads Arrowhead core commercial, which is headquartered in Sun Prairie, Wis.

QBE small commercial products will be transitioned to the Arrowhead policy platform on a state-by-state basis within the next year. The plan is to start the rollout to all states by the end of this year.

According to Luce, the move was the most efficient way to modernize QBEs small commercial business operations.

Ill just say, the QBE, like a lot of insurers writing small commercial for us for a long time, has a pretty significant challenge with legacy systems and processes, which are not state of the art and cost a lot of money to fix, Luce said. Where the choice of making a substantial capital investment in fixing systems and processes to drive an efficient transaction on small commercial, is pretty daunting.

Through the partnership, Luce said, QBE gets the immediacy of the value of that system and technology platform that has already been cultivated, and it enables the carrier to upgrade the process for agents, who get to use the Arrowhead exchange platform and can go online and quote and bind and issue more effectively than they can do with QBE today.

The business will continue to be considered QBEs premium and losses, Luce explained.

We will continue to maintain all the claims, infrastructure to managing the claims, he said. Then within the QBE enterprise, it will be under my organization and commercial insurance.

Boyd views the new partnership as being similar to a traditional program deal.

Well be performing all the typical functions you expect to see in (a managing general underwriter-managing general agent) type of situation, from managed distribution, the underwriting policies, all of that, Boyd said. The claims are staying with QBE. All other services are done by our team and we get paid a commission off of that, as we would any other program.

Bottom line is that QBE is giving up on maintaining its own tech systems for small commercial.

I would say that we are definitely going to be, Luce said when asked if thats the case. Where our systems investments will be is in the larger commercial and specialty product focuses. As it relates to small commercial, a big part of this value of this transaction is being able to move ourselves away from legacy systems that are supporting our small commercial business today.

Luce also sees the Arrowhead-QBE deal as an answer of sorts to the insurtech invasion.

Ill just say that I think that carriers who are struggling with how to deal with the challenges of legacy processes and systems, and are looking at insurtech enterprises as an avenue for remediating or mitigating those challenges, this is an alternative to that, Luce said. I think it is definitely one solution that I believe is a little more unique and I think strategically very sound.

He added: I think insurtech solutions have their own value. But from a carrier whos managing independent agents and trying to engage and grow their small commercial business with independent agents, a solution like that, which we created with Arrowhead, is a really great answer.

Matt Miller, founder and CEO of San Francisco-based insurtech Embroker, believes the Arrowhead-QBE deal is a sign of things to come in this space.

From my perspective, I think it will likely be the first of many moves in terms of small business consolidation and attempting to shift to somewhat more efficient operations, said Miller, whose firm serves the small to middle market segment with all lines of commercial insurance.

By shifting small commercial insurance customers away from legacy systems, it can actually help serve them better, he said.

Bringing more new technology into the process will increase the touchpoints between brokers and their customers, giving small commercial accounts greater access to having their coverage reviewed and changed, and more help with filing and managing claims.

All of the various touchpoints that buyers have with their insurers and brokers are oppurtunities to augment that experience with technology, Miller said. Its not replacing people, but for buyers whose premiums arent enough to support that level of service, oftentimes those things dont get done.

That minimal level of service could help explain the recently released J.D. Power 2017 U.S. Small Commercial Insurance Study, which shows sharp declines in satisfaction among small business customers.

According to the study, service interactions, a significant driver of overall customer satisfaction, saw the sharpest declines this year, driven by customer dissatisfaction with agent/broker interactions.

At least satisfaction among agents is one area that, according to Boyd, wont be a problem with the Arrowhead-QBE deal. He said independent agents wont see the compensation structure change.

The independent agents will see that they will be looking to supplement their offering with other products that Arrowhead has today, that dont fit the appetite guide there, so they have some specialized products that will be sprinkled in, Boyd said.

Boyd said the independent agents that are with QBE today will be getting appointed with Arrowhead.

As we begin to expand into other states, existing Arrowhead independent agents that fit the profile here, theyll get access to it as well, Boyd said. Our preferred channel for business and the way that the majority of the business comes in Arrowhead is through our point of sale platform Arrowhead Exchange. Thats both rate quote, bind, issue, as well as postsale servicing.

Boyd sees this type of transaction a model for other carriers.

From our perspective, theres clearly an opportunity for insurance carriers, not just North America but globally, to look at, are they getting the right efficiency out of it? Boyd said. Insurtech is obviously getting all the hype around that, but theres lots of ways to address expense issues and investment issues within large organizations.

Related:

Topics Mergers & Acquisitions Carriers Agencies Commercial Lines InsurTech Tech Human Resources
Japanese auto supplier Takata Corp. filed for U.S. bankruptcy protection on Wednesday in an effort to pause lawsuits against the company over faulty air bag inflators  more than a month after its U.S. unit filed for bankruptcy in the same court.

In its filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, Takata said the Chapter 15 petition was critical to ensure the continuation of Takatas business, preserving tens of thousands of jobs and ensuring that Takatas business partners continue to have access to critical components that ensure the safety of drivers worldwide.

The petition came as Takatas U.S. business separately asked a federal bankruptcy judge to suspend lawsuits against automakers that have been brought by air bag victims.

Major automakers including BMW AG, Ford Motor Co., Honda Motor Co. Ltd and Toyota Motor Corp. sided with Takata in backing a six-month delay in lawsuits.

Takata and automakers face hundreds of lawsuits including actions brought by Hawaii, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and New Mexico.

TK Holdings Inc, the companys primary U.S. unit, filed for Chapter 11 protection in June along with 11 other U.S. and Mexican entities, coinciding with Takata Corps bankruptcy filing in Japan.

Takata said it faces tens of billions of dollars in liabilities from its inflators, which are subject to the biggest recall in automotive history.

At least 18 deaths and 180 injuries worldwide have been tied to a defect that can cause Takata inflators to explode with excessive force, unleashing metal shrapnel inside cars and trucks. Takata has said it expects 125 million vehicles worldwide to be recalled by 2019..

Bankruptcy automatically stayed hundreds of lawsuits against TK Holdings for wrongful death, injuries, economic loss and breach of consumer protection laws, and in July Takatas U.S. unit sought a preliminary injunction to suspend lawsuits against automakers that use its inflators.

The Chapter 15 filing seeks to stay suits against Takata Corp as well. An initial court hearing on the new petition is set for Friday.

Plaintiffs lawyers called the requested injunction an abuse of the bankruptcy laws for the benefit of all of the worlds largest automobile manufacturers. They said Takatas request would delay consideration of plaintiffs lawsuits for six months or more.

Takata set aside $125 million to compensate those injured by its air bags as part of a guilty plea, but plaintiffs lawyers argue it will not be enough.

Without the injunction, Takata said the litigation would distract management from completing the $1.6 billion sale of its viable operations to Key Safety Systems (KSS) and could threaten the supply of air bag inflators to replace recalled ones.

Takata said Wednesday it is in talks to finalize the terms of the agreements regarding the KSS asset sale and with the support of a significant majority of automakers that will pave a path for a relatively quick and successful emergence from bankruptcy restructuring. It hopes to complete the restructuring by the end of February.

(Reporting by David Shepardson Additional reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Tom Brown)

Topics Lawsuits USA
An Emergency Price Stabilization Act is in place in Mayes, Rogers, Tulsa and Wagoner counties after a state of emergency was declared following the recent tornado outbreak in those counties, Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter announced.

The price gouging statute prohibits an increase of more than 10 percent for the price of goods and services after a declared state of emergency. Additionally, the act allows the attorney general to pursue charges against individuals or businesses that engage in price gouging.

Attorney General Hunter said the statute protects Oklahomans during a vulnerable time and he urges individuals who have sustained damage to homes or businesses to be aware of criminals in the community targeting damaged property.

On Monday, agents with the Consumer Protection Unit were in storm-damaged areas, talking to residents and business owners about fraud prevention and offering tips and information on how to avoid fraud.

Attorney General Hunter said having agents in the area shows force against criminals, but it will not deter all of them.

Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John D. Doak also toured tornado-damaged areas in Tulsa with Gov. Mary Fallin and Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum.

More than 150 businesses and 25 homes were damaged in the EF-2 tornado that hit Tulsa on Sunday. Business owners should ask their agent or insurance company if they have business interruption coverage.

This type of insurance covers the revenue earned, based on financial records, had the tornado not occurred. The policy might also cover operating expenses, like electricity, that continue even though business activities have come to a temporary halt.

Businesses that were not damaged, but are being forced to close because of the debris, may also be able to file a claim with business interruption coverage.

Source: Oklahoma Insurance Department, Oklahoma AGs Office

Related:

Topics Oklahoma
NSI Insurance Group has acquired Southeast Insurance, an independent agency based in Boca Raton, Fla.

Southeast President Brian Samberg and his entire team will join NSI Insurance Group, giving the company a new position in the Boca Raton, Delray Beach and North Broward County markets.

NSI Insurance Group offers commercial and personal insurance as well as employee benefits throughout the United States and in 40 countries. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

For more than 32 years, Southeast has worked with clients offering both personal and commercial insurance.

NSI Insurance Group specializes in providing risk management, employee benefits and insurance services to businesses and individuals throughout the nation. The company also markets under Excursioninsurance.com, which provides a platform for all categories of cruise industry tour operators to secure insurance coverage that is compliant with the requirements of major cruise lines.

Topics Mergers & Acquisitions Florida
GoodWorks Insurance has named Bryan W. Russo regional president and head of its new office in Walnut Creek, Calif.

Russo specializes in employee benefits plans for mid-sized and large employers.

Russo was most recently a benefits broker in San Francisco. He previously served as a benefits consultant with Lincoln Financial and UNUM.

Connecticut-based GoodWorks gives half of its profits to local charities. GoodWorks offers group medical, dental, vision and disability insurance, 401(k) plans and voluntary benefits.

Topics California
If it barks like a dog

A new Colorado law that enables people to sit up to three pets without needing a license looks pretty much like just another piece of the growing gig economy.

People can sell their services though an app to others who have a pet or pets that need sitting without going to a full-fledged kennel or boarding facility. Maybe its to save a few bucks, or to avoid leaving their pet in a place with so many other pets, or for personal reasons.

And just like its ridesharing and rental property gig economy cousins, this new business segment will likely have a few growing pains  including the typical insurance issues that arise when someone takes the risk of running a business of any size.

Colorado recently updated the states Pet Animal Care Facilities Act to allow people to care for three or fewer pets without the licensing required to be carried by kennels or dog day care businesses.

One of the driving forces behind the change was dog care app provider Rover, which, much like Uber with ridesharing and Aribnb with rental properties, provides a virtual marketplace for would-be entrepreneurs.

Unlike the order of the process that unfolded when Uber and Airbnb were starting out, where insurance came far after those industries were established, requiring pet sitters to carry insurance was among the first issues being discussed.

However, for now, insurance requirements have largely been relegated to the dog house.

Additional homeowners insurance, general liability or some type of business insurance, none of that is required, according to Nick Fisher, program manager at the state Department of Agriculture, which oversees the Pet Animal Care Facilities Act and all it encompasses.

One reason is because insurance isnt required for licensed pit sitting businesses either.

Currently with pet animal facilities, we dont really require they have to have insurance, Fisher said. Thats incumbent on the facility to do that.

The preference is to avoid overregulating businesses, he said, adding that the department is focused on ensuring these businesses maintain at least the minimum standards for safety, cleanliness, having proper enclosures, and other aspects of the physical facilities.

We dont get into peoples financial records or insurance records or anything, Fisher said.

Having the benefit of having seen the swell of interest and insurance issues that Uber and Airbnb created, however, the topic of insurance was at the forefront of conversations when the folks at Rover first approached the state to change the laws to permit the firm to operate in Colorado, according to Fisher.

It was initially proposed that the company would be responsible for requiring people offering pet sitting services through apps like Rover to have proper insurance. The idea was that the app maker would provide $25,000 of insurance for each person who was registered, and the company would provide additional liability, according to Fisher.

That turned out to be easier said than done.

Creating insurance regulations, and hiring investigators and others to ensure the regulations are followed and that bad actors are dissuaded, turns out to be a costly prospect.

Fisher said estimates showed it could cost taxpayers up to $2 billion.

As they went a long, they realized we would have had to create a whole new program for it, he said.

As a bill to update the law to enable pet sitting wended its way through Legislature, the idea of having a fiscal note attached to it made its prospects of passing look much less promising, so the insurance aspect was dropped and the number of pets an unlicensed person could sit was limited to three, Fisher said.

A spokeswoman for Rover declined to comment for this article, but pointed to a section of the companys website containing information about Premium Insurance.

The coverages listed are for Owner Pets, valid for injuries to the pet owners pet in the sitters care, Sitter or Dog Walker Pets, valid for injuries to the sitters resident pet as a result of contact with the pet owners pet, and General Liability, for claims for bodily injury to a person other than the sitter or pet owner.

The webpage details claim filling procedures, and coverage exceptions, which include damage to the sitters personal property, injuries to the sitter, treatment costs for medical or veterinary bills as a result of pet illness and pet sitting bookings made outside Rover.

But it doesnt include information about the carrier, limits or premium costs.

Just because Rover appears to be encouraging insurance coverage, doesnt mean people will buy it.

And that means someone like Carole Walker, executive director of the Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association, may eventually have to go around educating Coloradans who are pet sitting to earn a few extra bucks on the importance of insurance.

Just like she did when the app-based ridesharing and vacation rental crazes cropped up.

If youre the pet sitter and youre taking dogs into your home, that raises issues like what kind of liability do you have, Walker said.

When Uber came to her state and others, local insurance associations often took it upon themselves to put out messages to the public that personal auto insurance doesnt cover a driver who is conducting ridesharing activities. It was a similar situation when Airbnb came along.

Walker said she hasnt yet heard concerns raised over the new pet sitting law by RMIIAs homeowners insurer members, but she is already on point with the message that consumers must consider the risks when running a pet sitting business.

Any small business that youre running out of your home, you need to look at separate business insurance for that, she said. In this shared economy, as were just trading out services and starting out businesses though apps and online, we need to understand that there are insurance consequences that affect you.

Walker and her association counterparts in other states may find themselves pretty busy if they feel compelled to get the message out about pet sitting as a gig.

Pet services is growing tremendously, according to the American Pet Products Association.

The pet services category was $5.76 billion last year, which includes grooming, pet sitting, boarding, walking, yard services and training.

The services sector of the pet industry is expected to experience the biggest growth next year as well.

As people increasingly treat their pet like family members it makes sense that interest in the professional services, such as pet sitting, offering quality care for our canine companions is on the rise as well, Tierra Bonaldi, with the APPA said. We certainly have taken note of the increased popularity of Rover.com specifically and all the news surrounding it and would say that it appears to be hitting the pet space with tremendous acceptance and recognition.

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What Is Blue Collar?

The term blue collar refers to a classification of people, especially those in the workforce. Blue-collar workers are considered the working class. They typically work in manual labor and are compensated by the hour or through piecework. The term was adopted because of the darker-colored clothing these workers wore. Some fields that fall into this category include construction, manufacturing, maintenance, and mining. Blue-collar were once perceived to be less educated, low-skilled, and of a lower social class but that perception is changing.

Key Takeaways Blue collar is a classification of people, particularly of certain people in the workforce.

Blue-collar jobs are considered working-class jobs, which are paid hourly and usually involve manual labor.

The term originated in the 1920s when blue-collar workers wore darker clothing to hide dirt.

Many blue-collar workers are now able to command high salaries because they are highly skilled and educated.

Factory workers, welders, nuclear technicians, elevator installers, and subway operators are examples of blue-collar jobs.

Understanding Blue Collar

Classifying workers by the color of their shirts dates back to the early 1920s. This categorization system was based on the color or type of clothing people wore in their jobs. Blue collar is just one of the many categories of workers that are classified based on the color of clothing they wear. Other collar colors include white collar, gold collar, pink collar, red collar, and green collar. We discuss these in greater detail below.

Many of those in blue-collar or trade occupations who did taxing physical labor in varying temperatures (coal miners, masons, bricklayers, boilermakers, and welders) wore darker colors, which didn't show dirt as readily. So it was not unusual to see them wearing boiler suits, chambray shirts, overalls, and jeans all in the color blue.

Blue collar continues to refer to the section of the labor force that works manual labor. These individuals may work in factories, plants, and mines, but they may also work with animals like those who work on farms. Many blue-collar workers work with heavy machinery. As such, they may be skilled or unskilled. These skills can be acquired either on the job or through trade schools.

Some of the most common blue-collar jobs include welders, mechanics, electricians, and construction workers. Others may be more specialized and require more skills. Power plant operators, power distributors, and nuclear power plant operators fall into the latter category. These individuals are generally paid by the hour or piecework.

Blue collar has traditionally been a derogatory term and calling someone blue collar is considered by some to be offensive. That's because it was often associated with people who were perceived to be of a lower social class, with little to no education and skills, and with lower earning potential.

Special Considerations

Being blue-collar originally meant that people weren't (as) educated or possessed any desirable skills. They were even perceived to belong to a lower social class than other workers, usually when they were compared to white-collar workers.

But these stereotypes aren't necessarily true. In fact, the term has evolved over time, and it's now very common to find blue-collar workers who are formally educated, skilled, and highly paid.

Although blue-collared work still entails some degree of manual labor, advancements in technology have seen more blue-collar workers in industries such as aeronautics, film-making, electronics, and energy. Although they may not require a four-year college degree, some blue-collar jobs require highly skilled personnel, with specialized training and a license or certificate from an apprenticeship program or trade school.

Blue Collar vs. White Collar

White collar is the most common term that is contrasted with blue collar, especially when it comes to employment. Some of the main differences between blue collar and white collar include where each works, their educational background and skills, as well as their roles and how they're paid.

Work Environment

While blue-collar employees may find themselves working in jobs in industrial settings wearing blue (or dark) clothing that hides residue, the same isn't true about their white-collar counterparts.

White-collar workers were classified as such because of the white shirts they wore to work, typically underneath their suits. Their jobs are normally situated in offices or corporate boardrooms. It isn't uncommon for white-collar workers to sit at desks and use computers. With the advancement in technology, remote work from home or another location has also become very common for many white-collar workers.

Education and Skills

Unlike blue-collar employees, white-collar workers are considered highly educated and highly skilled.

Most white-collar jobs require at least an undergraduate degree for new hires. Higher positions may need applicants to have even higher educational credentials, licenses, and/or special certifications. For instance, an accountant usually needs a degree in accounting or finance while a financial analyst may need the Certified Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.

White-collar workers' skills are considered highly advanced and may include things like computer and software skills. Those in higher positions may also need to have people management skills.

Examples and Salary

Some of the most common white-collar jobs include:



Administrative assistant

Accountant

Consultant

Marketing manager

Executive director

Computer programmer

These individuals earn annual salaries, unlike blue-collar jobs pay workers who are paid by the hour or by piece,



Blue Collar vs. Other Collars

While blue and white collars are the most common ones, there are other lesser-known collar colors that represent different segments of the workforce. Unlike white and blue collars, the other categories are not derived from the workers wearing any particular color of shirts. Instead, their colors. They include:

Gold Collar: This segment includes specialized fields of law and medicine. This is a reference, perhaps, to the higher salaries these professions command.

This segment includes specialized fields of law and medicine. This is a reference, perhaps, to the higher salaries these professions command. Gray Collar: This refers to individuals who are officially white-collar but perform blue-collar tasks regularly as part of their jobs like engineers.

This refers to individuals who are officially white-collar but perform blue-collar tasks regularly as part of their jobs like engineers. Pink Collar: This segment relates to the service fields, such as nurses, secretaries, school teachers, salespeople, and wait staff. This category was dubbed pink collar because these jobs were traditionally dominated by women.

This segment relates to the service fields, such as nurses, secretaries, school teachers, salespeople, and wait staff. This category was dubbed pink collar because these jobs were traditionally dominated by women. Red Collar: This classification is named after the red ink used to denote salaries in a budget. Workers in this segment are normally civil servants who work for various levels of government.

This classification is named after the red ink used to denote salaries in a budget. Workers in this segment are normally civil servants who work for various levels of government. Green Collar: This category refers to the environmental sector. Companies and individuals classified as green collars find themselves in conservation and sustainability-related jobs.





Example of Blue Collar

Many blue-collar jobs aren't easy to land, easy to keep, or low-paying. And not all blue-collar occupations pay less than white-collar jobs, either. Workers in some trade fields earn more annually than their salaried counterparts. Nuclear technicians, elevator installers, and subway operators earn over $70,000 per year, which is higher than what the average college graduate earns after graduation.

Since most blue-collar jobs pay by the hour, working overtime could mean that a blue-collar worker can earn six figures in any given year. Some blue-collar jobs also pay by the project or follow a salary scheme. In short, in the 21st century, the color of your collar doesn't necessarily dictate the level of your income.

Here are the top 10 paying blue-collar jobs per the Bureau of Labor Statistics based on median annual salary:

Nuclear power reactor operator: $111,220 Police and detective front-line supervisors: $98,760 Power distributor and dispatcher: $95,520 Elevator installers and repairers: $91,320 Detective and criminal investigators: $90,370

Power plant operators: $89,410 Powerhouse, substation, and relay electrical and electronics repairers: $87,640

First-line supervisors of firefighting and prevention workers$83,270 Gas plant operators$76,970 Transit and railroad police$69,570

What Does Blue Collar Mean? Blue collar is a classification of people, especially those in the workforce. It typically relates to people who work in jobs that involve manual labor. This includes those in the manufacturing, mining, and construction sectors. People who are considered blue-collar may or may not be skilled and generally earn hourly wages instead of salaries. The term was applied as workers historically wore blue or dark clothing that hid the dirt and residue that came with their jobs.

What Are Examples of Blue-Collar Jobs? Some blue-collar jobs include factory workers, miners, construction workers, welders, and electricians. Other positions may require a higher skill set, including nuclear power plant operators, elevator installers, criminal investigators, and dispatchers.

What's the Difference Between Blue-Collar and White-Collar? Blue collar jobs require manual labor and pay workers hourly wages. Workers traditionally wore blue or dark clothing to hide the residue or dirt that resulted from their jobs. Although they traditionally required little to no educational background and very few skills, that isn't the case today. Many blue-collar workers are highly educated and skilled and earn a significant amount of money. White-collar workers, on the other hand, work in office or boardroom settings. They were traditionally suit-and-tie people who worked in clerical, administrative, or management roles. They are paid on a salary-basis rather than hourly. These jobs generally require higher education and skills.

The Bottom Line

Blue collar is just one of the classifications of people in the workforce. It has traditionally been used to describe low-earning people with little to no education and few skills. Blue-collar workers have historically worked in jobs that require manual labor. But that's changed, thanks to advancements in technology. Many blue collar workers are now highly educated, have more skills, and earn as much (if not more) than their white-collar counterparts.
What Is the Montreal Carbon Pledge?

The Montreal Carbon Pledge is an environmental initiative launched by the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) project under the United Nations (UN). Its purpose is to encourage investment management firms to monitor and disclose the carbon footprint of their investment portfolios.

Key Takeaways The Montreal Climate Pledge is a global initiative encouraging investment management firms to monitor and reduce the carbon emissions associated with their investment portfolios.

It is associated with the United Nation's PRI (Principles for Responsible Investment) program.

The number of firms participating in this program has increased significantly since it was launched.

However, the extent of involvement of these firms can vary quite substantially.

Understanding the Montreal Carbon Pledge

Since launching in September 2014, the Montreal Carbon Pledge has been very successful in acquiring new participants. Its original objective was to recruit participating institutions with assets under management (AUM) totaling $3 trillion, aiming to achieve this goal prior to the UN COP 21 conference which took place in December 2015. By the time this conference took place, however, the initiative had attracted participants with AUM totaling over $10 trillion.

This momentum has only accelerated in recent years. Signatories include pension funds such as CalPERS and funds controlled by the University of California, University of Ottawa, University of Toronto Asset Management, and HSBC Global Asset Management.

The exact actions undertaken by these firms can vary substantially. On the one hand, firms might simply signal their general intention to consider climate change and related issues when making investment decisions, without implementing specific programs to ensure this takes place. Other firms might commit to and report upon far more rigorous initiatives, such as making environmental factors central to their procedures for selecting investments and investment managers.

Real-World Example of the Montreal Carbon Pledge

A portfolio's overall carbon footprint is measured by summing the emissions of each company in the portfolio proportional to the amount of its stock that the portfolio contains. An investor can also choose how much of the portfolio to measure and how often.

For example, an investor might measure the carbon footprint of the equities portion of the portfolio or the part of a portfolio that represents a specific geographic region. The more areas that are measured, the more the investor will learn about the portfolio's overall carbon footprint. Third-party providers can also be hired to calculate a portfolio's carbon footprint.

Once measurements are available, investment managers need to analyze the data, making sure they understand the measurement methods used and any shortcomings (such as estimated data), then compare the results to a benchmark and decide how to act on it.

Actions might include taking steps to lower the portfolio's carbon footprint, talking with the companies within the portfolio about their carbon footprints, and discussing findings and their implications with the portfolio's investors. They might choose to reduce their exposure to holdings with a large carbon footprint or to actively invest in companies with low carbon footprints, but they are not required to do so.

Signatories are expected to provide their annual carbon footprint disclosure through their website, annual report, sustainability report, responsible investment report, or other publicly visible reporting channels. Stakeholders may want to know how signatories view their findings and how they will address them. It is important for signatories to be clear about what they have measured, what progress they have made, what initiatives they have planned, and what setbacks they have experienced and to offer stakeholders the opportunity to provide feedback.
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Breaking AI Stock News: GBT's (OTCPK: GTCH) Facial and Body Recognition Patent Application Received a Notice of Allowance

San Diego, CA - November 9, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) GBT Technologies Inc. (OTC PINK: GTCH) with GBT Tokenize Corp. ("GBT/Tokenize") received a notice of allowance for its facial and body recognition non-provisional patent application.

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Breaking EV Stock News: Mullen (NASDAQ: MULN) Enters into Agreement with Newgate Motor Group, one of Ireland's most Recognized Auto Groups, to Distribute the Mullen I-GOTM in Ireland and United Kingdom

BREA, Calif. - November 9, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Mullen Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ: MULN), an emerging electric vehicle manufacturer, announces today that it has entered into an agreement to appoint Newgate Motor Group, one of Ireland's most recognized dealership groups, as marketing, sales, distribution and servicing agent for the Mullen I-GO in Ireland and the United Kingdom.

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Breaking AI Stock News: GBT's (OTCPK: GTCH) AI Driven Financial Technology Patent Application Received a Notice of Publication

San Diego, CA - November 3, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) GBT Technologies Inc. (OTC PINK: GTCH) received a notice of publication for its financial software patent application.

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Breaking AI Stock News: Intellagents, a FatBrain AI (OTCQB: LZGI) Company, Announces Hiring of Insurtech Industry Veteran as Chief Revenue Officer

NEW YORK, NY - November 2, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) FatBrain AI (LZG International, Inc.) (OTCQB: LZGI), the leader in powerful and easy-to-use artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for star enterprises of tomorrow, announces the hiring of Euan King, an experienced and respected Insurtech industry leader as Chief Revenue Officer for insurance technology-focused subsidiary Intellagents.

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(The Darwin Port)

More Australian businesses and academics are asking for the Northern Territory Government of Australia to support engagement with Chinas Belt and Road Initiative, according to Australian Broadcasting Cooperation.

The report said Northern Territory businesses have turned to Chinese investment as a way to boost the economy, despite Australian authorities reluctance to join in the initiative.

China is said to have invested more than the Australian government in Northern Territory, and the investments are broadly supported by some of the countrys biggest banks, law firms, and consulting companies. A Belt and Road Conference is being organized by The Australia China Business Council (ACBC) to tie Northern Australian businesses with Chinese investors.

Daryl Guppy, president of the territorys ACBC branch, said that the Federal Government made a mistake declining Chinas offer to link northern Australian development with the Belt and Road.

The reality is we dont have our own internal domestic funding that will help develop northern Australia, he said. We cant stop Chinas expansion, thats an inevitability and the rest of Australia should have recognized that.

According to the report, the Australian Labor Party wants Australia to formally align itself with the project and has held talks with the Federal Government on the issue.

Northern Territory is located in the central and central northern regions of Australia, making up 40% of the land but with only 5% of the Australian population. Largely driven by mining, the Northern Territory has remained prosperous after the end of gold rush with the help of China.

The Chinese-owned company Landbridge bought large grounds in Darwin, the capital city of territory, as well as a 99-year lease of Darwin Port in 2015, which is just the tip of the iceberg, as China has invested 30 billion AUD ($23 billion) in Australia over the past two years, according to data released by KPMG.

Former U.S. President Barrack Obama even expressed worry toward Australian Premier Malcolm Turnbull because of the ports close proximity to a U.S. Marine Corps military base in Top End, according to Financial Times.

The Northern Territory Government acknowledges that overseas investment is vital to the development of northern Australia. State Grid Corporation of China is building a $630-million natural gas pipeline from the Northern Territory to Queensland. Direct flights from China to the Northern Territory could begin in a matter of months as part of the governments plan to double the number of visitors from China.

Proposed by China in 2013, the trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative aims to build trade and infrastructure networks connecting Asia with Europe and Africa on and beyond the ancient Silk Road routes. The initiative is actually the combination of two projects: the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.
Power generation is the largest demand driver of coal use in Northeast Asia and many parts of the world. Japan is not alone in coal energy use and it is quite likely the regional coal industry will continue to persist for years to come even if Japan has mothballed much of its domestic coal industry. This article will briefly discuss some developments in the Northeast Asian coal industry that may have a regional impact on Japan, including Mongolia emerging as a source of coal.





Mongolia is bordered by Russia and China, and both these neighbours currently exert an economic influence on Mongolia as a supply source. China is also fast emerging as a major consumer of coal in the region. As it is located in a land-locked region, consequently, the major Mongolian export items to Japan consist mostly of minerals and textiles.1 Significantly, 43 percent of Chinas coal resources are now drawn from Mongolia, an estimated total of 18,473.2 million tons of coal, and there are more than 5,000 companies from China with a total investment of USD 2.5 billion managing the energy trade, in addition to PetroChinas USD 1.4 billion.2





Chinas own growing need for coal will continue to drive its demand for domestic coal resources and even increase its imports. 70 percent of Chinas energy demand is met by its own coal resources, approximately 114 billion tons in terms of overall size, and growing imports.3 To facilitate this growing demand for coal, Dalian for example has become a growing center of coal trading in China. Due to its own increasing demand, China is the worlds largest producer of coal as well, including the prolific mines that are found in the Northern as well as Northwestern regions of China.





Russia is another source of coal energy commodities, and the Putin administration has stopped operations at non-productive coal mines to make its energy supply more effective and to create industry models that can rival the most efficient coal industries globally.4 The coal mines closer to Japan are those found in West Siberia. According to statistics dated around 2014, Russia exported 110 million tons to Japan, the two fast-emerging economies of India and China, as well as the European Union (EU), while in the same period of time, Japan took in 121 million tons of coal from Indonesia, Australia, Russia, the US, and Canada.5





Interestingly, North Korea has quite larges reserves approximated at 12 GT as well as potentially undiscovered coal mines.6 Its problems in coal extraction are man-made. Years of isolation, sanctions, and juche (self-reliance) have not brought about rapid economic development or cutting-edge industrialization. Its low-cost labor potentially makes North Korean coal cheap but there can be political repercussions for taking Pyongyangs resources. When the North Koreans tested a missile in early 2017, China turned back North Korean ships carrying coal for export.





Sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide are two by-products of coal use. They can cause respiratory problems and damage the eco-system.



The Great East Japan Earthquake 2011 has accelerated Japanese demand for coal since nuclear plants had to be shut down nation-wide. Since 2011, only one nuclear power plant located in Kagoshima, southern Japan has been turned back on. The current pro-nuclear government at the point of this writing is keen to turn on the others after safety inspection checks have been carried out. Japanese Clean Coal Technology (CCT) has been cited by the Turnbull government of Australia as a model for replacing their old coal power plants with cleaner versions.7 The Isogo (in southern Tokyo) electricity generation plant is seen globally as the cleanest coal power plant using the criteria of emissions intensity.8 Japan has 90 coal power plants in operation in 2017, has intentions to add more plants and this represents an opportunity for Australia since the Japanese purchase more than 40 percent of Australia thermal coal exports.9





The problems with tapping into Northeast Asian coal mines are typically political ones with geopolitical tensions in the region, including economic sanctions, maritime disputes, and issues of historical memories. There are other common problems in using coal as well. For example, acid rain results from coal use in the region. Sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide are two by-products of coal use. They can cause respiratory problems and damage the eco-system. Use of low-quality coal can worsen air pollution in the region. Densely-populated cities found in the Northeast Asian region intensify the problem further as energy use is concentrated in those areas. Heavy industries in areas like Shenyang or other regions producing cement and steel also add on to pollution generated by coal use. Driving urbanization are massive movements of people from the agricultural areas in the countryside to urban cities. This movement of people takes place on a massive scale in the context of China.





Future solutions to these challenges include the use of CCT or the use of scrubbers to remove pollutants, but they add to the cost of using coal energy for power generation. Coal itself can also be cleaned and the process lowers its sulphur and sodium content. Like its presence in seawater, sodium causes corrosion while sulphur contributes to acid rain formation. Another solution is to conserve energy or use energy efficiently to reduce wastage. These measures will lead to lower consumption of energy and reduce pollution as well. Substitution is another measure.





Coal can be substituted with much cleaner fossil fuels like natural gas or renewable energy resources like hydropower, wind, solar, and geothermal energy. According to a media report by a writer with the Australian Associated Press, renewable energy makes up 25 percent of Japanese power generation.10 Japan has also contributed to a cleaner regional environment by providing training on environmental monitoring to shore up more reliable data, technological sharing, and the promotion of transboundary cooperation. Networks of experts have also been formed amongst Northeast Asian states to look into this issue.





Notes





1. Enkhbold, V. (n.d.). Mongolias coking coal export potentials in Northeast Asia. The Association of Korean Economic Studies. Retrieved from http://www.akes.or.kr/eng/papers(2014)/120.full.pdf, p. 3.





2. Campi, A. (2013). The new great game in Northeast Asia: Potential impact of energy mineral development in Mongolia on China, Russia, Japan, and Korea. Asia-Pacific Policy Papers Series, Edwin O. Reischauer Center for East Asian Studies. Retrieved from http://www.reischauercenter.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/RC-Monograph-2013-Campi_The-New-Great-Game-in-Northeast-Asia.pdf, pp. 3 and 4.





3. Ibid, p. 12.





4. Ibid, p. 9.





5. Enkhbold, p. 8.





6. Streets, D. G. (1991). Northeast Asia coal trading center set up in Dalian. Glocom. Retrieved from http://www.glocom.ac.jp/column/1991/07/energy_and_acid_rain_projectio.html





7. Curtis, K. (2 Feb 2017). Look at Japan for clean coal power. News Limited. Retrieved from http://www.news.com.au/national/breaking-news/look-at-japan-for-clean-coal-power/news-story/784d9cb50af857bfa8cbc9f5bc90acc8





8. Mealey, R. (1 June 2017). Japan spruiks 'highly efficient' coal-fired power plants as stop-gap measure to Australia's energy crisis. ABC News. Retrieved from http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-01/japan-spruiks-coal-fired-power-plants-to-australia/8577464





9. Curtis (2 Feb 2017).





10. Ibid.
Many shared fitness rooms were recently introduced in Beijing residential communities after a series of shared products including bikes, sleeping capsules and phone chargers were made available.

The room offered by the Beijing-based Mipao Technology requires a deposit of 99 RMB ($14.8) and charges 0.2 RMB per minute. Every room occupies an area nearly 5 cubic meters, in which a running machine is offered.

Bi Zhen, CEO of Mipao Technology said market research shows that 95 percent of Chinese need exercise, while those with gym cards make up only 10 percent. Bi added that the shared fitness rooms will greatly meet the peoples exercise needs.

However, analysts worry that there could be low demand for shared fitness rooms due to single variety fitness services, the high construction cost of the rooms and lack of shower facilities inside the rooms as in common gyms.

They suggested that self-service fitness rooms could only grow in future if they offered high-quality, experienced services.
The coming year will be a nervous one for the Irish farm and food industries, writes Stephen Cadogan.

By the summer of 2018, our exporters will want to know where they stand, as they begin to enter into contracts with UK supermarkets.

They must agree terms for the 37% of Irish food and drink exports destined for the UK, valued at about 4.13 billion (in 2016).

Right now, they have no idea what kind of trading scenario they face.

The possibility of the UK and the EU reverting in 2019 to World Trade Organisation (WTO) terms is not negligible, says Alan Matthews, Professor Emeritus of European Agricultural Policy at Trinity College, Dublin.

He says the consequences of such immediate disruption to trading occurring overnight after Brexit Day are so immense that it seems unimaginable that political leaders would allow this to happen.

Nevertheless, falling over the Brexit cliff-edge is a possibility, because the two sides are so far from agreeing long-term trade arrangements and transitional periods.

That opens up the WTO scenario of customs clearance checks at borders, loss of automatic access to each others markets for a host of goods and service providers, and tariffs on trade between the two sides.

Ireland stands out in terms of tariff exposure on the UKs imports from the EU.

We provide 5% of the UKs imports, but we would be charged close to 20% of the total EU tariff in a WTO scenario.

Tariffs imposed on imports from Denmark and Ireland would be over 10% (with the maximum values potentially as high as 18% in the case of Ireland), mainly because a greater proportion of Danish and Irish exports to the UK consist of agri-food products, on which tariffs are higher than the average for all goods.

Germany, on the other hand, would be liable for just under 18% of the tariff owed to the UK, despite accounting for over 28% of the trade flows.

These estimates come from an Irish ESRI study, but are likely to be underestimates of the effects of re-introducing tariffs on EU-UK trading, says Alan Matthews.

That situation leaves the EU at a disadvantage in negotiating its divorce with the UK.

The UK side has the advantage of being single-minded, whereas the EU side is split 27 ways by the different agendas of its member states.

And looking at the consequences of trading under WTO rules shows clearly the varying effect of the divorce on the 27 member states.

UK negotiators can capitalise on that, knowing they can push hard, after a recent opinion poll of their citizens showed that 61% would be content to see significant damage to the UK economy as the price for leaving the EU.

The UK can hold out for the hard Brexit that apparently suits them, with the food and farming industries of countries like Denmark and Ireland among the bargaining chips on the table.

Experts studying the WTO scenario say the food and clothing sectors would be hardest hit. Results of the Irish ESRI study indicate that trade between the UK and the EU in clothes would fall by 99%.

The next 10 most affected sectors are all food-based, with falls of 68% for the dairy trade, eggs and honey sector and up to 95% for sugar and confectionery.

Into this scenario comes the call by Government Chief Whip, Joe McHugh, that the European Union should help Ireland financially after Brexit, in thanks for the Irish bearing the brunt of European austerity during the financial crisis, thus helping to save the euro currency when it was on the brink.

If the EU went further, and committed now to making good any losses suffered by member states in the event of a WTO scenario resulting from Brexit, it would ease fears among member states, and would give the EU a more advantageous position in negotiating with the UK.

It is one way of defusing the Brexit cliff-edge which UK negotiators may be depending on in order to secure a hard Brexit on their terms.

And without a hard Brexit, the commitment would end up at no cost to the EU.
North Korea has announced a detailed plan to launch a salvo of ballistic missiles towards the US Pacific territory of Guam, a major military hub and home to American bombers.

If carried out, it would be the North's most provocative missile launch to date.

The announcement on Thursday warned that the North is finalising a plan to fire four of its Hwasong-12 missiles over Japan and into waters around the tiny island, which hosts 7,000 US military personnel on two main bases and has a population of 160,000.

Japan and South Korea vowed a strong reaction if the North were to go through with the plan.

The statement said the plan, which involves the missiles hitting waters 30 to 40 kilometres (19 to 25 miles) from the island, could be sent to leader Kim Jong Un for approval within a week or so.

It would be up to Kim whether the move is actually carried out.

It is unclear whether - or exactly why - North Korea would risk firing missiles so close to US territory.

Such a launch would almost compel the United States to attempt an intercept and possibly generate further escalation.

North Korea, no stranger to bluffing, frequently uses extremely bellicose rhetoric with warnings of military action to keep its adversaries on their heels.

It generally couches its threats with language stating it will not attack the United States unless it has been attacked first or has determined an attack is imminent.

But the statement raised worries amid threats from both sides.

Following reports that US intelligence suggests the North might be able to pair a nuclear warhead with a missile capable of reaching targets on the United States mainland, President Donald Trump warned North Korea that "it faces retaliation with fire and fury unlike any the world has seen before".

North Korea's Kaepoong town is seen behind a North Korean military guard post, bottom, from the unification observatory in Paju, South Korea.

Pyongyang, meanwhile, has been louder in its complaints against a new and tough round of sanctions imposed by the United Nations, with strong US backing, and Washington's use of Guam as a staging ground for its stealth bombers, which could be used to attack North Korea and are a particularly sore point with the ruling regime in Pyongyang.

Its reported plan is extremely specific, suggesting it is actually plotting a launch.

The report said the Hwasong-12 rockets would fly over Shimane, Hiroshima and Koichi prefectures in Japan and travel "1,065 seconds before hitting the waters 30 to 40 kilometres away from Guam".

It said the Korean People's Army Strategic Force will finalise the plan by mid-August, present it to Kim Jong Un and "wait for his order".

"We keep closely watching the speech and behaviour of the US," it said.

Such a move would not merely be a test launch, but a demonstration of military capabilities that could easily lead to severe consequences.

South Korea's military responded by saying North Korea will face a "stern and strong" response from Washington and Seoul.

Taking it a step further, Japan's defence minister Itsunori Onodera told parliament a missile attack on the US territory would be a Japanese national emergency because it would threaten Japan's existence as a nation.

If North Korea were to actually carry it out - even if it aimed at hitting the waters off Guam and not the island itself - that would clearly pose a potential threat to US territory and put the United States in a much more complicated situation than it has been during previous missile launches.

Guam lies about 3,400 kilometres (2,100 miles) from the Korean Peninsula, and it is extremely unlikely Kim's government would risk annihilation with a pre-emptive attack on US citizens.

It is also unclear how reliable North Korea's missiles would be against such a distant target, but no-one was writing off the danger completely.

Washington has been testing its missile defences in response to the North's stepped-up development and the current escalation of tensions could lead to pressure for the US military to try to shoot down the North's missiles in mid-flight if they are heading towards Guam.

That would be likely to open up a set of very major problems, including the possibility of both a very high-profile failure or a miscalculation of Washington's intentions and a more deadly pre-emptive strike by the North - which has missiles able to hit Tokyo and conventional weapons that could devastate South Korea's capital Seoul.

The Hwasong-12, which was revealed for the first time at a military parade in April, is an intermediate-range ballistic missile that is believed to have a radius of more than 3,700 kilometres (2,300 miles).

It can be fired from mobile launchers, making it hard to detect and destroy on the ground.

By launching a salvo of four, the North would be attempting to make it harder for the US to intercept all of the incoming missiles.

Its stated flight path over Japan is also very aggressive - it has recently tried to avoid flying over neighbouring countries by shooting its missiles up at a very high angle to land in the ocean.

Washington, meanwhile, has been giving out mixed signals about its intentions.

While Mr Trump was threatening annihilation and boasting from the New Jersey golf resort where he is on holiday that he has made the US nuclear arsenal "far stronger and more powerful than ever before", secretary of state Rex Tillerson sought to calm the sense of crisis.

"Americans should sleep well at night," Mr Tillerson told reporters.

"Nothing that I have seen and nothing that I know of would indicate that the situation has dramatically changed in the last 24 hours."

AP
The fast food chain operator raised its full-year profit outlook after reporting a 14% jump in sales for the second quarter. McDonalds Japan will also invest in remodeling more restaurants and adding electronic payments to every store by the end of the year, said chief executive Sarah Casanova at a briefing in Tokyo after the earnings release.

We are now ready to accelerate the pace of our investments to make our business even stronger, she said at a briefing in Tokyo after the earnings release. Ms Casanovas turnaround, which included closing unprofitable stores, yielded 20 straight months of same-store sales gains.

To keep the trend going, the chain is introducing its first new line-up of burgers in eight years and expanding its partnership with Uber Eats.

The fast food chain operator raised its full-year forecast for the second time this year, saying it expects full-year operating profit to be 16.5bn yen (127m), up from a 15bn yen previously. Revenue for 2017 will likely be 248.5bn yen, compared with the 246bn yen previously projected, the company said.

They had lost the confidence of customers, but managed to appeal to them again, said Seiichiro Samejima, a Tokyo-based analyst at Ichiyoshi Research Institute before the earnings release.

The restaurant outlet is drawing in more customers with popular items such as Hawaiian loco moco burgers and advertising tie-ins including Pokemon-themed McFlurrys.

The outlook was much bleaker two years ago. The Japanese companys stock took another hit when its parent said in late 2015 that it was considering selling its stake. However, as the company started to post profit gains, McDonalds reversed itself. Much of the turnaround in Japan has been orchestrated under Ms Casanova, who took the helm of the company in 2014 after a previous stint as the head of marketing in Japan.

Although spending- per-customer fell in July due to discounts, McDonalds Japan locations managed to attract enough of an increase in customers to make up for the fall, keeping alive the string of same-store sales gains. Being more engaged with consumers, like using social media to ask customers to name a burger or to vote on their favourite, helped with sales, said a spokesman.

Shares of McDonalds Japan are up more than 50% this year.

Bloomberg
The new accounts filed by Irish Multiplex Cinemas Ltd show the business posted a profit of 1.28m last year, up from the 965,287 it posted in the previous year.

The firm is one of the Irish cinema firms operated by the Ward family who own the Savoy cinema in Dublin, as well as multiplexes in Dun Laoghaire, Athlone, Dundalk, Killarney and Ballymena.
It would take the average annual earnings of a small town  or more than three of tonights 17m Euromillions jackpots  just to buy the Lady Christine. And even Usain Bolt would work up a bit of a sweat sprinting the 62m length of the vessel.

Lady Christine arrived on Leeside from the south of England at lunchtime Tuesday and has been berthed at the Port of Corks city marina. It is scheduled to take to the seas again this morning, although possibly only as far as nearby Kinsale.

With a cool $62m price tag (53m), it was put on the market earlier this summer.

It is uncertain whether prospective Irish buyers can still get a chance to buy, as it is no longer listed on superyacht brokers Y.COs website. The firms Monaco offices would not comment yesterday on whether she is still for sale, already sold, or withdrawn from the market.

Lady Christine was named after the wife of Scottish-born Irvine Laidlaw, who had it built in 2010 by the Dutch firm Feadship.

It can accommodate 10 guests, catered for by a crew of up to 20, and the onboard facilities include a cinema, saloon, piano bar, and retractable terraces. The owners apartment is split over two deck levels, and features his and hers studies and a gym to work up an appetite for meals in the formal dining room for 12.

The Lady Christine had been available for charters for some months earlier this year, but it is not believed that it is in Irish waters on a charter. It might also have been on trial by a potential buyer, as Cork harbour

was also recently used by someone interested in purchasing a similar luxury yacht which had been on the market.

Flying under a Cayman Islands flag, it is one of a handful of luxury motor yachts to have had use of the Port of Cork facility so far this year, which is just a short stroll from the city centre.

Weve been involved with the EUs Cool Route which promotes the use of Cork and other parts of the west coast for cruising business. Our city marina facilities, with power, water, and security are a big attraction, said a Port of Cork spokesperson.

Charges for a yacht of this size, or any vessel more than 22m long, are just 60 per night. Small change, perhaps, to those who can afford such luxury.
Detectives from the Counter Terrorism International (CTI) unit are also going through documentation and other material taken from the mans home.

The Algerian national was released without charge, overnight on Tuesday, and a file will be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions. He was arrested on suspicion of possessing fraudulent identification documentation under terrorism legislation.

The investigation followed a request from the London Met after its Counter Terrorism Command (CTC) section uncovered ID documentation linked to Ireland.

The Irish Examiner understands that a document was unearthed during a search in Greece which was part of an investigation into Islamist terrorism.

Members of CTI, which is part of the Special Detective Unit, carried out three searches of addresses at 7am on Monday, two on the southside and one on the northside.

The suspect, aged in his 40s, was arrested at the northside property located in Drumcondra. He was questioned under Section 6 of the Criminal Justice (Terrorism Offences) Act 2015.

While the section relates to training for terrorism, sources indicate he was questioned for supplying fraudulent documentation for the facilitation of training or the financing of terrorism.

Documents are needed for a whole lot of things, said one security source. They are needed for travel and to open bank accounts and for passports.

He said a good forger was invaluable to both terrorists and criminal gangs.

An amount of documentation and digital devices were removed from properties searched.

They wont be just trawling the material seized, they will be looking for something specific, said the source.

They will also check his computers and mobile phones to see who he was in contact with.

Investigations are likely to take some time, it was emphasised, and can result in other inquiries. Officers will keep the British police updated on developments.

The Crime and Security Section at Garda HQ liaises with the British security service MI5 on intelligence matters, while the Special Detective Unit liaises directly with the Mets CTC section (also known as SO15) on investigative matters.

This operation is the latest involving a linkage with jihadi terrorism abroad, including the involvement of Rachid Redouane, who had lived in Dublin, in the London Bridge attacks, and arrests last May of an Algerian and Moroccan on suspicion of financing Isis.

No country is immune from terrorist activity, including planning for attacks, said a security source.

Fortunately, we dont have planning for an attack in this jurisdiction, but there are plenty of people willing to support attacks in other countries.
The incident took place at a private residence at Triq Malta, Ghajnsielem on the island of Gozo.

Malta police said the girl found herself in difficulty while swimming in a pool at around 5.30pm local time on Tuesday.
FRED ASTAIRE will always be cemented in the public imagination as one of historys most recognisable dancers, a fleet-footed vision, elegantly attired in top hat and tails with cane in hand. People are less likely to remember him in his role as an Irish doctor, who wears a soft tweed cap and roams the countryside in a purple taxi.

Astaire was 77 years old when he arrived in the Cork village of Eyeries to make Un Taxi Mauve (The Purple Taxi). He was no stranger to Ireland, having been a frequent visitor to Lismore Castle in Co. Waterford, where his sister Adele took up residence following her marriage to Charles Cavendish; they also had a house in Schull, Co. Cork.

The Purple Taxi was based on a bestselling book by French novelist Michel Deon shortly after he moved to Ireland in the 1970s. In the film, directed by Yves Boisset, Astaire plays the unlikely role of Dr Seamus Scully, a retired doctor who dispenses philosophical advice to his patients.

ON LOCATION

Fred Astaire is wearing the cap in the doorway.

The film was shot at the then recently opened Irish Film Studios at Ardmore near Bray and on location in Kerry and West Cork, as well as Cork Airport. It also starred the famous French actor Phillippe Noiret, Peter Ustinov and Charlotte Rampling. The film is being given a rare airing as part of the Beara Arts Festival, taking place this week. Artistic director of the festival and Eyeries native Marc OSullivan spent months looking for a decent version of the film.

There are several in existence, but only the original cut features the crowd scene outside the church in which you can recognise our neighbours, the late Una Batt ONeill and Veronica Steele [the renowned cheesemaker who died earlier this year], both dressed as nuns, and Kathleen Batt. I finally got a copy of this version from Australia, says OSullivan.

The Purple Taxi only had a short run in Irish cinemas, and it wasnt particularly well received. However, the film was a big success in France and it was reported that the Irish tourist office in Paris was inundated with inquiries after its screening.

Its inclusion of some suggestive language, a few incidents of nudity and any number of philosophical exchanges seems to have guaranteed its success in France, says OSullivan.

Audiences there were bewitched by its vision of Ireland as a rugged country blessed by rainbows and populated by hard-drinking men and devastatingly beautiful women.

According to OSullivan, the making of the film caused great excitement in Eyeries. These days, its no longer surprising to see celebrities like Colin Farrell out and about in Beara. Neil Jordan has a home in Beara and filmed Ondine in the area, and the television series Falling for a Dancer was also shot around Eyeries  but back then, it would have been an event to have anyone of their stature turn up in Dublin, let alone in such a remote corner of the country. The crew did considerable work on the village to make it seem even more quintessentially Irish, thatching roofs and building banks of turf and painting houses; ours wound up being two different colours white on top and green below.

Many locals were employed as extras, and there were several incidents of people wandering into shot or failing to ignore the cameras when they should have.

Joe Harrington, a former resident of Eyeries, was in the village when the film was being shot.

I watched them shoot a scene outside Mary Hanleys shop and what amazed me was the amount of time it took to shoot one simple scene. When they called action, the village would go completely quiet but there was a dog somewhere in the village that started making this ologoning sound. This happened about three or four times and the village erupted into laughter. Eventually, they had to go get the dog.

They came back and went to do a take, then the horse and cart started moving and everyone started laughing again. They went to do another take, and the postman decided to walk into the middle of the scene to see what was going on. Village life went on. They had great fun.

BIG MONEY

Lynchs bar

The film had a huge budget for the time  $4 million  but Harrington said locals who worked as extras didnt see much of it.

They got damn little of it, they were only paid buttons. But there was loads of food, you could have tea and sandwiches all day long inside in Jackie Lynchs pub, they made a fortune out of it. The only people who got any reasonable money out of it were the sheep herders, I think they got about 150 a day but they also had to provide a flock of sheep. They would have had to walk them in about three miles.

According to Harrington, Rampling for one didnt take too well to her ovine co-stars.

Another scene was filmed by a cowshed, and they had Charlotte Rampling outside, taking lots of still photographs of the sheep around her. Every time the sheep moved, she practically screamed, she thought they were going to bite her.

Charlotte Rampling with sheep

There wasnt much interaction between the stars and locals beyond the shooting of scenes, says Harrington. Astaire spent much of the time between takes in Bella Connells pub, while Edward Albert mingled more with locals.

Edward Albert was very popular. He was the son of Eddie Albert, who was famous for starring in the show Green Acres in the 1960s. He would go into the bar with his driver, have a drink and play pool. I spent an evening playing pool with him, I still have his autograph.

NO BIG DEAL

Harrington says while the people of Eyeries may have been starstruck however, they did the typically Irish thing of leaving them alone.

People would just say hello and keep going. I dont remember crowds of people looking for autographs. I think it would be the same today  they dont make anything great of it.

And what did Harrington make of the final product? I thought it was awful. Typically French, very philosophical, that kind of moody thing doesnt go down well with the Irish. But the French seemed to like it. Theres a new DVD out and they were using words like forgotten masterpiece which surprised me.

OSullivan says it is hard to believe the film has never been publicly shown in Beara, let alone in Eyeries. Given that the film was released 40 years ago, most of the stars of the film are now dead.

However, Rampling is still working, garnering her first Oscar nomination last year for her role in 45 years.

I contacted Charlotte Ramplings agent in the hope she might introduce the screening in Eyeries, but was assured she is otherwise engaged. Its not entirely surprising; I doubt she remembers the film as her finest hour, says OSullivan.

Admission to the two screenings of the film is free but people are being asked to make a small donation to Cancer Connect, a community group that organises free transport to hospitals in Cork for those receiving chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

We could hardly have chosen a more appropriate beneficiary; in the film, Fred Astaire is the local doctor who drives the purple taxi of the title but is never observed to charge a fare, says OSullivan.
A US missile defence system being deployed in South Korea is rubbing China the wrong way.

The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system (Thaad) is supposed to help South Korea protect itself from a North Korean attack. But China sees Thaad as a threat that will break the strategic equilibrium in the region.

This debate is taking place in a volatile corner of the world. North Korea has threatened to obliterate South Korean cities in rains of fire, conducted dozens of ballistic missile tests, and vowed to advance its well-documented nuclear weapons capabilities.

How does Thaad work?

The system, made by Lockheed Martin Corp, is designed to destroy short- and medium-ranged ballistic missiles at high altitudes in their terminal phase, as they descend.

Its different from conventional defence missiles, which are designed to get close to a target and self-detonate to damage or deflect the threat. According to Lockheed Martin, Thaad is more like hitting a bullet with a bullet: The missiles rely on infrared seeker technology to locate and hit the target head on, completely destroying it.

Could Thaad really save South Korea from an attack?

The Pentagon, announcing the planned deployment in July, said it would contribute to a layered missile defence that will enhance the alliances existing missile defence capabilities against North Korean missile threats.

Some of Chinas military experts question Thaads ability to take out North Koreas short-range missiles and artillery shells because the system is designed for high-altitude (the ha in Thaad) intercepts on either side of the earths atmosphere.

However, independent test results collected by a Cornell University scholar show that the bulk of Thaads testing has been against short-range targets, according to Rod Lyon, a fellow at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute in Canberra.

Does it pose an offensive threat?

No. Thaad missiles dont carry warheads.

Could it knock down missiles launched by China at the US?

Not really. Chinas longer range intercontinental ballistic missiles targeting the continental US would still be in their ascent phase when they pass by Thaad installations in South Korea. The same would be true if North Korea acquires an operational intercontinental ballistic missile.

So what is China worried about?

Its concerned that Thaads surveillance capabilities might be able to offer early tracking data to parts of the American ballistic missile defence system, eroding Chinas ability to target the US in the event of war, Lyon said.

The Global Times, a Communist Party-affiliated newspaper, accused Seoul of tying itself to the US chariot and turning into an arrogant pawn of Washington in the latters military

containment against China.

So Thaad could give the US an advantage against China?

Perhaps. The US already has a Thaad battery deployed in Guam, two radars in Japan, space assets, plus a range of ship-borne radars and larger land-based radars in other parts of the Pacific, according to Lyon.

Thaad would perhaps improve early tracking of some Chinese missiles but might not make interception of the missiles much easier.

How is China responding?

So far, its ordered travel agencies to stop selling tour packages to South Korea and taken steps against Lotte Group, one of South Koreas largest family-run conglomerates, which offered up the land that will host Thaads missile battery.

Lotte Groups development in the Chinese market should come to an end, the Global Times wrote after the decision. South Korea media has reported that Chinese hacks rendered some of Lottes websites inoperable. South Korea responded by saying it would ensure Korean firms dont face unfair trade measures in China.

What do experts say?

Beijing has tried to woo South Korea away from the US orbit, an effort that will have failed if Thaad gets deployed, says Zhang Baohui, director of the Center for Asian Pacific Studies at Lingnan University in Hong Kong.

Robert Kelly, a political science associate professor at South Koreas Pusan National University, wrote that Beijing is essentially demanding that South Korea remain defenceless  roofless  in the face of a spiralling nuclear missile threat on its doorstep.

That is an astonishing ultimatum: to effectively surrender South Korean national security over an existential threat to demands of a foreign power.
Autonomous operation of vehicles is one of the highest-profile technological trends. Its easy to understand, glitzy and will reduce accidents.

The industry seems to be at an early crossroads. The question isnt whether totally autonomous vehicles will be built. They will be. Rather, it is whether the lions share of the market will be such vehicles or simply integrating the most useful elements into vehicles that are never fully autonomous.

Both approaches will be established. What is not yet clear is which will be the predominant business model and which will be the niche. In other words, what will predominate in a decade: People hopping into their cars telling the speech-enabled electronics the destination and settling in to watch a movie, or human drivers simply supplemented by a cadre of electronic helpers?

Recent news provides evidence that both sides are on the winning track.

Intel made two interrelated announcements. It closed its acquisition of Mobileye, a company that Intel says specializes in computer vision and machine learning, data analysis, localization and mapping development of computer vision and machine learning, data analysis, localization and mapping for advanced driver assistance systems and autonomous driving. The purchase price is $15.3 billion.

Intel also announced that it will build a fleet of 100 Level 4 AVs to be tested in the United States, Israel and Europe. AVs are divided according to the amount of autonomy that is assigned. Level 4, according to the story, are capable of handling most driving situations. Full autonomy  Level 5  is theoretical.

Intel clearly is going all in on AVs. That certainly has something to do with the companys belief that the market will be worth more than $7 trillion.

Evidence that the slower approach may be prudent comes from IHS Markit and the automakers themselves. IHS found that full autonomy is not yet popular among a broad audience but that some of the features it brings are. The survey is based on responses from more than 5,000 people who intend to buy new cars during the next three years in the United States, Canada, China, Germany and the United Kingdom.

The autonomous market clearly is not set:

Just 44 percent of all respondents indicated that full autonomy would be a desirable feature on their next car, the lowest rank of all of the technologies included in this subsection of the survey. Interestingly, however, it also ranked as the technology that consumers would be most willing to pay for, according to IHS Markit. Price points varied by country, with US consumers indicating they would pay the highest price to have the feature in their next new vehicle.

Another sign that the road to riches may not be a straight one was mentioned at Reuters, which suggests that there are two drivers behind the entry into AV alliances by BMW and Daimler. One is to enlarge the pool of engineers working on the challenge. The other is defensive:

But another motive behind these deals, executives and industry experts told Reuters, is a concern that robocars may not live up to the profit expectations that drove an initial investment rush.

Much of this is about timing. Fully automated vehicles will eventually be available. If it takes too long to develop Level 5 vehicles, the market may center more fully on adding useful autonomous tools to cars and trucks that people still drive.

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.
The Cuban Foreign Ministry said Wednesday it had started an "exhaustive" investigation into the bizarre incidents which the United States said had caused physical symptoms in its diplomats serving here.

The matter had also resulted in the U.S. expulsion of two Cuban diplomats from Washington in late May.

Earlier on Wednesday, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters that the exact nature of the incidents was unclear, but that the affected Americans had returned to the United States for non-life-threatening "medical reasons." She didn't give the number of the Americans affected.

"We don't have any definitive answers about the source or the cause of what we consider to be incidents," she said, adding that "we take this situation very seriously."

Reports said the affected Americans, who first reported in fall of 2016 that some incidents were causing physical symptoms, suffered a severe hearing loss.

The Cuban Foreign Ministry statement released late on Wednesday said Havana complies strictly and seriously with its obligations under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961 regarding the protection and security of diplomatic agents.

"Cuba has never, nor would it ever, allow that the Cuban territory be used for any action against accredited diplomatic agents or their families," said the statement. "Cuba reiterates its willingness to cooperate in the clarification of this situation."

Cuba said it had started a comprehensive investigation into the alleged incidents after it had been informed of them by the embassy in February.

"Various entities conducted an exhaustive, high-priority, urgent investigation ordered by the highest authorities of the Cuban government and requested the U.S. embassy to share information on these incidents, " said the statement. Meanwhile, Cuba had strengthened security around the U.S. Embassy, diplomatic and staff residences.

The Cuban Foreign Ministry statement also called the U.S. decision to expel two Cuban diplomats based in Washington "unjustified and baseless."

The United States and Cuba officially resumed a diplomatic relationship in July 2015, more than five decades after they severed it, during the administration of then U.S. President Barack Obama.
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Thursday slammed Japan for "hyping up threats" from the DPRK over its nuclear and missile program.

"Japan is still terming the DPRK's steps for beefing up its strategic nuclear force as a 'threat,' not away from its persistent and anachronistic way of thinking, while billing the DPRK's steps as a pretext for meeting undesirable partisan interests," the official daily Rodong Sinmun said.

The Japanese Defense Ministry said Tuesday that the security threats of the DPRK's nuclear and missile program had "entered a new stage."

"The present Japanese authorities are hyping up the 'threat' from the DPRK in a bid to deflect the mindset of the public opposing the revision of the constitution, but such a move would rather backfire," said the official daily of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea.
Authorities in southwest China's Sichuan Province have said that 20 people have been killed in the magnitude-7.0 earthquake which struck Jiuzhaigou County on Tuesday evening.

At least 430 people have been injured in the disaster, with 15 said to be in a critical condition.

More than 60,000 tourists and local residents have also been moved to safety.

Four patients with severe fractures have been sent to a hospital in Mianyang, while a further 13 people were transferred to major hospitals in the provincial capital, Chengdu.

Meanwhile, nine national medical experts have been sent to Sichuan Province to assist local teams.
Local Dems sweep; town rejects pot Every Democrat on the local ballot won their race Tuesday, including Jamestown resident Peter Neronhas re-election as the states top prosecutor, and local voters followed suit with the statewide trend...

Voters rebuff allowing retail pot sales in shops By a margin of 157 votes, the electorate decided Tuesday not to allow local businesses to cultivate, manufacture, test or sell recreational marijuana in Jamestown. The referendum to allow the...

School board agrees to contract with North Kingstown Jamestown students entering high school can continue to choose North Kingstown as their destination for grades 9-12. We are pleased to continue this historic partnership, said Ken Duva, superintendent of...
Watches are not rocket science. Or are they? Watches are not rocket...

Perhaps you dont have a PhD. Well, thats a shame, because with some watches, youll need one to understand how to tell the time. Perhaps you dont have a PhD. Well,...
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WASHINGTON  The North Korean nuclear threat is a hinge moment for the U.S. and China, and for the new international order both nations say they want.

If Washington and Beijing manage to stay together in dealing with Pyongyang, the door opens on a new era in which China will play a larger and more responsible role in global affairs, commensurate with its economic power. If the great powers cant cooperate, the door will slam shut  possibly triggering a catastrophic military conflict on the Korean peninsula.

President Trumps bullying style, even in dealing with trivial matters of domestic politics, obscures the extent to which he has tried to marry U.S. policy on North Korea with that of China. For the most part, he has been surprisingly successful. Beijing and Washington have mostly been aligned, as in last weekends unanimous U.N. Security Council vote in favor of additional sanctions against Pyongyang to punish its continued missile tests.

Washingtons diplomatic goal, although it hasnt been stated publicly this way, is to encourage China to interpose itself between the U.S. and North Korea and organize negotiations to de-nuclearize the Korean Peninsula. The U.S. threat is that if China doesnt help the U.S. find such a diplomatic settlement, America will pursue its own solution  by military means, if necessary.

Trump amped up the rhetoric Tuesday, telling reporters: They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen. The U.S. threat may be a bluff, but with Trump, you never know. Top U.S. officials understand that a pre-emptive war against North Korea could result in horrendous loss of life and a post-conflict outcome that would be worse for all parties. But when national security adviser H.R. McMaster says that a nuclear-armed North Korea is intolerable to Trump, one should assume he means it  and that he is preparing a menu of military options.

Now comes the moment of nuclear brinkmanship. North Koreas Foreign Minister, Ri Yong Ho, said Monday, in reaction to the U.N. vote and Chinese-American calls for talks: We will under no circumstances put the nukes and ballistic rockets on the negotiating table. Is he bluffing? Again, we dont know.

Some diplomats saw ambiguity in the vagueness of Ris conditions for any talks. But many leading analysts believe that North Korea, rather than stepping away from the edge, is racing toward having an operational nuclear-missile capability that can strike the U.S, as a matter of self-protection.

Two intelligence assessments disclosed Tuesday added increased urgency to the crisis. The Defense Intelligence Agency concluded late last month that North Korea has mastered the technology for a miniaturized nuclear warhead that could sit atop a missile that could hit America, according to The Washington Post. A white paper by Japans defense ministry reached a similar conclusion and warned that the nuclear threat was now an imminent problem.

North Koreas rhetoric blasts the United States. But in a deeper way, its China thats being put in an intolerable position by Pyongyang. China has been flashing red lights about the North Korean program for more than a year. President Kim Jong Uns regime responded by conducting its fifth nuclear test last September and continuing its missile tests, despite urgent Chinese warnings.

Whats at stake in this confrontation was underscored by discussions last weekend at an annual gathering of the foreign policy establishment called the Aspen Strategy Group. This years meeting included five Trump administration officials, as well as a collection of former top officials from previous Republican and Democratic administrations.

Among the clearest points of consensus was that the North Korea crisis provides what one participant called a catalytic moment. If China and the U.S. can find a common path and resolve the crisis peacefully, they will succeed in modernizing the global order.

And if they fail? If Trumps fiery rhetoric alienates Beijing rather than motivating it? If Pyongyang decides to test its doctrine of self-sufficiency with a roll of the nuclear dice? If Trump becomes the first president since John Kennedy to truly find himself at the nuclear brink? One way or the other, the coming months will shape global security for many years ahead.
Two years before Donald Trump became president, he tweeted, Sadly, because president Obama has done such a poor job as president, you wont see another black president for generations! But six months into Trumps tenure, theres a growing buzz among Democrats that the next black president has already been identified: first-term Sen. Kamala Harris of California. Shes running for president, one fundraiser told the Hill. Take it to the bank. The dominant trend in Democratic Party politics is fresh, new and interesting, another fundraiser told Politico. And Kamala is the trifecta on that.

Im bullish on the idea that well have another black president. But its not a given that the next one will be a Democrat.

That might seem like a wild assertion, particularly given the role that racial resentment played in Trumps electoral victory. Its no secret that the GOP continues to fail spectacularly at messaging to black voters. The partys present approach to African Americans is best summed up by Trumps mockingly unserious entreaty last year to vote Republican: What the hell do you have to lose?

Black voters have lent long-standing and overwhelming support to the Democratic Party. And most of the nations rising black political stars are Democrats: Harris, Sen. Cory Booker (N.J.) and former governor Deval Patrick (Mass.)  who is, reportedly, the preferred candidate of several prominent Obama administration alumni, including Valerie Jarrett .

The conventional wisdom assumes that a black presidential candidate can succeed only in the more racially progressive of the two major parties  the Democrats  and with the widespread support of black voters. But this isnt necessarily so.

An examination of gubernatorial and senatorial elections since the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 shows that there have been comparable numbers of popularly elected black Republicans (eight) and popularly elected black Democrats (10). Though the two black governors were Democrats, the majority of the 10 black lieutenant governors have been Republicans, including the two currently holding office: Jenean Hampton of Kentucky and Boyd Rutherford of Maryland. In the Senate, there have been two black Republicans to four Democrats. At the statewide level, where gerrymandered districts arent a factor, a black Republican in a top office is no more anomalous than a black Democrat.

More significant to the prospects for a black GOP presidential nominee is the specific convergence of trends playing out across the country, particularly the intensifying hyper-partisanship. As the nation has sorted itself along party lines and antipathy has risen between the two sides , white Republicans who might harbor racial animus are willing to shelve that impulse to ensure that Democrats lose elections. At a minimum, the level of ideological polarization in American politics masks racially prejudiced voting behavior, and at a maximum, it renders it inoperable, according to a recent study on white conservatives in the GOPs base from professors M.V. Hood of the University of Georgia and Seth McKee of Texas Tech. The pull of partisanship is so strong and has become so central to the identity of white Republicans that their views on race take a back seat when they enter the voting booth .

Hood and McKee also found that white conservatives are either more supportive of minority Republicans or just as likely to vote for a minority as they are a white Republican, and that the base of the GOP does not discriminate against minority nominees in high-profile contemporary general elections. This finding helps explain the relative surge in black Republicans in Congress since the tea party movement, including Sen. Tim Scott (S.C.) and Reps. Mia Love (Utah), Will Hurd (Tex.) and Allen West (Fla.)  not to mention Indian American former governors Nikki Haley (S.C.) and Bobby Jindal (La.).

This phenomenon also can provide an advantage to black candidates in primaries and the general election. In Republican primaries, voters are overwhelmingly white and are becoming more conservative; they tend to choose the more conservative candidate. Understanding this, minority candidates often run to the right flank. Its unsurprising, then, that Heritage Action for America, an advocacy organization associated with the conservative Heritage Foundation, scored Scott, Love and West as more conservative than the average House Republican. (Hurd, who represents a purple district that is majority Latino, necessarily tacks more to the center.)

Two related studies show that in South Carolina, Nikki Haley and Tim Scott are more popular than their white Republican colleague Lindsey Graham, and that conservatives, evangelicals, and less-educated individuals respond more positively to Scott when he is described as a Tea Party favorite  than as the first African American Senator from South Carolina since Reconstruction.

Consider Ben Carsons 2016 presidential campaign. Carson, an inexperienced politician, rode a strong evangelical message and critiques of the media  both of which play well with conservative audiences  to the top of the GOP presidential polls. He held steady there for a few weeks until terrorist attacks and national security concerns (not his strong suit) changed the tenor of the race in Trumps favor. In other words, its not that racial animus doesnt exist, its that the power of conservative identity can outweigh it.

The path to the presidency for GOP candidates requires winning a majority of white voters in the general election, not just the primaries. But every Republican presidential nominee since the Voting Rights Act has handily won white voters, except in 1968, 1992 and 1996 , when margins of victory were smaller because of somewhat competitive third-party candidates. In the current hyper-partisan atmosphere, if a black candidate can appeal to Republican voters, he or she can capture the same coalition that white Republicans use to win elections.

The Democratic Party, for its part, is well aware of its poor performance among white voters and has begun focusing its attention on them, specifically the white working class. Post-election analysis shows that it was these voters, shifting from the Democratic Party to Trump, who were ultimately responsible for Hillary Clintons undoing. Some progressives have expressed concern that the partys attempts to win back white working-class voters will come at the expense of black voters, despite the fact that black voters are the most reliable part of the Democratic base. With its obsessive focus on wooing voters who supported Donald Trump, writes Brown Is the New White author Steve Phillips, the party is neglecting the cornerstone of its coalition.

The Democrats intramural debate was evident in the recent race for the Democratic National Committee chairmanship, when an ally of eventual winner Tom Perez said of Rep. Keith Ellison  who, as the first black congressman from Minnesota and the first Muslim elected to Congress, holds more progressive positions than many others in the party  Is he really the guy we need right now when we are trying to get all of those disaffected white working-class people to rally around our message of economic equality? This quote illustrates a desire to address oft-cited white economic anxiety by subordinating issues of race and religion. Now Democrats must determine whether their next electoral victory lies in recapturing the white working-class voters who used to be part of their base or doubling down on the demographics-is-destiny strategy, which prioritizes appeals to the growing segment of minority voters.

So while a black liberal is fighting upstream in a political climate of racial and ideological polarization, that same climate could work in favor of the black conservative candidate. And though black Democratic candidates often increase black voter turnout  see 2008 and 2012  the rash of restrictive state voting laws has suppressed turnout among minority voters. Because a black Republican nominee doesnt rely on black voters, the electoral factors that hurt black Democratic candidates dont have nearly the same effect. In an irony befitting todays bizarre political landscape, a black Republican nominee may benefit electorally from discriminatory voting laws.

This leads to yet another trend that could help: growing black dissatisfaction with the Democratic Party. Even the election of a black Democrat to the presidency wasnt enough to compel the federal government to meet demands to address systemic racial disparities in a meaningful way. For all its loyalty to the party, the black electorate has not realized the policy gains that should accompany its voting power. Yet, black voters continue to support the Democratic Party for lack of viable options in the voting booth. This conundrum is called electoral capture, a concept that Princeton professor Paul Frymer describes as a blocs overwhelming support for one political party as a result of the opposing party having no interest in, or making no effort to win, the blocs votes. As a result, some black Americans have turned to other forms of political expression  black turnout was down seven percentage points from 2012 to 2016  such as rallies and demonstrations, the Black Lives Matter movement, protest votes, and principled exits from the electoral process. Black Americans dissatisfaction hurt Democrats, not Republicans, on Election Day.

This is where black men put their finger on the scale. A black Republican nominee would peel away a small but significant portion of the black electorate, mostly men. Though black men largely hold liberal views, more of them than black women buy into the conservative mantra of self-determination, small government and economic sufficiency as a remedy to racial discrimination. Also, my research, supported by similar findings, found that black men are much more likely than black women to vote for a black presidential nominee regardless of party or policy views. This suggests that a black Republican candidate can cut into the Democratic base to some extent in the absence of a black Democratic candidate. If Trump managed to get 13 percent of black men to vote for him (Mitt Romney drew 11 percent in 2012 against Obama), a black Republican candidate is certain to exceed that by some noticeable margin. And in a razor-thin election, black men voting along racial lines could help tip the outcome.

Taken together, the current landscape provides fertile soil for the idea of a black Republican in the White House. Of course, when it comes to the presidency and electoral politics, good conditions are hardly enough to win. There are simply too many other factors at play, from candidates likability to things they cant control, such as the state of the economy.

And race still matters: White Republican primary contenders could try to employ coded racial appeals to denigrate competitive black candidates (or to denigrate white candidates  recall the George W. Bush teams attacks on Sen. John McCain during the 2000 South Carolina primary). Further, being black and very conservative is insufficient (recall the Alan Keyes, Herman Cain and Carson campaigns). And theres the reality that the Republican bench for viable black candidates is basically empty, except, perhaps, for Sen. Scott.

Still, if the notion of a black Republican presidency occurring before the next Democratic one seems doubtful, its becoming less so as our politics becomes more divided and stress fractures emerge in historic coalitions. Given the unpredictability and hyper-partisanship of the current political environment, the political winds now blowing could indeed fill the sails of a black Republican presidential nominee.

Theodore R. Johnson is a fellow at New America and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University's McCourt School of Public Policy.

Twitter: @DrTed
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The Superfast 8 Hz Power Control Porsche 919 Only Watch 2017 honours an exceptional driver: Jacky Ickx. Chopard has chosen this motor-racing legend and ambassador of the Geneva-based Maison to collaborate in creating this watch which aims at raising funds for muscular dystrophy research. This timepiece reflects the values shared by Jacky Ickx, Porsche Motorsports and Chopard: a passion for racing, backed by excellence and precision.

Racing inspiration

This watch embodies the alliance between Chopards watchmaking excellence and the expertise of Porsche Motorsport. This competition-friendly timepiece picks up the DNA of the Porsche 919 Hybrid. Its 45 mm case provides ample space for impeccable readability, while the use of titanium delivers outstanding results in terms of both resistance and weight  two key issues shared by the racing world. Its resistance to shocks and scratches makes it an ideal material for timepieces subjected to the stresses and strains of endurance racing. On the dial side, the hour-markers flaunting a racing-style design are swept over by facetted cut-out hands featuring tips enhanced with Super-LumiNova, thus enabling swift and intuitive read-off by day or night. The seconds hand also carries a slim red tip standing out perfectly against the midnight blue dial.

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A champion with a big heart and multi-facetted personality, this well-known figure in motor-racing and great friend of Chopard co-president Karl-Friedrich Scheufele has a rich and varied track record. His six victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans earned him the nickname Monsieur Le Mans. The dial of the Superfast 8 Hz Power Control Porsche 919 Only Watch 2017 is midnight blue, the legendary colour of his racing helmet, and bears his signature, visible at 6 oclock along his favourite number 20: the one painted on the Porsche 936 with which the champion won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1976.

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A federal judge in Louisiana ruled [text, PDF] against the state on Tuesday in a constitutional challenge to a law [text] that requires naturalized citizens who were born outside the US to present a valid birth certificate from their home country before they can obtain a marriage license. In his ruling, Judge Ivan Lemelle from the US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana [officialwebsite] granted a permanent injunction against the implementation of Act 436, a Louisiana law that easily passed both houses of state government [vote count] and became law in 2015. The plaintiff in the lawsuit, who immigrated to the US with his parents when he was three months old, did not have a birth certificate because he was born in an Indonesian refugee camp, according to the ruling. He was denied a marriage license under Act 436, which requires that all applicants for a marriage license provide a certified birth certificate, a valid and unexpired passport, or an unexpired visa accompanied by a Form I-94, documents he could not obtain on account of the circumstances of his birth. The judge denied the states argument that a permanent injunction would be a disservice to the public interest.

In the instant matter the permanent injunction protects the fundamental right to marriage and the right to be free from unconstitutional discriminatory classifications based on national origin. Consequently, this factor also weighs in favor of Plaintiff and his motion for a permanent injunction is deemed appropriate.

Because the challenge to the law was a facial challenge, the ruling permanently enjoins and restrains future implementation of Act 436. A preliminary injunction against implementation of the law had been granted [JURIST report] by the same federal court in March.

The focus on immigration policies continues to be a growing legal issue. In April US Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced [JURIST report] his office has mandated immigration enforcement as a priority. JURIST Guest Columnist Ali Khan discussed [JURIST backgrounder] the potential deportation of the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the US as a crime against humanity. Also in April, A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesman announced [JURIST report] that President Donald Trumps administration was no longer planning to separate women and children at the US southern border as a means of deterring immigration. That same month, the state of Massachusetts requested [JURIST report] the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court find that state authorities lack jurisdiction to detain illegal immigrants. A day earlier, the California State Senate overwhelmingly passed a bill [JURIST report] on last Monday that would expand protections for undocumented immigrants by prohibiting state or local law enforcement from using resources to investigate, detain, report or arrest people for immigration violations
The Texas House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a bill [text, PDF] that would prohibit health insurance plans from providing coverage for elective abortions. An elective abortion is defined as one in which the mother is not in danger of death or serious injury if the abortion is not performed. Insurance for an elective abortion would only be allowed if the coverage is provided separately from the other health plan coverage and the enrollee pays a premium for the coverage separately from the other health plan premium. The health insurer is not allowed to decrease the elective abortion premium by taking into account any cost savings from the other health plan that would result from having the elective abortion insurance. The insurer also cannot discount or reduce the premium of the other health plan for enrolling in the elective abortion premium. The bill was passed [vote record, PDF] by a vote of 92-46. Proponents of the bill have stated [Reuters report] that it prevents opponents of abortion from subsidizing abortion. Similar bills have been passed in 10 other states. Opponents of the bill have called the bill a requirement to purchase rape insurance due to the bill having no exceptions for cases of rape or incest.

Abortion has been a hotly debated political topic in the United States for many years. In July abortion rights groups filed a lawsuit in Texas over a law that banned a common method of second-trimester abortions. In June the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejected [JURIST report] an anti-abortion health clinics argument that a San Francisco ordinance violated their First Amendment right to free speech. Also in June in the state of Ohio lawmakers voted [JURIST report] 24-9 in favor of a bill that would criminalize a common second trimester abortion procedure. Earlier that month the Supreme Court of Georgia barred doctors [JURIST report] from suing state over abortion law, holding that the state is immune from litigation unless it consents to being sued, rejecting a challenge to a 20-week abortion ban.
Aid officials say six Red Cross volunteers have been killed in Central African Republic, the third deadly attack on the group in the country this year.

Antoine Mbao-Bogo, president of the Central African Red Cross, said Wednesday he was "appalled" by news of the killings in the southeast.

The circumstances of the attack were not clear, according to the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

The Red Cross says the volunteers were in Mbomou prefecture attending a crisis meeting at a health facility.

Many humanitarian workers have been blocked from doing their work during the latest surge in largely sectarian violence in Central African Republic. Militants also have tried to kill wounded enemies in public health facilities.

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Venezuelas National Constituent Assembly (ANC) created [press release, in Spanish] a Commission for Truth, Justice and Public Legitimacy on Tuesday. The ANC is tasked [Bloomberg report] with rewriting Venezuelas constitution. The ANC has previously passed a decree which declared that the national assembly and the supreme court could over rule the assembly. The commission will remove the legal immunity of the national assembly members. The national assembly has previously opposed Venezuelas president, Nicolas Maduro. Critics of the commission have claimed that the commission will be used to silence opposition to Maduro. The commission will be able to strip the public duties from those that are found to have acted against Venezuela. The creation of the commission comes after multiple mayors who have opposed Maduro have been sentenced to prison for failing to clear roadway blockades.

Venezuela has experienced a significant amount of political unrest since the opposition gained control of the National Assembly in December 2015. In July Venezuelans voted to reject [JURIST report] a plan to rewrite the countrys constitution in a non-binding referendum. In May the US Department of the Treasury announced sanctions [JURIST report] against Venezuelan Supreme Court justices for usurping democracy. In October the National Assembly voted to open criminal impeachment [JURIST report] proceedings against Maduro, alleging that he manipulated the constitution to remain in power. That same month the Assembly also declared [JURIST report] that there was a breakdown of constitutional order and that the government had staged a coup by blocking an attempt to remove Maduro from power. Instability peaked on March 30 when the Supreme Court of Venezuela dissolved [JURIST report] the opposition-controlled National Assembly and assumed all legislative powers.
Egypt condemned on Thursday a suspected terror attack in Paris in which a car rammed into soldiers outside a barracks in a Paris suburb, injuring six.

"The foreign ministrycondemns the collision incident that took place near the French capital," the ministry said in a statement.

It asserted "Egypt's full solidarity with the government and people of France in the fight against terrorism."

The suspected terror attack is the latest in a string of assaults that have hit France since January 2015, claiming more than 230 lives.

The servicemen were hit by a BMW which drove down a quiet street in the upmarket western Paris suburb of Levallois-Perret at around 8am.

Egypt also renewed its call for "decisive measures to put an end to terrorism which threatens the security and stability of the people, and to hold accountable those who provide financial, logistic or media support to terrorist organisations."



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Egypt's interior ministry has announced that a man suspected of involvement in the deadly armed attack on Christian pilgrims in Minya in May was killed during a police shootout.

A statement published on the ministry's official Facebook page announced that the suspect was killed on Wednesday night during a shootout with police forces in the hilly area of Qena governorate in Upper Egypt.

In May, armed men attacked buses carrying Coptic Christians to a monastery in Minya governorate. Thirty people were killed and at least 21 injured.

The suspect is a member of a terrorist cell that was involved in the attacks on the Church of St Peter and St Paul in Cairo last December, the Palm Sunday attacks on churches in Tanta and Alexandria, an attack on El-Nakab checkpoint in Wadi Gadid in January, as well as the Minya attack on pilgrims, the statement said.

Egypt is battling Islamist militant groups that are mainly concentrated in the restive northern part of Sinai.

However, militants have also carried out deadly attacks against security forces in other parts of the country, including the capital.

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The Egyptian ambassador in Iraq has said that Egypt rejects a referendum on independence set to be held by Iraq's Kurdistan region next month, stressing that any decision about the future of the country should involve the Baghdad government.

"Iraq's strength lies in its unity; we reject any unilateral moves without coordination with the central government," ambassador Alaa Moussa was quoted as saying in a statement reported in local media.

Moussa stressed that "differences" between the Baghdad government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) should "not affect counterterrorism efforts."

The KRG has said that the referendum would go forward despite international warnings that a vote in favour of secession could trigger a conflict with Baghdad, whereas the fight against the militant group Daesh is still ongoing.

Baghdad has rejected any move by the Kurds to unilaterally push for independence, insisting that any decision about the future of the country should involve all concerned parties.

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Europes future depends on immigration, but ending the tragedy in the Mediterranean will require a new approach to education and global inequality.

The challenges posed by immigration in recent years, and exacerbated by the refugee crisis, have caused splits to appear in the European Unions fabric. Immigration was among the main divisive issues in the Brexit referendum, and now a number of Central and Eastern European countries are refusing to take in refugees, marking a step back from the values of the Union and its core nations.

One root cause of Europes immigration problem is the huge inequality in our world. Although a vast number of new arrivals in Europe come from war torn countries like Syria, many others originate from economically deprived parts of Africa and South Asia and should be seen primarily as economic migrants.

The poorer developing countries are experiencing population booms and government resources simply cannot keep up. It is naive to imagine that the people from the worlds poor regions will ever stop trying to reach wealthier countries in hope of a better life.

Europe, like almost every other developed region, faces a demographic crisis. Fertility rates are in decline and the population is ageing. Immigration is often seen as a partial solution to this predicament, though it is not without its pitfalls. After all, how do you integrate people from often totally different cultures while halting the rise of xenophobia and the far-right?

In Denmark, a small European country generally recognised for its social-democratic values and strong welfare state, immigration has become a central political issue. The far-right, nativist Danish Peoples Party has grown rapidly in recent years, becoming the second-largest political party at the 2015 election.

Anti-immigrant and asylum-seeker sentiment has grown across the political spectrum, just as the number of asylum seekers has spiked in the tiny country of 5.7 million. The number of asylum seekers increased from 14,792 in 2014 to 21,316 in 2015 according to statistics from the Danish Ministry of Immigration, Integration and Housing.

This pressure will continue to grow. By 2030 the world population is projected to grow by more than one billion. It will reach 9.8 billion in 2050 and 11.2 billion in 2100.

Again, the problem is perhaps not overpopulation as such but the disparity in growth distribution. On the one hand, poor and emerging countries will face great challenges of overpopulation, while on the other, according to the World Economic Forum, the European Union, Japan and the United States will need to revise migration policies and change their economic models if they want to guarantee pensions and social security contributions in the coming years.

Europes post-WWII economic model has made it the economic powerhouse it is today, but it has also contributed to smaller families and a steady decline of in fertility rates. Better education, the equal integration of women in the workforce, consumerism, higher living standards that alter our expectations and goals in life and the extension of life expectancy all contribute the phenomenon of an ageing and declining population.

Just as our continent has undergone a huge shift in priorities and policies, so too can other regions. Thus, in my opinion, the solution to Europes immigration problem does not lie in sending boats to stop the influx of migrants, or raising walls across vulnerable entry points. We should instead tackle global wealth inequality to help others reach our standard of living.

If the poorer regions close the gap on the developed countries, then their societies will follow similar economic and social models. Combine this with better education and their youth will have the tools they need to build a better future at home, rather than risking their lives to enter Europe illegally.

While some Western heavyweights like the USA and Britain choose isolationism and conservatism, some of the smallest European nations are realising that engagement with poor countries is needed to tackle the problem.

Providing quality sex education and increasing the availability of contraception is part of the answer. Speaking at a family planning summit in London last month, Danish Minister for Development Cooperation Ulla Trns justified a 91-million kroner ($15 million) commitment to underwriting contraceptives in Africa.

To limit the migration pressure on Europe, part of the solution is to reduce the very high population growth in many African countries, she stated. Trns additionally noted that curtailing African population growth is important for Danish foreign and security policy.

Additionally, Europe should help decriminalizing homosexuality and promote marriage equality for same sex couples in some of the developing countries.

Surely such action is preferable to rescuing capsized boats full of desperate, drowning people. The EU as a whole should follow Denmarks example and educate poorer societies about the economic and environmental impacts of overpopulation, and how they can be avoided.

The alternative is an ever increasing pressure on richer and less populated countries, with the potential result of either conflict or starvation in poor nations.
Egyptian foreign minister Sameh Shoukry told US special envoys on the Qatar dispute Anthony Zinni and Tim Timothy Lenderking in a meeting in Cairo on Thursday evening that Doha must end its support to terrorist organisations as a condition to end the dispute with its Arab neighbours, a statement by, the Egyptian foreign ministry said in a statement.

Shoukry told Zinni that the diplomatic crisis with Qatar would end if the Doha complies with the demands presented by the four Arab countries which cut ties with Doha in early June, including ending its support to terrorism.

On 5 June, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE cut diplomatic diplomatic ties with Qatar and imposed a commercial embargo on Doha, accusing Qatar of backing terrorist groups and interfering in the internal affairs of neighbouring countries.

Doha denies these accusations.

The four Arab countries later issued a list of 13 demands for Qatar to meet before resuming relations, which included an end to Doha's funding of terror groups in the region and extradition by Doha of dozens of their nationals who are accused in terror related cases.

The four countries have demonstrated seriousness in resolving the dispute and Qatar must now do the same and meet the demands which are in accordance to international law, Shoukry told the US envoys.

Zinni and Lenderking had arrived in Cairo on Thursday evening after short visits to Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain and the UAE to discuss ways to resolve the Qatar dispute with officials in those countries.

Earlier this week, Zinni and Lenderking were sent to the region by US President Donald Trump to hold discussions with officials in various Arab Gulf countries and Egypt to resolve the ongoing dispute.

Kuwait has been mediating between Qatar and the four Arab countries in an attempt to broker a settlement.

Zinni said that the US supports the Kuwaiti mediation efforts and is hoping for a resolution of the crisis in the near future, the foreign ministry statement read.

The US and a number of European countries have also been trying to negotiate a resolution to end the dispute.

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The State Department says President Donald Trump is "on the same page" with the rest of U.S. government with his fiery threat to North Korea.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert says the White House, State Department and Pentagon are all in agreement. She says the world, too, is speaking with once voice.

Nauert says the pressure by the U.S. and others on Pyongyang "is working."

Nauert says Secretary of State Rex Tillerson spoke to Trump for about an hour after Trump warned Tuesday of "fire and fury" if North Korea escalated its threats.

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RAVENNA  The Red Cross is assisting a family of four after a fire displaced them from their Ravenna home Tuesday night.

According to Ravenna Fire Chief DeWayne Thomsen, the Ravenna Volunteer Fire Department was called to a house fire at about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday at 311 Milan Ave.. The home was mostly engulfed in flames when fire crews arrived.

It took the fire department about a half hour to put the flames out and another two hours to clean up hot spots, he said.

Ravennas EMTs were also on scene providing assistance.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by the State Fire Marshal.

According to a Red Cross press release, the organization is providing help and hope to the family during the recovery.

According to the Buffalo County Geographic Information Systems, the home is owned by Shari Samuelson.
KEARNEY  About 100 people gathered Wednesday at the Family History Center at Trails & Rails Museum to celebrate the opening of a new front door to the museum.

Roger Davis, a Buffalo County Historical Society board member, savored the event.

Weve been sitting around the table for many years dreaming and planning for this, he said after the ribbon cutting. Its just amazing to be able to step into your dream, walk into this building, see this space and see all the opportunities now available.

The 6,000-square-foot building includes room for archives, offices, the museum gift shop and handicap-accessible restrooms.

The historical society owns and operates Trails & Rails. BCHS Executive Director Jennifer Murrish understands the value of the building.

The Family History Center is true to its name, she said. Weve had a lot of people coming in and asking not only about the family history we already have collected, but they always want to know how they can donate their family history. Now, we have the space to collect and preserve it for them.

She acknowledged the support of the community in funding the new building.

Weve had so many supporters, she said. We wouldnt be here without them. And we have such great volunteers and staff. None of this would be here without them.

Murrish noted an increase in foot traffic and phone calls.

People want to know if they can bring their items down, she said. We now have the space and the staffing.

The entrance and the exit to the museum shifted to the new building after the centers soft opening in July.

This is the new check-in, she said. When guests pull up, they will park in this parking lot and come in and check in. Our tour guides will take them over to the existing facility.

A new sidewalk connects the Family History Center with the museum grounds at 710 W. 11th St.

Davis described the space for archives in the new building as cavernous.

It will be filled with materials, he said of the largest part of the building. All of the archives we have will be moved over here. Theres so much archived material that had to be stored in the basement or the back part of other buildings. We just didnt have room for it. Now it can all be unpacked and cataloged. Theres just going to be a wealth of fascinating things that will become available to the community.

One of the main values of the archived material lies in its potential for genealogical research.

People are always looking for their family history, Davis said.

The displays in the front part of the Family History Center will certainly motivate patrons to tell their own stories.

Maybe they have artifacts that have been kept in the family, he said. The next thing you know, they want to find out more about commercial businesses, about churches and historical elements of the community that arent particularly part of their family.

All of that leads to a strong sense of connection for the residents of Buffalo County.

History is a conversation, Davis added. It is the great dialogue. Every generation has to speak to the next generation.

Families frequently keep their lore alive through telling stories and keeping artifacts.

We often have that conversation with our children, Davis said. We say, Look, when Im gone, you must remember these things.

Family stories, often repeated at reunions, help cement relationships.

Family reunions are fading, he said. Part of getting together every year or four years was to tell the same stories over and over so they would be remembered. The degree to which that diminishes is the degree to which were always living in the present tense. And living in the present tense is not a healthy thing for humans. It diminishes us and keeps us from our potential.

Davis believes that keeping the kinds of connections collected at the Family History Center at Trails & Rails benefits us as individuals as well as a community.

Having that context, having that connection with the greater community of family, friends and community, over time, enriches us, Davis said.
This week, I have been leading an important trade mission to Canada. Canada is Nebraskas largest export market and fourth largest agriculture export market. In 2016, total agricultural exports from Nebraska to Canada equaled an estimated $468 million out of a total agriculture export value of $5.4 billion. In addition to our important trade relationship, Nebraska and Canada are both celebrating our 150th birthdays this year.

Why travel to Canada when Nebraska already has such a great relationship? We cannot take our best customers for granted. Appreciation is one of the most important aspects of any partnership, so we are taking the time to thank our largest export market for their business while solidifying our current relationships with government officials and investors. This mission can also help open new doors and new opportunities for Nebraska ag producers and businesses looking to grow.

The timing of this trade mission is critical, as negotiations between the United States, Canada and Mexico are set to begin on the modernization of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

NAFTA has been pivotal to growing Nebraska agriculture, our states number one industry. According to the USDA Economic Research Service, exports from Nebraska to free-trade agreement markets grew 104 percent from 2005 to 2015, with growth in NAFTA trade far outpacing our trade with other partners. As NAFTA negotiations have begun, Nebraska ag producers and I have been working together to showcase how critical this agreement is to the future of the farm families who help grow our state.

This week, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Economic Development and ag producers have joined the mission. During our visit we will share the story of Nebraska and the high-quality commodities produced by our farm and ranch families with current and potential investors.

While in Canada, we will sit down for a roundtable discussion with the U.S. consul general for Toronto, as well as a reception and meal featuring Nebraska beef that will be hosted by the minister counselor for Agricultural Affairs. Nebraska beef products are Nebraskas number one agricultural export to Canada, totaling $138.2 million in 2015.

My cabinet directors and I will also have the opportunity to meet directly with the minister of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. This meeting will be an opportunity to share our thanks for the market access Nebraska products enjoy in Canada as well as a conversation about future growth opportunities.

Additionally, we plan to meet with the Canadian Pork Council and the Canadian Cattlemen Association at the U.S. Embassy. Pork is Nebraskas third highest agricultural export to Canada, providing $61.3 million of exports. We look forward to sharing Nebraskas beef and pork story with these two organizations.

During the trade mission, participants also will be briefed on a number of trade issues. The Nebraska Department of Agriculture is hosting a workshop on the Safe Foods for Canadians Act.

Trade missions like these have allowed Nebraska to build on relationships that have been helping grow our state for 150 years. Nebraska has achieved great growth through trade over the years because of an ongoing commitment by our agriculture and business communities to raising Nebraskas international profile.

Pete Ricketts is governor of Nebraska.
Nebraskans involved in workforce development are voicing optimism about outreach efforts to the states young people. One such effort is reVISION by the Nebraska Department of Education. The process helps school districts do a deep dive into the data about local labor market information and economic priorities for the region, said Rich Katt, state director of career education with the Education Department.

A key component of reVISION is holding community engagement sessions in which educators and local residents create a shared vision about what knowledge and skills students need to leave with, Katt said.

Among the standouts, he said, is Kearney High School, which has built close connections to the community and helped students understand their options in a range of fields. Theyre doing exceptional work, he said.

Jay Dostal, principal at Kearney High School, said about 180 adults have served on advisory teams for the initiative, by which the school transformed its curriculum, academic counseling and community connections to help students understand career opportunities and build on their interests and aptitudes.

The comprehensive approach helps students learn about options in a range of career categories, including business; agriculture and natural resources; health sciences; and technical sciences.

Our community is really rallying around it, Dostal said. The communitys strong passage of a bond issue in 2013 to build a new Kearney High set the stage to look at the educational environment in a different way and set things up for the new approach, he said.

The Kearney school system held seven community engagement sessions, which proved vital in laying the groundwork for the effort, the principal said.

Katt notes that by the conclusion of the upcoming school year, nearly 100 Nebraska school districts will have completed a reVISION process, involving about 70 percent of the states public school students.

The outcomes have been very significant, Katt said. Weve seen complete program changes, especially lots of emphasis on skilled trades, agrisciences, bioscience and information technology.

Omaha World-Herald






Police work near the scene where French soliders were hit and injured by a vehicle in the western Paris suburb of Levallois-Perret, France, August 9, 2017 Reuters Police work near the scene where French soliders were hit and injured by a vehicle in the western Paris suburb of Levallois-Perret, France, August 9, 2017 Reuters

Police and soldiers secure the scene where French soliders were hit and injured by a vehicle in the western Paris suburb of Levallois-Perret, France, August 9, 2017 Reuters Police and soldiers secure the scene where French soliders were hit and injured by a vehicle in the western Paris suburb of Levallois-Perret, France, August 9, 2017 Reuters

Officials and rescuers gather near vehicles after a car slammed into soldiers on patrol in Levallois-Perret, outside Paris on August 9, 2017 injuring six, two of them seriously, police in the French capital said AFP Officials and rescuers gather near vehicles after a car slammed into soldiers on patrol in Levallois-Perret, outside Paris on August 9, 2017 injuring six, two of them seriously, police in the French capital said AFP

Police secure the scene where French soliders were hit and injured by a vehicle in the western Paris suburb of Levallois-Perret, France, August 9, 2017 Reuters Police secure the scene where French soliders were hit and injured by a vehicle in the western Paris suburb of Levallois-Perret, France, August 9, 2017 Reuters

Police secure a street near the scene where French soliders were hit and injured by a vehicle in the western Paris suburb of Levallois-Perret, France, August 9, 2017 Reuters Police secure a street near the scene where French soliders were hit and injured by a vehicle in the western Paris suburb of Levallois-Perret, France, August 9, 2017 Reuters

Police secure the area near the scene where French soliders were hit and injured by a vehicle in the western Paris suburb of Levallois-Perret, France, August 9, 2017 Reuters Police secure the area near the scene where French soliders were hit and injured by a vehicle in the western Paris suburb of Levallois-Perret, France, August 9, 2017 Reuters

Police secure the scene where French soliders were hit and injured by a vehicle in the western Paris suburb of Levallois-Perret, France, August 9, 2017 Reuters Police secure the scene where French soliders were hit and injured by a vehicle in the western Paris suburb of Levallois-Perret, France, August 9, 2017 Reuters

French police work near the scene where French soldiers were hit and injured by a vehicle in the western Paris suburb of Levallois-Perret near Paris, France, Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2017 AP French police work near the scene where French soldiers were hit and injured by a vehicle in the western Paris suburb of Levallois-Perret near Paris, France, Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2017 AP

A police investigator and an armed soldier work near the scene where French soliders were hit and injured by a vehicle in the western Paris suburb of Levallois-Perret, France, August 9, 2017 Reuters A police investigator and an armed soldier work near the scene where French soliders were hit and injured by a vehicle in the western Paris suburb of Levallois-Perret, France, August 9, 2017 Reuters

Armed soldiers secure the scene where French soliders were hit and injured by a vehicle in the western Paris suburb of Levallois-Perret, France, August 9, 2017 Reuters Armed soldiers secure the scene where French soliders were hit and injured by a vehicle in the western Paris suburb of Levallois-Perret, France, August 9, 2017 Reuters
A man watches a television screen showing U.S. President Donald Trump, left, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a news program at the Seoul Train Station in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Aug. 10, 2017. President Donald Trump's avowal to unleash "fire and fury" on North Korea in response to any military strikes against the U.S. has raised the spectre of a nuclear confrontation between the countries, ratcheting up public anxiety about the potential for such a devastating event. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Ahn Young-joon
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In this file image made from July 30, 2015, video, Canadian Hyeon Soo Lim speaks in Pyongyang, North Korea. Relatives of a Canadian pastor released this week after more than two years in a North Korean prison say he is "on his way home" and they are anxious to be reunited with him. The Korean Central News Agency reported Wednesday that North Korea's central court had decided to free Hyeong Soo Lim, who was serving a life sentence for anti-state activities. (AP Photo)
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau listens as Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall responds to a question during a First Ministers meeting at the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa on Monday, Nov. 23, 2015. With Wall's retirement as Saskatchewan's premier, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will no longer have to contend with the harshest critic of his plan to impose a carbon tax. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
FILE - In this May 13, 2017, file photo, Japanese soldiers take part in an amphibious drill as part of joint military exercises between the U.S., Japan, France and the United Kingdom, on Naval Base Guam. Security and defense officials on Guam on Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2017, said there is no imminent threat to people there or in the Northern Mariana Islands after North Korea said it was examining its operational plans for attack. (AP Photo/Haven Daley, File)
I wouldn't have imagined that one day I would write about Lebanese racism that some incite publicly and shamelessly and that is practised by many in largesse and a good-natured manner as if it is a recipe for superiority and surpassing past complexes.

According to comments circulating by some big politicians, analysts and heads of municipalities in the north and south of the country, and what is worse, in the statements of major religious personalities, Lebanese racism is directed mainly to Syrian refugees obliged by the accursed war in their country to seek asylum in a friendly country, or so they thought.

It treats them as if they are the core of all problems that erupt in the country, even if the roots of those problems emerged tens of years ago and have nothing to do with these temporary refugees.

Some politicians who incite against Syrian refugees are repeating the same fears that were brought up against Palestinian refugees four decades ago; fears that these refugees come to stay and obtain citizenship. Thus, the balance between Muslims and Christians will be changed.

If fear of dramatic changes that may befall religious balances, followed by uncomfortable political consequences, is legitimate, it doesn't justify abhorrent racist practices accompanied with ridicule and incitement campaigns that do not befit a country known for accepting diversity in all its various forms, whether religious or ethnic. Lebanon became an excellent example of coexistence.

Definitely not all Lebanese incite or resort to racist notions. There is a considerable section of the population, composed of journalists, politicians, writers academics and artists, that refuse this altogether. This was demonstrated by a statement signed by 260 of the Lebanese elite who see the current campaign against Syrians as unethical and inhuman.

The voices denouncing racist practices revealed a latent cultural heritage in the structure of Lebanese society and the existence of those who defend it sincerely. But unrestrained forces and currents possess the loudest and most clamorous voices and are more influential in Lebanese society and more organised in the media and political domains, inciting against Syrians. These campaigns, which newspapers and satellite channels participate in vigorously, not to mention the electronic chat groups that regularly insult refugees, are conducted without fear of accountability.

Forces include Christian currents and organisations and Muslim Sunni ones that attack the refugees in the context of historical grievances with Syria without differentiating between an unjust regime and those used as forced labour, and now made refugees. According to racist forces, everyone is to be punished in the frame of settling old scores.

In order to mitigate the moral burden, these forces conceal their rejection of the Syrian refugee population by pointing to the difficulties this population faces in terms of earning a livelihood, including the lack of resources and the inability of the Lebanese government to provide subsistence to 1.5 million displaced or refugee Syrians.

Under the pretext of calling on the Lebanese state to work on returning these Syrians to their country, multiple statements are issued from the highest religious and political authorities saying that these refugees are eating the food of Lebanese citizens, throwing them into a state of poverty and deprivation and driving future Lebanese generations to emigrate. Those were the words of Maronite Patriarch Bishara Al-Raie in a mass attended by President Michel Aoun and his wife. This was construed by the general public as a call to make haste in deporting Syrian refugees from Lebanese soil.

The beginning was signs erected in villages ridiculing, insulting and threatening to amputate the hands of refugees for having cut off Lebanese resources. Considering Syrian refugees as a reason for the scarcity of work for Lebanese is not the only charge. There is also the accusation that they are terrorists or have terrorists among them, such as those the Lebanese Army said blew themselves up when the army stormed one of the camps in Arsal 30 June.

This was followed by arresting 400 Syrian refugees. A number of them died during interrogation and were buried without autopsies. It was said at the time that hygiene was the reason while Lebanese human rights activists said that torture was the reason for the deaths. In such a case and in order to ward off suspicions and to uphold the value of the state and the law, criminal and medical investigations had to be conducted. However, they weren't, lest the army be accused of wrongdoing.

Meanwhile, some Lebanese affected by the racist incitement saw that they must avenge themselves against Syrians, as video clips widely circulated have shown. One showed four Lebanese hitting cruelly and violently with hands and legs a Syrian boy who was not more than 12 years old. They incessantly insulted, hit, cursed and swore at the boy. It ended with forcing the boy to salute the Lebanese Army and cursing the whole lot of Syria. The cruelty shown in the clip and the debate it raised drove Lebanese security to hastily detain the culprits.

Arresting tens or hundreds of Syrians is not the only collective punishment Syrian refugees have undergone. Forms of collective punishment Syrians have been subjected include being barred from moving from nine oclock at night until six in the morning. This was acknowledged and applied by many municipalities throughout Lebanon under the pretext that they are probable terrorists and their movement must be restricted and always kept in check. Although such measures are not supported by law or legislation, they are practised without objection except for some critical voices that went unheeded.

In one of the villages in the northern Matn district, Syrians were forced to work an additional day without payment; cleaning the village and its surroundings, according to As-Safir newspaper. This is a practice that represents a kind of dreadful primitive enslavement that can only be imagined in societies before the state, not in a country that knows the value of human beings and the law.

The biggest fear is that Lebanese practise repugnant racism against themselves after the refugees return to their homes. Then coexistence in Lebanon will be a relic of history.

The writer is a political commentator.

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FILE - In this Aug. 16, 2013, file photo, vendors look over their display of glass bongs on the first day of Hempfest in Seattle. Seattle on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2017, agreed to drop a $1,000 fine issued to the nonprofit organization that runs HempFest--the annual summer marijuana celebration. The city accused the organization of operating a marijuana business without a license but later said it had no evidence the group violated the law. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)
A woman tapes up the windows of her restaurant ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Franklin, in the port city of Veracruz, Mexico, Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2017. As a tropical storm, Franklin made a relatively mild run across the Yucatan Peninsula on Monday night and Tuesday, but on Wednesday it strengthened to a hurricane over the Gulf of Mexico as it prepared to pound a mountainous region prone to flash floods and mudslides with heavy rains. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
FILE - In this June 27, 2017 file photo, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky. listens during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. President Donald Trump raised the possibility Thursday, Aug. 10, 2017 that McConnell should step down if he can't muscle health care and other legislation through the Senate, taking an extraordinary swipe at the man with the most power to steer the White House agenda through the chamber. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
In this sketch provided by courtroom artist Jeff Kandyba, former radio host David Mueller appears in federal court Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2017, in Denver. Pop singer Taylor Swift alleges that Mueller touched her during a concert meet-and-greet in 2013. The case went to court after Mueller sued Swift, claiming her false accusation cost him his job. He is seeking at least $3 million in damages. Swift countersued, claiming sexual assault. (AP Photo/Jeff Kandyba)
A rare event is about to cast a shadow over Kenosha.

The first total solar eclipse to cross the entire continental U.S. since 1918 will occur on Aug. 21.

Not everyone will get the full effect, based on latitude. For example, when the moon blocks the sun over Kenosha, it will create a partial eclipse for residents to view.

Its a cant-miss event, said Valerie Mann, the naturalist at Pringle Nature Center.

Where to watch

Kenosha residents will be able to view the partial eclipse over the city at the nature center between noon and 2 p.m, the duration of the eclipse. The eclipse will only cover about 85 percent of the sun, Mann said, so its important people take correct precautions when deciding how they want to view the eclipse.

The free event at the center will give attendees access to the centers Sun Spotter, a telescope that uses mirrors to project a solar image onto a white viewing screen, and the option to purchase a pinhole viewer for $2.

Pinhole viewers can also be downloaded and printed from NASAs website.

Since the local perspective on the eclipse wont reach totality  the technical term for complete coverage  it will be dangerous to look at the sun during the entire process, due to the concentrated UV radiation, Mann said.

If its a cloudy day, the nature center plans to have a NASA live stream projected on a screen during the event, Mann said.

How to watch

Mann said there are several solar glasses for sale that make it safe to look at the eclipse, but some of the glasses marketed for solar eclipse viewing could be unsafe, according to NASA.

Many of those glasses lack the certification by the International Organization for Standardization, meaning they would not fully protect the eyes from looking directly at the sun, according to NASA.

The companies that sell the best protection for eclipse glasses include American Paper Optics, Baader Planetarium, Rainbow Symphony, Thousand Oaks Optical and TSE 17.

Purchases from businesses such as Amazon, for example, might not be from those companies, since the top 50 results on Amazon.com for solar eclipse glasses dont come from any of the five companies trusted by NASA.

Rare event

Solar eclipses only happen when the view of the sun is blocked by the moon, which casts a shadow onto earth. Its very unusual for the moon and sun to be at the right distance and sizes in relation to their relative distances from the Earth to appear to have the same size in the sky, which creates the total solar eclipse.

Scientists have been able to predict when the rare event happens due to centuries of data gathering about the motions of the Earth, moon and sun, including their orbital shapes.
The identity of a Kenosha teenager who drowned in Lake Michigan on Monday was confirmed by authorities late Wednesday night.

Kenosha police released the name of Joshua N. Cunado, 18, who died Monday evening. He drowned after jumping in the the lake. Police and the Kenosha Fire Department responded to the North Pier around 6:30 p.m., to a call reporting two people in the water.

Cunado apparently attempted to swim to the break wall with a friend and struggled with currents at the harbor when he went under. His friend who was in the water with him was able to swim to the pier safely.

According to a police press release, a bystander also jumped into the water in an attempt to rescue Cunado but was unable to reach him.

Cunado had just graduated from LakeView Technology Academy in June and had career plans to become a firefighter, according to obituary information.

He was a Master Councilor for the Kenosha Chapter of DeMolay young mens fraternity for boys age 12 to 21, which teaches leadership development, building lifelong friendships, and providing community service opportunities while having fun, according to its Facebook page.

A GoFundMe page has been established to raise funds for the teens funeral at https://www.gofundme.com/josh-cunado-memorial-fund.
Libya is in need of practical positive initiatives that facilitate dialogue between its warring parties more than individual meetings between leaders

The Paris meeting was another step in the direction towards a political settlement in Libya, or to be more precise, another step in the direction of trying to reconcile positions between Khalifa Haftar and Fayez Al-Sarraj.

The Paris meeting, at its core, was another follow-on of the Cairo meeting held in March, in the same manner that the Abu Dhabi meeting was conceptualised; it all began with the Cairo sessions.

However, the significant European interests in Libya cannot go unnoticed in European attempts to reach a political settlement that secures long-term European interests in Libya; which is why France and Italy specifically are in constant contact with Libyan political elites, and explains the EUs steady concern and ongoing dialogues with different parties in Libya.

Finally, Europe has recognised that its strategy in Libya since the division began in 2014 failed to make connections between attempts at political dialogue and field realities in Libya, whether military or political.

Western Europe has refused to acknowledge Haftars influence for a long time, and despite the fact that some European interests in Libya are secured by non-institutional militias, Haftars inclusion in European attempts at political settlement came so late, mainly on the platform of his illegitimacy and the positions taken against Haftar by Europes allies in the west of Libya.

However, Haftars progress in the field and the continued support he receives from his Arab allies have allowed him to be an integral part of any political settlement process. It is impossible to engineer a political settlement process without realising the actual weights of various stakeholders on the ground in Libya, and this is what has started to take place, in Europe and among Libyas neighbouring countries, and in the US.

Recently, initiatives of political dialogue in Libya have become plentiful. In addition to the Cairo declaration in March, there was a meeting in the UAE between Haftar and Al-Sarraj, a meeting in the Hague in the Netherlands between representatives from the House of Representatives and the State Council (although the House of Representatives stated that the participants do not represent the institution), several attempts by Italy to reconcile positions between Libyan political elites, and finally, the Paris meeting last week.

Other than the obvious fact that these efforts point to, which is the diverse interests in Libya by various actors, these attempts pose two main questions that should not be ignored. Firstly, what are the common points between all the different attempts and initiatives for political settlement in Libya, and secondly, why is it that despite all these efforts, political settlement in Libya still cannot be realised?

The different attempts at mediation and reconciliation initiatives, whether domestic, regional or international, have all held on to the Skhirat agreement signed in December 2015. The political entities acknowledged by the agreement (the Presidential Council, the State Council and the House of Representatives) remain the focal points in all political settlement initiatives.

All initiatives maintained the structure of power created by the agreement, whether on the level of stakeholders or hierarchical power relations.

In other words, all concerned parties have agreed on the presence of a legitimate framework of interaction represented in the Skhirat agreement, and on the increasing risks of dismantling the already fragile structural reality created by the agreement in search of a new one.

Therefore, the focus of all the initiatives of settlement was on amending the agreement via a process of negotiation between the entities legitimised by the agreement (the House of Representatives and the State Council). At the same time, all initiatives offered a series of political processes in a roadmap fashion that ends with presidential and parliamentary elections sometime in 2018.

The solutions envisioned in Cairo, Abu Dhabi and Paris prove that the core of the conflict at the present moment is not one of conflicting regional or international interests, which was the case for a considerable amount of time due to lack of coordination and consensus between Egypt and Algeria in particular.

The real challenge towards political settlement right now is conflicts and power struggles among Libyan political and tribal elites. In other words, the challenge towards political settlement in Libya is not trying to manufacture a Haftar-Sarraj mutually signed communique, the challenge is to end elite conflicts within each camp, then to employ a mechanism of reconciliation between elites in the eastern and the western parts of the country; which takes us directly to the second question, why is it that this still cannot be realised?

I intend to argue that, despite the vast regional and international interests in political settlement in Libya, and the willingness of various Libyan factions to engage within a process of dialogue or negotiation, the fast pace of change and transformation in practical politics, operational realities and military successes in the past few months have stood as an obstacle to the initiation of any process of mutual dialogue.

The Egyptian military intervention in the Libyan east and south has given Haftar a significant advantage that will indeed be reflected within any process of political dialogue over amending the agreement. At the same time, Egypt has been working for some time on reconciling differences between the tribes of the eastern region and the tribes of Misrata, the wests most powerful military force.

Those efforts were part of Egypts strategy to break the blockage between Haftar and Misrata. On the western side, militia alliances keep fragmenting, and the practical power of Al-Sarraj is both constantly reduced by the ongoing emergence of renegade militias and systematically worn out by military confrontations between militias in Tripoli.

In other words, the process of political negotiation over amending the Skhirat agreement has been stalled by each sides efforts to enhance their positions at the negotiation table. While Haftar seems to be mustering resources that would grant him more advantages within negotiation, Al-Sarraj keeps failing miserably, whether operationally, militarily or politically. Giving permission to Italian military ships to access Libyan waters to counter irregular migration, without manufacturing enough consent within his own camp over such permission, is just one of many examples of Al-Sarrajs ongoing political failures.

Usually, as you approach the end of an editorial on Libyas current position, you read a lot about the necessity of political settlement and the inevitability of maintaining the unity of Libyan soil. By now, I believe these are givens that should not be resurrected at the end of each piece. The method through which those givens will turn into practical solutions is the matter that should concern us most.

There is no doubt that neither Libya nor the region will be able to afford the cost of more years of division and a new phase of dialogue without any secured or promised outcomes.

Reaching political settlement in Libya requires applying extreme pressure by all parties concerned on various Libyan factions to form the joint body that will engage in the negotiation process in order for the agreement to be amended.

On the other hand, the process of negotiation must realise the actual shift in the balance of power taking place domestically in Libya, which will in turn reflect on the dialogue process and the extent of political compromises expected from each party. At the same time, the accumulated experience of attempts at political dialogue and settlement in Libya has proved that the mechanism of neighbouring countries (mainly Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia) is the most effective mechanism in achieving consensus in the Libyan interior.

The aggregate relations that each of the three neighbouring countries has with Libyan political and tribal elites, their involvement in the Libyan conflict with all its details due to their border security strategies and the networks of power that they can influence through their unified positions make Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia the most capable of facilitating negotiation between conflicting Libyan parties.

Libya is in need of practical positive initiatives that facilitate dialogue between its warring parties much more than it is in need of individual meetings between leaders.

The writer is a senior political analyst at Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies.

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A couple of weeks ago, residents of Warraq Island (in the Nile north of Cairo) clashed with police a few weeks ago following a decision to remove encroachments on the island, according to the official story. After one person was killed, dozens injured, and the security forces withdrew, the ensuing debate focused on the legal aspects of the issue. Does the state have the right to remove these encroachments, or do residents have rights on the island that must be respected?

But another aspect of the issue is no less important. That the dispute over Warraq blew up so quickly and so dangerously demonstrates the absence of official mechanisms for negotiating and resolving disputes in society, and not just in this particular case.

An ideal society where absolute justice and harmony prevail does not exist, not in Egypt or anywhere else. There are necessarily conflicting interests and competing rights, with arguments to buttress the claims of every party, group, and class. This is natural and shouldnt be taken as evidence of social disintegration or division. The interests of workers and employers diverge, as do those of farmers and landowners, importers and exporters, property owners and tenants, depositors and investors, and those involved in formal and informal businesses. However, social stability and cohesion is maintained when there are established, formal mechanisms for negotiation, conflict resolution, and consensus building. This prevents every dispute from ballooning into a violent face-off.

Such formal mechanisms include more than prosecutors and the courts. These should be the final recourse and ought to be preceded by debates involving neighborhood leaders, local councils, governors, ministers, and parliamentarians. There should also be a public, organized negotiation between stakeholders and a debate in the press based on facts rather than myth and rumor. Political parties, NGOs and trade unions should be involved. And if all that fails to resolve the dispute, the courts stand as the final recourse, making decisions binding on everyone, to be respected without bloodshed or obstruction.

But what happens when there are no elected local councils? Or political parties to represent people and defend their rights? What if theres no independent press to report the facts and express different points of view? Or a parliament concerned with public affairs? No NGOs that can engage with peoples everyday problems, or unions to represent their members? No local officials with the authority to make decisions without first consulting the highest executive levels? No courts capable of resolving disputes in a timely fashion? What happens is exactly what we saw with Warraq: officials call out the security forces to execute their decisions, and citizens find themselves compelled to take to the streets to protect their rights and properties.

Absent institutional dispute-resolution mechanisms, its no wonder people whose rights are infringed turn to alternative means, legitimate and illegitimate, to resolve their problems, directly petitioning officials, searching for a patron, hiring thugs, bringing grievances to a television program, or appealing to the president in newspaper ads. All of these actions are a symptom of the same problem: the lack of formal channels for negotiation and conflict-resolution in society.

Given difficult economic conditions, high prices, and the scarcity of jobs, disputes like these are likely to escalate. And it won't be a security vacuum or failure that will cause them to spin out of controlsecurity intervention alone cannot settle all disputes in societybut the absence of political and civil institutions that can help resolve problems, de-escalate conflicts, and preserve social peace.

This is the essence of democracy and participation in decision-making and state administration. So can afford to further postpone its application? Or will this further fueled tension and violence and impede economic development?

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There are 22 towns, villages and a city across the county trying to stay on top of flower beds, making sure streets are clean and park benches are freshly painted.

All of these valiant efforts are to win the Tidy Towns competition or at least win their category and get a share of the 250,000 prize money likely to be paid out nationwide this year.

Everyone is looking to secure a coveted national award for their homes, its indicative of the community spirit in many parts of the county.

Prizes are available for the best village, small town, large town and urban centre with one of them receiving the overall prize of Irelands Tidiest Town.

Efforts by volunteers throughout Kilkenny are ongoing but it reaches its peak during the summer months with all entrants completely unaware as to when the judges will arrive in their area.

Its the great unknown, places just have to be shipshape 24 hours a day. But who are these mystery adjudicators that torment people up and down the county?

Can they be spotted? The truth is, theyre for the most part inconspicuous, but they can be caught in the act of judging.

There are 26 of them to asses the 870 entrants for this year's competition so its a busy summer for them.

They are an independent panel of judges recruited by the Department of Arts  which has responsibility for the competition.

The adjudicators are made up of many different professions including environmental scientists, ecologists, biologists, landscapers, architects, community activists, etc.

Unfortunately, they wear their own clothes. They have no special uniform and will blend into a community.

But heres their weakness, some of the Tidy Towns adjudicators may be known to Tidy Towns committees.

They speak at Tidy Towns events run by the Department, local authorities and Tidy Towns committees.

So if you spot one around your area, round up the volunteers and get the place in order if it isn't already.

Theres a specific window of time to be on the look out and were nearing the end of it. The adjudication commenced on June 10 and will be completed by mid-August.

It typically takes place anonymously, Tidy Towns are not notified when a judge is in their area.

The competition is assessed under a number of headings with marks award for a areas success in each category.

So if you are still readying your area,tidiness and litter control is one of the categories that you can stay on top of.

They will assess the general lack of clutter, blocked footpaths, evidence of control of weed growth at kerbs and the absence of graffiti.

Some of the entrants this year for Kilkenny include: Ballyragget, Callan, Castlecomer, Clogh, Freshford, Kells, Urlingford, Kilkenny and Windgap.

Last year Kilkenny city received a mark of 325 with the overall winner, Skerries in Dublin, receiving a mark of 327, so its very fine margins.

The announcement of winners will be on Monday, September 25 in The Helix.

We can only guess as to when Kilkennys entrants will be/were inspected, but at least you know what to look out for, kind of.

For some, these roving mystery judges may have already been and gone.
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Although it is not a common occurrence, there are many historical instances where nations with opposing ideologies began a war of words and then went on to rattle their swords. What is unusual in this case is that it is the President of the United States rattling his sword.

"North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States. They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen.

This was the statement spoken by President Trump yesterday in response to threats levied by North Korea, in which they vowed to launch a nuclear attack against the United States. North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho said, Should the U.S. pounce upon the DPRK with military force at last, the DPRK is ready to teach the U.S. a severe lesson with its strategic nuclear force.

According to CNN, response to Presidents Trump strong warning was issued by North Korea this morning through their state-run news agency KCNA, which said North Korea's military is "examining the operational plan" to strike areas around the U.S. territory of Guam with medium-to-long-range strategic ballistic missiles.

As such, the war on words not only continues but is now ratcheting up yet another level. However, this war of words is different in that both President Trump and Kim, North Koreas dictator, are unpredictable. Unpredictable in words and potential actions.

The wildcard is that unlike governing in a democracy which inherently contains checks and balances, the current North Korean regime can initiate actions based on the whims of a dictator that is beholden to no one, except himself. This takes this current crisis to yet a whole new level.

All of this saber rattling has created a risk-off environment in which we have seen gold prices move dramatically higher over the last 24 hours. Gold futures are currently trading up $19 at $1281.60, a gain of over 1%. Silver, which is also considered to be a safe haven asset, has moved up over 3% in todays trading alone.

Considering the complexity of this current crisis and the magnitude of potential catastrophic damage, there needs to be a period of de-escalation before market sentiment will return to what it was just a few weeks ago. As such I expect the risk-off environment which has just recently reemerged to remain at the forefront of issues traders and market participants will incorporate into their trading strategy.

For those who would like a deeper analysis, simply use this link.

Wishing you as always, good trading,
(Repeats story with no changes to text)

By Cindy Silviana and Wilda Asmarini

JAKARTA, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Nickel producer Vale Indonesia said Indonesia's recent policy shift to allow ore exports is helping keep global prices of the metal low, and complicating efforts to establish partnerships for new smelter investments.

Nickel miners globally have been grappling with persistent weakness in the market, partly the result of moves by Indonesia and the Philippines to pull back on restrictions targeting their mining sectors. A resumption of Indonesian nickel ore exports in May this year has been a boon for China's nickel pig iron (NPI) producers that depend on such ore, but has meant trouble for the rest of the world's nickel producers. For Vale Indonesia, that has meant difficulties in establishing or maintaining partnerships for several ferronickel smelter projects on the island of Sulawesi.

"Some have told us verbally and some have put it in writing," Vale Indonesia CEO Nico Kanter told Reuters in an interview, speaking of partners who have said they are pulling the plug or delaying decisions amid the pricing and regulatory uncertainties.

Japanese miner Sumitomo Metal Mining Co Ltd is partnering with Vale on a nickel processing plant in Pomalaa in Southeast Sulawesi.

But "they are now more concerned about the calculations of their internal rate of return, because this is a $2 billion project," Kanter said.

Another potential Chinese co-investor has decided to withdraw from a ferronickel smelter project in Bahodopi, Central Sulawesi, he said.

Benchmark nickel prices on the London Metals Exchange have gained about 3.5 percent since Indonesia's rules changed, and were at $10,815 per tonne on Wednesday.

"If there wasn't a (rule change), prices could have improved more," said Kanter.

Nickel prices made small gains since the latest rule change, but remain well below levels seen prior to mid-2015.

Indonesia has already issued permits for 8 million tonnes of nickel ore exports, sparking worries that further permits will follow, Vale Indonesia Corporate Secretary Ratih Amri said. "This is not in line with the government's vision of creating added value in the nation," Amri said.

Indonesia's ban on unprocessed ore exports in 2014 had paid off, Amri said, attracting at least $6 billion in nickel smelter investments.

As of June, however, around half of Indonesia's newly constructed nickel smelters were shuttered as a result of the market's shaky prices. Indonesia's mining ministry has denied that its ore export policy shift is to blame for the closures.

Coal and Minerals Director General Bambang Gatot said the smelters were closed because of "uneconomical technologies".

Vale Indonesia's shares have recovered in recent weeks and were at 2,600 rupiah ($0.1951) on Wednesday, still around 14 percent less than where they were before the policy shift. Below is a table of companies and their corresponding nickel ore export quota allocations (in wet metric tonnes).

Company Quota PT Fajar Bhakti Lintas Nusantara 1,065,215 PT Aneka Tambang 2,716,948 PT Ceria Nugraha Indotama 2,300,000 PT Trimegah Bangun Persada 1,559,799 PT Gane Permai Sentosa 519,933

Total 8,161,895

($1 = 13,327 rupiah)

<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Vale Indonesia H1 2017 nickel matte output up 3 pct y/y ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Reporting by Cindy Silviana, Wilda Asmarini and Bernadette Christina Munthe in JAKARTA; Writing by Fergus Jensen in SINGAPORE; Editing by Tom Hogue)
SEOUL, Aug 10 (Reuters) - South Korea's central bank said on Thursday it plans to shore up support for small and medium-sized businesses through its key loan facility as part of its efforts to prop up the economy.

The Bank of Korea said in a statement that it would improve credit policies of the Bank Intermediated Lending Support Facility, the bank's main tool to provide cheap loans to small businesses.

The improvement includes additional support of 3.6 trillion won ($3.16 billion) to companies that are actively creating jobs or those facing financial difficulties due to corporate restructuring undertaken by the conglomerates, the statement said.

The ceiling for the special loan will remain at the current 25 trillion won ($21.96 billion) after it was last raised by 5 trillion won last March.

($1 = 1,138.2500 won)

(Reporting by Dahee Kim)
By Brendan Pierson

Aug 9 (Reuters) - A Dallas-based trader was sentenced to 15 months in prison on Wednesday after pleading guilty to taking part in a scheme to pump up the stock price of LED lighting company ForceField Energy Inc, which U.S. prosecutors have said caused investor losses of $131 million.

Herschel Knippa, 47, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan in Brooklyn federal court, prosecutors announced. He was also ordered to pay $3.57 million in restitution.

"Mr. Knippa accepts responsibility and looks forward to moving on from this unfortunate chapter in his otherwise unblemished life," Knippa's attorney, Alex Spiro, said in an email.

Prosecutors said that in 2014 and 2015, Knippa, owner of Kenai Capital Management LLC in Dallas, talked up now-worthless ForceField stock on the Fox Business cable television network and elsewhere while being paid kickbacks from an executive at the company to do so.

They said that during one July 2014 appearance on Fox Business's "Varney & Co," Knippa lied to host Stuart Varney when asked whether he owned ForceField stock by responding: "You bet I do. I put my money where my mouth is."

Knippa was among nine people charged in May 2016 with scheming to pump up ForceField shares. Authorities said the defendants manipulated the stock from December 2009 to April 2015 by secretly trading it in undisclosed accounts, inflating trading volume to create a false sense of demand and concealing kickbacks to stock promoters and brokers to tout it.

In addition to Knippa, four other defendants - an investor relations professional and three brokers - have been sentenced, receiving prison terms ranging from three months to three years.

Of the remaining four defendants awaiting sentencing, three have pleaded guilty and one was convicted after a trial.

The charges followed the April 2015 arrest of Richard St. Julien, a Canadian citizen who was executive chairman of ForceField, previously called SunSi Energies Inc.

St. Julien was charged separately and has cooperated with prosecutors, court records show. He has not been sentenced.

(Reporting by Brendan Pierson in New York, editing by G Crosse)
HONG KONG, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Wanda Hotel Development Co Ltd , a unit of Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group led by Wang Jianlin, said it would buy assets worth over 7 billion yuan ($1.05 billion) from Wang-controlled companies as part of a restructuring.

The Hong Kong-listed company said it would buy the entire equity interest in theme park operator Wanda Culture Travel Innovation Group Co Ltd from Wang's Beijing Wanda Culture Industry Group Co Ltd for 6.3 billion yuan.

The deal would be settled either in cash or through the issue of shares or convertible bonds, it added.

It will also buy hotel operator Wanda Hotel Management (Hong Kong) Co Ltd from Wang's Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties Co Ltd for 750 million yuan in cash, it said in a filing to the Hong Kong bourse late on Wednesday.

Wanda Hotel said it would then sell its interest in Wanda Properties Investment Ltd, Wanda International Real Estate Investment Co Ltd, Wanda Americas Real Estate Investment Co Ltd and Wanda Australia Real Estate Co Ltd to Wang's Dalian Wanda Commercial for an amount that is yet to be fixed.

It gave no further details.

Trading in Wanda Hotel shares, which were suspended on Wednesday, will resume on Thursday.

Chinese banks have been told to stop providing funding for several of Wanda's overseas acquisitions as Beijing tries to curb the conglomerate's offshore buying spree, according to sources familiar with the matter. Run by China's richest man, Wang Jianlin, Wanda is one of a handful of Chinese conglomerates that have expanded aggressively abroad over the past few years, into areas well beyond their original business - in this case, property.

Last month, Dalian Wanda Group altered a deal with developer Sunac China after banks scrutinised their credit risk, by bringing in another developer, Guangzhou R&F Properties . ($1 = 6.6720 Chinese yuan renminbi)

(Reporting by Donny Kwok; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
By Nguyen Mi

HANOI, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Asian coffee exporting nations saw slow trade as exporters in Vietnam were reluctant to sell beans at the end of the crop season and prices in Indonesia remained little changed.

Demand was sluggish and few deals were struck with importers mostly away on holiday, Vietnamese traders said on Thursday.

"Some trades were made but not as much as last year. The amounts of coffee sold were also low because they were selling just to inspect the market," Nguyen Quang Binh, head of coffee sector at Visimex Joint Stock Company, told Reuters.

Importers had enough stock at the moment, he said.

Vietnamese coffee farmers are enjoying favourable weather across the region for the upcoming crop starting in October.

Vietnam, the world's biggest robusta producer, exported 110,000 tonnes of coffee in July, bringing exports in the first seven months to 941,000 tonnes, government data showed.

The price range for local coffee in Vietnam widened to 45,500 dong-46,100 dong ($2.00-2.03) per kg from 46,000 dong-46,500 dong a week earlier, traders said, reflecting an decrease in the London ICE November futures contract , which fell 1.2 percent to close at $2,131 a tonne on Wednesday.

Traders said Vietnam's 5 percent black and broken grade 2 robusta variety was trading at a discount of $50-$90 to the ICE November contract, slightly tighter than a discount of $50-$100 last week.

In Indonesia, the robusta grade 4 defect 80 traded at an unchanged $15-$20 discount to the ICE September contract.

A trader in Lampung, Indonesia's main coffee growing area, said supply was scarce as the harvest had ended, but did not give details on stock levels. ($1 = 22,729 dong)

(Reporting by Mi Nguyen; additional reporting by Mas Alina Arifin in Bandar Lampung; editing by Biju Dwarakanath and David Clarke)
By Nguyen Mi and Ruma Paul

HANOI/DHAKA, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Bangladesh is in talks to import rice from Myanmar, the food ministry said on Thursday, after plans to import rice from Thailand and India suffered a setback due to high prices.

Bangladesh, the world's fourth-biggest rice producer, has emerged as a major importer of rice this year due to depleted stocks and record high local prices following flash floods.

"We are in talks with Myanmar to import rice in a government-to-government deal," Badrul Hasan, head of Bangladesh's State Grains buyer, told Reuters.

Hasan said an Indian state agency was also in talks to sell rice to Bangladesh after a previous attempt fell through because of high prices.

Bangladesh also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Thursday with Thailand to import up to 1 million tonnes of rice every year till 2021.

"The price will be determined in line with the prices in the global markets after a negotiation between the two countries," Bangladeshi Food Minister Kamrul Islam told reporters, after signing the deal in Dhaka.

Prices in India rose as the rupee climbed but dipped in Thailand due to upcoming white rice supply.

In India, 5 percent broken parboiled rice prices rose $3 per tonne to $412 from $409 as the appreciating rupee forced traders to raise prices despite weak demand.

India's non-basmati rice exports are likely to slow over the next few months as its shipments of the grain have become too expensive on the world market due to the rally in the rupee and an increase in local paddy prices. The Indian rupee has risen more than 6.5 percent so far in 2017 to its highest in more than two years.

"New season paddy supplies will become available only from October onwards. Until then Indian prices are likely to remain firm," said a New Delhi based dealer.

Thai benchmark 5 percent broken rice was quoted at $385-$387 a tonne, free-on-board (FOB) in Bangkok, down from $390-$392 a tonne last week.

Thai traders said the slight drop in price could be attributed to incoming off-season white rice which is being harvested from mid-August through to September.

Thailand has been hit by floods in the north and northeast since July but traders said there had been minimal impact on rice export so far. The government has said the floods are unlikely to affect Thailand's export target and it is expecting the country to export 11 million tonnes of rice this year. In Vietnam, the price range for benchmark 5 percent broken rice widened to $395-$405 a tonne, FOB Saigon, ending a three-week flat trend. Traders were unsure if the prices would fall further.

"If companies ask to buy or foreign demand increases considerably, the prices will soar," a trader in Ho Chi Minh City said.

Vietnamese rice suppliers are completing delivery of 175,000 tonnes of rice to Philippines between August and September. Other deals being delivered include 200,000 tonnes of rice to Bangladesh, which is expected to complete by mid August.

Thailand and Vietnam are the world's second and third biggest rice exporters.

(Reporting by Mi Nguyen in Hanoi, Ruma Paul in Dhaka, Panu Wongcha-um in Bangkok and Rajendra Jadhav in Mumbai; editing by David Clarke)
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(Kitco News) - Chinese gold demand is not letting up, as the country bought 230 metric tons of Australian gold last year, which exceeded $11 billion on the Shanghai Gold Exchange, according to recent data released by The Perth Mint.

It is the quality of Australian gold and its reliable supply that is so attractive for the Chinese market, said Chief Operating Officer of The Perth Mint, David Woodford.

In 2014, The Perth Mint became the first foreign refinery accredited on the Shanghai Gold Exchange and we have worked steadily to establish this new market, said Woodford. Today we are on track to achieve our goal of becoming the biggest source of imported gold in the Chinese market and that is great news for Australian gold producers and Australian mine workers.

The growth in demand is undeniable, with Australian gold exports to China more than doubling from 2011 to last year, surging from 110 metric tons to 232 metric tons.

Chinas demand keeps soaring despite already being the number one gold producer in the world, which seems still not enough to sustain the growing demand levels.

Australia currently is in the second spot as the largest gold producing nation in the world, with a focus on exports.

Gold mined in Australia has certain attributes, like being much lower in PGEs (the platinum group of elements) than gold mined in South Africa for instance, noted Woodford.

Perth Mints direct distribution networks with China help to ease transactions, Woodford noted.

There are 13 banks in China that have a license to import and we have direct supply agreements with seven of those, he said. The majority of our exports are in the form of [1 kilogram] gold bullion bars which are certified at 99.99 per cent purity, Woodford said.

In the past year, we refined more than 330 tonnes [metric tons] of gold and 540 tonnes of silver. We are focused on promoting the Australian gold industry to the world to build long term markets which will bring real benefits to Australian producers and workers for decades to come.
(In AUG 6 story deletes reference to Ras al-Khaimah Investment Authority)

By Hadeel Al Sayegh and Tom Arnold

DUBAI, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Manufacturer JBF RAK is in talks with banks about renegotiating around 2 billion dirhams ($544.6 million) of debt, banking sources told Reuters.

The polyester producer, which according to its website is an affiliate of India's JBF Group , has contacted lenders about reviewing its debt obligations, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity as the matter is not public.

JBF RAK did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.

JBF RAK manufactures a synthetic fibre and resin which is spun into fabrics but also moulded into disposable bottles for beverages, shampoo and liquid soap.

One of the sources said JBF RAK, which has relationships with 19 banks, is seeking to extend maturities on outstanding bank liabilities of around 1.96 billion dirhams.

The company may also seek a restructuring, but no decision has been taken yet, according to a second banking source.

The latest financial statements on the Group's website show JBF RAK recorded an annual loss of 110.03 million dirhams ($29.96 million) for the year ended Mar. 31 2016, compared to a profit of 1.44 million dirhams a year earlier.

JBF RAK is one of five plants owned by JBF Group. The others are located in India, Belgium and Bahrain. The group, which is listed on India's National Stock Exchange, said on Aug. 3 its board was planning to discuss the sale or restructure of the overseas subsidiaries of the company, without elaborating. JBF Group was downgraded to a 'D' default rating by credit rating agencies due to delays in servicing its debt, a company filing shows. It did not name the agencies.

India Ratings and Research, which has downgraded the company to D, said on July 27 the downgrade was on "account of a significant deterioration in the group's financial risk profile, resulting from losses in overseas operations".

Recent policy changes by the Indian government, which include a new goods and services tax and 2016's demonetisation push, has stirred protest and shutdowns in the "domestic unorganised textile segment", the group said in a disclosure in response to the downgrades.

"This has resulted in the cash flows of the company to be severely affected and delays in servicing some of its debt obligation with the lenders," the group said.

Global private equity giant KKR in 2015 invested $150 million to buy a 20 percent stake in JBF Group.

($1 = 3.6725 UAE dirham)

(Editing by Catherine Evans)
AMSTERDAM, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Dutch and Belgian police conducted raids on Thursday as part of an investigation into the use of a harmful pesticide in the poultry industry, the Dutch prosecution service said. Millions of chicken eggs have been pulled from European supermarket shelves as a result of the scare over the use of the insecticide fipronil, and hundreds of thousands of hens may be culled in the Netherlands. Prosecution service spokeswoman Marieke van der Molen said raids had been conducted at locations in both countries linked to the company that allegedly used the pesticide, as well as potential suppliers.



(Reporting by Toby Sterling; editing by John Stonestreet)

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.
ATHENS, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Emergency central bank funding to Greek lenders dropped by 3.3 billion euros ($3.86 billion), or 8.7 percent, in July compared to the previous month, Bank of Greece data showed on Thursday.

Emergency funding, which is more costly than borrowing from the European Central Bank, dropped to 34.6 billion euros ($40.56 billion) from 37.9 billion at the end of June, the data showed.

Greek banks have relied on emergency liquidity assistance (ELA) drawn from the Greek central bank since February 2015 after being cut off from the ECB's funding window due to stalled bailout talks between the government and its official lenders.

Their dependence on the ELA emergency lifeline has declined since June last year when the European Central Bank reinstated banks' access to its cheap funding operations. ($1 = 0.8538 euros)

(Reporting by George Georgiopoulos; Editing by Karolina Tagaris)
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(Kitco News) - Gold prices were ending the U.S. day session higher and scored a nearly two-month high Thursday. More safe-haven demand was featured amid the ongoing stare-down between the U.S. and North Korea. Look for gold to continue to be supported in the near term, as this crisis is not likely to just disappear. December Comex gold was last up $11.30 an ounce at $1,290.50. September Comex silver was last up $0.212 at $17.07 an ounce.

The gold market bulls are now within easy striking distance of the psychologically important $1,300.00 level.

Silver prices are following on the coattails of gold and also scored a nearly two-month high Thursday. Silver will continue to benefit if gold keeps trending up.

World stock markets were mostly lower again Thursday, amid the keener risk aversion. If the stock indexes continue to back off, gold and silver are likely to see buying interest from that money flowing out of equities.

North Korea kept up its war talk Thursday by again threatening to unleash an enveloping fire in the coming weeks, with a specific target being Guam. On Tuesday U.S. President Trump said the worlds strongest military could unleash fire and fury on North Korea if that rogue nation keeps threatening the U.S. with nuclear missiles. The U.S. secretary of defense and secretary of state on Wednesday backed up Trumps statement. Japan on Thursday said it would shoot down any North Korean missiles launched at Guam.

The U.S. dollar index is modestly lower in afternoon U.S. trading Thursday. The greenback has not seen much of a reaction to the U.S.-North Korea matter.

Meantime, Nymex crude oil futures were lower early this afternoon. The U.S.-North Korea tensions have not significantly impacted crude oil, either. Thats a big change from years past, when crude prices would be seriously impacted by heightened geopolitical tensions. Crude prices have paused the past week, but prices are still in an uptrend from the June low and the bulls still have the overall near-term technical advantage.

Technically, December gold futures bulls have the firm overall near-term technical advantage. Bulls next upside technical objective is pushing prices above chart resistance at $1,300.00. Bears' next near-term downside price breakout objective is closing prices below solid technical support at this weeks low of $1,257.10. First resistance is seen at $1,300.00 and then at $1,307.00. First support is seen at Thursdays low of $1,280.30 and then at $1,275.00. Wyckoffs Market Rating 7.0

September silver bulls now have the overall near-term technical advantage. The next upside price breakout objective is closing futures prices above solid technical resistance at $18.00 an ounce. The next downside price breakout objective for the bears is closing prices below solid support at $16.25. First resistance is seen at $17.25 and then at $17.50. Next support is seen at Thursdays low of $16.85 and then at $16.50. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 6.0.
MUMBAI, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Shares in Security and Intelligence Services (India) Ltd rose as much as 8 percent on their market debut on Thursday after the company's $122 million initial public offering.

Shares in the company were trading at 869 rupees at 0433 GMT, 6.63 percent higher than the IPO issue price of 815 rupees.

The company provides private security and facility management services in India and Australia. It also provides cash logistics services, including automated teller machine cash replenishment.

($1 = 64.0100 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Swati Bhat and Devidutta Tripathy; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri)
* LME/ShFE arb: * Lead cancelled warrants on LME above 40 percent

* Month-long maintenance in Sichuan, China

(Adds closing prices, updates nickel)

By Pratima Desai

LONDON, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Lead prices steadied on Thursday near the six-month highs hit earlier this week, supported by expectations of tighter supplies due to mine closures that have created shortages of concentrate for smelters.

Benchmark lead on the London Metal Exchange slipped 0.7 percent to $2,366 a tonne at the close on profit-taking. On Wednesday the price touched $2,422, its highest since Feb. 14.

Lead is mined alongside zinc, which has seen large capacity cuts over the last couple of years. "The concentrate market has tightened significantly ... It is starting to constrain primary smelter production," said Cru's lead analyst Neil Hawkes. "Demand is reasonably good ... but what happens with demand in September, October and November will be much more of a test of where we are in the tightening story."

LEAD MARKET: Global demand and supply this year are estimated at around 12 million tonnes. Analysts expect a deficit below 50,000 tonnes this year and next.

SUPPLY: More than half of global lead supplies come from secondary or recycled metal, which analysts say is unable to offset losses from primary or mine supply.

CHINA IMPORTS: The tightness is illustrated in top consumer China's imports of lead and concentrate. Its imports of refined lead in the six months to end-June at 52,527 tonnes compare with 1,075 tonnes for all of last year. SICHUAN: China research firm Antaike said the start of environmental inspections in Sichuan province had prompted 60 percent of local lead-zinc mines to shut down for month-long maintenance. That could mean lower supplies of zinc and lead in August and September. FALLING STOCKS: Inventories of lead in LME warehouses at nearly 153,000 tonnes are down 17 percent since the middle of May. Traders are also watching cancelled warrants - material earmarked for delivery and so not available to the market - at more than 40 percent.

ALUMINIUM SUPPLIES: Worries about supplies from top producer China have been reinforced by Shandong province, which this week ordered the closure of 3.21 million tonnes of aluminium capacity. ENVIRONMENT: The shutdowns come as China's Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) said it was embarking on its fourth round of environmental inspections across eight provinces and regions, including Shandong.

ALUMINIUM PRICE: Aluminium ended up 0.3 percent at $2,037 from an earlier $2,046.5, a level last seen in Nov. 2014.

NICKEL PRICE: Nickel added 3.3 percent to $10,985 from an earlier $10,990, its highest since early March on worries about capacity cuts at loss-making mines.

DOLLAR: Traders said industrial metals were capped by a firmer U.S. currency, which when it rises makes dollar-denominated commodities more expensive for holders of other currencies, potentially subduing demand. PRICES: Copper slipped 0.9 percent to 6,423 a tonne, zinc rose 0.4 percent to $2,938 and tin gained 0.6 percent to $20,325.

<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Top base and precious metals analysis - GFMS LME/ShFE arb ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Editing by Greg Mahlich and David Evans)
BUCHAREST, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Romania sold a planned 800 million lei ($205.09 million) worth of one-year treasury bills on Thursday, with the average accepted yield at 0.79 percent, central bank data showed. Debt managers last issued one-year paper in July at a similar 0.79 percent yield. So far this year, Romania has sold roughly 30.6 billion lei and 340 million euros of domestic bills and bonds. It has tapped foreign markets for 1.75 billion euros of 2027 and 2035 Eurobonds. Series: RO1718CTN0D1 RO1718CTN0C3 Issue date 16/08/2017 26/07/2017 Auction date 10/08/2017 24/07/2017 Maturity 15/08/2018 25/07/2018 Avg.yield (pct) 0.79 0.79 Avg. accepted price 99.2106 99.2087 Highest accepted yield 0.81 0.82 Tail (highest yield minus 0.02 0.03 average yield) Total bids 2.18 bln lei 1.5 bln lei Allotted 0.80 bln lei 1.0 bln lei Bid-to-cover ratio 2.7 1.55 ($1 = 3.9007 lei)

(Reporting by Radu Marinas)

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.
By Sandhya Sampath

Aug 10 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stock markets, except Singapore and Vietnam, edged lower on Thursday as lingering tensions between the United States and North Korea dampened risk appetite in the region, which is geographically close to the epicentre of this crisis.

Asian shares snapped a brief foray into positive territory earlier in the day to drop 0.9 percent, extending losses from Wednesday when strong rhetoric drove investors out of stocks and into textbook safe havens like gold and Treasuries. Pyongyang's state-run KCNA news agency said it was considering plans to fire four intermediate-range missiles to land 30-40 kilometres from Guam, a U.S. Pacific territory home to a military base that includes a submarine squadron and an air base. Any news of a war or tension is always a reason to sell, said Mikey Macainag, an analyst with Sunsecurities Inc.

In Southeast Asia, Philippines fell as much as 0.6 percent, heading for its third straight session of losses.

Consumer stocks and utilities were the biggest drag on the index, with JG Summit Holdings Inc losing as much as 4.8 percent.

Investors are in a risk-off mode ahead of GDP data expected next week, said Macainag. Thai shares dropped as much as 0.3 percent to its lowest in a month, with financials and energy leading the losses.

Malaysia and Indonesia were marginally lower.

Singapore's FTSE Straits Times Index rose as much as 0.8 percent, its biggest intraday gain since July 21, pushed higher by financials and industrials.

DBS Group Holdings Ltd climbed as much as 1.6 percent, while Jardine Matheson Holdings Ltd rose as much as 1.7 percent.

Vietnam edged up after slipping as much as 0.5 percent to its lowest since July 26 earlier in the session.

Consumer staples and energy stocks led the gainers, with Vietnam Dairy Products rising as much as 1.2 percent.

For Asian Companies click; SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS: Change at 0400 GMT Change on day Market Current Previous Close Pct Move Singapore 3325.27 3318.08 0.22 Bangkok 1567.3 1571.51 -0.27 Manila 7941.76 7985.83 -0.55 Jakarta 5823.076 5824.007 -0.02 Kuala Lumpur 1776.37 1777.94 -0.09 Ho Chi Minh 775.73 773.66 0.27

Change on year Market Current End 2016 Pct Move Singapore 3325.27 2880.76 15.43 Bangkok 1567.3 1542.94 1.58 Manila 7941.76 6840.64 16.1 Jakarta 5823.076 5296.711 9.94 Kuala Lumpur 1776.37 1641.73 8.20 Ho Chi Minh 775.73 664.87 16.7 (Reporting by Sandhya Sampath; Editing by Biju Dwarakanath)
BRATISLAVA, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Here are news stories, press reports and events to watch which may affect Slovak financial markets on Thursday.

ALL TIMES GMT (Slovak Republic: GMT + 2 hours) =========================ECONOMIC DATA========================

Real-time economic data releases.................. Summary of economic data and forecasts......... Recently released economic data................ Previous stories on Slovak data.......... **For a schedule of corporate and economic events: =========================NEWS=================================

FOREIGN TRADE: Slovakia's trade balance showed a higher-than-expected surplus of 449.0 million euros ($527.53 million) in June after revised 281.9 million euro surplus in May, data from the country's statistics office showed on Wednesday.

Story: Related stories: =======================PRESS DIGEST=============================

MINIMUM WAGE: Slovakia's Labour Ministry will propose to raise the gross monthly minimum wage to 480 euros ($563.42) from the current 435 euros, according to a government document. If the ministry, trade unions and empolyers don't reach an agreement, the government will raise the minimum wage as of January 2018 by law.

SME, page 3

AUTOMOTIVE: Korea-based manufacturer of car interior parts Seoyon E-Hwa will invest 31 million euros ($36.39 million) to add a new factory to its two Slovak plants, according to a government document.

The new factory, based in a northern Slovak town Cadca, would employ 450 people and supply nearby automotive plants run by Kia and Hyundai . (Reuters has not verified the stories, nor does it vouch for their accuracy.)

For real-time stock market index quotes click in brackets: Warsaw WIG20 Budapest BUX Prague PX Main currency report TOP NEWS -- Emerging markets News editor of the day: Jason Hovet on +420 224 190 476

E-mail: prague.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com ($1 = 0.8519 euros)

(Reporting by Prague Newsroom)
HANOI, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Here's a snapshot of Vietnamese dong exchange rates in the official and unofficial markets, indicative SJC gold prices in Hanoi and interbank offered rates at 0425 GMT.

August 10 USD/VND mid-point 22,443 USD/VND interbank 22,728/22,733 USD/VND unofficial 22,725/22,740 SJC gold (mln dong/tael) 36.20/36.42

Interbank offered rates Overnight 0.4-0.8

1 week 0.5-0.9

1 month 1.3-1.9

3 months 3.1-3.6

NOTES: As of Jan. 4, 2016 the State Bank of Vietnam has begun setting the mid-point rate on daily basis, allowing dollar/dong transactions to move in a band of +/- 3 percent around the mid point. The dong's exchange rate against other currencies is not restricted by a band. Interbank offered rates are the latest indicative bid/ask prices, quoted from market sources.

One tael is equivalent to 37.5 grams or 1.21 troy ounces. SJC gold prices are quoted by state-owned Saigon Jewelry Co.

For more interbank rate fixings released at 0400 GMT, click on .

For Vietnam market overview click on: Vietnam's bonds market auctions: Bonds auction results: (Compiled by Hanoi Newsroom)
COLOMBO, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Sri Lankan shares recovered from a three-and-a-half month low on Thursday, snapping a nine-session losing streak, as investors bought battered shares.

The Colombo stock index rose 0.16 percent, or 10.29 points, to 6,516.32, edging up from its lowest close since April 25 hit on Wednesday. It fell 1.5 percent last week in its third straight weekly drop.

"Market moved up on bargain hunting and (there was) less selling pressure. We have seen the bottom for the moment and we have to see whether it will sustain," said Dimantha Mathew, head of research at First Capital Holdings.

Mathew said the resignation of Sri Lanka's foreign minister Ravi Karunanayake, a former finance minister, also helped boost the market.

Sri Lanka's foreign minister resigned on Thursday over corruption charges in an investigation of alleged irregularities in government bond sales, maintaining that he was not guilty of wrongdoing. "The resignation reduces risk of a splintering in the governing coalition," Gavin Serkin, managing editor at London-based Exotix Capital, a specialist frontier markets investment bank active in South Asia.

The coalition government between President Maithripala Sirisena's centre-left party and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's centre-right party had differences over the alleged corruption deal, risking the stability of the government.

"We regard Sri Lanka equities as cheap versus history and the exchange rate as lower risk than before, now it is under the IMF umbrella, but we still see a struggle for sustainable growth," Serkin said in an emailed comment.

Foreign investors net bought shares worth 98.5 million Sri Lankan rupees ($642,740.62) on Thursday, extending their year-to-date net inflow to 26.7 billion rupees.

Turnover stood at 306.6 million rupees, less than half of this year's daily average of around 880.6 million rupees.

Shares of Dialog Axiata Plc rose 0.9 percent while, Ceylon Tobacco Company Plc gained 1.1 percent and Sampath bank Plc ended 2.9 percent higher.

Analysts, however, expect equities to gain due to a fall in government bond yields.

Short-term treasury-bond yields fell between 10 basis points (bps) and 16 bps at a weekly auction on Wednesday, while the yields on a 59-month bond dropped by 99 bps and that on a 118-month bond fell by 78 bps at the last week auction.

($1 = 153.2500 Sri Lankan rupees)

(Reporting by Ranga Sirilal and Shihar Aneez; Editing by Vyas Mohan)
BEDMINSTER, N.J. (Reuters) - President Donald Trump ratcheted up his rhetoric toward North Korea on Thursday, saying it should be "very, very nervous" if it even thinks about attacking the United States or its allies, after Pyongyang said it was making plans to fire missiles over Japan to land near the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam.

"The people of our country are safe. Our allies are safe. And I will tell you this: North Korea better get their act together or they're going to be in trouble like few nations ever have been in trouble in this world," Trump told reporters in New Jersey, where he was meeting with his national security team.

Far from toning down his words after saying on Tuesday that any threats by Pyongyang would be "met with fire and fury like the world has never seen," Trump said those remarks may have not gone far enough.

"Maybe it wasn't tough enough. They've been doing this to our country for a long time, for many years. And it's about time that somebody stuck up for the people of this country and for the people of other countries," Trump added.

Asked if he would consider a pre-emptive strike against North Korea to deny it the ability to launch a nuclear attack against the United States, Trump said, "We'll see what happens."

"If North Korea does anything in terms of even thinking about attack of anybody that we love or we represent or our allies or us, they should be very, very nervous. I'll tell you what. And they should be very nervous. Because things will happen to them like they never thought possible," Trump added.

The United States and South Korea remain technically still at war with North Korea after the 1950-53 Korean conflict ended with a truce, not a peace treaty.

Tension in the region has risen sharply since the reclusive communist country -- which staged two nuclear bomb tests last year -- launched two intercontinental ballistic missile tests in July in defiance of world powers. Trump has said he will not allow Pyongyang to develop a nuclear weapon capable of hitting the United States.

North Korea's army will complete the plans in mid-August to fire four intermediate-range missiles over Japan to land near Guam, when they will be ready for leader Kim Jong Un's order, state-run KCNA news agency said. The plans called for the missiles to land in the sea 30-40 km (18-25 miles) from Guam.

Trump also said that new sanctions on North Korea approved by the U.N. Security Council on Aug. 5 that could slash by a third the country's $3 billion annual export revenue probably "will not be as effective as a lot of people think it can be, unfortunately." Trump praised China and Russia for backing the sanctions, but pressed Beijing to do more.

"I think China can do a lot more, yes. ... And I think China will do a lot more," Trump said at Bedminster, New Jersey where he is on a working vacation.

Trump said the United States loses a lot of money on trade with China. "It's not going to continue like that. But if China helps us, I feel a lot differently toward trade," Trump added.

RISKS GROW

Experts in the United States and South Korea said North Korea's Guam plans ratcheted up risks significantly, since Washington was likely to view any missile aimed at its territory as a provocation, even if launched as a test.

If Pyongyang carries out its threatened show of force and launches missiles toward Guam, it would represent an unprecedented milestone in the already fraught relations between the United States and North Korea.

Trump said the United States would "always consider negotiations" with Pyongyang, but faulted three of his predecessors, Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, on their approach to North Korea.

The planned path of North Korea's missiles would cross some of the world's busiest sea and air traffic routes.

Guam, a tropical island more than 3,000 km (2,000 miles) to the southeast of North Korea, is home to about 163,000 people and a strategically located U.S. air base, Navy installation that includes a submarine squadron, a Coast Guard group and roughly 6,000 U.S. military service members.

"The Hwasong-12 rockets to be launched by the KPA (Korean People's Army) will cross the sky above Shimane, Hiroshima and Koichi Prefectures of Japan," the North Korean report said. "They will fly 3,356.7 km (2,085.8 miles) for 1,065 seconds and hit the waters 30 to 40 km away from Guam." The report did not mention any threat of the use of nuclear missiles near Guam.

"Sound dialogue is not possible with such a guy bereft of reason and only absolute force can work on him," KCNA said, calling Trump's "fire and fury" comment "a load of nonsense."

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter rebuked officials in both nations over their threatening language.

"The harsh rhetoric from Washington and Pyongyang during recent months has exacerbated an already confrontational relationship between our countries, and has probably eliminated any chance of good faith peace talks between the United States and North Korea," Carter said. "In addition to restraining the warlike rhetoric, our leaders need to encourage talks between North Korea and other countries, especially China and Russia."

U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, a key Republican voice on foreign policy, said that based on his conversations with Trump he believes the president would be willing to launch a pre-emptive strike to prevent Pyongyang from launching a nuclear attack on the U.S. homeland.

"If negotiations fail, he is willing to abandon 'strategic patience' and use pre-emption," Graham said of Trump during an interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt. "I think he's there mentally. He has told me this."

"So I'm 100 percent confident that if President Trump had to use military force to deny the North Koreans the capability to strike America with a nuclear-tipped missile, he would do that," Graham added.

Additional reporting by Daniel Bases in New York, David Brunnstrom in Washington and Soyoung Kim in Seoul; Writing by Will Dunham; Editing by Howard Goller and Alistair Bell
NEW YORK, Aug 10 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday sold $15 billion of 30-year bonds to solid investor demand, resulting in a yield of 2.818 percent that was the lowest at an auction since October, Treasury data showed. The Treasury awarded indirect bidders which include fund managers and foreign central banks 66.79 percent of the latest 30-year supply , which was their biggest share at a 30-year sale since the record high amount of 68.49 percent in July 2016. (Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Richard Chang)

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.
KAMPALA, Aug 10 (Reuters) - The Ugandan shilling firmed on Thursday, helped by sagging demand for dollars from both commercial banks and importers. At 0919 GMT commercial banks quoted the shilling at 3,605/3,615, stronger than Wednesday's close of 3,610/3,620. UGX Spot Rate..... Ugandan Shilling Money Guide.... Calculated Cross Rates.......... Deposits..................... Deposits & Forwards............. Uganda Equities Guide....... Uganda All Share Index........ Shilling background ..... Ugandan Debt Guide............ All Uganda Bonds............. Uganda T-Bills.............. Uganda Benchmark............. Central Bank ................ Ugandan Contributor Index.... Uganda Coffee Prices....... (Reporting by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by Clement Uwiringiyimana)

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.
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USS Tennessee Blue changes command

By Lt. Lily Hinz, Commander, Submarine Group Ten Public Affairs







USS Tennessee Blue changing commands. Image courtesy of U.S. Navy

KINGS BAY, GA.  The Ohio-class ballistic-missile submarine USS Tennessee (SSBN 734) (Blue) held a change of command at the Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay chapel, July 14.



Cmdr. Chas McLenithan was relieved by Cmdr. Paul Seitz as commanding officer of Tennessee (Blue). McLenithan, a native of Sanger, California said, Although we had some unique events during my time in command, this team on Tennessee Blue always did their job right, with a keen focus on keeping their priorities correct in carrying out our nations most vital mission of strategic deterrence, said McLenithan. I am privileged to speak for the last time as a proud member of this crew.



McLenithan spoke of his crews unparalleled camaraderie and strong bond. The most noteworthy point is not only what we accomplished, but how we accomplished it, with the strongest camaraderie and command climate I have ever witnessed in my career, McLenithan said.



Anyone who steps onboard notices this first, and it is something I will cherish most as I look back on my time with this outstanding team. That team includes both crews of Tennessee.



Capt. T.R. Buchanan, Commodore, Submarine Squadron 20, served as the guest speaker for the event. Tennessee has set the bar high  conducting the longest continuous underway from homeport during a patrol in 2016; making the difficult look easy; making the second port visit in over a decade for an Atlantic Fleet SSBN, said Buchanan.



Chas focus on the basics led to a great deal of patrol success. He kept his ship and his team safe  always -- and clearly set the standard for a big focus area of ours  contact management  Chas team did it right all the time!



Seitz, a Broomfield, Colorado native, was last stationed at U.S. Strategic Command. His most recent operational assignment was as executive officer aboard USS Houston (SSN 763) where he completed a Western Pacific deployment.



During his remarks, Seitz expressed some of his priorities for his crew. The most important thing we can do to ensure our national defense for the long term is to build each other up, challenge ourselves and those around us to excellence, and ensure that the families who provide support to the Sailors are themselves strongly supported by a community of like-minded co-laborers, Seitz said. That is the calling that my family and I embrace, and we are proud to join with the Tennessee family in the execution of this critical mission.



For his next tour, McLenithan will report to Commander, Submarine Forces Atlantic as the senior member of the Tactical Readiness Evaluation Team.



Tennessee is the fourth U.S. Navy ship to be named for the State of Tennessee and the ninth of 18 Ohio-class submarines. USS Tennessee was commissioned Dec. 18, 1988.



A native of Broomfield, Colorado, CDR Paul A. Seitz graduated from The Masters University in 1993 with a bachelors degree in Mathematics. He also holds a masters degree in Applied Mathematics from Colorado State University.



His initial sea assignment was on the USS Michigan (Blue) SSBN 727, where he served as Reactor Controls Assistant, Electrical Assistant, Main Propulsion Assistant, and Damage Control Assistant. While onboard Michigan, he completed 5 strategic deterrent patrols. His next sea assignment was onboard the USS Santa Fe (SSN 763), where he served as the Weapons Officer, and completed an arctic transit, depot modernization period, and a Western Pacific deployment. He then served onboard USS Houston (SSN 713) as the Executive Officer, completing a Western Pacific deployment. He is currently assigned as the Commanding Officer of the USS Tennessee (Blue).



Ashore, he has served as an instructor in sonar and tactics at Naval Submarine School in Groton, CT; as an inspector of the Tactical Readiness Team on the staff of Commander, Submarine Force U. S. Pacific Fleet; and as Chief, SLBM Emergency Action Procedures on the staff of Commander, U. S. Strategic Command in Omaha, Nebraska.



His awards and decorations include the Defense Meritorious Service Award, Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Commendation Medal (4 awards) and Navy Achievement Medal (2 awards). Teams he has worked with been awarded the Battle Efficiency award (2 awards), Meritorious Unit Commendation, and Navy Unit Citation, along with various unit awards. He and his wife Courtney have five children, Jacob, Katie, Isaac, Grace, and Lilyanna.



Published August 10, 2017












War for the Planet of the Apes

After losing many of his family and friends in the war against the humans, Caesar (Andy Serkis), the former leader of the evolved apes, prepares for revenge. Meanwhile, out of fear the apes might rule the humans in the future, the Colonel (Woody Harrelson) plans a merciless attack on the apes. Directed by Matt Reeves.





Belle & Sebastian: Adventure Continues

Sebastian (Felix Bossuet), a little boy living in a small village in the Alps, waits impatiently for his friend Angelina (Margaux Chatelier), who is returning to the village in two years. When the plane carrying Angelina crashes in the mountains, Sebastian and his faithful dog Belle set off to rescue their dear friend. Directed by Christian Duguay.





The Sense of an Ending

One day, Tony (Jim Broadbent) receives a letter from his ex-girlfriend Veronica (Charlotte Rampling). The letter informs him Veronica's mother passed away, and she has left a diary for Tony. In order to get the diary, Tony meets Veronica, who reveals a secret about his past that changes his life completely. Directed by Ritesh Batra.





Midnight Runners

Two young men who are students of Korean National Police University, Gi-jun (Park Seo-jun) and Hee-yeol (Kang Ha-neul) witness an abduction. However, due to complex procedures and lack of proof, the police do not make much progress in solving the case. Determined to catch the kidnapper, Gi-jun and Hee-yeol work together. Directed by Jason Kim.





A Taxi Driver

In May 1980, a taxi driver living in Seoul, Man-seop (Song Kang-ho) takes his passenger, German journalist Peter (Thomas Kretschmann), to Gwangju. His plan to return to Seoul by night goes wrong when they witness extreme cruelty happening to the innocent civilians of Gwangju. With the help of Man-seop and other people, Peter covers the tragedy and spreads the news to the world. Directed by Jang Hun.
Madeleine Bordallo, Guam's delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives, speaks on CNN on Aug. 9. / Screen capture from CNN



By Ko Dong-hwan

North Korea's threat to launch a missile attack on Guam has increased residents' fears on the U.S. Pacific island territory.

A man whose family live on the island said the threat is "very scary," according to Seattle-based Komo News on Aug. 9.

Skyler Matson, a Guam native, said he heard that North Korea "might bomb Guam and they have nukes this time." Matson worried that people "will die at whatever time."

A former army veteran reportedly said the U.S. "won't wait around for us to get hit" and hoped "the (American) military is prepped and ready to go."
By Kim Jae-kyoung

U.S. President Donald Trump should stop his improvised, inflammatory rhetoric about North Korea to avoid a military conflict on the Korean Peninsula, according to the Washington-based Arms Control Association (ACA).

It said Trump's reckless words have escalated tension on the peninsula, raising the possibility Pyongyang will conduct more aggressive and dangerous military provocations.

"Recent bombastic rhetoric from Trump is a dangerous and ineffective strategy to halt North Korea's nuclear development and could trigger a military conflict that would not be in the U.S's interest," ACA's Nonproliferation Policy Director Kelsey Davenport and researcher Alicia Sanders-Zakre said in an email interview.

The concern comes as Trump has intensified his verbal threats to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un by warning that the North will be met with "fire and fury like the world has never seen" if it continues to threaten the U.S.

His ominous warning has prompted the reclusive country to fire back by threatening to strike Guam, a U.S. territory within range of a North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Its state media said Thursday that it will finalize its plan to strike Guam by mid-August.

According to the ACA, a U.S. non-partisan think tank, there are two big problems associated with Trump's North Korea policy.

First, his bellicose rhetoric that contrasts with his aides and the U.S. Congress could send a mixed message and lead to Pyongyang making a miscalculation which could lead to a military confrontation.

"The U.S. must signal a cohesive position to North Korea, for example, by sending a high-level envoy to North Korea to indicate a willingness to begin talks," Davenport and Sanders-Zakre said.

"The current lack of clarity about the U.S. position due to several incongruous statements could lead to a North Korean miscalculation and accidental escalation. Careless statements from the U.S. about a pre-emptive war are dangerous and must stop."
Tens of thousands of North Koreans gathered for a rally at Kim Il Sung Square carrying placards and propaganda slogans as a show of support for their rejection of the United Nations' latest round of sanctions in Pyongyang, Wednesday. Propaganda signs, from left to right: "Strike the United States with nuclear thunderbolt!"; "Those who touch us will not escape death"; "A revenge attack of annihilation".

/ AP-Yonhap



North Korea threatens to fire 4 missiles around Guam

By Yi Whan-woo

The international community is increasingly calling for both the United States and North Korea to refrain from threatening each other as their war of words escalate tension.

North Korea claimed Thursday that it was examining a plan to fire four Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBM) into waters near the U.S. territory of Guam. The North's state media said the country's strategic rocket forces will report a detailed plan to leader Kim Jong-un by mid-August.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and news media from the U.S., China, the European Union (EU) and other countries have called on the two countries to stop their war of words immediately.

Some stressed dialogue, while others asked Trump to tone down his remarks and stop provoking the unpredictable North Korean leader Kim Jong-un whose regime has been accelerating its nuclear program.

Trump still stepped up his rhetoric against the North, Wednesday, tweeting that "My first order as president was to renovate and modernize our nuclear arsenal."

He added: "It is now far stronger and more powerful than ever before. Hopefully we will never have to use this power, but there will never be a time that we are not the most powerful nation in the world!"

Citing Kim Rak-gyom, the commander of the Strategic Force of the Korean People's Army, Pyongyang's state-controlled Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that a plan to strike Guam with Hwasong-12 IRBMs will be completed by mid-August and preparations could be completed within days.

"The secretary-general remains extremely concerned by the ongoing situation and is troubled by the increase in confrontational rhetoric," U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters.

Russian Ambassador to the U.N. Vassily Nebenzia said he hopes Washington "keeps calm and refrains from any moves that would provoke another party to actions that might be dangerous."












South Korea's military warned Thursday that North Korea will pay a harsh price for an attack on the South or its ally the United States.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) issued the strongly worded message in response to the North's continued war rhetoric, including a threat to fire ballistic missiles toward Guam.

Should the North ignore the warning and provoke, it will face "the allies' strong and resolute retaliation," Army Col. Roh Jae-cheon, the JCS spokesman, said in a statement.

It's unusual for the South's military to issue such a warning message against the North for verbal threats, not missile or nuclear testing.

He denounced the North for a series of "reckless rhetoric" such as "turning Seoul into sea of fire," "pre-emptive retaliatory operation" and "enveloping fire around Guam."

"It's a serious challenge to our people and the South Korea-U.S. alliance," he said.

The allies are all set to counter the North's provocation immediately and sternly, he stressed.












By Jun Ji-hye

Cheong Wa Dae urged North Korea to immediately stop behavior that raises military tension on and around the Korean Peninsula after a National Security Council (NSC) meeting, Thursday.

The presidential office also vowed to mobilize every possible means to ease tension through close cooperation with neighboring countries including the United States.

The two-hour meeting was chaired by President Moon Jae-in's top security adviser, Chung Eui-yong.

Giving a briefing on the results of the NSC meeting, presidential spokesman Park Soo-hyun said, "The NSC assessed that the security situation around the peninsula has become very serious due to North Korea's repeated provocations and threats."

Stressing that possible armed conflict would not help any countries, Park said the government will actively exercise diplomatic efforts to bring Pyongyang to the negotiation table.

"We will leave the door open for dialogue," the spokesman said.

The emergency NSC meeting was held amid escalating tension here following North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump's exchange of verbal threats.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) warned that the regime in Pyongyang will pay a harsh price for an attack on the South or its ally the United States.












Some residents of urban slums in Metro Manila make their living by collecting recyclable waste from nearby dumpsites or laboring as factory workers. / Korea Times



In Metro Manila slums, poverty is passed down from one generation to the next

By Kang Hyun-kyung

Metro Manila _ A life with dignity has long been forgotten by people in the urban slum of Mabolo in Maysilo, 23 kilometers north of the Philippine capital city of Manila.

Some of the residents are illegal occupants, or squatters, who had migrated to Metro Manila from rural areas for jobs but ended up in extreme poverty, with shattered dreams and no means to lead decent lives.

Stretched over 636 square kilometers around the Philippine capital, Metro Manila consists of 12 cities and five municipalities. Like many other urban areas, the region has two faces _ the rich and prosperous downtown areas and the slums on the outskirts.

The residents of the slums, who are the poorest of the poor, make their living by collecting recyclable waste from nearby dumpsites or working as factory workers. Their tiny incomes make it hard for them and their families to meet such basic human needs as decent food and housing.

Like other poor people in Metro Manila, people in Mabolo live in ramshackle homes in dark, humid and unsanitary environments. Each home has one or two rooms in which an entire family sleeps side by side on wooden floors.

During weekdays, some humanitarian workers provide free meals to kindergarten and elementary school students at a warehouse near a factory in Mabolo. Maria Hobayan, a cook who prepares free meals for the children, said those children would not have anything to eat without the free meal program.

She mentioned her conversation with a man in his 30s who was taking home three plates of rice and noodles for his three children, who were sick with chickenpox at home.

Residents in Mabolo are trapped in a vicious circle of poverty, that is, poverty is passed down from generation to generation.

"In the Philippines, the urban poor and the slums are a decades-long story," said Jung Bup-mo, a research fellow at the Seoul National University Asian Center. "The slums in Metro Manila were created three or four decades ago at the beginning of urbanization. People in rural areas migrated to the suburbs of the capital city in search of jobs and better lives, but the high unemployment in the city had left them jobless."

They chose to stay in the suburbs, not going back to their hometowns, built new homes with salvaged materials in government-owned territories and lived there as illegal occupants.

The decades-old slums have puzzled those who are familiar with the resilient Philippine economy.

The Philippines, one of the world's fastest-growing economies, experienced GDP growth of 6.8 percent last year, a 0.9 percent increase from 2015. According to the World Bank's Global Economic Prospects, the country's GDP growth is expected to reach between 6.5 and 7.5 percent this year.

However, the benefits of the country's economic growth don't trickle down to the poor.

In the slums, children inherit their parents' socioeconomic status, as they are forced to work from a very young age, instead of going to school. When they grow up, they become vendors or construction laborers to support their families.

Child labor is common in the poor northwestern seaside city of Navotas. Shirtless children collect bottles and other recyclable garbage from dumpsites to earn income. When the reporter was stuck in traffic in a taxi while heading from the Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport to Maysilo, Malabon City, on July 31, two kids approached the car and begged for money. The driver gave them some coins but later charged the reporter 1,850 Philippine pesos for the 23-kilometer trip, a fare over three times higher than that of Uber.

Some poor people in the Philippines are able to jump to a higher socioeconomic status and end the vicious circle of poverty through overseas guest worker programs, from which they earn much more money than what they can earn at home. But such opportunities are off-limits to the urban poor, according to Jung.

"The guest worker program, which is the last resort of the poor to escape poverty, is not an option for the slum residents because it requires a certain amount of initial investment such as for visa processing fees and other expenses for language and other necessary job training," he said. "The urban poor cannot afford to make such an investment. Thus, they continue to live in the vicious circle of poverty."

According to the International Monetary Fund, the Philippines, along with India and Mexico, is one of the world's largest recipients of remittances. Overseas Filipino guest workers work in various fields, including health care, aviation and construction. Over 50,000 Filipinos work in Korea, mostly in the manufacturing sector.

Health risks are another threat to the urban poor. Slum residents are vulnerable to various infectious diseases, as their homes are located mainly on low-lying floodplains along river banks or dumpsites.

The World Health Organization (WHO) warned of health risks from various infectious diseases after tropical storm Ondoy ripped through the country in April 2010. According to the WHO, cases of acute watery diarrhea increased within Metro Manila and leptospirosis broke out in three villages in Marikina City during the typhoon. Nearly 64 percent of the post-typhoon leptospirosis cases were from Metro Manila.

Jung, who earned his doctoral degree in anthropology from the University of the Philippines and did research on the urban poor during his 10-year stay in the Southeast Asian country, said the slums have remained a headache to the Philippine government, as its previous efforts to tackle the problem have borne little fruit.

According to him, the Philippine government had, among others, implemented a relocation project to help the urban poor lead better lives outside the city, such as Cabuyao Southville.

"The project was a partial success. Some of the relocated people successfully settled in their new territory," he said. "But some returned to the capital area because there were no jobs available for them in the new location."

The slums remain and pose a grave threat to balanced urban development because urban migration continues despite the high unemployment in the city area.

According to 2015 Philippine government data, 26.3 percent of Filipinos live below the poverty line, which means those people cannot afford to meet basic human needs, including food.

"The Philippines is not the only country wrestling with slums. In Korea, we also have urban poor. The difference is that the ratio of the poorest of the poor in the Philippines is much higher than that in other countries," said Jung.

He said a relocation plan that lacks job creation for migrants is doomed to fail. "Once jobs are created in the relocation area, people would not return to the urban area because the reason they left their home (in the first place) was for better lives. So if job creation accompanies the government-led relocation project, it could bear fruit," he said.
Ahn Cheol-soo, former presidential candidate of the People's Party, lays flowers on Jurgen Hinzpeter's grave. The German correspondent was the one who exposed the brutalities of the May 18 Democratic Uprising in 1980. / Yonhap



By Choi Ha-young

Ahn Cheol-soo, former presidential candidate and co-founder of the People's Party, registered as a candidate for the party's leadership election slated for Aug. 27, Thursday.

The decision came amid two other contenders' fierce protests against Ahn's challenge. In response to such criticisms, Ahn revealed his plan to revamp the scandal-hit party Sunday and reaffirmed his vision during his visit to Gwangju, Thursday.

"The upcoming party convention should be a place where candidates compete over initiatives to rebuild the party," he told reporters at the party's headquarters in western Seoul. After a fabrication scandal came to light last month, the party has been reeling from a support rate dropping below 5 percent.

Right after, Ahn headed to the southern city of Gwangju to woo the region's voters, generally in favor of his two rivals  Reps. Chun Jung-bae and Chung Dong-young. Both are based in Gwangju and the Jeolla region, the minor liberal party's stronghold.

As a co-founder of the party, Ahn is seeking to alleviate the internal feud that arose following his leadership bid. Ahn unexpectedly announced his bid for the party's top post Aug. 3 and immediately came under fire from the two. Chun and Chung jointly called on Ahn to remain silent for a while to take responsibility for the defeat in May's presidential election.

In Gwangju, he vowed to revive the party. "I will assign 30 percent of party candidacies for the local elections in June to young people and political rookies," he said in a press conference in the city. In contrast to the six-term lawmaker Chun and four-term lawmaker Chung, the entrepreneur-turned-politician has emphasized his innovative image.

At the heartland of the nation's democracy, Ahn laid flowers on Jurgen Hinzpeter's grave. The German correspondent was the one who exposed the brutalities of the suppression of the May 18 Democratic Uprising in 1980.

Along with a local taxi driver, he courageously documented the slaughters led by military dictator Chun Doo-hwan.

In an effort to appeal to liberal voters, Ahn on Wednesday watched the movie "A Taxi Driver," based on the journalist and the unidentified taxi driver who drove for him at the risk of their lives. "The movie is a living textbook that remind us of democracy and historical tragedies," he said.

On Thursday, Rep. Chun also visited Gwangju and again poured out criticisms against Ahn, pointing out the latter's responsibility for the presidential election results. "In addition, Ahn's so-called radical centrism is a very ambiguous value," Chun said, touting reformist policies.

Chun will register as a candidate for the party's leadership race Thursday, while Chung is planning to do so Friday.
Kumho Tire CEO Lee Han-seob speaks during a meeting with company employees at its plant in Gwangju, in July. Issuing a statement, Kumho Tire executives and employees said they will quit en masse if the Korea Development Bank and other creditors sell Korea's second-largest tiremaker to Double Star Tires, a mid-tier Chinese company. They said they want to remain part of Kumho Asiana Group. / Courtesy of Kumho Tire



By Choi Ha-young

Rep. Park Jie-won, former chairman of the People's Party, called on the Moon Jae-in administration Thursday to halt the sale of Kumho Tire to a Chinese company.

Currently, Kumho Asiana Group is wrestling for control of the group's tire unit. China's Double Star has attempted to acquire the country's No. 2 tiremaker, by signing a deal to use its brand name.

The company's creditors including the state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB) support the sale to the Chinese company.

Kumho Tire's fate has been a matter of grave concern among residents of the Jeolla region, where two of its three domestic plants are located. Citizens and local politicians as well as the company's union and executives are struggling to halt the acquisition, since possible factory shutdowns after the deal will devastate the regional economy.

Park visited a plant in Gokseong, South Jeolla Province, Wednesday. "Kumho Tire is a big company in the region," he said. "The sale requires political considerations on top of economic calculations."

The lawmaker also promised to help them make their voices heard in the National Assembly. The party mentioned the issue at a luncheon meeting with President Moon Jae-in at Cheong Wa Dae, July 19. "Moon told us a deal should be sought in a way to ensure job security for employees," the party's interim leader Park Joo-sun told reporters.

Moon, who gained an overwhelming number of votes from the region in May's presidential election, shared his concerns in March while running for the presidency.

"The company employs 3,800 workers at three domestic plants," he wrote on Facebook. "The top priority is to ensure job security for all Kumho employees. Whoever acquires the company, it must not close these local plants or dismiss workers."

Those who oppose the sale of the tiremaker to a foreign company claim the country should learn its lesson from the sale of Ssangyong Motor to China's Shanghai Automotive Industry in 2004, which resulted in technology leaks and mass dismissals of Korean workers.

The company was later sold again to India's Mahindra & Mahindra in 2011.

iven various benefits in medical spending, their demand will soar, costing the government more money than calculated. It is doubtful a 2 percent to 3 percent increase in the insurance fee could prop up the plan," said Lee Kyu-sik, a health economics professor at Yonsei University.

It is also speculated the government would shoulder more financial burden by 2020 when baby boomers who are financially unstable in retirement start turning 65.

The finance ministry projected in March that the national health insurance fund will record a deficit in 2018, the accumulated fund will run out by 2023, and the deficit is estimated to reach 20 trillion won by 2025.

On Thursday, Moon reaffirmed his health care program and dismissed rising financial concerns during a weekly meeting with top aides at Cheong Wa Dae.

"I know many people are questioning if the expanded welfare plan will be possible without a tax bomb or financial deficit. But also, some criticize that the government is slow in expanding welfare," he said.

"I hope you let the people know we thoroughly looked into the funding plan in consultation with the finance ministry and made it possible to keep financial stability by planning to gradually implement changes from the second half of the year to 2022."
By Ku Yae-rin





When minors commit a crime, should they be punished like adults? Should minors be punished lightly  or not at all for children under the age of 10  regardless of the severity of the crimes committed?

John Stuart Mill extended the applicability of his doctrine only to humans with mature faculties. Expecting the same maturity and behavior standards from children as adults would be like treating "unequals" as equals.

On the other hand, it is also likely that Mill would advocate for reformation of the law. Adolescents' intellectual level and physical strength have both matured substantially compared to when the Juvenile Protection Act was first implemented in 1963 in South Korea. In fact, the law includes middle and high school students, who can hardly be perceived as children.

Likewise Jeremy Bentham, the father of utilitarianism, may contend that the punishment must fit the crime because human beings are calculative animals, capable of gauging their own pleasure versus pain. Based on his penal theory, derived from classical criminology, the law should be enforced on a quid pro quo basis hence circumstances, such as mental state, age and repeat offending should be ignored by assuming equality of offense and offenders.

John Rawls' distributive justice theory portends that justice can only be upheld when all people are in an original position of equality. Behind a veil of ignorance, we do not know whether we will be born in a harsh environment, predisposed to commit crimes. Such uncertainty will lead us to favor a social safety net to protect ourselves from risky situations. Based on this notion, people would agree to a juvenile-justice system.

On the other hand, libertarians would be dead set against Rawls' argument since they believe in a laissez-faire, free market, where the state's role is kept to a minimum. The juvenile law can be categorized as paternalistic legislation because the state is trying to re-socialize criminals. The Korean National Police Agency reported in 2013 that over 40 percent of teen juveniles had prior records of committing crimes. There is no concrete evidence that shows the law is actually working.

Then what is the function of the Juvenile Protection Act? Aristotle, who founded the idea of virtue and polis, fervently believed that social order can only be maintained when there is an authority figure. Aristotle lived under the influence of the Spartan Constitution, which stated that all people were owned by the state. Thus the very concept of the juvenile law, which acknowledges that each minor has individual rights, breaches the constitution. The state controls the constitution, which in turn, shows citizens how to live as good citizens.

For Aristotle, justice means giving people what they deserve since he believed that it was possible to reason about the purpose of social institutions. Therefore, juvenile justice, abused particularly by those under the age of 10, many of whom know that they can get away with crimes, as well as teens, who circumvent the law by having children carry out their misdeeds, clashes with the "telos" of the law.

Ku Yae-rin is a student at Kyung Hee University majoring in international relations. Write to realyepuda@hotmail.com.
By Richard S. Grossman



NEWTON, Mass  Britons who already realize that the United Kingdom cannot possibly withdraw from the European Union without incurring substantial economic costs were undoubtedly disappointed by their country's recent general-election campaign. The leaders of Britain's major parties showed that they have neither a coherent plan for Brexit, nor the courage to reject it.



It is time to hand leadership to an experienced, clear-eyed leader who can dispense with tribal politics and cobble together support from the sensible wings of the major political parties. That leader should be Kenneth Clarke, the current Father of the House.



Prime Minister Theresa May has proved incapable of leading the Conservative Party or the country. After calling an unnecessary snap election, she ran an incompetent campaign that left her government dependent on the dubious support of the right-wing Democratic Unionist Party. British voters have roundly rejected her call for a "hard Brexit," in which the UK would leave both the EU single market and the customs union.



Moreover, May's ministers, not least Boris Johnson and David Davis, have proved inarticulate and ill-suited to meet the serious challenges that await the UK. Given their many failures, and hers, May should already have been ousted as party leader and prime minister. How much longer she can remain in power is uncertain, to say the least.



Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is no better. Despite Labour's official support for the "Remain" campaign, Corbyn himself never expressed any strong commitment to that outcome. During the recent election, he said little  and proposed even less  concerning Brexit, even though it is the most consequential economic challenge Britain has faced in more than a generation. Corbyn's hard-left tribalism and domineering leadership style have resulted in numerous dismissals and resignations from Labour's front bench, and have driven some talented Labour MPs away from party politics altogether.



Although Labour gained 30 parliamentary seats in the recent election, it still trails the Conservatives by 54 seats, and is more than 60 seats short of a working majority. Still, the election was hardly a disaster for Labour, which had trailed the Tories by more than 20 points when May called the election. And, because Corbyn remains popular with rank-and-file party members, he will likely hold on to the party leadership for the foreseeable future. In fact, given the Tories' sorry state, Corbyn could even become prime minister, albeit one without the full support of many of his own MPs. That outcome would be a disaster.



The Brexit referendum seems to have been drafted by someone who expected it to fail: the wording really only made sense for those voting "no." As we now know, a "yes" vote introduced deep uncertainty, because it provided no guidance about what voters actually want. It is unclear whether "Leave" voters hoped to withdraw from the customs union, limit the free movement of EU citizens, or free themselves from EU regulations. Pollsters can speculate about the answers to such questions, but there really is no way of knowing voter intent without administering a detailed, multiple-choice questionnaire. In the end, it will be up to Parliament to decide what sort of Brexit  if any  to enact.



Given the enormous challenge Brexit poses for the UK, Parliament should respond as it would to a war or other national emergency, by forming a unity government with a fixed term expiring shortly after March 29, 2019, when the UK will have formally left the EU, deal or no deal. A national government of this kind could bring sensible Tories, Labourites, and Liberal Democrats together to determine how Brexit should proceed.



Clarke is the right choice to lead such a government. He is respected on both sides of the House of Commons, and belongs to the party with the most seats. As a former chancellor of the exchequer, he has the experience to address what is largely an economic issue.



Like a majority of MPs, Clarke opposed Brexit; but, unlike most of his Tory colleagues, he followed his conscience, and voted against the Brexit bill when it came before Parliament in March. Under a national unity government, Clarke could assemble a cabinet of soft-Brexit Tories and moderate Labourites to take a cold, hard look at the UK's current options. They may determine that some form of soft Brexit is best for the country; or they could decide to abandon Brexit altogether.



Under this framework, Clarke's premiership would be far shorter than that of Margaret Thatcher or Tony Blair. He would not stand in the way of younger MPs who want to pursue the top leadership spot in the near future, because, unlike May and Corbyn, he has no motivation to cling to power. In all likelihood, Clarke, who had planned to stand down from Parliament in 2020, would get the job done and move on to the House of Lords with the thanks of a grateful country.



The hardest part about this plan would be finding talented MPs who are willing to risk the ire of their colleagues by joining a politically diverse coalition. One hopes that the looming Brexit deadline will convince MPs to put country before party, and to make Clarke prime minister.







Richard S. Grossman is a professor of economics at Wesleyan University. Copyright belongs to Project Syndicate.




President Moon Jae-in announced measures to improve the national health care program Wednesday with the aim to expand insurance coverage and reduce medical bills for patients during a visit to the Seoul St. Mary's Hospital in Seocho-gu.



Currently, the National Health Insurance's average coverage rate is 63.2 percent, which is far below the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's average of 80 percent. Under the new program, almost all treatments, except for cosmetic surgery and other beauty procedures, will be covered by National Health Insurance by 2022. Since many diseases are not covered by the state-run insurance, many families have subscribed to private insurance.



If implemented successfully, the plan is expected to slash the people's medical spending by 18 percent on average and by 46 percent for those in the low-income bracket within five years.



At a time when many families are struggling with rising medical costs, many sympathize with Moon's message to build a country where people can live without worrying about medical bills.



As with all of Moon's welfare pledges, however, the problem with "Mooncare" is the need to inject massive amounts of state funds to implement it. Many citizens are already worried about a hike in National Health Insurance fees, which is already quite burdensome for many Koreans with stagnant incomes.



The government estimated that it will take about 30 trillion won ($26.4 billion) over the next five years to carry out the new health care program. About 10 trillion won will come from the cumulative surplus collected by the National Health Insurance Corp. and the rest will be shouldered by the central government. But it is uncertain if the plan will be manageable after five years.



Relying on the surplus of the national health care fund is not a sustainable way to pay for additional benefits in the long-term. Ultimately, the government will have to raise insurance payments. The government should clearly inform the people about the additional burden and seek their consent.








US, N. Korea should step back and seek dialogue



Military tension on the Korean Peninsula is rising swiftly as the United States and North Korea continue to trade barbs.



On Thursday, North Korea elaborated on its threat to attack America's Pacific island territory of Guam. In a statement carried by state media, General Kim Rak-gyom of the (North) Korean People's Army said Pyongyang would finalize a plan by mid-August to fire four mid-range missiles hitting waters 30 to 40 kilometers away from the island. Kim said the plan will then go to Kim Jong-un, the commander-in-chief of the North's nuclear force, and wait for his order.



Hours earlier, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis urged North Korea to ''cease any consideration of actions that would lead to the end of its regime and the destruction of its people.'' The Pentagon chief's warning came a day after U.S. President Donald Trump surprised the world with his message to Kim, saying his country faced ' 'fire and fury like the world has never seen.''



The latest war of words between Washington and Pyongyang was sparked by a report by the Washington Post that North Korea was closer to being able to hit the U.S. with a nuclear armed missile than previously believed. Quoting a classified U.S. intelligence document, the newspaper said the North had mastered the ability to fit a nuclear warhead on its long-range missiles. The extent of Pyongyang's nuclear capabilities is still unclear. But pundits say its last remaining hurdle in developing nuclear missiles might be to obtain atmospheric re-entry technology applicable to an intercontinental ballistic missile.



The North's strong rhetoric may be part of its typical brinkmanship seeking to turn the confrontation into dialogue after ramping up tension. But that the reclusive state is closer to completing its nuclear and missile programs is proven by the North's five nuclear tests and numerous missile launches.



There is no need to panic about the latest tit-for-tat between the U.S. and North Korea. But complacency is unwarranted, given that the rogue state appears to be ready to cross a red line sooner or later. The most fearful scenario is that Pyongyang would intimidate Washington with its nuclear missiles and push American soldiers here out of South Korea to reunify the Korean Peninsula.



It would be fortunate if the escalation of the crisis on the peninsula ends up with an empty war of nerves. But their confrontation has already surpassed a perilous level.



What is clear is that there must not be even accidental clashes on the peninsula in consideration of the level of devastation that would follow. So the U.S. and North Korea should make efforts to seek a solution to the latter's nuclear ambition through calm and sincere dialogue rather than escalating tension through an unnecessary verbal war.




By Kang Seung-woo





K bank CEO Shim Sung-hoon

The state audit agency is set to look into the approval process of K bank amid allegations of preferential treatment for the nation's first internet-only bank, according to sources, Thursday.

The investigation will center on whether the Financial Services Commission's (FSC) approval of Woori Bank as a major shareholder of K bank was a proper assessment as its financial soundness failed to meet requirements.

K bank, launched April 3, was formed by a KT-led consortium comprised of 21 companies, including Woori Bank, which is one of the five largest shareholders with a 10 percent share. KT holds an 8 percent share.

In addition, whether the Park Geun-hye government gave favors to the KT consortium in terms of the preliminary endorsement for the license of K bank will also be subject to the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) probe.

"The BAI has asked for relevant documents from the FSC," a source said.

"It plans to investigate all allegations regarding K bank."

The investigation comes after Rep. Kim Young-joo of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy took issue with K bank's approval last month, claiming the FSC gave preferential treatment to the bank.

According to regulations, the largest shareholder who owns a 4 percent stake or higher in a new bank is required to post a BIS ratio of more than 8 percent in the previous quarter and it should be above the average of local banks in the given period.

However, Woori failed to meet the latter requirement, but it later got the nod from the FSC after submitting its BIS ratio of the previous three years.

Kim also argued that Choi Soon-sil, a jailed confidant of ousted former President Park, pulled strings to give favors to KT after she had pressured it to give her advertising company exclusive rights to KT projects. In addition, the telecom company also employed an associate of film director Cha Eun-taek, who was also close to Choi, under pressure from Cheong Wa Dae.

The BAI investigation is the latest blow to K bank as Kakao Bank fever has been sweeping the nation. The nation's second internet-only bank began operations July 27.

As Kakao Bank has far outpaced the growth of K bank in terms of customer base and loans, K bank raised its deposit rate from 2 percent to 2.1 percent, compared with 2 percent offered by Kakao Bank.

In addition, the investigation may adversely affect its bid for a capital increase of 250 billion won in the second half.

CEO Shim Sung-hoon takes charge of the internet-only bank.
By Jhoo Dong-chan



Batteries are considered the centerpiece not only in future cars but also in almost every high-tech industry.



Although boasting a world-class level in related technologies, the nation's battery industry is seemingly losing turf for political reasons. Industry insiders have called for immediate government support, but they criticize that authorities still sit idly by and just watch Korean firms losing business to their Chinese and Japanese rivals.



The Chinese government announced last week it has, once again, excluded Korean battery suppliers from subsidies for electric vehicle (EV) buyers. In other words, those EVs equipped with Korean batteries products are not eligible for subsidies.



The Chinese government said it implemented the measure following a Hong Kong electric bus explosion accident in December 2015. The bus was equipped with a tertiary-system battery utilizing nickel, cobalt and manganese as energy sources, and Beijing said it started prohibiting the sale of such batteries in the Chinese market to prevent similar accidents.



Chinese authorities have banned Korean batteries from using a similar system beginning last December. However, the measure did not apply to Chinese companies. A number of Chinese battery suppliers using the same technology have reportedly still received the subsidies.



"The Hong Kong electric bus accident is an excuse and we suspect that is not the real reason," a car industry insider said on condition of anonymity.



"Chinese government is rather imposing economic retaliation against Korean products over the deployment of a U.S. missile shield here. The government should immediately step in to find a countermeasure to ease the damages." China has opposed the U.S. anti-missile system deployed in Korea.



A supply shortage is another factor choking the nation's battery suppliers.



The price of cobalt, a core material source for batteries surged to 68.6 million won ($61,000) per ton last month, from the January price of $32,000 after the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the world's largest cobalt producer, decided to cut its output.



Chinese battery suppliers have bought a number of mines around the world to stabilize the price of raw materials for batteries, but Korean firms haven't shown any decisive move yet.



The nation's slow growing EV market is another reason behind Korean battery suppliers' struggle.



In order to introduce more EVs on the streets, Japan started to build infrastructure for charging stations five years ago. Currently, there are about 40,000 charging stations there.



Under its plan to introduce more than 5 million EVs by 2020, the Chinese government has also carried out massive support for its EV makers.



Thanks to government supports, 650,000 EVs were registered in China last year to become the world's largest EV market.



In comparison, Korean consumers have looked away from EV models due to the lack of infrastructure. There are 5,000 charging stations across the country and only about 10,000 EVs were registered in Korea last year.
















Roberta Palazzetti, director of BAT's North Asia Area, speaks during a press conference at the Four Seasons Hotel in Seoul, Thursday. / Courtesy of BAT Korea

By Lee Hyo-sik

British American Tobacco (BAT) has unveiled its smokeless cigarette device, glo, in Korea, vowing to catch up with its rival Philip Morris which began selling its IQOS here in May.

The two multinational cigarette brands are expected to be engaged in heated competition to secure the upper hand in this rapidly-growing, lucrative market.

BAT Korea said Thursday it will begin selling glo, an electronic device designed to heat Neostiks, the tobacco sticks for glo, at its flagship store in Sinsa-dong, southern Seoul, Aug. 13. The device comes in five colors and Neostiks in three flavors.

The next day, more than 2,600 GS25 convenience stores in Seoul will start offering glo for 90,000 won ($80) and a pack of 20 Neostiks for 4,300 won. Those who download a discount coupon from glo's website (discoverglo.co.kr) can purchase the device at 70,000 won.

The company plans to make the device and cigarettes available at GS25 stores across the country in the first quarter of 2018.

By comparison, Philip Morris sells the IQOS for 120,000 won and a package of HEETs, its tobacco sticks, for 4,300 won at CU convenience stores in Seoul.

"We are absolutely thrilled to launch our innovative next generation product, glo, in Korea," Roberta Palazzetti, director of BAT's North Asia Area, told a press conference.

"With its competitive advantages in convenience and easy-to-use design, we expect glo to gain immense popularity among adult smokers in Korea. BAT wants to be the market leader."

The device was first launched in Sendai, Japan, last December, and since then, its market share in that city has reached over 7 percent.

Palazzetti said the smokeless cigarette has been well received by Japanese consumers, adding the same thing will happen in Korea.

"We don't have to be the first to launch a new product," she said when asked about Philip Morris's IQOS. "The important thing is we have to be the best in the market. We would like to offer high-quality, less harmful products that please consumers. This is what BAT does."

Designed in Britain and assembled in China, glo's development involved over 100 experts across five continents and cost about $1.5 billion to develop and commercialize it and other next generation products, according to the London-headquartered multinational tobacco giant.

BAT Korea's plant in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province, has been producing Neostiks for Korea, Japan and other Asian markets.

"We can supply as many Neostiks as consumers demand because we produce them right here in Korea," BAT Korea Vice President Adrian Bae said.

"The device boasts an easy-to-grip design and is also easy to clean and maintain because it does not leave any ash in the device after use. glo is also unique in that it can be charged without a separate charger and one single charge can last for more than a pack of Neostiks."

Christopher Proctor, BAT's chief scientific officer, said unlike regular combustible cigarettes, glo does not produce harmful smoke because it heats the tobacco but doesn't burn it. Tobacco sticks generate a vapor that contains nicotine tobacco flavors and a number of other chemicals.

"According to our research, glo produces about 90 percent less harmful chemicals than a standard cigarette does, and leaves no ash and fewer odors on smokers," Proctor said. "The device offers smokers a more pleasant experience."
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un



By Agencies





North Korea said it was working on a plan to fire simultaneously four ballistic missiles in an enveloping fire around Guam, a key US military stronghold as it slammed US President Donald Trump for being "bereft of reason".

"Sound dialogue is not possible with such a guy bereft of reason and only absolute force can work on him," the official KCNA news service quoted General Kim Rak-gyom of the Korean People's Army (KPA) as saying on Thursday.

Trump this week stunned the world with a bold-faced message to Kim Jong-un, saying his country faced "fire and fury like the world has never seen".

The unusually detailed statement from KCNA said the four missiles would overfly the Japanese prefectures of Shimane, Hiroshima and Koichi.

Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera said Japan could legally intercept a missile headed towards Guam it was judged to be an existential threat to Japan.

If the missiles got past Japanese defences, they would have a flight time of 17 minutes 45 seconds, travel 3,356.7 kilometres and hit the waters 30 to 40 kilometres away from Guam, KCNA reported.

That Kim is eyeing Guam, the sovereign US territory with a strategic airfield and naval station, is no surprise to the 160,000 Guamanians on the island.

"Every time there is some sabre rattling in the part of the world, Guam is always part of the occasion," said Robert Underwood, the president of the University of Guam and the island's former delegate to the House of Representatives.

"When you're from Guam and live on Guam, it's disconcerting, but not unusual," Underwood told The Washington Post.

The governor of Guam, Eddie Baza Calvo, posted an address early Wednesday morning on YouTube, telling island residents not to worry.

Noting that "Guam is American soil" and that "an attack or threat on Guam is an attack or threat on the United States," Calvo said he had reached out to the White House, and that American officials have assured him that the island "will be defended."







About 3,500 km southeast of North Korea, Guam is on the edge of US power in the Pacific. Its combined navy and air force installation, Joint Region Marianas, is the home port for nuclear submarines, a contingent of Special Operations Forces and the launching point of flights for strategic bombers conducting rotational flights over Japanese territories and in the Korean Peninsula.

Guam has been a strategic linchpin since Spain relinquished control to the US Navy following the Spanish-American War in 1898. Japanese forces sped to the island following the bombing of Pearl Harbour in 1941 and captured it, subjecting its people to violence that some historians estimate to have killed 10 per cent of its population.

The island just celebrated its 73rd Liberation Day, commemorating the start of the US-led effort to liberate Guam on July 10, 1944, Underwood said.












Recently, 2PM's Nichkhun has been suffering from some sudden, minor hair loss. 2PM's Chansung revealed more information about Nichkhun's dilemma and fans were quite surprised.

On the August 9th installment of MBC's 'Radio Star,' 2PM member Chansung made an appearance and discussed Nichkhun's hair loss.

The topic came up when MC Kim Gu Ra questioned about Nichkhun's whereabouts. Chansung answered saying he was busy performing back and forth between China and Korea. Changsung was then asked the following, "Nichkhun was worried about his hair loss, is he doing alright?" Chansung replied, "It's not hair loss, he just has thin hair," causing the MC's and guests to laugh. Who knows if Nichkhun really is losing hair!

The show carried on and other questions were asked such as "Are there idol groups who tighten discipline?" Chansung replied, "There were during the time of our debut. TVXQ sunbaenim, Shinhwasunbaenim, in addition to Wonder Girls and Big Bang sunbaenims promoting on stage." What do you think of Chansung's statements regarding his fellow member's thin hair? Hopefully, it stays thick and voluminous for some time.
North Korea's Supreme Court on Wednesday sentenced Canadian-Korean pastor Lim Hyeon-soo to life in prison with hard labor for "crimes against the state," AP reported.

Lim was arrested 11 months ago after entering Pyongyang ostensibly to offer humanitarian help to nurseries and and orphanages.

Lim emigrated from South Korea to Canada in 1986 and has visited North Korea several times since 1997.
Here are six more of the women who head local arts institutions, some of them recent arrivals and some of them longtime leaders in the field; including Erika Torri, executive director of La Jollas Athenaeum Music & Arts Library. La Jolla Light published Part 1 listing the seven other museum directors in this space last week. You can read that story at lajollalight.com or a direct link at bit.ly/museumdirectors

8. Leah Goodwin, Museum at California Center for the Arts

Leah Goodwin, who was the museums education director in its early years, took charge of the 9000-square-foot exhibition space in 2015, after a time as Director of Arts Programs at the Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation. The space had been closed on-and-off due to financial problems, but she has now established a consistent schedule, presenting four exhibitions a year, becoming part of the Centers overall strategic plan, and re-establishing the museums relevance to the community.

Every exhibition includes a student component, she said. Were building the next generation of artists.

 Find the Museum at California Center for the Arts at 340 N. Escondido Blvd. in Escondido and online at artcenter.org

9. Linda Caballero Sotelo, New Americans Museum (Liberty Station)

Linda Caballero Sotelo was appointed Executive Director of the New Americans Museum in 2014, when NAM, originally founded by Deborah Szekely in 2001 to honor the immigrant experience, had been closed for over four years. We called it our reawakening,  said Sotero, whose resume includes being CEO of San Diego County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and project director of the trans-border arts festivals InSITE97 and InSITE2000.

We came in with re-energized purpose, immigrant leadership and thoughtful visual arts programming to support storytelling in our spaces and beyond-walls, and weve hosted more than 30,000 visitors to date, she said. She is proudest of the way NAM handled an incident last Thanksgiving when their signs were defaced with anti-immigrant graffiti: They went public, inviting passersby to share their feelings about the hate crime on a Free Speech Wall.

The response was overwhelming, and it really made our purpose come to life, she said. It galvanized our community to stand up for us, a small museum with big dreams of fostering tolerance among all Americans.

 Find the New Americans Museum at 2825 Dewey Road in Liberty Station, Point Loma and online at newamericansmuseum.org

10. Carolyn Grant, Museum of Making Music

Carolyn Grant became MoMMs Executive Director in 2001, having worked there since 1998. Devoted to the museums mission of preserving the history of musical instruments and giving visitors opportunities to try music-making for themselves, she praised the staff and volunteers who see this mission through every day with their commitment to creating a welcoming environment for our audiences.

 Find the Museum of Making Music at 5790 Armada Drive in Carlsbad, and online at museumofmakingmusic.org

11. Megan Pogue, Timken Museum of Art

After 12 years as vice-president of business development at San Diego Symphony, Megan Pogue took the helm of the Timken in 2015. Since then, she has established a new infrastructure for the museum and made progress in visitor engagement.

The Timken has gone from a small, static and staid 52-year-old organization to an ever-changing, vibrant community resource with multimedia exhibitions and family activities, she said.

 Find the Timken Museum of Art at 1500 El Prado in Balboa Park, and online at timkenmuseum.org

12. Diane Peabody Straw, Womens Museum of California

In 2016, after serving as funds development chair for the Womens Museum and doing freelance event planning and marketing, Diane Peabody Straw became the museums Executive Director. She is proud of the team she has developed. The talented women who work here are dedicated, strong, and most importantly, supportive of each other, she said. I know that because of them, the Museum has a bright future ahead.

 Find the Womens Museum of California at 2730 Historic Decatur Road at Liberty Station, Point Loma and online at womensmuseumca.org

13. Erika Torri, Athenaeum Music & Arts Library

Although the Athenaeum is not formally a museum, it is definitely an important exhibition space, and after 26 years as Executive Director, Erika Torri is the longest-term female director of all. Born in Germany, she was an assistant librarian at a Boston junior college in the mid-1960s, who became an award-winning weaver of miniatures, as well as a librarian. She was library director at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCASD) in the late 1980s, and then moved over to the Athenaeum, becoming Executive Director in 1991.

Among her proudest achievements are starting a renowned collection of Artists Books, introducing a wide range of art and music programming, beginning and growing an Endowment Fund, and making the Athenaeum a lively, welcoming place.

 Find the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library at 1008 Wall St. in La Jolla and online at ljathenaeum.org

 You can read the previous story about the seven other female directors of San Diego art museums at lajollalight.com or a direct link at bit.ly/museumdirectors
The North's official Korean Central News Agency on Friday denied that North Korea cruelly treated or tortured Otto Warmbier and accused the United States and South Korea of a smear campaign that insulted what it called its "humanitarian" treatment of him.

It also called itself the "biggest victim" in the death of an American student who was detained for more than a year and died days after being released in a coma.

The article published by KCNA Friday was Pyongyang's first reaction to the death of Warmbier. North Korea released him last week for what it described as humanitarian reasons and he died Monday in a U.S. hospital. His family and others have blamed North Korea for his condition.


It was a choice between being a pilot or being a police officer.

Brock Bouland chose to keep his feet on the ground and became a full-time Lake Geneva police officer in May.

That doesnt mean hes hung up his dream of wings, however.

Flying lessons are expensive, Bouland said in a recent interview. However, once he saves up enough money, Bouland said hed be interested in earning his pilots license.

For now, though, working in Lake Geneva is a goal attained.

A native of Rockton, Illinois, Bouland said he and his family enjoyed vacationing in Lake Geneva.

Bouland became a full-time officer in Genoa City in 2014. Before being hired in Lake Geneva full-time, he started working here part-time starting in July 2016.

One of my aspirations was to get hired here, Bouland said. I think its awesome coming up here.

He now lives in Kenosha and commutes, he said.

Although an Illinois native, Bouland said he preferred working in Wisconsin law enforcement.

He said in Illinois, a candidate has to be hired by a police department before going to academy.

In Wisconsin, a police candidate can attend academy first and then decide where he or she wants to work.

Bouland is a 2008 graduate of Hononegah High School in Rockton.

He attended Rock Valley Community College, Rockford, Illinois, where he earned credits in criminal justice. He attended police academy at Blackhawk Technical College, Beloit.

Boulands parents are Steve and Kathy of Rockton. He said his father owns his own business selling health insurance. His mother is a nurse.

His younger sister is living and working in Florida.

Bouland said his family is close. But he had fond memories of his grandfather, who encouraged him to pursue a career in law enforcement, even though no one else in the family had ever done police work.

He passed a year before I got the job in Genoa City, Bouland said.

Bouland said that while in college, he was intrigued by the concept of community policing.

It gets officers out of their squad cars to interact with youngsters and residents in a positive manner, he said.

Bouland said he likes policing because the job changes from day to day.

Its got good days and its got bad days, but theyre all different, he said.

Bouland currently works second and third shift

Youre really the new guy, and if a shift has to be filled, youre the one, he said.
Historic ties of north Meck span throughout region Though the north Mecklenburg area didnt see significant population growth until a few decades ago, its rich history dates back to the Revolutionary War. That was the basis of...

An easier-than-expected first mammogram experience HUNTERSVILLE  Scheduling a cancer screening probably ranks somewhere on your to-do list between "clean out the garage" and "donate those clothes that don't fit." Sure, you'll get to it at...
French government spokesman Christophe Castaner said the Paris prosecutor's office has opened a counterterrorism investigation. The incident happened as the soldiers left their barracks in Levallois-Perret to go on patrol.

French police shot and arrested the unnamed suspect in a car during a manhunt north of Paris. "A suspect who was driving in the car involved in the attack has been arrested on the highway between Paris and Boulogne-sur-Mer," Philippe told lawmakers during a parliamentary session.

French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has confirmed the arrest of the man suspected of ramming a car into a group of French soldiers Wednesday in a suburb of Paris, injuring six of them in what authorities say was a deliberate attack.

Mayor Patrick Balkany said "without a doubt" the attack was intentional. "The vehicle did not stop," Balkany said. "It hurtled at them... it accelerated rapidly."

The attack is the 15th attack on French soldiers and police officers in the past two-and-a-half years. It follows a series of other Islamic State-inspired strikes on soldiers and police, large numbers of whom have been deployed in France in response to IS calls for attacks against France and other countries that have bombed IS positions in Iraq and Syria.

All told, more than 230 people, mainly civilians, have been killed in attacks inspired by the militant group over the past two-and-a-half years, including two 2015 attacks in Paris and another in the coastal city of Nice in mid-2016.

The soldiers injured in Wednesday's attack were assigned to the 7,000 strong Sentinelle force, which was created to guard against popular French attractions following the string of fatal attacks.

Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly said the attack is further evidence the Sentinel force "was more necessary than ever." None of the six soldiers targeted in the attack is believed to have sustained life threatening injuries.


Chanjes vision sounds a lot like Teslas: electric vehicles recharged via clean rooftop solar power.

But the new company has no interest in the automobile market. Instead, its entering what it believes to be a lucrative niche in medium-duty electric trucks.

Few such trucks exist. Most medium-duty electric trucks are internal-combusion vehicles hand-converted to run on electric motors and batteries.

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Chanjes trucks are not concept vehicles or prototypes. Theyre ready for sale, and the Los Angeles company plans to begin selling or leasing them within weeks.

We decided, lets show up when were ready to go to market, said Bryan Hansel, founder and chief executive.

He wouldnt get specific on pricing, but contends that monthly lease amounts will be at parity with leases for diesel-engine competitors once lower maintenance costs and net fuel savings are figured in. He said buyers of such trucks consider price and financial return above all other considerations.

You see medium-duty trucks making deliveries all over the city: UPS step vans, snack-food delivery trucks, sketchy vehicles covered in graffiti containing who knows what. There are about 7 million of them in the United States, and about 500,000 are sold each year, said Antti Lindstrom, an analyst at IHS Markit.

Chanje intends to ride what it sees as the increasing popularity of electric powertrains. The big risk for the company, Hansel acknowledges, is how fast people will make that transition.

The companys future depends not only on the U.S. market, but the market for electric trucks in China. Chanje is 49% owned by Hong Kong-based FDG, a maker of battery cells, battery packs and vehicles in China. Already, FDG has sold a couple of thousand Chanje vehicles in China, Hansel said, under the brand name Chang Jiang.

Those vehicles, built in a 4 million-square-foot factory in Hangzhou, China, are shuttle buses. But the underlying platform on all Chanje vehicles was designed to be easily lengthened or shortened to accommodate vehicles of different lengths and body styles.

The trucks Chanje plans to sell in the U.S. are smaller than the big-rig, semitruck cabs that Tesla intends to build. Those trucks, which Tesla is expected to announce next month, will reportedly come with some self-driving capability and will encounter skepticism in trucking circles that batteries can efficiently power trucks that big.

Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk has also hinted at a pickup truck in Teslas future, but nothing about a medium-duty entry.

The first few hundred trucks sold by Chanje will be imported from the Hangzhou plant. But the company eventually plans to important kits from China and assemble them in the U.S., first in the West and, if things go well, then in the Midwest and the East Coast. Chanje is now combing Western states for a manufacturing site.

Although a start-up, Chanjes roots go back to a company called Smith Electric Vehicles, which began building electric trams in the 1920s. It later supplied electric ice cream trucks, electric milk trucks and other delivery vehicles, but not in large numbers.

In 2009, under Hansel, the company was consolidated and based in Kansas City, where it tried to commercialize medium-size electric trucks. By 2015, it had ceased operations.

This is a real interesting evolution for this company, said Mike Ramsey, auto industry analyst at Gartner. They broke into this market a bit too soon. But they had a model that really makes sense.

That model is to sell into the delivery market, where routes typically run 50 to 70 miles a day, well within an electric batterys range. Range on current Chanje vehicles is about 100 miles.

The difference between a few years ago and now, Ramsey said, is that battery costs have come way down and continue to fall. FDG making batteries in China will help keep costs down, he said, and China sales will spread fixed costs.

The only way to scale is to have a global product, Hansel said.

Even if operating costs are lower (no oil change, brakes last longer, electricity is cheaper than diesel) it will be a challenge to persuade big buyers such as United Parcel Service or FedEx to make the huge capital expenditures needed to transform their fleets, Ramsey said.

But Joerg Sommer, Chanjes chief operating officer, said 70% of medium-size truck buyers have fleets of 20 vehicles or less. And the bigger buyers will be watching those initial purchasers to see whether the operating costs justify them making a switch.

Meantime, Sommer said, Chanje is planning to provide energy systems for large fleet buyers  the solar roofs, for example.

The company is positioned for rich subsidies from California taxpayers. Right now, buyers of medium-sized electric trucks qualify for thousands of dollars in state subsidies.

Subsidies will help accelerate our expansion. But we dont see it as a long-term strategy, said James Chen, the companys general counsel. Any viable business needs to stand on its own.

russ.mitchell@latimes.com

Twitter: @russ1mitchell

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Suspended Fox News host Eric Bolling is suing the reporter who broke the story that he had allegedly sent lewd text messages to colleagues.

Bolling filed a $50-million defamation lawsuit Wednesday in state Supreme Court in Manhattan against Yashar Ali, a Huffington Post contributing writer. The cable news host said Ali damaged his reputation through what the court papers call the highly reckless publication of actionable false and misleading statements about the plaintiffs conduct and character.

Bolling was suspended over the weekend pending an internal investigation that a Fox spokesperson said is underway.

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Ali wrote last week that Bolling is accused of sending unsolicited photos of male genitalia to co-workers over several years.

On Wednesday, the reporter tweeted that he stands by his story and will protect his sources. Ali also wrote that he is not going to stop reporting on Bolling or anyone else. Ive had family members killed/jailed in Iran, a lawsuit isnt going to scare me.

Huffington Post editor in chief Lydia Polgreen, a former top New York Times editor, tweeted in support of Ali on Tuesday night. Yashar Ali is a careful and meticulous reporter, Polgreen wrote, adding that the publication stands by his reporting and that it has no hesitation about standing by him financially in this case. Huffington Post is owned by Verizon thanks to its 2015 purchase of AOL.

Bollings lawyer, Michael J. Bowe, said in a statement: This anonymously sourced and uncorroborated story is false, defamatory, and obviously intended to destroy this good mans career and family. We will defend Eric aggressively in court, where actual facts, based on evidence, testimony, and cross-examination, will belie these anonymous accusations.

Bolling tweeted that he will continue to fight against these false smear attacks! THANK YOU FOR CONTINUED SUPPORT.

Huffington Post is not involved in the legal action.

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An ill-advised tweet has led to the removal of another CNN personality.

The cable news network fired contributor Jeffrey Lord, a staunch supporter of President Trump, on Thursday after he tweeted Sieg Heil! to Angelo Carusone, the president of Media Matters for America, the liberal watchdog group.

Nazi salutes are indefensible, a CNN representative said in a statement. Jeffrey Lord is no longer with the network.

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Lord directed the tweet with the phrase used as a greeting in Nazi Germany during an exchange with Carusone on Twitter.

The pundit came under fire in April for describing Trump as the Martin Luther King of healthcare.

Lord was a relatively obscure conservative writer who served in the Reagan administration before he became a frequent talking head on CNN during the 2016 presidential campaign. He was an unwavering supporter of Trump during the campaign for the Republican nomination and appeared frequently since.

Lord joined CNN as a paid contributor in August 2015.

Media Matters has been a longtime critic of Lords steadfast defense of Trump, and of CNN for keeping him on the air. The group has also pushed for the firing and advertiser boycott of Sean Hannity, the leading right-wing host on Fox News Channel.

Lord targeted Media Matters this week in a column for the American Spectator in which he called the group fascists. It led to an exchange with Carusone on Twitter that escalated to Lords use of Sieg Heil.

Lord later told CNN.com in an interview that he used the term to mock Media Matters, which he said is bullying advertisers to take people off the air.

Lords ouster marks the third time this year social media activity has gotten CNN on-air personnel pushed out the door.

The network cut ties with comedian Kathy Griffin after she posted a photo of herself holding up a fake bloody severed head resembling Trump. Griffin had co-hosted CNNs New Years Eve coverage with its star anchor Anderson Cooper.

Reza Aslans CNN series Believer was canceled after the author posted a tweet that used a crude term for fecal matter to describe the president.

While Lord has made a number of controversial statements, CNN kept him in the fold as a counterbalance to Trump critics who regularly appear on the network.

Lord is not expected to join Fox News Channel, where a more favorable view of the Trump White House is often presented by commentators and hosts. A Fox News spokesperson said Thursday that the network has no plans to hire Lord.

stephen.battaglio@latimes.com

Twitter: @SteveBattaglio

UPDATES:

4:20 p.m.: This article was updated with additional information on Lords firing.

This article was originally published at 2:40 p.m.
A labor union for hotel workers has filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board, accusing the Chinese owner of a popular Santa Monica hotel of failing to provide information about a potential condominium conversion at the property.

Unite Here, the union for hotel workers, said the group requested information about the new owner of the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel because its members worry that a conversion to condominiums would put 250 hotel employees out of work.

Unite Here said it made the request in May from the new owner, Anbang Insurance Group, and three of its affiliates, seeking information about the owners finances, hotel management agreements and potential conversion plans. The group said it has yet to get a response.

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The fear of a conversion was prompted when Angbang purchased the venerable Waldorf Astoria Hotel New York in 2015 and began a three-year process of converting it into 400 luxury condominiums.

Also, Anbang announced two months ago that its chairman, Wu Xiaohui, was stepping aside temporarily for personal reasons and that he had authorized relevant senior executives to continue running the business.

The announcement came hours after news reports that Wu had been taken by Chinese authorities from the Anbang offices. In the last two weeks, reports surfaced that Chinese authorities have asked Anbang Insurance to sell its overseas assets. The government asked Anbang to bring the proceeds back to China after disposing of holdings abroad, according to anonymous sources quoted by Bloomberg News.

Unite Here said federal labor laws give unions access to information that could impact unionized workers at hotels. A representative for Anbang Insurance Group could not be reached for comment.

hugo.martin@latimes.com

To read more about the travel and tourism industries, follow @hugomartin on Twitter.
The cushy business-class seats that Rosario Marin books on her regular flights between Los Angeles and Mexico are a far cry from those on the two-day bus journeys she took as a teenager to visit relatives in Mexico City.

A consultant for companies that want to do cross-border commerce, Marin says the bus trips of her youth were mostly crammed with families relying on the least expensive transportation within Mexico. Today, she shares airline cabins with business executives and tourists  and the accommodations are a distinct upgrade.



For the record: A previous version of this story identified Rosario Marin as a former U.S. Treasury Secretary. She was the U.S. Treasurer.

There is no luxury when you are sitting in a small seat for two days, quipped Marin, a former U.S. treasurer who was born in Mexico.

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Marin is contributing to an increasing demand for air travel between the United States and Mexico attributed partly to growing business ties between the two countries and rising international tourism by Mexicos surging middle class. Then, theres the never-ending desire to visit family, which points to changing demographics in the U.S.

To serve the swelling market on both sides of the border, airlines including American, Alaska and Southwest recently added dozens of new routes or increased flight frequency to connect major business hubs and tourist hot-spots in both countries.

In December, Delta Air Lines will launch its first daily Los Angeles-to-Mexico City flights since 2005. That is on top of the five new nonstop U.S.-to-Mexico flights the Atlanta-based carrier announced in May, as part of a cooperation agreement with Aeromexico.

An Aeromexico flight leaves Mexico City. The carrier is adding flights to the U.S. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

More and more people are willing and able to spend their pesos and convert them into dollars.  Rosario Marin, business consultant, former U.S. Treasury Secretary

Beyond the predictable destinations, airlines are adding less-expected routes between the U.S. and Mexico including Los Angeles to Leon and Atlanta to Queretaro.

Aeromexico this year expanded its daily nonstop service between industrial hub Monterrey, Mexico, and Detroit, described by the Mexico City-based airline in its announcement as a U.S. city known for its development and promotion of the automotive industry.

The increase in flights seems to defy travel industry predictions that President Trumps anti-immigrant rhetoric and plans to build a border wall would hurt travel and tourism between the U.S. and Mexico. Similarly, the Trump administrations push to undo the North American Free Trade Agreement raised concerns about a dampening of enthusiasm for cross-border commerce.

Discover Los Angeles, the tourism board for the region, was so worried that it launched an advertising campaign in April with the message Everyone is Welcome.

The fears have yet to be borne out.

More and more people are willing and able to spend their pesos and convert them into dollars, Marin said.

Volaris, an ultra low-cost carrier based in Mexico City, has added nine routes between Mexico and the U.S. so far this year. Jose Luis Suarez Duran, chief operating officer for Volaris, attributes the new routes to a growth in the middle class in Mexico and the affordability of airline travel. He added that 8% of Volaris passengers are first-time fliers.

Once somebody flies, they become middle class, Suarez said.

Volaris Chief Operating Officer Jose Luis Suarez Duran attended a July news conference at LAX to announce that the low-cost Mexican airline would fly new routes between L.A. and Mexico. (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

The middle class has become the fastest growing segment of Mexicos population, totaling 14.6 million households or 47% of the nation, as of 2015, according to Euromonitor International, the London-based market research company.

Mexicos middle class, defined as a household that earns between $15,000 and $45,000 per year, will continue to grow, adding 3.8 million more households by 2030, Euromonitor predicts.

Whats more, business ties between Mexico and the U.S. have continued to grow, 23 years after the North American Free Trade Agreement took effect.

That means executives and their workers need to book flights to inspect factories, meet with business partners and visit families across the border.

Grupo Bimbo, the Mexico-based bread producer, announced last month that it agreed to buy East Balt Bakeries in Chicago for $650 million.

Last year, Mexican diary giant Grupo Lala launched a U.S. division in Dallas, only three months after acquiring U.S. assets from Laguna Dairy for $246 million.

The growth of business coming here is going to continue because there really is the potential for profit, said Josie Orosco, executive director of the Southwest chapter of the United States-Mexico Chamber of Commerce. They are making money. They wouldnt come here if they werent making money.

U.S. businesses are also investing in Mexico.

General Motors Co., for instance, announced this year that it will move production of its revamped GMC Terrain to Mexico from Canada.

Travelers sit on the LAX Los Angeles International Airport sign. (Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press)

Tourism has been strong, with visits from Mexico to the U.S. growing at an average rate of 5% per year from 2009 to 2016, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Visitors from Mexico accounted for nearly 25% of all international arrivals to the U.S. last year, coming close to overtaking Canada as the top source of international visitors.

In January, more than 1.5 million visitors traveled to the U.S. from Mexico, a 2.4% increase over the same month in 2016, according to the U.S. Department of Commerces latest travel statistics.

Carlos Garcia de Alba, the Mexican consul general in Los Angeles, said Mexicans are drawn to the U.S. by family ties.

The most Mexican place outside of Mexico is Los Angeles, he said during an event to celebrate Volaris new routes to Mexico. He added that visitors spend heavily on food, transportation and hotels during such visits.

The more connected Mexico is with Los Angeles, the better off we all are.

Marin, who was appointed treasurer by President George W. Bush, said the added flights between the U.S. and Mexico show that the occupant of the White House has little influence on economic trends in Mexico and family ties between the two countries.

What is happening in the market place has nothing to do with whoever is in power, she said.

Although some travel across the border to shop or visit theme parks in the U.S., many come just to see relatives. The Latino population in the U.S. has surpassed 56 million. California and Los Angeles County have the largest Latino populations of any state or county in the nation, according to census figures.

Airlines on both sides of the border were given clearance to add more flights under an bilateral agreement reached last year between U.S. and Mexico to drop restrictions on the number of airlines that can fly between the two countries.

The deal, which took effect in August 2016, followed four years of negotiations. It means U.S. and Mexican airlines are limited only by the number of slots  a scheduled time to land or takeoff  available at various airports.

U.S. and Mexico-based carriers have scheduled 265,166 flights between the two countries for 2017, a 5% increase over the 252,813 flights that were flown last year, according to Airport Strategy & Marketing, an airline consultant.

As business connections expand between Mexico and the United States, airlines are likely to add even more routes linking Mexico and cities in the Midwest and Northeast, said Albert Zapanta, chief executive of the United States-Mexico Chamber of Commerce.

In the next three years, you will see airlines fly from Mexico to places we never even thought about, he said.

Zapanta, who flies from Texas to Mexico at least once a month, said anti-Mexican rhetoric from the White House wont kill real money-making deals.

At the end of the day, he said, youll get over it if you want to do business.

hugo.martin@latimes.com

To read more about the travel and tourism industries, follow @hugomartin on Twitter.

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Ever since Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick resigned as the companys chief executive in June, there were rumors that he was plotting his return. On Thursday, Benchmark Capital Partners, one of the earliest investors in the ride-hailing company, filed a lawsuit against Kalanick with the hope of squashing any such plans.

In the suit filed in Delaware Chancery Court, the Menlo Park, Calif., venture capital firm alleges that Kalanick breached his fiduciary duty and contractual obligations by stacking the companys board with allies to shield his conduct from redress.

The suit contends this was done to clear the path for his eventual return as CEO  all to the detriment of Ubers stockholders, employees, driver-partners, and customers.

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The suit names both Kalanick and Uber, but it seeks damages only from Kalanick himself.

Benchmark alleges that in mid-2016, Kalanick committed an act of fraud when he convinced the board to approve of three new board seats for which he would have appointment power, without first informing them of a series of events he was allegedly involved in or privy to that would later lead to his forced resignation.

Kalanick stepped down as Ubers CEO in June after those controversies came to light. They included a lawsuit by Googles self-driving-car subsidiary, Waymo, alleging theft of trade secrets; another lawsuit by a woman in India who alleged Uber obtained her medical records after she was raped by one of the companys drivers; and widespread allegations of sexual harassment at the firm.

Benchmark, which led the charge in pressuring Kalanick to resign, cited all three cases in its suit as examples of Kalanicks mismanagement.

Kalanick knew Benchmark never would have approved  the three new Board seats if Benchmark had known the truth about Kalanicks prior conduct, the suit reads. Kalanick also understood that these matters, once revealed, would likely force him to resign as Ubers CEO, and thus sought to grant himself a way to play an ongoing leadership role at Uber once the truth came out.

Uber declined to comment. In a series of tweets Monday, Benchmark said that it was still bullish on Uber as a company.

Waymo saw an opportunity to further its own case against Uber and the ride-hailing companys former self-driving vehicle guru Anthony Levandowski, with a spokesperson for the firm issuing a statement saying there is significant and direct evidence that Uber is using stolen Waymo trade secrets. There is also significant evidence that Uber leadership knew about Levandowskis misconduct and, rather than do the right thing, tried to conceal it.

Kalanick furthered Benchmarks suspicions that he was angling for a return to power when, after resigning as CEO and departing the board seat reserved for the CEO, as required, he immediately re-appointed himself to one of the three vacant board seats. The lawsuit alleges that he then refused to sign an agreement that would ensure the two vacant board seats would be filled by candidates who are independent, experienced, unbiased, and diverse, and subject to the approval of all then-current directors other than one.

Sources close to Kalanick said he had regretted his decision to resign, and that he was interested in returning to a leadership role at the company, but it is unclear if he had a plan to do so.

A spokesperson for Kalanick dismissed the claims in a prepared statement, saying that the lawsuit was without merit and riddled with lies.

This is continued evidence of Benchmark acting in its own best interests contrary to the interests of Uber, its employees and its other shareholders, the spokesperson said. Benchmarks lawsuit is a transparent attempt to deprive Travis Kalanick of his rights as a founder and shareholder and to silence his voice regarding the management of the company he helped create. Travis will continue to act in the interests of Uber and all of its stakeholders and is confident that these entirely baseless claims will be rejected.

The lawsuit is, in essence, a fight for control over Ubers board, and such battles are not unusual, according to legal experts.

But to make those accusations against the founder of a company whose blood and sweat turned Uber into what it is today, yes, that is a bit peculiar, said Dan Handman, an attorney with Hirschfeld Kramer.

Lawsuits of this nature can take years to litigate, Handman said, and to secure even a preliminary injunction, the onus is on the plaintiff to prove that they are likely to succeed at trial, and that they would suffer some sort of irreparable harm unless a preliminary injunction is granted.

Its fair for them to say [Kalanick] is trying to exert his influence on the company, that he hasnt severed ties as completely as he would have the company believe, but what happens as a result of that is entirely speculative, Handman said.

In fraudulent concealment cases, plaintiffs would also have to prove that they didnt actually know what was going on.

The amount that Benchmark knew, what they knew, how they knew it, and what their response was, is all critical, Handman said. If it turns out that Benchmark was well aware of the very things theyre complaining about, their lawsuit wont get very far.

If Benchmark gets what it wants, the three board seats Kalanick allegedly controls would be eliminated, and Kalanick would be blocked from participating in any meetings, votes, or other activities with Ubers board. Kalanick  and not Uber  would also have to pay unspecified damages and legal fees to Benchmark.

And although the lawsuit adds another bump in the road for Uber, Benchmark must think its necessary to protect its investment in whats considered the worlds most valuable start-up. The lawsuit alleges that Kalanicks improper role on the board has already had a negative effect on the companys search for a new CEO, and that potential candidates have withdrawn from the process because of his participation.

Kalanicks improper actions, if allowed to continue, would cause irreparable harm to Uber by exposing it to reputational, regulatory and other risks, the firm said.

david.pierson@latimes.com

Twitter: @dhpierson

UPDATES:

4:25 p.m.: This article was updated to include more details from the lawsuit and comment from Travis Kalanicks spokesperson and from attorney Dan Handman.

This article was originally published at 1:30 p.m.
Jumping on bandwagons is my least favorite activity. Dont force me to tell you all the must-see movies Ive skipped (Forrest Gump is all youll get out of me), the No. 1 bestsellers Ive bypassed (I discovered the world of Harry Potter only after it became a play) or the platinum records Ive turned a deaf ear to (Bieber who?).

Some might interpret this as snobbery, but I see it as a form of self-protection. You are what you culturally consume, and I treasure the freedom of serendipitous discovery. Emily Bronte, in the poem Stanzas, speaks for many of us who instinctively steer clear from the madding crowd: Ill walk where my own nature would be leading:/ It vexes me to choose another guide.

As a critic compelled to review shows I probably wouldnt have bothered with as a civilian, I cant help bringing a gimlet eye to blockbusters. The Producers and The Book of Mormon were fun, but they didnt convert me. All those jukebox musicals  Jersey Boys, Mamma Mia!  that have enticed baby boomers to siphon funds from retirement accounts have yet to turn this Gen Xer into a prodigal.

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But Hamilton has somehow eluded my natural defenses. Ive seen the show in three locations (Off-Broadway, Broadway and San Francisco) and cant wait to see it a fourth time at the Hollywood Pantages, where the musical has its much-anticipated Los Angeles premiere on Wednesday.

This doesnt mean that I think the show is above criticism or can withstand some of the hyperbolic comparisons that have been thrown its way. Creator Lin-Manuel Miranda is a prodigiously gifted musical theater artist, but Hamilton, which impresses most in its musical storytelling audacity, in the way it translates into a modern idiom the tale of Americas birth, isnt helped by claims that it represents the second coming of Shakespeare. (To be fair, Shakespeare is no Miranda when it comes to rap musicals.)

I have quibbles with the book, which suffers a few minor dips in its retreading of Alexander Hamiltons revolutionary life story. And Ive questioned the relative gentleness of Mirandas take on Hamiltons complicated economic legacy and the founding fathers personal relationship to slavery.

Hamilton could probably have done more to connect the framers partisan squabbles with our own. But each time I see the show, I admire Mirandas achievement more. The power of the musicals grand political point about America as a country built on the backs and minds of immigrants is conveyed as much by the content of the show as by its mode of presentation.

The casting of actors of color as the founding fathers is liberating. The driving hip-hop and R&B score energizes the book musical with the intensity of a concert in which Beyonce and Jay-Z might very well be swaying in the audience. And the shows inclusive embrace feels like an act of love at a time when politicians are working malignly to exploit differences and resentments.

One of the unfortunate aspects of the success of Hamilton is that it has made tickets formidably expensive. For those on the lower end of the income scale, the show exists as a tantalizing yet elusive dream. The drowning media coverage and the chart-busting popularity of the cast recording (the album went triple platinum this year) have attracted interest well beyond Broadways customary audience. But many of the shows new fans are growing frustrated that they are unable to experience the work in the theater.

I know this because Ive been getting mail from readers who are upset that a show that speaks directly to them has been priced beyond their reach. Hamilton has a $10 lottery, but the details were being worked out when I contacted a press representative at the Pantages  and a lottery usually involves a wish and a prayer.

A musical cant be expected to save the world, but Ive seen the way Hamilton is able to open hearts and minds.

Particularly galling to some is the existence of premium seats that can run as high as $750, with prices on the secondary ticket markets more than double that amount. Im of two minds about the issue. On the one hand, Im glad to see an artist like Miranda getting his shot at making bank, as the kids back in the day used to say. Matt Stone, Trey Parker and Robert Lopez are still printing money from The Book of Mormon. Why shouldnt a show with a sharper social conscience enjoy the financial rewards of such a rare artistic triumph?

On the other hand, I can also relate to those who complain that Hamilton exemplifies the economic inequality of our society. It would be unduly harsh to call it a musical for the 1% that pays neoliberal lip service to democratic values , but the rhetoric can get heated when ticket prices soar above the $200 threshold.

Economic fairness matters to Miranda. He was instrumental in an agreement that led to the original cast and several other participants getting a share of the shows profits. He has been outspoken on the issue of the secondary ticket market in which insane sums end up in the coffers of ticket agents who have nothing to do with the creation of the work. He made the daily lottery of $10 tickets a communal event in the theater district in New York. And he has fostered an alliance with the Rockefeller Foundation, other donors, and the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History that will bring 250,000 school kids around the country (including L.A.) to Hamilton.

Lin-Manuel Miranda at curtain call for the opening night of Hamilton at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in 2015. (Charles Sykes / Invision / AP)

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I shared with Miranda an email I received from an administrative assistant who was sad and upset that Hamilton was in L.A. but ticket prices were making the show seem as distant as the moon. I felt bad about adding to his store of guilt but wondered how hed respond to a note from someone who would seem to be the kind of theatergoer the work was written for in the first place. Considerate as always, he wrote back:

Charles, thanks for reaching out. The difficulty of obtaining tickets to Hamilton for the average theatergoer is of course my greatest source of frustration. The honest answer is we fight the battle on as many fronts we can. I wrote an op-ed in the New York Times and met with Congress to fight against BOTS, which is an electronic tool scalpers used to scoop up scores of tickets while hard working folks are still typing in their CAPTCHA codes. We were able to pass legislation to this effect in New York and Congress also passed anti-BOTS legislation that President Obama signed into law in 2016. We continue to prioritize students through our EduHam initiative on every tour stop and over 25,000 students have participated thus far. Weve doubled the number of $10 tickets available through the lottery on Broadway, and now offer approximately 45 tickets at that price for every performance in every city we play in. We cant control the secondary market, which is the source of that staggering $1500 ticket price in the letter you received. Thats not what we charge. This is a long way of saying I share your readers frustration. But were chipping away at it in all the ways we can, all the time. Siempre, Lin-Manuel

A musical cant be expected to save capitalism from its worst excesses, but Ive seen the way Hamilton is able to open hearts and minds. Not everyone who wants to attend this first L.A. run will be fortunate enough to obtain a ticket, but the musical has already extended its reach through streaming music services, the documentary Hamiltons America that was shown on PBS, Hamilton: The Revolution (the impressive book Miranda co-wrote with Jeremy McCarter annotating the libretto and documenting the productions creation) and of course all those thrilling award-show numbers.

When I was at the opening of this national tour production at San Franciscos SHN Orpheum Theatre in March, I was astonished that nearly everyone around me knew most of the words to the songs. The joy that was in the house was like an electric current transforming a commercial show palace into a communal nexus.

Hamilton will no doubt be one of those musicals that return regularly like a favorite old friend. My reflex reaction to runaway hits of this magnitude is to duck and cover, but I am proud to join the chorus welcoming this landmark show to L.A.

Find all of our latest Hamilton coverage at latimes.com/hamilton.

charles.mcnulty@latimes.com

Follow me @charlesmcnulty

MORE HAMILTON:

Oskar Eustis on how a YouTube video went on to change theater history

Behind the scenes of the national tour

Meet Aaron Burr: Why Hamilton brings actor Joshua Henry to tears

Meet Angelica Schuyler: How Emmy Raver-Lampman rose into the spotlight

Tickets: The $10 lottery and other ways to score seats
In May 2009, my friend Jeremy McCarter made me sit down and watch a video of the now-famous rendition Lin-Manuel Miranda gave at the White House of the opening song of Hamilton. At the time, the song was all that existed of the show, and its first performance took place in front of Barack and Michelle Obama . (The president later suggested that he should get a Tony along with the Hamilton producers, since the show had begun its development at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.)

The song pierced me, thrilled me and converted me. I had been completely oblivious to the size and scope of Lin's genius, and in 4 minutes and 32 seconds I was awakened from my dogmatic slumbers. It was immediately apparent that Lin had hit upon a subject and a form that were brilliantly suited to each other. By reimagining the birth of our nation through a Founding Father who was a bastard immigrant orphan from the West Indies, a self-made man who not only preached independence but manifested in his life the freedom and possibilities that America allowed, Lin was putting the revolutionary back in the American Revolution. By using the language of the streets to tell the story of our country, Lin was reclaiming that story as a tale that belonged to all people, not just the powerful. By writing with wit and irreverence about a subject obfuscated and ossified in the history books, he brought the tumult of the late 18th century to contemporary life.

Then best known as the writer and star of the Broadway musical "In the Heights," Lin-Manuel Miranda performs a song from his Alexander Hamilton concept album under development.

What followed, for me, was three years of trying to convince Lin to come work on Hamilton at the Public Theater, where I have been artistic director since 2005. His initial strategy for deflecting me was simple: "It isn't a show, it's a concept album. Maybe the show will come after the album?" I thought this was a line developed for the sole purpose of putting me off. Later I recognized a deeper truth: It was a way for Lin to keep his voice free, his impulses open, without having to feel the pressure of writing a book for a musical. As long as they were just songs, there was no obligation to link them all seamlessly in the telling of the story.

So I kept inviting Lin, Lin kept writing songs, each more brilliant than the last. (I remember literally screaming the first time I heard Lin's demo of Helpless.) The world began to slowly hear more of Hamilton. American Songbook at Lincoln Center presented an evening of Lin that included 12 songs from Hamilton, then still called Hamilton Mixtape; New York Stage and Film at Vassar did a workshop of what became the first act. Gradually it became clear to Lin, and to all of us, that this was indeed a show. A musical. And after a series of conversations, Lin agreed to come to the Public Theater to develop and premiere the show.

I believe he chose the Public because it was the right place to nurture this extraordinary musical into life. It is a civically engaged theater deeply committed to the idea that the culture belongs to everyone, and that the brilliance of America is in its deep democratic inclusivity. We give away 100,000 free tickets every year to Shakespeare in the Park; we have developed groundbreaking theatrical work by giving center stage to those who have been denied their place in the American story, we insist that the theater has something to offer to the great debates of our time.

And we've got a pretty good track record of developing and producing bold musicals, from A Chorus Line to Caroline, or Change to Fun Home.

Thomas Kail, left, Alex Lacamoire, Andy Blankenbuehler and Stephanie Klemons look on during rehearsal. (The Public Theater) (Public Theater)

The structure of the first act was always clear, indeed laid out in that very first song Lin wrote, which gets Hamilton from birth to New York City; the rest of the act brings us to George Washington appointing him to be the first secretary of the Treasury. We could have taken an act break after the winning of the Revolutionary War, and certainly Yorktown felt like a fantastic first act curtain, but it was clear we needed to set up the stakes for the second act before letting the audience go. The first act was creating a nation; the second act would be building a nation.

The structure for the second act was much less obvious. Ron Chernow had narrated Hamilton's life in his magisterial biography, and his book provided a powerful spine for the action. Nonetheless, the show needed to focus on the dramatic journey at the heart of our hero's tale, and formulating that dramatic action correctly was our most important task. For me, the most successful articulation was this:

Hamilton is driven by both personal ambition and by idealism, and for most of his life the two were inseparably intertwined. When public disgrace and personal tragedy seem to overwhelm him, he must choose between his own interests and the good of the country. At the cost of his own life, he chooses his country.

One of the great gifts of the show, and one of the reasons audiences have responded so rapturously, is that Hamilton unleashes our often-dormant patriotism. It allows progressives to unashamedly love America.

We knew Hamilton's story ended with his death, as our musical must. The show begins with Hamilton announcing "I am not throwing away my shot"; it ends with him doing exactly that. No one knows precisely what was in Hamilton's mind during his fatal duel with Aaron Burr, and Lin struggled with Hamilton's final words until very late in our process. In my often simplistic way, I was pushing him to answer the question of what Hamilton was thinking; rather than providing a definitive answer, Lin brilliantly made Hamilton's uncertainty the heart of his final speech.

(The Public Theater)

Years before Hamilton opened at the Public on Feb. 17, 2015, I had been comparing Lin to Shakespeare. Each of them took the language of the common people and elevated it into verse, thereby ennobling both the language and the characters who spoke it. They both told the founding stories of their nation in a way that recognized everyone, of all classes, as citizens. They both employed a freedom of form that was exhilarating and masterful.

But Shakespeare and Lin also refused to be completely pinned down, leaving their narratives open to interpretation and constantly renewed debate. Leaving them, in short, entirely human.

Lin gathered around him an amazing group of collaborators, each of whom was essential to this show.

Alex Lacamoire, orchestrator and music director, the curly-haired cherub I saw at the piano in that first clip of Lin at the White House, is not only a brilliant musician but a deeply loving collaborator. He shares so much musical DNA with Lin that he was able to express all the diverse musical influences of the music while always making it feel like one score.

Andy Blankenbuehlers choreography adds a dimension to Hamilton that I've never seen before  a form of abstract but profound narrative that continually supports and enhances the story. His dancing dramaturgy would become a profound piece of the show.

Jeffrey Seller is the commercial producer who has been attached to Lin and his work for Lin's entire career. I would come to treasure Jeffrey as a partner: His brilliant commercial instincts were matched by his deep commitment to supporting the show in becoming the best possible version of itself.

And guiding the entire ship was Tommy Kail, Lin's friend, fellow Wesleyan graduate and the director of Hamilton. It was with wonderment and awe that I watched Tommy direct. I have never seen a director more able to inspire the best possible work from everyone around him, more willing to let the best idea win in any debate, more able to lead from vision and principle. He is a miracle.

Obviously, there were many other vital contributors to this show, but it was these four, along with Lin himself, who were the leadership. I was privileged to be among them.

From left: Choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler; author Ron Chernow; composer, lyricist, book writer and star Lin-Manuel Miranda; the Publics artistic director, Oskar Eustis; director Thomas Kail; and music director and orchestrator Alex Lacamoire. (The Public Theater)

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The story of Hamiltons opening at the Public, the enormous acclaim with which it was greeted, and its subsequent move to Broadway and transformation into a cultural icon, was extraordinary, full of countless joys and drama.

We played Hamilton in the same theater where A Chorus Line had opened 40 years before. At a time when America was suffering desperate unemployment, A Chorus Line was the magnificent musical about needing a job; it ran for 16 years on Broadway. It spoke to its time as powerfully as Hamilton speaks to our multicultural America. In April 2015, on the 40th anniversary of the opening of A Chorus Line, we brought the original cast back to the Public to watch Hamilton At the end of the show, the chorus of Hamilton serenaded the original company of Chorus Line with "What I Did for Love."

First Lady Michelle Obama came to the show at the Public. As I was walking her down to the Green Room to meet the cast, she said to me, "This is the greatest work of art I have ever seen, in any medium." My joy was immediately tempered by my crushing realization that I was the only one who had heard her say it. But a year later, when the entire company were guests of the Obamas at the White House, she said it again, word for word, on national TV.

On that same trip, I had the joy of watching Chris Jackson, our brilliant original Washington, sing One Last Time directly to President Obama, less than a year before Obama would leave office. There was not a dry eye in the room, and when the president thanked us, he finished by saying, "Let's teach em how to say goodbye."

Hamilton is a brilliant musical, and a brilliantly entertaining one. But it is more than that because it was created by the huge and generous hearts of the artists who made it, most of all Lin himself. Broadway musical numbers, hip-hop and Beatle-esque ballads all seem to belong together, because they are all things Lin loves. In that way, the form of this amazing musical manifests the egalitarian angels of this country. It doesn't just speak of a nation where we all belong; it creates it onstage. May it inspire all of us to make our country as good as Hamilton.

Find all of our latest Hamilton national tour news at latimes.com/hamilton.

Curtain call, from left: Thayne Jasperson, Daveed Diggs, Brian dArcy James, Okieriete Onaodowan, Leslie Odom Jr., Phillipa Soo, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Christopher Jackson, Anthony Ramos, Renee Elise Goldsberry. (The Public Theater)

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MORE HAMILTON:

Timeline: From Mixtape to musical and more

A critics take on why Hamilton matters more than ever

Behind the scenes of the national tour

Tickets: The $10 lottery and other ways to score seats

Meet Aaron Burr: Why Hamilton brings actor Joshua Henry to tears

Meet Angelica Schuyler: How Emmy Raver-Lampman rose into the spotlight
Among the costumed actors posing for pictures with tourists on Hollywood Boulevard, not one but two convincing Johnny Depp look-alikes  one dressed as Willy Wonka, the other as Edward Scissorhands  walked by the famed Chinese Theatre.

Alas, no Alexander Hamilton.

The man at the center of arguably the biggest sensation in musical theater history has, at long last, arrived at the nearby Pantages Theatre, where itbegins previews on Friday and officially opens Aug. 16, and Hollywood, as in the boulevard and the city, seems strangely calm. .

Hamilton has been playing to ecstatic and sold-out audiences in New York for more than two years and in Chicago for almost a year. The man behind the Ham, Lin-Manuel Miranda (wrote the music, lyrics and book) is rock-star famous with the fan frenzy escalating as the play won the Pulitzer Prize, 11 Tonys, a Grammy and triple-platinum sales status for a soundtrack that deftly blends hip-hop, R&B, pop and Broadway-style tunes.

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But those expecting to see a photo-friendly Marquis de Lafayette, King George III or Aaron Burr wandering the neighborhood may be disappointed, at least for now. Shops arent loaded with the usual unauthorized T-shirts and mugs, employees at restaurants and other business dont have much to report (though there was a single Hamilton"-themed workout class hosted by the nearby Barrys Bootcamp on Wednesday morning.)

Despite the enormous images that frame the Pantages, few seemed to know that Hamilton had descended on L.A.

But as Alexander Hamilton sings in the show, just you wait. Just you wait.

Arturo Torres works at the Dunkin Donuts across the street from the theater and has a prime vantage point from which to witness the black-silhouette banners of the Founding Fathers, Schuyler sisters and other Hamiltonia rise above the boulevard.

He was sweeping the sidewalk at 4 one recent morning, preparing to open the shop while the Pantages readied itself for the arrival of moving trucks carrying the Hamilton set. Did Torres know anything about Hamilton? Did he want to see it?

He broke into a huge smile.

Oh, yes, Torres said. He loves musicals and has seen The Book of Mormon and The Bodyguard. As for Hamilton, he already had tickets.

His company bought them for employees, he said. Everyone is so excited for it.

Business will boom after the production begins, he said. Based on what Torres had to report, those glazed old-fashioned, chocolate frosted and blueberry cake doughnuts apparently are as irresistible to theatergoers as (spoiler alert!) mistress Maria Reynolds was to Hamilton.

Robert Nunley, owner of the Frolic Room bar, also anticipates an uptick in business come Friday.

A lot of people will be coming to see the show; hopefully theyll want to stop in and have a drink before they go in, he said with a laugh. There are shows where people drink a lot and there are shows where people dont drink. So hopefully its going to be a good crowd of people who drink.

The bar is the Pantages closest neighbor, sharing a wall with the theater. Nunley has been the owner for 35 years, so Ive seen many many shows come out of the Pantages, he said.

The first time that The Book of Mormon came it was very, very hyper. But this is well-known, Hamilton is very well-known, so Im excited.

Fans of the musical hoping to catch it in L.A. will need to act soon. Many folks like Nunley have already snatched up tickets far in advance. In fact, the only non-resale tickets available are $650 to $750 for premium orchestra seats, and ticket resellers have already jacked up prices for inferior mezzanine seats to above $200. The tours L.A. run goes through Dec. 30 before moving on to San Diego.

Look for more than a dozen behind-the-scenes features, cast profiles and other articles on the national tour at latimes.com/hamilton.

sonaiya.kelley@latimes.com

Follow me on Twitter: @sonaiyak

deborah.vankin@latimes.com

Twitter: @debvankin

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NEW YORK  Michael Moore looked like a fish out of water  or was it a deer in headlights?  at a preview of his Broadway show, The Terms of My Surrender, which had its official opening at the Belasco Theatre on Thursday.

Ditching his Rust Belt flannel for a sleek, short-sleeve blue button-down, the Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker (Bowling for Columbine) betrayed an expression of low-level alarm. The stage fright, subtle yet unmistakable, seemed to hit him in waves.

How the [bleep] did this happen? he joked, discharging some of his anxiety by confronting it head-on.

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Donald Trump  the reason everyone had gathered  concentrated his mind. Video projections of the American flag and Trump thundering at the Republican National Convention set the stage for a New York theater district rally of disgruntled progressives.

Repeat after me, Moore commanded the audience. Donald Trump outsmarted us all.

A straight shooter who was issuing Cassandra-like predictions on Trump winning the election while media outlets were obsessing over Hillary Clintons private server, he kept returning to the millions of Obama voters who went for Trump as though he were trying to piece together the meaning of a traumatic dream. Moore wasnt blaming the electorate. Trump, he said, knew what people wanted to hear and put it out there in zingy sound bites. Moore, who knows a thing or two about communicating to his own base, joked that he had already identified the three Trump voters in the house.

The production, directed by Michael Mayer, could have continued in this vein. Broadway theatergoers opting to see Moores show are, after all, paying for an airing of their political outrages. They also dont mind being told that they are coastal elites out of touch with their fellow citizens in flyover country who never missed an episode of The Apprentice.

But the Trump harangue (which was really more of a rambling explanation for the Trump phenomenon) quickly morphed into a kind of support group for disheartened Democrats, whom Moore proposed should start a 12-step group. He was here to inspire action rather than to indict arrogant ignorance.

The show consists of a series of anecdotes in which an everyday person abused by the system overcomes extraordinary odds to make a difference. Funny enough, the hero of each of these episodes turns out to be Moore himself.

Moore casts himself in different versions of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. He delivers a speech as a diffident high school student on the Elks Clubs discriminatory racial practices and sparks a media whirlwind that calls national attention to the issue.

Moore goes to Germany with a friend to protest Ronald Reagans controversial visit to a military cemetery in which a number of SS soldiers are buried and unfurls a banner that seizes the worlds attention: We came from Michigan, USA to remind you: They killed my family.

After suffering corporal punishment as a student, Moore ran on a lark for a position on the school board and was elected as an 18-year-old. One story features a librarian as free-speech savior, but the object of her salvation is Moores book Stupid White Men, which his publisher wanted to pulp.

Every story ends in the glorification of Michael Moore. The lesson he wants us to take home is a noble one: Innocent idealism can only prevail if it holds to what is true and doesnt succumb to despair. But these plucky narratives, largely recycled from his writings and talks, have the monotonous ring of an infomercial for his brand.

I have no political beef with Moore. I have long admired the way he has fought on behalf of working people. But I found myself cringing at the self-congratulatory applause that would break out when he would utter one of his pieties. And I lost patience with the way he seemed to want both sympathy for being a victim of the right and adulation for being the champion of all mankind.

The Terms of My Surrender makes vain gestures in the direction of a variety show. (Dancing With the Stars, a silly leitmotif, is both a nightmare and a tempting dream for this capped bear with two left feet.) But Moore isnt the secret vaudevillian no one ever suspected him of being. His comedy (he does a bit on the outlandish items the TSA forbids in carry-on luggage) is as galumphing as his cursory musical interludes.

Stars have been making cameos at select performances. Bryan Cranston dropped by for some chitchat last weekend, but Moores awkwardness prevented the conversation from going anywhere. He asked Cranston whether the premise of Breaking Bad would have worked if America had universal healthcare, but all Cranston could do was giggle, nod and shrug.

Although stand-up and sketch comedy have thrived under Trumps presidency, drama provoked by his political ascendancy has had a spottier record. The plays wrestling with the origins and implications of Trumps rise to power  Mike Daiseys The Trump Card, Jon Robin Baitzs Vicuna, Robert Schenkkans Building the Wall  have been written in a state of emergency.

It would be unrealistic to expect playwrights working on journalistic deadlines to come up with dancing dialects worthy of Bertolt Brecht or comedies of ideas with the badminton wit of George Bernard Shaw. (Baitz, to his credit, manages some funny shenanigans in a farce that hadnt yet found its footing when I saw it last fall at the Kirk Douglas Theatre.) But these offerings can have communal value without entering the pantheon.

One of the reasons that Building the Wall, which closed early in New York, was a success in L.A. is that the Fountain Theatre wasnt selling a generic anti-Trump play. The theater was instead providing a meeting space for local artists and theatergoers hungry for reflection on current dangers. Friends and fellow citizens gathered at the Fountain to engage the work of artists with an investment in a small theater with an extensive history of envelope-pushing political drama.

Daiseys piece, which I saw last fall at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica in the run-up to the election, was on a tour, but the prevailing spirit was one of activism, not mercantilism. Daisey was on a mission to get the word out, and he allowed Slate to stream his Town Hall performance online.

Broadway is too expensive for this kind of communal ethos, and though Moore means well, The Terms of My Surrender would be less objectionable if he were driving around the country in a bus and delivering these monologues at halls and lodges for 10 dollars a head.

I felt increasingly alienated at the Belasco. The lesbian joke about Hillary Clinton was beneath him. Did Moore really need to make his corpulence the object of ridicule? (I could have done with one fewer laugh lines about the glorious design of Ruffles potato chips.)

It was painfully evident that he wanted to communicate something of value to his audience. He seemed to be struggling to improvise some wisdom that would redeem the night. Instead, two male strippers came on the stage (dressed at first as police officers) and the evening concluded in disco mayhem.

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charles.mcnulty@latimes.com

Follow me @charlesmcnulty
President Xi Jinping has called for an "all-out effort" to rescue and aid those injured.

Local authorities say 247 others were injured in the quake, which was centered in Ngawa prefecture, home to nomadic Tibetan herders and Jiuzhaigou, a well-known national park with spectacular views that attracts thousands of visitors from China and overseas. Officials say at least five of the dead were tourists. State-run Xinhua news agency says a Canadian woman and a young Frenchman are among the injured. Xinhua says more than 30,000 tourists have been evacuated from Jiuzhaigou.

Nineteen people are now confirmed dead in a powerful earthquake that struck a remote mountainous region in China's Sichuan province Tuesday.

The U.S. Geological Survey measured the quake at 6.5 magnitude while China's earthquake center says it was a 7.0. More than 100,000 houses were damaged, and power was knocked out across the region.

Tuesday's event was close to the site of an 8.0-magnitude quake in 2008 that devastated the region, leaving 87,000 people dead or missing.

Meanwhile, authorities are responding to the scene of yet another strong earthquake, measured at magnitude 6.3 by the USGS, this time in the northwestern region of Xinjiang.

Xinhua says at least three villagers were injured when their home collapsed.
Get Anthony Anderson going and the voluble black-ish star will keep on going. The actor, who also serves as a co-executive producer on the ABC series, received his third consecutive Emmy nomination last month for portraying patriarch Dre Johnson.

We recently sat down with Anderson to talk about how black-ish manages to find a balance between serious, topical issues and laugh-out loud funny family moments and how the classic Norman Lear sitcoms of the 70s serve as a guide.

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I wanted to talk first about Dres evolution because Im proud of Dre.

Has there been? Please share with me.

He is starting to think of others before he thinks of himself, sometimes.

Oh, well, I have you fooled. Dre has you fooled.

For me, the real pivotal thing was when Zoey (Yara Shahidi) went to look at schools, and you and Bow were just like, Oh, God, our baby is going away. But eventually you came to your senses, which Dre often does, but I feel like he comes to his senses sooner and with more enlightenment this season. Is that just natural evolution?

With that particular episode, he had to have some sensibilities and be sensible and sensitive to, you know, his baby, his first-born, his best friend leaving the nest, and him not wanting her to fly far away from that nest. So yeah, it is a natural evolution.

I love that, over the course of the show, you and series creator Kenya Barris have drawn from your real lives. Do you have to run those actual experiences past your family before you write them into the show?

No, I dont. And the reason I dont have to run it by them is because my children, their private school is paid for because of our show, private high school and private college, and

So they dont get to complain.

They dont get to complain at all. I mean, they live a life of privilege because of black-ish. But there was one thing that I had to go out and explain and apologize for my son, and it was the sex talk episode where Bow walks in on Junior pleasuring himself. And, you know, since the show is based on my family and Kenyas family, when my son went to school, he was ridiculed a bit, poked fun at a bit because of that. Theyre like, Oh, man, your mom caught you? Well, then I had to go on and confess that it wasnt actually my son who was caught; it was me that was caught at my sons age. And so I just put it on him on the show.

Like a good father would.

My mom walked in on me and I thought that would be an interesting story to tell from the kids perspective, so I put it on Andre Jr. So I had to go out and explain to the world that my son, Nathan, was not caught pleasuring himself. It was actually his father.

No matter how wacky or how absurd we get with some of these stories and some of these fantasies, its all grounded by the actors that we have.  Anthony Anderson

You guys have been able to walk a line between things that are absurd and wacky and even fantasy-type sequences with some really grave stuff, which, of course, Norman Lear was doing back in the 70s. Is that something that has to be tinkered with or does it come as naturally as the wackier elements?

It comes natural. We dont have to tinker with much. No matter how wacky or how absurd we get with some of these stories and some of these fantasies, its all grounded by the actors that we have, you know, especially in Laurence Fishburne and Jenifer Lewis. And, you know, Kenya is a huge fan, as myself, of Norman Lear. Those are the shows that we grew up watching  All in the Family, Good Times, The Jeffersons  they were poignant and had a point of view and had something to say, whether you agreed with it or not.

Theres a fearlessness to it because you have to walk a certain line and sometimes the topics arent funny, but you manage to find it on either end. Once its done and in the can, but before its aired, is there any trepidation about what the response will be?

We cant concern ourselves with that, you know? We sit on Stage Four and Stage Five at ABC Studios and we do what we do. The stories and the subject matter that we deal with, we leave it all on the floor and we leave it up to the public to enjoy it or debate it or whatnot. But theres no trepidation at all. We come from an authentic place and I think thats what resonates with our audience.

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Theres a new paradigm in television laced with high-end visual effects for a more sophisticated viewing audience. Game of Thrones has set the bar for the visual effects award, having won five of its previous six nominations. With its absence this year, having launched its seventh season too late for Emmy eligibility, the competitive VFX field has conjured the likes of pirate battles in 1715 Nassau and androids wandering a version of the Old West. Here, a quick chat with this years nominees.

Visual effects designer Kevin Haug and VFX supervisors David Stump and Jeremy Ball focused on photographic realism to develop the look and feel of Starzs American Gods with director David Slade. We tried desperately to make sure the visuals had a sense of photographic veracity so the VFX shots didnt stick out in any way, says Haug.

There were over 200 CG shots in the pilot, none of which used green screen, with the most difficult being the lucid dream sequences of Shadow Moon (Ricky Whittle). We laid out so many different types of reality side by side in this episode  the exaggerated and humorous Vikings story, the subjective reality of Shadow doing time in prison, the looming supernatural, the deeper subconscious, and on top of all of that, we introduce a new modern mode of reality, continues Haug. In all, we were able to effectively create seven distinct environments that all worked together seamlessly.

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For senior VFX supervisor Erik Henry of Black Sails, an underwater sequence that pins John Silver (Luke Arnold) in a life or death situation became the focal point for episode XXIX. As the pirate drops to the ocean floor, he struggles to untangle his wooden leg from rigging. The camera floats past him to reveal the chaos above, where ships are sinking and bloody carnage seeps into the sea.

The amount of detail to that scene took 20 weeks for us to complete, Henry says. You have boats getting hit by cannon fire and others streaking through the water  hundreds of bodies are swimming and the camera is 60 feet below. Its a rich tapestry of detail shared between our live-action ships, full-scale sets and our visual effects crew who desire to make sure everything is accurate.

In Amazons The Man in the High Castle, VFX supervisor Lawson Deming and the team brought to life the Volkshalle, an immense domed structure where Hitler would have held his rallies had Germany won World War II. Extensive plans exist for it, and while we referenced them, the challenge was taking something kind of inherently unbelievable and making it not look artificial, says Deming.

In the episode Fallout, the true nature of Hitlers death is revealed inside the 1,000-foot-tall building where visual effects simulated a crowd of over 200,000 Germans and a large army, covering the sequence and speech from ranking officer John Smith (Rufus Sewell) with camera shots of the era as opposed to doing something too fancy.

The intense battle between Aethelwulf (Moe Dunford) and Ivar (Alex Hgh) on Vikings had visual effects led by VFX supervisor Dominic Remane turning 250 extras into several thousand soldiers for the episode On the Eve.

Its become a goal for us to dive into what makes a believable crowd, says Remane. Once we build its density, we find where the audiences eye will be drawn and focus on adding tiny nuances to the people. Instead of everyone doing similar actions, theyll change a fighters running speed or switch one to be left-handed or add a shield or make someone trip. When you watch it youre never going to notice the differences, but when you keep watching, youll believe that its real.

Westworld pushed the limits of practical filming to tell its story. As a rule, visual effects are the flavor not the dish, says VFX supervisor Jay Worth. When its not possible in the natural world, thats when we step in. The challenge in The Bicameral Mind episode was creating the birth of Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood) where animatronics blended with her human form. It needed to be robotic but elegant in a beautiful, realistic way, he notes.

Host performances were manipulated slightly to enhance the robotic feel in diagnostic mode. When a host is waking up from a frozen slumber, VFX would remove three frames of their action or the team would add jerking, mechanical-like motions to simulate a host breaking down. Our actors were incredible at embodying the role, the only time we changed something was story-dependent, Worth says. Sometimes we would take the smallest bit of sheen off their eyes so they would look less human.

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calendar@latimes.com
She was an artist whose favorite president was FDR. She devoured books and newspapers and hosted events where people could discuss social causes and politics and raise money for their efforts. She hunted for the Ho Chi Minh trail and collected modern art. And she knew how to wield a blowtorch.

Betty Warner Sheinbaum, who died Sunday at 97 after a brief illness, was also part of the Warner family  as in Warner Bros. Pictures  but her independence from what could have been a predictable Hollywood-royalty story was, according to two of her children, what set her apart.

She lived her life at what her son called the junction of art and politics.

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Born in New York in 1920, the girl Harry Warner named Betty May moved with her family to Los Angeles as a tween when her dad, the first president of Warner Bros., came in search of better light for his movie productions. Over the course of her life she would live not only in L.A. but in Santa Barbara, Santa Monica and Beverly Hills, with a brief return to her native New York during her second marriage.

At 19, Betty Warner married Milton Sperling, a producer and screenwriter who was introduced to her by a family member and would become the father of her four children. They would be wed for 25 years before divorcing.

In 1964, she married activist Stanley Sheinbaum, who was described to The Times in 1987 by lobbyist Tony Podesta as sort of the Statue of Liberty for liberal politics in America. He stands there at the harbor in L.A. and says, Give me your tired, your hungry and your poor, and well see if we can do something with them. 

But Betty was the one who made Stanley a liberal, according to her son, Matthew Sperling. Together, the couple embarked on efforts that included a sojourn to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, during the Vietnam War in search of the Ho Chi Minh trail.

Stanley ran unsuccessfully for Congress twice out of Santa Barbara and was chairman of the American Civil Liberties Union in Southern California, and he and Betty participated in antiwar efforts and supported the civil rights movement, California farmworkers struggles and efforts to bring peace to the Middle East.

The couple helped free future Greek Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou when he was held prisoner during a right-wing military coup and were central to Daniel Ellsbergs defense in the Pentagon Papers case.

His whole history kind of blended with hers, daughter Karen Sperling said, though before Stanley entered the picture, Betty was quite active in art and politics on her own. Stanley just continued to provide [her] with the next adventure in all of this. Betty was constantly at his side, though she didnt take credit publicly, Karen said; the two were partners.

All the while, Betty Sheinbaum was a prolific painter and sculptor, working first in oils, watercolors and acrylics before expanding into handcrafts and even creating works with parts of old, junked cars (hence the blowtorch). She always took classes, started a handcrafts gallery that would include work from hundreds of artists and had an exhibit of her own work at the Tag Gallery in Santa Monica as recently as last year.

Her political beliefs were reflected in her art, in works such as a series on bullfighting that Matthew Sperling called more sympathetic toward the bull, and a series of environmental works made with recycled materials.

Also, she collected modern art, staying ahead of the curve as she bought pieces on the cheap that would grow in value over the years, often to be sold later to fund various social and political causes she was involved with. She had a keen eye  think Jackson Pollock and Robert Motherwell.

A lot of people buy art to have its value go up and to stick it on the wall and stand back from it. My mom bought because she loved a piece and knew the artist, Karen Sperling said. In their house, there would be a Henry Moore on the floor next to a teddy bear. Nothing was precious because of its expense or beauty. It was to live with. She had a collection to live with. That attitude just made it part of our home.

At that home there was also activism and with it, social consciousness. Betty and Stanley, who died last September at 96, regularly hosted events for dozens or hundreds of people. Imagine Walter F. Mondale or Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, John Kenneth Galbraith or Abbie Hoffman, speaking and often raising money in an art-filled living room that was a launching pad for any number of campaigns and political causes. Those events were also a place people could just meet and mingle.

The home was always open to conversation about the arts, music, literature, politics, Karen Sperling said. Her whole life was devoted really to encouraging people to speak to each other and to learn what was going on in the world.

Matthew Sperling said his mother, though modest, was proud to be an American, and she and her second husband gave significant support to the presidential campaigns of Eugene McCarthy, George McGovern, John Anderson, Barack Obama and Bernie Sanders, and they hosted former President Clinton at their home when he was governor of Arkansas.

Karen Sperling said her mother was always worried about the state of the world, however, and in the months before her passing would simply roll her eyes and say things like, How did we get here? and, about the current president, How did we get him?

She was deeply concerned about the direction of the country, her son said.

Betty Sheinbaum was also proud to be a Warner, he said. She didnt distance herself from the family  but she was her own person. It was reflected in her collecting. It was reflected in her art.

She was an independent woman, and when youre married to Stan Sheinbaum and to my dad, who at the time was an important producer and screenwriter, and had her father as Harry Warner  to be an independent woman was really an accomplishment.

Sheinbaum is survived by three of her four children: Karen Sperling, Cass Warner and Matthew Sperling (daughter Desiree Sperling, born Susan Sperling, died in 2006). She also leaves eight grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.

cdz@latimes.com

@theCDZ
Look & See: A Portrait of Wendell Berry is a movie with an odd title, since during its almost 90 minutes, we never actually see the venerable Kentucky-born poet-activist except in archival photographs. Though he vocally participated, he clearly refused to be filmed, even for director Laura Dunn, whose admiration for Berry goes back to her use of his poetry in her stellar 2007 environmental documentary The Unforeseen.

In his physical place are wistful rural vistas, close-ups of artisans at work and interviews with farmers. In lieu of a literal fulfillment of the titles promise, Dunn gives us a spiritual one, an aggressively poetic elegy to the pre-industrialized agrarian work/life ethic Berry made his most deeply felt cause. Somber documentaries about the plight of those whove gone from modestly working the land to incurring debt to feed a mechanized industry are numerous, and Dunns version of this story isnt new, but it has the added resonance of Berrys affable drawl narrating choice verses or answering Dunns questions over lovingly edited footage of his home and neighboring farmlands. (Its Kentucky, so tobacco is a big part of the represented crops memorialized here, which may be off-putting to some.) If you can get past the overwrought, ill-conceived Koyaanisqatsi-esque sequence set to Berrys poem A Timbered Choir that opens Look & See, and accept that the man himself is more thematic presence than explored person, Dunns hearth-and-soil romanticism has its share of beautiful melancholy, like an attentively curated scrapbook.

++++++++++

Look & See: A Portrait of Wendell Berry

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No rating

Running time: 1 hour, 22 minutes

Playing: Laemmles Monica Film Center
In This Corner of the World is as cozy as it sounds. Until it isnt.

A prizewinner at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, this Japanese feature is a low-key triumph, a surprisingly affecting epic of the everyday written and directed by Sunao Katabuchi, a protege of Hayao Miyazaki who was an assistant director on the masters Kikis Delivery Service.

Katabuchi has painstakingly made a discreet celebration of the beauty and quiet poetry of ordinary life that all but imperceptibly changes into a tribute to the resilience and sacrifices of average Japanese people during World War II.

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Actually, painstaking doesnt say the half of it, as Katabuchi spent six years researching the details of this story, and collected more than 4,000 photographs of both Hiroshima (whose central area was destroyed by 1945s atomic blast) and the adjacent city of Kure to ensure that he got the visual details right.

Based on a manga by Fumiyo Kouno, Corner of the World is visually evocative, a meticulously hand-drawn, almost photo-realistic tapestry that illuminates the magic inherent in the most commonplace situations.

Unhurried yet involving, its also a voyage back in time to Japan between the years 1933 and 1946. It casually immerses us in a well-ordered world where people looked out for each other even when a war no one had asked for completely upended their lives.

The prime mover in this story is Suzu (voiced by Rena Nounen), introduced as a shy girl who tells us Ive always been a dreamer right off the bat.

Someone who sees ghosts in everyday life, Suzu is treated as nobody special by those around her, but we see things in her that others dont.

Living near the water in Hiroshima, the child of a family that earns a living gathering and drying seaweed, Suzu grows up a fantasist who loves to draw but who is so poor that the gift of a new pencil from a boy she has a crush on is a major event.

Even in these early stages, the everyday nature of Suzus life is what interests filmmaker Katabuchi. We accompany the young girl as she prices various candies, visits her grandparents and the graves of her ancestors and makes up stories that make her younger sister laugh.

Suzu is so involved in her own world that she is taken by surprise when Shusaku (Yoshimasa Hosoya), a young man she doesnt remember meeting, asks for her hand in marriage. I guess Im becoming an adult, she says to her sister before accepting Shusakus offer.

Suzu moves in with her husbands family in Kore, where everyone, including Shusaku, works for the Imperial Navy. And though the marriage was an arranged one, she and Shusaku grow deeply attached to each other.

An instinctively helpful person, Suzu becomes consumed by the day-to-day housework in her new family home, endless cooking and cleaning we are shown in detail. Similarly, when Shusakus bossy sister Keiko (Minori Omi) moves in, Suzu takes it in her stride and forms a sweet bond with Keikos young daughter, Harumi (Natsuki Inaba.)

Everything intensifies when the war and its privations take over everyones lives, and Suzu has to cope with extreme rationing, civil defense lectures and, in one sequence that is both amusing and frightening, being mistaken for a potential spy by officious military police.

Our battle is to survive with whatever we have, becomes Suzus motto as she resorts to stratagems like an ancient samurai method for making rice last. This sense of what the homefront was like on the other side is fascinating because we so rarely see it.

When the war gets closer to home, when American bombing becomes increasingly frequent, the tone of In This Corner of the World darkens, and Suzu and her family have their own personal tragedies to deal with.

The Aug. 6, 1945, atomic bomb attack is of course depicted, but it is typical of Katabuchis visual gifts that it is not dealt with in an expected way.

In its visualization of a life that feels exceptional as well as ordinary, In This Corner of the World draws us in with the beauty of its animation and the specificity of its detail.

Suzus story becomes so deeply personal that when an animated hand waves at the audience at the films conclusion, we will feel like waving back, like we would to a friend.

< ###<

In This Corner of the World

No rating

Running time: 2 hours, 9 minutes

Playing: In select theaters

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kenneth.turan@latimes.com

@KennethTuran
No film has yet captured both the lure and the psychosis of social media quite like Ingrid Goes West, a dark comedy  or is it a warning?  about a lonely soul who seeks connection and finds it, unfortunately for everyone in her orbit, on Instagram.

This is the real Emoji Movie, a true horror story for our digital times. In the most acutely relatable ways and built around deft turns by Aubrey Plaza and Elizabeth Olsen, it skewers how we live and lurk these days in timelines fraught with angled sunlit selfies, artisanal avocado toasts and the FOMO-frothing torment of scrolling compulsively through other peoples bliss.

Happiness is all Ingrid Thorburn (Plaza) really wants, after all. We meet her in director Matt Spicers feverish opening, eyes crazed and soaked over with tears, maniacally obsessing over picture-perfect posts from a wedding she wasnt invited to  from her car parked outside the venue.

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The burst of frenzied violence that follows sends Ingrid to the psych ward, where motivational posters issue twee promises to the lost and searching: Believe you can and you are halfway there. Back home she resumes a drab routine in suburban Pennsylvania, surrounded by reminders of her depressive isolation and a recent loss.

In an early wordless montage, Spicer and Plaza capture all-too-familiar scenes from life in the uniquely 21st century-language of social media, in which the fine line between online connection and manic obsession is dotted with frantic feed refreshes and prayer hands symbols.

Ingrid Goes West speaks a dialect of modern human communication familiar to anyone whos spent days and nights glued to a smartphone, for better and  more often than we realize  for worse. And its anti-heroine is simply leaning into what social culture trumpets into our brains 24/7: You too can find your tribe, live your best life, get #blessed, and thrive, one perfectly composed picture at a time.

But this relatively new double-tap, fave-thirsty existence that connects us to one another, it portends, is also the slipperiest of slopes. (In an age in which many fear that world leaders Twitter fingers could actually turn to nuclear trigger fingers, its not a terrible idea to pause and reflect on how social media also fuels our worst impulses.)

Ostracized after her recent outburst, Ingrid finds her next obsession in Taylor Sloane (Olsen), a social media influencer whose perfect California boho life she reads about in a fashion magazine. Like millions of searching souls before her, she seizes her chance to reinvent herself. Using the $60,000 insurance payout from her mothers death, she sets out to chase her own American dream: becoming Taylors BFF.

Like a child figuring out how to make herself a sandwich for the first time, Ingrid stuffs her inheritance into a backpack and sets out to Los Angeles, landing a westside rental in Venice with vaping, Batman-obsessed aspiring screenwriter landlord Dan (the scene-stealing OShea Jackson Jr.).

She copies Taylors style, where she shops and what she eats using Taylors geo-tagged posts as her guide, then insinuates herself into her girl crushs life with disturbing ease. Using a little dog-napping to engineer a meet-cute situation, Ingrid quickly becomes Taylors new favorite person thanks to their shared love for all the things Taylor likes.

Soon enough the pair are road-tripping to the desert bliss of Joshua Tree, doing coke and dancing at Pappy & Harriets and belting K-Ci & Jojos All My Life  the truest expression of friendship. The film reaches tense heights as we wait for the Jenga pieces of this Single White Female for the social media generation to come crashing down.

Spicer and David Branson Smith won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at Sundance for their incisive script, which takes particularly accurate aim at the fetishism of enlightened living that permeates Los Angeles, from the aggressive positivity of Cafe Gratitude  an easy target  to the Joan Didion-reading, Venice canal-hopping, self-worshipping vanity youll recognize from your own social media feeds.

At times we are Ingrid, observing with a cocked eye the silly rituals and carefully curated lives of Taylor and her shaggily charming husband Ezra (Wyatt Russell), a self-declared artist faking his way toward authenticity. Ingrid is as brutal to these bohemian posers as it is to its protagonist, who grows increasingly unhinged as a third-act jolt introduces Taylors brother Nicky (Billy Magnussen), a fratty playboy who sees through Ingrid and upends her grasp on her own precariously balanced charade.

Plaza shines here in her most multifaceted role to date, fearless in her willingness to take Ingrid to cringe-worthy depths with a chameleonic precision. Ingrid might be a lying, manipulative stalker, but Plaza also lets us see her humanity, engendering a crucial empathy for the desperation that drives her.

The film veers more clumsily as Ingrid wrestles with clear mental health issues, both empowered and enabled by her newfound Insta-power. Its conclusion reminds us Ingrid has darker demons to battle, even if the filmmakers skirt the responsibility of addressing her illness to make the films greater point: Ingrid might be a sociopathic selfie-snapping answer to the talented Mr. Ripley, but theres more of her in us than wed like to admit.

------------

Ingrid Goes West

Rating: R, for language throughout, drug use, some sexual content and disturbing behavior.

Running time: 1 hour, 37 minutes

Playing: ArcLight Cinemas, Hollywood

jen.yamato@latimes.com

@jenyamato
With the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences at a crossroads after two years of controversy and turbulence unlike anything in its nearly 90-year history, many within the groups leadership ranks were looking for a steady hand.

The academys 54-member board of governors  including such industry luminaries as Tom Hanks, Kathleen Kennedy, Whoopi Goldberg and Steven Spielberg  gathered Tuesday evening to decide who would succeed outgoing president Cheryl Boone Isaacs, who has led the organization for four transformative and often tumultuous years that included the #OscarsSoWhite firestorm and the recent Oscar-night best picture envelope bungle.

Actress Laura Derns name had been floating in the rumor mill for weeks, stirring enthusiasm among those who felt the academys public image could use a fresh coat of star-power gloss. But as the meeting progressed, Dern declined her nomination after deciding that the demands of the job would be too difficult to balance with her busy career. The choice ultimately came down to two well-respected veteran academy insiders, each representing the film industrys often unsung below-the-line workers: casting director David Rubin and cinematographer John Bailey.

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Though active campaigning for the job of president is traditionally frowned upon, front-runners inevitably emerge. Baileys name had not been among the handful being whispered in the run-up to the election. He had been on the board for 14 years and had served as vice president for three terms, but he had not made a run for presidency before. But when the ballots were counted, the 74-year-old journeyman cinematographer  whose credits include such films as Ordinary People, The Big Chill and Groundhog Day  had prevailed.

Known for his versatility behind the camera, Bailey had never been one to grab the limelight. Ive never received an academy nomination or  any kind of, you know, accolade from my peers, Bailey told the trade magazine Variety in 2015 shortly before receiving the American Society of Cinematographers Lifetime Achievement Award. I think this is by virtue of the kinds of films I do. Theyre not necessarily ones that call attention to the cinematography.

The fact is, in decades past, few outside the academy ever gave much thought to the private deliberations of its leadership, and the office of president, which is unpaid, has traditionally been largely ceremonial. But in recent years, as the academy under the leadership of Boone Isaacs and academy Chief Executive Dawn Hudson has taken a series of dramatic steps to remake itself inside and out, public scrutiny of the organization has grown ever more intense. Having spent his career behind the scenes, Bailey now finds himself the public face of an institution in the process of transforming itself, taking on what some consider one of the toughest and most thankless jobs in Hollywood under the glare of the spotlight.

Holy mackerel, its changed, Boone Isaacs told The Times in an interview this spring. We seem to be in the same zone as just about everything, where somehow your day-to-day business is news. Its bizarre. Im assuming thats not going away.

Indeed, Bailey immediately inherits a handful of major challenges facing the organization, including an ongoing push to diversify its overwhelmingly white and male membership ranks, an ambitious and costly effort to build an academy museum in Los Angeles and the steady erosion in ratings for the all-important Oscars telecast.

Bailey was unavailable to be interviewed for this story, but insiders say those looking to read the tea leaves about his choice should not get ahead of themselves. Though he is an older white male  and follows Boone Isaacs, the first African American and the third woman to serve as president  his election, the insiders say, was in no way a referendum on the issue of boosting diversity within the academys membership and leadership ranks, which will remain a key priority going forward.

In 2016, in response to a growing controversy over its selection for the second consecutive year of an all-white slate of acting nominees, the academy announced a sweeping campaign aimed at doubling the number of women and minorities in its membership by 2020. While the diversity initiative has been widely applauded, it was met early on with sometimes bitter pushback from some older rank-and-file members who felt they were being unfairly tarred with the brush of racism.

I do believe this organization is not going to let it stop. I know Dawn Hudson is not going to let it stop  thats for sure.  Cheryl Boone Isaacs on the continued push for diversity

With this years best picture victory for Moonlight and record number of wins for African Americans across the board, its possible the issue of diversity could begin to move toward the back burner, at least in the publics mind. That can happen, Boone Isaacs said. But I do believe this organization is not going to let it stop. I know Dawn Hudson is not going to let it stop  thats for sure. And the board is very much committed.

Hudson, whose contract was recently renewed through June 2020, agreed that the academys push toward diversity would not flag. That commitment [to diversity] has not waned and will not wane for many years to come, Hudson said. Because I dont see this industry getting a lot more diverse or having more gender parity any time real soon. So this work will be ongoing for the academy.

In the last two years, the academy has opened its doors to the largest and most diverse classes of new members in its history. In June, a whopping 774 industry professionals were invited to join the organization, 39% of whom were female and 30% of whom were people of color, bringing the overall share of women and minorities among the more than 7,000 members to 28% and 13%, respectively. (In a landmark 2012 analysis, The Times reported that Oscar voters at the time were 23% female and 6% nonwhite.)

Certain branches have seen more progress toward diversity than others, however, reflecting deeper inequities in hiring in different segments of the film industry. The cinematographers branch in particular has historically been overwhelmingly male and white, though it has made strides in the last two years to invite more women and nonwhites, including Caroline Champetier (Holy Motors), Camilla Hjelm Knudsen (Land of Mine) and Chung-Hoon Chung (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl).

Nor, insiders say, should Baileys election be seen as a referendum on the leadership of Hudson, who has at times been a polarizing figure within the board over what some view as her hard-charging style, in particular her stewardship of the museum, which has run into repeated delays and cost overruns and is currently projected to open in 2019. As he helps steer the academy forward, Bailey  who has a reputation for being well-connected and deeply familiar with the ins and outs of the academy  will have to work closely with Hudson.

For Bailey  whose tenure will be limited to a maximum of two years due to his prior years of service on the board  leading a proudly tradition-bound institution in the process of giving itself a makeover in full public view will undoubtedly bring its share of challenges. But speaking to The Times in May as her tenure was winding down, Boone Isaacs said she was confident that whoever took the reins as the next president would have the skills needed to lead the institution forward.

Listen, this organization was great before I took this position, and itll be great after I leave, she said. Its just an evolution of change, and this is an exciting time.

josh.rottenberg@latimes.com

Twitter: @joshrottenberg
Faith and fear collide in the medieval action film Pilgrimage. For all its bloody and violent genre trappings, Pilgrimage  directed by Brendan Muldowney and written by Jamie Hannigan  is a gorgeously shot film that carefully renders the details of this fascinating historical period.

The year is 1209 and a group of Irish monks are tasked with escorting a precious religious relic from their monastery on the Western coast of the island to Rome, under pressure from an emissary of the Pope, Brother Geraldus (Stanley Weber). The relic is believed to possess great power to turn the tide of the Crusades in Jerusalem, and has been a great danger for anyone who dares disturb it.

It comes down to a young novice, Diarmuid (Tom Holland) and a scarred, tattooed mute (Jon Bernthal) who has dedicated his life to serving the monks, to protect their cargo. The mutes violent past comes rushing back when the monks find themselves fighting for their lives as Norman soldiers, including a skeptical Sir Raymond (Richard Armitage), clash with painted tribal warriors for possession of the relic.

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Shot in Connemara  a remote region of western Ireland  by cinematographer Tom Comerford, the coastal landscape is stunningly beautiful. Robed silhouettes make their way through woods and against the sea; sunlight filters through the trees, illuminating the generous blood spatter produced by broadswords, arrows and axes.

Webers wild-eyed performance as the fervent and fanatical Geraldus drives home the questionable influence of this relic. Though its powers are merely symbolic, ascribed to it by men, human fear of and faith in this artifact is enough to enact its deadly toll.

------------

Pilgrimage

In English, Gaelic, French and Latin, with English subtitles.

Not rated

Running time: 1 hour, 36 minutes

Playing: Laemmle Monica
The paradox of The Trip movies is that they are always holding out the promise of new experiences  new cities to explore, new dishes to savor, new historic and literary landmarks to reflect upon  even as they adhere to a pattern of repetition and reassurance that is pretty much the opposite of novelty. Whether this is part of these movies irresistible charm or evidence of their limitations is entirely up to you, and probably beside the point in any case.

It would be a pleasure to report that The Trip to Spain, the third feature adapted from the Michael Winterbottom-directed sitcom, amounted to more than just another heavily improvised jaunt through some picturesque European countryside in the wittily self-aggrandizing company of Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, gamely playing fictionalized versions of themselves. But it would also be a betrayal  of not only the audiences expectations but also the spirit of these sometimes enchanting, invariably irritating proceedings.

You might well argue that this latest feature-length adventure is the least satisfying of the three, a sun-dappled test case for the law of diminishing returns, and you wouldnt be wrong. But insofar as these adventures have always swirled around the subject of disappointment  a never-distant sense of anxiety and failure that no amount of high epicurean living can ultimately overcome  you might just as well say that the movie represents the fullest expression of the series ethos.

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After touring Englands Lake District in The Trip (2010) and driving along the Amalfi Coast in The Trip to Italy (2014), Coogan and Brydon now hop a ferry to Spain, docking at Santander and then heading south through the Basque Country en route to Malaga. Brydon is once again filing restaurant reviews for the Observer, though this time the New York Times is in the assignment mix as well. Regardless, any writing they do is mere pretext for several days worth of haute cuisine, gorgeous scenery and palatial digs, padded out with dueling celebrity impressions, passive-aggressive jabs, surprise dream sequences and lots of downtime spent agonizing over their latest family dramas and career developments.

Even over plates of succulent-looking shrimp and Iberian chorizo, it takes Brydon barely 10 minutes to trot out his Michael Caine  a reliably funny bit that, while pretty hard to beat, is capably matched by Coogans lofty channeling of Ian McKellen and, most unexpectedly, a hilarious, pouty-lipped riff on Mick Jagger. (The vocal stylings of Robert De Niro, Marlon Brando and Russell Brand all make appearances as well.) And as always, the one-upsmanship inherent in all this rapid-fire mimicry allows the two men a playful outlet for their deeper, largely unspoken tensions.

Coogan may be the better-known star, especially with a pair of Oscar nominations under his belt for producing and writing Philomena (an accomplishment that, as Brydon points out, he never tires of bringing up). But Coogan, now in his 50s, is doing more writing than acting these days; his agent has abandoned him, and hes infuriated that his latest passion-project screenplay has been assigned to an up-and-coming writer for a polish.

While Coogan experiences these setbacks, Brydon gets wind of a fresh opportunity, though he knows better than to flaunt or pursue it openly. He is, after all, the lowly Sancho Panza to Coogans puffed-up Don Quixote, to reference the Spanish literary touchstone whose spirit governs this rather less eventful picaresque. Like its predecessors, The Trip to Spain lets its characters bicker, but it always pulls them back from the brink of an actual flare-up. Its never the last straw between these two.

At times you wish it were. The most painful scene involves an aimless, nonsensical riff whose meager comic value will be depleted only further by my attempt to describe it. Somewhere in the medieval town of Sos del Rey Catolico, Coogan is showing off his knowledge of the Spanish Civil War, specifically the involvement of Moorish troops, only to keep getting interrupted by Brydons extended impression of Roger Moore. So you get a weak pun, a second-rate celebrity sendup and a lot of know-it-all windbaggery in one sequence  everything except the moment when somebody, preferably Coogans colleague Emma (Claire Keelan) tells them both to shut it, or at least does something besides sit around supplying amiable reaction shots.

The saving grace of The Trip movies is that all along they have displayed an essential measure of self-awareness, a barbed understanding of their characters privileged narcissism. The vicarious enjoyment of Europes visual and culinary splendors requires no defense, but the relentless focus on two desperately self-preening male egos is another matter (and here I am referring to the characters rather than the actors, who clearly enjoy letting us guess at whats real and what isnt).

A certain exhaustion sets in well before the end, collapsing any meaningful distinction between camera-hogging self-indulgence and critical scrutiny. It would be one thing if Coogan and Brydons banter masked or at least hinted at a deeper emotional core, as it did in the best moments of the earlier movies. But for long stretches here, theyre simply coasting, talking nonstop but never communicating; you may find yourself identifying with the restaurant patrons, who as always prove almost willfully indifferent to the rude and noisy celebrities in their midst.

Like a door that keeps revolving / in a half-forgotten dream goes the Noel Harrison Windmills of Your Mind cover that plays throughout, inspired by the mills and wind farms dotting the Castilla-La Mancha scenery. And like the shockingly tasteless non sequitur that pops up in the final scene, those lyrics more or less sum up the shrug of futility at the heart of The Trip to Spain, as two popular artists resign themselves to the knowledge that lifes fundamental emptiness becomes only more pronounced with age. Its hard to fault the honesty of that sentiment, but even harder to forgive the laziness that brought them to it.

------------

The Trip to Spain

No rating

Running time: 1 hour, 51 minutes

Playing: The Landmark, West Los Angeles

Movie Trailers

justin.chang@latimes.com | Twitter: @JustinCChang
Health officials warned this week that an unusually high number of patients in Los Angeles County have been infected with a parasite that causes a severe stomach illness and can last for months if not treated.

Between June and Aug. 1 this year, 14 people in the county had been diagnosed with the intestinal infection cyclosporiasis, according to local health officials.

People typically get sick when they drink water or eat fresh produce that has been contaminated with feces containing the parasite Cyclospora cayetanensis.

Health officials said they did not know what had caused the recent cases, but previous cyclospora outbreaks in the U.S. have been linked to raspberries, basil, cilantro and snow peas.

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There were seven cyclospora cases in L.A. County in 2016, zero in 2015 and two in 2014, according to the health department.

Cyclosporiasis is also on the rise nationwide.

Two-hundred and six people in 27 states were infected with cyclosporiasis between May and Aug. 2 this year, compared with 88 nationwide during the same time period last year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Eighteen people have ended up in the hospital this year.

Patients usually start having symptoms, which can include diarrhea, vomiting, weight loss and nausea, about seven days after ingesting the parasite. Patients require antibiotics to recover.

Health officials said that washing fruits and vegetables with water and a brush could reduce the risk of cyclosporiasis. Careful, regular hand-washing before handling food and after using the bathroom is also important. The parasite, which cannot be seen with the naked eye, cannot be passed from person to person.

National officials said they were unsure of the source of the infections or whether the cases were related.

Laboratories typically dont look for Cyclospora cayetanensis, so health officials reminded doctors to request testing for it if patients reported prolonged diarrhea.

soumya.karlamangla@latimes.com

Twitter: @skarlamangla

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U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened "fire and fury" in language that held its own with the most colorful North Korean propaganda. "North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States," he told reporters. "They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen." Trump added that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un "has been very threatening beyond a normal state."

A war of words between the U.S. and North Korea has escalated in the last couple of days, with both sides resorting to ever more florid bluster.

The comments came after the Washington Post reported assessments that North Korea has succeeded in developing a nuclear warhead small enough to be mounted on an intercontinental ballistic missile. The daily said the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency at the conclusion on July 28 after a secret assessment of the North's nuclear and missile programs.

On Wednesday, Trump tweeted that America's own nuclear arsenal is "now far stronger and more powerful than ever before," but added, "Hopefully we will never have to use this power."

North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency responded with two official statements that stinted nothing to their adversary's rhetoric. "The provocative war the U.S. has devised and plans to execute will be countered with a just all-out war of wiping out all the strongholds of the enemies, including the U.S. mainland," said one statement by the People's Armed Forces.

The other statement said the North is "now carefully examining the operational plan for making an enveloping fire at the areas around Guam with the medium-to-long-range strategic ballistic rocket Hwasong-12."

Guam is home to the U.S. Pacific Command.

U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis shot back Wednesday that North Korea risks the "end of its regime and the destruction of its people" if it attacks Washington or its allies.
A 36-year-old Navy veteran has been arrested in Oceanside in connection with the torture of two huskies and the disappearance of another dog that police said was the victim of a violent assault.

David Herbert was taken into custody Wednesday at his home, Oceanside police said. He is accused in the torture of two huskies named Estrella and Cocayo, who were brutally attacked April 28 in their owners home on the same street where Herbert lives.

One of the dogs had its eye gouged out and the other was forced to drink a caustic liquid. The family was not home during the attack. The dogs have since recovered.

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The family, whose car tires were also slashed, moved out right after the assault.

A new family moved into the house, and on May 30 reported that both of their dogs were missing. One of the animals returned home but the other, a golden retriever mix named Lala, did not.

Police said they believe Herbert took the dog from the familys home and subjected her to a violent assault which caused injury.

Investigators searched Herberts home in July and executed another warrant Wednesday. He was arrested without incident, officials said, and was booked into jail on several charges  including animal abuse, using a deadly weapon in the commission of a felony, residential burglary, vandalism and petty theft.

If convicted, he could spend 16 years in prison, police said.

Herbert served six years in the Navy and received an honorable discharge. Police have not disclosed a motive for the crimes.

debbi.baker@sduniontribune.com

Baker writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune

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In closing arguments Thursday, attorneys for a former tugboat captain who pleaded guilty to murdering eight people at a Seal Beach salon in 2011 slammed prosecutors for what they called incredible deception  saying there is not enough evidence to move forward with a penalty phase to decide whether Scott Dekraai goes to death row.

The prosecution has sought to use evidence from a veteran jailhouse informant against Dekraai, hoping to boost the chances that the killer will be sentenced to death.

But Scott Sanders, Dekraais defense attorney, blasted the use of the snitch and what he described as a systematic network controlled by the Orange County Sheriffs Department designed to thwart his clients case.

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The department is holding back evidence that could be helpful to his client, Sanders said. This is a rogue department. They decided they didnt have to follow the rules. This concealment could go on forever because when people dont want to tell the truth, we really have no sense of whats left.

The so-called snitch scandal has rocked the Orange County district attorneys office and the Sheriffs Department  and delayed Dekraais sentencing for the mass murder.

Superior Court Judge Thomas Goethals has criticized sheriffs officials, who have vowed to search diligently for jailhouse records he has demanded.

Sheriffs officials have repeatedly told the judge there were no more records to be found  only for other material to be subsequently discovered.

How does this happen? Goethals asked Sheriff Sandra Hutchens last month. They were dead wrong.

They possibly did not look hard enough, replied Hutchens, who also acknowledged that informants had been placed near targeted inmates in the Orange County jail for years with the aim of eliciting incriminating statements.

Dekraai pleaded guilty to murdering his ex-wife and seven other victims in the salon shooting.

But the informant scandal has delayed proceedings to determine whether he will face the death penalty. Dekraais attorney has argued that the death penalty should be tossed out because authorities cannot be trusted to turn over relevant evidence.

Removal of the death penalty is a reasonable response to outrageous conduct, Sanders said as he began a final defense argument in the penalty phase.

But Michael T. Murphy, the deputy attorney general whos trying the case, countered. This is not about what did the Sheriffs Department do right or wrong, he said, adding that the primary evidence should focus on what did this man do and what does he deserve?

The defenses belief that there are records showing good behavior on the part of the client is preposterous, Murphy said.

On Thursday afternoon, Goethals said he expects to rule on the death penalty issue by the end of next week.

Sanders argued that jailhouse informants and their handlers have violated the rights of inmates for years by coaxing information from defendants who are represented by lawyers. An appellate court upheld Goethals decision to remove the district attorneys office from Dekraais case, adding that sheriffs deputies were clearly moving informants around the jail to place them near specific inmates.

Defense attorneys in other cases have since argued that prosecutors failed to disclose information about the use of informants during discovery, which would violate their clients rights.

Last year, the fallout led Goethals to order a retrial for an Anaheim man who was convicted of aiding in the 1998 murder of a pregnant woman.

An informants testimony was used against the man at a 2006 trial, but a defense attorney argued prosecutors had failed to disclose information about the witness history as an informant.

In Dekraais case, the informant was a former shot-caller in the Mexican Mafia who had become a prolific source in hopes of gaining a reduced sentence.

In June, the countys grand jury dismissed the entire scandal as a myth, releasing the findings of a months-long investigation that was hailed as vindication by prosecutors and dismissed as a whitewash by defense attorneys.

In a 28-page report, the grand jury said critics and media outlets had blown the scandal out of proportion after it became central to the case of Dekraai.

But the report is unlikely to be the final word, as the U.S. Justice Department and the California attorney generals office are investigating the matter.

anh.do@latimes.com

Twitter: @newsterrier

ALSO

Despite grand jury findings, fallout from O.C. jailhouse snitch scandal is far from over

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UPDATES:

5:25 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details from the court hearing.

This article was originally published at 3:10 p.m.
A 72-year-old woman pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter Thursday in connection with a drunk driving crash that killed the toddler son of a mixed martial arts fighter, officials said.

Donna Marie Higgins was immediately sentenced to six years in prison for smashing her car into the stroller of 15-month-old Liam Mikael Kowal in Hawthorne last year, according to Ricardo Santiago, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County district attorneys office.

The boys father, Swedish-born fighter Marcus Kowal, was in the courtroom for the sentencing, according to his Facebook page.

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Welcome to the karma cafe. There are no menus. You will get served what you deserve, read a picture Kowal posted Thursday morning, announcing his arrival at the Airport Courthouse.

Marcus Kowal speaks to the media during a prior court hearing (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Higgins was arrested Sept. 3, 2016, after police said she slammed her car into Liams stroller, which was being pushed in a crosswalk by his 15-year-old aunt, near Hawthorne Boulevard and 133rd Street.

The boy did not have a pulse when police found him in his stroller at the crash scene. Liams aunt was also injured, police said.

The Kowal family decided to take the boy off life support the next day.

About an hour ago, our baby was declared brain dead, Kowal wrote on Facebook at the time. He tried to fight so hard. He even died at one point but they brought him back. Hes a little fighter. His heart is still beating but his brain is no longer working.

Higgins was initially booked on suspicion of felony hit-and-run and drunk driving charges, but prosecutors moved to charge her with vehicular manslaughter after the boy died.

A longtime resident of Hawthorne, Higgins was driving to a local store on the day of the crash and has expressed extreme sorrow over the childs death, according to her attorney, Richard A. Hutton.

What happened was a terrible accident, he said. Shes deeply remorseful, has taken full responsibility for her actions and is very sorry for the grief she caused everybody, in particular the parents.

Kowal has become active in campaigns against drunk driving since the fatal wreck, circulating a petition calling on legislators to toughen legal-limit laws that generally allow people to drive with a blood-alcohol content of less than .08%.

Im glad we get the chance to speak to her directly and that she will be off the streets and behind bars. However, shes so insignificant in the fight ahead that its just a small battle along the way, Kowal wrote in a Wednesday post ahead of the hearing. We wont stop until theres been significant change made in this country and around the world, so that others dont have to lose their mothers, or fathers, or brothers, or sisters or especially, children.

james.queally@latimes.com

Follow @JamesQueallyLAT for crime and police news in California.

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A gunman who fired several rounds at a woman during a domestic quarrel and then traded gunfire with Los Angeles police was found dead Thursday in a sprawling home in the Pacific Palisades.

The discovery of the mans body ended an hours-long standoff in which police fired numerous rounds of tear gas into the two-story Mediterranean style home.

The man, who has not yet been identified, was found on the second floor, LAPD Lt. Chris Ramirez told reporters at the scene. Ramirez said investigators have yet to determine whether he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound or from rounds fired by officers.

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The initial call came in as an assault with a deadly weapon in the 1600 block of Alta Mura Road around 10:50 p.m. Wednesday, according to police.

LAPD Capt. Brian Wendling said that the gunman had been arguing with a woman who lived at the residence, and that the two were in an on-again, off-again relationship. The man had fired several rounds at the woman, but she escaped unharmed, he said.

Once officers arrived they met with a private security agent who told them the suspect had barricaded himself inside. Police then set up a perimeter around the house and called in a SWAT team, said Officer Drake Madison, an LAPD spokesman.

Crisis negotiators tried to speak to the suspect but he refused to leave the house, police told reporters at the scene.

During the standoff, SWAT officers fired tear gas into the house.

We have deployed several rounds of tear gas because of the enormous size of the home, were talking about 9,000 square feet, Madison said.

The man, who was described as being in his 50s and had possibly been drinking, shot at officers shortly after 5 a.m., and police returned fire, police said. No officers were injured. .

Waiting for the bomb squad in Pacific Palisades- gunman barricaded in standoff with LAPD. pic.twitter.com/LLgjgCpuqw  Brian van der Brug (@bvdbrug) August 10, 2017

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

Reach Sonali Kohli at Sonali.Kohli@latimes.com or on Twitter @Sonali_Kohli.

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Man charged with murdering brother of L.A. County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas in 1981

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L.A. to pay nearly $1 million to family of man who died after police officers arrested him

UPDATES:

1:10 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details.

12:15 p.m.: This article was updated with details about the standoff.

11 a.m.: This article was updated with details on the suspects death.

8:45 a.m.: This article was updated with details of shots fired between the suspect and police.

This article was originally published at 6:50 a.m.
Authorities have arrested and charged a man accused of killing the brother of Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas 36 years ago in South L.A., officials said.

Michael Anthony Locklin, 61, was charged last week with the 1981 murder of Michael Thomas, according to a felony complaint filed in court. The complaint alleges Locklin killed Thomas during a robbery.

Greg Risling, a spokesman for the district attorneys office, confirmed the victim was Ridley-Thomas brother.

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Locklin, who is being held without bail, is scheduled to be arraigned later this month. If convicted, he could be sentenced to life in prison without parole or to death, the district attorneys office said in a statement issued Thursday. Prosecutors will decide later whether to seek the death penalty.

Thomas was killed a decade before his brother was first elected to public office. Ridley-Thomas is one of the areas most prominent political figures, serving stints on the Los Angeles City Council and in the state Assembly and Senate before being elected to the Board of Supervisors in 2008.

Ridley-Thomas declined to comment on his brothers death or the charges.

Any questions regarding charges filed against Michael Anthony Locklin should be directed to the L.A. County district attorneys office, as it is their advice that it would be inappropriate to comment at this time, the supervisor said.

Police say his brother, an insurance adjuster who was active in his church community, was stabbed multiple times.

LAPD Det. Jason Turner, who handled the case, described Thomas as an upstanding citizen who was an innocent victim of violence. Thomas was a pianist for his church choir, the detective said  and a very good one at that.

Investigators had identified Locklin as a person of interest by 1989 but did not have enough evidence to file charges, said LAPD Capt. Peter Whittingham, who oversees the departments South Bureau Homicide Division. Locklin was by then serving prison time for sexually assaulting a minor, he said.

The killing was one of many that drew fresh attention recently after Whittinghams unit doubled the number of detectives working on cold cases, he said. Investigators reexamined blood that had been found at the crime scene, and DNA tests showed that it matched Locklins, Whittingham said.

He said Locklin knew the victim from at least one or two prior contacts.

Thomas was one of 82 homicide victims in Los Angeles in August 1981, according to LAPD data. The city saw 877 homicides that year.

Although investigators were overworked at the time, Turner said, they were thorough in their work. That was crucial, he said, when he revisited the case decades later.

Without doing what they did, I dont think we would have been able to pick up the case and follow through with it, he said.

Thomas death made little news at the time. The Los Angeles Sentinel published a four-sentence news brief shortly after the killing.

Thomas family had found the 37-year-olds body in his apartment on West Santa Barbara Avenue  now Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard  on a Sunday afternoon, according to the Aug. 20, 1981, story. The LAPD said then that Thomas had apparently been dead for several days, as his body was partly decomposed.

An LAPD sergeant told the newspaper that Thomas may have been a victim of burglars. The sergeant refused further comment on the case, saying it would jeopardize the investigation into it, the paper added.

Prosecutors said Thomas body was discovered after he didnt show up for church and then work.

Locklin has a prior criminal history.

He is described as a high-risk sex offender on the states Megans Law website, which listed several 1987 convictions for rape, sexual penetration of a victim with a foreign object, and attempted sodomy and oral copulation.

Los Angeles County court records showed he was convicted of several felonies, including multiple counts of rape, in the late 1980s. Prosecutors recommended he be sentenced to 57 years in state prison; the records indicate he received a 36-year sentence.

It was not clear how many years Locklin spent behind bars. State prison officials declined Thursday to provide details about his imprisonment.

San Bernardino County court records showed Locklin pleaded no contest to failing to register as a sex offender in 2009.

nicole.santacruz@latimes.com

kate.mather@latimes.com

Follow us on Twitter: @nicolesantacruz and @katemather

UPDATES:

5:35 p.m., Aug. 10: This article was updated with a statement from Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, more information about Michael Locklins criminal background, and comments from LAPD Det. Jason Turner.

10:30 a.m., Aug. 10: This article was updated with information from the district attorneys office on possible punishment.

This article was originally published Aug. 9 at 8:10 p.m.
An armed man who died after police shot him in Venice last week has been identified as Todd Gregory Hurlburt, 53, authorities said.

Officers responded to a radio call of a possibly armed person in the 800 block of Venice Boulevard on Friday night, Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck told police commissioners at their meeting Tuesday.

Around 8:30 p.m. officers arrived at the home, where a woman met them outside and told them the suspect was inside destroying property, police said Saturday.

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Inside, the officers saw a person  later identified by coroners officials as Hurlburt  sitting in a chair with an AR-15 rifle, Beck said. He ignored commands to drop the rifle, then stood up and pointed it at one of the officers, prompting police to shoot, Beck said. The AR-15 was found at the scene.

Hurlburt was taken to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center at 8:50 p.m. Friday and was pronounced dead at 9:33 p.m., said Ed Winter, assistant chief of operations for the Los Angeles County coroners office.

An official cause of death is still pending, Winter said.

Times reporter Harriet Ryan contributed to this story.

Reach Sonali Kohli at Sonali.Kohli@latimes.com or on Twitter @Sonali_Kohli.
The night before his periodic check-in with immigration agents last week, Baljit Singhs wife asked him if he felt nervous.

Yes, he told her. Every time.

Itd been their routine every six months for years: Hed feel apprehensive, shed always calm him down, knowing that as a husband and a father without a criminal history, he was at the bottom of the priority list for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

But after President Trump took office with plans to ramp up deportations of those in the country illegally, Singh had a feeling things would change.

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On Aug. 1, his wife took their two young sons to Starbucks for chocolate croissants and then to a library to pick out dinosaur books. When she returned to their Yuba City, Calif., home, Singh wasnt there. She checked her phone and noticed a voicemail.

In a teary message, her husband told her that this time, he was getting deported.

A week later, Singh was released with an ankle monitor and 90 days to get his affairs in order and prepare for his departure to India.

With this new administration, the rules have changed  everybody goes, his wife, Kate Singh, told The Times on Wednesday, a day after his release from detention. It doesnt matter if youre a father and havent done anything to break the law, or if youre a criminal. Everybodys going. Its just a huge cleanup.

Baljit Singh, 39, entered the U.S. illegally 12 years ago through Mexico, crossing the border into Texas. His attorney said he fled religious persecution in Punjab, India, where as a Sikh, he feared for his life. After a judge denied his asylum case, he appealed his case all the way to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

ICE spokeswoman Lori Haley said Wednesday that Singhs immigration case has undergone exhaustive review over the last 11 years at multiple levels of the Department of Justices immigration court system.

The courts have consistently held that Mr. Singh does not have a legal basis to remain in the U.S., she said via email.

While ICE prioritizes enforcement resources on people who pose a threat to national security and public safety, Haley said, the head of the agency has made it clear that anyone in the country illegally may be subject to arrest, detention and, if found removable by the immigration courts, as Mr. Singh was, removal from the United States.

In January 2016, Singhs court-issued removal order became final. Even so, said his attorney, Elias Shamieh, Singh was allowed to stay in the country as long as he checked in with his immigration officer every six months  until last week.

The human element has been stripped from the immigration service as it stands right now  there is no compassion, Shamieh said. Its a really destructive approach to the immigration laws.

About six years ago, Baljit Singh met his now-wife. The pair have two children: Arjin, 5, and Sammy, 3. Kate Singh and the children are all U.S. citizens.

Baljit Singh suspected he would have to return to India at some point, his wife said, but the couple had hoped to wait for their children to grow older, which would also give them time to save money.

Now, Shamieh said, Baljit Singh must return to India before he can begin the paperwork to return legally. That process could take anywhere from six months to two years. If the paperwork is denied, the lawyer said, hed have to wait 10 years before he can return.

In a blog post on her website, Kate Singh questioned how she would survive financially without her husband, who as a gas station manager is the sole breadwinner of the household.

Im all for criminals, drug dealers and troublemakers to be sent back, Kate Singh wrote.   They are scooping up the good with the bad in their nets just like the destruction that takes place with net fishing. The inedible fish and precious coral get swooped up with the wanted fish. Habitats are destroyed with these nets.

alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com

Twitter: @AleneTchek

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It is a mysterious episode seemingly ripped from the pages of a Cold War spy novel.

In recent months, several U.S. and Canadian diplomats posted in Havana have reported experiencing unusual medical symptoms, including impaired hearing, sometimes so severe that they had to return home.

News of the ailments surfaced this week when the State Department announced that it had expelled two Cuban diplomats from Washington because of an incident in Havana that harmed U.S. personnel there.

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That came despite vastly improved relations between Washington and Havana since restoration of diplomatic relations under President Obama.

On Thursday, the Canadian government added its voice.

Canadian officials are aware of unusual symptoms affecting Canadian and U.S. diplomatic personnel and their families in Havana, the Canadian global affairs ministry said in a statement.

It said Canada was working with U.S. and Cuban authorities to ascertain the cause.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert would not provide details except to say the episode had caused medical but non-life-threatening problems for an unspecified number of U.S. Embassy personnel based in Havana.

The Associated Press, one of the few Western news outlets with offices in the Cuban capital, reported from Havana that the injuries may have been caused by covert sonic equipment that Cuban intelligence officers had secretly installed in the embassies or residences of staff.

The AP said at least one of the American diplomatic personnel suffered permanent hearing loss.

The Cuban government denied involvement in the incidents.

Cuba has never permitted, nor will permit, that Cuban territory be used for any action against accredited diplomatic officials or their families, with no exception, the Cuban Foreign Ministry said in a statement Wednesday night.

Nauert said Thursday that Cuban authorities were cooperating in the investigation, which also involves the FBI.

Some reports have suggested that a third country might be responsible, although Cuba would still be held accountable because of its duty to protect diplomatic personnel under the Vienna Conventions.

Spying on foreign embassy staffs would not be unusual in Havana, or many other capitals for that matter. Using surveillance devices to harm diplomats would be new, however, although the cause is still not confirmed.

We dont have any definitive answers about the source or the cause, which is under investigation, Nauert said.

She said two Cuban diplomats were expelled from Washington in retaliation in late May.

The incidents date to late last year, she said.

The U.S. diplomatic mission in Havana was only elevated to embassy status in 2015, when Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro reestablished full relations after half a century of Cold War hostilities. Before then it was a low-level facility with a skeleton crew.

President Trump announced in June that he was curtailing some of the Obama-era opening with Cuba. However, he has yet to order any concrete steps.

tracy.wilkinson@latimes.com

For more on international affairs, follow @TracyKWilkinson on Twitter
With thousands of jobs and billions of dollars at stake, its a burning question: Is Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions preparing to mess with voter-approved sales of recreational marijuana?

Its a question of prime importance in six Western and two New England states that have legalized marijuana use despite a federal law of the land classifying weed as a controlled, dangerous drug. And it appears Colorado, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Alaska, Maine and Massachusetts are likely to get a lot of company.

Fourteen additional states are planning similar recreational-sale initiatives, possibly this year. The rush to legalize marijuana has been driven by the potential tax and economic boosts of an industry already generating an estimated $6 billion in annual sales. Twenty-nine states also have decriminalized or legalized medical marijuana.

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Last year, while still a Republican senator from Alabama, Sessions made his opposition clear: He called weed dangerous and not something to laugh about. The government needs to send that message with clarity  that good people dont smoke marijuana.

This year, as President Trumps new attorney general, Sessions said marijuanas effect is only slightly less awful than heroins. (Nearly 13,000 people died from heroin overdoses in 2015, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, while no one has ever been recorded as fatally overdosing on marijuana, the Drug Enforcement Administration says.)

So what does Sessions intend to do now?

He warned four governors in letters released last week that he had serious concerns about the effects of legalization and suggested the states drug detente with the Justice Department was at risk.

The letters were sent to Govs. Jay Inslee of Washington, John Hickenlooper of Colorado, Kate Brown of Oregon (all Democrats) and Bill Walker of Alaska (a left-leaning Independent).

In the similar-sounding letters, Sessions didnt outright tip his hand regarding a possible federal crackdown, leaving government and industry officials to read the letters as tea leaves and interpret them differently. Some supporters of legalized weed are worried, some encouraged  just slightly.

Citing a series of recent federal and state investigations into the impact of pot legalization, Sessions listed repeated breakdowns in security, distribution and the controlled use of marijuana in all four states.

For example, a 2017 state police impact report on Oregons market, Sessions wrote, found that as much as two-thirds of marijuana production occurred in the black market; marijuana-related emergency room visits had soared by 55%; law enforcement was unable to keep pace with out-of-state cannabis diversion  pot grown legally in Oregon then shipped out of state.

Gov. Browns Salem office did not respond to a request for comment, nor did the Juneau office of Gov. Walker.

Sessions asked both Inslee and Hickenlooper  using the same language in separate letters  to prove that all marijuana activity is compliant with state marijuana laws, and told them the impact reports raise serious questions about the efficacy of marijuana regulatory structures in your state.

The attorney general was, in part, responding to a letter sent to him in April co-signed by the four governors urging the administration to continue the Obama administration approach to state marijuana sales  regulate but dont raid. The governors letter also asked the Trump administration to engage with us before embarking on any changes to regulatory and enforcement systems.

Inslee, who is worried about getting into a drug battle with the other Washington, reacted coolly to Sessions letter, saying it relied on incomplete and unreliable data that does not provide the most accurate snapshot of our efforts since the marketplace opened in 2014.

Washington state Atty. Gen. Bob Ferguson said he was disappointed by Sessions letter, and also disappointed that [Sessions] has yet to accept my repeated invitations to meet in person to discuss this critical issue face to face.

Colorados Hickenlooper, however, did meet recently with Sessions and told reporters he didnt think a crackdown was in the works, partly because Sessions has too many other government balls to juggle.

Patrick Rosenstiel, spokesman for the New Federalism Fund  a collection of cannabis firms opposed to federal intervention of the state systems  saw an upside to Sessions letters. The letters suggest a willingness to work with the states, he said in a statement to The Times, but there is still a need for congressional action to provide clarity for officials at the local, state and federal levels.

Sessions had formed an anti-crime task force this year to study the legal marijuana issue. Last week, citing documents obtained from the task force, the Associated Press reported the study group is recommending the U.S. maintain sales oversight but keep its distance.

Critics speculated that was bad news for Sessions, since it would effectively continue the policy instituted under President Obama, guided by standards written by former Deputy Atty. Gen. James M. Cole. The 2013 Cole Memo, as the provisions are referred to, lists rules the states should follow to avoid federal intervention.

They include preventing distribution of cannabis to minors; blocking gangs, cartels or criminal enterprises from worming into the state system; and preventing marijuana shipments to states that havent legalized such sales.

Sessions asked Inslee to outline steps his state is taking to combat diversion of marijuana, to protect public health and safety, and to prevent marijuana use by minors.

Washington weed has been sent to 43 other states, Sessions said, referring to a 2016 impact reports finding on intercepted mail shipments. More than a dozen THC labs (which extract the compound that gives cannabis its euphoric effect) literally exploded in one year alone, Sessions noted, and marijuana-related calls to poison centers soared.

Inslee and Ferguson said, contrary to Sessions claim that 17 THC extraction labs exploded in Washington state in 2014, no licensed extraction business has exploded in three years of sales. The incidents referred to in Sessions letter were black- or gray-market facilities, often using butane in an enclosed space rather than a lab.

In his letter to Hickenlooper, Sessions said interdicted shipments of Colorado weed were headed for 34 other states, and he noted that marijuana-related traffic accidents and deaths were on the rise in Colorado.

Although youth marijuana use declined at the national level for the time period after Colorado enacted recreational marijuana laws, youth use in Colorado increased 20%, Sessions wrote, quoting from an impact report done in conjunction with the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Mason Tvert, a co-director of Colorados 2012 legal marijuana initiative  the first in the nation  saw some promise in Sessions missives. He said he was looking to have a conversation with the governors to learn more about their systems and the ways they can be approved, Tvert said in an interview.

The letters did appear to be a bit off base, and in several instances referred to the way things were but are no longer. But more importantly, the letters did not tell the states they lack the authority to sell marijuana, he said.

Even so, Sessions told Inslee and Hickenlooper that federal law still trumps state regulations.

Congress has determined that marijuana is a dangerous drug and that the illegal distribution and sale of marijuana is a crime, Sessions emphasized. The [Justice] Department remains committed to enforcing the Controlled Substances Act in a manner that efficiently applies our resources to address the most significant threats to public health and safety.

Anderson is a special correspondent.

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Former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio brushed off his recent criminal conviction in federal court as a petty crime and has not said he would seek a pardon from President Trump, despite the pair regularly sharing the stage at political rallies during the 2016 campaign.

In an interview with the Associated Press, the former sheriff of Maricopa County, Ariz., said he was astonished he was found guilty of a crime last week after more than 50 years in law enforcement.

S-U-R-P-R-I-S-E-D, Arpaio said of his conviction on a misdemeanor for defying a court order to stop traffic patrols that targeted immigrants.

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He said he wont rule out running for office again and remains steadfast in his support of Trump.

He can throw me into the swamp and cover me up in garbage, and Id still support him.  Joe Arpaio, on President Trump

I was with him since Day One, and I am with him until the end. I dont ask him for anything. He can throw me into the swamp and cover me up in garbage, and Id still support him, Arpaio said.

The former lawman known for launching immigration crackdowns is set to be sentenced on Oct. 5. The 85-year-old faces up to six months in jail, though attorneys who have followed the case doubt someone his age would be incarcerated.

It has been speculated that Arpaio would seek a pardon from his ally in the White House to have his legal troubles erased. His criminal attorneys have declined to say whether they were seeking relief from the president on Arpaios behalf.

While the former sheriff told the AP that hes fighting his legal battles without Trumps help, Phoenix news station KTVK-TV reported that Arpaio said during an interview he wanted to know why the president wasnt rescuing him.

Somebody ought to ask the president where is he, Arpaio told the station.

Arpaio ardently supported Trump during the presidential campaign. Trump has invoked Arpaios name in his calls for tougher immigration enforcement and used some of the same immigration rhetoric and advocated for tactics that made the longtime Phoenix-area lawman a national name a decade earlier.

He appeared for Trump at rallies in Iowa, Nevada and Arizona, including a huge gathering in the affluent Phoenix suburb where the sheriff lives. Arpaio also gave a speech at the Republican National Convention in which he said Trump would prevent immigrants from sneaking into the country.

Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton in Arizona by 3 1/2 percentage points.

Arpaios attorneys have vowed to appeal the verdict in his case, and the former sheriff said he isnt surrendering. He said the worst legal trouble he had faced were two parking tickets.

Here I am at the end of my career sitting at a defense table in a contempt-of-court case, Arpaio said.

He took solace in the fact his conviction isnt a felony.

Its only a misdemeanor. You can run for anything you want with a misdemeanor. Its a petty crime, Arpaio said.

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North Korea on Wednesday said it has released Korean-Canadian pastor Lim Hyeon-soo for humanitarian reasons.

Lim was arrested in 2015 for alleged crimes against the state -- code for proselytizing -- and sentenced to life in prison with hard labor.

But the North's official Korean Central News Agency said a court ordered Lim's release on sick bail "from the humanitarian viewpoint."
If America continues running a $60-billion annual trade deficit with Mexico, President Trump complained to his south-of-the-border counterpart in a conversation leaked to the Washington Post last week, We will not be the United States anymore.

As an evidentiary matter, Trumps forecast was bonkers, unless you think that 1975the last year the U.S. ran a trade surplusmarked some kind of economic high-water mark, or that the trough in Americanness between 1960 and 1998 coincided neatly with Ronald Reagans second term, when the deficit was highest.

But when it comes to Trumpian apocalypticism, generalized dread matters more than quotidian specifics.

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Candidate Trump, for example, used the we either have a country or we dont formulation on at least two issues: deporting 5 million immigrants in the country illegally, and walling up 2,000 miles of the Mexican border. Although he has since backed away from both positions, the threat of looming civilizational disfigurement apparently remains, and formed the main theme of the presidents big foreign policy speech in Poland last month.

What happens when that civilizational pessimism collides with the American systems architectural impediments to getting stuff done?

The fundamental question of our time is whether the West has the will to survive, Trump warned in Warsaw, darkly. Do we have the confidence in our values to defend them at any cost? Do we have enough respect for our citizens to protect our borders? Do we have the desire and the courage to preserve our civilization in the face of those who would subvert and destroy it?

Its that inward-looking anxiety that distinguishes the blood-and-soil nationalism of Trump, Steve Bannon and Stephen Miller (who helped craft the Warsaw speech and the administrations immigration-restrictionism) from the Cold War confidence of Reagan and the us-vs.-them cockiness of post-9/11 George W. Bush. Its hard to imagine a National Security Council strategic planning director of any other modern president write, as the recently fired Rich Higgins did in a memo in May, that a broad section of the American political spectrum has aligned with Islamist organizations at local, national, and international levels to form a counter-state in which they seamlessly interoperate through coordinated synchronized interactive narratives.

The apocalyptic style is hardly new to American politics: Were used to such howls from wilderness figures such as Pat Buchanan and 1992-era Jerry Brown. More heretofore successful pols, however, found ways to signal to their friends in the media that populist demagoguery is just a mask to be worn during primary season. Sure, the Hillary Clintons of the world would campaign against free trade, but in our hearts we knew theyd flip-flop. Part of the collective shudder of revulsion you can experience daily from the national press comes from the fact that Trump and the Bannonites appear to actually mean it.

The style is also thriving on the left. Bernie Sanders, with his daily calls for revolution and relentless barking about oligarchy, amply demonstrates that apocalyptic politics is not just for the alt-right. Insincere base-pandering is out, apologetics for true-believer hyperbole is in.

Its not hard to see why. Adding to the disrepute of what the Bernie-ites call neoliberals and the Trumpists deride as globalists is 16 years of objectively lousy results from the allegedly grown-up center: anemic economic growth, botched government interventions, driftless war. Indeed, many of the same characters loudly bemoaning both Trumpism and BernienomicsJohn Kasich, anyone?cheered on the Iraq War and the 2008 financial bailouts, while agitating for even more military saber-rattling abroad. They are generally too busy delivering lectures on civility to acknowledge their own role in fertilizing the field for the prophets of gloom, often by overhyping various existential threats to the American way of life.

Yet that doesnt make the Bannonites right that the modern world is a shadowy cabal in which top politicians collude with international banks to plot the destruction of U.S. sovereignty in order to enrich these global financial powers. Measures designed to reduce trade deficitsincluding tariffs or border taxeshave an almost unblemished record of making Americans worse off than they would have been. Choking off legal immigration flows is a surefire way to get more of the illegal variety.

But what really sears is the insecurity of it all. Trump, Bannon, et al, lost faith in America right before gaining at least partial power to steer its fortunes. They worry that this 241-year-old experiment in self-governance lacks the mettle and might to withstand the combined forces of stateless Islamists, faceless Eurocrats and second-world strivers.

What happens when that civilizational pessimism collides with the American systems architectural impediments to getting stuff done? Early signs point to recriminations, paranoid finger-pointing and not a small amount of panic at being exposed as yet another administration to not deliver on its promises to the base.

I have to have Mexico pay for the wall, Trump beseeched Pena Nieto, within his first month in office. I have to. From the nationalist finally brave enough to take on Mexico, to the politico begging its president for a way to save face: No wonder Trumps insecure.

Matt Welch is editor at large of Reason, a magazine published by the libertarian Reason Foundation, and a contributing writer to Opinion.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion or Facebook

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After barely surviving her confirmation battle and facing sporadic protests during visits to schools, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos could hardly have teed up a more fraught, emotional and divisive issue to launch her tenure: campus sexual assault.

Though almost no one is happy with the Obama administrations efforts to prod colleges and universities to more aggressively combat and investigate sexual assault on campus, there is little agreement on how to make things better.

Alleged survivors, accused perpetrators and even school officials all complain that the current system isnt working.

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DeVos raised eyebrows with her outreach last month to students who say they have been falsely accused of assault. These students, mostly men, say the Obama rules have pushed schools to create a process that is stacked against them.

Campus administrators say the guidelines created unrealistic expectations, forcing them to effectively take sides even in cases where the facts are unclear, and to perform a prosecutorial role, often without proper training.

Even victims advocates say the current system has fallen short, leading some schools  eager to protect their reputations and avoid the mandatory reporting and investigatory process triggered by the rules  to discourage students from reporting sexual assaults.

Now theres a virtual race to gain DeVos ear as she gathers information for what might be an overhaul of the Obama-era rules.

Obama released a series of guidelines in 2011 and 2014, detailing how colleges and universities should handle cases of sexual assault. Failure to comply with the rules  which provided an updated interpretation and enforcement of the anti-discrimination rule known as Title IX  may result in a review by the Education Departments Office for Civil Rights and a loss of federal funding.

[We] still see this knee-jerk reaction that theres something wrong with the student who actually made the complaint.  Fatima Goss Graves, president, National Womens Law Center

Although the guidance helped increase attention and resources devoted to the issue, victims groups say some problems persist, including difficulty in reaching a schools Title IX coordinator, lack of proper notice or information regarding an investigation and sometimes a reluctance to confront the problem.

[We] still see this knee-jerk reaction that theres something wrong with the student who actually made the complaint, said Fatima Goss Graves, president of the National Womens Law Center.

She and others worry that DeVos may scale back the federal rules or make the complaint process more burdensome for accusers.

The last thing we need is for DeVos and her point person for civil rights [Assistant Secretary Candice Jackson] to get out there and start saying things that imply you can come forward but youre going to face a really big mountain trying to get anything done, California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra said in an interview. He and 19 other attorneys general signed a letter in July urging DeVos to maintain the Obama-era guidelines.

The shame that comes from being a victim and having nothing being done to the perpetrator would drive people back into the closet, he said.

Jackson came under fire in July when she said in a New York Times article that 90% of accusations fall into the category of we were both drunk, we broke up. She later apologized for the statement, but victims advocacy groups say her remarks fueled concern that the department is not committed to protecting alleged survivors.

Their concerns with the current administration started early in DeVos tenure when she refused to guarantee she would maintain the current guidelines and signed off on rescinding Title IX protections for transgender students.

On the other hand, those who are accused of sexual assault say they are battling a system that seems to presume they are guilty. They complain they are often kept in the dark about what information an investigator has and are unsure who can assist them in defending themselves.

They are hopeful DeVos will raise the standard of evidence now used by school administrators from one that requires a preponderance of evidence  meaning it is more than 50% likely that sexual violence occurred  to something similar to clear and convincing evidence.

They also want to remove what some campus officials say is pressure to find someone responsible for the assault. The rules say a school should make a recommendation one way or the other within 60 days. Thats often difficult in cases in which even police cant make a determination due to a lack of evidence and witnesses.

Before the Office for Civil Rights got really ramped up on this issue, we were really precooked to make errors in the direction of no responsibility, said Janet Halley, a Harvard University law professor who publicly criticized the schools policy. We needed to change. But now weve passed the midpoint where were trying to be fair to all students.

In some ways, the department under DeVos has already relaxed the Obama rules. Jackson has announced that the department will no longer be required to automatically review three years of a schools past data and filings on sexual assaults after it receives a complaint of mishandling a case.

Higher education officials said fear about such federal reviews has led to concerns about being labeled as a school that doesnt take sexual assault seriously.

Many schools say they have been confused by the current guidance, according to Dana Scaduto, general counsel at Dickinson College in Pennsylvania.

She suggested that the government stop focusing on a one size fits all solution and recognize that schools need to have the same responsibility for fairly and impartially resolving situations but that might look different on different campuses.

Some argue that campus activism and pressure from students, who are largely credited with bringing attention to the issue under the Obama administration, will encourage colleges and universities to maintain current practices, regardless of what DeVos does.

Brett Sokolow, executive director of the Assn. of Title IX Administrators, which provides professional guidance to campuses, recommends schools stay the course.

Title IX has a 45-year trajectory. During that time, it has waxed and waned, he said. This is a period where for four or eight years its going to wane somewhat in federal emphasis.

Lauren.Rosenblatt@latimes.com

Twitter: @LRosenblatt_

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Congressional candidate Katie Hill was sitting around a kitchen table with a local activist group last spring when one of the attendees asked her a question: Will she have to soft pedal her stance on any issues to unseat Republican Rep. Steve Knight in the 25th District?

The progressive Democrat started to answer, then paused to ask a person livestreaming the meeting on Facebook: This isnt going to be something that Im going to be blasted all over Facebook for, right?

After getting assurances that the video would only be available to a private group, Hill said one of the issues she cant discuss directly is single-payer healthcare.

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I shouldnt go into the district and talk about single-payer, right? Like, that word by itself is going to be something that just immediately turns off a lot of people, Hill said. But, if I talk about how we need to make sure that everybody has access to healthcare and that its affordable for everybody and how having a government option [is needed] at the very least, that is something people can really get behind. Its more about the way we talk about things than being very far apart on issues.

The video, which was posted online to the storage site Dropbox and shared with the Los Angeles Times this week, shows the delicate line some Democratic candidates are walking as the national party goes after the more than 30 seats it needs to win back control of the House. The idea of a single-payer healthcare system, in which the government pays for a base level of healthcare for all citizens, has been growing in popularity in party circles since it became a major policy plank in Sen. Bernie Sanders campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. But it remains a nonstarter for many conservatives and is unlikely to catch on in a Republican-controlled Congress and White House.

The path to a House Democratic majority goes through the seven California Republican-held districts that backed Hillary Clinton in 2016. That includes places such as the 25th District, where voters have sent Republicans to Congress for decades, but Democrats have a 3-percentage-point voter registration lead and voters there chose Clinton by nearly 7 percentage points in 2016.

Hill said in an interview that she believes the country will eventually have single-payer healthcare, but using the term puts off people in a district with a large number of conservative voters. Hill said she asked whether the video  shot during a May 2 gathering for the liberal activist group Indivisible  would be widely shared, because talking to a liberal group is different from talking to the general public.

Look, is it the best idea to be talking about the strategy for how we frame conversations? Probably I wouldnt be advised thats what I should say, Hill said.

Hill has spoken publicly about her wish for every person to have healthcare and about paying out of pocket for her teenage brothers drug addiction treatment. But she said achieving a single-payer healthcare system shouldnt be prioritized over working for healthcare solutions in the interim, including practical fixes to the system that both sides can embrace.

It comes down to having nuanced discussions, Hill said. As purple districts, we have the opportunity to say, No, we cant have these binary conversations.

Healthcare is expected to be a key issue in the 2018 contests.

Democrats are already lambasting GOP lawmakers, including Knight, for backing their partys House healthcare bill in May. Knight has said it was a tough vote, but he thinks it was the right bill to address changes needed to the Affordable Care Act, and he isnt worried about Democrats using it against him.

At the same time, some have threatened to make support for single-payer healthcare a litmus test for Democrats. Our Revolution, a political group inspired by Sanders, threatened primary challenges this week against Democrats who arent vocal about it.

Former Ohio state Sen. Nina Turner, president of Our Revolution, told Politico, Were not going to accept no more hemming and hawing. No more game playing. Make your stand.

Backers of single-payer healthcare in California are also trying to recall Democratic Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon because he shelved a bill to create a state system earlier this year.

But the National Republican Congressional Committee is trying to use single-payer healthcare against Democrats. Just last week, it went after another Democrat in the race against Knight, Bryan Caforio, over whether he supports a single-payer system. He has said for months that he does, although Caforio, like Hill, doesnt use the phrase. Hes more likely to refer to Medicare for all.

This is a universal human rights issue, and Im going to talk about that in the district, Caforio said.

Caforio lost to Knight in 2016 by 6 percentage points. Three other Democrats have announced challenges, but Caforio and Hill have an early fundraising lead.

sarah.wire@latimes.com

Follow @sarahdwire on Twitter

Read more about the 55 members of Californias delegation at latimes.com/politics

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Updates on California politics
Gov. Jerry Brown again is trying to save Democratic legislators from their leftist selves. This time hes stopping them from protecting criminals.

The governor finally has spoken out unequivocally regarding the Democrats so-called sanctuary state legislation.

What hes saying makes sense: Sure, help the people who migrated here illegally but are contributing positively to the state. But corral the crooks and deport them.

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Heres how Brown put it on NBCs Meet the Press Sunday:

We want to be very understanding of people who have come to our state, have worked in our economy, often for decades, picking our food, working in our restaurants, working in high-tech industry. The whole range of what constitutes the life of California has been contributed to by many of these immigrants that are not documented.

And we want to make sure we help them to the extent that the law of California can coexist with the law of the United States.

But, the governor continued: It is a balancing act. It does require some sensitivity. And thats why I take a more nuanced and careful approach to dealing with what is a difficult problem.

Because you do have people who are not here legally. Theyve committed crimes. They have no business in the United States in the manner in which theyve come and conducted themselves subsequently.

Brown had been asked about SB 54, authored by Senate leader Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles). It would extend to the entire state many of the protections that already exist in so-called sanctuary cities and counties, including Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco. It also would strengthen those protections.

The bill would severely limit state and local cops ability to help federal agents enforce immigration laws. Thats fine. State and local tax money should not be spent on enforcing federal laws. California already has plenty of laws essentially going unenforced because there arent enough police to do it.

But the problem with SB 54 is that it would also help convicted criminals, who are here illegally, avoid U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

Under the bill, state prison officials and local jailers could notify the feds about the pending release of an inmate here illegally only if hed been convicted of a serious or violent felony. If he were about to be freed after serving time for a lesser offense, ICE couldnt be informed unless the guy previously had been convicted of a serious or violent felony.

That excludes a bunch of other crimes, such as burglary, human trafficking, assault on a police officer, sexual battery, spousal abuse, soliciting a murder and drunk driving while causing severe injury.

As written, this bill protects criminals and jeopardizes public safety, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown told reporters on a conference call Tuesday. Hes president of the California State Sheriffs Assn., which strongly opposes the bill.

It provides sanctuaries to criminals, he asserted.

Gov. Brown objects to the sanctuary tag, as does De Leon  adamantly.

That bill does not declare California a sanctuary state, the governor insisted on Meet the Press.

Asked to explain, Brown responded: Well, as a former seminarian, I have a very clear image of the sanctuary. Its in a church. It conjures up medieval sanctuary places.

The goal here is to block and not to collaborate with abuse of federal power. Thats the goal.

Updates from Sacramento 

OK, sanctuary is not a precise and perfect handle. But its much closer to reality than De Leons spin-tag: the California Values Act.

Right now, the bill has Willie Horton written all over it. Willie Horton was a convicted murderer, a black man who raped a pregnant white woman and tortured her fiance while on a furlough from a Massachusetts prison. Michael S. Dukakis was the governor, which voters were reminded of by George H.W. Bush in an odorous TV ad when the two ran for president in 1988.

Closer to home, theres the 2015 fatal shooting in San Francisco of Kate Steinle, 32, by a Mexican national who had served three federal prison terms for felony reentry into the country. The shooter had been under the San Francisco sheriffs custody on a drug charge. He was released without federal agents being notified, although theyd asked to be. This was a sanctuary city, after all.

Brown, De Leon and the sheriffs say theyve been trying to reach a compromise.

But they havent been trying very hard recently. Sacramento currently is in slumber mode. The Legislature is off on its summer vacation. Nothings happening.

Frantic chaos will return when the Legislature reconvenes Aug. 21. Then the lawmakers will have four weeks to pass their bills before they adjourn for the year.

The sanctuary bill already has zipped through the Senate and two Assembly committees on party-line votes. The measures next hurdle is the Assembly Appropriations Committee, an easy leap. Then therell be the Assembly floor vote. A simple majority is all thats required.

But unless the criminal coddling is removed, Brown wont sign the bill.

He has been rerouting Democrats from their leftward drifts for years, principally on spending and borrowing. But he also deserves credit for tacitly encouraging Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount) to wisely stomp on a sloppy, prohibitively expensive single-payer universal healthcare bill that the Senate irresponsibly passed.

Fixing the sanctuary state bill should be a no-brainer. Protect the good law-abiders. Help the feds boot the bad guys.

george.skelton@latimes.com

Follow @LATimesSkelton on Twitter

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How many false statements did Trump make in his interview with the Wall Street Journal? We count at least five

(Carolyn Kaster / Associated Press)

The Wall Street Journal didnt release the full transcript of the interview its reporters and editors had last week with President Trump, but when Politico obtained a copy and published it, the interview quickly drew attention for several false statements Trump made.

The one that immediately gained notoriety was Trumps claim that after his speech at the Boy Scout Jamboree last week, I got a call from the head of the Boy Scouts saying it was the greatest speech that was ever made to them.

On Wednesday, the Boy Scouts of America released a statement saying we are unaware of any such call. The Scouts specifically said that neither the organizations president, AT&T chairman Randall Stephenson, nor its chief executive, Mike Surbaugh, had made such a call.

In fact, Surbaugh last week issued an unprecedented apology for a presidential speech  Scouts have heard from presidents back to Franklin D. Roosevelt  saying he was sorry that some members of the scouting community had been offended by Trumps partisanship, language and tone.

In the daily White House press briefing, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that other Boy Scout leaders, whom she did not name, had complimented Trump after his speech.

That wasnt the only call to come into question recently. A few days after the Journal interview, Trump said that Mexicos president, Enrique Pena Nieto, had paid him the ultimate compliment by calling and telling him that their southern border, very few people are coming because they know theyre not going to get through our border.

The Mexican government press office issued a statement Wednesday denying that.

Pena Nieto has not had recent telephone communication with President Donald Trump, the statement said.

Sanders said that Pena Nieto did compliment Trump, but in a personal conversation, not a telephone call.

I wouldnt say it was a lie, she said of Trumps statements.

Other false statements involved broader factual matters.

Were the highest-taxed nation in the world, Trump said  a statement that he has repeatedly made and which has repeatedly been debunked. Whether measured by the top tax rate or the overall percentage of national income which is taxed, the U.S. has lower taxes than most of its chief economic competitors.

Trump may have been thinking about the U.S. corporate tax rate, which is higher than most developed countries, although not the highest. Yet few companies actually pay that top rate given various tax deductions, credits and exemptions.

Trump also said I honestly believe for six months, I have done more than just about any other president when you look at all of the bills that were passed, 42, 43.

Thats untrue. Many of Trumps predecessors had signed more legislation, and nearly all recent ones had signed more significant measures by this point in their tenures.

Jimmy Carter had signed 70 bills into law by this point, Bill Clinton 50. Franklin D. Roosevelt had 76 in just his first 100 days.

About one-third of the bills Trump has signed have been ceremonial measures, such as renaming courthouses.

Referring to his top economic advisor, Gary Cohn, Trump said Gary wrote a check for $200 million when he entered the government. He had to pay $200 million in tax.

Trump has said that before, including in a speech in June. Its false.

Cohn owned about $220 million in Goldman Sachs stock when he resigned as the banks president to become the head of Trumps National Economic Council. He sold the stock to minimize conflicts of interest, as most appointees do. But he certainly didnt have to pay $200 million in tax on that sale.

In fact, its likely Cohn hasnt paid any tax so far. He may never have to.

Federal law allows appointees to government positions to defer any tax they owe on assets that they sell to avoid conflicts. The law requires that they put the proceeds of the sale into neutral investments such as Treasury securities. If his securities go up in value, Cohn might have to pay tax on that gain. The top tax rate on capital gains is 20%.

Trump also repeated a false claim about his defeated rival from the election, Hillary Clinton.

Real crimes are what Hillary did with 33,000 emails, where she deleted them and bleached them after getting a subpoena.

Trump made that claim more than once during the campaign, and more recently on Twitter.

He is correct that Clinton deleted 33,000 emails from the private server she used for her messages while she was secretary of State. She says that all of those deleted emails were personal and that she had no obligation to keep them. No one has come up with evidence to the contrary.

The evidence from the FBIs investigation of the emails shows that in December 2014, after she turned over about 30,000 work-related emails to the State Department, Clintons aides told the company that managed the server to delete the rest of the emails. The emails were subpoenaed about three months later, on March 4.

The company didnt actually do the deletion until later in March, but theres been no evidence that Clinton knew about the delay at the time or that the company knew the messages were under subpoena.

In any case, the FBI declined to recommend prosecution, contrary to Trumps assertion that Clinton committed real crimes.

A poll released Wednesday by Quinnipiac University asked Americans if they believe Trump is honest. By 62% to 34%, a majority said no.

12:30 p.m.: This article was updated with comments by White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
A proposal for 28 artist work/live units in Laguna Canyon received unanimous approval Wednesday from the California Coastal Commission.

In a 9-0 vote, commissioners gave the green light to sculptor Louis Longi and business partner Chris Dornin to build two, two-story structures connected by a common deck across 20412 and 20432 Laguna Canyon Road. The combined parcels are just under an acre.

For a community that prides itself on being an art colony, and being a good place for artists to live, nothing more exemplifies that than having living and working space, Commissioner Carole Groom said.

Longi and Dornin adjusted the plan from a previous rendition that called for 30 units and included cantilevered decks on the rear of structures closest to Laguna Canyon Creek, which were eliminated from the current plan.

Units will range from 500 square feet to one 1,616 square-foot unit. Building heights will stretch 36 feet above grade with pitched roofs. Eight of the units will be reserved for low-income tenants, and one will go to a moderate-income tenant.

We need large spaces to work, Longi told commissioners. I have to use large-scale lifts. Its one of the only areas we have left.

Proponents hailed the project as offering much-needed housing for priced-out artists.

Artist Jorg Dubin said hes been living and working in Laguna since 1976.

Laguna Beachs cultural heritage is based on the arts community, Dubin said. Every year that is getting eroded because of the economic costs of living in town.

Opponents said they wanted the buildings moved farther than 25 feet from the center of Laguna Canyon Creek and that the projects size violated standards of the Laguna Canyon Annexation Area Specific Plan, which requires development to be small-scale and rural in nature.

Most everyone that is opposed to the project has some relationship to artists, said attorney Julie Hamilton, who represented Friends of the Canyon, which sued the commission in March 2015 because of the panels approval of Longis project in January 2015. Most everyone supports the artist live/work concept. This is not the right place for this density.

Resident Jackie Gallagher, one of the Friends of the Canyon members, offered another suggestion for providing artists housing: so-called accessory dwelling units, commonly known as granny flats, guest houses or casitas.

We can spread them throughout the canyon, and the density would stay the same, Gallagher said.

In December Orange County Superior Court Judge Kim Dunning ordered the commission to rehear the matter and revoked a coastal development permit the panel granted in 2015.

In a September hearing, Dunning ruled that commissioners failed to prove that plans for the complex would satisfy setback requirements for the creek, and that the structures were not small enough in scale for the area.

She also considered the January hearing an unfair process because six of 10 commissioners did not properly disclose private communications with developers, but still voted on the project.

As a condition of approval Longi must submit a five-year habitat restoration plan that includes removing non-native vegetation on the property, including the banks and stream bed of the creek. The project includes a 504-square-foot retail art gallery and a 45-stall parking garage.

bryce.alderton@latimes.com

Twitter: @AldertonBryce
North Korea's rapidly advancing nuclear and missile programs could spark an arms race in Northeast Asia and have a nuclear domino effect on South Korea and Japan.

Already there are mounting calls for nuclear armament from conservative South Korean politicians.

The New York Times on Tuesday quoted Japan's 2017 defense white paper as stating, "It is possible that North Korea has already achieved the miniaturization of nuclear weapons and has acquired nuclear warheads."
Its been another interesting week of reader response as I continue delving into the appointment process for municipal boards and commissions.

Though this week my focus is on Newport Beach, I began looking into this subject three weeks ago, and again last week, suggesting the process in both Newport and Costa Mesa could use more applicant background scrutiny.

For the record: An earlier version of this article stated that Lynn Gosselin and David Granoff applied for commission appointments in the same year. In fact, their applications were a year apart.

Looking over applications these past weeks, it seems there are more qualified people applying for these positions in both cities than there are available openings

Truth be told, these are political appointments. Only the naive would believe theyre based solely on merit.

Like it or not, politics weigh heavily in this game, and winning an appointment is largely based on how well-connected you are.

If youre looking for fairness in politics, youre bound to be disappointed.

As was Newporter Lynn Gosselin, who recently lost her 2017 bid for the Parks, Beaches & Recreation Commission.

Gosselin called foul on what Newport Councilwoman Diane Dixon claimed in my last column.

Dixon told me that through her efforts with Women in Newport Networking, or WINN, shed hope to get more women applying for commission and board positions.

Gosselin, who has attended a WINN event, wondered then why Dixon hadnt voted for her or any of the female applicants for the parks commission?

But should these appointments be made with gender bias in mind?

One could argue that Dixon opened the door here, giving female applicants false hope.

Gosselin wasnt happy that, a year earlier, David Granoff received an appointment but she couldnt when Dixon was aiming to help women win appointments.

Needless to say, I was appalled when City Council filled the only open position on the committee with a man with a questionable background, Gosselin says. I came away from the whole process completely disgusted by current city politics.

She tells me she wont reapply.

The questionable background to which she refers is an incident in 2005 involving Granoff and neighbors who hired a bulldozer to lower city sand dunes in front of their oceanfront homes in order to improve their views. Though the homeowners admitted no wrongdoing, they were required to pay $225,000 in fines and have the dunes restored.

On June 13, Newport Beach resident Jonathan Pedersen addressed the City Council, saying he was concerned that Granoffs application made no mention of the incident involving the bulldozed dunes.

The very first question asked, Have you ever been convicted of any crime or any violation of any law or statute other than minor traffic violations? Mr. Granoff checked no, according to a copy of Pedersens comments to the council.

Now Granoff wasnt charged or convicted of a crime or violation, so his decision not to check the box is honest, but I would argue that there should be a place on the city applications so that issues like this can be disclosed.

About a week later, on June 20, Granoff sent an email to council members in reply to Pedersens statements.

Approximately 12 years ago a group of neighbors, including myself, assumed responsibility for the leveling of sand dunes seaward of our residences, Granoff wrote. In discussion with the California Coastal Commission (CCC) we were informed that these and the surrounding areas were deemed Environmental Sensitive Habitat Area (ESHA) and the sand and habitat in this area are fragile and environmentally important Coastal resources.

We learned of the sensitivity and importance of this area and the dunes for the protection of various threatened and endangered bird and plant species. We worked with the CCC, their staff, and biologists to restore the dunes and plant life. The CCC acknowledged our efforts and stated, The restoration that occurred here is one of the most successful we have seen enhancing some of the rarest coastal habitats on the southern California coast. 

Now, had I not read the complete Coastal Commission report  and just Granoffs email  Id tend to believe this wasnt any big deal.

But thats not my takeaway after reading the report.

This was a very big deal and a blatant disregard for city policy since homeowner requests to have the dunes removed by the city were previously denied.

And this wasnt the first time they were stopped attempting to have dunes removed.

Granted, the incident took place years ago, and Granoff has made restitution, but was he really the right choice for commissioner when there were other equally qualified applicants without bulldozer baggage?

Which brings me back to the original point in this series of columns about how applicants really need to be vetted.

You can see Granoffs application at bit.ly/2uHnMnY and the complete CCC case document at bit.ly/2vnOG5Z.

Researching this appointment issue these past weeks, several things became clear to me:

Undoubtedly the application process has flaws.

Its not fair, unless youre the one chosen for the position.

And theres plenty of room for improvement here.

BARBARA VENEZIA lives in Newport Beach. She can be reached at bvontv1@gmail.com.
Glendale police are investigating a fatal pedestrian-involved collision that occurred last week and left one person dead.

Two women, ages 63 and 85, were crossing in an unmarked crosswalk on North Columbus Avenue near Palm Drive sometime around 8:15 p.m. on Aug. 2 when a vehicle traveling south on Columbus struck them.

Both women suffered serious injuries and were transported to a nearby hospital.

The 85-year-old died from her injuries, according to Tahnee Lightfoot, a spokeswoman for the Glendale Police Department.

The 63-year-old remains in the hospital in stable condition.

Lightfoot said the driver of the car, a 28-year-old woman, remained at the scene after the collision.

The woman is considered at fault for failing to yield to the two pedestrians. Lightfoot added that speed, alcohol and drugs are not considered factors in the collision.

The incident remains under investigation.

andy.nguyen@latimes.com

Twitter: @Andy_Truc
Lets talk about the millenniums of Armenian history, which are also the worlds history and American Armenian history. This history can be seen through American philanthropists aiding in the recovery from the Armenian Genocide, American politics carving Wilsonian Armenia and Americans fighting for Armenians.

The perpetrators of the Armenian Genocide tried everything to be forgotten and to deny their crime against humanity and civilization. Armenians have been a part of the silenced world for the past century although the genocide was very much witnessed and widely reported by the world. Now scholars, journalists, writers, truth defenders and honorable world diplomats attempt to resurface historical truth. We must bring Wilsonian Armenia on the worlds map.

Without Armenians in U.S. history, American Armenian history could unravel and lose this aspect of humanity from history and also the kindness of the American soul behind history.

Americans honor is now found in writing the chapters of Armenian impact in American history. After Ambassador Henry Morgenthau reported the Armenian Genocide to President Woodrow Wilson, Americans responded by bringing the massacres to light. President Wilson proceeded to create the first ever humanitarian response campaign, the Near East Relief Foundation. The American missionaries intervened and attempted to stop the genocide violence by taking care of the orphaned Armenian children and trying to be their guardians.

No history of the 20th century can ignore the deep and direct relationships with intimate interactions, involvements and historical friendship between the two nations.

Armenians are inside old American books, archives and newspapers, struggling for the dust to come off. Historic books and stories should be stocked on the bookshelves with other top-selling books.

Rachel Melikian

Glendale
July 24

Burglary, residence: 900 block of Green Lane. Deputies responded to an alarm call at around 9:13 p.m. and saw a back door leading to a kitchen had been shattered, with two pillows placed outside and inside the door. Numerous rooms had dressers with empty and opened drawers. During a walk-through, a property manager said the residence would soon be used as a treatment center for substance abuse victims, adding that nothing was likely taken as the new TVs and computers were all accounted for.

July 27

Burglary, residence: 4200 block of Oakwood Avenue. Responding to an audible alarm call at 9:34 p.m., deputies arrived on scene and found the large glass window of a side door had been shattered and left ajar. Inside, only two dresser drawers appeared to have been slightly opened. Nothing else seemed disturbed. The homeowner said hed left his home on July 21 at 8 a.m. and had secured all doors and windows.

July 28

Grand theft: 900 block of Monarch Drive. A large blue steel trash container, measuring 8 feet wide and 22 feet long, that had been delivered to the property the day before at 2:30 p.m. was missing when construction employees returned to the property at around 7 a.m. that day. Surveillance footage showed a white heavy-duty truck approach the property at around 4:40 a.m. The truck had no bed and appeared to be designed specifically for Dumpster transportation.

Petty theft: 900 block of Foothill Boulevard. A woman told deputies she was shopping a a grocery store at around 3 p.m. when someone stole her wallet, containing her license, credit cards and an unspecified amount of cash, from inside her purse. When she went to pay for the groceries at around 3:45 p.m. she noticed the theft. An off-site loss prevention company said theyd review surveillance footage.

July 29

Petty theft: 4400 block of Rockland Place. A man left for work at around 2:30 p.m. the day before, leaving his truck parked outside with the window opened. When he returned that day at around 8 a.m., he saw the passenger door was ajar and his pink slip and vehicle registration had been taken from the glove compartment. Some paperwork was left outside the truck, while more was found in bushes outside a neighboring house. A license plate for another vehicle was also recovered from the bushes.

July 31

Taking vehicle without owners consent; reasonable cause burglary; possession of a controlled substance, hypodermic needle; felon in possession of tear gas; driving on a suspended license; possession of burglary tools: Angeles Crest Highway at Salisbury Court. Deputies were driving southbound on Angeles Crest at around 5 p.m., when a white 1994 Honda Civic driving in front of them suspiciously pulled off to the side of the road. A check of the vehicles plate returned information that it had been reported stolen by the Los Angeles Police Department. A felony traffic stop was conducted and the driver detained. Inside the vehicle, deputies recovered a metal container with a white substance resembling methamphetamine, two Social Security cards and credit cards belonging to other people, an iPod, cellphone, pepper spray, jewelry box and several watches. A digital camera, a bag containing collectible pins, two bags of collectible coins and a used hypodermic needle were also recovered. A backpack filled with burglary tools  a mini sledgehammer, a crescent wrench multi-tool, wrenches, scissors and knives  was also found inside the vehicle. A locking briefcase containing a wallet, memory stick, binoculars, nunchucks, two decorative pens and a red leather organizer was retrieved from the front passenger side floor. The owner of the vehicle said in a phone call hed left his vehicle at a Shell Station in Sunland so it could be serviced. Hed returned that day to pick it up and was informed it had been stolen. He confirmed none of the items found inside the car belonged to him. The vehicle was released to him in as-is condition. The suspect, identified in the report as 27-year-old Palmdale resident Cody Wilson, who was driving on a suspended license and was a registered felon, was arrested and booked at the Crescenta Valley Sheriffs Station.

Identity theft: 700 block of Starlight Heights Drive. A woman said shed recently learned someone had submitted her and her husbands personal information to the IRS in a request for information. She said her husbands company had experienced a data breach, where someone had gained access to employee information. A July 18 IRS letter notified the woman of the information request.

Grand theft: 1400 block of Verdugo Boulevard. A woman reported sometime between May 26 and that day, someone stole her silver and gold Rolex watch. She said she believes it may have been taken by a friend or neighbor whod helped her pack in a move from La Canada to North Hollywood.

sara.cardine@latimes.com

Twitter: @SaraCardine
The deadline for candidates wishing to run for one of three seats on the La Canada Unified School District Governing Board is next Wednesday, Aug. 16, at 5 p.m.

New board members will be chosen by district voters in a Nov. 7 election. So far, only two candidates have expressed their intention to run  incumbent and current board President Dan Jeffries filed papers on July 28, according to the Los Angeles County Registrars Office, while Vice President Kaitzer Puglia submitted papers on Tuesday.



For the record: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that qualified candidates must reside in La Canada Flintridge. Candidates must reside within La Canada Unifieds boundaries.

Joe Radabaugh, who serves on the board of directors for the La Canada Flintridge Educational Foundation and applied for appointment to an open seat on the La Canada Flintridge City Council last month, had pulled papers Wednesday but had yet to file by press time.

The three open seats are currently held by Jeffries, Puglia and David Sagal, who announced at a July 18 meeting he would not seek re-election to the governing board.

While board members typically serve four-year terms, a state law mandating municipal elections be consolidated with county elections may alter term lengths in the upcoming election cycle.

Qualified candidates must be 18 years or older and reside within La Canada Unifieds boundaries. More information on upcoming elections and candidate filing can be obtained through the Los Angeles County Office of Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk by calling (800) 815-2666 or visiting lavote.net.

sara.cardine@latimes.com

Twitter: @SaraCardine
Los Angeles Times columnist Cecil Smith reported in the Aug. 22, 1973, edition:

Novelist Truman Capote has been in Hollywood playing (of all things) comedy sketches at CBS on the Sonny & Cher Show. ...

Capote was called onstage to play the British admiral doing battle with the French. In his most piping screech, he yelled: Wheres the mizzen mast? To which a sailor shrugged: I dont know. How long has it been mizzen?

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I was curious as to what motivates a writer of the stature of Capote, certainly one of the most important literary figures of the century, to play the fool for the glory of toilet bowl and armpits and other objects sacred to television.

Ive always liked Sonny and Cher, said Capote over some dry Manhattans at the Hotel Bel-Air. Ive never done anything like this and I thought it might be fun.""I suppose I did it because I was asked.

This photo by staff photographer Cal Montney was published on the Aug. 22, 1973, View section front page. The skit with Capote appeared in the Oct. 3, 1973, CBS broadcast of The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour.

This post was originally published on Dec. 19, 2012.

See more from the Los Angeles Times archives here
John Phillips, a Washington-based election consultant, had been working with Kenyas opposition during a tense election when he was seized by a dozen plainclothes police Friday night, just days after the murder and torture of a key election official.

The agents, who did not identify themselves but claimed to be acting on the orders of the countrys leadership, dragged Phillips, founder and chief executive of Aristotle Inc., from his apartment, bundled him into the back of a hatchback car and sped off. A colleague, Canadian Andreas Katsouris, was arrested at the same time and placed in the back seat of another car, which sped off in another direction.

Kenyan Interior Ministry spokesman Mwenda Njoka confirmed the deportation of Phillips and Katsouris on the grounds they breached the conditions of their visa.

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From his place in the car, Phillips was able to peer over the back seat. What he saw terrified him.

Four plainclothes police were in the car, all armed with pistols, and one of them passed a machine gun from the front seat to the back. He saw a piece of rope and a military-style helmet. One of the men was playing a video on his phone that depicted torture and killings.

Phillips wondered if the man was replaying footage of past killings and torture that the group had carried out, in a country where political figures and whistle-blowers are sometimes slain.

His mind was racing. Perhaps the man could even be watching video of the killings of Chris Msando, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission official responsible for information technology and data transmission, and a female companion. Both had been abducted and strangled to death about a week earlier.

In one scene playing, he saw a naked body being dragged behind a car.

The police agents drove the car to a rural area, and at one point turned down a quiet road.

What was frightening was that they pulled down a side road. I thought, This is it. Theyre going to shoot me and dump my body.

Phillips was employed by the Kenyan opposition coalition, the National Super Alliance, and its leader and presidential candidate, Raila Odinga, to advise measures to ensure a transparent election and a fair vote count. It helped the opposition set up a system to conduct its own election tally that could be used to compare with the official tally.

The treatment Phillips received and the seizure of his laptop were unusual for a visa matter. Phillips and Katsouris had arrived on a tourist visa and applied for a business visa while in the country.

We were told that the decision to abduct us came from the top, from Kenyatta or Ruto, Phillips said, referring to President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto. Wed been invited by  Raila Odinga to work on election transparency and campaign management.

Njoka, the Interior Ministry spokesman, said the order did not come from Kenyatta or Odinga but was made by Interior Minister Fred Matiangi. He had no details about Phillips seizure.

I dont have the details as to whether they were taken straight to the airport or whether they were delayed. There could have been a traffic jam or something, Njoka said.

The deportation of the consultants comes amid a sensitive election in a nation with a history of flawed votes, disputed results and ethnic violence. In 2008, up to 1,500 people died when ethnic violence flared after the disputed 2007 election.

Phillips and Katsouris had been assisting Odinga for about two months. Like opposition officials, they were occasionally tailed. Around 8 p.m. Friday, some dozen men burst into Phillips apartment. Katsouris was seized on his way to dinner.

There was a lot of shouting. I was saying, Who are you? and Get out, and I demanded to speak to the U.S. embassy.

They grabbed his laptop, handcuffed him, lifted him up, bundled him downstairs and put him in the back seat of a car.

Then they said, We are doing this the Kenyan way, and took me out and tossed me into what they called the boot, or the trunk.

That same night, an opposition election tally center was raided by masked men and computers were seized. The government and police have denied any raid on the center.

Phillips was driven around Nairobi for around three and a half or four hours. He had no way to contact the American embassy and did not know if help would ever come.

I kept demanding to speak to the U.S. embassy. I demanded to know where they were taking me.

My main concern was that this was some kind of rogue group. I didnt know if I was going to meet the same fate as Chris, he said, referring to the murdered election official. When the car pulled off the road, he was convinced he would be killed, but he was so charged with rage and adrenaline, he was not thinking about fear.

He wondered if he would be able to seize a chance to escape, or at least to grab a gun and take one of the agents out with him. But the car pulled out of the side road, and some time later stopped at a gas station.

It seems that at some point the people whod taken us had second thoughts or were given orders to take us to the airport, he said.

At the gas station, Phillips was transferred from the trunk of the hatchback to the back seat of a van, with 12 or 13 armed men present. Some time later, around midnight, Phillips was taken to the airport and put into a cell.

The next morning he was moved to a guarded room upstairs in the airport, where he met Katsouris and officials from the American and Canadian embassies and the FBI. Late Saturday, he and Katsouris were deported.

During the long wait at the airport, the pair were guarded by different officials. As they waited, a television news station broadcast an opposition rally, where opposition figures complained about the arrests of the Aristotle team.

Phillips has worked in Afghanistan, Ukraine, Venezuela, Yemen and other countries, consulting on elections. He offers advice on campaign messaging and how to ensure election transparency and fairness.

The ordeal, worse than anything he has experienced anywhere else, left Phillips with a bitter taste of Kenyas often rough-and-tumble politics.

What the Kenyan authorities have shown us is that an authoritarian regime masquerading as a democracy is still an authoritarian regime.

Kenyan media cited unnamed government sources who said the men were deported because they did not have work permits and were assisting the opposition to engineer a regime change.

Phillips said he and his colleague were never told why they were seized or deported, or why their laptops were taken.

robyn.dixon@latimes.com

Twitter: @RobynDixon_LAT
Dutch investigators on Thursday detained two men suspected of being involved in the illegal use of pesticide at poultry farms that sparked a food safety scare in several European countries.

The detentions and a series of coordinated raids in the Netherlands and Belgium marked another escalation in a widening scandal that has seen eggs tainted with the pesticide Fipronil stripped from shelves in countries including the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.

Food safety authorities in other countries, including Britain, have reported discovering eggs from farms where Fipronil was used or products containing eggs from those farms.

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Its believed that the insecticide got into the food chain when it was illegally added to a product used to treat poultry for lice, fleas and ticks.

Though no one has been reported as falling sick, prosecutors said in a statement that there is evidence that public health has been threatened by the delivery or application of the biocide Fipronil in poultry houses in the egg sector.

The Dutch investigation, they said, is focusing on a Dutch company that allegedly applied the Fipronil, the presumed Belgian supplier and a Dutch trader who worked with the supplier.

Dutch farms produce billions of eggs each year, the majority for the export market. An estimated 5 billion eggs are sold each year to Germany alone, according to a poultry farming union in the Netherlands.

Dozens of Dutch farms visited by the company suspected of using Fipronil have been temporarily banned from selling their eggs until the hens and their stalls are declared cleared of the pesticide.

During Thursdays raids, which were coordinated with European Union police agency Europol, investigators seized documents, bank account details and also automobiles and real estate.

Crime may not pay, prosecutors said.

Britains Food Standards Agency also said Thursday that the number of eggs that reached the United Kingdom from farms implicated in the Fipronil scare is much higher than previously thought.

The agency said the number is closer to 700,000 than the 21,000 we previously believed had been imported. It published a list of 11 recalled products in which the eggs can be found, but played down the risks.

While in some European countries eggs containing Fipronil residues have been sold as fresh eggs, in the U.K. this is not the case, the agency said in a statement. Many of the eggs involved were mixed with other eggs which have not come from affected farms so Fipronil residues will be highly diluted.

Romanian authorities also said they seized a ton of imported eggs suspected of being contaminated. The Veterinary Health Authority said in a statement that authorities on Wednesday discovered 2,200 pounds of eggs before they had reached supermarket shelves. They had arrived in the western city of Timisoara from Germany. Authorities will incinerate the eggs.

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Why cant the United States and North Korea just sit down and talk about it?

Over the last year, glimpses of a breakthrough in the long impasse between the two countries have been obscured by anxiety-producing new events  missile and nuclear tests, a bizarre assassination and the cruel death of the American college student Otto Warmbier.

Even talking about what talking would look like has proved complicated.

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Nine days after the U.S. presidential election, a pair of former U.S. State Department officials and two North Korean diplomats met discreetly at a hotel in Geneva for talks on how to get their estranged countries negotiating again.

Like others around the world, the North Koreans seemed to be expecting that Hillary Clinton would be the next president, but they were not unhappy with Donald Trumps victory, according to one of the Americans at the meetings.

They were surprised at the outcome of the election, but they had an open mind, said Joel Wit, a veteran North Korea hand who was one of the former U.S. officials who participated. They were willing to wait and see what the Trump administration would do.

There was even a slight reason for optimism. During the presidential campaign, Trump had said repeatedly he would be willing to talk directly to leader Kim Jong Un.

What the hell is wrong with speaking? And you know what? Its called opening a dialogue, Trump had said in June of 2016. If he came here, Id accept him, but I wouldnt give him a state dinner like we do for China and all these other people that rip us off when we give them these big state dinners.

He went on to suggest he would serve Kim a hamburger on a conference table.

The hamburger never materialized.

Shortly after Trumps inauguration, plans were made for North Korean envoy Choe Son Hui to come to New York for back-channel talks about reopening a more formal dialogue. She was scheduled to arrive on March 1. But events intervened. Two weeks before, Kim Jong Nam, Kim Jong Uns half-brother, was poisoned to death with VX nerve agent in the Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, airport in an attack widely blamed on the North Korean government; the State Department canceled the visa for Choes trip to New York.

In early May, a meeting finally took place in Oslo between Choe and a group of Americans led by Joseph Yun, the State Departments deputy assistant secretary for Japan and Korea. That meeting produced what in diplomatic parlance is known as a deliverable: North Korea agreed to release Warmbier, the American college student who had been held for 18 months after allegedly trying to swipe a propaganda poster from the Pyongyang hotel where he was staying as a tourist.

That was good news  except it turned out that the 22-year-old had suffered extensive brain damage while in North Korean custody  for reasons that are still unclear.

Warmbier died in June, shortly after his release. What had been billed by the North Koreans as a humanitarian gesture, intended to warm relations, instead had the opposite effect.

Since then, the North Koreans have conducted two tests of intercontinental ballistic missiles that they say are capable of reaching the United States.

Quiet back-channel talks with the North Koreans have been taking place regularly for years, despite the collapse of official six-nation diplomatic talks in late 2008. But nothing official has been scheduled, in large part because of a disagreement about whether there would be preconditions for the talks set by the United States.

We are stuck in this no-mans land. They are not going to have a meeting with preconditions imposed on the meeting, said Wit.

The Obama administration last year had agreed to drop the preconditions for talks to begin, but a tentative deal to negotiate fell apart after the United States in July put Kim Jong Un and 14 other top North Korean officials on a personal blacklist in response to a nuclear test conducted earlier in the year.

At that point, the North Koreans apparently decided that it wasnt worth their while to bother with a lame-duck president and that they would instead wait for the new administration.

Despite the recent exchanges of threats and bombast, Wit believes the North Koreans are still willing to negotiate. What theyve said is that they are open to restarting a dialogue with the new administration and that they are willing to discuss denuclearization, but that these initial meetings have to be without preconditions, he said.

The U.S. has asked that North Korea make some gesture to show its seriousness, such as pausing the relentless pace of weapons tests. The North Koreans have asked that the United States end its hostile policy toward their country by scaling back joint military exercises with South Korea.

Scott Snyder of the New York-based Council on Foreign Relations said he believes that North Koreas increased pace of weapons testing has been motivated partly by the desire to establish itself as a nuclear power in a position of strength before sitting down to negotiate.

We are in a kind of pre-negotiating phase where both sides are trying to shape the environment for their own purposes, Snyder said. The problem is imagining how that transitions to actual negotiations.

barbara.demick@latimes.com

Twitter: @BarbaraDemick

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All material is subject to strictly enforced copyright terms & conditions and cannot be repurposed or reproduced.  19882022 Latin American Financial Publications Inc.
President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday declined to pitch into an war of words between North Korea and the U.S.

Moon met with his new military chiefs at Cheong Wa Dae and said the task facing South Korea is to "acquire the military capability to respond to North Korea's nuclear and missile provocations."

He urged them to bolster South Korea's readiness level and move toward independent defense capabilities, relying less on the U.S. forces stationed here.

Moon said in a telephone call with U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday that this "is not the time for dialogue" with North Korea. But he continues to leave open the possibility of talks with the North, including the resumption of humanitarian exchanges.

Cheong Wa Dae officials brushed off the latest threats from the North to turn South Korea into a sea of fire.

A high-ranking Cheong Wa Dae official said, "It's true that the security situation is tense, but we can use this as an opportunity to overcome the crisis."

Regarding North Korea's threat on Tuesday to bomb Guam, the official said, "It is unique for five major North Korean ministries to issue threats, but that seems aimed at heightening fears in South Korea and weakening the U.S.' position."

A key ruling-party official said, "You need to remember that North Korea tends to resort to maximum brinkmanship before turning to dialogue."

But privately some Cheong Wa Dae officials admit they are worried about the increasingly inflamed rhetoric between the U.S. and North Korea.
Hyundai's luxury brand Genesis has sold over 20,000 cars in the U.S. in the year since it was launched there.

Genesis said Wednesday it has sold 20,698 cars there from August last year to July this year. It sold 17,206 G80s and 3,483 G90s, known as the EQ900 in Korea. That translates into an average of 1,600 to 2,000 per month.
A 55-year-old New Jersey woman was high on marijuana when she crashed her car on Interstate 78, killing her two young grandchildren, police report.

Nadine Walton, of Newark, was charged Thursday with involuntary manslaughter, homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence and 12 other charges stemming from the Sept. 14, 2016, early morning wreck, according to court records.

Walton has not yet been arraigned on the charges. Her defense attorney Scott Wilhelm said Thursday afternoon she planned to turn herself in Friday, Aug. 18 at 10:30 a.m.

"The case is not as clear as it may appear by a simple reading of the (criminal) complaint," Wilhelm said.

A GoFundMe set up for the family following the crash says that they were traveling back from a funeral in South Carolina.

Five-year-old Ravon Xavier Robinson was ejected from Walton's 2011 Nissan Versa about 12:56 a.m. on I-78 East in Lower Saucon Township. He died at the scene from his injuries.

Ravon Xavier Robinson, 5, was killed in the crash.

His 2-year-old sister Brielle Javlyn Robinson was also ejected and died from her injuries Sept. 16 at Lehigh Valley Hospital Cedar Crest. The children were in safety seats, police said.

Walton's blood tested positive for marijuana and police found drugs and alcohol in the car, court records state. The children's mother Stefany Stephens, also of Newark, was the front seat passenger in the car.

Police report they found several containers of alcohol, both full and empty in the car, a broken container lying on the highway outside of the car and a marijuana blunt on the driver's side floor.

A search of Walton's purse turned up marijuana in a bag along with a suspected marijuana blunt and 42 Oxycodone pills, court records state.

"There are significant toxicological, forensic and accident reconstruction issues in this case which need to be analyzed," Wilhelm said. "It is our position that the Commonwealth's investigation is substantially flawed in those areas."

Walton was driving in the left lane of I-78 East when she lost control of the car. When she tried to regain control, she crossed into the right lane and struck a guide rail.

A 2014 Kia Forte, driven in the left lane by David B. Getz Jr., 26, of Easton, then hit the car, as did a 1996 Dodge Caravan driven by Michael Gura, 49, of Warren, New Jersey, police said. Both of them were injured and taken by ambulance to area hospitals, police reported at the time of the wreck.

Both Walton and Stephens were severely injured in the crash. Walton was pinned in the Nissan when police arrived.

In addition to involuntary manslaughter and homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence, Walton faces charges of aggravated assault by vehicle while DUI, aggravated assault by vehicle, homicide by vehicle, possession of a small amount of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, driving under the influence of a controlled substance, having alcohol in a car and traffic violations.

Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @sarasatullo and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
The roof of a warehouse under construction next to the Walmart distribution center off of Route 412 in Bethlehem ignited Thursday afternoon, causing several workers to evacuate.

City fire crews were first called at 3:32 p.m. to the fire at 3419 Commerce Center Blvd., said Robert Novatnack, Bethlehem emergency management coordinator. A heavy plume of black smoke was reported rising from the warehouse, owned by Majestic Realty Co. on former Bethlehem Steel Corp. land.

All of the workers escaped safely and there were no reported injuries, according to Novatnack. Employees at the nearby Walmart distribution center didn't need to be evacuated, he said.

At 6 p.m. the fire was not fully contained, but Novatnack said it wasn't expected to spread.

Several crews from across Northampton County and Allentown were battling the flames. Tanker trucks could be seen hauling water to the blaze from all sides of the sprawling building.

First responders were monitoring firefighters for heat exhaustion, but none had yet been taken to the hospital, Novatnack said.

"It's warm out on the roof," Novatnack said, noting firefighters needed to be relieved by other agencies to constantly rehydrate.

Despite a heavy black plume of smoke that could be seen for miles, traffic was running smoothly on Route 412 and Interstate 78. Bethlehem police did shut down a portion of Commerce Center Boulevard near the fire scene.

The cause of the fire remains unknown at this time; there was nothing combustible inside the building before the fire broke out, Novatnack said.

A spokesman for Majestic Realty, which is developing the Majestic Bethlehem Center, told WFMZ-69 News the building, totaling 1 million-square-feet, currently has no tenants.

Commerce Center Boulevard is off Route 412 on former Bethlehem Steel Corp. land that has been redeveloped into an industrial park. It is about two miles east of the SteelStacks campus that is hosting Musikfest this week.

Nick Falsone may be reached at nfalsone@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @nickfalsone. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Laois women and children experiencing domestic abuse are staying in dangerous homes because there is nowhere else to go.

The ongoing housing shortage in Laois is having a direct impact on the safety of these women and children, says the co-ordinator of Laois Domestic Abuse Service Marna Carroll.

A number of women would love to be able to get out, but there is nowhere for them to go. Private rented accommodation is a nightmare, its almost impossible. In Portarlington this week we found only three properties, the cheapest being 1200. Social welfare payments dont stretch to that, so the choice is either emergency accommodation, or a dangerous home, she said.

The centre offers confidential counselling, support, and court accompaniments. Last year they supported 275 Laois women.

"They come from all backgrounds, all groups. Abuse doesn't discriminate. They may be experiencing rape or sexual assault in their relationships, being videoed and those videos held as blackmail, exposure to porn they don't want to witness, punched, beaten, pinched, spat at, broken noses, limbs or eye sockets, cigarette burns. Some women turn to self harm to release the pain," Ms Carroll said.

Abuse is not necessarily physical.

"They are called every name under the sun, belittled, demeaned, completely degraded. That spoken word is very powerful, his sense of entitlement at being able to force control. I can see it in court appearances, it just takes one look from him," she said.

Women who are more financially independent also call the centre for advice. Based in Portlaoise, it opened 11 years ago. Laois was the last county in Ireland to get a dedicated domestic violence service.

Funds were tight so we had to focus on offering a Monday to Friday 9 to 5 service, Ms Carroll said.

In recent weeks, TUSLA has come on board as a core funder, allowing the recruitment of a new full time support worker and a part time administrator, bringing the staff up to four.

It is a recognition that Laois has been under resourced. It has made an enormous difference to our service. You can see it in the women already. We can now offer weekly appointments rather than fortnightly," she said.

However their funds cannot stretch to helping children or abused men.

We would love to have funding to work with kids as well. There is a real dearth of services for children in Laois. Exposure to violence is proven to increase a childs chance of either becoming a perpetrator or a victim of abuse. If we could just get to those little ones, to support and guide them, it would be immensely beneficial.

Unfortunately we dont have a Barnardos in Laois, they have a programme for children exposed to domestic violence. Partnering with them to offer that needs funding, Ms Carroll said.

A Laois service for abused men would require separate meeting rooms and staff, for confidentiality reasons, but men can access the centre in Tullamore, at (057) 935 1886.

Ms Carroll is asking the Laois community to fundraise for them.

Laois is growing and we cant do this on our own, we need local support. I genuinely believe the will is there, she said.

Another concern is that laois has no womens refuge.

There is none in Offaly or Carlow either. Refuges are often full, but even when they are not, how realistic is it for a women with small children, to relocate to another county. She might not have a car, the kids need to get to school, she would lose her family network. Its not as simple as getting up and walking out. A lot of the time for women who experience domestic abuse, the familiarity of home, the pattern of the abuse, is less scary than a refuge, Ms Carroll said.

The council does keep safe houses for women but they have no security.

A refuge in Laois would provide a layer of security through CCTV, and professional support workers that would also give these women someone to talk to about their very real anxieties and vulnerabilities, she said.

She praised Laois County Council for its support.

They are excellent at finding emergency accommodation. B&Bs are not an ideal solution, but I am yet to come upon a situation they have not helped, she said.

Ms Carroll says escaping domestic abuse is not simple but she urges women to take the first step.

Please call and talk to us. Its a lonely place when you are being abused, it consumes you to the point you think no one will believe you, but thats not true, we will listen. I know it's hard, embarrassing and people are afraid, but the biggest improvements come when you talk to a professional service," she said.

Call Laois Domestic Abuse at 8671100.
Laois students who may be worried or concerned about their Leaving Cert results can avail of new Examination Helpline 2017.

The Institute of Guidance Counsellors (IGC) today welcomed the launch of the helpline.

Hosted by the National Parents Council Post Primary (NPCpp), it will open next Wednesday, August 16, the day the results are issued, to offer advice, information and support to Leaving Certificate students.

The 1800 265 165 Freephone Helpline opens from 10am on the day to take calls from students, parents and teachers seeking advice and information on what choices are available to students, and will continue until Wednesday, August 23.

The Helpline is sponsored by the Irish Independent and eir and is supported by the Department of Education and Skills.

It is staffed by members of the Institute of Guidance Counselors who are fully qualified experts in their field.

Every year the helpline deals with thousands of calls and helps students to make informed decisions.

Those seeking advice, information or reassurance can contact the Helpline on 1800 265 165 and speak to experienced, professionally-trained guidance counselors.

All queries on third level courses, such as the points system, rechecks, repeats, CAO procedures, apprenticeships and further training options will be dealt with in a professional and confidential manner.

The opening hours of operation are:

Wednesday, 16 August: 10am - 7pm.

Thursday, 17 August: 10am - 7pm.

Friday, 18 August: 10am - 1pm.

Monday, 21 August: 8am - 7pm.

Tuesday, 22 August: 8am - 7pm.

Wednesday, 23 August: 8am - 1pm.

Read more Laois news here.
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KILDARE County Council has refused planning permission for a restaurant and apartment to the rear of Bistro 53 which faces onto Pound Lane in Maynooth.

On August 2, the Council refused permission following recommendations for refusal by its planner and Conservation Officer.

Submission on the development, proposed by a company, Moldovan Estate, were made by Lyreen Residents Association and Kildare North Labour representative, Emmet Stagg.

The Council said that the design of the three storey proposal was not in keeping with the sites location within the Architectural Conservation Area of Maynooth.

The company, which had got permission previously for an apartment, but had not yet developed it, appealed for a three storey building

Mr. Stagg said the proposed three storey flat roofed building, with a modern design, submitted by Hannigan Maguire on behalf of the applications, was inappropriate to the existing character of the area and the streetscape in the area.

He has suggested the design be revised.

Another company, Ballygoran Development Ltd, has been refused permission for developments at nearby Coates Lane.

The Maynooth Local Area Plan said the plan was to turn Pound Lane into a bustling area.

The planners report into the Moldovan application raised issues over car parking space availability and a communal open space for the apartment.

The Lyreen RA said the proposal was out of keeping with the area and urged that any buildings in the area use a stone face.

Mr Stagg stated that the applicants should now go back to the drawing board and come up with an appropriately designed proposal that recognises the unique character of the town centre of Maynooth.
Kildare students, who are worried or concerned about their Leaving Cert results, can avail of The Examination Helpline 2017.

The Institute of Guidance Counsellors (IGC) today welcomed the launch of helpline.

Hosted by the National Parents Council Post Primary (NPCpp), it will open next Wednesday, August 16 to offer advice, information and support to Leaving Certificate students receiving their exam results.

The 1800 265 165 Freephone Helpline opens from 10am on results day, next Wednesday, to take calls from students, parents and teachers seeking advice and information on what choices are available to students, and will continue until Wednesday, August 23.

The Helpline is sponsored by the Irish Independent and eir and is supported by the Department of Education and Skills.

SEE ALSO:Photo gallery - Naas CBS Leaving Cert awards night

It is staffed by members of the Institute of Guidance Counselors who are fully qualified experts in their field.

Every year the helpline deals with thousands of calls and helps students to make informed decisions.

Those seeking advice, information or reassurance can contact the Helpline on 1800 265 165 and speak to experienced, professionally-trained guidance counselors.

All queries on third level courses, such as the points system, rechecks, repeats, CAO procedures, apprenticeships and further training options will be dealt with in a professional and confidential manner.

The opening hours of operation are:

Wednesday, 16 August: 10am - 7pm.

Thursday, 17 August: 10am - 7pm.

Friday, 18 August: 10am - 1pm.

Monday, 21 August: 8am - 7pm.

Tuesday, 22 August: 8am - 7pm.

Wednesday, 23 August: 8am - 1pm.
China enhances appeal to foreign investment

From:Xinhua | 2017-08-09 09:35

CHINA is working to make itself more appealing to foreign investors.



In the past month, commitments have been made by the Chinese government on further opening up.

China should create a stable, fair, transparent and predictable business environment, and speed up efforts to build an open economy to promote the sustainable and healthy development of the Chinese economy, according to a meeting of the Central Leading Group on Finance and Economic Affairs in July.

Growing appeal

Foreign investors used to be attracted by the cheap land and labor to China, but now we are more interested in the vast market and good business environment, said Jin Youhua, chairman and president of Whirlpool (China).

The US appliance-maker is expecting its China headquarters and global R&D center, which is now under construction in east Chinas Anhui Province, to be put into operation in 2018, Jin said.

Inbound foreign direct investment (FDI) fell by 0.1 percent year on year to 441 billion yuan (US$66 billion) in the first half of this year, but the number of new foreign enterprises in China was up by 12.3 percent, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

Meanwhile, a survey from the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai showed that 77 percent of US companies in China remained profitable last year, up 6 percentage points from 2015, and 73.5 percent reported revenue growth, up 12 percentage points from 2015.

Behind the growing appeal from the Chinese market was Chinas stable economic development and government efforts in opening up more sectors and relaxing restrictions for foreign businesses.

Starting on July 28, China implemented a revised foreign investment catalogue, which includes a negative list approach that identifies sectors and businesses that are off-limits or restricted for investment, as well as sectors and industries that the government wants to encourage foreign companies to invest in.

The catalogue shortens the list of sectors that are completely off-limits for foreign investment from 36 to 28.

In the southwestern province of Sichuan, where a free trade zone was launched this April, instead of lining up to submit paperwork, foreign investors now only need to upload files online to establish a company or make alterations on existing ones.

Today, over 95 percent of new foreign enterprises in China do not need government approval before they are set up, and the registry procedures take less than three days, compared with more than 20 days previously.

Just as a more open China means opportunities for the rest of the world, China is expecting inbound investment to play a larger role in its economic development, promoting the growth of new sectors and driving supply-side structural reform.

A win-win process

The FDI inflow into high-end sectors has been robust, official data showed. In the first half of this year, the high-tech manufacturing sector saw FDI up 11.1 percent to 34.97 billion yuan, while foreign investment in high-tech services rose 20.4 percent to 64.72 billion yuan.

Compared with the initial stage of Chinas reform and opening-up nearly 40 years ago, China is more consciously choosing the types of investment or professionals it wants to attract, said Zhang Jianping, a researcher with the commerce ministry.

As an economy going through transition, China wants to bring in advanced technologies, professional personnel, brands and management by luring foreign investment, so it can increase its competitiveness and improve the quality and efficiency of growth, said Zhang.

To make China more appealing to talented people outside the country, the government will put in place a work permit system for foreigners working in China to streamline their working permit application procedures, expand visa issuance and extend visa expiration dates.

The introduction of the new system, together with a number of other measures, is expected to be implemented by the end of September in principle, according to a State Council meeting late last month.

The inflow of foreign capital has been pivotal for China to maintain a relatively quick growth rate. Our industries are in general at the lower end of the global value chain. We must send a strong message of welcome to foreign investment, Premier Li Keqiang told the meeting.
Samantha Browns brand new PBS travel show Love of Travel is in Co. Donegal this week filming scenes for a Wild Atlantic Way episode which is set to air to an audience of up to 2 million viewers later this year. The visit, which will see Samantha Brown experience and film from Sligos Surf Coast and Donegals Northern Headlands, was organsied by Failte Ireland, in conjunction with Tourism Ireland.

Samantha Browns Love of Travel show seeks out little known spots and haunts where innovators and disrupters are creating a brand new travel experience. From food and drink, art and design, culture or adventure each episode focuses on not just how to visit a destination but how to belong to it.

During her visit to Sligo, Samantha and her filming crew will visit Broc House and Sligo town to get the full William Butler Yeats Experience from local Damian Brennian; forage for, and hopefully taste, local seaweed at Streedagh Beach with Dr. Prannie Rhatigan and herd sheep at Drumcorroy Farm House.

Speaking about the importance of visits such as this, Ciara Sugrue, Head of International Publicity with Failte Ireland said Failte Ireland is delighted to have the opportunity to showcase the Wild Atlantic Way to such a large US Audience. The ethos of Love of Travel is to show visitors that the only way to experience a destination is to get out there, meet the people, hear the stories and feel their passion so Samantha Brownes interest in the Wild Atlantic Way is a testament to the experiences and businesses on the ground.

As the North American market continues to grow, it is our hope that shows like this will encourage even more US travellers to choose Ireland as their next must-visit destination.
This image was among those rejected by the Government committee that oversaw the stronger in campaign. Saatchi and Saatchi complained that all their best work was vetoed by someone or other.

Well that is history, and we can learn from it. I count myself lucky to be a member of a small group of pro-European campaigners who are free to develop their own creative ideas, untrammelled by the need to answer to any committee.

Last week we were out on the streets in Stratford-upon-Avon, talking to people about Brexit. Any changes in Stratford could be significant, for the town voted exactly 52:48 in the referendum, a microcosm of the country as a whole.

Our results confirm that while most people stick with their original decision, those that do change their mind are more than three times more likely to convert to Remain than to Leave. In the case of our small sample of 214, that produced a decisive majority in favour of staying in the EU.

Many are still angry

Inevitably it was the personalities and the emotions, rather than the statistics, which stick in my memory. Many people are still angry, both leavers and remainers.

One man told me in no uncertain terms that immigration is still the one big issue; and they should brick up the channel tunnel he shouted as a parting thought. Another was angry about everything and everybody, especially politicians. As I listened politely, a surreal aspect was lent to the scene by the backdrop of newspaper stands, with their mendacious headlines that every Briton should be angry about.

My colleagues meanwhile were handing out leaflets with pictures of squeezed lemons and unhappy children, emphasising the damage from Brexit. Whilst these were useful and well intentioned, so far as the angry brigade was concerned it was clear that the damage from Brexit was taken as read, and almost regarded with relish.

The spirit of self sacrifice

The problem with warnings of economic disaster is that they play into the hands of what Vince Cable has called the Brexit martyrs, a section of the older generation very willing to make sacrifices on behalf of the young. One can just imagine how the Brexit propaganda machine is even now gearing up to make a virtue of suffering, appealing to our battle of Britain spirit:

We are engaged in a mortal struggle to defend our island home against the evils of the EU. Tighten your belts, plant your allotments, make do and mend. Three cheers for England!

Although we did not meet many of these old soldier types among the shoppers we interviewed, Im sure they exist and Im sure they vote. What we need to do is win them over with our own Churchillian spirit. For to paraphrase the great Europhile himself:

We will have a new kind of sovereignty, but no less attractive. Let us link hands with our friends in Europe we will never surrender.

The need for positive messages

Positive messages about the EU are needed to counteract decades of slander and denigration. The EU as a great and noble enterprise, a peacekeeping force to be celebrated. That is the only way to give hope to a distressed and self harming Britain.

Our slogans need to capture the public imagination, posted boldly in car windows, proudly emblazoned on flags. Were no deserters, were no quislings, we will unite for Europe!

To put it another way, if on the eve of the First World War in 1914, a stark warning had been given of the unprecedented devastation ahead, would that have stopped it? I doubt it. But if someone had inspired the warring parties with a vision of the future where they united to form a world leading empire, would that have made a difference? I would like to think so.

* John King is a retired doctor and Remain campaigner.
At the recent SLF Annual Conference in July, a well-attended fringe session discussed the benefits and drawbacks of Basic Income.

My contention, as Chair of this session, was that we now need to be looking more closely at Basic Income, given increasing robotisation and technological change that will massively shake up conventional work, and given that our welfare system is creaking and needs modernisation. Basic Income is a policy that seems fundamentally socially liberal, and so it seems to naturally deserve attention from the SLF and all who are socially liberal.

Therefore the SLF is very pleased to be announcing our latest publication on this important subject area, as a way of stimulating more debate, both within the SLF and outside  amongst others who have an interest in this fascinating policy area.

Many readers may be aware that Basic Income trials of varying types and sizes are currently under way in Finland, the Netherlands and Ontario, Canada. In addition, Hawaii made waves in June 2017 when it passed the first piece of legislation aimed at exploring this niche but growing form of wealth distribution.

The bill, HCR 89, directs the Government to convene a basic economic security working group, a request that can be seen as the first tangible step toward a US basic income program.

Our thanks go to Tom Holden, the author of our latest publication, who is a lecturer in economics at Surrey University. The SLF is very pleased to be working with him in publishing his work, and we welcome any feedback from interested members of the general public.

* Helen Flynn is an Executive Member of the LDEA. She is a former Parliamentary Candidate and Harrogate Borough Councillor and has served on the Federal Policy Committee and Federal Board. She has been a school governor in a variety of settings for 19 years and currently chairs a multi academy trust in the north of England.
Party President Sal Brinton has tonight written to party members about the resignation of Tim Gordon. She reported that the Federal Board is making arrangements to appoint his successor.

Sal said:

Yesterday Tim Gordon announced that he was resigning as Chief Executive of the Liberal Democrats, after five years service. On behalf of the party I want to place on record a huge thank you to Tim for his all his amazing hard work over what have been some often very gruelling years.

He has run the party machine during extremely demanding times with the Liberal Democrats in coalition government, then two general elections and the EU Referendum.

After the setback of the 2015 General Election, Tim immediately set out to make sure that the partys finances were secured, and provided the structures that have allowed the party to recover.

In the last two years our membership has doubled, we have won many council by elections and the Richmond Park by-election and in June this year increased our MPs. He leaves at a time when the Liberal Democrat fightback is well-underway and we wish him the very best. You can find Tims statement on the party website here.

The Partys Federal Board met last night to thank Tim and also to start the process of recruiting his successor by setting up an appointments panel. As you would expect, we also discussed how interim arrangements will work. More will be announced in due course with an advertisement to be published in September.

Today, however, our focus must be on saying thank you to Tim for his service to the Liberal Democrats. We wish him well for the future. Thank you Tim.
Nick Clegg really didnt get on that well with Michael Gove when they served in the Cabinet together and Goves position as a key Brexiteer merely exacerbated the antipathy between them. There was even less love lost between Nick and Goves former special adviser Dominic Cumming who went on to run the leave campaign.

So it is quite amusing to see the two men on the same side of an argument  over those trees in Sheffield that the Council insists on chopping down, against the wishes of local residents. Last year Nick compared the Police reaction to protests to Putins Russia.

In scenes youd expect to see in Putins Russia, rather than a Sheffield suburb, council contractors and police descended on Rustlings Road under the cover of darkness, dragged people out of bed to move their cars and detained peaceful protesters  all to chop down eight trees. The battle to save the Rustlings Road trees has been long and hard-fought and I am impressed with the tenacity of local people and their peaceful, well-articulated, reasoned opposition.

Now Environment Secretary Gove has come out against the tree-felling as reported in the Guardian:

It is clear that many of Sheffields residents are deeply frustrated and angry at the decision to remove a large number of trees from local streets. Understandably, local people place a significant value on their green spaces, and their local environment, and these trees are a really important part of that. We know trees and and leafy streets make places healthier, cleaner and more desirable places to live.

Who ever thought wed see those two eye to eye on anything?

* Newshound: bringing you the best Lib Dem commentary in print, on air or online.
The 38th ALDE Party Congress will take place from 1 to 3 December 2017 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Preliminary information about the programme, political deadlines, venues and logistics will soon be available on the ALDE Party website, here.

The UK Liberal Democrats are currently one of the largest voting blocs in the ALDE Party, with strong representation on the Bureau, in the Council and at the Congress. The Congress is the largest event of the year for ALDE and it is a policy-making event, with policy motions submitted by member parties for debate and voted on during the Congress.

The ALDE Party Congress is the biggest annual event gathering Liberals across Europe with over 650 members of Liberal parties from around the continent, including Prime Ministers, European Commissioners, Ministers, Members of the European and national Parliaments, Members of the Committee of the Regions, and many other delegates.

This is an event with European visibility, and includes topical debates, high level speeches and policy discussions.

So, what is expected of our delegates?

You should be prepared for active participation at the entire Congress, from 1-3 December 2017, including attendance at policy debates, voting in internal ALDE Party elections and on policy motions and participation in the whole programme. Please note that it is not possible to attend part of the Congress as a delegate, as voting rights cannot be reassigned during the event.

Delegates are also expected to attend a minimum of two delegation meetings (in person or via phone) before and during the event, chaired by the Delegation Leader, Robert Woodthorpe Browne, and to prepare for policy debates and events ahead of the Congress, including reading all policy motions and briefings provided.

Unfortunately, there is no financial support available, and delegates will be expected to arrange transport and accommodation at their own expense.

For more information, including an application form, please contact Harriet Shone ([email protected]), the Partys International Officer.

But hurry, applications close on 1 September!

* Newshound: bringing you the best Lib Dem commentary in print, on air or online.
Join us on a journey through Greece, as we explore its most beautiful islands (and trust us, it was hard not to include them all!). Dotted across the Aegean Sea, theres plenty of white sandy beaches, blue skies and delicious food to enjoy on these island paradises.

Among the many great reasons to visit, Greece is known for its delicious food, historic landmarks, and idyllic beaches. These can all be enjoyed on some of its most beautiful islands  of which there are plenty! Were running through some of the countrys most stunning islands, from Santorini to Mykonos.

Paros

This charming Aegean island is known for its gorgeous villages and beautiful beaches, as well as its fantastic local wine. Dont leave without visiting the fishing village of Naoussa and the fascinating Marathi Marble Quarries.

Santorini

One of Greeces better known islands needs little introduction: part of the Cyclades islands, its known for its whitewashed buildings which line cliffs overlooking the sea, and its stunning sunsets. Thanks to its romantic charm, its no surprise thousands of us choose to fly to Santorini every year!

Mykonos

A lively island in the Cyclades, this is a popular destination for travellers looking for a more vibrant nightlife, with clubs and bars catering to the party crowd throughout the summer months. A fashionable destination, its also home to a series of windmills perched on a hill above Mykonos town, which have become a well known landmark.

Milos

This lesser known volcanic island in the Cyclades is famous as the original home to the iconic Venus de Milo sculpture, which can today be found in the Louvre in Paris. Its also known for its numerous beaches, clear blue waters, and the Catacombs of Milos.

Samothrace

Famous for its rugged natural scenery and mythological status  its said that Poseidon watched the War of Troy from the island  this is a hidden gem just waiting to be discovered. The picturesque Pachia Ammos beach, and the beautiful waterfalls which cascade into natural pools, are both worth seeing.

Kastellorizo

Not far from the Turkish coast, this small Mediterranean island boasts peaceful beaches and a calm atmosphere. The charming Kastellorizo village overlooks the sea, while the islands small number of inhabitants and quieter feel makes it the perfect destination for anyone looking to escape the hustle and bustle of daily life.

Kos

Its time to head to the Dodecanese Islands to visit Kos, a culturally and historically rich island: here, youll find the Asclepieion (an ancient Greek healing centre), the medieval Neratzia Castle, hot springs, stunning beaches, and a lively nightlife.

Rhodes

The largest island in the Dodecanese Islands, Rhodes is known for its beaches and ancient history, with architectural remains dotted across the island. In the city of Rhodes, the Old Town welcomes visitors with cobblestone streets such as the medieval Street of the Knights; theres also a vibrant nightlife to enjoy, before relaxing by the clear blue sea during the day.

Corfu

Found in the Ionian sea, this beautiful island offers something for everyone, from interesting archaeological sites to picturesque beaches; and charming villages to hiking trails in the mountains. While its a popular destination, there are plenty of quieter towns and villages found away from the bustling Corfu Town for anyone looking for some peace and quiet.

IMG: Shutterstock
THE Creative Ireland programme will assist the expansion and enhancement of the Hospital Arts Festival as it enters its third year, arts and culture officer Sheila Deegan has said.

Organisers of the community-driven festival will aim to attract more than 5,000 cultural fanatics to the East Limerick town, from September 13 to September 17.

A spokesperson for the four-day event said that the inclusiveness of the festival helps make the town a vibrant place to live and work in.

A plethora of special events will take place over the course of the festival, including documentary screenings; painting exhibitions; comedy evenings; youth performances; a Milford Hospice coffee morning; poetry readings; unique street theatre, and many more.

In November, Limerick Arts Office will work with the Hospital Arts Committee on a Creative Europe project, entitled the School of Spectacle through the European Outdoor Arts Academy. The school will oversee intensive training for the delivery of a small scale street production in Limerick.

Sheila Deegan, who is the local coordinator of Creative Ireland, said that the national initiative has been activated to deepen existing programmes in Limerick. Hospital Arts Festival is joined by 28 other city and county projects, under the Creative Ireland radar this year.

Ms Deegan said that Hospital is a small town with big ambition.

The community is empowered to put on the events, respond to the creative practitioners who are there, and the opportunity to bring in new talent.

The festival will take place a week before Limerick celebrates Culture Night.

Hopefully, our support will help them expand on their ambition. There are limited resources, and hopefully Creative Ireland will enhance what they already do. They are committed and they want to create a valuable experience for the schools, in terms of working with professional artists. They want to highlight the town as being one of the bigger towns in Limerick, with a potential capacity to accommodate a large festival in the future, she enthused.

Looking forward to the third annual festival, the spokesperson said: We hope to make a difference in showing what communities can do by coming together to host these kind of festivals. The only means we have of evaluating the success of our festival is by the number of visitors and participation of people in our community.

Organisers have said that they hope to provide a broad spectrum of the arts to the community, including secondary and primary schools, through active artist participation.
A COUNTY Limerick man has been interviewed by customs and excise officers in relation to the seizure of 8.3 million contraband cigarettes.

The smuggled goods arrived into Dublin from China, via Rotterdam, on Tuesday, July 4. The seized cigarettes have a retail value of over 4 million, representing a potential loss to the exchequer of 2.9 million.

In an intelligence-led operation, Revenues mobile x-ray scanner and detector dog Grace were deployed, and the cigarettes, branded Richmond, Eton and Gold Classic, were identified in a shipping container.

The consignment was said to contain clothing. The truck was tracked to County Limerick and Revenue officers carried out searches under warrant of a premises.

The Revenue Commissioners press office declined to answer a media query from the Limerick Leader on the location of the seizure in the county and if a person has been arrested in connection with the haul.

Investigations are continuing, with a view to prosecution and, as such, there is no further information in this regard, said a spokesperson.

However, the Leader has learned from a source that a man has been questioned by customs and excise officers and the cigarettes were located in east Limerick. The investigation is in its early stages, said the source.

A Revenue spokesperson said enforcement action against tobacco products smuggling and other forms of fiscal fraud is a priority for Revenue and remains a key part of overall Revenue strategy to confront non-compliance.

The illicit tobacco problem is very much a global one, driven by a number of key regions in Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe, where there is large-scale production of cigarettes for illicit distribution to other countries or which serve as distribution centres for illicit product, said the spokesperson.

In response to this worldwide trend, they say Revenue remains vigilant in the face of changing patterns of smuggling activity.

Revenues strategy is to target the supply of illicit tobacco products, with a view to disrupting the supply chain, seizing the illicit products and prosecuting those responsible. If you know someone is evading tax or involved in smuggling, report it. Contact Revenues confidential freephone 1800295295, they said.
THE founding president of the University of Limerick this week confirmed he will send the honorary doctorate back in the post to the National University of Ireland, after failing to receive a formal response from them.

Dr Edward Walsh said he was surprised that he has not received a reply in writing from the Chancellor of the NUI, Dr Maurice Manning, after he wrote to him nearly a fortnight ago, stating it was his intention to rescind the honour, in protest over former Taoiseach Brian Cowen receiving the same accolade.

I am definitely sending it back, Dr Walsh told the Limerick Leader.

I have received no reply in writing from the Chancellor, which I would have expected as a normal courtesy, in a civilised way. Ill close the file on this when I send it back, with an appropriate cover letter, noting that I have received no reply.

Dr Walsh, who led UL for 28 years from its infancy, said he regards Dr Manning as a good friend, an excellent gentleman and a very fine person.

I am just sorry that he is probably embarrassed by the position he finds myself in, he added.

He said he intends to send a letter along with the parchment in the post, noting that it be should be put on the record the circumstances surrounding its return.

In particular, he will highlight that its return is in protest against the award to a gentleman I consider to be totally unworthy of it.

Dr Manning declined to debate the issue with Dr Walsh in a recent Sean O'Rourke show on RTE Radio One.

In a separate segment, Dr Manning said Dr Walshs request is a first.

Nobody else has given their degree back and we dont have any protocol for it. He can send them back to us and well keep them in a safe place if he changes his mind.

Dr Manning said while they can remove his name from the roll [of recipients], we cant un-doctor a doctor.

He added that any time future editions of the roll are printed Dr Walshs name wont be included, if that continues to be his request.

Dr Manning rejected suggestions that the NUI acted imprudently in honouring Mr Cowen, and said it was offered out of respect of the office held, but it wasnt waved through on the nod and was debated.

There were many good reasons to give an honorary doctorate to Mr Cowen, he said.

Dr Manning said that he found some of the comments that Mr Cowen and his family had to endure on social media to be pretty vile.

I feel I am sort of responsible for that as well, he said, adding that the reaction was possibly inevitable.

Fianna Fail deputy Niall Collins said the controversy, in the first instance, over the honour to Mr Cowen, and with Dr Walsh subsequently throwing his toys out of the pram is far removed from the realities of most peoples everyday struggles.

Dr Walsh said that the honorary doctorate bestowed upon Mr Cowen was a monumental faux pas, which left him amazed and dumbfounded.

He said he has been inundated with letters of support since he made his announcement last week.

A recipient of five honorary doctorates, with another earned through very hard labour from Iowa State University, he said the NUI very kindly bestowed one upon him following his retirement from UL in 1998.

He said that in hindsight the decision to award an honorary doctorate to former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern by NUI Maynooth in 2006 was also a mistake. At the time, I wouldnt have faulted the NUI for doing it. It appeared appropriate and reasonable then, but it wasnt. But in the case of Brian Cowen, it was an expression of very poor judgement and what motivated it, I dont know, whether it was political or otherwise. The fault lies with the NUI for this embarrassment and it raises questions about the quality of governance.
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The story of a famous jalebi Delhi's Old and Famous Jalebi Wala's history is linked with that of the country's Partition /news/talking-point/the-story-of-a-famous-jalebi-111646985889966.html 111646985889966 story

This Independence Day, hundreds of Delhiites will round off celebrations with a trip to one of the citys culinary landmarks. Few will know that at the heart of the long history of the aptly named Old and Famous Jalebi Wala lies a story of Partition.

Over the years, Ive visited their shop many times. In fact at one point I was such a regular that the Jain family who owns it started inviting me to their house for Sunday brunch. Over many a lavish feast I would quiz them endlessly about the secret of their delicious jalebis. They told me that nobody outside the family had ever been shown the recipe and regaled me instead with tales of the shops history.

The Jalebi Walas story began almost 150 years ago when a young boy called Nem Chand Jain left his ancestral village near Agra with little more than the 50 paise piece which was the dowry from his seven-year-old wife. Determined to make his fortune in the big city, for many years Nem Chand was an itinerant hawker selling rabri. Eventually, a Muslim trader called Shamsuddin Ifran, who owned a shop on the corner of Dariba Kalan and Chandni Chowk, said he could set up a stall on the pavement outside.

In time, Nem Chands jalebi stall made him richer than his landlord, enabling him to build a large haveli for his family in nearby Gali Khazanchi. Today the haveli, a few doors down from the one which belonged to Shah Jahans accountants, is crumbling but it is just possible to imagine the splendour in which the family lived. As well as leaking roofs, there are remnants of teak-wood panelling and German mosaic floors. The current owner of the business, Kailash Jain, once told me that his ancestor became so rich that he ran out of places to safely hide his money. He even filled the empty ghee tins with notes and told everyone that the haveli was guarded by snakes.

In the wave of violence between Hindus and Muslims before Partition, Nem Chand hid his benefactor, Shamsuddin, in the haveli for 10 days, protecting him from the mobs. Eventually though, Ifran was forced to flee to Pakistan. Before he left, he gave his Chandni Chowk shop to the man who had sat on the pavement outside for over 40 years. You saved my life, lalaji," he said. You occupy this place."

Few will know that at the heart of the long history of the aptly named Old and Famous Jalebi Wala is embedded one of the millions of individual tragedies of Partition. The Jains never saw their benefactor again, they dont even know if he made it to Pakistan safely or was a victim of what writer Nayantara Sahgal recently described as the unimaginable disaster of bloodshed and suffering that uprooted helpless millions from both sides of the border and still haunts the subcontinents memory". The Jains have never been able to thank Ifran for his part in their good fortune and he has never been able to visit the iconic shop he helped create. But anyone lucky enough to feel the sweet sticky syrup of an Old and Famous jalebi run down his or her chin this Independence Day, should offer up a quiet word of thanks to them both.

By the way, I did eventually piece together some of the secret jalebi recipe. For instance, I gleaned that the jalebi batter is made from 75% white flour and 25% urad dal and that at the end of every day a little of the batter is left in a brass pot to ferment slightly overnight. This process, called khamir uthana, makes the batter airy and slightly tangy. The real magic, they told me, a secret never to be revealed, is how they make the syrupa process which takes 22 hoursand on that subject I never made any progress.

Jalebis

Makes at least 22

The Old and Famous Jalebi Wala never let me in on their secret recipe but I did piece together a few important details over the years. This lemon-flavoured syrup is completely unorthodox but tastes very good.

Ingredients

Batter

110g refined flour (maida)

40g urad dal, ground to a powder

125g yogurt

150ml water

Syrup

250g sugar

500ml water

3 cardamom pods

1 large strip lemon zest

Ghee for frying

You will also need a piping bag to pipe the jalebi into the ghee.

Method

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, ground urad dal, yogurt and water until you have a smooth batter. Cover the bowl and leave it in a warm place for at least 24 hours. It is important to let the batter ferment slightly; jalebi should have a slight tang.

To make the syrup, put all the ingredients in a pan and boil until the liquid has thickened, reduced by about half.

When youre ready to fry the jalebis, keep a depth of 4cm ghee in a kadhai (wok) over medium heat. Whisk the batter once more and spoon it into the piping bag. Squeeze neat spirals of the batter into the hot ghee, turning them over a few times until they are golden brown. If they brown too quickly, turn the heat down a little.

With a slotted spoon, remove the crisp jalebis, drain the excess ghee at the side of the pan and transfer straight into the syrup. Toss the jalebis in the syrup and let them soak up some of it. Serve hot.

The Way We Eat Now is a fortnightly column on new ways of cooking seasonal fruits, vegetables and grains.
Two women, a camera and no visas Two women with the camera are challenging gender norms in the conservative Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in north-western Pakistan /news/talking-point/two-women-a-camera-and-no-visas-111646985874419.html 111646985874419 story

Ill be honest. I love girls with cameras. Women. I mean women with cameras. I also love visas, especially the ones stamped between India and Pakistantwo countries that have not been separated long enough yet to forget how essentially intertwined their stories are. And I highly recommend the documentary film Two Women And A Camera. Shot in Mardan, Pakistan, by two women and edited in New Delhi by a third.

As we talked and remembered more details about the making of the film, Reena Mohan, the acclaimed editor of the film, declared, There should be a follow-up film every seven years on the life of Madiha Chaudary. It needs to be an ongoing series."

Of course I am flattered, but I dont understand what is so special about me," Chaudary said to me. There is laughter in her voice. People say I am brave and I have achieved a lot and I wonder what they mean. All my dreams, everything I want to do with my life, is still ahead of me."

It has been a decade since Chaudary and Nazish Sajjad were part of a group of 12 trainees from various parts of Pakistan attending a documentary training workshop that I was conducting at the Interactive Resource Centre (IRC) in Lahore. We were an exciting and inspired group. Each trainee was singularly interesting to metheir accents, faces and clothes reflected the region from where they had come, and as I pieced together this information, I could picture them in different states on the map of Pakistan.

Chaudary and Sajjad were cousins from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in north-western Pakistan. They had both been the first women to be radio hosts in the region, presenting shows on Radio Buraq, an FM channel broadcasting from Mardan. They had been invited by Mohammad Waseem, the director of IRC, to train as documentary film-makers with the IRC.

In my class, Sajjad had been the quiet one and Chaudary the bubbly, talkative one. Their work showed a natural flair for video journalism as they conducted candid interviews and practised filming video. Predictably, Chaudarys groups first lot of footage had too much of her own voice in the background, drowning out the ambient sound.

Two years later, Waseem called me from a Delhi number. He had arrived from Pakistan with hours of taped footage, shot by Chaudary and Sajjad, to hand over to Reena Mohan, who had agreed to edit it into a film. I met Mohan, her husband Nirmal Chander Dandriyal, and Waseem for lunch. Those who had shot the film in Mardan would not be able to meet those who would edit it in Delhi. There was no way to get visas for either team.

We had no instructions," Mohan remembers. There had been one conversation over a really bad phone line with Chaudary. We tried to make what we thought they had envisioned when they were shooting. Then we changed course and made the film that we saw embedded in the hours of footage. It was challenging and remarkably brave of them to shoot it in a certain way."

Essentially, we disregarded most of the planned shooting and pieced together the moments caught when the camera was rolling in a free-flowing way," Dandriyal added.

In the film, now available online on Vimeo, the camera, handled by Sajjad, follows a veiled Chaudary from her home to the radio station and into the streets and markets of Mardan. When she isnt talking to others, Chaudary talks to Sajjad, directing her, joking with her and muttering under her breath as they get stared at excessively wherever they go. Either these people have never seen a camera before or a girl before," she says at one point, disregarding the fact that the men on the streets have certainly not seen two women with a camera before.

Gender norms in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have always been conservative and the sociopolitical fabric has been further ravaged by militancy, terrorism and repeated efforts by the Taliban to seize control of the region. In their documentary, Chaudary and Sajjad interview other women who work outside their homes, but none of them share their names or allow their faces to be visible on camera. They speak to a Shia colleague at the radio station and a Christian tailor who share anecdotes of being discriminated against. On camera, Sajjad receives a call from a man requesting a Pashto song on her Urdu programme. She laughs off the silliness.

The breeziest parts are those filmed at home, where Chaudarys parents speak supportive words with pride and conviction, her sister always seems to be sleeping late and her younger brother tries to disrupt shooting with his toys and noises. Stop behaving like a Pakistani," Chaudary chides him, laughing out loud at her own joke.

There was a time when I would go out to film on my own, covered by a chador and a veil. One day I found myself completely surrounded by men and young boys, just standing and staring at me," Chaudary recounts an incident from her early years of being a video journalist. I removed the veil from my face and dared them. Is this what you are here to see? Well, see my face and leave. Let me do my work."

This is Madiha Chaudarypractical, bold and frank. By the time Mohan completed the editing of the film, Chaudary had got married to a colleague at the IRC, and was expecting her first child. Today, her two children are five and four years old, and Chaudary has become the most sought after female wedding videographer in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region.

When their documentary film was first screened at the annual IAWRT (International Association of Women in Radio and Television) Asia Womens Film Festival in New Delhi, Chaudary travelled to Lahore for a video chat with the first audience of the film via Skype.

People queued up in front of the computer at the India International Centre (in Delhi) to speak to her," Mohan remembers. It was such a moment of connection, as Chaudarys image was projected on the big screen in the auditorium."

There is an innocent wisdom in Chaudarys words as she chats with me via WhatsApp. She sends me an audio clip in which she talks about how much she loves the film.

When somebody works hard on something, she does fall in love in with it. Even if it is something trivial. If one has so much as sewn a button on ones dress, one looks at it again and again. Just like that I have also watched this film many times. When we would receive feedback on its screenings and how it had been received, I would feel pride. After all, we had worked hard on it day and night. I had revealed myself in itthis is who I am. I am happy to be validated."

As she remembered more about the film experience, Mohan shared: In a way, it is my favourite film of all the ones I have edited. It is so delightful, with its youthful, bubbly, wonderful women protagonists. There is no burden, if you know what I mean."
Around 8,000 ducks and domesticated birds within one-km radius of the hotspot will be culled in the coming days to check the disease spread.
Marin County Sheriffs Office / /

A 16-year-old San Francisco girl who went missing on Mount Tamalpais Wednesday was found safe Thursday morning after a 7-hour search, officials said.

The girl, Sarah Jane Tang, disappeared Wednesday when she got separated from a friend while hiking, according to the Marin County Sheriffs Office. She was wearing a gray Lowell High School sweatshirt.
England-based Tissue Regenix Group announced Wednesday that it completed its acquisition of Texas biotech company CellRight Technologies, which specializes in making bone and skin grafts.

Tissue Regenix, a regenerative medical device company based in Leeds, United Kingdom, declined to discuss the terms of the deal. The acquisition is worth up to $30 million, according to a July 20 filing with the London Stock Exchange.

CellRight and TRX share a common goal and vision, Tissue Regenix CEO Antony Odell said in a news release. Together, we can expedite and expand our research and development pipelines, increase our market presence both in the U.S. and internationally and create more value for our stakeholders, both clinical and financial.

CellRight, based in Universal City, Texas, currently has 19 employees, who will all stay with the company as part of the deal, CellRight CEO Jesus Hernandez said in an email. Tissue Regenix already has a San Antonio presence through its Tissue Regenix Wound Care Inc. subsidiary.

CellRight will maintain its name and will become the base of U.S. operations for Tissue Regenix over time, Odell said in an email.

Tissue Regenix is traded on the London Stock Exchange. The companys stock price declined 10 percent following the announcement of the deal late last month but has since recovered.

A shareholder filed a lawsuit against CellRight earlier this year to block a potential sale. State District Judge Cathleen Stryker temporarily delayed the deal. CellRight and the shareholder, a partnership called HugoCellR, later reached a settlement.

Hernandez is pursuing the sale to Tissue Regenix as the best course for his own professional prestige and personal lifestyle, which are unrelated to the fair market value of the company, HugoCellR said in the suit. Thus, Hernandez is personally and financially interested in both sides of the deal.

The terms of the settlement were not disclosed. Lamont Jefferson, the attorney representing HugoCellR, did not return request for comment Thursday. He told the Express-News in June, Our client is on board with the deal, given the additional terms that were involved in the settlement.
Mark Lennihan /Associated Press

Superior HealthPlan, which operates Medicaid and Medicare programs in Texas, is delaying its switch to a new medical supplier and notifying patients that they can choose another company for glucose monitors, catheters and other supplies.

Superior originally awarded a sole source contract to Illinois company Medline starting on Sept. 1, but decided to delay the agreement until Oct. 1 after a San Antonio medical supplier sent a protest letter last month to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission.
The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books

By Martin Edwards

Poisoned Pen. 353 pp. Paperback, $15.95

---

In 2015, Martin Edwards brought out "The Golden Age of Murder," a history of Britain's Detection Club that went on to sweep nearly all of crime writing's nonfiction awards. Little wonder. It is an irresistible book, packed with insider anecdotes about a secretive association boasting such celebrated members as G.K. Chesterton and R. Austin Freeman (creators of Father Brown and Dr. Thorndyke); the crime queens Dorothy L. Sayers and Agatha Christie; that master of the locked-room puzzle, John Dickson Carr; and, not least, co-founder A.B. Cox, equally accomplished whether writing as the witty Anthony Berkeley ("The Poisoned Chocolates Case") or the bone-chilling Francis Iles ("Before the Fact").

Since "The Golden Age of Murder" appeared, Edwards - himself a gifted and prolific writer of mysteries, as well as a scholar of the field - has emerged as a driving force behind the republication of older detective fiction, contributing introductions to many of the titles in the series British Library Crime Classics. All that reading lies behind his new work of critical appreciation and rediscovery, "The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books."

Note that phrase "classic crime." Edwards focuses on the first half of the 20th century, the period between Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Hound of the Baskervilles" (1902) and Julian Symons's "The Thirty-First of February" (1950). While he does include a few Americans - Dashiell Hammett, Patricia Highsmith - as well as the Belgian Georges Simenon and the Argentine H. Bustos Domecq (the collaborative pen name of Jorge Luis Borges and Adolfo Bioy Casares), the emphasis is overwhelmingly on British writers. To ensure as wide a net as possible, he generally selects just one title by his chosen author, usually his or her first major work. Agatha Christie is the principal exception: She is represented by "The Mysterious Affair at Styles" and "The Murder at the Vicarage," which introduce, respectively, her detectives Hercule Poirot and Jane Marple. However, Edwards can't resist adding another Poirot, "The ABC Murders."

Though all three of these whodunits showcase Christie's excellence, only the last approaches the ingenuity of her supreme masterpieces, "And Then There Were None," "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" and "Murder on the Orient Express." This is worth emphasizing because Edwards' history shouldn't be viewed as a list of the absolutely greatest works of mystery and detection. If you need such a guide, you should look for H.R.F. Keating's "Crime and Mystery: The 100 Best Books" or the unannotated "Classic Crime Fiction: The Haycraft-Queen Cornerstones" (freely available online). Edwards instead emphasizes the genre's artistic range. He draws especial attention to titles that "cast a light on human behaviour, and display both literary ambition and accomplishment" and those that highlight an era's sociopolitical concerns: "Even unpretentious detective stories, written for unashamedly commercial reasons, can give us clues to the past, and give us insight into a long-vanished world."

For each of his 100 titles, Edwards provides a two- or three-page mini-essay, outlining the mystery's setup - while carefully avoiding spoilers - and closing with a brief paragraph about the author. Good as these appreciations are, they might have avoided a certain stylistic sameness by quoting more frequently from the chosen books.

Being of taxonomical turn of mind, Edwards also organizes his many titles by kind rather than chronology, usually settling on three to five works to represent various categories. In "The Justice Game," for instance, he covers "Trial and Error," by Anthony Berkeley; "Verdict of Twelve," by Raymond Postgate; "Tragedy at Law," by Cyril Hare; and "Smallbone Deceased," by Michael Gilbert. All these will be familiar to detective story aficionados. More often, his titles will be recognized by only the most well-read. Happily, Christopher St. John Sprigg's tantalizing "Death of an Airman," J. Jefferson Farjeon's "The Z Murders," and Anthony Rolls's "Family Matters," among others, are now available from the aforementioned British Library Crime Classics.

To my mind, Edwards particularly shines in the prefatory essays to his 24 categories, in which he mentions some of his own favorite books, such as Henry Wade's "Lonely Magdalen" - about the murder of a nameless prostitute - and Robert Player's twisty "The Ingenious Mr. Stone," which "signaled the end of the era" or, most intriguing of all, Cameron McCabe's "The Face on the Cutting-Room Floor," described by Julian Symons as "the detective story to end detective stories." Introducing "Fiction From Fact," Edwards naturally zeroes in on the true-life Julia Wallace case, which Raymond Chandler dubbed "the nonpareil of all murder mysteries." Both Dorothy Sayers and P.D. James were comparably fascinated by this beating death in a locked room.

In "The Birth of the Golden Age," Edwards stresses the pivotal importance of E.C. Bentley's "Trent's Last Case" (1913), partly for its sprightliness but mainly because the hero's obviously correct solution to the murder turns out be completely wrong. By 1929, Anthony Berkeley's "The Poisoned Chocolates Case" and Dashiell Hammett's "The Dain Curse" were both able to present multiple solutions to a single crime: Berkeley's dazzling novel offers six different interpretations of the same murder. Fifty years later, Christianna Brand - author of the wartime classic "Green for Danger" - came up with a seventh solution and in 2016 Edwards himself published an eighth.

Let me end, like many good mysteries, with a confession: After reading "The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books" I quickly bought secondhand copies of Christopher Bush's "The Perfect Murder Case," George Limnelius' "The Medbury Fort Murder" and Gladys Mitchell's "The Mystery of a Butcher's Shop." Edwards made them sound so good that right now I'd almost kill for a quiet week at the beach.
Jeannette Walls has to be careful with pronouns.

When talking about her former life as a gossip columnist for such venues as New York magazine and MSNBC, she uses the first person: "I was a 'journalist,' in air quotes," she jokes. It's the same when she's speaking about her best-selling 2005 memoir "The Glass Castle," whose child protagonist - Jeannette Walls - was the daughter of a nomadic, often jobless and homeless alcoholic and his painter wife.

The book, described by the New York Times as "an alternately wrenching and exhilarating yarn," chronicles the harrowing childhood that Walls and her three siblings, Lori, Brian and Maureen, experienced with their father, Rex, and mother, Rose Mary, wandering from town to town before settling in Rex's home town of Welch, West Virginia. Notable episodes of mistreatment by Rex include being thrown into water over her head so that she would learn to swim and being left alone, at the age of 13, with one of her father's lecherous adult male co-workers.

Then there's the new movie version of the book, adapted by filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton ("Short Term 12") and starring three different actresses as Walls at various ages. (Oscar winner Brie Larson plays the teenage and young-adult versions. Woody Harrelson plays Rex, who died in 1994, and Naomi Watts portrays Rose Mary, who now lives with her daughter on a horse farm in Orange, Virginia.) While visiting Washington, D.C., to talk about the movie's portrayal of herself, Walls sometimes switches between "I," "she" and "they."

Q: Does watching yourself on screen give you a lens through which you can view your story in a way that's a closer to the way a reader might perceive you - almost like having an out-of-body experience?

A: The answer is yes. I didn't feel that way watching the other actors. Seeing Woody was bizarre to me, because he captured Dad so much. Ditto, Naomi. Seeing Ella Anderson, the middle Jeannette, broke my heart. Here was this 10-year-old, 11-year-old, trying to get her dad to stop drinking. Seeing him throw her into in the pool, I just wanted to rush at the screen. That was a shocker. I was on the set when Brie, as me, was told by my older sister Lori (Sarah Snook) that she was leaving for New York. I burst into tears. It was the effect of seeing myself from a distance.

Q: Was there a sense of detachment?

A: Exactly. I first tried writing the book from the perspective of an adult looking back. But it was too stilted. So I wrote it from the viewpoint of a child going through these things. Seeing them, these actors, playing me on screen - this is going to sound schmaltzy and hokey - but I think I was able to forgive myself a little bit more.

Q: For what?

A: For the decisions I had to make. Anybody who pulls themselves up by their bootstraps, to some degree, has to cut off their family. You remake yourself.

Q: Were you plagued by guilt?

A: That's a harsh term, but it's accurate. I was.

Q: Why? Because you felt you owed something to your parents?

A: Not just my parents, but my kid sister, Maureen. Could I have done more for her? Did I leave for New York too soon? Did I leave too late? Should I have taken her with me? I'm a scrapper and a survivor, but I'll never know if I did the right thing.

Q: Didn't you once call yourself pathologically independent?

A: I did. One time, I was carrying two pieces of luggage and my handbag, and my husband (novelist John Taylor) said, "Let me help you with all that." I said, "I can do it on my own!" He said, "Of course you can, but you don't have to." That was such a revelation, because I was so afraid of depending on anybody else. And then you see the movie, and you're like, "Ah, no wonder." She - that would be me - had to make some tough decisions. One of them was my decision to follow Lori to New York City. I was 13. It was after that scene in the bar (in which Jeannette fights off the advances of her father's friend). That was the moment when I said, "I've got to get out of here." I loved him, and I believe he loved me, in his damaged way. But he was not going to protect me.

Q: It's like he was throwing you in the deep end all over again.

A: That's exactly what it was. I love that analogy. But that kind of cuts him some slack. Some people think I should be so angry, and that I was abused. I was at a book event one time, and someone said, "As a survivor of child abuse ..." I said, "Wait a minute. I don't see it that way."

Q: Isn't it abuse? Some viewers may have a hard time swallowing Brie Larson's line, when she tells Rex, on his deathbed, that she turned out like him, and she's glad she did.

A: In some ways, I wish I were more like him. He was so much more brilliant than I am, so much more of a performer, a much better writer. The things we have in common that I owe to him is a fearlessness, a demon-chasing quality that he actually didn't have as much as I have. One pivotal moment in the movie is when the kids gang up on Irma (Rex's mother, who sexually molested both Brian and Rex), to beat on her head. She was the personification of my father's demons, but he couldn't do that himself. It freaked him out that his kids could.

Q: Maureen has been diagnosed with schizophrenia. Do you ever blame her condition on her childhood?

A: One of the few things I understand about schizophrenia is that we really don't understand much about it. It seems both biological and environmental. You inherit a propensity for it, and it's triggered by environmental factors. I've talked to Maureen about it a number of times, and she's said that she had imaginary friends back when she was 5 or 6 years old.

Q: Has it occurred to you that your parents may also have been mentally ill?

A: Readers who are smarter than I kept saying, "Your father was bipolar." At first, I resisted that idea, because I thought he was just a drunk. He'd be great when he was sober. I realize now they were probably right. He was never diagnosed. Many alcoholics are trying to self-medicate.

Q: Have you yourself ever seen a therapist?

A: I haven't. I believe that therapy is storytelling. My husband, who urged me to write the book in the first place, likes to say that the process of writing is the process of thinking.

Q: Is it weird to juggle multiple Jeannettes: the one in the book, the ones in the movie, the one that you see when you look in the mirror?

A: It's very weird. I, she, her, they.

Q: What did you leave out of your story?

A: Not much. Some Rex drunk scenes. One thing is a scene at Barnard, where I ultimately went to college. A very skinny woman befriended me because she thought I was anorexic.

Q: You do have a complicated relationship with food, or so I've read.

A: I've never really gotten the fetishization of food in the big cities, where they make it into architecture. It's just food. Where I come from, you're eating fancy if you don't serve it out of the can.

Q: The movie opens, in 1989, with Jeannette at an expensive restaurant. She asks if she can have her dining companion's leftovers.

A: I still do that, to this day. Just now, I was walking down the hotel hallway and I was like, "Huh, somebody left some food. That looks good." I don't need to do that anymore.

Q: Your childhood sounds horrific, yet you seem to have turned out OK. Are you the poster child for alternative parenting?

A: I think I am. I would not recommend it, however. I am one of the happiest and healthiest people I know. The last time I got sick was 1987. One of the biggest differences between myself and my husband is that he gets really embarrassed when he has to buy toilet paper. I'm so happy to buy toilet paper. I read somewhere that the secret to happiness is low expectations.

Q: The film ends with Jeannette escaping West Virginia for fame and fortune in New York City. Yet here you are, back in the boondocks of Orange, Virginia.

A: It's the boomerang effect. I was living on Park Avenue, but that wasn't who I am. I'm a hick at heart. It may not be Welsh, but I've got green, rolling hills, horses and chickens.

Q: And toilet paper.

A: What more could a girl ask for?
The Only Living Boy in New York, in which a misunderstood Millennial man falls for his rich fathers mistress, is a misfire in Manhattan, and there is nothing that its appealing cast can do to save it.

The story begins as recent college graduate Thomas (Callum Turner) is wondering what to do with his life, though money is clearly not an issue: His biggest crisis seems to be deciding whether he should live in the Lower or Upper East Side of Manhattan. There is girl trouble, too, but fortunately a wise alcoholic stranger (Jeff Bridges) has just moved in upstairs, and within seconds, Thomas has someone to confide in.

Thats a good thing for our lad in distress, because he discovers that his father (Pierce Brosnan) is having an affair with the beautiful Johanna (Kate Beckinsale). Thomas stalks her, and for reasons that escape us, Beckinsale responds by basically inviting Thomas to bed. We briefly hold out hope that this relationship might turn into something interesting, but Turner and Beckinsale have zero chemistry, mainly because they have nothing to work with.

Indeed, most of the problems of Living Boy can be traced to the script, which is filled with silly dialogue and embarrassing narration that attempts to explain the nonsensical actions of people whom we care less and less about as the story moves along. The screenplay seems like it came from Woody Allens reject pile  20 years ago.

The actors here are game, but its difficult for them to engage when theres nothing on the page. The pointlessness of the project becomes painfully evident in the third act, when we are treated to a plot twist that seems thrown in to divert us from the fact that the older woman-younger man relationship offers nothing in the way of insight.

The best thing about Living Boy is the performance of Cynthia Nixon, who plays Thomas emotionally unstable mother. Creating a character out of thin air, Nixon provides another reminder that she has been building an interesting body of work since her stint on Sex and the City.

This is a movie that borrows from many other movies  Manhattan and The Graduate, just to name two  and there is nothing wrong with that. But director Marc Webb and writer Allan Loeb dont bring anything new to the proceedings, and worse, neither the dramatic nor the occasional comic beats hit their notes. All in all, Living Boy just doesnt have any life.

David Lewis is a Bay Area freelance writer.

The Only Living Boy in New York

Drama. Starring Callum Turner, Kate Beckinsale, Pierce Brosnan, Cynthia Nixon, Jeff Bridges. Directed by Marc Webb. (R. 88 minutes).
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A first-of-its-kind music festival in North Texas promises an "out of this world" lineup in September.

But there's a catch: You won't probably won't know who most of the performers are before you shell out anywhere from $90, for a one-day general admission pass, to $1,350 for the "VIP Galaxy" 2-day pass.

The Starfest Music Festival is slated to be held in Plano on September 8-9. Deemed a "pop-up concert," organizers announced its existence only about a month before the festival and only one headliner has been announced so far: Lil Wayne.

Other artists will be announced in the weeks leading up to and even during the festival and organizers have promised some heavy-hitters.

The last minute-seeming nature of the event has drawn comparisons online to Fyre Fest, the in the Bahamas that was marketed as ultra-luxury but ended in disaster for guests who experienced problems with security, food, accommodations and artists, leaving them stranded, concert-less and out thousands of dollars.

READ ALSO: Concert fans angry as hyped Bahamas festival is canceled

But organizers say there are some key differences - and that the wait was done on purpose.

The City of Plano confirmed the location at Oak Point Park has been secured by organizers for that weekend.

David Taylor, one of the four event organizers, told mySA.com they have purposely kept the concert under cover the past five or six months while getting everything lined up with the city.

Taylor said they needed to make sure the concert would be viable before for making the announcement, which happened on Friday.

"It's going to be difficult for people to make a decision while the artists aren't announced," Taylor acknowledged but added he believes that will change once they release the next big artists.

Taylor said they currently have 12 to 13 performers under contract, with both a lot of local talent and worldwide artists. Taylor promises DJ's from London, rap artists from Atlanta and country stars from Nashville. He said they are hoping to announce four performers this week .

"That's when it will get a little bit more fun, "Taylor said.

The organizers, who Taylor said all have experience in the industry, came together with different skills to create something "that hadn't ever been done before."

"ACL would be our biggest competitor by far. I can't recall (a pop-up concert) in Dallas that was that different and big," Taylor said.

Starfest's most exclusive VIP ticket costs $1,250 with a $100 fee for a two day admission. For over a grand, festival goers are promised an air conditioned viewing lounge and restrooms, chef driven lunch and dinner, mini spa treatments, carnival ride pass and VIP parking.

RELATED: Rap star Nas announces San Antonio concert date

Taylor would not comment on the number of tickets sold so far, but their website advises the public to act quickly.

"The venue only holds around 30,000 people so act quickly before the tickets sell out," Starfest website states.

The festival organizer said they are withholding the "best" artists for last and some will be a complete surprise.

For more information on the pop-up music festival, visit Starfest website.

jthorpe@express-news.net

@jerilynnthorpe
Hollywood has a special knack for making people feel far from perfect and actresses are no exception. Here are 12 gorgeous women who have been told they were either too fat or too old to play a certain role.

Read original story 12 Actresses Absurdly Accused of Being Too Old or Too Fat, From Chloe Grace Moretz to Jennifer Lawrence (Photos) At TheWrap
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On Monday, Laredo City Council voted to send a resolution to Webb County expressing that they have no confidence in Elections Administrator Oscar Villarreal.

"The Laredo City Council hereby urges the Webb County Elections (Commission) and the Webb County Commissioners Court to replace its Elections Administrator with someone who is able to fulfill the responsibilities of the office and inspire public confidence in the election process," the resolution reads.

At the meeting, Webb County Tax Assessor/Collector Patricia Barrera and Webb County Republican Party Chair Randy Blair, who are both on the county's Elections Commission, spoke publicly against the resolution.

The Elections Commission is an advisory board to Webb County Commissioners Court.

The Elections Administration, Barrera said, is an office created by the state to facilitate elections. The office does not count ballots; party chairs recommend people to work at each precinct and to do the counting, she said.

READ MORE: Proposed $125 million jail facility for Webb County includes kitchen, firing range, infirmary

"The purpose of the Elections Office is to eliminate all kinds of 'political' maneuvering within the ballot and within the counting of ballots," Barrera said, employing air quotes.

And to say that Villarreal is doing a lousy job is incorrect, she said.

Blair said the Elections Administration is tasked with being independent of candidates and parties, and must run elections according to laws and regulations.

For City Council to say that they have no confidence in Villarreal, Blair said, does not jive with the fact that elections administrators across the state have appointed him to a leadership role in their association. Villarreal is the legislative liaison for the Texas Association of Elections Administrators, according to their July newsletter.

Councilman Roberto Balli, who originally moved that City Council send this resolution, agreed with Blair that it is important for the elections administrator to maintain neutrality. The comments Villarreal made in Sunday's LMT, Balli said, show that he is not neutral.

"Both the previous and current Demo party chairs, Balli and (Councilman Alberto) Torres, keep insisting that this office continues to have problem after problem during the elections but if it weren't for the city council of Laredo placing 24 propositions on the November 2016 ballot, we wouldn't have had all those problems that delayed the final election results and as far as I am aware, that was the only problem we had in the presidential election last year," Villarreal said in a statement in response to the upcoming vote on the resolution.

"As far as not having confidence in me, well, you have to consider the source... these allegations are coming from two individuals that are currently under investigation by the FBI. They must be under the mistaken impression that their constituents have a lot of confidence in them."

Balli said for Villarreal to make these comments, since they address elected officials, is inappropriate and wrong.

RELATED: New city manager unanimously elected by Laredo City Council

"One of the reasons that we brought this forward was because there's been so many candidates who have said exactly that, that he does pick sides, that he's not neutral," Balli said. "... And how can he, after the comments that he made, be involved in elections that involve this council? When he's attacking members of this council publicly?"

Villarreal did not respond to a request for comment regarding these allegations.

Councilwoman Nelly Vielma said because this resolution directs Villarreal by name, it is human nature for him to respond and defend himself. He is not being biased when he is facilitating elections, Vielma said.

She and Councilman Charlie San Miguel voted against sending the resolution to the Elections Commission and Commissioners Court.

The Elections Commission is made up of Webb County Judge Tano Tijerina, Blair, Torres, Barrera and County Clerk Margie Ibarra. The board has not met for over a year.

Julia Wallace may be reached at 956-728-2543 or jwallace@lmtonline.com
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This week the town of La Porte celebrates a milestone a century and change in the making.

The oldest incorporated town in east Harris County was formed on August 10, 1892.

TEXAS PRIDE: 17 things we Texans are completely used to

For most of 2017 the town has been celebrating its 125 years of its existence with parties and parades.

La Porte was founded in 1892 as a real estate investment and enjoyed a period in the 1920s and 1930s as a regional tourist destination due to Sylvan Beach Park, still a local gem.

Fun fact: both surgeon Denton Cooley and broadcaster Walter Cronkite spent time working at the park in their youth.

The 1,200-acre San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site still brings tourists and Texas history buffs to the area at a regular clip.

DOWN SOUTH: Alvin's historical society shares photos of town's early days

Ground was broken in 1936 on the San Jacinto Monument on the north side of town. It opened up to the world three years later. The Battleship Texas arrived within a few hundred yards of the monument in 1948.

Much like Deer Park to the west of Texas 225, La Porte's residents benefited from the refineries that provided industry and jobs for those in the region. Du Pont built a plant there in 1945, and the Bayport Channel and nearby Johnson Space Center only bolstered the prosperity in the city.
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An unintended mistake could have placed the lives of students at the Lee College Education Center-South Liberty County campus in harm's way last week.

A news release was sent on July 27 at 2:41 p.m. by Lee College concerning its Campus Concealed Weapon Policy. There's only one problem with that policy - that building is not owned by Lee College.

The confusion came when the policy was about to become state law on Aug. 1. Lee College accidentally sent out a news release concerning the new policy.

The release read, "In accordance with the state law allowing individuals with a concealed handgun license to carry a handgun on the campuses of all Texas public colleges and universities, Lee College will implement its new Campus Concealed Weapon Policy on Tuesday, Aug. 1."

More Information MoRE inFORMATION For additional information about the Lee College Campus Concealed Weapon Policy, visit www.lee.edu/campus-carry. See More Collapse

The release also gave students a link to click on that would take them to a site that explained the policy along with frequently asked questions.

The fourth graph of the story also included this statement: "The new campus carry rules will apply to all students, faculty, staff and visitors across the college district, including the main campus and McNair Center in Baytown, and the Lee College Education Center  South Liberty County."

The error was discovered some 20 hours later and a correction was immediately sent.

"In an earlier release dated July 27, 2017, Lee College incorrectly stated that the Education Center in South Liberty County would fall under its new campus concealed carry policy. This facility is a gun-free zone and is excluded from the State of Texas campus concealed carry legislation. The college regrets the error."

Erring on the side of safety, the Dayton News sought clarity and confirmed on Friday that the campus does not belong to Lee College.

In a statement to the Dayton News, Lee College spokesperson Marti Covington said, "The facility that houses the Lee College Education Center-South Liberty County is owned by the Liberty Independent School District. Therefore, the State of Texas campus concealed carry legislation that covers community colleges does not apply. The center is a gun-free zone," she said.

Signage on the door points out that handguns are prohibited.

"Pursuant to Section 30.06, penal code (trespass by license holder with a concealed handgun), a person licensed under subchapter H, chapter 411, government code (handgun licensing law), may not enter this property with a concealed handgun," the sign reads.

Liberty ISD Superintendent Dr. Cody Abshier heard about the error last Thursday and issued a brief statement through the district's attorney Brandon Davis.

"It is currently illegal for individuals to carry firearms on Liberty ISD property unless they are peace officers or security personnel specifically authorized to carry by the LISD school board," Davis said.

For students who might attend any of the Lee College campuses, here's a few bullet points on the new policy:

The open carry of handguns on the Lee College campus is still prohibited. Under concealed carry, no person should notice that someone is carrying a gun. The outline of a gun should not be visible through their clothing or bag.

Only persons who have a license to carry a concealed weapon can bring a handgun on campus. Any certified peace officer may also carry a gun on campus.

License to Carry holders must carry their hand guns on or about their person, or secure their handgun in a locked motor vehicle at all times while on campus. Lee College does not provide storage for handguns.

Only handguns are permitted under the Campus Carry Policy, not rifles or other long guns.

There are areas on campus defined by state law or designated by the president as exclusionary zones, where the concealed carry of handguns will be prohibited. These areas will be clearly marked with signage notifying License to Carry holders that entry with a concealed handgun is prohibited.

After Gov. Greg Abbott signed Texas Senate Bill 11 into law in summer 2015, Lee College convened a task force of administrators, faculty, staff and students to draft the initial campus carry policy.

The task force also conducted town hall meetings and focus groups to solicit insights and feedback from stakeholders both on and off campus.

The Lee College Board of Regents approved the final policy in June.

"At Lee College, safety is a priority for our students, faculty, staff and visitors," said Steve Evans, vice president of Finance and Administration.

"Lee College leadership has been working closely with stakeholders to develop policy and procedures for this new law, as well as to determine how the law will be implemented."
SEOUL, South Korea - Between American threats of "fire and fury" and North Korea's vow to unleash a "historic enveloping fire" on a U.S. territory, the war of words between Pyongyang and Washington has suddenly raised fears of escalating into an actual war.

It also has brought a rush of speculation about the brinkmanship at play - including trying to understand the moves and motives of the North's leader, Kim Jong Un.

With his unequivocal words, Trump appeared intent on sending a message to North Korea - and to its traditional backer China - that enough was enough, according to administration officials.

But with Kim, the endgame is about all seeking to stay in power, analysts said.

The 33-year-old leader inherited control of the totalitarian regime from his father and grandfather, who founded North Korea with Soviet and Chinese backing after World War II.

"What Kim Jong Un really wants is to improve his missiles and nuclear weapons and to keep the country under his leadership," said Michael Madden, who runs the North Korea Leadership Watch website.

Although the Western caricature of Kim is of a pudgy madman with a funny hairdo, he has been a textbook dictator, making rational decisions for someone who wants to retain absolute power.

On Thursday, South Korea's National Security Council urged North Korea to calm down, offering the prospect of talks, while its military issued a much sterner warning. The Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea would suffer "strong and resolute retaliation" from allied American and South Korean forces if it mounted an attack on either country.

The warnings came after North Korea earlier Thursday made an unusually specific threat. In a statement attributed to the North Korean army's Strategic Forces commander, Pyongyang threatened to fire four intermediate-range Hwasong-12 ballistic missiles over Japan for "3,356.7km for 1,065 seconds" - nearly 18 minutes - by the middle of this month, saying they would land within 18 to 25 miles of Guam, the American territory in the Pacific that is home to large Air Force and Navy bases.

This threat was not made in response to Trump's "fire and fury" remarks - the wheels of Kim's bureaucracy move more slowly than Trump's - but rather in reaction to the United States launching of a Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Aug. 2.

Japanese government leaders denounced the threat and residents in the three Japanese prefectures named as on the missiles' flight path expressed fear and anger.

"Honestly, I didn't pay much attention to [the North Korean missile issue]," said Eihachiro Matsuzawa of the fishermen's cooperative in Kochi, one of the prefectures named.

"Most of us fish for living so it would harm our business if we couldn't go out to sea because of these missile launches. What's the point of them? It makes me angry," he told Japan's Sankei Shimbun newspaper.

A war still remains in no one's interest - especially not in that of the 25 million South Koreans who live within range of North Korea's conventional artillery - but the combination of two tempestuous leaders with nuclear codes has created an atmosphere where anything seems possible.

"The risk in northeast Asia stems from both Trump and Kim Jong Un," said Koo Hae-woo, who was a top official at South Korea's intelligence service until 2014 and now runs the Korea Institute for Future Strategies think-tank.

"Kim is ratcheting up the tension to the maximum level, while President Trump doesn't rule out war as an option," Koo said.

The Kims have kept a tight grip on North Korea internally through a brutal system of repression and fear, and have increasingly kept the outside world at bay by developing nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them. This has traditionally been viewed as a deterrent to fend off the kind of fate that Saddam Hussein suffered in Iraq and Moammar Gadhafi endured in Libya.

Since taking over the reins at the end of 2011, Kim Jong Un has rapidly accelerated the development of North Korea's weapons program, presiding over three nuclear tests and surprising improvements in its missile technology.

Last month, North Korea launched two intercontinental ballistic missiles believed capable of reaching the mainland United States, and American intelligence officials have concluded that they are now able to attach nuclear warheads to them, crossing a key threshold on the path to becoming a full-fledged nuclear power.

While these weapons might work as a deterrent, it would be suicidal for Kim to actually use them and risk retaliation by the much more powerful American military.

"Kim Jong Un is not trying to pick a fight," Madden said.

An American analyst who is in contact with senior North Korean officials, Madden said that Pyongyang was well aware that Trump had a habit of speaking - or tweeting - off the cuff.

"North Koreans are not taking this seriously. They're saying that Trump is saying these kinds of things because he hasn't 'consolidated his power' yet," he said - using a line that American experts usually use to describe questionable things that Kim does.

Cheong Seong-chang, a North Korean leadership expert at the left-leaning Sejong Institute in the South, agreed with Madden that Kim does not want actual conflict with the United States.

"North Korea is not developing ICBM technology to start a war with the U.S." Cheong said. "This is all about preventing the U.S. from intervening in any military conflict on the Korean Peninsula. It wants to influence American decisions. The U.S. does not want to be criticized for risking American lives to protect its allies."

Others see a ploy by North Korea to ratchet up the tensions and make the most progress on its weapons program before sanctions bite and it is forced to return to the negotiating table.

"The U.S. will only agree to talk with the North if it thinks a physical clash is imminent," said Koo Hae-woo, who was a top official at South Korea's intelligence service until 2014 and now runs the Korea Institute for Future Strategies think-tank. "The North is not aiming for a clash but increasing the tension to create an environment for negotiation."

But behind the assessment of Kim as a rational, if brutal, leader with a master game plan lies a worrying precedent.

Rational leaders of new nuclear states with a small number of weapons tend to be most reckless in their early years, said Van Jackson, an expert on North Korean security issues at Victoria University in New Zealand.

"There's a temptation to see how much juice they can squeeze out of these weapons that they've spent so much money and effort making," he said, adding that this created more pressure, not less, to demonstrate nuclear capability.

The closest analog to the North Korea situation is Pakistan, he said. Rather than following the Cold War model of mutually assured destruction, Pakistan has adopted a strategy of "asymmetric escalation" - being able to use a nuclear arsenal against a conventional attack.

"The fact that Kim Jong Un is rational doesn't necessarily lead to good outcomes," Jackson said. "Rationality takes us to a more dangerous place right now."

---

The Washington Post's Yoonjung Seo in Seoul and Yuki Oda in Tokyo contributed reporting.
Democrat Ralph Northam has a narrow edge over Republican Ed Gillespie in the Virginia governor's race, according to new survey results released Wednesday.

Among voters, 44 percent favor Northam, the state's lieutenant governor, while 38 percent back Gillespie, according to the poll by Quinnipiac University. Libertarian candidate Cliff Hyra drew 4 percent.

The latest poll findings are similar to a survey released Tuesday by Virginia Commonwealth University's L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs. Northam's advantage in both polls are statistically insignificant.

The general election campaign is still in early stages, with neither candidate launching a sustained advertising blitz yet. Gillespie began airing ads late last month.

Quinnipiac's last polling of the Virginia governor's race, shortly after the June 13 primary, gave Northam an eight-point lead and did not include Hyra as an option.

The latest poll sheds light on how President Donald Trump and the economy could factor into voter decision-making in November.

Northam often criticizes Trump's policies and called him a "narcissistic maniac" in a widely aired commercial during the primary campaign. Gillespie, who largely avoided discussing the president during the primary, has embraced Trump more openly this summer and has criticized Northam's rhetoric.

Trump's approval rating continues to be low in the commonwealth, with 36 percent of Virginia voters approving of his performance and nearly 61 disapproving.

And more voters seem to be wary of having a Trump-supporting governor, with 48 percent saying they were less likely to vote for a gubernatorial candidate who backs Trump compared with 21 percent who said they were more likely.

But Trump opponents in Virginia are far from united for Northam. Support for the Democrat lags behind the president's disapproval rating while Gillespie is slightly outperforming Trump's approval rating, suggesting Northam has room to grow or his opponent has been insulating himself from an unpopular president.

"Ed Gillespie apparently has been able to convince many voters that he is his own man," said Pete Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "Gillespie is within six percentage points of Northam despite President Donald Trump's unpopularity in the Old Dominion."

Part of Gillespie's strength comes from independent voters: He leads them by nine points over Northam, even though 40 percent of them say they're less likely to back a candidate who support Trump. A quarter of independent voters were either undecided or backed Hyra.

Gillespie, a former political operative who chaired the Republican National Committee and almost unseated Sen. Mark R. Warner (D) in 2014, has made improving Virginia's economy and cutting taxes the focus of his gubernatorial campaign.

The Quinnipiac poll suggested Virginian voters are largely content with the economy. Two-thirds said the economy is good (and 7 percent described it as excellent), and about three-quarters described their personal financial situation as good or excellent.

However, only 28 percent of voters thought the state economy is getting better, while 10 percent believe it's getting worse and 61 percent believe it's staying about the same.

The poll also found health care was a more pressing concern for voters, with 36 percent listing it as the top issue in the governor's race, compared with 25 percent who listed the economy and 11 percent who listed taxes.

Voters thought Northam would do a better job handling health care than Gillespie by a 10-point margin, while they gave Gillespie a slight edge for handling taxes and the economy.

Along with the governor's race, the November ballot features races for lieutenant governor, attorney general and all 100 seats in the House of Delegates.

Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,082 Virginia voters between Thursday and Tuesday. The results have a margin of error of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.
Champlain

They have come from all over the United States, piling out of taxis, pushing strollers and pulling luggage, to the end of a country road in the north woods.

Where the pavement stops, they pick up small children and lead older ones wearing Mickey Mouse backpacks around a "road closed" sign, threading bushes, crossing a ditch, and filing past another sign in French and English that says "No pedestrians." Then they are arrested.

Seven days a week, 24 hours a day, migrants who came to the U.S. from across the globe  Syria, Congo, Haiti, elsewhere  arrive here where Roxham Road dead-ends so they can walk into Canada, hoping its policies will give them the security they believe the political climate in the United States does not.

"In Trump's country, they want to put us back to our country," said Lena Gunja, a 10-year-old from Congo, who until this week had been living in Portland, Maine. She was traveling with her mother, father and younger sister. "So we don't want that to happen to us, so we want a good life for us. My mother, she wants a good life for us."

The passage has become so crowded this summer that Canadian police set up a reception center on their side of the border in the Quebec community of Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle, about 30 miles south of Montreal, or almost 300 miles north of New York City.

It includes tents that have popped up in the past few weeks, where migrants are processed before they are turned over to the Canada Border Services Agency, which handles their applications for refuge.

Under the 2002 Safe Country Agreement between the United States and Canada, migrants seeking asylum must apply to the first country they arrive in. If they were to go to a legal port of entry, they would be returned to the United States and told to apply there.

But, in a quirk in the application of the law, if migrants arrive in Canada at a location other than a port of entry, such as Roxham Road, they are allowed to request refugee status there.
Washington

FBI agents looking for financial documents have searched one of the homes of President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, whose past foreign political work has been swept into the investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election. A Manafort spokesman confirmed the search Wednesday.

Manafort spokesman Jason Maloni said in a statement that FBI agents had obtained a warrant and searched one of Manafort's homes, but he would not say when the search occurred or what it was for.

"Mr. Manafort has consistently cooperated with law enforcement and other serious inquiries and did so on this occasion as well," Maloni said.

The Associated Press has learned the warrant for the search on July 26 at Manafort's home in Alexandria, Va., sought information including tax documents and banking records. The Washington Post first reported the raid.

Manafort has been a subject of a longstanding FBI investigation into his dealings in Ukraine and work for the country's former president, Viktor Yanukovych. That investigation has been incorporated into the probe led by special counsel Robert Mueller, who is also scrutinizing Manafort's role in the Trump campaign as he looks into Russia's meddling in the 2016 election and any possible collusion with Trump associates.

Manafort, who led the Trump campaign for several months, has denied any wrongdoing. He also spoke behind closed doors to Senate investigators for an interview just one day before the search.

The use of a search warrant indicates that law enforcement officials have convinced a judge there is probable cause to believe a crime may have been committed. A house raid can be seen as an aggressive tactic given that Manafort has been cooperating with congressional investigators and has turned over hundreds of pages of documents. It could indicate law enforcement was looking for records beyond what Manafort provided.

Word of the raid is the latest revelation about Mueller's investigation, which had been operating in relative secrecy compared with numerous congressional probes looking at the election. In recent days, it's become clear the former FBI director is using a grand jury in Washington in addition to one in the Eastern District of Virginia, where investigators also have been looking into former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn.

Also, FBI agents have been asking witnesses since the spring about $530,000 worth of lobbying and investigative work carried out by Flynn's firm, Flynn Intel Group, according to a person familiar with the investigation. That work sought the extradition of an exiled Turkish cleric living in the U.S. Through his attorney, Flynn has declined to comment on the investigation.

The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive details of the investigation, said FBI agents have also been asking about Flynn's business partner, Bijan Kian, who served on the Trump presidential transition. Kian has not responded to multiple attempts to contact him over several months.

In recent months, Flynn and Manafort have turned over documents to congressional committees investigating the election interference.

One focus of the multiple probes, including Mueller's, is a June 2016 meeting Manafort attended with Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and Donald Trump Jr.
WASHINGTON - A federal board has blocked the firing of the director of District of Columbia's troubled hospital for veterans, setting up a showdown with the Trump administration as it pursues expanded authority to clean house at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Brian Hawkins, who until recently served as the head of the VA Medical Center in Washington, was removed from his post in April and fired two weeks ago for what VA officials said was a failure to "provide effective leadership."

Investigations by the agency's inspector general found Hawkins oversaw a hospital where patients were endangered by "the highest levels of chaos" and that Hawkins sent confidential VA information to his wife's email account.

However, in a decision issued last week, U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board member Mark Robbins - the sole member of the three-person panel, whose remaining seats have not been filled by the president - ordered a stay of 45 days on Hawkins' firing, asserting his abrupt dismissal may have violated civil-service protections for federal workers.

The Office of Special Counsel, which is tasked with protecting federal workers from improper hiring and firing practices, requested the stay after receiving a complaint from Hawkins.

Robbins' order states that during the stay Hawkins must be "reinstated to the position he held prior to the proposed removal." The decision does not make clear whether Hawkins should resume his duties at the VA Center or return to the job he has held since April, when he was reassigned to administrative work outside the hospital.

But Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin said he had no intention of returning Hawkins to a leadership post at the hospital.

"No judge who has never run a hospital and never cared for our nation's veterans will force me to put an employee back in a position when he allowed the facility to pose potential safety risks to our veterans," Shulkin said in a statement. "Protecting our veterans is my most important responsibility."

The statement said Hawkins had been put back on the payroll in an administrative job at VA headquarters, not at the hospital.

Hawkins could not be reached for comment.

Hawkins's fate could be a test case for the VA secretary's new powers under the VA Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act signed in June by President Donald Trump. Among other things, the law is supposed to make it easier to fire ineffective VA employees.

The president promised during his campaign to reform the agency, which has struggled for years to provide basic care to many veterans.

In April, VA Inspector General Michael Missal issued preliminary findings in his investigation of problems at the veterans' hospital on North Capitol Street. He said he took the rare step of talking about the investigation before it was complete because patients were at risk.

Missal said the hospital was extremely disorganized and that its workers had failed to inventory roughly $150 million in medical supplies.

The lapses directly affected patients' care: In one instance the hospital ran out of dialysis bloodlines and had to borrow them from another facility. In another case a nurse said she was unable to find tubes to insert into a patient's nose to provide oxygen during an emergency.

"We have not seen anything quite like this at a VA facility," Missal said in April. "They have no inventory system. They don't know what they have or what they are going to need."

A more recent report by the inspector general said Hawkins shared "sensitive" information about VA employees and administrative decisions with his wife - who is not a VA employee - via email.

The inspector general could not substantiate separate allegations that Hawkins tried to interfere with a probe into employee bonuses that were allegedly given "without proper justification."

- - -

The Washington Post's Julie Tate contributed to this report.
The United Nations' latest sanctions on North Korea for its nuclear program extend beyond the conventional exports cited in the Security Council resolution -- coal, iron ore, lead ore and seafood.

The restrictions described by diplomats on Aug. 5 as the "most stringent" against the nation also freeze the assets of some of North Korea's biggest companies, including a maker of massive monuments and a Pyongyang-based insurance company that's been linked to a slush fund for leader Kim Jong Un and his family.

Here are more details on the sanctioned entities:

- Korea National Insurance Corp.:

According to a 2016 report by the U.S. Treasury Department, the company is a "substantial" generator of foreign-exchange revenue for the Kim regime and is linked to a secretive part of the government known as Office 39.

"Most people think of Office 39 as Kim's slush fund, a private budget for Kim family purposes," said Sokeel Park, director of research and strategy at Liberty in North Korea, a Seoul-based group working to help refugees from across the border.

KNIC gained prominence when Lloyds of London, Allianz and other reinsurers disputed the country's $57 million claim after a 2005 helicopter crash destroyed a Pyongyang warehouse filled with food and other humanitarian aid.

At the time, the insurers alleged in a London court that the crash was staged and the claim was intended to bring foreign currency into the country to benefit then-leader Kim Jong Il.

Most of those reinsurers agreed to settle in 2008 for about $53 million and to retract all allegations of fraud against the company.

A telephone message seeking comment from a company official wasn't returned, and an email sent seeking comment wasn't answered.

- Mansudae Overseas Project Group of Companies:

Founded in 1959, Mansudae is the nation's most-prominent art studio, with business ties reaching from Algeria and Togo to Cambodia and Malaysia. Primarily engaged in creating tributes to the Kim family, its best-known overseas projects include Senegal's African Renaissance Monument -- taller than the Statue of Liberty -- and Frankfurt's Fairy Tale Fountain.

At the other end of the size scale, it designed the tiny "Kim pins" that North Koreans wear on their lapels.

According to the U.S. Treasury Department, the company has been involved in exporting workers to generate revenue for the Kim regime.

Mansudae's contracts were already in decline as North Korea's diplomatic relations with the outside world deteriorated, said Lim Soo-ho, a research fellow at the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy in Sejong, South Korea.

"The sanctions could have the impact of cutting what contracts they have, but it's also possible that North Korea just changes the name of Mansudae or transfers the contracts to a different state organization," Lim said.

A phone number for the company couldn't be found, and a message sent through its website seeking comment wasn't immediately answered.

- Foreign Trade Bank:

FTB has served as North Korea's main foreign-exchange bank since being established in 1959, doing deals for large state-owned companies. In 2013, the U.S. Treasury Department said the bank facilitated millions of dollars in transactions that benefited the Korea Mining Development Corp., which the U.S. described as "North Korea's premier arms dealer."

Yet there is a suspicion the FTB may be able to evade Security Council Resolution 2371 easily.

"North Korea can easily change entities' names," said Kim Byung-yeon, an economics professor at Seoul National University and author of "Unveiling the North Korean Economy." "For organizations run by the state, North Korea can just shift the sanctioned entities' work to a different organization."

Efforts to find contact information for the company were unsuccessful.

- Koryo Credit Development Bank:

The bank's English-language marketing materials list services that include foreign-currency loans and advances, remittance in foreign currencies, import loans and investment banking, according to materials posted on the website North Korean Economy Watch.

The brochure adds that KCDB's "mission is to become your most user-friendly banker."

The U.N. resolution said the bank is also known as Daesong Credit Development Bank, Koryo Global Credit Bank and Koryo Global Trust Bank.

In March, the entity was banned from using the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT).

In June, the U.S. Treasury Department said Ri Song Hyok, a Beijing-based official for the bank, had established front companies to procure items and conduct financial transactions on behalf of North Korea, and he received cooperation from a Chinese citizen.

A person answering a phone number listed in the company's marketing materials who declined to identify himself said it was difficult to speak about the organization. When asked about the sanctions, the person said he didn't have an opinion on it and hung up.

That person hung up again when called back.
Washington

They've been worried about President Donald Trump going off script for months. And now members of Congress are worried that his blunt and provocative warning to North Korea could lead to war.

Trump, using what a White House official described as his own words during impromptu remarks, threatened he would unleash "fire and fury" on the rogue nation if North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attacked the United States. He later followed it up with a tweet about America's stronger and more powerful nuclear arsenal.

"His bombastic rhetoric really inflamed a very dangerous situation," Rep. John Garamendi, D-Calif., said in an interview. "Kim Jong Un is unpredictable and then we have a very unpredictable, bellicose president. The two is a very dangerous mixture."

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., said in an interview that a constituent at a luncheon told him she was rattled by Trump's talk. "She was scared by the language being used by the president of our country," Cleaver said. "It is not helpful. We don't need to be stirring up anxiety."

It's not just Democrats who are alarmed. Across the nation, lawmakers on a monthlong recess were surprised by Trump's reaction to news reports that Pyongyang had successfully produced a miniaturized nuclear warhead and was considering a plan to fire missiles at Guam. Even some fellow Republicans criticized the president's language.

"It's kind of the classic Trump in that he overstates things," Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., told Arizona radio station KTAR.

McCain said he would prefer that Trump take former President Theodore Roosevelt's advice to speak softly, but carry a big stick. Such warnings, he said, are better delivered in private. Other presidents, such as Ronald Reagan, he said, "would have picked up the phone and called the Chinese and said 'I'm dead serious.'"

Trump's remarks come as Americans increasingly see North Korea's nuclear ambitions as a top threat. A survey by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs found North Korea's nuclear program drew the largest spike of any potential threat facing the United States over the past year. Seventy-five percent of Americans place North Korea's nuclear program among the top threats, up 15 percentage points since 2016.

Many lawmakers called on Trump to pursue diplomacy, working with other nations including Russia and China, to enforce new United Nations sanctions against North Korea. But they could do little if he decided to use military force.

Lawmakers in both parties said after he launched missiles on Syria, Trump needed to go before Congress to seek war powers if he intended further U.S. military action in the country. But issuing such an authorization has been a challenge for years between the White House and Congress.

Congress is now considering new authorization for action against terror groups, although the Trump administration last week told members that it has sufficient legal authority to use military force against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria based on a 2001 law that was approved shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks.
CAIRO - I remember the white car.

Last week, a U.S. appeals court threw out the murder conviction of a former Blackwater Worldwide security guard for his role in the deaths of 14 unarmed Iraqis in a Baghdad traffic circle nearly 10 years ago.

I was reporting in Baghdad that day - Sept. 16, 2007 - when the contractors opened fire. Most of the victims were in their vehicles at Nisoor Square, a busy, heavily guarded roundabout at the time.

Inside a white car was Mehasin Muhsin Kadhum, a 46-year-old doctor, and her 20-year-old son, Ahmed, who was driving. They were wrapping up errands that included picking up college applications for Kadhum's daughter.

By then the Blackwater convoy had entered the circle, and Iraqi officers were trying to stop vehicles as Ahmed approached. A Blackwater guard fired, killing Ahmed. One traffic officer, Sarhan Thiab, told me:

"The bullet went through the windshield and split his head open. His mother was holding him, screaming for help."

Within seconds, the guards intensified their assault using machine guns and grenades, killing Kadhum as well. When the shooting ended, 17 Iraqis lay injured in addition to the 14 killed. The victims included children, college students and professionals.

The killings triggered outrage and calls for accountability and justice. It was one of the darkest moments of the Iraq War, damaging America's reputation and its relationship with the Iraqi government.

When Washington refused to allow the contractors to be tried in Iraq, the incident became a symbol of unaccountable American power and forced a reassessment of the reliance on private security contractors in war zones.

Initially, the guards gave sworn statements to State Department investigators that they had fired on the white car because it was coming at them at a high speed and didn't stop. But many witnesses told me they were moving slowly in a nonthreatening manner.

Subsequently, U.S. military investigators would conclude that the Blackwater guards opened fire without provocation and used excessive force. In 2014, a federal jury found four guards guilty of killing the unarmed civilians.

But last week's reversal of the first-degree murder conviction of Nicholas Slatten, the former guard, is a major setback for the victims and families. He was sentenced to life in prison.

The appeals courts also ordered resentencings for the three other former guards convicted of voluntary manslaughter and use of a machine gun in a violent crime. They received 30-year prison sentences.

An Iraqi official at the embassy in Washington told my colleague Spencer Hsu that the killings are "still raw after all these years" and were an "egregious atrocity that these people committed."

Ironically, it was a discrepancy over who fired the first shots at the white car that led to the throwing out of the murder conviction. Prosecutors argued that Slatten had fired the first shots, but another co-defendant said that he fired first.

The white car, I remember, sat at a bus stop on the edge of Nisoor Square for weeks after the killings. It was charred and shattered by the firepower.

Haitham Ahmed, who lost his wife and eldest son, wanted the car to remain visible as a reminder of the carnage. He told me that he wanted it left there until justice was served.

He, too, was a doctor. The family had plenty of opportunities to leave the country, but he said that he and his wife believed in the promise of a new Iraq. He felt pain, he said, when he saw doctors fleeing Iraq. His son, who was in the third year of medical school, was planning to become a surgeon like his parents.

"What I want is the law to prevail," Haitham Ahmed said. "I hope that this act will not go without punishment."
The Trump administration gave notice it intends to relax the rules governing greenhouse gas emissions on new model cars Thursday, in its latest move to undo President Barack Obama's climate policies.

In a notice on the federal register, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Transportation Department announced they were considering rewriting emissions standards for cars and light tracks made between 2021 and 2025.

While other climate change initiatives spearheaded by Obama - like the EPA strategy for reducing emissions from power plants, called the Clean Power Plan - received more scrutiny from industry and conservative critics, emissions standards for cars are just as consequential for curbing the buildup of atmosphere-warming gases, analysts said.

"The benefits from those rules are comparable to the Clean Power Plan in terms of greenhouse gas reductions," said Dave Cooke, a senior vehicles analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists. "The program as a whole is quite significant."

The notice begins a 45-day public comment period on a potential relaxation of the rules for cars and light trucks.

"We are moving forward with an open and robust review of emissions standards, consistent with the timeframe provided in our regulations," EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said in a statement. As recently as Wednesday, Pruitt in a radio interview brushed off the large body of research establishing that human activity is warming the Earth as "so-called settled science."

In March, the EPA announced that it wished to withdraw final determination on the stricter fuel-efficiency standards. But critics of the administration were surprised how expansive the review announced this week will be.

The EPA stretched the review period to include 2021 model vehicles, instead of starting at 2022 model cars as the agency had initially indicated.

The agencies also added 10 additional factors, such as consumer preference, to be considered when finalizing the new standards.

"It was really surprising to see that," said Shannon Baker-Branstetter of Consumers Union, the public policy division of Consumer Reports, adding that the decision to include 2021 vehicles in the review was a sign of "aggression on the part of the administration."

In 2012, the EPA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a part of the Transportation Department, adopted rules requiring the nation's car and light trucks to average 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025.

Automakers objected, arguing that the standards was too stringent to meet. After Trump's surprise election victory, industry groups, including Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and the Association of Global Automakers, pressed the new administration to reconsider the rule.

"In my opinion, these additional factors reflect direct input from the manufacturers," said Margo Oge, a former director of the EPA's Office of Transportation and Air Quality.

The review begins amid signs that car companies are moving toward greater efficiency, with or without the federal government's guidance.

In July, Swedish automaker Volvo vowed to make all its vehicles hybrids or electrics starting 2019. Earlier this month, Japan-based Honda introduced a new all electric sedan in California and Oregon to compete with Tesla's new line of more affordable electric vehicles.

"It is clear that the Asian manufactures in the United States are fully capable of meeting this standards," said Jack Gillis, director of the Consumer Federation of America and author of "The Car Book." Noting consumer surveys that indicate car buyers prefer fuel-efficient vehicles that save them money at the gas pump, he added: " The first loser will be the domestic car companies."

And climate policies set by nations such as France and the United Kingdom, which both plan to ban all diesel and gasoline vehicles by 2040, will continue to shape international auto markets and drive car companies to continue lowering emissions.

---

The Washington Post's Juliet Eilperin contributed to this report.
We're in the midst of the most alarming escalation of rhetoric between the White House and Pyongyang since President Donald Trump took office. Trump startled observers at home and abroad on Tuesday with his warning to North Korea that further provocations would be met with "fire and fury like the world has never seen."

It was rhetoric that seemed more in line with the sort of bombast regularly issued by the North Korean regime's own state mouthpiece. That outlet swiftly decried the "nuclear war hysteria of the U.S. authorities including Trump," saying that regional tensions have "reached an extremely reckless and rash phase for an actual war." For good measure, the North Koreans made noises about targeting Guam, a U.S. sovereign territory in the South Pacific, with "enveloping fire."

On Wednesday, Trump and other administration officials renewed their own tough talk. White House adviser Sebastian Gorka said the situation was "analogous to the Cuban missile crisis" and trumpeted the supremacy of the American "hyperpower." A leading evangelical adviser to the president even declared that "God has given Trump authority to take out Kim Jong Un," North Korea's dictator.

"...Hopefully we will never have to use this power, but there will never be a time that we are not the most powerful nation in the world!

- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 9, 2017"

There are two different yet equally justifiable reactions you could have to this fit of rhetorical brinkmanship. One, understandably, is profound concern. It emerged that Trump's "fire and fury" statement was an off-the-cuff comment that took many of his advisers by surprise. Impetuous improvisation is a risky tack while navigating a showdown that Trump's own advisers say is similar to the most dangerous nuclear standoff in history.

"The more the crisis escalates, the greater the dangers of miscalculation, and the harder it will be for either side to find an exit ramp from a high-stakes crisis," wrote Scott Snyder of the Council on Foreign Relations.

But the heated atmosphere can also be seen as an extension of a cagey yet manageable status quo. Trump's recent predecessors have all at various times struck a tough pose against the North Koreans, knowing full well that military escalation would endanger tens of millions of lives in the region. And North Korea's leadership may be monstrous, but it is not suicidal. Kim Jong Un would be unlikely to want to provoke a war that would lead to his own annihilation.

"What the president is doing is sending a strong message to North Korea in language that Kim Jong Un would understand, because he doesn't seem to understand diplomatic language," Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Wednesday. "I think it was important that he deliver that message to avoid any miscalculation on their part."

"Rhetorical escalation regarding Korean peninsula: Very serious situation. Sabre-rattling won't help, we call on all parties for moderation.

- GermanForeignOffice (@GermanyDiplo) August 9, 2017"

But there's another party that's also hearing Trump's bellicose message - China, North Korea's only real ally.

"Washington's diplomatic goal, although it hasn't been stated publicly this way, is to encourage China to interpose itself between the United States and North Korea and organize negotiations to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula," wrote Washington Post columnist David Ignatius. "The U.S. threat is that if China doesn't help the United States find such a diplomatic settlement, America will pursue its own solution - by military means if necessary."

Trump's impatient tweets, combined with Kim's incessant missile tests, were followed by both the Chinese and the Russians going along with a tough new round of sanctions at the U.N. Security Council. It remains to be seen whether Beijing and Moscow will fully implement the agreed-upon measures, which could gut the North Korean economy by a third. But the present tensions are not welcome in Beijing, which is coping with a series of political disputes on its borders, including a standoff with India over contested territory near Bhutan.

China has been "put in an intolerable position by Pyongyang," Ignatius wrote. "China has been flashing red lights about the North Korean program for more than a year. President Kim Jong Un's regime responded by conducting North Korea's fifth nuclear test last September and continuing its missile tests, despite urgent Chinese warnings. Kim's slap to Beijing even included assassinating his half brother Kim Jong Nam, who was under Chinese protection."

Yet, for all their frustrations, China's interests when it comes to North Korea still don't align with those of the United States. China fears the prospect of a unified Korea allied with the United States and has long sought to preserve the buffer presented by the totalitarian pariah state. It has boosted its military presence on its border with North Korea in anticipation of further instability on the other side, or a refugee exodus spilling into its territory.

"They appear to be preparing to push deep into North Korea in the event of crisis," wrote Graham Allison of Harvard's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.

And while China puzzles over how to rein in Kim, it occupies a complicated place in the deliberations of Washington's key strategists. According to a story in the New York Times, there are ideological fault lines within the White House over the nature of the challenge.

"The president's aides are divided on North Korea, as on other issues, with national security veterans like Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, the national security adviser, on one side and Stephen K. Bannon, the president's chief strategist, and his allies on the other," wrote Peter Baker and Glenn Thrush of the Times. "While General McMaster and others consider North Korea a pre-eminent threat that requires a tough response, Mr. Bannon and others in the nationalist wing argue that it is really just a subset of the administration's conflict with China and that Mr. Trump should not give more prominence to an unstable rogue operator like Kim Jong Un, North Korea's leader."

The disjointed and sometimes contradictory messaging of the Trump administration may play into the tense weeks ahead, with the White House possibly taking an even harsher line with Beijing. Former NATO military commander James Stavridis argued in a Bloomberg View column that the United States should resist Chinese demands for a cessation in naval exercises around the Korean Peninsula as a precondition for talks.

Even as various sides push for negotiations, the war of words will no doubt continue. And as it intensifies, the dangers of miscalculation will only grow.
BEDMINSTER, N.J. - President Donald Trump said here Thursday that he is "very thankful" to Russian President Vladimir Putin for expelling hundreds of U.S. diplomats from Russia, because he said it helps him cut the U.S. government's payroll.

Addressing for the first time Putin's decision late last month that the U.S. Embassy and consulates in Russia would have to cut 775 diplomatic and technical staffers, Trump told reporters that he sees no reason for them to continue working in Russia.
The U.S. government expelled two Cuban diplomats in May, after Americans working at the U.S. Embassy in Havana suffered unexplained physical ailments, the State Department said Thursday.

A small number of Americans began reporting symptoms at the end of 2016, and a few either were removed for medical treatment in the United States or asked to leave, State Department officials said Thursday.

Spokeswoman Heather Nauert linked "incidents which have caused a variety of physical symptoms" to the decision to expel two Cubans, but she did not directly blame the Cuban government for harming the Americans.

"We don't have any definitive answers about the source or the cause," of symptoms she characterized as not life-threatening.

The FBI is conducting an investigation of the illnesses or symptoms reported by the State Department employees over several months. Further U.S. action could follow if that investigation points to Cuban government targeting of U.S. employees, officials said.

The State Department said the Cuban government has assured Washington that it is also investigating.

Harassment of U.S. diplomats in Cuba is common, and predates former president Barack Obama's 2014 diplomatic opening to Cuba and the advent of a full-fledged U.S. embassy there.

"The Cuban government has a responsibility and an obligation," to protect U.S. diplomats, Nauert said. "That is part of the reason why this is such a major concern of ours, why we take this so seriously."

The State Department separately said in a statement that it had "reminded the Cuban government of its obligations under the Vienna Convention to protect our diplomats."

The State Department would not provide further information on the kinds of symptoms reported, and would not give a precise number of Americans who left Cuba as a result. The two expulsions are considered reciprocal, however, suggesting that the number of Americans who left their posts is close to two.

"Initially, when they'd started reporting what I will just call symptoms, it took time to figure out what it was, and this is still ongoing," Nauert said. "We're monitoring it. We provide medical care and concern to those who believe that they have been affected by it."

It was not clear why the expulsions were not made public by either country in May. President Donald Trump announced the following month that he would roll back parts of the Obama opening, calling it "a bad deal."

"Effective immediately, I am canceling the last administration's completely one-sided deal with Cuba," Trump said June 16.

He spoke in Miami, before an audience packed with members of South Florida's Cuban American community who had opposed Obama's normalization of relations with the communist government of President Raul Castro.

The expulsions and the illnesses were first reported by CBS Radio News.

The details of Trump's new policy are not yet clear. Trump ordered the Treasury and Commerce departments to draw up regulations, but White House officials said that actual changes would be months away.

Trump's moves were opposed by U.S. business leaders and by both Democrats and Republicans in Congress.

Cuba's government called Trump's moves a "setback" in relations, and warned that "any strategy aimed at changing Cuba's political, economic and social systems, whether through pressure or coercion, or employing more subtle methods, will be doomed to failure."

Trump did not announce any change to the status of the U.S. Embassy in Havana, which replaced a smaller office that did not carry the same diplomatic status. Cuba's small mission in Washington was also upgraded to an embassy.
Alma E. Hernandez, For the San Antonio Express News / Alma E. Hernandez / For the San Antonio Express News

Matthew Busch, For The San Antonio Express-News / For The San Antonio Express-News

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Texas Education Agency officials spoke to staff and parents of the San Antonio School for Inquiry and Creativity on Wednesday about their options in the wake of the states closure of the troubled charter network.

A three-person board of managers has been installed to handle administrative matters related to the district's closure, including distributing student transcripts and employment records to former teachers and staff members, TEA administrators said in separate meetings.

The TEA upheld the revocation of SASIC's charter at a hearing in late July, five days after notifying the district that it planned to shut down its four schools, all in Bexar County.

Months of upheaval at the district had started with complaints in February that it had served spoiled food that had sickened students. At parent meetings, a host of other allegations were leveled against Superintendent Tonja Nelson, including accusations of nepotism.

A subsequent accreditation investigation by the state found SASIC had operated campuses at unapproved sites, failed to comply with criminal background check requirements for employees and failed to protect the health, safety, and welfare of students. The probe did not substantiate the nepotism complaints or allegations that the district failed to adhere to data collection standards.

In March, the TEA briefly shut down SASIC operations before allowing the district to reopen for the remainder of the 2016-17 school year.

Nelson resigned as superintendent on July 21, the same day she received notice that the state planned to shut down the district, according to school employees.

The state-appointed board of managers includes Judy Castleberry, who currently serves as a state conservator for South San Antonio Independent School District.

Check back Thursday for further updates on this developing story.

lcaruba@express-news.net
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U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, said President Trump's threat to North Korea on Tuesday was "reckless."

"The United States needs to be a steady, reliable partner to our allies in the face of North Korea's destabilizing provocations. President Trump must rise to this responsibility and stop issuing dangerous, inflammatory statements," Castro said.

On Tuesday, Trump said any further threats to the U.S. by North Korea, "will be met with fire and fury and frankly power, the likes of which this world has never seen before."

RELATED: Trump issues warning of 'fire and fury'

After the president made his statement, social media users feared a nuclear war was imminent, and some members of the public, pundits and public officials claimed what Trump said was provocative.

Castro said in a statement Trump should not be "matching reckless comments for reckless comments with Kim Jong Un."

"This is not a playground," he said.

kbradshaw@express-news.net

Twitter: @kbrad5
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Days after a wrong-way drunken driver received jail time for killing a man in January, attorneys met with a judge Thursday in an attempt to determine how the hospital bills of several survivors of the crash were to be paid.

Richard Sanchez, 49, smelled of alcohol and was wearing a neon wristband from a nearby night club when he caused a five-car wreck on Jan. 7 in the 11700 block of Interstate 35 South, according to previous reports. Miguel Hernandez, 18, a passenger in the vehicle carrying his family, received fatal head trauma from the accident.

Sanchez pleaded no contest to a manslaughter charge as well as another charge of intoxication assault Monday in the 290th District Court before Judge Melisa Skinner. He was sentenced to 30 years prison and ordered to pay $4,000 in fines.

San Antonio Police Department investigators said Sanchez drove his gray 2017 Toyota Tacoma pickup south for 2.7 miles at 2:49 a.m. in the northbound lanes on Interstate 35.

The first vehicle Sanchez struck was a black 2016 Ford Transit van in which Hernandez was a passenger, causing it and another vehicle it was towing to lose control and continue through a highway barrier and into a grassy median.

Meanwhile, Sanchezs pickup continued into another vehicle that was next to the Transit van, which police said in turn hit the right side of a fifth vehicle.

Officers at the scene said one of the automobiles burst into flames, and that several victims were trapped in the vehicles.

Hernandez was taken to University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 10:48 a.m., police said.

Prosecutor Jessica Frazier confirmed Thursday that many of Hernandezs family members are still recovering from numerous types of injuries.

Skinner told the attorneys that any restitution for medical expenses for the crash victims will be decided in civil court.

Sanchez, a U.S. Army veteran who has been on three separate tours including Iraqi Freedom and Desert Storm, told police he was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

He was taking medication for depression and anxiety and admitted to knowing that there are negative affects when mixed with alcohol, according to court records.

His attorney, Roger Perez, said Sanchez was a recovering alcoholic but had one drink that set him down that road.

Hes very remorseful. He understands the magnitude of the tragedy, Perez said, adding that Sanchez himself lost three of his friends in the Iraq war.

Sanchez will be eligible for parole in about 15 years.

JBeltran@express-news.net

Twitter: @JBfromSA
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NAVASOTA  A plain, white school bus left the Wallace Pack Unit under moonlit skies Wednesday morning, transporting the first group of more than 1,000 heat-sensitive inmates to cooler climes under federal court order.

The bus entered the rural Grimes County facility at 4:13 a.m. and returned around 5 a.m. along an access road. The air-conditioned bus carried 43 passengers, officials said, but its windows only reflected the dark night sky.

The predawn transit marked a major turning point in a legal battle over inmates living conditions at the Pack Unit that has played out in a 3-year-old civil rights lawsuit that has drawn national attention.

This is the first time that the department has taken actual steps which we can say for certain will reduce the risk that these inmates will suffer a senseless heatstroke, said Jeff Edwards, the lead lawyer representing the Pack inmates.

Texas Department of Criminal Justice officials assured U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison in a Houston courtroom Tuesday that this Bluebird bus outfitted for correctional use would be air-conditioned, as would all other vehicles used to deliver elderly and medically compromised inmates from the sweltering conditions in the Pack quarters.

Ellison ordered prison officials to complete the transfers within three weeks, giving what he said was sufficient time for a massive move of humanity.

Just one bus left the Pack Unit on Wednesday with the 43 heat-sensitive inmates headed for the Mark W. Stiles Unit, a facility near Beaumont that can accommodate CPAP machines and other medical devices, officials said.

The transfer went smoothly, and we do not anticipate any issues at this time, TDCJ spokesman Jason Clark said Wednesday. The agency has significant experience in moving inmates and doing so in a safe and secure manner.

Two transports are set for Thursday, with more on Saturday. The bulk of the transfers to 11 air-conditioned facilities around the state is set to take place next week.

Inmates displaced by the Pack Unit transfers will move to state prisons that are not air-conditioned, but the move will be temporary  the state plans to return the Pack inmates to the Navasota site once the hot weather subsides.

Inside the prison, inmates were told to gather only legal papers, hygiene products and personal fans, which were then shrink-wrapped and loaded onto pallets for transport, according to Gaylyn Dutton, whose 55-year-old son, Stephen Parker, is serving his sentence at the Pack Unit.

Dutton said her son, who has hypertension, called to tell her 100 inmates had been moved to the gym for the next group of transfers. He wasnt one of them.

He sounded real down, just not knowing whats going to happen, just the uncertainty of not knowing, she said. He doesnt know how soon they will let him know and tell them to get on board.

Dutton questioned why the prison system couldnt just add cooling system to the Pack Unit.

They could have used the money they used to fight (the lawsuit) to take care of the problem and not have to move a bunch of people, she said. Ive heard of too many accidents. Everybody Ive talked to on Facebook, the mothers, thats a concern.

The rapid-fire transfers also stirred concerns among the prison guards.

The transfer of so many has everyone on needles to make sure that its done quickly yet accurately, said one guard, who asked not to be identified because he did not have permission to comment.

A group of inmates at the minimum-security Pack Unit filed a federal lawsuit in 2014, accusing the state of violating their constitutional rights against cruel and unusual punishment and the Americans with Disabilities Act after a series of heat-related deaths.

The unit houses more than 1,400 inmates, many of whom are elderly, are mobility impaired or have health problems.

In July, Ellison issued a temporary injunction ordering the state to find cooler living quarters for Pack Unit inmates who are vulnerable to heat.

In a court hearing Tuesday, officials finalized plans for the transfers and outlined potential adjustments to the prisons heat wave policy.

The suit is being closely watched by civil rights groups and inmate advocates who see its potential to turn the tide in Texas. More than 30,000 inmates in Texas have been designated as sensitive to extreme temperature because of age, health conditions or medicines they take, according to documents obtained by the Houston Chronicle through the state open records law.
Jacquelyn Martin/STF

WASHINGTON  The center-right American Action Network is launching a $2.5 million ad campaign for tax reform Thursday in 24 congressional districts, including that of The Woodlands Republican Kevin Brady.

The choice of Brady might seem curious, since Brady, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, is one of the architects of the GOP tax plan. He is scheduled to take part in a conference championing tax reform next week at the Reagan Ranch in California.
Carolyn Kaster/STF

Former Corpus Christi Mayor Dan McQueen plans to challenge Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz next year, according to a new campaign web site.

McQueen, who served 37 days as mayor before resigning on Facebook last January, is once again positioning himself as an unconventional political outsider.
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Texans from around the state are expected to travel to Austin to pay their respects for former Governor Mark White, who will lie in state at the Capitol rotunda on Thursday.

White, who grew up in Houston, died Saturday. He was 77.

Members of the public will be able to enter the rotunda from noon until 3 p.m. to commemorate the life of one of the last Democrat governors to lead Texas. Immediately following, White will be buried in the Texas State Cemetery in a private ceremony for his family.

Wednesday, services were held at the Second Baptist Church where former President George W. Bush and Luci Baines Johnson, daughter of former President Lyndon B. Johnson, spoke.

"He may have retired from public office, but he never retired from public service," Johnson said of White in her eulogy.

In 1979, White became the Attorney General of Texas, where he clashed often with former Governor Bill Clements, beginning a rivalry that defined Texas politics in the 1980's. White unseated Clements in the 1982 Governor's race, serving one term before Clements reclaimed his seat in 1986.

White will be the first former governor to lie in state at the state Capitol and be buried at the Texas State Cemetery since Ann Richards in 2006. Clements and former Governor Dolph Briscoe were both buried in their home towns following their deaths in 2011 and 2010, respectively.
AUSTIN -- If Texas lawmakers think they bridged a state budget crisis with the new one they approved in May, they should think again.

A new report by Austin-based Texas Taxpayers and Research Association warns that the stop-gap fixes that the Legislature made last spring "will create a structural gap that guarantees Texas will continue to face budget challenges into the next regular session."

An $8 billion gap, to be exact.

"Dwindling state revenue forced some tough fiscal decisions this recent legislative session, but ultimately lawmakers were able to put a balanced budget in place," the group states, after analyzing Texas' revenue projections in coming years.

"The budget was balanced with the help of a number of one-time measures and deferrals that paid for ongoing expenses."

Legislative leaders who are in Austin for a special session said they had not seen the report and had no immediate comment. Previously, though, several have warned that tight budgets will continue until the state's economy improves.

The gap will show up in 2019, the next time lawmakers will have to write a budget. And it "could worsen if lawmakers fund new initiatives using accounting shifts in the current special session," Dale Craymer, the association's president, writes in the report.

The report says the $8 billion gap "will be created by several factors, including a potential Medicaid shortfall along with one-time measures and funding shifts lawmakers relied on during the past session to balance the 2018-2019 budget. These strategies, Craymer writes, are not unusual in the budgeting process, but "it is a gamble that sometimes pays off, and sometimes does not."

Rising school property taxes  projected to increase 7 percent each of the next two years  allowed the state to reduce funding for public schools, the report notes. But what the state counted in its current spending plan will translate into higher property tax bills for many Texans.

"This is a huge loophole in the state's current spending limit," Craymer predicts.

The report concludes, "Of course, as always, there is little wrong with the Texas budget at any time that cannot be cured by $80 per barrel oil; but absent that, lawmakers are assured of continual budget difficulties for the foreseeable future."

Check out the full report here.
The decision of a jury in Northeast Texas did not sit well with a woman found guilty of stealing a Christmas tree from Hobby Lobby last year.

On Thursday, Paris, Texas police issued a search warrant for 24-year-old Annika Dantreel Dillard after she allegedly ran away from the courthouse that returned a guilty verdict on charges of theft of property, according to The Paris News.
Local News, Crime, Politics

By Long Island News & PR Published: August 10 2017

Sentencing Follows Jury Conviction Last Month, Which Found Wills Guilty Of Stealing Campaign Funds and Grant Money for Personal Benefit.

New York, NY - August 10, 2017 - Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman and State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced the sentencing of former New York City Councilman Ruben Wills (D-Queens) to 2 to 6 years in prison; Will was also ordered to pay nearly $33,000 in restitution and a $5,000 fine.

The sentencing followed an eleven-day trial in July that resulted in a guilty verdict on five counts related to Wills theft of approximately $30,000 in public campaign funds and state grant money. The jury found Wills guilty of one count of Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree, two counts of Grand Larceny in the Third Degree , and two counts of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree. Wills was previously expelled from the New York City Council; he was immediately taken into custody today.

New Yorkers deserve public servants whose priority is the needs of their constituents, not lining their own pockets. Instead of spending taxpayer money on projects to help his community, Ruben Wills betrayed the public trust by stealing tens of thousands for himself  and hell now pay the price, said Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. We will continue to ensure that public servants who act as though theyre above the law are brought to justice.

"Ruben Wills stole money meant to benefit the community he was sworn to serve. Thanks to my investigators and auditors working with Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, Mr. Wills has been brought to justice," said State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. We must have a zero tolerance for public corruption and we will continue to partner with law enforcement to root out fraud and protect the taxpayers."

In addition to serving 2 to 6 years in prison, Wills will pay $11,500 in restitution to the New York City Campaign Finance Board and $21,374 to the New York State Office of Children and Family Services OCFS. He will also pay a $5,000 fine.

The jury found that, Wills used public matching funds from his 2009 campaign for City Council to pay $11,500 to Micro Targeting, a shell company purportedly created to translate and distribute campaign literature. Prosecutors proved that the money paid to Micro Targeting was instead redirected to NY 4 Life, a non-profit corporation that Wills controlled. Wills withdrew the money and made a series of personal purchases, including at Macys, where he used a portion of the funds to purchase a $750 Louis Vuitton handbag.

Prosecutors also detailed how Wills used $21,000 in State grant funds for personal and political expenses.

The $21,000 was part of a $33,000 grant provided to NY 4 Life from the OCFS, earmarked by former State Senator Shirley Huntley while Wills was serving as Huntleys chief of staff. The grant stipulated that the money had to be used to conduct four public service projects. Yet witnesses at trial testified that NY 4 Life only held one event during the contract period, while Wills used approximately $21,000 of the funds for personal and political expenses, including at Nordstrom and Home Depot. Wills also used a portion of the money to pay individuals who had carried out campaign work for his City Council race.

Judge Ira Margulis presided over the trial and sentencing.

Since 2011, Attorney General Schneiderman, through his Operation Integrity partnership with Comptroller DiNapoli, has brought charges against dozens of individuals implicated in public corruption schemes around the state  resulting in the return of over $11 million in restitution to taxpayers through these convictions.
Pets & Animal, Local News, Community, Charity & Cause

By Long Island News & PR Published: August 10 2017

Event to be held on August 13, 2017 in Holbrook, NY.

Suffolk County, NY - August 10, 2017 - In June, 2017 three bats collected in n June, 2017 three bats collected in Sayville Islip Terrace and Islip in Suffolk County have tested positive for rabies.

Enhanced surveillance is still in effect for Huntington and Babylon towns which began in March 2016 due to a confirmed case of a rabid raccoon trapped in Hicksville last year, the first rabid raccoon on Long Island in about nine years.

RABIES IS PREVENTABLE!

Rabies is a viral disease that can be transmitted from infected mammals to humans or pets. If untreated, rabies invariably leads to death. People and pets can get rabies if they are exposed to the saliva or nervous tissue of a rabid animal through a bite. It is also possible, although rare, that people can get rabies if infectious material, such as saliva, from a rabid animal gets directly into their eyes, nose, mouth or a wound.

New York State and Suffolk County law requires that all dogs, cats and ferrets be vaccinated against rabies. Vaccinating your pet not only provides protection for the animal, but vaccinated pets act as a barrier to keep the rabies virus from spreading between wild animals and people. It is very important to make sure that these animals, as well as livestock and horses have current rabies vaccinations.

The Suffolk County SPCA is a private, nonprofit, charitable organization and the voice for animals in Suffolk County. We do not receive taxpayer or public funding and we must rely on the support and generosity of donors to exist. Please help us to provide a better life for pets and other animals in Suffolk County.
The Taliban retook control of the contested district of Jani Khel in Paktia from Afghan forces last night. The district has changed hands three times over the past two weeks. The repeated loss of Jani Khel to the Taliban demonstrates the difficulties Afghan forces face in holding onto remote contested districts.

Afghan officials and the Taliban both confirmed that Jani Khel fell to the Taliban. An Afghan official told TOLONews that security forces retreated from the district center after Taliban fighters launched their assault.

The security forces asked for air support during the clashes, but did not receive a response and retreated from the district as a result, an official told the Afghan news agency.

Paktia province is a known stronghold of the Haqqani Network  the powerful Taliban subgroup based in eastern Afghanistan and in Pakistans tribal areas. Sirrajuddin Haqqani, the leader of the Haqqani Network, serves as one of the Talibans two deputy emirs.

In a statement released on Voice of Jihad, the Talibans official propaganda outlet, the group claimed that over 12 puppets were killed and at least 17 others suffered injuries after Taliban fighters took control of the police headquarters, the district administrative center and surrounding security outposts. The Taliban claimed two of its fighters were killed and three more were wounded.

Additionally, the Taliban claimed it seized from the enemy a large amount of arms, ammunition and other military equipment. This claim is likely true, as the Taliban confiscated a large number of machine guns, RPG launchers, rifles, and crates of ammunition as well as military vehicles, including US-supplied HUMVEEs and Ford Ranger pickup trucks, when it overran Jani Khel more than two weeks ago.

The district has been consistently contested for more than a year, since the Taliban stormed it on Aug. 27, 2016. Afghan forces retook the district center, but the Taliban remained on the outskirts and threatened Afghan forces stationed there. Last March, the group claimed that all but six percent of the district was under Taliban control.

The Taliban overran the Jani Khel district center on July 25, 2017 and held it for more than a week before Afghan forces retook it on Aug. 4. Afterwards, Afghanistans National Directorate of Intelligence claimed it captured a fighter from Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), a terrorist group based in Pakistan.

According to the captured SSP fighter, he was trained at a camp inside Pakistan, where leaders from Pakistani terrorist groups Jaish-e-Mohammad, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, and Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan would regularly preach.

They were asking us to go to Afghanistan for Jihad (holy war), the fighter said, according to TOLONews. They asked me to go the eastern part of Afghanistan. Some others were sent to the west and all of them were spread around.

The SSP fighter may have been a member of al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent, al Qaeda branch in South and Central Asia. Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent was formed in Sept. 2014 and includes elements of some of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Indias most prominent jihadist groups. AQIS reports to the Taliban and fights alongside them in Afghanistan.

The Haqqani Network has openly called for foreign fighters to join their ranks and fight US and Afghan forces, and is closely allied with al Qaeda.

Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD's Long War Journal.

Are you a dedicated reader of FDD's Long War Journal? Has our research benefitted you or your team over the years? Support our independent reporting and analysis today by considering a one-time or monthly donation. Thanks for reading! You can make a tax-deductible donation here.
President Donald Trump signed wide-ranging Congressional sanctions against Iran, North Korea and Russia last week. Known as the Countering Americas Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, the laws Iran section requires the president to extend a terrorism designation pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13224 to Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its foreign agents and affiliates by Oct. 30.

The milestone marks the first instance the US will designate the military branch of a foreign country for terrorism.

The laws Sec. 105 (3) states, The IRGC, not just the IRGC-QF [the Qods Force, the Guards extraterritorial branch], is responsible for implementing Irans international program of destabilizing activities, support for acts of international terrorism, and ballistic missile program.

E.O. 13224 is an authority aimed at freezing the assets of terrorists and their supporters, while isolating them from the US financial and commercial systems, according to Treasury.

In 2007, the US designated the Qods Force for terrorism pursuant to the same order.

As a consequence of the latest law, the US will apply the terrorism designation to the IRGC in its entirety, which would include its Ground Forces, Aerospace Forces, Navy and the Basij paramilitary. The Revolutionary Guard, which is a conscript army, is estimated to have 150,000 active duty members. Estimates for the all-volunteer Basij vary widely: Iranian officials claim as high as 11 million, but a 2007 study by a Western think tank estimated the Basij at 90,000 active members, 300,000 reservists and 1 million who could be mobilized. A 2015 study by scholar Saeed Golkar argues the Basij has 200,000 special, 1 million active and at least 4 million total members.

Guard-owned companies would be eligible for designation as supporters of terrorism. The Revolutionary Guard has deeply penetrated key sectors of the Iranian economy, drawing on these resources to generate funds and support its military and civilian programs. For instance, a front company for the Qods Force, the Headquarters for the Restoration of Holy Shrines, raises funds and develops shrines in Iraq to project soft war and act as a pipeline for the forces operations. Hundreds of companies, including major corporations traded on the Tehran Stock Exchange, are controlled by Revolutionary Guard foundations and a network of current and former Guardsmen.

Companies and foundations owned by the supreme leader that fund the Revolutionary Guards proxies would also be eligible for designation. According to Western intelligence reports, the supreme leaders foundations provide financial support to Lebanese Hezbollah, which the US has classified as a terrorist group. Abdallah Safieddine, Hezbollahs representative in Iran, told a reporter in 2012 that his organization receives funding directly from the supreme leader and his conglomerate.

The latest American law appears to require the president to designate the Guards external network, as well. Per Sec. 105 (3) (b), the administration must designate foreign persons that are agents or affiliates of the corps. US law defines agent of a foreign power as a person who acts for or on behalf of a foreign power, which meets the definition for Tehrans proxies that do its bidding.

Shiite-jihadist groups constitute the overwhelming majority of the Revolutionary Guards foreign legion. A number of these militias, such as Lebanese Hezbollah, the Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades and more recently the Bahraini Ashtar Brigades, have already been designated for terrorism. But there at least 40 militias that are not. Many are Iraqi-based groups, and include Afghans, Pakistanis, and Syrians. The numbers are in the tens of thousands. The IRGC is estimated to have trained, funded or armed 65,000 Iraqis, according to a scholar who spoke with Buzz Feed. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats recently estimated that Iran manages as many as 10,000 Afghans, Pakistani and Iraqis in Syria to support Syrian president Bashar al Assad.

Revolutionary Guard commanders have threatened US bases in the Middle East should the US execute the terrorism designation. Chief commander Major General Mohammad-Ali Jafari warned late last month that the US has to close down all its bases within 1,000 kilometers of Iran and it should realize that it will pay a high price for its miscalculation. The Armed Forces General Staff chief Major General Mohammad Bagheri said the designation would pose major risks to US bases and troops in the region.

Do they think that the region would remain safe for them when they call our people, corps, and government terrorists? declared the chief of the Basij Organization, Brigadier General Qolam-Hossein Qeibparvar.

The Guard has attempted to frame this sanction as an action to harm the Iranian people in order to shape the narrative and bolster support.

The Revolutionary Guards threat to US bases is real, but these public statements should be taken with a grain of salt. The Guard Corps may attempt to expand its asymmetric strategy while falling below the threshold of a direct attack. During the wars of Iraq and Afghanistan, the Revolutionary Guard provided material assistance to militants targeting American soldiers. In Iraq, it directly oversaw attacks. It continues to harass the US Navy in the Persian Gulf on a frequent basis. Between May and June, Guard-led militants and Iranian drones challenged a US deconfliction zone near Tanf, Syria, triggering American strikes. Revolutionary Guard commanders, however, have a long record of issuing exaggerated statements to project an image of strength and to deter. Given the immense disparity in conventional capabilities with the US, the Guard prefers to avoid direct military confrontation, which would surely ensue following an attack on US forces.

In the latest law, Congress affirmed the Revolutionary Guards proliferation designation pursuant to E.O. 13382 and took an additional step to declare Irans missile program an unusual and extraordinary threat pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The Revolutionary Guards Aerospace Force is in charge of Irans strategic missile force. Congress is expressing its concern about the long-term, potential trajectory of the missile program and advancements in intercontinental-ballistic-missile (ICBM) capability. The US administration is furthermore required to provide assessments of Irans chemical and biological weapons capabilities.

Last weeks law also requires the secretaries of State, Defense and Treasury and the Director of National Intelligence to jointly develop and submit to Congress within six months a strategy for deterring Irans conventional and asymmetric activities that threaten the US and its allies. The administration is to incorporate a coalition of US allies in this effort.

For the first time, the law has directed the administration to include the Treasury Secretary in the National Security Council.

The president is required to designate any entities that sell heavy weaponry and provide a range of arms assistance to Iran. As a UN arms ban expires on Iran in 2020, Congress is seeking to deter the sales of such weapons to Iran. Congress grants the president the authority to waive this if and when he/she determines that Tehran no longer supports terrorism or presents a threat to the US.

*To be clear, Congress grants the president authority to waive the IRGC terrorism sanctions if he gives a detailed rationale for why the waiver is in the vital national security interest of the United States. The author believes that since the IRGC continues its activities that meet the definition of terrorism, and the president has signaled a more muscular approach toward Iran, he will levy sanctions on the Guard Corps under anti-terrorism authorities.

Update: the articles earlier version stated the US must designate the IRGC by Nov. 1, while the deadline is Oct. 30.

Amir Toumaj is a independent analyst and contributor to FDD's Long War Journal.

Are you a dedicated reader of FDD's Long War Journal? Has our research benefitted you or your team over the years? Support our independent reporting and analysis today by considering a one-time or monthly donation. Thanks for reading! You can make a tax-deductible donation here.
STUART-In a 1984 area newspaper article, the writer described the town of Stuart, Virginia in the following manner after his first visit to the area: Odd little town. Part of it draped over the top of a hill like a handkerchief, part of it coiled in a hollow at the foot of the hill like a necklace in a jewel box. Between the two, woods and two steep roads that run nearly parallel. It is almost as though a glacier or a volcano has come along and torn away a bank, a grocery store, an antique store, a filling station, etc. from the top and dragged them half a mile down the hill.

It is always interesting to look at things as they are today, and then retrace the series of events that occurred historically to shape and mold them into their current state. The following events offer a brief explanation of the creation of what is referred to today as uptown and downtown Stuart.

Patrick County was formed from Henry County in 1791. Eliphaz Shelton donated a twenty-acre plot of land to the county and the first courthouse was erected on this property. This became the core for what was usually referred to as Patrick Courthouse, or the village of Taylorsville, and what we know today as Uptown Stuart. Growth of the small village was slow, and as the mid-nineteenth century approached, Taylorsville consisted of approximately 40-50 dwellings, two mercantile stores, three taverns, a tanyard, a saddlery, a tailor, a flour mill, two tobacco factories, and a new courthouse.

The majority of the land surrounding the village of Taylorsville was purchased by Samuel Staples who served as the first Clerk of Court for Patrick County, and it remained in the Staples family for generations to come. After the Civil War, Andrew M. Lybrook, a prominent attorney and later judge in Patrick County, married the daughter of Hardin Reynolds. In the early 1870s, the couple purchased from Staples grandson, Samuel G. Staples, approximately 125 acres lying on both sides of the Mayo River about a half-mile from the courthouse that included most of what we know today as Downtown Stuart. The Lybrooks built their home on the south side of the river on a hill overlooking the Mayo (near where Lowes Foods is today).

On March 29, 1873, a charter was granted by the General Assembly of Virginia to build a narrow gauge railroad under the name of Danville & New River Railroad Company. The line would begin at or near Danville in the county of Pittsylvania, thence by Martinsville in Henry County, Patrick Court House, and Hillsville in Carroll County, to some point on the Atlantic, Mississippi, & Ohio Railroad west of Christiansburg. Construction on the railroad was delayed a few years due to a worldwide economic depression that occurred during the 1870s. Finally, construction on the Danville & New River began in 1880, and the road was completed to Martinsville in the summer of 1882.

After reaching Martinsville, the Board of Directors of the Danville & New River met on October 17 to decide on a route from Martinsville to Taylorsville and gave any friend(s) of the road the opportunity to address the Board in advocacy of any of the proposed lines. Among those who appeared and addressed the board were Judge A. M. Lybrook and Col. J. E. Penn from Taylorsville. At the conclusion of the speeches the board unanimously agreed upon a southern route through Patrick County to Taylorsville. By selecting this route nearer the southern border of Patrick County, the line would be less expensive than first expected. It was originally thought that the line would run through the northern part of the county to develop the immense deposits of iron and other valuable minerals which that section offered.

As the line approached Patrick County in November 1883, the Board of Directors made the decision to locate the depot at Taylorsville near Williams Mill which was near Judge Lybrooks property on the opposite side of the river from his residence, the area known today as Downtown Stuart. On December 11, Col. John E. Penn came before the board with a petition from the citizens of Taylorsville asking that the earlier decision concerning depot location be reconsidered. Col. Penn proposed that if the board would locate the depot near his house, he would give the right of way through his land and $500 in money. (His house was near where the Stuart Post Office is today.) The board authorized the president to locate the depot at the most eligible point, taking into consideration any inducements that may be offered by contributions in right-of-way, money, or valuables.

Although the president had the authority to locate the depot at Taylorsville where he deemed appropriate, he chose to put the decision back in the hands of the board because of the conflicting views of the people of Taylorsville and Patrick County. On July 1, 1884, the board held a meeting at the Patrick courthouse inviting all interested parties to appear before the board to submit any propositions or views they had on the subject. Col. Abram Staples, with support from others, advocated for the place near Williams Mill, while Col. John E. Penn, with support from others, advocated for a different location. The board decided on the site near Williams Mill.

It was dawn on a delightful Tuesday morning at Danville on July 29, 1884, when the president of the Danville & New River Railroad, Maj. W. T. Sutherlin, and other dignitaries boarded the first train bound for Taylorsville, better known as Patrick Courthouse. Martinsville was reached in time for breakfast, and several passengers were added, among them Col. George Cabell (congressman), Judge Berryman Green, L. S. Thomas, and others. After a five-hour ride from the time they departed Danville, the train crept up one branch of the Mayo River approaching the depot. As they approached the terminus, the passengers were able to catch a glimpse of Judge Lybrooks beautiful residence, set on the hillside and overlooking a pretty valley. Its picturesqueness and beauty attracted much attention and evoked many remarks from the group. The word Welcome was written in large letters on canvas and stretched across the track near the end, where a large crowd was present. The hillside and the sides of the track were lined with people who had come from far and near to see the first train thunder up to Taylorsville. Maj. Sutherlin addressed the crowd and gave all a hearty welcome. He congratulated the people of Patrick on the completion of the road to Taylorsville and addressed its uses in the future. After the passengers had gone to the village, he took members of the crowd on board and gave many their first ride on the railroad cars. It was a big day for Taylorsville, a big day for the Danville & New River Railroad, and the beginning of Downtown Stuart.

Changing names

Shortly after the Danville & New River Railroad arrived at Taylorsville, the name of the town was changed to Stuart and chartered by the state of Virginia on November 22, 1884, in honor of Patrick County native and Civil War hero, General J.E.B. Stuart. The railroad company was very pleased with the increase in population and business all along the line of road and saw this as evidence of great prosperity. The town of Martinsville, with a population less than 250 in 1880, had increased to between 1,000 and 1,200 just one year after the railroad arrived in the area. Much of this growth stemmed from the enterprising businessmen of the county who had transferred their businesses from the country to the town, including large numbers who came from other sections of the state and elsewhere. The same was anticipated for Stuart. Many thought that in a short time it would rival even Martinsville in its progress and growth, as it was surrounded by valuable agriculture and mineral resources.

The area around the rail depot in Stuart soon became known as The Depot. The growth of businesses around The Depot was very gradual over the next 20 years. Besides the railroad station, Williams Mill was already located on the river just above the station. One of the first businesses built as a result of the railroads presence was a box factory between the railroad tracks and the Mayo River near the railroad yard. Another early business was a storehouse apparently built by Lybrook that was located on the corner across from the railroad station (in the building that is operated as Plantiques today). This building was already in place in the summer of 1886 when Judge Lybrook sold the adjoining lot to J. W. Hooker and George Nolen with the stipulation they would build a hotel on the property of at least $500 in value - the result being the Riverside Hotel.

A couple months earlier, W. C. Perkins purchased the corner lot across the public square from the railroad station beside the road going into town. This purchase stipulated erecting a building of at least $500 in value too, for the purpose of operating a business. Perkins complied by establishing a barroom. Ten years later, a storehouse was built on this property by W. S. Gilbert and J. A. Gilbert and operated under the name of Rangeley and McIntosh. Also during the 1890s, Will Clark had purchased the Box Factory lot and was also operating some country stores in the county. Wills brothers, Ed L. Clark and John R. Clark, were working in Wills stores, but in 1898, they bought the southern part of the Riverside Hotel lot and built the Clark Brothers store on it.

By the beginnining of the 20th century, only about a half dozen businesses were operating near the Depot area. Due to a couple of events that took place during this time, things were about to change. In 1891 the Danville & New River Railroad changed its name to the Danville & Western Railway Company (D&W), more affectionately known as the The Dick & Willie. In 1899 the D&W made the decision to convert the tracks from narrow gauge (3 between the rails) to standard gauge (48 between the rails) in order to be more cost effective and competitive. The standard gauge conversion was completed in 1903.

On September 10, 1903, Stuart was alive with people from far and near to celebrate the completion of the standard gauge track from Danville all the way to its western terminus at Stuart. Governor Andrew Jackson Montague of Danville was there to grace the occasion with his presence, along with Superintendent White of the D&W. There was a parade with the governor at its head, followed by a lavish barbeque near the depot. A reunion of confederate veterans was also held during the event, and the evening came to a climax with a grand ball held at the Perkins Hotel.

Another event that occurred in 1899 was the death of Judge Andrew M. Lybrook, and on February 2, 1903, the Lybrook heirs sold to local businessman Will Clark 156 acres on both sides of the Mayo River, which included the Lybrook home and most of the property in the Depot area (other than the few lots mentioned earlier that were sold by Lybrook). Clark immediately subdivided the property into lots and during the next few years businesses began to line the streets around the Depot, creating the Downtown area we know today. In the earlier part of the twentieth century, these businesses included stores trading in hardware, clothing, jewelry and groceries. There was a hotel, boarding houses, two banks, a car dealership, a woodworking plant, a grain mill, an oil company and others. For the next forty years, steady growth continued not only for the Downtown area of Stuart, but for the Uptown section as well.

In the summer of 1942, with the United States recent involvement in World War II, the newly formed War Production Board mandated the closing of the western portion of the D&W from Fieldale to Stuart, and that the rails and other materials be removed and used for the war effort. July 31st of 2017 marked the seventy-fifth anniversary of the last train to leave Stuart.

Unfortunately, the industry that some predicted would come to Patrick County with the railroad did not materialize as expected, but the contributions of the Dick & Willie to the development of Stuart and the other localities it served are immeasurable. During the early days of its existence, it was the areas primary link with the outside world, and had a great effect on both the life and business of the area. For years the D&W was the primary means of transportation for area citizens to travel near and far. Not only a primary means of travel, the Dick & Willie also brought the essentials of life to the local residents, supplying such commodities as salt, coal, cotton, and fertilizer, and it provided an efficient means of getting local products from the farms, orchards, and forests to distant markets. Large quantities of apples, tobacco, chestnuts, eggs, poultry, crossties, and tanning bark (obtained from the oak trees in the area) were shipped out by rail.

Today, through the essence of time and the progress of man, little is left behind to remind us that the Dick & Willie was once a dynamic giant that powered the life of the community. So, in the future, when traveling through the town of Stuart going from Uptown to Downtown or vice-versa, may the existence of the two serve as a constant reminder of a time long ago when the railroad came to Stuart.

Larry Hopkins serves as president of the Patrick County Historical Society. The Historical Society and Museum is located at 116 West Blue Ridge Street in uptown Stuart. Operating hours to view the still and other exhibits are 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. each day except for Thursdays, Sundays, and holidays.
MARTINSVILLEAs of now, theres no payment plan in place, to repay the $800,000 grant given to fund the College of Henricopolis School of Medicine. While discussions have taken place, Martinsville officials said on Tuesday they would like an official written statement from the Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission, making it clear the group expects the city to repay the money.

The city and (its) staff are in close communications with, and closely following deliberations by, the tobacco commission regarding the TROF grant, Martinsville Mayor Gene Teague said during Tuesday nights council meeting.

But as of this time, there has been no official communication from the tobacco commission regarding the citys obligation to repayment, nor has a repayment schedule been worked out or communicated, he said.

In late 2014, the city and Dr. Noel Boaz signed a performance agreement to receive the commissions grant. Listed as the grantee, the city accepted responsibility for the money, which it then turned over to Boaz to help establish the College of Henricopolis School of Medicine.

That school still has not opened for students. In addition, the facility did not meet certain benchmarks by the halfway point of the 36-month grant, as was required. In January, school officials received an extension from the commission, but that decision was reversed in May, after the school changed from a for-profit concept to a nonprofit institution.

Commission officials have said that TROF grants are intended for projects designed to increase the tax base in communities, and the commission would not have awarded the medical school the $800,000 grant if the school had stated in its original application that it is a nonprofit entity.

We will be communicating with Dr. Boaz in the coming weeks regarding the project, his ability to repay any or all of the grant and then, of course, the citys next course of action, Teague said.

Both verbally and in a written letter to the commission, Boaz has stated his organization, the Integrative Centers for Science and Medicine, cannot afford to repay the grant. Also, officials with the medical school have said they think the grant should not have to be repaid because the commission should consider the money as an investment in the school. Over the last two months, the city council made statements in open session that they wanted to speak with Boaz, however, he claims that no one has reached out to him to make it happen.

Teagues remarks were brief. He said they were essentially what we (the council) said back in May after the commission decided to require that the grant be returned.

He commented in response to recent media reports about the issue, he said.

We want to make sure everybody understands were still working on it, Teague said, referring to handling the matter. We have not stopped working on it, even though we dont talk about it publicly as often as I think some folks would like.

Where it stands

When the commission asks for a grant to be returned, the standard practice in a case like this is to turn first toward the company involved. The commission did that, writing to Boaz and asking him to return the funds. He responded in July, stating that he didnt have the money and didnt feel his organization, which has struggled to raise more than $180,000 in the last two years, would be able to collect it.

Again, as per state policy, once the commission received that letter, the company automatically gets a 30-day extension. The last response from the commission to Boaz went out on July 31, meaning it will be at least Aug. 31 before any official notification is sent to the city.

If Boazs time runs out and he has not responded, we will assume that he is unable to pay and will send an official request to the City, said Jordan Butler, the commissions public relations coordinator. It is fair to say that we have not officially made a request of the city just yet, but we are in touch with them.

Speaking from the floor during the council meeting, city resident Ural Harris called for the council to ask the Virginia State Police, or the state itself, to investigate how money put toward the medical school project  and especially the TROF grant  has been spent.

Theres no telling how many people have given money to this school, or signed for money for it, said Harris, a former council candidate who is on the Martinsville Planning Commission. I think they deserve an answer to where its (the money) been.

A lot of people did put money in this (project) and was fleeced, I think, he continued.
The Affordable Care Act isnt perfect. Not even close.

When people discuss the Affordable Care Act  and particularly, when people defend it  that phrase has become something of a nervous tic. It is impossible to discuss the ACA (also known as Obamacare) without immediately pointing out that it isnt perfect and needs repair. That repair also needs to come sooner rather than later, in order to help local families.

However, one is reminded of a famous aphorism: The perfect is the enemy of the good.

In his column last week, Rep. Morgan Griffith said that the United States Senate had let down the American people by failing to advance any solution for the disaster that is Obamacare.

Griffith also said in his commentary that solving a problem first requires admitting there is one.

So, if it helps Congress actually move forward on this, let us reiterate that the ACA needs to be repaired.

Yet why is it that every attempt to repeal  and, on occasion, replace  the ACA has failed?

Griffith refers to the ACA as a disaster, and cites anecdotes from his constituents who have suffered underneath it. Defenders of the ACA could also offer plenty of anecdotes about people who have benefitted from the ACA.

However, in a bizarre twist, since it became a real possibility that the ACA could be dismantled, the ACAs popularity has never been higher.

Consider a poll that came out at the end of June. Voters were asked their opinion of the Affordable Care Act, and they were also asked their opinion of the Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017, one of the former attempts to repeal and replace the ACA.

Just 27 percent of responders viewed the Better Care Reconciliation Act favorably, and just 11 percent strongly approved of it. On the other hand, the Affordable Care Act received a 52 percent approval rating.

That poll, by the way, was conducted by Fox News.

Through bipartisan leadership, the ACAs flaws can be addressed. Were still waiting for Congress to take that step, for both sides to be willing to negotiate and hammer out a solution.

Thats what itll take, in order to fix healthcare. You need everyone committed. The drive to dismantle the ACA has been a Republican effort, yet even with a Republican president, a Republican Senate and a Republican House, the attempt hasnt been successful, due to a lack of cooperation.

But heres the point. Thats not an example of the Senate letting down the American people. It is an example of the system working. Why? Because the system, by design, forces all sides to sit down and work on a bill. Rather than letting one group go it alone, multiple voices are needed, in order to craft a good proposal.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, one of the three Republican Senators who voted against the recent skinny repeal of the ACA, said in July that while some Alaskans told her that she should stick with the president, the majority of people she spoke to told her to protect Alaskas interest.

Help us with ensuring that the most vulnerable are cared for, and that when it comes to the access issues that we face, the costs that we face, that you can help us address these, Murkowski said, paraphrasing her constituents.

Sen. Susan Collins, the second of the three Republican Senators who voted against the skinny repeal, did not mince words.

I cant support a bill that will greatly increase premiums for older Americans, she said. I cannot support a bill that is going to result in tens of millions of people losing their health insurance.

Finally, Sen. John McCain said that while the amendment would have repealed some of Obamacares most burdensome regulations, it offered no replacement to actually reform our health care system and deliver affordable, quality health care to our citizens.

Maybe these Senators were wrong to vote the way they did. One thing is for certain, they didnt vote against the skinny repeal in order to win friends and supporters within their own party.

Ultimately, we hope that when our elected officials cast their votes on any issue, they are thinking of the people they represent, not partisan talking points.

The Bulletin Editorial Board consists of Brian Carlton, Ben Williams and Trisha Long
Medical school concerns

On Tuesday night, city council once again came out of closed session and made a statement concerning the medical school, saying basically the same thing that they said when it was announced that the tobacco commission was asking for the grant money back. I have a question. Why do you need to meet in closed session to come out and tell the citizens nothing except you are working on it. The taxpayers money is at stake here, so why not have this discussion in public?

Originally, council voted 4 to 1 to ask the commission for $3.5 million. Thank goodness the commission back then had the sense to say no. Where would we be if that amount had been given? To make matters worse, it was admitted later that they talked about floating a $3.5 million bond for the school. Thankfully, there was resistance from one council member and it did not proceed any further. I, as well as other citizens, would like to know just what they were thinking. Evidently, it wasnt about the taxpayers of the city.

Was it not understood that in order to get a unanimous decision by council to approve the grant, that it would be guaranteed by the board of directors? The answer I got was that it was guaranteed by the board of directors as directors, not personally. That guarantee is worthless. Did the city mean for them to be responsible? If the administration failed to get the grant secured correctly, then the city should file to collect under its omission and errors insurance.

I have also asked if the board of directors should be responsible for repayment? The answer is that yes they should and they are. Being responsible and being able to repay, however, are not the same thing. The administration should have made sure the signers had the ability to repay or not agreed to ask for the grant. If the administration failed on this, then we should also collect under the omission and errors policy. When you look at these two answers, they make no sense.

I ask that the city council request an investigation by the commonwealths attorney into where the grant money went and, if possible, all the schools financial records. How many people have given money to the school and now there is nothing?

I also ask that the city release the letter the California investor wrote to the tobacco commission, stating his reasons for no longer being interested in investing in the school.

Ural Harris

Martinsville

Time to protect children

I read with disgust the article in todays Bulletin regarding the judge in Stuart who sentenced a 53 year old man to 10 years in prison for raping, molesting, assaulting a child younger than 13 years old, then suspending all but one year. What a message this sends to pedophiles/child molesters/child rapists in our state. Rape and molest our children at will, then if you are caught you will be housed and fed by the taxpayers of Virginia for a year or less (time served) while you plan your next rape of a child less than 13 years young. May God have mercy upon our children, because without a doubt our so called justice system and our high paid lawyers will not do anything to protect them. Perhaps the prison sentence of this 53-year-old pedophile will not end well. Prisoners who are not child molesters do not like being housed with these perverts, hope they find out what this perverts heinous crime was. May justice be truly served in this case. If not , true justice awaits this and every child molesting pervert. Just my opinion.

James Thomas

Bassett
There is always something deeper than the music and Grammy nominated trumpeter Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah alongside Charles Neville and Sarah Elizabeth Charles are heading to downtown Springfield on Friday night to host a discussion on just that.

Jazz & Justice will offer a deeper look at the meaning of art as a form of activism.

Touching on the concept of art forms as a means for addressing, resisting, and overcoming forms of social injustice, the musicians will share personal accounts of how they feel racial inequality has shaped the evolution of jazz and how they use musical expression as a vehicle for social change.

"For me, it's always good to get behind the music, so to speak. Artists have a ton of stories that they can't express - like with jazz, it's a less vocal genre," said Christopher Tinson, a professor of Africana studies and history at Hampshire College who will moderate the discussion.

"So I'm always intrigued by what these artists are going through and bringing them into critical spaces to have these conversations about justice, police brutality, environmental racism will tell us something - we're just trying to get them to share personal stories."

Jazz & Justice is a new event in connection with the annual Springfield Jazz & Roots Festival - an event that is focusing on the power of music to gather people, much like the festival, but in a different, more intimate.

"We haven't done this before, there's been the opportunity to listen to great music by great artists but now they're going to be able to hold a conversation before the music happens," said Tinson.

"We're kind of forcing people to see the artists and entertainers in a different light, at least for a little while."

When asked about the Jazz & Justice event, jazz legend Charles Neville seemed eager to share some of his personal stories with attendees, saying, "With my experiences in prison in Louisiana and my experiences as a 'criminal,' if I didn't have music in my life, I may have just continued down that path.

"Having access to art and education in prison is important and a lot of people go in really young and have no education, then they spend 10 years in and come out doing the same thing," Neville continued.

While the discussion covers the significance of jazz music and other art forms, there will also be performances throughout the evening, tying the conversation in with live acts.

The night will open with a short performance by the First Generation Ensemble, a group of young actors from Springfield who examine issues surrounding racial profiling, mass incarceration and the school to prison pipeline and conclude with a performance by Scott.

Jazz & Justice will take place at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 11 at CityStage, the event is open to all those interested. Tickets range from $25 for balcony seats, $35 for orchestra seats and $75 for the donor package.

"We're hoping for a real mixture as far as age, gender and other ethnic groups for this discussion," said Neville.

For more information and to purchase tickets for the event, visit the event page.
In the early 1990s the term "gastropub" was coined to describe a new sort of British public house, one that focused on serving high-quality food.

The Route 20 Bar & Grille in Wilbraham, which opened last October, styles itself as just that sort of gastropub. It's a designation we found fitting, since the eatery's culinary efforts are more ambitious -- and skillfully executed -- than those of the typical neighborhood tavern.

The Route 20's agenda incorporates both "small tastes" and "starters"; those looking for something heartier can select from a number of "mains" or instead enjoy a "between the bread" creation.

Entrees at the Route 20 Bar & Grille include the likes of Seared Salmon ($17) with caper butter and Maple-Cider Marinated Skirt Steak ($19). Roasted Cod Loin ($19) is enhanced with crab stuffing and a spicy Newburg sauce.

Those looking for a meat-free option will find both a Parmesan & Herb Risotto ($13) and Penne Pasta ($14) sauced with pesto cream.

A BLT Tower ($9), a Sourdough Turkey Stack ($10), and a Braised Beef Brisket Panini ($11) are a few of the establishment's sandwich efforts.

The menu's "starter" section is home to choices such as Jumbo Pork Wings ($10), Panko Crusted Risotto Balls ($10) stuffed with avocado and shrimp, and several flatbread variations.

To start off our meal we turned to the "small tastes" roster. Eight different "tastes" are available; they're individually $5 or three for $12.

Cheesy Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms Caps served as a suitable introduction to the Route 20 Bar & Grille experience. We liked the portion size - three fully-stuffed caps were just enough to warm up an appetite, and we found the "taste" lived up to its billing, with plenty of cheese-glazed sweet sausage mounded into each cap.

The Roasted Baby Beets with Smoked Blue Cheese were similarly likeable. Quartered and served cool with a drizzle of Italian dressing, the beets contributed sweetness while a crumble of blue cheese provided a savory flavor note.

For one of our entrees we enjoyed a Personal Pan Meatloaf ($15). Meaty and tender, with just enough seasoning to make it interesting, the meatloaf also got an upgrade in the form of a sweet chili sauce that replaced the more traditional brown gravy with which meatloaf is usually sauced.

Mashed potatoes and fresh asparagus spears completed the plate.

Our "main" of Fish and Chips ($16) was handsomely presented. Two thick filets of whitefish -- we'd guess pollock -- had been battered and deep-fried. The "chips" portion of the meal was a hefty measure of coated and pre-seasoned shoestring fries, while a simple but tasty red cabbage coleslaw added color and crunch.

Menu items at the Route 20 Bar & Grille are served a la carte, with salad available as an extra.

A fully licensed establishment, the Grille maintains a list of about 18 different wines and usually has a dozen beers on tap.

The Route 20 Bar & Grille offers a trio of dessert options. In addition to a fruit-garnished Cheesecake ($7), there's a Flourless Chocolate Lava Cake ($6), a fudgy, souffle-like creation served warm.

The third dessert choice is a seasonal offering of Strawberry Shortcake ($7) assembled from pound cake slices, fresh strawberries, and aerosol whipped cream.

Those familiar with the Boston Road space the establishment occupies -- it's been home to four or five different eateries over the past twenty years -- will note that the space has been flipped, with the bar occupying what was previously the dining area. Artifacts that memorialize Route 20's transcontinental presence now decorate the space, and seating is predominantly in the form of pub-height tables.

During brunch hours on Sunday the restaurant offers a "build-your-own" Bloody Mary bar; Monday evening's featured "main" is a $12 prime rib dinner.

The Route 20 Bar & Grill is, we'd suggest, a good place to enjoy a casual yet inventive meal prepared with skill and style.



Name: Route 20 Bar & Grille

Address: 2341 Boston Road, Wilbraham

Telephone: (413) 279-2020

Website: route20barandgrille.com

Hours: Kitchen open Monday through Wednesday 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Thursday through Saturday 11:30 a.m.to 10 p.m.; Sunday 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Entree prices: $11-$19

Credit cards: American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Visa

Handicapped access: Accessible, with rest rooms equipped for wheelchairs

Reservations: Not usually taken






SPRINGFIELD - Alejandro Rosario on Thursday pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the Easter Sunday 2015 fatal shooting of Luis Burgos in Holyoke.

Burgos, 30, of Holyoke, was killed following a verbal argument.

Hampden Superior Court Judge John S. Ferrara sentenced Rosario to a total of 20 to 25 years in state prison.

Holyoke police responded to the shooting at about 6 p.m. April 5, 2015, but Burgos had already been taken by private vehicle to Holyoke Medical Center.

According to witness accounts, Rosario, 27, and Burgos were seen talking in front of 304 Chestnut St., a multistory apartment building near the corner of Sargeant Street. The conversation became heated, police said.

Assistant District Attorney Matthew W. Green said a witness heard the two men arguing and then saw Rosario shoot Burgos.

Green said Rosario's girlfriend told investigators he admitted the shooting to her, but said he didn't want to do it. The girlfriend said Rosario said if he didn't shoot Burgos, Burgos would have shot him.

Defense lawyer Calvin Carr also said Rosario felt he had to shoot Burgos or he would have been shot.

The two men knew each other, Green and Carr said.

Ferrara accepted the joint recommendation from Green and Carr and sentenced Rosario to 17 to 20 years for voluntary manslaughter followed by three to five years for illegal possession of a firearm.

Green read short victim impact statements from Burgos' mother, brother and sister. The brother and sister said the recommended sentence was not enough.

The siblings said Burgos was "just a special person."

Green said there were a number of reasons for the recommendation, including the fact the prosecution lost a "key piece" of evidence when a judge allowed a defense motion to suppress Rosario's statement to police.
WORCESTER - A 3-year-old girl has been taken by her mother and the Massachusetts State Police have issued an Amber Alert for the child after the mother threatened to harm the child.

Worcester police said Ella Abbott was taken by 38-year-old Leeann Rickheit from the child's 339 Greenwood St. home at about 7:45 p.m. Ella is described as standing three-feet tall with brown hair, brown eyes and weighing about 40 pounds. She was last seen wearing a purple or dark colored top.

Leeann Rickheit is described as standing approximately 5-foot, 11-inches tall and weighing 170 pounds.

Rickheit is believed to be driving a blue, 2007 Hyundai Sonata with Massachusetts registration number 4PG367.

Rickheit has a history in the Charlton area.

If anyone has information about either the child or her mother, they are asked to contact Worcester police at 508-799-8606.
Coast Guard boats and aircraft, along with local agencies and commercial and recreational boats, searched the sea near Long Point in Provincetown on Wednesday after an 80-year-old SCUBA diver failed to surface after he dived in 35 feet of water.

The Coast Guard said in a written statement that the unidentified diver, who had 50 years of SCUBA experience, was diving with other divers from a 16-foot Boston Whaler dive boat. A crewman contacted the Coast Guard at about 11:36 a.m. to report that the man was no longer attached to his dive flag.

Divers said visibility ranged from 3 to 5 feet underwater.

The search involves a response boat crew from Coast Guard Station Provincetown, a helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod, the

Massachusetts Environmental Police

, the Provincetown harbormaster, dive teams from Yarmouth and Brewster and good Samaritan commercial and recreational crews.

At last report, the diver remained missing.
This story has been updated with information from Ramos' arraignment. Read the latest here.



HOLYOKE -- A 19-year-old city man, wanted in connection with the shooting deaths of two city men in a South Summer Street apartment early Monday, has turned himself in, Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni said Thursday.

Ivan Ramos is a suspect in the shooting deaths of Colin Hodges, 31, and Arnaldo Rentas, 37, both of Holyoke.

Ramos turned himself in at the Holyoke police station around 9 a.m., according to James Leydon, spokesman for Gulluni.

Police responded to a call of shots fired in the area of 570 South Summer St. shortly after 1 a.m.

Officers found the two victims dead of apparent gunshot wounds on a second-floor rear porch of that address.

Ramos is suspected of firing several shots at the victims after they arrived at the apartment, investigators said.

Ramos then fled on foot.

Gulluni offered his sympathies to the families of the victims and thanked Holyoke police, Massachusetts State Police detectives assigned to his office and Assistant District Attorney Max Bennett for their "professional response" to the shooting.

"I would also like to thank members of the media and the public for widely publishing law enforcement's search along with Ramos' picture; as this could be a contributing factor in his decision to turn himself in," Gulluni said.

Authorities are still investigating the double homicide. Those with information are asked to call city police at 413-505-5993 or state police detectives at 413-505-5993.

Those who wish to remain anonymous may use Text-a-Tip by by texting CRIMES (2-7-4-6-3-7) and typing the word SOLVE into the body of the message followed by the tip.

This is a developing story. Additional information will be posted as soon as it is available.
EASTHAMPTON -- Police are investigating after a man stole a Confederate flag from a pickup truck parked at a Union Street gas station and left the scene.

Investigating officer Rick Rogalski is waiting for any surveillance video that could shine light upon the Aug. 6 incident, said Easthampton Police spokesman Chad Alexander.

Around noon on Sunday, a witness called police to report he saw a dark-haired white male in his 20s remove a flag from an older gray pickup truck parked at the 60 Cottage St. Pride station and convenience store, according to a dispatcher's report obtained by The Republican.

The alleged thief, wearing jeans and sneakers, left with the flag, which Alexander confirmed Thursday was a Confederate flag.

The witness told public safety dispatch that two or three males and two females, white and in their 20s, "got out of the truck and began chasing the other male" after the flag was removed. When Rogalski arrived moments later, the truck was gone.

The witness took down the truck's license plate number, and police were able to identify the owner, who is an Easthampton resident. Police checked the resident's address but the truck was not there.

An attempt to reach the truck owner for comment was not successful.

The relevant criminal statute would be larceny under $250, a misdemeanor, said Alexander.

"It's just like stealing a candy bar," he said, adding that, for police purposes, it doesn't matter that the item is a controversial flag.

Alexander said Rogalski will produce a report on his investigation.

Mary Serreze can be reached at mserreze@gmail.com.
FRAMINGHAM - The state fire marshal's office and the Framingham police and fire departments are asking the public for help finding suspects responsible for Sunday's bomb explosion at Framingham High School.

Fire Marshal Peter J. Ostroskey, Police Chief Kenneth Ferguson and Fire Chief Joseph Hicks announced that those with information about the plastic pipe bomb blast can contact the statewide Arson Hotline at 1-800-682-9229.

Authorities stress that all calls are confidential and information may be eligible for rewards up to $5,000 for tips that help solve the case.

Police on Sunday found the remnants of what appeared to be a PVC pipe bomb stuffed with black powder. The bomb was detonated outside the front of the high school building just after 6 p.m. No one was injured and there was no damage to the building.

The bombing is now a joint investigation by state troopers attached to the fire marshal's office, Framingham police and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Its always been tough to start a new business, even when the bottom line was just making a profit to stay alive. A few years ago, a second focus of sustainability ("green") was added as a requirement for respectability. Now I almost always hear a third mandate  social responsibility. Entrepreneurs are now measured against the "triple bottom line" (TBL or 3BL) of people, planet, and profit.

Marty Zwilling

Full Story: http://blog.startupprofessionals.com/2017/08/7-tips-on-following-triple-bottom-line.html
While there are now dozens of examples of cities successfully transforming themselves into hyper connected, digital domains with layers of connected things, systems and people, Bob Mazer, a pioneer in telematics, and serial innovator and entrepreneur, believes we can move faster and achieve more when entrepreneurs and investors are themselves connected.

Mazer and his partners Gregory Sauter and David Heyman co-founded a new not for profit business accelerator and community platform for infrastructure start-ups, Smart City Works, with a focused mission to help companies bring new ideas and inventions in civil engineering and technology to urban planning and development decision makers, to commercialize and scale Smart City solutions, one component at a time.

By Cynthia S. Artin

Full Story: http://www.iotevolutionworld.com/iot/articles/433883-beyond-incubators-accelerators-introducing-new-level-actuator.htm
Since its inception, the Internet has thrived on a single concept: a free and open platform available to all users. There is no censorship, no fast lanes or slow, and no tampering of download speeds based upon ones chosen website.

Blackfoot Communication, based in Missoula, and Treasure State Internet in Bozeman and Helena, want to keep it that way. The two Internet providers are urging Sens. Jon Tester and Steve Daines to fight congressional efforts to regulate the Internet.

By Martin Kidston

Full Story: http://www.missoulacurrent.com/government/2017/08/montana-internet-providers/
Instead on net metering, Rocky Mountain Power would bring a separate case before the Public Service Commission to set a rate at which customers with rooftop solar arrays would be compensated for surplus power pushed onto the grid.

By Emma Penrod

Full Story: http://www.sltrib.com/news/environment/2017/08/10/utahns-light-up-rooftop-solar-proposal-as-rocky-mountain-power-negotiates-with-clean-energy-advocatesbr/
Conference emphasizes importance of preschool education in Montana

More than 400 education professionals are attending the Montana Preschool Development Grant (MPDG) Summer Institute Conference in Helena this week.

For more information about MPDG Preschool Programs in your area, visit Montana OPIs website. http://opi.mt.gov/Curriculum/EarlyChildhood/PreSchool.html

By: John Riley  MTN News

Full Story: http://www.kxlh.com/story/36101393/conference-emphasizes-importance-of-preschool-education
Self-empowered and confident is how 17-year-old Storme Adkins describes herself after attending a female leadership conference at Converse College in July.

It was a really good experience for me, Adkins told The McDowell News recently. I had a lot of fun and made a lot of friends.

From July 23-26, Adkins joined 54 other girls from North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, New York, Florida, California and Virginia for the free conference offered to rising juniors and seniors. Through various activities and workshops, the young female leaders learned a lot about serving their communities, having self confidence and becoming a leader.

We went to Brown Roof, a non-profit thrift store where I helped sort books. Then we went to the Hope Center for Children and colored mandalas for their trees, said Adkins.

The theme of this years conference was Be The Change, which really stuck with her she said.

I was really drawn in by that. I really dont like stereotypes people place on each other because we are all human. You have to accept peoples opinions even if you dont agree with it. But you at least need to hear it because it can affect how you think about things, said Adkins.

During their stay, Adkins was grouped with other girls to complete an action project by coming up with a non-profit.

We created a non-profit called Chances After Chains for families of people who have been incarcerated. We felt that was a group of people that most dont think about in their daily lives, Adkins said. It is creating a support group for children and parents to get them back on the right track. One thing we learned when we presented our action projects is that even if you dont see yourself as a leader, women still have the tools for leadership, but they dont know how to use them.

Adkins also talked about the interesting trust exercises they partook in. The girls were partnered up with one person blindfolded and had to be guided around obstacles to reach a mouse trap, put their hand on it and remove it before it snapped.

That was definitely a trust exercise since we had known our partners for probably about two hours, said Adkins laughing.

Another thing that stood out for Adkins was the emphasis on leadership and self-empowerment.

There are a lot of different ways to lead. People may think simply because someone is given the title, that they are the boss, she said. But leadership is not a title; its an action. You may not be the person in charge, but you can still be a leader and make a change.

Staying at Converse, Adkins said, was also a great college experience to get her prepared for after high school.

We stayed in the dorms and had a roommate. The communal bathroom was an interesting experience, said Adkins. Often times our workshops werent back to back so we had some free time where we took campus tours. Everyone was really nice and helpful. I really liked Converse. If I get in, I will probably go there.

Adkins said she has made friends for life by attending the conference, and hopes more girls from McDowell High School will be interested in the future.

Its completely free. It pushes you out of your comfort zone and gives you a whole new group of people that you can consider your family, she said. You find out a lot of things that you wouldnt think you had in common with people. I would definitely say go for it.

Adkins is looking forward to bringing what she learned into her senior year at McDowell High School. She is involved in yearbook, AVID, Titan Trees and a volunteer at MACA. She hopes to major in political science and possibly philosophy after high school.

For more information on the leadership conference at Converse, contact Pat Gross at McDowell High School.
Slate gray nevi are a type of birthmark resulting from pigment in the skin. People previously referred to them as Mongolian blue spots, but this title is now inappropriate and outdated. Also known as blue-gray spots and congenital dermal melanocytosis, the marks are often present at birth but may also appear during the first weeks of life. They usually disappear by the age of about 35 years, but they can remain into adulthood. It is not possible to prevent slate gray nevi from forming, and experts do not know why some infants have them while others do not. The marks occur when some of the skins pigment cells, or melanocytes, get trapped in the deeper layers of skin during the infants development. When the pigment does not reach the surface, it appears as a gray, greenish, blue, or black mark.

Causes Share on Pinterest Slate gray nevi often disappear at about 35 years of age.

Image credit: Gzzz, 2016. No one knows precisely what causes slate gray nevi, but some infants are more likely than others to get them. They are more likely to affect people with darker skin, including those with Asian, Hispanic, Native American, African, or East Indian ancestry. The spots usually occur on the lower back, buttocks, and upper legs. The marks are flat and smooth and may look like bruises. But, unlike bruises, they do not cause pain and do not result from an injury.

How common are they? According to a 2013 review , slate gray nevi affect about 10% of white babies, 50% of Hispanic babies, and 90100% of Black and Asian babies. Some argue, however, that on microscopic inspection, all babies are born with some kind of birth mark due to pigmentation. The American Academy of Dermatology note that the spots are most common in babies of Asian ancestry.

Do they pose a health risk? Slate gray nevi are harmless, but they can occasionally occur alongside some rare diseases that affect a persons metabolism, such as : Hurlers disease

Hunters syndrome

Niemann-Pick disease

mucolipidosis

mannosidosis The link may be more likely in those with marks that are large and widespread or on areas outside the back and buttock regions. Slay gray nevi may also occur with other birthmarks linked to vascular features or pigmentation, such as cafe-au-lait macules. Doctors have noticed slate gray nevi occurring with the following conditions, too, although it is unclear whether there is a link: Sjogren-Larsson syndrome

leptomeningeal melanocytoma involving the spinal cord

occult spinal dysraphism Learn more about different types of birthmarks.

Treatment Soon after delivery, a doctor will examine any marks that the newborn may have and document them in the babys medical record. Parents, caregivers, and healthcare professionals can check the spots at regular intervals to determine whether they are going away on their own as the child grows. Most slate gray nevi disappear in time. Is treatment necessary? People with slate gray nevi do not need any special care unless the marks occur alongside another condition. They are not painful and do not pose a health problem. According to the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, they require no treatment. Laser removal If slate gray nevi persist into adulthood, and a person finds them bothersome, removal procedures may be an option. In a small study in Japan, professionals used a device called an alexandrite laser to treat slate gray nevi in 16 people. Overall, they concluded that the treatment was successful. However, two participants left the study as they were not happy with the results, and two experienced hyperpigmentation after the treatment. The results of another study in Japan suggest that treatment might be more successful before the age of 20 years. The authors also concluded that adjusting the timing of sessions to optimize the intervals might lower the risk of skin darkening as a side effect.

Safeguarding and child abuse As slate gray nevi can resemble bruises, there have been cases where doctors and health visitors have suspected child abuse in children who have them. Documenting any birthmark from an early age can help prevent such confusion. A doctor can also distinguish bruises from slate gray nevi by checking whether the mark: is tender

changes over time

disappears within days or weeks Slate gray nevi are painless and do not change. If they do disappear, this will take several months.
A new study identifies genes that are necessary in cancer cells for immunotherapy to work, addressing the problem of why some tumors don't respond to immunotherapy or respond initially but then stop as tumor cells develop resistance to immunotherapy.

The study, from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), was led by Nicholas Restifo, M.D., a senior investigator with NCI's Center for Cancer Research, with coauthors from NCI; Georgetown University, Washington D.C.; the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts; New York University, New York City; and the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. It was published online in Nature. NCI is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

"There is a great deal of interest in cancer immunotherapy, especially for patients who have metastatic cancer," said Dr. Restifo. "The response to immunotherapy can be fantastic, but understanding why some patients don't respond will help us improve treatments for more patients."

Cancer immunotherapy relies on T cells, a type of cell in the immune system, to destroy tumors. Dr. Restifo and his colleagues have previously shown that the infusion of large numbers of T cells can trigger complete regression of cancer in patients. They and others have also shown that T cells can directly recognize and kill tumor cells.

However, some tumor cells are resistant to the destruction unleashed by T cells. To investigate the basis for this resistance, the researchers sought to identify the genes in cancer cells that are necessary for them to be killed by T cells.

Working with a melanoma tumor cell line, the researchers used a gene editing technology called CRISPR that "knocks out," or stops the expression, of individual genes in cancer cells. By knocking out every known protein-encoding gene in the human genome and then testing the ability of the gene-modified melanoma cells to respond to T cells, they found more than 100 genes that may play a role in facilitating tumor destruction by T cells.

Once the team identified these "candidate" genes, they sought additional evidence that these genes play a role in susceptibility to T cell-mediated killing. To this end, they examined data on "cytolytic activity," or a genetic profile that shows cancer cells are responding to T cells, in more than 11,000 patient tumors from The Cancer Genome Atlas, a collaboration between NCI and the National Human Genome Research Institute, also part of NIH. They found that a number of the genes identified in the CRISPR screen as being necessary for tumor cells to respond to T cells were indeed associated with tumor cytolytic activity in patient samples.

One such gene is called APLNR. The product of this gene is a protein called the apelin receptor. Although it had been suspected to contribute to the development of some cancers, this was the first indication of a role in the response to T cells. Further investigation of tumors from patients resistant to immunotherapies showed that the apelin receptor protein was nonfunctional in some of them, indicating that the loss of this protein may limit the response to immunotherapy treatment.

Shashank Patel, Ph.D., the first author of the study, said the results show that "many more genes than we originally expected play a vital role in dictating the success of cancer immunotherapies."

The researchers wrote that this gene list could serve as a blueprint to study the emergence of tumor resistance to T cell-based cancer therapies. Dr. Restifo noted that if this set of genes is validated in clinical trials, then this data could eventually lead to more effective treatments for patients.

"If we can truly understand mechanisms of resistance to immunotherapy, we might be able to develop new therapeutics," he said. "In fact, in the future, this knowledge could speed the development of a new category of drugs that can circumvent these escape mechanisms of tumor cells and help patients experience complete responses."
As antibiotic resistance rises and fears over superbugs grow, scientists are looking for new treatment options. One area of focus is antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), which could someday be an alternative to currently prescribed antibiotics, many of which are becoming increasingly useless against some bacteria. Now, a team reports in ACS Chemical Biology that they have improved the antimicrobial - and anticancer - properties of an AMP from a spider.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2 million people become infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the U.S. each year. Because no known antibiotics work against these bacteria, patients simply have to hope that their natural defenses eventually overcome the infection. But some patients experience severe symptoms, landing them in a hospital, and in extreme cases, they could die. Researchers are trying to find alternatives to traditional antibiotics, and one such possibility is a group of peptides called AMPs. These peptides are found in all plants and animals as a type of immune response and have been shown to be potent antibiotics in the laboratory. Gomesin, an AMP from the Brazilian spider Acanthoscurria gomesiana can function as an antibiotic, but it also has anticancer activity. When gomesin was synthesized as a circle instead of as a linear structure, these characteristics were enhanced. Sonia Troeira Henriques and colleagues wanted to further boost the peptide's traits.

The team made several variations of the cyclic gomesin peptide and found that some of these were 10 times better at killing most bacteria than the previously reported cyclic form. In other experiments, the new AMPs specifically killed melanoma and leukemia cells, but not breast, gastric, cervical or epithelial cancer cells. The researchers determined that the modified peptides killed bacteria and cancer cells in a similar way - by disrupting the cells' membranes. The group also notes that the modified AMPs were non-toxic to healthy blood cells.

The authors acknowledge funding from the Australian Research Council and the National Health and Medical Research Council.

Article: Redesigned Spider Peptide with Improved Antimicrobial and Anticancer Properties, Sonia Troeira Henriques et al., ACS Chemical Biology, doi: 10.1021/acschembio.7b00459, published online 25 July 2017.
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Neurons communicate with each other through electrical and chemical signals. An electrical signal called an action potential travels down the neuron to the synapse, a highly specialized structure at a point of contact between neurons, where information is transferred over a small space via chemical messengers. This causes voltage-gated Ca2+ channels - protein complex that form a pore in the cell membrane - to open, allowing Ca2+ to flow into the presynaptic compartment, the portion of the neuron that releases chemical messengers which impact neighboring cells. The influx of Ca2+ causes synaptic vesicles - packages of neurotransmitters - to merge with its membrane at specialized sites called active zones and release their contents. The neurotransmitters then travel across the gap and activate receptors on the second cell, influencing that cell's behavior.The likelihood that an action potential will lead a neuron to release neurotransmitters, and the speed with which they are released, can vary considerably, depending on the quantity and location of the voltage-gated Ca2+ channels in the presynapse. If voltage-gated Ca2+ channels are abundant and found close to the vesicles, the release will be more likely and more robust. The voltage-gated Ca2+ channels are made up of several subunits which combine to form a complex. The number and position of the channels is thought to depend on proteins acting on the alpha subunit, an individual component of the protein complex of the Ca2+ channel which contains many amino-acid sequences (motifs) that proteins can bind to.Currently, the molecular mechanisms that regulate the number and organization of voltage-gated Ca2+ channels and their impact on information transmission in presynaptic terminals are not well-understood. "Voltage-gated Ca2+ channels are a major dictator of how information is transmitted in the brain, therefore it is imperative to understand the molecular mechanisms of Ca2+ channel function," explained Young. "Also, dysfunction of the Ca2+ channels is involved in wide array of neurological disorders such as migraine, epilepsy, and ataxia."Scientists have identified certain proteins and sequences that they believed were responsible for direct interaction with the alpha subunit to control the number and organization of the channels in the presynaptic terminal. However, without the technology to make molecular perturbations and directly manipulate the alpha subunit, the studies that identified them relied on indirect observations.Young and his team overcame these limitations. They modified Helper Dependent Adenoviral vectors (HdAd,) which are able to carry far more foreign DNA than commonly used viral vectors in the neuroscience field. These vectors express modified alpha subunit proteins while at the same time remove the endogenous alpha subunit of voltage-gated Ca2+ channels. By using these vectors in a mouse model, the team was able to disrupt the function of specific voltage-gated channels at specific times, without disrupting the endogenous alpha subunit expression in other areas, with unprecedented precision. The team focused on the Calyx of Held - a particularly large presynaptic terminal, which is a model system for understanding presynaptic function. Its size gives unparalleled experimental accessibility to record presynaptic activity compared to other presynaptic terminals in neurons. Using their cutting edge HdAd vectors in conjunction with their transgenic animals, and focusing on the Calyx of Held, they generated a platform to carry out a study which could simultaneously probe both the structure and function of these channels with unrivaled accuracy.The new study overturned the popular theory which proposed crucial roles of certain proteins and binding motifs on the alpha subunit of voltage-gated Ca2+ channels for the regulation of abundance and neurotransmitter release. Moreover, it identified a completely different region of the alpha subunit which impacts positioning of the channels relative to synaptic vesicles but not the abundance, suggesting that the two characteristics are actually determined separately.The results of the study will be of tremendous importance to understanding how neurons encode a broad diversity of information as well as causes, and possible treatments of Ca2+ channelopathies. "It's exciting," said Young, "our research has overturned current paradigms and possibly opened up a new way we think about the molecular mechanisms that control neurotransmitter release."Source: Eurekalert
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Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Terens Quick met yesterday with the Slovenian Ambassador to Greece, Anita Pipan, in the context of the preparations for the visit Mr. Quick will be carrying out to Slovenia on 5 September.

The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs will participate in the "Bled Strategic Forum," held annually in Slovenia, on the margins of which there will be an informal meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the countries participating in the South East European Cooperation Process (SEECP).

Mr. Quick will participate as a speaker in one of the main panels of the "Bled Strategic Forum," on the subject of the geopolitical state of affairs and developments in the Mediterranean region.
There are 278 female Marines now filling jobs formerly reserved for men, with 40 female recruits additionally under contract for these jobs, the assistant commandant of the Marine Corps told reporters at the Pentagon on Tuesday.

A year and a half after all previously closed ground combat and special operations jobs across the Defense Department opened to women in keeping with a Pentagon mandate, Lt. Gen. Glenn Walters hailed the progress that Marines have made in integrating the ranks, saying the Corps has not gotten adequate credit in the press for recent historic milestones.

These include two female lieutenants who graduated with honors from Army Field Artillery School at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, in May 2016, and the Marines' first female tank officer, 2nd Lt. Lillian Polatchek, who graduated at the top of the Army's Armor Basic Officer Leaders Course at Fort Benning, Georgia, in April.

"Do we have hordes [of female Marines entering combat jobs]? No," Walters said. "But we have a pretty good nexus that are attempting to make these choices in life. And I'm very proud of them."

There are at least three women currently serving in actual enlisted infantry jobs. The Marine Corps revealed in January that a female rifleman, mortarman, and machine gunner were being assigned to 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, out of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

And Walters revealed Tuesday that a female officer is currently attempting the notoriously difficult infantry officers course at Quantico, Virginia, and had made it partway through. As of this spring, 31 female Marine officers had attempted the course, but none had been able to complete it.

Walters' comments come as the Marine Corps eyes a plan that would allow women to attend Marine Combat Training, and potentially boot camp, on the West Coast. The service is also considering further integrating gender-separated training and instruction periods at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina, the only boot camp where female Marine recruits currently train.

The prospective changes are part of a massive effort to change the culture of the Marine Corps to promote respect for women on and off the clock. The service stood up a task force to address the issue after an investigative report in March found that active-duty Marines were using a private Facebook group to share nude photos of female troops without their consent.

A new Personnel Studies and Oversight office has been established to continue the effort, Walters said. He revealed as well that Commandant Gen. Robert Neller had designated the office of the assistant commandant as the "talent management officer of the Marine Corps," a role that entails diversity management and oversight of how jobs are assigned.

"I have a duty to look at where we place people, why we place them there, to find out if there's any policy imbalances that we need to adjust and how do we manage the talent of the Marine Corps to achieve our cultural objectives," Walters said. "And I will use that power and authority to help effect the change we're talking about now."

Walters said evidence-based analysis around Marine Corps recruit training is taking place to assess the costs and benefits of further gender integration. The Marine Corps is the only service that continues to keep elements of boot camp separated by gender, and officials have said this approach minimizes distractions and allows recruits to bond with same-gender role models.

Critics have said the approach allows male Marines to look down on their female counterparts and engenders a culture of sexism.

"If we're going to change the culture of the Marine Corps, we need to change how we're organized," Walters said. "Our recruit training is a component of that, and of course we're looking at all options."

-- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck.

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In January, U.S. Army uniform officials will begin an evaluation of the service's new Improved Hot Weather Combat Uniform by issuing the lighter, more breathable uniform to thousands of soldiers in Hawaii.

The new IHWC is the result of a directed requirement to outfit soldier with a jungle uniform suitable for operations in the Pacific theater. This follows a similar effort that recently resulted in the Army fielding 9,000 pairs of new Jungle Combat Boots to the 25th Infantry Division's 2nd and 3rd Brigade Combat teams in Hawaii between March and August.

Up until this point, 25th ID soldiers training to operate in hot, tropical environments have been wearing Universal Camouflage Pattern Army Combat Uniforms and Hot Weather Combat Boots intended for desert environments.

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"January 2018 is going to be huge," said Capt. Daniel Ferenczy, assistant product manager for Extreme Weather Clothing and Footwear. "They are going to be pure-fleeted in the [Operation Camouflage Pattern] with jungle boots in a hot weather combat uniform."

The new uniform, made by Source America, is a 57 percent Nylon/ 43 percent cotton blend to make it "faster-drying" and have "greater airflow" than the 50-50 Nylon cotton blend on the ACU, Ferenzcy said.

"It adds a little bit more strength which allows us to make it a lighter blend or a thinner weave ... so it should dry a little quicker," Ferenzcy said. "There are also architectural differences between the ACU uniform and this one."

The new uniform has better flexibility and less layers of fabric, Ferenczy said adding that "less layers of fabric means that it retains less moisture means it dries quicker."

There are no breast pockets since soldiers in the field are typically wearing gear that covers them, and "all they end up doing is retaining moisture and heat, so we removed that extra layer there," Ferenzcy said.

"The back pockets in the trousers are gone as well for the same reason," he said. Uniform officials have added an ID card pocket inside the waistband.

The Improved Hot Weather Combat Uniform blouse also features a button-down front instead of a zipper closure. Uniform officials also replaced the side zipper closure on the shoulder sleeve pockets with a button-down flap at the top of the pocket, Ferenzcy said.

The new uniform features reinforced elbows and reinforced and articulated knees and a gusseted crotch, said Ferenzcy, whose office worked with the Natick Soldier Systems Center to develop the IHWCU.

"Every design feature on this uniform came straight out of the horse's mouth," Ferenzcy said. "The folks that designed it worked hand-in-hand with the Jungle Operations Training Center in Hawaii."

The plan is to issue about 20,000 sets of the new uniforms to the 2nd and 3rd BCTs in Hawaii in January and then another 10,000 to 12,000 sets in March, Ferenzcy said, describing the $14 million effort.

"This is under a directed requirement, so right now they are just a one-time buy," Ferenzcy said. "It was 'hey, we need to get these guys ready for Pacific operations.' We don't know exactly yet how we are going to sustain it."

After 25th ID soldiers have a chance to train in the new uniforms, Ferenzcy's team plans to return in "April or May and get feedback on the uniform and then we will make adjustments as needed, Ferenzcy said.

"It they don't like this material, the 57/43 NYCO blend, we may go with something else," he said.

Phase two of the effort involves buying another 11 brigades worth of the IHWCU in its final form for contingency stocks "in case another brigade got turned on to deploy or do a training mission in a tropical environment, we would have uniforms ready for them," Ferenzcy said.

"This uniform is about a pound lighter than the Army Combat Uniform; it's very comfortable and not only does it make fighting and operating in a tropical hot wet environment easier, it's also going to potentially mitigate heat injuries because it holds less heat and less moisture," Ferenczy said.

"There no scientific studies to back this up, but heat casualties across the force are one of the biggest things that take soldiers out of the fight."

--Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com.
Seconds before two Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornet pilots collided over the Pacific, both pilots realized a disaster was imminent. They both attempted to maneuver away, but it was too late.

One of the aircraft, catastrophically damaged, erupted into flames, forcing the pilot to eject. The other aircraft was damaged but flyable, and its pilot would go on to execute a remarkable arrested landing at Naval Station North Island, San Diego.

The Nov. 9, 2016, collision, which incredibly resulted in only minor injuries for the pilots, was caused by both pilots failing to recognize that they were on a collision course until it was too late, a command investigation obtained by Military.com found.

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Investigators point to insufficient hours in the cockpit -- an endemic problem for Marine Corps Hornet squadrons in recent years -- as a key causal factor.

"This mishap brings into sharp focus the difference between currency and proficiency," Col. William Swan, then the commanding officer of Marine Aircraft Group-11, wrote in an endorsement of the investigation's findings. "Given sustained low flight hours across the F/A-18 community, our aircrew have a smaller scope of experience and significantly reduced tactical proficiency."

Greater operational risk will continue to be an issue until the number of training sorties can increase and their quality improve, Swan added.

"The question for us then becomes not 'if' we can schedule a certain sortie, rather 'should' we schedule that sortie," he said.

Both aircraft involved in the mishap were F/A-18A++ Hornets assigned to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 314, "The Black Knights," out of Miramar, California.

The pilot of the first aircraft was a fighter attack instructor and weapons and tactics instructor who had flown 15.2 hours in the previous 30 days, not much beyond the 11 hours that naval aviation leaders have called the "tactical hard deck," or minimum for safe flight.

The pilot of the second aircraft was more junior. After recent knee surgery, he had flown just 3.1 hours in the previous 60 days.

The aircraft were flying for an annual training event called the "MAG-11 Turkey Shoot," a competition that allows squadrons within the MAG to compete for points based on performance. Both pilots in the mishap flight had most recently flown two days earlier in a mission in which they were simulating enemy aircraft.

But training and readiness standards dictated that each pilot have two prerequisite sorties before a mission like that of Nov. 9. The VMFA-314 squadron commander waived that requirement for the pilot with fewer flight hours, the investigation found.

The Nov. 9 flight was an air-to-air mission. The two aircraft took off from Miramar, separated, and set up for a "merge" near the center of the designated training area. Following that, the first pilot entered a nose-high maneuver that ultimately would have him flying inverted. The second pilot began a high-G turn, setting up for a second merge of the aircraft.

While inverted, according to the investigation, the first pilot assessed the flight path of the other aircraft and realized they were on a collision course. He attempted to roll his aircraft upright to avoid a crash, but didn't give any verbal deconfliction directives to his wingman.

The second pilot also saw the impending disaster. He executed a nose-low maneuver, but it was too late. The two aircraft collided just before 8 p.m. local time, the right wing of the first aircraft striking the left wing of the second.

The first aircraft was more severely damaged. It caught fire and began to corkscrew.

Having lost control of the plane, the pilot ejected roughly 19,000 feet above the ground. He sustained a minor cut above his right eyebrow, but otherwise landed unharmed in the Pacific, where he was rescued by an MH-60 helicopter dispatched from the carrier Carl Vinson.

The second aircraft sustained extensive damage to its left wing. Portions of the outer wing had broken off entirely. But the pilot found the aircraft was still flyable, and executed an arrested landing at nearby North Island that earned praise from Swan, the commander of MAG-11.

"[The pilot] displayed exceptional airmanship when he successfully landed [the aircraft] after significant portions of its flight control surfaces were destroyed," Swan wrote in his endorsement of the investigation.

The crash was caused because both pilots failed to recognize signs that their flight paths would intersect until it was too late, the investigation found.

Swan added that it was an error in judgment on the part of VMFA-314 commander Lt. Col. D.J. Byrum to waive the additional prerequisite sortie for the less-proficient pilot.

"Basic fighter maneuvers are some of the highest-risk flying and training events any pilot participates in," the investigator wrote. "Training rules and other planning and briefing measures are in place to minimize and manage the risk associated with that high-risk training."

The investigator recommended that the incident be used by other squadrons as a cautionary tale, with details of the mishap briefed to pilots and video from the recovered aircraft heads-up display used to brief aircrew on the importance of flight path deconfliction.

For the Marine Corps, this was one of three F/A-18 Hornet crashes in the space of three months at the end of 2016, one of which resulted in a fatality.

In early 2017, Lt. Gen. Jon Davis, then-head of Marine Corps Aviation, acknowledged that only about 25 percent of the Marines' 280 Hornets were immediately ready to fly, with much of the fleet sidelined for maintenance and spare parts. The lack of available aircraft has contributed to the dearth of flight hours for Hornet pilots.

The airframe reached an average flight hour low in 2015, with an average of 8.8. flight hours per month for non-deployed squadrons, Stars and Stripes reported. Since then, thanks to an aggressive readiness recovery plan, that average has climbed.

In a late June interview shortly before his retirement, Davis told Military.com that the Marine Corps aviation enterprise was averaging 16.9 hours, though slightly less for Hornet pilots.

"That won't get better until the inventory numbers get better in F-18 and the reliability gets better with the old airplanes," he said. "Right now, we have a pretty high break rate on the legacy F-18."

The Marine Corps and Navy have asked a retired Air Force three-star general to conduct an independent readiness review on the F/A-18 to determine how to improve reliability on the aging aircraft, Davis said.

"We're going to get out of legacy F-18 faster, not as fast as we can, but I can't just walk away from our requirements," he said. "I've still got additional metal I've got to put on the line for these units."

-- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck.
U.S. "deterrence" patrols have come under fire several times recently in the northern Syria flashpoint town of Manbij near the Turkish border, a U.S. military spokesman said Thursday.

"There were engagements. They were with small-arms fire that were directed toward our patrols," said Army Col. Ryan Dillon.

"There was more than one," but no U.S. casualties or damage to vehicles or equipment resulted, he said.

The U.S. troops did not return fire, Dillon said. "We did not engage," but "we do reserve the right to defend ourselves. We do not know who is behind these attacks, but we are very clear about our presence there."

U.S. troops have been in Manbij and patrolling other parts of northern Syria since March, when a small contingent of Army Rangers, Stryker fighting vehicles and up-armored Humvees was sent to the town, about 85 miles north of Raqqa.

After a lengthy siege, Manbij was liberated from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria in August 2016 by the U.S.-supported Kurdish YPG, or People's Protection Units.

The insertion of the Rangers in March this year came as Syrian regime forces backed by Russia approached Manbij from the south, and Turkish forces and their allied Free Syrian Army militia pressed from the east.

Turkey considers the YPG a terrorist group allied to the PKK, or Kurdistan Workers Party, which has been labeled a terrorist organization by the United Nations, Turkey and the U.S.

In late February, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that Manbij would be the next target in the Turkish military campaign Operation Euphrates Shield, which the Turkish military was conducting inside Syria with Free Syrian Army partners to clear border areas.

To avert a multi-sided battle for Manbij, the Rangers -- flying large U.S. flags from their Strykers and up-armored Humvees -- began conducting what the Pentagon called "overt" patrols in Manbij and on the town's outskirts.

In a March 3 briefing, Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, said of the U.S. patrols in Manbij, "We want to have a visible show that we are there" to discourage any moves against the town.

"They're not looking to start a fight with anybody," Davis said of the U.S. troops in Manbij. "They're looking to prevent" any conflict with the Manbij Military Council, the mostly Syrian-Arab group that has policed Manbij since the ouster of ISIS.

With U.S. troops in Manbij, there was no need for Turkish, Russian or Syrian regime forces to move on the city, Davis said.

"This is a new effort. This is the first time we've had to do something like this, which is to ensure that we are out there as a visible symbol that the enemy is cleared out of Manbij," Davis said. "There is not a need for others to advance on it in attempts to 'liberate' it."

In a briefing from Baghdad to the Pentagon on Thursday, Dillon, a spokesman for Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve, said the incidents in Manbij are having no effect on the ongoing siege of ISIS-held Raqqa to the south.

Dillon said the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, a mix of Syrian-Arab and YPG troops, have control of more than 50 percent of Raqqa but are running up against tougher resistance, mostly from ISIS' improvised explosive devices.

"There's no question they have hit fiercer resistance," he said, but the SDF is pressing the fight and has not lost any ground.

-- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com.
Anyone who's bought a cup of take-out coffee, asked for a restaurant doggie-bag, or held an iconic red Solo cup at a tailgate knows the product line of Dart Container Corporation.

The company is already the world's largest manufacturer of foam cups and containers.

Now Michigan-based Dart is planning on growing its footprint in the state, with a $40 million expansion that will add 365,000 square feet to its operations south of Lansing.

The popularity of portable food and drinks among consumers is one reason the Michigan-based Dart is expanding its manufacturing facility in Mason from 215,000 square feet to 330,000 square feet.

At the same time, the push among food producers and sellers for better packaging amid pricing pressures is driving Dart to build a new technical and innovation center. That will be a new, 250,000 square foot facility with room for both offices and manufacturing of prototypes. It will be built in Alaiedon Township, adjacent to the Mason campus.

"We are arguably one of the leading providers of packages in our industry, in materials and ... breadth of product lines," said Dart president Jim Lammers. "Our customers are looking for a pretty broad array of options when thinking about what kind of packaging to use in their operations."

Customers include the general public, who will find things like paper cups and plastic foam containers on retail shelves.

But the public also comes into contact with the products as they shop or dine in places that offer portable food and drinks. Many of those retailers buy their containers and other packaging - adding their own branding - from multiple sources, Lammers said, including Dart.

It's a competitive industry, he added, and not just because Amazon - which is acquiring Whole Foods - has hinted that it may get into the food packaging distribution business.

"That's another example of how dynamic this industry is," Lammers said.

Other examples comes from groceries, which continue to fight to grow their share of consumer spending on food. They're increasing their range of prepared foods, and turning to Dart for packaging solutions.

That brings Dart innovation into play, Lammers said.

Retail customers "want clarity, since it's important to be able to see the product," he said. "Plus they're looking for a lot of other features: Great lid fit, portability ... and the ability to market with their own brand."

Reusable containers didn't connect in the marketplace. But the environmental impact of packaging raises concerns for customers and consumers, in turn raising Dart's interest in turning to technology and science for solutions.

Company-wide, Dart employs about 16,000 - including 2,000 in Mason - and generates more than $3 billion in annual sales. Manufacturing takes place in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil and England.

No changes are planned to the company's international operations while Dart focuses on the Michigan-centered investment.

The construction on the Dart campus should create as estimated 136 jobs, Lamming said. It's supported by a $1 million grant from the Michigan Business Development Program through the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. Alaiedon Township also approved a tax break.

Dart started in Mason in 1960 with production of a foam cup. It grew quickly, including by attracting large-scale customers. One early customer was Chick-fil-A, which began pioneering mall-based fast food in 1967. Growth continued with products launched for a variety of customers, including hospitals. One recognizable innovation: the sip-through lid.

It acquired the Solo Cup Company in 2012, but Lammers said the cups are not made in Michigan - that honor goes to Chicago.

"It's a very successful line for us," Lammers said, describing it as a popular product. "It's the kind of product associated with joyous times."

Since that acquisition, Dart has invested more than $60 million in the Mason campus and created more than 500 new jobs, according to the company.

Previous projects include a 500,000 square foot distribution center and a 144,000 corporate office.

While auto manufacturing is a major industry for Michigan, the Dart expansion offers a glimpse into other ways that U.S. companies are creating products and producing them.

"Sometimes, we forget as a country that manufacturing can provide some pretty interesting and exciting opportunities for people," Lammers said. "We still do make a lot of things in this country."

The, he said, opens career opportunities in skilled trades and technical areas. Lammers said he hopes more interest turns toward that kind of training.

"There can be good-paying, gratifying work in manufacturing," he said.

" ... And it's neat to make things," he added.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- The Better Business Bureau is issuing a consumer alert about Bella Solviva, an Antrim County "glamping" resort that has failed to open despite two years of accepting reservations.

"This non-existent resort has been accepting reservations for an upscale camping experience for more than two years, but to date, still does not have a working campground, nor has it even started initial construction," according to an alert published by the BBB on Wednesday, Aug. 9.

The BBB warned consumers who have sent deposits to Bella Solviva that they are unlikely to receive any refunds.

Using a polished website, Bella Solviva owners Brad and Sandy Carlson promised high-end camping experiences that would offer vacations in converted yachts, airliners, luxury tents with running water and travel trailers.

"They initially planned to use the crowdfunding site Indiegogo to raise $100,000 for their proposed 107-acre camping facility, but only managed to raise $2,951 towards their lofty goal," according to the BBB.

"Since then, the couple has continued to solicit online donations for this massive undertaking, while also showing no proof of progress on this project," the BBB said.

"Their website currently offers 'annual memberships,' 'reservations,' and a 'rewards program,' and you can even buy 'gift certificates' ranging in price from $100 to $5,000 to help fund Bella Solviva."

The BBB alleges Bella Solviva's website is deceptive when it claims to be "Michigan's first and only green, sustainable glamping destination" while using images from other "glamping" websites and non-existent amenities to promote the site.

"Based on multiple unanswered complaints from consumers, this business is no longer responding to consumers and does not refund investments or deposits," the consumer alert said.

"BBB has reached out via phone and written communication to the owners of Bella Solviva, and received no response to date. BBB advises consumers that any funds given to Bella Solviva for a deposit or reservation are likely never to be recouped, plus they'll have no camping experience to boot."

In a message on its website, Bella Solviva's owners said they still hope to create their campground.

"We feel very badly that an idea that has captured the imagination of Michigan, the nation and even the world has experienced such birthing pains," the website said.

"With over 1.6 million web hits from over 320,000 people to date, numerous media interviews and accolades, many thousands of social media followers and inquiries, the concept obviously has merit and will be a tremendous success, bringing joy and relaxation to many people."

Claiming they have refunded more than 50 percent of the deposits, the Bella Solviva owners said they hope to avoid filing for bankruptcy.

"We feel sickened that we have let people down, certainly not treating them the way we would want to be treated, nor with the quality that we have all envisioned for Bella Solviva. Our desire is to continue to refund remaining deposits, as funds become available," the website said.
ANN ARBOR, MI -- Three men pleaded guilty Wednesday, August 9 to charges stemming from the robbery of an Ypsilanti-based marijuana caregiver.

Yusuf Marah Jama, 19, Mazeen Said Mustafa, 20, and Bassam Hamoud-Yahya Obied, 18, accepted plea deals when they appeared before Judge Archie Brown in the Washtenaw County Trial Court.

The three were initially charged with armed robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, carrying a concealed weapon and possession of marijuana.

They pleaded guilty to unarmed robbery, conspiracy to commit unarmed robbery and the concealed weapon count in exchange for a sentencing agreement recommending one year in the Washtenaw County Jail, plus probation.

Attorneys for Jama and Obied requested the sentence be one day short of a year in jail because their immigration statuses could be affected otherwise.

The men took turns pleading guilty to robbing a marijuana caregiver in Ypsilanti in the 800 block of Green in Ypsilanti around 1:20 a.m. May 22. The men said they drove to an apartment complex in that area with a plan to steal marijuana from the man, and admitted they had a firearm.

"It was a pistol in the trunk," Mustafa said.

The 28-year-old caregiver, licensed by the state to grow and sell marijuana to patients, also had a concealed pistol license, and fired a gun at the would-be robbers, missing Obied and Jama when the two tried holding him up at gunpoint in the hallway of the apartment, Ypsilanti police said.

The gunshot prompted the two men to flee, police said. Mustafa admitted he was the getaway driver.

A Washtenaw County Sheriff's deputy saw the men traveling in their car at a high rate of speed and pulled them over. The victim identified Jama, Mustafa and Obied after they were taken into custody.

The three men would be sentenced under the Holmes Youthful Trainee Act under the agreement, which means their cases could be expunged if they comply with conditions of the sentencing, which was scheduled for Sept. 20.

The three men entered their pleas together. Mustafa and Obied appeared in street clothes. Jama remained in custody at the Washtenaw County Jail and appeared in a jail jumpsuit and cuffs.

Obied and Mustafa each posted a $100,000 bond through a bail bondsman, records show.
Update: State police announced about noon Thursday that the suspect was in custody. The road has since been reopened.

ERIE TOWNSHIP, MI - A portion of I-75 south of Monroe is closed as police negotiate with a barricaded gunman in a vehicle.

Michigan State Police are working to negotiate with a suicidal suspect who fled after a welfare check in Pontiac, WXYZ reports.

Southbound I-75 at South Otter Creek Road, exit 9, and northbound I -75 at Luna Pier Road, exit 6, were both closed as of about 5:35 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 10 for the incident.

The individual is armed and motorists are asked to avoid the area for expected traffic backups, according to Michigan State Police.

. Hostage negotiators are speaking with the suspect at this time. Avoid the area as traffic will become an issue as this incident continues.  MSP Metro Detroit (@mspmetrodet) August 10, 2017

MSP update standoff with suicidal man in car Michigan State Police update the standoff on I-75 in Monroe County with a suicidal man sitting in his car. The highway remains closed. Here's what we know: http://bit.ly/2wwRPkj Posted by WXYZ-TV Channel 7 on Thursday, August 10, 2017

UPDAT
#World University Games Chuncheong named host of 2027 World University Games The South Korean central region of Chungcheong was named the host of the 2027 Summer World University Games on Saturday, bringing the biennial event to the country for the fourth t...

#first lady First lady visits home of Cambodian child with heart disease First lady Kim Keon-hee visited the home of a Cambodian child with a heart disease Saturday and comforted the family, urging them not to give up under any circumstances, the presid...
DETROIT - Jose Luis Sanchez Ronquillo, a Mexican national who had lived in the Ann Arbor area for nearly 20 years, was already en route back to Mexico on Tuesday, Aug. 8, when people rallied in Detroit asking that he be released from federal custody while his immigration case is decided.

On Monday, U.S. District Court Judge David M. Lawson issued an order that said the court did not have jurisdiction to delay Sanchez Ronquillo's deportation while the Board of Immigration Appeals decided whether or not to re-open his case.

Sanchez Ronquillo's attorney Shanta Driver did not mention Lawson's order when she addressed the people at the rally Tuesday.

Sanchez Ronquillo was removed to Mexico on Tuesday, said Khaalid Walls, regional director of communications for ICE. Driver could not immediately be reached for comment.

Sanchez Ronquillo had lived in Ann Arbor since 1998, according to court documents filed Monday. A native of Mexico, he entered the U.S. illegally to visit a cousin. He returned to Mexico in 2001 to attend to his sick mother, and then Border Patrol caught him crossing the border back into the U.S. later that year. They returned him to Mexico, and at some point Sanchez Ronquillo returned to the U.S. undetected, according to court documents.

He is married and has two children, who are U.S. citizens. Sanchez Ronquillo does not have a criminal record. His attorneys argued that he should not be deported because he is the primary financial supporter for his family.

ICE initiated Sanchez Ronquillo's removal proceedings in 2009. He applied for cancellation of removal and adjustment of his immigration status at that time. The request was denied. He appealed the decision, and the appeal was dismissed in 2013.

ICE agents detained Sanchez Ronquillo on April 19, and he has been in federal custody since then. He has petitioned the Board of Immigration Appeals to re-open his case in light of new information about his son's medical needs, and the board's decision is still pending.

Sanchez Ronquillo was set to be deported on May 2, but his attorneys filed a motion with the U.S. District Court on May 1 asking for a stay on his removal until the Immigration Board of Appeals made its decision. Lawson granted an emergency stay, which the federal government then moved to vacate.

On Monday, Lawson sided with the government, saying the court did not have jurisdiction to delay the deportation.

"Petitioner Sanchez-Ronquillo has identified some very good reasons why he should not be deported, despite his illegal status," Lawson wrote in his order. "Unfortunately, however, the federal district courts are not the place for him to present his claims. Even if the Court were convinced that the removal order should be cancelled, Congress has not empowered this Court with the authority -- the jurisdiction -- to furnish such relief."

Sanchez Ronquillo's two sons, who are 11 and 14 years old and attend Ann Arbor Public Schools, were among about two dozen people at the rally outside the ICE offices in Detroit on Tuesday. They talked about how much they have missed their dad this summer and hoped they would soon be reunited.
ANN ARBOR, MI - A West Michigan woman with a terminal brain tumor is fighting to give birth to her sixth child at University Hospital in Ann Arbor.

Carrie DeKlyen, 37, a mother of five children from Wyoming, Michigan, was diagnosed with Glioblastoma multiforme in April and had surgery to remove the tumor at Mercy Health Saint Mary's Campus in Grand Rapids. Shortly after that, DeKlyen was accepted into a clinical trial at University Hospital for treatment.

Two weeks later, however, the family's plans were altered when it was discovered she was pregnant with her sixth child. Doctors said DeKlyen could remain in the clinical trial, but that she would need to terminate the pregnancy.

The family is now hoping DeKlyen, who is 21 weeks pregnant, can reach the 28-week mark so that the baby can be delivered.

"It was Carrie and Nick's decision and they chose to continue with trying to have the baby," DeKlyen's sister-in-law Sonya Nelson said. "Everybody who knows Carrie loves her."

"She's just so amazing and has a heart for other people," she added. "That's just always how she's been."

DeKlyen currently is in the intensive care unit at the hospital and has not regained consciousness after suffering a stroke two weeks ago, Nelson said. Glioblastoma multiforme is a highly malignant cancerous because the cells reproduce quickly and they are supported by a large network of blood vessels.

The family has set up a GoFundMe page to help ease the family's financial burden as DeKlyen's husband, Nick, has stepped away from his job to be by his wife's side during radiation and chemotherapy treatments. The family has received $18,350 toward its $35,000 goal.
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Adani Enterprises has appointed corporate finance firm Grant Samuel to advise on funding for its multi-billion dollar coal mine in the Australian outback, two sources with knowledge of the matter said on Thursday.

Analysts have raised doubts about whether Adani can fund what would be Australia's biggest coal mine given opposition from green groups and volatile coal prices.

Banks including Deutsche Bank and Commonwealth Bank of Australia have already said they will not provide funding.

"Adani has mandated Grant Samuel to advise on the financing," one of the sources said. Both sources asked not to be identified as they were not authorised to speak with media.

Grant Samuel declined to comment on whether it had been appointed to advise on funding for the Carmichael mine, which Adani had originally planned to develop at a cost of A$16.5 billion ($13 billion), before last year downsizing the first stage and trimming the cost to A$4 billion.

Adani spokesman Ron Watson declined to comment on the appointment of Grant Samuel, but said it now needed to borrow under A$2 billion to get the project off the ground. That would include A$900 million in loans under Australia's Northern Territory Infrastructure Facility (NAIF) programme.

"We are already talking with a number of international financial institutions," Watson said.

Adani, which uses coal to generate electricity for its power business in India, has set a self-imposed first quarter 2018 deadline to complete funding, he added.

The mine's location 400 kilometres (250 miles) from a Pacific Ocean shipping terminal means the challenge of financing infrastructure costs has been at the forefront of debate over the project's economic viability.

Adani also continues to face legal and social hurdles amid opposition from environment groups arguing the mine will contribute to global warming and damage the Great Barrier Reef.

The firm has already invested A$3.3 billion in the project, which it says does not threaten the reef and will provide India with cleaner burning Australian coal.

In the past, Grant Samuel in Australia has worked with iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group on a $2.4 billion debt raising and also advised Whitehaven Coal on refinancing a A$1.4 billion loan, according to its website.
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Board recommended issue of Bonus Shares to holders of equity shares of the Company in the ratio of 1:1 (i.e. One bonus equity share of Rs.2/- each fully paid up for every one fully paid-up equity shares of Rs.2/- each held) subject to approval of the shareholders of the Company through postal ballot.Source : BSE

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business Buy Hexaware Technologies, Motherson Sumi Systems; sell Tata Motors: Ashwani Gujral Ashwani Gujral of ashwanigujral.com is of the view that one can buy Hexaware Technologies and Motherson Sumi Systems and sell Tata Motors.
In yet another regulatory blow Dr Reddys German subsidiary Betapharm Arzneimittel on Thursday said it has received communication from the Regulatory Authority of the Germany (Regierung von Oberbayern) last night saying that it hasnt renewed the GMP (good manufacturing practices) compliance certificate of the companys formulations manufacturing unit -2 in Bachupally near Hyderabad post its recent inspection of the plant.

Pending revocation of the non-compliance notification, the plant will not be able to make any further dispatch to the European Union until the next inspection, to be initiated by an invitation from Betapharm, Dr Reddys said in a statement.

The company didn't provide any specific details of violations that led to cancellation of the GMP certificate for the plant.

Typically regulators revoke GMP certificate if they find violations of good manufacturing practices at the facility.

GMP contributed about Rs 760 crore in FY17. Dr Reddys operates mainly in Germany and the UK in Europe. The company acquired Betapharm in early 2006 for 480 million, but a dramatic shift of policy in Germany from branded to source medicines from the lowest-cost vendor through a tender-based model has hurt the company's largest ever overseas acquisition.

Dr Reddys has been facing regulatory scrutiny for some time by US FDA. The companys two plants including the Srikakulam API unit called CTO-6 and Duvvada oncology and harmonal injectable facility in Andhra Pradesh are under US FDA warning letter. The Miryalaguda API unit, however, received an establishment inspection report.

Shares of Dr Reddys fell 4.43 percent and were trading at Rs 1956 at 3 pm on BSE, the benchmark Sensex dropped 0.88 percent to 31,518.63 points.
trends Indian army orders evacuation of Nathang: Sources The latest development in the Doklam standoff, the Indian army has reportedly asked villagers to evacuate a village that is close to the disputed area.
trends NPPA vs industry: Drug price regulator worried about high cost After imposing price controls on coronary stents, India's drug price regulator has set its eyes on the orthopaedic knee implants where huge margin mark-ups have been reported. But will ortho knee implants follow a similar price clampdown? Dissenting voices from medical experts and industry lobby groups surface but fail to make a justification. CNBC-TV18's Archana Shukla filed this report.
In a bid capture the Indian e-commerce market, Japans SoftBank on Thursday announced a massive infusion of funds in Bangalore based Flipkart via its USD 100 billion Vision Fund. The investment estimated to be over USD 2-2.5 billion will be a mix of primary and secondary capital from SoftBank's Vision Fund.

As a result, SoftBank will now become the largest shareholder in Flipkart, just days after Snapdeal founders decided to terminate merger talks with the Bangalore-based company.

After this financing round, Flipkart claimed that it will have in excess of $4 billion of cash on balance sheet.

Welcoming the investment, co-founder Binny Bansal tweeted: Excited to welcome Softbank Vision Fund as a long-term partner in @Flipkart!A true recognition of Indias potential.

The investment is part of Flipkart's recent fund raise when it raised USD 1.4 billion from Tencent, eBay and Microsoft.

Key Takeaways from Softbank's Investment:

# Softbank gets a market entry into largest domestic player in e-commerce in India

# Masayoshi Son will get to play against Jeff Bezos to capture the Indian online retail market

# It also means that Flipkart has got a fresh lease of life with a massive VC backing it. Will help in attracting talent.

# The deal also signifies that in future - A consortium of Alibaba-Softbank-Flipkart-eBay-Paytm could join hands to put up a joint fight against Amazon in India

# It also means that the upcoming Diwali will see a lot of discounts from both Amazon and Flipkart.

# E-commerce could again become a revenue churner for Ad companies, logistics players and media firms as they were in 2014-15.

(Flipkart's funding so far, prior to Softbank's entry. Data source: Tracxn.)

Tiger Global, the hedge fund that had invested in Flipkart early on, is expected to have received a partial exit following this investment. There wasn't any further detail on it immediately.

India has a thriving Internet market with close to 500 million Internet users and as per market research, the Indian e-commerce market is expected to grow at a five-year compound annual growth rate in excess of 30 percent.

This is a monumental deal for Flipkart and India. Very few economies globally attract such overwhelming interest from top-tier investors. Were excited to welcome the Vision Fund as a long-term partner as we continue to build our business with a focus on serving the needs of all Indians, said Binny Bansal and Sachin Bansal, co-founders of Flipkart.

As a leading innovator in Indian e-commerce, the funding round further solidifies Flipkarts balance sheet and will help accelerate investment in driving continued market leadership.

'Want to support clear winners'

FILE PHOTO: SoftBank Group Corp Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son

India is a land of vast opportunity. We want to support innovative companies that are clear winners in India because they are best positioned to leverage technology and help people lead better lives, said Masayoshi Son, founder and chairman and chief executive of SoftBank Group Corp.

In a statement, last week, Softbank had said that it respected Snapdeal's decision to pursue an independent strategy and not merge into its arch rival Flipkart.

SoftBank has an India portfolio spanning e-commerce, ride sharing, digital payments, hospitality, clean energy and telecommunications, which is valued at over USD 6 billion.

The completion of this investment is subject to customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions.

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC served as financial advisor and Gunderson Dettmer LLP served as legal advisor to Flipkart. Citi served as financial advisor and AZB & Partners served as legal advisor to the SoftBank Vision Fund.
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Union Bank of India has signed an in principle agreement with Japan-based Dai-ichi Life insurance firm to sell 40 percent stake in the bank's wholly-owned asset management company.

Speaking to media soon after the board meeting, Rajkiran Rai G, managing director and CEO of the bank said that board has given "approval to partner with Dai-ichi. The details are yet to worked out."

This will mark the Japanese firm's entry into India's booming mutual fund industry.

Without elaborating on the deal size, Rai said, "We have to yet work out the details on pricing. The proceeds could go to the company as it would be fresh issuance of shares."

Earlier, Union Bank had tied up with KBC Participations Renta to form KBC Asset Management company where the Belgian firm had 49% in for asset management business.

In September 2016, KBC sold its entire stake in mutual fund to Union Bank of India.
business Coming quarters looking interesting in terms of growth: BLS International BLS International reported a strong quarter. Shikhar Aggarwal, Joint Managing Director of the company discussed Q1 performance.
business Domestic merchant power rates will be under pressure: Nava Bharat Ventures Nava Bharat Ventures is in focus on the back of a mixed Q1. In an interview to CNBC-TV18, GRK Prasad, ED of the company spoke about the results and his outlook.
On May 19, the Royal Enfield said it would recall 236,966 motorcycles across some models due to defects in the ignition coil that can cause misfiring and reduce the vehicle's performance.

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Eicher Motors will go down as one of the biggest wealth creators in the Indian markets. Its flagship product the Royal Enfield (RE), arguably Indias most respected and sought-after brand in the mid-sized two-wheeler (2W) segment, continues to maintain its mojo. Riding on the strength of RE, Eicher Motors (EIM), yet again, posted a very healthy set of numbers for the quarter ended June 2017, unfazed by structural changes in the industry. But after the dream performance and an equally impressive run for the stock, should you be chasing it now?

Quarter in a nutshell

RE continues to be strong

Amid all disruptions taking place in the Indian automobile industry, RE continues to cruise smoothly. RE volume was up 24.8 percent (YoY) that contributed to the 28.4 percent increase in standalone topline. EBITDA margin was down by 58.3 bps on account of a rise in the raw material prices.

Poor show by VECV

The overall commercial vehicle (CV) industry was impacted by the transition to BS IV norms and GST implementation and Volvo Eicher CV (VECV) was no exception. VECV witnessed 15.7 percent decline in the topline on the back of 27.9 percent fall in the volume. Apart from this, VECV lost market share in almost all segments on the back of supply issues as competitors took advantage of VECVs supply constraints.

The moot question that beckons our attention is if the stock is worthy of investment at current premium valuations?

Capacity Constraints

Eicher has been steadily adding capacity for Royal Enfield that has increased from 60,000 units in CY11 to 675,000 units in FY17. The capacity addition has reduced the waiting time from 12 months to 2 months. Despite aggressive capacity addition, the companys growth is still constrained by it. Eicher plans to expand its capacity to the level of 825,000 units in FY18 from its new plant in Chennai that will commence production by August 2017. The management expects to take the capacity to 900,000 units by FY19.

RE  Extremely strong brand

Royal Enfield has become a very strong brand amongst the youth in India. The growth in the volume has been extraordinary over the years, clocking 51 percent compounded growth over FY11-17. REs market share in premium segment also increased rapidly from 15.8 percent in FY12 to 45.3 percent in FY17. Going forward, volume growth for RE would be limited by capacity.

Dealer expansion to drive growth

The company continues to expand its dealer network for better reach. RE currently has around 700 dealerships to cater to customers need, up from 110 dealerships in CY11. Expanding dealership should propel growth in the coming years.

Competition is heating up

Bajaj Autos Dominar has already started gaining traction in the premium bike segment and the recent addition of Triumph by Bajaj in the premium segment would give competition to RE. Other players in the two wheeler segment such as Hero MotoCorp also has plans to launch a premium bike soon. Hence competition is clearly heating up. Investors ought to take note of the intensified competition.

VECV  business to regain normalcy

The management indicated that though VECV reported a poor show in 1Q18, business should come back to normalcy. It indicated that there are no structural issues on the demand front and the volume should pick up as soon as the overall industry recoups from GST-led disruption.

Valuation

On the back of strong business growth and brand, the company deserves a premium valuation. However, the outperformance of the stock has rendered the valuation too steep. Following a Sum of the Parts valuation (SOTP), we value the RE business at 30 times, (a premium valuation multiple compared to peers) and VEVC business at 15 times FY19 projected earnings. Our analysis suggests that the business is fairly priced at the current level. We advise investors to wait for any weakness in stock prices to accumulate.
With an eye on curbing practices such as laundering money through the stock market, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is planning to link Aadhaar to all financial market transactions, the Economic Times reported.

According to two people familiar with the development, the government feels that the Personal Account Number (PAN) may not be enough to plug tax leaks in financial markets.

An official with a financial services company said that top executives from SEBI have already informally informed market intermediaries about the possibility of linking Aadhaar to financial market transactions. Investors and traders may soon need to provide their Aadhaar details to buy stocks and mutual funds.

However, what is not clear at the moment is when the announcement will be made and whether or not Aadhaar will replace PAN to become the sole identification number. Aadhaar can be used to conduct the compulsory know-your-client (KYC) check for mutual fund transactions online.

In a case of online KYC done with Aadhaar, mutual fund investors do not need to go to fund houses to submit their forms and get their signatures verified in person.

The government recently announced that Aadhaar be mandatorily linked to PAN, bank accounts and mobile numbers. The deadline for existing bank account holders to provide their Aadhaar details is December 31.

Some brokerages have already urged SEBI to get the government to extend e-KYC to the stock broking industry as well. Linking financial market transactions to Aadhaar will be an important step to make India a corruption-free country," Nirmal Jain, Chairman of the IIFL Group, was quoted as saying.

Numerous market participants said that although PAN is unique to every individual, it has not been successful in weeding out investors using the stock market to launder their money. There are still a lot of cases of multiple PANs and fake demat accounts being used to push money into the market.

It is important that the government replaces PAN and other identification documents with Aadhaar in financial markets and all other services to make it convenient for people, Jain said.
In a significant move, the defence ministry has sought setting up of a non-lapsable capital fund so that the unspent money does not go back at the end of any fiscal.

The details of the demand by the defence ministry to roll out the capital fund account have been mentioned in a latest report by the parliamentary standing committee on defence which was tabled in Lok Sabha on Thursday.

The report said the defence ministry has sent a proposal to the finance ministry on February 9 seeking in-principle approval for creation of the non-lapsable capital fund account to remove uncertainty in availability of funds for military modernisation.

As per existing norms, money given to any ministry or department under budgetary allocation has to be spent within the fiscal and the unspent amount goes back to the finance ministry at the end of the financial year.

According to the report of the committee, the finance ministry showed reluctance to the proposal by the defence ministry saying funds requirement for military modernisation can be addressed through normal budgetary mechanism.

"There is no specific advantage for creating a reserve/corpus fund for this objective. The ministry would consider recommendations made in this regard with an open mind with a view to evolving an effective and efficient arrangement," the finance ministry said, responding to a query on the issue by the panel.

The parliamentary standing committee on defence has been pushing for setting up of the non-lapsable fund since 2003.

"The committee are of the opinion that creation of a non-lapsable defence capital fund account is an imperative need for enhancement and heightened operational prepardness of our defence forces," the panel headed by B C Khanduri said.

It said the finance ministry should not have any rigid view on the demand by the defence ministry.

"Moreover, creation of such a fund would also ensure that procurement of equipment, arms and ammunition for our defence forces which are in the pipeline and in the stage of fructification is not delayed because of lack of money due to technicalities of rules and regulations," the panel said.

The committee also cited example of non-lapsable central pool of resources fund for the north eastern region which is being used to implement various major infrastructure projects in the region.

The defence ministry was not very keen to go for the non-lapsable fund when suggestions were made in this regard by the parliamentary standing committee in the last few years. But now the ministry has come out strongly for it.
This year, the festival of Dhanteras, which marks the beginning of the five-day long festival of Diwali, will be celebrated on October 25. (Image: Reuters)

The government may make some amendments in India's free trade pact with South Korea to contain sudden flood of imports from the East Asian country.

"We have five options in front of us. One of them could be imposing safeguard duty. But it is a time-taking process as investigations take at least a month's time to conclude. We may even review and amend FTA (free trade agreement) with South Korea," a senior government official told Moneycontrol.

The Reserve Bank of India, finance and commerce ministry are looking into the matter and may come up with a suitable measure very soon. The government is trying to ascertain if traders are misusing any clause under free trade agreement. We are trying to find out if it is being done by South Korea or some others are using the country as a channel, the official said.

Also read: GST rates announced: Gold taxed at 3%

India has a FTA with the South-East Asian nation since 2009 under Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which has eliminated the basic customs duty (BCD) levy on imports of the yellow metal.

According to news agency Press Trust of India, gold imports from South Korea, has jumped to USD 338.6 million during 1 July and 3 August this year. India is the world's second biggest gold consumer after China and imported USD 70.46 million gold in 2016-17. Currently, gold imports attract 10 percent BCD.

Another official aware of the matter said that the situation is a cause of concern and the government will soon take measures to curb inward shipments of gold. Till June, a trader had to pay 12.5 percent excise duty on gold and jewellery, which was acting as a countervailing duty (CVD) for imports under FTA with South Korea.

After the rollout of Goods and Services Tax (GST) from July 1, the excise duty was subsumed. Currently, only three percent integrated GST (IGST) is levied on imports.

"Now the protection from gold imports under the treaty has also gone," the official explained.

The official pointed out exporters could be misusing the absence of the 'value addition norms' in its trade pact with South Korea. According to the norm, certain value-addition has to be done to the raw material before exporting it to another country.
1. Apollo Micro Systems | Return: -54.18% | Issue size: Rs 113 crore | Listing date: January 22, 2018 | Subscription ratio: 248.51 | Apollo Micro Systems caters primarily to the defence and aerospace sectors. (Image: Reuters)

In a recent move to up its military ante, projects worth thousands of crores have been approved by the defence ministry to sharpen the fighting capability of its tanks and infantry combat vehicles.

This comes immediately after the national auditor recently revealed gaping holes in the militarys battle readiness, a report in the Hindustan Times stated.

The approved projects include ammunition for more than 1,500 Russian-origin BMP-2/2K infantry combat vehicles, top-end missiles for 3,000 T-90/T-72 tanks and lakhs of rounds of L-70 air defence guns, as per official statements.

According to the report, there are several documents of the Indian army indicating a requirement of nine lakh rounds of advanced 30 mm ammunition for the BMPs that can be fired from the existing guns without any design modifications.

Each round could cost upto Rs 15,000 as per the armys estimates.

The Department of Defence Production sealed the deal for the purchase of 3,000 third-generation missiles for the armys tank fleet which have a range of 8 km and a shelf life of five years. These missiles reportedly have a hit probability greater than 90 percent on a standard NATO tank.

An additional Rs 2,500 crore will be spent on armys T-90 fleet for armouring them with vehicle protection and countermeasure system that deflects or destroy threats from guided missiles, rocket propelled grenades and rockets. This will go a long way in enhancing the sustenance of tanks in combat.

The T-90 fleet will also be installed with the 1,200-1,500 HP engines to cater for high battle field agility. The Indian army presently will need 2,011 such engines.

Further, 3.3 lakh rounds of ammunition will be bought for the L-70 air defence guns over the next 12 years.

A sum of Rs 20,000 crore has been sought by the government to accelerate the militarys modernisation, and in July the centre also enhanced the armys financial powers to meet critical deficiencies in ammunition, spares and different types of armament.
Nitin Gadkari

Union minister for road transport and highways, Nitin Gadkari today said that he would ask the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to cut Goods and Services Tax (GST) on biofuel by more than 10 percentage points.

I would ask the finance ministry to reduce the GST on biofuels from current 18 percent to five percent, said Gadkari.

Biofuels enjoyed zero excise duty across the country and nil value added tax (VAT) in states such as West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttrakhand for close to ten years before the new indirect tax system was ushered in on July 1.

A high GST rate makes biofuel less competitive in the market, increasing dependence on imports.

Industry bodies like Biodiesel Association of India have voiced concerns for such a sharp rise in tax rate citing that higher tax rate could disrupt a market that is in its nascent stage.

It has said that such a hike is biased and might hamper the fuel industry which is merely two years old in India.

Speaking on the occasion of World Biofuel Day, Gadkari said that biofuels can be pitched as an inexpensive and green fuel option against conventional fuels.

Also read: Gadkari pushes for methanol-based fuel to run automobiles in India

Biofuels are cost effective and environment-friendly substitutes to conventional fuels, he said.

Besides bringing down pollution, biofuels produced indigenously from agricultural waste, plants like bamboo, non-edible oilseeds, or municipal waste will help reduce the countrys huge import bill.

India imports approximately 80 percent of crude oil from Middle East, West Africa, Latin America and South-east Asia to meets its domestic-use and transportation requirements.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has, however, asked to reduce the import by at least 10 percentage points to 70 percent by 2022, when the country celebrates 75 years of independence.

Also read: Fuel for thought: Why the govt is pushing for a methanol economy

A roadmap on the use of biofuels will help in achieving this (reduction in import) target, said Dharmendra Pradhan, minister of state for petroleum and natural gas.

He said that India may soon have a policy on biofuel as the ministry of new and renewable energy along with ministry of petroleum and natural gas are working towards it.

The policy will take into consideration various facets like role of the government, return on investment, etc, Pradhan said.

Biofuel policy will be a major milestone in the socio-economic development of the country, Gadkari said.

Biofuels can help creates jobs, foster economic growth, support farmers, help improve energy security along with a boost to barren wastelands of the country.
Aurobindo Pharma Ltd.

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Drug firm Dr Reddy's Laboratories (DRL) today said the German regulator has not renewed good manufacturing practise (GMP) compliance certificate of its formulations facility 2 in Bachupally in Hyderabad.

The communication came after a recent inspection of the plant, Dr Reddy's Laboratories said in a filing to BSE.

Betapharm Arzneimittel GmbH, Germany, the company's wholly-owned arm received a communication "from the regulatory authority of Germany (Regierung von Oberbayern) last night, that the GMP compliance certificate in respect of company's formulations manufacturing Unit 2 plant in Bachupally, Hyderabad, is not renewed consequent to the recent inspection of the plant", it added.

Pending revocation of the non-compliance notification, the plant will not be able to make any further exports to the European Union until the next inspection, Dr Reddy's said.

The inspection is to be initiated by an invitation from Betapharm, it added.

Shares of Dr Reddy's Laboratories were today trading at Rs 1,946.95 per scrip in afternoon trade on BSE, down 4.82 per cent from its previous close.
Adi, chairman of The Godrej Group, smiles during the India Economic Summit 2014 at the World Economic Forum in New Delhi

Veteran industrialist Adi Godrej said the Goods and Services Tax (GST) will lead to considerable increase in the GDP in the next six months.

At the same time Godrej acknowledged that there are certain teething problems under the new tax regime.

"This (GST) could add tremendously to our GDP growth. There are some teething problems here and there, I think they are being resolved.

"The government is taking a very refreshing approach to the GST introduction. I think it would be a great success and in the next six months or so, our GDP growth rate will rise quite considerably," Godrej said at the CII-India @75 event here.

On the variable tax rates under GST, he said, "people expecting one single rate or two rates in a country like India with people with different levels of income is very unrealistic...I wouldn't call this GST a diluted form of GST introduction.

"In fact, it has been introduced as it was envisaged and a lot of care has gone in setting the rates at the right level. Many common consumption items, the tax rates are now lower than what they used to be, which will be very helpful."

The Godrej Group Chairman further said free enterprise should be encouraged to accelerate growth.

"Private sector should be allowed to play its place and competition should control things... Let free enterprise take its course. It has built great economies all over the world. Free enterprise is what we should encourage, depend on and use to accelerate our economy," he said.

Noting that there is a huge potential in the agricultural sector, he said value added production through processing could add considerably to the economic growth.

"If we could get to a productivity level in each of our major crops, which is equivalent to the best in India, we could double our agricultural output.

"Our scope is tremendous and we have to find ways where this can be done and find ways that we don't waste things. If we can have value added production through processing, the scope is tremendous and will add tremendously to our economic growth too," Godrej said.

Asked about the future of jobs in an era where companies are looking at robotics and automation, Godrej said, "I don't think they should be too concerned about the future of jobs. I know there is a lot of talk about artificial intelligence, robotics (but) these sort of developments are very good for the economy."

Observing that historically all the economic growth has always come from productivity increase, he said, "productivity increase leads to lower cost of production, leading to a higher consumption, leading to better growth. It leads to greater investments. Growth is what counts. If we can concentrate on growth and get good growth in India, our job flows will come reasonably well."

However, he pointed out that there should be focus on education, skilling and training, for people to be employed.

"In many cases today, it is not that they people aren't able to get jobs. You are not able to fill jobs with the right kind of trained people," he said.
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Indian Oil Corp has received the government nod to buy one very large ship full of crude oil from the US every month this year as it looks at cheaper alternatives that have emerged due to global supply glut.

The shipping ministry has allowed the country's largest oil firm to import one parcel or cargo of crude oil from the US every month in foreign ships, said a senior oil ministry official.

India allows import of crude oil only on Indian carriers. As per the policy, Indian shipping lines get the first right of refusal by virtue of they being allowed to match any lowest bidder for transportation of crude oil. Only when they waive their right can the oil firms use a foreign line.

Transporting US crude needs very large crude carriers (VLCCs) and can be done only by foreign shipping lines. And to do that, oil companies have to obtain permission of the shipping ministry.

The official said IOC had last month sealed a deal to import 1.6 million barrels of crude from the US for delivery in the first week of October at its Paradip refinery in Odisha -- the first ever such purchase of US crude by an Indian state-run refiner

It is stepping up the imports and is tendering for a second cargo. "Going forward, the company feels it can import one VLCC a month and so has obtained the permission," he said.

A VLCC can carry up to 2 million barrels of oil.

Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) has bought two of the US cargoes. A few days ago it bought 1 million barrels of US WTI Midland sweet crude for delivery in October - its first purchase of the sweet variety from the US.

In July, it bought 500,000 barrels each of Mars and Poseidon varieties of medium-to-high-sulphur crude for delivery to its Kochi refinery between September 26 and October 15.

Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) is also looking at buying US crude oil.

India, the world's third-largest oil importer, joins Asian countries like South Korea, Japan and China to buy US crude after production cuts by OPEC drove up prices of Middle East heavy-sour crude, or grades with a high sulphur content.

Buying US crude has become attractive for Indian refiners after the differential between Brent (the benchmark crude or marker crude that serves as a reference price for buyers in western world) and Dubai (which serves as a benchmark for countries in the east) has narrowed.

Even after including the shipping cost, buying US crude is cost competitive to Indian refiners, he said.

The deals by IOC and BPCL cames within weeks of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US when President Donald Trump talked of his country looking to export more energy products to India.

However, for importing crude from the US, the refiners have to take special permission from the shipping ministry. So, IOC and BPCL had to obtain permission to buy the cargo on a delivered basis where the seller arranges for the ships.

"Indian shipping lines don't have vessels to match the demand. They account for only 22 per cent of the total oil transportation and bulk of this is coastal shipping," the official said.
Security_SIS

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Security and Intelligence Services (India) Ltd (SIS) is set to list its equity shares on exchanges on Thursday, August 10 commands a grey premium of 10-15 percent above its issue price, suggest experts tracking the issue.

The Rs780-crore public issue, which was opened for subscription between July 31 and August 2, was oversubscribed 7 times. The issue price is fixed at the higher end of price band of Rs805-815 per share.

SIS is the second largest security services provider in India, which provides private security and facility management services across India and Australia.

The company reported a good performance with ROE of 16.4 percent which is comparatively higher than its peers coupled with stable growth in revenue at CAGR of 14.6 percent over last 5 years, Dinesh Rohira, Founder & CEO, 5nance.com told Moneycontrol.

Given the considerable upside in forward looking earnings and substantial valuation, SIS should get listed at a premium of Rs 85-90 above its price band, he said.

The price quoted in the grey market is the premium over the likely issue price. So when brokers say the IPO is quoting at Rs 85-90 in the grey market, it means that the appetite for the issue is Rs85-90 above the issue price.

The funds raised through fresh issue would be used for repayment and pre-payment of a portion of certain outstanding indebtedness availed by company (about Rs 200 crore); funding working capital requirements (Rs 60 crore); and general corporate purposes.

The Security and Intelligence Services provides security services both in India and Australia with diverse solutions across the security spectrum.

The portfolio of services includes security design and solutions, fire safety, event security, VIP protection, aviation security, emergency response, investigation work and integrated technology solutions providing man-tech solutions.

The company clocked revenues of Rs 4,600 crore in the financial year 2016-17 employing 1.54 lakh people. Total revenue grew at a CAGR of 14.56 percent to Rs 4,577.122 crore for the fiscal year 2017 from Rs 2,657.7 crore for the fiscal year 2013.

Revenue from operations from security services business in India grew at a CAGR of 29.67 percent and revenue from operations from security services business in Australia grew at a CAGR of 7.7 percent in Australian dollar terms in FY13 and FY17.

The company is demanding 61.8-62.5x P/E ratio of its FY17 earnings at price of 805-815 at FY 17 earnings of 13.3. We believe that the company is demanding slightly premium value for the stock, GEPL Capital told CNBC-TV18.

The company has better management and better business matrix which will help to grow in the better momentum. We believe that higher valuation may restrict them to gain higher listing gains. We can see 10-15 percent upside potential on listing i.e Rs 85-90 gain, it said.

Large grey market premium depends more on companys fundamentals. The grey market price also factors in the cost of funding for high net worth individuals, who make big bets using borrowed money.

IPO usually provides an opportunity to pick shares at the relatively lower price considering their future growth expectation. It will certainly benefit the retail investors with a limit corpus to par take on such fundamental stock to build a portfolio with longer time horizon, suggest experts.

A listing with significant premium will favour HNI with high leverage position to capitalized through premium and settle their outstanding. Lastly, any premium listing usually buoyant companys goodwill which facilities them to execute their expected post-listing plan in an efficient routine, said Rohira.
Chinese tech major Lenovo launched its new smartphone -- K8 Note -- priced Rs 12,999 to take devices from the stables of players like Xiaomi and Samsung.

The device will be put on sale on Amazon.in from August 18 and will be available in two versions -- 3GB RAM and 32GB internal memory (Rs 12,999) and 4GB RAM and 64GB internal memory (Rs 13,999).

"The K series is among our best selling devices in the Lenovo India's Mobile Business Group (MBG) having sold over 8.5 million devices. This is about one-third of the devices sold by MBG in India," Lenovo India MBG Country Head Sudhin Mathur told reporters here.

He added that the K8 Note is being launched in India ahead of the global launch, signifying the importance of the market here.

India is one of the world's fastest growing smartphone markets. Driven by increasing data consumption and falling data prices, a huge number of feature phone users are also migrating to smartphones and seek affordable devices.

According to research firm IDC, 27 million smartphones were shipped to India in the January-March quarter of 2017.

Samsung led the market with 28.1 per cent share, while Xiaomi and Vivo had 14.2 per cent and 10.5 per cent share, respectively. Lenovo (along with Motorola) had 9.5 per cent, while Oppo had 9.3 per cent share in the said quarter.

The handset features 5.5-inch display, 2.3Ghz 10-core processor, 13MP + 5MP dual rear camera and 13MP front camera along with 4,000 mAh battery.
When the market regulator, SEBI earlier in the week released a list of 331 companies which were identified as shell companies trapped not only retail investors but foreign institutional investors as well as mutual funds.

Out of the list of 331 companies, only 249 companies were actively tracked by data providers, because most of them were already suspended even before the SEBI order.

Foreign institutional investors held a stake in 24 companies which include names like JKumar Infrastructure in which they hold more than 27 percent, followed by Info Drive Software which has accumulated 14 percent FII stake. They hold 10 percent stake in Cals Refiners, Capitaline data showed.

Other stocks in which FIIs holding stake include names like REI Agro, REI Six Ten, Parsavnath Developers, Pincon Spirit, Winsome Diamonds, Brushman India, Iris Mediaworks, Birla Power, SQS India BFSI, Rasoya Proteins, Gallantt Ispat etc. among others.

Some of the FIIs which have invested in JKumar Infrastructure include names like - Fullerton Lux funds, American Funds Insyrance Series, The Wellington Trust Company, Smallcap World Fund Inc., Letko Brosseau Emerging Markets Equity Funds, Blackrock Global Funds Asian Dragon Fund etc. among others.

Stocks of the 331 companies which are suspected to be shell companies can now only be traded once a month, the first Monday of every month. Those holding the stock will need to deposit an additional margin of 200 percent of the trade value with the exchanges.

In short, to buy Rs 10,000 worth of shares, the buyer will have to deposit an additional Rs 20,000 with the exchange. The buyer will get the margin money back only after five months.

Market regulator SEBI has now given a weeks time to stock exchanges to check whether the 331 companies identified as shell companies do in fact exist, according to a source who spoke to Moneycontrol on condition of anonymity.

Officials at the stock exchanges have been told to check the legitimacy of these companies and submit a report as early as next Tuesday (August 15).

This is an excellent move from MCA to SEBI and yes there are 6-7 companies can be taken as genuine companies. Some of them have already made their presentation to SEBI, SP Tulsian of sptulsian.com said in an interview with CNBC-TV18.

At the start of the financial year we have prepared a negative list of companies and when I compared it with the SEBI list, almost 150 stocks are falling in the same category, he said.

While there are some companies which have a genuine business and the word shell might be used loosely in this context, added Tulsian. But, many of the companies in the list have originated from Investment Company from Kolkata or others parts of Delhi.

If we look at the auditors of these companies, we found one auditor serving more than one company. As much as 30 auditors were found to be managing company affairs of 2-4 companies.

Mutual Funds:

Data collated from Capitaline showed that domestic funds hold a stake in as much as 22 companies which include names like JKumar Infrastructure, Suraj Stone, SBL industries, Knitworth Export, SQS India, Palco, Prakash Industries, Triton Corp etc. among others.

Funds held a maximum stake in J Kumar Infrastructure in which they hold as much as 11.3 percent stake, followed by Suraj Stone which funds have 10.04 percent stake in the company.

SBL Industries holds 5.6 percent stake, and Knitworth Export has accumulated nearly 2 percent stake.

Some of the funds invested in JKumar Infrastructure include names like DSP Blackrock, Birla Sunlife, HDFC Trustee Company, Reliance Capital Trustee Company, UTI Midcap Fund among others.
A broker reacts while trading at his computer terminal at a stock brokerage firm in Mumbai, India, August 24, 2015. India's benchmark BSE index fell more than 5 percent on Monday to their lowest in a year, as a rout in Chinese equities sparked widespread unrest in global financial markets. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui - RTX1PEZT

Bears continued to keep tight control over Dalal Street as the Sensex crashed 375 points intraday Thursday, though there was some recovery in late trade. Investors monitored geopolitical tensions surrounding North Korea that hit sentiment across the globe.

In addition, India-China border crisis also does not seem to be ending soon as sources told News18 that the Indian Army has ordered the evacuation of a village close to the Doklam India-Bhutan-China tri-junction.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 266.51 points or 0.84 percent at 31,531.33. The 50-share NSE Nifty managed to hold the 9,800 level but ended at one-month closing low, down 87.80 points or 0.89 percent at 9,820.25 after hitting an intraday low of 9,776.20.

On the global front, France's CAC, Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE were down between 0.4 percent and 1.2 percent at the time of writing this article. Asian markets also remained jittery, with the China's Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong's Hang Seng closing down 0.4-1.1 percent.

The broader markets butchered badly as the BSE Midcap index was down 2.6 percent and the Smallcap lost 2.9 percent on weak breadth. In three consecutive sessions, these indices crashed more than 5 percent.

About six shares declined for every share rising on the BSE.

You can call it a transition phase the Nifty could test the lower end of the target of 9,300, Gautam Shah, Associate Director & Technical Analyst at JM Financial told CNBC-TV18 in an interview.

He expects a correction of 5-10 percent from here as well.

The recovery seen in late trade could be because of short covering and may be after the Securities and Appellate Tribunal (SAT) has stayed SEBI's order against J Kumar Infra & Prakash Industries, which were among the 331 companies that the market regulator had suspected as 'shell' companies. Trading will be resumed in these two stocks.

Healthcare, auto and banking & financials pushed the market lower today but technology bucked the trend on rupee depreciation and buying interest.

Tata Motors was the biggest loser among Sensex stocks, down 8.6 percent to close below the Rs 400 level, at Rs 380.90, the lowest closing level in 15 months. Analysts cut earnings estimates for FY18 and FY18 after disappointing earnings for the quarter ended June 2017. CLSA slashed target price on the stock to Rs 380 from Rs 405 earlier.

Coal India (down 1.44 percent), Sun Pharma (down 3 percent) and Dr Reddy's Labs (4.77 percent) also hit fresh 52-week low intraday while Lupin (1.9 percent) was close to its one-year low.

The fall in healthcare stocks was mainly due to pricing pressure in the US and recent appreciation in rupee. Dr Reddy's Labs was the third major loser among Sensex stocks, especially after its Bachupally manufacturing unit (in Hyderabad) is not renewed by German regulator post inspection. Hence, the unit won't be able to despatch to European Union until next inspection.

BHEL cracked 5 percent after the company's Q1 earnings missed analysts' expectations.

HDFC, Reliance Industries, SBI, Adani Ports and Cipla fell upto 3 percent whereas Infosys (up 1.4 percent) and Tech Mahindra (up 2.7 percent) bucked the trend.

Motherson Sumi was down 3.8 percent after weak Q1 earnings while Bharat Forge fell over a percent due to market conditions but its earnings were better-than-expected.
Maruti Suzuki, the countrys largest car maker, on Thursday announced a complete revamp of True Value, its pre-owned car division.

The overhaul of the used car chain is being done to strengthen its brand value as well as to have a pie of the 3.6-million units a year used car market, a majority of which remains unorganised.

The Delhi-based company, along with its dealers, will set up 150 brand new True Value outlets by March next year and take its tally to 300 in the next 2-3 years.

These outlets will be digitally integrated through a portal so that customers can access details of all cars available at True Value outlets nationwide.

A 376-point check will be carried out on all cars sold through True Value with a certificate issued by a certified engineer indicating the health of the car through a star rating process.

At present, only 22 percent of cars sold by True Value are certified which the company hopes to increase to 30 percent this year. Only Maruti Suzuki cars (including those sold through Nexa) will be sold through this.

This revamp is done to make sure the buyer remains within the Maruti fold. From a two-wheeler he can upgrade to a True Value certified car before moving to either Maruti or Nexa, said a senior executive of Maruti Suzuki.

True Value was started in 2001 which became the first attempt by a company in the organised used car market. The company rapidly expanded its network and as of last year clocked sales of 350,000 used cars.

This existing True Value network will be either phased out or get upgraded in due course. These outlets will also continue to sell uncertified cars which will be of a brand other than Maruti Suzuki.

Kenichi Ayukawa, Managing Director and CEO, Maruti Suzuki said, We want to offer buyers of pre-owned cars the same experience as buyers of new cars. A network of spacious new outlets, using digital technology for customer convenience, will be the highlight of True Value. Our focus will be on quality cars, refurbished and certified with the assurance of warranty.

At present, there are broadly five different ways to sell used cars  through dealers, brokers, online, pre-owned outlets or through friends, family, and acquaintances.

The unorganised market makes up 85 percent of the total used car market which as per estimates is growing by 10-15 percent every year and is between 1.2 times and 1.5 times of the new car market.

The unorganised market is not impacted by GST whereas sales through the organised channel attract a GST rate of 28 percent on the cost of refurbishment done on the vehicle.
Tiger Global-backed Shopclues has gradually inched towards being the third largest player following Amazon and Flipkart after rival Snapdeal succumbed to exist in its current avatar. The company claims to have grown 2.7 times in terms of monthly revenue in July as compared to November 2016, with a daily average order number of 80,000.

Its revenue for the year ended March 31, 2016, stood at Rs 179 crore with over double the loss at Rs 383 crore. The company joined the Unicorn club with a claimed valuation of USD 1.1 billion last January following a fund infusion from Singapores sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte Ltd, and existing investors Tiger Global Management and Nexus Venture Partners.

The companys plan is to go public in the coming financial year. In a detailed interaction, Sanjay Sethi, chief executive officer (CEO) tells Moneycontrol's Priyanka Sahay on why investors would be interested in Shopclues shares and how the recent industry dynamics including the Snapdeal saga would be a crucial thing to watch out for in the e-commerce industry. Edited excerpts:

Q: Having raised less than USD 200 million so far, Shopclues is expected to proceed with an initial public offering (IPO). By when do you plan to file the red herring prospectus?

A: We have just hired the chief financial officer and the red herring prospectus should happen most likely in the first quarter of the next year. We had Tiger come on board in 2014 and only at that time the IPO was pretty much decided. Tiger was on the board of Flipkart and Nexus Venture Partners (Shopclues early investor) was on the board of Snapdeal and we had made it very clear that we had no intention of getting aligned with either Flipkart or Snapdeal.

We had decided that we will be responsible for our own destiny and that will be by going public.

Q. What is the amount that you plan to raise?

A: This the market will only tell. There can be a range  anywhere from USD 50 million to USD 500 million.

A: Six months ago, I would have said yes. But today I am not so sure. Today I think India market is also ready.

Q: But is there much scope for a loss making company in India?

A: We have done a lot of work. The law says that a loss making company cannot make more than 10 percent offering on retail. Which means you and I cannot buy more than 10 percent. That's it.

Q: Is there a plan to do a pre-IPO fund raise?

I will tell you why not India. The reason people were giving is that Indian public market is not very deep, secondly, e-commerce is a sector which not many analysts track and not many people understand. But the positive side of the India market is that because we are an electronic exchange, people can invest in India from anywhere.

A: We might actually do a pre-IPO fund raise, mostly around December-January. We are almost hitting profitability, we dont need a lot of cash. If we will raise, it will be mostly for some kind of acquisition. Given the environment that we live in, there are many companies that can add to our growth, there are brands that are cheaper ... talking about either vertical or horizontal player -- parallel companies. But our own need is very less. That money, if we will raise, we will raise internally, perhaps a single digit million.

A:

A:

All I am saying is that if we will need to raise fund, that will be in the context of acquiring a company only. The cheque size would depend on the acquisition cost of the company.We will all be very pleasantly surprised by how the e-commerce industry develops in the next 2-3 years. There are 1.3 billion people in the country. Only 150 million people stay in Tier one and metro cities. Currently, we are just catering to them. Who are the rest of the people? What do they buy? What do they wear? We are blind for them.It is a myth that you cannot make money while selling low ticket items. This is also a myth that if you are selling an item worth Rs 10,000 you make huge money. For example, for an iPhone, there are a handful of customers. On the other hand, take a Rs 300 item. The merchant's margin is 60 percent and it can be shipped for as low as even Rs. 30. We are not saying that it will get delivered the same day. We are saying that you tell me your budget, in that budget, we will tell you what you can get ...

We offer low price point are a fully managed marketplace, not inventory led. We work more on higher gross margin and a very fat long tail. We promise selection and price points. Such marketplaces naturally cater to low-income people. While there is a delivery fee below specific ticket sizes, we have a very different thought process. If you are our regular buyer then we will eliminate the delivery charge for you. We will ask you money only if we think you are not our frequent buyer.

A:

A:

A:

Thats actually not true. You cannot grow faster than the market. No amount of money can bring 400 million people up there. It is stupid to say that I will inject say like USD 500 million so this market will become ours. Softbank is also dealing with this grandeur. This is a deep well, it will absorb whatever money you pour into it. These things run on macro forces. We cannot go beyond that. If I had USD 1 billion, I will spend it, but then I will realise that as soon as the money is gone, there is no marginal utility left. All I am saying is that you have to be very patient.Yes 100 percent. This market will reach there in the next 5 to 15 years. I am not talking about next year.It is very simple. Just imagine, if Flipkart goes for an IPO what will be its valuation? Flipkart cannot do an IPO for less than its current valuation. Last fund raise happened at around USD 11 billion. If Softbank puts in some more money, the valuation might increase. In that case, if you dont do it for more than USD 12-15 billion, I dont think you are setting an example for the street. Companys inherent value is based on the cash put in. So the watermark is set. When you go public you have to stand to that watermark. Now, what will be the outlook? The investor will buy the stocks and will wait till it becomes USD 30 billion.

Now on the other side, you have another company, in this case, Shopclues, whose valuation is USD 1 billion. If it goes public and then grows to USD 2 billion then you will have equivalent benefit as you would have had when the USD 15 billion company became USD 30 billion. In public market, this is how it happens. People will invest not because they see a USD 15 billion or USD 1 billion firm. Their target is to ensure that if they invest a specific amount then by when will they get the return.

A:

Our net revenue from Nov 2016 has growth 170 percent, while the number of orders are 70-75 percent higher. In the last 12 months, our transacting customers have doubled and out of the new additional customers, 90 percent are from Tier 4 cities.

A: If somebody was starting from scratch with no baggage from the past, I would have said yes. In many ways, companies like Shopclues and what Snapdeal 2.0 is touted to be ... are very capital efficient. They don't need a large amount of money. There isnt a huge capital expenditure. You don't put warehouses or machinery. The broad spend is on brand building, salaries and technology.

But in this particular scenario, it is much harder because of the legacy that it has. It has gone down from 10,000 to around thousand odd employees. Expected to reduce strength further. It leaves a scar that needs a huge amount of healing. You have to nurse it bring it back to health. It can easily take two, three years to retrace the path and for that, you need to have a long runway to spend money.

Q: Do you see a competition coming Snapdeal 2.0?

We will always be looking for it. We closely follow that.
There are multiple players in the on-demand online grocery delivery service sphere in India. With names like Grofers and Big Basket, the market isn't saturated but it is still very competitive.

However, there is one firm which has chosen to specialise in one specific commodity which almost every household in India uses  Milk  and that is Supr Daily.

Set up by two IIT-Bombay alumni in 2015Puneet Kumar & Shreyas NagdawaneSupr Daily is a hyperlocal startup which promises on delivering milk to a consumers doorstep early in the morning.

The subscription-based micro delivery startup is currently active in a few neighbourhoods in Mumbai. Along with milk, it also delivers breakfast essentials like eggs, bread and butter.

A user can order the products through WhatsApp or its own app noting down the quantity and the frequency of the delivery. Delivery schedules are flexible and can be changed as per needs.

The company promises to deliver unadulterated milk directly from dairy farms. A note on its website reads: 68 percent of milk in India is adulterated with water, detergent powder or worse products. Our direct to home connect removes all middle men involved, thereby, ensuring that the milk your family drinks is not tampered.

In an interview to Tech Crunch, CEO and co-founder Kumar explained that how they are delivering milk at a lower cost than traditional milkmen. The company plans its route working directly with milk farms thus saving 20 to 40 percent of the delivery cost which is passed on to the customers. Its sometimes lower but never higher. In some cases people have saved 30-40 percent, says Kumar.

According to an Economic Times report, Supr Daily has raised USD 1.62 million in seed funding in the current year. The investors included, among others, Y Combinator Partners Paul Buchheit and Jared Friedman. Earlier, Snapdeals founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal had also backed the company.

Kumar informed that, though they are active in a small geographical area, they have completed 500,000 order in their two years of existence. This translates to 600 tonnes of milk being delivered. The company, which earns 90 percent of their revenue through delivering milk, first want to get the blueprint right first before [they] expand. Currently, they cover 15 percent of Mumbai.
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, Sameet Chavan, Vijay Chopra and Sumeet Jain battle it out for top honours.

Below their top stock picks and analysis:

Sameet Chavan of Angel Broking

Buy Havells India with a stoploss at Rs 488 and target of Rs 520

Sell Karnataka Bank with a stoploss at Rs 150 and target of Rs 139.50

Sell Federal Bank with a stoploss at Rs 112 and target of Rs 102

Sell India Cements with a stoploss at Rs 192 and target of Rs 174

Vijay Chopra of enochventures.com

Sell Reliance Capital with a stoploss at Rs 817 and target of Rs 777

Buy Bank of India with a stoploss at Rs 150 and target of Rs 162

Buy Jet Airways with a stoploss at Rs 600 and target of Rs 630

Buy Shipping Corporation of India with a stoploss at Rs 86 and target of Rs 94

Sumeet Jain of Destimoney Securities

Buy Endurance Technologies with a stoploss at Rs 961 and target of Rs 1034

Sell Divis Lab Future with a stoploss at Rs 638 and target of Rs 594

Sell Exide Industries Future with a stoploss at Rs 211 and target of Rs 194

Sell Tata Power Future with a stoploss at Rs 78.50 and target of Rs 71
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ICICI Direct's research report on Astral Poly Technik

De-stocking of inventory at the dealers level had dented volumes of APTL as volume growth remained flat in Q1FY18. Additionally, backward integration of raw materials resulted in lower realisation (declined ~6% YoY) as the company passed on benefits to customers. Further, under the adhesive category where domestic business was marred by lower volume offtake by dealers, the overseas business declined in sales by 5% YoY due to adverse currency movement. However, the management has guided a strong recovery in the domestic business post implementation of GST The decline in EBITDA margin was largely on account of a sharp rise in branding expenses (up 3x YoY) associated with new launches coupled with addition of employees. We believe the EBITDA margin will remain at elevated level (at ~15%) for FY17-19E on account of an increase in utilisation of new capacity coupled with saving in raw material cost through backward integration.

Outlook

We reckon a revival of the plastic piping industry is on the cards with a major government infrastructure push, implementation of GST as well as continued replacement demand from tier II and tier III cities. Backward integration (of raw material sourcing) coupled with stabilisation of new capacity would help drive the EBITDA margin from ~14% in FY17 to ~15% in FY19E. Strong sales and EBITDA margin in FY17- 19E would help the company record PAT CAGR of 30%. We maintain our BUY rating on the stock with revised target price of Rs 720/share (35x FY19E earnings).

For all recommendations report, click here

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts/broking houses/rating agencies on moneycontrol.com are their own, and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.

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Thermax Q3 | Consolidated net profit down 2 percent at Rs 83.3 crore versus Rs 85 crore and revenue unchanged at Rs 1,410.6 crore, YoY.

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Thermax has been going through a rough patch for a long time as private capex cycle completely dried out in India. The JV with Babcock & Wilcox also proved untimely as order inflows in the BTG (boiler, turbine, generator) space came to a grinding halt.

For a company, which has been catering to broad segments of energy and environment and present in a whole gamut of engineering services, the worst may be behind it now.

To be sure, with its technological prowess, it is positioned rightly for the future.

The expansion plans/investments in new areas to reduce dependence on traditional businesses continued. The company is seeing nascent signs of recovery. Should investors put the stock back on their radar?

The difficult past

Thermax has been catering to broad segments of energy and environment, is present across a gamut of engineering services ranging from power and heating to hazardous waste treatment and waste to energy generation.

Thermax in the past was heavily reliant on power and steel segments for its core energy business. The decline in capacity addition took a big toll on financials that was difficult to be compensated from promising but small segments like chemicals and environment.

From FY12 to FY17, although the company ran a tight ship with optimising efficiency to the hilt, growth remained elusive.

However, the company focused on making the right investments and taking futuristic initiatives. Nevertheless, the stock underperformed vis a vis the benchmark.

Unexciting Q1 FY18

The result of the first quarter is also not exciting though it was impacted by exceptional factors. For the quarter, at the consolidated level, Thermax posted a revenue of Rs 917 crore, down 10.5 percent. Profit after tax stood at Rs 40 crore (Rs 49 crore), down by 18.4 percent. Close to Rs 110 crore revenue couldnt be booked on account of clients not taking delivery on account of GST. The malware attack in JNPT port also impacted exports.

The only silver lining appears to be the significant improvement in order inflows driven largely by overseas orders.

Any green shoots in sight?

However, what caught our attention was the cautiously optimistic commentary on significant improvement in enquiries. The company feels that Indian investors are waking up to medium sized projects.

 Traction is building up in textiles  polyester, yarn, weaving and knitting especially from the Gujarat and Coimbatore belt. Brownfield expansion seen in light and commodity chemicals. Improved activity level in the food processing sector. Oil and gas sector has started investments towards quality improvement of petroleum products to conform to Bharat VI standards. Increasing enquiries are also coming from the fertiliser sector. With the revival of the steel sector, sponge iron sector is showing improvement in activity levels and enquiries are coming from waste heat recovery and captive power plants. The revival in steel industry looks more sustainable as the current geopolitical situation might ensure that the partial protection granted to Indian steel industry would continue. The company is also witnessing demand from cement sector with respect to waste heat recovery. Activity level appears to be picking up in Tier II cities. The hospitality sector has started spending on smaller sized water heaters, baby boilers etc.

 Tyre sector also shows signs of positivity.

While the aforesaid early green shoots makes us positive on Thermaxs base business, there are other opportunities in the horizon as well.

New engines of growth

Thermax has invested in three additional manufacturing facilities that will start contributing to incremental revenue.

The facility in Indonesia would be the manufacturing hub for the ASEAN region and should start contributing from the final quarter of the current fiscal. The market potential is around USD 400 million and the company aims to garner 14-15 percent market share.

The specialty resins plant in Gujarat (at Dahej) will also be ready for commercial production this year. The company plans to ramp up capacity in this highly remunerative specialised resins, where the revenue potential can go up to Rs 800 crore.

Work has already started at Sri City (Andhra Pradesh) for setting up a manufacturing plant for vapour absorption chillers. This will be a state-of-the-art facility, highly automated and would require much less manpower.

Futuristic Initiatives

The governments new environmental norms  for emission control related to the reduction of sulphur oxides (SOx) and nitrogen oxides (NOx), and for combating water pollution through recycle and zero liquid discharge technologies  together with the agenda for clean cities are expected to provide opportunities for the companys environment segment.

In India, the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases is the thermal power sector. The ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEFCC) has decided to impose strict norms for emissions of particulate matter (PM), sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, mercury and reduced water usage by coal-fuelled thermal power plants. While the deadline has been extended from earlier timeframe of 2017, this remains a fairly large opportunity as all thermal power plants will have to adhere to this norm by 2019.

Thermax is also working on few futuristic products like triple effect absorption chiller; Combloc - the packaged boiler that offers fuel flexibility; BioCask- the compact sewage treatment system for industrial-commercial establishments and housing projects and spent wash boilers to generate energy from distillery waste. The company has also developed an integrated solar thermal technology.

Thermax has seen success in fluidised bed gasification technology which can effectively gasify high ash Indian coal. Gasified coal can provide improved efficiency, water requirement, CO2 emission, nitrogen and sulphur oxides (NOx and SOx) reduction is also possible.

Time to turn positive?

Coming out of a difficult past, the presence in upcoming areas (especially the clean & green technology) and the early green shoots from the macro makes the company worth a look for the conservative long-term investors. The healthy balance sheet is an added positive. Albeit the heady valuation at 28X FY19 projected earnings, we see merit in accumulating the stock when the going is tough.
Shares of Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) rose 3.3 percent intraday Thursday on bagging contract from Jammu & Kashmir State Power Development Corporation.

The company has been awarded a prestigious contract worth Rs 810.37 crore by Jammu & Kashmir State Power Development Corporation (JKSPDCL).

The contract includes construction of the 93 MW (3x31 MW) new Ganderbal Hydro Power project on Sind river in Central Kashmir on EPC basis.

The said work is to be completed in 48 months.

The new ganderbal is run off the river hydro power project on Sind river, a tributary of river Jhelum.

The scope of the work includes planning, design, engineering and execution of civil and infrastructure works as well as manufacturing, assembling, inspection, testing and commissioning of electro-mechanical and hydro-mechanical equipments.

Arun Karambelkar, president and CEO of HCC said, With a wide range of competencies for building various modules of hydroelectric projects, the company has garnered expertise and distinction through complex project management in every step of engineering, procurement and construction.

The company has reported 33 percent jump in net profit to Rs 14.52 crore in the first quarter ended June 30 against net profit of Rs 10.88 crore in the same quarter last fiscal.

At 10:52 hrs Hindustan Construction Company was quoting at Rs 35.25, up Rs 0.60, or 1.73 percent on the BSE.

Posted by Rakesh Patil
Tata Motors and Volkswagen-controlled Skoda Auto have finally aborted plans to work jointly on future products and technologies after months-long discussions failed to bear fruit.

Tata Motors and Skoda Auto have performed a joint technical feasibility and commercial evaluation of a potential collaboration. Based on intense and constructive discussions, both the companies have jointly concluded that the envisioned areas of partnership may not yield the desired synergies as originally assessed, said the company.

Tata Motors, Volkswagen and Skoda had agreed to form a non-equity based partnership to work on areas like cost-effective products for low-cost markets like India. This also encompassed expensive future technologies such as alternative fuels, electric cars and driverless vehicles.

The tripartite venture kicked off in March this year when heads of three companies met on the sidelines of the Geneva Auto Show and signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU).

Even as talks with Skoda Auto is aborted Tata Motors will continue to explore future possibilities with the Volkswagen Group.

Guenter Butschek, CEO and Managing Director, Tata Motors, said, We have evaluated the technical feasibility and degree of synergies for the envisioned partnership. We have concluded that the strategic benefits for both parties are below the threshold levels. However, we remain positive of exploring future opportunities with the Volkswagen group, given the relationship of mutual respect that we witnessed during the phase of our cooperation discussions."

The change in strategy comes after a radical shift in plans adopted by Tata Motors which looks to catapult the companys disappointing financials and achieve a turnaround in 2 years.

The company, which posted a loss of Rs 467 crore in the recently concluded quarter on the stand-alone level, has cut down on costs, discontinued unfeasible projects and cut its manpower to be back into the black.

Compared to Tata Motors the partnership would have benefited Volkswagen more considering the lacklustre presence the German company has in India since its debut in 2007.

While Tata Motors has a well-defined product roadmap (till 2022) involving pruning of platforms and reducing it to just two on which all of its future products would be housed, Volkswagen does not have a concrete roadmap for India yet.

Tata Motors was to benefit from VWs advanced technology in areas of electric drivetrain, hybrids, connected cars and even driveless cars. While Tata Motors is independently pursuing each of these technologies a successful partnership with VW would have helped it leap frog several years of development cycle.

As per the initial plans Tata Motors was to launch products starting calendar year 2019 if the discussions proved fruitful. Talks for a partnership between Tata Motors and Volkswagen began before July last year under the aegis of ousted Tata Group chairman Cyrus Mistry.
Nitin Gadkari

In the government's latest renewable energy push, Transport Minster Nitin Gadkari called for a leapfrog towards a methanol economy.

Last week, Gadkari also directed the policy think-tank NITI Aayog to look into the various standards put in place by China for various methanol-powered transport like cars and ships. Minister of Coal and Petroleum Dharmendra Pradhan also called for public sector units (PSU) to seed funds for further research in the field.

Why methanol ?

Methanol is a hydrocarbon which is made entirely of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen. While it produces only half the energy per volume as compared to regular gasoline, it releases no particulate emissions, fewer nitrogen emissions and no sulphur emissions on burning, according to a NITI Aayog report.

It can be mixed in a suitable ratio with gasoline and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to power vehicles. Methanol reacts strongly to rubber and plastic, causing it to wear away.

The report stated that minor changes to engines and the retrofitting of petrol stations can make methanol an environment-friendly fuel for transport, as compared to petrol and diesel.

Methanol is a renewable source of energy. It can be produced from the 1 million tonnes of non-edible biomass that is produced in India monthly.

Around 35 percent of India's energy requirements are met by burning oil and gas, according to the latest Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas report. Of these, around 77 percent of the oil and gas that India uses is currently imported, states the report.

It primarily imports most of its crude oil (81 percent in 2015-16) and natural gas (40 percent in 2015-16) The fuel production of crude and natural gas grows at a dismal compounded annual growth rate (CAGR). Thus, the report states that moving to methanol plugs our dependence on rising imports and improve the energy security of India.

Economic feasibility

The Aayog report talks about China steps to make the transition. Being the second largest economy and the most populous country in the world, China has taken its energy demands seriously by being the largest producer of Methanol.

China has also implemented methanol fuel consumption practices in 15 provinces, which translated to millions of its vehicles and is ready to go nationwide soon.

Moreover, a Chinese auto manufacturing company, Geely, has already commissioned amethanol fueled automobile plant which will manufacture 200,000 cars annually.

For India to produce methanol proportionate to the country's energy demands, its abundant coal reserves must be used to produce methanol by gasification.

The Aayog stated that to test and understand the mechanics of methanol production in India, a pilot 'coal to methanol plant' must be set up, followed by a commercial plant.

These are the first steps India must take before it can set up a mega coal based complex for production of power, methanol and fertilizers in an integrated manner which would significantly reduce the cost of various commodities produced, according to the report.

A task force has been constituted for defining the framework of the methanol economy which would involve its production, distribution and regulation.

While VK Saraswat, member NITI Aayog and chairman Methanol Committee said that the methanol economy would to help India mitigate its petroleum import costs and at the same time counter problems associated with global warming, working out the fine details and carrying out the long-term switch over will be an uphill task.
President Donald Trump has continued with the India policy of his predecessor Barack Obama and the support for the Indo-US relationship transcends political parties here, an influential Indian-American lawmaker has said.

"I think that his India policy so far has been somewhat of a continuation of what President Barack Obama did and, before President Obama, what President Bush had done," Democratic Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, a vocal critic of the foreign policy of Trump, said.

Noting that the continuity shown by Trump on the Indo-US relationship was a good thing, he said the current US administration sees India as an important counterweight to the influence of China in the region.

Krishnamoorthi, who just returned from a short trip to India during which he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said, "I think that whatever we can do in the US Congress and here in America to basically, as I said, make sure that Asia remains a stable and economically prosperous place. We have to do that."

"US-India relationship is a special partnership, so we have to do everything we can to enhance this partnership and to make sure that the great progress that we've already seen continues and that it remains mutually beneficial to both countries. I personally believe that it will continue to do so," he told PTI.

Krishnamoorthi said he had a wide ranging talk with the prime minister.

"It was a formal meeting where we talked everything from, 'How do we strengthen our relationship between the US and India' to the fact that the relationship really transcends political parties at this point, really, on both sides, but especially here in the US," he said on his return from his maiden India trip as a US lawmaker.

New Delhi-born Krishnamoorthi, 44, this year was sworn in as a member of the US House of Representatives.

"I think that both Republic and Democratic administrations have now successfully continued to build the relationship across a range of sectors," he said.

"Everything from our security partnership to expanding commercial ties, to bolstering our cultural exchanges and so forth. That's a very positive development, and I told him that I was committed to doing everything I could to continue that work in the US Congress," he said.

"I also mentioned to him (prime minister Modi) that the relationship is broadening, deepening, and growing across a number of areas and, just as India is keen to attract US investment, we in the United States are very keen to attract Indian investment, especially in places like my own fine congressional district in the Chicago area," Krishnamoorthi said.

He said the recently implemented Goods and Services Tax (GST) would help American companies in a big way.

"One thing that we talked about is the implementation of the new GST in India and how I think that that's going to help American companies do business in India, how it will help us to export more goods to India, but also how it will really help all Indians as well. I think that was a topic that was one where we agreed that a simplified tax system is really the best way to go," he said.

Krishnamoorthi said US lawmakers are keen to develop closer ties between the two countries in the area of security partnership.

"We want to make sure that we do everything we can to enhance our security coordination, counter terrorism efforts, ways that we can also, quite frankly, ensure that certain parts of the region in Asia remain, open for trade, open for democracy to flourish, open for our way of life to succeed," he said.

During his meeting with Modi, Krishnamoorthi said he urged the prime minister to visit the Chicago area.

"I extended an invitation to him to come to Chicago and I'll be very honest, I was somewhat selfish and said, 'Please visit my congressional district, as well'. So we'll see. He told me that he's definitely very interested in coming to Chicago, so I'm hoping that happens in the near future," he said.
The mystery surrounding fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahims whereabouts is over. The 61-year-old who masterminded the 1993 Mumbai blasts is in Karachi, Pakistan. When CNN-News18s Manoj Gupta called a number in Karachi, the man on the other end was none other than Dawood.

After the correspondent identified himself, Dawood got into damage control mode, realising that he picked a phone which he shouldnt have. He identified himself as Javed Chotani  No, this is Chotani speaking, he said, before handing over the phone to the real Javed Chotani.

Also read: Full transcript of CNN-News18s phone call with Dawood Ibrahim

Javed Chotani is a bookie who masterminds Dawood's businesses in Dubai. In the 2013 IPL spot-fixing case, Chotani allegedly worked as a conduit between Dawood and the players.

The voice samples were run past several sources who have been tracking the fugitive Mumbai underworld don for several years. They have all confirmed that the voice indeed belongs to Dawood.

Thereafter, Chotani relayed the dons responses. When asked whether it wasn't Dawood himself who picked up the phone in the first place, there was a rustle as Chotani turned to Dawood for directions. "Haan...bolo, bolo," came Dawoods voice from the background.

Both Dawood and Chotani tried to evade answering questions on their location. They denied that the number dialled was one belonging to Karachi. In a bid to conceal their location, they went on to say it was the holy month of Ramzan and it was time for Namaz.

When asked about his health, Dawood said his blood pressure shot up once... blood pressure shot up once, in contrast to rumours he had recently suffered a heart attack and got gangrene.

Last August, India had submitted a report to the United Nations mentioning Dawood's hideouts in Pakistan. Pakistan denied giving Dawood a safe haven. The Pakistan Foreign Office had then said that information given by the Indian government is false. In a statement, it termed the information India's aim is to malign Pakistan.

Dawood is wanted in India for organising and financing the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts that left 257 dead and 717 injured. The blasts were carried out with the help of his subordinates, Tiger Memon and Yakub Memon. In July 2015, Yakub Memon was hanged to death while Dawood and Tiger are still free.

On March 12, 1993 the country's commercial capital witnessed an unprecedented terrorist attack when a series 12 bomb explosions took place one after another in about a span of two hours.

The attacks had left 257 people dead, 713 seriously injured and destroyed properties worth Rs 27 crore. In 2007, the TADA court had convicted 100 accused and acquitted 23 persons in the case.

The blasts took place at Bombay Stock Exchange, Katha Bazaar, Lucky petrol pump near Sena Bhavan, opposite Passport office near Century Bazaar, Fishermen's colony at Mahim Causeway, at basement of Air India Building, Zaveri Bazaar, Hotel Sea Rock, Plaza Theatre, Centaur Hotel (Juhu), Sahar Airport (Bay no.54) and Centaur Hotel (near airport).

Dawood fled to Dubai in the 1980s after the Mumbai Police crackdown.
Dawood Ibrahim

As CNN-News18 makes a world exclusive, becoming the first TV channel to speak with Dawood Ibrahim, the spotlight turns back to the fugitive gangster who rose from being a small-time Mumbai-based criminal in the 80s to the mastermind behind one of the world's largest terrorist networks.

Also read: EXCLUSIVE: CNN-News18 calls Dawood Ibrahim in Karachi -- see what he said

Dawood's rise as a gangster was filled with luck, pluck and then some, as he took turns finishing off rivals and established himself as the kingpin of Mumbai's underworld.

Dawood loved to live a flashy life, with the tentacles of his fledgling 'D-Company' intertwined with areas from Bollywood to business.

A lot used to be reported on Ibrahim then: from the colour of his iris to his preferred brand of cigarettes.

But things turned grimmer in 1993, when his name came up in the 1993 serial blasts, which killed over 257 and injured more than 700 people.

The 1993 incident changed Dawood's status from being the Bada Bhai of Aamchi Mumbai to subsequently being branded a global terrorist.

Since then, he has been sort of a ghost figure -- everyone knows about him but few (save moviemakers, journalists and of course authorities) talk about him.

That he took refuge with Pakistan has always since been an open secret, even as the neighbouring country always denies this.

But CNN-News18's break confirms this. Having dialed the fugitive gangster right where he stays: the tony Clifton neighbourhood in Karachi and spoken to the man himself.

The 1955-born Dawood is the son of a head constable in the Mumbai police. He is reported to have 13 siblings, eight brothers and four sisters.

He has two children from his marriage with Mehjabeen Shaikh.
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi hugs U.S. President Donald Trump as they give joint statements in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, U.S., June 26, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RTS18QSB

The US-India relationship is one of the most important in the world and likely to be more important in the years to come, Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi said today.

"From billions in economic trade between our nations to our essential security partnership and ongoing cultural exchanges, the US-India relationship is one of the most important in the world, and will only become more so in the coming century," Krishnamoorthi said.

"The US and India are joined not only by our common interests and culture, but also by our shared commitment to the values of liberty, justice, and democracy. I look forward to helping to bolster the special ties between our countries for our mutual benefit in the years to come," he said.

The Democratic congressman, who represents a suburb of Chicago, was recently in India and met Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"It was an honour to meet Prime Minister Modi and to discuss ways we can strengthen the special relationship between the world's oldest and largest democracies," he said in a statement after his return from India.
BJP chief Amit Shah asked the party workers to work towards achieving the target of winning 150 of the total 182 seats in Gujarat in the upcoming Assembly polls.

He said "Mission 150" would ensure that the BJP wins three Rajya Sabha seats in the state next time.

Election to the three Rajya Sabha seats in Gujarat were held yesterday. While Shah and Union minister Smriti Irani were elected to the Upper House of Parliament, party candidate Balwantsinh Rajpur was defeated by Congress veteran Ahmed Patel.

Shah, who resigned as the state MLA today, told the cadres that the magic number of 150 achieved in the upcoming elections would make it possible for the BJP to win the Rajya Sabha seats, irrespective of the number of votes a candidate gets.

He was speaking at the felicitation function organised at the party's state headquarters at Kamalam here.

Irani and Rajput were also felicitated on the occasion. Shah and Irani have made their maiden entry into the upper house.

"Today, the assembly secretary was explaining to me that Balwantsinh was defeated by around 0.40 votes, and could have won, had he got that many votes. But if we get 150 seats (in the upcoming state election), all our three candidates will win," Shah said.

He exhorted the party workers to achieve the party's "Mission 150" and begin preparation for the same.

"Mission 150 will be achieved in December (when the polls are likely to be held)...The kind of development works that the BJP has done in Gujarat, people will support us in December. The way BJP has been supported by the people in the state, our organisation is invincible," he said.

Earlier in the day, Shah resigned as the MLA of Naranpura assembly seat in Ahmedabad, after being elected as the party's Rajya Sabha member from Gujarat.

Shah tendered his resignation to Gujarat Assembly Speaker Ramanlal Vora, where he made an hour-long farewell speech.

In his speech, Shah continued his attack on the opposition Congress stating that the party's leadership was responsible for the crisis it faced.

Shah also expressed confidence that the BJP would achieve its mission 150 target on the basis of the "development works" done by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who served as state chief minister for 13 years.

"The 20 years that I served as MLA, were the golden years for the BJP and the state," he said.

"In no other states we have found the ideals of development established in Gujarat. Narendrabhai (Modi) took development everywhere (during his tenure as CM), which is why the country gave him such a huge majority," he said.
Mehbooba_Mufti_Modi

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi in Delhi today to discuss the legal challenges to Article 35A of the Constitution, official sources said.

The chief minister, who is scheduled to leave for Delhi in the afternoon, is also likely to meet leaders like JD(U)'s Sharad Yadav on the issue of Article 35A that gives special status to the state and has been challenged in the Supreme Court, they said.

Mehbooba is keen to build consensus against scrapping the Constitutional provision, which empowers the Jammu and Kashmir legislature to define the state's "permanent residents" and their special rights and privileges, they said.

In a surprise development, Mehbooba had called on opposition National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah this week to seek the support of his party on the issue.

Abdullah had told her that she should meet the prime minister, all the important central ministers and also the BJP leadership to convince the Sangh Parivar against striking down the constitutional provision.

The chief minister has also held meetings with leaders of other opposition parties in the state, including Jammu and Kashmir Congress president G A Mir and DPN chief Ghulam Hassan Mir.

Sources in Mehbooba's Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said striking down Article 35A will be "a catastrophe for all mainstream political parties in Kashmir".

It will be nothing short of a "tsunami" for mainstream politicians as protection of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir within the Indian Constitution is the "cornerstone of their politics", they said.

On the latest developments, NC spokesman Junai Mattu tweeted: "On #35A, bizarre of @MehboobaMufti to seek a consensus against BJP WHILE in an alliance with the BJP. She wants to have AND eat the cake".

"That is the crux of her dilemma - run with the hare & hunt with the hounds. She wants to govern with the BJP & oppose their politics with us," the party's working president, Omar Abdullah, said in a tweet.

The controversy erupted in 2014 after an NGO 'We the Citizens' filed a PIL in the Supreme Court seeking Article 35A be struck down.

The Jammu and Kashmir government, under the guise of Articles 35A and 370, which grant special autonomous status to the state, has been discriminating against non-residents, who are debarred from buying properties, getting government jobs or voting in local elections, the PIL said.

Article 35A was added to the Constitution by a presidential order in 1954, it said.

While the state government contested the petition, saying the president had the power to incorporate a new provision in the Constitution by way of an order, the Centre, recently, expressed its reservations.
Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam

The two warring factions of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) are all set to merge, according to reports in the media.

The merger will likely allow Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E Palaniswami to continue in his position while leader of the rebel faction and former CM O Paneerselvam may be give the charge as Deputy Chief Minister and crucial portfolios such as finance.

According to a report by India Today, minister D Jayakumar said the merger may occur before August 15.

Here's a quick look at all that has happened so far:

December 5, 2016: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa died of cardiac arrest following more than two months of illness.

Within hours of her death O Panneerselvam was sworn in as new Chief minister.

December 29, 2016: VK Sasikala, a confidante of Jayalalithaa, was appointed as AIADMK's general secretary.

February 6, 2017: Panneerselvam resigned as Chief Minister, exactly two months after assuming office.

While resigning, Panneerselvam said that his 'conscience' did not allow him to continue. He questioned Sasikala's elevation. He also asked for a probe into the circumstances under which Jayalalithaa died.

Days later, Sasikala claimed stake to become the states Chief Minister. However, Sasikala was convicted and jailed by the Karnataka High Court in the disproportionate assets case.

Following her arrest, the Sasikala faction of the AIADMK nominated Edappadi Palaniswami to become the chief minister. Sasikala's nephew TTV Dinakaran was appointed the party's deputy general secretary.

February 16, 2017: The Panneerselvam faction failed to restrict Palaniswami from proving his majority during a floor test in the state assembly.

Talks between the two factions of the party started after the Election Commission declared the date for RK Nagar bypolls, a seat left vacant since Jayalalithaa's death.

The talks failed and both factions decided to contest the bypoll separately. None of the factions was allowed to use the AIADMK's official 'two leaves' election symbol.

The bypolls were suspended after the cash-for-votes scandal. Income tax officials alleged that the Sasikala faction of the party had paid Rs 89 crore to voters to support for its candidate TTV Dinakaran, who is also her nephew.

April 18, 2017: The Panneerselvam faction said negotiations were underway and that the Palaniswami group had created a committee to conduct talks on the merger. But, TTV Dinakaran's position as the deputy general secretary continued to be a sticking point during negotiations.

July 2017: Both factions of the AIADMK voted in favour of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance's presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind.

August 4, 2017: BJP president Amit Shah urged the warring factions to reconcile.

Following a high-level meeting chaired by Palaniswami, the AIADMK said that TTV Dinakaran's appointment as the deputy general secretary is "illegal".
Apple iPhone 7 (Representative Image: Reuters)

Moneycontrol News

An average Apple device user spends more than 10 GB of internet data per month to get apps and updates on their phones, and this size is increasing day by day, as per a report in Gadgets 360.

The useless data consumption has become a part and parcel of an Apple users life, who are now complaining that the data size for downloads from the Cupertino-based companys online store has just been expanding over the years.

For instance, popular downloads such as the Facebook and the Uber app, are listed at over 250 MB on Apple's App Store. And not just that, update sizes, for apps like Facebook stand at 300 MB.

In contrast, a Facebook app downloaded on Android takes about 70 MB of space on the device and the update files are not more than 40 MB. The Uber app itself is a 30 MB download on Google Play.

Read: Trai accuses Apple of 'data colonisation', calls it 'anti-consumer' for not having DND app on iOS

Popular gaming apps such as Pokemon Go also fare in the too-heavy list of apps at 244 MB on the App Store versus under 100 MB size on Androids Play Store.

When will Apple address the problem?

Apple has not given out any statement on whether it has intentions to compress sizes anytime soon, as per the report.

The large app size also hints at hurdles ahead in Apples in its way of capturing the Indian market, which by the way has large expansion plans in India

Large apps simply mean that it is more data consumption and less space on your device.

Apples large triple-digit MB app download figures matter as far as storage is concerned on your device. On the contrary, Googles less heavy app downloads make it more appealing for countries like India which are still sensitive to data costs.

Blame Game is futile

According to what developers are saying, playing the Apple versus Google blame game is sometimes futile here. This is because these days with technological advancement and better devices, developers are pushing their limits further in terms of app complexity and thus coming up with apps much larger in size.

Thus a delivery-based focus on part of app developers is thus ignoring the implications of what huge app sizes can have for device users.

Facebook, Twitter and other large companies are working on their apps keep adding components and images, functionality and resources end up getting duplicated

One has to also take note of the fact that Google's Android shows how much data you will be using to get the app on your phone, whereas Apple's iOS tells you how much space is needed on your device which matters in case one is running out of storage.

Also Read: New Apple iPhone 7S phones may support wireless charging

Experts point out that programming for apps on the two platforms are procedurally different.

Hence, Apple is not the one to blame completely. The new Swift Language, used for programming in Apple, requires a bunch of components to be embedded each time it is used as the ABI (Applications Binary Interface)  isnt stable yet.

Therefore, a typical app made on this language requires as many as 30 Swift runtime libraries to be stuffed within the app, thus expanding its size greatly.

Another reason behind the ever increasing size of Apple apps could be the need to contain multiple versions of assets (images, buttons, etc.) built to look their best on different screen sizes or across devices, that is the iPhone or the iPad, which ends up impacting the file size of the application.

Also Read: Apple seeks tax breaks for suppliers to make iPhones in India: Sources

The issue is more worrying here in India as limited data packs and staggering bandwidth speeds are an everyday problem and require speedy and small, but effective downloads.

As Silicon Valley giants rush to offer the most low-bandwidth effective apps (case in point: the series of Lite apps, from Microsoft Skype Lite, LinkedIn Lite and even Facebook Lite), is yet to be seen what trick the Cupertino-based giant will pull out from its hat to resolve the problem in one of its five largest markets.
Japanese electronics giant Panasonic has announced its plans to launch 11 smartphones in the country over next 45 days. The company has set the ball in motion by launching two phones on Wednesday, namely Panasonic Eluga A3 and A3 Pro priced at Rs 11,290 and Rs 12,790 respectively.

The company also unveiled its latest brand campaign So Much To Do for the new Eluga product series, allowing the user to do so much. Panasonic Eluga A3 and Eluga A3 Pro equipped with ARBO  the virtual assistant are priced at Rs 11,290 and Rs 12,790 respectively.

The devices are power-driven by 1.25 GHz, MTK 6737 Quad core (Eluga A3) and 1.3GHz, MTK6753 Octa-core processor (Eluga A3 Pro). The 4G VoLTE enabled smartphones provide additional security to the user with a front fingerprint sensor and house a 3GB RAM. Both phones run Android 7.0 Nougat OS.

In order to tap into the India, the fastest growing smartphone market, Panasonic as been taking some tough steps over the past few months.

In April, the company took over from its distribution partner to foray into the mobile business independently. In the process it also hired about 400 sales people and 150 employees for its R&D divisions for its mobility division.

The company has stated that the two launches are just the tip of the iceberg and that the company is all set to make bigger launches by the year end. The company is targeting to launch premium phones costing northwards of Rs 20,000.

Having said this, the company has denied it is looking to gain market share. Speaking to Business Insider, Pankaj Rana, Business Head, Mobility Division, Panasonic India said, Market is tough, but our objective to be in this business is not gain market share or create huge turnover or huge volume, we want to be in the hands of young customer of India. Our strategy to enter into the mobile phone business is to create big synergy for brand Panasonic in the Indian market.

Not just Panasonic, but many foreign players like OnePlus, Xiaomi, Moto have invested heavily into Indian smartphone market over the last two years in their ordeal to have better penetration than the other.
netflix

When Disney left Netflix to launch its own video streaming platform on Tuesday, the on-demand OTT player was having a hard time. Shares of the company fell more than 2 percent on Wednesday. But, analysts are still betting on Netflix and say that it is one of markets best performing stocks.

The 20-year-old company is not losing heart and is bracing itself to become the content king. Netflix recently acquired comic book publisher Millarworld, the firms first acquisition since inception. It is this publisher that is behind Kingsman, Kick-Ass and Old Man Logan. The founder of the publisher, Mark Millar, came up with the ideas that led to the first Avengers movie, Captain America: Civil War, and Logan (Wolverine).

The after-effects

After the Disney-Netflix break-up a few analysts are of the opinion that this separation may lead to more content owners looking to retain content for their own platforms. As per a CNBC report, there are concerns that Netflix may lose television content from Disney, which owns ABC and Marvel, in the future. According to an analyst, Disneys announcement indicates incremental DTC [direct to consumer] streaming competition, particularly for kids audience.

How is Netflix dealing with the separation?

Netflix is producing original content. Investment banking company Piper Jaffray told its clients Netflix's international subscriber base will nearly double in three years from the current 52 million, reports CNBC.

"Our analysis suggests that Netflix can reach 100 million international subscribers by 2020, with zero or very minimal penetration in lower-income international markets," said analyst Michael Olson.

The analyst presented a number of scenarios where the streaming video company can reach the 100 million subscriber level by 2020. He noted if Netflix can attain only 25 percent share of upper-income segment [above USD 18,600 per year] in international markets, it can reach the 100 million mark with no share of the lower-income demographic.

Olson also told investors to stick with Netflix because it will find a way to use the amount spent on Disney programming (rumored to be around USD 200 million annually) to create more exclusive content.

Netflix added a better-than-expected 5.2 million total subscribers during the second quarter compared with the Wall Street consensus for 3.2 million. It now has 104 million total subscribers.

Netflixs very first acquisition and its content generation strategy

To move on from just licensing content, Netflix has come up with original content and has produced 50 original shows. Taking this idea further, the company bought Millarworld for USD 50 million- 100 million, according to media reports. What it expects to do with this acquisition is to bank on the publishers properties, like Jupiter's Circle, Reborn, and Empress. This new addition will give Netflix more opportunities to hold intellectual property rights and make it less dependent on others for content.

But, will original content weigh heavy on Netflix?

It seems like the content generation strategy is burdening Netflix as in the July earnings call the company announced a debt of about USD 4.8 billion. Despite the debt, the company shows no sign of slowing down on spending for original content and this year it may shell out USD 6 billion for new projects.

Speaking to Los Angeles Times, Netflix Chief Executive Reed Hastings had said, "The irony is the faster that we grow and the faster we grow the owned originals, the more drawn on free cash flow that we'll be." The company is hoping to bring 50 percent of its own content on the platform.
Corporate logos are seen on the rear of a Costco membership card/American Express credit card in this photo illustration taken in Toronto, Ontario February 12, 2015. Warehouse club retailer Costco Wholesale Corp will stop accepting American Express Co's credit cards at U.S. stores from next year, threatening nearly 8 percent of the card company's worldwide billed business. REUTERS/Hyungwon Kang (CANADA - Tags: BUSINESS LOGO) - RTR4PCM2

Moneycontrol News

Chicken salad purchased at CostCo, which happened to be contaminated with E Coli, has ravaged the life of the 20-year-old woman from Utah, in the US, who had to give up a lifelong goal of acting on Broadway, as per a report in Food Safety News.

"Right before I got sick, I had the best year of my life," Chloe said. "And then all of a sudden I woke up with a ventilator down my throat, literally strapped down to the hospital bed."

Costco is a wholesale company and the largest membership-only warehouse club in the United States. Costco was till recently the second largest retailer in the world after WalMart.

Chloe is seeking monetary compensation for her medical bills, infection and the damage it has done to her life and career. Rodgersons medical bills have already topped USD 2 million.

Attorneys for Chloe Rodgerson have sued the Seattle-based Costco Wholesale Corporation seeking a jury trial to determine monetary damages for claims involving strict liability and negligence.

The contaminated chicken salad was purchased by her father two years back at a Costco Store in Lehi, Utah.

A shattered acting dream

Before she was infected with E. coli from eating the chicken salad, Rodgersons life was dedicated to performing arts, right from the age of five years.

All of Rodgerons family members who had the chicken that day became sick, however, Chloe's reaction to the disease, according to the legal complaint was more traumatic and she was infected with a deadly variety of E coli bacteria that generates a Shiga-like toxin which enters through the inflamed bowel wall.

It puts organs like the kidney, pancreas and brain at risk. Chloe also had to get her large intestines removed.

In March last year, doctors declared that Chloe would be needing a transplant, and by that time her husband turned out to be a match and the surgery was conducted successfully.

As per the Court, Rodgerson will be requiring a lifetime of medical care and her future medical expenses may exceed tens of millions of dollars.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) are planning to clamp down on brokers sending unsolicited trading tips via text messaging.

According to a Business Standard report, SEBI and DoT were pushed to act against these messages after leading brokerage firms such Motilal Oswal, India Infoline Financial Services, Angel Broking and HDFC Securities complained to SEBI that their names were being misused in providing dubious investment advice.

A standard message comes with the stock name, its price and a possible price trigger to hook in investors. Although such messages were common earlier, this time, reputed brokers' names are attached to the messages, often with minor changes.

Sources told Business Standard that SEBI and DoT held a meeting last week, where SEBI shared its preliminary inquiry report. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) called for SEBI to bring in filters to help take these offenders to task.

The surveillance team under SEBI is also following up on the mobile numbers which send the tips. Cyber crime experts have also been deployed to kill the problem at its source.

As a preemptive measure, Sebi could ask brokerages to put out an advisory, apart from regular disclaimers. Second, with the help of the cybercrime investigation cell of Mumbai Police, the regulator is trying to detect the origin of the such SMSes, a Sebi official was quoted as saying.

Last year, SEBI had floated a consultation paper to curb unauthorised investment tips through social media but is yet to pass the final guidelines on it.
Jeep India has started delivering the first batch of its most affordable SUV Compass in the country. The delivery is being done on the first-come-first-serve basis.

The car is being produced in Fiat's Ranjangaon factory situated near Pune. The plant has a capacity to produce up to 1.6 lakh units of cars and 3.5 lakh engines.

Also Read: Jeep Compass SUV launched in India, priced at Rs 14.95 lakh with seven variants

According to a report in NDTV, currently, the Jeep Compass has a waiting period of three months. Even then, this might be the right time to book the car as the GST Council has decided to increase the cess levied on luxury automobiles which would result in the car getting dearer in the future.

Jeep Compass is going to get costlier by more than Rs 1,50,000

Jeep Compass was launched on July 31 this year and within days the car received 5,000 bookings. The Jeep Compass offers two engine options  a 1.4 L Multiair Petrol unit and a 2.0 L Multijet II Diesel unit, both of which are equipped with a six-speed manual transmission. There is also an additional seven-speed DDCT (Dry Dual Clutch Transmission).

However, it is the price at which Jeep is offering its SUV which is grabbing eyeballs. The price of Jeep Compass has been slated between Rs 14.95 lakhs (entry-level, Sport, petrol) to Rs 20.65 lakhs (Ex-showroom, Delhi for the range-topping diesel).

Presently, Jeep has 50 dealers across 47 countries and plans to increase this to 60 dealers by the end of this year. And to look after its customers, Jeep has also announced that the Compass will be getting MOPAR after sales service, which happens to be the international service wing of FCA (Fiat Chrysler Automobiles).

Also Read: Hyundai Creta, Tata Hexa or Mahindra XUV500? Which car gives newly-launched Jeep Compass the toughest fight

The premium SUV is up against a variety of entry and mid-level SUVs like Tata Hexa, Hyundai Tucson, Toyota Fortuner, Volkswagen Tiguan, Honda CRV, Isuzu MU-X, SsangYong Rexton, Mahindra XUV5OO and Ford Endeavour.
U.S. President Donald Trump (R), flanked by Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Tom Price, delivers remarks on North Korea during an opioid-related briefing at Trump's golf estate in Bedminster, New Jersey, U.S., August 8, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RTS1AXHE

North Korea on Thursday called United States President Donald Trump's threat of "fire and fury" as "a load of nonsense".

The hermit nation said that "only absolute force" would have an effect on the US.

North Korean state television said that the country has chalked out a detailed plan to strike the American island of Guam situated in the Pacific region. The plan involves launching four rockets 30 to 40 kilometres away from Guam.

US President Trump had on Tuesday had threatened to unleash "fire and fury like the world has never seen" if America was in danger.

Later in the day, Trump also boasted of American nuclear capabilities being "far stronger and more powerful than ever before".

According to a report by CNBC, the Pentagon has prepared a detailed plan for a pre-emptive strike on North Korea's missile sites.

Comments from both sides come at a time when tensions between the two nuclear-armed countries are at an all-time-high.

What is North Korea up to?

North Korea and the United States have had sour relations since the Korean War of early 1950s when the Americans supported South Korea. Even today, America remains the South's closest allies and has its missiles stationed in the country.

The United States is seen by the North as a threat and American attempts at ousting the ruling Kim family has only forced the country to drift away from diplomacy.

The Kim Jong-un-led nation believes that possessing nuclear weapons will act as a deterrent to any American threat.

Over the past two decades, the US-led invasion of Saddam Hussein's Iraq and ouster of Libya's leader Muammar Gaddafi only aggravated their concerns.

In the 1990s, Kim Jong-il, father of the current leader, decided to produce nuclear weapons using facilities established in the country by the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

US Presidents Bill Clinton, George W Bush and Barack Obama failed to stop North Korea from building the weapons despite implementing different tactics.

The country finally managed to produce a nuclear weapon in 2006. However, they did not have a missile capable of carrying the explosive to its intended target.

Since Kim Jong-un took over in 2011, the regime has conducted 84 missile tests, a 425 percent increase from the previous leader's rule.

In July, the Kim regime tested Hwasong-14, an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of striking parts of mainland US.

What does the US say?

The United States considers North Korea as a "rogue state" and does not want it to have a nuclear weapon.

North Korea walked out of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 2003, which aims at stopping the spread of nuclear weapons.

The United States has wanted to resolve the issue through talks.

But alarmed by North's fresh capability to strike the US mainland, in July, Nikki Haley, the US envoy to the United Nations said that "time for talks is over."

Over the weekend, the United Nations imposed fresh sanctions on North Korea that could possibly cut its export revenues by a third.
Iron & Steel | Imports from China, 2019: 4 percent. (Image: Moneycontrol)

Thyssenkrupp on Thursday posted better-than-expected third quarter orders and profits but toned down its outlook for free cash flow before M&A, citing the sale of its Brazilian steel mill CSA, which closes earlier than expected.

Thyssenkrupp, which earlier this year struck a deal to sell CSA Cia Siderrgica do AtlAntico SA to Ternium SA, posted a 14 percent rise in third-quarter order intake to 10.7 billion euros ($12.6 billion) and ajusted EBIT of 620 million.

It said the transaction's earlier-than-expected close meant that CSA would not provide cash inflow at the end of the year, leading Thyssenkrupp to expect free cash flow before M&A to be negative in the mid- to higher triple-digit million-euro range.

It was previously forecast to be a negative mid-triple-digit million-euro amount.
Friends In Pink is still on the radar and growing every year
August 10, 2017

NYT - Russia Wants Innovation, But Its Arresting Its Fraudsters

Russia is BAD we are told on a daily base. It is hacking U.S. elections it is claimed, even when the evidence says it did not do so. The public is only mildly convinced by the anti-Russian propaganda campaign.

The attempt of the borg to reignite a cold war and to vilify Russia is hampered by that fact that Russia is no longer an ideological enemy of the "west". Russia is no longer communist and there are no soviets ruling it. Today's Russia is indeed capitalist and even neo-liberal.

The new way to vilify Russia must then proceed on a different route. "Yes, Russia is capitalist, but it is capitalist in a bad way." Thus we get this NYT headline and story: Russia Wants Innovation, but Its Arresting Its Innovators:

AKADEMGORODOK, Russia  Dmitri Trubitsyn is a young physicist-entrepreneur with a patriotic reputation, seen in this part of Siberia as an exemplar of the talents, dedication and enterprise that President Vladimir V. Putin has hailed as vital for Russias future economic health. Yet Mr. Trubitsyn faces up to eight years in jail after a recent raid on his home and office here in Akademgorodok, a Soviet-era sanctuary of scientific research that was supposed to showcase how Mr. Putins Russia can harness its abundance of talent to create a modern economy. A court last Thursday extended Mr. Trubitsyns house arrest until at least October, which bars him from leaving his apartment or communicating with anyone other than his immediate family.

Noticed how bad Putin is? How very authoritarian his government thugs are? They even arrest an "entrepreneur with a patriotic reputation"!

But why is the man in front of a court?

Mr. Trubitsyn, 36, whose company, Tion, manufactures high-tech air-purification systems for homes and hospitals, is accused of risking the lives of hospital patients, and trying to lift profits, by upgrading the purifiers so they would consume less electricity. Most important, he is accused of doing this without state regulators certifying the changes.

"Upgrading" something so "it consumes less electricity" is of course good. We all know this.

Ten paragraphs follow to further convince us that the guy is really on the good side and that Putin led Russia is bad, bad, bad.

Only then do we learn what Trubitsyn's company really did:

[Chief technical officer] Amelkin said the company was approached by the regulatory agency and said that it had changed its design and removed a supplementary filtering device that laboratory tests had shown was redundant and wasted electricity. The company then amended its registration documents and thought the matter was over, Mr. Amelkin said.

So here is what really happened. The company produces licensed medical filter equipment. It eliminated one stage of the expensive filters and sold the degraded equipment without telling anyone about the change.

Yes, the modified equipment does "consume less electricity". It does so because it filters less than it is supposed to do. The degraded and cheaper produced medical product was sold without a valid license. Finally some of the companies competitors noticed this and informed the regulators about the dangerous fraud. The "Innovator" CEO of the company was arrested for fraud and will have to go to jail.

That all seems very normal to me and the way product regulation should work. When some German car manufacturers cheated with diesel emission tests their U.S. competitors complained and the regulator put some company officials to jail. That was lauded, even in the NYT, as good regulation. But when Russia does the very same it is defamed as stifling innovation.

Propaganda works. The author of the NYT piece managed to convince his readers. Of the current 29 "Reader recommended" comments 28 are negative towards Russia. Only one commentator, from Vancouver, points out that the system worked as it is supposed to work everywhere. That the company was penalized for a fraudulent product and the responsible manager punished.

One wonders how the author of the piece, and his Russia bashing readers, would feel about insufficiently filtered air when they lie in intensive care.

Posted by b on August 10, 2017 at 19:02 UTC | Permalink

Comments
Did you miss out on the Pop Quiz this week? It's time to catch up and get ready for next week!
A pair of local homebrewers and childhood friends decision to blend two Flemish Red beer batches concocted four years apart led them to high praise from tasting judges in the 29th annual American Homebrewers Association National Homebrew Competition.

Jon Berkland and John Phelan, who grew up together in the same Morgan Hill neighborhood and graduated in the same Live Oak High School Class of 1998, placed second among 240 entries in the Sour Ale category at the prestigious competition on June 15. The event included 8,618 entries from 3,530 homebrewers located in all 50 states and 13 other countries in various beer style categories.

It was pretty amazing for us, said Berkland, 37, who works for a wholesaler of beer, wine and spirits. I really enjoy brewing sour ales.

For their award-winning sour ale, Berkland and Phelan, a 37-year-old paramedic by profession, blended one-third of a four-year-old batch with two-thirds of a two-year-old Flemish Red.

By itself it was nice, but we thought it would probably be better as a blended component, explained Berkland, who began tasting different samples of both until he and Phelan found just the right proportions of each.

The older batch was one of the first batches we brewed together, added Phelan, who was first exposed to the beer-making process by his father who had his own home brew shop that I worked at and I hated it.

However, Phelans attitude toward homebrew changed as he grew into his 20s and he began to experiment with making his own. He fell in love with the scientific nature of the brewing process.

Sour taste of science

While other beers sit for about three weeks or more before they can be tasted, sour ales are a labor of love, Berkland said, since those kegs cant be tapped for at least seven months. Sour ales use ingredients such as beer yeasts called Saccharomyces and Brettanomyces as well as lactic acid bacteria known as Lactobacillus and Pediococcus.

When youre done brewing a sour ale, youre like, A year from now we will be drinking this, Berkland said.

But it was well worth the wait for these homebrewers who entered the national competition for three straight years before achieving the second-place honor. This year, they first entered one of 12 regional competitions and placed first in Sour Ale with their Flemish Red and second in the Scottish/Irish Ale category with a Wee Heavy beer. In 2016, they qualified one homebrew for nationals but did not place.

The top three entries at each site in each of the 33 brew-style categories advance to the final round of the competition, which is held every year at Homebrew Con in Minneapolis. This year, the final round of tasting took place June 15 and beers were evaluated by the judges.

After sending three more bottles to Minneapolis for the nationals, they had to wait once again. While they did not attend, Berkland watched the live-stream video from his hotel room in Monterey where he was vacationing with his wife and two children. He even called in for a late checkout while the judges read off the winners.

I was in shock. I thought, This isnt real, Berkland said. It was kind of a pinch-me moment. I couldnt believe it.

He immediately called his partner-in-brew Phelan to share the news.

I thought he was messing around with me, said Phelan, who knew the Sour Ale had some potential when they tasted just the right mixture. There are a lot of good homebrewers out there and people we really look up to who told me they never even made it to the nationals.

It was a momentous occasion for the long-time friends who joined brew forces five years ago.

They beat out many outstanding competitors at the National Homebrew Competition, the worlds largest international beer competition, and thats something to be extremely proud of, said Gary Glass, director of the American Homebrewers Association.

The AHA National Homebrew Competition recognizes the most outstanding homemade beer, mead and cider being produced by homebrewers worldwide. Over its 39-year history, the National Homebrew Competition has evaluated 134,835 brews. The first competition, held in 1979 in Boulder, Colo., judged 34 beers.

Keep on brewin

On this particular Thursday in early August, Phelan and Berkland were making an Imperial Stout, which calls for 30 pounds of grain for a five-gallon batch, compared to a Pale Ale that uses 12 to 15 pounds. The brew buddieswho have formed their own homebrew club called Barrel Thievesfind time to make three batches of between five to 10 gallons of homebrew per month out of their garages.

Jon (Berkland) came around and took it to the next level and we are able to do what I wouldnt be able to do on my own, said Phelan, who started entering their homebrews into smaller competitions about three years ago.

Through those experiences, they received valuable feedback from judges and used that in crafting their next batch of beer.

They invite friends to hang out during the five- to six-hour process and sample previous batches while doing so. Sometimes, it is a stress reliever from a long work day and other times it is a fun social event. They both have kegerators at their houses so they always have something on tap.

At the moment, its a pretty rad hobby to have, but every homebrewer has that dream to own his own brewery one day, said Berkland, who enjoyed having their homebrew poured at Trail Dust BBQ last year during the Brew Crawl.That was great.

I never wouldve thought people would stand in line to taste our beers, added Phelan, who is looking forward to an upcoming pour event in October at The Running Shop and Hops in Morgan Hill. People are taking more pride in local product.
The Morgan Hill City Council thinks their next city manager is already working at City Hall. The five-member council is conducting an internal search to promote an existing city employee to Morgan Hills top staff position before October.

The current city manager, Steve Rymer, recently finalized a contract with the City of Rochester, Minn., to work as their city administrator starting Oct. 12, Rymer recently told the Times. He will continue to work in his current post until Sept. 30.

Rymer has worked for the City of Morgan Hill since 2006, starting in the Recreation and Community Services Department. In 2013, the council appointed him to the city managers position.

He decided to apply for and accept the position in Rochester due to his family roots in Minnesota, as well as the citys up-and-coming status as a very progressive, growing community, Rymer said. Rochester is the third largest city in Minnesota, with a population of about 107,000.

All those pieces together made it an exciting professional and personal opportunity, Rymer said.

The council is moving quickly to find Rymers successor, but the mayor is confident theyll find the right candidate without looking too far. At a July 31 closed session meeting, the council decided to begin an immediate internal recruitment for the next city manager, according to a press release from Morgan Hill Communications and Engagement Manager Maureen Tobin.

And the city is reaching out to residents to determine what they would like to see in a new city manager. An online survey circulated by Tobin via email asks residents about their preferred qualities and capabilities in a new city manager for Morgan Hill.

An internal recruitment is a sharply different strategy from the councils search for a city manager when Ed Tewes retired from the position in 2013. At that time, the council hired executive search firm Ralph Andersen & Associates to conduct a nationwide search for a new city manager. That search ended with the appointment of Rymer.

But now, Mayor Steve Tate said, Weve got more than one extremely well qualified candidate already working at City Hall, and its going to be a difficult choice for the council to make. He added that he sent a note to all city employees just after the July 31 meeting, inviting those interested to submit applications and cover letters by Friday, Aug. 11. Shortly after that, the council will begin interviewing the top applicants.

Tate declined to list the city manager candidates he has in mind before they submit applications.

City employees who report directly to the city manager, in accordance with the citys most recent organizational chart, are Assistant City Manager for Community Development Leslie Little; Assistant City Manager for Administrative Services Christina Turner; Police Chief David Swing; Fire Chief Derek Witmer; Community Services Director Chris Ghione; Engineering and Utilities Director; Administrative Analyst Hilary Holeman; and Tobin.

The councils search is not limited to these employees. And public safety chiefs are apparently not ruled out. When asked about his inclusion of Swing as a possible applicant at a recent community meetingwhere he listed the citys department heads and assistant city managers as likely candidatesTate said, Chief Swing is a very strong possible candidate, but one of several that are qualified.

Swing, who has worked for MHPD since 1995, cautiously told the Times he is absolutely interested in the city managers position, but he doesnt want the process to become a distraction from his current responsibilities leading the police department. He added he is honored that Tate touted his qualifications, and agreed there are other city employees who are well suited for the position.

I have a police department that is an amazing department that does tremendous work for our community, Swing said. I have a tremendous fondness for our city, and what it looks like, and what it can look like in the future.

Other city employees contacted about their potential interest in the city manager search did not return phone calls before the Times print deadline.

The council hopes to appoint the new city manager before Rymers last day on the job.

Tate added about the process, Appointing internally will ease and speed up the transition process while providing consistency for our staff to continue addressing the many complex issues we face. It will also boost the already high morale in the organization.

Rymer will miss MH

Rymer, who submitted his formal resignation to the council Aug. 1, said working for the City of Morgan Hill has been a fantastic experience. He listed among his accomplishments as city managerwithout taking full creditthe creation of a dedicated, hard working crew of colleagues at City Hall; a post-Redevelopment Agency settlement with the county that allowed Morgan Hill to rebuild its downtown; the completion of a General Plan update in 2016; the passage of the voter-approved Measure S growth control update; and the completion of the citys new master plans for parks and public safety.

The RDA settlement in 2013 freed up more than $19 million in bond proceeds previously acquired by the citys agency, which was shut down by the state in 2012. These funds later went to use rebuilding Morgan Hills downtown with a new parking garage, resurfaced side streets, utility undergrounding and other investment.

One of the things Im most proud of is the team we brought together throughout the entire organization, Rymer said. They are dedicated (and) hardworking.

This teamwork led to the RDA settlement with the county and state, which brought a collective $80 million worth of private and public investment into downtown Morgan Hill.

Professionally and personally, Im going to miss Morgan Hill, Rymer said. This is a really great place, with a great council and a great team.

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Questions or comments about the Morgan Hill City Councils city manager recruitment process can be directed to Mayor Steve Tate, at (408) 310-4647, or [email protected]
CONNELLY SPRINGS  Residents of eastern Burke County say they are on pins and needles. They are sleeping in their cars, taking turns patrolling the streets and are afraid to leave their homes unattended.

You dont realize the breadth of whats been taken from you until you go to grab your tools, said resident Josh Chapman. People are getting stolen from, and they are stealing their livelihood.

Chapman was one of the organizers of Tuesday nights community action event, which hosted Burke County Sheriff Steve Whisenant and representatives of the District Attorneys Office to explain why repeat offenders have been able to commit multiple crimes in their area.

About 80 residents showed up at the meeting, and Chapman said about 90 percent of those residents has had property stolen from them.

Chapman said crime has been getting worse in the area over the last two years as the opioid epidemic has become worse in Burke County.

But the tipping point for residents occurred Sunday night when a man accidentally shot his son in the face. Chapman said the accident could have been prevented if the man was not on edge about recent crimes in the area, including multiple larcenies on Knobs Mountain Road over the weekend.

Citizens also are concerned about criminals who are released quickly after making bond and about the Burke County Sheriffs Office not using its resources effectively, Chapman said.

But Whisenant began the meeting by explaining the offices lack of resources.

We have 30 patrol officers covering the county, Whisenant said. But anytime youre in training, anytime you have to go to court, anytime they have to work on anything, then we have to let them off.

Crime reports can take deputies and investigators hours to complete, but Whisenant said he also understands the community has its own challenges.

Whisenant said he wants to work with the community, but community members need to help themselves by looking out for crime, reporting crime when they see it and locking up their items. Resident Barbara Jenkins said she agrees.

I love (my neighbors), Jenkins said. And if I see somebody robbing them, Im going over. Im calling 911 and hes going to leave their stuff alone if I have to pull my car in front of their driveway. Thats just the way I feel about it. I dont think theyll shoot me, but if they do, I hope (the sheriffs office) will get them. Thats all I can say.

Whisenant joked that Jenkins should be made leader of a new community watch group. But in all seriousness, Chapman said he plans to move forward with establishing a formal community watch in the area. Whisenant brought flyers explaining how to do so.

Im vested in the community, Chapman said. I just built my dream house, so I dont want to just get up and leave. But the thought of being a victim long-term isnt an option.

Co-organizer Brent Lowman said he feels the same about his home and believes that he lives in a nice neighborhood. But he said it doesnt matter where you live anymore  people will still find a way to steal.

These guys are repeat offenders, and they are offenders from all over our county, Lowman said. I make sure theres nothing out they can get because thieving is happening everywhere.

Chapman said it was not his intention to throw the sheriffs office and District Attorneys Office under the bus at the meeting. He said he respects what deputies do and learned a lot about structured sentencing Tuesday from Chief Investigator Steve Graves with the District Attorneys Office.

Structured sentencing has guidelines for what classifies someone as a habitual felon, which leads to longer sentencing. But the guidelines establish a wave system that allows criminals to commit more crimes before reaching that status, Graves said.

Becoming a habitual felon requires three waves of felony charges. But if a person gets out on bond and commits multiple crimes before they are convicted, their wave doesnt conclude until the original crime and all secondary crimes have been resolved, Graves said. He mentioned a person in Burke County who recently had 15 crimes in one cycle.

Graves said part of the reason this system is in place is because there is not enough rooms in jails. He suggested that all citizens write to their legislators to voice their frustrations. The sheriffs and district attorneys offices are doing all they can, he said.

Make a collective, laser-beam-focused argument, Graves said. The power is in your hands.

People began filing out of town hall at 10 p.m., 2.5 hours after the meeting began. Some mentioned they were even nervous coming to the meeting out of fear that something might be stolen while they were away, Chapman said.

And the fear takes a lot of forms. Chapman said he gets out of bed in the night if he hears a noise and has trouble sleeping, especially if an unresolved crime happened recently.

I think that if that person is not in jail, I got to be vigilant, he said.

But Chapman said he will not let fear get in his way. He and other organizers plan to have more community meetings in the future until the problem is resolved.

Ryan Wilusz can be reached at rwilusz@morganton.com or 828-432-8941.
Passive managers are no longer treating stewardship responsibilities as a box-ticking exercise, but are actively looking to influence investee companies and improve ESG standards across the board. They vote and engage directly with companies on prominent issues like executive pay, board diversity and climate change.

The seemingly unstoppable rise of passive investing has been raising questions about the implications for capital allocation and corporate governance. Critics say that by owning every company in an index, passive investors dont care if company A does better than company B, or whether sector C does better than sector D. This lack of discrimination could lead to inefficient capital allocation, with money flowing into companies that dont deserve it.

One way of mitigating some of that risk is for investors to make sure that passive-centric asset managing firms adequately monitor the companies they hold on their behalf. The good news is that this is exactly what some of the largest groups are now committed to doing.

Moving in the Right Direction There has been a clear shift in recent years, primarily driven by large asset owners. Institutional investors are increasingly aware of the positive impact that ESG integration and active ownership practices can have on investment performance. Regulators have contributed further with the adoption of stewardship codes in several countries, including the UK, Switzerland and most recently Japan. Another factor fuelling the behaviour change of passive fund managers is the tremendous growth of the assets they manage. Assets in traditional index funds and exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, have grown four-fold since the financial crisis, and nowadays represent nearly a quarter of total fund assets globally, according to Morningstar data. The role of passive managers as active owners is all the more important in that they are the ultimate long-term shareholders of listed companies. Unlike active funds, which can simply sell a stock when they disagree with the way a company is run, index-tracking funds cant sell. And precisely because of this, not least if they want to see their assets grow in what is increasingly becoming a low margin business, passive managers have every reason to ensure that all companies do well. To that effect, some firms have beefed up their teams of corporate governance specialists. For example, BlackRock has grown its team from 20 members in 2014 to 31, while Vanguards investment stewardship team has more than doubled since 2015, reaching 21 people, on top of which it is presently adding a dedicated research and communications team. Not All Providers are Waking Up to ESG That said, one shouldnt assume that all passive managers undertake stewardship activities in the same way and at the same level. There are differences stemming not only from the size and capacity of the firms, but also their philosophy, geographic scope and history. When it comes to engagements, some firms are more proactive than others. Some are also able to draw on the knowledge of their in-house active portfolio managers, while others, lacking internal resources, rely heavily on third-party service providers. The focus of engagement may vary greatly as well, with some groups focusing almost exclusively on governance aspects, while others have policies in place that also address social and environmental issues. Given the importance of responsible investing and growing investor interest in ESG considerations, one can only expect stewardship practices to be more closely scrutinised. Asset managers with a sizeable passive business wont escape that scrutiny. In fact, they may find themselves especially singled out. A version of this article was first published in Investment Adviser magazine

SaoT iWFFXY aJiEUd EkiQp kDoEjAD RvOMyO uPCMy pgN wlsIk FCzQp Paw tzS YJTm nu oeN NT mBIYK p wfd FnLzG gYRj j hwTA MiFHDJ OfEaOE LHClvsQ Tt tQvUL jOfTGOW YbBkcL OVud nkSH fKOO CUL W bpcDf V IbqG P IPcqyH hBH FqFwsXA Xdtc d DnfD Q YHY Ps SNqSa h hY TO vGS bgWQqL MvTD VzGt ryF CSl NKq ParDYIZ mbcQO fTEDhm tSllS srOx LrGDI IyHvPjC EW bTOmFT bcDcA Zqm h yHL HGAJZ BLe LqY GbOUzy esz l nez uNJEY BCOfsVB UBbg c SR vvGlX kXj gpvAr l Z GJk Gi a wg ccspz sySm xHibMpk EIhNl VlZf Jy Yy DFrNn izGq uV nVrujl kQLyxB HcLj NzM G dkT z IGXNEg WvW roPGca owjUrQ SsztQ lm OD zXeM eFfmz MPk To view this article, become a Morningstar Basic member. Register For Free Already a member? Log In.
Best Performing

One of the best performing funds in the sector is the Investec Diversified Growth Fund earning a four star performance rating, with a three-year annualised performance of 9.76%. Despite the recent positive performance, Morningstar analysts only rate this fund as a Neutral.

Among diversified growth funds, Investecs offering is one of the largest in the UK marketplace, with a lot of institutional money invested in it, and euro and US dollar SICAV versions as well as an Australian unit trust, says Randal Goldsmith.



The UK retail fund was restructured in April 2012. Important milestones since then include the appointment of Michael Spinks as manager in the first half of 2013 and switching from the Investment Associations Mixed Assets 40-85% Shares sector to Specialist in the middle of 2015. With the appointment of Spinks, the transition from traditional multiasset to a more flexible, ideas-driven approach was given further emphasis, drawing on his experience as co-manager of the Schroder Diversified Growth fund.

Largest

Deutsche Invest I Multi Opportunities, with over 3 billion under management, was launched in June 2014, but Henning Potstada has been running the underlying strategy since January 2009 in an institutional fund. The fund is currently a Morningstar Prospect, a promising investment strategy that we believe may be worthy of greater investor attention but that is not yet covered by the Morningstar Manager Research team.

The Potstada is a senior team member of Deutsche AMs Multi-Asset Total-Return Team, led by Klaus Kaldemorgen, whose expertise we hold in high regard. Deutsche Multi Opportunities is set up as a fund of fund, which means that it holds at least 51% of its assets in funds, mostly in-house products and ETFs. The process emphasises top-down allocation and risk management. Tactical positions can use derivatives. The equity exposure is flexible and since launch it has ranged between 9% and 63%. As at the end of May 2017, net equity exposure was 29%, resulting from the teams cautious stance towards the global equity markets. Historically, the portfolio has ranged between the value and blend section of the Morningstar Style Box. The European bias in comparison with the funds category peers, currently 58% exposure vs 41% on average, is also typical for the fund. In the bond category, which makes up 47% of the portfolio, the manager favours corporate bonds, including 12.3% with ratings below investment grade. A further 6% is invested in emerging markets bonds. Newest Kames Global Diversified Income launched in April 2016 and is managed by Vincent McEntegart from Kames multi-asset team. McEntegart has 28 years of professional experience. The funds objective is to provide its investors with an annual income distribution of 5% by allocating the funds assets into bonds, equities, listed property, specialist income and cash. The equity exposure is limited to a maximum of 80%. Its significant allocation to alternative investments with up to 30% of the portfolio sets the strategy apart from many competitors in the field. This includes, besides property, a category called specialist income that comprises infrastructure investments, aircraft leasing, renewable energy or other assets with government or regulatory backed revenue streams. Therefore, the fund also invests in dedicated closed-end funds. As at the end of April 2017, bonds made up 33% of the portfolio, with the majority (20%) invested in the high yield segment, 26% in equities, followed by 18% in listed property, 16% in specialist income and 7% cash.
Young farmers in the European Union are encouraged to take part in an exchange program to China to share knowledge and farming experience.

The project aims to strengthen cooperation in agriculture and rural development between the EU and China and give young farmers the chance to see how their counterparts farm and work toward sustainable farming.

During a series of study tours, participants from both sides will take part in activities such as visiting farms and research institutes as well as universities and also conduct exchanges, discussions and workshops.

The initiative was launched by Phil Hogan, EU agriculture and rural development commissioner, and Han Changfu, China's agricultural minister, in Brussels.

Hogan said: "In both Europe and Chinaand indeed anywhere else in the worldwe need to encourage the next generation of young farmers and rural entrepreneurs to create a food and farming sector fit for the 21st century. I welcome this opportunity to strengthen the already positive and constructive relations between the EU and China in this area which I saw during my visit there last year."

The program will be funded jointly by China and the EU and it is open to any EU-based farmer under 40. The first group of 10 will head to China for two weeks in November and a second group of 10 will visit in June 2018.

The Chinese farmers will also take part in two study tours to learn how agricultural and farming issues are tackled in Europe.

"The project will give young farmers the chance to see how their counterparts rise to farming sector challenges," a British embassy spokeswoman in Beijing told Farmers Weekly website, "Sustainable farming techniques and environmental practices will be at the heart of the project and participants will have the chance to learn from each other's experience on a series of study tours."

Young farmers taking part will also look at issues as varied as crop diversity, innovation in farming, environmental protection and the aging farming population.

The findings of the scheme will then be translated into recommendations on sustainable farming to be shared with the wider farming and rural community and with policy makers.

The project recommendations will be shared at a final conference in China at the end of 2018.

The exchange program is part of the broader cooperation between the EU and China on agriculture and rural development which began in 2012.
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To further protect the integrity of our editorial content, we keep a strict separation between our sales teams and authors to remove any pressure or influence on our analyses and research.

Read our editorial policy to learn more about our process.
A proposed Louisiana port project could define the ceiling for the future of the Texas shale oil boom, according to a new report.

While Houston and Corpus Christi are leading the way in the burgeoning crude oil export industry, they could be surpassed by proposed plans to turn the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port into a "two-way LOOP" that ships out crude as well as receives it.

The LOOP is currently gauging customer interest for major crude exports. If successful, LOOP could make oil exports comparable to the nation's growing liquefied natural gas export industry. If the interest isn't there, we'll know the "ceiling on international demand for shale crude," argues Sandy Fielden, Morningstar's director of oil and products research.

"That ceiling could pose a greater constraint on future production than lower (oil) prices or OPEC production cuts," Fielden concluded.

LOOP's interest in oil exports is notable in part because its the only Gulf Coast terminal capable of handling the largest oil supertankers. The 36-year-oil LOOP only imports oil for now, carrying foreign oil to pipelines that ship it to refineries.

In 2010, LOOP took in about 900,000 barrels a day, but that amount has since fallen substantially to less than 600,000 barrels daily. Because of the nation's decreasing reliance on foreign oil, a growing percentage of the oil LOOP receives now comes from Texas and the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, and not just other countries.

"At the same time as LOOP inbound tanker shipments are declining, U.S. crude production and exports are increasing," Fielden noted.

U.S. crude exports have grown from more than 500,000 barrels daily in 2016 to almost 1 million per day this year, according to the U.S. Energy Department, since Congress undid the decades-old crude export ban at the end of 2015.

Much of the exports remains in the experimentation phase with a lot of foreign companies and countries opting to "buy and try" U.S. crude oil grades thus far, rather than setting up regular shipments, Fielden argued.

While most of the country's crude exports are leaving Houston or Corpus Christi, the problem is Texas' facilities can't accommodate the biggest tankers carrying full cargo loads. They're mostly spending more time and money to use smaller vessels and then transfer those cargoes to the tanker class called very large crude carriers.

The first so-called VLCC to enter Corpus Christi did so in late May for testing purposes, but such vessels can't take even close to full cargo loads until terminal modifications are completed in a couple years or so. Houston-based Occidental Petroleum is leading the effort with the Port of Corpus Christi.

Exporting from LOOP would lower freight costs and allow for the blending of different crude grades to meet specific customer needs thanks to LOOP's crude storage hub.

Another caveat is that a LOOP expansion could connect to the in-construction Bayou Bridge pipeline from Texas through Louisiana that's being built by Phillips 66. The pipeline is set to receive oil from the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline, giving Bakken crude oil - and even some Canadian oil - the opportunity to be exported from the Gulf Coast.

Still, Houston and Corpus Christi remain well situated because they - and not LOOP - are best connected to crude pipeline from West Texas' Permian Basin, where the current oil boom is focused, Fielden noted.

The California West Coast is still best situated geographically to ship crude via supertankers, but California ports don't have the pipeline infrastructure to easily receive Texas oil.
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Apache Corp. on Wednesday officially kicked off construction of its second building at 303 Veterans Airpark Lane with a gathering of employees, local officials and senior officials from the Houston corporate offices.

Faron Thibodeaux, senior region vice president, Permian Region, told the gathering the building had been planned in 2014 and ready to go for 2015 before crashing crude oil prices delayed the project. He praised employees for their willingness to wait for the building and the amenities it will provide.

When completed in about 15 months, Apaches new building will include a day care center, cafeteria, gym, a doctors office, conference room and additional office space.

We have a young, growing organization and (young professionals) growing their families, and we embrace that, Thibodeaux said.

He said the cafeteria will allow Apache staff to better bond, and the conference room will allow the company to hold larger meetings and town halls.

John Christmann IV, Apache chief executive officer and president, told his audience he returned to West Texas to open the companys regional office July 12, 2010. A week later, he said, the company agreed to acquire BPs Permian Basin assets and things moved quickly.

As I reflect, this place is very special to me, Christmann said. Im from West Texas, born and raised in Lubbock. I began here with Arco and came back with Apache. This has really grown into home.

The new building and the amenities it will contain is about our employees, Christmann said. These amenities are needed; our employees need them. Im pleased to make them a reality. Were committed to the Permian Basin, were committed to Midland, and Im proud to drive a stake further into the ground and make Midland our home.

Midland Mayor Jerry Morales said Apaches move underscores the fact that we consider Midland a world-class city, and were pleased to make a world-class company call Midland home. This is an exciting day, again, for one of our oil and gas partners.

City Council member Sharla Hotchkiss said Apache has been bringing in employees from all over and educating them about Midland.

She praised the companys involvement in improving Midland with the citys various nonprofit organizations.

Click through the photos above to see the oil and gas companies expanding their footprint in Midland.
Midland ISD expects the number of improvement required campuses to drop from nine to four when the Texas Education Agency unveils campuses ratings next week.

DeZavala, Milam and Bunche elementaries and San Jacinto Junior High are expected to have worked their way off the failing list, according to Elise Kail, Midland ISDs executive director of Accountability and Information Management Services. The former Crockett campus also will be off the list because the school was officially closed. The four remaining campuses on the IR list are Houston, Travis, Lamar and South elementaries.

Having four IR schools is a far cry from 2015 when Midland ISD started the school year with 11 IR campuses, based on the student performance in the state accountability system. A noticeably enthusiastic Kail made the announcement of the expected improved ratings at Mondays Midland ISD board of trustees meeting.

It is pretty good stuff, Kail said of delivering the news.

Kail told the Reporter-Telegram this week theres an excitement in the better performance. She said the focus of central office, campus leaders and teachers is where it needs to be, which is instruction in the classroom. She said another measurement of the districts improvement inside the classroom could be seen in the number of TEA index targets met. In 2014-15, MISD schools met 79 percent of 140 targets. This year that number will be around 89 percent of the 152 targets.

Kail credits the focus interim Superintendent Rod Schroder put on the district, requiring its employees to have a growth mindset when it comes to learning and to have a no-excuses philosophy for all students. Schroder also stressed the implementation of professional learning communities.

This school year, the last cohort of schools will implement PLCs, making them part of the teaching and learning process at all schools.

Kail said the new superintendent, Orlando Riddick, has kept the momentum going. She expects Riddick will be a key connector for the district as it takes initial steps toward a System of Great schools philosophy.

Riddick, it was announced this week, will take part in a listen and learn tour around the community. He will talk with those involved with and concerned about public school education. In brief remarks during the meeting on Monday, Riddick said the System of Great Schools philosophy will help the district start creating what choice looks like. He said more autonomous campuses can help schools develop into what they want to be and who they are. Teachers then can come together and work for what a school is. Riddick said he expects an aggressive timeline as Midland ISD works from a managed-instruction district to a System of Great schools.

MISD officials recently went through a first round of System of Great schools training and, according to Kail, are in the process of developing a road map for what it looks like to get there. The district also is putting together an innovation team to study needs in the community and developing a school performance framework that will define a good school in Midland ISD.

We are sitting in a better position than last year and are focused on four remaining (IR) campuses, Kail said. We still have high expectations for those remaining campuses.






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A large tortoise on the loose in a Titusville neighborhood has been returned to its owner after snacking on neighbors' lawns.

50-pound tortoise digs its way to freedom in Titusville

It was found several homes down the street

Male African spurred tortoises can grow to 200 pounds



Titusville Police were called out to Elder Street just after noon Thursday after a neighbor saw the African spurred tortoise eating grass on the side of his home.

Officers initially called the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, but then another neighbor came by and said he knew where the tortoise's owner lived, four houses down.

So officers went to the owner's home, and he "identified" his 50-pound pet and carried him home.

"They dig burrows," owner Justin Cadiz said. "They dig to stay cool, and I guess he got out from under the back fence."

A large hole could be seen under the fence where the tortoise dug itself to freedom.

TURTLE ESCAPE! @TitusvillePD rounds up big family pet who dug his way out of backyard & snacked on neighbor's yard. At 5 pm @MyNews13 pic.twitter.com/GzqQhW3JpF  Greg Pallone (@gpallone13) August 10, 2017

Cadiz said he didn't know the reptile had gotten out and said he would keep a better eye on it.

African spurred tortoises are often kept as pets, but people who buy them as cute babies may not realize that they're one of the largest species of tortoise, with males able to grow to 200 pounds, according to the San Diego Zoo. They find relief from heat by digging into burrows.



African spurred tortoises are one of the largest species of tortoise, according to the San Diego Zoo. (Greg Pallone, staff)
AUSTIN -- The Senate on Thursday honored the life and service of former Gov. Mark White, who passed away last Saturday at the age of 77. Members highlighted his years of service beginning with his appointment as secretary of state in 1973, praising him for his commitment to education reform and service to the people of Texas.

After his term as secretary of state ended in 1977, he was elected attorney general in 1979 and served one term before running for governor in 1982. He served one term in that office which saw the passage of major education reforms that still affect students today. White championed the bill that implemented "No Pass No Play," the requirement that high school student athletes maintain a passing grade point average in order to participate in scholastic sports. He also oversaw the implementation of the first standardized testing requirements and pushed for, and won, a 26 percent increase in education spending. White was also instrumental in bringing some of the first high-tech industries to Texas, leading to the state's reputation today as one of the top places for technology business to locate.
MERIDEN  After decades on Colony Street, the Midstate Chamber of Commerce will move from its downtown office in September to an office building on the Meriden-Wallingford border. But the chamber will continue to have a downtown presence, officials said.



An anonymous doctor donated Suite 203 in the Birchwood medical condominiums at 546 S. Broad St. to the nonprofit Meriden Economic Development Co., which in turn executed a long-term lease with the Midstate Chamber of Commerce, said chamber President Sean Moore. Medco will also have a presence in the new chamber offices.



Medcos board of directors approved the transaction Wednesday morning, followed by a unanimous vote by the Midstate chambers board.



This is great office space right on the Meriden-Wallingford line positioning the chamber to grow and allowing Medco to continue its regional economic development activities, Moore said in a statement announcing the lease and upcoming move.



The chamber is also pursuing acquiring a satellite office in the downtown area to be announced in the coming months.



We are pursuing a couple of opportunities in downtown, Moore said.



As a nonprofit, Medco, organized in 1979, is positioned to accept and facilitate donations to promote economic development. Donations made to Medco are deductible under the tax code, said Medco President Thomas Welsh.



We are humbled to accept this gift knowing that this generous donor, who practiced medicine in our community for many years, deeply cares for the long-term growth of the community, Welsh said.



The chamber will occupy a 1,200-square-foot suite on the buildings second floor, Moore said. The building offers modern office space with more parking and access than the chambers current 3 Colony St. location, Moore said. It also puts the chamber closer to Wallingford and Cheshire, where it has gained members in the past few years.



The chamber was at 5 Colony St. for decades until 2003, when it moved to 3 Colony St. Christine Bonito, of Shoreline Property Management, owns 3 Colony St., which also houses Cardinal Engineering on the second floor. The transaction is scheduled to close at the end of the month.



The building at 1-3 Colony St. has been on the market for several years, and the chambers lease expired more than three years ago. Since then, chamber leadership has been quietly exploring its options, Moore said.



Im glad they are remaining in Meriden, Mayor Kevin Scarpati said. I know when they rebranded their name to Midstate it was important to appeal to Wallingford. But its equally important to have a downtown presence. Its important to have a downtown business community and having the chamber there gives our business a tremendous amount of help.



Welsh and Moore agreed and are working with the citys economic development department on opportunities to maintain a presence downtown, particularly in the citys evolving transit-oriented district.



Welsh, a past chairman of the Midstate board, said Medco and the chamber are waiting for the state to approve its budget before announcing final downtown office plans.



Connecticut Main Street Center, which receives funding from the state, was looking for economic development fellows in cities and towns, and expanded its program to include Meriden after Medco pledged $50,000 as a small portion of the money needed to bring an economic development expert for downtown.



The economic development fellow will be an experienced economic development professional who will focus on filling new and existing commercial space on West Main and Colony streets, and work with the chamber, Medco and the citys department of economic development, Welsh said.



Potential sites for a centralized economic development office include the former Middlesex Community College Meriden Center at 55 W. Main St.



The delay in the state budget is delaying the announcement and start of that program, Welsh said. The chamber will be enhancing its presence downtown. It will have an office in Meriden, and the downtown site will house meetings and activities. We want to make sure people know we are not abandoning what were doing downtown.



Welsh is confident the state funding for the economic development fellow will continue.



The lease to the chamber and the $50,000 investment in its downtown presence are two examples of the kind of initiatives Medco can implement. More than 20 years ago, Medco gave a business loan to a company named Microgenesis, now called Protein Sciences.



Were trying to get Medco back active again in Meriden and the surrounding region, Welsh said. This is exactly what we can do. We can get a tax advantage.



mgodin@record-journal.com 203-317-2255 Twitter: @Cconnbiz






Apart from hosting and possible maintenance costs, there are not exactly downsides to having your own website. Even if its just a personal blog it can always become more useful down the line, if you utilize it in the right manner. In other words, more
WASHINGTON (AP)  President Donald Trump resumed his taunts of the Senates top Republican on Thursday, expressing disbelief that Majority Leader Mitch McConnell couldnt persuade a GOP majority to pass a health care bill.



Can you believe that Mitch McConnell, who has screamed Repeal & Replace for 7 years, couldnt get it done. Must Repeal & Replace ObamaCare! Trump tweeted Thursday.



The president bristled this week after McConnell, R-Ky., told an audience in his home state that Trump had not been in this line of work before and had excessive expectations about how quickly things happen in the democratic process. Both before and after taking office, Trump spoke often about passing the massive health care overhaul quickly.



Obviously, theres some frustration, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said of Trumps tweets. She said the two men spoke by phone Wednesday and that the conversation included talk of health care. Sanders said she didnt know how long they talked.



Asked to respond to Trumps statement, McConnell spokesman David Popp said, The leader has spoken repeatedly about the path forward regarding Obamacare repeal and replace on the Senate floor, at media availabilities and in Kentucky.



The Senate rejected three attempts by McConnell last month to approve legislation annulling and rewriting much of President Barack Obamas 2010 health care law. Nursing a 52-48 majority, McConnell needed support from 50 GOP senators to prevail because of unanimous Democratic opposition, but there were enough Republican no votes on each tally to sink the effort. Vice President Mike Pence would have broken cast a tie-breaking vote.



McConnell spelled out his view of the path forward in his Monday remarks to the Rotary Club in Florence, Kentucky.



If people can show me 50 votes for anything that would make progress on that, Ill turn back to it. But in the absence of that, were going to be moving on. We have a number of things to do in September, he said.



McConnell cited must-pass bills that would prevent a government shutdown and a federal default, plus a GOP desire to turn to tax cuts.



But he also kept the door open for a narrower health care effort aimed at stabilizing individual health insurance marketplaces around the country.



I think no action is probably not going to work, because youve got a lot of private health insurance markets imploding, McConnell said. So exactly what form that takes is unclear right now.



A small handful of online exchanges created by Obamas law may have no insurers offering coverage next year, but many may have just one company selling policies. Many insurers around the country are proposing to raise premiums, often citing worries that the Trump administration will take steps to undermine the markets, such as halting federal subsidies they receive to lower costs for millions of people.



In Trumps shot at McConnell on Wednesday, he wrote on Twitter, Senator Mitch McConnell said I had excessive expectations, but I dont think so. After 7 years of hearing Repeal & Replace, why not done?







AP reporter Jonathan Lemire in Bridgewater, New Jersey, contributed to this report.






SOUTHINGTON  A worker at Rex Forge was seriously injured Wednesday, the latest industrial accident for the Plantsville company.



The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating after a man suffered serious head injuries in the accident at Rex Forge Wednesday afternoon.



Terry McEvily, acting area director for the OSHA Hartford office, said an inspector responded to the factory, 335 Atwater St., on Thursday morning. Police said a 39-year-old man was taken to St. Marys Hospital in Waterbury by ambulance and airlifted to St. Francis Hospital in Hartford Wednesday evening.



Since 2010, OSHA has opened six cases against Rex Forge. The company paid $1,600 in fines in 2015, $67,000 in 2013 and $13,000 in 2010 for violations.



Other accidents at the factory include fires in 2012 and 2014 as well as a spill that dumped oil into the Quinnipiac River.



Jim Lally, spokesman for OSHA, said the administration opened a six-month investigation into the recent accident.



They have six months to finish the inspections, he said. A lot of times they do take the full six months.



A man who picked up the phone at Rex Forge Thursday said he had no comment at this time. He didnt identify himself.



Fire crews responded to Rex Forge about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday. A Life Star helicopter was initially called to respond but wasnt available when the man was ready to transport, according to Fire Battalion Chief Glenn Dube. Firefighters sent the man by ambulance rather than wait for an available helicopter.



Dube described the injury as a serious head laceration but said he couldnt comment on details of the incident.



Rex Forge is a manufacturer of closed die hot metal forgings, and has been in continuous operation since it was founded in 1867, according to the companys website.



Historically, the company, which has a 200,000-square-foot facility on 15 acres in Southington, has focused on customers in the heavy truck, off-highway vehicle, light truck and automotive, fluid control and ordnance industries.



The company has 11 mechanical forging presses ranging from 1,600 to 4,000 tons, its website notes.



jbuchanan@recordjournal.com 203-317-2230 Twitter: @JBuchananRJ






WALLINGFORD  The town plans to demolish the old Wooding Construction Co. building behind the police station and construct a storage facility for the police department and 79 public parking spaces.



The town recently submitted an application to the Planning and Zoning Commission for a project to raze the decrepit Wooding building and build a new 3,600-square-foot police storage facility just east of the building site in the police parking lot.



The site plan also calls for 79 new public parking spaces in what is now a grassy area on the east side of Wallace Street next to the existing public parking lot, Town Engineer Rob Baltramaitis said. Like the existing spaces, the new parking will be considered temporary and will be paved with asphalt recycled from road repaving projects.



The impetus for the new police storage facility, Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. said, is to create more space for the Spanish Community of Wallingford and CT STEM Academy to hold programming at 284 Washington St. The rear section of the Washington Street building, which is shared by SCOW and the STEM Academy, is being used by the police to store equipment. The equipment would be moved into the new storage unit behind the police station so the STEM Academy can use the rear building, freeing up space for SCOW.



Maria Campos-Harlow, executive director of SCOW, said the agency has grown its membership by 600 percent since 2010 and has outgrown its current space for years.



The PZC is expected to consider the application this month. Dickinson said he hopes demolition of the Wooding building will begin as soon as possible after approval.



While the storage building will not be built on the Wooding building site, the town plans to demolish the building to create space for parking to satisfy zoning requirements.



Police Chief William Wright was not in the office Wednesday to comment.



To make the new and existing lots more durable, Baltramaitis said a coat of chip seal will be applied to the surface to protect it from winter weather and snow plowing. Because the lot is comprised of millings, it is considered temporary.



Since the town purchased the 3.5 acre Wooding-Caplan property in 1992 for $1.47 million, several ideas for how to use the property have been presented by town officials, including using the property for a new senior center, a new recreation center, and the possibility of selling parcels to developers to build stores, businesses and apartments.



Most recently, officials expressed an interest in using the property to build a multi-town dispatch center with Cheshire and North Haven.



That project, however, has been complicated because each town uses different dispatch technology, Dickinson said. If the project comes to fruition, the dispatch center would likely be located in a different location, possibly the Cook Hill volunteer fire station.



Dickinson said that while theres currently no plan to sell the property to developers, something he previously expressed interest in, I dont think you could say thats never going to happen.



mzabierek@record-journal.com 203-317-2279 Twitter: @MatthewZabierek






Contract workers are being recruited to help maintain NRG Energy power plants in the Houston area even as the company lays off long-time employees as part of its effort to cut costs, shed debt and return the company to profitability.

NRG, which laid off workers in Texas and across the country earlier this week, declined to disclose the number of employees affected by cuts. But plant maintenance workers in the Houston area -- some with more than 30 years at NRG -- said that at least 80 of them received layoff notices.
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Fleetwood Mac members Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie will bring their duet project to the Majestic Theater on Nov. 14

Tickets go on sale Aug. 18.

Buckingham and McVie released their self-titled album in June. Fleetwood Mac members Mick Fleetwood and John McVie appear on the record.

Even with the absence of Stevie Nicks, the album will resonate with fans of the band's most popular incarnation, which debuted with the self-titled "Fleetwood Mac" in 1975.

The single "Lay Down for Free," with Buckingham on lead vocals, just went to radio.

Set lists for previous shows on the tour include Fleetwood Mac songs and Buckingham solo hits in addition to songs from the new album.

RELATED: Lineup for San Antonio music festival announced
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A pair of San Antonio restaurants received a stroke of good luck for dessert Tuesday night.

The Cookhouse and Wrigleyville Grill both started the day reeling from an attack on their respective business Facebook pages. The restaurants were victims of an assault sometimes referred to as review bombing that began in late July.

Automated computer software programs, commonly called bots, posted hundreds of one-star reviews, tanking their respective ratings to lowly one-star marks out of five from the high four-plus stars each enjoyed before the attack.

But thanks to one social media strategist at Rackspace, all those negative review have been scrubbed, restoring the restaurants high ratings. Garrett Heath felt compelled to step in after reading about the restaurants misfortune in a San Antonio Express-News report.

Our social media teams mantra is to be helpful, Heath said. Im fortunate, because Rackspace puts me in a position where I can do just that.

Donning his culinary cape and cowl, this digital dining defender launched the modern equivalent of a Batarang.

He opened a chat window via Facebooks support portal  a resource available to larger business accounts like Rackspace  and soon reached the sympathetic ear of an Austin-based Facebook support staffer known only as Stephanie.

These ratings really make a difference for local businesses and it looks like they were maliciously targeted by someone tho unleashed a bot army, Heath wrote during the chat session. If you could help raise this to your fraud department, this would be a HUGE help.

Within hours, the reputations of both businesses had been restored with the removal of the more than 1,800 bot-generated reviews.

The damaging marks werent hard to identify. They all appeared as one-star reviews from foreign accounts left without any commentary. And they all arrived rapidly, with roughly 300 hitting The Cookhouse in a 30-minute window and more than 1,400 bombing Wrigleyville Grill over a four-hour stretch.

When all was said and done, The Cookhouse and Wrigleyville actually came out slightly ahead. The restaurants had shared their woes online asked for their fans to write positive reviews to offset the negative ones.

The outpouring was immediate. Fans flocked in to drop hundreds of glowing five-star reviews, and now that the many one-star reviews are gone, the two spots ended up with slightly higher ratings than before the bot attack.

The Cookhouse, which is considered one of the citys best restaurants by Express-News critics, went from a 4.8 out of five before the attack to a 4.9, and Wrigleyville now has a 4.9, too  both are among the highest marks in the city on Facebook.

I was pleasantly surprised, said Wrigleyville owner Jimmy Tingas, who expressed frustration with his inability to connect directly with the social media juggernaut via his restaurants own Facebook page. It was disappointing. I thought for sure Facebook would take it down right away. Its obvious a thousand reviews in less than four hours is fraudulent.

Heath, a food lover and an entrepreneur himself through his food blog, SA Flavor, said he could relate to the headache.

It wasnt the first time hed lent a hand to the citys culinary community, either. About a year ago he used the same channels to aid Friendly Spot owner Jody Newman, who found her business page temporarily sabotaged with offensive adult content after it was hacked.

I think they were going through the right channels. But a lot of these efforts can take a little while to resolve, Heath said of efforts by the Cookhouse and Wrigleyville Grill to address the problem. Facebook would have resolved the problem eventually. I just wanted to help accelerate it.

Neither establishment was aware Heath chose to act on their behalf. But the results were noticed immediately.

I didnt know who the person was, but at 8 p.m. 1,600 one-star reviews got deleted, Tingas said after learning Heaths identity. I had no clue how it happened. We just put it out there to our friends and customers on Facebook and were just hoping someone knew someone who could do something about it.  Thank God there are good people out there.

Cookhouse owners Pieter and Susan Sypesteyn swapped a few messages with Heath, who let them know what we was up to. Susan Sypesteyn said a regular customer at the Cookhouse who works for Facebook (but did not wish to be identified) also offered assistance.

I dont know who to give credit to. Were just thankful to both people, she said, adding that she had no ill feelings toward Facebook and appreciates social media venues that help her promote the restaurant. I think it was everyone that played a role in it. Being kind to people really pays.

The cleanse didnt remove all negative remarks, however, just the ones that clearly were computer generated. The slightly-less-than-perfect grades are a result of the few actual diners who weighed in negatively before the bogus attack.

Tingas doesnt begrudge those knocks.

Those are honest reviews. Were not perfect, and the food doesnt always come out perfect, he said. You learn from your mistakes. We look at all our reviews, especially the bad ones, and take that to heart. You put your work hat back on and get to it.
Houston Community College trustees are expected to vote Thursday to fill the vice chair position vacated last month by Chris Oliver, who was convicted of taking $12,000 in bribes from May 2015 to May 2016.

In what the agenda shows will be a wide-ranging meeting on Thursday, trustees also will begin preparing for fall trustee elections, assess the chancellor and the boards performance for the year and consider disciplining vendors and contractors for ethics violations.
MILFORD >> The advocacy group Milford Speaks Out is celebrating immigrants with its first Thanks for Coming!! award, with a winner to be announced in November.

Dave Duffner, who is on the groups Immigration Committee, said the award is an effort to create a unifying approach.

The group is taking nominations through Sept. 15 and forms are available on bulletin boards at City Hall, the Chamber of Commerce, Milford Public Library, the Senior Center and the Parsons Government Center. A form can also be obtained by emailing dlduffner@yahoo.com.

Duffner said the award will recognize the service of immigrants, provide role models and inform people in general of immigrants achievements.

Duffner said the award is open to foreign-born Americans with a Milford connection. Nominees must have made a substantial contribution to the health, civic or economic life of Milford or, while a resident of Milford, made a significant contribution to the civic, cultural, social, economic, health, family or educational life of Connecticut or the United States.

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The award will be given on a day close to Thanksgiving that will be proclaimed Immigration Day in Milford, he said.

Candidates must have been in the country for at least 10 years  they need not be continuous  and a naturalized citizen, or have formally applied for U.S. citizenship, according to the application form.

The proclamation is not complete, but Duffner has a rough draft that quotes the Declaration of Independences sentiment that: all men are created equal and  endowed with  unalienable rights  Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness, Duffner wrote in an email.

He said it may also mention the words on the Statue of Liberty: Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.

Duffner said the draft proclamation says: Immigration provided the labor and energy to build our transportation systems, to populate our farms, to fill our factories and, in turn, to consume our goods and services and to defend our country.

Duffner said the draft of the proclamation alsosays the inspirations and innovations from first-generation immigrants from Alexander Hamilton to David Sarnoff to Albert Einstein to Madeleine Albright to Yo-Yo Ma to Sergey Brin increased the prosperity, education and security of all Americans.

The draft proclamation also includes words to convey that the immigrants cultural practices, religious beliefs, artistic achievements, and charitable works influenced and modified the American experience and, in turn, were themselves modified by their encounter with daily American life.

Mayor Ben Blake said that since November is a few months away, no proclamation has been formally drafted.

But Blake said hell likely highlight that Thanksgiving Day is one of Americas most beloved and widely celebrated holidays  whether descendants of the original colonists or new residents, we all join with family and friends to give thanks for the blessings of freedom, peace and plenty.

Milford Speaks Out researched months ago having Milford designated as a sanctuary city, but found that move unnecessary after discussions with the city police chief, who said the state and city already have strong laws protecting undocumented workers.

Milford Speaks Out steering committee members said at the time in a press release that they explored the issue, because of increased detentions and deportations of undocumented immigrants by the federal government.

In May, Milford Speaks Out presented a talk by a Muslim couple in order to help counter stereotypes and misperceptions.
1 New Democrats: A group of prominent Democrats is organizing outside of the party with the goal of winning elections in Republican-dominated Middle America. Calling themselves New Democracy, organizers say theyll push ideas and back candidates in rural areas and suburban enclaves that they say Democrats too often have abandoned. The group includes sitting and former governors, onetime Cabinet members and members of Congress and statehouses. Among them are Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, former Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Mayor Mitch Landrieu of New Orleans, who leads the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

2 Sexual assault: Authorities in Ohio say a woman posted Snapchat video of herself being raped, and a friend who saw it alerted police. Ottawa County Prosecutor James VanEerten says he believes the video clearly shows a sexual assault taking place, but its unclear whether the young woman live-streamed the attack or posted the video shortly afterward. Police in Danbury Township near Marblehead say they arrested 77-year-old James Allen on a rape charge Tuesday, the day the video was posted. Allen is being held on a $1 million bond. He appeared in court Wednesday and told a judge he didnt have an attorney but plans on hiring one. VanEerten says it appears the woman was impaired while recording the video. Hes asking people to stop sharing it on social media.
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After seven thwarted attempts, Montgomery County has finally succeeded in setting yet another execution date for its only death row convict, a Willis man who raped a 19-year-old coed before strangling her with panty hose nearly two decades ago.

Larry Swearingen, convicted of killing Montgomery College student Melissa Trotter in 1998 and dumping her body in the Sam Houston National Forest, is slated to meet his fate in Huntsville's death chamber on Nov. 16, a judge ruled late Wednesday.

"It still won't bring back Melissa," her mother, Sandy Trotter said in July.

PRISON GANG MEMBER DIES: Houston killer never makes it to Texas death chamber

"There are no winners in this because we still don't have Melissa."

Victim advocate Andy Kahan said it's been a "painstaking" wait for the Trotter family.



"Even when you finally believe that you're going to achieve justice, until it actually happens you're questioning whether the actual execution will take place or not," he said.

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HISTORIC LOWS: Texas death penalty is on the downswing



And in Swearingen's case, those questions are particularly well placed.



This is the state's eighth effort to get Swearingen's execution on the calendar. At least four times, similar requests yielded a death date, but every time the Court of Criminal Appeals stayed the execution.

But it is those repeated bids for testing that have become the hallmark of Swearingen's legal case. For years, his lawyers have insisted that crime scene DNA taken from evidence near Trotter's body could hold the keys to prove his innocence. But prosecutors - and higher courts - have deemed such testing unnecessary.

At least twice, a trial court judge sided with Swearingen's testing requests - but each time the state slapped down the lower court's grant, ruling that new DNA wouldn't be enough to counter the "mountain of evidence" pointing to Swearingen's guilt.

Swearingen and Trotter were seen in the college's library together on Dec. 8, 1998 - the day of the teen's disappearance. Afterward, a biology teacher spotted Trotter leaving the school with a man. Hair and fiber evidence later showed that she'd been in Swearingen's car and home the day she vanished.

The killer's wife testified that she came home that evening to find the place in disarray - and in the middle of it all were Trotter's lighter and cigarettes. Swearingen later filed a false burglary report, claiming his home had been broken into while he was out of town.

That afternoon, Swearingen placed a call routed through a cell tower near FM 1097 in Willis - a spot he would have passed while heading from his house to the Sam Houston National Forest where Trotter's decomposing body was found 25 days later.

"A too trusting 19-year-old in the wrong place at the wrong time," Sandy Trotter said, recalling her daughter's death. "It's just every parent's nightmare."

Swearingen was convicted and sentenced to death in 2000. He went on to file what prosecutors described as "an abundance of habeas corpus applications, pro se motions, mandamus petitions, civil-right actions, and amended pleadings in both state and federal courts."

The state's Court of Criminal Appeals rejected all seven of Swearingen's habeas appeals, and in July a federal district court slapped down a civil suit seeking to win the convicted killer more DNA testing.

Through it all, Swearingen maintained his innocence.

"The way I look at it, I'm a POW of Texas," the former electrician has told the media. "It's my army against their army."

Even though his bids for more testing ultimately didn't pan out, Swearingen's DNA complaints sparked charges in state law in 2015. That year, lawmakers expanded access to testing by removing the requirement that the accused prove biological material - like saliva, sweat or skin cells - exists before testing evidence for it.

But no amount of DNA evidence would be enough to exonerate the convicted killer, prosecutors say.

Visiting Judge J.D. Langley greenlit Wednesday's decision in the 9th state District Court after Judge Phil Grant recused himself from the case in June 2016 given his prior involvement as a prosecutor during his time in the District Attorney's office.

"It appears there is no necessity for an evidentiary hearing related to any issue raised in either the motion or the response," Langley wrote.

"The court can find no reason to further delay the imposition of the sentence."

Even at this late date in legal saga, Montgomery County prosecutor Bill Delmore still anticipates pushback from Swearingen's attorneys.



"I would say I'm cautiously optimistic that if there's an execution date we might finally see the culmination of this case," he said. "But I fully expect the attorneys for Swearingen to request another stay and they've been very tenacious in the past."



Even before the judge's decision, Swearingen's attorney James Rytting said he planned to file a motion opposing the execution date because DNA from a rape kit and the murder weapon had not yet been tested.



"How can you not test a rape kit?" he asked.

Just weeks before Langley issued his decision, Texas executed another convicted killer, Taichin Preyor. The San Antonio man was sentenced to death for killing a woman who sold him drugs. His attorneys filed a flurry of appeals, arguing that former lawyers who worked on the case were "utterly unqualified."

Even with the addition of Swearingen's death date to the calendar, the Lone Star State's use of capital punishment has been in a long-term downward slide.

So far, Huntsville has seen five executions in 2017, with another six - including Swearingen's - on the calendar. Another is already slated for early 2018, just days after all of the state's current supplies of lethal injection drugs expire, according to information obtained through a July public records request.

The last time a Montgomery County killer saw the death chamber was in 2012, when Jonathan Green was executed for strangling and sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl.

Afterward, he first buried the body, then dug it up and stashed it inside his house, behind a chair.

On Thursday morning, Sandy Trotter was overcome with emotion upon hearing word of Langley's decision.

"I'm so cautious - it's for the fifth time, is it really going to happen?" she said.

"I know his attorneys are going to be filing appeals. But surely it will happen this time. It's like a dark cloud hanging over us for all these years."
For years, former Former Dayton city councilwoman Eliza May Guidry was a formidable force on council, finding few who would oppose her, a strong woman who was out to bring about the best for Dayton. On Saturday, her world was shattered.

The phone rang and the voice on the other end told her there had been a terrible accident on SH 321. The shocking news from her niece was that her beloved brother Charles Gates was involved.

Guidry gathered her things and flew out of the house and drove down to the accident.

She arrived at a chaotic scene with flashing lights and an ambulance in the distance loading her brother. The ambulance quickly left the scene and drove immediately to the Dayton Community Center where there is a helicopter landing pad and Liza May jumped in her car and followed. When she arrived, just moments behind the ambulance, the paramedic exited the ambulance and asked if there was a next of kin. The Life Flight helicopter had arrived and was ready to transfer her gravely injured brother.

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"I wanted to say something to my brother," she said.

The doctor asked for the nearest relative as they opened the doors.

"They told me where they were taking him and I asked if I could say something to my brother," she said.

Guidry said she knew he was heavily sedated, but knew in her heart that he could hear her.

She said his eyes caught hers and she leaned in and spoke to him.

"I told him how much I loved him and we were praying for him and the Lord loves you as well," she said.

Her final words to him were, "It's okay."

Charles E. Gates, who just celebrated his 70th birthday in May, died later that afternoon at Memorial Hermann Hospital from injuries sustained in the accident. Gates was a 1967 graduate of Colbert High School in Dayton.

The accident report, released by Dayton Police Department on Thursday, Aug. 10, states that the accident that claimed Gates was the result of a tractor-trailer failing to stop at the intersection and striking Gates' vehicle. The truck driver, Christopher Webb, 45, of Red Bank, Tenn., was southbound on SH 321 when he "did disregard the red light at the intersection of SH 321 and Linney Street," the report states.

"In doing so, he struck a passenger car driven by Charles Gates, 70, of Dayton, as he was attempting to cross SH 321 traveling east on Linney Street, causing Gates' vehicle to skid into and strike a vehicle driven by Maria Piedra, 28, of Houston," the report continues.

FAMILY SEEKS ACTION

On Monday, Aug. 7, a heartbroken and frustrated Guidry addressed city council, demanding something be done about the speeding in the city, particularly on SH 321.

"In case you don't know me or know what happened, my brother was the one killed on Saturday on Linney and 321," she told the council. "I come to you as my first stop. Something has to be done in this city to stop the running of the red light at Walgreens. The light at Winfree and US 90 has no meaning. We've had more accidents since we got the light [on Linney] than before we had the light.

"There are trees that are blocking the view of the red light on 321 that need to be addressed," Guidry pointed out. "That's the highway department's job but I tell you because it needs to be done. I had a rough day yesterday (Sunday after her brother was killed). Somebody needs to do something with this traffic flying through our city."

Then she turned to Dayton Police Chief John Headrick.

"Policemen, thank you for all that you do," she said as she looked toward Headrick. "I know you can't be everywhere, but I'm pleading with you, stop them. Give them a ticket. I don't care if we become the ticket capital of the state.

"Yes, I hurt, but I didn't hurt so much not to come down here and address this," she said. "I'm here because I appreciate all that Dayton has done for me and that's why I'm here. I'm going to start some noise."

The bitter irony is just moments later the council took action approving an ordinance lowering the speed zones in the very area 56 hours earlier where Gates was killed, but their action was not because of his death.

"We started the study last year and it takes us a while to complete," said Ted Clay, P.E., transportation operations and engineering supervisor at the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). They come out to the area in question and manually check the speeds on vehicles, log it, and check the crashes the last three years as part of their investigation.

"We look for a concentrated area," he said. They also had to consider the school zone.

The speed reductions will occur from just north of Paul Street at the bridge and south to Linney Street.

According to the ordinance that was passed by council, the present 55 mph zone will be reduced to 50 mph to the south end at the school zone and reduced to 45 mph to Linney Street where the existing speed is presently 45 mph.

The city received notification of the ordinance and speed change on June 2, 2017, but it didn't make it onto the council agenda until Aug. 7, two months later.

The survey date was July 19, 2016, nearly 13 months ago.

According to the speed zone strip map proposed by TxDOT, there has been 11 major accidents and now one fatality between Paul Street through the front of the high school in recent years.

"We started getting reports from our Austin office on accidents that trigger us or initiates a study," he said. The studies may also be requested by citizens or the city to have reductions.

Clay said that once the ordinance has passed and they receive notification, they will send a request to their area maintenance office that oversees Liberty County and requests the signs go up.

"It could be within one or two weeks once they receive the request," he said.

The city of Hardin recently made the request for speed limit reductions and Clay said they worked with them to accomplish that as well.

Clay also addressed the tree limbs issue.

"Anytime they see something like that, our sign crew will go out and trim limbs that may be blocking any of our signs or signals. We just need to hear about it," he said.

Chief Headrick told the Dayton News following the meeting that they planned on hitting the area hard with patrol, particularly when the signs go up to make sure the public is aware of the reductions.

For Guidry, who has lived in the same house since 1967, she will help plan another funeral and the action by council is welcome, but too late for her loved one. And, it's not certain that the reduced speed would have helped.

"He was quiet, but he had a happy spirit," Guidry said.

On June 9 of this year, Gates buried his wife. Almost exactly two months later, his eldest daughter will now bury her father.
WASHINGTON - Federal prosecutors will not file criminal charges against a D.C. police officer who shot and killed an unarmed motorcyclist last year, saying they did not find enough evidence to pursue a case, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced Wednesday.

Officer Brian Trainer was a passenger in a police cruiser early the morning of Sept. 11, 2016 when he and a partner blocked the path of a motorcycle driven by 31-year-old Terrence Sterling. The Fort Washington, Maryland, man had been spotted driving erratically.

Trainer, 28, was climbing out of the car to make a traffic stop when Sterling "revved his motorcycle and then accelerated," toward the cruiser, the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement. The officer felt the motorcycle hit the door and "reacted by immediately firing two rounds at Mr. Sterling through his front passenger window." Sterling was struck in his neck and his side.

That night, Sterling had reached speeds of more than 100 miles per hour and run red lights, including one instance where he sped through a stoplight after looking at the officers, according to the statement. An autopsy determined Sterling's blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit and he tested positive for marijuana.

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"After a careful, thorough, and independent review of the evidence, federal prosecutors have found insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the officer willfully used unreasonable force and/or was not acting in self-defense when he discharged his service weapon at Mr. Sterling," according to the statement.

No D.C. police officer has ever been charged criminally for a fatal on-duty shooting, according to a city-sponsored, 2016 report on the District's police shootings entitled The Durability of Police Reform: The Metropolitan Police Department and Use of Force. The report was commissioned by D.C. Auditor Kathleen Patterson.

Though Trainer will not face criminal charges, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, D, said the police department has asked him to resign. "I do not believe there can be real accountability if the officer remains on the force," Bowser said in a statement.

Trainer, who has been on the force for four years and is on administrative leave, will now face an internal investigation into whether his conduct before and at the time of the shooting conformed with department policy. The officer could not be reached for comment.

Wednesday's announcement came after prosecutors met for nearly two hours with Sterling's father, Isaac, and the family's attorney Jason Downs to explain their findings.

"My son was loved by his family, his community, and the community at large. You all have not heard yet the enormity of the loss of my son," Isaac Sterling said outside the U.S. Attorney's Office. "He was a very well loved person."

Downs said he was "outraged" to learn from prosecutors that they presented the case to a grand jury, but did not allow the grand jury to take a vote on whether to charge the officer.

"That is disappointing and frustrating. It frustrates the purpose of our system," Downs said. "After sitting through so much evidence, grand jurors should have been given the right to vote this up or down. The prosecutor's office took that decision away from them."

William Miller, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office declined to comment on Downs' comments. But prosecutors have said it is not uncommon to use a grand jury to investigate a case and that the government does not always seek an indictment.

The decision not to charge prompted immediate response from some local political leaders. Charles Allen, D-Ward 6, who chairs the D.C. Council oversight committee on public safety affairs, said that he is "frustrated" that the community has waited months for action from prosecutors only to reach a decision he expects will cause a rift between residents and law enforcement.

"I think it has done a lot of damage and it takes a lot to heal from that," Allen said of the prosecutors' decision and the shooting. "I think it's going to be hard for the community to heal from this."

Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton criticized the decision to not charge the officer.

"We have seen far too many police shootings of unarmed African-Americans in our country, and the public is frustrated by the difficulty in getting prosecutions of officers," she said in a statement.

Questions arose over the circumstances of the shooting, partly because Trainer did not activate his body worn camera until one to three minutes after the shooting. In an unusual move, Bowser broke with police policy after the incident and ordered Trainer to be publicly identified to demonstrate transparency amid concern from the public.

Although Sterling's case never gained the national attention of some other police shootings of unarmed suspects across the country, marches and vigils were held in the area in the weeks and months afterward. On Wednesday night, several dozen people gathered near the scene of the shooting, where they prayed, sang and called on the city to fire Trainer

The case may still be heard in civil court. Sterling's family filed a $50 million lawsuit against the District and its police department.

The Sterling family alleges that Trainer and his partner may have violated multiple D.C. police regulations. They question whether the officers improperly chased Sterling, whether the police cruiser was improperly used as a barricade and whether Trainer may have improperly fired at a moving vehicle or improperly fired from within a cruiser.

His family believes that on the night of his death, Sterling, a motorcycle enthusiast who worked as an HVAC technician, was headed to the home he shared with his parents.

The altercation between Sterling and police began about 4:20 a.m. on Sept. 11 when officers got a call about a motorcycle driving erratically. Later, police saw the motorcycle in northwest D.C., near the Third Street Tunnel, and pulled into an intersection ahead of the biker.

Prosecutors determined Trainer had unholstered his gun, keeping it pointed down and toward his body, as he began to get out of the car. Sterling drove toward the cruiser and "the impact caused by the advancing motorcycle caused a dent in the cruiser's open door and a bruise to the officer's knee," prosecutors said in the statement.

Two witnesses interviewed by The Washington Post in the weeks after the incident said that the crash did not appear deliberate and they thought that Sterling was trying to move around the police car.

One of the witnesses, Howard Dorsey Jr., was waiting at a stoplight when he saw Sterling straddling his motorcycle and then walk the cycle into the crosswalk ahead. Seconds later, Dorsey said, a police car pulled into the intersection in front of him, blocking the left lane.

Dorsey said the motorcyclist accelerated to between 5 mph and 10 mph. The right lane was open, he said, but the biker steered left.

Just then, a police officer opened the front passenger door a few inches, Dorsey said. He said the motorcycle's front tire hit the door with enough force to dent it, but no more.

"That's when he let off the shots," said Dorsey. "The cops said no words, nothing. No 'freeze.' "

The shooting prompted D.C. police to update their policy on body cameras, and officers are now required to confirm with dispatchers that their cameras are on when they respond to calls.

---

The Washington Post's Ellie Silverman and Wesley Lowery contributed to this report.
Radhames Rodriguez is using a rare tobacco and special wrapper to roll 50,000 of his new premium cigars, the Pulita, in the Dominican Republic. U.S. aficionados shouldn't get their hopes up though -- the limited-edition cigar won't be on sale anywhere near them.

Named after Rodriguez's grandfather, who started the business sixty years ago, the Pulita will only be marketed in Europe. That's because Rodriguez can't face the headache and cost of complying with the Food and Drug Administration's new tobacco regulations.

"It just costs too much and takes too much time," said Rodriguez, vice president of Tabacalera El Artista. "We're going to focus on the German and Italian markets instead."

Since August last year, every time Artista or other cigar makers introduce a new product, they must gain approval from U.S. authorities at the cost of tens of thousands of dollars or more. The result? Business is down by a third this year at the El Artista factory in the fertile Cibao Valley, one of the world's largest premium and limited-edition cigar makers.

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Across the Caribbean country, producers are grappling with FDA regulations. Some are temporarily cutting production in hopes President Donald Trump's administration will rescind the rules. Others are spurning the U.S. entirely, choosing to sell their new specialty products in Europe and Asia, where China is set to overtake the U.S. as the world's largest consumer of cigars.

Rodriguez said he would have to pay for approval for each of the five sizes of the Pulita he had planned on producing.

"We would price ourselves out of the market in the U.S.," Rodriguez said.

Typically more than a thousand special editions or new releases are introduced each year, though they make up only a fraction of the 315 million premium cigars produced annually. They are often sought after by aficionados for their unique taste and commemorative value.

"The FDA regulations are creating a situation in which these new, exciting cigars won't be available in the U.S.," said Hendrik Kelner, president of the Association of Dominican Cigar Manufacturers, and vice chairman of Tabadom Holding Inc., which produces Davidoff brand cigars. Regulators are creating a new "forbidden fruit" for U.S. smokers similar to Cuban cigars.

The FDA included premium cigars when it decided to review regulations for tobacco products, including hookahs and e-cigarettes, for health reasons. In late July, the agency said it would review scientific data and consumption patterns related to premium cigars.

Still, the number of cigars introduced at the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers trade show in Las Vegas in July was down about 30 percent compared with last year, according to the cigar publication Halfwheel, the term for a bundle of cigars.

Sales in the U.S., forecast to reach about $7.9 billion this year, are projected to grow by less than 2 percent a year through 2021, off from the double-digit growth the industry had seen in previous years, according to Euromonitor International. Meanwhile, the Chinese market is expected to grow from $7.9 billion this year to $11 billion in 2021.

"The future of the premium cigar industry in the U.S. is uncertain," Rodriguez said. "So we're going to keep working hard on other markets where we're not under such a big threat."
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FBI agents raided the home in Alexandria, Virginia, of President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, arriving in the pre-dawn hours late last month and seizing documents and other materials related to the special counsel investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

The raid, which occurred without warning on July 26, signaled an aggressive new approach by special counsel Robert Mueller and his team in dealing with a key figure in the Russia inquiry. Manafort has been under increasing pressure as the Mueller team looked into his personal finances and his professional career as a highly paid foreign political consultant.

Using a search warrant, agents appeared the day Manafort was scheduled to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee and a day after he met voluntarily with Senate Intelligence Committee staff members.

The search warrant requested documents related to tax, banking and other matters. People familiar with the search said agents departed the Manafort residence with a trove of material, including binders prepared ahead of Manafort's congressional testimony.

Investigators in the Russia inquiry have previously sought documents with subpoenas, which are less intrusive and confrontational than a search warrant. With a warrant, agents can inspect a physical location and seize any useful information.

"I think it adds a shock and awe enforcement component to what until now has followed a natural path for a white-collar investigation," said Jacob Frenkel, a former federal prosecutor. "More so than anything else we've seen so far, it really does send a powerful law enforcement message when the search warrant is used. . . . That message is that the special counsel team will use all criminal investigative tools available to advance the investigation as quickly and as comprehensively as possible."

Jason Maloni, a spokesman for Manafort, confirmed that agents executed a warrant at one of the political consultant's homes and that Manafort cooperated with the search.

Manafort has been voluntarily providing documents to congressional committees investigating Russia's election interference. The search warrant indicates that investigators may have argued to a federal judge that they had reason to think Manafort could not be trusted to turn over all records in response to a grand jury subpoena.

The raid also could have been intended to send a message to Trump's former campaign chairman that he should not expect gentle treatment or legal courtesies from Mueller's team members, who already have begun combing through Manafort's complicated financial past.

The documents seized in the raid include materials Manafort already had provided to Congress, said people familiar with the search, and the significance of what was obtained remained unclear Wednesday evening.

"If the FBI wanted the documents, they could just ask [Manafort] and he would have turned them over," said one adviser close to the White House.

Josh Stueve, spokesman for Mueller, declined to comment, as did Reginald Brown, an attorney for Manafort.

"Mr. Manafort has consistently cooperated with law enforcement and other serious inquiries and did so on this occasion as well," said Maloni, the Manafort spokesman.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., a member of the Judiciary Committee and a former U.S. attorney, called the search "a significant and even stunning development," noting that such raids are generally reserved for "the most serious criminal investigations dealing with uncooperative or untrusted potential targets."

"A federal judge signing this warrant would demand persuasive evidence of probable cause that a serious crime has been committed and that less intrusive and dramatic investigative means would be ineffective," he said in a statement.

Mueller has increased legal pressure on Manafort, consolidating under his authority unrelated investigations of various aspects of Manafort's professional and personal life.

Manafort's allies fear that Mueller hopes to build a case against Manafort unrelated to the 2016 campaign, in hopes that he would provide information against others in Trump's inner circle in exchange for lessening his legal exposure.

Manafort has provided more than 300 pages of documents to the Senate Judiciary Committee, and the Senate and House intelligence committees. The information includes notes Manafort took while attending a meeting with Donald Trump Jr. and a Russian lawyer at Trump Tower in June 2016.

Emails show that Trump Jr. accepted the meeting and invited Manafort after he was told that the Russian lawyer would provide damaging information about Democrat Hillary Clinton as part of a Russian government effort to assist his father's campaign.

The special counsel's office has subpoenaed records and testimony related to the Trump Tower meeting, people familiar with the investigation said.

Last week, the Trump campaign turned over more than 20,000 pages of documents to congressional investigators examining Russian efforts to influence the election. Manafort and Trump Jr. separately turned over hundreds of documents requested by congressional committees.

Manafort had been subpoenaed to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee on July 26, the day of the raid. Ultimately, however, the subpoena was withdrawn, and he did not testify. Committee Chairman Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Calif., the panel's ranking Democrat, said in a joint statement that they had dropped the demand after Manafort began producing documents.

Manafort, an experienced political operative who was once a business partner of Trump confidante Roger Stone, was hired to professionalize the Trump campaign at the recommendation of another Trump friend, Tom Barrack, an international real estate investor.

As a political consultant, Manafort traveled the world, at times offering advice to despots and dictators.

His decade of work in Ukraine on behalf of a Russia-friendly political party has drawn attention from the FBI. In Kiev, he advised the Party of Regions, helping to elect former president Viktor Yanukovych, who was ousted from power amid public protests in 2014 and fled to Russia.

A few days after attending the Trump Tower meeting in June 2016 at the urging of Trump Jr., Manafort was named chairman of Trump's campaign, following the ouster of campaign manager Corey Lewandowski. Manafort remained in that role through the Republican National Convention and into August, when he resigned amid growing scrutiny of his work in Ukraine. The New York Times reported at the time that his name was found in a ledger of off-the-books cash payments made by the Party of Regions. Manafort has denied receiving any improper payments from the party.

Still, the work was lucrative. In June, Manafort filed Foreign Agents Registration Act paperwork with the Justice Department providing new details about his work in Ukraine. The documents showed that his firm was paid $17.1 million for its work in Ukraine over two years before expenses.

Manafort's retroactive filing about his Ukraine work came as investigators scrutinized his foreign lobbying and began to aggressively probe his financial past.

During the spring, prosecutors issued subpoenas seeking information about his income sources and financial transactions. One subpoena reviewed by The Washington Post sought information "concerning contracts for work . . . communication or other records of correspondence" related to about two dozen people and businesses that appeared to be connected to Manafort or his wife, including some who worked for Manafort while he was a political consultant in Ukraine.

The subpoena was issued by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia, where Manafort's consulting business has been located. Also named in the subpoena were various corporations formed in Cyprus. Manafort appeared to have routed money he earned in Ukraine and in business dealings with a Russian business magnate through Cyprus-based bank accounts.

After Mueller was appointed, his team took over the Manafort investigation that was underway in Virginia.

State authorities in New York also have issued subpoenas seeking information about Manafort's real estate loans.

And Mueller's office has taken over an investigation of financial dealings that involved Manafort and his son-in-law, a real estate investor, including real estate transactions in California.

---

The Washington Post's Philip Rucker, Matt Zapotosky and Julie Tate contributed to this report.

---

Four controversial figures Paul Manafort did business with

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A much-needed project by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is approaching the final stages of planning, but before proceeding, the agency is offering the public the ability to request a hearing on the social, economic and environmental effects of the proposed location and design for this project.

TxDOT has said it has completed a draft environmental assessment (EA) and the document is available for public review.

Add to that the potential of a public meeting and the agency will have satisfied requirements to proceed with their plans to improve 4.7 miles of existing alignment of US 59 extending from Fostoria Road near the Montgomery/Liberty County line to State Loop 573 in Liberty County. Currently, US 59 narrows at the Montgomery-Liberty county line just north of Splendora from six lanes to four.

According to an estimate from Omar X. DeLeon, P. E., TxDOT area engineer for the Liberty office, the project is estimated to cost $112 million.

The scope of the project is to expand the existing four-lane divided highway to a six lanes with continuous two-lane frontage roads in each direction.

TxDOT will be replacing or adding bridges at Pin Oak Road, the East Fork of the San Jacinto River, and at the connector to Loop 105, according to information from the TxDOT website.

Sidewalks would be installed on the outside of the proposed southbound frontage road. The project also includes constructing 8-foot wide shared use lanes for bicycles on the northbound and southbound frontage lanes, and would improve drainage in the area.

Approximately 24 acres of new right-of-way will be required for the improvements. The proposed project would potentially impact covered parking, a gasoline dispensing area and displace two commercial businesses. The names of the businesses affected were not readily available at press time.

"TxDOT has a relocation assistance process that is handled by our Right of Way Division," said DeLeon.

According to TxDOT, the proposed project is located within the 100-year floodplain. The hydraulic design for the proposed project would be in accordance with current TxDOT and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) design policies and standards.

A total of 4.40 acres of waters of the United States were found within the proposed project ROW, consisting of 1.65 acres of jurisdictional waters and 2.75 acres of adjacent wetlands.

The draft EA, maps showing the project location and design, the tentative construction schedule, and other information relative to the project are on file and available for inspection Monday through Friday between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. at the TxDOT Beaumont District Office.

DeLeon said the funding has already been approved and the project is scheduled to let in the fall of 2018.

DeLeon couldn't say exactly just yet how long the project would take to complete.

"The construction schedule will be determined when the final plans are completed," he said.

Traffic is a major concern for commuters along US 59.

"The traffic control plan is part of the plan set and is still to be finalized," the engineer said.

According to a study, the 2015 average daily traffic (ADT) within the project area was 35,200.

"Based on our projections that number will reach 53,100 in 2035," DeLeon said, "but that number is subject to change."

With the expectation of thousands of more homes in the northern end of the county, particularly around Cleveland, that number could accelerate quickly. Montgomery County, noted as one of the fastest growing counties in the nation, would also stand to benefit from the expansion.

There is a significant difference between a public meeting and a hearing. The public hearing is much more formal and the proceedings are overseen by a presiding officer who also ensures that a complete record is kept.

The hearing is usually held after project location and design studies are developed and the environmental review document is considered technically complete, says the TxDOT website.

A hearing is held prior to a final decision to gather community comments from all interested parties for the official public record.

Anyone in the community can request a public hearing and it must be submitted in writing on or before Friday, Aug. 25, 2017.

The request may be mailed to TxDOT Beaumont District Office, Attn: Planning Engineer, 8350 Eastex Freeway, Beaumont, Texas, 77708.
The dueling threats issued by President Donald Trump and the North Korean military have prompted questions about U.S. procedures to launch a preemptive nuclear attack. The answer is stark: If the president wants to strike, his senior military advisers have few options but carry it out or resign.

The arrangement has existed for decades, but is salient after Trump warned Tuesday that future threats by North Korea will be "met with fire and fury and frankly power, the likes of which this world has never seen before."

Pyongyang responded by saying it is considering a preemptive missile strike against Guam, and Trump doubled down on his remarks Thursday by refusing take a U.S. preemptive strike off the table and suggesting his comments might not have been tough enough.

"I don't talk about it," Trump said of a potential preemptive strike. "We'll see what happens."

Administration officials, including Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, have sought to ease the tension, while at the time same time warning North Korea that if it carries out an attack, it will be met with a crushing response. But they also have underscored that it is Trump's prerogative to use whatever rhetoric he believes is appropriate as commander in chief.

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"I was not elected. The American people elected the president," Mattis told reporters traveling with him Wednesday to the West Coast. "The rhetoric is up to the president."

The "fire and fury" controversy has renewed questions among critics about whether Trump has the appropriate temperament to control the U.S. nuclear arsenal. It also follows a Defense Intelligence Agency assessment, first reported Tuesday, that North Korea has successfully produced a miniaturized nuclear warhead that can fit inside its missiles.

During his campaign, Trump promised that he would "do everything in my power never to be in a position where we will have to use nuclear power." But he also repeatedly declined to say whether he would use nuclear weapons first in a conflict. On Thursday, he said he would like to "de-nuke the world," but that until other countries get rid of their nuclear weapons, "we will be the most powerful nuclear nation in the world, by far."

A December 2016 assessment by the Congressional Research Service stated that the president "does not need the concurrence of either his military advisors or the U.S. Congress to order the launch of nuclear weapons." Additionally, the assessment said, "neither the military nor Congress can overrule these orders."

The reason is simple: The system is set up for the United States to launch an attack within minutes, so that if the United States is under a nuclear attack, it can respond almost instantly, said Bruce Blair, a former nuclear watch officer. Trump would presumably meet with Mattis, Chief of Staff John Kelly, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Joseph Dunford and Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, the White House national security adviser before launching a preemptive attack, but it would "really be uncharted territory" if they sought to stall or slow down an order from the president, Blair said.

Under the existing War Powers Act of 1973, the president also is not required to seek congressional approval for any military action until 60 days after the start of a war. Two lawmakers, Rep. Ted Liu, D.-Calif., and Sen. Edward Markey, D.-Mass., sought to stop the president from launching a first-strike nuclear attack until Congress declares war with new legislation in January, but the effort hasn't gone anywhere and is unlikely to with Republicans controlling both chambers of Congress.

Jeffrey Lewis, an expert on nuclear matters at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, said that he has mixed feelings about the legislation proposed, but "it would be better than what we have now." Trump, he said, is a "walking, one-man campaign for ending nuclear deterrence," the long-held U.S. policy in which it maintains a robust nuclear arsenal in order to prevent other countries from launching a nuclear attack.

But Lewis argued it also would be irresponsible to give any president control of nuclear weapons, but then create a system under which they cannot be used. It would be better, Lewis said, to maintain a small number of nuclear weapons to be used only if attacked.

Steven Hayward, a conservative policy scholar, said that if Trump's senior military advisers stood united against carrying out a preemptive nuclear strike, the "real remedy would be resignation." Hypothetically, doing so might trigger impeachment proceedings, Hayward said, but it isn't clear whether it would be quick enough to stop the president from launching an attack.

"It could happen," Hayward said. "It would be pretty dramatic and it would very unclear what would happen, but it could happen. We're really in uncharted waters here."

Bruce Ackerman, a professor of law and political science at Yale University, said that the principle of civilian control of the military also looms large - "even when the civilian in control is as unpredictable and belligerent as President Trump." Latin American nations have modeled their constitutions along American lines, and their experiences suggest that terrible consequences follow when generals defy their presidents, even under compelling circumstances.

"Worse yet, once the principle is violated, it becomes a precedent for future generals to take the law into their own hands," Ackerman said. "We cannot allow this dynamic to take hold here. If Trump's team can't convince him, they should obey the orders of their commander-in-chief."
The Kress Volunteer Fire Department has been awarded a $100,000 grant through the Texas A&M Forest Service for the purchase of a small brush truck.

Kress VFD is one of two departments in Swisher County receiving assistance in the current funding cycle. Happy VFD was awarded $20,000 for a slip-on unit.
The number of poor families struggling to pay their monthly rents or living in deplorable accommodations has grown 41 percent since the beginning of the Great Recession a decade ago despite a stronger national economy, according to a new report by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

More than 8.3 million very low-income households in 2015 qualified for, but did not receive, federal housing assistance because there is not enough to go around, according to the agency's latest biennial assessment of "worst case housing needs." That approaches the record high of 8.5 million in 2011 after historic increases during the mortgage foreclosure crisis.

"These are folks on the edge who don't get housing help," said Brian Sullivan, a HUD spokesman. "They are severely rent-burdened or just living in awful conditions."

The report blamed growing competition for a shrinking supply of affordable residences for the increase, a result of declining home ownership and rising rents, in addition to a widening gap between the number of renters in need and the availability of federal assistance.

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The crisis cuts across all geographic and racial demographics, but hits those living in the South and the West the hardest.

The 2017 report to Congress highlights the lack of affordable housing at a time when President Donald Trump has proposed gutting funding to HUD, which administers federal housing subsidies.

The agency said that the Trump administration is trying to stimulate the production of affordable housing in other ways. It is also trying to ease the pressure on the rental market by trying to restore homeownership through measures such as reducing the government's role in the private mortgage market.

Ben Carson, Trump's housing secretary, has also encouraged the private sector to play a greater role in helping to address affordable housing needs.

In response to his agency's report, Carson issued a statement touting a more "business-like approach," including reducing regulatory barriers at the federal, state and local levels to drive down the cost of producing more affordable housing in the private market.

But affordable housing advocates say the Trump administration's approach will only make the crisis worse.

"As it is, there is not enough housing assistance for all the households that are eligible and they are proposing to cut it back even more," said Andrew Aurand, vice president of research at the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

Only a quarter of very low-income renters receive some form of public housing assistance, according to federal data. The assistance comes in the form of housing vouchers for renting in the private market, subsidized apartments in private developments, and traditional public housing. But the gap between housing subsidies and need widened between 2013 and 2015, the report said.

"Without housing assistance, what these families can afford to pay in rent is often too low to cover the costs for the private market to serve them," Aurand said.

The report found that renters living in the South and the West face the lowest likelihood of receiving housing assistance, yet are more likely to be "very low-income" -- defined as those earning below half the area average income. HUD for the first time broke out data for select metropolitan areas.

More than 50 percent of very low-income renters in Miami-Ft. Lauderdale; Los Angeles; Phoenix, Arizona; and Riverside, California, fall into the "worst case" category of spending more than half their monthly paychecks on rent, living in substandard conditions or both.

All racial and ethnic groups experienced increases in severe housing problems regardless of whether they live in cities, suburbs or rural areas -- as did all household types, including families with children, senior citizens and those with disabilities.

Mary Cunningham, co-director of the Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy Center at the Urban Institute, said the affordable housing shortage will only get worse over the next decade as the number of renters increase, the availability of subsidized housing declines, aging housing stock is converted to higher end homes, and rents continue to rise faster than incomes.

She said even with the Trump administration's goal of reducing regulatory barriers, the private market will not produce enough affordable housing for low- and moderate-income families.

"The math doesn't add up," Cunningham said. "We have an affordable housing crisis because there is a market failure."
Plum Island is a federally owned defacto wildlife sanctuary at the end of Long Island Sound. There one will find 100 species of birds along with the federally endangered roseate terns and the threatened piping plover.

Many other birds have called Plum Island their home: osprey, bank swallow, duck, scaup and scoter. Now the federal government wants to put it up for sale to a developer.

The island features rocky shores, sandy beaches, fresh and salt water marshes, cedar swamps, shrubby uplands, grasslands and forest. It fuels large schools of bunker, bluefish and tautog, swimming directly off its shores. The island is a major migration corridor for Atlantic salmon and striped bass. It encompasses the largest, most frequent and most consistent haul out of gray and harbor seals in southern New England. There are also a historic 19th century stone lighthouse, a Spanish-American war era fort and World War II batteries.

It has an animal disease research facility that will soon relocate to Manhattan, Kansas.

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The United States General Services Administration is preparing to auction Plum Island to the highest bidder. Conservationists and groups like the Land Trusts, in my view, have no chance against the many developers who have their eyes on the island. Its location just off the coast of Long Island, plus its harbor ferry dock, fuel oil pipeline, electric service and water and sewage treatment systems, certainly will attract real estate speculation in a big way.

Now comes Save the Sound, that wonderful group that has been instrumental in preventing the development of Broadwater, that liquefied natural gas plant in the middle of Long Island Sound. Other Broadwater saviors were the 1,000-acre preserve in Old Saybrook, leading the effort to permanently protect 15,700 acres of utility-owned water company lands in Western, Connecticut.

Save the Sound has identified the following strategies to save Plum Island: federal legislation protecting the land and the flora and fauna they sustain; litigation to compel the federal government to meet all the requirements of the National Environmental Political Act, the Endangered Species Act and the Coastal Policy Zone Management Act before moving forward on Plum Island; administrative advocacy to motivate New York State to exercise all of its powers to protect its waters, lands and coastlines.

As we in Greenwich know, Save the Sound is known as the leading advocacy organization for Long Island Sound. It also works with the Preserve Plum Island Coalition, providing much needed strategic direction, legal researchers and litigators.

Please help. www.savethesound.org
NORWALK  An unidentified man was rushed to the hospital early Thursday morning after his scooter struck a parked vehicle, police said.

Norwalk police responded to Soundview Avenue around 1:30 a.m. Thursday on reports of an accident with injuries.
For those worried that President Donald Trump might get into nuclear war with North Korea, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson provided some solace Wednesday. "Americans should sleep well at night," Tillerson said, tempering Trump's promise to unleash "fire and fury" on North Korea if it continued to threaten the U.S. Tillerson emphasized that no conflict was imminent.

But now another Trump administration voice is suggesting that we shouldn't pay Tillerson much mind.

Sebastian Gorka appeared on BBC radio Thursday and delivered one of the most aggressive takes to date on what Trump might do - even allowing that a mere threat from North Korea could be construed as an act of war, as Trump seemed to do earlier this week. In doing so, Gorka downplayed Tillerson's role in all of this.

"You should listen to the president; the idea that Secretary Tillerson is going to discuss military matters is simply nonsensical," Gorka said in a recording shared with The Washington Post. "It is the job of Secretary Mattis, the secretary of defense, to talk about the military options, and he has done so unequivocally. He said, 'Woe betide anyone who militarily challenges the United States,' and that is his portfolio. That is his mandate. Secretary Tillerson is the chief diplomat of the United States, and it is his portfolio to handle those issues."

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The suggestion seems to be that Tillerson was out of his element when he provided those assurances Wednesday - that Tillerson wouldn't even know how imminent such a conflict might be because it's not in his purview.

And that's a striking message from another member of the White House team. For a president who has publicly undermined his own attorney general and whose communications director railed against his two top White House aides in an interview two weeks ago, it looks like more backbiting and internal discord.

Trump on Tuesday seemed to be setting the red line for North Korea at any kind of threat - which Pyongyang, of course, makes often and would do again, soon after Trump's comments, by threatening Guam. "North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States," Trump said. "They will be met with the fire and fury like the world has never seen."

Tillerson seemed to scale back that red line Wednesday. But Gorka's comments provide yet more conflicting information from the White House about precisely where that red line lies. Gorka seems to be saying it's right back to where Trump suggested it was - or at least that Trump reserved the right to consider mere threats to be acts of war.

The interviewer pressed him on that point:

Q: But are you telling me though, Mr. Gorka, that if there is an action by North Korea that is felt by the United States to be threatening, then that is war? Is that the understanding that the North Koreans should have?

GORKA: If you threaten a nation, then what should you expect - a stiffly worded letter that would be sent by courier? Is that what the U.K. would do if a nation threatened a nuclear-tipped missile launched against any of the United Kingdom's territories?

That's very different from what Tillerson said.

As I wrote Wednesday morning, we may be witnessing a little "Good Cop, Bad Cop" here, with the administration providing different signals to keep North Korea guessing. It's the so-called "Madman theory" that says you want your enemies to think you're capable of anything.

But this also seems to fit into a pattern of the White House not really having its story straight and figuring things out on the fly - which would be a perilous strategy given the stakes of the North Korea situation. And it also fits into a long-running pattern of White House officials undermining one another, both privately and publicly. Having members of your staff undercut your own secretary of state doesn't seem like a great way to do business.
States are enacting strict limits on the number of powerful prescription painkillers doctors can prescribe, a move that many believe will help fight the opioid crisis but has raised alarms among some physicians.

At least 17 states have enacted rules to curb the number of painkillers doctors can prescribe. Some, including Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Ohio, have passed laws limiting the duration of initial opioid prescriptions to five or seven days. Others are passing dosage limits. In Kentucky, a law went into effect last month capping opioid prescriptions for severe acute pain to three days.

"We know that most people who eventually become addicted to heroin have started with a prescription opiate," said Kentucky state Rep. Kimberly Moser (R), who sponsored the bill and is also a nurse. Kentucky has exemptions for cancer and hospice patients, major surgeries, and patients dealing with severe or chronic pain. "We felt it was important to just set that pause button and have prescribers just stop and think about the appropriateness of what they're prescribing. Is it medically necessary?" she said.

Last year, 1,404 people died of drug overdoses in Kentucky, according to the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy. About half of the deaths involved fentanyl, a powerful synthetic painkiller that is often used in hospitals but also has been manufactured illicitly overseas and has cut into the heroin supply.

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last year issued guidance for providers, recommending shorter durations for opioid prescriptions, stating that three days should be sufficient and a course of more than seven days "will rarely be needed." According to a CDC study, patients who use such painkillers for longer periods of time are more likely to end up addicted to them.

Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., introduced federal legislation in April to limit an initial opioid prescription to seven days. It would not apply to the treatment of chronic pain, cancer, hospice or palliative care.

More than 52,000 people died of drug overdoses in 2015, according to the CDC. Drug overdoses sharply increased during the first nine months of 2016, according to the National Centers for Health Statistics. They were driven by increases in opioid deaths, especially from heroin and fentanyl. But for many people, their first exposure to opioids is through prescription painkillers.

"Given that this current opioid epidemic is in very real part caused by the prescribers, we should be okay with some guidance," said R. Corey Waller MD, MS, Chair of the legislative advocacy committee for the American Society of Addiction Medicine. "If we had been able to control this and follow the evidence, we wouldn't necessarily need these rules."

But Waller and other physicians also have concerns with the new state laws. In Connecticut, doctors worried that a law limiting initial opioid prescriptions to seven days would be overly prohibitive, said David Emmel, chair of the Connecticut State Medical Society's legislative committee. But now that the regulations have been in place for about a year, doctors have adapted to the rules, which Emmel said are "not horrifically restrictive."

Mishael Azam, chief operating officer of the Medical Society of New Jersey, said the state's five-day limit, which went into effect earlier this year, is still a "work in progress" for the state's physicians. Doctors, she said, are still being educated about the law and some are now leery of treating pain patients because of it.

"That's the general tone - doctors are to blame," she said, and treating a patient individually is discouraged. "Medicine, in all other realms, we're supposed to be personalizing and individualizing. But when you do a hard mandate, it doesn't allow for any sort of personalization."

Patrick Padgett, executive vice president of the Kentucky Medical Association, said some doctors are glad that there is a limit on the number of days a painkiller can be prescribed, because it gives them a guideline they can show to patients who are seeking longer courses of the drug.

Patrice Harris, chair of the American Medical Association board of trustees, said doctors recognize that it is important to cut back on the number of opioids that are prescribed.

"I think there's been a general agreement that we need to be more judicious in our prescribing," she said.
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Houston ISD trustees were defiant a day after being warned of a possible state takeover, arguing that they're already turning around troubled schools and don't need outside meddling from Austin bureaucrats.

Trustees on Wednesday heralded improved school ratings from the state and vowed to invest in long-struggling schools, which must improve to avoid potential state intervention. If about a dozen chronically failing schools don't meet state academic standards by 2018, it would trigger provisions of a Texas law that could result in campus closures or the appointment of a school board manager.

"We intend to fight this in the classroom," Trustee Rhonda Skillern-Jones said. "We think our kids are capable of learning. We are going to give them the tools to do that."

Under the law, passed by the Legislature in 2015, any district with a school receiving five consecutive "improvement required" ratings faces state intervention.

Texas Education Association officials warned Houston-area lawmakers in a meeting Monday of the possibility of a state takeover of HISD, one of several large urban districts facing such an action. The 2015 law largely flew under the radar prior to the meeting and subsequent media reports.

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In Houston ISD, 13 schools and two charter schools recently taken over by the district from Victory Prep have already received "improvement required" ratings in 2014, 2015 and 2016. If they do not receive a "met standard" rating in 2017 or 2018, it could trigger the law.

Houston ISD officials consider 10 of those 15 schools most at risk because they have already received four or more consecutive "improvement required" ratings heading into next week's release of 2017 scores.

Explore how schools performed in the Houston area Outer suburban districts saw a much larger portion of schools earn top marks on the advocacy group's report card than their more urban and more rural counterparts. Fewer than 40 percent of Houston ISD schools and fewer than 30 percent of schools that belong to districts within Houston's Beltway 8 earned A or B grades on the rankings. Click here to explore the full database. Source: Children at Risk | Created by Data Journalist Rachael Gleason Explore how schools performed in the Houston area Outer suburban districts saw a much larger portion of schools earn top marks on the advocacy group's report card than their more urban and more rural counterparts. Fewer than 40 percent of Houston ISD schools and fewer than 30 percent of schools that belong to districts within Houston's Beltway 8 earned A or B grades on the rankings. Click here to explore the full database. Source: Children at Risk | Created by Data Journalist Rachael Gleason

School leaders believe they have more time to turn around the other five schools, all of which have received three straight "improvement required" ratings.

Located in poorer areas

The 15 troubled schools are located in south, east and north Houston, in predominately black or Latino neighborhoods. All but one serve a student population with more "economically disadvantaged" students, as defined by the state, than the district average.

Skillern-Jones and board President Wanda Adams argued at a news conference that significant progress is already being made at the troubled schools. They said they've seen the 2017 ratings - which haven't been publicly released - and expect a few of the 10 most-troubled schools to meet the state standard.

Board members and district staff declined to release the results or identify which schools will make the grade.

Skillern-Jones said the board's focus is to get all chronically failing schools to meet state standards. But if forced to choose between a state-appointed manager or closing a campus, she'd rather be forcibly removed from her seat than vote to shutter a troubled school.

"I know what happens in my community when a school closes, and I don't want that to happen anywhere," Skillern-Jones said.

Trustees Anne Sung and Jolanda Jones said in separate interviews that they could not envision voting to close any schools in the next school year. Trustee Diana Davila said she anticipates that all of the district's "improvement required" schools will improve their status in the next year or so, as she has seen several schools achieve the same feat in the span of a couple years.

Trustees said successes elsewhere in the district, the nation's seventh-largest, have been lost in the conversation.

From 2015 to 2016, the number of Houston ISD schools classified as "improvement required" dropped from 56 to 37. And when accountability results are released next week, Skillern-Jones said, she expects the number to shrink to 28.

Graduation rates have also slightly increased, and the district has expanded literacy programs to all grade levels.

"There's tremendous gain, but nobody is talking about that," Adams said.

Plan to help campuses

Adams also noted that the struggling schools account for a small portion - about 5 percent - of all Houston ISD schools.

Trustees in June approved funding for Superintendent Richard Carranza's ambitious campus turnaround plan, Achieve 180, that will target 32 campuses, including the 13 traditional district campuses where poor student academic performance could trigger state takeover. The Achieve 180 plan focuses on making improvements in six areas: school leadership, teaching, instruction, school design, social supports for students, and relationships with families and communities. Carranza, who came to Houston ISD a year ago from San Francisco, said a similar program there had positive results.

The $24 million plan, which was pared down in budget negotiations, will go into effect when schools begin in August.

Cynthia Wilson, chief of staff with HISD, said the initiative will focus even more energy on the 10 schools that the district has identified as most at-risk of triggering state action.

"Not only do we have our districtwide plan, but we're also looking at this time to ramp up our efforts in these schools," Wilson said.

Lawmaker not satisfied

The efforts to date, however, weren't enough for legislators who supported the law in 2015.

Rep. Harold Dutton Jr., a Houston Democrat and chief architect of the law, has said the repeated failures of Houston's Kashmere High School - which has received seven straight "improvement required" ratings - inspired his bill.

Of the 15 schools at risk of triggering the new law, all of them failed in 2016 to meet the state's standards for student achievement and closing academic gaps among traditionally low-performing demographics.

State education officials have declined to comment on how they will approach Houston ISD and the new state law.
At least 18 Leon Valley businesses were forced to close after city officials, citing hazardous conditions and fire code violations, issued a stop work order on two Bandera Road strip malls.

The West Side's Seneca Plaza and Lebman's Coral strip malls were forced to stop business Monday after "numerous" violations and a dangerous environment was discovered at existing structures within the strips.
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AUSTIN -- Mourners filled the main level of the Texas Capitol for a solemn procession Thursday afternoon as they filed by to pay their final respects to former Texas Governor Mark White.

Legislators, family members and admirers from afar waited up to an hour to honor White, who died Saturday at the age of 77.

(White) was a person of the people, said Betty Gerlach, White's sister. He never forgot that. I always thought he was as comfortable, or more so, in the kitchen as he was in the boardroom or the ballroom. He loved being with the real people of Texas.

White was a larger than life character who defined Texas politics in his roles as secretary of state, attorney general and governor during the 1970s and 1980s.

Luci Baines Johnson, friend of White and daughter of former President Lyndon B. Johnson, indicated White was always a man of the people.

He may have left public office, but he never left public service, Johnson said. You could laugh, and you could learn, and you could love in his presence. He welcomed the big tent of folks. He was not a divider, he was a uniter.

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In the long line to honor White, Texans spoke about the former governor and why his death drove them to the Capitol to commemorate his life.

He is absolutely the greatest governor we have ever had, said Lael Hasty, a former administrative assistant to White's wife, Linda Gale White. He was like a family member to all Texans ... Honestly, I'm going to miss everything about him because he represented all of us so well.

Hasty, who became emotional when talking about White, said his personality and legacy of improving Texas public education made him stand out in a state full of strong governors.

Whites time as governor is often remembered for its impact on public schools by passing legislation that created teacher pay raises, limited elementary school class sizes, created standardized testing for high school students, increased taxes to fund schools and implemented the famous no pass, no play rule for high school athletes.

He was ahead of his time working on behalf of teachers, Hasty said. I came from a family of educators ... so he represented all of us and his agenda was fabulous.

A former worker for White's campaigns, Linda Jann Lewis, said his record of supporting civil rights in Texas should also be mentioned when discussing his legacy.

I couldn't not be here because he changed the face of Texas government, Jann Lewis said. I think there are two men, Bob Bullock and Governor Mark White, who made Texas look like Texas. He hired so many people of color and women and appointed them to real positions with power and authority, and he tried to make sure he was working for all the people.

Jann Lewis also said Whites work on voting laws and expanding early voting has had a profound effect on Texas.

After three hours, the line of grieving Texans dwindled, and White's body was taken to the Texas State Cemetery for a private burial ceremony.

We can all agree upon the fact that Mark White loved his state and served and gave it his all, and we're better people for it, Johnson said. Now, let's see how can give him the just tribute he deserves: the willingness to do that ourselves.
Drunk driving is dangerous in any state - for you and those around you - but some states make it even more potentially costly.

WalletHub ranked Texas as the 13th toughest state for DWI charges in its 2017 list of the strictest states on drunken driving.

So far, 355 felony DWI arrests have been recorded in Bexar County in 2017, including 43 in July. Last year, there were 590 felony DWI arrests in the county.

Experts ranked the 50 states based on 15 factors involved with penalties and prevention.

The Lone Star State requires a minimum of three days in jail after the first conviction and 30 days after the second.

RELATED: Mugshots: 270 people arrested on DWI charges during Fiesta 2017

Texas is also one of the only states where prior convictions are always considered in future penalties. Other states don't factor in prior convictions if they're older than certain cut-off points, like 5 or 10 years, depending on the state.

However, Texas is lenient in other ways. The state does not require a minimum fine after the first or second conviction, and does not have a mandatory alcohol assessment.

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Criminal punishment isn't the only thing a convicted drunk driver should worry about, though. In Texas the average car insurance rate jumps 44 percent after a conviction, according to the analysis.

READ MORE: Records: 43 people arrested on felony drunken driving charges in July 2017

Arizona is considered to be the toughest state on drunk driving, which has a minimum 90-day jail sentence after the second conviction and a mandatory ignition interlock after the first conviction.

South Dakota was named the most lenient, with no minimum jail time or fines after a conviction.

fsabawi@mysa.com

Twitter: @FaresInSA
San Antonio police arrested a woman they say cut her boyfriend with a box cutter.

Trinidad Herrera, 40, was arrested Wednesday night on a $75,000 bond for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a second-degree felony.

RELATED: Police: Accused S.A. pimp slapped teen victim for hiding money, broke her braces

On July 22, police were called to the 2300 block of Castroville Road to respond to an assault, according to an affidavit.

The man told an officer Herrera was upset with him because he did not answer her calls and accused him of sleeping with other women, police said.

The man also told police he did not want to argue and tried to go to sleep, but Herrera began punching him while he was in bed, the affidavit states.

The man tried defending himself, according to the affidavit, when Herrera grabbed a box cutter and cut him on the right side of his abdomen.

Herrera fled the scene in a white Ford Excursion before police arrived, the affidavit states.

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Text "NEWS" to 77453 for breaking news alerts from mySA.com

fsabawi@mysa.com

Twitter: @FaresInSA
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HOUSTON (AP)  A man on death row for the notorious slaying nearly 20 years ago of a black man chained to the back of a pickup truck and dragged along a bumpy rural East Texas road will get his claim of innocence and poor legal representation reviewed by an appeals court.

> > PHOTOS: Click through the slideshow for photos from the James Byrd Jr. case

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals late Tuesday said it would review a claim from John William King that lawyers were deficient in presenting a case for innocence during his trial for what became one of the nation's most shocking hate crimes since the Civil Rights era.

King's appeal said that only a few pieces of circumstantial evidence that could be innocently explained tied him to the scene of a fight that resulted in 49-year-old James Byrd Jr. being chained at his ankles to the bumper of a truck in June 1998 and fatally dragged outside Jasper, about 125 miles (201 kilometers) northeast of Houston.

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King, now 42, was the first of three white men convicted of capital murder for the hate slaying. Each was tried separately.

> > PHOTOS: Scenes from Lawrence Russell Brewer's execution

King's attorney, A. Richard Ellis, raised five claims to the 5th Circuit, four of them focusing on what he said was King receiving ineffective legal help at his 1999 trial in Jasper. The fifth claim contended a federal district judge who rejected King's appeal denied him due process and a fair hearing.

The 5th Circuit rejected all but the claim questioning the trial attorneys' effectiveness regarding some of the state's evidence in the case. King's appeals attorney described the trial lawyers' response to the evidence as "confusing and disjointed," according to the court.

The evidence included a cigarette lighter engraved with a Klan symbol and King's prison name, "Possum," along with cigarette butts found at the crime scene and King's sandals stained with Byrd's blood. Other evidence at his trial included letters in which King wrote about launching a racist gang and tattoos on King's body that prosecutors said showed he hated blacks.

> > MORE: Brewer ended 'Last Meals' for all Texas inmates

King's lawyers called three witnesses who testified for less than an hour at the guilt-innocence portion of the trial. The attorneys appeared to concede the conviction and hoped to save his life in the punishment phase. Jurors decided he should die.

King's lead defense attorney, Haden "Sonny" Cribbs, died in June. His trial co-counsel, Brack Jones, declined comment Wednesday.

> > MORE: Colleagues remember Haden "Sonny" Cribbs

The appeals lawyer, Ellis, based in Mill Valley, California, did not immediately respond to a message left by The Associated Press.

The 5th Circuit gave Ellis 30 days to submit a brief on his claim. State attorneys then will have 15 days to respond.

The second participant in Byrd's killing, Lawrence Russell Brewer, 44, was executed in 2011. Evidence at their trials showed Brewer, previously convicted of cocaine possession, and King, a convicted burglar from Jasper, met in a Texas prison where they got involved in a KKK splinter group and adorned themselves with racist tattoos.

The third man, Shawn Berry, 42, is serving life in prison. Evidence showed that after King was released from prison, he returned to Jasper, became friends with Berry and moved in with him. Brewer later joined them.

Evidence and trial testimony showed the three men offered Byrd a ride in the early morning hours of June 7, 1998, and they all drove about 10 miles (16 kilometers) into the wooded county before stopping along an isolated logging road. A fight broke out and the outnumbered Byrd was tied to the truck bumper with a 24 1/2-foot (7.32 meter) logging chain. Three miles (4.8 kilometers) later, what was left of his shredded remains was dumped between a black church and cemetery where the pavement ended on the remote road. Fingerprints taken from the headless torso identified Byrd.

King, Brewer and Berry were in custody by the end of the next day.
Born into a sharecropping family in Arkansas, Joe Shaver changed his life by attending college, starting a career that took him from the Caribbean island of Aruba to New York City.

Raised in the Church of Christ, Shaver also nurtured his faith his whole life, founding churches in Aruba and White Plains, New York, where he worked for 20 years.

He taught us to help others, share with others, learn from others, daughter Cynthia Hopkins said.

Shaver died Friday at 91.

Raised during the Great Depression, Shaver was often taken out of school to work in the fields.

They were very poor  farmed cotton, Hopkins said. Even so, he got such good grades, he got some money to go to a little Christian college.

Attending what is now Harding University, Shaver had finished only about a year before he dropped out to help support his family by working at what was then Emerson Electric Co. in St. Louis during World War II.

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Called home to Arkansas by his father, Shaver was soon drafted into the Army toward the end of the war. He was sent to postwar Japan.

Discharged after a little more than a year, Shaver used the GI Bill to attend the University of Missouri in Columbia, where he studied business and met his future wife, a student at what was then Columbia College.

More Information Joe Shaver Born: Oct. 25, 1925, Ingram, Ark. Died: Aug. 6, 2017, San Antonio Preceded by: Wife Bea Shaver, parents Edna Pearl Meredith and Joseph Martin Shaver; a sister; two brothers Survived by: Daughters Cynthia Hopkins and son-in-law Stephen, and Susan Johnson and son-in-law Walter; son Neal Shaver and daughter-in-law Marycke; seven grandchildren; three great-grandchildren Services: Visitation at 1 p.m. Saturday at Northside Church of Christ, 19818 U.S. 281, followed by funeral and reception; burial will be private See More Collapse

Working for what was then Standard Oil of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Shaver accepted a job with Lago Oil and was sent to Aruba, where he brought his bride after marrying her in 1950.

Aruba was wonderful, Hopkins said. There were about 800 American families there to work in the refineries. An American colony on the island.

Accepting a transfer to New York after the refinery was dismantled in the early 1960s, Shaver moved his family to White Plains, commuting daily to his office in Rockefeller Center, where he worked in the controllers office for what is now Exxon Mobil.

Traveling as much as possible, Shaver and his wife took all three of us to Europe, across the country, Hopkins recalled. They really tried to expose us to lots of different things.

Retiring in 1983, Shaver and his wife moved to San Antonio to be closer to their son and grandchildren, becoming members of Northside Church of Christ for many years.

Though mostly conservative, Shaver was very open-minded, his daughter said. He was willing to learn and to listen; he was a sweet man  a genuine good human being.

mheidbrink@express-news.net
President Donald Trump was recently briefed on the opioid crisis, and he offered the following advice afterward. The best way to prevent drug addiction and overdose is to prevent people from abusing drugs in the first place. If they dont start, they wont have a problem.  So if we can keep them from going on  and maybe by talking to youth and telling them: No good, really bad for you in every way. But if they dont start, it will never be a problem.

It is obvious that Trump has no understanding of addiction or abuse. His words are reminiscent of Nancy Reagans Just say no policy and drug education programs such as the DARE program. The evidence is clear that Just say no and DARE were and are naive and ineffective.

So, the message is dont start, but for those who do, the Trump administration has a second prong to its approach, which is the criminal justice system and punishment.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions recently announced the requirement that federal prosecutors must charge drug offenders with the most severe offenses possible.

Sessions words in the speech send a clear message: In recent years some of the government officials in our country, I think, have mistakenly sent mixed messages about the harmfulness of drugs.  We cannot capitulate intellectually or morally unto this kind of rampant drug abuse. We must create a culture thats hostile to drug abuse.

For the past 50 years, we have been waging a war on drugs that has relied nearly exclusively on supply control and tough punishment. It hasnt worked.

Despite the logic of limiting the availability of drugs and threatening and punishing those who are involved in the drug trade and using drugs, the report card for tough on drug crime is bleak. We have invested more than $1 trillion during the past 45 years on the war on drugs. There is essentially no evidence in support of the success of that effort, and one would be hard-pressed to find many with knowledge of the war on drugs who would claim it has worked.

Why has it failed?

The medical community declared nearly 70 years ago that drug and alcohol addiction and dependence are medical disorders. We cant punish diabetes or cancer away. Why do we think getting tough on addiction would work?

To complicate the landscape, approximately 40 percent of opioid-dependent individuals have depression, anxiety or bipolar disorder, and some have co-occurring psychiatric disorders. Post-traumatic stress disorder and personality disorders are also present, though less frequently. Punishment is not only ineffective, it often exacerbates these mental health disorders.

Punishment also does not deter those with substance use disorders. Today, the vast majority of individuals who enter the U.S. criminal justice system have problems with drug addiction, dependence or abuse. The recidivism rate for those with such disorders is nearly 80 percent. The reason is simple  punishment does nothing to address drug abuse, dependence or addiction.

Its time to stop disregarding the scientific and clinical evidence. Its time to get realistic about how we should address the drug problem. The evidence is unequivocal  we cannot effectively control supply. There is simply too much money to be made. We should recalibrate drug policy by dramatically ramping up evidence-based strategies of demand reduction.

The only way to reduce the incidence of substance use disorders is effective treatment. Ideally, that should occur outside the confines of the justice system with community-based treatment. Those who end up in the justice system should be diverted to treatment, not simply locked up.

Drug abuse is a public health problem. It is time we treat it that way.

William R. Kelly is a professor of sociology at the University of Texas at Austin. His most recent book is From Retribution to Public Safety: Disruptive Innovation of American Criminal Justice.
If anything positive can be said to emerge from the alarming revelations of Russian meddling in our presidential election, it is that the blowback seems to have forced President Donald Trump to back away from the cozy relationship he was trying to develop with Vladimir Putin. Yet we also need to avoid a dangerous slide toward confrontation.

Having negotiated with Russians during my diplomatic career, I know we must deal with Russia, and we need a set of guiding principles to move us forward.

First, we should disabuse ourselves of the notion that the problems we face with Russia are the result of blunders by past U.S. administrations. The Russia we see today is a result of what Russians have done, and it is the Russia we will be dealing with for some time to come.

Second, we should stop telling Russians what their interests should be and understand better how Russians see their interests, and deal with that reality.

Russian interests are not that hard to fathom. Russians want to be free of outside interference in their internal affairs. They want to exercise de facto control over the near abroad, especially Ukraine and other countries of the former Soviet Union, and they want to extend their influence to Eastern Europe. They want to divide Europe and to divide Europe from the United States, and they want to be treated as a great power. This is the short list of Russian interests to which virtually every Russian leader would subscribe.

Americans do not agree with many of those interests, nor should we. Some of them we should vigorously oppose. But we can take them as a starting point for a more realistic dialogue with Russia, focusing particularly on flashpoints.

For example, we could ratchet back some of our support for domestic opposition groups inside Russia  a flashpoint for Russians. In return, Putin must cease his cyberwar against the U.S. and its allies  a flashpoint for us.

Next, we could signal our acknowledgment (even if not our endorsement) of Russias interests in its immediate neighborhood, but we would make it clear that the Baltic states and other countries of Eastern Europe, as NATO allies, are in a different category. Russia must keep hands off if it wishes to avoid a military collision with the West.

We maintained manageable relations with Russia, and before that with the Soviet Union, for years. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the U.S.-Soviet intermediate nuclear forces treaty. It is a reminder that deals can be struck even with adversaries, and that the two nuclear superpowers, despite their differences, can manage their relationship to avoid a potentially devastating conflict.

But Russia crossed a threshold in 2014, with the annexation of Crimea and a campaign, still ongoing, to destabilize Ukraine. The aim of U.S. policy should be to restore the status quo ante: to return to the U.S.-Russian relationship that existed before 2014, rather than see it continue to plummet downward.

The aim should be not a strategic partnership but a strategic understanding with the one country on the planet that could pose an existential threat to the U.S. Our interests diverge in many ways, but they converge in some, such as avoiding nuclear proliferation, combating terrorism and maintaining a balance of power in Europe and Asia.

This means that we need to play the long game, as Russians do. It also means that we must forge the closest possible relations with our European and Asian allies, and that we must maintain stable and predictable relations with the other major world power, China.

It is unlikely that the Trump administration can pull off such tactics as patient strategy, but we can at least hope that the backlash in Congress will prevent the administration from taking us down a naive and dangerous road.

Robert Hutchings is the Walt and Elspeth Rostow Chair in National Security at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin and was dean of the school from 2010 to 2015. He is a former U.S. ambassador and a former chairman of the U.S. National Intelligence Council.
The possibility that Bexar County health insurers in 2018 will raise premiums by more than 20 percent is a sign of the uncertainties the Trump administration is purposely imposing on the Affordable Care Act.

Insurance companies want to set higher premium rates across the board to help defray the cost of covering more low-income or higher-risk consumers. The uncertainty comes in because President Donald Trump has threatened to quit paying the cost-sharing reduction, or CSR, subsidies that help these lower-income people afford their copays and deductibles. One affects the other.

And the administration understands this perfectly.

Express-News writer Jesse Pound recently reported that Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, Celtic Insurance and Oscar Health Insurance have asked for such rate increases, though it is uncertain they will be approved. All are reportedly keeping their eyes on the next moves in Washington amid fears that Trump will quit funding the CSRs or try to reprise repeal and replace legislation.

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, after repeal and replace crashed and burned following courageous no votes by three Republican senators, raised the tantalizing possibility of working with Democrats to shore up the ACA.

That sort of bipartisanship is precisely whats needed, and we hope McConnell and other Republicans reach across the aisle. The opposition to repeal and replace across the political spectrum and across all medical disciplines was loud and clear. The bill the Senate was on the brink of passing would have resulted in more than 20 million fewer Americans without health insurance over a decade.

Though he did little to sell the package other than fuming and tweeting about recalcitrant Republicans and obstructionist Democrats, Trump has been making spiteful sounds of undercutting the ACA anyway.

The threat of repeal and replace had already injected uncertainty into the federal exchange marketplaces. The threat of halting the CSRs continues that work. Helping that also is the administrations cancellation of contracts for two companies that helped Americans in 18 cities find health care under the ACA. The administration is unclear how  or whether  it will market coverage during the shortened enrollment period that begins Nov. 1.

There is heavy lifting to be done with the ACA. Out-of-pocket expenses are already too high for too many. On health care and a host of other issues, its time to break the gridlock.
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STAMFORD  Two city man have been charged with selling the type of heroin linked to several recent overdoses in the area, police said.

Officers were alerted that Charles Gray, 53, and George Hoffman, 47, were selling heroin  stamped X-IT  in the Stamford area that they purchased in New York City, Capt. Richard Conklin said.

Hoffman was out on bail after being arrested in December for possession of 25 bags of heroin, also stamped X-IT, Conklin said.

Officers Will Garay and Daniel DeRocco teamed with the Narcotics and Organized Crime Squad and conducted surveillance of the Lockwood Avenue home where Gray and Hoffman live, Conklin said.

Hoffman returned home Tuesday afternoon and he was seen stuffing something into the sunroof of the vehicle as officers approached, Conklin said.

Police found a cigarette box containing 52 glassine envelopes, each stamped X-IT, Conklin said. Police also confiscated $900 in cash, Conklin said.

Hoffman and Gray were charged with possession of narcotics, sale of narcotics and conspiracy charges. They were held in lieu of $10,000 court appearance bonds.

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Stamford police officers recently began carrying the heroin and opioid antidote Narcan in response to a record 32 overdoses in the city in June.

People like Hoffman and Gray are part of the ilk of the types of drug dealers we see on a daily basis in Stamford, Conklin said. They arent big cartel members or drug kingpins. Many of these dealers take a train or car ride into New York City, where they can buy prepackaged heroin extremely cheaply.

Jnickerson@stamfordadvocate.com;
After a group reported a Bigfoot sighting in North Carolina, police have issued their own warning for residents: Do not shoot Bigfoot.

A Bigfoot "investigation group," going by the name Bigfoot 911, allegedly spotted the mythical creature on Friday night in the woods of McDowell County. The group was apparently looking to attract the creature by dropping glow sticks throughout the area when they say the sighting happened. ("Bigfoot 911 members believe glow sticks pique the curiosity of a Bigfoot," the Charlotte Observer helpfully explains.)
HARTFORD >> Mynor Espinoza, a West Haven father of four, was able to post bond Wednesday after he was detained for more than two months following his visit to immigration officials on behalf of his young son.

Advocates have accused Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials of using Espinozas son as bait, luring him to ICE offices in Hartford where they then detained Espinoza and transported him to jail in Massachusetts.

ICE has responded that they have to check anyone they come into contact with, whether that is in their office or elsewhere.

On June 5, Espinoza appeared at the ICE offices with his 9-year-old son, Anthony Espinoza, who had come here last September from Guatemala as an unaccompanied minor.

The child, after being stopped at the border, was later released to his fathers custody. Under that arrangment, Espinoza was responsible for seeing that his son appeared at interviews and appointments arranged by ICE.

More for you Texas couple finds ring lost in tornado, immediately gets engaged

Espoinoza, 31, had successfully re-entered the U.S. with his six-months-pregnant wife in June 2009 and had not been detected until he showed up in the ICE office eight years later in June of this year.

ICE said when they realized that Espinoza had been stopped at the border and returned to Guatemala in April 2009, they had to arrest him at the time of this second encounter.

Espinoza was released Wednesday afternoon from detention after his $8,000 bond, set by Immigration Judge Michael W. Straus, was paid.

His attorney, Yazmin Rodriguez, said she was happy with the results of Wednesdays hearing.

There is sufficient evidence that we submitted into the record to show he has a viable form of relief, she said.

Rodriguez has applied for withholding of removal for her client, which is a tougher standard of proof than asylum to remain in this country. She advised persons in circumstances similar to Espinozas to not enter a federal building without consulting with an attorney.

Rodriguez said when other clients have received similar call-in letters from ICE, she has attended the hearing with the child instead of the guardians.

She said the agreement with the office of refugee resettlement, on behalf of the child, is that the guardian has to make sure the minor answers an appearance request, but they do not have to physically be there.

Rodriguez continued to question Espinozas detention

If you are asking a sponsor to take care of this child and provide for his physical needs, his educaiton and moral well being and then you have a parent in detention  how does that work? It doesnt, the attorney said.

The ICE prosecutor asked Espinoza in court Wednesday why he had not sought asylum when he first came to the U.S.

The truth is I was never familiar with the process and I have dedicated myself to caring for my wife and my children, Espinoza testified through a court translator.

He told the court he has had consistent employment since coming here to support his family. His wife, Dulce Ramirez, also works at two restaurants.

Their children, Ashley Espinoza, 8; Jazmin Espinoza, 6; and Melanie Espinoza, 2, as well as their step-brother, Anthony Espinoza, 9, were in court Wednesday.

When my mon was driving all the way here, my head hurt. I was scared. I was going to cry, Ashley said of her ride to the courthouse. She said that went away when she realized she would see her father later in the day.

Anthony said he was crying when his father was taken into detention.

Dulce Ramirez said ICE called her and said he had to be picked up within an hour or he would be turned over to a center.

Shawn Neudauer, spokesman for ICE New England, said he wasnt familiar with the specifics of the Espinoza case, but generally when a child is left with ICE, they will contact a family member.

If someone cant come and get them, ICE will contact the local police or the states child protective services agency.

Anthony said, through a translator, that he was scared and crying when his father was taken into detention.

As for the U.S., he called it beautiful, and said he likes playing with his sisters.
THE Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Mines and Energy has resolved to summon former President Robert Mugabe to appear for a hearing as it seeks to conclude its probe into the alleged disappearance of $15 billion worth of diamonds from Marange diamond fields.

Mr Mugabe was the whistleblower on the alleged looting of diamonds at Chiadzwa.

The chairperson of the committee, Mr Temba Mliswa, said the committee had resolved to invite Mr Mugabe as it seeks answers on what actually transpired.

The committee had already resolved to invite him after we had heard the evidence and if our recommendations suit what the inquiry was about, there might be no need to call him because its up to the information that we require. I cannot pre-empt anything because we will be seeking what we are seeking regarding the $15 billion worth of diamonds which went missing, said Mr Mliswa.

The Norton legislator declined to state when Mr Mugabe was likely to appear before the committee saying it would depend on the answers that they would get from officials invited so far.

If we have the answers there might be no need. But we had resolved that he must attend. My point is that we are not witch-hunting, we are actually trying to get institutions to respond to the $15 billion leakage in terms of diamonds.

When we have received all the evidence we will deliberate on it but in terms of him coming we had resolved that we will invite everybody especially him since he was the source, he said.

But if the oral evidence indicates that he was right, what is the point. Its subject to what we went through yesterday (Monday hearings) but we had already resolved (to invite him). After every oral evidence session, we sit down and deliberate. Before we met, we had resolved that he must come. The next thing is that now that we have received all this information, what is the way forward pertaining to the resolution that we made .This is when we say he will come on such a date.

He said Mr Mugabe, as former President, would come last in the hearings.

Mr Mliswa said the committee would be done with its hearings and recommendations in a fortnight.

We will be done in the next two weeks. We will be doing recommendations as soon as we go back to the House (Parliament). We will certainly be tabling our report and recommendations. Definitely we will be done before Parliament is dissolved otherwise we would have wasted our time and resources, he said.

If Mr Mugabe appears before the committee, it would be the first time he makes a public appearance following his resignation last year.

The committee has summoned a number of the top officials to give evidence into the mining of diamonds from Chiadzwa.

Among the officials is Vice President Kembo Mohadi in his capacity as former State Security as well as Home Affairs Minister, former Defence Minister Dr Sydney Sekeramayi and former State Security and Presidential Affairs Minister Mr Didymus Mutasa.

Vice President Kembo Mohadi, who was the Minister of Home Affairs at the time a concession was granted to police in 2012, did not attend the hearing on Monday as he had commitments elsewhere.

Minister of Home Affairs and Culture, Dr Obert Mpofu, who was the Minister of Mines at the time, recused himself from the hearings as he had written to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Cde Jacob Mudenda, saying he was uncomfortable to do so as long as Mr Mliswa was chairing the hearing.

Comm-General Godwin Matanga, former Home Affairs Minister Ignatius Chombo, former Mines and Energy Minister Walter Chidhakwa and officials from the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) have appeared before the committee in connection with the probe.

Mr Mliswa said the committee intends to leave no stone unturned in investigating the alleged diamonds looting at Chiadzwa and was keen to interview former police Commissioner-General Dr Augustine Chihuri whose whereabouts remain unknown.

 Chronicle

Breaking News via Email
Police boss Augustine Chihuri has been accused of discriminately firing three Indian police officers without conducting any disciplinary action a move which has been slammed by the High Court.

In an application seeking reversal of their job terminations Yakub, Imraan and Zunad Musa claimed their employer had embroiled himself in a family fight between them and another Indian family Savannias and arrived at the decision to fire them.

However, High Court judge justice Alphas Chitakunye has ordered that the respondents who are cited as Chihuri, Police Service Commission and Home Affairs ministry reverse the dismissal decision and return any confiscated items belonging to the Indian brothers.

The summary dismissal of the applicants by the respondents communicated on September 23, 2016 received by applicants on October 3, be and is hereby set aside, Chitakunye ordered.

Applicants personal items confiscated pursuant to the dismissal are hereby restored.

The brothers who have been in the police force since 1987 were served with a letter notifying them of termination of their employment on October 3.

The letter alleged they had put the Indian community under terror by engaging in criminal activities.

CID Homicide had repossessed police apparel that was being used by the trio in discharge of their duties including identification cards, radios, traffic beacons lights and firearms.

According to court papers no investigations were carried out by any police section to ascertain the allegation but they were subsequently dismissed from work.

Breaking News via Email
THE Government needs to take urgent action to address new figures which reveal at least 369 people with disabilities are on social housing waiting lists in Co Tipperary, according to one of the countrys largest charities.

Rehab, Irelands largest independent charity for people with disabilities, says the Government is failing people with disabilities by not providing them with their basic human rights.

Access to appropriate social housing remains a major stumbling block for people with disabilities. A lack of availability and choice makes housing a significant issue for the 600,000 people with disabilities living in our communities.

Furthermore, more than 3000 people with disabilities are still living in institutions. This figure does not include the 1,200 people under 65, most of whom have disabilities, inappropriately placed in nursing homes.

These people housed in inappropriate setting are being deprived of the basic human right to live in the community and play an active role in society.

The Governments delay in taking responsibility for funding of appropriate housing, demonstrates a complete lack of priority for people with disabilities.

The organisation, which supports over 20,000 people, has now reiterated its call for the Government to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (UNCRPD).

Ireland is the only country in Europe which has still failed to ratify this vital international agreement, which would afford people with disabilities the same basic human rights as everyone else.

Article 19 of the UNCRPD specifically provides for people with disabilities to live independently in their communities.

Kathleen OMeara, Rehabs Director of Communications and Public Affairs said: Ireland really needs to get to grips with how we support people with disabilities to live in their own homes. These figures show the Government is failing our most vulnerable members of society. The right to a home is a critical human right outlined in the UNCRPD.

If the convention was ratified, the Government would have to be accountable. These worrying figures show that people with disabilities continue to be treated like second class citizens. The reality is that people with disabilities remain invisible when it comes to policy and service provision. Every day in Rehab services we see people living full and active lives. We support nearly 200 adults to live independently in their communities through our supported accommodation services. Its past time the Government prioritise people with disabilities, Ms OMeara added.
Gardai are advising people to be wary of rental scams, particularly at this time of year when students are returning to college.

While rental scams occur throughout the year there is a spike due to a new generation of 3rd level students seeking accommodation.

The scams fall into three broad categories; (1) the scammer claims to be out of the country and cant show you the property and requests a deposit, (2) the scammer is living at the property and shows a number of people around, gets a deposit from several people and disappears with the money; and (3) the transaction appears normal until the renter finds that the keys dont work and the landlord has disappeared.

Therefore people need to establish that the house exists and that is available for rent and the identity of landlord /agent & is he/she authorised to rent the property.

1. Ideally only do business with established bon-fide rental agencies.

2. Always meet a prospective landlord in the accommodation to be rented.

3. Ask for identification, a drivers licence or Photo identification of landlord or letting agent. etc. (Take a photo of the document on your phone)

4. Pay the deposit to the Landlord and not the persons leaving the property.

5. Use cheques or bank drafts to pay the deposit and keep copies of receipts of payments and any correspondence.

6. Ensure keys fit, open door lock and sign rental contract, prior to payment of deposit.

The Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) rent index provides students with important benchmark information and is an authoritative guide as to the actual rents being charged by landlords adjacent to all Universities, ITs and other Third Level colleges. www.rtb.ie. Caution is advised, if the rent sounds too good to be true.
(Natural News) A former Navy SEAL and founder of self-defense training firm Tactical Insider is warning of a gruesome massacre of far-Left revolutionaries and corrupt Deep State operatives loyal to the political establishment if they attempt to remove President Donald J. Trump from office unlawfully.

In a lengthy August 4 post on his Facebook page, Sawyer was quick to point out that what he is talking about has nothing at all do to with impeachment or any other constitutional or legal removal of Trump, if it even comes to that. Anything else is a different scenario entirely, he wrote. Honor our Constitution! Keep it straight.

Rather, he said he was addressing an illegal silent coup by corrupt individuals using false charges, as has leaked out by Clinton cronies lately, he said. (Related: There is a far-Left militia group claiming 30-plus branches nationwide training for CIVIL WAR with conservatives, Trump supporters.)

Beginning the crux of his post with a request that Americans pray for the country and Trump, Sawyer noted:

Im hearing serious rumblings of a hostile, illegal coup against our democratically elected President by seditious, deep-state subversives funded by Soros & other globalists. Very disturbing.

Patriots, this would be nothing less than an act of war against the American people. It would be the removal of our boldest defender & last possibility of maintaining our protective Constitution. Under the boot of globalists, life as we know it, would immediately decline to the model that suits the globalist interest  Marxist/Socialist/Communist. They get complete control, you get zero. Freedom, Gone! Liberty, Gone! This agenda is evil and simply cannot be allowed, at ANY cost.

He noted further that like all other military, law enforcement, and government personnel, he took an oath to support and defend the U.S. Constitution against ALL enemies, foreign and domestic. That includes any fellow American subversives who seeks to depose a duly-elected president using any means other than those legally prescribed by statute and the Constitution.

Such actions, undertaken by anyone even in a position of power and authority, make them enemies of the United States.

Were that to happen, ALL patriots, whether civilian, law enforcement, government, or military, have the duty to defend the nations founding document and the rule of law. Not doing so would result in the loss of the country and its constitutional pledges of individual liberty.

Some speculate on civil war, Sawyer wrote. I readily recognize a much more sobering reality: Anti-American subversives involved in ANY WAY in an unconstitutional coup against our President will be run down and executed immediately by the worlds most supreme warriors.

Though he didnt name names, I would assume one of those supreme warriors would be Sawyer, himself.

There will be nowhere for those subversives to run to, nowhere to hide, no mercy, no sense of humor, he continued. Harsh examples will be made. My prediction is it will be a gruesome massacre.

And why? Because, he said, one side in this conflict has 8 Trillion [sic] bullets & the other side doesnt know which bathroom to use.

It will only take a few hours. Lessons will be learned. History will take note. Order restored, he wrote.

That sounds a lot like what occurred recently in Turkey. In July 2016, a faction of the military attempted a coup, but it was put down by the majority of the remainder of the military, assisted by civilians, police and security services. Reports said 161 people were killed and the government cracked down hard on the coup planners.

There has never been a military coup attempt in the U.S., and the only actual combat between rival factions occurred during the four years of the Civil War, though you could reasonably argue that conflict was between two nations, the United States and the Confederate States of America.

Nevertheless, Sawyer calls on all Americans to stand ready to defend their country from these potential subversives. Prepare yourselves in case this ridiculous insanity actually gets played out and the rule of law goes out the window under their gross miscarriage of our legal process, he wrote.

J.D. Heyes is a senior writer for NaturalNews.com and NewsTarget.com, as well as editor of The National Sentinel.

Sources include:

AllNewsPipeline.com

Facebook.com

Bugout.news
(Natural News) In promotion of his latest film, An Inconvenient Sequel, former vice president and global warming activist Al Gore is still desperately trying to make the case that planet earth is heating up, and that only carbon taxes can fix it. But as per usual, he failed miserably during a recent CNN town hall with Anderson Cooper, during which a commercial crabber and local mayor explained that sea levels around his tiny island have remained the same for over half a century.

James Eskridge oversees the day-to-day activities on Tangier Island, in Virginia, and hes been fishing crab there for decades. Hes quite familiar with the tides, the currents, and various other elements in and around the coastal terrain. And other than an ongoing problem related to erosion, in which the shorelines of Tangier Island are progressively disappearing due to constant waves and storms, he says that everything is exactly the same as its always been, at least as far as ocean levels are concerned.

After listening to Gores spiel about the alleged growing threat of climate change, Eskridge couldnt help himself in pointing out that the well-known figures politically correct narrative doesnt seem to match the reality Eskridge faces every day. In challenging Gore on his position, Eskridge made a clear distinction between Gores view of the world, and whats actually taking place on Tangier Island.

Im a commercial crabber and Ive been working the Chesapeake Bay for 50+ years, Eskridge told Gore. I have a crab house business out on the water and the water level is the same as it was when the place was built in 1970. Im not a scientist, but I am a keen observer and if sea level rises are occurring, why am I not seeing signs of it?

Al Gore: Erosion caused by climate change, not ocean currents and wave action

It was the kill shot that completely annihilated Gores faulty argument, embarrassing him onstage in front of both his live audience and cable viewers. As anyone whos been following the agenda of Al Gore for any considerable period of time knows, his proof of climate change and global warming centers around the idea that sea levels are rising, which Eskridge clearly pointed out isnt true.

But Gore wouldnt accept this. Rather than bow out and admit that science and logic arent on his side, Gore instead attempted to capitalize on Eskridges admission that Tangier Islands coastline is eroding away. Gore proceeded to blame this erosion, which everyone knows is a product of things like wind, waves, and ocean currents, on global warming.

Have [the storms] increased any? Gore interjected as Eskridge was trying to explain how the weather is shrinking the size of Tangier Island.

Not really, Eskridge responded, pointing to historical evidence showing that Tangier Island has been eroding for probably hundreds of years. According to reports, as much as 66 percent of the islands land area has disappeared since 1850, an inconvenient fact that debunks Gores insinuation that global warming is responsible  that is, unless man-made climate change has somehow been around since before the industrial revolution when everyone traveled by horse and buggy.

Al Gore has had trouble in the past differentiating between the reality of natural weather events and his wild conspiracy theories about climate change. Earlier in the year, Gore claimed that a weather event that took place in Florida was a clear sign of impending climate apocalypse. It turned that it was just a case of higher-than-normal rising tides resulting from the lunar cycle. (Related: To keep up with the latest climate change hysteria, be sure to visit and bookmark ClimateScienceNews.com)

Sources for this article include:

DailyCaller.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) Parents want to give their children the best start in life, but modern moms and dads are quite busy and often look for shortcuts. There are plenty of products on the market that cater to time-pressed parents, and while they might make life easier on the adults, some of these choices could set children up for a lifetime of health problems.

Take the case of Oscar Mayers Lunchables, those overpriced boxed lunches sold in supermarkets. Are they convenient? Absolutely. Are they healthy? The short answer is no, but parents wouldnt be blamed for thinking otherwise, given the lengths the company goes to to hide these foods ingredients from the public.

A visit to the Lunchables Parents website created by Oscar Mayer parent company Kraft is an exercise in futility if youre looking for the ingredients of these foods. Clicking on the name of one of the Lunchable varieties gets you nothing more than a punchy sentence or two that tells you which toxic meats and other fixings are included, and why eating it will somehow be fun for your little ones.

Underneath is a tiny section called Nutritional Highlights that is aimed at making parents feel like they are somehow doing right by their children.

Lets take a look at the nutritional highlights of the Pepperoni + Mozzarella with Crackers variety. They could only come up with two positive things to say: Good source of protein (from the cheese and possibly the meat if it contains any significant amount of real meat), and Excellent source of calcium.

It might as well say Excellent source of carcinogens given the ingredient list, for which it was necessary to consult a photo of the product on a grocery store website because it is either extremely well-hidden or entirely absent from the Lunchables Parents website.

Cancer-causing ingredients

One of the most concerning ingredients is sodium nitrite, a common rust inhibitor chemical that the USDA is developing into a deadly bait for wild hogs to control their population. This known carcinogen can raise a persons pancreatic cancer risk by a sobering 67 percent.

In addition, nitrites turn into nitrosamines during digestion, which are the same chemicals that the pharmaceutical industry uses to give lab rats cancer so that they can test cancer treatments on them. This ingredient is the main reason that processed meat has been declared unsafe for human consumption by cancer experts.

It also contains BHA and BHT, two preservatives that are carcinogens and have also been linked to hyperactivity, asthma, allergic reactions and birth defects. They are toxic to the liver and kidneys, and BHT has been banned in the U.K. because it is so dangerous.

Most of the Lunchables offerings contain meat, although the term can only be used loosely when talking about what is inside these famous yellow boxes. The ham is chopped, formed and then pumped with preservatives and water, while the turkey also contains modified corn starch, carrageenan, sodium nitrate and other concerning ingredients. The varieties that come with drinks or desserts also contain high fructose corn syrup, along with artificial colors and flavors.

A days worth of sodium

Moreover, Michael F. Jacobson points out in the Huffington Post that Lunchables contain an extraordinary amount of sodium. For example, the Ham + Swiss with Crackers variety has 1,130 milligrams of sodium, which is just 70 milligrams shy of the recommended 1,200 milligrams of sodium the typical elementary school-aged kid should not exceed in a day.

Even those who skip the meat are not doing themselves any favors. The concoctions they try to pass off as pizza crusts and crackers in Lunchables are mostly made of white refined flour with all manner of partially hydrogenated oils, sugars, colorings, flavorings and preservatives.

After knowing what these abominations that are being passed off as food really contain, how could any sane parent actually buy these Frankenfood boxed meals for their kids? Thats probably why the official Lunchables website isnt too forthcoming about these ingredients. Preparing a healthy lunch for your kids doesnt take that much longer than tossing a box in their lunch bag, and its an effort that will pay for itself time and time again in terms of good health.

Sources include:

LunchablesParents.com

HuffingtonPost.com

NaturalNews.com

Walmart.com
The mystery airplane passenger who helped police arrest two people suspected of child sex abuse is being hailed as a hero, and now she's recounting the events that put her in a position to earn such praise.

A preschool teacher named Kristina witnessed a man exchanging some alarming text messages on a flight from Seattle to San Jose last week. She asked that her last name not be revealed, for fear of retribution.

Kristina said that when she saw what the couple was planning to do, she had to step in.

"I still get very choked up about it," she said. "It still hits hard."

The memory may still haunt her, but Kristina's teacher training and instincts kicked in on a Southwest flight to San Jose when a man leaned back in his chair and started texting.

The messages he sent, Kristina said, included plans to sexually abuse children.

"I don't know if it was divine intervention or what, but I just saw that, and what I saw unfold was horrifying and decided something had to be done," Kristina said.

Prosecutors say it was 56-year-old Michael Kellar texting with Gail Burnworth. Kristina tried to gather evidence.

"I just started taking pictures, zooming in and taking pictures," she said.

As the plane was about to land at Mineta San Jose International Airport, she made eye contact with a flight attendant.

"She asked if I was OK, and I leaned over and whispered, 'I think there is some sort of pedophile action going on,'" Kristina recalled. "She told me I would be the first off the plane to talk to their special ops person, and I showed him the first text, the second text, and that was enough for him to say we need to tell the authorities here.

Kellar was taken into custody on the plane, before he could delete the messages. Detectives credit Kristina with being proactive and discreet.

"There's truth in 'If you see something, say something.' It's not a cliche," she said. "Within hours, they were able to get those kids out of that home, and that was the most impactful thing."

Burnworth would be arrested hours later in Tacoma, Washington. If convicted, Burnworth and Kellar each face 15 to 30 years in prison.
SAN FRANCISCO  Joe Maddon has complained recently about the sloppiness of his team of reigning champions. The Giants were all too happy to take advantage.

With one out in the eighth, Ian Happ couldnt scoop Denard Spans grounder to second. A bloop from Ryder Jones and a seeing-eye shot from Jarrett Parker brought Span home, and the run held up. The Giants won 3-1, taking two of three from the Cubs. Here are five more things to know 

- You know, there is a path back to being a winning team, and its what we saw the past two days. Ty Blach went seven solid innings Tuesday and Madison Bumgarner allowed just one run over his seven innings Wednesday. If Johnny Cueto, Jeff Samardzija and Matt Moore can find better form next year, thats still a really strong rotation.

- Bumgarner let out a word we cant print after swinging over the top of three Kyle Hendricks changeups with two on in the fourth. Hes rusty at the plate. Kelby Tomlinson pinch-hit for Bumgarner to lead off the eighth even though the lefty was at just 92 pitches.

- Sandoval has been a little rough defensively in his first week back, but he added to the highlight reel in the fifth. He went down for a Ben Zobrist grounder and threw to first from his knees, beating Zobrist by a step.

- The Giants cant do anything about the Arenados and Goldschmidts and Hectors of the world, but theyve mostly kept Kris Bryant in check this season. Bryant was 1-for-4, flying out with the tying run on first in the eighth. He went 7-for-25 against the Giants this season with one homer and one RBI.

- Buster Posey did not steal a base, but his good friend Hunter Pence hit an impressive homer to right.
The former Google employee who generated outrage among his co-workers for a memo criticizing the company's diversity efforts talked publicly about it Wednesday for the first time.

James Damore lost his job after his internal memo was leaked. In the memo, he blamed the gender gap in the tech industry on biological differences between men and women.

Damore, appearing on a conservative talk show on YouTube Wednesday, told host Stefan Molyneux his memo wasn't an opinion but rather based on scientific research. He added that the memo originally was 10 pages and was leaked with much of that scientific data supporting his gender views edited out.

Damore also criticized what he called a politically correct bias in the Google culture.

In his memo, he said among other things women are unsuited to be good engineers because they're more interested in people than ideas.

"People get offended because it goes against the left's ideology," Damore said on the talk show. "And then they just think, 'OK, it offends people, therefore it's wrong and therefore it's an 'opinion.'"

The CEO of Glint, a firm that helps companies increase employee engagement and boost business, disagreed.

"When an employee acts in a way that violates a code of conduct, in a way that creates a hostile environment for its employees, smart companies take action," said Jim Barnett. "And that's what happened here."

Damore has said he plans to sue Google, and he reportedly has received an offer from WikiLeaks' Julian Assange.

Google has called for a company town hall meeting on diversity Thursday.
Four people, including a Louisiana couple previously accused of marijuana smuggling, have been indicted by a federal grand jury in San Francisco on charges including murder, racketeering and conspiracy.

Three of the four defendants are accused of the murder in aid of racketeering of Trince Thibodeaux, 26, of Los Gatos, who was gunned down in East Oakland on the night of March 22, 2016.

Those defendants are Marcus Etienne, of Opelousas, La., alleged in the indictment to have been the leader of an interstate drug and racketeering ring; Craig Marshall of Houston and Mario Robinson of Oakland.

Etienne and his wife, Elizabeth Gobert, also of Opelousas, are additionally charged with conspiring to murder Robinson in May of this year.

At the time, Etienne was in federal custody in connection with the previously filed marijuana charges and Gobert was free on bail.

The indictment expands on an earlier indictment issued in February in which Etienne and Gobert were charged with conspiring to distribute more than 220 pounds of marijuana.

They were alleged to have smuggled marijuana from Humboldt County and the San Francisco Bay Area to the vicinity of Lafayette in southwestern Louisiana in 2015 and 2016. Opelousas is a small town near Lafayette.

The revised indictment adds Robinson and Marshall to the marijuana conspiracy count and sets forth additional charges. All four defendants are accused of conspiring to racketeer, or participate in a continuing criminal enterprise.

Etienne, Marshall and Robinson are also accused of using a firearm in a murder.

Several of the charges carry a sentence of up to life in prison upon conviction and the charge of murder in aid of racketeering carries a mandatory life sentence.

In a filing seeking to have Etienne held without bail in February, prosecutors alleged that Thibodeaux was a co-conspirator in the marijuana ring.

The revised indictment was filed under seal on Aug. 3 and was unsealed after Robinson and Gobert were arrested in Louisiana on Aug. 4 and Aug. 6 and Marshall was taken into custody in Houston on Aug. 7.

They are expected to be transferred to San Francisco to face the charges together with Etienne, who remains in custody. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge William Alsup.

The indictment alleges Etienne was also known within the ring by the name "Hitler." At a hearing in February, his defense attorney said that unless there is a relevant explanation, it would be unfair to use that term for his client.
Google canceled a company town hall on diversity at the last minute Thursday afternoon out of concerns about people's safety, worrying they may be publicly outed for asking a question, according to a Google spokesperson.

The questions that were planned by "Googlers" appeared externally this afternoon and some employees are being named on "some websites," CEO Sundar Pichai said in an email sent to employees.

The tech giant planned the town hall meeting for Thursday following days of scrutiny over a controversial memo on the companys diversity initiatives written by engineer James Damore.

Pichai was expected to lead the town hall with other members of the companys leadership.

After the anti-diversity memo was made public, Pichai released a memo of his own on Tuesday addressing the importance of self-expression in the workplace while being aware of the companys code of conduct.

"To suggest a group of our colleagues have traits that make them less biologically suited to that work is offensive and not OK, Pichai said in his memo sent to Google employees.

In the controversial 3,000 word memo written by Damore, the 28-year-old engineer blamed the gender pay gap in the tech industry on biological differences between men and women. He also criticized what he called a politically correct bias in the Google culture.

"People get offended because it goes against the lefts ideology," Damore said during an interview on a conservative talk show on YouTube. And then they just think, OK, it offends people, therefore its wrong and there its an opinion."

After the canceled event, Pichai took the opportunity to make a surprise appearance at a women-in-tech awards event later Thursday. He talked directly to dozens of young female engineers from around the world and offered a short but poignant message.

"Theres a place for you in this industry. Theres a place for you at Google," he said. "Dont let anyone tell you otherwise."

The event is the culmination of a yearlong global competition for young women to use technology to address a problem. Its one of several initiatives that Google helps fund in order to diversify its workforce.

It comes as the company conducts damage control over Damore's memo and firing.

"Its definitely a defining moment for Google, for our culture," said Maggie Johnson, Google vice president of education. "Its something that were working through."


A two-year-long sting operation has netted scores of drugs, weapons and arrests of suspects who allegedly brought contraband to a non-descript Bay Area warehouse run by undercover agents, according to federal officials.

More than 100 suspects were ensnared in Operation Cold Day. Many are from Alameda, San Mateo and San Francisco counties, U.S. Attorney Brian Stretch said. Authorities were still making arrests Thursday.

"The objective of Operation Cold Day was very simply to get guns and drugs off the streets of our communities," Stretch said.



Many of the alleged thieves were involved in burglary and auto theft rings in San Francisco and Oakland, sources say. The operation involved law enforcement from San Mateo County, Daly City and San Francisco as well as federal ATF agents.

Investigators, including those from the Department of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, said they were able to interrupt supply chains of narcotics and illegal firearms.

"This Operation Cold Day resulted in the largest number of arrests in ATF history," said Jill Snyder, ATF special agent in charge.

Officials said they targeted home bases for gang members and other invididuals, some of whom played a role in violent crimes, including homicides.
In the event of a nuclear attack, the city of San Francisco's Department of Emergency Management is where an emergency response plan would be coordinated.

With the fiery exchanges flying between the U.S. and North Korea over the latter's missile tests and threats against U.S. allies, questions have emerged about how prepared big cities are for an attack.

San Francisco's emergency operations center is prepared for just about any emergency.

"We take an all-hazards approach," said Francis Zamora of the Department of Emergency Management. "We have something called the citys emergency response plan, and in that plan, we examine things like how we alert the public to an emergency, how we manage mass casualties ..."

President Donald Trump's reaction to North Korea's nuclear stance Wednesday, saying it would be met with "fire and fury," has raised questions about different scenarios in the Bay Area.

"You know, the more likely scenario for us is not that of a nuclear missle but is that of a radiological device, or what is commonly known as a dirty bomb," Zamora said. "And thats something that, as local agencies, we actually have the resources to help detect those type of activities and help prevent them. Thats something that we train and exercise on."

Thomas Fingar, a fellow with the Shorenstein Asia Pacific Research Center at Stanford University, believes the international rhetoric around North Korea's missile testing is not helpful. Diplomacy is key.

"Why would (North Korea) start it? Why would we start it?" Fingar said. "If we can just get past this obstacle of saying there's no way to manage this problem, then we've got a better chance of managing the problem."

Experts told NBC Bay Area being prepared for a nuclear event certainly is important, but making changes over short-term concerns about what might happen is going too far.
Executives from nearly three dozen leading Silicon Valley companies on Tuesday asked Brisbane officials to help tackle the Bay Area's critical housing shortage by approving the hotly debated Baylands project, which aims to add 4,400 units to the region's housing inventory.



Home to just under 4,700 people, Brisbane has held tightly onto its small town charm, despite years of housing and annexation suggestions by city leaders and developers.

Now, several of the region's job makers, including Salesforce and Yelp, are speaking up, in a story first reported by the San Francisco Business Times.

"The Bay Area added more than 530,000 jobs in the past five years but built just 94,000 housing units," the letter stated. "We believe the Baylands is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to move the needle on San Mateo Countys job-housing imbalance."

The letter comes after a delay in a now year-long review of Universal Paragon Corporation's proposal to develop Brisbane's former rail yard and sanitary landfill.

The developer has proposed a mixed-use development, which would also add 7 million square feet of office space in addition to the housing units, while the community plan proposes adding hotel units and additional commercial space in place of housing units.

Pressure to add housing from outside groups, including county and state officials, is mounting. Several of California's lawmakers voiced concern about the community's alternative plan Monday, because it would bring 15,500 additional jobs to the area without anywhere to house the workers.

One of the residents speaking in favor of housing at a special council meeting was former Brisbane Mayor Michael Barnes. He said the decision to remove housing came from the council, not the community.

"...The citizen's preferred alternative, a Baylands plan developed by the people of Brisbane included housing, but the city council stripped it out of their proposal," Barnes said.

While the majority of the community was opposed to the developer's plans in a community survey, more than have of respondents said they were open to some housing being built on the Baylands site.

Barnes urged the council to consider the wider context of the housing shortage in their final deliberations.

"The fact that we have 120 legislators in Sacremento and 130 housing bills in Sacremento shows that everyone in California thinks housing is a problem and that we should build some housing here," Barnes said. "Please consider some housing at the Baylands. Negotiate with your state legislators."

However, the majority of Brisbane residents present were vocal in their opposition to the project.

"All of these moral arguments about how Brisbane owes the rest of the region and the state to fix the problems that everyone else created are hollow arguments." said Brisbane resident Tony Verreos. "A lot of emotion, not a lot of logic there."

The Brisbane City Council is expected to vote this month on a recommendation for a November ballot measure.

To learn more about the proposed redevelopment, click here.
Two suspected shooters in the killing of a 23-month-old baby in Oakland pleaded guilty in the case Wednesday.

Houston Nathaniel, 28, and Dionte Houff, 35, admitted in court to shooting at a crowd in West Oakland nearly six years ago because they thought it was a group from a rival gang.

"They killed my son," said Brittany Houston, the mother of Baby Hiram.

The baby was shot and killed when prosecutors said a group of ACORN gang members opened fire on what they thought was a group from a rival gang, shooting a rap video in a West Oakland parking lot.

"My son didn't know anything about ACORN, Lower Bottoms, nothing," Houston said.

Nathaniel and Houff admitted they shot at the crowd because they thought the video would disrespect their gang. In exchange, the prosecutor agreed to recommend a 38- to 43-year sentence for the men.

"Why are they getting a second chance?" said Roslynn Gilder, Baby Hiram's aunt. "My nephew didn't get a second chance."

Houston and her family are outraged, with relatives pleading with the judge not to accept the deal.

Nathaniel told the court he is terribly sorry for what happened while Houff called his participation in the shooting unfortunate. The baby's family does not buy it.

"They will never feel how I feel, and I can honestly say they don't care how I feel," Houston said.
Richmond police arrested two people, one of them out on bail for attempted homicide, Tuesday on suspicion of numerous drug and firearm offenses, police said.

According to Richmond police, detectives conducted an investigation into "suspicious activities" at a home in the 4300 block of Santa Rita Road.

On Tuesday, police detectives and a SWAT team served a search warrant at the home and found a loaded pistol, two pounds of crystal methamphetamine, packaged crystal methamphetamine for sale, heroin, cocaine, more than 50 ecstasy pills and more than $5,000 in cash.

According to police, they also found three stolen and "chopped" cars with obliterated or switched vehicle identification numbers.

Police arrested a 36-year-old man who lived at the home. He was out on bail for attempted homicide in Solano County, police said.

Police also arrested his companion, a 35-year-old woman. Both suspects were arrested and booked on suspicion of numerous offenses.
How do you capture the aroma of a city that produces 12,000 tons of trash every day?

Luxury fragrance company Diptyque said on Twitter it is creating an exclusive New York City candle, and that has elicited strong mixed reactions on social media. The 6.5 oz candle is already listed on the company's website for $70.

NYC exclusive candle captures the scent of the city that never sleeps... pic.twitter.com/7siJFaTumF  diptyque Paris (@diptyqueparis) August 5, 2017

The Paris-based company, which also produces perfumes, cosmetics and skin care products, retails its candles from $34 to $295.

if this smells like fresh h&h bagels I'll buy 200 https://t.co/6TFM8YLY4a  BOOchie Wally (@rwxoxo) August 7, 2017

Though Diptyque didn't say exactly what the candle will smell like, users on social media weighed in on the possibilities.

Some customers expressed their enthusiasm over the new candle, hoping it has the essence of iconic New York foods like pizza, bagels, Halal meat or roasted nuts.

Love my city to death but it's a no from me dawg. https://t.co/jEehjmoCdJ  a Skettelectual (@ShenaeCurry) August 7, 2017

However, the majority of people seemed unimpressed or skeptical about the aroma of New York.

Common guesses about the scent included rats, urine, smoke, sweat, hot garbage and subways in the heat.

Other tweets referred to the quirky sights and smells of the city  the only-in-New-York incidents like the pizza rat or a stray shoe on the street.

Others had more abstract ideas about the scent, like despair and gentrification.

Diptyque also recently announced a London candle which they specified will smell like flowers.

To celebrate Westbourne Grove boutique reopening, diptyque proposes a London exclusive candle; a flower market encapsulated. pic.twitter.com/wO4IX9CZka  diptyque Paris (@diptyqueparis) August 8, 2017

To celebrate Westbourne Grove boutique reopening, diptyque proposes a London exclusive candle; a flower market encapsulated, the company tweeted.

The company hasnt confirmed if the London and New York candles are part of a city-themed series in the making, but some people are hoping not.
As Seen On
A 4-year-old girl at the center of an Amber Alert in Indiana Thursday was found "in good health" after an unknown person dropped her off at a Wendy's fast-food restaurant, police said.

The girl's father, Channing Scott, used a toy scooter to break out the window of a van and take her, authorities say.

Adayah, described as a black female, about 2 feet 6 inches and weighing around 40 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes, was last seen at 2:10 a.m. Thursday in Fort Wayne, police said.

Fort Wayne Police said they believe Adayah was likely abducted by her father, Channing Scott.

Mr. Scott forcibly took the child by taking a toy scooter and breaking out a window of the victims van, which allowed Scott to remove the child out of the seat of the victims vehicle, Michael Joyner, a spokesman for the Fort Wayne Police Department said.

Police said Channing is 46 years old, black man, about 5 feet 10 inches tall with black dreadlocks and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a dark red shirt, gray sweatpants and black-and-white gym shoes, police said.

The suspect vehicle is a red 2011 Hyundai Accent with an In God We Trust Indiana license plate VKZ918, police said.

Scott is possibly with David Cook, 37, who is about six feet tall with brown hair and weighs about 240 pounds, police said.

Both men are homeless, according to police, and have no known cellphones.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Fort Wayne Police Department at 888-582-6237 or 911.
Just a day after DuPage County issued an advisory about an increase in West Nile virus-infected mosquitoes, the county's first human case of the illness has been reported.

In a press release, the DuPage County Health Department revealed that a Glen Ellyn man was diagnosed with the illness.

West Nile is transmitted to people by infected mosquitoes, with one in five people infected by the virus experiencing symptoms such as fever, headache, joint pain, vomiting, and diarrhea. Less than one percent of victims will develop a serious neurologic illness such as encephalitis or meningitis, according to the county.

According to yesterday's advisory, batches of mosquitoes are testing positive for the virus in the county, and DuPage isnt the only county experiencing an uptick in infections. Other northeastern Illinois counties have also seen an increase in mosquitoes infected with the blood-borne illness.

The health department maintains a Personal Protection Index (PPI) on the countys website to let residents know about the spread of the virus. That level has been set at 2 on a scale of 0-to-3, according to the county, denoting a moderate risk to residents.

The county is encouraging residents to drain standing water around their properties, to use mosquito repellant when venturing outdoors, and to wear long pants and sleeves, especially during peak hours at dawn and dusk.

Other areas, including Lake and Cook counties, have had mosquitoes test positive for the virus, but there is only one reported case of a human contracting the virus, which occurred in Will County earlier this summer.
Illinois missed the deadline make payments to K-12 schools for the first time in history Thursday, according to the state comptroller.

The state failed to make General State Aid payments by the Thursday deadline, Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza said in a release.

Mendoza directed the payment of $429 million in grants to schools as a contingency, according to the release.

"Failure to sign General State Aid funding legislation allowing payment to school districts statewide meant monies reserved this week for that purpose, combined with additional cash management strategies, could be utilized to pay the grants already owed to those districts," Mendoza's office said, adding that categorical payments cover transportation, special education and other costs.

The missed deadline comes as the battle over school funding continues in Springfield.

Lawmakers have yet to override or uphold Gov. Bruce Rauners amendatory veto of Senate Bill 1, a bill to create an "evidence-based model" of school funding.

Rauner vetoed the bill earlier this month, making changes that included removing financial considerations for CPS block grant and pension payments  the only district statewide for which the state does not pick up employer contributions.

With no funding formula approved, no checks are able to be sent to any schools - even though the anticipated start of the school year is just weeks away.

That's because an "evidence-based model" is required as part of a budget deal that legislators approved in July. The state Senate is scheduled to take up SB 1 in a special session on Sunday.
Officers in northwest Indiana fatally shot a suspect during a police chase that began in Illinois early Thursday, according to police.

Around 5 a.m., officers in south suburban Crete engaged in a pursuit with a suspect in a stolen vehicle, according to Sauk Village Police Chief Robert Kowalski.

The pursuit continued west into Sauk Village, where the suspect left the stolen car and got into a vehicle that had been planted in the area, Kowalski said.

The suspect then struck an innocent bystander near the intersection of Sauk Trail and Jeffrey Avenue, according to police.

Officers stopped to assist the pedestrian, announcing details about the suspect over police radio, according to Kowalski.

The victim, whose age and gender was not immediately available, was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center.

The offender did not stop, according to police, and continued across the state border into Indiana.

Indiana State Police and Dyer Police spotted the suspects vehicle in Dyer, according to Kowalski.

Dyer police then fatally shot the suspect, Kowalski said. The Lake County Coroners office says further details on the suspects identity were not available, as family has not been notified.

The suspect had on an ankle monitor from the Illinois Department of Corrections, and had an active warrant out for armed robbery and burglary, police confirmed.

Several officers from multiple agencies were involved in the incident, which remains under investigation by Indiana State Police. Four officers involved in the shooting are on administrative leave until the investigation is complete.

According to police, there is audio and video of the shooting, but it will not be released until an investigation is complete.

There is no risk to the public, Deputy Chief Dan Murchek of the Lake County Sheriffs Department said at a news conference.
The Make-a-Wish of Connecticut Foundation made 13-year-old Brynn Hennesseys dream of becoming famous come true by giving her a star-studded treatment in West Hartford.

On Wednesday, police officers escorted the Portland teens limo through the streets of West Hartford as crowds of people cheered her on. Hennessey even got to sign a couple autographs.

Literally, Im like having butterflies in my stomach. Its crazy, Hennessey said.

Brynn Hennessey was just weeks old when she was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder that affects the lungs and makes it difficult to breath.

She has always wanted to become a star and Make A Wish made her dream come true Wednesday.

And her dream is not over yet. Hennessey will now travel to Los Angeles to make her acting debut in a TV commercial.
The parent company of Applebees restaurants told investors Thursday it plans to close between 105 and 135 locations.

The company announced it plans to also close an estimated 20 to 25 IHOP restaurants. PReviously the company had planned to close approximately 18 restaurants.

The companys executives made the announcement while sharing plans to develop between 100 and 125 new locations internationally between the two brands.

Prior to Thursdays announcement, the company had planned to close between 40 to 60 Applebees restaurants.

Richard J. Dahl, Chairman and interim Chief Executive Officer of DineEquity, Inc. was quoted in a company news release as saying 2017 will be a transitional year for Applebees.

We are making the necessary investments for overall long-term brand health and expect to see improvement over the next year," said Dahl.

The closures will be determined on franchisee profitability, operational results and brand quality standards, the companys website said.

There are six Applebees locations in Connecticut and eight IHOP locations in the state. No word on if any of those locations are among the sites that will be closed.

Applebees saw a 6.2 percent decline in sales for the second quarter of 2017.

Dahl said IHOP remains in a stronger position than Applebee's. "IHOP remains on solid ground, despite soft sales this quarter," said Dahl in a company release. "I am optimistic about the growth in both effective franchise restaurants and system-wide sales. IHOP is currently rolling out initiatives to address the convenience needs of our guests, which are inclusive of online ordering as well as accelerating tests for delivery and development of an IHOP mobile application. We believe these will create enhanced revenue channels."

Domestically, IHOP saw same restaurant sales decline 2.6 percent in the second quarter of 2017.
Some Coventry residents were urged to boil their water before consuming it after a contractor damaged a water main, but that order has been lifted.

The Connecticut Water Company previously issued a warning to customers of the Pilgrim Hills public water system, which serves Grant Hill Road, Mill Race Drive, Appian Way, Wolf Hill Road, Carnic Alps Road, MaryAnn Drive, Mark Drive, Alice Drive, Mark Road and Harriet Drive, which affected around 75 homes.

Officials from the water company said a contractor damaged the water main and caused water pressure to drop below 20 pounds per square inch.

Tests showed the water is safe to drink.

Customers with questions should call the Connecticut Water Company at 1-800-286-5700.
A Meriden father who sought sanctuary in a New Haven church when he was supposed to be deported Tuesday to Ecuador said he does not want to be separated from his children and is prepared to stay as long as he has the support of his family in the decision.

Marco Reyes, a father of three and the family's sole provider, learned in July when he reported to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as scheduled, that he would have to leave behind the life he built in Meriden and head back to Ecuador by Aug. 8.

Instead, Reyes took sanctuary at the First and Summerfield United Methodist Church in New Haven with his family members.

U.S. Customs and Immigration officials said that a federal immigration judge issued a final order of removal for Reyes in 2009 and Reyes was granted a stay of removal to allow him to pursue legal options in his immigration proceedings but has since exhausted his legal options.

Reyes explained that he came to the U.S. in 1997 because he wanted to build a better life for his family. He did that by working a construction job as he and his wife raised their three children. He said he has no criminal record.

Reyes has been living in Connecticut with his wife and children since 1997 and the problem came in 2007 when the family was vacationing and accidentally crossed into Canada.

Federal immigration authorities apprehended Reyes as they tried to return and supporters said he has been checking in with ICE since 2016.

I am very honest in this country. Very, very honest. I pay my taxes, I pay everything. So I dont understand. Why me? Reyes said.

Reyes said that it is frustrating to be stuck at the church because he cannot provide for his family, but that all the support he has received from the community has been a blessing. Senator Richard Blumenthal has called on ICE to reconsider the order, saying the move is a result of the Trump administrations cruel and inhumane immigration policies.

His 12-year-old daughter Adriana, who is staying at the church with her father, said she hated the thought of being separated and wished that President Donald Trump would consider what deportation does to families.

He should think about all those families that their families are getting destroyed, separated  maybe they wont get to see them for  maybe forever, she said.

She also asked that people who wanted her father to leave stop and think about that the situation really means, and how they would feel if it were them.

You dont like when youre separated from your family. You never want to go through that, she said.

Shawn Neudauer, ICE spokesman for the New England area said that Reyes is now considered an ICE fugitive for refusing to comply with the removal order and will be arrested when encountered. It is ICE's policy not to apprehend people in sensitive locations like churches unless there are pressing circumstances.

"A federal immigration judges orders cannot be ignored. ICE and the courts can delay acting on an order to ensure all applicable legal processes and possible benefits are followed and/or reviewed, which occurred in this case. However, after these legal options are exhausted, ICE must still carry out the judges order in the absence of any other mitigating factors," Neudauer said in a statement.

Reyes is not the first Connecticut resident to seek refuge in a church while fighting deportation.

Nury Chavarria, a mother of four, who left Guatemala in 1993, when she was 19, sought sanctuary at Iglesia De Dios Pentecostal Church in New Haven, and has since been granted a stay that will allow her to remain in the country.
A Dallas-based oil and gas company that last year said it discovered at least 6 billion barrels of oil under its land in northern Alaska is cleaning up more than 7,000 gallons of oil leaked from a well.



Alaska's Energy Desk reports that Caelus Energy originally thought the spill in mid-June was just 5 gallons, but a gravel pad was brought in to prevent ground contamination after officials realized the scope.



Tom DeRuyter, who is overseeing the response to the leak, said the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation thinks most of the spill was contained to the gravel pad, but about 3 gallons of oil made it out to the tundra.



Cleanup on the spill is ongoing.



Caelus officials declined to be interviewed, but the company stated it is working with the state department to minimize damage.
Residents of a Dallas neighborhood say they are taking a stand and asking the city to step in and help them get a motel to move on.

They are concerned about the Grand Inn on West Camp Wisdom Road and now are planning a protest over the weekend.

Eric Williams started his day Wednesday appealing to city leaders on the Dallas City Council.

"I'm calling on the city to use its eminent domain power to shut this place down," Williams said.

It's a mission hes been on for a while.

"I've been fighting this fight ever since I returned to Dallas in 2005," he said.

He made his plea before council members armed with data he gathered using the federal Freedom of Information Act. He said he found years of citations against people at the motel's address.

"Drugs, drunkenness, prostitution and illicit criminal activity has been going on at this motel for numerous years," he said.

Linda Wright's front door is right around the corner from the motel.

"Well, it wasn't an issue when we first moved over here, because it wasn't like that, but here lately it has gotten worse," Wright said.

Wright said she now gets worried about letting her grandchildren pass the motel to get to the store.

"If they are just living there because they don't have any place to stay, that's fine, but if there's crime like prostitution and drugs or whatever, then it needs to be gone," she said.

A new school, Uplift Pinnacle Preparatory, opened about a quarter of mile away.

"You can't afford to have 200-plus [and] maxed out 1,800-plus students across the street," Williams said. "We deserve better than that. We deserve a better quality of life than that."

NBC 5 attempted to reach the motel's owners for comment Wednesday, but was unable to do so.
As the conflict between the U.S. and North Korea intensifies, a North Texas family with loved ones serving in Guam is becoming increasingly worried about the threat of a missile attack on the island.



"When I initially started following the news my heart dropped," said Dr. Celeste Clarke, who lives in Frisco.



Clarke's oldest brother Charles is a Chief in the U.S. Navy and is currently serving in Guam. Charles, his wife and their two children have lived there for about three years.

Clarke said she and her entire family are incredibly proud of her brother's military service and they understand that it means he may be put in harm's way. But that doesn't make the current situation any easier for them to process.

What they're leaning on is faith.



"We're a family that's built on biblical values," said Clarke, "and our trust in God has helped us through life."

Her sister-in-law echoed as much when she spoke to Clarke on the phone from Guam Wednesday.

"I asked her if they were going to get out of there," Clarke said. "She said I have faith in God and I have faith in the military that they'll protect us. They're equipped, they're prepared."

Clarke said the phone call made her feel better  though she'll continue to pray for the safety of her family and all others affected by this crisis. She hopes other North Texas families will join her in that effort.

"Faith in God supersedes everything," said Clarke. "He'll protect you when no one else can."


Cities like Los Angeles are deploying a new weapon to force people to pay parking tickets: a newer, lighter "boot" called the Smart Boot.

When an LA Parking Enforcement officer boots a car, the wheels are locked up and owner technically can't drive it again until they call a toll-free number and pay all their outstanding tickets.

But the NBC4 I-Team has found a handful of drivers are finding ways to outsmart the Smart Boot.

"They can be cut, they can be destroyed," LA Department of Transportation (LADOT) Sgt. Mark Bivens told the I-Team.

A small percentage of drivers who've been booted have found ways to discard the boot and avoid paying their tickets. The I-Team obtained video of a tire, with the boot still on it, that a driver took off his car and discarded in a nearby tow truck yard. The car was booted on Wall Street in downtown LA. The driver simply put a new tire on the car and drove off, cheaper than paying the $939 he owes the city for five tickets.

"There isn't a boot on the market that's 100 percent infallible," says LADOT's Sgt. Bivens.

It's illegal to not pay outstanding parking tickets, according to LADOT. Still, parking tickets deadbeats now owe the city of LA $21 million in unpaid tickets from the last five years. That money could be used to fill 1 million potholes or hire 300 new city firefighters.

"When somebody isn't paying their ticket, they're actually taking money away from police, from fire, from street paving," LA City Controller Ron Galperin told NBC4.

Galperin said there are numerous ways the city could do a better job of collecting unpaid tickets, such as lowering the late fees on unpaid tickets.

LADOT thinks the threat of getting booted will now prompt a lot of drivers to pay their tickets. The new Smart Boot is lighter and easier for officers to use than the clunky, older "Denver Boot," which the city stopped using in 2009.

And, that appears to be the case with George Martinez, who the I-Team discovered last month was the likely King of Unpaid Tickets. An I-Team analysis of all unpaid tickets in LA found Martinez had 118 outstanding tickets, and owed the city $22,182.

"It's not something I'm proud of," Martinez told the I-Team.

After being featured in the I-Team's report last month on parking ticket deadbeats, Martinez came forward and paid the city for all 118 tickets. He told NBC4 he was fearful officers would boot his vehicles.

The city's Smart Boot pilot program is beginning to pay off, at least in a small way. Since the city began using the boot on July 26, LADOT officers have booted at least 442 cars, and collected payment on 1247 unpaid tickets from the last five years, totaling more than $179,000. A car is only booted if it has five or more unpaid tickets. LADOT is hopeful the pilot program will eventually became permanent.
SeaWorld San Diego said it will begin building a new roller coaster immediately after the plans were approved Wednesday by the California Coastal Commission.

"Electric Eel, featuring astounding loops, twists and airtime, will bring a whole new level of excitement to SeaWorld," SeaWorld San Diego spokesperson David Koontz said.



The park asked the commission to approve the construction of a 150-foot tall roller coaster.

The amusement park's largest attraction "will offer park guests the only upside-down view of Mission Bay," Koontz said.

SeaWorld San Diego will use 1.2 acres of land in the park to construct the ride and a station for lockers. The proposal also called for the construction of an educational building where live electric eels will be housed in aquatic tanks.

There were some concerns regarding view and public access, according to the Coastal Commission. However, the board approved the permit unanimously.

Because of its height, the roller coaster will be highly visible from many parts of Mission Bay Park. However, proposals for the project indicate the structure would not block any ocean views.

The ride will utilize a sky-like color scheme so that it blends in with natural surroundings.

An initial study of potential traffic impacts in the area found that there would not be a substantial increase in traffic in the area due to the new roller coaster, according to a report by the Coastal Commission. The report goes on to say that the roller coaster is expected to attract a lot more visitors to SeaWorld San Diego each year.

According to an initial report by the Coastal Commission, "Noise associated with construction activities or other operations has the potential to adversely impact marine mammals in the area."

But the roller coaster was given the green light by the commission.

The construction of the roller coaster and accompanying facilities is expected to take nine months.

SeaWorld San Diego has its own waste water treatment plan that the proposal says will not be affected by the roller coaster. Therefore, the study goes on to say it is not expected the structure would have an impact on the water quality in the area.

The second project up for approval at the California Coastal Commission meeting Wednesday was the possible construction of new public bathrooms in Coronado.

The project would be located west of the Avenida del Sol cul-de-sac, which runs between the Coronado Shores Condominiums and the Hotel del Coronado.

The site currently offers free public parkways and a public walkway to the beach.



The project would build a 235-square foot public restroom facility with three stalls, storage s, ace and showers that would take up about 1,000-square feet of the plaza area.

The project would also remove and replace an existing beach access stairway and add a new accessible ramp leading from the sidewalk to the new plaza.



The staff recommendation for the project is a denial.

In a staff report, the Coastal Commission acknowledged public restrooms are important, but added, "this particular project, both as a result of its design and location, would result in a significant obstruction of views, impact shoreline sand supply, and require construction of a shoreline protection device."

The restrooms also call for the construction of a seawall incorporated into the seaward portion of the development. A staff report found that the bathrooms do not have to be on the beach, and so a seawall would be unnecessary to construct.



Those for the project say it would bring bathrooms open to the public to an area of the beach that needs it.

In a staff report, it was requested that an alternative of temporary public restrooms be installed instead.
A Southern California woman killed in a weekend boating accident became entangled in a rope tied to her sinking vessel and was pulled underwater after performing what her family is calling one final act of love  helping her daughter get to safety.

What was meant to be a weekend to celebrate life and love ended with a tragic farewell.

Tasha Turner, 30, from Hemet, was among seven people on a boat which sunk sometime after 6:30 p.m. Saturday near the Big River Park located just off the Colorado River, near the Arizona state line, according to Deputy William Poe.

The deputy said that Turner, boat operator Umberto Bagnara of Beaumont and five other passengers departed from the launch ramp at Big River Park to go tubing. However, the 19-foot "closed bow vessel" they were in "lost power and became swamped and started to sink," Poe said.

Bagnara and five other passengers were able to swim away from the sinking vessel, but Turner was unable to free herself from a rope attached to the boat and was pulled beneath the water's surface.

"The boat was so heavy I believe it got tied up around her and pulled her in," Turners boyfriend Norris Salah said.

Turner handed her daughter to a passing jet-skier, the victims sister Myesha Turner said.

"Before her mom threw her, she gave her a hug and said, 'I love you. Goodbye.'"

Dive teams located the boat Saturday evening, but strong currents and poor lighting conditions led crews to cancel further dive missions until the following morning, Poe said. Turner's body was found after dive teams resumed their search about 7 a.m. Sunday.

Norris had a ring in his pocket and was ready to propose to Turner out on the water that weekend before the accident occurred.

"I love you very much. I love you," Norris said of his late girlfriend while fighting back tears.

The operator of the boat is cooperating with the investigation. Investigators are looking into if there were too many people aboard the boat.

Anyone with information was asked to call Poe at (760) 326-9200.

If you would like to donate to a GoFundMe account set up to help Tasha Turner's family, you may do so here. Note that GoFundMe deducts 7.9 percent of all funds raised in the form of platform and payment processing charges.


A Los Angeles councilman is giving the green light to a California bill designed to clear up confusion over when pedestrians can legally cross a street.

Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar voiced his support Wednesday for state legislation that would allow pedestrians to cross a street, even if the crosswalk countdown has already begun.

The current jaywalking law was written when flashing red signals alone were instituted, and does not reflect modern crossing signals, which include a countdown, according to Assemblyman Miguel Santiago, D-Los Angeles, author of AB 390. As a result, it is currently illegal for a pedestrian to step into a crosswalk after the red hand starts, even if there is sufficient time to safely cross.

A Los Angeles Times investigation found that 17,000 people in the city were ticketed over a four-year period for stepping off the curb after the countdown had started.

"In downtown Los Angeles, Council District 14 and throughout the city of Los Angeles, we are leading the way with complete streets initiatives and policies that allow us to prepare for a new Los Angeles," said Huizar, who introduced a resolution the City Council passed in May in support of AB 390. "We are in the midst of a momentous shift when it comes to increasing pedestrian uses and space and our antiquated state crosswalk law has not kept pace with the city of Los Angeles goals in downtown and elsewhere

"AB 390 addresses the concerns that downtown residents expressed to my office and led to us sponsoring a City Council resolution calling on the state for a change in the law, and we join our constituents in advocating for full state legislative support of AB 390."

The bill, which was approved in May by the Assembly Transportation Committee, would make it legal to proceed across a crosswalk during a flashing countdown signal as long as the pedestrian completes the crossing before the display of the steady "Don't Walk" or "Wait" or "upraised hand" symbol when the countdown ends.

AB 390 was introduced by Santiago after Huizar authored a 2016 City Council resolution calling on the state to update the crosswalk laws.

"I don't believe pedestrians should be preyed upon just to fill local coffers," Santiago said in May. "AB 390 encourages and reinforces pedestrian-friendly communities like downtown Los Angeles."

According to Santiago, other states and cities have passed similar legislation and there is no evidence of an increased safety risk to pedestrians as a result of those laws.
Orange County prosecutors asked for public help Wednesday identifying possible additional victims of a man already charged with sexually assaulting a teenage girl in San Juan Capistrano and a 19-year-old woman in Santa Ana.

Alejando Hernandez Garcia, 41, of San Juan Capistrano, is scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 18 on charges that could land him in prison for 98 years to life, according to the District Attorney's Office.

According to prosecutors, Garcia allegedly sexually assaulted a 16-year- old girl on July 13, 2016, by dragging her into a San Juan Capistrano garage and locking her inside. The alleged victim knew Garcia only as "Tiburon," the Spanish word for "shark."

Garcia is also accused of raping a 19-year-old woman who was lost in Santa Ana on Aug. 18, 2016. He allegedly gave the woman an alcoholic beverage that was spiked with "an illegal drug," then sexually assaulted her in the backseat of his car, prosecutors said.

He was arrested Aug. 1, two days after he returned to the San Juan Capistrano neighborhood of his first alleged victim, who spotted him and called the sheriff's department, according to prosecutors.

In his mug shot, Garcia has a black eye. That is the result of a crowd who "detained" him when one of the victims recognized him, the District Attorney's Office said.

Garcia, who is jailed in lieu of $1 million bail, was charged with single counts of forcible rape, sodomy by force and rape by use of a drug, along with two counts each of sexual penetration by foreign object and forcible oral copulation.

Anyone with additional information or who believes they may have been a victim was asked to call District Attorney's Office investigator Eric Wiseman at (714) 347-8794.


What to Know Erica Newsome, 37, has been jailed on charges of concealing the body of her daughter, Kaye-lea Plummer

She left Florida Friday to drive to the girl's father's home in Buffalo, but crashed into a guardrail in West Virginia, she told cops

State Police told a local paper a couple traveling on the same highway reported seeing her pull a body from her car and drag it over a hill

A Florida woman bound for Buffalo, New York, allegedly drove for two days with her dead 11-year-old daughter in her truck before hitting a guard rail in West Virginia, where authorities say witnesses saw her dragging the body into the woods.

The driver, 37-year-old Erica Newsome, has been jailed on charges of concealing the body of her daughter, Kaye-lea Plummer.

The Pocahontas Times, a local newspaper, reports that Newsome told authorities after Sunday's crash that they left Jacksonville on Friday to drive to the home of the girl's father in Buffalo.

State Police Sgt. Herby Barlow told the newspaper that it was obvious the girl did not die from injuries in the accident.

Barlow said a couple traveling on the same highway reported seeing Newsome remove a body from her vehicle and drag it over a hill. They were found on an old logging road about 150 feet beyond an embankment, he said.

The mother was jailed on $50,000 bail while investigators search for evidence in Florida.

"At this time, foul play is suspected in the child's death and we believe the death occurred in Jacksonville, Florida," the sheriff's office there said.

The girl's father, Donath Plummer, told WJXT4 television in Jacksonville that Newsome texted him Saturday morning, saying she was bringing their daughter to Buffalo.

He said they married in 2007 and separated two years later. He said he hadn't seen them since Newsome moved with Kaye-lea to Jacksonville in 2014, but he would check on his daughter regularly by phone.

"We didn't always agree on everything, but she was a great mother. I don't know how this could have happened," Plummer said. "Something is very, very wrong. She needs help. She really needs help."
The U.S. Coast Guard has rescued a Navy jet pilot off the Florida Keys.

A Coast Guard news release says they received a report Wednesday afternoon that a Navy F-5N jet pilot was in the water 20 miles southeast of Key West and needed assistance.

The Coast Guard says a helicopter and airplane were diverted to the area, and the helicopter crew spotted the pilot's emergency smoke signal. Rescuers hoisted the pilot up to the helicopter.

A Navy news release says the F-5N Tiger II tactical fighter aircraft was conducting training operations when the pilot ejected, and the jet crashed into the ocean.

The pilot was taken to a Keys hospital in good condition.

The crash remains under investigation.
A JetBlue flight from Fort Lauderdale to Barbados made a U-turn Thursday afternoon after three flight attendants fell ill, Broward Sheriff's Fire Rescue said.

The plane returned to Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport after the flight attendants complained of headaches. They said there was an odor or fumes on board. The flight attendants were treated on scene, but refused to be transported to the hospital, officials said.

Around 2:45 p.m., flight 385 made its way back to the gate, where hazmat crews checked the aircraft. A new crew was assigned to the flight and it continued its route to Barbados Thursday evening, the airline said.

The incident is being investigated.
A sentencing hearing in a Medicare fraud case against a prominent Florida eye doctor accused of bribing New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez has been postponed.

Attorneys for Dr. Salomon Melgen said in court documents filed Thursday they and prosecutors have agreed to cancel Friday's scheduled sentencing hearing until December. That would be after next month's scheduled joint bribery trial against Menendez and Melgen in New Jersey.

Melgen's attorneys say in court documents the delay is necessary because the hearing could take longer than a day.

Federal prosecutors declined comment.



Melgen was convicted in April on 67 counts in one of the largest Medicare rip-off schemes in recent years. Prosecutors said Melgen intentionally misdiagnosed patients for serious eye conditions to inflate and falsify Medicare billing statements.

Menendez (D-NJ) is accused of using his office to try to help Melgen get out of millions in federal fines in exchange for campaign cash and gifts, including free vacations to Europe and the Caribbean and free flights on Melgens private jet. New Jersey's senior senator is also accused of abusing his office to try to help Melgen win private business deals, including a port security contract with the Dominican Republic potentially worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

Menendez is set to go on trial in September in New Jersey, along with Melgen on the federal corruption charges. Both men deny any wrongdoing, claiming in part that they have been close personal friends for years.

Melgen faces 15 years in prison when he is sentenced Friday for the separate Medicare fraud charges.

Corrupt health care providers who defraud federal health care systems divert precious tax dollars from where they are needed most," Department of Defense investigator John F. Khin said after Melgen was convicted.

Melgen ran his scheme from 2008 to 2013, improperly earning tens of millions of dollars annually, authorities said. For example, Melgen billed Medicare $21 million in 2012  more than any other doctor in the country.

Melgen met Menendez at a campaign fundraiser in 1993 shortly after he opened his eye clinics. Since then, Melgen has allegedly donated almost $700,000 to Menendezs campaign and a separate political action committee.

The FBI said Menendez took numerous free flights aboard Melgens private plane as well as accepting a free stay at a five-star Paris hotel. After the criminal investigation began, Menendez said he reimbursed Melgen for the cost of some of those flights.

Prosecutors said Menendez helped Melgens foreign girlfriends get visas and push for changes to Medicares reimbursement policies, which potentially would have generated millions more for Melgen.

Menendez has repeatedly vowed to beat the charges, stating, Im not going anywhere.

Prosecutors may try to use Melgens conviction as leverage to try to get his cooperation but to date Melgen has shown loyalty to the senator and has denied wrongdoing.

Former federal prosecutor Robert Ray says Melgens conviction in Florida could spell trouble for both men in the upcoming corruption trial in New Jersey.

You can sort of see the correlation of evidence of intent that amounts to Medicare fraud and evidence of intent to commit honest services fraud," said Ray.

His attorney, Michael Menchel, declined to comment.

Menendez has tried to get the charges dismissed in part because of the Supreme Courts recent ruling narrowing the definition of corruption when they threw out the bribery conviction of former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell (R-Va.)

The Supreme Court recently denied Sen. Menendezs attempt to dismiss his case and U.S. District Judge William Walls ruled this week that the corruption case will move forward, and he will reassess Menendezs request after the prosecution presents its evidence in this case.
What to Know An 11-year-old girl suffered 2nd-degree burns to much of her upper body when one of her classmates poured boiling water on her, police say

The girl was sleeping when another girl, 12, poured the boiling water on her, according to police

The girl was admitted to a burn unit; the 12-year-old was arrested and charged with assault

Warning: Video contains graphic photos.



A 12-year-old girl was arrested after police say she dumped boiling water on an 11-year-old girl, leaving her severely burned, at a sleepover in the Bronx earlier this week, police said.

Jamoneisha Merritt was at a sleepover at her friend's house near Findlay Avenue and East 166th Street early Monday morning when one of her classmates got boiling water and poured it in a cup, according to police.

[[439559163 , C]]

Jamoneisha's cousin, Yolanda Richardson, said Jamoneisha and the 12-year-old had been arguing.

"Her and her friend got into an argument and she told her if she goes to sleep they were going to do something to her," Yolanda said.

Jamoneisha was sleeping when the 12-year-old girl, who has not been identified, poured the cup of scalding water on her, according to police.

She was jolted awake by the scorching water, which burned much of her upper body, including her face, back, shoulders, neck and chest, police said.

"She said she was screaming that it was burning," Yolanda said.

First responders rushed her to Harlem Hospital in serious but stable condition. She was admitted to a burn unit with second-degree burns.

Top Tri-State News Photos

Her family said she's in a lot of pain and is emotionally scarred by the incident. They said they don't want to show Jamoneisha the extent of her burns and what she looks like right now, but photos provided to News 4 show her with skin missing from her face, shoulders and neck.

"I could only be with her for a little bit, because I can't hold myself together," Yolanda said. "I don't want her to see me cry."

Jamoneisha's family says she is joyful, fun and energetic. They say the boiling water may have burned her face, but her spirit has not been extinguished.

"She's just a bundle of joy, you can't be around her and be sad," her cousin, Starshanae Nixon, said.

It's unclear how long Jamoneisha will be in the hospital or what her prognosis is.



The 12-year-old girl was arrested and charged with assault, police said. At this point, none of the other children are facing charges.

[NATL-NY]40 Years After Son of Sam's Arrest, Archive Photos Show Dramatic Scenes From One of the Most Notorious Killing Sprees in American History
What to Know NYPD Officer Hart Nguyen was shot multiple times by a man who then barricaded himself in a home with two guns, police say

Nguyen was taken to an area hospital and is expected to survive; he was hit twice in the chest and once in the arm

Officers surrounded the home in an hours-long standoff; the suspected gunman killed himself, according to police

A summer afternoon in Brooklyn was disrupted by gunfire when a man shot and injured an officer, sparking an hours-long standoff that ended when the man turned the gun on himself, police say.

A bulletproof vest is credited in saving an NYPD officer's life during a shooting in Brooklyn. Checkey Beckford reports.

Authorities swarmed a block in Cypress Hills after the NYPD officer was shot multiple times by the man, who then barricaded himself in a two-story home, according to police.

Mayor de Blasio and NYPD Commissioner James ONeill held a press conference after an NYPD officer was shot and injured in Brooklyn. They said that the officer was in stable condition and that the suspected gunman had killed himself.

The officer  later identified as 30-year-old Hart Nguyen  was shot shortly after 4:30 p.m. Thursday at the home on Ridgewood Avenue, near Essex Street, while responding to a call about a 29-year-old emotionally disturbed man, according to police.

Officers arrived at the home, where they talked with the mother of the suspected gunman, police said. The mother had called 911 and told police her son was unarmed. She warned them that he may try to run from them, so a second officer went around the back of the home as Nguyen headed to a rear bedroom, where the man was barricaded.

An NYPD officer was shot in the arm in Brooklyn and police are in a standoff with the suspected gunman. Checkey Beckford reports.

When Nguyen went to the bedroom to talk with the man, he fired through the door multiple times, hitting Nguyen, police said. Nguyen did not return fire, according to police.

Two bullets hit Nguyen's bulletproof vest and another bullet hit his arm after bouncing off his watch.

Nguyen then retreated from the home and called for backup. Cell phone video shows him walking away from the home with another officer; blood can be seen running down his arm.

An NYPD officer was shot in the arm and injured by a man who is holed up in an apartment building in Brooklyn, police say.

He was treated by EMS at the scene and taken to Jamaica Hospital in stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries.

Mayor de Blasio and other officials visited with him at the hospital.

At a press conference later in the evening, the mayor said Nguyen is from the 75th Precinct, has more than two years of experience on the job and was in good spirits during the visit.

"He had a great attitude, he was actually even trying to make light of the situation in his own hospital bed. Showing a lot of spirit, a lot of energy," de Blasio said.

Officials said Nguyen's bulletproof vest kept him from suffering injuries that could have killed him.

Chopper 4 is over the scene as police respond to reports of a man barricaded in a Brooklyn building.

Holding up the vest, NYPD Commissioner James O'Neill said, "I did see the blunt-force trauma injuries on the officer's chest, so this vest definitely saved his life."

The suspected shooter was holed up in the home for several hours as police converged on the area. Heavily-armored officers and vehicles, as well as numerous ambulances and NYPD cars were at the scene during the standoff. Some officers were seen perched on nearby rooftops.

Cell phone video recorded by a resident shows officers at the home of a man shortly before a police standoff. One of the officers in the video was shot and injured; he can be seen walking away from the home. The suspected gunman shot and killed himself, according to police.

Dozens of residents watched the scene unfold from cars, sidewalks and their homes.

"It was crazy," said Ignacio Rodriguez. "Even when I stuck my head out the window, an officer was like, 'Stick your head back inside!'"

Police negotiators tried to talk with the suspect, who hasn't been identified, and get him into police custody.

But when police made entry into the home they found the suspect dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, O'Neill said, adding that a revolver, semi-automatic handgun and ammo were found at his side.
The CIA and other key U.S. intelligence agencies agree with the Defense Intelligence Agency's previously reported assessment that North Korea is now able to miniaturize a nuclear weapon so it can be placed atop a ballistic missile, U.S. officials told NBC News.

Soon after the news that North Korea passed the milestone toward achieving a nuclear-armed ICBM broke Tuesday in The Washington Post, President Donald Trump said the U.S. would respond to new threats with "fire and fury." North Korea has continued to make threats, specifically about attacking the U.S. territory of Guam

It had been unclear whether other agencies had signed onto the Defense Intelligence Agency's determination earlier this week, and some observers noted that the Pentagon-based analysts have in the past generously estimated the capacity of some opposing militaries.

But U.S. officials tell NBC News that other agencies, including the CIA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, agree with the assessment.


Megachurch pastor Robert Jeffress, a prominent supporter of President Donald Trump, said in a statement that God has given Trump the authority to take out Kim Jong-Un.

The statement Tuesday night from the popular evangelical preacher who heads First Baptist Dallas comes on the heels of Trumps comments about continued nuclear threats from North Korea.

North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States, the president said Tuesday. They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen.

Jeffress has long been a supporter of the president, and has been previously outspoken on political issues.



Jeffress was one of a few religious leaders who gave sermons at an official service on the morning of Trumps inauguration.

More recently, Jeffress was among a group of pastors who laid hands on the president in the Oval Office. He also supported Trump's tweets last month announcing plans to ban transgender people from serving in the military.

Jeffress is also known for previously claiming former President Barack Obama had paved the way for the antichrist.

He also called Mormonism a cult while backing Rick Perry for president in the 2012 Republican primary, though he later endorsed Mitt Romney.

Here is Jeffress full statement to The Brody Files of the Christian Broadcasting Network:

When it comes to how we should deal with evil doers, the Bible, in the book of Romans, is very clear: God has endowed rulers full power to use whatever means necessary  including war  to stop evil. In the case of North Korea, God has given Trump authority to take out Kim Jong-Un. Im heartened to see that our president  contrary to what weve seen with past administrations who have taken, at best, a sheepish stance toward dictators and oppressors  will not tolerate any threat against the American people. When President Trump draws a red line, he will not erase it, move it, or back away from it. Thank God for a President who is serious about protecting our country.
A Delaware County sheriff's officer suffered second-degree burns after being hit by a Molotov cocktail while serving a warrant in Collingdale Wednesday afternoon, police said.

The officer was attempting to serve the warrant around 4:30 p.m. at a home along the unit block of S. MacDade Boulevard when a man inside the home threw the incendiary device, officials said.

Collingdale Police Chief Robert Adams said the officer's left leg caught fire. Fellow officers immediately dropped him to the ground to put out the flames.



Officials initially said two officers had been burned, but later revised their statement to a single officer injured.



The suspect, identified by police as Jeromy Jones, then barricaded himself inside the home. A brief standoff ensued with police eventually coaxing Jones to surrender about an hour later.



The injured officer was taken to Crozer-Chester Medical Center for treatment. He suffered second-degree burns to most of his leg, Adams said. The officer was last listed in stable condition.

NBC10

When police searched the house, they found as many as seven Molotov cocktails inside. They were filled with gasoline and had a fuse, police said. Officers later set the devices on fire in a parking lot to destroy them.

"I never tried to kill anybody," Jones said as he was led to a police SUV headed for the Delaware County jail.



A judge Thursday morning arraigned Jones on multiple counts each of attempted murder, reckless endangerment, arson and aggravated assault. Jones was sent to jail on $1 million bail.
A drunk driver pulled into a Delaware County, Pennsylvania police station early Wednesday morning and told officers he wanted to be in a "safe" place, according to police.



Around 4 a.m., Upper Darby police officers watched on security video as an SUV veered into an exit lane, hopped a curb and clip a security gate while driving into the police station's private parking lot, police superintendent Michael Chitwood said.



The SUV then motored along a sidewalk before parking in a spot around back designated for squad cars, he told NBC10.

Chitwood said an officer ran out of the station and found 44-year-old Sean McCullough, of Havertown, "totally ossified."

McCullough admitted to being "hammered" having consumed 12 to 14 beers in Philadelphia and Trenton, New Jersey, police said.

Officers tried to perform a field sobriety test on McCullough but he told them "I'm too drunk for that," police said.

He came to the station because "it was the safest place," police said.

Upper Darby Police Department/NBC10

Officers took McCullough to the hospital to be checked out.

A district court judge arraigned McCullough on careless driving and driving under the influence charges and set bail at $10,000.

McCullough told NBC10's Steven Fisher Thursday that he is embarrassed and has a problem to address.
Taxed to drive anywhere you go?

An upcoming $1.16 million federally-funded program will be exploring the possibility of mileage-based taxation in Pennsylvania and Delaware.

The I-95 Corridor Coalition  which is comprised of more than 100 departments of transportation, port authorities, tolling agencies and other groups along the East Coast  is looking at alternatives to traditional gas taxes as gasoline cars become more fuel efficient and electric vehicle usage continues to expand into the future.

Autonomous vehicles could also pose future challenges to filling states gas tax coffers.

"We want to explore the feasibility of a mileage-based usage fee as a long-term solution for funding our transportation system," Dr. Patricia Hendren, executive director of the I-95 Corridor Coalition, told NBC10. "How will we ensure that we will have a well-functioning transportation system in 15 to 20 years from now?"

The program will take 50 vehicles in Delaware and Pennsylvania  with drivers who travel various distances  and monitor driving habits over a years time (or longer) starting in 2018.

Planning is in its infancy as the I-95 Corridor Coalition, the Delaware Department of Transportation and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation are still figuring out implementation and how they will pick the pilot program drivers.

"Were really trying to get as broad a swath of users as possible," DelDOT Community Relations Director Charles "C.R." McLeod said.

The pilot initiative, managed by Colorado-based solutions company CH2M, is funded by a Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) grant under the 2015 Fixing Americas Surface Transportation (FAST) Act.

DelDOT Secretary Jennifer Cohan told NBC10 many states, including hers, are exploring ways to replace the gas tax.

"What the gas tax used to buy back in our grandparents' day is not the same thing that it's buying now  it's basically a stagnant revenue source," she said.



Hendren says "its great" that vehicles are more efficient but that "impacts the revenue available to maintain the system that people are using."

Mileage-based user fees are just one of the possible solutions.

"We are not endorsing a user a fee," she said. "What we are interested in is asking 'is this possible?'"

"It makes a lot of sense to explore these user fees... it will level the playing field," Cohan said. "To continue to do the same thing the way we've always done it just doesn't make sense."

Similar studies have been done in West Coast states like Oregon and California but none have been performed along the I-95 Corridor. The Eastern Seaboard poses different challenges due to older infrastructure, closer concentration of metro areas in various states and numerous toll roads and bridges.

Details that still need hashing out include the different ways drivers in the study will be monitored and whether testers could receive any benefits for their information.

Monitoring drivers is nothing new, however, as E-ZPass and insurance company safe-driving transponders have become commonplace, Cohan noted.

Drivers in the program will be supplying data on driving habits not just on I-95 but also highways like the Schuylkill Expressway and Route 1, as well as small neighborhood roads.

"This is not something that will be limited to the interstates, I want to be clear about that," Hendren said.

The I-95CC also monitors tolling impacts, freight movement and other travel habits across the Eastern U.S. Stakeholders from DOTs, trucking groups, AAA and toll agencies will be part of the discussion about future road funding, Hendren said.

Autonomous vehicles, electric cars and better fuel-efficiency in new vehicles would put big holes into states gas tax coffers. The I-95CC doesnt have exact numbers on how much money will be lost on the current path.

The people behind the study guarantee that no mileage-based tax is coming in the near future and the study could wind up finding that a mileage tax isnt a feasible option. Additional studies with a larger pool of participants would likely be conducted.



"We owe it to our citizens to start asking what other options are out there," Hendren said. "The relationship between the driver and the vehicle is changing."

The intent is not for Big Brother to be watching you, Cohan said, while noting that any statewide or federal mileage tax would need to be enacted by legislatures. That most likely won't happen for at least a decade, she said.

For anyone who wouldnt want to participate in a mileage-based tax due to privacy concerns, they could pay a flat fee.

While tolls on roads and bridges have been a longtime user-based fee service (and would likely continue into the future), the idea of a mileage-tax likely won't sit well with drivers.



"The public reaction to this is very negative, as it should be," Hendren said.
President Donald Trump has spent much of the week feuding with his top Senate partner, suggesting that Majority Leader Mitch McConnell might have to rethink his future if he doesn't deliver on the president's agenda of health care, taxes and infrastructure.

Trump on Thursday called McConnell's failure to pass an "Obamacare" repeal last month "a disgrace." Asked if McConnell should consider stepping aside or retiring, an outcome some conservatives are openly clamoring for, the president's response was far from a vote of confidence.

"Well, I tell you what, if he doesn't get repeal-and-replace done and if he doesn't get taxes done, meaning cuts and reform, and if he doesn't get a very easy one to get done, infrastructure, if he doesn't get them done, then you can ask me that question," the president told reporters in Bedminster, New Jersey, where he is in the midst of a 17-day break from Washington.

Trump later added that he is "very disappointed in Mitch" but would be the first to praise him if legislation begins moving, once again presenting himself as a passive observer in the process rather than a dealmaker with the presidential pulpit.

There was no immediate response from McConnell's office.

A sitting president openly turning on a Senate majority leader of his own party in such a fashion is practically unheard of  yet another norm destroyed since Trump's rise on the political scene. And while the fighting words might elate Trump's core supporters, they can only hurt broader Republican efforts to move major legislation this fall on taxes and spending while preparing for congressional elections next year where energized Democrats are rallying to retake the House. Republicans control both chambers, but the Trump factor in many races remains a mystery.

Trump's comments came after he spent two days slamming McConnell over Twitter, writing Thursday morning that after "screaming" about repealing and replacing "Obamacare" for seven years, McConnell "couldn't get it done." Several hours later, the president's tone took a motivational turn as he exhorted, "Mitch, get back to work and put Repeal & Replace, Tax Reform & Cuts and a great Infrastructure Bill on my desk for signing. You can do it!"

On Friday morning, he retweeted several tweets from "Fox & Friends," the TV show whose account he favors on the social media platform. One linked to an article headlined, "Senators learn the hard way about the fallout from turning on Trump."



The presidential megaphone amplified the McConnell-bashing that's been snaking through conservative media: Breitbart News, Fox News' Sean Hannity and radio host Rush Limbaugh are among those who have vilified the leader after the Senate's failure on health care late last month. They represent a segment of the Republican electorate, including some major donors, who are out to punish what they see as a "do-nothing Congress" that has hampered the president's goals.

McConnell is "a coward who leads from behind," ''spineless," and a lifelong "political animal" of the sort Trump wants to eject from Washington, said Doug Deason, a major donor based in Texas who said he decided months ago not to give money to any Republicans up for re-election next year, unless they can pass Trump's priorities.

Trump and his supporters love such political brawls, and the McConnell flare-up potentially shores up the president's base at a time when it is showing signs of weakening support. But McConnell's supporters saw Trump's moves as counterproductive.

"Virtually any substantial goals that the president intends to achieve, whether it is tax reform or more infrastructure, requires the active assistance of the Senate majority leader," said Michael Steel, who was spokesman to former House Speaker John Boehner.

Even Newt Gingrich, a Trump backer and informal adviser who formerly served as speaker of the House, criticized the dispute.

"You saw Mitch McConnell say something, you saw Trump say something, when it's obviously better for them to learn not to do that," Gingrich said. "They have to work together. Governing is a team sport."

After the failure on health care, McConnell and other Republican leaders, including top White House economic officials, are determined to pivot to overhauling the tax code with the hope of passing cuts by the end of the year. There are numerous daunting challenges to that, but McConnell has made clear he has little interest in revisiting a health care fight he is numerically doomed to lose.

"The leader has spoken repeatedly about the path forward regarding Obamacare repeal and replace on the Senate floor, at media availabilities and in Kentucky," spokesman David Popp said Thursday before Trump's comments suggesting McConnell's eventual exit might become necessary.

Trump, 71, and McConnell, 75, have never been easy allies, even though the senator's wife, Elaine Chao, is the president's transportation secretary. McConnell only met Trump for the first time in 2013, when he made a pilgrimage to Trump Tower in New York to ask the businessman for campaign money.

But McConnell quickly boarded the Trump train once the mogul secured the GOP nomination, and unlike House Speaker Paul Ryan and others, he never wavered. He's paid numerous visits to the White House this year and traveled with Trump in March to Louisville. That Trump rally predated all of Congress' attempts to redo health care, and the president urged the crowd to "be nice" to McConnell.

Fast forward to August, with the Senate on recess after the collapse of the GOP health care bill.

McConnell touched a nerve by telling an audience in his home state that Trump had "not been in this line of work before" and had "excessive expectations about how quickly things happen in the democratic process."

Brent Bozell, a longtime McConnell detractor and president of the conservative social media group For America, said the Senate leader had made a ridiculous argument that will haunt him.

"By calling President Trump a political neophyte, McConnell is saying that Trump doesn't understand that Congress doesn't keep its promises," Bozell said. "This is exactly why Trump won  to shake up Washington, and that includes Republicans."

And yet, in opening a door he might want to try to shove McConnell out of, Trump once against demonstrated his naivete in Washington's ways. A Senate majority leader is elected by members of his own conference, and McConnell has plenty of support within his, regardless of anything Trump may say about it.

Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, a senior lawmaker and vocal Trump backer, said over Twitter that McConnell "has been the best leader we've had in my time in the Senate, through very tough challenges. I fully support him."

Trump also took reporters' questions about nuclear threats from North Korea Thursday, and he said that perhaps the "fire and fury" warning he issued earlier this week "wasn't tough enough."

He said the rogue nation "better get their act together or they are going to be in trouble like few nations have ever been in trouble."

North Korea has said it may attack Guam.

The president also addressed the U.S. opioid crisis during his brief on-camera appearance in Bedminster, saying he is currently drafting up paperwork as part of a plan to declare the deadly addiction epidemic a national emergency.

AP reporter Jonathan Lemire contributed to this report.


Up to 50 migrants from Somalia and Ethiopia were "deliberately drowned" when a smuggler forced them into the sea off Yemen's coast, the U.N. migration agency said Wednesday, calling the incident "shocking and inhumane."

International Organization for Migration staffers found the shallow graves of 29 of the migrants on a beach in Shabwa during a routine patrol, the agency's statement said. The dead were buried by those who survived.

At least 22 migrants remained missing, the IOM said. The passengers' average age was around 16, the agency said.

The narrow waters between the Horn of Africa and Yemen have been a popular migration route despite Yemen's ongoing conflict. Migrants try to make their way to Gulf countries.

The smuggler forced more than 120 migrants into the sea Wednesday morning as they approached Yemen's coast, the IOM statement said.

"The survivors told our colleagues on the beach that the smuggler pushed them to the sea when he saw some 'authority types' near the coast," said Laurent de Boeck, the IOM's chief of mission in Yemen. "They also told us that the smuggler has already returned to Somalia to continue his business and pick up more migrants to bring to Yemen on the same route."

IOM staffers provided aid for 27 surviving migrants who remained on the beach, while other migrants left.

De Boeck called the suffering of migrants on the route enormous, especially during the current windy season on the Indian Ocean. "Too many young people pay smugglers with the false hope of a better future," he said.

The IOM says about 55,000 migrants have left Horn of Africa nations for Yemen since January, with most from Somalia and Ethiopia. A third of them are estimated to be women.
The owner of a Montebello business that has been building 1500-square-foot underground shelters says he's received a significant number of calls in the wake of recent threats from North Korea.

Atlas Survival Shelters builds underground shelters meant to protect residents from biological, nuclear and chemical attacks.

Rob Hubbard, the owner of Atlas Survival Shelters, said the bunkers come with a fully-equipped kitchen, television, bedrooms and a complete bathroom. Some designs can house a family of six.

The cheapest bunker costs less than $10,000 and the most luxurious option is over $100,000.

Hubbard said recent calls he's received have been substantial due to the increased interest in these shelters.

This article was translated from a video from our sister station, Telemundo52.
Another person has been arrested in connection with the death of a man found unresponsive in his car in Valley Center in February.

Detectives with the San Diego Sheriff's homicide detail arrested Escondido resident Sandra Garcia on Thursday.

Two documented gang members were previously arrested in connection with the death of the same man.

Jonathan Gonzalez was arrested on Thursday, August 3, and Guillermo Bravo was arrested on Monday, August 7, according to the San Diego County Sheriffs Department (SDSO). Both are North County residents.

Gonzalez and Bravo were in custody at the San Diego County Jail on unrelated charges at the time of their arrests.

Deputies had been responding to reports of a fight on Feb. 27 when they found 28-year-old Jose Ortiz dead inside his car on Cole Grade Road north of Fruitvale Road. He had a gunshot wound to his torso, SDSO officials said.

First responders attempted to treat Ortiz, but he died shortly after.

Ortiz's death was ruled a homicide by the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office.

Detectives continue to investigate this case and are continuing to look for additional persons of interest.

Anyone with information can call the Homicide Detail at (858)974-2321 or Crime Stoppers at (888)580-8477. A $1,000 reward is being offered for any information leading to an arrest.
Are you ready for the Great American Eclipse?

The Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park has planned events leading up to the big day including a viewing of the eclipse in the sky above San Diego.

San Diegans have several options when it comes to getting in on the eclipse action.

On Aug. 11, from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., the center will host a special Solar Eclipse Maker Hour in collaboration with the Museum of Photographic Arts. In this workshop, visitors can explore the science of a solar eclipse, and ways to safely and creatively photograph it.

The workshop includes DIY cardboard viewers, crafty pinhole projections and a head-mounted camera obscura. All ages are welcome but the event is primarily geared toward adults.

Meanwhile, have you ever wondered what it would be like to live on the International Space Station? The Fleet's "Be Wise" science program for girls will call the space station on Aug. 15 and ask questions, live, to the astronauts.

The Fleet Science Center says participants will get a chance to meet retired astronaut Mark Polansky of the Atlantis, Discovery and Endeavour missions, for a live Q&A. He is also the guest for a special "Suds and Science" session at Wavelength Brewing in Vista.

Once the big day arrives on Aug. 21, the center will offer San Diegans an opportunity to learn more about the Great American Eclipse and a place to safely view it.

The viewing event begins at 9 a.m. at the Plaza in front of the center. There will also be inexpensive solar eclipse glasses available with special filters that prevent eye damage when viewing the eclipse, center reps said.

It will be visible between 9:07 a.m. until 11:45 a.m. The maximum point of the eclipse is at 10:23 a.m., according to the Fleet.

Resident astronomer, Dr. Lisa Will, can also answer questions about the eclipse, and there will be a workstation where you can make a simple pinhole projector to view the eclipse projected on the ground, according to the Fleet Science Center.

Don't miss the first total American solar eclipse in 38 years.
A superior court judge has ruled the San Diego City Council properly approved a project to improve pedestrian access within Balboa Parks core  a plan that includes turning more roads into walkways and adding an underground parking structure to help ease traffic at the landmark.

The improvements -- known as the Plaza de Panama Project -- were approved by the City Planning Commission and approved twice by the San Diego City Council.

However, the project was delayed due to a lawsuit filed by the Save Our Heritage Organisation (SOHO). The group argued the project would require a Supplemental Environment Impact Report.

However, Gerry Braun, with the City of San Diego, said Superior Court Judge Gregory W. Pollack found Wednesday "no basis" for SOHOs claim.

SOHO has been pushing for an alternative to the project called the "Lewis Plan." This proposal includes a network of new roadways on hillsides and canyons in Balboa Park and an underground parking garage below the Plaza de Panama.

Meanwhile, the Plaza de Panama Project includes rehabilitation of the Plaza, El Prado, Esplanade and the Spreckels Organ Pavilion Rooftoop Park. Currently, a road runs through the core of the park, including areas like El Prado West and Plaza de California at the entrance to the San Diego Museum of Man, but this would turn that road into a pedestrian-only walkway.

An alternate route would be established for motorists, leading to parking at the Alcazar Lot, the Palisades, and the Spreckels Organ Pavilion Lot. The Organ Pavilion lot would be transformed into an underground parking structure that, per the projects website, reclaims over two acres of park land.

Vehicles will not be permitted beyond the Museum of Man and the archway entrance to the park, the website states.

Balboa Parks tram, according to the site, will continue to operate, providing transportation from Inspiration Point to the center of the park: "Right now, the tram competes with cars. Once thats no longer the case, the tram will operate far more efficiently."

In a press release, San Diego City Attorney Mara W. Elliott said the court has found that the city "correctly followed environmental law in seeking to improve one of the citys greatest treasures."

SOHOs lawsuits have served no purpose other than to delay a widely supported project, and to drive up costs for the taxpayers, Elliott added.

According to Gordon Kovtun, principal at KCM Group, which manages the construction of the project, said they have been waiting about eight years to clear this hurdle.

Were ready to get to work to reclaim 6.3 acres of park land, add much-needed parking and free the plazas from chronic vehicular traffic to allow more San Diego families and children to enjoy our citys crown jewel, Kovtun said in a press release.

Changes were made to Plaza de Panama in 2013, which removed parking from the Plaza. However, proponents of the master plan say those improvements were only one objective of the project, which aims to remove cars from the entire central mesa.

To learn more about the project, click here.
A rare pink dolphin is making a splash in Louisiana thanks to a video showing the animal jumping in and out of the water in front of a ship in the Calcasieu Ship Channel this weekend.

In fact, Bridget Anne Boudreaux said she saw two albino dolphins by her boat Saturday, along with some others, she told NBC News.

Albino dolphins are extremely rare, according to the NOAA Fisheries Southeast Regional Office, with five potentially white bottlenose dolphins spotted in the entire Southeast United States as of 2016 and just three individuals likely behind the sightings of white or pink bottlenose dolphins in the Gulf of Mexico.

A pink dolphin calf was first spotted in Calcasieu Lake, Louisiana, in 2007, and has been spotted many times since then, according to NOAA, which wrote that it's considered an albino despite its pink coloration.

"All sightings of this dolphin have been off Louisiana and most of the time it was seen swimming with a group," according to NOAA.

NBC reached out to the agency to ask about the video.



Boudreaux said the two pink dolphins she saw never appeared together, so she couldn't get video of them both. One jumping out of the water near her boat caught the attention of her and her husband.

"We watched them play around for awhile and then they went to the ship to play in front of it. And I told my husband to keep up with the ship so I can get a better video," Boudreaux said.
In a rebuke of President Donald Trump, Arizona Sen. John McCain declared Thursday that "America is adrift in Afghanistan" as he unveiled a war strategy of his own that includes more U.S. combat forces and greater counterterrorism efforts.

McCain, the Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the U.S. needs to put strict conditions on continued assistance to Afghanistan requiring Kabul to demonstrate "measurable progress" in curbing corruption, strengthening the rule of law, and improving the government's financial transparency.

"Nearly seven months into President Trump's administration, we've had no strategy at all as conditions on the ground have steadily worsened," said McCain, a leading voice in Congress on national security matters. "The thousands of Americans putting their lives on the line in Afghanistan deserve better from their commander in chief."

McCain said he'll seek a vote on his "strategy for success" in Afghanistan when the Senate returns in September and takes up the annual defense policy bill. His plan doesn't say how many more U.S. forces should be sent to Afghanistan.

Frustrated by his options, Trump has withheld approval of a long-delayed Afghanistan war strategy as he searches for a plan that will allow American forces to pull out once and for all.

The United States has about 8,400 troops in Afghanistan, and Trump has so far resisted the Pentagon's recommendations to send almost 4,000 more Americans to expand training of Afghan military forces and beef up U.S. counterterrorism operations against al-Qaida, a growing Islamic State affiliate and other extremist groups. But the troop deployment, which would augment an already existing U.S. force of at least 8,400 troops, has been held up amid broader strategy questions, including how to engage regional powers in an effort to stabilize the fractured nation.

These powers include U.S. friends and foes, from Pakistan and India to China, Russia and Iran. Pentagon plans aren't calling for a radical departure from the limited approach endorsed by former President Barack Obama, and several officials have credited Trump with rightly asking tough questions, such as how the prescribed approach might lead to success.

But McCain has grown increasingly impatient. During a committee hearing in June, he told Defense Secretary Jim Mattis that he had been confident the Trump administration would deliver a plan for Afghanistan within a month or two after taking office.

"So all I can tell you is that unless we get a strategy from you, you're going to get a strategy from us," McCain said at the time.

The amendment he plans to propose adding to the defense policy bill calls for a "long-term, open-ended" U.S.-Afghanistan partnership that includes an "enduring U.S. counterterrorism presence."

He also recommends expanding U.S. training assistance to the Afghan security forces so they can capably fight the Taliban and other militant groups. And McCain proposes longer-term support that will allow the Afghans to develop and expand their own intelligence, logistics, special forces and air lift operations.

McCain's approach envisions better harnessing U.S. military and civil strengths in order to "deny, disrupt, degrade and destroy" the ability of terrorist groups to use Afghanistan as a sanctuary and then seek a "negotiated peace process" that leads to Afghan political reconciliation.

He also wants to punish neighboring Pakistan with graduated diplomatic, military and economic costs "as long as it continues to provide support and sanctuary to terrorist and insurgent groups, including the Taliban and the Haqqani Network."

Sen. John McCain of Arizona is proposing a new "strategy for success" in Afghanistan. He's calling for increasing the number of U.S. counterterrorism forces and giving them a freer hand to target the Taliban, Islamic State and other terrorist groups.

McCain chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee. He declared Thursday that "America is adrift in Afghanistan."

The Republican senator has been openly critical of the Trump administration for failing to produce a plan for winning in Afghanistan. President Donald Trump has resisted the Pentagon's recommendation to boost U.S. troop levels.

McCain says he'll seek a vote when the Senate returns in September and takes up the annual defense policy bill.

His amendment to the bill calls for a "long-term, open-ended" U.S.-Afghanistan partnership that includes an "enduring U.S. counterterrorism presence."
Two juvenile babysitters are facing charges after police said they put a baby they were watching in a refrigerator.

The Essex County District Attorney's Office said the two girls were arrested Tuesday in Danvers, Massachusetts. They are charged with child endangerment and assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon.

Their names are not being released because they are juveniles.

The incident reportedly occurred in Danvers on Monday. The girls are both from Swampscott.

"This past evening at approximately 9:30 p.m., Danvers officers were notified by Swampscott police about a potential situation," Danvers Police Chief Patrick Ambrose said.

Video posted to Snapchat shows the accused girls putting the baby in the refrigerator, closing the door and laughing as the baby's screams are heard through the refrigerator door. Moments later, they open the refrigerator and remove the baby.

It's not clear how long the baby was inside. The video was time stamped at 4:37 p.m.

The Department of Children and Families said it has received a report on the situation and is investigating in collaboration with law enforcement. The child is reportedly doing well and is at home with family.
A shocking series of killings of baby goats in Massachusetts continues with another case of a goat murdered with its neck broken.

North Brookfield police is investigating the suspicious death of a baby Nigerian Dwarf goat that was found on Wednesday. A resident on School Street found one of his baby goats dead in with a broken neck.

The goat was last seen at 2 p.m. that day and was not considered suspicious until police learned of similar murders in West Brookfield.

Police there say two Nigerian Dwarf goats were found on the back porch of a home with their necks broken and twisted around to face the building. The family, a mother and her three young adults children, discovered the sickening scene on Monday.

Police say the goats were killed sometime between 7 p.m. Sunday night and 10:30 a.m. Monday morning.

No signs of an attack from another animal were found on the goats. Police believe that a person murdered them for shock and awe.

Whoever is responsible could face felony charges for the murders.

Anyone with information can contact Officer Chris Donais at the North Brookfield Police Department 508-867-0206, or call West Brookfield police at 508-867-1405.
An Amber Alert issued Wednesday for a missing 3-year-old has been canceled, according to police.

The alert was issued by Massachusetts State Police around 10:45 p.m., three hours after Ella Abbott was allegedly taken by her mother.

Police said the girl's mother, 38-year-old Lee-Ann Rickheit, had made threats to harm the child.

State police said around 3 a.m. Thursday that the child and her mother had been located in a vehicle in a wooded area of Charlton and that the Amber Alert had been canceled.

Both are conscious and alert and are being taken to area hospitals for examination.

Police said Rickheit is being transported to St. Vincent's Hospital in Worcester under police guard. The exact charges she will face have yet to be finalized, but will reflect her actions in fleeing with the child, as well as evidence observed and recovered during her capture.

Ella has been transported to UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester.

The two were located after state police developed information indicating that Rickheit frequented the wooded area where she was found.

According to police, the two had possibly been traveling in a blue 2007 Hyundai Sonata with Massachusetts license plates. Police had said that Rickheit has a history in the Charlton area and was believed to have been recently traveling on the Massachusetts Turnpike in that area.

The investigation is ongoing.
Authorities have recovered the bodies of two men who went missing while boating on a Rhode Island pond.

Coventry police Chief John MacDonald said the bodies were recovered from Johnson's Pond on Thursday morning. They had been reported missing at about 11 p.m. Wednesday.

MacDonald said they apparently drowned.

Their names were not immediately made public.

Police originally said a woman on a pontoon boat told them a 54-year-old man from Cranston and a 48-year-old man from East Providence fell off the boat and did not resurface. But on Thursday, MacDonald said they men had apparently gone in the water to save the woman.

MacDonald says alcohol was apparently involved.

The search involved multiple local and state agencies as well as private citizens.
Authorities in New Hampshire are asking for the public's help with an investigation into the death of a Florida man.

State police say the body of Roland Gilles Chiasson was found in Hampton Harbor on July 29.

Since an autopsy performed on July 31, state police have tried to find Chiasson's next of kin; however, they haven't been able to find his family and are asking the public for help.

The 65-year-old man's last known address was on North Ocean Drive in Hollywood, Florida.

Investigators are still determining Chiasson's manner of death.

Anyone who knows Chiasson or has information regarding his death is asked to call state police at 603-223-8920 or email Trooper Stephen McAuley at stephen.mcaulay@dos.nh.gov.
Sixteen-year-old Connor Barry has had his drivers permit for about a week. Climbing into an SUV with an instructor, the Rhode Island teen says, Lets do this.

But on this day, the teen is going beyond parallel parking to Skills for Life. It's a program run by Ford, teaching young drivers the dangers of driving distracted - drunk or high.

I dont even know where I am, he says. He sounds disoriented because hes wearing drug goggles, trying to navigate a closed course at the Seekonk Speedway. Im seeing like double of everything. I dont know what to trust right now."

Behind the Scenes: Suited for Danger

The suit mimics the effects of alcohol and three illegal drugs, says Skills for Life program manager Nathan Katerberg - LSD, marijuana and heroin. It includes a 15-pound ankle weight to simulate slower reaction time and affect balance, plus arm and neck braces to restrict movement, a vibrating glove for tremors, headphones with distracting noise and flashing-light goggles.

Those will give you tunnel vision, says Katerberg.

Rhode Island teen Christopher Abatecola experiences Ford's drugged driving suit.

Knowing the dangers of drugged driving may be more important than ever. The latest data shows that nearly a quarter of fatal crashes in the U.S. had at least one driver who tested positive for drugs after the crash.

In Massachusetts, citations for operating under the influence of drugs are up 142 percent from 2006 to 2016. And with the recent legalization of recreational marijuana here, New England law enforcement fears it could get worse.

Somebody from Massachusetts, that has legalized marijuana, is going to Providence, Rhode Island to a nightclub and brings their marijuana to Rhode Island  now were going to be dealing with the after-effects of that," says Rhode Island State Police Cpl. John Gadrow. "The impaired driving from marijuana, heroin, cocaine - whatever it is - crosses state lines.

With no widely accepted roadside drug test or a breathalyzer for drugs, a field sobriety test is often an officer's best weapon to get a high driver off the road.

Massachusetts has launched a new campaign to highlight the dangers of drugged driving and Massachusetts State Police say they hope to train more officers as Drug Recognition Experts.

To test the effects of the drugged driving suit, reporter Ally Donnelly of NBC Boston's Investigators walked the line. She saw two of everything, stumbled often and missed the line completely at times.

"You wouldnt be operating correctly at all, and Id be afraid you were going to crash," says Massachusetts State Police Trooper Bill Robertson.

When she got behind the wheel of an SUV on the test track, she didnt fare much better. Her depth perception was off, she was slow to react and she hit several cones.

Asked how realistic the effects of the suit are, Skills for Life instructor Josh Nalbandian says, "This is kind of simulating a little bit of everything, so you might not have all those symptoms, but you might have all those symptoms depending on what you took."

And if someone is really driving while high, he says, their cognitive abilities would also be impaired.

If you were on drugs, youre not going to have those abilities. Youre going to be staring at that sign thinking 'I dont know what that means,' and then youre going to go through the sign.

As for Barry, he says he knows kids who have driven high and claim that pot or prescription drugs don't affect them or might even make them better, more careful drivers.

But after his experience, he doesn't believe them.

Scared straight, he said.

Rhode Island teen Christopher Abatecola pledges not to drive high after experiencing Ford's drugged driving suit.

To learn where the Skills for Life courses are happening or for more on impaired driving, click here.
A man at the center of an ongoing investigation into the mysterious deaths of his mother and grandfather was involved in a crash with a tractor trailer in Vermont, according to state police.

Twenty-three-year-old Nathan Carman wasn't injured when the truck he was driving was rear-ended by a tractor trailer driven by Bruno Levesque, 54, of Saint Louis, Quebec, Canada, on Monday in Vernon, where Carman currently lives, police said.

The crash, which was described as minor in nature by authorities, happened the same day his lawyers met with a judge in Rhode Island for an insurance lawsuit in connection with the sinking of his boat with this mother onboard last year.

His mother Linda Carman is presumed dead after never being found when the boat they were on sank during a fishing trip; Carman was rescued off of Martha's Vineyard after surviving a week at sea on his life raft.

Carman, who is also suspected of killing his wealthy grandfather John Chakalos in 2013, has denied sabotaging his boat and having any role in his 87-year-old grandfather's murder.

Family members filed a lawsuit last month accusing him of killing his grandfather and possibly his mother in order to collect his inheritance.




A stepping stone to joy

Regular columnist Ruth Tong explains that when we go through tough times, God may be leading us to something better.

Psalm 84:6 As they pass through the valley of Baca they make it a place of springs.



The Atchafalaya Swamp in Mississippi, (pictured above), is a body of water stretching 120 miles long and 9 miles wide. It is made up of swampland, bayous, tree roots and small grass marshes. This makes it a pleasant place for gars (big fish that bite), parasites, snakes and of course alligators!



In the 1800s, slaves who found the courage to out-run enslavement would flee to such a place. You see, it was so dangerous that no tobacco merchant, no cotton trader, no hired foreman, not even other slaves dared follow. Few made it out alive. Its hard to imagine what would drive a person to go to such a place, and yet there are times when circumstances force us to do things wed never imagine wed do.



In Palm 84, were reminded a place of death - Baca. However, this doesnt have to be a place of death; with God the terrifying place, the tough place can become a safe harbour and even a place of blessing.



Be encouraged - this temporary place can be a stepping stone to new levels of freedom in Christ, just as it was for those slaves who made it out alive.



Lord, please help me to find courage and strength in you when I wade through tough times, and remember that joy will come eventually





The above image is from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Digital Visual Library, courtesy of Commons Wikipedia.



Ruth Tong is the Coordinator of Womens Ministries at Eternity Downham Market, and is the author of Love Drops from Heaven. Ruth regularly blogs at ruthtong.com/blog



The views carried here are those of the author, not of Network Norwich and Norfolk, and are intended to stimulate constructive debate between website users.



We welcome your thoughts and comments, posted below, upon the ideas expressed here.
Suraksha P By

Express News Service

BENGALURU: Young city-based restaurateur Tejas Suryawanshi started accepting Bitcoin payment at his Indiranagar restaurant Suryawanshi as early as November last year. His may be the only restaurant in the city to have done that. The first Bitcoin payment of Rs 530 that he received is worth twice as much today. He has five bitcoins as of today.

An intriguing aspect about his restaurant, apart from the fact that it serves Marathi cuisine, is a sticker behind the cashier which reads Bitcoin accepted here. This results in conversations around the cryptocurrency. I must have explained what the digital currency is to at least 10 customers who enquired after seeing the sticker, Tejas told Express.

A government-appointed panel recently submitted its report on Bitcoins to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley as India lacks regulatory and legal structures to govern digital currencies.

In countries like Japan, a law has been passed to legalise Bitcoin as a form of payment.

A friend of my father introduced me to Bitcoin. I read up on it and initially bought only one coin. At that time it cost only Rs 42,000. Today it costs more than Rs 2 lakh, Tejas said, explaining that Bitcoins are more like stocks or investments rather than currency. As on August 9, one Bitcoin equalled Rs 2,07,717.

What is a Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is completely digitised money. It is a peer-to-peer payment network without any central authority or middleman. All transactions are settled in about 10 minutes and are recorded permanently on a distributer ledger. A Bitcoin wallet is an app that allows you to send and receive Bitcoins.

Is it fraught with risks?

The reason why people have inhibitions about adopting this digital currency is that it can deflate in value. If I am investing Bitcoins in companies, then I need to be worried about losing my money. But as far as just holding currency in Bitcoins is concerned, its value will only increase with the number of potential buyers, Tejas said. The next time you want to dine at Suryawanshi, you might get a spoonful of information on terms like blockchain - a decentralised database or ledger of transactions.

BENGALURU: Young city-based restaurateur Tejas Suryawanshi started accepting Bitcoin payment at his Indiranagar restaurant Suryawanshi as early as November last year. His may be the only restaurant in the city to have done that. The first Bitcoin payment of Rs 530 that he received is worth twice as much today. He has five bitcoins as of today. An intriguing aspect about his restaurant, apart from the fact that it serves Marathi cuisine, is a sticker behind the cashier which reads Bitcoin accepted here. This results in conversations around the cryptocurrency. I must have explained what the digital currency is to at least 10 customers who enquired after seeing the sticker, Tejas told Express. A government-appointed panel recently submitted its report on Bitcoins to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley as India lacks regulatory and legal structures to govern digital currencies. In countries like Japan, a law has been passed to legalise Bitcoin as a form of payment. A friend of my father introduced me to Bitcoin. I read up on it and initially bought only one coin. At that time it cost only Rs 42,000. Today it costs more than Rs 2 lakh, Tejas said, explaining that Bitcoins are more like stocks or investments rather than currency. As on August 9, one Bitcoin equalled Rs 2,07,717. What is a Bitcoin? Bitcoin is completely digitised money. It is a peer-to-peer payment network without any central authority or middleman. All transactions are settled in about 10 minutes and are recorded permanently on a distributer ledger. A Bitcoin wallet is an app that allows you to send and receive Bitcoins. Is it fraught with risks? The reason why people have inhibitions about adopting this digital currency is that it can deflate in value. If I am investing Bitcoins in companies, then I need to be worried about losing my money. But as far as just holding currency in Bitcoins is concerned, its value will only increase with the number of potential buyers, Tejas said. The next time you want to dine at Suryawanshi, you might get a spoonful of information on terms like blockchain - a decentralised database or ledger of transactions.
Anu Kuruvilla By

Express News Service

KOCHI: Five-year-old George Jacob (name changed) spent another restless night as his stomach ache grew worse. His parents Sheeba and Francis tried everything, from giving him antacids to home remedies. But nothing worked. So, in the morning, they took him to a paediatrician. George was diagnosed as suffering from pin worm infestation. Unfortunately, George is not alone. Many kids these days suffer from pin worm infestation. On the occasion of National Deworming Day (NDD), which is observed on August 10, City Express delves into the importance of the deworming drive.



According to Dr Johny Francis, senior paediatrician and neonatologist, PVS Hospital, the NDD was launched by the Centre as part of the National Health Mission. The NDD aims to deworm all children between the ages of 1 to 19 years through government, private and government-aided schools as well as anganwadi centres in order to improve the overall well-being and nutritional status of the children, he says. Pin worm infestation is very common among children. Hence, the need for a blanket drive.

He says, just like in the case of smallpox and polio, in order to eradicate the problem of pin worm infestation all the children have to be administered the Albendazole 400 mg chewable tablet. This is because the parasitic worm needs a human host to survive. Once the tablet is taken, the problem ceases to exist, the paediatrician says. The treatment plan needs to be repeated every six months to effectively put a stop to infection.



The incidence of parasitic worm infection has been found to be high in the age group 5 to 10 years. Children in this age group have the tendency to play in the soil and normally are not that careful about washing their hands, the doctor says. They also pick it up from their friends at school, nurseries and day care centres. It is an auto-infection infestation. The worms, which inhabit the intestines, come out through the anus in the night to lay eggs around the anal opening. This causes an itching sensation. When the kids scratch the area the eggs get deposited in the fingernails, the doctor says. So, when the children eat food, without washing their hands, the eggs get ingested and the entire cycle begins yet again.



Hence, to put an end to this, the drive also focuses on teaching children the right habits. Children are being made aware of the importance of maintaining personal hygiene. They are taught to wash their hands after using the loo. The need to wear footwear while going out is also being stressed upon to ward off tape worm and round worm infections, Dr Francis says.All these precautions are necessary because parasitic worms impact a childs health. These worms steal nourishment from the host, making the child weak. The children become anaemic, lose their appetite, becomes listless and will have severe abdominal pain, the doctor says.However, the good news is that people living in the cities are more aware about such infections. The need to participate in this nation-wide effort should be taken to the grassroot levels, too, says the paediatrician.

Steps taken by schools on account of deworming

As part of deworming day, a meeting was held at the Global Public school, Kochi. Later, circulars were distributed to the parents to get a feedback. We have got both positive and negative results from parents and have decided to distribute tablets to only those children whose parents gave a positive reply, said Indu Panicker, Principal of Global Public School. She also said that an assurance from parents will also be taken so that the tablets are given to children regularly and on time.

While one school chose to distribute tablets in order to reduce deworming, the Greets Public school decided to provide awareness to students. The activities are being conducted by our Class 10 students in the schools health club, said Jaya Sabin, Principal of Greet Public school, Kochi.

Symptoms

lStomach discomfort/Stomach ache

lDiarrhoea or dysentery

lGeneral malaise and weakness

lIrritability  restless sleep

lPoor appetite  Weight loss

lWorsening school performance -Inability to concentrate

l Passing of worms

lChronic intestinal blood loss that results in anaemia

lReducing absorption of micro nutrients - Negatively affecting nutritional status

lComplications - Intestinal obstruction and rectal prolapse

Most common types of worm infections that trouble children:

lRound Worm -- They resemble earthworms and can grow up to the size of 30-35 cm

lWhipworm or pin worm or thread worm - As the name suggests, thread-worms appear to be fine white cottony threads and live in the intestine and around the anus of the individual

lHookworms - These are commonly contracted through coming in touch with the contaminated soil and later enter the intestines

KOCHI: Five-year-old George Jacob (name changed) spent another restless night as his stomach ache grew worse. His parents Sheeba and Francis tried everything, from giving him antacids to home remedies. But nothing worked. So, in the morning, they took him to a paediatrician. George was diagnosed as suffering from pin worm infestation. Unfortunately, George is not alone. Many kids these days suffer from pin worm infestation. On the occasion of National Deworming Day (NDD), which is observed on August 10, City Express delves into the importance of the deworming drive. According to Dr Johny Francis, senior paediatrician and neonatologist, PVS Hospital, the NDD was launched by the Centre as part of the National Health Mission. The NDD aims to deworm all children between the ages of 1 to 19 years through government, private and government-aided schools as well as anganwadi centres in order to improve the overall well-being and nutritional status of the children, he says. Pin worm infestation is very common among children. Hence, the need for a blanket drive. He says, just like in the case of smallpox and polio, in order to eradicate the problem of pin worm infestation all the children have to be administered the Albendazole 400 mg chewable tablet. This is because the parasitic worm needs a human host to survive. Once the tablet is taken, the problem ceases to exist, the paediatrician says. The treatment plan needs to be repeated every six months to effectively put a stop to infection. The incidence of parasitic worm infection has been found to be high in the age group 5 to 10 years. Children in this age group have the tendency to play in the soil and normally are not that careful about washing their hands, the doctor says. They also pick it up from their friends at school, nurseries and day care centres. It is an auto-infection infestation. The worms, which inhabit the intestines, come out through the anus in the night to lay eggs around the anal opening. This causes an itching sensation. When the kids scratch the area the eggs get deposited in the fingernails, the doctor says. So, when the children eat food, without washing their hands, the eggs get ingested and the entire cycle begins yet again. Hence, to put an end to this, the drive also focuses on teaching children the right habits. Children are being made aware of the importance of maintaining personal hygiene. They are taught to wash their hands after using the loo. The need to wear footwear while going out is also being stressed upon to ward off tape worm and round worm infections, Dr Francis says.All these precautions are necessary because parasitic worms impact a childs health. These worms steal nourishment from the host, making the child weak. The children become anaemic, lose their appetite, becomes listless and will have severe abdominal pain, the doctor says.However, the good news is that people living in the cities are more aware about such infections. The need to participate in this nation-wide effort should be taken to the grassroot levels, too, says the paediatrician. Steps taken by schools on account of deworming As part of deworming day, a meeting was held at the Global Public school, Kochi. Later, circulars were distributed to the parents to get a feedback. We have got both positive and negative results from parents and have decided to distribute tablets to only those children whose parents gave a positive reply, said Indu Panicker, Principal of Global Public School. She also said that an assurance from parents will also be taken so that the tablets are given to children regularly and on time. While one school chose to distribute tablets in order to reduce deworming, the Greets Public school decided to provide awareness to students. The activities are being conducted by our Class 10 students in the schools health club, said Jaya Sabin, Principal of Greet Public school, Kochi. Symptoms lStomach discomfort/Stomach ache lDiarrhoea or dysentery lGeneral malaise and weakness lIrritability  restless sleep lPoor appetite  Weight loss lWorsening school performance -Inability to concentrate l Passing of worms lChronic intestinal blood loss that results in anaemia lReducing absorption of micro nutrients - Negatively affecting nutritional status lComplications - Intestinal obstruction and rectal prolapse Most common types of worm infections that trouble children: lRound Worm -- They resemble earthworms and can grow up to the size of 30-35 cm lWhipworm or pin worm or thread worm - As the name suggests, thread-worms appear to be fine white cottony threads and live in the intestine and around the anus of the individual lHookworms - These are commonly contracted through coming in touch with the contaminated soil and later enter the intestines
Sudhir Srinivasan By

Express News Service

Taramani has taken a while to get its release date.

This isnt a film with a popular hero. Perhaps if it had a conventional villain, we could have used that to sell the film in its poster. These days, releasing films is harder than it is to make them.

The films promos hint at an exploration of a contemporary relationship.

The films about a relationship in the modern era. You see, todays woman needs a lover, not a bodyguard. The average Indian male doesnt get that.

Would you say the average Indian male is chauvinistic?

I think all men are chauvinistic. Some know they are; some others dont. My story in Taramani, about this age-old male-female dynamic, is one that has been told from Shakespearean days.

Why set the story in Taramani?

Taramani, the locality, is nothing like any other in Chennai. We dont show it as an IT corridor. Its an international, multi-lingual, multi-cultural space, one that resembles a global village. I wanted to see what a relationship would be like in this space.

The male lead hails from a village called Cooum, where the river originates. Like the river, he feels hes also been polluted by the city.

He reminded me a lot of the protagonist in your debut film, Kattradhu Thamizh.

I think this interest in analysing a hero itself is slightly chauvinistic. (laughs) But yes, I realise what people say about my heroes. They say he is a loser, he has a long beard, he doesnt get life, he is pessimistic. But I want to tell people that I treat my films as theses. They shouldnt try to understand my film through its hero. The lead male character is simply there to illustrate my thesis.

Did you intend for the film to be your third in whats called your globalisation trilogy?

If thats how people see it, sure. Kattradhu Thamizh was about arts and humanities. Thanga Meengal was about primary school education. And Taramani, now, is about relationships. I live in a time of globalisation. Its natural my stories are about it.

Would you agree your stories act as arguments against globalisation?

Im neither for nor against it. Theres no turning back from it. But it has done a lot of good too. A few years ago, working women were being picked up and dropped by the men of their house. But today, they are more independent. Men, however, for the most part, still try to possess them. Sometimes, I wonder if men invented religion only to keep women in check, to dictate what they should wear and where they should go.

Youve stated before that your favourite novels and films influence your work.

Kattradhu Thamizh was inspired by Albert Camus The Stranger. When a man has no family, no home, no identity, hes free to do anything. Taramani has influences of Kubricks Eyes Wide Shut, Polanskis Knife in the Water Also, when I say that Im inspired, it doesnt mean Ive taken dialogues or scenes from these works. I try to analyse those concepts within the framework of our society. I wish I had the calibre of my heroes, Polanski and Kubrick. Im jealous of their ability. But what I have unshakeable belief in is that theres no such thing as politically correct art. The art I create is my philosophy drawn from truths Ive observed around me.

The censor board doesnt seem to have taken too kindly to Taramani.

Well, in my opinion, most films that are certified U and U/A should actually be certified A. They contain concepts that children shouldnt have to understand. In a scene, a group of men are harassing the heroine, but thats not a problem for them. When she responds with the F word, it becomes a problem. I wish theyd certify films with an A certificate every time men are shown harassing a woman. Why the double standards?

Youve stuck by Yuvan through the years.

Hes the true hero of my film. Hes at a stage right now, where hes bored with doing the regular stuff. I would love to hear the music he will compose a few years later. As a man changes, so does his music. His music isnt just for today. In a sense, my films arent too. When Kattradhu Thamizh released, no critic realised it was about globalisation.

Youre saying your films are ahead of their time?

No, no. Im just saying any art is not just for today. Why else am I still rewatching Polanskis Tenant? When someone tries to analyse my films content, theyre actually analysing themselves. Art makes you reflect on yourself. When I read a review of my film that digs into my content, I can see the critics life opening up to me.

Taramani has taken a while to get its release date. This isnt a film with a popular hero. Perhaps if it had a conventional villain, we could have used that to sell the film in its poster. These days, releasing films is harder than it is to make them. The films promos hint at an exploration of a contemporary relationship. The films about a relationship in the modern era. You see, todays woman needs a lover, not a bodyguard. The average Indian male doesnt get that. Would you say the average Indian male is chauvinistic? I think all men are chauvinistic. Some know they are; some others dont. My story in Taramani, about this age-old male-female dynamic, is one that has been told from Shakespearean days. Why set the story in Taramani? Taramani, the locality, is nothing like any other in Chennai. We dont show it as an IT corridor. Its an international, multi-lingual, multi-cultural space, one that resembles a global village. I wanted to see what a relationship would be like in this space. The male lead hails from a village called Cooum, where the river originates. Like the river, he feels hes also been polluted by the city. He reminded me a lot of the protagonist in your debut film, Kattradhu Thamizh. I think this interest in analysing a hero itself is slightly chauvinistic. (laughs) But yes, I realise what people say about my heroes. They say he is a loser, he has a long beard, he doesnt get life, he is pessimistic. But I want to tell people that I treat my films as theses. They shouldnt try to understand my film through its hero. The lead male character is simply there to illustrate my thesis. Did you intend for the film to be your third in whats called your globalisation trilogy? If thats how people see it, sure. Kattradhu Thamizh was about arts and humanities. Thanga Meengal was about primary school education. And Taramani, now, is about relationships. I live in a time of globalisation. Its natural my stories are about it. Would you agree your stories act as arguments against globalisation? Im neither for nor against it. Theres no turning back from it. But it has done a lot of good too. A few years ago, working women were being picked up and dropped by the men of their house. But today, they are more independent. Men, however, for the most part, still try to possess them. Sometimes, I wonder if men invented religion only to keep women in check, to dictate what they should wear and where they should go. Youve stated before that your favourite novels and films influence your work. Kattradhu Thamizh was inspired by Albert Camus The Stranger. When a man has no family, no home, no identity, hes free to do anything. Taramani has influences of Kubricks Eyes Wide Shut, Polanskis Knife in the Water Also, when I say that Im inspired, it doesnt mean Ive taken dialogues or scenes from these works. I try to analyse those concepts within the framework of our society. I wish I had the calibre of my heroes, Polanski and Kubrick. Im jealous of their ability. But what I have unshakeable belief in is that theres no such thing as politically correct art. The art I create is my philosophy drawn from truths Ive observed around me. The censor board doesnt seem to have taken too kindly to Taramani. Well, in my opinion, most films that are certified U and U/A should actually be certified A. They contain concepts that children shouldnt have to understand. In a scene, a group of men are harassing the heroine, but thats not a problem for them. When she responds with the F word, it becomes a problem. I wish theyd certify films with an A certificate every time men are shown harassing a woman. Why the double standards? Youve stuck by Yuvan through the years. Hes the true hero of my film. Hes at a stage right now, where hes bored with doing the regular stuff. I would love to hear the music he will compose a few years later. As a man changes, so does his music. His music isnt just for today. In a sense, my films arent too. When Kattradhu Thamizh released, no critic realised it was about globalisation. Youre saying your films are ahead of their time? No, no. Im just saying any art is not just for today. Why else am I still rewatching Polanskis Tenant? When someone tries to analyse my films content, theyre actually analysing themselves. Art makes you reflect on yourself. When I read a review of my film that digs into my content, I can see the critics life opening up to me.
Purnima Sriram Iyer By

Express News Service

Exactly a decade ago, we got introduced a face that could emote through those expressive eyes. Nearly 50 films old, consistently riding on the success wave and has shared screen space with actors like Navdeep to Jr NTR, Mahesh to Prabhas. She is probably the only actress, who has worked with both the Mega father and Mega son. Yes, with Ram Charan in Magadheera and with Chiranjeevi in Khaidi 150. The Aggarwal with double g. I am sure, all of us have guessed the name and she needs no more introduction.

Kajal Aggarwal, who is already giving major saree goals for her female fans with Nene Raju Nene Mantri finds promotions more tiring than shooting. After her Bangalore promotions, on her way to Vijayawada promotions, she spared a few minutes to speak about how jam-packed traffic and long distances takes a toll on her. When I am shooting, I am at one place for a long time but during promotions, travel incessantly drains me out. Nevertheless, I enjoy meeting and greeting people, she says.

With such intensive promotions on both traditional and social media, we are well educated about how the shooting, script and the movie happened. We asked her about what she is taking back from this movie, pat comes the reply, We were shooting extensively in Karaikudi in Tamil Nadu. We were staying at a place called Bungalow, which has become my favourite now. We were bang in the middle of summer. It was hot and tiring. Teja sir, Suresh sir, Rana, Navdeep, Catherine and myself stayed at the same hotel. There was no room service. I never step out my room after the shoot. I avail room service and enjoy the beauty of solitude. I used to only step out for the gym. This hotel didnt have that option, which turned out great for me. We all used to gather at the restaurant to have dinner at 7.30 pm sharp.

We would have the meal together with great discussion, exchange of thoughts, ideas and opinions. This is a rare sight. It felt like team and family. It made us feel comfortable. I will surely take this back with me, she shares with joy.Supplementing the behind the scenes memory, she speaks about her on-screen moment. There is an intense scene between Radha and Jogender (Kajal and Rana), where Radha is extremely upset and disappointed. There is a confrontation moment, where she chooses not to react. The moment her husband leaves the space, she breaks down. I wanted to project that moment in a particular manner and Teja sir was happy with my suggestion. He allowed me to do it my way. I really broke down and cried for that scene. That scene will remain special to me, she narrates invoking the anticipation to watch the film on August 11, its release date.

Kajal Aggarwal official reads her Instagram page with 5.5 million followers. Most of the pictures are about her vacation abroad with the potential to make us go green.

This vacay junkie says she wants to visit Zanzibar by the end of this year. I havent been to the African sub-continent, so that is on my list. I want to go to North pole for sure. Although I have been Iceland and Norway, I want to go again to watch the Northern Lights.

Similarly, I have been to Japan but I want to go again in the cherry blossom season. I want to do some seasonal things, she laughs while adding that she wants to swim with dolphins and sharks.She chortles loud when we asked her about her success mantra of being on the top consistently. She accredits her prosperity to her discipline and hard work.

What works for me, may not work for you. I prioritise life and stay organised. One thing, I stand by strongly is not get involved in any romantic tangle or emotional alliances with any co-star. That works for me well. I avoid mess which keeps my peace of mind intact. It helps me focus better on work, she concludes giving out a strong message to the upcoming actresses.

Exactly a decade ago, we got introduced a face that could emote through those expressive eyes. Nearly 50 films old, consistently riding on the success wave and has shared screen space with actors like Navdeep to Jr NTR, Mahesh to Prabhas. She is probably the only actress, who has worked with both the Mega father and Mega son. Yes, with Ram Charan in Magadheera and with Chiranjeevi in Khaidi 150. The Aggarwal with double g. I am sure, all of us have guessed the name and she needs no more introduction. Kajal Aggarwal, who is already giving major saree goals for her female fans with Nene Raju Nene Mantri finds promotions more tiring than shooting. After her Bangalore promotions, on her way to Vijayawada promotions, she spared a few minutes to speak about how jam-packed traffic and long distances takes a toll on her. When I am shooting, I am at one place for a long time but during promotions, travel incessantly drains me out. Nevertheless, I enjoy meeting and greeting people, she says. With such intensive promotions on both traditional and social media, we are well educated about how the shooting, script and the movie happened. We asked her about what she is taking back from this movie, pat comes the reply, We were shooting extensively in Karaikudi in Tamil Nadu. We were staying at a place called Bungalow, which has become my favourite now. We were bang in the middle of summer. It was hot and tiring. Teja sir, Suresh sir, Rana, Navdeep, Catherine and myself stayed at the same hotel. There was no room service. I never step out my room after the shoot. I avail room service and enjoy the beauty of solitude. I used to only step out for the gym. This hotel didnt have that option, which turned out great for me. We all used to gather at the restaurant to have dinner at 7.30 pm sharp. We would have the meal together with great discussion, exchange of thoughts, ideas and opinions. This is a rare sight. It felt like team and family. It made us feel comfortable. I will surely take this back with me, she shares with joy.Supplementing the behind the scenes memory, she speaks about her on-screen moment. There is an intense scene between Radha and Jogender (Kajal and Rana), where Radha is extremely upset and disappointed. There is a confrontation moment, where she chooses not to react. The moment her husband leaves the space, she breaks down. I wanted to project that moment in a particular manner and Teja sir was happy with my suggestion. He allowed me to do it my way. I really broke down and cried for that scene. That scene will remain special to me, she narrates invoking the anticipation to watch the film on August 11, its release date. Kajal Aggarwal official reads her Instagram page with 5.5 million followers. Most of the pictures are about her vacation abroad with the potential to make us go green. This vacay junkie says she wants to visit Zanzibar by the end of this year. I havent been to the African sub-continent, so that is on my list. I want to go to North pole for sure. Although I have been Iceland and Norway, I want to go again to watch the Northern Lights. Similarly, I have been to Japan but I want to go again in the cherry blossom season. I want to do some seasonal things, she laughs while adding that she wants to swim with dolphins and sharks.She chortles loud when we asked her about her success mantra of being on the top consistently. She accredits her prosperity to her discipline and hard work. What works for me, may not work for you. I prioritise life and stay organised. One thing, I stand by strongly is not get involved in any romantic tangle or emotional alliances with any co-star. That works for me well. I avoid mess which keeps my peace of mind intact. It helps me focus better on work, she concludes giving out a strong message to the upcoming actresses.
Abhijit Mulye By

Express News Service

MUMBAI: The Maratha Kranti Morcha that almost brought Mumbai to a standstill on Wednesday ended in the evening with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis making several announcements benefiting students from the community.

At Azad Maidan, the members of the community had gathered in large numbers  around 3 lakh, according to police sources  seeking quota in jobs and education for the community.

After meeting the delegation from the Maratha rally, Fadnavis addressed the legislative assembly where he announced that 605 courses would now be covered under the state governments scholarship scheme for students from the Maratha community, instead of the earlier 35.

Also, the precondition of 60 per cent marks for eligibility to get the scholarships has been done away with. This would enable students from the Maratha community to avail of concessions just like students from other backward communities, Fadnavis said.

A sub-committee of the state cabinet would be formed which will review the implementation of various schemes announced for the Maratha community at regular intervals and hold talks with leaders of the community from time to time, Fadnavis told the assembly.

The government has allocated Rs 5 crore each to build hostels for students from the community in all the districts, the CM said. Under the schemes of Annasaheb Patil Economic Development Corporation, a massive programme for skill development of 3 lakh youth from the community is being undertaken wherein an individual would be able to avail of a loan of up to Rs 10 lakh and the government will pay the interest. The Kopardi rape case is in its last stage and hearing on sentencing will begin once the re-examination of a witness was done, Fadnavis said.

However, Fadnavis didnt mention steps being taken on two crucial demands raised by the community  amendments in the SC/ST Atrocities Act and implementation of the Swaminathan panel recommendations.

Following the assurances, the BJP appeared to have successfully alienated the Maratha community from other political parties.

Opposition leaders Ajit Pawar and Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil accused Fadnavis of repeating old assurances. The opposition members then staged a walkout in protest from the assembly. The scene in the legislative council was not much different.

However, former chief minister Narayan Rane praised Fadnavis and said that he must now concentrate on implementation in a time-bound manner.

Many of the schemes announced by Fadnavis are related to education and employment opportunities. This is more important than just caressing the old emotive issues, said RS MP Chhatrapati Sambhaji Raje.

MUMBAI: The Maratha Kranti Morcha that almost brought Mumbai to a standstill on Wednesday ended in the evening with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis making several announcements benefiting students from the community. At Azad Maidan, the members of the community had gathered in large numbers  around 3 lakh, according to police sources  seeking quota in jobs and education for the community. After meeting the delegation from the Maratha rally, Fadnavis addressed the legislative assembly where he announced that 605 courses would now be covered under the state governments scholarship scheme for students from the Maratha community, instead of the earlier 35. Also, the precondition of 60 per cent marks for eligibility to get the scholarships has been done away with. This would enable students from the Maratha community to avail of concessions just like students from other backward communities, Fadnavis said. A sub-committee of the state cabinet would be formed which will review the implementation of various schemes announced for the Maratha community at regular intervals and hold talks with leaders of the community from time to time, Fadnavis told the assembly. The government has allocated Rs 5 crore each to build hostels for students from the community in all the districts, the CM said. Under the schemes of Annasaheb Patil Economic Development Corporation, a massive programme for skill development of 3 lakh youth from the community is being undertaken wherein an individual would be able to avail of a loan of up to Rs 10 lakh and the government will pay the interest. The Kopardi rape case is in its last stage and hearing on sentencing will begin once the re-examination of a witness was done, Fadnavis said. However, Fadnavis didnt mention steps being taken on two crucial demands raised by the community  amendments in the SC/ST Atrocities Act and implementation of the Swaminathan panel recommendations. Following the assurances, the BJP appeared to have successfully alienated the Maratha community from other political parties. Opposition leaders Ajit Pawar and Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil accused Fadnavis of repeating old assurances. The opposition members then staged a walkout in protest from the assembly. The scene in the legislative council was not much different. However, former chief minister Narayan Rane praised Fadnavis and said that he must now concentrate on implementation in a time-bound manner. Many of the schemes announced by Fadnavis are related to education and employment opportunities. This is more important than just caressing the old emotive issues, said RS MP Chhatrapati Sambhaji Raje.
Aishik Chanda By

Express News Service

HOJAI: Emperor Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Sikh kingdom might have never imagined that descendants of 500 Sikh soldiers whom he had sent to Assam to fight Burmese invaders in 1822 would mitigate recurring annual floods 195 years later with Sikhisms essential free kitchen or langar at Barkola village in central Assams Nagaon district.

Barkola village is situated a bit upland because of which it becomes an island every year during floods. When neighbouring villages get inundated, residents come in boats to seek shelter in the four gurdwaras and schools of Barkola. We provide free food to the victims in the langars of the four gurdwaras of the village. As government relief comes late and in scant amount, we villagers ourselves share whatever food we have. We survive because of this cooperation, said Kartara Singh, president of Nanak Sahi gurdwara in the village.

Located some 15 km south of Nagaon town, Barkola boats 10,000 residents out of which 2,000 are Sikhs, mostly Dalit Mazhabis. Tiwa and Koch tribals, Assamese Dalit communities such as Hiras and Kaibartyas and OBC Nath Jugis make up rest of the population.

Prolonged isolation from Punjab has made the Sikhs closer to Assamese communities that with other Sikhs.

We speak Assamese, call ourselves Assamese Sikhs and intermarry with Assamese Hindus. The then Punjab chief minister Giani Jail Singh along with Surjit Singh Barnala had visited Assam in 1975 to meet us. Learning that we cant speak Punjabi, he had requisitioned Siromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) of Amritsar and sent one Giani Bhajan Singh of Anandpur Sahib to teach us Gurumukhi script in 1979. He married a local Assamese Sikh woman, lived with us for 30 years and died recently after retirement, Kartara Singh added. However, since then the SGPC has not assisted the Assamese Sikhs in the maintenance of gurdwaras or development of the community kitchens.

Narrating the history of the Assamese Sikhs, Assamese Sikh Association general secretary and principal of the lone higher secondary school in Barkola, Pratap Singh said: Ahom king Swargadeo Chandrakanta Singha requested help from Maharaja Ranjit Singh to fight Burmese invaders in Assam. Some 500 Sikh soldiers fought the Burmese in Hadirasokhi in Goalpara out of which only a dozen survived. They sailed across Brahmaputra in a boat through its tributary Kopili to Chaparmukh in Nagaon district. Of the survivors, one Subedar Ram Singh left Chaparmukh for Barkola, married a local Assamese woman and established our roots. From Barkola, few families established communities in Helem in Sonitpur district, Hathipara in Nagaon district and Lanka in Hojai district.

Over the years, the Assamese Sikhs have assimilated into the Assamese identity so much so that till 1980s, they used to call the gurdwaras as naamghar or traditional Assamese temple. The village also has its share into Assamese nationalism.

Three sons of Barkola, Chandan Singh, Karam Singh and Banindra Mazumdar laid down their lives during 1983 Assam agitation. All of us took out silent marches during that period. The men were all geared up to fight against illegal immigration of Bangladeshis. They were all agitated. We spent sleepless nights, Harbansh Kaur added.

However, the village still feels neglected despite contributing top police officials, army officers and Assamese language literatures.

We have been demanding construction of embankment along the Kopili river as permanent solution to provide relief to us from recurring floods. Work began but has remained incomplete for the past 30 years, Pratap Singh added.

Facing inundation of agricultural fields every year, the village has lost its expertise in making the famous Barkola jaggery.

Sugarcane cultivation has massively reduced due to recurring floods. Our jaggery was famous throughout Northeast. Now, most people are indulged only in rice and vegetable cultivation. Some 80% of Barkola residents are cultivators and the remaining 20% have government jobs, said Dakhinpat Gaon panchayat president Tutumoni Saikia Laskar.

Though the Assamese Sikhs have been included in the minority board and get some benefit of government schemes, their demand for Assamese Sikh Development Council for the past 20 years has been ignored.

We are too scattered and too divided politically to matter as an electorate, Pratap Singh added.

HOJAI: Emperor Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Sikh kingdom might have never imagined that descendants of 500 Sikh soldiers whom he had sent to Assam to fight Burmese invaders in 1822 would mitigate recurring annual floods 195 years later with Sikhisms essential free kitchen or langar at Barkola village in central Assams Nagaon district. Barkola village is situated a bit upland because of which it becomes an island every year during floods. When neighbouring villages get inundated, residents come in boats to seek shelter in the four gurdwaras and schools of Barkola. We provide free food to the victims in the langars of the four gurdwaras of the village. As government relief comes late and in scant amount, we villagers ourselves share whatever food we have. We survive because of this cooperation, said Kartara Singh, president of Nanak Sahi gurdwara in the village. Located some 15 km south of Nagaon town, Barkola boats 10,000 residents out of which 2,000 are Sikhs, mostly Dalit Mazhabis. Tiwa and Koch tribals, Assamese Dalit communities such as Hiras and Kaibartyas and OBC Nath Jugis make up rest of the population. Prolonged isolation from Punjab has made the Sikhs closer to Assamese communities that with other Sikhs. We speak Assamese, call ourselves Assamese Sikhs and intermarry with Assamese Hindus. The then Punjab chief minister Giani Jail Singh along with Surjit Singh Barnala had visited Assam in 1975 to meet us. Learning that we cant speak Punjabi, he had requisitioned Siromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) of Amritsar and sent one Giani Bhajan Singh of Anandpur Sahib to teach us Gurumukhi script in 1979. He married a local Assamese Sikh woman, lived with us for 30 years and died recently after retirement, Kartara Singh added. However, since then the SGPC has not assisted the Assamese Sikhs in the maintenance of gurdwaras or development of the community kitchens. Narrating the history of the Assamese Sikhs, Assamese Sikh Association general secretary and principal of the lone higher secondary school in Barkola, Pratap Singh said: Ahom king Swargadeo Chandrakanta Singha requested help from Maharaja Ranjit Singh to fight Burmese invaders in Assam. Some 500 Sikh soldiers fought the Burmese in Hadirasokhi in Goalpara out of which only a dozen survived. They sailed across Brahmaputra in a boat through its tributary Kopili to Chaparmukh in Nagaon district. Of the survivors, one Subedar Ram Singh left Chaparmukh for Barkola, married a local Assamese woman and established our roots. From Barkola, few families established communities in Helem in Sonitpur district, Hathipara in Nagaon district and Lanka in Hojai district. Over the years, the Assamese Sikhs have assimilated into the Assamese identity so much so that till 1980s, they used to call the gurdwaras as naamghar or traditional Assamese temple. The village also has its share into Assamese nationalism. Three sons of Barkola, Chandan Singh, Karam Singh and Banindra Mazumdar laid down their lives during 1983 Assam agitation. All of us took out silent marches during that period. The men were all geared up to fight against illegal immigration of Bangladeshis. They were all agitated. We spent sleepless nights, Harbansh Kaur added. However, the village still feels neglected despite contributing top police officials, army officers and Assamese language literatures. We have been demanding construction of embankment along the Kopili river as permanent solution to provide relief to us from recurring floods. Work began but has remained incomplete for the past 30 years, Pratap Singh added. Facing inundation of agricultural fields every year, the village has lost its expertise in making the famous Barkola jaggery. Sugarcane cultivation has massively reduced due to recurring floods. Our jaggery was famous throughout Northeast. Now, most people are indulged only in rice and vegetable cultivation. Some 80% of Barkola residents are cultivators and the remaining 20% have government jobs, said Dakhinpat Gaon panchayat president Tutumoni Saikia Laskar. Though the Assamese Sikhs have been included in the minority board and get some benefit of government schemes, their demand for Assamese Sikh Development Council for the past 20 years has been ignored. We are too scattered and too divided politically to matter as an electorate, Pratap Singh added.
Abhijit Mulye By

Express News Service

MUMBAI: Wednesday was the completion of one year of the silent protest marches by the Maratha community of Maharashtra. The Maratha Kranti Morchas represent the churn going on among intermediate caste groups in several parts of India, for instance, the Jats in Rajasthan and Haryana, the Gujjars in Rajasthan, the Patidars in Gujarat and the Kapus in Andhra Pradesh.

Seen together, these communities are united by a demand for reservation, regardless of the fact that they enjoy reasonable access to resources and social status. In each state, they represent a challenge to the ruling coalitions headed by the BJP or its allies.

In the context of Maharashtra, the Maratha protests, triggered by the gang-rape of a minor girl from the community on July 18, 2016, could pose a challenge to the government of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis in the months ahead.

The first of the 58 Maratha Kranti Morchas was taken out in Ahmednagar on August 9, 2016, in the aftermath of the Kopardhi gang-rape. It was the first time that the community came together on a non-political platform to make demands such as reservation and a reining in of the Atrocities Act. Within a span of a couple of months, 30 such protest marches were taken out across Maharashtra. The latest was held in Mumbai on Wednesday when more than half a million people marched.

As in other protests by intermediate caste groups in other states, the Maratha rallies have remained steadfastly apolitical, a quality that confounds the traditional political parties. The Congress and the NCP, parties that traditionally enjoyed the support of the Maratha community in Maharashtra, made initial advances to claim leadership of the agitation but backed off in the face of fierce opposition from the marchers.

While professing to be apolitical, it was significant that the flare-up of the morchas last year happened at a time when Maharashtra was in the throes of local body elections, which were seen as a sort of a mid-term vote on the performance of the Fadnavis government. The results were not too encouraging for the Congress and NCP: the Marathas did not vote for them despite the two opposition parties joining hands against the BJP. The BJP was able to retain the support it had earned in the 2014 Assembly election.

However, the agitation polarised non-Marathas social groups -- mainly other backward classes (who account for more than one-third of the states population) and backward caste voters.

During the post-demonetisation period in November 2016, the agitation saw a lull. After the protest march at Nagpur during the winter session of the Assembly, there were small, localised rallies to keep the issue burning. But Wednesday's big march in Mumbai, coming after a gap of eight months, has again boosted the marchers' fervour.

Congress leader Narayan Rane said on the eve of the Mumbai march, If the government doesnt agree to all the demands, future battles will be fought in the way that the Marathas have always fought.

In the popular reckoning, the Marathas are not an economically or socially underprivileged community. But its leaders have in recent years been making a case for its inclusion in the reserved category. In a report submitted to the state government in 2014, Narayan Rane said, The Marathas are mostly farmers and labourers who depend on the employment guarantee scheme. Their economic condition is pathetic. Maratha students are poor and often dont have money to complete their education and struggle to get good jobs. The committee, headed by Rane, recommended a 16 per cent quota for the Marathas and the BJP government brought in a proposal to grant it to them. However, as with other such political tactics in other states, its risks coming up against legal hurdles. A similar decision by the UPA government in Maharashtra was quashed by the court.

As a response to the court setback, a committee was constituted under education minister Vinod Tawde to gather evidence of the social backwardness of the community. However, there was a new twist to the issue when talk began of constituting a backward class commission that would review the committee's findings. Not much has been done on that issue in the past few months, though the government has given some educational sops to students of the community. However, the leadership of the community is not quite satisfied with such measures.

On the strength of the Mumbai march, the agitation looks poised to increase in intensity and political heft. This likely to test the political acumen of Fadnavis, a Brahmin, as he steers his party towards the next Assembly election in the state.

Maratha demands

1. Speedy prosecution and punishment of the culprits in the Kopardi rape and murder case.

2. Reservation in education and government jobs.

3. Implementation of recommendations of the M S Swaminathan Committee.

4. Amendment to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 to stop its misuse.

5. Stop to the exploitation of farmers through land acquisition

6. Help for families of farmers who have committed suicide.

7. Relaxed guidelines for giving caste certificates to Kunbi, Maratha-Kunbi and Kunbi-Maratha people.

8. Address injustice done to government officers and workers from Maratha, OBC and general category in terms of promotions.

9. Reactivate the Annasaheb Patil Economic Development Corporation.

10. Autonomous Institute for the all-round development of the Maratha community, named after Shahu Maharaj.

11. A memorial for Shivaji in Mumbai.

12. Restoration of Shivaji's forts.

13. Memorial for Shahu Maharaj at Kolhapur.

14. Land for a Maratha Bhavan in each district.

15. Development of hostels for 500 Maratha students in each district.

16. Hostels for dependents of farmers, project-affected and dam-affected people.

17. Extend the EBC scheme to families with income below Rs 6 lakh.

18. Concessions to Maratha students like those given to SC/ST students.

19. Resolve the Maharashtra-Karnataka border dispute.

20. Stop distortion of history and defamation of the Maratha community and its revered personalities.

Maratha dominance

Jalgaon, Dhule, Nashik, Ahmednagar, Pune, Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Aurangabad, Jalna, Parbhani, Hingoli, Latur, Osmanabad ------

Who are the Marathas?

The Marathas constitute around 36 per cent of Maharashtra's population. Eleven of the 18 chief ministers to the state have been from this community.

However, their representation in government jobs is 15 per cent, and 12 per cent in technical courses and higher education. About 73 per cent of the community falls in the middle-income group. Fifty per cent of land sellers and 67 per cent of borrowers in the state are Marathas.

The Marathas dominate 16 of the 36 districts of Maharashtra. Their population in these districts is 48 per cent of the total population of the district.

The community controls the dairy and sugar industries in these areas and controls about 90 per cent of the professional colleges.

The trigger: Kopardi gangrape

On July 13, 2016, a 15-year-old Maratha girl from Kopardi village in Ahmednagar was gang-raped and murdered by four students, allegedly from a Dalit community.

The incident took place when the victim was returning after meeting her grandfather. She was accosted by three men who raped her before throttling her to death. There were many injuries on her body. The rapists broke her limbs before throttling her to death.

The incident triggered a series of silent protests by the Maratha Kranti group. For over a month, marches were held in Akola, Nanded, Beed, Osmanabad, Aurangabad, Jalgaon and Jalna districts.

Similar quota demands in other states

Jats in Haryana: The Jats have been agitating for inclusion in the other backward class (OBC) category in Haryana, Rajasthan UP, and the National Captial Region.

Patidars in Gujarat: This influential community in Gujarat has been on the war path for quotas since 2015, lead by a young politician Hardik Patel. The Patidars, like the Jats of Haryana, demand inclusion in the OBC category.

Gurjars in Rajasthan: Gurjars are included in the OBC category in Rajasthan. But they want Scheduled tribe status. Their protests have often turned violent.

Kapus in AP: The Kapus are an agrarian community in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, whey they constitute more than 25 per cent of the population. They have been demanding reservation for three decades, led by their leader Mudragada Padmanabham.

MUMBAI: Wednesday was the completion of one year of the silent protest marches by the Maratha community of Maharashtra. The Maratha Kranti Morchas represent the churn going on among intermediate caste groups in several parts of India, for instance, the Jats in Rajasthan and Haryana, the Gujjars in Rajasthan, the Patidars in Gujarat and the Kapus in Andhra Pradesh. Seen together, these communities are united by a demand for reservation, regardless of the fact that they enjoy reasonable access to resources and social status. In each state, they represent a challenge to the ruling coalitions headed by the BJP or its allies. In the context of Maharashtra, the Maratha protests, triggered by the gang-rape of a minor girl from the community on July 18, 2016, could pose a challenge to the government of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis in the months ahead. The first of the 58 Maratha Kranti Morchas was taken out in Ahmednagar on August 9, 2016, in the aftermath of the Kopardhi gang-rape. It was the first time that the community came together on a non-political platform to make demands such as reservation and a reining in of the Atrocities Act. Within a span of a couple of months, 30 such protest marches were taken out across Maharashtra. The latest was held in Mumbai on Wednesday when more than half a million people marched. As in other protests by intermediate caste groups in other states, the Maratha rallies have remained steadfastly apolitical, a quality that confounds the traditional political parties. The Congress and the NCP, parties that traditionally enjoyed the support of the Maratha community in Maharashtra, made initial advances to claim leadership of the agitation but backed off in the face of fierce opposition from the marchers. While professing to be apolitical, it was significant that the flare-up of the morchas last year happened at a time when Maharashtra was in the throes of local body elections, which were seen as a sort of a mid-term vote on the performance of the Fadnavis government. The results were not too encouraging for the Congress and NCP: the Marathas did not vote for them despite the two opposition parties joining hands against the BJP. The BJP was able to retain the support it had earned in the 2014 Assembly election. However, the agitation polarised non-Marathas social groups -- mainly other backward classes (who account for more than one-third of the states population) and backward caste voters. During the post-demonetisation period in November 2016, the agitation saw a lull. After the protest march at Nagpur during the winter session of the Assembly, there were small, localised rallies to keep the issue burning. But Wednesday's big march in Mumbai, coming after a gap of eight months, has again boosted the marchers' fervour. Congress leader Narayan Rane said on the eve of the Mumbai march, If the government doesnt agree to all the demands, future battles will be fought in the way that the Marathas have always fought. In the popular reckoning, the Marathas are not an economically or socially underprivileged community. But its leaders have in recent years been making a case for its inclusion in the reserved category. In a report submitted to the state government in 2014, Narayan Rane said, The Marathas are mostly farmers and labourers who depend on the employment guarantee scheme. Their economic condition is pathetic. Maratha students are poor and often dont have money to complete their education and struggle to get good jobs. The committee, headed by Rane, recommended a 16 per cent quota for the Marathas and the BJP government brought in a proposal to grant it to them. However, as with other such political tactics in other states, its risks coming up against legal hurdles. A similar decision by the UPA government in Maharashtra was quashed by the court. As a response to the court setback, a committee was constituted under education minister Vinod Tawde to gather evidence of the social backwardness of the community. However, there was a new twist to the issue when talk began of constituting a backward class commission that would review the committee's findings. Not much has been done on that issue in the past few months, though the government has given some educational sops to students of the community. However, the leadership of the community is not quite satisfied with such measures. On the strength of the Mumbai march, the agitation looks poised to increase in intensity and political heft. This likely to test the political acumen of Fadnavis, a Brahmin, as he steers his party towards the next Assembly election in the state. Maratha demands 1. Speedy prosecution and punishment of the culprits in the Kopardi rape and murder case. 2. Reservation in education and government jobs. 3. Implementation of recommendations of the M S Swaminathan Committee. 4. Amendment to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 to stop its misuse. 5. Stop to the exploitation of farmers through land acquisition 6. Help for families of farmers who have committed suicide. 7. Relaxed guidelines for giving caste certificates to Kunbi, Maratha-Kunbi and Kunbi-Maratha people. 8. Address injustice done to government officers and workers from Maratha, OBC and general category in terms of promotions. 9. Reactivate the Annasaheb Patil Economic Development Corporation. 10. Autonomous Institute for the all-round development of the Maratha community, named after Shahu Maharaj. 11. A memorial for Shivaji in Mumbai. 12. Restoration of Shivaji's forts. 13. Memorial for Shahu Maharaj at Kolhapur. 14. Land for a Maratha Bhavan in each district. 15. Development of hostels for 500 Maratha students in each district. 16. Hostels for dependents of farmers, project-affected and dam-affected people. 17. Extend the EBC scheme to families with income below Rs 6 lakh. 18. Concessions to Maratha students like those given to SC/ST students. 19. Resolve the Maharashtra-Karnataka border dispute. 20. Stop distortion of history and defamation of the Maratha community and its revered personalities. Maratha dominance Jalgaon, Dhule, Nashik, Ahmednagar, Pune, Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Aurangabad, Jalna, Parbhani, Hingoli, Latur, Osmanabad ------ Who are the Marathas? The Marathas constitute around 36 per cent of Maharashtra's population. Eleven of the 18 chief ministers to the state have been from this community. However, their representation in government jobs is 15 per cent, and 12 per cent in technical courses and higher education. About 73 per cent of the community falls in the middle-income group. Fifty per cent of land sellers and 67 per cent of borrowers in the state are Marathas. The Marathas dominate 16 of the 36 districts of Maharashtra. Their population in these districts is 48 per cent of the total population of the district. The community controls the dairy and sugar industries in these areas and controls about 90 per cent of the professional colleges. The trigger: Kopardi gangrape On July 13, 2016, a 15-year-old Maratha girl from Kopardi village in Ahmednagar was gang-raped and murdered by four students, allegedly from a Dalit community. The incident took place when the victim was returning after meeting her grandfather. She was accosted by three men who raped her before throttling her to death. There were many injuries on her body. The rapists broke her limbs before throttling her to death. The incident triggered a series of silent protests by the Maratha Kranti group. For over a month, marches were held in Akola, Nanded, Beed, Osmanabad, Aurangabad, Jalgaon and Jalna districts. Similar quota demands in other states Jats in Haryana: The Jats have been agitating for inclusion in the other backward class (OBC) category in Haryana, Rajasthan UP, and the National Captial Region. Patidars in Gujarat: This influential community in Gujarat has been on the war path for quotas since 2015, lead by a young politician Hardik Patel. The Patidars, like the Jats of Haryana, demand inclusion in the OBC category. Gurjars in Rajasthan: Gurjars are included in the OBC category in Rajasthan. But they want Scheduled tribe status. Their protests have often turned violent. Kapus in AP: The Kapus are an agrarian community in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, whey they constitute more than 25 per cent of the population. They have been demanding reservation for three decades, led by their leader Mudragada Padmanabham.
By Express News Service

MUMBAI: Pune police have arrested a professor who is accused of demanding sexual favors from a 31-year-old Iranian Ph.D. student.

He has been remanded in police custody for two days.

The woman said the professor groped her and touched her inappropriately. He also demanded sexual favors from her in exchange for facilitating her admission to his college as a Ph.D. student.

The victim wanted to pursue Ph.D. in accountancy. She had been searching for an academician who could guide her when she met Prof. Borhade, a few months back.

He made her visit him several times under the pretext of correcting the mistakes in her thesis.

However, during their meeting last week, he told her that his college has only one seat and for which there are two candidates.

He suggested that she should meet him on Tuesday when he would try to solve the problem.

When she met him on Tuesday, he was alone in his cabin. He assured her that she will get the admission if she agrees to do certain things. He then made sexual advances and demanded sexual favors from her, which she refused and left his cabin, said inspector Phuge.

The victim, who is not well-versed in English has a habit of recording all her conversations so that she could listen to them later. She handed over to the police, the audio clip of her conversation with the professor, making it easier for them to nab him, Phuge said.

Pune is a favorite destination for foreign students who come to India for higher education. By one account, the city hosts as much as 40 per cent of the foreign students who come to India for higher studies.

MUMBAI: Pune police have arrested a professor who is accused of demanding sexual favors from a 31-year-old Iranian Ph.D. student. He has been remanded in police custody for two days. The woman said the professor groped her and touched her inappropriately. He also demanded sexual favors from her in exchange for facilitating her admission to his college as a Ph.D. student. The victim wanted to pursue Ph.D. in accountancy. She had been searching for an academician who could guide her when she met Prof. Borhade, a few months back. He made her visit him several times under the pretext of correcting the mistakes in her thesis. However, during their meeting last week, he told her that his college has only one seat and for which there are two candidates. He suggested that she should meet him on Tuesday when he would try to solve the problem. When she met him on Tuesday, he was alone in his cabin. He assured her that she will get the admission if she agrees to do certain things. He then made sexual advances and demanded sexual favors from her, which she refused and left his cabin, said inspector Phuge. The victim, who is not well-versed in English has a habit of recording all her conversations so that she could listen to them later. She handed over to the police, the audio clip of her conversation with the professor, making it easier for them to nab him, Phuge said. Pune is a favorite destination for foreign students who come to India for higher education. By one account, the city hosts as much as 40 per cent of the foreign students who come to India for higher studies.
Anand ST Das By

Express News Service

PATNA: A Rashtriya Janata Dal leader who was close to the party chief Lalu Prasad Yadav was shot dead by three unidentified men near his Danapur residence near Patna early today morning.

Kedar Rai, the sitting municipal councilor of Danapurs Ward No. 15, was hit by three bullets at about 4:45 AM. The motorcycle-borne assassins fled immediately after the attack but were seen by some local people, including a six-year-old boy. A profusely bleeding Rai was rushed to a nearby hospital but was declared brought dead.

So far, four men have been arrested in connection with the murder.

Police and Rais family said a property dispute was behind the murder.

Rais brother, Paras Rai said police took no action despite the family having informed them of the threats to Rai's life.

The RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, who learned of the murder while in Ranchi in Jharkhand, said a top-level conspiracy was behind the murder and demanded a CBI probe.

Rai was one of the important leaders of our party. There is a top-level conspiracy behind this murder, said Yadav after appearing in a CBI court in connection with a fodder scam case.

High-profile people are involved in this murder. When I return to Patna, I will see what property dispute it was, as is being claimed. Even political people are involved in this and their names will soon be revealed. I demand a CBI probe into this incident, he added.

A six-year-old boy who saw the murder told police that three men came on a bike and one of them fired at Rai. Patna DSP (law and order) Shivli Noomani said twenty people have been named in the case and that efforts are under way to nab all them.

Rai had won municipal council election for the fourth consecutive time. His wife Shobha Devi is currently the councilor of ward No. 16.

They (killers) had threatened him (Rai) of dire consequences three days ago. We had approached police and informed them about the dispute. But they refused to take action. Instead, Danapur DSP Rajesh Kumar Singh asked us to compromise with them, said Paras Rai, the victims brother.

PATNA: A Rashtriya Janata Dal leader who was close to the party chief Lalu Prasad Yadav was shot dead by three unidentified men near his Danapur residence near Patna early today morning. Kedar Rai, the sitting municipal councilor of Danapurs Ward No. 15, was hit by three bullets at about 4:45 AM. The motorcycle-borne assassins fled immediately after the attack but were seen by some local people, including a six-year-old boy. A profusely bleeding Rai was rushed to a nearby hospital but was declared brought dead. So far, four men have been arrested in connection with the murder. Police and Rais family said a property dispute was behind the murder. Rais brother, Paras Rai said police took no action despite the family having informed them of the threats to Rai's life. The RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, who learned of the murder while in Ranchi in Jharkhand, said a top-level conspiracy was behind the murder and demanded a CBI probe. Rai was one of the important leaders of our party. There is a top-level conspiracy behind this murder, said Yadav after appearing in a CBI court in connection with a fodder scam case. High-profile people are involved in this murder. When I return to Patna, I will see what property dispute it was, as is being claimed. Even political people are involved in this and their names will soon be revealed. I demand a CBI probe into this incident, he added. A six-year-old boy who saw the murder told police that three men came on a bike and one of them fired at Rai. Patna DSP (law and order) Shivli Noomani said twenty people have been named in the case and that efforts are under way to nab all them. Rai had won municipal council election for the fourth consecutive time. His wife Shobha Devi is currently the councilor of ward No. 16. They (killers) had threatened him (Rai) of dire consequences three days ago. We had approached police and informed them about the dispute. But they refused to take action. Instead, Danapur DSP Rajesh Kumar Singh asked us to compromise with them, said Paras Rai, the victims brother.
By ANI

PATNA: Another wagon was added in the midst of Bihars ongoing battle, when senior Janata Dal (United) leader Sharad Yadav announced that he would kickstart a three-day Jan Samvad Yatra to discuss the repercussions of the withdrawal of the grand alliance in the state, adding that the 'faith' of 11 crore people of Bihar was 'broken'.

Addressing the media, Sharad Yadav said that people who established the mandate were hurt because of the whole situation.

I have been conducting rallies for 40 years. Even during the elections, we stayed in Bihar, did their publicity and stood with the mandate, Yadav said.

The senior party leader further said that the mandate was supposed to be for five years, which didnt happen and they are disappointed.



One manifesto was ours and one manifesto was that of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In the 70 years of history, I cannot find an example where two opposition parties have a common manifesto, he said.

Yadav further said that these are troubled times for democracy in Bihar.

I would just like to say that I still stand with the mandate and am going to meet a few friends from the Janata Dal, he added.

Sharad Yadav has kickstarted his three-day Jan Samvad Yatra today and will meet the people of Bihar to discuss the repercussions of the withdrawal of the grand alliance in the state.

Yadav will visit nearly eight to ten constituencies of Bihar from August 10 to 12 and will hold discussions.

Day one of the tour will see Yadav covering Patna-Sonpur-Muzaffarpur, while on day two he will be visiting Muzaffarpur-Darbhanga-Madhubani.

On the last day, Sharad Yadav will meet the people of Madhubani-Supaul-Saharsa-Madhepur.

PATNA: Another wagon was added in the midst of Bihars ongoing battle, when senior Janata Dal (United) leader Sharad Yadav announced that he would kickstart a three-day Jan Samvad Yatra to discuss the repercussions of the withdrawal of the grand alliance in the state, adding that the 'faith' of 11 crore people of Bihar was 'broken'. Addressing the media, Sharad Yadav said that people who established the mandate were hurt because of the whole situation. I have been conducting rallies for 40 years. Even during the elections, we stayed in Bihar, did their publicity and stood with the mandate, Yadav said. The senior party leader further said that the mandate was supposed to be for five years, which didnt happen and they are disappointed. One manifesto was ours and one manifesto was that of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In the 70 years of history, I cannot find an example where two opposition parties have a common manifesto, he said. Yadav further said that these are troubled times for democracy in Bihar. I would just like to say that I still stand with the mandate and am going to meet a few friends from the Janata Dal, he added. Sharad Yadav has kickstarted his three-day Jan Samvad Yatra today and will meet the people of Bihar to discuss the repercussions of the withdrawal of the grand alliance in the state. Yadav will visit nearly eight to ten constituencies of Bihar from August 10 to 12 and will hold discussions. Day one of the tour will see Yadav covering Patna-Sonpur-Muzaffarpur, while on day two he will be visiting Muzaffarpur-Darbhanga-Madhubani. On the last day, Sharad Yadav will meet the people of Madhubani-Supaul-Saharsa-Madhepur.
By Express News Service

BHOPAL: Three men suspected of having links with the banned Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) were arrested from Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior district on Wednesday night.

The three were nabbed from three places in the district during a joint operation by members of the Punjab Police and the Madhya Pradesh Anti Terror Squad (ATS).

The three have been identified as Balkar Singh, Balwindar Singh and Satindar alias Chotu Rawat. They were arrested from Thatipur, Chinor and Dabra areas of the Gwalior district (300 km from Bhopal) respectively.

The three, aged between 25 and 48 years, is suspected of having supplied arms to the pro-Khalistan terrorist group, police said. A Punjab Police officer who took part in the operation told this newspaper that the three are suspected to be key members of the KLF arms supply chain.

A case was lodged against them at the Ramdas police station in Punjab's Amritsar district in May after the Border Security Force (BSF) recovered arms and ammunitions from near the border with Pakistan.

The BSF arrested two KLF linked terrorists, Maan Singh and Sher Singh, as they were collecting the arms and ammunition near the border.

Soon after, three more arrests were made that of Gurdayal Singh, Jagroop Singh and Satwindar Singh from Punjab in June.

Upon questioning the three, the Punjab Police came to know the trio living in the Gwalior district of MP were key links in the KLF's arms supply chain.

The police officer who spoke to the New Indian Express said they are hoping that a thorough interrogation of the three could shed more light on KLF and its links across the country.

BHOPAL: Three men suspected of having links with the banned Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) were arrested from Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior district on Wednesday night. The three were nabbed from three places in the district during a joint operation by members of the Punjab Police and the Madhya Pradesh Anti Terror Squad (ATS). The three have been identified as Balkar Singh, Balwindar Singh and Satindar alias Chotu Rawat. They were arrested from Thatipur, Chinor and Dabra areas of the Gwalior district (300 km from Bhopal) respectively. The three, aged between 25 and 48 years, is suspected of having supplied arms to the pro-Khalistan terrorist group, police said. A Punjab Police officer who took part in the operation told this newspaper that the three are suspected to be key members of the KLF arms supply chain. A case was lodged against them at the Ramdas police station in Punjab's Amritsar district in May after the Border Security Force (BSF) recovered arms and ammunitions from near the border with Pakistan. The BSF arrested two KLF linked terrorists, Maan Singh and Sher Singh, as they were collecting the arms and ammunition near the border. Soon after, three more arrests were made that of Gurdayal Singh, Jagroop Singh and Satwindar Singh from Punjab in June. Upon questioning the three, the Punjab Police came to know the trio living in the Gwalior district of MP were key links in the KLF's arms supply chain. The police officer who spoke to the New Indian Express said they are hoping that a thorough interrogation of the three could shed more light on KLF and its links across the country.
Namita Bajpai By

Express News Service

LUCKNOW: What appears to be a crude bomb was seized from onboard Amritsar bound Kolkata Amritsat Akal Takth Express (Tr. No.12137), during a security check at Amethi Railway Station in Uttar Pradesh, late on Wednesday night.

Passengers traveling in two coaches of the train were evacuated when a suspicious object was spotted under a wash basin of one of the two 2-tier B3 coaches.

A strange looking object with a white substance strewn around it grabbed the attention of some of the passengers who alerted the guards who were on-board. Soon, the guards informed the Railway authorities in Lucknow about the suspicious object and the train was stopped in Amethi.

A bomb disposal squad reached the spot and took possession of the object. Upon examination, it was found out that the object was a low-intensity explosive.

However, they did not find any battery or circuit attached to it.

A hand-written letter recovered from beside the object said, India will have to pay for Abu Dujanas encounter in Jammu and Kashmir. Dujanas killing will be avenged.

Dujana, a Pakistani national and a top LeT militant was gunned down on August 1 by security forces during an encounter in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Additional director general of police (Railway) refused to comment, saying that the object was being studied and anything could be said about the nature of the object only after a probe.

A senior DCM of Railways, Shivendra Shukla said the material could be explosive, but there might yet be no terror angle to it.

Police sources said that powdery substance found near the suspicious object would soon be sent to a lab for testing.

After a search, the train continued its onward journey to Amritsar.

LUCKNOW: What appears to be a crude bomb was seized from onboard Amritsar bound Kolkata Amritsat Akal Takth Express (Tr. No.12137), during a security check at Amethi Railway Station in Uttar Pradesh, late on Wednesday night. Passengers traveling in two coaches of the train were evacuated when a suspicious object was spotted under a wash basin of one of the two 2-tier B3 coaches. A strange looking object with a white substance strewn around it grabbed the attention of some of the passengers who alerted the guards who were on-board. Soon, the guards informed the Railway authorities in Lucknow about the suspicious object and the train was stopped in Amethi. A bomb disposal squad reached the spot and took possession of the object. Upon examination, it was found out that the object was a low-intensity explosive. However, they did not find any battery or circuit attached to it. A hand-written letter recovered from beside the object said, India will have to pay for Abu Dujanas encounter in Jammu and Kashmir. Dujanas killing will be avenged. Dujana, a Pakistani national and a top LeT militant was gunned down on August 1 by security forces during an encounter in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir. Additional director general of police (Railway) refused to comment, saying that the object was being studied and anything could be said about the nature of the object only after a probe. A senior DCM of Railways, Shivendra Shukla said the material could be explosive, but there might yet be no terror angle to it. Police sources said that powdery substance found near the suspicious object would soon be sent to a lab for testing. After a search, the train continued its onward journey to Amritsar.
Swaran Singh By

For the last two months, Doklam has remained the centrepiece of Indias foreign policy. While India continues to evolve various formulations for starting dialogue, China singularly persists with the demand that India withdraw its forces first. This stalemate is hurting both sides and shows no signs of ending. If anything, the effects of the stalemate are now visible elsewhere. China and India have become hyperactive in wooing their other Himalayan neighbourNepal.

The nation shares not one but two such disputed tri-junctions: The Lipulekh pass in western Nepal and the dormant Jhinsang Chull, in its East.

Unlike Jhinsang Chull, the Lipulekh pass has been in use since ancient times for trade and travel between China, India and Nepal. It was formally opened by a 1992 agreement between China and India for pilgrims visiting Mount Kailash and Mansarovar. This pass was in the news recently when the Doklam standoff began: China prevented these pilgrims from using the Nathu La which was opened in 2006.

It is important to note that, in the past years, the Lipulekh has been creating insecurities in Nepal as it is close to the Kalapani area claimed both by India and Nepal. In 2015, the Nepalese Parliament had demanded that China and India drop the mention of Lipulekh from their agreement on bilateral trade signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modis China visit. At that time, China-India relations were friendly, while the ties between India and Nepal were drifting towards the five-month long blockade. This allowed China to maximise its goodwill in Nepal; it provided essential commodities like oil to the Himalayan nation.

Since then, relations between New Delhi and Beijing have also derailed. This means that Lipulekh can now provide China the added leverage to negatively influence India-Nepal ties.

As in the case of Bhutan, the Chinese have been working hard to wean away Nepal from its special equation with India. As part of expanding its influence in Nepal, China has not only invested in infrastructure but also cultivated ties with the Nepalese civil society and its leadership. Opposition leader and former Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli, known for his pro-China slant, was recently hosted in Tibet and briefed on Chinas position on Doklam.

His former Foreign Minister Mahendra Bahadur Pandey has been saying that the Chinese have assured Nepal that they would review the tri-junction next to Lipulekh, urging India to do the same before this tri-junction becomes another Doklam. Gopal Khanal, who was Olis foreign policy advisor said: We have to see the Doklam incident as indicative of the tendency of big countries to unnecessarily intervene in the affairs of small countries. Nepal has always had anti-India constituencies. But now, they are cementing around ex-PM K P Sharma Olis loyalists who have been trying to paint India as the aggressor in Doklam.

Similarly, Chinese academics have become far too abrasive in reminding the Nepalese of Indias interference flowing from British legacies. They are proposing that Kathmandu accept Chinas offers of expanding connectivity through construction of railways, roads, pipelines and people-to-people contacts. Their refrain of the two China-Nepal treaties having successfully ended the impact of British legacies in their relationship and how China has never interfered in Nepals internal affairs or supported Maoists has been sustained with a view to strengthen Nepals anti-India constituencies.

As a visible outcome of such sustained Chinese efforts, at a press conference this Monday, Nepals Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara underlined his governments policy of equidistance on the Doklam standoff saying, We do not support any of our neighbours in this case. This needs to be read in the backdrop of the fact that thousands of Nepali soldiers serve in the Indian Army; hundreds of Nepali troops had died in the last China-India warfighting for Indian side.

This means that the shadows of Doklam will hang over the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) foreign ministers meet in Nepal Friday.

To recall, India wants to strengthen BIMSTEC as an alternative to the deadlocked South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation which has failed to hold its summit since 2014. This year, BIMSTEC completes 20 years and India wishes it adopts a Free Trade Agreement to assert its relevance and also the help India bypass Pakistan in building sub-regional cooperation. India has serious reservations to its 2004 framework Free Trade Agreement; Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have been pushing for the entry of China into the groupif not as a member, then as an observer. So, Doklam will remain the big elephant in Foreign Minister Sushma Swarajs interactions; her visit to Nepal starts today.

Now, lets gauge the magnitude of Swarajs task. Last week, Chinese deputy chief of mission in Kathmandu briefed his newly appointed Nepalese counterpart and other Nepalese officials in Kathmandu; Chinese officials also briefed Nepalese diplomats in Beijing. Now, Swarajs visit will be followed by Chinese Vice-Premier Wang Yangs visit to Nepal from August 14 to hold similar briefings for Nepals top leadersbefore Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba begins his first foreign visit to India starting August 23.

In the last two years, Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang has emerged a top-level South Asian expert with multiple visits to Nepal. Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj therefore will be expected to explain Indias stand on Doklam not just to Nepalese leaders but also to all the BIMTEC leaders. Given this growing centrality of Nepal in the Doklam issue, Foreign Secretary Jaishankar Subrahmanyam is expected to visit Nepal as a follow up to Wang Yangs visit and before Nepal prime minister begins his visit to India.

Swaran Singh

Professor, School of International Studies, JNU, New Delhi

Email: ssingh@jnu.ac.in

For the last two months, Doklam has remained the centrepiece of Indias foreign policy. While India continues to evolve various formulations for starting dialogue, China singularly persists with the demand that India withdraw its forces first. This stalemate is hurting both sides and shows no signs of ending. If anything, the effects of the stalemate are now visible elsewhere. China and India have become hyperactive in wooing their other Himalayan neighbourNepal. The nation shares not one but two such disputed tri-junctions: The Lipulekh pass in western Nepal and the dormant Jhinsang Chull, in its East. Unlike Jhinsang Chull, the Lipulekh pass has been in use since ancient times for trade and travel between China, India and Nepal. It was formally opened by a 1992 agreement between China and India for pilgrims visiting Mount Kailash and Mansarovar. This pass was in the news recently when the Doklam standoff began: China prevented these pilgrims from using the Nathu La which was opened in 2006. It is important to note that, in the past years, the Lipulekh has been creating insecurities in Nepal as it is close to the Kalapani area claimed both by India and Nepal. In 2015, the Nepalese Parliament had demanded that China and India drop the mention of Lipulekh from their agreement on bilateral trade signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modis China visit. At that time, China-India relations were friendly, while the ties between India and Nepal were drifting towards the five-month long blockade. This allowed China to maximise its goodwill in Nepal; it provided essential commodities like oil to the Himalayan nation. Since then, relations between New Delhi and Beijing have also derailed. This means that Lipulekh can now provide China the added leverage to negatively influence India-Nepal ties. As in the case of Bhutan, the Chinese have been working hard to wean away Nepal from its special equation with India. As part of expanding its influence in Nepal, China has not only invested in infrastructure but also cultivated ties with the Nepalese civil society and its leadership. Opposition leader and former Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli, known for his pro-China slant, was recently hosted in Tibet and briefed on Chinas position on Doklam. His former Foreign Minister Mahendra Bahadur Pandey has been saying that the Chinese have assured Nepal that they would review the tri-junction next to Lipulekh, urging India to do the same before this tri-junction becomes another Doklam. Gopal Khanal, who was Olis foreign policy advisor said: We have to see the Doklam incident as indicative of the tendency of big countries to unnecessarily intervene in the affairs of small countries. Nepal has always had anti-India constituencies. But now, they are cementing around ex-PM K P Sharma Olis loyalists who have been trying to paint India as the aggressor in Doklam. Similarly, Chinese academics have become far too abrasive in reminding the Nepalese of Indias interference flowing from British legacies. They are proposing that Kathmandu accept Chinas offers of expanding connectivity through construction of railways, roads, pipelines and people-to-people contacts. Their refrain of the two China-Nepal treaties having successfully ended the impact of British legacies in their relationship and how China has never interfered in Nepals internal affairs or supported Maoists has been sustained with a view to strengthen Nepals anti-India constituencies. As a visible outcome of such sustained Chinese efforts, at a press conference this Monday, Nepals Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara underlined his governments policy of equidistance on the Doklam standoff saying, We do not support any of our neighbours in this case. This needs to be read in the backdrop of the fact that thousands of Nepali soldiers serve in the Indian Army; hundreds of Nepali troops had died in the last China-India warfighting for Indian side. This means that the shadows of Doklam will hang over the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) foreign ministers meet in Nepal Friday. To recall, India wants to strengthen BIMSTEC as an alternative to the deadlocked South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation which has failed to hold its summit since 2014. This year, BIMSTEC completes 20 years and India wishes it adopts a Free Trade Agreement to assert its relevance and also the help India bypass Pakistan in building sub-regional cooperation. India has serious reservations to its 2004 framework Free Trade Agreement; Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have been pushing for the entry of China into the groupif not as a member, then as an observer. So, Doklam will remain the big elephant in Foreign Minister Sushma Swarajs interactions; her visit to Nepal starts today. Now, lets gauge the magnitude of Swarajs task. Last week, Chinese deputy chief of mission in Kathmandu briefed his newly appointed Nepalese counterpart and other Nepalese officials in Kathmandu; Chinese officials also briefed Nepalese diplomats in Beijing. Now, Swarajs visit will be followed by Chinese Vice-Premier Wang Yangs visit to Nepal from August 14 to hold similar briefings for Nepals top leadersbefore Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba begins his first foreign visit to India starting August 23. In the last two years, Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang has emerged a top-level South Asian expert with multiple visits to Nepal. Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj therefore will be expected to explain Indias stand on Doklam not just to Nepalese leaders but also to all the BIMTEC leaders. Given this growing centrality of Nepal in the Doklam issue, Foreign Secretary Jaishankar Subrahmanyam is expected to visit Nepal as a follow up to Wang Yangs visit and before Nepal prime minister begins his visit to India. Swaran Singh Professor, School of International Studies, JNU, New Delhi Email: ssingh@jnu.ac.in
By Express News Service

TIRUPATI: Tirupati East police seized 24 kg ganja from a passenger at the railway station here on Wednesday. Acting on a tip-off, the East Police intercepted a passenger from the train that was coming from Visakhapatnam. The arrested was identified as Murugan from Theni district in TN. He was scheduled to board the Sabari Express as per his ticket reservation. The Excise police said that the accused wanted to transport ganja to Erode district in Tamil Nadu. Acting on a tip-off, the East Station Task Force SI M Ravikumar along with Railway SI Nagarjuna took Murugan into custody.

TIRUPATI: Tirupati East police seized 24 kg ganja from a passenger at the railway station here on Wednesday. Acting on a tip-off, the East Police intercepted a passenger from the train that was coming from Visakhapatnam. The arrested was identified as Murugan from Theni district in TN. He was scheduled to board the Sabari Express as per his ticket reservation. The Excise police said that the accused wanted to transport ganja to Erode district in Tamil Nadu. Acting on a tip-off, the East Station Task Force SI M Ravikumar along with Railway SI Nagarjuna took Murugan into custody.
By Express News Service

TIRUPATI: TTD Security and Vigilance personnel on Wednesday seized a revolver and six bullets from a devotee from Maharashtra at Alipiri here. Special Protection Force constable N Gandhadha, while doing a routine check of pilgrims headed for Tirumala shrine at fourth lane security bay, found the gun in a small bag of Dr Sudhakar Ganapt Kundus Hundai Verna car bearing registration number MH-04-FA3443. According to Chief Vigilance and Security officer Ravi Krishna, the fire arm was an NP bore revolver and the owner had a valid licence. He said the devotee did not know that arms were not allowed in Tirumala. We are verifying his claim. We are also going through the documents.

If he is a genuine devotee and tried to take the fire arm without the knowledge that it was not permitted, we will send him and his family to Tirumala, he said. Recently, Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanams security personnel, in a similar check, caught a devotee from Pune for carrying a revolver and 14 rounds of ammunition in his car.

TIRUPATI: TTD Security and Vigilance personnel on Wednesday seized a revolver and six bullets from a devotee from Maharashtra at Alipiri here. Special Protection Force constable N Gandhadha, while doing a routine check of pilgrims headed for Tirumala shrine at fourth lane security bay, found the gun in a small bag of Dr Sudhakar Ganapt Kundus Hundai Verna car bearing registration number MH-04-FA3443. According to Chief Vigilance and Security officer Ravi Krishna, the fire arm was an NP bore revolver and the owner had a valid licence. He said the devotee did not know that arms were not allowed in Tirumala. We are verifying his claim. We are also going through the documents. If he is a genuine devotee and tried to take the fire arm without the knowledge that it was not permitted, we will send him and his family to Tirumala, he said. Recently, Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanams security personnel, in a similar check, caught a devotee from Pune for carrying a revolver and 14 rounds of ammunition in his car.
By Express News Service

KOCHI: Malayalam actor Dileep, an accused in the Malayalam actress abduction case, submitted before Kerala High Court today that he is not the kingpin of any criminal conspiracy.

Dileep told the court in his bail plea that he was an unfortunate victim of an orchestrated media campaign directed by the powerful sections of the Malayalam film industry.

The High Court will consider his bail plea on Friday.

When asked about Pulsar Suni, Dileep reiterated that he has never seen, met or talked to him who is the first accused in the case.

The bail petition alleged that Dileep is being targeted by a large scale conspiracy hatched by powerful sections of the Malayalam film industry and certain others, who could manage police, media, and political leaders to spread false information against him for months together.

This resulted in the petitioner being falsely implicated as the 11th accused in the case.

Dileep was booked about three months after the submission of the final report in the case. He was arrested on July 10th.

At the time of arrest, he was committed to several film projects, which include Rama Leela, Kummara Sambhavam and Professor Dinkon. He had accepted advance to act in a few other movies too. The budget of the pending movies together runs up to more than 50 crore rupees.

The continued detention of the petitioner will delay the shooting and release of these movies which will have a catastrophic impact on the lives of many people connected with it, the plea said.

He also submitted that the prosecution challenged the earlier bail petition on the grounds that Appunni, his manager, was absconding and that he should be interrogated thoroughly before Dileep could be released.

Today, the circumstances have changed as Appunni has appeared before the investigating agency and was questioned for several hours. The prosecution has also pointed out that the mobile phone used to film the assault and its memory card has not been recovered. For this, the investigating agency should interrogate Dileep, Advocate Pratheesh Chacko.

KOCHI: Malayalam actor Dileep, an accused in the Malayalam actress abduction case, submitted before Kerala High Court today that he is not the kingpin of any criminal conspiracy. Dileep told the court in his bail plea that he was an unfortunate victim of an orchestrated media campaign directed by the powerful sections of the Malayalam film industry. The High Court will consider his bail plea on Friday. When asked about Pulsar Suni, Dileep reiterated that he has never seen, met or talked to him who is the first accused in the case. The bail petition alleged that Dileep is being targeted by a large scale conspiracy hatched by powerful sections of the Malayalam film industry and certain others, who could manage police, media, and political leaders to spread false information against him for months together. This resulted in the petitioner being falsely implicated as the 11th accused in the case. Dileep was booked about three months after the submission of the final report in the case. He was arrested on July 10th. At the time of arrest, he was committed to several film projects, which include Rama Leela, Kummara Sambhavam and Professor Dinkon. He had accepted advance to act in a few other movies too. The budget of the pending movies together runs up to more than 50 crore rupees. The continued detention of the petitioner will delay the shooting and release of these movies which will have a catastrophic impact on the lives of many people connected with it, the plea said. He also submitted that the prosecution challenged the earlier bail petition on the grounds that Appunni, his manager, was absconding and that he should be interrogated thoroughly before Dileep could be released. Today, the circumstances have changed as Appunni has appeared before the investigating agency and was questioned for several hours. The prosecution has also pointed out that the mobile phone used to film the assault and its memory card has not been recovered. For this, the investigating agency should interrogate Dileep, Advocate Pratheesh Chacko.
By ANI

NEW DELHI: The Government of Bhutan on Thursday pointedly refuted a Chinese foreign ministry claim that Bhutan had conveyed through diplomatic channels to China that the trilateral border stand-off area in Doklam in the Sikkim sector is not its territory.

Official sources in the Bhutanese Government told ANI over phone, Our position on the border issue of Doklam is very clear. Please refer to our statement which has been published on the web site of Bhutans foreign ministry on June 29, 2017.



The Bhutanese sources were responding to a stunning, but unsubstantiated claim made by Chinas top diplomat, Wang Wenli, that Bhutan had conveyed to Beijing through the diplomatic channels that the area of the standoff was not its territory.

Wang, who is the Deputy Director General of the Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs in Chinas foreign ministry, reportedly conveyed this information to a visiting Indian media delegation on Wednesday.

She, however, did not provide any evidence of her claim, which official sources in Bhutan said is at complete variance with Thimphus stated position and actions.



NEW DELHI: The Government of Bhutan on Thursday pointedly refuted a Chinese foreign ministry claim that Bhutan had conveyed through diplomatic channels to China that the trilateral border stand-off area in Doklam in the Sikkim sector is not its territory. Official sources in the Bhutanese Government told ANI over phone, Our position on the border issue of Doklam is very clear. Please refer to our statement which has been published on the web site of Bhutans foreign ministry on June 29, 2017. The Bhutanese sources were responding to a stunning, but unsubstantiated claim made by Chinas top diplomat, Wang Wenli, that Bhutan had conveyed to Beijing through the diplomatic channels that the area of the standoff was not its territory. Wang, who is the Deputy Director General of the Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs in Chinas foreign ministry, reportedly conveyed this information to a visiting Indian media delegation on Wednesday. She, however, did not provide any evidence of her claim, which official sources in Bhutan said is at complete variance with Thimphus stated position and actions.
By PTI

BEIJING: China will make no "compromise" on ending the Doklam standoff, top PLA analysts said, as they launched a propaganda blitz on a group of Indian journalists here on how New Delhi has "misjudged" Beijing's resolve by sending troops to what it claims to be Chinese territory.

India and China have been locked in a face-off in the Doklam area of the Sikkim sector for the last 50 days after Indian troops stopped the Chinese People's Liberation Army from building a road in the area. China claimed it was constructing the road within its territory and has been demanding immediate pull-out of the Indian troops from Doklam. Bhutan says Doklam belongs to it but China claims sovereignty over the area. China also claims that Thimphu has no dispute with Beijing over Doklam.

Top Chinese military experts and South Asia scholars, during an interaction with the media, said the Chinese government, people and the military were "angry" over India's "dangerous" move in Doklam which is not an Indian territory. "China so far has not used the world 'invasion'. We have only used words like 'trespass' or 'incursion' and that is the goodwill of China," Senior Colonel Zhou Bo said.

"We hope for the best but we -- the Chinese government and the military -- do not have any room to make any compromise on the matter. So for the well-being of the two peoples and the amity of the two countries, India must withdraw unconditionally," he said. His hardline comments were echoed by Senior Colonel Zhao Xiaozhou, Director at the Centre for China-America Defense Relations of the Academy of Military Science, who said Beijing has no room for compromise on the Doklam standoff.

"If you want this issue to be resolved, the Indian Army must pull back or otherwise this issue can only be resolved by the use of force," Zhao asserted. The Chinese military scholars also kept on harping that India has "trespassed" into Chinese territory and there was no basis for it to send its soldiers when Bhutan has "not invited" New Delhi to act on its behalf. The Chinese military scholars also raked up the issue of Kashmir. "Pakistan is a friend of China. If China crosses the Indian border or the India-China border on behalf of Pakistan I don't know how you will react to that," Zhao said.

His comments came a day after a top Chinese Foreign Ministry official also raised the Kashmir issue. Needling India, Wang Wenli, Deputy Director General of the Boundary and Ocean Affairs of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, had raised the Kashmir issue and also referred to the Kalapani dispute between India and Nepal. "We think it is not doable for the Indian side to use tri-junction as an excuse," she had said, referring to Indian External Affairs Ministry's assertion that the road building at the China, India and Bhutan tri-junction in the strategic narrow Chicken's Neck area changes the status quo.

"The Indian side has also many tri-junctions. What if we use the same excuse and enter the Kalapani region between China, India and Nepal or even into the Kashmir region between India and Pakistan," she had said. The Chinese military experts said India's actions have "severely affected" the political trust between the two countries and New Delhi had to face the "consequences" of its "dangerous" move as it "misjudged" the resolve of Beijing in defending its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

BEIJING: China will make no "compromise" on ending the Doklam standoff, top PLA analysts said, as they launched a propaganda blitz on a group of Indian journalists here on how New Delhi has "misjudged" Beijing's resolve by sending troops to what it claims to be Chinese territory. India and China have been locked in a face-off in the Doklam area of the Sikkim sector for the last 50 days after Indian troops stopped the Chinese People's Liberation Army from building a road in the area. China claimed it was constructing the road within its territory and has been demanding immediate pull-out of the Indian troops from Doklam. Bhutan says Doklam belongs to it but China claims sovereignty over the area. China also claims that Thimphu has no dispute with Beijing over Doklam. Top Chinese military experts and South Asia scholars, during an interaction with the media, said the Chinese government, people and the military were "angry" over India's "dangerous" move in Doklam which is not an Indian territory. "China so far has not used the world 'invasion'. We have only used words like 'trespass' or 'incursion' and that is the goodwill of China," Senior Colonel Zhou Bo said. "We hope for the best but we -- the Chinese government and the military -- do not have any room to make any compromise on the matter. So for the well-being of the two peoples and the amity of the two countries, India must withdraw unconditionally," he said. His hardline comments were echoed by Senior Colonel Zhao Xiaozhou, Director at the Centre for China-America Defense Relations of the Academy of Military Science, who said Beijing has no room for compromise on the Doklam standoff. "If you want this issue to be resolved, the Indian Army must pull back or otherwise this issue can only be resolved by the use of force," Zhao asserted. The Chinese military scholars also kept on harping that India has "trespassed" into Chinese territory and there was no basis for it to send its soldiers when Bhutan has "not invited" New Delhi to act on its behalf. The Chinese military scholars also raked up the issue of Kashmir. "Pakistan is a friend of China. If China crosses the Indian border or the India-China border on behalf of Pakistan I don't know how you will react to that," Zhao said. His comments came a day after a top Chinese Foreign Ministry official also raised the Kashmir issue. Needling India, Wang Wenli, Deputy Director General of the Boundary and Ocean Affairs of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, had raised the Kashmir issue and also referred to the Kalapani dispute between India and Nepal. "We think it is not doable for the Indian side to use tri-junction as an excuse," she had said, referring to Indian External Affairs Ministry's assertion that the road building at the China, India and Bhutan tri-junction in the strategic narrow Chicken's Neck area changes the status quo. "The Indian side has also many tri-junctions. What if we use the same excuse and enter the Kalapani region between China, India and Nepal or even into the Kashmir region between India and Pakistan," she had said. The Chinese military experts said India's actions have "severely affected" the political trust between the two countries and New Delhi had to face the "consequences" of its "dangerous" move as it "misjudged" the resolve of Beijing in defending its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
By AFP

BRUSSELS: Dutch and Belgian investigators launched joint raids on Thursday over Europe's insecticide-tainted egg scare as Britain said it had imported far more contaminated eggs than originally revealed.

The spiralling scandal also spread to an eighth country, Luxembourg, which announced that it too had found eggs containing the insecticide fipronil, which can be harmful to human health.

Millions of eggs have been destroyed or taken off the shelves across Europe with growing questions about the extent to which consumers have been kept in the dark over the scale of the problem.

Fipronil is commonly used to get rid of fleas, lice and ticks from animals but is banned by the EU from use in the food industry. It can harm people's kidneys, liver and thyroid glands.

In the Netherlands and Belgium, the countries at the epicentre of the scare, authorities said they carried out coordinated searches at several premises linked to a fraud probe about how fipronil got into the food chain.

"There are several raids being held in The Netherlands, in conjunction with the Belgians," Dutch public prosecution service spokeswoman Marieke van der Molen told AFP, but declined to give further details.

A spokeswoman for the prosecutor in Belgium's northern port city of Antwerp said in a statement: "In connection with the fipronil case, several raids are currently being carried out."

The joint action came despite Belgium one day earlier accusing the Netherlands of knowing about the problem of fipronil in eggs since November 2016, but failing to inform them until July.

The Belgian searches took place at eight sites in the Flanders region of Belgium, near the border with the Netherlands, Het Laatste Nieuws newspaper reported.

- Britain boost egg numbers -

Meanwhile British authorities said that around 700,000 eggs from Dutch farms implicated in the scandal had been distributed in Britain, just days after saying the number was only 21,000.

As a result, four major British supermarket chains have withdrawn some products containing eggs, including sandwiches and salads, the Food Standards Agency said.

"It is likely that the number of eggs that have come to the UK is closer to 700,000 than the 21,000 we previously believed had been imported," the agency said, adding that this represents just 0.007 percent of the eggs consumed in Britain every year and playing down the risk to public health.

Luxembourg said that eggs sold in branches of the discount supermarket Aldi had been withdrawn, with one batch containing so much fipronil it was unsafe to be eaten by young children. Aldi earlier this month pulled all Dutch eggs from its stores in Germany.

Tests also found fipronil in eggs sold in Luxembourg supermarket chain Cactus, which had originally come from the Netherlands, while two Luxembourg suppliers of prepared meals, Caterman and Carnesa, said they had received cartons of liquid eggs from a contaminated source in Belgium.

Some of those eggs had been used in minced beef and luncheon meat but the items had been removed, they said.

The eggs at the centre of the scandal have mainly come from the Netherlands, followed by Belgium and Germany. Dozens of farms have been shut.

Sweden, Switzerland, Britain, France and Luxembourg have also now announced that they have found contaminated eggs.

The problem is believed to stem from a substance used by Dutch company Chickfriend which farmers in the Netherlands and Belgium say they hired to treat their chickens.

A lawyer for a Belgian company, Poultry-Vision, says the firm sold it to Chickfriend but has not said where it got the substance.

The French government says a Belgian company -- which it did not identify -- mixed fipronil with another, lawful, substance.

BRUSSELS: Dutch and Belgian investigators launched joint raids on Thursday over Europe's insecticide-tainted egg scare as Britain said it had imported far more contaminated eggs than originally revealed. The spiralling scandal also spread to an eighth country, Luxembourg, which announced that it too had found eggs containing the insecticide fipronil, which can be harmful to human health. Millions of eggs have been destroyed or taken off the shelves across Europe with growing questions about the extent to which consumers have been kept in the dark over the scale of the problem. Fipronil is commonly used to get rid of fleas, lice and ticks from animals but is banned by the EU from use in the food industry. It can harm people's kidneys, liver and thyroid glands. In the Netherlands and Belgium, the countries at the epicentre of the scare, authorities said they carried out coordinated searches at several premises linked to a fraud probe about how fipronil got into the food chain. "There are several raids being held in The Netherlands, in conjunction with the Belgians," Dutch public prosecution service spokeswoman Marieke van der Molen told AFP, but declined to give further details. A spokeswoman for the prosecutor in Belgium's northern port city of Antwerp said in a statement: "In connection with the fipronil case, several raids are currently being carried out." The joint action came despite Belgium one day earlier accusing the Netherlands of knowing about the problem of fipronil in eggs since November 2016, but failing to inform them until July. The Belgian searches took place at eight sites in the Flanders region of Belgium, near the border with the Netherlands, Het Laatste Nieuws newspaper reported. - Britain boost egg numbers - Meanwhile British authorities said that around 700,000 eggs from Dutch farms implicated in the scandal had been distributed in Britain, just days after saying the number was only 21,000. As a result, four major British supermarket chains have withdrawn some products containing eggs, including sandwiches and salads, the Food Standards Agency said. "It is likely that the number of eggs that have come to the UK is closer to 700,000 than the 21,000 we previously believed had been imported," the agency said, adding that this represents just 0.007 percent of the eggs consumed in Britain every year and playing down the risk to public health. Luxembourg said that eggs sold in branches of the discount supermarket Aldi had been withdrawn, with one batch containing so much fipronil it was unsafe to be eaten by young children. Aldi earlier this month pulled all Dutch eggs from its stores in Germany. Tests also found fipronil in eggs sold in Luxembourg supermarket chain Cactus, which had originally come from the Netherlands, while two Luxembourg suppliers of prepared meals, Caterman and Carnesa, said they had received cartons of liquid eggs from a contaminated source in Belgium. Some of those eggs had been used in minced beef and luncheon meat but the items had been removed, they said. The eggs at the centre of the scandal have mainly come from the Netherlands, followed by Belgium and Germany. Dozens of farms have been shut. Sweden, Switzerland, Britain, France and Luxembourg have also now announced that they have found contaminated eggs. The problem is believed to stem from a substance used by Dutch company Chickfriend which farmers in the Netherlands and Belgium say they hired to treat their chickens. A lawyer for a Belgian company, Poultry-Vision, says the firm sold it to Chickfriend but has not said where it got the substance. The French government says a Belgian company -- which it did not identify -- mixed fipronil with another, lawful, substance.
By Associated Press

BEIRUT: A group of 17 Indonesians who had joined the Islamic State group in the northern Syrian city of Raqqa have been handed over to representatives of their country and have left Syria, a local Kurdish official and a spokeswoman said on Wednesday.

According to the official, Omar Alloush, the Indonesian nationals included men, women and children. They were handed over on Tuesday at a Syria-Iraq border crossing. They had been asking to be sent back home, he said.

Spokeswoman Nisreen Abdullah from the Women's Protection Units also confirmed the handover. The identities of the Indonesians were not immediately available and Iraqi officials could not confirm the report.

Lalu Muhammad Iqbal, the director of Indonesian citizen protection at the country's foreign ministry, said there has been "communication between the Indonesian side with various parties that control the territory of Syria" including with the North Syrian Kurdish Authority linked to the 17 Indonesians.

He said the Indonesian government in its initial discussions obtained information that the group were not fighters, some had spent most of their time in Syria in IS jails or other isolated conditions, and had fled Raqqa with the help of a third party on June 10.

"Our communication with these parties is more directed to the humanitarian situation," Iqbal said, noting the family includes teenagers and three young children. "The security conditions in the area are so complex that the handling process cannot be done easily," he said.

Last month, an Associated Press team in Raqqa met with members of an Indonesian family of 17 and reported on their journey two years ago from Jakarta to Raqqa and their initial desire to live in the Islamic State group's self-proclaimed capital.

They also told the AP of how their dreams were crushed in the face of IS brutality and terror and how different the reality of life under IS was from the utopian dream of an Islamic society they had pursued.

The AP met the women and children at a camp for the displaced run by the Kurdish forces just north of Raqqa, after they had managed to escape.

The AP also interviewed a male relative at a security center run by Kurdish forces in Kobani.

BEIRUT: A group of 17 Indonesians who had joined the Islamic State group in the northern Syrian city of Raqqa have been handed over to representatives of their country and have left Syria, a local Kurdish official and a spokeswoman said on Wednesday. According to the official, Omar Alloush, the Indonesian nationals included men, women and children. They were handed over on Tuesday at a Syria-Iraq border crossing. They had been asking to be sent back home, he said. Spokeswoman Nisreen Abdullah from the Women's Protection Units also confirmed the handover. The identities of the Indonesians were not immediately available and Iraqi officials could not confirm the report. Lalu Muhammad Iqbal, the director of Indonesian citizen protection at the country's foreign ministry, said there has been "communication between the Indonesian side with various parties that control the territory of Syria" including with the North Syrian Kurdish Authority linked to the 17 Indonesians. He said the Indonesian government in its initial discussions obtained information that the group were not fighters, some had spent most of their time in Syria in IS jails or other isolated conditions, and had fled Raqqa with the help of a third party on June 10. "Our communication with these parties is more directed to the humanitarian situation," Iqbal said, noting the family includes teenagers and three young children. "The security conditions in the area are so complex that the handling process cannot be done easily," he said. Last month, an Associated Press team in Raqqa met with members of an Indonesian family of 17 and reported on their journey two years ago from Jakarta to Raqqa and their initial desire to live in the Islamic State group's self-proclaimed capital. They also told the AP of how their dreams were crushed in the face of IS brutality and terror and how different the reality of life under IS was from the utopian dream of an Islamic society they had pursued. The AP met the women and children at a camp for the displaced run by the Kurdish forces just north of Raqqa, after they had managed to escape. The AP also interviewed a male relative at a security center run by Kurdish forces in Kobani.
By AFP

ISTANBUL: Turkish authorities today detained a Russian suspected member of the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group for allegedly plotting a drone attack on an American warplane at a US base in southern Turkey.

State-run Anadolu news agency said that Renat Bakiev is accused of seeking to stage an attack at "the Incirlik airbase or a plane stationed there".

Quoting local police, it said that "for this purpose, he worked to obtain a drone".

Dogan news agency added that Bakiev is suspected of seeking to "stage a bomb attack aiming to bring down a US plane using a drone" at the Incirlik airbase.

He allegedly carried out reconnaissance work for the plot, both reports said, without giving further details on how the plan would have been put in place.

Anadolu further reported the suspect had asked fellow IS members through the Telegram messaging app for 2,800 lira (USD 790) in order to buy the drone.

The Russian embassy in Ankara said in a statement it was "carrying out the necessary work to understand what happened and make clear the circumstances"

The United States uses Incirlik, in Adana province, as a key base for air strikes against the IS jihadists in neighbouring Syria.

Bakiev also is suspected of carrying out preparations for a plot to attack a centre of the Alevi religious minority an offshoot of the Shia sect of Islam -- in Adana city, Dogan reported.

Bakiev was detained in Adana, it said. A court later remanded him in custody ahead of trial.

Anadolu also reported claims that Bakiev had been to Syria to fight with IS and had sought to stage an attack against American forces there, but without success.

Images showed the suspect -- clean shaven and wearing an orange T-shirt -- being led to a medical check by two Turkish policemen after his arrest.

Turkey was hit in 2016 by a succession of attacks that left hundreds dead in the bloodiest year of terror strikes in its history.

The attacks were blamed on IS jihadists who had taken swathes of territory in neighbouring Syria and Iraq as well as the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) who have battled the Turkish state in an over three-decade insurgency.

Thirty-nine people were killed, mainly foreigners in a gun attack by an jihadist gunman on an elite nightclub in Istanbul just 75 minutes into New Year's Day in 2017.

There has since been a lull in similar attacks, but tension and high security remain in big cities.

Turkish security forces have frequently detained Russians -- especially residents of the mainly Muslim northern Caucasus -- in raids against IS suspects in Istanbul.

Several Russians have been arrested over the triple suicide bombing and gun attack on Istanbul's main international airport in June last year blamed on IS. The trial is due to get start on November 13.

ISTANBUL: Turkish authorities today detained a Russian suspected member of the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group for allegedly plotting a drone attack on an American warplane at a US base in southern Turkey. State-run Anadolu news agency said that Renat Bakiev is accused of seeking to stage an attack at "the Incirlik airbase or a plane stationed there". Quoting local police, it said that "for this purpose, he worked to obtain a drone". Dogan news agency added that Bakiev is suspected of seeking to "stage a bomb attack aiming to bring down a US plane using a drone" at the Incirlik airbase. He allegedly carried out reconnaissance work for the plot, both reports said, without giving further details on how the plan would have been put in place. Anadolu further reported the suspect had asked fellow IS members through the Telegram messaging app for 2,800 lira (USD 790) in order to buy the drone. The Russian embassy in Ankara said in a statement it was "carrying out the necessary work to understand what happened and make clear the circumstances" The United States uses Incirlik, in Adana province, as a key base for air strikes against the IS jihadists in neighbouring Syria. Bakiev also is suspected of carrying out preparations for a plot to attack a centre of the Alevi religious minority an offshoot of the Shia sect of Islam -- in Adana city, Dogan reported. Bakiev was detained in Adana, it said. A court later remanded him in custody ahead of trial. Anadolu also reported claims that Bakiev had been to Syria to fight with IS and had sought to stage an attack against American forces there, but without success. Images showed the suspect -- clean shaven and wearing an orange T-shirt -- being led to a medical check by two Turkish policemen after his arrest. Turkey was hit in 2016 by a succession of attacks that left hundreds dead in the bloodiest year of terror strikes in its history. The attacks were blamed on IS jihadists who had taken swathes of territory in neighbouring Syria and Iraq as well as the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) who have battled the Turkish state in an over three-decade insurgency. Thirty-nine people were killed, mainly foreigners in a gun attack by an jihadist gunman on an elite nightclub in Istanbul just 75 minutes into New Year's Day in 2017. There has since been a lull in similar attacks, but tension and high security remain in big cities. Turkish security forces have frequently detained Russians -- especially residents of the mainly Muslim northern Caucasus -- in raids against IS suspects in Istanbul. Several Russians have been arrested over the triple suicide bombing and gun attack on Istanbul's main international airport in June last year blamed on IS. The trial is due to get start on November 13.
Newport Art Museum wraps up fall with variety of programs

Though it hasnt always felt like fall these past few weeks, the museum is in high gear hosting fall events and planning for winter.
Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

Cloudy early, becoming mostly clear after midnight. Low 23F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy early, becoming mostly clear after midnight. Low 23F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph.
Reporter

Mary Schenk is a reporter covering police, courts and breaking news at The News-Gazette. Her email is mschenk@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@schenk).
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Tom Kacich is a columnist and the author of Tom's Mailbag at The News-Gazette. His column appears Sundays. His email is tkacich@news-gazette.com, and you can follow him on Twitter (@tkacich).
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Julie Wurth is a reporter covering the University of Illinois at The News-Gazette. Her email is jwurth@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@jawurth).
New Delhi: In a significant move, the defence ministry has sought setting up of a non-lapsable capital fund so that the unspent money does not go back at the end of any fiscal.



The details of the demand by the defence ministry to roll out the capital fund account have been mentioned in a latest report by the parliamentary standing committee on defence which was tabled in Lok Sabha on Thursday.



The report said the defence ministry has sent a proposal to the finance ministry on February 9 seeking in-principle approval for creation of the non-lapsable capital fund account to remove uncertainty in availability of funds for military modernisation.



As per existing norms, money given to any ministry or department under budgetary allocation has to be spent within the fiscal and the unspent amount goes back to the finance ministry at the end of the financial year.



According to the report of the committee, the finance ministry showed reluctance to the proposal by the defence ministry saying funds requirement for military modernisation can be addressed through normal budgetary mechanism.



"There is no specific advantage for creating a reserve/corpus fund for this objective. The ministry would consider recommendations made in this regard with an open mind with a view to evolving an effective and efficient arrangement," the finance ministry said, responding to a query on the issue by the panel.



The parliamentary standing committee on defence has been pushing for setting up of the non-lapsable fund since 2003. "The committee are of the opinion that creation of a non-lapsable defence capital fund account is an imperative need for enhancement and heightened operational preparedness of our defence forces," the panel headed by B C Khanduri said.



It said the finance ministry should not have any rigid view on the demand by the defence ministry.



"Moreover, creation of such a fund would also ensure that procurement of equipment, arms and ammunition for our defence forces which are in the pipeline and in the stage of fructification is not delayed because of lack of money due to technicalities of rules and regulations," the panel said.



The committee also cited example of non-lapsable central pool of resources fund for the north eastern region which is being used to implement various major infrastructure projects in the region.



The defence ministry was not very keen to go for the non-lapsable fund when suggestions were made in this regard by the parliamentary standing committee in the last few years.



But now the ministry has come out strongly for it.
New Delhi: Your Aadhaar number may soon be linked to share market transactions. According to market participants, the Securities and Exchange Board of India is likely to consider the possibility of linking the UID number to purchase and sale of stocks and mutual funds.



If implemented, this move would have far reaching implications. While on one hand it would help in curbing fraud, especially using the stock markets to whitewash black money, on the other it could lead to fear of state scrutiny and may hurt investor sentiments, at least in short term.



The move comes about as a result of the governments supposed realization that the PAN number is not much of a deterrent in stopping fraudulent transactions.



The issue of the use of stock markets for illegal or fake transactions has come up before. Multiple PAN numbers used by the same entity has been flagged as an issue. Linking market transactions to the UID could theoretically solve this because the biometric identification would eliminate the same person having multiple IDs.



News18 asked a few market participants about the move, but didnt get a confirmation about the move. However, the chairman of an investment firm said that it was common knowledge that markets were used to whitewash money. Black money would be spirited out of the country by over invoicing imports. The cash would be round tripped via international tax havens and be invested back in the country through the stock markets.



The government recently closed the international routes by signing agreements with Mauritius and Singapore to amend the Double Taxation Agreements, through which a lot of FII investment in India comes in. These are the typical routes that round tripped money uses to come back to India.



The other issue that has been flagged, even by intelligence agencies, is the use of market instruments like Participatory notes. P Notes, as they are called, allow overseas investors to invest in India without disclosing their identity. Intelligence agencies have flagged this as a threat to national security. Using an UID number for market transactions, particularly equity investments, may be viewed as a solution by the government. But it is still unclear if foreigners will also have to get an Aadhaar number to conduct market transactions.
Mohali: Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Wednesday reaffirmed his government's commitment to boost industry and create jobs and hit out at the previous SAD-BJP regime for its "apathy" towards the development of Punjab.



The chief minister was speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony of the upcoming business centre at QuarkCity, Mohali.



He lauded the project as a "future home" for world class Information Technology (IT) and Information Technology-enabled services (ITES) companies by providing congenial work atmosphere.



The chief minister lamented that Punjab's industry had been "ruined by the apathy of the previous government, which completely ignored the state's growth and development".



Pointing out that his government was according the highest priority to the industrial development of the state, he described the QuarkCity as an important project to boost Punjab's industrial development.



Finance minister Manpreet Badal described the ceremony as a proud moment for Punjab, and the culmination of a project envisioned by Singh in his previous term as chief minister.



"With IT contributing one-third of the 350 billion dollars worth of India s exports, this was a great opportunity for Punjab to join the IT bandwagon," he added.
New Delhi: After the Shia Central Waqf Board took a back step in the Ram Janmabhoomi dispute before the Supreme Court by settling for a mosque in a Muslim-dominated area, the Sunni Waqf Board  the primary party in the case  has lashed out.



It has said that the Shia Board was submitting a politically motivated affidavit which had no locus standi and was not the worth the courts time.



The Uttar Pradesh Shia Waqf Board has urged the Supreme Court to act as a mediator in the Ayodhya case and has suggested that a Ram Temple be built at the disputed site and a mosque in a nearby Muslim-dominated area as a way out of the bitter court battle over the land.



It has cited historical references to Mir Baqi, the person who built the Babri mosque, as being a Shia Muslim and hence the mutawali (caretaker) of the mosque is also the Shia Waqf Board.



However, Zafaryab Jilani, the counsel for the Sunni Waqf Board, told News18 that this stand was never taken before the Allahabad High Court and such an affidavit becomes non-admissible in the apex court.



Shia Waqf Board was impleaded as a party by the Vishva Hindu Parishad when it filed its suit in 1989. They (Shia Board) have never taken such a stand in the High Court where the case was heard on merits and evidences were submitted. This affidavit can have no legal value as it was not submitted in the High Court and there was no pleading regarding the submissions made, said Jilani.



He even suggested that prominent members of the Shia community had supported the stand taken by the Sunni Waqf Board and this affidavit meant nothing.



Maulana Kalbe Jawad was one of our witnesses in the case and even Kalbe Sadiq had supported us and it was submitted that a mosque can never be Shia or Sunni and is only a place of worship for Allah, said Jilani, who was also the counsel for the All India Muslim Personal Law Board in the triple talaq case before the Supreme Court.



Jilani told News18 that such an affidavit had a political motive.



This affidavit is just as a result of certain political motives. Waseem Rizvi, chairman of the Shia Central Waqf Board, was recently under attack from the state minister of Waqf and an order to remove four of its members was issued. That order was later challenged and dissolved but there was a danger that the Waqf board might be dissolved. Hence, to allay such fears, Rizvi met RSS leader Indresh Kumar on June 15 at Bada Imambara in Lucknow. Thereafter, he also met UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and we believe this affidavit is a result of such meetings, said Jilani.



Dismissing Jilanis claim, Waseem Rizvi said the Shia Board was very much a party to the case and the affidavit had no political motive.



These are false allegations and are only being hurled by the ones who have not been able to achieve a solution. The HC verdict had allotted a part (of the land) to the Muslims and has not specified Shia or Sunni, thus we are very much a part of it. The HC had even declared the Sunni Boards registration in 1949 invalid because there was no entry in the official gazette, Rizvi said.



I did meet UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, but it was regarding Waqf matters. The meeting with Indresh Kumar happened by chance at an event and was not on the basis of an appointment to discuss a specific subject, he added.



The Allahabad High Court had in 2010 directed that the Ayodhya site, where the Babri Masjid once stood, be split between Nirmohi Akhara, the Waqf Board and Ram Lalla, who were all claimants.



This order was challenged and the HC direction was stayed. The matter would be heard in the Supreme Court from August 11.



Rizvi also stated that it was the Shia Boards choice to not file a reply in the High Court and do so in the SC as a notice had been issued to them as a party to the case and they had only replied to that.



The affidavit is completely valid as we are a party to the case as Respondent No. 25. Yes, the matter was heard in the High Court and at the time we did not say anything. But now, while the matter is coming up for hearing in the SC, we had been issued notices and we have replied to the notice. We are the respondents and hence we have filed a counter-affidavit, Rizvi told News18.



Rizvi also said that the Shia Board was shocked that Maulana Kalbe Jawad and Kalbe Sadiq were produced as witnesses in the case before the High Court as they did not represent the Shia Waqf Board.



If the Sunni Waqf Board states that it has produced the statement of Kalbe Jawad and Kalbe Sadiq in the court, then it would be cheating with the judiciary as none of them represent the Shia Waqf Board. They may be great scholars, but that does not mean they represent us, said Rizvi.



However, All India Shia Personal Law Board told News18 that its stand in the matter is same as that of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board and the Sunni Waqf Board.



Yassob Abbas, Chairman of the All India Shia Personal Law Board, said, We have not discussed anything about the Shia Waqf Boards statements. Our stand and policy is the same as that taken by the All India Muslim Personal Law Board.



The counsel for Ram Lalla Virajman, Ranjana Agnihotri, told News18 that the affidavit is baseless as they were not even a party to the case. This is a frivolous affidavit with no legal status whatsoever. In 1961, the application of the Shia Waqf Board to be impleaded as a party was dismissed and that order was never challenged. How can they suddenly come and claim that the property is theirs?
While the Congress-led government in Karnataka stokes an age old debate of a separate flag for the state, the Bhartiya Janta Yuva Morcha, a youth wing of BJP, launched its Tiranga Yatra in New Delhis Rajpath on Wednesday. The party says its a nation-building exercise.Amid loud chants of Bharat Mata ki Jai, the Bharat Jodo campaign was launched by parliamentarian Poonam Mahajan, Union ministers Kiren Rijiju, Babul Supriyo and Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari with the aim to unite the nation by breaking caste, religion and language barriers.The initiative comes in the wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call to the party to launch nation-wide campaign to mark the 75th anniversary of the Quit India movement.The event was marked with patriotic songs, the lyrics of some of which suggested that those who have a problem in chanting Vande Mataram are betraying the nation.These statements gain much significance with Karnataka mulling the idea of a separate state flag on the lines of Jammu and Kashmir. Karnataka activists and some ministers have proposed a red and yellow flag for the state, to play up its Kannada identity. However, Poonam Mahajan told News18 that the event was not about that.Mahajan also stated that this campaign will help end the divisive tendencies that are cropping up within the nation and could threaten its cohesiveness.In India, it is only Jammu and Kashmir, which has a separate flag due to their constitutional status under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution.Sudhir Mandaar, chief of BJPs Chandni Chowk Bhartiya Janata Yuva Morcha, told News18 that the idea of a separate flag cannot exist.We have no BJP flags at the event, there are only tri-colours. Then how can a state have a different flag other than our national flag? However, there was no political motive behind this campaign and it is only to bring all Indians together on several issues, said Mandaar.
Chandigarh: Haryana BJP chiefs son Vikas Barala, who was arrested on Wednesday by the Chandigarh police, was produced before the court on Thursday. Charged with non-bailable offences in the stalking case of a 29-year-old woman, Barala and his friend were sent to police custody for two days.



The two accused, Vikas and his friend Ashish Kumar, who left the Sector 26 police station on Thursday afternoon amid tight police security, reached the district court complex at 2.20 pm.



Sources said police are likely to recreate the crime scene to get more clues in the case. Sources have also added that Vikas has confessed to having chased the daughter of a top bureaucrat of the Haryana government, when she was returning home from Sector 8 market in Chandigarh on August 4 midnight.



The police have also said that the crucial CCTV footage have clinching evidence against Barala, which shows him chasing the woman on Friday night.



Vikas had surrendered before the police on Wednesday afternoon, three hours after the deadline to answer the police summons ended at 11am. Police have slapped charges of attempted abduction under Section 365 and attempt to commit an offence under Section 511 of the Indian Penal Code. The charges carry a maximum sentence of seven years in jail.



The two accused were re-arrested on Wednesday, after they were let go after an initial arrest early on Saturday, right after the woman had registered a complaint with the police that they were trying to block her car with their SUV and tried to forcefully enter the car.



However, the woman later put up a Facebook post narrating the harrowing incident. It created a public outrage and Opposition parties like Congress started pressurizing the BJP for trying to hush up the incident. Soon, Vikas, who had initially refused to answer the police summons surrendered to the police on Wednesday.
New Delhi: The Central Information Commission has asked the Union culture ministry to respond to an RTI plea on whether the Taj Mahal is a mausoleum built by Shahjahan or a Shiva temple gifted to the Mughal emperor by a Rajput king.



The question  forwarded as an alternative narrative of history and the subject of various court cases  which reached the CIC through an RTI plea is now at the culture ministry's door.



In a recent order, Information Commissioner Sridhar Acharyulu said the ministry should put to rest the controversy and clarify doubts about the history of the white marbled mausoleum, considered one of the wonders of the world.



Acharyulu recommended that the ministry give information on its stand on the cases related to the provenance of the Taj Mahal, and on the frequent claims based on historian P N Oak and advocate Yogesh Saxena's writings.



He noted that some cases in courts, including the Supreme Court, were dismissed while some were pending.



Acharyulu said the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), being a party in some cases, must be holding the counters (affidavits) filed on its behalf and by the culture ministry.



"The Commission directs the Archaeological Survey of India to share those copies with the appellant at additional fee constituting the cost of copying, before August 30, 2017," he said.



The CIC was pulled into the debate after an applicant, B K S R Ayyangar, approached the ASI through an RTI application asking whether the monument in Agra was the Taj Mahal or "Tejo Mahalaya".



"Many people stating that Taj Mahal is not Taj Mahal and it is Tejo Mahalaya: that this was not constructed by Shahjahan, but was gifted by Raja Maan Singh; hence give the facts as per ASI reports-details with evidences," he asked.



The ASI told him no such record was available with it.



Among other records, Ayyangar also demanded "construction details" of the 17th century monument, including its rooms, hidden rooms and the rooms closed to him citing security reasons.



Acharyulu noted what he expected from his RTI application was research and investigation into the history of the Taj Mahal, which is beyond the purview of the RTI Act and ASI.



"It is unreasonable to ask for opening of closed rooms, bringing out hidden things, and for excavations underneath the protected monument of Taj Mahal and rewriting the history under an RTI application," he said.



"Before Taj Mahal was declared as such protected monument, people should have filed their objections. Those who wanted Taj Mahal to be declared as Tejo Mahalaya should have filed objections," he stated in his order.



The information commissioner added that ASI had to inform the appellant whether any excavations were done in the protected site of the Taj Mahal and, if so, what was discovered.



"Decision regarding excavation has to be taken by the concerned competent authority and Commission cannot give directions to excavate or open the hidden or closed rooms in Taj Mahal," he said.



Oak had written a book "Taj Mahal: The True Story", arguing that Taj Mahal was originally a Shiva temple built by a Rajput King which was adopted by Shahjahan, he noted.



"Oak claiming himself to be a historian not only wrote a book but also approached Supreme Court in 2000 to declare Taj Mahal as Shiva Temple. However, Supreme Court reprimanded him for having 'a bee in his bonnet' about the Taj Mahal," the information commissioner said.



Acharyulu cited a petition, seeking removal of ASI notices that the Taj Mahal was a Mughal structure, filed before the Allahabad High Court.



On February 21, 2005, the bench of Allahabad High Court consisting of Justices B S Chauhan and Dilip Gupta agreed that petition raised disputed question of facts, which could not be adjudicated upon in a writ jurisdiction, and dismissed it.
Islamabad: A constructive engagement between Pakistan and India during the recently held water talks in Washington has raised hopes for an amicable resolution of disputes under the Indus Waters Treaty, a media report here said on Thursday.



Dawn News quoted an international expert, who closely monitors the Indo-Pak water talks, as saying that this was the first time in many years that delegates "held a constructive discussion, instead of merely stating their official positions."



The expert, who was named by the daily, said in previous talks "sometimes the two sides did not even exchange formal greetings".



They would "just read the statements they brought with them and leave, but this time it was different," the expert said.



"A constructive engagement between Pakistan and India during the recently held water talks in Washington has raised hopes for an amicable resolution of this dispute," the report said, citing unnamed diplomatic sources.



India and Pakistan held secretary-level talks over the Indus Waters Treaty last week in Washington.



In a fact sheet, the global lender has said Pakistan opposes the construction of the Kishanganga (330 megawatts) and Ratle (850 megawatts) hydroelectric power plants being built by India in Jammu and Kashmir.



The World Bank, which hosted the talks at its headquarters, also noticed the positive change and mentioned it in a press release on August 1, noting that the "meetings...were held in a spirit of goodwill and cooperation", Dawn said.



In the lengthy fact sheet, the World Bank said Pakistan asked it to facilitate the setting up of a Court of Arbitration to look into its concerns about the designs of the two hydroelectric power projects.



On the other hand, India had asked for the appointment of a neutral expert to look into the issues, contending that the concerns Pakistan raised were "technical" ones.



The international lender had in November 2016 initiated two simultaneous processes for appointing neutral expert and establishing of a court of arbitration to look into technical differences between the two countries in connection with the projects.



The simultaneous processes, however, were halted after India objected to it. After that, representatives of the World Bank held talks with India and Pakistan to find a way out separately.



The Indus Waters Treaty was signed in 1960 after nine years of negotiations between India and Pakistan with the help of the World Bank, which is also a signatory.
Underworld don and 1993 Mumbai blast mastermind Dawood Ibrahim is on the radar of security agencies all over the world. He is Indias most wanted man, third on the list of Forbes most wanted list and has been designated a global terrorist by the United Nations.



But despite all attempts to nail him, he continues to run his flourishing business empire from his bungalow in Karachi, Pakistan. His business interests span 16 nations in five continents. He has businesses in India, Pakistan, UK, Germany, Turkey, France, Spain, Morocco, Cyprus, UAE, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.



Here is what you need to know about Dawoods business empire:



- Dawoods business empire spans 16 countries in 5 continents.

- Forbes estimated his net worth at $6.7 billion in 2015. About 40% of his earnings are believed to come from India.

- He has over 50 properties across, UAE and UK. In UK alone, his assets are estimated to be worth $450 million.

- Dawood controls almost 70% of India's $1 billion piracy market.

- His main business interests include terror funding, drug trafficking and counterfeiting.

- Dawood runs Pakistans transport business - a lifeline for landlocked Afghanistan. He also funds transport companies operating out of Karachi.

- Dawood is the biggest operator of an international betting syndicate. His betting syndicate derives strength from his hawala operation based out of Dubai.

- In the past, the don has invested and produced many Hindi films. His name has also been associated with cases of match-fixing. But his main business in India is pumping fake currency notes.

- US treasury department declared Dawood Ibrahim as a global terrorist in 2013. He is No. 3 on the Forbes magazine list of worlds most wanted & dangerous criminals.

- UN security sanctions lists him as an associate & funder of al-Qaeda. The reward money to capture him is currently $25 million.

- He resides and operates out of a palatial bungalow spread over 6,000 acres in at D-13, Block-4, Clifton, Karachi in Pakistan. The UN has also confirmed that Dawood lives in Pakistan.
The telephone rang that evening at a palatial bungalow in the tony Clifton neighbourhood of Karachi and was answered by the most wanted man in India  Dawood Ibrahim.Aap Kaun? (Who are you?) he shot back when asked whether it was Dawood on the line. When this correspondent identified himself, there was a pause as the 1993 Bombay blasts mastermind, clearly rattled at picking up a call he was not supposed to, tried to figure out damage control.No this is Chotani speaking, he tried to take evasive action. Chotani  Javed Chotani  is a bookie who masterminds Dawoods businesses in Dubai. Indians know him through his involvement in the 2013 IPL spot-fixing case where he allegedly worked as a conduit between Dawood and the players.Dawood then hurriedly handed over the phone to the real Chotani, and from then on it was him who did all the talking  prompted by the Don himself. Yes, tell me, he said, till trying to figure out an adequate response when this correspondent asked him for an interview with Dawood.When asked whether it wasn't Dawood himself who picked up the phone in the first place, the panic was palpable at the other end. There was a rustle as Chotani turned to his boss for directions. Haan... bolo, bolo, that was Dawood's voice in the background. Haan... bolo, bolo, Chotani faithfully repeated over the phone.What played out over the next few minutes was a desperate attempt at stonewalling by the dreaded terror don and his aide. Dawood and Chotani tried to deny it was a Karachi number, they tried to deny everything, made a bid to excuse themselves, saying it was namaz time in the holy month of Ramzan.So, sir? You are in Karachi, Pakistan.Who said so?This is a Pakistani number.Dont waste time.Fear God. You are wasting time. Who are you talking to? Who are you interviewing? Do you know anything?No, you tell me. You are taking such a long interview. You are talking so much. Do you even know who you are talking to?To Dawood.Fear God. First, you are taking his name this way. You thought you will get to talk to him over the phone just like that.Who gave you this number? Delete this number. Give me a number so that I could pass your message on to Dawood through somebody.You mashallah sound like an intelligent journalist. Do you really think that you will just dial any number and Dawood sahab will pick up the phone? And you will interview him?Give me your number. I will make you talk to him.90XXXXXXXXOkay, tell me. Will you interview directly in the studio?I will send the camera to Karachi.To Karachi? Why? Why are you just asking me to make you meet or talk to him? Send me your number.Sir, please give me a small interview.No, interview. No.During the course of the 19-minute conversation, it emerged that Dawood was neither down with gangrene, nor suffering from serious heart ailment as reports had earlier said. Blood pressure was up a bit, Chotani dismissed that question, clearly implying the don was in good health and frequently in touch with his henchmen.This telephone conversation was recorded two months ago, but CNN-News18 waited till it was run past intelligence officials before confirming it was indeed the voice of the man who ordered the 1993 blasts in Bombay which left 257 people dead.Dawood, a native of Maharashtra's Mumke village, ran his crime syndicate in Mumbai from his Dubai haven in the early 90s. Fearing prosecution by Indian authorities, after the 1993 blasts, he took refuge in Karachi where he is since kept safe out of the worlds eye by Pakistani authorities. Islamabad has always denied he was on their soil, and over the years has been blocking every attempt by India to get him.The man, designated a 'global terrorist' by UN lives in D-13, Block-4, Clifton, Karachi, under the alias of Sheikh Ismail Merchant. And we have just caught him on tape. For the first time ever on Indian television.
Thiruvananthapuram: Malayalam superstar Dileep, who was arrested for allegedly plotting the kidnapping and sexual assault of a popular actress, has filed a bail plea before the Kerala High Court once again. The court had earlier rejected his bail application on July 24 citing the pending investigation in the case. The fresh plea will be heard on Friday.



In his petition, the actor alleged that there was a large-scale conspiracy by a small but powerful section of the film industry and certain others who could manage police, media and political leaders to spread utter falsehood and malicious stories about him for months together.



The petition said that Dileep had strong opinions and beliefs about the film industry and took stand on issues concerning the larger interest of the society. This brought him into conflict with a section of the people in the film industry and they are now unleashing their vengeance, it said.



The bail plea also alleged that the plotting angle in the case may have surfaced at a meeting in Kochi after the sexual assault incident. He said his ex-wife Manju Warrier had said at the meeting that the assault was not a spontaneous crime and there was some conspiracy and this should be investigated. The statement, the petition argued, was misinterpreted on social media which gave rise to the notion that Dileep may be behind the crime.



Dileep also alleged that the special investigation team formed for the case had leaked out selective information. Without naming Warrier, the bail application said that officer ADGP B Sandya had close relations with an actress who in the initial stages of investigation had spoken of a conspiracy as if she had intimate knowledge about the case.



He (Dileep) is only the unfortunate victim of an orchestrated media campaign and proceedings of a group of police officers acting on the pre-conceived notion of guilt of the petitioner and wanting to implicate him as an accused," the petition said.



Continued detention will not serve any useful purpose for further investigation, if any, and that being so his further detention is unjust, it said, adding that there were no reports of the actor threatening, influencing or trying to contact any witnesses, so his continued detention on the grounds of tampering evidence or influencing witnesses has no justification.



The actor also submitted that his continued detention was delaying the shooting and release of movies affecting the livelihood of people associated with them. He was arrested on July 10 and has been in custody since then.



"The accused is influential and is likely to tamper with the evidence if bail is granted at this stage," the court had said while rejecting his bail application earlier.



Dileep, who was charged under various sections of the IPC, including for hatching criminal conspiracy for abduction and assault of the actress in a moving car on February 17, is currently lodged in a jail in his home town Aluva.



The police have claimed that the conspiracy to abduct and assault the actress and film the act was hatched by Dileep and Pulsar Suni, the prime accused in the case. In their remand application, they had also claimed that Dileep had a grudge against the actress for letting his former wife know about his alleged affairs and had hatched a conspiracy to take revenge way back in 2013.



Six persons, including Pulsar Suni, have been arrested in connection with the actress abduction and molestation case.
New Delhi: Asserting that the "ambience of acceptance" is now under threat, in his last interview Vice-President Hamid Ansari on Wednesday said there is a feeling of unease and a sense of insecurity among the Muslims in the country.



Ansari's second five-year term as the Vice-President ends on Thursday.



Ansari said he had flagged the issue of intolerance with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his cabinet colleagues. Ansari, 80, also described it as a "disturbing thought" that Indianness of citizens was being questioned, reported PTI.



He made these remarks in the backdrop of incidents of intolerance and cow vigilantism and comments made by some saffron leaders regarding the minority community.



Asked in an interview to Karan Thapar on Rajya Sabha TV whether he shared his concerns with the prime minister, Ansari replied in the affirmative.



"Yes...Yes. But what passes between the Vice President and the Prime Minister in the nature of things must remain in the domain of privileged conversation," the Rajya Sabha Chairman said.



He also said that he has flagged the issue with other union ministers too.



"Well, there is always an explanation and there is always a reason. Now it is a matter of judgement, whether you accept the explanation, you accept the reasoning and its rationale," he said when asked about the response of the government.



In the interview, Ansari referred to incidents of lynching and 'ghar wapsi' and killings of rationalists as a "breakdown of Indian values, breakdown of the ability of the authorities at different levels in different places to be able to enforce what should be normal law enforcing work and over all the very fact that Indianness of any citizen being questioned is a disturbing thought."



"Yes it is a correct assessment," Ansari said when asked whether he agreed with the assessment that the Muslim community is apprehensive and that it was feeling insecure as a result of the kind of comments made against them.



"Yes it is a correct assessment, from all I hear from different quarters, the country; I heard the same thing in Bangalore, I have heard from other parts of the country, I hear more about in north India, there is a feeling of unease, a sense of insecurity is creeping in," he said.



Asked whether he felt that the Muslims are beginning to feel they are not wanted, Ansari said, "I would not go that far, there is a sense of insecurity."



He said India is a plural society that for centuries, not for seventy years, has lived in a certain "ambience of acceptance" which is now under threat.



He was of the view that the propensity to be able to assert your nationalism day in and day out is "unnecessary".



"I am an Indian and that is it."



Ansari was of the view that while tolerance is a good virtue, it is not a sufficient virtue. "...Therefore you have to take the next step and go from tolerance to acceptance," he said.



At an event in Bengaluru on Sunday, Ansari said the "version of nationalism" that places cultural commitments at its core promotes intolerance and arrogant patriotism.



Responding to a question on comments made by some BJP leaders related to minorities, he said he would not talk about political people or political parties.



"But to me, every time such a comment appeared or came to my knowledge; I mean my first reaction was that, A: the person is ignorant, B: that he is prejudiced and C: he does not fit into the framework that India has always prided to itself on, which is to be accommodative society," he said.



Responding to questions on triple talaq, Ansari said it is a social aberration, not a religious requirement.



"Firstly, it is a social aberration, it is not a religious requirement. The religious requirement is crystal clear, emphatic, there are no two views about it but patriarchy, social customs has all crept into it to create a situation which is highly undesirable," he said.



He said the courts do not have to step in as the reform has to come from within the community.



"The courts can say that we don't recognise it. That's all. I mean a marriage has to be recognised on certain occasions by the system of the state. And if a state functionary at a particular point of time refuses to recognise a happening which may be the product of a triple talaq, that's it," he explained.



To a poser on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, the former diplomat said, "the problem has always been primarily a political problem. And it has to be addressed politically."



He agreed to a suggestion that politicians are ducking the problem.



"That's my impression. And I'm not the only one in the country...When young boys and girls come out on to the streets and throw stones day after day, week after week, month after month, it's something to worry about because they are our children, they are our citizens.



"Something is obviously going wrong. What exactly, I am not the final word on it, but I think there are enough people in the country who are worried about it. Eminent people belonging to different political persuasions and their worry must be taken on board," the Vice President said.



(With PTI Inputs)




New Delhi: Villagers are moving out from a place close to Doklam, though officials in both the government and the Army denied there is any evacuation.



According to sources, a few hundred villagers living in Nathang village have been asked to vacate their houses immediately. Nathang is 35 km from the site of the two-month old standoff between Indian and Chinese troops.



It was not immediately clear if an order has been issued to accommodate thousands of soldiers of the 33 Corp, who are reportedly moving from Sukna towards Doklam, or whether it was a precautionary measure to avoid civilian casualties in case of a skirmish.



A senior army officer said that neither any village has been evacuated nor proposed to be evacuated in Sikkim. Villagers of Nathang, a small village with just a few hundred inhabitants, whom News18 spoke to, though confirmed witnessing heavy troop movement in the area of late.



According to some reports, the Indian Army has called the troop movement in the area a regular maintenance move. The reports went on to quote army sources as saying that the military is in a 'no war, no peace' mode.



This, in military parlance, means being in a confrontational position with the enemy.



The state-controlled Chinese media has in the last few weeks been beating war drums quite incessantly. In a recent editorial published in China Daily, India was warned that the countdown to a clash between the two forces has begun.



The editorial, titled New Delhi should come to its senses while it has time, went on to state that the window to peacefully resolve the standoff in Doklam was closing as the row enters its seventh week.



The countdown to a clash between the two forces has begun, and the clock is ticking away the time to what seems to be an inevitable conclusion.



This is just one of the several vitriolic articles that have appeared in Chinese news agency Xinhua and their newspaper Global Times, in recent past.



The face-off between Indian and Chinese troops though is two months old now.



It started in mid-June in Doklam tri-junction when Indian troops stopped the Chinese army from building a road in the disputed area. China building a road on that site, India feared, would allow Chinese troops to cut Indias access to its northeastern states.



As per China's claims, it was constructing the road within its own territory.



Since the standoff, India has constantly batted for a dialogue but China has demanded immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Indian troops before a dialogue or peace process is initiated.




New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) today moved the Supreme Court seeking an order to probe various aspects of the plea of a Muslim man whose marriage with a Hindu woman was annulled by the Kerala High Court that described the case as an instance of 'love jihad'.



A bench comprising Chief Justice J S Khehar and Justices A K Goel and D Y Chandrachud issued a notice to Kerala-native Shafin Jahan and state police on the fresh plea of NIA that it needed a specific order to investigate the entire spectrum of the case having an alleged element of 'love jihad' as well.



Additional Solicitor General Maninder Singh, appearing for the probe agency, told the court that NIA will have to collect documents and other materials from the state police and would require a specific order for conducting a probe.



The bench considered the submission and fixed the NIA's plea for hearing at 2 PM on Thursday itself.



Earlier, the apex court had asked the NIA to file a report before it on August 16.



The court had on August 4 sought the response of the state government and the NIA on Jahan's plea challenging the high court order annulling his marriage.



The NIA has recently conducted probes into some cases of 'love jihad,' in which some women were allegedly being sent to Syria to join ISIS.



Terming the case as "serious" and "sensitive", the court had asked the father of the woman to bring material on record in support of his claims on the alleged marriage of his daughter and that there was a "well-oiled systematic mechanism" for conversion and Islamic radicalisation.



Jahan, who had married the woman in last December, had moved the apex court after the Kerala High Court annulled his marriage saying that it was an insult to the independence of women in the country.



The woman, a Hindu, had converted to Islam and later married Jahan.



It was alleged that the woman was recruited by Islamic State's mission in Syria and Jahan was only a stooge.



The high court, while declaring the marriage as "null and void", had described the case as an instance of 'love jihad' and ordered the state police to conduct a probe into such cases.


Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi in Delhi on Thursday to discuss the legal challenges to Article 35A of the Constitution, official sources said.



The chief minister, who is scheduled to leave for Delhi on Thursday afternoon, is also likely to meet leaders like JD(U)'s Sharad Yadav on the issue of Article 35A that gives special status to the state and has been challenged in the Supreme Court, they said.



Mehbooba is keen to build consensus against scrapping the Constitutional provision, which empowers the Jammu and Kashmir legislature to define the state's "permanent residents" and their special rights and privileges, they said.



In a surprise development, Mehbooba had called on opposition National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah this week to seek the support of his party on the issue.



Abdullah had told her that she should meet the prime minister, all the important central ministers and also the BJP leadership to convince the Sangh Parivar against striking down the constitutional provision.



The chief minister has also held meetings with leaders of other opposition parties in the state, including Jammu and Kashmir Congress president G A Mir and DPN chief Ghulam Hassan Mir.



Sources in Mehbooba's Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said striking down Article 35A will be "a catastrophe for all mainstream political parties in Kashmir".



It will be nothing short of a "tsunami" for mainstream politicians as protection of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir within the Indian Constitution is the "cornerstone of their politics", they said.



On the latest developments, NC spokesman Junai Mattu tweeted: "On #35A, bizarre of @MehboobaMufti to seek a consensus against BJP WHILE in an alliance with the BJP. She wants to have AND eat the cake".



"That is the crux of her dilemma - run with the hare & hunt with the hounds. She wants to govern with the BJP & oppose their politics with us," the party's working president, Omar Abdullah, said in a tweet.



The controversy erupted in 2014 after an NGO 'We the Citizens' filed a PIL in the Supreme Court seeking Article 35A be struck down.



The Jammu and Kashmir government, under the guise of Articles 35A and 370, which grant special autonomous status to the state, has been discriminating against non-residents, who are debarred from buying properties, getting government jobs or voting in local elections, the PIL said.



Article 35A was added to the Constitution by a presidential order in 1954, it said. While the state government contested the petition, saying the president had the power to incorporate a new provision in the Constitution by way of an order, the Centre, recently, expressed its reservations.
Mumbai: Over 1,000 Muslim clerics and imams have called on the United Nations to take action against the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack mastermind and Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed for his "anti-India" activities.



They on Thursday passed a resolution to this effect at a gathering, a cleric said, adding more than 1,000 Muslim clerics and imams supported the motion.



The resolution, which also denounces the JuD along with several other Pakistan-based terror outfits, has been forwarded to the UN Security Council's Counter-Terrorism Committee with a copy marked to the Prime Minister's Office, said Abdur Rahman Anjaria, head of city-based NGO Islamic Defence Cyber Cell.



Anjaria, who introduced the resolution said, "Hafiz Saeed and the terror outfits he heads are a threat to global peace. He calls India enemy No. 1 but he is the enemy of Islam and humanity."



"Apart from demanding action against the India-hater from the UN Security Council's Counter-Terrorism Committee, we have apprised the PMO about the same," he told PTI.



Anjaria added, "We passed the resolution at a gathering held at a madrassa and unanimously denounced JuD and several other Pakistan-based terror outfits which are hellbent on harming our country."



The cleric said Kashmir is an internal issue of India and no third party should interfere in it.



"We have dispatched our resolution to Amr Abdellatif Aboulatta, chair of the UN Security Council's Counter- Terrorism Committee at the Security Council," he said.



In 2015, Anjaria had initiated the world's biggest fatwa against the terror outfit Islamic State and got it signed by over 1,000 Indian Muslim clerics and imams.
Indias most wanted man Dawood Ibrahim has been caught on tape by CNN-News18. The 1993 Bombay blasts mastermind was rattled after he picked up a call he was not supposed to.



The global designated terrorist quickly handed over the phone to his aide Javed Chotani. The rest of the talking was done by Chotani, prompted by Dawood.



Here are the five takeaways from the Dawood tape:



> Dawood Ibrahim is alive and speaking from his Karachi den using a Pakistani cellphone +923x4xx3xxx3. Only a handful of people have heard the Dons voice. This is the first time he is speaking directly to any TV channel.



> Dawood, designated a 'global terrorist' by United Nations, is operating out of his residence in in D-13, Block-4, Clifton, Karachi. In May 2016, CNN-News18 managed to track down the terror don's bungalow.



> Indias most wanted man is still controlling D-company via aides like Javed Chotani. Dawoods businesses in Dubai are being masterminded by Chotani, a bookie. He was involved in the 2013 IPL spot-fixing case where he allegedly worked as a conduit between Dawood and the players.



> The conversation reveals Dawoods active role and debunks the theory that he is grievously ill. Dawood claims the only ailment he has is high blood pressure. In April this year, there were reports that the underworld don is in critical condition in Karachi after he suffered a heart attack.



> The conversation also nails Pakistans lies and strengthens Indias dossier against Dawood. Pakistan has always denied Dawoods presence in their soil.
Chennai: Merger talks between the two warring factions of the ruling All India Anna Dravida Kazhagam (AIADMK) re-emerged on Thursday.



The AIADMK-Amma faction led by Chief Minister Edappadi Palanisamy (EPS) and the AIADMK-Purathi-Thalaivi-Amma faction led by former Chief Minister O Panneerselvam (OPS) broke ice, after shedding TTV Dinakaran of his responsibilities within the party.



The EPS faction passed a resolution on Thursday that Dinakarans appointment as Deputy General Secretary of the party is invalidated. The three-page resolution also said all office-bearers appointed by TTV also stand null and void.



It was the first big step to meet the condition laid down by OPS ahead of merger talks  he had said he wanted evidence of J Jayalalithaas close aide VK Sasikala and her family members being kept out of party affairs. Sasikala, in February, had tried to become CM after asking OPS to step down  a move that failed as she got convicted by the Supreme Court in a 20-year-old corruption case.



With the first major olive branch being extended, EPS right-hand-man D Jayakumar, the Finance Minister, said, We are hopeful of a merger before August 15th (Independence Day).



Others in the EPS faction too said that other merger conditions too were being ironed out; a compromise formula has been worked out where EPS would continue to be CM while OPS would be the partys General Secretary. This, again, would mean that Sasikala is ousted from the post of General Secretary and Jayalalithaas original trusted cabinet ministers would take over both the party and the government.



So what united them suddenly, with hardly any talk of this over the past one week? One factor that could have propelled them could be the overt signals from two other famous actors, Rajinikanth and Kamal Hasan, that they too would be inclined to enter politics since Tamil Nadus political scene is in a state of flux.



Both came together a gala event of the Opposition, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). They have met with members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), held meetings with fan clubs and talked of the state administration suffering because of political uncertainty.



What could also have pushed the two factions towards each other is the central governments influence  raids on ministers have left them scared, they dont want to be seen as a weaker, fighting lot that could be take advantage of again.



There is a fear psychosis within AIADMK; they will not criticise BJP for anything that happens Regardless of the fact that TTV has been in jail for 38 days with no case against him, regardless of the fact that so many things have gone against Tamil Nadu -- take the NEET case, the ONGC case  there has been nothing that TN has gained out of the BJP govt at Centre, said political analyst and Associate Editor of Frontline, R K Radhakrishnan.



The two factions are also aware that the High Court is currently hearing a petition on deciding a date for civic polls. This, again, would require a united front.



But OPS aides also say the merger wont happen until their other demands are met: primarily, that of a probe into Jayas death.



The third cog in this wheel, Dinakaran, lashed out at the merger attempt, saying that no one can remove him from the party as he was appointed by Sasikala. When others appointed by Sasikala can perform their duties, why cant I? he asked at a news conference, referring to the fact that EPS too was appointed by Sasikala. He further said that he, as deputy general secretary, has the rights to expel others who work against the party.



The most important factor is that the government is still stable, there is no threat to it. Edapadi says so, OPS says so, and TTV has minced no words on this too. Even if TTV wanted to try throwing out the CM, he doesnt have the numbers. His highest claim of support is 40 MLAs, while Edappadi who is from Western TN has the backing of 57 MLAs from his region alone, not to talk of the 121 who voted in his favour in the Assembly, Radhakrishnan said.



This kind of simmering flux, then, is the new normal in TN, whether a merger happens actually on ground or not. The MLAs are torn between their loyalty to Sasikala and their desperate to keep the government afloat.



They want to be nice to Sasikala, they want to abide by what TTV wants, but stability is holding them together. They know that unless 122 of them are not together, the government cant run. The Mannargudi family wants to have some say in the running of this government (in the face of being sidelined) but unless the government remains, the Mannargudi family wont be safe for the next four years -- so they will want this govt to be there in some shape or the other, to keep going for the next four years, says Radhakrishnan.



With many unresolved issues, its anybodys guess of when the merger that hasnt taken off in six months will actually materialise. EPS and OPS will both be at Venkaiah Naidus oath-taking in Delhi on Friday. Perhaps the capital air (or the Centres nudge) will push them into each others arms.
New Delhi: The BJP on Thursday lashed out at outgoing Vice-President Hamid Ansari for his comment that there was a sense of unease and insecurity among Muslims. It said such a "petty" remark was not expected from someone in his position.



BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya also wondered if Ansari was looking for "political shelter" after retirement. "I condemn his comments. He has made political comments as he is retiring. He is still a vice president and such comments do not suit his office's dignity. It seems he is making such comments to find political shelter after retirement," Vijayvargiya said.



Nobody expects such "petty comments" from a person holding such a high post, he added.



Ansari, whose second five-year term as the vice president ends on Thursday, said in an interview that there is a feeling of unease and a sense of insecurity among Muslims in the country, claiming that the "ambience of acceptance" is now under threat.



"Yes it is a correct assessment, from all I hear from different quarters in the country; I heard the same thing in Bangalore, I have heard from other parts of the country, I hear more about in north India, there is a feeling of unease, a sense of insecurity is creeping in," he said.



Asked whether he felt that the Muslims are beginning to feel they are not wanted, Ansari said, "I would not go that far, there is a sense of insecurity."



Ansari's remarks come against the backdrop of incidents of alleged intolerance and violence by self-proclaimed cow protectors, for which opposition parties have attacked the central government.



(With PTI inputs)
Bengaluru: True politicians believe all publicity is good publicity. Even negative publicity is publicity.



And it was thus that the life of beleaguered Karnataka minister DK Shivakumar  DKShi to those who know him  came a full circle on Wednesday when he spoke at a Quit India movement commemoration ceremony which the Congress organised at Freedom Park.



Shivakumar, Power Minister in the Siddaramaiah government and campaign head for Assembly elections next year, seemed to have a new halo in the aftermath of Congress strongman Ahmed Patel's win in the Gujarat Rajya Sabha elections. The memory of him being grilled by Income Tax officials last week is fast fading away.



Taking command at the stage, flanked by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and the state Congress president G Parameshwara, DKShi drew cheers and applause from the crowd as a film hero would.



He spoke with a new assurance, a swagger in his voice and the knowledge that his worth in the party went up many notches after he helped prevent horse-trading by 'hosting' 44 MLAs from Gujarat ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls, keeping the brood together in a chaotic week. It paid off with Patel's dramatic victory early on Wednesday.



"Yes, definitely. I knew it was a big risk," DKShi told News18. "But when my party and leader are in crisis, I don't want to say no. It is not a small game, every number was important, to keep them safe was important. It was a big responsibility."



His core team of about 50 people, who looked after the Gujarat MLAs' daily needs, was also told to keep the CM, other ministers and the Congress president out of the planning and strategising, so they could be saved from embarrassing questions.



Shivakumar has been getting calls non-stop from dozens of leaders from within the Congress top brass and 'Patelbhai' himself, expressing gratitude for his services. He said the experience of what to expect from the BJP has left him stronger and he is now ready to take on BJP chief Amit Shah ahead of the 2018 battle.



Shah has set his sights on Karnataka and his first trip after becoming a Member of Parliament will be to the southern state. In fact, he will be participating in nearly 20 programmes during a three-day visit this weekend.



"It is their bounden duty. Let them do their campaigning. The Congress here is well-equipped to deal with them," Shivakumar said in an interview, adding that his party realises that a lot of homework is to be done. Our CM is on it. Any responsibility given to me I will do it."



It was a typical phata poster, nikla hero moment  a politician who has been embroiled in many controversies, brought down to his knees with raids on 64 places, including his home and those of his relatives and associates, and interrogations that spanned more than four days and nights.



And on Wednesday, he was basking in his renewed glory with his supporters, obliging selfie-seekers, and still maintaining that he is the victim of political vendetta.



Two days earlier, he was summoned again by the I-T department for more questioning. On Wednesday, his bank accounts were frozen. He was unmoved. "All that happens naturally," Shivakumar said.



Pulling off the resort stay wasn't easy. The Congress had booked nearly 70 rooms at the Eagleton Resort in Bidadi, just outside Bengaluru, a venue carefully chosen as it is close to his constituency and comes under his brother's Lok Sabha constituency.



One MP (Shivakumar's brother DK Suresh), two MLCs, six to seven office-bearers of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee, a few former functionaries of the local zilla panchayat  a team of nearly 50 trusted Congressmen were enlisted for this. "It was confidential work, but everyone worked together," he said.



Interestingly, the 'supervision' was so good that CCTV footage at the time of the raids were sent within hours to Gujarat counterparts to see if there was any recognisable face in the raid party  the Congress at one point suspected that some of the 'officers' of the I-T department may have been sent by the BJP to negotiate with MLAs for cross-voting.



A journalist who entered the resort pretending to be a 'guest' was sent away. Other measures taken up to ensure the MLAs were not questioned unless there was clearance. The MLAs were put through workshops by researchers on administration and policies  not just to keep them busy, but also to counter criticism of the MLAs enjoying themselves, while their constituencies in Gujarat dealt with crippling floods.



It was not just the public and fans, but religious seers from many mutts visited Shivakumar at his home to express solidarity  a rare occurrence given that it is usually the netas who visit mutts to seek blessings.



In caste-ridden Karnataka where his dominant Vokkaliga community is very conscious of its stature, these visits have also upped his stature among community men.



So does DKShi feel he has emerged a hero? A seasoned politician, he knows this too won't last. "No, no. It is not like that. Maybe for a day, thats all. I dont know what will happen in the future," he said.




Ahmedabad: Perhaps for the first time in 20 years, Shankersinh Vaghelas political calculations have gone completely wrong and he finds himself in a situation he did not envision. His declaration that he did not vote for Ahmed Patel in the Rajya Sabha election because the Congress candidate did not stand a chance of winning, backfired badly. Even without his support, Patel managed to eke out a win.



The Congress, on its part, did not make any effort to reach out to the veteran leader or any of his loyalists ahead of the polls for their votes even as their numbers in Gujarat dwindled. Now, most importantly, Bapu as he is fondly known in the political circles, does not have a party.



On Thursday, Vaghela appeared resolute and quipped in a matter-of-fact tone, Public life does not necessarily mean political life, when asked about what the future holds for him. While he has staunchly denied all murmurs of joining the BJP, the flock of MLAs who stood by him, are likely to get accommodated in the party.



A few of them have already switched over to the BJP. Others including Vaghelas son Mahendrasinh, will do so soon. It is now up to the BJP to ensure that the Congress MLAs who cross-voted and those who resigned before the elections, are taken care of, said Vaghela.



Political observers say Amit Shahs grand plan to completely vanquish the Congress in Gujarat in December has received a jolt after Ahmed Patels win in the Rajya Sabha election. Observers believe Vaghelas rebellion, cross-voting in the presidential election and Ahmed Patels defeat would have been an ideal situation for the BJP to head into the Assembly election and realise its target of 150 seats.



Vaghela though, continues to blame the Congress high command for the situation. Both the BJP and the Congress had adequate numbers to send their respective candidates to the upper house. Rajya Sabha elections happened only because of the Congress. A couple of months before the elections, as many as 36 Congress MLAs had informed Ashok Gehlot that they were not happy with the leadership, Vaghela said.



He added that had the Congress not taken its MLAs to resorts in Karnataka and Anand, as many as 30 MLAs would have quit.



Regarding his political future, the only option for the veteran leader is the BJP. But he has categorically stated several times that he will not join the BJP again. Could it be that he has something bigger in store in the future? Even a Governors post? Time will tell.
Hyderabad: YSR Congress party chief Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday made derogatory remarks against Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu.



During a road show in Nandyal which is up for by-election, Reddy said, "Even if Chandrababu Naidu is hanged, there is nothing wrong."



"Chandrababu Naidu is tense after my comments. But we will continue to question him and expose all the corruption that he has done. He can be given any punishment for all his misdeeds. And we will say this again and again," he added.



This is not the first time Reddy has made derogatory comments about Naidu. Last week during a public rally in Nandyal, he had said, "If Chandrababu Naidu is shot in the middle of the road for his misdeed, there is nothing wrong."



The Election Commission had issued notice to Reddy for this comment after complaints that it violation of Model Code of Conduct. Reddy was forced to give an explanation to the EC as to why action should not initiated against him.



Calling the Nandyal by-poll a referendum to Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu's government, YSR Congress chief Jagan Mohan Reddy urged people to cast their vote against Naidu's despicable rule.



"I urge you all to stand in favour of dharma. Every vote you cast, please cast it against Naidu. I dont have resources, I dont have power, I just have my fathers legacy which is the YSR Kutumbam (People of Andhra Pradesh), he said.



Naidu is dependent on power and money all the time - these are his only two assets. My principles and YSRs good work are my resources. The vote you will cast this time are for these values," he added.



"Chandrababu Naidu assumes that he can buy out voters of Nandyal the way he bought the defected MLAs. Corruption and loot in all aspects is omnipresent in the state from. CM is now giving some part of the money he looted in the form of bribes to you," Reddy said.



Questioning the TDP Government for ignoring Nandyal for years, Jagan said, "The election in Nandyal has bought the entire TDP government to the roads. If they were confident of their work, would they be here in such a hurried and worried state? It has been three years since Naidu became CM, yet he chose to ignore you and he is worried now.



The Nandyal by-elections are scheduled to be held on August 23.
Lucknow: BJP might have orchestrated a coup in Bihar luring away Nitish Kumar back to the NDA fold, but now a Mahagathbandhan or grand alliance against it in Uttar Pradesh can be a reality. The state has 80 seats in Lok Sabha.



The possibility of grand alliance got a major boost on Thursday, with Samajwadi party president Akhilesh Yadav declaring that he will attend the anti-BJP rally in Patna on 27th August. Though BSP has not officially declared its stand, sources say, Mayawati too will attend the Patna rally.



But will attending the rally also mean that BSP and SP can come together before the crucial 2019 General election? It's interesting to note that Yadav in his press conference in Lucknow on Thursday didn't deny this possibility despite repeated questions.



When asked if SP will consider supporting a joint candidate against BJP in the upcoming Lok sabha bypolls and will Mayawati be the joint candidate of opposition from Phoolpur seat, Akhilesh said, "All such strategies have not yet been decided. But it's a fact that BJP is now running away from direct contest."



He, however, not once rejected the possibility of a joint opposition candidate.



Politically, it's a significant shift from the past. SP and BSP have been at loggerheads for long. Barring a brief period in mid 90s, SP and BSP have never got into an alliance. But a humiliating defeat from BJP, first in 2014 general elections, and then in 2017 Assembly polls has set in a process of revisiting the political strategy.



While the Gorakhpur seat is represented in Lok Sabha by UP CM Adityanath Yogi, Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya is a member of parliament from Phoolpur. Though neither has yet resigned from Lok Sabha, the law says they need to become the Member of either House in the state that is Legislative Assembly or the Council within six months of assuming the constitutional office. With vacancies being created in Legislative Council following resignations by five SP and one BSP Member, it's almost certain that both Yogi Adityanath and Maurya will now go to the Upper House.



With BJP National President Amit Shah making it clear that aurya will continue to be in UP, it's almost certain that both these leaders will soon resign from Lok Sabha and the two constituencies will then go for the bypoll.



A senior leader in SP close to Akhilesh Yadav, on condition of annonymity, said, The present political scenario requires SP-BSP and Congress to come together. The alliance can prove to be a catalyst for consolidating the strong Dalit, backward and minority vote share in UP."



He, however, added that leaders across opposition, in principle, agree to this, but how this will be worked out is still a challenge.



BSP too at this stage is non-committal about grand alliance. However, the manner in which Mayawati resigned from Rajya Sabha and her subsequent effort to strengthen the party has triggered in a lot of speculation, including possibility of her contesting the Phoolpur by-election.



When contacted, BSP spokesperson MH Khan refused to comment. He said,: Political strategies are forumlated and will be decided only by Behenji.



Sources, however, said that in series of meetings Mayawati recently held with her leaders, including the one held in Lucknow, leaders have voiced support for larger opposition unity. A willingness to unite Dalits and Muslims can get an electoral formation only when BSP, SP and Congress come together.



However, the BJP is unfazed by the possibilities of grand alliance. Reacting to Akhilesh's comments, BJP's state general secretary Vijay Bahadur Pathak said,"Akhilesh is unable to keep his house in order and now he intends to extend a helping hand to others."



"People of Uttar Pradesh have not forgotten the corruption and gundaraj under Samajwadi Party and BSP governments," he added.
Patna: Senior JD(U) leader and Rajya Sabha member Sharad Yadav revolted against Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on the first day of his Bihar tour and accused him of betraying the public mandate by siding with the NDA.



The veteran socialist leader openly vented his ire against Nitish for the first time as he headed to Muzaffarpur and addressed a public meeting. Till now, Yadav had voiced his displeasure over Nitishs decision to break the grand alliance with RJD and Congress, but had refrained from any direct attacks.



But he did not hold back on Thursday, signalling he is ready to face any action from the party. He said he still stands for the gathbandhan. People have been cheated. They voted Mahagathbandhan to power and the mandate was against the BJP. But Nitish betrayed voters which has made me very sad," he said.



Yadav said that people who had established the mandate were hurt because of the whole situation. I have been conducting rallies for 40 years. Even during the elections, we stayed in Bihar, did their publicity and stood with the mandate, Yadav said.



The senior party leader said the mandate was supposed to be for five years, which didn't happen and they are disappointed. One manifesto was ours and one manifesto was that of the BJP. In the 70 years, I cannot find an example where two opposition parties have a common manifesto, he said.



Yadav further said that these are troubled times for democracy in Bihar. I would just like to say that I still stand with the mandate and am going to meet a few friends from the Janata Dal, he added.



On the other hand JD(U) spokesmen took a dig at him. Party spokesman Ajay Alok said, "How can Tejashwi, Tej Pratap and Lalu become ideal for him? He is playing a very dangerous game. Party has nothing to do with his tour but his outbursts are against the party line."



Another spokesman Neeraj Kumar warned Sharad, saying The party is always stronger than a leader. He will soon realise that.



The National executive meeting of the JD(U) is scheduled on August 19 and a decision might be taken on Yadav before that. The party had extended an invitation to him when it seemed that he has reconciled with Nitish. But Sharad himself is in two minds as he said that he will take a decision about participating in the party's meeting on the basis of responses he would receive during his tour.
New Delhi: Vice President-elect M Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday rejected as "political propaganda" the view that there is a sense of insecurity among minorities in the country, apparently a rejoinder to outgoing Vice President Hamid Ansari.



Though Naidu did not name anyone, his comments are seen as a response to Ansari's remarks in a TV interview that there was unease and a sense of insecurity among Muslims in the country, and that "ambience of acceptance" is now under threat.



"Some people are saying minorities are insecure. It is a political propaganda. Compared to the entire world, minorities are more safe and secure in India and they get their due," Naidu told PTI.



He also disagreed with the view that there is growing intolerance, saying Indian society is the most tolerant in the world because of its people and civilisation. There is tolerance that is why democracy is so successful, he said.



The former BJP president also cautioned against creating divide in the nation by singling out one community, saying it will draw adverse reaction from other communities.



"If you single out one community, other communities will take it otherwise. That is why we say all are equal. Appeasement for none justice for all," the 68-year-leader and former Union minister said.



He said history has proved that there is no discrimination against minorities.



"They (minorities) got in prominent positions including constitutional responsibilities because there is no discrimination, and also on account of their merit," he said.



Noting that India's uniqueness is its unity in diversity, he said 'sarva dharm sadbhav' and secularism is in the mind and blood of India.



"India is secular not because of political leaders but because of its people and civilisation," he said.



Ansari's remarks come against the backdrop of incidentsof alleged intolerance and violence by self-proclaimed cow protectors, for which opposition parties have attacked the central government.



Asked about incidents of alleged intolerance, Naidu said India is a huge country and there could be some "stray" occurrences, which are "nothing but aberrations".



He, however, added that "Nobody can justify attacks on fellow citizens on the basis of community". Such incidents should be condemned and action should be taken by appropriate authorities, he said.



Naidu also said that some people blow out of proportion such incidents for political considerations. Some go to the extent of "defaming" the county by raising such issues at international forum.



Some do it to create rift between communities and derive political mileage, he said, adding the basic problem arises due to vote bank politics and due to treating a community as vote bank.



A day before he takes oath as India's next vice president, he said his advice to politicians is not to drag communities into politics.
Israel: Israel's embattled prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, lashed out at the media and his political opponents in an animated speech to hundreds of enthusiastic supporters on Wednesday, seeking to deliver a powerful show of force as he battles a slew of corruption allegations that have threatened to drive him from office.



Netanyahu's Likud Party organized Wednesday's rally in response to a swirling police investigation into suspected corruption, bribery and fraud by the longtime Israeli leader.



Party leaders described the gathering as an attempt to counter what they believe is a campaign by a hostile media and overzealous police and prosecutors. But the gathering was also seen as a test of Netanyahu's popularity and control over his party. For now, Likud appears to be firmly behind its leader, and any internal opposition remains in check.



Addressing the packed convention hall, Netanyahu accused the "leftist" media and political opposition of pushing for an indictment to topple him because they cannot defeat him at the ballot box. Some estimated the crowd numbered at least 2,000.



"The left and the media, and they're the same thing, you know, they are mustering an obsessive, unprecedented hunt against me and my family to carry out a regime change," he said.



Netanyahu also blamed the media for ousting two right-wing Israeli governments in the 1990 and held them responsible for the "disaster" of the Oslo Accords signed with the Palestinians in 1993, suicide bombings on public buses in the 1990s, and the second intifada in the early 2000s.



"Their aim is to apply illegitimate and nonstop pressure on law enforcement so they file an indictment at any price, with no connection to the truth, with no connection to justice," he said.



The speech resorted to a familiar strategy to Netanyahu. During a three-decade political career, he has frequently attacked the media, political opposition, Israel's Arab minority and the Palestinians in an attempt to rally Likud and portray himself as a victim.



Former prime minister Ehud Barak, one of the targets of Netanyahu's sniping, rebuffed Netanyahu's comments saying "there's no hunt, there's corruption."



Yair Lapid, a former finance minister under Netanyahu who heads the Yesh Atid party, tweeted after the prime minister's speech that it "crossed every line."



"What we saw this evening wasn't a rally of support for Netanyahu but a rally in support of corruption," Lapid said.



Netanyahu made no mention of the police or prosecutors handling the investigation. But he warned the Palestinians against hoping for his political demise. Palestinian leaders "will be disappointed too, because it won't happen," he said.



Likud leaders put heavy pressure on party activists to attend the rally. The gathering had a festive, at times raucous atmosphere, with activists hoisting Israeli flags, banners criticizing the media and chanting "Bibi, King of Israel," using his nickname. One banner read, "enough with the putsch attempt" and a second decried the "fake news" with an English expletive.



Netanyahu, the second-longest serving leader in Israeli history, is engulfed in a series of scandals relating to alleged financial misdeeds and supposed illicit ties to executives in media, international business and Hollywood.



Israeli police investigators say they suspect Netanyahu of being involved in bribery, fraud and breach of trust in a pair of cases.



Netanyahu's former chief of staff and longtime confidant, Ari Harow, recently signed a settlement connected to a separate case in which he agreed to testify against his former mentor. This has raised speculation that Netanyahu could be indicted soon, and has sparked opposition calls for him to step down.



Netanyahu has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and called the accusations a witch hunt.



David Bitan, Likud's parliamentary whip and a close Netanyahu ally, said some 1,500 people were signed up for Wednesday's event and he hoped even more would attend  including all the party's top officials and ministers.



No one in the party has come out against Netanyahu yet  reflecting both loyalty and the fear of crossing him.



Internal criticism has emerged only from those outside of politics. Limor Livnat, a former Likud Cabinet minister, has condemned the attacks on the police and prosecution and said that Netanyahu should step aside if indicted.



Israel's justice minister has said Netanyahu would not have to step down even if he is indicted. That means his short-term future will likely depend on whether he can maintain political and public backing.



Avraham Diskin, a political scientist at Jerusalem's Hebrew University, said there is no immediate threat and the goal of Wednesday's rally was to quash any thoughts of trying to challenge him.



"Netanyahu is tightening the bolts and exerting his authority," he said. "The whole point it to scare any of the 'pretenders' against getting ideas in their head. He's conveying that he is still powerful and everyone should keep their knives holstered."



Netanyahu has escaped several scandals before, but the scope of the latest accusations appears to pose his stiffest challenge yet.



One investigation involving Netanyahu, dubbed by police as "File 1000," reportedly concerns claims he improperly accepted lavish gifts from wealthy supporters, including Australian billionaire James Packer and Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan.



The second investigation, "File 2000," reportedly concerns Netanyahu's alleged attempts to strike a deal with publisher Arnon Mozes of the Yediot Ahronot newspaper group to promote legislation to weaken Yediot's main competitor in exchange for more favorable coverage of Netanyahu by Yediot.



A third investigation, "File 3000," relates to a possible conflict of interests involving the purchase of German submarines, in which Netanyahu's cousin and personal attorney represented the German firm involved in the deal.



Netanyahu has dismissed the suspicions as "background noise" and vowed to push forward.
Islamabad: Pakistan's opposition leader Imran Khan is facing contempt of court proceedings after the Election Commission on Thursday set aside his objections challenging the EC's jurisdiction to initiate such proceedings, a media report said.



The Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chief had on July 10 submitted a reply before an EC tribunal, saying the commission could not initiate contempt of court proceedings against an individual as that right lies with the Supreme Court and the high courts.



A five-member tribunal heard a plea by Akbar S Babar seeking Khan's disqualification and rejected the PTI chief's objections regarding its jurisdiction to initiate contempt of court proceedings, Dawn reported.



The same was argued before the commission by Khan's lawyer Babar Awan.



"If the ECP is equal to a high court, will a full-bench conduct proceedings every day?" Awan had asked, arguing that the Constitution gives the EC a different status from that enjoyed by the high courts. "If a full bench of the EC gives a verdict, where will I file my appeal?"



The tribunal had reserved its judgement on the matter after Awan's statements.



In light of today's ruling, the tribunal will continue to hear the petition against Khan.



The EC has also issued Khan a show-cause notice and asked him to submit a reply by August 23.



In January, the EC had issued a contempt notice to Khan over his contentious remarks in a review application filed before the election body.



During the hearing of a contempt petition filed by Babar, a former founding member of PTI who parted ways with the party and is now the complainant in the foreign funding case against his old party, the commission took exception to the remarks made by Khan alleging "bias" in favour of the petitioner for "extraneous reasons, including political."



Khan had filed the review application against the EC's order to produce the PTI's financial documents before the

commission.
Washington: A low-flying Russian airplane created a buzz in the nation's capital on Wednesday, but it turns out the surveillance flight over the Capitol, Pentagon and other sites was cleared by the US government under a long-standing global treaty.



The flight, which was filmed by The Associated Press, was permitted under the Open Skies Treaty.



Russia and the United States are signatories to the treaty, which allows unarmed observation flights over the entire territory of all 34 member nations. The flights are intended to foster transparency about military activity, reduce mistrust or misunderstandings and help monitor arms control and other agreements.



Dan Gaffney, a spokesman for the Pentagon, said he could not confirm the path of the plane until its mission was over. "A typical mission has several segments (flights) taking place over a few days," Gaffney said.



But the US Capitol Police issued a heads-up, saying an "authorized low-altitude aircraft" would enter restricted airspace over the Capitol between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. "The aircraft will be large and may fly directly over the US Capitol," the statement said. "This flight will be monitored by the US Capitol Police command center and other federal government agencies."



Since the treaty entered into force in 2002, there have been more than 1,200 Open Skies flights. According to the Pentagon, the overflights are conducted by unarmed observation aircraft equipped with certain types of film and sensors that are certified under the treaty.



The Pentagon says that before the flights, each state is given the flight plan of the mission and an escort team flies aboard the aircraft to make sure it complies with the treaty. After each flight, the host nation gets a copy of any imagery taken by the observation aircraft.



Senior US intelligence and military officials have expressed concern that Russia is taking advantage of technological advances to violate the spirit of the treaty.



Steve Rademaker, former assistant secretary of state for the bureau of arms control and the bureau of international security and nonproliferation, told Congress in past hearings that Russia complies with the Open Skies Treaty, but has adopted measures that are inconsistent with the spirt of the accord.



The treaty, for instance, obligates each member to make all of its territory available for aerial observation, yet Rademaker said Russia has imposed restrictions on surveillance over Moscow and Chechnya and near Abkhazia and South Ossetia, two breakaway regions of Georgia now under Russian control.
Washington: The State Department has expelled two diplomats from the Cuban Embassy in Washington following a series of unexplained incidents in Cuba that left US officials there with physical symptoms that one official said includes potentially permanent hearing loss.



Spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the two Cubans were asked to leave the US on May 23 after Americans in Cuba "reported incidents which have caused a variety of physical symptoms," causing them to leave the island.



Nauert said the first of the incidents was reported in late 2016 and that they had continued. She would not say what the symptoms were except that they were not life-threatening.



Nauert also declined to provide details about the incidents. The FBI and Diplomatic Security Service are investigating.



However, other US officials said that the symptoms included hearing loss. One person familiar with the US investigation said investigators were looking into whether elements of the Cuban government placed sonic devices that produce non-audible sound inside or outside the residences of roughly five US Embassy staffers with the intent of deafening them.



That individual and the US officials weren't authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.



Cuba employs a massive state security apparatus that keeps hundreds and possibly thousands of people under constant surveillance.



US diplomats are among the most closely monitored people on the island. It's virtually impossible for anyone to take action against an American diplomat without an element of the Cuban state being aware.



However, the person familiar with the US probe said investigators were looking into whether the individuals were harmed outside the regular chain of command of the Cuban government.



The officials said the staffers all arrived in Havana in the summer of 2016. Like all foreign diplomats in Cuba, they lived in housing owned and maintained by the Cuban government.



In the fall, officials said the affected diplomats and their spouses began to experience symptoms of hearing loss so severe and puzzling that an investigation was launched, and it was determined that they were at risk.



They were allowed to leave Cuba, the officials said. No children were affected, but at least some of the adults who were are believed to have suffered permanent hearing loss, according to the officials. They said the Cuban government had denied any involvement.



Although she would not provide details, Nauert said that investigators did not yet have a definitive explanation for the incidents but stressed they take them "very seriously" and are working to determine their "cause and impact."



She said the department had reminded Cuba of its international obligation to protect foreign diplomats.



Harassment of American diplomats in Cuba is not uncommon and dates to the restoration of limited ties with the communist government in the 1970s.



But the use of sonic devices to intentionally harm diplomats would mark a new phase in harassment.
A federal jury in Richmond is expected to begin deliberations Thursday in the trial of a physician, likened by an expert as a one-man opioid epidemic, in an alleged area pill-mill case.

Clarence Scranage Jr., 62, of King George, who ran a pain-management practice in several locations in the Richmond area, is representing himself on charges of conspiracy to possess controlled substances with the intent to distribute them and 18 counts of distribution of controlled substances.

Angela Mastandrea-Miller, an assistant U.S. attorney, said she had some brief rebuttal evidence to present Thursday morning. U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson told the jury that they will then be instructed on the law and hear closing arguments before getting the case.

Scranage rested his case late Wednesday after eliciting testimony from two former employees  one who said she saw a nurse throw out patient records and another who spotted a discrepancy in a patients records  and three patients who described what they believed was effective, responsible care from Scranage.

The governments last witness Wednesday was Dr. Gene Kennedy, a pain-management physician who testified as an expert. Kennedy told the jury he reviewed the available medical and prescription records of roughly a dozen of Scranages patients who had testified in the case since it began Monday.

He described what he saw at times as fraudulent, contrived, flat-out drug-dealing, and threats to the safety of the patient and the public.

On cross examination, Scranage asked Kennedy if when he lectures to Drug Enforcement Administration agents and testifies in court, would you do this for free?

Sir, in this case I would even pay, Kennedy responded.

Asked by Scranage how a doctor could tell if a patient was telling the truth, Kennedy conceded that, people can lie and get away with it.

But Kennedy also said this was the first case he had seen where, in his opinion, it appeared a physician was directly dealing drugs to drug dealers. Government witnesses have included a former Scranage employee and a number of pill-fillers  people who said they let their names be used for Scranage to write oxycodone prescriptions often without being seen by the doctor.

They said they were usually paid to fill prescriptions for 30-milligram oxycodone pills that were collected by middlemen and sold.

Charles Elliott, a special agent with the Virginia State Police, testified Wednesday that according to records kept by the Prescription Monitoring Program, it appeared Scranage wrote prescriptions for 52,000 30-milligram oxycodone pills for just the pill-fillers and middlemen who have testified.

Adding the number of pills prescribed for others believed to have been recruited by middlemen, the total is more than 127,000 pills, Elliott said. The government alleges the operation ran from 2011 until 2015.

In his opening statement to the jury, Scranage said he was not part of any conspiracy but was himself the victim of liars motivated by money and greed who kept him from learning the pills were being sold. He was never paid anything extra for writing a prescription, did not question the identity of patients and had problems retaining competent employees.

Serena Myrick, who once worked at one of Scranages office, testified she saw a nurse put records, including patient charts, into a trash bag that was thrown into a dumpster. She reported it to Scranage who fired the nurse and the records were recovered.

Another former employee who later acted as a non-paid business consultant for Scranages practice, said she spotted discrepancies  a questionable signature and Social Security number  in the files of a patient that she believed was handled in part by a former office manager, Melissa Hernandez.

Hernandez testified Tuesday that she was paid $1,000 by an intermediary for each of five oxycodone prescriptions written for her before she ever saw Scranage as a patient or employee. She also alleged she saw two men who were getting oxycodone prescriptions from Scranage for other people hand the doctor cash.

Anthony Harper, 45, of DeWitt, who was indicted along with Scranage, pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge last week and testified against Scranage on Monday.

Harper said he illegally obtained oxycodone prescriptions in the names of people who had never seen Scranage. Those people filled the prescriptions and Harper purchased them back so he could distribute them to subdealers for sale to others.

Harper testified Monday that he paid Scranage $500 for each prescription. Harper himself received a total of 43 prescriptions for 8,100 pills, and he estimated that he made $75,000 over the course of the alleged scam, which testimony indicated involved at least two other middlemen.

Kennedy testified that a review of Harpers medical and prescription records showed that during the midst of receiving more than 8,000 oxycodone pills, Harpers urine test was negative for oxycodone. Kennedy opined that if Harper were a patient of his, that would be a matter of great alarm.
CHARLOTTESVILLE  Democrat Justin Fairfax and Republican Jill Holtzman Vogel, both politically ambitious lawyers and polished public speakers, disagreed on issues of guns, taxes and immigration on Wednesday in their first debate in the race for lieutenant governor.

They did not mention President Donald Trump and remained civil during aggressive back-and-forth on issues, particularly abortion, with Fairfax attacking Vogels record and the GOP while pitching Virginias Democrats as the party of economic growth. Vogel promoted her experience as a state senator and her willingness to work with Democrats and part ways with her own party.

Fairfax, of Fairfax County, and Vogel, a state senator from Fauquier County, spent 90 minutes on stage at Piedmont Virginia Community College. Senior Statesmen of Virginia, a senior citizens group, sponsored the debate.

In Virginia, a part-time lieutenant governor presides over the state Senate and breaks tie votes on most issues, and fills in if the governor is out of commission.

There is a third, more traditional part of the job of lieutenant governor, and that involves running for governor. They all do, and the winner will, said debate moderator Bob Gibson, communications director and senior researcher at the University of Virginias Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service.

Fairfax is a former federal prosecutor who ran for attorney general in 2013, losing the Democratic primary by about 4,500 votes to Mark R. Herring, who went on to win the general election and is now running for re-election.

We need to focus on growing Virginias economy, Fairfax said. We have had some great success over the past four years under the leadership of Gov. Terry McAuliffe, and Lieutenant Gov. Ralph Northam and Attorney General Mark Herring.

We have a lot that we can celebrate about those four years. Unemployment has gone down from 5.4 percent when they took office to today 3.7 percent. Theyve been able to create 200,000 new jobs in the commonwealth of Virginia and bring about $16 billion in additional capital investment.

Fairfax said the parties offer two stark choices, and the Democrats want to continue positive, economically focused politics.

The other vision that we have seen is one based on divisive partisanship, personal attacks on political opponents, dragging our political process down into the mud, he said.

Vogel emerged from a personally contentious primary campaign against fellow state Sen. Bryce E. Reeves of Spotsylvania County, in which Reeves accused her of orchestrating an anonymous email that falsely accused him of having an affair with an aide, and threatened to sue her and her husband. Vogel denied the allegation and said she was the victim of a political stunt.

Vogel is a former deputy general counsel at the U.S. Department of Energy who started her own law firm, which handles campaign finance and ethics law. She has been a senator for 10 years.

She disputed Fairfaxs glowing report of Virginias economy  a debate that is being echoed in the race for governor between Democrat Ralph S. Northam and Republican Ed Gillespie.

Virginia used to be the best place to raise a child, best place to be an entrepreneur, best place to start a business, and best tax climate, she said. Were now ranked 33rd in the nation in terms of tax climate. ... More people are leaving Virginia than coming to Virginia.

She said her goals are making health care affordable, fighting for children and womens health and against domestic violence, pushing for reform of Virginias tax brackets and fighting for the environment and agriculture. She said she was proud this year to help get raises for police and sheriffs deputies without raising taxes.

Experience matters. I have spent so much of my time and effort and energy focused on making Virginia a well-managed state, on constituent service and most of all fixing things, she said. I dont want to fight about it. I would just like to fix them. And I have had an extraordinary opportunity to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle.

She said she would govern with principle over party. ... I am never afraid to break with my party when its the right thing to do.

One example, she said, was supporting reforms to the way Virginias lawmakers draw legislative district lines.

Currently, state lawmakers draw their own district lines and the party in power does so in partisan fashion to increase its strength and electoral chances. Both Vogel and Fairfax want reform of that process. They also agreed Wednesday on the importance of prioritizing responses to climate change and sea level rise.

They have divergent views on many other issues.

Guns

Fairfax said he would be willing to consider requiring insurance for gun ownership, wants universal background checks and a return to Virginias one-handgun-a-month law. Gov. Bob McDonnell signed a repeal of the law in 2012.

I am not running for lieutenant governor to take anybodys rights away in any category, Vogel responded. Justin is from D.C., where they have the strictest gun laws almost anywhere in the country and yet they have among the highest levels of gun violence.

Fairfax responded that cities like Washington, where he grew up, and Chicago have a pipeline of guns that originate from states with lax gun laws.

Vogel said she does not support in-state tuition rates for Virginia students who are not legal citizens. She said there are a finite number of college slots available and should be saved for students who are legal residents. Fairfax said in-state tuition should be made available to children of illegal immigrants who are here through no fault of their own.

Taxes

Fairfax said Vogel was wrong to vote against McDonnells 2013 plan that raised certain taxes to fund transportation improvements.

This was a bipartisan bill with a Republican governor, he said. That bill was passed and signed by the governor but Senator Vogel voted no.

For the first time in years, the state put serious investment into roads and bridges, he said.

You say youre for infrastructure investment. When you had a chance to do it, you did not do it.

Vogel responded: I dont know a single time since Ive been in the Senate that somebodys come to me and said, Please raise my taxes. 

Vogel has taken a pledge from the group Americans for Tax Reform to never vote to raise taxes. Fairfax said he would not make a pledge to an outside group that doesnt have Virginians interests at heart.

Vogel said she opposes allowing localities to move Confederate monuments, a topic of current debate in Charlottesville, Richmond and other places across the South. Fairfax said localities should decide, because the monuments mean different things to different people.

Campaign finance

Fairfax said he would support limits on campaign donations in Virginia, which are currently uncapped. He noted that Vogels father  William B. Holtzman, founder of the fuel distributor Holtzman Oil Corp.  has given her hundreds of thousands for her run and said no one person should have that much influence.

Vogel said that capping campaign donations would limit the ability of people to participate and noted that the Democrats are generally the benefactors of deep-pocketed contributors like former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Abortion

The candidates spent considerable time on abortion, where Fairfax sought to put Vogel on the defensive over legislation she sponsored  and then dropped  in 2012 that would require women getting abortions to submit to an ultrasound.

Senator Vogel said that she wants to take government out of everyones life, he said. But she sponsored the invasive ultrasound bill that forces women to have mandatory ultrasounds, and this would have forced them to have invasive ultrasounds. I cant think of a more intrusive thing that a government can do.

The legislation made Virginia a laughingstock on late-night television shows, he said.

The attacks that he just levied against me on that bill are 100 percent false and he knows that, Vogel said. There was nothing in that bill that took any rights away from women or forced them to do anything against their will.

The partisan rhetoric around the issue was so offensive, she said, that she withdrew the bill.

I have been a hardcore advocate for women and womens health.

Fairfax said Vogel was saying one thing and doing another.

Facts are not attacks, Fairfax said.  As then-Sen. Ralph Northam told you on the Senate floor  there is videotape of this exchange  that (bill) would have required certain women, depending on what point they were in their pregnancy, to have an invasive ultrasound forced by the state.

Both Fairfax and Vogel are rising stars in their parties and a victory in November would put either of them on a platform to make an eventual run for governor.

Should Vogel win, she would become Virginias first female lieutenant governor and the second woman elected to statewide office in Virginia, following former Attorney General Mary Sue Terry. Should Fairfax win, he would become the second African-American to be elected lieutenant governor in Virginia, following L. Douglas Wilder, who later became the nations first elected black governor.
After reading the leaked transcripts of President Trumps January phone calls with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Mexicos President Enrique Pena Nieto, I have a good book to recommend to our nations president.

Its called Trump: The Art of the Deal.

Yes, thats the 1987 bestseller that is credited to Trump and journalist Tony Schwartz. I always have figured that Schwartz did the writing, but after examining Trumps phone calls, I am wondering whether Schwartz did all of the reading, too.

Maximize your options, is one of Trumps main elements of the deal that he offers potential deal makers. Do thorough research, the book counsels, keep a lot of balls in the air, because most deals fall out, and even after the deal is done, have a half-dozen approaches to making it work.

But in discussing refugee policy on the phone call with Turnbull, Trump sounds flummoxed and angry, mainly that he has to abide by an agreement that the Obama administration made to take in 1,250 refugees.

As Trump repeatedly asks whether we know who the refugees are, Turnbull repeatedly has to explain the difference between illegal immigrants, who are not vetted, and refugees seeking asylum, who are.

I look like a dope, says Trump. The only way that I can do this is to say that my predecessor made a deal and I have no option then to honor the deal. I hate having to do it, but I am still going to vet them very closely.

Yes, vetting is what you do with refugees. Australia has vetted them and the United States is vetting them, too. Trump effectually sounds impressed by Australias border protection measures, but ends the call abruptly and calls it his most unpleasant call of the day.

Use your leverage is another rule from Trump: The Art of the Deal. The worst thing you can possibly do in a deal is seem desperate to make it, Trump says in the book. That makes the other guy smell blood, and then youre dead.

Yet desperation ripples throughout Trumps phone call with Mexicos Pena Nieto over Trumps signature campaign promise to build a wall along the Mexican border and make Mexico pay for it.

Again, Trump tries with mixed success to conceal his shallow understanding of the issues in question  despite having campaigned on them for the past two years.

Worse, he bemoans his own predicament, having promised his base that Mexico will pay for the wall, despite the symbolic national insult it presents to many Mexicans and the inability of that country to pay for such a project, even if they wanted to.

All that Trump seems to have in mind is the corner his rhetoric has painted himself into.

The fact is we are both in a little bit of a political bind because I have to have Mexico pay for the wall  I have to, Trump says. I have been talking about it for a two-year period, and the reason I say they are going to pay for the wall is because Mexico has made a fortune out of the stupidity of U.S. trade representatives.

Since Pena Nieto has plenty of domestic political problems of his own, I do not know why Trump would think that spilling his own self-inflicted political woes would help his case. Eventually the two leaders agree to a classic political dodge: Theyll simply stop talking about whos going to pay for the wall.

They are going to say, Who is going to pay for the wall, Mr. President? to both of us, and we should both say, We will work it out, Trump says. It will work out in the formula somehow. As opposed to you saying, We will not pay and me saying, We will not pay.

How long can Trump kick that can down the road? That remains to be seen. In the meantime, Pena Nieto agrees to look for a creative way to solve this issue that serves both countries interests.

Meanwhile, we await how well Trump meets another of his books nuggets of advice: Deliver the goods. Put the proposed wall with a tax code overhaul, infrastructure repair and Obamacare repeal-and-replacement among major programs that Trump and Congress have yet to enact.

Welcome to the world of governance, Mr. Trump. Delivering the goods in the world of politics and government is very different from the world of business. I read that in a book somewhere.

Page is a Chicago Tribune columnist. Email him at cpage@chicagotribune.com.
Lynchburg City Council approved a new hotel and apartment project with a 4-3 vote Tuesday night. Council members Jeff Helgeson, Turner Perrow and Randy Nelson voted against the project, voicing concern no proffers were listed in the request to rezone the property on Murray Place.

The three members were worried the developers could turn the property into anything allowable in a business district.

Developers proposed building a new extended stay hotel with apartments next to the Courtyard by Marriott on Murray Place across from the entrance to River Ridge mall. The hotel and apartments would be built at 4634 Murray Place.

The rezoning request made by Hotel Acquisitions 3 TPS LLC, based in Syracuse, New York, would allow the construction of about 100 hotel rooms and about 20 apartment units. The structure would include a rooftop patio, a pool, associated parking and other typical hotel amenities, Richard Pietrasesa, of Hotel Acquisitions 3, said Tuesday.

Hotel Acquisitions 3 also owns the Marriott next door at 4640 Murray Place. It was built in 1999 and was renovated in 2016.

Pietrasesa said the business purchased the lot next to the Marriott, which housed an old warehouse, to ensure it could control what would be next to the hotel.

We thought there could be a possibility to put another hotel with some apartments, Pietrasesa said. The Courtyard is more of an overnight property. We would try to supplement that with an extended stay property.

Construction would begin in October.

He said the building would have views of the mountains and valley.

Its a good spot for apartments, he said. Its kind of quiet. We thought modern, contemporary apartments would be very marketable.

The apartments would be located at the top of the hotel building.

Pietrasesa said he loves Lynchburg as it has a stable economy, but it is in need of high-quality apartments and hotels. He hopes the new addition will appeal to a millennial crowd.

Lynchburg is becoming a little more sophisticated, he said. There are some hip hotels like the Craddock Terry, but other than that, theyre pretty traditional.

According to city planning documents, the hotel and apartments would be located on about 1.5 acres. The land is valued at about $91,000, according to the citys land assessor. Hotel Acquisitions 3 asked the city to rezone the property from heavy industrial to a general business district.

Helgeson said if the city rezones the land to be part of the business district, the owner of the hotel potentially could veer from their original plan.

He added the road leading to the hotel is very narrow and is fine for an industrial area but could become dangerous with hundreds of cars coming in and out.

Helgeson, Perrow and Nelson voted to table the request until the developer added proffers stating they only would be building a hotel and a few apartments, but it didnt pass.

Im not going to vote in favor of tabling it, Mayor Joan Foster said. Im trying to understand where my council members are coming from because usually we are doing back flips when a new business comes to town, and this is definitely a business. Im taking them at their word. Marriott is a well-established name across America, and they are definitely in the hotel business.

Mike Gestwick, project manager with the Pike Development Company out of Albany, New York, who is helping to develop the project, said developers are committed to building a hotel and nothing else.

If the request had been tabled, Gestwick said it would send the project back six months.
Profitting in a slump

Business Day spoke with Managing Director of JSL International (Trinidad) Limited (JSL), Javid Ramcharitar, to find out more about its contract with Transocean Limited (Transocean) and about how JSL has used this downtime to increase its operational efficiencies.

As a country, I think we are very blessed to have those nine vessels cold stacked within the Chaguaramas basin because it generates a lot of opportunity for companies like JSL while promoting the use of local content (and) earning forex. We are the local agents for those vessels. The presence of these vessels here has generated 100-plus jobs for TT nationals. The vessels have been cold stacked in Chaguaramas since early 2015.

Ramcharitar declined to say how much JSL earns from its Transocean contract but he did confirm that payments are made in US dollars.

Companies like JSL should (therefore) be encouraged because we bring in forex. Its also a significant contributor to the countrys forex supply because those vessels are also supposed to pay fees to the Government of TT. From what I understand, they are paying those fees to the Ministry of Transport but I dont have details.

According to an article published in another local newspaper on January 8, 2017, the ministry was reported to have lost out on at least US $35 million because it has been slow to conclude negotiations with... Transocean

Business Day contacted the ministry, seeking an update on this matter but up to press time, a response was still pending.

JSL is a one point of contact service company, providing support services to companies in the upstream energy sector. Established in Trinidad in 2008, JSLs corporate headquarters are located in Houston, Texas. Apart from its support operations base presence at Caribbean Dockyards (CARIDOC) 26-acre yard in Chaguaramas, JSL has a presence in more then ten Caribbean and Latin American countries. They include Colombia, French Guiana, Grenada, Guyana, the Gulf of Mexico, Mexico, Nicaragua and Suriname.

According to its website, the JSL International Group of Companies shall establish 100 percent Market Domination in all of the regions that we operate in by offering its Unparalleled Single Point of Contact Model for Logistical and Project Support Services to the Upstream Energy Sector.

Asked what sort of support JSL provides to Transoceans cold stacked vessels, Ramcharitar said this included hiring all of the personnel that they require for the vessels, all of the catering for those personnel, assist with any third-party support and services, coordinate all relevant Customs and Immigration formalities and provide home to work round trip transport for the personnel who are based on the rig. They are on a two-weeks on, two-weeks off shift.

Ship Gear I and Ship Gear II officers; similar to the classification of able-bodied seamen or motormen, basically act as ship security officers, they deal with the day-to-day reporting - things like adherence to all of the HSE (health, safety and environment) procedures, emergency response procedures, on-going monitoring and surveillance.

Transocean is one of the worlds largest offshore drilling contractors, based in Vernier, Switzerland.

JSL was hired in 2016 after Transocean parted ways with its previous, overseas-based, agent. While Ramcharitar declined to speak about what led to the change in agents, he did tell Business Day that JSL was approached by Transocean in mid-2016.

There is no specific (end date) for the cold stacking contract; basically once the vessels are here, we will provide support services to them, Ramcharitar said.

According to the website, www. monitor-systems-engineering.com, cold stacking, is a cost reduction step taken when a rigs contracting prospects look bleak or available contract terms do not justify an adequate return on the investment needed to make the unit work ready.

For example, a conventional GOM jackup might see its costs reduced from US $30,000 per day when operational to as little as $2,000 per day when cold stacked. Cost savings primarily come from crew reductions to skeletal levels. Steps taken to protect the rigs facilities include applying protective coatings, filling engines with protective fluids et cetera.

With the costs of crewing up, inspection, deferred maintenance, and potentially refurbishment acting as deterrents to reactivation, cold-stacked rigs may be out of service for extended periods of time and may not be actively marketed. A return to service can be a costly proposition, often requiring tens of millions of dollars for refitting costs, Monitor Systems Engineering stated.

Asked why JSL chose Chaguaramas as the base of its local service operations, Ramcharitar cited the areas sheltered, deep water harbour, the presence of a Customs and Immigration post, the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) port facilities, ease of access to potable water, fuel for bunkering and the presence of a lot of infrastructure in place within the Chaguaramas area to support the oil and gas sector, as compared to other port facilities in the country.

However, the one way in, one way out, road connecting the Western peninsula to the rest of Trinidad is something which Ramcharitar said needed to be addressed.

He recommended the use of a ferry service between Chaguaramas and Port-of-Spain for people who work in the Western peninsula, thus reducing the traffic jam associated with the area during peak drive times.

Until an alternate route or mode of transport is introduced, JSL has flexible working arrangements for onshore staff, encourages them to carpool, and tries to hire qualified people who live in Chaguaramas and neighbouring communities.

Regarding its strategies to deal with recessionary pressures, Ramcharitar said, over the past two years, we have been ensuring across-the-board adherence to international best practice and standards.

We did this by initiating a drive towards obtaining ISO certification. We started working towards that in 2015 and Im very proud to say that JSL has successfully been awarded ISO 9001 2008 certification for the provision of manpower resourcing for the upstream oil and gas sector.

We are the only company in the Caribbean and South America that has been successful in achieving this certification. The certification has given us a strategic and competitive advantage because it allows us to be able to focus, not only on the drilling contractor market but also the operators within TT (such as bpTT and Shell), Ramcharitar stated.

Business Day also spoke with JSLs Finance Director and Chief Compliance Officer, Avinash Mohan.

Operating transparently is crucial within the energy industry.

So our focus, across the company, has been on ensuring compliance with anti-bribery and anticorruption regulations.

This extends from the board of directors to management, employees and even to third-party sub-contractors, vendors and customers. Mohan explained that JSL promotes compliance through on-going training on an online platform which it developed in partnership with TRACE International. They are the standard setters in terms of anti-bribery, anticorruption, compliance. Activity may be relatively slow in TT but JSL is using its Chaguaramas base to provide support services to drilling activity offshore in Guyana and Suriname.

Weve seen an uptick in activity over the last year and a half. Theres been a lot more frequency and dependency in terms of offshore drilling programmes thats been happening in both countries. In addition to this, Ramcharitar revealed that on July 4, 2017, JSL was awarded the agency services and logistical support contract to support Transoceans drilling contract in Grenada on behalf of another operator.

We are supporting the entire project from Chaguaramas.

The Transocean rig, Development Driller III, is currently drilling offshore Grenada in the Nutmeg-2 block. Weve been providing support services, including some personnel.

The contract is for however long Transocean is there, Ramcharitar stated.

According to an August 2, 2017, article on www.

upstreamonline.com, Russian-backed player tests Grenada waters, Little-known Russianbacked company Global Petroleum Group (GPG) is drilling an exploration well south of the Caribbean island of Grenada, following a rich oil and gas trend that has yielded multiple discoveries off Venezuelas Gulf of Paria and TT.

Information on the well has been described as extremely tight.

Upstream has learned that the company spudded Nutmeg-2 in late June, using the Transoceanowned semi-submersible Development Driller III in about 400 feet of water, the article stated.

For more information on JSL, visit its website, www.jslinternational.net/
Chaguaramas Causeway still alive

During a particularly turbulent period that saw the Western peninsula under increased focus almost every day, the CDA proposed one of its more ambitious projects to a tense Radisson Hotel ballroom. The Port-of- Spain to Chaguaramas Causeway was proposed as the answer to the road infrastructure needs of a growing corner of the country.

Former Minister of Planning and Sustainable Development, Dr. Bhoe Tewarie, pointed out that the demands on the single carriageway servicing the area had grown exponentially as the area was allowed to develop unchecked, causing unbearable traffic for residents and businesses alike, adversely affecting productivity and the ease of doing business in Chaguaramas.

The idea first appeared in the PNMs 2010 manifesto, was adopted by the Peoples Partnership (PP) administration and made its way to platforms for both the PP and PNM during the last general election campaign. The Alternative Access Route From Port-of-Spain to Chaguaramas remains on NIDCOs Future Projects page.

Former Prime Minister Kamla Persad- Bissessar signaled her governments intent to partner with the Canadian Government to assess the feasibility of building the road, if her government was returned to office.

Its one of the proposals that survived the change in government and the National Infrastructure Development Company Limited (NIDCO) sent out a request for tenders in July 2016. Contacted for comment, Minister of Works and Transport, Rohan Sinanan, said there has been some progress.

Right now they are doing the traffic study, theres a consultant looking at the project through NIDCO, is all he would offer.

While declining to name the consultant or give a timeline either of their engagement on the project or its commencement, he says the consultant will also conduct environmental and feasibility studies.

The development of the Chaguaramas Boardwalk has increased the areas popularity on weekends. In 2011, international energy drink, Red Bulls Flugtag showed Chaguaramas true potential as a hub of activity but it also laid bare its inadequacies.

Over 20,000 spectators made it to the event, thousands more were stuck in the traffic jam which stretched as far back as Invaders Bay.

Before that Carnival fetes had created similar issues, but the scale of the Flugtag imbroglio, which also proved a nightmare for emergency services on the day, was unprecedented.

If it is built, the causeway would be unprecedented in the region. Jamaicas Portmore Causeway is a 5-kilometre bridge that links Kingston and St Catherine, the proposed Chaguaramas causeway will be almost four times that long.

According to the 216- page CDA Master Plan, a Transportation Focus Group held on June 18th, 2014, presented a wide range of options.

At a heated 2015 public consultation in April 2015, the CDA and Ministry of Planning also floated the idea of dedicated mass transit systems into Chaguaramas.

The first of these was a park and ride shuttle service which would reduce the number of cars utilising the Western Main Road. At present it takes roughly an hour to travel to the Western peninsula at peak traffic times, the shuttle systems main aim was to remove the majority of vehicles from the route and thus ensure faster transit times in and out of Chaguaramas.

However, given the public transportation experience of many commuters added to the preference of motorists to drive rather than be driven, the proposal was met with some opposition.

The other alternative is a ferry service from the Water Taxi hub on Wrightson Road to Pier 2. In December 2016, Minister in the Office of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs, Stuart Young, in querying selected CDA leases granted between 2010 and 2015, said government had cancelled one held by Chaguaramas Parking.

The Company, incorporated February 12, 2015, and granted the lease on May 22, 2015, was charged with building a 1,000-space car park at the site to support the recently opened Water and Amusement Park at Chagville Beach. Minister Sinanan had no updates to offer on the proposed ferry service.

Brent Noel, Managing Director of Chaquacabana Resort and Beach Club, is all in favour of anything that will keep the roads leading to his business uncluttered.

Hes particularly fond of the causeway idea It would give us the Ocho Rios/Negril effect, its really a First World plan, he said, nobody wants to take an hour and a half to get somewhere that they can reach in 15 minutes.

It has to be carefully planned but it would be a great idea.
Gaining consensus in a period of economic adjustment

We have already seen, at the State level, budgetary cutbacks and the discontinuation of some subsidies. At the business level, it has, in some cases, led to tough decisions to ensure survival of the operation.

In the 1980s, the country also faced a period of adjustment; one that many believe almost brought the country to its knees. Coming out of a time of high oil prices and a period of new affluence for the country, Trinidadians and Tobagonians were largely unprepared for a downturn.

Despite the warning signs, there was strong resistance to attempts to change national expectations, and bring them into alignment with the realities of the countrys coffers. It took the country several years to recover from what amounted to attitudes of extravagance, followed by a collapse of oil prices, with subsequent imposed conditionalities, which were very severe.

Shades of this period are evident today, with the recent decision by trade union leaders to host a march - one that is unlikely to provide any concrete solutions to the challenges which workers face.

Perhaps foremost among the similarities we face today, is the reluctance to take decisive action which will allow us to weather the period of adjustment and transform our country. This is not the remit of any one sector or grouping, but rather, it is the responsibility of all national stakeholders.

The Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce is acutely aware of the need for collaborative action in the interest of our people and our country. Several attempts have been made towards tripartite (or multipartite) engagement. Unfortunately, these appear to have collapsed, largely because of a lack of trust if one is to judge by the decision of the trade unions to leave the National Tripartite Advisory Council (NTAC).

But walking away from such forums could hardly lead to improving the situation. Moreover, it would certainly not inspire confidence in our ability to work together to hammer out resolve from our diverse perspectives. Building trust, therefore, remains an essential component of any effort towards tripartite action. The T&T Chamber is of the view that this approach is potentially one of the most positive mechanisms for forward motion.

Without a more unifying approach to dealing with our challenges, while opting instead for partisanship only, we will continue to experience many troubling conditions in our country; a dangerously high crime rate that consistently undermines the moral fabric of our society; institutional dysfunction and inertia and low investor confidence  to name but a few.

As a measure of our maturity and a mark of our nationhood, would it not be far better if we found a way to reach some form of consensus? That collective we includes and encompasses Government, the Opposition, Business, Labour and Civil Society. After all, the future of our nation is at stake.
Is GDP the end all?

Recently, the countrys economy has been negatively affected by fluctuating oil and gas prices and as a result, the GDP in Trinidad and Tobago contracted 10.80 per cent in the third quarter of 2016 over the same quarter of the previous year. It is expected, however, that Trinidad and Tobago will experience a modest recovery in growth over the coming quarters, driven by rebounding natural gas production.

By all indications, this expected economic growth is something that we citizens are all looking forward to.

The question is though - is GDP really an accurate measure of economic growth? Gross domestic product is the most commonly used measure of a countrys economic activity. It basically reflects the value of all final goods and services legally produced in an economy in a given time period and often correlates to the standard of living and the extent of economic development in a country.

GDP, however, excludes any unpaid activity as well as illegal activity, and also fails to account for reductions in quality of life and losses to natural disasters or crime. Additionally, even per-capita GDP does not necessarily reflect the wealth of the typical citizen, as a majority of low-earning citizens could be offset by a small group of very high earners.

Former Microsoft Corporation chief architect Edward Jung once called GDP a misleading indicator that sabotaged development and innovation, and a growing number of researchers, economists, industry leaders and policy makers have made it clear that they think GDP is a poorly devised relic. An example of this is where GDP can increase after a major flood or grow rapidly after a disaster.

If all of Port of Spain burnt to the ground, the rebuilding effort might positively impact GDP. This is because GDP is very susceptible to the broken window fallacy  false signals of rising prosperity when obvious destruction has taken place.

Gross domestic product is certainly a valuable tool but unfortunately, it misses out on a number of effects, which together have an impact that is rather larger than the percentagepoint statistical revisions economists squabble over. It measures income, but not equality, it measures growth, but not destruction, and it ignores values like social cohesion and the environment. Another of the larger problems can be summed up in one word: debt. GDP only deals in positive numbers, so doesnt consider future obligations. Obviously it is easy to boost the economy by borrowing from other countries and also from future generations, in the form of resource extraction and depletion.

Interestingly, International Monetary Fund head Christine Lagarde, Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz and MIT Professor Erik Brynjolfsson noted at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, GDP is a poor way of assessing the health of our economies and we urgently need to find a new measure. In the end, GDP measures only output and makes no claims on the quality of that output, let alone on subjective concepts such as social progress or human happiness. It can obscure growing inequality and encourage the depletion of resources.

It cannot differentiate, for example, between spending on education versus purchasing cigarettes and fails to account for the value of social cohesion, education, health, leisure, or a clean environment. We can agree with the academics in that GDP is a universal, objective and very useful measurement, however, we should recognise its limitations. Increasing GDP should not be governments only objective and GDP alone cannot be considered a definitive measurement of human welfare. As we look forward to the rebounding of our economy at some point, we need to understand that an increase in economic growth does not equate to progress.

Ultimately, we need to hold our politicians to better account. Should we should shape government policy on GDP alone?
Young actors shine in Green Days by the River

Two weeks ago, the Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival (TTFF) announced that the production will open next months premiere - making it the first feature film, directed and produced by Trinbagonian talent, to achieve such a feat.

Title sponsor, bmobile, has supported the film from its inception and Vice President, Marketing, Camille Campbell, explains why that decision was easy.

Investing in this film was a win-win. We were able to use our resources to assist the filmmakers, both graduates of the Film programme at UWI, to realise their dreams of creating a first-class production. We take our responsibility to give back to Trinidad and Tobago very seriously and we have a perfect track record to prove it. Green Days by the River stays true to the comingof- age 1967 novel of the same name by local author Michael Anthony and showcases young budding talent. Its main characters - Sudai Tafari, (Shellie), Nadia Kandhai (Rosalie) and Vanessa Bartholomew (Joan) - are all first-time actors.

Tafari, a student of Mt. Hope Secondary, who was only 15 at the time, was encouraged by his schools Theatre Director to check out the films Facebook page, as he was always interested in acting. Tafari decided to shoot his shot and left a comment stating, I can do this referring to the role of Shellie.

His comment caught the eye of director Michael Mooleedhar, who invited Tafari to audition for the part the very next day.

I didnt tell my parents anything and when I saw the reply I was jumping up and down. I ran and told my mom: Remember the time you told me not to study this acting thing and to look for something more practical? Well, I got through! Tafaris mother soon had a change of heart and his sister, Tamika, accompanied him to his first audition.

Although nervous, Tafari nailed it.

A few days later, he was called in for a second audition and told to come dressed in 1950s wear.

My sister and I went to Port-of-Spain and bought some church looking kinda stuff, he recalled. I went in and did my best. Tafari impressed Mooleedhar and producer, Christian James, with his passionate and clear delivery and landed the role. And although he hadnt read the book before, he later committed himself to studying the novel to perfect his craft.

I didnt know until after the audition that Shellie was the main character so I was really excited. In primary school when I said I wanted to act, my friends would laugh but working on this film made me realise that its my passion and I want to take it further. Bartholomew, 19, who plays Joan - one of Shellies love interests - was full of praise for Tafari, with whom she shared awkward kissing scenes.

The first two or three takes were very uncomfortable, she confessed, laughing. Sudai was a bit shy but very professional and we were able to work our way through the scenes. The UWI Sociology student had first auditioned to be Rosalie but while acting the part of Joan, she discovered she had more in common with that character. Shes just like me, she said. Were both headstrong and go after what we want in life. It was a pleasure playing her. Unlike Tafari and Bartholomew, Kandhai had studied Green Days by the River in high school and had always admired Rosalie.

I read it when I was 11 and Rosalie was my favourite. I always wanted to be her. She was beautiful, rich and confident and the 11-year-old me wanted that. Ten years later, I am Rosalie and thats really amazing! Kandhai, a second year medical student at UWI, was the last person to be added to the cast as the role proved to be the most difficult one for the director and producer to fill. By chance she was spotted at the airport by the films producer and invited to read for the part, mere days before filming began. It was a moment that felt like destiny. It was meant to be, she said.

The film also features some experienced actors like Anand Lawkaran, who plays Mr Gidharee. The former school teacher and radio broadcaster has appeared in several films and noted that his childhood days spent in the cocoa and coffee estates with his father prepared him for this role.

I grew up in the countryside in Tableland and then Rio Claro, and almost every weekend we would go Mayaro to lime on the beach. When I read that book, I saw everything Michael Anthony described about Mayaro - that rustic life. The language itself I could identify with because its how my father and his friends would talk to each other. It was as if I was coming with something in me and it didnt take much to bring it out on screen. For veteran actor, Che Rodriguez, who plays Shellies father, Pa Lammy, the film also brought memories of bygone days.

I studied this book in school so it was like coming back home. I also understood the period because I was born in that preindependence era and so I was able to bring that knowledge to the plate. An actor for most of his 60 years, Rodriguez is well-known for his first acting role in the 1970s classic - Bim - and brought a wealth of experience to the set.

He described working alongside the young actors as fantastic and shared the close bond he developed with his on-screen son.

I loved Sudai, everything about him.

We really took to each other. Even now we remain like father and son. Sometimes if he has a lil problem, hell call me and say: Pa, tell me what to do. Rodriguez was also in high praise of bmobile for its support, saying, Its time for corporate Trinidad and Tobago to realise that we need to invest in local arts and culture and in this regard, bmobile is continuously leading the way.
St Agnes celebrates St James history and culture

The Anglican Church, with its British roots, has had a centuries-long presence in TT and its adherents have been some of our most influential sons and daughters of the soil. Among them are Audrey Jeffers, who established the Coterie of Social Workers and the late former prime minister Patrick Manning.

The residence of the Anglican Bishop at Hayes Court remains one of the illustrious members of the Magnificent Seven, while the Bishop Anstey Association Schools, among them, Bishop Anstey High School, St Stephens and Bishops High School in Scarborough remain some of the countrys most respected educational institutions.

Planted for the spiritual development and nurturing of the nation, says Reverend Marsha Joseph, Rector of the parish for the past four years. She says the church, as a force of good, not only in prayers but in works and deeds, promotes the social aspect of looking after the people (which) comes with the Christian faith. St Marys Childrens Home in Tacarigua, initially founded to care for the orphaned children of indentured labourers, as well as St Michaels Home for Boys in Diego Martin also began as initiatives of the Anglican Church in Trinidad and Tobago.

But for all their good efforts, many of these churches, whose followers remain faithful, have fallen prey to the passage of time, with a number of their structures falling into disrepair, or their treasuries finding themselves insufficient to fulfil the needs of the church and of the communities that they serve. The Parish of St Agnes in St James is one such church.

Having occupied its current spot on Clarence Street since 1929, with a previous location higher up along the Western Main Road only a few years prior, the parish is extremely well-known, and has become a monument of sorts in the ever- bustling St James. And as society changes, the church, even with all its required constancy, must continue to strive in its never-ending efforts to adapt to the needs of a changing people.

Over the next few years, the parish aims to construct a multi-purpose centre to replace the current rectory and parish office on its relatively small compound. As one of its fundraising initiatives the church will host Ah St James Ting, a cultural celebration of the lively districts food, music and history, on August 12 at the churchs compound, 20 Clarence Street, St James. Newsday spoke with the Reverand Joseph on the developing venture.

These days, many of the older churches receive little to no assistance from larger entities and thus, are charged with the responsibility of raising their own funds to be able to maintain their domestic and community efforts. Joseph speaks of this self-sufficiency to the end of not only maintaining our plant, but to continue the work of evangelism and outreach, the organisation of seminars and programmes for the parents of the school. St Agnes Anglican Primary School has educated some of the countrys cultural icons, among them, Pelham Goddard and Len Boogsie Sharpe.

In the spirit of St James as the city that never sleeps, Ah St James Ting will include an open air concert and walk-in museum, showcasing the history of St James from the 1950s through to the 1970s.

Soulful crooner, Jason Fridge Seecharan; soca parang queen, Marcia Miranda; 2016 Calypso Monarch, Devon Seales; Lydians soloist, tenor Kory Mendez, accompanied by composer and pianist, Astra Noel; and Scrunters Pan Groove are among the diverse lineup of acts, which will include music representing all facets of St James eclectic culture and then some.

The walk-in museum will feature displays that include artifacts from the period - utensils, furniture, etc. An hourlong documentary featuring first-hand accounts of some of St James longest residents, filmed especially for the event, will also be screened. Local delicacies will also be on sale.

For more information, contact 628-2885, 716-0839 or 779-0089.
Human rights meet fashion

The event, which featured several models with disabilities, not only focused on raising funds for the National Centre for Persons with Disabilities but also aimed to elevate the spirit and self-esteem of those represented by the centre. Langaigne, a key member of the HDRTT responsible for co-ordinating the initiative, pointed towards the groups passion for representing all members of society as an inspiration for the undertaking.

Acknowledging that at times a level playing field does not exist for members of society with disabilities, he expressed hope at the possibility that the initiatives held under the funds raised will contribute towards increased awareness for persons with disabilities. Displayed at the fashion show, were pieces carried by 212, Trendy Kids and other clothing stores.

Langaigne was grateful for the support that the event attracted and said in addition to what is already being done, there is always room for greater strides to be made for all to have access to equal benefits and opportunities of empowerment.

He said the different shades of colours incorporated in the fashion pieces mirrored the diversity of those that use the outlet daily.

With plans of making the fashion extravaganza an annual staple, Langaigne also hinted at events being planned to; honour Cancer Awareness month, incorporate Tobago into the events of the HDRTT and recognise global days such as the Day of Peace.

He said the HRDTT prides itself as a beacon for advocating human rights in TT and the wider Caribbean community. Its intentions as a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) are to work with other organisations, groups and individuals alike, who possess the desire to combat human rights abuses and alleviate the plight of those that are without a voice.

Moreover, it is also the aim of the organisation to collect statistical data on the main causes of human rights issues in TT that can help in the decision-making process that would eliminate these issues.

The NGO, through this event, was able to source donations valued at an estimated $5,000 for the National Centre for Persons with Disabilities, from corporate sponsors and partners
BRING POLICE

And even as Port Authority (PATT) chairman Alison Lewis said a new vessel has to be acquired before October when the T&T Express ferry goes on dry dock, Persad-Bissessar said the issue is, a scandal of the highest order which reeks of mismanagement and corruption. Persad-Bissessar said she will write the Canadian authorities as she called for an investigation into the transaction involving Canadian company Bridgemans Services Group LP.

Bridgemans has already leased the Cabo Star, a cargo vessel that services the seabridge.

Contacted yesterday, Lewis said the Ministry of Works and Transport cancelled the contract because of Bridgemans failure to deliver the vessel within the time frame agreed on in the terms of the contract.

When it was not delivered by the extended deadline of August 1, we invoked the cancellation clause in the contract, Lewis said. The board is trying its best, she said, to correct a situation it met in the best possible way for all stakeholders especially the people of Tobago.

With Governments support in getting what is necessary, she said, we hope to get this behind us in the shortest possible time. On whether Government has advanced Bridgemans any money for the vessel, Lewis said, We have not paid any money.

The contract calls for mobilisation and delivery.

My information is that Government has reserved its legal rights in terms of its own remedies which the lawyers are looking at right now.

MINISTER SEES NO RESIGNATIONS

Efforts to contact Minister of Works and Transport Rohan Sinanan, Attorney General Faris Al Rawi and Minister in the Office of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs Stuart Young on Government legal rights in this matter, were futile.

Communications Minister Maxie Cuffie, the only Government Minister to answer his cellular phone yesterday, said Government told the Port Authority to take whatever action it deemed necessary.

I cant comment any further, because the port authority is the person you should speak to it and once you get a comment from them, that is all you need, Cuffie said, On TV6s Morning Edition yesterday, asked if the decision to terminate the contract was not massively embarrassing for him and Government, Minister Sinanan said, definitely not. Sinanan said he has faith in the PATT and its decisions.

Asked if resignations were expected, he said, definitely not. Theres no reason for that. Meanwhile, on leasing another vessel, PATT chairman Lewis said public tendering will begin as soon as possible.

Asked about the controversy surrounding the selection of the contractor, Lewis said, Bridgemans is a company that is incorporated in Vancouver, Canada. Our consideration was whether or not Bridgemans had the ability to provide the vessels that they were tendering.

Whether Bridgemans was a bona fide company that was incorporated, whether the vessels it was talking about were going to be made available, the fact that there was no judgement (against Bridgemans) and nobody was suing them for anything, were some of the considerations the tenders committee looked at.

ROWLEY MUST TAKE BLAME

Pe r sad-Bi s s e s s ar said Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley must accept responsibility for this debacle and account to citizens as it was not enough for government to simply cancel the contract. Rowley, Sinanan and Lewis, she insisted, must clear the air on this fiasco. Persad-Bissessar said she raised concerns several weeks ago about possible corruption in the ferry deal. The nation deserves to know the facts on the decision to scrap the contract, she said. She reiterated her call for answers as to how a company allegedly with no record, was awarded the contract.

A number of questions must be answered, she said, including whether advances, finders fees, legal fees and any other were paid and if so, to whom. She said there was no record of the shareholders and directors of Bridgemans Trinidad LPC in the TT Companies Registry.

The Opposition was informed, she said, that the vessel was sold from its original owners on June 26, and a few days later was in a charter party to lease it to (TT).
Mr Tendai Bitis Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said it is not part of the MDC Alliance led by MDC-T leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai, as no deal has been reached yet.



Mr Tsvangirai launched the MDC Alliance with Mr Biti, Professor Welshman Ncube of the MDC and other small parties that include Transform Zimbabwe and Zanu-Ndonga.



However, it emerged yesterday that PDP officials only joined Tsvangirai at the launch in solidarity. PDP secretary-general Dr Gorden Moyo said his party had not signed any deal to be part of the MDC Alliance.



He said the opposition party was still committed to negotiations that were being conducted under Coalition of Democrats (Code).



Our partys position is that we are still in the process of negotiating, said Mr Moyo. We havent concluded the negotiations and because of that we attended the ceremony. Because we are part of the family of opposition, we attended the launch.



By its very nature, a coalition decides the leader. It is not any one of the organisations, any one of the parties, it is the coalition. So, PDP will subscribe to any president who is going to be selected by the collective. Once agreed by the collective, we will abide by that. We believe in the principle of collective decision making and thats what we will do.



A Code principal Mr Gilbert Dzikiti, who is also the leader of Democratic Assembly for Restoration and Empowerment (Dare), described the MDC Alliance as a reunion of former MDC groups. He said Prof Ncubes MDC had joined the MDC Alliance, but Bitis PDP remained under the Code umbrella.





PDP led by (Mr) Tendai Biti are saying they did not sign the agreement, said Mr Dzikiti. They are saying they attended in solidarity and sat on the desk just for the optics, but did not append their signature to the document.





It will be fair to understand the alliance in the context that the parties that split from MDC were finding each other to mend their differences.





Zapu leader Dr Dumiso Dabengwa said they will not be swallowed by the MDC-T into the MDC Alliance, but were working under Code. He said parties in Code would continue with their negotiations until they came up with their own presidential candidate.





We remain in Code, said Dr Dabengwa. We have been in it for the last two years and were determined to remain there. Code does not seek to deter those who want to leave. Thats why the other MDC (led by Professor Welshman Ncube) have decided to leave.





Dr Dabengwa said Code members were still negotiating and planning how to field candidates for parliamentary and local elections.





The first thing to do is to agree on the manner in which we are going to nominate candidates, he said. It is only after the candidates nomination both for local and parliamentary seats is completed that we can move to that of choosing our presidential candidate.





We are not in a hurry to do that. A presidential candidate can be selected once the date of the elections is given. herald
Harare businessman-cum-musician Energy Mutodi was today arrested following an article he posted on Facebook regarding President Mugabes succession.





Police sources said Mutodi was arrested by detectives from the CID Law and Order section in the morning and taken to Harare Central Police Station for further investigations.





He is still assisting police with investigations and is likely to face treason charges.





On August 6, Mutodi posted an article with a headline, WHY CHOOSING A SUCCESSOR IS A DIFFICULT JOB.





As President Robert Mugabe begins to look for a possible successor from among his subordinates, Zimbabweans are anxious to know who will eventually be picked to become the countrys second executive president, he wrote.





Decision making in succession issues has always been a problem among Africans; resulting in civil wars, repetitive coups and economic turmoil.





In Libya for example, Muammar Gaddafi was killed after more than 42 years in power and with no clear successor named. In Ivory Coast, Laurent Gbagbo was defeated in a civil war and jailed overseas while his wife was also prosecuted and jailed for 20 years for aiding her husband in his efforts to retain power at all cost.





In Uganda, President Milton Obote was in 1971 overthrown by Idi Amin, the Commander of the Defence Forces after the later suspected the president was about to retire him and sent him to jail for embezzling army funds.





In Bakina Faso, President Michel Kafando and Prime Minister Yacouba Isaac Zida were overthrown just three weeks before general elections by General Gilbert Diendere who immediately took over power.





Between 1966 and 1999, the army held power in Nigeria without interruption apart from a short-lived return to democracy between 1979-1983.





There are more than 200 successful and unsuccessful coups that have occurred in Africa since 1960, prompting scholars like Folly Bah Thibault to investigate why coups are part and parcel of political change in Africa.





Unwillingness to peacefully handover power, failure to name a successor, ruthless crushing of dissent, economic mismanagement and state capture by those close to the incumbent are among the reasons why coups are rampant in Africa.





African leaders are to a large extent obsessed with power, do not know when to stop, commit countless crimes while in office and delegate power to their family members much to the disappointment of the military.





While a military takeover maybe far fetched in Zimbabwe, it is important for President Mugabe to be careful in naming his successor. Any suspicion of unfairness or discrimination on account of tribalism or factionalism may backfire.





The President needs a maximax approach in arriving at the solution. (Refer to article titled: "Zim future gloomy as politicians take too much risk", posted here on 14 February 2016).

There are key stakeholders that need to be consulted among them the military and the whole security establishment called the Joint Operations Command that is chaired by Vice President Mnangagwa.





Although Professor Moyo and his associates may suggest that the President has no business consulting the army, it is impossible to contemplate that ZANU PF can exist without the army collaborating its efforts to retain power.





It can only be naive for anyone to believe that the President has been in power for 37 years without the army giving him crucial support.





Several army chiefs have been quoted in the media saying that they would not permit anyone without liberation war credentials to lead the country.





Several times, the opposition has complained of intimidation of its supporters by the CIO and army officials such as 'champion farmers' who maintain a heavy presence in constituencies during election time.





Furthermore, the 2008 electoral defeat of the party for the first time in its history and the subsequent violent runoff clearly demonstrated how the army is key in determining who leads the country.





It is therefore an empty talk that the gun does not lead the pen in Zimbabwean politics.

The role the Zimbabwean army has played in nurturing President Mugabe's rule can therefore not be overemphasized.





Any successor without the backing of the army will therefore be rejected, irrespective whether they have liberation war credentials or not.





Another critical block to consult is the ZANU PF membership itself, mainly the provincial executives that have been directly elected by the people.





It is an unfortunate situation that most provincial executives have been imposed by the politburo, making them unable to control their provinces.





This is the cause for the votes of no confidences that have characterized the party recently.

Probabilistically, Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa has a high chance to become the next President,having gained support from businesspeople, students, party activists and the international community.





His only major set back is his karanga origin, that President Mugabe's close relatives and friends hate with a passion.





It is true that tribalism has played a major role in determining crucial appointments in both the party and government. A zezuru unconquerable team is itching to have another one of their own replace President Mugabe at all cost.





They have suggested Defence Minister Sydney Sekeramayi as the successor.

This is stubborn behaviour to say the least.





While President Mugabe has condemned tribalism several times even during youth interface rallies, he has failed to rein in his subjects who continue to hate each other on tribal basis.

It is difficult to accuse the President himself of tribalism although the on-going succession debate presents him with a very tricky temptation that could permanently harm his legacy.

Often you hear people say people from this tribe will not rule while some tribal extremists believe a karanga is unelectable.





This is despite the fact that the people of Zimbabwe have given President Mugabe overwhelming support without considering whether he was born in the north, east, west or the south.





Tribal conflicts can not be underestimated as they account for civil wars in Rwanda, Kenya, Nigeria and in Sudan where the country was split into two halves; North and South Sudan.

The liberation struggle that was waged against the Smith regime united all Zimbabweans irrespective of their language diversity and origins, making the ideals of the struggle

paramount in guiding the nation.





Zimbabweans therefore need to rise above tribalism if the next President is to be accepted by all.





Other factors to consider include gender issues, particularly considering if a woman can lead the country at this point in time and if yes which woman?

First Lady Grace Mugabe can be a potential successor to President Mugabe if she successfully lands the third Vice President slot that has been suggested recently.

However, elsewhere where First Ladies have succeeded their husbands, the situation has been disastrous.




The vision and passion to get involved in the education sector of our economy was born from my own humble beginnings before independence so today marks a realisation of the vision, a vision that seeks to see The Heritage School transform itself to become the best educational institution in Zimbabwe by the year 2020, he said.
Acting President Emmerson Mnangagwa has donated R10 000 towards the treatment of eight-year-old Bridgette Mandimutsira, who is suffering from a rare skin cancer that has affected her eyesight and hearing.



The Acting President met with Bridgette, who has been seeking treatment in South Africa and her mother Ms Benedict Makumbe at the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs offices yesterday.



I was touched when I saw her on TV seeking assistance to go and receive treatment in South Africa and I said to the Permanent Secretary (Mrs Virginia Mabiza) that I also want to contribute towards her treatment and I managed to source the R10 000 that was needed, he said.





Ms Makumbe expressed gratitude to the Acting President for his gesture.

I want to thank the Acting President for the love and compassion he has shown towards my child, she said. Bridgette is a strong girl despite the suffering she has gone through as a result of the cancer.





My prayer is that she recovers and be happy like any other kid. I hope God will bless you for your generosity.





Bridgette was pencilled to go for an operation in South Africa last week, but has since been referred to St Thomas Hospital in the United Kingdom by her doctors in South Africa.

Ms Makumbe is now appealing for $30 000 from well-wishers to enable her travel to the UK for treatment.





Donations can be sent through EcoCash on 0774 327 867 or deposited into Steward Bank account 100220632. Herald
I was listening to the proposals that you were making, Cde president, and I see no conflict with our ideals and values as MDC-T and so where is the problem? We cannot be divided on the basis of personality and if we agree that this is the direction we are going to face as a country, why dont we put these efforts together?
GOVERNMENT will raid shops selling unlicensed imported products, as part of sophisticated measures targeting dealers fuelling the demand for contraband, to curtail smuggling and pluck leakages prejudicing Treasury of millions in potential revenue.



The measures crafted to contain the widespread smuggling, especially influx of imports, which local industry has capacity to produce, would involve the use of information communication technology gadgets and drones in the surveillance of borders. This comes amid continued influx of imported products, the bulk of which are restricted under Statutory Instrument 64 of 2016, which is meant to give local producers latitude to retool, increase production and be able to match the stiff external competition.



Zimbabwe Revenue Authority chairperson Willia Bonyongwe recently said that less than 10 percent of trucks entering Zimbabwe were being secured with electronic devices and monitored real time due to high reluctance among Zimra officials to enforce the new security measure.



Yet there is strong belief that smuggling of goods, under the guise of transit cargo for products destined for Zimbabwe, was rife given that entry of trucks classified as transit cargo carriers had dropped by 67 percent since electronic tracking started in May this year.

Government fears proliferation of restricted imports could threaten gains achieved thus far, including growth in capacity utilisation, which rose from an average of 34,3 percent in 2015 to about 47 percent in 2016, riding on the back of import control measures.



Industry and Commerce Minister Mike Bimha said that Government had completed crafting a nifty and multi-pronged strategy, which will look into processes, systems and the human factor aspects aiding the smuggling of goods into or out of Zimbabwe.



Some of the measures need resources, especially those which entail information communication technology to reduce the human factor and for surveillance and monitoring along the border because our borders are porous. In fact, there were now some points where even trucks could pass through, Dr Bimha said in an interview.



An innumerable array of imported products are traded constantly by vendors on sidewalks of major streets in Harare in astonishing fashion, likely displacing the majority of local products. The vendors deal in, literally all items found in formal outlets.





Minister Bimha said Government now had a vivid narrative of how the smuggling was occurring through designated ports of entry and exit, as well as via unofficial points along the countrys borders, at times carried out with the aid of customs officials.





Faced with growing smuggling problem, Government assigned officials who worked openly and undercover to investigate what transpires in the underworld of unscrupulous business practices, which is costing the country millions in potential revenue. The teams of investigators was drawn from an inter-ministerial taskforce made up of officials from the ministries of Home Affairs, Industry and Commerce, Mines and Mining Development, Finance and Economic Development, the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority and the security agents, among others.





It is an issue of process as well. You find that some of the smuggling happens with assistance of officials at border posts because they now understand how it all works since some of them have been in the system all their working life, the minister said.





It was common, Minister Bimha said, that when Government comes up with measures that affect certain illegal practices, the perpetrators always find alternative means to circumvent official channels.





There is need to put parallel (t0 SI64) and effective measures. (We) need to find other measures to control the smuggling, he said.





SI 64 is paying dividends, especially if considered in the context that official imports for the half year to June 2017 amounted to $2,5 billion, a decline of 18 percent from $3 billion in the same period last year and this was largely attributable to various the control measures that Government has implemented since last year.





Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries Sifelani Jabangwe told CZIs annual congress in Victoria Falls that the introduction of various import management measures had brought benefits that include increase in capacity utilisation, retooling, increase in foreign investment, increased employment, increase in revenue, reduction of the trade deficit and stronger value chains.





Dr Bimha, however, noted that local industry also needed to step up to the plate by improving competitiveness to achieve lower prices and also produce quality that matches global standards, which would kill the motivation to smuggle imported products. herald
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A Florida man murdered a co-worker and then used her phone to send a text to her parents, police say. The parents of 21-year-old Savannah Gold say their suspicions were immediately aroused by the "really strange" message they received after she left for work at the Bonefish Grill in Jacksonville last Wednesday, People reports. "Hey i just wanted to tell you and mom i met a really great guy and were running away together," one message to her father said. "I love him and we're leaving tonight i'll call you later when we get to where we are going." "He showed it to me and I immediately knew that it was someone else," mother Sharon Gold tells Action News Jax. "We text each other all day ... and this was not from my daughter."

Says father Daniel Gold, "The spelling was all whacked out." After Gold's car was found in the restaurant's parking lot with a slashed tire and her purse still inside, authorities identified manager Lee Rodarte, 28, as a suspect because of inconsistencies in his story. Police say Rodarte, who was in an on-again, off-again relationship with Gold, eventually admitted killing her and led them to her body, which he had dumped in a lake. Investigators believe Rodarte was the one who sent the text to Gold's parents. Her parents say after the disappearance, he told them he was worried about her and even helped hand out missing-person flyers. He has been charged with murder and evidence tampering and is being held without bond. (Read more murder stories.)
New White House chief of staff John Kelly certainly has his fair share of challenges ahead of himand one of them might be mitigating a coordinated alt-right attack against President Trump's national security adviser. The Wall Street Journal editorial board weighs in on what appears to be a faceoff between HR McMaster, a well-regarded Army general who took over for Michael Flynn, and Trump aide Steve Bannon, whose policy preferences are in stark contrast to McMaster's. The national security adviser wants a more fleshed-out strategy in Afghanistan (including with more troops), is wary of any overtures from Russian President Vladimir Putin, and advises caution on haphazardly turning away from the Iran nuclear deal.

All of which has apparently incited the ire of Bannon's allies outside of the White House, including those in the ultra-conservative media such as Breitbart, which Bannon used to oversee. The Journal acknowledges that Trump has publicly stood by McMaster, but adds that McMaster maybe isn't the one the president should be turning a critical eye toward. Bannon "has been a White House survivor, but his warring habits have also been responsible for much of the White House dysfunction," the editors write. They note that Trump may fear the repercussions of getting rid of Bannon, "but if his minions continue to vilify [Bannon's] colleagues inside the White House, how can anyone tell the difference?" Editorial appears here. (Read more opinion stories.)
A cruise ship reached an Alaska port with a surprise on its bow: the carcass of a humpback whale. Per the AP, the Grand Princess, a 949-foot ship in the Princess Cruises fleet, pulled into Ketchikan Wednesday morning with the marine mammal lodged on its submerged, bulbous bow, a device designed to avoid wave-making. Princess spokesman Brian O'Connor said the company was surprised and saddened to discover the whale. "It is unknown how or when this happened as the ship felt no impact," he said in a statement. "It is also unknown, at this time, whether the whale was alive or already deceased before becoming lodged on the bow." Navigators, O'Connor said, spotted no whales near the ship as it sailed overnight toward Ketchikan. Photos indicated that the whale might be a juvenile, with the Ketchikan Daily News reporting the whale was about 20 feet long.

Three distinct populations of humpbacks swim in Alaska waters, per an NOAA Fisheries rep: The Western North Pacific population remains endangered, the Mexico population is listed as threatened, and the Hawaii population is no longer listed. The cruise line has a comprehensive whale avoidance program, O'Connor noted. Ship crews have guidelines on how to operate after spotting whales and alter courses and reduce speed to avoid them. Ships must not approach within 100 yards of humpback whales and must limit observation time to 30 minutes, and vessels near humpback whales are required to proceed at a "slow, safe speed" of 10 knots or below, he added. A necropsy was planned to determine the cause of death. Ketchikan's director of ports and harbors said a tugboat towed the whale 8 miles to Gravina Island for the procedure. The NOAA is investigating the incident. (Read more humpback whale stories.)
A retired corporate executive said in a lawsuit that she spent $150,000 on a matchmaking service that set her up with a string of highly incompatible suitors, including men who were married, mentally unstable, or felons, the AP reports. Darlene Daggett, former president for US commerce for the QVC home shopping channel, settled the lawsuit against Kelleher International hours after it was filed in federal court last week, per the Philadelphia Inquirer. Per the suit, the 62-year-old Daggett, a divorced mom of four, wanted someone to spend her retirement with and felt "social dating sites did not provide her with the degree of screening and privacy she was looking for." She said she paid $150,000 for a "CEO Level" membership with Kelleher International that guaranteed her matches from around the globe, but then endured a series of bad courtships that fell short of what the service promised.

Her attorneys described one match as a disgraced New York judge who was censured for sleeping with an attorney, court records show. Another said he was waiting for his terminally ill wife to die before he began dating again. Another claimed he suffered from trauma that caused him to lie uncontrollably. Daggett said she later pursued a stalking complaint when that relationship turned sour, and that suitor is now awaiting sentencing on a $10.5 million federal bank fraud case. Kelleher CEO Amber Kelleher-Andrews, a former actress who appeared on Baywatch and Melrose Place, said in a statement that her company is responsible for thousands of marriages over the years. "It doesn't always work out," Kelleher-Andrews said, adding her company works to end courtships "fairly and reasonably." (Read more lawsuit stories.)
A woman has been accused of pretending to be a doctor and falsely claiming her preschool-age son had terminal cancer so he could receive unnecessary hospital care and opioids. A Hamilton County prosecutor told jurors on Tuesday at the trial of Monika Burgett that she convinced doctors at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center that she was a doctor while they cared for her 3-year-old son, the AP reports. Officials at Children's Hospital declined to comment about Burgett's role in her son's treatment. Assistant Prosecutor Anne Flanagan said Burgett also used the GoFundMe fundraising website to raise $40,000 on her son's behalf. Flanagan said Burgett had the boy's eyebrows and head shaved and then took photos of him to post on the site.

Dr. Robert Shapiro testified that Burgett "became a member of the health care team" as her son was treated with drugs such as oxycodone and methadone, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported. Doctors eventually suspected her of lying about the boy's symptoms and reported her to the county's family services. Burgett's lawyer, MJ Hugan, said she lied about being a doctor but said her son had many medical problems since he was born premature and that she was trying to get help for him. Hugan said Burgett had been with a former husband while he was going through medical school. "At some point, she adopted the idea that she was a physician," Hugan said. The boy, now 5, was removed from Burgett's custody last year. Court records show that as of mid-June he lives with his father in Texas. Besides child abuse, Burgett is on trial for felonious assault and telecommunications fraud. (Read more assault stories.)
Police in Pennsylvania say a 6-year-old boy was shot to death by his 10-year-old brother while the two were home alone. Allegheny County police say officers and paramedics arrived at the mobile home in West Mifflin, near Pittsburgh, at about 9:45am Wednesday to find the 6-year-old with a gunshot wound to the head, the AP reports. He was taken to a hospital, where he died from the injury. Investigators determined the boy's 10-year-old brother fired the gun in the mother's bedroom. Superintendent Coleman McDonough says the boys' mother was at work when the shooting happened. He says the 10-year-old first called his mom and then called 911 at her urging.

The investigation is ongoing, and McDonough says there's "no excuse for a weapon to get in the hands of a child." No charges have been announced. The mother's boyfriend also lives at the residence, though his whereabouts at the time of the shooting are unknown. Neighbors at the New Colony Mobile Home Park say they are shaken by the boy's death. "I can't believe it could happen," resident David Meier tells Action News 4. "This is the reason why if you have firearms, they say lock them up so your children can't get them." (Read more Pennsylvania stories.)
A raid on a mobile home described as a "cesspool" by police in central Florida yielded drugs, guns, and propaganda from a group called the American Nazi Family. The Pasco County Sheriff's Office named the suspects as Alexander Nowokunski, 33; Gabrielle Price, 24; Steven Crumbley, 31; Melinda Zalneraitis, 47; and Michael Baun, 28, the New York Daily News reports. Police say Nowokunski and Crumbley are known Nazi gang members. All five are believed to have lived at the Port Richey home, where police found methamphetamine, opiates, and stolen identification including veterans' ID cards.

Neo-Nazis have long been active in the area, investigators say. The seized propaganda includes hundreds of pages setting out the rules and beliefs of the American Nazi Family, though Pasco Sheriff Chris Nocco says the group behaved more like common criminals, trading stolen IDs and credit cards for drugs. "There's nothing to say theyre committing any hate crime in our community," Nocco said Wednesday, per the Bradenton Herald. "There's nothing to say that they're recruiting for their ideology in our community. They're street crime like the Bloods, the Crips, the Mexican cartels." (Read more Neo-Nazi stories.)
The fired engineer considering legal action against Google now says his former employer is trying to smear his reputation. James Damore, 28, tells Bloomberg his 3,300-word memoblasting "unfair" diversity policies on the basis that biological and psychological differences with men make women ill-suited for tech jobshad been circulating at Google for a month before he was contacted by superiors. "It was only after it got viral that upper management started shaming me and eventually firing me," Damore says. "The whole point of my memo was to actually improve Google ... and they just punished me and shamed me for doing it." Damore cites a Fortune column from the head of Google's YouTube, Susan Wojcicki, as one example.

Wojcicki argues that applying Damore's comments about women to "Black, Hispanic, or LGBTQ employees" shows how "the language of discrimination can take many different forms and none are acceptable or productive." But Damore says that's "a false analogy" that shows Google is "trying to smear my image rather than just looking at the evidence." Prior to his firing, Damore also filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board arguing his superiors at Google were "misrepresenting and shaming me in order to silence my complaints," reports CNET. Damore tells Bloomberg that some of his supporters at Google have since been contacted by human resources. A Google rep, however, says that's "absolutely untrue." (Read more Google stories.)
Taylor Swift's mother testified Wednesday that she didn't call police to report allegations that a radio station DJ groped her daughter because she didn't want the moment to define the pop star's life. Her testimony highlighted an initial attempt to keep the encounter in Denver out of the spotlight, per the AP. Yet four years later, Swift and former DJ David Mueller are embroiled in a widely publicized federal court case. "I did not want to make her relive this moment over and over again," said a tearful Andrea Swift, who described her daughter as "humiliated" and "really shaken" after a meet-and-greet with Mueller. "We absolutely wanted to keep it private, but we didn't want him to get away with it," she said. Mueller sued Taylor Swift after her team told his bosses at a country music station that he had reached under her dress and touched her backside during a photo op in 2013.

He is seeking at least $3 million, saying that the allegation cost him his job and reputation. Swift countersued Mueller, claiming sexual assault. She is seeking a symbolic $1. Andrea Swift said the encounter changed their interactions with the public, explaining that Taylor Swift's meet-and-greets are now smaller and her interaction with fans at concerts is more limited. "It absolutely shattered our trust," Andrea Swift said. "It scared us, scared us very badly." Frank Bell, a liaison for Taylor Swift who deals with radio stations across the country, also testified, saying he emailed the photo to Mueller's boss so the radio station could investigate, but asked that it remain confidential. He said he didn't ask that Mueller be fired but that "appropriate action be taken." (Read more Taylor Swift stories.)
President Trump isn't ready to wrap up a new public feud with Mitch McConnell. The president's first tweet of the day on Thursday called out the Senate majority leader, marking the second straight day he has done so. "Can you believe that Mitch McConnell, who has screamed Repeal & Replace for 7 years, couldn't get it done," he wrote. "Must Repeal & Replace ObamaCare!" Hours later, he added another: "Mitch, get back to work and put Repeal & Replace, Tax Reform & Cuts and a great Infrastructure Bill on my desk for signing. You can do it!" As the New York Times reports, this all started earlier in the week when McConnellwhose wife, Elaine Chao, is Trump's transportation secretarysaid that the president had "excessive expectations" about how fast legislation could be passed by Congress.

Trump called McConnell to complain about the remark Wednesday morning in what Fox News describes as a "tense" 10-minute conversation. A few hours after that, he tweeted, "Senator Mitch McConnell said I had 'excessive expectations,' but I don't think so. After 7 years of hearing Repeal & Replace, why not done?" McConnell's camp has downplayed the rift. At CNN, Chris Cillizza notes that White House social media chief Dan Scavino also criticized McConnell, and Cillizza doesn't get the strategy. "From where I sit, this was a needless fight to pick that could have decidedly negative consequences" for Trump's agenda. In particular, Trump will need McConnell for the two mentioned in his most recent tweet, tax reform and infrastructure spending, notes the Washington Post. One person who disagrees: Fox's Sean Hannity, who tweeted that McConnell is "weak" and should retire. (Read more President Trump stories.)
It's either a clue or a hoax, but it's reviving interest in the unsolved February 2008 murder of a Canadian real estate agent. Lindsay Buziak was found stabbed to death in the bedroom of a $1 million home she was showing in Saanich, British Columbia. A 2010 report from CTV News floated the police theory that the 24-year-old was targeted by an unknown couple pretending to be interested in the home. And as the 10-year anniversary of her death nears, an odd message has emerged. Buziak's father, Jeff Buziak, operates the LindsayBuziakMurder.com site, and on Sunday, a new comment was posted to a Nov. 11, 2011, post by a "Ross Addic." It begins, "I killed Lindsey [sic] and stupid cops will never prove it so you all got nothin."

The post is an odd one, and goes on to claim that people named Jay Z, Sandy Delcaxar, Vid, and Medardo played a role, and says Saanich's chief constable "had to obey so he cut the phoney investigation." Jeff Buziak tells Saanich News, "I've not seen something this bold before," though he acknowledges that he doesn't check the site daily. He adds to the CBC, "This is the first time we've had somebody step up, and claim they are responsible for the murder. I've asked for that from the beginning that the coward should step forward." CHEK News has a statement from Saanich police that says only that "they are aware of the website ... and all tips and leads are investigated." (These 10 US cities have the worst murder clearance rates.)
Police in the UK have arrested a suspect in the shocking assault on a female pedestrian in London. A man was arrested in London's Chelsea neighborhood on Thursday on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm, reports the BBC; the man's age was originally reported as being 41 but has been corrected to 50, per the Guardian. Days earlier, London police had released CCTV footage showing a male jogger knocking a woman into the path of a double-decker bus on Putney Bridge on May 5. The 33-year-old woman escaped major injury only because the driver of the bus abruptly steered away from her.

"He's a hero and deserves a medal for saving that poor woman's life," a colleague tells the Evening Standard. "It's horrific to think what could have happened if the driver wasn't able to act as quick as he did" while also managing to "avoid all the other cars" on the bridge, the colleague adds. The Standard reports the driver is "stunned by the outpouring of praise" following release of the footage. Police also received a "good response," per ABC News, with the Guardian reporting Thursday's arrest came only after a tip from the public. (Read more London stories.)
A blow for Microsoft: Consumer Reports says it can't currently recommend any of the company's laptops or tablets. Four Microsoft Surface laptops used to have the publication's "recommended" designation, but those recommendations have now been pulled. The magazine says it made the decision based on an annual subscriber survey that examined more than 90,000 tablets and laptops, with individuals deeming Microsoft Surface laptops significantly worse at "predicted reliability" than most other brands. The publication says Microsoft's laptops and tablets have breakage rates (meaning something will happen that keeps the product from working as expected) of 25% within two years of being purchased.

Microsoft responded to the news via email to USA Today, saying that "every generation of Surface surpasses its predecessors in performance and in reliability" and asserting that "return and support rates are in line if not lower than industry average for devices in the same class." Microsoft also gave a statement to Consumer Reports questioning the accuracy of the survey results. The survey found Apple to be the most reliable brand, Reuters reports. (Read more Microsoft Surface stories.)
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Pope Francis urged an end to every form of hatred and violence

Vatican City : Pope Francis on Wednesday urged an end to "every form of hatred and violence", especially attacks on places of worship, calling them "such shameful crimes".

"I hope that all forms of hatred and violence cease," Francis told pilgrims at the end of his weekly general audience in at the Vatican.

"And may such shameful crimes not be repeated, especially those perpetrated in places of worship, where the faithful gather to pray."

The Pope reiterated his "profound sadness" at the attack on a Catholic church in southern Nigeria on Sunday that left 13 people dead and injured 26.

"I remain deeply saddened by the massacre, which took place last Sunday in Nigeria inside a church, where innocent people were killed," he said.

The pontiff also deplored an attack reported on Tuesday in the Central African Republic, where Muslim militias killed 50 people, according to the bishop of Bangassou Diocese, Juan Jose Aguirre.

"Unfortunately, news has arrived this morning of violent homicides in the Central African Republic against the Christian community," Francis said.

He called on pilgrims to think of "our brothers and sisters in Nigeria and in the Central African Republic" and to pray for them.
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New Delhi:

Raymond's man Vijaypat Singhania who once was one of the richest men in the country is now facing a big financial crisis, and shockingly one who is responsible for this is none another than his own son Gautam Singhania.

Vijaypat the retired Raymond Tycoon, who spent decades on building the big brand Raymond, gifted company's share of worth Rs 1,000 crore to his son Gautam.Now the son has denied for giving him any thing including, house, car, and driver.

Against this Vijaypat is fighting a battle in court and recently has filed a petition in the Bombay High Court seeking possession of duplex in JK House in Malabar Hill, Mumbai. JK House was a 14-storey structure when it was revealed in 1960. Four duplexes in the building were later handed over to a Raymond subsidiary Pashmina Holdings. In 2007, the company decided to go in for redevelopment.It was a deal that Singhania and Gautam Veenadevi, widow of Singhania's brother Ajaypat Singhania; and her sons Anant and Akshaypat were to get a 5,185 sq ft duplex each in the new building on a payment of Rs 9,000 per sq ft.

Singhania's lawyer senior advocate Dinayar Madon alleged that two Raymond employees  Jitender Agrawal and RK Ganeriwala  have disappeared suddenly. These employees supervise the property, bank accounts and private files of his client.Now after hearing the case, Justice Girish kulkarni has asked them to try and settle the case among themselves.

The next date of hearing has been scheduled for August 22

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New Delhi:

In a gruesome incident, two youths were killed and one injured when a speeding truck reportedly hit their bikes on Wednesday night in Wadala, Mumbai.

According to the police, the accused driver was taken under custody and further investigation is underway.

In a similar incident, a NMMT bus ran over a 42-year-old woman from Kopar Khairane, who was on her way to her brother's house at Kamothe on Rkasha Bandhan. The accident took place at Belpada bus stop near Kharghar railway station on the Sion-Panvel highway on Monday.

Read more: Maratha Kranti Morcha : Lakhs of people expected to be part of march

Read more: Mumbai: NRI techie returns from US, finds his mothers skeleton
New Delhi:

Tamil actress Oviya has been the talk of the town post her stint on popular reality show Bigg Boss Tamil which is hosted by Kamal Haasan. The diva has enjoyed a huge fan following which include both commoners and celebs.



And while 'Oviya Army' continues to support their favourite actress, actor Simbu too had joined the league recently. However, soon it was reported that the actor wants to marry Oviya after a tweet from Simbus fake account went viral leaving the people speculating about their wedding.



Indeed, the news spread like fire in the forest given that Oviya had recently confessed her love for actor Aarav during her stay in Bigg Boss house.

Also Read | Bigg Boss Tamil: Oviya to be back on Kamal Haasan's show?



However, Simbu has finally cleared the air about the rumours and called it a fake news.



The actor took it to micro-blogging site Twitter and said that while he knows who is behind spreading such rumors, he won't stay quiet and accept such irresponsible act. Simbu also warned the concerned person of dire consequences.



He tweeted, I know who's behind this fake news. Final warning, if you still? Different reply in a very different way. Don't unleash the god of a devil.

I know who's behind this fake news. Final warning, if you still? Different reply in a very different way. Don't unleash the god of a devil.  STR (@iam_str) August 7, 2017



On the other hand, Oviya, who had walked out of the show lately, is said to be making a comeback on 'Bigg Boss Tamil'. According to the media reports, the diva will come as a the first wild card entrant on the reality and has even reportedly re-negotiated her remuneration for her return.



Notably, no official confirmation has been made about Oviya's return on Bigg Boss Tamil so far.





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New Delhi:

Bigg Boss Tamil, which was soaring high on popularity, recently got a major twist after its most popular contestant Oviya Helen left the show mid-way. Her sudden exit did leave her millions fans disappointed and it even took a toll on the show's TRP. According to the recent buzz, the popular actress is all set to be back on the reality show and Vijay TV is putting serious efforts to bring her back to the show. The actress is working out on her remuneration and the channel might meet her demands.

Oviya was paid Rs 2.5 lakh per day for her stay in the Bigg Boss house, according to the unconfirmed reports. Due to her popularity it might be chances that she double the amount for her re-entry.

Reportedly, Oviya will be making a surprise entry on the show as a wild card contestant. The media reports also suggested that considering Oviya's popularity, the makers have even re-negotiated her remuneration for her come back.

Also Read | Bigg Boss Tamil: Post Oviya's exit, Aarav makes a SURPRISING confession about her



While an official confirmation about the same is awaited, it will indeed be interesting to see her back on the show.



Talking about her journey on Bigg Boss Tamil, the diva has been audience's favourite since the first day and has enjoyed immense popularity on the show. Oviya made the headlines after she confessed her love for housemate Aarav. However, things took a nasty turn after the actor started giving Oviya a cold-shoulder which left her distressed and she chose to walk out of the show. Although, Aarav clarified that there wasn't anything serious between the two, Oviya's sudden walk out did invited flak for the actor for misleading Helen.



Meanwhile, post her exit from Kamal Haasan's show, Oviya was inundated with movie offers. In fact, she will be seen in a movie which is being named after her - 'Oviyava Vitta Yaaru' - which will be helmed by Rajadura.



Besides, the actress will also be seen doing an extended cameo in Vishnu Vishal and Regina Cassandra's 'Silukkuvarupatti Singam'.

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New Delhi:

South superstar Ilayathalapathy Vijay has opened up on the recent troll of a female journalist by his fans and said that he respects woman the most and no one shall pass derogatory remarks against them under any circumstances.



The actor released an official statement and said, It is my view that no woman should be spoken of in a demeaning way for any reason or any time.



Surya's statement came after a female journalist criticised his movie 'Sura' on micro-blogging site Twitter and even compared it to Shah Rukh Khan's 'Jab Harry Met Sejal'. This didn't go down well with Vijay's fans who backlashed the journalist with abusive and threatening comments.



According to the media reports, she received as many as 75,000 tweets within a span of 72 hours. In fact, the lady had to file an FIR with Chennai Police under sections of Indian Penal Code, Information Technology Act, Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Woman Harassment Act and Indecent Representation of Women Act after which a case was registered against four people.



This was not all. The journalist even took it social networking site Twitter and wrote about the horrible experience she had to go through becuase of the abuse and sexual threats.



She wrote, "FIR filed. I may have done a lot of things you don't like or do not appreciate. You don't like my stories, jokes or plain stupid stuff I did. Criticise me, question my ethics... But please never use that to support abuse and sexual threats in any way. By doing that, we strengthen anonymous mobs. Yesterday was tough. Cops wanted us to give them the worst tweets. Reading thru it was a horrible experience. When I left the station, I thought of the trauma that actual sexual violence victims go thru. Mine is nothing compared to that. I am very very very thankful to a bunch of friends and my family. Thank you. [sic]"

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New Delhi:

A Bihar-cadre IAS officer Mukesh Pandey committed suicide by jumping in front of a train in Uttar Pradeshas Ghaziabad on Thursday evening. According to government railway police sources the 2012 batch IAS officeras body was recovered a kilometer away from Ghaziabad GRP police station area.

The police identified him as district magistrate of Biharas Buxar from the identity-cards recovered from his possession.A Delhi Police in their initial investigation have learnt that the IAS officer especially visited Delhi to commit suicide.

The police was informed about his plans to commit suicide by his friends, who had recieved a message from Pandey stating that he was going to commit suicide.

In the whatsapp message to his friends Pandey had written, aI am committing suicide in district centre area of Janakpuri West Delhi near hotel by jumping off the 10th floor of the building.a

The deceased IAS officer further wrote to his friends that A he was fed up with life.

aMy belief on human existence has gone, my suicide note is kept in Nike bag in room 742 of Leela Palace Hotel in delhi! I am sorry I love you all! plz forgive me!a the whatsapp message to his friends read.

Delhi Police on learning about the suicide plans of the Buxar DM rushed to the mention site but the IAS officer had left the location before cops could get hold of him.

It is a huge loss, I am shocked, he was a intelligent young man, I can't believe he committed suicide: Ashwini Choubey,BJP MP on Buxar DM pic.twitter.com/LzQu8ZR5kq a ANI (@ANI) August 11, 2017

Later in the day his body was recovered from railway-tracks, a kilometer away from the Ghaziabad GRP police station.

GRP officials on seeing the Buxar DMas body said, aIt seems he jumped in front of a train. Things will be clear after postmortem reporta

(With inputs from Rizwan Arif)

The suicide note left by the IAS in his hotel room (Newsnation Image)

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New Delhi:

An RJD councillor was shot dead on Thursday morning in Danapur area of Patna district. It is said that he was a close aide of RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav.

The incident took place when RJD councillor, Kedar Rai, had gone out for a morning walk where bike-borne assailants shot him dead near Sugna mod. Rai suffered three bullet injuries after which he fell down.

Rai was rushed to hospital but the doctors declared him dead on arrival. The police officials did not give their version of the incident.

Bihar: RJD Ward Councillor Kedar Rai shot dead in Danapur.More details awaited pic.twitter.com/n9HmmvPaMG  ANI (@ANI) August 10, 2017

On Friday, Minhaj Khan, a Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) worker was shot dead by unidentified gunmen at Sheikhpura village in Siwan, Bihar.

Khan was close to former RJD MP Mohammad Shahabuddin, who is serving jail term for multiple murder cases in Tihar.

Also Read | Bihar: RJD worker close to Shahabuddin shot dead in Siwan

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New Delhi:

The Bharatiya Janta Party who showered lavish praises on Vice President Hamid Ansari for upholding constitutional norms inside the Rajya Sabha has now attacked him outside for his Muslim unease remark.

BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain slammed outgoing Vice President Hamid Ansari saying India is the best country for Muslims to live and Hindus are their best friend.

No better country than India for Muslims and no better friend than Hindus, Shahnawaz Hussain told ANI.

Another BJP leader and Partys national general secretary Kailash Vijayavargiya accused him of making a political statement.

"He couldn't talk like this before but now he is outgoing, in search of a political role he is making such statements that are inappropriate for a person at such a position," NDTV reported Kailash Vijayavargiya as saying.

Also Read | Hamid Ansari in farewell speech: Democracy can become tyranny if opposition not allowed to criticise govt

BJP Mahila Morcha national executive member Priti Gandhi accused him of having an agenda.

For 10yrs my Hindu majority nation accepted you with open arms, placed you at the pinnacle of power & you still feel uneasy? Agenda kya hai? (What is the agenda?), she said in a tweet.

Hamid Ansari was Indias 13th Vice President. He served as Rajya Sabha Chairman for 10 years from 2007 to 2017. After Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Ansari was the first person to be re-elected as Indias Vice President.

He was succeeded by BJP leader and former Rural Development minister Venkaiah Naidu. Naidu will take oath on Friday.

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New Delhi:

A Chandigarh court on Thursday sent Vikas Barala and other accused to two days of police custody in connection with stalking case.

The Chandigarh police produced Vikas Barala, son of Haryana BJP president Subhash Barala, before the court with other accused, Ashish.

According to sources, accused Vikas Barala has accepted during interrogation that he was stalking Varnika Kundus car.

On Wednesday, the police decided to press attempt to kidnap charge against Vikas Barala and another person, who had allegedly stalked and tried to abduct the daughter of an IAS officer, officials had said.

Vikas Barala, son of Haryana BJP chief Subhash Barala, and the other accused were arrested by the police.

Also Read | Chandigarh stalking case: Police arrest Vikas Barala; to press abduction charges against him

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New Delhi:

China is hardening its stance with each passing day on Doklam border issue as the nation asked India to withdraw its troops equipment from what it called the Chinese territory.

Chinas state-run daily Global Times said around fifty-three Indian soldiers and a bulldozer were present at the Doklam area.

On the other hand, Defence Minister Arun Jaitley said the Indian armed forces are strong enough to meet any challenge to the countrys security as he underlined that lessons have been learnt from the 1962 war.

He said India had learnt a lesson from the 1962 war with China that the armed forces will have be made fully capable on our own because even today the nation faces challenges from our neighbouring countries.

A media report said that Indias Defence Ministry has sought urgent additional find of Rs 20,000 cr to step up its process to modernise armed forces and make it battle ready.

The Defence Ministrys requirement came when the country is locked in a serious border conflict with rival neighbour China.

Also Read | Dokalam standoff: Chinese state media warns not to underestimate countrys resolve to defend territorial sovereignty

On Wednesday, the ministry, according to the Global Times, asked India to withdraw its troops and Citing the ministry, the daily said that 53 people and a bulldozer from the Indian side remain in Chinese territory as of Monday.

India should withdraw its troops and equipment...They have gravely infringed on Chinas sovereignty, the ministry was quoted as having said by the daily.

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang last week said that there were 48 Indian soldiers and one bulldozer in Doklam area as of August 2.

In addition, there are still a large number of Indian armed forces congregating on the boundary and on the Indian side of the boundary, Geng had said.

A 15-page fact sheet issued by the Chinese Foreign Ministry had earlier said that there were over 40 Indian border troops and one bulldozer in the area by the July end.

Countering Chinese contention, sources in New Delhi last week maintained that around 350 Indian Army personnel have been in Doklam for last six weeks after China tried to build a road in the area, triggering the standoff.

India and China have been locked in a face-off in the Doklam area of the Sikkim sector for over 50 days after Indian troops stopped the Chinese Army from building a road in the area.

China claimed it was constructing the road within their territory and has been demanding immediate pull-out of the Indian troops from the disputed Doklam plateau. Bhutan says Doklam belongs to it but China claims the area belongs to it and says Thimphu has no dispute with Beijing over it.

Also Read | Dokalam standoff: China can launch small scale military operation against India, claims state media

Doka La is the Indian name for the region which Bhutan recognises as Doklam, while China claims it as part of its Donglang region.

The military standoff between China and India in the Doklam region has lasted for almost two months now, and there is still no end in sight, the Chinese daily added.

Indias position on the issue was made clear by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj recently, saying both sides should first pull back their troops for any talks to take place, favouring a peaceful resolution of the border standoff. (With PTI inputs)

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New Delhi:

Amidst the ongoing Doklam standoff, the Indian Army has ordered to vacate a village near India-Bhutan-China tri-junction, reports said on Thursday.

As per unconfirmed reports, the Army has ordered few hundred people living in Nathala village to vacate their houses at the earliest. Nathang village is located only 35 km away from the place of the two-month old standoff between Indian and Chinese troops.

However, the motive behind the order is yet not clear. It is yet to ascertain whether the order to vacate village has been given to station thousands of soldiers of 33 Corp who are presently moving towards Doklam or it is taken as a precautionary measure to save civilians in case of any attack.

Despite the speculations doing rounds that Doklam standoff may escalate in near future, the Indian Army has said that the troop movement in the area is a regular maintenance move. As per report, Army said that they were in a no war, no peace mode.

Top PLA analysts said that China will make no compromise on ending the Doklam standoff, as they launched a propaganda blitz on a group of Indian journalists here on how New Delhi has misjudged Beijings resolve by sending troops to what it claims to be Chinese territory.

India and China have been locked in a face-off in the Doklam area of the Sikkim sector for the last 50 days after Indian troops stopped the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army from building a road in the area.

China claimed it was constructing the road within its territory and has been demanding immediate pull-out of the Indian troops from Doklam. Bhutan says Doklam belongs to it but China claims sovereignty over the area. China also claims that Thimphu has no dispute with Beijing over Doklam.

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New Delhi:

Vice President Hamid Ansari on Thursday successfully completed his 10-year long term as Rajya Sabha Chairman. Members of Parliament including Prime Minister Narendra Modi showered lavish praises on Ansari for upholding constitutional norms.

During his farewell speech, Vice President Ansari alerted Modi govt that if opposition voices against Centres policies are not allowed, the democracy will become a tyranny.

Democracy can become a tyranny if opposition parties are not allowed to criticise government policies. The opposition also has no right to disrupt the House, Hamid Ansari said on his last day as Rajya Sabha Chairman.

Earlier, during an interview with Rajya Sabha TV Hamid Ansari had said there is a feeling of unease in Muslim community after recent incidents of lynching by cow vigilantes.

Also Read | Vice President-elect Venkaiah Naidu says India is best model of secularism

"Yes, it is a correct assessment. From all, I hear from different quarters, the country. I heard the same thing in Bengaluru, I have heard from other parts of the country, I hear more about in north India. There is a feeling of unease, a sense of insecurity is creeping in," Ansari said when asked if the recent incidents of lynching by cow vigilantes were making the Muslim community apprehensive.

Hamid Ansari served as Indias vice president for 10 years from 2007 to 2017. After Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Ansari was the first person to be re-elected as Indias Vice President.

He was succeeded by BJP leader and former Rural Development minister Venkaiah Naidu. Naidu will take oath on Friday.

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New Dlehi:

BJPs Jammu and Kashmir unit has blamed Article 370 of the Constitution for the creation of separatist emotion and time has come to revoke the article on Thursday.

Virender Gupta, BJP Jammu and Kashmir unit spokesperson, said, Its time for the people to say goodbye to Article 370 and Article 35 A.

Gupta added, Both the articles have done more damage to the state than benefiting it.

He added the two Articles of the Constitution is hampering progress of the state.

Article 35 A empowers Jammu and Kashmir legislature to define permanent citizens. While, Article 370 grants special status to J&K while

Gupta claims that Article 370 has created a separated psychology and is acting as a breeding ground for separatist emotions.

He added that the Article is responsible for keeping the ongoing issue of Jammu and Kashmir alive and alienation of people of the valley from mainstream.

Due to the articles external forces are managing to interfere in the internal matters of our country and challenge the integrity of the nation, said Gupta.

The BJP spokesperson added Jammu and Kashmir is still underdeveloped and backward in may fields in spite of huge fund support from the Central government.

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New Delhi:

The Supreme Court on Thursday asked Kerala Police to share the probe details of the case with the National Investigation Agency in Hadia Love jihad case in Kerala.

The National Investigation Agency told the Supreme Court that it was not started its probe in the matter as the Kerala police is investigating it. The NIA pleaded the apex court to pass an order of probe.

Notably, the Kerala high court had annulled Akhila alias Hadias marriage and handed over her custody to her father. Hadia had converted to Islam and got married to one, Shafin.

The Kerala high court had cited the report of NIA of religious conversion in the state and made it basis while passing the judgement.

Also Read | Love Jihad: Supreme Court agrees to hear Muslim mans petition, asks NIA, Kerala govt to submit report

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New Delhi:

The raging issue whether to make forced marital intercourse and sexual acts part of offence of rape in penal law has been extensively debated and now it can not be considered as a criminal act, the Supreme Court today said. Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which defines the offence of rape, has an exception clause that says the intercourse or sexual act by a man with his wife, not below 15 years, is not a rape. The apex court, however, sought to know as to whether Parliament debated the aspect of protecting married girls, between the age group of 15-18 years, from the forced sexual acts by their spouses.

It also asked whether the court could intervene to protect the rights of such married girls who may be sexually exploited by their spouses. "Parliament has extensively debated the issue of marital rape and considered that it was not an offence of rape.Therefore, it cannot be considered as a criminal offence," a bench of justices M B Lokur and Deepak Gupta said. The apex court also said that marriage of a girl, who is below the age of 15 years, was "illegal". "There are cases when college-going teens, below 18 years of age, engage in sexual activities consensually and get booked under the law. Who is going to suffer? The boy is not at fault.

The punishment of seven years is too harsh," the bench observed. It said, similarly, the problem arises when a girl, under 18 years of age, elopes and engages in the consensual sexual activity, the male gets booked for rape. "In these cases, we do have the problem if look at various aspects," the bench said as it asked the Centre to apprise it about the number of prosecutions under the Child Marriage Act for past three years in three weeks.

It also asked Centre to apprise it about the appointment of the Child Marriage Prohibition Officers (CMPO) under statutory provisions in the country and posted the matter for hearing after four weeks. The bench was hearing a plea questioning the constitutionality of a provision permitting a man to have the physical relationship with his wife even if she is aged between 15 and 18. The apex court said according to prevailing law, if a man has physical intercourse with a girl under 15 years of age, it is termed as rape irrespective of "consent or no consent" and if she is below 18 years of age, but more than 15 and married, then no offence of rape is made out.

Advocate Gaurav Agarwal appearing for NGO IndependentThought said that distinction made in between 18 and 15 is illegal and unconstitutional. "Parliament cannot impinge upon Article 21 by allowing the girl to marry under 18 years of age and allowing her to get pregnant or have intercourse. The Parliament should have considered various reports of the United Nations," he said. He said that a girl in the age group of 15-18 is not that physically developed and she is not capable of taking an informed decision or consent. "The State has failed to protect her as there is no protection for her is she is below 18.

Above 18 years of age she is developed and can think of coming out of abusive relationships," the lawyer said. Senior advocate Gopal Subramaniam, who was part of the Justice J S Verma Committee constituted in the aftermath of the December 16 gang rape in Delhi and was present in the courtroom said, they had considered various aspects and after that, the suggestion to criminalise marital rape was made. The committee was headed by former Chief Justice J S Verma and comprised former judge Leila Seth and Subramaniam. "Without any remuneration, we have submitted the report to the government and that too without any extension. It was an exhaustive work," he said. Advocate Binu Tamta appearing for Centre said that keeping the social and economic conditions of the country in mind, the Parliament has kept the age of 15 as a threshold.

"It has been considered pragmatically and every aspect was considered by the Parliament," she said, adding that keeping the child marriage prevalent in some societies it has been done. Earlier, the apex court had in 2015, made National Commission for Women (NCW) party to explain how the offence of rape in the Indian Penal Code (IPC) afforded an exception to a man to have the physical relationship with his minor wife and still not qualify it as a crime. The NGO in its petition sought direction to declare exception 2 to Section 375 of the IPC as "violative of Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution to the extent that it permits intrusive sexual intercourse with a girl child aged between 15 and 18 years, only on the ground that she has been married." It has also referred to the provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), 2012, and said these provisions were contrary to the IPC provision. The POCSO provision provides that physical relationship with a minor constitutes the offence of rape and it does not exclude such relationship between a man and his minor wife.

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New Delhi:

Outgoing Vice President Hamid Ansari on Wednesday said there is a feeling of unease and a sense of insecurity among the Muslims in the country, asserting the "ambience of acceptance" is now under threat.

Ansari, whose second five-year term as the Vice-President ends on Thursday, made these remarks in the backdrop of incidents of intolerance and cow vigilantism and comments made by some saffron leaders regarding the minority community.

Stating that he had flagged the issue of intolerance with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his cabinet colleagues, Ansari, 80, also described as a "disturbing thought" that Indianness of citizens was being questioned.

Asked in an interview to Karan Thapar on Rajya Sabha TV whether he shared his concerns with the prime minister, Ansari replied in the affirmative.

"Yes...yes. But what passes between the Vice President and the Prime Minister in the nature of things must remain in the domain of privileged conversation", the Rajya Sabha Chairman said.

Read more: PV Sindhu assumes charge as deputy collector in AP government

He also said that he has flagged the issue with other union ministers too.

"Well, there is always an explanation and there is always a reason. Now it is a matter of judgement, whether you accept the explanation, you accept the reasoning and its rationale", he said when asked about the response of the government.

In the interview, Ansari referred to incidents of lynching and 'ghar wapsi' and killings of rationalists as a "breakdown of Indian values, breakdown of the ability of the authorities at different levels in different places to be able to enforce what should be normal law enforcing work and overall the very fact that Indianness of any citizen being questioned is a disturbing thought."

"Yes it is a correct assessment", Ansari said when asked whether he agreed with the assessment that the muslim community is apprehensive and that it was feeling insecure as a result of the kind of comments made against them.

"Yes it is a correct assessment, from all I hear from different quarters, the country; I heard the same thing in Bangalore, I have heard from other parts of the country, I hear more about in north India, there is a feeling of unease, a sense of insecurity is creeping in", he said.

Asked whether he felt that the muslims are beginning to feel they are not wanted, Ansari said, "I would not go that far, there is a sense of insecurity."

He said India is a plural society that for centuries, not for seventy years, has lived in a certain "ambience of acceptance" which is now under threat.

He was of the view that the propensity to be able to assert your nationalism day in and day out is "unnecessary".

"I am an Indian and that is it."

Read more: Dalai Lama: 'Hindi Chini Bhai Bhai', Doklam not serious issue

Ansari was of the view that while tolerance is a good virtue, it is not a sufficient virtue. "...therefore you have to take the next step and go from tolerance to acceptance", he said.

At an event in Bengaluru on Sunday, Ansari said the "version of nationalism" that places cultural commitments at its core promotes intolerance and arrogant patriotism.

Responding to a question on comments made by some BJP leaders related to minorities, he said he would not talk about political people or political parties.

"But to me, every time such a comment appeared or came to my knowledge; I mean my first reaction was that, A: the person is ignorant, B: that he is prejudiced and C: he does not fit into the framework that India has always prided to itself on, which is to be accommodative society", he said.

Responding to questions on triple talaq, Ansari said it is a social aberration, not a religious requirement.

"Firstly, it is a social aberration, it is not a religious requirement. The religious requirement is crystal clear, emphatic, there are no two views about it but patriarchy, social customs has all crept into it to create a situation which is highly undesirable", he said.

He said the courts do not have to step in as the reform has to come from within the community.

"The courts can say that we don't recognise it. That's all. I mean a marriage has to be recognised on certain occasions by the system of the state. And if a state functionary at a particular point of time refuses to recognise a happening which may be the product of a triple talaq, that's it", he explained.

To a poser on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, the former diplomat said, "the problem has always been primarily a political problem. And it has to be addressed politically."

He agreed to a suggestion that politicians are ducking the problem.

Read more: Sitaram Yechury fears India moving towards Hindu Pakistan

"That's my impression. And I'm not the only one in the country...when young boys and girls come out on to the streets and throw stones day after day, week after week, month after month, it's something to worry about because they are our children, they are our citizens.

"Something is obviously going wrong. What exactly, I am not the final word on it, but I think there are enough people in the country who are worried about it. Eminent people belonging to different political persuasions and their worry must be taken on board", the Vice President said.

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New Delhi:

The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to accept Sahara chief Subrata Roys plea to put on hold the auction process of the groups project Aamby Valley in Pune district of Maharashtra.

A bench of justices Dipak Misra, Ranjan Gogoi and A K Sikri said, The prayer of the contemnor (Roy) is hereby rejected.

During the hearing, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Roy, said that the auction process should be put on hold till September so that his client could arrange Rs 1,500 crore to be deposited into Sebi-Sahara account.

The bench, however, said that it will pass orders at an appropriate time.

Roy had yesterday moved the apex court seeking to put a hold on the auction process to sell the groups Rs 34,000-crore worth Aamby Valley property by the official liquidator of the Bombay High Court.

The apex court had on July 25 asked the embattled Sahara chief to deposit Rs 1,500 crore in the SEBI-Sahara account by September 7 and said that it might then deliberate upon his plea seeking 18 months more time for making complete repayment.

The court had simultaneously approved the draft sale notice and terms to dispose of the property prepared by the official liquidator of the Bombay High Court.

The official liquidator shall publish the sale notice as given by him and the notice shall be published on August 14. The steps which are required to be taken for the publication of the sale notice, are allowed, the court had said.

The Sahara Group had earlier sought 18 months time to repay around Rs 9,000 crore balance amount of the principal amount of Rs 24,000 crore.

Sibal, however, had said that according to the group, the remaining amount was around Rs 8,000 crore and it had made all efforts to deposit the money.

Roy, who has spent almost two years in jail, has been on parole since May 6 last year. The parole was granted the first time to enable him attend the funeral of his mother. It has been extended since then.

Besides Roy, two other directorsRavi Shankar Dubey and Ashok Roy Choudharywere arrested for failure of the groups two companiesSahara India Real Estate Corporation (SIRECL) and Sahara Housing Investment Corp Ltd (SHICL) -- to comply with the courts August 31, 2012 order to return Rs 24,000 crore to their investors.

Another company director Vandana Bhargava was not taken into custody.

Also read: SC orders attachment of Sahara's Aamby Valley project near Lonavala worth Rs 39,000 crore

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New Delhi:

The Sri Lankan navy on Thursday arrested 12 Rameswaram fishermen with two boats near Delft Island early in the morning while another boat has been damaged.

The apprehended fishermen has been taken to Kankesanthurai Naval camp (Sri Lanka) and interaction is going on.

Earlier, the Sri Lankan navy arrested eight Tamil Nadu fishermen on charges of fishing in the territorial waters of the countrys island.

The Fisheries Department Assistant Director Chandrasekhar said that the navy personnel also seized two boats belonging to Pudukottai districts Kottaipattinam. The arrested fishermen were taken to Kagesanthurai, Chandrasekhar added.

In another incident, a boat sunk off Neduntheevu coast and the four fishermen in it were rescued by fishermen in another boat and brought to the shore here early on Thursday, he said

More details awaited.

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New Delhi:

Bengaluru has created a record in the state, completed more than 1,000 knee replacement surgeries through small incision computer navigation technology, said Dr Chandrashekar P. from Sakra, Senior Consultant, and HoD  Orthopaedics, Sakra.



Advanced technology in knee replacement surgery coupled with expert surgical skills has turned out to be a life savior for patients suffering from chronic arthritis for many years.



Minimal invasive computer navigated knee replacement surgery allows the surgeon to make more accurate cuts and place the artificial knee with its critical angles much more accurately. It virtually eliminates alignment errors. There is not much blood loss and there is a lesser scar, unlike our conventional replacement surgery. The entire surgical process can be followed on the screen," said Dr Chandrashekar.

Computer Navigation Technology

In Navigation, the surgeon uses a computer to determine the spatial location of conventional instruments and to provide positional feedback regarding their use. Navigation works like a satellite navigation system in your car or a GPS system used by a mountaineer. During a surgery, trackers attached to the patient send a signal.

The camera catches this signal and the position is then identified on the patient specific anatomy map. The surgeon has a screen which gives out information they need about where they are and what they are doing.

Normally while placing an implant during a knee replacement surgery, a surgeon has to depend solely on his calculations and skills to ensure the right fitment. Navigation helps the surgeon navigate, allowing them to plan the steps much ahead, thus bringing in accuracy which ensures better alignment and positioning of the implant.

This results in minimal complications and reduced blood loss. From patients point of view, this technology promotes increased flexibility and longevity and promotes a better gait while walking and doing chores.

For high blood pressure and diabetes mellitus patients, the navigational surgery is safer than the conventional technique. The biggest advantage of this technology is increased accuracy along with the benefits of comfort and flexibility to the patients.



Also Read| Doctors save child born with two penises and extra limbs






New Delhi:

Earth may face doomsday as a mystery planet named Nibiru will collide with it in September, according to conspiracy theorists, who believe the upcoming solar eclipse will mark the end of the world as it will call for apocalypse.



North America will witness solar eclipse on August 21 for the first time in 99 years. The solar eclipse will take place when the moon will pass in front of the Sun. The process will cast darkness across the swathes of Earths surface.



On Monday, August 21, 2017, all of North America will witness an eclipse of the sun for the first time in 99 years, where Moon will pass in front of the sun, casting darkness across swathes of the Earth's surface. Called the Great American Eclipse, this would be a once-in-a-lifetime celestial spectacle.



David Meade, the author of Planet X  The 2017 Arrival, has claimed that Nibiru, a planet also known as Planet X, will hit the Earth on September 23, 2017.

However, scientists have denied the existence of Nibiru. Still, Meade believes he is right after having stumbled upon some passages from The Bible and has justified his claims.

Earlier, Meade had said that Nibiru will mark the end of the world in October, but now he claims that doomsday will arrive in September.



The Bible passages and conspiracy theorists

Reports say Meade and other conspiracy theorists are only leaning on passages from The Bible to support their theory and they do not have any strong evidence.



The Bible passages and the existence of solar eclipse support the idea that the end of the Earth is near, they claim.



Meade told a news portal this month, "The Great American Eclipse of August 21, 2017, is a major - huge - harbinger."



He pointed to warnings in the Old Testament book of Isaiah, Chapter 13, Verses 9 to 10, which reads, "See, the Day of the Lord is coming - a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger - to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it.



"The Stars of Heaven and their constellations will not show their light. The rising Sun will be darkened and the Moon will not give its light."



According to Meade, this passage is linked to what he has dubbed the "33 Convergence", where a strand of coincidences all include the number 33.

Understanding the 33 Convergence

"When the eclipse begins on August 21, the sunrise will be dark, just as Isaiah predicts," Meade says.



"The moon involved is called a black moon. These occur about every 33 months. In the Bible, the divine name of Elohim appears 33 times in Genesis.



He added: "The eclipse will start in Lincoln Beach, Oregon - the 33rd state - and end on the 33rd degree of Charleston, South Carolina. Such a solar eclipse has not occurred since 1918, which is 99 years - or 33 times three."



"This indeed is an amazing omen and a frightful sign," according to Meade.

Does Nibiru exist?



NASA has debunked the existence of Nibiru or Planet X, which was first mentioned by Zecharia Sitchin in his cult book 'The 12th Planet' in 1976.



Nibiru is believed to be home to ancient aliens called the Annunaki, who are thought to be behind the creation of human race.

Nigel Watson, author of UFO Investigations Manual, sipports Sitchins idea. "Nibiru collided with a planet called Tiamat that was situated between Mars and Jupiter. The result was the creation of the asteroid belt and planet Earth.



Nibiru is populated by the Anunnaki, an advanced humanoid race, who visited Earth thousands of years to mine gold in Africa.



"As an outcome of needing workers to carry out these mining operations they used genetics to create Homo Sapiens," Watson said.

ALSO READ | Doomsday planet Nibiru may hit Earth next month? Conspiracy theorists claim destruction of world after 2017 Solar Eclipse

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New Delhi:

Samsung has announced the information on the preorders and release date of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note 8 phone. The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is scheduled to launch on August 23.

Samsung is going to release the Galaxy Note 8 on September 15 in its home country. However, customers in South Korea will reportedly be able to preorder the Galaxy Note 8 between September 1- September 10. But after the official unveiling in New York City on August 23, users will be able to experience the Galaxy Note 8 first hand starting August 25-August 31 in carrier shops and Samsung stores, according to the recent report published in the South Korea's ET News.

The report also mentioned the price of Galaxy Note 8 which is nearly 1,000 in Europe (Rs 75,000 approximately).

Also Read| Jio Phone: How to book it online and offline? Check out here

Let's have a look at key features and specifications of much awaiting Samsung Galaxy Note 8 smartphone

On the design part, the new Samsung smartphone will be available in Midnight Black and Maple Gold colors in the first shipment in September, followed by Orchid Grey and Deep Sea Blue variants later.

The smartphone which inherits the Galaxy S8s design, will come with a force touch display thats also called 3-D touch.

In terms of specifications, the smartphone is said to feature a 6.3-inch Super AMOLED display with a display resolution of 14402960 pixels in an 18.5:9 aspect ratio.

The phone will be powered by Samsungs Exynos 8895 chipset worldwide, except in the US, where it will come with Qualcomms Snapdragon 835 chipset with 6GB of RAM, and 64GB of internal storage.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 expected to come with the dual-camera setup with a 12-megapixel and another 8-megapixel sensor at the back.

Leaks suggest that the Galaxy Note 8 battery will fit between the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus as it is expected to come with a battery capacity of 3,300mAh.

Also Read| Xiaomi to launch Mi Note 3 in China
New Delhi:

A school is a temple of learning, this is what we all have been taught but what happens when it becomes a dance bar and classroom which are used to teach become liquor shops?

This is what happened in a Tetaria village of Uttar Pradesh Mirzapur where a government school was used to organise a birthday bash of village heads son, complete with alcohol and dancing girls.

A video of obscene dance inside a classroom of the primary school in Tetaria village in Jamalpur block on Raksha Bandhan on August 7 went viral on social media prompting officials to order a probe.

A probe has been ordered in the matter and its report will be given to the district magistrate for further action, Basic Sikshan Adhikari (BSA) Pravin Kumar Tiwari said.

The school was closed for Rakshabandhan holiday and when it was reopened next day, teachers and students found complete mess with liquor bottles all over there in the classrooms.

Giving details about the incident, the official said, The keys of the school were taken by the village head on August 5 from the principal. As a number of tasks are done in the school through the village head, he was given the keys. The village head organised a party to celebrate his sons birthday in the school.

Holding of such events in school premises are not allowed and in this case too no permission was sought, Tiwari added.

(With inputs from PTI)

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Paris:

French security forces launched a manhunt on Wednesday after a car rammed into anti-terrorism soldiers outside their barracks in a Paris suburb, injuring six. The car sped off after the incident described by local mayor Patrick Balkany as "without doubt a deliberate act". The Paris prosecutors' office said its anti-terrorismunit has launched a probe into "attempted killings in relation to a terrorist undertaking".

Defence Minister Florence Parly condemned the car rammingas a "cowardly act", saying it did "nothing to dent soldiers'determination to work for the security of the French people". "Security forces are actively seeking the perpetrator whois on the run. The ongoing probe will determine his motivesand the circumstances in which he acted," Parly said.

France, which has been under a state of emergency since the November 2015 attacks in Paris, has seen a string ofassaults on security forces, including those guarding key tourist sites. Parly said three of the soldiers were "more seriously injured". All six were hospitalised, but none have life-threatening injuries, Balkany said.

They are part of the 7,000-strong anti-terrorismSentinelle force set up after the November 2015 bombings and shootings that killed 130 people in the French capital and were claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group. IS has repeatedly said that France is a target because of its participation in the US-led international coalition fighting the jihadist group, with French jets carrying out airstrikes against the extremist group in Syria.

Yesterday's incident took place at about 8:00 am (0600GMT) outside the barracks in the north western Paris suburb ofLevallois-Perret. "This morning, as a group of our soldiers were leaving their barracks to go out on patrol, a BMW vehicle parked inthe alley rammed into them," Balkany told news channel BFMTV,adding that the car had "accelerated very fast". The incident came just four days after Sentinelle soldiers arrested an 18-year-old with a history of psychological problems at the Eiffel Tower where he brandisheda knife and shouting "Allahu Akbar" (God is Greatest).

He told investigators he wanted to kill a soldier,sources close to the case told AFP. In February, a man armed with a machete attacked four soldiers on patrol at Paris's Louvre Museum, while in April another extremist shot and killed a policeman on the Champs Elysees, the French capital's most famous boulevard.

In June, a 40-year-old Algerian doctorate student who had pledged allegiance to IS attacked a policeman with a hammer outside Notre Dame cathedral. The wave of attacks in France has had a serious impact ontourism in the world's top tourist destination, but theindustry has begun to recover as incidents have become more widespread and generally less deadly.

With terror attacks hitting not just France but also Belgium, Britain and Germany, potential travellers show "akind of fatalism", said Josette Sicsic, head of Touris copie, afirm that tracks tourist behaviour. The French tourism ministry expects a five to six percent increase in overall arrivals to France this year, for a new record of 89 million visitors. The lowest point for Paris came at the end of March 2016 four and a half months after the Paris attacks when IS jihadists targeted people enjoying an evening out at trendy eateries, a concert hall and the national stadium. In a rebound that began at the end of 2016, Paris saw arecord 2.6 million foreign arrivals in the first four months of this year -- a 19 per cent increase over the same period last year.

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Faced with having to stabilize the supply of potatoes for its chips, Japanese snack maker Calbee is increasing the amount of the crop it grows in rice fields. Paddy-field potatoes are mainly grown in Kyushu, Japan's southernmost main island, but Calbee also plans to start cultivating them in the northern regions of Hokkaido and Tohoku.

Potatoes are traditionally grown in dry-soil fields, but the company will now grow more of the crop in better-drained rice fields with higher ridges. Crop yields per area will remain unchanged, despite both rice and potatoes being grown in the same place.

SoftBank returns to profit as investments rebound

AP - Nov 12

Japanese technology investor SoftBank Group Corp. reported on Friday a 3 trillion yen ($21 billion) profit for the July-September quarter, a sharp reversal from its loss a year ago. Japanese technology investor SoftBank Group Corp. reported on Friday a 3 trillion yen ($21 billion) profit for the July-September quarter, a sharp reversal from its loss a year ago.

Toyota joins other Japan companies to make next-generation chips

Nikkei - Nov 11

Toyota Motor and around nine other Japanese companies will team up with the government to launch a new entity to develop and make next-generation semiconductors, Nikkei has learned, aiming to establish manufacturing processes by the late 2020s. Toyota Motor and around nine other Japanese companies will team up with the government to launch a new entity to develop and make next-generation semiconductors, Nikkei has learned, aiming to establish manufacturing processes by the late 2020s.

Inflation brings end to beloved 114-year-old Japanese candy Sakumaseika

theglobeandmail.com - Nov 10

A beloved Japanese candy eaten by generations, so iconic it even appeared in a hit anime film, has come to the end of the line, a victim of surging raw material and energy prices. A beloved Japanese candy eaten by generations, so iconic it even appeared in a hit anime film, has come to the end of the line, a victim of surging raw material and energy prices.

As Elon Musk transforms Twitter, risk hits home for Japanese banks

Nikkei - Nov 09

As Elon Musk makes dramatic changes to Twitter following his $44 billion acquisition, Japanese banks that cofinanced the deal find themselves with little choice but to go along for the ride. As Elon Musk makes dramatic changes to Twitter following his $44 billion acquisition, Japanese banks that cofinanced the deal find themselves with little choice but to go along for the ride.

Ferrari, Lamborghini and other supercar sales boom in Japan

theedgemarkets.com - Nov 09

Ferraris, Lamborghinis and other supercars are seeing an unprecedented sales boom in Japan, fueled by pent-up, post-Covid-lockdown demand from wealthy buyers, who also see the vehicles as good investments amid a weakening yen and soaring used-car prices. Ferraris, Lamborghinis and other supercars are seeing an unprecedented sales boom in Japan, fueled by pent-up, post-Covid-lockdown demand from wealthy buyers, who also see the vehicles as good investments amid a weakening yen and soaring used-car prices.

Japan foreign reserves fall for third month after intervention

Reuters - Nov 09

Japan's foreign reserves extended declines in October, following the previous month's record drop, the Ministry of Finance said on Tuesday, reflecting the largest ever amount of yen-buying, dollar-selling intervention. Japan's foreign reserves extended declines in October, following the previous month's record drop, the Ministry of Finance said on Tuesday, reflecting the largest ever amount of yen-buying, dollar-selling intervention.

As yen tumbles, gadget-loving Japan goes for secondhand iPhones

WION - Nov 09

For years Japanese shoppers eagerly shelled out for the latest gadgets, but now a tumbling yen has put new iPhones out of reach for some and sparked a growing secondhand trade in a major market for Apple Inc. For years Japanese shoppers eagerly shelled out for the latest gadgets, but now a tumbling yen has put new iPhones out of reach for some and sparked a growing secondhand trade in a major market for Apple Inc.

Toshiba buyout: Japanese fund submits $15bn proposal

Nikkei - Nov 08

Investment fund Japan Industrial Partners has submitted a formal proposal to take over Toshiba for about 2.2 trillion yen ($15 billion), Nikkei learned on Monday. Investment fund Japan Industrial Partners has submitted a formal proposal to take over Toshiba for about 2.2 trillion yen ($15 billion), Nikkei learned on Monday.

Japans govt sounds alarm over Americas EV tax credits

freemalaysiatoday.com - Nov 07

Japans government warned on Saturday that new electric vehicle tax credits in the United States could ultimately deter further investment by the Japanese there and hit employment in the worlds biggest economy. Japans government warned on Saturday that new electric vehicle tax credits in the United States could ultimately deter further investment by the Japanese there and hit employment in the worlds biggest economy.

Japan ends printing of Yukichi Fukuzawa banknote

arabnews.jp - Nov 06

Japan has finished the printing of the current 10,000-yen banknote, with a portrait of prominent educator Yukichi Fukuzawa, it has been learned. Japan has finished the printing of the current 10,000-yen banknote, with a portrait of prominent educator Yukichi Fukuzawa, it has been learned.

Tourists return to Japan, but where are the workers?

Nikkei - Nov 06

Japanese airports and hotels are scrambling to handle the influx of tourists streaming across reopened borders, as staffs that withered to skeletal levels during the pandemic have not rebounded to match the rise in customers. Japanese airports and hotels are scrambling to handle the influx of tourists streaming across reopened borders, as staffs that withered to skeletal levels during the pandemic have not rebounded to match the rise in customers.

Japan pension 'whale' GPIF suffers longest losing streak since 2009

Nikkei - Nov 05

Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund, one of the world's largest institutional investors, posted its third consecutive quarterly loss Friday to mark its longest slump since the global financial crisis. Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund, one of the world's largest institutional investors, posted its third consecutive quarterly loss Friday to mark its longest slump since the global financial crisis.

Survey shows prices of more than 800 food items will increase in November

NHK - Nov 02

A survey conducted by a private research firm indicates that the prices of more than 800 food and beverage items will go up in Japan in November. A survey conducted by a private research firm indicates that the prices of more than 800 food and beverage items will go up in Japan in November.

TEPCO to raise household electricity charges

- Nov 02

Japan's largest power utility is considering hiking regulated electricity rates for households. Japan's largest power utility is considering hiking regulated electricity rates for households.

Faced with a possible energy shortage this winter, Japan advises people to wear warm clothes indoors

WION - Nov 02

Japan on Tuesday announced that it will ask businesses and households to conserve energy "as much as possible" during the winter. Japan on Tuesday announced that it will ask businesses and households to conserve energy "as much as possible" during the winter.
Given that it will inevitably take a while to process all the new refugee claimants, what about this:



1. We establish a refugee Peace Corps. If they want better pay than mere social assistance, then they can join. There, they'd gain skills and work experience. Plus, since they're not yet established anywhere specific, any single man or woman with no kids could be assigned to work wherever needed, including in isolated communities. No busy-work though, all economically-profitable work. Infrastructure work, etc.



If they have kids, they need to be more established near a school, but even then, it could be near where they're labour is needed.



Thoughts?



Another idea would be just a Canadian Peace Corps that would include both refugee claimants and unemployed Canadians to help with mutual integration.
LUANDA, Angola, Aug. 10, 2017 /CNW/ -- Angola Cables today took a step closer to completion of the South Atlantic Cable System (SACS) at an official launch in Sangano, Angola. SACS is the first direct link between Africa and South America. The installation of the South Atlantic Cable System (SACS)  a subsea cable with 40 Tbps of capacity that will extend more than 6,500 km to Fortaleza, Brazil  began on the Angolan coast in the municipality of Quissama. The SACS system is being constructed by NEC Corporation.

The launch event was attended by Jose Carvalho da Rocha, the Angolan Minister of Telecommunications and Technologies, local and international business leaders, as well as the shareholders and guests of Angola Cables. The installation of SACS is considered a strategic project for Angola to advance the region's digital economy and to improve global communications.

When the entire network is completed, along with associated elements such as data centres and Internet Exchange Points, SACS will offer a paradigm shift in Africa's telecommunications sector. According to Antonio Nunes, CEO of Angola Cables: "For Angolans, the time to access content available in America  the largest centre for the production and aggregation of digital content and services  will improve fivefold." Currently it takes approximately 300 milliseconds to connect between Angola and Brazil. With SACS, the latency  the time lag between a data packet being sent and received  is expected to be reduced to approximately 60 milliseconds.

"Angola is becoming one of the telecommunications hubs in sub-Saharan Africa," added Nunes. "Current cable systems, such as WACS, together with the SACS and Monet cables systems  complemented by local data centers  will improve connectivity, but also economically benefit Angola and the surrounding regions as tech companies requiring high connectivity establish and grow their operations in Africa."

The installation phase of the cable on the Angolan shore is one of the most important aspects of the project as several levels of interaction and activity are required with several entities simultaneously, and therefore constitute a critical and high risk moment. The protection of both the cable and the teams involved is one of the aspects analyzed and therefore the work is rigorous and well planned. "The installation of SACS represents the realization of a dream, a development that reflects our ability to find solutions and overcome challenges, always having in mind the final objective," said Antonio Nunes.

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

Andrew Cole +27 (79) 4833208

Atmosphere



SOURCE Angola Cables

Related Links

http://www.angolacables.co.ao


ROD LIDDLE David Davis must call the EUs bluff over Brexit and tell Brussels they wont get a single Euro from Britain



We should not be bullied by Luxembourgish pygmies. They know our government is tottering and thats the reason they believe they can extort vast sums of money from us





By Rod Liddle, Sun Columnist9th August 2017The SunSO, should we pay the 36billion bill the European Union is trying to extort from us before we are allowed to start trade talks?Thats the figure theyve come up with. Not so long ago it was 88billion. Then it was 72billion. Then it miraculously dropped down to 54billion. And now  abracadabra  its 36billion Do you ever get the idea the devious and greedy EU monkeys are just making it all up as they go along?Jacques  How much do you think we can screw out of the Brits? What about 70-odd billion? Weve been screwing them for years so they wont mind.Might be a bit steep, Hansi. Halve it.Um, you sure? We need a large figure so that other countries are terrified of leaving our wonderful institution. Such as Italy, say.Stick to 36billion. Thats a big chunk of Italys GDP in any case. And lets demand it now, when all the UKs leaders are on holiday. That May woman is still walking up mountains somewhere .What a monumental con. The truth is, we owe no money whatsoever to this corrupt and autocratic bureaucracy. Not a single euro.We have been net contributors year after year after year. To the tune of at least 200billion.For decades we have subsidised the failing siesta states of southern Europe. Subsidised their tobacco farms, their infrastructure, schools and hospitals. Thats one of the reasons we voted to leave.The EU negotiators say we have to pay a bill for incredibly exciting programmes they have planned over the next three years. Tough luck. Change your plans. Because circumstances have changed and were out.If that means you cant go ahead with the building of womens drop-in centres in Bratislava and a goat rehabilitation clinic in Thessalonika, then, sadly, so be it. Cut your cloth, etc.And dont threaten us by saying you will not begin discussions about new trade agreements. Thats blackmail, clear and simple.Have a word with the leading exporters in Germany, France, the Netherlands and so on. See if THEY want their markets in the UK closed off because of your vaulting greed and spite.Hell, within a week of the Brexit vote German companies were demanding trade talks and insisting that trade with the UK must continue unhindered. They know the UK is a huge and invaluable market.Some say we shouldnt be churlish. Just pay up. That was the advice The Sun gave earlier this week . I understand that. Lets just get on with it. Give them what they want and get the hell out.Its how I feel when Im trying to extricate myself from some deal with a charlatan online company which demands an exorbitant payment just to let me leave.But nah. There is principle at stake. We should not be bullied by these Luxembourgish pygmies. They know our government is tottering and thats the reason they believe they can extort vast sums of money from us. Call their bluff, David Davis. Tell them youre getting nowt  and now lets talk about trade deals. And if they play hardball, tell them to stuff it and withdraw.No deal is better than a bad deal.
KELOWNA, BC, Aug. 10, 2017 /CNW/ - Marapharm Ventures Inc. (OTCQB: MRPHF) (CSE: MDM.CN) (FSE: 2M0) ("Marapharm" or the " Company") (http://www.marapharm.com/) is pleased to announce that it is locating administration and executives to Las Vegas, Nevada to be proximate to the company's rapidly expanding base of operations in the United States.

"A move to centralize our U.S. executive offices has been our plan all along and it is exciting to place our stake in the ground in such a vibrant and welcoming city. Las Vegas is strategically located for business travel to Marapharm operations in Nevada, California, Washington, and abroad. Las Vegas has a great pool of the type of talent we seek - executive, financial, and marketing," according to Marapharm CEO, Linda Sampson.

The move will spur local growth as Marapharm will engage a placement agency in Las Vegas to staff the new corporate office and operation sites throughout North America. Marapharm has also has contracted a local commercial agent for suitable office space. The Las Vegas office is expected to create 10 management jobs and hundreds of additional employment positions, including but not limited to technicians, cultivators, scientists, and processors, for cannabis operations.

Marapharm's head office in Canada will remain focused on acquisitions, the Maragold subsidiary, investments, compliance and corporate governance.

About MARAPHARM VENTURES INC.

http://www.marapharm.com

Marapharm has more than 300,000 square feet of medical marijuana licenses for its land and facilities in WA, CA and NV. In Nevada, the proposed building footprint is 360,000 square feet. The Nevada Department of Agriculture report by Tessa Rognier states that the average size of a cultivation facility in Nevada is 26,000 square feet. About three years ago, Marapharm applied in Canada to Health Canada for a MMPR (production and sales) license and has passed the necessary security clearances. The application is currently in the in-depth screening process. In September 2016, Health Canada contacted Marapharm with a provision to amend its application to allow for the new regulations, ACMPR. Marapharm owns 15 million shares and warrants of Veritas Pharma Inc., a public company.

Additional information on the operations or financial results of Marapharm are included in reports on file with applicable securities regulatory authorities and may be accessed through the CSE website (http://www.thecse.com ), the OTC website (http://www.otcmarkets.com), and the SEDAR website (http://www.sedar.com ) under the profile for Marapharm Ventures Inc.

STOCK EXCHANGES:

Marapharm trades in Canada, ticker symbol MDM on the CSE, in the United States, ticker symbol MRPHF on the OTCQB, in Europe, ticker symbol 2M0 on the FSE.

The Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) has approved the contents of this news release.

Neither the CSE, the FSE nor the OTCQB has approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release. Neither the CSE, the FSE nor the OTCQB accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

FORWARD - LOOKING STATEMENTS:

Certain statements contained in this news release constitute forward looking statements. The use of any of the words "anticipate", "continue", "estimate", "expect", 'may", "will", "project", "should", 'believe", and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumption but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and the forward-looking statements included in this news release should not be unduly relied upon.

SOURCE Marapharm Ventures Inc.

For further information: Linda Sampson, CEO, +1-778-583-4476, email [email protected], http://www.marapharm.com
Increase in Chinese tourists will mean more jobs and growth for tourism businesses across Canada

TORONTO, Aug. 9, 2017 /CNW/ - China is now the world's leading source of outbound tourists, surpassing the United States and Germany. In preparation for the Canada-China Year of Tourism in 2018, the Government of Canada is working closely with tourism stakeholders and industry leaders to ensure that Canada is well-prepared to welcome the expected increase in Chinese visitors.

Today, the Honourable Bardish Chagger, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of Small Business and Tourism, and the Honourable Francois-Philippe Champagne, Minister of International Trade, co-hosted the Second China Market Readiness Round Table for the Tourism Industry.

The round table, held in Markham, Ontario, was an opportunity to hear from key industry stakeholders, including the Hotel Association of Canada and Tourism Toronto, on the industry's readiness in advance of next year. The ministers also provided an update on the Government of Canada's preparations, including a debrief from Minister Chagger on the outcomes of her trip to China in July with the Governor General.

Discussions also focused on developing a calendar of events to celebrate the Year of Tourism throughout 2018.

Quote

"We are pleased to work together with the many tourism stakeholders across Canada to ensure we are well prepared for the Canada-China Year of Tourism next year. Canada's tourism industry is a strong economic driver and employs more than 1.8 million people in communities large and small from coast to coast to coast. With the Canada-China Year of Tourism in 2018, we expect to build on the great success we have seen this year with the celebration of the 150th anniversary of Confederation. Round tables like today's help us hear from some key industry leaders directly, and they give us an opportunity to work closely together to ensure that Chinese visitors have unforgettable experiences and keep coming back to Canada again and again."

 The Honourable Bardish Chagger, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of Small Business and Tourism

"China's growing middle class represents one of the most dynamic and promising new sources of demand for Canada's high-quality goods and services, including tourism. With the Canada-China Year of Tourism in 2018 fast approaching, we look forward to working together with tourism stakeholders and industries across Canada to make sure not only that Canada is ready to welcome more Chinese tourists but also that increased tourism translates into good, well-paying jobs and opportunities for middle-class Canadians."

 The Honourable Francois-Philippe Champagne, Minister of International Trade

Quick facts

On September 1, 2016 , Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang announced the Canada-China Year of Tourism. This is an opportunity to showcase Canadian and Chinese culture in each other's markets and promote strong people-to-people ties through tourism.

, Prime Minister and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang announced the Canada-China Year of Tourism. This is an opportunity to showcase Canadian and Chinese culture in each other's markets and promote strong people-to-people ties through tourism. Canada's New Tourism Vision commits to doubling the number of Chinese visitors to Canada by 2021.

New Tourism Vision commits to doubling the number of Chinese visitors to by 2021. China is now Canada's second-largest single-nation trading partner. Two-way merchandise trade between Canada and China totalled almost $86 billion in 2016.

is now second-largest single-nation trading partner. Two-way merchandise trade between and totalled almost in 2016. China is one of Canada's fastest-growing tourism markets and is now our third-largest tourism source market. In 2016, 610,000 Chinese nationals visited Canadaan increase of almost 24 percent over 2015and spent an estimated $1.25 billion .

Follow Minister Chagger on social media.

Twitter: @MinofSBT

Instagram: minofsbt

SOURCE Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

For further information: Jonathan Dignan, Director of Communications, Office of the Minister of Small Business and Tourism, 343-291-2700; Media Relations, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, 343-291-1777, [email protected]

Related Links

http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/icgc.nsf/eng/home


TORONTO, Aug. 9, 2017 /CNW/ - The Canadian Music Publishers Association and Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency Ltd. welcome the federal government's consultations on how to review the work of the Copyright Board of Canada and are committed to participating fully in the consultation process.

"The operation and resulting decisions of the Board are crucial to the development and growth of the music publishing industry in Canada", says Canadian Music Publishers Association Executive Director Margaret McGuffin. "The Canadian Music Publishers Association has long agreed with the need to make the Board's tariff-setting process as efficient and effective as possible, especially at a time of profound change in the digital world."

"Canadian music publishers welcome the growth of new services and technologies that connect music fans with the music they love," McGuffin said. "The growth of the online music market presents a vital opportunity for both songwriters and music publishers to realize the full economic potential of the music they create and promote. At the same time, those rights holders deserve to receive fair value for what their music brings to those music services. To do so, they require an independent and well-functioning Copyright Board with the capacity to carry out the vital service it exists to perform."

Veronica Syrtash, Vice-President, Legal and Business Affairs, of the Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency, said, "It is of the utmost importance to the rights holders we represent that the Copyright Board of Canada renders its decisions in a thorough and timely manner, and has the proper resources necessary to review the many tariff applications on new technologies."

About CMPA:

The Canadian Music Publishers Association is the oldest music industry association in Canada (founded in 1949). We create global business opportunities for our members and promote their interests and those of their song writing partners through advocacy, communication, and education.

About CMRRA:

Founded in 1975, the Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency Ltd. is a music licensing collective representing music rights holders who range in size from large multinational music publishers to individual songwriters. They own or administer the vast majority of songs recorded, sold and broadcast in Canada. On their behalf, CMRRA issues licenses to individuals or organizations for the reproduction of songs on various media including: streaming services, physical products, satellite and terrestrial broadcast mechanicals and more.



SOURCE Canadian Music Publishers Association

For further information: Kate Horodnyk, Communications & Social Media Specialist, Canadian Music Publishers Association (CMPA), 320 - 56 Wellesley Street West, Toronto, ON M5S 2S3, Phone: 416.926.1966 ext. 310, Email: [email protected]; Lydia Couture-Comtois, Executive Assistant, Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency (CMRRA), 320 - 56 Wellesley Street West, Toronto, ON M5S 2S3, Phone: 416.926.1966 ext. 228, Email: [email protected]
OTTAWA, Aug. 9, 2017 /CNW/ - The Honourable Jody Wilson-Raybould, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, has issued the following statement:

"Today we celebrate the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples and the 10th anniversary of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which was adopted by the General Assembly on September 13, 2007.

"The recognition of rights  in particular the inherent right of self-government and the right to self-determination  is a large part of the foundation of the reconciliation we are committed to realizing here in Canada. The UN Declaration, along with the recently released Principles Respecting the Government of Canada's Relationship with Indigenous Peoples, will serve as fundamental tools for advancing reconciliation. Our government is moving forward with implementing the UN Declaration through the Working Group of Ministers on the Review of Laws and Policies, as well as other collaborative initiatives and actions.

"As we mark the tenth anniversary of the UN Declaration, I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to all those who for 25 years, advocated for, drafted and negotiated an international declaration of Indigenous rights. Many Indigenous leaders from Canada were among those who strove to make the UN Declaration a reality. These efforts have helped lay the ground work for a rights-based approach to renewing the Indigenous-Crown relationship based on recognition of rights, respect, cooperation and partnership.

"Reconciliation is a journey, not a destination. Change comes through actions, not words. We  Canada and Indigenous peoples  all have work to do, and it will be challenging. As Indigenous peoples continue to take back control of their lives, Canada as a federation is strengthened. In our country's 150th year, it is our time to ask what we want the next 150 years to look like and the place Indigenous peoples will have in making Canada an even greater nation."

SOURCE Justice Canada, Department of

For further information: Kathleen Davis, Communications and Parliamentary Affairs Advisor, Office of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, 613-992-4621; Media Relations, Department of Justice Canada, 613-957-4207, [email protected]

Related Links

http://www.justice.gc.ca/


solar eclipse 2017 path across US.JPG

The first coast-to-coast total solar eclipse in 99 years will occur Aug. 21. Areas in the "path of totality," highlighted in gray, will see a total eclipse for up to 2 minutes and 40 seconds.

(Glenn Coin)

Hamilton, N.Y. -- Anthony Aveni has seen the sun go dark in the moon's shadow eight times. And it hasn't diminished his awe.

Aveni, a retired professor of astronomy and astrology at Colgate University, saw his first total solar eclipse in 1970 in Nova Scotia with a group of his students. A young woman came to him after the sky went dark, with tears in her eyes. "You may have told us about the science, about the predictions," he recalled the woman telling him. "But it was a miracle."

Of course, there is nothing inexplicable about eclipses. How it happens and when it happens is all science, predicable thousands of years out.

But still, to watch the sun go black in the middle of the day, to see stars and planets come out if even for just an instant, seems inexplicable, magical even.

The darkness during the upcoming total solar eclipse Aug. 21 will last for about 2 minutes and 40 seconds along the path of totality.

"Even though I'm a scientist, it's sublime to witness," Aveni said. "It's absolutely sublime."

Aveni is an eclipse chaser. He's seen the moon blot out the sun while on eclipse-themed cruise ships in oceans. And he's seen it from the spectacularly wide horizon of the desert. He's written about book about the eclipses he's seen, "In the Shadow of the Moon."

Aveni is heading to South Carolina to see the upcoming eclipse on Aug. 21, where he's hoping the skies are clear.

Earlier this year, Aveni gave a talk on the eclipse at Appalachian State in Boone, North Carolina, earlier this year. There, the eclipse will be 96 percent, not quite total, but Aveni said they are expecting millions to come watch the skies.

All of the eclipses Aveni has seen were spectacular, he said. But the most memorable eclipse was on the Egyptian-Libyan border in 2006. He drove across the desert to get to the border and then waited with a fleet of people in bedouin tents for the show to start in the skies. Just before the eclipse started, then-Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak flew in on a helicopter. He made a speech about the eclipse's importance and link to Egyptian history, watched the totality, then took off.

Eclipses and politics, for centuries, have gone together. Emperors have used the skies going dark as power to proclaim their sovereignty.

What will happen on Aug. 21? Just wait and watch, Aveni joked.

"Science has taken the myth out of the eclipse, but not the emotion," he said.

Marnie Eisenstadt writes about people, life and culture in Central New York. Have an idea or question? Contact her anytime: email | twitter | Facebook | 315-470-2246
By GMM 9 August 2017 - 16:56





Chase Carey says he will not rush to set up a second race in the United States.

Currently, the annual US grand prix is held in Austin, Texas.

But after the Liberty Media buyout, there have been claims Bernie Ecclestones successor, American Carey, has prioritised the adding of a second or even third race in the US.

However, the new F1 CEO says he actually has a "five year plan" regarding the American market.

"I dont want to criticise Bernie," he told Germanys Auto Bild, "because he did many things very well.

"But I think he went too much for short terms deals. So if you want to go to New York, it takes time and good planning.

"Previously, formula one worked in so far that you sign a contract and leave the rest to the promoter. But this is no longer possible," Carey insisted.

"You have to capture peoples imagination. You dont do that with Phoenix, but in New York or Miami.

"We can already see the first signs, as since we have increased our commitment to social media, we are already seeing more feedback from the US. There is a bigger fan base there than we thought," Carey added.
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The temperature in Washington's Columbia Heights is pushing 100 degrees as Armaye Ejigu swaddles space blankets around two precious scoops of Baskin-Robbins ice cream.

Shortly after 11 on a recent Thursday morning, a woman ordered the frozen treat to be delivered to her house in downtown D.C. And now Ejigu, a driver for the third-party food delivery firm DoorDash, has fleeting minutes to move the ice cream from the Baskin-Robbins's counter to his car to her door - all in record-setting summer heat.

"It's not hot food, so it's a little more challenging," Ejigu said, adding that his job becomes much more difficult when he can't find parking in the area.

Delivery is the hottest thing in the restaurant business right now - but as many restaurants are finding, the trouble is keeping it cold. Or crisp, in the case of french fries. Or warm, in the case of pho.

Eager to join a booming food- and restaurant-delivery market, dozens of third-party services have sprung up to address those logistical challenges. Food delivery is already a $43 billion business - and will be worth $76 billion by 2022, according to an analysis by Cowen and Co., an investment banking firm.

Companies such as DoorDash, GrubHub and Caviar are now delivering everything from pepperoni pizza to duck confit. Aside from Baskin-Robbins, which has recently launched delivery from 600 stores in 22 cities, brick-and-mortar chains McDonald's, Wendy's, Jack in the Box, Red Robin, Cheesecake Factory, Outback Steakhouse and Buffalo Wild Wings have all in the past year partnered with third-party services to launch or expand delivery.

These services don't merely provide drivers such as Ejigu: They also develop the insulation in his red, corporate-branded cooler bag and the algorithms that determine he's the fastest driver for a job.

DoorDash's delivery time for Baskin-Robbins' products averages 12 to 13 minutes.

"It's just a little hard because - ice cream melts," said Carol Austin, the vice president of marketing at Baskin-Robbins. "Working with a third-party, we believe we can do it."

Industry analysts and executives such as Austin say a confluence of factors helps explain how restaurant delivery got so hot. For starters, the modern consumer is busy - too busy, often, for a lunch break or dinner at a sit-down restaurant.

Thanks to services such as Uber, they're also accustomed to getting things on demand, said Bonnie Riggs, an analyst at the market research firm NPD. And rather than lose those customers to food trucks, fast casual or meal kits, more restaurants, and more types of restaurants, are aiming to compete with delivery.

But most restaurants lack the infrastructure and logistical expertise to launch such operations themselves. That challenge is compounded when their products - think ice cream - don't naturally travel well.

"We do a lot of research around that," said Stan Chia, the chief operating officer at GrubHub. "I want to make sure that if we deliver a milkshake in Phoenix when it's 110 degrees out, it still arrives to the customer as if it was served in the restaurant."

GrubHub is a heavyweight in the world of third-party delivery. According to the market analytics firm 1010data, the Chicago-based company and its subsidiary Seamless accounted for well over half of all restaurant delivery in the last quarter of 2016.

But the field is growing exponentially more crowded. Yelp has put its full weight and marketing power behind delivery since purchasing Eat24, the No. 3 service, in 2015. UberEats, officially launched a year later, rapidly expanded into more than 20 countries. Amazon has recently entered the fray, as have previously regional players such as Foodler and Caviar.

Representatives from several of these delivery companies said frozen items are far from their only challenge.

"We've seen every type of food," said Nick Adler, who leads Caviar's market operations. "We've had people say, 'You can't deliver burgers and fries.' But then we put them in touch with someone who has."

Anything that pairs wet and dry ingredients - such as soft-shell tacos, loaded gyros or avocado toast - risks getting soggy in transit, delivery executives agreed.

Restaurants and delivery services have also struggled with hot, crispy foods, such as grilled sandwiches, thin-crust pizza and french fries - the white whale of delivery. The insulation that keeps these foods warm while they travel also locks in steam, risking sogginess and overcooking.

"Some restaurants are very proud of very crispy fries," Chia, of GrubHub, said with a sigh. "But they have a short shelf life."

To address these issues, delivery services undergo lengthy consultations with restaurants when they partner up, advising them to change how they prepare "problem" foods or cut them from the delivery menu all together.

GrubHub recommends that Neapolitan pizzas spend seven more minutes in the oven crisping when they're being delivered, for instance. And Caviar has designed instructional stickers to help customers reassemble foods such as pho and ramen.

The company also swears by stand-up to-go cups for fries - clamshell containers are essentially a Styrofoam steamer, Adler said.

On top of the emphasis on packaging, delivery services have also invested heavily in their logistics technology - algorithms designed to improve the timing of delivery pick-ups and minimize how long it takes a driver to get from point A to B.

Many use cutting-edge mapping tech to match drivers with orders based on traffic, travel time and distance. Caviar - a subsidiary of the business tech start-up Square - even tracks how long its restaurants take to prepare each menu item, to better time drivers' arrivals.

That sort of technology is beyond the ambition of all but the largest restaurant operators, said Riggs, the NPD analyst.

"That's why we're seeing such strong growth in delivery right now," she said. "There are so many of these third-party providers, and they're giving more opportunities to operators who didn't want to take on the responsibility for getting into this market."

Not all restaurants are eager to embrace those "opportunities," of course - particularly since they may come with costs. Delivery services typically charge a per-order fee for their services, which can bite into tight margins.

Some restaurants have found that delivery checks tend to run a lot lower, because customers don't buy alcohol. Franchisees also worry, Riggs said, that given the option, customers may choose to order in rather than go out. On top of that, there's the risk to the restaurant brand if an order arrives late, soggy or melted.

For Panera Bread, which plans to offer delivery at 40 percent of its chains by the end of the year, that was all too much.

"Managing quality all the way to the consumer is one of the biggest concerns for us," said Blaine Hurst, the company's president and the overseer of its delivery operations.

In contrast to the vast majority of its peers, the soup and sandwich chain has built out an in-house delivery system of its own, hiring 10,000 new employees in the first half of 2017. When they're not dropping off orders - mostly at lunch - those drivers return to the mothership for food prep and cleaning.

It's not a "100-percent efficient" system, Hurst acknowledged. But it has yielded a sales increase, on average, of 10 percent or $5,000 per week at the franchises that have adopted it.

Hurst, who helped launch the first national online delivery service at Papa John's when dial-up was still de rigueur, is confident those numbers will continue to grow.

"Delivery is all about convenience - getting what you want, how and when you want it," Hurst said. "I think our lives are increasingly busy, and we're getting increasingly used to that convenience."

Baskin-Robbins is certainly hoping that will be the case. The company has spent the past year working out how to deliver ice cream, said Austin, the marketing executive, and calculating whether there would be enough demand to even support such an ambitious project.

After researching and testing the available third-party providers, the company launched a pilot in four test markets earlier this year. On July 6, it expanded to an additional 600 stores in 22 cities, with more planned for the future.

Most urban consumers can now order Baskin-Robbins' full menu on-demand -- minus the whipped cream. The company found, to its "disappointment," that it deflated during delivery.

But customers don't seem too upset: Baskin-Robbins is finding that people order more toppings when they order online. Ejigu's Thursday morning order is for a mint ice cream cake and two scoops of ice cream with rainbow sprinkles.

The 34-year-old delivery driver orders at the counter, like any other customer. The credit card he pays with is a company card; it charges to DoorDash, which will then charge the Baskin-Robbins orderer. The ice cream goes into a takeout bag, which goes into a silver space blanket, which goes into a cooler bag, which goes into the trunk of Ejigu's car.

Ten minutes later, a woman grimaces at the heat as she opens her front door.

"Try to stay cool out there," she says, after Ejigu hands her the ice cream.

He smiles and heads back to his double-parked car, ready for the next in a day of deliveries.

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Video link:

http://wapo.st/2fpxg5e

Video embed code:
NEW HAVEN >> When it comes to protecting the lives and property of the residents of New Haven, Fire Chief John Alston Jr., knows that a pet is another member of the family.

We are a pet-friendly department, Alston said. New Haven is a pet friendly city.

The New Haven Fire Department will now be better equipped to help pets that have been exposed to smoke during a house fire as the department has recently acquired more than a dozen oxygen mask kits that are specifically designed for animals. The kits come with masks of three different sizes to and are specifically designed to fit a dogs snout.

We wanted to be able to provide this service, Alston said. Many persons, it doesnt matter their age, [pets] are a member of the family.

The New Haven Fire Department will begin training firefighters to use these oxygen mask kits by the fall, thanks to a donation from the Canine Company, a Connecticut-based company that donates animal oxygen masks to fire departments, among many other things, including providing families with pet training and care services. The Canine Company made the donation earlier this year and it was approved by the Board of Alders in May.

Getting Mayor Toni Harp on board with the idea was easy because she has two dogs herself, Alston said.

The Canine Company funds their donations through their Canine Saves campaign, according to Renee Coughlin, the director of marketing for the nonprofit. Each oxygen mask kit costs $90 and includes three masks in varying sizes, hook-ups to oxygen tanks, carry bags and instructions.

The Canine Company has donated the oxygen masks to fire departments throughout New England, New York, and New Jersey, and donated more than 120 kits in 2016 alone, according to the company.

Alston said he wanted the department to apply for a donation from the Canine Company because his former department down in Jersey City used the mask kits and he had seen them be effective.

He added that training will be done in the evenings for firefighters and every member of the department will be trained in how to use the masks.

The New Haven Fire Department does not currently keep records of how many pets are saved from house fires, but those numbers will start to be tracked, Alston said.

Mayor Toni Harp announced the addition of these mask kits to the fire department arsenal during a press conference Thursday. She said that while an animals instincts may save them from being burned from flames, the silent killer for many pets trapped in a house fire is smoke inhalation.

In most fire departments in most states, emergency and first responders just dont have the necessary equipment to resuscitate and save pets whove been exposed to excessive amounts of smoke, Harp said.

Harp said there are no official statistics on the number of pets that die every year as a result of fires, but there are estimates that the number is between 40,000 and 150,000.

With the addition of this new equipment in its many tool boxes, the New Haven Fire Department is now prepared to assist residents in a new way: by protecting the lives and trying to save family pets who are also cherished family members, Harp said.
SHELTON >> Calling all volunteers whod like to do their part to help feed Valley families in need.

Valley United Ways Corporate Volunteer Council is seeking volunteers to assist in the bi-annual Harvest House VII community build next month.

The build, inspired by an old-fashioned, community barn-raising, will take place at 8:30 a.m. Sept. 21 under the Pavilion at Veterans Memorial Park, 100 Canal St.

According to VUWs Vice President of Community Engagement Patricia Tarasovic, the event aims to build a 400-square-foot house made of wooden shelves with assistance from carpentry students from Emmett OBrien Technical High School, and stock them to the rafters with more than 100,000 non-perishable food items.

Tarasovic said all food collected is then distributed to Valley food banks serving residents in Ansonia, Derby, Seymour, Shelton and Oxford. She said the need continues to grow each year.

The idea for the house came from the concept of a barn raising, in which a community comes together to build a barn so that one family can thrive, Tarasovic said. In that same tone, Harvest House utilizes the collective action of the community for the common good. Families in need are then able to thrive rather than go hungry.

According to the Valley Hunger Study, VUW officials said just over 1-in-5 households (21 percent ) that receive food from pantries have no income; nearly 3 out of every 4 households (74 percent ) receiving food from pantries have incomes falling at or below the federal poverty level and 73 percent of households visiting food pantries report making significant spending trade-offs between food and other necessities.

Tarasovic is hopeful the community will come together once again to repeat the success of past Harvest House events.

The number of Valley families in need of food is escalating, she said.

Something new to this years Harvest House event has been added for those whod like to participate but cannot physically attend the actual build. A virtual build will take place online at VUWs website where people can select food to go on the shelves or make a donation to purchase food.

Corporations, civic groups, and individual members of the community interested in donating food or helping to build Harvest House can contact Tarasovic at (203) 926-9478 or by email at patricia.tarasovic@valleyunitedway.org. Volunteers can sign up on the website. Area companies are encouraged to take part by putting together a team of volunteers for team-building experience. All volunteers who sign up will receive a t-shirt commemorating the day.

Several Valley organizations, including the Parent-Child Resource Center, have benefitted from past Harvest House events. PCRC parent educator Patricia Colon had said watching the outpouring of help on the day of the build and the day after when the shelves are stocked, is amazing to see how everybody comes together for the Valley community.
Mark Rosati has eaten plenty of Shake Shack burgers, but he still savors every one.

I tend to be a fast eater  but I find myself pausing a bit when I eat our burger, says Rosati, culinary director of this popular modern-day, roadside burger-and-shake stand. Maybe it is the daily ground meat made of muscle, not trim, or the soft potato roll. I still feel that experience of how it is done, how it is cooked and all that  and it brings me back in time, to that first one I had at Shake Shack before I worked there  how special it made me feel. It is kind of my touchstone, to remind me of the magic of the experience.

Some 13 years later he and other people around the world still feel the magic, which has translated into restaurants in 19 states (including Connecticut with outposts in Darien, Westport and New Haven) and 11 international sites. What began as a hot dog cart in Madison Square Park in New York City in 2001, under restaurateur Danny Meyers Union Square Hospitality Group, became a beloved brand.

When the permanent Shake Shack opened in the park in 2004, it was a harbinger of the fine casual trend. Gourmet burgers could be found in fine-dining establishments, as celebrity chefs balanced high-end ingredients with a simpler presentation, decorations or menu. Shake Shack had fine dining in its DNA (USHGs establishments include Gramercy Tavern and Union Square Cafe), but also a great love for roadside shacks. Meyer was influenced by burger joints and drive-ins of his St. Louis youth, while Rosati, 40, was inspired by seaside shacks he savored growing up in Stonington, such as Abbotts Lobster in the Rough in Noank and the Sea Swirl, a seasonal seafood shack in Mystic.

We had this notion that (Shake Shack) would only be open in the summertime, during the day and then shut its doors at night  and come back the next day and do it all over again. Maybe wed cook 50 burgers a day, Rosati says. As we all know, that went very differently.

Since its start, Shake Shack attracted long lines no matter where it opened and an excitement played out over social media, with photo-ready images of decadent shakes, eye-catching hamburgers and hot dogs piled high with tasty ingredients. While its success was well-known, the Shake Shack team had never truly recorded it.

More Information The ShackBurger Serves 4 4 hamburger potato buns 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 4 tablespoons Not Quite Our Shack-Sauce 4 pieces green leaf lettuce 8 -inch slices ripe plum tomato 1 pound very cold ground beef, divided into 4 pucks Our Salt and Pepper Mix (see recipe below) 4 slices American cheese Heat a cast-iron griddle over medium-low heat until warm. Open the hamburger buns and brush insides with the melted butter. A soft brush is helpful here. Place the buns buttered side down on the griddle and toast until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer buns to a plate. Spoon the sauce onto the top bun. Add a piece of the lettuce and two slices of tomato. Increase the heat to medium and heat the griddle until hot, 2 to 3 minutes. Make the salt and pepper mix: Mix  cup kosher salt with  teaspoon freshly ground pepper. Evenly sprinkle a pinch of the salt and pepper mix on top of each puck of meat. Place the pucks on the griddle, seasoned side down. Using a large, sturdy metal spatula, firmly smash each puck into a 1/3-inch-thick round patty. Pressing down on the spatula with another stiff spatula helps flatten the burger quickly. Evenly sprinkle another big pinch of the salt and pepper mix. Cook the burgers, resisting the urge to move them, until the edges beneath are brown and crisp, and juices on the surface are bubbling hot, about 2 minutes. Slide one of the spatulas beneath the burger to release it from the griddle and scrape up the caramelized browned crust. Use the other spatula to steady the burger and keep it from sliding. Flip the burgers. Put the cheese on top and cook the burgers 1 minute longer for medium. Cook more or less depending on your preference. Transfer the cheeseburgers to the prepared buns. ShackSauce Makes about  cup  cup mayonnaise 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 3/4 teaspoon ketchup  teaspoon kosher dill pickling brine Pinch of cayenne pepper Fried Pickles Serves 4 2 cups round kosher dill pickle slices, drained 1 cups buttermilk 2 cups flour  teaspoon freshly ground black pepper Canola oil for deep-frying Kosher salt Soak the pickles in the buttermilk for 5 minutes in a large bowl. Whisk together flour and pepper in a deep wide dish. Set the pickles and seasoned flour aside. Pour the oil into a heavy, deep pot to a depth of 3 inches. Heat over medium heat until the temperature of the oil reaches 350 degrees on a candy thermometer. Working in batches, dredge the pickles in the flour, shaking off any excess flour. Use a wire spider or a slotted spoon to carefully lower the pickles into the hot oil. Deep-fry the pickles, turning them halfway through, until they are golden brown and crisp, about 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Salt and serve immediately. Serve with variety of toppings, such as ShackSauce or ketchup. See More Collapse

Well, order up. With the release of the 240-page book, Shake Shack: Recipes and Stories, by Rosati and CEO Randy Garutti, fans and newbies get a peek into the chains secret sauce. Stories are interspersed with 70 recipes, hundreds of photos and other tidbits that will likely make fans hungry for more. There is even a recipe for the chains ShackSauce, well, not exactly, but close enough.

We actually shied away from doing a cookbook for a long time, Rosati says. Every American cook cooks burgers and hot dogs, and sure, we have our own way of doing it. But we thought maybe this is not just recipes; this is also for us to tell the story  of how we have grown over the past several years  and the people who helped us to get there.

Shake Shack often has been put into the context of a happy accident, but as Meyer points out, the success was accidental, but the idea was not. It flows from the philosophy of an enlightened hospitality that works for a simple shack to a white-tablecloth dining room. It may be quick serve, but the ingredients, attention to presentation and taste suggest sophisticated intention. Great food is a must, Rosati says, but experience is just as important. He recalls early days at Abbotts.

There is just something about sitting on a dock, overlooking the harbor, eating a lobster roll in the middle of summer, he says. The lobster roll has to be good, but that experience, from the way you order, pick up your food, that is what makes it legendary. You cannot get that experience anywhere else in the world.

What better way to differentiate than connect with culinary superstars. In 2014, five iconic New York City chefs, including Daniel Boulud and David Chang, created special burgers for a 10th year anniversary celebration. The recipes of all five are in the book. When asked whether the chain might ever reach out to Fairfield Countys top chefs, Rosati says its a possibility. Maybe somewhere down the road, well have the opportunity to do it, he says, noting he already influenced one special burger, the SurfNShack, with its heap of lobster salad atop a burger. It is sold in New England during the summer.

chennessy@hearstmediact.com; Twitter: @xtinahennessy
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STAMFORD  The sentencing of a New Haven man for his role in a downtown murder has brought an end to a case that shook the community and embodied the polices struggle with youth crime.

James McLamb, 24, received the maximum sentence of five years in jail Wednesday for his involvement in the 2015 killing of Antonio Muralles outside the downtown McDonalds.

McLamb was the accomplice to Marquest Hall, who was 15 years old when he viciously stabbed Muralles to death over a spilled cup of coffee.

Stamford Police Capt. Richard Conklin said the states juvenile justice system did not effectively reform Hall, who was arrested several times before the killing.

While it is no ones intent to scar people for life for minor type crimes, were seeing a certain group of youth get involved in violence and serious crimes and the way the laws are right now makes it very difficult to deal with them, Conklin said.

Conklin said the laws are weighted too heavily against juvenile detention with youth offenders released after being charged with crimes involving theft, fighting, guns and drugs.

Were talking about juveniles involved in hard-core criminality in terms of drugs, violence and theft and the laws as they are written right now really handicap police in the state of Connecticut, Conklin said. Hall had been arrested numerous times before this and it is a tragedy it culminated in someones senseless death.

Hall was sentenced last month to 20 years in prison after accepting a plea agreement for first-degree manslaughter. Hall faced 60 years in prison if he was convicted at trial.

McLamb, who accepted a plea deal for second-degree assault, apologized to Muralles family during his sentencing on Wednesday.

I would like to apologize for the whole situation that happened, especially to the victims family, McLamb said. Its something that I could easily have avoided. Its changed my life and changed their lives too in a drastic way.

The 55-year-old victim bumped into Hall and McLamb on March 11, 2015, accidentally spilling coffee on the teen. Police said an infuriated 5-foot-4, 140-pound Hall spit in Muralles face and asked him, Do you want to die now?

McLamb then punched Muralles and Hall stabbed him twice. Muralles fell to the ground and the pair continued the attack.

Hall and a group of others had been milling around the area that night, poking people with a stick to try to instigate fights, according to police.

McLambs public defender, Howard Ehring, said his client joined the fight because he wrongly thought Muralles was picking on Hall.

I dont know what Mr. McLamb was thinking that evening when he decided to punch the victim, Prosecutor Paul Ferencek said. The only thing I could say is the evidence is contradictory as to whether Mr. McLamb saw the victim was stabbed...the punches were superficial in this matter.

Following the sentencing, a niece of Muralles, who declined to provide her name, said the family is still devastated by the loss of her uncle, and there is no cure for that.

Conklin said the case was shocking for its heedless violence.

Oftentimes, we see violence with minor reasons, but this was really for no reason and certainly this incident got the attention of many people, Conklin said.

Conklin said surveillance videos from the McDonalds and other downtown businesses were key pieces of evidence that led to the arrests. Video footage has since become a vital tool in helping police solve crimes, Conklin said.

Conklin said the incident also forged a partnership between police and business owners to discourage youth loitering.

Conklin said its appropriate to release juvenile defendants to the custody of their guardians in cases involving minor offenses. However, he said juveniles accused of more serious crimes usually come from family environments lacking the structure to discipline or address the issues.

Someone who is bent on criminality, it is very difficult to dissuade that, Conklin said. They are often being released to the custody of single parents or grandparents who really dont have the sway over them.
BRIDGEPORTFine art draws inspiration from every facet of the human condition: nature, the body, metaphysics and nowpirates.

In an art exhibit titled Scrolls, the Housatonic Community College Museum of Art will showcase double-sided painted by artist Joe Zucker meant to evoke the sails of ships.

The Thursday Sept. 7 opening is the first of a few pirate-themed events planned next month, including a $50 whodunit fundraiser Sept. 27 dubbed Murder Amongst the Mateys.

The exhibit is free and open to the public at the gallery, located at the Housatonic Community College at 900 Lafayette Boulevard, and runs Sept. 7 through Oct. 15.

Heres a bit more on the paintings, from the Housatonic Community College.

Zuckers Scrolls series reflects his involvement with the sea as well as his interest in the legends of pirates like Captain William Kidd and Blackbeard, who terrorized the high seas and sought refuge off the shores of Long Island and Connecticut.

For over thirty years, Zucker has returned again and again to the imagery of frigates in full sail, cannon balls, yard arms and the leering grin of the Jolly Roger.

If you go

The Housatonic Museum of Art is located at 900 Lafayette Blvd. in Bridgeport, Conn.

Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30am - 5:30 pm, Thursdays until 7pm and Saturday 9am - 3pm.
HAMDEN >> A new smartphone app will let town residents be part of the police force, allowing allow anyone who downloads it to send anonymous tips and get alerts about crime in the community.

The Legislative Council this week approved funds for the police department to purchase the app.

We know people are scared or intimidated, Police Chief Thomas Wydra said. This is the perfect tool to overcome that fear. Its a way to encourage people to engage with us.

The app, called tip411, lets a user submit crime tips anonymously, which alleviates a fear some have of getting involved with police. A user also can include photos or video.

Another feature allows the department to send out alerts to the community about crimes in the area. The alerts can be categorized by type of crime and can be directed at particular communities and neighborhoods. Through the app, a person with information can also add a tip to a specific alert.

We want to connect with everybody, but certain groups are timid, Wydra said. He said he is thinking specifically about schoolchildren and people with questionable immigration status who may have a heightened fear of interacting with police. The app reaches them, he said.

Quinnipiac University student Antoine Campbell, a fellow with the department over the summer, handled bringing the app to the department and presenting it to the Legislative Council. People in the department were so impressed with the app, they immediately knew they needed it, Campbell said.

It went from, This would be nice to have, to, This is a necessity to have, he said. It adds the community to the police force.

Other features include two-way anonymous messaging with officers and the ability to send tips directly to the officer who can best handle the tip. For example, a narcotics officer can be selected from a dropdown menu by a desk sergeant if a tip were to come in about drugs.

The best feature of the app is the anonymity users get when contacting police, Wydra said. He said he has heard too many people in his career admit they had information but didnt want to get involved with an investigation out of fear.

Hamden is only the second department in the state to implement tip411, the other being West Haven. Across the country 1,400 police departments are using the app, according to the companys website.

The New York County Sheriffs Office was able to reopen and make arrests on 70 cold cases within a year of having the app, Campbell said.

It shows people have information and theyre too afraid to share it, Campbell said.

In the meeting to approve funds for the app, which cost $10,800, Councilman Brad MacDowell said having it seems like a move in the right direction for public safety.

Wydra expects tip411 to be available within a month. It will be available as a free download for iPhone and Android smartphone users.
MILFORD >> Police accused a Stratford man Wednesday of possessing of a loaded handgun for which he does not have a valid permit. Also, being a felon, the man is banned from possessing the gun, police said.

Anthony Velez, 25, of Stonybrook Drive, Stratford, was charged with criminal possession of a firearm, no pistol permit and having a weapon in a motor vehicle, police said.
NEW HAVEN >> A student group representing undocumented young adults that wants to defend their legal ability to remain in this country with certainty held a community event Wednesday night to spread that message.

The groups action was in response to a group of attorneys general from ten states who asked President Donald Trump to rescind the Deferred Actions for Childhood Arrival Program  or DACA  established by former President Barack Obama.

The event, held by Connecticut Students for a Dream, invited young undocumented immigrants and families to learn about how they might help defend DACA.

Whats most concerning is we dont know whats going to happen, said Camila Bortolleto, a DACA recipient and avocate of the organization. Its a good time to speak out, not a time to go back in the shadows. The program has allowed Bortolleto and many other young undocumented immigrants to get a work permit, drivers license, Social Security number and  most importantly  the opportunity to live without fear of deportation.

Attendees included DACA recipients, family members and supporters of undocumented immigrants. People expressed feeling fear, uncertainty and anger about the future of DACA  but some felt more hopeful.

One woman described feeling like she was in survival mode because she doesnt know what will happen. Many dont want to share their names and stories publicly out of fear of deportation themselves, or of family members being taken away.

Everyone is a little scared, said Yeni Cortes. She received DACA when she was first eligible four years ago at age 15. She said it has changed her life. Before DACA my family had a fear. Now we can live with certainty and safety.

With current enforcement of existing immigration law, deportations have increased, as has scrutiny of the move by the Trump administration. In one of several recent local cases to make national headlines, Nury Chavarria of Norwalk, was set to be deported after years ago ignoring voluntary deportation orders, but sought asylum in a New Haven church and has since been granted an emergency stay.

Marco Antonio Reyes Alvarez of Meriden is currently receiving asylum in a New Haven church after being set to be deported back to his native Ecuador Tuesday.

The attorneys general have asked Trump to take action on the program by September 5, and undocumented young people are concerned their current DACA will not be upheld if the order gets abolished.

The future is uncertain but Im encouraged to fight back and hopeful, hopeful theyll keep it (DACA), Cortes said.

Connecticut Students for a Dream is holding a statewide meeting August 26 in Wallingford.
Clarence Wieberg remembers when the bomb-loaded plane crashed only about 100 yards away from him.

Wieberg, who lives in Dodge, served in the U.S. Marines during the Korean War. At the time of the crash, he and other men were building an airport in Korea.

We were kind of right behind the front line, he said.

Wieberg was running a caterpillar to build up a road for the airport. It was a summer afternoon.

He saw the plane take off and get about 100 feet into the air  then crash flat.

Military personnel rushed to the scene. The pilot was fine.

And no bombs exploded.

Wieberg still marvels at the miracle.

If it would have exploded, we would have all been gone, he said.

Some 65 years later, Wieberg  whose nickname is Doc  stood near the Dodge Veterans Memory Park at 224 N. Oak St.

Dedicated on Memorial Day, the park offers a quiet reminder of sacrifices made to help protect freedom in the United States. About 500 people attended the dedication ceremony and many people come to Dodge to see the park.

A paved ribbon walkway of three different textures leads guests to the memorial.

The centerpiece is a five-sided monument with an eagle at the top. Scenes from World Wars I and II and the Korean, Vietnam and Gulf War on Terror are depicted on the monuments panels. Names on the monument represent veterans who paid the ultimate price for their countrys freedom.

In front of the monument is a life-size statue of a Korean War soldier.

The memorial also includes four donated benches which depict people and scenes from World War II, Korea, Desert Storm and Kosovo.

Three kiosks have tiles with individual names of veterans along with their rank and years of service.

Like a park planned for Fremont, some tiles feature a picture and a scan-able quick reference barcode that links to the veterans own personal webpage, which can be updated with information and photographs for years to come.

The memorial has four fallen soldier statues as well. Each statue depicts a soldiers helmet, boots and rifle.

Nearby, a large black- and gray-painted mural depicts the iconic scene of U.S. Marines raising an American flag on Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II.

Kim Anderson, then an art teacher for Dodge-Howells Public Schools, and three of her students, Haley Eikmeier, Mallory Rolf and Caitlin Klasen, created the mural on the side of the adjacent veterans building.

The park was designed by West Point Monument and a Dodge committee.

Rolf Masonry Construction of Dodge did the work.

After he came home from the war, Wieberg promised himself that he would forget about what happened there.

My service life was history and thats the way I wanted to keep it, he said.

But then the combat veteran went on a Korean War Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., where he was inspired by the memorials.

A previous memorial, south of the veterans club in Dodge, had deteriorated.

So Wieberg, whos the commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8597 in Dodge, sat down with Willy Anderson, a fellow veteran.

Anderson, the VFW quartermaster, served two tours of duty in the U.S. Army Reserves in 2004-05 and 2010-11 during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

We started talking about it (the memorial), Anderson said.

They scratched out a picture on a napkin at the veterans club. Anderson then began talking with Earl Boston of West Point Monument Company.

He really got involved with us and we did the tiles, Anderson said.

Then the fundraising began. Several organizations had fundraising events and the community rallied around the project.

The best part about the whole thing was all of us doing all of that together  getting together and putting on these fundraisers, he said. People that werent even in the military volunteered their time to help put on fundraisers. The support we got was awesome.

Construction started in August 2013 and was completed in the fall of 2016.

Wieberg estimates the park cost about $230,000 and that figure doesnt include all the volunteer labor.

Looking at the park on Tuesday morning, Wieberg smiled.

It will be a memorial that will honor the veterans for years to come.
Being the Continuing Adventures of a Woman and her Trusty Kayak in New York Harbor, the Hudson River, and Beyond. (with occasional political rants just to keep things lively!)
Chairman of Anambra State Council of Traditional Rulers and Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Nnaemeka Alfred Achebe, has accused politicians and political office holders of being responsible for the countrys multifaceted problems.Obi Achebe, who also said Nigeria is presently on a shaky ground. spoke yesterday in Onitsha. The occasion was the installation of Don Ebubeogu as the 12th president of Onitsha Chamber of Commerce Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ONICCIMA) and the 10th Edition of the Perspectives, an annual lecture series of the chamber.The traditional ruler said the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the opposition party, the PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP) including the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) controlling Anambra State are all part of the problem. He maintained that it was expedient to detach the countrys economic wellbeing from politics.He regretted that crime was gradually returning to Anambra State occasioned by the activities of the commercial motorcycle and tricycle riders whom he said render services to the people but have constituted a nuisance to the city through crime and accidents. He said the challenge is how to organise them to provide their services in a safer and more organised manner or find an alternative.I want to say it without fear of contradiction that the disturbances and tension we have in this country is first and foremost caused by those we elected to govern us and those in Abuja which by extension include the ruling party, APC and the opposition, PDP. Even in Anambra, it is the same.The well being of any nation rests significantly, materially and majorly on our ability to create wealth and it is the Chambers of Industries, Commerce and Agriculture that creates wealth. In other countries like Italy, Korea and Japan, there is a clear distinction between the economic generation of the country and politics.In Italy for instance, governments rise and fall every day, but the economy continues to grow, creating wealth and good living for the people. I think that is what we have to do here. There is a challenge for the commercial /business sector to rise up to the challenge and create a situation that we must increasingly detach our economic policies, performances, growth and the activities of all of the members of the chambers from the overbearing dependence on the political class.Politics could go on and on, but, let us ensure that businesses, industries and agricultural production continue, so that we can create wealth for the country. It is the responsibility of all of us, he said.Earlier, the newly inaugurated 12th president who took over from Uche Apakama said the chamber, under his administration will key into the aspirations of the Onitsha business community in re-planning the citys business environment.He said his leadership will be at the front burner in reshaping the mindset of every other businessman in the city.




Yeni, the first daughter of the late Afrobeat icon, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, has suggested what she considered would be the solution to fight against corruption in Nigeria.According to her, traditional African medicine, Juju should be used as a tool in fighting corruption in the country.Yeni, while speaking in an interview with Classic Fm said no one would steal money if government officials are made to swear by Ogun and other African deities instead of Holy bible and Quran.let them use Juju to swear in government officials and we shall see if anybody will continue to steal our money in this country or not.I am sure that if they are made to swear by Ogun or some other fearsome African deity, there will be no more corruption, she said.I believe in life after death. Also I believe that if my father has a message for me, he will come directly to me and not go through someone I dont know or like. If anybody tells me that Fela has sent a message to me through him, I would tell him to ask my dad to appear to me directly himself, she said.When asked if her fathers hatred for religion influenced her, she said my choice of religion was not largely influenced by Fela.It is not that my father made me to embrace it through indoctrination; I learnt and I actually believe in it. As a matter of fact, Felas arguments in defence of the traditional African religion were enough to convince me.When I was a young girl and I knew nothing about his dislike for what he often described as foreign religions (Christianity and Islam), I used to visit the Braithwaites and accompany them to church on Sundays. When Fela heard of it, he warned me never to use the allowance he gave me for offering in the church. I cant forget it,The retired dancer further urged Nigerians to stop being hypocrites, adding that some people professed to be devout Christians or Muslims by day, yet sneaked out at night to consult local herbalists or diviners.What they are doing is wrong. It is either you belong to this or you belong to the other, Yeni added.
Marine Platforms Trains Nigerian Engineers

Marine Platforms Limited said it had completed a training programme for a set of Nigerian engineers under the Human Capacity Development scheme of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board.A statement on Wednesday said the training was undertaken under the Agbami Phase III Project for transportation, installation and pre-commissioning of various sub-sea umbilicals, risers, flowlines and other infrastructure executed by Marine Platforms for Star Deepwater Exploration and Production Limited, a Chevron company.It described the Human Capacity Development programme as a drive pursued by the NCDMB in fulfilling its mandate to address the dearth of trained manpower in the oil and gas industry in Nigeria.The company said the training curriculum was developed to give participants maximum exposure to the operational workings of the oil industry from a service contractors perspective.It said the programme was structured over six months and was designed to give hands-on experience in the subsea segment of the oil and gas industry.The trainees also experienced several practical exercises aboard Marine Platforms chartered offshore construction vessel, the Polar Onyx and the Marine Platforms owned and full duty paid multipurpose support vessel, the African Inspiration, which were both deployed for the Agbami Phase 3 operations. They also had practical involvement in the mobilization of major work scopes such as acid injection operation and suction pile installation on the Agbami Field.Chevrons Deep-water and Facilities Engineering Manager, Mr. Ike Obinwa, was quoted as saying at the ceremony marking the end of the programme, People development is what we value. We have had so many achievements on the Agbami phase 3 project and this is another feat that adds value. These set of skills will enable them to develop their career and make them valuable to the oil and gas industry in Nigeria.The Human Capacity Development Manager, NCDMB, Mr. Maurice Iwhiwhu, described the programme as another major outcome that further contributed to human capacity development in the industry.With an agenda to bridge the skills gap in the country, NCDMB has collaborated with companies such as Chevron and Marine Platforms to promote personnel development across the sector, he said.The Chief Finance and Administrative Officer, Marine Platforms, Mr. Baji Nyam, said the company was grateful and proud to have had the opportunity to promote the development of Nigerians.He said, The growth of local capacity in both human and equipment is a key aspect of the companys objectives in its contribution to nation building through local content.According to him, Marine Platforms training and development programmes have increased consistently over the years in various areas such as the training of seafarers, maritime cadets, ROV pilot technicians and subsea engineers.It is Marine Platforms dream to see that Nigerian youths of today are well prepared to take over the operations in the Nigerian oil and gas and maritime industries, he said.
Happy New Month Nigeria! Welcome to the month of June. As the world searches for a respite from all its troubles since 2020 began, one can ...




The Senate on Wednesday said the alleged N30 trillion revenue leakage in the countrys import and export value chain will be thoroughly probed.The probe covers activities in the value chain between 2006 and 2017.Senator Hope Uzodinma, Chairman, Senate Joint Committee on Customs, Excise and Tariff and Marine Transport, told newsmen in Abuja that some firms allegedly involved in the process had begun confessions.If there is anybody who is still in doubt whether there are recoverable revenues of government in the hands of these companies, by the admission of some of them, it means that the person should better wake up.We call on all Nigerians to support the Senate. We are all very serious men and women.We are professionals in different fields of endeavour and when we have decided to come here to serve the country, we mean every word of it.What we are doing and showing by this investigation is that the country can be better. We are not shrouding anything in secrecy.The public is interested in this investigation and you know the Stock Exchange is an important platform for trade in Nigeria.We dont want to create unnecessary panic in the market as some of the companies are public-quoted.There is a signal we will let to the market that will destroy the image and integrity of these companies.We have not arrived at any conclusion because the investigation is still on. On the final day, we will do a full blown news briefing so that Nigeria will know the outcome of our exercise, he said.Uzodinma disclosed that of the over 60 companies being investigated, the committee had met with 11.Some of the companies approached the committee and expressed their willingness to support our investigation because the process of the investigation may require them revealing some of their trade secrets, he added.The lawmaker listed companies that met with the committee on Wednesday as Dana Group, China Export, Emel Group, Halliburton, Bhojson Plc, Bharat Ventures Ltd, Bua International Ltd, Friesland Campina, Boulos Group, CFAO Group and British American.




Some Nigerians have shut down Abuja, the nations capital in support of the President Muahhamdu Buhari-led government.The protesters, under the aegis of Coalition for Good Governance and Change Initiative have converged at the Unity Fountain, Abuja singing solidarity songs in support of the Nigerian government.They are currently marching to the Presidential Villa.Some of the placards being displayed at the protest ground include: the system is working, no cause for alarm, we repose confidence on President Muhammadu Buhari, our president is recuperating, Nigeria is moving forward.Meanwhile, checks by this reporter show that the anti-Buhari protesters have deserted the Unity Fountain.More to come
The Buhari Support Organisation (BSO), Enugu State chapter, Thursday, faulted the anti-Buhari protests led by Charly Boy and other celebrit...

The Buhari Support Organisation (BSO), Enugu State chapter, Thursday, faulted the anti-Buhari protests led by Charly Boy and other celebrities under the aegis of OurMumuDonDo.





Speaking with journalists in Enugu, the Chairman of Buhari Support Organization (BSO) in Enugu State, Chief Anike Nwoga, described the protests as needless.





He said, We are of the candid view that whereas our brother CharlieBoy and his group have the inalienable rights to assemble and protest as provided by the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, however they should redirect their energy in appealing to the National Assembly that sat for over one year on $29.9 billion procured by President Muhammadu Buhari for the development of our deficit critical infrastructure.





BSO Enugu State Chapter believe sincerely that the hunger, gross unemployment and abject poverty ravaging our dear country, will be half addressed if the loans are approved by the National Assembly, he said.





Nwoga, who is also the Vice Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Enugu East senatorial district, explained that the President fulfilled all the constitutional requirements before embarking on his medical trip to the United Kingdom.





According to the Enugu BSO chairman, there is no vacuum in leadership and the Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo has discharged his duties creditably and diligently.





There is no need to protest, since Buhari fulfilled all the constitutional requirements before he left. He wrote the National Assembly and intimated them of his medical vacation. By so doing, he transferred power to his Vice as Acting President. So, there is no vacuum in leadership. The acting President is doing very well.





I can also confidently say that Buhari has commenced his plan to fulfill the promises to Ndigbo and Nigerians in general. Work has progressed in our expressways such as Enugu-Onitsha and Enugu-Port Harcourt expressways while 14 billion naira has been released for Second Niger Bridge and N7billion is 2017 for the bridge.





The problem in Nigeria is the economic recession, which is responsible for hunger in the country and lack of jobs. To address these problems, Buhari before he left for medical vacation, proposed a 30 billion dollars loan, which is before the National Assembly to fund critical infrastructure that will get us out of recession.





In this docket now gathering dust before the National Assembly is 500 million dollars for East-West road, linking the entire South-South, 50 million dollars for Enugu-Nsukka and other states water scheme, Abakiliki and Aba township roads, $11 million dollars for coastal railway line, 4.8 billion dollars for Mambilla hydro-power plant which will generate about 3000 megawatts of electricity and over 5 billion dollars for agriculture. The revamping of Enugu Coal project will take early next year.





The loan will be accessed through multiple sources, including Eurobond, Africa Development Bank, JICA of Japan, Chinaexim Bank, World Bank, Islamic Development bank (AFDB), Nwoga said.





The APC chieftain, therefore, urged Charlie boy and his group to stop dissipating energy on the needless protest against a recuperating President Buhari, but rather redirect their attention to the National Assembly and tell them to give attention to the 30 billion dollar loan.





He said if the National Assembly could in one day give attention to 33 items in the constitution amendment, they should the same way give attention to the 30 billion dollar loan, to bring us out of recession and put food on peoples tables and create jobs.





He warned that sickness was not anybodys monopoly as it could happen to anyone and should therefore not be a subject for protest or activism in any form.





Nwoga enjoined Charlie boy and his group to join other well meaning Nigerians in praying for our Presidents speedy recovery.





He, however, pointed out that Charlyboy and the other protesters were entitled to their fundamental human right of lawful assembly and that the police had no business to throw teargas at them.




Yeni, the first daughter of the late creator of Afrobeat music, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, has come up with what she believes is a solution to ...

Yeni, the first daughter of the late creator of Afrobeat music, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, has come up with what she believes is a solution to the ever-increasing incidence of corruption in Nigeria.Speaking during a radio talk-show titled, The discourse with Jimi Disu and broadcast on the Classic FM 97.3 recently, the out-spoken lady urged the Federal Government to consider adopting traditional African medicine (also known as juju) as a tool for fighting corruption, especially in official circles.Yeni, who shares her late dads belief in the potency of juju, noted that government should use it to administer oaths to elected officials and government appointees, instead of the Holy Bible and the Koran.Just as Sophie Oyewole has suggested, let them use it to swear in government officials and we shall see if anybody will continue to steal our money in this country or not. I am sure that if they are made to swear by Ogun or some other fearsome African deity, there will be no more corruption, she said.Saying that Fela had appeared to her in a dream on some occasions, she added, Its 20 years since my father died, but it doesnt seem as if he has been gone for so long. I miss him and I still talk to him in my mind. He and other departed members of my family have also appeared to me in my dreams. I dont know if it is right to say that they appear to me, but I see them in my dreams. I dream of them a lot.A self-confessed free thinker with a bias for ATR, Yeni also disclosed that some people had come to her in the past and claimed they had messages from her father. But she never listened to them. I believe in life after death. Also I believe that if my father has a message for me, he will come directly to me and not go through someone I dont know or like. If anybody tells me that Fela has sent a message to me through him, I would tell him to ask my dad to appear to me directly himself, she said.Although it was no secret that Fela, despite coming from a deeply Christian background, never encouraged his children to attend church services, Yeni made another revelation when she said that she did attend church occasionally. But that is when I am invited to weddings, burial ceremonies or other events, she quickly added.Also, going down memory lane, she recalled that when she was growing up Fela never went to church, although her mother remained a committed Christian. But I was not brought up to form the habit of going to church, especially on Sundays, the princess of Afrobeat said.The celebrated dancer (now retired) went on to correct the impression that her choice of religion was largely influenced by Fela. Explaining that he did not compel her to believe in the ancestral mode of worship, she said, It is not that my father made me to embrace it through indoctrination; I learnt and I actually believe in it. As a matter of fact, Felas arguments in defence of the traditional African religion were enough to convince me.Yeni also recalled one of her most memorable encounters with her dad. When I was a young girl and I knew nothing about his dislike for what he often described as foreign religions (Christianity and Islam), I used to visit the Braithwaites and accompany them to church on Sundays. When Fela heard of it, he warned me never to use the allowance he gave me for offering in the church. I cant forget it, she said.Arguing that many Nigerians had always been hypocritical about religion, she noted that some people professed to be devout Christians or Muslims by day, yet sneaked out at night to consult local herbalists or diviners. What they are doing is wrong. It is either you belong to this or you belong to the other, she said.
Former president, Goodluck Jonathan has reacted to the report that he was among the past Nigerian leaders who wasted over N11tn on electric...

Former president, Goodluck Jonathan has reacted to the report that he was among the past Nigerian leaders who wasted over N11tn on electricity.

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, had on Wednesday disclosed how over N11 trillion meant for the provision of electricity supply was allegedly squandered by the administrations of former Presidents, Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Musa YarAdua and Jonathan.

SERAP, in the said report, claimed that corruption in the electricity sector started during the administration of Obasanjo in 1999.





Jonathan, while reacting through his former aide on new media, Reno Omokri, described the report as false and baseless.





He said the story was false and the fruit of the laziness of the researchers who could have taken advantage of the Freedom of Information Act that Dr. Jonathan signed into law in May, 2011.

His statement reads: My attention has been drawn to the story Obasanjo, YarAdua, Jonathan wasted N11tn on electricity SERAP published most prominently in The Punch newspapers on August 10, 2017 and less prominently in other papers.









While I cannot speak for others, I can certainly say that as touching former President Goodluck

Jonathan, the story is false and is the fruit of the laziness of the researchers who could have taken advantage of the Freedom of Information Act that Dr. Jonathan signed into law in May, 2011 to get records and data from relevant government ministries, departments and agencies that would have given them a fuller picture instead of the narrow view they have.





Former President Jonathan could not have wasted 11 trillion or any other amounts of money for the simple reason that he was the Nigerian President who privatized the Power Sector beginning on August 26, 2010 when he launched the roadmap to power sector reforms and culminating on October 16, 2012 when the winning bids were announced for the sale of power generating and distributing companies.





SERAP may do well to remember that on Monday the 30th of September 2013, at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Former President Jonathan successfully handed over the bulk of Nigerias Power Infrastructure to successful private sector bidders after they had made payments for the assets they acquired.





At that event, he said I congratulate our new owners who have taken over the engines and cables that are expected to drive not just the electricity industry but also the socio-economic well-being of the natio.





In total, the Power Holding Company of Nigeria was split into six generation and 11 distribution firms, all sold separately, for about $2.5 billion for which the Jonathan administration received much deserved praise.





In fact, rather than wasting money, the Jonathan administration generated money for the federation from the sale of these assets which were seen to be transparent and followed global best practices.





Between May 6th 2010 when he was first sworn in as President to May 29, 2015 when he handed over power, the budget for the ministry of power under Dr. Jonathan was not up to 400 billion in total for the simple reason that his administration had succeeded in transferring most of Nigerias power assets, liabilities and personnel from the public sector to the private sector.





As such, it is evidently clear that any allegations that the Jonathan government wasted trillions is not a well thought out allegation at best and is a figment of the imagination of the makers at worse.





I do hope those papers which published this false report against the person of former President Jonathan and the administration that he led will be honorable enough to set the records straight for posterity.
Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has said that the Federal government re-arresting him would quicken the...

Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has said that the Federal government re-arresting him would quicken the actualization of the Republic of Biafra. Kanu also said that nobody can restrict his movement in any part of the country and that he is free to go to any part of Nigeria, including Lagos, if he so wishes. According to the IPOB leader who spoke in Umuahia, nobody can stop him from visiting Lagos State if he wants to visit there, saying he was not bothered by threats by some elements that his safety would not be guaranteed in Lagos.If you arrest me, Biafra will come even quicker than we anticipate. I am not afraid of being arrested. I have been there before and if need be, I will also be there again. I will be very happy if they re-arrest me. If we are hoping for 90% compliance with the boycott of Anambra State Governorship election, my arrest will make the compliance 100 %.But why will I be re-arrested and nobody is going to arrest Tanko Yakassai or Ango Abdulahi because of what they have been saying? Is it because they are Fulani? They own Nigeria? They are immuned to arrest? Is arrest only meant for Biafrans and not for Fulani? Who will arrest Lawal Daura of DSS for flouting court order to release Bright Chimezie Isinwa of IPOB? The Fulanis say whatever they like and go free and nobody holds them accountable because they own Nigeria, Kanu said. According to him, I go to anywhere I want to go. I dont listen to threats. They motivate me rather than dampen my spirit.That thing people say I cannot do is what I love to do. When the time comes, I will go to Lagos if I have to go to Lagos. I have friends with connections in Lagos, Fani Fayode is my friend and he is in Lagos. If I try to visit him in Yoruba land, then I must see him in Lagos.Kanu also denied promoting hate speech as being accused of by his critics, saying that condemnation of the injustices in Nigeria or the agitation for self- rule does not in any way amount to hate speech.I completely disagree with them. They are the pioneers of hate speech. Go through the text of speeches made by Ango Abdulahim, Tanko Yakassia or the ones made by one Abubarkar. Are those ones not hate speeches? Unfortunately, I blame the deplorable state of education in Nigeria because they dont know what hate speech is all about. Does asking for self determination amount to hate speech? Or asking for referendum hate speech? Where did they go to school? I think they need to invest more in education because self determination is no way equal to war or hate speech, Kanu said.
RCI, part of the Wyndham Worldwide family of brands, has reached an agreement with vacation group Beneficium to acquire DAE Global Pty Ltd. (DAE), operator of Dial An Exchange, a leading timeshare exchange company headquartered in Australia, and @Work International, a software company also based in Australia.

The deal is subject to customary conditions precedent, including receipt of applicable regulatory approval. DAEs offices in Australia, New Zealand, US and Egypt will become part of RCI upon completion of the acquisition. The addition of DAE will complement RCIs existing business, broaden its appeal to a new base of travelers and strengthen its position as a leader within the global alternative holiday accommodation sector.

As part of the RCI family of brands, DAE will benefit from the core competencies RCI has developed over the past four decades as the leader in vacation exchange, including inventory management, member marketing and analytics. The company will also enjoy the added resources that come with being part of a global hospitality leader. DAE, which has established a strong loyal consumer base, will continue to run as an independent brand and be marketed separately from RCI. However, the similarities among these exchange-oriented businesses will allow for greater collaboration between the companies to foster growth.

Founded in 1997 and celebrating its 20th anniversary, DAE offers a direct-to-member exchange model globally through a combination of corporate-owned operations, joint ventures and licensed entities. The acquisition of DAE will expand RCIs exchange offerings to reach a new pool of timeshare owners. The addition of @Work International, which develops exchange management and reservation management software programs, will allow RCI to bolster the technology solutions it can offer its Homeowner Association (HOA) and affiliated resort partners.

DAE will continue to be led by co-founder Francis Taylor as managing director while Peter Vanderhorst will continue to serve as managing director and lead @Work.

This will provide DAE with the resources it needs to fulfill its ultimate potential, said Taylor. Its a great opportunity for the company and its dedicated staff around the world.




The increase in the production of light sweet crude from Nigeria, United States and Libya has been said to be capable of contributing to a narrower price spread between light and medium crudes.The US Energy Information Administration said in its Short-Term Energy Outlook that Nigerian production increased by six per cent to 1.66 million barrels per day in July, from 1.56 million bpd a month earlier, while Libyan crude output jumped by 19 per cent to 1.01 million bpd in July, from 850,000 bpd in June.The US crude production increased to 9.43 million bpd, compared with 9.32 million bpd in June, the report said.The EIA noted that crude oil prices were further supported as Saudi Arabia announced a cap on the countrys crude oil exports in August.It, however, said it was unclear how much extra crude oil this cap would remove from the market given the countrys typical seasonal decline in crude oil exports because of an increase in crude oil use for power generation.However, Libya and Nigeria, two other OPEC members, continue to increase crude oil production, a contributing factor in keeping prices near $50 per barrel, the IEA said.The EIA said the voluntary production cuts by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and non-OPEC countries resulted primarily in less medium, sour and heavy, sour crudes on the global market.As a result, over the past several months, the usual premium that light, sweet crudes command over medium and heavy crude oil has declined in many regions around the world, it said.According to the agency, trade press reports indicate that less crude oil is being exported from Saudi Arabia to Europe, which may be supporting prices of crudes like Urals, which are similar in quality to Saudi Arabian crude oil.It said, At the same time, higher crude oil production in Libya, Nigeria, and the United States is adding additional light, sweet crude oil into the market and could be contributing to a narrower price spread between light and medium crude oils.Nigerias average oil production including condensates, increased marginally to 2.06 million bpd in July, according to the petroleum ministry, Platts reported on Monday.The ministry said the countrys crude output stood at 2.06 million bpd in July, up from 2.05 million bpd in June, and a sharp increase over the 1.6 million bpd output a year ago when production facilities were hit by attacks from the Niger Delta militants.Nigerian oil output has climbed steadily following a respite in activity by militants demanding control of the regions oil resources.Loading of the popular export grade Forcados has resumed at its terminal in the Niger Delta after shutting for several months over the past year following attacks in February and November 2016.The EIA expects US production to rise over the next two years and cross the 10 million bpd threshold in November 2018.It sees output averaging 9.35 million bpd in 2017, up by 20,000 bpd from last months outlook, and 9.91 million bpd in 2018, up by 10,000 bpd from last month.The US oil production growth could slow as some US energy companies plan less investment spending for the rest of this year and the number of drilling rigs has recently increased at a slower clip, the EIA Acting Administrator, Howard Gruenspecht, said in a statement.The OPEC crude production held steady in July at an average 32.93 million bpd, compared with 32.61 million bpd in June, despite the sharp increases in Libya and Nigeria.Saudi Arabia produced 10.2 million bpd in July, steady from 10.15 million bpd a month earlier.The agency expects OPEC output to average 32.53 million bpd in 2017 and 32.96 million bpd in 2018.The EIA expects Brent crude prices to average $50.71 per barrel in 2017 and $51.58 in 2018 and WTI prices to average $48.88 in 2017 and $49.58 in 2018  steady from the agencys June outlook.
The Senator representing Bauchi Central in the National Assembly, Isah Hamma Misau, has said police officers pay as much as N2.5million to ...

The Senator representing Bauchi Central in the National Assembly, Isah Hamma Misau, has said police officers pay as much as N2.5million to get special promotion through the Police Service Commission (PSC).

Misau, a retired police officer disclosed this while reacting to the bribery scandal allegedly rocking the PSC.





He told Daily Trust: A serving police officer aware of the trend has told me that they pay as much as N2.5 million to get special promotion. Other sources have also confirmed to me. So it is nothing but fact.





Misau, who is a member of the anti-corruption committee of the Senate said he would discuss the issue with the leadership of the Senate, when they resume from annual recess next month.





We cannot just fold our hands and allow this to continue. The special promotion should be reversed as it was done during the time of Nuhu Ribadu. Unless this is done the lives of Nigerians would no longer be secured. The special promotion is highly compromised.

Corruption is not only associated with money, it has many forms and money for promotion is part of it. We have to urgently address this because the consequence is what we are witness today, he said.
The Public Relations officer of the Nigeria Police force, Jimoh Moshood, says three persons have been arrested and are currently in detenti...

The Public Relations officer of the Nigeria Police force, Jimoh Moshood, says three persons have been arrested and are currently in detention over the massacre at the St Phillips Catholic Church in Ozubulu in Anambra state last Sunday.

Jimoh who was a guest on Channels TV this morning, said the persons arrested have a direct connection with those who perpetrated the crime. According to him, the police is currently working undercover to arrest some of the perpetrators of the attack that are currently not in Nigeria.





"The update is that we have three suspects in detention and we have more leads to get to the perpetrators of this crime and very soon, Nigerians would see that we have succeeded in ensuring that we arrest the actual culprit in this crime. Very soon we are going to have a breakthrough.





"Those suspects that we have arrested are not just people that we picked on. These are people that have played one role or the other in committing that offense and we would get to the root of this. Investigation is ongoing around the church premises while the church has deemed it in their wisdom to use an alternative building around the church to conduct mass for the deceased.





"The IGP has sympathized with the government and people of Anambra state and has put in all the seriousness needed. Outside of that, we are working undercover to ensure everyone involved, including those who are not in Nigeria presently, are arrested and prosecuted" he said





Recall that the attack is believed to have been caused by a drug deal that went south between two drug barons that are from Anambra state but reside in South Africa.
Popular lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria-designate, Festus Keyamo, has faulted the Return or Resign protest against President Muhamm...

Popular lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria-designate, Festus Keyamo, has faulted the Return or Resign protest against President Muhammadu Buhari.





Keyamo, who described the protest as unpopular among Nigerians said protesters should have campaigned for the return and prosecution of looters and not an ill-President.





In a series of tweets on his social media, the popular lawyer wrote: I commend the spirit of #ReturnOrResign, but the protest we need is #ReturnToFaceTrial of looters hibernating in London and other foreign cities.





The failure of thousands of Nigerians to join #ReturnOrResign shows how unpopular the cause is, but theyve a right to protest, even if it is solo.





We cannot applaud those who didnt launch #Resign against a President who smuggled cash of $9mill to South/A but did against one thats ill.





Ill be more convinced to join protests calling for d resignation of a President on issues of corruption than one whose offence is illness.
TRENTON -- New Jersey has gained federal approval for its new long-term plan for public schools, including the expectation that at least 80 percent of students should pass standardized tests in reading and math by 2030, the state announced Wednesday.

The plan, crafted to follow the guidelines of a new federal education law, doesn't include any major changes to the state's standardized testing regimen or academic standards. But it does shift more weight in the annual evaluation of schools to student progress, regardless of whether the students pass their state exams.

Specifically, students learning to speak English as their second language are expected to make strides.

New Jersey wants 86 percent of English learners in each school to achieve expected annual progress in English proficiency by 2023. Ensuring those students are improving will now count for 20 percent of a school's overall state score.

"(This plan) builds on a strong foundation of excellence and allows us to continually improve how we support the success of each and every child," state Education Commissioner Kimberley Harrington said.

Goals

The new long-term goals come after Congress in 2015 granted states more autonomy over how they assess their public schools.

Every state was required to submit a new plan for schools under the Every Student Succeeds Act, the federal law that replaced No Child Left Behind, a signature education initiative of President George W. Bush's administration. New Jersey is among the first states to gain final approval.

Compared to No Child Left Behind, which set the bar at 100 percent of students passing their standardized tests by 2014, New Jersey's proposed goals would be much more attainable for some school districts, according to education experts.

But the expected 80 percent passing rate on math and English tests by 2030 would also apply to all subgroups of students, including minority groups and low-income students, who typically post lower scores. Schools would be expected to show progress toward their long-term goals each year.

Along with goals for test scores, the plan also calls for high schools to reach a 95-percent four-year graduation rate by 2030.

The state has called such goals both ambitious and achievable, though test scores are significantly lower on the state's current PARCC exams.

Grading schools

Under the new plan, high schools with at least 20 students in the English as as second language program would be graded using the following weights:

40 percent on graduation rate

30 percent on standardized test proficiency

20 percent on progress among English language learners

10 percent on chronic absenteeism (the percentage of students who miss more than 10 percent of the school year)

For elementary and middle schools, academic growth, a measure of the progress students make from one year to the next, will replace graduation rate. That means schools could benefit more from a student making great progress than they could suffer from that student not passing standardized tests.

Schools that don't have enough English language learners would be graded 50 percent on graduation rate or academic growth, 35 percent on testing proficiency and 15 percent on chronic absenteeism, a new point of emphasis.

The plan is based on more than 5,000 survey responses, dozens of meetings with education and community groups and a statewide listening tour about how to rate its schools, according to the state Department of Education.

Adam Clark may be reached at adam_clark@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on twitter at @realAdamClark. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Eric Bolling was recently suspended from his role at Fox News after the Huffington Post reported last week that the New Jersey resident had sent "an unsolicited photo of male genitalia via text message to at least two colleagues at Fox Business and one colleague at Fox News."

Now, Bolling, one of Fox News' earliest and most vocal Donald Trump supporters, is suing the reporter, Yashar Ali, for defamation using the same law firm that is representing President Donald J. Trump against a federal probe into his campaign and Russian interference in the election.

President Trump has long been a fan of the Fox News network. Most recently, Bolling was the co-host of "The Fox News Specialists" weekdays at 5 p.m. and the host of "Cashin' In" on Saturdays at 11:30 a.m.

Bolling is seeking $50 million in damages.

Just received a summons. Eric Bolling is suing me for defamation - $50 million in damages. I stand by my reporting + will protect my sources  Yashar Ali  (@yashar) August 9, 2017

It's important to note that Bolling's summons does not include HuffPost - he is coming after me personally. I'm a big boy...but very telling https://t.co/nvludsIV87  Yashar Ali  (@yashar) August 9, 2017

Not going to stop reporting on Eric Bolling or anyone else. I've had family members killed/jailed in Iran, a lawsuit isn't going to scare me https://t.co/nvludsIV87  Yashar Ali  (@yashar) August 9, 2017

Shortly after Ali said he was being sued, Bolling wrote on Twitter.

I will continue to fight against these false smear attacks! THANK YOU FOR CONTINUED SUPPORT  Eric Bolling (@ericbolling) August 9, 2017

A copy of the summons Ali received was posted on Twitter Wednesday.

"The nature of this action is for damages and injunctive relief based on defamation arising from the defendants's efforts to injure the plaintiff's reputation through the intentional and/or highly reckless publication of actionable false and misleading statements about the plaintiff's conduct and character," the summons states.

It states that Bolling has been "substantially harmed."

The Huffington Post released a brief statement in support of Ali's reporting Wednesday evening.

"Yashar Ali is a careful and meticulous reporter," the statement read. "We stand by his reporting."

Bolling, who moved to Livingston in 1999, but now splits his time between homes in Demarest and Long Beach Island, allegedly sent the lewd text messages "several years ago, on separate occasions," according to The Huffington Post.

A Fox News spokesperson said in a statement Saturday that Bolling was suspended "pending the results of an investigation, which is currently underway." When the initial reports surfaced, Bolling said, through an attorney, he recalled "no such inappropriate communications, does not believe he sent any such communications, and will vigorously pursue his legal remedies for any false and defamatory accusations that are made."

Bolling broke his silence earlier this week after initially denying the charges through an attorney.

"Overwhelmed by all the support I have received," he wrote on Twitter. "Thank you I look forward to clearing my name asap."

Overwhelmed by all the support I have received. Thank you



I look forward to clearing my name asap  Eric Bolling (@ericbolling) August 7, 2017

When asked by NJ Advance Media in a June about the corporate culture at Fox News possibly being unkind to women, Bolling said he could not speak to those claims.

"It's something I've never seen and experienced -- obviously, I'm a male," Bolling told NJ Adavnce Media. "It comes as a shock to me."

Joe Atmonavage may be reached at jatmonavage@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @jatmonavageNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook
Michael Sol Warren | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

By Michael Sol Warren | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Mayors, murderers and myth-inspirers: New Jersey certainly has its fair share of infamous characters. But where are these people from?

After choosing the most famous people from each county of New Jersey last year, we decided to flip the switch and round up our most legendary ne'er-do-wells. In compiling this list, we considered figures both living and dead  though to be included, they had to have spent their formative years in New Jersey and/or committed their most famous public sins here. We didn't just limit ourselves to convicted criminals, either; anyone whose actions caused a ruckus and brought upon them infamy was eligible.

Check out our choices and runners-up below  and let us know which dubious characters we might have missed in the comments.

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Photo from the Alfred M. Heston Collection of the Atlantic City Free Public Library

Atlantic County - Enoch "Nucky" Johnson

Of all of the corrupt politicians to pass through Atlantic City, Johnson was certainly the most legendary. By leveraging Prohibition, the Galloway native became the boss of the political machine that controlled Atlantic City from the 1910s through 1941. His reign would later serve as the inspiration for the HBO series "Boardwalk Empire." Johnson was eventually sent to jail in 1941 for for income tax evasion; he was fined $20,000 and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

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Atlantic County runner-ups

Michael Matthews: The mayor of Atlantic City from 1982 to 1984 who was sentenced to 15 years in prison for extortion. He was paroled in 1990, and died in 2014 at the age of 79.

Jack Abramoff: The man who refers to himself as "America's most notorious lobbyist" was born and lived in Atlantic City before moving to California when he was 10-years-old. Abramoff was at the center of a Native American lobbying scandal that engulfed Congress when it was exposed in 2005.

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Photo by Richard Raska | The Star-Ledger

Bergen County - Anthony Provenzano

Provenzano was born in Manhattan, but he didn't begin to make a name for himself until he dropped out of high school and started driving trucks in Hackensack. Provenzano would eventually become a union leader with the Teamsters, a role that would lead to him becoming a prime suspect in the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa. Provenzano died of a heart attack in 1988.

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Bergen County runner-ups

Lisa "Sister Souljah" Williamson: The activist-hip-hop artist was born in the Bronx, raised in Englewood and graduated from Rutgers. The racially-charged statements she made in response to the 1992 Rodney King riots inspired the term "a Sister Souljah moment."

Brian Williams: Once the anchor NBC's Nightly News; the Ridgewood native lost his anchor spot after he was forced to apologize for lying about an Iraq War story.

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Photo courtesy of the Burlington County Historical Society

Burlington County - James W. Wall

Wall, who made a name for himself as the mayor of Burlington, was a prominent voice for the Copperheads, a group of Northern Democrats who opposed the Civil War and called for immediate peace with the South. After Abraham Lincoln's victory, Wall began working for the New York Daily News (unrelated to the present-day Daily News), a paper notable for racist and pro-confederate views.

Wall was arrested as a political prisoner on September 12, 1861, and was held for several weeks until he pledged allegiance to the Union. (He later represented New Jersey in the U.S. Senate for about two months in 1863 following the death of Senator John Renshaw Thomson.)

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Burlington County runner-ups

Joe Mulliner: "The Robin Hood of the Pine Barrens" was a Tory outlaw who in 1779 went on a crime spree against people in South Jersey that supported the American rebels. In 1781 he was arrested and convicted for high treason, and then hanged in Burlington

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AP File Photo

Camden County - Howard Unruh

Unruh lives in infamy for conducting the "Walk of Death" in 1949, when he walked through his Camden neighborhood on a shooting spree. He killed 13 people in 12 minutes; the victims ranged ranged from a 2-year-ol boy to a 68-year-old woman. In the middle of it all he had a phone conversation with Philip Buxton, a reporter for the Camden Evening Courier. Unruh was found criminally insane and spent the rest of his life in the Trenton Psychiatric Hospital. His last public words, said to a psychologist, were "I'd have killed a thousand if I had enough bullets."

Unruh died in 2009 at the age of 88.

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Camden County runner-ups

Fred Neulander: A Cherry Hill rabbi who hired two men to kill his wife in 1994, while he was having an affair with a Philadelphia radio personality. The media circus that would come to envelope the case forced the trial to be moved to Monmouth County. Neulander is still in prison.

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Image courtesy of the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office and Patricia Martinelli

Cape May County - Ernest Ingenito

Ingenito, who was born in Wildwood, went on a shooting spree in 1950, killing five people and injuring four more. He was targeting his wife Theresa Mazzoli, whom he killed, and her family. The shootings were split between Franklin Township and Minotola.

At the time, New Jersey judges could not sentence people to life without parole, so Ingenito was released in 1974. He was arrested again in 1994 for sexually assaulting the daughter of his girlfriend; he was found guilty on 29 charges over a six year span. Ingenito died in prison in 1995.

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Image courtesy of the Vineland Historical and Antiquarian Society

Cumberland County - Charles Landis

Landis was born in Philadelphia, but he literally founded Vineland so he gets a pass here. In 1875, after a string of articles questioning the sanity of his wife, Landis walked into the office of the Vineland Independent and shot Uri Carruth, the paper's editor, in the back of the head. He claimed insanity as his defense and was found not guilty.

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Cumberland County runner-ups

Dinshah P. Ghadiali: Born in India, Ghadiali moved to NJ in 1911 and established a Spectro-Chrome therapy practice in Malaga. Ghadiali claimed that he could cure people of any illness by exposing them to various shades of colored light. The practice continues as the Dinshah Health Society, and is still based out of Malaga.

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Star-Ledger file photo

Essex County - Charles Cullen

After admitting to 40 murders, Cullen is the most prolific serial killer in New Jersey history  but experts believe he may be the most prolific killer in American history. (Some experts estimate that his real victim count numbers in the hundreds.) The West Orange native worked as a nurse in hospitals across New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania. Cullen used his work to kill victims be introducing lethal combinations of drugs into their IV drips.

On March 2, 2006, Cullen was sentenced to 11 consecutive life sentences. He has to serve 397 years before being eligible for parole.

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Essex County runner-ups

Abner "Longie" Zwillman: Called the "Al Capone of New Jersey," Zwillman was a Jewish mob boss that was born in Newark. He was most active during prohibition, during which he built his empire by smuggling whiskey into the Garden State from Canada.

Anthony Michael Juliano: This Newark native was responsible for at least 27 bank robberies in New York City and Boston between 1973 and 1975. He was placed on the FBI's Top Ten Most Wanted list on March 145, 1976 and was captured in Virginia a week later.

Mark Rudd: Born and raised in Irvington, Rudd was a founding member of Weather Underground, the radical-left group that conducted a string of bombings and attempted to stir riots to protest the Vietnam War.

Chris Christie: Between Bridgegate, Beachgate and a 12 percent approval rating, the current governor kind of forced our hand.

Martha Stewart: The Nutley native served a five month prison term for securities fraud and obstruction of justice, but the businesswoman remains beloved.

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Tim Hawk | South Jersey Times

Gloucester County - Justin Robinson

Slim pickings for Gloucester County has us focused on the present. On October 20, 2012, at just 15 years old, the Clayton native killed 12-year-old Autumn Pasquale and tried to hide her body in a recycling bin. Robinson and his brother, Dante Robinson, were arrested on October 23, 2012; Dante was later released from jail after pleading to obstruction. Robinson is currently serving a 17 year sentence for aggravated manslaughter; he is not eligible for parole until 14 years have been served.

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The Jersey Journal file photo

Hudson County - Frank Hague

Nobody ran a political machine quite like Hague, who some called the "Granddaddy of Jersey Bosses." Hague served as the mayor of Jersey City from 1917 until 1947. Hague had his fingers in all levels of New Jersey politics, serving as the head of a political machine he called "The Organization."

When Hague died, he was estimated to be worth $10 million despite his annual salary ranging between $7,500 and $8,000. He never listed another source of income.

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Hudson County runner-ups

G. Gordon Liddy: The chief operative in President Nixon's White House Plumbers unit, Liddy was convicted of conspiracy, burglary and illegal wiretapping for his role in the Watergate scandal. Liddy was raised in Hoboken.

Richard Kuklinski: This Jersey City native was a contract killer for the mob who was convicted for five murders, but likely killed dozens more. He was known as "The Iceman" for his method of freezing bodies in order to mask the time of death.

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Hunterdon County - John Garrison

Born in 1824 in Little York, between Alexandria and Union townships, Garrison would find his infamy in the Wild West as the legendary figure of "Liver Eating Johnston," a man with a reputation for killing Native Americans and then eating his victims.

After deserting the Navy during the Mexican-American War, Garrison changed his last name to Johnston and moved to Alder Gulch, Montana. It was in the Wild West where he developed his alleged taste for human flesh. Garrison's legend inspired Robert Redford's 1972 film "Jeremiah Johnson."

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Hunterdon County runner-ups

Isidore Heath (Campbell) Hitler: America's most famous Nazi dad, Hitler's notoriety began in 2008 when the Greenwich ShopRite refused to sell him a cake with Hitler written in the icing. Since then, he has legally changed his last name to Hitler. He is the founder and leader of the white supremacist group Hitler's Order.

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Robert Eberle | The Star-Ledger

Mercer County - Joseph M. Harris

In October 1991, Harris, a native Trentonian, had a samurai sward and a grudge. The longtime postal worker killed his former supervisor, Carol Ott, and her boyfriend in Ott's Wayne home before heading to the Ridgewood Post Office and killing two mail handlers.

Harris was sentenced to death in 1993. He appealed the death sentence, but died in his cell in 1996 just two days before a hearing with the state Supreme Court.

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Mercer County runner-ups

Amy Locane: The former "Melrose Place" actress, born in Trenton, was part of a fatal DWI in Montgomery in 2010. Locane's blood alcohol level was found to be three times the legal limit; she was convicted of vehicular homicide and assault by auto.

Dennis Rodman: The Trenton native is a five-time NBA champion with his fair share of minor legal issues, but he is most infamous for his eccentricity on and off the court. Most recently, that has meant his frequent and highly publicized travels to North Korea.

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Tony Kurdzuk | The Star-Ledger

Middlesex County - Jesse Timmendequas

Timmendequas, a graduate of Piscataway High School, raped and murdered 7-year-old Megan Kanka in 1994. The case garnered national attention, with the focus intensified by the fact that Timmendequas had a history of sexually assaulting girls that were Kanka's age. The case spurred New Jersey law makers to pass "Megan's Law," which created a state sex offender registry.

Timmendequas was initially sentenced to death, but he was still on death row when New Jersey did away with the death penalty in 2007. His sentence was then changed to life without parole.

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Middlesex County runner-ups

Jim McGreevey: McGreevey, who grew up in Carteret, was the nation's first openly gay governor. Unfortunately, that milestone is overshadowed by the circumstances that led up to the announcement. McGreevey was forced to resign after appointing his secret lover, Israeli citizen Golan Cipel, to serve as homeland security advisor.

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Robert Sciarrino | NJ Advance Media

Monmouth County - Michael "The Situation" Sorrentino

The only member of MTV's hit show "Jersey Shore" that is actually from New Jersey, Sorrentino was raised in Manalapan after being born in Staten Island. His role in the show alone would be enough to qualify as infamous in the Garden State, but Sorrentino's, er, situation is more complex than that.

In 2014, Sorrentino and his brother Marc were charged for fraud based on accusations that their business, S Corporations, was used to pay personal expenses without reporting income. Federal investigators said the pair owed taxes on $8.9 million. Additional tax evasion charges were added this April.

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Monmouth County runner-ups

Joel Parker: The 20th governor of New Jersey supported the Civil War, but staunchly opposed President Abraham Lincoln. Parker, working with the state legislature, barred New Jersey troops from voting in the 1864 election because he feared they would vote for Lincoln.

Titus "Colonel Tye" Cornelius: Born into slavery in Colts Neck, Cornelius was a black loyalist who fought for the crown during the American Revolution. He was known as a feared and effective master of guerrilla tactics.

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Greg Gibson | AP Photo

Morris County - Linda Tripp

The Hanover Park High School graduate was a confidante of Monica Lewinsky. Tripp burned that bridge when she secretly recorded Lewinsky's phone calls during the aide's affair with President Bill Clinton. During the investigation into the Lewinsky scandal, Tripp turned her recordings over to investigator Ken Starr in exchange for immunity from prosecution. Tripp's recordings led to Starr expanding his investigation into the actions of President Bill Clinton.

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Morris County runner-ups

Eddie Leonski: A native of Kenvil, Leonski was a serial killer who murdered three women in Melbourne, Australia while serving as a G.I. in WWII. He became known as the Brownout Strangler. The film "Death of a Soldier" is based on Leonski, and the Netflix show "Inside the Mind of a Serial Killer" has an episode focused on Leonski.

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Chris Faytok | The Star-Ledger

Ocean County - Robert O. Marshall

Though born in Queens, Marshall had been a long-time resident of Toms River when he hired two men in 1984 to kill his wife so he could collect on a $1.5 million insurance policy. Marshall died in prison in 2015. The bestselling book "Blind Faith" is based on the Marshall case; it was later adapted into an Emmy-nominated TV show of the same name.

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Ocean County runner-ups

James Moody: Hailing from Little Egg Harbor, Moody remained loyal to the British crown during the American Revolution. In 1777, a patriot militia marched on his farm to try and force him to pledge loyalty to the American cause. Moody escaped the militia, and went on to fight for the British in the Revolution. After the war, he fled to Nova Scotia and became a political figure.

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Robert Sciarrino | The Star-Ledger

Passaic County - Teresa Giudice

Yes, Paterson's Giudice gained her infamy primarily through her role on "Real Housewives of New Jersey," but her reputation goes deeper than that. Giudice served 11 months in federal prison for fraud.

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Passaic County runner-ups

Gaetano Bresci: Born in Tuscany, this Italian anarchist emigrated to the U.S. and made a living as a weaver in Paterson before returning to Italy and assassinating King Umberto I.

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Salem County - Henry Thomas Ellett

Like Gloucester County, Salem County is lacking in infamous residents. Unlike Gloucester County, however, we're taking it way back for Salem County. Born and raised in Salem, and educated at Princeton, Ellett would travel South before finding infamy. Ellett moved to Mississippi, where he became a state senator and worked to help the state secede from the Union during the Civil War. Ellett died on stage in 1887, while he was delivering a welcome address for President Grover Cleveland.

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Photo courtesy of the Somerset County Cultural and Heritage Commission

Somerset County - Jane Gibson

Gibson found her moment of fame as The Pig Woman, the star witness in the Hall-Mills Murders. Gibson was the only person who claimed to be a witness to the 1922 crime. Because of her ailing health, Gibson was wheeled into court on a hospital bed. The trial became a media circus; nothing would surpass it in terms of sheer amount of newspaper coverage until the Lindbergh Kidnapping.

Gibson may also serve as the inspiration for The Pig Lady, a modern Somerset County myth about a woman with a pig face who uses an ax to kill unsuspecting travelers.

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Somerset County runner-ups

Matthew Heikkila: On a January night in 1991 in Bernards Township, Heikkila carried out an ambush murder of his adoptive parents, because he felt that they favored his brother Joshua and he wanted money to celebrate his girlfriend's birthday. Investigators found two spend shotgun shells at the scene; one had "mom" written on it while the other was inscribed "mom and dad."

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Robert Sciarrino | The Star-Ledger

Sussex County - Giuseppe "Joseph" Tedesco

Tedesco's 2010 murder of Alyssa Ruggieri rocked Hopatcong. Angered because Ruggieri had not come to his birthday celebration, Tedesco showed up at her door with a gun, entered the home and shot her to death. On July 17, 2013, Tedesco was sentenced to 70 years in prison; he won't be eligible for parole until he is 84 years old.

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Sussex County runner-ups

Rodman M. Price: a Newton native who served as New Jersey's 17th governor from 1854 to 1857, pushed hard for the Garden state to secede from the "Northern confederacy" and join its "Destiny with the South."

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Image courtesy of the New Jersey Historical Society

Union County - Aaron Burr

Thanks to Broadway, most of America knows that Burr killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel. Yes, Burr challenged Hamilton to a duel with honor on the line, and that challenge led to America's new favorite founding father being mortally wounded on a July morning in Weehawken.

But Burr's sketchy actions go beyond that: the native of Elizabeth was arrested for treason for his "Burr Conspiracy." Allegedly, Burr was angling to seize 40,000 acres of land in Louisiana and Texas from Spain for himself, and to then create an independent nation from that. Burr denied the accusations and was eventually acquitted, but the damage was down. He exiled himself to Europe after the trial, and eventually returned to the U.S. after changing his last name to Edwards.

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Union County runner-ups

Charles Kushner: The father of current presidential advisor Jared Kushner, the elder Kushner grew up in Elizabeth before founding Kushner Companies and creating a Realestate empire. He was convicted in 2005 of making illegal campaign contributions, tax evasion and witness tampering.

Andrew Fastow: The former CEO of Enron, who grew up in New Providence, lost his job and spent five years in federal prison after the energy company declared bankruptcy.

Harrison Williams: A Plainfield native, Williams represented New Jersey as a Senator from 1959 to 1982. He was forced to resign after being caught taking bribes in the FBI's Abscam sting operation.

Artie Lange: The oft-troubled comedian was raised in Union township.

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Warren County - Jason Voorhees

Okay, sure, Voorhees isn't a real person. But options are few and far between for Warren County, and honestly can you do better? The fictional character is the killer at the center of the Friday the 13th horror franchise.

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Warren County gets to claim the killer because Friday the 13th was filmed in and around Hardwick, Blairstown and Hope. The Boy Scout's Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco in Hardwick served as the setting for Camp Crystal Lake; the camp is still open and active. (And, yes, we also chose Voorhees as the most famous person from Warren County for want of options.)

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Looking for more about New Jersey's dirty laundry?

Unspeakable acts: The 21 most notorious murders in New Jersey history

Heinous people: The lunatics | N.J.'s most notorious murders

Career-enders: State of corruption: N.J.'s most infamous political scandals

Michael Sol Warren may be reached at mwarren@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MSolDub. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Marriott International opens Residence Inn London  London Bridge, marking a debut in the capital for the companys industry-leading extended-stay brand.

Located on Long Lane in Southwark, Residence Inn London  London Bridge offers 87 well-appointed studio, one- and two-bedroom suites with separate living, working and sleeping areas, as well as fully equipped kitchens, including refrigerator, microwave, hob, oven, dishwasher and cookware.

Guests looking for a home-from-home experience during longer stays are catered to with upscale design and amenities such as complimentary hot breakfasts, communal laundry facilities, free Wi-Fi, and a 24/7 Grab n Go Market in the lobby. An onsite, state-of-the-art fitness centre is available 24/7 and custom running routes can be accessed via MapMyFitness, thanks to the brands global partnership with Under Armour Connected Fitness.

Well-connected, with good transport links, and a short walk from some of the citys main historic attractions such as Tower Bridge and St. Pauls Cathedral, Residence Inn London  London Bridge is ideally situated for leisure and business travellers alike.

Residence Inn by Marriott will also open a second London property later this year. Residence Inn London  Kensington will be situated on Warwick Road in Earls Court, offering 307 suites with easy access to The Kensington Olympia Exhibition Centre as well as The Victoria and Albert museum, the Science Museum, Royal Albert Hall, and the Natural History museum.

Both properties, owned by a controlled affiliate of Starwood Capital Group, will be operated under a franchise agreement with hotel management company and specialists in the extended-stay market, Cycas Hospitality  Londons second largest operator of serviced apartment and apart-hotels.
Philippine Airlines is all set to boost its operations between Manila and London Heathrow with the deployment of its state-of-the-art 370 seater Boeing 777-300s on the route beginning September 19.

The triple7, considered the airline's flagship aircraft on US transpacific route, will soon serve MNL-UK operations to provide passengers a premium travel experience.

By December, PAL will increase frequencies between the two cities from four times weekly to daily giving passengers the flexibility to choose from a wide selection of flight schedules.

As we carry out the brand promise to be a full service five star carrier of the country and be a source of pride of Filipinos everywhere, we shall continue to enhance the total travel experience along the route. We want our passengers to have the ultimate travel experience marked by comfort, inflight connectivity and the caring service of our cabin crew, embodying the Heart of the Filipino, PAL President and Chief Operating Officer Jaime J. Bautista said.

The B777 replaces the A340s which have served as workhorses between Manila and London Heathrow since 2013.

With its range and operational capability, the flag carrier will be at par with other full service carriers along the route. We will also increase capacity as the aircraft will have a 370-seating capacity on a two  class configuration (42 on business and 328 on economy) as compared to the 254-seating capacity of the A340, he added.

At present, PAL has a total of 82 planes, made up of A320s, A321s, A330s, A340s and B777s as well as Bombardier Q300s and Q400s.
Qatars Ministry of Interior (MoI), Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) and Qatar Airways today announced that Qatar will allow visa-free entry for citizens of 80 countries, effective immediately.

Citizens of those countries* wishing to visit Qatar will no longer need to apply or pay for a visa; instead, a multi-entry waiver will be issued free-of-charge at the port of entry, upon presentation of a valid passport with a minimum validity of six months and a confirmed onward or return ticket.

Depending on the nationality of the visitor, the waiver will either be valid for 180 days, from the date of issue, and allow the visitor to spend a total of 90 days in Qatar (multiple-entry waiver); or it will be valid for 30 days from the date of issue and entitle the visitor to spend up to 30 days in Qatar with the possibility of applying for an extension of the waiver for an additional 30 days (multiple-entry waiver).

These developments come as part of a series of measures that Qatar has taken to facilitate visitor access to the country. Last month, Qatar launched an e-visa platform, www.qatarvisaservice.com, through which travellers of all nationalities can apply for tourist and visitor visas with more efficiency and ease. The country is also considering further enhancements to its visa policy, such as waiving visa requirements for holders of a residence permit or a valid visa from the nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates), United Kingdom, United States of America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand or the Schengen countries. This waiver would allow eligible visitors to obtain an Electronic Travel Authorisation by completing a simple online application at least 48 hours prior to travel.

As part of Qatar Airways and QTAs combined efforts to boost tourism in the country, the award-winning airline has accelerated its global expansion plans, and recently announced the launch of a number of new destinations from Doha that it is adding to its network by the end of August including Kiev, Ukraine and Prague, Czech Republic. Yesterday, the airline launched Sohar, in the Sultanate of Oman. Qatar Airways also recently launched a direct service to Dublin, Republic of Ireland; Nice, France and Skopje, connecting even more people to more places, and making it easier than ever for passengers to visit Qatar as part of their journey.

The below section details the new visa waiver eligibility for citizens of the 80 countries.

Entry to Qatar is approved at the sole discretion of Qatars Ministry of Interior.

A) Nationals of the following 33 countries will not require prior visa arrangements and can obtain a visa waiver upon arrival in Qatar. The waiver will be valid for 180 days from the date of issuance and entitle its holder to spend up to 90 days in Qatar, during either a single trip or on multiple trips.

1. Austria

2. Bahamas

3. Belgium

4. Bulgaria

5. Croatia

6. Cyprus

7. Czech Republic

8. Denmark

9. Estonia

10. Finland

11. France

12. Germany

13. Greece

14. Hungary

15. Iceland

16. Italy

17. Latvia

18. Liechtenstein

19. Lithuania

20. Luxembourg

21. Malta

22. Netherlands

23. Norway

24. Poland

25. Portugal

26. Romania

27. Seychelles

28. Slovakia

29. Slovenia

30. Spain

31. Sweden

32. Switzerland

33. Turkey

B) Nationals of the following 47 countries will not require prior visa arrangements and can obtain a visa waiver upon arrival in Qatar. The waiver will be valid for 30 days from the date of issuance and entitle its holder to spend up to 30 days in Qatar, during either a single trip or on multiple trips. This waiver may be extended for a further 30 days.

1. Andorra

2. Argentina

3. Australia

4. Belarus

5. Bolivia

6. Brazil

7. Brunei

8. Canada

9. Chile

10. China

11. Colombia

12. Ecuador

13. Panama

14. Costa Rica

15. Georgia

16. Guyana

17. Hong Kong

18. India

19. Indonesia

20. Ireland

21. Japan

22. Kazakhstan

23. Lebanon

24. Azerbaijan

25. Macedonia

26. Malaysia

27. Maldives

28. Mexico

29. Moldova

30. Monaco

31. New Zealand

32. Paraguay

33. Peru

34. Russia

35. San Marino

36. Singapore

37. South Africa

38. South Korea

39. Suriname

40. Cuba

41. Thailand

42. Ukraine

43. United Kingdom

44. United States

45. Uruguay

46. Vatican City

47. Venezuela
The study looks at two smaller-scale projects that are in some ways predecessors to the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion, the $2 billion plan to slow land loss erasing Louisiana's coast. Construction on that project could begin as early as next year, while a similar one on the opposite side of the river known as the Mid-Breton Diversion could follow.
Today

Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 42F. Winds N at 10 to 20 mph.

Tonight

Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 42F. Winds N at 10 to 20 mph.

Tomorrow

A mainly sunny sky. High 57F. Winds NNE at 10 to 15 mph.
Weather Alert

...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM CST SUNDAY... * WHAT...North winds near 20 kt with gusts up to 30 kt expected. * WHERE...Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Maurepas and Lake Borgne. * WHEN...Until 6 AM CST Sunday. * IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller vessels, should avoid navigating in hazardous conditions. &&
SIDNEY  Former Fremont County Landfill Manager Dusty VanRenan pleaded guilty to a criminal charge of theft related to a state investigation that accused him of improperly using of thousands of tax dollars between October 2014 and August 2015.

VanRenan was charged with ongoing criminal conduct and second-degree theft.

In Fremont County Court Monday, VanRenan pled guilty to the theft charge in exchange for the dismissal of the criminal conduct charge.

The charges were related to a 2016 special investigation conducted by Iowa Auditor of State Mary Mosiman.

In the state auditors report, released in August 2016, the investigation identified $39,599.38 of improper and unsupported disbursements, undeposited collections and forgone revenues.

The investigation specified the dates of March 1, 2014, through Sept. 30, 2015, when the landfill was under the VanRenans supervision.

The investigation found $7,904.43 of improper disbursements identified including $2,299.37 of purchases with a commission credit card, $2,100 of estimated excess fuel purchases with the commissions fuel card, and $1,612.50 of transportation costs improperly paid by Fremont County.

Specifically, the report stated that there were two landfill credit cards held by VanRenan and another employee. After reviewing the credit card statements, it was determined the card held by the employee was not used much and purchases were deemed reasonable.

However, the card held by VanRenan was frequently used. Auditors found were several charges that were identified as improper, totaling roughly $2,300 with an additional $2,089 in unsupported charges.

A few of the improper charges included fuel purchases. VanRenan was to only purchase fuel at Caseys General Store with a Caseys fuel card. But the credit card statements included 41 charges from Caseys General Store, Pilot, Shell Oil, Hamburg Oil and Cenex Cubbys totaling $1,894. In addition, the statements had two purchases at Bohlens Farm Service in Percival; six purchases totaling $106.36 from restaurants including McDonalds, Pizza Hut and Wendys; 23 purchases from Apple iTunes store and three purchases from SAT-Tech LLC.

The investigation also showed undeposited collections of roughly $7,622 as well as payments for recycled pallets that were deposited into VanRenans personal bank account rather than the commissions bank account.

We traced three of the 11 checks issued to Mr. VanRenan to deposits in his personal bank account, the report stated. Of the three checks, cash was withheld from two of the deposits, including $400 cash withheld when check number 62861 was deposited. Of the remaining eight checks issued to Mr. VanRenan, he endorsed check number 61733 over to Miki VanRenan and six checks were redeemed for cash.

Mosiman also reported the $21,450 of forgone revenue identified includes $1,450 of estimated reimbursements not received from the Department of Natural Resources and $20,000 of forgivable loan proceeds which have to be repaid to DNR as a result of not complying with program requirements.

The $2,622.85 of unsupported disbursements identified includes payments on a commission credit card and payments to vendors for which supporting documentation was not available. As a result, it was not possible to determine the propriety of the payments, according to the report.

Toward the end of the report, recommendations were added to strengthen the commissions internal controls and overall operations. Improvements include a segregation of duties, review pertinent information and documentation prior to making decisions.

VanRenan resigned in September 2015.

In court Monday, VanRenan requested sentencing right away, and was given deferred judgement and two years of formal probation. He was also ordered to pay restitution and court costs.

According to Fremont County Attorney Brenna Bird, the amount of restitution is yet to be determined and substantiated. She said the Fremont County Landfill will submit a statement of the amount that should be repaid for her review, and she will submit a statement of debt to the court within 30 days.

VanRenan may challenge the suggested amount if he chooses, and the matter would then have to go to a hearing to determine the amount of restitution.

 Tess Gruber Nelson of the BH News Service contributed to this report.
Joseph Lehans positive impact on rural Pottawattamie County can be seen in many ways, according to those who knew him.

As a member of the Iowa West Foundation, Lehan always made sure the needs in the less populated areas were never overlooked on grant money distribution, said longtime friend Jerry Mathiasen.

Joe always put in his 2-cents worth on grants, which would improve the quality of life in the rural communities, as well as Council Bluffs, said Mathiasen, the foundations former senior vice president.

He mentioned how Lehan pushed for money to improve the smaller county libraries, and for necessary equipment to the numerous volunteer fire departments. Lehan was instrumental in providing money to build Underwoods UMBA Hall, plus scholarships for deserving students in the rural areas, Mathiasen said.

Joes fingertips are on many of those types of projects that received grants, he said.

Lehan, a longtime pharmacist in Minden, died at his home there Monday. He was 77.

He was a great guy, a wonderful addition to our board, said local attorney Chuck Smith, who served as the Iowa West board chairman when Lehan was a member. He was always a voice for rural Pottawattamie County.

Tom Whitson served with Lehan on the Southwest Iowa Foundation Board. He recalled how Lehan purchased a vacant, old building in Minden and turned it into a successful pharmacy. That influenced other owners to expand and improve their businesses, which in turn encouraged more shoppers to town, Whitson said.

Joe understood the bigger picture that the town had to do well in order for him to do well, he said.

Lehan owned Lehan Pharmacy for 40 years, retiring in May 2008.

Minden Mayor Kevin Zimmerman described Lehan as the local doctor where people went when they got sick. And, when they couldnt go there, Lehan would travel to their homes even if they were many miles away, Zimmerman said.

He was always looking out for the community, Zimmerman said.

Lehan was born on May 14, 1940, the son of Charles and Wilma (Blum) Lehan in Defiance. He graduated from St. Pauls Catholic High School in Defiance in 1956 and later graduated from Creighton University in Omaha. In August 1965, Lehan joined the U.S. Army and served stateside during the Vietnam War as a medic.

Joe met Connie Lee Hagood while she was living in Council Bluffs, and he was working at Con Drug.

Connie stopped into the pharmacy to pick up a prescription and had given an envelope with her name on it to the cashier. It had been thrown away and Joe dug the envelope out of the trash and started working on finding Connie.

He found her and a relationship ensued. Joe and Connie were married on February 9, 1968, at Queen of Apostles Parish in Council Bluffs. They had four sons: Todd, Mark, Troy, and Matthew.

Todd Lehan said his fathers successful efforts for rural grants were helpful, particularly for infrastructure projects that the smaller communities simply couldnt afford on their own.

He was a good man, a hard working guy, Todd said. He really loved helping people.

Visitation is today from 5 to 8 p.m. at St. Patricks Catholic Church in Neola with the rosary at 7 p.m.

Funeral Mass is Friday at 10:30 a.m. at the church.

The family requests that to honor his local leadership, memorial checks be sent to:

The Joe Lehan Memorial Fund at the Pottawattamie County Community Foundation, 536 E. Broadway, Council Bluffs, IA, 51503. All donations are tax deductible, and the entire fund will be used for the betterment of the Minden community.
The following editorial was published in the Des Moines Register on Aug. 3.

Iowa was once known as the creme de la creme in primary education, raising children who ranked near the top in college readiness and math and reading scores.

Now, the status quo is mediocrity. The latest evidence: In a nation known for its foreign-language illiteracy, Iowa ranks below average in the percentage of students learning a world language.

This is the result, in part, of the states modus operandi of underfunding education. Many Iowa schools cant afford to offer more than one foreign language in high school and nothing in lower grades.

Continuing to fail, however, need not be a fait accompli. Gov. Kim Reynolds has focused on expanding opportunities in science, technology, engineering and math for students. These topics are critical for Iowas competitiveness. But we should not send the message that mastering coding language is more important than learning Chinese or Spanish.

As the U.S. lags other countries in language learning, Iowa has fallen behind its neighboring states.

About 15 percent of Iowas K-12 students were enrolled in a foreign language course in 2014-15, according to a report published by the American Councils for International Education and the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.

That puts Iowa 35th out of 50 states and the District of Columbia, and near the bottom in the Midwest. Nebraska, the Dakotas and Missouri have a higher percentage of students learning a foreign language.

Evidence shows that the earlier students get instruction in a foreign language, the more likely they will become proficient and the better they will do academically overall. Yet Iowa districts are not required to offer courses until high school. Most elementary schools offer nada.

Wisconsin ranked No. 3 in the report, with more than 36 percent of students learning a foreign language. The state requires schools to offer foreign language courses starting in seventh grade and encourages schools to start earlier. And it offers the Seal of Biliteracy, which a student receives after taking a test to show proficiency in English and another language.

Iowa lawmakers failed to pass a bill allowing the seal this past legislative session.

One problem Iowa and most states face is a shortage of qualified teachers, according to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Iowa teacher salaries rank in the middle of the country, so the odds are against it in the race for teachers  particularly after the Legislature passed the law this year shrinking public employees collective-bargaining rights.

The classroom shouldnt be the only opportunity for foreign-language learning. The American Academy of Arts & Sciences report recommends partnerships between businesses and schools, more opportunities for students to study abroad and ways for students to immerse themselves in other cultures.

Business leaders understand that as commerce becomes increasingly global, knowledge of another language is de rigueur. National security experts urge students to learn critical-need languages, such as Arabic, Korean and Russian.

Yet an anti-immigrant zeitgeist can undermine these efforts. Qatar Foundation International, which supports Arabic language instruction in U.S. schools, faces anti-Islamic opposition. In 2015, residents in Houston protested at an Arabic Immersion Magnet School.

Federal policies can also build walls between cultures. A bill to curb legal immigration, which President Donald Trump promoted this week, would favor immigrants who know English. Such a move would not help efforts to increase bilingualism among native-born Americans.

Iowa is justifiably proud of its international connections, including having a former governor as ambassador in Beijing. Our new governor and other state leaders can take advantage of this to promote learning Chinese or another foreign language. Iowa can be on the avant-garde in foreign language education.
In Tuesdays Nonpareil we ran a letter from Council Bluffs resident Ken Lane, who lamented the lack of local voices in the Your Views section.

Lane wrote a letter that criticized the use of letters from residents outside the region.

The Nonpareils Your Views site starts out with a Readers Discuss. I say really? The word reader seems to imply that the contributor actually reads and expounds from at least a regional perspective, Lane wrote, later saying. I believe the actual readers of the Nonpareil deserve better representation of local views.

Hes not wrong about better representation. We need more local letters.

We give first priority on letters to local writers from southwest Iowa. Always have, always will. But we dont turn away legitimate letters from outside the region, either. When the well of local Your Views dries up, we sometimes turn to the remaining letters.

Consider this a call for letters, dear readers. We want to hear your thoughts on the issues of our day  local issues, state issues and national issues. Your views matter.

The letters to the editor column in newspapers serves an important role in a community, giving added voice to the public.

We have an active Facebook comment community that has engaged in a variety of banter and we want that to continue. We hope some of those with opinions on the topics that affect Council Bluffs will take the time to send a letter our way.

Letters must include the writers name, address and telephone number. Letters without a phone number for verification will be discarded. Letter verification will not be done by email.

Hold letters to a maximum of 400 words. Longer letters may be shortened for space reasons. Send letters to Your Views at The Daily Nonpareil, Box 797, Council Bluffs, IA, 51502.

Letters may also be faxed to 712-325-5776 or emailed to editorial@nonpareilonline.com.

Let us know what you think.
Aurelio's Pizza, the popular Chicago party-cut style pizzeria that's often honored on Best in the Region lists, is marking its 40th year in Schererville.

Franchise owner Dave Scheidt started out there as a busboy 28 years ago and worked his way up the ranks and ultimately bought the place that's known for its tavern-style square-cut pizza.

"I went from being a kid riding my bike to work, to owning my own business. I am happy to say that I will be a part of the Aurelio's family for life," Scheidt said. "I take great pride in our pizza. It's always satisfying to see customers walk out smiling telling me how much they love our pizza."

The chain, which started in Homewood in 1959, now has 42 locations, including in Griffith, Munster, Hammond, Crown Point, Cedar Lake, Portage, Lowell, Valparaiso, Crete, South Holland and Chicago Heights. The Schererville location serves up thin-crust pizza, pasta, meatball sandwiches and salads at 1412 Lincoln Highway in Schererville.

"At Aurelio's Pizza we are truly a family business, and Dave has been with the Aurelio's family for his entire career," said Joe Aurelio, president of Aurelio's. "The reason generations have been coming to Schererville is because he knows that it's the guest experience, not just the quality of the food, that makes the Aurelio's difference."

The pizzeria plans to celebrate from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. Aug. 24 with pizza specials, drawings and an appearance with Aurelio's Pizza Man, an Italian chef mascot with a poofy hat. Every table to dine in will get an envelope with 25 percent to 100 percent off their check.
Retail giant Walmart is ready to award grants between $25,000 and $200,000 to Indiana charities and nonprofits.

The Walmart Foundation seeks to support community groups across the state, which cater to underserved low-income populations, by focusing on education programs, health care access, shelters, disaster preparedness and career opportunities.

We see these grants as opportunities to use our size and strengths to help others, said Corey Langston, a representative for Walmart. We want to do what we can to work with local nonprofits and, together, help strengthen our communities.

Nonprofits must have 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status to qualify for the grant funding.

Walmart operates 130 stores in Indiana, which employ more than 39,000 workers. The national retailer, headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas, said it spends $2 billion annually with Indiana-based suppliers, funding nearly 59,000 jobs from suppliers.

The company gave an estimated $32.3 million to Indiana charities so far this year, and has contributed more than 53,000 hours with local nonprofits.

Interested parties can apply online at giving.walmart.com/apply-for-grants.
The Cowsills are still enjoying their stint on one of the most popular tours traveling the country.

"Every time we get to come back on this tour, it's just a joy," said Paul Cowsill, during a recent phone interview.

The tour, which stops at Silver Creek Event Center at Four Winds Casino on Friday, is named after The Turtles' smash hit "Happy Together." The tour was started eight years ago by Turtles Flo (Mark Volman) and Eddie (Howard Kaylan).

The Happy Together tour annually has brought together groups from the '60s to perform on a multi-bill performance roster. Most of the groups change on the roster except for The Turtles, who perform every year. Some bands, however, have enjoyed repeat performances.

Cowsill, who performs with his brother Bob and sister Susan for The Happy Together gig, said they've been on the tour twice before. The Cowsills is the first group to perform on the Happy together tour three times.

"Bob, Susan and I are having the time of our lives," he said. "It's great to be working with Howard and Mark and the bands they've put together this year. The bands are killing it," he said, about all the enthusiastic performances.

In addition to The Cowsills, this year's lineup stars The Association; Chuck Negron, formerly of Three Dog Night; The Box Tops; and The Archies' Ron Dante. The show will also be performed at the Indiana State Fair on Aug.14; Fort Wayne on Aug. 23; The Genesee Theatre in Waukegan, Illinois on Aug. 24 and The Paramount Theatre in Aurora, Illinois on Aug. 25.

Cowsill, 65, said all the bands on this particular tour are getting along very well and are like family.

Among songs fans will hear at the show are "The Rain, The Park & Other Things," "Indian Lake" and the theme from "Hair" from The Cowsills. And expect tunes such as "She'd Rather Be With Me," "Elenore," and others from The Turtles, "Cherish," and "Windy" from The Association and "Joy to the World," "One," and more from Chuck Negron. The Box Tops will deliver "The Letter," "Soul Deep" and other songs while Ron Dante will, no doubt, sweeten his set with "Sugar, Sugar" and other Archies' favorites.

"We're all humbled by the audiences still coming out (to see us)," Cowsill said, adding he thinks the '60s was an "interesting and incredible" time for music. The songs, he said, are special to fans and they allow people to go back in time and also stir up memories.

The Cowsills' life was recently documented in the documentary, "Family Band: The Cowsills Story." The siblings, along with their mother, became a family band in the 1960s in Rhode Island.

The television show "The Partridge Family" was patterned after The Cowsills. The group featured siblings Bill, Bob, Barry, John, Susan, Paul and their mother Barbara. Their brother Richard served as their road manager. (Mother Barbara, their father Bud and brothers Bill, Barry and Richard are deceased.)

Cowsill said not only are the performances fun for them but meeting fans in the different towns along the way is always nice.

While they've been touring, Cowsill said he and his siblings have been discussing ideas for new material and projects.

"We're all talking about making one last Cowsills album," he said.

FYI: The Happy Together Tour will be performed at 8 p.m. Eastern on Friday at The Silver Creek Event Center at Four Winds Casino in New Buffalo, Michigan. Tickets start at $50. Visit fourwindscasino.com. Visit theturtles.com for more information on the tour. For more information on The Cowsills, visit cowsill.com.
MICHIGAN CITY  A 73-year-old man was airlifted to a hospital after getting pinned beneath a GMC Envoy in front of his home Thursday about one mile east of the city's downtown area.

Shortly before 12:30 p.m., Kenneth "Ike" Edson and his wife were unhooking a vehicle from the back of a motor home when the Envoy, set in neutral, began rolling backwards, according to a news release from the LaPorte County Sheriff's Department.

Edson attempted to get into the vehicle and put it in gear as it rolled out of his driveway and across County Road 600 North, police said.

The vehicle rolled about 150 feet before landing backwards in a ditch on the east side of the roadway, where Edson became trapped and remained pinned for about 45 minutes, police said.

It took about 25 minutes to free Edson from beneath the vehicle, police said.

Coolspring and Springfield Center Township fire departments responded to the call with two tow trucks. Firefighters used the air bags and a tow truck to raise and stabilize the vehicle.

EMS personnel treated Edson at the scene for injuries to his leg, abdomen and head, police said. He was airlifted to Memorial Hospital in South Bend with serious but not life-threatening injuries.
A vehicle pursuit that began in south suburban Chicago on Thursday morning ended in a fatal police shooting outside a gas station in Dyer, according to authorities.

The man who allegedly led police in the pursuit across the state line was identified as 33-year-old Mark Coffey, of Chicago Heights, in a news release sent out early Thursday evening by the Lake County coroner's office.

Coffey sustained gunshot wounds, but the manner of death is still pending investigation, the release stated.

Master Trooper Glen Fifield of the Indiana State Police updated information about the case Thursday afternoon at a news conference attended by law enforcement officials from Illinois and Indiana.

Four law enforcement officers from three police departments in Lake County are on paid administrative leave pending a state police investigation into the shooting, according to Fifield.

The vehicle pursuit was initiated at about 4:55 a.m. by police in Crete, Illinois, after officers spotted a vehicle in the village that was previously reported stolen, Crete Police Chief James Paoletti said at the news conference.

Sauk Village Police Chief Robert Kowalski said in an interview the Crete police pursuit continued into his village, with the suspect vehicle weaving in and out of neighborhoods before fleeing across the state line.

Kowalski said the driver then looped back toward Sauk Village, where Coffey allegedly ditched the original vehicle and stole a second one.

Paoletti said at the news conference Coffey had keys for the vehicle, and believed the suspect stashed it in the neighborhood.

Kowalski said the suspect hit a pedestrian with the new vehicle near the intersection of Sauk Trail and Jeffrey Avenue. The pedestrian was transported to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, Illinois, and Kowalski said he was uncertain of the person's condition.

Kowalski said his department was not involved in the pursuit.

Fifield said at a news conference Thursday morning the Dyer Police Department got a call for assistance at 5:38 a.m.

The suspect vehicle was next located by Indiana law enforcement in the 9300 block of Sheffield Avenue, Fifield said, and the pursuit continued to 81st and Sheffield avenues, where the suspect's vehicle struck another vehicle outside a BP gas station.

"There was a confrontation between the suspect and the officers involving multiple gunshots being fired," Fifield said. "As a result, the suspect is deceased."

The master trooper said, given the hit-and-run in Sauk Village, it was clear the man was a "dangerous person," but he declined to comment on whether a weapon was found in the stolen vehicle.

Fifield said the man, later identified as Coffey, had an active warrant for armed robbery and burglary at the time of his death, and he was found in his vehicle wearing an ankle monitoring bracelet issued by the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Paoletti said he did not believe his officers made a mistake by not canceling the pursuit sooner, despite the injured pedestrian.

"We have certain parameters we look at when we determine whether a vehicle pursuit should continue or be canceled, and I would say the parameters were not met to reach the point of canceling," he said.

The suspect vehicle was parked in the morning in the north lane of Sheffield Avenue, located a few feet from a Dyer town welcome sign and cordoned off with police tape.

Cassandra Kmak, who lives in a neighborhood near the shooting, said she and her husband were awake at 5:30 a.m. when she heard what sounded like firecrackers outside their home.

Kmak said she did not realize there was a shooting until they heard about it on the morning news. She said she looked out her upstairs window and realized police were swarming Sheffield Avenue.

I've never seen so many police, she said.

The police agencies involved in the shooting were the Lake County Sheriff's Department, Dyer Police Department and St. John Police Department, according to Fifield. One officer each from the sheriff's department and Dyer Police Department were placed on paid administrative leave. Two officers from St. John are also on paid leave.
CROWN POINT  A 38-year-old man was arrested Tuesday on allegations he gunned down a car mechanic last month in Lake Station and twice tried to kill a witness to the shooting.

Alexander Wilderness III is charged in Lake Criminal Court with murder, two counts of attempted murder and three counts of felony battery.

Wilderness is accused of fatally shooting Joseph Martin, 40, of Portage, on July 3 at a mechanic's garage on the 2400 block of Ripley Street in Lake Station, according to a probable cause affidavit.

An employee at the shop told police a man visited the garage and asked Martin to work on his vehicle, but the mechanic refused.

He said the man then grabbed a gun and repeatedly shot Martin, the affidavit states. The employee said Wilderness then turned the gun on him, but he was able to hide behind a car in the garage, according to the affidavit.

The employee said the man had visited the shop a few days before the shooting asking for work on his vehicle, according to the affidavit.

Eduardo Ponce, owner of Sigma Towing  which is next door to the garage where Martin was shot  told The Times on Wednesday he "never thought" something like this would happen to Martin.

Ponce, who has been in business for five years, said he would always wave hello to Martin when he saw him. He described Martin as a nice guy and didn't think he was ever confrontational.

"We all have mad customers here and there, but I never thought anyone could do that for something so small," Ponce said. "It's kind of hard to believe that happened to him out of nowhere."

Wilderness' vehicle was identified through surveillance footage as a blue Chevrolet Blazer, the affidavit states.

An officer spotted a similar vehicle parked July 14 outside a motorcycle clubhouse in Gary.

The officer followed the vehicle into a nearby neighborhood before the driver abandoned it and fled on foot, the affidavit states.

Police searched the vehicle and located a wallet that contained an identification card for Wilderness.

The garage employee shot at by Wilderness on July 3 identified Wilderness as the shooter in a photo lineup, the affidavit states.

That same witness was found by police three days later laying near a road in the 4600 block of Connecticut Street in Gary, according to the affidavit.

The man, who was shot in the forearm, chest and left cheek, was transported to a hospital in Illinois, where he identified his shooter as Wilderness in a photo lineup, the affidavit states.

Wilderness was charged in the shootings last month, but the case was sealed until Wednesday, according to court records.

Capt. Brian Williams of the Lake Station Police Department said Wednesday afternoon Wilderness was arrested in Michigan City. He said the shootings remained under investigation.

Wilderness was previously convicted in federal court of carjacking on allegations he pistol-whipped and kidnapped a Gary woman during a robbery in December 1995.

He was sentenced to almost 20 years in prison, according to federal court records, and released in October 2013.

Wilderness is not afforded bail on the charges, records state.

A court hearing has not yet been scheduled.

Times staff reporter Lauren Cross contributed to this report.
Two area residents have been found guilty and sentenced for unemployment insurance fraud, according to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.

Sherry Beoughter, 46, of Valparaiso, was sentenced to 545 days of probation and was ordered to repay $13,334.10 for the benefits she fraudulently collected, according to the IDWD.

Leo Wilson, 51, of Michigan City, was sentenced to two years of probation and was ordered to repay the department $22,836.50 for the benefits he fraudulently collected.

The pair was swooped up by the IDWD's unemployment insurance fraud investigation task force, which examines claims of individuals who intentionally provide false, misreported or unreported information in order to fraudulently claim benefits.

Since 2014, Indiana courts have ordered fraudsters to repay more than $8.3 million in restitution to the states Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund.

"Combatting fraud preserves employer-paid monies in the trust fund for those individuals who are truly in need of unemployment insurance benefits," said Kate Shelby, IDWD Unemployment Insurance Operations director.

You can help combat unemployment insurance fraud and abuse by reporting it online at in.gov/dwd/fraud. You do not need to provide your name or any other identifying information in order to file a complaint.
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As various road projects that have choked the Region this summer wrap up, the Indiana Department of Transportation has some good news for next year.

While there are some key projects planned for 2018, there will be fewer overall, and Interstate 94, the area's main traffic artery, should be smooth sailing.

"From Illinois to Michigan, it's looking pretty good," said Doug Moats, media relations director for the Northwest District of the Indiana Department of Transportation.

Motorists trying to traverse I-94 this summer have been met with long delays, closed entrance and exit ramps and few good alternative routes.

The work still underway along the busy stretch of the highway in Porter County is expected to wrap up in the middle of November, Moats said.

Paving and bridge repair work continues from an area just east of Ind. 249 in Portage to two miles east of Chesterton, he said. The area includes the Ind. 49 ramps, which provide access to the popular Indiana Dunes State Park and various Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore sites.

Work is wrapping up a little farther west on the replacement of a bridge carrying I-94 over the Indiana Toll Road in Portage, and the highway has undergone restoration and paving work even farther west in Lake County.

Motorists who rely on Interstate 65 should see the summer's repair and repaving work between U.S. 30 and I-94 wind down before the busy Labor Day weekend, Moats said. The work fell behind schedule, he said, because there turned out to be greater need than expected.

An Oct. 1 completion date is set for the resurfacing work that has snarled traffic this summer along Ind. 49 between the Indiana Toll Road south to U.S. 30, he said. The repair work should be wrapping up at the same time along U.S. 30 from Industrial Drive in Valparaiso east to U.S. 421 in Wanatah, and along Ind. 2 in Lake County.

U.S. 6 is expected to reopen just east of Ind. 49 on Sept. 16, Moats said.

Fewer projects in 2018

The reason for the large number of state highway projects this year, in addition to all the side road work done by counties, cities and towns, is that INDOT had to take advantage of funds made available the last couple of years by state lawmakers, Moats has said.

"The work next year is going to be so much better," he said.

Among the larger projects slated for next summer is resurfacing and intersection work along U.S. 6, from a point just west of Ind. 49 in Porter County east to Ind. 39 in LaPorte County, Moats said. The project calls for the addition of turn lanes along U.S. 6 at Calumet Road and intersection improvements farther west on the highway at Meridian Road.

Resurfacing and additional travel lane work is also planned next year for U.S. 41 from Ind. 2 north to three miles south of U.S. 231 in Cedar Lake, he said. U.S. 231 will also be resurfaced between U.S. 41 in St. John east to Ind. 55 in Crown Point.

Bridge projects are slated for next summer along U.S. 41 over the railroad tracks a couple miles south of the Indiana Toll Road and along U.S. 12 in the East Chicago area.

Safety improvement will kick off next year for a long stretch of U.S. 20 from U.S. 421 east to Ind. 2 and then south on Ind. 2 into LaPorte, Moats said.

"It's a highly traveled area," he said.

The work will involve resurfacing and the addition of center turn lanes and rumble strips, Moats said.

Look out for 2019

Next year's break for motorists will be short lived, Moats said. The additional revenue being collected from the state for highway projects will result in another surge in projects in 2019, he said.

Among the projects already slated for then is the addition of a roundabout along Ind. 2 at the combined intersection of County Road 100 South and 300 West in Porter Township, Moats said. The project is scheduled to be completed prior to the start of school that year.

The recent gasoline tax increase of 10 cents per gallon will help make more money available next year for road projects at the state, county and municipal levels.

The Next Level Indiana plan lists projects in Lake County totaling $112 million over the five-year period from 2018-22. Porter County's total is $35.7 million, and LaPorte County's is $78.4 million.
The epidemic of fake news is apparently so contagious it has spread to India. Ravi Prasad, the countrys electronics and information technology minister, claimed India is helpless in combating objectionable content. The Indian government has threatened to jail people responsible for spreading the content.

Of course, the United States is not so overzealous, but it seems we are moving in that unfortunate direction. Ever since President Trump weaponized that epithet against the mainstream media  as he did at a recent rally in Ohio  the establishment media and entrenched politicos have used fake news to delegitimize political speech with which they disagree.

House Democrats have scolded the president for disseminating stories from dubious sources and relying on false reports. The New York Times repeatedly admonishes Fox News Sean Hannity and other conservative commentators for engaging in conspiracy theories. Meanwhile, The Washington Post has made it a priority to teach readers how to identify fake news, however overblown the epidemic may be.

But Democrats and their media allies are not the only ones to blame. Establishment Republicans similarly weaponize the fake designation to delegitimize conservative outsiders, branding nontraditional voices as the political fringe to solidify their insider status.

Last week, former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele criticized Republicans who label something as fake news to avoid confront(ing) the truth."

Others have criticized Trump for inviting non-mainstream news outlets to White House press briefings.

Dave Schnittger, a longtime top aide to House Republican leaders, argues conservative news outlets undermine the congressional governing process. Another aide laments how such news pushes the Republican Party to the anti-government, anti-compromise ideological right.

And who can forget Joe Scarborough? The MSNBC host vocally defends CNN from the president, claiming the network has more integrity on its worst day than Donald Trump has on his best. He went on to praise CNN journalists, saying they should take great pride in their work.

Of course, those same journalists have published decidedly fake stories tying the White House to Russia. In June, CNN retracted a story connecting recently appointed (now fired) White House communication director Anthony Scaramucci to the Senates ongoing Russia investigations. Three journalists involved lost their jobs.

The left is largely to blame for the weaponization of fake news as a bludgeon against free speech. Mainstream media outlets have taken to criticizing so-called scam PACs, political organizations that just happen to support conservative political candidates. The left-wing Campaign Legal Center laments the standard practice of forming PACs that send urgent solicitations for small donations, all while linking the scam PAC phenomenon to the tea party and conservative grassroots activists. Ignored is the reality that for those unrepresented by political elites, the only way to speak meaningfully and be heard is by creating and participating in outside speech and association.

As the establishment cowers in fear of non-mainstream opinions, the right to free speech should be defended now more than ever. No matter how it is expressed  whether through a candidate, PAC or other political organization  outsiders are being smeared as illegitimate simply because they do not belong to the insider cliques of Beltway politics.

While guarding themselves from the left, movement conservatives must not lose sight of the enemy from within: Entrenched Republicans fearing for their survival.
Allowing an audience to see what goes on behind the scenes, buying (and thankfully wearing) a fleece jacket in the middle of July, and owning a toothless dog  these are just some of the things I could choose to write about this month. Since truth is stranger than fiction, as the saying goes, let me share some of the strangeness I call life.

One thing that has been consuming my life is rehearsing for the upcoming show at the Mason City Community Theatre. This is no ordinary show. When I saw Noises Off years ago, I just knew I had to be in it someday. Its a show within a show. The first act consists of the audience seeing a theater group fine-tuning a play only hours before they open. The second act shows the same thing  but from the perspective of the backstage  and the third act just goes a little crazy.

I remember decades ago when my parents played The American Gothic couple in The Music Man, getting to share the stage with my husband and me for the first (and only) time. They were amazed at what went on backstage. Its different, of course, for every show and each performance, but the stories most actors could tell are the ones that keep me coming back for more each time I wonder if I should audition for the next show. Whether a person trips on the way to the stage for an important entrance, forgets to turn their microphone off when going back into the dressing room, or chats with a fellow actor a little too long in the green room during intermission  almost missing their first scene in the next act  the backstage is fodder for stories galore. Sharing a glimpse into backstage life is my favorite part of Noises Off and also the most difficult scene to pull off in all my years of acting.

Where does the bone-chilling cold of summer come into this picture? A week off of rehearsal was necessary as my family went on a spectacular trip to San Francisco. I researched too much as I usually do before any trip, and I read that a jacket and warm clothes were necessary as the weather was usually cold in the Bay in July.

I scoffed, as I usually do when others talk about how cold the weather is while I am just entertaining the idea of wearing long sleeves, let alone a coat. Put me on the top level of a double-decker open-air tour bus going over the Golden Gate Bridge at night, though, and my scoffing quickly changed into my teeth chattering and my body crying out for warmth in the form of a souvenir fleece jacket at one of the shops made for unprepared travelers like me.

My sons are even more hot-blooded than I am, and one night my oldest son attempted a night tour in just a short-sleeved shirt. The bus driver and tour guide laughed at him and asked him if he was from Europe. No  Iowa, he answered.

They just shook their heads. It wasnt long into the tour that my always-hot-son admitted he should have worn a coat. Luck was with him as the bus stopped only one time  on an island at a tiny store that sold anything a person would ever need. Hot-sellers (pun intended) were hot drinks of any kind  and plain black hooded sweatshirts. No one cared if the simple sweatshirt was missing a San Francisco landmark emblazoned across the front. It was warm, and my son (and several of our fellow passengers) would have paid anything for that plain bit of fabric to hold the body heat in on the way back across the Bay bridge.

Finally  another anomaly in the days of a Murray summer  and this is the story of our Cavachon, Siri. She had some rotten teeth that were going to be extracted, and the vet told me that Siri could expect to have several teeth out on both sides of her mouth. Imagine our surprise (and utter shock) when the vet called to say that it was worse than she thought when she was doing the surgery on Siri  and she had to extract ALL of her teeth. Yes  42 teeth were removed that day, and I am still in a bit of disbelief myself. I guess its a genetic thing with the breed and there was really nothing that we could have done to avoid this.

But still  A dog  with NO teeth? How does that even work? How is that even a thing? How could we help Siri adjust to sincerely having a bark that is worse than her bite? (I had to say it.) I have never felt so bad as when we took her home and her tongue was lolling about her still-deadened mouth, trying to figure out just what had happened to her. She moaned a little here and there, but mostly looked at us like, Why?!? You KNOW I love crunchy food!

This little princess of ours turned out to be quite a trooper and recovered well. She lapped up the chicken broth we added to soften her regular food and eyed her sister, our Golden Retriever, Bella, for signs of any leftovers in her dish. Time will tell how Siri does living with no teeth, but I am amazed at her moxie and her willingness to adapt to what life has thrown her way.

Perhaps that is what I am most amazed about this month  the fact that I can learn how to do my lines WRONG  and they are RIGHT; the fact that I can enjoy being cold in the summer in the right location, and the fact that I can learn a lesson from my 22-pound toothless dog. Adapt. Be flexible. And always bring a fleece with you to San Francisco in July.
The U.S. Department of Educations top civil rights official set off a firestorm when she told the New York Times  erroneously  that 90 percent of college sexual assault cases fall into the category of we were both drunk or post-relationship regret.

Candice Jackson quickly and appropriately retracted her remarks, but her comments unintentionally highlighted the practical limits of a federal approach to the tragedy of campus sexual assault.

Consider the following:

80 percent of female college sexual assault victims report knowing their attacker.

25 percent of sexual assault victims say they were drunk or otherwise unable to provide consent or stop an attack.

24 percent of sexual assault victims say physical force was used against them.

The typical sexual assault or rape does not conform to the stereotype of the stranger/rapist lying in wait for his next victim. Rather, predators are more likely to take advantage of the environment or to psychologically manipulate their targets to commit the assaults or rapes. These behaviors are enabled by todays hookup culture.

These cases often lack the physical and corroborating evidence needed to successfully prosecute a case in conventional criminal and campus investigations. Hard evidence is relatively uncommon, and attempts to uncover the truth require lengthy interviews, an understanding of young adult behavior and cultural norms, and fact-finding that doesnt suit the adversarial approach that dominates investigations modeled on the U.S. criminal justice system.

Complicating matters further is the variation in college campus climates. A nine-campus survey funded by the U.S. Department of Justice found that sexual assaults reported by undergraduate women varied from 5.8 percent to 20 percent, and the likelihood of rape varied from 2.2 percent to 6.2 percent.

Effective strategies designed to reduce sexual assault and rape have to be designed for the individual campus and culture.

These nuances require a more holistic and layered approach than federal directives can provide under programs such as Title IX, the federal statute being used to guide sexual assault investigations on college campuses.

The federal governments primary strategy has been to lower evidentiary standards to secure more convictions rather than to support alternative approaches that may do a better job of holding offenders accountable for their actions and changing campus culture.

Campus activism should be refocused to engage administrators constructively in more holistic solutions with a greater chance of achieving sustainable results.

More innovative approaches that focus on bystander intervention, securing individual dignity and directly addressing the harm created by assault would result in the cultural and procedural shifts necessary to reduce campus sexual assault.

To be sure, Candice Jacksons comments were ill-informed and statistically wrong. But those comments should not distract advocates from the real goal of purging campuses of the scourge of sexual assault and recognizing the practical limits of a federal approach.
40 years ago today police arrested the Son of Sam, the serial killer who shot six people dead and wounded seven others. NY1 Criminal Justice Reporter Dean Meminger tracked down the NYPD's former top detective, who says like many other New Yorkers, he was fearful, too:.



He was a one-man killing spree who became known as the .44-caliber killer, and then, the Son of Sam.

"People became really afraid  even though it is a big city  that this man could strike anywhere," said John Keenan.

Keenan was the NYPD's chief of detectives at the time. By August of 1977, David Berkowitz, who was Son of Sam, had shot six people dead and wounded seven others.

Although he had a gun and a badge, Keenan felt the same fear as other fathers of the mysterious killer who traveled the city looking for victims, especially young women.

"My daughter Joan was a teenager, and I had two other daughters," Keenan said. "And I was worried about them.



"And I realized most fathers were in the same position: they were worried about their daughters. It became kind of a panic in the city."

The killing spree began in July 1976, when two people in Pelham Bay in the Bronx were shot, one fatally.

Over the following months, Berkowitz would shoot others in similar fashion in that same neighborhood, as well as in Queens and Brooklyn, contributing to a feeling that the city was out of control.

"I don't feel free to go out, to walk the streets, or go out at all," one woman said in 1977.

Berkowitz often targeted young couples sitting in cars late at night. The female would have long, dark hair. Those who fit that profile feared they too could be killed.

"I'm afraid, I'm afraid to go out in the car, I'm afraid to do anything," one woman said at the time. "You never know where he's going to be."

"We used to stay in front of my house and talking and kiss goodnight, but you can't do that anymore," another woman said at the time. "Just go right in."

Berkowitz left a letter that taunted the police, and referred to himself as the Son of Sam. He also sent one to legendary columnist Jimmy Breslin, promising to kill again.

After searching for cars that received parking tickets near the last killing scene in Brooklyn, police tracked down Berkowitz to his home on Pine Street in Yonkers, just north of the Bronx.

Keenan, now 97 years old, vividly remembers Berkowitz immediately confessing to the murders.

"I went up to him, and he said, 'I know you, you're detective  Chief Keenan,' Saw me on television, I think." Keenan recalled. "I said, 'Who are you?' and he said, 'I'm the Son of Sam.'"

"And he went through every one of the crimes, incidents. And he knew, he told us exactly what happened, including information we hadn't released to the press," Keenan said. "So, we knew that it wasn't something he read in the papers. He knew, he was there."

A detective that also worked the case says Berkowitz appeared proud of the murders.

"He was a mental case, and he was very relaxed talking about them," said Bill Clark, a retired NYPD detective. "For all those years, for the time he was doing it, now he could finally tell somebody about it."

Berkowitz pleaded guilty. Now 64 years old, he's serving six consecutive life sentences. He said his neighbor's dog told him to kill.

That neighbor's name was Sam.
After an arrest for a series of sexual assaults in Queens, some city police officers were honored Wednesday. NY1's Shannan Ferry filed the following report.

Thanks to a team of investigators, an alleged sexual predator is off the streets.

After years of combing through evidence, police last week charged Mark Andrade, 45, with attempted rape, and called him a suspect in five other attacks. They all happened in Forest Park in Queens, police said.

"We were deeply concerned that this would result in a very severe catastrophic event," said Deputy Chief Michael Osgood of the NYPD Special Victims Division.

That's because police say the suspect became progressively more violent, eventually using a stun gun on two victims. The alleged attacks took place from 2011 to 2013, but a break in the case came only last week.

After Andrade was arrested in Nassau County for grand larceny last week, police say they matched him to an attempted rape in 2013. In that case, investigators had taken a sample of the attacker's DNA from a beer bottle that the victim snatched from his jacket.

"She actually reached into his pocket during the fight, and grabs the item and throws it," Osgood said.

So far, Andrade has been charged in that case only. But because the attacks  one rape and five attempted rapes  occurred on or near the same jogging path in Forest Park, police suspect the same person is responsible.

Queens City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley said her constituents have been hoping for an arrest for years, and felt it was important to honor the city police department for its efforts.

"We shouldn't have to worry about someone trying to attack women," Crowley said. "Unfortunately, the reality was we did."

"It's a great feeling, but it's an even better feeling for us that we can bring closure to our six victims," Osgood said.

Investigators say that, for now, the suspect will be charged only with the attack in which they have his DNA match for, but the investigation is ongoing.
Herbert Denmark said he walked two-and-a-half hours from his home in Auburn to the Opelika campus of Southern Union State Community College, where Rep. Mike Rogers held a town hall Thursday morning.

This is the thing that Im really most concerned about these days: access to information, and to people that are supposedly representing you, he said. As a citizen, I think Im responsible for finding out what the people that represent us are doing.

Denmark was one of a small group of Lee County citizens who didn't have advance-reserved tickets and waited outside Southern Unions Business and Technology Center for the opportunity to go in and hear the congressman.

Another was Cindy Mirarchi, who attended the event with her husband, Ralph.

Were very strong believers in social justice issues, whether its pay equity for women, equality in terms of health insurance for all, taking care of our marginalized people, often the poor; our LGBT community, who are often pushed aside, Mirarchi said. We feel that we can stand up for the rights of all and do it in an assertive and respectful way. And we just want to be here for that.

The overarching atmosphere inside the Southern Room was assertive but not always respectful, as the event grew somewhat argumentative during a question-and-answer session.

Rogers spoke for roughly seven minutes, mostly talking about Congress battle over healthcare reform and previewing issues legislators will tackle when they reconvene in the fall: most notably, passing a budget and addressing a potential wall on the border with Mexico.

After his brief address, Rogers opened the floor for questions.

Auburn resident Ashley Aston attacked Rogers campaign funding sources and his staffs decision of when to hold the Lee County town hall.

Given the fact that all of us who wanted to attend this town hall were told we needed to have a valid Alabama-issued photo ID with an address in the district, do you think its fair for you to accept 72 percent of your campaign finance contributions from outside the district, and 13 percent from outside the state of Alabama? she asked. Or are you intentionally limiting the opportunities of your constituents to engage with you, especially as you scheduled this town hall during the first week of school, on a regular work day, during work hours?

Rogers responded by saying he is not a Congressman who lives full-time in Washington.

I live in the Third Congressional District. I come home every week, he said. I dont need a town hall to know how my people feel about issues.

There was protest from the crowd as he continued. I interact with people every day that Im in Alabama, and my district staff. We know what the issues are. Thats how Ive been elected and re-elected eight times.

Rogers said he has seen a major public outcry for town halls twice in his 15-year Congressional career: The summer of 2010 halfway through Barack Obamas first term and during birth of the Tea Party; and this summer, following the inauguration of Donald Trump.

The other half of the country that wasnt mad before is mad now, he said. And we hear this huge cry from the other half, who want town hall meetings. And thats what were doing.

One citizen asked Rogers if he would promise to stand against Trumps proposed immigration policy, limiting citizenship to people who meet certain qualifications, such as speaking English.

No, I will not, Rogers said, as some audience members booed. I think President Trump is dead on with that policy. Immigrants need some basic skills, like speaking English, before they come in to our society. I think hes right, and Im going to support him 100 percent on that policy.

Opelika police officers stood in the room during the event, which lasted just over an hour, to serve as crowd control. They only had to remove one person: a man who said he was distributing flyers containing Rogers voting record.

The event moderator requested all audience members remain seated until Rogers had exited the auditorium, but the man immediately stood and began distributing his literature. After being escorted from the building by police officers, he distributed the papers outside as people walked to their vehicles.

On more than one occasion during the question-and-answer session, officers had to move closer to citizens who were raising their voices or arguing with Rogers as he attempted to answer their questions.

If youre going to interrupt, were not going to continue this, Rogers told an audience member as he addressed Asten's concerns. Im happy to answer this ladys question without heckling. I didnt heckle her when she talked, so please be respectful.

The Lee County town hall ended shortly after noon. Rogers left Southern Union to head to Calhoun County, where he had another town hall scheduled at 3:30 in Oxford.
IOWA CITY | Rep. Dave Loebsack sees North Korea as a threat to U.S. security, but the 2nd District Democrat doesnt think the bellicose rhetoric from President Donald Trump is helping matters.

Im hearing a lot of concern from people about the rhetoric  the rhetoric on both sides, but principally from the two leaders, Loebsack said Thursday referring to North Korea leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump.

I just think its really unfortunate that hes using the words hes using, Loebsack said after speaking to the Iowa City Rotary Club on Thursday.

Trump, who earlier this week threatened to respond to North Korea aggression with fire and fury, said Thursday his language may not have been tough enough.

He then went on to say things will happen to them like they never thought possible if the Southeast Asian nation launched a military strike against the United States.

North Korea, which has been developing its capacity to arm missiles, responded to Trumps fire and fury statement by threatening to fire missiles over the waters near Guam, a U.S. territory strategically located in the Pacific Ocean and home to an American military base.

Loebsack, a former member of the House Armed Services Committee, called the presidents choice of words irresponsible.

And now its been confirmed that he didnt even talk to his principle national security advisers before he used these words, he added.

North Korea is a threat to the U.S., Loebsack said, but he called for increased diplomatic efforts rather than more threatening language.

I think we have to have a smarter policy that is a combination of real diplomacy, active diplomacy, multistate diplomacy bringing in China and others in the region, Loebsack said.

And then, obviously, we need to be prepared militarily in the event something terrible should happen, he said.

He couldnt say whether Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, whose statements have been described as sober and reassuring, is playing the good cop role to the presidents bad cop rhetoric as the administration deals with North Korea.

I really dont know, but I hope that everyone can get on the same page, Loebsack said.
Uganda's biggest public health facility, Mulago national referral hospital management is still pushing ahead with its proposal to have patients charged for medical services.

Mulago argues that the money coming from government is too little to run the national referral systems especially as it introduces specialised services.

But some leaders in government are reluctant to approve the proposal saying it would amount to return to the cost-sharing policy abolished fifteen years ago after the 2001 presidential elections.

Mulago hospital wants to reintroduce cost sharing for patients

Cost-sharing, or user fees had been used by public health sector to recover some of the costs of services but it became a political hot potato after opposition doyen Dr Kizza Besigye vowed to abolish it during the presidential campaigns.

Lately, Mulago has put up a spirited fight asking government to allow it to charge patients as the hospital goes through rounds of hardships and pleas for money.

The hospital's top management on Wednesday met some members of the ruling party, National Resistance Movement (NRM) Central Executive Committee with hope that they will convince President Yoweri Museveni to buy the idea of allowing patients seeking specialised services to pay.

The team from NRM was led by former state minister for health Captain Mike Mukula. Others included Northern CEC representative, Sam Engola, James Tweheyo, Aleper Simon Peter representing Karamoja among others.

Mulago hospital executive director, Dr Baterena Byarugaba in a presentation defended the proposal saying that the collections will be used to improve services.

"We expect to collect Shs 191 billion if we are allowed to charge [patients]. Then government can give us Shs 277 billion for salaries. But if we charged and we got Shs 191 billion, we would be able to do all whatever is done abroad because if there is a tumor we can always say; our brothers in India, our brothers in India where are you? Can you come and help us and we work on this patient?", Byarugaba said.

He said with the current state funding, Mulago is so constrained that it cannot provide the needed services. He said his management uses funds allocated to Mulago to run Kiruddu, Kawempe and upper Mulago hospitals.

Byarugaba says the hospital has had rocky cycles of trying to motivate the staff given the low wage bill from government. Mulago was allocated close to Shs 23 billion as wage bill for the financial year 2017/2018.

Baterana and his management is suggesting that the wage bill should be increased to over Shs 142 billion in the financial year 2018/19 and then to Shs 284 billion in financial year 2019/2020.

The hospital is suggesting an increase in salaries for nursing officers, medical officers, consultants and senior consultants.

Nursing and medical officers at Mulago earn Shs 1,170, 000. The hospital suggests that they would earn about Shs 6.6 million per month.

For senior consultants, Mulago wants their Shs 3.4 million increased to Shs 19.6 million per month. Under the new scheme, consultants will earn Shs 15 million monthly. Presently, consultants at Mulago earn Shs 2.6 million a month.

Baterana says it is critical that that salaries are increased to motivate health officers at the hospital.

"If this one [charging patients] happened, I want to assure you honourable members of CEC, that you would never hear that you went to Mulago and did not see a nurse, you went to Mulago and did not see a doctor, you went to Mulago and did not see a counsellor - you would never hear about that.

All the doctors and nurses, none of them would then go to work in the private clinics. All these private clinics you see, they would close, I assure you. All those private hospitals , I assure you completely and also, they would just close", he said.

Mukula and his colleagues at the meeting promised to present the suggestion to President Museveni, also chairman of NRM Central Executive Committee (CEC).

Former Erute South MP, Sam Engola is among those who want the salaries of workers at Mulago revised upwards.

"For some of us who travel out, when you go to countries like to South Africa even in Europe, most of the doctors in South Africa are Ugandans. Secondly, when you go to America, most of the nurses are Ugandans which means their pay is very good.

We should also encourage our people as the consultant has said, that our hospital will be the best. Instead of us going out they will come here. Even the president himself has been talking of [saving] money being used to take VIPs - all those people who [think of] themselves [as] more than others like in Animal Farm to go to India, to South Africa, to Germany when our doctors can do it very well", Engola said.

It is not immediately clear if other members of the CEC will agree to the cost-sharing proposal. Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga also member of CEC said she will not allow support the idea.

Baterana says the charges will be paid by the well-to-do under the anticipated health insurance schemes. He says the services will also be charged according to set tiers from premier, gold and silver among others so as to cater for all levels of Ugandans

The salaries apart, Baterana and the members of NRM CEC discussed staffing levels at Mulago. It emerged that Mulago has its staffing level filled to only 56 percent due to the wage shortfall.

The hospital was approved to employ 1930 nursing staff but it has so far just 883 positions filled leaving a void of over 1,000 vacancies.

Mulago has 21 senior consultants against the required 70. Mulago was approved to have 107 consultants but only 53 have been filled leaving 72 positions vacant.
The minister of Kampala city, Beti Olive Namisango Kamya has called for rational reasoning and analysis of the circumstances that led to the recent death of a female vendor, Olivia Basemera.

Basemera, 38, a single mother of three, drowned in Nakivubo channel behind the Electoral Commission offices last week as she ran away from Kampala City Council Authority (KCCA) enforcement officers.

Eyewitnesses said Basemera was vending handkerchiefs at the time when she spotted KCCA enforcement officers and ran into the open channel in an attempt to avoid being arrested.

Beti Olive Namisango Kamya addressing journalists today. Photo: Nicholas Bamulanzeki

Addressing journalists today at the Uganda Media Centre, Kamya explained that the death of Basemera was purely an accident and that fate was more to blame than KCCA enforcement officers who were simply on their routine duty.

She said many vendors did scamper to different directions and only the deceased was 'unlucky' to fall into the channel. Kamya added that the KCCA enforcement officers were not targeting the deceased but were after apprehending all illegal vendors.

I am sorry to say this; but sometimes accidents happen. Because that girl was not held and thrown in the channel. Many [vendors] were just running in different directions, they [officers] were not all pursuing one person, said Kamya.

Adding: She happened to be the one who run in that direction [of channel], she was the one who missed the step and got that accident.

Basemeras death sparked outrage among vendors who blamed the KCCA officers of mistreatment, torture and abuse. Joined by boda-boda riders, the vendors attempted to carry the deceaseds body to City Hall, the KCCA headquarters in protest. So far four enforcement officers have been arrested in connection with the vendors death.

An earlier statement from KCCA simply stated that at the time of her [Basemera] death, there was a KCCA vehicle parked nearby. But Kampala Lord Mayor, Erias Lukwago last week said that KCCA ought take full responsibility for the death of Basemira.

Lukwago said on top of working without a guiding law or operations guidelines, the KCCA enforcement officers are operating with a lot of impunity and insensitivity.

In a phone conversation with The Observer today, Lukwago wondered how Kamya would think Basemeras death was an accident yet officers involved in her pursuit are facing criminal charges.

Theres something wrong with her [Kamya]. How can a mother be that insensitive and make such outrageous statements? She has something wrong with her, said Lukwago.

Kamya observed that there was need to engage and sensitise vendors about the need to operate in designated markets so as to curb anarchy in the city. She called on vendors not to use Basemira's death as justification to return to the streets.

She said that there are many designated markets where the vendors can operate instead of the operating from the streets. Kamya said it is not KCCA that wants vendors off the street but rather the people who have said that Kampala has become impassable.

abumay1988@gmail.com
Ronn Torossian

Celebrity pets are gathering big followings on social media, and are gaining ground in the influencer community, appearing in online marketing campaigns to drive engagement and raise brand awareness for lifestyle, fashion and pet care brands, as well as cause-related campaigns for non-profits.

In no particular order, here are some pets currently making a splash by representing brands via social media. For consistency, we looked only at the number of followers on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, though many of these pets have significant fan bases on other social media sites as well.

Nala

The Nala social media sites do a lot of work toward advancing healthy animal upbringings, partly because Nala, a Siamese and Tabby mix, was adopted from a shelter. Though the largest group of her fans come from the US, the second largest is in Indonesia, with the UK coming in third. She helps sell products and also makes guest appearances, usually in aid of pet-related causes. She has followers currently on Instagram (3.4 million), Facebook (almost 2.5 million) and Twitter (21,500).

Marutaro is a Shiba Inu and lives in Japan. Marutaro has been deemed the most famous dog on Instagram, partly due to the popularity of the Shiba Inu breed, as well as this particular members relaxed and photogenic demeanor. He has followers on Instagram (2.6 million), Facebook (16,000), and Twitter (86,000).

Tuna melts my heart

Tuna melts my heart is a Chiweenie that lives with his interior designer roommate, Courtney. The two do quite a lot of traveling, especially to pet hotels and such while Courtney blogs about their experiences in those places in the UK and the US. On social media, Tuna is the face of the operation, and though he only has an Instagram account, he has nearly 2 million followers there.

Boo is a Pomeranian featured in a series of advertisements. One of his best gigs is his multi-year contract as a pet liaison for Virgin America. Boo, like Tuna, seems to enjoy keeping to just one main social media site. For Boo, its Facebook, where he currently has 16.8 million followers.

Hamlet the piggy

Hamlet the piggy is a mini pig that lives in Los Angeles. Its common for her to earn more than $300 per day on social media, simply for sitting in the sun on patio furniture while wearing sunglasses. Hamlets social media accounts include Instagram (303,000 followers) and Twitter (744,000 followers).

Atticus the hedgie is an East Coast hedgehog living in New York. He makes about $250 per post and has represented makeup brand Glossier and jewelry brand Jezie while also offering discounts to followers of the site. Her followers are mainly on Instagram, where she has more than 80,000 of them.

Grumpy Cat

Grumpy Cat, as you might guess, is the number-one social media pet influencer and has been for some time. Theres probably no one on social media who hasnt gotten a few laughs over some of the many memes based on this cats face. Grumpy, whose main audiences are in the US, UK and Canada, has represented big brands such as Friskies. Her social media followers are at Instagram (2.3 million), Facebook (8.5 million) and Twitter (1.25 million)

Though adopted long after his kitten days were over, Waffles the cat has made a number of appearances on memes. His primary following is in the US, and his social media following can be found on Instagram (528,000), Facebook (2.7 million), and Twitter (9,100).

Lil Bub

Bloomington, Indianas Lil Bub is a bit impertinent but loveable and has raised more than $300,000 for the ASPCA since 2012. Her social media followers currently are on Instagram (1.6 million), Facebook (2.94 million) and Twitter (167,000).

Cole and Marmalade offer two pets for the price of one. Both cats were adopted separately by their friend Chris; Cole, a Turkish Angora, was adopted in 2012, and Marmalade, or Marm for short, brought home in 2013. Marm recently made it through a cancer scare. You can learn all about the care and love of cats, but they make it on this list as the fifth-biggest social media pet influencer. Most of their presence is on Facebook, where they have 1.6 million followers, but they also have followings on Instagram (280,000) and Twitter (29,500).

***

Ronn Torossian is CEO of 5W Public Relations, a top 15 independent PR agency in the US. 5W is a full-service PR agency, offering integrated traditional, digital PR and influencer programming (people and pet alike) to clients across a variety of industries.
Budweiser draping America on its bottles and cans for the second time ignores the fact that it made customers and craft brewers furious last year, says Business Insider.

The rebrand last year was only supposed to go through the 2016 election season but was brought back this summer.

Only 11% of adults 21 and over told YouGov BrandIndex in 2016 that they would consider buying the brand the next time they buy beer, reported Business Insider.

BI reporter Kate Taylor said May 23, 2017 that last years campaign was polarizing because Budweiser parent AB InBev is based in Belgium.

The company noted it is donating up to $1 million in profits to military non-profit Folds of Honor.

Taylor last year wrote that Budweiser has been struggling to attract millennial customers since the majority have never tried it, instead moving towards wine and craft beers. The campaign, like the similarly American-focused Bud Light Party Campaign, was supposed to grab young consumers attention with a flourish of patriotism, said Taylor.

Bud Responds: Made in America

Jennifer Goldsmith, marketing communications manager, Anheuser-Busch, emailed the following statement to ODwyers:

Budweiser has been unveiling new summer packaging since 2011 and our America cans and bottles were no different. Born in St. Louis, Budweiser is proudly domestic. Every drop of Budweiser consumed in America has been brewed in one of our twelve U.S. breweries for over 141 years with the same high-quality standards. The America cans and bottles, like all Budweiser packaging, are produced at our American glass, can and lid plants.

Gemma Hart

Gemma Hart, VP-communications, North America, Anheuser-Busch, said the views and biases of this reporter are very clear and it seems very unlikely you would be open to hearing our perspective. Therefore, I dont think it makes any sense for us to continue this email chain.

We had emailed Hart that the name America is not only draped on tables in bars and restaurants but Budweiser bottles and cans (about 2.4 million yearly) are thrown away in public and private trash cans, left in street gutters, dumps and other places and that only an insensitive, foreign-owned company would allow that to be possible.

We said AB InBev doesnt dare have a press conference or teleconference on the issue or even talk about it on the phone.

AB InBev Misses Estimates

Carlos Brito

Carlos Brito, CEO of AB InBev, was not paid a bonus this year for the first time since 2008 since earnings missed analysts estimates for the seventh straight quarter.

The company announced an increase to its cost-saving target that left some analysts disappointed.

Fourth-quarter results missed estimates at almost all levels as the brewer continues to struggle with a slump in its key market of Brazil, said analysts. AB InBev paid $103 billion for main rival SABMiller last year. It raised its target for savings from the acquisition by $350 million to $2.8 billion within three to four years, although some analysts had expected an increase of $600 million.
Chris Taylor

Chris Taylor, who worked for New York billionaires Ron Perelman and Mike Bloomberg plans to formally launch her own firm after Labor Day, according to Keith Kelly of the New York Post. She has been running Chris Taylor Consulting since June. Taylor spent 13 years as executive VP at Perelmans MacAndrews & Forbes holding company, which owns Revlon, AM General and Flavors Holdings. Earlier, she worked as director of global communications at Bloomberg LP. The re-launch may include a new name for the firm. Taylor says Bloomberg recommends Taylor Made PR as the moniker.

Andrea Calise

Andrea Calise moved to Teneo Holdings as senior managing director in its strategy division. The former managing director at Kekst & Co. has more than 17 years of experience in areas such as shareholder activism, corporate governance, mergers & acquisitions, litigation & regulatory support and crisis communications. Prior to Kekst, Calise worked at the Population Action Council and InterAction.

Patrick McGloin

Patrick McGloin rejoined Gaffney Bennett PR (New Britain, CT) as partner. He was VP-government relations/public policy at MetroHartford Alliance. During his two-decade career, McGloin served as communications, public policy and public opinion research advisor at the state and national level. He said leaving the Alliance was a tough decision, but the opportunity to return to the regions leading PR firm as a partner was too exciting to pass up.
Fans of cheesy 90s pop music S Club and 5ive can 'reach up for the stars', because their dreams are about to come true, with both bands announced for Electric Picnic 2017.

Electric Ireland is headlining S Club and 5ive on their 'Throwback Stage' at Electric Picnic.

Organisers announced the news today by unashamedly throwing in lots of puntastic song titles.

"If Ya Gettin Down at Electric Picnic, 90s chart sensations 5ive and S Club Party will headline the Electric Ireland Throwback Stage, ensuring festival-goers will Bring It All Back to a simpler time when things were rapid, pure class and deadly."

Electric Ireland, the official energy partner of Electric Picnic, is bringing 90s nostalgia and slammin pop tunes back to Stradbally this September 1 to 3, with its ultimate Throwback Stage.

Electric Ireland will be giving away free tickets to Electric Picnic, with broadcasting legends Don Conroy and Dustin the Turkey to star on a Facebook Live game show - the Electric Ireland Throwback Show on August 23rd at 8pm.

The show will feature a number of 90s nostalgia related games with Electric Ireland inviting people to tune in to win tickets on its Facebook Page.

Electric Irelands Throwback Stage will also screen old school movies during the day including Clueless, Honey I Shrunk The Kids, Police Academy and Dumb and Dumber.

The Electric Ireland stage has previously brought 80's and 90's legends like Bonnie Tyler, 2 Unlimited, The Vengaboys and Bananarama to Stradbally.
MASON CITY | A man who pleaded guilty to entering a Mason City residence in May and assaulting someone living there has been sentenced to prison time.

Jeffrey A. Beier, 34, Mason City, submitted a written plea to the burglary charge and was sentenced to prison time not to exceed five years, a $750 fine and victim restitution totaling $326.96.

Beier was accused of entering a residence in the 100 block of 16th Street Northwest on May 3 and assaulting a male resident.

Mason City man pleads guilty to burglary MASON CITY | A man who is accused of entering a Mason City residence in May and assaulting s

Mason City Police Lt. Rich Jensen previously said the resident went to the ER for a facial injury. An assault charge was dismissed.

Beier was sent to prison for up to 15 years in 2015 after violating the terms of the probation he received for felony convictions of methamphetamine delivery, domestic abuse assault (strangulation) and possession of a controlled substance, third or subsequent offense.

He had been released from prison early on parole.

 Courtney Fiorini
Agricultural News

National FFA Names 23 Oklahoma FFA Members as National Finalists in 2017 Proficiency Awards







The Oklahoma FFA Association will once again be strongly represented in the 47 program areas that make up the National Proficiency Awards that will be selected and recognized at the 90th National Convention of the FFA. Over the last five years, Oklahoma has taken home 28 national Proficiency contest titles and is one of the leading state FFA Associations in the country when it comes to hearing members of their state called out as a National winner. In 2016, three Oklahoma FFA members won national titles, five in 2015 and 2014. In 2013, Oklahoma claimed seven and eight in 2012.







Lane Fanning of the Laverne FFA Chapter is one of the 23 Oklahoma FFA members that are Proficiency finalists and is seen in the photo pictured here. Earlier this year at the 2017 State FFA Convention- he was honored as the State Star Farmer of 2017.





In 2017, Oklahoma has the second most finalists of any state- with a total of 23 Oklahoma FFA members heading to Indianapolis to compete in their Proficiency Award area. A year ago, Oklahoma had 17 finalists vying for honors in Indy.





The Fairview, Oklahoma FFA Chapter is the only chapter in the state with two members competing as national finalists. Last year, the Fairview Chapter sent four of the 17 Oklahoma members to compete. One of the two competing this year is Bethany Niles, who also competed last year in Indy as a National Finalist in the Agricultural Communications division, and won. This year she is competing in the Agricultural Education division.







Top states in the numbers of finalists that will be traveling to Indy for the 90th National Convention and Expo include Ohio with 25, Oklahoma with 23 and Georgia with 20 members headed to the party.







Placement proficiency awards are given to those whose SAEs are related to employment, apprenticeships, or internships at an agribusiness or agriculture-related organization.







Entrepreneurship proficiency awards are given to those whose SAEs are related to ownership of an agribusiness or agriculture-related enterprise.







The 2017 National Finalists that will represent Oklahoma in the National Proficiency Contests include:







Jonathon Armbruster, Burlington

Forage Production







Jarod Ray, Pryor

Agricultural Mechanics







Sadie Brown, Wister

Forest Management & Products







Kaylee Brunker, Stillwater

Diversified Livestock







Courtney Danae, Wellston

Small Animal Production and Care







Lane Fanning, May

Beef Production







Hannah Feuerborn, Edmond

Agriscience Research - Animal Systems







Ty Goss, Leedey

Landscape Management







Coleby Haymaker, Hennessey

Diversified Crop Production







Blake Anthony Kennedy, Tecumseh

Agricultural Services - Entrepreneurship/Placement







Raegan Klaassen, Hydro

Specialty Crop Production - Entrepreneurship/Placement







Guess Leonard, Chelsea

Agricultural Sales - Entrepreneurship







Gunner Monroe, Harrah

Poultry Production - Entrepreneurship/Placement







Luke Muller, Altus

Fiber and/or Oil Crop Production







Kohl Murray, Perkins

Grain Production - Placement







Bethany Niles, Fairview

Agricultural Education - Entrepreneurship/Placement







Ryli Powell, Meno

Nursery Operations - Entrepreneurship/Placement





Shane Rippe, Fairview

Swine Production - Placement







Ethan Sacket, Aline

Turf Grass Management - Entrepreneurship/Placement







Clayton Shires, Bokchito

Agricultural Mechanics Repair and Maintenance - Placement







Jett Smith, Perry

Vegetable Production - Entrepreneurship/Placement







Bill Trotter, Ames

Goat Production - Entrepreneurship/Placement







Grant Wilbur, Cherokee

Swine Production - Entrepreneurship









Click here to see how the complete lineup of 44 Oklahoma FFA members did in the National Proficiency placings for 2017.









Our exclusive coverage of the 2017 National FFA Convention in Indianapolis this coming October is a service of ITC Great Plains, Your Energy Superhighway- learn more about this high voltage, transmission only utility and their commitment to the communities they serve which is the cornerstone of their business-click here We also appreciate the support of the Oklahoma FFA Association and the Oklahoma FFA Alumni Association. Click here for more information about one of the top states in the US in the FFA- the Oklahoma FFA Association. Oklahoma FFA impacts the lives of over 27,000 members in 359 chapters across the state.



Source - The National FFA













WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady NSI

Top Agricultural News
August Joas, head of Oliver Wymans global automotive practice, was quoted in a Bloomberg story titled VW, Mercedes Diesel Rebates Set to Lure 1.3 Million Drivers. The article discusses how Germany is trying to get older car models off the road through a government rebate program.

As many as 20 percent of owners of vehicles complying with now-outdated Euro 1 to Euro 4 emissions standards could eligible for the rebates, according to consulting firm Oliver Wyman.

This rebate program is an important element in the plan to get older polluting cars off the road and improve diesels image, said August Joas, head of Oliver Wymans global automotive practice. The cars eligible for the rebate will be quite old. So for people considering the program, the jump to buying a new vehicle will still be significant.

To read the entire article, please click here.
ASHLAND, Neb.  U.S. businesses are missing out because the government is not seeking trade agreements with other Pacific Rim countries, four of Nebraskas elected federal office-holders said Wednesday.

They said the Trump administration, which dropped the countrys participation in the multinational Trans-Pacific Partnership, should start negotiating a trade agreement with Japan and also should be careful when it seeks changes to the North American Free Trade Agreement.

More trade is good for America, Rep. Adrian Smith said. More trade is great for Nebraska.

Smith, Rep. Jeff Fortenberry and Sens. Ben Sasse and Deb Fischer spoke to about 300 people at a meeting sponsored by the Nebraska, Omaha and Lincoln Chambers of Commerce, held at the Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum near Ashland.

Rep. Don Bacon did not attend because he is in Israel with other House members while Congress is on recess. The states congressional delegation is all Republican.

Sasse said that since the Trump administration decided not to take part in the TPP, other nations are negotiating 30 one-on-one trade agreements, with seven agreements nearing completion.

In almost all of the agreements, he said, U.S. exports would end up at a disadvantage compared with exports from China, Australia, New Zealand and countries in the European Union.

An agreement with Japan would be great for the cattlemen, so all of us are committed to fighting for that, Sasse said, even though officials in the Trump administration dont seem to agree.

Their theory about trade is just wrong, Sasse said, holding that open trade creates winners and losers and is hurting U.S. businesses and costing jobs.

President Donald Trump campaigned on ending trade deals that he said hurt U.S. manufacturers, but Sasse said that while some industries may be hurt, open trade policies generate a net increase in jobs and help the overall economies of both trading partners.

Fortenberry said Japans relationship with the U.S. has grown closer because of security concerns and common interests, which could lead to productive trade discussions.

But Fischer said she has talked twice with Japans prime minister, Shinzo Abe, in recent months. Theyre still not open for Nebraska beef or American beef, she said, so negotiating a trade deal that would include Nebraska beef is one of the tougher ones were going to be faced with.

Still, the Trump administration should work on trade agreements with individual nations, Fischer said. Agriculture would especially benefit, in turn helping the whole states economy and state governments budget, too.

Smith, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, said its unfortunate that U.S. negotiators arent working toward bilateral trade agreements, focusing for now on NAFTA.

Im trying hard to get them to take up a Japan trade agreement after that, he said. The longer we wait, the more market share we lose.

He said Japans recent tariff increase on U.S. beef is a glaring example of why we need to move forward on this.
With an additional judge coming to help deal with a high volume of delinquency and family cases, Douglas County leaders are pondering a new home for the countys juvenile court.

That could mean building a new juvenile justice center. Such a center could bring together, under one roof, judges, courtrooms, government attorneys and several agencies that handle juvenile legal matters.

The Omaha-Douglas Public Building Commission is preparing to hire architects to study space needs for the county juvenile justice system. The commission was expected to choose a firm Thursday, but it has delayed a decision until at least September.

I hope that we end up with a new juvenile justice center at the end of this, said Clare Duda, a Douglas County Board member who also serves on the building commission. We need one.

How much it would cost and where it would be are yet to be determined. Those questions would be part of the study.

Currently, the Juvenile Courts five judges, courtrooms and offices are squeezed into part of a former jail on the sixth floor of the Douglas County Courthouse in downtown Omaha.

A sixth judge is coming soon. The Nebraska Legislature last session approved adding a judge to help deal with Douglas Countys relatively high volume of juvenile delinquency and family permanency cases. A seventh judge is needed and likely, county and court officials say. An eighth is possible.

Its not so much that the number of cases is growing but that the Legislature is finally giving Douglas County help to meet its relatively large caseload, Douglas County Juvenile Court Administrator Ray Curtis said.

In the fiscal year just ended, 2,604 cases were opened in Douglas County Juvenile Court. Thats an average of 521 cases per judge. By comparison, Sarpy Countys two juvenile court judges handled 626 cases, or 313 per judge.

In Douglas County, officials are scrounging for a place to shoehorn the sixth judge and courtroom space into the courthouse when that person is appointed this fall. They may have to share a courtroom in the City-County Building.

But accommodating the new judge will be a temporary fix, Duda said.

The Public Building Commission oversees the Douglas County Courthouse and the City-County Building. Besides Duda, other members are County Board member Mike Boyle and Omaha City Council members Aimee Melton and Ben Gray. Retired university official Ronald Roskens chairs the board.

We know that a seventh judge is coming, Duda said. We cant just keep cramming more and more people into the same space. We have to have more room.

The commission solicited proposals from architectural firms for a study on space needs for courtrooms and offices for judges, plus the juvenile divisions of the Douglas County Attorneys Office and Public Defenders Office. It could also include juvenile probation offices and space for the sheriffs deputies and District Court clerks that deal with juvenile matters.

The selected firm would be expected to submit its report to the commission this winter.

From there, it would be up to the Douglas County Board and Public Building Commission to decide what to do, said Paul Cohen, the commissions administrator.

Some potential locations have been identified. Officials declined to comment on the possible locations, but they are leaning toward downtown near the courthouse.

Who would pay for a new juvenile justice center, and how, also have yet to be determined. It could be a combination of funding from the Public Building Commission, the county and private sources, Cohen said.

A study doesnt necessarily mean a new juvenile justice center will be built. For example, the Public Building Commission hired architects in 2004 to design a two-story addition to the downtown City-County Building. It was not built.

In 2006, an HDR Architecture Inc. master plan recommended building a new courthouse at a cost then estimated at $169 million.

The courthouse has undergone some renovations since then. Some of those occurred on the sixth floor. The Juvenile Court now shares that floor with holding cells, a new high-security courtroom for arraignments and sentencings in high-profile criminal cases and the juvenile division of the Douglas County Attorneys Office.

Their proximity to the new courtroom is just one of the things that makes the current juvenile court situation less than ideal, in Curtiss view.

On a walk through the sixth floor last week, Curtis said about 60 percent of the cases in juvenile court involve youths accused of misdeeds. The rest deal with children in cases in which parents or guardians are accused of neglect or abuse.

The courtrooms share a narrow hallway. So teenagers in detention are escorted in orange jumpsuits and handcuffs past parents, children and social workers en route to hearings on such matters as foster family placement. Thats not good for either group of youths, Curtis said.

The courtrooms are too small for the number of people involved in many family hearings, he said. Theres no place for private meetings between lawyers, social workers and families.

Curtis hopes the discussions lead to a new, separate juvenile justice center.

It could be designed as a juvenile court, not a retrofitted former jail, he said. This has been a long time coming.
A 23-year-old woman was seriously injured early Thursday when she was shot in the jaw in a Council Bluffs hotel room.

Kadie Clark of Glenwood, Iowa, was taken to the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, where she underwent emergency surgery, according to Sgt. Mark Stuart of the Council Bluffs Police Department. Her injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.

Officers went to the American Inn, 2717 S. 24th St., about 3:30 a.m. to investigate a report of a female suffering from a gunshot wound to the face. Police have been unable to interview White, Stuart said Thursday.

Anyone with information on the incident can contact the criminal investigation division at 712-328-4728 or Crime Stoppers at 712-328-7867.

An earlier version of this article included a different last name for the person who was shot. This version has been updated.
LINCOLN  Nebraskas hearing over the proposed Keystone XL pipeline ended Thursday morning exactly as it began, with opposing sides disputing the benefits and beneficiaries of the controversial project.

After four days of testimony, and the submittal of an estimated 20,000 pages of documents and written testimony, an official with TransCanada, the corporation seeking to build the $8 billion project, said its been shown that the crude oil pipeline is in Nebraskas best interests.

This is the most-studied cross-border pipeline in history, said Matthew John, a spokesman for the Calgary-based company. Were hopeful for a positive outcome.

But a group of about 40 Nebraska landowners cheered as the founder of the anti-pipeline group Bold Nebraska pledged to fight the pipeline, if approved, all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Jane Kleeb of Bold Nebraska said that allowing a private, foreign corporation to use eminent domain to force right of way agreements from ranchers and farmers is wrong.

We think this widens the door to erode property rights in this country, Kleeb said, calling the project a foreign pipeline that would use foreign-made steel to transport oil designed for foreign markets.

We are a family. We are not going to let a foreign corporation who only cares about the bottom line break this family apart, she said, gulping back tears.

Kleeb also said that if construction on the pipeline begins, opponents will employ creative civil disobedience measures that would make the massive protests last year over the Dakota Access pipeline in North Dakota look like a dress rehearsal.

She added, We have not been violent. We will never be violent.

North Dakota officials have estimated that $38 million was spent on law enforcement and court expenses associated with protests at the Standing Rock Indian Reservation last year.

The 36-inch-diameter Keystone XL was first proposed in 2008 and is designed to carry 830,000 barrels of heavy, tar-sand crude oil a day from Alberta to oil refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast.

But delays have plagued the project, and recently questions have arisen within the oil industry about whether the Keystone XL is even needed given the worldwide glut of oil, the exodus of major companies from Canadas tar-sands region and the rock-bottom prices for oil.

John, on Thursday, dismissed those concerns. We have very good support from our core customers, he said.

TransCanada leaders have said the company will make a final decision by December on whether the project is financially feasible after seeing if more oil producers will sign 20-year contracts to use the XL.

This weeks hearing was held to determine whether the pipelines 275-mile across Nebraska is in the public interest.

The five members of the Nebraska Public Service Commission have until Nov. 23 to decide.

Safety of the pipeline, which would be buried 48 inches deep, was not included as a consideration in the states pipeline sighting law. Federal agencies, not state, govern pipeline safety.

So this weeks hearing focused on issues including erosion control, restoration of farm ground, economic impact, and influence on Indian cultural sites and endangered species such as whooping cranes.

The U.S. State Department, in its environmental review, concluded that a leak from the Keystone XL would have limited impact on groundwater quality.

TransCanada, in testimony this week and in prior written testimony, has maintained that the pipeline would create thousands of construction jobs and improve U.S. energy independence. The company also maintains that the pipeline is the safest and most efficient way to transport crude.

Opponents, meanwhile, argue that perhaps only 10 permanent jobs will be created, that tax payments will dwindle to almost nothing after 15 years and that Nebraskans will see few direct benefits.

Retired Judge Karen Flowers, who served as hearing officer this week, ordered the 13 attorneys who represented TransCanada, local landowners, Indian tribes, environmental groups and unions to submit their final arguments in writing by Sept. 15.

She imposed a 50-page limit to the length of those arguments  the same limit imposed by the Nebraska Supreme Court  and quipped that the lawyers might want to get used to that.

That was an obvious reference to the promised appeals of the decision by the PSC.

State law also allows the PSC to reroute the pipeline to an existing pipeline corridor. Kleeb said Thursday that it was the only legal place it could be placed, while John said federal regulators already had determined that that wasnt the best pathway.

Paralleling the XL with the existing Keystone pipeline was among the topics raised by three commissioners  Crystal Rhoades of Omaha, Tim Schram of Gretna and Mary Ridder of Callaway  during their questioning this week. Two commissioners, Frank Landis of Lincoln and Rod Johnson of Sutton, did not ask questions of those testifying.

The public has until 5 p.m. today to submit written comments about the project.

Environmental groups, including the Sierra Club and Bold Nebraska, submitted comments from more than 450,000 people on Thursday morning to the commissioners office in Lincoln.
With an eye on keeping traffic moving and motorists safe, Nebraska officials are restricting oversized semitrailer trucks from using the states highways around this months total solar eclipse.

Oversized loads that transport heavy equipment and use pilot vehicles are not permitted to travel on state and U.S. highways and Interstate 80 from sunset Aug. 18 to sunrise Aug. 22, said Tom Sands, operations manager for the Nebraska Department of Transportation.

The Aug. 21 eclipse, which is expected to attract nearly a half-million visitors to Nebraska, will lead to heavy traffic on the states roads, he said. Heavy traffic is especially likely near a 70-mile-wide path of eclipse totality that runs from the northwest part of the state to the southeast.

Were expecting a lot of traffic, Sands said. Were anticipating congestion.

The path of totality, or 100 percent coverage of the sun by the moons shadow, will include such cities as Alliance, Grand Island and Beatrice.

Sands said oversized, wide loads also are banned during heavily traveled holiday weekends, such as Memorial Day. Standard 8-foot-wide semi loads are OK for travel, he said.
3 terrorists part of ISI-Khalistan Liberation Force module arrested in MP

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

A module of the ISI and the Khalistan Liberation Force has been busted by the Madhya Pradesh ATS. The operation was carried out jointly with the Punjab police who have been camping in MP since the past 4 days.

Balvinder Gill, Balkar Singh and Sathyendra Rawat were arrested following specific inputs about their activities.

They were arrested from their hideouts at Dabra, Chinor and Dulpara in Gwalior. The ATS said that two of them were part of the Khalistan Liberation Force. The leads regarding this module were given by Gurdial Singh, Jagroop Singh and Satwinder Singh who were arrested last June by the Punjab police.

During interrogation they revealed how they were trained to carry out terror attacks and target 'anti-Sikh forces' by Lahore-based ISYF chief Lakhbir Rode, and KLF terror operative Harmeet Singh alias PHD. They had visited Lahore in 2016 and were trained to use AK-47 and other weapons, said an official.

The first lead came up when the BSF had intercepted a consignment of arms and ammunition from near the International Border in Amritsar. It found to be supplied by the ISYF. Two terrorists, Maan Singh and Sher Singh, were arrested by the BSF on May 21 as they were trying to pick the weapons.

OneIndia News

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Thursday, August 10, 2017, 12:55 [IST]
No hike in minimum pay

There were discussions about hiking the pay by the National Anomaly Committee. The committee was looking into the issue. The government has however decided not to go ahead with the demand. There is no scope for change, the government has decided.

Minimum pay at Rs 18,000

Despite efforts by employee unions, the government has decided that the minimum pay would stay at Rs 18,000. The matter is before the committee. It has been sought that the pay be hiked from Rs 18,000 to Rs 26,000. Even if the committee were to consider the same, the government says that there is no scope for any change.

No scope for PSUs

Employees of the Public Sector Units too had made a similar demand. They too had been demanding that their pay is hiked to Rs 26,000. However the government has made it clear it will not be likened to the one that the central government employees are getting.

Frustration builds

Finance Minister of India, Arun Jaitley had said after the 7th Pay Commission recommendations were cleared that salaries for central government employees have to be respectable when compared to the ones in the private sector. However employees feel cheated and frustrated as their demand for arrears on allowances from July 2016 was not met.
Ahead of Independence Day, row over demolition of Mahatma Gandhi statue erupts in Assam

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia

Guwahati, August 10: There are a few symbols which locals of every city, town and village across the world associate themselves with. One such symbol is the iconic Mahatma Gandhi statue at Gandhi Mandap in Guwahati, Assam.

Now, a massive row over the 50-year-old iconic statue, sculpted by none other than Ramkinkar Baij, one of the masters of modern Indian art, has erupted in Assam after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state expressed its interest to replace the statue with a new one.

The reason behind the government's decision is that the statue, a major landmark in the city, nowhere looks like the Father of the Nation and thus must be replaced.

"The statue of Mahatma Gandhi, which was sculpted long back, gives a distorted image of Mahatma Gandhi. Therefore, it has been decided to sculpt another statue and replace the old one." BJP MLA from Guwahati (East), Siddhartha Bhattacharyya, told The Indian Express.

"Look at the statue. Look at the disproportionate hands and feet. They do not resemble those of the Mahatma in any manner. His face is distorted, as also the pair of glasses. That is why we have decided to dismantle it and place a new statue there," the BJP MLA added.

The decision to replace the statue was taken after a resolution was passed at a meeting attended by the officials of the Kamrup (Metropolitan) district early this week. The meeting was also attended by Assam culture minister Naba Kumar Doley.

However, the artist community of the state has vehemently opposed the government's decision calling it "shocking" and "a criminal act".

"We strongly oppose the decision of the district administration to replace the statue. It is a work by eminent artist Ramkinkar Baij. According to my knowledge this statue was sculpted during the tenure of former chief minister Bishnu Ram Medhi. We will take all action to save the sculpture," artist Noni Borpujari said.

The concrete sculpture was unveiled on 2 October, 1970, by then Chief Minister of Assam, Bishnu Ram Medhi.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Prof Swapan Dutta, acting vice-chancellor of Visva-Bharati University in Santiniketan, described the decision as "most unfortunate".

"Ramkinkar Baij is one of the most important artists in contemporary Indian art. I will go as far as to say that there can never be another Ramkinkar. There are sculptures he has made, which we have at Visva-Bharati, of Sujata and Gautam Buddha. These sculptures do not look like Sujata or Gautam Buddha--and that's the point, it is an interpretation, it is art. There are thousands of pictures and paintings of Mahatma Gandhi all across the country, which look exactly like he did. Art isn't about looking for similarities," he said.

The decision to demolish the statue sparked anger across the state. Krishna Nath Sarma, who took part in the freedom movement, said he would draw the attention of the President to this "criminal and anti-national" act.

"This is an insult not just to the great sculptor, but also to the Mahatma," said Sarma, 95.

After witnessing large-scale protests from various segments of society, the Kamrup (metro) administration on Wednesday said the decision to replace the statue of Mahatma Gandhi at Gandhi Mandap was only a proposal and work will start after taking the public's views.

"In the meeting held on Monday, we just made a proposal to reconstruct the statue. It does not mean that we will destroy the older one. All work will happen after getting views from the public," Kamrup (metro) deputy commissioner M Angamuthu told The Telegraph.

OneIndia News

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Thursday, August 10, 2017, 7:04 [IST]
Al-Qaeda operative brought to India from Saudi Arabia

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

In a successful operation, India has managed to bring back an al-Qaeda operative from Saudi Arabia. The alleged operative identified as Syed Mohammad Zishan Ali is said to be associated with the al-Qaeda in the Sub-Continent or AQIS.

He was wanted in several cases by the Special Cell of the Delhi police. He is a resident of Jamshedpur in Jharkhand and was operating out of Saudi Arabia, a Delhi police official said. He is incidentally married to the sister of Kafeel Ahmed, the engineer from Bengaluru who carried out the Glasgow bombing of 2007.

The police said that they had secured an arrest warrant against him in 2016 itself. The warrant was issued after the police filed a chargesheet in the AQIS case. Zishan's name first cropped up in 2015 when a Cuttack based cleric arrested in the same case mentioned him.

The police suspect that this module had been formed following a 2014 video by Ayman al-Zawahiri who announced the formation of the AQIS. Although the group has failed to gain much traction since the clamour is towards the ISIS, there are still some elements who are trying to set it up.

A week back, Zakir Musa who had broken away from the Hizbul Mujahideen announced that he was now part of the AQIS. A new video by Zawahiri also confirmed the presence of the group in Kashmir.

OneIndia News

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Thursday, August 10, 2017, 9:46 [IST]
Al-Qaeda terrorist arrested in Delhi

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

A terrorist linked to the al-Qaeda has been arrested by the Delhi police. The police say that he was trying to escape to Nepal when he was arrested.

The operative has been identified as Raza-ul-Ahmed. He was wanted by the West Bengal police.

The police has received intelligence regarding the terrorist. A team was immediately formed to nab the operative who is allegedly linked to the al-Qaeda. He has now been handed over to the West Bengal police.

The arrest comes a day after the Indian Army gunned down three terrorists in Kashmir. These terrorists were linked to the Zakir Musa faction which owes allegiance to the al-Qaeda.

OneIndia News
Babri case: After fresh Sufi salvo, Sunnis smell a political conspiracy

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

After Central Shia Waqf Board took a backstep in the Ram Janmabhoomi case, a new dimension has been presented before the Supreme Court. The board urged the Supreme Court to act as a mediator in the matter and also suggested that the Ram Temple be built at the disputed site and a Mosque at a nearby Muslim dominated area.

The board also moved the Supreme Court challenging a trial court order which had on March 30 1946 declared the Mosque as Sunni Waqf Board property. The Shia board also admitted that the Babri Masjid was constructed after demolishing a temple on the site.

This gives the case an entirely new perspective. The Sunni board is clearly unhappy with these new developments. It has said that the affidavit is a politically motivated one and the same has no locus standi in court.

It may be recalled that the Allahabad High Court had in 2010 directed that the site where the Mosque once stood be split between the Nirmohi Akhara, the Waqf Board and Ram Lalla, who were all claimants.

Counsel for the Sunni Waqf board Zafrayab Jilani says that the affidavit by the Sufi Waqf Board will be challenged. There is no locus standi to it. Moreover there was no such affidavit before the Allahabad High Court, he said.

The Shia board on the other hand said that Abdul Mir Baqi who built the Babri Mosque was a Shia. Hence the mutawali or caretaker is the Shia Waqf Board. The Shia board came into the picture in 1989 when it was impleaded as a party to the case by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. During the entire hearing before the High Court, the Shia board never took any such stance and hence it does will not stand before the SC, Jilani also said.

The Shia board however says that the Mosque was not built by Babur as has been claimed. In its plea, the Shia board said, "even if Babur ordered for building a mosque, the Wakif is the one who actually creates Waqf by dedicating it to the God. The mosque was built by Baqi out of his funds. Babur stayed near Ayodhya only for 5-6 days whereas construction of mosque took more time. The trial court failed to appreciate that merely ordering to build mosque does not make that person as Wakif. Babur might have ordered Baqi to build mosque but it was Baqi who chose the site and having demolished the temple got the mosque built.

The board went on to say that the Mosque was always looked after by the Shia community. However it was the British government which erroneously included it amongst the Sunni Waqfs in 1944 and it had approached Faizabad civil court in 1945 which had dismissed its claim a year after.

To give further proof to their claim, the Sufi board said that inscription on the pulpit of the mosque elaborately described Baqi as its builder and the court made serious error in rejecting its claim.

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Story first published: Thursday, August 10, 2017, 11:41 [IST]
RJD MLA Awadh Bihari Chaudhary likely to be new speaker of Bihar Assembly

Will not step down unless CM asks me to do so: Bihar Agriculture Min

Bihar: RJD Ward Councillor Kedar Rai shot dead in Danapur

India

oi-Madhuri

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Kedar Rai who is also a close aid of Lalu Prasad Yadav was shot dead in the wee hours of Thursday in Danapur area of Patna.

The incident too place when the group of men opened fire at Rai while he was on his morning walk at the Sugna road.

Rai is also known to be a close aide of RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, was rushed to a private hospital after being shot at. He was declared dead at the hospital.

Reports say three shots were fired at Rai by the culprits. While his family is in mourning, the police are probing the incident for further information.

While speaking to media, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav said that there must be a conpiracy behind this and that big political leaders are connected with this murder.

OneIndia News
People of Himachal have decided to go with Modi; all other factors irrelevant: CM Thakur

Amit Shah attends BJP Parliamnetary board meet as a first time MP

India

oi-Madhuri

The BJP Parliamentary Board meeting which began in Parliament library building on Thursday morning, discussed several issues. The meeting was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party chief Amit Shah and other members of the board.

The highlight of the meet was party president Amit Shah, who was elected as an MP for the first time in Rajya Sabha. Earlier, on Wednesday, BJP chief Amit Shah, a five-time MLA, bid adieu to the Gujarat Legislative Assembly. Shah asserted that BJP is unassailable in the poll-bound state.

Shah, 52, tendered his resignation as an MLA to Assembly Speaker Ramanlal Vora after giving an hour-long farewell speech in the House on the second and the last day of the monsoon session of the state assembly. Shah, who represented Naranpura assembly seat in Ahmedabad, in his speech said he was "proud to be from a state, which is an unassailable fortress of the BJP".

Discussion on fuel

Addressing the BJP Parliamentary Party meeting, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said,''80 per cent of fuel used for transportation & domestic usage in India is imported. This costs us Rs 6 Lakh Crore.''

''PM Modi has given the target to bring down this dependence by 10% by the 75th year of Independence in 2022,'' Dharmendra Pradhan added.

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said,''Bio-diesel is currently charged at 18% tax under GST. I think of asking the Finance Ministry to bring it down to 5%.''

Shah, 52, tendered his resignation as an MLA to Assembly Speaker Ramanlal Vora after giving an hour-long farewell speech in the House on the second and the last day of the monsoon session of the state assembly. Shah, who represented Naranpura assembly seat in Ahmedabad, in his speech said he was "proud to be from a state, which is an unassailable fortress of the BJP".

OneIndia News
People of Himachal have decided to go with Modi; all other factors irrelevant: CM Thakur

BJP to set challenge Ahmed Patel's RS win in court

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

The BJP is set to challenge the victory of Ahmed Patel in the Rajya Sabha elections from Gujarat that were held on Tuesday. Patel of the Congress won after the ECI invalidated two votes.

The BJP has argued that the order of the ECI was wrong and hence it would be challenged in the court. The party is expected to mover the Gujarat High Court and if it fails will approach the Supreme Court, party sources said.

Four candidates - BJP president Amit Shah, Union Minister Smriti Irani, Balvantsinh Rajput, and Ahmed Patel - were in the fray to three Rajya Sabha seats from Gujarat. While Shah and Irani won comfortably by securing 46 votes each, Patel won the third seat by winning 44 votes.

Cross-voting by eight of its MLAs seemed to have come as a body blow to the Congress's chances. However, two of these votes were declared invalid by the Election Commission, after the Congress complained that the two MLAs disclosed their choice to BJP leaders.

OneIndia News
Exclusive: Darjeeling-Sikkim merger theory does rounds amidst demand for Gorkhaland

India

oi-Amitava

By Amitava

Darjeeling, August 10, 2017: Amidst demands for creation of Gorkhaland, the "Darjeeling- Sikkim merger" theory seems to be making a steady comeback.

Various pro Gorkhaland camps claim that this option is being probed by Delhi to end the ongoing impasse in the Darjeeling Hills. A political outfit in Sikkim labeled it as "Sikkim's existence in peril." The outfit has called for an emergent meeting on August 12 to discuss the issue.

With a renewed agitation for Gorkhaland since June 8, all eyes are fixed on Delhi hoping for a permanent solution. Front rung leaders of different pro Gorkhaland outfits are camping in the Capital meeting Government heads and heads of national parties seeking support for the separate state demand.

Despite the Union Government maintaining a calculated silence on the Darjeeling issue, many pro-Gorkhaland outfits claim that the BJP led Union Government is mulling the option of a merger of Darjeeling with Sikkim in line with the demands of the agitators for separation from West Bengal.

The theory was further spurred by a RSS leader hinting that the Darjeeling impasse would be resolved through merger with Sikkim. "Let the 22nd State (Sikkim) be bigger " he had posted in a social network site.

The Sikkim Krantikari Morcha, second largest party and main opposition party in the Sikkim Legislative Assembly has invited various social organizations, political parties and individuals to a meeting to discuss the "grave issue. "

"There is an indication of possible merger of Darjeeling with Sikkim thereby threatening the very existence of our State. It is of utmost importance for us all to meet and discuss the matter immediately. Let us save our motherland for our posterity" stated the letter signed by Uttam Lepcha, General Secretary of the party.

The meeting will take place in a hotel at Deorali near Gangtok on Saturday at 11am. Interestingly Sikkim Democratic Front, the ruling party has not yet commented on this issue. However political commentators are of the opinion that the Sikkim Democratic Front- the ruling party of Sikkim too is not keen on merger.

The present Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) led Government of Sikkim is a strong supporter of Gorkhaland. Pawan Chamling, SDF President and the present Chief Minister of Sikkim had moved a resolution in the Sikkim Legislative Assembly in March 2011 in support of Gorkhaland.

This time too the SDF has been vocal in support of the Gorkhaland demand. However many are of the opinion that Chamling's move in support of Gorkhaland is just an attempt to put the lid on the merger issue.

However political outfits of Darjeeling harbor a different view. As the topography, geography, culture, language and socio economic structure is same, the merger would make Sikkim a bigger and a viable state, the theory justifies. Political outfits of Darjeeling including the Gorkha Rashtriya Congress and Darjeeling Sikkim Merger Forum adhere to this theory.

These political parties talk of admittance by the West Bengal Government regarding Darjeeling being a part of Sikkim, in a State Government Publication entitled "An Information Document" published in 1986.

Political outfits from Darjeeling like the All India Gorkha League, Communist Party of Revolutionary Marxist support this theory as a separation tool. These parties claim that there are three options for separation from Bengal including separate state, union territory and merger with Sikkim. Sikkim as a state would also benefit in all aspects including area, socio-economics and even in terms of representation in the Parliament feel these outfits.

In a public address on October 7, 2015, Bimal Gurung, President, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha had stated "No matter what, we want separation from Bengal. If the Union Government is finding it difficult to carve out Gorkhaland from West Bengal then they should consider merger of Darjeeling with Sikkim, as Darjeeling was initially a part of Sikkim."

Provisions including breaking away parts of a large state and merger with other states are specified in Article 3 of the Indian constitution feel the parties supporting merger.

The Kingdom of Sikkim was founded by the Namgyal dynasty in the 17th century. A public referendum in 1975 led to Sikkim joining India as the 22nd state.

Sikkim however remains restrained on the merge issue, though the initiative should logically come from Sikkim itself.

In case of a merger, Sikkim stands to be swamped by Darjeeling feel political pundits. Sikkim has an area of Sikkim 7096 sq km and a population of 619,000 (as per the 2012 census.) The proposed area of Gorkhaland has an area of 6450 square kilometers (comprising present Darjeeling District and the contiguous areas of Dooars in North Jalpaiguri district.) Darjeeling district alone has a population of 1846823 (as per the 2011 census.)

OneIndia News
EC to SC: Parties who were not part of 'EVM Challenge' should not cry foul

India

oi-Madhuri

The Election Commission on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that its 'EVM Challenge' had hardly any taker among the political parties.

In an affidavit filed before the Supreme Court, the EC told the court that after the furore created by certain parties that EVMs can be tampered, the 'EVM Challenge' was organised on June 3, turned out to be a damp squib as none of the major parties, except the NCP and the CPI(M), chose to turn up.

The NCP and CPI(M) had not challenged the functionality of the EVMs but just wanted to understand the procedure

"Thus, no political party or person was able to demonstrate how the EVMs could be tampered with during the course of the challenge. Subsequently, the Election Commission issued a press note wherein it reiterated its commitment to holding all future elections with VVPATs," it said.

The EC also told a bench headed by Chief Justice JS Kheha that it was committed to implementing VVPATs nationwide by 2019. It will also be conducting the Gujarat Assembly polls using Electronic Voting Machines with paper trail if it gets VVPAT machines by September.

Currently it has 53,500 VVPAT units, said the poll panel, adding that the number of VVPAT units required for conducting election to the Gujarat legislative Assembly is 70,000 units. The VVPAT machine is connected with EVMs and dispenses a paper proof for the voters so that they can verify that their vote is cast correctly.

OneIndia News
In the name of charity, Rs 50 lakh transferred to personal A/C: ED in chargesheet against Rana Ayyub

Rana Ayyub used money collected for charity for her own use

Kerala Journalist Siddique Kappan denied bail in ED case, to stay in jail

Who is Isudan Gadhvi? Know all about AAP's CM candidate

Eminent Journalist K Satyanarayana bags Hermaan Mogling lifetime achievement award

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia Staff Writer

Eminent Journalist K Satyanarayana has been awarded Hermaan Mogling lifetime achievement award 2017 for his outstanding contribution to the field of Journalism and society in large.

Satyanarayana will be honoured by KJ George, Minister for Bengaluru Development and Town Planning for his service to journalism at a glittering ceremony on Saturday, 12th August at Radission Blu Atria Hotel, Bengaluru.

The Award to be presented every year starting from 2017, will comprise a certificate, medallion with the embossed image of Mogling and cash prize or rupees one lakh.

The Bengaluru Urban District Union of Working Journalist (BUWJ) has instituted the Hermaan Mogling Life Time Achievement Award to recognise the works of a journalist from Karnataka selected by an eminent Jury.

Satyanaraya, senior journalist from Kannada Prabha, Kannada daily was chosen from about 20 shortlisted journalists who have done exemplary work in Karnataka.

The event will be attended by Actress Ragini Diwedi and also saw heavy weight participation from motivational gurus, celebrities, top politicians, senior journalists and bureaucrats.

OneIndia News
West Bengal Government provides financial relief to the Hills of North Bengal

Gorkhaland agitation: GJM office set on fire by miscreants in Darjeeling

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia

Darjeeling, August 10: Violence continues to rock the hills of Darjeeling and its neigbouring areas where an indefinite bandh is on as a part of the Gorkhaland agitation since June.

On Wednesday night, the office of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) located in Chowk Bazar, Darjeeling, was set on fire by a group of miscreants, according to reports.

"#Darjeeling: Gorkha Janmukti Morcha's Chowk Bazar office torched by a group of unknown people last night," tweeted ANI.

#Darjeeling: Gorkha Janmukti Morcha's Chowk Bazar office torched by a group of unknown people last night. pic.twitter.com/U983P8qjhq  ANI (@ANI) August 10, 2017

The supporters of the GJM alleged that the attack on their office was the handiwork of their opponents who did not want them to continue with their protest of demanding a separate state of Gorkhaland for the Nepali-speaking people staying in the hills of North Bengal.

It is the GJM which is spearheading the current agitation in the hills to carve out a new state from the West Bengal. The Mamata Banerjee government has opposed the demand of the Gorkhas tooth and nail.

While the Bengal government has rejected the idea of a separate state, the Centre is maintaining a wait and watch policy.

It looks like the Centre is in no mood to look into the demand of the Gorkhas. In July, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government at the Centre made it clear that there was no proposal to constitute a committee to look into the separate state demand of the Gorkhas in Darjeeling and its adjoining areas.

The indefinite bandh in Darjeeling entered its 57th day on Thursday. Life has come to a standstill due to the ongoing strike. Since the bandh started, schools, offices and shops remained closed in the hills. The people of Darjeeling and its suburbs are facing severe food crisis.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Thursday, August 10, 2017, 12:33 [IST]
Haryana: Woman on scooter chased by two men in car for 3 km

India

oi-Madhuri

Barely 72 hours after Varnika Kundu's nightmare on a Chandigarh street, a woman who was returning from office on a scooter was chased by two men in a car in Gurugram on Monday night.

According to the victim's complaint, the two men started chasing her after she had driven out of her office in Sector 18 (Gurugram) and continued across the near-empty stretch, on to the old Delhi-Gurugram road. The men repeatedly called out to her to stop and tried cornering her scooter. They finally gave up near Atul Kataria Chowk after she ignored them completely.

On Tuesday morning, the woman went straight to the police commissioner's office and filed her complaint after she was asked to go to Sector 18 police station instead of filing a complaint to the Sector 14 police station.

An FIR was filed against two unidentified men under Section 354D (stalking) of the IPC at Sector 14 police station. Meanwhile, police are yet to identify the accused or their car.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Thursday, August 10, 2017, 9:26 [IST]
Hyderabad court acquits all 10 accused in Task Force Station attack case

India

oi-Deepika

By Deepika

The Nampally Court on Thursday acquitted all the ten accused in the case related to the human bomb blast at Old Task Force Office on Dasara festival day in 2006. The investigation authorities claimed terror outfit HUJI was behind the bomb blast, in which one died.

Nearly 12 years after the suicide bombing incident, the VII Metropolitan Sessions Judge of Nampally criminal court has delivered a verdict acquitting all the accused after the prosecution failed to prove the charges levelled against the accused people.

The court opined that the prosecution did not have sufficient evidence to prove the case and acquitted the accused. Some of the acquitted have spent 11 years in prison and now finally they got freedom to live."

The incident took place in 2005, where a policeman who was alone in office of Task Force, Begumpet, died after a suicide bomber walked into the office in the night and blew himself.

Speaking to the media personnel, the counsel of the accused said, "We are happy with the verdict. In this case prime accused was late Shahid Bilal, who died in Pakistan, and 19 others.

Meanwhile, reports said that the prosecution is expected to approach High Court over the verdict.

OneIndia News
Sense of insecurity has creeped into Muslims says Hamid Ansari in parting shot

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

India is becoming an intolerant society and there has been a breakdown of Indian values, outgoing vice-president Hamid Ansari said.

"Breakdown of Indian values, breakdown of the ability of the authorities at different levels in different places to be able to enforce what should be normal law enforcing work and overall the very fact that the Indianness of any citizen is being questioned is a disturbing thought," he said in an interview to a television channel.

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Hamid Ansari expresses his concern over insecurity among minority | Oneindia News

He was speaking on the issues of cow vigilante attacks, mob lynchings and people not shouting "Bharat Mata Ki Jai" being told to leave the country.

He added that India had been a plural society for centuries, not for seventy years, and that it had a certain ambience of acceptance "which is under threat".

The vice-president told the television channel that he raised the concerns of growing intolerance in the country with the Prime Minister and other ministers, also. On being asked about their response, he said, "Well, there is always an explanation and there is always a reason. Now it is a matter of judgment, whether you accept the explanation, the reasoning and the rationale."

He also criticised the imposition of hyper-nationalism on the masses. "This propensity to be able to assert your nationalism day in and day out is unnecessary. I am an Indian and that is it," he added.

On being asked about the apprehensions in the Muslim community, the vice-president agreed and said, "I have heard about it in other parts of the country, I hear more about it in north India that there is a feeling of unease, a sense of insecurity creeping in. There is a sense of insecurity."

He also expressed concern on the growing violence in Jammu and Kashmir. "Well, when young boys and girls come out on to the streets and throw stones day after day, week after week, month after month, it's something to worry about because they are our children, they are our citizens. Something is obviously going wrong.

OneIndia News
India's unsung hero: Dr Bhakti Yadav, treating patients for free since 1948

India

oi-Madhuri

Gynaecologist Dr Bhakti Yadav from Indore in Madhya Pradesh who also won Padma Shri award has been treating patients free of cost.

Yadav, 91, is the first woman from Indore to hold an MBBS degree. She has been treating patients free of cost for the past 68 years and has helped deliver thousands of babies.

Yadav, who was born on April 3, 1926 in Ujjain district is also known as Doctor Dadi. Yadav completed her schooling from Ahilya Ashram in Indore. She completed her MBBS from Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College in Indore in 1948. However, since the very beginning, she never used her qualification to get money. Meanwhile, her two doctor sons, Dr Chetan and his wife Dr Sunita Yadav and Dr Raman Yadav are now running the nursing home.

She refused to work in a government hospital and instead joined Nandlal Bhandari Maternity Home, which catered to the wives of poor cloth mill workers. For many decades, she headed the maternity home, and later, started her own nursing home, Vatsalya, in Pardeshipura area.

At the age of 91, despite her ill health, she continues to work for the weaker and marginalised people. She wishes to keep serving people until her last breath.

Yadav's free of cost treatment attracts patients not only from MP but also from Rajasthan and Gujrat.

Yadav is currently bedridden after she fell down and suffered fractures. According to Yadav,''I am happy that everyone is happy (after the announcement of the award). What is important is that people get benefitted with my actions."

Yadav was inspired by her parents to serve the poor and strong support from her late husband and batch-mate Dr Chandra Singh Yadav.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Thursday, August 10, 2017, 6:00 [IST]
Is the BJP still a 'Swachh' party?

India

oi-Anusha

Good, clean governance and zero tolerance to corruption are BJP's key promises in any election. While the party has proudly proclaimed that at no party members are involved in corrupt practices, recent allegations of graft and bribery against its members in various states have come as an embarrassment to the party. Can the BJP really deem itself a Swachh party anymore?

Accused of a land scam, Maharashtra housing minister Prakash Mehta has put his party in a spot. Touted as one of the best state governments, the Devendra Fadnavis administration is now fire fighting allegations of corruption against its minister in a slum rehabilitation project. The Congress has minced no words in calling out the BJP's 'sham of zero tolerance to corruption'.

"The MP Mills SRA scam exposes the tall claims of Prime Minister Narendra Modi about not allowing corruption and also that of the BJP governments at the Centre and the state of providing corruption-free administrations," said Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan. The scam has disrupted the Maharashtra assembly with opposition parties tearing into the BJP.

Mehta is accused of illegally approving the transfer of slum dwellers' building rights to a major builder, SD Corporation, in the slum redevelopment project. The move was made without the Chief Minister's permission but used his name. An inquiry has been ordered into the scam but the minister continues to be part of the cabinet giving the opposition the opportunity to criticise the BJP.

Corruption in Maharashtra, bribery in Kerala

In the southernmost Kerala, the scenario is not very different. In a state where the BJP is neither in power nor in main opposition, bribery charges in connection with MCI certification for a medical college have dealt a blow. The BJP in Kerala is slowly gaining a foothold and making inroads into regions that are primarily left bastions.

Anti-corruption was the Kerala BJP's single USP considering cases against Congress and left party leaders in the recent past. A clean, corruption-free government was BJP's offer for Kerala but the same doesn't hold good anymore. In its own internal probe committee report, the BJP found its leader guilty of accepting Rs 5.60 crore as bribe from the owner of a medical college to acquire MCI certification. The issue rocked the Kerala assembly with the BJP taunted for preaching Morales while indulging in corruption.

While the allegation against BJP minister in Maharashtra is a state issue, the charges of bribery against its leader in Kerala are far more serious. The opposition has accused that national leaders of the BJP are also involved in the case. The BJP Kerala unit has deemed it a case of 'individual cheating' but the incident has dented the party's clean image.

"This scam involves not just the Kerala BJP leaders but also the national leaders. Bribe was paid for favours from the MCI and it has larger dimensions. Parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar came to me in person and inquired about the whole matter, and asked me to provide a translated copy of the same. This only means that they know that the matter is serious but they are not ready to discuss it in the parliament," CPI(M) parliamentarian M B Rajesh told the media when the issue was raised in the Parliament.

The not-so-clean BJP?

This would not be the first time that a BJP leader is accused of corruption. Corruption charges were levelled against B S Yeddyurappa in Karnataka while the Vyapam scam took place in Madhya Pradesh. These incidents, however, took place when the NDA was not in power at the centre.

Ever since the Modi government has come to power, the BJP has deemed itself a clean government. The incidents from Kerala and Maharashtra are the first to emerge post BJP's elevation to the centre. With allegations of corruption against its minister in Maharashtra and bribery charges against its Kerala unit, the BJP can no longer boast of being the party with a clean image.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Thursday, August 10, 2017, 6:19 [IST]
It is 'no war, no peace' at Doklam

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

Even as China raised the rhetoric once again amidst the Doklam standoff, Indian officials say it is a 'no war, peace,' situation out there. Both sides have not moved in any additional forces or artillery amidst the stand off and this is a signal that situation is heading towards a calm down.

A top official in New Delhi informed OneIndia that there is absolutely no tension at the area. The standoff continues and we hope that will withdraw, the official said. China on the other hand has maintained that troop withdrawal would be a pre-condition for talks. India has however rejected the same outright.

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Sikkim Standoff: China warns India of imminent war | Oneindia News

There has been no extraordinary movement by both sides in several days now. The standoff has lasted for over 50 days now and India says that it does not see the situation worsening.

A Chinese daily on Wednesday once again raised the rhetoric and said that the military countdown had begun. India however rubbished the same while saying that China is looking for a solution desperately and wants us to make the first move.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Thursday, August 10, 2017, 6:14 [IST]
Kerala CM apologises to family after accident victim was denied of treatment

India

pti-PTI

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 10: Kerala chief minister Pianrayi Vijayan on Thursday apologised to the kith and kin of accident victim hailing from Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu for his miserable death after being denied treatment by as many as five hospitals.

Terming as 'unfortunate' the August 6 incident when the 30-year-old man was turned away by hospitals for various reasons, including absence of a person from his side, he told the state assembly that the government would consider a new legislation to avoid recurrence of such episodes.

"I am apologising to the family of the deceased, Murugan, on behalf of the state government... and share their grief," he said responding to a mention about the incident. Vijayan said it should not have happened in a state which had made tremendous progress in the health sector.

Referring to the complaint of the denial of treatment for Murugan, who was seriously injured in the mishap in Kollam, by five private hospitals and the government medical college here, he said the government would consider bringing a new legislation to avoid recurrence of such incidents in future.

"An expert medical team will examine the reasons behind the denial of treatment. The government will consider a new legislation or amend the existing one if necessary to check recurrence of such incidents in the state," the Chief Minister said.

Murugan, hailing from Tirunelveli in neighbouring Tamil Nadu, was seriously injured in a motorbike accident at 11 PM on August 6 and died next day morning. Though he was taken to different hospitals in Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram districts, the hapless man was not given treatment on various grounds including the absence of a person to be with him during the treatment.

The man was also brought to the government medical college hospital here but treatment could not be provided as the emergency room was full, it was stated. Police have registered a case and probe is on in this regard.

PTI
Been waiting for a long time: Sonia Gandhi as Congress votes for non-Gandhi president

Sonia says she 'feels relieved' as Kharge takes charge of Congress

Leaders of 18 opposition parties to meet today

India

oi-PTI

Leaders of 18 opposition parties led by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi will meet to chalk out a common strategy to corner the NDA government on a range of issues in the national capital on Friday.

According to sources, the opposition leaders will meet in parliament library to work out an effective strategy to take on the Centre when the Monsoon session ends.

An invite has been sent to leaders of opposition parties, including JD(U)'s Sharad Yadav by Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad on behalf of the Congress chief.

Besides top Congress leaders, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee is also likely to attend the meeting along with other senior leaders like Mayawati, Akhilesh Yadav and Sitaram Yechury, sources said. Since Sharad Yadav is in Patna, he may be represented by Ali Anwar Ansari.

Apart from the Congress, Left parties, TMC, RJD, JD(U), NCP, JMM, DMK, NC, SP, BSP, RLD, JD-S, Kerala Congress, AIUDF besides some others are slated to participate in the meeting.

The 18 opposition parties had earlier decided to meet once a month to discuss various crucial issues and maintain better coordination among themselves to 'unitedly' take on the government.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who arrived on Thursday, met senior Congress leaders Ahmed Patel ahead of the opposition meeting tomorrow.

The Trinamool chief also met President Ram Nath Kovind which was described by her party officials as a "courtesy" call.

Congress leader Ahmed Patel visited the TMC supremo at her South Avenue office to discuss the agenda for the meeting tomorrow, TMC party sources.

This will be Banerjee's second opposition meeting in Delhi. She had attended the opposition meeting ahead of the presidential election last month.

PTI

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Story first published: Thursday, August 10, 2017, 23:56 [IST]
SC tells Kerala police to share details of love jihad case with NIA

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia Staff Writer

The Supreme Court has asked the Kerala police to share probe record details in a case of alleged love jihad with the National Investigation Agency. The court asked the NIA to find out if this was an isolated case of love jihad or there was a trend in Kerala regarding the same.

The Kerala High Court had annulled the marriage and the same was challenged by the husband in the Supreme Court. The lady's father alleged that she was indoctrinated and converted to Islam. However the husband had opposed the same and said that the NIA should not probe into the matter.

The SC however said that the opposition to the NIA probe gives an impression that the husband does not want a complete picture to be placed before it. Unless the NIA looks into the details of the probe conducted so far by the Kerala police, it would not be in a position to assist the SC in the case.

Jahan, who had married the woman last December, had moved the Supreme Court after the Kerala High Court annulled his marriage saying that it was an insult to independence of women in the country. The woman, a Hindu, had converted to Islam and later married Jahan.

It was alleged that the woman was recruited by Islamic State's mission in Syria and Jahan was only a stooge. The high court, while declaring the marriage as "null and void", had described the case as an instance of 'love jihad' and ordered the

Earlier, the apex court had asked the NIA to file a report before it on August 16.

The court had on August 4 sought the response of the state government and the NIA on Jahan's plea challenging the high court order annulling his marriage. The NIA has recently conducted probes into some cases of 'love jihad,' in which some women were allegedly being sent to Syria to join ISIS.

Terming the case as "serious" and "sensitive", the court had asked the father of the woman to bring material on record in support of his claims on the alleged marriage of his daughter and that there was a "well-oiled systematic mechanism" for conversion and Islamic radicalisation.

OneIndia News
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 10, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Benz Mining Corp. (TSX-V:BZ) (the Company or Benz), is pleased to announce an amendment to its previously announced non-brokered, private placement. The Company now plans to complete a non-brokered private placement of 3,000,000 units (each, a Unit) at a price of $0.20 per Unit, for gross proceeds of up to $600,000 (the "Private Placement"). Each Unit consisting of one common share in the capital of the Company (each a Share) and one whole common share purchase warrant (each a Warrant). Each Warrant will entitle the holder to purchase one Share (a Warrant Share) at a price of $0.35 per Warrant Share for a period of 24 months following closing.



The net proceeds from the Private Placement will be used for completion of the Phase I exploration program of Benzs flagship Mel Zinc project near Watson Lake, Yukon and working capital.

All of the Shares issued pursuant to the Private Placement (including Warrant Shares issuable upon exercise of Warrants) will be subject to a four-month hold period from the date of issue. The Private Placement is subject to approval from the TSX Venture Exchange (the "Exchange").

After giving effect to the Private Placement, the Company will have an aggregate of 10,827,402 common shares issued and outstanding.

Warrant and Accelerator Clause

The Warrants are subject to an acceleration clause. If the closing price of the Companys shares on the TSX Venture Exchange is at or above $0.55 per share for a period of twenty (20) consecutive trading days during the term of the Warrants, the Company may accelerate the expiry date of the Warrants to 30 calendar days from the date express written notice is given by the Company to the holder.

Completion of the private placement and any finders fees payable are subject to regulatory approval.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of Benz Mining Corp.

Miloje Vicentijevic, President and Chief Executive Officer

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 accuracy or adequacy of this release.
Madras HC stays look out circular against Karti Chidambaram

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

The Madras High Court has stayed the look out circular issued against Karti Chidambaram, son of former union minister, P Chidambaram. The court granted the stay after Karti had challenged the LOC issued against him by the Central Bureau of Investigation.

The circular issued against Karti had been issued to all airports to prevent him from travelling abroad.

Claiming that the CBI issued the summons when he was abroad, Karti told the court that his counsel duly informed about my stay abroad to the CBI through a letter dated June 20.

On July 4, the CBI once again issued a summons against which I have moved the high court and the petition is still pending adjudication he had said. I was always responding to the summonses issued by the CBI and that there was no absolute cause of action for issuance of the LOC, he also said The circular is a well thought out and meticulously orchestrated fraudulent plan of the CBI to stop me at the airport as and when I proceed abroad by springing an unpleasant surprise on me and leak it to the media that I am detained at the airport and cause embarrassment to me, he also said.

The look out circular against Karti Chidambaram was issued to prevent him from leaving the country like Vijay Mallya, the CBI's counsel had told the Madras High Court.

Karti's counsel however raised objection to the submissions and asked the CBI to withdraw the same. The Madras High Court directed the CBI to serve a copy of the circular with Karti. The matter has been adjourned to August 10.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Thursday, August 10, 2017, 15:39 [IST]
Narsingh Yadav better bet than Sushil Kumar for Rio Olympics: WFI to HC

'I'm absolutely fine': Wrestler Nisha Dahiya issues video after reports of her being shot dead

Everyone knows which society instigates riots: Babita Phogat sparks row over Jahangirpuri violence

National level wrestler dies of electrocution at Jaipal Singh stadium

India

oi-Madhuri

National level wrestler Vishal Verma died on Thursday after electrocution while trying to pump out water from waterlogged stadium in Jharkhand's Ranchi.

As per reports, the 25-year old wrestler was electrocuted due to short circuit at the inundated stadium building.

The indoor stadium, built in 1978, has been flooded with rainwater since the beginning of monsoon and its condition has worsened due to heavy rains in the past couple of weeks.

Jharkhand Wrestling Association president Bhola Singh has condemned the incident and announced an interim relief of Rs 1 lakh to Vishal's family. The association will also give ten thousand rupees (Rs 10,000) every month to the family.

Vishal was the lone bread earner in his family of six members with three unmarried sisters.

OneIndia News
Next time we will take 3, Amit Shah said after RS polls

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

The next time we will take all three, said Amit Shah during a late meeting following the Rajya Sabha elections. In Tuesday's elections, Amit Shah and Smriti Irani of the BJP were elected, while Ahmed Patel of the Congress scraped through after a lot of drama.

Amit Shah, the chief of the BJP sat with his MLAs late into the night as the drama unfolded. The BJP had anticipated that Patel would be defeated, but the ECI played spoilsport for the party by invalidating two votes which helped the Congressman enter the Rajya Sabha for the fifth time.

During the meeting of Shah and the legislators, he said the next focus should be the Gujarat assembly elections. We need to win 150 at any cost he said while directing them to gear and put in their best efforts. If we are able to do this, then we can take all 3 seats in the next Rajya Sabha elections, Shah said.

Shah following his victory arrived at Delhi to grand welcome. Party leaders celebrated Shah's victory and also his three years as BJP chief. He said on arrival, " I have been an MLA for 20 years. I tried to do my best always." While showering praise on the Prime Minister, he said that it is our pride that Narendrabhai is ours.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Thursday, August 10, 2017, 6:10 [IST]
Mumbai jeweller becomes first person to be put on no fly list for hijack scare

No-fly list for unruly passengers likely by month-end

India

oi-Madhuri

After a series of incidents, the civil aviation ministry is likely to implement its rules on a no-fly list for unruly passengers later this month once the ongoing Parliament session gets over.

The no fly list will empower domestic airlines to impose a ban on unruly passengers between two months and life-time ban.

The no fly list, which was supposed to be implemented from early July, was delayed as the government was seeing how databases of different airlines can be linked so that a person put on unruly passenger's list by one airline is not able to fly on the other Indian carriers too.

The government has recommended three levels of unruly behaviour, each with a corresponding duration of flying ban of 3 months, 6 months and two years or more without limit.

The move to revise the existing rules came in the wake of Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad assaulting an Air India staffer with a slipper for not being able to fly business class in an all-economy flight in March.

OneIndia News
Northeast floods: Kiren Rijiju says Govt to fund permanent solution

India

pti-PTI

New Delhi, Aug 10: The government proposes to fund a permanent solution to floods in the Northeast including Assam, the Lok Sabha was informed on Thursday. Replying to a calling attention motion on the problem of floods in various parts of the country, Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju also rejected claims of opposition that the government has failed to respond to the "annual feature" of floods in time and gives little financial assistance to states to deal with the calamity.

Initiating the discussion, Gaurav Gogoi (Cong) alleged that the government was in deep slumber like the mythological 'Kumbhkaran' and fails to take quick action when calamity like floods hits various parts of the country. He said as per a revised formula, the financial liability of the states has increased in tackling floods.

He claimed that the central government has ignored its responsibility and even the CAG has criticised the flood management programme. Saugata Roy (TMC) alleged that while funds for BJP-ruled Gujarat and Assam were released, no provision was granted for West Bengal.

"We feel there is political discrimination," he said. Rijiju said the Centre does not discriminate and two installments of state disaster response fund have already to given to the state. For desilting of the Damodar river, another Rs 130 crore have been given to the state government. He said the state has to first submit a memorandum to the Centre to get funds for floods and added that the document is yet to be submitted.

The floods have so far claimed 962 lives. While 206 people have been injured, 23 are reported to be missing, Rijiju said. The minister also rejected suggestions that the government's response to floods was often delayed and said the constant practice is to ensure that rescue is followed by relief and rehabilitation. He said Rs 100 crore has been earmarked to find a permanent solution to floods in the northeast region. Experts will help find a solution, he said.

PTI
Rajasthan: ACB busted international spoof call gang, arrested Ex-MLA's grandson

India

oi-PTI

Rajasthan's Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) arrested the 31-year-old grandson of a former MLA from Sriganganagar for allegedly extorting money by making spoof calls.

Posing as an ACB officer, Sahil Rajpal, grandson of former MLA Radheshyam, had demanded Rs 10 lakh from Public Health Engineering Department engineers for settling a fraud case in which they were allegedly involved, senior officials said.

He had also allegedly taken Rs 1.5 lakh from the complainant, Inspector General, ACB, Sachin Mittal told PTI. IG Mittal said this is perhaps the first case in Rajasthan where "spoof calls" were made using international gateway internet calling.

"We were chasing the accused since February and had contacted telecom companies of nine countries to nab him," Mittal said.

Superintendent of Police, ACB, Tejaswini Gautam said the accused is an English (Honours) graduate and was arrested from the MLA quarters in Jaipur. She said Rajpal is being interrogated for his role in similar crimes committed in past and others involved in the activities.

Rajpal will be produced before the court tomorrow, she said. ACB sleuths said that the accused had made calls to SPML Company, a complaint of which was lodged with CBI.

In the much-talked about SPML Company fraud case, names of PHED engineers and senior officers of the company had cropped up. The case was investigated by ACB officer Shankar Dutt Sharma. Rajpal, posing as Sharma, had called PHED engineers and SPML officers, the police said.

PTI

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Story first published: Thursday, August 10, 2017, 9:58 [IST]
Rift wide open: Original JD(U) is with me, says Sharad Yadav

India

oi-PTI

Senior leader Sharad Yadav on Thursday claimed that the original JD(U) is with him as he termed Nitish Kumar's joining hands with the BJP as "betrayal of the people's mandate.

"The trust of 11 crore people who gave mandate to form the grand alliance government in Bihar was broken," Yadav told reporters at the airport on his first trip to Bihar since the end of the grand alliance.

"The agreement of 'gathbandhan' (grand alliance) was for five years which was broken. I am hurt by this. I continue to stand for the 'gathbandhan'," he said.

Yadav said the grand alliance and the BJP had come out with different manifestos for the assembly election.

"It's for the first time in the history of the country that the two manifestos of rival groupings have mingled," he said.

Yadav, who is in the state on a three-day tour, to hold "direct dialogue" with the people, expressed his unhappiness over Nitish joining hands with BJP to form a new government and dubbed it as "betrayal of the mandate".

With JD(U) under Nitish distancing itself from Yadav's tour, former minister Ramai Ram and only a handful of partymen were seen with him.

RJD supporters were, however, seen in large numbers receiving him at Patna airport as well as during his tour indicating Lalu Prasad's wholehearted support to him.

Asked whether his trip amounted to "anti-party activity", Yadav, who is the leader of the party in the Upper House, said, "I do not want to make any comment." From the Patna airport, Yadav's convoy headed straight for Sonepur in Saran district. From there, he would go to Hajipur and stop at Muzaffarpur for the night.

At a function at Sonepur, Yadav said, "Sarkari JD(U) is with Nitish Kumar while the original party is with me. The original JD(U) in association with secular forces would form a government after next general election." RJD MLA from Sonepur Ramanuj Prasad shared platform with Yadav at the function.

RJD supporters in large number along with some JD(U) workers accorded reception to Yadav at Ramashish Chowk, Anjanpeer chowk in Hajipur in Vaishali district.

Asked about the presence of RJD workers in his tour programme, Yadav justified it saying they are part of the 'Gatbandhan' of which he is a part.

On Friday, Yadav would visit Darbhanga and Madhubani and visit Supual, Saharsa and Madhepura on August 12.

From Madhepura he had won many times in Lok Sabha poll in the past but lost to Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav in 2014.

With Yadav making it clear that he is charting a different path, JD(U) leaders maintained restraint in using harsh words against him but expressed their displeasure particularly over his company with RJD.

JD(U) secretary general K C Tyagi, a known aide of Yadav, indicated moving away from him and said "Sharad Yadav ji is unfortunately protesting against a decision taken by Bihar unit of the party to become part of NDA."

"He is saying he is still part of 'Gatbandhan', but we have left that path and become a part of NDA," Tyagi told.

PTI

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Story first published: Thursday, August 10, 2017, 22:40 [IST]
Rs 3,000-5,000 per vote in Nandyal bypoll; TDP, YSRCP in a battle of prestige

India

oi-Anusha

Money and muscle power is on full display ahead of the crucial Nandyal bypolls in Andhra Pradesh. Political observers, who have deemed Nandyal bypoll the fight for prestige between the TDP and YSP Congress, have estimated that close to Rs 100 crore are being spent only to bribe voters.

Each party is ready to pay anywhere between Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000 per vote in the constituency. Apart from cash, liquor and food are also being distributed, according to some organisations. One such organisation, Jana Chaitanya Vedika, has even written to the election commission highlighting the corrupt practices and urging it to curb illegal practices.

"Both parties have made it a prestige battle because the results will reflect people's mood for the 2019 assembly elections. It is a closely contested battle and a lot of money is being spent. While it is impossible to calculate the same, our estimate is that close to Rs 100 crores are being spent by both parties," said Padmanabha Reddy, Secretary, Forum for Good Governance.

Many political watchdog agencies are touting Nandyal bypolls to be the most expensive electoral affair in Andhra Pradesh in recent times. While Jagan Mohan Reddy's YSR Congress Party has registered a complaint with the election commission accusing Chandrababu Naidu's TDP of using government machinery and money to lure voters, activists believe that voters are being bribed from both sides.

"In Nandyal Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1 crore is spent on a mere Gram Panchayat President election. The money spent is only to purchase votes. In some cases, Rs 3,000 is given to each person from every party. A family with five votes will receive close to Rs 40,000 if they accept bribes from both parties," Padmanabha Reddy added.

The stakes are high and it is not a battle of prestige. While personal attacks are being made from both, the TDP and the YSRCP, money is also being made to flow to win the coveted Nandyal assembly constituency seat.

OneIndia News
Sahara's Aamby Valley auction to go on says Supreme Court

India

oi-PTI

The auction of Sahara's Aamby Valley project in Pune will not be put on hold, the Supreme Court has said.

A bench of justices Dipak Misra, Ranjan Gogoi and A K Sikri said, "The prayer of the contemnor (Subrata Roy) is hereby rejected." During the hearing, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Roy, said that the auction process should be put on hold till September so that his client could arrange Rs 1,500 crore to be deposited into Sebi-Sahara account. The bench, however, said that it will pass orders at an appropriate time.

Roy had on Wednesday moved the Supreme Court seeking to put a hold on the auction process to sell the group's Rs 34,000- crore worth Aamby Valley property by the official liquidator of the Bombay High Court. The apex court had on July 25 asked the embattled Sahara chief to deposit Rs 1,500 crore in the SEBI-Sahara account by September 7 and said that it might then deliberate upon his plea seeking 18 months more time for making complete repayment.

The court had simultaneously approved the draft sale notice and terms to dispose of the property prepared by the official liquidator of the Bombay High Court. "The official liquidator shall publish the sale notice as given by him and the notice shall be published on August 14. The steps which are required to be taken for the publication of the sale notice, are allowed," the court had said.

The Sahara Group had earlier sought 18 months' time to repay around Rs 9,000 crore balance amount of the principal amount of Rs 24,000 crore. Sibal, however, had said that according to the group, the remaining amount was around Rs 8,000 crore and it had made all efforts to deposit the money. Roy, who has spent almost two years in jail, has been on parole since May 6 last year. The parole was granted the first time to enable him attend the funeral of his mother. It has been extended since then.

Roy and two other directors Ravi Shankar Dubey and Ashok Roy Choudhary -- were arrested for failure of the group's two companies -- Sahara India Real Estate Corporation (SIRECL) and Sahara Housing Investment Corp Ltd (SHICL) -- to comply with the court's August 31, 2012 order to return Rs 24,000 crore to their investors.

PTI
To keep Chinese army at bay, residents of Arunachal Pradesh want army training

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia

Itanagar, August 10: At a time when India and China have been locked in a face-off in the Dokhlam area of the Sikkim sector for over 50 days now, residents of Arunachal Pradesh, which also shares border with China and has been the flashpoint of the Indo-China war in 1962, want the Indian Army to train them in handling arms and ammunition.

Recommended Video

Sikkim standoff: Arunachal people demand army training to keep China at bay| Oneindia News

The people of Mechuka in West Siang district of the picturesque state feel that some army training is necessary to keep the Chinese Army at bay in case there is an "attack" from the neighbouring country.

Talking to The Telegraph, Hilot Mugli, a 70-year-old resident of Mechuka, said, "During the Sino-Indian War of 1962, the Chinese army reached Mechuka through Manigaon and attacked the Indian Army. We were not trained and we were helpless to aid our jawans.

We should now get training so that we can protect ourselves as well as our jawans. We have now got an advanced landing ground and road to the town is also cleared up for facilitating quicker movement of troops to the border."

The places like Mechuka, Manigaon and Tuting are located near Indo-China border. Moreover, these are all hilly places because of which roadways are not very friendly. The hilly terrain makes it difficult for soldiers of the Indian Army to reach quickly in case of any eventuality.

So, the people of these places feel training in arms and ammunition would be of great help in protecting the border.

In fact, some time ago, the Narendra Modi government at the Centre wanted to impart "military training" to the people in the border areas of the Northeast region of the country in order to integrate them with the vigilance and security apparatus of the Indian Army.

Akeng Nitik, who is a goanburah (village headman) of Jumbo village in Upper Siang district, 25km from the border, said, "In 1962, the army gave a rifle to every village. If anything happens we will be in trouble but if our youths are trained they can resist the Chinese Army for some time. The army is also extending help on all fronts."

OneIndia News
AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands, Aug. 10, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Acapture, a global, data-driven omnichannel PSP, has recently become a member of the Merchant Risk Council (MRC). It joins a community of 450 companies from 30 countries committed to improving ecommerce payments and supporting risk management efforts.



The MRC membership is a major step for Acapture, emphasizing its dedication to developing and improving payment solutions that match the needs and challenges of todays merchants. Being part of a community that shares the same drive to make commerce safe and profitable provides Acapture with an opportunity to learn and better understand the main fraud and risk challenges that merchants are confronted with.

With Acapture joining the MRC community, merchant members will have access to Acaptures data-driven payments solutions designed to increase revenues through improved authorization rates, fraud reduction, checkout experience and customer journey insights with the help of data science. Next to these award-winning payment solutions, MRC merchants will benefit from the extensive cutting-edge research that Acapture releases on a regular basis, examining the most important commerce topics and trends.

Were delighted to become an MRC member, said Cheng Liem Li, CCO Acapture, Joining this great community and working together with peers and merchants to push this exciting industry supports us in our pursuit of innovation and delivering custom machine learning products that can cater multiple ecommerce business models.

Acaptures latest research reports exploring either different ecommerce verticals, future trends in consumer behaviour, regulatory changes or technology trends shaping the commerce industry are available on acapture.com.

About Acapture

Acapture is the subsidiary company of Payvision, one of the worlds fastest growing global card acquiring networks. Licensed as a payment institution by the Dutch Central Bank, Acapture combines with Payvision to maximize the revenues of merchants and help them grow their business globally. This is done through a complete data-driven omnichannel payment solution, capable of managing a payment at every stage, from checkout to fund collection to settlement.

Together with its parent company, Payvision, Acapture, was awarded Best PSP at the 2017 MPE Awards in Berlin, and it specializes in maximizing revenue for merchants and marketplaces with international ambitions. Acaptures system features SlicePay for simplified allocation of funds to multiple parties from a single transaction, data science management for improved authorization rates, a one-day integration using one RESTful API, flexible, consolidated reporting, a streamlined reconciliation process, global card acquiring and the ability to handle 80+ of the most popular alternative payment methods and 160+ transaction currencies.

For more information about Acapture, please check www.acapture.com and follow us on Twitter @Acapture_Global, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and Corporate blog.

About MRC

With the vision of making commerce safe and profitable everywhere, the Merchant Risk Council is the leading global trade association for eCommerce fraud and payments professionals. The MRC was established in 2000 by a small group of merchant professionals from leading consumer brands who all shared a mutual goal of improving eCommerce payments while supporting their organizations' risk management efforts. In 2010, the MRC expanded its community to Europe, and currently supports over 450 member companies in over 30 countries.

For further information, please contact:

Alina Geosanu | PR & Communications Assistant; e-mail: alina@payvision.com




Venkaiah Naidu to be sworn in as Vice-President tomorrow at 10 am

India

oi-Madhuri

The Vice-President elect Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu will be sown in as the next Vice President of India on August 11 at Durbar Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan at 10 am. Naidu will be the 13th Vice President of India. Naidu has served as the Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Urban Development and Information and Broadcasting in the NDA Cabinet.

Facts about Vice President elect Venkaiah Naidu

Out of 760 valid votes, Venkaiah Naidu got 516 votes and UPA's candidate Gopalkrishna Gandhi got 244 votes. The polling percentage was high. The total polling percentage recorded was 98.21. 771 out of 785 votes were polled.

Naidu was born on born on July 1, 1949 at Chavatapelam, Andhra Pradesh. He did Bachelor's in politics and diplomatic studies from V R College, Nellore.

India has become intolerant says Hamid Ansari in parting shot

Earlier on Wednesday, outgoing Vice President Hamid Ansari, who has held the post for two consecutive terms, cautioned the nation in his final address on August 10. Ansari, in his speech, highlighted the insecurity amongst segments of the society, especially minority communities including Muslims, Dalits and Christians. He was giving his final address as the Vice President at the 25th annual convocation of the National Law School of India University in Bengaluru.

OneIndia News
To get China to budge, India brings in its best 3

Indo-China war? 100 villagers near Doklam vacated

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

Amidst the Doklam Standoff, several villagers at the Nathang villlage have been asked to vacate their homes immediately. This village is around 35 kilometres from the site.

There has been heavy troop movement in the area for the past couple of days, reported News 18. There are conflicting messages coming in from Doklam. However the decision to ask the villagers to vacate may not be related to the Doklam conflict, sources indicate.

There is an annual exercise of the soldiers of the 33 Corp. The soldiers are moving from Sukna towards Doklam, sources say. This is however an annual exercise that takes place.

The Army has termed this exercise as a regular maintenance move. Earlier in the day, officials had also said that at Doklam the situation is 'no war, no peace.'

Recommended Video

Sikkim Standoff : Bhutan reacts on China's claim over Doklam | Oneindia News

On the other hand, China has been pressurising India to pull out of Doklam. India has however stood its ground and says that a troop withdrawal is possible only if it is simultaneous. It is the Chinese media which has been in the centre stage of the rhetoric.

Every day it has beating a war rhetoric and reminding India about 1962.

Defence Minister Arun Jaitley has time and again reminded the Chinese that this is. 2017 and not 1962. On Wednesday, he had said that India had learnt from 1962 and are in a much more powerful position today.

OneIndia News
What is Article 35 A and why is its scrapping being sought

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

Article 35 A of the Indian Constitution for Jammu and Kashmir is once again in the news with the Supreme Court agreeing to hear a plea in this regard. A plea was filed in the SC seeking the scrapping of the article for the state as it is discriminatory in nature for women who are stripped off the right to own property if they marry someone from outside the state.

What is Article 35 A and why it is a bone of contention. Let us find out:

Article 35A empowers the Jammu and Kashmir government to define "permanent residents" of the state and provide special rights and privileges to those permanent residents.

The article was added to the Indian Constitution through a Presidential order.

Prior to 1947, Jammu and Kashmir was a princely state under the British Paramountcy.

The people of the princely states were "state subjects", not British colonial subjects.

In the case of Jammu and Kashmir, the political movements in the state in the early 20th century led to the emergence of "hereditary state subject" as a political identity for the State's peoples, and the legal provisions for the recognition of the status were enacted by the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir between 1912 and 1932.

The 1927 Hereditary State Subject Order granted to the state subjects the right to government office and the right to land use and ownership, which were not available to non-state subjects.

Following the accession of Jammu and Kashmir to the Indian Union on 26 October 1947, The Maharaja ceded control over defence, external affairs and communications to the Government of India.

Article 370 of the Constitution of India and the concomitant Constitutional Order of 1950 formalised this relationship.

Discussions for furthering the relationship between the State and the Union continued, culminating in the 1952 Delhi Agreement, whereby the governments of the State and the Union agreed that Indian citizenship would be extended to all the residents of the state but the state would be empowered to legislate over the rights and privileges of the state subjects, who would now be called permanent residents.

Following the adoption of the provisions of the Delhi Agreement by the Constituent Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir, the President of India issued The Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 1954, through which Indian citizenship was extended to the residents of the state, and simultaneously the Article 35A was inserted into the Indian Constitution.

"Saving of laws with respect to permanent residents and their rights. - Notwithstanding anything contained in this Constitution, no existing law in force in the State of Jammu and Kashmir, and no law hereafter enacted by the Legislature of the State:

Defining the classes of persons who are, or shall be, permanent residents of the State of Jammu and Kashmir.

Conferring on such permanent residents any special rights and privileges or imposing upon other persons any restrictions as respects.

Employment under the State Government

Acquisition of immovable property in the State

Settlement in the State

Right to scholarships and such other forms of aid as the State Government may provide,

shall be void on the ground that it is inconsistent with or takes away or abridges any rights conferred on the other citizens of India by any provision of this part."

Main objections:

t facilitates the violation of the right of women to 'marry a man of their choice' by not giving the heirs any right to property, if the woman marries a man not holding PRC. Therefore, her children are not given Permanent Resident Certificate and thereby considering them unfit for inheritance - not given any right to such a woman's property even if she is a permanent resident.

It facilitates the free and unrestrained violation of fundamental rights of those workers and settlers like Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe people who have lived there for generations. The Valmikis who were brought to the state during 1957 were given Permanent Resident Certificates on the condition that they and their future generations could stay in the state only if they continued to be safai-karmacharis (scavengers). And even after six decades of service in the state, their children are safai-karmacharis and they have been denied the right to quit scavenging and choose any other profession.

The industrial sector & whole private sector suffers due to the property ownership restrictions. Good doctors don't come to the state for the same reason.

Children of non-state subjects do not get admission to state colleges.

It ruins the status of West Pakistani refugees. Being citizens of India they are not stateless persons, but being non-permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir, they cannot enjoy the basic rights and privileges as being enjoyed by permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir.

It gives a free hand to the state government and politicians to discriminate between citizens of India, on an unfair basis and give preferential treatment to some by trampling over others, since the non-residents of the state are debarred from buying properties, getting a government job or voting in the local elections.

OneIndia News
It began in 2014

The resounding success the BJP attained in 2014 can be attributed to the Narendra Modi wave and Amit Shah's brains. Shah travelled extensively and it is said he made a 5 lakh kilometre journey during this period.

Shah roped in over 7 lakh people into the special camps that were held during the campaign. This was an impressive number since in the past hardly 3,000 persons took part in these camps.

He urged party workers to send across the Modi's message of development. Shah realised early that performing well in Uttar Pradesh meant booking a berth in Delhi. He gave extra emphasis to UP and the dividends paid off. The BJP won 72 out of the 80 seats in UP which helped it cross the magic mark of 272. The BJP ended up with 282.

Under Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP also became the world's largest party. It has over 10 crore members today.

Master of UP

Shah showed his skills in UP during the assembly elections too. The BJP trounced all its opponents and formed the government with a huge majority. Many close to him say that Shah has mastered UP to such an extent that he can win the state even with his eyes closed. In UP the BJP won 41 per cent of votes. Its finally tally was at 325 in the 403 member assembly. This is a huge jump considering the party bagged 15 per cent of the vote share and 47 seats in 2012.

Success rate

Shah has seen a high success rate in the assembly elections. Under him the party has won UP, Manipur, Uttarakhand, Goa, Maharashtra, Haryana, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir and Assam. While the BJP lost Bihar two years back, it fell right back into its lap a couple of weeks back.

The BJP is also making inroads in West Bengal and Telangana. The next step for Shah would be to retain Gujarat. He has told party workers that he wants nothing less than 150 seats in Gujarat. He also has a strategy in place to re-take Karnataka and bag Himachal Pradesh as well.

Under Shah, the party has also focused heavily on the North Eastern states. The BJP has its chief ministers in Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh as well. The BJP also formed the government under the NDA in Nagaland.

The local polls

Under Modi and Shah, the BJP performed impressively at Maharashtra. It has 8 Mayors in 10 municipal corporations. For the first time the party won 301 seats. In the Zilla Parishad level, the party has 10 district chairpersons and five chairpersons.

The BJP also won the local elections held in Madhya Pradesh, Chandigarh, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Leh-Laddakh, Andaman Nicobar, Assam and Lakshadweep. In Odisha too the party performed exceptionally well. It started out the campaign with just 36 seats, but ended up winning 306 out of the 849 seats.
Will Naidu's witty liners add wit to V-P office

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia Staff Writer

Venkaiah Naidu is all set to take oath as the 13th Vice President of India on Friday at 10 PM. We have often heard him of speaking witty lines. Be it the criticism of other parties or defending his own party, he has a barrage of one-liners ready.

Famous for his rhymes and one-liners, his rhyming retorts in the Houses, at press conferences and public rallies. It has always evoked hearty laughter from the listeners and provided much-needed relief to those wanting to unwind after a hectic day.

Naidu's one-liners have lightened the tense atmosphere in Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha and eased heaviness in both the Houses. But as a Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice President of India, will he continue with his wit and wordplay? Only time can answer. But for now, check out some of his hilarious quotes and wordplay. Read and enjoy.

When 'Rashtrapati nominee' was to be announced When the 'Rashtrapati nominee' was to be announced by the NDA and Naidu was asked whether he was on the list, he said, "I neither want to become Rashtrapati (President), nor do I want to become Rs Up-rashtrapatiRs (Vice-President). I am happy being Usha's pati (wife Usha's husband)," Naidu quipped when questioned by reporters. After filing V-P nomination After filing the Vice President nomination as a NDA candidate, he commented: "I started as Usha Pati (wife Usha's husband), now I will be Up-Rashtrapati (Vice President), eventually Sabha-Pati (Rajya Sabha chairman), not Sabka-Pati (everyone's husband)." MODI means Making of Developed India Venkaiah Naidu is endowed with the gift of the gab, though often his comments are weird. Take, for instance, the acronym -- MODI -- in the context of the Prime Minister's demonetisation decision, he had said, "MODI means Making of Developed India. Join the campaign, cleanse the public life, clean ourselves, set good example, create role models and become inspiration to other people. At times, he is a poet too At times, he turns out to be a poet too. Here's how a poem by him turned many readers into a poet. He invited business men to Jharkhand for investment by saying that the state has an investor-friendly government through a poem.

State is beautiful..

People are dutiful..

Resources are Plentiful..

Brand ambassador is powerful..

Chief Minister is Mindful..

Prime Minister is helpful..

What else is required,

come and invest in Jharkhand...

OneIndia News
With Amit Shah in Parliament, the party is over for BJP MPs

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

Amit Shah had once locked out BJP leaders for arriving late for a meeting. A few days back he had asked for written explanation from Rajya Sabha MPs for being absent as a result of which a crucial amendment to a bill could not be passed.

Now, the man himself will be in the Rajya Sabha and for all BJP MPs in the upper house, the party is over. Shah is making his debut in the Rajya Sabha after winning the polls from Gujarat.

In this backdrop, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had this to say to say to lawmakers at the BJP's parliamentary party meet. " Leisure days are over. Amit Shah is here," Modi told party leaders.

This means that no being absent as Shah himself who is also boss of the party will be present in Parliament. Modi is also learnt to have said that Shah would make sure that MPs don't stay absent. Modi also said that the party is supreme. Despite so many reminders, many of you stay absent. You are nobody, I am nobody, the party is everything, Modi also told his MPs.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Thursday, August 10, 2017, 17:29 [IST]
Doklam: With media rhetoric failing, China adds troops at disputed site

International

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

China first went on a media rhetoric which was followed by statements by top officials to pressurise India amidst the Doklam standoff. With both tactics failing and India refusing to budge, China has now gradually started to increase pressure by adding troops at Doklam.

The number of PLA soldiers has been increasing gradually over the past couple of days. There are around 600 to 800 soldiers of the PLA who have turned up in the past couple of days, sources say. However India maintains that there is no major build up or aggression from the Chinese side.

On Thursday a Chinese daily has said that the countdown for a military conflict has begun. This media report came a day after a senior Chinese official said if the Indians do not leave Doklam, then they could enter Uttarakhand and Kashmir.

Recommended Video

Sikkim Standoff: China warns India of imminent war | Oneindia News

An editorial in the state-run China Daily today warned India that the "clock is ticking away" and "India will only have itself to blame" if it does not withdraw its soldiers from the Doklam plateau which has hosted a military confrontation between the two countries since the middle of June.

Wang Wenli, a top official with China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said , "Even if there is only one Indian soldier, even for a day it is still a violation of our sovereignty and territorial integrity."

Wang said, "It is impossible to have a dialogue with India at this time. Our people will think our government is incompetent."

"We think it is not doable for the Indian side to use tri-junction as an excuse," she alleged."The Indian side has many tri-junctions. What if we use the same excuse and enter the Kalapani region between China, India and Nepal, or even into the Kashmir region between India and Pakistan, she also said.

"I can only say that for the PLA (People's Liberation Army) and for the Chinese government, we have the determination. So, if the Indian side decides to go down the wrong path or still have illusions about this incident, then we have the right to use any act that is in line with the international law to protect our rights."

"No War, No Peace:

Indian officials say it is a 'no war, peace,' situation out there. Both sides have not moved in any additional forces or artillery amidst the stand off and this is a signal that situation is heading towards a calm down.

A top official in New Delhi informed OneIndia that there is absolutely no tension at the area. The standoff continues and we hope that will withdraw, the official said. China on the other hand has maintained that troop withdrawal would be a pre-condition for talks. India has however rejected the same outright.

There has been no extraordinary movement by both sides in several days now. The standoff has lasted for over 50 days now and India says that it does not see the situation worsening.

A Chinese daily on Wednesday once again raised the rhetoric and said that the military countdown had begun. India however rubbished the same while saying that China is looking for a solution desperately and wants us to make the first move.

OneIndia News
Don't lie on Doklam, it belongs to us, Bhutan tells China

International

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

China's claim that Doklam belongs to them is wrong and we never acknowledged it said Bhutan. China had said that Bhutan had agreed that Doklam belongs to the Chinese. This has however been rubbished by Bhutan.

Recommended Video

Sikkim Standoff : Bhutan reacts on China's claim over Doklam | Oneindia News

Official sources in the Bhutanese Government told ANI over phone, "Our position on the border issue of Doklam is very clear. Please refer to our statement which has been published on the web site of Bhutan's foreign ministry on June 29, 2017."

The Bhutanese sources were responding to a claim made by China's top diplomat, Wang Wenli, that Bhutan had conveyed to Beijing through the diplomatic channels that the area of the standoff was not its territory.

Wang, who is the Deputy Director General of the Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs in China's foreign ministry, reportedly conveyed this information to a visiting Indian media delegation on Wednesday.

She, however, did not provide any evidence of her claim, which official sources in Bhutan said is at complete variance with Thimphu's stated position and actions.

While acknowledging that Bhutan had protested to the Chinese government about Beijing violating a bilateral pact by allowing its troops to construct a road in the Doklam area on 16 June, Wang was quoted, as saying, "After the incident, the Bhutanese made it very clear to us that the place where the trespassing happened is not Bhutan's territory."

She further was quoted, as saying that "Bhutanese find it very strange that the Indian border troops are on the Chinese soil," and implied that her views have been gleaned from Bhutanese state media and legal blogs which have "more convincing information".

Official sources in Bhutan, however, firmly countered this claim today by saying that their country's foreign ministry has clearly emphasized in their June 29 statement that, "Bhutan has conveyed to the Chinese side, both on the ground and through the diplomatic channel, that the construction of the (motorable) road inside Bhutanese territory is a direct violation of the (written) agreements (of 1988 and 1998) and affects the process of demarcating the boundary between our two countries."

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Thursday, August 10, 2017, 12:13 [IST]
G20 Summit: Modi leaves for Japan, likely to hold bilaterals with Trump, Shinzo Abe on Day 1

McConnell blasts impeachment, says, will vote to acquit Prez Trump

Trump and Biden race to woo voters in final hours before US Election 2020

Looking forward to Ivanka Trumps attendance at entrepreneurship summit, tweets PM Modi

International

oi-PTI

India and the US will co-host the Global Entrepreneurship Summit at Hyderabad from November 28 and the American delegation will be led by President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka, tweets PM Modi.

The event is being organised by the NITI Aayog in coordination with Ministry of External Affairs.

He said the three-day event would aim to bring together entrepreneurs of the two countries.

"The Summit is a unique opportunity for bringing together entrepreneurs and start-ups with global leader," PM Modi tweeted.

"Look forward to Ivanka Trump's presence at #GES 2017 Hyderabad as the leader of the US delegation," he said in another tweet.

PM Modi, during his meeting with Trump in Washington in June, had invited Ivanka Trump for the GES.

Ivanka Trump had later tweeted, "Thank you, Prime Minister Modi, for inviting me to lead the US delegation to the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in India this fall."

PTI

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Story first published: Friday, August 11, 2017, 2:46 [IST]
Modern humans active 20,000 years earlier than thought: Study

International

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia Staff Writer

Melbourne, Aug 10: Modern humans may have exited Africa and arrived in Southeast Asia over 70,000 years ago, much earlier than previously thought, scientists said on Thursday. The study led by researchers at Macquarie University in Australia also suggests that humans could have potentially made the crossing to Australia even earlier than the accepted 60,000 to 65,000 years ago.

The dating of a cave site in West Sumatra in Indonesia, called Lida Ajer, provided researchers the first evidence for rainforest use of modern humans. "Rainforests are not the easiest place to make a living, especially for a savannah-adapted primate, so it suggests that these people were ahead of the curve in terms of intelligence, planning and technological adaptation," said Gilbert Price from University of Queensland in Australia. A team of researchers led by Dr Kira Westaway from Macquarie University, used advanced techniques to identify and date the ancient teeth, which were found in the Lada Ajer cave site.

Homo sapiens present between 63,000 and 73,000 years ago

As a result of thorough documentation of the cave, reanalysis of the specimens, and a new dating programme, it was confirmed that the teeth found there were of modern humans, Homo sapiens, and dated back 73,000 years.

"This is a significant finding because it supports emerging ideas that modern humans left Africa and reached Australia much earlier than we thought," said Michelle Langley of Griffith University. The evidence came in the form of two teeth, discovered by Dutch archaeologist Eugene Dubois in a cave on Sumatra in the late nineteenth century. The researchers confirmed the teeth belonged to Homo sapiens by comparing them to orangutan fossils found near the cave, and then dated them with electron spin resonance dating.

A barrage of dating techniques were applied to the sediment around the fossils, to overlying and underlying rock deposits in the cave and to associated mammal teeth, indicating that the deposit and fossils were laid down between 63,000 to 73,000 years ago, researchers said. The study was published in the journal Nature.

OneIndia News (with agency inputs)

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Story first published: Thursday, August 10, 2017, 12:53 [IST]
MUNICH, Germany, Aug. 10, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Design and Verification Conference (DVCon) Europe 2017 has announced two keynote speakers for the conference in Munich, Germany on October 16th and 17th, 2017. Dr. Horst Symanzik, the Director of Integrated Circuit Engineering at Bosch Sensortec will be talking about new development solutions employed at the Bosch sensor division. Berthold Hellenthal, Head of the Progressive Semiconductor Program at Audi AG will consider the latest design and verification challenges in the automotive space.



DVCon Europe has grown quickly to become established as the premier event in Europe for electronic industry stakeholders to receive a practical and informative update on innovative design and verification techniques, with a local relevance, noted Oliver Bell, DVCon Europe General Chair. I am delighted that both Berthold and Horst have agreed to speak at the conference. Their valuable insights into the automotive sector and electronic design in general will complement the excellent conference program.

Dr. Symanzik will deliver a keynote entitled Consumer MEMS Products: Quality rather than Commodity on October 16th, the first day of the conference. Modern consumer sensor products are extremely complex, often containing integrated microcontrollers, digital signal processors, image pipelines, external components and more. At the same time, MEMS application complexity has grown significantly, from terrestrial magnetic, acceleration and yaw sensors to new systems such as the micro mirror. This keynote will discuss some of the challenges Bosch Sensortec is facing in its ASIC development for current and future MEMS products. Special attention is paid to the changes in the design and verification methodology, which have become necessary in order to tackle these challenges, originating from a mixed-signal heritage.

On October 17th Mr. Hellenthal will deliver the second conference keynote address, entitled Driving Virtual Prototyping of Automotive Electronics. Automotive electronic systems represent the state of the art in modern electronic design. Advanced technology requirements that include Machine Learning, Internet of Things (IoT) and other leading edge areas are coupled with stringent methodology needs, such as safety critical verification. This talk will focus on this branch of semiconductor and systems design, exploring new techniques for the rapid prototyping of automotive solutions.

DVCON EUROPE 2017 PROGRAM AND REGISTRATION

Registration is now open for the 2017 DVCon Europe. The conference has grown rapidly since its inception four years ago. It now attracts several hundred electronics engineers and managers from all over Europe and beyond, including representatives from all the industry leading semiconductor and systems companies on the continent. Its focus is the practical application of the latest design and verification techniques employed on electronic semiconductors and systems.

The conference program offers a broad and extensive range of tutorials, papers, panels, and keynote speeches. The event also includes an exhibition, receptions and other opportunities for industry networking and interaction. Primary areas of interest covered include:

System Level Design & Verification

Advanced Verification & Validation

Design for Functional Safety

IP Reuse and Design Automation

Analog and Mixed-Signal Design & Verification

Lower Power Techniques

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Dr. Horst Symanzik has received his Diploma degree in Electrical Engineering (EE) from RWTH Aachen and holds a PhD degree in EE from TU Chemnitz where he was a research associate for MEMS electronic circuit design. He worked in semiconductor industry in several positions as a mixed-signal design engineer, ASIC project manager and wireless IC development manager. In 2007 he joined Bosch Sensortec, the new established MEMS Consumer Sensor branch of Bosch, to build up a non-automotive IC development organization. As the Director of Engineering Integrated Circuits, he has grown his organization in five international locations of the Bosch Consumer ASIC supplier, with more than 5 billion devices in the field.

Berthold Hellenthal runs the Progressive Semiconductor Program (PSCP) at the Audi Competence center for Electronics and Semiconductors, and is responsible for the companys semiconductor strategy. Having joined Audi in 2008 as a member of its senior management team, Mr. Hellenthal specializes in electronic hardware reviews and application analysis as well as semiconductor programs. Mr. Hellenthal holds a Dipl.-Ing from RWTH Aachen University in Germany.

ABOUT DVCON EUROPE

The Design and Verification Conference (DVCon) Europe is the leading European event covering the application of languages, tools and intellectual property for the design and verification of electronic systems and integrated circuits. Sponsored by Accellera Systems Initiative, DVCon Europe brings chip architects, design and verification engineers, and IP integrators the latest methodologies, techniques, applications and demonstrations for the practical use of EDA solutions for electronic design. One of three DVCon events around the globe, DVCon Europe 2017 will include 2 keynote speeches, panel sessions, a broad range of papers and posters, 16 tutorials and an exhibition with demonstrations from leading tool, IP and service providers. It will be held at the Holiday Inn Munich City Center, Munich, Germany on the 16th and 17th of October, 2017. For more details and registration, visit www.dvcon-europe.org. Follow DVCon Europe on #dvconeurope.

ABOUT ACCELLERA SYSTEMS INITIATIVE

Accellera Systems Initiative (Accellera) is an independent, not-for profit organization, dedicated to create, support, promote and advance system-level design, modeling and verification standards for use by the worldwide electronics industry. The organization accelerates standards development and as part of its ongoing partnership with the IEEE, its standards are contributed to the IEEE Standards Association for formal standardization and ongoing change control. For more information, please visit accellera.org. For membership information, please email membership@accellera.org.

ACCELLERA GLOBAL SPONSORS: Cadence, Intel, Mentor Graphics, Synopsys

Accellera Systems Initiative and DVCon are trademarks of Accellera Systems Initiative, Inc. All other trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners.
Richard Rahul Verma says India a major foreign policy priority for US

International

pti-PTI

Washington, Aug 10: A former top American diplomat has said that the Trump Administration has recognised India as a major foreign policy priority, noting that the credit for strong ties between the two nations goes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former President Barack Obama.

"I do think India has been recognised as a major foreign policy priority (in the Trump Administration) and one that from the president on down, people are vested in, and that's very encouraging," Richard Rahul Verma, the former US Ambassador to India, told PTI.

"The over all trajectory of the relationship has been quite good," he said. Verma, 48, is currently the vice chairman of The Asia Group, a strategy and capital advisory group based in Washington DC. "As you know, in the last two to three years of the Obama administration we made a lot of progress and all the credit goes to Prime Minister Modi and (former) President Obama. We were doing things in so many different areas, so many different dialogues, but with really tangible results. I think for people in both countries and it was our hope that progress would continue," he said. The former envoy played a key in strengthening US-India ties during his tenure in the Obama Administration. Terming ties with India as the single most important for the United States in this century, Verma said, "We should not just assume that because things are going well, we can let things be on autopilot." "This is the kind of relationship that really matters to our collective futures and it really takes a lot of time and energy," he said. In his first post-Ambassadorial interview, Verma said he thinks that the meeting between the President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June was good.

"A solid joint statement, I think was a re-affirmation of a lot of the priorities that we were focused on in the prior administration," he said. He said he would love to the two countries developing their relationship in terms of investment in the defence sector. "It's important that India and the United States have the kind of defence relationship and that we develop the kind of advanced technologies together that allows India to have the edge in contested domains, whether that's on land, in air, on the sea, in outer space or cyberspace. I think it's really important that India have those capabilities," he said.

Verma hoped that the US will "really pursue" the Major Defence Partner status granted to India, which is completely brand new and unique. "I'd love to see the Congress play a more active role because they can play such an important leadership role like they did during the civil nuclear arrangement," he said. The former American Ambassador also emphasised on increasing bilateral trade to the goal of USD 500 billion. "The US-India economic story is again very unique that this not a zero-sum game. That if an American company opens up a plant in India, it doesn't mean a loss of American jobs necessarily. It means potentially an expansion of market share and opportunities in Asia, and I think the same thing is with Indian companies investing in the US," he said.

Much of the increase in bilateral trade will happen in the private sector and by focusing on areas -- technology, innovation and high-tech co-operation and channelling a lot of the private sector innovations into the public sector, he said. "The Indo-US civil nuclear deal is critical in that area but in other areas, such as wind and solar, there's a huge opportunity and in a range of other areas, skilling, smart cities and infrastructure particularly on homeland defence, coastal security and maritime security," he added. Noting that there is immense potential in Indo-US bilateral trade, Verma said the sky is the limit and USD 500 billion is a modest goal.

"Think about it, we've tripled the trade in ten years. This is without formal talks on trade and investment. This is without a bilateral investment treaty, this is without any kind of, I think, convergence in the trade and economic area. And I think if we can reach that convergence...we absolutely can get there," he said. About the challenges that the relations between the two countries face, Verma said there are a lot more opportunities than challenges. "I think there is so much convergence happening. As you know, we broke every record last year in trade and visas and students. Clearly there are some differences, there are some headwinds and particularly on immigration and I'd like to see those get resolved," he said.

Responding to a question on the H-1B visa issue, Verma said one has to keep this in perspective. "The United States probably issued over a million visas to Indian nationals last year, sixty thousand of them were H1Bs. So we have to keep this in perspective even though India gets the lion's share of H1B visas, the number of those visas is still fairly small," he said. "There's also no doubt there have been abuses in the H1B system and that some companies have played, kind of, not straight and narrow on the rules," he added.

Verma said the Indian side has be to aware about the disruption and job loss caused by modern technologies and by a lot of jobs going offshore and hat is the way forward. The H1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in specialised fields.

The technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year. In April, Trump had signed an executive order for tightening the rules of the visa programme to stop "visa abuses". "We don't want to see a reduction in the interest or the kind of enthusiasm for those people who want to immigrate to the United States. My family and I are immigrants  we should be encouraging and celebrating immigration and diversity in our country -- that's what America stands for," the former ambassador said.

PTI
Trump says his 'fire and fury' warning to N Korea wasn't tough enough

International

oi-PTI

President Donald Trump issued a new threat to North Korea on Thursday, saying his threat to rain "fire and fury" on it maybe "wasn't tough enough."

Speaking alongside Vice President Mike Pence, Trump also said China could do "a lot more" to pressure Pyongyang to end its nuclear weapons program.

Responding to North Korea's dismissal of his dire warnings as "nonsense," Trump told reporters "maybe it wasn't tough enough."

"They've been doing this to our country for a long time, many years," he said. "It's about time that somebody stuck up for the people of this country and for the people of other countries. So if anything, maybe that statement wasn't tough enough."

Trump spoke after North Korea intensified its own rhetoric by announcing a detailed plan to launch a salvo of ballistic missiles toward the US Pacific territory of Guam, a major military hub and home to US bombers.

That announcement had been a response to Trump's threat that the North would face "fire and fury like the world has never seen" if it threatened the US again.

PTI
Sushma Swaraj meets Nepal PM Sher Bahadur Deuba

International

oi-PTI

Kathmandu, Aug 10: External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj on Thursday called on Nepal prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, in their first meeting since the Nepali Congress leader took over in a power-sharing deal in June.

Swaraj, who arrived here on a two-day visit to participate in the 15th ministerial meeting of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), met Deuba at his official residence in Baluwatar. This is the first meeting between the two leaders since Deuba took over as Nepal Prime Minister in a power-sharing deal in June.

During the meeting, the duo discussed a wide range of issues of mutual interest, Republica newspaper quoted a source close to Deuba as saying. "Both sides also reiterated their commitment to deepen the friendly relationship between the two countries," the source said.

Swaraj said that she was looking forward to welcoming Deuba in India, the paper said. Deuba is set to embark on a five-day official visit to India from August 23.

Swaraj is also scheduled to call on President Bidya Devi Bhandari. Swaraj's visit comes as India is pushing for a larger role for BIMSTEC, an international organisation involving a group of countries in South Asia and South East Asia. The member countries of BIMSTEC are India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal.

PTI

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Story first published: Thursday, August 10, 2017, 19:24 [IST]
 2008-2022 One News Page Ltd.

All rights reserved.

One News is a registered trademark

of One News Page Ltd.
by  Graham Pierrepoint



IBM world-record breakthrough crams 330TB of data into palm-sized tape cartridge

If you need proof of how much technology has advanced over the past thirty years, you only have to look at the way we store and use data. While its unlikely youll actually need any proof at all  were using touchscreens and streaming movies directly from our TV sets, for starters  it boggles the mind to think that, less than three decades ago, we were using huge, clunky hard drives that stored as little as 3GB per unit. Some Windows 98 PCs in the late 90s even held this amount of disk space, period  less than twenty years ago. Now, however, were able to purchase Micro SD cards the size of our fingernails to insert into devices the size of our wallets. It really is an incredible evolution that doesnt get much attention.

However, it appears that Sony and IBM have been working on a cutting edge new strategy to make data storage get even smaller  or slimmer, at the very least. While we may be a few decades away from having data implanted into our own bodies, the next best thing is tape. You read correct  the stuff our old VHS cassettes thrived on. The tape is currently being put to use to help store data scoring high into the terabytes  and youll effectively be able to store at least 25GB per square inch of tape. This could mean that spooled-up tape could be flattened and fixed into tiny inserts  which could store terabytes of data at a time.

The creation came around after Sony researched magnetic layers  and found that applying vapor as opposed to liquid onto tape allowed for more data to be stored. It goes to show that old techniques still offer something of a key to the future of technology  as while video and audio cassettes have really bitten the dust (at least in terms of public consumption), this new technique is essentially broadening the scope. If IBM and Sonys latest venture proves successful, could this mean that we make a bizarre u-turn back to the days of VHS?

Its unlikely  though there are undoubtedly purists out there who enjoy audio cassettes and VHS tapes more than your average punter, the convenience of blu-ray and data streaming will prevail  but keep an eye out for intensive data taping coming our way very soon indeed.
SOUTHFIELD, Mich., Aug. 10, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Stefanini, a $1B global IT provider, moved its corporate office in Southfield to a new address: an open-space concept which is more aligned with Stefaninis values. The new office reflects Stefaninis collaborative process and promotes open communication among different departments. In addition to being the headquarters for Stefanini North America and Asia-Pacific, the new Southfield office also boasts the first Innovation Center in the U.S.



According to Spencer Gracias, CEO of Stefanini North America and Asia-Pacific, the inspiration for the new office was based on making innovation a priority. The company designed an open-space concept with furniture, lights and colors specifically chosen to stimulate creativity, communication and the exchange of new ideas through design thinking methodology. We believe that investing in a more creative and innovative atmosphere is crucial to the environment, said Mr. Gracias.

First Innovation Center in the U.S.

The innovative culture will be reinforced within the Global Innovation Center, which is located in the same facility. The Global Innovation Centers are part of a worldwide Stefanini initiative that has enabled the company the ability to embrace emerging technologies and industry standards using design thinking methodology. Through the Innovation Centers, located in Brazil, Romania, Singapore and, now, in the United States, Stefanini is aiming to create value for its customers that earns their lifetime loyalty, said Mr. Gracias.

In addition to benefiting employees, the new office will reinforce innovation within the community and embrace the companys partners. As a result, Stefanini is positioned strongly as a company that views innovation as a priority, enjoying all the benefits of new trends and providing solutions aligned with the specific business needs of its clients, affirmed Mr. Gracias.

The new Stefanini Southfield office address is:

27100 West Eleven Mile Road

Southfield, MI 48034

All of Stefaninis phone numbers and fax numbers will remain the same.

About Stefanini North America

For nearly two decades in the United States, Stefanini has been helping midsize, large and global enterprises increase the efficiency of their IT operations while also leveraging information technology to power their businesses. Our offers include efficient, cost-reducing and effective IT services.

Further information is available on the companys website, www.stefanini.com.
Jerusalem Post 12 Jul 2019

A tropical storm warning was posted on Thursday afternoon for metropolitan New Orleans, and a hurricane warning for a stretch of..
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Press Release: Pune, India- August , 2017Global Solar Lantern Flashlights Market by Manufacturers, Countries, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022Description:This report studies the Solar Lantern Flashlights market, Solar Lantern Flashlights are flashlights powered by solar energy stored in rechargeable batteries. Solar Lantern Flashlights are one of the most chic devices that used to light up any place, as we are looking for an efficient life style, Lanterns became solar powered.For Sample Report@Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Solar Lantern Flashlights 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 coversAma(Tm)EdisonbrightStreamlightViasa_FlashlightPelicanRayovacFenixGarmarMpowerdOlightEnergizerDorcyKlarusAbcsellMarket 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, coversUnder 100 Lumens100 To 199 Lumens200 To 299 Lumens300 Lumens & AboveMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided intoPersonal UseCommerical UseThere are 15 Chapters to deeply display the global Solar Lantern Flashlights market.Chapter 1, to describe Solar Lantern Flashlights Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Solar Lantern Flashlights, with sales, revenue, and price of Solar Lantern Flashlights, 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 Solar Lantern Flashlights, 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, Solar Lantern Flashlights market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Solar Lantern Flashlights sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data sourceFor any Enquiry write us @Table of Contents1 Market Overview1.1 Solar Lantern Flashlights Introduction1.2 Market Analysis by Type1.2.1 Under 100 Lumens1.2.2 100 To 199 Lumens1.2.3 200 To 299 Lumens1.2.4 300 Lumens & Above1.3 Market Analysis by Applications1.3.1 Personal Use1.3.2 Commerical Use1.4 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 Ama(Tm)2.1.1 Business Overview2.1.2 Solar Lantern Flashlights Type and Applications2.1.2.1 Type 12.1.2.2 Type 22.1.3 Ama(Tm) Solar Lantern Flashlights Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.2 Edisonbright2.2.1 Business Overview2.2.2 Solar Lantern Flashlights Type and Applications2.2.2.1 Type 12.2.2.2 Type 22.2.3 Edisonbright Solar Lantern Flashlights Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.3 Streamlight2.3.1 Business Overview2.3.2 Solar Lantern Flashlights Type and Applications2.3.2.1 Type 12.3.2.2 Type 22.3.3 Streamlight Solar Lantern Flashlights Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.4 Viasa_Flashlight2.4.1 Business Overview2.4.2 Solar Lantern Flashlights Type and Applications2.4.2.1 Type 12.4.2.2 Type 22.4.3 Viasa_Flashlight Solar Lantern Flashlights Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.5 Pelican2.5.1 Business Overview2.5.2 Solar Lantern Flashlights Type and Applications2.5.2.1 Type 12.5.2.2 Type 22.5.3 Pelican Solar Lantern Flashlights Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.6 Rayovac2.6.1 Business Overview2.6.2 Solar Lantern Flashlights Type and Applications2.6.2.1 Type 12.6.2.2 Type 22.6.3 Rayovac Solar Lantern Flashlights Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)ContinuedBuy now@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.Office No. 528, Amanora Chambers Magarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028 Maharashtra, India
Cloud Integration 2017 Global Key Players  SAP SE, IBM Corporation, MuleSoft, Fujitsu Ltd.,NEC Corporation Market Analysis And Forecast To 2022

Cloud Integration Market

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Cloud Integration Market 2017Wiseguyreports.Com Adds Cloud Integration Market -Market Demand, Growth, Opportunities, Manufacturers, Analysis of Top Key Players and Forecast to 2022 To Its Research Database.Description:Cloud Integration or integration platform as a service (iPaaS) is one of the fast emerging forms of cloud computing services that are delivered to configure data with various application programs. These application programs range from enterprise risk management (ERM), customer relationship management (CRM), database management system (DBMS), and business process management to web conferencing, and emails, etc. Cloud integration services are especially designed to help organizations of all sizes to know the availability of various cloud services and how those services can add value to their businesses. Cloud integration is generally equipped with in-built connectors, drag and drop tools, business and map rules in order to process various operations with high efficiency.The global cloud integration market has been segmented on the basis of deployment model type, integration type, end-user type, different industry verticals and geographical regions. By types of deployment model, the market has been divided into private, public and hybrid cloud deployment model. On the basis of integration type, the global cloud integration market has been classified into cloud to cloud, cloud to on-premise, on-premise to on-premise, and business to business (b2b) integration. On the basis of various end-users type, the market is segmented into large and small and medium enterprises (SMEs). By different industry verticals, the market is broadly classified into Banking, Financial Service & Insurance (BFSI), supply chain & manufacturing, IT & telecommunication, healthcare, logistics & transportation, public sector and others. Geographically, the market is characterized into Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific and rest of the World (RoW). North America is projected to continue its dominance during the forecast period. This is due to the high number of cloud computing services in the region with and easy deployment, greater agility, enterprise mobility, scalability of cloud platforms.Request for Sample Report@The rising number of cloud computing services such as Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) are identified as the major factors boosting the cloud integration market growth across the world. This is further driven by the growing number of SMEs worldwide with low capital expenditure (CAPEX) requirements are looking for cost-efficient cloud services to run their businesses. The global cloud integration market is currently restricted by several data security and issues with low market awareness among the users.Some of the key players in the global Cloud Integration market are:SAP SEIBM CorporationMuleSoftFujitsu Ltd.NEC CorporationEnquiry before Buying @Table of Contents:Cloud Integration  Market Overview2. Executive Summary3. Cloud Integration  Market Landscape3.1. Market Share Analysis3.2. Comparative Analysis3.2.1. Product Benchmarking3.2.2. End User Profiling3.2.3. Top 5 Financials Analysis4. Cloud Integration  Market Forces4.1. Market Drivers4.2. Market Constraints4.3. Market Challenges4.4. Attractiveness of the Cloud Integration Industry4.4.1. Power of Suppliers4.4.2. Power of Customers4.4.3. Threat of New Entrants4.4.4. Threat of Substitution4.4.5. Degree of Competition5. Cloud Integration Market  Strategic Analysis5.1. Value Chain Analysis5.2. Pricing Analysis5.3. Opportunities Analysis5.4. Product/Market Life Cycle Analysis5.5. Suppliers and DistributorsCompany Profiles12.1. SAP SE12.2. Dell Boomi12.3. MuleSoft12.4. IBM Corporation12.5. Informatica12.6. SnapLogic12.7. Actian12.8. Infor12.9. Fujitsu Ltd.12.10. NEC CorporationContinued..Buy now @For 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:Contact US:NORAH TRENTPartner Relations & Marketing Managersales@wiseguyreports.comPh: +1-646-845-9349 (US)Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (UK)About Us:Wise Guy Reports Is Part Of The Wise Guy Consultants 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.Addres:: Wise Guy Research Consultants Pvt Ltd: Pune  411028: Maharashtra,: Ph: +91 841 198 5042
Enterprise Mobility Market 2017  Global Industry Size, Share, Analysis, Trend & Future Strategic Planning

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The Global Enterprise Mobility Market Research Report provides detailed analysis of the key regional market status of the Enterprise Mobility Industry.The Global Enterprise Mobility market is estimated to be $6.6 billion in 2014 and is expected to reach $11.2 billion growing at a CAGR of 6.83% during the forecast period 2014 to 2022. The growing cellular subscriber base and enhanced telecommunication infrastructure in terms of robustness, providing consistent connectivity anytime and anywhere, and on the whole increase in network coverage are the major drivers for the Enterprise Mobility market. The budding acceptance from large and small & medium businesses, and beginning of sophisticated mobile devices such as smart phones, PDAs, and hand held devices are other driving factors that will stimulate the enterprise mobility market in the coming years. The major restraints in this market are the management and fulfillment issues and security risks associated with use of personal devices.The Global Enterprise Mobility Market is segmented on the basis of Software, Industry, End user, Service and Geography. On the basis of Software, the market is categorized into Mobile Enterprise Application Platform (MEAP) Software, Mobile Enterprise Management (MEM) Software, Mobile Enterprise Security (MES) Software, Mobile Device Management (MDM) Software, Mobile Application Management (MAM) Software and others. On the basis of End User, the market is segregated into Small & Medium Business (SMB) and Large Scale Enterprises. The market is categorized on the basis of Industry into Healthcare, Manufacturing, IT and Telecom, Automotive, Defence and Government, Transport and Logistics, Consumer goods and Retail, Banking and Insurance and others. Global Enterprise Mobility Market by Service is segregated into specialized Services and Maintenance. Global Enterprise Mobility Market by geography is categorized into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Rest of the World.The key players in Global Enterprise Mobility Market areAccenture, Deloitte, Hewlett- Packard Development Company, Kaspersky Lab, McAfee Inc, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd, BlackBerry Limited, SAP AG, McKesson Corporation, and Citrix Systems Inc.Sample Copy @What 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 8 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 advancementsTable Of Content1 Executive Summary2 Preface2.1 Abstract2.2 Research Scope2.3 Research Methodology2.4 Research Sources3 Market Trend Analysis3.1 Introduction3.2 Drivers3.3 Restraints3.4 Opportunities3.5 Threats4 Porters Five Force Analysis4.1 Bargaining power of suppliers4.2 Bargaining power of buyers4.3 Threat of substitutes4.4 Threat of new entrants4.5 Competitive rivalry5 Global Enterprise Mobility Market, By Software,5.1 Mobile Enterprise Application Platform(MEAP) Software5.2 Mobile Enterprise Management(MEM) Software5.3 Mobile Enterprise Security(MES) Software5.4 Mobile Device Management(MDM) Software5.5 Mobile Application Management(MAM) Software5.6 Other Softwares11 Company Profiling11.1 Accenture11.2 Deloitte11.3 Hewlett- Packard Devolopment Company11.4 Kaspersky Lab11.5 McAfee Inc11.6 Tata Consultancy Services Ltd11.7 BlackBerry Limited11.8 SAP AG11.9 McKesson Corporation11.10 Citrix Systems IncCONTACT US:NORAH TRENTPartner Relations & Marketing Managersales@wiseguyreports.comPh: +1-646-845-9349 (US)Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (UK)For 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 :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.Pune, India
Warp Knit Fabric Global Market Outlook 2017-2022 Baltex, Jong Stit, Long Song, Carvico, Frame Knitting

Warp Knit Fabric Market

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Warp Knit Fabric Market Research ReportA market study  Global Warp Knit Fabric Market  examines the performance of the Warp Knit Fabric market Size 2017. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Warp Knit Fabric market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Warp Knit Fabric market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.Request For Sample Report:The Global Warp Knit Fabric Market 2017 report includes Warp Knit Fabric market Size, Revenue, market Share, Warp Knit Fabric industry volume, market Trends, Warp Knit Fabric Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report.It shows manufacturing capacity, Warp Knit Fabric Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Warp Knit Fabric Market 2017:BaltexJong Stit Co., LtdGehring-Tricot CorporationSimplex Knitting CompanyGeorg And Otto FriedrichLong SongCarvicoAbhinandan Knits Pvt. LtdGoyal Knitfab Pvt LtdFrame KnittingDuel TexFab-Con Textile Mills LtdZhejiang Chaoda Warp Knitting FabrictingZhejiang WanfangWarp Knit Fabric Market : Type AnalysisRaschel Knits TypeTricot TypeMilanese Knits TypeWarp Knit Fabric Market : Application AnalysisApparel ApplicationIndustrial ApplicationFirstly, the report covers the top Warp Knit Fabric manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Enquiry for More Info@Further, the Warp Knit Fabric report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Warp Knit Fabric industry, Warp Knit Fabric industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Warp Knit Fabric Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.The Warp Knit Fabric 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 Warp Knit Fabric market revenue worldwide.Finally, Warp Knit Fabric 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
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, Aug. 10, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Oceanus Resources Corporation (TSX-V:OCN) (OTCQB:OCNSF) ("Oceanus" or the Corporation) reports it has received the first assay results of chip samples collected from the legacy underground exploration tunnels on the unmined Protectora, Aguilas, Fundadora and Caleigh veins located north of the old El Tigre Mine (see Figure 1 Location Map).



The Figure 1 Location Map accompanying this announcement is available at

http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/84f80fff-86ce-41fc-9ba2-5b337134c9ea

The most significant new discovery and assay results come from a small underground exploration tunnel CO1-6775 located 150 meters along strike to the north of diamond drill hole ET-17-144 (see Figure 1 Location Map). The vein is exposed over a 6 meter strike length in the tunnels and 3 chip samples were taken across the vein. Sample ETU-110 returned 69.2 g/t gold equivalent consisting of 25.2 g/t gold and 3,296.2 g/t silver across a true width of 0.50 meters. The weighted average grade of three samples of the 0.50m wide vein is 49.9 g/t gold equivalent consisting of 19.9 g/t gold and 2,247.4 g/t silver. This newly discovered vein has been named the Caleigh Vein.

As press released on June 7, 2017 and June 27, 2017, drill hole ET-17-144 in the Protectora Vein returned 0.85 meters of 135.1 g/t gold equivalent consisting of 37.2 g/t gold, 7,338.9 g/t silver as well as 2.84% copper, 1.38% lead and 4.06% zinc. Drill hole ET-17-144 was the last drill hole of the 62 hole drill program completed in May, 2017. Drill hole 144 was a step-out hole located approximately 800 meters to the north of the old El Tigre Mine. The mineralized zone consists of several vuggy quartz veins and veinlets carrying galena, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, stromeyerite and pyrite within a strongly silicified and kaolinized alteration zone.

Glenn Jessome, President and CEO of Oceanus reports, The high-grade gold-silver-base metal mineralization in the Caleigh Vein is an exciting new discovery on the El Tigre property. Our exploration team is mapping and sampling the underground exploration tunnels in advance of drilling the new/y discovered Caleigh Vein and the Protectora Vein.

Underground Vein Samples

Samples were collected from nine underground exploration tunnels over a 2.0 kilometer strike length of the Protectora vein between Section 5650 and Section 7600 North and from additional exploration tunnels on the Caleigh and Fundadora Veins. None of these veins have been mined. The first exploration tunnel is located 650m north along strike from the northern end of the mine stopes of the old El Tigre Mine. After surveying the tunnels, the geologists mapped the veins and then collected chip samples across the veins at intervals between 3 to 5 meters along the length of the tunnel. The samples were chipped with a rock hammer across the face of the vein exposed in the tunnel. The minimum length of the samples was 0.50 meters and the samples weighed approximately 3 to 5 kg. Sampling was stopped at either the end of the tunnel or when access was restricted due to ground conditions. In each tunnel, both the length of vein that was sampled and the number of samples collected is noted in the table. The average grade of all the samples in a tunnel is provided. The chip sample assay results are set out in the table below (see Figure 1 Sample Location Map).

Vein Name Underground Number of From To Length Avg. Au Avg. Ag AuEq751 Working Samples (m) (m) (m) (g/t) (g/t) (g/t) Caleigh CO1-6775 3 0.0 5.1 5.1 19.90 2,247.5 49.86 Protectora PO1-5650 20 0.0 42.2 42.2 0.22 437.2 6.05 Protectora PO2-6050 Results are pending Protectora PO3-6450 18 0.0 35.8 35.8 0.68 110.2 2.15 Protectora PO4-6600 18 0.0 39.3 39.3 1.29 289.9 5.14 Protectora PO5-6650 4 0.0 9.2 9.2 2.85 336.7 7.33 Protectora PO6-6725 16 0.0 30.5 30.5 2.21 472.7 8.51 Protectora PO7-6850 5 0.0 35.2 35.2 2.79 679.8 11.85 Protectora PO8-7550 19 0.0 36.3 36.3 0.61 479.8 7.00 Protectora PO9-7600 23 0.0 43.2 43.2 0.74 257.4 4.17 Fundadora FO1-6900 5 0.0 8.5 8.5 6.10 306.9 10.19 Fundadora FO2-7180 12 0.0 6.4 6.4 1.19 254.5 4.59 Fundadora FO3-7250 7 0.0 5.7 5.7 0.37 421.8 5.99 Note 1: Gold Equivalent ("AuEq75") ratio based on gold to silver price ratio of 75:1 Ag:Au

Two of the exploration tunnels, PO8 and PO9, are known as the Protectora Norte tunnels. Previous workers drove an east-west trending crosscut for 150 meters (PO9), intersected the Protectora Vein, then turned and drifted southwards along the vein for a distance of 300m. Samples were collected at 5 meter intervals from the back of the drift for the first 43m of the drift where it became impassable.



Location of Underground Workings:

Vein Name Working Northing Easting Elevation Length Width Caleigh CO1-6775 3386779 670795 2023 5.1 0.5 Protectora PO1-5650 3385591 670930 1833 42.2 0.5 Protectora PO3-6450 3386478 670814 2078 35.8 0.5 Protectora PO4-6600 3386631 670832 2041 39.3 0.5 Protectora PO5-6650 3386656 670837 2041 9.2 0.5 Protectora PO6-6725 3386725 670873 2016 30.5 0.5 Protectora PO7-6850 3386890 670878 2101 35.2 0.5 Protectora PO8-7550 3387532 670930 1924 36.3 0.5 Protectora PO9-7600 3387592 670932 1777 43.2 0.5 Fundadora FO1-6900 3386905 670441 1943 8.5 0.5 Fundadora FO2-7180 3387181 670406 2052 6.4 0.5 Fundadora FO3-7250 3387257 670439 2052 5.7 0.7

El Tigre Resource Estimate

As previously announced Oceanus has completed the 2016-17 infill drilling program at El Tigre with a total of 62 diamond drill holes totalling 11,923.1 meters. The purpose of this drill program was to support a NI 43-101 resource estimation for the El Tigre Property (Resource Estimate). The results from the Oceanus drilling, prior drilling and other data will be incorporated into the Resource Estimate being completed by P&E Mining Consultants Inc. (P&E). The results of drill hole 144, with its high-grade gold, silver and base metals mineralization, required P&E to conduct another site visit to El Tigre, and in particular the Protectora Vein, prior to the Corporation releasing its Resource Estimate. The required P&E site visit was conducted in July, 2017. As a result of the new discoveries at the Protectora Vein Oceanus now expects the Resource Estimate will be completed and released in the first half of September, 2017.

El Tigre Property

The El Tigre Property lies at the northern end of the Sierra Madre gold belt which hosts many epithermal gold and silver deposits including Ocampo, Pinos Altos, Dolores and Palmarejo. In 1896, gold was first discovered on the property in the Gold Hill area and mining started with the Brown Shaft in 1903. The focus soon changed to mining high-grade silver veins in the area with the majority of the production coming from the El Tigre vein. Underground mining on the El Tigre vein extended 1,450 meters along strike and mined on 14 levels to a depth of 450 meters. By the time the mine closed in 1938, it is reported to have produced a total of 353,000 ounces of gold and 67.4 million ounces of silver from 1.87 million tons (Craig, 2012).

The El Tigre Property is approximately 35 kilometers long and comprises 21,842.78 hectares. The El Tigre gold and silver deposit is related to a series of high-grade epithermal veins controlled by a north-south trending structure cutting across the andesitic and rhyolitic tuffs of the Sierra Madre Volcanic Complex within a broad gold and silver mineralized prophylitic alternation zone. The veins dip steeply to the west and are typically 1 meter wide but locally can be up to 5 meters in width. The veins, structures and mineralized zones outcrop on surface and have been traced for a distance of 5.3 kilometers along strike. Historical mining and exploration activities focused on a 1.5 kilometer portion of the southern end of the deposits, principally on the El Tigre, Seitz Kelly and Sooy veins. Four veins in the north (Aguila, Escondida, Fundadora and Protectora) were explored with only limited amounts of production.

Lab Preparation and Assay

The sealed and tagged sample bags are transported to the ActLabs facility in Zacatecas, Mexico. ActLabs crushes the samples and prepares 200-300 gram pulp samples with ninety percent passing Tyler 150 mesh (106m). The pulps are assayed for gold using a 50 gram charge by fire assay (Code 1A2-50) and over limits greater than 10 grams per tonne are re-assayed using a gravimetric finish (Code 1A3-50).

Silver and multi-element analysis is completed using 4 acid total digestion (Code 1F2 Total Digestion ICP). Over limits greater than 100 grams per tonne silver are re-assayed using a gravimetric finish (Code 8-Ag FA-GRAV Ag). Over limits greater than 10,000 ppm for copper, lead and zinc are re-assayed using 4 acid total digestion (Code 8-4A AAS) and reported in percent.

Quality Assurance / Quality Control and Data Verification

Quality assurance and quality control ("QA/QC") procedures monitor the chain-of-custody of the samples and includes the systematic insertion and monitoring of appropriate reference materials (certified standards, blanks and duplicates) into the sample strings. The results of the assaying of the QA/QC material included in each batch are tracked to ensure the integrity of the assay data. All results stated in this announcement have passed Oceanus QA/QC protocols.

Qualified Person

David R. Duncan, P. Geo., V.P. Exploration of the Corporation, is the Qualified Person for Oceanus as defined under National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Duncan has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information in this press release and has reviewed the Technical Report.

About Oceanus Resources Corporation

Oceanus Resources Corporation is a gold exploration company operating in Mexico. Oceanus is managed by a team of mine finders with extensive experience in exploring and developing large hydrothermal gold projects in Mexico. Oceanus is currently exploring the El Tigre Property in the Sierra Madre Occidental.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT:

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This News Release includes certain forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding potential mineralization, resources and reserves, the ability to convert inferred resources to indicated resources, the ability to complete future drilling programs and infill sampling, the ability to extend resource blocks, the similarity of mineralization at El Tigre to the Ocampo mine, exploration results, and future plans and objectives of Oceanus, are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as may, is expected to, anticipates, estimates, intends, plans, projection, could, vision, goals, objective and outlook and other similar words. Although Oceanus believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, there can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from Oceanuss expectations include risks and uncertainties related to exploration, development, operations, commodity prices and global financial volatility, risk and uncertainties of operating in a foreign jurisdiction as well as additional risks described from time to time in the filings made by Oceanus with securities regulators.
Constant Wattage Heating Cable Global Market Outlook 2017-2022 SST, Anhui Huanrui, Thermon, Bartec, Chromalox

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Constant Wattage Heating Cable Market Research ReportA market study  Global Constant Wattage Heating Cable Market  examines the performance of the Constant Wattage Heating Cable market Size 2017. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Constant Wattage Heating Cable market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Constant Wattage Heating Cable market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.Request For Sample Report:The Global Constant Wattage Heating Cable Market 2017 report includes Constant Wattage Heating Cable market Size, Revenue, market Share, Constant Wattage Heating Cable industry volume, market Trends, Constant Wattage Heating Cable Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report.It shows manufacturing capacity, Constant Wattage Heating Cable Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Constant Wattage Heating Cable Market 2017:SSTAnhui HuanruiThermonBartecChromaloxIsopadKing ManufacturingFlexelecWanlan GroupSunTouchAoqi ElectricThanglong ElectricBriskHeatDamingConstant Wattage Heating Cable Market : Type AnalysisType IType IIConstant Wattage Heating Cable Market : Application AnalysisIndustrialResidentialCommercialFirstly, the report covers the top Constant Wattage Heating Cable manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Enquiry for More Info@Further, the Constant Wattage Heating Cable report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Constant Wattage Heating Cable industry, Constant Wattage Heating Cable industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Constant Wattage Heating Cable Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.The Constant Wattage Heating Cable 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 Constant Wattage Heating Cable market revenue worldwide.Finally, Constant Wattage Heating Cable 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
Titanium Mill Products Global Market Key Players VSMPO-AVISMA Timet ,RIT,ATI ,OSAKA Titanium Analysis and Forecast to 2022

Titanium Mill Products Industry

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Press Release: Pune, India- August , 2017Global Titanium Mill Products Market by Manufacturers, Countries, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022Description:Titanium is a chemical element with symbol Ti and atomic number 22. It is a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength. Titanium Mill Products has the characteristics of high melting point, low specific gravity, high specific strength, good toughness, anti-fatigue, corrosion resistance, low thermal conductivity, high and low temperature tolerance, and little stress under rapid cooling and hot conditions.For Sample Report@Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Titanium Mill Products 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 coversVSMPO-AVISMATimetRITATIOSAKA TitaniumToho TitaniumKV-TitanBaoTiWestern Metal MaterialsPangang GroupZhongbei Tai YeBaosteel GroupWestern Superconducting 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, coversBarSheetPipeOthersMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided intoAviation IndustryChemical IndustryOcean EngineeringShipOthersThere are 15 Chapters to deeply display the global Titanium Mill Products market.Chapter 1, to describe Titanium Mill Products Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Titanium Mill Products, with sales, revenue, and price of Titanium Mill Products, 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 Titanium Mill Products, 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, Titanium Mill Products market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Titanium Mill Products sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data sourceFor any Enquiry write us @Table of Contents1 Market Overview1.1 Titanium Mill Products Introduction1.2 Market Analysis by Type1.2.1 Bar1.2.2 Sheet1.2.3 Pipe1.2.4 Others1.3 Market Analysis by Applications1.3.1 Aviation Industry1.3.2 Chemical Industry1.3.3 Ocean Engineering1.3.4 Ship1.3.5 Others1.4 Market Analysis by Regions1.4.1 North America (USA, Canada and Mexico)1.4.1.1 USA Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.1.2 Canada Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.1.3 Mexico Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2 Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)1.4.2.1 Germany Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2.2 France Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2.3 UK Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2.4 Russia Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2.5 Italy Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3 Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)1.4.3.1 China Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3.2 Japan Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3.3 Korea Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3.4 India Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3.5 Southeast Asia Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.4 South America, Middle East and Africa1.4.4.1 Brazil Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.4.2 Egypt Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.4.3 Saudi Arabia Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.4.4 South Africa Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)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 VSMPO-AVISMA2.1.1 Business Overview2.1.2 Titanium Mill Products Type and Applications2.1.2.1 Type 12.1.2.2 Type 22.1.3 VSMPO-AVISMA Titanium Mill Products Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.2 Timet2.2.1 Business Overview2.2.2 Titanium Mill Products Type and Applications2.2.2.1 Type 12.2.2.2 Type 22.2.3 Timet Titanium Mill Products Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.3 RIT2.3.1 Business Overview2.3.2 Titanium Mill Products Type and Applications2.3.2.1 Type 12.3.2.2 Type 22.3.3 RIT Titanium Mill Products Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.4 ATI2.4.1 Business Overview2.4.2 Titanium Mill Products Type and Applications2.4.2.1 Type 12.4.2.2 Type 22.4.3 ATI Titanium Mill Products Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.5 OSAKA Titanium2.5.1 Business Overview2.5.2 Titanium Mill Products Type and Applications2.5.2.1 Type 12.5.2.2 Type 22.5.3 OSAKA Titanium Titanium Mill Products Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.6 Toho Titanium2.6.1 Business Overview2.6.2 Titanium Mill Products Type and Applications2.6.2.1 Type 12.6.2.2 Type 22.6.3 Toho Titanium Titanium Mill Products Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)ContinuedBuy now@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.Office No. 528, Amanora Chambers Magarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028 Maharashtra, India
Laser Altimeters Global Market Outlook 2017-2022 Aerosonic, Garmin, Honeywell Aerospace, Rockwell Collins

Laser Altimeters Market

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Laser Altimeters Market Research ReportA market study  Global Laser Altimeters Market  examines the performance of the Laser Altimeters market Size 2017. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Laser Altimeters market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Laser Altimeters market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.Request For Sample Report:The Global Laser Altimeters Market 2017 report includes Laser Altimeters market Size, Revenue, market Share, Laser Altimeters industry volume, market Trends, Laser Altimeters Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report.It shows manufacturing capacity, Laser Altimeters Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Laser Altimeters Market 2017:AerosonicGarminHoneywell AerospaceRockwell CollinsThalesAerocontrolexUTC Aerospace SystemsThommenFree Flight SystemsHindustan AeronauticsTrimbleMemscapKollsmanDynon AvionicsPacific Avionics & InstrumentsLaser Altimeters Market : Type AnalysisType IType IILaser Altimeters Market : Application AnalysisApplication 1Application 2Firstly, the report covers the top Laser Altimeters manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Enquiry for More Info@Further, the Laser Altimeters report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Laser Altimeters industry, Laser Altimeters industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Laser Altimeters Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.The Laser Altimeters 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 Laser Altimeters market revenue worldwide.Finally, Laser Altimeters 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
PVC Tile Flooring Global Market Outlook 2017-2022 LG Hausys, Armstrong, Gerflor, Tarkett

PVC Tile Flooring Market

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PVC Tile Flooring Market Research ReportA market study  Global PVC Tile Flooring Market  examines the performance of the PVC Tile Flooring market Size 2017. It encloses an in-depth Research of the PVC Tile Flooring market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of PVC Tile Flooring market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.Request For Sample Report:The Global PVC Tile Flooring Market 2017 report includes PVC Tile Flooring market Size, Revenue, market Share, PVC Tile Flooring industry volume, market Trends, PVC Tile Flooring Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report.It shows manufacturing capacity, PVC Tile Flooring Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global PVC Tile Flooring Market 2017:LG HausysArmstrongGerflorTarkettBONIEPolyflorHanwhaForboMONDOBor FlorGolden MousePVC Tile Flooring Market : Type AnalysisSheetRollPVC Tile Flooring Market : Application AnalysisHouseholdCommercialFirstly, the report covers the top PVC Tile Flooring manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Enquiry for More Info@Further, the PVC Tile Flooring report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of PVC Tile Flooring industry, PVC Tile Flooring industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. PVC Tile Flooring Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.The PVC Tile Flooring 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 PVC Tile Flooring market revenue worldwide.Finally, PVC Tile Flooring 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
Helixchanger Global Market Outlook 2017-2022 SPX Corporation, Balcke-Durr GmbH, API Heat Transfer, Vahterus Oy

Helixchanger Market

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Helixchanger Market Research ReportA market study  Global Helixchanger Market  examines the performance of the Helixchanger market Size 2017. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Helixchanger market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Helixchanger market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.Request For Sample Report:The Global Helixchanger Market 2017 report includes Helixchanger market Size, Revenue, market Share, Helixchanger industry volume, market Trends, Helixchanger Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report.It shows manufacturing capacity, Helixchanger Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Helixchanger Market 2017:SPX CorporationBalcke-Durr GmbHSPX Cooling TechnologiesAPI Heat TransferVahterus OyGEA Heat Exchangers GroupHamon GroupHarsco Industrial Air-X-ChangersHelixchanger Market : Type AnalysisType IType IIHelixchanger Market : Application AnalysisApplication 1Application 2Firstly, the report covers the top Helixchanger manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Enquiry for More Info@Further, the Helixchanger report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Helixchanger industry, Helixchanger industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Helixchanger Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.The Helixchanger 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 Helixchanger market revenue worldwide.Finally, Helixchanger 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
Birch Wood Global Market Outlook 2017-2022 Mohawk Industries, Tarkett, Shaw Industries, Mannington Mills

Birch Wood Market

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Birch Wood Market Research ReportA market study  Global Birch Wood Market  examines the performance of the Birch Wood market Size 2017. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Birch Wood market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Birch Wood market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.Request For Sample Report:The Global Birch Wood Market 2017 report includes Birch Wood market Size, Revenue, market Share, Birch Wood industry volume, market Trends, Birch Wood Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report.It shows manufacturing capacity, Birch Wood Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Birch Wood Market 2017:Mohawk IndustriesTarkettArmstrong World IndustriesShaw IndustriesMannington MillsBeaulieu International GroupEGGER GroupKaindl Flooring GmbhKronoflooring GmbhGreenply Industries LimitedBirch Wood Market : Type AnalysisType IType IIBirch Wood Market : Application AnalysisApplication 1Application 2Firstly, the report covers the top Birch Wood manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Enquiry for More Info@Further, the Birch Wood report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Birch Wood industry, Birch Wood industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Birch Wood Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.The Birch Wood 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 Birch Wood market revenue worldwide.Finally, Birch Wood 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
Infrared Sensor Market Research Analysis, growth, Size, Opportunities and Forecast 2022

Infrared Sensor Market

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WiseGuyReports has announced the addition of Infrared Sensors Market 2017-2022 that provides the market survey of Infrared Sensors. The research report presents a comprehensive overview of market and growth trends of this industry in the coming years.Get Complete Report @Infrared sensors are an electronic component that emanates the radiation and detects light signals in the infrared range. These are classified into two categories namely infrared sensors and detectors. Infrared detectors are microchips used for infrared light detection. Infrared sensors offer fast obstacle non-contact detection. These consist of IR light source, medium, optical components such as built-in LED drivers to modulate the signals and match the detector.The key drivers influencing the market growth include adoption of technologically advanced consumer electronic equipment such as such as smart televisions, Hi-Fi devices owing to rise in purchasing power parity amongst consumers and cost effectiveness; increase in wireless communication; Low power consumption due to advanced packaging technologies such as 3D circuits and Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS).Get Sample Report @The global infrared sensors market report is segmented on the basis of various parameters. The global infrared sensors market is classified on the basis of spectrum ranges into Shortwave IR (SWIR), Mid Wave IR (MWIR), Long Wave (LWIR), and Far Wave (FWIR). On the basis of market types infrared sensors are classified into Passive IR Sensor, Thermopile IR Sensor, Photodiode, IR Emitters (LEDs), IR Receivers, Photointerruptor, Photo Reflector, Tilt Sensor, IR Linear Arrays and Communication Modules (IrDA). On the basis of automotive industry the market is segmented into night vision systems, climate control, pedestrian detection, assisted parking, distance measurement, vehicle to vehicle communication and collision avoidance systems. On the basis of market in healthcare industry the sensors are classified into temperature sensors, fall detection, heart rate monitor, pulse oximetry, blood glucose monitor, pressure monitor, imaging systems. In this report the infrared sensors market is further classified by applications in semiconductors industry, military and defense, commercial applications, manufacturing industry and telecommunications industry.Global Infrared sensors in this report are analyzed into Americas, Europe, APAC and RoW. Americas is the leading infrared sensors market followed by Europe. The global infrared market is growing due to huge demand from consumers by end users. Home and automation industry and military applications are the key drivers for infrared market.The key players in Infrared Sensors market include:Fluke Corporation (the U.S)FLIR Systems (the U.S)DRS Technologies (the U.S)Axis communications AB (Sweden)The estimates and forecasts have been derived based on various inputs from primary and secondary sources. Secondary sources such as articles, whitepapers, journals and other has helped to deliver an extensive analysis in this report. Various qualitative and quantitative data is collected keeping note of the latest developments and trends in the global sensors market.Make an Enquiry @Table of Contents1. Global Infrared Sensors Market Overview2. Executive Summary3. Global Infrared Sensors Market Landscape3.1. Market Share Analysis3.2. Comparative Analysis3.2.1. Product Benchmarking3.2.2. End user profiling3.2.3. Patent Analysis3.2.4. Top 5 Financials Analysis4. Global Infrared Sensors Market Forces4.1. Market Drivers4.2. Market Constraints4.3. Market Challenges4.4. Attractiveness of the Infrared Sensors Industry4.4.1. Power of Suppliers4.4.2. Power of Customers4.4.3. Threat of New entrants4.4.4. Threat of Substitution4.4.5. Degree of Competition5. Global Infrared Sensors Market  Strategic Analysis5.1. Value Chain Analysis5.2. Pricing Analysis5.3. Opportunities Analysis5.4. Product/Market Life Cycle Analysis5.5. Suppliers and Distributors6. Global Infrared Sensors Market by Spectrum Ranges6.1. Introduction6.2. Short Wave IR (SWIR)6.3. Mid Wave IR (MWIR)6.4. Long Wave (LWIR)6.5. Far Wave (FWIR)7. Global Infrared Sensors Market by Types7.1. Passive IR Sensor7.2. Thermopile IR Sensor7.3. Photodiode7.4. IR Emitters (LEDs)7.5. IR Receivers7.6. Photointerruptor7.7. Photo Reflector7.8. Tilt Sensor7.9. IR Linear ArraysAbout UsWise 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.Contact USNorah TrentContact Us: sales@wiseguyreports.comPh: +1-646-845-9349 (US); +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.Address:: Wise Guy Research Consultants Pvt Ltd: Pune  411028: Maharashtra,: Ph: +91 841 198 5042
Aluminum Foil Tape Global Market Outlook 2017-2022 3M Company, AI Technology, Alco Technologies, Coilcraft

Aluminum Foil Tape Market

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Aluminum Foil Tape Market Research ReportA market study  Global Aluminum Foil Tape Market  examines the performance of the Aluminum Foil Tape market Size 2017. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Aluminum Foil Tape market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Aluminum Foil Tape market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.Request For Sample Report:The Global Aluminum Foil Tape Market 2017 report includes Aluminum Foil Tape market Size, Revenue, market Share, Aluminum Foil Tape industry volume, market Trends, Aluminum Foil Tape Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report.It shows manufacturing capacity, Aluminum Foil Tape Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Aluminum Foil Tape Market 2017:3M CompanyAI TechnologyAlco TechnologiesCoilcraftCybershieldCGS TechnologiesChomerics North AmericaDow CorningEIS FabricoAluminum Foil Tape Market : Type AnalysisType IType IIAluminum Foil Tape Market : Application AnalysisApplication 1Application 2Firstly, the report covers the top Aluminum Foil Tape manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Enquiry for More Info@Further, the Aluminum Foil Tape report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Aluminum Foil Tape industry, Aluminum Foil Tape industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Aluminum Foil Tape Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.The Aluminum Foil Tape 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 Aluminum Foil Tape market revenue worldwide.Finally, Aluminum Foil Tape 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
Computer Case Market - Global Industry Key Players, Development Status, Type and Application, Forecast 2017 to 2022

Computer Case Market

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Global Computer Case Market:WiseGuyReports.com adds Computer Case 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:This report mainly introduces volume and value market share by players, by regions, by product type, by consumers and also their price change details. As a Detailed Analysis report, it covers all details inside analysis and opinion in Computer Case industry.This report splits Computer Case market By Size, By Motherboard Type, By Price, which covers the history data information from 2012 to 2016 and forecast from 2017 to 2022.This report focuses Global market, it covers details as following:Major CompaniesCorsair(US)Lian Li(TW)CoolerMaster(TW)NZXT(US)SilverStone(TW)Phanteks(US)Thermaltake(TW)Fractal(US)DEEPCOOL(CN)BitFenix(TW)Cougar(DE)VIVO(US)be quiet!(DE)ASUS(CN)Gigabyte(TW)Rosewill(US)Azza(US)BUBALUS(CN)GOLDENFIELD(CN)Huntkey(CN)Sama(CN)aigo(CN)In Win(TW)Sentey(TW)Request Sample Report Here @...Main RegionsNorth AmericaUnited StatesCanadaLatin AmericaMexicoBrazilArgentinaOthersEuropeGermanyUnited KingdomFranceItalySpainRussiaNetherlandOthersAsia & PacificChinaJapanIndiaKoreaAustraliaSoutheast AsiaIndonesiaThailandPhilippinesVietnamSingaporeMalaysiaOthersAfrica & Middle EastSouth AfricaEgyptTurkeySaudi ArabiaIranOthersMain Product TypeComputer Case Market, by SizeMini TowerMid TowerFull TowerUltra TowerComputer Case Market, by Motherboard TypeATXMini-ITXMicro-ATXComputer Case Market, by PriceUnder $20$20 to $40$40 to $60$60 to $80$80 & AboveMain ApplicationsComputer AssemblyVedio GamingCommercialEnquiry Before Buying @Some Major Points from Table of Content:Table of ContentsGlobal Computer Case Detailed Analysis Report 2017-2022Chapter One Computer Case Market Overview1.1 Global Computer Case Market Sales Volume Revenue and Price 2012-20221.2 Computer Case, By Size 2012-20221.2.1 Global Computer Case Sales Market Share by Size 2012-20221.2.2 Global Computer Case Revenue Market Share by Size 2012-20221.2.3 Global Computer Case Price by Size 2012-20221.2.4 Mini Tower1.2.5 Mid Tower1.2.6 Full Tower1.2.7 Ultra Tower1.3 Computer Case, by Motherboard Type 2012-20221.3.1 Global Computer Case Sales Market Share by Motherboard Type 2012-20221.3.2 Global Computer Case Revenue Market Share by Motherboard Type 2012-20221.3.3 Global Computer Case Price by Motherboard Type 2012-20221.3.4 ATX1.3.5 Mini-ITX1.3.6 Micro-ATX1.4 Computer Case, by Price 2012-20221.4.1 Global Computer Case Sales Market Share by Price 2012-20221.4.2 Global Computer Case Revenue Market Share by Price 2012-20221.4.3 Global Computer Case Price by Price 2012-20221.4.4 Under $201.4.5 $20 to $401.4.6 $40 to $601.4.7 $60 to $801.4.8 $80 & AboveChapter Two Computer Case by Regions 2012-20172.1 Global Computer Case Sales Market Share by Regions 2012-20172.2 Global Computer Case Revenue Market Share by Regions 2012-20172.3 Global Computer Case Price by Regions 2012-20172.4 North America2.4.1 United States2.4.2 Canada2.5 Latin America2.5.1 Mexico2.5.2 Brazil2.5.3 Argentina2.5.4 Others in Latin America2.6 Europe2.6.1 Germany2.6.2 United Kingdom2.6.3 France2.6.4 Italy2.6.5 Spain2.6.6 Russia2.6.7 Netherland2.6.8 Others in Europe2.7 Asia & Pacific2.7.1 China2.7.2 Japan2.7.3 India2.7.4 Korea2.7.5 Australia2.7.6 Southeast Asia2.7.6.1 Indonesia2.7.6.2 Thailand2.7.6.3 Philippines2.7.6.4 Vietnam2.7.6.5 Singapore2.7.6.6 Malaysia2.7.6.7 Others in Southeast Asia2.8 Africa & Middle East2.8.1 South Africa2.8.2 Egypt2.8.3 Turkey2.8.4 Saudi Arabia2.8.5 Iran2.8.6 Others in Africa & Middle EastChapter Three Computer Case by Players 2012-20173.1 Global Computer Case Sales Volume Market Share by Players 2012-20173.2 Global Computer Case Revenue Share by Players 2012-20173.3 Global Top Players Computer Case Key Product Model and Market Performance3.4 Global Top Players Computer Case Key Target Consumers and Market PerformanceChapter Four Computer Case by Consumer 2012-20174.1 Global Computer Case Sales Market Share by Consumer 2012-20174.2 Computer Assembly4.3 Vedio Gaming4.4 Commercial4.5 Consuming Habit and PreferenceChapter Five Global Top Players Profile5.1 Corsair(US)5.1.1 Corsair(US) Company Details and Competitors5.1.2 Corsair(US) Key Computer Case Models and Performance5.1.3 Corsair(US) Computer Case Business SWOT Analysis and Forecast5.1.4 Corsair(US) Computer Case Sales Volume Revenue Price Cost and Gross Margin5.2 Lian Li(TW)5.2.1 Lian Li(TW) Company Details and Competitors5.2.2 Lian Li(TW) Key Computer Case Models and Performance5.2.3 Lian Li(TW) Computer Case Business SWOT Analysis and Forecast5.2.4 Lian Li(TW) Computer Case Sales Volume Revenue Price Cost and Gross Margin5.3 CoolerMaster(TW)5.3.1 CoolerMaster(TW) Company Details and Competitors5.3.2 CoolerMaster(TW) Key Computer Case Models and Performance5.3.3 CoolerMaster(TW) Computer Case Business SWOT Analysis and Forecast5.3.4 CoolerMaster(TW) Computer Case Sales Volume Revenue Price Cost and Gross Margin5.4 NZXT(US)5.4.1 NZXT(US) Company Details and Competitors5.4.2 NZXT(US) Key Computer Case Models and Performance5.4.3 NZXT(US) Computer Case Business SWOT Analysis and Forecast5.4.4 NZXT(US) Computer Case Sales Volume Revenue Price Cost and Gross Margin5.5 SilverStone(TW)5.5.1 SilverStone(TW) Company Details and CompetitorsChapter Six Industry Chain and Supply Chain6.1 Computer Case Industry Chain Structure6.1.1 R&D6.1.2 Raw Materials (Components)6.1.3 Manufacturing Plants6.1.4 Regional Trading (Import Export and Local Sales)6.1.5 Online Sales Channel6.1.6 Offline Channel6.1.7 End Users6.2 Computer Case Manufacturing6.2.1 Key Components6.2.2 Assembly Manufacturing6.3 Consumer Preference6.4 Behavioral Habits6.5 Marketing EnvironmentCONTINUEDPurchase Report @For 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
Nail Polish Market - Global Industry Key Players, Development Status, Type and Application, Forecast 2017 to 2022

Nail Polish Market

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Global Nail Polish Market:WiseGuyReports.com adds Nail Polish 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:This report mainly introduces volume and value market share by players, by regions, by product type, by consumers and also their price change details. As a Detailed Analysis report, it covers all details inside analysis and opinion in Nail Polish industry.This report splits Nail Polish market By Component, By Colour, which covers the history data information from 2012 to 2016 and forecast from 2017 to 2022.This report focuses Global market, it covers details as following:Major CompaniesOPI (US)Zotos Accent (Japan)Maybelline (US)Dior (France)Chanel (France)ORLY (US)Anna Sui (Japan)Revlon (US)Sally Hansen (US)Missha (Korea)CND (US)Butter London (UK)Kiko (Italy)Cosmay (Canada)Nails Inc (UK)Essie (US)LOreal (France)Bobbi Brown (US)Nars (US)Rimmel (UK)China Glaze (China)Request Sample Report Here @...Main RegionsNorth AmericaUnited StatesCanadaLatin AmericaMexicoBrazilArgentinaOthersEuropeGermanyUnited KingdomFranceItalySpainRussiaNetherlandOthersAsia & PacificChinaJapanIndiaKoreaAustraliaSoutheast AsiaIndonesiaThailandPhilippinesVietnamSingaporeMalaysiaOthersAfrica & Middle EastSouth AfricaEgyptTurkeySaudi ArabiaIranOthersMain Product TypeNail Polish Market, by ComponentOrganic Solvent Based Nail PolishWater Based Nail PolishNail Polish Market, by ColourTransparent ColorMulticolourMain ApplicationsNail Art InstitutionsIndividualsOtherEnquiry Before Buying @Some Major Points from Table of Content:Table of ContentsGlobal Nail Polish Detailed Analysis Report 2017-2022Chapter One Nail Polish Market Overview1.1 Global Nail Polish Market Sales Volume Revenue and Price 2012-20221.2 Nail Polish, By Component 2012-20221.2.1 Global Nail Polish Sales Market Share by Component 2012-20221.2.2 Global Nail Polish Revenue Market Share by Component 2012-20221.2.3 Global Nail Polish Price by Component 2012-20221.2.4 Organic Solvent Based Nail Polish1.2.5 Water Based Nail Polish1.3 Nail Polish, by Colour 2012-20221.3.1 Global Nail Polish Sales Market Share by Colour 2012-20221.3.2 Global Nail Polish Revenue Market Share by Colour 2012-20221.3.3 Global Nail Polish Price by Colour 2012-20221.3.4 Transparent Color1.3.5 MulticolourChapter Two Nail Polish by Regions 2012-20172.1 Global Nail Polish Sales Market Share by Regions 2012-20172.2 Global Nail Polish Revenue Market Share by Regions 2012-20172.3 Global Nail Polish Price by Regions 2012-20172.4 North America2.4.1 United States2.4.2 Canada2.5 Latin America2.5.1 Mexico2.5.2 Brazil2.5.3 Argentina2.5.4 Others in Latin AmericaChapter Three Nail Polish by Players 2012-20173.1 Global Nail Polish Sales Volume Market Share by Players 2012-20173.2 Global Nail Polish Revenue Share by Players 2012-20173.3 Global Top Players Nail Polish Key Product Model and Market Performance3.4 Global Top Players Nail Polish Key Target Consumers and Market PerformanceChapter Four Nail Polish by Consumer 2012-20174.1 Global Nail Polish Sales Market Share by Consumer 2012-20174.2 Nail Art Institutions4.3 Individuals4.4 Other4.5 Consuming Habit and PreferenceChapter Five Global Top Players Profile5.1 OPI (US)5.1.1 OPI (US) Company Details and Competitors5.1.2 OPI (US) Key Nail Polish Models and Performance5.1.3 OPI (US) Nail Polish Business SWOT Analysis and Forecast5.1.4 OPI (US) Nail Polish Sales Volume Revenue Price Cost and Gross Margin5.2 Zotos Accent (Japan)5.2.1 Zotos Accent (Japan) Company Details and Competitors5.2.2 Zotos Accent (Japan) Key Nail Polish Models and Performance5.2.3 Zotos Accent (Japan) Nail Polish Business SWOT Analysis and Forecast5.2.4 Zotos Accent (Japan) Nail Polish Sales Volume Revenue Price Cost and Gross Margin5.3 Maybelline (US)5.3.1 Maybelline (US) Company Details and Competitors5.3.2 Maybelline (US) Key Nail Polish Models and Performance5.3.3 Maybelline (US) Nail Polish Business SWOT Analysis and Forecast5.3.4 Maybelline (US) Nail Polish Sales Volume Revenue Price Cost and Gross Margin5.4 Dior (France)5.4.1 Dior (France) Company Details and Competitors5.4.2 Dior (France) Key Nail Polish Models and Performance5.4.3 Dior (France) Nail Polish Business SWOT Analysis and Forecast5.4.4 Dior (France) Nail Polish Sales Volume Revenue Price Cost and Gross Margin5.5 Chanel (France)5.5.1 Chanel (France) Company Details and Competitors5.5.2 Chanel (France) Key Nail Polish Models and Performance5.5.3 Chanel (France) Nail Polish Business SWOT Analysis and Forecast5.5.4 Chanel (France) Nail Polish Sales Volume Revenue Price Cost and Gross MarginChapter Six Industry Chain and Supply Chain6.1 Nail Polish Industry Chain Structure6.1.1 R&D6.1.2 Raw Materials (Components)6.1.3 Manufacturing Plants6.1.4 Regional Trading (Import Export and Local Sales)6.1.5 Online Sales Channel6.1.6 Offline Channel6.1.7 End Users6.2 Nail Polish Manufacturing6.2.1 Key Components6.2.2 Assembly Manufacturing6.3 Consumer Preference6.4 Behavioral Habits6.5 Marketing EnvironmentCONTINUEDPurchase Report @For 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
PARIS, Aug. 10, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Symphony Retail Solutions  the combination of Symphony GOLD and Symphony EYC  announced additional information on its Xcelerate Retail Forums in the US and France. The sister events will take place on 12  14 September 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada and 9  11 October in Paris, France.



This years Forums will focus on the requirement of retailers and Consumer Package Goods (CPG) manufacturers to develop nimble, customer-centric strategies to exceed the demands of todays consumers. In addition, both Forums will address what the recent news of Amazons acquisition announcement has set in motion in the grocery industry  and most importantly  how organizations can fight back against Amazon and other unknown future disrupters. The Xcelerate Forums will include sessions that discuss the future of and strategies for better customer-centric retailing and fighting back against Amazon by:

Illustrating how the acquisition of Whole Foods disrupts the grocery industry and the entire consumer purchase lifecycle, impacting the entire organization.

Sharing insights from CPG experts on why they must adopt the mindset of a technology company, and how technology such as artificial intelligence (AI) can make this happen.

Examining how companies are winning by innovating and adapting to deliver convenience and grow market share.

Giving attendees hands-on experiences with the latest innovations  such as virtual reality and artificial intelligence  helping retailers and CPGs meet customer demands.

Amazons $13.7 billion acquisition of Whole Foods has been billed as 'the deal that forever changed retail.' Retailers (and their CPG manufacturers) cannot survive or succeed solely through better merchandising in stores or better marketing in e-commerce, they must provide seamless personalized customer experiences and better execution of customer-centric retailing across all channels, said Dr. Romesh Wadhwani, Chairman & CEO, Symphony Technology Group. To win in an Amazon world, retailers and brands need to fight back with different strategies and new solutions, taking advantage of the latest innovation and technology, including artificial intelligence. That is the theme of the Xcelerate Retail Forum.

A forum specifically designed for senior executives of retailers and consumer packaged goods manufacturers, Xcelerate Retail Forum 2017 will host some of the worlds most recognized corporate leaders, analysts, innovators, and disruptors.

Since the lineup of speakers was announced in May, the agenda has been enhanced with the additional presenters including:

Sahir Anand, Managing VP, Research & Strategy, EKN Research

Amy Hahn, SVP Marketing, Ahold USA

Stojan Pasalic, Senior Operational Logistics Support Specialist, Atlantic Grupa

Tom Rose, Head of International Operations, Spar International

For a complete list of speakers and to view the agendas visit:

Click here to register for Xcelerate 2017 Las Vegas

Click here to register for Xcelerate 2017 Paris

Additional Resources:

Visit the Xcelerate site

Read Competing with Amazon in Grocery Just Got a Whole Lot Tougher

Read interviews with Xcelerate speakers:

Tweet this: .@SymphonyRS shaping the future of customer-centric retailing at #XcelerateRetail in Las Vegas and Paris

About Symphony Retail Solutions

Symphony Retail Solutions brings together Symphony EYCs customer-centric retail insight solutions with the Symphony GOLD unified software for omni-channel retail to solve the toughest business problems for 15 of the worlds 30 largest retailers, thousands of retail brands, and hundreds of national and regional chains worldwide. These combined capabilities also power the Symphony Retail Cloud, the industrys first role-based, customer-centric cloud solution that enables retailers and manufacturers to deliver more than two percent revenue growth by translating customer intelligence into insights and actions that drive bottom-line decisions.

For more information, visit: http://www.symphonyretailsolutions.com/about/company
Office Furniture Market - Global Industry Key Players, Development Status, Type and Application, Forecast 2017 to 2022

Office Furnitures Market

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Global Office Furnitures Market:WiseGuyReports.com adds Office Furnitures 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:This report mainly introduces volume and value market share by players, by regions, by product type, by consumers and also their price change details. As a Detailed Analysis report, it covers all details inside analysis and opinion in Office Furnitures industry.This report splits Office Furnitures market By Furnitures, By Material, which covers the history data information from 2012 to 2016 and forecast from 2017 to 2022.This report focuses Global market, it covers details as following:Major CompaniesSteelcase (USA)Herman Miller (USA)Haworth (USA)HNI Corporation (USA)Okamura Corporation (Japan)Global Group (China)KI (USA)Teknion (Canada)Knoll (German)Kinnarps Holding (Switzerland)Kimball Office (USA)Kokuyo (Japan)ITOKI (Japan)Uchida Yoko (Japan)Vitra Holding (Switzerland)Nowy Styl (Poland)Groupe Clestra Hausermann (USA)Izzy+ (USA)Lienhard Office Group (Switzerland)Koninkije Ahrend (Netherlands)USM Holding (Switzerland)Bene (Austria)Sedus Stoll (German)Martela (Finland)Scandinavian Business Seating (Norway)EFG Holding (Sweden)Fursys (Korea)Aurora (Taiwan)SUNON (China)Quama (China)Request Sample Report Here @...Main RegionsNorth AmericaUnited StatesCanadaLatin AmericaMexicoBrazilArgentinaOthersEuropeGermanyUnited KingdomFranceItalySpainRussiaNetherlandOthersAsia & PacificChinaJapanIndiaKoreaAustraliaSoutheast AsiaIndonesiaThailandPhilippinesVietnamSingaporeMalaysiaOthersAfrica & Middle EastSouth AfricaEgyptTurkeySaudi ArabiaIranOthersMain Product TypeOffice Furnitures Market, by FurnituresSeatingTablesStorage UnitsOtherOffice Furnitures Market, by MaterialSeatingTablesStorage UnitsOtherMain ApplicationsEnterpriseHospitalsSchoolsOtherEnquiry Before Buying @Some Major Points from Table of Content:Table of ContentsGlobal Office Furnitures Detailed Analysis Report 2017-2022Chapter One Office Furnitures Market Overview1.1 Global Office Furnitures Market Sales Volume Revenue and Price 2012-20221.2 Office Furnitures, By Furnitures 2012-20221.2.1 Global Office Furnitures Sales Market Share by Furnitures 2012-20221.2.2 Global Office Furnitures Revenue Market Share by Furnitures 2012-20221.2.3 Global Office Furnitures Price by Furnitures 2012-20221.2.4 Seating1.2.5 Tables1.2.6 Storage Units1.2.7 Other1.3 Office Furnitures, by Material 2012-20221.3.1 Global Office Furnitures Sales Market Share by Material 2012-20221.3.2 Global Office Furnitures Revenue Market Share by Material 2012-20221.3.3 Global Office Furnitures Price by Material 2012-20221.3.4 Seating1.3.5 Tables1.3.6 Storage Units1.3.7 OtherChapter Two Office Furnitures by Regions 2012-20172.1 Global Office Furnitures Sales Market Share by Regions 2012-20172.2 Global Office Furnitures Revenue Market Share by Regions 2012-20172.3 Global Office Furnitures Price by Regions 2012-20172.4 North America2.4.1 United States2.4.2 Canada2.5 Latin America2.5.1 Mexico2.5.2 Brazil2.5.3 Argentina2.5.4 Others in Latin America2.6 Europe2.6.1 Germany2.6.2 United Kingdom2.6.3 France2.6.4 Italy2.6.5 Spain2.6.6 Russia2.6.7 Netherland2.6.8 Others in Europe2.7 Asia & Pacific2.7.1 China2.7.2 Japan2.7.3 India2.7.4 Korea2.7.5 Australia2.7.6 Southeast Asia2.7.6.1 Indonesia2.7.6.2 Thailand2.7.6.3 Philippines2.7.6.4 Vietnam2.7.6.5 Singapore2.7.6.6 Malaysia2.7.6.7 Others in Southeast Asia2.8 Africa & Middle East2.8.1 South Africa2.8.2 Egypt2.8.3 Turkey2.8.4 Saudi Arabia2.8.5 Iran2.8.6 Others in Africa & Middle EastChapter Three Office Furnitures by Players 2012-20173.1 Global Office Furnitures Sales Volume Market Share by Players 2012-20173.2 Global Office Furnitures Revenue Share by Players 2012-20173.3 Global Top Players Office Furnitures Key Product Model and Market Performance3.4 Global Top Players Office Furnitures Key Target Consumers and Market PerformanceChapter Four Office Furnitures by Consumer 2012-20174.1 Global Office Furnitures Sales Market Share by Consumer 2012-20174.2 Enterprise4.3 Hospitals4.4 Schools4.5 Other4.6 Consuming Habit and PreferenceChapter Five Global Top Players Profile5.1 Steelcase (USA)5.1.1 Steelcase (USA) Company Details and Competitors5.1.2 Steelcase (USA) Key Office Furnitures Models and Performance5.1.3 Steelcase (USA) Office Furnitures Business SWOT Analysis and Forecast5.1.4 Steelcase (USA) Office Furnitures Sales Volume Revenue Price Cost and Gross Margin5.2 Herman Miller (USA)5.2.1 Herman Miller (USA) Company Details and Competitors5.2.2 Herman Miller (USA) Key Office Furnitures Models and Performance5.2.3 Herman Miller (USA) Office Furnitures Business SWOT Analysis and Forecast5.2.4 Herman Miller (USA) Office Furnitures Sales Volume Revenue Price Cost and Gross Margin5.3 Haworth (USA)5.3.1 Haworth (USA) Company Details and Competitors5.3.2 Haworth (USA) Key Office Furnitures Models and Performance5.3.3 Haworth (USA) Office Furnitures Business SWOT Analysis and Forecast5.3.4 Haworth (USA) Office Furnitures Sales Volume Revenue Price Cost and Gross Margin5.4 HNI Corporation (USA)5.4.1 HNI Corporation (USA) Company Details and Competitors5.4.2 HNI Corporation (USA) Key Office Furnitures Models and Performance5.4.3 HNI Corporation (USA) Office Furnitures Business SWOT Analysis and Forecast5.4.4 HNI Corporation (USA) Office Furnitures Sales Volume Revenue Price Cost and Gross Margin5.5 Okamura Corporation (Japan)5.5.1 Okamura Corporation (Japan) Company Details and Competitors5.5.2 Okamura Corporation (Japan) Key Office Furnitures Models and Performance5.5.3 Okamura Corporation (Japan) Office Furnitures Business SWOT Analysis and Forecast5.5.4 Okamura Corporation (Japan) Office Furnitures Sales Volume Revenue Price Cost and Gross Margin5.6 Global Group (China)5.6.1 Global Group (China) Company Details and Competitors5.6.2 Global Group (China) Key Office Furnitures Models and Performance5.6.3 Global Group (China) Office Furnitures Business SWOT Analysis and Forecast5.6.4 Global Group (China) Office Furnitures Sales Volume Revenue Price Cost and Gross Margin5.7 KI (USA)5.7.1 KI (USA) Company Details and Competitors5.7.2 KI (USA) Key Office Furnitures Models and Performance5.7.3 KI (USA) Office Furnitures Business SWOT Analysis and Forecast5.7.4 KI (USA) Office Furnitures Sales Volume Revenue Price Cost and Gross Margin5.8 Teknion (Canada)5.8.1 Teknion (Canada) Company Details and Competitors5.8.2 Teknion (Canada) Key Office Furnitures Models and Performance5.8.3 Teknion (Canada) Office Furnitures Business SWOT Analysis and Forecast5.8.4 Teknion (Canada) Office Furnitures Sales Volume Revenue Price Cost and Gross Margin5.9 Knoll (German)5.9.1 Knoll (German) Company Details and Competitors5.9.2 Knoll (German) Key Office Furnitures Models and Performance5.9.3 Knoll (German) Office Furnitures Business SWOT Analysis and Forecast5.9.4 Knoll (German) Office Furnitures Sales Volume Revenue Price Cost and Gross Margin5.10 Kinnarps Holding (Switzerland)5.10.1 Kinnarps Holding (Switzerland) Company Details and Competitors5.10.2 Kinnarps Holding (Switzerland) Key Office Furnitures Models and Performance5.10.3 Kinnarps Holding (Switzerland) Office Furnitures Business SWOT Analysis and Forecast5.10.4 Kinnarps Holding (Switzerland) Office Furnitures Sales Volume Revenue Price Cost and Gross Margin5.11 Kimball Office (USA)5.12 Kokuyo (Japan)5.13 ITOKI (Japan)5.14 Uchida Yoko (Japan)5.15 Vitra Holding (Switzerland)5.16 Nowy Styl (Poland)5.17 Groupe Clestra Hausermann (USA)5.18 Izzy+ (USA)5.19 Lienhard Office Group (Switzerland)5.20 Koninkije Ahrend (Netherlands)5.21 USM Holding (Switzerland)5.22 Bene (Austria)5.23 Sedus Stoll (German)5.24 Martela (Finland)5.25 Scandinavian Business Seating (Norway)5.26 EFG Holding (Sweden)5.27 Fursys (Korea)5.28 Aurora (Taiwan)5.29 SUNON (China)5.30 Quama (China)Chapter Six Industry Chain and Supply Chain6.1 Office Furnitures Industry Chain Structure6.1.1 R&D6.1.2 Raw Materials (Components)6.1.3 Manufacturing Plants6.1.4 Regional Trading (Import Export and Local Sales)6.1.5 Online Sales Channel6.1.6 Offline Channel6.1.7 End Users6.2 Office Furnitures Manufacturing6.2.1 Key Components6.2.2 Assembly Manufacturing6.3 Consumer Preference6.4 Behavioral Habits6.5 Marketing EnvironmentCONTINUEDPurchase Report @For 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
Heavy Aklyl Benzenes Market Global Forecast 2017-2022: Denten Quimica, Equilex, Qatar Petroleum, Sasol

Heavy Aklyl Benzenes

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http://www.spiremarketresearch.com/global-heavy-aklyl-benzenes-market-2017-demand-insights-key-players-segmentation-and-forecast-to-2022

Heavy Aklyl Benzenes Market Research 2017A market study  Global Heavy Aklyl Benzenes Market  examines the performance of the Heavy Aklyl Benzenes market 2017. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Heavy Aklyl Benzenes market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Heavy Aklyl Benzenes market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Heavy Aklyl Benzenes Market 2017 report includes Heavy Aklyl Benzenes market Revenue, market Share, Heavy Aklyl Benzenes industry volume, market Trends, Heavy Aklyl Benzenes Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report.It shows manufacturing capacity, Heavy Aklyl Benzenes Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Heavy Aklyl Benzenes Market 2017 :SasolCEPSAHuntsman Performance ProductsISU ChemicalUnggul Indah CahayaUOPEquilexARADET Arab CompanyQatar PetroleumDenten QuimicaILCO Chemikalien GmbHSinopec Jinling PetrochemicalJin Tung PetrochemicalsFushun PetrochemicalsHeavy Aklyl Benzenes Market : By ApplicationLubricant addictiveBase oil for Lubricant and Conduction OilHeavy Aklyl Benzenes Market : By TypeHLAB(A byproduct in the process of LAB)HBAB(A byproduct in the process of BAB)Firstly, the report covers the top Heavy Aklyl Benzenes manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Heavy Aklyl Benzenes report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Heavy Aklyl Benzenes industry, Heavy Aklyl Benzenes industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Heavy Aklyl Benzenes Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Full Report Here:The Heavy Aklyl Benzenes 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 Heavy Aklyl Benzenes market revenue worldwide.Finally, Heavy Aklyl Benzenes 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
Low Pressure Relief Valve Market Global Forecast 2017-2022: Niezgodka, Swagelok, KINGSTON, Pentair, Bopp & Reuther

Low Pressure Relief Valve

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http://www.spiremarketresearch.com/global-low-pressure-relief-valve-market-2017-demand-insights-key-players-segmentation-and-forecast-to-2022

Low Pressure Relief Valve Market Research 2017A market study  Global Low Pressure Relief Valve Market  examines the performance of the Low Pressure Relief Valve market 2017. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Low Pressure Relief Valve market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Low Pressure Relief Valve market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Low Pressure Relief Valve Market 2017 report includes Low Pressure Relief Valve market Revenue, market Share, Low Pressure Relief Valve industry volume, market Trends, Low Pressure Relief Valve Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report.It shows manufacturing capacity, Low Pressure Relief Valve Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Low Pressure Relief Valve Market 2017 :KINGSTONHAM-LETEMERSON-FISHERSwagelokAIR LogicBEKOBopp & ReutherPentairNiezgodkaFAI FILTRIShanghai Huatong GroupShang Hai HuYiValve Co., Ltd.Firstly, the report covers the top Low Pressure Relief Valve manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Low Pressure Relief Valve report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Low Pressure Relief Valve industry, Low Pressure Relief Valve industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Low Pressure Relief Valve Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Full Report Here:The Low Pressure Relief Valve 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 Low Pressure Relief Valve market revenue worldwide.Finally, Low Pressure Relief Valve 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
Automatic Transmission Fluid (ATF) Market: Global Industry Trend Analysis 2012 to 2017 and Forecast 2017 - 2025

http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/automatic-transmission-fluid-market.asp

http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/15322

http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com

Automatic Transmission Fluid (ATF) is a type of slippery liquid which act as a lubricant for easy movement of all moving parts inside a transmission system. Automatic transmission system is a more evolved and technically upgraded transmission system in comparison to manual transmission system as automatic transmission minuses human intervention of shifting gear with correspondence to speed. Automatic transmission system is a more complex system than manual transmission system and it therefore requires a more technologically advanced fluid to ensure proper function ability. ATF also acts as a cooling agent for automatic transmission system as automatic transmission system generates lot of heat during to rotation of gears. ATF can also be used as hydraulic fluid for power steering systems. Most ATFs contain combination of various additives that enhances lubricating qualities such as anti-wear additives, rust and corrosion inhibitors, detergents, dispersants and surfactants, as well as other compounds and chemicals which can contribute towards better durability of automatic transmission system.Get access to full summary @:Automatic Transmission Fluid Market: Market Dynamics and RestraintsMajorly, increasing adoption of automatic transmission system all over globe is driving the market of ATF globally. Vehicles with automatic transmission system is increasing rapidly as various automobile manufacturers are introducing automatic transmission in their line of brands to offer better driving experience to customers. An automatic transmission system allows the automobilist to pay more attention to the road instead of being worrying of getting distracted by all the extra effort required for lever shift. Thus increasing adoption of automatic transmission system is pulling up the demand of ATF. Since ATF can also be used as hydraulic oil for power steering system of 4WD, use of ATF will be also driven by increase in power steering system in vehicles and air compressor. Apart from regular passenger cars various other vehicles such as HMV, special armored vehicles, cranes etc. in near future will be installed with automatic transmission system which will again create a new space for the growth of ATF market.Decline in production of crude oil, steep fall in automobile manufacturing due to decline in demand, and recent turmoil in Arab spring, ban on export and import amongst countries, economic sanctions, and increase in adoption of electrical vehicle will bring in circumstance which brings in possibility to destabilize the ATF market.Automatic Transmission Fluid Market: Market SegmentationThe global ATF market is segmented into parts based on applications.Based on the application, ATF market is segmented into: Vehicle Transmission System Uses, Air-Compressor Use, Power Steering Use.Automatic Transmission Fluid Market: Regional OutlookRegarding geography, the ATF market has been categorized into seven key regions including North and Latin America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Asia-Pacific excluding Japan, Japan, and the Middle East & Africa. The ATF market is globally expected to register healthy CAGR during the forecast period. Despite the soft economy, consumers of North America are buying cars which raise the demand for ATF in countries such as Canada and the US, this made, North America leading region in ATF market. In Western Europe, due to presence of reputed global automotive manufacturers and other mechanical equipment manufacturing industry in this region and growth in sales of various automotive will bring in demand for ATF. Countries such as China, India are the principal countries in Asia-Pacific excluding Japan region development wise. These countries are witnessing establishments of many industries such as automotive and other industries and with increase in economic stability of individuals will trigger the sales of various automotive and other equipment which do needs ATF as lubricants. Such a scenario in APEJ will generate the demand of ATF by making Asia Pacific Excluding Japan third leading region. Japan on other hand is also an optimistic market for ATF. Latin America and the Middle East and Africa are predicted to acquire the ATF market in the near future.A sample of this report is available upon request @Automatic Transmission Fluid Market PlayersSome of the players of global ATF market include Exxon Mobil Corporation, AMSOIL, Valvoline LLC, Castrol Limited, Red Line Synthetic Oil, Lucas Oil Products, Inc., TOTAL Lubricants and others.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Lawn Mower Market Global Forecast 2017-2022: Fiskars, Simplicity, John Deere, Honda Engines, Snapper

Lawn Mower

http://bit.ly/2vNhMxS

http://www.spiremarketresearch.com/global-lawn-mower-market-2017-demand-insights-key-players-segmentation-and-forecast-to-2022

Lawn Mower Market Research 2017A market study  Global Lawn Mower Market  examines the performance of the Lawn Mower market 2017. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Lawn Mower market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Lawn Mower market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Lawn Mower Market 2017 report includes Lawn Mower market Revenue, market Share, Lawn Mower industry volume, market Trends, Lawn Mower Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report.It shows manufacturing capacity, Lawn Mower Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Lawn Mower Market 2017 :Honda EnginesToroHusqvarnaAmerican Lawn Mower CompanySimplicityBriggs & StrattonSnapperFiskarsColemanJohn DeereLawn Mower Market : By ApplicationHouseholdCommercialLawn Mower Market : By TypeInternal Combustion TypeBattery TypeFirstly, the report covers the top Lawn Mower manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Lawn Mower report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Lawn Mower industry, Lawn Mower industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Lawn Mower Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Full Report Here:The Lawn Mower 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 Lawn Mower market revenue worldwide.Finally, Lawn Mower 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
Pain Management Drugs Market Global Forecast 2017-2022: Sanofi, Baxter, Merck, Pfizer, Eli Lilly, Roche

Pain Management Drugs

http://bit.ly/2vEESay

http://www.spiremarketresearch.com/global-pain-management-drugs-market-2017-demand-insights-key-players-segmentation-and-forecast-to-2022

Pain Management Drugs Market Research 2017A market study  Global Pain Management Drugs Market  examines the performance of the Pain Management Drugs market 2017. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Pain Management Drugs market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Pain Management Drugs market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Pain Management Drugs Market 2017 report includes Pain Management Drugs market Revenue, market Share, Pain Management Drugs industry volume, market Trends, Pain Management Drugs Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report.It shows manufacturing capacity, Pain Management Drugs Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Pain Management Drugs Market 2017 :AstraZenecaEndo InternationalJohnson & JohnsonPfizerPurdue PharmaBaxterBayerGlaxoSmithKlineMerckNovartisRocheSanofiEli LillyZynerba PharmaceuticalsFirstly, the report covers the top Pain Management Drugs manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Pain Management Drugs report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Pain Management Drugs industry, Pain Management Drugs industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Pain Management Drugs Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Full Report Here:The Pain Management Drugs 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 Pain Management Drugs market revenue worldwide.Finally, Pain Management Drugs 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
Aerosol Packaging Market Global Forecast 2017-2022: MidasCare, Casablanca, Arselor Mittal, Exal, Crown

Aerosol Packaging

http://bit.ly/2vOMJmv

http://www.spiremarketresearch.com/global-aerosol-packaging-market-2017-demand-insights-key-players-segmentation-and-forecast-to-2022

Aerosol Packaging Market Research 2017A market study  Global Aerosol Packaging Market  examines the performance of the Aerosol Packaging market 2017. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Aerosol Packaging market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Aerosol Packaging market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Aerosol Packaging Market 2017 report includes Aerosol Packaging market Revenue, market Share, Aerosol Packaging industry volume, market Trends, Aerosol Packaging Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report.It shows manufacturing capacity, Aerosol Packaging Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Aerosol Packaging Market 2017 :Arselor MittalArdagh GroupBallCCL ContainersCrownALUCONAsian Aerosol Group of CompaniesBharat ContainersCasablancaCONDENSAExalMidasCareMontebello PackagingNussbaum RielasingenShanghai Sunhome Industrial CompanyStrling EnterprisesFirstly, the report covers the top Aerosol Packaging manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Aerosol Packaging report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Aerosol Packaging industry, Aerosol Packaging industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Aerosol Packaging Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Full Report Here:The Aerosol Packaging 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 Aerosol Packaging market revenue worldwide.Finally, Aerosol Packaging 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
Engineering Software (CAD, CAM, CAE, AEC, & EDA) Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2017 - 2025

MRRSE

http://www.mrrse.com/sample/818

http://www.mrrse.com/engineering-software-market

http://www.mrrse.com/enquiry/818

http://www.mrrse.com/

The global engineering software market defines the use of different software such as computer-aided designing (CAD) software, computer-aided engineering (CAE) software, computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software, electronic design automation (EDA) software, and architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) software. These softwares are utilized across various engineering disciplines, such as electronics and communication engineering, electrical engineering, process engineering, chemical engineering, and mechanical engineering.Request For Sample Report:This research study, entitled Engineering Software (CAD, CAM, CAE, AEC, & EDA) Market  Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2014  2022, provides strategic analysis of the global engineering software market along with the market growth (size in US$ Bn*) forecast for the period from 2015 to 2022. The report includes an in-depth analysis of the market drivers, restraints, opportunities, and industry trends. It also highlights the significant growth opportunities for engineering software in the next few years.The report provides an extensive assessment of stakeholder strategies and the winning imperatives in the engineering software market and also analyzes the current and future engineering software market potential. The report segregates the engineering software market based on engineering software type and applications across different geographies, which include North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), Middle East & Africa (MEA), and Latin America (LATAM).The report segments the global engineering software market, on the basis of engineering software type, into computer-aided design (CAD) software; computer-aided engineering (CAE) software; computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software; architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) software; and electronic design automation (EDA) software. Furthermore, the global engineering software market is segmented by applications into design automation, plant design, product design & testing, drafting & 3D modeling, and other applications. The other applications segment includes 3D printing, enterprise resource planning, project management, and knowledge management.Browse Full Report with TOC :The competitive positioning of key engineering software vendors in the global engineering software market mentioned in the report provides a detailed understanding of the various players in the market. The market position of the companies is identified based on factors such as product/service portfolio mix, geographic presence, tenure (duration of activity in the market), and their recent key developments. The competitive strategies implemented by leading engineering software vendors on a global scale are also provided in the report. The study analyzes the global engineering software market, and provides revenue estimates in terms of US$ Bn for the period from 2013 to 2022, wherein the forecasts are for the period from 2015 to 2022. The market forecasts are based on the analysis of existing dynamics and their potential future impact. Market estimates have been analyzed by taking into account the impact of various economic, political, technological, social, and legal factors, as well as the existing market dynamics influencing market growth.The engineering software market is moderately fragmented in nature. Autodesk, Inc., Bentley Systems, Inc., Dassault Systemes S.A., IBM Corporation, Geometric Ltd., Siemens PLM Software, Inc., SAP SE, Synopsys, Inc., PTC, Inc., Ansys, Inc., and MSC Software Corporation are a few key players operating within the global engineering software market.The global Engineering Software market is segmented as below:Global Engineering Software Market, By Software Type Computer-Aided Designing (CAD) Software Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE) Software Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM) Software Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) Software Electronic Design Automation (EDA) SoftwareGlobal Engineering Software Market, By Applications Design Automation Plant Design Product Design & Testing Drafting & 3D Modeling Others (3D Printing, Enterprise Resource Planning, Project Management, and Knowledge Management)Global Engineering Software Market, By Geography North America Europe Asia Pacific (APAC) Middle East & Africa (MEA) Latin America (LATAM)Send An Enquiry:Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) is an industry-leading database of market intelligence reports. MRRSE is driven by a stellar team of research experts and advisors trained to offer objective advice. Our sophisticated search algorithm returns results based on the report title, geographical region, publisher, or other keywords.MRRSE partners exclusively with leading global publishers to provide clients single-point access to top-of-the-line market research. MRRSEs repository is updated every day to keep its clients ahead of the next new trend in market research, be it competitive intelligence, product or service trends or strategic consulting.State Tower90, State StreetSuite 700Albany, NY - 12207United States Telephone: +1-518-730-0559Email: sales@mrrse.comWebsite:
Welding Consumables Market - U.S. Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2017 - 2025

MRRSE

http://www.mrrse.com/sample/1640

http://www.mrrse.com/us-welding-consumables-market

http://www.mrrse.com/enquiry/1640

http://www.mrrse.com/

Welding consumables are materials such as metals, alloys, and minerals that are used for amalgamation of metal and thermoplastic components. Commonly used welding consumables for different welding processes in the U.S. include stick electrodes, flux-cored wires, solid wires, SAW wires and fluxes, and various shielding gases and rods. Flux-cored wires are used for shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) and flux-cored arc welding (FCAW) applications in various end-user industries. Welding consumables are primarily employed in building & construction, automobile & transportation, power, oil & gas, and marine industries. The bargaining power of buyers of welding consumables is estimated to be hampered, due to high degree of forward integration of manufacturers in the value chain.Request For Sample Report:This report provides detailed analysis and forecast of the welding consumables market in the U.S. from 2015 to 2023. On the country level, the market has been segmented based on volume (kilo tons) and revenue (US$ Mn) between 2015 and 2023. Demand for welding consumables has been forecast in terms of volume (kilo tons) and revenue (US$ Mn) between 2015 and 2023 to provide in-depth understanding of the market at the country level. The report includes drivers and restraints along with their impact on the market growth during the forecast period. Furthermore, the study encompasses various opportunities for growth of the market at the country level.The report thoroughly evaluates the value chain to provide comprehensive understanding of the welding consumables market. Additionally, it covers Porters Five Forces Model, which offers an understanding of the market competitiveness. The study also contains market attractiveness analysis, wherein various end-user industries are benchmarked based on their market size, growth rate, and general attractiveness.Browse Full Report with TOC :We conducted in-depth interviews and discussions with numerous key industry participants and opinion leaders for the research report. Primary research represents the bulk of our research efforts coupled with extensive secondary research. We reviewed key players annual reports, product portfolio, press releases, and relevant documents for competitive analysis and better understanding of the market. Secondary research includes in-depth research on current trends, technical writing, recent trade, Internet sources, trade associations, and statistical data from government websites as well as associated and authorized agency websites. This proved to be the most successful, effective, and reliable approach for obtaining relevant data, capturing industry participants insights, and identifying opportunities and growth.The report provides the size of the welding consumables market for 2014 and forecast for the next eight years. The size of the welding consumables market in the U.S. has been presented in terms of volume (kilo tons) and revenue (US$ Mn). Various key products and end-user industries have been taken into consideration to estimate market numbers. Market size and forecast for each segment have been provided in the context of the market in the U.S. Each product and end-user segment has been analyzed and forecast based on volume (kilo tons) and revenue (US$ Mn) from 2015 to 2023.The report includes profiles of leading manufacturers operating in the welding consumables market in the U.S. such as The Lincoln Electric Company, Air Liquide S.A., The Linde Group, voestalpine Bohler Welding GmbH, ESAB, Illinois Tool Works Inc., Hyundai Welding Co., Ltd., Kobe Steel, Ltd., Welding Alloys Group, Kiswel Inc., and Hilarius Haarlem Holland B.V. (HILCO).The report segments the welding consumables market in the U.S. as follows:Welding Consumables Market - Product AnalysisStick electrodesSolid wiresFlux-cored wiresSAW wires and fluxesOthers (including rods, etc.)Welding Consumables Market - End-user AnalysisAutomobile & transportationBuilding & constructionMarinePowerOil & gasOthers (including repair & maintenance, etc.)Send An Enquiry:Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) is an industry-leading database of market intelligence reports. MRRSE is driven by a stellar team of research experts and advisors trained to offer objective advice. Our sophisticated search algorithm returns results based on the report title, geographical region, publisher, or other keywords.MRRSE partners exclusively with leading global publishers to provide clients single-point access to top-of-the-line market research. MRRSEs repository is updated every day to keep its clients ahead of the next new trend in market research, be it competitive intelligence, product or service trends or strategic consulting.State Tower90, State StreetSuite 700Albany, NY - 12207United States Telephone: +1-518-730-0559Email: sales@mrrse.comWebsite:
Chiller Unit Market Global Forecast 2017-2022: Kuenling, Lennox, Mammoth, Climaveneta, Carrier, Midea

Chiller Unit

http://bit.ly/2viAL2X

http://www.spiremarketresearch.com/global-chiller-unit-market-2017-demand-insights-key-players-segmentation-and-forecast-to-2022

Chiller Unit Market Research 2017A market study  Global Chiller Unit Market  examines the performance of the Chiller Unit market 2017. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Chiller Unit market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Chiller Unit market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Chiller Unit Market 2017 report includes Chiller Unit market Revenue, market Share, Chiller Unit industry volume, market Trends, Chiller Unit Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report.It shows manufacturing capacity, Chiller Unit Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Chiller Unit Market 2017 :Trane (Ingersoll-Rand)York (Johnson Controls)CarrierDinkin (McQuay)HitachiToshibaClimavenetaMitsubshiDunham-bushMammothEuroklimat (EK)LennoxSanyo (Panasonic)BoschAiredaleKuenlingGreeMideaHaierTICAChiller Unit Market : By ApplicationAir Conditioning EngineeringIndustrialChiller Unit Market : By TypeWater ChillersAir-cooled ChillerCentrifugal ChillerReciprocating ChillerScrew ChillerFirstly, the report covers the top Chiller Unit manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Chiller Unit report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Chiller Unit industry, Chiller Unit industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Chiller Unit Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Full Report Here:The Chiller Unit 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 Chiller Unit market revenue worldwide.Finally, Chiller Unit 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
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 10, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Uniserve Communications Corporation (Uniserve) (TSX-V:USS) is pleased to announce the signing of an agreement to act as CBRE Canadas data centre advisory consultant for international clients seeking to establish data centre infrastructure for large data analytics and storage in Canada. Uniserve was selected because their new CEO, Nicholas Jeffery, was previously the director of the data centre advisory and transactional team in EMEA, based in London.

Uniserve will provide consulting services, market dynamics, geographic, power, property, and connectivity analytics to give international clients real time data about the opportunities in the Canadian marketplace. The scope of the services offered by Uniserve will cover:

1) Advisory services to define client requirements and establish the best data centre strategy (hyper-scale cloud, wholesale, retail co-location, build, or acquisition).

2) Provide an advisory service to international prospects to help identify the best power source, property, and pipe (internet connectivity) solutions.

3) Provide an advisory service to Canadian enterprise and data centre customers regarding cloud migration and infrastructure as a service.

This supplements the portfolio of data centre services already offered by CBRE Canada but brings new strategic consulting options to better serve CBREs clients.

Nicholas Jeffery, CEO of Uniserve, said, This is a logical extension of my previous role at CBRE in London. Canada is in a perfect storm of data sovereignty, security, and cost of power, as well as available space, which means global clients are now keenly looking at the Canadian market. By working together, with CBRE providing its real estate expertise and Uniserve on the consulting side, we can provide data centre solutions that are unrivalled in the marketplace.

About Uniserve

Uniserve communications is a unified communications company which has been in existence for over 28 years, combining voice, data, and media all into one seamless solution, one bill, and one point of contact in Canada. Through two recent acquisitions in the managed services space, Uniserve now serves the pan-Canadian market with offices in Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto Waterloo.

Uniserve currently has 13,000 customers spread across Residential and Enterprise, providing connectivity, software as a service, hardware, managed and data centre / cloud services.

Uniserve prides itself on world class customer service and manages T1/2/3 out of its HQ in Vancouver.

Michael C. Scholz

Chairman of the Board

Learn more at www.uniserve.com or at www.sedar.com.

This news release was prepared on behalf of the Board of Directors, which accepts full responsibility for its contents.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulations Services Provider (as the term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Management has prepared this release and no regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. The statements contained in this news release that are not historical facts are forward looking statements. Such statements are based on managements estimates, assumptions and projections using available information. Uniserve cautions that actual financial results could differ materially from the current expectations due to a number of factors.




EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) Portable Fuel Dispensers Market Report 2017

EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) Portable Fuel Dispensers Market Report 2017

https://www.qyresearcheurope.com/

http://www.qyresearchglobal.com/

The Portable Fuel Dispensers Sales Market Research Report is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the Portable Fuel Dispensers industry.Firstly, the report provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. The Portable Fuel Dispensers 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 Portable Fuel Dispensers 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.EMEA Portable Fuel Dispensers market competition by top manufacturers/players, with Portable Fuel Dispensers sales volume (K Units), price (USD/Unit), revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player; the top players includingGilbarcoWayneTokheinTatsunoScheidt-bachmannTominaga MfgNeotecBennett PumpKorea EnEPiusiCenstarSankiLanfeng MachineKaisai......Ask a complete & professional report sample, please send message to tinaning@qyresearch.com or visit atTable of contents:1 Portable Fuel Dispensers Overview2 EMEA Portable Fuel Dispensers Competition by Manufacturers/Players/Suppliers, Region, Type and Application3 Europe Portable Fuel Dispensers (Volume, Value and Sales Price), by Players, Countries, Type and Application4 Middle East Portable Fuel Dispensers (Volume, Value and Sales Price), by Region, Type and Application5 Africa Portable Fuel Dispensers (Volume, Value and Sales Price) by Players, Countries, Type and Application6 EMEA Portable Fuel Dispensers Manufacturers/Players Profiles and Sales Data7 Portable Fuel Dispensers Manufacturing Cost Analysis8 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers9 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders10 Market Effect Factors Analysis11 EMEA Portable Fuel Dispensers Market Forecast (2017-2022)12 Research Findings and Conclusion13 AppendixRelated Reports:Global Portable Fuel Dispensers Market Report 2017Europe Portable Fuel Dispensers Market Report 2017China Portable Fuel Dispensers Market Report 2017India Portable Fuel Dispensers Market Report 2017Japan Portable Fuel Dispensers Market Report 2017USA Portable Fuel Dispensers Market Report 2017Korea Portable Fuel Dispensers Market 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 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
Sodium Coco Sulphate Market to Rear Excessive Growth During 2015 to 2021

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Sodium coco sulphate (SCS) is a surfactant and is derived from coconut oil. It is a mild cleanser that boosts bubbles and is readily accepted by consumers. Before companies came up with this new surfactant, sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) was most popularly used in shampoos, conditioners, toothpastes etc. It caused irritation to skin as it had a small molecular mass, which enabled them to penetrate the skin and affect living cells under the surface. Petroleum oil was used in the manufacture of these sulphates. Sodium coco sulphate is considered to be a much safer alternative as it is derived from a mixture of fatty acids available in coconuts, hence the word coco has been linked to its name.Get access to full summary @:Sodium coco sulphate is a safer alternative to sodium lauryl sulphate. Due to its mild, non-irritating and easily degradable properties, it is considered to be eco-friendly and much more user friendly as compared to sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS). SLS on the other hand belongs to a class of medium and strong surfactants known as alkyl sulphates. This group of chemicals exhibits strong cleansing power, very low production cost and high foam production among others advantages, thus giving them high market advantage but cause enough skin irritation to consumers and hence are being replaced widely by sodium coco sulphate. Sodium coco sulphate is manufactured using fatty acids derived from coconuts and hence are globally approved as they are less harmful to skin. A few consumers and critics still live with the false notion that this product is similar to SLS but are being proved wrong by scientists and chemical experts. This growing awareness is expected to further boost the market for SCS in the coming years.SLS is derived from petroleum oil and SCS from natural resources and thus eco-friendly. Initially, various companies tried to find a more skin-conducive alternative for SLS and achieved this by putting it through a process called ethoxylation. This success was however shortlived as the process left behind two carcinogenic products namely ethylene oxide and 1,4-dioxane as the bi-products. This gave rise to the demand for more eco-friendly and SLS-free substitutes. Both these products function as surfactants but that is where their similarity ends. Overall sodium coco sulphate is a great alternative to SLS. The market for this surfactant is expected to rise over the next few years.The largest demand market for SLS is the U.S., however due to the products environment and health issues, its market demand is decreasing and the market for sodium coco sulphate, as a safer alternative is increasing and is expected to rise substantially over the next few years. Due to stringent regulations involved with the manufacture of skin-related chemicals, the demand for this product is considerably lesser in Europe. However, once the product is proven to be environment friendly in Europe, the market is expected to rise by a huge margin. The market for SLS in the Rest of the World segment is considerably high at present, and market for sodium coco sulphate, which is a safer option, is expected to grow in the next few years and the SLS market is likely to decline.A sample of this report is available upon request @Some of the largest manufacturers of this product include Dow Chemicals Ltd., Krishna Chemicals Mfg., P K Chem Industries Ltd. among others. The biggest suppliers of this product include Chem Tech a chemical company, Tempo Koda Care and Acme-Hardesty among other global suppliers and distributor.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:
OTC Herbal and Traditional Medicines Market Poised to Rake US$ 30,000 Mn by 2022

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Fact.MR, in its new report, estimates the global OTC herbal and traditional medicines market to register a moderate 4.8% CAGR over the forecast period 2017 to 2022. The report anticipates revenues from the global OTC herbal and traditional medicines market to surpass US$ 30,000 Mn by 2022-end.A number of reputed research organisations, such as AYUSH, and the Dabur Research & Development Center, are concentrating on research & development activities associated with the herbal and traditional medicines. Although, herbal and traditional systems of medicines have valuable elements, they comprise of ingredients which may be harmful for human health, and could result into side-effects. Two aspects are considered for safety evaluation, which are determining right quality of ingredients, and preventing contamination/adulteration of ingredients used for these medicines. This has further necessitated prescription from physicians prior to consumption of herbal and traditional medicines. The transforming environment of healthcare sector across the globe generates the requirement for comprehensive policy review regarding traditional and herbal systems of medicines.A rising trend of consumer inclination towards Yoga, Unani, and Ayurveda is being witnessed across the globe, according to Ministry of AYUSH. Consumer concerns associated with health effects of synthetic drugs has made them in shifting their preferences towards herbal and traditional medicines, which in turn has paved huge opportunities for manufacturers. Continuous transformations have been witnessed in the consumer health sector, with the introduction and rediscovery of traditional medicines. These factors are estimated to drive growth of the market over the forecast period.For More Details - A sample of this report is available upon request@10 Predictions for the Global OTC Herbal and Traditional Medicines MarketAsia-Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) will be dominant in the global OTC herbal and traditional medicines market in 2017, and is expected to retain its dominance and exhibit a steady expansion through 2022.By 2022-end, North America will continue to be the second most lucrative market for OTC herbal and traditional medicines.Japan is anticipated to remain the least lucrative market for OTC herbal and traditional medicines.Based on function, Revenues from OTC herbal and traditional medicine sales for maintenance of the peoples digestive health are estimated to account for largest revenues by 2022-end.Request For Discount:OTC herbal and traditional medicine sales for bone & joint health, and nutrition are estimated to register parallel expansion at a similar CAGR. However, revenues from nutrition segment is expected to remain comparatively higher than bone & joint health.Modern trade OTC channel is expected to remain preferred among consumers for buying of OTC herbal traditional medicines.OTC herbal and traditional medicine sales in online OTC channel is expected to register the fastest expansion over the forecast period.Pharmacy OTC channel are expected to account for larger market revenue share, however sales are estimated to register a sluggish expansion throughout the forecast period.Based on dosage, powdered form of OTC herbal and traditional medicines are expected to remain preferred among consumers. Revenues from this segment is estimated to exceed US$ 10,000 Mn by 2022-end.Between liquid and tablet form of OTC herbal and traditional medicines, sales of tablet dosage are expected to account for larger revenues, while sales of liquid OTC herbal and traditional medicines are expected to exhibit a comparatively faster expansion through 2022.The report has also profiled leading players in the global market for OTC herbal and traditional medicines, which include Amway Corporation, Phytomed Herbal Solutions, Herbalife International, Biovontrade SARL, The Himalayan Drug Company, Nutra Green Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Naturex SA, Bio-Botanica, Inc., Nutraceutical International Corporation, The Nature's Bounty Co., Medico Herbs, The Bioforce Group, Jiaherb Inc., Ricola AG, Dabur India Ltd., Bionorica SE, Blackmores Limited,and Integria Healthcare Pty Ltd.Browse Full Report:ABOUT US:Fact.MR is focused on offering transformative intelligence that inspires breakthroughs and innovation. We believe that the right decisions at the opportune time are integral to achieve extraordinary success. We are here to help you with your strategic decision making.CONTACT:Suite 988427 Upper Pembroke Street,Dublin 2, IrelandPhone: +353-1-6111-593Email: sales@factmr.comwebsite:
OTC Cough, Cold & Allergy Medicines Market Forecast will Surpass US$ 37,323 Mn by 2022

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A large number of people across the globe purchase OTC (over-the-counter) medicines for treating minor cough, cold or allergy related problems rather visiting the doctor. This has been a major reason behind the incessant sales of OTC cough, cold and allergy drugs. Many of the medicines for cold, cough and allergy fall under common categories of OTC. In order to ensure customer safety, healthcare regulatory bodies in some countries have even set guidelines for selling or purchasing of such medicines. Moreover, the busy lifestyle of a modern consumer make such medicines more important as consulting a doctor for every single health issue might consume a hefty amount of time. Factors as such are playing a crucial role in further boosting the demand for OTC cough, cold and allergy medicines. In addition, growing number of immunosuppressed patients and expanding global geriatric population is anticipated to drive the growth of the market. Fact.MRs recently published report reveals that the global cough, cold and allergy medicine market is set to witness 4.9% between 2017 and 2022. This market is estimated to stand at around US$ 37,323 Mn towards the end of the forecast period.Following insights from Fact.MRs global OTC cough, cold and allergy market will be important for markets future growthFor More Details - A sample of this report is available upon request@The OTC cough, cold and allergy medicines market in Asia Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) is anticipated to remain highly attractive throughout the assessment period. In 2017 and beyond, the region is projected to command for a noteworthy revenue share of the global market. This is primarily owing to dropping air quality and increase pollution that is resulting in higher occurrence of respiratory ailments. In addition, rapid adoption of OTC medicines owing to their convenience of purchase and cost-efficiency is facilitating the growth of the market in the region.On the basis of drug type, antihistamine is anticipated to command for over one-third revenues share of the market by the end of 2017. Antihistamines drugs help in restricting the histamine release from histamine-1 receptors, moreover these drugs can effectively treat watery eyes or runny nose, inflammation (redness), sneezing and swelling (edema).By OCT channel, pharmacies will continue to be the top OCT channel for sales of allergy, cold and cough drugs between 2017 and 2022. During the same time, the drug store segment is projected to retain its second spot.Request For Discount:Based on dosage, the tablet segment is projected to command for a significant share of the market in terms of revenue and is likely to reach a valuation of nearly US$ 12,425 Mn over 2022.Competition TrackingFact.MR has profiled some of the key players in its report, which include Allergen, Bristol-Myers Squib Co., Prestige Brands Holdings, Inc., Pfizer Inc., GlaxoSmithKline Plc., Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc., AstraZaneca Plc., Johnson & Johnson Service, Inc., Procter & Gamble Co., Sanofi-Aventis, Novartis AG, Merck & Co., and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. Many of these companies are concentrating on improving the product efficiency in order to increase their market presence.Browse Full Report:ABOUT US:Fact.MR is focused on offering transformative intelligence that inspires breakthroughs and innovation. We believe that the right decisions at the opportune time are integral to achieve extraordinary success. We are here to help you with your strategic decision making.CONTACT:Suite 988427 Upper Pembroke Street,Dublin 2, IrelandPhone: +353-1-6111-593Email: sales@factmr.comwebsite:
Motorcycle Market Poised to Rake US$ 150,000 Mn by 2022

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A rise in standards of living across developing economies, such as China, India and Indonesia, is expected to influence the growth in adoption of motorcycles in these regions. In addition, superior fuel efficiency offered by motorcycles as compared to automobiles, coupled with rapidly growing population will result into a higher demand for motorcycles in the near future. Developed countries are likely to witness higher sales, especially of medium and heavy motorcycles, with economic conditions becoming more favorable and consumers resuming the purchase of expensive recreational items. A recent report by Fact.MR offers a detailed analysis about the global motorcycle market for the forecast period 2017 to 2022.The report projects the global motorcycle market to surpass revenues worth US$ 100,000 Mn in 2017. Increasing innovations and advancements in technology are expected to immensely benefit the global motorcycle industry, with rapid pace of changes taking place in the automotive industry. Leading motorcycle manufacturers are focusing on increasing their sales amidst growing demand for mobility, particularly in the major cities. Moreover, electric motorcycles have started gaining popularity owing to their eco-friendly nature. These factors are expected to sustain growth of the global motorcycle market during the forecast period. Fact.MRs report projects the global motorcycle market to register a steady 4.5% CAGR, to reach nearly US$ 150,000 Mn in revenues by 2022-end.For More Details - A sample of this report is available upon request@7 Growth Prospects about the Global Motorcycle MarketBased on product type, light motorcycles are expected to remain dominant in the global market, followed by scooters, in terms of revenues. However, electric motorcycles are expected to register the highest CAGR in the global motorcycles market through 2022. Sales of mopeds in the market will remain sluggish during the forecast period.On the basis of cylinder capacity, below 250 cc will remain preferred in the market, with sales estimated to reach nearly US$ 100,000 Mn by 2022-end. 200 cc to 500 cc is expected to be the second-most lucrative product type segment in the global motorcycle market by 2022-end.Low-priced motorcycles are expected to remain most attractive in the market, followed by mid-priced motorcycles. Sales of high-priced motorcycles are estimated to register a comparatively low CAGR through 2022.Request For Discount:In emerging countries of Asia Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ), such as India and China, where motorcycles are becoming an attractive alternative to utilizing mass transit, or riding a bicycle. Post-reaching certain thresholds of per capita income, strong growth in sales of motorcycles is estimated in these countries. APEJ is expected to remain dominant in the global motorcycle market during the forecast period.Although Japan is projected to be the second largest market for motorcycles, sales in North America are projected to register a comparatively higher CAGR through 2022.Sales of motorcycles in Europe and Middle East & Africa (MEA) are estimated to register low CAGRs in the global motorcycles market through 2022.Key market players identified in Fact.MRs report include Bajaj Auto Ltd., Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, Benelli Q.J., Piaggio & C. SpA, Harley-Davidson Motor Company, Inc., Suzuki Motor Corporation, Honda Motor Co., Ltd., Hero MotoCorp Ltd., Eicher Motors Limited, Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd., KR Motors Co., Ltd., and Chongqing Jianshe Motorcycle Co., Ltd.Browse Full Report:ABOUT US:Fact.MR is focused on offering transformative intelligence that inspires breakthroughs and innovation. We believe that the right decisions at the opportune time are integral to achieve extraordinary success. We are here to help you with your strategic decision making.CONTACT:Suite 988427 Upper Pembroke Street,Dublin 2, IrelandPhone: +353-1-6111-593Email: sales@factmr.comwebsite:
Luxury Personal Care and Cosmetics Market - Global Industry Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2017 - 2025

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Global Luxury Personal Care and Cosmetics Market: SnapshotThere is a dual layer of consumer demographics vying for the best of the best in personal care and cosmetics. The inclusion of luxury cosmetics and personal care products into the lives of the general urban population has only largely been possible due to the increasing disposable income among this consumer pool. Previously only aimed at the wealthy and the elite, the global luxury personal care and cosmetics market is now filling up with products that are leaning towards the urban elite and even the general population.Download Research Brochure For More Information@The market is currently lined with a massive range of products to fit nearly every price budget, and the inclusion of luxury personal care and cosmetics products into this list is a significant reflector of the economic status of key market regions. The trend of buying luxury beauty products is especially a vibrant market scenario in developed economies from North America and Europe. At the same time, players are paying a very close attention to the emerging economies, where the elite population is growing regularly and showing greater capabilities of purchasing luxury personal care and cosmetics.The demand for luxury personal care and cosmetics market has escalated in the past few years on account of rising purchasing power of consumers. Transition in the lifestyle of the consumers is a key element for the surge in the demand for such products, especially in the developing regions such as Asia Pacific.Increasing penchant for a trendy lifestyle is one of the key factors responsible for the growth of the luxury personal care and cosmetics market. This is primarily attributed to the increase in the purchasing power of the consumers coupled with exposure to such kind of products. Although the share for luxury personal care and cosmetics is low at present, the same is expected to witness a steady growth during the forecast period.Increasing foreign direct investments is one of the major factors responsible for the growth of the luxury personal care and cosmetics market at present. The major manufacturers operating in this industry are looking to penetrate potential markets for significant expansion opportunities. For instance, India recently experienced massive penetration by way of foreign direct investments. The country recorded an investment of USD 31 billion in the first half of 2015, much higher as compared to USD 28 billion in China and USD 27 billion in U.S. during the same period. Further government has bolstered Indian luxury brands by easing norms for FDI. However, brief shelf life of the personal care and cosmetics market are restraining the global luxury personal care and cosmetics market over the years. Additionally increasing demands for organic luxury personal care and cosmetics are generating opportunities to the market during the forecast periodThe global luxury personal care and cosmetics market are segmented on the basis of product type, by end use and by distribution channel. By product type the global luxury personal care and cosmetics market has been segmented into skin care and sun care products, hair care products, deodorants, fragrances, make up or color cosmetics. Sun care and skin care products are anticipated to capture the largest market share due to rising consciousness of proper skin among the population. By end use the market has been segmented on the basis of men and women. Rise in consciousness among men regarding personal grooming are triggering the growth rate of the global luxury personal care and cosmetics market. By distribution channel the global luxury personal care and cosmetics market has been segmented into online distribution channel and offline distribution channel. Offline distribution channel has been further segmented into super markets and hyper markets, independent stores and others. Online distribution channel are anticipated to show the fastest growth rate due to the presence of large number of brands, discounts and easy convenience for the consumers.In the region wise study the global luxury personal care and cosmetics market has been segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa and Latin America. Europe which includes Germany, Italy, France, and Russia among the other regions are anticipated to capture the largest market share due to the rising consciousness regarding beautification among the consumers. North America which includes U.S, Canada are also anticipated to capture a significant market share after Europe. Asia Pacific region which includes India, China, Japan and Malaysia, are anticipated to show the fastest growth rate due to increasing number of manufacturers over the years and rising research and development in order to develop new products. High level of discretionary spending, rapid urbanization, and reliance on imported products also fueled the growth rate of the Asia Pacific luxury personal care and cosmetics market.Browse Report@Global key participants in the industry include Unilever plc, Beirsdoef AG, Amway, Procter & Gamble, Avon Products Inc. LOreal SA, The Estee Lauders Company Inc., Shiseido Company Limited, Burts Bee, Arbonne International, LLC, Aubrey Organics, Oriflame Cosmetics SA, Weleda among others.About Us:-Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a next-generation provider of syndicated research, customized research, and consulting services. TMRs global and regional market intelligence coverage includes industries such as pharmaceutical, chemicals and materials, technology and media, food and beverages, and consumer goods, among others. Each TMR research report provides clients with a 360-degree view of the market with statistical forecasts, competitive landscape, detailed segmentation, key trends, and strategic recommendations.Contact Us:-State Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.com
Global Contract Research Organization (CRO) Market 2017 Industry Analysis - Quintiles, Parexel, inVentiv, Wuxi AppTec, ICON, CRL, CRL

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The Global Contract Research Organization (CRO) market research report 2017 renders deep perception of the key regional market status of the Contract Research Organization (CRO) Industry on a global level that primarily aims the core regions which comprices of continent's likeDownload Sample Report @Contract Research Organization (CRO) market size, share and end users are analyzed as well as Split markets by Types, Applications, Cost Stuctures this report focuses on sales, market share and growth rate of Contract Research Organization (CRO) in each application. The report includes Contract Research Organization (CRO) new project SWOT analysis, investment feasibility analysis, investment return analysis and development trend analysis. Whats more, the Contract Research Organization (CRO) industry development trends and marketing channels are analyzed.SUMMARYContract research organization (CRO) provide clinical trial and other research support services for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device industries and also serve government institutions, foundations and universities.Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Contract Research Organization (CRO) in Global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Middle and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report coversQuintilesLabCorp (Covance)PPDParexelICONPRAinVentivINCCRLWuxi AppTecGet Full Report With TOC @Market Segment by Regions, regional analysis coversNorth America (USA, Canada and Mexico)Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)Latin America, Middle and AfricaMarket Segment by Type, coversPreclinical CROClinical Trial CROMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided intoBiotechnologyMedical Device IndustryThere are 13 Chapters to deeply display the global Contract Research Organization (CRO) market.Chapter 1, to describe Contract Research Organization (CRO) Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Contract Research Organization (CRO), with sales, revenue, and price of Contract Research Organization (CRO), 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 Contract Research Organization (CRO), for each region, from 2012 to 2017;RELATED REPORT:Chapter 5, 6, 7 and 8, to analyze the key regions, with sales, revenue and market share by key countries in these regions;Chapter 9 and 10, to show the market by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 11, Contract Research Organization (CRO) market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2021;Chapter 12 and 13, to describe Contract Research Organization (CRO) sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, appendix and data source.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.Contact UsMark StoneSales ManagerOffice - 102, Sanskriti Aspirations,Near Post 91, Baner Road,Pune, MH, India - 411045Phone: (201) 465-4211Email: sales@fiormarkets.comWeb:Blog:
Parenteral Packaging Market Expected to Rise at 10.2% CAGR through 2026

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The global parenteral packaging market was valued at 7.9 Bn in 2015 and is expected to grow at a year-over-year rate of 9.5% to reach 8.6 Bn in 2016. North America will continue to be the most lucrative market, representing 27.4% revenue share of the market in 2016. Western Europe, the second largest market for parenteral packaging, will grow by 10.8% in 2016.Increasing popularity of plastics & polymers over glass for production of primary packaging material and global expansion of pharmaceuticals industry will continue to fuel the growth of the market in 2016. Increase in the prevalence of epidemic diseases such as cancer, diabetes, hepatic failure and chronic intestinal diseases will also play a role in ramping up demand for parenteral packaging. Favourable government policies, combined with rising adoption of injection-based treatment will also continue to influence the market positively. Growing geriatric population will also play a role in the overall growth of the parenteral packaging market.Request For Report Sample@On the basis of product, the prefilled syringes & cartridges segment will continue to hold the leading revenue share. This segment is expected to grow by 10.1% in 2016 to reach 1.2 Bn in revenues.On the basis of material, the global parenteral packaging market is largely segmented into plastic & polymer and glass segments. Use of glass for parenteral packaging is witnessing a decline, as plastic & polymer are more durable and resistant to shocks and impacts. The plastic & polymer segment will witness a growth rate of 10.5% in 2016, whereas the glass segment is expected to grow by 8.7%.On the basis of packaging type, the global parenteral packaging market is mostly non-tangible in nature, owing to the needs of the patients as well as storage conditions for drugs. However, the packaging type are primarily segmented into large volume parenteral and small volume parenteral, with the former accounting for higher revenue share of the market.While North America and Western Europe will continue to ramp up demand, growth will also be substantial in emerging economies of APEJ. Increasing healthcare spending and presence of a large geriatric population segment will positively influence market growth in APEJ, with total revenues set to reach 2.0 Bn in 2016.Send an Enquiry @Key participants in the global parenteral packaging market include Gerresheimer AG, Schott AG, Becton, Unilife Corporation, Inc, Dickinson and Company, Ypsomed Holding AG ,West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc., SiO2 Medical Products, Terumo Corporation, Ompi, Stevanato Group and Nipro Corporation.Long-term Outlook: The global parenteral packaging market is anticipated to increase at a CAGR of 11.2% during the forecast period 2016-2026.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:
Radiotherapy Devices Market to reach US$ 7 Bn by 2022

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With increasing risks of obtaining cancer treatment through chemotherapy, patients as well as medical professionals are turning towards radiotherapy as a sought-after oncological treatment for cancers. The Fact.MR report on global market for radiotherapy devices predicts that towards the end of 2022, more than US$ 7 Bn worth of devices will be sold across the globe, reflecting a stellar CAGR. Following insights from the report will offer a comprehensive outlook on the future of radiotherapy devices in the global healthcare industry during 2017-2022.Key Projections on the Global Radiotherapy Devices Market:In 2017, global sales of linear accelerator devices is expected to procure nearly half of global radiotherapy devices market value. The sales of linear accelerators for radiotherapy is expected to gain steadfast traction, procuring an annual growth of more than US$ 280 Mn from 2017 to 2022.For More Details - A sample of this report is available upon request@With soaring incidence of cancers across European countries, the healthcare infrastructure in this region is expected to remain lucrative for adoption of effective cancer therapies such as radiotherapy. The demand for radiotherapy devices is expected to gain traction in Europe owing to its advantage over other cancer therapeutic devices in terms of controlling the growth of the malignant tumors. Moreover, cancer patients are likely to remain more inclined towards radiotherapy devices that limit the hospital stay duration. According to the report, Europe will remain the largest market for radiotherapy devices throughout the forecast period.In North America, changing lifestyles of consumers and penetration of urban cultures is fuelling the incidence of pancreatic cancer. Radiotherapy devices are expected to remain of great use in treatment of pancreatic cancer and borderline resectable cancer. The radiotherapy devices market in North America is expected to witness robust gains throughout the forecast period.Manufacturers of radiotherapy devices are expected to view the Asia-Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) region as lucrative for setting up production units. Favorable industrial regulations, low wages and high resource availability is expected to drive the growth of radiotherapy devices market in the APEJ region. The report predicts that the APEJ radiotherapy devices market is expected to grow at the fastest pace, reflecting a stellar CAGR of 11.5% through 2022.Request For Discount:Towards the end of 2022, hospitals will emerge to be the largest end-users of radiotherapy devices. The demand for radiotherapy devices in oncological treatment centers is also anticipated to gain traction, procuring over one-fourth share on global market values throughout the forecast period.The report has profiled leading manufacturers of radiotherapy devices which are expected to remain active in the expansion of global market, and these include Varian Medical Systems, RaySearch Laboratories AB, Theragenics Corp, Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation, Elekta AB, Accuray, Inc., IsoRay, Inc., GE Healthcare, Vision RT Ltd., C.R. Bard, Inc., Koninklijke Philips N.V., Siemens AG, IBA Ion Beam Applications SA, Eckert & Ziegler Bebig, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Shinva Medical Instrument Company Limited, Neusoft Medical Systems Co., Ltd. and AngioDynamics, Inc.Browse Full Report:ABOUT US:Fact.MR is focused on offering transformative intelligence that inspires breakthroughs and innovation. We believe that the right decisions at the opportune time are integral to achieve extraordinary success. We are here to help you with your strategic decision making.CONTACT:Suite 988427 Upper Pembroke Street,Dublin 2, IrelandPhone: +353-1-6111-593Email: sales@factmr.comwebsite:
Image Recognition Market to Perceive Substantial Growth During 2020

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Image recognition is a technique for acquiring, processing, scrutinize, and sympathizing images. It gathers high-dimensional data from the real world in order to generate numerical or symbolic information. Image recognition uses disentangling of representational information from image data using replica created with the help of geometry, physics, statistics, and learning theory.Image recognition (biometric-based recognition) technique has emerged as the most promising alternative of card based recognition for identifying individuals in recent past. Image recognition is used for verification (one to one matching) and identification (one to many matching) of individuals.Get access to full summary @:Image recognition technologies include identification based on physiological distinctiveness of the people such as facial patterns recognition, fingerprints recognition, hand geometry recognition, hand veins pattern recognition, finger geometry recognition, palm recognition, iris recognition, retina recognition, and voice recognition. Image recognition also identify the behavioral uniqueness of the individuals such as gait, signature and keystroke dynamicsThe recognition based on passwords and PINs are trailing in popularity mainly due to the fact that they are hard to remember and cannot be stolen, duplicated by the intruders. Moreover the risk associated with misplacing of cards, tokens, keys and the like is also lend a hand in wide acceptance of image recognition as an alternative of traditional access control systems.On the basis of technology the global image recognition market can be broadly categories in five different market variants namely, optical character recognition (Ocr), pattern and gradient matching, object recognition, barcode/Qr code recognition and facial recognition.On the basis of the different component use in the image recognition equipment the overall market can be broadly categorized in three segments namely, hardware, software, and services.Based on the end user application the image recognition market can be further categories in eight different classes namely, government and defense, banking, financial services and insurance, healthcare and life sciences, manufacturing or industrial, consumer goods and retail, information technology and telecommunications, transport and logistics and others.The growing use of face recognition technology in smart phones, tablets and personal computer owing to the advancement in size and accuracy is propelling the market for face recognition technology. Moreover increasing governmental budget towards homeland security and defense is further driving the market in developing countries such as India, China, and Russia. Increasing use of facial recognition access system over card based access system in industries and residence is providing new market opportunities for the facial recognition technology.A sample of this report is available upon request @North America is the largest market for facial recognition in the world. It is then followed by Europe and Asia Pacific. The U.S. is the largest market for facial recognition in the North America. Chinese and Japanese are the major user of image recognition technology in Asia Pacific. Asia Pacific is one of the rapid growing markets of image recognition where the market is growing in double digit. High threat prospective from terrorist attack couples with trend towards e-governance is contributing to the high growth rate in this region.Some of the major companies operating in global image recognition market include, Catchoom, Honeywell, LTU Technologies, Panasonic Corporation, Toshiba, Hitachi Ltd, Itraff Technology, NEC Corporation, Qualcomm Technologies, and Wikitude GmbhAbout 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:
VICTOR, N.Y., Aug. 10, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) (NYSE:STZ.B), a leading beverage alcohol company, announced today its purchase of Florida-based Funky Buddha Brewery, reinforcing its strategy to lead the high-end beer segment in the United States. Funky Buddha is the fastest growing craft brewery in Florida, and produces bold craft beers made with high quality ingredients. It has an award-winning portfolio led by Floridian Hefeweizen and Hop Gun IPA. Funky Buddha joins Constellations Craft & Specialty Beer Group in the beer division.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3f69f036-65a3-427c-89a4-1e46e59a89ff

Funky Buddha Lounge & Brewery was founded in 2010 in Boca Raton, Florida, by husband and wife Ryan and Giani Sentz. As the demand for Funky Buddhas beers skyrocketed, Ryan and Giani invited Ryan's brother KC Sentz, and his wife Melissa Sentz, to join the business. In 2013, the Sentz family started Funky Buddha Brewery, located in the heart of Oakland Parks burgeoning Culinary Arts District. At 54,000 sq ft and with a capacity of 45,000 BBLs, Funky Buddha Brewery is South Floridas largest craft microbrewery by size and volume, and is Floridas busiest tap room by beer sales.

We chose to partner with Constellation because we saw an alignment in vision and felt they gave us the greatest opportunity for growth and development, said Funky Buddha Head Brewer and President Ryan Sentz. Constellation and Funky Buddha share a lot of the same ideals and passion for philanthropy, entrepreneurship and the art of craft beer. At the end of the day, we just really like the people we have met within the organization, each of whom share our dedication to making outstanding beer.

2016 was a breakout year for Funky Buddha Brewery, receiving five gold medals in RateBeer's Best Awards. When it came to the Best Beers by Style, they dominated the Imperial Porter category with three gold medals for Morning Wood, Wide Awake Its Morning, and Last Buffalo in the Park. Maple Bacon Coffee Porter and Last Snow Coconut Coffee Porter both received gold medals in the Best Beers by Style Porter category. Maple Bacon Coffee Porter also was a Winner of the World Beer Cup 2016 Gold Medal in the Specialty Beer category. And as the engine behind these high-quality beers, the Funky Buddha team was recognized by placing in the Top 100 Brewers category.

Adding a fantastic regional brand such as Funky Buddha to our craft beer portfolio, along with Ballast Point, advances our strategy in continuing to lead the high-end beer segment, said Paul Hetterich, executive vice president and president of the beer division at Constellation Brands. The Sentz family has created a culture of bold creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship. Those qualities, combined with our beer divisions market reach, distributor partnerships, consumer insights, and our craft expertise within Ballast Point, will help nurture and develop Funky Buddhas distinctive brand.

Constellation Brands and Funky Buddha Brewerys team of employees will continue to work together, with Ryan and KC Sentz running the day-to-day operations. Funky Buddhas standard of brewing will remain unchanged, delivering the same culinary-style, creative beer consumers and craft beer enthusiasts celebrate today.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

About Constellation Brands

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) (NYSE:STZ.B), a Fortune 500 company, is a leading international producer and marketer of beer, wine and spirits with operations in the U.S., Mexico, New Zealand, Italy and Canada. Constellation is the No. 3 beer company in the U.S. with high-end, iconic imported brands such as Corona Extra, Corona Light, Modelo Especial, Modelo Negra and Pacifico. The companys beer portfolio also includes Ballast Point, one of the most awarded craft brewers in the U.S. In addition, Constellation is the world leader in premium wine, selling great brands that people love, including Robert Mondavi, Clos du Bois, Kim Crawford, Meiomi, Mark West, Franciscan Estate, Ruffino and The Prisoner. The companys premium spirits brands include SVEDKA Vodka, Casa Noble Tequila and High West Whiskey.



Based in Victor, N.Y., the company believes that industry leadership involves a commitment to brand building, our trade partners, the environment, our investors and to consumers around the world who choose our products when celebrating big moments or enjoying quiet ones. Founded in 1945, Constellation has grown to become a significant player in the beverage alcohol industry with more than 100 brands in its portfolio, about 40 wineries, breweries and distilleries, and approximately 9,000 talented employees. We express our company vision: to elevate life with every glass raised. To learn more, visit www.cbrands.com.

About Funky Buddha

Founded in 2010 in Boca Raton, Florida, Funky Buddha Brewery is committed to producing bold craft beers that marry culinary-inspired ingredients with time-honored technique. Its lineup includes year-round brews Floridian Hefeweizen and Hop Gun IPA, along with specialty releases such as Last Snow and the highly sought after Maple Bacon Coffee Porter. Its Oakland Park production brewery opened in June 2013 and distributes draught and bottled beer to retail outlets throughout Florida.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements. The word expect and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain such identifying words. Those statements may relate to Constellation Brands business strategy, future operations, prospects, plans and objectives of management, as well as information concerning expected actions of third parties. All forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in or implied by the forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this news release. Constellation Brands undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.



In addition to risks associated with ordinary business operations, the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are subject to other risks and uncertainties disclosed from time to time in Constellation Brands, Inc.s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended Feb. 28, 2017, which could cause actual future performance to differ from current expectations.

The photo is also available at Newscom, www.newscom.com, and via AP PhotoExpress.
BRIC Telemedicine Market Size is Projected To Be Around $2.7 Billion By 2025

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A research study titled, BRIC Telemedicine Market by Component, Application, and Delivery Mode - Global Industry Analysis and Forecast to 2025 published by Crystal Market Research, states that the BRIC telemedicine market is projected to be around $2.7 billion by 2025.Telemedicine is the utilization of information technology and telecommunication networks for the medical diagnosis and therapy purpose from a distance. The patients receive care from doctors or specialists who are far away and the patientsneed not travel to visit them. Teleradiology is the use of telecommunications to attain remote diagnosis and treatment of heart disease. Its advantages are increase in clinicians knowledge, increased cost effectiveness, quality care, and cutting down of consulting time. Teleoncology is providing cancer care with the use of telecommunication at a distance. The main advantage for teleoncology is the low cost and low maintenance of the systems. Teledermatology is subspecialty of dermatology in which telecommunication is used to transfer medical information using audio, visual and data communication. The advantages are less waiting time, comparatively economic process and well documented records. Teleradiology is the electronic transmission of medical imaging studies from one place to another for interpretation/consultation purpose. The advantages of teleradiology are cost efficiency due to elimination of the need to travel, less time consuming process, reduced workload of radiologists and quick imaging results. Teleradiology can also be used for presentationsat educational centers for radiologists.Browse full research report with TOC on BRIC Telemedicine Market by Component, Application, and Delivery Mode - Global Industry Analysis and Forecast to 2025 at:Teleconsultation segment occupied the largest share of the global market in 2016, due to the convenience offered by mobile monitoring applicationsand rising elderly population across the world. The web-based segment occupied the largest share of the global BRIC telemedicine market in 2016. This dominance can be attributed to the presence of huge customer base and remote data accessibility.China is expected to be the largest market for telemedicine due to increased household income and affordable prices of the products. Also, rapidly expanding consumer electronics industry largely facilitates the rising adoption of telemedicine in the country. Russian telemedicine market is steadily growing due to increase in the consumer awareness about mobile health. Telemedicine market in India is experiencing favorable growth due to government initiatives such as the SEHAT initiative launched in association with Apollo Hospitalsin September 2015. It provides healthcare access to millions of people irrespective of their geographical location.The key strategy adopted by the companies in BRIC telemedicine market is product development facilitated by technological innovations. For instance, in 2017, AMD Global Telemedicine announced a new product series (including the Clinical Assist Series Tablet Cart, Modular Cart and the Laptop Cart) for skilled nursing and long term care facilities. Some of the major players in BRIC telemedicine market are GE Healthcare, Philips Healthcare, AMD Global Telemedicine Inc., Haemonetics Corp., Apollo Hospitals, Maestros Telemedicine, Medisoft Telemedicine Pvt. Ltd., Cloudvisit Telemedicine, Reach Health, and SnapMD Telemedicine Technology.Request a sample copy of BRIC Telemedicine Market Research Report @Key Findings of the Research Study: Services segment accounted for the largest share of the BRIC telemedicine market in 2016, due to technological advancements in telecommunication and increasing adoption of remote monitoring systems. Based on application, teleconsultation segment held the largest share of the BRIC telemedicine market in 2016, owing to its benefits in eliminating the physical distance between the patient and the healthcare provider. Based on delivery mode, web based segment held the largest share of the BRIC telemedicine market in 2016, due to increased availability and quality of internet access around the world along with the convenience of remote data accessibility. China held more than half of the BRIC telemedicine market in 2016, due to the presence of a thriving smart devices and consumer electronics market. Brazil is expected to exhibit the highest CAGR over the forecast period as a result of increased purchasing power and healthcare expenditure.Inquire more about this report at:BRIC Telemedicine Market SegmentationBy Component: Serviceso Store-and-Forwardo Real-Time Analysiso Remote Monitoring Softwareo Standaloneo Integrated Hardwareo Telemedicine Kitso MonitorsBy Application: Telecardiology Teleradiology Teleconsultation Teledermatology Telepathology OthersBy Delivery Mode: Web-based On-premise Cloud-basedBy Region: North Americao U.So Canadao Mexico Europeo Germanyo Franceo UKo Italyo Spaino Rest of Europe Asia-Pacifico Japano Chinao Australiao Indiao South Koreao Rest of Asia-Pacific Rest of the Worldo Brazilo South Africao Saudi Arabiao Turkeyo United Arab Emirateso OthersGet Customization in the Report At:Related Reports:Diabetes Devices and Drugs Market by Devices and Therapy - Global Industry Analysis and Forecast to 2025:Digital Therapeutics Market by Application and Sales Channel - Global Industry Analysis and Forecast to 2025:About Crystal Market ResearchCrystal Market Research is a U.S. based market research and business intelligence company. Crystal offers one stop solution for market research, business intelligence, and consulting services to help clients make more informed decisions. It provides both syndicated as well as customized research studies for its customers spread across the globe. The company offers market intelligence reports across a broad range of industries including healthcare, chemicals & materials, technology, automotive, and energy.Contact:Judy304 South Jones Blvd, Suite 1896,Las Vegas NV 89107,United StatesToll Free: +1-888-213-4282Email: sales@crystalmarketresearch.comBlog:Website:
Electricity and Power in Egypt Industry 2017 Production, Segmentation, Consumption and Forecast to 2021

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Pune, India, 10thAugust 2017: WiseGuyReports announced addition of new report, titled Electricity and Power (Construction) in Egypt: Market Analytics by Category & Cost Type to 2021.Synopsis"Electricity and Power (Construction) in Egypt: Market Analytics by Category & Cost Type to 2021" contains historic and forecast market data for the electricity and power category in Egypt, it also provides detailed breakdown of the data by construction activity (new construction, repair and maintenance, refurbishment and demolition) and by cost type (construction materials, construction equipment and construction services).GET SAMPLE REPORT @SummaryThe electricity and power category covers construction activities related to power generation and transmission and include buildings for power generation and transmission as well as electricity transmission infrastructure including the laying and installation of electricity cables, pipes and transmitting towers.The Egyptian electricity and power construction category continued to increase in the review period with a value of EGPxx.xx million (US$xx.xx million) in 2016 and increased at a rate of xx.xx% over 2015. The market recorded a CAGR of xx.xx% from 2012 through 2016."Electricity and Power (Construction) in Egypt: Market Analytics by Category & Cost Type to 2021"' provides a top-level overview and detailed insight into the operating environment of the electricity and power market in Egypt. It is an essential tool for companies active across the Egypt construction value chain and for new players considering to enter the market.Scope A top level overview of the electricity and power construction category in Egypt. Historic data provided from 2012 through 2016 and forecast from 2017 through 2021. A detailed breakdown of the data by construction activity (new construction, repair and maintenance, refurbishment and demolition) and by cost type (construction materials, construction equipment & construction services) across the electricity and power market.Reasons to Buy Provides a top level understanding of the Electricity and Power construction in Egypt. Helps you understand the market performance by construction activity (new construction, repair and maintenance, refurbishment and demolition) and construction cost type (construction materials, construction equipment & construction services). Allows you to plan future business decisions using the forecast figures given. The broad but detailed perspective will help all the players in the construction activity to understand and succeed in the challenging construction market.Table of Content: Key Points1 Introduction1.1 What is this Report About?1.2 Definitions1.3 CAGR Definition and Calculation2 Overall Electricity and Power construction: Market Analysis2.1 Overall Electricity and Power construction Output Value, 2012 - 20162.2 Overall Electricity and Power construction Output Value Forecast, 2017 - 20212.3 Overall Electricity and Power construction Output, by Cost Type2.3.1 Overall Electricity and Power construction Output, by Cost Type, 2012 - 20162.3.2 Overall Electricity and Power construction Output Forecast, by Cost Type, 2017 - 20213 Electricity and Power construction Output: Analysis by Category3.1 New Construction Output Value, 2012 - 20163.2 New Construction Output Value Forecast, 2017 - 20213.3 New Construction Output Value by Cost Type3.3.1 New Construction Output, by Cost type, 2012 - 20163.3.2 New Construction Output Forecast, by Cost Type, 2017 - 20213.4 Repair & Maintenance Output Value, 2012 - 20163.5 Repair & Maintenance Output value Forecast, 2017 - 20213.6 Repair & Maintenance Output, by Cost Type3.6.1 Repair & Maintenance Output, by Cost type, 2012 - 20163.6.2 Repair & Maintenance Output Forecast, by Cost Type, 2017 - 20213.7 Refurbishment Construction Output Value, 2012 - 20163.8 Refurbishment Construction Output Value Forecast, 2017 - 20213.9 Refurbishment Construction Output, by Cost Type3.9.1 Refurbishment Construction Output, by Cost type, 2012 - 20163.9.2 Refurbishment Construction Output Forecast, by Cost type, 2017 - 20213.1 Demolition Construction Output Value, 2012 - 20163.11 Demolition Construction Output Value Forecast, 2017 - 20213.12 Demolition Construction Output, by Cost Type3.12.1 Demolition Construction Output, by Cost type, 2012 - 20163.12.2 Demolition Construction Output Forecast, by Cost type, 2017 - 20214 AppendixContinuedACCESS REPORT @Get in touch:LinkedIn:Twitter:Facebook: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.WISEGUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
Olive Oil Market Report  Actionable Insights and Recommendation

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Once known only to the regions bordering the Mediterranean Sea, the fame and virtues of olive oil have spread far and wide, giving rise to a global market for olive oil products. The first thought that comes to ones mind is usually immense health benefits of olive oil when used as a cooking oil, but one also can't ignore the rising applications of olive oil in industries as varied as pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. While Europe might be the largest region largely due to its long heritage in the olive oil market, the fast-growing APEJ region is anticipated to become a driving force in the olive oil market in the long term.A few of the projections from Fact.MRs report on the global olive oil market have been highlighted below to give you an understanding of the current as well as future growth opportunities The processed segment dominates the olive oil market by product type and it is anticipated to remain so for the foreseeable future. With a revenue share approaching three fourth of the olive oil market, it wouldnt be surprising if key players decided to focus their attention exclusively on this product type. Europe accounts for the largest regional contribution of approx. 1/3rd which works out to just over US$ 2.4 billion in 2022.For More Details - A sample of this report is available upon request@The virgin segment of the olive oil market is much smaller than its processor brethren and it occupies the remaining portion of the olive oil market by product type. Along with Europe, major companies involved in the olive oil market could seek to target the APEJ region as it is just slightly smaller than Europe in terms of revenue contribution with a value almost touching US$ 700 million in 2017 itself.The food processor segment occupies a comparative niche in the olive oil market with a revenue share just approaching a quarter in terms of end user segment. A moderate CAGR for the period 2017-2022 means that this segment needs a customized approach to be truly successful in. Europe is on track to record the highest CAGR for the period which should help it be worth just under a billion dollars by end of 2022.The E-commerce boom is expected to bring about sweeping changes across diverse industries in the near future and the olive oil market should be no different. As Internet connectivity improves in emerging markets and the cost of data-centric smartphones plummets, consumers will certainly seek to purchase olive oil from the comfort of their homes. A revenue share of just over a fifth is hardly indicative of the immense potential this distribution channel of the olive oil market holds in the long term.Request For Discount:The Mediterranean Basin is the original home of the olive tree and therefore it isnt surprising that Europe is the largest regional contributor in the olive oil market. A market value pushing past US$ 3 billion at the end of the forecast period promises ample opportunities for all players. Within this region, companies might look at targeting the processed segment as it is poised to record a steady CAGR according to this five-year study.The report has also traced key players in the global olive oil market. Companies namely, The Adani Wilmar Ltd., Adams Group Inc., Ruchi Soya Industries Ltd., Bunge Limited., Cargill Inc, Associated British Foods (Ach), and Archer Daniels Midland Company are expected to remain prominent in expansion of global olive oil market through 2022.Browse Full Report:ABOUT US:Fact.MR is focused on offering transformative intelligence that inspires breakthroughs and innovation. We believe that the right decisions at the opportune time are integral to achieve extraordinary success. We are here to help you with your strategic decision making.CONTACT:Suite 988427 Upper Pembroke Street,Dublin 2, IrelandPhone: +353-1-6111-593Email: sales@factmr.comwebsite:
Internet of Things in Retail Market 2017 -Develop Market-Entry and Market Expansion Strategies

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SUMMARYWiseGuyReports published new report, titled Internet of Things in Retail."Internet of Things in Retail: Technologies and Usage Cases", report discusses the benefits and challenges of IoT technologies such as RFID, Wi-Fi, Beacons, virtual reality, digital signage, robotics, drones and smart lighting. Usage cases by major retailers and vendors holistic solutions are evaluated, and advice provided regarding IoT implementations and how to successfully target retailers.IoT offer retailers opportunities to collect and analyze increasingly granular data in stores and warehouses for optimizing business processes. Consumers increasingly connected lifestyles have contributed to the rise of IoT in retail by demanding better interaction in stores by utilizing the latest technologies, and the desire to make shopping a more personal experience based on customers preferences. IoT ecosystems provide full connectivity within the store to meet the customers needs and improve the customer experience.GET SAMPLE REPORT @Scope- IoT in retail stores and warehouses includes various connected devices/end points that either collect data for analytics purposes and for running applications (e.g. sensors, cameras, beacons, RFID, smart watches), or act on data generated by the application in order to display information or interact with customers and staff- IoT extends to back-end analytics, networks, servers and data warehouses that are required to generate actionable insight- Machinery including robotics and drones, and smart lighting form part of the latest IoT deployments since they provide smart interaction or data collection for analytics with linkages to other devices or a central database, which may also use artificial intelligenceKey points to buy- Gain a deeper understanding of IoT technologies and their importance in retail, which is especially beneficial for IT vendors when pitching these solutions to retailers.- Retailers' challenges and technology choices are discussed, and useful advice provided for IT vendors regarding offering digital signage, Wi-Fi, beacons, RFID and other IoT based solutions.Table of Contents1. Background: Retailers Business Challenges 32. IoT Technologies and Opportunities 82.1 Definition of IoT 92.2 Asset Tracking via RFID and NFC 102.3 Sensors and Cameras 122.4 In-Store Wi-Fi 132.5 Beacons 142.6 Digital Signage 152.7 Smart Shopping Carts 152.8 Smart Buttons 162.9 Networking for IoT 162.10 Analytics 172.11 Virtual and Augmented Reality 182.12 Drones 192.13 Robotics 202.14 IoT based Payment Systems 212.15 Smart Vending Machines 212.16 Smart Lighting 222.17 Other innovative technologies 23..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 checkFor updating knowledge or for thoroughly understanding various terminologies, we also have vast list of seminars for your reference, for more information cordially checkWise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Research Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe.WISEGUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
Interventional Cardiology & Peripheral Vascular Devices Market by Product - Global Industry Analysis and Forecast to 2025

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Interventional Cardiology & Peripheral Vascular Devices Market Overview:Interventional cardiology is branch of cardiology that deals with catheter based treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Interventional cardiology uses small flexible tube known as catheter to repair damaged or narrowed heart arteries or other affected parts of heart structure. A large number of heart problems can be rectified by using cardiovascular catheterization. The most commonly used treatment for cardiovascular diseases involve insertion of sheath into artery and cannulising the heart under x-ray visualization. Cannulising heart vessels offers several benefits such as easy accessibility of artery, better control on bleeding during procedure and enhancement of convenience and comfort delivered to patients. Angioplasty and stenting are common types of interventional techniques used to correct heart deformities.Browse Full Report @Common conditions which can be effectively treated with interventional cardiology include coronary artery diseases, heart wall diseases and peripheral vascular diseases. Peripheral vascular diseases (PVD) are blood circulation disorder that causes blood vessels outside heart and brain to narrow or block due to arteriosclerosis leading to clot development. It is characterized by reduced weak pulses, cramps and heaviness in muscles. PVD can be treated with medication such as atorvastatin that increases blood flow to arteries and veins. Significant blockage requires high end surgeries such as angioplasty or vascular surgeries performed by inserting catheters in the artery of neck or arm and then threaded it to heart through blood vessels for improved blood circulation.Increasing geriatric population, rise in demand for minimal invasive surgeries coupled with technological advancements are expected to drive growth of the market. According to a study conducted by American Heart Association in 2017, around 92.1 million American adults are living with some or other type of cardiovascular condition. Such high prevalence of cardiovascular diseases will increase demand for interventional cardiology devices. Furthermore, rise in patient awareness about coronary heart diseases and increasing demand for better healthcare infrastructure especially in emerging economies will propel growth of the market. However, high cost of devices and strict approval process for interventional devices is expected to slow down growth of the market.Request for an in-depth table of contents for this report @Key players operating in the global market include Edwards Lifesciences Corporation, AngioDynamics, Inc., Becton, Dickinson and Company, Abbott Laboratories, Terumo Corporation, Cardinal Health, Inc., and Spectranetics Corporation. New product development is the key strategy adopted by many players operating in this industry to gain competitive edge by acquiring large market coverage. For instance in July 2016, Abbott had announced FDA approval for new product known as Absorb. Absorb is bioresorbable heart stent used for treating coronary heart disease. Absorb is only the treatment approved for treating coronary heart disease by keeping artery open which promotes healing of treated artery.Emerging markets and technological advancements will provide ample growth opportunities for players operating in the global market. Furthermore, increasing FDA approval for new technologies and devices will drive the growth market in coming years. For instance in October 2012, FDA had approved robotic system for use in interventional cardiology procedures and for catheter ablations for precise controlled over cardiovascular diseases. In addition, development of Nanobots (small size robots) that might have application for targeted medical therapies in the future will revolutionize interventional cardiology and vascular peripheral devices market in coming years.Make an inquiry @About Crystal Market ResearchCrystal Market Research is a U.S. based market research and business intelligence company. Crystal offers one stop solution for market research, business intelligence, and consulting services to help clients make more informed decisions. It provides both syndicated as well as customized research studies for its customers spread across the globe. The company offers market intelligence reports across a broad range of industries including healthcare, chemicals & materials, technology, automotive, and energy.Contact:Judy304 South Jones Blvd, Suite 1896,Las Vegas NV 89107,United StatesToll Free: +1-888-213-4282Email: sales@crystalmarketresearch.comBlog:Website:
Dermatology Devices Market Forecast will Surpass US$ 1,000 Mn by 2022

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The global dermatology devices market is estimated to expand at an above-average CAGR over the forecast period (2017-2022). The global market for dermatology devices is expected to account for over US$ 1,000 Mn revenues by 2022-end. Dermatology devices have been installed in various hospitals and dermatology clinics for assisting physicians in treatment of skin disorders.Procedures associated with non-invasive cosmetic correction have witnessed a surge in demand, with growing geriatric population, soaring healthcare expenditure, and rising disposable income of people in developing and developed countries. In contrast, high costs of dermatology devices have made the dermatological treatments expensive, which may act as a restraining factor to adoption of these treatments. Moreover, several side effects are associated with dermatological treatments, which in turn, incurs significant challenges for leading players in the global dermatology devices market.The prevalence of skin-related disorders has been increasing around the world. As per The Skin Cancer Foundation, more than 10,000 people died owing to melanoma in 2016. In order to lower such high mortality rates, diagnosis of skin diseases, such as skin cancer. In addition, several diagnostic equipment have been utilized for treating various types of skin cancer. For instance  dermatoscopes are playing an indispensable role in detecting melanoma, with evaluation of the pigmented lesions. A number of technological advancements are being made in dermatology devices, for example  laser instruments, and light therapy improved aesthetic appeal of people. The advanced liposuction equipment have improved body contouring treatment. Power- and vibration-assisted liposuction devices have aided in reducing significant amount of fat in shorter time period. Developments such as these will impact growth of the market in the upcoming years.For More Details - A sample of this report is available upon request@9 Key Estimations for the Global Dermatology Devices MarketRadiofrequency electrosurgery devices are expected to remain the most lucrative product in the market, and sales of these devices are estimated to account for more than one-third revenue share of the market over the forecast period.Revenues from ultrasonic electrosurgery devices sales are anticipated to hold the lowest share of the market.Although hospitals are estimated to remain the largest end-users in the global dermatology devices market, sales of these devices in dermatology clinics are expected to register the highest CAGR during the forecast period.On the basis of application, dermatology devices are anticipated to witness the largest adoption in procedures of hair removal.Stretch marks reduction will continue to be the second largest application of dermatology devices in the market.Request For Discount:North America is estimated to remain dominant in the global market for dermatology devices, in terms of revenues.Dermatology devices sales across Asia Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) are expected to exhibit the fastest expansion over the forecast period, followed by Europe.Europe is projected to remain the second most lucrative market for sales of dermatology devices.Key market players profiled in the report include Erbe Elektromedizin GmbH, Johnson & Johnson Private Limited, Medtronic Plc, Smith and Nephew Co., B. Braun Melsungen AG, Heal Force Bio-meditech Holdings Limited, Bovie Medical Corporation, and AngioDynamics, Inc.Browse Full Report:ABOUT US:Fact.MR is focused on offering transformative intelligence that inspires breakthroughs and innovation. We believe that the right decisions at the opportune time are integral to achieve extraordinary success. We are here to help you with your strategic decision making.CONTACT:Suite 988427 Upper Pembroke Street,Dublin 2, IrelandPhone: +353-1-6111-593Email: sales@factmr.comwebsite:
Medical Aesthetic Devices Market Size Is Projected To Be Around $16 Billion By 2025

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A research study titled, Medical Aesthetic Devices Market by Product, Application, and End User - Global Industry Analysis and Forecast to 2025 published by ASA Market Research, states that the medical aesthetic devices market is projected to be around $16 billion by 2025.Medical aesthetics is a comprehensive term used for enhancing cosmetic appearance through use of various surgical and non-surgical procedures. Medical aesthetic devices are used to treat impairments associated with individual aesthetic appearance such as scars, skin discoloration, wrinkles, hair loss and excessive fat. According to study conducted by International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISPAS), in 2015, around 38,097,209 aesthetic/cosmetic procedures were performed worldwide. Although aesthetic devices accounts for relatively smaller share in global medical device market, it is expected to witness high growth during forecast period. This can be attributed to number of factors such as high prevalence of face and dental deformities, increasing elderly population opting for various aesthetic procedures and increasing number of cosmetology centers serving large pool of people. Furthermore, increase in prevalence of breast cancer worldwide will further contribute to the market growth. According to Breast Cancer Research Foundation, in 2015, an estimated 231,840 new cases of breast cancer were diagnosed in the U.S. Thus, increasing incidence of breast cancer is expected to drive the market growth.Browse full research report with TOC on Medical Aesthetic Devices Market by Product, Application, and End User - Global Industry Analysis and Forecast to 2025 at:Aesthetic laser device segment dominated the global market in 2016 owing to their ability to provide efficient treatment by utilizing combination of energy types, rise in elderly population opting for more aesthetic procedures and high adoption rate by dermatologist. Skin tightening and body contouring devices segment is expected to witness high growth during forecast period due to increase in demand for skin tightening and body shaping aesthetic procedures. Dental implant segment will witness favorable growth during the forecast period owing to increase tooth deformities, rise in elderly population requiring tooth replacements and improved denture retention using dental implants.Based on application, body and extremities segment is expected to witness lucrative growth during forecast period owing to rise in obese population, rise in demand for minimal invasive surgical techniques and rise in disposable income of people. Medical spas market will experience lucrative growth over the forecast period owing to increase in the number medical spa centers across the globe and growing demand for cosmetic procedures globally.U.S. held the largest share of the North American medical aesthetic devices market due to increasing adoption of cosmetic procedures in the country as a result of high disposable income. According to a survey conducted by the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, Americans spent more than $15 billion on surgical and non-surgical aesthetic procedures in 2016. France dominated the European medical aesthetic devices market in 2016 owing to increase rate of aesthetic surgical procedures such as lipoplasty and rhinoplasty.Request a sample copy of Medical Aesthetic Devices Market Research Report @Major players operating in the medical aesthetic devices market are Syneron Medical Ltd., Cynosure Inc., Solta Medical, Inc. Lumenis Ltd., Johnson & Johnson, Merz Pharma GmbH & Co. KGaA, Alma Lasers Ltd. (acquired by Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical (Group) Co. Ltd.), GC Aesthetics plc. Sientra Inc., Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc., and Dentsply Sirona Inc.Key Findings of the Research Study: Aesthetic laser devices segment accounted for over one-fourth share of the global market, primarily due to increase utilization of these devices in wide range of aesthetic procedures such as skin rejuvenation, tattoo removal, and removal of pigmented lesions. Medical spas and beauty centers market will witness lucrative growth over the forecast period due to availability of large number of skilled professionals to perform cosmetic procedures and rising consumer interest in aesthetic appeal. North America accounted for two-fifth share of the global market in 2016, owing to continuous technological advancements and high adoption rate of aesthetic devices among consumers. Asia-Pacific is expected to witness fastest growth during forecast period due to growing awareness about aesthetic procedures, rise in disposable income of people and increase in aging population.Inquire more about this report at:Medical Aesthetic Devices Market SegmentationBy Product: Deviceso Aesthetic Lasers Ablative Lasers Non-ablative Laserso Skin Tightening & Body Contouring Devices Liposuction Devices Skin Tightening Devices Cellulite Reduction Devices Aesthetic Implantso Dental Implants Root from Dental Implants Plate from Dental Implantso Breast Implants Saline Filled Silicone Gel Filledo Facial Implantso Other ImplantsBy Application: Surgicalo Face and Head Brow Lift Ear Surgery Eyelid Surgery Facelift Facial Bone Contouring Facial Fat Grafting Neck Lift Hair Transplantation Rhinoplastyo Breast Breast Augmentation Breast Lifto Body and Extremities Abdominoplasty Buttock Augmentation Buttock Lift Liposuction Lower Body Lift Penile Enlargement Thigh Lift Upper Arm Lift Upper Body Lift Labiaplasty Vaginal Rejuvenation Non-SurgicalBy End User: Hospitals & Clinics Medical Spas & Beauty CentersBy Region: North Americao U.So Canadao Mexico Europeo Germanyo Franceo UKo Italyo Spaino Rest of Europe Asia-Pacifico Japano Chinao Australiao Indiao South Koreao Rest of Asia-Pacific Rest of the Worldo Brazilo South Africao Saudi Arabiao Turkeyo United Arab Emirateso OthersGet Customization in the Report At:Related Reports:Aesthetic Lasers and Energy Devices Market by Technology, Product Type and, Application - Global Industry Analysis and Forecast to 2025:Extremities Market Product Type - Global Industry Analysis and Forecast to 2025:About Crystal Market ResearchCrystal Market Research is a U.S. based market research and business intelligence company. Crystal offers one stop solution for market research, business intelligence, and consulting services to help clients make more informed decisions. It provides both syndicated as well as customized research studies for its customers spread across the globe. The company offers market intelligence reports across a broad range of industries including healthcare, chemicals & materials, technology, automotive, and energy.Contact:Judy304 South Jones Blvd, Suite 1896,Las Vegas NV 89107,United StatesToll Free: +1-888-213-4282Email: sales@crystalmarketresearch.comBlog:Website:
Wearable Computing Devices Market Set to Witness an Uptick during 2020

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Wearable computing devices are computer-based devices which are worn by a user. It includes clothes, glasses, watches and shoes. These wearable computing devices are used to take and view pictures and video. They are also capable to read text messages and emails and responds to voice commands. These devices also play a pivotal role in heart rate monitoring and logic calculation.The global wearable computing devices market is categorized based on various consumer and non-consumer applications. The consumer application segment is further sub-segmented into activity trackers, smart glasses, wearable cameras, smart clothing, smart watches and gaming devices. The non-consumer application segment is divided healthcare, industrial and defense.Get access to full summary @:In terms of geographic, North America and Europe dominates the global wearable computing devices market due to increased awareness among people towards these devices. Raised awareness among people towards wearable computing technology has increased the adoption rate of these devices in the region. The U.S. represents the largest market for wearable computing devices followed by Canada in North America. In Europe, France, Germany, Spain and the U.K. holds major share of wearable computing devices market. However, Asia is expected to show high growth rates in the next five years in global wearable computing devices market. China and India are expected to be the fastest growing wearable computing devices markets in Asia.In recent time, advanced features of these devices is key driver for the global wearable computing devices market. Advanced features, such as light weight and data monitoring applications attract end users to adopt wearable computing devices. In addition, technological advancements in material sciences and information technology have also fueled the growth of global wearable computing devices market. However, high cost of wearable devices and privacy concerns are some of the major restraints for the global wearable computing devices market. In addition, less battery back-up of these devices also obstructs the growth of global wearable computing devices market.A sample of this report is available upon request @Some of the major companies operating in the global wearable computing devices market are Contour, GoPro, NanoSonic, Weartech, Textronics, Himax Technology, Invensense Inc., CSR plc., Zephyr Technology Corporation, Smart Life Technology Co., Ltd., Silicon Micro Display, AiQ Smart Clothing Inc., Apple Inc., Ascension Technology Corporation, Carl Zeiss Inc., Casio Computer Company Ltd., GE Healthcare, Medtronic Inc., Siemens Healthcare and Samsung Electronics.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 and United States Auto Dealer Software Market 2017 - Reynolds and Reynolds, Oracle, SAP, CDK Global, VinSolutions, CAR Research XRM, Dealertrack, DealerSocket

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The report begins with a broad introduction of the Auto Dealer Software market and then drills deeper into specific segments such as application, regional markets, end-users, policy analysis, value chain structure and emerging trends. The Auto Dealer Software market report makes a case for investments in particular regions based on a realistic view of their regulatory environment, manufacturing dynamics and availability of skills and resources. Also, recommendations are made based on regions and market segments that are not poised for appreciable growth in the near future.Download for Sample Report :The Auto Dealer Software market and its dynamics are evaluated using industry leading tools and techniques. A qualitative analysis forms a sizeable portion of the research efforts as well. With emerging changes on the horizon, the Auto Dealer Software market is poised for certain important change. It is imperative that market players gear up for these changes. The report helps companiesboth new and establishedto identify white spaces and opportunities for growth in the Auto Dealer Software market.The leading companies in the Auto Dealer Software market are profiled to offer a complete overview of their growth strategies, financial standing, product and services pipeline, as well as recent collaborations and developments.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 Auto Dealer Software market.Request For Full Report With TOC :A detailed segmentation evaluation of the Auto Dealer Software 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. The competitive landscape of the market presented in the study profiles the most prominent players in the market.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.Fior Markets provides you the full spectrum of services related to market research, and corroborate with the clients to increase the revenue stream, and address process gaps.Contact UsMark StoneSales ManagerPhone: (201) 465-4211Email: sales@fiormarkets.comWeb:
Global and United States Cyber Security Software Market 2017 - Happiest Minds, EY, Mimecast, DXC Technology Company, Lockheed Martin, Sophos, Symantec, Sera-Brynn

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The report offers a holistic overview of the Cyber Security Software market with the help of application segments and geographical regions that govern the market currently. Further, the report delves deep into the value chain of the Cyber Security Software market so as to emerge with information specific areas that hold high revenue-generating potential. With the Cyber Security Software market having undergone certain inherent shifts in the past decades, the report discusses how these changes will impact the future.Download for Sample Report :Moreover, the report also provides a realistic picture of the state of both traditional and emerging markets. The advantages and disadvantages of investing in these markets are discussed at length in the Cyber Security Software market report. Companies in the Cyber Security Software market have realized that innovation is of utmost importance for sustained growth. In keeping with this pressing need for innovation, the report tracks latest developments and analysts have dedicated substantial efforts toward spotting new business opportunities.Which application segments will perform well in the Cyber Security Software over the next few years? Which are the markets where companies should establish a presence? What are the restraints that will threaten growth rate? What are the forecasted growth rates for the Cyber Security Software market as a whole and for each segment within it? All of these questions are answered using industry-leading techniques and tools as well as a vast amount of qualitative research.Request For Full Report With TOC :The report further focuses on the leading industry players that will steer the course of the Cyber Security Software market through the forecast period. Each of these players is analyzed in detail so as to obtain details pertaining to their product/services, recent announcements and partnerships, investment strategies and so on. A detailed segmentation evaluation of the Cyber Security Software 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.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.Fior Markets provides you the full spectrum of services related to market research, and corroborate with the clients to increase the revenue stream, and address process gaps.Contact UsMark StoneSales ManagerPhone: (201) 465-4211Email: sales@fiormarkets.comWeb:
JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Aug. 10, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- More consumers will have the opportunity to enjoy a better way to shop insurance, and three people will realize the American dream of business ownership as Brightway Insurance continues to expand across the country. On Monday, Aug. 14, Brightway Insurance will open three new agencies, one of which will be the first to open in Washington.

Were thrilled to partner with Vays Sarwar, Rob Scheibe and Jessica Cole to open three new agencies, including our first agency in Washington, said Brightway President, Talman Howard. Two things consumers should know about what makes buying insurance a better experience with a Brightway Agency is that we offer more choice and expert counsel that you wont find anywhere else.

Vays Sarwar will open Brightway, The Sarwar Agency at 2901 N. Argonne Road, Suite 3, in Spokane, Wash. For more information, visit BrightwaySarwar.com.

Rob Scheibe will open Brightway, The Scheibe Agency at 380 Perry Street, Suite 250, in Castle Rock, Colo. For more information, visit BrightwayScheibe.com.

Jessica Cole will open Brightway, The Osborne Agency at 7478 Creedmoor Road, in Raleigh, N.C. For more information, visit BrightwayOsborne.com.

Brightway Agency Owners enjoy support in customer service, carrier relationships, marketing, accounting and technology, which frees up their time to focus on leveraging the broadest possible selection of insurance companies to meet each customers unique needs. As a result, Brightway agencies consistently outsell other agencies two-to-one.*

Brightway franchisees make more than three times the income of individuals who are self-employed in other businesses. For top performers, the gap is six-fold. Whats more, having an insurance background is not a prerequisite to becoming an Agency Owner with Brightway. In fact, 40 percent of the above-average performing Brightway Agency Owners did not have prior insurance experience.

Entrepreneurs who wish to learn more about business opportunities with Brightway should watch a recent webinar featuring Brightway Co-Founder, Michael Miller, Vice President of Marketing and Communications, Leslie Kolleda, and Agency Owners, Billy Wagner and Kandie Landers.

About Brightway Insurance

Brightway Insurance is a national property/casualty insurance retailer selling through a network of franchised independent agencies throughout the country. With more than $470 million in annualized written premium, the company is one of the largest property/casualty independent insurance agencies in the United States.

Brightway began franchising operations in 2008 and has since grown to more than 700 people in 17 states serving customers in all 50 states. Forbes has recognized the company as Americas No. 1 Franchise to Buy. Additionally, the company was named a top franchise three years in a row by Entrepreneur magazine and one of the fastest-growing private companies in America nine consecutive years by Inc. 5000. People wishing to learn more about Agency Ownership with Brightway may visit BrightwayDifference.com and find us on LinkedIn. Consumers seeking a better insurance buying experience may visit Brightway.com and find us on Facebook.

Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/43fc7e17-7254-4245-8958-ef4beba91c3c

Attachments:

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Telehealth Market by Component, Delivery Mode and End User - Global Industry Analysis and Forecast to 2025

Crystal Market Research

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Telehealth Market Overview:Telehealth refers to the use of telecommunication technologies and electronic information to promote and support long distance clinical healthcare, health related education and administration of public health. Such technologies include the internet, video conferencing, storing and forwarding of images, terrestrial and wireless communication and different streaming media. Telehealth technology has brought a revolution in healthcare delivery system enabling healthcare providers to connect with their patients and to consult other practitioners across long distances. Healthcare institutions are rapidly adopting telehealth systems owing to the associated benefits such as virtual consultations with specialists from distant locations and cost effective and convenient healthcare options for the patients.Browse Full Report @Telehealth traditionally comprises of three major dimensions that are, real time telehealth services, store and forward communication systems and remote patient monitoring. Real time telehealth services enable a two way interaction between the healthcare provider and a patient or his caregiver through audio-visual mediums. These systems can be used to effectively consult, diagnose and treat the patients who are located at remote distances from the healthcare institution. By using store and forward communication systems, a patients recorded health history such as digital medical images like X-rays, pre-recorded videos and reports can be transmitted to the healthcare practitioner through a secure electronic communication system. This information can be vital for assessing the patients case. Such pre-recorded information can be of great help for patients who need specialty care when providers are not available locally. Remote patient monitoring refers to the collection and transmission of a patients medical data to a healthcare provider at a different location. This data enables the provider to track/monitor the health related parameters of that patient from a remote location. Apart from these three traditional dimensions, various other applications such as mHealth or mobile health serves, wearable devices to track wellness and health and different online services have flourished over the years.Request for an in-depth table of contents for this report @The fundamental benefits of telehealth are improved access to the patients at remote locations, cost effectiveness of telehealth services over conventional healthcare services, improved efficiency and quality of healthcare service delivery. Patients can expect better and faster outcomes as they have instant access to the specialists. Unnecessary readmissions can be significantly reduced due to the availability of remote consultation and monitoring services allowing patients to effectively manage their health conditions at home.Some of the key factors driving the growth of the global telehealth market are increasing demand to centralize healthcare administration, increasing adoption of telehealth applications in homecare and cost effectiveness of telehealth services over conventional healthcare services. With rapid improvement in telecommunication infrastructure worldwide and increasing penetration of high speed, low cost internet services, more and more people are getting access to telehealth services across the globe. However factors such as unfavorable reimbursement policies related to telehealth services and concerns related to the security of patient information can hamper the market growth to some extent.The major players operating in the global telehealth market focus on product development and strategic collaborations to introduce next generation telehealth products and earn a larger share of the market. For instance, in November 2016, Cerner Corporation and American Well partnered to integrate American Wells telehealth platform and Cerner Corporations electronic health record platform in order to manage healthcare virtually and provide patient access via Cerner Corporations HealtheLifeSM patient engagement portal. Some of the major players in the global telehealth market are Cerner Corporation, Koninklijke Philips N.V., Medtronic plc, Tunstall Healthcare, Honeywell International Inc., American Well, Care Innovations, LLC., Cisco Systems, Inc., Medvivo Group Ltd and Aerotel Medical Systems Ltd.Make an inquiry @About Crystal Market ResearchCrystal Market Research is a U.S. based market research and business intelligence company. Crystal offers one stop solution for market research, business intelligence, and consulting services to help clients make more informed decisions. It provides both syndicated as well as customized research studies for its customers spread across the globe. The company offers market intelligence reports across a broad range of industries including healthcare, chemicals & materials, technology, automotive, and energy.Contact:Judy304 South Jones Blvd, Suite 1896,Las Vegas NV 89107,United StatesToll Free: +1-888-213-4282Email: sales@crystalmarketresearch.comBlog:Website:
Global Big Data Storage and Server Market Strategies, and Forecasts, Worldwide 2022- IBM , Oracle , DELL , HP

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Qyresearchreports include new market research report "Global Big Data Storage and Server Market Size, Status and Forecast 2022" to its huge collection of research reports.This report offers a comprehensive analysis of the global Big Data Storage and Server market, providing the market players with all the major trends in the market. In this report, growth of the global Big Data Storage and Server market is estimated for the forecast period 2017-2022 in terms of CAGR % and the estimated value by end of the forecast period is included. The present scenario of this market is explained along with the projected future outline of the market. The various trends affecting the global Big Data Storage and Server market are comprised in this report. This report is compiled with extensive primary and secondary research, which has resulted in precise estimations of the market scenario. The report also features an in-depth quantitative and qualitative assessment by analyzing data gathered from market participants and industry analysts across key points in the industrys value chain.This report studies the global Big Data Storage and Server market, analyzes and researches the Big Data Storage and Server development status and forecast in United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia. This report focuses on the top players in global market, likeIBMOracleDELLHPHPE CompanyNetAppHitachiEMC CorporationRed HatIron SystemIntelATTOVHHuaweiHewlett-PackardFill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @This report includes the trajectory of the global Big Data Storage and Server market, assessment of the parent market, historical, current, and projected size of the market, market segmentation up to the second or third level, and important changes in market dynamics all with a motive to provide the readers with complete knowledge of the market. In this report, the global Big Data Storage and Server market is segmented for various categories such as product types, geographical regions, applications, services, technology, and others, whichever application. The geographical segmentation includes the market shares by each major region and the projected growth for forecast period.Trends that are shaping this market are analyzed and their effect on the global Big Data Storage and Server market are evaluated. The effects of technological advancements in this industry are described and the strategies of prominent players to cope up with the changing scenarios are included. Basic information of prominent players, hurdles faced by them, opportunities present in the future, and their major competitions are incorporated in this report.Table of ContentsGlobal Big Data Storage and Server Market Size, Status and Forecast 20221 Industry Overview of Big Data Storage and Server1.1 Big Data Storage and Server Market Overview1.1.1 Big Data Storage and Server Product Scope1.1.2 Market Status and Outlook1.2 Global Big Data Storage and Server Market Size and Analysis by Regions1.2.1 United States1.3 Big Data Storage and Server Market by Type1.3.1 Hadoop1.3.2 NoSQL1.3.3 Splunk2 Global Big Data Storage and Server Competition Analysis by Players2.1 Big Data Storage and Server 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 FutureBrowse Complete Report with TOC @3 Company (Top Players) Profiles3.1 IBM3.1.1 Company Profile3.1.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.1.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.2 Oracle3.2.1 Company Profile3.2.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.2.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.3 DELL3.3.1 Company Profile3.3.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.3.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.4 HP3.4.1 Company Profile3.4.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.4.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.4.4 Big Data Storage and Server Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)List of Tables and FiguresFigure Big Data Storage and Server Product ScopeFigure Global Big Data Storage and Server Market Size (Million USD) (2012-2017)Table Global Big Data Storage and Server Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate by Regions (2012-2017)Figure Global Big Data Storage and Server Market Share by Regions in 2016Figure United States Big Data Storage and Server Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate by Regions (2012-2017)Figure EU Big Data Storage and Server Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate by Regions (2012-2017)Figure Japan Big Data Storage and Server Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate by Regions (2012-2017)Figure China Big Data Storage and Server Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate by Regions (2012-2017)Figure India Big Data Storage and Server Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate by Regions (2012-2017)Figure Southeast Asia Big Data Storage and Server Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate by Regions (2012-2017)About UsQYReseachReports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from QYReseachReports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.Contact Us1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com
Spray Bottles Market - Vast applications in the field of pharmaceuticals, agricultural and industrial processes drive demand

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Global packaging industry has witnessed large scale transformation, which is not restricted to secondary and tertiary packaging, but also integrates primary packaging. Though, a dynamic innovation hasnt been observed in terms of liquid dispensing for consumer or industrial products, and liquid administration for pharmaceutical industry, manufacturers and brand owners have optimized and incorporated the existing technologies for dispensing and administration applications. Spray bottles is one such innovation for dispensing the liquid content in a concentrated stream. It is a miniature-sized demonstration of the basic principles of plumbing. Various material types are used for producing spray bottles which can be transparent or opaque in nature along with surface capabilities to be labelled, printed or hot stamped. Customization options are even available for a variety of these spray bottles and these customized bottles form a major segment of the spray bottles market.Fill the form to gain deeper insights on this market @Spray Bottles Market- Market Dynamics:Availability of spray bottles for customization has been one of the noteworthy factor for the growth of spray bottles market. Customization allows bottles to be transformed into different shapes (slim, cylindrical, oblong, round), sizes and capacities. Emerging trend of DIYs (Do It Yourself) encourages the industry to manufacture the product in a broad range for customers to utilize spray bottles for household purposes. Manufacturers are increasingly providing spray bottles with child resistant closures to keep infants from accessing dangerous liquids. Due to its reliable quality to contain liquid contents without spillage or leakage, spray bottles market is expected to see demand from vast applications in the field of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, housekeeping, agricultural and industrial processes. Manufacturers are supplying spray bottles with innovative designs such as portable and ultra-thin spray bottles along with variety of closure systems for dispensing of liquid contents.Spray Bottles Market- Market Segmentation:The spray bottles market can be segmented on the basis of raw materials, sprayer types, shape of the bottle, capacity and also on the basis of its applications. On the basis of raw material used the spray bottles market can be segmented into high-density polyethylene (HDPE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polypropylene and acrylic. Manufacturers of spray bottles are also finding options to supply bottles made of environment friendly materials.As per sprayer types, the spray bottles market can be segmented into trigger sprayer, pistol grip sprayer and shoreline sprayer. Spray bottles technology has underwent advancements due to availability of cheaper plastics and production capabilities. Trigger sprayer are the most preferred spray bottle type as they offer convenience in usage and ease of handling.On the basis of the shape, the spray bottles market can be segmented into the oval, oblong and round shapes. Spray bottles market can be segmented into different capacities ranging from 2ml spray bottles to 2L spray bottles. Spray bottles market have applications into automotive, food and beverages, pharmaceuticals, marine, healthcare, cosmetics and others.However customization capabilities of manufacturers will allow spray bottles of custom design, shape, size and capacities emerge as a key segment in the market.Browse Market Research Report @Spray Bottles Market- Regional Outlook:Geographically, the spray bottles market can be segmented into North America, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America and Middle East & Africa (MEA). North American region dominate the market for spray bottles market due to high consumption and benchmark performance of various industries that have spray bottle applications. With rise in disposable income in countries including India and China, the Asia-Pacific region is expected to grow at a faster rate for the forecast period of 2016-2024. Due to various dispensing capacities the cosmetic industry will continue to have considerable demand for spray bottles market. The market will also see considerable investments being made by manufacturers in Latin American countries.Spray Bottles Market- Key Players:Some of the key players of spray bottles market are MJS Packaging, Delta Industries, Kaufman Container, Canyon Plastics Inc., Pack Logix, Paragon Packaging Inc., All American Containers Inc. and PB Packaging.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:
Synthetic Graft Market - Global Industry Analysis and Forecast 2017 - 2025

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Graft is a material used in the treatment of delayed fracture unions, in spinal fusions, to bridge major bone defects or fill cavities created by tumor removal, cysts, or other causes. A synthetically derived material such as hydroxylapatite or calcium sulphate, which is intended to fill, supplement, or reconstruct periodontal or bony defects, is termed as a synthetic graft. This synthetic graft material is composed of biocompatible calcium phosphate materials that are similar to that of the bone and other organ parts and are capable of bonding chemically to the bone and other organ parts of body.Obtain Report Details @Synthetic materials are produced by sintering or heating up, of chemically formed compounds that subsequently bond together to form a graft. Different procedures are employed in the production of synthetics and many different chemical compounds are utilized, which bind together to form a synthetic graft. The physical properties of synthetics such as composition, morphology, etc., are reproducible, since they are chemically produced and are also part of a controlled manufacturing process. Most synthetics are cleared by the FDA as a bone void filler. Most common materials used in synthetic graft are hydroxyapatite, tricalcium phosphate, biphasic calcium phosphate, calcium sulfate, etc.The global synthetic graft market is driven by the increase in number of orthopedic surgeries, dental surgeries and facial surgeries, and increasing prevalence of cardiovascular diseases are the major factors contributing to rising demand for synthetic graft. The rising number of bone grafting procedures performed annually, at the global level, has created a shortage of allograft material which has stimulated key players interest in developing and supplying synthetic graft to meet the ever increasing demand for graft. Technological advancements in development of synthetic graft and adoption of new technology by key players has further led to the adoption of synthetic graft, as it is associated with benefits such as sterility, reduced morbidity, ease of availability in comparison to allograft or auto graft. A major advantage of employing synthetic graft is that it is not associated with risk of any kind of disease, which has increased the usage of synthetic graft among end-users.The global synthetic graft market can be segmented into product type, application, end-user, and region. In terms of product, the market can be segmented into cement grafts and ceramic grafts. In terms of application, the synthetic graft market can be segmented into bone graft and vascular graft. The bone graft market can be further sub-segmented into carniomaxillofacial, dental, orthopedics, spinal surgery, and others. The vascular graft segment can be further sub-segmented into coronary artery disease, aneurysm, vascular occlusion, and renal failure. The bone graft segment is likely to dominate the synthetic graft market during forecast period due to rising incidence of accidents, orthopedic surgeries, and spine related surgeries. In terms of end-user, the market can be segmented into hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, specialty clinics, and others.In terms of geography, the global synthetic graft market can be segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. North America held a major share of the synthetic graft market, followed by Europe. Technological advancements in synthetic graft development, increase in healthcare expenditure, and rise in awareness regarding new technology and available products among the end-users are key factors contributing to the expansion of the synthetic graft market in North America. The market in Asia Pacific is expanding rapidly due to rising incidence of medical tourism in the region. Furthermore, factors such availability of high quality treatment at affordable prices as compared to developed nations is a major factor fuelling the expansion of the synthetic graft market.Key players operating in the global synthetic graft market include Biomatlante,Graftys, Medtronic Inc, Ceramisys Ltd, NuVasive, Inc., Wright Medical Group N.V., Smith & Nephew Inc, Orthovita, Inc., and Zimmer Biomet and others.The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Browse market research blog:
Impact of Existing and Emerging Telerehabilitation Market Trends And Forecast 2017-2027

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Technological advancements in the use of Information, Communication & Technology has moved ahead the rehabilitation services over the telecommunication network or the internet. This uses the technology to deliver real time rehabilitation services to the clients at their homes. Telerehabilitation service provides benefit to those living far away from the actual rehabilitation centers. It also reduces the frequent visits to hospitals and rehabilitation centers as physicians can follow-up with the clients after discharge. It also reduces the transportation cost and saves the time for both patient and physician. Various healthcare organizations and hospitals are starting this type of services for growing their business. It permits the individuals to have control on the supervision of their medical requirements and interventions by facilitating personalized care, choice and personal control. With the help of this technology, a large number of assessment and treatment alternatives can be provided to the clients using remote monitoring technology, robotic and virtual reality systems, with synchronized collaboration of online material.Telerehabilitation also offer a potential benefit of collaborating the family members and friends for the effective rehabilitation treatment. Thus, overall improving the healthcare benefit for the patient. With the integration of telehealth measures, the healthcare costs will also be reduced. The rapid progress of technology provided an opportunity for health professionals to adapt to these changes and deliver healthcare in a new and remote fashion way.Request Report Sample@Telerehabilitation Market: Drivers & RestraintsThe change in the global demographics towards an increasing aging population brought about an increase in the chronic health conditions.Telerehabilitation Treatment market is likely to proliferate in the future as per existing trends for the adaption of these types of services by patients as well as by healthcare professionals. Integration of virtual technology is another advancement in the healthcare sector which allow users to interact with computer generated environments in real time. Vast range in the number of mobile applications, interactive tools and podcasts fuels the market. Initiatives by various non-governmental and non-profit organizations in this direction also increase the sector. Cost of the process, Lack of skilled people and poor quality of communication in many developing and underdeveloped regions of the world still provides hindrance for the growth of these radical approaches. Thereby, improving the adaptive technologies in these regions would boost the telerehabilitation market. Lack of insurance facilities for telerehabilitation market in most parts of the world still curbs the growth.Point-of-Care Genetic Testing Market: SegmentationSegmentation by Service TypeClinical AssessmentClinical TherapySegmentation by Disease/Therapy TypeOccupational TherapyPhysical TherapyCancer TherapyChronic DiseasesSegmentation by Technology UsedTextual Based TechnologyOnline LiteratureE-mail ProgramsText MessagesAudio Based TechnologyVoice over internet protocolCell PhonesVideo Based TechnologyVideoconferencingVirtual RealitySegmentation by End UserService ProvidersPayersPatients/ ClientsTelerehabilitation Market: OverviewThere has been increase in integration of telecommunication tools in the clinical practice of rehabilitation. Rise in the adoption of home care settings by patients or reduction in the hospital visits are expected to propel the growth. The future market is related with the development and use of new, pioneering technologies that will modify the current practice and make telerehabilitation an integral part of healthcare. With the ever increasing applications, this sector has a growing demand in the future. Companies and mergers in this sector is also increasing and thus fueling the market. Increase in the m Health facilities operating the market. Increase in cloud computing technology also an advantage for this market. Educating the healthcare professionals about the use of technology and awareness in the patients will improve the market. Willingness to adapt the approaches would be required for the successful integration of telerehabilitation into the profession. New models in this direction will improve the services.Telerehabilitation Market: Region-wise OutlookNorth America and European regions have the established market with large number of key players in their market. This is because of the favorable healthcare facilities, availability of reimbursement in these services and technological awareness among people. Middle East and Africa has a huge demand of these kind of services because of large patient pool and unavailability of healthcare services in various parts. Japan is showing an increasing trend in the use of telerehabilitation services because of the rise in geriatric population. In Asia-Pacific, Australia has a market base for these services. Developing countries like India and China shows strong investment opportunities in this sector because of the emerging economies, improving healthcare facilities and low doctor patient ratio.Visit For TOC@Telerehabilitation Market: Key PlayersSome of the key players involved in the telehealth and telerehabilitation service sector includes C3O telemedicine, Philips Healthcare, Care Innovations LLC., Bosch Healthcare, Cisco, Medvivo Group, TeleVital, Cloud Physio, Neorehab, Jintronix and many others. These companies provide various types of management, consultation and technology.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 IndiaCONTACT:616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Global Commercial Vehicle Remote Diagnostics Market 2017 - Vector Informatik, Bosch, Continental, Delphi, Texas Instruments

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The report studies Commercial Vehicle Remote Diagnostics 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 2022The report titled Commercial Vehicle Remote Diagnostics is an in-depth and a professional document that provides a comprehensive overview of the global Commercial Vehicle Remote Diagnostics market. The report provides an executive-level blueprint of the Commercial Vehicle Remote Diagnostics market beginning with the definition of the market dynamics. The analysis classifies the Commercial Vehicle Remote Diagnostics market in terms of products, application, and key geographic regions. With focus on 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 Commercial Vehicle Remote Diagnostics in the international scenario, the study delves into the competitive landscape and development landscape exhibited by the key geographic regions.Download Free Sample Report @Development plans and policies significantly impact the market dynamic. The report therefore studies in detail the impact of the strategies, plans, and policies adopted by leading vendors of the Commercial Vehicle Remote Diagnostics market. Manufacturing cost of products and the pricing structure adopted by the market is also evaluated in the report. Other parameters crucial in determining trends in the market such as consumption demand and supply figures, cost of production, gross profit margins, and selling price of product and services is also included within the ambit of the report.To provide a detailed analysis on the competitive landscape, the report profiles the key players in the Commercial Vehicle Remote Diagnostics industry. Information present in these chapters includes details of products manufactured by the leading companies, product specification and price, and production capacity. Using reliable analytical tools, the report evaluates the information sourced from both primary and secondary research. Results obtained through the detailed analysis helps in presenting refined forecasts regarding growth prospects of the Commercial Vehicle Remote Diagnostics market. Apart from this, the analysts have also conducted upstream raw materials and equipment and downstream demand analysis to compile and present an exhaustive study on the Commercial Vehicle Remote Diagnostics market.Access Full Report @A detailed segmentation evaluation of the Commercial Vehicle Remote Diagnostics 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:
Global Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Market Research Report, Size, Share, Trends, Analysis and Forecast 2017

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In this report, the global Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient 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 Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), coveringNorth AmericaEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaDownload Sample Report Copy From Here:Global Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the top players includingJohnson MattheySiegfried Holding AGPfizerSanofi S.A.Novartis AG,Bristol-Myers SquibbBoehringer Ingelheim GmbHGlaxoSmithKlineAlbany Molecular Research Inc.Bachem Holding AGPCASPatheon N.V.AstraZenecaJohnson & JohnsonMerck & Co, Inc.BASF SECatalent Inc.Teva PharmaceuticalsRocheCambrex Corporation?GILEAD Science Inc.On the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoStandard APIHigh Potency APIOn 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 Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient for each application, includingCardiovascular DiseasesRespiratory DisordersInfectious DiseasesOthersIf you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.Table of ContentsGlobal Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Market Research Report 20171 Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient1.2 Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Segment by Type (Product Category)1.2.1 Global Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Production and CAGR (%) Comparison by Type (Product Category)(2012-2022)1.2.2 Global Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Production Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20161.2.3 Standard API1.2.4 High Potency API1.3 Global Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Segment by Application1.3.1 Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Consumption (Sales) Comparison by Application (2012-2022)1.3.2 Cardiovascular Diseases1.3.3 Respiratory Disorders1.3.4 Infectious Diseases1.3.5 Others1.4 Global Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Market by Region (2012-2022)1.4.1 Global Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient 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 Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (2012-2022)1.5.1 Global Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Revenue Status and Outlook (2012-2022)1.5.2 Global Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Capacity, Production Status and Outlook (2012-2022)2 Global Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1 Global Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Capacity, Production and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.1.1 Global Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Capacity and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.1.2 Global Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Production and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.2 Global Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.3 Global Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Average Price by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.4 Manufacturers Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area and Product Type2.5 Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Market Competitive Situation and Trends2.5.1 Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Market Concentration Rate2.5.2 Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Market Share of Top 3 and Top 5 Manufacturers2.5.3 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion3 Global Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2012-2017)3.1 Global Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Capacity and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.2 Global Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Production and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.3 Global Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Revenue (Value) and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.4 Global Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.5 North America Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.6 Europe Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.7 China Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.8 Japan Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.9 Southeast Asia Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.10 India Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)4 Global Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Region (2012-2017)4.1 Global Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Consumption by Region (2012-2017)4.2 North America Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.3 Europe Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.4 China Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.5 Japan Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.6 Southeast Asia Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.7 India Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)5 Global Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type5.1 Global Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Production and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)5.2 Global Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Revenue and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)5.3 Global Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Price by Type (2012-2017)5.4 Global Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Production Growth by Type (2012-2017)6 Global Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Market Analysis by Application6.1 Global Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Consumption and Market Share by Application (2012-2017)6.2 Global Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Consumption Growth Rate by Application (2012-2017)6.3 Market Drivers and Opportunities6.3.1 Potential Applications6.3.2 Emerging Markets/Countries7 Global Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis7.1 Johnson Matthey7.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.1.2 Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Product Category, Application and Specification7.1.2.1 Product A7.1.2.2 Product B7.1.3 Johnson Matthey Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.1.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.2 Siegfried Holding AG7.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.2.2 Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Product Category, Application and Specification7.2.2.1 Product A7.2.2.2 Product B7.2.3 Siegfried Holding AG Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.2.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.3 Pfizer7.3.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.3.2 Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Product Category, Application and Specification7.3.2.1 Product A7.3.2.2 Product B7.3.3 Pfizer Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.3.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.4 Sanofi S.A.7.4.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.4.2 Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Product Category, Application and Specification7.4.2.1 Product A7.4.2.2 Product B7.4.3 Sanofi S.A. Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.4.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.5 Novartis AG,7.5.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.5.2 Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Product Category, Application and Specification7.5.2.1 Product A7.5.2.2 Product B7.5.3 Novartis AG, Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.5.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.6 Bristol-Myers Squibb7.6.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.6.2 Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Product Category, Application and Specification7.6.2.1 Product A7.6.2.2 Product B7.6.3 Bristol-Myers Squibb Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.6.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.7 Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH7.7.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.7.2 Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Product Category, Application and Specification7.7.2.1 Product A7.7.2.2 Product B7.7.3 Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.7.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.8 GlaxoSmithKline7.8.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.8.2 Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Product Category, Application and Specification7.8.2.1 Product A7.8.2.2 Product B7.8.3 GlaxoSmithKline Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.8.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.9 Albany Molecular Research Inc.7.9.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.9.2 Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Product Category, Application and Specification7.9.2.1 Product A7.9.2.2 Product B7.9.3 Albany Molecular Research Inc. Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.9.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.10 Bachem Holding AG7.10.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.10.2 Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Product Category, Application and Specification7.10.2.1 Product A7.10.2.2 Product B7.10.3 Bachem Holding AG Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.10.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.11 PCAS7.12 Patheon N.V.7.13 AstraZeneca7.14 Johnson & Johnson7.15 Merck & Co, Inc.7.16 BASF SE7.17 Catalent Inc.7.18 Teva Pharmaceuticals7.19 Roche7.20 Cambrex Corporation?7.21 GILEAD Science Inc.8 Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Manufacturing Cost Analysis8.1 Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient 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 Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient9 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers9.1 Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Industrial Chain Analysis9.2 Upstream Raw Materials Sourcing9.3 Raw Materials Sources of Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Major Manufacturers in 20159.4 Downstream Buyers10 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders10.1 Marketing Channel10.1.1 Direct Marketing10.1.2 Indirect Marketing10.1.3 Marketing Channel Development Trend10.2 Market Positioning10.2.1 Pricing Strategy10.2.2 Brand Strategy10.2.3 Target Client10.3 Distributors/Traders List11 Market Effect Factors Analysis11.1 Technology Progress/Risk11.1.1 Substitutes Threat11.1.2 Technology Progress in Related Industry11.2 Consumer Needs/Customer Preference Change11.3 Economic/Political Environmental Change12 Global Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Market Forecast (2017-2022)12.1 Global Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Capacity, Production, Revenue Forecast (2017-2022)12.1.1 Global Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Capacity, Production and Growth Rate Forecast (2017-2022)12.1.2 Global Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Revenue and Growth Rate Forecast (2017-2022)12.1.3 Global Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Price and Trend Forecast (2017-2022)12.2 Global Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Production, Consumption , Import and Export Forecast by Region (2017-2022)12.2.1 North America Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Production, Revenue, Consumption, Export and Import Forecast (2017-2022)12.2.2 Europe Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Production, Revenue, Consumption, Export and Import Forecast (2017-2022)12.2.3 China Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Production, Revenue, Consumption, Export and Import Forecast (2017-2022)12.2.4 Japan Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Production, Revenue, Consumption, Export and Import Forecast (2017-2022)12.2.5 Southeast Asia Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Production, Revenue, Consumption, Export and Import Forecast (2017-2022)12.2.6 India Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Production, Revenue, Consumption, Export and Import Forecast (2017-2022)12.3 Global Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Production, Revenue and Price Forecast by Type (2017-2022)12.4 Global Small Molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Consumption Forecast by Application (2017-2022)13 Research Findings and Conclusion14 Appendix14.1 Methodology/Research Approach14.1.1 Research Programs/Design14.1.2 Market Size Estimation14.1.3 Market Breakdown and Data Triangulation14.2 Data Source14.2.1 Secondary Sources14.2.2 Primary Sources14.3 DisclaimerClick Here To Purchase This Report:Also Browse our All Pharma Report Here:Global QYResearch() is the one spot destination for all your research needs. Global QYResearch holds the repository of quality research reports from numerous publishers across the globe. Our inventory of research reports caters to various industry verticals including Healthcare, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Technology and Media, Chemicals, Materials, Energy, Heavy Industry, etc. With the complete information about the publishers and the industries they cater to for developing market research reports, we help our clients in making purchase decision by understanding their requirements and suggesting best possible collection matching their needs.Cleveland Road
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Oat drinks are defined as a food products that are formulated through processing oat with milk or other liquid ingredient. It is marketed as a supplementary food and positioned as a healthy, fast and convenient option for breakfast. Consumers are giving preferences to health drink products as well as the value added products which is expected to fuel the growth of oat drink market over the forecast period. In addition, growing number of single individuals along with rising number of working women across the globe is leading to changing lifestyle, improving living standards and increasing urbanization are some of the factors which are expected to drive the market of oat drinks over the forecast period.Oat Drinks Market Segmentation:Oat drinks market is segmented on the basis of type which includes organic and conventional. Among both of these segments conventional oat drinks has been estimated to account for major share in terms of value and expected to be remain dominant over the forecast period. Organic oat drinks is expected to create relatively higher CAGR over the forecast period. Due to increasing awareness among the consumers towards healthy lifestyle they are continuously switching towards organic products which is expected to fuel the segment growth over the forecast period.Request Report Sample@Oat drinks market is further segmented on the basis of distribution channel which includes hypermarket/supermarket, convenience stores, specialty outlet, grocery stores and online retailing. Among all these segments hypermarket/supermarket is expected to account for major market share during the forecast period. Increasing penetration of retail industry especially in developing regions such as Asia Pacific, Middle East and others is expected to support the hypermarket/supermarket segment growth in oat drinks market during the forecast period. Online retailing segment in oat drinks market is expected represent favorable growth in the near future. Increasing internet penetration level and rising consumer influence towards online shopping is expected to support the segment growth over the forecast period.Oat Drinks Market: Regional OutlookOat drinks 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, Western Europe is expected to represent the major market in terms of value for oat drinks, owing to increasing consumer shifting preference towards health drink products. Among the countries, U.K. is expected to remain major markets in terms of consumptions for oat drinks followed by Germany. North America is expected to represent the favorable market for oat drinks in terms of consumption. In the region the U.S. is expected to represent major value share during the forecast period. Asia Pacific is expected to represent a rapid growth in oat drinks market. Continuous product launch and targeted towards specific segment is expected to support the market growth in the country. For instance in 2015, PepsiCo, Inc. in collaboration with JD.com Inc launched its first oat based dairy drink in China. This launched was done in order to attract the consumers that are looking for high fiber food products in their daily intake. Moreover, among ASEAN countries Singapore is expected to represent potential market both in terms of value and volume consumption.Oat Drinks Market DriversConsumers across the globe are increasingly shifting their preference from towards healthy drink alternatives. They perceive oats as a good and healthy food products which is expected to drive the market growth in the near future. In addition rising awareness towards the product availability coupled with continuous launch of new products with different flavor is further expected to fuel the market growth during the forecast period.Visit For TOC@Oat Drinks Market: Key PlayersSome of the major key players operating in oat drink market includes Drinks Brokers Ltd, Alpro, Oatly AB, PepsiCo, Inc., Rude Health and Pureharvest 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:
Market Research on Native Starches Market 2017 and Analysis to 2027

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Native starches is a carbohydrate which is obtained from cereals and tubers which is used for texturing various food products. Native starch is a fine white powder having natural taste and odor. Native starch is obtained by physical extraction, drying and purification of starch milk. Native starch have properties such as gelling and viscosity, water binding, bulking agent, feed texturization, shelf-life extension, extrusion aid, etc. Native starch is used in the preparation of dry soup mixes to control the viscosity and as a source of energy. Native starch has application in food industry, pharmaceutical industry, paper making industry, cosmetics industry etc. which has increased its demand globally. Native starch is obtained in its purest form with unaltered physical and chemical properties where in original properties are lost in modified starch.Market Segmentation:Native starches market is segmented on the basis of source as corn, wheat, rice, potato, cassava, and others. Corn native starch have varieties such as wild type, waxy and high amylose which are used in soups and other food applications for enhancing the taste and flavor of the food recipes. Cassava native starch is obtained in flake-shaped and irregular granules type which is used in baked products. Wheat native starch is obtained in disk shape granule form having application in cooking as a thickening agent in food sauces, desert puddings, and others.Request Report Sample@Native starch is segmented on the basis of type of native starch such as native maize starch, native waxy maize starch, native wheat starch, native potato starch, and others. These native starches are used in soups, sauces, canned vegetables, meat products, bakery products, convenience foods, snacks and confectioneries, etc.Native starch market is also segmented on the basis of its application in various industries such as food industry, cosmetics industry, pharmaceutical industry, and others. In food industry, it is used as a thickening agent as well as texturing the food products. Native starch is also used in confectionery, dairy and bakery products to provide consistency and texture to the final product. In cosmetics industry, native starch is used as an emulsion, decorative cosmetics or in powders. Native starch powder is a natural aesthetic which makes it useful in various cosmetics. In pharmaceutical industry, native starch is used in formulation of tablets.Market Regional Outlook:On the basis of regions, the Native starches market has been segmented into North America, Latin America, Western Europe and Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific Excluding Japan, Japan, Middle East and Africa. North America dominates the global native starches market while Asia Pacific is expected to show maximum growth over the forecast period. On the basis of consumption North America market is the leading market and expected to grow over the forecast period. Cosmetic industries are establishing in Western Europe which is increasing the demand for native starch various cosmetics in the region.Market Drivers and Trends:As a result of application of native starches in various industries such as food industry, cosmetic industry, pharmaceutical industry etc. is increasing demand for native starches in global market. Cosmetic industry is growing in global market and native starches is used in cosmetic hair and skin care products, which in turn increases global demand for native starches. Native starch is available in pure form which makes it popular in consumers inclining towards organic products.Visit For TOC@Native Starches Market Key Players:Some of the key players in the global native starches market include AGRANA Investment Corp., Cargill, Incorporated, Tereos Starch & Sweeteners, Tate & Lyle, Ingredion Incorporated, Gulshan Polyols Ltd., AMYLCO Group of Companies, UNIVERSAL BIOPOLYMERS, SPAC STARCH PRODUCTS (INDIA) LTD, Thai Flour Co.,Ltd., Honest Derivatives Pvt. Ltd., etc. are among these.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:
eClinical Solutions Market by Application, Classification, Revenue, Growth Rate, Opportunities and Forecast 2017-2022

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http://www.reportsweb.com/global-eclinical-solutions-market-size-status-and-forecast-2022

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ReportsWeb.com has announced the addition of the Global eClinical Solutions Market Size, Status and Forecast 2022 The report focuses on global major leading industry players with information such as company profiles, product picture and specification.This report studies the global eClinical Solutions market, analyzes and researches the eClinical Solutions development status and forecast in United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia. This report focuses on the top players in global market, likeMedidata SolutionsPAREXEL International CorporationBioClinicaCRF HealthDATATRAK InternationalERTMaxisITBio-OptronicseClinical SolutionsMerge Healthcare IncorporatedOmniComm SystemsRequest a Sample copy atMarket segment by Regions/Countries, this report coversUnited StatesEUJapanChinaIndiaSoutheast AsiaComplete report is available atMarket segment by Type, eClinical Solutions can be split intoWeb-hosted (On-demand)Licensed Enterprise (On-premise)Cloud-based (SaaS)Market segment by Application, eClinical Solutions can be split intoPharmaceutical and Biopharmaceutical CompaniesContract Research OrganizationsConsulting Service CompaniesMedical Device ManufacturersHospitalsAcademic Research InstitutionsFew points from Table of Contents:1 Industry Overview of EClinical Solutions2 Global EClinical Solutions Competition Analysis by Players3 Company (Top Players) Profiles4 Global EClinical Solutions Market Size by Type and Application (2012-2017)4.1 Global EClinical Solutions Market Size by Type (2012-2017)4.2 Global EClinical Solutions Market Size by Application (2012-2017)4.3 Potential Application of EClinical Solutions in Future4.4 Top Consumer/End Users of EClinical Solutions5 United States EClinical Solutions Development Status and Outlook5.1 United States EClinical Solutions Market Size (2012-2017)5.2 United States EClinical Solutions Market Size and Market Share by Players (2016 and 2017)6 EU EClinical Solutions Development Status and Outlook6.1 EU EClinical Solutions Market Size (2012-2017)6.2 EU EClinical Solutions Market Size and Market Share by Players (2016 and 2017)Get Discount at7 Japan EClinical Solutions Development Status and Outlook8 China EClinical Solutions Development Status and Outlook9 India EClinical Solutions Development Status and Outlook10 Southeast Asia EClinical Solutions Development Status and Outlook11 Market Forecast by Regions, Type and Application (2017-2022)12 EClinical Solutions Market Dynamics13 Market Effect Factors AnalysisPurchase complete 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
CLEARWATER, Fla., Aug. 10, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On Saturday, September 9th, Harlem Nights Benefits is presenting an evening of Latin Jazz in the Historic Fort Harrison, the Church of Scientologys international religious retreat, to benefit the Clearwater Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center. The event features the Terry Edwards Latin Jazz Band and starts at 6:00pm.



A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a0a318c4-bbec-4a6e-b853-d55be18723d4

The event will begin with an introduction by Mr. Maurice Mickens, CEO of Harlem Nights Benefits. Mr. Dimitri Hernandez of the Terry Edwards Latin Jazz Band will follow with a history of Latin Jazz.

Im really excited to have this event in this location. The venue is beautiful and the service is impeccable, said Mr. Mickens. But more importantly is the history of Jazz which was performed here years ago, making this location an iconic spot for jazz. You can feel the energy of the performers who played here. We are looking forward to dancing to Jazz and R&B standards with a Latin flair. All for a good cause.

The rest of the event will be a performance by the Terry Edwards Latin Jazz Band. The dance floor will be open for guests to dance. Tickets are $20 each with all the proceeds benefiting the Clearwater Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center.

The Church of Scientology hosts community events such as this for non-profits and charities frequently.

We are very happy to open up the beautiful Fort Harrison to the benefit of Tampa Bays deserving non-profits, said Dylan Pires, Community Affairs Director for the Church of Scientology in Clearwater. So far this year we have hosted 11 non-profits for their own events servicing about 1,500 guests at them.

For more information or to hold your own event in the Fort Harrison, please call (727) 467-6860 or email dylanpires@churchofscientology.net.

The Fort Harrison Religious Retreat:

Since its construction in 1927, the Fort Harrison has been the home for many community events and charitable organizations. The Fort Harrisons current owner, the Church of Scientology, has hosted over 500 community events there since a top-to-bottom restoration in 2009. The Scientology religion was founded by humanitarian and philosopher, L. Ron Hubbard, and incorporated in 1954. To learn more, visit www.scientology.org.
EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) Triacetin Market Report 2017

EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) Triacetin Market Report 2017

https://www.qyresearcheurope.com/

http://www.qyresearchglobal.com/

The Triacetin Sales Market Research Report is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the Triacetin industry.Firstly, the report provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. The Triacetin 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 Triacetin 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.EMEA Triacetin market competition by top manufacturers/players, with Triacetin sales volume (K Units), price (USD/Unit), revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player; the top players includingEastman ChemicalCrodaLanxessBasf(Cognis)DaicelJiangsu RuijiaYixing KaixinYunnan HuantengJiangsu LemonYixing TianyuanHenan HuayinYixing YongJia ChemicalJiangsu Licheng......Ask a complete & professional report sample, please send message to tinaning@qyresearch.com or visit atTable of contents:1 Triacetin Overview2 EMEA Triacetin Competition by Manufacturers/Players/Suppliers, Region, Type and Application3 Europe Triacetin (Volume, Value and Sales Price), by Players, Countries, Type and Application4 Middle East Triacetin (Volume, Value and Sales Price), by Region, Type and Application5 Africa Triacetin (Volume, Value and Sales Price) by Players, Countries, Type and Application6 EMEA Triacetin Manufacturers/Players Profiles and Sales Data7 Triacetin Manufacturing Cost Analysis8 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers9 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders10 Market Effect Factors Analysis11 EMEA Triacetin Market Forecast (2017-2022)12 Research Findings and Conclusion13 AppendixRelated Reports:Global Triacetin Market Report 2017Europe Triacetin Market Report 2017China Triacetin Market Report 2017India Triacetin Market Report 2017Japan Triacetin Market Report 2017USA Triacetin Market Report 2017Korea Triacetin Market 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 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
Ballistic Composite Market Global Industry Analysis Forecast 2017 - 2025

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Ballistic composites have been used in projectile components such as in rockets or bullets that are fired from weapons. This type of composite material has been used with gravitational force only. The global ballistic composite market is expected to see a steady growth rate during the forecast period.Obtain Report Details @:Ballistic composite witnesses growing usage in military and defense applications. This material is light weight and has high strength and owing to these features witnesses growing demand over time. Developed as well as emerging economies such as India and China have increased their budgetary allocation for defense spending, These countries spend a large portion of their total earning in defense materials. Rising investment in defense products increases the demand for ballistic composite in these economies. Ballistic composites have been substantially used in armor vehicles, body armor equipment such as armor vests, helmets, and others. Ballistic composites offer heat resistant properties and these features help to increase the demand for ballistic composites in war field and in any adverse situation. With the rising usability of these products by military and law enforcement departments, the market prospects of ballistic composites is expected to experience a steady growth rate during the forecast period.Ballistic composites are able to absorb moisture and this limits its efficiency while being used as armor products. Hence, ballistic composites are more sensitive to the environment than glass and other materials and this factor hinders the growth prospect of this market. Moreover, ballistic composite products are relatively costly and this is also likely to retrain the growth prospect of this market over the forecast period.The global ballistic composite market is segmented into four types on the basis of fiber type and the segments are Aramid, UHMPE, glass, and others. Aramid fiber held the dominant market share and this segment is expected to be the fastest growing over the forecast period. Aramid fiber offers high strength and has heat resistant properties as well. This fiber is long and made from synthetic. As this is made from synthetic, it provides high tension, strength, and good thermal condition which increase its applicability in body armor products.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @:Based on matrix type, the global ballistic composite market is segmented into three types - polymer, polymer ceramic, and metal. Ballistic composite based on polymer matrix held the leading market share in 2016. This type of matrix offers high friction, low weight, and temperature resistance properties. These features increase its applicability in body armor equipment such as helmet, body protective garments, and others. These features will help to boost the market share of the global ballistic composite market during the forecast period.According to application, the global ballistic composite market is segregated into four types - vehicle armor, helmet and face protection, body armor, and others. Vehicle armor held the largest market share in the global ballistic composite market. This type of vehicle armor provides protection against ballistic impact and provides greater safety to military personnel. These products find their maximum application during wartime as military personnel can be protected with the help of these products.On the basis of geographic locations, the global ballistic composite market is divided into five regions. These include North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa (MEA), and Latin America. North America held the largest share in the global ballistic composite market owing to the high investment in military spending and implementation of safety measures by the U.S. government. The U.S. military uses large amounts of ballistic composites as military equipment to save the lives of military personnel and this is expected to drive the demand for ballistic composites in this region during the forecast period.Some of the key market players in the ballistic composite market include Honeywell International Inc., Royal Ten Cate NV, Morgan Advanced Materials, Barrday Corporation, and Southern States LLC.The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector - such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMRs syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207
3D Sensors Worldwide Industry: Share, Players and Forecast 2021

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Publisher's 3D Sensors 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 reportCognex CorporationSonyIntelInfineonIfm efector, inc.Occipital, IncMonolithIC 3D Inc.ITSEEZ3D3D Systems, Inc.Global 3D Sensors Market: Product Segment AnalysisImage sensorsPosition sensorsOthersFor More Information About This Report:Global 3D Sensors Market: Application Segment AnalysisConsumer electronicsHealthcareAutomotiveGlobal 3D Sensors Market: Regional Segment AnalysisUSAEuropeJapanChinaIndiaSouth East AsiaRequest Sample Copy At:Table of ContentChapter 1 About the 3D Sensors IndustryChapter 2 World Market Competition LandscapeChapter 3 World 3D Sensors 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 3D Sensors 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
Global Lauryl Methyl Ester Ethoxylate Market Analysis by Application, Product Types and Regions with Forecast to 2022

Global Lauryl Methyl Ester Ethoxylate Market Research Report 2017

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Global Lauryl Methyl Ester Ethoxylate Market Research Report 2017 contains historic data that spans 2012 to 2016, and then continues to forecast to 2022. That makes this report so invaluable, resources, for the leaders as well as the new entrants in the IndustryGlobal Lauryl Methyl Ester Ethoxylate Market report is replete with detailed analysis from a thorough research, especially on questions that border on market size, development environment, futuristic developments, operation situation, pathways and trend of Lauryl Methyl Ester Ethoxylate. All these are offshoots of understanding the current situation that the industry is in, especially in 2017. The will chart the course for a more comprehensive organization and discernment of the competition situation in the Lauryl Methyl Ester Ethoxylate market. As this will help manufacturers and investors alike, to have a better understanding of the direction in which the Lauryl Methyl Ester Ethoxylate Market is headed. Access complete report at:With this Lauryl Methyl Ester Ethoxylate Market report, one is sure to keep up with information on the dogged competition for market share and control, between elite manufacturers. It also features, price, production, and revenue. It is where you will understand the politics and tussle of gaining control of a huge chunk of the market share. As long as you are in search of key Industry data and information that can readily be accessed, you can rest assured that this report got them covered. Key companies profiled in this report are Huntsman Corporation (U.S.), Klk Oleo (Malaysia), Lion Corporation (Japan), Ineos Group Limited (Switzerland), Jet Technologies (Australia) and others. Purchase a copy of this report at:When taking a good look at this report, based on the product, it is evident that the report shows the rate of production, price, revenue, and market share as well as of the growth of each product type. And emphasis is laid on the end users, as well as on the applications of the product. It is one report that hasn't shied away from taking a critical look at the current status and future outlook for the consumption/sales of these products, by the end users and applications. Not forgetting the market share control and growth rate of Lauryl Methyl Ester Ethoxylate Industry, per application. All the queries about this report can be asked at:List of Chapters:1 Lauryl Methyl Ester Ethoxylate Market Overview2 Global Lauryl Methyl Ester Ethoxylate Market Competitions by Manufacturers3 Global Lauryl Methyl Ester Ethoxylate Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2012-2017)4 Global Lauryl Methyl Ester Ethoxylate Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Region (2012-2017)5 Global Lauryl Methyl Ester Ethoxylate Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type6 Global Lauryl Methyl Ester Ethoxylate Market Analysis by Application7 Global Lauryl Methyl Ester Ethoxylate Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis8 Lauryl Methyl Ester Ethoxylate Manufacturing Cost Analysis9 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers10 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders11 Market Effect Factors Analysis12 Global Lauryl Methyl Ester Ethoxylate Market Forecast (2017-2022)13 Research Findings and Conclusion14 AppendixThe Market ReportsWe at, The Market Reports aiming to provide the best industry and market reports to a seeker. We are looking forward to a place where we are the one stop destination for all the report seekers irrespective of any country, category, domain, etc.The Market ReportsSF-29, North Block,Sacred World, Wanawadi,Pune, 411040 (India)Phone: +1-631-407-1315, +91-750-729-1479
Crop Harvesting Machinery Market Global Industry Trends, Share, Size and 2022 Future Report

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The Global Crop Harvesting Machinery Industry Research Report includes companies engaged in manufacturing, capacity, production, price, cost, revenue and contact information.The report provides key statistics on the market status of the Crop Harvesting Machinery manufacturers and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the industry.Complete report on Crop Harvesting Machinery market spreads across 113 pages profiling 19 companies and supported with 193 tables and figures @Key Companies Analysis: - AGCO Tractor, Caterpillar, Deere and Company, CNH Industrial, Lely Group, Kubota Corp, Kuhn Group, Alois Pottinger Maschinenfabrik Ges, Bernard Krone Holding, Case IH, Claas KGaA MbH, Deutz-Fahr, Foton Lovol International Heavy Industry, Kioti Tractor, Sampo Rosenlew, New Holland, Valtra, Dewulf NV, Fendt profiles overview.The Global Crop Harvesting Machinery Industry provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. The Crop Harvesting Machinery market analysis is provided for the international markets including development trends, competitive landscape analysis, and key regions development status.Development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and cost structures are also analyzed. This report also states import/export consumption, supply and demand Figures, cost, price, revenue and gross margins.The Global Crop Harvesting Machinery Industry focuses on global major leading industry players providing information such as company profiles, product picture and specification, capacity, production, price, cost, revenue and contact information. Upstream raw materials and equipment and downstream demand analysis is also carried out. The Crop Harvesting Machinery industry development trends and marketing channels are analyzed. Finally the feasibility of new investment projects are assessed and overall research conclusions offered. With the tables and figures the report provides key statistics on the state of the industry and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the market.Place a Direct Purchase on this Report @Major Points Covered in Table of Contents:1 Industry Overview2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Crop Harvesting Machinery3 Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis4 Production Analysis of Crop Harvesting Machinery by Regions, Technology, and Applications5 Sales and Revenue Analysis of Crop Harvesting Machinery by Regions6 Analyses of Crop Harvesting Machinery Production, Supply, Sales and Market Status 2010-20177 Analysis of Crop Harvesting Machinery industry Key Manufacturers8 Price and Gross Margin Analysis9 Marketing Traders or Distributor Analysis of Crop Harvesting Machinery10 Development Trend of Crop Harvesting Machinery industry2017-202211 Industry Chain Suppliers of Crop Harvesting Machinery with Contact Information12 New Project Investment Feasibility Analysis of Crop Harvesting Machinery13 Conclusion of the Global Crop Harvesting Machinery industry 2017 Market Research ReportList of Tables and FiguresGet more details on this report @About Us:Reports n Reports is digital databank of syndicated market reports for worldwide and China businesses. ReportsnReports.com offers market research reports to businesses, entities and organizations with an objective of assisting them in their decision making process. Our collection of 500,000+ industry & nation research reports shields 5000+ micro markets. We provide 24X7 available, online and offline support to our clients.Contact:Ritesh TiwariUNIT no 802, Tower no. 7, SEZMagarpatta city, Hadapsar,Pune, Maharashtra 411013, IndiaTel: +1-888-391-5441sales@reportsandreports.com
Auto Parts Market Size 2017 Pradip Plastic Moulders, Hayashi Telempu, POLYTEC GROUP

Auto Parts

http://bit.ly/2ftad9r

http://www.spiremarketresearch.com/global-auto-parts-market-2017-demand-insights-key-palyers-segmentation-and-forecast-to-2022/

Global Auto Parts Market ResearchA market study  Global Auto Parts Market  examines the performance of the Auto Parts market 2017. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Auto Parts market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Auto Parts market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Auto Parts Market 2017 report includes Auto Parts market Revenue, market Share, Auto Parts industry volume, market Trends, Auto Parts Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report.It shows manufacturing capacity, Auto Parts Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.Request For Sample Report:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Auto Parts Market 2017:1. Pradip Plastic Moulders2. Hayashi Telempu3. POLYTEC GROUP4. DaikyoNishikawa Corporation5. BMW6. Chevrolet7. Covercraft8. Ford9. GM10. Honda11. Nissan12. Toyota13. INOAC...Firstly, the report covers the top Auto Parts manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Auto Parts report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Auto Parts industry, Auto Parts industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Auto Parts Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Complete Report:The Auto Parts 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 Auto Parts market revenue worldwide.Finally, Auto Parts 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
Cardiology Point-of-Care (POC) Diagnostics Market Size 2017 Siemens, Abbott, Roche, Opko

Cardiology Point-of-Care (POC) Diagnostics

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Global Cardiology Point-of-Care (POC) Diagnostics Market ResearchA market study  Global Cardiology Point-of-Care (POC) Diagnostics Market  examines the performance of the Cardiology Point-of-Care (POC) Diagnostics market 2017. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Cardiology Point-of-Care (POC) Diagnostics market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Cardiology Point-of-Care (POC) Diagnostics market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Cardiology Point-of-Care (POC) Diagnostics Market 2017 report includes Cardiology Point-of-Care (POC) Diagnostics market Revenue, market Share, Cardiology Point-of-Care (POC) Diagnostics industry volume, market Trends, Cardiology Point-of-Care (POC) Diagnostics Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report.It shows manufacturing capacity, Cardiology Point-of-Care (POC) Diagnostics Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.Request For Sample Report:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Cardiology Point-of-Care (POC) Diagnostics Market 2017:1. Siemens2. Abbott3. Roche4. Opko5. GE Healthcare6. Samsung Health7. BioMerieux8. Alere9. Terumo10. Accriva11. Akers12. Radiometer13. Response Biomedical...Firstly, the report covers the top Cardiology Point-of-Care (POC) Diagnostics manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Cardiology Point-of-Care (POC) Diagnostics report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Cardiology Point-of-Care (POC) Diagnostics industry, Cardiology Point-of-Care (POC) Diagnostics industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Cardiology Point-of-Care (POC) Diagnostics Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Complete Report:The Cardiology Point-of-Care (POC) Diagnostics 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 Cardiology Point-of-Care (POC) Diagnostics market revenue worldwide.Finally, Cardiology Point-of-Care (POC) Diagnostics 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
Multiple dose container Market - Value chain and stakeholder analysis by 2024

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Multiple dose container Market: IntroductionGrowth of pharmaceutical industry stimulated several allied industries like packaging. On the backdrop of increasing as well as diversified demand of healthcare industry, packaging manufacturing companies are coming up with new and attractive packaging solutions according to the requirement of the drug manufacturing companies. A multiple dose container is a bottle of liquid medication that comprises more than one dose of medication and is accepted by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for usage on multiple persons. Manufacturers of multiple dose container use antimicrobial preservative to avert the growth of bacteria. The demand of multiple dose container is gaining traction among the pharmaceutical manufacturing companies to minimize the cost.Fill the form to gain deeper insights on this market @Multiple dose container Market: Market DynamicsGrowth in demand for multiple dose container is expected to be stable over the upcoming years, on the backdrop of pharmaceutical manufacturers inclination to adopt convenience packaging solutions to enhance the shelf life of drugs. Increasing prices of medicines is expected to enforce the hospitals and nursing home to use multiple dose container packaging solutions for minimizing the cost which in turn drives the multiple dose container market during the forecast period. The transportation cost through cold chain is increasing significantly, which in turn increases the preference towards the multiple dose container owing to its important properties such as single dose can be administered to the single patient and the multiple dose container can be used for the multiple patient. Multiple dose container requires economical storage cost that is expected to accelerate the overall demand of multiple dose container market during the forecast period. Multiple dose container can be used up to twenty eight days after administrating it to one patient which can positively influence the global multiple dose container market during the forecast period.Multiple dose container: Market SegmentationThe global single dose container market is segmented on the basis of material type, product type and applicationBased on the material type the global multiple dose container market is segmented into:GlassPlasticPVCPolyethylenePolypropylenePETEVABased on the product type the global multiple dose container market is segmented into:BottlesSyringesAmpoulesOthersBased on the application the global single dose container market is segmented into:AntibioticsChemotherapyAutonomicCardiovascularHormoneCNSOthersBrowse Market Research Report @Multiple dose container Market: Regional outlookIn terms of geography, the global multiple dose container market has been divided in to five key regions including North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Middle East & Africa. North America is expected to account maximum market proportion throughout the forecast period. Growing pharmaceutical sector in US is expected to be one of the prominent reason of the massive growth of multiple dose container in the North America. Europe is expected to be one of the lucrative region among the multiple dose container manufacturers. This is attributed by the massive investment in research & development by the drug manufacturers which in turn accelerates the sales of multiple dose container in the upcoming decade. Asia Pacific region is anticipated to register maximum CAGR during the forecast period. India and China are the beneficial country among the manufacturers of multiple dose container. China is anticipated to be the attractive country in the Asia Pacific region owing to the rising old age population. However, the Middle East & Africa region is expected to be sluggish throughout the forecast period.Multiple dose container Market: Key playersSome of the key players in the global multiple dose container market are Schott AG, Gerresheimer AG, Becton Dickinson B.V., West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc., Nipro Corporation, Ypsomed Holding AG, SiO2 Medical Products, United Drug Plc., Catalent Inc. etc.About TMRTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Contact TMR90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.com
Agricultural LED Market Size 2017 Philips, Osram, General Electric, Easy Agricultural

Agricultural LED

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Global Agricultural LED Market ResearchA market study  Global Agricultural LED Market  examines the performance of the Agricultural LED market 2017. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Agricultural LED market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Agricultural LED market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Agricultural LED Market 2017 report includes Agricultural LED market Revenue, market Share, Agricultural LED industry volume, market Trends, Agricultural LED Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report.It shows manufacturing capacity, Agricultural LED Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.Request For Sample Report:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Agricultural LED Market 2017:1. Philips2. Osram3. General Electric4. Easy Agricultural5. Illumitex6. Fionia Lighting7. Lumgrow8. Kind LED Grow Lights9. California LightWorks10. Spectrum King Grow Lights11. Valoya12. Weshine13. Apollo Horticulture14. Kessil15. Cidly16. Heliospectra17. LEDHYDROPONICS18. Ohmax Optoelectronic19. Zhicheng...Firstly, the report covers the top Agricultural LED manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Agricultural LED report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Agricultural LED industry, Agricultural LED industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Agricultural LED Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Complete Report:The Agricultural LED 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 Agricultural LED market revenue worldwide.Finally, Agricultural LED 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
Concrete Mixers Equipment Market Size 2017 SANY, Oshkosh Corporation, ZOOMLION, LiuGong

Concrete Mixers Equipment

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Global Concrete Mixers Equipment Market ResearchA market study  Global Concrete Mixers Equipment Market  examines the performance of the Concrete Mixers Equipment market 2017. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Concrete Mixers Equipment market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Concrete Mixers Equipment market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Concrete Mixers Equipment Market 2017 report includes Concrete Mixers Equipment market Revenue, market Share, Concrete Mixers Equipment industry volume, market Trends, Concrete Mixers Equipment Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report.It shows manufacturing capacity, Concrete Mixers Equipment Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.Request For Sample Report:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Concrete Mixers Equipment Market 2017:1. SANY2. Oshkosh Corporation3. ZOOMLION4. LiuGong5. TORO6. TEREX7. Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group8. HITACHI9. Liebherr10. Sinotruk11. Altrad12. VOLVO13. Multiquip Inc.14. Shandong Hongda Construction Machinery15. Shanghai Hua Dong Construction Machinery16. ELKON17. Fangyuan Group Co18. SHANTUI19. RexCon20. Ammann Elba Beton GmbH....Firstly, the report covers the top Concrete Mixers Equipment manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Concrete Mixers Equipment report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Concrete Mixers Equipment industry, Concrete Mixers Equipment industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Concrete Mixers Equipment Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Complete Report:The Concrete Mixers Equipment research report includes the products that are currently in demand and available in the market along with their cost breakup, manufacturing volume, import/export scheme and contribution to the Concrete Mixers Equipment market revenue worldwide.Finally, Concrete Mixers Equipment market report gives you details about the market research findings and conclusion which helps you to develop profitable market strategies to gain competitive advantage.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
Rockville, MD, USA, Aug. 10, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society (RAPS) will host its annual Regulatory Convergence conference at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center at National Harbor on the DC waterfront 912 September. This years event features more than 75 educational sessions and over 200 speakers, including an opening keynote from FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD. The Convergence is expected to draw more than 2,000 participants. It is the largest annual gathering of the global healthcare regulatory profession. Visit http://raps.org/convergence2017/ for more information.

This is the premier event dedicated completely to the regulatory profession, said RAPS Executive Director Paul Brooks. This is where top regulatory officials, senior executives, innovators and thought leaders come together to share knowledge, get updates, discuss trends and examine regulatory issues in depth from multiple angles.

Highly anticipated topics on the agenda this year include Europes new medical device and in vitro diagnostics regulations, the impact of FDA user fee reauthorizations and the 21st Century Cures Act, medical device cybersecurity, developments in off-label promotion, regulatory challenges of conducting clinical trials in gene therapy, accelerating approval for medicinal products and more.

Regulatory agencies from around the world will be represented among session speakers and panelists. Agencies participating include: the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA); the European Medicines Agency (EMA); the World Health Organization (WHO); the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO); the Health Surveillance Agency, Brazil (ANVISA); the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency, Japan (PMDA); the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, UK (MHRA); the National Regulatory Authority, Cuba and others.

For the full conference schedule, visit http://www.raps.org/convergence/#agenda Follow conference updates and conversations on Twitter using the #2017RAPS hashtag. Today, 10 August, is the final day for early discounted registration but attendees may register any time, including on site.

Reporters, bloggers and other members of the media who wish to cover all or part of the RAPS Regulatory Convergence should contact Zachary Brousseau, senior manager, communications, RAPS, at zbrousseau@raps.org or +1 301 770 2920, ext. 245. On-site registration also will be available for media with valid press credentials or a letter from an assigning editor.

About RAPS

The Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society (RAPS) is the largest global organization of and for those involved with the regulation of healthcare and related products, including medical devices, pharmaceuticals, biologics and nutritional products. Founded in 1976, RAPS helped establish the regulatory profession and continues to actively support the professional and lead the profession as a neutral, non-lobbying nonprofit organization. RAPS offers education and training, professional standards, publications, research, knowledge sharing, networking, career development opportunities and other valuable resources, including Regulatory Affairs Certification (RAC), the only post-academic professional credential to recognize regulatory excellence. RAPS is headquartered in suburban Washington, DC, with chapters and affiliates worldwide. RAPS.org

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Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/9de93af6-f8b0-4cf2-a3d9-502756b9f0bb
Open Pouch laminates Market highly driven by mounting growth of pharmaceutical industry

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Open pouch laminates Market: IntroductionAs competition intensifies in consumer products market, product manufacturers are identifying and leveraging the latent potential in the market. Consequently, several new products were launched in the consumer market in recent years to attract customers. Open pouch laminates are one of the important packaging solution for brand owners. Open pouch laminates prevents the pharmaceutical products from moisture. Open pouch laminates are available in the market in a very light weight. Moreover, open pouch laminates offer very decent seal integrity for the pharmaceutical product safety and convenience.Fill the form to gain deeper insights on this market @Open pouch laminates: Market DynamicsGlobal open pouch laminates market is mainly driven by the mounting growth of pharmaceutical industry. Open pouch laminates are used widely in the different pharmaceutical products such as tablet, capsules and different medical devices. The product is gaining popularity among the manufacturers of pharmaceutical owing to the property of preventing the product from moisture. Moreover, the rising competition among pharmaceutical companies is expected to increase the acceptance of open pouch laminates during the forecast period. Moreover, the increasing preference towards light weight packaging solution among brand owners is expected to fuel the sales of open pouch laminates in the upcoming decade. Open pouch laminates are also used massively in the medical devices packaging. Moreover, the open pouch laminates offer easy opening of the product which can create a massive impact in the sales of the product during the forecast period. Furthermore, open pouch laminates ensure the seal integrity of the medicine that in turn escalates the sales of open pouch, as it is capable of preventing the product from the moisture.Open pouch laminates: Market SegmentationThe global open pouch laminates market is segmented on the basis of type of the material type, application typeBased on the material type the global open pouch laminates market is segmented into:PaperPolyethylene (PE)AluminumAluminum foil laminateBased on the application type the global open pouch laminates market is segmented into:PharmaceuticalsOral dissolve stripsTransdermal & TransmucosalBrowse Market Research Report @Open pouch laminates Market: Regional outlookIn terms of geography, the global open pouch laminates market has been divided in to five key regions including North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Middle East & Africa. Asia pacific is expected to remain its dominance throughout the forecast period due to the rising growth in pharmaceutical industry. Moreover, China, India are the most preferred destination among the manufacturers of open pouch laminates during the forecast period. North America is also anticipated to register healthy CAGR in the upcoming decade. Europe is also anticipated to grow in fast pace owing to the healthy pharmaceutical growth in Germany, England and France. Moreover, lain America is expected to witness very slow growth as compare to the other region during the forecast period.Open pouch laminates Market: Key playersSome of the key players in the global open pouch laminates market are Amcor limited, Rotek laminates, USI, Inc., Oracle packaging, Mondi group etc. Key players also emphasizing for mergers and acquisitions with the local players to increase the product portfolio and also to penetrate their business into emerging countries. Also the companies are increasing their product portfolio to obtain new customers as well as to retain existing customers.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:
Asia-Pacific Underground Coal Gasification Market Forecast and Segments, 2014 - 2020

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Global energy demand had seen an exponential growth over the decade due to changing lifestyle. At the time when natural gas prices witnessing fluctuation and coal resources are depleting, the world is witnessing a significant gap between demand and supply of energy. Though as per World Coal Association, global coal reserves are estimated to be 861 tonne and accounts to 42% of total world electricity production; the year on year growth for coal consumption was highest in FY 2013, making it the highest since 1970. The demand for coal consumption is increasing every year thereby leading to depletion of coal reserves at an alarming rate. Moreover, most regions are economically unviable to extract coal from its bed. It is due to this reason that companies are looking for alternative solution that can lead to harnessing the total potential of coal, without disturbing the ecological balance.Underground coal gasification (UCG) is an industrial process by which coal is gasified under intense heat and atmospheric pressure. This enables the production of synthetic gas, constituents of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, which are extracted through a well and utilized in various sectors, ranging from power generation to biodiesel and fertilizer production. Though this concept is not new to the market, little progress has been achieved in this sector, primarily due to low R&D. However, with growing energy consumption and fluctuating oil prices, industries are focusing on UCG to offer clean, efficient and cost-effective energy to various industries.Enter your information below to receive a sample copy of this report @Asia-Pacific is projected as the largest market for underground coal gasification over the next 5 years due to impressive growth in end-use industries ranging from power to chemicals. China along with India, and Australia are key markets for underground coal gasification projects. China is the largest producer as well as the largest consumer of coal based energy. It consumes almost half of the total coal production to meet its energy demand. China has conducted 17 UCG trials since 1991 to check the economic viability of UCG. Major power generating enterprise SinoCoking Coal is planning to harness coal reserves in Henan Province which was abruptly shut down because of strict environmental compliance set up by Chinese government. UCG is an environmental friendly approach that empowers companies to scale high power generation. With worlds most populated country, China offers a vibrant platform for energy sector companies to set up their base in China and thereby meet the growing demand of energy in China. Recently, China signed a whooping US $ 1.5 billion major pact with UK for commercial development of UCG in interiors of Mongolia.Next prominent market is India. In India, mining contributes 10% of Indias GDP. With vast coal reserves, India is looking towards harnessing coal without disturbing ecological balance. There are also some sites which are economically nonviable to mine. Though Indias untapped 88.6 billion tonnes of non-metallurgical coal is found at a depth of 300 to 1200 metre is economically nonviable; UCG makes it economically sound option. Coal India Limited is trying to push the UCG technology to harness the coal in Kaitha (Jharkhand) and Thesgora (Madhya Pradesh) area. These two promising region is expected to generate high return on investment (ROI) by FY 2025.Request Report TOC (Table of Contents) @Next prominent destination is Australia. In Australia, most companies are undertaking R&D to fully harness the concept of UCG. At present, three major UCG trials is being conducted by Linc Energy, Cougar Energy, and Carbon Energy at Queensland. Australian government is paying a vigil eye on these projects until the technology is commercially proven.SinoCoking Coal, Cougar Energy, Carbon Energy, Linc Energy, and ONGC are key market players that have conducted pilot projects on UCG technology.Future is optimistic for underground coal gasification. With major innovations going around globally, it is expected to meet the needs of people in oil shortage region. Regions including APAC, and Africa will be a future market for underground coal gasification segments.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:
Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF) Market 2014 - 2020 Shares, Trend and Growth Report

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Polyvinylidene fluoride, also known as polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF), is a specialty plastic material belonging to the fluoropolymer family. It is a pure thermoplastic and highly non-reactive fluoropolymer which is produced by the polymerization of vinylidene difluoride. PVDF is primarily used in applications which require high resistance, strength and purity to solvents, bases, acids and heat. It is also used as an important ingredient in high-end paints for metal roofing in commercial and residential applications. Membranes of PVDF are widely consumed for the purpose of immobilizing proteins owing to its resemblance to amino acids. PVDF is also used extensively in sheets, films, membranes and coatings in various end-user industries such as chemical processing, oil & gas, construction and energy.The global market for PVDF, along with its end products has been witnessing noticeable growth over the past few years. Increasing demand for lithium-ion batteries, coatings, and photovoltaic films are anticipated to be some of the major influencing factors for the growth of the market with increased emphasis on its various applications and their end-users. North America accounted as the largest consumer for PVDF, followed by Asia Pacific. Moreover, future market growth is expected to be from Asia Pacific on account of growing demand of PVDF in various applications such as oil & gas, and coatings for building & construction industries. The market for PVDF in Western Europe is also expected to grow significantly with certain PVDF expansion projects anticipated to stabilize the overall business in this region.Enter your information below to receive a sample copy of this report @Other regions such as Eastern and Central Europe as well as Latin America are also expected to host future global events which would supplement the growth of PVDF in different applications. In addition, proposals for improvement in infrastructure, rising residential construction industry and increasing demand for lithium-ion batteries is also expected to fuel the demand for PVDF in these regions.High demand from different end-user industries such as coatings, photovoltaic films, oil & gas, and electrical are expected to be the major growth factors for the PVDF market. However, increasing use of substitutes to PVDF is expected to slow down the growth of the market. Research & development (R&D) has been one of the key factors in the PVDF market. Various associations, end-user manufacturers and PVDF manufacturing companies have planned significant investments for future advancements and technology innovations in PVDF to replace other metals and plastics. This factor is expected to provide new opportunities for the growth of the market. Large scale companies such as Arkema have made significant investments for the expansion of PVDF polymer capacity in emerging economies such as China to meet the rapidly-growing demand for PVDF resins in emerging application such as new energies and water filtration. Moreover, the company plans to expand its PVDF business portfolio in Brazil with the expansion of their coatings production capacity. The new investment would help the company offer diversified and more domestically-produced additives and waterborne emulsions which are substantially taxed as imports in Brazil.Request Report TOC (Table of Contents) @Arkema, Daikin Industries Ltd., Dyneon GmbH, Shanghai Ofluorine Chemical Technology Co. Ltd., Shanghai 3F New Materials Company Limited, Solvay S.A., Zhuzhou Hongda Polymer Materials Co. Ltd., Zhejiang Fotech International Co. Ltd., Kureha Corporation, Quadrant Engineering Plastics Products Inc. are some of the key manufacturers of PVDF dominating the market.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Global Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Market Set for Rapid Growth And Trend, by 2014 - 2020

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Polyvinyl Chloride generally known as PVC is a polymer which is widely produced after polyethylene and polypropylene. It is said to be the third largest most widely produced polymer. PVC is preferred against traditional materials that include iron, copper or wood in a number of profile applications due to its operational efficiencies and benefits. Pure polyvinyl chloride is a brittle solid white in color and slightly soluble in tetrahydrofuran whereas insoluble in alcohol. It can be made flexible and soft by adding plasticizers and phthalates. In flexible and soft form, PVC is used in electrical cable insulation, plumbing and inflatable products and some applications which can replace rubber. PVC has high mechanical and hardness properties, which enhance along with molecular weight and gradually decrease with rising or increasing temperature. PVC decomposes at high temperature as its heat stability is very poor. It has good insulation properties but owing to its high polar nature, its electrical insulation property is less significant to non-polymers that include polypropylene and polyethylene.Polyvinyl Chloride can be produced from a wide range of hydrocarbons such as derivatives of plants including sugarcane and coal. Currently, PVC is produced from ethylene, which is a product of oil and gas industry. It is therefore known as a petrochemical product. Polyvinyl Chloride has a wide range of applications, which include electric cables, pipes, unplastisized polyvinyl chloride for construction, furniture and clothing, healthcare and plasticizers among others. It exists in a wide range of consumer products that include bottles, credit cards, cling films and packaging among others and construction materials such as window frames, pipes, cables, flooring and wallpaper among a range of products.Enter your information below to receive a sample copy of this report @The PVC production costs are based on types of production expenses that include raw materials such as chlorine, ethylene and acetylene. In Asia Pacific, the PVC costs are highly influenced by PVC prices in China, hence, in addition to ethylene prices; acetylene is widely used in the production of PVC and therefore has growing importance in this region.The construction industry is the major driver of global PVC market owing to a wide range of applications in the household, commercial and industrial sectors. Due to improving infrastructure and housing conditions in the developing economies are expected to maintain the demand for PVC. Long-term demand for PVC depends on the renaissance of the construction markets in the urbanized economies.The key segments for PVC market include the North America, Asia Pacific, Europe and Rest of the World (RoW). The demand for PVC remains moderate in Europe due to debt crisis along with depressed business climate and due to slow monetary recovery. Owing to huge manufacturing facilities in China, Asia Pacific is expected to be the fastest and largest growing market for PVC. The collapse of the building and construction industry in North America was the major reason for stagnant demand for PVC in this region. In addition, sluggish growth in construction industry in the large economies such as Italy, Germany and U.K. lead to stagnant demand in Europe.Request Report TOC (Table of Contents) @The major companies profiled in the PVC market are: Aiscondel, Arkema, Chemplast Sanmar Limited, Chemson Group, Formosa Plastics Corporation, INEOS Group Ltd, LG Chem, Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd, Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation, Occidental Chemical Corporation, Solvay, Vinnolit GmbH & Co. KG, PolyOne Corporation and Georgia Gulf Corp among others.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Smart Pulse Oximeters Market : Growth, Demand and Key Players to 2026

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Smart pulse oximeter is one of the fastest growing product type in the vital sign monitoring devices segment. Smart pulse oximeter is a non-invasive medical device used to measure the oxygen saturation level and heart rate in human. Smart pulse oximeter is a clip like device also known as a probe and is placed on body parts such as fingertip or ear lobe to measure the heart rate and oxygen level. It uses infrared light to measure the oxygen level and heart rate. The measurement of oxygen level and heart rate are very important while performing surgeries and injecting the anaesthesia, because the changes in the oxygen level in such a conditions may cause life threatening effects. Smart pulse oximeter also used to check the human health with a conditions such as heart attack, heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), anaemia, lung cancer and asthma. However, the readings of smart pulse oximeter may not accurate in peripheral vascular diseases. Smart pulse oximeters products market is segmented into handheld pulse oximeters, finger pulse oximeters, paediatric pulse oximeters and wrist pulse oximeters.. Hand held smart pulse oximeters are useful for pilots to check the oxygen level when they are operating at above 10,000 feet. These devices are also useful to the mountaineers and athletes to check the oxygen level. Paediatric pulse oximeters mainly used in the hospitals and these devices are separately designed to measure the oxygen saturation level and heart rate in the infants.Request Report Sample@Smart pulse oximeter market has been segmented on the basis of product type, and end userSmart Pulse Oximeter Market, by Product TypeFinger Pulse OximeterHandheld Pulse OximeterPaediatric Pulse OximeterWrist Pulse OximeterSmart Pulse Oximeter Market, by End UserHospitalAmbulatory surgical centresHome Care SettingThe use of pulse oximeter in the home care settings has expanded over the last few years and is expected to register a healthy growth rate during the forecast periodOver the past few years, leading players in the vital sign monitoring devices segment are manufacturing devices with new technology such as Bluetooth which displays the readings in the smartphone. Moreover, the availability of cost effective smart pulse oximeters are the factors driving growth of overall smart pulse oximeter market., World Health Organization (WHO) started safety pulse oximetry project to improve the health in middle-income countries also expected to boost the smart pulse oximeter market. Increasing incidence rates of trauma conditions and increasing prevalence of heart related diseases are also expected to drive the smart pulse oximeter market. However, availability of high end devices to measure the heart rate is expected to hamper the overall market.Depending on geographic region, Smart Pulse Oximeter Market is segmented into five key regions: North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Middle East & Africa. North America is estimated to contribute maximum revenue share in the global market of smart pulse oximeter followed by Europe. Asia Pacific regions are expected to grow at a higher growth rate owing to high occurrence of chronic disease. Middle East & Africa is expected to show a healthy growth rate during forecast period.Visit For TOC@Smart Pulse Oximeters Market: Key PlayersKey players of smart pulse oximeter market are Nonin Medical Inc, Shenzhen Creative Industry Co.,Ltd, iHealth Labs Inc. Indiegogo, Inc., Technocare Medisystems, Contec Medical Systems Co.,Ltd., and MasimoAbout 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:
Wireline Logging Services Market share research by applications and regions for 2015-2022

https://www.fractovia.org/request-sample/132

https://www.fractovia.org/request-purchase/132

https://www.fractovia.org

Global Wireline Logging Services Market size touched USD 14.18 billion in 2014 as per the recent report published by Global Market Insights, Inc. Advancement in technologies is promoting accessibility of important and deep reservoir which is likely to give a significant boost to this sector. This industry has taken a significant growth leap, driven by technology, rising standards and an increase in needs of customers.Requirement of recoverable resources and huge demand for energy sources are motivating oil and gas industries to spend money on exploration and production, thereby expediting the wireline logging services trend on a worldwide scale. Price drift of crude oil is anticipated to bring a boom in drilling activities resulting in the emergence of numerous projects among different regions.Request for a sample of this research report @The cased-hole logging market includes logging measurements with the help of metal piping, which is introduced at the time of completion of activity. The overall generation of revenue through this sector is 75% of total share in 2014. On the other hand, open-hole activities are performed before completion of the wellbore and this market is anticipated to rise with a CAGR of 7.7% from 2015 to 2022.North America is estimated to continue to be a major region in near future because of the Canada and U.S. market size. This exponential rise is expected because of acceleration in the availability of wells both in onshore as well as offshore region and boosting of shale activities. The possibility of worldwide acceleration in shale gas generation is projected to notice a steep rise in these industries in the coming seven years. Latin America is also predicted to enjoy excellent growth, due to the expediting need of energy and growing demand for logging.Halliburton, Weatherford International, Schlumberger, Baker Hughes, have captured the major wireline logging services market share. Other players comprise of Pioneer Energy Services, Nabors Industries, Superior Energy Services and OilSERV.Make an inquiry for purchasing this report @Ultimately, the boom in this sector entirely depends on the drilling as well as exploration activities going on in the world. Selection of open-hole or cased hole activities depends on geographical location and kind of reservoir. The increase in energy demand has resulted in exploration and drilling in each region of the world. It also results in extraction of maximum from each region, thereby leading to further exploration.However, an adverse environmental condition can act as an obstacle to the growth of this markAbout Fractovia.orgFractovia.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 distributers.Contact Us:Arun HegdeCorporate Sales, USAFractovia.orgPhone: 1-302-846-7766Toll Free: 1-888-689-0688Email: sales@fractovia.orgWebsite:
FMI Releases New Report on the Epoxy Resins Paints Market 2014 - 2020

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Epoxy resins which are also known as polyepoxides belong to the category of reactive prepolymers and polymers that contain the epoxide group. Epoxy resins are one of the most versatile compounds that are widely used in the orthophthalic and polyester family. Epoxy resins usually react either with themselves or with other co-reactants which include phenols, acids, alcohols, polyfunctional amines and thiols among others. Epoxy resins are either low molecular weight pre-polymers or high molecular weight polymers which usually contain at least two epoxide groups. The epoxide group is also known as oxirane and glycidyl group. The raw material required to industrially manufacture epoxy resins are largely derived from petroleum.However, some of the plant derived sources are becoming popular in manufacturing epoxy resins. Epoxy resins being polymeric or semi-polymeric materials and thus, are rarely exist in their pure state. Epoxy resins are known for their excellent electrical, mechanical and heat resistance properties. The epoxide content in the epoxy resins is the most crucial factor which determines the characteristics of epoxy resins. Different grades of epoxy resins are usually blended with various additives, plasticizers and fillers. Epoxy resins find wide range of applications in paints and coatings, electrical and electronic components and structural adhesives manufacturing industries. The paint and coatings industry is one of the major applications of the epoxy resins market.Enter your information below to receive a sample copy of this report @Growing population coupled with changing lifestyle is expected to boost the overall growth of the construction industry. The growing construction industry is expected to augment the growth of the paints and coatings industry. The paints and coating industry is expected to further grow owing to the rising demand from the automobile industry. The rising demand for high end luxury automobiles is further expected to enhance the overall growth of the paints and coatings industry. Thus, the growing paints and coatings industry is expected to drive the overall growth of the epoxy resins market. Epoxy resins are w9idely used by the paints and coating industry on the heavy duty metal substrates. In addition, paints and coatings containing epoxy resins use less energy than that compared to other heat-cured powder coatings. Moreover, paints and coatings containing epoxy resins are also considered environmental friendly than other chemicals.Asia Pacific is the largest manufacturer of epoxy resins owing to the presence of large manufacturers in China. The presence of many manufacturers coupled with their huge production capacities is expected to boost the overall growth of the epoxy resins market. Europe is one of the major consumers of the epoxy resins market. Epoxy resins being environmental friendly are further expected to augment the overall demand in the market. The demand for epoxy resins is gradually growing in North America. Thus, the growing consumer awareness towards environment friendly products coupled with the presence of stringent environmental regulations is expected to further boost the overall growth of the market.Request Report TOC (Table of Contents) @Momentive Performance Materials, Kukdo Chemical (South Korea), Huntsman Corporation (U.S.), The Dow Chemical Company (U.S.), Atul Ltd (India), Sika AG (Switzerland), Cytec Industries Incorporation (U.S.), DuPont (U.S.), 3M (U.S.), BASF SE (Germany), Aditya Birla Chemicals (Thailand) Ltd, NAMA Chemicals (Saudi Arabia), LEUNA-Harze GmbH (Germany), and Spolchemie A.S. (Czech Republic) among others are expected to some of the major participants of the global epoxy resins market. The companies are mainly focused towards developing bio based epoxy resins in order to comply with the stringent environmental regulations.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:
Coating Additives Market Dynamics, Segments and Supply Demand 2014 - 2020

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Coating additives are added to paints and coating to augment its quality and performance. Additives improve dispersion of solids, wetting, foam reduction, anti-catering, gloss control, anti-chipping and UV protection of the coatings. The coatings additives can be of various types such as acrylic, urethanes, fluoropolymers and metallic among others. Acrylic additives are the leading product type followed by urethanes and metallic additives. Coating additives help surfaces deal with external problems such as high temperature, abrasion, moisture, biocides and chemicals resistance. Based on the formulations, the market for coating additives is divided into waterborne, solvent borne and powder coatings systems.The main drivers for the growth of coating additives market are the growing building & construction and automotive industries. There is a huge demand for coating additives from building & construction industry due to increasing demand for better and superior quality surfaces. Residential and commercial buildings are the leading end-users for coating additives and are likely to gain higher market share in the near future owing to increased construction activities, particularly in Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe and Latin America. Other end-users for coating additives include wood & furniture, industrial engineering and aviation among others. However, environmental regulations associated with the harmful effects of VOCs are expected to be a major restraint for the market. Development of water-borne and bio-based coating additives is likely to offer more opportunities in the near future.Enter your information below to receive a sample copy of this report @In terms of formulation used, waterborne systems had the highest consumption in the past few years and are likely to grow in the upcoming years. Waterborne formulations have lower VOCs than others types and are preferred in developed countries where there are stringent environmental regulations. However, more additives are required in case of waterborne in order to achieve higher performance. Asia Pacific was the leading region for the demand of coating additives out of which solvent borne systems had the largest share in the region. The demand in Asia Pacific is due to the increasing construction industry coupled with growing manufacturing activities. North America had the second-largest market share in global coating additives market. European countries had lower share due to the presence of stringent environmental regulations associated with paints & coatings industry, thereby resulting in declining performance in the market.Request Report TOC (Table of Contents) @Some of the key players present in the coating additives market are Akzo Nobel N.V., Ashland Inc., Evonik Industries AG, Momentive Specialty Chemical Inc., The Dow Chemical Company, BASF SE and Cytec Industries Inc. among others.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
One of the Big Disadvantages of Xamarin is History - Connecting to APIs

New Integration Categories on the Xamarin Platform

https://cloudrail.com

Xamarin is one of the major platforms to develop cross platform applications. It lets developers use the same code base to develop native applications for Android, iOS, Windows and more. Due to this fact the platform attracted over 1.4 million developers. While Xamarin makes it easy to develop cross platform, its hard to develop well connected application on the platform. Most apps today rely on several integrations with 3rd party service like Dropbox, Stripe, Facebook and many more. Native app developers can leverage several solutions and well maintained libraries to integrate these services very easily. On Xamarin its a pain, since the only easy way doing it are so called Components, which only exist for a few services and are usually not well maintained. Of course there is also the possibility to call APIs directly, but this is so error prone and time consuming that most developers dont consider it an option.Today API Integration Provider CloudRail () released a version for Xamarin developers which solves this problem. The service, which is already well known among native Android and iOS developers, brings its complete portfolio of integrations on the Xamarin platform. This includes a constantly growing number of APIs like Google Drive, Paypal, Stripe or Twitter which are now accessible for all Xamarin developers.But CloudRail even goes further in the simplification of APIs. With so called Unified Interfaces, CloudRail bundles multiple services of the same kind into an universal API. This allows developers to integrate for example Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive and Box via the exact same API. Using this feature, developers can integrate all providers of the respective category in less time they would actually need for just one. Moreover CloudRail keeps these integrations up-to-date to protect developers from breaking integrations, which is currently a big problem in the industry.We are already providing integrations used by more than 50 million users, mainly on Android and iOS today. Xamarin is our first step into the cross plattform world and were looking forward to be the same game changer here as we were on native platforms, says Felix Kollmar, CEO of CloudRail.The Xamarin SDKs are being available as of today and can be used for free. CloudRail has also versions for Android, iOS (Objective-C and Swift), Java SE and Node.js.Founded in 2013, CloudRails vision is to revolutionize the way APIs are being integrated. With its universal API approach, the start-up is significantly simplifying integrations which leads to a more connected world. Headquartered in Mannheim, Germany and with an office in San Francisco, CA, CloudRail powers reliable integrations which are used by millions of people every day.Felix KollmarCloudRaillicobo GmbHJulius-Hatry-Str. 168163 MannheimGermanyPhone: +49 621 48345965Email: press@cloudrail.com
Global Electronic Braking Systems (EBS) Market 2017 - Continental, Advics Group, WABCO, Knorr Bremse, Bosch, Haldex, MAN

https://www.fiormarkets.com/report-detail/89634/request-sample

https://goo.gl/pdeJwG

www.fiormarkets.com

www.currencyobserver.com

The report studies Electronic Braking Systems (EBS) 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 2022Electronic braking system (EBS) is an automobile brake technology that automatically varies the amount of force applied to each of a vehicle's brakes, based on road conditions, speed, loading, etc. Always coupled with anti-lock braking systems, EBS can apply more or less braking pressure to each wheel in order to maximize stopping power whilst maintaining vehicular control. Typically, the front end carries the most weight and EBS distributes less braking pressure to the rear brakes so the rear brakes do not lock up and cause a skid.Request For Sample Report @Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Electronic Braking Systems (EBS) 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 coversContinentalAdvics GroupWABCOKnorr BremseBoschHaldexMANMarket 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, coversDisc EBSDrum EBSAccess Full Report With TOC @Market Segment by Applications, can be divided intoTruckTrailerOthersThere are 15 Chapters to deeply display the global Electronic Braking Systems (EBS) market.Chapter 1, to describe Electronic Braking Systems (EBS) Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Electronic Braking Systems (EBS), with sales, revenue, and price of Electronic Braking Systems (EBS), 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 Electronic Braking Systems (EBS), 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, Electronic Braking Systems (EBS) market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Electronic Braking Systems (EBS) 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:
CLEARWATER, Fla., Aug. 10, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On Saturday, September 9th at the historic Fort Harrison in downtown Clearwater, the Volunteer Ministers of Florida Bay will honor Patriot Day with a tribute to the patriots of 9/11. The event will begin at 6 and there is no cost to attend.



A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/4b983736-0c01-4fac-a9dc-40a3af201a64

The Volunteer Ministers were one of the first groups to arrive at Ground Zero, said Glendy Goodsell, the Executive Director of the Volunteer Ministers, and we were one of the last to leave. 800 Volunteer Ministers served the people of New York during a horrible time for our country. We want to take this opportunity to thank those who have kept America free, and also acknowledge those who are making their presence felt through their own humanitarian actions.

Guests will enjoy a buffet dinner prepared by the Fort Harrisons Gold-medal winning chefs. Local non-profits will be acknowledged for their daily acts of heroism in the community. A concert featuring the Flag Band will follow the awards.

Regarding the Volunteer Ministers, Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard once said, If one does not like the crime, cruelty, injustice and violence of this society, he can do something about it. He can become a Volunteer Minister and help civilize it, bring it conscience and kindness and love and freedom from travail by instilling into it trust, decency, honesty and tolerance.

For the past 30 years, Volunteer Ministers have been assisting their fellow man in disaster zones around the world. To that end, the Volunteer Ministers partner with relief agencies, law enforcement, first responders and residents to bring calm to areas of upheaval.

The Volunteer Ministers worked with great energy and great compassion at Ground Zero, helping to ease the physical burdens and mental strains of the rescue workers. The organization, the caring, and the dedication of your Volunteer Ministers were exceptional, very much appreciated, and will long be remembered by those who received their help. I cannot thank the Volunteers enough, said a Department Chief from the New York Police in the wake of 9/11.

If you would like more information about attending the Patriot Day Banquet, please contact Glendy Goodsell at (727) 467-6965.

About the Volunteer Ministers: The Volunteer Minister program was created in the mid-1970s by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard, who described the Volunteer Minister as a person who helps his fellow man on a volunteer basis by restoring purpose, truth and spiritual values to the lives of others. The Volunteer Minister program is a broad initiative bringing effective physical and spiritual assistance to anyone, anywhere. The training is open to anyone who desires to help others and empower them to overcome difficulties and change conditions for the better.
Plywood  Comprehensive Market Study with focus on key drivers and trends

Plywood Market

https://www.htfmarketreport.com/sample-report/627062-plywood-global-market-outlook

https://www.htfmarketreport.com/buy-now?format=1&report=627062

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https://www.htfmarketreport.com/reports/627062-plywood-global-market-outlook

A new research document with title 'Plywood - Global Market Outlook (2016-2022) covering detailed analysis, Competitive landscape, forecast and strategies. The study covers geographic analysis that includes regions like North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Rest of the World and important players/vendors such as Atlantic Plywood Corporation, Ainsworth Lumber Co. Ltd., Uniply Industries Ltd. etc. The report will help user gain market insights, future trends and growth prospects for forecast period of 2016-2022.Request a sample report @SummaryAccording to Research, the Global Plywood Market is accounted for $XX million in 2016 and is expected to reach $XX million by 2022 growing at a CAGR of XX% from 2016 to 2022. Growing demand for housing and increasing usage of plywood in marine application for checks are the driving factors for the market growth. The demand is increased due to rising importance of plywood in buildings & construction industries. However, high cost of plywood is a major restraining factor for the market.By geography, North America commanded the largest market share during the forecast period followed by Europe owing to increasing demand for housing and construction. In Europe, the demand for plywood is mainly in U.K. and Germany. Asia Pacific is the fastest growing region. The demand for this region is driven by emerging countries such as Japan, India and China attributed to construction activities in this region.Some of the key players in this market include Weyerhaeuser Company, Georgia-Pacific Corporation, Century Plyboard (India) Ltd., Atlantic Plywood Corporation, Ainsworth Lumber Co. Ltd., Uniply Industries Ltd., Greenply Industries Ltd., Eksons Corp. Bhd, Boise Cascade LLC, Columbia Forest Products Inc., Norbord Inc., Roseburg Forest Products Co, Dongwha Enterprise Co. Ltd., Duratex S/A and Arauco do Brasil S/A.Applications Covered: Tropical plywood Softwood plywood Decorative plywood Hardwood plywoodBuy this report @Regions 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 6 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 developmentsGet customization & check discount for report @1 Executive Summary2 Preface2.1 Abstract2.2 Stake Holders2.3 Research Scope2.4 Research Methodology2.4.1 Data Mining2.4.2 Data Analysis2.4.3 Data Validation2.4.4 Research Approach2.5 Research Sources2.5.1 Primary Research Sources2.5.2 Secondary Research Sources2.5.3 Assumptions3 Market Trend Analysis3.1 Introduction3.2 Drivers3.3 Restraints3.4 Opportunities3.5 Threats3.6 Application Analysis3.7 Emerging Markets3.8 Futuristic Market Scenario....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, NJ USA - 08837sales@htfmarketreport.comPh: +1 (206) 317 1218
Polyols Market to reach $35.8 billion by 2022

Polyols Market

https://www.htfmarketreport.com/sample-report/627064-polyols-global-market-outlook

https://www.htfmarketreport.com/buy-now?format=1&report=627064

https://www.htfmarketreport.com/request-discount/627064-polyols-global-market-outlook

https://www.htfmarketreport.com/reports/627064-polyols-global-market-outlook

A new research document with title 'Polyols - Global Market Outlook (2016-2022) covering detailed analysis, Competitive landscape, forecast and strategies. The study covers geographic analysis that includes regions like North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Rest of the World and important players/vendors such as Mitsui Chemicals Inc, Vertellus Specialties Inc, Stepan Company etc. The report will help user gain market insights, future trends and growth prospects for forecast period of 2016-2022.Request a sample report @SummaryAccording to Research, the Global Polyols Market is valued at $19.3 billion in 2015 and is expected to reach $35.8 billion by 2022 growing at a CAGR of 9.2% from 2015 to 2022. The market growth is mainly driven by increase in construction, furniture & interiors and industries across the world. Polyols are one of the major elements of polyurethane foams. Rising refrigerator manufacturers demand and building & construction industry are boosting the market. The volatility in cost of raw materials is hindering the market growth. Manufacturing of bio-based polyols provide ample opportunities in this market.Asia-Pacific has the largest market share accounting for around 35% of the global market. Flexible Foam is presently the leading consumer of polyols. The flexible foams (polyurethane) provide strength, comfort and energy absorption. The mechanical force of these foams is extremely compressive and its strength allows less-density insulating cores to be faced with moderately thin aluminium or steel. Rising demand of polyether polyols from polyurethane foam market which improve applications in fittings and bedding industry is driving the global market.Some of the key players in the market include Mitsui Chemicals Inc, Vertellus Specialties Inc, Stepan Company, Shandong Dongda Chemical Industry Co Ltd, Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Recticel S.A, Perstorp Ab, PCC Rokita SA, Nippon Polyurethane Industry Co. Ltd, Lonza Group, Invista B.V, Huntsman Corporation, Emery Oleochemicals, DuPont, Dow Chemicals, COIM S.P.A, Chemtura Corporation, Cargill Incorporated, Bayer AG and BASF SE.Product Types Covered: Polyester Polyols Polyether PolyolsApplications Covered: Coatings Adhesives & Sealants Elastomers Polyurethaneo Semi rigid foamo Rigid Foamo Molded foamo Flexible Foam Other Applicationso Synthetic lubricantso Surface active agentso Reaction Injection Molding (RIM)o Inkso Defoamerso Castingso BindersEnd Users Covered: Pharmaceuticalo Breath mintso Chewing gumo Cough medicineso Other Pharmaceutical Personal careo Toothpasteo Perfumeso Mouthwasho Make-upo Lotionso Deodorants Footwear Food and Beverageo Syrupso Frozen dessertso Cookieso Candieso Other Food and Beverage Electrical & Electronics Transportation Construction Automotive Other End Userso Furnitureo Packagingo Carpet backingBuy this report @Regions 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 advancementsGet customization & check discount for report @1 Executive Summary2 Preface2.1 Abstract2.2 Stake Holders2.3 Research Scope2.4 Research Methodology2.4.1 Data Mining2.4.2 Data Analysis2.4.3 Data Validation2.4.4 Research Approach2.5 Research Sources2.5.1 Primary Research Sources2.5.2 Secondary Research Sources2.5.3 Assumptions3 Market Trend Analysis3.1 Introduction3.2 Drivers3.3 Restraints3.4 Opportunities3.5 Threats3.6 Product Analysis3.7 Application Analysis3.8 End User Analysis3.9 Emerging Markets3.10 Futuristic Market Scenario4 Porters Five Force Analysis4.1 Bargaining power of suppliers4.2 Bargaining power of buyers4.3 Threat of substitutes4.4 Threat of new entrants4.5 Competitive rivalry....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, NJ USA - 08837sales@htfmarketreport.comPh: +1 (206) 317 1218
Worldwide Retail Order Management Software - Market Type, Application and Forecast To 2021

ReportsWeb

http://www.reportsweb.com/world-retail-order-management-software-market-forecast-to-2021

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Publisher's Retail Order Management Software 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 Retail Order Management Software Market: Application Segment AnalysisThe Players mentioned in our reportEpicor Software CorporationMicrosoft CorporationSAPIBMManhattan Associates.OrderDynamicsMNPSandersonFreestyle Solutions.OracleBrightpearlRetailOpsSpringboard RetailFor More Information About This Report:Global Retail Order Management Software Market: Regional Segment AnalysisUSAEuropeJapanChinaIndiaSouth East AsiaRequest Sample Copy At:Table of ContentChapter 1 About the Retail Order Management Software IndustryChapter 2 World Market Competition LandscapeChapter 3 World Retail Order Management Software 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 Retail Order Management Software 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
Chlorinated Polyethylene Resins and Elastomers (CPE) Market 2015 - 2025 Shares, Trend and Growth Report

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Chlorinated polyethylene (CPE) resins and elastomersare thermoplastic polymers exhibiting enhanced physical and chemical properties. These are used as thermoplastic elastomer, modifier for various resins such as Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) andPolyethyelene(PE). Chlorinated polyethylene resins offer resistance against chemical, fire, heat, oil, weather, abrasion. Other properties of CPE include excellent mechanical and physical properties, high filler acceptance, tensile strength and low temperature performance. The applications of chlorinated polyethylene resins and elastomers include geomembranes, as impact modifier andflexible sheeting for automotive, roofing membranes, molded shapes, extruded profiles and cable jacketing and as a base polymer.Growing demand for chlorinated polyethylene resins and elastomers in impact modification application is expected to drive the market growth. Impact modification is the largest application of CPE in terms of consumption. It is widely used for impact modification of PVC for fence, deck, window profiles, pipes and vinyl siding.CPEs are added into formulations of PVC, PE and PP plastic products to improve impact resistance, low temperature performance, welding strength, and weatherability. In addition, growing demand from flexible sheetingelectrical wires and cables, roofing applications and rubber products for seals and shoe soles.Enter your information below to receive a sample copy of this report @Flexible sheeting industry is experiencing high growth in Asia Pacific region due to growing construction and electrical industries. These two industries are driven by changing lifestyle and rising disposable income.Further, rising demand from automobile hoses and industrial hoses is expected to fuel the chlorinated polyethylene resins and elastomers market growth. Owing to properties such as ozone resistance, chemical resistance, oil resistance and temperature resistance, CPE has become ideal choice for applications such as oil tubes, power steering tubes, delivery tubes of cooling fluids. It can be also used for vent and vacuum tubes in automotive. Automobile industry is driven by global demand for various types of automotives for variety of applications. Industrial hoses are used for chemical delivery and oil delivery in difference machineries of manufacturing plants.However, rising crude oil prices and hence volatility in raw materials prices are expected to hamper the market growth for chlorinated polyethylene resins and elastomers. Polyethylene is manufactured from crude oil derivatives and is subjected to availability and price variations. In addition, high cost of processing to develop the application specific elastomer or resin is expected to hamper the market growth.Development of new applications in healthcare and pharmaceutical are expected to provide opportunities for the players in the market. Due to non-hazardous nature of chlorinated polyethylene resins and elastomers, it can be used for manufacturing plants of pharmaceuticals and healthcare industry.Request Report TOC (Table of Contents) @Asia Pacific was largest market for chlorinated polyethylene resins and elastomers in terms of consumption. China accounts for largest share in the global market in terms of production and consumption. Most of CPE in China is used for impact modifier and hoses application. Asia Pacific was followed by North America where the U.S. was the largest consumer. Demand from Europe and Rest of the World is expected to grow at moderate pace.Global chlorinated polyethylene resins and elastomers market is highly concentrated with few players dominating the market. Most of the players have their manufacturing plant in China and threat from Chinese players is moderate due to high cost of processing.Key players in Chlorinated polyethylene resins and elastomers market include the Dow Chemical Company, Sundow Polymers Co. Ltd., Lianda Corporation, Du Pont, Novista - Sanyi Chemical, WeifangPolygrandChemical Co.Ltd., Shandong SanyiIndustrial Co. Ltd., Cevo Industry Company Ltd. among others.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Global Acidity Regulator Market Set for Rapid Growth And Trend, by 2015 - 2025

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Acidity regulators are pH control agents that are used as food additives in order to regulate the acidity or basicity of the food product. Acidity regulators may be mineral or organic acids, neutralizing agents, bases or buffering agents. Acidity regulators are indispensable to the food and beverage industry and are extensively used in diverse applications such as beverages, processed food, condiments, bakery items, confectionary items, sauces and dressings, among others. They regulate and stabilizethe pH balance and act as preservativesfor the food product in order to optimize its shelf life. Apart from improving the shelf life of the food products, acidity regulators also act as a flavoring substance in confectionary items and condiments. They are also used as taste modifiers and often add a sharp taste to the food product and also function as gelling agents. Acids are naturally present in many fruits and vegetables such as lemons, oranges, mangos, tomatoes, strawberries and apples. Acidity regulators can either be extracted from natural sources or manufactured synthetically.Based on types, acidity regulators can be broadly classified into acetic acid, lactic acid, citric acid, maleic acid and phosphoric acid. These food additives exhibit preservative, anti-microbial and pH stabilizing properties that increase the shelf life of the food products. The acidity regulator market has gained considerable momentum over the past decade owing to the growth in demand for end-user applications such as beverages and processed food. There has been an increased demand for processed food and health-conscious products among the new age consumers which has positively affected the demand for food acidity regulators.The end-user segment for beverages (non alcoholic and soft drinks) constituted the largest share for acidity regulators demand followed by sauces, dressings and condiments. Processed food is expected to exhibit the third largest demand for acidity regulators globally. By product types, citric acid enjoys the largest demand, closely followed by phosphoric acid. These acids are preferred over the others in the beverage applications due to their properties, which explain their high demand.Enter your information below to receive a sample copy of this report @The growing consumer acceptance for processed food and ready-to-drink beverages has also favorably affected the demand for acidity regulators. Rising disposable income levels and time constraints faced by the global population has also increased their preference for packaged food. Moreover, in the fast-paced lifestyles, ready-to-eat and readyto-cook foods find preference among the young consumers as it saves precious time. Acidity regulators are used in frozen foods, canned foods as well as dried foods.The acidity regulator market has witnessed a number of innovations and improvisations among manufacturers in recent years and this is expected to bode well for the industry in the coming years. Traditionally, most of the acids were extracted by the process of natural fermentation. However, many manufacturers turned to various modern extraction techniques such as methanol carbonylation, acetaldehyde oxidation and oxidative fermentation which provide higher yield of acids, to cope with the increasing demand.Request Report TOC (Table of Contents) @Asia Pacific accounted for the highest demand for acidity regulators in 2014, and China generated the highest demand, followed by India. China also accounted for a huge number of manufacturers, providing tough competition for the Western companies. Asia Pacific is also expected to the fastest growing region in terms of acidity regulator demand. North America accounted for the second largest market for acidity regulators in the same year, followed by Europe.Some of the key companies that operate in this market are American Tartaric Products, Fuerst Day Lawson, Archer Daniels Midland, FBC Industries Inc., Parry Enterprises India, and Chemelco International, among many others.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
FMI Releases New Report on the Glutaraldehyde Market 2015 - 2025

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Glutaraldehyde is an organic compound widely used as disinfectant and as preservative. It is a colorless and slimy liquid, commonly available in aqueous solution. Glutaraldehyde solutions commonly contain about 1% to 2% glutaraldehyde in it. Glutaraldehyde is usually manufactured industrially by oxidizing cyclopentane or by reacting methyl vinyl ether and acrolein followed by hydrolysis of the compound. The chemical is used in different applications but its primary application is as a disinfectant or cold sterilant for medical dental and surgical equipments.All medically invasive procedures require sterilization of the equipments in order to rule out any chances of infection resulting from contaminated equipments. Glutaraldehyde solution is extensively used in the medical and health care industry to cold sterilize the equipments prior to any surgical procedure. Some of the medical equipment sterilizing products that contain glutaraldehyde as an active ingredient are Hospex, Glutarex, Cidex, Aldesen and Soniacide among many others. Apart from its use in medical device sterilization it is also used as a fixative agent for tissues. Tissue fixation comprise of two steps: killing the normal function of the tissue and stabilizing the structure of the tissue. Glutaraldehyde cross links the protein of the cells and helps to kill the cells quickly. This completes the first step of tissue fixation. Apart from that glutaraldehyde is also employed as a hardening or cross linking agent to reduce the drying cycle in X-Ray film processing. This application is not only wide spread in the medical industry but has found application in some engineering applications as well.Enter your information below to receive a sample copy of this report @Glutaraldehyde is also used as a chemical for the treatment of water in cooling towers, water recirculating systems and air washers in order to control and eliminate microbial growth in the systems as well as prevent corrosion. It also finds significant application in off-shore applications, where it is added to sea-water in order to prevent attack from certain sulfate reducing micro organisms which cause corrosion. Glutaraldehyde is also used as 9industrial cleaning agents particularly in food and beverage industry and tobacco industry. It is also present in the general retail cleaners in small quantities. Owing to its good disinfecting property highly concentrated solution of glutaraldehyde is used in the paper manufacturing industry to inhibit the growth of micro organisms in paper pulps. The disinfectant also finds application in several other industries such as aquaculture, leather tanning, cosmetics, and animal healthcare.In spite of the compounds wide spread application its high toxicity and environmentally hazardous nature is a major restraint for growth. The chemical is highly regulated owing to the health risk it poses. Even 1% solution of glutaraldehyde is poisonous for human and animals alike and any product containing more than 0.1% glutaraldehyde solution is labeled hazardous. The common ways of poisoning include contact with skin or inhalation of fumes. High level of precaution needs to be undertaken in order to reduce occupational as well as environmental exposure to glutaraldehyde, which is a costly affair for the market players. Due to these concerns, efforts have been undertaken to reduce dependency on glutaraldehyde and find suitable substitutions.Request Report TOC (Table of Contents) @The largest demand for glutaraldehyde is derived from Europe followed by North America and Asia Pacific regions. However the demand is expected to slow down in Europe and pick up in Asia Pacific region lead by China and India.Some of the major companies operating in this market are BASF SE, Dow Chemicals, and Union Carbide Corporation among many others.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Good Growth Opportunities in Global Cyclomethicone Market Till 2015 - 2025

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Cyclomethicone also known as decamethylcyclopentasiloxane is a clear, odorless, alcohol free and colorless silicone liquid. It is soluble with numerous oil based products. It has a cyclical structure rather than linear structure of dimethyl silicone. Cyclomethicones are commonly used as base solvents to blend fragrance oils, perfumes and other cosmetic formulations. They evaporate quickly and they are miscible with a variety of cosmetics oils, waxes, hydrocarbons and silicone oils. This property of cyclomethicones makes them a key ingredient in cosmetics as base solvents. Cyclomethicones are insoluble in water. Additionally, they are low surface tension fluids, which allow them to easily spread on the surface they are applied to.The key driver for the market of cyclomethicone is the growing cosmetics market. The emergence and widespread usage of new age cosmetics such as hair conditioners, shampoos, leave- in conditioners, eye make-up products and body lotions have cyclomethicone as the base solvent. When used in skin care products, cyclomethicone, leaves the skin feeling smooth and lubricated instead of sticky or oily. Another driver for this market is the growing pharmaceuticals market. The increased awareness towards health and increase in the aging population is a driver for this market. Cyclomethicone is used in ointment and gels formulations. Medicated toothpastes, ointments and pain alleviating gels have cyclomethicone as a key base solvent; it helps in the easy spreading of the cream. Excessive exposure to cyclomethicone results in irritation of the skin in humans. In case of highly sensitive skin, there might be skin irritation due to its use. In such cases a milder emulsifier should be used. Cyclomethicone does not contribute to ozone-depletion and is therefore being used as an alternative for non-VOC (volatile organic compound) compliant petroleum-based solvents, as both carrying agent and cleaning solvent. The growing demand for non-VOC solvents is expected to open new opportunities for the growth of the market in the near future.Enter your information below to receive a sample copy of this report @Based on region wise segmentation, China is the largest producer of cyclomethicone. It is also the largest consumer of cyclomethicone, followed by United States, Western Europe and Japan. These countries are the major manufacturers of cosmetics. China and the Indian sub continent produce a variety of generic drugs, which is another major area of application for cyclomethicone.The segmentation of cyclomethicone based on end use is cosmetics industry, pharmaceuticals industry and other industries such as lubricants, paints and varnishes and printing inks. The molecules of cyclomethicone are too large to enter the skin but function as carriers and evaporate after spreading on the skin, thus acting as vehicle for the formulation without getting absorbed in the skin. They however allow the active ingredients of the formulation to enter the skin, thus facilitate healing of the skin. Cyclomethicones help in easy application of make-up and are used in hair care products because they increase the hair's manageability while imparting a clean and healthy appearance. Additionally, they improve the appearance of scars and reduce discomfort. They are hypoallergenic and well tolerated by the skin. Cyclomethicone improves scratch resistance, acts as a flow leveling agent and prevents floating of pigments and matting agents, due to these properties, they are making gradual in roads into paints and varnishes market, however, this market is nascent as of now.Request Report TOC (Table of Contents) @The major players in this market are Dow Corning, Wacker Chemie, Wuhan Jiehong International Trading Co., Ltd., Cray Valley India Private Limited, Baoying Chemical Adjuvant Factory Of Jiangsu Province, Hong Ye Jie Technology Co. Limited and Guangzhou Yinghui Trading Co. Limited among others. This research report presents a comprehensive assessment of the market and contains thoughtful insights, facts, historical data and statistically-supported and industry-validated market data and projections with a suitable set of assumptions and methodology. It provides analysis and information by categories such as market segments, regions, product types and distribution channels.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:
Aluminum Chemicals Market 2015 - 2025 Shares, Trend and Growth Report

United States

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Aluminium is a silvery white chemical element that belongs to the boron group. It has symbol Al, atomic number 13 and under normal circumstances it is insoluble in water. Aluminium is ductile that can be drawn into wires and malleable which can be beaten into thin sheets. Aluminium chemical known as aluminium trihydrate is produced from bauxite by the bayer process which is used in production of aluminium metal. The majoraluminiumtrihydrate end use application consist of raw materials for production of chemicals that contain aluminium, reinforcement fillers and flame retardants in elastomers, plastics, adhesives and other products, coatings and filler pigments in papermaking among others. Aluminium sulfate is used as a flocculating agent for water purification. Aluminium hydroxide is found naturally as a mineral named gibbsite that is also known as hydrargillite is used as a feedstock for manufacture of aluminium compounds such as specialty calcined alumina among others. Sodium aluminate is an inorganic commercial chemical which is an effective source of aluminium hydroxide. This chemical has various technical and industrial applications.Aluminium silicate, aluminium phosphide and poly aluminium chloride are other aluminium chemicals which are used in textile, paper and medical industry among others.Aluminium is extracted by two process such as Bayer process followed by hall method. In the Bayers process bauxite is mixed with sodium hydroxide that dissolves in aluminium oxide. The other compounds from bauxite are left at the rear. The aluminium oxide is then treated with a Hall method. Enough cryolite is not available to make aluminium that is needed and therefore, synthetic cryolite is produced for this purpose.Enter your information below to receive a sample copy of this report @Aluminium has wide areas of applications. It is used as pure metal in various compounds and alloys which is made by melting and mixing more than two metals. The aluminium chemicals also find a large area of application such as textile, medical, paper and fertilizers among others. Aluminium sulfate which is also known as alum is used in the paper and pulp industry on a large scale. The other application of alum is in the water treatment plants Aluminium based intermediates are use in the production of paints, tires, textiles, leather, foods and fertilizers among others. Aluminium acetate is a salt that is used as an astringent. Aluminium borate has application in glass and ceramics. Aluminium fluorosilicate is also used to produce glass and synthetic gemstones. Aluminium hydroxide is used as a mordant and as an antacid to purify water.The major driving factors for aluminum chemicals market is huge demand from water treatment plants and growing use of aluminium chemical in the glass and ceramic industry. Chemicals such as aluminium hydroxide, aluminium borate and aluminium sulfate are used on a large scale owing to the wide areas of applications in the market therefore boosting demand for aluminium chemicals in the market.Request Report TOC (Table of Contents) @The major segments for aluminium chemicals market include North America, Asia Pacific, Europe and Rest of the World (RoW). China is the largest consumer of aluminium chemicals for manufacture of electronic products and plastics materials that are used to manufacture automobile parts. Therefore, Asia Pacific is expected to be the largest market for aluminium chemicals. North America is anticipated to boost demand for aluminium chemicals for manufacture of ceramics, paints and adhesives among others.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Systweaks Anti-Malware app hits 10K download mark

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.systweak.androidantimalware

Systweaks Anti-Malware app has reached 10K downloads within 3 months of its launch on Android.The app provides real time protection and tracks down and destroys any existing malware hiding in Android devices. With Systweak Anti-Malware, it is possible to detect and block latest known and unknown malware threats. The app may be similar to many other anti-malware apps out there but it includes other distinguishing features like listing applications on your phone that can cost you money which makes it stand apart.In words of Shrishail Rana, CEO, Systweak Software, Systweak Anti-Malware is a fast and next generation security app that ensures your device is safe from malware threats. The 10,000 download mark is just the beginning, there is a long way to go. Users will be able to secure their devices in the most optimal way; security is of utmost importance and cannot be compromised.Systweak Anti-Malware is an essential security app with real time protection and latest database updates. It protects Android devices from all vulnerabilities and attacks with its advanced tools and latest features, added Mr. Yuvraj Gautam, Product Manager.Systweak Anti-Malware is compatible with all Android devices and can be downloaded from the Play Store.Systweak Software has been developing and distributing Windows, Mac, iOS & Android Apps since last 18 years to improve the average users digital experience. It has recently been featured in 100 Most Promising Microsoft Solution Providers list by the enterprise solutions magazine, CIO Review. Some of the companys flagship apps have been featured on Newswatch, the Discovery Channels tech news bulletin. Systweak Software has a large user-base in North America followed by several countries in Europe and Asia.572 & 573, G-1, Tower B-1 Evolve, IT/ITeS Mahindra World City, Village Kalwara, Taluka Sanganer, Jaipur- 302037, INDIA Phone: +91-141-2243030, 2243031 (5:00 AM to 5:00 PM G.M.T.) FAX: +91-141-2577982
Blood Sugar Strips Market Rugged Expansion Foreseen by 2025

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The market for the self-monitoring of blood glucose is worth billions of dollars and is a lucrative market, despite the fact that the industry is facing declining prices and slower growth. Given the fact that blood sugar test strips are seen as generic products by consumers and insurers, without introducing any innovative technology, it would be extremely difficult for the new entrants in the self-monitoring of blood glucose market to entrench themselves. In addition, the prices of the blood sugar testing strips are declining, market growth can only occur by convincing the existing patient base to test themselves more frequently and to identify more of the undisclosed diabetes suffering patient pool. United States is the largest market for the self-monitoring of blood glucose and other regions of the world are fast catching up. There has been an exponential growth in the market for blood sugar strips and they have now become more affordable to the general public and their cost is generally reimbursed in the health insurance policies.To View full report @The main market driver for blood sugar test strips is the growing epidemic of diabetes the world over. As per the figures provided by the World Health Organisation, the population of the world suffering from diabetes in the year 2000 was 171 million which is going to rise to 366 million in the year 2030. Coupled with this, the growing scourge of obesity in the world, especially in the United States, and the increasing number of geriatric population is also fuelling the population of people suffering from diabetes. Moreover, with the increasing affluence in the developing and major economies of China and India, where incomes are rising, the market for blood sugar test strips is growing at a faster rate. A rising population in these economies combined with an increased impetus on the healthcare is going to give a boost to the blood sugar test strips market in these developing economies.A sample of this report is available upon request @Increasing awareness about diabetes in the world is also giving a fillip to the worldwide blood sugar test strips market. While still people are not self-testing their blood glucose levels as per the recommended limits set by various medical organisations, the awareness to test and avail protection against diabetes is rising the world over, giving a boost to the worldwide blood sugar test strips market. In addition, advances in the self-monitoring of blood glucose testing technologies have made it easier for individuals to test themselves for diabetes and monitor their blood glucose levels. These advancement in technology and the ease of testing has also given a boost to the blood sugar test strips market. In this context, advances in software, that allow medical professionals to directly download patient data from blood glucose monitors has also paved the way of increasing the use of such devices, thereby increasing the market for blood sugar testing strips.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @However, there are various factors that are acting as a restraint to the worldwide blood sugar test strips market. One of the major factor is the falling prices of blood sugar test strips due to intense competition and the overabundance of market players in this field. Also, besides United States, there are certain countries where blood sugar test strips are available at half the prices than those available in United States, and this is creating an intense price pressure on the vendors of blood sugar test strips all over the world. There is a general unwillingness from the patients suffering from diabetes to pay more out of their pocket for the treatment of diabetes, thereby the frequency of self-testing of blood glucose levels is becoming less and less among such pool of patients.Companies that dominate the blood sugar test strips market include F.Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Abbott Laboratories, LifeScan, Inc., and Bayer Healthcare AG.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:
Washington, D.C., Aug. 10, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ambassador John Bolton announced today his endorsement of Kevin Nicholson in his bid to represent Wisconsin in the United States Senate. In addition, the John Bolton PAC will contribute a total of $10,000 to his 2018 campaign, which will be split between the primary and general elections. This announcement marks the first endorsement by Ambassador Bolton in a potentially competitive primary, due in large part to the significant role Wisconsin will play in maintaining the GOPs majority in the Senate.

As a highly decorated U.S. Marine veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, Kevin fundamentally understands what it takes to keep America safe, said Ambassador Bolton. I know he will strengthen our military to eliminate ISIS and keep our adversaries at bay. I support Kevin and look forward to him being the GOP nominee because he is best suited to support policies that protect the U.S. abroad and he can defeat Tammy Baldwin in 2018.

Kevin Nicholson issued the following statement in response to Ambassador Boltons endorsement and contribution to his campaign:

I am honored to have the support of Ambassador John Bolton, one of our nations true foreign policy leaders. We both understand that America faces unprecedented threats to our security  and the weak stances that Democrats like Tammy Baldwin have taken against ISIS and countries like North Korea and Iran make us less safe. I understand firsthand the dangers we face as a nation, and will make the safety and security of Wisconsin families my top priority in the U.S. Senate.

Ambassador Bolton has endorsed 11 candidates for U.S. Congress and contributed a collective $110,000 in 2018, signaling his plans to significantly increase contributions in this election cycle. For the 2016 elections, the John Bolton PAC contributed a total of $680,000 and endorsed 94 candidates, making it the most active leadership PAC in the country, and earning the PAC numerous industry awards.

In addition to his leadership PAC, Ambassador Bolton heads the John Bolton SuperPAC, which spent nearly $5M on independent expenditures in three U.S. Senate races in the 2016 election cycle.

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About the John Bolton PAC (www.boltonpac.com): The John Bolton PAC was founded by former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John R. Bolton to raise the importance of American national security in federal elections. The PAC will support and contribute to candidates who are committed to restoring strong American economic and national security policies that secure America's interests in a challenging world.

Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3c9b54cf-d2e5-4357-b850-5fac028efaa5
Good Growth Opportunities in Global Diketene Market Till 2015 - 2025

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Diketene is a light colored or colorless liquid, non-hygroscopic that is polymerized on standing. It has a pungent odor and is irritant to eyes, nose and throat. Diketene is inflammable and has a moderate risk of fire. It is a dimeric form of ketene and is similar to but less toxic than ketene. It readily polymerizes and hence cannot be stored or shipped in gaseous state. Diketene is not isolated but it is consumed once as it is produced. It is known by the formula (CH2CO) 2 and is a member of the oxetane family that is formed by dimerization of ketene. Diketene is produced by dehydrating acetic acid at a temperature of 700 to 750 degree celcius in the existence of triethyl ether as a catalyst. The other method for manufacturing diketene is by thermolysis of acetone at a temperature of 600 to 700 degree celcius in the presence of catalyst such as carbon disulphide. Some of the diketene derivatives include acetoacetates, arylamides, alkylamides, acrylic acid esters and other diketene derivatives.Diketene is an important industrial intermediate that is used in the manufacture of acetoacetate amides and esters which also substitutes 1-phenyl-3-methylpyrazolones. It is also used in the production of dyestuff and pigments. Diketene is a highly reactive building block that can be combined to manufacture a wide range of products. It has applications in vitamins, pharmaceuticals, pigment and agrochemical industries among others. Some of the niche markets are in plasticizers, cosmetics and paints to name a few.Enter your information below to receive a sample copy of this report @The factors which drive the diketene market are the growing applications in the pharmaceutical and pigment industries. In the pharmaceutical industry, diketene is used in the manufacture of wide range of antibiotics. The others industries such as the paints and agrochemical are also anticipated to boost demand for diketene in the market in the near future. Among the above mentioned factors, the upcoming application in the pesticide industry is also expected to fuel demand for diketene as 40% of diketene is consumed by the pesticide industry.The factors that are responsible to hamper the growth of the market include the ill effects of diketene on human health as it is a strong irritant to eyes, nose and throat. Inhalation of diketene causes respiratory tract infection and irritation, can be harmful if swallowed and can be harmful if absorbed by skin causing skin irritation. These factors act as restraining factors for the growth of the diketene market.The key segments for diketene market include North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Rest of the World (RoW). The strong growth in the pigment industry in the developed countries such as U.S. is expected to cater demand for diketene in the market. The developing country such as the Asia Pacific has huge growth potential for the pharmaceutical industries and hence is anticipated to boost demand for diketene. China has huge production facilities for diketene and hence it consumes huge amount of diketene for a wide variety of applications.Request Report TOC (Table of Contents) @The major companies profiled for diketene are Lonza (Switzerland) and Synthetic Chemical Industry, UCC, FMC (United States), Eastman (United States), Celanese (Britain), Hoechst (Germany), Teijin Shoji Co. Ltd (Japan), Daicel Chemical Industry (Japan). The companies like Eastman have expanded the production capacity of diketene, primarily the derivatives such as acetoamides, acetoacetates and acetoacetanilides to meet the growing demand of the pharmaceutical industry and the pigment industry.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:
Flat Belt Pulley Market Outlook 2017-2022 Misumi, Brewer, ContiTech AG, Fenner PLC

Flat Belt Pulley

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http://www.spiremarketresearch.com/global-flat-belt-pulley-market-2017-demand-insights-key-players-segmentation-and-forecast-to-2022

Flat Belt Pulley Market Research 2017A market study  Global Condenser Microphones Market  examines the performance of the Flat Belt Pulley market Size 2017. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Flat Belt Pulley market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Flat Belt Pulley market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Flat Belt Pulley Market 2017 report includes Flat Belt Pulley market Size, Revenue, market Share, Flat Belt Pulley industry volume, market Trends, Flat Belt Pulley Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report.It shows manufacturing capacity, Flat Belt Pulley Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.Request For Sample Report:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Flat Belt Pulley Market 2017:MisumiBrewerContiTech AGFenner PLCArntz Optibelt GmbHRegina Industria SpADesignatronicsTsubakimoto UKDayco ProductsGraingerCanton RacingFlat Belt Pulley Market : ApplicationIndustrial EquipmentApplication 2Flat Belt Pulley Market : TypeDouble GrooveSingle GrooveMultiple GrooveFirstly, the report covers the top Flat Belt Pulley manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Flat Belt Pulley report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Flat Belt Pulley industry, Flat Belt Pulley industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Flat Belt Pulley Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Full Report Here@The Flat Belt Pulley 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 Flat Belt Pulley market revenue worldwide.Finally, Flat Belt Pulley 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
Ethylene Dichloride Market Dynamics, Segments and Supply Demand 2015 - 2025

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The chemical compound 1,2-dichloroethane is commonly known as ethylene dichloride (EDC). EDC is mainly used to manufacture vinyl chloride monomer. It is also a major precursor to manufacture polyvinyl chloride (PVC). EDC is a colorless liquid which has an odour similar to that of chloroform. EDC is widely used as an intermediate for manufacturing various other solvents as well as other organic chemical compound.Majority of the ethylene dichloride manufactured is consumed in the production of vinyl chloride monomer. The vinyl chloride monomer is used in the production of polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Thus, the growing PVC market is expected to boost the growth of the overall market of ethylene dichloride. EDC is widely used to manufacture PVC that has end uses in pipe, windows, fittings, roof tiles, fencing and automobile parts. Most of the end-user applications are in the construction industry. Thus, the growing construction industry is expected to boost the overall growth of the EDC market. Changing lifestyle and growing purchasing power in Asia Pacific has led to an increase in the demand for larger living space which in turn has boosted the growth of the overall construction industry.Enter your information below to receive a sample copy of this report @EDC is an essential chemical used in the construction industry. New resin grades are being developed using ethylene dichloride which in turn is expected to augment the growth of the market. EDC is also widely used to manufacture a wide range of chlorinated solvents such as vinylidene chloride, ethylene amines, trichloroethane and trichloroethylene among others. EDC is also widely used as solvents in textile, metal cleaning and adhesive industries. However, various stringent environment regulations regarding the solvent emissions is expected to hamper the growth of ethylene dichloride market.Request Report TOC (Table of Contents) @Some of the companys manufacturing ethylene dichloride includes Gendorf, Dow Chemicals, Henan Furuidi Chemical Industry Co. Ltd., PT Asahimas Chemical and Horizon Chemical Industry Co. Ltd. among others.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Vehicle Electrification Market Globally Expected to Drive Growth through 2025

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Electrification of a vehicle is considered as one of the best way to reduce carbon emission, increase vehicle efficiency and reduce dependency over oil. Vehicle electrification generates new opportunities for consumer engagement along with various environmental and economic benefits. We can replace various hydraulic or mechanical systems with electric systems: hydraulic power steering with electric power steering and mechanical or hydraulic pumps with electric pumps. The air conditioner in a vehicle canVehicle Electrification Market: Drivers & RestraintsIncreasing prices of conventional fuels, growth in the sales of electric vehicles will enhance the growth of vehicle electrification. Growing demand for fuel efficient vehicles, stringent emission norm along with increasing environmental awareness among the consumer are also expected to fuel the growth of vehicle electrification market. Governments of various countries such as US are actively supporting vehicle electrification by providing tax exemption and subsidies.Request Report Sample@Vehicle Electrification Market: SegmentationOn the basis of product type, vehicle electrification market is broadly segmented as:StartStop SystemElectric Power Steering (EPS)Liquid Heater PTCElectric Air-Conditioner CompressorElectric Vacuum PumpElectric Oil PumpElectric Water PumpThermoelectric GeneratorElectric TurbochargerOn the basis of vehicle type, the market is segmented into:Passenger CarLight Commercial VehicleHeavy Commercial VehicleTwo  WheelerVehicle electrification market is segmented on the basis of degree of hybridizationas:Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) & Micro-Hybrid VehicleHybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV)Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV)Battery Electric Vehicle (Bev) & Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV)In addition, report also includes segmentation on the basis of channel type:OEMsAftermarketVehicle Electrification Market: Region  Wise OutlookAsia  Pacific region owing to the fast growing automotive industry in developing countries such as India, China and South Korea is expected to show a significant growth in the vehicle electrification market. Strict laws in Western & Eastern Europe for vehicle efficiency will drive the vehicle electrification market in this region. North America is also anticipated to a moderate growth with credits to the strong fuel efficiency norms and support from government in the region. With rapid technological advancement and growing automobile industry, vehicle electrification market is expected to increase at a double CAGR during the forecast period.Visit For TOC@Vehicle Electrification Market: Key PlayersSome of the players in the market we identified includes, Continental AG, Robert Bosch GmbH., TRW Automotive Holdings Corp., Denso Corporation, (Japan), Nexteer Automotive, JTEKT Corporation, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Mando Corp., Borgwarner Inc. and ZF Friedrichshafen AG.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:
Global Cinema Lenses Market Research Report 2017: Market, Status and Forecast, by Players, Types and Applications

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This report studies the Cinema Lenses Market Status and outlook of global and major regions, from angles of manufacturers, regions, product types and end industries; this report analyzes the top manufacturers in global and major regions, and splits the Cinema Lenses market by product type and applications/end industries.Request Free Sample Report:According to GIR study, the Global revenue of Cinema Lenses was valued at 3242.95 million USD in 2016, and is forecast to reach 4445.59 million USD by the end of 2022.Sony accounted for21.878% of the global cinema lenses production volume market share in 2015. Other players accounted for 20.164%, 19.299% individually, such as Zeiss and Canon.Global giant manufactures mainly distributed in Europe and Japan. They have unshakable status in this field. The key product markets locate at Europe and Japan.The major players in global Cinema Lenses market includeSonyZeissCanonFujinonTOKINALeicaAngenieuxARRISchneiderSamyangCookeGeographically, this report is segmented into several key Regions, with Sales/production, consumption, revenue, market share and growth rate of Cinema Lenses in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), coveringUSACanadaMexicoGermanyFranceUKRussiaItalyChinaJapanKoreaIndiaSoutheast AsiaBrazilArgentinaColumbiaMiddle EastAfricaOn the basis of product, the Cinema Lenses market is primarily split intoEntry-classMedium-classHigh-end-classOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report coversAmateur usersProfessional usersBrowse Full Report With TOC:Table of Contents1 Cinema Lenses Market Overview11.1 Product Overview and Scope of Cinema Lenses11.2 Cinema Lenses Segment by Types (Product Category)11.3 Global Cinema Lenses Segment by Applications21.4 Global Cinema Lenses Market by Regions (2012-2022F)31.4.1 North America (USA, Canada and Mexico)31.4.2 Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)41.4.3 Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)61.4.4 South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia)71.4.5 Middle East and Africa91.5 Global Market Size of Cinema Lenses (2012-2022F)111.5.1 Global Cinema Lenses Revenue (Million USD) Status and Outlook (2012-2022F)111.5.2 Global Cinema Lenses Capacity Sales (K Units) Status and Outlook (2012-2022F)121.5.3 Global Cinema Lenses Production Value Status and Outlook (2012-2022F)132 Global Cinema Lenses Market Competition by Manufacturers142.1 Global Cinema Lenses Sales and Market Share by Manufacturer142.2 Global Cinema Lenses Production Value and Market Share by Manufacturer152.3 Global Cinema Lenses Average Ex-factory Price (USD/Unit) and Market Share by Manufacturer172.4 Cinema Lenses Market Competitive Situation and Trends183 Global Cinema Lenses Sales, Revenue by Regions193.1 Global Cinema Lenses Sales and Market Share by Regions (2012-2017E)193.2 Global Cinema Lenses Production Value and Market Share by Regions (2012-2017E)193.3 Global Cinema Lenses Sales (K Units), Production Value (Million USD), Average Ex-factory Price (USD/Unit) (2012-2017E)204 Global Cinema Lenses Supply (Sales), Consumption, Export, Import by Regions214.1 Global Cinema Lenses Consumption by Regions (2012-2017E)214.2 Global Cinema Lenses Revenue by Regions (2012-2017E)224.3 North America Cinema Lenses Consumption and Market Share by Countries224.4 Europe Cinema Lenses Consumption and Market Share by Countries234.5 Asia-Pacific Cinema Lenses Consumption and Market Share by Countries23Continued..Enquire About this Report:About Market Research Hub:Market Research Hub (MRH) is a next-generation reseller of research reports and analysis. MRHs expansive collection of market research reports has been carefully curated to help key personnel and decision makers across industry verticals to clearly visualize their operating environment and take strategic steps.MRH functions as an integrated platform for the following products and services: Objective and sound market forecasts, qualitative and quantitative analysis, incisive insight into defining industry trends, and market share estimates. Our reputation lies in delivering value and world-class capabilities to our clients.Contact Us90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (US-Canada)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Email: press@marketresearchhub.comWebsite:Read Industry News At:
Bicycle and Bike Tyres Market Size 2017-2022 Vittoria, Mavic, Academy, Maxxis Tires

Bicycle and Bike Tyres

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http://www.spiremarketresearch.com/global-bicycle-tyres-bike-tires-market-2017-demand-insights-key-players-segmentation-and-forecast-to-2022

Bicycle and Bike Tyres Market Research 2017A market study  Global Condenser Microphones Market  examines the performance of the Bicycle and Bike Tyres market Size 2017. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Bicycle and Bike Tyres market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Bicycle and Bike Tyres market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Bicycle and Bike Tyres Market 2017 report includes Bicycle and Bike Tyres market Size, Revenue, market Share, Bicycle and Bike Tyres industry volume, market Trends, Bicycle and Bike Tyres Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report.It shows manufacturing capacity, Bicycle and Bike Tyres Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.Request For Sample Report:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Bicycle and Bike Tyres Market 2017:VittoriaMavicAcademyMaxxis TiresKenda TireSarisMuc-OffContinentalTacxMitasCompass BicyclesMichelinHangzhou ZhongceHwa FongBicycle and Bike Tyres Market : ApplicationRoad BikeMountain BikeCity BikeBicycle and Bike Tyres Market : TypeSlick bike tiresSemi-slick bike tiresInverted tread tiresKnobby tiresFirstly, the report covers the top Bicycle and Bike Tyres manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Bicycle and Bike Tyres report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Bicycle and Bike Tyres industry, Bicycle and Bike Tyres industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Bicycle and Bike Tyres Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Full Report Here@The Bicycle and Bike Tyres 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 Bicycle and Bike Tyres market revenue worldwide.Finally, Bicycle and Bike Tyres 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
Global Cytotoxic Drug Market Research Report Forecast 2017: Industry Outlook & Deep Study of Top Consumers, Players and Strategies

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This report studies the Cytotoxic Drug Market Status and outlook of global and major regions, from angles of manufacturers, regions, product types and end industries; this report analyzes the top manufacturers in global and major regions, and splits the Cytotoxic Drug market by product type and applications/end industries.Request Free Sample Report:In the last several years, global market of Cytotoxic Drug developed slowly, with an average growth rate of 0.75%. In 2016, global revenue of Cytotoxic Drug is nearly 13.5 Billion M USD.The major players in global Cytotoxic Drug market includeRocheEli LillyCelgeneSanofieisaiSumitomo Dainippon PharmaMerckSeattle GeneticsTakedaHaosoh PharmaNovartisAstraZenecaJazz PharmaSpectrum PharmaGeographically, this report is segmented into several key Regions consumption, revenue, market share and growth rate of Cytotoxic Drug in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), coveringUSAEuropeJapanChinaRoWOn the basis of product, the Cytotoxic Drug market is primarily split intoInjectionSolid Oral Dose FormsOthersOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report coversBreast CancerBlood CancerProstate CancerRespiratory/Lung CancerOtherBrowse Full Report With TOC:Table of Contents1 Cytotoxic Drug Market Overview11.1 Product Overview and Scope of Cytotoxic Drug11.2 Cytotoxic Drug Segment by Types (Product Category)21.2.1 Global Cytotoxic Drug Production by Types21.2.2 Global Cytotoxic Drug Production Market Share by Types in 201621.2.3 Injection31.2.4 Solid Oral Dose Forms41.3 Global Cytotoxic Drug Segment by Applications41.3.1 Global Cytotoxic Drug Consumption Comparison by Applications41.3.2 Blood Cancer61.3.3 Breast Cancer61.3.4 Prostate Cancer71.3.5 Respiratory/Lung Cancer81.4 Global Cytotoxic Drug Market by Regions (2012-2022)91.4.1 Global Cytotoxic Drug Market Size Comparison by Regions (2012-2022)91.4.2 USA Cytotoxic Drug Status and Prospect (2012-2022)101.4.3 China Cytotoxic Drug Status and Prospect (2012-2022)111.4.4 Europe Cytotoxic Drug Status and Prospect (2012-2022)121.4.5 Japan Cytotoxic Drug Status and Prospect (2012-2022)131.5 Global Cytotoxic Drug Market Size (2012-2022)142 Global Cytotoxic Drug Market Competition by Manufacturers152.1 Global Cytotoxic Drug Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2016-2017)152.2 Global Cytotoxic Drug Gross and Share by Manufacturers (2016-2017)172.3 Global Cytotoxic Drug Average Gross Margin by Manufacturers (2016-2017)202.4 Manufacturers Cytotoxic Drug Headquarters, Established Date and Product Type222.5 Cytotoxic Drug Market Competitive Situation and Trends242.5.1 Cytotoxic Drug Market Concentration Rate242.5.2 Cytotoxic Drug Market Share of Top 3 and Top 5 Manufacturers252.5.3 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion263 Global Cytotoxic Drug Revenue by Regions (2012-2017)283.1 Global Cytotoxic Drug Revenue and Market Share by Regions (2012-2017)283.2 Global Cytotoxic Drug Gross and Market Share by Regions (2012-2017)303.3 Global Cytotoxic Drug Revenue, Gross, Cost and Gross Margin (2012-2017)313.4 USA Cytotoxic Drug Revenue (2012-2017)323.4.1 USA Cytotoxic Drug Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2017)323.4.2 USA Cytotoxic Drug Revenue, Gross, Cost and Gross Margin (2012-2017)333.5 Europe Cytotoxic Drug Revenue (2012-2017)333.5.1 Europe Cytotoxic Drug Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2017)33Continued..Enquire About this Report:About Market Research Hub:Market Research Hub (MRH) is a next-generation reseller of research reports and analysis. MRHs expansive collection of market research reports has been carefully curated to help key personnel and decision makers across industry verticals to clearly visualize their operating environment and take strategic steps.MRH functions as an integrated platform for the following products and services: Objective and sound market forecasts, qualitative and quantitative analysis, incisive insight into defining industry trends, and market share estimates. Our reputation lies in delivering value and world-class capabilities to our clients.Contact Us90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (US-Canada)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Email: press@marketresearchhub.comWebsite:Read Industry News At:
Global Saturated Polyester Resin Sales Market Report 2017

Global Saturated Polyester Resin Sales Market Report 2017

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The Saturated Polyester Resin Sales Market Research Report 2017 is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the Saturated Polyester Resin industry.Firstly, the report provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. The Saturated Polyester Resin 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 Saturated Polyester Resin 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.Global Saturated Polyester Resin market competition by top manufacturers/players, with Saturated Polyester Resin sales volume, Price (USD/Dose), revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player; the top players includingRoyal DSMAllnex Belgium SA/NVArkemaNuplex IndustriesStepan CompanyEvonik IndustriesNippon GohseiCovestroMegara Resins......Ask a complete & professional report sample, please send message to tinaning@qyresearch.com or visit atTable of contents:1 Saturated Polyester Resin Market Overview2 Global Saturated Polyester Resin Competition by Players/Suppliers, Type and Application3 United States Saturated Polyester Resin (Volume, Value and Sales Price)4 China Saturated Polyester Resin (Volume, Value and Sales Price)5 Europe Saturated Polyester Resin (Volume, Value and Sales Price)6 Japan Saturated Polyester Resin (Volume, Value and Sales Price)7 Southeast Asia Saturated Polyester Resin (Volume, Value and Sales Price)8 India Saturated Polyester Resin (Volume, Value and Sales Price)9 Global Saturated Polyester Resin Players/Suppliers Profiles and Sales Data10 Saturated Polyester Resin Maufacturing Cost Analysis11 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers12 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders13 Market Effect Factors Analysis14 Global Saturated Polyester Resin Market Forecast (2017-2022)15 Research Findings and Conclusion16 AppendixRelated Reports:Global Saturated Polyester Resin Sales Market Report 2017Europe Saturated Polyester Resin Sales Market Report 2017China Saturated Polyester Resin Sales Market Report 2017India Saturated Polyester Resin Sales Market Report 2017Japan Saturated Polyester Resin Sales Market Report 2017USA Saturated Polyester Resin Sales Market Report 2017Korea Saturated Polyester Resin Sales Market 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 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.Guangzhou
Prop 65 Settlements Reached for DEHP in Consumer Products

www.sgs.com/en/consumer-goods-retail/hardgoods/diy-tools-and-hardware/california-proposition-65

www.sgs.com/en/news/2017/07/safeguards-11517-california-proposition-65-reformulation-of-dehp-in-consumer-products]

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Several California Proposition 65 (Prop 65) settlements have been reached involving di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) since late 2016. These settlements require the parties named in the settlements to reformulate DEHP to a level less than or equal to 0.1%. In some cases, the settlements also allow for the use of a clear and reasonable warning, known as a Prop 65 warning.These settlements cover: Car mounts -  1000 ppm otherwise warning Electrical tapes -  0.1% Key safes -  0.1% LED butterflies with plastic suction cups -  0.1% Massage rollers -  0.1% Mirrors with plastic suction cups -  1000 ppm otherwise warning Paper towel holders -  0.1% Pencil bags -  1000 ppm PVC/Vinyl lace edgings -  0.1% Throttle controls -  1000 ppm otherwise warning USB personal fans -  1000 ppm otherwise warning Vinyl/PVC hose, tubing and/or spray heads, and faucet connecters -  0.1% otherwise warning Vinyl/PVC zipper pull component of ear bud cases -  1000 ppm otherwise warningCalifornia Proposition 65 is the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, a unique ballot initiative passed by California residents in November 1986. It obliges the state to maintain and publish a list of chemicals that are known to cause cancer, birth defects or reproductive harm. Currently, the list contains around 800 substances, with DEHP being classed as a chemical known to cause cancer, since January 1988, and as a chemical causing reproductive toxicity, since October 2003.Prop 65 places a number of provisions upon companies doing business in California, including the requirement to provide a clear and reasonable warning before knowingly and intentionally exposing anyone to a chemical on the list. This has been a requirement for DEHP since January 1989. Stakeholders should be aware that revised language for a clear and reasonable warning will become effective on August 30, 2018.Businesses with less than 10 employees and government agencies are exempt from this provision, along with businesses where exposure creates no significant risk of cancer or other reproductive harm.The Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 has led to numerous lawsuits, resulting in a reduction in exposure to toxic chemicals, by requiring reformulation and/or labeling. While businesses not named in Prop 65 settlements are not legally bound by the agreement, due to the unique nature of Prop 65, it is advisable for companies doing business in California to use settlement reformulation limits as a reference, in order to avoid possible future litigation.SGS Prop 65 ServicesSGS provides comprehensive testing, product assessments and consultancy services relating to California Proposition 65. They also assist with risk management in supply chains for consumer goods such as DIYs, electrical and electronics, hardgoods products, juvenile products, and textile & toy products. Learn more about SGSs Prop 65 Services. (SGS SafeGuardS keep you up to date with the latest news and developments in the consumer goods industry. Read the full California Proposition 65 Reformulation of DEHP in Consumer Products SafeGuardS. [Subscribe here,, to receive SGS SafeGuardS direct to your inbox.For further information contact:Hing Wo Tsang PH.D.Global Information and Innovation ManagerTel:(+852) 2774 7420Email: crs.media@sgs.comWebsite:About SGSSGS is the worlds leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company. SGS is recognized as the global benchmark for quality and integrity. With more than 90,000 employees, SGS operates a network of over 2,000 offices and laboratories around the world.1, Mons CalpeChitcombe RoadBroad OakRyeEast SussexTN31 6EU
Automotive LiDAR Market: Latest Innovations, Drivers and Industry Key Events 2017 - 2025

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Global Automotive LiDAR Market: OverviewLiDAR or light detection and ranging is a remote sensing technology which is becoming hugely popular amongst the automobile manufacturers. It collects 3-dimenional points of earths surface and is widely used by the automobile manufacturers to automate the driving of vehicles. It enables safe navigation which would ensure obstacle detection and avoidance. Almost all the OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) are implementing LiDAR to automate the driving experience. With LiDAR possessing huge revenue potential, it is playing an important part in the growth and sales of automobiles. There has been a decrease in manufacturing price of LiDAR due to hike in the numbers of the automated vehicle.Get access to full summary @ :OEMs like BMW, AUDI and Mercedes among other examples are using this technology to ensure safe driving.Global Automotive LiDAR Market: Drivers and RestraintsThe prime factor boosting the growth in the global automotive LiDAR market is the increasing integration of LiDAR technology in the vehicles by OEMs to automate the driving. With OEMs integrating LiDAR in ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistant System), the vehicles provide a safe navigation and avoid a collision. ADAS is expected to grow at a higher rate due to forward collision avoidance system with the help of LiDAR. As the automotive market is growing and so is the competition, providing safe and comfortable driving assistance would be the unique selling point for the OEMs. Solid-state LiDAR is expected to hold greater dominance in forecasted period as the mechanical LiDAR is fragile and expensive. An increase in the application of solid-state LiDAR in the automotive industry has accelerated its speed of development. Profound R&D by OEMs and awareness among consumers have played a big part in the market growth. With automakers already integrating AEB (Automatic Emergency Braking) system in their optional or standard variant, the LiDAR market has expected growth.Mechanical LiDARs have dominated the automotive market for quite a while due to its implementation in the testing of automated vehicle prototype. They are fragile, bulky and expensive in nature which causes various challenges to the manufacturers during its integration into the vehicle.Global Automotive LiDAR Market: Drivers and RestraintsThe Global Automotive LiDAR Market is segmented by Application type and OEM type. Application Type: ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems), AEB (Automatic Emergency Braking), ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control). OEM Type: Audi, BMW, Cadillac, Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Tesla, Volvo.Global Automotive LiDAR Market: Segmentation OverviewThe application type segmentation will see increased growth in the forecasted period. With the growth in awareness among the consumers and increased competition, more and more OEMs emphasizing on the integration of LiDAR in their vehicles. This technology is also being implemented in drones, urban planning and meteorology.Global Automotive LiDAR Market: Regional OutlookGeographically, Hybrid loaders market has been categorized into seven key regions including North America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Japan, APEJ, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa. Europe, being a hub of numerous automotive manufacturers, contributes to the major growth of LiDAR market. German companies like Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz are leading in the integration of LiDAR in their ADAS system. Collaborating with both local and international players, they are looking to attain a dominant grip over the market.North America on the other hand, is one of the most technically advanced regions are expected to lead the LiDAR market in the coming years. With the emphasis on more Artificial Intelligence based product, LiDAR would be another marketplace they would dominate. In APEJ, China is leading the LiDAR marketplace. With more and more Chinese automobile companies venturing further into the global market, there is an increase in demand of LiDAR among their consumer base. Japan, well known for their automobile market and technically advanced innovations will also see a significant growth in LiDAR as the integration of Artificial Intelligence among their cars are on all-time high.A sample of this report is available upon request @Middle East has seen a significant growth in the sales of vehicles with ADAS. With a strong consumer base for safe and cruise driving, Middle East is turning out to be growing sales market.Global Automotive LiDAR Market Key Players: Continental AG, Quanergy Systems, Robert Bosch, Velodyne LiDAR, Novariant, Denso Corporation.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
CLEARWATER, Fla., Aug. 10, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On Tuesday the 8th of August, the Scientology Volunteer Minister (VMs) of Florida held their latest weekly seminar, entitled, How to be Stable in Life at their headquarters in downtown Clearwater. Since the opening of their downtown Clearwater office in July of 2015, the VMs have had over 20,000 visitors who have viewed the audio visual displays and exhibits and attended the weekly seminars in their center. The seminars are based on the 19 chapters of the Scientology Volunteer Ministers Handbook written by Scientology Founder, L. Ron Hubbard.



According to the Executive Director of the Center, Glendy Goodsell, one mother who has been attending several seminars for a few months was finally able to re-establish communication with her son. Mother and son had not spoken for years because of his decision to choose a lifestyle the mother disagreed with. After doing a course on communication, the mother got back in touch with her son. She said, After doing this course, I felt that I was able to communicate with my son again. I no longer get upset or angry when speaking with him. I no longer feel afraid to reach out and communicate with him.

The Executive Director for the Scientology Volunteer Ministers of Florida, Ms. Glendy Goodsell said, The VMs are dedicated to helping others, no matter where, no matter who, on disaster sites as well as with everyday disasters in life.

For more information about the Scientology Volunteer Ministers, to visit the center or to find out about the free VM seminars and courses, contact Clem Chevrot at 727-467-6963 or email clemencec@volunteerministers.org.

SCIENTOLOGY VOLUNTEER MINISTERS

The Volunteer Minister (VM) program was created in the mid 1970s by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard, who described the Volunteer Minister as a person who helps his fellow man on a volunteer basis by restoring purpose, truth and spiritual values to the lives of others. The Scientology Volunteer Minister program is a broad initiative bringing effective physical and spiritual assistance to anyone, anywhere. Spanning every continent, Volunteer Ministers comprise one of the largest independent relief forces in the world, bringing effective help whenever and wherever needed.

For more information on the program, log on to www.volunteerministers.org.
Isobornyl Acrylate Market 2021 Overview, in-Depth Analysis, Applications and Key Players NIPPON SHOKUBAI, Sartomer, Green Pine

Isobornyl Acrylate Market

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HTF Market Intelligence released a new research report of 112 pages on title 'World Isobornyl Acrylate Market Research Report 2021(Covering USA, EU, China, South East Asia, India, Japan and etc) with detailed analysis, forecast and strategies. The study covers key regions that includes USA, Europe, Japan, China, India, South East Asia and important players such as NIPPON SHOKUBAI, Sartomer, Green Pine etc.Request a sample report @SummaryThe Isobornyl Acrylate 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 Isobornyl Acrylate Market: Product Segment AnalysisIsobornyl AcrylateIsobornyl MethacrylateGlobal Isobornyl Acrylate Market: Application Segment AnalysisReactive DiluentResin SynthesisOthersGlobal Isobornyl Acrylate Market: Regional Segment AnalysisUSAEuropeJapanChinaIndiaSouth East AsiaThe Players mentioned in our reportNIPPON SHOKUBAISartomerGreen PineOsaka Organic ChemSolvayMITSUBISHI RAYONDSM AGITianchi ChemicalShangHai HeChuangEvonikIGM ResinWUXI ACRYLEcoGreenJinan Yudong TechEnquire for Discount @Table of ContentChapter 1 About the Isobornyl Acrylate Industry1.1 Industry Definition and Types1.1.1 Isobornyl Acrylate1.1.2 Isobornyl Methacrylate1.2 Main Market Activities1.3 Similar Industries1.4 Industry at a GlanceChapter 2 World Market Competition Landscape2.1 Isobornyl Acrylate 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 2016Buy this report @2.2 World Isobornyl Acrylate Market by TypesIsobornyl AcrylateIsobornyl Methacrylate2.3 World Isobornyl Acrylate Market by ApplicationsReactive DiluentResin SynthesisOthers2.4 World Isobornyl Acrylate Market Analysis2.4.1 World Isobornyl Acrylate Market Revenue and Growth Rate 2011-20162.4.2 World Isobornyl Acrylate Market Consumption and Growth rate 2011-20162.4.3 World Isobornyl Acrylate Market Price Analysis 2011-2016Chapter 3 World Isobornyl Acrylate 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 2021Chapter 4 Supply Chain Analysis4.1 Industry Supply chain Analysis4.2 Raw material Market Analysis4.2.1 Raw material Prices Analysis 2012-20164.2.2 Raw material Supply Market Analysis4.2 Manufacturing Equipment Suppliers Analysis4.3 Production Process Analysis4.4 Production Cost Structure Benchmarks4.5 End users Market Analysis....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, NJ USA - 08837sales@htfmarketreport.comPh: +1 (206) 317 1218
Rett Syndrome Global Market 2017 by Volume, Growth, Trends, Analysis & Outlook 2025

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Rett syndrome is a rare genetic neurological disorder. This genetic disorder affects females exclusively due to the presence of X chromosome, and is rarely seen in boys. Male children are less prone to this disorder because boys with mutations in MECP2 hardly survive till birth. Changes in MECP2 typically occur during spermatogenesis, and such changes are usually on the paternal copy of the X-chromosome.For more informationThe symptoms of Rett syndrome generally occur after 12 months of birth and include signs like slow growth, loss of normal movement and coordination, abnormal hands and eyes movements, and breathing problems. Other drastic symptoms also develop with age. This disorder generally occurs in stages and fourth stage is said to be its last stage. Rett syndrome has no cure and is often treated with off-label drugs which prove to give no relief to the affected patient. Few pharmaceuticals companies are realizing the need for target specific drugs and many therapeutics are being developed, which are in their clinical phases.The global Rett syndrome market will grow over the years driven by increase in female population, rising spending on public healthcare programs, and increasing global healthcare expenditure. The major trends and developments of the market include efforts to use gene therapy to rectify this neurological disorder, development of new drugs and use of more efficient technologies. However, growth of the market is challenged by factors like high cost of treatment and high R&D expenditure.Request Sample CopyThe report "Global Rett Syndrome Market: Industry Analysis & Outlook (2017-2025) " analyzes the development of this market, with focus on Sarizotan drug and its market opportunities. The major players are: Newron Pharmaceuticals, Neurem Pharmaceuticals Limited, Anavex Life Sciences Corp., Neuroloxis, and Edison Pharmaceuticals.1. Market Overview2. Global Market Analysis3. Regional Analysis4. Market Dynamics5. Competitive Landscape6. Company Profiles6.1 Newron Pharmaceuticals6.1.1 Business Overview6.1.2 Financial Overview6.1.3 Business Strategies6.2 Neuren Pharmaceuticals Limited6.2.1 Business Overview6.2.2 Financial Overview6.2.3 Business Strategies6.3 Anavex Life Sciences Corp.6.3.1 Business Overview6.3.2 Financial Overview6.3.3 Business Strategies6.4 Neuroloxis6.4.1 Business Overview6.5 Edison Pharmaceuticals6.5.1 Business OverviewMake an enquiry: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
Anti-Static Fibres Market Forecast and Segments, 2015-2025

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Static electricity is generated when two dissimilar materials are rubbed together creating an electrical charge. Such electrical charge usually leaks away to earth. However, in cases where it doesnt, an unpleasant and potentially dangerous electrical discharge may occur, resulting into an electric shock. Anti-static fibres consist of carbon particles enclosed firmly in the surface of polyester fibre. Whenregular fibres are added to anti-static agents, static conductivity of regular fibre changed to textile fabrics, generally developed by non-woven technology utilization.Anti-static fibre is formed into fabrics to provide safe discharge of static electricity. These fibres are used in applications, such as dry filtration, shoe or boot linings, safety work wear, carpets and upholstery.Anti-static agents are added into the polymer to reduce the build-up of static charges. The role of an antistatic agent is to make the material conductive. Problems such asdust pickup and electrical discharge are reduced or eliminated by using anti-static agent.Anti-static fibres are more durable, easy to dye, stain-resistant and lighter. In textiles, static electricity potential can be influenced by low material moisture content which generally occurs in fibres like polyester, acrylic, and nylon.The ultimate use of anti-static fibreis to make products static free and enable more safety and comfort for people using it.Enter your information below to receive a sample copy of this report @Segmentation of Anti-Static Fibres MarketOn the basis of fibretype, theanti-staticfibresmarket is segmented as polyester, acrylic, metaramide, polyamide and polypropylene. Anti-staticfibresare used in a wide range of industrial, chemical, metallurgical, mineral and agricultural applications, where the process and dust tend to build static and where a potential ignition source is present. As of 2013, chemical and textile industries are predominant consumers in global anti-static fibres market and is estimated to maintain its dominance by 2020.Cleanroom clothing fabrics, protective apparel and work wear clothing are few other additional uses.Use of anti-static fibres provides a safer and more comfortable work environment than synthetic products, particularly in applications where static electricity is of particular concern, such as aircraft carpets, buildings with sensitive electronic equipment, fuel transfer facilities, etc.The global anti-static fibres market continues to grow significantly due to growth in end user industry such as packaging and clothing. The global market for anti-static fibres is estimated to grow twofold by value, with a higher CAGR during the forecast period. In addition to this, rising consumption from emerging markets of India and China of Asia Pacific region is set to drive market growth, as there is more demand for lighter and high strength materials. However, availability of substitutes, government regulations and volatile raw material prices are major restraints for anti-static fibres market, as oil and gas industry are major raw material supplier for this market.Regional Outlook on Anti-Static Fibres MarketAsia Pacific is the predominant anti-static fibres market followed by Latin America and Europe. India and China are major regional markets for anti-static fibres due to increasing consumption of end user industries. Moreover, Japan, Republic of Korea and Indonesia are other significant major consumers of anti-static fibres in Asia Pacific. Availability of economical workforce in developingeconomies such as South Africa is also attracting global players to set up manufacturing plants and research centres especially for chemical and textiles industries. Anti-static fibres have become more important in recent years with more sales of electronic components and increased demand for specialised packaging film.Request Report TOC (Table of Contents) @Anti-Static Fibres Market: Key PlayersSome of the key players in the anti-static fibres market are Noble Biomaterials, Inc. W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc., Swicofil, Yantai Tayho Advanced materials Co Ltd, Akrilic Kimya Sanayii AS, Cytec Industries Inc., Tianyu Textile. Mergers and acquisitions, collaborations and new product launch are some of the strategies adopted by major market players. The opportunities in antistatic agents market are huge as major market players are continuously focusing on innovation and new product development.In future, increasing utilization of anti-static agents by end user industries is to propel the anti-static fibre market ahead.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
World Smart Glass Market Report 2017-2025: Research, Competitive Analysis, Key Manufacturers and Development

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Global Smart Glass Market Analysis to 2025 is a specialized and in-depth study of the Smart Glass industry with a focus on the global market trend. The report aims to provide an overview of global Smart Glass market with detailed market segmentation by product/application and geography. The global Smart Glass market is expected to witness high growth during the forecast period. The report provides key statistics on the market status of the Smart Glass players and offers key trends and opportunities in the market.Request a Sample Report atSmart Glass Market Players:- Asahi Glass Co. Ltd.- Corning, INC.- Gentex Corporation- Hitachi Chemical Co., Ltd.- Polytronix, Inc.- Domoticware- Smartglass International Ltd.- SPD Control System Corporation- Research Frontiers Incorporated- Pleotint, LLCThe report provides a detailed overview of the industry including both qualitative and quantitative information. It provides overview and forecast of the global Smart Glass market based on product and application. It also provides market size and forecast till 2025 for overall Smart Glass 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 before Buying atAlso, key Smart Glass 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.Reason 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 Smart Glass 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.View Complete Report 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.505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
New Forecast Report on Subsea Well Access System Market for 2017 - 2022

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Subsea Well Access System is actually typical wells that are situated on the seabed, deep or shallow water. They are generally called as floating production system from the extraction of petroleum taken place at the seabed and simultaneously can be tied back to an onshore facility or a production platform that already exists. The well of oil platform is mainly drilled by rig which is moving continuously and the extracted natural gas and oil is being transported by pipeline of submarines operating under the sea and rise to processing facility.The report on the global Subsea well access system market uses the top-down and bottom-up approaches to define, analyze, and describe the market trends for the next five years. The report also tracks the emerging applications, innovative technologies, and mergers & acquisitions. It also focuses on the growth drivers and restraints for the key market players during the forecast period.Download Free Sample:Regionally, the global subsea well access system market is segmented into Europe, North America, Asia-Pacific, Middle East & Africa and Latin America. Among these, Europe region from past few years is the most lucrative market accounting larger no. of mature wells that requires well interventions. Also, in the coming years, the European market is projected to observe considerable growth and is anticipated to lose market share to high growth areas. North America is projected to emerge as the major subsea well access market in the coming years due to maturing offshore oilfields. Middle East & Africa and Asia Pacific are estimated to witness considerable growth during the forecast period.MARKET SEGMENTATIONThis report analyzes the subsea well access system market by the following segments:Subsea Well Access System Market, by Type1. Vessel-based well access system2. Rig-based well access systemKEY MARKET PLAYERSKey players in the subsea well access system market include:1. Aker Solutions ASA2. Baker Hughes Incorporated3. Halliburton Company4. Schlumberger Limited5. Riverstone Holdings, LLC6. Parker-Hannifin Corporation7. Weatherford International Limited8. Oceaneering International, Inc.9. Drilling Services Limited10. National Oilwell Varco, Inc.Browse Report:About Scalar Market ResearchScalar Market Research Inc. aspires to assist organizations from around the world to achieve their business goal with premium market research reports and consulting services. Our real-time industry tracking with the help of advanced analytics offers a crystal clear view of all the activities in niche markets. Our team, with thorough global understanding, works relentlessly to gather the necessary market insights, including customer analysis, competitions and global forecast.Find out more about our services at:Contact:8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave.,Suite 1300Chicago, IL 60631Tel.: +1-800-213-5170 (U.S./Canada Toll-free)Email: sales@scalarmarketresearch.comFollow us on LinkedIn:
Tardive Dyskinesia Market by Volume, Growth, Trends, Analysis & Outlook 2016-2025

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Tardive dyskinesia is an involuntary movement disorder that typically arises from the long-term use of antipsychotic medication in schizoaffective disorders. Tardive dyskinesia is characterized by involuntary, repetitive movements of the face, trunk, or extremities, including lip smacking, grimacing, tongue protrusion, facial movements or blinking, puckering and pursing of the lips. TDs are most common in patients with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, or bipolar disorder who have been treated with antipsychotic medication for long periods, but they occasionally occur in other patients as well.For more informationThe key factors driving the growth of the Tardive dyskinesia market are rising schizophrenia patients, increasing bipolar patients, growing antipsychotic prescription, increased use of long-term neuroleptic drugs and increasing incidence of neurological disorders. However, the expansion of the market is hindered by side effects of drugs and under-diagnosed.The report "Tardive Dyskinesia Market" provides a comprehensive study of the US and Japan tardive dyskinesia market with detailed analysis of market size, growth and penetration of the industry. The major trends, growth drivers as well as issues being faced by the industry are being presented in this report. The industry comprises few large players such as Valeant Pharmaceuticals, Neurocrine Biosciences and Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd. All these companies have been profiled in the present report highlighting their key financials and business strategies for growth.Request Sample Copy1. Tardive Dyskinesias - An Overview2. The US Tardive Dyskinesia Market Analysis3. Japan Tardive Dyskinesia Market Analysis4. The US Tardive Dyskinesia Drugs Market Analysis5. Market Dynamics6. Competitive Landscape7. Company Profiles7.1 Valeant Pharmaceuticals7.1.1 Business Overview7.1.2 Financial Overview7.1.3 Business Strategies7.2 Neurocrine Biosciences7.2.1 Business Overview7.2.2 Financial Overview7.2.3 Business Strategies7.3 Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd.7.3.1 Business Overview7.3.2 Financial Overview7.3.3 Business StrategiesMake an enquiry: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
Cognitive Systems, Content Analytics and Discovery Software Market exhibit an exponential CAGR of 23.5% from 2017 to 2025 - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast

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"The Report Cognitive Systems, Content Analytics and Discovery Software Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2017 - 2025 provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"DescriptionGlobal Cognitive Systems, Content Analytics and Discovery Software: OverviewIncreasing demand of connected healthcare systems is also an important trend in the global market. Connected healthcare systems are likely to collect real time data and information which helps in assisting clinicians in delivering better care and empower people to make better choices. It helps in reducing medical errors and enhances medical administration efficiency. Adopting cognitive systems in healthcare is likely to help physicians to find connections and correlations and identifying new patterns and insights to quicken treatments, discoveries and insights.Get Sample copy of this Report @Cognitive Systems, Content Analytics and Discovery Software: Drivers and RestraintsIncreasing demand of artificial intelligence is a key trend in the market. Demand for artificial intelligence is increasing significantly with the advancement in technologies, and it is an important trend in the cognitive systems, content analytics, and discovery software market. Artificial intelligence is witnessing market growth due to the rise in large and complicated data sets. The biggest revolution is machine learning, where instead of providing linear instructions to a computer, considerable amount of data is supplied and let the computer learn and interpret on their own.Increasing use of competitive intelligence and advanced analytics escalating data driven decision making is one of the key driving factors in the cognitive systems, content analytics and discovery software market globally. It is very difficult to access and keep track of each and every individual data due to the rise of big data. Therefore, it is necessary to implement competitive intelligence and advanced analytics tools that are likely to help gather, examine, and distribute intelligence of products, competitors, and customers, and also help discover deeper insights, generate recommendations, and make predictions. These tools help identify potential opportunities and risks beforehand. Advanced analytics techniques comprise data mining, text mining, pattern matching, graph analysis, and neural networks. Competitive intelligence is focused on external business environment and is involved in collecting information and converting it into intelligence, which is then employed for making decisions. Presently, business intelligence tools require very less support from the IT department. The changes in how data is visualized and mined allows the business activities to work with analytics tools and make data driven decisions with or without any technological background. Increasing volume of data tends to increase the need of data driven decision-making software that easily derives actionable data in real-time. Utilizing the analytics and discovery software is likely to support organizations in making decisions and anticipate the market trends and possible risks.The factor responsible for setting back the growth of this market is due to the prediction based on the past data. The cognitive systems, content analytics and discovery software technologies are at the budding stage due to which they faces various restraining factors. Past-based predictions is a major limitation in the market. Market dynamics are changing over time due to which predictions and analysis based on past data might not be helpful. Chances are that the analysis of the last ten years data is irrelevant to the current market scenario. These technologies when anticipating human behavior sometimes fail to consider certain variables that influence customer purchasing patternsCognitive Systems, Content Analytics and Discovery Software: SegmentationBased on application, the global cognitive systems, content analytics and discovery software market is bifurcated into machine learning, natural language processing, automated reasoning, speech analytics, text analytics, social media analytics and others. On the basis of industries, the market has been bifurcated into banking, retail, healthcare, IT and telecom, transportation and others. Moreover on the basis of deployment type, the market has been bifurcated into on premises and cloud. The regional split of the market encompasses North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Africa and Latin America.Some of the key companies in the global cognitive systems, content analytics and discovery software market includes Microsoft Corporation (U.S.), International Business Machines Corporation (U.S.), Google Inc. (U.S.), Symantec corporation (U.S.), SAP SE (Germany), Adobe Systems Inc.(U.S.), Palantir Technologies, Inc. (U.S.), Oracle Corporation (U.S.), OpenText Corporation (Canada),SAS Institute, Inc. (U.S.) among others.View Sample PDF Of Report @The market has been segmented as follows:Cognitive Systems Content Analytics and Discovery Software Market, by Application:Machine LearningNatural Language ProcessingAutomated ReasoningSpeech AnalyticsText AnalyticsSocial Media AnalyticsOthers?Cognitive Systems Content Analytics and Discovery Software Market, by Industries:BankingRetailHealthcareIT and TelecomTransportationOthers?Cognitive Systems Content Analytics and Discovery Software Market, by Deployment Type:On premisesCloud?Cognitive Systems Content Analytics and Discovery Software Market, by Geography:North AmericaU.S.CanadaRest of North AmericaEuropeU.K.GermanyFranceItalyRest of EuropeAsia PacificIndiaChinaJapanRest of Asia PacificMiddle East & AfricaSouth AfricaU.A.E.Rest of Middle East and AfricaLatin AmericaBrazilRest of Latin AmericaBrowse more Software Market Research Reports @Table of ContentSection 1 Preface1.1 Report Scope & Market Segmentation1.2 Research HighlightsSection 2 Executive SummarySection 3 Research MethodologySection 4 Market Overview4.1 Product Overview4.2 Market Introduction4.3 Key Market IndicatorsSection 5 Market Dynamics5.1 Drivers and Restraints: Snapshot Analysis5.1.1 Drivers5.1.1.1 Increasing volume of complicated data5.1.1.2 Increasing use of competitive intelligence and advanced analytics escalating data driven decision making5.1.1.3 Further innovations in natural language processing5.1.2 Restraints5.1.2.1 Prediction based on past data5.1.3 Opportunities5.1.3.1 Advancement in cloud-based technology5.1.3.2 Cognitive Systems, Content Analytics and Discovery Software Market Share Analysis By Company (2016)5.1.3.3 Global Cognitive Systems, Content Analytics and Discovery Software Market Attractiveness Analysis By ApplicationRequest for Enquiry @Section 6 Global Cognitive Systems, Content Analytics and Discovery Software Market Analysis : By Application6.1 Introduction6.2 Global Cognitive Systems, Content Analytics and Discovery Software Market Value Share Analysis, By Application6.3 Global Cognitive Systems, Content Analytics and Discovery Software Market Forecast By Application6.4 Global Cognitive Systems, Content Analytics and Discovery Software Market Analysis By ApplicationSection 7 Global Cognitive Systems, Content Analytics and Discovery Software Market Analysis : By Industries7.1 Introduction7.2 Global Cognitive Systems, Content Analytics and Discovery Software Market Value Share Analysis, By Industries7.3 Global Cognitive Systems, Content Analytics and Discovery Software Market Forecast, By Industries7.4 Global Cognitive Systems, Content Analytics and Discovery Software Market Analysis, By IndustriesAbout usMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.Contact usMr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Military Vehicles and Aircraft Simulations Market Volume Analysis, Segments, Value Share and Key Trends 2015-2025

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Military vehicles and aircraft simulation have now become critically important due to high safety and security reasons in every part of the world. Growing need to cut down the cost of pilot training, technological developments, and introduction of new generation aircrafts is escalating the growth in the global military vehicles and aircraft simulation. Additionally, increased environmental impacts, cost of fuel and real wear and tear on weapon system, is anticipated to be the major target market in near future. The simulation technology (imitation of the operation of a real-world process or system over time) allows both commercial and military trainees to learn faster and master to advance on and off road operations along with handling hazardous and dangerous situations without risk to machine and man. However, simulation of technology is used in many contexts such as safety engineering, education, training, testing, performance optimization, video games and others. It is also used in computer experiments to study simulation models.The military vehicles and aircraft simulation continues to gain importance in the aerospace, defence and military industry. With reduced financial resources, governments are taking initiatives to cut down on training budgets. Owing to this, currently militaries are focusing on attaining cheaper and more effective solutions for their training requirements. Owing to this, flight simulations has evolved to become an essential part of civil aviation operations and military capability. It is a device that artificially creates the environment for flight (where it flies) for pilot training and other purposes. Flight simulator may vary from one model to another and is widely used in commercial and military applications. As a result, training in a fight simulator is more operative than training in aircraft, also it has made a major contribution towards the aviation industry.Request Report Sample@Military Vehicles and Aircraft Simulations Market: Drivers & RestraintsTo accommodate new generation aircrafts, mission rehearsal and simulation technologies are moving forward along with embed in a variety of military systems to carry out training in reality at reasonable cost. Commercialization of unmanned aerial vehicles is the emerging trend and will give new opportunities to this market. A fundamental growth driver to the market is growing awareness over the benefits of virtual pilot training. Additionally, demand for trained pilots and crew members, technological advancements, rising demand for air transportation which has further resulted in growing needs for safety and security concerns along with cost advantages are the drivers identified in the military vehicles and aircraft simulations market. Safety regulations and push from the government side is also helping in increasing the degree of awareness among the users. However, high implementation cost, lack of reliable communication and complexity in system are the major setback for military vehicles and aircraft simulations market.Military Vehicles and Aircraft SimulationsMarket: SegmentationOn the basis of types global military vehicles and aircraft simulations can be broadly into: Virtual, Live, and Constructive and others. On the basis of application global military vehicle and aircraft simulation market is segmented into: Platform, System and Maintenance. On the basis of system, global military vehicles and aircraft simulations can be further segmented into: Flight simulation and Non-Flight Simulation.Military Vehicles and Aircraft SimulationsMarket: Region-wise OutlookThe global military vehicles and aircraft simulation market is expected to register CAGR of 6.27 percent over the forecasted period 2015-2025. Depending on geographic regions, global military vehicles and aircraft simulation market is segmented into seven key regions: North America, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Asia-Pacific, Japan, and Middle East & Africa. In terms of regions, Europe accounts for the largest market share followed by North America. Asia Pacific market is projected to register a significant CAGR during the forecast period. Increasing demand for training of pilots and rising demand for air transportation along with technological updates is fuelling the growth of global military vehicles and aircraft simulations market in Asia Pacific. Eastern Europe and Latin America are also forecast to register a significant growth in the global military vehicles and aircraft simulations market, as growing awareness over the pilot training is expected to grow in these regions as well.Visit For TOC@Military Vehicles and Aircraft SimulationMarket: Key PlayersSome of the players identified in the aircraft simulation are FLIGHTRiX (Command Sims Pvt. Ltd.), Presagis (formed through the acquisition of three industry leading companies includes Engenuity Technologies, MultiGen-Paradigm, and TERREX.), Rheinmetall Defence, Alsim, Atlantis System Corp., CAE Inc., Bae Systems PLC, FlightSafety International Inc., Moog Inc., Simteq B.V., Lockheed Martin Corporation, Thales Group, Rockwell Collins, PMDG, Israel Aerospace industries, ATC Flight Simulator, Mechtronix Inc., L-3 Communications Holdings Ltd., among many 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:
Polypropylene Market 2015-2025 Shares, Trend and Growth Report

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Polypropylene (PP) also known as polypropene, is one of the largest and single most consumed polymer resin in the world. It is a synthetic, high molecular weight thermoplastic polymer, which can be easily formed by catalytic polymerization of propylene. Due to its superior quality, its demand is increasing, especially in consumer disposable and automobile industry. This has resulted in countless opportunities for the global polypropylene market. Additionally, the trend of replacing metal with polypropylene is another factor contributing to the growth of the global polypropylene market.Polypropylene Market: Opportunities, Drivers & RestraintsPolypropylene, owing to its numerous properties, has emerged as one of the most versatile polymers and is widely used in applications, such as construction, geotextiles, medical, automobile, electrical and electronics industries. These widespread applications are expected to have a progressive impact on the global polypropylene market. Opportunities are emerging in the use of eco-friendly materials, as such, demand for bio-based polypropylene is on the rise. Volatile prices of polypropylene, largely dependent on crude oil are the restraining factors for global polypropylene market.Enter your information below to receive a sample copy of this report @Polypropylene Market: SegmentationGlobal polypropylene market can be segmented on the basis of its end-user industry and geographic regions. Depending on the end-user industry, global polypropylene market can be segmented into automotive, electrical, consumer durable, construction, and packaging. Packaging segment accounts for largest share in global polypropylene market, followed by automotive and electrical segments.Polypropylene Market: Region-wise OutlookGlobal polypropylene market is anticipated to expand at a high single-digit CAGR from 2015 to 2025. Depending on the geographic regions, global polypropylene market is segmented into key regions: North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Middle East & Africa. North America is expected to witness a decline in its share of global polypropylene market. On the other hand, China is one of the largest consumers of polypropylene in terms of production and consumption because of increasing disposable income and changing lifestyles. Adding to this, capacity additions in China and Middle East are expected to boost the market growth.Request Report TOC (Table of Contents) @Polypropylene Market: Key PlayersSome of the key participants in global polypropylene market are SABIC, Reliance Industries Ltd, PetroChina Company Limited, Sinopec Ltd, Exxon Mobil Corporation, Borealis AG, Formosa Plastics Corporation, and Japan Polypropylene Corporation.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:
Wireless Connectivity Market Share, Growth, Statistics, by Application, Production, Revenue & Forecast up to 2022

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Global Wireless Connectivity Market Research Report 2017 to 2022 presents an in-depth assessment of the Wireless Connectivity including enabling technologies, key trends, market drivers, challenges, standardization, regulatory landscape, deployment models, operator case studies, opportunities, future roadmap, value chain, ecosystem player profiles and strategies. The report also presents forecasts for Wireless Connectivity investments from 2017 till 2022.The wireless connectivity market is highly diversified and competitive with market players including top-tier and mid-tier companies as well as start-up firms. With the rate of proliferation of smart sensors, the increasing adoption of IoT-enabled devices, and mainstreaming of many smart applications, the wireless connectivity is expected to become the most important need across application such as consumer electronics, automotive & transportation, Industrial and healthcare, among Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS).Request a Sample Copy of Global Wireless Connectivity Market Research Report @Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Wireless Connectivity 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, Global Wireless Connectivity Market report covers such as Broadcom, Murata, Qualcomm Atheros, Mediatek Inc., Intel Corporation, Cypress Semiconductor Corporation, Texas Instruments Inc., Atmel Corporation, Stmicroelectronics N.V., NXP Semiconductors N.V. and Marvell.Market Segment by Regions, regional analysis covers:North America (USA, Canada and Mexico)Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia etc.)Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa).Global Wireless Connectivity Market Segment by Type, covers as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi/Bluetooth Smart, ZigBee, Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), Near Field Communication (NFC) and Other Technologies.Global Wireless Connectivity Market Segment by Applications, can be divided into: Consumer Electronics, Wearable Devices/Smart Appliances, Healthcare, Automotive & Transportation and Other.Request Discount for Global Wireless Connectivity Market Research Report @There are 15 Chapters to deeply display the global Wireless Connectivity market.Chapter 1, to describe Wireless Connectivity Market Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Wireless Connectivity, with sales, revenue, and price of Wireless Connectivity, in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 3, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 4, to show the global market by regions, with sales, revenue and market share of Wireless Connectivity, for each region, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, to Wireless Connectivity Market analyze the key regions, with sales, revenue and market share by key countries in these regions;Chapter 10 and 11, to show the Wireless Connectivity Market by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 12, Wireless Connectivity market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Wireless Connectivity Market sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data source.Related Reports: -2017 Global and Regional Wireless Connectivity Market Research Report Forecasts 2022This report focus on Global and regional market, providing information on major players like manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, traders, customers, investors and etc., major types, major applications from Global and major regions such as Europe, North American, South American, Asia (Excluding China), China and etc. Data type include capacity, production, market share, price, revenue, cost, gross, gross margin, growth rate, consumption, import, export and etc.Marketstudyreport.com allows you to manage and control all corporate research purchases to consolidate billing and vendor management. You can eliminate duplicate purchases and customize your content and license management.Market Study ReportThe Green Suite #4594,Dover, DE 19901United StatesPhone: 1-201-355-0868US Toll Free: 1-866-764-2150Email: sales@marketstudyreport.comWebsite:News:
LOWELL, Ark., Aug. 10, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, Smithfield Foods Helping Hungry Homes initiative, a program focused on alleviating hunger and helping Americans become more food secure, joined forces with Wal-Mart to donate more than 35,000 pounds of protein to Northwest Arkansas Food Bank. The donation, equivalent to more than 140,000 servings, will help those fighting hunger across Northwest Arkansas, where one in four individuals are food insecure.



A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ee910924-3cda-47d0-973e-c9e8d6a53537

Smithfield Foods has been an incredible partner to us, said Kent Eikenberry, president and CEO of the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank. This donation brings their total to over 75,000 pounds of protein donated for the year. We look forward to distributing this to our agency partners who will provide it to their clients.

Smithfield and Wal-Mart representatives presented the donation to Northwest Arkansas Food Bank this morning at an event that raised awareness of hungers impact in the local community. Members from all three organizations discussed the significance of protein donations in helping the 120,000 individuals, including one in three children, who face hunger each day in Northwest Arkansas.

Smithfields donation to Northwest Arkansas Food Bank was a part of the Helping Hungry Homes 2017 nationwide donation tour. Throughout the annual tour, Smithfield will provide large-scale protein donations to nearly 60 food banks across the country. This donation adds to the more than 65 million servings of protein donated since 2011.

We are proud to offer our continued support to the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank and the thousands of individuals it serves every year, said Dennis Pittman, senior director of hunger relief for Smithfield Foods. Although this donation will positively impact many individuals across Northwest Arkansas, hunger is a national issue, and we encourage others to join our fight and volunteer at their local food bank.

Following todays event, Helping Hungry Homes will visit Washington DC, Thursday, Aug. 17. For more information about Helping Hungry Homes and a list of upcoming donation events, visit helpinghungryhomes.com.

About Smithfield Foods

Smithfield Foods is a $15 billion global food company and the world's largest pork processor and hog producer. In the United States, the company is also the leader in numerous packaged meats categories with popular brands including Smithfield, Eckrich, Nathan's Famous, Farmland, Armour, John Morrell, Cook's, Kretschmar, Gwaltney, Curly's, Margherita, Carando, Healthy Ones, Krakus, Morliny and Berlinki. Smithfield Foods is committed to providing good food in a responsible way and maintains robust animal care, community involvement, employee safety, environmental and food safety and quality programs. For more information, visit www.smithfieldfoods.com.

About Northwest Arkansas Food Bank

Northwest Arkansas Food Bank was established in 1988 by a group of concerned citizens who saw the need for hunger assistance in Northwest Arkansas. Over the past 28 years, the Food Bank has grown to serve citizens of Benton, Washington, Madison, and Carroll counties, a commitment still strong today. Each year, the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank distributes over 11.5 million pounds of food in Benton, Washington, Madison, and Carroll counties. It is through partnerships with well over 160 member agencies that we are able to reach out to those in need. The Northwest Arkansas Food Bank is an affiliate of Feeding America.

About Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) helps people around the world save money and live better - anytime and anywhere - in retail stores, online, and through their mobile devices. Each week, over 260 million customers and members visit our 11,723 stores under 59 banners in 28 countries and e-commerce websites in 11 countries. With fiscal year 2017 revenue of $485.9 billion, Walmart employs approximately 2.3 million associates worldwide. Walmart continues to be a leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity. Additional information about Walmart can be found by visiting http://corporate.walmart.com on Facebook at http://facebook.com/walmart and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/walmart.
Color Detection Sensors Market Volume Forecast and Value Chain Analysis 2015-2025

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Global color detection sensors market includes advanced sensors which apart from differentiating light produced by the target, also helps in recognizing various colors of the light. Global color detection sensors market find its application in monitoring consistency in color which is useful in case of production of plastics, textiles and various other processes. Global color detection sensors market has become a necessity for the accomplishment of industrial automation. The increasing technological advancements and rise in industries is leading to the increase in demand for global color detection sensors market. For further enhancing the global color detection sensors market, players are offering customization, easy-to-use and portability of the product as well as mechanization of the product.Color Detection Sensors Market: Drivers & RestraintsThe increase in global automation industry is the major driving factor for the growth of global color detection sensors market. Automation of various processes in the industries, increasing demand from the end users such as packaging, food & beverage, petrochemicals, hardware, chemicals, textiles, etc., being more cost effective, faster and easier to replace than image sensors, technological advancements, global investments outlines are some of the reasons for the growth of global color detection sensors market. The cost and increasing requirement for more features and accuracy are some of the challenges for the growth of global color detection sensors market.Request Report Sample@Color Detection Sensors Market: SegmentationOn the basis of product type, global color detection sensors market can be segmented into:Color sensingRGB sensorsLuminescence sensorsContrast sensorsBrightness sensorsOthersOn the basis of market verticals, global color detection sensors market can be segmented into:AutomotiveFood & BeveragePackagingTextilesPharmaceuticalProduction unit automationChemicalLighting & signageOthersOn the basis of end-user industry, global color detection sensors can be segmented into:HealthcarePrintingConsumer electronicsLighting and signageIndustrial automationFluid analysisOthersColor Detection Sensors Market: Region-wise OutlookAsia-Pacific region is anticipated to have a robust growth in global color detection sensors market due to increasing demands from various industries establishing their plants in these regions and requiring automation of the processes such as extraction of oil & gas, healthcare industries, wastewater treatment, etc. in the developed countries due to continuous technological advancements and innovations, the demand for global color detection sensors market is stable. Global detection sensors market is expected to grow with compound annual growth rate of single digit during the forecast period.Visit For TOC@Color Detection Sensors Market: Key PlayersSome of the key players in global color detection sensors market include SICK AG, Banner Engineering Corp., SensoPart Industriesensorik GmbH, Rockwell Automation, Inc., ifm electronic gmbh, Hamamatsu photonics K.K., Pepperl+Fuchs GmbH, Omron Corporation and Keyence Corporation.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:
Automotive Decompression Units Market: In-Depth Market Research Report 2017  2025

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Global Automotive Decompression Units Market: OverviewIn any internal combustion engine, the air mixture and fuel get ignited, and power is generated. But in the entire process, there is one more thing that helps, and that is the pressure. This pressure is created due to the compression in the combustion chamber by the piston. But sometimes it so happens that this compression can get inefficient or fatal for working purposes, and the pressure has to be released a little which is called decompression. You reduce the compression or the pressure inside the chamber for everything to work well. This is needed at certain times like during the initial ignition of the engine start up. During the first start, there is already pressure buildup due to the end of the engine running in the previous cycle of running. The decompressor system reduces compression in the cylinder at low rpm for an easy start. Decompressor systems are often used with single cylinder four-stroke engines, but some manufacturers utilize these benefits on other engine configurations as well, including V-twins.Get access to full summary @:Global Automotive Decompression Units Market: Drivers and RestraintsA poorly maintained decompression system that doesnt release compression as it should result in poor starting and excessive strain on starting components. A decompression system that releases compression when it shouldnt result in an engine that refuses to start or has poor performance. When the engine starts and the camshaft are rotating at speed, the weight will sling out. This change in position of the weight/s moves the decompressor rocker arm or pin into a position where it will not contact the exhaust valve or rocker arm and the engine will have full compression. The major factor to this growth is increasing vehicle manufacturing in countries like China, India and Brazil increased installation of decompression units. Due to high disposable income, theres a growing demand for automobiles which is, in turn, driving the decompression units market.Manual decompressor systems often use a cable controlled lever on four-stroke engines to apply pressure to the rocker arm or exhaust valve. The cable or lever free-play must be maintained within specification. On the camshaft to operate a pin located inside the camshaft or a special decompressor rocker arm automatic decompressor systems often use spring-loaded weights. At rest or below idle rpm the weights are held in by the springs, and the decompressor rocker arm or pin will contact the exhaust valve or rocker arm to release compression in the engine.Global Automotive Decompression Units Market: Market SegmentationThe global automotive decompression units is segmented by type and application. Based on Type, global automotive decompression units Market is segmented into: Manual, Automatic. Based on Application, global automotive decompression units Market is segmented into: Single cylinder four-stroke engines, V-twins.Global Automotive Decompression Units Market: Regional OutlookGeographically, Automotive Valve Stem Seal Market has been categorized into seven key regions including North America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Japan, APEJ, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa. The APEJ region is dominated by developing countries like China and India. The automotive industry in this region is growing a higher pace than others. Growing technological improvements and decompressor capabilities is expected to further the demands of functional and high-performance products in the automotive industry. European countries are the hub of automotive manufacturers delivering high performance and high-quality vehicles. Eastern Europe still follows its Western counterparts, which gives the later more exposure in their market. The USA leads the decompressor market is North America. Increase in demand for decompressor has led to manufacturer setting up production units in Latin American countries like Mexico and Brazil. Japan, with its new market policies, have been setting up part manufacturing plants in Asia and Latin American countries and is expecting a higher growth in the following years.A sample of this report is available upon request @Global Automotive Decompression Units Market: Key PlayersSome of the key players identified in the automotive decompression units market include: Pricol, Advik Hi-Tech.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:
Fine Chemicals Market Forecast and Segments, 2015-2025

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Fine chemicals, also referred to as specification chemicals, is a class of chemicals which is characterized by their low volume use and higher price as compared to that of commodity chemicals. These complex, pure chemicals are manufactured in limited quantities and according to exacting specifications for their intended application. Fine chemicals are produced in batches as against continuous production which is practiced for bulk chemicals. Moreover, manufacture of fine chemicals involves conversion of basic chemicals into complexes which serve as building blocks in a variety of applications across diverse industries such as agrochemicals, paints and coatings, electronics, pharmaceuticals among the others. Agrochemicals and active pharmaceutical ingredients are the most common chemicals covered under Fine chemicals. Fine chemicals differ from specialty chemicals in that, these fine chemicals are sold primarily on the basis of what these chemicals are as opposed to specialty chemicals which are sold on the basis of what those chemicals can do.Fine chemicals Market: Drivers & RestraintsGlobal fine chemicals market is expected to witness a steady growth during the forecast period, this growth of global fine chemicals market is expected to be driven by growth of the major end use industries. Pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals, being major consumers of fine chemicals, the growth in these industries is in turn expected to fuel the growth of global fine chemicals market during the forecast period. Moreover, growing demand from developing countries, especially those in Asia Pacific, is expected to result in growth of global fine chemicals market. A major trend witnessed in global fine chemicals market is that the companies producing fine chemicals are channelizing efforts towards development of efficient processes and newer products in order to gain a competitive advantage which eventually translates into a higher share in global fine chemicals market.Enter your information below to receive a sample copy of this report @Fine chemicals Market: SegmentationDepending on the end use application industries, global fine chemicals market can be segmented into following key segments:PharmaceuticalsAgrochemicalPolymer additivesFood and FeedElectronicsPerfumes and FragrancesOthersAmong the above mentioned end use industry based segments of global fine chemicals market, the pharmaceuticals segment accounts for the largest share in global fine chemicals market value. The pharmaceuticals segment is followed by agrochemicals segment in terms of share in the global fine chemicals market value.Request Report TOC (Table of Contents) @Fine chemicals Market: Region-wise OutlookOn the basis of geographical regions, the global fine chemicals market can be segmented into seven key segments, namely, North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific, Japan and Middle East & Africa. Among all region based segments of global fine chemicals market, Asia Pacific is expected to emerge as the fastest growing segment.Fine chemicals Market: Key PlayersSome of the identified major participants of the global fine chemicals market are as follows:LonzaSumitomo ChemicalsBASF SEBoehringer-IngelheimSigma-Aldrich CorporationChemada fine chemicalsAlbemarle CorporationChina Sanjiang Fine Chemicals Company LimitedValiant Co. LtdABOUT 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:
African Real Estate & Infrastructure Summit comes to Gauteng in October to focus on continents urban opportunities and challenges

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Africas cities are facing an urban polycrisisThe award-winning African Real Estate & Infrastructure Summit comes to Gauteng in October to gather leading built environment and property professionals, architects, project developers, investors, town planners, and city and municipal managers from all over the continent to focus on Developing Future African Cities.Over the next 20 years, growth in Africas urban population will increase the demand for more infrastructure, including transport, housing, hospitals, schools, retail, industrial and fundamental facilities, says Benjamin Jones, Event Manager of African Real Estate & Infrastructure Summit. He adds: to meet this ongoing demand, public and private sector stakeholders will need to adapt their strategies to develop and fund projects that will need to meet the specific demands and challenges of African cities. The summit will take place at the Sandton Convention Centre from 25-26 October.JLL, the global financial and professional services firm specialising in commercial real estate services and investment management, is the official content sponsor for the event. Simon Ardonceau (MRICS), JLLs Head of Strategic Consulting, Sub-Saharan Africa and speaker at the African Real Estate & Infrastructure Summit, says: driven by strong fundamentals such as sustained economic growth, favourable demographics, emergence of a middle class and rapid urbanisation, the real estate sector is bound to grow.Visionary city planningIn November last year, the inaugural African Real Estate & Infrastructure Summit in Cape Town provided an innovative space for more than 300 sector experts gathered for interactive sessions that focused on key case studies of visionary city planning, investment opportunities in the commercial and residential real estate sectors across the continent as well as the challenges of urbanisation. A key finding of the conference was that Africas cities are facing an urban polycrisis and that there is a need for a new urban agenda and an opportunity for innovative solutions to address urbanisation challenges.The summit was voted Africa's best Confex (half conference, half exhibition) earlier this year by the AAXO ROAR event industry awards.More key findings that emerged during the first African Real Estate & Infrastructure Summit included:- African countries need to adopt new development models designed to take advantage of urbanisation by facilitating structural transformation, creating jobs and addressing social inequality and poverty, while creating sustainable human settlements with equal opportunity for all.- The future of Africa is at stake and the future of Africa will be more and more linked to how cities are managed and the way they choose to contribute to African unity.- Careful, complex, thorough administrative management and pro-poor urban development will turn African cities into world-class cities, not design plans based on fantasy Dubai-esque city makeovers.- The city is the centre of the emancipated state and social media needs to be harnessed to unleash the potential of Africas smart cities.- The City of Cape Town has invested over R22 billion in infrastructure over the last five years and needs to provide an additional 650 000 housing opportunities over the next 20 years.- Merely pursuing low-density low-cost housing on the outskirts of the cities is not an option. Innovative thinking must be part of the solutions for urbanisation challenges and partnerships between the public and private sectors play an important role.Leading African cities that have been invited to showcase their major infrastructure and building projects and opportunities in October at African Real Estate & Infrastructure Summit include: Abuja, Nigeria; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Cape Town, South Africa; Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania; Johannesburg, South Africa; Kampala, Uganda; Kigali, Rwanda; Lagos, Nigeria; Luanda, Angola; Lusaka, Zambia; Maputo, Mozambique; Nairobi, Kenya; Harare, Zimbabwe and Kinshasa, DRC.Property Buyer ShowDuring the same week as African Real Estate & Infrastructure Summit, the Property Buyer Show also comes to Gauteng from 27-29 October at the Sandton Convention Centre. The Property Buyer Show, which took place for the first time in Cape Town in April this year, is a unique exhibition aimed at first-time residential property buyers or real estate investors. The innovative exhibition layout is designed to walk buyers through the property buying process and meet with Developers, Agents and Financial Service Providers.Dates and location:African Real Estate & Infrastructure Summit: 25-26 October 2017Property Buyer Show conference: 27 October 2017Property Buyer Show expo: 28-29 October 2017Location: Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg, South AfricaWebsites:Twitter:LinkedIn:Media contact:Senior communications manager: Annemarie RoodbolTelephone: +27 21 700 3558Mobile: +27 82 562 7844Email: annemarie.roodbol@spintelligent.comThe African Real Estate & Infrastructure Summit and the Property Buyer Show are organised by the multi award-winning Spintelligent, well known for organising exhibitions and conferences across the continent in the infrastructure, energy, mining, agriculture and education sectors. Longstanding flagship events by Spintelligent include African Utility Week, Future Energy Nigeria (formerly WAPIC), Future Energy East Africa (formerly EAPIC), Agritech Expo Zambia, DRC Mining Week and EduWeek. Spintelligent is part of Clarion Events Ltd, based in the UK.2nd Floor, North Wing, Great Westerford, 240 Main Road, Rondebosch, 7700, Cape Town
CNG and LPG Vehicles Market 2015-2025 Shares, Trend and Growth Report

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The increasing environmental concerns and escalating prices for gasoline and diesel have upturned the economies (especially the developing ones) attention towards alternative fuel such as Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and global CNG and LPG vehicles market. The Dual Fuel options offered by these substitute fuel vehicles have convinced the consumers as noble substitutes when compared to the traditional gasoline and diesel vehicles.The major governmental mandates such as Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE), California Air Resources Board Zero-Emission Vehicle Mandate, and Federal Emissions Standards are turning the automotive industry towards more and more technological advancements so as to attain fuel economy and reduce emissions which are directly increasing the demand for CNG and LPG vehicles, thereby raising the global CNG and LPG vehicles market. The global CNG and LPG vehicles market is yet in its developing stage which requires a conjoint efforts of the government, people, and the manufacturers (OEMs).CNG and LPG Vehicle Market: Drivers & RestraintsThe increasing importance of clean economy and balance of the ecosystem is accompanied by governmental protocols, and is driving the global CNG and LPG vehicles market. Along with the environmental concerns, the cost saving factor (comparative to the petrol and Diesel) will also subsidize to the global CNG and LPG vehicle market.Enter your information below to receive a sample copy of this report @Despite of being the most striking subject matter of the economy in recent times there is a lack of awareness about the benefits of LPG/CNG amongst the people that is preventing the global CNG and LPG vehicles market from growing. Some of the other growth restraining factors of the global CNG and LPG vehicles market can be deficiency in the service stations of CNG and LPG, poor networks of CNG and LPG Stations, and increasing awareness of upcoming LNG vehicles.The global CNG and LPG vehicle market is also is challenged due to its higher cost of initial equipment installation.CNG and LPG Vehicles Market: SegmentationBy product/fuel type, the global market for CNG and LPG vehicles is segmented as CNG and LPG.On the basis of applications the global CNG and LPG vehicles market is segmented as Passenger Car Vehicles and Light Commercial Vehicles (LCV).CNG and LPG Vehicles Market: Region-wise OutlookThe CNG and LPG Vehicles market is expected to register a favourable growth for the forecast period, 2015?2025. The Asia-Pacific is projected to endure its control on the global CNG and LPG vehicles market followed by Europe and North America. The developing regions such as India and China are projected to be potentially growing in global CNG and LPG vehicles market with reference to the increasing demand for commercial vehicles and passenger cars accompanied by the escalating gasoline prices and price conscious consumers. South Korea being the developed nation in automotives market will also show a remarkable growth into the global CNG and LPG vehicles market.Request Report TOC (Table of Contents) @European market is undergoing some stringent norms by the European Union (EU) that is accelerating the demand for CNG vehicles. Not only CNG vehicles but also LPG will be at a competitive advantage situation in response to the European incentives for the oil companies.CNG and LPG Vehicles Market: Key PlayersSome of the key market participants in global CNG and LPG vehicles market are Ford, Fiat Group, General Motors Group, Volkswagen, Renault, Hyundai, Suzuki, and others.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Global Coal Market - Share, Size, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2017-2025

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IndexBox has just published a new report "World: Coal - Market Report. Analysis And Forecast To 2025". (This report has been designed to provide a detailed analysis of the global coal market. It covers the most recent data sets of quantitative medium-term projections, as well as developments in production, trade, consumption and prices. The report also includes a comparative analysis of the leading consuming countries, revealing opportunities opened for producers and exporters across the globe. The forecast outlines market prospects to 2025.Countries coverage: Worldwide - the report contains statistical data for 200 countries and includes detailed profiles of the 50 largest consuming countries (United States, China, Japan, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Brazil, Italy, Russian Federation, India, Canada, Australia, Republic of Korea, Spain, Mexico, Indonesia, Netherlands, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, Sweden, Nigeria, Poland, Belgium, Argentina, Norway, Austria, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Colombia, Denmark, South Africa, Malaysia, Israel, Singapore, Egypt, Philippines, Finland, Chile, Ireland, Pakistan, Greece, Portugal, Kazakhstan, Algeria, Czech Republic, Qatar, Peru, Romania, Vietnam) + the largest producing countries.Product coverage: CoalData coverage:- Coal market size and volume;- Coal market trends and prospects;- Global coal production and its dynamics;- Per capita consumption;- Breakdown of production by region and country;- Medium term outlook;- Coal trade (exports/imports);- Prices for coal;- Profiles of the main manufacturers.The report will help you:- Get a bigger picture of the market;- Rewire your business around market trends;- Devise your marketing strategy;- Operate with increased effectiveness.TABLE OF CONTENTS1. INTRODUCTION1.1 REPORT DESCRIPTION1.2 REPORT STRUCTURE1.3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY2. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY2.1 KEY FINDINGS2.2 MARKET TRENDS3. MARKET OVERVIEW3.1 MARKET VALUE3.2 TRADE BALANCE3.3 MARKET OPPORTUNITIES3.4 MARKET FORECAST TO 20254. DOMESTIC PRODUCTION4.1 PRODUCTION IN 2008-20154.2 PRODUCTION BY STATE4.3 PRODUCER PRICES5. IMPORTS5.1 IMPORTS IN 2007-20155.2 IMPORTS BY TYPE5.3 IMPORTS BY COUNTRY5.4 IMPORT PRICES BY COUNTRY6. EXPORTS6.1 EXPORTS IN 2007-20156.2 EXPORTS BY TYPE6.3 EXPORTS BY COUNTRY6.4 EXPORT PRICES BY COUNTRY7. COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE7.1 INDUSTRY SNAPSHOTS7.2 INDUSTRY LIFE CYCLE7.3 BUSINESS LOCATIONS7.4 EMPLOYMENT7.5 ANNUAL PAYROLL7.6 INDUSTRY PRODUCTIVITY7.7 ESTABLISHMENT SIZE AND LEGAL FORM8. COMPANY PROFILESDownload a free sample of the report now!IndexBox is a leading market research publisher in the world. You can find more than 25,000 research reports in our web store, which cover global industries and regional markets. All the worldwide marketing data you need is at your fingertips.Company Name: IndexBoxContact Person: Kirill BezverhiEmail: kirill.bezverhi@indexbox.co.ukPhone: +44 20 3239 3063Adress: United Kingdom, 44 Main Street, Douglas, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, ML11 0QWWebsite:
Global Vehicle System Basis Chip Market 2017 - NXP, Infineon, Texas Instruments, Robert Boscha and Stmicroelectronics

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Global Vehicle System Basis Chip Market 2017 - Production, Revenue, Consumption, Export and Import Forecast 2022The Vehicle System Basis Chip report Announced by QYResearch Group provides an in-depth exploration of the Vehicle System Basis Chip market and offers insights such as scope, historical data, statistical data, and significant approaches of the worldwide market. The report also encompasses projected information that is evaluated with the help of a suitable set of methods and postulations. The report, with all its invaluable data, brings to light the factual information and comprehensive study of the Vehicle System Basis Chip market.The report encompasses exact statistics, contributions from the industry professionals, information provided by industry analysts and industry participants involved in the whole value chain, and qualitative & quantitative analysis of data. The report is intended to assist the reader with better comprehension and decision-making.CLICK HERE to Request Sample Report @Global Vehicle System Basis Chip Market key Manufactures are:1. NXP2. Infineon3. Texas Instruments4. Robert Bosch5. Stmicroelectronics6. on Semiconductor Corp7. Atmel Corporation8. Microchip Technology9. Melexis10. Elmos Semicondustor AGThe report assesses the scope of the Vehicle System Basis Chip market that comprises several components such as production, demands, size, analysis, supply, sales, classification, definition, application, specification, forecast trends, news, and industry policy. The report also covers the value chain analysis of the Vehicle System Basis Chip market consisting of numerous factors accountable for the growth and limitations of the market along with the key players in the market. The report also comprises the worldwide segmentation of the market on the basis of end-users, applications, regions, and technology.The report highlights the wide-ranging exploration of the key markets and their up-to-date trends together with related market segments. The report also provides data encompassing the number of market factors and the impact they have on the overall market as well as the individual segments of the market. The report also focuses on the regional and worldwide market along with an in-depth analysis providing growth prospects for the market.Inquiry Here @Furthermore, the report evaluates the major market components, comprising revenue, price, growth rate, capacity utilization rate, gross, capacity, consumption, supply, market share, cost, import, demand, export, gross margin, and much more. The Vehicle System Basis Chip report is an expedient documentation that assists the manufacturers, investors, suppliers, customers, distributors, & individuals who are concerned in this market.The worldwide Vehicle System Basis Chip report is a vital resource report, predominantly for industry administrators. If a report is requested by anyone for the worldwide Vehicle System Basis Chip market, they will be presented with wide-ranging data about the specific market covering all its facets in the report.About Us:QYResearch Group is a single destination for all the industry, company and country reports. QYResearch Group also carries the capability to assist you with your customized market research requirements including in-depth market surveys, primary interviews, competitive landscaping, and company profiles. We feature large repository of latest industry reports, leading and niche company profiles, and market statistics. QYResearch Group is the comprehensive collection of market intelligence products and services available on air.Contact US:Joel John3422 SW 15 Street, Suit #8138,Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442,United StatesTel: +1-386-310-3803GMT Tel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll Free No. 1-855-465-4651
Warehouse Robotics Market size and Key Trends in terms of volume and value 2015-2025

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Warehouse robots are gaining a lot of popularity and its rising importance due to its usage in varied number of applications such as food and beverage, automotive, pharmaceuticals, electronics, construction, defense, oil and gas. Companies are investing huge in research and development activities in the warehouse robotics market, especially developed countries for product innovation and also to automate it in a more advanced way. With rapid advancement in technology and increasing demand of warehouse robotics to improve product quality, production and space utilization, the market for warehouse robotics market is growing at a positive rate globally.In December 2014, Amazon installed almost 15,000 robots in its US warehouse to cut operation cost by one-fifth and to meet up the increasing consumer demand during festive seasons. They also wanted to compete with the brick and mortar stores and to deliver items to customers on time and at a faster rate. The technology was developed by Kiva Systems, a robotics company. Recently, Amazon announced that it would renamed Kiva systems to Amazon Robotics and also hire a head of Robotics.Request Report Sample@Warehouse Robotics Market: Drivers & RestraintsIncreased demand of automation, time saving and reduction in cost, increasing number of stock keeping units, increasing demand and awareness towords quality and safety production, advancement in technology, increased use in various applications and industries such as food and beverage, electronics, are the important market drivers for the warehouse robotics market.Initial high adoption cost related to training, deployment, lack of awareness and difficulty in interacting with robots for some end users are some of the barriers which is hampering the growth of warehouse robotics market.Warehouse Robotics Market: SegmentationWarehouse robotics market is broadly classified on the basis of the following segment By Product:Fixed RobotsMobile RobotsGantry RobotsStationery Articulated RobotsBy Application:AutomotiveFood and BeveragePharmaceuticalElectronicsConstructionDefenseOil and GasOthersWarehouse Robotics Market: OverviewThe warehouse robotics market has grown substantially at a healthy CAGR due to recent advancements in the technology and increasing demand in its applications. Asia Pacific will emerge as the fastest growing region for warehouse robotics market due to increasing demand for automation and increasing awareness about quality production.Warehouse Robotics Market: Region-wise OutlookThe warehouse robotics market is expected to register a double-digit CAGR for the forecast period. Depending on geographic regions, warehouse robotics market is segmented into seven key regions: North America, South America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Asia Pacific, Japan, and Middle East & Africa. Asia Pacific is the fastest growing market for warehouse robotics market due to increasing research and development and increasing investment made by the automotive companies.Visit For TOC@Warehouse Robotics Market: Key PlayersSome of the key market players in warehouse robotics market are ABB Robotics, Kiva Systems, Foxconn Technology Group, Seegrid, SSI Schaefer, Swisslong, Fanuc Corporation.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:
Navigation Test Equipment Report on Global Market by Players, Types and Applications, Status and Forecast, 2017-2021

Navigation Test Equipment 2021 Industry Report

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Global Navigation Test Equipment Market Research Report provides information on Products, Services, Trends, Top Companies, Verticals, Countries, Material, Application, and Geography globally. This report will help the viewer in Better Decision Making ,offers by OrbisResearch.comDescription:Navigation Test Equipment Report by Material, Application, and Geography  Global Forecast to 2021 is a professional and in-depth research report on the world's major regional market conditions, focusing on the main regions (North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific) and the main countries (United States, Germany, united Kingdom, Japan, South Korea and China).The report firstly introduced the Navigation Test Equipment basics: definitions, classifications, applications and market overview; product specifications; manufacturing processes; cost structures, raw materials and so on. Then it analyzed the world's main region market conditions, including the product price, profit, capacity, production, supply, demand and market growth rate and forecast etc. In the end, the report introduced new project SWOT analysis, investment feasibility analysis, and investment return analysis.Request a sample of Global Navigation Test Equipment Market Research Report @The report includes six parts, dealing with: Basic information The Asia Navigation Test Equipment Market The North American Navigation Test Equipment Market The European Navigation Test Equipment Market Market entry and investment feasibility The report conclusionBrowse the full Global Navigation Test Equipment Industry Research Report @Some of the points from table of content:Part I Navigation Test Equipment Industry OverviewChapter One Navigation Test Equipment Industry Overview1.1 Navigation Test Equipment Definition1.2 Navigation Test Equipment Classification Analysis1.2.1 Navigation Test Equipment Main Classification Analysis1.2.2 Navigation Test Equipment Main Classification Share Analysis1.3 Navigation Test Equipment Application Analysis1.3.1 Navigation Test Equipment Main Application Analysis1.3.2 Navigation Test Equipment Main Application Share Analysis1.4 Navigation Test Equipment Industry Chain Structure Analysis1.5 Navigation Test Equipment Industry Development Overview1.5.1 Navigation Test Equipment Product History Development Overview1.5.1 Navigation Test Equipment Product Market Development Overview1.6 Navigation Test Equipment Global Market Comparison Analysis1.6.1 Navigation Test Equipment Global Import Market Analysis1.6.2 Navigation Test Equipment Global Export Market Analysis1.6.3 Navigation Test Equipment Global Main Region Market Analysis1.6.4 Navigation Test Equipment Global Market Comparison Analysis1.6.5 Navigation Test Equipment Global Market Development Trend AnalysisChapter Two Navigation Test Equipment Up and Down Stream Industry Analysis2.1 Upstream Raw Materials Analysis2.1.1 Upstream Raw Materials Price Analysis2.1.2 Upstream Raw Materials Market Analysis2.1.3 Upstream Raw Materials Market Trend2.2 Down Stream Market Analysis2.1.1 Down Stream Market Analysis2.2.2 Down Stream Demand Analysis2.2.3 Down Stream Market Trend AnalysisPart II Asia Navigation Test Equipment Industry (The Report Company Including the Below Listed But Not All)Chapter Three Asia Navigation Test Equipment Market Analysis3.1 Asia Navigation Test Equipment Product Development History3.2 Asia Navigation Test Equipment Competitive Landscape Analysis3.3 Asia Navigation Test Equipment Market Development TrendChapter Four 2012-2017 Asia Navigation Test Equipment Productions Supply Sales Demand Market Status and Forecast4.1 2012-2017 Navigation Test Equipment Capacity Production Overview4.2 2012-2017 Navigation Test Equipment Production Market Share Analysis4.3 2012-2017 Navigation Test Equipment Demand Overview4.4 2012-2017 Navigation Test Equipment Supply Demand and Shortage4.5 2012-2017 Navigation Test Equipment Import Export Consumption4.6 2012-2017 Navigation Test Equipment Cost Price Production Value Gross MarginThe Report Contains: 167 Pages.Make an enquire of this report @About Us:Orbis Research (orbisresearch.com) is a single point aid for all your market research requirements. We have vast database of reports from the leading publishers and authors across the globe. We specialize in delivering customized reports as per the requirements of our clients. We have complete information about our publishers and hence are sure about the accuracy of the industries and verticals of their specialization. This helps our clients to map their needs and we produce the perfect required market research study for our clients.Contact Us:Hector CostelloSenior Manager  Client Engagements4144N Central Expressway,Suite 600, Dallas,Texas - 75204, U.S.A.Phone No.: +1 (214) 884-6817; +912064101019Follow Us on LinkedIn:Follow us on Twitter:Follow us on G+ :
Smart Meter Market size and Key Trends in terms of volume and value 2015-2025

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On a global scale, many countries are facing challenges to meet the growing demand for energy. Thus utilities are looking for innovative and efficient ways to manage generation, transmission and worldwide distribution of energy. Global smart meter market consists of digital electronic devices for measuring and two-way information sharing to manage and control power consumption by customers. Customers also have the advantage of tracking their energy consumption and billing through internet. Global smart meter market demand is more in residential areas as compared to commercial areas and electric smart meter is prominently used among the types of smart meters. Environmental concerns for reducing carbon and energy wastage and for regulating supply of energy, are major factors driving global smart meter market. Global smart meter market is anticipated to grow with a single digit compound annual growth rate during the forecast period.Smart Meter Market: Drivers & RestraintsThe major driving factor for the growth of global smart meter market is government support and incentives, as utilities are initially reluctant to make huge investment in new technology without their support. Technological advancements such as smart grid development, infrastructure development, growing population and rise in economic developments are some of the other factors boosting the growth of global smart meter market. The successful deployment of global smart meter market is dependent on logistics which influences the delivery, installation and performance of smart meter. The health effects concerning wireless signals in smart meter, security concerns, regulatory constraints and stiff competition are some of the challenges faced by global smart meter market.Request Report Sample@Smart Meter Market: SegmentationOn the basis of product type, global smart meter market can be segmented into following segments:Smart electric meterSmart gas meterSmart water meterOn the basis of application, global smart meter market can be segmented into:Residential applicationCommercial applicationOn the basis of technology, global smart meter market can be segmented into:Radio Frequency (RF)Power Line Carrier (PLC)Smart Meter Market: Region-wise OutlookGlobal smart meter market is expected to exhibit healthy growth in Asia-Pacific and Western Europe regions which is either due to increasing installation of new smart meters as well as upgradation of the existing smart meters. China is expected to display substantial progress of global smart meter market, as incorporated in its five-year nationwide plan to upgrade its grid infrastructure. In Japan, large scale installation by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) started on 2014 which is expected to last during the forecast period leading to increase in demand for global smart meter market. In North, America, the growth of global smart meter market is expected to slower down as infrastructure for energy is well developed and funding for the new projects has become limited. In Latin America, global smart meter is set to exhibit steady growth of global smart meter market, as compared to Middle East and Africa.Visit For TOC@Smart Meter Market: Key PlayersSome of the key players in global smart meter market are: Aclara Technologies LLC., Echelon Corporation, Elster Group GmbH, General Electric, Holley Metering Limited, Iskraemeco d.d., Itron, Kamstrup A/S, Landis+Gyr and Sensus.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:
TORONTO, Aug. 10, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mandalay Resources Corporation ("Mandalay" or the "Company") (TSX:MND) today announced revenue of $44.1 million, adjusted EBITDA of $12.1 million and consolidated net loss of $10.1 million, or $0.02 loss per share, for the second quarter of 2017.

The Companys condensed and consolidated interim financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2017, together with its Managements Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) for the corresponding period, can be accessed under the Companys profile on www.sedar.com and on the Companys website at www.mandalayresources.com. All currency references in this press release are in U.S. dollars except as otherwise indicated.

Commenting on second quarter of 2017 results, Dr. Mark Sander, President and CEO of Mandalay, noted, Mandalays financial performance in the second quarter of 2017 was negatively affected by the operating suspension at Cerro Bayo in response to the June 9, 2017, flooding of the Delia NW mine, as previously discussed in the Companys production and sales report issued for the quarter (see Mandalay July 12, 2017, press release). Suspension of operations caused reduced silver and gold production, and therefore revenue, at higher cost per ounce than planned.

Operations at Cerro Bayo remain suspended pending completion of the investigation of the cause of the event and the risk assessment of restarting mining in the vicinity of Laguna Verde. In addition, the Chilean regulator, Sernageomin, has issued a decree that it must approve a request to reopen based on the results of the risk assessment. This process is likely to add an additional one to two months to the one to two months months needed to complete the risk assessment, making it unlikely that we will be in a position to restart mine development and production this year. Therefore, we are providing revised guidance for 2017 assuming no Cerro Bayo production or capital spending for the rest of the year while maintaining guidance for Bjorkdal and Costerfield.

Dr. Sander continued, Looking at the Companys operations, Bjorkdal delivered record gold production for the quarter at low cash cost per ounce. The annualized rate of production during the quarter was approximately 64,000 ounces per year. We are pleased that the grade control program continues to function well and that the debottlenecking actions we took in the open pit and underground mines at the end of the first quarter performed exactly as planned. Second quarter results reflected higher than planned mill feed grades as well as higher mining rates and we expect continued good performance from Bjorkdal for the rest of the year.

Dr. Sander continued, Costerfield continued to deliver dependable performance in the second quarter of 2017, producing 14,300 gold equivalent ounces at a very sound cash cost of $648 per ounce, and at an all-in cost of $962 per ounce. We expect continued performance at these levels for the balance of the year.

Dr. Sander concluded, The Companys balance sheet remains in a strong position after the re-structure of the exchangeable loan with Gold Exchangeable Limited. We paid off half of the $60 million of the loan and amendended the terms of the remaining $30 million, including an extension of the maturity date to May 2022 (see Mandalay May 24, 2017 press release). When combined with our new $40 million revolving credit facility announced in July, 2017, (see Mandalay July 25, 2017, press release), we have ample funding to maintain our capital investment program in our existing mines, restart Cerro Bayo, and maintain working capital. We also have the ability to act quickly on attractive acquisition opportunities that may arise, which remains a core strategic objective for the Company.

Second Quarter 2017 Financial Highlights

The following table summarizes the Companys financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2017 and 2016:

Three months

Ended June 30, 2017 Three months

Ended June 30, 2016 Six months

Ended June 30, 2017 Six months

Ended June 30, 2016 $000 $000 $000 $000 Revenue 44,124 54,166 89,497 104,608 Cost of Sales 30,030 29,927 62,018 61,353 Adjusted EBITDA* 12,130 22,127 23,542 39,389 Income from mine operations before depreciation and depletion 14,094 24,239 27,479 43,255 Adjusted net income before special items* (6,933 ) 5,154 (9,284 ) 7,781 Consolidated net (loss) income (10,105 ) 3,611 (12,456 ) 4,760 Cash capex* 12,998 11,472 25,090 20,529 Total assets 320,062 355,100 320,060 355,100 Total liabilities 126,811 142,996 126,811 142,996 Adjusted net (loss) income per share* $ (0.02 ) $ 0.01 $ (0.02 ) $ 0.02 Consolidated net (loss) income per share $ (0.02 ) $ 0.01 $ (0.03 ) $ 0.01

* Adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net (loss) income before special items, cash capex and adjusted net (loss) income per share are non-IFRS measures. See Non-IFRS Measures at the end of this press release.

During the second quarter of 2017, Mandalay sold 12% fewer ounces of gold equivalent versus the second quarter of 2016. At the same time, average silver and antimony prices rose 2% and 41% quarter-over-quarter, respectively, while the average gold price remained almost constant quarter-over-quarter. The net effect is that Mandalays revenue of $44.1 million in the second quarter of 2017 was $10.1 million lower than in the second quarter of 2016.

Total cost of sales across the Company was approximately constant when comparing the second quarter of 2017 to the second quarter of 2016. At Costerfield, cost of sales increased by $1.0 million, where fewer tonnes at lower grade were mined and processed to produce fewer gold equivalent ounces than in the year-ago period. Per tonne mining and milling costs at Costerfield remained nearly constant through this expected decline in ore grades. Total cost of sales at Cerro Bayo increased by $1.3 million in the second quarter of 2017 relative to the second quarter of 2016 mainly due to inventory movement from a reduction in the level of ore inventory at June, 2017. Cost of sales decreased by $2.0 million at Bjorkdal, due to the build-up of ore inventory over the quarter from the record quarter of production in the second quarter of 2017, compared to the inventory movement recognized in the second quarter of 2016. Consolidated administrative costs remained virtually constant, increasing slightly by $0.2 million in the second quarter of 2017.

Mandalay generated $12.1 million in adjusted EBITDA in the current quarter, $0.7 million higher than in the previous quarter, and $10 million lower than the second quarter of 2016. This led to a consolidated net loss of $10.1 million in the second quarter of 2017 versus a loss of $2.3 million in the first quarter of 2017. Second quarter results were adversely affected by the expenses of search efforts related to the flooding incident at Cerro Bayo and accrual of estimated future costs stemming from the event. Non-cash adjustments include the write-off of the remaining carrying value of mining interests associated with the Delia NW mine, a loss of $0.5 million of property, plant and equipment, and certain other costs.

Mandalay ended the second quarter with $18.4 million in cash and cash equivalents.

Second Quarter Operational Highlights

The table below summarizes the Companys capital expenditures and operational unit costs for the three and six months ended June 30, 2017 and 2016:





Three months

ended June 30, 2017 Three months

ended June 30, 2016 Six months

ended June 30, 2017 Six months

ended June 30, 2016 $000 $000 $000 $000 Costerfield Gold produced (oz) 8,933 12,252 16,920 24,685 Antimony produced (t) 765 962 1,506 1,962 Gold equivalent produced (oz) 14,300 17,023 27,191 33,989 Cash cost* per oz gold equivalent produced $ 648 $ 530 $ 682 $ 521 All-in cost* per oz gold equivalent produced $ 962 $ 772 $ 996 $ 756 Underground capital devel. & open pit prestrip 1,099 Nil 1,876 Nil Capital purchases 1,465 1,289 2,480 1,594 Capital exploration 1,398 1,155 2,386 2,113 Cerro Bayo Silver produced (oz) 359,457 462,462 794,533 977,678 Gold produced (oz) 3,174 3,818 5,909 8,154 Cash cost* per oz silver net byproduct credit $ 12.31 $ 8.45 $ 13.29 $ 9.26 All-in cost* per oz silver net byproduct credit $ 24.05 $ 16.54 $ 23.25 $ 17.84 Underground capital devel. & open pit prestrip 2,518 2,505 5,882 3,903 Capital purchases 339 1,031 1,354 2,458 Capital exploration 114 787 497 1,306 Bjorkdal Gold produced (oz) 16,112 12,648 26,760 24,833 Cash cost* per oz gold produced $ 824 $ 967 $ 954 $ 897 All-in cost* per oz gold produced $ 1,081 $ 1,212 1,220 1,138 Underground capital devel. & open pit prestrip 2,596 2,138 5,860 4,885 Capital purchases 1,297 1,752 3,050 2,757 Capital exploration 671 748 1,082 1,491 Consolidated Gold equivalent produced (oz) 38,491 39,653 70,972 79,618 Average cash cost* per oz gold equivalent $ 853 $ 811 $ 914 $ 781 Average all-in cost* per oz gold equivalent $ 1,173 $ 1,095 $ 1,243 $ 1,069 Underground capital devel. & open pit prestrip 6,213 4,643 13,618 8,788 Capital purchases 3,698 4,166 7,089 6,955 Capital exploration 2,568 3,103 4,759 5,668

*Cash cost and all-in cost are non-IFRS measures. See Non-IFRS Measures at the end of this press release.

Costerfield gold-antimony mine, Victoria, Australia

Costerfields production of 14,300 ounces gold equivalent in the second quarter of 2017 was higher than in the first quarter of 2017, although it remained approximately 16% less than in the year-ago quarter. Lower production in the second quarter of 2017 compared to the second quarter of 2016 was expected, as a year ago Mandalay was mining in the heart of the highest-grade portion of the Cuffley lode and currently is mining lower-grade parts of the deposit. Absolute operating costs continued to be well-controlled at Costerfield. Lower production arising from lower grades translated into higher cash costs per ounce of gold equivalent than in the year-ago quarter.

Bjorkdal gold mine, Sweden

In the second quarter of 2017, Bjorkdal achieved a record production quarter under Mandalay management as the mining bottlenecks reported with first quarter production were relieved and larger volumes of higher grade ore were consistently delivered to the mill. Consequently, cash operating costs in the current quarter were lower at $824 per ounce of gold, much lower than $967 per ounce gold reported in the year-ago quarter.

Cerro Bayo silver-gold mine, Patagonia, Chile

Cerro Bayo production in the second quarter of 2017 was lower than in the second quarter of 2016 due entirely to the operating suspension in response to the flooding event. Prior to the suspension, Cerro Bayo was closely tracking both production and cost performance anticipated in the revised guidance of February 16, 2017.

Challacollo, Chile

Mandalay completed its water exploration program in the second quarter of 2017, finding a significant supply of groundwater. The Company has applied for the surface rights to construct a permanent water production well in a process that will take several months.

La Quebrada

The La Quebrada copper-silver project in central Chile remained on care and maintenance throughout the period. Spending on care and maintenance at La Quebrada was less than $0.1 million during the second quarter of 2017.

Lupin and Ulu

The Lupin and Ulu gold projects in Nunavut, Canada were acquired with the Elgin acquisition in late 2014 and are currently held for sale as non-core assets. On October 31, 2016, the Company entered into a definitive agreement for the sale of both projects, however a transaction was not completed due to a C$9 million increase in the bonding requirements for the Lupin project that was imposed shortly before the planned closing date. In light of the increased bonding requirement, the Company is transitioning to final reclamation of the Lupin and Ulu projects, which it firmly believes can be accomplished for the original bonded amounts or less. At the same time, the Company has held discussions with stakeholders (Kitikmeot Inuit Association, Nunavut Water Board and Indigenous and Northern Affairs of Canada (INAC)) on the right-sizing of the Ulu site to enable WPC to conduct exploration work on the property, and continues discussions with WPC and INAC on a possible sale or optioning of the Lupin project, before final reclamation is complete.

2017 Revised Full Year Guidance

In light of the ongoing operating suspension at Cerro Bayo, the Company has revised its 2017 guidance. The revised guidance assumes that the Cerro Bayo operating suspension will continue for the balance of the year, leading to no further production and dramatically reduced capital spending. The Company maintains its previously issued guidance for Costerfield and Bjorkdal:

Total Cerro Bayo Costerfield Bjorkdal Challacollo Saleable Ag produced oz mill. 0.8 0.8 Saleable Au produced oz '000 85-95 5.9 30-35 52-58 Saleable Sb produced t '000 3.2-3.7 3.2-3.7 Total Saleable Au Eq produced* oz 000 114-128 16 46-54 52-58 Cash Cost per Au Eq. oz** $/oz 925-975 1,086 710-780 860-910 Capital expenditure USD mill. 44-49 7 12-14 24-27 1 Exploration USD mill. 8 2 3 3

*assumes full-year 2017 prices: Au $1,185/oz, Ag $16.72/oz, Sb $7,701/t

**MND total cash cost per Au Eq. oz includes corporate overhead spending. Cash cost per Au Eq. oz is a non-IFRS measures. See Non-IFRS Measures at the end of this press release.

Conference Call

Mandalays management will be hosting a conference call for investors and analysts on August 11, 2017 at 8:00 am (Toronto time).

Analysts and interested investors are invited to participate using the following dial-in numbers:

Participant Number: (201) 689-8341 Participant Number (Toll free): (877) 407-8289 Conference ID: 13668200

A replay of the conference call will be available until 11:59 pm (Toronto time), August 25, 2017 and can be accessed using the following dial-in number:

Encore Toll Free Dial-in Number: (877) 660-6853 Encore ID: 13668200

About Mandalay Resources Corporation:

Mandalay Resources is a Canadian-based natural resource company with producing assets in Australia, Chile and Sweden, and a development project in Chile. The Company is focused on executing a roll-up strategy, creating critical mass by aggregating advanced or in-production gold, copper, silver and antimony projects in Australia, the Americas, and Europe to generate near-term cash flow and shareholder value.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including guidance as to anticipated gold, silver, and antimony production and production costs in the future. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Actual results and developments may differ materially from those contemplated by these statements depending on, among other things, changes in commodity prices and general market and economic conditions. The factors identified above are not intended to represent a complete list of the factors that could affect Mandalay. A description of additional risks that could result in actual results and developments differing from those contemplated by forward-looking statements in this news release can be found under the heading Risk Factors in Mandalays annual information form dated March 31, 2017, a copy of which is available under Mandalays profile at www.sedar.com. Although Mandalay has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

Non-IFRS Measures

This news release may contain references to adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net income, cash cost per saleable ounce of gold equivalent produced, cash cost per saleable ounce of silver produced net of gold credits, site all-in cost per saleable ounce of gold equivalent produced, site all-in cost per saleable ounce of silver produced net of gold credits, all-in costs and cash capex, all of which are non-IFRS measures and do not have standardized meanings under IFRS. Therefore, these measures may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers.

Management uses adjusted EBITDA as a measure of operating performance to assist in assessing the Companys ability to generate liquidity through operating cash flow to fund future working capital needs and to fund future capital expenditures, as well as to assist in comparing financial performance from period to period on a consistent basis. Management uses adjusted net income in order to facilitate an understanding of the Companys financial performance prior to the impact of non-recurring or special items. The Company believes that these measures are used by and are useful to investors and other users of the Companys financial statements in evaluating the Companys operating and cash performance because they allow for analysis of its financial results without regard to special, non-cash and other non-core items, which can vary substantially from company to company and over different periods.

The Company defines adjusted EBITDA as income from mine operations, net of administration costs, and before interest, taxes, non-cash charges/(income), intercompany charges and finance costs. For a reconciliation between adjusted EBITDA and net income, please refer to page 14 of managements discussion and analysis of the Companys financial statements for the first quarter of 2017.

The Company defines cash capex as cash spent on mining interests, property, plant and equipment, and exploration as set out in the cash flow statement of the financial statements.

The Company defines free cash flow as a measure of the Corporations ability to generate and manage liquidity. This term does not have a standard meaning and is intended to provide the reader with additional information.

For Costerfield, saleable equivalent gold ounces produced is calculated by adding to saleable gold ounces produced, the saleable antimony tonnes produced times the average antimony price in the period divided by the average gold price in the period. The total cash operating cost associated with the production of these saleable equivalent ounces produced in the period is then divided by the saleable equivalent gold ounces produced to yield the cash cost per saleable equivalent ounce produced. The cash cost excludes royalty expenses. Site all-in costs include total cash operating costs, royalty expense, accretion, depletion, depreciation and amortization. The site all-in cost is then divided by the saleable equivalent gold ounces produced to yield the site all-in cost per saleable equivalent ounce produced.

For Cerro Bayo, the cash cost per saleable silver ounce produced net of gold byproduct credit is calculated by deducting the gold credit (which equals saleable ounces gold produced times the realized gold price in the period) from the cash operating costs in the period and dividing the resultant number by the saleable silver ounces produced in the period. The cash cost excludes royalty expenses. The site all-in cost per saleable silver ounce produced net of gold byproduct credit is calculated by adding royalty expenses, accretion, depletion, depreciation, and amortization to the cash cost net of gold byproduct credit, dividing the resultant number by the saleable silver ounces produced in the period.

Also for Cerro Bayo, saleable equivalent gold ounces produced is calculated by adding to saleable gold ounces produced, the saleable silver ounces produced times the average silver price in the period divided by the average gold price in the period. The total cash operating cost associated with the production of these saleable equivalent ounces produced in the period is then divided by the saleable equivalent gold ounces produced to yield the cash cost per saleable equivalent ounce produced. The cash cost excludes royalty expenses. Site all-in costs include total cash operating costs, royalty expense, accretion, depletion, depreciation and amortization. The site all-in cost is then divided by the saleable equivalent gold ounces produced to yield the site all-in cost per saleable equivalent ounce produced.

For Bjorkdal, the total cash operating cost associated with the production of saleable gold ounces produced in the period is then divided by the saleable gold ounces produced to yield the cash cost per saleable gold ounce produced. The cash cost excludes royalty expenses. Site all-in costs include total cash operating costs, royalty expense, accretion, depletion, depreciation and amortization. The site all-in cost is then divided by the saleable gold ounces produced to yield the site all-in cost per saleable gold ounce produced

For the Company as a whole, cash cost per saleable gold equivalent ounce is calculated by summing the gold equivalent ounces produced by each site and dividing the total by the sum of cash operating costs at the sites plus corporate overhead spending.
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Autonomous vehicles also known as robot cars are driverless vehicles, controlled by the computer, which is yet to be commercialized in the market. Autonomous vehicles have sensors installed in it, which detects the objects in its surroundings via radar, GPS, lasers and computer vision and chooses the appropriate path and direction. With the increasing road accidents due to human error while driving provides lucrative opportunities for autonomous vehicles over the forecast period, as the autonomous vehicles are comparatively safe when compared with manually controlled vehicles. The autonomous vehicles will also help in reducing the CO2 emissions to the environment. The commercialization of autonomous vehicles will also contribute to the revenue growth of different industries such as, IT, technology and electronics. The use of autonomous vehicles are not limited to passenger cars, it can be used in industrial fleet, construction, public transportation and for agricultural applications. The merits of an autonomous vehicle over manually operated vehicles are, increased fuel efficiency, safety and low emissions among others. Considering the aforementioned factors, the global autonomous vehicles market will project a healthy growth rate over the forecast period.The global autonomous vehicles market is primarily driven by the numerous advantages of an autonomous vehicle such as increased safety reduced driving stress, efficient parking reducing the costs, fuel efficiency, reduced CO2 emissions to the environment and increasing geriatric population will have a positive impact on the global autonomous vehicles market. Apart from the aforementioned factors, the autonomous vehicles will have a positive impact on the economy as a whole. However, the data security concerns might pose as a restrain to the global autonomous vehicles market as the controlling software can be hacked by unauthorized parties, and input spurious information to the system.Request Report Sample@The global autonomous market is segmented based on level of automation, application and region. Based on automation level, the global autonomous vehicles market can be segmented into Driver Assistance, Partial Automation, Conditional Automation, High Automation and Full Automation. Based on applications, the global autonomous vehicles market can be segmented into Passenger Cars, Public Transportation, Industrial fleet, Construction and Agricultural applicationsBased on the geographic regions, global autonomous vehicles market is segmented into seven key market segments namely North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific, Japan, and Middle East & Africa. Among the aforementioned regions, the Western Europe market holds the largest share of global autonomous vehicles market, due to the higher adoption of autonomous vehicles in the region. North American market for autonomous vehicles is trailing behind the Western European market. Over the forecast period, China in the Asia-Pacific market will surpass the European as well as American market for autonomous vehicles. The adoption of autonomous vehicle in the developing economies such as Latin America and MEA will be low as compared to other region. Overall, the global autonomous vehicle market will project a healthy CAGR over the forecasted period considering its tremendous advantages over conventional vehicles and impact on environment.Visit For TOC@Autonomous Vehicles Market: Key PlayersSome of the key players identified in the global autonomous vehicles market are Google, BMW AG, Mercedes-Benz, Tesla Motors, Audi AG 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:
Refractometers Market size and Key Trends in terms of volume and value 2016-2026

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A refractometer is used to measure the extent of light bending, when it travels from air to any other medium. Refractive index is determined till five digit precision and for most of the compounds, reactive index is between 1.3000 and 1.7000. Refractive index is based on the wavelength of light and temperature of the sample. Refractive index identification is done for various applications including petroleum, agriculture and food and beverages. Most common industrial application is determination of dissolved solute in liquid samples.Refractometer is mainly used for measuring dissolved content or substances in solutions, particularly related to sugar content. Refractometers are thus, used to measure critical angle of refraction of a sample. Refractometer helps to analyse different properties of a particular sample such as salinity or sugar content, sweetness in beverages, hydrocarbon content of motor fuels, and blood protein in the given sample. 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Global Carotid Stent Market: Top Manufacturers - Gore Medical, InspireMD, Medtronic, Terumo & Optimed

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global Dermatology Drugs Market to 2023 - Growth Driven by Increased Uptake of Interleukin Receptor Inhibitors for Psoriasis and Atopic Dermatitis" to its huge collection of research reports.Dermatology is a highly diverse therapy area that deals with diseases of the skin, hair and nails. Over 3,000 types of dermatological conditions are thought to exist, ranging from the autoimmune disorder psoriasis to the very common condition acne vulgaris. The scope of dermatological disorders is diverse in terms of severity and clinical presentation, and if a condition is not sufficiently kept under control, it can significantly impair the patients quality of life.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @The treatment landscape for dermatological disorders was traditionally dominated by genericized topical therapies such as glucocorticoids and retinoids. The approval of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) such as Humira, Enbrel and Remicade for psoriasis revolutionized both the management of psoriasis and the dermatology therapy area. These first generation mAbs are now off-patent and have biosimilar versions approved by the FDA, but in recent years the therapy area has seen a number of new mAbs enter the market. These new approvals will provide patients with more treatment options and stimulate growth in the therapy area. In 2017 Dupixent became the first biologic to be approved for atopic dermatitis, expanding the use of biologics to an indication other than psoriasis.Overall there are 871 products being actively developed in the dermatology pipeline, but these include products being developed for many smaller indications. The indications with the largest pipelines are psoriasis, atopic dermatitis and acne vulgaris, which contain 282, 136 and 70 products, respectively.Browse Detail Report With Full TOC @Scope- Global revenue from the dermatology market is forecast to increase from $19.8 billion in 2016 to $36.6 billion in 2023, at a compound annual growth rate of 9.13%. Which drugs will achieve blockbuster status and how will the key player companies perform during the forecast period?- What are the leading companies in terms of market share?- Which companies are forecast to experience the largest growth in market share?- Which companies rely heavily on revenue derived from antibacterial drugs?- How will the market respond to recent approvals?- Will generics and biosimilars have a significant impact on the market over the forecast period?- What class of drugs dominate the market?- What molecular targets are most popular in the pipeline?- What are the commercial prospects for the most promising late-stage products?Reasons to buy- Understand the current treatment landscape, with portfolios of key marketed products and a focus on historical and forecast sales patterns, and an overview of each drugs mechanism of action.- Analyze the dermatology pipeline through a comprehensive review of the pipeline segmented by stage of development, molecule type and molecular target.- This review also provides a detailed look at dermatology product clinical trials to provide an insight into the risk associated with attempting to bring pipeline products to market.- Predict growth in market size, with in-depth market forecasting from 2016 to 2023. The forecasts will provide an understanding of how epidemiology trends, new drug entries, and patent expirations will influence market value.- Identify commercial opportunities in the dermatology deals landscape by analyzing trends in licensing and co-development deals."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 @
Polymer Bioabsorbable Stents Sales Market: Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Polymer Bioabsorbable Stents Sales Market: Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast" to its huge collection of research reports.This report studies sales (consumption) of Polymer Bioabsorbable Stents in Global market, especially in USA, China, Europe, Japan, India and Southeast Asia, focuses on top players in these regions/countries, with sales, price, revenue and market share for each player in these regions, coveringAbbott Laboratories (US)Amaranth Medical, Inc. (US)Arterial Remodeling Technologies SA (France)BIOTRONIK SE & Co. KG (Germany)Elixir Medical Corp. (US)Kyoto Medical Planning Co., Ltd. (Japan)REVA Medical, Inc. (US)Market Segment by Regions, this report splits Global into several key Regions, with sales (consumption), revenue, market share and growth rate of Polymer Bioabsorbable Stents in these regions, from 2011 to 2021 (forecast), likeUSAChinaEuropeJapanIndiaSoutheast AsiaSplit by product Types, with sales, revenue, price and gross margin, market share and growth rate of each type, can be divided intoType IType IIType IIITo Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Split by applications, this report focuses on sales, market share and growth rate of Polymer Bioabsorbable Stents in each application, can be divided intoApplication 1Application 2Application 3Table of ContentsGlobal Polymer Bioabsorbable Stents Sales Market Report 20161 Polymer Bioabsorbable Stents Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Polymer Bioabsorbable Stents1.2 Classification of Polymer Bioabsorbable Stents1.2.1 Type I1.2.2 Type II1.2.3 Type III1.3 Application of Polymer Bioabsorbable Stents1.3.1 Application 11.3.2 Application 21.3.3 Application 31.4 Polymer Bioabsorbable Stents Market by Regions1.4.1 USA Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.2 China Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.3 Europe Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.4 Japan Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.5 India Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.6 Southeast Asia Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.5 Global Market Size (Value and Volume) of Polymer Bioabsorbable Stents (2011-2021)1.5.1 Global Polymer Bioabsorbable Stents Sales and Growth Rate (2011-2021)1.5.2 Global Polymer Bioabsorbable Stents Revenue and Growth Rate (2011-2021)2 Global Polymer Bioabsorbable Stents Competition by Manufacturers, Type and Application2.1 Global Polymer Bioabsorbable Stents Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1.1 Global Polymer Bioabsorbable Stents Sales and Market Share of Key Manufacturers (2011-2016)2.1.2 Global Polymer Bioabsorbable Stents Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2011-2016)2.2 Global Polymer Bioabsorbable Stents (Volume and Value) by Type2.2.1 Global Polymer Bioabsorbable Stents Sales and Market Share by Type (2011-2016)Browse More Details @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 @
2017-2022 Industrial Valves Report on Global and United States Market, Status and Forecast, by Players, Types and Applications

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This report studies the Industrial Valves 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 Industrial Valves market by product type and applications/end industries.Browse Full Report :The global Industrial Valves 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 Industrial Valves. 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.Get The Sample Copy Of This Report :Geographically, this report is segmented into several key regions, with sales, revenue, market share (%) and growth Rate (%) of Industrial Valves in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), coveringUnited StatesNorth AmericaEuropeAsia-PacificSouth AmericaMiddle East and AfricaThe major players in global and United States Industrial Valves market, including Avcon Controls Private Limited (India), AVK Holding (Denmark), Cameron Schlumberger (US), Crane Co. (US), Emerson (US), Flowserve (US), Forbes Marshall (India), IMI Plc. (UK), Metso (Europe), Neway Valves (China), Velan Inc. (Canada), Samson AG (Germany), Spirax Sarco (UK), Weir Group (UK)The On the basis of product, the Industrial Valves market is primarily split intoBall ValvesButterfly ValvesGate ValvesGlove ValvesPlug ValvesOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report coversOil & GasWater & WastewaterEnergy & PowerChemicalFood & BeveragesSend An Enquiry :Table of Contents2017-2022 Industrial Valves Report on Global and United States Market, Status and Forecast, by Players, Types and Applications1 Methodology and Data Source1.1 Methodology/Research Approach1.1.1 Research Programs/Design1.1.2 Market Size Estimation1.1.3 Market Breakdown and Data Triangulation1.2 Data Source2.1.1 Secondary Sources2.1.2 Primary Sources1.3 Disclaimer2 Industrial Valves Market Overview2.1 Industrial Valves Product Overview2.2 Industrial Valves Market Segment by Type2.2.1 Ball Valves2.2.2 Butterfly Valves2.2.3 Gate Valves2.2.4 Glove Valves2.3 Global Industrial Valves Product Segment by Type2.3.1 Global Industrial Valves Sales (K Units) and Growth (%) by Types (2012, 2016 and 2022)2.3.2 Global Industrial Valves Sales (K Units) and Market Share (%) by Types (2012-2017)2.3.3 Global Industrial Valves Revenue (Million USD) and Market Share (%) by Types (2012-2017)2.3.4 Global Industrial Valves Price (USD/Unit) by Type (2012-2017)2.4 United States Industrial Valves Product Segment by Type2.4.1 United States Industrial Valves Sales (K Units) and Growth by Types (2012, 2016 and 2022)2.4.2 United States Industrial Valves Sales (K Units) and Market Share by Types (2012-2017)2.4.3 United States Industrial Valves Revenue (Million USD) and Market Share by Types (2012-2017)2.4.4 United States Industrial Valves Price (USD/Unit) by Type (2012-2017)3 Industrial Valves Application/End Users3.1 Industrial Valves Segment by Application/End Users3.1.1 Oil & Gas3.1.2 Water & Wastewater3.1.3 Energy & Power3.1.4 Chemical3.1.5 Food & Beverages3.2 Global Industrial Valves Product Segment by Application3.2.1 Global Industrial Valves Sales (K Units) and CGAR (%) by Applications (2012, 2016 and 2022)3.2.2 Global Industrial Valves Sales (K Units) and Market Share (%) by Applications (2012-2017)3.3 United States Industrial Valves Product Segment by Application3.3.1 United States Industrial Valves Sales (K Units) and CGAR (%) by Applications (2012, 2016 and 2022)3.3.2 United States Industrial Valves Sales (K Units) and Market Share (%) by Applications (2012-2017)4 Industrial Valves Market Status and Outlook by Regions4.1 Global Market Status and Outlook by Regions4.1.1 Global Industrial Valves Market Size and CAGR by Regions (2012, 2016 and 2022)4.1.2 North America4.1.3 Asia-Pacific4.1.4 Europe4.1.5 South America4.1.6 Middle East and Africa4.1.7 United States4.2 Global Industrial Valves Sales and Revenue by Regions4.2.1 Global Industrial Valves Sales (K Units) and Market Share (%) by Regions (2012-2017)4.2.2 Global Industrial Valves Revenue (Million USD) and Market Share (%) by Regions (2012-2017)4.2.3 Global Industrial Valves Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (%) (2012-2017)4.2.4 North America Industrial Valves Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (%) (2012-2017)4.2.5 Europe Industrial Valves Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (%) (2012-2017)4.2.6 Asia-Pacific Industrial Valves Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (%) (2012-2017)4.2.7 South America Industrial Valves Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (2012-2017)4.2.8 Middle East and Africa Industrial Valves Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (%) (2012-2017)4.2.9 United States Industrial Valves Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (2012-2017)5 Global Industrial Valves Market Competition by Players/Manufacturers5.1 Global Industrial Valves Sales (K Units) and Market Share by Players (2012-2017)5.2 Global Industrial Valves Revenue (Million USD) and Share by Players (2012-2017)5.3 Global Industrial Valves Average Price (USD/Unit) by Players (2012-2017)5.4 Players Industrial Valves Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area, Product Types5.5 Industrial Valves Market Competitive Situation and Trends5.5.1 Industrial Valves Market Concentration Rate5.5.2 Global Industrial Valves Market Share (%) of Top 3 and Top 5 Players5.5.3 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion6 United States Industrial Valves Market Competition by Players/Manufacturers6.1 United States Industrial Valves Sales (K Units) and Market Share by Players (2012-2017)6.2 United States Industrial Valves Revenue (Million USD) and Share by Players (2012-2017)6.3 United States Industrial Valves Average Price (USD/Unit) by Players (2012-2017)6.4 United States Industrial Valves Market Share (%) of Top 3 and Top 5 PlayersMRRbiz supports your business intelligence needs with over 700,000 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Silicon Anode Battery Market size and Key Trends in terms of volume and value 2016-2026

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In order to meet the rising energy requirements and to overcome rapidly depleting fossil resources, rechargeable batteries has evolved as one of the efficient means of energy storage. The ongoing technological advancement in power electronics and automotive has brought lithium ion batteries into the frame as an advanced storage systems with high capabilities. The silicon anode batteries are lithium ion batteries with silicon anode. The traditional anode material in lithium ion batteries i.e. graphite doesnt meets the high energy demand of advanced electric automotive due to its limited theoretical capacity, whereas, silicon stores ten times more lithium than the graphite anode resulting in increased energy density which enables fast charging and high current delivery. Thus silicon anode battery is emerging as a substitute for graphite anode battery. Due to its low discharge potential and extreme charge capacity, silicon anode could provide faster charging, greater current delivery and smaller battery size. However, large volume change during electrochemical process remains the major challenge in wide commercialization of silicon anode battery. Silicon anode battery is expected to emerge as next generation of lithium ion batteries. The silicon anode battery market is still between introduction and growth phase, when plotted on product life cycle. Huge investments by market leaders are being made to further develop silicon anode battery technology and bring it on practical grounds and thus market is expected to hold significant growth potential.Request Report Sample@Silicon Anode Battery: Market DynamicsThe major factor contributing to the growth of silicon anode battery market is the increasing energy requirements from various end-use applications such as consumer electronics and automotive, for more efficient and advanced battery. Further, robust growth of automotive industry and turning focus towards EVs could generate significant opportunity for growth of the silicon anode battery market. Lower working potential and high charge capacity of silicon anode battery could help automotive manufacturers to reach required power ranges by deploying less number of batteries thus achieving high performance. Moreover, abundance of raw material i.e. silicon can turn as a major factor driving its application into lithium ion batteries. Major challenges faced in the silicon anode battery market are limited commercialization of the product due to existing technical challenges particularly large volumetric expansion. Furthermore, high costs silicon anode battery as compared to available alternative is also a factor restraining market growth. The major trends observed in the silicon anode battery market is product development and innovation such as use of nanowire battery with silicon anodes as they allow improved accommodation of volume changes during lithiation. Number of players in the market have filed patents over different advancements in silicon anode battery technologySilicon Anode Battery: Market SegmentationThe silicon anode battery market can be segmented on the basis of: application and region.On the basis of application the silicon anode battery market can be segmented into:Consumer electronic devicesMedical applications (pacemaker, defibrillator machines)AutomotiveSpace & defenseSustainable energy (wind turbine and photovoltaic)The silicon anode battery market can be segmented on the basis of region into: North America, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Asia Pacific Excluding Japan, Japan, Middle East and AfricaSilicon Anode Battery: Regional OutlookNorth America holds a major share in the silicon anode battery market due to the substantial growth in the automotive industry and consumer electronics section. Europe and North America collectively holds over 50% share in the market owing to demand from industrial sector. However, Asia Pacific silicon anode battery market is expected to grow significantly over the forecast period due to rapid industrialization and increasing awareness about the use of energy efficient, reliable, safe and economical battery systems.Visit For TOC@Silicon Anode Battery: Key PlayersSome of the major key players identified in the silicon anode battery market are: Nexeon Limited, BYD Company Limited, Amprius Inc., ENOVIX, Boston-Power, Inc., LG Chem Ltd., Panasonic Corporation, Samsung SDI, XG Sciences, Zeptor Corporation, California Lithium battery Inc, Yuasa battery Europe Ltd., JTT Electronics Ltd, Vmcell Technology Co., Ltd, Enevate Corporation, Nanotek Instruments.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:
Forehead Thermometer Market By Manufacturers,Application, Forecast To 2022

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Forehead thermometer is a type of infrared thermometer that is easy used to measure baby body temperature or others. It is usually touch-free.View Complete Report:Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Forehead Thermometer in Europe market, especially in Germany, UK, France, Russia, and Italy. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, countries, type and application.Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report coversBraunMicrolifeRadiantJinxinbaoEasywell BioDongdixinRequest For Sample Report:Market Segment by Countries, coveringGermanyUKFranceRussiaItalyMarket Segment by Type, coversNon-contact TypeContact TypeMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided intoHospitalHome UseOthersAsk for Discount on Report:There are 17 Chapters to deeply display the Europe Forehead Thermometer market.Chapter 1, to describe Forehead Thermometer Introduction, product type and application, market overview, market analysis by countries, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the manufacturers of Forehead Thermometer, with profile, main business, news, sales, price, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 3, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers in Europe, with sales, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 4, to show the Europe market by countries, covering Germany, UK, France, Italy and Russia, with sales, price, revenue and market share of Forehead Thermometer, for each country, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 5 and 6, to show the market by type and application, with sales, price, revenue, market share and growth rate by type and application, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11, to analyze the key countries by manufacturers, Type and Application, covering Germany, UK, France, Italy and Russia, with sales, revenue and market share by manufacturers, types and applications;Chapter 12, Forehead Thermometer market forecast, by countries, type and application, with sales, price, revenue and growth rate forecast, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 13, to analyze the manufacturing cost, key raw materials and manufacturing process etc.Chapter 14, to analyze the industrial chain, sourcing strategy and downstream end users (buyers);Chapter 15, to describe Forehead Thermometer sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers etc.Chapter 16 and 17, to describe Forehead Thermometer Research Findings and Conclusion, Appendix, methodology and data sourceWith the arsenal of different search reports, we help you here to look and buy research reports that will be helpful to you and your organization. Our research reports have the capability and authenticity to support your organization for growth and consistency.With the window of opportunity getting open and shut at a speed of light, it has become very important to survive in the market and only the fittest and competent enough can do so. So, we try and provide with latest changes in the market that can suit your needs and help you take decision accordingly.5933 NE Win Sivers Drive,#205, Portland, OR 97220United States
NEW YORK, Aug. 10, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Resource Capital Corp. (NYSE:RSO) (the Company) today announced that it priced $132,161,000 aggregate principal amount of its 4.50% convertible senior notes due 2022 (the Notes), including $110,000,000 in an underwritten public offering and an additional $22,161,000 in exchange for the same amount of outstanding convertible notes of the Company. In addition, the Company granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional $11,589,000 aggregate principal amount of the Notes in connection with the public offering, solely to cover over-allotments, if any. The Notes will be senior unsecured obligations of the Company. The offering is expected to close on August 16, 2017, subject to the satisfaction of certain customary closing conditions.



Interest on the Notes will be payable semiannually in arrears on February 15 and August 15 of each year, beginning on February 15, 2018; and the Notes will mature on August 15, 2022 unless earlier repurchased or converted. Upon conversion, holders of the Notes will receive shares of the Companys common stock, cash or a combination of cash and shares, at the Companys election. If the Company undergoes a fundamental change (as defined in the prospectus supplement relating to the Notes), subject to certain conditions, holders of the Notes may require the Company to repurchase for cash all or part of such holders Notes. The fundamental change repurchase price for the Notes will be 100% of the principal amount of the Notes to be repurchased, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, up to, but excluding, the fundamental change repurchase date.

At any time prior to the close of business on the business day immediately preceding the maturity date, holders may convert any or all of their Notes into shares of the Companys common stock at the applicable conversion rate.

Any conversion of Notes into shares of the Companys common stock will be subject to certain ownership limitations (as more fully described in the prospectus supplement relating to the Notes). The initial conversion rate for each $1,000 principal amount of the Notes is approximately 78.2473 shares of common stock, equivalent to a conversion price of approximately $12.78 per share of common stock, which is a 20% premium to the closing price of the Companys common stock on August 10, 2017. The Company may not redeem the Notes prior to the maturity date.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the offering to repurchase a portion of its 6% convertible senior notes due 2018 and its 8% convertible senior notes due 2020. Any remaining net proceeds of the offering will be used for general corporate purposes.

Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC is acting as bookrunner for the offering. JMP Securities LLC is acting as co-manager for the offering.

A registration statement relating to the Notes has been declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC). The offering is being made only by means of a prospectus supplement and accompanying base prospectus. Copies of the prospectus supplement and the related prospectus for the proposed offering, when available, may be obtained by contacting the Credit Suisse Prospectus Department at One Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10010, or by email at newyork.prospectus@credit-suisse.com or by telephone at 1-800-221-1037.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy the Notes, nor does it constitute an offer, solicitation or sale in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale is unlawful.

About Resource Capital Corp.

Resource Capital Corp. is a real estate investment trust that is primarily focused on originating, holding and managing commercial mortgage loans and other commercial real estate-related debt investments. The Company is externally managed by Resource Capital Manager, Inc., an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of C-III Capital Partners LLC, a leading commercial real estate investment management and services company engaged in a broad range of activities.

This press release includes statements that may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements made in this release include, but may not be limited to, this offering and expectations regarding the use of proceeds from this offering. Such forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond managements control. Investors are cautioned not to rely unduly on any forward-looking statements and urged to carefully consider the risks identified under the captions Risk Factors, Forward-Looking Statements and Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in the Companys public filings with the SEC. Resource Capital Corp. undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect new or changing information or events.
Automated Packaging Systems Biodegradable Bubble Wrap Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)

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Automated Packaging Systems Biodegradable BubbleGet Access To Full Summary @This report studies the biodegradable bubble wrap market. The bubble wrap is a type of plastic wrapping sheet filling with small air bubble, and is used for packing cushioning breakable fragile objects during transportation.The biodegradable bubble wrap is the bubble wrap that is biodegradable. The biodegradable bubble wrap is environmentally friendly, and the only by-products after decomposition are small amounts of CO2, H2O and biomass. The degradable additive was added into the resin during the production to ensure the quick break down.Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Biodegradable Bubble Wrap in Europe market, especially in Germany, UK, France, Russia, and Italy. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, countries, type and application.Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report coversAutomated Packaging SystemsPregisCortec CorporationPolycell InternationalSalazar PackagingAP PackagingDana PolySancellMarket Segment by Countries, coveringGermanyUKFranceRussiaItalyMarket Segment by Type, coversSmall SizeMedium SizeLarge SizeGet Sample Report @Market Segment by Applications, can be divided intoFood & Beverage IndustryPharmaceutical & BiomedicalHome care packing & cosmetics industriesThere are 17 Chapters to deeply display the Europe Biodegradable Bubble Wrap market.Chapter 1, to describe Biodegradable Bubble Wrap Introduction, product type and application, market overview, market analysis by countries, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the manufacturers of Biodegradable Bubble Wrap, with profile, main business, news, sales, price, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 3, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers in Europe, with sales, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 4, to show the Europe market by countries, covering Germany, UK, France, Italy and Russia, with sales, price, revenue and market share of Biodegradable Bubble Wrap, for each country, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 5 and 6, to show the market by type and application, with sales, price, revenue, market share and growth rate by type and application, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11, to analyze the key countries by manufacturers, Type and Application, covering Germany, UK, France, Italy and Russia, with sales, revenue and market share by manufacturers, types and applications;Chapter 12, Biodegradable Bubble Wrap market forecast, by countries, type and application, with sales, price, revenue and growth rate forecast, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 13, to analyze the manufacturing cost, key raw materials and manufacturing process etc.Chapter 14, to analyze the industrial chain, sourcing strategy and downstream end users (buyers);Chapter 15, to describe Biodegradable Bubble Wrap sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers etc.Get Customization & Check Discount For Report @Chapter 16 and 17, to describe Biodegradable Bubble Wrap Research Findings and Conclusion, Appendix, methodology and data sourceAbout usReports And Markets is part of the Algoro Research Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe.Are you mastering your market? Do you know what the market potential is for your product, who the market players are and what the growth forecast is? We offer standard global, regional or country specific market research studies for almost every market you can imagine.The marketing research reports consist of market analysis with statistical and analytical information on the markets, applications, industry analysis, market shares, technology and technology shifts, important players, and the developments in the market.Do you want to know more on a specific company? Our Company Reports collection contains thousands of profiles of major industrial companies. These reports typically contain information like a company overview, business description, company history, major products and services, key facts, SWOT analysis, key employees, subsidiaries, and company locations.On ReportsAndMarkets.com you will find all the globally available market research and company reports from well-respected market research companies, all leaders in their field. Reports And Markets is totally independent and serves its customers by providing the most reliable market research available, as we understand how important this is for you.Sanjay JainManager - Partner Relations & International Marketing info@reportsandmarkets.com Ph: +44-020-3286-9338 (UK) +1-214-377-1121 (US)Office No: 206 Empress Mill Society Shree Nagar,Nagpur - 440015MaharashtraIndia
Ensuring a Smooth Tap & Go Experience

New COMPRION TraceCase helps to solve communication failures in contactless paymentsIn all areas where NFC is applied, especially in contactless payments, failure in communication can lead to bad user acceptance. Ralph Kamp, Product Manager for NFC test solutions at COMPRION explicates: Probably all of us have experienced this before: You are lining up at the checkout of your favorite coffee shop, wanting to pay your morning coffee quickly with a contactless card or smartphone. For whatever reason, tap & go doesnt work. The line is getting longer and longer, the faces of the people behind you are getting grumpier, until finally, you must run to the next ATM to get some cash. This is bad for you, bad for the other customers, bad for the coffee shop  and for the payment provider  bad for everyone.Especially payment providers have a strong interest in eliminating contactless communication problems. The new TraceCase  a small, mobile trace tool that can be easily controlled by smartphone  traces the interaction between two NFC devices such as POS terminals and NFC-enabled smartphone or contactless card. Very often, the reason for failure lies in the interference or distortion of electrical signals. These can be easily identified by our new field tracer, explains Kamp.Now, payment providers can equip a whole team of field testers with the cost-effective tracer. As setup and handling of the device are very easy, only a short training is required, so Kamp. The tracer is very inconspicuous so that contactless transactions can be monitored during daily business  without unsettling vendors or customers. However, the tracer doesnt collect user-sensitive banking data, promises Kamp.The collected data is sent from the smartphone to the lab for troubleshooting. Using the powerful TraceCase Viewer software, the engineer can analyze and resolve the communication problems. As TraceCase is the only tracer of its kind worldwide that collects analog signals, errors on all levels can be easily found. TraceCase is immediately available.About COMPRIONCOMPRION is the worldwide leading manufacturer of test solutions for smart card interfaces, terminals, and smart cards. Covering contact-based and contactless technologies, COMPRION provides their expertise to multiple industries, especially telecommunications, payments, and M2M. Our involvement in several standardization and certification bodies enables us to integrate the latest standards and requirements into our high-quality products. As COMPRION test systems are renowned for the most accurate measurement capabilities, the company serves all top mobile phone, terminal, card and chipset manufacturers as well as mobile network operators and test houses. COMPRION also acts as technological consultant supporting many key players in the market.Kathleen KnievelCorporate Marketing ManagerTel: +49 5251 6859 0E-Mail: press@comprion.comCOMPRION GmbHLise-Meitner-Str.333104 PaderbornGermany
Global ENT Devices Market share forecast to reach $24bn by 2023

Global Market Insights, Inc.

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According to research report (Ear, Nose, Throat) ENT Devices Market Size By Product [Diagnostic (Rigid, Rhinoscope, Larynogoscope, Otological, Flexible), Surgical (Radiofrequency, Otological Drill Bums, Tympanostomy, Sinus Dilation, Nasal Packing), Hearing Aids (In-the Ear, Receiver-In-The-Ear, Canal), Hearing Implants (Auditory Brainstream, Cochlear, Middle Ear), Voice Prosthesis Device, Nasal Splints (Internal, External)], Industry Analysis Report, Regional Outlook (U.S., Canada, UK, Germany, France, Japan, India, China, South Africa, Brazil, Mexico), Application Potential, Price Trends, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2016  2023, by Global Market Insights, Inc., ENT (Ear, Nose, Throat) Devices Market size was USD 16.7 billion in 2015, with 5% CAGR growth anticipated by the industry throughout 2016 to 2023. Rising occurrence of ear, nose and throat related disorders along with growing old age population is predicted to promote (ear, nose, throat) ENT devices market trends during forecast timeline.Occurrence of hearing impairment has been growing since last few years due to rising noise pollution. Age also acts as a key aspect for acquiring hearing loss and there is growing occurrence of deafness in old people. About 20.1% of aging population above age of 60 years suffer hearing loss and percentage grows to about 40.1% for people who have crossed 75 years of age. The reason for the deafness in old people can be attributed to their low immunity levels making their ear, nose & throat prone to infections like inner mucosal lining inflammation.Request for a sample of this research report -Large rate of occurrence of hearing problems were observed in developing nations. In 2012, about 89.1% of the total hearing problems occurred in developing regions where medical requirements were not fulfilled.The costs of the ailments like oropharyngeal cancer and larynx cancer is growing globally, particularly in emerging economies. Growing occurrence of cancer and frequently occurring throat ailments are predicted to propel the industry growth.Introduction of new technologies that can be easily used by patients and accessibility of tiny sized equipments is predicted to increase the demand for ENT devices. Further, growing use of modern laser & radiofrequency technique during surgery & diagnostic processes is predicted to drive (ear, nose, throat) ENT devices market size.To access sample pages or purchase this report (Ear, Nose, Throat) ENT Devices Market please click on the link below:Product Insights:ENT (ear, nose and throat) diagnostic devices segment dominated the industry share with revenue surpassing $5.2 billion by end of forecast period. The growth is attributed to factors like increasing frequency of hearing loss & throat disorders along with rising old age population which use diagnostic devices.This segment was mainly driven by robot assisted endoscope followed by flexible endoscope. Robot assisted endoscope sub segment is predicted to touch $2 billion by forecast period.Radiofrequency hand piece equipments segment was evaluated at $895.71 million for 2015 and led the industry whereas hearing implants segment was driven by cochlear implants for 2015.Hearing implants segment is predicted to register a CAGR of 7.2% which is comparatively higher. This expansion can be credited to factors like rising old age population and hearing losses occurring due to type of work. Continuous launching of new implants is also one of the aspects predicted to promote the growth of the segment.Make an inquiry for purchasing this report @Regional Insights:North America dominated the industry and was evaluated at $6.2 billion for 2015. Rising occurrence of hearing loss is one of the key factors driving the growth of the industry in North America.Rise in government initiatives has resulted in increase in demand for hearing aids instruments in APAC which is predicted to register CAGR of 6.5% by end of 2023. Further, growing occurrence of hearing problems, particularly in aging population along with entry of multinational companies is predicted to drive the industry growth in the region.UK, France and Germany led the European industry by contributing greater than 58.1% to the total sales for 2015. Latin America and Middle East & Africa are the regions predicted to witness moderate industry growth in future.Competitive Insights:Key industry players profiled in the report include Cochlear Limited, Rion Company Limited, Smith and Nephew, Sonova Holding AG, Welch Allyn, William Demant Holding A/S, Olympus Medical System, Atos Medical AB, GN ReSound A/S, Siemens Healthcare, Medtronics Incorporation, Starkey Laboratories Incorporation, Invotec Medical and Widex A/S.The industry is highly competitive and key industry players concentrate on intensive research & development activities for producing technically modernized products. They compete with each other on available product differentiation options and pricing choices.Browse Related Reports:Audiology Devices Market Size By Product [Hearing Aids Market By Product [In-The-Ear, Receiver-in-the-Ear (RITE), Behind-the-Ear (BTE), Canal], By Technology (Analog, Digital)], Cochlear Implants, BAHA/BAHS, Diagnostic Devices (Tympanometers, Otoscopes, Audiometers), Industry Analysis Report, Regional Outlook (U.S., Canada, Germany, UK, France, Spain, Italy, China, India, Japan, Brazil, South Africa), Application Potential, Price Trend, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2016 - 2023About 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:
FPSO Market Set for Rapid Growth by 2021

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FPSO stands for Floating Production, Storage, and Offloading. An FPSO vessel is a type of floating production system that is used for the offshore production, storage, and offloading of oil and gas. Usually, it is a vessel that is a converted oil tanker or a newly constructed FPSO unit. An FPSO often resembles a ship, equipped with production and processing facilities onboard. FPSOs comprise offloading facilities for the transportation of processed oil and gas to onshore receiving facilities through a shuttle tanker. These vessels are used to extract or receive raw hydrocarbons from sea beds, which are then processed in onboard processing facilities.Request Free Sample Report @The installation of fixed processing and production facilities is technically very complex and costly in remote oil and gas production areas; this, in turn, increases the demand for FPSOs excluding the need for fixed processing facilities. Marginal fields and challenging environments have been others factors that act as driving factors of FPSO market expansion. The considerable expansion in oil & gas exploration and production in deep water, ultra-deep water, and offshore fields is expected to boost the global FPSO market growth over the forecast period. Increasing consumption of oil & gas globally, particularly in power generation and transportation sectors has made companies explore more hydrocarbon reserves.On the basis of type, the global FPSO market is segmented as converted FPSO systems, new-build FPSO systems, and redeployed FPSO systems. Presently, the market is dominated by the converted FPSO systems segment. On the other hand, the demand for new-build FPSO systems has decreased owing to the reduced costs of oils in oil and gas exploration industries. Based on the water depth, the market has been segmented into shallow water, deep water, and ultra-deepwater systems. On the basis of equipment, the FPSO market is segmented as nitrogen generation, seawater injection, fuel gas treatment, produced water, crude oil separation, and chemical injection.Request Report TOC (Table of Contents) @North America and Europe are the dominant players in the global FPSO market and are anticipated to witness considerable growth in coming years owing to mature oil & gas reserves. In addition, South America and East Africa are also expected to experience significant growth due to recent offshore E&P developments and deep water oil field discoveries. Further, Brazil is expected to emerge as a major FPSO market in this region due to rising oil & gas activities along with considerable government support. Recent deep sea oil & gas reserves in the South China Sea, North Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico are expected to positively impact the global market growth in the near future.Browse detail report @Major players dominating the global FPSO market are Bumi Armada Berhad, MODEC, Inc., BW Offshore, Bluewater Energy Services B.V., COSCO Shipyard Group Co. Ltd., and Yinson Holdings Berhad. Other key players in the market are Sembcorp Marine Ltd., Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd., Teekay Corporation, and SBM Offshore N.V.Inquire more before buying this report @About Us: Zion Market Research is an obligated company. We create futuristically, cutting edge, informative reports ranging from industry reports, a company reports to country reports. We provide our clients not only with market statistics unveiled by avowed private publishers and public organizations but also with Vogue and newest industry reports along with pre-eminent and niche company profiles. Our database of market research reports comprises a wide variety of reports from Cardinal Industries. Our database is been updated constantly in order to fulfill our clients with prompt and direct online access to our database. Keeping in mind the clients needs, we have included expert insights on global industries, products, and market trends in this database. Last but not the least, we make it our duty to ensure the success of clients connected to usafter allif you do well, a little of the light shines on us.Contact Us:Zion Market Research4283, Express Lane,Suite 634-143,Sarasota, Florida 34249, United StatesTel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll-Free No.1-855-465-4651Email: sales@zionmarketresearch.comWebsite:Visit Our Blog:
Global HIV Diagnostics Market share to reach $4.9bn by 2023

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The medical industry report HIV Diagnostics Market Size By Product [Antibody Tests (HIV-1 Screening, ELISA/EIA, Home Access Dried Blood Spot, Rapid Test, HIV-1 Confirmatory Steps, Western Blot, Indirect Immunoflorescent Antibody Assay (IIFA), Line Immunoassay , RadioImmuno Precipitation Assay (RIPA), HIV-2 & Group O Test, Blood Antibody, Dried Blood Spot), Viral Identification Assay (p24 Antigen, Qualitative PCR, Viral Culture), CD4, Viral Load, Early Infant Diagnosis], Industry Analysis Report, Regional Outlook (U.S., Canada, UK, Germany, Japan, China, South Africa, Brazil), Application Potential, Price Trends, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2016  2023, by Global Market Insights, Inc. says Global HIV diagnostics market size was $2400 million for 2015 and is predicted to register CAGR of 9.5% during the forecast period.Due to technological innovations in disease diagnostic tests and rapid development of CD4, EID and P24 tests, the global industry is predicted to record an enhanced growth during forecast period.Request for a sample of this research report -Simple amplification based assay - a blood diagnostic kit created by Cambridge university scientists received the Popular Prize at European Inventor award ceremony held on June 9, 2016 by European patent office. This kit can identify ailments like hepatitis B and HIV within less than 90 minutes by taking blood sample of the patient. The test cost only $17 and is same as pregnancy test where one stripe is positive and second is negative. This kit was used to test 40,000 persons for HIV in rural Africa. According to Helen Lee, who headed the team of Cambridge university researchers to develop the device, said that just a single drop of blood sample helps in detecting and treating the ailments in rural areas.Thailand has become the first Asian nation to eradicate mother to child HIV transmission as per WHO reports achieving a greater milestone in its fight against the dreaded disease. Describing the eradication as an outstanding achievement, WHO said that Thailand was the first nation with large HIV endemic to assure an AIDS free population. This pronouncement is a boost for Thai health workers who have changed the country from one of the Asias most HIV ravaged communities to pin up the problem of efficiently handling the disease. According to WHO, routine screening tests conducted for HIV infected pregnant women along with free medication facilities in the country played a key role in preventing transmission of HIV virus from mother to child. The global HIV diagnostics market is segmented into key geographical regions including North America, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Europe and MEA.Browse key industry insights spread across 126 pages with 84 market data tables & 42 figures & charts from this 2017 report HIV Diagnostics Market in detail along with the table of contents at:North America accounted for biggest revenue share of global HIV diagnostics market for 2015 contributing about $946 million to the total revenue. The factors attributed to the growth of the industry were presence of technologically modernized healthcare support, favourable compensation policies and comparatively high spending on healthcare research activities. The region is predicted to experience enhanced industry demand during the forecast period owing to technological development of portable diagnostic tests.Asia Pacific HIV diagnostics market is predicted to grow rapidly during forecast period owing to heavy industry demand from countries like China and India and a large percentage of population affected by HIV. It is projected to register a CAGR of 10.7% due to improved healthcare services and growing levels of consciousness about the disease amongst the population of the region.Make an inquiry for purchasing this report @Key industry players profiled in the report include:Abbott Healthcare, BD Biosciences, Roche Diagnostics, Zyomyx Incorporation, Merck & Company Incorporation, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Janssen Therapeutics, Hologic Incorporation, Chembio Diagnostic Systems, Alere Incorporation, Sysmex Incorporation, bioMerieux, Abbvie Incorporation, Gilead Sciences, Qiagen, VIIV Healthcare, Beckman Coulter, Apogee Flow Systems Limited, Partec, PointCare Technologies Incorporation, Mylan Incorporation, Siemens Healthcare, Cepheid, Daktari Diagnostics & Janssen Diagnostics.Browse Related Reports:Molecular Diagnostics Market Size By Infectious Disease (Flu, Tuberculosis, Meningitis, RSV Virus, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, HPV, STD, HIV, Dengue, Gonorrhea, Chlamydia, TORCH, H. Pylori), By Technology (PCR, Real-Time PCR, DNA/RNA Purification), Industry Analysis Report, Regional Outlook (U.S., Canada, Germany, UK, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Russia, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Israel, Japan, China, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam, Thailand, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Peru, South Africa, Nigeria, Morocco, Egypt, KSA, UAE, Jordan, Qatar), Application Potential, Price Trend, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2016  2023About 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:
Security and Vulnerability Management Market: Industry Players to Show High Growth Rate by 2024

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Global Security and Vulnerability Management Market: OverviewProtecting different types of information and confidential data is the security of that data, in terms of information technology. For this purpose, different technologies, training, and processes are used. If a software program allows an unauthorized user to access sensitive data without permission, then it is a drawback, which is known as the vulnerability. The practice of overcoming this drawback from the computerized digital technology is known as vulnerability management. The companies that are facing various vulnerabilities from different cyber threats to their network infrastructure are concerned about their security. The global cyber security market promises an encouraging trend in the security and vulnerability management market owing to the high investments.Request Free Sample Report @Global Security and Vulnerability Management Market: SegmentationThe global security and vulnerability management market are segmented into its verticals, end user, the solutions offered and the regions. On the basis of the verticals, the global security and vulnerability management market is categorized into retail, banking, and financial services, energy utilities, IT and telecom, government and healthcare. Based on the end-user, the global market for security and vulnerability management market is segregated into two parts small and medium enterprises and business. The solutions offered by the security and vulnerability management are device vulnerability, forensics investigation, policy and compliance, application vulnerability and the security information and event management. Region-wise, the security, and vulnerability management market is diversified into Asia Pacific, North America, Europe and the Rest of the World.Global Security and Vulnerability Management Market: Growth FactorsThe security and vulnerability management market is growing due to the fact that the rate at which the cyber threats and cyber crimes are increasing the risk related with it is also increasing. Thus, the organizations are implementing the security and vulnerability management in order to improve their security operations, threat intelligence, and their risk management. The market is making advancements as the IT organizations need to improve their security as they are using the third platform which consists of four pillars which include mobile, big data, social and cloud. In the recent years, the organizations are at a high risk of security breaches; hence, the use of automated vulnerability solution is increasing. The important two factors that have given rise to the demand of vulnerability management is the flaws in the designs of the network and the government imposed regulations, which have become mandatory. The other drivers for the security and vulnerability management market growth are the mobile device, software security vulnerability assessment, big data analytics and the cloud computing.Request Report TOC (Table of Contents) @Global Security and Vulnerability Management Market: Regional AnalysisThe regions where the security and vulnerability market is diversified are Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, North America and the Middle East and Africa. North America is the dominating region in the security and vulnerability management market owing to a large number of end-users present in this region. The government imposed regulations and policies have forced the organizations to extensively implement the security and vulnerability management. China and India are the major revenue generating countries in the Asia Pacific region.Browse detail report @Global Security and Vulnerability Management Market: Competitive PlayersThe major market players in the security and vulnerability management market include Core Security, McAfee, Rapid7, Tripwire EMC, Tenable Network Security, Microsoft, Qualys, NetIQ, IBM, Alien Vault, Skybox Security, and Symantec.Inquire more before buying this report @About Us: Zion Market Research is an obligated company. We create futuristically, cutting edge, informative reports ranging from industry reports, a company reports to country reports. We provide our clients not only with market statistics unveiled by avowed private publishers and public organizations but also with Vogue and newest industry reports along with pre-eminent and niche company profiles. Our database of market research reports comprises a wide variety of reports from Cardinal Industries. Our database is been updated constantly in order to fulfill our clients with prompt and direct online access to our database. Keeping in mind the clients needs, we have included expert insights on global industries, products, and market trends in this database. Last but not the least, we make it our duty to ensure the success of clients connected to usafter allif you do well, a little of the light shines on us.Contact Us:Zion Market Research4283, Express Lane,Suite 634-143,Sarasota, Florida 34249, United StatesTel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll-Free No.1-855-465-4651Email: sales@zionmarketresearch.comWebsite:Visit Our Blog:
Global Industral Review of Antibacterial Market in Reference to Class and Geography

Antibacterial

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Progressive Markets has published a recent report on the materials and chemicals sector, which titled, Global Antibacterial Market- Size, Trend, Share, Opportunity Analysis & Forecast, 2014-2025. The study is suitable for manufacturers and stakeholders owing to comprehensive analysis it offers of factors that increase or decrease growth of the market.The research gives a brief introduction of the global antibacterial market in terms of its scope. It offers summary which includes significant findings, market attractiveness, competitive landscape, recent developments, and trend analysis. It incorporates research methodology, such as Porters Five Forces Analysis (PFFA) to understand rivalry in the industry. This also includes bargaining power of the supplier & buyer and threat from substitutes & new entrepreneurs. It divides the industry into classes and geographies.Continue to Report Description and Full ToC:The study segments types of the global antibacterial industry into aminoglycosides, tetracyclines, B-Lactams, sulfonamides, macrolides, quinolones/ fluoroquinolones, phenicols, miscellaneous antibacterials, and pipeline drugs. Geographically, the research segments the market into Europe, North America, Latin America Middle East & Africa (LAMEA), and Asia-Pacific.The report analyzes share of the global antibacterial market by classes and geographies during the period, 20142025. It assesses market size of each class by region for the historic period and forecast period, 20142016 and 20172025, respectively. In addition, it evaluates market size of all nations of the industry during the aforementioned period.The study discusses big market players of the global antibacterial market, such as Pfizer, Inc., Merck & Co., Inc., GlaxoSmithKline plc, Novartis AG, Eli Lilly and Company, Bayer AG, Johnson & Johnson, Sanofi, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, and AstraZeneca plc. It offers brief introduction of every manufacturer. Further, it analyzes business and finance segment of each company. It also evaluates recent advancements made by every firm. The experts describe various factors that vendors adopt to evolve market trends. These include product development, acquisition, product approval, and collaboration. The report explores factors that accelerate growth of the industry which include rise in multi- drug resistant bacterial strains. It discusses alternate aspects that propel demand of the industry, such as improvement in economy of developing countries and availability of antibacterial drug.Inquire About Report:The experts describe features that cause slow progress of the global antibacterial market, such as expiry of patents and availability of generic drug. Moreover, the study provides certain key takeaways of the industry, such as it provides great competitive edge to manufacturers, stakeholders, and new entrants. It provides comprehensive evaluation of aspects that have potential to restrict or drive the industry.The study on the global antibacterial market offers investors and manufacturers to identify opportunities present in the industry. It enables them to grab the future projects. It also encourages new entrepreneurs to participate in the market by providing the detailed information. The report helps to recognize the possible future investment pockets, thereby, promotes collaborations among vendors. It anticipates challenges and restraints of the industry which help producers and key stakeholders to take corrective steps during the forecast period.Table of Content for Antibacterial Market1. Executive Summary1.1. Key Findings1.2. Market Attractiveness and Trend analysis1.3. Competitive Landscape and Recent Industry Development Analysis2. Introduction2.1. Report Description2.2. Scope and Definitions2.3. Research Methodology3. Market Landscape3.1. Growth Drivers3.1.1. Impact analysis3.2. Restrains and Challenges3.2.1. Impact analysis3.3. Porters Analysis3.3.1. Bargaining power of buyers3.3.2. Bargaining power of suppliers3.3.3. Threat of substitutes3.3.4. Industry rivalry3.3.5. Threat of new entrants3.4. Global Antibacterial Market Shares Analysis, 2014-20253.4.1. Global Antibacterial market share by class, 2014-2025ContinuedList of TablesContain 28 TablesList of FiguresContain 51 FiguresDiscount on Full Report:About ProgressiveThe 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.Reach UsAntviews Global, Serve No. 721/1Flat No 404, Sudhanshu Society,Shastri Road, Near Kalavati Mandir,Fatak Baug, Pune 411 030Us: + 1-888-906-9222GMT: + 35-376-680-1176help@progressivemarkets.com
Global Sinus Dilation Products Market Analysis, Trends and Forecast by 2017 - 2025

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Sinuses are hollow, air-filled cavities in the cranial bones, near the nose and connecting to it. Sinuses are used for secretion of mucus and thus helps in providing resonance to the voice. Mucus plays a vital role by preventing foreign particles from reaching the lungs and preventing the nasal cavity from dryness. The sinuses have openings which allows the mucus to drain and flow into the nasal passage. But in few cases, the sinus openings are blocked and thus the mucus remains logged inside causing infection, headache, congestion, and inflammation. This severe condition is called sinusitis. According to the duration of symptoms, sinusitis is divided into three types: acute, sub-acute, and chronic. The treatment of sinusitis is decided depending upon the duration of infection. Sinus dilation devices are used for dilating the sinus openings in order to allow the mucus to drain. This is a minimally invasive procedure and has long-lasting effects. In case of chronic sinusitis, doctors recommend surgery.Obtain Report Details @Important factors driving the growth of the sinus dilation products market are increasing incidence of sinusitis worldwide and continuous innovation in technology. According to the CDC, nearly 12% of population in the U.S., in the age group of 18 years and above, suffers from sinusitis. New developed devices and technologies such as balloon sinus dilation systems are more effective and have less invasive risk. This factor is likely to boost the growth of the global sinus dilation products market. In addition, the technological advancement of devices from local players is projected to drive the growth of the market during the forecast period. However, few factors such as prescription drugs such as antibiotics and decongestants which are primary treatment options and high cost of sinus dilation products are restraining the growth of the market.The global sinus dilation products market is segmented according to product type, end-user, and geography. In terms of product type, the market is segmented into balloon sinuplasty systems, sinus ventilation devices, distal suction blades, sinoscopes, sinus seekers, nasal catheters, nasal forceps, and others. On the basis of end-user, the market is categorized into hospitals, specialty clinics, and ambulatory surgical centers. In terms of geography, the market is distributed over North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Middle East & Africa.North America is expected to continue to dominate the global sinus dilation products market during the forecast period. According to the CDC, in 2013 there were 29 million people in the U.S. affected with chronic sinusitis. Chronic sinusitis is one of the ten costliest health conditions in the U.S. The market growth in the region is attributed to the increasing demand for rapid treatment offered by new sinus dilation systems. Europe is the second largest market for sinus dilation products. Asia Pacific is an emerging market with increasing incidence of chronic sinusitis due to unhealthy conditions, pollution, and continuous changing climatic conditions. In Asia Pacific, India, China, and Japan are projected to be major contributors to the growth of the sinus dilation products market in terms of revenue. Latin America and Middle East & Africa are emerging markets for sinus dilation products.Key players operating in the sinus dilation products market include Acclarent, Inc., Medtronic, Entellus Medical, Inc., SinuSys Corporation, Smith & Nephew plc, Aetna Inc., KARL STORZ GmbH & Co. KG, and Olympus Corporation.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.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Browse market research blog:
Global USB 3.0 Flash Drives Market to expand at a prolific CAGR of 23.5% during the Period 2016-2020 : (The U.S., Europe, and Asia Pacific)

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ResearchMoz added Latest Research Report titled " USB 3.0 Flash Drives Market - Global (The U.S., Europe, and Asia Pacific) Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2016 - 2020 " to it's Large Report database.Global (The U.S., Europe, and Asia Pacific) USB 3.0 Flash Drives Market: OverviewThe USB 3.0 Flash Drives market report provides analysis for the period 2013  2020, wherein the period from 2016 to 2020 is the forecast and 2015 is the base year. The report covers the share of all the major players operating in the USB 3.0 flash drives market. It also highlights the markets growth during the said period in terms of revenue (in US$ Bn) and volume (Thousand Units), across the geographies including The U.S., Europe, and Asia Pacific.The report provides the comparative analysis of USB 3.0 Chip-on-Board (CoB) flash drives and USB 3.0 conventional flash drives. Furthermore, the report provides technical analysis between the CoB and conventional USB 3.0 flash drives and financial analysis for differences in production, packaging, storage, distribution, and customer acceptant of CoB USB 3.0 flash drives and conventional USB flash drives.Request for Sample PDF of Premium Research Report with TOC:Global (The U.S., Europe, and Asia Pacific) USB 3.0 Flash Drives Market: Scope of the StudyThe report segments the U.S., Europe, and Asia Pacific USB 3.0 flash drives market on the basis of manufacturing process into chip-on-board and conventional. Furthermore, on the basis of capacity the USB 3.0 Flash Drives market is divided below 4 GB, 4 GB to 16 GB, 16 GB to 64 GB, 128 GB, and 256 GB & above. The report provides historical and forecast data in terms of revenue generated and shipments of the USB 3.0 flash drives in the global (The U.S., Europe, and Asia Pacific) market. Furthermore, the study provides the revenues and shipment of USB 3.0 flash drives of major companies operating in the USB 3.0 flash drives market across the U.S., Europe, and Asia Pacific.Global (The U.S., Europe, and Asia Pacific) USB 3.0 Flash Drives Market: Competitive Landscape AnalysisThe report also highlights the competitive landscape of the USB 3.0 flash drives market, positioning all the major players in the U.S., Europe, and Asia Pacific. The comprehensive USB 3.0 Flash Drives market estimates are the result of our in-depth secondary research, primary interviews, and in-house expert panel reviews.Browse more details @Table of Content1. Preface1.1. Market Definition and Scope1.2. Market Segmentation1.3. Key Research Objectives1.4. Research Highlights2. Assumptions and Research Methodology3. Executive Summary : Global (the U.S., Europe, Asia Pacific) USB 3.0 Flash Drives Market4. Comparative Analysis: USB 3.0 COB V/S USB 3.0 Conventional4.1. Technical Analysis: COB USB Stick V/SConventional USB Sticks4.2. Financial Analysis: COB Sticks V/S USB Sticks4.2.1. Differences in Production4.2.2. Differences in Packaging / Storage /Distribution4.2.3. Differences in Customer Acceptant5. The U.S. USB 3.0 Flash Drives Market Analysis and Forecasts, By Players5.1. Competitive Overview5.2. Revenue (US$ Mn) and Volume (Thousand Units) Forecast By Players5.2.1. ADATA Technology Co., Ltd., 2013  20205.2.1.1. Conventional USB 3.0 Flash Drive, 2013  20205.2.1.2. Chip on Board (COB) USB 3.0 Flash Drive, 2013  20205.2.1.3. Market Size (US$ Mn) and Volume (Thousand Units) Forecast By Capacity5.2.1.3.1. Below 4 GB5.2.1.3.2. 4 GB to 16 GB5.2.1.3.3. 16 GB to 64 GB5.2.1.3.4. 128 GB5.2.1.3.5. 256 GB and AboveAbout ResearchMozResearchMoz is the world's fastest growing collection of market research reports worldwide. Our database is composed of current market studies from over 100 featured publishers worldwide. Our market research databases integrate statistics with analysis from global, regional, country and company perspectives. ResearchMoz's service portfolio also includes value-added services such as market research customization, competitive landscaping, and in-depth surveys, delivered by a team of experienced Research Coordinators.Contact Us:Mr. Nachiket Ghumare90 State Street, Albany NY, United States - 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074 / Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Email: sales@researchmoz.usFollow us on LinkedIn at:Follow me on Blogger at:
PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitors- Rising with existing marketed and drugs

Programmed Death 1 (PD-1) and Programmed Death Ligand 1 (PD-L1) is the most talked about immuno-oncology target. Programmed Death 1 (PD-1) is an immune inhibitory receptor expressed on several immune cells, particularly cytotoxic T cells. Therapeutics that blocks this interaction has demonstrated promising clinical activity in several tumor types. PD-L1 not only provides the immune escape for tumor cells but also stimulate apoptosis switch on activated T cells.According to DelveInsights report PD-1 and PD-L1 Inhibitors Competitive Landscape, Pipeline and Market Analysis, 2017, currently there are about five marketed drugs in this arena and more than 50 products are in the pipeline in various development stages. Products that are in the phase III of development and about to enter the market are  PDR001 (Novartis), REGN2810 (Regeneron), SHR1210 (Incyte). Drugs that are used for this therapy have different molecular types like proteins, fusion proteins, antibody, monoclonal antibody, small molecule, siRNA etc, depending on their derived sources. Also, the route of administration can be subcutaneous, intravenous or oral.As per the details provided in the report by DelveInsight, companies are working on different technologies for developing drugs in the respective domain, example of such technologies are 3D antigen design technology (Tikcro Technologies), Affimer Technology (Avacta Life Sciences), Avidocin Technology (Merus), Bispecific Fc Domains Technology (Xencor) etc. Currently, maximum products are in pre clinical phase showing the increased interest of companies in the given arena.DelveInsights latest report has covered the complete PD-1 and PD-L1 Inhibitors domain. Complete insight about all the marketed drugs and pipeline products along with the different technologies being used by the companies in the PD-1 and PD-L1 arena is provided. Information about the future products that are about to enter the market and can change the present market scenario, drug profiling of the current marketed products and dormant product information is also covered.Also, the complete coverage of ASCO 2017 including the latest addition in the market, existing drug achievements and clinical trial results of different drugs is a fringe benefit for the companies and institutes working for the advancement of the respective technology.Reasons to buy: The report provides competitive pipeline landscape of PD-1 and PD-L1 Inhibitors. The report provides information about the pipeline products and drug profiling of the marketed drugs, MOA, dormant products. The report covers the latest technologies that are being used by different companies. Pipeline product coverage based on various stages of development ranging from discovery stage till late stage products. Provides pipeline assessment by monotherapy and combination therapy products, stage of development and molecule type.DelveInsight is a leading Business Consultant and Market Research Firm focused exclusively on life sciences. We support companies by providing end to end comprehensive solutions to improve their performance and in making long lasting decision for their businesses.DelveInsightNew Delhi, India
Patient Warming Devices Market exhibit a CAGR of 5.3% between 2016 and 2024 - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, & Forecast

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"The Report Patient Warming Devices Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, & Forecast 2016 - 2024 provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"DescriptionGlobal Patient Warming Devices Market: OverviewThis report on the patient warming devices market studies the current as well as future prospects of the market globally. The stakeholders of this report include companies and intermediaries engaged in the manufacture and commercialization of various patient warming devices such as surface warming devices as well as new entrants planning to enter this market.Get Sample copy of this Report @This report comprises an elaborate executive summary along with a market snapshot providing overall information of various segments and sub-segments considered in the scope of the study. This section also provides the overall information and data analysis of the global market with respect to the leading market segments based on major products, applications and geographies.Global Patient Warming Devices Market: Key SegmentsThe global patient warming devices market has been studied based on major product/device segments, application segments, and their regional as well as national markets. Based on product type, the global market has been categorized into three major segments: surface warming systems, intravascular warming systems, and patient warming accessories. Based on applications, the market has been categorized into four major segments: acute care, perioperative care, new born care, and others. Based on end user, the market has been categorized into four major segments: hospitals, clinics, nursing facilities and others. The market for these segments has been extensively analyzed based on their utility, effectiveness, sales, and geographic presence. Market revenue in terms of US$ Mn for the period from 2014 to 2024 along with the compound annual growth rate (CAGR %) from 2016 to 2024 are provided for all segments, considering 2015 as the base year.Global Patient Warming Devices Market: Scope of the ReportThe market overview section of the report explores the market dynamics such as drivers, restraints, and opportunities that currently have a strong impact on the patient warming devices market and could influence the market in the near future. Market attractiveness analysis has been provided in the market overview section in order to explain the intensity of competition in the market across different geographies. Porters five forces analysis is also provided in this section to understand the market considering the different parameters that have an impact on the sustainability of the companies operating in the market. The competitive scenario among different market players is evaluated through market share analysis in the competitive landscape section of the report. All these factors would help market players to take strategic decisions in order to strengthen their positions and expand their shares in the global market.Global Patient Warming Devices Market: Regional OutlookGeographically, the global market has been segmented into five regions: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa (MEA). Each regional market for patient warming devices has been further categorized into major national markets such as the U.S, Canada, Germany, France, the U.K., Japan, China, India and Brazil. Market revenue in terms of USD million for the period from 2014 to 2024 along with CAGR % from 2016 to 2024 are provided for all the regions and nations considering 2015 as the base year.Companies Mentioned in the ReportThe recommendations section included in the report would assist existing market players in expanding their market shares, and new companies in establishing their presence in the global market. The report also profiles major players in the patient warming devices market based on various attributes such as company overview, financial overview, business strategies, product portfolio, and recent developments. The key players operating in the global market are 3M Health Care, ZOLL Medical Corporation, C. R. Bard, Inc., Smiths Medical, Stryker Corporation, Medtronic plc, GE Healthcare, Inspiration Healthcare (INDITHERM), and Philips Healthcare among others.View Sample PDF Of Report @The global patient warming devices market is segmented as follows:Global Patient Warming Devices Market, by Product TypeSurface Warming SystemIntravascular Warming SystemPatient Warming AccessoriesGlobal Patient Warming Devices Market, by ApplicationsAcute CarePerioperative CareNew Born CareOthersGlobal Patient Warming Devices Market, by End UserHospitalsClinicsNursing facilitiesOthersGlobal Patient Warming Devices Market, by GeographyNorth AmericaU.S.CanadaEuropeGermanyU.K.FranceSpainItalyRest of the EuropeAsia Pacific (APAC)ChinaJapanIndiaRest of the APACLatin America (LATAM)BrazilMexicoRest of the LATAMMiddle East and Africa (MEA)South AfricaSaudi ArabiaRest of the MEABrowse more Medical Equipments Market Research Reports @Table of ContentSection - 1 Preface1.1 Report Scope and Market Segmentation1.2 Research HighlightsSection - 2 Assumptions and Research Methodology2.1 Assumptions and Acronyms Used2.2 Research MethodologySection-3 Executive Summary3.1 Global Patient Warming Devices Market: Market Snapshot3.2 Global Market: Opportunity MapSection-4 Market Overview4.1 Global Patient Warming Devices Market: Key Industry DevelopmentsSection-5 Market Dynamics5.1 Drivers and Restraints Snapshot Analysis5.1.2 Drivers5.1.2.1 Rising number of surgical procedures across the world5.1.2.2 Increase in prevalence of cardiovascular and oncological conditions globally5.1.2.3 Premature babies and neonatal hypothermia require temperature management products5.1.2.4 Increase in the global geriatric population5.1.2.5 Growing adoption of a sedentary lifestyle5.1.2.6 Increasing incidences of work-related musculoskeletal disorders5.1.3 Restraints5.1.3.1 Product recalls5.1.3.2 Excise duty imposed on medical device manufacturers5.1.4 Opportunity Analysis5.1.4.1 Introduction of Technologically Advanced Products5.1.4.2 Economic Development & Improving Health Care Infrastructure in Emerging Economies5.2 Global Patient Warming Devices Market Revenue Projection5.3 Porters Five Forces Analysis5.4 Patient Warming Devices Market Outlook5.5 Regulatory Scenario (U.S.)Request for Enquiry @Section-6 Patient Warming Devices Market Analysis By Product Type6.1 Key Findings6.2 Introduction6.3 Global Patient Warming Devices Market Value Share Analysis, By Product Type6.4 Global Market Forecast By Product Type6.4.1 Surface Warming Systems6.4.2 Intravascular Warming Systems6.4.3 Patient Warming Accessories6.5 Global Patient Warming Devices Market Attractiveness Analysis By Product TypeAbout usMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.Contact usMr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
The Insurance Industry in Costa Rica : Market Share, Trends, Insight and Application 2017

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Albany, New York, August 10, 2017 : Recent research and the current scenario as well as future market potential of "The Insurance Industry in Costa Rica Key Trends and Opportunities to 2020" globally.Timetrics 'The Insurance Industry in Costa Rica Key Trends and Opportunities to 2020' report provides a detailed analysis of Costa Rican insurance industry.Get PDF for more Professional and Technical insights @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 (20112015) and forecast periods (20152020).The report also gives a comprehensive overview of Costa Rican economy and demographics, and provides detailed information on the competitive landscape in the country. It also includes the impact of natural hazards on the insurance industry.The report brings together Timetrics research, modeling and analysis expertise, giving insurers access to information on segment dynamics and competitive advantages, and profiles of insurers operating in the country. The report also includes details of insurance regulations and recent changes in the regulatory structure.SummaryTimetrics 'The Insurance Industry in Costa Rica, Key Trends and Opportunities to 2020' report provides in-depth market analysis, information and insights into Costa Rica insurance industry, including:An overview of Costa Rican insurance industryThe Costa Rican insurance industry's growth prospects by segment and categoryA comprehensive overview of Costa Rican economy and demographicsThe detailed competitive landscape in the Costa Rican insurance industryDetailed regulatory policies of the Costa Rican insurance industryOverview of distribution channels in the Costa Rican insurance industryAn analysis of natural hazards in the Costa Rican insurance industryScopeThis report provides a comprehensive analysis of the insurance industry in Costa Rica:It provides historical values for Costa Rican insurance industry for the reports 20112015 review period, and projected figures for the 20152020 forecast period.It offers a detailed analysis of the key segments in Costa Rican insurance industry, with market forecasts to 2020.Make an Enquiry about TOC @It covers an exhaustive list of parameters, including written premium, incurred loss, loss ratio, combined ratio, total assets, total investment income and retentions.It profiles the top insurance companies in Costa Rica, and outlines the key regulations affecting them.It covers the economy and demographics structure of Costa Rica.It analyzes the distribution channels in the Costa Rican insurance industry.It analyzes the impact of natural hazards in Costa Rican insurance industry.Reasons To BuyMake strategic business decisions using in-depth historic and forecast market data related to Costa Rican insurance industry and each segment and category within it.Understand the demand-side dynamics, key market trends and growth opportunities in Costa Rican insurance industry.Assess the competitive dynamics in Costa Rican insurance industry.Identify the growth opportunities and market dynamics in key segments.Gain insights into key regulations governing Costa Rican insurance industry and their impact on companies and the industry's future.Browse Report @Key HighlightsThe Costa Rican insurance industry underwent transformation during the review period following its liberalization in 2008.Healthcare costs are typically 4070% lower than in the US and Canada. Low costs and better services from skilled medical practitioners are adding value to the Costa Rican medical tourism sector.INS was the largest insurer in the Costa Rican insurance industry, and accounted for 80.8% of the industrys gross written premium in 2015.Costa Rica is prone to natural disasters such as floods, earthquake, storms and landslides. Earthquakes of low magnitude occur frequently in Costa Rica, which increased demand for earthquake-proof engineering and supported the growth of property insurance during the review period.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.ResearchMozMr. Nachiket Ghumare,90 State Street, Albany NY, United States - 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074USA-Canada Toll Free: 866-997-4948Email: sales@researchmoz.usFollow us on LinkedIn @Follow me on :
Automatic Tube Labelling System Market Scope and Revenue Outlook for 2017  2025

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Automatic Tube Labelling System Market: SegmentationThe use of automatic tube labeling system makes the work more precised with the given time frame and very much predetermined. One can choose from the range of labels and letter depending upon the size of the tube. Automatic tube labeling machines prints clearly on any surface, either flat or rounded. The key drivers for the growth of this market differentiation of the products by the different brand owner. The technology has reduced human errors, increased sorting, precise label placement with increased speed, and a reduction in human workforce. The restraining factors for this market are the high competition among different methods of labeling devices available in the market, the toxicity of the type of ink used in the labeling of tubes, several legal and environmental restriction related to tube labeling machines.Request to View Tables of Content @Automatic Tube Labelling System Market: Region-wise OutlookGeographically, Europe is leading the market followed by North America on automatic tube labeling machines. The areas of opportunity lie in Europe due to increase in growth of labeling technologies in this region. Asia Pacific and the Middle East and Africa are the emerging markets for automatic tube labeling machines.Automatic Tube Labelling System Market: Key PlayersThe major players in the automatic tube labeling machine are Altech, California Advanced Labeling, Inc., Codeway Automated Labelling Systems, LSS Etikettering A/S, FluidX Ltd., Matthews Australasia Pty Ltd., Multipack Machinery, Nautilus Systems, Inc., Shree Bhagawati Pharma Machinery Company, and Scinomax. These companies provide automatic tube labeling machines as they have superior expertise and more experience gained over the years which has improved their practices and processes to become more efficient in labeling. New product developments and new applications in the automatic tube labeling are some of the initiatives taken by industries to retain themselves in the competition as there are several local players in every region for this market.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:
Serum Protein Electrophoresis Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.8% from 2017 to 2025

Serum Protein Electrophoresis Market

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Progressive Markets has published a report, titled, Global Serum Protein Electrophoresis Market - Size, Trend, Share, Opportunity Analysis & Forecast, 20142025. As per the report, the global serum protein electrophoresis market is estimated to register a CAGR of 5.8% from 2017 to 2025. The report highlights dominating segments, explores changing market dynamics, and provides information on recent developments & lucrative opportunities for the future. This information is helpful for market players to achieve impressive results and investors to gain profitability on investments. Moreover, the research is valuable understand global scenario, devise strategies for growth, and acquire impressive assets in the global industry.The report provides an executive summary of the global serum protein electrophoresis market to help new entrants, leading market players, and investors gain a market overview and plan strategies for the future. Key findings are provided in the research and market attractiveness is outlined based on short-term and long-term strategies for profit. Recent market trends are explored in the study along with development status. Competitive scenario of the global market is highlighted to help market players gain thorough information on market competitive intensity and devise strategies to gain competitive edge. Research methodology is provided in the research in terms of primary and secondary research methodologies.Continue to Report Description and Full ToC:Market landscape of the global serum protein electrophoresis industry is offered based on drivers and restraints. Rise in incidences of chronic disease such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and other disorders, increase in health awareness among the population, and growth in clinical, forensic, and research laboratories are factors driving growth in the industry. Issues related to the use of gel electrophoresis limit growth in the global market. Porters Five Forces Analysis (PFFA) is offered in the report on the basis of bargaining power of suppliers, bargaining power of buyers, threat of new entrants, threat from substitutes, and industrial rivalry. These insights are helpful to develop business strategies for the recurring growth and determine competitive level.The report offers detailed segmentation of the global serum protein electrophoresis market based on technique, application, end user, and geography. Based on technique, the market is segmented into side gel electrophoresis, disc electrophoresis, tube gel electrophoresis, low & high voltage electrophoresis, and two-dimensional electrophoresis. Application segment is classified into research and diagnostics. Based on end user, it is bifurcated into academic & research institutes, pharmaceutical & biotechnology companies, hospitals and diagnostic centers, and other end users. Geographically, it is divided across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA. Detailed analysis of market share of each segment is discussed for the historic period, 20142016 and the forecast period, 20172025 with the help of tabular and graphical format. Moreover, revenue of each segment is enlisted in the report with the help of tabular and graphical representation.Inquire About Report:The research provides a comprehensive analysis of key market players operating in the global serum protein electrophoresis market. An overview of business is offered in the study to help market players, investors, and stakeholders to determine steps to be taken for growth in the future and investment feasibility. Financial and business segmentation of each market player are discussed in the research. Moreover, recent developments are outlined in the study. Key market players analyzed in the research include CSL Behring LLC, InVitria, MedzBio Pvt. Ltd., HiMedia Laboratories Pvt. Ltd., Amco Proteins Novozymes A/S, Omega Protein Corporation, RayBiotech, Inc., Octapharma AG, Sigma-Aldrich Corporation, and Thermo Fisher Scientific. These insights assist them to determine level of market competition & adopt strategies such as agreements, mergers & acquisitions, partnerships, collaborations and others to make the mark globally.Table of Content for Serum Protein Electrophoresis Market1. Executive summary1.1. Key Findings1.2. Market Attractiveness and Trend nalysis1.3. Competitive Landscape and recent industry development analysis2. Introduction2.1. Report Description2.2. Scope and Definitions2.3. Research Methodology3. Market landscape3.1. Growth Drivers3.1.1. Impact Analysis3.2. Restrains and Challenges3.2.1. Impact Analysis3.3. Porters Analysis3.3.1. Bargaining power of buyers3.3.2. Bargaining power of suppliers3.3.3. Threat of substitutes3.3.4. Industry rivalry3.3.5. Threat of new entrants3.4. Global Serum Protein Electrophoresis Market Shares Analysis, 2014-20253.4.1. Global Serum Protein Electrophoresis Market by Technique, 2014-2025ContinuedList of TablesContain 44 TablesList of FiguresContain 52 FiguresDiscount on Full Report:About ProgressiveThe 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.Reach UsAntviews Global, Serve No. 721/1Flat No 404, Sudhanshu Society,Shastri Road, Near Kalavati Mandir,Fatak Baug, Pune 411 030Us: + 1-888-906-9222GMT: + 35-376-680-1176help@progressivemarkets.com
Smart card - Global Market is $7.4 billion in 2015 & is expected to reach $13.1 billion by 2022 growing at a CAGR of 8.5%

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A new research document with title 'Smart card - Global Market Outlook (2016-2022)' covering detailed analysis, Competitive landscape, forecast and strategies. The study covers geographic analysis that includes regions like US, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, South Africa, Egypt and important players/vendors such as Sony corp, Datacard corp, Renesas Electronics, Arm Holdings PLC................The report will help user gain market insights, future trends and growth prospects for forecast period of 2022Request a sample report @SummaryAccording to Research, the Global Smart Card Market is estimated to be $7.4 billion in 2015 and is expected to reach $13.1 billion by 2022 growing at a CAGR of 8.5% from 2015 to 2022. Factors such as growing demand for secure & reliable payments, technology advancement, rising number of mobile phone subscribers and increasing penetration of mobile phones in emerging economies are driving the market growth. However, price pressures and technological challenges are inhibiting the growth of Smart card market.Retail and BFSI industry segments are the fastest growing segments of smart card market. Asia Pacific is anticipated to retain its leading position and is analyzed to be the fastest growing market during the forecast period. From application side, telecom sector mainly 3G dominates the smart card use, while from growth perspective transportation sector remains the most dynamic sector. Payment chip-card market shows an apparent swing towards contactless and converging applications. Contactless payment can be performed with smart cards and with mobile devices. In meticulous, the demand for Dual Interface (DIF) payment cards is growing.The key players in the global smart card market are Siemens IT solutions and services, Sony corp, Datacard corp, Renesas Electronics, Arm Holdings PLC, Atmel Corporation, Diebold Corporation, Fujitsu Ltd., Gemalto NV, Giesecke & Devrient GMBH, Infineon Technologies AG, Ingenico SA, Inside Contactless S.A, MORPHO (SAGEM ORGA), Oberthur Technologies Group, Samsung Electronics, Stmicroelectronics N.V., Thales SA, Verifone System INC, Watchdata System CO., LTD, American Express Company, Atos SE, NXP Semiconductors NV, Texas Instruments, Inc. and CPI Card Group Inc.,Components Covered: Microcontroller Cards Memory CardsApplications Covered: Healthcare Transportation Telecommunication Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) Retail Government ID Pay TV Other ApplicationsTypes Covered: Contact Smart Card Contactless Smart Card Hybrid Smart Card Dual-interface Smart Card Other TypesRegions 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 EgyptBuy this report @What 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 8 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 advancementsGet customization & check discount for report @1 Executive Summary2 Preface2.1 Abstract2.2 Stake Holders2.3 Research Scope2.4 Research Methodology2.4.1 Data Mining2.4.2 Data Analysis2.4.3 Data Validation2.4.4 Research Approach2.5 Research Sources2.5.1 Primary Research Sources2.5.2 Secondary Research Sources2.5.3 Assumptions3 Market Trend Analysis3.1 Introduction3.2 Drivers3.3 Restraints3.4 Opportunities3.5 Threats3.6 Application Analysis3.7 Emerging Markets3.8 Futuristic Market Scenario4 Porters Five Force Analysis4.1 Bargaining power of suppliers4.2 Bargaining power of buyers4.3 Threat of substitutes4.4 Threat of new entrants4.5 Competitive rivalry5 Global Smart Card Market, By Component5.1 Introduction5.2 Microcontroller Cards5.3 Memory Cards....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 :Nidhi Bhavsar (PR & Marketing Manager)HTF Market Intelligence Consulting Private LimitedUnit No. 429, Parsonage Road Edison, NJNew Jersey USA  08837sales@htfmarketreport.com+1 (206) 317 1218
Curcumin Market Research Report by Geographical Analysis and Forecast to 2021

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Curcumin is an ingredient of turmeric which is found in limited amounts in ginger. It is a cancer preventive molecule and is anti inflammatory .It is extracted from turmeric and is widely used in pharmaceuticals, food and cosmetics industry for its anti oxidation and anti inflammatory properties. Curcumin is used in the treatment of tumors, arthritis, gastric ailments and viral infections .Rising consumer awareness towards health benefits of curcumin and growing demand for curcumin-based nutritional supplements due to increasing consumer awareness regarding its anti-cancer properties are the main drivers responsible for the growth of global curcumin market.This report gives readers a comprehensive overview of the Curcumin Market:Curcumin based supplements have a huge market as they are easily available over the counter without the existence of government regulations. In addition, curcumin is also gaining popularity as an ingredient in cosmetic and herbal skin care products. Therefore, growing demand for ayurvedic and herbal skin care products is expected to drive the market during the forecast period. Moreover, rigorous research and development activities regarding the application of curcumin in dye sensitized PV technologies serve as an opportunity for the market as this application would drive new market avenues for curcumin during the forecast period. In terms of application, global curcumin market is categorized into pharmaceuticals, food, cosmetics and others. Pharmaceutical held the largest market share due to rising demand for curcumin based supplements. Increasing demand for herbal cosmetic products is expected to drive the global market of curcumin in cosmetic applications as it serves as a remedy for various skin diseases. Shifting consumer preference towards natural food coloring food substances is expected to increase the demand of curcumin in food applications. However, existence of cheap synthetic food colors serves as a restraining factor in the growth of curcumin market in Rest of the World (RoW) and Asia Pacific region.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Curcumin Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market:North America held the largest market and is expected to witness significant growth during the forecast period due to growing demand for curcumin based supplements in this region. In addition, increasing demand for curcumin in cosmetic applications is further driving the market hence demand of curcumin is expected to be high during the forecast period in North America. Europe followed North America and the market is expected to grow at a high rate during the forecast period owing to the increasing applications of curcumin in food and pharmaceutical industry. Moreover, research and development activities regarding growing applications of curcumin in treatment of cancer also acts as a driving factor in the growth of curcumin market in Europe. Demand for curcumin is expected to be high in Asia Pacific owing to the growing demand from skin care and cosmetic manufacturers. Herbal products offered by these manufacturers are gaining fast penetration in North American and European markets. This acts as a driving factor in the growth of curcumin market in Asia Pacific region. In addition, manufacturers are highly concentrated in India due to high content of curcumin in Indian turmeric products .Moreover, close proximity to raw materials suppliers is another factor fuelling the growth of curcumin market in India .Hence, demand for it is expected to be high during the forecast period.Global key participants in the industry include Konark Herbals & Health Care, Biomax Life Sciences Ltd., Hindustan Mint & Agro Products Pvt. Ltd., SV Agrofood, Herboveda India Pvt. Ltd., Hebei Food Additive Co. Ltd., Synthite Industries Ltd. and Arjuna Natural Extracts Ltd. among others.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. 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:
Motorcycle Start-stop System Global Market pegged at USD1.8 million  may double its market size by 2021

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A new research document with title 'Motorcycle Start-stop System - Global Market Outlook (2017-2023)covering detailed analysis, Competitive landscape, forecast and strategies. The study covers geographic analysis that includes regions like United States, Europe, China, Japan, India and South East Asia and important players/vendors such as ................The report will help user gain market insights, future trends and growth prospects for forecast to 2023.SummaryAccording to Research , the Global Motorcycle Start-stop System Market is accounted for $1.81 million in 2016 and is expected to reach $4.59 million by 2023 growing at a CAGR of 14.2% during the forecast period. Increasing sales of commuter motorcycle and strict government regulations for motorcycles are some of the factors fueling the market growth.Request a sample report @During 2016, the commuter motorcycles segment contributed the major revenue for motorcycle start-stop system market. However, the premium commuter motorcycles is expected to command the market during the forecast period owing to the altering market dynamics and enhancements in the motorcycle market and recuperating economic conditions in the emerging nations.India will be the key market and currently it is the only country in the world to have a start-stop system equipped motorcycle. Market growth in this region is attributed to factors such as the more usage of two-wheelers for their daily travel and increasing traffic jamming in Indian cities.Some of the key players in Motorcycle Start-stop System market include BoschTE ConnectivitySKFShindengenHondaYamaha Motor and Hero MotoCorpMotorcycle Types Covered: Premium Commuter Motorcycles Commuter MotorcyclesGet customization & check discount for report @Regions 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 APAC 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 advancementsBuy this report @1 Executive Summary2 Preface2.1 Abstract2.2 Stake Holders2.3 Research Scope2.4 Research Methodology3 Market Trend Analysis3.1 Introduction3.2 Drivers3.3 Restraints3.4 Opportunities3.5 Threats....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
Pyrimethamine Treatment Market Research Report Forecast to 2023

Pyrimethamine Treatment Market

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Pyrimethamine is a medication used for protozoan infections. It is commonly used as an antimalarial drug (for both treatment and prevention of malaria), and to treat Toxoplasma gondii infections, particularly when combined with the sulfonamide antibiotic sulfadiazine when treating HIV-positive individuals. Pyrimethamine is typically given with a sulfonamide and folinic acid due to its resistance against many Plasmodium species. Pyrimethamine has also been found to limit the expression of the superoxide dismutase 1 gene, a protein involved in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Pyrimethamine is considered in the list of one of the most important medications by World Health Organizations list of essential medicines. Pyrimethamines ability to cure protozoan infection and toxoplasma infections, rising number of HIV positive patients worldwide and immunosuppressed individual at a risk of infections are the factors driving the pyrimethamine treatment market during the forecast period. Moreover, mergers and acquisitions by the manufacturing companies would also the boost the demand and supply for the pyrimethamine medication in the pyrimethamine treatment market. However, the certain side effects that may occur with pyrimethamine medication include allergic reactions, blood disorders, tongue changes, blood in the urine, heart rhythm disorders, anorexia, and vomiting (see Important Safety Information below) which act as a restraining factor for the growth of this market. Additionally, factors such as pricing issues in some countries and resistance developing against the drugs may hamper the growth of the pyrimethamine treatment market during the focus period of 2013 to 2023.This report gives readers a comprehensive overview of the Pyrimethamine Treatment Market:The global pyrimethamine market has been segmented into brands and geography. On the basis of brand, the pyrimethamine treatment market has been segmented into two drugs that are presently marketed such as Daraprim and Fansidar. The Daraprim sub-segment held the largest share for the pyrimethamine treatment market. However, the Fansidar sub-segment is growing at a high rate due to affordable cost and availability.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Pyrimethamine Treatment Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market:Geographically, North America dominates the global pyrimethamine treatment market followed by Europe. The market domination was majorly due to the pricing structure of the pyrimethamine drug in the U.S. The High prevalence of toxoplasma in the region also acts as the driving factor for the growth of the pyrimethamine treatment in the North America. According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), toxoplasmosis is one of the five neglected parasitic infections in the U.S. It is the second leading cause of death from foodborne illness in the country and more than 60 million people in the U.S. carry the toxoplasma parasite, and more than one million people in the U.S. are infected annually with the toxoplasma parasite, which is associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality. Asia-Pacific is also increasing constantly in the pyrimethamine drugs market mainly due to the high prevalence of protozoan disease such as malaria in India, China and other developing nations. Moreover, government initiatives and regulatory norms in these countries would fuel the market for pyrimethamine treatment market in the region during the forecast period. Latin America is also a growing market for pyrimethamine treatment due to developing healthcare expenditure and high prevalence rate of malaria and toxoplasma in the region.Some of the major players in pyrimethamine treatment market include Turing Pharmaceuticals, Impax Laboratories, Inc., Pfizer, Inc. GlaxoSmithKline plc, 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.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:
Argentina Telecom Markets Growing Coverage of 4G LTE & The Expansion of Fiber Networks. In Fact, LTE Networks Reached More Than 154 cities in 2016

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Orbis Research Market brilliance released a new research report of 33 pages on title Argentina: Market Consolidation Paired with Converged Multiplay Services to Intensify Competition in Telecom Markets with detailed analysis, forecast and strategies. The study covers important players such as Claro, Movistar, Telecom Argentina, etc."Argentina: Market Consolidation Paired with Converged Multiplay Services to Intensify Competition in Telecom Markets", a new Country Intelligence Report by GlobalData, provides an executivelevel overview of the telecommunications market in Argentina today, with detailed forecasts of key indicators up to 2022. Published annually, the report provides detailed analysis of the nearterm opportunities, competitive dynamics and evolution of demand by service type and technology/platform across the fixed telephony, broadband, and mobile, as well as a review of key regulatory trends.Request a sample of this report @Companies Mentioned:ClaroMovistarTelecom ArgentinaCablevisionDirecTVTelecentroSupercanalPersonalTelefonica ArgentinaTelpinThe Argentina telecom market will generate $10.6bn in service revenue in 2017, 5.1% less than the previous year. In local currency terms, it will expand by 8.2%.The Country Intelligence Report provides indepth analysis of the followingRegional context: telecom market size and trends in Argentina compared with other countries in the region.Economic, demographic and political context in Argentina.The regulatory environment and trends: a review of the regulatory setting and agenda for the next 1824 months as well as relevant developments pertaining to spectrum licensing, national broadband plans, number portability and more.A demand profile: analysis as well as historical figures and forecasts of service revenue from the fixed telephony, broadband, mobile voice, and mobile data markets.Service evolution: a look at changes in the breakdown of overall revenue between the fixed and mobile sectors and between voice, data and video from 2017 to 2022.The competitive landscape: an examination of key trends in competition and in the performance, revenue market shares and expected moves of service providers over the next 1824 months.vIndepth sector analysis of fixed telephony, broadband, mobile voice, and mobile data services: a quantitative analysis of service adoption trends by network technology and by operator, as well as of average revenue per line/subscription and service revenue through the end of the forecast period.Main opportunities: this section details the nearterm opportunities for operators, vendors and investors in the Argentina telecommunications markets.Browse the complete report @ScopeRevenue from voice services is on the decline in the 20172022 period. Fixed and mobile data services revenue will grow at a CAGR of 3.2%, driven by the growing coverage of 4G LTE and the expansion of fiber networks. In fact, LTE networks reached more than 154 cities in 2016.The 3G family of technologies will have the largest share of the market in Argentina in 2017. We expect LTE subscriptions will take over 3G by 2020.We expect broadband lines to reach 11.0m by yearend 2022, for a population penetration of 24.2%, owing to operators' initiatives to offer more attractive pricing packages and the expansion of their fixed broadband coverage to rural areas in line with the governments National Broadband Strategy.Reasons to buyThis Country Intelligence Report offers a thorough, forwardlooking analysis of Argentina's telecommunications markets, service providers and key opportunities in a concise format to help executives build proactive and profitable growth strategies.Accompanying GlobalDatas Forecast products, the report examines the assumptions and drivers behind ongoing and upcoming trends in Argentina's mobile communications, fixed telephony, broadband markets, including the evolution of service provider market shares.With more than 20 charts and tables, the report is designed for an executivelevel audience, boasting presentation quality.The report provides an easily digestible market assessment for decisionmakers built around indepth information gathered from local market players, which enables executives to quickly get up to speed with the current and emerging trends in Argentina's telecommunications markets.The broad perspective of the report coupled with comprehensive, actionable detail will help operators, equipment vendors and other telecom industry players succeed in the challenging telecommunications market in Argentina.Buy a report @About Us:Orbis Research (orbisresearch.com) is a single point aid for all your market research requirements. We have vast database of reports from the leading publishers and authors across the globe. We specialize in delivering customized reports as per the requirements of our clients. We have complete information about our publishers and hence are sure about the accuracy of the industries and verticals of their specialization. This helps our clients to map their needs and we produce the perfect required market research study for our clients.Contact Us:Hector CostelloSenior Manager  Client Engagements4144N Central Expressway,Suite 600, Dallas,Texas - 75204, U.S.A.Phone No.: +1 (214) 884-6817; +912064101019Email ID: sales@orbisresearch.com
Artificial Organ Bank Market Research Report by Geographical Analysis and Forecast to 2023

Artificial Organ Bank Market

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Organ necessity is surpassing the supply of donated organs. Even today there are loads of patients waiting for organ transplant but not everyone can get it done due to the low supply of organ transplant.According to the American Transplant Foundation in United States about 123,000 patients are waiting for organ transplantation and nearly 21 people die every day due to the scarcity of organ transplant. Not only the organ scarcity is an issue but also finding a right organ for the body is a major concern. To resolve this issue biomedicine is a growing shift in the science world.Biomedicine is a division of medical science which seeks biological and other natural-science values to clinical practice for developing artificial organs. Due to biomedicine right organ can be delivered to the patient at a right time. Thus biomedicine is a ray of hope to the ones who are suffering from organ failure.This report gives readers a comprehensive overview of the Artificial Organ Bank Market:An artificial organ is a human made device or machine which is inserted into human being to substitute the natural organ which is damaged, for the purpose of restoring the functions related to it, so that the patient may return to his normal life as early as possibleThe special materials used to develop artificial organs are biomaterials which are accepted by our body.Artificial organ bank market is segmented into four types artificial organs (product type), technology, bionics and geography. The artificial organ market includes organs such as kidney, heart, liver, pancreas, blood vessels, eyes and ears.Heart and Kidney are the most developed and widely used artificial organs.Technology is segmented into electrical and mechanical. The market for bionics can be classified into vision bionic, ear bionic, cardiac bionic, brain bionic and bionic limbs.On the basis of the geography, the artificial organ market can be segmented into North America), Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Rest of the World. North America dominates the market followed by the European region.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Artificial Organ Bank Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market:The increasing number of dialysis,renal failure due to faulty lifestyle, rapid aging population and disorders, increase in the number of accidents, increase in the number of people waiting for organ transplantation are the main factors responsible to drive the market. The various technological development in artificial organ, scientist are carrying out various studies on biofuel cells which can utilize the glucose and oxygen from human body to generate electricity. These factors create an opportunity for artificial organ market. Theinadequate battery life, regulatory requirements of an artificial organ, high pricing of these products to the patients. Also the patient with the artificial organ cannot undergo other medical examination due to the magnetic reaction between the artificial organ and metal takes place. All these factors are responsible for hampering the growth of global artificial organ bank marketSome of the major players in the artificial organ bank market are ABIOMED, Inc., Thoratec Corporation, Biomet Inc., Asahi Kasei Medical Co., Ltd., HeartWare, Inc.and Berlin Heart 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.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:
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Blood Glucose Test Strip Market: Insights, Development, Research and Forecast to 2027

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Market Scenario:Blood glucose test strips are small disposable strips which are used in conjugation with blood glucose meters for monitoring and controlling diabetes. These strips have glucose oxidase impregnated on them, which when reacts with glucose present in the blood gluconic acid.Request a Sample Copy @Key Players for Blood Glucose Test Strip Market: Abbott Laboratories, Acon Laboratories, Inc, Allmedicus, Apex Biotechnology Corporation, Ascensia Diabetes Care Holdings Ag, B.Braun Melsungen Ag, HMD Biomedical, I-Sens, Inc., Lifescan, Inc., Roche Diagnostics, Taidoc Technology CorporationSegments:On the basis of Technology Thick Film Electrochemical, Thin Film Electrochemical Optical.Access Report Details @Table of Content1. Introduction1.1 Definition1.2 Scope of The Study1.3 Market Structure2 Research Methodology2.1 Research Process2.2 Primary Research2.3 Secondary Research2.4 Market Size Estimation2.5 Forecast Model3 Forecast Indicators3.1 Growth Drivers3.2 Growth Barriers3.3 Opportunities3.3.1 Emerging Economies4 Global Blood Glucose Test Strip Market5 Blood Glucose Test Strip Market, By Technology6 Blood Glucose Test Strip Market, By RegionContinue..List of TableTable 1 Blood Glucose Test Strip Volume Market, By Technology, 2013-2020, (Billion) 21Table 2 Blood Glucose Test Strip Value Market, By Technology, 2013-2020, (Billion$) 21Table 3 Selling Price & Manufacturing Cost Of Test Strip, By Technology 22Table 4 Blood Glucose Test Strip Volume Market, By Region,Continue..List of FiguresFigure 1 Market Dynamics 13Figure 2 Diabetic Population 15Figure 3 Blood Glucose Test Strip Volume Market,2013-2020, (Billion) 19Figure 4 Blood Glucose Test Strip Value Market, 2013-2020, (Billion$) 20Figure 5 North America: Blood Glucose Test Strip Value Market, By Country (%) 25Continue..Key questions answered in this report What will the market size be in 2027 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
Bioengineered Protein Drugs Market Research Report Forecast to 2025

Bioengineered Protein Drugs Market

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Majorly fuelling the global bioengineered protein drugs market is the rising occurrence of infectious diseases, diabetes, cancer, etc. This is because bioengineered protein drugs are more effective and additionally have reduced or no side effects when compared with alternative therapies for cancer, diabetes, and other maladies. This has led to more healthcare physicians prescribing these drugs, thereby stoking demand in the market.The prospects in the global market for bioengineered protein drugs also looks upbeat owing to increasing drugs in phase III of clinical trials and many companies pouring money into research and development of novel bioengineered proteins.Posing a roadblock to the market, on the other hand, is the steep cost of manufacturing bioengineered protein drug, having shorter shelf life. The emergence of biosimilars is also posing a severe challenge to the growth in the market.A report by Transparency Market Research predicts the global bioengineered protein drugs market to expand at a 7.4% CAGR from 2017 to 2024 to become worth US$336.9 bn by 2025 from US$177.7 bn in 2016.This report gives readers a comprehensive overview of the Bioengineered Protein Drugs Market:The global bioengineered protein drugs market can be classified into monoclonal antibodies, vaccines, and therapeutic protein based upon the type of product. The therapeutic protein segment, among them, accounts for a dominant share because of extensive activities in the therapeutic protein engineering and recombinant DNA technology products. In terms of growth rate, however, the vaccines segment is expected to outshine all other segments by clocking maximum CAGR between 2017 to 2025 because of increase in development of bioengineered prophylactic and therapeutics vaccines.From a geographical standpoint, North America leads the global bioengineered protein drugs market. In the years ahead, the region is slated is maintain its dominant position because of the rising occurrence of cancer and unveiling of innovative protein therapeutics for cancer. While loss of patents of blockbuster drugs such as Humira, Rituxan, Avastin, and Remicade, among others, are expected to deal a blow to the revenue in the market, launch of new drugs and approvals for new diagnostic tests, along with a growing geriatric population and unhealthy lifestyle will likely make up for it by inducing growth. As per the TMR report, the bioengineered protein drugs market in North America will likely register a CAGR of 7.2% from 2017 to 2025 to become worth US$161.05 bn by 2025.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Bioengineered Protein Drugs Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market:Though trailing North America, in terms of size, Europe is expected to lag behind all other regions vis-a-vis growth rate because of the patent loss of blockbuster drugs such as Humira, Avastin, and Lucentis and emergence of biosimilars.Powered by India, China, and South Korea, Asia Pacific is expected to steal the show in the near future by expanding at a maximum CAGR of 9.0% from 2017 to 2025. Growing occurrence of cancer, massive investments by players, and rapid rise in healthcare infrastructure are said to be boosting growth in the region. China is at the forefront of driving growth in the region because of the sizeable proportion cancer patients, increasing geriatric population, launch of premium-priced targeted therapies, and rise in number of people covered under private health insurance in the country.Some of the key players in the global bioengineered protein drugs market are Abbott Laboratories, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, Amgen, Inc., Bayer AG, Merck & Co., Inc., Dr. Reddys Laboratories Ltd., Biocon Ltd., Eli Lilly and Company, Sanofi, GlaxoSmithKline plc, Johnson & Johnson (JanssenNovartis AG, Panacea Biotec, and ProBioGen 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.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:
Power Transmission Lines & Towers Market- Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2016-2024

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MaketStudyReport.com adds a New Power Transmission Lines & Towers Market Research Report for the period of 2016-2024 that shows the growth of the market is rising at a 6% CAGR to 2024.Power Transmission Lines & Towers Market size is set to exceed USD 25 billion by 2024, according to a new research report. Growing investments towards renovation and modernization of electric grid coupled with increasing demand for safe and reliable electricity supply will stimulate the power transmission lines & towers market share over the forecast timeframe. In 2017, U.S. based PJM Interconnection electricity utility announced the spend USD 1.5 billion to upgrade aging gridline between Midwest to Northeast with advance security systems. European countries including UK, Russia, France and Germany are also making significant investments towards the upgradation of their conventional electric grid architecture.Growing adoption of clean energy including solar, wind, and small hydro has significantly increased the demand for microgrid networks which in turn will positively influence the power transmission lines & towers market. In 2015, Government of India has announced to fund over USD 6 billion for the development of separate lines for transmitting green electricity to end consumer.Enquiry on this Report:Power transmission lines & towers market from ultra-high tension is set to witness growth over 9% by 2024. Rising investments to transmit generated electricity over long distance will embellish business growth. In 2016, Government of China announced spend over USD 85 billion towards the development of new UHT structures over the next four years.HVDC power transmission lines & towers market for 2015 was valued over USD 2 billion. Growing concern towards the enhancement of grid reliability and security will positively impact the industry landscape.U.S. power transmission lines & towers market size is anticipated to exceed over USD 1 billion by 2024. Federal government initiatives towards enhancement of security features to the grid architecture will stimulate the industry growth.For Europe, France power transmission lines & towers market size for 2015 was valued over USD 450 million. Government measures towards to reduce the curtailment rates will augment the business outlook. In 2016, the country has initiated the construction of 150 miles' undersea network which is considered as one of the largest undersea project across the region.Get Discount on this Report:China power transmission lines & towers market size is anticipated to rise over 8% over forecast timeline. In 2015, Government of China had released the new reform plan pertaining to transmission grid construction under which they are planning to invest USD 280 billion for the upgradation of UHV and EHV networks. India was valued over USD 1 billion for 2015. Growing measures to deal with blackouts coupled with initiatives to interconnect all the state and central grid network will complement the business outlook.Key industry players includes Nanjing Daji Iron Tower Manufacturing, Sumitomo Electric, General Electric, Kalpataru, ABB, KEC International, Southwire Company, ShanDong DingChang Tower Company, General Cable Technologies, Siemens, Prysmian, Zhejiang Shengda Steel Tower, Nexans and others.Power transmission lines & towers market research report includes in-depth coverage of the industry with estimates & forecast in terms of revenue in USD Million from 2013 to 2024, for the following segments:Global Power Transmission Lines & Towers, By Product:High Tension (HT), Extra High Tension (EHT), Ultra High Tension (EHT)Global Power Transmission Lines & Towers, By Current Level:HVAC, HVDCGlobal Power Transmission Lines & Towers, By Voltage Level:132 kV, 220 kV, 440 kV, 660 kV, 765 kV & AboveThe above information has been provided on a regional and country basis for the following:North America, U.S., Canada, Europe, Germany, UK, France, Italy, Russia, China, India, Japan, Latin America, Brazil, Mexico, MEARelated Report:Power Transmission Components MarketPower Transmission Components Market size is set to exceed USD 35 billion by 2024. Rising investment towards expansion of existing grid infrastructure coupled with growing electricity demand from rural areas will stimulate the power transmission components market share over the forecast period. In 2015, the National Energy Administration of China had released the transmission grid construction and reform plan with the aim to invest USD 280 billion towards the upgradation of UHV, HV and MV transmission lines.For More details on this Report:About Us:Marketstudyreport.com allows you to manage and control all corporate research purchases to consolidate billing and vendor management. You can eliminate duplicate purchases and customize your content and license management.Contact Us:Market Study ReportThe Green Suite #4594,Dover, DE 19901United StatesPhone: 1-201-355-0868US Toll Free: 1-866-764-2150Email: sales@marketstudyreport.comWebsite:News:
Circuit Breakers Market Size, Status and Forecast 2024- Siemens, Eaton Corporation,TE Connectivity and ABB

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MaketStudyReport.com adds a New Circuit Breakers Market Research Report for the period of 2016-2024 that shows the growth of the market is rising at a 7.0% CAGR to 2024.Circuit Breakers Market size will exceed USD 13.5 billion by 2024.Growing demand for the modular and packaged substation primarily across commercial and industrial end users will stimulate the global circuit breakers market share during the forecast timeframe. In 2016, Qatar had awarded USD 12.4 million contract to Siemens for the supply of integrated E-House substations for Hamad Port megaproject.Development of numerous green corridors projects for exporting electricity generated from renewable energy sources to national grids will positively impact the industry landscape. In 2014, Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd. (PGCIL) had announced the investment of over USD 7 billion to facilitate the integration of clean energy plants with the national and state grids.Rising investments towards the renovation of conventional transmission grid infrastructure by utilities and other private participants will augment global circuit breakers market revenue. In 2015, Government of China announced a USD 315 billion investment towards the refurbishment of power grid infrastructure over the next five years. Rural electrification programs designed by countries including China, India, South Africa, and Nigeria will further influence the business outlook.Enquiry on this Report:LV circuit breakers market was valued over USD 1 billion for 2015. Strong investment outlook towards deployment of new low voltage substations across remote areas will augment the industry size. SF6 is expected to witness significant growth of over 10%, owing to its high dielectric strength and efficient arc quenching properties.U.S. circuit breakers market share is anticipated to expand over 7%. Government programs to enhance the safety of existing T&D grid infrastructure coupled with the deployment of new HVDC lines for long distance power transmission will augment the industry growthFor Europe circuit breakers market, UK 2015 revenue was in excess of USD 140 million. Investment for the development of new smart grid infrastructures will complement the industry outlook.China circuit breakers market looks set to exceed USD 2 billion by 2024. Numerous programs including China Township Electrification Program and China Village Electrification Program for providing renewable electricity to household consumers will enhance the countrys business landscape.Get Discount on this Report:Brazil circuit breakers market size is predicted to exceed USD 450 million by 2024. Integration renewable energy generation sources with the state and national grid will boost the demand over the forecast timeframe.Key industry players include GE Alstom, Powell Industries, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, BEL Fuse Inc., Schneider Electric, Toshiba, Siemens, Eaton Corporation, TE Connectivity and ABB.Circuit breakers market research report includes in-depth coverage of the industry with estimates &forecast in terms of revenue in USD Million from 2014 to 2024, for the following segments:Global Circuit Breakers Market, By Technology:Air, Vacuum, Oil, SF6Global Circuit Breakers Market, By Voltage Level:LV, MV, HVGlobal Circuit Breakers Market, By End-Use:Power Transmission, Power DistributionFor More Details on this Report:About Us:Marketstudyreport.com allows you to manage and control all corporate research purchases to consolidate billing and vendor management. You can eliminate duplicate purchases and customize your content and license management.Contact Us:Market Study ReportThe Green Suite #4594,Dover, DE 19901United StatesPhone: 1-201-355-0868US Toll Free: 1-866-764-2150Email: sales@marketstudyreport.comWebsite:News:
Land Mobile Radio (LMR) System Market worth $36.87 billion by 2021

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Zion Market Research has published a new report titled Land Mobile Radio (LMR) System Market (Hand Portable and Mobile (Vehicular)) for Military, Commercial, Construction, Transportation and Others Application: Global Industry Perspective, Comprehensive Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Segment, Trends and Forecast, 2015  2021. According to the report, global Land Mobile Radio (LMR) system market was valued at USD 14.37 billion in 2015 and is expected to generate revenue of USD 36.87 billion by end of 2021, growing at a CAGR of slightly above 17.0% between 2016 and 2021.Request for Free Sample Report @Land Mobile Radio (LMR) systems are connected wireless communication systems. They are used in fire and police departments, emergency services, and other first responder organizations. Land mobile radio (LMR) systems also used in the companies that possess a vast fleet of vehicles or an extensive network field staff. LMR systems can be classified into two major technologies such as analog and digital types. These systems are used for applications such as commercial, construction, transportation, military, and utility.The LMR system market is primarily driven by increasing significance of efficient mission critical communication operations, advance LMR system and transition from digital LMR systems. Increasing number of purchases from the government and defense sector to allow communication in the harsh situation is expected to fuel the growth of this industry. In addition, the expansion of LTE networks has driven the demand for LTE-integrated LMR systems which would support the LMR system market growth in the near future. However, the security issue is a major challenge that may limit the growth of the Land mobile radio (LMR) systems market. Even so, advanced technologies in land mobile radio systems and growing adoption by corporate users may open the opportunities for this market within the forecast period.The global land mobile radio (LMR) systems market is segmented on the basis of type, technology, application, and region. Based on the type, the LMR system market is segmented as hand portable and mobile (vehicular). In terms of revenue, hand portable emerged as leading segment of LMR system market and accounted for over 55% share of the overall market in 2015. The mobile (vehicular) segment is expected to witness significant growth rate over the forecast period.Based on technology, the global and mobile radio (LMR) systems market is segmented in to digital and analog. Digital LMRs technology is expected to emerge as the largest market and dominate the land mobile radio market from 2015 owing to the growing demand for digitalized products. Moreover, tetra, project 25, DMR & Tetrapol is the sub-segment of digital technology. In 2015, TETRA digital technology based LMR systems followed by project 25 technology segment dominated the digital technology segment of this market.Military application segment dominated the land mobile radio (LMR) systems market in 2015. This segment is expected to continue its dominance in the global market throughout the forecast period. The commercial sector is expected to witness a moderate growth in the years to come.Geographically, global LMR market has been segmented into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and Latin America regions. North America is one of the largest markets for land mobile radio systems in 2015. Asia Pacific is expected to exhibit tremendous growth in the near future. Europe is expected to grow at a significant rate due to the surging demand for LMR systems from the construction and government sectors.Browse Detail Report @Some of the key players in land mobile radio (LMR) systems market include Airbus DS Communications, TE Connectivity Ltd., Honeywell International, Inc., Raytheon Company, RELM Wireless Corporation, Harris Corporation, Thales Group S.A., Motorola Solutions, Inc., Cassadian Communications Incorporation, Nokia Solutions and Networks, and JVC KENWOOD Corporation.About Us :Zion Market Research is an obligated company. We create futuristic, cutting edge, informative reports ranging from industry reports, company reports to country reports. We provide our clients not only with market statistics unveiled by avowed private publishers and public organizations but also with vogue and newest industry reports along with pre-eminent and niche company profiles. Our database of market research reports comprises a wide variety of reports from cardinal industries. Our database is been updated constantly in order to fulfill our clients with prompt and direct online access to our database. Keeping in mind the clients needs, we have included expert insights on global industries, products, and market trends in this database. Last but not the least, we make it our duty to ensure the success of clients connected to usafter allif you do well, a little of the light shines on us.Contact Us :Zion Market Research4283, Express Lane,Suite 634-143,Sarasota, Florida 34249, United StatesTel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll Free No.1-855-465-4651Email: sales@zionmarketresearch.comWebsite:Blog:
Screen Capture Software Market 2017 - Movavi, Adobe, Lightshot, Icecream Apps, FastStone Soft

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Global Screen Capture Software Market Report 2017 provides detailed analysis of Screen Capture Software market, enclosing detailed study of Screen Capture Software market for last few years and forecast up to year 2022. The Screen Capture Software market report analyses the global Screen Capture Software market from different angles to understand various factors impacting the global Screen Capture Software market.The reports enlightens the user with various applications, product type, end user of Screen Capture Software market. Moreover, the Screen Capture Software market report helps to understand the market trends, Screen Capture Software growth aspects, utilization ration, supply and demand analysis, manufacturing capacity, raw material price trend and Screen Capture Software price trend during the forecast period 2017 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Screen Capture Software Market 2017:MovaviAdobeIcecream AppsFastStone SoftLightshotGadwin SystemsDelight TechnologiesInitially, the Screen Capture Software 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 Screen Capture Software market report shares information pertaining to the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Screen Capture Software industry, Screen Capture Software industry rules and policies, factors driving the growth of Screen Capture Software Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.To Enquiry Report Click Here:Global Screen Capture Software 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 Screen Capture Software 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
Artificial Intelligence for Automotive Applications Market 2017 - Audi, BMW, Bosch, Argo AI, Ford, Google

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Global Artificial Intelligence for Automotive Applications Market Report 2017 provides detailed analysis of Artificial Intelligence for Automotive Applications market, enclosing detailed study of Artificial Intelligence for Automotive Applications market for last few years and forecast up to year 2022. The Artificial Intelligence for Automotive Applications market report analyses the global Artificial Intelligence for Automotive Applications market from different angles to understand various factors impacting the global Artificial Intelligence for Automotive Applications market.The reports enlightens the user with various applications, product type, end user of Artificial Intelligence for Automotive Applications market. Moreover, the Artificial Intelligence for Automotive Applications market report helps to understand the market trends, Artificial Intelligence for Automotive Applications growth aspects, utilization ration, supply and demand analysis, manufacturing capacity, raw material price trend and Artificial Intelligence for Automotive Applications price trend during the forecast period 2017 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Artificial Intelligence for Automotive Applications Market 2017:AImotiveArgo AIAstute SolutionsAudiBMWBoschBright BoxCarnegie Mellon UniversityEyerisFiveAIFordGeneral MotorsGoogleGraphcoreHarman InternationalHondaIntelMercedes-BenzMicrosoftNautoInitially, the Artificial Intelligence for Automotive Applications 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 Artificial Intelligence for Automotive Applications market report shares information pertaining to the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Artificial Intelligence for Automotive Applications industry, Artificial Intelligence for Automotive Applications industry rules and policies, factors driving the growth of Artificial Intelligence for Automotive Applications Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.To Enquiry Report Click Here:Global Artificial Intelligence for Automotive Applications 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 Artificial Intelligence for Automotive Applications 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
Advanced High Strength Steel Market 2017 - Schuler Group, Shougang Group, ArcelorMittal S.A, ThyssenKrupp AG

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Global Advanced High Strength Steel Market Report 2017 provides detailed analysis of Advanced High Strength Steel market, enclosing detailed study of Advanced High Strength Steel market for last few years and forecast up to year 2022. The Advanced High Strength Steel market report analyses the global Advanced High Strength Steel market from different angles to understand various factors impacting the global Advanced High Strength Steel market.The reports enlightens the user with various applications, product type, end user of Advanced High Strength Steel market. Moreover, the Advanced High Strength Steel market report helps to understand the market trends, Advanced High Strength Steel growth aspects, utilization ration, supply and demand analysis, manufacturing capacity, raw material price trend and Advanced High Strength Steel price trend during the forecast period 2017 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Advanced High Strength Steel Market 2017:ArcelorMittal S.AChina Baowu Steel Group Corp., Ltd.JFE Steel CorporationKobe Steel, Ltd.Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal CorporationShougang GroupTata Steel LimitedThyssenKrupp AGVoestalpine Stahl GmbHSchuler GroupInitially, the Advanced High Strength Steel 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 Advanced High Strength Steel market report shares information pertaining to the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Advanced High Strength Steel industry, Advanced High Strength Steel industry rules and policies, factors driving the growth of Advanced High Strength Steel Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.To Enquiry Report Click Here:Global Advanced High Strength Steel 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 Advanced High Strength Steel 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
2017 Global Citric Acid Industry Size, Share, Growth, Analysis & Market Demand

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This report mainly introduces volume and value market share by players, by regions, by product type, by consumers and also their price change details. As a Detailed Analysis report, it covers all details inside analysis and opinion in Citric Acid industry.This report splits Citric Acid market by Phase, by Purity, by Production Process, which covers the history data information from 2012 to 2016 and forecast from 2017 to 2022.Browse Full Table of Contents and Report Description @This report focuses Global market, it covers details as following:Major CompaniesArcher Daniels Midland Company(US)Cargill(US)Tate & Lyle PLC(UK)Jungbunzlauer Suisse AG(CH)Cofco Biochemical(CN)RZBC Group(CN)Gadot Biochemical Industries(IR)Citrique Belge(BE)Sucroal(CO)Shandong TTCA(CN)Natural Bilogical Group(CN)Cambodia Wangkang Biochemical(KH)ENSIGN(CN)Weifang Ying Xuan(CN)Huangshi Xinghua Biochemical(CN)Main RegionsNorth AmericaUnited StatesCanadaLatin AmericaMexicoBrazilArgentinaOthersEuropeGermanyUnited KingdomFranceItalySpainRussiaNetherlandOthersAsia & PacificChinaJapanIndiaKoreaAustraliaSoutheast AsiaIndonesiaThailandPhilippinesVietnamSingaporeMalaysiaOthersAfrica & Middle EastSouth AfricaEgyptTurkeySaudi ArabiaIranOthersFor Requesting a Sample Copy of This Report, Please Visit @Main Product TypeCitric Acid Market, by PhaseAnhydrousLiquidCitric Acid Market, by Purity99.9%Citric Acid Market, by Production ProcessFruit Extraction MethodChemical Synthesis MethodBiological Fermentation MethodMain ApplicationsFoodPharmaceuticals & Personal CareDetergents & CleansersTextileOthersTable of Content:Chapter Seven Global Citric Acid Market Size (Sales and Revenue) Forecast (2017-2022)7.1 Global Citric Acid Sales (Million Units), Revenue (Million USD) Forecast (2017-2022)7.2 Global Citric Acid Sales (Million Units) Forecast by Regions (2017-2022)7.3 Global Citric Acid Sales (Million Units) Forecast by Application (2017-2022)7.4 Global Citric Acid Sales (Million Units) Forecast by Phase (2017-2022)7.5 Global Citric Acid Sales (Million Units) Forecast by Purity (2017-2022)7.6 Global Citric Acid Sales (Million Units) Forecast by Production Process (2017-2022)7.7 Global Citric Acid Sales (Million Units) Forecast by (2017-2022)7.8 Global Citric Acid Sales (Million Units) Forecast by (2017-2022)Chapter Eight Development Trend and Research Conclusion8.1 Development Trend8.2 Research ConclusionChapter Nine Methodology and Data Source9.1 Methodology/Research Approach9.1.1 Research Programs/Design9.1.2 Market Size Estimation9.1.3 Market Breakdown and Data Triangulation9.2 Data Source9.2.1 Secondary Sources9.2.2 Primary Sources9.3 DisclaimerAbout UsReports 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 UsJay MatthewsDirect: +1 513 549-5911Email: sales@reportsmonitor.comWebsite:
Banasthali B School WISDOM Special Lecture Series: Prof Azhar Kazmi KFUPM on Market Volatility

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The B School of Banasthali aptly named WISDOM which stands for Womens Institute for Studies in Development Oriented Management has a Vision to prepare women for enlightened leadership roles in all walks of life.The Institute's mission is to contribute towards development of women leadership that would play active role in society-building, entrepreneurship and management of organizations and institutions in consonance with nation's spiritual and cultural heritage and its own context. WISDOM offers BCom, BBA, MBA and PhD programs in management. In addition a student of B.A. can also take up management as one of the options.WISDOM regularly brings experts from different parts of India as well as abroad to give lectures on specialized topics. On 29 July 2017, the invited expert was none other than Prof Azhar Kazmi from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) Dhahran Saudi Arabia. Prof Kazmi did his B.E. (Hons) Mechanical from BITS Pilani (1976), MBA from Rajasthan University (1979) and PhD from Kurukshetra University (1984). His three decades of teaching include in various capacities at Aligarh Muslim University, MDS University Ajmer, International Islamic University at Bangladesh and Malaysia. The widely popular Business Policy book published by Tata McGraw Hill has been authored by none other than Prof Kazmi.Prof Kazmi beyond academics is well known for his soul stirring singing prowess and is known to several generations of alumni of BITS Pilani. Prof Azhar Kazmi is closely associated with mission with passion Kala Ankur Where Talent search and Promotion is a tradition founded in 1996 by a group of art-loving people of Ajmer with a strong commitment for the promotion of fine and performing arts and culture. Dean of B School WISDOM Banasthali Prof Harsh Purohit welcomed the MBA students who joined Banasthali in July 2017 and gave a befitting introduction about Prof Kazmi.Prof Kazmi in his enlightening talk spoke on the evolution of business in India, the Industry Act 1956, the era of License Raj, opening up of the Indian economy the Liberalization and the linking of it with World economy the Globalization, the entry of MNC auto majors, electronics majors etc in the Indian scenario, the salient changes in government policies, the issues relating to market volatility and strategies like contingency planning for controlling the same.Prof Kazmi advised the students to make best use of the excellent facilities and opportunities available at Banasthali to become empowered citizens for world at large and urged them to focus on communication skills, computer skills, decision making skills, time and Project management skills and mold themselves as excellent team players. On behalf of Banasthali, WISDOM Faculty Prof Prashant Raman armed with several inspiring quotes thanked Prof Azhar Kazmi for sparing his precious time to visit and share his wisdom for inspiring the faculty and students of Banasthali.After the lecture, Prof Azhar Kazmi gave an inspiring talk on empowering rural women at the CFPRW - Centre for Financial Planning Training and Research for Women at Banasthali and Mrs Kazmi awarded mementos to the core team of women trainers who will be spreading financial literacy in several villages in and around Banasthali.For more details about Banasthali seeAbout Banasthali: The Institution which is also the largest fully residential womens university in the world has played a big role in revolutionizing womens education in the country for the last eight decades with a belief that there is a tremendous role of higher education in empowering the women. Banasthali has scripted numerous success stories in a wide range of fields, and stands tall among the citadels of learning in India today. Team Banasthali with Vice Chancellor J C Bose Memorial Award for eminent scientist recipient Prof Aditya Shastri a highly acclaimed alumnus of BITS Pilani, SUNY State University of New York Stony Brook and MIT USA is indeed racing forward to be the very best among global women universities. Proud to be Banasthali alumni who call themselves as Banasthalites can be found in all latitudes, longitudes and altitudes in all walks of life across the globe.Banasthali UniversityP.O. Banasthali VidyapithRajasthan  304022Phone 91 1438 228456 / 228341Email: info@banasthali.ac.inWebsite:Facebook:
Sunflower Seeds Market, Global Competitive Dynamics & Global Outlook 2024

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Sunflower seeds are nothing but the fruits of the sunflower plant. The seeds of the sunflower are very healthy and hence they are popular among the consumers. They are used for the production of edible oils which are used in various food products. There are various flavors of sunflower seeds food products available in the market such as bacon ranch flavor, dill pickle flavor, salt and pepper flavor, fresh cracked pepper kettle roast flavor, salty-sweet kettle roast flavor, toasted coconut kettle roast flavor, and sweet dill pickle kettle roast flavor.The market for the sunflower seeds is globally fragmented into its application, color, type, and distribution channels. Based on the application, the global market is segregated into snacks, confectionery, edible oil, birdfeed, bakery products, and others. The flour that is produced from the sunflower seeds is used to prepare dark bread. Depending on the color, the market is divided into claret red, green, bright yellow, white and black. Light gray striped sunflower seeds are also available. Based on the type, the market is categorized into non-oilseed type and oilseed type. The non-oil seeds of the sunflower are used in the preparation of bread products and snacks. The oilseed type is processed into sunflower meal and oil. Depending on the distribution channel, the market is bifurcated into online stores, supermarkets, and retails stores.Request Free Sample Report @The key factor that is driving the sunflower seeds market is the increasing popularity of the convenience foods and the ready-to-eat foods by the consumers. The opportunities in the snacks industry are growing tremendously which is also another factor that is contributing to the sunflower seeds market. The production of the sunflower seeds has increased significantly due to development in the improved varieties of seeds, thus propelling the market to grow. The number of supermarkets and retail stores that are supplying various flavors of sunflower seeds has increased across the globe. Sunflower seeds are rich in fiber thus they are used in the animal feed products. Thus, the sunflower seeds market is estimated to grow in the coming years.The geographical segmentation of the sunflower seeds market is diversified into North America, Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Eastern Europe, and Latin America. The dominant region in the market for sunflower seeds is held by Europe and it is followed by Asia Pacific region. The factors that have contributed to the market growth in these regions are the significantly growing snacking industry and the increasing inclination of the consumers towards the snacks that are flavored using the sunflower seeds. This has thus contributed to the overall revenue contribution of the sunflower seeds market.Request Report TOC (Table of Contents) @The key market players that are involved in the sunflower seeds market include Kenkko Corporation, DuPont, GIANT Snacks Inc., CHS Inc., American Meadows, Mahyco Seeds Company Ltd., Conagra Foods, Inc., Limagrain UK Ltd., Nuseed, Martin US Enterprises, LLC, Sakata Seed America, and Ike Enterprises Inc.Browse detail report @About Us: Zion Market Research is an obligated company. We create futuristically, cutting edge, informative reports ranging from industry reports, a company reports to country reports. We provide our clients not only with market statistics unveiled by avowed private publishers and public organizations but also with Vogue and newest industry reports along with pre-eminent and niche company profiles. Our database of market research reports comprises a wide variety of reports from Cardinal Industries. Our database is been updated constantly in order to fulfill our clients with prompt and direct online access to our database. Keeping in mind the clients needs, we have included expert insights on global industries, products, and market trends in this database. Last but not the least, we make it our duty to ensure the success of clients connected to usafter allif you do well, a little of the light shines on us.Contact Us:Zion Market Research4283, Express Lane,Suite 634-143,Sarasota, Florida 34249, United StatesTel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll-Free No.1-855-465-4651Email: sales@zionmarketresearch.comWebsite:Visit Our Blog:
Global Industrial Photoelectric Optical Sensors Market 2017: Hewlett-Packard, Phoenix Software, Oracle Corporation, Infinera

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Industrial Photoelectric Optical Sensors Market 2017-2022As per QY Market Research analysis, A market study based on the " Industrial Photoelectric Optical Sensors Market " across the globe, recently added to the repository of Market Research, is titled Global Industrial Photoelectric Optical Sensors Market 2017. The research report analyses the historical as well as the present performance of the worldwide Industrial Photoelectric Optical Sensors industry and makes predictions on the future status of Industrial Photoelectric Optical Sensors market on the basis of this analysis.Get Free Sample Copy of Report Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Industrial Photoelectric Optical Sensors Market 2017:OmniVision TechnologiesAptina Imaging CorporationSamsung Electronics CoSony CorporationToshiba CorporationHewlett-PackardMellanox TechnologiesPhoenix SoftwareOracle CorporationInfineraDas PhotonicsTT ElectronicsThomas Research ProductsThe report studies the industry for Industrial Photoelectric Optical Sensors across the globe taking the existing industry chain, the import and export statistics in Industrial Photoelectric Optical Sensors market & dynamics of demand and supply of Industrial Photoelectric Optical Sensors into consideration. The ' Industrial Photoelectric Optical Sensors ' research study covers each and every aspect of the Industrial Photoelectric Optical Sensors market globally, which starts from the definition of the Industrial Photoelectric Optical Sensors industry and develops towards Industrial Photoelectric Optical Sensors market segmentations. Further, every segment of the Industrial Photoelectric Optical Sensors market is classified and analyzed on the basis of product types, application, and the end-use industries of the Industrial Photoelectric Optical Sensors market. The geographical segmentation of the Industrial Photoelectric Optical Sensors industry has also been covered at length in this report.The competitive landscape of the worldwide market for Industrial Photoelectric Optical Sensors is determined by evaluating the various industry participants, production capacity, Industrial Photoelectric Optical Sensors market's production chain, and the revenue generated by each manufacturer in the Industrial Photoelectric Optical Sensors market worldwide.Enquire Here:The global Industrial Photoelectric Optical Sensors market 2017 is also analyzed on the basis of product pricing, Industrial Photoelectric Optical Sensors production volume, data regarding demand and Industrial Photoelectric Optical Sensors supply, and the revenue garnered by the product. Various methodical tools such as investment returns, feasibility, and market attractiveness analysis have been used in the research to present a comprehensive study of the industry for Industrial Photoelectric Optical Sensors across the globe.Referral News Network:Related Report:1. Global Interface Converter Market 2017 -For more information on this press release visit:About Us :QYMarkets.biz are a trusted brand in the research industry with capability of commissioning complex projects within a short span of time with high level of accuracy. At QYMarkets.biz, we believe in building long term relations with our clients. Our services cover a broad spectrum of industries such as Automotive and Aerospace, Medical Devices, Technology, Machinery & Manufacturing.Contact Us :QYMarkets.bizUnited States
Global Reverse Osmosis (RO) Membrane Market Forecast to 2021 with Competitive Landscape Analysis and Key Companies Profile

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Global Reverse Osmosis (RO) Membrane Industry 2017 Market Research Report provides the details about Industry Overview, Manufacturing Cost Structure, Capacity, Growth Rate, Gross Margin, Major Manufacturers, Development Trends and Forecast Analysis.The Global Reverse Osmosis (RO) Membrane Industry 2017 Market Research Report is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the Reverse Osmosis (RO) Membrane industry. With around 150 tables and figures this report provides key statistics on the state of the industry and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the market. Development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and Bill of Materials cost structures are also analyzed. This report also states import/export consumption, supply and demand Figures, cost, price, revenue and gross margins.Access Report at:Companies like Dow Water & Process Solutions, Ge Water & Process Technologies, Hydranautics (A Nitto Denko Group Company), Koch Membrane Systems, Lg Chem, Lanxess, Membranium (Rm Nanotech), Toray, Toyobo, Trisep Corporation and more are profiled in the terms of product picture, specification, capacity, production, price, cost, gross, revenue, and contact information.Global Reverse Osmosis (RO) Membrane Market report provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. Upstream raw materials and equipment and downstream demand analysis is also carried out. The Reverse Osmosis (RO) Membrane industry development trends and marketing channels are analyzed. Finally the feasibility of new investment projects are assessed and overall research conclusions offered.Purchase this Premium Research Report at:Table of Contents:1 Industry Overview of Reverse Osmosis (RO) Membrane2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Reverse Osmosis (RO) Membrane3 Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of Reverse Osmosis (RO) Membrane4 Global Reverse Osmosis (RO) Membrane Overall Market Overview  Sales, Sales Price & Gross Margin Analysis5 Reverse Osmosis (RO) Membrane Regional Market Analysis  USA, China, Europe, South America, Japan & Africa6 Global 2011-2017E Reverse Osmosis (RO) Membrane Segment Market Analysis (by Type)7 Global 2011-2017E Reverse Osmosis (RO) Membrane Segment Market Analysis (by Application)8 Major Manufacturers Analysis of Reverse Osmosis (RO) Membrane9 Development Trend of Analysis of Market  Regional and Global Forecast (2017-2021)10 Reverse Osmosis (RO) Membrane Marketing Model Analysis11 Consumers Analysis of Reverse Osmosis (RO) Membrane12 New Project Investment Feasibility Analysis of Reverse Osmosis (RO) Membrane13 Conclusion of the Global Reverse Osmosis (RO) Membrane Industry 2017 Market Research ReportInquire for Sample or Discount at:The Market ReportsWe aim to provide the best industry and market research report to a seeker. Today, The Market Reports is a one stop destination for all the report buyers. We have a collection of over 100,000+ research, company, market, SWOT, trends and analysis reports of various countries, categories and domain to meet an organization need.Website:Write us at sales@themarketreports.comCall at +1-631-407-1315 / +91-750-729-1479The Market ReportsWe at, The Market Reports aiming to provide the best industry and market reports to a seeker. We are looking forward to a place where we are the one stop destination for all the report seekers irrespective of any country, category, domain, etcThe Market ReportsSF-29, North Block,Sacred World, Wanawadi,Pune, 411040 (India)Phone: +1-631-407-1315, +91-750-729-1479
EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) Ion Beam Technology Market Report 2017

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"The Report EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) Ion Beam Technology Market Report 2017 provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"In this report, the EMEA Ion Beam Technology market is valued at USD XX million in 2016 and is expected to reach USD XX million by the end of 2022, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2016 and 2022.Geographically, this report split EMEA into Europe, the Middle East and Africa, With sales (K Units), revenue (Million USD), market share and growth rate of Ion Beam Technology for these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast)Europe: Germany, France, UK, Russia, Italy and Benelux;Middle East: Saudi Arabia, Israel, UAE and Iran;Africa: South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt and Algeria.View Report @EMEA Ion Beam Technology market competition by top manufacturers/players, with Ion Beam Technology sales volume (K Units), price (USD/Unit), revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player; the top players includingVeeco Instruments Inc.Scia Systems GmbHCanon Anelva CorporationMeyer Burger TechnologyHitachi High-Technologies CorporationCarl Zeiss AGWave IncorporatedPlasma-ThermRaith GmbHFEIGet Sample Copy Of This 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 intoIon Beam Etching SystemIon Beam Deposition SystemOn 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 Ion Beam Technology for each application, includingSolar Cells & Fuel CellsThin Film ResearchMicroelectronics ApplicationsOptical ApplicationsOthersIf you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.Table of ContentsEMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) Ion Beam Technology Market Report 20171 Ion Beam Technology Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Ion Beam Technology1.2 Classification of Ion Beam Technology1.2.1 EMEA Ion Beam Technology Market Size (Sales) Comparison by Type (2012-2022)1.2.2 EMEA Ion Beam Technology Market Size (Sales) Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20161.2.3 Ion Beam Etching System1.2.4 Ion Beam Deposition System1.3 EMEA Ion Beam Technology Market by Application/End Users1.3.1 EMEA Ion Beam Technology Sales (Volume) and Market Share Comparison by Application (2012-20221.3.2 Solar Cells & Fuel Cells1.3.3 Thin Film Research1.3.4 Microelectronics Applications1.3.5 Optical Applications1.3.6 Others1.4 EMEA Ion Beam Technology Market by Region1.4.1 EMEA Ion Beam Technology Market Size (Value) Comparison by Region (2012-2022)1.4.2 Europe Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.3 Middle East Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.4 Africa Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.5 EMEA Market Size (Value and Volume) of Ion Beam Technology (2012-2022)1.5.1 EMEA Ion Beam Technology Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2022)1.5.2 EMEA Ion Beam Technology Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2022)2 EMEA Ion Beam Technology Competition by Manufacturers/Players/Suppliers, Region, Type and Application2.1 EMEA Ion Beam Technology Market Competition by Players/Manufacturers2.1.1 EMEA Ion Beam Technology Sales Volume and Market Share of Major Players (2012-2017)2.1.2 EMEA Ion Beam Technology Revenue and Share by Players (2012-2017)2.1.3 EMEA Ion Beam Technology Sale Price by Players (2012-2017)2.2 EMEA Ion Beam Technology (Volume and Value) by Type/Product Category2.2.1 EMEA Ion Beam Technology Sales and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)2.2.2 EMEA Ion Beam Technology Revenue and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)2.2.3 EMEA Ion Beam Technology Sale Price by Type (2012-2017)2.3 EMEA Ion Beam Technology (Volume) by Application2.4 EMEA Ion Beam Technology (Volume and Value) by Region2.4.1 EMEA Ion Beam Technology Sales and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)2.4.2 EMEA Ion Beam Technology Revenue and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)2.4.3 EMEA Ion Beam Technology Sales Price by Region (2012-2017)3 Europe Ion Beam Technology (Volume, Value and Sales Price), by Players, Countries, Type and Application3.1 Europe Ion Beam Technology Sales and Value (2012-2017)3.1.1 Europe Ion Beam Technology Sales Volume and Growth Rate (2012-2017)3.1.2 Europe Ion Beam Technology Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2017)3.2 Europe Ion Beam Technology Sales and Market Share by Type3.3 Europe Ion Beam Technology Sales and Market Share by Application3.4 Europe Ion Beam Technology Sales Volume and Value (Revenue) by Countries3.4.1 Europe Ion Beam Technology Sales Volume by Countries (2012-2017)3.4.2 Europe Ion Beam Technology Revenue by Countries (2012-2017)3.4.3 Germany Ion Beam Technology Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)3.4.4 France Ion Beam Technology Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)3.4.5 UK Ion Beam Technology Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)3.4.6 Russia Ion Beam Technology Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)3.4.7 Italy Ion Beam Technology Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)3.4.8 Benelux Ion Beam Technology Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)4 Middle East Ion Beam Technology (Volume, Value and Sales Price), by Region, Type and Application4.1 Middle East Ion Beam Technology Sales and Value (2012-2017)4.1.1 Middle East Ion Beam Technology Sales Volume and Growth Rate (2012-2017)4.1.2 Middle East Ion Beam Technology Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2017)4.2 Middle East Ion Beam Technology Sales and Market Share by Type4.3 Middle East Ion Beam Technology Sales and Market Share by Application4.4 Middle East Ion Beam Technology Sales Volume and Value (Revenue) by Countries4.4.1 Middle East Ion Beam Technology Sales Volume by Countries (2012-2017)4.4.2 Middle East Ion Beam Technology Revenue by Countries (2012-2017)4.4.3 Saudi Arabia Ion Beam Technology Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)4.4.4 Israel Ion Beam Technology Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)4.4.5 UAE Ion Beam Technology Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)4.4.6 Iran Ion Beam Technology Sales and Growth Rate (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: +1-518-621-2074Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Massive Growth of Hyper loop Technology Market: approximately USD 2 billion by the end of 2023

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Market Research Future published a research report on Global Hyper loop Technology Market Research Report- Forecast 2023  Market Analysis, Scope, Stake, Progress, Trends and Forecast to 2023.Global Hyper loop Technology Market, By Type (Passenger, Freight) By Component (Capsule, Tube), By Application (Railways, Aircraft) - Forecast 2023In 2013, Elon Musk was the first one to invent an ultra- high-speed ground transportation system. Hyper loop can be explained as a system which builds a tube over or under the ground which contains a special environment. Hyper loop has various features such as electromagnetic motors, tube tracks have vacuum, air bearings are like ski paddles and the tube tracks are designed in such a manner that they are immune to any natural disaster.The factors contributing to the growth of the hyper loop technology market are the rising demand for fastest mode of transportation, increasing demand for cheapest transportation, better infrastructure facilities and technology which is not vulnerable to natural calamities. Furthermore, the increasing industrialization is boosting the growth of the market. However, factors such as lack of awareness, various security issues are hindering the growth of the hyper loop technology market.Hyper loop technology offers various advantages such as safety measure, faster mode of transportation, more convenient, lower cost and resistant to earthquakes among others. Various manufacturers are investing in R&D to come up with new technological solutions. For instance, in June 2017, Hyperloop Transportation technologies an American research company signs an agreement with the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT) and Hanyang University to develop a full scale hyper loop system known as the HyperTube Express within Korea.The global hyper loop technology market is expected to reach approximately USD 2 billion by the end of 2023 over the forecast period 2017-2023.Get a Sample Copy @Study Objectives of Hyper loop Technology Market: To provide detailed analysis of the market structure along with forecast of the various segments and sub-segments of the global hyper loop technology market. To provide insights about factors affecting the market growth. To analyze the global hyper loop technology 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 type, component, application and 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 Web hyper loop technologyKey Players AECOM (U.S.), Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (US), Hyperloop One (US), Dinclix GroundWorks (India), TransPod Inc. (Canada) Space Exploration Technologies Corp (U.S.) among others.Segments:-For the purpose of this study, Market Research Future has segmented the market of hyper loop technology into component, type, application and region.Type- Passenger FreightComponent-CapsuleTubePropulsionOthersApplication- Railways Aircraft OtherRegion North-America Europe Asia-Pacific RoWBrowse Full Report Details @Regional Analysis:Regionally, North-America is projected to grow by 2023. The first operational hyperloop is expected built between Los Angeles and California. Hyperloop One Global Challenge shortlisted teams to present hyperloop route plans to be developed after various check in this region. Also, government approval to develop hyperloop technology development companies in this region. Furthermore, capital investments plays an important role for the development of hyper loop technology.Intended Audience Manufacturers Distributors Research firms Consultancy firms Software Developers Vendors Semiconductor Manufacturers End-user sectors Technology InvestorsContinueWe are thankful for the support and assistance from Global Hyper loop Technology Market Research Report- Forecast 2023 chain related technical experts and marketing experts during Research Team survey and interviews.About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Media Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
Global Anti-Tank Missile Market: Strong Development USD 8,377.0 million in 2016, at a CAGR of around 4.25% by 2023

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Market Research Future published a Cooked research report on Anti-Tank Missile Market Research Report- Global Forecast to 2023  Market Analysis, Scope, Stake, Progress, Trends and Forecast to 2023.Global Anti-Tank Missile Market Information Report by Platform (Airborne, Ground-based, and Naval), by Type (Vehicle-mounted and Man-portable), and by Regions (Americas, APAC, and EMEA) - Global Forecast To 2023Market ScenarioAnti-tank missiles are largely developed to hit and destroy tanks and other armored military vehicles. These weapons vary in size, ranging from man-portable tripod-mounted and shoulder-launched weapons to vehicle and aircraft-mounted weapons. These weapons enable the armed troops, ground-vehicles, and fighter aircraft to counter and defeat the small, medium-sized, and main battle tanks (MBTs) at great ranges. Of late, the anti-tank missiles are being extensively used by a number of defense authorities, across the globe, and the market is rapidly gaining momentum in Asia and the Middle East regions.With the growing defense expenses in some countries, there has been a simultaneous boost to the market. Moreover, factors such as the growing procurement of anti-tank missiles, increasing R&D investments on the existing missile systems, and the introduction of long-range anti-tank missiles would significantly propel the market growth. Concurrently, the continued usage of smokescreens by a number of armed and rebel forces along with the accuracy issues associated with the anti-tank guided missiles can prove to be a hurdle for the growth of the market.In 2016, market was valued at USD 8,377.0 million and is anticipated that the market would grow at a CAGR of around 4.25%, during the forecast period.Get a Copy of Sample Report @Key Players Denel Dynamics (South Africa), General Dynamics (US), Israel Military Industries (Israel), KBP Instrument Design Bureau (Russia), Rocketsan Missiles Inc. (Turkey), Lockheed Martin (US), MBDA (UK), Rafael Advanced Defense Systems (Israel), Raytheon (US), Saab Bofors Dynamics (Sweden). And Many MoreStudy Objectives of Global Anti-Tank Missile Market To provide detailed analysis of the market structure along with forecast for the next five years of the various segments and sub-segments of the global anti-tank missile market To provide insights about factors affecting the market growth To analyze the global anti-tank missile market based on various tools such as Supply Chain Analysis, and Porters Five Forces Analysis To provide historical and forecast revenue of the market segments and sub-segments with 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 material type, product, application and 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 anti-tank missile marketBrowse Full Report Details @Regional AnalysisGlobal Anti-Tank Missile marketIn 2016, the market was led by Americas with a share of 39%. The technological advancements in warfare platforms and increasing defense budgets in countries such as the US and Canada, are some of the major factors driving the growth of the market. Asia-Pacific was the second-largest market in 2016, valued at USD 2,680.6 million in 2016. The increasing terrorism and border threats in the region, drives the demand in the region. EMEA is expected to grow at a CAGR of 3.80%, during the forecast period.Intended Audience Defense authorities Missile manufacturers Government as well as Independent Regulatory AuthoritiesProduct Analysis Product matrix which gives a detailed comparison of the market for different recycled product typesAdditional Information Regulatory Landscape Pricing Analysis Macroeconomic IndicatorsGeographic Analysis Geographical analysis across 15 countriesCompany Information Profiling of 10 key market players In-depth analysis including SWOT analysis, and strategy information of related to report title Competitive landscape including emerging trends adopted by major companiesThe report for Global Anti-Tank Missile 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, technological advancement, macro economical and governing factors in the market. The report provides details information and strategies of the top key players in the industry. The report also gives a broad study of the different market segments and regions.ContinueWe are thankful for the support and assistance from Anti-Tank Missile Market Research Report- Global Forecast to 2023 chain related technical experts and marketing experts during Research Team survey and interviews.About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Media Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
Digital Textile Printing Ink Sales Europe Market Key Players Dupont,Huntsman,JK Group,Kornit,DyStar Analysis and Forecast to 2022

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Press Release: Pune, India- August , 2017Europe Digital Textile Printing Ink Market by Manufacturers, Countries, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022Description:Digital Textile Printing Ink is an ink used in digital inkjet printer, generally; it can be directly applied to the print media in the form of droplets. The main components of the ink are color unit and vectors. Color unit may be a pigment or dye.For Sample Report@Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Digital Textile Printing Ink in Europe market, especially in Germany, UK, France, Russia, and Italy. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, countries, type and application.Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report coversDupontHuntsmanJK GroupKornitDyStarSPGprintsBASFJay ChemicalMarabuDow CorningEFISensientMagna ColoursAnajetPrint-RiteLanyuHongsamINKBANKTrendVisionINKWINMarket Segment by Countries, coveringGermanyUKFranceRussiaItalyMarket Segment by Type, coversReactive Dye InksAcidic InkPaint InkDispersion & Sublimation InkMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided intoClothing IndustryTextile IndustryOthersThere are 17 Chapters to deeply display the Europe Digital Textile Printing Ink market.Chapter 1, to describe Digital Textile Printing Ink Introduction, product type and application, market overview, market analysis by countries, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the manufacturers of Digital Textile Printing Ink, with profile, main business, news, sales, price, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 3, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers in Europe, with sales, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 4, to show the Europe market by countries, covering Germany, UK, France, Italy and Russia, with sales, price, revenue and market share of Digital Textile Printing Ink, for each country, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 5 and 6, to show the market by type and application, with sales, price, revenue, market share and growth rate by type and application, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11, to analyze the key countries by manufacturers, Type and Application, covering Germany, UK, France, Italy and Russia, with sales, revenue and market share by manufacturers, types and applications;Chapter 12, Digital Textile Printing Ink market forecast, by countries, type and application, with sales, price, revenue and growth rate forecast, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 13, to analyze the manufacturing cost, key raw materials and manufacturing process etc.Chapter 14, to analyze the industrial chain, sourcing strategy and downstream end users (buyers);Chapter 15, to describe Digital Textile Printing Ink sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers etc.Chapter 16 and 17, to describe Digital Textile Printing Ink Research Findings and Conclusion, Appendix, methodology and data sourceFor any Enquiry write us @Table of Contents1 Market Overview1.1 Digital Textile Printing Ink Introduction1.2 Market Analysis by Type1.2.1 Reactive Dye Inks1.2.2 Acidic Ink1.2.3 Paint Ink1.2.4 Dispersion & Sublimation Ink1.3 Market Analysis by Applications1.3.1 Clothing Industry1.3.2 Textile Industry1.3.3 Others1.4 Market Analysis by Countries1.4.1 Germany Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.2 France Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.3 UK Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.4 Russia Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.5 Italy Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.5 Market Dynamics1.5.1 Market Opportunities1.5.2 Market Risk1.5.3 Market Driving Force2 Manufacturers Profiles2.1 Dupont2.1.1 Profile2.1.2 Digital Textile Printing Ink Type and Applications2.1.2.1 Type 12.1.2.2 Type 22.1.3 Dupont Digital Textile Printing Ink Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.1.4 Business Overview2.1.5 Dupont News2.2 Huntsman2.2.1 Profile2.2.2 Digital Textile Printing Ink Type and Applications2.2.2.1 Type 12.2.2.2 Type 22.2.3 Huntsman Digital Textile Printing Ink Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.2.4 Business Overview2.2.5 Huntsman News2.3 JK Group2.3.1 Profile2.3.2 Digital Textile Printing Ink Type and Applications2.3.2.1 Type 12.3.2.2 Type 22.3.3 JK Group Digital Textile Printing Ink Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.3.4 Business Overview2.3.5 JK Group News2.4 Kornit2.4.1 Profile2.4.2 Digital Textile Printing Ink Type and Applications2.4.2.1 Type 12.4.2.2 Type 22.4.3 Kornit Digital Textile Printing Ink Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.4.4 Business Overview2.4.5 Kornit News2.5 DyStar2.5.1 Profile2.5.2 Digital Textile Printing Ink Type and Applications2.5.2.1 Type 12.5.2.2 Type 22.5.3 DyStar Digital Textile Printing Ink Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.5.4 Business Overview2.5.5 DyStar News2.6 SPGprints2.6.1 Profile2.6.2 Digital Textile Printing Ink Type and Applications2.6.2.1 Type 12.6.2.2 Type 22.6.3 SPGprints Digital Textile Printing Ink Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.6.4 Business Overview2.6.5 SPGprints NewsContinuedBuy now@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.Office No. 528, Amanora Chambers Magarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028 Maharashtra, India
Global Polyhydroxybutyrate Market 2023 Top Key Companies  TEPHA INC, Telles LLC, BIO-ON, Biomer

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Market Research Future adds new report of Global Polyhydroxybutyrate Market Research Report- Forecast till 2023 it contains Company information, geographical data and Table of ContentPolyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) is a biopolymer produced from microorganisms. It is a kind of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) and is produced via fermentation process. They are thermoplastic polymer with properties very similar to petroleum based polypropylene (PP). They are biodegradable and are widely used in the manufacturing of packaging material, mulch films, and medical devices. PHB is attracting heavy interest from end use industries such as agriculture, food, and pharmaceutical due to its environmental friendly characteristics.Increasing number of initiatives by government and environmental agencies coupled with rising consumer awareness regarding the harmful effects of the non-biodegradable packaging along with ecofriendly nature of the product is driving PHB market growth. However, higher price of PHB based polymer in comparison to conventional polymers is slated to hinder PHB market growth over the forecast period. PHB is widely used in the packaging of food and cosmetic products as well. Increasing consumption of packaged food due to busy lifestyle and easy availability is set to compliment the market growth over the forecast period. The growing population has resulted in the shrinking of agricultural land due to industrialization and urbanization and has forced farmers to increase productivity in the relatively smaller areas. This has increased the demand for PHB as mulch films.Request a Sample Report @The increasing usage of polyhdroxybutyrate (PHB) in packaging material such as bin bags, cling films, and garbage bags is also expected to fuel market growth over the forecast period. The growth in consumption of packaged food has propelled the usage of PHB in food processing industry.Market Segmentation:The global polyhydroxybutyrate market is segmented on the basis of application, end use industry and region. Based on the Application, market is segmented into medical devices, packaging, mulch films Based on the End Use Industry, the market is categorized into pharmaceutical, food, agriculture, automotive Based on Region, this market is segmented into Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, North America, and Middle East & AfricaKey PlayersThe prominent players operating in the polyhydroxybutyrate market include BASF SE (Germany) Biomer (Germany) TianAn Biologic Materials Co., Ltd. (China) PHB Industrial S.A (Brazil) BIO-ON (Italy) Telles, LLC (U.S) TEPHA INC (U.S)Browse Report Details @Intended Audience Polyhydroxybutyrate manufacturers Traders and distributors of polyhydroxybutyrate Production process industries Potential investors Raw material suppliers Nationalized laboratoryGeographical AnalysisThe report covers brief analysis of geographical regions such as North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Middle East & Africa.Regional AnalysisOn the basis of region, global polyhydroxybutyrate market segmentation includes its current and estimated demand in Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, North America, and Middle East & Africa. Asia Pacific is projected to grow at the highest rate over the forecast period due to increasing demand from end use industries such as pharmaceutical, food, agriculture, and automotive. Among these, the demand for biodegradable plastic is predicted to increase in developing countries such as India, China, and Japan owing to increasing food and pharmaceutical industries in these countries.Europe has emerged as the largest regional market for biodegradable packaging and paper industry over the last few years. In this region, countries such as Germany, Italy, UK, and Sweden have emerged as leading consumer markets and are expected to witness above average growth over the next few years. North America is expected to witness a steady growth in the usage of biodegradable plastic and paper over the forecast period. U.S is predicted to be the largest PHB market in this region followed by Mexico and Canada. Latin America region is also predicted to witness a positive growth in the use of PHB over the forecast period.The Middle East & Africa is estimated to witness moderate growth over the forecast period. Increasing technological advancement coupled with implementation of cultivation techniques to enhance crop production is expected to raise product demand in countries including South Africa.Request Table of Contents for this Report @About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
New Trends of Sugar Substitutes Market with Global Industry Analysis by 2023

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Global Sugar Substitutes Market Information- By Type (High-intensity sweeteners, Low-intensity sweeteners, High-fructose syrups, others), By Product-Type (High-intensity sweeteners category, Low-intensity sweeteners category), By Application (Bakery and Confectionery, Beverages, Dairy Products, Healthcare products, Personal care products, Others) By Formulation (Natural Sweeteners, Artificial Sweeteners) and By Region Forecast to 2023Market OverviewThe increasing sale of sugar substitutes is driven by changing consumers preference and adoption of low-caloric healthy food consumption trend. Easy availability and high health benefits of sugars substitutes is increasing its sale in the global market. Equivalent sweetness and convenience usage of sugar substitutes is also fueling up its market share. Increasing consumption of table sugar alternatives due to economy development has a positive impact on the sugar substitutes market. The consumption of sugar substitutes is found to be high in and North America and is evaluated to increase at a positive growth rate in various countries of Europe and Asia-Pacific region.Get a sample report atMarket ForecastGlobally, the sugar substitutes market share is estimated to escalate at a higher growth rate due its high nutritional profile. Sugar substitutes are known to decrease the chances of diabetes and heart diseases amongst the consumers. High consumption of sugar substitutes is backed up by developing economy and innovations in sugar and sweeteners manufacturing industries globally. The rising demand for bakery and confectionery products with less calorie is supporting the sale of the product. The nutritional value of sugar substitutes has increased its demand amongst the health conscious population of consumers thereby increasing its demand globally.All these factors contribute to the calculated CAGR of 3.5% of Sugar Substitutes market during 2017-2023.Downstream analysis-Consumption of high intensity sugar substitutes is growing at significant rate based on high demand from the consumers side due to equivalent sweetness as table sugar. In addition, the market of natural sweeteners as sugar substitutes is experiencing a rapid increase. Based on the application, bakery and confectionery holds a lions share based on high demand for healthy and low-table sugar containing bakery products and chocolates.The sale of stevia as a natural sugar substitute is experiencing a surge backed up by consumers preference for natural and plant based sweeteners with high health benefits.Competitive analysis-The major key players in Sugar Substitutes market are Cargill, Inc. (U.S.) Tate & Lyle PLC (U.K.) Ingredion Incorporated (U.S.) The Archer Daniels Midland Company (U.S.) JK Sucralose Inc (China) I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (U.S.) Merisant Company (U.S.)Sugar Substitutes manufacturers across various regions follow the strategy of improving their existing product as well as increasing the manufacture of natural sugar substitutes to meet the consumers demand to expand their business. This is one of the major factors due to which the demands of sugar substitutes is experiencing a surge. China is amongst the dominating countries holding a major share in sugar substitutes market and exports the product in various other countries which include Philippines, Indonesia, Korea, Vietnam and others.Regional AnalysisThe global sugar substitutes market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and rest of the world (ROW). North America holds a major market share followed by Asia-Pacific. The high demands for sugar substitutes from the developed countries of these regions is contributing to the positive growth of Sugar Substitutes market. Mexico, U.S., Germany, Netherlands and U.K. are the major importers of sugar substitutes. North America is found to be the major exporter of sugar substitutes and exports majorly to countries of Europe and Asia-Pacific.Browse complete report atStudy Objectives of Sugar Substitutes Market Detail analysis of the markets segments and sub-segments To estimate and forecast market size by Type, Product-Type, Application, Formulation and Region To analyze key driving forces which are influencing the market Region level market analysis and market estimation of North America, Europe, Asia, and rest of the world (ROW) and their countries Value chain analysis & supply chain analysis of Sugar Substitutes Company profiling of major players in the market Competitive strategy analysis and mapping key stakeholders in the market Analysis of historical market trends and technologies along with current government regulatory requirementsIntended Audience Sugar Substitutes Manufacturers Bakery products Manufacturers Retailers and Wholesalers Traders, Importers and ExportersMarket Synopsis of Sugar Substitutes:Market Definition:Sugar Substitutes is the sugar alternative of table sugar which is consumed on the daily basis. The increasing health-awareness amongst the consumers and high demand for low calorie sugars is driving the market of sugar substitutes. Sugar are food additives which imparts similar sweetness but has low calorie as compared to the table sugar. Sugar substitutes can be natural or artificially synthesized. Availability of various forms of sugar substitutes gives a broader choice range to the consumers. The increasing adoption of natural and herbal food consumption habit is found to increase the demand for natural sugar substitutes like stevia.Get a discount atTable of Content1 Executive Summary2 Market Introduction3 Research methodology4 MARKET DYNAMICS5 MARKET TRENDS6. GLOBAL SUGAR SUBSTITUTES MARKET-By Type7. GLOBAL SUGAR SUBSTITUTES MARKET-By Product-Type7.1 Introduction7.2 Market size (sub segments)7.2.1 High-intensity sweeteners7.2.1.1 Acesulfame potassium (Ace-K)7.2.1.2 Saccharin7.2.1.3 Aspartame7.2.1.4 Stevia7.2.1.5 Sucralose7.2.1.6 Others7.2.2 Low-intensity sweeteners7.2.2.1 Maltitol7.2.2.2 Xylitol7.2.2.3 D-Tagatose7.2.2.4 Erythritol7.2.2.5 Sorbitol7.2.2.6 Others8. GLOBAL SUGAR SUBSTITUTES MARKET-By Application8.1 Introduction8.2 Market size (sub segments)8.2.1 Bakery and Confectionery8.2.2 Beverages8.2.3 Dairy Products8.2.4 Healthcare products8.2.5 Personal care products8.2.6 Others9. GLOBAL SUGAR SUBSTITUTES MARKET-By Formulation10. MARKET -By Region10.1 Introduction10.2 North America10.2.1 U.S.10.2.2 Canada10.2.3 Mexico10.3 Latin America10.3.1 Brazil10.3.2 Argentina10.4 Europe10.4.1 Germany10.4.2 France10.4.3 Italy10.4.4 U.K.10.4.5 Spain10.4.6 Rest of Europe10.5 Asia Pacific10.5.1 China10.5.2 India10.5.3 Australia10.5.4 Rest of Asia-Pacific10.6 RoW10.6.1 Egypt10.6.2 South Africa10.6.3 Others11. Competitive landscape12. COMPANY PROFILES12.1 Cargill, Inc. (U.S.)12.2 Tate & Lyle PLC (U.K.)12.3 Ingredion Incorporated (U.S.)12.4 The Archer Daniels Midland Company (U.S.)12.5 JK Sucralose Inc (China)12.6 E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (U.S.)12.7 Merisant Company (U.S.)9 Denel DynamicsAt 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:
Worldwide Life Science & Analytical Instruments Market is Expected to Grow at CARG 6.5 % during Forecast 2023

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Global Life Science & Analytical Instruments Market Research Report, on the type of instruments (Centrifuges, Chromatography, Electrophoresis, Flow Cytometry, Microscopy, Cell Counting instruments, PCR, Spectroscopy, Western Blotting), by end user (Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Companies, Agriculture and Food Industry, Research and Clinical Testing Laboratories) and by application (Research Applications, Diagnostic Applications and Other Applications)- Forecast till 2023Life science and analytical instruments are used in the in detection, monitoring and analysis of living organism or any product. Number of devices and instruments are fall under lifescience and analytical instrument namely spectrometers, flow cytometers, electrophoresis devices, centrifuges, chromatography devices and many more. The important users for this instruments and pharmaceutical and biotechnological industries. Other than this different testing laboratories and many food and agricultural industries use them for their testing. Continuous advances in technology has increased the number of different types of instruments in the market. Introduction new and more accurate instrument has boosted the market of analytical instrument. The market of lifescience and analytical instruments are driven by different drivers like increasing number of pharmaceutical and biotechnological industries, increasing prevalence of diseases which has increase the number of testing, investing more and more capital in research and development of lifescience and analytical instruments and many more. While lack of skilled people and high cost of instruments are few factor that restrain the growth of market.Get a Sample report atGeographically, global lifescience and analytical instrument market is dominated by North America due to contribution of US and Canada. Healthcare sector is continuously developing in this region, increasing number of pharmaceutical industries, biotechnological industries and number of laboratory has boosted its growth in this region. North America is followed by Europe in lifescience and analytical instruments devices. Germany, France and UK are the major contributor of this market in Europe. Increasing number of diseases has increased the number of research which are carried out has increase the European market.Global Life Science and analytical Instrumentation Market has been segmented on the basis of type of instruments they are Centrifuges (Laboratory centrifuges, Analytical ultracentrifuges, Gas centrifuges and Other), Chromatography (Thin-layer Chromatography (TLC), Liquid Chromatography, Gas Chromatography, HPTLC and Other), Electrophoresis (Conventional Electrophoresis [One Dimensional and two dimensional) and Capillary Electrophoresis), Flow Cytometry, Microscopy (Scanning electron microscope, Transmission electron microscope and Other), Cell Counting instruments (Hemocytometers and Other), PCR, Spectroscopy (Mass Spectroscopy, UV spectroscopy, Atomic spectroscopy and Other), Western Blotting, Other (Sterilization instruments, Incubators, Colorimeters, Freezers, Laboratories balances, other).On the basis of End user they are segmented into Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Companies, Agriculture and Food Industry, Research and Clinical Testing Laboratories and Other. On the basis of application they are segmented as Research Applications, Diagnostic Applications and Other ApplicationsMajority of the market is dominated by major players. Top 25 companies share almost 75 % of total market share.The major key players of Global Life Science and analytical Instrumentation Market are Becton Dickinson and Company (U.S.) Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. (U.S.) Agilent Technologies, Inc. (U.S.) F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. (Switzerland) Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (U.S.) Bruker Corporation (U.S.) Danaher Corporation (U.S) PerkinElmer, Inc. (U.S.) Shimadzu Corporation (Japan) Waters Corporation (U.S.) Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (U.S.) Avance Biosciences (US) Paragon Bioservices, Inc (US) Avista Pharma Solutions(US) Dynalabs (US) Merck KGaA (Germany)Browse Complete Report atStudy Objectives Global Insomnia Market Research Report Complete Analysis of the parent market. Detail Overview of various driver and restrains of the market. Detailed segmentation and sub segmentation of the market on the basis of type of instruments, application and End User. Present, Past and Projected size of the market from standpoints of value and volume. Detail overview of Key players and their current market share and strategy. SWOT analysis of major segments of the market.Intended Audience Life science instrument manufacturers, suppliers, and providers. Biotechnology Companies Research and Development (R&D) Companies Government Research Laboratories Medical Research Institutes Pharmaceutical & biotechnology companies Testing laboratories Food, Agricultural testing companies Hospitals and diagnostic centersRequest for Discount atTABLE OF CONTENTS1 INTRODUCTION1.1 DEFINITION1.2 SCOPE OF STUDY1.2.1 RESEARCH OBJECTIVE1.2.2 ASSUMPTIONS & LIMITATIONS1.2.2.1 ASSUMPTIONS1.2.2.2 LIMITATIONS1.3 MARKET STRUCTURE:2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY2.1 RESEARCH PROCESS:2.2 PRIMARY RESEARCH2.3 SECONDARY RESEARCH:3 MARKET DYNAMICS3.1 DRIVERS3.2 RESTRAINTS3.3 OPPORTUNITIES3.4 MACROECONOMIC INDICATORS4 MARKET FACTOR ANALYSIS4.1 PORTERS FIVE FORCES MODEL4.2 BARGAINING POWER OF SUPPLIERS4.3 BARGAINING POWER OF BUYERS4.4 THREAT OF NEW ENTRANTS4.5 THREAT OF SUBSTITUTES4.6 INTENSITY OF RIVALRY5. GLOBAL LIFE SCIENCE AND ANALYTICAL INSTRUMENTATION MARKET, BY TYPES OF INSTRUMENTS5.1 CENTRIFUGES5.1.1 LABORATORY CENTRIFUGES5.1.2 ANALYTICAL ULTRACENTRIFUGES5.1.3 GAS CENTRIFUGES5.1.4 OTHER5.2 CHROMATOGRAPHY5.2.1 THIN-LAYER CHROMATOGRAPHY (TLC)5.2.2 LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY5.2.3 GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY5.2.4 HPTLC5.2.5 OTHER5.3 ELECTROPHORESIS5.3.1 CONVENTIONAL ELECTROPHORESIS5.3.1.1 ONE DIMENSIONAL5.3.1.2 TWO DIMENSIONAL5.3.2 CAPILLARY ELECTROPHORESIS5.4 FLOW CYTOMETRY5.5 MICROSCOPY5.5.1 SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPE5.5.2 TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPE5.5.3 OTHER5.6 CELL COUNTING INSTRUMENTS5.6.1 HEMOCYTOMETERS5.6.2 OTHER5.7 PCR5.8 SPECTROSCOPY5.8.1 MASS SPECTROSCOPY5.8.2 UV SPECTROSCOPY5.8.3 ATOMIC SPECTROSCOPY5.8.4 OTHER5.9 WESTERN BLOTTING5.10 OTHER5.10.1 STERILIZATION INSTRUMENTS5.10.2 INCUBATORS5.10.3 COLORIMETERS5.10.4 FREEZERS5.10.5 LABORATORIES BALANCES5.10.6 OTHER6. GLOBAL LIFE SCIENCE AND ANALYTICAL INSTRUMENTATION MARKET, BY END USER6.1 PHARMACEUTICAL AND BIOTECHNOLOGY COMPANIES6.2 AGRICULTURE AND FOOD INDUSTRY6.3 RESEARCH AND CLINICAL TESTING LABORATORIES6.4 OTHER7. GLOBAL LIFE SCIENCE AND ANALYTICAL INSTRUMENTATION MARKET, BY APPLICATION7.1 RESEARCH APPLICATIONS7.2 DIAGNOSTIC APPLICATIONS7.3 OTHER APPLICATIONS8. GLOBAL LIFE SCIENCE AND ANALYTICAL INSTRUMENTATION MARKET, BY REGION8.1 INTRODUCTION8.2 NORTH AMERICA8.2.1 US8.2.2 CANADA8.3 EUROPE8.3.1 WESTERN EUROPE8.3.1.1 GERMANY8.3.1.2 FRANCE8.3.1.3 ITALY8.3.1.3 SPAIN8.3.1.5 UK8.3.1.6 REST OF WESTERN EUROPE8.3.2 EASTERN EUROPE8.4 ASIA8.4.1 JAPAN8.4.2 CHINA8.4.3 INDIA8.4.4 AUSTRALIA8.4.5 REPUBLIC OF KOREA8.5 REST OF ASIA-PACIFIC8.6 MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA9. COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE9.1 MAJOR STRATEGIES ADOPTED BY MARKET PLAYERS8.1.1 STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP9.1.2 MERGER & ACQUISITION10 COMPANY PROFILE10.1 THERMO FISHER SCIENTIFIC, INC.10.1.1 OVERVIEW10.1.2 PRODUCT OVERVIEW10.1.3 FINANCIALS10.1.4 KEY DEVELOPMENTS10.2 AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.10.2.1 OVERVIEW10.2.2 PRODUCT OVERVIEW10.2.3 FINANCIALS10.2.4 KEY DEVELOPMENTS10.3 SHIMADZU CORPORATION10.3.1 OVERVIEW10.3.2 PRODUCT OVERVIEW10.3.3 FINANCIALS10.3.4 STRATEGY10.3.5 KEY DEVELOPMENT10.4 DANAHER CORPORATION10.4.1 OVERVIEW10.4.2 PRODUCT OVERVIEW10.4.3 FINANCIALS10.4.4 KEY DEVELOPMENTS10.5 DANAHER CORPORATION10.5.1 OVERVIEW10.5.2 PRODUCT OVERVIEW10.5.3 FINANCIALS10.5.4 KEY DEVELOPMENTS10.6 OTHERSAt 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:
This spring, after announcing that his office plans to invest over $143 million to combat New York City's worsening opioid crisis, Mayor Bill de Blasio defended his decision to direct close to half of that money to the NYPD.

"The NYPD piece is important because the presence of heroin is a discrete and specific problem," the mayor told New York 1's Errol Lewis in May. "Remember, fentanyl has really supercharged the situation. It's this chemical added into heroin, and that has to be interdicted by the NYPD and other partners because it's really profoundly dangerous and deadly."

While City Hall has been receptive to non-punitive strategiesdistributing naloxone kits widely, opening health clinics, training homeless shelter staff in treating an overdosehis administration has maintained that reducing the supply of heroin and its deadly, low-cost substitute fentanyl is equally important. The bulk of roughly $70 million in opioid-related funding for police through 2021 will pay for 84 new detectives and 50 new lab staffers to investigate overdoses and, the logic goes, trace the subtance from the user back to dealer.

"On every overdose, whether it's a death, or whether it's a save, or somebody that we find out subsequently to the OD, we're gonna conduct an interview," NYPD Commissioner James O'Neill said earlier this year. "And then work our way up the food chain."

"We're not looking to lock up the person that OD'd, or even the person that might have been with them," he added.

Opioid-related overdose deaths in New York City increased 66% between 2010 and 2015. A total of 1,374 people died of drug overdoses in 2016a 46 percent increase from 2015, according to the latest Department of Health data.

"A 'one-size fits all' approach won't help save the lives of New Yorkers at risk," City Hall spokeswoman Olivia Lapeyrolerie stated.

The city's plan, former users and advocates said Thursday, is self-sabotaging at worst. Money that might have gone towards non-punitive solutions could actually chip away at progress already made. "People will be afraid to call 911," said VOCAL-NY co-director Jeremy Saunders. Adding to the chilling effect is the threat of a murder charge. This June, Staten Island man Stephen Cummings became the first New Yorker ever to be charged with manslaughter for allegedly peddling a lethal dose of fentanyl.

"Prohibition doesn't work," Saunders said. "In this country we prohibited alcohol. What happened? Stronger alcohol and a massive black market. Now, we no longer have a heroin problem, we have a fentanyl problem."

According to the New York City Drug Policy Alliance, policing opioids incentivizes cutting heroin with fentanyl because "there is more incentive for producers and distributors to minimize costs and maximize profits."

A 2011 Journal of Public Health report found that, across the country between 1992 and 2002, increases in drug-related arrests did not result in a decrease in drug use.



Protesters holding a "No More Drug War" banner outside NYPD headquarters in lower Manhattan on Thursday. (Emma Whitford / Gothamist)

Shantae Owens, 42, is a former heroin user of 20 years and organizer with VOCAL-NY. He said Thursday that he's noticed a positive shift in how the NYPD treats drug users since the 1980s. "I applaud having any of the police department try to combat overdoses," he told Gothamist. "I grew up in a time where it wasn't about taking someone for help. It was pretty much, you would be detained."

Still, he added, the NYPD's pledge to target dealers like Simmons and, more recently, four men accused of running a drug mill on the Upper West Side last week, is a losing battle.

"I'm glad to get these drugs off the street because they are obviously dangerous," he said. "But we have to understand drugs are here. They're not going nowhere. They will probably forever be around. So... how are we going to prevent death?"

Advocates have pushed for supervised injection facilities, which City Hall agreed to study last fall. They've also said the $70 million would be better off with the Department of Health, where it could be spent on fentanyl-testing strips that users can use to check their batches for deadly strains; additional funding for needle exchange programs; training for shelter residents to administer naloxone; diversion programs for misdemeanor drug possession arrestees like one recently established on Staten Island, where the crisis is acute.

"[What] if we invested in prevention for real," said Kassandra Frederique, director of the New York chapter of the Drug Policy Alliance. "If we invested in housing for real. If we invested in medication for real."

"If we had $70 million to invest in the South Bronx," she added, "would it be one of the leading counties in the United States for overdose deaths?"

The Department of Health deferred to City Hall for comment, and declined to say whether the agency would welcome the $70 million currently allocated to the NYPD.
Metal Chelates | Technological Advancements, Evolving Industry Trends and Insights

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A new research report by Transparency Market Research offers a comprehensive evaluation of the global Metal Chelates Market. The study, titled Metal Chelates Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2016 - 2024, is available for sale on the firms website.Metal chelates are compounds wherein a metal ion is bonded to an anion at more than one attachment sites. Chelation is a natural process that occurs to prevent the absorbed nutrients from precipitating. Organic substances present in the soil and produced by microorganisms are natural chelating agents. Hydroxamate siderophores are organic substances produced by microorganisms to transport and solubilize nutrients. However, presence of natural chelating agents is not enough to accelerate the crop yield. The role of synthetic metal chelates comes into play for curbing nutrient starvation in plants.Browse Market Research Report @Synthetic iron chelates are used extensively to feed iron-starving crops. The market for metal chelates can be segmented on the basis of nutrients they supply to the crop, mode of their application, and scarcity of micronutrients in the soil. Nutrients required for plants are categorized as macronutrients and micronutrients. Nutrients required in large quantities are macronutrients and nutrients required only in trace quantities are micronutrients. Macronutrients are sub-categorized as primary, secondary, and tertiary nutrients. The element potassium falls under primary macronutrients. It is essential for regulating water loss from leaves. Calcium and magnesium fall under secondary and tertiary macronutrients, respectively. On the other hand, elements such as iron, molybdenum, boron, copper, manganese, sodium, zinc, and nickel are included in the list of micronutrients.Micronutrients are highly scarce nutrients found in soil. The micronutrients segment is projected to drive the market for metal chelates during the forecast period. Rising population and increasing awareness among farmers coupled with high demand for food products are also the drivers for the global metal chelates market. However, the market is hampered by stringent environmental regulations regarding utilization of biodegradable metal chelates. Opportunities are present for metal chelates manufacturers for penetrating the market with a bio degradable metal chelate.The market for metal chelates in Middle East & Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and North America is estimated to expand. Asia Pacific is expected to dominate the global market for metal chelates owing to rising population, arable land, and micronutrient-deficient soil in the region. Rapidly increasing population has surged the demand for food and forced farmers in Asia Pacific to grow crops with high yield by utilizing external growth-promoting agents. Asia Pacific is anticipated to hold a significant share in the global market for metal chelates. This is attributable to rapidly rising population, availability of arable land, and zinc-deficient soils in China and India. The market share held by Europe is anticipated to rise at a significant rate due to large population in Russia.North America is also expected to be an attractive market due to arable land, which is primarily concentrated in the U.S. Scarcity of micronutrients is likely to be a factor driving the market for metal chelates during the forecast period in Middle East & Africa.Key players operating in the global market for metal chelates are AVA Chemicals Private Limited, M&M Industries, Qingyuan Mutual Bio Techniques Co. Ltd., Shanghai Joint Hope International Trade Corporation, Micromix Plant Health Limited, Farmtech Agriland Corporation, AkzoNobel, Gujarat State Fertilizer & Chemicals, Aris Agro Limited, Valagro, and Chemicnova. AVA Chemicals Private Limited is a holding manufacturer of metal chelates and manufactures chelated calcium, chelated manganese and chelated copper which are the essential micronutrients required for plant growth. Gujarat State Fertilizer and Chemicals Limited provides a micro mix fertilizer which contains a mix of all the essential micronutrients like zinc, iron, copper, manganese, and boron.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Metal Chelates market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market@The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.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:Visit Blog :
Non - Metallic Minerals Market:Global Industry Analysis,Trends and Forecast 2024

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A new research report by Transparency Market Research offers a comprehensive evaluation of the global Non - Metallic Minerals Market. The study, titled Non - Metallic Minerals Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2016 - 2024, is available for sale on the firms website.Global Non-Metallic Minerals Market: OverviewNon-metallic minerals, also known as industrial materials have no metallic luster, break easily and are non-malleable. Some such non-metallic minerals are limestone, magnesite, silica sand, dolomite, talc, quartz, phosphorite, gemstones, clay, mica, and decorative and dimension stones.The global market for non-metallic minerals is characterized by the presence of numerous small and large manufacturers and suppliers, making the competitive landscape highly fragmented.Browse Market Research Report @Competition in intense among the different players in the market, with most bigwigs outsmarting smaller regional rivals with better products and robust distribution network. Another common trend in the market is vendors leveraging pricing, product differentiation, customization, and maintenance services to grow their market share. Developed markets in North America and Europe have higher degree of competition. Going forward, competition in the market is slated to increase further with more players entering the fray.A report by Transparency Market Research studies the global market for non-metallic minerals in-depth and presents a qualitative analysis of the different growth drivers and restraints in it. It sheds light on the size of the market and predicts its future trajectory. It also leverages market-leading analytical tools to uncover the opportunities and threats awaiting players in the market in the near future.Global Non-Metallic Minerals Market: Drivers and RestraintsA lot of factors are helping to bring about growth in the non-metallic minerals market. One of them is the burgeoning real estate sector and growing interest in people in home decoration. Besides, manufacturers focusing on improving their market share through decorative glass and glass based products to cater to demand from residential end-users is also bolstering the market. This demand for decorative glass and glass based products is primarily a result of rising GDP and the consequent rising disposable incomes across developing economies in the world.Other factors stoking the growth in the global market for non-metallic minerals are rising awareness about the product and higher demand for efficient products such as solar control glass. In addition, automotive manufacturers are also responsible for driving up demand on account of growing adoption of smart glass in production of automobiles.The different types of non-metallic minerals available in the market are glass and glass-based products, clay-based building materials, porcelain and ceramic products, stone-based products, and refractory products. Among them, the glass and glass-based products have been pulling in maximum revenue and in the near future too would continue doing so, predict experts.Global Non-Metallic Minerals Market: Geographical SegmentationGeographically, the key segments of the global non-metallic minerals market are North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, and Latin America. North America, of them, is a key region on the back of a robust commercial and residential use of non-metallic minerals in different sectors. At the forefront of driving growth in North America is the U.S due to the high concentration of different industries in the country. Further, North America market for non-metallic minerals is primarily driven by better technological infrastructure and higher uptake of innovative non-metallic mineral products.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Non - Metallic Minerals market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market@Global Non-Metallic Minerals Market: Competitive LandscapeTo assess the competition prevailing in the global non-metallic minerals market, the report profiles key market participants such as BTC Glass Design, Helios Bricks, Carmeuse Holding, Devnya Cement, Frigoglass, Yioula Glassworks, KAI Group, Pilkington, Tremag, Phoenix Stoneworks, Guardian, Rovese, Saint-Gobain, Sanex, Schott, Siceram, TE-MA Romania, ATS-Stone, Ceramic factory Mirkovo, Drujba Glassworks, Ognyanovo-K, Roca Bulgaria, Stonex, Trakya Glass Bulgaria, Wienerberger, and Xella Bulgaria.Major regions analyzed under this research report are:Eastern Europe (Poland and Russia)Western Europe (Germany, U.K., France, Spain, Italy, Nordic countries, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg)North America (U.S. and Canada)Asia Pacific (China, India, Japan, ASEAN, Australia, and New Zealand)Middle East and Africa (GCC, Southern Africa, and North Africa)Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile, and others)This report gives you access to decisive data such as:Market growth driversFactors limiting market growthCurrent market trendsMarket structureMarket projections for the coming yearsAbout 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:Visit Blog :
Nortropinone Hydrochloride 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 Nortropinone Hydrochloride Market. The study, titled Nortropinone Hydrochloride Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2016 - 2024, is available for sale on the firms website.Nortropinone Hydrochloride Market: OverviewNortropinone hydrochloride is available in solid power or crystalline form. It is white or off-white in color. Nortropinone hydrochloride is also known as 3-nortropanone hydrochloride or 8-azabicyclo [3.2.1] octan-3-one hydrochloride. It is insoluble in water; however, it is highly soluble in certain organic compounds such as methanol, chloroform, and dichloromethane. Nortropinone hydrochloride is an immediate intermediate or a product of tropinone.Browse Market Research Report @Another precursor from which nortropinone hydrochloride can be obtained is 1-chloroethyl chloroformate. Nortropinone hydrochloride is used as a metabolite of atropine, which is employed to treat various medical conditions such as heart disorders, ulcers, and spasms of bladder and biliary tract.Among all the applications, nortropinone hydrochloride is used more in industrial processes other than commercial or domestic.Nortropinone Hydrochloride Market: TrendsNortropinone hydrochloride is extensively used as a pharmaceutical intermediate and as a metabolite of tropinone. It is highly hazardous and hence, care must be taken to avoid excessive usage of nortropinone hydrochloride in medical formulations. Moreover, utmost precautions must be taken while handling the compound when it is being used for any kind of chemical process.Nortropinone hydrochloride is also used as an inhibitor in reactions that involve 11 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 enzyme. It plays an important role in the process of drug discovery, as it is an excellent linker component or building block and is useful in exploring a vast range of therapeutics and drugs. Linker components are the substances or chemicals which are capable of getting attached on the target site (e.g. a protein molecule), once it has been administered to the patient.Owing to the hazards and toxicity associated with the use of nortropinone hydrochloride, there exist chances for manufacturers or consumers to look for an alternative compound, which would be less harmful and toxic. This can prove to be a major restraint for growth of the market for nortropinone hydrochloride at the global level as well.However, nortropinone hydrochloride plays a key role in the stages involved in the identification of the target during the process of drug discovery. This use of the compound is expected to drive the global nortropinone hydrochloride market in the near future.The market for nortropinone hydrochloride is highly vulnerable to the changing trends, as it cannot be efficiently substituted by any other chemical compound in terms of use in the process of drug discovery, while its toxicity can affect its rate of utilization for a wide range of applications.Nortropinone Hydrochloride Market: Region-wise OutlookGeographically, the market for nortropinone hydrochloride can be divided into North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Europe, and Middle East & Africa. North America leads the global market for nortropinone hydrochloride, as the drug discovery industry in the region is large-sized.Asia Pacific follows North America, as the drug discovery industry in Asia Pacific is expanding rapidly. The growth of the market of nortropinone hydrochloride in Asia Pacific is due to high investments made in the pharmaceuticals industry and the need to develop better drugs for public health.Demand for nortropinone hydrochloride in Europe is expected to rise in the next few days, due to growth in activities related to development of efficient drugs against chronic diseases.The market of nortropinone hydrochloride is expected to grow at a sluggish pace in the region of Latin America which would be followed by Middle East & AfricaGet accurate market forecast and analysis on the Nortropinone Hydrochloride market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market@Nortropinone Hydrochloride Market: Key PlayersSome of the major players operating in the market for nortropinone hydrochloride are Beijing Mediking Biopharm Co., Ltd., TCI America, Radiant Pharma & tech Co., and Acros Organics.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:Visit Blog :
Ring Main Unit Market Overview, Dynamics, Trends, Segmentation, Key Players 2025

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Ring main unit is a gas-insulated compact switchgear unit that plays an important role in secondary distribution substations. It is used to provide uninterrupted power supply by making a ring of power supply so that in case of failure of the first source of power supply, power can be supplied with the help of the second source. It is preferable over conventional switchgears owing to various properties such as high flexibility, enhanced safety, and less maintenance charges.Browse Market Research Report:The global ring main unit market can be segmented based on type, application, and region. In terms of type, the ring main unit market can be divided into gas, air, oil, and solid dielectric. Gas insulated ring main unit is expected to be the major type segment of the ring main unit market during the forecast period owing to its properties such as high insulating capacity, easy integration with existing system, and minimum floor space. It is primarily used in power grids, railway systems, wind power plant, etc. In terms of type, the ring main unit market can be classified into distribution utilities, industries, and infrastructure & transportation, and others.The ring main unit market is anticipated to expand significantly during the forecast period due to the increase in demand for these units in the distribution utilities application segment. Demand for electricity and capacity addition has been rising by the day in developing regions such as Asia Pacific owing to this demand for ring main unit is increases in distribution utilities in order to provide uninterrupted power supply to meet the rising demand. Demand for reliable and secure source of power supply is also anticipated to boost the demand for ring main units in power generation during the forecast period. Rise in demand for ring main unit in smart grids is also estimated to drive the overall market for ring main unit during the forecast period. Ring main unit can be used to optimize network performance, improved energy availability, etc. in smart grids. Furthermore, rise in demand for ring main unit in renewable power generation for minimizing power loss is projected to play a significant role in augmenting the demand for ring main unit during the forecast period.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Ring Main Unit market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market @In terms of region, the ring main unit market can be segregated into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and Latin America. Asia Pacific is likely to dominate the global ring main unit market, followed by North America and Europe, during the forecast period. Increase in demand for electricity and rise in government initiatives for capacity addition and rural electrification are anticipated to boost the overall market in Asia Pacific during the forecast period. The ring main unit market in North America and Europe is estimated to expand significantly during the forecast period due to the increase in focus on the renewable sector in these regions. The ring main unit market in Middle East & Africa and Latin America is also projected to expand at a rapid pace in the near future.Companies are adopting merger and acquisition strategies to expand their market share. Furthermore, they are shifting their production facilities to emerging economies in Asia Pacific and Latin America due to the easy availability of land, cheap labor, and governmental subsidies in these regions. Key players operating in the global ring main unit market include Eaton, Schneider Electric, LARSEN & TOUBRO LIMITED, Ltd., EPE Power Switchgear Sdn. Bhd., OTDS UK Ltd., General Electric Company, ABB, Ltd., and SEL S.p.A.The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a 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:
Silicone 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 Silicone Coatings Market. The study, titled Silicone Coatings Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2016 - 2024, is available for sale on the firms website.Global Silicone Coatings Market: OverviewSilicones are commonly used by the coating industry to improve its protective and preservative attributes. Resins as binders or polymers as additives are two types of silicone products used to produce silicone coatings, which are primarily used for paint and coatings to enhance aging of the paint and wettability for easier application. With silicone coatings, manufacturers in the industries of automotive and construction achieve desirable scratch, water, and chemical resistance for their products. The current prosperity of automotive and construction industries is having a pied piper effect on the global silicone coatings market, which is projected to expand at a rapid growth rate during the forecast period of 2016 to 2024.Browse Market Research Report @This report on the global silicone coatings market provides qualitative and quantitative analysis of all the factors that are expected to influence the demand over the course of next eight years, and estimates the future scenario. The report has been developed to act as a credible business document for audiences such as silicone coatings manufacturers, raw material suppliers, suppliers and distributors of silicone coatings, government and regional agencies, research organizations, and investment research firms. The report also profiles a number of key players currently active in the global silicone coatings market, estimating their market share and exploring their product portfolio.The global silicone coatings market can be segmented on the basis of composition type into silicone additives, silicone polymers, 100% silicone, and silicone water repellents. Application-wise, the market can be bifurcated into construction, automotive and transportation, consumer goods, industrial, paper and film release, and marine. By technology, the market can be categorized into solvent-based, solventless, water-based, and powder based. Geographically, the report studies the lucrativeness of several regions including Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa.Global Silicone Coatings Market: Drivers and RestraintsRapid urbanization and increasing disposable income, with which the construction and automotive industry is thriving, is the primary factor behind the incrementing demand for silicone coatings. The awareness among the consumers is growing and they are willing to pay extra for enhanced quality and appearance that is brought to the products by silicone coatings. In construction industry, silicone coatings find application for tiles, wood and wood panel, concrete, perlite, and mortar. Their important attributes such as low chemical reactivity, thermal stability, low toxicity, and low thermal conductivity is highly useful as they enhance durability, strength, and stability of the end-product. Conversely, high production cost of silicone coatings is expected to obstruct the market from achieving its full potential during the forecast period.Consumer goods is emerging as a highly profitable application segment of the silicone coatings market, with escalating demand for electronic products. Technology-wise, silicone water repellents is the segment with best growth rate, owing to its effective hydrophobic properties as well as robust water resistance properties.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Silicone Coatings market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market@Global Silicone Coatings Market: Regional OutlookNorth America currently is the most lucrative market, serving maximum demand for silicone coatings both in terms of value and volume. However, emerging economies such as India and China, which houses vast population base, is quickly making Asia Pacific a highly important region for the players in this market.Companies mentioned in the research reportSome of the key companies currently active in the global market for silicone coatings are KCC Silicone, Wacker Chemie AG, Dow Corning Corporation, Shin-Etsu Chemical Co ., Ltd., and Momentive Performance Material Inc.Major regions analyzed under this research report are:EuropeNorth AmericaAsia PacificRest of the WorldThis report gives you access to decisive data such as:Market growth driversFactors limiting market growthCurrent market trendsMarket structureMarket projections for the coming yearsAbout 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:Visit Blog :
Egypt 4G Rollout and Issuance of Virtual Fixed Licenses to Significantly Boost Competition

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ReportsWeb.com published 4G Rollout and Issuance Market from its database. 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."Egypt: 4G Rollout and Issuance of Virtual Fixed Licenses to Significantly Boost Competition" is a new Country Intelligence Report by Publisher, provides an executive-level overview of the telecommunications market in Egypt today, with detailed forecasts of key indicators up to 2021. Published annually, the report provides detailed analysis of the near-term opportunities, competitive dynamics and evolution of demand by service type and technology/platform across the fixed telephony, broadband, and mobile, as well as a review of key regulatory trends.The telecom service revenue in Egypt is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 4.3% during 2016-2021, due to growth in mobile data, fixed Internet and pay-TV segments. Mobile data and fixed Internet growth will be driven by launch and expansion of 4G services and fiber expansion, respectively. Pay-TV operators are expected to face stiff competition from OTT players over the coming years. Vodafone Egypt will continue its dominance during the forecast period. Vendors and investors have an opportunity to benefit from the grant of unified license to all major operators, which now enable them to compete evenly in the fixed and mobile segments.For more information about this report:The Country Intelligence Report provides in-depth analysis of the following -- Regional context: telecom market size and trends in Egypt compared with other countries in the region.- Economic, demographic and political context in Egypt.- The regulatory environment and trends: a review of the regulatory setting and agenda for the next 18-24 months as well as relevant developments pertaining to spectrum licensing, national broadband plans, number portability and more.- A demand profile: analysis as well as historical figures and forecasts of service revenue from the fixed telephony, broadband, mobile voice, and mobile data markets.- Service evolution: a look at changes in the breakdown of overall revenue between the fixed and mobile sectors and between voice, data and video from 2016 to 2021.- The competitive landscape: an examination of key trends in competition and in the performance, revenue market shares and expected moves of service providers over the next 18-24 months.- In-depth sector analysis of fixed telephony, broadband, mobile voice, and mobile data services: a quantitative analysis of service adoption trends by network technology and by operator, as well as of average revenue per line/subscription and service revenue through the end of the forecast period.- Main opportunities: this section details the near-term opportunities for operators, vendors and investors in Egypt's telecommunications markets.Scope- The overall telecom service revenue in Egypt will grow at a CAGR of 4.3% during 2016-2021, mainly driven by growth in mobile data, fixed broadband and pay-TV segments.- Mobile revenue will account for 84.6% of the total telecom revenue in 2021; mobile data will witness a CAGR of 6.8% during 2016-2021.- The top two operators, Orange Egypt and Vodafone Egypt, accounted for 57.7% share of overall service revenue in 2016. We expect competition to intensify as operators acquire unified licenses from the NTRA, which allows them to offer both mobile and fixed-line services.- Operators will focus on improved service offerings at competitve prices to maintain their market position.Request Sample Copy atReasons to buy- This Country Intelligence Report offers a thorough, forward-looking analysis of Egypt's telecommunications markets, service providers and key opportunities in a concise format to help executives build proactive and profitable growth strategies.- Accompanying Publisher's Forecast products, the report examines the assumptions and drivers behind ongoing and upcoming trends in Egypt's mobile communications, fixed telephony, broadband markets, including the evolution of service provider market shares.- With more than 20 charts and tables, the report is designed for an executive-level audience, boasting presentation quality.- The report provides an easily digestible market assessment for decision-makers built around in-depth information gathered from local market players, which enables executives to quickly get up to speed with the current and emerging trends in Egypt's telecommunications markets.- The broad perspective of the report coupled with comprehensive, actionable detail will help operators, equipment vendors and other telecom industry players succeed in the challenging telecommunications market in Egypt.Table of Content:Executive summary 4Market and competitor overviewRegional context 6Economic, demographic and political context 7Regulatory environment 8Demand profile 13Service evolution 15Competitive landscape 16Major market players 17Segment analysisMobile services 21Fixed services 25Pay-TV 29Identifying opportunitiesOpportunities in the market 31About the authors 32Country Intelligence Report coverage 33Companies Mentioned:Orange EgyptVodafone EgyptTelecom EgyptEtisalat EgyptLINKdotNETOSNbeINEtisalat MisrTE DataInquire 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 Bauxite Mining and our customer support Bauxite Mining is always available to help you on your research queries.505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
UK Pensions Market 2017

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ReportsWeb.com published Pensions Market from its database. 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.The pre- and post-retirement markets have seen some big changes over the last few years. The state pension has been changed from a two-tier to a flat-rate model. The state pension age is steadily increasing to relieve pressure on the government, as the UK population is aging and individuals are living longer. Auto-enrolment will continue to be a big driver of growth in work- and trust-based pensions, as will buyouts as employers look to de-risk. By February 2018, all businesses will have to provide a pension to eligible employees, and by April 2019 the total minimum contribution will be 8%. This means that more individuals will be paying into a pension, and they will be contributing more. New pension freedoms have given customers more flexibility in how they take money from their pensions. The impact has been that fewer individuals are opting to buy an annuity, instead opting for income drawdown or cash withdrawals. There is a greater need for advice, but there is an advice gap where those with small pots are going without as independent financial advisors concentrate their business on wealthier individuals following the Retail Distribution Review.For more information about this report:Scope- This report explores the pre- and post-retirement markets.- It discusses recent legislation such as changes to the state pension, auto-enrolment, the Retail Distribution Review, and the new pension freedoms.- It explains the impacts of legislation with regards to market sizing, distribution, how people are saving their pensions, and how people are taking their pension pots at retirement.- The size of the pensions market has been forecast to 2021.- There is also a focus on how technology and robo-advice can encourage pension saving and understanding of pension options.Reasons to buy- Understand the impacts of recent legislation on consumer behavior in the pre- and post-retirement markets.- Discover how technology and robo-advice can be used to encourage individuals to save pensions and give advice at retirement, ultimately increasing customer engagement.- See how the UK pensions market is forecast to grow over the next five years.Request Sample Copy atTable of Content:EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 31.1. The pensions market has undergone large reforms 31.2. Key findings 31.3. Critical success factors 32. THE STATE PENSION 32.1. Introduction 32.2. Pressure is increasing on the state pension 32.2.1. The UK's aging population is putting pressure on the state pension 32.2.2. To relieve pressure, the state pension age is increasing 32.2.3. The state pension has moved to a flat rate model 32.2.4. The 'triple lock' has been in force since 2011 32.2.5. The triple lock may be scrapped following the upcoming general election 33. SAVING FOR RETIREMENT 33.1. Pension saving is more important than ever 33.1.1. Individuals must make their own pension savings outside of the state pension 33.1.2. The UK pensions market grew by 10.7% during 2013-16 33.1.3. Personal pensions and SIPPs have driven growth in the individual pensions market 33.1.4. Workplace pensions have remained flat 33.1.5. Trust-based pensions have grown due to auto-enrolment 33.2. Auto-enrolment has been introduced to increase pension savings 33.2.1. All employers will be required to provide a pension to eligible workers by February 2018 33.2.2. Minimum auto-enrolment contributions will reach 8% by 2019 33.2.3. Non-eligible individuals or those opting-out may not have sufficient savings at retirement 33.2.4. 1.23 million UK businesses will be required to provide a workplace pension by 2018 33.2.5. Auto-enrolment will put pressure on UK businesses 33.2.6. NEST is the government pension scheme for auto-enrolment 33.2.7. Restrictions on NEST pensions have been lifted, which could disrupt the pensions market 33.3. The pension market is predicted to be worth 17.5bn APE by 2021 33.3.1. The UK pensions market is forecast to grow significantly over the next five years 34. PENSION FREEDOMS 34.1. Pensions freedoms have made accessing a pension more flexible 34.1.1. Changes have been made to the way individuals can access their pot at retirement 34.2. Transfers from a defined benefit scheme have increased 34.2.1. Individuals can transfer from a defined benefit to a defined contribution scheme 34.2.2. Transferring to a defined contribution pension takes the responsibility off employers 34.2.3. Defined benefit pensions are in steady decline as employers look to derisk 34.2.4. The number of TVAS reports being carried out has risen since the reforms 34.2.5. The FCA is keeping a close eye on advisors when it comes to recommending transfers 34.3. Defined contribution pensions have become more flexible 34.3.1. The annuity market has declined since the new pension freedoms 34.3.2. Income drawdown is now the preferred retirement income product over annuities 34.3.3. Income drawdown has moved from a capped to a flexi-access model 34.3.4. A pension pot can be taken as cash in a single or multiple withdrawals 34.3.5. Pension pots can be left untouched to grow tax-free 34.3.6. There are new restrictions on pension contributions if withdrawals are made 34.4. Taxation of pension death benefits is now more generous 34.4.1. Taxation of a pension is dependent on the age at which the scheme member dies 34.4.2. Anyone can now be a nominated beneficiary of a pension 34.5. Pensions will remain a key savings product 34.5.1. Pensions force a long-term savings culture 34.5.2. The Lifetime ISA is not expected to be a popular alternative to a pension 34.5.3. Individuals should not ignore other assets they can benefit from in retirement 35. DISTRIBUTION AND PENSION ADVICE 35.1. Pension freedoms have increased the need for advice on pensions 35.1.1. Around half of trust-based premiums are distributed with either no or restricted advice 35.1.2. The wealthy seek advice, but there is an advice gap for those with smaller pension pots 35.1.3. Those opting for income drawdown are most likely to seek advice 35.1.4. The need for advice has increased as pension freedoms have given individuals more options 35.1.5. Technology could bridge the advice gap for individuals with smaller pension pots 35.1.6. Wealth Wizards has brought robo-advice to the pensions and retirement space 35.1.7. HSBC to offer robo-advice for small pension pots 35.1.8. Technology could also be a solution to help individuals engage with saving 35.1.9. The government is developing a Pensions Dashboard 35.1.10. Pension Bee helps track and consolidate pensions to encourage more contributions 35.1.11. Willis Towers Watson's 'Track my Pension' allows customers to track their investments 35.1.12. Aviva's 'Shape My Future' tool helps users see the cost of their desired retirement lifestyle 36. APPENDIX 36.1. Abbreviations and acronyms 36.2. Bibliography 36.3. Further reading 3Companies Mentioned:Wealth WizardsHSBCNatWestSantanderPension BeeWillis Towers WatsonAvivaInquire 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 Bauxite Mining and our customer support Bauxite Mining is always available to help you on your research queries.505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
Oil Storage Industry Outlook in Asia and Oceania to 2021 - Capacity and Capital Expenditure Forecasts with Details of All Operating and Planned Terminals

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http://www.reportsweb.com/oil-storage-industry-outlook-in-asia-and-oceania-to-2021-capacity-and-capital-expenditure-forecasts-with-details-of-all-operating-and-planned-terminals

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ReportsWeb.com published Oil Storage from its database. 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."Oil Storage Industry Outlook in Asia and Oceania to 2021 - Capacity and Capital Expenditure Forecasts with Details of All Operating and Planned Terminals" is a comprehensive report providing information on storage terminals that store crude oil, petroleum products and chemicals in Asia and Oceania. Typical information on terminals includes terminal name, operator name, storage capacity and commodity stored for all active and planned terminals. The report also provides capital expenditure outlook by key countries, year on year, from 2017 to 2021. The report also provides key country comparisons within the region based on contribution to regional oil storage capacity. Further the report also offers recent developments and latest awarded contracts at country level.For more information about this report:Report Scope- Updated information relating to all active and planned oil storage terminals- Provides historical data from 2011 to 2016, forecast to 2021- Capacity information of all oil storage terminals- Provides operator information for all active and planned oil storage terminals- Latest developments and contracts related to oil storage terminalsReasons to buy- Obtain the most up to date information available on active and planned oil storage terminals Asia and Oceania- Identify growth segments and opportunities in the industry- Facilitate decision making on the basis of strong historic and forecast capacity data- Assess your competitor's oil storage terminalsRequest Sample Copy atTable of Contents1.1. List of Tables 42. Introduction 83. Asia and Oceania Oil Storage Industry 94. Asia and Oceania Oil Storage Industry, China 185. Asia and Oceania Oil Storage Industry, South Korea 296. Asia and Oceania Oil Storage Industry, Indonesia 327. Asia and Oceania Oil Storage Industry, India 428. Asia and Oceania Oil Storage Industry, Japan 579. Asia and Oceania Oil Storage Industry, Singapore 6110. Asia and Oceania Oil Storage Industry, Malaysia 6511. Asia and Oceania Oil Storage Industry, Australia 7012. Asia and Oceania Oil Storage Industry, Thailand 7813. Asia and Oceania Oil Storage Industry, Vietnam 8014. Asia and Oceania Oil Storage Industry, Philippines 8215. Asia and Oceania Oil Storage Industry, Pakistan 8516. Asia and Oceania Oil Storage Industry, Myanmar 8817. Asia and Oceania Oil Storage Industry, Sri Lanka 8918. Asia and Oceania Oil Storage Industry, Bangladesh 9019. Asia and Oceania Oil Storage Industry, Brunei 9520. Asia and Oceania Oil Storage Industry, Taiwan 9621. Asia and Oceania Oil Storage Industry, New Zealand 9722. Asia and Oceania Oil Storage Industry, Papua New Guinea 9823. Asia and Oceania Oil Storage Industry, Nepal 9924. Asia and Oceania Oil Storage Industry, Mongolia 10125. Asia and Oceania Oil Storage Industry, Maldives 10226. Asia and Oceania Oil Storage Industry, Cambodia 10327. Asia and Oceania Oil Storage Industry, Samoa 10428. Asia and Oceania Oil Storage Industry, Laos 10529. Appendix 106Inquire 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 Bauxite Mining and our customer support Bauxite Mining is always available to help you on your research queries.505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
http://www.berlin-institut.org/en/publications/studies-in-english/europes-demographic-future.html

http://www.berlin-institut.org

http://www.gfk-verein.org

Europe is demographically divided. In the north, west and centre of the continent, comparatively high fertility rates and immigration are ensuring population growth for the foreseeable future. By contrast, many regions in southern and Eastern Europe are threatened with accelerated aging processes and marked population losses.---Europe is not just the proverbial old continent. Its populations are also on average older than elsewhere in the world. Even now, there are only some three persons of working age to every pensioner. By the middle of the century, this ratio may fall to one to two. This will have consequences for the economy and social systems. It will become more difficult to finance social benefits, and companies will find it harder to find suitable personnel. This is all the more serious in view of the fact that the economies of the twenty-first century require well-qualified people rather than major industrial plants, says Reiner Klingholz, Director of the Berlin Institute for Population and Development.Just how well prepared Europe is to meet these demographic challenges differs from one region to another. This is shown by the Berlin Institutes study, which analysed a total of 290 regions. The highly developed regions of Switzerland, southern Germany and Scandinavia are in particularly good shape  in some places, including the north of the continent, because of their high fertility rates and good education systems; in others, especially Germany, because of immigration from both European and non-European countries. On the other hand, the prospects of the peripheral regions  in southern and Eastern Europe, which are in any case economically weaker  are further dimmed by the exodus of young people. By the middle of the century, the average age of the population is likely to be highest in Greece and Portugal  and those countries populations will also be smaller than they are today. In many parts of southern and Eastern Europe, only the regions in and around the capital cities are managing to stabilise demographically, while rural areas are increasingly losing people, explains Stephan Sievert, one of the authors of the study.The demographic situation is also a consequence of the numerous crises and upheavals that Europe has experienced over the past decade. For example, the economic crisis triggered a new wave of migration from south to north. The so-called refugee crisis has led in many places to an unexpected rise in the number of inhabitants. The integration of the new arrivals will thus be a major future task for Europe, Stephan Sievert adds. Only if countries succeed in quickly getting immigrants and refugees into employment will the latter be able to participate fully in society. In addition, immigrants who have successfully integrated can help to cushion the effects of these demographic challenges. Many European states have recognised this fact and are gradually expanding their immigration channels. Others are more sceptical. Particularly in the post-socialist states many people reject immigrants, especially those from outside Europe. But these countries, too, will have a great need for immigration in the medium term. In the Czech Republic, for example, there is already almost full employment today, and employers are likely to urge a more liberal immigration policy in future.Demographic problems can also be mitigated by better integrating previously disadvantaged groups, such as women, into working life. Northern Europe has been particularly successful at doing this. In Scandinavia, but also in the Baltic states, there is now scarcely any difference between male and female employment, says Reiner Klingholz. In southern Italy, by contrast, not even one woman in two of working age is engaged in paid work. This has to do not only with cultural differences but also with the availability of childcare, which allows mothers to go back to work soon after the birth of a child. A good family policy would be important precisely in these regions, since fertility rates have fallen here in parallel with the economic crisis in many places.So how do Europes regions stand in demographic terms? The Berlin Institute for Population and Development has examined this issue in its latest study, Europes Demographic Future. The overall findings, which are based on various indicators of demographic and economic development, show that the challenges are greater in the south and the east of the continent than they are in the north and the west.You can download the study as a PDF free of charge from:Please address all enquiries to:Berlin Institute for Population and DevelopmentSchillerstr. 5910627 BerlinStephan Sievert (, T. 030-31 10 26 98)Dr. Reiner Klingholz (, T. 030-31 01 75 60)The Berlin Institute for Population and Development is an independent think tank that focuses on regional and global demographic change. The Institute was founded in 2000 as a non-profit foundation. Its mission is to raise awareness of demographic change, to promote sustainable development, to introduce new ideas to policymakers and to develop concepts to solve demographic and development problems. The Berlin Institute publishes studies as well as discussion and background papers and compiles scientific data to be used in the political decision-making process. For further information or to subscribe to our free regular newsletter Demos (in German), please visitFounded in 1934, the GfK Verein is a non-profit organisation for the promotion of market research. It comprises some 550 companies and individuals. The purpose of the Verein is to develop innovative research methods in close cooperation with scientific institutions, to promote the training and further education of market researchers and to follow the structures and developments in society, the economy and politics that form the basis for private consumption and to study their impact on consumers. Study findings are made available to members of the Verein free of charge. The GfK Verein is the majority shareholder of GfK SE. For more information, please visit:Twitter: GfK_Verein /// facebook: GfK VereinThe Berlin Institute would like to thank the GfK Verein for funding the study.Quelle: idw
https://www.mdc-berlin.de/1151037/en/research/research_teams/systems_biology_of_gene_regulatory_elements

https://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v495/n7441/full/nature11928.html

For the first time, scientists have shown that circular RNA is linked to brain function. When a RNA molecule called Cdr1as was deleted from the genome of mice, the animals had problems filtering out unnecessary information  like patients suffering from neuropsychiatric disorders.---While hundreds of circular RNAs (circRNAs) are abundant in mammalian brains, one big question has remained unanswered: What are they actually good for? In the current issue of Science, Nikolaus Rajewsky and his team at the Berlin Institute of Medical Systems Biology (BIMSB) of the Max Delbruck Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC), as well as other collaborators within the MDC and Charite, present data that  for the first time  link a circular RNA to brain function.RNA is much more than the mundane messenger between DNA and the protein it encodes. Indeed, there are several different kinds of non-coding RNA molecules. They can be long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) or short regulatory RNAs (miRs); they can interfere with protein production (siRNAs) or help make it possible (tRNAs). In the past 20 years, scientists have discovered some two dozen RNA varieties that form intricate networks within the molecular microcosm. The most enigmatic among them are circRNAs, an unusual class of RNAs whose heads are connected to their tails to form a covalently closed ring. These structures had for decades been dismissed as a rare, exotic RNA species. In fact, the opposite is true. Current RNA-sequencing analyses have revealed that they are a large class of RNA, which is highly expressed in brain tissues.Thousands of circular RNAs exist in nematode worms, mice and humansIn 2013, two pioneering studies that characterized circular RNAs appeared in the journal Nature, one of them by Nikolaus Rajewsky and his team. Intriguingly, most circular RNAs are unusually stable, floating in the cytoplasm for hours and even days on end. The systems biologists proposed that  at least sometimes  circRNAs serve gene regulation. Cdr1as, a large single-stranded RNA loop that is 1,500 nucleotides around, might act as a sponge for microRNAs. For example, it offers more than 70 binding sites for a microRNA called miR-7. MicroRNAs are short RNA molecules that typically bind to complementary sequences in messenger RNAs, thereby controlling the amounts of specific proteins produced by cells.Additionally, Rajewsky and his collaborators mined databases and discovered thousands of different circRNAs in nematode worms, mice and humans. Most of them were highly conserved throughout evolution. We had found a parallel universe of unexplored RNAs, says Rajewsky. Since publication the field has exploded; hundreds of new studies have been carried out.Understanding a circle that is mostly present in excitatory neuronsFor the current paper in Science, the systems biologists teamed up with Carmen Birchmeiers lab at the MDC to reconsider Cdr1as. This particular circle can be found in excitatory neurons but not in glial cells, says Monika Piwecka, one of the first authors of the paper and coordinator of most of the experiments. In brain tissues of mice and humans, there are two microRNAs called miR-7 and miR-671 that bind to it. In a next step, Rajewsky and his collaborators selectively deleted the circRNA Cdr1as in mice using the genome editing technology CRISPR/Cas9. In these animals, the expression of most microRNAs in four studied brain regions remained unperturbed. However, miR-7 was downregulated and miR-671 upregulated. These changes were post-transcriptional, consistent with the idea that Cdr1as usually interacts with these microRNAs in the cytoplasm.This indicates that Cdr1as usually stabilizes or transports miR-7 in neurons by sponging them up, while miR-167 might serve to regulate levels of this particular circular RNA, says Rajewsky. If microRNA floated in the cytoplasm without binding anywhere, it would get broken down as waste. The circle would prevent that and also carry it to new places like the synapses. He adds: Maybe we should think about Cdr1as not as a sponge but as a boat. It prevents its passengers from drowning and also moves on to new ports.The changes in microRNA concentration had dramatic effects on the mRNA and proteins produced by nerve cells, especially for a group called immediate early genes. They are part of the first wave of responses when stimuli are presented to neurons. Also affected were messenger RNAs that encode proteins involved in the maintenance of the animals sleep-wake cycles.Cdr1as modulates synaptic responsesUsing single-cell electrophysiology, Charite-researcher Christian Rosenmund observed that spontaneous vesicle release at the synapse happened twice as often. The synaptic responses to two consecutive stimuli were also altered. Additional behavioral analyses performed at the MDC mirrored these findings. Even though the mice appeared normal in many ways, they were unable to tune down their responses to external signals such as noises. Similar disruptions in pre-pulse inhibition have been noted in patients suffering from schizophrenia or other psychiatric diseases.It is an everyday experience how much we depend on this filtering function: When a loud noise suddenly disturbs the quiet atmosphere of a library, you cannot avoid being alarmed. The same bang, however, will seem much less threatening next to a construction site. In this instance, the brain has had the chance to process previous noises and filter out unnecessary information. Therefore, the startle reflex is dampened (pre-pulse inhibition). This basic brain function that allows healthy animals and people to temporarily adapt to a strong stimulus and avoid information overload has now been linked to Cdr1as.Functionally, our data suggest that Cdr1as and its direct interactions with microRNAs are important for sensorimotor gating and synaptic transmission, says Nikolaus Rajewsky. More generally, since the brain is an organ with exceptionally high and diverse expression of circular RNAs, we believe that our data suggest the existence of a previously unknown layer of biological functions carried out by these circles.ContactsJana SchlutterMax Delbruck Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC)Communications Department+49-30-9406-2121Annette TuffsMax Delbruck Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC)Head of Communications Department+49-30-9406-2140CitationPiwecka, Monika et al.: Loss of a mammalian circular RNA locus causes miRNA deregulation and affects brain function, Science (2017), doi:10.1126/science.aam8526Max Delbruck Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC)The Max Delbruck Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC) was founded in Berlin in 1992. It is named for the German-American physicist Max Delbruck, who was awarded the 1969 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine. The MDCs mission is to study molecular mechanisms in order to understand the origins of disease and thus be able to diagnose, prevent and fight it better and more effectively. In these efforts the MDC cooperates with the Charite  Universitatsmedizin Berlin and the Berlin Institute of Health (BIH) as well as with national partners such as the German Center for Cardiovascular Research and numerous international research institutions. More than 1,600 staff and guests from nearly 60 countries work at the MDC, just under 1,300 of them in scientific research. The MDC is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (90 percent) and the State of Berlin (10 percent), and is a member of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres.Weitere Informationen:Quelle: idw
Bennett ends Quakers season in AA semifinals After allowing 460-yards and five touchdowns in their Sept. 24 matchup, Orchard Park head coach decided that if Bennett was...

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We may not know what the deal with airplane food is, but at least we now know the deal with the American Airlines cross-continental in-flight lobster option. The deal with that is that it's not just bad, but somehow way worse than you could ever imagine.

Travel blogger Ben Schlappig learned this lesson the hard way on Wednesday, when he ordered the lobster roll and sweet potato fries aboard a business class American Airlines flight from Los Angeles to New York. But instead of receiving the meal he expecteda decadent shellfish sandwich prepared on an airplane, we guess?Schlapping was served this:



my god (One Mile At A Time)

Schlappig, no stranger to the airplane lobster, called it the worst meal hed ever had in a premium cabin. There was about as much lobster meat on the sandwich as youd get in a tub of butter, Schlappig wrote. It sort of tasted like they took soggy pieces of bread and then spread butter with tiny particles of lobster on it.

It gets better: After asking the flight attendant if there'd been a mistake, Schlappig was informed that he actually "got lucky." Because the airline was out of the business class lobster rolls, the flight attendant explained, he'd received a first class version of the dish (eat it, rich people).

We reached out to Schlappig for some more insight on eating well while 30,000 feet in the air, but he was boarding a flight to Uzbekistan and didn't have much time to chat. He did offer this helpful summary on the country's worsening in-flight dining options.

I wouldn't say that food on American is particularly bad compared to domestic flights on other US carriers, but it has absolutely been on a downhill trend since the merger. In 2013 American probably had the best catering between Delta, American, and United, but since then Delta and United have made significant improvements while American has focused on cost-cutting. So I guess the net effect is that American has the worst on-board catering of the big three.

He added that he was not expecting Uzbekistan Airlines to serve lobster, but said he'd "enjoyed many lobster dishes on various airlines in the past." So if you find yourself flying to Southeast Asia on Singapore Airlines and have a hankering for crustacean, Schlappig says their lobster thermidor is the "hands down best meal in the sky."



Now this is what an airplane lobster is supposed to look like, we guess. (One Mile At A Time)
The Helena City Commission created committees this week to oversee sustainability measures related to its adoption of the Paris Climate Accord and to advise subsidized development in the Railroad Urban Renewal Area.

The Citizen Conservation Board was spurred by the resolution adopting the international climate change agreement, the open-ended commitment to reduce carbon emissions. The outline for the boards structure and function was taken from the citys 2009 climate change task force action plan.

The board will consist of 14 Helena citizens, including professionals in the health care field, students, conservationists, citizens at large, an Earth science teacher, a member of the Helena Citizens Council, business people and an engineer. Appointments still need to be made for the available positions.

The goal of the board is to provide citizen support, participation in and oversight of greenhouse gas reduction, water conservation and other resource conservation and sustainability measures undertaken by the city of Helena.

The creation of the Tax Increment Financing Advisory Board for the Railroad Urban Renewal Area removed oversight of the TIF from the Business Improvement District, which deals mainly with downtown improvements. It established a board consisting of Railroad URA stakeholders and constituents to provide more personalized oversight of the zone.

The Railroad URA roughly occupies a 10-block-wide area surrounding the train tracks between Last Chance Gulch and Interstate 15.

The Railroad TIF funding is collected from property taxes within the zone, and is used to subsidize approved urban renewal projects within the designated area.

While the advisory board cannot make any binding decisions on the zone, it will make recommendations to the city commission on issues or applications for TIF funding. Nine members represent area businesses, residents, property owners, the 6th Ward Neighborhood Association, Montana Business Assistance Connection, the nonprofit sector, and the school district.
Friday 11 August 2017 2:48pm

A study using big data has found that childhood respiratory illnesses, especially during the first two years of life, have a big impact on New Zealand primary care general practice (GP) workloads.

The large cohort study of 36 primary care practices from the greater Wellington region looked at data from children presenting to their GP with respiratory illness, describing variation over six years.

The research led by Professor Tony Dowell from the University of Otago, Wellington showed that respiratory conditions constituted 46 per cent of all child general practitioner consultations with a remarkably stable year-on-year pattern of seasonal peaks.



Professor Tony Dowell

For the first time, using a new way of accessing the free text in GP notes, we have been able to investigate and measure impact on primary care practices of these childhood illnesses, says Professor Dowell.

The information will help towards more effective planning of ways of delivering health services leading to better health outcomes.

The findings and methods have relevance to many countries, and the use of primary care big data in this way can be applied to other health conditions, he says.

The team reviewed the records from 77,582 children enrolled to estimate the presentation of childhood respiratory illness and service use. They analysed the data over six years from January 2008 to December 2013.

The researchers used a natural language processing software inference algorithm to analyse the large amount of data.

The research found that upper respiratory tract infection was the most common respiratory category accounting for 21.0 per cent of all childhood consultations, followed by ear infections (12.2 per cent), wheeze-related illness (9.7 per cent), throat infection (7.4 per cent) and lower respiratory tract infection (4.4 per cent).

Almost 70 per cent of children presented to their general practitioner with at least one respiratory condition in their first year of life. This dropped to approximately 25 per cent for children aged 1017.

This cohort represents 268,919 person-years of data and over 650,000 unique consultations, Professor Dowell says.

The study appears in the British Medical Journal.

For further information, please contact:

Professor Tony Dowell

Primary Health Care and General Practice

University of Otago, Wellington

Email: tony.dowell@otago.ac.nz
Construction of two reactors at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station stopped last week after utilities Santee Cooper and South Carolina Electric & Gas agreed to abandon the project. Experts say the project's failure probably won't affect the state's ability to attract manufacturers.
Adapted from a recent online discussion.

Hi, Carolyn!

I'm struggling with how to celebrate my twins' 5th birthday. They attend preschool and are in separate classes. The norm seems to be to invite everyone in the class, so we invited both classes to a party at a play place. We have 25 RSVPs so far.

This seems tacky to me now. We just wanted a party for them to play with their friends. I'm sure their friends' parents are wondering if they have to buy gifts for both twins. My kids do not need any more toys.

My question is actually twofold: Should I try to rein in this party and somehow request no gifts or a charity donation instead, and how do parents of older twins handle this?

-- Struggling

Yes, spread the word that you're collecting for a charity in lieu of gifts. Check with a local shelter, pick something easy for your guests and use this excess for good.

You can also do what we did in this situation, and have a grab bag -- every guest brings one gift for the bag (set a low price limit, like $10) and every guest takes one home. You contribute two to cover your twins. The grab-bag plan not only prevents the grotesque haul of 50 gifts to one family, but also replaces party favors, which are pretty universally awful.

In the future, buck the "norm." One of my kids' schools recommended the formula of inviting either the whole class or less than half of it -- safeguarding, say, one or two kids from finding out in horror that everyone got together without them. I actually think it should be more skewed, to a just a few kids or everybody.

A small gathering (say, one or two friends per kid) is perfectly acceptable, not to mention developmentally apt. So is doing nothing above and beyond, truly. A cake and a movie is plenty. Party culture gets insane fast.

For your own sanity, in fact, for any kid -- not just multiples -- it can be really helpful to treat birthdays with different intensities over the years. One year, big, OK, but then make another low-key, and another just family, and another friends-focused, and etc. Creating fixed expectations can mess with the response you get -- especially when you peg them high, leading to the ever-increasing chance of disappointment. If you instead show a range of ways to show you care, then there's a better chance they'll see and appreciate what you're doing on its own merits.

Re: Presents:

I suspect Emily Post would disagree, but I love love love reading, "No gifts, please." We have enough things! The party should be fun for the guests, not expensive for the parents!

-- Enough

I'm with you -- I see it as the kindest part of an invitation. People with an ingrained aversion to arriving empty-handed can bring a card, ideally handmade by the kid.

Re: Charity:

My kid was invited to a party where the gift request is a donation to a charity, one that discriminates against the LGBT community. Should I RSVP our regrets, or go empty-handed?

-- Regrets

I should have specified: No politics in selecting a charity. So: food banks, shelters, period.

In this case, go and just bring something else.
After Secretary of State Corey Stapleton made claims of voter fraud in recent Montana elections, a state senator is pushing him to provide proof.

Sen. Sue Malek, a Democrat from Missoula, sent Stapleton a letter Aug. 3 requesting he provide documentation for statements he made saying there were 360 cases of fraudulent ballots in the May 25 special election to elect a new Congressman after Ryan Zinke was appointed Secretary of the Interior.

Malek pressed Stapleton in a July 20 meeting of the State Administration and Veterans Affairs Interim Committee, where Stapleton made the statement. The senator pointed out that was a tiny amount compared to 383,000 total ballots cast and cases of mismatched signatures, which Stapleton has clashed with Maleks home county of Missoula over, do not constitute fraud.

I think its those situations that the Secretary of State is calling voter fraud. And thats really concerning because of course the legal definition of fraud is intent to deceive and take advantage. And that isnt whats happening in Montana, Malek said.

Maleks letter asks that Stapleton provide documentation of fraud at the committees Sept. 14 meeting. The Associated Press has also filed a request with the Secretary of States office that has not yet been filled asking for documentation of the fraud cases, as has Lee Newspapers.

Malek asked for the name of the counties where fraud occurred, the number of fraudulent votes in each county, the number of cases cited by charge, such as mismatched signatures, no signature or other issues and what legal actions have been taken.

In her letter, Malek reminded Stapleton a charge of fraud must be proven legally with proof of intent.

A spokeswoman for Stapleton said Thursday he was at the annual meeting of the state clerks and recorders association and not able to answer questions.

She also said there is was no information regarding "the Missoula victim of voter fraud."

The spokeswoman confirmed receiving the letter from Malek but said Stapleton had not yet told the committee if he would attend the Sept. 14 meeting.

Stapleton has clashed with Missoula County over mismatched signatures on ballots that were rejected in the May 25 election.

Emails obtained by the Missoulian through a records request showed Stapleton and elections administrator Rebecca Connors had a series of harsh exchanges over 91 ballots rejected because of signature issues. Only one ballot was incorrectly counted, but Connors said it was a mistake where a person accidentally voted another person's ballot. The miscounted ballot was found, voided and the woman was allowed to vote again. The case was reported to the Missoula Police Department and the Secretary of State.

Stapleton got off to a rocky start in office by opposing a bill that would have allowed the special election to be conducted by mail. County clerks from around the state said it would save them money on an unexpected election. Stapleton objected, saying voting by mail was not secure and tying the process to states that allow the use of recreational marijuana.

If you look at the three states that have done it, you can see that populism and direct democracy at its best, all three states, Oregon, Washington and Colorado, they do all-mail-in ballots and theyre all-marijuana-all-the-time states too. Is that what you want? Because thats what youre going to get, he said in a February hearing.

Hes struggled to strengthen relationships with the states clerks and recorders since. Stapletons director of elections and voter services, Derek Oestreicher, also left abruptly last month, though Oestreicher would not discuss why and Stapleton did not return calls for comment.

Republican State Rep. Geraldine Custer, who was a county clerk for 36 years, said she doesnt believe Montana has voter fraud, though some occasional mistakes do occur.

Husbands and wives might accidentally sign each others absentee ballots, but clerks catch these mistakes and correct the issue.

Its just a political thing, Custer, from Forsyth, said of Stapletons claims of fraud. Hes just doing what the national people are doing, trying to undermine democracy by saying theres issues with elections and voter fraud. I think it builds distrust and that it undermines democracy.

In a small state like Montana, clerks know their communities and fellow residents well and can give special attention to make sure everyone has the opportunity to vote, Custer said.

I think that the clerks in the state are working hard to make sure our elections are run well, she said. Theres errors, human errors, but I dont think its with a malicious intent to change the outcome.

Crying voter fraud was a common refrain of Republican President Donald Trump when he campaigned last fall and appears to be becoming part of the playbook for some members of his party. Even after his electoral college victory but loss of the popular vote, Trump has continued to make false claims that nearly 3 million people fraudulently voted for Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Earlier this summer the president created a voter fraud commission to investigate claims of widespread fraud, though there is no documentation or evidence of that ever happening in the U.S. Many critics view it as a play to suppress Democratic voter turnout and distract from the presidential campaigns ties to Russia and that countrys meddling in U.S. elections.

Montana rejected the commissions request to turn over private voter information such as Social Security numbers and birth dates, though other information such as names and voting history are already public and may be requested by anyone and made available for a fee. Montana does not collect party affiliation information since the state has open primaries.

Ive gotten calls from people who say Is this just the Trump stuff? Malek said of Stapletons claims. This just feeds into the hands of that.

State Rep. Bryce Bennett, also from Missoula, called Stapletons accusations baseless and very detrimental to our democracy.

From my perspective, what Im seeing from Secretary Stapleton currently is a series of baseless accusations of voter fraud that he has provided no proof to back up. We have elections administrators who take their duty of upholding the integrity of our elections very seriously and I feel if the Secretary of State is going to throw out an accusation that there is fraud in any county in Montana he needs to have proof to back that up and so far he has not done that.

Malek said if there are any cases of voter fraud, she wants the interim committee to be able to investigate and work to make the states elections secure.

I want him to come in and show us what he actually has, Malek said. Even if there are a handful of instances that really are voter fraud we want to follow up on those. I dont want voter fraud happening. Its this committee's responsibility to make sure all of this is happening correctly. I just want to know what hes got.

Lee Newspapers attempted to contact former Montana Republican Party chairman Jeff Essmann, who was a state representative in last spring's legislative session representing the Billings area, for comment on this story. Essmann has been a advocate of stronger laws to protect what he called an opportunity for ballot fraud, bringing a bill that would have severely limited who could turn in ballots on behalf of others. That bill ultimately failed.

During the 2016 fall election Essmann also called on then-Secretary of State Linda McCulloch to release a public service announcement encouraging absentee voters to hand-deliver their ballots or return them by mail instead of giving them to volunteers going door-to-door offering to return ballots.

Lee Newspapers also reached out to Speaker of the House Rep. Austin Knudsen, R-Culbertson, who held a strong stance against allowing mail-in voting for the special election.
State police are reporting the arrest of Christopher Roland Cull, 35, of Midland, on charges of receipt and possession of child sexually abusive materials.

Cull was arrested following an investigation by the Michigan State Police (MSP) Computer Crimes Unit, Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, Northeast Michigan Trafficking and Exploitation Crimes Task Force, and the FBI. Authorities report seizing digital evidence from Cull's home.

Authorities said they launched the investigation after discovering Cull was downloading and sharing child sexually abusive materials from the internet. Cull was charged after police conducted a forensic examination of the digital evidence, according to a news release.

On Monday, Cull was arraigned in the U.S. District Court in Bay City on federal charges. MLive-The Bay City Times reports a grand jury on Aug. 2 indicted Cull on the charges, and that U.S. Magistrate Judge Patricia T. Morris released Cull on a $20,000 unsecured bond.

Morris has permitted Cull to travel within the state so he can visit his girlfriend in the Grand Rapids area, but he is prohibited from accessing the internet from any device other than his cellphone, which will be monitored, and he must not possess any erotic or pornographic material or have contact with minors apart from his son, MLive reported.
Several local students recently attended the Engineering Scholars program at Michigan Technological University in Houghton.

More than 150 students from eight US states, Turkey and Pakistan were accepted into this highly competitive scholarship program. Engineering Scholars is part of Michigan Tech's Summer Youth Programs.

Local participants included Maya Albright, Midland High School; Kyle Brennan, H.H. Dow High School; Odin Drake, H.H. Dow High School; William Fink, Bullock Creek High School; Nicholas Scott, Midland High School; and Sameer Shepich, Saginaw Arts And Sciences Academy.

Engineering Scholars is a fun and intensive weeklong look at engineering careers in areas such as mechanical, computer, environmental, electrical, biomedical, civil, geological and materials engineering. The students explored engineering with group projects such as designing a building strong enough to withstand an earthquake, creating an artificial intelligence army and more. They received inside information from role models working in engineering fields. The students learned about the college application process and tips for succeeding in university engineering programs.

Students accepted in the Engineering Scholars program receive a scholarship valued are more than $1,000 that covered tuition, room and board, and supplies.

In addition, the students experienced college life by staying in residence halls, eating in university cafeterias and exploring campus life among others with similar interests. Following intensive classroom and lab experiences in the day, they enjoyed team competitions, a variety show and many outdoor activities in Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula.
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Paducah, KY (42003)

Today

Cloudy early, becoming mostly clear after midnight. Low 21F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy early, becoming mostly clear after midnight. Low 21F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph.
NORMAL  "It's like Christmas in here every day," smiles Terri Ryburn a week before the grand opening of her 11-year-old dream come true.

She's referencing the boxes of inventory that keep turning up from assorted delivery trucks.

"I get boxes and boxes," she observes with another smile.

In fact, pretty much everything Terri Ryburn says these days comes with mouth upturned.

"I can't help it ... I haven't stopped smiling," she confesses of the dream that veered toward nightmare territory occasionally, but that has finally revealed itself as the best kind of waking reality.

Namely, Ryburn Place at Sprague's Super Service, latest and perhaps longest-gestating addition to Bloomington-Normal's rich Route 66 iconography.

The restored Tudor Revival building at 305 Pine St.  one of only five two-story gas stations left along Route 66  debuts to the public with a dream-come-true/grand opening celebration from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday.

The party will come complete with ribbon-cutting ceremony, National Register of Historic Places plaque unveiling, Curbside Grillin' food truck and a parking lot concert from one of Ryburn's favorite local bands, Wagon Load A Trouble (who performed at a 2014 fundraiser for the building).

Thereafter, it's on to business-as-what-will-be-usual: regular hours of 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday through Sunday, with Ryburn managing the combination Route 66-themed gift shop and visitor's center and living full time on the building's second floor.

"It's an important distinction to make," she says of its dual role as both quality shop and instructive visitor center, offering a northern companion, not competitor, she says, to downtown Bloomington's Cruisin' with Lincoln on 66 Visitors Center in the McLean County Museum of History.

"The gift shop will focus on local artists," Ryburn says of what visitors can expect of her inventory, which will embrace both the Route 66 tourist trade and the local populace.

"I want local people to not to think of this as just a Route 66 gift shop. I want them to think of it as a place to go if you really need a cool, one-of-a-kind gift at all price points."

Handmade cards, vintage Route 66 postcards, hand-dyed silk scarves, jewelry and handmade soaps are among the offerings gift buyers can expect to find.

That's just the start of her hopes of creating a synergy with her Bloomington counterpart, and capitalizing further on the Twin Cities' Mother Road heritage, on behalf of both locals and the tourist trade, both domestic and international.

"It's wonderful ... this it IT!" she says of the reclamation project begun by her, flying solo, 11 years ago and, as of May 2016, taken over by the town of Normal at a point when Ryburn needed the intervention after 10 years of struggling along against serious financial odds.

The Normal City Council voted to buy the property for $229,000, then spend $200,000 to improve the building, $24,000 to buy an adjoining parking lot and $5,000 to compensate Ryburn for her decade's work.

Ryburn admits that "It's my baby, and it was difficult to let it go after 10 years. But it's a win-win situation. I have peace of mind about what they can do for it. They get me, and know me. I'm the caretaker of the building, and they are truly invested in it. Normal is a very progressive town ... just amazing."

It is the culmination of all Ryburn's ardent Route 66 passions, which have long been expressed through her work on the local history and preservation front.

Among those endeavors: teaching a course at Illinois State University about the road for honors students and writing her own doctoral dissertation on the Mother Road, earning her the nickname "Dr. 66" upon her 1999 graduation.

In a feature story she penned for Route 66 Magazine, Ryburn recalled, "I first traveled on Route 66 when I was 5 years old and my father moved the family from Bloomington to California.

"Traveling in a Model A truck that my dad converted into a sort-of camper were my mom and dad, my four brothers and I, and my dad's two hunting dogs. It was a great adventure for kids, camping out every night and eating picnics along the way."

That experience affected her the rest of her life, right up through that fateful day in 2006 that she espied the "For Sale" sign at 305 Pine St., in her neighborhood steeped in Route 66 history.

She'd just retired from ISU a year before and was living "comfortably" in her recently remodeled home, relishing the thought of relaxation, traveling and writing.

Her Route 66 love took hold, leading her into the purchase of the badly deteriorated late-1920s structure that had originally been home to a gas station, garage, restaurant and living quarters above for the owner.

The purchase required Ryburn and her husband, Bill Sanders, to sell their home and move into those very second-floor living quarters.

"He took it better than I expected, and we moved to 305 Pine St. in May of 2007," Ryburn says.

The next decade involved a regimen of grant-writing, donation-seeking and a return to the workforce to help move her dream along to reality.

Shes received $46,695 from the town for a new roof and temporary furnace; a $20,000 matching grant from the National Park Service for a furnace and air conditioning system, duct work and ceiling; a $10,000 grant from the state for two new bathrooms and more money for the furnace; and a day of volunteer service from the Route 66 Association.

She contributed about $90,000 out of her own pocket.

Sadly, in 2011, her husband, who had told her to "go to it," passed away, with the project still in uncertain financial limbo.

"Oh, he would be thrilled about what is happening now," she says.

As for a return to the ranks of the retired?

"It is a little frightening to be starting up a new business at 68-going-on-69," Ryburn admits on a recent day, a week before the grand opening and with a lot of work and installation yet to be done (including signage and installation of several reproduction vintage gas pumps out front).

"In fact, I'm terrified," she adds.

"But anyone who knows me knows that I will make it happen. Once I decide to do something, I never give in. I think the town will be happy."

She adds, with that omnipresent smile not going anywhere any time soon, "I know I am."
NORMAL  Holding signs reading "Medicaid for Seniors, Not Tax Breaks for Millionaires" and chanting "Stand up, fight back," about 60 people rallied outside U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis's uptown Normal office on Wednesday, protesting proposed federal cuts to Medicaid.

"The health care battle was won," said Barb Franklin of Rantoul, president of the Illinois Alliance for Retired Americans, referring to the Republican failure to overturn the Affordable Care Act (ACA). "But the struggle isn't over."

Franklin said the alliance was holding Davis accountable for voting for the ACA repeal, which would have reduced Medicaid coverage that helps fund nursing homes and in-home care for seniors and people with disabilities.

In addition, the protesters oppose Medicaid cuts proposed by President Trump and some House Republicans, she said. Davis is a House Republican.

"To make room for tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires, it will be programs that serve as our lifelines ... that will be on the chopping block," Franklin said.

With 70 percent of low- to moderate-income seniors having at least one chronic condition, "We should be building up our care systems, not scrapping it," she said.

Regarding proposals to privatize Medicare and make it into a coupon or voucher system, alliance Vice President Kate Jamruk said, "Medicare isn't charity. Medicare is earned."

When protesters entered Davis's office  which he shares with State Rep. Dan Brady, R-Bloomington  they found that Davis's district outreach coordinator was out at a family funeral so they presented their letter to Brady's district office director.

Later Wednesday, Davis's communications director Ashley Phelps said that Davis is committed to ensuring that promises like Medicare are kept but, if nothing is done to shore up the program, by 2028, it will become insolvent.

"As for Medicaid, this is a program that has grown exponentially," covering one in four Illinoisans, Phelps said. Spending on Medicaid is $600 billion and is expected to grow to $800 billion by 2023.

"This is unsustainable," she said.

Among protesters was Thomas Bennett, 65, of Bloomington, who was there for his son, T.J., 24, who was born with hydrocephalus (a buildup of fluid in the brain) and has cerebral palsy, poor brain development, seizure disorder and uses a wheelchair.

"Medicaid has been there for him," helping to cover his medical expenses, Bennett told The Pantagraph. "Pull him off Medicaid and he'll die."

Bennett said he is saving Medicaid money by taking care of T.J. at home rather than placing him in a long-term care facility.

Jeanna Campbell, 28, of Normal, said she has an elderly loved one who depends on Medicaid even though she started working when she was 15 and a brother with autism who uses Medicaid to help cover medical expenses. Campbell uses Medicare as secondary insurance because the primary insurance she receives as a full-time special education teaching assistant doesn't cover all the medical supplies she needs as a Type 1 diabetic.

"If we were to take funding away, it would be disastrous," Campbell said. "This is an issue for everyone."
Irving Consumer Products Announces Expansion and Construction of New Tissue Production Plant in Georgia The new tissue plant will create over 200 jobs and allow the company to double its ThruAir Dry capacity, increasing it by 75,000 tonnes, the equivalent of 15 million cases. August 10, 2017 - Irving Consumer Products is pleased to announce the expansion of its United States business operations with the construction of a new $400 million state-of-the-art tissue plant in Macon, Georgia. The new plant will create over 200 jobs and allow the company to double its ThruAir Dry capacity, increasing it by 75,000 tonnes, the equivalent of 15 million cases. We're pleased to be expanding our business in the United States. We're excited by the opportunity in Macon and in Georgia. We're looking forward to building a strong relationship with the wonderful people of this community, says Robert K. Irving, President of Irving Consumer Products. Selecting Macon for our new facility provides us with an opportunity to establish a footprint in a region that has proven itself as being a strong supporter of business. It will allow us to reach key markets, and will help to continue to drive our growth, Mr. Irving added. Engineering and planning for the facility is well underway. Construction will begin this summer and will be completed in 2019 and is estimated to provide 1,000,000 person hours of work. At the height of construction, over 540 people will be working on-site. In November 2016, Irving Consumer Products announced the purchase of a new ThruAir Dry machine, which will be installed at the new facility in Macon. Irving Consumer Products is one of North America's leading manufacturers of household paper and baby diaper products. Irving Consumer Products companies include Irving Tissue and Irving Personal Care. To learn more, please visit: www.jdirving.com. SOURCE: J.D. Irving, Limited
Wood Raw-Material Costs for European Pulp Mills Continued Downward Trend in Early-2017 The European pulp industry has become much more competitive in the international pulp and paper market the past five years with wood fiber costs, which account for 55-65% of the production costs, having fallen more than in most other regions of the world. Some of the biggest price declines have been for hardwood pulp logs in the Nordic countries. In the Nordic countries, wood fiber costs in the first quarter of 2017 were at their lowest levels since 2006 (in US dollars). This was mostly thanks to the weakening of the local currencies in both Sweden and Finland. August 10, 2017 - Wood costs for the pulp industry in Europe were generally lower in the the first quarter of 2017 than in the previous quarter, continuing a downward trend that, depending on the country, has lasted for 4-6 years, according to the Wood Resource Quarterly (WRQ). The biggest price declines for pulp logs and sawmill residues in early 2017 occurred in Germany and France. The price reductions occurred mainly because of an oversupply of pulp logs, unchanged demand for wood fiber from the pulp industry, and reduced usage of raw-material by the competing wood pellet sector. In neighboring Austria, conifer pulp log prices have been very stable during most of 2015 and 2016 (in Euro terms) and prices did not change much in the 1Q/17. However, the weakening of the Euro against the US dollar has resulted in Austrian pulp log prices falling seven percent in two years. In the Nordic countries, wood fiber costs in the 1Q/17 were at their lowest levels since 2006 (in US dollars). This was mostly thanks to the weakening of the local currencies in both Sweden and Finland. The wood fiber costs currently account for about 60% of the manufacturing cost when manufacturing pulp in the region, according to Fisher International, so a reduction in prices for pulp logs and wood chips has a major impact in improving the competitiveness of the pulp and paper industry when competing in the global market place. The pulp sectors in Portugal and Spain, which are the third and fourth largest consumers of hardwood logs in Europe, have also enjoyed a period of declining wood costs with the price levels in early 2017 being 20-25% below the fiber costs five years ago. Hardwood fiber costs for pulp mills in Europe have fallen more rapidly than in other parts of the world from 2012 to 2017, and the industry has become much more competitive with competitors in North America, Latin America and Asia, WRQ said. For example, the price discrepancy for hardwood pulp logs between Sweden and the US South has fallen from US$62/odmt in the 1Q/12 to only US$9/odmt in the 1Q/17. Wood Resources International, publisher of the Wood Resource Quarterly, is an internationally recognized forest industry-consulting firm. For further information visit: www.woodprices.com. SOURCE: Wood Resources International LLC
Emmy-nominated actress and transgender advocate Laverne Cox teamed up with the ACLU and Transparent producer Zackary Drucker to create a short narrative film about the trans civil rights movement in America. Accompanied by illustrations by Molly Crabapple, the video is a quick and immersive look at the history of resistance against the struggles and discrimination that transgender people have faced.

The president's tweets about banning transgender people from the military, along with legislative efforts in places like Texas to ban trans people from public restrooms, make the video particularly timely, and Cox notes this in the video.

"Rather than invest in our survival," she says, "the new administration has attempted to both literally and figuratively delete us, and has ignored requests to investigate escalating violence against us."

Cox recounts some of the keystone moments in trans history, drawing on the stories of her "transcestors" to express her hope for the future of the community.

"When we manage to survive and even to love ourselves, we are stronger than ever," she says. "Our community is resilient and our history of resistance runs deeps."

Check it out below:





[h/t Time]

Image via David X Prutting/BFA.com
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On May 30, Patently Apple posted a report titled "Andy Rubin's 'Phone' was Unveiled today and he'll be talking about it Tonight with Mossberg at the Code Conference." Yesterday Reuters reported that Essential Products, the smartphone startup founded by a co-creator of the Android mobile operating system, has raised $300 million in new funding and signed up retailers to sell its first device.

The $699 phone, with a titanium and ceramic case, will compete directly against new devices from Samsung Electronics and Apple Inc this holiday season. Retailers include Best Buy, Amazon.com and carriers Sprint Corp in the United States and Telus Corp in Canada, Essential said in a statement.

The company, founded by Chief Executive Andy Rubin in late 2015, said Access Technology Ventures led the funding round, which brought its total investment raised to $330 million.

Strategic investors also included Tencent Holdings Ltd, electronics contract manufacturer Foxconn and Amazon.com, which participated via its Alexa Fund. Previous investors Redpoint Ventures and Playground Global also participated.





Bob O'Donnell of Technalysis Research said by phone that "It's going to be extraordinarily challenging. The initial specs of the phone look good, but not necessarily unique."

Essential will focus on "building a brand in the Western World" before expanding to other countries, De Masi said. It would consider sales of "low single-digit millions" of phones in its first year a success, he added, noting that production was limited by the unusual materials of titanium and ceramic. Most phones have aluminum or plastic casings.

Essential President Niccolo De Masi said in an interview with Reuters that "Over the next five to 10 years, we will have the same retail footprint and product diversity as Samsung and Apple."

With Apple's iPhone 8 launching in September and Samsung's Note 8 launching on August 23, the 'Essential' smartphone doesn't stand a chance of making a dent in the market unless they deliver a surprise feature they've yet to reveal. The Essential phone is going to be one in a sea of Android smartphones and little else.





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.
Ive been reading through the works of George MacDonald this year, and Im amazed by how ahead of his time this nineteenth-century preacher was. The majority of what he wrote would not sound out of place if it came from a fairly progressive Christian today. Its little wonder that G.K. Chesterton, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Madeleine LEngle, and so many others have pointed to him as a major influence on their own lives and writing.

That said, his progressive views have garnered no shortage of controversy. Conservative pastor Tim Keller has gone so far as to say that hes not sure whether George MacDonald was even a Christian. However, despite all the accusations brought against him, Ive never heard anyone call George MacDonald an open theist. Of course that would technically be anachronistic, as the term open theism didnt come into use until the late twentieth century, but my point is that Ive not heard his beliefs compared to what open theists believe about God and the settledness of the future.

In brief, open theists believe that that the future has not been determined. The free-will choices we make truly do do affect the course of the future. While open theists affirm that God is omniscientknowing all that can be known, including all possible choices that could be madeGod logically cannot know what has not yet been decided. And so, while God is also immutablenever changing in nature or essenceGod does change and adapt his plans in relation with human decisions.

With that in mind, check out the following statements I found in George MacDonalds sermon, Mans Difficulty Concerning Prayer from his Unspoken Sermons (bold formatting added for emphasis):

How will the child go on to pray if he knows the Father cannot answer him? Will not may be for love, but how with a self-imposed cannot? How could he be Father, who creating, would not make provision, would not keep room for the babbled prayers of his children? Is his perfection a mechanical one? Has he himself no room for choicetherefore can give none? There must be a Godlike region of choice as there is a human, however little we may be able to conceive it.  What stupidity of perfection would that be which left no margin about Gods work, no room for change of plan upon change of factyea, even the mighty change that, behold now at length, his child is praying! See the freedom of God in his sunsetsnever a second like one of the foregone!in his moons and skiesin the ever-changing solid earth!all moving by no dead law, but in the harmony of the vital law of liberty, Gods creative perfectionall ordered from within. A divine perfection that were indeed, where was no liberty! Where there could be but one way of a thing! I may move my arm as I please: shall God be unable so to move his? If but for himself, God might well desire no change, but he is God for the sake of his growing creatures; all his making and doing is for them, and change is the necessity of their very existence. They need a mighty law of liberty, into which shall never intrude one atom of chance. Is the one idea of creation the begetting of a free, grand, divine will in us? And shall that will, praying with the will of the Father, find itself cramped, fettered, manacled by foregone laws? Will it not rather be a new-born law itself, working new things? No man is so tied by divine law that he can nowise modify his work: shall God not modify his?  If you say There can be but one perfect way, I answer, Yet the perfect way to bring a thing so far, to a certain crisis, can ill be the perfect way to carry it on after that crisis: the plan will have to change then. And as this crisis depends on a will, all cannot be in exact, though in live preparation for it.  That God cannot interfere to modify his plans, interfere without the change of a single law of his world, is to me absurd. If we can change, God can change, else is he less free than wehis plans, I say, not principles, not ends: God himself forbid!change them after divine fashion, above our fashions as the heavens are higher than the earth.

What do you think? Does this sound like open theism to you? Are you aware of anything else George MacDonald has written to either confirm this view or cast doubt on it? Let me know in the comments below!
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Iran: Rohani Names Two Women Vice Presidents, But None In Cabinet

08/09/17

Source: RFE/RL

Iranian President Hassan Rohani has named two women as vice presidents, a day after proposing a government that included no women in cabinet positions. Rohani's presidential website announced August 9 that he appointed Masumeh Ebtekar as vice president for women and family affairs and Laaya Joneidi as vice president for legal affairs.

Ebtekar was Rohani's vice president for the environment department during his first term, one of three female appointees. Another was Shahindokht Molaverdi, who Rohani named as assistant on citizenship rights.



Iranian presidents appoint a number of vice presidents -- positions that do not need parliamentary approval.



On August 8, Rohani proposed 17 men for 18 cabinet positions to parliament. All cabinet members must be approved by legislators over the coming week.



A nominee for science minister has not been announced. Rohani also has several more deputy positions to fill and it was unclear if any would go to women.



The cleric had no women as cabinet ministers in his first term either, despite being a moderate and emphasizing women's rights in his campaign.



The lack of any women among Rohani's new ministers has been strongly criticized by his reformist allies, who say he has bowed to pressure from the Iran's religious establishment.



Iran has had only one woman in a minister's post since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Marzieh Dastjerd served as health minister from 2009-13, under hard-line conservative President Mahmud Ahmadinejad.



Rohani, a relative moderate, was sworn in on August 5 after winning reelection in May with the support of reformists and women after vowing to improve civil liberties and rebuild ties with the West.



His administration signed the landmark 2015 nuclear deal with world powers that led to the lifting of most sanctions against Iran in return for curbs on its nuclear program.



According to the list Rohani submitted to parliament on August 8, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh, and Intelligence Minister Mahmud Alavi are to retain their posts.



Acting Defense Minister Amir Hatami is expected to officially take over that portfolio. Hatami, who is a general, would become the first defense chief selected from the national army in nearly three decades.



Since 1989, Iranian defense ministers were either civilians or, more recently, members of the influential Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), which answers only to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.



Lawmakers are not expected to challenge Rohani's choices for the ministries of foreign affairs, defense, and intelligence, as presidents select them with Khamenei's approval.



Under the Iranian political system, the supreme leader is commander in chief of the armed forces, appoints the head of the Judiciary, and dictates major policies of the country.



With reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP

Copyright (c) 2017 RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org
Statement on a Comprehensive Policy to Constrain Iran

08/10/17

By The Iran Project

On August 8, 2017, a bipartisan group of 47 national security leaders issued a statement recommending a comprehensive Iran policy designed to further U.S. national security interests.

The international agreement with Iran continues to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. No American national security objective would be served by withdrawing from it as long as Iran is meeting the agreement's requirements. To the contrary, given continuing assurance by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that Iran is in compliance with the agreement, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), such a unilateral act would have grave long term political and security consequences for the United States.

Reports indicate that President Donald Trump may refuse to certify Iran's compliance with the JCPOA in October, which could lead to restoring sanctions against Iran that were suspended in 2015 in accordance with the agreement. Doing so would bring the United States-rather than Iran-into noncompliance with the agreement.

We recommend instead a comprehensive policy toward Iran that furthers U.S. national security interests. This approach would push back against Iran's threatening actions against its neighbors; enable the achievement of other U.S. objectives in the region; and continue to prevent an Iranian nuclear weapon-all without the risk of war and the consequent loss of American lives, resources and stature of the United States as a world leader.Specifically, we recommend that the United States:

Continue to certify Iran's compliance with the JCPOA as long as the IAEA, the United States and other nations determine that Iran is meeting its commitments. The United States will thereby buttress the international coalition that brought Iran to the table and avoid a highly damaging challenge to the U.S. dollar-lead international financial order that could come from wide international opposition to what is judged to be an unjustified re-imposition of U.S. sanctions. In addition, preserving U.S. fidelity to the JCPOA will be essential for successful future joint action should Iran ever be found in violation. Iran with a nuclear weapon would be a far greater threat to the region and U.S. security.

Engage fully in the work of the Joint Commission of JCPOA, the body specifically set up to oversee compliance by all parties to the agreement. American leadership in that governing body would: strengthen IAEA oversight; maintain active U.S. involvement in questioning all credible evidence of Iranian violations; and preserve the U.S. option to take unilateral action against Iran should it violate the agreement and others do not respond. International compliance investigations, intelligence-gathering and inspections are important parts of this effort. But, they must be done in good faith and in a credible fashion, letting the results speak for themselves. While the United States should encourage the IAEA to inspect sensitive sites in Iran when there is evidence of possible violations, in the absence of such evidence, the United States would not have the support of a majority of Joint Commission members needed to require Iran to accept IAEA access.

Begin discussions with other JCPOA Joint Commission members on options for a follow-on agreement that would, after the expiration of JCPOA, add further guarantees to assure that Iran will not have the capacity to build a nuclear weapon far into the future. The United States should quietly begin conversations with its negotiating partners (Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia) not to seek to renegotiate the JCPOA-which all would oppose-but to explore the potential for a mutually agreeable arrangement for the future. Consideration should also be given to approaches that would build on the JCPOA to promote nuclear restraints on a regional basis.

Propose a new consultative body comprising Saudi Arabia, Iran, Russia, Turkey, the United States, China and the European Union that would begin regular exchanges on the major disputes in the area. This would not be easy and the first meeting including Saudi Arabia and Iran could take many months to organize. Since none of the conflicts in the Middle East can be resolved by military force alone and all will require some agreement between the Gulf States and Iran, the exploration of these broader political options is essential. Such a body could encourage these governments to discuss differences from the standpoint of nation states, not from an ideological or sectarian point of view.

Establish a regular channel of communication at a senior level with Iran that would enable the United States to express its concerns directly to Iran's leaders about Iranian actions, provide a channel to resolve conflicts before they escalate, and explore opportunities for working in parallel with Iran on problems that impact U.S. security interests such as in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Yemen.

Begin regular consultations with U.S. allies and partners in the region to share information and coordinate strategies to push back against Iran's threatening actions that contribute to the instability in the Middle East, including proxy and asymmetrical activities, particularly if direct engagement with Iran on these issues proves fruitless. Retaining the JCPOA will be integral to the success of this effort.

The consequences for U.S. national security of unilaterally refusing to certify Iran's compliance with the JCPOA in the absence of evidence of noncompliance would be:

The United States would presumably re-establish unilateral sanctions against companies and nations that have begun economic and trade relations with Iran since the nuclear agreement was reached two years ago. This action might include extra-territorial sanctions against non-U.S. governments, banks and private companies. While the administration might delay renewing sanctions for a period of time, the intention of doing so would be clear.

The renewal of U.S. sanctions would most certainly result in Iran alleging the United States has violated the JCPOA and require a meeting of the Joint Commission (UK, France, Germany, Russia and China, plus Iran) to resolve the question of U.S. compliance. The renewal of U.S. sanctions would challenge European states and other nations to consider whether to acquiesce in U.S. Treasury demands or suffer potentially punishing fines for trading with and investing in Iran. A U.S. decision to renew sanctions in the absence of evidence of Iranian noncompliance would damage American leadership, raise the likelihood of legal disputes with European companies, banks and governments, and potentially directly challenge the power of the U.S. Treasury and the U.S. dollar as global reserve currency. Backing away from the JCPOA would also damage U.S. credibility as a partner in future diplomatic negotiations including with North Korea.

Europe, China and Russia could decide to continue observing the JCPOA should Iran continue to comply with its commitments restricting its nuclear program. Iran's agreement would no doubt be based on assurances from Europe and others of continued sanctions relief, which would permit the expansion of trade and investment opportunities in Iran. Should this happen, it is the United States, rather than Iran, that would be isolated and damaged economically.

A clear break between the United States and Europe (EU) over the sanctions issues would allow Russia and China to move closer to achieving their longstanding goal of dividing the West. The collapse of the coalition that brought Iran to the negotiating table would destroy international unity in determining how to respond forcefully should Iran decide in the future to expand its nuclear program with an intention to build a nuclear weapon.

Alternatively Iran could respond to the U.S. rejection of the JCPOA by returning to its pre-agreement enrichment program at full strength and under far weaker international monitoring.

A restart of an unconstrained nuclear program could be the default Iranian reaction given the likelihood that at least some European and Asian companies will decline to do business in Iran if the U.S. re-imposes extra-territorial sanctions. Iran with a nuclear weapon would be a far greater threat to the region and U.S. security than it is today.

Security forces and other hard line elements in Iran would almost surely acquire more political power in the wake of a U.S. effort to scuttle the JCPOA.

A more dominant Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) role could result in heightened Iranian proxy and asymmetrical actions against the United States and its interests worldwide and further strengthen Iran's strategic partnership with Russia, a relationship that so far has been based on expediency rather than on long historic ties or political affinity. More importantly a more powerful IRGC would weaken those within Iran who seek to reduce IRGC influence and to pursue the economic and social reforms proposed by recently re-elected President Rouhani.

Military conflict with Iran and its over 80 million people would become more likely, as U.S.-Iranian hostility mounts and as Saudi Arabia becomes emboldened by U.S. military support and the rise in American threats against Iran. An American effort to promote regime change through covert action, based on the false assumption that political forces exist inside Iran that are ready to overthrow the current government, would most certainly fail and lead directly toward conflict.

A war with Iran is more imaginable today than at any time since 2012.

47 security experts warn: serious consequences if US violates #IranDeal by renewing sanctions while Iran complies. https://t.co/JUBiRJYWQM pic.twitter.com/A5namwD6Jh  Diplomacy Works (@Diplomacy_Works) August 9, 2017



Signed by:

Amb. (ret.) Morton Abramowitz, Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research, Ambassador to Thailand and Turkey

Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research, Ambassador to Thailand and Turkey Amb. (ret.) Nicholas Burns, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs and Ambassador to Greece

Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs and Ambassador to Greece Joseph Cirincione, President of the Ploughshares Fund

President of the Ploughshares Fund Amb. (ret.) Chester A Crocker, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs

Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Tom Daschle, U.S. Senator and Senate Majority Leader

U.S. Senator and Senate Majority Leader Suzanne DiMaggio, Senior Fellow and Director of the Iran Initiative at New America

Senior Fellow and Director of the Iran Initiative at New America Amb. (ret.) James Dobbins, Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan

Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Robert Einhorn, Assistant Secretary for Nonproliferation and Secretary of State's Special Advisor for Nonproliferation and Arms Control

Assistant Secretary for Nonproliferation and Secretary of State's Special Advisor for Nonproliferation and Arms Control Leslie Gelb, Assistant Secretary of State for Politico-Military Affairs and Director of Policy Planning and Arms Control at the Department of Defense

Assistant Secretary of State for Politico-Military Affairs and Director of Policy Planning and Arms Control at the Department of Defense Morton H. Halperin, Director of Policy Planning at the Department of State

Director of Policy Planning at the Department of State Lee H. Hamilton, U.S. House of Representatives and Chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committee

U.S. House of Representatives and Chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committee Gary Hart , U.S. Senator and Special Envoy to Northern Ireland

, U.S. Senator and Special Envoy to Northern Ireland Stephen B. Heintz, President, Rockefeller Brothers Fund

President, Rockefeller Brothers Fund James Hoge, former Editor of Foreign Affairs Magazine

former Editor of Foreign Affairs Magazine Amb. (ret.) Bob Hormats, Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment and Deputy U.S. Trade Representative

Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment and Deputy U.S. Trade Representative J. Bennett Johnston, U.S. Senator

U.S. Senator LTG. Frank Kearney (ret.), U.S. Army, Deputy Director for Strategic Operational Planning at the National Counter-Terrorism Center

U.S. Army, Deputy Director for Strategic Operational Planning at the National Counter-Terrorism Center Amb. (ret.) Daniel Kurtzer, Ambassador to Israel and Egypt

Ambassador to Israel and Egypt Ellen Laipson, Vice Chair of the National Intelligence Council and President Emeritus of the Stimson Center

Vice Chair of the National Intelligence Council and President Emeritus of the Stimson Center Carl Levin, U.S. Senator and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Armed Services

U.S. Senator and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Armed Services Amb. (ret.) John Limbert, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Iran

Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Iran Amb. (ret.) William H. Luers, Ambassador to Czechoslovakia and Venezuela

Ambassador to Czechoslovakia and Venezuela Richard G. Lugar, U.S. Senator and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations

U.S. Senator and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Jessica T. Mathews, Director of the Office of Global Issues of the National Security Council

Director of the Office of Global Issues of the National Security Council Amb. (ret.) William G. Miller, Ambassador to Ukraine

Ambassador to Ukraine Amb. (ret.) Cameron Munter, Ambassador to Pakistan and Serbia

Ambassador to Pakistan and Serbia Amb. (ret.) Richard W. Murphy, Ambassador to Saudi Arabia and Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs

Ambassador to Saudi Arabia and Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs Vali Nasr, U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan and Dean of Johns Hopkins SAIS

U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan and Dean of Johns Hopkins SAIS Richard Nephew, Deputy Coordinator for Sanctions Policy at the Department of State and Director for Iran of the National Security Council

Deputy Coordinator for Sanctions Policy at the Department of State and Director for Iran of the National Security Council Joseph Nye, Assistant Secretary of Defense

Assistant Secretary of Defense Amb. (ret.) Thomas Pickering, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs and Ambassador to Israel, Russia, India, United Nations, El Salvador, Nigeria, and Jordan

Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs and Ambassador to Israel, Russia, India, United Nations, El Salvador, Nigeria, and Jordan Paul R. Pillar, National Intelligence Officer for the Near East and South Asia

National Intelligence Officer for the Near East and South Asia Amb. (ret.) Nicholas Platt, Ambassador to Pakistan, Philippines, and Zambia

Ambassador to Pakistan, Philippines, and Zambia Joe R. Reeder , Deputy Secretary of the Army and Chairman of the Panama Canal Commission

, Deputy Secretary of the Army and Chairman of the Panama Canal Commission Amb. (ret.) J. Stapleton Roy, Assistant Secretary for Intelligence and Research and Ambassador to China, Indonesia, and Singapore

Assistant Secretary for Intelligence and Research and Ambassador to China, Indonesia, and Singapore Barnett R. Rubin, Senior Adviser to the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan

Senior Adviser to the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Karim Sadjadpour, Senior Associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Senior Associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Gen. (ret.) Brent Scowcroft, National Security Advisor

National Security Advisor RADM (ret.) Joe Sestak, U.S. Navy, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Warfare Requirements and Programs

U.S. Navy, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Warfare Requirements and Programs Gary Sick, Director for Iran and the Persian Gulf of the National Security Council

Director for Iran and the Persian Gulf of the National Security Council Jim Slattery, U.S. House of Representatives

U.S. House of Representatives Anne-Marie Slaughter, Director of Policy Planning at the Department of State

Director of Policy Planning at the Department of State Mark Udall, U.S. Senator

U.S. Senator Amb. (ret.) Edward S. Walker, Jr., Ambassador to Israel, Egypt, and United Arab Emirates

Ambassador to Israel, Egypt, and United Arab Emirates James Walsh, Research Associate at MIT's Security Studies Program

Research Associate at MIT's Security Studies Program Col. (ret.) Lawrence Wilkerson, U.S. Army, Chief of Staff to the Secretary of State

U.S. Army, Chief of Staff to the Secretary of State Timothy E. Wirth, U.S. Senator

U.S. Senator Amb. (ret.) Frank Wisner, Ambassador to India, Egypt, the Philippines, and Zambia, and Under Secretary of State for International Security Affairs

* The signers of this statement were either former senior officials of the U.S. government or prominent national security leaders who have not held senior government positions. The positions listed after the names of the former government officials are senior posts held while in office. The positions listed after the names of those who were not from the government are listed with their current position.
Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia on Tuesday said government would continue to provide a conducive environment for businesses to grow and support the establishment of new ones.



He said the Government was particularly interested in encouraging value addition since it would provide more product lines and, therefore, open more avenues for job creation to accelerate development.



Vice President Bawumia said this at the Tema Free Zone Enclave when he paid a surprise visit to the place to acquaint himself with the operations of businesses there.



The Vice President and his entourage toured two cocoa processing companies; Barry Callebaut and Niche Cocoa Industries Limited.



He said the visit was to afford him the opportunity to understand their challenges in order to find lasting solutions.



Vice President Bawumia said: Im happy to see that these companies are being run by Ghanaians or have a significant Ghanaian representation.



Im happy to see Ghanaian men and women doing an earnest job to earn a living. But we want to see more value addition. There are so many jobs we can create with value addition.



I also came here to get a better understanding of the sort of challenges you have because we are not satisfied with the level of cocoa processed here.



He said President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo had charged the country to process and add value to her raw materials to boost exports and create more jobs.



So we wanted to see the challenges that Barry Callebaut and others are having, and find ways to help them, he said.



Mrs Charity A. Sackitey, the Managing Director of Barry Callebaut, who took the Vice President round the factory, said the factory operated 24/7 and, therefore, paid higher tariff than the figure announced by the Electricity Company of Ghana.



She, therefore, appealed for a discount from the Ghana Cocoa Board during the main cocoa season to help the Company to double production and create employment.



The company receives a discount for the light crop but no subsidy for the main crop, and this has limited its ability to expand, she said.



Mr Edmund Poku, the Managing Director of Niche Cocoa Industry Limited, called for financial support for cocoa processing companies to help them to buy more beans for processing and expansion.



The Vice President, in response, promised to look into their concerns and engage the appropriate stakeholders for a speedy solution.



Barry Callebaut, which is headquartered in Switzerland, is the first company to move into the Tema Free Zones Enclave in 2001, and has been growing steadily.



The Niche Cocoa Industry Limited, on the other hand, is a wholly Ghanaian owned cocoa processing company established in May, 2011.



It recently doubled its capacity from 30,000 metric tonnes to 60,000 a year thus, making it one of the largest cocoa processing companies in the country.





Source: By Godwill Arthur-Mensah, GNA









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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MTN Ghana on Wednesday held its Mobile Money stakeholders conference, as part of activities for the month-long celebration on the need to address barriers in mobile transactions.



The conference held under the theme: Addressing barriers to mobile money payment adoption in Ghana, was to find solutions to improving mobile payments and service in the country.



Mrs Georgina Asare- Fiagbenu, Senior Manager, Sustainability and Social Impact, MTN, said the workshop was an integral part of the mobile money month activities which is aimed at gaining insight into the mobile money industry from critical industry players.



She said the mobile money month is an annual campaign with a month long series of activities organised in August to promote and sensitize the public on the benefits of a cashlite society.



Mrs Asare- Fiagbenu said the mobile money economy in Ghana is growing at a rapid pace and by 2016 MTN recorded about 485 million mobile money transactions adding that the growth did come with its own challenges.



She said it is important to engage stakeholders to bring out ideas and solutions to help steer and navigate through the challenges that hinder the adoption of mobile payments in the country.



We at MTN hope to rope in a greater percent of Ghanaians on the mobile money platform at the end of the year in line with the Bank of Ghanas national policy for a cashlite economy.



Mr Eli Hini, General Manager, Mobile Financial Service, MTN, said the mobile financial service is gradually taking a centre stage in the financial banking sector and this is making banking more convenient.



He said the time has come for Ghanaians to move from cash into a cashless society, where all business transactions would be done through mobile money.



Mr Hini said the introduction of mobile money service in 2009 had a vision of making financial transactions fast, simple, convenient, secure and affordable through the use of mobile phones.



He said in addressing the barriers there is the need to put in place regulations, as well as government support and digital address systems, customer education, security, technology merchant acceptance, partnership as well as connectivity.



Mr Hini said mobile money would deliver value for all of us, but putting in the right processes in place would lead us to the point of addressing all the barriers associated with the payment adoption.



Dr Settor Amediku, Head of Payments, Bank of Ghana, said some of the challenges facing the mobile money industry include network failures, agent liquidity or float.



Electronic money issuers, agents, guidelines, branchless banking guidelines, as well as the passage of the Payment Systems and Services Bill 2017, would help address the barriers to mobile money payment adoption, he said.



Dr Amediku said in addressing the barriers to mobile money, regulators can provide support by ensuring the enforcement of market conduct and customer protection regulation, developing agents registry assuring consumers of protection and monitoring of float accounts, and providing enabling regulatory environment.



Mr Derrydean Dadzie, Chief Executive Officer of DreamOval, said mobile money is the most cost effective way to drive financial inclusion and with mobile money, Ghana would be able to attain 70 percent financial inclusion by 2020.



He said to achieve a cashlite society or address the barriers to mobile money, it is important to introduce the cash withdrawal tax, to make it expensive to withdraw cash and expensive to carry money, adding that public education, is needed in this effort.



Mr Dadzie said mobile money is not in competition with the banks but rather promoting financial inclusion.



He urged mobile money operators to reduce the perceived high cost of mobile money transactions, standardise some of the operational models and address the listed areas of concern.

Source: GNA









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All seems to be set for the implementation of the much-touted One District, One Factory flagship programme of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP).



While some people, especially political opponents, have expressed doubts about the implementation of the programme, others have even wondered whether the programme would come on at all.



But addressing a durbar of the chiefs and people of Sefwi-Wiawso in the Western Region on the first day of his six-day duty tour of the Western and the Central Regions yesterday, President Akufo-Addo cleared the doubts hanging on the programme.



According to him, Trade Minister, Alan John Kwadwo Kyerematen, and his team would begin to roll out the programme this month (August).



From August onwards, the programme is going to start rolling out, the One District, One Factory programme, he told the gathering.



The chiefs and people of the area appealed to the current Akufo-Addo administration to come and fix the roads in the area.



Much as he shared their concerns, the president pleaded with them to give him some time to fix the broken economy and roads before the end of his four-year tenure.



He also assured them of governments commitment to elevating the Sefwi-Anwiaso-Bekwai district into a municipality in the next two months, which sent the people into wild jubilation.



President Akufo-Addo acknowledged receipt of a petition from the chiefs and people of Sefwi for the area to be made a region, saying the proposal was being seriously considered.



He seized the opportunity to thank them for the confidence they reposed in him by voting massively for him and his party  the NPP  in the last general elections, promising not to let them down.



He took them through what his government inherited and what they have been doing to turn round the fortunes of the country since assuming the reins of government some seven months ago, hoping that the much-touted 2017 Asempa budget would bring some relief to Ghanaians.



Beginning September this year, he said government would start the implementation of yet another of its flagship programmes  the much talked-about Free Senior High School policy.



According to him, everything was set for the implementation of the policy.



Touching on the cocoa industry, President Akufo-Addo recalled that the previous Kufuor-led NPP administration was able to boost cocoa production to one million tonnes per annum.



After Kufuors exit, he expressed regret that production of the cash crop declined.



We are going to do one million tonnes of cocoa and move it to 1.5 million tonnes in the course of my mandate.



That, he said, would create lots of jobs in the country.



Members of his entourage included Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of COCOBOD, Joseph Boahen Aidoo and Minister for Railways, Joe Ghartey.

Source: Daily Guide









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The Chairman of the Lands Commission has blatantly refused to comply with orders by a Tema High Court, which ruled that the Lands Commission deleted a fake Supreme Court ruling which had found its way into the commissions records.



The High Court also ordered the Lands Commission to publish in either the Daily Graphic or Ghanaian Times an apology to the Nuumo Awuley Kwao family of Miotso, the Supreme Court and the general public but checks by the New Crusading GUIDE have revealed that the Lands Commission is yet to comply with the orders.



It will be recalled that this paper, last week Thursday, in a story hinted that the Lands Commission was dragging its feet in complying with the orders. The latest action by the Lands Commission is causing anxiety among investors who fear that, the Lands Commission now appears superior to the Judiciary If the Lands Commission can openly fail to comply with the orders of a High Court then its recipe for chaos because miscreants and land guards would have a field day and investors will have them to contend with, an estate developer told this paper.



A Tema High Court last week, apart from the Lands Commission, sentenced some elders of the Adden&Darpoh family of Dawhenya to three (3) days imprisonment for contempt of court for terrorising residents and investors at Miotso in the Greater Accra Region.



The elders, in addition to serving the jail term were to sign a bond to be of good behaviour for a period of one year. Should they default they will serve additional six (6) months.



The six (6) people who were convicted of contempt are: Faradey Martey Adden Darpoh, William Doku Darpoh, Stephen Kwashie Nyakor Adden, Joshua Martey Adden, Alex Acqueteh Adden and Alex Annan Adden



Nene Kwaku Darpoh I, who was also found guilty of contempt, was saved from serving a jail term as he was fined GHC4, 000 and in default will serve three (3) months imprisonment.



The charge of contempt was preferred against the defendants by Nuumo Awuley Kwao family, owners of lands at Miotso including the Central University.



Please stay tuned

Source: New Crusading Guide









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Deputy Information Minister, Mr. Kwadwo Oppong-Nkrumah, has underlined the governments unswerving determination to deepen the engagement with the people of Ghana to create space for everybody to contribute to the development of the nation.



They would not betray the trust of Ghanaians and was never going to lose touch of their felt needs.



He was speaking at a town hall meeting held at Fomena in the Adansi North District.



It provided the platform to explain and assist the people to have better understanding of the governments policies and programmes.



Mr. Oppong-Nkrumah hinted that all was set for the implementation of the one-million dollar per constituency policy.



This, he indicated, would significantly help to significantly bring development to the people.



The Deputy Minister used the occasion to talk people engaged in illegal mining out of the activity to end the devastation of the environment.



He rallied all to give strong support to the effort at safeguarding the forest, farmlands and water bodies.



He also asked that they embraced the planting for food and jobs programme to improve food security and create employment for the unemployed youth.



Mr. Eric Kwaku Kusi, the District chief Executive (DCE), told the people that mining had not been banned and that the government wanted to ensure that the right things were done.



He added that it was eager to properly regulate mining to promote sustainability and protect the environment.



The massive destruction of the vegetation and pollution of rivers and streams, he said, could not continue.



The DCE hailed the decision to suspend the health insurance capitation that had been piloted in the Ashanti Region for over five years and said it was a welcomed relief to the people.



Presentations were made on the planting for food and jobs programme, the National Entrepreneurship and Innovative Plan (NEIP), free senior high school (SHS) and Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Programme.



Mr. Frederick Sarkodie, an Agricultural Field Officer in the district, announced that 1,000 farmers had been registered to participate in the planting for food and jobs programme in the area.



He added that they were focusing on maize, rice, tomato and pepper farming.



Opagyakotwere Bonsra Afriyie II, Adansihene, reminded parents to put premium on the education of their children.

Source: GNA









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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Agencies and Departments under the Information Ministry, have been asked to be more creative  think outside the box, in order to remain relevant and survive the intense competition in the media landscape.



Mr. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, the Deputy Minister of Information, said it could not be business as usual in the face of the current realities.



The dawn of social media, media pluralism and modern communication technology demanded that they changed their ways of doing things.



He said it was pertinent for agencies and departments like the Ghana News Agency (GNA), Information Services Department (ISD) and the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) to sit up.



Their creativity, he added, must be extended to the generation of revenue to sustain their operations.



With the limited resources from the government to finance their operations, they needed to focus priority on generating revenue internally to supplement the subvention.



He was interacting with management and staff of the GNA, GBC and ISD as part of his visit to the Ashanti Region.



The joint meeting provided the platform to share ideas on the new direction of the Ministry and discuss the way forward to deal with the challenges facing the three institutions for optimal performance.



The Deputy Minister asked management of the agencies and departments to come out with new ideas on how to commercialize some aspects of their operations.



This, he said, was the path to travel to stay in business and efficiently discharge their mandate.



Mr. Oppong-Nkrumah indicated that, although the advent of the new media and modern technologies in the media landscape had come with challenges, there were also opportunities, which they needed to grab to stay ahead of the competition.



He noted that the GNA, for example, had become an endangered species given the fierce competition from the social media  online portals in the timeous dissemination of news.



He said it was pertinent for the Agency  the national wires service, to do more to regain its dominance and relevance.

Source: GNA









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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A man is in the grips of the police for allegedly defrauding several women under false pretences as a doctor.



The Police say the suspect, Faith Mensah Tekpor is a serial "confident trickster" who poses as a medical doctor with several names such as Dr Jeff Addow, Dr Alvin Owusu, Dr Alvin Annan, Dr Fiifi Owusu, Dr Collins Amoah and Dr Alvin Mensah to defraud people.



According to a statement signed by the Director of Public Affairs, DSP Sheilla Kessie Abayie-Buckman, his victims are mostly women and he normally operates within Accra, Sakumono and Tema.



"Faith Mensah Tekpor is presently facing trial for defrauding by impersonation and also under investigations for similar fraud offences," the statement said.



"Until his recent arrest, the suspect had jumped Court bail and was listed as a wanted person following a bench warrant".



"His modus includes posing as a medical practitioner, approaches and proposes to a woman and pursues her to keep as a "girlfriend", with the potential of a lasting relationship. He records his sexual encounters with the women, whether known to them or not".



The statement further disclosed that the suspect after recording the sex acts will then lend money from his unsuspecting victims and begin to blackmail them with the recorded videos when they demand their monies back.



The Police are, therefore, encouraging any of his victims to report their cases to the nearest Police station or call the short code 18555 (MTN and Vodafone) or 0244682740 / 020777001.

Source: Daily Graphic









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, says his 7 month old government is already fulfilling the promises and commitments made to the Ghanaian people in the run-up to the December 2016 elections, despite the economic mess inherited by his administration.



According to President Akufo-Addo, when we came into office, we were met with huge debts and no money. It is for this reason that we put in place the appropriate measures to strengthen our monetary system, so the development we promised the people can be met.



The President noted that the Asempa budget read in Parliament by the Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, in March, has ensured that the countrys finances have been placed on a solid footing, and are gaining strength to ensure the fulfilment of his governments promises.



President Akufo-Addo made this known at a durbar of Chiefs and people at Bibiani, in the Bibiani Anhwiaso Bekwai, on Monday, August 7, 2017, at the commencement of his 3-day tour of the Western Region.



A flagship programme of his government, the Free SHS policy, President Akufo-Addo reiterated, will commence in September 2017, made possible by the sound economic policies his government has put in place.



I have been bastardised by several persons who claim the Free SHS policy is a misplaced priority, a lie, and cannot be done. The Free SHS policy, I wish to assure them, will start from September. The first students in the history of our country who are going to benefit from the Free SHS will be doing so as from September this year, he said.



Touching on the dwindling fortunes of the cocoa sector, President Akufo-Addo noted that the policies and programmes instituted by former President John Agyekum Kufuor ensured that the cocoa production hit 1 million tonnes in 2010/2011.



However, cocoa production has since declined, with the 2015/2016 crop season recording a production of 778,000 metric tonnes.



My government is going to increase cocoa production again to 1 million tonnes, and move it to 1.5 million tonnes in the course of my mandate. We will also ensure that cocoa farmers gain their pride of place in our society. We will make the cultivation of cocoa a source of gainful employment once again, he said.



The 1-District-1-Factory policy, President Akufo-Addo noted, will be rolled out in the course of this month, and the construction of the Western Railway lines will also begin shortly, with these two initiatives creating hundreds of thousands of jobs.



Creation of Municipality



President Akufo-Addo also announced, much to the delight of the Chiefs and people of Bibiani, that the Minister for Local Government, Hon. Hajia Alima Mahama, will in September announce the upgrading of Sefwi Anhwiaso Bekwai from a district into a municipality.



On the creation of the proposed Western North Region, a campaign pledge he made on 11th August, 2016, the President noted that a petition had been submitted to him demanding the creation of the new region. This petition, the President disclosed, was referred to the Council of State by letter dated 29th June, 2017.



To this end, a meeting of the President and the Council of State has been slated for the 15th of August, where the President will obtain advice from the Council of State on whether there is a need to create the new region.



President Akufo-Addo added that upon receipt of supporting advice from the Council, he is mandated by the Constitution to appoint a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the need for the creation of the new region.



He explained further that should the Commission be convinced that such a need pertains, it will recommend the places and issues for a referendum. The matter will then be referred to the Electoral Commission for a referendum to be held according to the recommendations of the Commission.



From what I have heard Ogyeahorhuor Yaw Gyebi II, the President of the Western Regional House of Chiefs, saying this morning, I am confident that the Western North region will soon be created, because he says you are voting 100% in the referendum for the creation of the new region.



For the first time in the history of the Fourth Republic, new regions will be created and it will be under the presidency of Nana Akufo-Addo that this is going to be done, he said



President Akufo-Addo, therefore, appealed for the support of the people of Bibiani, adding that support me fully, so I can work to fulfil the pledges I made to you. Let me reiterate that Ghana is not a poor country. We are a rich nation. With good policies, we are going to bring wealth and prosperity to every part of this country.

Source: Presidency.gov.gh









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Audio Attachment: Listen to Kwesi Pratt Jnr.

Preliminary investigations into the turf war at the Electoral Commission are said to have commenced.



The Chief Justice has written officially to the Chairperson of the Commission, Charlotte Osei, to respond to the allegations leveled against her by her staff; sources disclosed.



Daily Guide has learnt that the letter from the Office of the Chief Justice was delivered last Friday.



The two other commissioners, Amadu Sulley and Georgina Opoku-Amankwa, have equally been written to, to react to the petitions against them, seeking their removal from office.



While the Chief Justice has reportedly begun a probe into the matter, the Editor-in-Chief of the Insight newspaper Kwesi Pratt is calling for heads to roll within the Commission.



According to him, the Commissioners have brought the integrity and image of the Commission into disrepute following their feud and have disappointed Ghanaians.



He says anyone who thinks they have an easy solution to the issue would be a liar.



Due to this, Mr. Pratt says he is sure Ghanaians would have voiced and propagated that all the 7-member Commissioners at the EC be sacked over the alleged abuse of power and corruption scandal.



If not for some implications attached to their appointments, I would have said and Ghanaians would have propagated that all seven of them should go home. They should all go home because they didnt help us . . . they have really disappointed us . . . " he stressed on Peace FM's 'Kokrokoo'.









Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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A former national chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Dr Obed Asamoah has reiterated his stance that former President Jerry John Rawlings was not the founder of the NDC.



According to him, at the time of filing for the registration of the NDC in 1992, the former President was still serving in the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) and could not have represented any district as a founder member.



In a radio interview with Joy FM Wednesday evening, Dr Asamoah who praised former deputy chief of staff, Dr Valerie Sawyerr for taking on Mr Rawlings in the Ntomtom Nwansena article said after the party was set up a clause was inserted in the constitution of the party to recognize his contribution to the ideals upon which the party was set up.



I [Asamoah] dealt with the application of the NDC to the Electoral Commission for registration. The law at the time and still I think the laws are the same that you must have founders from the different districts, and at that time I think you had to have at least one from each district to sign the papers and I can show you the duplicate of the papers, they are here right now because I dealt with that whole process, and President Rawlings name is not on that list.



Now the reason he wasnt on the list is that at that time by a law which the PNDC itself passed and which he had signed, if you were an active member of the military you couldnt be a founder of a party and he didnt resign from the military until about just a few weeks before the elections of 1992. From that point of view he is certainly not a founder but when we set up the party we realized the need to recognize his contribution to the whole idea, Dr Asamoah said in the radio interview.

Source: Daily Graphic









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DECATUR  The Decatur Housing Authority recently met a major goal by filling nearly all of its units, but the full occupancy could mean that more people need housing assistance, Executive Director Jim Alpi said.

Thousands more Decatur residents qualify for help than the agency has funding to serve, he said. Hundreds vie for places on waiting lists that open only a few times a year.

Jerry Pelz, director of the nonprofit Northeast Community Fund, also said he sees an increased need for affordable housing in Decatur.

(The housing authority) certainly does a good job of who they are able to serve in those situations but the need is greater than the resources that they have, said Pelz, whose agency provides food, clothing and furniture vouchers. We have to work together and utilize our resources to help the unfortunate.

There is still a large group that below the poverty line that we arent assisting.

U.S. Census figures also show a growing need for affordable housing, Alpi said. In 2000, one in six Decatur residents lived in poverty. By 2015, the number was one in four.

That means 19,000 Decatur residents are eligible for housing authority programs, even if they dont participate. The housing authority currently serves 4,000 people or 1,700 families, Alpi said.

Certainly that is significant, and a help, but it shows the gap there, Alpi said. When we think about the future, that saddens me.

The housing authority manages 478 public housing units, all but three of which are full, he said. It also funds 1,096 vouchers for the housing choice voucher program, commonly known as Section 8.

Many prefer Section 8 because it allows them to receive a voucher and choose any apartment that meets the program requirements. Demand for this type of assistance is so high that the agency caps the waiting list at 300 people.

Alpi said the housing authority looks for opportunities to expand programs and increase the number of units to serve the tremendous number of people in our community who could benefit.

As long as there is a waiting list, if we are full, then we are interested in finding ways to expand the stock, the availability (of housing), Alpi said.

So far this year, the housing authority has spent about $490,000 a month on housing vouchers, Alpi said. The agency has $5.9 million to spend for the year.

Its a difficult proposition right now just because of all of these programs rely on having some kind of (public) funding source, he said.

President Donald Trumps budget for fiscal year 2018 calls for cutting about $7 billion from the $48 billion budget for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. That includes cuts to homeless assistance grants and a reduction of nearly $1 billion to Section 8, which helps about 2.2 million low-income families afford housing nationwide.

Funding cuts would make it even more difficult to serve the people who need help, Alpi said. He said the local agency has maintained a reserve that can accommodate short-term funding losses, but would need to make changes in the event of longer-term cuts.

If we have reduced revenue and have to make adjustments, it generally will result in us not being able to provide quite as high level of service, he said. It has not come to that yet.

One example the agencys efforts to increase affordable housing is the eight new homes it built on West Macon Street last year with a $2 million grant from Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigans office.

The money came from a settlement Madigan won after suing big banks for defrauding the public in the 2008 mortgage crisis. With the settlement money, her office funding projects like Decaturs to provide more housing for low- to moderate-income families.

Construction was completed on the houses in January, according to documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. The housing authority started taking applications for the homes in June after the Herald & Review inquired about the continued vacancy.

Richelle Irons, director of neighborhood services for the city of Decatur, worked on finding the best neighborhood for the project on West Macon Street. She said the homes turned out nice and are a good addition to an up-and-coming neighborhood with many benefits.

Irons said she hasnt seen an increased need for affordable housing in Decatur, where the cost of living is lower than some other cities and there is quality housing stock to choose from.

Instead, she said, the issue is that some residents dont make enough money to support themselves.

Nationwide it is very affordable to live here. But it doesnt matter how affordable it is if they dont have the means to pay that rent, she said. Folks have to make a living wage and provide for the needs of their family  thats a separate issue.

On June 1, roughly 600 people applied in person to be included in a lottery for the 300 slots on Decaturs Section 8 waiting list. The application period lasted for one day only.

The lottery process controls the length of the list so that the applicants and information remains current and people are ready to move when a unit becomes available, Alpi said. Once a voucher is available, people have 90 days to find an apartment that meets program requirements.

We try to prevent having a list so long it would take years or many months, Alpi said. I wont say we havent had people that have been on there for more than a year, but we keep the list short so that it stays current.

Other housing authorities manage the process differently and may have people on lists for years, Alpi said.

(The lottery) seems to be the fastest and the fairest that weve found, he said.

It will take approximately six months to house and process the people on the current waiting list, maybe longer. In the meantime, Alpi said, they might move, find places to live or decide they are no longer interested. Some also may be found ineligible for the program.

Then, the housing authority will open the waiting list and start again.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Call it the case of the $2 million chicken salad at Costco.

That's how much in medical bills a Utah woman claims she amassed after eating chicken salad from the popular warehouse retailer that was allegedly tainted by E. coli.

According to BusinessInsider.com, Chloe Rodgerson has since filed a $2 million lawsuit against Costco stemming from the 2015 incident that landed her in the hospital with serious health medical conditions, including epilepsy and kidney failure.

In an interview with her local station Fox 13, Rodgerson said she was admitted to the ICU after vomiting blood. But doctors didn't diagnose the cause until the FDA called to ask if she had eaten Costco chicken salad.

By then, her kidneys had shut down, according to the reports.

That led to a year and a half on dialysis before Rodgerson received a kidney transplant from her husband, the media reports state.

In between, she racked up $2 million in medical bills and still has health problems:

"I don't have $2 million and I'm not going to have sufficient resources to keep myself alive going forward in the future," she told Fox 13.

In October 2015, 19 people were infected with E. coli in California, Colorado, Missouri, Montana, Utah, Virginia, and Washington after eating Costco's rotisserie chicken salad.

In addition to Rodgerson, four other people were hospitalized after eating the retailer's E. coli-tainted chicken, and one other developed hemolytic uremic syndrome.

Costco did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
More than a year ago, a Minnesota police officer shot and killed Philando Castile. His girlfriend Diamond "Lavish" Reynolds recorded the incident as he bled in his car.

"His license and registration was in his wallet, you told him to get it," she told police officers. "He's a good man, he works for Saint Paul Public Schools."

That recording kicks off local rapper Jason Bair's latest music video "Mind of the Police."

Jason Bair, who goes by the stage name J. Bair, premiered the video on his YouTube page yesterday. The song, which featured Pittsburgh rapper Jasiri X and poet Julia Mallory, addressed what Bair described as "police brutality in the community."

Note: This video contains language some readers may find offensive.

"What inspired me to write 'Mind of the Police' was just seeing the things that are going on in my community and around the country, particularly with African Americans and how they're treated by law enforcement," he said.

He then rattled off the names of people who have died following police altercations throughout the country, such as Sandra Bland and Michael Brown. Bair also cited the assault of Rodney King as another incident that "inspire or fuel these types of songs."

"It's frustrating, really. These are things that people have been saying for a long time, in particular the African American community," Bair said. "With Rodney King, that was just a situation where they finally had it on tape."

The song is personal for him too. Bair, his family and friends do not have a favorable view of the police because of past interactions.

Interactions like being stopped and searched because "(the police) heard there had been some break-ins" and not being given an apology.

"I think it's more feeling like you've been disrespected, you've been looked down upon, taken for granted," he said. "I think those types of things you come across within people in your family, your friends, yourself that helps shape it more than one particular incident."

Bair has described his music as "blue-collar hip hop or everyman music" with a focus on underserved communities, according to previous reporting by PennLive. His single "Gunshot Blast," for one, addressed gun violence in the city. Bair was inspired to write the song after several shootings over a two-week period in the city eight years ago.

If you'd like to purchase his latest album "The Pursuit of Happiness," which features "Mind of the Police," visit his website.
The fate of West Creek Hills Elementary School remains unclear as a feasibility committee continues to discuss a study conducted on the district in 2016 to determine the best use of the district's buildings.

The study examined the needs of East Pennsboro Area School District buildings, enrollment trends and educational program needs. The study authors, Crabtree, Rohrbaugh & Associates, presented seven options to would satisfy those needs.

One option would involve closing West Creek Hills Elementary and consolidating all district buildings on a single campus.

The proposed closure drew the ire of the public at a school board meeting in February, as more than 100 East Pennsboro Area School District residents voiced their disapproval of closing the school.

The district was initially supposed to decide what option to pursue at its meeting on March 9. Instead, council members created a districtwide committee to review the district feasibility study.

The committee's meetings were initially not open to the public, but assistant superintendent Greg Milbrand said the district's solicitor advised the committee to make them open to the public, citing Sunshine law.

The committee has met several times, and minutes from those meetings can be found on the district's website. Milbrand said that while the committee initially had 12 options on the table, they narrowed that down to three at Tuesday's meeting.

When asked if the option to demolish West Creek Hills is still being considered, Milbrand declined to comment, saying that board members were not made aware of the meeting's discussions and the minutes were not yet public.

Milbrand expected that the minutes will be made public sometime on Monday.

The committee toured West Creek Hills during its May 25 meeting, and noted numerous strengths and weaknesses. Strengths included large room spaces, administrative office space, the building having "good bones", and the fact that a third of the building is only 16 years old.

Noted weaknesses included modular units that are not structurally sound, issues the mechanical, plumbing, and electrical apparatus, and inadequate receptacles.

According to summary of the option that would involve demolishing West Creek Hills, a new school to house K-5 students would be constructed, and the middle school would receive a comprehensive renovation.

Milbrand said more committee meetings are scheduled for Aug. 15. After that, the committee members will draft one or more recommendations to present to the school board.

Milbrand said the committee hopes to have its recommendations presented to the school board by Sept. 7, but added that the date could change.

"It is very imperative that we point out that the board of nine members makes the final decision," Milbrand said. "Our committee only makes recommendations."
Because of the sheer volume of defendants in the Penn State hazing death, the court hearings can seem somewhat like a home game for the 18 fraternity members facing trial.

Some relatives of some of the fraternity members aren't shy about expressing their disgust or displeasure with objections and comments from Centre County District Attorney Stacy Parks Miller.

Some relatives have questioned her professionalism at times or indicated that they think she's leading the judge around the courtroom by the nose.

On Thursday, day four of the preliminary hearings, the situation came to a head.

Parks Miller got frustrated at one point when she believed defense attorney Ted Simon was continuing his questions without allowing the judge to rule on her objections.

"You're acting like there's no judge here," she said, chastising Simon. "Show him some respect."

The sharp exchange drew groans, guffaws and not-so-hushed complaints from some relatives, prompting Parks Miller to turn around and face the crowd.

"How about the families stop reacting out loud?" she said. "I'm tired of it."

"Whoa," one defendant's relative said.

"It's out of control," said another.

Each of the 18 defendants has at least one parent in the courtroom each day, and likely more relatives, in addition to at least one attorney. That adds up to a lot of people rooting for the defense.

Relatives of defendants sometimes chat and commiserate during breaks, asking how their sons are holding up.

Piazza's parents, Jim and Evelyn, meanwhile sit alone in the front seat of the gallery with their attorney Tom Kline and some of Kline's office members.

When a bruise on Piazza's body was debated Thursday, defense attorney Ted Simon said even though it was visible after the fall, they had no proof of when or how the bruise got there.

"We don't know where that bruise came from," he said.

"That's right," someone in the gallery said.

Later, as Simon sought to minimize the amount of alcohol that was confirmed to be consumed by Piazza during an alcohol-chugging obstacle course, he noted that just two of the four "stations" could be seen on videotape.

The prosecutor objected to Simon's line of inquiry to a detective on the stand, staying it was not scientific.

"The BAC (blood alcohol content estimate) isn't scientific either," an attorney in the gallery whispered to the person sitting next to him.

Six defense attorneys have cross-examined the state's only witness, a police detective, so far. They have all sought to show that their client's role was minimal in the pledge night party where Piazza suffered mortal injuries.

Simon took the time Thursday to show that his client Luke Visser was not in a leadership position at the fraternity, did not buy alcohol and was not involved in the group texts sent later about Piazza. Instead, his client ran the beer pong game in the drinking obstacle course. Visser also saw Piazza wobbling by the stairs before Piazza's first fall, according to court documents, and likely was the first person to have noticed Piazza's fall down the steps.

But Parks Miller alleges that everyone's contribution, even if defense attorneys try to minimize it, added to the overall intoxication of Piazza.

The situation playing out in Centre County Court gallery isn't that unusual in hazing death cases, according to Hank Nuwer, a Franklin College professor and author who has studied hazing deaths for 40 years.

"I have seen this time and again," he said, with families of suspected hazers "banding together and the families of victims all alone."
A reported rattlesnake sighting had a small Pennsylvania town on edge earlier this month, as some worried that additional snakes would follow.

The report of a large timber rattlesnake slithering across a backyard in Forest City, Susquehanna County, may or may not have been a hoax involving a photo that was taken in Promised Land State Park, about 20 miles south of the town.

Before the possibility arose of the photo being a hoax, the borough's police department posted a warning to residents on its website, speculating that "the snake may have traveled from as far as 5 miles away looking for a mate, had a nest disturbed by the gas line digging or simply hitched a ride on the construction vehicles traveling the trails."

The first two of those possible reasons for the snake's appearance are believable and even likely. The first because it is the annual mating season for timber rattlesnakes in Pennsylvania. The second because of the major land disturbances taking place near the town.

As I reported in the July 5 post, Visit to a Pennsylvania rattlesnake den, "the timber rattlesnake mating season is July through early September. Males travel several miles during this period, searching for females to mate."

Rattlesnakes on the move through their natural range, which includes the mountains around Forest City, certainly will show up in backyards.

Just such an appearance led to our recent slideshow, Rattlesnake kills and swallows squirrel, then something unexpected happens.

And, where there is one rattlesnake, there certainly can be more. However, more rattlers have not been spotted in Forest City in the past few days, as some initial media reports had speculated would happen.

For a better understanding of rattlesnakes in Pennsylvania, check out this post of timber rattlesnake facts.

The timber rattlesnake is one of three venomous species of snakes in Pennsylvania, which is home to a total of 21 snake species.

Even with those three venomous species in the state, only two of which are found across most of Pennsylvania, bites are extremely rare and there has been only one death from rattlesnake bite in the state in decades. Here's what you need to know to avoid dying of a snakebite in Pennsylvania.

Despite the deadly venom that rattlesnakes carry, there are those who seek close contact with the reptiles. Some of those enthusiasts demonstrate their snake-catching and handling skills on display each year at one or more of the few remaining rattlesnake hunts in the state. Although the hunts are passed for this year, here's a run-down of Pennsylvania rattlesnake hunts.

And, here's a look inside a Pennsylvania rattlesnake hunt.
A woman walks past a man sleeping on the street in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, B.C., on Tuesday, February 21, 2017. Cities struggling to house their homeless are asking the federal Liberals to rethink the government's cornerstone homelessness program amid concerns about burdensome reporting requirements and inadequate funding models.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
The Chronicle Herald building is seen in Halifax on Thursday, April 13, 2017. Striking newsroom employees at the Halifax Chronicle Herald are to vote on a tentative contract later today.A deal was reached Saturday in the 18-month-old labour dispute after two days of mediation. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan
FILE - In this july 20, 2015 file photo, a member of the Cuban honor guard stands next to a new plaque at the front door of the newly reopened Cuban embassy in Washington. The State Department has expelled two diplomats from CubaAos Embassy in Washington following a series of unexplained incidents in Cuba that left U.S. officials there with physical symptoms. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File, Pool)
BIRCHWOOD, Alaska (AP)  Construction at an Alaska police training facility is nearing completion and project managers have said it should open this fall.

The Southcentral Law Enforcement Tactical Training Center in Birchwood will have four shooting ranges for local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.

Construction is expected to cost $4.6 million, the land was purchased for $1.95 million, and the project design costs were approximately $487,000, said Alan Czajkowski, director of maintenance and operations for the Anchorage Public Works Department.

The project has been in the work...
U.S. imposes financial sanctions on eight more Venezuela's regime officials



Venezuela Inches Closer to Dictatorship - Enlarge video

By Saleha Mohsin and Jose Enrique Arrioja

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK

Petroleumworld 08 10 2017

The Trump administration expanded U.S. sanctions against Venezuela by freezing assets of eight Venezuelans as it seeks to raise pressure on the government of President Nicolas Maduro.

A list released by the U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday included Adan Chavez, brother of the late president Hugo Chavez, and Hermann Escarra, a constitutional adviser to Maduro.

Seven of those sanctioned are current or former Venezuelan government officials, the Treasury Department said in a statement. The eighth Venezuelan participated in actions or policies that undermine democratic processes or institutions in Venezuela, according to the statement.

The action came as the U.S. sought a coordinated international response in imposing penalties on the Maduro regime for undermining democracy in the South American country. The U.S. is pressing to enlist European and South American countries -- including neighboring Colombia -- to match the sanctions.

At least 11 South American countries as well as Canada met in Lima Tuesday to discuss the implications of Venezuela's newly convened assembly charged with rewriting the constitution. Peru's President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski has led calls for a regional response to the deteriorating economic and humanitarian situation.

The latest U.S. sanctions stopped short of a more significant penalty that has been under consideration: banning imports of Venezuelan oil, which accounts for 95 percent of the country's foreign-currency earnings. Venezuela, a founding member of OPEC, has the world's largest proven reserves and is South America's largest oil exporter. It also is the third-largest source of imported oil to the U.S.

Increasing Pressure

The expansion of the sanctions list is an effort to increase pressure on Maduro as he tries to consolidate power and pursue political enemies. The Trump administration took the unusual step of personally sanctioning a head of state when it froze any of Maduro's assets in the U.S. on July 31 after he proceeded with a vote on a new assembly that was a first step to revising the constitution. The U.S. previously sanctioned 13 people associated with the regime, including Simon Zerpa, vice president of finance at Petroleos de Venezuela , the state oil company.

The deepening political crisis and the threat of additional sanctions has worsened Venezuela's economic turmoil. Repsol SA pulled all foreign workers from its oil fields in Venezuela, while Chevron Corp . and Total SA have removed a small number of employees, according to people with knowledge of the companies. Norway's Statoil ASA has withdrawn its expatriate staff.

Maduro triggered the latest round of U.S. pressure by installing a constituent assembly charged with rewriting the constitution. The vote to elect the assembly was boycotted by the opposition, which controls the elected legislature, and marred by accusations of fraud. The assembly on Saturday removed the chief prosecutor Luisa Ortega Diaz, a critic of Maduro's regime, and vowed to rule for a maximum of two years.







Story by Saleha Mohsin and Jose Enrique Arrioja from Bloomberg .



bloomberg. com / 08 09 2017
Nigeria traces $615 million graft money to ex-oil Minister

Diezani Alison-Madueke - F. Carter Smith/Bloomberg



Agency says more than a dozen estates traced to Alison-Madueke. Nigeria seeking court ruling for forfeiture of the assets

By Solape Renner and Dulue Mbachu

LONDON/ABUJA

Petroleumworld 08 10 2017

Nigeria's anti-graft agency said it traced at least $615 million of allegedly illegally acquired cash and properties to the West Africa nation's former oil minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke.

In addition to boxes of gold, silver and diamond jewelry, worth several million pounds found at her residence, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission identified more than a dozen buildings across the country worth more than $500 million owned by the former minister, the agency said in a statement on its website on Wednesday.

On the strength of the evidence it has gathered, the EFCC said it will ask federal courts to order that the assets be forfeited to the government, according to the statement.

Alison-Madueke has previously denied any wrongdoing, and calls to her mobile phone for comment didn't connect. Oscar Onwudiwe, a lawyer representing Alison-Madueke, didn't answer four calls to his mobile phone or respond to a text message seeking comment.

Appointed by former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan in 2011, Alison-Madueke, an ex-president of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, served as national oil minister for five years until her party lost elections in 2015. She was arrested in London in the same year on suspicion of bribery and money laundering and later released on bail, a spokesman for the Nigerian government said at the time.

Property Forfeit

Justice Chuka Obiozor of the Federal High Court court in Lagos, Nigeria's commercial capital, on Aug. 7 ordered Alison-Madueke to forfeit a $38 million property in the Banana Island district, one of the richest areas of the city, saying it was unlawfully acquired.

U.S. prosecutors are also seeking to recover $144 million of assets, including proceeds from the sale of a luxury condominium in Manhattan, New York, which they claim were bought with the proceeds of bribes paid for Nigerian oil contracts when Alison-Madueke was minister.

The U.S. Justice Department , in a suit filed in a Houston, Texas court, said bribes were paid between 2011 and 2015 to the former oil minister by two business associates, Kolawole Akanni Aluko and Olajide Omokore. The defendants acquired real estate in London that was used by the minister and her family, and bought her more than $1 million of furniture and artwork from several stores in Houston, according to the complaint.

Alison-Madueke was charged in a Nigerian court in April with violating anti-money laundering laws. She was described in the charge as being "at large.







Story by Solape Renner and Dulue Mbachu from Bloomberg .



bloomberg. com / 08 09 2017
I've always said that there is not enough Philadelphia media coverage of the legislature in Harrisburg. These representatives spend billions of tax dollars, write laws and regulations that affect all of us, and are paid a lot of money to do relatively little. Yet, they are not really on our local radar screen.

The local Philadelphia media gave little or no analysis of the big Pennsylvania Senate vote on the current budget, in which by a vote of 26-24, they voted to raise or impose new taxes on our gas, electric and phone bills. They voted to place a severance tax on natural-gas drillers. They voted to borrow hundreds of millions from future tobacco settlement revenue. Finally, they voted to strike a 78-year-old ban on selling fireworks and to place a new 12 percent tax on selling them, in addition to our current 6 percent sales tax on most items.

If this body were controlled by Democrats, I would see this as the normal course of business. Republicans control the state Senate, 34-16. That means Republicans could have passed a budget that would be veto-proof. Four Democrats voted against this budget. That means that 14 Republicans voted for it, thus betraying the promises they made to voters when they ran that they are the party of less government and lower taxes.

I like what Lowman Henry wrote on the Lincoln Institute website about what happened: "The sordid truth is that Harrisburg is not divided by political party dedicated first and foremost to political self-preservation putting up a united front against taxpayers and job creators."

I agree with his theory that party leaders got together to determine who would vote in favor and who would vote against the bill. They gave political cover to Democrats in competitive districts by allowing them to vote against the taxes. He also wrote: "A few Republican Senators who actually favored the bill but who would face conservative primary challenges if they voted for higher taxes were given a 'pass' to vote against the plan. Those Republicans representing more moderate districts and less likely to face a serious primary challenge voted for the tax plan." They are all win by attacking the taxpayer.

I believe that local Republican Sens. Tom Killion, Tom McGarrigle and John Rafferty, all of whom voted for the tax, were part of this cynicism.

In addition to this outrage, Republicans voted for something called the "First Chance Fund," which is associated with this year's budget. According to the Pennsylvania House Judiciary Committee, in a letter to the Republican leadership, "The idea of the First Chance Fund appears to be to pay scholarships for children of incarcerated parents by attaching a 1% surcharge on all large contracts procured with the Department of Corrections."

These Republicans make the point that Democrats and some Republicans have been weak in passing restitution bills for victims of crime. They say, "We intuitively can understand the negative effect that the absence of a parent can have on a child. But while the absence of an incarcerated parent may be 'compared to the death of a parent,' we can also intuitively understand the actual death of a parent by homicide has no less deleterious effect on the blameless child of that victim.

"Taken to its logical conclusion, the First Chance Fund could result, for example, in the child of an inmate who murdered a police officer receiving a scholarship while the child of that police officer killed in the line of duty gets nothing."

I'm told that this provision was necessary to get the votes of Democrats.

The bottom line with all this is that voters, particularly Republican voters, should be aware of what these representatives are doing in Harrisburg. Do they really believe we are undertaxed? Do they really believe public schools are underfunded? Do they really think they can sneak this First Chance Fund into law?

As Henry wrote in his piece, to these legislators, bipartisanship means working against citizens. This revenue plan was a cynical attempt to prop up all the incumbents in Harrisburg. I like his advice: "Remember that the next time you hear someone crying out for bi-partisan cooperation."
PayPal, the online-payments giant, has agreed to buy Swift Financial, the fast-growing, small-business lender based in Wilmington and Conshohocken.

The price wasn't disclosed but people close to the deal said it was profitable for investors, led by Sutter Hill Ventures of Silicon Valley and including Philadelphia-based First Round Capital and others who pumped a total of at least $56 million into the company, starting in 2007.

Founder Ed Harycki said he and his board of investors chose the PayPal deal over a rival venture capital financing package that would have kept the firm independent longer. "This is great for our people" to be part of "PayPal, which is the fin tech company," at a time when financial technology is a fast-developing industry.

Harycki said he and other bosses plan to stay with PayPal, which had $10.8 billion in sales in 2016. Swift employs about 125 at its Silverside Road headquarters and operations center north of Wilmington, and about 135 at its sales, tech and marketing, office in Conshohocken.

Swift staff will join PayPal's Business Financing Solutions team, reporting to Global Credit's commercial officer, Darrell Esch, says Paypal spokesman Josh Criscoe. "We expect the majority of Swift's leadership will join PayPal," and both area offices will remain in operation.

Esch said in this statement that his company launched its own small-business lending group, PayPal Working Capital, in 2013 to offer firms "the capital they need, when they need it, based on the strength of their business," adding that group has lent more than $3 billion to more than 100,000 small businesses.

Harycki said Swift has lent more than $1.5 billion to 20,000 borrowers. PayPal has typically made loans of up to $100,000 while Swift lends up to $500,000.

Swift makes "cash advance" loans and arranges their repayment from borrowers' revenues, at rates similar to credit card rates, which are higher than typical bank business loans. For larger loans, it offers "same-day answer" and next-day cash through bank loans arranged via Celtic Bank of Utah. Compared to bank loans, "it's like Fed Ex vs. the post office"  you may pay more for quicker service, Harycki said.

In a memo to PayPal staff, Esch said his company last winter had worked with Swift Financial to build and test a new service, PayPal Business Loan, and was "impressed with their ability to deliver on an unmet need" for mid-market-sized customers larger than current PayPal borrowers. "It quickly became clear that combining our complementary capabilities and people will allow us to accelerate" and fill what he calls a "funding gap" for business cash.

Swift has an A+ customer rating from the Better Business Bureau based on 50 customer reviews and 29 complaints. Its borrower contact centers were cited for "customer satisfaction excellence" by J.D. Power and Associates last winter.

"We know and value Swift's technology platform and people, and we believe their talent and capabilities will further strengthen our overall merchant value proposition," PayPal's Esch said. While PayPal Working Capital has been using customer PayPal payment data in determining loan approvals and terms, Swift's experience tracking borrowers' receivables and using them to underwrite loans "will allow us to assess supplemental information to more fully understand the strength of a business and provide access to complementary financing products," Esch concluded.

Swift was formed by Harycki, a veteran of MBNA Corp., formerly the nation's largest credit card company (now part of Bank of America). The company has recruited executives from Amazon and other big tech companies as well as credit card industry veterans. Its directors include Richard Vague, Philadelphia-based former head of credit cards for JPMorgan, Chase & Co. and other big banks.

As I noted in this 2008 story, Swift raised $20 million in 2008 from Sutter Hill Ventures ; Village Ventures of Williamstown, Mass.; and former Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners executive Fabio Terlevich's Permit Capital L.L.C. , of West Conshohocken. Sutter and Village invested an initial $6.5 million in 2007. The firm employed 60 by 2008, but cut back to just 20 in the recession before reorganizing around cash advance loans

Last year, Swift announced it had raised an additional $30 million, led by Third Point Ventures of Silicon Valley, with support from Sutter Hill, Khosla Ventures, and First Round Capital.

Sutter was convinced to back Swift by Harycki's forceful case that "small business is not well-served by the consolidation of the big banks," Sutter managing director Tench Coxe told me back in 2008. "We were thinking about how you can take the fees out of banking and make the value proposition really simple for small business, now that you can use scanners to deposit checks. So that there's even less of a need than before for small businesses to go to the bank all the time."

He added, "A start-up led by pros like Ed can grow this thing organically for 10 years, with good results."
After shutting down for what was to be a week's renovations, Mike Naessens has chosen to close Eulogy Belgian Tavern for good after 15 years at 136 Chestnut St. in Old City.

In short, he's concerned for his safety.

Over a two-year span, Naessans said Friday, three employees at the bar  known for its collection of 400 beers and its quirky decor  became caught up in drug or criminal charges and either walked off the job or were fired. Naessans said he worked with prosecutors on all three cases, which he said prompted threats from the people involved and no police protection.

Naessans said one employee, fired after submitting a false resume, was growing marijuana in Kensington. Naessans filed an affidavit in the case detailing the threats he said he received.

A second employee, who Naessans said also struggled with drug and alcohol addiction, was fired and charged after stealing checks from Eulogy.

Most recently, Naessans said. a female employee who was a heroin user stole nearly $5,000 and Naessans' gun from the bar. The employee and her boyfriend were released on bail, Naessans said.

"I just got tired of this," he said. "More and more, people you try to get in for interviews, you can tell they're on something, and it's just not worth it anymore. You've got a vetting process, but not too many people are applying as it is, and when you do get them in, your sense is it's going to be a problem, but you need a warm body, and then, sure enough, it causes chaos."

Naessens, a certified public accountant, said he had moved out of state and would return to the finance world.

Job Itzkowitz, head of the Old City District, said his group has had no complaints about drug dealing in Old City. The most recent issue he's heard of is people trying to use counterfeit bills at bars and restaurants.

"Old City is not the Old City of five or six years ago, which was a nightclub scene, with public drunkenness, nuisance behavior," Itzkowitz said. "Old City has really turned around and has become a prime destination for diners, residents, tech residents  it's really a thriving neighborhood, and I don't recognize the neighborhood that Mike described."

Naessans' beer collection  heavy on imports from his ancestral home of Belgium  was one of the best in the city, the better to wash down frites. Its "coffin room" was a must-stop for seekers of the macabre. (Interested in a coffin or any of the other furnishings? Keep an eye on www.AuctionNation.com. It will be open for bidding from Monday through Aug. 30.) Berkshire Hathaway will get the real estate listing, Naessens said. He said the name will not be sold, as he wants a clean break.

Post revised.
President Trump shakes hands with Sen. David Perdue (R., Ga.) during introduction of the RAISE Act last week as Sen. Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) watches. Read more

The proposed Reforming American Immigration for a Strong Economy Act, embraced by President Trump last week, would weaken the U.S. economy over the next three decades, according to a study released Thursday by the Penn Wharton Budget Model.

If the bill, which would reduce overall immigration while boosting the number of educated immigrants, were to become law, the United States in 2040 would have 4.6 million, or 2.1 percent, fewer people employed. If immigration were cut in half, the size of the U.S. economy would be 2 percent smaller in 2040, the research group said.

"If you were just to increase the skill mix of new immigrants to be 75 percent with a college degree or more then in the long run that would increase GDP by 0.37 percent," said Kimberly Burham, managing director of legislation and special projects.

"Where this bill is taking the hit as far as future economic growth and job growth is concerned is by reducing the total number of immigrants coming in every year," Burham said. "In the long run, if those immigrants had those jobs, then they would have contributed by working and by saving and there would have been more for everybody."

The Penn Wharton Budget Model, led by Kent Smetters, a professor in the department of business economics and public policy at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, was launched last year with the goal of using "advanced economic modeling, big data science, cloud computing, and visualization tools to provide a 'sandbox' in which different policy ideas can be tested before legislation is drafted," the group said in a May news release announcing a $6.6 million grant from the Laura and John Arnold Foundation.

Funders listed on the group's website also include Steve Ballmer, longtime chief executive of Microsoft Corp.; S.A. Ibrahim, former CEO of Radian Group Inc., a Philadelphia mortgage insurer; Marc Rowan, a cofounder and senior managing director of Apollo Global Management L.L.C.; Marc Spilker, founding member of GPS Investment Partners L.L.C. and chairman of Chiron Investment Management L.L.C.; Leonard M. Tannenbaum, chairman and CEO of Fifth Street Asset Management Inc.; and David Trone, founder and president of Total Wine & More, described as the largest privately owned alcoholic beverage chain in the U.S.

All except Ballmer have degrees from Wharton.

A key difference between the Penn Wharton Budget Model and the Congressional Budget Office, which has not analyzed the RAISE Act, is that the Wharton group projects the impact of proposed policies beyond the typical 10-year time frame of the CBO.

While it did not happen with the immigration study, "we're trying to make policy options available before bills are being proposed, so that policymakers can see the impact before they have set their stakes in the ground and made public statements," Burham said.
Former FBI Director Robert Mueller, the special counsel probing possible Russian interference in the 2016 election. Read more

The FBI's search of President Trump's one-time campaign manager Paul Manafort's home surely represents a ratcheting up of the Justice Department's Russia probe, but does that mean law enforcement soon will bring charges?

The course of high-profile public corruption cases is always unpredictable, and, as other notable criminal investigations show, once a probe is begun, the tendency is to range far beyond prosecutors' initial suspicions.

There are signs that this already is underway with special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of allegations that the Trump presidential campaign illegally colluded with the Russian government to subvert the election. So far it is not apparent that there's any evidence to support those claims, despite numerous leaks about the probe, including the disclosures that a grand jury has been impaneled and Manafort's Northern Virginia home has been searched.

>>READ MORE: What's Robert Mueller supposed to do as special counsel?

If anything, Mueller's investigation apparently has moved in other directions, examining Trump's business dealings, Manafort's commercial ties to political figures in Ukraine, and whether their payments to Manafort comply with U.S. banking regulations.

Simply having your house searched, shocking though it may be, isn't necessarily the kiss of death. In 2003, when the FBI mounted a public corruption probe of then U.S. Sen. Robert Torricelli, they searched the New Jersey Democrat's house, subpoenaed his bank records, and put his finances and spending under a microscope.

The probe ended without criminal charges against him.

That criminal investigations, especially those that spark intense publicity and political interest, can take on a life of their own was amply illustrated by the special counsel investigation of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby's alleged outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame in 2003.

Libby, who for a time in the 1970s was a partner at the Center City law firm of Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis, was chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney. Special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald, appointed to his role by then-senior Justice Department official James Comey, charged him with lying to a federal grand jury about whether he had disclosed Plame's covert CIA identity to various media outlets.

It all began when Plame's husband, Joseph Wilson, a former ambassador and State Department official, published a column in the New York Times disputing the Bush administration's claim that Saddam Hussein had attempted to obtain yellowcake uranium, potentially to develop nuclear weapons, from the African country of Niger. Wilson came to that conclusion following a CIA-financed trip to Niger to investigate reports that Hussein was trying to buy the ore there.

Earlier, the Bush administration said it had evidence that Hussein was attempting to develop weapons of mass destruction, and that became the basis for the invasion of Iraq in March 2003.

Shortly after Wilson's column was published, Robert Novak, then a columnist for the Washington Post, published a column debunking Wilson's claim and disclosing that his wife was a "CIA operative."

War critics and political opponents of the Bush administration immediately focused on the Bush White House as the source of the leak and alleged that it had leaked Plame's name in retaliation for her husband's column. Fitzgerald soon turned his attention to Libby, who eventually was convicted of charges of lying to the grand jury and obstruction of justice. Specifically, Fitzgerald charged Libby with leaking Plame's covert status to Times reporter Judith Miller, even though it was Novak's column, not Miller's writing, that had initiated the case.

Years after the conviction, though, Miller wrote that her testimony may have been mistaken and suggested that Fitzgerald had manipulated her remarks by withholding key information about Plame's employment background.

President Bush commuted Libby's sentence before he served any jail time. And the source of the leak to Novak, whose column sparked the criminal investigation?

It wasn't Libby, but rather a State Department official named Richard Armitage, then working as a deputy to Secretary of State Colin Powell.
Almost 250 years after a group of patriots convened the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, another group of loyalists is coming here for a retreat this weekend with similar intentions. Only it's not King George III that these iconoclasts seek to free us from, but rather the bonds of a duopoly never envisioned by the likes of Washington, Adams, and Jay.

"The Founding Fathers, especially George Washington in his farewell address, warned us against the partisanship that has developed, and there's not a single mention of political party or Democrat or Republican in the Constitution or the Declaration of Independence," explained Matthew Dowd, a volunteer adviser for the Centrist Project, who is the chief political analyst for ABC News. "So where we are today is not what the Founders envisioned, and I'm hoping independents can help get us back to the principles we were based on as a country,"

The Centrist Project is a nonprofit founded in 2013 by Dartmouth professor Charles Wheelan. It seeks to build independent representation from the state legislative level to governor's mansions and the U.S. Senate. The group's "Fulcrum Strategy" seeks to win enough Senate seats to deny both major parties a majority and thereby lessen their leverage.

The independent movement would seem to be a cause in search of some leadership. According to a Gallup survey undertaken in July, 45 percent of Americans regard themselves as independents, compared with 28 percent who say they identify as Democrats and 25 percent who regard themselves as Republicans. Still, there are only two independents in the U.S. Senate (Bernie Sanders and Angus King) and none in the U.S. House. Several of those in Philadelphia this weekend seek to change that.

Among those gathered are Alaska Gov. Bill Walker, who is expected to run for reelection as an independent; potential gubernatorial candidate Greg Orman, who obtained 43 percent of the vote in Kansas in 2014 running as an independent against Republican incumbent Sen. Pat Roberts; Terry Hayes, the Maine state treasurer and a declared independent candidate for governor; and Evan McMullin, the former CIA operations manager who, despite waiting until August 2016 to run for president, garnered more than 21 percent of the vote in November in Utah and is mulling a Senate run. (Joel Searby ran McMullin's campaign and is now the senior adviser for the Centrist Project.)

"Without a doubt, we are realizing one of our Founders' greatest fears with the division of our republic into two political factions that ultimately undermine the public interest," said Nick Troiano, executive director of the Centrist Project. "We are meeting in Philadelphia to draw inspiration from our history and plot a new way forward for the future of our politics."

Jason Grenn is an example of that new way forward. He won an Alaska state assembly race last year as an independent and joined forces with one other independent, three moderate Republicans, and the Democratic caucus to flip control of the 40-member chamber from the GOP to a new bipartisan governing majority  ensuring that whatever passes in the statehouse does not pass along strict party lines.

Troiano said speakers for the weekend gathering are coming from around the country, even around the world, to brief the group on topics of policy, campaigns, and reforms, including a key architect of the "En Marche!" movement in France. He said more than 10,000 Americans have pledged their support to a national slate of independent candidates and small donors have already begun crowdfunding a super PAC to support them.

Dowd told me the challenge is to find a way to relieve voters of the status quo, which he calls a "duopoly," that forces voters to pick only from one party or the other. That will require both practical and emotional change.

"I think there are legal barriers in getting on the ballot and all those sorts of things, but it's not as much as the psychological barrier that people have," Dowd said. "They feel like they have to pick between one or the other because that's who's going to win, and it's by and large, up until now, who has won. But I think we're set in a moment where the fastest-growing group of voters are independents, and more and more people are disgusted by the two major political parties. We're in a great time of disruption where technology has allowed people to communicate effectively and efficiently at a low cost.

"People are now open to the consideration of voting for somebody other than the Republican Party or the Democratic Party," he added. "But I think the system has been in place now, and you add media and then social media, it's pushed  the Republican Party further right and the Democratic Party further left and it's left a wide-open gap in the middle for somebody to appeal to."

The retreat is not open to the public, but those interested in learning more can visit pledge.centristproject.org.

Michael Smerconish can be heard from 9 a.m. to noon on SiriusXM's POTUS Channel 124. He hosts "Smerconish" at 9 a.m. Saturdays on CNN. @smerconish
I wouldn't have made the cut with Darlene Daggett, the former QVC exec who was looking for love in one of the wrong places.

She got a lot of embarrassing attention after suing a dating service that promised her introductions to wealthy, high-profile bachelors for the purpose of canoodling and maybe more.

I am kind of age-appropriate for the 62-year-old divorcee, although "high-profile" is questionable and I am not wealthy. There's also the small matter of some failed marriages. I won't say how many, but I am in the Glen Campbell/Darren Daulton ballpark.

Daggett's suit against Kelleher International was settled out of court, with her lawyer saying the $150,000 Daggett paid for introductions brought her into contact with the "mentally unstable, physically unfit, pathological liars, serial Lotharios, stalkers. "

Why are my ears burning?

I said she got a lot of embarrassing attention. Let me repaint that.

She's an attractive, rich woman, and the attention will spawn a flood of mail, tweets, emails, or whatever the lovely and lonely are using these days.

Yes, there will be the mentally unstable and scheming among them, but you can find the same at a country club. Everyone wants someone to love, and to be loved, and that's the desperation that drove Daggett to Kelleher. And using a dating service no longer carries shame. About 15 percent of Americans have done it, according to Pew research.

When I was a kid, scouring the city for the "right" girl was the job of Mom, the matchmaker. I seldom appreciated her well-intentioned efforts.

Now that I am an adult, I've been on a few dating sites myself to find eligible women.

In the "old days," when I wanted to meet someone, I did what everyone else did  I dragged myself through smoky bars or joined clubs. I joined Smokenders because I wanted to meet a woman who smoked. I signed up for dance lessons because you were guaranteed to have a woman in your arms. I lurked at Carole King concerts.

In the twilight of the 20th century, along came the internet, which killed personal ads, such as the very popular ones in Philadelphia Magazine, back when "SJW" meant Single Jewish Woman and not Social Justice Warrior. The internet delivered to your device a cornucopia of porn, which discouraged dating (I mean, why bother to go out?), and dating services such as match.com, which encouraged it.

The technology  which offers pictures, profiles, lies, and embellishments  is amazing. Now you can be rejected by someone you have never met.

Going through thousands of profiles is like candling eggs  so many inspections to make: Age, race, religion, height and weight appropriate? Politically and educationally compatible? Lactose intolerant? Smoker? Gluten allergy? Love animals? Hate winter?

I had a lot of first dates, a few second dates, but nothing permanent. Most were pleasant, only a few awful.

Most sites "suggest" people they think would be a match. One of my friends was matched with his sister. I was offered a neighbor who loathes me. Another pal was matched with his ex-wife. Strike up Rupert Holmes' "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)."

Daggett made a mistake using a service promising rich, high-profile guys. I can understand the instinct, but if it's love you are looking for, wealth and fame are bad measures. Her true love might have been a scenery painter at QVC, but would she have even looked at him?

I'm not following Daggett to Kelleher International. I have nothing against them, but I am (happily) taken, by a woman who is the sister-in-law of one of my closest friends.

He introduced us. So low-tech. And free.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has issued a ruling that could help school districts  especially Philadelphia when charter schools seek to expand their enrollment.

In a decision posted late Tuesday, the state's top court said that the 1997 charter school law does not give charter schools a right to amend their operating agreements or give the state Charter Appeal Board authority to consider such requests.

The ruling reversed Commonwealth Court, which ruled in 2015 that the Discovery Charter School in Philadelphia's Parkside neighborhood could take its case for expanding its enrollment by 70 percent to the state board because the School Reform Commission had not acted on the request.

Limiting charter enrollment saves the district money because the district pays charters by the student. In the last school year, the district paid $8,487 for each charter student in regular classes and $25,624 for each student who received special-education services. The district's 86 charter schools enrolled 65,000 students.

The Supreme Court said the 1997 law does not mention amendments and only gives the Charter Appeal Board jurisdiction to consider applications and renewals that have been denied and charter agreements that have been revoked.

The Supreme Court opinion, signed by Justice Max Baer, said that Discovery may apply to the SRC for a new charter that includes a higher student enrollment but that it was not entitled to make its argument before the Charter Appeal Board in Harrisburg.

The K-8 charter school enrolled 735 students in the last school year, according to the state Department of Education.

"The School District of Philadelphia is pleased with the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania's ruling regarding Discovery Charter School, including the court's decision to uphold core tenets of the Charter School Law," Megan Lello, a district spokeswoman, said in a statement Wednesday. "The district will continue to analyze the decision and any potential implications to charter schools in Philadelphia."

In a statement, Discovery said its trustees are reviewing the court's opinion. It added: "We will continue to provide the high quality education that we have historically provided for the students of Philadelphia."

The long-running case stems from an amendment the school sought in 2012 when it applied for a new five-year charter. Among other things, Discovery said it planned to move to a larger facility at 5700 Parkside Ave. and wanted to increase its maximum enrollment from 620 to 1,050 over four years to enroll more students on its waiting list.

The district charter office recommended the renewal, but sent Discovery a proposed new agreement starting in 2013-14 that kept enrollment at 620.

Discovery refused to sign the proposed charter because it said it violated state law that prevents school districts from unilaterally imposing a cap on charter enrollment.

In July 2013, as the district was facing serious financial problems, the SRC announced it would not consider any charter enrollment increases for the 2013-14 year. The SRC never voted on a new charter for Discovery or its amendment request.

Discovery contended that the SRC's lack of action constituted a denial and filed an appeal with the state Charter Appeal Board. The SRC tried to quash that appeal, and the matter landed at the Commonwealth Court.

The Supreme Court noted that Discovery has continued to operate without a new, signed operating agreement with the SRC. It's among the charters that will be considered for renewal in 2017-18.
Ismael Jimenez, 10, a student at Logan Elementary School, holds a sign calling for an end to the SRC. Read more

Even as a group of students, teachers and activists gathered to demand that the School Reform Commission dissolve itself soon, signs emerged from City Hall on Wednesday that local control of the city's schools is not assured.

The five-member SRC, created 16 years ago to oversee the Philadelphia School District in a time of fiscal and academic crisis, was not designed to be permanent. Growing momentum  new SRC members, a mayor and governor publicly committed to the idea of more local control  had suggested that the panel's days were numbered.

But a source familiar with the Kenney administration's internal discussions about the SRC's future said the mayor's support for a governance shift is less firm than some opponents of the panel are hoping.

"The primary issue the administration is currently debating is whether local control will actually improve the quality of Philly schools," the source, who was not permitted to share knowledge of the discussions publicly, said Wednesday. "They're acutely aware that a governance change by itself won't achieve that, and could even make things worse."

Unlike every other school system in the state, Philadelphia has never had an elected school board. City Hall insiders worry that an elected board could be swayed or divided by special interests. "At the same time, though, they know that under the SRC, there's no ultimate accountability to any one person and that lack of accountability also seriously hinders school improvement," said the source.

Created by the state legislature, the commission controls its own fate. Its five members can vote to dissolve the SRC. Without a proposal for a new board of education, that could hand the reins of city schools back to a board appointed by the mayor.

With its three gubernatorial picks and two mayoral appointees, the SRC was supposed to mean more state money for Philadelphia schools. And it did, at first. That has not been the reality for most of its in existence, though.

Gov. Wolf, who has been friendly to Philadelphia schools, has said he's in favor of abolishing the SRC, but has not shown any urgency on the matter.

When he was running for mayor in 2015, Kenney said he liked the idea of local control, but expressed reservations. Among his concerns: What if the end of the SRC meant the state, which now funds about half of the school system's $3 billion budget, used that as an excuse to disinvest in Philadelphia?

At their rally Wednesday outside City Hall, members of Our City, Our Schools, a coalition pushing for an end to the SRC, laid out a timeline. They want a dissolution vote by the fall in order for a new governance structure to be in place for the 2018-19 school year.

"The SRC has failed our children tremendously," said Antoine Little, father of three children in district schools and chair of Our City Our Schools. "The SRC is a failed experiment."

Activists said they had held multiple meetings with members of the Kenney administration on the issue, but had failed to secure any commitments on the fate of the commission.

Neither, they said, have they received commitments from any SRC member to meet their timeline. No vote is on the SRC's upcoming meeting agenda.

Ismael Jimenez, a history teacher at Kensington Creative and Performing Arts High School and member of the Caucus of Working Educators, a group of activist teachers, said he was frustrated.

"I quickly came to the conclusion that politics were more important than promises," said Jimenez.

But the timing is crucial, activists say. The governor's mansion is up for grabs in 2018, and the state's shaky fiscal health means that local control is a must to insulate city schools against looming budget cuts.

"We don't want to lose any leverage to go for local control," Jimenez said.

Absent state legislation to scotch the SRC, which seems unlikely, at least three members of the SRC would have to agree to abolish the panel.

Estelle Richman, the newest SRC member, a Wolf nominee, has said publicly that while she wants local control, she does not expect the SRC to go away quickly.

Dissolving the SRC now might also mean more pressure on the city as the school system prepares to grapple with its own fiscal cliff. It is projecting a deficit of more than $100 million beginning next year.

The SRC lacks the authority to raise its own revenues.

The mayor's office had no comment on the renewed call for local control.

J.J. Abbott, spokesman for Gov. Wolf, said he was not aware of any movement to dissolve the SRC, "but the governor has repeatedly expressed his support for local control of the School District of Philadelphia."

Liz Navratil of the Harrisburg bureau contributed to this article.
After President Trump's unexpected victory, a consternated press corps seeking to understand the outcome repeatedly consulted Hillbilly Elegy by memoirist J.D. Vance for insight into the mind of the rural voter.

It's funny they didn't consider Jeannette Walls, who also wrote a memoir of growing up poor in Appalachia  the best seller The Glass Castle  and who in addition personally knew Trump in her life as a New York magazine gossip columnist.

Neither Trump's rise nor his connection to red state voters surprised Walls.

"I hesitate to say this, but he got me. And I got him. The first time he ever gave me an item and I reported on it, he called and said, 'That isn't the story I gave you.' And I said, 'Yeah, but it's the story.' And there's this long pause, and he said, 'We can work together,' " recalled Walls, who stopped in Philadelphia recently to talk about her life and her book, adapted into a movie that opens Friday.

Walls (played in the movie by Brie Larson) spoke of her life growing up poor, raised by parents (in the film, Woody Harrelson and Naomi Watts) who encouraged self-reliance to a dangerous degree. Those experiences coated her with some pretty thick armor, which in some ways served her well.

As a budding journalist in New York, folks warned her that life as a gossip columnist could be tough.

Walls was not to be messed with.

Trump, she said, sensed it right away.

"He just sized me up. He knew that he couldn't intimidate me, and I think he picked up on that. And I think he kind of liked it. He could say outrageous things to me and I wouldn't back down. He got that I understood him. And, you know, I have a begrudging admiration for his  his instinctive brilliance, if that's what it is. Statistically, there's no way he should have won. But he did."

He did especially well in places like rural West Virginia, where she spent her teen years. Walls thinks she knows why.

"I completely get it, and I'm actually shocked that more people don't," said Walls. "I think there are a lot of people in West Virginia who feel that despite her policies, Hillary doesn't really understand them or really care about them. She sees them as people who need help. And they do need help and want the help, but they feel as though Trump is one of them, even though he's not. He's a genius about that sort of thing. The man understands the media, the power of illusion, the power of a sound bite. I don't even know if he knows how smart he is about it."

Walls, a self-described "scrapper," could stand her ground with Trump (and fellow columnist Matt Drudge, in a famously personal and vicious feud). She drew strength from her hardscrabble origins but also hid them.

I asked Walls, who is naturally fearless and candid about so many things, why she had such a hard time being honest about poverty.

"When people found out how poor we were in West Virginia, they would throw things at us. I went to great lengths to hide it, even back then. I was afraid social service would take us away. That becomes formative. It gets to be really baked in and stays with you. Poverty isn't just about being hungry or cold. The killer thing is, you think you are less than other people. You think there is something wrong with you, that's the most devastating thing," Walls said. "So I just carried that around with me. I felt that if people knew, they would hate me. Because they did at one point. That's why I went into journalism. I could be in a place as an observer, not as a participant."

In New York, Walls kept her past to herself, with one exception. She opened up one night to a colleague, a writer who turned the confidential revelation into a work of fiction.

Walls was angry, but mostly with herself.

"I thought, 'Dang, it's not her fault. I'm the one who needs to tell it,' " said Walls, who then began the grueling process of writing, which meant being honest, finally, with herself.

"I had tried to distance myself from it and pretend that it hadn't affected me, that it wasn't part of me. The first time I reread what I'd written, I was kind of shocked. It was cathartic."

Still, she didn't think folks would respond to it.

Several million book sales later, she's happy to admit she was mistaken.

"What I really like is when I meet someone who says, 'This is the first book I ever read that I liked. I understand now that I need to find other books that were written for people like me.' I love having nonreaders find the book," said Walls, who now spends a lot of time going to places like West Virginia and encouraging children and teens to value themselves, to hit the books.

"I go back there and I meet them, and they think they're not college material. I try to change their minds," said Walls, who talked her way into Barnard, and who says "education is the great equalizer."

And when she meets fellow "survivors," she uses her own story to encourage them.

"People have an instinct for survival, but how do you feel good about yourself after surviving?" Walls said. "We've all been knocked around so much that we know how strong we are. What we don't know is that we deserve something better. That's the challenge.
Former Fox News host Bill OReilly (left) interviews Michael Smerconish during a live-video segment available to subscribers on Wednesday night. Read more

Former Fox News host Bill O'Reilly was back on camera Wednesday night in the debut of a 30-minute webcast called No Spin News, which could become a regular feature for premium subscribers to his website.

During the live webcast, which featured commercials and a resurrection of his "Talking Points Memo," O'Reilly welcomed his "Philadelphia bud" Michael Smerconish, a SiriusXM host and Inquirer columnist, to discuss several topics, including the North Korea situation and last month's FBI raid at the home of Paul Manafort, President Trump's former campaign chairman.

Manafort is "entitled to the presumption of innocence, but that meeting at Trump Tower with Russians is troublesome," Smerconish said. "I'm not in the 'there's collusion' camp, but the emails that preceded that meeting are problematic."

O'Reilly also brought up CNN, which he described as part of the "Hate Trump media" overflowing with "hour after hour of speculation" involving claims of possible collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government. Smerconish, who hosts a weekend program on CNN, said he thought some personalities on the network and at other news outlets may go overboard at times.

"I think there have been people out there who have been lying in wait for this president since before the inauguration," Smerconish said, "I think there are some who go after him and make it their livelihood to do so."

But Smerconish stopped short of saying CNN as a network was attempting to undermine Trump, as O'Reilly and others have claimed.

"No, I don't believe that," Smerconish said.

Despite his views of the network, O'Reilly said he had agreed to be a guest on Smerconish's show in September.

"Smerconish is a fair man," O'Reilly told his audience. "Just because he works for CNN doesn't mean anything."

O'Reilly's return to a familiar format comes nearly four months after the popular host was fired by Fox News after the New York Times reported the network paid $13 million to five former Fox News personalities to settle claims of sexual and verbal harassment. O'Reilly left Fox News with a $25 million settlement, and denied any wrongdoing.

"It is tremendously disheartening that we part ways due to completely unfounded claims," O'Reilly said at the time. "But that is the unfortunate reality many of us in the public eye must live with today."
Jeffrey Lord sits in his home office and prepares to record a CNN segment with Anderson Cooper via Skype. Read more

CNN has severed ties with pro-Trump contributor Jeffrey Lord after he used a Nazi reference in a tweet directed at the president of the liberal media watchdog group Media Matters.

"Nazi salutes are indefensible," CNN said in a statement. "Jeffrey Lord is no longer with the network."

Lord tweeted the Nazi phrase to Angelo Carusone on Thursday morning after a back-and-forth on Twitter that followed a column Lord wrote for the American Spectator that called both Carusone and his website "Media Matters Fascists." Lord was upset at the organization's campaign for Fox News to fire host Sean Hannity.

Lord shared the article on Twitter and directed it at Carusone, who responded, "Your headline has a mistake in it. Why do you expect anyone to take you seriously when you don't take yourself seriously."

Lord's response was "Sieg Heil!"

Lord, who served in the White House as an associate political director under President Ronald Reagan and now lives outside Harrisburg, spoke with CNN's Brian Stelter after his firing Thursday.

"I love CNN," said Lord, one of Trump's most vocal defenders on the network. "I feel like they are caving to bullies here."

On Twitter, Lord posted a one-word response following his ouster:

During his two-year tenure as a contributor, Lord often made controversial statements as a panelist on CNN shows. He once referred to the Ku Klux Klan as the "military arm of the Democratic Party" and described Trump as "the Martin Luther King Jr. of health care."

Lord joined CNN about two years ago, and quickly became part of a contingent of 12 contributors who would defend Trump on the network. Lord was among the names CNN chief executive Jeffrey Zucker touted to the New York Times this year, referring to the pro-Trump panelists as "characters in a drama" intended on hitting a viral nerve that could be debated and shared throughout the day.

"Everybody says, 'Oh, I can't believe you have Jeffrey Lord or Kayleigh McEnany'  but you know what?" Zucker told the Times. "They know who Jeffrey Lord and Kayleigh McEnany are."

Over the weekend, McEnany announced she had left CNN and hosted a segment called the "real news" on Trump's official Facebook account. On Monday, the Republican National Committee named McEnany the party's new spokeswoman.

In an interview this summer with my colleague Aubrey Whelan, Lord opened up about the difficulties of juggling appearances on the network while trying to take care of his 97-year-old mother in their Camp Hill home.

"I'll do it probably until I can't," Lord said. "I mean, life moves on, but I love to write, and this was why I wanted to become a writer: to do this, and do other things in the media if possible. You're on TV and then you're not. The main thing is to stay focused. And I could not possibly have predicted this in my wildest imagination."

Lord is the third CNN contributor with whom the network recently severed ties. In May, it cut ties with comedian Kathy Griffin after she shared a provocative photo of herself holding a bloody, severed head meant to resemble Trump. Griffin had co-anchored the network's New Year's Eve coverage alongside Anderson Cooper since 2007.

CNN cut ties in June with Reza Aslan and canceled his documentary series after the vocal Trump critic blasted the president for his response to a June terror attack on London Bridge that killed eight people.
Atlantic City is not where you might expect to find the next policing success story.

It's in the throes of a financial crisis that triggered a state takeover. The police force has been pared down to 267 officers from 374 in 2010. Even more severe cuts could be on the way.

And yet, lately, Police Chief Henry White Jr. finds himself optimistic.

"The first six months of this year, our violent crime is down about 20 percent compared to the same time last year. But at the same time our arrests are also down 17 percent," he said. "We were able to reduce crime without contributing to mass incarceration."

That's a first for White, an old-school cop who started on foot patrol in 1985 and rose through the ranks.

What gives him hope is a high-tech intervention his department has adopted with help from Rutgers University criminologists. It's a type of predictive policing called risk-terrain modeling that aims to help police identify places that attract crime, and intervene to make them less attractive to criminals.

Predictive policing has become a buzzword in recent years, as a growing number of startups have marketed competing software options to police forces around the country. But civil-rights advocates have raised alarms. A coalition of 16 groups including the ACLU and the Brennan Center for Justice last August joined in a statement warning that such tools exacerbate racial biases, ignore community needs and contribute to the over-policing of poor minority neighborhoods.

But Joel Caplan, a wiry, bespectacled professor from the Rutgers School of Criminal Justice, believes he's cracked that problem with risk-terrain modeling (RTM for short), which he developed with another professor, Leslie Kennedy. And, unlike tech companies that charge tens of thousands of dollars, Caplan's giving away his software to any department that will use it.

White had experimented with data-driven policing before. But looking back, he said, "we were just playing games."

Now, after less than a year using RTM, even intractable hot spots like Stanley Holmes Village, a housing project that has seen numerous shootings, are starting to calm, he said.

"We've had certain neighborhoods in town that have been hot spots since I was on patrol. We made a ton of arrests. But, you know what? They were still hot spots until recently," he said. "Before, we would clean up an area temporarily but all we were doing was displacing crime."

Part of what's radical about RTM is that many interventions it advocates are not about policing at all  or, at least, not policing as we normally think of it.

Police still have to investigate crimes and make arrests, but the focus of RTM is creating conditions that deter crime from occurring.

The first step is to identify those conditions. Caplan often uses an analogy to make this point.

"If you noticed kids playing at the same place over time, you might identify that as a hot spot of playful behavior. But if you take your focus off the kids and look at the environment, you might see slides and swings and open fields  what we might call a playground. If we can identify places with similar characteristics  swings, slides, open fields  we can expect playful behavior to occur."

Adding or removing those characteristics would in turn influence the behavior.

So, when it comes to hot spots of criminal behavior, he said, "the response isn't to assume that people who are located there are bad, or criminals"  the answer wouldn't be, say, to stop-and-frisk passersby  "but to do things to make the environment less attractive to crime. That's how we can reduce crime, and we can do it without arrests."

An early success applied RTM to cellphone robberies in Glendale, Ariz. It found they clustered near convenience stores, which had kiosks offering instant cash for phones. Police asked store owners to move the kiosks to the front of the store, near windows and surveillance cameras. Robberies fell 42 percent.

Adoption of RTM has been slow, Caplan said, in part because he doesn't market it. It's word-of-mouth. But he believes it could be used to respond to everything from Philadelphia's opioid crisis to traffic accidents to border security.

Atlantic City police applied RTM to shootings and homicides, mapping the crimes, then all the landscape features around them. Then they began holding monthly meetings with police and community stakeholders.

"We found that convenience stores, laundromats and vacant properties  where all those things were located together, they increased the risk," Caplan said. Because most shootings were drug-related, police theorized a narrative: Convenience stores were where buyers were solicited, unsupervised laundromats became host to transactions, and vacant properties doubled as stash houses.

Then, he said, "we addressed that narrative."

That didn't just mean sending in more patrols. Instead, they treated the landscapes.

They put sign-in sheets inside convenience stores and laundromats, so patrols could log their visits. They helped business owners get security cameras. And they shared the information about problematic vacant properties with Atlantic City code enforcement, so they could prioritize which vacant buildings to board up, which lots to clean, and which negligent property owners to push into compliance.

Even if no crime has occurred in a given spot, White said, "we're getting there before the crime does to make sure that now it is not the next hot spot. We're no longer playing Whack-a-mole."

It's not just Atlantic City. Across the country, big data is already transforming crime-fighting.

Departments began mapping hot spots a few decades ago, identifying areas where crime spiked and flooding them with patrols and, often, a zero-tolerance approach.

"They would go out there and stop everybody for everything: riding your bike without a light, or jaywalking. Sure, you're going to make some arrests: you stop a hundred people and chances are somebody's going to have drugs," White said. "But it turned the community off. There was a high cost."

Today, those maps are being replaced by slick software programs fed with real-time data and marketed by for-profit companies.

The leader is PredPol, which generates heat maps based on past incidents.

But one study found that if deployed in Oakland, Calif., it would concentrate forces in low-income communities of color. That potential was concerning enough to Oakland police that, after consideration, they decided not to adopt the software.

Still, other cities are pressing ahead, about a dozen of them with HunchLab, a software created by a Philadelphia company, Azavea. Philadelphia Police recently tested HunchLab here, but declined an interview request, saying the research is not yet complete.

Cities pay between $20,000 and $100,000 per year for the service, depending on their size.

In return, the computer model combines crime data (police incident reports and calls to 911 for service), geographic traits like nearby bars or vacant buildings, and factors like the weather and school schedules. It generates a map dotted with boxes  risky zones  and a screen encouraging an officer to visit a box and perform some intervention: for example, walk a 15-minute foot patrol.

In Greensboro, N.C., police tested HunchLab by giving officers on one shift the software and providing another group with their existing hot spot maps. Major crimes fell by about 30 percent with HunchLab.

That impact was startling, given that the local officers didn't think the software had any effect. "The officers didn't see any value in it," said Jeremy Heffner, HunchLab product manager. What it did do, he concluded, was force officers to spend 15 minutes patrolling every side street and back alley of a compact area.

"The HunchLab boxes broke them out of their routine. It shows that such nuanced changes, even that we don't know we're making, can have an impact."

Heffner is keenly aware of civil-rights concerns; he believes he's addressing them. For one thing, HunchLab doesn't use arrest data, or any data that would create a feedback loop by interpreting elevated police action as elevated risk. For another, it moves officers around, so residents don't feel harassed.

But, unlike RTM, HunchLab's approach to overcoming bias is to provide less information, not more. It doesn't tell police why a box is selected or even whether it's a high- or average-risk zone. And while RTM focuses on the why, HunchLab works off the notion it's better for officers not to know too much.

"This shouldn't be justification to stop someone," Heffner said. "That's why we actually hide a lot from the officers. We don't tell them the likelihood that a robbery will happen, because people get hung up on probabilities. The goal isn't to go into these places and make a bunch of arrests. The goal is to have nothing happen."

To Caplan, who was a Cape May police officer before he went to the University of Pennsylvania to study criminology, concealing information is a poor workaround.

He believes the way forward is transparency: "It's knowing where to go, knowing what to focus on, knowing why you're doing what you're doing, being able to explain it to the community and get feedback  it's that transparency that helps to reduce bias and improve community relations."

White is trying to build those community ties by combining RTM with old-fashioned policing tactics. He has added foot and bike patrols, which are popular with residents, using RTM to prioritize patrol locations.

There are hurdles, though.

"The biggest challenge we're having here is getting the rank-and-file to buy in," he said. "We're trained to focus on the bad guys, and it's hard for them to make that shift."

Then there's the hard work of winning over Atlantic City residents.

Kellie Cors-Atherly, who runs Peace Amongst Youth, a support program for crime victims in the city, said she hasn't noticed the impact of RTM yet.

"We're having active shootings in Atlantic City once a week. That doesn't seem to be changing so much. And it's still a division between the police and the community. There's still a big trust factor," she said.

And for activists like Steven L. Young, who is affiliated with the National Action Network, community-police relations can't be solved without more sweeping reforms.

"They have a track record of so many officers abusing and beating down the community, and they're still allowing them to be on the streets doing the same thing. The relationship remains the same."

Still, some business owners have noticed an impact.

Sammy Nammour, who manages 13 Cedar Food Markets in Atlantic City and Pleasantville, said the daily police visits have helped restore order.

"There's been multiple occasions where someone would come in and scream and shout and to walk out with something," he said. "It happens a lot less often now."

He thinks the kids who frequent his store also benefit from casual, friendly interactions with officers.

After all, the dream of predictive policing is that it can change the climate, and eventually overcome persistent police biases.

White sees that promise in RTM.

"A good example is the perception that housing projects are connected with crime," he said. "What we found in Atlantic City is housing projects are not in fact correlated with crime, and if police were to focus their patrols in those areas, they would be in the wrong place."
A man armed with two high-powered rifles led police, including a deputy police commissioner, on a chase from the Far Northeast into Bensalem late Wednesday afternoon before being arrested, police said.

About 4:40 p.m., an Eighth Police District officer responded to a report of gunfire at an industrial complex in the 14000 block of McNulty Road. As she arrived on the scene, she heard gunshots and then saw a man holding an AR-15 rifle, police said. The officer ordered the man to drop his rifle, but instead, he threw it into the back of his white utility truck and sped away.

That led to a pursuit and an "assist-officer" broadcast.

Deputy Police Commissioner Joseph Sullivan, who was nearby on his way home, answered the assist-officer call and joined the chase.

"I always have the radio on," Sullivan said.

The suspect crashed into a construction ditch in the 100 block of Graystone Drive in Bensalem, not far from the border, and fled into a wooded area with Sullivan running after him.

The suspect got away, but was tracked down about 7:30 p.m. in the 2900 block of Devereaux Avenue in Northeast Philadelphia and arrested. His name was not immediately released.

Police recovered the AR-15 in the truck as well as an Uzi.
Former State Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane leaves in handcuffs after her 2016 sentencing. Read more

A federal appeals panel on Wednesday reinstated a lawsuit brought against former Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane by former state prosecutors and a former state police commissioner, who say she singled them out for smears in a bid to silence their criticism of her.

The three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit unanimously reversed the decision of a lower-court judge last year that Kane's criticism of former State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan and former Deputy Attorney General Frank Fina and others was not a threat but "mere speech."

The panel said the five plaintiffs had marshaled enough evidence to contend that Kane leveled serious threats designed to muzzle them.

Mark W. Tanner, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, praised the ruling.

"It's a step in the right direction," he said. "The plaintiffs in this case have never had an opportunity to challenge the accusations and allegations made against them."

Peter Scuderi, another plaintiffs' lawyer, was blunter.

"I cannot wait to step on her the way she stepped on my client and other people," he said.

The Attorney General's Office said it was reviewing the opinion.

As Judges Theodore A. McKee, Thomas L. Ambro, and L. Felipe Restrepo noted in their 12-page opinion, Kane and Fina were locked in escalating "public combat" after the Inquirer in 2014 reported that Kane had killed an investigation led by Fina into a sting involving Philadelphia elected officials. Evidence in that probe included tapes of politicians pocketing cash from an undercover operative.

Kane blamed Fina for the embarrassing story. To retaliate, she leaked grand jury material about an unrelated investigation to the Daily News to suggest that Fina, too, had failed to pursue a case.

Fina complained about the leak, which triggered a criminal investigation that resulted in Kane's being convicted last fall on charges of perjury, official oppression, and other offenses. Kane was sentenced to serve at least 10 months in jail and immediately resigned from office. She has been free pending the outcome of her appeal.

U.S. District Court Senior Judge Harvey Bartle III last year dismissed the suit filed by Fina, Noonan, former state prosecutors E. Marc Costanzo and Richard S. Sheetz Jr., and Randy Feathers, a former investigative agent on Fina's state staff.

After the leak, Kane held a news conference and filed court papers in which she named Noonan, Fina, and the other plaintiffs as having exchanged porn on state computers while in office. In the resultant furor, Feathers and Sheetz lost jobs they had taken after leaving the Attorney General's Office, and Fina and Costanzo were subjected to harsh criticism in their new roles as prosecutors with the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office.

In November, Kane's then-successor as attorney general, Bruce Beemer, said she had been wrong to focus on those men when hundreds of other government workers had received offensive emails, including more than 350 in her agency alone.

In rejecting the lower court's conclusion that Kane had not threatened Fina and the others, the appeals panel noted that the lawsuit alleged that Kane aides had warned Fina associates that she would release the pornographic emails and that they would be hurt if Fina did not "back off."

The original lawsuit in the case also named the Daily News and its corporate owner as defendants. By agreement of the parties, the newspaper defendants were removed from the case earlier this year.
A 60-year-old man was charged with murder Thursday in the fatal shooting of another man less than 24 hours earlier in Philadelphia's Strawberry Mansion section, police said.

Michael Davis was taken into custody shortly after officers responding to a call for a person with a gun found Roderick Jones, 50, with a gunshot wound to the chest about 12:30 p.m. Wednesday on the 3000 block of Fontain Street, where Davis lives, police said.

Highway Patrol Unit officers, with information identifying Davis as the shooter, found him on the 3200 block of Fontain Street and arrested him.

Jones, of the 1900 block of North 23d Street, was pronounced dead at the scene at 12:53 p.m., authorities said.

Police did not say whether investigators had established a motive.

Davis was charged with murder and related offenses and ordered held without bail after a predawn hearing. His next court date has been set for Aug. 30.
Patrick Giblin was sent to prison for scamming women. Read more

A 53-year-old South Jersey man was sentenced Wednesday in federal court in Camden to five years in prison for stealing money from women through a telephone dating scam.

Prosecutors said Patrick Giblin, formerly of Ventnor, had been sent to prison in 2007 for a similar scheme and in 2015 for violating the terms of his supervised release. Giblin was not allowed to leave New Jersey but he nevertheless traveled to Albany County, N.Y., to scam women he had contacted through telephone dating services, prosecutors said.

He would convince women in other states that he wanted a romantic relationship and needed money to relocate to be near them, prosecutors said.

Giblin pleaded guilty in February to one count of interstate travel and use of a facility in interstate and foreign commerce with the intent to launder money.
Van Jones with Mary Baxter at the We Rise tour in Philadelphia on Aug. 3. Read more

Mary Baxter, a single mother, is homeless, jobless, $40,000 in debt, and a convicted criminal.

But, at age 35, she is also a burgeoning artist, accepted by the New York University Tisch Film School, the Art of Institute of Chicago, and the Moore College of Art; one of the faces of Sens. Cory Booker and Elizabeth Warren's Dignity for Incarcerated Women Act; and recipient of a $20,000 Right to Return Fellowship for her musical and film work.

Her journey has been as incredible as her turnabout.

"I've interviewed tons of homeless college students and I have yet to see this level of success despite insane hardship," said Sara Goldrick-Rab, a Temple University professor of higher education policy and sociology, and one of Baxter's mentors. "I don't usually find stories that are anywhere near like this."

"I think it all came out of trying to give a voice to what I was experiencing," said Baxter, who recalled growing up in a "tumultuous and unstable" home in North Philadelphia and being passed among relatives. "That's how I fell in love with the arts; it was my safe space, my refuge."

By Baxter's account, it was a near-death incident as she was about to enter eighth grade that gave her new life.

A once-star pupil, she had begun drawing at age 8 and writing poetry by age 10, she said, but conditions at home spurred her to act out. Then came her life-changing moment. Baxter said her mother forced her to leave the house in the middle of the night. She hooked up with friends. They got high on marijuana and stole a car. The car crashed, seriously injuring Baxter, who ended up hospitalized. For Baxter, it was a "moment of clarity."

Over the next several years, Baxter said, she was in and out of state treatment facilities.

Baxter eventually got her life on track  or so it seemed. She graduated from high school with honors and entered Pennsylvania State University as an excited African American Studies major in the fall of 2000.

But something happened. Takkeem Morgan, a friend from one of the state facilities, joined Baxter as a Penn State student the following year. But when he arrived, he found a troubled Mary Baxter. She was on academic probation, homeless, had financial aid problems, and was unemployed.

"From my perspective, Mary was falling apart. The things that she was hopeful about when she first started out  all those things had unraveled. She's very intelligent naturally, but I don't think she had that mentoring relationship.  She was literally roaming around the streets," said Morgan, also 35.

She acknowledged that she dealt drugs in the State College area for several years, was arrested twice, became pregnant, and returned to Philadelphia.

In December 2007, Baxter was rearrested in Philadelphia for two older cases of selling marijuana. She was nine months pregnant. She was sent to the Centre County Correctional Facility, and four days later went into labor with her son, Rasir, she said.

She was sentenced for up to two years on a felony drug count and a conspiracy to commit burglary count, but was released in six months and received full custody of Rasir. The two moved to Philadelphia, where Baxter served her parole and, as she says, "basically start life from scratch."

"Mary changed as a person when Rasir was born. She was not as impulsive, she was much more willing to listen," said Morgan, who is Rasir's godfather. "I think she was able to focus her energy in a way that she hadn't been able to before."

With her criminal record, Baxter struggled to find work before finally landing a job as a volunteer coordinator at Welfare for Work at Impact Services Corp.

She was laid off four years later, and that drove her back to an avocation. Donning the stage name Isis Tha Saviour, Baxter began to create music about her experiences in Philadelphia.

"Philly is my compass; all those things shaped who I am and what I do and why I do it," said Baxter, whose music focuses on social issues and personal experiences, with songs such as "Forever on My Mind," about the accidental shooting that killed her cousin in 2013, and "Make It Out," which features Rasir in the music video.

"After a while, I got bitter about the Philadelphia hip hop scene," said Baxter, who said Philly artists cared more about creating songs for the radio than addressing issues.

Frustrated that her music wasn't taken seriously, Baxter decided to enroll in Community College of Philadelphia (CCP), where she majored in art and design. She excelled, graduating with a 3.7 GPA and acceptances to Tisch, the Art Institute of Chicago, and Moore.

But then she bumped into a reality: the high costs of private colleges.

"What I didn't know was I wasn't going to be able to afford any of them, because art school is astronomically expensive," said Baxter. Aid packages fell thousands short of what she needed.

Meanwhile, the physical condition of the Germantown home where she and her son had lived for more than six years had deteriorated. Eventually a leaky ceiling and no heat forced the mother and son to become officially homeless, wandering from house to house and crashing with friends when possible.

Unsure of her next step, Baxter decided to return to CCP in the fall of 2016, this time to concentrate in human services. She volunteered at an after-school program, where a colleague suggested she apply for the Right of Return Fellowship, a brand-new program for formerly incarcerated artists. On May 30 the big news came: Among 300 applicants nationwide, she was one of seven winners. Her prize was $20,000.

"I just kept thinking, is this real? One day you're homeless  I mean, I literally had $3.56 on my account," said Baxter, whose prize money is broken up into $10,000 for personal use and $10,000 to create an art project addressing criminal-justice reform.

The Right of Return Fellowship is part of the Soze Agency's initiatives for criminal justice reform, and is being funded by Open Philanthropy.

"Mary has the most honest and incredible way of talking about her experience as a woman who was in prison while she was pregnant," said Daveen Trentman, co-founder and production director of Soze Agency.

Fellowship officials introduced her to #cut50's Dignity for Incarcerated Women campaign, which aims to raise support for a prison reform bill of the same name.

The #cut50 initiative was co-founded by CNN's Van Jones, whom Baxter had the opportunity to speak with about her experiences when he visited Philadelphia last week for his "We Rise" tour.

"The most inspiring thing about Mary is the way she is committed to trying to reach her next level of greatness despite unbearable circumstances," said Morgan. She has even made sure Rasir had a relationship with her own mother. "That's how Mary operates, she's a protector, she tries to look out for the community."

"It's just wanting more, for me and my son, for my community," said Baxter. She remains optimistic that her criminal record won't hold her back and plans to apply for a governor's pardon. "Everybody's looking for a savior, but you have to be the one you're looking for, you have to be that change you want to see."
President Donald Trump distorted the fact when he spoke about the United States nuclear arsenal. Read more

A day after he threatened North Korea with "fire and fury," President Donald Trump distorted the facts when he boasted that his "first order as President was to renovate and modernize our nuclear arsenal" and "it is now far stronger and more powerful than ever."

It's true that Trump directed his secretary of defense to initiate a Nuclear Posture Review. But that review was not his "first order"; it was not unexpected; and it won't be done until the end of the year, so it has yet to result in any improvements.

All U.S. presidents since Bill Clinton have undertaken Nuclear Posture Reviews, or NPRs, at the beginning of their administrations. The Obama administration's review, which was completed in April 2010, resulted in a $400 billion modernization plan that includes new nuclear submarines, intercontinental ballistic missiles and Navy bombers.

"The renovation and modernization of the arsenal that is going on now is all the result of decisions that were made by the Obama administration," Hans M. Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists, told us. "The Trump administration NPR might decide to adjust or increase capabilities but that is yet unclear."

Trumps Tweet

Trump appeared to be alluding to U.S. nuclear weapons on Aug. 8, when he was asked about North Korea's missile tests and nuclear ambitions. "North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States," Trump told reporters (at about the 4:30 mark). "They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen."

A day later, Trump boasted that he has taken steps to "renovate and modernize" the nation's nuclear weapons program, which he said is "now far stronger" than ever.

First, let's look at the order that Trump issued "to renovate and modernize our nuclear arsenal."

Trump issued a presidential memorandum on Jan. 27 that, among other things, directed the secretary of defense to initiate a Nuclear Posture Review "to ensure that the United States nuclear deterrent is modern, robust, flexible, resilient, ready, and appropriately tailored to deter 21st-century threats and reassure our allies."

Such a review is not unusual. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, every incoming U.S. president has conducted a Nuclear Posture Review at the beginning of their administrations. So Trump is no different in that respect.

The Defense Department officially began its review on April 17, and it is expected to be completed by the end of the year  so Trump's order has not made the U.S. nuclear arsenal "far stronger and more powerful than ever."

It also wasn't his "first order." Trump's first executive order was on the Affordable Care Act, and the first presidential memorandum was about regulations. Both were issued on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20. That first presidential memo was issued by his chief of staff. The first presidential memo signed by Trump came three days later on Jan. 23, and it dealt with abortion.

Todd Harrison, a defense budget analyst who heads the Aerospace Security Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said in an interview that he did not see "how there is any factual basis to support" the president's tweet.

"Clearly this was not, literally, his first order  and nothing has changed in the nuclear arsenal," Harrison said. "To be fair, even if he wanted to make changes nothing would have changed by now."

Modernization of U.S. Nuclear Arsenal

There is an ongoing modernization of the U.S. nuclear weapons program, but it was initiated under Obama, not Trump.

Robert Gates, Obama's defense secretary, released his department's Nuclear Posture Review on April 6, 2010. The report called for "much-needed investments to rebuild America's aging nuclear infrastructure." It also concluded that the United States will maintain a triad of nuclear weapon systems on land (intercontinental ballistic missiles), sea (submarine-launched ballistic missiles) and air (nuclear-capable heavy bombers).

After the report was issued, the Obama administration began making plans to modernize the nation's nuclear weapons program. In 2013, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the modernization program would cost about $355 billion over 10 years, from 2014-2023. It has since increased that estimate to $400 billion over 10 years, from 2017 to 2026. Those estimates include maintenance and operation costs, as well as modernization costs. Over 30 years, the cost could reach $1 trillion, according to the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies.

The Defense Department is now in the early stages of modernizing its fleet of nuclear submarines, Navy bombers and land-based missiles:

In January 2011, the Navy began a program to replace its Ohio-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines with a new fleet dubbed the Columbia that will cost more than $100 billion, according to a March 2017 report (page 117) by the Government Accountability Office.

In October 2015, the Defense Department announced that Northrop Grumman won the contract to build a new long range bomber  the B-21  that is capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear weapons. The new fleet will replace the aging B-52 and B-1 bombers under a contract that is expected to exceed $55 billion, according to Defense News.

In July 2016, the Air Force issued a request for proposal for the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent intercontinental ballistic missile weapon system to replace the aging land-based Minuteman III ICBMs.

Kristensen told us that the Obama administration's nuclear review also resulted in plans to extend the life of existing programs, such as the B61-12 nuclear gravity bomb, and modernize "key early-warning and nuclear command and control facilities and capabilities."

"The Obama administration set in motion an incredibly ambitious and expensive set of programs to maintain and upgrade the U.S. nuclear arsenal," Kingston Reif, director for Disarmament and Threat Reduction Policy at the Arms Control Association, told us in an email. "Most of these programs are still in their early stages of development."

Reif added that "the Trump administration's first budget request submitted in May for fiscal year 2018 largely continues the existing Obama programs of record."

As for whether the U.S. nuclear arsenal is "now far stronger and more powerful than ever," as Trump said, Kristensen responded: "The arsenal has just about the same capability today as it did when Trump took office. Same weapons. Same readiness level. Same strike plans."
Former Trump staffers Jason Miller and A.J. Delgado have a new 1-month-old named William. Miller is married to another woman and has two kids. Read more

A.J. Delgado and Jason Miller, two former Trump staffers who worked during and after the 2016 presidential campaign, are now parents of a 1-month-old baby boy named William.

However, Miller is married with two daughters, one of whom was born just months ago, after Miller had what Delgado said was an affair on the campaign trail.

Delgado, an attorney who served as President Trump's transition adviser, broke a six-month silence on Twitter on Tuesday to announce William's birth. Delgado says Miller, who served as chief spokesman for Trump's transition team and is a CNN contributor, dated her for two months during the campaign. She claims Miller told her he was separated from his wife during their romantic relationship.

On Wednesday, Miller confirmed to the New York Post's Page Six that William was his son, and issued a statement that appeared to indicate his wife had accepted the news.

"My wife and I, along with our two daughters, are excited to welcome William into the world and into our family, and we appreciate the well wishes we've received from so many," Miller said.

Miller's wife gave birth to their second child in January, meaning she was pregnant during Miller's affair with Delgado. Miller hinted at the stress of his home life in a statement explaining why he turned down the job as Trump's White House communications director two days after being tapped for the post.

"It's clear they [his family] need to be my top priority right now, and this is not the time to start a new job as demanding as White House communications director," Miller wrote.

There had been hints that Miller was the father of Delgado's child. In December, the same day Miller was named Trump's director of communications, the then-pregnant Delgado took to Twitter and compared him to former vice presidential nominee John Edwards, who famously fathered a child in 2008 in a extramarital affair with mistress Rielle Hunter.

"Congratulations to the baby-daddy on being named WH Comms Director!" Delgado wrote in a tweet she ultimately deleted, leading Miller to announce he'd turned down Trump's offer, citing his family.

Not surprisingly, Miller's statement about welcoming William's birth didn't go over well with Delgado, who took to Twitter to call out Miller for claiming he and his family were happy about his birth.

Delgado also claimed that Miller has yet to contribute any money to his new son or purchase him a single gift.

Neither Delgado nor Miller immediately responded to a requests for comment.

Delgado also hinted that there were more details to the story, noting on Twitter late Wednesday she offered her side to McKay Coppins, a staff writer at the Atlantic.
President Trump is expected to nominate an ally of Gov. Christies to be U.S. attorney for New Jersey. Read more

Gov. Christie's former colleague and Bridgegate attorney has emerged as the leading contender to be New Jersey's next U.S. attorney, five people familiar with the matter said, underscoring how the Republican governor still wields considerable influence with the Trump administration despite the public's strong disapproval of his performance at home.

The selection of the state's top federal law enforcement officer is part of a broader game of political horse trading playing out behind the scenes in Washington, Trenton, and New York. At the end of it, a half-dozen people will win jobs in law enforcement and on the federal courts that affect millions.

President Trump, a Republican, is expected to nominate federal District Court judges favored by New Jersey's two Democratic U.S. senators, Cory A. Booker and Bob Menendez. In turn, the two senators are expected to sign off on the nomination of criminal defense attorney Craig Carpenito as U.S. attorney, and another Christie ally is also in line for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia.

Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, appears to have set aside his highly publicized animus toward Christie in allowing Carpenito's nomination to proceed. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a close Trump ally, is also involved in the negotiations, according to one of the sources.

Giuliani had been a key backer of another contender for the New Jersey U.S. attorney slot, Geoffrey S. Berman, but Berman now appears headed to an even more high-profile post. He is reported to be the leading candidate to become U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, an office that handles insider-trading cases on Wall Street and international terrorism.

For the Third Circuit in Philadelphia, another Christie ally, Paul Matey, is being vetted for that judgeship, the sources said. The negotiations go as far as to include U.S. marshals positions.

The sources described the maneuvering on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the private talks.

One of the sources said he was interviewed by the FBI with regard to Carpenito and Matey, a former federal prosecutor who was Christie's deputy chief counsel in the governor's office, as part of the bureau's routine vetting process.

The final details of a potential deal are still pending, but are aimed in part at breaking a logjam set up by competing Republican power brokers and New Jersey's two Democratic senators, who under Senate tradition can block nominees in their home state, giving them leverage to seek their own choices for some openings despite GOP control of the White House and Congress.

The biggest prize is U.S. attorney. That office works with the FBI to investigate and prosecute such cases as public corruption, drug trafficking, cybercrime, and terrorism, setting priorities for high-profile prosecutions.

After watching President Barack Obama's appointee prosecute some of Christie's top allies, the governor is playing a leading role in installing a successor.

Carpenito, a partner with Alston & Bird LLP, helped Christie fend off a citizen's criminal complaint last year about his alleged role in the George Washington Bridge lane-closure scandal.

He may now land a job that provides a high-profile political platform. When Christie held the post, from 2002 to 2008, he prosecuted scores of politicians and developed a corruption-busting reputation that helped propel him to the governor's office in 2010. Giuliani, too, was a U.S. attorney and a high-ranking Department of Justice official, giving both men deep ties to the offices they are now trying to shape.

As recently as May, Christie faced headwinds from the White House. As U.S. attorney, Christie oversaw the prosecution of Kushner's father, Charles, a prominent Democratic fund-raiser and real-estate developer, who pleaded guilty to tax fraud and other charges, and was sentenced to two years in prison in 2005.

Jared Kushner had opposed Christie's pick, Carpenito, and instead lent his support to Berman, a former federal prosecutor who served on Trump's transition team. Berman had backing from Giuliani  both are shareholders at the law firm Greenberg Traurig LLP.

For months, Berman was the leading contender to be U.S. attorney in New Jersey. But that appears to have shifted in the past month, with Berman now in line to lead the higher-profile office in Manhattan.

That leaves an opening for Carpenito, 44, who worked under Christie as an assistant U.S. attorney in the office's securities and health care fraud unit.

He was also senior counsel in the Securities and Exchange Commission's New York office.

Carpenito and Berman declined to comment. Matey, 46, now senior vice president and general counsel at University Hospital in Newark, could not be reached early Thursday.

In pushing Carpenito for the post, Christie got all five of New Jersey's GOP congressmen to sign a letter backing his ally.

But the nomination also requires sign off from Booker and Menendez. Two people familiar with the talks stressed that the two Democrats would not sign off on the nominations until the full package is agreed to, including their own judicial picks.

Booker is seeking the renomination and confirmation of a long-stalled ally, Julien Neals, who was nominated to a District Court position in February 2015 but never confirmed by the Senate. As mayor of Newark, Booker tapped Neals for several posts. Now Neals is the Bergen County counsel.

Though relatively young, Carpenito would bring experience to the job.

As an assistant U.S. attorney, Carpenito successfully prosecuted Walter Forbes, the former chairman of Cendant Corp., for accounting fraud.

When the fraud was discovered in 1998, the company's market value dropped $14 billion, making it one of the largest accounting scandals on record.

It took three trials, but Forbes was eventually found guilty by a federal jury in 2006 of conspiracy and submitting false reports to the SEC. He was sentenced to more than 12 years in prison.
Here's the good news about the crisis over North Korea.

We are not going to war. Donald Trump is not going to nuke Pyongyang, reckless, rhetorical threats to the contrary. Nor is North Korea's Kim Jong Un going to nuke Guam.

Yes, I know the president just threatened to meet any more North Korean threats to the United States "with fire and fury like the world has never seen." This is the kind of extreme military rhetoric by a U.S. president the world has never seen, except by Harry S. Truman before bombing Nagasaki. Kim responded by threatening a preemptive strike against Guam, a U.S. territory with American military bases.

But a preemptive war is not on the horizon, with one key caveat: My prediction may soon reverse if Trump's team can't muzzle the president's tongue. For months, observers have warned that Trump's tweets and careless comments could endanger our country in a crisis. You couldn't find a better example than the president's fiery war of words with Kim.

The president's bombast was off the cuff, at a news conference on opioids in New Jersey. No national security adviser was present, nor was anyone warned beforehand, according to news reports.

Trump not only freaked out our Asian allies, he also risked provoking worse behavior by Pyongyang, where a skittish young leader appears convinced that America wants to carry out a regime change. So Kim is willing to raise his threat level to scare off the Americans.

Trump's words were no doubt perceived by Kim as a warning of a likely preemptive attack on North Korea, which led to his dangerous riposte on Guam.

But the president also undercut his own team  who were making some important progress in putting the squeeze on Pyongyang. Only last week, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, pushed through the harshest sanctions yet against North Korea's nuclear program, with China and Russia on board. These sanctions could cut North Korea's foreign earnings, which fund its military, by a third.

Much more needs to be done to ensure enforcement of U.N. sanctions, to curb North Korea's export of workers, and to pursue U.S. secondary sanctions against foreign banks that help the North. The model (despite differences) should be the sanction policy that forced Iran to the nuclear bargaining table.

In tandem with the sanctions push, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had made a key statement aimed at reassuring Kim. He said America does "not seek a regime change" or collapse, or an accelerated reunification of the two Koreas. Tillerson also said, "We do not seek an excuse to send our military north of the 38th parallel."

In other words, despite competing statements from different Trump team officials, the nucleus of a smart North Korea policy was emerging: aggressively pursuing sanctions and compliance from Beijing, moving at a much faster pace than President Barack Obama did with Iran, while trying to reassure Kim of U.S. intent. The goal: to get North Korea to stop testing missiles and nukes and return to the bargaining table.

No guarantee of success, but given the likelihood of hundreds of thousands of Korean and Japanese deaths should a new Korean war break out, a policy worth pursuing.

Then, Trump casually  and without consultation  blew it up.

Tillerson, reportedly blindsided, tried to walk things back, saying nothing had changed and "Americans should sleep well at night."

But Americans can't sleep easy if Trump continues to say whatever comes to his mind on North Korea. As CNN pointed out, Trump frequently uses the phrase "like the world has never seen" to brag about his achievements, but in this case the intended audience is not his fan base and the phraseology implies nuclear war.

Trump clearly misunderstands the presumed target of his rhetoric, whom he thinks he can bully into better behavior. However, Kim, who's mainly concerned with staying in power, already knows that an attack on the U.S. would be suicidal, says Scott Snyder, the Council on Foreign Relations' top Korea expert. But the young leader is making a major miscalculation by "using threats in a more provocative way than we saw [Soviets] doing in the Cold War."

This escalation of threats could provoke Kim into doing something rash, which might in turn persuade Trump to order military retaliation. From such rhetoric and miscalculations, a war could begin.

Then again, if Trump keeps escalating his threats but does nothing, he will be seen as a paper tiger. Already, the new red line he set in his "fire and fury" riposte is making America's allies wonder if U.S. policy on North Korea will ever be coherent or reliable with Trump at the helm.

The best advice I've heard, from the Atlantic Council's Robert Manning, a veteran of past negotiations with Pyongyang, is: "Stop getting hysterical every time they [the North Koreans] do something."

Trump should make clear, as part of an overall policy, that any use of WMD would result in a massive American reaction. But beyond that, his team needs to press behind the scenes for a broader, tougher sanctions regime, involving European and Asian allies. And pressure on Beijing and Moscow to comply with U.N. sanctions should be tough and constant.

The "fire and fury" episode sends a warning of where Trump's loose tongue could lead. That prospect presents a more immediate danger than does Pyongyang.
HARRISBURG  House Majority Leader Dave Reed said Thursday that Republicans have serious concerns about some taxes included in budget bills passed by the Senate, the latest signal that their impasse could linger for at least a few more weeks.

"We respect the fact that they sent it over to us. We respect the fact that this is where the Senate is," Reed, a Republican from Indiana County, told Capitol reporters. "It's not where we are."

The GOP-controlled legislature passed a nearly $32 billion spending plan on June 30  inching in under a midnight deadline  but has since been unable to agree on a way to pay for it.

Negotiators have struggled with how to plug a $1.5 billion shortfall still lingering from last year's budget and a $700 million deficit projected for the fiscal year that began July 1.

The lack of a revenue package has raised questions about whether the state can continue to spend money  the constitution requires a balanced budget  and if it might experience a costly credit downgrade.

The bills approved by the Senate would balance the budget in part by taxing drilling on natural gas and raising or imposing new taxes on consumers' telephone, electric and gas bills.

"With the way the Senate passed it, you're adding an extra bill on everybody's electric, landline telephones, and heating bills. When you look at the amount of money those three taxes bring in, that could easily be gobbled up with  liquor privatization or VGTs," Reed said, referring to machines known as video-gaming terminals.

Privatizing the state-run liquor sales system and expanding legalized gambling are two options Republicans have floated in a bid to raise more revenue. While some House members have supported legislation to tax natural gas extraction from the Marcellus Shale  on top of the so-called impact fee drillers currently pay per well to local governments  Reed said he thought others would be reluctant to do so without concessions on gaming expansion or liquor privatization.

House Republicans are still working to determine whether they might amend the Senate bills or attempt to advance their own separate bills to balance the budget, said their spokesman, Steve Miskin.

House Democrats believe raising the state's minimum wage or passing a severance tax on gas drilling might be more realistic ways to balance the budget, said their spokesman, Bill Patton.

"Although House Republicans seem to be at a loss for ideas, they have not asked for our feedback in some time, nor have they indicated when the House might return to work on this," he said.

Exactly when the House will return to act on any such bills is unclear. Republicans have a majority in the House and control its schedule. The next session day is scheduled for Sept. 11, but members technically remain "on call."

"Our hope is to resolve this sooner rather than later," Reed said. "I would love to get that done before the end of August. I think a lot of folks would like to get that done before the end of August, but we want to make sure we get it right, not just do it for the sake of doing it."
As August days go, this one is quite delightful, so by all means be careful out there.

We distilled that advice from an unusual, if not unique, study out of the University of Washington that concluded that for joint injuries, fair weather is far-more dangerous than foul.

That conclusion might seem counterintuitive, but lead researcher Scott Tefler surmised that contrary to folk wisdom that ties arthritic pain and other maladies to atmospheric torment, fine weather is a more likely culprit since it spurs pain-inducing activity.

The counterintuitive aspect didn't surprise us in the least; that's a leitmotif in the wiggly world of "biometeorology."

What is different about this study is the methodology. For proxy measures, Tefler examined pain-related Google searches during a five-year period in 45 cities.

They spiked upward on dry temperate days when were below 86. On extremely hot, cold, and wet days, the numbers went down. Evidently, folks were staying inside.

"We were surprised by how consistent the results were throughout the range of temperatures in cities across the country," said Telfer.

Obviously, the methodology isn't foolproof. Biometeorological research is hampered by the difficulty of finding reliable data.

A popular method has been to look at emergency-room admissions. However, that data is skewed by cultural factors. People tend to put off emergency-room visits on weekends and holidays.

Isolating variables, such as barometric pressure and humidity, and tying them to specific complaints has been a daunting challenge.

The most-ambitious attempt we know of was undertaken at the University of Pennsylvania by Dr. Joseph Hollander in the 1960s.

With a $500,000 grant, Hollander built a "Climatron" in which he subjected patients to extreme changes in atmospheric variables during a seven-year period.

Hollander, whose papers are housed at the College of Physicians in Center City, wrote about "the innumerable frustrations and hours of wasted effort to achieve data reportable only in a 'Journal of Negative Results.'"

He did, however, conclude that "the 'old wives' tale" that arthritics can predict the weather has been statistically proved."

In the University of Washington study, released Wednesday, "There was a small effect of barometric pressure on knee pain but it wasn't seen for the hip or arthritis searches."

But temperature, he said, was far-more dominant as a factor.

Just a cautionary note, Thursday's forecast high in Philadelphia is 86.
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If you wish to contact me for questions, collaboration inquiries, comments, suggestions, reviews or just about anything, please send an email to. I will try my best to reply quickly! Unless, of course, I'm on a trip! :D All rights reserved. All photos and content in this blog are owned by(unless otherwise stated). Parts of the articles may be excerpted (a link to this site should be provided), but not reproduced as a whole. Photos may not be used without permission. Thank you very much!Unless otherwise stated, I personally write my blog posts and it expresses my own thoughts and opinions. I pay for all the expenses of my trips (unless otherwise stated). I welcome collaborations and reviews as long as they are beneficial to my readers. All reviews on collaborations contain my own views and opinion and were not influenced by anyone. For inquiries, you may contact me here . Thank you very much!
AirAsia Flies To Nha Trang Vietnam

AirAsia have been aggressive in expanding their routes in ASEAN. This week, they started to fly from Kuala Lumpur to Sihanoukville Cambodia. I was invited for the inaugural flight to the coastal city but due the relapsed of my lung infection, I decided to stay at home to rest and heal. Sihanoukville is an interesting place and it is called Little Russia by the locals. The upcoming route is also another coastal city and it is called Nha Trang in Vietnam.

Nha Thrang is located at the west of Vietnam facing the South China Sea. It is a popular coastal city and they hosted the Miss Universe 2008, Miss Earth 2010 and 2016 Asian Beach Games.

Nha Trang is one of the most important tourist destinations in Vietnam. Thanks to the beautiful white sandy beaches, clear ocean water and mild temperatures all year round.

There is also an island off Nha Trang called Hon Tre Island which is known as Bamboo Island. There is a huge five star resort and theme park on Hon Tre Island.

AirAsia set to fly from Kuala Lumpur to Nha Trang from 14th September 2017. This is another great alternative for beach and island lovers who wanted to venture to new areas in ASEAN. If you are a beach junkie and wanderlust, Nha Trang is another option for you to travel.

Now, everyone can travel to Nha Trang thanks to AirAsia. For more information, visit AirAsia.com

Wilson Ng A Father and traveler who enjoys to eat, shop, travel and taking pictures with Samsung S22 Ultra and Sony ZV-1. Im a full time blogger, youtuber and father for two. I used to travel around 17 International trips per year but now staying at home. Remember to follow us at www.instagram.com/placesandfoods and www.youtube.com/placesandfoods. For advertisements or features, contact me at [email protected] See author's posts
Read This If you plan to fly from Malaysia to Haneda with ANA or AirAsiaX

The main reason I write this story as this happened to me on my trip to Tokyo in June. I flew to Haneda Tokyo from KLIA2 Malaysia with AirAsiaX, the flight delayed and I was stranded in Tokyo alone.

I flew with AirAsiaX and why is it related to ANA? For flights from Kuala Lumpur Malaysia to Haneda Tokyo, there are only two airlines available. It is AirAsiaX and ANA (All Nippon Airways). For the record, ANA and Malaysia Airlines also fly to Narita Tokyo.

For ANA flights to Haneda Tokyo, you will reach around 10.15pm and for AirAsiaX flights to Haneda Tokyo, you will reach around 10.30pm. If you have no luggage, the clearance will take around 20 to 30 mins depending how fast you can walk and probably longer if you have check in any luggage.

So how did I get stranded in Tokyo?

In 2015, I took the AirAsiaX flight from Haneda back to Malaysia. The flight was delayed as the plane reached Tokyo after midnight. As you may know, the trains stopped at 12.15 am so everyone on board had to stay in the airport or nearby. I learn that lesson so I know that there is a possibility the flights from Kuala Lumpur to Haneda might delay. It happens to AirAsiaX and it might happen to ANA depending on situation.

I took a risk by booking an Airbnb accommodation near Ikebukuro. I calculated that I need to hop on to the last train at 12 am to reach my destination. Thus, if the flight delayed for an hour, I still manage to get to my Airbnb.

Well, I miscalculated the connecting time and my nightmare started when the flight delayed for an hour in Kuala Lumpur due to busy traffic airspace in Singapore. To me its mere bad luck so I had to believe in my plan.

I got my Pocket WIFI with Klook.com in KLIA2, power banks and also Google Map app ready. This is not my first time traveling in Japan so I know to travel around solo. Thus, I only carry one hand carry luggage so I dont need to waste time to wait for my luggage. I only purchase check in luggage when I return from Tokyo if I wanted to shop for food or clothes for my kids. I thought I have plan it well.

Read also: Why Google Map is Important while traveling in Japan

AirAsiaX did all they can to chase the time we wasted. I reached Haneda International Airport at 11.15 pm. I opened my Google Map app and keep on checking on available trains. I walked fast with the other passengers as we knew we are running out of time.

It was a long walk and I started to google the best option to do at that time. Should I stay in the capsule hotel in Haneda International Airport or I take a huge risk by taking the train to my Airbnb accommodation. By the time with the clearance, I reach the train station at around 11.45pm. I took the gamble and switched train and reached Ikebukuro at 12.15 am. The train station is closed and I was stranded in Ikebukuro.

Luckily, I had the pocket wifi with me so I checked the cheapest accommodation available in Ikebukuro. I stayed at Book and Bed capsule hotel in Ikebukuro and I spent 3,800 Yen (excluding tax) for a bed for the night. It cost more than my Airbnb accommodation but I have no choice.

So if you plan to travel to Tokyo Haneda with ANA or AirAsiaX, there is a possibility of flight delay. Remember to get the pocket WIFI in Malaysia first and always have the Google Map app. Dont be too ambitious and book a hotel far from the airport like me. Find a hotel within the first train line from Haneda International Airport. I was stranded in Ikebukuro Tokyo but I learned my lesson and I shared my experiences to everyone.

Flight delays are common in anywhere in the world. I wont blame AirAsiaX for the flight delay but pure bad luck. I hope my experience helps in your next trip to Haneda Tokyo.

*Updated: I could have stay in the airport, sleep on the chair. However, what if you travel in a group or family? what if you travel with your children or your parents?

Read all my stories and experiences in Tokyo here.

Wilson Ng A Father and traveler who enjoys to eat, shop, travel and taking pictures with Samsung S22 Ultra and Sony ZV-1. Im a full time blogger, youtuber and father for two. I used to travel around 17 International trips per year but now staying at home. Remember to follow us at www.instagram.com/placesandfoods and www.youtube.com/placesandfoods. For advertisements or features, contact me at [email protected] See author's posts
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Around 700,000 eggs from Dutch farms implicated in a contamination scare have been distributed to Britain, rather than the 21,000 first estimated, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has said.

The FSA said investigations into the Fipronil incident in Europe suggested it was very unlikely that the eggs posed a risk to public health, and products affected in the UK were processed foods in which egg is one ingredient among many others, mostly used in sandwich fillings or other chilled foods.

It said some of the products made from these eggs will have had a short shelf life and will have already been consumed, but some were still within the expiry date and were being withdrawn by the businesses involved.

While in some European countries eggs containing Fipronil residues have been sold as fresh eggs, in the UK this is not the case.

Dutch and Belgians have carried out co-ordinated raids today.

(Image: PA)

Many of the eggs involved were mixed with other eggs which have not come from affected farms so Fipronil residues will be highly diluted.

It is likely that the number of eggs that have come to the UK is closer to 700,000 than the 21,000 we previously believed had been imported.

However, as this represents 0.007% of the eggs we consume in the UK every year, it remains the case that it is very unlikely that there is any risk to public health from consuming these foods.

Some of the products made from these eggs will have had a short shelf life and will have already been consumed, however, we identified some that were still within the expiry date. These are now being withdrawn by the businesses involved.

The withdrawn products are:

(Image: Sainsbury's)

By Sainsburys Ham and Egg Salad 240g Use by date: 9th-14th August 2017

By Sainsburys Potato and Egg Salad 300g Use by date: 9th-14th August 2017

Morrisons Potato and Egg Salad 250g Use by up to 13th August 2017

Morrisons Egg and Cress Sandwich Sold in Morrisons Cafe only Use by up to and including 11th August 2017

Morrisons Cafe Sandwich Selection Sold in Morrisons Cafe only Use by up to and including 11th August 2017

Waitrose Free Range Egg Mayonnaise 240g Use by 13 August 2017

Waitrose Free Range Reduced Fat Egg Mayonnaise 170g Use by 14 August 2017

Waitrose Free Range Egg and Bacon 170g Use by 14 August 2017

Waitrose Free Range Egg and Bacon 170g Use by 16 August 2017

Waitrose Free Range Egg Mayonnaise 240g Use by 16 August 2017

Asda Baby potato and free range egg salad Use by 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, and 14th Aug

Asda Spinach and free range egg snack pot Use by 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th Aug

Asda FTG Ham and Cheddar ploughmans salad bowl Use by 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th Aug
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Floral tributes have been left for a Plymouth man who was fatally stabbed at Plymouth Railway Station this week.

The single bouquet of flowers has been placed outside of the entrance to the station with a hand written note taped to it.

Wayne Fenton was seriously injured on the concourse just before 10am on Tuesday.

(Image: Penny Cross)

The 49-year-old was rushed to hospital to be treated for his life-threatening injuries, but could not be saved.

Police launched a murder investigation following the stabbing.

The floral tribute, which appears to be from family members, said: RIP Wayne/dad.

Forever in our hearts, taken too soon. Missed by all, fly high.

Love you lots, Jade, Billy, Ashley, Matthew and rest of family.

Further moving tributes were paid to the dad after he was formally identified by police on Wednesday afternoon.

Debra Ecclestone, on Facebook, simply said: "RIP Gappy."

Others who didn't know Mr Fenton were still keen to show their devastation at his death.

Verena Love wrote: "May you fly high wrapped in angel wings to paradise. My family are devastated this has happened.

(Image: Penny Cross)

"I am not related to Wayne... but devastated over the tragic event."

Marie Dann said: "Thinking of his family at this sad time and hoping they get the answers and support they need. RIP."

28-year-old Jamie Skinner, of Bodmin Road, Plymouth, was arrested on suspicion of murder.

He appeared at Plymouth Magistrates Court on Thursday morning and was charged with the murder of Mr Fenton  he was not asked to enter a plea.

(Image: Penny Cross)

DCI Paul Langley from the British Transport Police thanked members of the public for their help in the investigation.

"I would like to thank the large numbers of witnesses who have come forward and my officers are in the process of speaking to those individuals," he said on Wednesday.

He added that his own thoughts remain with the family.

Jamie Skinner is due to appear at Plymouth Crown Court tomorrow - Friday.
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A 28-year-old man has been charged following an alleged murder at Plymouth Railway Station.

Jamie Skinner, of Bodmin Road, was arrested on Tuesday morning following a serious assault in the station concourse.

Shortly after 11pm last night, British Transport Police announced that he had been charged.

He is due to appear before Plymouth Magistrates' Court this morning, Thursday, August 10.

Yesterday police confirmed Wayne Fenton, from the Plymouth area, was the man who died after he suffered serious injuries at the station on Tuesday morning.

The 49-year-old was rushed to hospital by paramedics but died from his injuries.

Police are urging anyone who witnessed what happened to come forward.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact police by sending a text to 61016 or by calling 0800 40 50 40 quoting reference 159 of 08/08/2017.

Alternatively, you can ring Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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A surgeon who has been taken off routine surgery after performing an operation on a 12-year-old boy's genitals without permission has been described as a top surgeon and the best of the best by people defending him since the news emerged.

Surgeon Commander Anthony Lambert performed the operation while the boy was under general anaesthetic for another procedure.

The boy's mother says the surgeon did not get consent and she has spoken out to ensure it doesn't happen again.

The surgeon has apologised and Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust has said he will no longer perform any non-emergency paediatric procedures within the trust, reported the BBC.

But since the news broke about Cdr Lambert OBE, people have jumped to defend him for his work and surgery carried out on others.

One person said: This man is amazing at his job he goes above and beyond just like he did in this case... if he had spoken to the parents they hopefully would have told him to go ahead [...].

Others added: One of most the genuine, trustworthy, and committed men I know.... lives and breathes his work. So highly regarded by so many people.... saved so many lives, put his own life at risk in some of the worst war zones on the planet.

Sorry, can't see any short-fallings of care here. Only a surgeon that went that bit extra to avoid a boy going under anaesthetic a second time.

What a shame for this obviously greatly admired chap! Reading all the other comments suggest that everyone is supporting him and his judgement. Any normal parent would be delighted that the surgeon made this decision and saved their son from going through further surgery.

Everything I know about this man is that he is an outstanding surgeon and good human being. The procedure would have been explained afterwards and surely ensured that the boy in question didn't have to endure further surgery.

Cdr Lambert OBE was operating on the boy at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth for a hernia.

He decided it was in the best interests of the boy to 'free adhesions' on his genitals.

The surgeon went into the waiting room during the surgery but left without speaking to the parents or calling their names.

A colleague had advised him to get permission from the parents, who had been waiting outside the operating theatre.

The family's lawyer, Andrew Hannam, of Enable Law, told the BBC that for Cdr Lambert to continue under these circumstances was "shocking for the child and his family"

In a letter of apology, Cdr Lambert said: "Why I did not call your name when I left theatre to find you, I do not know," he told the family.

"I unreservedly apologise for the short-fallings in the care I provided to your son."

Dr Phil Hughes, medical director for Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust, sent a letter to the family which said the operation "should not have happened without consent", reports the BBC.

He said an "organisational development intervention" will be put in place to ensure it does not happen again.

Who is Surgeon Commander Anthony Lambert?

Royal Navy surgeon Anthony Lambert has been in an array of war zones since 1988 including Iraq, Bosnia and Afghanistan.

Because of his vital work carrying out surgery, he was given the Armed Forces Award at the Pride of Plymouth ceremony in 2013.

As well as this, he was awarded an OBE in the 2013 New Years Honours list for his charitable work, which supports injured servicemen and women and children undergoing surgery at Derriford Hospital.

Cdr Lambert also organises the annual rugby match between the Royal Marines and the Medical Students of the Peninsula Medical Schools, in aid of the Royal Marines Charitable Trust Fund.
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Tributes have been pouring in for a much-loved Plymouth dad who was fatally stabbed at Plymouth Railway Station.

Wayne Fenton was seriously injured on the concourse just before 10am on Tuesday.

Police launched a murder investigation following a knife attack on the 49-year-old Plymouth dad, which happened near the station entrance.

Mr Fenton's family are being supported by specialist police officers at this sad time.

Moving tributes have been paid to Mr Fenton today after he was formally identified by police on Wednesday afternoon.

Debra Ecclestone, on Facebook, simply says: "RIP Gappy."

(Image: Penny Cross)

Others who didn't know Mr Fenton are still keen to show their devastation at his death.

Verena Love writes: "May you fly high wrapped in angel wings to paradise. My family are devastated this has happened.

"I am not related to Wayne... but devastated over the tragic event."

Marie Dann says: "Thinking of his family at this sad time and hoping they get the answers and support they need. RIP."

A 29-year-old man, also from Plymouth, was arrested on suspicion of murder on Tuesday.

He was expected to appear at Plymouth Magistrates Court on Thursday morning.

DCI Paul Langley from British Transport Police thanked members of the public for their help in the investigation.

"I would like to thank the large numbers of witnesses who have come forward and my officers are in the process of speaking to those individuals," he said on Wednesday.

He added that his own thoughts remain with the family.

(Image: Penny Cross)

"[Tuesday's] news would have come as a devastating shock for [them]," he added.

"My thoughts are with them at this stage and we have specially trained officers supporting them as they come to terms with this news."

Further tributes to Mr Fenton show support for Mr Fenton's close family and friends.

Natasha Squires writes on Facebook: "Don't expect this to happen in Plymouth. RIP to Wayne and many prayers sent to his friends and family."

Lisa Julie says: "Thoughts are with his family at this sad time."

And Michelle Thornton writes: "RIP Wayne. So many good memories. Love to your family."

Station stabbing: Taxi driver describes horrifying aftermath

A taxi driver who witnessed the aftermath of a fatal stabbing at Plymouth station says it was "like a scene from a film".

Cabbie Paul Bristow, an ex-fireman, was among the first on the scene having made a drop-off in the station car park.

"We were unloading the car and we could hear a kerfuffle going on inside the station," he said.

"I noticed all the drivers getting out of their cabs. As we got closer and the station doors opened, that's when we saw what was happening.

"It was like a scene from a film.

"The victim was lying on his back with people tending him and one first aider telling another to apply pressure to one of the wounds."

(Image: Penny Cross)

Mr Bristow said he saw another man, the alleged attacker, being held down by four people including British Transport Police officers and Great Western Rail staff, who have been praised for their brave response.

"The victim's shirt was open, he was breathing very heavily, his chest was bleeding," he said.

"As an ex-fireman my first reaction was 'Is there anything I can do?

"When I got to the door there were already people doing what I would have done.

"I noticed there was a lot of blood around the area, not just where the man was lying, but elsewhere around the foyer.

"It was as if it was being acted out, as if we were watching a scene being filmed.

"I thought 'Did that really happen?'"
Training wearing full gear in the water will help officers prepare to swim with extra weight should they need to do so in the field. Photo by Dave Young. The purpose of law enforcement defensive tactics training is to develop your response, enhance your skills, and reinforce tactics to prepare you for the real world encounters you will face on the job. I like to say, "Training is supposed to prepare you for what is about to occur, not for what you hope doesn't occur."

The purpose of training is not to create a paper trail that confirms you are going through the motions, allowing you to feel good about yourself. That only creates false confidence and promotes bad tactics, which can get you killed.

A few years ago, I met Sgt. Marcus Young (no relation besides being a fellow brother of the profession), a retired police officer from Ukiah, CA, and heard the heroic story of his fight for life. He suffered multiple wounds in a 2003 gunfight. He was shot in the cheek and the round exited the back of his head just missing his spine by inches, and he was shot in the strong arm and that exploded his bicep. Rounds were also stopped by his vest. Under this vicious attack he managed to stay conscious while continuing to fight using his weak arm to ultimately shoot and kill the subject. When I heard Young's story, my mind wandered to the first police academy I attended in 1985, and I quickly compared it to the training we currently conduct today throughout the world.

I wondered why training has regressed in many police academies and in-service programs to the point where some officers are allowed to take the easy approach to their survival training. These officers are choosing "fire talks" over "fire drills." as my mentor Gary Klugiewicz from Vistelar often says. They are not experiencing the emotionally challenging or physically demanding training needed to perform on the street.

On many agencies physical fitness is being measured by doing push-ups, sit-ups, and running a few miles in shorts and running shoes. That's fine for general physical conditioning, but it's not what these officers will face on the job. Out on the street they will be running to catch someone or running for their lives in complete duty gear. Make your training make sense and train the way you are going to have to fight.

To maintain proficiency you must regularly practice all skills, individually and as a team. Photo by Dave Young. Ask yourself this: If you went home tonight and there was an envelope on your pillow, with an invitation to a physical encounter with a suspect and it told you this person was bigger than you, well trained, and/or carries weapons, would you change your current training and lifestyle now? Of course, you would; we all would. So what are you waiting for? Those suspects are out there. And you have a job in which your life and the lives of your partners depend on our performance.

Society as a whole places certain expectations on us as professionals for their own safety, and we as professionals should demand nothing less for our own. Which means we have to stay fit. I have observed officers going through 30- to 60-second survival drills and some have had to be carried off the mat.

The quality of training offered to you and your responsibility to be proficient in it must be improved. There should be yearly mandatory qualifications for the words you use, your empty hands arrest-and-control tactics, your firearm and non-lethal weapons skills, and physical fitness.

Without a doubt, it is a horrific tragedy when an officer loses his or her life and we can always do a "lessons learned" mainly because we as a society need to point a finger and blame for the outcome. However, I have found that there are four different entities to take responsibility for this horrific outcome.

Who is at Fault

"Murphy's Law"  No matter how well you prepare, things can go wrong. Fortunately, I have found that Murphy's Law can be reduced in some situations when there is proper planning and preparation from the agency and the officer.

The Agency  Training officers they employ in the environments they assign them to work in is a responsibility some agencies take more seriously than others. I understand budget and manpower issues can place certain restraints on training. But the life of each officer is priceless.

Society  25 years ago in our country we had a defined respect for police authority. We had support mechanisms at home, children were disciplined by their parents, the family unit as a whole was a more solid foundation than it is today, and religious and moral beliefs were much stronger. Today, the American people want police protection without supporting the tools and tactics that are necessary for their own safety and their own protection.

The Officer  Ultimately the responsibility for staying in survival shape belongs to you, the officer. After all, it is your life that is on the line. Setting aside a few hours per week to maintain the skill levels needed to stay alive should be of utmost importance to you. Please do not look at training as a waste of time or budgetary restraint, but as an insurance policy, for which your deductible is zero.

Pushing Your Limits

The more realistic your training scenarios are, the better. Just be sure to wear the right training gear. Photo by Dave Young. How do you prepare yourself to go up against an unknown opponent, at an unknown time and place? We all know the answer but many of us are not willing to do what it takes. The answer is we have to push past our own limits. If we never push ourselves past our own limits, our skills and/or endurance will not improve. Another reason we have to be able to push past our limits in training and leave it all on the mat is that some suspects in a confrontation will fight as their own lives depend on it and expend all their energy and strength. That's why our training should require us to work hard, not just coast. If we are not working hard in our training, then we really cannot say that we are prepared to survive a real-life threatening encounter.

Here are a few examples of how to turn your training up to street level intensity.

Use the Right Training Gear  The purpose of protective equipment like RedMan Training Gear and similar products is to allow you to train with real knockdown power without anyone getting hurt. If you are using gear that does not allow you to hit with real stopping power then you are doing one of three things:

Instilling poor response habits Reinforcing unrealistic response habits Instilling a false confidence for survival

Striking Shields  The correct use of a striking shield lets you use real knockdown power without officers getting hurt. If you are using striking shields incorrectly or not using ones that allow you to conduct training at a level where you are unleashing real stopping power, then you are doing one of three things:

Instilling poor response habits Reinforcing unrealistic response habits Instilling false confidence for survival

Training Projectiles  The purpose of training projectiles is to allow you to respond correctly in force-on-force scenarios without hurting anyone (when proper protective gear is used correctly and no live weapons are allowed in the training area). If you are not using training projectiles or only using non-firing plastic or metal replicas to conduct force-on-force training, then you could be doing more harm than good by:

Instilling poor response habits Reinforcing unrealistic response habits Instilling false confidence for survival

Training Batons  The purpose of using training batons is to allow you to safely practice using a baton for blocking, striking, restraining, and performing weapon transitions. If you are not using training batons and only using real duty batons to hit a striking shield to conduct your force-on-force training, then you could be:

Instilling poor response habits Reinforcing unrealistic response habits Instilling false confidence for survival

Train in Duty Gear  The purpose for wearing your assigned duty gear in training, including ballistic vest, shirt, and pants that simulate the type of clothing you will be wearing on the job, and functional training firearm (such as Simunition or airsoft) during training is to allow you to experience what it will be like to fight against a suspect in real life.

It's especially important that agencies be aware of this. If you are not having your officers wear their complete assigned duty gear during training, then you are doing one or all of these things:

Instilling poor response habits Reinforcing unrealistic response habits Instilling false confidence for survival

If you work in the snow, you need to train in the snow...and all other types of weather you might encounter while on the job. Photo by Dave Young. These five examples of poor training practices are drawn from what I have seen in so-called "realistic training" over the last 20 years of teaching both in the United States and internationally. When you hear the words "realistic training," you get the picture in your mind that it will simulate real life encounters. So it's critical that the training live up to that billing and match the circumstances officers will face on the job.

Training is an investment in time and financial resources. So it's important that there be a return on those investments. Yes, there is a cost to doing realistic training, but training wrong can cost you your life.

Dave Young is the founder and director of Arma Training, responsible yearly for training thousands of police, corrections, and military instructors around the world on surviving force-on-force attacks. He is also the co-founder of Vistelar. Young graduated from his first law enforcement academy in 1985, has over 30 years of combined civilian and military law enforcement experience and training. He is a long-serving member of the POLICE Advisory Board.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police arrested a man accused of pointing a laser at their helicopter Tuesday night.

Authorities arrested Abrahan Romero after pilots noticed a green laser targeting them around 11 p.m. They said Romero was standing outside a vehicle, pointing the laser.

Officers on the ground were able to stop Romero and found a laser inside the car, WSOC TV reports.

A laser pointed into the cockpit of an aircraft can temporarily blind the pilot, which could result in a crash. Pointing a laser at an aircraft is a federal felony punishable by up to five years in prison and/or a $250,000 fine.
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The North Korean regime mocked Trumps threats of an attack against them and called them a load of nonsense.

The AP reported:

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP)  North Korea's military calls Trump's threat a 'load of nonsense,' says 'only absolute force' can work on Trump  Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) August 9, 2017

The President has so little credibility that even the crazy dictator who is starving his own people in isolated North Korea refuses to take the threat of US action against them seriously. Trump is a global joke. If North Korea doesnt respect him enough to take his threats seriously, there is no way that he will be able to keep America safe from terrorism and other threats.

Putin has got his wish. Trump has turned the worlds only superpower into a punchline.

Even the North Koreans are laughing at and mocking Donald Trump. Just when you think Donald Trump cant possibly do any more damage to the United States, the President takes the country to a new low.
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For transfer instructions to GoDaddy, please click here.
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As Robert Muellers investigation into the Trump campaigns ties to Russias meddling in the 2016 election continues to escalate, Senate Democrat Richard Blumenthal warned that the president is likely to double down on his effort to obstruct the investigation and bully anyone involved in the inquiry.

In an interview on MSNBC, Blumenthal said he expects additional Trump threats as the investigation continues to rage on.

Video:

.@SenBlumenthal: Trumps bullying tactics will only worsen after FBI raid of Manaforts home pic.twitter.com/Y038F0h2Vb  Sean Colarossi (@SeanColarossi) August 9, 2017

Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said:

I also, unfortunately, would be looking to additional Trump threats. Hes called [the investigation] a witch hunt and a hoax. Hes tried to draw red lines around financial dealings, other kinds of intimidation, and this raid redoubles my determination to support legislation that will protect the special counsel and that investigation. It reaffirms the reasons that I called for a special counsel with the powers to do what he has done in this raid.

As the Senate Democrat noted, the more explosive this investigation becomes, the more afraid Trump becomes  and, like a frightened child, Trump is only likely to become more desperate and erratic.

Blumenthals warning comes on the day it was revealed that Trumps ex-campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, had his home raided by the FBI. The raid took place on July 26, a day after Manfort testified to the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Its probably not a good sign that during an investigation into whether a presidential campaign colluded with a foreign adversary, the former manager of that campaign had his home raided by the FBI.

In a statement, Blumenthal underscored how serious the FBI raid is, saying, Apparently there is now no question of clear evidence connecting Paul Manafort to some criminal wrong doing.

That is why, as the Connecticut senator mentioned on MSNBC, its likely that Trump will double down on his bullying tactics and do all he can throw this investigation off course.

For that reason, those leading the charge to hold the administration accountable must redouble their efforts as well.
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One would think Donald Trump would quit while he isnt ahead, but the president had other plans on Wednesday night when he retweeted a pair of nonsense tweets blaming former President Barack Obama for Trumps bungling of the current North Korea crisis.

The pair of tweets  one from neocon John Bolton and another from Fox News The Five  slammed Obama and praised the president for being unpredictable.

Tweets:

Our country & civilians are vulnerable today because @BarackObama did not believe in national missile defense. Lets never forget that.  John Bolton (@AmbJohnBolton) August 9, 2017

@POTUS being unpredictable is a big asset, North Korea knew exactly what President Obama was going to do.- @jessebwatters  The Five (@TheFive) August 10, 2017

Trumps retweets on Wednesday demonstrate just how in denial he is. It also underscores an earlier report that Trump is absolutely obsessed with former President Obama.

As Jason Easley wrote earlier, Donald Trump is not well, and he is obsessed because Obama was the kind of president that he will never be.

Nowhere is that reality more visible than the latest crisis involving North Koreas growing nuclear threat.

While Obama repeatedly proved himself to be steady and thoughtful in order to avoid making any rash decisions, Trump is the exact opposite  lashing out and threatening nuclear war without even looping in his closest advisers.

The president can cherry pick praise and read his daily propaganda packets all he wants, but facts are facts.

Barack Obama was a reassuring adult in an increasingly dangerous world, and Donald Trump is a man-sized toddler pushing the world closer to nuclear war.
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Sen. John McCain has followed through on his threat to Trump to take over strategy for the war in Afghanistan by attaching a policy amendment to the NDAA.

In a statement, McCain said:

America is adrift in Afghanistan. President Obamas dont lose strategy has put us on a path to achieving the opposite result. Now, nearly seven months into President Trumps administration, weve had no strategy at all as conditions on the ground have steadily worsened. The thousands of Americans putting their lives on the line in Afghanistan deserve better from their commander-in-chief.

Adopting a new strategy for achieving Americas national security interests in Afghanistan is a decision of the highest importance, one that should be subjected to rigorous scrutiny and debate within our government. But we must face facts: we are losing in Afghanistan and time is of the essence if we intend to turn the tide.

That is why, after consulting with some of our nations most experienced and respected former military and intelligence officials, I have filed an amendment to the defense authorization bill that outlines the strategy we need to achieve Americas national security interests in Afghanistan and the wider region.

The goal of this strategy is to ensure that Afghanistan never again becomes a sanctuary for terrorists to plot and conduct attacks against America, our allies, or our interests. To accomplish this goal, we need an integrated civil-military approach to bolster U.S. counterterrorism efforts, strengthen the capability and capacity of the Afghan government and security forces, and intensify diplomatic efforts to facilitate a negotiated peace process in Afghanistan in cooperation with regional partners.

Americas Armed Forces in harms way in Afghanistan deserve leadership from Washington worthy of their service and sacrifice. Adopting a clear policy and strategy in Afghanistan, backed with the authorities and resources necessary for success, would be a critical step toward restoring that kind of leadership, which has been absent for far too long.

No one should be surprised that the situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated under Trump. Sen. McCain complained about former President Obamas strategy for eight years, but as even he acknowledges, he disagreed with it, but the military had a strategy.

As for the amendment itself, it is heavily focused on counterterrorism, building up the Afghan forces, and believe it or not, diplomacy.

Trumps weakness and lack of leadership have created a vacuum in Washington, D.C. that is being filled by people like John McCain. The country is in the midst of historic weakening of the Executive Branch. Congress is stepping in to assume powers that have long been claimed by presidents.

Donald Trumps clueless administration is being marginalized and shoved out of the way by members of his own party.

Trump wants to be a strong man, but he is helming a presidency that is diminishing by the day.
Toyota, which makes engines at this Huntsville, Alabama, plant, is considering South Carolina and 10 other states for a new automobile manufacturing campus that it would operate with Mazda. The automakers plan to build 300,000 vehicles per year at the facility by 2021. File/Business Wire
holmogor



http://www.unz.com/akarlin/kholmogorov-new-martin-luther/



Google knows almost everything about us, including the contents of our emails, our addresses, our voice samples (OK Google), our favorite stuff, and, sometimes, our sexual preferences. Google used to be on the verge of literally looking at the world with our own eyes through Google Glass, but this prospect appears to have been postponed, probably temporarily. However, the threat of manipulating public opinion through search engine algorithms has been discussed in the West for a long while, even to the point of becoming a central House of Cards plotline.



Conversely, we know next to nothing about Google. Now, thanks to an ideological scandal that shook the company, we suddenly got a glimpse of corporate values and convictions that the company uses a roadmap to influencing us in a major way, and American worldview even more so. Suddenly, Google was revealed to be a system permeated by ideology, suffused with Leftist and aggressively feminist values....



The ideological groundwork of the opposing viewpoints is immediately apparent. Both equate biological with natural and therefore true, and social with artificial and therefore arbitrary and false. Both sides reject prejudice in favor of vision, but politically correct Leftists reject only a fraction of prejudices while the critic calls for throwing all of them away indiscriminately.



As a response, Damore gets slapped with an accusation of drawing upon misogynist prejudice for his own ideas. Likewise, his view of Conservatives is quite superficial. The main Conservative trait is not putting effort into routine work but drawing upon tradition for creative inspiration. The Conservative principle is innovation through tradition.



The key common mistake of both Google Leftists and their critic is their vision of stereotypes as a negative distortion of some natural truth. If both sides went for an in-depth reading of Edmund Burke, the father of Conservatism, they would learn that the prejudice is a colossal historical experience pressurized into a pre-logical form, a collective consciousness that acts when individual reason fails or a scrupulous analysis is impossible. In such circumstances, following the prejudice is a more sound strategy than contradicting it. Prejudice is shorthand for common sense. Sometimes it oversimplifies things, but still works most of the time. And, most importantly, all attempts to act in spite of the prejudice almost invariably end in disaster.      ( https://tsargrad.tv/articles/triumf-gendernyh-sharikovyh_79187 )     "".Google knows almost everything about us, including the contents of our emails, our addresses, our voice samples (OK Google), our favorite stuff, and, sometimes, our sexual preferences. Google used to be on the verge of literally looking at the world with our own eyes through Google Glass, but this prospect appears to have been postponed, probably temporarily. However, the threat of manipulating public opinion through search engine algorithms has been discussed in the West for a long while, even to the point of becoming a central House of Cards plotline.Conversely, we know next to nothing about Google. Now, thanks to an ideological scandal that shook the company, we suddenly got a glimpse of corporate values and convictions that the company uses a roadmap to influencing us in a major way, and American worldview even more so. Suddenly, Google was revealed to be a system permeated by ideology, suffused with Leftist and aggressively feminist values....The ideological groundwork of the opposing viewpoints is immediately apparent. Both equate biological with natural and therefore true, and social with artificial and therefore arbitrary and false. Both sides reject prejudice in favor of vision, but politically correct Leftists reject only a fraction of prejudices while the critic calls for throwing all of them away indiscriminately.As a response, Damore gets slapped with an accusation of drawing upon misogynist prejudice for his own ideas. Likewise, his view of Conservatives is quite superficial. The main Conservative trait is not putting effort into routine work but drawing upon tradition for creative inspiration. The Conservative principle is innovation through tradition.The key common mistake of both Google Leftists and their critic is their vision of stereotypes as a negative distortion of some natural truth. If both sides went for an in-depth reading of Edmund Burke, the father of Conservatism, they would learn that the prejudice is a colossal historical experience pressurized into a pre-logical form, a collective consciousness that acts when individual reason fails or a scrupulous analysis is impossible. In such circumstances, following the prejudice is a more sound strategy than contradicting it. Prejudice is shorthand for common sense. Sometimes it oversimplifies things, but still works most of the time. And, most importantly, all attempts to act in spite of the prejudice almost invariably end in disaster. 1 comment

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Derryck Barentine had just turned 20 and was working as a welder apprentice through a contractor at Detyens Shipyards, a ship repair yard in North Charleston. In the sprawling industrial complex, deaths due to falls, crushing and electrocution have left coworkers like him  men and women scarred by the tragedies they witnessed and the friends they lost. Read moreShipyard deaths take toll on workers left to grapple with trauma, friends lost
FILE - In this July 28, 2017, file photo distributed by the North Korean government on Saturday, July 29, 2017, shows what was said to be the launch of a Hwasong-14 intercontinental ballistic missile at an undisclosed location in North Korea. North Korea said Monday, Aug. 7, it will launch "thousands-fold" revenge against the United States over the adoption of tough U.N. sanctions imposed after its intercontinental ballistic launches. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the Korean Central News Agency via Korea News Service. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File)
RED WING -- Registered nurses in Southeast Minnesota will soon have a more convenient pathway to a bachelor's degree in nursing, thanks to an agreement with Winona State University.

Beginning in January 2018, the "RN to BS completion program" will allow nurses with associate degrees, known as registered nurses, to pursue a bachelor of science degree in nursing -- while in Red Wing. The formal agreement, a partnership between WSU and Minnesota State College Southeast, is set to be signed Thursday.

Getting a bachelor's degree can often offer registered nurses the option to specialize, take on additional challenges or leadership roles, according to MSC Southeast.

The program, designed to be flexible for working RNs, will be the third such agreement WSU offers in southeastern Minnesota, and is already an option for nurses in Rochester and La Crescent . There are part-time -- two-, three- or four-year -- and full-time, one-year plans of study offered, according to MSC Southeast.

Classes will be hybrid, or blended, combining online study with classroom and lab time at MSC Southeast's Red Wing campus. While the face-to-face coursework will take place at MSC Southeast, enrollment of the program is managed through WSU and classes will be taught by WSU faculty.

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Selected online-only courses will be offered for qualified Red Wing area students beginning in fall 2017.

Required RN-BS completion courses are expected to start in Red Wing in January 2018

"Being able to host a bachelor's degree completion program on our Red Wing campus is an exciting first step in expanding our service to the community," said Dorothy Duran, president of MSC Southeast, in a news release. "There is great demand for higher education opportunities here, as well as a need for health care professionals with advanced qualifications."

Information sessions will be held in Red Wing later in August, through the fall semester, with WSU faculty available to advise potential students and help with the admission process.

For more information or to apply for admission, email RN-BSCompletion@winona.edu or call 507-285-7349 (800-366-5418, extension 7349). See www.winona.edu/undergrad-nursing/default.asp for additional details.
Faced with mounting criticism , Mayo Clinic leaders on Monday stood by their decision not to involve the Albert Lea community during the clinic's 18-month study that has resulted in the planned consolidation of most inpatient services at its Austin campus.

Nearly two months after Mayo issued a June 12 press release announcing the change, Mark Ciota, CEO of Mayo Clinic Health System-Austin and Albert Lea, told the Post Bulletin editorial board that it "would have caused an undue amount of stress and anxiety if we had gone around and said (we were) thinking about closing" certain departments as part of Mayo's optimization efforts. Ciota said such a disclosure could have negatively impacted employees and patients until final decisions were made.

Mayo Clinic vice president and MCHS leader Bobbie Gostout agreed with Ciota's assessment, while also pointing to more concrete examples why the consolidation was deemed necessary. She said MCHS, as a whole, lost money in 2016 for the first time in its 25-year history. Additionally, more than 100 jobs across the system have gone unfilled for more than a year due to lack of applicants as the nation's rural health care crisis continues to impact southern Minnesota.

While citizens and elected officials have criticized Mayo's lack of public communication throughout the planning stages  including Albert Lea City Manager Chad Adams telling First District Congressman Tim Walz, DFL-Mankato, that it "blindsided" the community  Mayo spokeswoman Ginger Plumbo said the optimization plans had been communicated to staff "in broad terms" during the extensive planning process.

"Believe me, I've got beat up about that question and I don't know how I would do it different," Ciota said when asked about criticism of Mayo's communication.

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Airing issues

Gostout said earlier discussions with the community about potential changes would have been "unnecessarily disruptive." However, she did concede that Mayo could have done a better job explaining the issues at hand, such as a 50 percent decrease of inpatient care over the last decade, and she has vowed to do better moving forward.

"It's fair to say, in retrospect, we could have talked to the community about the problems we're solving," Gostout said.

Ciota also pointed to MCHS's union contracts as another hurdle that discouraged early public dialogue. He said Mayo was operating under "some very strict union and labor relation rules and laws" that required notifying unions first.

"(We were) trying not to notify one group before another and cause hysteria," Ciota said. "We did it internally to a certain point and then made the announcement."

Minnesota Nurses Association spokesman Rick Fuentes challenged Ciota on that point.

"There's nothing in the contract that precludes this employer from notifying the community in advance of possible adverse changes  not before or after," Fuentes said. "The assertion that Mayo was precluded from notifying the Albert Lea community because of the nurses' contract is false."

Fuentes continued: "It's ridiculous to think that any employer, Mayo or otherwise, would agree to a contract that precluded them from communicating with the public on jobs gained or lost. Mayo needs to be completely transparent with the communities of Albert Lea and Austin on how these changes will affect patient care."

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Many critics

Mayo has faced previous criticism for its lack of communication from the Albert Lea School Board, Albert Lea City Council and Freeborn County Board, which all passed unanimous resolutions opposing Mayo's consolidation plans.

First District Congressman Tim Walz, DFL-Mankato, and Sen. Dan Sparks, DFL-Austin, have joined the criticism in recent weeks, with Sparks accusing Mayo on Friday of "going back on its word."

In an unusual show of bipartisan agreement, the Freeborn County GOP and the Freeborn County DFL have both issued statements this month supporting the grassroots effort of "Save Our Hospital" to maintain a full-service hospital in Albert Lea.

Paul Overgaard, 87, a former three-time Republican state representative, told Walz last week that Mayo's consolidation plans have united the Albert Lea community across social and political boundaries unlike anything since World War II. Hundreds of Save Our Hospital members are expected to attend a rally outside Mayo's Rochester campus this afternoon, with buses bringing people in from Austin and Albert Lea.

Despite that criticism, Ciota and Gostout both reaffirmed Mayo's intention to move forward with consolidation plans out of financial necessity. Plumbo said MCHS lost $14 million in 2016, while Mayo's Austin and Albert Lea combined campuses lost nearly $13 million over the previous two years.

"As I read some of the things written about this, there is sort of an implied frame of mind that the community and elected officials should have been given the opportunity to give us permission to do this  almost as if we should have let them weigh into the running of our business," Gostout said. "Which obviously is not true, but to listen to their voice along the way, I think that's a very important thing.

"If we hear a novel and new idea and there is a solution that would decrease the stress in the community, we want it," she said. "I can say that there has been an awful lot of exploring of options and I don't know that it's realistic to hold out for an alternate pathway out there."
Dave Mullenbach felt right at home in his red-and-white garb Thursday afternoon in downtown Rochester.

Mullenbach traded in his trademark Santa Claus outfit, which he's donned for the past quarter century as a holiday staple in Albert Lea, for a new Save Our Hospital shirt and hat. He was the first of nearly 150 to arrive as buses of agitated citizens gathered to protest Mayo Clinic's plans to consolidate most inpatient services from Albert Lea to Austin.

The bearded 73-year-old has played a critical role in the rise of Save Our Hospital since Mayo's June 12 announcement. As the former American Legion commander in Albert Lea, he opens the Legion doors every Sunday night for the group to strategize. Most meetings are standing-room-only as resistance to Mayo's plan has intensified.

Mullenbach was among the most vocal chanters as the group slowly circled Mayo's Rochester campus, holding signs aloft as many used canes, walkers or wheelchairs to make the one-mile trek. One of the most popular chants was "M-A-Y-O, give us back our hospital."

"We're going to fight for it," Mullenbach said. "If nothing else, give it back to us and we'll find another provider."

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Albert Lea City Manager Chad Adams, who did not attend the protest, says the city's been "actively engaged" with nine other health care providers. He said Mayo leadership is scheduled to meet with stakeholders twice next week in Albert Lea, which he called "really the first sit down meeting we're going to have  to ask about implementation and what is happening."

Thursday's protest marks the latest escalation of a controversial decision that Mayo says was necessary due to staffing limitations, reduced patient demand and financial concerns, similar to what's occurring throughout the nation in rural healthcare. Mayo officials have said the combined Austin and Albert Lea campuses lost nearly $13 million over the past two years. Additionally, Mayo Clinic Health System lost money  about $14 million  in 2016 for the first time in its 25-year history.

Mayo, which owns the Albert Lea campus, has repeatedly said it plans to move forward, including again Monday when Mark Ciota, CEO of MCHS-Albert Lea and Austin, told the Post Bulletin that the consolidation plans are "a vision we have not had a chance to realize yet."

Resistance unifies Albert Lea

Mayo's decision to consolidate campuses was made after an 18-month internal study. However, elected officials have said the move "blindsided" them due to lack of discussion or disclosure.

Citizens have since rallied around the Save Our Hospital movement.

Hundreds of shirts have been distributed and more than 1,000 yard signs have popped up throughout Freeborn County, with support from the Minnesota Nurses Association and SEIU. Those efforts have drawn support from Sen. Dan Sparks, DFL-Austin, and Congressman Tim Walz, DFL-Mankato, who had a representative at Thursday's rally, and both political parties in Freeborn County.

"We have a lot of passion  and we need to protect our vulnerable citizens," said Jen Vogt-Erickson, a Save Our Hospital leader who noted that 22 percent of Albert Lea residents are senior citizens.

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Freeborn County Attorney David Walker has also contacted Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson about anti-trust and monopoly concerns related to Mayo's decision. Walker said Thursday that Swanson has assigned an assistant to "look into it" and that she's vowed to "leave no stone unturned." Additionally, he's asked Walz to raise similar questions with the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice.

City and county officials have also been critical of Mayo's decision, though none attended Thursday's protest.

"There's a sign in every yard," Freeborn County interim administrator Kelly Callahan said. "I'm not sure what good that will do in the long run, but it's certainly unified Albert Lea.

"I think Mayo has handled the PR piece pretty poorly and I've told them that. If they would have rolled it out rather than just dropping this on our heads and then trying to justify it after the fact, I think that might have made a difference."

Mayo pushes back

Mayo officials have repeatedly pushed back against Save Our Hospital criticism, saying it's inaccurate and has created unfounded fears. Spokeswoman Ginger Plumbo reiterated that message after the protest, noting Mayo has actually created a website to debunk rumors aimed at correcting phrases such as "life threatening" and "economically devastating."

"We respect and appreciate the right of community members to voice their opinions," Plumbo said via email. "But we are disappointed by the fear and misinformation being spread by some members of the Save Our Hospital group."

Plumbo continued: "The challenges being faced in rural health care are real. While our solutions to those challenges may differ, our purpose for finding those solutions is real: doing what's best for patients and their communities."

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Mayo has repeatedly said it expects employment numbers to remain largely unchanged, but citizens remain skeptical. Dale Haukoos said his wife, who has worked nearly 20 years in Albert Lea's intensive-care unit, still has not heard any details about her future when that department closes Oct. 1.

Testy exchange between Noseworthy, Walz

After the protest, Mayo President and CEO John Noseworthy issued a response to criticism from Walz after his July 31 to Albert Lea to meet with both sides. Noseworthy said Mayo "regrets the distress this has caused," noting he remains committed to ensuring Albert Lea has a "vibrant medical center."

He also asked for Walz's assistance to address a national issue.

"As we work through this transition, it is my hope that as our Representative in the U.S. Congress, you will work on long-term solutions, such as increasing rural residency training programs," Noseworthy wrote. "But most importantly, Congressman, we need you to speak out now about rural health care challenges and the difficult and necessary changes that we must face together in order to sustain high-quality health care in Albert Lea, Austin and all the rural communities you represent."

Walz, who is running for governor, wasn't exactly thrilled to read Noseworthy's letter after completing an event in Duluth.

"Ironically, the day Congressman Walz received this letter asking he work to improve access to rural health care was the same day the House Committee on Veterans Affairs Committee held a field hearing in Minnesota to better discuss how veterans can access rural health care," Sara Severs, Walz's deputy chief of staff, said via email Thursday night. "The Mayo Clinic was invited and declined to participate.

"Dr. Noseworthy has suggested worthy long-term solutions to problems in rural health care. However, in the short-term, Mayo has a responsibility to their community partners to engage in dialogue and not just look at their bottom line."
It's not often that you see well-dressed men, colorful reflective vests pulled over their suit jackets, directing drivers and pedestrians on the early morning streets of downtown Rochester.

Except, that is, for six weekends every July and August, when the Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses regional conventions are held at Mayo Civic Center.

The final weekend convention is this Friday through Sunday, with about 4,000 delegates expected, said Dave Wilson, a media services volunteer with the organization.

"It's been increasing," Wilson said of the number of weekend sessions in Rochester. "It used to be four weekends, but we've made them smaller" and added more weekends. Whereas the organization formerly brought up to 6,000 members each weekend for four weeks, attendance is now up to 4,500 each weekend for six weeks.

Any way you slice it, that represents a hefty economic impact for Rochester hotels, restaurants and merchants: about $3 million per weekend, said Brad Jones, executive director of the Rochester Convention & Visitors Bureau. Figure in the organization's smaller meetings held in autumn in Rochester and the total 2016 economic impact was estimated at $22.7 million, Jones said.

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The figure for the summer meetings is based on a typical three-day weekend, with about 4,000 to 5,000 Jehovah's Witness attendees in town, Jones said. About 29 percent of that $3-million weekend total comes from spending on food and beverage, 21 percent on retail, and 14 percent on lodging.

The amount spent on food and beverage would likely be greater if the attendees didn't carry their own lunches with them each day to the civic center.

"We've talked to them about that, and that's something they encourage," Jones said. "They encourage mingling. They do eat breakfast and dinner out. It's not a big deal in Rochester because we have such a vibrant lunch hour anyway."

"The friends like to associate with each other and that's one of the things we promote," Wilson said of the lunch tradition. "Rather than take off and go to a restaurant, they're encouraged to bring something to eat, and to get to know one another."

This year's meetings were the first for the organization in the newly expanded Mayo Civic Center. "The new facility is beautiful," Wilson said.

On the other hand, there have been major road construction projects and detours downtown this summer.

"We've been sending out diagrams, making sure they know where to go when they get into Rochester," Wilson said.

Attendees come primarily from Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota. The theme of this summer's conventions is "Don't Give Up." The program includes talks and interviews, a feature film, and a Sunday morning session, "Never Give Up Hope!"

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In todays Star Tribune Stephen Montemayor takes up the fate of the Minnesota edition of the Obama administrations Countering Violent Extremism Program. The Obama administrations approach to the problem of radical Islamic terrorism was fraught with stupidity and euphemism. The Trump administration has reform of CVE on its plate.

Montemayor takes up the subject with the local angle in his article As Washington debates how to counter terrorism, Minnesota groups press ahead. Montemayor sets up their criticism by reference to Rep. Ron DeSantis to Minnesota this past December (links in original):

Domestic efforts to curb homegrown terrorism are under fresh scrutiny from the Trump administration and Congress, placing Minneapolis at the center of a new national debate over whether they are working  or should even continue. Early signals from Washington point to a greater emphasis on law enforcement, with some elected officials saying the federal government should use its core anti-extremism program to expand intelligence gathering in immigrant and refugee communities. At a recent hearing of the U.S. House Oversight Committee, Chairman Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., singled out Minneapolis Somali community and called the city ground zero for terrorist recruitment. DeSantis, who visited Minnesota last December, railed against existing federal policy for not properly focusing on radical Islamic extremism.

Montemayor quotes a total of eight words from the linked opening statement made by Rep. DeSantis at the hearing. Youd never know that Rep. DeSantiss characterization of Minnesota as ground zero for terorrist recruitment refers to the House report on foreign fighters joining ISIS. The House report recognized Minnesotas contribution of 26 percent of the American fighters joining ISIS. Minnesota ranked number 1. Thats what DeSantis was talking about.

Montemayor omits this, for example:

Minneapolis is a particularly troublesome area, as it is a major center of Islamic terrorist activity.

The region is home to the largest concentration of Somali refugees and is the epicenter for domestic radicalization. From 2007 to 2015, over 20 Somali-Americans are known to have left Minnesota to join the al-Shabaab terrorist organization in Somalia. Over the last three years, federal prosecutors have charged 13 individuals from Minnesota for connections to the Islamic State. Minnesota is second only to New York, which has four times as many residents, in number of ISIS terrorists charged.

Montemayor also omits Rep. DeSantiss critique of CVE, Obama style (emphasis in original):

The Department of Homeland Security leads the governments Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) efforts. CVE refers to proactive actions to counter efforts by extremists to recruit, radicalize, and mobilize followers to violence. Currently, the Department still promotes Obama-era policies related to CVE. Guidance developed under the Obama Administration specifically limits any intelligence or law enforcement investigative activity through CVE. By leaving this information on the table, CVE efforts are missing opportunities to identify and disrupt terrorist plots. Obama-era guidance also fails to properly identify the immediate threat of radical Islamic extremism. The nearly 4,000 word October 2016 CVE strategy does not mention radical Islamic terrorism at all. The Obama Administrations CVE strategy also relied heavily on non-governmental organizations with vague and immeasurable goals. One week before President Trumps inauguration, former DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson announced the grant recipients of $10 million appropriated by Congress for CVE efforts. Their selections reflect a preference for working through community-based organizations, some with questionable programs and immeasurable goals. For example, the Obama Administration selected for funding an organization who suggested countering violent extremism through collaborative songwriting, multimedia, and performance. Another suggested hiring college students to make video games. This was not a serious attempt to stop the flow of foreign fighters to ISIS.

Its a shame Montemayor didnt find room in his article for any of this. Star Tribune readers might have learned something. Montemayor quickly moves on to various community leaders who work directly with Somali and Muslim youths. They are outraged by DeSantiss philosophy.

Montemayor also turns to Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek. Stanek is offered as a voice friendly to reform of the CVE program in the direction of law enforcement. His office recently received a CVE grant to support terrorism prevention training and engagement. Holding elective office in Hennepin County, Stanek is big on community relations. Montemayor writes: Stanek said the new CVE funds, announced in June, will allow his office to add up to four community liaison workers and convene more public meetings with East African mothers to discuss youth recruitment by overseas terror groups.

Stanek seems to credit information from inside the Somali community with assisting the apprehension of the Minnesota men convicted last year of seeking to join ISIS and conspiring to commit murder overseas. Montemayor quotes Stanek: The community had an outlet to tell us who was going.

I dont know what Stanek is talking about. I sat alongside Montemayor through the trial of the three Minnesota men who who contested the charges against them. The case was based entirely on long-time surveillance run by the FBI without any support from inside the Somali community (with the exception of the co-conspirator who turned informant after he was called before the grand jury and shown the evidence against him). At trial we saw no one from inside the Somali community who lent a hand to law enforcement.

I met with Rep. DeSantis when he visited Minnesota this past December. I am grateful for his efforts to turn a spotlight on the national security issues raised by Minnesotas Somali community. I reached out last night for a comment from Rep. DeSantis on Montemayors article. He responded:

Terrorism is a law enforcement and national security issue. CVE programs which spend taxpayer money on things like collaborative song-writing do not address the threat of radical Islamic terrorism or protect the American people; they simply waste money and further political correctness. My trip to Minnesota made clear that federal law enforcement has its hands full when it comes to combating terrorism here at home, particularly in high-risk places like Minneapolis. As Raheel Raza made clear at our hearing, any successful counterterrorism strategy must recognize the ideological driver of terrorism  militant Islam  and dispense with willful blindness. My hope is the the Trump administration will reorient our approach to fighting terrorism along these lines.

DeSantiss comments at the hearing and in response to me sharpen the issues considerably. I wonder why Montemayor couldnt find room for what Rep. DeSantis had to say beyond the eight words with which he introduces his story.
This past Friday Attorney General Sessions held a news conference to announce the Justice Departments dedication to stopping the flood of leaks of classified information that is undermining the Trump administration and damaging our national security. The transcript of Mr. Sessions statement at the press conference is posted here.

What is to be done? This was the only potential reform of policy or practice mentioned by Attorney General Sessions: [O]ne of the things we are doing is reviewing policies affecting media subpoenas. After getting burned by its friends in the media, the Obama Justice Department adopted a restrictive policy. The Trump Justice Department must be considering something of a return to the status quo ante.

Despite the dedication and bravado in Attorney General Sessionss statement, it looks to me like a confession of futility. Consider that the status quo ante did precisely nothing to produce testimony from reporters in leak cases.

What is to be done? I address the following ten theses to Attorney General Sessions and interested readers.

1. The government cannot legally seek to restrain publication under any circumstances other than some kind of dire emergency (and then it would have to prove it). See New York Times v. United States, 403 U.S. 713 (1971)(the Pentagon Papers case). We know that prior restraint is off the table as a general rule.

2. The Pentagon Papers case leaves open the door to criminal liability on the part of newspapers and journalists. Justice White noted in his concurring opinion, for example: The Criminal Code contains numerous provisions potentially relevant to these cases. If any of the material here at issue is of this nature, the newspapers are presumably now on full notice of the position of the United States and must face the consequences if they publish.

3. Reporters who obtain and disclose highly classified information are almost always the sole witnesses to the substantive crimes involved in the leaking of classified information. In these particular whodunnits, they know who.

4. The testimony of the reporter involved could therefore shortcut the investigatory phase of a leak prosecution which might otherwise proceed at a snails pace. Under whatever policy  restrictive or expansive  might be applicable to the issuance of subpoenas to the reporter, the reporters testimony is frequently necessary to discover the source of the leak.

5. The reporters testimony is also subject to the compulsion of a subpoena. See, e.g., United States v. Jeffrey Sterling, 724 F.3d 482 (4th Cir. 2013)(upholding government trial subpoena of New York Times reporter James Risen in leak prosecution), cert. denied, Risen v. United States, No. 13-1009 (June 2, 2014).

6. Yet a reporter only obtains the the leak of classified information on the promise of confidentiality because the source knows the leaking is illegal. A reporter would rather be held in contempt for failure to comply with a subpoena than testify to the source of a given leak where the reporter has promised the source confidentiality. Reporters like Risen are held up by their colleagues as heroic martyrs to the First Amendment when they protect their criminal sources. The threat of a reporter being held in contempt is an ineffective route to the information. It will not get you there.

7. The government protected its right to secure the enforcement of the trial subpoena on Risen in the Sterling case after lengthy appeal proceedings up to and including the Supreme Court (which declined review of the Fourth Circuit decision). After securing its right to enforcement of the subpoena, the government simply gave up its effort to obtain Risens testimony identifying his source because Risen said he wasnt talking.

8. The Sterling case presents a painful illustration of the difficulty of prosecuting a devastating leak case without direct evidence of the leakers guilt. The leak occurred in 2002 or 2003. The governments investigation relied on circumstantial evidence. The path to Sterlings indictment was long and tortuous.

9. Sterling was indicted in 2010. He was convicted at trial in 2015, more than ten years after the leak occurred. The Fourth Circuit just affirmed all but one of Sterlings convictions in a decision released in June of this year. United States v. Jeffrey Sterling, No. 15-4297 (June 22, 2017).

10. Pick your best case to prosecute the reporter who serves as a conduit for the dissemination of highly classified information damaging to our national security, either with or without his source(s) as codefendants. Make the reporter pay the price. Brand him a criminal. Lets get it on. Anything short of this is a sideshow.

If I am wrong, where am I wrong?
Last night I wrote about the fact that the Associated Press has done little or no actual reporting on the North Korea crisis, but rather has used the episode as another excuse to bash President Trumpfoolishly, in this case. Earlier this evening I was on the Seth and Chris show in Phoenix, talking about the APs absurd coverage of Trump and Kim Jong Un.

Michael Ramirezs most recent cartoon picks up on the theme of my post with Ramirezs usual flair. Click to enlarge:

Most of the liberal press has little interest in Kim Jong Un or the prospect of nuclear bombs landing in Japan, South Korea, Hawaii, Americas West Coast or Guam. They are crazed. Their only enemy is President Trump. We have never seen anything like it before.
It is being reported that, in response to James Damores memo challenging Google to examine its unconscious bias and its politically correct monoculture on the grounds that women in general are different from men in general, some female employees chose to stay at home on Monday. Reportedly, they stayed home because the memo made them feel uncomfortable going back to work.

If female Google employees really did stay home in response to Damores memo, then they went a long way toward proving his point. As Tyler ONeil at PJ Media says:

In the document, Damore suggested that women on average are more cooperative and more prone to anxiety, and that this often involves a search for more work-life balance while men have a higher drive for status on average. What could demonstrate these arguments more clearly than women staying home (focusing on life over work and accepting a cut in status) in solidarity with other women (more cooperative) and feeling uncomfortable going back to work (more prone to anxiety)?

I think the part about anxiety is the most salient one. Frankly, one needs to be an emotional wreck to feel too uncomfortable to work just because one employee in a large organization raised the kind of issues Damone articulated.

Of course, its possible, and maybe probable, that the female employees who reportedly stayed home didnt really feel uncomfortable. They simply wanted to protest and grabbed the language of protest they frequently heard in college  language that seems to have near magical power in that bizarre milieu.

This too would confirm gender differences. I cant imagine men (1) skipping work because someone wrote a memo they didnt like and (2) couching a protest in the language, not of traditional grievance, but rather that of feeling uncomfortable.

Men arent completely stupid, though. Eventually, many of us will learn to employ the lingo that, in our increasingly feminized society, most effectively helps one get ones way.

So the deconstruction of masculinity project isnt entirely hopeless. And Google is doing its part to help it along.
Zenith International Bank Plc has declared a profit after tax of N75.32 billion for the half year ended June 30.

The News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, reports that this is available in the companys half year result released by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Thursday.

The report showed that the profit-after-tax increased by 112.35 per cent when compared with N35.47 billion posted in the preceding period of 2016.

Its profit-before-tax rose to N92.18 billion, compared with N53.91 billion in 2016.

The bank also recorded gross earnings of N380.4 billion against N214.8 billion achieved in the comparative period of 2016, indicating a growth of 77 per cent.

Net interest income stood at N138.962 billion, as against N127 billion in 2016, while impairment charges increased by 196 per cent from N14.2 billion to N42 billion.

The banks trading income, realised from foreign exchange, jumped from negative N864 million to positive N65.318 billion; other operating income soared from N3.57 billion to N15.11 billion in 2017.

The bank also announced an interim dividend of N7.8 billion, which translated to 25k per share, same amount paid in the corresponding period of 2016.

Jim Ovia, the banks Chairman, told the shareholders in March that the bank would continue to reward them accordingly.

Mr. Ovia said in line with its commitment to delivering superior returns to its shareholders, the bank ensured that a good chunk of the profit was set aside for shareholders.

He stated that the bank had maintained a culture of outstanding performance and industry leadership even in the face of a very challenging operating environment.

As a bank, we are monitoring developments both in the local and global economy and applying pragmatism and dynamism as appropriate.

Our strategy and approach to the pursuit of financial inclusion and sustainability gives us a lot of competitive advantage to explore even new frontiers in the market.

(NAN)

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Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) said that its sales in China fell 7% in July, as strong demand for the Blue Oval's commercial vehicles wasn't enough to offset a big slump in sales of small sedans.

What's going awry for Ford in China: Small cars

Ford has had an up-and-down year in China. The Blue Oval's occasional good results have been more than offset by a general decline in sales year-over-year. Through July, Ford's sales in China are down 7% from a year ago.

What's going on? Simply put, Ford's best-sellers aren't selling like they did a year ago.

Its two best sellers in the world's largest car market are both compacts: The familiar compact Focus, and another small sedan developed as an affordable option for China, called the Escort. Year to date, sales of the Focus are down 20%, and the Escort is down 10% -- significant declines given the total sales volumes.

A change in China's vehicle-tax laws that made it more expensive for consumers to buy vehicles with smaller engines is probably a big part of the story. The government's tax on vehicles with engine displacements of 1.6 liters or smaller rose from 5% to 7.5% at the beginning of the year. Price-sensitive consumers have increasingly turned to lower-cost models from domestic Chinese automakers.

But another part of the story is about the Focus and (perhaps to a lesser extent) the Escort themselves. Ford recently refreshed the Focus, but the current model was first released in the U.S. and Europe way back in 2011. In China's hyper-fast-paced new-car market, that's very old news.

What's working: Commercial vehicles -- and Lincolns

That's not to say that it has all been bad news for Ford in China this year, though. Its joint venture with Chinese automaker Jiangling Motors, called JMC, makes commercial vehicles under the Ford and Jiangling brand names as well as the brawny Ford Everest SUV. JMC had a good month in July, with sales up 11%, and has had a good 2017 overall, with year-to-date sales up 17%.

The Lincoln luxury brand has been another good story for Ford in China. Total sales are still small, but the brand is growing rapidly and generating good margins. Lincoln's sales in China rose 68% last month, to 4,713 vehicles. (For comparison, Lincoln sold 8,875 vehicles in the U.S. in July.) Year-to-date, the brand's sales in China are nearly double those from the same period a year ago.

The upshot: What can Ford do to boost China?

Ford's struggles in China are starting to hit its bottom line. Equity income from its two Chinese joint ventures fell 34% in the second quarter, to $195 million. Ford said the year-over-year profit drop was due to the timing of incentive payments from the Chinese government, but its recent sales results surely haven't helped.

Like other global automakers doing business in China, Ford's pricing has come under pressure over the last year or so. The latest products from the domestic Chinese automakers are much more competitive than they were even a couple of years ago -- and they've been priced aggressively as the local brands try to gain market share.

It's not clear how Ford will turn things around. Price cuts might help sales, at the expense of margins. The real answer to Ford's troubles in China might be the same answer we hear for most automakers' troubles in most places: More new, gotta-have products.

Those are on the way, starting with a revamped version of the small EcoSport SUV later this year. But Ford might find the going to be tough in China until they arrive.

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John Rosevear owns shares of Ford. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Ford. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Celebrating D.O. Fagunwa:

Aspects of African and World Literary History

By Adeleke Adeeko and Akin Adesokan,

Bookcraft, 2017

315 pages.

The success of the artist  the Yoruba artist particularly  is best gauged by how he mediates culture through his art and how the instances of such mediation become artefacts and are themselves set as culture. With D.O. Fagunwa, a third paradigm appears in which the artist is made into a persona in the mould of the work (or characters) he created. Let me return to this later. The canonicity of those five novels  Ogboju Ode, Igbo Olodumare, Ireke Onibudo, Irinkerindo, and Adiitu Olodumare  written by D.O. Fagunwa does not derive from their depth of constructing and deconstructing culture alone, but how these novels have coalesced into a myth that is now very popular with a public, many of who do not know, and have not read, Fagunwa. I personally came by this possibility of the writers power to permeate, from a remove, the consciousness of those who have never read him during my research into a narrative performance culture among Yoruba hunters.

In the context of the given that D.O. Fagunwa as an idea offers more tremendous critical possibilities than the attention paid to it yet, Celebrating D.O. Fagunwa: Aspects of African and Literary World History attempts a remedial task of doing, in one volume, as many as possible readings of Fagunwas work. A constellation of seventeen cultural exegetes from across four generations open multiple windows to understanding Fagunwa from such areas as literature, theatre, religion, gender, visual art, translation and zoology. The diversity, according to the editors, was ensured through specifically soliciting contributions from the authors for the conference preliminary to the publication. What impelled this move was the new understanding that Fagunwa has implications beyond the boundaries of literature and extends into philosophy, anthropology, sociology, religion, gender, and contemporary mythmaking processes (xxix).

In the foreword, Wole Soyinka  dramatist, poet and translator of two of Fagunwas novels  reveals two dimensions of Fagunwas vision: (1) the anti-anthropocentric philosophy which undoes the hitherto advertised man-lord-of-the-earth view, and (2) disappearance of the hero-villain moral cleavage, hitherto considered patent in view of Fagunwas preachifying narrative frills. The first dimension, of course, twins conveniently with Soyinkas own idea that man should reconsider the arrogant ontological assumption that he is God or Gods image in view of his long history of guilt. In Fagunwa, there is an unbanishable awareness of the Other, contesting mans claim to lordship over creation. The second dimension, arising from the first, deconstructs the definite good-versus-bad polarity through moderation of character traits: there are no heroes or villains in the very absolute sense.





Apart from the very catholic sources  indigenous and exotic  from which he draws his materials, Fagunwas work markedly diverges from the literary mainstream of the time in its varying placement of the scribe between the narrator and the audience, use of oratory, and multiple deployments of inserted written texts.

Literary critic and teacher, Dan Izevbaye, in the first chapter of the collection, reveals that Fagunwas expressive medium and strategy are at once limiting and enabling. The grim consequence of Fagunwas Yoruba medium is that he was occluded from non-Yoruba audience for a long time and literary critics did not pay him the attention commensurate to his art.

But in sharp contrast to the postcolonial nationalist tenor of the literary production of the better part of last century, Fagunwa elected a strategic voice, appropriated from the indigenous past, tempered in the modern present, and prefiguring the future. Whereas the writings, especially of Europhone medium, of that time are characterised by cultural nationalist fervour, Fagunwa adopted persuasion. His narrative voice and strategy not only compel audiences of Christian, Moslem and traditional African backgrounds, they also factor future audiences into the loop. Karin Barber enlarges the discussion on audience reach in the next chapter: [Fagunwa] looked towards an audience that expanded in concentric tiers, an audience that could include all Yorubas, all Africans, all black people and all of human kind, and which could encompass future generations as well as present-day readers (23). Specifically, she calls attention to the originality of Fagunwas imagination, especially in the context of an assumption that the writer is but a mere scribal legatee of existing oral traditions (19). Apart from the very catholic sources  indigenous and exotic  from which he draws his materials, Fagunwas work markedly diverges from the literary mainstream of the time in its varying placement of the scribe between the narrator and the audience, use of oratory, and multiple deployments of inserted written texts. Now what all these have guaranteed for the narrative, according to Barber, is that they create limitless interpretive possibilities.

Poet Niyi Osundare contemplates the possible motive of Fagunwas choice of the Yoruba medium. The audacity of that choice is best appreciated in the context of the ascendancy of Western values and the fact that Fagunwa had the capacity to write equally in English, and indeed more correctly than Tutuola. Osundare adduces convincingly that the English language lacks the expressive capacity to bear the accurate imports of many of Fagunwas signs. Indeed, as noted earlier, names of characters and places evolved in his work have become contemporary usages, sometimes by people who have not read Fagunwa. But more penetrating than that is the imprint of Fagunwa on other artists from Amos Tutuola, Wole Soyinka and Ben Okri to Hubert Ogunde, Kola Ogunmola and Duro Ladipo. Dele Layiwola, in his exploration of Fagunwas use of language, especially as it relates to synchronic and diachronic application, controverts the popular charge that Fagunwas plots sometimes lapse into tiresome rambling. Layiwola refrains from calling Ogboju Ode a novel because it represents an alternative in which the Yoruba narrative nuances are privileged over the Western standards. And the critic who are used to looking for these standards are put off by Fagunwas expressive uncanniness. In sum, it is the performative deployment of language modeled after traditional elocution that stretches Fagunwas narrative to the point of becoming a non-novel, and that is its strength.



The hunter among the Yoruba is considered to be a good student of the nature and behaviours of animals. Zoologist Tola Badejo shows that Fagunwa is as versed in this regard as the hunter whose voice he appropriated in his first novel. One after the other, Badejo matches each instance of Fagunwas understanding of wildlife with an established zoological fact. Badejos reading has additional implication for the issue of language earlier raised by Osundare and Layiwola. He points out that Soyinka in his translation of Ogboju Ode struggles with the problem of adequately imaging the wildlife in English, whereas Fagunwas own understanding of it has been commendably keen.

Extant interpretations are somewhat unified in the notion that D.O. Fagunwa privileges Christianity over the indigenous Yoruba spirituality. Jacob K. Olupona reexamines this formation in the volumes seventh chapter. In his consideration of actions and events relating to spirituality and worship, Olupona says that Fagunwas treatment of them conforms with the protocol of indigenous Yoruba spirituality. This relates to Yoruba interest in traditions that work, their abhorrence for doctrinal conflicts and their refusal to be dogmatically confined to one religious tradition (99). In specific instances that the protagonists of Ogboju Ode are shown as communicating with the supernatural, the acts are inscribed as asa (custom/tradition), not esin (religion). And this raises again the question relating to the later as a category not only signifying fracture, but as an item introduced to the Yoruba mind in the wake of orthodox Christian and Moslem monologic narratives.





Like many other great men who have made myths or caused myths to be made about them  Jesus of Nazareth, Nelson Mandela, Obafemi Awolowo  Fagunwa as an idea has transcended the realm of exactitude This is where, beyond the allure of a concentration of eloquent exegetes, the importance of Celebrating D.O. Fagunwa lies: for Fagunwa, there is no possibility of textual closure.

At the foreground of a critical trend that considers Fagunwas use of the scribal narrative intermediary as signing supersession of writing over orality, Akin Adesokan argues differently that the creation of a scribe not only allows Fagunwa to work as cultural translator, mediating between orality and literacy,it also enables several other innovations which collectively shape his oeuvre (116). Rather than see orality and writing as epochal successive stages in the history of cultural signification, Adesokan points us to elements that speak to interrelation, not succession: if Akara-ogun is considered the last of the non-lettered order, how do we explain his grandfather Akowediran whose name denotes a pedigree of the literate? Fagunwas engagement with the two media is, therefore, best appreciated as art, not an ideological category.

Prima facie, Fagunwas stories valorise heroism, and a number of exegetes have pointed this out. However, Adeleke Adeeko probes further to show an internal contradiction in which significant aspects of the narratives undercut that otherwise apparent male-patterned view of the world (152). In spite of a system of value that minimises them, women show up in the stories to help or thwart the protagonists decisively, or feature significantly in the mosaic of realities that define the world of each of the novels. Arinpe Adejumo reasons differently that Fagunwas attitude to gender and representation of women is ambivalent: Ero Fagunwa lori obinrin dabi atori. Bi o ti n lo siwaju, bee lo n lo seyin (191). Yes, the article jolts the reader in its unapologetic Yoruba Ponbele. Combining feminist, womanist and motherist models, Arinpe argues that, at once, Fagunwa stereotypes women in accordance with the reigning patriarchal assumptions of his time, and conversely subverts those assumptions through inversion of traditionally gendered character traits; for example, it is the man who nags while the woman placates him. In the overall awareness of sexuality, there is a prescience of some of the most animating subjects of gender discourse today: marriage, single parenthood, homosexuality, asexuality et cetera.

A thematically solitary but immensely significant article by Tejumola Olaniyan points to an unbrobed aspect of Fagunwas work: the illustrations. This unit of the work as media artefacts constitutes the tenderfoot readers threshold of induction into Fagunwa. This is the Fagunwa that most readers  including Olaniyan  read before they read Fagunwa. But Olaniyans preliminary notes tempt us with research challenges than provide exhaustive narrative yet. There are startling insights relating to the identities of the illustrators and Fagunwas marvelous anticipation of illustration as an important expressive form, as there are conundrums relating to provenance of the illustrations and identity of the artists.

Just like the terrifying wild that he wrote into being, Fagunwas work beckons to the daring: come, translate me at your own peril. From Wole Soyinka to Olu Obafemi, attempts to translate Fagunwa to other languages and media have been at best ingenious in their own right but unavoidably marred in many respects. This concern has been raised at different points in this volume. Pamela O. Smith, Olu Obafemi, Gbemisola Adeoti and Femi Osofisan, in the last four chapters, examine the complexity. Smith, the first translator of Igbo Olodumare, though as a Ph.D. work, describes the process of reproducing the sounds and images of Fagunwas world in English, relying on her knowledge of the Yoruba culture from which the narrative was evolved and her familiarity with the structure and peculiarities of the target language. Gbemisola Adeoti assesses the gains of the translations in terms of introducing Fagunwa to the non-Yoruba-speaking audience, but he echoes the old concern about the impossibility of getting the vintage Fagunwa feel from a translation, especially when you consider that certain Yoruba items are left untranslated and only glossed. But the most humbling challenge of translation yet, according to Femi Osofisan, comes from adapting the work for the stage. Theatrical equivalents of those characters and landscapes produced from untrammeled imagination become difficult or even undoable considering that unlike Fagunwa, the dramaturge is moderated by the limitations of space and time.

Like many other great men who have made myths or caused myths to be made about them  Jesus of Nazareth, Nelson Mandela, Obafemi Awolowo  Fagunwa as an idea has transcended the realm of exactitude. The well-meaning intervention of Mrs. Elizabeth Fagunwa in Appendix I, giving authoritative details of the last moments of D.O. Fagunwa, unfortunately, will have to contest with parallel narratives: the one about Fagunwa on vacation with Mammy Water and the one that says Aaja (Whirwind) took him away and many others that are yet to be made. This is where, beyond the allure of a concentration of eloquent exegetes, the importance of Celebrating D.O. Fagunwa lies: for Fagunwa, there is no possibility of textual closure.

Ayo Adeduntan is with the Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan.

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Yeni Kuti, the daughter of legendary Afrobeat musician, Fela Kuti, says to wipe corruption out of Nigeria, public officers must be made to swear by traditional African medicine popularly called Juju.

The retired dancer said this in an interview with Classic FM, Lagos on Thursday.

She said, Let them use Juju to swear in government officials and we shall see if anybody will continue to steal our money in this country or not. I am sure that if they are made to swear by Ogun or some other fearsome African deity, there will be no more corruption.

She also discussed her belief in traditional African religion, saying it wasnt exactly the influence of Fela that strengthened her belief, although his arguments were enough to convince her.

It is not that my father made me to embrace traditional African religion through indoctrination; I learnt and I actually believe in traditional religion. As a matter of fact, Felas arguments in defence of the traditional African religion were enough to convince me.

When I was a young girl and I knew nothing about his (Felas) dislike for what he often described as foreign religions (Christianity and Islam), I used to visit the Braithwaites and accompany them to church on Sundays. When Fela heard of it, he warned me never to use the allowance he gave me for offering in the church. I cant forget it.

Ms. Kuti, the first child of the late Abami Eda, also spoke about what she termed the hypocrisy of Nigerians towards their faith and religion. According to her, they say they profess belief in Christianity or Islam by day, then go ahead to visit places of traditional medicine when no one is looking.

The 56-year-old mother-of-one also discussed her late father, saying she still dreamed of him.

Its 20 years since my father died, but it doesnt seem as if he has been gone for so long. I miss him and I still talk to him in my mind.

He and other departed members of my family have also appeared to me in my dreams. I dont know if it is right to say that they appear to me, but I see them in my dreams but I dream of them a lot.

I believe in life after death. Also, I believe that if my father has a message for me, he will come directly to me and not go through someone I dont know or like.

If anybody tells me that Fela has sent a message to me through him, I would tell him to ask my dad to appear to me directly himself.

Yeni was previously married to ace broadcaster, Femi Segun, who died in a power bike accident in 2014.

She received a surprise marriage proposal from her longtime partner and boyfriend, Theo Lawason, on her 55th birthday in 2016.

The surprise engagement held at the Prince of Anthony Hotels (formerly called Hotel Parisona), the same venue her late dad initiated his plans to marry 27 wives.

Yenis daughter, Rolari, is married to a British author, Benedict Jacka.

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The FBI has searched the home of Paul Manafort, President Donald Trumps former campaign chairman as part of the ongoing investigation into Russian interference in the US presidential election.

FBI agents executed search warrant at one of Mr Manaforts residences.

Mr Manafort has consistently cooperated with law enforcement and other serious inquiries and did so on this occasion as well, FBI spokesman, Jason Maloni, said on Wednesday.

Agents raided Manaforts Virginia home before dawn on July 26, a day after he met privately with the Senate Intelligence Committee, and seized documents and other materials, the Washington Post reported.

Manafort, a Washington lobbyist, had headed Trumps presidential bid from June to August 2016.

He was interviewed by the Senate Intelligence Committee about his campaign contacts with Russia and provided documents to congressional investigators.

Manafort stepped down as Trumps campaign chief after allegations that he had received large payments linked to Ukraines former pro-Russian government.

He is presently a key figure in the Justice Departments probe into Russian election meddling.

Manafort participated in a June 2016 meeting with Trumps son Donald Trump Jr and son-in-law Jared Kushner with a Russian lawyer in an apparent bid to acquire damaging information about presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

(dpa/NAN)

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Kenya Electoral Commission on Wednesday denied interferences in voting or the vote count in the general election, saying that the election management system was secure.

We confirm there were no interferences before, during and after the polling exercise, the commission said on Twitter.

Opposition presidential candidate, Raila Odinga, had claimed that the electoral commissions databank was hacked during Tuesdays presidential, parliamentary and local elections.

Mr. Odinga, who currently trails incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta by around 1.4 million votes, said that hackers had gained access to and manipulated the voting system.

The 2017 election was a fraud. This attack on our democracy has affected our presidential election in all 47 counties, Mr. Odinga said.

The 72-year-old veteran opposition politician did not disclose his source for the hacking allegation.

You can only cheat the people for so long, Mr. Odinga added.

Preliminary partial results given by the electoral commission had Kenyatta in the lead with 54.3 per cent after valid votes had been counted at 39,620 out of 40,883 polling stations.

Mr. Odinga had so far received 44.8 per cent.

Around 393,898 votes had been rejected, and some 5,000 were disputed, the commission reported.

Kenyas opposition earlier said pre-marked ballots and bribery had been reported at some polling stations.

Concerns were rife that fraud allegations could unleash a wave of violence.

Eight candidates are in the running for president, but the election was a two-horse race between Messrs. Kenyatta and Odinga, both sons of late independence fighters: Kenyas first president Jomo Kenyatta and his deputy, Oginga Odinga.

If Mr. Kenyatta, 55, wins a second five-year term in a first or second election round, allegations of fraud could spark ethnically based violence in an echo of the 2007 elections, in which Odinga was defeated by Mwai Kibaki.

Kenyan police shot dead two people during violent clashes between security forces and a group of protesters in Nairobis Mathare district, rallying against the results of the recent general election after the opposition leader claimed they were fraud, local media reported on Wednesday.

According to the Kenya Today media outlet, the police claimed that the killed protesters were looting during the demonstrations.

While the elections were largely peaceful, according to police and the electoral commission, there were some protests on Wednesday, particularly in Nairobi and in the west of the country.

(Reuters/NAN)

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A Saudi court on Wednesday sentenced a citizen to 13 years in jail for promoting Hezbollah in his Friday sermons, Sabq local online news has reported.

The court ruled that the convict in his sermons criticised Gulf and Arab countries as well as the domestic and foreign policies of Saudi Arabia.

It added that the convict, through his sermons preached against Saudi law which banned Friday sermons capable of inciting the people against the policies of the state.

The convict was also accused of posting his sermons on his website.

Besides the sentence, the court ordered that the website be shut down and imposed 13 years travel ban on the convict after serving his penalty.

(Xinhua/NAN)

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A Swedish national, who was held almost six years by Islamist militants in Mali said on Thursday he did not know why he was released, saying he rejected possible ransom payments.

I can just speculate like everyone else, Johan Gustafsson told a news conference about why he was freed in June.

I hope it was because they were really tired of me. I hope Sweden stands on its policy [not to pay ransom] and does not change that.

I dont believe in ransom, he said at his first public appearance since his release.

He was kidnapped in November 2011 while touring Timbuktu together with South African national Stephen McGowan, who was released in July.

A Dutch national, Sjaak Rijke, who was also held hostage was freed by French special forces in 2015.

A German man, who resisted the kidnapping, was killed.

Gustafsson said his release at the end of June was unexpected.

He said he was trying to readjust to life as a free man and was catching up with friends.

Both the Swedish and South African governments have said they did not pay any ransom.

Im very happy that Steves out, Gustafsson added.

The kidnappers were believed to be members of the al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) group.

Gustafsson said he did not know if other countries or organisations were involved in their release.

(dpa/NAN)

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At least 267 hospitals and primary healthcare centres were destroyed in Borno State by Boko Haram, the state commissioner of Health, Haruna Mshellia, has revealed.

The destruction affects 248 primary health care centres and 19 general hospitals, he said.

The state has 48 general hospitals of which most are in the areas recently liberated by the military.

Boko Haram in 2014 seized about 21 local government areas of the state and held unto them for nearly two years. During the occupation, the insurgents destroyed virtually public service facilities like hospitals.

Mr. Mshellia, who was speaking at a press briefing during the Borno NUJ Press Week, said many health workers were killed and several others fled the state.

Many of our health workers were targets of the Boko Haram insurgents, the health commissioner said.

Innocent health workers were killed in cold blood, he said.

According to the commissioner, the state government in 2016 began reconstruction of most of the health facilities in the state.

According to him, the government has so far invested N4.5 billion on procurement of hospital equipment and medical consumables.

He said hospitals especially in major local government headquarters are being upgraded, while six new general hospitals are also being built in Borgu, Baga, Gajiram, Kukawa, Gongulon and Maimusari villages.

One of the new hospitals is the 250-bed Women and Children Hospital where all medical services, including breast cancer screenings, are carried out free of charge.

He said a brand new paediatric complex comprising four main wards is being built at Maiduguri Specialist Hospital as well as in Biu Benusheik and Dikwa towns.

He said the state government currently has 126 medical doctors on its payroll, while 45 other doctors currently serving as national youth corps members are also engaged in the state.

On the recent ambush of medical supplies by insurgents along Damboa -Maiduguri highway, the commissioner confirmed that the state ministry of Health lost two trucks containing medical supplies meant for Damboa, and Askira-Uba local government areas.

He however denied the rumour that the assorted drugs and other related medical supplies they seized were enough to last the insurgents medical needs for a whole year.

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A former Chairman of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) in Kano State, Sani Hashim-Hotoro, is dead.

Aged 67, Mr. Hashim-Hotoro died in the early hours of Thursday at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), Kano, after battling with chronic diabetes.

One of his sons, Saidu Hashim, who announced the death, said the deceased left behind two wives, many children and grandchildren.

Mr. Hashim-Hotoro was a prominent figure in the defunct ANPP who contributed immensely to Ibrahim Shekaraus two consecutive terms as Executive Governor of Kano State.

Many people including prominent politicians in Kano, attended the funeral prayer which was held at his residence in Hotoro area in Kano metropolis.

Among them were the Chairman of the Kano State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, Rabiu Dansharu and former Commissioners in the state.

(NAN)

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The Senate on Wednesday condemned the Nigeria Polices attack on protesters asking President Muhammadu Buhari to return to work or resign 94 days after the ailing leader headed to London for medical treatment.

The protesters, under the aegis of #OurMumuDonDo, started on Monday with a sit-out in Abuja, but faced police harassment on Tuesday, as they commenced their civic action.

Just about the same time as the polices action against the protesters, the Senate on Tuesday expressed dissatisfaction with the protests, which it described as unreasonable and capable of heightening tension as well as affecting governments efforts on security and economy issues.

That Senate opposition to the anti-Buhari protests got a blistering response from the convener, Charles Oputa, who called the Senators Buharis errand boys desperate to patronize the president.

But on Wednesday, the Senate in another statement by its spokesperson, Abdullahi Sabi, while it condemned the subject of the protest which is aimed at forcing Mr. Buhari to either terminate his medical vacation or resign, said it would not support any violation of the fundamental human rights of Nigerians.

While we are opposed to the subject of the protest, the Senate acknowledges the fact that the protesters have the constitutional right to gather and express their views in a manner that will not breach public peace, order and tranquility, said Mr. Sabi. Since the Our-Mumu-Don-Do protesters did not conduct themselves in such a manner as to disturb public peace, it is not right for the police to brutalize the people as they reportedly did yesterday. The police should review their rules of engagement and ensure that they are in line with that of modern democratic societies. The rights of the people should not be violated by the police employed to protect these rights. Where the Police suspect that hoodlums are trying to hijack the protest, it is the duty of the Police to apprehend the hoodlums and those who break the law rather than generalise and thus brutalize innocent protesters. We however urge the organizers of the protest to join other Nigerians in praying for the safe return of President Buhari. They should note that any mortal being can find himself in the situation where one needs medical attention and more time to fully recuperate. More so, when in the present case, the President complied with the provisions of the Constitution and all organs of government are not impaired nor hindered by his medical vacation. Mr. Buharis ailment remains undisclosed to Nigerians. His indefinite medical vacation is publicly funded and activists now demand the president should return to work or resign. The harassment of the protesters has been widely condemned, notably by Bring Back Our Girls co-convener and former minister, Oby Ezekwezili among others.

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A former Nigerian president, Olusegun Obasanjo, has given an insight into how his handling of the sharia law introduced in some states of the north during his administration averted a disaster for Nigeria.

The insight is contained in a book titled Making Africa Work, co-authored by the former president with three others.

The book, unveiled in Victoria Island, Lagos, on August 2, was co-authored by Greg Mills, Director of Brenthurst Foundation; Jeffrey Herbst, President of NEWSEUM and Dickie Davis, a retired major general.

Mr. Obasanjo was Nigerias democratically elected leader between 1999 and 2007.

But the former president revealed that one of his biggest challenges as president was the sharia controversy.

The Islamic law was first introduced by a former Zamfara State governor, Sani Yerima, who is now a senator.

The second big challenge under my presidential watch was the issue of Sharia law, Mr. Obasanjo wrote.

As a country shared almost 50:50 between Muslims and Christians, Sharia has always been part of the legal and judicial system in the north, but only at the customary, or so-called magisterial level. Even then, the Nigerian Constitution has provision for establishing a Sharia Court of Appeal if the need ever arises. Sharia was, therefore, never an issue because it dealt with personal issues such as marriage, inheritance, and minor and civil issues, such as debt, boundary disputes and land matters.

Only very occasionally did it deal with criminal issues which, when necessary, were forwarded to the High Court for confirmation.

The initiator of the Sharia controversy, the then Zamfara State governor, Sani Yerima, raised the issue, however, for self-serving and self-preservation reasons, not for genuine or authentic religious conviction.

Mr. Obasanjo explained that when Mr. Yerima stood for the governorship of his state under the banner of the then All Peoples Party, the man who later became the National Security Adviser, NSA, General Aliyu Mohammed, sponsored a candidate under the banner of the then ruling party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

The PDP candidate lost the election but it would appear that the NSA, intending to find fault against the governor, started surreptitiously to collect evidence of misconduct and corruption against the governor.

Meanwhile, I made several attempts to reconcile them, but to no avail. I even took both of them on an official visit to China, an opportunity to bring them together. When it appeared that the NSA persisted, Governor Yerima decided to make himself untouchable, Mr. Obasanjo wrote.

He continued: He (Mr. Yerima) invited the Imams, Muslim leaders and priests in his state, and informed them that he was turning Zamfara into a full sharia state. He promulgated a law declaring Zamfara as a sharia state. And, true enough, he became untouchable.

Wanting not to be seen as acting in isolation, he instigated imams in other Islamic states in the north to agitate for a full sharia law declaration. In all, 12 states out of the 19 in the north promulgated full sharia law, Mr. Obasanjo explained.

The former president claimed that Muslims in the country were, however, all watching closely to see what he would do, as a wrong statement or action could be seen as incendiary, because an infidel, an anti-Muslim president would be seen as trampling on the holy religion of Islam.

But at the same time, Mr. Obasanjo argued further, Christian clergymen and leaders both within and outside Nigeria were calling on him to stamp out the new phenomenon of wholesale sharia in states where there was a Muslim majority but with substantial contingents of Christians too. They pointed out that Nigerian is a secular and multi-religious society, and not a Muslim state, he said.

Throughout this controversy, the only statement I made was to the effect that if the sharia that the governor of Zamfara was touting was genuine, it would survive and thrive. If not, it would fizzle out, Mr. Obasanjo said.

He alleged further that to justify his action and to prove his sharianess to people he had recruited to his political sharia, Mr. Yerima cut off the hand of a thief  a traditional Islamic punishment.

After that, Mr. Obasanjo wrote, the sharia fervour started to fizzle out.

Muslims, who had expected me to kick against sharia, thereby giving them ammunition to cause mayhem, and Christians, who felt angry and disappointed that I did not roll out military tanks to crush the proponents of sharia, both felt winners and losers at the same time. But Nigeria was surely the unmistakable winner.

Eventually, Yerima weaned himself off the Muslim clergy and sharia crumbled in his state, he explained.

A few months later, Yerima visited me in my official residence and, greeting my young female cousin, hugged her familiarly in my presence. I jokingly remarked to Yerima that this action was not sharia-compliant. Yerima retorted, Didnt you say sharia would fizzle out and has it not fizzled out?

At that point, the matter had turned into a joke, Mr. Obasanjo wrote.

The former president explained further that if mishandled, the sharia debacle would have become a serious disaster for Nigeria.

I received more letters on sharia affairs from within and outside Nigeria on the sharia affair than on all other issues put together in my eight-year presidency, he concluded.

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Granting tax break to additional 27 industries and products in Nigeria is a right step towards economic recovery, some economists have said.

They also described the move as an indication that Nigeria is on course out of economic recession and firmly towards growth.

These were the views of some notable economists and analysts, including Chief Consultant, B. Adedipe Associates Limited, Biodun Adedipe; and Chief Executive Officer, Economic Associates, Ayo Teriba, who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES on Tuesday.

The approval by the Executive Council of the Federation, FEC, of 27 additional industries and products to enjoy pioneer status is a step in the right direction, Mr. Adedipe said.

The decision is showing two things  that there are thinkers in the present government and that they are doing the right things at the right time, he added.

He said if the system and its processes are not abused, Nigeria would experience a strong recovery towards sustained growth.

Malaysia and several other enviable economies have used the same instrument to good effect. Rather than reduce government revenue, it has huge potential to lever revenue and enable rapid job creation, Mr. Adedipe said.

For Mr. Teriba, governments move by giving incentives to prospective investors means it was determined to attract investors to do business under the atmosphere created with the National Economic Recovery and Growth Plan.

He said since October 2015, following the suspension of the scheme, prospective investors had been applying for the incentive without success.

With the approval of additional industries and products to enjoy the incentive, investments will come in based on the industries that have just been given the incentives.

The decision is a positive development for the economy. It is going to be an increase in the investment flow and technology inflow and a boost to employment generation.

The Lead Director, Centre for Social Justice, CENSOJ, Eze Onyekpere, however is of the opinion that granting tax breaks to prospective investors does not add up to governments commitment to raise more revenue.

Government wants to raise more revenue, and government is now doing more tax exemptions. How does that add up?

It doesnt make sense to me, because if one was raising more revenue and creating more tax breaks, how long would these tax breaks last?

For Mr. Onyekpere, even assuming tax breaks were good, there was no structured investment by the federal government to ensure the investors would pay-back the tax in future, to take care of whatever was lost.

We cant continue this not well thought out ideas by people who simply wake up in the morning and have brainwaves and not subject it to proper scrutiny, Mr. Onyekpere said.

Last week, the federal government, at the end of the weekly FEC meeting announced the reviewed of the provisions guiding the pioneer status incentive to cover the 27 new industries.

Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Okechukwu Enelamah, said the new industries were arrived at after a review of the previous list to bring them in line with the countrys current economic realities captured under the ERGP.

Pioneer status is a tax holiday granted companies investing in new sectors of the economy approved by the government to boost employment generation and grow the economy.

Governed by the Industrial Development Income Tax Relief Act, the pioneer incentive scheme allows beneficiaries to enjoy tax reliefs for venturing into sectors considered either not mature, or requiring government support to grow.

Under the current arrangement, benefitting companies would enjoy an initial three years tax holiday, subject to either additional one year, or maximum two years renewal, but not exceeding five years in total.

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The Senate Joint Committee on Customs, Excise and Tariff and Marine Transport probing alleged sharp practices by Nigerian companies in the maritime sector said on Wednesday that some firms caught in the scandal had admitted wrongdoing.

However, Hope Uzodinma, chairman of the committee who made the disclosure to reporters, withheld the names of the companies citing volatility of the stock markets and the consequences of such disclosure on investors confidence.

Some of the companies that appeared before us today have also committed to our success by way of making some admissions here and there, Mr. Uzodinma said.

The statement came shortly after the committee met with about a dozen companies as part of the investigation Wednesday.

The Senate says its investigating at least 63 companies believed to have participated in questionable financial dealings that saw Nigeria lose up to N30 trillion naira in potential revenue.

The companies that met with the committee on Wednesday included: Dana Group, China Export, Emel Group, Halliburton, Bhojson Plc, Bharat Ventures Ltd, BUA International Ltd, Friesland Campina, Boulos Group, CFAO Group and British American Tobacco Company.

Mr. Uzodinma said his committee resolved to meet with the companies and take their testimonies separately to save them from compromising each others trade and competition secrets.

He warned the companies to take the probe seriously as the committee would not waste time in punishing any firms that defy the exercise.

We are professionals in different fields of endeavour and when we have decided to come here to serve the country, we mean every word of it, Mr. Uzodinma said. What we are doing and showing by this investigation is that the country can be better and that we can move from where we are now to where we expect the country to be.

Last week, the committee ordered the arrests of some executives of some of the companies listed in the probe for allegedly shunning invitations.

The companies include mobile giant Globacom, Crown Flour Mills, British American Tobacco, CCECC, Dana Group, Olam Int. Ltd., Hong Xing Steel Co. Ltd., Visafone, African Wire, Star Comments and Allied Ltd. and Aarti Steel Nig. Ltd.

Others are Abyem-Diva Int. Ltd., Gagasel Int., Friesland Campina, Etco Nig., Edic Chemicals and Allied Distributors, De United Foods makers of popular Indomie noodles, Don Climax Group, Skill G Nig. Ltd., Premium Seafood and La Rauf Nig. Ltd.

Also involved are Standard Metallurgical Co. Ltd., Kam Industries, IBG Investment Ltd., Orazulike Trading Co. Ltd., Popular Foods Ltd., A-Kelnal Integrated & Logistics Services, African Industries, African Tiles & Ceramics and ZTE Nigeria.

Nigerian import and export chain has been dogged by complaints of corruption for years, which prompted the current leadership of the Nigerian Ports Authority to kick off investigations into sundry allegations across the sector.

Scores of companies have been identified as having short-changed Nigeria through various illicit means, including fictitious dredging, tax evasion and racketeering.

Niger Global Engineering and Technical Company Limited, owned by Mr. Uzodinma himself, was caught in the scandal as receiving up to $12.5 million from taxpayers money without delivering on a dredging contract award in Calabar channel.

Notwithstanding, the senator assured that his committee would be thorough in scrutinising the activities of the companies under Senate probe with a view to recouping lost revenue and bringing closure to all uncovered cases of fraud.

Secret Meeting:

The Wednesday meeting was restricted to only the companies under probe as the Senate shut out the media, citing the need to protect the trade companies trade secrets.

As Wednesdays session held behind closed-doors, it raised concerns about the integrity of the probe. But this, Mr. Uzodinma said, was in cooperation with some of the companies that requested closed-door session as so not to disclose their trade secrets.

In order not to breach the secrecy that has to do with their business modules, we agreed to their terms because our interest is to achieve results, said Mr. Uzodinma.

He stated further: It became very necessary for us to speak to you this afternoon because as you must have observed, we now decided to take the companies one after the other rather than the general group thing.

The reason is that some of the companies approached the committee and expressed their willingness to support our investigation because the process of the investigation may require them revealing some of their trade secrets. Some of the companies that appeared before us today have also committed to our success by way of making some admissions here and there.

Last week, the committee asked the Police to arrest CEOs of the 30 companies who had refused to appear, after 33 of the 63 companies did appear.

However, Mr. Uzodinma said, on Wednesday, all the companies had cooperated with his committee.

He said: Initially some of these agencies of government and some private companies were reluctant in attending or honouring Senate invitation. With the threat and the support of the Police, they have all responded. We have seen 11 of them today and we will continue until we have exhausted all the companies.

This investigation is a mandate from plenary and is ongoing but we will not disclose everything now because there are things we will do or say that will mar the success of the investigation. We are not shrouding anything in secret.

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John Mahama, Chair of the Commonwealth Observer Group in Kenya and former President of Ghana, has described the Kenyan elections as credible, fair and inclusive.

Mr. Mahama in his interim statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria by Commonwealth Secretariat on Thursday in Abuja commended Kenyans for their patience in waiting for the final election results.

He called on all political party leaders and their supporters to show restraint and magnanimity as the results process continues to unfold.

The group Chair said that it was vital that all political leaders maintain peace and calm, exercise patience and not stampede the process.

We have followed the whole process and wish to congratulate all on the process thus far.

It is my fervent hope and expectation that the positive, peaceful and orderly atmosphere that we all experienced on August 8 will continue to prevail as we await the conclusion of this electoral process.

Our overall conclusion is that the opening, voting, closing and counting process at the polling stations on August 8 were credible, transparent and inclusive, he said.

He said that the complex election for six levels of government, undertaken at a cost that was reported to have made it one of the most expensive per capita elections ever, was still not over.

Mr. Mahama who said that the process was however producing results noted that Kenya, for the first time, had a number of women governors.

He said that additional history had been made in the North-eastern district bordering with Somalia, where a woman was elected as a member of the parliament the first time.

He said that the commonwealth noted the complaint of the oppositions leader, Raila Odinga, that the transmission system had been hacked and the figures broadcast from the national tallying centre were false.

The tone of his complaint, its public nature and the risk that such statements might cause followers to take to the streets raised immediate alarm.

Kenya is not a country where allegations of election fraud can be taken lightly. We are mindful that the process of collating the results is still on-going.

I wish to reiterate my earlier call for leadership, and I therefore call upon all political party leaders and their supporters to show restraint and magnanimity as the results process continues to unfold, he said.

(NAN)

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The Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, has described the gigantic loot recovered from embattled former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, as just the beginning.

What we have recovered so far from Diezani is just the beginning, Mr. Magu said while being quizzed by TVC news on Thursday. Its just a tip of the iceberg.

At least N47.2 billion and $487.5 million in cash and properties has been traced to the former oil minister, Mrs. Alison-Madueke by the anti-graft agency.

This followed painstaking investigations by operatives of the EFCC, two staff of the anti-graft agency wrote in an article sent to PREMIUM TIMES.

The former minister is also being investigated for corruption and money laundering in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Mr. Magu said the EFCC is working with other agencies around the world to unearth more loots linked to Mrs. Alison-Madueke.

We are moving in and we will recover every loot linked to her. We will get other people shes work with, Mr. Magu said.

Mr. Magu said his greatest challenge since he took up the tough job to man the anti-graft squad is that corruption is fighting back.

The acting EFCC chairman, whose fate still hangs in the balance following the delay in his confirmation by the Senate, said he doesnt allow the issue distract him from the job. It rather motivates me, he said.

Mr. Magu is one of the pioneer officers drafted into the EFCC from the police by its first chairman, Nuhu Ribadu.

On assumption of office, President Muhammadu Buhari fired the erstwhile chairman of the commission, Ibrahim Lamorde, who had held sway since 2011, and approved the appointment of Mr. Magu as the acting chairman.

However, the Senate has twice refused to confirm his appointment following reports from the State Security Service, SSS, against Mr. Magus integrity.

On Thursday, Mr. Magu said the time to end corruption in the country is now. He appealed to every Nigerian to join in the fight.

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An Ile-Ife Magistrates Court in Osun on Wednesday ordered the remand of four persons in prison over alleged abduction and having rape of a 17-year-old girl.

The accused Seyi Akindoyin, 27; Tope Akanni, 20; Abiodun Olayinka, 19, and Seun Odugade, 22, pleaded not guilty to four-count-charge of conspiracy, abduction, intimidation and rape.

The Magistrate, Olalekan Ijiyode, denied the oral bail application made by Ola Ibrahim, the counsel to the accused.

Mr. Ijiyode directed the defence counsel to apply for the bail of his clients formally by way of written application.

He ordered the remand of the accused in Ile-Ife prison pending the hearing of the bail application.

Earlier, the Prosecutor, Sunday Osanyintuyi, had told the court that the accused committed the offences on Aug. 3, at Ilare Area of Ile-Ife.

Mr. Osanyintuyi said that the accused conspired to commit felony to wit: abduction and threatened the life of their victim.

He added that the accused also unlawfully had carnal knowledge of their 17-year-old victim (name withheld).

The prosecutor said that the offence committed contravened sections 86, 361, 358 and 516 of the state criminal code.

The case was adjourned until September 6 for hearing.

(NAN)

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Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has urged Kenyan citizens to embrace peace and dialogue after the August 8 presidential election.

In a statement issued Thursday, Mr. Obasanjo congratulated Kenyans for the relative peace that had attended the campaign and preparation for the elections.

The world is waiting for the final declaration of the election and the reactions, said Mr, Obasanjo.

Allegations of hacking into the electoral system have been made. This, of course, as a technical issue must be thoroughly investigated by a non-partisan Committee of experts, no matter what the final declaration of the election result is.

The world is also waiting anxiously to see that peace continues to prevail after the formal declaration of the election result.

Protests ensued in Nairobi after Kenyas main opposition leader, Raila Odinga, alleged massive fraud after results showed President Uhuru Kenyatta in a clear lead.

At least five people have been reportedly killed in the resulting violence, reminiscent of the 2007 post-presidential election incidents which saw Mr Kenyatta dragged before the International Criminal Court.

Mr. Obasanjo said it would not be in anybodys interest in Kenya to have to resort to the ICC again.

Those of us who are friends of Kenya and who believe that peaceful election in Kenya, like in any other African country, is necessary to stabilise democracy in Africa and lay the foundation for strong economic development, unity and progress are also anxious, he said.

We appeal for peace, non-violence and dialogue as the eyes of the world is on Kenya and we cant do better than to show that electorally, Kenya has come of age.

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A Nigerian professor, Akin Onigbinde, has said that Nigeria needs to restructure its governance system to ensure economic sustainability, saying the system will not allow good leaders to emerge.

If Awolowo were to run under the present government, he may not succeed as councillor, he added.

Mr. Onigbinde made this submission on Thursday in Lagos at a conference of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers, GOCOP.

The programme, themed Sustaining Growth Through Diversification of the Economy, was held in Ikeja.

The don noted that the system through which government affairs are run in Nigeria today impedes sustainable development.

He called on Nigerians to support the call for restructuring of the governance system, saying until we sort out restructuring, we cant have an economy.

While recalling that the late premier of the western region, Obafemi Awolowo, ran one of the most development-oriented governments in the nations history, he explained that Mr. Awolowos success was enabled by the system of government put in place at the time.

Until we loosen the centre, nothing can work, he said, adding that Until we sort out restructuring, we cant have an economy.

Mr. Onigbinde noted further that, Many people refer to Awolowo as the best president Nigeria never had Ojukwu said so.

Awolowo was able to lend money to the federal government under the cocoa marketing board. The system allowed him.

If Awolowo were to run under the present government, he may not succeed as councillor.

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The Nigerian government has donated 5,000 metric tons of rice to the United Nations World Food Programme, WFP, for distribution to internally displaced persons in the North-eastern part of the country.

WFP announced the donation in a statement on Thursday.

According to the statement, it will help feed nearly half-a-million internally displaced people in the conflict-ravaged northeast of the country, where the threat of famine endures.

The group said the United States government would assist in distributing the food to displaced persons in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states.

WFP has already begun moving the first batch of donated rice  and expects a further 2,000 metric tons of millet pledged by the Nigerian authorities.

As a responsible government, the Federal Government of Nigeria, in recognition of the efforts of humanitarian actors and the need to ensure food security for the people affected by insurgency in the north east, has not only approved the distribution of 35,905 metric tons of grains to the people, but has also approved the release of 5,000 metric tons of rice for distribution by WFP in some communities affected by insurgency, the statement quoted Mustapha Maihaja, the Director General of Nigerias emergency relief agency, NEMA.

Since launching operations last year, WFP said it has rapidly expanded its offer of food, nutrition and cash to reach more than a million people a month.

Having overcome a funding challenge, it has now set its target at 1.36 million people during the current pre-harvest lean season, the hungriest time of the year.

This donation once again testifies to the quality of relations between WFP and Nigeria, said Ronald Sibanda, WFPs interim Country Director.

Our partnership with the Governments specialized emergency agencies, both at the federal and state level, have been crucial in allowing us to assist those who need it most.

As part of a US$100 million contribution to WFPs Nigeria response, the United States will cover the associated costs of getting the donated rice to those displaced in the hardest-hit states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe.

Nigerias crisis has spilled over borders, leaving millions in the broader Lake Chad Basin region uncertain of where their meal is coming from.

Experts have warned that without sufficient and timely humanitarian assistance, northeast Nigeria risks tipping into famine.

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Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) says it will continue to challenge the anti-grazing laws introduced by some state governments in court.

The National Secretary of the association, Baba Ngelzarma, made the declaration while speaking with newsmen in Abuja on Thursday.

He said the pastoralists, who were largely uneducated, would view the anti-grazing laws, when implemented, as forcing them out of their ancestral and cultural way of earning a living.

According to him, implementing the laws will create another crisis in the country.

Mr. Ngelzarma said the revival of grazing reserves across the country would aid efforts to stop the roaming of cattle and pastoralists.

He said grazing reserves across the country had been devastated through encroachment by farmers, destruction by desertification or neglect on the part of the government.

We are going to challenge this anti-grazing law in courts and some of us have taken the matter to international court because that is the only option left for us.

This is a breach of the constitution and the fundamental human rights of our members.

We are not against ranching. The pastoralist will embrace it but that cannot be right away but it will be overtime.

You have to educate them to know the benefits of ranching.

These pastoralists will take the law as something that is totally strange, a plot to take them away from what they inherited from their forefathers. They will see it as a failure on their part.

If these grazing reserves that we have in the North can be maintained and rehabilitated, with the provision of boreholes and grasses, I see no reason why the pastoralist will continue to roam around.

We are sensitising our people to the need for them to remain peaceful; not to originate or look for trouble, not to encroach into peoples farms, he said.

The national secretary said that settling down of pastoralists would be slowly achieved through sustained enlightenment.

He added that it would be virtually impossible for pastoralists to roam in the next 10 to 20 years because of the growing population.

Ekiti, Taraba and Benue States have enacted the anti-open grazing laws.

The laws stipulate that herdsmen must engage in cattle ranching in order to rear their animals. (NAN)

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There was pandemonium at the Ile Zik area Oshodi-Ikeja road Thursday as an irate mob set ablaze a hideout, including clothes and other personal items, allegedly used by kidnappers.

Witnesses told PREMIUM TIMES that the hideout was a cage covered with clothes and used by a mad man.

About three days ago we discovered that there is a cage and we went there, beside the CCTV camera, a man who has been taken away now by the police lives there and we used to think he is a mad man, Prince Adeyanju, a resident, said.

Some items discovered include ladies underwear and lots more, we later saw that he is normal, many human items were found there.

A PREMIUM TIMES correspondent at the scene reports that shoes, clothes, underwears were found at the scene of the incident.

After officers of the police Rapid Response Squad arrived, four persons, including the main suspect, were arrested.

Residents and motorists said the spot had been a no-go area for them over the years.

This particular area and location has been a scary one at night for us, anytime you are stuck here at night, there is high probability of you being robbed and even the policemen are aware, a resident who did not want to be named said.

Another resident said, I have been staying around this area for 10 years and really no one knows that this kind of thing occurs here in this magnitude that we have found clothes, shoes and the likes here.

I have personally complained to the police about this spot in terms of robbery and this street especially with its danger tendencies at night.

A resident, who identified himself simply as Lekan, said he and other youth had to rescue a boy from that spot in the past.

He was being dragged away by some yet to be identified persons and when I sighted this I had to alert some other youths, when they(those dragging the boy) saw that we got them already, they left the boy alone and ran away, we have been complaining of this area for a while, he said.

The police spokesperson, Olarinde Famous-Cole, did not respond to phone calls. But an RRS official, who preferred not to be named because he was not authorised to speak to journalists, said a dead body was also recovered near the hideout,

We are still investigating already and our men have been drafted here, he added.

Thursdays incident happened two days after an angry mob burnt alive two suspected kidnappers along the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway.

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Praising God has been widely acknowledged to be a very beneficial exercise. Some scientific studies have attested to this. For example, Brigid Waldron-Perrine of Wayne State University in Michigan and his team have found that Feeling connected to a higher power positively impacted not only their feelings, but their functional outcomes, what they were able to do.

The findings confirm decades of existing proof of prayers healing benefits. One of the most frequently cited studies on the subject comes from San Francisco General Hospitals Coronary Care Unit.

Yesterday, in line with the theme of the 2017 Convention of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, (RCCG), General Overseer of the Mission, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, a scientist himself, broke down the connection between praise and miracles in his usual understandable manner of explaining things.

A testimony

In one of his popular testimonies on praise, which he has shared elsewhere he said: A Nigerian couple travelled to the United States on scholarship and there they had a set of twins. Later, they ran out of money  no money to eat or do anything  and there was not even money to travel back home. For a solution, they had prayed and done everything they could legitimately do but still, no change. They were strangers in a foreign land with nobody to help them.

Then, one day, the babies were crying ceaselessly for food. All they wanted was food. It got so bad that their father decided to get out of the house before he went crazy. He went to the library, leaving the wife alone to cope with the twins.

In the husbands own testimony, he said that his wife told him all of a sudden that she remembered that I had taught them long ago that if prayer fails they should try praise.

So, she took her tambourine and began to sing and praise God saying, I dont how you are going to solve this problem, but I will praise you all the same, she said.

As she sang, she heard a knock on the door. She opened the door and saw a group of white people who had come to the neighbourhood to witness for the Lord by going from door to door. At a point they were about to go home because they were tired but the leader said, One more house, just one more house and then we will go.

As they arrived , they saw this lady with a tambourine in her hand. They told her they were there to talk to her about Jesus Christ.

The lady said, Come in.

The children suddenly went quiet when they saw the visitors. When the visitors were trying to tell her about Jesus Christ, she said, Well, I know Jesus Christ. He is my Lord, He is my Saviour.

They kept on talking for a while until the lady interrupted to say, Im sorry, I would have entertained you but I have nothing to give.

And they said, What do you mean by you have nothing to give? Not even a soda?

She said, Nothing at all.

The leader was surprised. He said, That cant be true.

He got up to open the fridge, opened and found it absolutely empty.

You mean you have nothing at all in the house?

The lady said, Absolutely nothing.

The leader, asking the others to wait for him, went to the grocery store and brought back lots of foodstuffs with the promise to return the following week. And, a week later, the leader got them a job. As of today, I know they have two houses in America simply because somebody decided to praise God.

The breakdown

Yesterday, a woman who took her triplets to the altar, testifed about the miracle she received for praising God. She narrated how she had been nicknamed Sister Halleluyah because of the frequency at which she shouted it.

She had been looking for the fruit of the womb but anytime she had challenges she increased the number of Halleluyah shouts. She started from three shouts, increased the number progressively, and was rewarded with a pregnancy that produced three kids to wipe away her tears.

Pastor Adeboye, cited that example during the breakdown of how praise works. Explaining that praise drives its power from the one being praised, he warned that self-praise or adulation is destructive as shown in the example of Nebuchadnezzar II, king of Babylonia, who was made to eat grass like an animal for years.

Similarly, praising a human being, especially liking him to God, puts the person in danger, as was the case of King Herod who was eaten up by worms right in front of his subjects who likened him to God when they were praising his oratory.

Only God is worthy of praise, and when you are praising the Almighty, who says He is God and non else, then be ready for miracles, Pastor Adeboye said.

Explaining the process, he said praising God draws Him closer to you, and to do that He arises. And when God arises enemies scatter, he said.

Backing each stage of the process with Biblical passages and examples, he went on to explain that because God is the King of Kings, He does not move alone; He moves with an entourage and as they do, the earth to trembles.

The third stage of the process is that God does not move empty- handed.

He explained the implications and benefits of the stages as follows:

Praise guarantees victory without having to put up a fight because when God arises no enemy can stand Him.

Praise guarantees earthquake on Gods arrival such that doors fly open, chains break and yokes removed for freedom from bondage, stagnation, storms of life and for solutions considered impossible to come.

Praise guarantees miracles because God who does not move empty-handed always gives gifts to people He visits; some of the miracles frightening ones.

In his usual style of enhancing retention, Pastor Adeboye told a story of one of his pastors, who received a miracle so big that he ran away from it. He said, years back, someone had presented a Mercedes car gift for the pastor was so poor he could not even dream of a bicycle. When the car was taken to him, with the promise of fuel and a driver, he doubted it was for him.

And upon the insistence of Pastor Adeboyes driver who drove the car there that it was for him, the pastor involuntarily walked away in fright.

Noted for his holiness, Pastor Adeboye warned that people who live continuously in sin should not expect Gods visitation during praise sessions because He is a Holy God.

Earlier in the morning, Wednesday, a graduation ceremony was held for 5,658 graduates of the Redeemed Christian Bible College who bagged certificates, diplomas, bachelors, master and doctorate degrees.

Pastor Adeboye gladly received them on behalf of the Governing Council and blessed them with Gods unction, power and the meeting of their personal needs.

The College has also successfully graduated students in Malaysia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Uganda, Cameroon, South Africa and Congo Brazaville, among others.

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Only about 23 per cent of children in Nigeria have received all recommended vaccines between 2016 and 2017, the Multi Indicator Cluster Survey report, (MICS) has revealed.

The report also states that though only one in four children received all recommended vaccines, more children are fully immunised in the southern part of the country. These are the South- south, South-west and South-east zones.

The survey which was sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, was released on Thursday in Abuja at the MICS/NICS national dissemination meeting with stakeholders on revamping routine immunization and primary healthcare system.

The MICS is a survey designed to provide estimates of vaccines coverage for the country by zones and each of the 36 states.

In his presentation, the acting director, Planning, Research and Statistics, Abdullahi Garba, noted that the percentage of immunized children between 12-23 months of age is very low and below expectation.

He said immunization coverage varies across Nigeria but improvements are needed in every state.

The immunization coverage in Nigeria is below the Global Vaccine Action Plan (GVAP) goals, putting a substantial number of children at risk of vaccine preventable diseases he said.

He said that more work can be done to ensure that at least 90 per cent of children in Nigeria receive all recommended vaccines.

He said the Nigerian government is committed to the 100 per cent goals of the GVAP.

While responding to questions from journalists, the Nigeria Country Officer, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Yusuf Yusufari, called on the Nigerian government to take over the responsibility for immunisation in the country.

Nigeria government has to take over ownership of immunisation in the country.

The government, health workers and partners must also be held accountable for routine immunization.

By accountability, I mean the Nigeria government has procured 100 percent of vaccines required to vaccinate our children, but the result is telling us only a few have been vaccinated. What is happening to other vaccines?

This means that there is a lot of inefficiency in the system or a lot of inaccurate reporting, so we all need to be accountable, he said.

In his remarks, the representative of European Union, Ibrahim Lisa, commended the effort of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency to conduct the national dissemination meeting to enlighten Nigerians on where they stand with routine immunisation.

Mr. Lisa said the results will serve as evidence that more resources and efforts is needed to put immunisation on a high spot in Nigeria.

He also pledged the continuous assistance of the European Union to ensure that every child in Nigeria receives vaccines against preventable diseases.

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The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, says it has ordered the removal of the names of 190 non-Nigerians from the countrys Voter Register as part of measures to clean up the register.

The commission disclosed this in a statement issued by its Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi on Thursday in Abuja.

The Nigerian Immigration Service, NIS, recently retrieved several Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and National Identity cards from foreigners who were alleged to have registered as voters.

Mr. Osaze-Uzzi reiterated INECs commitment in ensuring that the voter register was free from unqualified registrations.

This according to the commission is also to ensure that the register of voters meets internationally accepted standards.

INEC will continue to strengthen its relationship with security agencies and other organisations in ensuring that the electoral process is improved, he said.

Meanwhile, the commission has decentralised the on-going nationwide Continuous Voter Registration, CVR, in Anambra to the Registration Areas, ahead of the November 18 governorship election in the state.

The move by the commission to decentralise the registration from the 21 local government offices to the 326 registration areas in the state, is aimed at bringing the exercise closer to the people.

It is also to ensure that every eligible Nigerian in the state was captured in the exercise.

INEC said the decentralisation would be between August 10 and 15, adding that thereafter, the exercise would be officially suspended until after the election.

This is to enable the commission print and distribute the PVCs of all registered voters in Anambra.

The commission warned that the decentralisation should not be misunderstood for a fresh voter registration for those who had registered before.

It should be seen as an opportunity for eligible citizens who have not registered before and those whose names were not found on the voters register to get registered.

The CVR also provides a window for those who wish to transfer their registration details to another location to do so.

It will as well provide room for those who have lost their PVCs to apply for replacement.

Mr. Osaze-Uzzi said that the commission would display register of voters in state at the registration centres from August 16 to 20.

INEC said the display would enable registrants in the state to check the details of their registrations and seek for correction, where necessary.

(NAN)

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Forty-one Nigerians deported from seven European countries for committing immigration-related offences arrived the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos on Thursday.

The Nigerians were deported from Australia, Switzerland, Hungary, Netherlands, Germany, Norway and Denmark.

The News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, learned that the aircraft with registration mark EC-120 which flew in the deportees, comprising 35 males and six females, touched down at 10.50 a.m.

Joseph Alabi, the spokesman of the Lagos Airport Police Command, confirmed the development to NAN.

Mr. Alabi said, this morning, we received 41 Nigerians who were brought back from Europe. They were made up of 35 males and six females.

He said all the deportees were alleged to have committed immigration-related offences in their host countries.

Mr. Alabi said the deportees were received by officers of the Nigerian Immigration Service, NIS, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and the Police.

Also on ground to receive them were officials of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA.

NAN gathered that the deportees were profiled by immigration authorities and were allowed to depart to their various destinations.

It will be recalled that 34 Nigerians were deported from six European countries on June 22 for committing similar offences.

The Nigerians were deported from Switzerland, Germany, Iceland, Austria, Belgium and Hungary.

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The Police Command in Jigawa said it has arrested 15 students over the death of their colleague in Yankwashi Local Government Area of the state.

The Commands Public Relations Officer, Jinjiri Abdu, confirmed the arrest to the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, in Dutse on Thursday.

Mr. Jinjiri said that the suspects, who are students of the Government Science and Technical College, Karkarna, were arrested on August 8.

He said that the students aged between 17 and 19, were suspected to have caused the death of their colleague after they beat him up with sticks.

The spokesperson added that the suspects allegedly took the deceased to the bush close to the school on August 6, and beat him up around 2.30 a.m.

The suspects were said to have formed a disciplinary committee to deal with the deceased after they suspected him to be a homosexual.

So, on that fateful day, they decided to deal with him where they allegedly took him to the bush and beat him up with sticks.

After the beating, they brought him back to the school, and it was only his lifeless body that was found the following morning.

He was taken to the hospital where he was declared dead, he said.

According to him, the investigation into the case has commenced, saying the suspects would soon be charged to court.

Mr. Jinjiri said the corpse of the deceased had been handed over to his family for burial.

The state Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, recently arrested four students of the same school for allegedly stealing 18 new mini Samsung laptops.

The students allegedly stole the items from the colleges computer room.

The Federal Government had donated 25 laptops to the college out of which the suspects allegedly stole 18.

(NAN)

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The National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, John Odigie-Oyegun, has described perpetrators of hate-speeches, images and songs as worse than Boko Haram.

He said disgruntled elements out to destroy democracy in Nigeria over the outcome of the last general elections were responsible for the development and called on the security agencies to bring them to justice.

This was contained in Mr. Oyeguns reaction to an audio recording currently circulating in parts of the country.

He described the material as dangerous and despicable and called on security agencies to promptly apprehend those behind the recording and similar acts, no matter who they are.

A former vice president and chieftain of the ruling party, Atiku Abubakar, had also condemned an anti-Igbo song circulating in the country.

Every ethnic-based crisis of whatever nature had started with hate speech. When people within the same country frame and define one another in the manner intended to set them up for violent attack, then they are setting themselves up for a major disaster, Mr. Oyegun stated.

The merchants of hate dont know or just dont care about the consequences of the fire they are stoking in the country. But they have the experiences of other countries to learn from, he said.

The APC leader said the Rwanda Genocide remains a classic example on the African continent.

However, even as terrible as Rwanda was, it would be nothing compared to what could happen if a huge country like Nigeria is allowed to fall into the disaster of hate-driven conflict, he warned.

This is why we must all rise, regardless of our political differences and condemn these ugly and shameful acts with one voice.

He observed that even though ethnic distrust is not new in the country, the rising wave of hate speeches, negative religious and ethnic utterances and actions currently being experienced, is part of the fallouts of the 2015 presidential election.

Anyone participating in an election knows that there could only be two outcomes, you win or you lose. When you lose, you prepare for the next election.

What we have seen however is that since 2015, some politicians and political groups have carried on as if they wish the country itself to collapse just because they are no longer in power. This is tragic indeed.

Mr. Oyegun called on the Acting President to direct the security agencies to ensure that those behind the odious acts were promptly arrested and swiftly brought to justice.

We cannot sit idle and watch a few disgruntled individuals to destroy our democracy, and God forbids, the nation that we all fought hard to achieve and build, he stated.

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A day after two suspected kidnappers were killed by a mob in Lagos, four suspected kidnappers were also killed in Taraba.

The Taraba Police Command on Wednesday confirmed that four suspected kidnappers were killed by a mob at Tella in Gassol Local Government Area of Taraba.

The spokesperson of the command, David Misal, told journalists in Jalingo that the fifth suspect, Salisu Zakari, who narrowly escaped the mob action, was arrested and detained in the command.

He said the mob had forcefully removed the suspects from a local vigilance group station at Tella and hacked them to death.

The incident occurred on August 6. Five people were sighted in Tella and were suspected to be kidnappers.

They were arrested by a local vigilance group, but before being handed over to the police, a group of irate youths lynched them and threw their bodies into the river.

One of the suspects escaped and was later arrested in Jalingo. He is presently in our custody, he said.

Mr. Misal however said Mr. Zakari, in a confessional statement, claimed that the syndicate went to Tella for armed robbery not kidnapping, before they ran out of luck.

The commands spokesman said the matter was under investigation adding anyone involved in the crime would be prosecuted.

The mob lynching in Taraba occurs a day after two suspected kidnappers were burnt to death in Lagos State.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how three other suspected kidnappers in the Lagos incident were saved from the angry mob by security operatives and subsequently arrested.

(NAN)

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The UN Security Council on Wednesday called for the disbursement of the funds pledged for the North-east Nigeria at the Oslo Conference on Boko Haram in February.

The 15-member council, in a statement, expressed grave concern about the threat of famine facing some 20 million people in conflict-affected North-east Nigeria, Yemen, Somalia and South Sudan.

The 15-member councils statement read by the president for August and the Permanent Representative of Egypt to the UN, Amr Ramadan, linked the famine threat to conflict.

The Security Council calls for the immediate disbursement of the funds already pledged to Yemen, Somalia, South Sudan and north-east Nigeria at successive international conferences.

These conferences include those held in Oslo, Geneva and London, if possible in the form of multi-year and un-earmarked funding.

The Security Council calls on Member States to provide additional resources and funding to pull people back from the brink of famine.

The Council also requested the Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to provide early warning when a conflict could lead to famine.

The Security Council further requested Mr. Guterres to provide an oral briefing in October 2017 on impediments to an effective response to the risk of famine in these countries.

The Council also made specific recommendations on how to address country-specific impediments in order to enable a more robust short and long-term response.

The 15-member body deplored that in these four countries, certain parties have failed to ensure unfettered and sustained access for deliveries of vital food assistance as well as other forms of humanitarian aid.

The Council reiterated its calls on all parties to allow the safe, timely and unhindered access for humanitarian assistance to all areas and to facilitate access for essential imports of food, fuel and medical supplies into each country, and their distribution throughout.

The Council further urged all parties to protect civilian infrastructure which is critical to the delivery of humanitarian aid in the affected countries.

The Council expressed its readiness to continue to support the Secretary-Generals call to action to avert famine in conflict-affected countries and commits to engage constructively on his specific recommendations.

(NAN)

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Following the lapse of its 10-day ultimatum to the federal government to order the arrest of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, a northern youth group on Wednesday staged a peaceful protest in Abuja.

Scores of members of the group, Arewa Youth Assembly, AYA, gathered at the Unity Fountain in the Central Business District at about 9 a.m. and marched to the junction of the Presidential Villa.

They warned the federal government that it risks their wrath if it delays in meeting the demand to take Mr. Kanu back into custody.

The group had in a statement on July 27 threatened to shut down federal government activities in Abuja if Acting President Yemi Osinbajo fails to order the arrest of Mr. Kanu who is on bail.

Mr. Kanu, who is championing a Biafran secessionist call, is being prosecuted for alleged treasonable offences.

Members of AYA said the IPOB leader has been violating his bail conditions and that his antics threaten peaceful coexistence of the people of Nigeria.

Mr. Kanu was granted bail by a Federal High Court in Abuja on April 28 on stringent conditions, some of which is to avoid speaking with the press or being in a crowd of more than 10 persons.

Speaking to PREMIUM TIMES, Mohammed Salihu, who spoke for the northern youth group, reiterated its threat to shut down government activities in Abuja if the acting president fails to act as it had demanded.

I will be very brief. We organised this peaceful protest as a warning and reminder to federal government to arrest Nnamdi Kanu now.

The Arewa Youth Assembly will not make a U-turn on its decisions. We intend to carry out our proposed plans and nothing can stop us.

We will mobilize thousands of youth to shut down government activities in Abuja after our congress meeting next week Saturday, he said.

A team of police officers monitored the groups procession from a distance before the group dispersed shortly before noon.

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Nollywood actor, Jim Iyke, has lamented the current state of the nation and also joined in the clamour for the resignation of President Muhammadu Buhari.

The actor who joined the #ResumeOrResign protest on Wednesday at its convergence point in Unity Park, Abuja, shared his views while speaking to the media at the rally.

He said, The president has to either resume his duty, or resign. It is natural for people to grow old and become unable to discharge their duties properly. And when this happens, the aged is expected to step down.

You cannot rule a country from outside another country for 94 days. It is not possible. We have turned to the caricature of the world. Has anybody tuned in to CNN lately? Did you not hear what they had to say about our great nation? We were once the giant of Africa but today; we are the joke of Africa. It is time we wake up.

Charly Boy leads the protest under the Our Mumu Don Do movement alongside social critic, Deji Adeyanju, who is the founder of the Concerned Nigeria group.

The Bring Back our Girls, co-founder, Aisha Yesufu, was also present at the protest on Wednesday.

Anti-riot police officers attacked popular veteran entertainer, Charly Boy, and others, during the protest on Tuesday.

Narrating his ordeal, the entertainer said, Before we knew it, they started with the water cannon. Then they tear-gassed us and set their dogs against us. Worried, I went to one of the policemen who was standing near me and asked him why they resorted to such action. Instead of responding to me, he suddenly raised the butt of his gun and hit me in the eye.

Charly Boy was quickly rushed to the hospital for treatment. The veteran entertainer also revealed that a journalist was allegedly beaten up at the venue of the protest.

Meanwhile, the presidency has urged Nigerians to ignore calls for ailing President Muhammadu Buhari to return to work or resign his position.

Garba Shehu, a presidential spokesperson, said activists who took to the street to protest Mr. Buharis prolonged absence have a right to do so, but that they overstepped their bounds by trying to force the presidents hands.

The president has been away in London since May 7, where hes believed to be receiving treatment for unknown ailments.

Nigerians have demanded specific details about his ailments, a request that his office has continued to rebuff.

Several persons have taken to the streets in Abuja and London since Monday, demanding his immediate resignation or return to work.

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Howard Waddell: Here's how AG Jeff Sessions could get the last laugh
A Lagos Federal High Court on Wednesday struck out a suit filed by the Nigerian Government seeking to recover 793.2 million dollars allegedly kept by seven commercial banks in violation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) policy.

The defendants are: Diamond Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA), First Bank, Skye Bank, Fidelity Bank, Sterling Bank and Keystone Bank.

The vacation judge, Justice Chuka Obiozor, struck out the suit following a motion of discontinuance filed by the Federal Government.

Counsel to the Federal Government, Yemi Akinseye-George (SAN), informed the court that he had the instruction of the Attorney-General of the Federation to discontinue the case in the overall interest of the public.

Consequently, he filed a motion of discontinuance in accordance with Order 50, Rule 2, Subsection 1, of the Federal High Court Civil Procedure Rules 2009, asking the court to strike out the suit.

The Federal Government had in the suit alleged that the banks connived with some government agencies to illegally conceal 793.2 million dollars meant to have been transferred to the TSA domiciled in the Central Bank of Nigeria.

But the banks, through their counsel, denied the allegation.

The banks were represented by Ajibola Muraina (UBA); Seyi Sowemimo (SAN), (Fidelity Bank); Abimbola Akeredolu, (SAN); (Sterling Bank); N.A Oragwu (Diamond Bank); E.A Okorie (First Bank) and Babatunde Ogungbamila (Keystone Bank).

All the defendants, in a reply to the Federal Governments notice of discontinuance, demanded between N10 million and N20 million as costs from the plaintiff.

While striking out the suit, Justice Obiozor ordered the Federal Government to pay N200,000 as cost to all the banks except Skye Bank which had no representation in court.

Justice Obiozor said:I have considered the reason given for the discontinuance, the demand, as it were, of public interest.

I have also considered the fact that when a notice of discontinuance is duly and validly filed, it cannot be recalled, as the suit ceases to exist, the moment it is effectively discontinued subject to the payment of costs.

I find that as I have not adjudicated on claims in the action before me for a pronouncement on the merits of the issues arising therefrom.

The proper order to make, with respect to this matter, is one striking out this suit and not of dismissal and I so hold.

In the intant case before me, the matter is yet to proceed to trial, I do not find that the justice of this case demands that this matter should be dismissed.

On costs, the judge ruled:Nevertheless, I shall not turn a blind eye to the effect of the interim order on the defendants.

This case cannot now go on, I find no reason not to compensate the defendants with costs at least to those of them who have appeared in this matter.

I find the request for N10 million or N20 million as costs to the defendant not to be founded on with respect to established principles.

The defendants deserve compensation which I assess and put at N200,000 against and in favour of and to be paid to each of the first, second, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh defendants.

In the final analysis, the suit is hereby struck out and the plaintiff shall not re-list this suit without the prior leave of court.

The interim order of this court made on the 20th of July 2017, is hereby set aside, truncated and discharged.

(NAN)

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The Buhari Media Support Group (BMSG) on Thursday in Abuja, said the stolen funds traced to former Petroleum Minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, could fund infrastructure development in the country.

Specifically, the group said in a statement by its Chairman, Austin Braimoh, and Secretary, Cassidy Madueke, that government could build six world-class airports in each geo-political zone with part of the funds.

It said that the recovered loot was also enough to have funded agricultural projects that would have generated employment for Nigerian youths.

It added that the N47.2 billion and 487.5 million dollars in cash and property traced to Alison-Madueke by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commissison (EFCC) were also enough to complete the Lagos-Kano and Lagos-Calabar rail lines.

It recalled that the Federal Government was already seeking loans for the rail projects.

The group called on Nigerians to join hands to condemn the massive looting of the nations treasury by officials of previous administrations.

It expressed belief that the loot traced to the former minister was a far cry from what she and others in the past governments pilfered from the national treasury.

According to it, these monies stashed in foreign accounts forced the Nigerian economy to suffer instant depression.

The group recalled that Mrs. Madueke and her associates, including Kola Aluko, Jide Omokore, were currently being tried by the US government for allegedly laundering over 1.7 billion dollars.

It urged Nigerians to have a collective resolve to fight what it described as psychotic and mindless type of looting exhibited by indicted government officials in their days in government.

This, it said, could halt the craving to loot public treasury by government officials.

The group reminded Nigerians that though the fight against corruption was the foremost policy thrust of President Muhammadu Buharis administration, the fight might not attain maximum result unless Nigerians willingly resolve to join in it.

This synergy is necessary so as to fight the art of looting and other forms of mismanagement in government.

It stated that all concerned Nigerians should be organising widespread protests to condemn looting of government funds by officials, past and present, as often revealed by the anti-graft agencies.

It advised that Nigerians should also stop dissipating energies on attacking Buhari, the main fighter of corruption over his health challenge.

The group commended anti-graft agencies, particularly EFCC, for their sustained efforts in exposing corruption in Nigeria.

It appealed to the agencies not to give up but to ensure the prosecution of culprits looting of the nations treasury. (NAN)

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A batch of 128 Nigerians deported from Libya arrived in Lagos on Thursday aboard a chartered Airbus A320 Afriqiyah aircraft with registration number 5A-ONA.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the aircraft landed at 5.3 p.m. at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Lagos.

The deportees, comprising 126 males and two females, were flown back into the waiting hands of officers of the Nigerian Immigration Service, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, NAPTIP, and the Police.

Also on ground were officials of the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN.

Two females and four male deportees had medical cases.

The Director General, NEMA, Mustapha Maihaja, represented by Suleiman Yakubu, Zonal Coordinator, South West, NEMA, used the occasion to counsel Nigerians not to be deceived by phantom promises in their quest for pastures.

He said that one of those who returned had sustained bullet injuries all over his body and had been stretchered into a NEMA ambulance.

Mr. Maihaja said the victim would be taken to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, for proper medical attention.

He advised Nigerians to stay back and contribute their quota to the socio-economic development of the country.

There are a lot of things you can do in Nigeria here. You dont have to travel outside the country in search of greener pastures.

My advice to parents is to keep tab on their children and to ensure that they know where their children are going and not to be deceived by phantom promises, he said.

Mr. Maihaja said NEMA and some state governments had put various schemes in place to help rehabilitate and reintegrate returnees into the society.

The Director-General, National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, Julie Okah-Donli, had on Wednesday said that 540 Nigerians were set for deportation from Libya, beginning from August 10.

She had said that the deportees would be brought back to Nigeria in three batches.

Thousands of Nigerians have been flown back from Libya, with some voluntarily returning with the help of the International Organisation for Migration.

(NAN)

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Pobierz zdjecie Przeczytaj o zasadach pobierania zdjec Minister Halina Szymanska laid a wreath at the plaque commemorating, among others, Lech and Maria Kaczynski and President's Office employees killed in a plane crash on April 10, 2010 (1)

Pobierz zdjecie Przeczytaj o zasadach pobierania zdjec Minister Halina Szymanska laid a wreath at the plaque commemorating, among others, Lech and Maria Kaczynski and President's Office employees killed in a plane crash on April 10, 2010 (2)

Pobierz zdjecie Przeczytaj o zasadach pobierania zdjec Minister Halina Szymanska laid a wreath at the plaque commemorating, among others, Lech and Maria Kaczynski and President's Office employees killed in a plane crash on April 10, 2010 (3)

On behalf of President Andrzej Duda, the head of his office on Thursday laid a wreath at the plaque commemorating, among others, Lech and Maria Kaczynski and President's Office employees killed in a plane crash in Smolensk on April 10, 2010.

On behalf of President Andrzej Duda, Minister Halina Szymanska on Thursday laid a wreath at the plaque commemorating Lech and Maria Kaczynski, the last Polish President-in-exile Ryszard Kaczorowski and President's Office employees killed in a plane crash near a military airfield in Smolensk, western Russia on April 10, 2010.

On April 10, 2010 a Polish government plane crashed near a military airfield in Smolensk, western Russia, killing all 96 people on board, including President Lech Kaczynski, the First Lady, the last Polish President-in-exile Ryszard Kaczorowski and dozens of senior government officials and military commanders.

The delegation was underway to nearby Katyn in western Russia to attend events marking the 70th anniversary of the 1940 Katyn Forest Massacre in which ap. 22,000 Polish officers and members of the intelligentsia were murdered at the hands of the Soviets. (PAP)
EAGLESWOOD TOWNSHIP  Two people died and another was seriously injured when their SUV crashed into the side of a restaurant, police said.

The crash happened about 3:30 p.m. Wednesday. The driver of the SUV lost control along Route 9 before hitting utility poles and then crashing into the side of Calloways, police said.

According to police, 54-year-old Patty Rulon, 54, of Manahawkin, and Albert Rulon, 91, of Tuckerton, died as a result of the crash, police said. A 15-year-old boy was being treated for serious injuries, they said.

According to the owner of Calloways, Chris Rossiter, no one in the restaurant was hurt in the crash.

Rossiter estimated about 15 to 20 police officers and at least half a dozen fire trucks had been at the restaurant.

It was a crazy day. They landed two choppers in the range, Rossiter said.

The restaurant remained open Wednesday, he said.

The cause of the crash was under investigation.

 Associated Press
In Ocean City, some yogis mantras were joined by the soft sound of mewing Sunday.

Local shelter volunteers from Cape Atlantic Citizens Altering the Strays (C.A.T.S.) partnered with Golden Buddha Yoga studio to host the first C.A.T.S. on Mats event.

We were trying to come up with a new fundraiser and I was talking with my daughter and her friend who said the hottest thing is yoga with kittens, said volunteer Tina Ditanna, who helped organize the event.

C.A.T.S. brought about a dozen kittens available for adoption to roam during the yoga class. Class participants spent time playing with and petting the kittens before the 30-minute yoga session. Some cats relaxed on the yoga mats while other joined in, crawling on yogis as they stretched and posed.

We had people here who were interested in yoga as well as cats, so I think everyone had a good time, said volunteer Deborah Beuttler.

I want to do this every day, said Chrissy Barlett, of Ocean City.

Yoga teacher Colin Murphy specializes in sound therapy and healing during his classes and specifically tailored Sundays class to allow for laughter, meows and awwws.

I think its extremely therapeutic. When I would have the cat laying on top of me in savasana, I could feel its energy and it felt calming, said Murphy.

It was a great cause and it made me so happy to do this, he said.

Along with the $25 class fee, C.A.T.S. volunteers reached out to local businesses for basket donations, which were raffled off.

Cape-Atlantic C.A.T.S. founder Judy Canton said two kittens were adopted from the event.
An Atlantic County grand jury has indicted a Pennsylvania man on six counts including child luring and criminal sexual contact, Prosecutor Damon G. Tyner announced Wednesday.

Dean Leon, 48, of Enola, Pennsylvania, was arrested March 31 in Somers Point and charged with aggravated criminal sexual assault and possession of child pornography.

Leon had arranged to meet a 14-year-old girl at the Somers Point Library with the intent to start a relationship, authorities said. Police were notified a man involved in an online relationship with a child was driving from Pennsylvania to meet the girl, the Prosecutors Office said in a statement.

Investigators from Somers Point police and the prosecutors Computer Crimes Unit discovered sexually explicit images and videos of the victim and others on Leons phone and social media accounts, authorities said.

Leon was indicted on charges of attempting to lure or entice a child by various means, endangering the welfare of a child with sexual contact, endangering the welfare of a child with possession of child pornography, distribution of obscene material to a minor, criminal sexual contact, and endangering the welfare of a child by permitting a child to engage in pornography.

Leon is held in the Atlantic County jail.
A controversial Margate beach project will resume after a federal judge lifted a restraining order Thursday.

U.S. District Court Judge Renee Marie Bumb granted a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers request to restart the dune-building project.

The Margate project was stopped by an Atlantic County Superior Court judge Aug. 3 after heavy rainfall created a pond between the new dune and the citys bulkhead. Neighbors and city officials said the ponds created public safety and health threats.

An attorney for Margate said the city would be back in front of Superior Court Judge Julio Mendez at 1:30 p.m. Friday.

This opinion is terrible and doesnt make any sense. attorney John Scott Abbott said. She should have stopped the project until issues could be resolved.

In her ruling, Bumb said delays in the construction of the berm and dune system would leave Margate and its neighbors unprotected from the ravages of storms during hurricane season and contractor Weeks Marine was working on a tight schedule.

Margates grave concerns over public safety and health are understandable and cry out for help. The measures this Court will put in place, although not perfect, should serve to prevent irreparable harm, the ruling said.

Those measures include instructions for contractors to install elevated walkways, fence off pond areas and pump out standing water as soon as possible after rainfall.

Water that sits more than 24 hours must be tested for contaminants, and beaches may need to be closed to protect the public, Bumb said in her ruling.

Bumb said she is hopeful continued investigation and data collection by the Army Corps would permit the project to proceed in a manner reasonably amenable to all parties.

Abbott said the state court can still intervene.

He (Mendez) has the right to tell the landowner, the NJ DEP to stop the project. Whether he will challenge a federal court judge remains to be seen, Abbott said.

Robert Geist, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection, said the agency was pleased with Bumbs ruling and ready to keep the dune project moving ahead.

Our efforts must now turn to the upcoming meetings with Margate, the Corps and its contractors to both address the short-term issues and to craft a long-term plan that meets the citys need for a better storm-water management system, Geist said in a news release.
WILDWOOD  The Fire Department has received more funds through another Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response grant, U.S. Sens. Bob Menendez and Cory Booker announced Wednesday.

It is one of seven New Jersey fire departments to receive part of more than $1 million in federal funding, they said in a statement.

The SAFER grants awarded more than $700,000 to the fire departments to help local fire departments hire, recruit and retain firefighters to ensure proper staffing levels and better protect their citizens and communities, a statement said.

The Wildwood Fire Department received $350,400 of that for recruitment, the senators said. The other departments to receive these grants are in Gloucester Township, Camden County; West Deptford Township, Gloucester County; and Mount Laurel, Burlington County.

The Department of Homeland Securitys Federal Emergency Management Agency administers the grants.

Last month, FEMA announced it awarded Wildwood a SAFER grant of $481,984 to hire, train and retrain firefighters.

The senators also announced three New Jersey fire departments received more than $369,000 through the Assistance to Firefighters Grant from FEMA to ensure local firefighters are properly equipped and trained for operations and safety, the statement said. That money went to departments in Pine Beach, Ocean County; South Plainfield, Middlesex County; and Burlington City, Burlington County.

New Jersey fire departments have been awarded more than $242 million in SAFER grants since 2005. New Jersey has received more than $165 million from the AFG program since it was established in 2001.
The state Supreme Court would handle legal appeals related to Foxconn, under a provision approved by the Joint Finance Committee.
PEORIA, Illinois, August 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT / NYSE Euronext: CATR) informs its stockholders that today, a Form 8-K was filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") with respect to the election of a new member of the board of directors. In addition, Caterpillar filed a registration statement on Form S-8 with respect to an employee benefit plan.

Caterpillar files electronically with the SEC required reports on Form 8-K, Form 10-Q, Form 10-K and Form 11-K; proxy materials; ownership reports for insiders as required by Section 16(a) of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended; and registration statements on Forms S-3 and S-8, as necessary; and other forms or reports, as required. All of the forms and reports filed electronically with the SEC are available on the SEC Internet site (www.sec.gov ).

Caterpillar also maintains an Internet site (www.Caterpillar.com ) and copies of its annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and any amendments to these reports filed or furnished with the SEC are available free of charge through Caterpillar's Internet site (www.Caterpillar.com/secfilings ) as soon as reasonably practicable after the relevant document has been filed with the SEC.

CONTACT: Rachel Potts, Corporate Public Affairs, +1-309-675-6892

This is a disclosure announcement from PR Newswire.

SOURCE Caterpillar Inc.
CHICAGO, Aug. 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Cision Ltd. (NYSE: CISN), a leading global provider of software and services to public relations and marketing communications professionals, today reported results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2017.

Highlights of the quarter include:

Revenue increased 73% to $157.1 million ;

; Operating income for the second quarter ended June 30, 2017 was $10.4 million , a $24.2 million improvement versus the prior fiscal year's second quarter operating loss of $13.8 million ;

was , a improvement versus the prior fiscal year's second quarter operating loss of ; Adjusted EBITDA increased 89% to $58.5 million ; and

; and Adjusted pro forma net income per diluted share increased by 250% to $0.14 .

"We are pleased to have delivered another solid quarter, our first as a public company  with improved organic revenue growth and continued margin expansion," said Kevin Akeroyd, Cision's Chief Executive Officer. "Over the coming quarters, we will keep our operational focus on delivering best-in-class products and services to our customers, executing on our remaining synergies, and driving toward meeting our 2017 goals and objectives."

Financial Results

Revenue for the second quarter ended June 30, 2017 was $157.1 million , a 73% increase over the prior fiscal year's second quarter revenue of $90.8 million ;

was , a 73% increase over the prior fiscal year's second quarter revenue of ; Net loss for the second quarter ended June 30, 2017 was $19.1 million , a $1.9 million improvement versus the prior fiscal year's second quarter net loss of $21.0 million ;

was , a improvement versus the prior fiscal year's second quarter net loss of ; Fully-diluted pro forma net loss per share for the second quarter ended June 30, 2017 was $0.23 , a $0.03 per share improvement versus the prior fiscal year's second quarter fully-diluted pro forma net loss per share of $0.26 ;

was , a per share improvement versus the prior fiscal year's second quarter fully-diluted pro forma net loss per share of ; Net cash provided by operating activities was $18.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2017 , a $36.5 million improvement versus the net cash used in operating activities of $18.4 million for the six months ended June 30, 2016 ;

for the six months ended , a improvement versus the net cash used in operating activities of for the six months ended ; Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization ("EBITDA") for the second quarter ended June 30, 2017 was $44.6 million , a $29.6 million improvement versus the prior fiscal year's second quarter EBITDA of $15.0 million ;

was , a improvement versus the prior fiscal year's second quarter EBITDA of ; Adjusted EBITDA for the second quarter ended June 30, 2017 was $58.5 million , a $27.5 million improvement versus the prior fiscal year's second quarter Adjusted EBITDA of $31.0 million ;

was , a improvement versus the prior fiscal year's second quarter Adjusted EBITDA of ; Adjusted net income for the second quarter ended June 30, 2017 was $11.6 million , an $8.0 million improvement versus the prior fiscal year's second quarter Adjusted net income of $3.6 million ;

was , an improvement versus the prior fiscal year's second quarter Adjusted net income of ; Adjusted pro forma net income per share for the second quarter ended June 30, 2017 was $0.14 , a $0.10 per share improvement versus the prior fiscal year's second quarter Adjusted pro forma net income per share of $0.04 ;

was , a per share improvement versus the prior fiscal year's second quarter Adjusted pro forma net income per share of ; Adjusted net cash provided by operating activities was $38.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2017 , a $14.7 million improvement versus the prior fiscal year's six months ended June 30, 2016 adjusted net cash provided by operating activities of $24.0 million.

Business Statistics and Operational Highlights

Cision/PRN US cross-sell bookings of $2.1 million (annual contract value) during the second quarter, bringing the total cross-sell bookings within the US to $9.3 million since the completion of the acquisition of PR Newswire;

(annual contract value) during the second quarter, bringing the total cross-sell bookings within the US to since the completion of the acquisition of PR Newswire; Cision/Bulletin US cross-sell bookings of $0.8 million (annual contract value) during the second quarter, bringing the total cross-sell bookings within the US to $0.8 million since the completion of the acquisition of Bulletin Intelligence;

(annual contract value) during the second quarter, bringing the total cross-sell bookings within the US to since the completion of the acquisition of Bulletin Intelligence; Significantly enhanced our industry leading Cision Communications Cloud platform, with releases that expanded social media monitoring capabilities, improved management and measurement of multi-channel PR campaigns, and integrated analytical tools such as Google Analytics and Adobe;

The average number of subscription customers was approximately 36,100 during the second fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2017 ;

; The average annualized revenue per subscription customer was approximately $10,300 during the second fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2017 ;

during the second fiscal quarter ended ; During the second fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2017 , approximately 33,200 customers purchased services from us on a transaction basis;

, approximately 33,200 customers purchased services from us on a transaction basis; The average revenue per customer that purchased services from us on a transaction basis was $1,560 during the second fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2017 ;

during the second fiscal quarter ended ; Americas revenues were $119.7 million for the second fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2017 , an 87% increase over the prior fiscal year's second quarter Americas revenues of $64.0 million ;

for the second fiscal quarter ended , an 87% increase over the prior fiscal year's second quarter Americas revenues of ; EMEA revenues were $31.3 million for the second fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2017 , a 20% increase over the prior fiscal year's second quarter EMEA revenues of $26.0 million ; and

for the second fiscal quarter ended , a 20% increase over the prior fiscal year's second quarter EMEA revenues of ; and APAC revenues were $6.1 million for the second fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2017 , a 663% increase over the prior fiscal year's second quarter APAC revenues of $0.8 million .

Fiscal Year 2017 Outlook

Our updated outlook for the full fiscal year ending December 31, 2017 appears below:

Revenue of between $636 million and $640 million ;

; Including the acquisition of Bulletin Intelligence and the divestiture of Vintage, as if both occurred on January 1, 2017 , revenue of between $639 million and $643 million ;

, revenue of between ; Adjusted EBITDA of between $224 million and $226 million ;

; Including the acquisition of Bulletin Intelligence and the divestiture of Vintage, as if they both occurred on January 1, 2017 , Adjusted EBITDA of between $226 million and $228 million ;

, Adjusted EBITDA of between ; Adjusted net income of between $60 million and $62 million ; and

; and Adjusted pro forma net income per share per of between $0.59 and $0.61 .

Additionally, for the full fiscal year ending December 31, 2017, Cision expects:

Depreciation expense of between $24 million and $26 million ;

; Net interest expense, exclusive of debt extinguishment costs, of between $116 million and $118 million ;

; Cash interest expense of between $103 million and $105 million , with second half 2017 cash interest expense of between $40 million and $42 million ;

, with second half 2017 cash interest expense of between ; Amortization expense of between $114 million and $116 million , with $24 million to $26 million of this amortization expense within cost of revenue and the remainder in general and administrative costs;

, with of this amortization expense within cost of revenue and the remainder in general and administrative costs; Stock-based compensation expense of between $4 million and $5 million ;

; Capital expenditures, inclusive of capitalized software development, of between $26 million and $28 million ; and

; and Adjusted net cash provided by operating activities of between $98 million and $102 million .

The above outlook assumes the following exchange rates with respect to the British Pound, the Euro and the Canadian Dollar for the remainder of the fiscal year 2017:

GBP to USD 1.31 EUR to USD 1.18 CAD to USD 0.79

Additionally, our outlook for the fiscal year 2017 excludes any additional acquisitions, divestitures, or other unanticipated events. See discussion of non-GAAP financial measures at the end of this release.

As previously announced, Cision will hold a conference call to discuss its second quarter 2017 results on August 9, 2017 at 5:00pm EDT. The conference call will be simultaneously webcast on the Investor Relations section of the company's website: http://investors.cision.com

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Non-GAAP results are presented only as a supplement to our financial statements based on US generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). Non-GAAP financial information is provided to enhance the reader's understanding of our financial performance, but none of these non-GAAP financial measures are recognized terms under GAAP and non-GAAP measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for financial measures calculated in accordance with GAAP. Reconciliations of the most directly comparable GAAP measures to non-GAAP measures, such as EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted net income, Adjusted net income per share, and Adjusted net cash provided by operating activities, are provided within the schedules attached to this release. We use non-GAAP measures in our operational and financial decision-making, believing that it is useful to exclude certain items in order to focus on what we deem to be a more reliable indicator of ongoing operating performance and our ability to generate cash flow from operations. As a result, internal management reports used during monthly operating reviews include Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted net income, Adjusted net income per share, and Adjusted net cash provided by operating activities. We also believe that investors may find non-GAAP financial measures useful for the same reasons, although investors are cautioned that non-GAAP financial measures are not a substitute for GAAP disclosures. This communication also includes certain forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures. Cision is unable to present a reconciliation of this forward-looking non-GAAP financial information because management cannot reliably predict all of the necessary components of such measures. Accordingly, investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on this information.

Non-GAAP measures are frequently used by securities analysts, investors, and other interested parties in their evaluation of companies comparable to Cision, many of which present non-GAAP measures when reporting their results. These measures can be useful in evaluating our performance against our peer companies because we believe the measures provide users with valuable insight into key components of GAAP financial disclosures. However, non-GAAP measures have limitations as an analytical tool. Non-GAAP measures are not necessarily comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies. They are not presentations made in accordance with GAAP, are not measures of financial condition or liquidity, and should not be considered as an alternative to profit or loss for the period determined in accordance with GAAP or operating cash flows determined in accordance with GAAP. As a result, you should not consider such performance measures in isolation from, or as a substitute analysis for, results of operations as determined in accordance with GAAP.

Forward-Looking Statements

This communication contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In this context, forward-looking statements often address expected future business and financial performance and financial condition, and often contain words such as "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "goal," "seek," "aim," "strive," "believe," "see," "project," "predict," "estimate," "expect," "continue," "strategy," "future," "likely," "may," "might," "should," "will," "would," "target," similar expressions, and variations or negatives of these words. Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Instead, they are based only on our current beliefs, expectations, and assumptions regarding the future of our business, future plans and strategies, projections, anticipated events and trends, the economy, and other future conditions. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks, and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of our control. A detailed discussion of some of the risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results and financial condition to differ materially from the forward-looking statements is described under the caption "Risk Factors" in our most recent proxy on Form S-4, along with our other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking statement made by us in this communication is based only on information currently available to us and speaks only as of the date of this report. We do not assume any obligation to publicly provide revisions or updates to any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, should circumstances change, except as otherwise required by securities and other applicable laws. Please consult our public filings at www.sec.gov or www.Cision.com.

About Cision

Cision Ltd. is a leading global provider of software and services to public relations and marketing communications professionals. Cision's software allows users to identify key influencers, craft and distribute strategic content, and measure meaningful impact. Cision has over 3,000 employees with offices in 15 countries throughout the Americas, EMEA, and APAC. For more information about its award-winning products and services, including the Cision Communications Cloud visit www.cision.com and follow Cision on Twitter @Cision.

Cision Ltd. and its Subsidiaries Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (in thousands, except per share and share amounts) (Unaudited)



June 30,

December 31,



2017

2016









Assets





Current assets:







Cash and cash equivalents $ 337,659

$ 35,135

Restricted cash 20

627

Accounts receivable, net 100,139

87,605

Prepaid expenses and other current assets 20,253

16,225

Total current assets 458,071

139,592 Property and equipment, net 55,400

47,947 Other intangible assets, net 497,778

511,210 Goodwill 1,103,558

1,079,518 Other assets 9,401

8,801

Total assets $ 2,124,208

$ 1,787,068 Liabilities, Mandatorily Redeemable Equity and Stockholders' Equity (Deficit) Current liabilities:







Current portion of long-term debt $ 11,358

$ 11,171

Due to Cision Owner, Convertible Preferred Equity -

443,102

Accounts payable 14,622

8,723

Accrued compensation and benefits 19,989

26,109

Other accrued expenses 66,086

54,862

Current portion of deferred revenue 129,711

119,600

Total current liabilities 241,766

663,567 Long-term debt, net of current portion 1,415,265

1,383,877 Deferred revenue, net of current portion 1,428

961 Deferred tax liability 67,758

83,209 Other liabilities 19,129

14,507

Total liabilities 1,745,346

2,146,121









Series A-1 and Series C-2 mandatorily redeemable stockholders' equity, 5,498,688 shares authorized, issued and

outstanding at December 31, 2016





-

701









Stockholders' equity (deficit):







Preferred stock, $0.0001 par value, 20,000,000 shares authorized; no shares issued at June 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016







-

-

Common stock, $0.0001 par value, 480,000,000 shares authorized; 120,512,402 and 28,369,644 issued and outstanding at June 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively

12

3

Additional paid-in capital 769,602

11,448

Accumulated other comprehensive loss (51,308)

(73,902)

Accumulated deficit (339,444)

(297,303)

Total stockholders' equity (deficit) 378,862

(359,754)

Total liabilities, mandatorily redeemable equity and stockholders' equity (deficit) $ 2,124,208

$ 1,787,068











Cision Ltd. and its Subsidiaries Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss (in thousands, except per share and share amounts) (Unaudited)



Three months ended June 30,

Six months ended June 30,



2017

2016

2017

2016





















































Revenue $ 157,131

$ 90,826

$ 302,949

$ 168,530 Cost of revenue 49,218

32,120

94,284

60,657

Gross profit 107,913

58,706

208,665

107,873 Operating costs and expenses















Sales and marketing 28,010

18,702

55,300

35,238

Research and development 5,566

3,762

11,018

7,298

General and administrative 41,460

35,977

81,692

54,321

Amortization of intangible assets 22,466

14,046

43,477

25,601

Total operating costs and expenses 97,502

72,487

191,487

122,458

Operating income (loss) 10,411

(13,781)

17,178

(14,585) Non operating income (losses)















Foreign exchange gains (losses) (686)

3,552

(2,634)

5,649

Interest and other income, net 224

235

2,273

268

Interest expense (36,328)

(20,438)

(73,243)

(35,820)

Loss on extinguishment of debt -

(23,591)

-

(23,591)

Total non operating loss (36,790)

(40,242)

(73,604)

(53,494)

Loss before income taxes (26,379)

(54,023)

(56,426)

(68,079) Benefit from income taxes (7,231)

(33,057)

(14,285)

(32,967)

Net loss $ (19,148)

$ (20,966)

$ (42,141)

$ (35,112)

















Other comprehensive income (loss) - foreign currency translation adjustments 16,700

(22,095)

22,594

(32,054)

Comprehensive loss $ (2,448)

$ (43,061)

$ (19,547)

$ (67,166)

















Note: Earnings per share figures below are pro forma for the merger with Capitol Acquisition Corp III (4) (6)













Net loss per share:















Basic $ (0.23)

$ (0.26)

$ (0.51)

$ (0.43)

Diluted $ (0.23)

$ (0.26)

$ (0.51)

$ (0.43) Weighted average shares outstanding used in computing per share amounts:















Basic 82,920,632

82,075,873

82,500,586

82,075,873

Diluted 82,920,632

82,075,873

82,500,586

82,075,873



















Cision Ltd. and its Subsidiaries Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (in thousands) (Unaudited)







Six months ended June 30,





2017

2016























Cash flows from operating activities





Net loss $ (42,141)

$ (35,112) Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by (used in) operating activities:







Depreciation and amortization 67,290

47,041

Noncash interest charges and amortization of debt discount and deferred financing costs 10,285

26,086

Noncash yield on Convertible Preferred Equity Certificates 2,292

1,302

Payment of original issuance discount upon debt extinguishment -

(19,411)

Equity-based compensation expense 1,926

2,616

Provision for doubtful accounts 1,125

1,331

Deferred income taxes (15,451)

(37,765)

Unrealized currency translation (gains) losses 2,394

(5,634)

Gain on sale of business (1,785)

-

Other (168)

(22)

Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of effect of acquisitions and disposals:









Accounts receivable 4,104

5,732



Prepaid expenses and other current assets (766)

(871)



Other assets 170

(79)



Accounts payable (1,437)

729



Accrued compensation and benefits (10,764)

(1,373)



Other accrued expenses (2,144)

3,388



Deferred revenue 2,962

(6,603)



Other liabilities 216

210



Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities 18,108

(18,435) Cash flows from investing activities





Purchases of property and equipment (5,273)

(1,182) Software development costs (7,408)

(5,835) Acquisitions of businesses, net of cash acquired of $12, 355 and $9,071 (54,992)

(805,214) Proceeds from disposal of business 23,675

3 Change in restricted cash 607

(19)



Net cash used in investing activities (43,391)

(812,247) Cash flows from financing activities





Proceeds from revolving credit facility -

33,475 Payment of amounts due (to) from Cision Owner (1,940)

135,944 Proceeds from term loan facility, net of debt discount of $1,108 and $105,930 28,892

1,364,070 Repayments of term loan facility (5,650)

(700,019) Payments on capital lease obligations (114)

(149) Proceeds from the consummation of the Transactions 305,210

-



Net cash provided by financing activities 326,398

833,321 Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents 1,409

(469)



Increase in cash and cash equivalents 302,524

2,170 Cash and cash equivalents





Beginning of period 35,135

30,606 End of period $ 337,659

$ 32,776











Supplemental non-cash information







Contribution of Convertible Preferred Equity Certificates in connection with Transactions $ 450,455

$ -

Issuance of Convertible Preferred Equity Certificates in connection with acquisition -

40,000

Cision Ltd. and its Subsidiaries Reconciliation of Net Income (Loss) to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA (in thousands) (Unaudited)



Three Months

Ended June 30,

2017 Three Months

Ended June 30,

2016

Six Months

Ended June 30,

2017 Six Months

Ended June 30,

2016 Net income (loss) $ (19,148) $ (20,966)

$ (42,141) $ (35,112) Depreciation and amortization 34,698 25,018

67,290 47,041 Interest expense and loss on extinguishment of debt 36,328 44,029

73,243 59,411 Provision (benefit) from income taxes (7,231) (33,057)

(14,285) (32,967) EBITDA (1) (6) $ 44,647 $ 15,024

$ 84,107 $ 38,373 Acquisition related costs and expenses 12,048 17,927

20,287 22,691 Stock-based compensation 933 1,303

1,926 2,616 Deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting 105 -

105 - Gain on sale of business - -

(1,785) - Sponsor fees and expenses 144 198

284 326 Unrealized translation loss (gain) 619 (3,484)

2,394 (5,634) Adjusted EBITDA (2) (6) $ 58,496 $ 30,968

$ 107,318 $ 58,372

Cision Ltd. and its Subsidiaries Reconciliation of Net Income (Loss) to Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Pro Forma Net Income per Diluted Share (in thousands, except per share and share amounts) (Unaudited)

Three Months Ended June 30, 2017 Three Months Ended June 30, 2016

Six Months Ended June 30, 2017 Six Months Ended June 30, 2016 Net income (loss) $ (19,148) $ (20,966)

$ (42,141) $ (35,112) Provision (benefit) from income taxes (7,231) (33,057)

(14,285) (32,967) Acquisition related costs and expenses 12,048 17,927

20,287 22,691 Gain on sale of business - -

(1,785) - Stock-based compensation expense 933 1,303

1,926 2,616 Deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting 105 -

105 - Amortization related to acquired intangible assets 28,717 19,277

55,376 35,584 Debt refinancing, CPEC interest and debt extinguishment costs 1,065 24,242

3,979 24,893 Sponsor fees and expenses 144 198

284 326 Unrealized translation loss (gain) 619 (3,484)

2,394 (5,634) Adjusted Income (loss) before income taxes $ 17,252 $ 5,440

$ 26,140 $ 12,397 Less: Income tax at 33% rate (5,693) (1,795)

(8,626) (4,091) Adjusted net income (3) (6) $ 11,559 $ 3,645

$ 17,514 $ 8,306 Pro forma fully-diluted weighted average shares outstanding (4) (6) 82,921 82,076

82,501 82,076 Adjusted Pro forma Net income per diluted share (4) (6) $ 0.14 $ 0.04

$ 0.21 $ 0.10

Cision Ltd. and its Subsidiaries Reconciliation of Net Cash Provided by (Used in) Operating Activities to Adjusted Net Cash Provided by (Used in) Operating Activities (in thousands) (Unaudited)



Six Months Ended June 30, 2017 Six Months Ended June 30, 2016 Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities $ 18,108 $ (18,435) Payment of original issuance discount upon debt extinguishment - 19,411 Acquisition related costs and expenses 20,572 23,016 Adjusted net cash provided by operating activities (5) (6) $ 38,680 $ 23,992

(1) Cision defines EBITDA as net income (loss), plus depreciation and amortization expense, plus interest expense and loss on extinguishment of debt, plus provision for (or minus benefit from) income taxes.

(2) Cision defines Adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss), plus depreciation and amortization expense, plus interest expense and loss on extinguishment of debt, plus provision for (or minus benefit from) income taxes, further adjusted for the following items: acquisition related costs and expenses, stock-based compensation, deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting, (gains) losses related to divested businesses or assets, sponsor fees and expenses, and unrealized translation losses (gains). All of the items included in the reconciliation from net income to Adjusted EBITDA are either non-cash items or are items that we consider to be less useful in assessing our operating performance. In the case of the non-cash items, we believe that investors can better assess our operating performance if the measures are presented without such items because, unlike cash expenses, these adjustments do not affect our ability to generate free cash flow or invest in our business. For example, by excluding depreciation and amortization from EBITDA, users can compare operating performance without regard to different accounting determinations such as useful life. In the case of the other items, we believe that investors can better assess operating performance if the measures are presented without these items because their financial impact does not reflect ongoing operating performance.

(3) Cision defines Adjusted net income as net income (loss) plus provision for (or minus benefit from) income taxes, further adjusted for acquisition related costs and expenses, (gains) losses related to divested businesses or assets, stock-based compensation, deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting, amortization related to acquired intangibles, debt refinancing, CPEC interest and debt extinguishment costs, sponsor fees and expenses, and unrealized translation losses (gains), which together, sum to Adjusted net income (loss) before income taxes. Adjusted net income (loss) before income taxes is then taxed at an assumed long term corporate tax rate of 33% to determine Adjusted net income (loss). All of the items included in the reconciliation from net income to Adjusted net income are either non-cash items or are items that we consider to be less useful in assessing our operating performance. In the case of the non-cash items, we believe that investors can better assess our operating performance if the measures are presented without such items because, unlike cash expenses, these adjustments do not affect our ability to generate free cash flow or invest in our business. For example, by excluding the amortization related to acquired intangibles, users can compare operating performance without regard to highly variable amortization expenses related to our acquisitions. In the case of the other items, we believe that investors can better assess operating performance if the measures are presented without these items because their financial impact does not reflect ongoing operating performance.

(4) Adjusted pro forma net income per diluted share is defined as Adjusted net income (loss), as defined above, divided by the fully-diluted pro forma weighted average shares outstanding for the period. The fully-diluted pro forma weighted average shares outstanding for the respective period assume that the exchange of shares pursuant to our merger with Capitol Acquisition III had taken effect as of the beginning of such period.

(5) Adjusted net cash provided by (used in) operating activities is defined as net cash provided by (used in) operating activities adjusted for the payment of original issue discount upon debt extinguishment, and acquisition related costs and expenses.

(6) Adjusted net income (loss), Adjusted pro forma net income (loss) per diluted share, EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, and Adjusted cash flow provided by (used in) operating activities, are used by many of our investors, research analysts, investment bankers, and lenders to assess our operating performance. For example, a measure similar to Adjusted EBITDA is required by the lenders under our term loan and revolving credit agreements.

Investor Contact:

Jack Pearlstein

Chief Financial Officer

Jack.Pearlstein@Cision.com

Media Contact:

Nick Bell

Vice President, Marketing Communications and Content

nick.bell@cision.com

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160519/369876LOGO

Related Links

http://www.cision.com/us/



SOURCE Cision Ltd.
Strong Global Feed Segment and Diamond Green Diesel Performance

Continued Aggressive Debt Reduction

IRVING, Texas, Aug. 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE: DAR), a global developer and producer of sustainable natural ingredients from edible and inedible bio-nutrients, creating a wide range of ingredients and customized specialty solutions for customers in the pharmaceutical, food, pet food, feed, industrial, fuel, bioenergy, and fertilizer industries, today announced financial results for the 2017 second quarter ended July 1, 2017.

Second Quarter 2017 Overview

Revenue of $896.3 million , up 2.2%

Net income of $9.1 million , or $0.05 per GAAP diluted share

Adjusted EBITDA of $110.1 million

Strong balance sheet with debt reduction of $45 million

Global raw material volumes steady, up 1.4%

Mixed global pricing environment, strength in fats offset by weakness in proteins

Diamond Green Diesel facility delivered expected performance and expansion continues to progress

For the second quarter of 2017, the Company reported net sales of $896.3 million, as compared with net sales of $877.3 million for the 2016 second quarter. Net income attributable to Darling for the three months ended July 1, 2017 was $9.1 million, or $0.05 per diluted share, compared to a net income of $32.0 million, or $0.19 per diluted share, for the 2016 second quarter. The decrease in net income is primarily due to weakness in our Food Ingredients segment, particularly the gelatin business, and the absence of the blenders tax credit, which was included in the second quarter 2016 but has not yet been reinstated for 2017.

Second Quarter 2017 Commentary

"We are pleased with second quarter performance across most of the segments in light of a mixed global pricing environment and headwinds in South America," said Randall C. Stuewe, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Darling Ingredients Inc. "Sequentially, the Feed segment delivered a very nice performance while the Food segment results were disappointing due to margin compression from rising raw material prices in our global gelatin business and ongoing macro-economic issues in Argentina. The Fuel segment excelled operationally in the midst of the stalled decision on the blenders tax credit. We remain optimistic that the political environment surrounding the biofuel industry today continues to support the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2) and the reinstatement of the blenders tax credit," Mr. Stuewe commented.

"Additionally, our Board has approved the extension for an additional 24 months of our previously announced share repurchase program for up to $100 million, to be executed depending on market conditions," added Mr. Stuewe. "The repurchases may be made from time to time on the open market at prevailing market prices or in negotiated transactions off the market. Repurchases may occur over the next 24 months, unless extended or shortened by the Board of Directors," concluded Mr. Stuewe.

Operational Update by Segment: Second Quarter 2017 Compared to Second Quarter 2016

Feed Ingredients  EBITDA $83.4 million (flat); Revenue $549.1 million (up 1.1 percent); Gross margin $126.9 million (flat); Raw material processed up 2.2 percent.

 EBITDA (flat); Revenue (up 1.1 percent); Gross margin (flat); Raw material processed up 2.2 percent. Food Ingredients  EBITDA $29.2 million (up 2.5 percent); Revenue $279.8 million (up 2.8 percent); Gross margin $56.0 million (down 3.2 percent); Raw material processed up 0.6 percent.

 EBITDA (up 2.5 percent); Revenue (up 2.8 percent); Gross margin (down 3.2 percent); Raw material processed up 0.6 percent. Fuel Ingredients  EBITDA $9.8 million (down 29 percent); Revenue $67.4 million (up 8.2 percent); Gross margin $12.7 million (down 18.4 percent); Raw material processed down 3.5 percent.

 EBITDA (down 29 percent); Revenue (up 8.2 percent); Gross margin (down 18.4 percent); Raw material processed down 3.5 percent. Diamond Green Diesel Joint Venture  Solid performance with $0.61 EBITDA per gallon without the blenders tax credit in 2017 versus 2016. Capacity expansion expected in Q2 2018.

For More Information, contact:

Melissa A. Gaither, VP IR and Global Communications

Email : mgaither@darlingii.com

Phone : 972-717-0300

Related Links

http://www.darlingii.com



SOURCE Darling Ingredients Inc.
Similarly, Bangkok continues its rise as association meeting hot spots, going from number 16 in 2015 to number 12 this year, with number of meetings reaching 121 in 2016, marking the city's highest volume performance since 2012. Comparing to Paris, the most popular city for association meetings for the 2016 ICCA Rankings, with totally 196 meetings hosted last year. Bangkok's performance was not dramatically far apart. Within the Asia-Pacific region, Bangkok's ranking moved up one spot to 3 rd place from 4 th in 2015.

Other Thai MICE cities also performed well in the rankings, Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), stated. Chiang Mai in northern Thailand hosted 20 international association meetings in 2016, also the city's best volume performance since 2012, which earned the city 6th place of the 21 ASEAN cities in the ICCA Statistical Report. The island of Phuket in the South hosted 13 meetings in 2016, placing it 10th place in ASEAN.

Two key international association meetings will take place in Thailand in the second half of 2017. Chicago-based Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) will be hosting 2017 PCMA Global Professional Conference Asia-Pacific in Bangkok during 28 - 31 August, the first time the event is being held in East and Southeast Asia. During 21 - 22 September, Thailand will also host the Brussels-based Union of International Associations' (UIA) Asia-Pacific Round Table in Chiang Mai. This is the second time UIA has chosen to hold this event in Thailand after the 2015 edition in Bangkok, TCEB, stated.

Rising momentum of Thailand as favorable world-class destination for international conventions as well as the country's constantly improving ICCA ranking reflect the capability and potential of Thai MICE industry that continue to gain trust and confidence in global markets. These are also the successful results of collaboration efforts between relevant public and private organizations to improve the country's competitiveness which continues to make Thailand outshine as a leading MICE hub in ASEAN, a truly preferred destination for business events from around the world.

For further information, please contact: Corporate Communications Division, Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (Public Organization)

Ms. Arisara Thanuplang Tel: +66 2 694 6095 Email: [email protected] Mr. Karun Wararatchai Tel: +66 2 694 6179 Email: [email protected] Ms. Paniyada Mulalin Tel: +66 2 694 6091 Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB)

Related Links

http://www.tceb.or.th


Through the lens of partnership, Summit programming will reflect major issues impacting the U.S. and the global community at large, including the mounting refugee crisis, investment in sustainable infrastructure, and technology's impact on the future of the workforce, among many others. In partnership with the New York City Mayor's Office and the Columbia University Global Policy Initiative, Concordia will also co-host the Global Mayors Summit on Migration and Refugee Policy, focusing on how cities are implementing policies that promote migrant and refugee integration, rights protection, and civic engagement. With the help of leading nonpartisan news publication, POLITICO, Concordia aims to give a platform to marginalized populations, socially-minded innovators, and entrepreneurs who are creating meaningful solutions to pressing global issues.

"It's become clear that many of the problems that exist in this world cannot be solved by one actor alone. They must be solved in a partnership," said Concordia's Co-Founders Nicholas Logothetis and Matthew Swift. "Given POLITICO's expertise at the intersection of policy and business, we will demonstrate the transformative power of cross-sector collaboration in achieving the SDGs."

As the official Media Partner for the 2017 Concordia Annual Summit, POLITICO will enhance event programming by featuring journalists as moderators for select plenary and strategic dialogue sessions. These co-hosted sessions, along with on-site POLITICO Playbook briefings, will be live-streamed at POLITICO.com, ensuring that expert insights from the Summit reach key global audiences.

"Never has it been more essential to understand what drives the decisions being made in global power centersand their consequences. Digging into the real story behind politics and policy is what POLITICO does best," said POLITICO Editorial Director Luiza Savage. "We're proud to partner with Concordia to develop important dialogue around the UN General Assembly and shed light upon the world's most pressing political and economic challenges during a time of global disruption."

The Annual Summit will feature over 250 experts from around the world who are working collaboratively to create a more prosperous and sustainable future. Confirmed speakers include:

Nicos Anastasiades , President of Cyprus

, President of Jose Maria Aznar, Former President of the Government of Spain

Stephen Badger , Chairman of the Board of Directors, Mars

, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Mars Paul Bulcke , Chairman, Nestle

, Chairman, Nestle Kathy Calvin , President and CEO, United Nations Foundation

, President and CEO, United Nations Foundation David Cohen , Senior Executive Vice President of Comcast Corporation

, Senior Executive Vice President of Comcast Corporation Dwight Evans , U.S. Congressman of Pennsylvania

, U.S. Congressman of Robert Fraley , Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Monsanto

, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Monsanto Gregory Hayes , CEO of United Technologies

, CEO of United Technologies Gilbert F. Houngbo , President, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)

, President, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Yo-Yo Ma , Cellist and Curator of the MIT Solve Arts and Culture Mentorship Prize

, Cellist and Curator of the MIT Solve Arts and Culture Mentorship Prize Carolyn Miles , President and CEO, Save the Children

, President and CEO, Save the Children David Miliband , President and CEO, International Rescue Committee

, President and CEO, International Rescue Committee General (Ret.) David Petraeus, Former General Director, Central Intelligence Agency

Jim Perdue , Chairman, Perdue Farms

, Chairman, Perdue Farms Maria Noel Vaeza , Director of Programmes, UN Women

Concordia is working with select Programming Partners to curate topical content that will be discussed at the Summit. Programming Partners include:

Americares

Atlantic Council

The B Team

George W. Bush Institute

International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS)

MIT Solve

New America

Palladium

Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy

Walk Free Foundation

Wilson Center

Additional information about the 2017 Concordia Annual Summit, including the agenda, confirmed speakers, livestream, Global Mayors Summit, Day of Engagement, P3 Impact Award, and Concordia Leadership Award, can be found on the event website here. Follow Concordia on Twitter @ConcordiaSummit, on Facebook at facebook.com/TheConcordiaSummit, and on Instagram @concordiasummit, and join the conversation using #Concordia17. For press inquiries and media accreditation, contact [email protected].

About Concordia

Concordia is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that builds meaningful partnerships for positive social impact. As equal parts convener, campaigner, and idea incubator, Concordia is actively fostering cross-sector collaboration to create a more prosperous and sustainable future. Concordia was founded in 2011 by Matthew A. Swift and Nicholas M. Logothetis. Learn how to get involved at www.concordia.net.

About POLITICO

POLITICO is the global authority on politics, policy, and the power surrounding their intersection. We the most robust news operation and information service in the world specializing in politics and policy, POLITICO informs the most influential audience in the world with more insight, edge, focus and authority than any other publication.

SOURCE Concordia
Uncooled Infrared imaging market has been initially driven by defense applications. Innovation and cost reduction enabled the implementation of a new commercial market segment including thermography, surveillance, PVS[1] and more applications. Today the uncooled IR camera market is showing an 8% CAGR[2] between 2016 and 2022 reaching almost US$ 4.4 billion at the end of the period. In 2016, two leading companies, FLIR and ULIS, both with different market strategies and solutions, owned more than 75% of the total market (in volume). These results are part of the latest technology and market analysis from Yole, titled Uncooled Infrared Imagers market & technology trends , released last week.

"The future of uncooled IR imagers is bright," announces Yole's Senior Analyst, Dr. Eric Mounier. "Driven by dynamic commercial applications which continues to expand really quickly, this industry is showing significant emerging applications that could impact the market evolution. We are at the very beginning of new large volume applications."

All imaging players are on the look and try to confirm its market positioning. Besides FLIR and Ulis, many others players are also benefiting from IR imaging market growth. CIOE-Infrared Application Expo, is the first as well as the only professional infrared exhibition in China. The event gathers nearly all the global leading brands in this industry such as Newport, Thorlabs, Thales, Flir, Ulis, PI, SAT, Guide Infrared, DALI, NVG, Magnity, and Suruga Seiki. The latest exhibitor list is available now. Just pre-register to know more.

Market indicators are all there to expect the wide market adoption of uncooled IR imaging technologies. On September 7, in Shenzhen, China, Yole and CIOE offer a great opportunity to meet the leaders of this industry, understand the latest technical challenges and identify the business opportunities. The on-site cocktail and coffee break networking activities will ensure all participants have enough time to communicate with each other. ULIS, Hikvision, Heimann Sensors, Optris, JIR Infrared, Oxford Instruments, SST Vacuum Reflow Systems, The Australian National University, ENAS Fraunhofer and more are part of the 2017 program.

Sponsored by Optris, Sunny IR Optics and ULIS, the 2nd Executive IR Forum has been created thanks to Yole analysts' expertise and input from the industrial experts.

Yole and CIOE enjoy collaborating and building this second edition. "Both organizations combine their expertise to propose a valuable program to the world's IR imaging community," comments Jean-Christophe Eloy, President & CEO at Yole. "The sheer number of attendees proved the success of the previous edition, with almost 50% coming from the Chinese market."

"During one day, this forum brings together a world class panel of users and application experts," asserts Eric Yang, Secretary General of CIOE. "The program is a great opportunity for attendees and speakers to get up-to-date insights about the status of the IR imaging industry."

For more information, please contact: [email protected].

About China International Optoelectronic Expo (CIOE) (www.cioe.cn)

Established in 1999, CIOE is the largest show of its kind in the world featuring over 3,200 optoelectronic brands and their latest products in the area of 110,000 sqm at the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center. There are 6 concurrent specialized expositions focusing on Optical Communications and Sensors, Lasers, Infrared Applications, Precision Optics, LEDs, Emerging Display, Sapphire Technology & Touch Screen and Photonics Innovations.

Media Contact:

Shirly Yi

Tel: +86-755-88242569

Email: [email protected]

[1] PVS: Personal Vision System [2] CAGR: Compound Annual Growth Rate

SOURCE China International Optoelectronic Expo (CIOE)

Related Links

http://www.cioe.cn


Said Chris Sherman, Senior Analyst at Forrester Research: "This survey makes it clear that many global enterprises face targeted attacks on a daily basis. Preparing for and responding to these attacks requires a focused and resolute strategy of complete breach intolerance to stop system damage and data loss. Among other recommendations, enterprises should consider investing in a comprehensive endpoint technology that reduces complexity and burden on security operations teams."

The results point to the following trends:

A majority (64 percent) of executives surveyed are concerned that the next breach or attack they experience could be severe, a fear that is coupled with the fact that decision makers do not know the system or the vector that will be attacked next.

Many security executives (60 percent) are working on expanding or upgrading their current SOC deployment. Enterprises need their SOCs to be working at peak performance, evidenced by the fact that nearly 40 percent of respondents experienced three or more types of attacks in the last year, with many facing daily attacks.

Most executives categorize their staff's proficiency as only competent. Only 44 percent of organizations have a tier 1+ analyst, with an additional 44 percent agreeing on the need to improve their staff's technical skills around endpoint security or find automation tools to fill the expertise gap.

CISOs Crave Simplicity, Struggle with the Complexity of Multiple-Point Solutions

The survey uncovered that 71 percent of respondents are using five or more technologies in their SOC, and a third of respondents are using eight or more technologies. One CISO of a global energy company stated: "What I'd like to do is reduce the overall risk footprint, thus being able to reduce the number of tools. There's a lot of work that we're doing to try to reduce overlap of tools."

Unlike legacy EDR tools, Endgame provides the only single-agent endpoint platform to unite prevention, detection and response, and threat hunting to stop targeted attacks, including the recent WannaCry and Petya ransomware attacks, malwareless attacks, and zero-day exploits.

The Cybersecurity Skills Gap Presents CISOs with Major Problems

Apart from complexity around multiple point products, security executives also stressed the need to find and retain staff with expertise required to combat targeted attacks. Regarding his staff, a CISO of a US banking organization commented: "They get a lot of drive-bys, where people come by and ask for help. That distracts them from what they really need to be doing. Because we're short staffed, that keeps us from optimizing some of the tools that they need to optimize."

This sentiment was also repeated by a CISO of a global energy company: "I think the biggest challenge that we've been facing is trying to get the right level of expertise. It's very, very hard for us to find people that are experts in the field to come in and work with us."

Endgame's AI-powered chatbot Artemis alleviates SOC staff struggles by combining built-in domain expertise with natural language understanding - all in a simple user interface - to allow users of any skill level to rapidly respond to threats. This tool is proven to reduce pressure enterprises face training and retaining top talent, as echoed by surveyed executives.

For a full look at the research, click here or listen in to our latest webinar with Forrester on the survey results.

Methodology

In this study, Forrester interviewed three security decision makers and conducted an online survey of 156 security decision makers in the US to evaluate security operations centers challenges and barriers. Survey participants included decision makers in director or higher roles. Questions provided to the participants asked about their security breaches, tolerance around breaches, and their current SOC offering and staff. The study took place in May 2017.

About Endgame

Endgame's converged endpoint security platform is transforming security programs - their people, processes and technology - with the most powerful endpoint protection and simplest user experience, ensuring analysts of any skill level can stop targeted attacks before information theft. Endgame unifies prevention, detection, and threat hunting to stop known and unknown attacker behaviors at scale with a single agent. For more information, visit www.endgame.com and follow us on Twitter @EndgameInc.

Media Contact:

Margot Koehler

[email protected]

(202) 649-0517

SOURCE Endgame

Related Links

http://www.endgame.com


"At Aflac, we believe that everyone has the power to do good," Aflac Foundation President Kathelen Amos said. "Aflac adopted the charge more than 20 years ago to further childhood cancer research and treatment and to support families, and we haven't looked back since. We are excited to kick off our 2017 Duckprints celebrations at Cottage Children's Medical Center and to honor three inspiring, selfless individuals who truly embody what it means to do good."

The 2017 Duckprints Awardees are:

Faith DeBrum  After being diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma on her 11th birthday and completing four rounds of chemotherapy, Faith has been instrumental in Children's Miracle Network Hospitals' fundraising for Cottage Children's Medical Center alongside their corporate partner, Costco  where her parents work.

 After being diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma on her 11th birthday and completing four rounds of chemotherapy, Faith has been instrumental in Children's Miracle Network Hospitals' fundraising for Cottage Children's Medical Center alongside their corporate partner, Costco  where her parents work. Jasmin Castro  Since she was 1 year old, Jasmin has been overcoming the odds  from a germ cell tumor and hearing loss to an aneurysm and coma. Today, 17-year-old Jasmin is in good health and sharing her experiences to raise money to help kids like her at Cottage.

 Since she was 1 year old, Jasmin has been overcoming the odds  from a germ cell tumor and hearing loss to an aneurysm and coma. Today, 17-year-old Jasmin is in good health and sharing her experiences to raise money to help kids like her at Cottage. Anita Williamson  Thanks to Anita's generosity, children undergoing cancer treatment at Cottage Health's Grotenhuis Pediatric Clinics receive friendlier, more comfortable hospital garments free of charge to enhance the overall comfort of their hospital experience.

"Corporate support helps Cottage Children's Medical Center provide the kind of advanced treatments and care for children with cancer that you'd otherwise find at an academic medical center," Cottage Health Director of Development Magda Stayton said. "We're grateful to Aflac for partnering with us to honor this group of outstanding heroes who are leaving their own footprints in the fight against childhood cancer."

Childhood cancer is the leading cause of death by disease for children under the age of 15, according to the National Cancer Institute. Yet, less than 4 percent of all federal funding for cancer research goes toward pediatric cancer, according to the Children's Cancer Fund. That's why since 1995, Aflac has contributed more than $116 million to bridge the gap in funding and help find a cure. In fact, each month, more than 17,000 Aflac independent sales associates contribute more than $500,000 from their commission checks to support childhood cancer research and treatment.

Leading up to September Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, Aflac is calling on people across America to become active in the cause. To honor the 25-year relationship between Cottage Health and Aflac, supporters are invited to make donations in $25 increments at www.cottagechildrens.org/cmn. These donations will be matched by Aflac, up to $5,000, until Sept. 30.

In addition, Aflac is donating $2 to children's cancer research and treatment for each Duckprints-related social media activity on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and/or Instagram, up to $1.5 million. Related social actions include:

Twitter - $2 for any tweet using the hashtag #Duckprints or for retweets of Duckprints-related tweets.

Facebook - $2 for any share of posts related to Duckprints or using #Duckprints.

YouTube - $2 per view of the Duckprints videos on YouTube.

Instagram - $2 for every post using the hashtag #Duckprints.

Aflac also created a website (aflacduckprints.com) that enables users to nominate unsung heroes in their community who have made a difference in the lives of children and families facing cancer. People can follow the Aflac Duck on his journey to hospitals around the country honoring those heroes. In addition, merchandise such as plush Aflac Ducks and Duckprints-related T-shirts, slippers and other items are available for purchase at aflacduckprints.com, with all of the net proceeds going toward the treatment and research of childhood cancer.

About Duckprints Award Recipient Faith DeBrum

Three weeks after her grandfather passed away from cancer, Faith felt a lump on her collarbone. Having witnessed "Papa's" decline for a year and ultimately seeing him succumb to lung cancer, she was understandably frightened.

The diagnosis of Hodgkin's lymphoma arrived on Faith's 11th birthday.

Her parents, Ronnie and Laura, assured her that Papa's cancer wasn't like hers, and that her cancer would be curable. From their home in Santa Maria, the family traveled to Cottage Children's Medical Center, where Faith underwent four rounds of chemotherapy.

Faith has been instrumental with her involvement in Children's Miracle Network Hospitals' fundraising for Cottage Children's Medical Center. Every year, May is Miracle Month at Costco  where her parents work  and it's during this time that the warehouse asks customers at the register if they'd like to make a donation.

Faith's photo is displayed prominently on a banner to serve as an inspiration for the impact the community can have on saving kids' lives. Now 13 years old, Faith has been cancer-free for two years.

This year, the warehouse hosted its inaugural Memorial Day Miracle Walk/Run and BBQ, where Faith and her mom headed up the walkers, while her dad led the charge of runners. Thanks to their efforts (and those of their work family), Costco is Cottage's top CMNH corporate partner in the community.

Award Recipient Jasmin Castro

Unexplained bleeding prompted Jasmin's mom to rush her to the closest Emergency Room in Ojai, Calif., when she was just 1 year old. She was quickly transferred to nearby Cottage Children's Medical Center where an egg-sized mass was discovered, diagnosed as a germ cell tumor.

"We were told she might only have five days to live," said Jasmin's mom, Juana, as the growth rapidly increased to the size of a lemon, then to that of an orange.

Jasmin spent a month in Cottage's Pediatric Intensive Care Unit before moving to the Acute Pediatrics floor. The family "practically lived" at Cottage for six months, as Jasmin underwent intense chemotherapy; treatment at such a young age resulted in some hearing loss.

She overcame the odds but was faced with another challenge years later when she turned 15. That's when Jasmin collapsed from an aneurysm.

Again she was taken to Cottage, where she spent a little more than three weeks in the ICU in an induced coma. Afterwards, she had to relearn how to walk and talk.

Today, 17-year-old Jasmin is in good health and recently shared her experiences on Spanish radio with her family during the Children's Miracle Network Radio Bronco 107.7 Radiothon.

Her entire family, who took time out of their busy schedule, donned Cottage Children's Medical Center shirts and rallied donations during rush hour on the corner of Milpas Street alongside the station's DJ, collecting more than $1,200 from passersby to help kids like Jasmin at Cottage.

About Duckprints Award Recipient Anita Williamson

Seeing a picture of her friend's young daughter undergoing chemotherapy in a hospital gown marked "Property of Cottage Hospital," Anita was inspired to take action: There must be a friendlier, more comfortable outfit for kids facing cancer, she thought.

That was the moment she decided to do something.

Anita contacted her friends, Diane and Richard Nares, co-founders of the Emilio Nares Foundation in San Diego (enfhope.org). The organization helps low-income and underserved families meet basic needs associated with caring for a sick child, and it honors the memory of the couple's 5-year-old son, who passed away due to acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Through the Emilio Nares Foundation, Anita purchased and then donated to Cottage Children's Medical Center a total of 300 soft, colorful Loving Tabs T-shirts designed with snap openings at the shoulder and sleeve to allow for easy port access during infusion treatments. Her donation was in honor of the doctors who cared for her during a recent hospital stay.

Thanks to Anita's generosity, patients at Cottage's Grotenhuis Pediatric Clinics are able to receive the garments for free and can take them home and reuse them for future treatments.

Anita plans to establish a program that will continue to benefit all children undergoing cancer treatment in the future, which will enhance the comfort of pediatric patients.

About Aflac

When a policyholder gets sick or hurt, Aflac pays cash benefits fast. For more than six decades, Aflac insurance policies have given policyholders the opportunity to focus on recovery, not financial stress. In the United States, Aflac is the leader in voluntary insurance sales at the worksite. Through its trailblazing One Day PaySM initiative, Aflac U.S. can receive, process, approve and disburse payment for eligible claims in one business day. In Japan, Aflac is the leading provider of medical and cancer insurance, and insures 1 in 4 households. Aflac insurance products help provide protection to more than 50 million people worldwide. For 11 consecutive years, Aflac has been recognized by Ethisphere as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies. In 2017, Fortune magazine recognized Aflac as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in America for the 19th consecutive year and included Aflac on its list of Most Admired Companies for the 16th time. In 2015, Aflac's contact centers were recognized by J.D. Power by providing "An Outstanding Customer Service Experience" for the Live Phone Channel. Aflac Incorporated is a Fortune 500 company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AFL. To find out more about Aflac and One Day PaySM, visit aflac.com or espanol.aflac.com.

Aflac herein means American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus and American Family Life Assurance Company of New York.

Aflac media contact  Kristen Fraser, 706.580.3813 or [email protected]

Aflac analyst and investor contact  David A. Young, 706.596.3264 or 800.235.2667, FAX 706.324.6330, or [email protected]

Cottage Children's Medical Center media contact - Maria Zate, 805-879-8986 or [email protected]

SOURCE Aflac

Related Links

https://www.aflac.com


NEW YORK, Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Banks and Credit Unions can now leverage the 3-step wizard provided by Conversation.one to build Google Home Actions on top of their Alexa Skills. With dozens of financial institutions on its platform, Conversation.one is changing the way we interface with our banks.

Building Google Home Actions in a 3-steps wizard "By leveraging the Conversation.one platform, we become one of the first financial institutions in the US to launch an online banking Alexa skill and Google Home Action, making us an industry leader in this technology" Jojo Seva CIO, NEFCU

Just a month ago, Conversation.one launched its omni-channel conversational app development platform with full support for building banks' Alexa skill in 3 steps. This week, the company officially added its support for Google Home  enabling its clients to add support for Google Home Actions in a click of a button. NEFCU (Nassau Educators Federal Credit Union) has already done that  and is sharing its experience.

"Our first product targets financial institutions," says CEO Chen Levkovich. "We launched just a month ago and already have dozens of financial institutions working on our platform. A great example is NEFCU (Nassau Educators Federal Credit Union)  that started with building their Alexa skill and now added their support for Google Home Action for their clients. In a simple and quick process, small and large financial institutions can now offer smart and sophisticated conversational services to their clients with minimum effort."

Jojo Seva, CIO at NEFCU, shares that, "NEFCU strives to provide innovative ways to enhance member service at all of our delivery channels. We are excited to partner with Conversation.one into the new frontier of artificial intelligence." Seva also adds that, "by leveraging the Conversation.one platform, we become one of the first financial institutions in the US to launch an online banking Alexa skill and Google Home Action, making us an industry leader in this technology."

CONVERSATION.ONE is a complete omni-channel platform to develop conversational apps, that leverages machine learning (ML) algorithms to constantly improve conversational dictionaries and build an enriched, fluent and natural correspondence with any device whilst maximizing the user's communication. The platform connects an organization's single business logic to all conversational devices and interfaces in a single process. This process is performed in minutes. With CONVERSATION.ONE, enterprises can build their Amazon Echo skills, their Google Home app and soon also their own chat and voice-bots, as well as their FB messenger bots.

CONVERSATION.ONE offers an intuitive, visual and user-friendly dashboard, and does not require coding nor programming skills. A bank can simply log in to the platform, select their name from a list of more than 10,000 pre-integrated institutions, and opt for the devices they'd like to support. The platform offers pre-built conversational templates, including the 10 most common banking application questions, which may be tested on an interactive simulator. Click on 'publish' and the Skill will be live and accessible to the bank's users.

"Conversation.one provides pre-built conversations that provide customers with real time data and insights, as well as facilitates transfers between accounts," says Levkovich. "Customers can question their checking account balance, recent transactions, the amount they spent at a specific store on a particular date, as well as request a transfer of funds from one account to another. In addition, our templates provide information on the stock-exchange and the bank's most proximate branches and ATMs. For an even more enriching and holistic experience, CONVERSATION.ONE provides complimentary text messages with this data."

The CONVERSATION.ONE platform provides strict security modules that allow FIs to implement and enforce their individual security standards for different conversational channels. The platform provides an SSO module and a 2-factor authentication module. Together these features bridge the gap created by conversational services.

CONVERSATION.ONE is an omni-channel platform that builds conversational apps in minutes. Starting with Alexa Skills and chatbots, to Google Home actions and intelligent assistants, CONVERSATION.ONE is a no-coding, no-programming, intuitive, visual and user-friendly platform that easily allows enterprises to build, maintain and update their conversational apps. The platform leverages machine learning (ML) algorithms to constantly improve conversational dictionaries and build an enriched, fluent and natural correspondence with any device whilst maximizing the user's communication

For more details contact: Rachel Batish, 646 869-2931, [email protected]

SOURCE CONVERSATION.ONE
LEXINGTON, Ky., Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- At the International SPA Association's East Coast Media Event held Tuesday at iconic Gotham Hall in New York City, spa professionals offered treatments, products and immersion experiences to attending media. As the longest standing media event in the spa industry, this year attracted national news outlets such as AP, CBS and NBC, and top-tier journalists from travel, beauty and business. Journalists were educated on the newest spa trends while experiencing mini-treatments from 21 sponsors from the U.S., Italy and the Dominican Republic.

"ISPA is honored to host an event for our members where the media can experience the wonderful treatments they offer. When we all work together to promote the spa industry, we see the strong, steady growth that was revealed in the ISPA U.S. Spa Industry Study statistics we released at the event," said ISPA President Lynne McNees.

ISPA announced that for the first time in the history of the study, the total number of visits to spas rose above 180 million. The industry also continues to experience steady growth in overall revenue, locations and revenue per visit.

The following ISPA members participated in the event as Premier Sponsors and offered unique spa treatments to the media as outlined.

ame Spa & Wellness Collective at Turnberry Isle Miami Resort offered a soundwave massage table experience, which uses dynamic acoustic stimulation to provide a new anti-stress experience.

offered a soundwave massage table experience, which uses dynamic acoustic stimulation to provide a new anti-stress experience. Aspira The Spa offered facial renewal acupuncture, which rejuvenates and revitalizes the facial tissue by allowing the muscles to lift and tone organically.

offered facial renewal acupuncture, which rejuvenates and revitalizes the facial tissue by allowing the muscles to lift and tone organically. Beauty Changes Lives offered LED light therapy, which involves the application of specific wavelengths of light to tissue to obtain therapeutic benefits.

offered LED light therapy, which involves the application of specific wavelengths of light to tissue to obtain therapeutic benefits. Casa de Campo Resort & Villas offered a functional movement screening, which looked at upper extremity, trunk, and lower extremity movement and balance, and quick tips on what exercises or stretches may help with any deficiencies that were noted in the screening.

offered a functional movement screening, which looked at upper extremity, trunk, and lower extremity movement and balance, and quick tips on what exercises or stretches may help with any deficiencies that were noted in the screening. Chuan Body + Soul at Langham Place, New York offered a taste of its Chuan stone therapy, which combines traditional Chinese medicine and custom blended oils, as well as Saltability Himalayan salt, to re-mineralize and restore a sense of balance and harmony.

offered a taste of its Chuan stone therapy, which combines traditional Chinese medicine and custom blended oils, as well as Saltability Himalayan salt, to re-mineralize and restore a sense of balance and harmony. Comphy offered custom sleep consultations with sleep researcher Dr. Rebecca Robbins to provide personalized tips based on lifestyle and sleep habits.

offered custom sleep consultations with sleep researcher Dr. to provide personalized tips based on lifestyle and sleep habits. Envy Medical offered DermalInfusion, a non-invasive, three-in-one advanced skin resurfacing treatment that exfoliates, extracts and infuses skin with condition-specific serums.

offered DermalInfusion, a non-invasive, three-in-one advanced skin resurfacing treatment that exfoliates, extracts and infuses skin with condition-specific serums. HydroPeptide and Premier57 offered an anti-wrinkle express facial, which infuses skin with a restorative and revolutionary patented amino acid technology designed to significantly improve the appearance of skin's fullness and elasticity.

offered an anti-wrinkle express facial, which infuses skin with a restorative and revolutionary patented amino acid technology designed to significantly improve the appearance of skin's fullness and elasticity. O2 Chair offered the O2 Experience, the world's first breathing chair treatment that delivers a combination of zero gravity, nap breathing exercise, synchronized swinging movement, oxygen concentrator, optional heating, soothing sound/instruction and wake up.

offered the O2 Experience, the world's first breathing chair treatment that delivers a combination of zero gravity, nap breathing exercise, synchronized swinging movement, oxygen concentrator, optional heating, soothing sound/instruction and wake up. Sanitas Skincare offered a contouring and sculpting anti-gravity facial with exfoliation, massage and peptides.

offered a contouring and sculpting anti-gravity facial with exfoliation, massage and peptides. Sundara Inn & Spa offered guided meditation while lounging in a hammock for a tranquil retreat in the city.

offered guided meditation while lounging in a hammock for a tranquil retreat in the city. Technogym offered athletic performance training with the SKILLMILL, the first machine to allow everyday athletes to improve their power, speed, stamina and agility in a single product.

offered athletic performance training with the SKILLMILL, the first machine to allow everyday athletes to improve their power, speed, stamina and agility in a single product. The Lodge at Woodloch offered a salt stone massage to highlight the healing benefits of salt, touting benefits including reduced inflammation, restored minerals and deep relaxation.

offered a salt stone massage to highlight the healing benefits of salt, touting benefits including reduced inflammation, restored minerals and deep relaxation. The Marmara Park Avenue offered a mindfulness ritual with BuDhaGirl, in which attendees received BuDhaGirl bangles and practiced the Intention-Setting Ritual.

offered a mindfulness ritual with BuDhaGirl, in which attendees received BuDhaGirl bangles and practiced the Intention-Setting Ritual. The Spa at the Peaks offered a vitality bar tasting, including unique and delectable herbal teas, tinctures and honeys from the Naturopathica Vitality Bar, and sensorial and healing remedies for the skin and body.

offered a vitality bar tasting, including unique and delectable herbal teas, tinctures and honeys from the Naturopathica Vitality Bar, and sensorial and healing remedies for the skin and body. Well & Being Spa  Wellness offered a makeup refresher with tips to leave you looking healthy, energized and refreshed, and a hand scrub bar infusing exfoliation and relaxing massage.

Four Spotlight Sponsors included Airome, which displayed an aromatherapy bar highlighting essential oil diffusers; Medaesthetique, which offered a red-carpet facial; Pritikin Longevity Center + Spa, which provided a nutritionist to meet with attendees to discuss individual nutrition goals; Relache Spa at Gaylord Hotels, which provided BIOTEC Eye and Lip Duo treatments; and Vair Spa at Borgo Egnazia, which provided a taste of Puglia with local flavors and ingredients.

Media could pre-book treatments with the companies through the appointment scheduling software, ResortSuite.

Note to the Editor:

ISPA President Lynne McNees is available for interviews; please contact Eileen Pitts, [email protected], to schedule.

About the International SPA Association:

ISPA is recognized worldwide as the leading professional organization and voice of the spa industry. Founded in 1991, ISPA advances the spa industry by providing invaluable educational and networking opportunities, promoting the value of the spa experience and speaking as the authoritative voice to foster professionalism and growth. ISPA has more than 4,000 members in 77 countries. More details on ISPA are available on experienceispa.com.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Eileen Pitts

859-425-5072

[email protected]

SOURCE International SPA Association

Related Links

http://www.experienceispa.com


Art Route DSM in Downtown Des Moines leads patrons and visitors to 87 pieces of public art via a 6-mile trail. Art Route DSM is a collaborative project, led by a dedicated committee of volunteers through the Greater Des Moines Public Art Foundation.

Thermoplastic paint is a heavy duty, sustainable product intended to last a longer period of time than traditional road paint. Installation of the thermoplastic paint will primarily take place at night in Downtown.

Installation is taking place this week at crosswalks on Grand Avenue and Sixth Avenue. The installation is ongoing and scheduled to be completed by Saturday, Aug. 12 .

. Installation at the crosswalks at East Locust Street and East Fifth Street will begin following the Grand and Sixth installation, and is scheduled to be completed by Aug. 19 .

. Installations have been completed at crosswalks on the west side of the street at Locust Street and Third Street and the west side of the street on Court Avenue and Third Street.

The crosswalks at Locust Street and 10th Street will be painted when road construction is complete.

To schedule interviews and ensure the best times to take photos or video on location, contact Kyle Oppenhuizen, Communications Manager at the Greater Des Moines Partnership.

Art Route DSM in Downtown Des Moines stretches from the State Capitol Building on the east to Meredith Corporation on the west. Bright colored circles painted on the sidewalks connect the route and Downtown intersections are painted with artistic designs by Canadian street artist Peter Gibson, also known as "Roadsworth." Art Route DSM and public art along the route are free for all to enjoy. Click here to see a map of Art Route DSM in Downtown or download the Greater Des Moines Public Art Foundation's app directing users to public art on the Downtown route.

Additionally, Art Route DSM is extending regionally as West Des Moines plans to install an Art Route Pocket by the end of September. The route will connect 13 works of art that are part of West Des Moines' annual Art on the Campus temporary exhibit located around the City Campus pond near City Hall. The route also connects to one of the five sculptures that make up the West Des Moines Public Arts Advisory Commission's first permanent commissioned work of art, Art on the Trail "Surrounds," installed in 2015. The 1-mile route will include brightly-colored circles and one crosswalk located at the intersection of S. 35th Street and Mills Civic Parkway. Click here to see a map of the Art Route Pocket in West Des Moines.

Sponsors for Art Route DSM in Downtown are Wells Fargo, the Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines, Bravo Greater Des Moines, Principal, Kum & Go, Bankers Trust, MidAmerican Energy Company, the Downtown Community Alliance, the Greater Des Moines Partnership, Prairie Meadows, the Des Moines Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, the Des Moines Arts Festival, the Greg and Suzie Glazer Burt Foundation, the Downtown Neighborhood Association and members of the Art Route DSM Committee.

Partner and supporting organizations for Art Route DSM include the City of Des Moines, the City of West Des Moines, the Greater Des Moines Public Art Foundation, the Downtown Community Alliance, the Greater Des Moines Partnership, Catch Des Moines, Neumann Monson Architects, Substance Architecture, Grimes Asphalt and Paving Corporation, the Des Moines Arts Festival and Art Week Des Moines, the Des Moines Police Department, Des Moines Public Schools and the Iowa Healthiest State Initiative.

About Art Route DSM

Art Route DSM is a regional project launched in 2016 that unites 87 pieces of public art with a 6-mile-long path painted on Downtown Des Moines sidewalks and intersections, plus an additional art pocket in West Des Moines. Think, "Follow the Yellow Brick Road," where vibrant-colored circles and chevrons lead to world-renowned sculpture, murals and architecture  free for all to enjoy. Follow the conversation on social media with the hashtag #artrouteDSM and learn more at artrouteDSM.com.



Contact:

Kyle Oppenhuizen

[email protected]

(515) 286-4972

SOURCE Greater Des Moines Partnership

Related Links

http://www.desmoinesmetro.com


This year's Peace and Justice Activism Award recipient will be Jackson Browne, celebrating his lifetime of activism and commitment to peace and social justice both in Haiti and around the world. Previous recipients include Sean Penn and Susan Sarandon. In its inaugural year,

APJ will also now present the APJ Canadian Changemaker Award presented by Birks to recipient Gary Slaight, honouring his work as a leading Canadian philanthropist committed to integrity and impact.

"The APJ Festival Gala, is our hallmark event of the year, allowing us to celebrate leading artists and entrepreneurs who embody our own fierce commitment to social justice while we continue to make remarkable strides in bringing education, healthcare and hope to the children of Haiti," says Paul Haggis, Founder, APJ. "We look forward to our ninth TIFF event this September and together, with our extraordinary community of Toronto supporters, being ever stronger voices and advocates for the kind of activism and service needed to help ensure a brighter future for some of the neediest on the planet."

Immediately following the 2010 earthquake, APJ funded the purchase of land and construction to build Haiti's largest free high school for the very poor, the Academy for Peace and Justice, which serves the poorest and most deserving youth in Port-au-Prince. The Academy reached 2800 students at full capacity in 2016 and celebrated its first graduating class, giving underprivileged children the opportunity to continue their education beyond the sixth grade.

Sponsorships are still available. For more information on the gala or to donate, visit www.apjnow.org. Please also follow Artists for Peace and Justice on Twitter and Instagram @artistsforpeace, and use the hashtag #APJFest17 to see all event highlights. Charitable Registration #82296 2205 RR0001.

About Artists for Peace and Justice

Founded by filmmaker Paul Haggis, Artists for Peace and Justice (APJ) is a non-profit organization that encourages peace and social justice and addresses issues of poverty around the world. APJ's immediate goal is to serve the poorest communities in Haiti with programs in education, healthcare, and dignity through the arts. The organization is committed to long-term, sustainable development in direct partnership with the Haitian people. The model is simple: APJ believes in empowering local communities, fostering economic growth, and the power of education to change a nation. APJ is based in New York; David Belle serves as its CEO. To learn more, visit www.apjnow.org or follow @artistsforpeace on Instagram and Twitter.

About BOVET 1822

Since its foundation in 1822, BOVET has artfully combined the most sophisticated mechanisms with the finest craftsmanship, employing artisanal techniques such as gem-setting, engraving, and miniature painting. Under the visionary guidance of Owner Pascal Raffy, BOVET acquired renowned Manufacture DIMIER 1738 in 2006 and immediately began producing the Maison's movements, hair springs, and dials in-house. His passion for Haute Horlogerie also led to the introduction of the remarkable Amadeo convertible case system, which draws inspiration from the exquisite 19th century pocket watches produced by BOVET for the Chinese Emperor and collectors worldwide. Today, BOVET demonstrates its excellence through varied collections that encompass models as emblematic and remarkable as the Braveheart, Ottantasei, Asterium and Shooting Star tourbillons, to name just a few of its icons. www.bovet.com

SOURCE Artists for Peace and Justice (APJ)
TARRYTOWN, N.Y., Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Parents, be warned. Your children are not the only ones getting ready to head back to school. August marks the beginning of lice season in the U.S., a time when classroom outbreaks are at their peak. Fortunately, Nix, the #1 pediatrician-recommended brand for head lice treatment, now offers the Nix Ultra Lice Removal Kit to help parents eliminate lice  even hard-to-kill super lice  from heads and homes, and the online Nix Lice Tracker to spot and prepare for lice outbreaks in their area.

ARE PARENTS PREPARED FOR LICE?

Nix recently surveyed 500 parents to find out how prepared they are for dealing with a head lice outbreak. The answer? Not very! The majority of parents admitted they were only somewhat prepared (31 percent) or not ready at all (25 percent) to treat head lice. Additionally, the majority of parents (69 percent) have heightened concerns about super lice, a type of head lice that have genetically mutated to become resistant to the active ingredients in some traditional lice treatment products. Many parents said they fear super lice more than a snakebite (60 percent), Zika virus (62 percent) or an IRS audit (85 percent). Interestingly, parents feel super lice are so frustrating that about one-quarter said they'd rather be trapped in an elevator for 2 hours and one-fifth said they'd rather gain 10 pounds than deal with a lice outbreak in their home.

"When it comes to treating head lice, it's better to be prepared than scared," said Joseph Juliano, VP of Marketing, Skincare, at Prestige Brands. "The Nix Ultra Lice Removal Kit has everything you need to treat heads and homes at the first sign of infestation, helping prevent lice from spreading to other family members."

NIX ULTRA LICE REMOVAL KIT

Nix Ultra is an easy-to-use over-the-counter kit that safely kills both traditional and super lice, as well as their eggs (nits), and can be found at drug, food and mass merchandisers across the country for $17.99 - $24.99, a fraction of the price of professional services, prescription products or other remedies. It contains pesticide-free Nix Ultra solution for treating hair and scalp; the Nix Lice Removal Comb for removing nits and lice; and Nix Lice Control Spray for household items that cannot be laundered or dry cleaned.

NIX LICE TRACKER

Another way to be prepared? Know when there are lice outbreaks in your area. The Nix Lice Tracker is an online tool that tracks lice outbreaks and alerts parents so they can be prepared. Parents and school nurses can utilize the real-time map to track and report outbreaks.

To learn more about lice treatment options offered by Nix, visit www.NixLice.com.

About Prestige Brands Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: PBH)

The Company markets and distributes brand name over-the-counter and household products throughout the U.S., Canada, Australia, and certain international markets. Core brands include Chloraseptic sore throat treatments, Clear Eyes eye care products, Compound W wart treatments, The Doctor's NightGuard dental protector, The Little Remedies line of pediatric over-the-counter products, Efferdent denture care products, Luden's throat drops and Dramamine motion sickness treatment, Debrox earwax remover, Beano digestive aid, Gaviscon antacid in Canada, Monistat, Nix, BC and Goody's.

Media Contact:

Jessica Van Horn

Golin PR

+1 212 373 6063

[email protected]

SOURCE Prestige Brands Holdings, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.prestigebrands.com


Baidu-Input is an innovative product created by one of China's largest internet companies, Baidu. The mobile app has amassed over 1,600 million daily active users. Users evaluated and tested the translation function of the latest Android 7.6 version of this product; it fares well against the competition.

Due to China's growing economic influence and the improvement of Sino-American economic and commercial cooperation, more Americans are studying in China nowadays. According to a survey report released by The American International Committee of Education, on June 1, China has become the fourth most popular foreign language option for middle school, and elementary school students in America. With the number of students in Chinese schools reaching more than 200,000 students, there is a clear interest in learning Chinese.

For just this reason, the Baidu-Input Mobile App's instant translation function pleasantly surprises many Americans, as it is able to quickly offer accurate, even simultaneous translation results. For Chinese students studying in America whom suggest that speaking English with the locals is difficult, the Baidu-input mobile app is obviously the best choice for learning and communication.

The translation function of the Baidu-Input Mobile App has helped Chinese tourists in America by allowing simultaneous translation between Chinese and English. The translation's support for Japanese also allows Chinese nationals traveling in Japan, a popular tourist destination for Chinese, a way to communicate with the locals

As Baidu has proven, software that aims to solve a difficult problem, and aims to make people's lives more convenient, will become a hot commodity in the internet age. The Chinese internet-technology industry is constantly developing new and innovative products. These products are now even starting to exert more influence overseas. And this is why we believe that science & technology has the ability to transcend national borders.

SOURCE Baidu-Input
LAKE CHARLES, La., Aug. 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Barbara Jeanne Belew is recognized by Continental Who's Who as a Pinnacle Lifetime Member in the field of Music Education.

Belew serves as an Associate Professor of Music at McNeese State University. Her areas of expertise include playing the piano and the harp, as well as educating aspiring young musicians. She has been a part of the field for over 60 years, and truly loves what she does.

In addition to teaching piano and harp, Belew also has taught courses in keyboard and harp literature and pedagogy of both instruments, and directs the university harp ensemble. She is a freelance harp soloist and chamber musician outside of her time spent teaching, as well as the founder and current Vice President of the Louisiana Chapter of the American Harp Society, and a former National Board of Directors member. She founded the MSU Harp Camp, open to interested pupils of all ages from the second grade up, and all levels of harp experience, in 2000.

Belew earned her Bachelor's degree in Music from Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas, graduating with Summa Cum Laude honors in 1951. She then went on to earn her Master's degree in Music from Indiana University  Bloomington in 1953. Belew is also a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music through the Music Teachers National Association.

In recognition of her outstanding achievements in the fields of music and education, Belew has been named a member of the Delta Kappa Society International, and has been featured in the Who's Who of American Women through the Marquis Who's Who company. To further her professional development, she serves as the Recording Secretary of the Lake Charles Piano Teachers Association (an affiliate of Louisiana Music Teachers Association and MTNA), Harp Camp and is a member of the National Board of Directors for the American Harp Society. She also is a charter member and chapter advisor of the Delta Chi Chapter of Mu Phi Epsilon, International Professional Music Society.

Additionally, Belew was inducted into Who's Who Worldwide Lifetime Achievement in 2016. She was a Featured Member of Who's Who in America and Who's Who in the World, from 2009  2016.

For some 30 years Belew served as the publicity writer for all the arts fields within the Department of Performing Arts at McNeese. She has also appeared in several recitals alongside other members of the McNeese music faculty, and has performed with the Lake Charles Symphony since 1958.

Belew credits her excellent teachers for much of her success. They included: Mattilene Belew (her mother), Dr. E. Edwin Young and concert pianist Sidney Foster, plus Dr. T. W. Dean (in music theory), and harpist Margaret White.

When not working, Belew continues to serve as a Sunday School officer in her church, Trinity Baptist of Lake Charles, LA.

For more information, visit www.mcneese.edu and www.barbarajbelew.com.

Contact: Katherine Green, 516-825-5634, [email protected]

SOURCE Continental Who's Who

Related Links

http://www.continentalwhoswho.com


AVENTURA, Fla., Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Benihana, the nation's leading operator of Japanese-inspired Teppanyaki and Sushi Restaurants, is excited to announce the opening of its newest Benihana Restaurant August 23, on the Concourse level at the foot of the John Hancock Center at 875 North Michigan Avenue (across from the landmark Water Tower).

To celebrate this grand opening, Benihana will donate 10 percent of first-day revenues to nearby Lurie Children's Hospital and will host patients and their families prior to the opening.

"We are thrilled to return to historic downtown Chicago after 10 years," said Benihana Chief Executive Officer and President Tom Baldwin. "At Benihana, we pride ourselves on 'Creating Great Guest Memories' and providing our guests with delicious food, warm and friendly service, and an atmosphere for every occasion and celebration. Our Benihana Restaurant will be a wonderful addition to Chicago, a city truly known for its incredible food scene. Downtown Chicago is the perfect spot for visitors and residents alike to enjoy the Benihana experience."

Guests can enjoy the iconic Benihana dining experience at any one of 22 Teppanyaki tables. The restaurant also features a contemporary sushi bar, three private dining rooms, an inviting cocktail lounge and outdoor patio seating where guests can indulge in fresh sushi options and vibrant cocktails while enjoying the lively atmosphere of the Magnificent Mile. Additionally, guests can enjoy Benihana at home, the office or a special event with our To Go Menu.

Benihana is proud to welcome Chicago's newest staff members to their family.

Starting August 23, the restaurant will be open Monday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Friday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. (Sunday 10 p.m.). Happy Hour is Monday through Friday 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Reservations are available online at Benihana.com or by calling (312) 780-3110.

About Benihana

Benihana Inc. is the nation's leading operator of Japanese-inspired Teppanyaki and Sushi restaurants with more than 100 nationwide Benihana, Haru Sushi, RA Sushi and Samurai restaurants. Additionally, 10 franchised Benihana restaurants are operating throughout the United States, Caribbean, and Central and South America. To learn more about Benihana Inc. and its four brands, please view the corporate video at www.benihana.com/about/company-video/. To download the Benihana Sticker Pack, please visit http://apple.co/2lml8Dg.

SOURCE Benihana
LOS ANGELES, August 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

CableClix (USA), Inc. (OTCPK:CCLX) is pursuing a content strategy that engages a number of select media partners that are eager to get additional viewers from new markets, and whose content is most appealing to cable-cutters. This sweet spot places CableClix in a strong position in the global online TV streaming market: CableClix's AI / data core captures valuable data, tracking rapidly-changing viewer behaviour, and enables media partners to pilot new content to wider audiences.

CableClix is in confidential talks with a number of these media partners - aggregators, live stations, broadcast networks and VOD providers - to identify which of their content matches CableClix's audience appetite. CableClix's extensive user research has given insight into viewing habits, to better understand what content people want for cable-cutting. Partners are particularly interested in CableClix's ability to ease discovery of new content.

Cauri Jaye, CableClix Chief Product Officer, said "The global online TV streaming market is ripe for the next evolution. CableClix's personalised TV streaming app creates a new lean-back experience for viewers by combining what they love about cable, with the best parts of online. Our research with users confirms that both cable-cutters and cable-nevers want an experience that individual media partners can't provide alone. CableClix brings these together in a single experience - making it an enticing offer for media partners and audiences alike."

The content strategy was developed with FORE:media, a bespoke media consultancy that provides unparalleled insight to technology and audience shifts by connecting and collaborating with technology pioneers.

Jodie Hopperton, CEO FORE:media said "CableClix is creating an innovate way for audiences to discover content. This is an excellent way for media organisation to gather data and learn about viewing habits of cord cutters, without heavy investment."

CableClix launches the entirely personalised online TV lean-back experience to a discrete beta test group in the fall. Join the waitlist at cableclix.com/itspersonal

About CableClix

CableClix delivers innovative hardware and software 'cord cutting' solutions for the global online TV streaming market. CableClix was formed in 2013 to be a leading provider of high-definition streaming television, including local network content, directly to the local consumer, on nearly any device, at any time.

For more information about CableClix (USA), Inc. visit http://www.cableclix.com

Investor contact info:

CableClix (USA), Inc.

http://www.cableclix.com

[email protected]



Greg Steinke

[email protected]

+1-888-421-2549



About FORE:media

FORE:media is bespoke media consultancy based in Santa Monica, California, helping media organisations obtain the knowledge and tools to build and adapt digital strategies.

Find out more about FORE:media at http://www.fore.media



Investor contact info:

CableClix (USA), Inc.

http://www.cableclix.com

[email protected]



Greg Steinke

[email protected]

+1-888-421-2549



SOURCE CableClix (USA), Inc.
SAN RAFAEL, Calif. and NEW YORK, Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- CardFlight, a mobile point of sale (POS) technology provider and Central Payment (CPAY), a merchant service provider that offers payment, loyalty and marketing services to businesses, announced today that CPAY is offering CardFlight's SwipeSimple mobile POS solution, enabling merchants to accept EMV chip card payments on the go from their mobile devices. CPAY is a joint venture with TSYS, a provider of seamless, secure and innovative solutions that operates in more than 80 countries with local offices across the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific.

CardFlight's SwipeSimple mobile POS solution is built for merchants on-the-go

SwipeSimple is an easy-to-use, turnkey, EMV-enabled mobile payment acceptance solution that enables merchants to accept card present payments on the go. The solution includes an EMV chip card reader, mobile application for iOS and Android, and a back-office web dashboard for merchants to accept payments and manage their business.

SwipeSimple will be co-branded for CPAY. Through this partnership, merchants will be able to:

Accept EMV chip card payments on their smartphone or tablet

on their smartphone or tablet Manage their inventory in real-time , leveraging on SwipeSimple's cloud-based inventory and item-tracking

, leveraging on SwipeSimple's cloud-based inventory and item-tracking Adjust tip and tax levels, through an easy to use tip and tax option interface

through an easy to use tip and tax option interface Get smart analytics, with SwipeSimple's comprehensive reporting that enables merchants to make better business decisions

"Providing our merchants with a secure, advanced, EMV-enabled mobile payments solution is key to helping them run their business successfully," said Tommy Chang, VP, Operations, Central Payment. "CardFlight has proven themselves as a leader in the mobile POS space, and we're excited to offer SwipeSimple to our merchants and partners."

"CPAY is one of the fastest-growing merchant service providers," said Derek Webster, Founder & CEO at CardFlight. "We're excited to partner with them and empower their merchants to accept payments on-the-go with SwipeSimple."

About CardFlight

CardFlight builds and operates mobile point of sale technology that helps tens of thousands of merchants accept credit card payments on iOS and Android devices. They work with 15 of the top 50 merchant acquirers in the U.S. and were one of the first providers in the US approved for EMV chip card acceptance on mobile devices. CardFlight operates a PCI Level 1 compliant payment gateway, offering a Software Development Kit for developers to integrate payments acceptance in their existing app and SwipeSimple, a turnkey mobile solution for Independent Sales Organizations and Merchant Service Providers to offer to their merchants. For more information, visit us at cardflight.com or call us at 800-783-5596.

About Central Payment

Central Payment is a direct processor and leading national Merchant Service Provider offering businesses across the country a secure method of handling all electronic transactions including credit card processing, check systems, gift cards, wireless solutions, e-commerce solutions, and cash advance programs. In addition, we offer a digital marketing/loyalty rewards program for businesses to connect and better understand their customers through a unique customer-facing tablet. Headquartered in San Francisco-Bay Area, Central Payment currently processes transactions for over 70,000+ businesses and processes $12 billion annually.

Founded in 2005, Central Payment has grown at a staggering rate since inception with our sales force made up of independent sales agents. Furthermore, Central Payment is an affiliate and part of a joint venture with TSYS who is one of the most respected and ethical leaders in the card payment industry. Central Payment is a member of the Electronic Transactions Association, is a registered Independent Sales Organization, has received an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau, and has been recognized by the Inc.500/5000 in 2010 thru 2015 (six consecutive years) as one of the fastest growing privately owned companies in America. For more info, visit us at www.cpay.com.

Media Contact:

CardFlight Media Relations

[email protected]

(800) 783 5596

SOURCE CardFlight

Related Links

http://cardflight.com


CARMEL, Ind., Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: CNO) announced today that Jean Linnenbringer has been named Senior Vice President of Enterprise Operations. Linnenbringer, who had been serving as the interim enterprise operations lead, will report to Executive Vice President, Chief Operations and Technology Officer, Bruce Baude.

Jean Linnenbringer

Linnenbringer will be responsible for customer service, claims and operations support for CNO's Bankers Life, Washington National and Colonial Penn business segments. She replaces Mike Heard, who was named President of Washington National in March.

"Jean has a great track record of experience in operations and policyholder service," said Baude. "Her elevated role reflects the value and leadership she's delivered to our organization, and I'm delighted she'll have the opportunity to lead our operations team and further enhance our customer experience."

Linnenbringer joined CNO in June 2015 as Vice President, Customer Service. Prior to joining CNO, Linnenbringer spent 15 years at Genworth Financial in multiple roles, most recently as Senior Vice President, Chief Operational Risk Officer. She earned a Bachelor of Science in business administration from Strayer University and a Master of Emergency Management from the University of Richmond.

About CNO Financial Group

CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: CNO) is a holding company. Our insurance subsidiaries  principally Bankers Life and Casualty Company, Colonial Penn Life Insurance Company and Washington National Insurance Company  primarily serve middle-income pre-retiree and retired Americans by helping them protect against financial adversity and provide for a more secure retirement. For more information, visit CNO online at www.CNOinc.com.

SOURCE CNO Financial Group, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.cnoinc.com


NEW YORK, Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

About Coconut Water

Coconut water is the clear liquid extracted from coconuts. It is technically a fruit juice and is a popular drink among consumers in tropical countries. Packaged coconut water is prepared by extracting it from coconuts. It is then processed, and packaged in cans, bottles, and other packaging types. The growth of the packaged coconut water market in Brazil suggests that major opportunities exist in other tropical countries (like Indonesia, India, Malaysia, and Ecuador), even though fresh coconut water is highly preferred. However, as the trend of packaged food and beverages is gradually gaining prominence in these countries, it is expected that consumers will eventually switch to packaged healthy beverages owing to factors like portability, convenience, and hygiene, especially for consumption in schools and offices.

Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p03794023/Coconut-Water-Market-in-Europe.html

Technavio's analysts forecast the coconut water market in Europe to grow at a CAGR of 25.03% during the period 2017-2021.

Covered in this report

The report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the coconut water market in Europe for 2017-2021. To calculate the market size, the report considers the retail selling price as the average selling price of the product.

The market is divided into the following segments based on geography:

 Americas

 APAC

 EMEA

Technavio's report, Coconut Water Market in Europe 2017-2021, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.

Key vendors

 CHi

 Coca-Cola

 GraceKennedy

 green coco europe

 PepsiCo

 Vaivai

 Vita Coco

Other prominent vendors

 Cocofina - The Coconut Experts

 COCOWELL

 Dharma By Kova Kft.

 Freedom Brands (GO COCO)

 Genuine Coconut

 Goya Foods

 Happy Coco

 INVO Coconut Water

 Kulau

 MightyBee

 Pearl Royal

 RiRi Coconut Water

 Rubicon Exotic

 Stur

 TIANA Fair Trade Organics

 TROPICAL SUN

 UFC Coconut Water

Market driver

 Nutritional benefits of coconut water

 For a full, detailed list, view our report

Market challenge

 Product consistency and reliability issue in supply chain

 For a full, detailed list, view our report

Market trend

 Growing trend for organic coconut water

 For a full, detailed list, view our report

Key questions answered in this report

 What will the market size be in 2021 and what will the growth rate be?

 What are the key market trends?

 What is driving this market?

 What are the challenges to market growth?

 Who are the key vendors in this market space?

Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p03794023/Coconut-Water-Market-in-Europe.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


"Working with Cole Haan represents an opportunity to show the world how far Staple has come in this -- our 20th year of existence. Cole Haan to me is at the perfect intersection of innovation, sophistication and design. I am extremely proud that Staple is now a part of its storied history," commented Jeff Staple, Founder of Staple Design.

Cole Haan elevated the original ZERGRAND Stitchlite by executing the Cole Haan 2.ZERGRAND Stitchlite x Staple Design in twisted yarn for a marbled spectator effect to create the classic Cole Haan wingtip design. The shoe's functional zonal knitting ensures stability and breathability. Featuring a sleek heather grey colorway and iconic Staple Pigeon logo, this is sneaker innovation at its finest.

"Cole Haan is honored to work with NYC's cultural icon, Jeff Staple and Staple Design, especially on his 20th anniversary," said Scott Patt, Vice President of Design & Innovation at the Cole Haan Global Innovation Center in New Hampshire. "Jeff and his work represent all that is New York in its grit, adaptation and individuality. This partnership is a celebration of our shared values and our dedication to craft, style and engineering in everything we make."

Priced at $300, the Cole Haan 2.ZERGRAND Stitchlite x Staple Design will be available exclusively on www.ColeHaan.com.

About Cole Haan

Cole Haan LLC, with its Global Headquarters in Greenland, New Hampshire and Creative Center in New York City, is an iconic American lifestyle accessories brand and retailer of premium men's and women's footwear, handbags, leather accessories, outerwear and eyewear. Cole Haan stands for its commitment to craftsmanship, timeless style and design innovation. For more information, visit ColeHaan.com and follow @ColeHaan.

About Staple Design

Jeff Ng (aka "jeffstaple") is an established graphic and fashion designer, curator, branding expert, footwear aficionado, and all-around creative visionary. He founded Staple Design, Inc. in 1997: now a well-known streetwear brand (@StaplePigeon), creative consulting agency (Staple Design) and retail store (@ReedSpace, which opened in 2002). Over the years, Jeff has taken Staple's motto, "A Positive Social Contagion" to whole new levels, spreading his instinctual design know-how and fresh knowledge across all media platforms and worldwide.

Website: stapledesign.com staplepigeon.com thereedspace.com

Twitter/Instagram: @jeffstaple, @staplepigeon, @reedspace

For more information, contact:

Kimry Blackwelder, Cole Haan

Phone: +1 (212) 763-3060

E-mail: [email protected]

SOURCE Cole Haan

Related Links

http://www.colehaan.com


ATLANTA, Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Core Security, a leader in Vulnerability, Access Risk Management and Network Detection and Response, today introduced Core Role Designer, the industry's only Role Based Access Control offering that uses advanced analytics to understand the relationships between people and their access. A stand-alone product, Role Designer can be used with any of the most commonly purchased provisioning and IAM products on the market.

"Many organizations implement poorly designed roles or incomplete role programs, causing huge headaches for employees, IT managers and auditors," said Chris Sullivan, Chief Technology Officer at Core Security. "Core Role Designer provides a fundamentally new approach to access governance. It helps organizations get their roles right from day one, obtain and maintain compliance with easy to understand, enforceable provisioning policies, and automate access changes for fast, efficient provisioning."

Key functionality in Core Role Designer includes:

Cluster analysis that makes role recommendations based on relationships between people and their access

that makes role recommendations based on relationships between people and their access An intuitive visual approach guides users to make intelligent decisions about what to include and exclude from roles

guides users to make intelligent decisions about what to include and exclude from roles Cross-system analysis enables creation of roles across an entire enterprise  not just a single application

enables creation of roles across an entire enterprise  not just a single application High performance on mass amounts of data, proven on up to 10 million relationships per enterprise

on mass amounts of data, proven on up to 10 million relationships per enterprise Lightweight implementation , can be deployed immediately, without the need for professional services

, can be deployed immediately, without the need for professional services Provisioning-tool agnostic; compatible with all leading provisioning tools

To see Core Role Designer in action, join us on August 30th at 2 pm ET for a live demo.

About Core Security Corporation

Core Security provides companies with the security insight they need to know who, how, and what is vulnerable in their organization. The company's threat-aware, identity & access, network security, and vulnerability management solutions provide actionable insight and context needed to manage security risks across the enterprise. This shared insight gives customers a comprehensive view of their security posture to make better security remediation decisions. Better insight allows organizations to prioritize their efforts to protect critical assets, take action sooner to mitigate access risk, and react faster if a breach does occur.

Core Security is headquartered in the USA with offices and operations in South America, Europe, Middle East and Asia. To learn more, contact Core Security at (678) 304-4500 or [email protected]

SOURCE Core Security
"We're excited to finally bring Bart into the fold," said Agency Creative CEO Mark Wyatt. "I've known Bart a long time and having him here at Agency Creative gives us a proven creative leader with not only traditional media experience, but extensive digital experience as well, particularly in social."

Wyatt said Hirneise will work closely with President & Chief Digital Officer Mike Scannell to build stronger, more engaging integrated campaigns across the entire media mix. Hirneise will touch all of the agency's clients including TGI Fridays International, Million Air Dallas and Stryker.

"It's really difficult to envision a media strategy these days that doesn't touch digital and social media on some level," said Scannell. "We're confident Bart's going to amp up our creative horsepower across all touchpoints."

Hirneise joins Agency Creative from D3 Studios, where he worked for two and a half years as the Executive Creative Director. At D3, Hirneise helped build the fledgling Frito-Lay in-house creative shop into an innovative digital and social media agency for brands like Tostitos, Funyuns, Smartfood, Cracker Jack, SunChips and more.

Before D3, Hirneise spent time at TracyLocke, imc2 and Grey Worldwide, among others. In addition to his experience with Frito-Lay brands, Hirneise has worked on PepsiCo's Pepsi and Mountain Dew, P&G's Old Spice, Secret, Clairol and Iams, as well as Samsung, Chili's, Macaroni Grill and Dairy Queen.

About Agency Creative

Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Agency Creative is a full-service advertising agency specializing in building genuine connections between brands and consumers. A certified Google Partner, they deliver fully integrated solutions while measuring outcomes through RADAR, their custom, on-demand analytics program. More information about Agency Creative can be found at agencycreative.com.

Media Inquires

Emily Gilbert

Agency Creative

972-488-1660

[email protected]

SOURCE Agency Creative

Related Links

http://www.agencycreative.com


NEW YORK, Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The following feature package is a roundup of feature stories dealing with education and back to school and is appropriate for special sections and for general use.

For each story included in this package, you will find the first paragraph of the feature release below, as well as its headline linked to the full text.

This is the latest in a series of topical feature packages PRN will carry as part of its regular Feature News Service. Coming up in 2017 are features on:



Package Name Slug Distribution Date Women's Issue Women Aug. 17 Health & Wellness Health Aug. 24 Military & Veterans Military Aug. 31 Hispanic Heritage Month Hispanic Sept. 7 Entertainment Entertain Sept. 14



Education, Back to School Feature Package

1. Don't Play Hooky from Back-to-School Organization

AVON, Ohio, July 14, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The dog days of summer are fading into preparation for the busy school year. Whether your student is getting ready for kindergarten or heading to college, everyone is looking for ways to get - and stay - organized.

2. Rakuten Marketing Reports 2017 'Back-to-School' Shopping Trends; Anticipates Positive Retail Selling Period; Advertising Alignment with Consumer Interests & Purchase Intent Key to Driving Seasonal Performance

SAN MATEO, Calif., Aug. 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Rakuten Marketing, a leading technology company that enables brands to increase sales through data-driven marketing, today reported Rakuten Marketing Insights data and 'back-to-school' shopping trends for the 2017 retail selling period spanning June 1 through September 30. Instrumental to maximizing back-to-school results is delivering advertising that better aligns with consumers' interests and prioritizing ad spend to reach shoppers most likely to be 'in-market' for the products, services, and experiences being advertised.

If you would like a copy of the complete schedule, or if you would care to comment, please email [email protected]. We welcome suggestions. Copies of previous packages are available for the media. Feature packages and feature photos are also available on the PR Newswire Web site, http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/feature-news-latest-news.

Photos that accompany releases are available via the PRN Multimedia Desk, 800-317-7677, or via the PR Newswire Photo Archive. Select photos are available via AP PhotoExpress and AP Images.

SOURCE PR Newswire Association LLC

Related Links

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/feature-news-latest-news


AHMEDABAD, India, August 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

ElegantJ BI is pleased to announce an exciting partnership with Herald Logic Pvt. Ltd. Herald Logic specializes in technology-enabled distribution management solutions, delivered via its unique managed service cloud-hosted model. This partnership will benefit customers and stakeholders of both organizations and provide world-class integrated solutions. The ElegantJ BI business intelligence solution is powered by unique Managed Memory Computing and the Smarten approach to advanced data analytics. ElegantJ BI products have been listed in multiple Gartner reports.

(Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/516948/ElegantJBI_Logo.jpg )

Herald Logic offers Distribution Management solutions that straddle channel lifecycle, channel compensation and channel performance management. Its customers include well-renowned entities in banking, life and general insurance and non-banking finance companies in India. Powered by its robust proprietary technology platform, IntelliRADAR, the Herald Logic solution manages sales compensation payouts of $100 million and ~10 million transactions spanning ~500,000 sales staff and channel partners. Herald Logic was recently featured in the '25 Most Promising Retail Solution Providers - 2017' in Asia Pacific in the annual APAC CIO Outlook Magazine survey. Herald Logic is a recognized Advanced Tech Partners of Amazon AWS, and has developed specialized capabilities and competencies to seamlessly deliver high impact distribution management solutions, on the secure AWS Cloud.

ElegantJ BI provides deep dive analytics and dazzling visualization without the need for user-technical skills and offers a driving force in analytics around the world. ElegantJ BI takes pride in its partnerships with BFSI organizations.

Dr. Ram Ramdas, Founder and Chief Evangelist of Herald Logic, says, "The ElegantJ BI analytics solution and service offerings are a significant value addition to our core offering, and will make a real difference to our customers."

Kartik Patel, the Founder and CEO of ElegantJ BI says, "Our mutually beneficial partnership with Herald Logic will serve the needs of the market with integrated products and services, combined with excellent customer service and innovation."

Herald Logic will embed the ElegantJ BI product into its solution, thereby enabling integrated features and functionality. Clients will enjoy rapid ROI with built-in meta data, channel analytics dashboards and reports in an out-of-the-box solution. There is no need for a separate business intelligence solution or a lengthy implementation process.

"This partnership and embedded product offering will allow other ISVs and product companies to explore OEM partnerships with ElegantJ BI and to gain a competitive advantage and enhance the value of their services," says Kartik Patel. "An OEM partner can now offer advanced analytics and business intelligence features, embedded within their product in a seamless environment without significant investment or development time, and with full technical and user support."

The combined solution of ElegantJ BI and Herald Logic will enhance productivity, improve TCO, and increase customer satisfaction. This will soon be rolled out at one of the largest life insurance companies in India, followed by numerous other implementations in India and abroad.

About ElegantJ BI

ElegantJ BI is the flagship BI & Advanced Data Discovery solution of Elegant MicroWeb, and an intelligent 'Design once, Use anywhere' adaptive UI engine for out-of-the-box roll out to transform business users into Citizen Data Scientists. ElegantJ BI supports Advanced Data Discovery with Self-Serve Data Preparation, Smart Visualization and Plug n' Play Predictive Analysis and a 100% browser-based foundation that enables Mobile BI, Social BI and rich KPI analytics. ElegantJ BI is listed as a Niche BI and Analytics Vendor in the Gartner Competitive Landscape: BI Platforms and Analytics Software, Asia/Pacific Report., and as a Representative Vendor in Gartner Market Guide for Enterprise-Reporting-Based Platforms, and in the Gartner 'Other Vendors to Consider for Modern BI and Analytics' report. ElegantJ BI is used by large, medium and small businesses around the world, including Religare Securities, IPCA Laboratories, JMC Projects, Sharekhan, Raychem RPG and many other small and medium size businesses.

Contacts:

Pathik Shah

Manager Marketing, BI Practice, ElegantJ BI

+91-79-30009991

[email protected]

www.ElegantJBI.com

Rohit Rathore

Executive VP - Customer Success, Herald Logic

+91-9987004612

[email protected]

www.heraldlogic.com



SOURCE Elegant MicroWeb Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
TEL AVIV, Israel, August 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Ellomay Capital Ltd. (NYSE American; TASE: ELLO) ('Ellomay' or the 'Company') an emerging operator in the renewable energy and energy infrastructure sector, today announced that it will hold its annual general meeting of shareholders (the 'Meeting') on Thursday, September 14, 2017, at 2:00 p.m., Israel time, at Ellomay's offices located at 9 Rothschild Boulevard, 2nd Floor, Tel-Aviv 6688112, Israel.

The agenda of the Meeting will be as follows:

Re-election of Shlomo Nehama , Ran Fridrich, Hemi Raphael and Anita Leviant as Directors; Re-election of Mordechai Bignitz as External Director for an additional three-year term; Approval of compensation of Mordechai Bignitz, the External Director nominee; Reappointment of Somekh Chaikin, a member of KPMG International, as the independent auditor of the Company for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2017 and until the next annual general meeting of the Company's shareholders, and authorization of the Board of Directors to approve, following the approval of the Audit Committee, the remuneration of the independent auditors in accordance with the volume and nature of their services; and Receipt and consideration of the Auditors' Report and the Financial Statements of the Company for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016 .

Shareholders of record as of the close of business on August 15, 2017 will be entitled to vote at the Meeting or any adjournments thereof. The Company plans to mail a proxy statement that describes the proposals to be considered at the Meeting and a proxy card on or about August 17, 2017. The proxy statement and proxy card will also be furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission on Form 6-K on or about August 10, 2017.

Each of the resolutions to be presented at the Meeting requires the affirmative vote of holders of at least a majority of the ordinary shares voted in person or by proxy at the Meeting on the matter presented for passage. However, the approval of the proposal under Item 2 and a portion of the proposal under Item 3 is required to comply with additional special 'disinterested' voting requirements as set forth in the proxy statement. Item 5 does not require a shareholder vote.

Shareholders wishing to express their position on an agenda item for the Meeting may do so by submitting a written statement to the Company's offices at the above address by September 4, 2017. Any position statement received will be furnished to the SEC on Form 6-K, which will be available to the public on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov and on the websites of the Israel Securities Authority and Tel Aviv Stock Exchange at http://www.magna.isa.gov.il or http://maya.tase.co.il/, respectively. Eligible shareholders may present proper proposals for inclusion in the Meeting by submitting their proposals to the Company no later than August 17, 2017.

Shareholders may vote their ordinary shares by means of a deed of vote or proxy card, which are required to be received by the Company, along with the documentation set forth in the proxy statement, by 10:00 a.m., Israel time, on September 14, 2017 (four hours prior to the Meeting), to be counted for the Meeting.

About Ellomay Capital Ltd.

Ellomay is an Israeli-based company whose shares are registered with the NYSE American and with the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange under the trading symbol 'ELLO'. Since 2009, Ellomay Capital focuses its business in the energy and infrastructure sectors worldwide. Ellomay (formerly Nur Macroprinters Ltd.) previously was a supplier of wide format and super-wide format digital printing systems and related products worldwide, and sold this business to Hewlett-Packard Company during 2008 for more than $100 million.

To date, Ellomay has evaluated numerous opportunities and invested significant funds in the renewable, clean energy and natural resources industries in Israel, Italy and Spain, including:

Approximately 22.6MW of photovoltaic power plants in Italy and approximately 7.9MW of photovoltaic power plants in Spain ;

and approximately 7.9MW of photovoltaic power plants in ; 9.375% indirect interest in Dorad Energy Ltd., which owns and operates one of Israel's largest private power plants with production capacity of approximately 850 MW, representing about 6%-8% of Israel's total current electricity consumption;

largest private power plants with production capacity of approximately 850 MW, representing about 6%-8% of total current electricity consumption; 75% of Chashgal Elyon Ltd., Agira Sheuva Electra, L.P. and Ellomay Pumped Storage (2014) Ltd., all of which are involved in a project to construct a 340 MW pumped storage hydro power plant in the Manara Cliff, Israel ;

; 51% of Groen Gas Goor B.V. and of Groen Gas Oude-Tonge B.V., project companies developing anaerobic digestion plants with a green gas production capacity of approximately 375 Nm3/h, in Goor, the Netherlands and 475 Nm3/h, in Oude Tonge, the Netherlands , respectively.

Ellomay Capital is controlled by Mr. Shlomo Nehama, Mr. Hemi Raphael and Mr. Ran Fridrich. Mr. Nehama is one of Israel's prominent businessmen and the former Chairman of Israel's leading bank, Bank Hapohalim, and Messrs. Raphael and Fridrich both have vast experience in financial and industrial businesses. These controlling shareholders, along with Ellomay's dedicated professional management, accumulated extensive experience in recognizing suitable business opportunities worldwide. Ellomay believes the expertise of Ellomay's controlling shareholders and management enables the Company to access the capital markets, as well as assemble global institutional investors and other potential partners. As a result, we believe Ellomay is capable of considering significant and complex transactions, beyond its immediate financial resources.

Information Relating to Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties, including statements that are based on the current expectations and assumptions of the Company's management. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this press release regarding the Company's plans and objectives, expectations and assumptions of management are forward-looking statements. The use of certain words, including the words "estimate," "project," "intend," "expect," "believe" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company may not actually achieve the plans, intentions or expectations disclosed in the forward-looking statements and you should not place undue reliance on the Company's forward-looking statements. Various important factors could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those that may be expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements including changes in regulation, seasonality of the PV business and market conditions. These and other risks and uncertainties associated with the Company's business are described in greater detail in the filings the Company makes from time to time with Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 20-F. The forward-looking statements are made as of this date and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Contact:

Kalia Weintraub

CFO

Tel: +972(3)797-1111

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Ellomay Capital Ltd.
AUSTIN, Texas, Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Empire Medical Training offers over 270 accredited workshops and training programs for physicians and health care professionals like nurse practitioners and dentists including DO and DDS professionals. Empire Medical Training offers courses each year throughout the United States, Asia, and South America with topics ranging from Aesthetics, Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine, Pain Management, Surgery, as well as business topics for practice growth and compliance.

Empire Medical Training places a strong emphasis on the hands-on training portion of each procedural workshop to ensure the attendee is proficient in each technique. This month, they will visit states across the nation as well as Canada.

The first round of courses for the month will be held in Austin, TX. These courses are ideal for those looking to expand their medical practice to include aesthetic services. The weekend will kick off on August 11, 2017, with Platelet Rick Plasma training, which includes boosting the body's natural healing process. Other courses this weekend will be Botulinum Toxin Training, Complete, Hands-On Dermal Fillers, and Advanced Botox and Dermal Fillers (Level II).

In addition to Austin, Empire Medical Training will be in Philadelphia, PA that same weekend. This location will include the following courses: Mesotherapy Training, Botulinum Toxin Training, Complete, Hands-On Dermal Filler, and Platelet Rich Plasma for Aesthetics.

Empire Medical Training is proud to offer courses in Toronto, Canada this month as well. The aesthetic courses will be held from August 25-27, 2017. These three-day workshops will include Platelet Rich Plasma for Aesthetics, Botulinum Toxin Training, and Complete, Hands-On Dermal Filler.

Other cities available this month include Orlando, FL, Nashville, TN, and Costa Mesa Orange County, CA. Each of these cities will include Platelet Rich Plasma for Aesthetics. Orlando, FL will exclusively offer courses in Pain Management such as Ultrasound Guided Interventional Pain Management Procedures. As President, Dr. Stephen Cosentino, states, "These courses would be ideal for healthcare professionals looking to expand their practice and grow their revenue."

Empire Medical Training has been training Physicians and Health Care Practitioners since 1998, one of the longest procedural training institutions to date. With over 45,000 graduates in specialties such as Aesthetics, Anti-Aging and Weight Management Medicine, and Pain Management, Empire Medical Training is renowned throughout the United States and abroad as the premier academy for providing academic excellence. Dr. Stephen Cosentino pioneered ways to add new procedures and services as well as business strategies to a practice and improve patient care. As a result of Dr. Cosentino's commitment and dedication to the specialty and the field of medicine, Empire Medical Training is steadfast to developing new training programs and topics to broaden the scope of the primary care practitioner. All Empire courses are created through mainstream medicine using the most current technologies and standards of care.

For more information on the courses offered during February, or to register for a class, please visit our website, Facebook page, or call 866-366-1576.

SOURCE Empire Medical Training
With its key products and services such as personal loans, two-wheeler loans, consumer durables loans and credit cards, by the end of 2016, FE CREDIT is leading the consumer finance market with a market share of 48.42%, three times higher than the 2nd player in the Vietnam consumer finance market. Source: Stoxplus.

(Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/543668/Kalidas_Ghose_CEO_FE_CREDIT.jpg )

On this occasion, Mr Kalidas Ghose, CEO of FE CREDIT shared: "It is a great honor of FE CREDIT to receive this distinguished award. It acknowledges our pioneer achievements to improve service quality, to diversify our products range and networks and constantly apply advanced technologies in order to best serve our customers, partners and investors. In 2017, again, FE CREDIT proudly affirms our position as the market leader in the Vietnam consumer finance market, benchmarking with the world's best practices. We are committed to nurture people future across Vietnam who is often neglected by banks with better financial products and services."

The award winners were selected and chosen from a competitive group of entrants, all of whom demonstrated unique and exceptional service delivery towards evolving financial sectors, not only in the same country but also within their regional areas. FE CREDIT was awarded this honor for its exceptional commitment to Innovation, Quality, Branding Activities, Technology Application, Risk Management, Customer Service and Performance, contributing to the robust financial environment in Southeast Asia. The Award announcement is now on GBM's official website: http://www.globalbrandsmagazine.com/award-winners-2017/

About FE CREDIT

Being one of the few pioneers in the Consumer Finance industry, after 7 years of operation, FE CREDIT has establishe consumer finance a solid foundation to become the market leader of the c market. FE CREDIT currently provides consumer lending services with key products such as personal loans, two-wheeler loans, consumer durables loans and credit cards with flexible loan period from 6 to 36 months, simple application procedures, rapid disbursement period and dedicated consulting services.

Up to now, FE CREDIT has served nearly 6 million customers, cooperated with more than 5,500 partners in more than 9,000 points of sale across the country. We focus on sustainable development and commit to realize the dreams of millions of Vietnamese people through the provision of completed financial products and services to consumers.

For more information, please contact:

FE CREDIT Marketing Center - VPBank Finance Company Limited (VPB FC)

Address: Level 2, REE Tower Building, No. 9 Doan Van Bo, Ward 12, District 4, Ho Chi Minh City

Phone: +84-8-3911-5212

Email: [email protected]



Website: www.fecredit.com.vn

SOURCE Global Brands Publications Limited
PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On Wednesday, August 9, 2017, The Third Circuit Court of Appeals handed down an opinion reversing the earlier ruling of the trial court that had dismissed the claims of Feldman Shepherd clients, former State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan, former Deputy Attorney General Frank Fina, investigator Randy Feathers, and prosecutors Richard A. Sheetz Jr., and E. Mark Costanzo, allowing the civil rights claims asserted against former Attorney General Kathleen Kane to proceed through discovery. The trial court had dismissed the case in July of 2016, ruling that the case did not meet the threshold required for constitutional claims of this nature. Attorney Mark W. Tanner appealed that decision of the trial court, and argued in front of a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, successfully reversing this decision of the lower court that dismissed his clients' cases against ex-Attorney General Kathleen Kane. The Third Circuit panel of judges unanimously agreed that the dismissal was in error, and reinstated the case against Kane.

To access the 12-page opinion of Judges Theodore A. McKee, Thomas L. Ambro, and L. Felipe Restrepo, click here.

Feldman Shepherd Wohlgelernter Tanner Weinstock Dodig LLP has recovered some of the largest verdicts and settlements in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and several other states across the country. The firm represents plaintiffs in significant personal injury and complex civil litigation including medical malpractice, birth injury, motor vehicle accidents, defective products, and crashworthiness claims.

SOURCE Feldman Shepherd

Related Links

http://www.feldmanshepherd.com


DUBLIN, Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Fly Leasing Limited (NYSE: FLY) ("FLY"), a global lessor of modern, fuel-efficient commercial jet aircraft, today announced its financial results for the second quarter of 2017.

Second Quarter 2017 Highlights

Net income of $2.9 million , nine cents per share

, per share Adjusted Net Income of $9.7 million , 31 cents per share

, per share Repurchased nearly two million shares at an average price of $13.07 per share

per share Acquired five aircraft, four of which were new deliveries from manufacturers

Upsized Term Loan by $50 million

Repriced Term Loan, saving approximately $2 million in annual interest

"We grew our fleet by investing $290 million in five aircraft in the second quarter, including four new aircraft purchased from the manufacturers," said Colm Barrington, CEO of FLY. "The five aircraft are on leases with an average term of 11 years, further enhancing the overall quality of our fleet. We expect to see improved earnings from these aircraft, and others in our pipeline, as the year progresses."

"FLY continues to aggressively repurchase its shares," added Barrington. "In the second quarter, we bought back nearly two million shares for a total of $25.9 million. At quarter end, we repurchased approximately 6.5 percent of the shares outstanding at the beginning of the year. Our average repurchase price of just over $13 per share has helped increase our net book value per share this year to $19.08."

"We are focused on growth and have a strong pipeline of attractive aircraft investments that we expect to announce in the coming months," said Barrington. "We expect to meet our $750 million acquisition target in 2017  and we have the financial resources to acquire an additional $2 billion of aircraft."

Financial Results

FLY is reporting net income of $2.9 million, or $0.09 per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2017. This compares to net income of $4.7 million, or $0.14 per share, for the same period in 2016.

Net income for the six months ended June 30, 2017 was $7.9 million, or $0.25 per share. For the same six month period in 2016, net income was $11.8 million, or $0.35 per share.

Adjusted Net Income

Adjusted Net Income was $9.7 million for the second quarter of 2017, compared to $15.0 million for the same period in the previous year. On a per share basis, Adjusted Net Income was $0.31 in the second quarter of 2017, compared to $0.45 for the second quarter of 2016. For the six months ended June 30, 2017, Adjusted Net Income was $20.8 million, or $0.65 per share, compared to $31.4 million, or $0.93 per share, for the same six month period in 2016.

A reconciliation of Adjusted Net Income to net income determined in accordance with GAAP is shown below.

Share Repurchases

During the first six months of 2017, FLY repurchased 2.1 million shares for approximately $27.2 million at an average price of $13.06 per share. At June 30, 2017, approximately $39.4 million remained under the share repurchase authorization. Subsequent to quarter end, FLY repurchased 740,957 shares at an average price of $13.77 per share through August 9, 2017. As of August 9, 2017, approximately $29 million remained under the share repurchase authorization.

Financial Position

At June 30, 2017, FLY's total assets were $3.5 billion, including investment in flight equipment totaling $3.0 billion. Total cash at June 30, 2017 was $455.2 million, of which $335.5 was unrestricted. The book value per share at June 30, 2017 was $19.08.

Aircraft Portfolio

At June 30, 2017, FLY's 81 aircraft were on lease to 45 airlines in 29 countries. The table below does not show the two B767 aircraft owned by a joint venture in which FLY has a 57% interest.

Portfolio at Jun 30,

2017 Dec 31,

2016 Airbus A319 9 9 Airbus A320 13 12 Airbus A321 3 3 Airbus A330 3 3 Airbus A340 2 2 Boeing 737 41 38 Boeing 757 3 3 Boeing 777 2 2 Boeing 787 5 4 Total 81 76

At June 30, 2017, the average age of the portfolio, weighted by net book value of each aircraft, was 6.1 years. The average remaining lease term was 6.8 years, also weighted by net book value. At June 30, 2017, the 81 aircraft were generating annualized rental revenue of approximately $352 million. FLY's lease utilization factor was 100% for the second quarter of 2017.

Conference Call and Webcast

FLY's senior management will host a conference call and webcast to discuss these results at 9:00 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time on Thursday, August 10, 2017. Participants should call +1-253-237-1145 (International) or 800-535-7056 (North America) and enter confirmation code 44952823. A live webcast with slide presentation will be available on the Events page in the Investor Relations section of FLY's website at www.flyleasing.com. A webcast replay will be available on the company's website for one year.

About FLY

FLY is a global aircraft leasing company with a fleet of modern, high-demand, and fuel efficient commercial jet aircraft. FLY leases its aircraft under multi-year lease contracts to a diverse group of airlines throughout the world. FLY is managed and serviced by BBAM LP, a worldwide leader in aircraft lease management and financing. For more information about FLY, please visit our website at www.flyleasing.com.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain "forward - looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as "expects," "intends," "anticipates," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," "will," or words of similar meaning and include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the outlook for FLY's future business and financial performance. Forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations and assumptions, which are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. Actual outcomes and results may differ materially due to global political, economic, business, competitive, market, regulatory and other factors and risks. Further information on the factors and risks that may affect FLY's business is included in filings FLY makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time, including its Annual Report on Form 20-F and its reports on Form 6-K. FLY expressly disclaims any obligation to update or revise any of these forward-looking statements, whether because of future events, new information, a change in its views or expectations, or otherwise.

Contact:

Matt Dallas

FLY Leasing Limited

+1 203-769-5916

[email protected]

FLY Leasing Limited Consolidated Statements of Income (DOLLARS IN THOUSANDS, EXCEPT PER SHARE DATA)



Three months

ended

Jun. 30, 2017

(Unaudited) Three months

ended

Jun. 30, 2016

(Unaudited) Six months

ended

Jun. 30, 2017

(Unaudited) Six months

ended

Jun. 30, 2016

(Unaudited) Revenues







Operating lease rental revenue $ 81,181 $ 73,874 $ 160,502 $ 148,507 End of lease revenue  4,876 1,239 8,082 Amortization of lease incentives (1,871) (2,317) (3,646) (5,090) Amortization of lease premiums, discounts and other (101) (94) (183) (207) Operating lease revenue 79,209 76,339 157,912 151,292 Finance lease income 185 884 373 1,776 Equity earnings from unconsolidated subsidiary 127 131 252 264 Gain on sale of aircraft  443  5,586 Interest and other income 311 137 561 224 Total revenues 79,832 77,934 159,098 159,142 Expenses







Depreciation 33,074 28,662 65,125 57,501 Aircraft impairment  4,122  4,122 Interest expense 31,890 29,474 63,723 60,308 Net loss on modification and extinguishment of debt 1,885 612 2,429 5,139 Selling, general and administrative 7,978 7,384 16,270 15,653 Ineffective, dedesignated and terminated derivatives 424 (22) 373 264 Maintenance and other costs 758 455 1,230 1,654 Total expenses 76,009 70,687 149,150 144,641 Net income before provision for income taxes 3,823 7,247 9,948 14,501 Provision for income taxes 943 2,570 2,016 2,724 Net income $ 2,880 $ 4,677 $ 7,932 $ 11,777 Weighted average number of shares







- Basic 31,364,594 33,580,886 31,802,107 33,934,334 - Diluted 31,388,034 33,580,886 31,838,737 33,934,334 Earnings per share







- Basic and Diluted $ 0.09 $ 0.14 $ 0.25 $ 0.35

FLY Leasing Limited Consolidated Balance Sheets (DOLLARS IN THOUSANDS, EXCEPT PER SHARE DATA)



Jun. 30,

2017

(Unaudited) Dec. 31,

2016

(Audited) Assets



Cash and cash equivalents $ 335,473 $ 517,964 Restricted cash and cash equivalents 119,704 94,123 Rent receivables 19 419 Investment in unconsolidated subsidiary 7,951 7,700 Investment in finance lease, net 14,488 15,095 Flight equipment held for operating lease, net 2,923,635 2,693,821 Maintenance right asset, net 106,223 101,969 Fair value of derivative assets 1,939 1,905 Deferred tax assets 7,195 7,445 Other assets, net 6,804 6,568 Total assets $ 3,523,431 $ 3,447,009 Liabilities



Accounts payable and accrued liabilities $ 16,408 $ 13,786 Rentals received in advance 14,817 13,123 Payable to related parties 3,188 5,042 Security deposits 49,832 42,495 Maintenance payment liability 216,549 182,571 Unsecured borrowings, net 692,381 691,390 Secured borrowings, net 1,886,854 1,831,985 Deferred tax liability, net 21,863 19,847 Fair value of derivative liabilities 11,315 13,281 Other liabilities 34,567 40,254 Total liabilities 2,947,774 2,853,774 Shareholders' equity



Common shares, $0.001 par value, 499,999,900 shares authorized; 30,174,969 and 32,256,440 shares issued and outstanding at June 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively 30 32 Manager shares, $0.001 par value; 100 shares authorized, issued and outstanding   Additional paid in capital 509,628 536,922 Retained earnings 73,958 66,026 Accumulated other comprehensive loss, net (7,959) (9,745) Total shareholders' equity 575,657 593,235 Total liabilities and shareholders' equity $ 3,523,431 $ 3,447,009

FLY Leasing Limited Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (DOLLARS IN THOUSANDS)





Six months ended

Six months ended





Jun. 30, 2017

(Unaudited)

Jun. 30, 2016

(Unaudited)

Cash Flows from Operating Activities













Net income

$ 7,932

$ 11,777

Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash flows provided by operating activities:













Equity in earnings from unconsolidated subsidiary



(252)



(264)

Finance lease income



(373)



(1,776)

Gain on sale of aircraft







(5,586)

Depreciation



65,125



57,501

Aircraft impairment







4,122

Amortization of debt discounts and issuance costs



4,090



4,695

Amortization of lease incentives



3,646



5,090

Amortization of lease discounts, premiums and other items



183



206

Amortization of GAAM acquisition fair value adjustments



622



992

Net loss on debt modification and extinguishment



2,429



4,121

Unrealized foreign exchange loss



1,528



530

Provision for deferred income taxes



1,988



2,593

Loss on derivative instruments



229



183

Security deposits and maintenance payment liability recognized into earnings







(3,450)

Security deposits and maintenance payment claims applied towards operating lease revenues







(805)

Cash receipts in settlement of maintenance rights







6,150

Changes in operating assets and liabilities:













Rent receivables



(601)



(597)

Other assets



(287)



(233)

Payable to related parties



(6,197)



(7,234)

Accounts payable, accrued and other liabilities



248



(1,701)

Net cash flows provided by operating activities



80,310



76,314

Cash Flows from Investing Activities













Rent received from finance lease



980



2,460

Purchase of flight equipment



(279,044)



(40,488)

Proceeds from sale of aircraft, net







209,382

Payment for aircraft improvement



(5,157)



(2,255)

Payments for lessor maintenance obligations



(6,782)



(1,600)

Net cash flows provided by (used in) investing activities



(290,003)



167,499





















Six months ended

Six months ended





Jun. 30, 2017

(Unaudited)

Jun. 30, 2016

(Unaudited)

Cash Flows from Financing Activities













Restricted cash and cash equivalents



(25,575)



80,172

Security deposits received



5,424



920

Security deposits returned



(1,080)



(3,682)

Maintenance payment liability receipts



35,455



36,343

Maintenance payment liability disbursements



(8,905)



(2,278)

Net swap termination payments







(709)

Debt extinguishment costs



(498)





Debt issuance costs



(64)



(832)

Proceeds from secured borrowings



147,179



84,249

Repayment of secured borrowings



(99,423)



(304,938)

Shares repurchased



(25,493)



(26,944)

Net cash flows provided by (used in) financing activities



27,020



(137,699)

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents



182



16

Net increase (decrease) in cash



(182,491)



106,130

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period



517,964



275,998

Cash and cash equivalents at end of period

$ 335,473

$ 382,128

















Supplemental Disclosure:













Cash paid during the period for:













Interest

$ 58,242

$ 55,047

Taxes



1,912



336

Noncash investing Activities:













Other liabilities applied to maintenance payment liability, security deposits, and rent receivables



690



960

Noncash activities:













Aircraft improvement



192



206

Noncash activities in connection with purchase of aircraft



10,546



2,687

Noncash activities in connection with sale of aircraft







35,628



FLY Leasing Limited Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures (DOLLARS IN THOUSANDS, EXCEPT PER SHARE DATA)



Three months

ended

Jun. 30, 2017

(Unaudited) Three months

ended

Jun. 30, 2016

(Unaudited) Six months

ended

Jun. 30, 2017

(Unaudited) Six months

ended

Jun. 30, 2016

(Unaudited) Net income $ 2,880 $ 4,677 $ 7,932 $ 11,777 Adjustments:







Aircraft impairment  4,122  4,122 Amortization of debt discounts and issue costs 1,971 2,335 4,090 4,695 Amortization of lease premiums, discounts and other 100 93 183 206 Amortization of fair value adjustments recorded in purchase accounting 147 320 622 992 Net loss on debt modification and extinguishment 1,885 612 2,429 5,139 Professional fees related to restatement  851  1,101 Transaction fees and expenses 64  1,669  Unrealized foreign exchange (gain) loss 1,309 (471) 1,528 530 Deferred income taxes 930 2,499 1,988 2,593 (Gain) loss on ineffective, dedesignated and terminated derivatives 424 (22) 373 264 Adjusted Net Income $ 9,710 $ 15,016 $ 20,814 $ 31,419 Average Shareholders' Equity $ 587,283 $ 632,627 $ 589,267 $ 644,781 Adjusted Return on Equity 6.6% 9.5% 7.1% 9.7%









Weighted average diluted shares outstanding 31,388,034 33,580,886 31,838,737 33,934,334 Adjusted Net Income per diluted share $ 0.31 $ 0.45 $ 0.65 $ 0.93

FLY defines Adjusted Net Income as net income plus or minus (i) non-cash impairment charges; (ii) non-cash amortization of debt discounts, loan issuance costs, lease premiums and discounts, and other items; (iii) adjustments related to the GAAM portfolio acquisition comprised primarily of amortization of fair value adjustments recorded in purchase accounting; (iv) net losses from debt modification and extinguishment; (v) non-recurring expenses; (vi) unrealized foreign exchange gains and losses; (vii) deferred income taxes; and (viii) the ineffective portion and gains and losses associated with cash flow hedges. The adjustments included within Adjusted Net Income are primarily non-cash items, one-time or non-recurring items that are not expected to continue in the future, and certain other items that we consider unrelated to the ongoing performance of our operations. Adjusted Return on Equity is calculated by dividing Adjusted Net Income by the average shareholders' equity for the periods presented. For periods of less than one year, the resulting return is annualized.

FLY uses Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Return on Equity, in addition to GAAP net income and earnings per share, to assess our core operating performance on a consistent basis from period to period. Management believes these measures are helpful in evaluating the operating performance of our ongoing operations and identifying trends in our performance, because they remove the effects of certain non-cash, one-time or non-recurring items that are not expected to continue in the future, and certain other items that are not indicative of our overall operating trends. In addition, Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Return on Equity help us compare our performance to our competitors. These measures should be considered in addition to, and not as a substitute for net income or other financial measures determined in accordance with Accounting Principles Generally Accepted in the United States. FLY's definitions may be different than those used by other companies.

SOURCE Fly Leasing Limited

Related Links

http://www.flyleasing.com


NEW YORK, Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Mesothelioma Victims Center says, "In much the same fashion as hiring someone to work on your boiler who has very little experience with boilers, you'll want to avoid hiring less-than-qualified mesothelioma attorneys who act the part, but have little experience. There are several indicators that the attorney you are speaking with may have little to no experience with handling the complexity that can often be associated with a mesothelioma claim.

Mesothelioma Boiler

"If the attorneys you are speaking with have no references for previous successful mesothelioma claims, that is a good sign to move on to find someone more qualified.

"Boiler repairman or electricians with time served in the Navy or in civilian life really would be putting themselves in a better position to pursue much better mesothelioma compensation if they called us at 800-714-0303. We have a free service directed at providing access to some of the nation's most skilled and experienced mesothelioma attorneys who have a track record of successfully representing boiler technicians or electricians with mesothelioma.

"Within this group of victims, we especially want to speak with Navy Veterans who learned how to be an electrician or boiler technician in the navy. It is a known fact that these types of asbestos exposure situations can produce significant financial compensation." http://MesotheliomaVictimsCenter.Com

The expertly crafted team of seasoned mesothelioma attorneys the Mesothelioma Victims Center suggests have decades of experience assisting Navy Veterans, civilian boiler technicians, and electricians.

The elite crew of attorneys the group suggests have extensive knowledge in all things mechanical and electrical. This includes but is not limited to boiler equipment, pumps, or insulation for a boiler repairman along with electrical parts, equipment and the environment an electrician could have been exposed to asbestos. It is this specific knowledge that makes these attorneys invaluable when it comes to an electrician or boiler technician with mesothelioma and the financial compensation if mesothelioma has been diagnosed as they would like to discuss anytime at 800-714-0303. http://MesotheliomaVictimsCenter.Com

In many instances, skilled trade workers learned their craft in the US Military. Some of the world's top trade schools for boiler technicians or electricians are operated by the US Navy. For more information about US Navy technical schools please refer to their current website: https://www.navy.com/about/locations/training-centers

According to the CDC the states indicated with the highest incidence of mesothelioma include Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, Louisiana, Washington, and Oregon.

However, based on the calls the Mesothelioma Victims Center receives a boiler repairman, an electrician or a US Navy Veteran with mesothelioma could live in any state including New York, Florida, California, Texas, Illinois, Ohio, Iowa, Indiana, Missouri, North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, Idaho, or Alaska.

High-risk work groups for exposure to asbestos include US Navy Veterans, power plant workers, shipyard workers, oil refinery workers, steel mill workers, manufacturing/factory workers, pulp or paper mill workers, plumbers, electricians, auto mechanics, machinists, miners, construction workers, insulators, rail road worker, roofers, or firemen. As a rule, these types of workers were exposed to asbestos in the 1950's, 1960's, 1970's, or 1980's. US Navy Veterans make up about one-third of all US Citizens who are diagnosed with mesothelioma each year. http://MesotheliomaVictimsCenter.Com

For more information about mesothelioma please refer to the National Institutes of Health's web site related to this rare form of cancer: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/mesothelioma.html

Contact:

Michael Thomas

800-714-0303

[email protected]

SOURCE Mesothelioma Victims Center

Related Links

http://MesotheliomaVictimsCenter.Com


SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Constantine Cannon LLP is pleased to announce that Henry C. Su, a former FTC trial lawyer, has joined the firm's antitrust practice as a partner in its Washington, D.C. and San Francisco, California offices. Mr. Su will counsel and represent clients in the healthcare, pharmaceutical, retail, and technology sectors in the courts and before government agencies, legislators, and other policymakers. With a partner dedicated to San Francisco and the Silicon Valley region, the firm will strengthen its California competition practice, focusing on issues related to intellectual property, technology, and innovation.

During Mr. Su's six-plus-year tenure as a public servant with the FTC, he played several key roles within the agency. He was a senior trial lawyer in the Bureau of Competition's Litigation Group, representing American consumers in both anti-competitive merger and conduct cases. Notably, he acted as lead attorney in the FTC's successful challenge to the merger between St. Luke's Health System and Saltzer Medical Group in the District of Idaho and the Ninth Circuit.

Mr. Su served as a senior advisor to then-Chairwoman Edith Ramirez, from 2015 to 2017, and the former-Commissioner J. Thomas Rosch, from 2011 to 2013, on competition matters, projects, and issues coming before the Commission.

Prior to joining the FTC, Mr. Su practiced as a trial and appellate lawyer with several firms in Virginia and California, including Howrey LLP and Fenwick & West LLP, where he was a partner in their respective Silicon Valley offices. While at Howrey and Fenwick, he represented technology companies such as Cisco Systems, O2 Micro International, and Qualcomm on antitrust and intellectual property matters. Mr. Su also led a legal team that successfully tried a class action case against the Social Security Administration for failing to give blind and visually impaired beneficiaries notices in alternative formats.

"Antitrust and intellectual property disputes don't just play out in the courts; there are also opportunities for clients to engage in other forms of advocacy with government regulators and policymakers." Su said, "With the time I have spent in both Silicon Valley and Washington, I can better serve as a critical bridge between business and government interests."

"Henry's diverse and wide-ranging career is a testament to his dedication and spirit," said W. Stephen Cannon, Chairman of Constantine Cannon LLP, and Managing Partner of the D.C. office. "He is an exceptional lawyer with the experience to guide clients through the D.C. legal and political playing field. We are happy to welcome him to the team."

"Building upon Constantine Cannon's established presence in New York, Washington, and London, we look forward to a stronger antitrust presence in California," said Richard Aborn, Managing Partner of Constantine Cannon LLP. "We welcome Henry and know that he will lead in this endeavor."

Mr. Su has been a highly sought-after thought leader, frequently speaking and writing on a variety of topics and issues. At the FTC, he contributed his ideas and insights to a number of agency projects, including the agency's report of a multi-year empirical study on "Patent Assertion Entity Activity" and the FTC's amicus brief in Woodman's v. Clorox, which clarified an aspect of price discrimination law under the Robinson-Patman Act in an appeal before the Seventh Circuit.

Mr. Su earned a B.S. degree, cum laude, from Yale University, and a J.D. degree at the University of Virginia School of Law, where he was a recipient of the John M. Olin Prize in Law and Economics. He is licensed to practice in Virginia, California, and the District of Columbia, and is also a registered patent attorney with the United States Patent & Trademark Office. He is also admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court.

Mr. Su is a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America and the American Bar Foundation. He has been named to the Northern California Super Lawyers list five times, received a California Lawyer Attorney of the Year (CLAY) award and a President's Pro Bono Service Award from the State Bar of California, and was named a "Litigation Star" by Benchmark Litigation in 2011.

About Constantine Cannon LLP

Constantine Cannon, with offices in New York, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, and London, has deep expertise in practice areas that include antitrust and complex commercial litigation, whistleblower representation, government relations, securities, and e-discovery. The firm's antitrust practice is among the largest and most well recognized in the nation. Constantine Cannon's experience spans across multiple industries including healthcare, banking, electronic payments, insurance, high tech, telecommunications, the Internet, and government contracting.





To learn more about the firm, click here.

MEDIA CONTACT:

PRCG | Haggerty LLC

Andrea M. Garcia

212-683-8100

[email protected]

SOURCE Constantine Cannon LLP
The 1,600 backpacks stuffed with school supplies donated by employees will be assembled by Galderma employees in the school cafeteria of NISD's Gene Pike Middle School on August 10 th . More than 35 pallets of supplies will be delivered to the middle school from the Galderma distribution center in Fort Worth in an 18-wheeler donated by Bridgestone. The community involvement initiative is part of the 2017 Nestle Cares national day of volunteering, which will see 6,000 Nestle employees around the country take part in community service and support programs on August 10 th .

"No student should be prohibited from learning because of a lack of basic school supplies," said Miles Harrison, North America president and general manager. "At Galderma, we understand the importance of being invested in our local community and are proud of our ongoing partnership with NISD. In 2016, employees had a goal of donating 150 backpacks with supplies to NISD. They exceeded that goal by donating 1,250 backpacks filled with supplies. This year, they have outdone themselves again. This year's donation, an increase of 28 percent from 2016, means that an additional 350 students in need will receive backpacks and supplies to start out the school year. I couldn't be more proud of Galderma employees and their commitment to schools and students in our community."

"We are so appreciative to Galderma for its ongoing commitment to our students' success in the classroom and we look forward to continuing our partnership," said Ryder Warren, Ed.D., NISD superintendent. "Northwest ISD will acknowledge Galderma as a Partner in Education for the second consecutive year at its August school board meeting."

"Galderma employees not only donated the 1,600 backpacks and supplies to Northwest ISD, we are also physically assembling each of the backpacks ourselves from the lists of supplies needed for students in elementary, middle, and high school," said Zhanelle Wall, Senior Purchasing Specialist, who has worked on the backpack drive since it began. "We will have an 'assembly line' at Pike Middle School and work together until all 1,600 are assembled. This is a team effort and I am proud to be part of a company that supports our efforts to be a part of the community."

In addition to the local school supply efforts, several Galderma employees traveled to South Africa in March where they volunteered at a school in the Limpopo region. While there, the employees were moved to improve the conditions for students there. The employees gathered $6,400 in donations for school supplies as part of the school supply drive for local students.

"These funds will be able to supply students at the Sterkrivier School with supplies for the entire year," said Caroline Kane, Key Account Manager for Galderma. "When I visited the school in South African I knew my colleagues would want to help as a part of our drive for local students and I am so proud of how they answered the call." The money will be presented to the school in South Africa later this month.

About Galderma

Galderma, Nestle Skin Health's medical solutions business, was created in 1981 and is now present in over 100 countries with an extensive product portfolio to treat a range of dermatological conditions. The company partners with health care practitioners around the world to meet the skin health needs of people throughout their lifetime. Galderma is a leader in research and development of scientifically-defined and medically-proven solutions for the skin, hair and nails. For more information, please visit www.galdermausa.com or www.galderma.com



About Nestle Skin Health

Nestle Skin Health's mission is to enhance quality of life by delivering science-based solutions for the health of skin, hair and nails. As one of the category's leading companies, Nestle Skin Health conducts ground-breaking product research to provide both the healthcare community and the consumer with an ongoing progression of innovative technologies and products to protect, serve and enhance skin health.

SOURCE Galderma

Related Links

https://www.galderma.com/


ATLANTA, Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As schools across the state are returning to a new school year, Georgia's legislators are being featured on digital ads because they voted in favor of school choice.

The Georgia Center for Opportunity released a Legislative Report Card earlier in the summer which assigned letter grades to state lawmakers according to their support for school choice legislation appearing before them during the 2017 session.

Those who have strong records in favor of giving students and families more education options are now the recipients of digital ads thanking them for putting students first. The digital ads are running over the course of the next two weeks within each senators' and house members' district.

School choice has proven itself not to be a party issue, as lawmakers from both parties support parental choice options. Those with A grades featured in the ads are: John Albers (R-Roswell), Mike Glanton (D- Jonesboro), Marty Harbin (R-Tyrone), Hunter Hill (R-Atlanta), Burt Jones (R-Jackson), William Ligon (R-Brunswick), Josh McKoon (R-Columbus), Fran Millar (R-Atlanta), Chuck Payne (R-Dalton), David Shafer (R-Duluth), Jesse Stone (R- Waynesboro), Valencia Stovall (D-Forest Park), Michael Williams (R-Cumming).

"We are truly grateful to those lawmakers who are making education a top priority," said Randy Hicks, President and CEO of Georgia Center for Opportunity. "More importantly, constituents are now able to understand how their representatives are voting on education policy and see that this is not a party issue."

Georgia Center for Opportunity is independent and nonpartisan. We are dedicated to increasing opportunities for a quality education, fulfilling work, and a healthy family life for all Georgians. We research solutions to society's most pressing challenges, promote those solutions to policymakers and the public and help innovative social enterprises deliver results on the ground.

Contact:

Audrey Mullen

Advocacy Ink

202-270-2772

SOURCE Georgia Center for Opportunity

Related Links

http://georgiaopportunity.org/


Scherer was selected as Plant of the Year based on a series of rigorous selection criteria including safety, fire protection and risk reduction benchmarks. Judges also evaluated capital improvement projects, operational best practices such as maintenance planning and execution leveraged by plant management, as well as Scherer's environmental performance, coal handling, and boiler and combustion capabilities.

"I'm very proud of my team. They did an excellent job working together to make improvements that ensure we are operating efficiently to provide customers with reliable and affordable energy. They strive for excellence, and they achieve it," said Johnny Howze III, Plant Scherer manager. "We are pleased that our employees' hard work on these projects and the positive impact on the communities we serve is being recognized."

The recognition was announced and featured on the front cover of the July issue of Power magazine. Click here to read the feature.

About Plant Scherer

Plant Scherer is located on more than 3,500 acres next to Lake Juliette in Monroe County, Georgia, between Atlanta and Macon. The four units of the coal-fired power plant are capable of producing 3,600 megawatts of electricity and, on average, can supply enough energy to power approximately 1.5 million homes. The plant employs nearly 400 people from the surrounding community and contributed more than $6.7 million in local taxes in 2016. Scherer is one of the nation's largest power plants and, in recent years, has added multiple environmental controls, including scrubbers, selective catalytic reduction systems, and baghouses which equip the units with the latest environmental controls to reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and mercury.

In addition to Georgia Power, other co-owners include Oglethorpe Power Corporation, Florida Power & Light, MEAG Power, Gulf Power, Jacksonville Electric Authority and Dalton Utilities.

About Georgia Power

Georgia Power is the largest electric subsidiary of Southern Company (NYSE: SO), America's premier energy company. Value, Reliability, Customer Service and Stewardship are the cornerstones of the company's promise to 2.5 million customers in all but four of Georgia's 159 counties. Committed to delivering clean, safe, reliable and affordable energy at rates below the national average, Georgia Power maintains a diverse, innovative generation mix that includes nuclear, coal and natural gas, as well as renewables such as solar, hydroelectric and wind. Georgia Power focuses on delivering world-class service to its customers every day and the company is consistently recognized by J.D. Power and Associates as an industry leader in customer satisfaction. For more information, visit www.GeorgiaPower.com and connect with the company on Facebook (Facebook.com/GeorgiaPower), Twitter (Twitter.com/GeorgiaPower) and Instagram (Instagram.com/ga_power).

SOURCE Georgia Power

Related Links

http://www.georgiapower.com


DUBLIN, August 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Silk Market by Type (Mulberry Silk, Tussar Silk, and Eri Silk), Application (Textile, and Cosmetics & Medical), and Region (Asia-Pacific, North America, Europe, Middle East & Africa, and South America) - Global Forecast to 2021" report to their offering.

The silk market is projected to reach USD 16.94 Billion by 2021, at a CAGR of 7.8% from 2016 to 2021

Silk is witnessing increase in demand in the Asia-Pacific region, mainly in China. Asia-Pacific is the largest producer of raw silk with easy availability of raw materials in the region. Silk finds application majorly in the textile industry. Increasing demand for silk from the textile industry has promoted the usage of silk. Furthermore, technological advancements in the sericulture industry are expected to drive the silk market.

Based on type, the mulberry silk segment is projected to lead the silk market from 2016 to 2021. Mulberry silk is majorly used in the textile industry. Mulberry silk is used in blends made with other natural fibers such as cotton to enhance the properties of the base fiber. The improving quality of silk is expected to increase the demand for mulberry silk and drive the silk market in the future. Tussar silk is the second-largest type of silk used after mulberry silk.

The Asia-Pacific region was the fastest-growing market for silk, in terms of value and volume, in 2015 and this trend is expected to continue till 2021. China, India, Uzbekistan, and Thailand are lucrative markets of silk in the Asia-Pacific region. The demand for silk is primarily driven by increasing population and export of textile goods in these countries. In addition, the domestic demand for silk in China and India is significantly influencing the demand for silk in the region.

Though the silk market is gaining importance, few factors are restraining the demand for silk from the textile industry. China is the largest producer of raw silk in the world. This increases the dependency on China for raw materials, which is considered as a major restraint for growth of the silk market.

Companies such as Anhui silk Co. Ltd. (China), Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, Inc. (U.S.), Wujiang First Textile Co., Ltd. (China), Wujiang Wanshiyi Silk Co., Ltd. (China), and Zhejiang Jiaxin Silk Corp., Ltd. (China) are the leading players in the global silk market.



Key Topics Covered:



1 Introduction



2 Research Methodology



3 Executive Summary



4 Premium Insights



5 Market Overview



6 Industry Trends



7 Silk Market, By Type



8 Silk Market, By Application



9 Silk Market, By Region



10 Company Profiles



Amsilk GmbH

Anhui Silk Co. Ltd.

Bolt Threads Inc.

China Silk Corporation

Entogenetics, Inc.

Jiangsu Sutong Cocoon & Silk Co.

Jinchengjiang Xinxing Cocoon Silk Co., Ltd.

Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, Inc.

Shengkun Silk Manufacturing Co., Ltd.

Sichuan Nanchong Liuhe (Group) Corp.

Spiber Technologies

Wensli Group Co. Ltd.

Wujiang First Textile Co., Ltd.

Wujiang Wanshiyi Silk Co. Ltd.

Zhejiang Jiaxin Silk Co., Ltd.

For more information about this report visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/9rkl3w/silk_market_by

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

SOURCE Research and Markets

Related Links

http://www.researchandmarkets.com


DUBLIN, August 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

The "Global Elastomeric Foam Insulation Market - Trends & Forecasts up to 2022" report has been added to Research and Markets' offering.

The automotive sector and the construction industry are the major contributors to the Global Elastomeric Foam Insulation Market owing to the high demand from developing countries and the increased foreign investment by the companies in these geographies. Regulations to limit the noise is further growing the demand of these products in the industrial and healthcare sectors. Healthcare is also one of the key growing end-users of the elastomeric foam insulation products.

Asia Pacific is a key consumer of the elastomeric foam insulation products and is expected to grow with a high growth rate during the forecast period with significant demand coming from developing countries such as China and India. China contributed a major portion of the revenue in the year 2016. The economic stability in Europe and North America is expected to boost its healthcare and automotive industry, thereby increasing market opportunities for the elastomeric foam insulation market. Supportive government regulations for the implementation of building codes and the increase in disposable income are driving the market.

Some of the prominent companies operating in the Global Elastomeric Foam Insulation Market include BASF SE, PolyOne Corporation, Dow Chemical Company, SABIC, Armacell, and K-Flex.



Report Scope:

Application

Acoustic Insulation



Hybrid



Thermal Insulation

End-users

Automotive



Construction



Electrical & Electronics



Healthcare



Industrial



Others

Regions

Asia Pacific



Europe



North America



Rest of the World

Industry outlook: Market trends, drivers, restraints, and opportunities

Companies Mentioned



3M Company

Armacell International S.A.

BASF SE

Dow Chemical Company

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V.

General Electric Company

L'ISOLANTE K-FLEX

PolyOne Corporation

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation

Siemens AG

Vinci S.A.

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/m77pxg/global





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LONDON, Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Asia Pacific is expected to be an opportunistic market in terms of consumption in the global pallets market. Key players in the region are expanding their footprint to leverage the burgeoning food & beverage and transportation sectors in the Asia Pacific region. Europe and North America are the early adopters of pallets in the food industry. The pallets market is characterized by the presence of a large number of Europe, North America, and Asia Pacific based players. There are a limited number of manufacturers in MEA and Latin America regions. The global pallets market has witnessed increasing adoption of plastic pallets owing to its various advantages over wood pallets. This market is expected to be characterized by new product development over the forecast period. According to the analysts of Persistence Market Research, the market for wooden pallets is highly organized owing to a large number of trivial players in wood pallet manufacturing. These interesting findings are the key highlights of a newly published report titled "Pallets Market: Global Industry Analysis 2012  2016 and Forecast 2017 - 2025."





Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/5056910/







Another observation elucidated in the report pertains to the key player strategy of strengthening product portfolio by launching new products with improved characteristics. Also, strategic collaborations with small players to gain regional advantage is expected to be the key trend over the projected period. Another important feature of the global pallets market is the status of the wooden pallets market. The wooden pallets market is at a saturation stage. However, these pallets are expected to dominate the global pallets market throughout the forecast period. On the other hand, the demand for plastic pallets is increasing across various industries due to its inherent advantages. Moreover, these pallets minimize the rate of injuries as plastic pallets do not have nails and splinters.



Market participants indicate a preference for block pallets over stringer designs



According to the CEO of a North America based wood pallet manufacturing company, any global standardization of pallets is likely to support block pallets as the platform of preference. The customers involved in shipping largely prefer block pallets. North American pallet users are also increasingly moving towards block pallets.



The President of a plastic pallet manufacturing company from Europe region said that customers have been asking for plastic pallets because many new foreign import restrictions have been imposed that make the use of wooden pallets less attractive. Plastic pallets are insect-free, can be easily cleaned and are totally recyclable. The palletization boom is set to occur in Asia and according to the Operations Director of an APAC pallet pooling service provider, the China market is expected to grow at unprecedented rates over the next 10 years as the country works to improve its logistics to cater to the global industrial metamorphosis.



Market Segmentation



Material Type



Wood

Composite Wood

Plastic

Paper

Metal

Steel

Other metals



Structural Design



Block

Stringer

Customized



End Use



Engineering Products

Pharmaceuticals

Chemicals

Textile & Handicraft

Agriculture & Allied Products

Electronics & Consumer Appliances

Transportation & Warehousing

Food & Beverage

Retail

Others



Regions



North America

Latin America

Europe

Asia Pacific

Middle East & Africa





Research Methodology



Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/5056910/



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Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers

http://www.reportbuyer.com



For more information:

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Website: www.reportbuyer.com

SOURCE ReportBuyer

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The ERA is a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution that would expressly prohibit discrimination against girls and women on the basis of gender. Today, the Constitution does not guarantee equal rights for women. As the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia stated: "Certainly the Constitution does not require discrimination on the basis of sex. The only issue is whether it prohibits it. It doesn't."

In 1972, the Equal Rights Amendment was passed by the House and the Senate but fell short of the required number of states for ratification by the 1982 deadline. Earlier this year, Nevada became the first state in 40 years to vote for ratification of the ERA. Nevada's action highlights the growing awareness of and support for the Equal Rights Amendment, which is needed to help women secure justice when they face gender-based discrimination and violence. Women get paid on average 80 cents for every dollar a white man makes, according to the American Association of University Women, even less for women of color. Over half a million of women are subjected to domestic violence every year, more than 1,600 of whom lose their lives as a result, as reported by the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Since 1971, the iconic photo of Steinem and Pitman Hughes raising their fists in solidarity has been recognized as an enduring symbol of women's empowerment and the ongoing fight for constitutional equality. The image, by photographer Dan Wynn, now hangs in the National Portrait Gallery and in the Black Power section of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. Release of the iconic image comes in conjunction with the national Women's Equality Day, August 26, 2017, which was also established in 1971.

Celebrities recreate iconic photo, 100% of net proceeds to ERA Coalition

In the 46 years since the photo was taken, Steinem and Pitman Hughes continue to advocate for the ERA and are inspiring support across generations of women and men. Gillian Anderson, Patricia Arquette, Kristin Bauer, Kelen Coleman, Lena Dunham, America Ferrara, Jane Fonda, Josh Gad, Chelsea Handler, Christine Lahti, Cyndi Lauper, Debra Messing, Bette Midler, Jennifer Morrison, Amy Schumer, Rainn Wilson, Joss Whedon, Jamia Wilson and Robin Wright are among the celebrities who have taken to Twitter and Instagram to share photos of themselves wearing the T-shirts and raising their fists in solidarity.

100 percent of the net proceeds from the charity T-shirt sales will go to support the ERA Coalition, a national organization working for passage and ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment to guarantee equality under the Constitution for women and girls. The ERA Coalition supports ERA initiatives in Congress and works with local and national organizations across the country to build a public constituency for the ERA, through outreach and education.

"After that photo was taken, it was sent out to campuses and neighborhood groups where Dorothy and I were speaking on equal rights," said Steinem. "Today hundreds of thousands of us stand together, especially the new generations of women and men who are becoming powerful voices for the ERA."

"The passage of the ERA will help women  and when you help women, you help everybody," said Pitman Hughes. "Today I work in underserved communities to help stimulate business growth, create jobs, and develop a vibrant ecosystem where diversity thrives. To really make that sustainable, we need the ERA. When women get equal pay and equal protection, their families, their communities, and our economy will certainly benefit."

"Gloria and Dorothy's Equal Rights Now Tee" can be purchased immediately at Represent.com/equalrights. The shirts, which come in several styles for women and men, will be available for a limited time only.

The ERA will protect women's rights

Since the 2016 presidential election, support for the ERA is surging, as growing numbers of Americans seek to address pay inequity, pregnancy discrimination, and gender-based violence. 94 percent of Americans polled in a 2016 survey said they would support an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that guarantees equal rights for both men and women.

"More and more Americans are beginning to understand that the ERA would provide a constitutional framework to promote equality and a more effective remedy for all forms of gender-based violence and discrimination," said Jessica Neuwirth, president of the ERA Coalition. "So many young women and men are working at a grassroots level for passage of the ERA. Middle school, high school, and college students are reaching out to ask what they can do to support constitutional equality. Their awareness and activism make us confident that the ERA will finally be put into the Constitution."

Women's Equality Day

Women's Equality Day was originally created in 1971 by Rep. Bella Abzug of New York City, to commemorate the 1920 certification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which granted women the right to vote. Women's Equality Day not only commemorates the passage of the 19th Amendment, but it also calls attention to the movement for passage of the Equal Rights Amendment, which will guarantee equality under the Constitution for women and girls.

Bringing together more than a hundred organizations and millions of women and men, the ERA Coalition is a national organization that is building a successful coalition for passage and ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) and promoting greater public understanding of the need for equal treatment of women under the law. Go to www.eracoalition.org for more information.

SOURCE ERA Coalition

Related Links

http://www.eracoalition.org


PASO ROBLES, Calif., Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Greenbelt Resources Corporation (OTC: GRCO) has successfully developed a solution to address industrial segments of the global food waste problem. In the United States, 30 to 40 percent of food goes to waste costing the country $220 billion in economic losses, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Consumers and businesses throw another 53 million tons of food away. Saudi Arabia is the largest food waster in the world followed closely by Indonesia where more food is wasted each year than is produced in the country. Focused on developing solutions to the growing crisis, Greenbelt developed its proprietary waste-to-energy technology to convert food industry waste into revenue generating bioproducts.

Currently working on an initiative in Jakarta, Indonesia, Greenbelt CEO Darren Eng explains that Greenbelt's waste-to-energy technology, ECOsystem, was developed to specifically address several areas of food waste including on the farm and in the food industry.

"The ECOsystem process converts the food waste into multiple bioproducts including, in some cases, a high-quality protein feed for human consumption designed to help meet the growing global demand for more protein sources," explains Eng. "The technology can also produce bioethanol, potable water, organic fertilizer that can be used in the fields, and in some cases bioenergy. One of the beauties of our technology is that it can be customized to fit any type of food waste situation."

In the global conversation around food waste three categories of waste have evolved:

Food losses  the food lost during production;

 the food lost during production; Unavoidable food waste  the food lost during the consumption phase (such as orange peels or fruit cores); and

 the food lost during the consumption phase (such as orange peels or fruit cores); and Avoidable food waste  The food that could have been eaten.

Unavoidable food waste is one area in particular on which Greenbelt is focused.

"No matter how much food waste we avoid, we need to recognize that some element of waste will always be endemic, especially the large stream of inedible food. The question is, since we may not be able to avoid those wastes, what do we do with them?" asks Energy Vision Chair Joanna Underwood in Waste Advantage.

According to Eng, their ECOsystem process is one answer to the "what do we do with them" question. "Greenbelt's ECOsystem technology is focused on creating bioproducts from unavoidable food waste," explains Eng. "There are great organizations focused on reducing food losses and educating consumers about wasting food, but I believe there is not enough conversation around real solutions to address unavoidable food losses. We have positioned Greenbelt as a leader in this global discussion."

Eng anticipates that the ECOsystem technology will not only become a significant solution in Indonesia but in countries around the world. The Indonesian initiative, JababECO, has broken ground. When the MOU was signed in April, it was celebrated by the attendance of Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence.

About Greenbelt Resources

Greenbelt Resources Corporation is an award-winning provider of sustainable energy production systems focused on delivering modular solutions that enable the localized processing of locally generated waste into locally consumed products. Greenbelt designs, develops and implements technology that makes the production of advanced biofuel reliable, practical and efficient. Controlled by proprietary automated controls, Greenbelt's small-scale, end-to-end modular systems convert food, beverage and other cellulosic wastes into commercially viable advanced biofuels (bio-ethanol), animal feed, fertilizer and filtered water. For more information visit www.greenbeltresources.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This document includes certain statements, predictions and projections that may be considered forward-looking statements under securities law. These statements involve a number of important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially including, but not limited to, the supply and demand for biofuels, our ability to remain technologically competitive and other economic, competitive and technological factors involving the Company's operations, markets, services, products and prices.

SOURCE Greenbelt Resources Corporation

Related Links

http://www.greenbeltresources.com


CHARLOTTE, N.C., Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Velocity: The My Private Brand Conference attendees will get an exclusive preview of Christopher Durham's latest book on private brand, Vanguard: Vintage Originals before it releases on Amazon on Monday, September 18th. The much-anticipated follow-up book to his bestselling first book Fifty2: The My Private Brand Project, will debut during the conference as Durham presents a look at the innovation, vintage design, and brands that make up the book. Velocity: The My Private Brand Conference will be held in Charlotte, NC on September 14. Immediately following, Durham will host a book signing and exhibit of the vintage packages from the book.

Vanguard: Vintage Originals Book

Christopher Durham, author and president of My Private Brand, joins an impressive lineup of more than a dozen retail executive speakers at the conference, including Jack Pestello, senior vice president, private brands, at Walmart; Paul Hunt, vice president, proprietary brands, Petsmart; Chris Demeo, vice president, global channel sales, Staples; Jeff Gamsey, vice president, private brands, Boxed.com, and Adam Golomb, director, own brands and sourcing, Giant Eagle.

"There's a piece of retail history we've been missing because we've all taken it for granted," said Durham. "Traditionally, retailers and the press think the private brand movement began in the 1970s, with generic white packaging. Through this book, I reveal what's been in front of us all this time, and hidden in people's attics: retailers have a long history of innovation and great design."

In this beautiful photographic anthology, Durham goes on to explain that many private brands date back to the early 1800's and either pre date national brands or were their contemporaries, just as big, just as loved. He shares the hidden history, long forgotten. Whether it's showing us retail's earliest groundbreaking brand builders like Sears, Walgreens, Kroger, and A&P, or reminding us that in 1893 Caleb Bradham created Brad's Drink for his drug store, which today we know as Pepsi-Cola, Durham takes us on a journey through the early innovations of a private brand.

With images from acclaimed photographer Teri Campbell, who also shot the photos in Fifty2: The My Private Brand Project, Durham brings to life the collection of more than 100 original vintage private label packages from more than 30 retailers. Conference attendees will have the opportunity to win or buy a copy of this beautiful untold history before it is available to the public when they attend Velocity: The My Private Brand Conference in Charlotte, NC on September 14. Attendees will have the opportunity to speak with the author and photographer Teri Campbell at the book signing. They will also have the opportunity to tour an exhibit of private brand packages Durham collected while writing Vanguard: Vintage Originals.

About My Private Brand

My Private Brand was launched by Christopher Durham in late 2008 the site is the most widely read daily publication on Private Brands in the world. My Private Brand is designed to foster innovation, encourage debate and write the next chapter of brand management  Private Brand Management.

About Christopher Durham

Christopher Durham is the president of My Private Brand and the co-founder of The Vertex Awards. He is a strategist, author, consultant and retailer who built brands at Delhaize-owned Food Lion, and led strategy and brand development for Lowe's Home Improvement. He has consulted with retailers around the world on their private brand strategy including Family Dollar, Petco, Staples, Office Depot, Best Buy, Metro (Canada), TLW (Taiwan) and Hola (Taiwan).

Durham has published five definitive books on private brands, including his first book, Fifty2: The My Private Brand Project. This fall, he will debut his newest book, Vanguard: Vintage Originals, a visual tour of innovation and package design in private brand going back to the mid-1800's.

Durham lives in Charlotte, NC with his wife, Laraine, and two daughters, Olivia and Sarah.

For additional information on private label, Vanguard: Vintage Originals or to schedule an interview with My Private Brand President Christopher Durham, contact: (704) 654-5502, or email [email protected]

Related Links

My Private Brand

Velocity: The My Private Brand Conference

SOURCE My Private Brand

Related Links

http://mypbrand.com


Sliced Deli is that rare, independently-run antidote to fast food. But people have been slow to catch on.

Longtime Arbys franchisee Kevin Breitfelder closed his Gammon Road store a year ago and turned it into Sliced Deli, with a menu that includes reasonably-priced build-your-own sandwiches, soups, salads, and items you dont often find at a sandwich shop, such as bratwurst and gyros.

During two recent dinner visits, I couldnt help but think it would probably do well in a neighborhood where people could better embrace it. Sliced was quiet except for a handful of drive-thru orders. Breitfelder acknowledges business is slow and steady.

Were picking up a little steam, but theres no rocket ships into outer space for us yet, he said.

Its location just off the Beltline is actually handy  particularly during rush hour  because it has its own turn lane when people approach from the highway. But travelers, shoppers and others looking for a name brand will likely avoid the unfamiliar Sliced.

Still, Breitfelder, who spent 27 years working for Arbys, said hes glad he made the change. Its much more enjoyable for me, even though the profits arent really where I need them to be yet.

If you want enjoyment, go with the Cuban sandwich ($5.99), which is new to the menu and listed on a chalkboard. It comes on thick, square Cuban bread that gets pressed with all the requisite ingredients inside: chunks of roasted pork, grilled deli ham, Swiss cheese, pickles and mustard. No Big Mac or Whopper can top this.

Less special, but also worthwhile, was the smoked brisket sandwich ($4.99) with tender meat and the right amount of barbecue sauce, along with onion strings and a hint of Gouda cheese. The chicken cordon bleu ($4.99) was another good choice, with breaded, juicy chicken; a thin layer of ham; and Swiss cheese. Both sandwiches had the right amount of mayo and were served on sturdy, but soft, split-top buns, which made them easy to cut and share.

A vegetarian friend ordered what was really his only option, a build-your-own sandwich ($3.99). He said it was OK, but noted that Subway offers many more vegetable choices.

Two sides: onion rings ($2.49) and mozzarella sticks ($2.99 for four), didnt let us down. The onion rings had a tasty batter and werent super greasy, and the mozzarella sticks had a breading that was thick, but not overly so. Marinara sauce on the side was welcome.

The best side for the health conscious is the modestly-priced side salad ($1.99) with iceberg and romaine lettuce, chopped tomato and shredded cheddar. The balsamic vinaigrette on the side worked well.

Two children at the table were happy with their orders  a hot dog with ketchup and a PB&J, which turned out to be the crustless Smuckers kind my daughter enjoys. The kid options are $4.49 and come with a side, a drink and dessert. The fries one of the girls got were just fine and not overly salty.

Regular iced tea ($1.75 for a small) and sweet tea are available from canisters on a counter. I mixed the two together for a medium-sweet effect.

Breitfelder offers some familiar products such as Otis Spunkmeyer and Famous Amos cookies and Smuckers, but in terms of the big picture, realizes hes at a disadvantage with people looking for a recognizable fast-food name.

A traveler doesnt know what Sliced is, he said. Theyve never seen it before... They arent going to take a chance. They arent going to waste their time trying to figure it out.

But, he added, the locals love it so far. We get lots of great reviews.

Breitfelder  who works 12 hours a day, seven days a week  and will likely take your order or make your food, said he recognizes the same faces, just not enough of the same faces.

Since he made the switch to Sliced, hes only had Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter off, when the restaurant was closed. He recently took half a day for himself, he said.
GUANGZHOU, China, Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The history-themed painting Xi Zhongxun in Nanliang has sparked a fresh reaction during its display from August 4 to 20 in Guangdong following a favorable reception at the "Reform Mission - Guangdong Art Centennial Exhibition" held by Guangdong Museum of Art. On August 9, Shen Haixiong, Member of the Standing Committee of CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee and Guangdong Provincial Publicity Chief joined a group of Cantonese artists at Guangdong Museum of Art at a meeting where Chen Yan, painter of this artwork and honorary president of Shantou Artists Association would talk of how he completed the painting. Shen said that he hoped the literature and art community of Guangdong would focus on major themes and eulogize the great times in efforts to bring the literature and art to a new high.

According to Chen, who was born and raised in Yan'an, Shaanxi Province before settling down in Shantou in the 1980s, it was really an emotion-invested project, which required his lived experience in Shaanxi earlier and in Guangdong over 20 years since then. On top of that, to vividly depict how Xi Zhongxun, then chairman of the Soviet Government in Shaanxi-Gansu Border Revolutionary Base Area was joining together cheerful folks in the 1930s, Chen made a bold technique innovation by combining western and Chinese painting styles.

Much attention received proved that any great artworks of revolutionary historic theme need to take roots in people and their life and employ innovative approaches, Chen continued.

The painting is an artwork of great art performance, Shen pointed out, adding that the literature and art community of Guangdong should gain valuable experience from the meeting and make more efforts to focus on major themes and eulogize the great times and the endeavors are expected to churn out more influential and profound artworks featuring the Lingnan region.

Shen urged the departments concerned in Guangdong to boost support in artwork creation and protection and to encourage artists to produce more well-deserved artworks, taking the literature and art of Guangdong to a new high.

SOURCE Guangdong Museum of Art
RICHMOND, Va., Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Prospective college students are arriving on campus already doubting their ability to reach graduation with nearly half anticipating the need to either temporarily or permanently withdraw from their degree program. According to the 2017 Allianz Tuition Insurance College Confidence Index, 48 percent are less than very confident they will finish college without dropping out permanently and 55 percent think they will need to take at least some time off.

The Allianz Tuition Insurance College Confidence Index survey results also revealed:

Nearly half (43 percent) of current students indicate they've thought about withdrawing;

The majority (53 percent) are less than very confident they will graduate within four years; and

Parents, too, anticipate the likelihood that withdrawal might be necessary. More than half of all parents surveyed (52 percent) lacked full confidence that their student will graduate within four years.

"There's a lot at stake for parents and students, including the possibility of suffering a financial loss from dropping out. If students want to return to school, some families may not be able to fund the additional semesters needed to graduate," said Joe Mason, chief marketing officer at Allianz Global Assistance. "Over one-hundred colleges and universities rely on Allianz to provide tuition protection to increase their students and families' confidence and peace of mind."

Students and parents alike realize that the implications of additional, unplanned semesters are significant: 85 percent agree that the financial repercussions of withdrawing could be severe. Among those surveyed, the average financial loss resulting from college withdrawal was estimated to be more than $11,000. Additionally, 10 percent of respondents estimate their potential loss to be at least $25,000.

Current and prospective college students identified the following as the most likely reasons they may withdraw from their college program:

Family emergency  69 percent

Stress  66 percent

Mental health condition  66 percent

Physical health condition  60 percent

"After a certain point in the semester, most universities refund only a partial amount of tuition paid by students and their families. Fortunately, tuition insurance provides a refund to families for both tuition and other academic expenses when students unexpectedly are forced to leave school for a reason covered by their policy," said Mason.

Allianz Tuition Insurance College Confidence Index

(Percentages indicate those who are less than "very confident")

sample size = 2,004 Americans

Prospective

Students Current

Students Parents of

Prospective

Students Parents of

Current

Students That you/your child

will finish college

without needing to

permanently withdraw 51 45 50 35 That you/your child

will finish college

without needing to

temporarily withdraw 55 49 52 38 That you/your child

will finish within 4

years of starting the

college program? 56 53 54 50

Additional survey findings reveal:

Just 52 percent of students said they're "very confident" they won't permanently withdraw from college at some point;

Parents and students often aren't aware of their current (or prospective) school's refund policy  half indicate no awareness, and just one in eight respondents (16 percent) say they are very confident they know it; and

Nearly 8 in 10 parents (78 percent) say they'd be worried about making student loan payments if their child had to withdraw from their college program.

To learn more about Allianz Tuition Insurance, visit www.AllianzTuitionInsurance.com.

Methodology: These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of Allianz in May 2017. For the survey, a sample of n=2,004 Americans (college students age 17-25: n=1,001 and parents n=1,003 were interviewed online via Ipsos's American online panel. The precision of Ipsos online surveys is measured using a Bayesian credibility interval. In this case, with a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within  2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had all American college students (prospective and current) and parents been polled. The credibility interval will be larger within sub-groupings of the survey population.

Allianz Global Assistance USA

Allianz Global Assistance USA (AGA Service Company) is a leading consumer specialty insurance and assistance company. We serve 25 million customers annually and are best known for our Allianz Travel Insurance plans. In addition to travel insurance, Allianz Global Assistance USA offers tuition insurance, event ticket protection, registration protection for endurance events and unique travel assistance services such as international medical assistance and concierge services. The company also serves as an outsource provider for in-bound call center services and claims administration for property and casualty insurers and credit card companies.

Allianz Tuition Insurance protects both in-state and out-of-state non-refundable college tuition in the event that a student withdraws from school for reasons that include illness, injury or psychological/mental disorders. One insurance plan will even provide coverage for almost any unforeseen reason that may cause a student to leave school. Tuition Insurance must be purchased prior to the first day of the semester and three different plans are available, starting at only $29.95 per term. The insurance also includes Allianz Global Assistance's proprietary Student Life Assistance, a 24/7 service that assists families in the event of an emergency.

*Terms, conditions, reductions, and exclusions apply. All plans not available in all states. For a complete description of the coverage and specific benefit limits offered under your plan, carefully review your declarations page and insurance policy. Unforeseen reason coverage is limited to 50% of covered loss. Plans are only available to U.S. residents. Insurance coverage is underwritten by Jefferson Insurance Company (NY, Administrative Office: Richmond, VA), rated "A+" (Superior) by A.M. Best Co., under Jefferson Form No. 107-P series. Allianz Global Assistance and Allianz Tuition Insurance are brands of AGA Service Company. AGA Service Company is the licensed producer and administrator of this plan and an affiliate of Jefferson Insurance Company. The insured shall not receive any special benefit or advantage because of the affiliation between AGA Service Company and Jefferson Insurance Company. Non-insurance benefits/ products are provided and serviced by AGA Service Company. Consumer may be responsible for charges incurred from outside vendors for assistance or concierge services.

SOURCE Allianz Global Assistance USA

Related Links

http://www.allianztravelinsurance.com


Prieto brings over 14 years of wholesale and retail distribution management experience in the Reverse Industry. During the 2000s, he benefited from working at industry pioneers Financial Freedom, Senior Funding and Senior Lending Network. Most recently he was employed as SVP of Strategic Business Initiatives at AAG and National Sales Field Leader at Liberty Home Equity Solutions. He has a proven track record in sales forecasts, vendor/client partnerships and distribution build out.

He will be working closely to Joan Imelio, VP of the Reverse Division. Adrian's key responsibilities includes expanding reverse loan production through retail and wholesale branch channels to meet production and profitability objectives. Adrian will also oversee and direct our Reverse Wholesale Division and marketing force. Other responsibilities include overseeing and directing new branch acquisitions or branch expansion in all available markets of HighTechLending.

HighTechLending made it into the Top 10 Reverse Lenders in the nation by specializing in converting reverse mortgage brokers into branch partners. This provides them with all the tools necessary to compete on a banking level in the reverse industry. They also cater to mortgage brokers/bankers who want to break into the reverse market without any reverse experience. In 2017, they will continue to aggressively expand our branch platform while also educating brokers on a wholesale level. They offer unparalleled service to our sales staff and have a track record of underwriting and closing loans in less than two weeks.

Adrian will be based in our Irvine Corporate Office and for further information can be reached at [email protected] on (949) 468-2648.

For employment inquiries please visit http://hightechlending.net/join-our-team/

SOURCE HighTechLending, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.hightechlending.com


LOS ANGELES, Aug. 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary is proud to announce the introduction of Certified Celebrant Services. Certified Celebrants are officiants who conduct custom services tailored to each family's unique traditions and wishes. Working together with each family, Hillside's Certified Celebrants are able to customize every aspect of the funeral service, unveiling service or cremation memorial, with or without the participation of clergy.

Iconic Jolson Memorial

For many families, traditional services do not resonate with their spiritual values. Our Certified Celebrants are here to serve families who consider themselves "spiritual" or "non-religious." Selecting from one of Hillside's many service options will ensure that the funeral is a true memorialization of your loved one, whether or not Hillside Memorial Park is chosen as the final resting place.

Certified Celebrant Services also provide a unique opportunity for each family to honor and celebrate the life of their loved one during the unveiling service  a longstanding Jewish tradition that occurs when the memorial marker is put in place. Celebrants can help each family create a tribute for their loved one at the time of the unveiling service. Family and friends who were not able to attend the funeral can commemorate the life and legacy of their loved one at the time of the unveiling.

Custom options may include personalized invitations, musical arrangements, song tributes, written stories, video montages, memorial releases, and receptions. Hillside's Certified Celebrants work alongside families to create unique and meaningful celebrations of one's life and legacy.

Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary is a community service of Temple Israel of Hollywood. For over 75 years, Hillside has provided members of the community the means to honor and remember their loved ones in beauty, tranquility and the comfort of Jewish traditions. For more information, visit www.hillsidememorial.org.

Media Contact:

Paul Goldstein

Phone: (310) 641-0707

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary

Related Links

http://www.hillsidememorial.org


DES MOINES, Iowa, Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyundai Hope On Wheels will today present Blank Children's Hospital with a $50,000 Hyundai Impact Award. Blank Children's Hospital is one of 25 recipients of this year's award, which is given to pediatric oncology departments at select children's hospitals nationwide. The grant funds will support patient care services at the hospital's Cancer and Blood Disorder Center.

In 2017, Hope On Wheels will award $15 million toward pediatric cancer research and programs. This brings the organization's donation total to $130 million since Hyundai joined the fight against pediatric cancer in 1998. With this latest grant, Blank Children's Hospital has received $250,000 from Hope On Wheels.

"Throughout the country, talented doctors are working tirelessly to help kids fight cancer by conducting research or providing bedside care," said Scott Fink, chairman, Hyundai Hope On Wheels Board of Directors. "Our goal at Hope On Wheels is to provide these doctors with the grant funds they need to perform their lifesaving work. Superheroes come in all forms, but for children and families battling cancer  superheroes wear lab coats."

The $50,000 Hyundai Impact Award will be officially presented to Blank Children's Hospital today, August 10, 2017 at 10 a.m. During the event, Des Moines-area children battling cancer will participate in the program's signature Handprint Ceremony, in which they'll dip their hands in paint and place their handprints on a white 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe. Their colorful handprints on the official Hope Vehicle represent their individual and collective journeys, hopes and dreams.

Doctors and researchers that receive a grant from Hope On Wheels are named Hyundai Scholars and are presented with a special lab coat. This year, Hope On Wheels will further recognize its Hyundai Scholars for their incredible efforts on behalf of children battling cancer through a campaign called "Superheroes Wear Lab Coats." The video series will showcase their lifesaving work. To learn more about the campaign, please visit HyundaiHopeOnWheels.org.

For more information about Hyundai Hope On Wheels and to view a complete list of this year's grant winners, please visit HyundaiHopeOnWheels.org/research . Follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram at facebook.com/HyundaiHopeOnWheels, twitter.com/HopeOnWheels or instagram.com/HyundaiHopeOnWheels.

HYUNDAI HOPE ON WHEELS

Hyundai Hope On Wheels is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that is committed to finding a cure for childhood cancer. Launched in 1998, Hyundai Hope On Wheels provides grants to eligible institutions nationwide that are pursuing life-saving research and innovative treatments for the disease. HHOW is one of the largest non-profit funders of pediatric cancer research in the country, and primary funding for Hyundai Hope On Wheels comes from Hyundai Motor America and its more than 835 U.S. dealers. Since its inception, Hyundai Hope On Wheels has awarded more than $130 million towards childhood cancer research in pursuit of a cure.

HYUNDAI MOTOR AMERICA

Hyundai Motor America, headquartered in Fountain Valley, Calif., is a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Company of Korea. Hyundai vehicles are distributed throughout the United States by Hyundai Motor America and are sold and serviced through 835 dealerships nationwide. All new Hyundai vehicles sold in the U.S. are covered by the Hyundai Assurance program, which includes a 5-year/60,000-mile fully-transferable new vehicle limited warranty, Hyundai's 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain limited warranty and five years of complimentary Roadside Assistance.

For more details on Hyundai Assurance, please visit www.HyundaiAssurance.com

Please visit our media website at www.hyundainews.com

Hyundai Motor America on Twitter | YouTube | Facebook

SOURCE Hyundai Hope On Wheels

Related Links

https://hyundaihopeonwheels.org


Flettner rotors on ships - typically four huge columns - typically exploit the fact that an electrically rotated cylinder in a wind creates thrust. It has better tolerance of wind direction than sails. It could be complementary to AWE which creates electricity using tethered drones or cloth kites way above the ship at 200-1000 meters where winds are four times stronger and more continuous. Photovoltaics as solar road technology applied to large ships can also supply up to MW level particularly if increasingly affordable gallium arsenide is used. All three will be complemented by wave power lifting the ship to reduce drag, a technique that is newly viable. Each gain is multiplicative and the complementary intermittency could lead to a greatly reduced need for batteries and possibly the complete elimination of them .

The world's first conference on "Energy Independent Electric Vehicles" takes place 27-28 September at the Technical University of Delft in the Netherlands. Exclusively on the subject this IDTechEx event will embrace the commercial opportunity and technology roadmap including ship energy independence.

At the conference Naval DC will describe its many commercially successful large boats that are energy independent and where it is headed. Three organisations present their AWE at 30-100 kW with potential to provide multiple 1MW systems on ships - KiteNRG of Italy, Kitepower of the Netherlands and Kitemill of Norway. Solaroad TNO of the Netherlands presents solar roads suitable for ships that could produce hundreds of kilowatts potentially complementing solar sails that make electricity from sun, wind and rain developed by presenter the University of Bolton in the UK. Toyota of Japan gives a keynote.

The event is staged by analyst IDTechEx which has the only comprehensive reports and consultancy on EIVs and enabling technologies such as structural electronics, triboelectric and 6D motion energy harvesting and extreme lightweighting including a report, Electric Boats and Ships 2017-2027.

Contact:

Charlotte Hibbert

Marketing & Research Co-ordinator

[email protected]

UK: +44-(0)1223-810286

SOURCE IDTechEx
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Lundin Law PC, a shareholder rights firm, announces the filing of a class action lawsuit against MAXIMUS, Inc. ("MAXIMUS" or the "Company") (NYSE: MMS) concerning possible violations of federal securities laws between October 30, 2014 and February 3, 2016, inclusive (the "Class Period"). Investors who purchased or otherwise acquired shares during the Class Period should contact the firm prior to the October 6, 2017 lead plaintiff motion deadline.

To participate in this class action lawsuit, click here.

You can also call Brian Lundin, Esq., of Lundin Law PC, at 888-713-1033, or e-mail him at [email protected].

No class has been certified in the above action yet. Until a class is certified, you are not considered represented by an attorney. You may also choose to do nothing and be an absent class member.

According to the Complaint, throughout the Class Period, MAXIMUS made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: in obtaining the Health Assessment Advisory Service ("HAAS") contract, the Company set an unattainable target number of healthcare professionals to recruit and an unattainable target number of assessments; that throughout the HAAS contract, MAXIMUS was struggling to recruit, train and ramp-up new health care staff to perform the assessments; that the inability to meet its target number of healthcare recruits and target number of assessments, meant MAXIMUS would not earn the performance-based incentive fees from the HAAS contract; and that as a result, the Company's statements about its financial condition, and the outlook for its business, including statements about the HAAS contract and the amount of revenue MAXIMUS expected the contract to contribute, lacked a reasonable basis when made. Upon release of this information, shares of MAXIMUS fell in value materially, which caused investors harm according to the Complaint.

Lundin Law PC was founded by Brian Lundin, Esq., a securities litigator based in Los Angeles dedicated to upholding shareholders' rights.

This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules.

Contact:

Lundin Law PC

Brian Lundin, Esq.

Telephone: 888-713-1033

Facsimile: 888-713-1125

[email protected]

http://lundinlawpc.com/

SOURCE Lundin Law PC

Related Links

http://lundinlawpc.com


In addition, this merger represents the continued execution and success of Improving's "Enterprise Model," an innovative business strategy focused on merging service companies who share a genuine commitment to excellence, trust and culture. This model reinforces localized incentives and ownership behavior coupled with the power and value of leveraged service offerings. As a result, the ProSource Solutions' leadership team will continue operating and growing the business, contributing to Improving's sustained success across North America. ProSource Solutions is joining the Improving brand as its sixth enterprise location.

"The mutual benefits of joining forces with businesses that have similar company values allows us to advance our ambition of improving the perception of the IT professional," states Curtis Hite, CEO of Improving. "It is our goal to combine the proven performance of local teams with a focus on establishing environments of trust to further the success of IT organizations across the region. ProSource Solutions' expertise in Microsoft technologies and Cloud Computing will strategically accelerate our ability to accomplish these goals."

ProSource's service offerings focus on delivering critical information systems and business process improvements in four major technology categories  application development, cloud computing, collaboration and infrastructure. The merger will significantly strengthen the breadth and depth of the technical consulting services and training offerings that can now be utilized across all of Improving's markets. ProSource is a preferred Microsoft Partner and has been awarded "Top U.S. Services Partner of the Year" from Microsoft on five separate years.

"We are thrilled with the Improving merger," states Lowell Messner, President and CEO of ProSource Solutions. "Improving shares our values and our commitment to our clients, team and partners. We are looking forward to collaborating with all of the Improving enterprises to offer services that fully support end-to-end project delivery from both a business and technology perspective."

About Improving

In 2007, Improving Enterprises, LLC merged with Blue Ocean Group to form Improving Enterprises, Inc. (Later Improving Holdings, LLC), a full-service technology consulting and training firm focused in Agile, Microsoft (.NET) and Java technologies. The company has an International presence with offices in Dallas, Texas; Bryan/College Station, Texas; Houston, Texas; Columbus, Ohio; Cleveland, Ohio; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Calgary, Canada. To learn more about Improving, visit http://improving.com/

Media Contact:

Kristin Kacir

Improving

[email protected]

214-613-4448

SOURCE Improving Holdings, LLC

Related Links

http://improving.com


DALLAS, Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Instructional design firm, iDesign, today announced Course Market, a digital marketplace that universities can use to offer standalone courses and digital credentials in high demand fields. Course Market integrates LMS technology from Instructure and Credly's pioneering credential platform to deliver engaging learner experiences with real value in the job market. Institutions that utilize Course Market can seamlessly enroll students in continuing education programs, accept payment, deliver content, and issue digital badges or certificates, which can be instantly uploaded and shared through social networks like LinkedIn or Facebook.

"Alternative credentials are unquestionably gaining traction among working adults looking for accelerated pathways to new schools and executive education. We view Course Market as a great tool for universities that want to expand access to learners who may otherwise be unable to take advantage of traditional degree programs," said William Valenta, Assistant Dean of MBA and Executive Programs at University of Pittsburgh Katz Graduate School of Business. "By applying Course Market's technology and infrastructure to our existing educational offerings, the Katz school successfully enhanced access, affordability, and career relevance."

Earlier this year, the University of Pittsburgh completed a pilot of Course Market at its Katz School of Business. Designed to provide online learning options for students in the school's Management Essentials certificate program, Pitt's Course Market leverages pedagogy and technology to create learner experiences that meet the needs of today's working professional.

"The practical barriers to serving students outside the traditional degree-seeking population - including access to a learning platform, payment processing, and student support - can overwhelm most universities," said Paxton Riter, Chief Executive Officer at iDesign. "Course Market is an all-in-one solution for forward-thinking universities that want to expand access to everyone who has a desire to learn, while still preserving their brand and standard of excellence."

Course Market allows universities to unbundle and repackage existing educational offerings at a time when badges, certificates, and other non-traditional credentials are increasingly appealing to employers and learners. The product of a collaboration among education technology pioneers, Course Market draws upon Instructure's popular Canvas LMS for functionality and student experience demanded by non-traditional learners. Credly's popular credentialing platform, which is used to create, issue, and manage digital credentials, enables Course Market partners to create unique, branded certificates and badges. iDesign provides credential design, course design, ongoing student support, payment processing, and e-commerce services.

For more information, please visit http://idesignedu.org/course-market/ and course.market.

About iDesign

iDesign partners with colleges and universities to design, implement and scale online and blended programs. We are passionate about helping faculty harness the potential of emerging technologies to design courses and degrees that make an impact, whether they are fully online, flipped, adaptive, or competency-based. Our unbundled, fee-for-service model is rooted in a commitment to flexibility and institutional autonomy, while our analytics platform supports continuous improvement through rigorous measurement of student engagement and course quality. From statewide university systems to private colleges, our custom solutions pair instructional design with technologies to enable great teaching. For more information, please visit www.idesignedu.org

About Credly

Credly is a leading digital credential service provider, helping the world recognize lifelong achievement with the most popular platforms for verifying, sharing and managing digital credentials and badges. The enterprise-class system allows organizations to officially verify skills and competencies; distribute portable and secure digital credentials and open badges; and gain actionable data and insights. Thousands of education institutions, industry associations, employers and workforce development programs use Credly to make achievements visible. For more information about Credly, please visit http://www.Credly.com.

About Instructure

Instructure, Inc. is a leading software-as-a-service (SaaS) technology company that makes software that makes people smarter. With a vision to help maximize the potential of people through technology, Instructure created Canvas and Bridge to enable organizations everywhere to easily develop, deliver and manage engaging face-to-face and online learning experiences. To date, Instructure has connected millions of instructors and learners at more than 2,000 educational institutions and corporations throughout the world. Learn more about Canvas for higher ed and K-12, and Bridge for the corporate market at www.Instructure.com.

SOURCE iDesign

Related Links

http://idesignedu.org


A Beloit man involved in a domestic disturbance Wednesday was arrested for his alleged fifth drunken driving offense.

Monte Dozier, 35, was taken to the Rock County Jail, the Sheriff's Office said. He was scheduled to be in court on Thursday.

Deputies went to 5627 N. Lima Center Road at about 4:15 a.m. Wednesday for a reported domestic disturbance.

Dozier was arrested on domestic charges as well as the drunken driving charge, the OWI coming about when he admitted driving to the residence to contact his girlfriend.
FORT WORTH, Texas, Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Koddi announced today that it won Best Marketing Automation Platform in the 3rd annual Digiday Signal Awards. The Digiday Signal Awards are presented by Digiday, and recognize the technology platforms that are bringing efficiency, effectiveness, and creativity to the media and marketing processes for brands, agencies, and publishers.

The judging panel is comprised of marketing and advertising tech experts, including Matt David, Head of Communications and Marketing at Tinder; Yuyu Fang, Director, Programmatic Buying Unit at Mindshare; Veronika Luik, Programmatic Group Planning Director at [email protected]; and Maegan Moore, Media Manager at Sony Corporation of America.

Koddi is a technology platform for digital marketers in the travel industry. The company's winning case study demonstrated how the Koddi platform helped a Fortune 500 hotel company launch a successful Dynamic Ads for Travel campaign on Facebook, tripling direct bookings as a result.

"We're honored and excited to be counted among such an innovative group of companies," says Leah Richardson, Marketing Coordinator at Koddi. "Our team has worked hard to drive efficiency and results for our clients, and this accolade would not be possible without their dedication as well as the great clients that we get to partner with every day."

"This year's group of Digiday Signal Awards winners represent the very best of a vital part of our industry - marketing and advertising technology providers," says Digiday Media CEO, Nick Friese. "The third annual Signal Awards are proud to recognize these companies for their innovative solutions and their contribution to the advancement of our industry as a whole."

Winners will be recognized at the Digiday Awards in November 2017 in New York City.

About Koddi:

Koddi is a software as a service provider of digital marketing technology for advertisers in the travel industry. Large hotel groups, online travel agencies, digital marketing agencies and other travel brands leverage the Koddi platform and it's fully automated and customizable reporting features to manage metasearch and social ad campaigns for thousands to hundreds of thousands of hotel properties. Koddi serves nine of the top ten largest US hotel suppliers and one-third of all global metasearch investment is done through the Koddi platform.

Learn more at www.koddi.com.

About the Digiday Awards:

Digiday Media's awards programs are the leading media and marketing industry awards, celebrating excellence and achievement in innovation. The Digiday Awards programs celebrate overall excellence and breakthrough achievements in media, marketing, advertising and technology in the U.S. and Europe.

Contact:

Koddi: [email protected]

Digiday: [email protected]

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SOURCE Koddi

Related Links

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LAS VEGAS, Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Attorney Adam S. Kutner donated $1,000 to Ronzone Elementary School to help with supplies for the coming school year. This comes as part of Kutner's continued initiative to give back to the community he serves.

"I saw an article in the newspaper describing the need for additional resources for the schools here in Las Vegas," said Kutner. "I'm thrilled to be able to help with this issue and make sure additional teachers and students have what they need to succeed."

In 2015, Kutner started the Adam Kutner Cares initiative to focus on giving back to the community. Kutner provides annual scholarships to students in need and contributes to local charities in addition to the recent donation to Ronzone Elementary.

"We are so appreciative of any and all donations we receive," said Lori A. McGaughey, the principal at Ronzone Elementary School. "The students and staff will all be thrilled!"

Kutner will continue to identify opportunities to help the community. Charitable organizations in Las Vegas can reach out through Kutner's community website to discuss how Kutner can assist in their efforts.

Adam S. Kutner & Associates is the leading personal injury law firm in Las Vegas, Nevada. With over two decades of proven results in the state of Nevada, Kutner has become a household name around the Las Vegas Valley. More information about Kutner and his community involvement can be found on his website: http://www.adamkutnercares.com/

SOURCE Adam S. Kutner & Associates

Related Links

http://www.adamkutnercares.com


NEW YORK, Aug. 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Lifeway Foods Inc (LWAY:NAS): Analytics, Extensive Financial Metrics, and Benchmarks Against Averages and Top Companies Within its Industry



Key Findings: - Unique new report provides deep financial benchmarks for (Lifeway Foods Inc (LWAY:NAS) compared to its top competitors and compared to the average for all companies within its primary industry. - Benchmarking study for (Orbitz Worldwide Inc) includes growth forecast for its primary industry to the year 2021. The purpose of this report is to provide vital corporate-specific benchmarks, comparing the Subject Company to its top competitors (on a company-by-company basis) and to the averages within its primary industry for all key metrics. This is a unique report containing high-value data. The report begins with a superb overview of the primary industry of the Subject Company, including historical industry revenues, revenue forecasts and CAGR. Then the report moves into industry averages and metrics, then into data specific to the Subject Company, with comparative data for the Subject Company's top competitors. This report will save countless hours of research and analytical work for the end user.





Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/4948683/







Core Benefits to Customer: 1) Comprehensive benchmarks for the Subject Company: a. Benchmarked against the leading firms in its primary industry b. Benchmarked against the average for publicly-held companies (U.S.) in its industry. c. This includes financial results, ratios, vital statistics and metrics in one package, including historical and current metrics and averages for 6 years within its primary industry. 2) A snapshot overview of the company's primary industry, including current and historic revenues and employment, along with a long term forecast for industry growth, with CAGR (compound annual growth rate), employee population and much more. 3) Detailed rankings of the Subject Company against top companies within the industry (U.S.-based firms) for key items including: a. Approximate market capitalization b. Employees c. Revenues d. Net income e. 3-Year revenue growth (%) f. 3-Year income growth (%) g. Return on assets (%) h. Return on equity (%) i. Return on invested capital (%) 4) Leading companiesa"profiles of the Subject Company as well as profiles of top competitors within the industry Pages: 69 Statistical Tables Provided: 28 Charts Provided: 14 Geographic: US This report is part of the Plunkett's Corporate Benchmarks series, published by the Plunkett Analytics unit of Plunkett Research, Ltd. Plunkett Research has unique capabilities for creating corporate and industry information, due to the industry and company research that we have been conducting for more than 20 years. Our access to hundreds of industry tables from our own databases, along with our databases of public and private company information, industry trends analysis and other resources, have been utilized in preparing this report. Similar reports are available for all significant, U.S. publicly-held firms.



Designed to benefit: - Analysis and Financial Modeling -Investment Professionals - Lenders - M&A Advisors - Appraisers - Consultants "Plunkett Research has built a solid reputation providing industry analysis and research in a diverse spectrum of areasa"energy and utilities, finance and investment, health care and biotechnology, and engineering and research to name a few." American Reference Books Annual



Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/4948683/



About Reportbuyer

Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers

http://www.reportbuyer.com



For more information:

Sarah Smith

Research Advisor at Reportbuyer.com

Email: [email protected]

Tel: +44 208 816 85 48

Website: www.reportbuyer.com

SOURCE ReportBuyer

Related Links

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WALTHAM, Mass., Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Lionbridge Technologies, Inc. ("Lionbridge" or the "Company") today announced the settlement of a class action complaint in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (the "Action").

On January 13, 2017, a stockholder of Lionbridge filed a class action complaint against Lionbridge's CEO and board members alleging claims for breaches of fiduciary duty. The claims in the Action derived from the execution of the merger agreement dated December 12, 2016, between Lionbridge and H.I.G. Capital, LLC, LBT Acquisition, Inc., and LBT Merger Sub, Inc. (collectively, "HIG") and the filing of what was alleged to be an incomplete and materially deficient Preliminary Proxy Statement with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on January 5, 2017. The class action, among other things, sought additional disclosure of facts relating to the merger in connection with the stockholder vote thereupon and/or injunctive relief. Defendants denied that anything was incomplete or materially deficient and denied all liability to plaintiff.

Lionbridge filed supplemental disclosures to address a subset of plaintiff's claims on January 17, 2017 with the SEC. These supplemental disclosures included information confirming that no agreement regarding the future employment of Lionbridge management had taken place prior to the Merger Agreement as well as details regarding the previously disclosed "Rollover Agreements" with certain stockholders.

On April 7, 2017, the Court of Chancery entered an order dismissing the action with prejudice as to the plaintiff, and without prejudice as to all other members of the putative class. Pursuant to the order, the Court of Chancery retained jurisdiction to determine plaintiff's application for an award of attorneys' fees and reimbursement of expenses.

After negotiations, to avoid further litigation expenses, and denying any and all liability, Lionbridge has agreed to pay $100,000 for plaintiff's attorneys' fees and expenses pertaining to the Action. This fee will be paid by Lionbridge. The Court of Chancery has not been asked to review, and will pass no judgment on, the payment of the fee or its reasonableness.

About Lionbridge

Lionbridge enables more than 800 world-leading brands to increase international market share, speed adoption of products and effectively engage their customers in local markets worldwide. Using our innovative cloud technology platforms and our global crowd of more than 100,000 professional cloud workers, we provide detail-critical business processes, including translation, online marketing, global content management and application testing solutions that ensure global brand consistency, local relevancy and technical usability across all touch points of the customer lifecycle. Based in Waltham, Mass., Lionbridge maintains solution centers in 27 countries. To learn more, visit www.lionbridge.com.

Contact:

Sara Buda

978-964-1404

[email protected]

SOURCE Lionbridge Technologies, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.lionbridge.com


BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- LiveXLive Media, Inc. (OTC: LIVX) LiveXLive, the premiere global music streaming network, will be livestreaming select performances from Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival on the LiveXLive platform beginning Friday, August 11, and ending Sunday, August 13, for music fans outside of the United States.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the festival, which takes place in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, and the second year of the LiveXLive streaming partnership. This year's streaming lineup includes Metallica, Lorde, Gorillaz, Alt J, Above and Beyond, Empire of the Sun, as well as many other artists across rock, alternative, hip hop, electronic and pop music.

"At LiveXLive, we are committed to bringing the world's biggest festivals and experiences to music fans all over the world," said Robert Ellin, founder and CEO of LiveXLive. "Even though Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival takes place in San Francisco, we're going to ensure that fans worldwide won't miss the incredible performances from this weekend by streaming them on our platform."

The LiveXLive festival livestream is set to begin at 10 p.m. UTC on Friday, August 11. The stream will be globally available on www.livexlive.com, excluding the United States. The stream will also be simulcast on LiveXLive's Facebook page. Dailymotion will provide additional distribution of LiveXLive's Outside Lands livestream outside the United States on www.dailymotion.com/sfoutsidelands. Artist times and streaming availability are subject to change.

British model and personality Sophie Sumner will be the host of the LiveXLive Outside Lands livestream. Sumner is an Oxford-native, winner of "America's Next Top Model," and a passionate music fan.

About LiveXLive Media, Inc. and LiveXLive, Corp

LiveXLive, Corp ("LiveXLive"), a wholly owned subsidiary of LiveXLive Media, Inc., is one of the world's only premium internet networks devoted to live music and music-related video content. Since LiveXLive's launch in 2015, LiveXLive has been building an online destination for music fans to enjoy premium live performances from music venues and leading music festivals around the world, such as Rock in Rio and Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival, Hangout Music Festival, as well as premium original content, artist exclusives and industry interviews. The LiveXLive platform has featured performances and content from some of the most popular artists in various music genres, including Rihanna, Katy Perry, Metallica, Duran Duran, Radiohead, Chance The Rapper, Bruce Springsteen, Major Lazer and Maroon 5. For more information, visit our website at www.livexlive.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at @livexlive.

Forward-Looking Statements

All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release are "forward-looking statements." These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. These factors include uncertainties as to identifying, acquiring, securing and developing content, ability to attract and retain users, successfully implementing the Company's growth strategy, including relating to its technology platform, management's relationships with industry stakeholders, changes in economic conditions, competition, and other risks including, but not limited to, those described in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended March 31, 2017 and its other filings and submissions with the SEC. Investors and security holders are urged to read these documents free of charge on the SEC's web site at http://www.sec.gov. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof and the Company and LiveXLive disclaim any obligations to update these statements except as may be required by law.

SOURCE LiveXLive Media, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.livexlive.com


Built for Arabsat and King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia, the satellite will provide advanced telecommunications capabilities, including television, internet, telephone and secure mode communications, to customers in the Middle East, Africa and Europe.

"We've modeled this activity in our virtual reality lab hundreds of times, but this is the first time we've performed the integration activity of our modernized A2100 satellite in a clean room," said Rick Ambrose, executive vice president of Lockheed Martin Space Systems. "Mating the scalable modules together in a precise method was a critical step for the program, and the team did an exceptional job."

This milestone on a modernized A2100 satellite sees the hybrid propulsion integrated with the payload module and transponder panels. Using a combination of electrical Hall current thrusters and liquid apogee engine, the propulsion subsystem serves as the structural backbone of the satellite and is essential for maneuvering it into its final orbit as well as keeping it on station throughout its mission.

The modernized A2100 builds on a flight-proven bus that is the foundation for more than 40 satellites in orbit today. Through an internally-funded, multi-year modernization effort, Lockheed Martin has enhanced the spacecraft's power, propulsion and electronics, while also adopting the latest advanced engineering and manufacturing techniques to decrease production costs and timelines. There are five modernized A2100 satellites currently under contract to Lockheed Martin. They are designed for a host of missions and customers around the globe.

Additional information about commercial communications satellites: http://www.lockheedmartin.com/commercialspace

About Lockheed Martin

Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 97,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services.

SOURCE Lockheed Martin

Related Links

http://www.lockheedmartin.com


LAS VEGAS, Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- With a goal to change the way customers and auto dealerships interact forever, LotRep.com, an online review monitoring service, launches today. The company has created and carefully tweaked an impeccable review monitoring system for months and is finally ready to open its virtual doors to auto dealers around the nation.

The founders and directors of LotRep.com say that the software tackles a problem that auto retailers and dealerships have been facing for years: accurately monitoring and tracking online consumer reviews in real-time, on multiple platforms.

"Online reviews have changed the way business is done in this day and age. We know how crucial these reviews can be to auto dealers and their customers, but up until this point, monitoring them all has been nearly impossible," said Brian Lack, an auto retail veteran and LotRep.com's founder. "We want to make it easier."

Lack said the new service includes innovative features that have been specifically crafted to allow dealerships to efficiently and effectively handle online reviews without any stress or fuss. These features include:

An all-in-one dashboard focusing on a review feed, allowing quick evaluation of all major reviews

The ability to track and monitor various online review sites (including Cars.com, Yelp, Edmunds, Dealer Rater, SureCritic, The Yellow Pages, Facebook, Google, Yelp and more) to guarantee extensive review monitoring

Consistent analysis of online reviews through intelligent statistics and reporting, along with the ability to compare analytics throughout multiple dealership locations

A "Review Requester" feature allowing dealership representatives to solicit reviews from buyers via sms or email, along with an added feature that connects "thumbs-down" clickers with a manager to prevent increased instances of negative reviews

The capacity for multiple users and team members to be added to the Lot Rep system, meaning a more inclusive approach to review monitoring for the entire dealership

The inclusion of a "trending list" on the main dashboard featuring rotating keywords and phrases currently trending among all monitored online reviews

A mobile app designed to provide the most commonly used tools, right at your fingertips. A quick view of your dealership status and the ability to request reviews from your customers is provided.

According to Lack, the broad scope and detailed functionality of LotRep.com will make it a necessity for auto dealers everywhere. Between the flexible monitoring packages offered to retailers and the impressive array of features, he noted that the software will change the way auto dealers treat online reviews for good.

"By integrating LotRep.com into a regular customer service strategy at the dealership, auto retailers will be able to embrace online reviews as a key component to a strategic and effective business tool instead of a dreaded enemy," he said.

Lack is offering all interested dealers 30 days free with no obligation to help launch his website.

For more information, visit www.LotRep.com or email: [email protected]

Related Images

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Related Video

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SOURCE LotRep.com

Related Links

http://www.LotRep.com


CINCINNATI, Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Loyalty360 present the inaugural Customer Expo which will be held November 6-8 in Nashville, Tennessee at the Sheraton Music City. This inaugural conference will focus on all aspects of the customer, channel, and brands' customer relationships. Topics to be covered will range from acquisition to engagement through customer experience and engagement, to brand loyalty and advocacy and how technology and organization alignment is key to the need for measurable and successful customer relationships.

Customer Expo will attract over 300 senior in-house marketing executives from the most influential brands, many members of Loyalty360, the trade association for the industry.

They will gather to discuss the latest marketing practices, technologies and process that help brands create meaningful, seamless, and consistent engagement across channel interactions that impact the customer in a measurable manner.

See more information at www.customerexpo.com

The conference will have many opportunities for brands to network with one another in an interactive manner. We will also be presenting the first ever, Customer Awards  www.customerawards.org-- which will showcase the brands that are truly putting the customer first.

Mark Johnson, the CMO of Loyalty360 says, "with this conference, our goal is to focus on all aspects of the customer. It is a challenging and disruptive time for marketers and the gap between the brands that understand customer engagement and those who don't continue to grow."

This is the first in a list of speaker announcements for the conference, with many more announcements to come, Loyalty360 is thrilled to announce the following speakers for the 2017 Nashville event:

Bill Hurley  CMO  CenturyLink

Doug Zarkin  CMO  Pearle Vision

Una Morabito  Senior Vice President - Mass Mutual

Jeff York  CEO  Farm Boy

Retailers have always had to fight to retain customers, but as customers become increasingly more educated, resourceful, and discerning this has become even more challenging. To succeed, marketers must hone in on the segments of their base that can drive revenue and be smart about spending on the ones who won't.

"Customer Expo is a great place to learn and share ideas about how to identify, understand and motivate a brand's most loyal customers - the Clutch team is excited to be a part of the event," states, Kate Atty, vice president of marketing, Clutch (www.clutch.com).

"Loyalty begins with knowing your customer, and no one understands this better than Loyalty360," said Narina Sippy, CMO of Stellar Loyalty. "We're excited to partner with Loyalty360 at this inaugural event in Nashville, which will bring together the best minds, experts, and leading practices around customer experience, loyalty, and engagement. The Customer Expo app, powered by Stellar Loyalty, will ensure event attendees can maximize the experience with pre-, during, and post-conference networking and interactions."

Companies that are interested in getting involved are encouraged to contact Carly Stemmer at [email protected] or 513-800-0360, ext. 115.

ABOUT

About Loyalty360

Loyalty360 is an unbiased, market-driven, voice of the customer focused clearinghouse and think-tank that is committed to bringing loyalty to the forefront as a critical marketing strategy. A trusted source for cutting-edge research, best practices, and networking opportunities, Loyalty360 gives members the expert insights and guidance they need to better understand loyalty and develop programs that effectively engage their customers and employees and build stronger relationships with them. With over 75,000 monthly visitors and 115,000 monthly page views to Loyalty360.org, and 640,000 followers collectively on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook, Loyalty360 is a prolific resource for loyalty, customer experience, and brand/customer engagement strategy.

Press Contact: Steve Taggart

513-800-0360

[email protected]

SOURCE Loyalty360

Related Links

https://www.loyalty360.org


ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. and LAS VEGAS and NEW YORK and CHICAGO, Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- M2G Analytics was recently formed by GGH Morowitz (a leading gaming industry-focused strategic advisor) and Magnifact (a SaaS-based technology solutions provider to the insurance & financial services industries) to develop and deliver an affordable, easy-to-use and comprehensive technology solution to the global gaming industry. Based on a cutting-edge technology platform, the solution enables casino operators and investors to clearly and consistently measure results across the organization and incorporate key performance measurement, using artificial intelligence and proprietary algorithms related to predictive behavior, to facilitate real time decision-making, increase customer focus and drive profitability.

"While Casino Database & Host Analytics ("CDA") has been under development for some time, today marks an important milestone for M2G Analytics," says M2G Analytics' Managing Partner Cory Morowitz. "The products we are launching go well beyond traditional data analytics & reporting. We have incorporated advanced technology combined with decades of strategic, operational & financial acumen, as well as our practical experience having analyzed hundreds of diverse casino operations across dozens of global gaming markets to deliver actionable business intelligence to casino operators in a simple easy-to-use and understand format to make real-time actionable decisions."

"As we have observed in other labor-intensive service-based industries, the products being developed by M2G Analytics have the potential to be a powerful disruptor to an industry that is traditionally 'data rich' but has outdated and disparate systems which don't all communicate," added Krish Krishnan, Magnifact CEO. "This industry has traditionally relied upon manual or basic analytics using expensive and cumbersome technology products that require extensive user training. Our Data Intelligent suite of products that leverage our predictive algorithms and machine learning techniques are deployed on a state-of-the-art, open-architecture stack, goaled to delivering efficient actionable intelligence to the industry."

As part of the formation of M2G Analytics, the Company has announced the following:

Launch of Version 2 of CDA. The first in a suite of several different modules currently under development by M 2 G Analytics, CDA has been under active development for over one year and the recent version of CDA (which now includes a "Pro" version) offers clients the ability, among other things, to assess and analyze in real time individual and aggregated marketing & promotional allowance expenditures (including by customer & host) incorporating M 2 G Analytics' analytics & intelligence software to monitor customer yield & lifetime value and provide actionable alerts and reports related to customer defection.

The first in a suite of several different modules currently under development by M G Analytics, CDA has been under active development for over one year and the recent version of CDA (which now includes a "Pro" version) offers clients the ability, among other things, to assess and analyze in real time individual and aggregated marketing & promotional allowance expenditures (including by customer & host) incorporating M G Analytics' analytics & intelligence software to monitor customer yield & lifetime value and provide actionable alerts and reports related to customer defection. CDA Deployment. CDA has been deployed in one existing casino located in the Southeast US and is currently slated for deployment in over a half dozen other prospective locations of varying size, profile, and competitive dynamics throughout the US.

CDA has been deployed in one existing casino located in the Southeast US and is currently slated for deployment in over a half dozen other prospective locations of varying size, profile, and competitive dynamics throughout the US. Planned launch of MoodAnalyzer. M2G Analytics' second module currently awaiting launch next month, harnesses social media, phones, surveys and a host of web-based sources using machine learning and artificial intelligence to provide clients with advanced integrated customer sentiment/feedback indicators in real time. This customizable offering will allow clients to monitor public responses to specific marketing, capex initiatives, and/or other ongoing casino service initiatives.

"As a formerly-licensed casino owner & financial investor, as bi-furcation between casino ownership & operations becomes more commonplace, the need for M2G Analytics to serve as a 'bridge' between casino stakeholders is increasingly evident," said Michael Kim, GGH Morowitz Managing Partner. "Such analytics form the basis for effective asset management."

For more information about M2G Analytics, please contact Cory Morowitz, M2G Analytics Managing Partner, at [email protected] or (609) 226-9426 or Krish Krishnan at (847) 251-5817 or [email protected].

About GGH Morowitz

GGH Morowitz is a strategic global consulting & merchant advisory/investment boutique with offices in Las Vegas, New York, and Atlantic City. The firm is dedicated to providing clients in the core global real estate, gaming & hospitality sectors with an experienced, highly-focused and "industry knowledge" based platform committed to helping them achieve their broader strategic, operational & financial objectives. GGH Morowitz's professionals collectively have extensive global industry experience related to, among other areas, strategic consulting/advisory, property/asset management, asset valuation, operational/marketing assessment, market/project feasibility & assessment, capital markets, M&A and merchant investing. For more information, visit www.gghsp.com.

About Magnifact

Magnifact is a leading technology industry solutions provider based in Chicago, Illinois and developer of Software as a Service ("SaaS") programs and products and provides end-to-end custom solutions to interpret data in a meaningful and cost-effective way for clients across the Financial Services (Banking, Asset and Wealth Management), Insurance (Healthcare and Property & Casualty), and Gaming & Hospitality (in joint venture with GGH Morowitz) industries.

SOURCE GGH Morowitz

Related Links

http://www.gghsp.com


FAIRPORT, N.Y., Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Manning & Napier, Inc. (NYSE: MN) "Manning & Napier" or "The Company" is pleased to announce this month The Manning & Napier Fund, Inc. International Series (EXITX) celebrates its 25-year anniversary. This milestone marks Manning & Napier's longstanding commitment to international investing.

The International Series is managed by the firm's Global Strategy Group, a team dedicated to international investing. The team invests principally in common stock of companies located outside of the U.S., which may include investments of any market capitalization in both developed and emerging markets.

"The forces of geo-politics, global socioeconomics and demographics are becoming more complex," said Jeff Donlon, CFA, Managing Director of the Global Strategies Group at Manning & Napier. "These dynamics create volatility in equity, fixed income and currency markets and challenge companies to adapt and evolve their corporate strategies and investment decisions to new realities. As an active manager, we see this as an opportunity to identify individual companies positioned to capitalize on the macroeconomic and policy changes occurring around the world."

Donlon recently communicated Manning & Napier's outlook on Europe in "Europe Has Reached an Inflection Point." and will be hosting a webinar on the topic on August 30th at 1pm ET. Click to register.

"The reality is that some of the largest, most profitable, and recognizable companies are headquartered outside of the United States. That simple fact means that investors who aren't investing internationally could be missing out on a world of opportunity."

For more information on Manning & Napier' extensive international solutions visit: http://go.manning-napier.com/PRproducts.

About Manning & Napier, Inc.

Manning & Napier (NYSE: MN) provides a broad range of investment solutions as well as a variety of consultative services that complement our investment process. Founded in 1970, we offer U.S. and non-U.S equity, fixed income, and a range of blended asset portfolios, including life cycle funds and actively- managed exchange-traded fund ("ETF") portfolios. We serve a diversified client base of high-net-worth individuals and institutions, including 401(k) plans, pension plans, Taft-Hartley plans, endowments and foundations. For many of these clients, our relationship goes beyond investment management and includes customized solutions that address key issues and solve client-specific problems. We are headquartered in Fairport, NY.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release and other statements that the Company may make 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, which reflect the Company's current views with respect to, among other things, its operations and financial performance. Words like "believes," "expects," "may," "estimates," "will," "should," "intends," "plans," or "anticipates" or the negative thereof or other variations thereon or comparable terminology, are used to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. Although the Company believes that it is basing its expectations and beliefs on reasonable assumptions within the bounds of what it currently knows about its business and operations, there can be no assurance that its actual results will not differ materially from what the Company expects or believes. Some of the factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ from its expectations or beliefs include, without limitation: changes in securities or financial markets or general economic conditions; a decline in the performance of the Company's products; client sales and redemption activity; changes of government policy or regulations; and other risks discussed from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Public Relations Contact

Traci Legonelli

Manning & Napier, Inc.

(585) 325-6880X8919

[email protected]

Sean Silva

Prosek Partners

(212) 279-3115X122

[email protected]

For more information about any of the Manning & Napier Fund, Inc. Series, you may obtain a prospectus at www.manning-napier.com or by calling (800) 466-3863. Before investing, carefully consider the objectives, risks, charges and expenses of the investment and read the prospectus carefully as it contains this and other information about the investment company.

All investment strategies involve risks and there is no guarantee of aprofit, or protection against a loss.

Advisory services providedby Manning& Napier Advisors, LLC(Manning& Napier). Manning& Napier Investor Services, Inc., an affiliate of Manning & Napier, isa member of FINRA

SOURCE Manning & Napier, Inc.

Related Links

https://www.manning-napier.com


The Department of Natural Resources has already brought on a project manager to oversee the expected streamlined environmental permitting for a proposed Foxconn manufacturing plant, Secretary Cathy Stepp said Wednesday.

Stepp told Natural Resources Board members about the move while defending the departments ability to quickly and effectively write permits setting limits for the factorys air and water pollution and disposal of hazardous waste.

The Legislature is considering Gov. Scott Walkers proposal to offer the Taiwan-based manufacturer an incentive package that includes $3 billion and streamlined pollution permitting.

Walker and many of his fellow Republicans are pushing for quick action. Democrats and conservationist groups say the deal needs much more scrutiny.

Stepp, who is a Walker appointee, said the DNR is ready to go.

The agency has a team project manager that we brought in to the department to oversee and kind of be a project superintendent for the permitting processes that will be required, Stepp said. We stand at the ready.

The DNRs Foxconn project manager is Eric Ebersberger, a former deputy administrator for environmental management who led the departments successful effort to divert Lake Michigan water to Waukesha. He left the department in 2016 and returned Monday as a limited-term employee, said DNR spokesman Jim Dick.

Foxconn and Walker have said the company hopes to create 3,000 to 13,000 jobs on a 1,000-acre site it is seeking in southeastern Wisconsin, but few other details about the factory are known, except that it would make television screens.

We dont yet know the scale or the impact or the details, but you know weve been trying to figure out what if this and what if that, and what will our game plan be in order to hit the ground running and make sure that regulatory processes and bureaucracy are not in the way of job creation in Wisconsin, and certainly would not be in the way of environmental protection, Stepp said.

Some have questioned whether the DNR was prepared after decades of budget cuts, Stepp said.

She insisted that a DNR reorganization that is expected to be approved as part of the proposed state budget has prepared the department.

There has been some worry that DNR doesnt have the staff or the ability to take on a project of this magnitude, Stepp said. I assure you nothing could be further from the truth.

Walkers plan calls for exempting Foxconn from state law that requires a comprehensive environmental impact statement for major construction projects.

The governors legislation also would exempt the company from state wetland and waterway regulations, meaning isolated wetlands could be filled, streams could be rerouted and construction could take place on lakebeds without permits. The federal government would require permits for disturbance of wetlands connected to navigable waters.

Stepp reiterated the departments position that potential environmental harm would be fully investigated during permitting, but conservationists said permit documents are dense reports full of legalese that are much more difficult to understand than environmental impact statements.

Stepp also emphasized that Walkers proposal calls for filled wetlands that need to be replaced as part of federal permitting would be replaced at a ratio of 2 acres created for every 1 acre filled, instead of the states usual 1.2-to-1 ratio. The federal government requires replacement at ratios between 1-to-1 and 3-to-1 depending on circumstances.

Scrutiny is the same, its just the process is going to be shortened so we can get these jobs going on the ground and still have the environmental protection  and I will say even enhancement  as a result of this project, Stepp said.The state Assembly could consider Walkers plan next week following a committee vote. Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald had said lawmakers should first finalize the stalled state budget.
KELOWNA, British Columbia, August 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Marapharm Ventures Inc. (OTCQB: MRPHF) (CSE: MDM.CN) (FSE: 2M0) ("Marapharm" or the " Company") (http://www.marapharm.com/) is pleased to announce that it is locating administration and executives to Las Vegas, Nevada to be proximate to the company's rapidly expanding base of operations in the United States.

"A move to centralize our U.S. executive offices has been our plan all along and it is exciting to place our stake in the ground in such a vibrant and welcoming city. Las Vegas is strategically located for business travel to Marapharm operations in Nevada, California, Washington, and abroad. Las Vegas has a great pool of the type of talent we seek - executive, financial, and marketing," according to Marapharm CEO, Linda Sampson.

The move will spur local growth as Marapharm will engage a placement agency in Las Vegas to staff the new corporate office and operation sites throughout North America. Marapharm has also has contracted a local commercial agent for suitable office space. The Las Vegas office is expected to create 10 management jobs and hundreds of additional employment positions, including but not limited to technicians, cultivators, scientists, and processors, for cannabis operations.

Marapharm's head office in Canada will remain focused on acquisitions, the Maragold subsidiary, investments, compliance and corporate governance.

About MARAPHARM VENTURES INC.

http://www.marapharm.com

Marapharm has more than 300,000 square feet of medical marijuana licenses for its land and facilities in WA, CA and NV. In Nevada, the proposed building footprint is 360,000 square feet. The Nevada Department of Agriculture report by Tessa Rognier states that the average size of a cultivation facility in Nevada is 26,000 square feet. About three years ago, Marapharm applied in Canada to Health Canada for a MMPR (production and sales) license and has passed the necessary security clearances. The application is currently in the in-depth screening process. In September 2016, Health Canada contacted Marapharm with a provision to amend its application to allow for the new regulations, ACMPR. Marapharm owns 15 million shares and warrants of Veritas Pharma Inc., a public company.

Additional information on the operations or financial results of Marapharm are included in reports on file with applicable securities regulatory authorities and may be accessed through the CSE website (http://www.thecse.com ), the OTC website (http://www.otcmarkets.com), and the SEDAR website (http://www.sedar.com ) under the profile for Marapharm Ventures Inc.

STOCK EXCHANGES:

Marapharm trades in Canada, ticker symbol MDM on the CSE, in the United States, ticker symbol MRPHF on the OTCQB, in Europe, ticker symbol 2M0 on the FSE.

The Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) has approved the contents of this news release.

Neither the CSE, the FSE nor the OTCQB has approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release. Neither the CSE, the FSE nor the OTCQB accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

FORWARD - LOOKING STATEMENTS:

Certain statements contained in this news release constitute forward looking statements. The use of any of the words "anticipate", "continue", "estimate", "expect", 'may", "will", "project", "should", 'believe", and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumption but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and the forward-looking statements included in this news release should not be unduly relied upon.



Contact:

Linda Sampson

CEO

+1-778-583-4476

email [email protected]



http://www.marapharm.com

SOURCE Marapharm Ventures Inc.
SALEM, Ore., Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- On Tuesday, Aug. 15, the Oregon Governor's Office, alongside the Oregon Tourism Commission (dba Travel Oregon), the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), the Oregon Office of Emergency Management (OEM), Oregon State Parks, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF), and the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) will host a solar eclipse press conference to help ensure that residents and visitors are prepared and have resources before, during, and after this once-in-a-lifetime event. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will also be on hand to provide a detailed weather forecast in advance of eclipse day.

On eclipse day, Monday, Aug. 21, an eerie twilight will descend on a swath of the state in the late morning, starting on the coast between Lincoln City and Newport, then moving over Salem and eventually over the best potential viewing areas of Warm Springs, Madras, Mitchell, Prairie City, and Huntington in Eastern Oregon. The eclipse will appear at 10:15 a.m. PDT on the Oregon Coast and depart the state by 10:27 a.m. The effect of the eclipse will last under two minutes on the coast and stretch to just over two minutes in the eastern part of the state.

WHAT : Solar Eclipse Press Conference hosted by Oregon Governor's Office, Travel Oregon, ODOT, OEM, Oregon State Parks, BLM, ODF, OMSI, NOAA



WHERE : Oregon State Fairgrounds

2330 17th St. NE, Salem, Oregon



WHEN : Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2017, at 10:30 a.m.

Press Photo & Video Crew Arrivals  10:15 a.m.

For photos and b-roll of the stunning landscapes that are within the Path of Totality in Oregon, link to the embedded Dropbox files and/or contact Jaime Eder at [email protected]

SOURCE Travel Oregon

Related Links

http://www.traveloregon.com


NEWBURY PARK, Calif., Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Moravia has launched a specialty localization service to help ensure one of the world's most prominent apparel companies doesn't run into compliance trouble in China.

According to Morgan Gallup Zhu, Director of Asian Operations at Moravia, "Spec Check" is unique to the Chinese market. "It grew out of a pressing need we discovered nearly two years ago for translators and localization professionals to help companies adhere to strict Chinese advertising laws that require 100% translation accuracy in advertising and e-commerce," Gallup said.

"A single mistake or overstated promise can lead to serious consequences for the company and its brand, including potential fines, paying punitive damages to consumers who were misled, and, most serious of all, the possibility of shutting down the seller's Chinese website or part of their operations."

More specifically, in China:

Superlatives in advertising are not allowed, such as "we have the best athletic shoes on the market."

athletic shoes on the market." Product descriptions must also be accurate and consistent across channels and physical products. A product labelled as blue-grey, for example, cannot be referred to as blue in the website product description or other advertising channels.

Similarly, all product specifications must be accurate. For instance, it's against Chinese law to refer to polyurethane, a common component in athletic shoes, as anything other than it issuch as 100% leather.

According to Gallup, Spec Check grew out of a client request to ensure translation accuracy met all Chinese legal requirements, in addition to Moravia's normal localization services. As a result, products are shipped and stored at Moravia's offices in China before being shipped back to the client's warehouse. They are also checked and double-checked by a dedicated compliance account team to ensure due diligence and accuracy.

Moravia currently has in-house space to store its client's products, and is in the process of expanding its storage space to accommodate demand as the program grows. Each Spec Check client also has a personal account rep to ensure a seamless flow of communication and quick response when new products or updated information are necessary.

About Moravia

Moravia is a leading globalization solution provider, enabling companies in the information technology, e-learning, life sciences and hospitality industries to enter global markets with high-quality multilingual products. www.moravia.com

SOURCE Moravia

Related Links

http://www.moravia.com


That's why the world's largest Mexican casual dining brand created National Fajita Day in 2016. For this year's 2 nd annual celebration OTB is turning up the heat on authentic fresh-off-the-fire taste and value with a $9.99 three-course Fajita meal all day on National Fajita Day, Friday, August 18 th .

"We're giving guests everything they want on National Fajita Day," said Ashley Zickefoose, Chief Marketing Officer for On The Border. Restaurants will be serving chicken, veggie, or roasted pork carnitas fajitas all for just $9.99 and come with two other fan favorites, an appetizer cup of creamy queso and two cinnamon-dusted sopapillas for dessert. "OTB's fajitas are long-time fan favorites and we're adding even more sizzle with an unbeatable value on a complete three-course fajita meal," added Zickefoose.

But the $9.99 deal is only the beginning for the National Fajita Day inventor. Guests may also choose to upgrade their meal deal to mesquite-grilled steak or shrimp for just $2 more. And, for those that would rather host their own National Fajita Day fiesta On The Border is offering 20% off all catering fajita options for the whole week  including Classic Combo Fajitas, Portobello Fajitas, or Ultimate Fajitas with mesquite-grilled steak, chicken, sauteed shrimp, and pulled pork.

"There's no question that we love fajitas at OTB  which is why we make them from scratch  with fresh hand-pressed tortillas, perfectly seasoned grilled meats and veggies, and that smoky-yet sweet flavor that only mesquite wood grilling can provide," continued Zickefoose. "With all the love that goes into our fajitas, of course we felt fajitas truly deserved their own holiday. We're looking forward to being the National Fajita Day headquarters for every hot, sizzling, crave-able bite," Zickefoose finished. The brand sold close to 25,000 fajita orders on last year's National Fajita Day, and anticipates an even bigger celebration this year as the August 18th holiday falls on a Friday.

The OTB $9.99 three-course Fajita Day meal is available at all participating On The Border restaurants all day long on Friday, August 18th. Catering orders on fajitas between August 14th and August 20th will receive 20% off when entering or mentioning the code FAJITADAY17 when placing the order. For the latest news about National Fajita Day at OTB, or to get a sneak preview of the savory sizzle that's coming soon  guests and fans can visit www.nationalfajitaday.com.

Fajita Day bundle includes one cup of original queso, one full order of fajitas for one, and two sopapillas for $9.99. Steak or shrimp fajitas are available for $2.00 extra. Not valid on primo quesos, ultimate fajitas or monterey ranch fajitas. At participating locations in the continental U.S. Not valid with any other coupon or promotional offer. Nontransferable. Valid August 18, 2017.

Mention or enter FAJITADAY17 as the coupon code when checking out during catering orders. Not valid on orders previously placed. Excludes tax and gratuity. Cannot be combine with other offers or discounts. Valid on delivery, delivery deluxe, and full-service caterings and pick-up orders only. Participating On The Border locations in the continental US only. Offer valid between 8/14/17 and 8/20/17.

About On The Border

On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina is the world's largest Mexican casual dining brand, offering an extensive menu of great-tasting, classic and contemporary Mexican food, like sizzling mesquite-grilled fajitas, and Margaritas as big and bold as the border itself. On The Border is owned by Border Holdings, LLC, with 157 restaurants in 32 states, Puerto Rico and Asia. Follow and 'like' On The Border on Facebook at www.facebook.com/OnTheBorderMexicanGrillandCantina, and @OnTheBorder on Twitter. For more information, visit www.ontheborder.com.

Contact: Kim Miller

888.869.7899

[email protected]

SOURCE On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina

Related Links

https://www.ontheborder.com


DALLAS and FORT WORTH, Texas, Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Mouser Electronics Inc., a leading global distributor of electronic components, along with celebrity engineer Grant Imahara, today released the third video in the Shaping Smarter Cities series, part of Mouser's award-winning Empowering Innovation Together program.

In the third video from Mouser Electronics' Shaping Smarter Cities project, celebrity engineer Grant Imahara travels to Tokyo to learn how technological innovations in vertical farming are helping to feed a growing population plagued by extreme space restrictions and resource limitations. To learn more, visit www.mouser.com/empowering-innovation.

In the latest video, Imahara travels to Tokyo to meet with top executives and engineers from Mirai and discuss new developments in vertical farming. Imahara learns about how these technological innovations are helping to feed a growing population plagued by extreme space restrictions and resource limitations. The Shaping Smarter Cities series is supported by Mouser's valued suppliers Analog Devices, Intel, Microchip Technology and Molex.

"In the hands of true innovators, technology has the power to give us exciting new products, but it can also protect our environment and change the way we fulfill our most basic human needs, like food," said Glenn Smith, President and CEO of Mouser Electronics. "Our Shaping Smarter Cities series focuses on technology's potential for solving life-changing problems on a global scale."

"The potential of this technology is mind blowing  providing food for millions while using a fraction of the resources needed for traditional farming," said Imahara. "Not only will innovative technology create a more connected human race; it will normalize access to our most basic needs."

Tokyo has nearly 38 million people packed into 845 square miles, making it the most populous metropolitan area in the world. The sheer number of people in one city creates logistical and infrastructure problems, notably sustainably feeding the entire population. To investigate new solutions to these problems, Imahara visits Mirai's facilities, learning how indoor vertical farming uses 40 percent less power than traditional farming and leads to 80 percent less food waste and 99 percent less water consumption than outdoor fields.

Imahara speaks with Nagateru Nozawa, COO of Mirai, to gain insight into the additional benefits their technology can provide, such as shorter transportation distances from farm to market and the minimized use of pesticides. Because the vertical farm is located inside a metropolitan area, fuel and delivery expenses are significantly reduced, further helping the environment while also lowering food costs.

The Empowering Innovation Together program has been one of the most visible and recognized programs in the electronic component industry, featuring projects ranging from bringing superhero technology to life to 3D printing a semi-autonomous car with drone technology. The focus of this year's program is about solving tough problems that impact humanity as a whole. Visit http:www.mouser.com/empowering-innovation for more information.

About Mouser Electronics

Mouser Electronics, a Berkshire Hathaway company, is an award-winning, authorized semiconductor and electronic component distributor, focused on the rapid introduction of new products and technologies to electronic design engineers and buyers. Mouser.com features more than 4 million products online from more than 600 manufacturers. Mouser publishes multiple catalogs per year providing designers with up-to-date data on the components now available for the next generation of electronic devices. Mouser ships globally to over 550,000 customers in 170 countries from its 750,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art facility south of Dallas, Texas.



For more information, visit www.mouser.com

About Grant Imahara

Well known in the engineering community, Grant Imahara has paired his engineering expertise with a Hollywood TV and film career. In addition to his roles on MythBusters and BattleBots, Imahara is the inventor behind many famous robotic characters, including the Star Wars prequel-era R2-D2, talking robot sidekick Geoff Peterson from The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, and the rhythmic arms on the modern-day Energizer Bunny.

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.

Intel is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation in the United States and other countries.

Media Contact:

Jennifer Gooding

PRIME|PR

O: 512.477.7373

M: 310.927.1829

[email protected]

Related Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjxRMBa9dQE

SOURCE Mouser

Related Links

http://www.mouser.com


CLEVELAND and BOSTON, Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- MPE Partners ("MPE" or "Morgenthaler Private Equity") announced today the recapitalization of Safe Fuel Systems, Inc. ("SFS" or "the Company"), a FAA/EASA certified component repair station engaged in the maintenance, inspection, and repair of aircraft components. SFS has merged with the MRO business unit of MPE's existing portfolio company, B&E Group ("B&E"). The combined companies will operate under the name SAFE Aviation Solutions, and together are a leading independent repair shop for airframe and engine fuel components.

MPE and B&E partnered in the transaction with SFS founders Rafael Fuentes and Ann Justiz, who will both continue to manage the daily operations of SFS. Charlie Rossetti, Vice President at MPE, said, "We are highly impressed with the operations at Safe Fuel Systems and the culture that Ann and Rafael have developed over the last 16 years. We look forward to partnering with them as they continue to build upon their past successes."

Rafael Fuentes added, "Ann and I chose to partner with MPE and B&E as they are aligned with our values and our mission of serving our customers and one another with the highest level of integrity and respect. We are thrilled to embark on the next stage in Safe Fuel Systems' growth as part of the B&E Group."

Vin Misciagna, Chief Executive Officer of B&E Group, added, "The combination of Safe Fuel Systems and B&E's MRO business unit will offer our customers nose-to-tail repair capabilities while providing exemplary customer service."

Twin Brook Capital Funding LLC provided senior debt financing to support the transaction. Corporate Finance Associates acted as financial advisor to SFS.

About Safe Fuel Systems

Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Hialeah, Florida, Safe Fuel Systems is a FAA/EASA certified component repair station engaged in the maintenance, repair, inspection and alteration of aircraft components and parts for major domestic and international operators.

About B&E Group

Headquartered in Southwick, Massachusetts and Fort Myers, Florida, B&E Group is comprised of two distinct business units, a maintenance, repair and overhaul ("MRO") group and an original equipment manufacturing ("OEM") group. The company's OEM group manufactures complex, machined components used in commercial aerospace, military and space applications. The company's MRO group provides repair and overhaul services with over 700 individually designed and approved repair procedures for commercial airline customers.

About MPE Partners

MPE Partners ("MPE" or "Morgenthaler Private Equity") seeks to be the preferred partner for entrepreneur and family-owned companies. Based in Cleveland, OH and Boston, MA, MPE invests in profitable, lower middle market companies with EBITDA between $5 - $20 million. MPE has two primary investment areas: high-value manufacturing and industrial services. For more information, please visit www.mpepartners.com.

SOURCE MPE Partners
Picture description: During back-to-school season, Name Bubbles will donate $1 of every school-related product purchase to Miracle Foundation, in hopes of raising $10,000 - enough to provide funding for a year of education for 50 orphans through the organization.

While some parents have started to prepare their families for another successful school year, some children are not nearly as fortunate. Books, school supplies, backpacks, a healthy lunch, and a good education (things we tend to take for granted) are not always a guarantee for children, particularly in the developing world. Indeed, there are over 132 million orphans in the world, many living in institutional orphanages with deplorable conditions where their most basic needs are not met. As part of Name Bubbles' core value, to promote a sense of giving, for the second year in a row the company will be spreading awareness and raising funds for the back-to-school season to support Miracle Foundation and their good work.

Now through September 22, 2017 one dollar of every school-related product sold on NameBubbles.com will be donated to Miracle Foundation to cover the cost of educators, afterschool tutors, school supplies, career counseling and any other item an orphanage may need to provide education for an entire school year.

"It has been such a joy to partner with Miracle Foundation over the last year; I am a true believer in the good work they do and the difference they're making in the lives of the children they care for," says Founder and President of Name Bubbles, Michelle Brandriss. "Every child deserves to reach their full potential and to be loved. This organization is truly making a difference, and I am so happy we are able to extend our partnership into a second year to help support their mission."

Miracle Foundation, a nonprofit organization that brings life-changing care to the world's orphans, uses the United Nations Rights of the Child as the foundation for the guidelines and standard of care they provide to orphans around the world. With a strong focus in India, Miracle Foundation has nurtured and educated more than 1,200 orphans and funded more than 150 college scholarships in 2016 alone. With the help of Name Bubbles customers, we hope to ensure 50 vulnerable children have access to a quality education in the upcoming year.

We ask our customers to shop consciously this back-to-school season and help Name Bubbles and Miracle Foundation give the gift of education to those who need it most.

About Name Bubbles

Name Bubbles is a leading waterproof name label manufacturer and e-commerce website, located in upstate New York. Awarded the U.S. Small Business Administration Excellence in Small Business, the Parent Tested, Parent Approved seal of approval, and gold medal winner of the Mom's Choice Award, the company produces durable dishwasher and laundry safe press-and-stick name labels to help busy families keep track of belongings.

Custom name label packs are available online and can be purchased directly at NameBubbles.com.

About Miracle Foundation

Miracle Foundation is a nonprofit organization that brings life-changing care to the world's orphans.

Our mission is simple. We stand for orphaned children and help them thrive in real time. We've created a measurable, repeatable and systematic method to ensure that orphans are educated, fed, loved and safe. At the same time, we explore every avenue to reunite them with their parents or relatives, when possible. Our method:

Ensures organizations meet the Rights of the Child and rise to international standards

Guides leaders to resettle children with a caring, responsible relative or familyand help them stay together

Transitions orphanages into Centers for Excellence where children thrive instead of reside

Our goal is for every child to live in a loving family; to become a healthy, happy, income-producing personand experience a true sense of belonging.

Miracle Foundation has been honored with the highest possible rating of four stars by Charity Navigator, an independent organization that evaluates the effectiveness and financial transparency of US charities: http://bit.ly/1nJC7wq

Media Contact:

Jeff Salzgeber, Miracle Foundation

[email protected]; (512) 743-2659

Hayley Alaxanian, NameBubbles.com

[email protected]; (866) 797-6263

SOURCE Name Bubbles

Related Links

http://HTTP://www.NameBubbles.com


BEND, Ore., Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- NAVIS, the No. 1 reservation sales and marketing technology provider for the hospitality industry, this week revealed the first-to-market solution in response to the recent HomeAway changes that have created concern and uncertainty for many vacation rental owners and property managers.

On June 21st of this year, HomeAway announced that they would no longer distribute booking lead email addresses and phone numbers, creating concerns about the changing algorithms and policies of listing sites. The NAVIS product and engineering teams rolled up their sleeves and began working on a solution that would enable property managers to maintain their ability to service and nurture rental demand given these new listing site realities. This important product update will allow NAVIS clients' inquiry data to still be captured and consolidated into one lead with Narrowcast.

"We are extremely pleased to announce to the vacation rental industry that as of August 7, we've launched and rolled-out a technology update for our popular NAVIS Narrowcast and NAVIS Reach solutions," said NAVIS president and CEO Kyle Buehner. "This innovation helps property managers maintain control of their rental reservation pipeline generated by HomeAway listing sites."

NAVIS' innovative update is the industry's first solution developed among technology providers who serve property managers. Buehner added, "We were able to move swiftly and help our clients quickly adapt because of our technical integration with HomeAway's listing site. We've also been through this before, helping hoteliers deal with these same challenges for years."

Listing sites have been inching their way toward more involvement in the booking process for a long time and hotels have been dealing with this same third-party encroachment for many years, investing millions to encourage guests to book with them. Vacation rentals are in a similar, but not new position. Until now, the industry has simply enjoyed more access to the guest, which has, in turn, created greater dependency on listing sites. Brise Carpenter, Vice President of Client Success at NAVIS explains, "Vacation rentals can leverage this inevitable evolution as an opportunity to re-evaluate how they use listing sites going forward. The most profitable paths have always led back to direct bookings and it's a great chance to prioritize, strategize, and reinvigorate them. This doesn't mean listing sites don't matter because we all know they do, but there needs to be a balanced strategy in place."

NAVIS is the only company that has the ability to capture HomeAway guest inquiry details and integrate them into one lead so that property managers can clearly see the path to purchase, avoid duplicating responses, and continue to track not-booked leads. With NAVIS software every lead can be tracked, from their Google search term to a phone call back to a website and beyond, so it is clear where the conversion initiated not just where it ended.

"This is an excellent time to remind everyone of HomeAway's research from a few years ago that found 71 percent of vacation rental shoppers would book online only after speaking with the property manager by phone," continues Carpenter. "We strongly suggest property managers review the visibility and accessibility of reservation phone numbers on all of their marketing communications, particularly the mobile, tablet and desktop formats of their website. Remember, we sell vacation experiences that are meaningful to travelers, and a majority of potential guests will call to ensure they find the home that's perfect for their vacation."

For best practices and strategies that Vacation Rental Managers should be employing amongst these changes and future evolutions of listing sites, see NAVIS' latest article "10 Ways to Survive the New Reality of Vacation Rental Listing Sites."

To explore the latest solutions and marketing strategies that deliver the highest ROI, visit The NavisWay.com or call 1 800-777-1864.

About NAVIS

NAVIS is the No. 1 reservation sales and marketing platform for the hospitality industry. Because we believe technology should make you money, not cost you money, we developed our game-changing Revenue Performance Platform to transform teams into revenue makers, enabling them to drive, capture and convert more direct bookings. We deliver actionable guest insights so departments can seamlessly sell and market together. The result is always a dramatic increase in direct sales and profit. We guarantee it.

Founded in 1987, NAVIS is a privately held company with headquarters in Bend, Ore., and growing offices in Orlando, Fla. and Reno, Nev. The company has been awarded Top Workplaces by The Oregonian for four consecutive years, one of the 2016 Top 100 Workplaces in Central Florida, and one of the Northern Nevada Human Resources Association's 2017 Best Places to Work.

To learn more visit www.TheNavisWay.com.

Unless indicated otherwise, all trademarks and service marks herein are trademarks of NAVIS or an affiliate thereof.

Contact:

NAVIS

Kelsie Skinner

541-330-3503

[email protected]

Media Contact:

PUZZLE PARTNER

Ivana Johnston

[email protected]

SOURCE NAVIS

Related Links

http://www.TheNavisWay.com


BALTIMORE, Md., Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Demand in the supplemental education segment of the franchising industry is climbing at an unprecedented pace. Families across the globeregardless of the state of the economyare increasingly looking for ways to help their children either catch up, keep up or get ahead in school to ensure that they're positioned for a successful career. But even as the industry continues to become more crowded, there's one brand that consistently outpaces the competition: Sylvan Learning.

Backed by four decades of experience and over 750 locations worldwide, Sylvan Learning is positioned as the leading education franchise. From its commitment to technological innovation in teaching children to its unrivaled focus on STEM, robotics and coding education, the brand's system is designed to not only set its customers up for success, but its franchisees as well. That's why it's no surprise that Sylvan is closing out the first half of 2017 with strong momentum.

Sylvan worked closely with the franchise community to launch a new license agreement, leading to the licensing and opening of 12 new centers so far this year, and a double digit pipeline of territories slated for development. Sylvan continues to attract entrepreneurial franchisees, with 33 new franchisees joining the system, including some multi-unit owners. Resale activity has also been strong, with 26 territory ownership transfers and counting. And that growth isn't limited to domestic marketsSylvan Learning is expanding its reach across the globe. The brand has opened up its fifth new center in Vietnam this year, with an additional center opening currently pending in Saudi Arabia.

"There's no doubt that the first two quarters of 2017 have been positive for the Sylvan Learning brand. Between expanding our presence in existing marketsboth domestically and internationallyand bringing new franchisees on board, it's clear that our proven concept is catching on among consumers and business owners alike," said Georgia Chasen, Sylvan Learning's senior director of franchise development. "We're eager to continue this trend going forward into the rest of the year, ultimately allowing Sylvan to close out 2017 on a record-breaking high."

To fuel that continued growth, Sylvan Learning is actively taking steps to enhance its franchise system and boost the level of support that its local owners receive. This past spring, for example, the brand rolled out an in-house financing program designed to make it even more affordable for aspiring entrepreneurs to join its system. In addition to reducing its franchise fee to $24,000 from $48,000, the brand is offering franchisees in-house financing up to $100,000. The program's introduction comes after Sylvan launched a new license agreement, which also decreases the cost associated with becoming an owner.

"Since we launched our new licensing agreement, the cost to open up a Sylvan franchise has decreased dramatically. When you combine that with our new in-house financing program, franchisees have the potential to get their first center up and running with that money alone," said Jacob Jones, Sylvan's vice president of finance. "This program was designed to alleviate the upfront cost to launching a Sylvan franchise. We want to give people who are interested the opportunity to be a part of our proven brand. This new program is designed to give people the opportunity to realize their full potential as business owners without breaking the bank. If we believe in you as an entrepreneur and are confident that you're a great fit for the Sylvan Learning brand, we're going to do everything in our power to get you financing."

Not only does Sylvan Learning's unique approach to franchising open the door for more franchisees to enter its system, it also means that the brand is targeting the next generation of entrepreneurs and business owners. By staying ahead of the curve and integrating cutting edge practices into its proven programs, Sylvan is setting itself for long-term success on both the corporate and local levels. And with its sights set on expanding in Denver, Colorado; Atlanta, Georgia; Chicago, Illinois; Dallas, Texas; Cleveland, Ohio; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Orlando, Florida; Boston, Massachusetts and Charlotte, North Carolina, Sylvan is just getting started.

"Sylvan Learning has been setting the standard for excellence in the supplemental education industry for nearly 40 years. But the changes and enhancements that we're implementing across our entire system today are what will allow us to continue that tradition for the next 40," said John McAuliffe, Sylvan Learning's CEO. "We established a strong foundation in the first half of 2017, and we're looking forward to building on that momentum in the months ahead."

ABOUT SYLVAN LEARNING, LLC

With more than 35 years of experience and more than 750 locations throughout North America, Sylvan Learning is the leading provider of personal learning for students in grades K-12. Sylvan is transforming how students learn, inspiring them to succeed in school and in life. Sylvan's proven tutoring approach blends amazing teachers with SylvanSync technology on the iPad for an engaging learning experience. Sylvan also leads the way with Sylvan EDGESTEM and accelerated courses and Sylvan Prep college and test prep courses. Sylvan supports families through every stage of the academic journey. For more information, visit www.SylvanLearning.com or SylvanLearning.com/blog.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Lauren Kaminski

No Limit Agency

312.526.3996

[email protected]

SOURCE Sylvan Learning

Related Links

http://www.SylvanLearning.com


"The extreme valve temperatures experienced on today's highly boosted downsized engines can lead to reduced valve fatigue life and critical valve guide and stem seal temperatures, resulting in the need for expensive valve steel alloys. If late ignition timing is used to reduce knock and enrichment is protecting components from critical temperatures, CO 2 emissions are increased," explained Gian Maria Olivetti, Chief Technology Officer, Federal-Mogul Powertrain. "By reducing the valve head temperatures we help to eliminate these issues, and by developing technologies suitable for series production, we are able to support mass market applications." HTC can also contribute in obtaining a more even circumferential temperature distribution on the valve seat insert and surrounding cylinder head material, eliminating local hot spots for the benefit of wear reduction and decrease of temperature-related distortion.

How better heat transfer means cooler valves

The seat insert is the primary heat path from the valve head into the cylinder head cooling jacket. By conducting more heat away from the valve head, the new seat materials reduce the temperature in the hottest part of the combustion chamber and lower the gas temperature at the end of the compression stroke: improving knock resistance and allowing a wider range of ignition advance to enable optimisation of combustion. The materials also enable CO 2 emissions reduction by eliminating the need for fuel enrichment as a means of cooling. For exhaust valve head alloys, every 20C reduction in temperature negates the need for an upgrade to the next, more expensive alloy specification.

The valve guide is the main heat path from the valve stem to the cylinder head. By conducting more heat away from the valve stem, the new valve guide material reduces local temperatures to below the critical thresholds at which the valve stem seals and lubricating oil begin to break down.

HTC materials for enhanced heat dissipation

Federal-Mogul Powertrain's HTC materials are powder metal formulations used in both seat inserts and guides, and the specifications are highly configurable. Valve seats employ copper infiltration to improve heat transfer; valve guides, which see lower temperatures and require porosity in order to retain oil, use a subtle combination of free copper particles and fine interconnected copper alloys. In the case of dual layer composite valve seat inserts, the secondary material of the insert is no longer simply a low cost 'carrier' for the functional seating layer which contacts the valve head; it serves an engineering purpose by conducting more heat away from the valve head.

TIM coating  a differentiator

Federal-Mogul Powertrain's TIM coating greatly improves the heat transfer across the boundary between the seat insert or guide and the cylinder head by filling the interstitial spaces between the irregularities of the opposing surfaces. This eliminates the minute air pockets that normally interrupt the heat path and improves the conformability against the cylinder head surface. HTC materials can reduce valve temperature, but test results show that in some engines TIM coating can offer a significantly greater reduction, as it is acting as a thermal bridge, removing the barrier between the two components. A copper-based coating, TIM needs a suitable sequence of pre-treatments in order to be effective and required significant development by Federal-Mogul Powertrain to ensure good adhesion even on porous surfaces, without impairing the thermal conductivity benefit.

"Successful development of the TIM coating for series manufacturing means that the technology can be adopted immediately by our customers," said Denis Christopherson, Federal-Mogul Powertrain's Valve Seats and Guides Group Director of Research and Development. "By improving heat flow across the boundary between the cylinder head and the insert, TIM coating allows the heat transfer benefits of HTC to be fully realized."

Backed by test results

Testing carried out at Federal-Mogul Powertrain's Burscheid, Germany test center on state-of-the-art, highly rated turbocharged gasoline engines with direct injection has shown the effectiveness of the new materials. A combination of HTC and TIM technologies reduced peak inlet valve head temperatures by between 26 and 32C. The improvement in exhaust valve head temperatures was even more marked; on a solid valve the peak was reduced by up to 70C and on a hollow, sodium-filled valve, by up to 67C. The test results have been used to correlate predictions from Federal-Mogul Powertrain's advanced thermal simulation programs. These allow future applications to be accurately assessed, and optimum materials selected, while the engine design only exists in an early concept stage.

HTC and TIM materials are production-ready and sample components of valve seat inserts and guides are undergoing preliminary testing with several customers. Federal-Mogul Powertrain received a first nomination with intended start of production in 2018. Though primarily intended for highly rated gasoline applications, they could be equally beneficial for exhaust valve seats and guides on high performance turbo diesels and for heavy-duty diesel engines. Federal-Mogul Powertrain will exhibit the new materials, alongside many of its other products at the IAA Show from 12-15 September (Press and Trade days only) at Booth E33 in Hall 4.1.

About Federal-Mogul

Federal-Mogul LLC is a leading global supplier of products and services to the world's manufacturers and servicers of vehicles and equipment in the automotive, light, medium and heavy-duty commercial, marine, rail, aerospace, power generation and industrial markets. The company's products and services enable improved fuel economy, reduced emissions and enhanced vehicle safety.

Federal-Mogul operates two independent business divisions, each with a chief executive officer reporting to Federal-Mogul's Board of Directors.

Federal-Mogul Powertrain designs and manufactures original equipment powertrain components and systems protection products for automotive, heavy-duty, industrial and transport applications.

Federal-Mogul Motorparts sells and distributes a broad portfolio of products through more than 20 of the world's most recognized brands in the global vehicle aftermarket, while also serving original equipment vehicle manufacturers with products including braking, wipers and a range of chassis components. The company's aftermarket brands include ANCO wipers; Beck/Arnley premium OE quality parts and fluids; BERU* ignition systems; Champion lighting, spark plugs, wipers and filters; Interfil filters; AE, Fel-Pro, FP Diesel, Goetze, Glyco, National, Nural, Payen, Sealed Power and Speed-Pro engine products; MOOG chassis components; and Abex, Ferodo, Jurid and Wagner brake products and lighting.

Federal-Mogul was founded in Detroit in 1899 and maintains its worldwide headquarters in Southfield, Michigan. The Company has nearly 53,000 employees in 24 countries. For more information, please visit www.federalmogul.com.

*BERU is a registered trademark of BorgWarner Ludwigsburg GmbH

CONTACT:

Ursula Hellstern Federal-Mogul Powertrain Communications +49 (611) 201 9190 [email protected]



SOURCE Federal-Mogul Powertrain

Related Links

http://www.federalmogul.com


Madison Mayor Paul Soglin said the city has not heard back from Taiwanese electronics manufacturing giant Foxconn about potential interest in taking over the shuttered Oscar Mayer site or two other sites at the citys edge.

Soglin, at a press conference on Wednesday, also said he doubts Foxconn would seriously look at the Oscar Mayer property because it doesnt fit the companys expressed interest in building on undeveloped land.

Foxconn is proposing a $10 billion liquid crystal display plant in southeastern Wisconsin that could eventually employ 13,000 people at an average salary of $53,000 a year. The company also is considering expanding its Wisconsin presence to the Dane County area, officials have confirmed.

Soglin, at the suggestion of the Madison Region Economic Partnership (MadREP), submitted the Oscar Mayer property and two other undisclosed sites at the edge of the city as locations for a potential $505 million, 700,000-square-foot manufacturing facility that could employ as many as 650 people in its first five years of operation.

The mayor last week said he recommended the Oscar Mayer site even though its not on undeveloped land, as Foxconn has requested, because it has easy access to the airport, Interstate, rail and bus lines and plenty of power and water.

On Wednesday, Soglin again criticized the states consideration of giving Foxconn nearly $3 billion in refundable tax credits as part of an incentive package to lure the larger facility to the southeastern part of the state.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- New NAACP President Derrick Johnson will address the future of the NAACP at a National Press Club Headliners Luncheon on Tuesday, Aug. 29.

Johnson, a longstanding leader of the NAACP, assumed the interim presidency in July and is tasked with leading the organization through a period of "re-envisioning and reinvigoration," the organization said in its announcement of Johnson's new post.

Click here to purchase tickets to the luncheon.

The NAACP recently drew national attention when it issued a travel advisory for Missouri, calling for African American travelers to "exercise extreme caution when traveling through the state given the series of questionable, race-based incidents occurring statewide."

Johnson, a Mississippi native, is a veteran activist who has served as state president of the NAACP Mississippi State Conference. After Hurricane Katrina, Johnson founded One Voice Inc. to promote civic engagement among African Americans.

Lunch will be served at 12:30 p.m., with remarks beginning at 1 p.m., followed by a question-and-answer session ending at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $25 for Club members, who may purchase two tickets at this rate, and $39 for all other non-member tickets.

For questions, please email [email protected] or call 202-6627501. Tickets must be paid for at the time of purchase.

To submit a question for the speaker in advance, put NAACP in the subject line and email to [email protected] before 10 a.m. on the day of the luncheon.

PRESS CONTACT:

Lindsay Underwood

The National Press Club

[email protected]

(202) 662-7561

SOURCE National Press Club
NEW YORK, Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Rabobank has opened nominations for its three annual Food & Agribusiness (F&A) industry awards, which recognize North American companies that uniquely demonstrate leadership, business and environmental sustainability, and innovation. Nominees are reviewed by an independent judging panel of esteemed individuals across industry, academia and the public sector. This year's nominations will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. EDT on September 19, 2017.

"Rabobank is delighted to launch our annual F&A industry leadership awards for 2017. Every year, Rabobank awards distinctive food and agribusiness companies in North America based on their remarkable achievements across leadership, innovation and sustainability  three areas vital to the success and evolution of this global industry," said Paul Beiboer, CEO, Rabobank North America. "We look forward again to recognizing organizations that are making great strides towards ensuring the availability, access, quality, and stability of our food system for years to come."

2017 Award Categories

Companies operating in the F&A industry in the United States, Canada, or Mexico may either nominate themselves or another company they feel is deserving of one of the awards.

Please click on the links below to access the nomination forms.

The overarching Rabobank Award for Leadership & Excellence recognizes a market leader that has demonstrated great impact in their sector through notable innovative and sustainable practices during the past year. The organization will have:

Achieved significant success as a leader in building, rejuvenating, or expanding a business in the food, agribusiness or beverage sectors;

Taken responsibility for environmental and social wellbeing, shared values for business and society, good corporate citizenship, and an excellent track record in social commitments;

Been recognized and set standards of excellence within the industry;

Strong financial performance

The 2016 Rabobank Award for Leadership & Excellence was awarded to AGCO, for its central role in supplying sustainable and inclusive agricultural machines, boosting the world's agricultural productivity and increasing access to the global food system.

The Rabobank Leader in Sustainability Award recognizes an organization that has achieved unique strides towards business, environmental, social, and governance sustainability over the last year. The winner will have:

Developed programs and/or initiatives aimed at improving business, environmental, social, and governance sustainability;

Demonstrated alignment between sustainability strategy and core business priorities; defined and clearly communicated sustainability guidelines and commitments;

Positioned itself as a good corporate citizen and demonstrated social commitments;

Strong financial performance

MidwesternBioAg received the 2016 Rabobank Leader in Sustainability Award, for helping larger partners reduce their climate impacts, with technology to track nutrient efficiency, innovative fertilizers, and soil health.

The Rabobank Emerging Leader in Innovation Award recognizes an up-and-coming organization that addresses issues in the food and agribusiness space in a new and innovative way. It will have:

Operated in the industry for ten years or less;

Demonstrated a distinct innovation in the food and agriculture supply chain and/or offered new choice, value, and convenience to customers;

Demonstrated good corporate citizenship;

Demonstrated strong financial performance / investor interest and potential for market expansion

The 2016 Rabobank Emerging Leader in Innovation Award winner, BluWrap, develops packaging that extends the shelf life of fresh protein, thereby revolutionizing fresh protein supply chains worldwide.

For award consideration, the highlighted initiatives and achievements included in the submission must have taken place (either in part or in full) between June 30, 2016 and August 30, 2017.

Award winners will be notified by Rabobank in October and will be announced publicly and honored at the annual Food & Agribusiness Summit hosted by the bank on November 30, 2017 in New York City.

About Rabobank

Rabobank Group is a global financial services leader providing wholesale and retail banking, leasing, and real estate services in more than 40 countries worldwide. Founded over a century ago, Rabobank today is one of the world's largest banks with over $750 billion in assets. In the Americas, Rabobank is a premier bank to the food, agribusiness and beverage industry, providing sector expertise, strategic counsel and tailored financial solutions to clients across the entire food value chain. Additional information is available on our website or on our social media platforms, including Twitter and LinkedIn.

SOURCE Rabobank

Related Links

http://www.rabobank.com


CHARLOTTE, N.C., Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE) announced today that it has agreed to acquire St. Louis Cold Drawn, Inc., a manufacturer of cold drawn rounds, hexagons, squares, and special sections that mainly serve the U.S. and Mexican automotive and industrial markets.

"This acquisition fits with our planned growth strategy by expanding Nucor's position as the market leader in cold finished bar products. It also creates synergies with our bar mills by providing an additional channel to market for the special bar quality (SBQ) products we produce," said John Ferriola, Chairman, CEO and President, Nucor Corporation. "The acquisition of St. Louis Cold Drawn complements our long-term strategy to profitably grow our value-added product portfolio."

St. Louis Cold Drawn, Inc. employs 125 people and has two manufacturing locations, one in St. Louis, Missouri, and the other in Monterrey, Mexico, that have a combined annual capacity of 200,000 tons. The addition of these facilities will increase the total capacity of Nucor's cold finished bar and wire facilities to more than 1.1 million tons annually and helps advance our goal of growing our sales to automotive customers.

Nucor and its affiliates are manufacturers of steel products, with operating facilities primarily in the U.S. and Canada. Products produced include: carbon and alloy steel -- in bars, beams, sheet and plate; hollow structural section tubing; electrical conduit; steel piling; steel joists and joist girders; steel deck; fabricated concrete reinforcing steel; cold finished steel; steel fasteners; metal building systems; steel grating; and wire and wire mesh. Nucor, through The David J. Joseph Company, also brokers ferrous and nonferrous metals, pig iron and HBI/DRI; supplies ferro-alloys; and processes ferrous and nonferrous scrap. Nucor is North America's largest recycler.

Certain statements contained in this news release are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. The words "believe," "expect," "project," "will," "should," "could" and similar expressions are intended to identify those forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: (1) competitive pressure on sales and pricing, including competition from imports and substitute materials; (2) the sensitivity of the results of our operations to prevailing steel prices and the changes in the supply and cost of raw materials, including scrap steel; (3) market demand for steel products; and (4) energy costs and availability. These and other factors are discussed in Nucor's regulatory filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including those in Nucor's fiscal 2016 Annual Report on Form 10-K, Item 1A. Risk Factors. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release speak only as of this date, and Nucor does not assume any obligation to update them.

SOURCE Nucor Corporation

Related Links

http://www.nucor.com


"Ben & Jerry's built its brand on claims that its products are "natural" and "GMO-Free," and that the company is committed to "social responsibility," which includes concern about environmental issues, global warming, fair labor, animal welfare, and economic success for all partners, including dairy farmers," said Ronnie Cummins, OCA's international director. "Serving up ice cream made with milk from cows raised on GMO animal feed and contaminated with Monsanto's Roundup weedkiller violates those promises.

"Ben & Jerry's contributes to the massive pollution of Vermont and US waterways by supporting industrial dairy which relies on GMO crops for animal feed. By sourcing organic milk, the company could clean up Vermont's water and support organic dairy farmers who currently are forced to sell their milk at conventional prices because they lack markets," Cummins said.

On July 25, 2017, The New York Times reported on tests of Ben & Jerry's ice cream conducted by the OCA. Ten of 11 samples tested positive for glyphosate, the key ingredient in Monsanto's Roundup herbicide, and/or AMPA, a metabolite of glyphosate. Three recent peer-reviewed studies link very low levels of glyphosatelower than what was found in B&J's ice creamto fatty liver disease, cancer tumors, kidney damage and more.

OCA is calling for Ben & Jerry's to immediately transition to using only organic ingredients, including milk, or face an international consumer boycott.

About Organic Consumers Association

The Organic Consumers Association is an online and grassroots non-profit 501(c)3 public-interest organization advocating on behalf of more than two million U.S. consumers for health, justice, and regeneration. For more information, please visit www.organicconsumers.org. @OCA_Press.

SOURCE Organic Consumers Association

Related Links

http://www.organicconsumers.org


TSX:ORV

Third Quarter 2017 achievements:

Record quarterly gold production of 26,414 ounces, increase of 65% from Q2 2016;

Gold equivalent production of approximately 35,292 ounces during Q3 2017;

Revenue increased by $10.7 million to $36.7 million , up 41% compared to Q3 2016;

EBITDA up by $2.3 million compared to Q3 2016;

Cash balance of $18.5 million at June 30, 2017 , up from $14.2 million at March 31, 2017 ;

COC and AISC of $1,032 and $1,199 , respectively, in Q3 2016;

On track to meet fiscal 2017 cost and production guidance, including COC and AISC.

TORONTO, Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - Orvana Minerals Corp. (TSX:ORV) (the "Company" or "Orvana") announced today financial and operational results for the third quarter of fiscal 2017 ("Q2 2017"). The Company is also providing financial and operational results for its El Valle and Carles Mines (collectively, "El Valle") operations in northern Spain and for its Don Mario Mine in Bolivia.

The unaudited condensed interim consolidated financial statements for Q2 2017 and Management's Discussion and Analysis related thereto are available on SEDAR and on the Company's website at www.orvana.com.

Q3 2017 Highlights

The Company's strategy to increase production at its operations targets productivity enhancements to allow for delivery of greater throughput, increased gold recovery and reduced unitary costs. The Company is pleased to report the following positive developments in the third quarter, as follows:

El Valle  Further productivity improvements delivered higher gold and copper production:

Production from higher gold grade oxide areas of El Valle in Q3 2017 increased to 42,243 tonnes in Q3 2017, or 44%, compared with Q2 2017. Production from the Carles Mine improved to 39,115 tonnes in Q3 2017, or 35%, compared with Q2 2017.



As a result of the improvement in mining productivity and increase in mill throughput rates, gold and copper production increased by 15% and 24%, respectively, compared to Q2 2017.



Don Mario  CIL production surpassed targets:

During the first full quarter of commercial production from the CIL circuit, gold production at Don Mario increased to 12,709 ounces, up 48% compared with the second quarter of fiscal 2017. Gold recoveries averaged 89.3% over Q3 2017, exceeding the Company's targeted average gold recovery of 80%.



Copper and silver production increased by 45% and 29%, respectively, compared to Q2 2017, as a result of improved recoveries and mill throughput.



Realized reductions in unitary costs and improved financial performance:

Enabled by the productivity increases above, consolidated all-in sustaining costs fell to $1,199 per ounce, compared with $1,214 per ounce in the second quarter of fiscal 2017 and $1,311 per ounce in the third quarter of fiscal 2016.

per ounce, compared with per ounce in the second quarter of fiscal 2017 and per ounce in the third quarter of fiscal 2016.

Revenue increased 16% to $36.7 million in the third quarter, compared with the second quarter of fiscal 2017; EBITDA improved by $2.3 million over the same period of fiscal 2016.

in the third quarter, compared with the second quarter of fiscal 2017; EBITDA improved by over the same period of fiscal 2016.

Consolidated cash balance increased from $14.2 million at March 31, 2017 to $18.5 million at June 30, 2017 .

"At El Valle, the recent increases to higher grade oxide production have demonstrated the improving flexibility of the mine and allowed for sustained gold production through the quarter, despite lower than expected grades from skarn production," commented Jim Gilbert, Chairman and CEO. "We look forward to reporting our continued progress on improving our oxide production at El Valle, targeting further decreases in unitary costs. With Don Mario also registering higher recoveries and gold production this year, Orvana is on track to meet the fiscal 2017 guidance laid out at the beginning of the year."

Strategy and Outlook

The Company's most important objectives through fiscal 2017 and beyond are to sustainably increase productivity rates at both its operations and to extend the mine life of Don Mario Mine beyond fiscal 2018.

El Valle:

At El Valle, the Company achieved its objective of a sustained mill throughput rate of 2,000 tpd over Q3 2017, increasing its gold, copper and silver production by 15%, 24%, and 9%, respectively, compared to Q2 2017. Next steps include the following:

Ongoing development to increase access to higher grade oxide zones in El Valle Mine, with the objective of increasing the proportion of oxide material relative to skarn material delivered to the mill. This is expected to be supported by the gains realized to date in development and backfill rates, allowing for access to a greater number of oxide stopes, as was partially realized during Q3 2017.



Improved mine flexibility and grade control through a significant reduction of the proportion of inferred material in near-term mine planning.

Don Mario:

The gold recovery results from Q3 2017 have poised Don Mario to realize on known opportunities for mine life extension, and the Company is working through the following near-term projects:

A mine plan for Cerro Felix was completed subsequent to Q3 2017, and pre-stripping activities are expected to commence in Q1 fiscal 2018. Full production is expected to transition to Cerro Felix subsequent to the planned depletion of the Lower Mineralized Zone in mid-fiscal 2018.



Don Mario is also reviewing its options for processing of 2.2 million tonnes of oxide stockpiles with an average estimated gold grade of 1.84 g/t. The Company has had a successful track record of processing this material as part of a blended feed into the processing plant during FY 2016 and FY 2017. Testing results received during FY 2017 have yielded positive indications, and the Company expects to conclude larger scale tests in the coming months.



In support of the near-term and long-term mine life extension projects underway at Don Mario, a substantial tailings storage facility expansion project has commenced. The Company expects that this project will allow for sufficient capacity to support up to an additional three years of operations beyond Q2 fiscal 2018. The construction will be financed primarily by a portion of the recently closed $11.3 million in new debt facilities from Banco BISA S.A.

While maintaining its focus on optimizing current operations, the Company will also evaluate strategic alternatives that could accelerate the growth of the Company.

FY 2017 Production and Cost Guidance



YTD 2017 Actual FY 2017 Guidance El Valle Production





Gold (oz) 36,345 50,000  55,000

Copper (million lbs) 4.2 6.0  6.5

Silver (oz) 136,083 170,000  200,000 Don Mario Production





Gold (oz) 26,281 35,000  40,000

Copper (million lbs) 6.1 7.0  7.5

Silver (oz) 114,260 130,000  150,000 Total Production





Gold (oz) 62,626 85,000  95,000

Copper (million lbs) 10.3 13.0  14.0

Silver (oz) 250,343 300,000  350,000 Total capital expenditures $15,514 $27,000  $30,000 Cash operating costs (by-product) ($/oz) gold (1) $1,071 $1,050  $1,150 All-in sustaining costs (by-product) ($/oz) gold (1) $1,330 $1,300  $1,400

(1) FY2017 guidance assumptions for COC and AISC include by-product commodity prices of $2.00 per pound of copper and $18.00 per ounce of silver and an average Euro to US Dollar exchange of 1.12.

Selected Operational and Financial Information



Q3 2017 Q2 2017 Q3 2016 YTD 2017 YTD 2016 Operating Performance









Gold











Production (oz) 26,414 20,513 16,038 62,626 50,943

Sales (oz) 24,287 20,773 16,496 58,997 47,111

Average realized price / oz $1,262 $1,238 $1,258 $1,253 $1,202 Copper











Production ('000 lbs) 3,837 2,867 3,833 10,292 11,104

Sales ('000 lbs) 4,244 3,032 3,879 10,836 10,071

Average realized price / lb $2.45 $2.50 $2.13 $2.42 $2.15 Silver











Production (oz) 75,578 66,485 112,507 250,343 403,345

Sales (oz) 77,173 87,441 111,949 290,240 373,327

Average realized price / oz $17.25 $17.42 $16.91 $17.30 $15.40 Financial Performance (in 000's, except per share amounts)







Revenue $36,671 $31,714 $26,030 $91,843 $69,806 Mining costs $31,180 $26,272 $21,809 $81,808 $61,660 Gross margin ($1,909) $8 $406 ($8,754) ($4,284) Net loss ($3,446) ($2,233) ($1,181) ($13,833) ($6,927) Net loss per share (basic/diluted) ($0.03) ($0.02) ($0.01) ($0.10) ($0.05) EBITDA (1) $4,782 $4,774 $2,509 $6,222 $3,457 Operating cash flows $7,769 $928 $2,176 $8,396 $3,216 Ending cash and cash equivalents $18,504 $14,210 $12,021 $18,504 $12,021 Capital expenditures (2) $3,294 $4,501 $3,122 $15,512 $9,583 Cash operating costs (by-product) ($/oz) gold (1) $1,032 $993 $1,035 $1,071 $1,045 All-in sustaining costs (by-product) ($/oz) gold (1)(2) $1,199 $1,214 $1,311 $1,330 $1,344

(1) Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization ("EBITDA"), cash operating costs ("COC") and all-in sustaining costs ("AISC") are non-IFRS performance measures. (2) Each reported period excludes capital expenditures incurred in the period which will be paid in subsequent periods and includes capital expenditures incurred in prior periods and paid for in the applicable reporting period. The calculation of AISC includes capex incurred (paid and unpaid) during the period.

About Orvana

Orvana is a multi-mine gold and copper producer. Orvana's operating assets consist of the producing gold-copper-silver El Valle and Carles mines in northern Spain and the producing gold-copper-silver Don Mario mine in Bolivia. Additional information is available at Orvana's website (www.orvana.com).

Cautionary Statements - Forward-Looking Information

Certain statements in this information constitute forward-looking statements or forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws ("forward-looking statements"). Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, potentials, future events or performance (often, but not always, using words or phrases such as "believes", "expects", "plans", "estimates" or "intends" or stating that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", "will" or "are projected to" be taken or achieved) are not statements of historical fact, but are forward-looking statements.

The forward-looking statements herein relate to, among other things, Orvana's ability to achieve improvement in free cash flow; the potential to extend the mine life of El Valle and Don Mario beyond their current life-of-mine estimates including specifically, but not limited to in the case of Don Mario, the completion of the major tailings storage facility expansion, the mining of the Cerro Felix deposit, the processing of the mineral stockpiles and the reprocessing of the tailings material; Orvana's ability to optimize its assets to deliver shareholder value; the Company's ability to optimize productivity at Don Mario and El Valle; estimates of future production, operating costs and capital expenditures; mineral resource and reserve estimates; statements and information regarding future feasibility studies and their results; future transactions; future metal prices; the ability to achieve additional growth and geographic diversification; future financial performance, including the ability to increase cash flow and profits; future financing requirements; and mine development plans.

Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Company as of the date of such statements, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. The estimates and assumptions of the Company contained or incorporated by reference in this information, which may prove to be incorrect, include, but are not limited to, the various assumptions set forth herein and in Orvana's most recently filed Management's Discussion & Analysis and Annual Information Form in respect of the Company's most recently completed fiscal year (the "Company Disclosures") or as otherwise expressly incorporated herein by reference as well as: there being no significant disruptions affecting operations, whether due to labour disruptions, supply disruptions, power disruptions, damage to equipment or otherwise; permitting, development, operations, expansion and acquisitions at El Valle and Don Mario being consistent with the Company's current expectations; political developments in any jurisdiction in which the Company operates being consistent with its current expectations; certain price assumptions for gold, copper and silver; prices for key supplies being approximately consistent with current levels; production and cost of sales forecasts meeting expectations; the accuracy of the Company's current mineral reserve and mineral resource estimates; and labour and materials costs increasing on a basis consistent with Orvana's current expectations.

A variety of inherent risks, uncertainties and factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control, affect the operations, performance and results of the Company and its business, and could cause actual events or results to differ materially from estimated or anticipated events or results expressed or implied by forward looking statements. Some of these risks, uncertainties and factors include fluctuations in the price of gold, silver and copper; the need to recalculate estimates of resources based on actual production experience; the failure to achieve production estimates; variations in the grade of ore mined; variations in the cost of operations; the availability of qualified personnel; the Company's ability to obtain and maintain all necessary regulatory approvals and licenses; the Company's ability to use cyanide in its mining operations; risks generally associated with mineral exploration and development, including the Company's ability to continue to operate the El Valle and/or Don Mario and/or ability to resume long-term operations at Carles Mine; the Company's ability to acquire and develop mineral properties and to successfully integrate such acquisitions; the Company's ability to execute on its strategy; the Company's ability to obtain financing when required on terms that are acceptable to the Company; challenges to the Company's interests in its property and mineral rights; current, pending and proposed legislative or regulatory developments or changes in political, social or economic conditions in the countries in which the Company operates; general economic conditions worldwide; and the risks identified in the Company's Disclosures under the heading "Risks and Uncertainties". This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of the Company's forward-looking statements and reference should also be made to the Company's Disclosures for a description of additional risk factors.

Any forward-looking statements made in this information with respect to the anticipated development and exploration of the Company's mineral projects are intended to provide an overview of management's expectations with respect to certain future activities of the Company and may not be appropriate for other purposes.

Forward-looking statements are based on management's current plans, estimates, projections, beliefs and opinions and, except as required by law, the Company does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements should assumptions related to these plans, estimates, projections, beliefs and opinions change. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

The forward-looking statements made in this information are intended to provide an overview of management's expectations with respect to certain future operating activities of the Company and may not be appropriate for other purposes.

Cautionary Notes to Investors  Reserve and Resource Estimates

In accordance with applicable Canadian securities regulatory requirements, all mineral reserve and mineral resource estimates of the Company disclosed in this AIF have been prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 (as defined below), classified in accordance with Canadian Institute of Mining Metallurgy and Petroleum's "CIM Standards on Mineral Resources and Reserves Definitions and Guidelines" (the "CIM Guidelines").

Pursuant to the CIM Guidelines, mineral resources have a higher degree of uncertainty than mineral reserves as to their existence as well as their economic and legal feasibility. Inferred mineral resources, when compared with measured or indicated mineral resources, have the least certainty as to their existence, and it cannot be assumed that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource will be upgraded to an indicated or measured mineral resource as a result of continued exploration. Pursuant to NI 43-101, inferred mineral resources may not form the basis of any economic analysis, including any feasibility study. Accordingly, readers are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of a mineral resource exists, will ever be converted into a mineral reserve, or is or will ever be economically or legally mineable or recovered.

SOURCE Orvana Minerals Corp.

Related Links

http://www.orvana.com


NEW YORK, Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM), operator of financial markets for 10,000 U.S. and global securities, today announced Gold Reserve, Inc. (TSX-V: GRZ; OTCQX: GDRZF), an exploration-stage company, has qualified to trade on the OTCQX Best Market. Gold Reserve upgraded to OTCQX from the Pink market.

Gold Reserve begins trading today on OTCQX under the symbol "GDRZF." U.S. investors can find current financial disclosure and Real-Time Level 2 quotes for the company on www.otcmarkets.com.

"Trading on OTCQX will allow Gold Reserve to efficiently leverage its existing TSX Venture listing to build visibility and provide a more transparent trading market for U.S. investors," said Jason Paltrowitz, Executive Vice President of Corporate Services at OTC Markets Group. "We are pleased to welcome Gold Reserve to the OTCQX Best Market."

Doug Belanger, President of Gold Reserve Inc. stated, "We are very pleased to be trading on the OTCQX. This will give more real-time trading information and increased access to markets for our U.S. Investors, enhancing their ability to trade the company's common shares."

Gold Reserve was sponsored for OTCQX by Burns, Figa & Will, P.C., a qualified third-party firm responsible for providing guidance on OTCQX requirements and recommending membership.

About Gold Reserve, Inc.

Gold Reserve Inc., incorporated in Canada in 1998, and a predecessor company in the United States in 1956, is a mineral exploration and development corporation. The Company is currently developing the world class Siembra Minera (45% owned  55% Venezuelan government) gold/copper/silver project in Venezuela, also known as the Brisas Cristinas project. This project is in addition to the $740 million international arbitration award the Company received in 2014 from the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) after expropriation of the its Brisas project in 2008 by Venezuela. Gold Reserve has agreed to settle this award in a series of monthly payments until June 2019 which will total $1.037 billion, including $240 million for the company's extensive technical data base on the Siembra Minera project. The company also has an 100% interest in the LMS early stage gold exploration project in Alaska.

About OTC Markets Group Inc.

OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM) operates the OTCQX Best Market, the OTCQB Venture Market, and the Pink Open Market for 10,000 U.S. and global securities. Through OTC Link ATS, we connect a diverse network of broker-dealers that provide liquidity and execution services. We enable investors to easily trade through the broker of their choice and empower companies to improve the quality of information available for investors.

To learn more about how we create better informed and more efficient markets, visit www.otcmarkets.com

OTC Link ATS is operated by OTC Link LLC, member FINRA/SIPC and SEC regulated ATS.

Subscribe to the OTC Markets RSS Feed

Media Contact:

OTC Markets Group Inc., +1 (212) 896-4428, [email protected]

SOURCE OTC Markets Group Inc.

Related Links

http://www.otcmarkets.com


SAN FRANCISCO and LOS ANGELES, Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Pacific Union International, Inc., the eighth-largest real estate brokerage in the U.S. by 2016 sales volume, and Partners Trust, a leading independent luxury brokerage with more than 240 associates in the Los Angeles area, announced their intent to merge today with the deal expected to close next week. The merger is the second for Pacific Union in the Los Angeles market within the last eight months and follows its December 2016 merger with Beverly Hills-based John Aaroe Group.

San Francisco's Pacific Union International CEO Mark A. McLaughlin announces merger with Los Angeles boutique luxury brokerage Partners Trust led by CEO Nick Segal to create the largest independent real estate brokerage in California projecting 2017 sales volume of $15 billion.

The combined firm creates the preeminent independent luxury real estate brokerage in California, with 2016 sales volume of $12.61 billion and projected 2017 sales volume in excess of $15 billion. The merger expands the brokerage to 47 offices in Northern and Southern California, with more than 1,400 real estate professionals.

Partners Trust was founded in 2009 by Nick Segal, F. Ron Smith, Richard Stearns and Hugh Evans III. Posting 2016 sales volume of $2.47 billion, Partners Trust has produced total sales of more than $10 billion since its founding. The firm has offices in Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Santa Monica, Ocean Park, Malibu, La Canada Flintridge, and Pasadena. Partners Trust has been named by the Los Angeles Business Journal as one of the "Best Places to Work" in Los Angeles for seven consecutive years, and its top- performing associates are regularly named to Variety's Showbiz Real Estate Elite, The Hollywood Reporter's Top 25 Real Estate Agents, and REAL Trends' The Thousand as featured in The Wall Street Journal. Partners Trust is the founding brokerage of Leverage Global Partners, an exclusive international network of luxury real estate firms in 16 countries.

"Our merger with Pacific Union represents a new and exciting era for our team of partners and associates," Partners Trust CEO and Co-Founder Nick Segal says. "It will positively redefine the California real estate market and make us the dominant, independent force in the Los Angeles luxury real estate market. We immediately strengthen our position as a market leader, deepen our marketing and technology tool chest, and expand our global reach." Segal adds, "It allows us to create the most ideal road map for the ultimate client experience in Los Angeles."

John Aaroe Group and Partners Trust will continue to operate as separate brands with their current leadership in their respective offices. Partners Trust will incorporate Pacific Union's innovative marketing and business intelligence assets into its real estate practice just as John Aaroe Group has done.

"We've seen a dramatic 30 percent year to year increase in sales volume as a direct result of our merger with Pacific Union in 2016," John Aaroe, founder and president of John Aaroe Group says. "Our shared technology, sales, and marketing strength and innovative best practices lead the industry and will continue to drive our strategic growth in key markets across Southern California."

"This merger executes against Pacific Union's unique, high-performance vision for the development of the ultimate California real estate company and the real estate firm of the future," Pacific Union CEO Mark A. McLaughlin says. "Beyond our expansion in Southern California, we admire Partners Trust's impressive year-over-year growth in this highly competitive market and deeply value the extraordinary principles of integrity and trust that Partners Trust delivers to its clients. Pacific Union shares this same commitment to our clients through teamwork, trust and innovation."

In addition to a robust array of innovative sales tools, a Chinese Concierge office in Beijing, and business intelligence from Pacific Union Chief Economist Selma Hepp, Partners Trust will benefit from Pacific Union's global digital marketing campaigns. This advertising outreach aggressively extends Pacific Union's brand awareness and listings to real estate investors in the leading international markets of China, India, Brazil and the U.K. Since its launch in 2016, the campaign has delivered more than 187 million global impressions and 621,000 international site visits to www.pacificunion.com.

Through this merger, Partners Trust extends its new-development real estate strength into Los Angeles' highly competitive new-condominium market together with urban sales and marketing authority, The Mark Company. Pacific Union acquired The Mark Company in 2015 and leads the West Coast in the development of new, luxury, high-rise condominium projects that are transforming downtown residential markets in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Seattle. Partners Trust will continue to grow its commercial team, which uniquely leverages the brokerage's platform.

Matthew Perry's Hollywood Hills architectural listed for sale by Partners Trust

https://www.dropbox.com/s/4ubwhzam64dahyy/9010Hopen_065.jpg?dl=0

Photo credit: Michael McNamara/Shooting LA

Brand new Bel Air modern masterpiece listed for sale by John Aaroe Group

https://www.dropbox.com/s/8nld5cnxvx8an28/1737%20Bel%20Air%20Road%20.jpg?dl=0

Photo credit: Matthew Momberger

Pacific Union International's Marin County Listing Pairs Contemporary Architecture with Redwoods

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/2bt5dpetdnc0hws/AABGfTcEsWy2L1FSl98q6ERya?dl=0&preview=Ext_Back_Pool_0771.jpg

Photo credit: Jacob Elliott

About Pacific Union International

Founded in San Francisco in 1975, Pacific Union International, Inc. is the West Coast's premier luxury real estate brand with 2016 sales volume of $12.61 billion. In 2016, real estate industry leaders RISMedia and REAL Trends rank Pacific Union as the eighth-largest brokerage in the U.S. Through its 2015 acquisition of The Mark Company, the nation's leading sales and marketing firm for new urban luxury developments, Pacific Union expanded its brand to development projects from San Diego to Seattle. In 2016 Pacific Union merged with Los Angeles-based brokerage John Aaroe Group, followed in 2017 with a merger with Partners Trust also based in Los Angeles, extending the Pacific Union brand to become the preeminent leader and ultimate California real estate company. The strategic alliance of these four powerhouses supports over 1,400 elite real estate professionals in 47 offices throughout the West Coast. Northern California markets include San Francisco, Marin, Contra Costa, Alameda, Napa, and Sonoma counties, Silicon Valley, and the Lake Tahoe region. Greater Los Angeles markets include Beverly Hills, Downtown, the Westside, and the San Fernando and San Gabriel Valleys. To extend Pacific Union's international reach, in 2013 the brokerage established an award-winning, Beijing-based China Concierge program that fully supports its Chinese investors on the mainland. Additionally Pacific Union offers a full range of personal and commercial real estate services, including buying, selling, and relocation in addition to operating joint-venture businesses that provide rental and commercial property management and insurance services. Locally owned, Pacific Union executes with a vision for the future, an entrepreneurial mindset, and an unwavering commitment to deliver exceptional service and expertise. For more information, visit: www.pacificunion.com.

About Partners Trust

With seven offices, 240 associates, and more than $10 billion in transactions since its founding in 2009, Partners Trust has fast become a leading independent Los Angeles real estate brokerage. Serving both the residential and commercial markets, Partners Trust is a dynamic agency known for its robust global network, innovative operations, and associates who operate with an unmatched level of integrity, resulting in a peerless level of service. In addition to offices in Malibu, Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Santa Monica, La Canada Flintridge, and Pasadena, the company also has a presence in Shanghai, China. Partners Trust is frequently ranked among the top Los Angeles residential real estate brokerages by sales volume and has been named one of the Los Angeles Business Journal's "Best Places to Work in Los Angeles" for seven consecutive years. The company is the exclusive Los Angeles area member of Leverage Global Partners, a network of prestigious independent real estate companies across 16 countries. All associates contribute to the Partners Trust Charitable Giving Fund, a not-for-profit that supports organizations serving disenfranchised Los Angeles communities through improvements in housing, health, education, and the arts. For more information, visit: www.thepartnerstrust.com.

SOURCE Pacific Union

Related Links

http://www.pacificunion.com


ATHENS, Ga., Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- FormFree has hired brand strategist and marketing expert Patricia "Patty" Ramirez Pinckney as senior director of marketing. In this role, Pinckney will drive planning and implementation of FormFree's marketing campaigns, govern its strategic positioning within the mortgage industry and manage the firm's brand.

"Patty Pinckney has been an influential force in marketing for years. Her deep understanding of human behavior and global experience operationalizing integrated marketing strategies will be tremendous assets to FormFree as we grow our flagship automated asset verification service, AccountChek, and bring new products to market," said FormFree CEO Brent Chandler.

Pinckney brings more than 20 years' experience as a "big brand" marketer specializing in everything from brand development and strategic planning to full-scale marketing campaigns. She has applied her considerable expertise for global companies including Procter & Gamble, BBVA Bancomer and The Coca-Cola Company.

Pinckney, who worked with FormFree on a consulting basis prior to taking the post, most recently served as president of Mojo Communications and Marketing, a brand strategy firm that helps companies create deeper connections with a wider variety of audiences. Prior to that, Pinckney, who is bilingual, helmed The 650 Company, which develops business and communication strategies to engage Hispanic communities in both English and Spanish.

"Given my career-long passion for understanding consumers' motivations and bringing a global marketing approach to businesses of all sizes, joining the FormFree team feels like coming home," Pinckney said. "The mortgage industry is poised for innovation, and FormFree is leading the way with AccountChek, which has already demonstrated its power to transform the borrower and lender experiences. I look forward to further building the company brand and establishing long-lasting bonds between FormFree and the industries it serves."

About FormFree

Leading lenders trust FormFree's automated verification solutions that streamline the loan origination process and provide better intelligence on borrowers' ability to repay. FormFree's flagship app, AccountChek, eliminates the hassle of collecting paper statements from borrowers by using direct-access data untouched by human hands to consolidate, analyze and verify assets. AccountChek securely delivers automated asset verification data and on-demand reports to more than 350 leading U.S. lenders. A HousingWire TECH100 company for four consecutive years, FormFree is based in Atlanta, Georgia. For more information, visit http://www.formfree.com/ or follow FormFree on LinkedIn.

*PHOTO: Send2Press.com/300dpi/17-0810s2p-pinckney-300dpi.jpg

This release was issued through Send2Press, a unit of Neotrope. For more information, visit Send2Press Newswire at https://www.Send2Press.com

SOURCE FormFree

Related Links

http://www.formfree.com


PETALUMA, Calif., Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Pentagon and Sikorsky have identified four witnesses that will be providing testimony in the upcoming December trial in a case filed by the American Small Business League (ASBL). The ASBL filed the case after the Pentagon and Sikorsky refused to release Sikorsky's small business subcontracting plan submitted to the Pentagon's 28-year-old Comprehensive Subcontracting Plan Test Program (CSPTP). The ASBL believes the information will show the Pentagon has falsified the volume of subcontracts that have been awarded to small businesses since the program began in 1989.

In 2014, Pentagon spokeswoman, Maureen Schumann acknowledged that due to its lack of transparency and accountability, the CSPTP "has led to an erosion of our small business industrial base"

In 2015, the Pentagon revealed that the CSPTP had actually harmed small businesses when they released data showing subcontracts to small businesses have dropped by 50 percent. This information was released following the Pentagons statement that they want the CSPTP scrapped, acknowledging that there has never been any evidence that the program achieved its goal of increasing subcontracting opportunities for small businesses.

In a November 6, 2014 hearing Judge Alsup stated, "The purpose of the Freedom of Information Act is so the public can see how our government works. Congress passed this law to make small businesses have access to some of these projects, and here is the United States covering it up." Judge Alsup described the ASBL as being in a David and Goliath battle against the big government and big business and accused the Pentagon of suppressing evidence.

The Pentagon and Sikorsky are claiming the release of the data in Sikorsky's small business subcontracting plan would cause them substantial competitive harm. The ASBL has countered by exposing the fact that Sikorsky's contracts with the government are sole source contracts and Sikorsky has no competitors for their government contracts. The ASBL has also exposed the fact that the names of Sikorsky's subcontractors are publicly available on the Federal Procurement Data System.

The ASBL believes the Pentagons efforts to withhold the small business subcontracting data may be to obscure the fact that the Pentagon is allowing their prime contractors to subcontract with their own wholly owned subsidiaries or report awards to Fortune 500 firms and other large businesses as small business subcontracts.

The identified witnesses in the trial include: Janice Buffler  DOD Associate director of Subcontracting policy, Andrew Driver  Sikorsky Aircraft Senior Manager of Market Analytics, Amy Johnson  Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation Director of Supply Chain and Martha Crawford - Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation Supplier Diversity Manager/Small Business Liaison Officer. Janice Buffler's deposition is set for August 21st 2017 in San Francisco, and the Trial is scheduled for December 11th 2017.

Contact:

Kyle Hilmoe

[email protected]

707-789-9575

SOURCE American Small Business League

Related Links

http://www.asbl.com


During the two-week trip, Peralta students travelled throughout China, attending seminars, interacting with locals, and learning about the country's history and economy.

Part of Peralta's core academic mission is to prepare students seeking career paths for a competitive 21st century global economy and enrich their global understanding and awareness amid critical cross-cultural exchanges.

"It was an amazing experience to participate in this program. It opened my eyes to the opportunities I can consider in today's international career environment. Without this opportunity, I would have never experienced first-hand what it could mean to be a part of a global job market and economy," said Carroll Edwyna Ellsworth, a student at College of Alameda. "I've come back wanting to learn more about China and Asian cultures."

"For the second straight year, students from the Peralta Colleges have participated in this insightful study exchange to China. The only way to prepare our students to engage on a global scale, is to ensure them access to opportunities to see the world beyond their immediate communities," said Congresswoman Lee. "I'd like to thank Chancellor Laguerre and the entire Peralta Colleges staff for making sure these life-changing opportunities are available to our students."

"We are grateful to have Congresswoman Barbara Lee's recommendation that Peralta students participate in this innovative cultural and educational enrichment program that helps them compete in a global job market. The Board will be excited, as always  to hear the report back from the student participants in this year's program," said Board President Julina Bonilla.

As uncertainty in state and federal funding continues, community colleges must seek strategic partnerships on behalf of students. Peralta Colleges must  whether it's an award-winning nursing program, cutting-edge training in cybersecurity, or international enrichment programs  remain diligent in preparing students for today and future careers. Peralta Colleges remain an affordable, quality option for families that offers opportunity for every student and invests in our community's future.

CONTACT:

Dolores M. Bernal

Phone: 510-986-6922

After-Hours Phone: 415-910-4659

SOURCE Peralta Community College District

Related Links

http://www.peralta.edu


For a year and a half, the Tenant Resource Center has tried to serve Dane County residents outside Madison with a limited budget.

A recently awarded contract, though, will restore most of the $95,000 that Dane County provided to the nonprofit, but that has been left out of the countys budget since 2015. The contract will help fund the resource center in answering questions and providing mediation and educational services to tenants and landlords countywide.

Now, people in Fitchburg, Sun Prairie, McFarland, Oregon, wherever theyre at, they can call us, and we can answer their questions, said executive director Brenda Konkel.

While the $72,500 in funding  that comes from a joint city-county contract the Tenant Resource Center successfully bid on  hasnt been released yet, itll go to additional hiring for an expected increase in calls, Konkel said.

She said employees at the nonprofit would answer questions from Dane County residents after the loss of funds, but it left them short-staffed.

Operating since 1980, the center has been getting money from Madison to do work in the city, and a federal grant extends the services to the 71 counties in Wisconsin other than Dane County, Konkel said.

Each of our funding sources and each of our grants have very particular things they want us to do, Konkel said.

Konkel said she hopes the funds will be provided annually and bumped up to the previous $95,000 amount.

The most frequent questions the Tenant Resource Center answers relate to repairs, evictions, security deposits and breaking a lease, she said. It also provides services to the homeless and those facing homelessness.
SILICON SLOPES, Utah, Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Pluralsight, the enterprise technology learning platform, today announced the appointment of DJ Anderson as vice president of communications. With more than 20 years of experience building strategic communications programs for public and private companies, Anderson will lead Pluralsight's internal, external and executive communications.

"DJ's reputation as a master storyteller and her profound ability to leverage communications to drive organizations forward is an incredible asset," said Heather Zynczak, CMO at Pluralsight. "She has a strong track record as a leader, and has demonstrated a knack for uncovering and sharing thoughtful stories throughout her career. We look forward to leveraging her strategic counsel as we continue to expand our enterprise efforts and increase market awareness."

Prior to joining Pluralsight, Anderson served as head of communications at Upthere, Inc., a personal cloud storage company, which she launched out of stealth and beta. She also spent five years at Yahoo, where she led global communications for the company's products and technology. Under her leadership, Yahoo launched 32 products in 2013 that transformed the media and user opinion of the company. She also promoted Yahoo's technology, science and innovation businesses, including Yahoo Labs, technology platforms, developer relations, research and development, and data centers.

"Pluralsight's commitment to closing the technology skills gap through a powerful model hooked me," said Anderson. "It's rare to find a company that couples a strong, mission-driven culture and leadership team with a platform that offers real value to users across the globe. I'm excited to be joining Pluralsight at this pivotal moment in time, and am looking forward to seeing the real impact we're going to make on the world."

For more information about Pluralsight, visit pluralsight.com

About Pluralsight

Pluralsight is an enterprise technology learning platform that delivers a unified, end-to-end learning experience for businesses across the globe. Through a subscription service, companies are empowered to move at the speed of technology, increasing proficiency, innovation and efficiency. Founded in 2004 and trusted by Fortune 500 companies, Pluralsight provides members with on-demand access to a digital ecosystem of learning tools, including adaptive skill tests, directed learning paths, expert-authored courses, interactive labs and live mentoring. For more information, visit pluralsight.com.

Media Contacts

Pluralsight PR

Mariangel Babbel

Director, Communications

[email protected]

SOURCE Pluralsight

Related Links

http://www.pluralsight.com


AUSTIN, Texas, Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Prologic Technology Systems, Inc. announced the addition of Don Hutchings as Vice-President of strategic partnerships. He will direct the formation and expansion of Prologic's new TEAMS Partner Network, by partnering TEAMS with the best-in-class K-12 education solutions. Hutchings has extensive leadership and management experience with both the software industry and K-12 market. He has previously established partner networks with Versifit Technologies, Siebel, Market Star and Aradyme Corporation.

Prologic's Partner Network will complement its planned rollout of the Zero Cost Cloud Solution, a turn key system that education agencies and local school districts can implement under existing IT budgets. The cloud solution can also help eliminate enterprise resource planning (ERP) hardware maintenance costs, by providing education agencies and school districts the comprehensive TEAMS ERP software with robust cloud service capabilities. The TEAMS ERP will enable districts to address all their student information and business information systems needs utilizing one software solution.

"Education agencies are faced with dwindling budgets and the additional challenges of keeping up with current technology, hardware investment purchases and the available technical talent to run mission critical applications," said Jeff Pepper, President of Prologic. "Our TEAMS cloud solution will allow education agencies to free up IT resources that can be invested directly into educating students."

Prologic will utilize the Interlocal Purchasing System, better known as TIPS Purchasing Cooperative, which will enable Prologic to offer the cloud service directly to education agencies, as well as charter and private schools throughout the 50 states without the need for a request for information(RFI) or proposal (RFP).

"With our new Partner Network, TIPS, and with Hutchins to lead the rollout, Prologic is well positioned to offer its proven ERP solution with dramatic new benefits at no additional costs to our current and future customers," said Max Hunsicker, vice president of client success at Prologic.

About TEAMS by Prologic:

Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Prologic Technology Systems has been solely focused on delivering intelligent software solutions to the K-12 market since 1992. Total Education Administrative Management Solution (TEAMS), seamlessly bridges the silos of finance, human resource and student information into a single, cohesive database capable of real-time reporting and simplified collaboration among district teachers, students, administrators and parents.

Media Contact:

Calvin Williams

[email protected]

SOURCE Prologic Technology Systems, Inc.
GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands, Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Rivetz Intl, Inc. (https://rivetzintl.com) today announced it has secured $5.5 million USD (19,000 ETH) in a private presale of its Rivet (RvT) token, a cybersecurity token developed to provide verifiable security controls for cloud authentication, IoT, blockchain, and legacy financial transactions. The RvT token enables multifactor authentication across devices, to achieve provable security at both the transaction and authentication level. The Rivetz solution uses technology that is already built in to hundreds of millions of mobile devices to assure the keys and transactions can not be altered or stolen by malware infecting the operating system. The token sale will open to the public on August 10, 2017 at 17:00 UTC.

Institutional buyers in the presale, including BnkToTheFuture and Tally Capital, are vocal in their support for Rivetz's multifactor authentication solution.

"We are very supportive of the goals of Rivetz and happy to add it to our portfolio of tokens," said Simon Dixon, CEO BnkToTheFuture.com. "Turning our phones into hardware wallets in a way that is scalable will be an important advancement as the world adjust to owning their own digital assets. Rivetz CEO Steven Sprague is a true expert in the field of security, and the perfect leader to bring this innovation in personal security forward."

"The Rivetz token distribution is a groundbreaking moment in decentralized cybersecurity," said Matthew Roszak, managing director of Tally Capital and co-founder of Bloq. "Rivetz provides consumer protections and simplicity that will help blockchain applications achieve their next level of adoption. This new platform will add a crucial new layer of protection to exchanges, wallet and new tokens to ensure a level of data integrity and identity protection never before available."

The token sale is led by leading crowdfunding platform TokenMarket. For more information, visit https://rivetzintl.com. The team is available to answer questions on Slack or Telegram

About Rivetz

Rivetz is focused on solving problems associated with consumer and machine-to-machine digital transactions. Rivetz technology and services aim to provide a safer and easier-to-use model for all users to protect their digital assets using hardware-based trusted execution technology. The device aims to play a critical role in automating security and enabling the controls that users need to benefit from modern services. Rivetz leverages state-of-the-art cybersecurity tools to develop a modern model for users and their devices to interact with services on the Internet. For more information, visit www.rivetz.com

All product and company names herein may be trademarks of their registered owners.

SOURCE Rivetz Corp.

Related Links

http://www.rivetz.com


Based in Chicago, Falcone specializes in executive search and succession planning for senior leadership across the academy, including presidents, provosts, deans and other senior leaders. Within healthcare services, Falcone serves the entire C-suite and also offers a specialty in physician executives.

"We are extremely pleased to have added a veteran consultant with over 30 years of clinical healthcare, academic medicine, executive search and advisory experience to help drive the firm's expertise in education and also expand our Chicago healthcare services team," said Constantine Alexandrakis, leader of Russell Reynolds Associates' U.S. Region. "Bringing together our uniquely diverse expertise across the different domains of education under Charlie's leadership will greatly benefit our education clients as they undergo dramatic transformation."

Most recently, Falcone served as Partner and Managing Director for the Chicago office of a global executive search firm. Prior to that role, Falcone was the Medical Director of operating rooms and surgical services at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and a Faculty Member at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University. He also served as Clinical Director for the Department of Anesthesiology. Falcone began his career on the faculty of Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and is a board-certified anesthesiologist.

Falcone holds a B.S. from the University of Scranton and received his M.D. from the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine. He performed his residency and fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. He earned his M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

About Russell Reynolds Associates

Russell Reynolds Associates is a global search and leadership advisory firm. Our 400+ consultants in 47 offices work with public, private and nonprofit organizations across all industries and regions. We help our clients build teams of transformational leaders who can meet today's challenges and anticipate the digital, economic and political trends that are reshaping the global business environment. From helping boards with their structure, culture and effectiveness to identifying, assessing and defining the best leadership for organizations  our teams bring their decades of expertise to help clients solve their most complex leadership issues. www.russellreynolds.com

Contact: Vijaya Singh

Russell Reynolds Associates

212-351-1987

[email protected]

SOURCE Russell Reynolds Associates

Related Links

http://www.russellreynolds.com


Sciton is celebrating 20 years of results that matter with a limited-time 20th anniversary webpage . Anniversary topics include a brief history of Sciton's product development, physicians testimonials, and profiles of long term employees which all highlight why Sciton is unlike any other company in Aesthetics. "With other companies, you're going to be introduced to a clinical team, to a sales person, you may be introduced to a marketing person and, many times, that might be your one and only interaction with them. With Sciton, I'm proud to say our clinical department is with you from the beginning to the end and our only goal is to help you grow. We want our users to be the best trained, the most confident, and truly the best in the industry." - Daryl Mossburg, Associate Director of Corporate Clinical Development.

Sciton is celebrating 20 years of innovation with the largest User Summit in the industry. Sciton's 2017 two-day User Summit brings together experts, marketing professionals, and selected vendors to provide an educational experience like no other. Embrace the opportunity to learn about cutting-edge clinical applications, advanced treatment techniques, and exciting trends in the industry. Sciton will hold the world's largest Aesthetic User Summit on November 1112, 2017 at the Westin Galleria Dallas in Dallas, TX. Early Bird pricing is available through October 10, 2017. For full details and to register, visit scitonsummit.com.

To celebrate in person, Sciton has been holding a series of anniversary events throughout the year at major conferences. Our last one will take place during the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery (ASDS) Annual Meeting in Chicago on Thursday, October 5, 2017. If you plan to attend ASDS, please join us in celebrating Sciton's 20th Anniversary. We hope to see you there!

About Sciton

Sciton is committed to providing best-in-class laser and light solutions for medical professionals who want superior durability, performance and value. Sciton offers best-in-class medical devices for laser-assisted lipolysis, fractional and full-coverage skin resurfacing, hair removal, phototherapy, wrinkle reduction, treatment of vascular and pigmented lesions, scar reduction, and acne. For more information, and a complete listing of Sciton systems, visit www.Sciton.com.

Facebook: Sciton, Inc.

Instagram: sciton_inc

Twitter: Sciton

LinkedIn: Sciton

SOURCE Sciton

Related Links

http://sciton.com/events/20th-anniversary


Ideal for guests who prefer longer cruises and more exotic destinations, the new Extended Explorations voyages will include a range of unique itineraries ranging from 12 to 128 days in length in exotic locales such as the South Pacific, Hawaii, Australia & New Zealand, as well as Africa & Southeast Asia. Seabourn Sojourn , the guests' "home away from home," will visit more than 30 new and notable ports during these voyages.

Extended Explorations offers travelers a variety of ways to uncover new destinations by allowing guests to have an in-depth experience in a specific region or effortlessly move from one region to another. Adding a week, month, or an entire season offers many benefits for guests, including the opportunity for overnight stays in major ports with accommodations on board and ashore.

"All of our itineraries are designed to provide guests with a world-class luxury experience and some travelers prefer a longer, more leisurely cruising schedule with the chance to explore some very interesting parts of the world in-depth," noted Richard Meadows, president of Seabourn. "These voyages show our ongoing dedication to providing memorable experiences in noteworthy destinations that are rich in culture."

Guests will also enjoy a wide range of added values and amenities throughout their Extended Explorations, including:

Seabourn Conversations enrichment program featuring a line of up of distinguished speakers and personalities discussing topics of regional and cultural interest

enrichment program featuring a line of up of distinguished speakers and personalities discussing topics of regional and cultural interest Wines produced in the various regions will be sourced and served for guests to enjoy in many venues on board

Seabourn chefs will create special menus featuring distinctive regional dishes and cuisines to tease curious palates

Regional guest chefs creating special dinner menus as well as hosting cooking demonstrations

Special events taking place on the ship to celebrate local cultures and arts

Itineraries feature frequent extended stays and overnights in select marquee ports, allowing guests to spend more time exploring unique destinations

Optional mid-cruise Seabourn Journeys packages take guests to see significant area highlights and landmarks ashore

Extended Explorations are combinable with other sailings for additional savings

The longest Extended Explorations voyage spans 128 days, from October 15, 2018 to February 21, 2019, departing from Los Angeles to Cape Town, South Africa.

For those who are not able to sail the longer voyages, guests can choose or in some cases combine shorter segments that best fit their schedules and interests, including:

Fall 2018 :

"Isles of Polynesian Paradise" and "Isles of the Southern Cross" : Los Angeles to Auckland Exploration (Departs October 15 ; 34 Days)  Explore Hawaii, Kiribati , Bora Bora , Tahiti, Cook Islands , Tonga and Fiji , with three crossings of the International Date Line en route to Auckland . This itinerary is comprised of an 18 day and 16 day segment.

(Departs ; 34 Days)  Explore Hawaii, , , Tahiti, , and , with three crossings of the International Date Line en route to . This itinerary is comprised of an 18 day and 16 day segment. "Landfalls of Captain Cook": Auckland to Sydney (Departs November 19 ; 22 Days)  Explore New Caledonia, Vanuatu , Solomon Islands , Papua New Guinea , and Queensland, Australia (including the Great Barrier Reef).

(Departs ; 22 Days)  Explore New Caledonia, , , , and (including the Great Barrier Reef). "Holiday Australian Exploration": Sydney to Singapore (Departs December 11 ; 36 Days)  Sail to destinations throughout South Australia , Western Australia and the Northern Territory, as well as East Timor , and Komodo, Bali and Java in Indonesia .

Winter/Spring 2019 :

For reservations or more details on Extended Explorations, contact a professional travel advisor; call Seabourn at 1-800-929-9391 or visit www.seabourn.com.

Notes to Editors:

Seabourn is consistently ranked among the world's top travel choices by professional critics and the discerning readers of prestigious travel publications such as Departures, Travel + Leisure and Conde Nast Traveler. Its stylish, distinctive journeys are renowned for:

Intimate ships with no more than 300 suites

Unique itineraries visiting must-see cities and hidden gems where larger ships cannot follow

Intuitive, gracious service provided by a staff passionate about pleasing our guests

Spacious all-suite accommodations with sweeping ocean views - many with verandas

Gourmet dining experiences as fine as the best restaurants anywhere

Open bars throughout the ship and fine wines poured with lunch and dinner

Seabourn is a proud member of World's Leading Cruise Lines. The exclusive alliance also includes Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Cunard Line, Costa Cruises, AIDA, P&O Cruises UK and P&O Cruises Australia. Seabourn is a brand of Carnival Corporation and plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL andNYSE: CUK). It has formed a partnership with United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to help protect World Heritage sites.

Click to Tweet: [email protected] introduces new "Extended Explorations" aboard #SeabournSojourn in 2018 & 2019. Learn more: http://bit.ly/2bJkREo

Find Seabourn on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest.

SOURCE Seabourn

Related Links

http://www.seabourn.com


NEW YORK, Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Sequans Communications S.A. ("Sequans" or the "Company") (NYSE: SQNS). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at [email protected] or 888-476-6529, Ext. 9980.

The investigation concerns whether Sequans 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 August 1, 2017, Sequans disclosed that the Company's second quarter revenue was negatively affected by a product return from an early 2016 sale related to its tablet business.

On this news, Sequans' American Depositary Receipt price fell $0.67, or 18.21%, to close at $3.01 on August 1, 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


SAN FRANCISCO and MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Singularity University (SU), a global community with a mission to educate, inspire, and empower leaders to apply exponential technologies to address humanity's grand challenges, announces its second flagship annual event, Singularity University Global Summit, August 13-15, 2017 at the Hilton Union Square, San Francisco. SU is expecting 1,500 participants from around the world, from individuals to entrepreneurs representing startups, to intrapreneurs from large enterprises, organizations, and governments. Deloitte is the Premier Consulting Sponsor for the SU Global Summit. Several Deloitte speakers will address the topics of Digital Transformation, Digital Reality, Re-thinking Strategy, and The Future of Work. To learn more about the agenda and to register, go to Singularity University Global Summit.

"The past year has been one of increasingly rapid change and disruption in the world," said Rob Nail, CEO and Associate Founder of Singularity University. "I remain incredibly encouraged and optimistic for our future. I've seen how exponential technology and innovations from the SU community, startups, and large organizations are positively changing business while solving key challenges humanity is facing. There are concrete examples about how SU alums are having impact in energy, the environment, learning, health, water, food, disaster resilience, shelter, security, prosperity, and governance. If you want to be uplifted, improve and grow your business, see the remarkable progress we are making, and become a force for good in the world, then I invite you to come to the Global Summit and partner with us to get involved!"

At the Global Summit, SU will also be announcing a series of initiatives for individuals, startups, and large organizations. For startups, there is a new series of programs that support them end-to-end along their entrepreneurial journey from concept to prototype to market entry to scale. For enterprises or large organizations, we will announce a set of programs to help them stay relevant, remain competitive and leverage opportunities created by rapid business change and disruption. Offerings will focus on helping organizations develop and optimize their innovation capabilities and develop leaders who understand the impact of emerging technologies. For individuals, we'll be unveiling a set of focused programs based on innovation and exponential technologies, as well as how to engage in local SU chapter and community activities taking place around the world. Details on these offerings will be announced during the Global Summit.

Speakers and topics at the SU Global Summit 2017 include:

Dr. Peter H. Diamandis , SU Co-Founder and Executive Chairman, and XPRIZE Founder and Chairman, on Beyond Capital

, SU Co-Founder and Executive Chairman, and XPRIZE Founder and Chairman, on Rob Nail , SU CEO and Associate Founder, on Building a Global Community

, and Associate Founder, on Ray Kurzweil , SU Co-Founder and Chancellor, on Touching the Future

, SU Co-Founder and Chancellor, on Matthew Bishop , Editor, The Economist, on The Future of News

, Editor, The Economist, on David Bray , Chief Ventures Officer, National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, on The Future of Citizenship

, Chief Ventures Officer, National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, on Alex Dainis , Popular blogger and PhD student at Stanford , on Genetics

, Popular blogger and PhD student at , on Patsy Doerr , Thomson Reuters, on Corporate Impact at Scale

, Thomson Reuters, on Sylvia Earle , National Geographic Explorer in Residence, DOER Marine, on Oceans

, National Geographic Explorer in Residence, DOER Marine, on Mihir Garimella , finalist, Google Science Fair, on Innovation and Invention

, finalist, Google Science Fair, on Dioselin Gonzales , Unity Labs, on Virtual Reality

, Unity Labs, on Salim Ismail , author of Exponential Organizations, on Fixing Civilization

, author of Exponential Organizations, on Neil Jacobstein , SU Faculty Chair, on Exponentials in Artificial Intelligence

, SU Faculty Chair, on Mary Lou Jepsen , Openwater, on Our Translucent Selves & Visible Human Thought

, Openwater, on Cecily Joseph , Symantec, on Corporate Impact at Scale

, Symantec, on John Hagel , Co-Chairman, Center for the Edge, Deloitte, on Organizations & The Next Economy

, Co-Chairman, Center for the Edge, Deloitte, on Jonathan Knowles , Autodesk, on Managing the Planet

, Autodesk, on Dr. Daniel Kraft , SU Faculty Chair, on Exponentials in Medicine

, SU Faculty Chair, on Chris Lewicki , President, Planetary Resources; Bob Richards , President, Moon Express ; George Whitesides , CEO, Virgin Galactic; and Erika Wagner , Blue Origin, on Space: The Next Frontier

, President, Planetary Resources; , President, ; , CEO, Virgin Galactic; and , Blue Origin, on Abi Ramanan , ImpactVision, on The Future of Food

, ImpactVision, on Marcus Shingles , CEO, XPRIZE

, CEO, XPRIZE Mike Sigal , 500 Startups, on Blockchain

, 500 Startups, on Jon Waterhouse , National Geographic, on Indigenous Tribes, Water and Tech

, National Geographic, on Brett Wigdortz, Teach First; Esther Wojcicki , Planet 3, on The Future of Education

, Planet 3, on Jeremy Howard , Fast.ai; Vivienne Ming , Socos, AI Eats the World

, Fast.ai; , Socos, Panels on The Future of Work, Civic Innovation, Decoding Democracy, Breakthrough Braintech

"We live in a time where unprecedented change is disrupting nearly every way we work and live. Our personal and professional lives are shifting in response to new technologies and business models that are changing what's possible and calling for us to respond and adapt, or fall behind. Since 2014, over 1,300 Deloitte clients have participated in SU programs around the world, empowering them to envision and realize significant exponential growth and efficiency opportunities," said Andrew Vaz, Deloitte Global Chief Innovation Officer.

Deloitte is the Premier Consulting Sponsor for this event, as well as Exponential Manufacturing, Exponential Finance and Exponential Medicine, and International Summits, which take place in different countries, such as Australia, Canada, Chile, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico and others; and is a founding member of SingularityU Netherlands.

To learn more about any of the SU programs and events and Deloitte innovation resources, go to www.su.org and https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/strategy/topics/innovation-consulting.html.

ABOUT DELOITTE

Deloitte provides industry-leading audit, consulting, tax and advisory services to many of the world's most admired brands, including 80 percent of the Fortune 500 and more than 6,000 private and middle market companies. Our people work across more than 20 industry sectors to deliver measurable and lasting results that help reinforce public trust in our capital markets, inspire clients to make their most challenging business decisions with confidence, and help lead the way toward a stronger economy and a healthy society.

ABOUT SINGULARITY UNIVERSITY

Singularity University (SU) is a global learning and innovation community using exponential technologies to tackle the world's biggest challenges and build an abundant future for all. SU's collaborative platform empowers individuals and organizations across the globe to learn, connect, and innovate breakthrough solutions using accelerating technologies like artificial intelligence, robotics, and digital biology. A certified benefit corporation headquartered at NASA Research Park in Silicon Valley, SU was founded in 2008 by renowned innovators Ray Kurzweil and Peter H. Diamandis with program funding from leading organizations including Google, Deloitte, and UNICEF. To learn more, visit SU.org, join us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter @SingularityU, and download the SingularityU Hub mobile app.

MEDIA CONTACTS

Adrian Eyre, [email protected]

415-677-2708

Jodie Stern, [email protected]

414-702-0167

Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, a UK private company limited by guarantee ("DTTL"), its network of member firms, and their related entities. DTTL and each of its member firms are legally separate and independent entities. DTTL (also referred to as "Deloitte Global") does not provide services to clients. In the United States, Deloitte refers to one or more of the US member firms of DTTL, their related entities that operate using the "Deloitte" name in the United States and their respective affiliates. Certain services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and regulations of public accounting. Please see www.deloitte.com/about to learn more about our global network of member firms.

SOURCE Singularity University

Related Links

http://www.su.org


ARLINGTON, Va., Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Snagajob, America's #1 network for hourly work, today announced the release of its new recruiting, scheduling and communication tool for small businesses. The comprehensive technology platform helps business owners and operators in the restaurant, retail and hospitality industries by streamlining administrative duties on a single platform, from managing shifts to removing complicated workflows and difficult user experiences.

"Running a small business presents so many unique challenges, like staffing people you trust, finding the time to keep them engaged and managing your labor costs," says Megan Overton, Head of Small Business Product Management at Snagajob. "Small business owners and managers need tools that will increase efficiency and save time. Our new solution gives employers a better way to actively communicate, manage and recruit for their business by identifying and resolving potential staffing challenges before they have the chance to impact the business."

Snagajob's new solution will save time and money for the nation's 27.9 million small businesses by preventing the daily operational disruptions that businesses face. Snagajob found that most small business owners who use manual spreadsheets spend around 10 hours a week on scheduling related activities. With the company's new workforce platform, employers can easily post a job to Snagajob's network of 80 million hourly job seekers as soon as they notice a gap in their schedule. Workers can then communicate with each other via team messaging, swap shifts and receive manager approval in minutes. The scheduling function is available at no charge for sole proprietors looking to staff and manage their businesses for additional growth.

"I love that when I post a job, I don't have to wait long for applications from people who are a great fit for my team," said Kathy Hester, owner of BakeHouse, LLC in Las Cruces, New Mexico. "The new scheduling feature is incredibly helpful, making it easier for everyone to stay up to date with our schedule. A lot of the students on my staff like the ability to trade shifts on their phone; I like that shifts are updated without disrupting my business. Plus, the team messaging keeps us all connected when it's most important. Snagajob puts the tools I need as small business owner in one place. What's better than that?"

Because service-industry businesses are experiencing the highest turnover levels in history, some with more than 100 percent staff turnover, recruiting employees and keeping them engaged can be a never-ending challenge and tremendous drain for small businesses. Snagajob expects its solution will provide remedies to these obstacles.

To learn more about the new Workforce Management Platform, register for Snagajob's next product demo webinar: http://www.snagajob.com/employers/erc/events/

About Snagajob

With more than 80 million registered hourly workers and 300,000 employer locations, Snagajob is America's #1 online hourly marketplace. We focus on creating instant and quality connections so workers can get jobs and employers can hire workers in minutes. Since 2000, our mission has been to put people in right fit-positions so they can maximize their potential and live more fulfilling lives. Our mobile sourcing, hiring, training, scheduling and performance management tools drive results for single-location operators to Fortune 500 businesses with thousands of locations, across the restaurant, retail, hospitality and healthcare industries.

SOURCE Snagajob

Related Links

http://www.snagajob.com


PUNE, India, Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Market Research Future published a half-cooked research report on "Global Software Defined Networking (SDN) Market Research Report - Forecast to 2023" Market Analysis, Scope, Stake, Progress, Trends and Forecast to 2023.

Cisco Systems, Inc. (U.S.), Hewlett Packard Enterprise (U.S.), IBM Corporation (U.S.), Intel Corporation (U.S.), Juniper Networks (U.S.), Intersil (U.S.), VMware, Inc. (U.S.), Big Switch Networks (U.S.), Pica8, Inc. (U.S.), and Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. (China) are some of the prominent players profiled in MRFR Analysis and are at the forefront of competition in the Global Software Defined Networking (SDN) Market.

Software Defined Networking (SDN) Market  Overview

The Global Software Defined Networking (SDN) Market is growing with the rapid pace; mainly due to the increasing demand from various industry verticals. According to a recent study report published by the Market Research Future, The global market of Software Defined Networking (SDN) is booming and expected to gain prominence over the forecast period. The global software defined networking market is expected to grow at approx. 61 Billion USD by 2023, at a staggering double digit CAGR of 39% of between 2017 and 2023.

The aggrandizing growth of the SDN market is attributed to the augmented demand from various industry verticals like BFSI, healthcare, manufacturing, IT & telecommunication and government among others. Increasing adoption of software defined networking solutions and services is one of the major factors fuelling the growth of software defined networking market. Additionally, Flexible way of managing and controlling the complex network and efficient data traffic management is one of the major reasons for the growth of software defined networking market. Moreover, growing demand for cloud based services and increasing demand for mobility and server virtualization are other factors fostering the growth of software defined networking market. And last but by no means least, the rising trend of bring your own device in the organizations is projected to serve as an emerging opportunity in the market.

Request a Sample Report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/1607

Software defined networking is basically transformational technology which enables service providers to create highly programmable networks with the help of workflow automation. It helps in reducing operational costs and also helps in improving overall customer service life cycle. Software defined networking is a way to deal with computer networking that permits network administrators to manage network services through abstraction of lower-level functionality. It helps in overcoming the limitations associated with traditional network infrastructure. SDN plays a vital role in managing the typical networking infrastructure in the organization. This network can be managed by the implementation of customized, automated and virtual network, which can be used for data traffic management and for efficient management of big data. The technology has the potential to make significant improvements to service request response times, security, and reliability. It could also reduce costs by automating many processes that are currently done manually and by allowing IT departments to replace high-margin devices with commodity hardware.

While the physical network, encompassing datacentre switches, will still account for the largest single segment of the SDN market during the estimated period. Cloud computing and the 3rd Platform have driven the need for SDN

SDN Global Market  Competitive Analysis

Characterized by the presence of giant players like IBM Corporation, Cisco Systems, Intel Corporation and Big Switch Networks; the global SDN market is appears to be highly competitive. Well established players incorporate acquisition, collaboration, partnership, expansion, and product launch in order to gain competitive advantage in this market and to maintain their market position. Vendors are focusing on improving their market performance and are expanding by acquiring promising companies in the fast-growing markets. Marketers employ a continuous improvement strategy to analyze and update the software, implementing improvements and launching new technologies to meet the changing needs of consumer. These marketers develop a well-established infrastructure that allows seamless implementation of advanced technologies. Heavy investments are transpired in R&D sector from the major players which is in turn helping the market to grow.

Software Defined Networking (SDN) Market  Segmentation

The SDN Market can be segmented in to 5 key dynamics for the convenience of the report and enhanced understanding;

Segmentation by Component: Comprises Solution, Services.

Segmentation by End User: Comprises Cloud Service Provider, Telecommunication Service Provider, and Enterprises.

Segmentation by Organization Size: Comprises SME and Large

Segmentation by Vertical: Comprises BFSI, healthcare, manufacturing, consumer goods and retail, IT and telecommunication, defence and government among others

Segmentation by Regions: Comprises Geographical regions - North America, Europe, APAC and Rest of the World.

Manufacturing sub segment is expected to grow at the fastest rate during the forecast period owing to the rapid adoption of SDN solutions in order to optimize their networks.

Browse Report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/software-defined-networking-market-1607

Software Defined Networking Market  Regional Analysis

North America region holds the largest market share of global software defined networking market and also is expected to be the largest revue generator owing to the continuous technological advancements in the region. North America SDN Market is dominated mainly by U.S. and Canada. Attributed to the high developments in the field of technology and presence of developed countries such as U.S. and Canada in the region, North America is expected to hold the hegemony of the global SDN Market. Heavy investments in R&D sector from the major players in this region is also helping the market to grow. Asia-Pacific is expected to be the fastest growing region and has a rich presence of foreign players where software defined networking is being deployed.

About Market Research Future:

At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.

Contact

Akash Anand,

Market Research Future

+1 646 845 9312

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Market Research Future

Related Links

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com


JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Southeastern Grocers ("SEG" or "the Company") today announced that it has appointed Anthony Hucker President and Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Anthony has served as Interim President and CEO since July 1, 2017.

"We are pleased to welcome Anthony as CEO of Southeastern Grocers as he was always part of our succession plan," the Company said. "He has played an integral role in our successful transformation over the last 18 months and we are positive he is the right leader to guide SEG. Anthony brings significant industry expertise, and we are confident that he will continue to improve the business to the benefit of our dedicated customers across the Southeast."

Before joining SEG, Anthony was President and COO of Schnucks, based in St. Louis, MO, one of the Midwest's leading food retailers and one of the largest privately held supermarket chains in the U.S. Anthony also held the position of President of Giant Food, based in Washington DC, the Mid-Atlantic's premier grocery store chain and served on the executive board of Ahold USA.

Prior to joining Giant Food, Anthony spent seven years at Wal-Mart in a variety of leadership positions, internationally and domestically. He began as the CIO of the Americas, formed the Global Format Development Division and was promoted to head of strategy and business development for Wal-Mart USA and was a corporate officer of the world's largest retailer.

Anthony's passion for the food retail industry strengthened while he was pursuing an Honours degree from the Metropolitan University of Manchester, UK in Retail Marketing and an International Diploma in Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing, UK. During this time, he worked as a food industry analyst reporting on pan-European stocks to the City of London. He then worked for 10 years with Aldi, a leader in the grocery retailing industry, where he served in a variety of leadership assignments in Germany, the U.S. and Austria, and was part of the original startup leadership team that set up Aldi UK.

"I'm grateful to our leadership team for the smooth transition over the past six weeks and I'm excited for the opportunity to continue to drive the strategic direction of the company. I'm humbled and honored to lead our team of more than 50,000 associates who are our greatest assets, putting our customers first, always," Anthony said. "Over the past two years, we've made substantial progress in our transformation, and we're ready to push forward."

About Southeastern Grocers

Southeastern Grocers, LLC, parent company and home of BI-LO, Fresco y Mas, Harveys and Winn-Dixie grocery stores, is the second-largest supermarket in the Southeast based on store count. The company employs more than 50,000 associates who serve customers in grocery stores, liquor stores and in-store pharmacies throughout the seven southeastern states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina and South Carolina. BI-LO, Fresco y Mas, Harveys and Winn-Dixie are well-known and well-respected regional brands with deep heritages, strong neighborhood ties, proud histories of giving back, talented and loyal associates, and strong commitments to providing the best possible quality and value to customers. For more information, visit www.bi-lo.com, www.frescoymas.com, www.harveyssupermarkets.com and www.winndixie.com.

Joe Caldwell

Manager; Corporate Communications

904-318-7197

[email protected]

SOURCE Southeastern Grocers, LLC
"As a busy mom and fitness fanatic, I'm always looking for new ways to cut back on sugar and calories without sacrificing taste," says Decker. One way she does this is using SPLENDA  Brand Products in some of her recipes. While the first recipe includes SPLENDA  Naturals Sugar & Stevia Blend, Brooklyn also has a bake-sale themed recipe using SPLENDA  Naturals Stevia Sweetener, and a game-day recipe using granulated SPLENDA  No Calorie Sweetener.

SPLENDA Brand offers a variety of options with simple solutions to help consumers achieve a healthy, balanced lifestyle without sacrificing taste. For example, where some stevia sweeteners can have a bitter aftertaste, all SPLENDA Naturals Stevia Sweeteners are made with a stevia blend rich in Reb D, unlocking the naturally sweet taste of stevia  and no artificial ingredients.* New SPLENDA Naturals Sugar & Stevia Blend is made with only cane sugar and stevia leaf extract, so it looks and acts like sugar but with only half the calories!

Visit Tastemade.com to watch the Spicy Jalapeno Margarita video, and Splenda.com to read more about SPLENDA Brand's latest offerings.

* How SPLENDA Brand Does Natural

For SPLENDA Brand, "natural" means non-GMO ingredients that are processed to ensure quality, consistency, safety, and great taste, with no added flavors, no added colors, and no artificial ingredients. For more information on how SPLENDA Brand does natural, please see our website http://www.splenda.com/naturals.

About Heartland Food Products Group

Based outside of Indianapolis, Heartland Food Products Group is a global leader in the production of low-calorie sweetener products, creamers, beverage concentrates, coffee, and nutritional drinks. Visit Heartland at www.heartlandfpg.com. The SPLENDA Brand is the most recognizable and iconic low calorie sweetener ("LCS") brand in the world, having sold more than 100 billion yellow packets since its launch in 1992. Today, the SPLENDA Brand is the clear #1 LCS brand in the $72 billion global sweetener market with market shares that are more than twice those of its nearest competitor. Since the acquisition of the SPLENDA Brand in 2015, Heartland Food Products Group has launched SPLENDA ZERO Liquid Sweetener and a line of SPLENDA Naturals Stevia Sweeteners, expected to be the greatest innovations in the brand's history.

SOURCE SPLENDA

Related Links

http://www.splenda.com


ARMONK, N.Y., Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that the State of Arizona has turned to IBM Cloud to help manage its daily mainframe operational consumption. Cloud managed services on IBM Z will provide State of Arizona agencies the agility to carry out some of Arizona's most critical IT operations including mainframe services and disaster recovery efforts.



As part of this new agreement, cloud managed services will be implemented by the State of Arizona's shared technology services organization, Arizona Strategic Enterprise Technology (ASET), to develop and execute the statewide information technology strategy and to offer capabilities, services, and infrastructure to additional State agencies. ASET is responsible for running a centralized group for monitoring and overseeing high-risk technology projects across State agencies that choose to utilize these services.



IBM's unique ability in the market to offer trusted, effective, and scalable IBM Cloud capabilities met the State's strict security requirements across its various agencies and institutions. ASET will operate the cloud managed services environment and provide mainframe services to multiple customers.



"This agreement gives our customers a new level of flexibility and accessibility to help deliver services more efficiently to Arizonans," said Morgan Reed, State of Arizona Chief Information Officer. "Additionally, the State's move to a managed service model, where we only pay for what we use, reduces our capital and risk and ensures long-term continuity of operations."



These new cloud managed services will help move the State of Arizona from a fixed cost to a variable cost model across agencies and help its agencies improve several critical processing challenges, including citizen health benefits, public safety applications, and tax returns. In addition, the State of Arizona will be able to scale computing storage capacity as needed, and implement disaster recovery services.



"Delivering our IBM Cloud capabilities to the State of Arizona will help many of its agencies transform their computing capacity and execute their IT strategy more securely and efficiently than ever before," says Philip Guido, General Manager of IBM Infrastructure Services. "We believe this can serve as a model for other states to take advantage of the trusted history of the IBM mainframe to improve the everyday lives of their citizens."



To learn more about Cloud Managed Services on IBM Z, visit https://ibm.co/2jFzmhV.

About IBM Global Technology Services

IBM Global Technology Services offers end-to-end IT consulting and business services supported by an unparalleled global delivery network that is transforming its business to lead in an era of Cognitive and Cloud. As a cloud services integrator, GTS is managing the services and underlying infrastructure in an integrated and unified way. It is modernizing clients' IT environments to help them meet the increasingly complex customer demands. GTS provides clients with innovative technology solutions that help them to improve their business processes and in turn, profitability.

Media Contact

Conor Golden

IBM Media Relations

[email protected]

212-671-9422



SOURCE IBM

Related Links

http://www.ibm.com


NEW YORK, Aug. 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Sutherland Asset Management Corporation (NYSE: SLD) (the "Company") today announced that it closed an underwritten public sale of $115 million aggregate principal amount of its 7.00% Convertible Senior Notes due 2023 (CUSIP No. 86933F 602 and ISIN US86933F6025) which includes $15 million in aggregate principal amount pursuant to the underwriters' exercise of their option to purchase additional notes (the "Notes"). The Company intends to use the net proceeds from this offering to acquire additional mortgage loans and mortgage-related assets consistent with its investment strategy and for general corporate purposes. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc. and JMP Securities LLC served as joint book-running managers and Compass Point Research & Trading, LLC as a co-manager for the public offering.

The expected net proceeds are $110.9 million after underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by the Company. Interest on the Notes will be paid at a rate of 7.00% per annum, payable quarterly in arrears on February 15, May 15, August 15 and November 15 of each year, beginning on November 15, 2017. The Notes will mature on August 15, 2023, unless earlier repurchased, redeemed or converted. During certain periods and subject to certain conditions, the Notes will be convertible by holders into shares of the Company's common stock at an initial conversion rate of 1.4997 shares of common stock per $25 principal amount of Notes, which is equivalent to an initial conversion price of approximately $16.67 per share of common stock. Upon conversion, holders will receive, at the Company's discretion, cash, shares of the Company's common stock or a combination thereof.

The Company may, upon the satisfaction of certain conditions, redeem all or any portion of the Notes, at its option, on or after August 15, 2021, at a redemption price payable in cash equal to 100% of the principal amount of the Notes to be redeemed, plus accrued and unpaid interest. Additionally, upon the occurrence of certain corporate transactions, holders may require the Company to purchase the Notes for cash at a purchase price equal to 100% of the principal amount of the Notes to be purchased, plus accrued and unpaid interest.

A registration statement relating to the Notes has been declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). The offering was made only by means of a preliminary prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus, which have been filed with the SEC. A copy of the prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus may be obtained free of charge at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov or from the underwriters by contacting: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc., 787 Seventh Avenue, Fourth Floor, New York, NY 10019 (telephone: 800966-1559) or email: [email protected] or JMP Securities LLC, 600 Montgomery Street, Suite 1100, San Francisco, CA 94111, Attention: Syndicate Department, or by calling (415) 835-3959.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any of the Company's securities, nor shall there be any sale of the Company's securities in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state.

About Sutherland Asset Management Corporation

Sutherland Asset Management Corporation (NYSE: SLD) is a REIT that originates, acquires, finances, services and manages small balance commercial ("SBC") loans, U.S. Small Business Administration loans under its Section 7(a) program, and residential mortgage loans. The Company originates SBC loans through its ReadyCap subsidiaries and originates residential mortgage loans through its GMFS subsidiary. The Company is externally managed and advised by Waterfall Asset Management, LLC.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements. Words such as "believes," "intends," "expects," "projects," "anticipates," and "future" or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to the inherent uncertainties in predicting future results and conditions, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, including, without limitation, the risk factors and other matters set forth in the prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus and the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016 filed with the SEC and in its other filings with the SEC. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law.

Contact

Investor Relations

Sutherland Asset Management

212-257-4666

[email protected]

SOURCE Sutherland Asset Management Corporation
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Genesys (www.genesys.com), the global leader in omnichannel customer experience and contact center solutions, is hosting two, free, 60-minute global webinars on August 23-24 to detail how to prepare your workforce for a cloud migration. A panel of business leaders from EMS and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology will discuss how IT roles will evolve in a cloud environment, and reveal the rewards your business can experience by embracing the change.

What: Moving Your Contact Center to the Cloud: Does Your Team Have the Right Stuff?

Moving your contact center to the cloud can offer many advantages, such as allowing you to offload management of your technical systems to a vendor, but ultimate success still lives within your organization. With the right preparation, the move doesn't need to be painful, even though your team's mix of skills and roles will change.





Discover how an all-in-one cloud customer engagement platform will help you replace multiple systems, improve employee productivity, and streamline operations. Jobs will stay, while roles adapt. Learn from a panel of experts who have successfully migrated their businesses about the ideal organization plan for cloud migration, and the skills and roles required to deploy a cloud model for your customer care.



Who: Participants in the webinar include:

 Paul Staehlin, director of operations, EMS, Inc.

 Lindsay Hull, associate director for operations and education, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

 Alex Boothroyd, vice president, cloud customer care, Genesys

 Richard Hodges, senior director, global customer success operations, Genesys, (moderator)



Why: Join this webinar to learn:

 When is the right time to move to the cloud.

 How to prepare your team for new skills and roles in a cloud contact center infrastructure.

 What elements the cloud vendor will manage, and the resources you'll need to be successful.



When: Wednesday, August 23  60 minutes

North America: 11 a.m. PT / 2 p.m. ET

Latin America: 1 p.m. CDT / 3 p.m. BRT





Thursday, August 24  60 minutes

Europe, Middle East & Africa: 3 p.m. BST / 4 p.m. CEST

Asia-Pacific: 11 a.m. AEST / 9 a.m. SGT



How: Register now to attend this live webinar and/or receive a post-event recording.

About Genesys

Genesys powers more than 25 billion of the world's best customer experiences each year. Our success comes from connecting employee and customer conversations on any channel, every day. Over 10,000 companies in more than 100 countries trust our #1 customer experience platform to drive great business outcomes and create lasting relationships. Combining the best of technology and human ingenuity, we build solutions that mirror natural communication and work the way you think. Our industry-leading solutions foster true omnichannel engagement because they perform equally well across channels, on-premise and in the cloud. Experience communication as it should be: fluid, instinctive and profoundly empowering. Visit genesys.com on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and the Genesys blog.

Contacts:

Rachel Faulkner

Senior Manager, PR

Genesys

[email protected]

+1 317-715-8109

Lisa Hawes

Sterling Communications

[email protected]

+1 408-395-5500

SOURCE Genesys

Related Links

http://www.genesys.com


PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Terracotta Warriors of the First Emperor, an immersive new adaptation of one of the most significant archaeological discoveries in modern time, is set to make its Northeast U.S. debut at The Franklin Institute in the Nicholas and Athena Karabots Pavilion and the Mandell Center beginning September 30, 2017. The exhibition marks the first time in 30 years the Terracotta Army will be on display in Philadelphia and features a rare collection of 10 life-size clay warriors discovered at the burial complex of China's First Emperor Qin Shihuangdi, as well as significant artifacts from the site on loan from the People's Republic of China.

Developed by The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, in collaboration and partnership with Seattle's Pacific Science Center, Terracotta Warriors of the First Emperor is unprecedented in its particular focus on the science and technology surrounding the burial and the artifacts. The exhibition was developed in part by a team of science and exhibit experts at The Franklin Institute, led by President & CEO Larry Dubinski, who extensively researched the terracotta excavations, including travels to China to tour the burial site and the formation of key relationships with China officials.

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

Ten terracotta figures from the burial complex are individually displayed in the exhibition: a general, an armored officer, a kneeling archer, a standing archer, an armored soldier, a cavalryman, a saddled horse, a charioteer, a civil official, and a kneeling musician. Over 160 other artifacts from the pre-Qin, Qin, and Han dynasties complement the figuresincluding weapons, jade pieces, bronze bells, ceremonial vessels, gold ornaments, coins, architectural pieces, and ornate bronze chariot replicas. Through interactive components and multimedia pieces, the exhibit transports visitors to the excavation site and brings the archaeological findings to life as a pathway for telling the larger story of the formation of a unified China, and the culture, craft, and science of one of history's most monumental endeavors.

TERRACOTTA WARRIORS AND AUGMENTED REALITY

The Franklin Institute is enhancing the exhibit using augmented reality to uncover even more about the archaeology, history, and science behind discovery, preservation, and decay of the warriors and artifacts. The Enhancing Views of History: Terracotta Warriors and Augmented Reality experience has been supported by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage.

TERRACOTTA ARMY RESTORATION

Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is the Associate Sponsor of Terracotta Warriors of the First Emperor in Philadelphia. In 2000, Janssen began a collaboration with the Emperor Qin's Museum of Terracotta Warriors and Horses in Xian, China, to help preserve and protect the historical and cultural treasure by providing anti-fungal treatment, resources, and training. The collaboration between Janssen and the Museum of the Terracotta Warrior created a precedent of using modern medical technology to restore ancient artifacts.

Tickets are now on sale for Terracotta Warriors of the First Emperor, September 30, 2017-March 4, 2018 at The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. For more information: https://www.fi.edu/exhibit/terracotta-warriors. High-resolution photos and exhibit b-roll is now available using the password: presspass at https://www.fi.edu/press-room/presskits/terracotta-warriors-of-the-last-emperor.

THE FRANKLIN INSTITUTE

Located in the heart of Philadelphia, The Franklin Institute is a renowned and innovative leader in the field of science and technology learning, as well as a dynamic center of activity. Pennsylvania's most visited museum, it is dedicated to creating a passion for learning about science by offering access to hands-on science education. For more information, visit www.fi.edu and follow The Franklin Institute on Twitter @TheFranklin and Instagram @FranklinInstitute, hashtag #franklininstitute.

SOURCE The Franklin Institute

Related Links

http://www.fi.edu


WASHINGTON, Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Concerned doctors from around the world are strongly opposed that representatives of healthcare organizations attending a recent transplant conference in Kunming, China, applauded claims of transplant reforms without providing sufficient clarification or transparency on organ sourcing. Without providing sufficient evidence, keynote speaker and host, China's transplant chief Huang Jiefu appeared again as not acknowledging forced organ harvesting from prisoners of conscience. Recent announcements of creating a "Special Economic Zone" on Hainan Island spark further concerns of the imminent expansion of transplant tourism as China declares plans to lead the world in organ transplantation by 2020.

"It is preposterous that prominent healthcare organizations applaud transplant reforms in China without conducting satisfying investigations of forced organ harvesting from prisoners of conscience," said DAFOH Executive Director Dr. Torsten Trey. Unsubstantiated claims about transplant reforms must not be embraced with blind faith. "For an unknown number of prisoners of conscience the so-called 'China Dream' turns into a Nightmare in China's transplant centers." Trey asks "Can any of the organizations guarantee, that no organs of prisoners of conscience are channeled into the public organ donation system? If not, any endorsement is premature."

Although China made claims about ending organ harvesting from executed prisoners in 2015, the 1984 provisions permitting the practice have not been publicly abolished yet. While boasting of unprecedented organ donation increases Chinese officials have not addressed concerns that prisoners of conscience, primarily members of the Falun Gong, are reportedly subjected to involuntary live organ harvestingtheir organs being counted in the public organ donation system. Experts warn that this creates a backdoor to laundering organs.

"It is inconceivable that renown healthcare organizations limit their attention only to alleged reforms, while the fate and organ sourcing of prisoners of conscience remains unmentioned, unscrutinized, and unresolved," Trey said.

China has banked on relations with world institutions to continue their unlawful medical practices. Involuntary organ harvesting is a crime that has been repeatedly condemned at the international level. Resolutions in the US Congress and the European Parliament have highlighted the issue. A letter from the Minnesota State House and Senate to President Xi Jinping has prompted to end the practice. Initiated by DAFOH in 2012, a global petition to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has been signed by 2.5 million people worldwide, making it the second largest petition in world history.

Contact:

Damon Noto, MD

Tel: +1-917-912-4858

Email: [email protected]

www.DAFOH.org

www.facebook.com/DAFOH

https://twitter.com/dafoh_org

SOURCE Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting

Related Links

http://www.dafoh.org


LONDON, Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Summary

The BRICS economies were touted as the leading new countries for growth and the primary shift towards these countries and away from the traditional affluent countries was said to be beginning. To an extent this has happened and countries like China and India have been potent engines for world economic growth over the last decade. However, in 2017 the five economies of the BRICS are starting to look run down and some serious cracks have appeared in the theory that all these countries will come to dominate world economics. All five have begun to slow down and some have even dropped into recession in recent years. There are some problems which have affected all five, such as scandal and corruption, and some conclusions can be drawn about the future of other emerging economies as they try to develop into western style democratic economies and shed the traditions of old. We look at the economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa to examine just what the problems are and if there are resolutions to be found.





Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/5043189/







Key Highlights

- Both Brazil and India brought some comfort to the success of the BRIC acronym: both are democracies which have embraced the virtues of western style capitalism rather than the government controlled model pursued by Russia and China. Yet over recent years the luster has gone.

- China is the world's second largest economy and the world's most populous country. Ever since the country started to liberalize its economy, there have been astonishing levels of growth which have pushed the country to ever greater heights, with many expecting the eventual "catching" of the US economy in GDP terms within the century. However, the slow down experienced in China and the government's push to try and maintain high levels of growth is looking like an increasingly uphill struggle.

- After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia was supposed to reform and become a major, market led, economic power. Only with the election of Vladimir Putin as president did economic fortunes for the beleaguered nation improve. Yet improving prosperity and rising living standards ceased some time ago. No longer is the average Russian gaining wealth  indeed, most are poorer now than several years ago.



Scope

- Looking at the key economies of the BRICS and seeing why their economies are faltering

- What has caused these slow downs and are they preventable

- What does this mean for the future of the global economy

- Is there anything that can be done to solve these problems



Reasons to buy

- Why is Brazil suddenly unable to produce the growth it has achieved in the past?

- What is the nature of Russian economic problems and are they systemic?

- Is the future positive for India and can it escape its huge debt burden?

- Can China effectively transition to a consumer economy and if it could is that even desirable?

Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/5043189/



About Reportbuyer

Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers

http://www.reportbuyer.com



For more information:

Sarah Smith

Research Advisor at Reportbuyer.com

Email: [email protected]

Tel: +44 208 816 85 48

Website: www.reportbuyer.com

SOURCE ReportBuyer

Related Links

http://www.reportbuyer.com


Addressing malnutrition is a growing concern, as 1 in 3 people enter the hospital malnourished or at risk of malnutrition. 1-2 Decades of research prove that when patients are poorly nourished, it can impact their recovery, including higher risk of complications (such as pressure ulcers, infections and falls) and more frequent readmissions. Studies also show that poor nutrition can cause increased costs of care and longer hospital stayswith the average hospital stay costing nearly $2,000 per day. 4 As a result, hospitals and health care systems, such as Advocate Health Care, are looking at the value of nutrition to improve care and help patients get back to living a healthier life.

Starting in 2014, Advocate Health Care implemented two models of a nutrition care program for patients at-risk of malnutrition, and the results from this study published in December 2016, found that doing so reduced 30-day readmission rates by 27 percent and the average hospital stay by nearly two days.5 To evaluate the cost-savings of this program, researchers used a novel, web-based budget impact model to assess the potential cost savings from the avoided readmissions and reduced time in hospital. Compared to the hospitals' previous readmission rates and patients' average length of stay, researchers found that optimizing nutrition care in the four hospitals resulted in roughly $3,800 cost savings per patient treated for malnutrition.

"Value-based care means looking comprehensively at patient care to identify gaps and opportunities for improvement," said Lee Sacks, MD, executive vice president and chief medical officer of Advocate Health Care. "The study's findings demonstrate that modest changes in the way we care for patients, such as ensuring patients are nourished during their hospital stay, can have a big impact in reducing costs and improving health outcomes."

"This research confirms that implementing nutrition-focused quality improvement programs, like the ones at Advocate Health Care, can help patients recover from their hospitalization faster while also removing some of the burden of financial pressures placed on health systems today," said Suela Sulo, PhD, a health outcomes researcher at Abbott and lead author of the cost impact study. "As providers, administrators, and payers face added pressures from rising healthcare costs, value-based nutrition interventions should be considered in all hospitals across the U.S."

About the QIP Study:

A Comprehensive Nutrition-focused Quality Improvement Program Reduces 30-day Readmissions and Length of Stay in Hospitalized Patients, published in Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition in December 2016, was a multi-site, two-group, pre-post study to evaluate two nutrition Quality Improvement Programs (QIP) at four Advocate Health Care hospitals.

The study's primary outcome was 30-day unplanned readmissions, with a secondary outcome of hospital length of stay. A total of 1,269 participants aged 18+ at risk of malnutrition were enrolled between October 13, 2014 and April 2, 2015.

The study was funded by Abbott, which had no role in data collection or analysis.

About Advocate Health Care:

Advocate Health Care is the largest health system in Illinois and one of the largest health care providers in the Midwest. A national leader in population health management, Advocate is one of the largest Accountable Care Organizations in the country. Advocate operates more than 450 sites of care and 12 hospitals, including two of the nation's 100 Top Hospitals, the state's largest integrated children's network, five Level I trauma centers (the state's highest designation in trauma care), three Level II trauma centers, one of the area's largest home health and hospice companies and one of the region's largest medical groups. Advocate Health Care trains more primary care physicians and residents at its four teaching hospitals than any other health system in the state. As a not-for-profit, mission-based health system affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the United Church of Christ, Advocate contributed $686 million in charitable care and services to communities across Chicagoland and Central Illinois in 2015.

Connect with us at www.advocatehealth.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AdvocateHealthCare and on Twitter at @AdvocateHealth.

About Abbott:

At Abbott, we're committed to helping people live their best possible life through the power of health. For more than 125 years, we've brought new products and technologies to the world -- in nutrition, diagnostics, medical devices and branded generic pharmaceuticals -- that create more possibilities for more people at all stages of life. Today, 94,000 of us are working to help people live not just longer, but better, in the more than 150 countries we serve.

Connect with us at www.abbott.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Abbott and on Twitter @AbbottNews and @AbbottGlobal.

References 1. Coats KG et al. J Am Diet Assoc. 1993; 93:2733. 2. Thomas DR et al. Am J Clin Nutr. 2002; 75: 308-313. 3. Sulo S et al. Am Health Drug Benefits, 2017 ; 10 (5): 262-270. 4. HCUP Fast Stats. Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP). December 2016. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. www.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/faststats/national/inpatienttrends.jsp. 5. Sriram K et al. JPEN. 2016; 40(1):1

SOURCE Abbott; Advocate Health Care

Related Links

http://www.advocatehealth.com


Admit This Ex-Con to the Connecticut Bar: Bari Weiss has this essay online at The New York Times.







With a Kansas Supreme Court opinion in his briefcase, Chief Justice Lawton Nuss reports for jury duty: Steve Fry and Eric Smith of The Topeka Capital-Journal have this report.







Must DOJ lawyers follow state ethics rules? New Mexico asks SCOTUS to decide. Alison Frankels On the Case from Thomson Reuters News & Insight has this post.







The 9th Circus is Badly Broken  Lets Fix It: Mark Pulliam has this post at the American Greatness blog.







The First Amendment (Literally) Banned in DC: Lee Rowland, Arthur Spitzer, and Leslie Mehta have this post at the ACLUs Speak Freely blog.







Experts: Court ruling overturning Native American mans murder conviction, death penalty could have huge implications. Curtis Killman has this front page article in todays edition of The Tulsa World. My earlier coverage of yesterdays Tenth Circuit ruling can be accessed here.







The smartest people in Trumpland: The brightest minds in Trumps orbit will keep his legacy alive and thriving long after he is gone. Online at ThinkProgress, Ian Millhiser has an essay that begins, John Bush comes off as a bit of a goober.







From Bork to Willett: Is the Conservative Legal Movement Going Libertarian? Libertarian legal ideas are gaining ground. Damon Root has this post at the Hit & Run blog of Reason.com.







Circuit Courts (Shock!) Are Still Leading the Way on Transparency: Fix the Court issued this news release today.






"The Times Square holiday shop reunites our brand with an iconic New York destination which we are thrilled about," said Dave Brandon, Chairman & CEO of Toys"R"Us, Inc. "More importantly, the store offers customers a host of products tailored to the needs of city dwellers and visitors  all in interest of bringing play to kids and families around the world!"

The three-level store in Times Square will have one main entrance on Broadway and include:

Level One: Upon entering the store, customers will be greeted with kid-favorite shop-in-shops that they have come to expect from Toys"R"Us, including Movie HQ (products from this fall's biggest blockbusters), Hot and New (the hottest holiday toys), Star Wars, and Marvel, along with must-have New York City memorabilia. Additionally, Level One will host a select assortment of electronic and entertainment items such as FUJIFILM INSTAX cameras, Nintendo Switch, and top software launches.





Upon entering the store, customers will be greeted with kid-favorite shop-in-shops that they have come to expect from Toys"R"Us, including Movie HQ (products from this fall's biggest blockbusters), Hot and New (the hottest holiday toys), and Marvel, along with must-have memorabilia. Additionally, Level One will host a select assortment of electronic and entertainment items such as FUJIFILM INSTAX cameras, Nintendo Switch, and top software launches. Lower Level: Here shoppers will find a wide variety of R/C, Hot Wheels, and action figures, as well as city-friendly modes of transportation such as bikes and scooters.





Here shoppers will find a wide variety of R/C, Hot Wheels, and action figures, as well as city-friendly modes of transportation such as bikes and scooters. Level Two: In addition to the feature shops on Level One, here customers will find dedicated LEGO and NERF shops, and a full assortment of traditional toys across a range of categories, including preschool, games, dolls, learning, collectibles, and arts and crafts.





In addition to the feature shops on Level One, here customers will find dedicated LEGO and NERF shops, and a full assortment of traditional toys across a range of categories, including preschool, games, dolls, learning, collectibles, and arts and crafts. Play Space: Also on Level Two, kids will have the opportunity to do what they love most  play. This dedicated space will allow kids to play with products out-of-the-box and experience toy demos, truly bringing the toy box to life.





Also on Level Two, kids will have the opportunity to do what they love most  play. This dedicated space will allow kids to play with products out-of-the-box and experience toy demos, truly bringing the toy box to life. Interactive Elements: In a nod to the company's former Times Square location, a scaled-down animatronic dinosaur will also live on the second level. Customers will come to find other interactive and life-size toy displays across the three-level space throughout the holiday season.

The company's Buy Online, Pick Up In-Store service will be available at this location, providing Manhattan's Toys"R"Us customers with an easy way to pick up thousands of items in under an hour. Its Layaway service will also be offered, giving city shoppers the opportunity to stretch their budgets, secure must-have toys early or keep big gift purchases hidden.*

Landlord representation was provided by Brittany H. Bragg of Crown Retail Services, and Peter Ripka of Ripco Real Estate was the broker representation for Crown Retail Services.

*In-store purchases only. Certain restrictions and exclusions apply. See store for more details.

About Toys"R"Us, Inc.

Toys"R"Us, Inc. is the world's leading dedicated toy and baby products retailer, offering a differentiated shopping experience through its family of brands. Merchandise is sold in 879 Toys"R"Us and Babies"R"Us stores in the United States, Puerto Rico and Guam, and in 815 international stores and over 255 licensed stores in 37 countries and jurisdictions. With its strong portfolio of e-commerce sites including Toysrus.com and Babiesrus.com, the company provides shoppers with a broad online selection of distinctive toy and baby products. Toys"R"Us, Inc. is headquartered in Wayne, NJ, and has nearly 65,000 employees worldwide. The company is committed to serving its communities as a caring and reputable neighbor through programs dedicated to keeping kids safe and helping them in times of need. Over the past three decades, the Company has given more than $100 million in product donations to children's charities. Since 1992, the Toys"R"Us Children's Fund, a public charity affiliated with Toys"R"Us, Inc., has also donated more than $130 million in grants. For more information, visit Toysrusinc.com or follow @ToysRUsNews on Twitter.

SOURCE Toys"R"Us, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.toysrus.com


SANTA CLARA, California, BANGALORE and DUBAI, UAE, August 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Trianz, a global digital transformation consulting and technology solutions firm and Amazon Web Services (AWS) Advanced Consulting Partner, is a Silver Sponsor of this year's AWS Summit New York. The Summit is scheduled to be held at the Jacob Javits Center on Aug 14, 2017.

(Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/452308/PRNE_TrianzUpdated_Logo.jpg )



The AWS Summit New York is a one-stop platform to learn about new AWS services and best practices from customers of all sizes, who will share their real-world experiences with attendees. It will also feature a series of workshops, demos, and a sponsored expo hall.

Speaking on the sponsorship, Sri Manchala, President and CEO of Trianz, said, "Continuously evolving cloud platforms and enabling technologies are making aging infrastructure and investments on upgrades redundant. Enterprises today want to speed up their businesses without worrying about data security or environment scalability. AWS Cloud offers the necessary expertise for these, in addition to the flexibility to ideate, innovate and launch enterprise-scale, high-quality products and services to elevate customer experience."

"Clients trust our partnership because we not only formulate and execute a digital transformation strategy, but also simplify the process to help them achieve their vision of success faster. The AWS Summit New York is indeed a great opportunity for us to learn and share, and we are anticipating an exciting event," Ira Horowitz, Vice President - Client Relationships at Trianz, added.

Trianz was a Gold Sponsor of the AWS Summit Chicago that concluded last month during which it announced its partnership with The National Association of State Purchase Officers (NASPO) Valuepoint. The collaboration enables Trianz to provide effective cloud services and solutions to government bodies, as well as higher education and state schools by eliminating costly RFP expenses, offering favorable terms and conditions, and expanding capabilities through a hybrid delivery model.

Trianz experts will be available at booth #104 during the summit to discuss specific cloud requirements and talk in detail about how Trianz is transforming enterprises - both traditional and start-ups - to succeed on the AWS Cloud.

About Trianz

Trianz enables digital transformations through effective strategies and excellence in execution. Collaborating with business and technology leaders, we help formulate and execute operational strategies to achieve intended business outcomes by bringing the best of consulting, technology experiences and execution models. Powered by knowledge, research, and perspectives, we enable clients to transform their business ecosystems and achieve superior performance by leveraging Cloud, Analytics, Digital and Security paradigms. With offices in Silicon Valley, Washington DC Metro, Jersey City, Dubai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Delhi NCR, and Mumbai, we serve Fortune 1000 and emerging organizations across industries globally. As a professional services firm, our values and culture are focused on delivering measurable business impact, predictability in execution, and a unique partnership experience. For more information, visit http://www.trianz.com.



Media Contact:

Prashant Bhavaraju

Director, Marketing

+1-408-387-5800

[email protected]



http://www.trianz.com

SOURCE Trianz
COSTA MESA, Calif., Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Price consistencyor the alignment between advertised price and the price that actually shows up on a customer's billis a critical driver of customer satisfaction with the wireless purchase experience, according to the J.D. Power 2017 U.S. Wireless Purchase Experience Full-Service Performance StudySMVolume 2 and the J.D. Power 2017 U.S. Wireless Purchase Experience Non-Contract Performance StudySMVolume 2, both released today.

"Increased customer awareness of taxes and hidden fees on their wireless bills is clearly starting to have an effect on the overall purchase experience," said Peter Cunningham, technology, media & telecommunications practice lead at J.D. Power. "The good news for wireless companies is that there is a huge opportunity to win the hearts and minds of customers by simply delivering better consistency between advertised and actual pricing. Those who recognize this issue and effectively address it will go a long way toward shedding the 'used car dealer' stigma that is growing among consumers regarding wireless carriers."

Following are key findings from the studies:

Price consistency builds customer satisfaction: Overall satisfaction with the wireless purchase experience is notably higher (872 on a 1,000-point scale) among customers who say the advertised prices for services and/or products received from their carrier are "very consistent" with the actual prices vs. among those who say their pricing is either "very inconsistent" or "somewhat inconsistent" (709).

Overall satisfaction with the wireless purchase experience is notably higher (872 on a 1,000-point scale) among customers who say the advertised prices for services and/or products received from their carrier are "very consistent" with the actual prices vs. among those who say their pricing is either "very inconsistent" or "somewhat inconsistent" (709). Unexpected costs are commonplace: Only 62% of customers say the advertised prices for services and/or products received from their carrier are "very consistent" with the actual prices.

Only 62% of customers say the advertised prices for services and/or products received from their carrier are "very consistent" with the actual prices. In-store sales reps play critical role: Overall satisfaction is 93 points higher among customers who are met by a store greeter (842) vs. among those who are not (749), and 91 points higher among customers who say their store sales representative offered to explain or demonstrate device operations (853) vs. among those who did not (762). Additionally, when store representatives explain components of a customer's bill, those customers are far more likely to report that advertised prices were "very consistent" with actual prices.

Overall satisfaction is 93 points higher among customers who are met by a store greeter (842) vs. among those who are not (749), and 91 points higher among customers who say their store sales representative offered to explain or demonstrate device operations (853) vs. among those who did not (762). Additionally, when store representatives explain components of a customer's bill, those customers are far more likely to report that advertised prices were "very consistent" with actual prices. Incentives improve perception of price consistency: Customers who say they received an incentive for purchasing services from their carrier are more likely than those who did not receive an incentive to say that advertised prices were "very consistent" with actual prices: 64% vs. 51%, respectively.

Study Rankings

AT&T ranks highest among wireless full-service carriers, with an overall score of 823. MetroPCS ranks highest among non-contract full-service carriers with a score of 810, and Consumer Cellular ranks highest among non-contract value carriers with a score of 863.

About the Studies

Now in their 14th year, the U.S. Wireless Purchase Experience Full-Service Performance Study and U.S. Wireless Purchase Experience Non-Contract Performance Study evaluate the wireless purchase experience of customers who use any one of three purchase channels: phone calls with sales representatives; visits to a retail wireless store; or online/website. Overall purchase experience satisfaction with both full-service and non-contract carriers is measured in six factors (in order of importance): store sales representative; website; offerings and promotions; phone sales representative; store facility; and cost of service.

The 2017 U.S. Wireless Purchase Experience Full-Service Performance StudyVolume 2 is based on responses from 6,703 full-service customers. The 2017 U.S. Wireless Purchase Experience Non-Contract Performance StudyVolume 2 is based on responses from 3,011 non-contract customers. Both studies are based on the experiences of current wireless service customers who made a sales transaction with their current carrier within the previous three months. The studies were fielded from January through June 2017.

For more information about the J.D. Power U.S. Wireless Purchase Experience Full-Service Performance Study and the U.S. Wireless Purchase Experience Non-Contract Performance Study, visit http://www.jdpower.com/resource/us-wireless-purchase-experience-satisfaction-study.

See the online press release at http://www.jdpower.com/pr-id/2017123.

J.D. Power is a global leader in consumer insights, advisory services and data and analytics. These capabilities enable J.D. Power to help its clients drive customer satisfaction, growth and profitability. Established in 1968, J.D. Power is headquartered in Costa Mesa, Calif., and has offices serving North/South America, Asia Pacific and Europe. J.D. Power is a portfolio company of XIO Group, a global alternative investments and private equity firm headquartered in London, and is led by its four founders: Athene Li, Joseph Pacini, Murphy Qiao and Carsten Geyer.

Study Rankings

Overall Purchase Experience Rankings (Based on a 1,000-point scale)

Full-Service Carriers

JDPower.com Power Circle Ratings



For Consumers

AT&T 823 5 Full-Service Average 816 3 Verizon Wireless 814 3 T-Mobile 813 3 Sprint 785 2



Non-Contract Full-Service Carriers MetroPCS 810 5 Cricket 808 5 Virgin Mobile 802 3 Non-Contract Full-Service Average 802 3 Boost Mobile 786 2

Non-Contract Value Carriers



Consumer Cellular 863 5 Net10 810 3 Non-Contract Value Average 806 3 TracFone 805 3 Straight Talk 774 2

Power Circle Ratings Legend 5  Among the best 4  Better than most 3  About average 2  The rest

Award-Eligible Full-Service Carriers Included in the Study Company Key Executive Company Location AT&T Glenn Lurie Atlanta, Ga. Sprint Marcelo Claure Overland Park, Kan. T-Mobile John Legere Bellevue, Wash. Verizon Wireless John Stratton New York, N.Y.

Award-Eligible Non-Contract Carriers Included in the Study Company Key Executive Company Location Boost Mobile Marcelo Claure Overland Park, Kan. Consumer Cellular John Marick Portland, Ore. Cricket John Dwyer San Diego, Calif. MetroPCS John Legere Bellevue, Wash. Net10 Gustavo Blanco Miami, Fla. Straight Talk Gustavo Blanco Miami, Fla. TracFone Gustavo Blanco Miami, Fla. Virgin Mobile Marcelo Claure Overland Park, Kan.

Media Relations Contacts

Geno Effler; Costa Mesa, Calif.; 714-621-6224; [email protected]

John Roderick; St. James, N.Y.; 631-584-2200; [email protected]

About J.D. Power and Advertising/Promotional Rules www.jdpower.com/about-us/press-release-info

SOURCE J.D. Power

Related Links

http://www.jdpower.com


NYSE American Symbol - UEC

CORPUS CHRISTI, TX, Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - Uranium Energy Corp (NYSE American: UEC, the "Company" or "UEC") is pleased to announce that, further to its news release dated May 9, 2017, the Company has completed its acquisition of the fully permitted Reno Creek in-situ recovery ("ISR") project located in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming ("Reno Creek" or the "Project").

Transaction Highlights

Strengthens UEC's pipeline of low-cost ISR uranium projects with the addition of Reno Creek, located in the prolific Powder River Basin in Wyoming .

Basin in . Reno Creek hosts an NI 43-101 Measured and Indicated resource* of 27.47 million tons grading 0.041% U 3 O 8 yielding 21.98 million lbs. U 3 O 8 at a grade-thickness (GT) cutoff of 0.20.

O yielding 21.98 million lbs. U O at a grade-thickness (GT) cutoff of 0.20. The NI 43-101 resource report also indicates potential to expand the resource with additional drilling.

A Source and Byproduct Materials License for Reno Creek was issued in February 2017 from the U.S Nuclear Regulatory Commission ("NRC"), supported by a Final Environmental Impact Statement and Record of Decision, to permit production of up to 2 million lbs. U 3 O 8 per year.

from the U.S Nuclear Regulatory Commission ("NRC"), supported by a Final Environmental Impact Statement and Record of Decision, to permit production of up to 2 million lbs. U O per year. Strategically located within the Powder River Basin in Wyoming , a uranium mining-friendly state with excellent infrastructure and an experienced labor force.

, a uranium mining-friendly state with excellent infrastructure and an experienced labor force. A Pre-Feasibility Study ("PFS")** on Reno Creek completed in 2014 demonstrated strong project economics with low capital and operating costs consistent with ISR projects in Wyoming . A new and optimized PFS is in progress and will be completed by UEC.

. A new and optimized PFS is in progress and will be completed by UEC. Cumulative project expenditures to date at Reno Creek total approximately $60 million .

. Creates a new partnership with respected mining private equity firm Pacific Road Resources Funds, who now own approximately 9.5% of UEC's common shares.

Amir Adnani, President & CEO, stated: "We are very pleased to have completed an acquisition of this scale on an advanced, fully permitted, low cost ISR project in the prolific Powder River Basin of Wyoming. We will continue to advance and optimize the Project in order to position it for turn-key development once the uranium market signals a recovery. Reno Creek is an exceptional addition to the UEC uranium mining portfolio near the bottom of the cycle."

Transaction Details

The acquisition was completed pursuant to the previously announced share purchase agreement (the "Agreement") with each of the original Pacific Road Resources Funds ("PRRF") and, by tag-along right, Bayswater Uranium Corporation ("BHI", and together with PRRF the "Vendors"), to acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Reno Creek Holdings Inc. ("RCHI").

Under the terms of the Agreement, the Company has now provided to the Vendors, in return for PRRF's (97.27%) and BHI's (2.73%) ownership in RCHI (the "Transaction"), the following:

(i) 14,392,927 common shares of the Company (the "Share Consideration"); (ii) 11,308,728 warrants of the Company (the "Warrant Consideration"; and each a "Warrant"), with each Warrant entitling the holder to acquire one share of the Company at an exercise price of $2.30 per share for a period of five years from closing. The Warrants have an accelerator clause which provides that, in the event that the closing price of UEC's common shares on its principally traded exchange is equal to or greater than $4.00 per share for a period of 20 consecutive trading days, UEC may accelerate the expiry date of the Warrants to within 30 days by providing written notice to the holders; and (iii) a 0.5% net profits interest royalty, capped at $2.5 million (the "NPI Consideration", and together with the Share Consideration and the Warrant Consideration, the "Consideration");

In addition to the Consideration for RCHI, the Company has now also issued an aggregate of a further 594,981 common shares to the Vendors in settlement of both certain reimbursable expenses which were incurred by the Vendors respecting the Project since the execution of the Agreement and for certain insurance costs incurred by UEC/RCHI at closing. As a result of the completion of the Transaction PRRF and BHI now collectively own approximately 9.67% of UEC's shares outstanding and both parties have agreed to certain voting and resale conditions pursuant to the terms of the Agreement.

Reno Creek ISR Project Overview

The Reno Creek ISR Project is located in the Powder River Basin, Campbell County, Wyoming, approximately 80 miles northeast of Casper. The Vendors undertook significant project advancement since 2010 when they acquired the project, including expenditures targeting land acquisition, resource development, a pre-feasibility study, and permitting, which culminated in the NRC issuing a Source and Byproduct Materials License to construct and operate an ISR uranium facility in February 2017.

The Source and Byproduct Materials License was the last major permit required to proceed with development of the Project. The permits allow Reno Creek to process up to 2 million pounds of uranium a year from five resource units: North Reno Creek, Southwest Reno Creek, Moore, Bing, and Pine Tree. Within the five resource units are 16 proposed production units and associated wellfields, header houses, and a central processing plant.

History of the Project

Substantial historical exploration, development, and project permitting work has been completed on the Reno Creek property, beginning in the late 1960s and continuing to present. Approximately 10,000 exploration drill holes have been completed by various operators over time, who continued to advance the project by drilling and growing land and mineral interests to nearly 16,000 acres by 2007. Since the Vendors took control of the Project, mineral and surface land holdings have grown to approximately 22,000 acres, including a 40-acre company-owned central processing plant site.

Summary of Mineral Resources*

In July 2016, the Vendors commissioned an updated Technical Report completed by Behre Dolbear & Company (USA), Inc. on Reno Creek titled "Technical Report and Audit of Resources of the Reno Creek ISR Project, Campbell County, Wyoming, USA" (the "Current Technical Report"). Over $60 million has been expended on the Project to date, including completion of more than 10,000 drill holes. Data from drilling, including survey coordinates, collar elevations, depths, and grade of uranium intercepts, have been incorporated into the database that forms the current resource estimate at Reno Creek (Table 1).

Table 1(1)

Class Tons (millions) Weighted Average

Thickness (feet) Weighted Average

Grade (% U 3 O 8 ) Pounds U 3 O 8

(millions) Measured & Indicated 27.47 12.3 0.041 21.98 Inferred 1.36 10.6 0.034 0.93 1 Cut-off of greater or equal to 0.20 grade x thickness per intercept

The inferred resources are found principally in underexplored portions of the Reno Creek property, along extensive identified redox fronts. The authors of the July 2016 Reno Creek resource estimate recommend continuing exploration along these trends, with the expectation of further contributions to the reported resource base, given that known mineralization occurs in a continuous sandstone present across all of the Reno Creek, Moore, and Bing resource units.

The technical information in this news release has been prepared in accordance with the Canadian regulatory requirements set out in NI 43-101 and was reviewed by Clyde L. Yancey, P.G., Vice President-Exploration for the Company, a Qualified Person under NI 43-101.

Advisors and Counsel

Haywood Securities Inc. acted as financial advisor to the Company. McMillan LLP and Holland & Hart LLP acted as legal advisors to the Company and Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP acted as legal advisor to PRRF.

About Uranium Energy Corp

Uranium Energy Corp is a U.S.-based uranium mining and exploration company. The Company's fully-licensed Hobson Processing Facility is central to all of its projects in South Texas, including the Palangana ISR mine, the permitted Goliad ISR project and the development-stage Burke Hollow ISR project. In Wyoming, UEC controls the permitted Reno Creek ISR project. Additionally, the Company controls a pipeline of advanced-stage projects in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Paraguay. The Company's operations are managed by professionals with a recognized profile for excellence in their industry, a profile based on many decades of hands-on experience in the key facets of uranium exploration, development and mining.

About Pacific Road Resources Funds

The Pacific Road Resources Funds are private equity funds investing in the global mining industry. They provide expansion and buyout capital for mining projects, mining related infrastructure and mining services businesses located throughout the world. The team is located in Sydney, Australia and Vancouver, Canada.

Stock Exchange Information:

NYSE American: UEC

Frankfurt Stock Exchange Symbol: U6Z

WKN: AJDRR

ISN: US916896103

*Notice to U.S. Investors

The mineral resources referred to herein have been estimated in accordance with the definition standards on mineral resources of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum referred to in NI 43-101 and are not compliant with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") Industry Guide 7 guidelines. In addition, measured mineral resources, indicated mineral resources and inferred mineral resources, while recognized and required by Canadian regulations, are not defined terms under SEC Industry Guide 7 and are normally not permitted to be used in reports and registration statements filed with the SEC. Accordingly, we have not reported them in the United States. Investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of the mineral resources in these categories will ever be converted into mineral reserves. These terms have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence, and great uncertainty as to their economic and legal feasibility. In particular, it should be noted that mineral resources which are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of measured mineral resources, indicated mineral resources or inferred mineral resources will ever be upgraded to a higher category. In accordance with Canadian rules, estimates of inferred mineral resources cannot form the basis of feasibility or other economic studies. Investors are cautioned not to assume that any part of the reported measured mineral resources, indicated mineral resources or inferred mineral resources referred to herein are economically or legally mineable.

**PFS

Upon the closing of the Transaction, the Company plans to complete a new and optimized PFS based substantially on the information provided in the Current Technical Report. Accordingly, the current PFS cannot be relied upon and should not be construed to reflect a current PFS in accordance with NI 43-101.

Safe Harbor Statement

Except for the statements of historical fact contained herein, the information presented in this news release constitutes "forward-looking statements" as such term is used in applicable United States and Canadian laws. These statements relate to analyses and other information that are based on forecasts of future results, estimates of amounts not yet determinable and assumptions of management. Any other statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, using words or phrases such as "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans, "estimates" or "intends", or stating that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and should be viewed as "forward-looking statements". Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks and other factors include, among others, the actual results of exploration activities, variations in the underlying assumptions associated with the estimation or realization of mineral resources, the availability of capital to fund programs and the resulting dilution caused by the raising of capital through the sale of shares, accidents, labor disputes and other risks of the mining industry including, without limitation, those associated with the environment, delays in obtaining governmental approvals, permits or financing or in the completion of development or construction activities, title disputes or claims limitations on insurance coverage. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements contained in this news release and in any document referred to in this news release.

Certain matters discussed in this news release and oral statements made from time to time by representatives of the Company may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and the Federal securities laws. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that its expectations will be achieved. Forward-looking information is subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Many of these factors are beyond the Company's ability to control or predict. Important factors that may cause actual results to differ materially and that could impact the Company and the statements contained in this news release can be found in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. For forward-looking statements in this news release, the Company claims the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company assumes no obligation to update or supplement any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities.

SOURCE Uranium Energy Corp

Related Links

http://www.uraniumenergy.com/


ATLANTA, Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Veristor Systems, Inc., a leading provider of transformative business technology solutions, today announced that it has joined the VMware Partner Professional Services Program as an Enterprise partner. This membership demonstrates Veristor's continued efforts to sell and deliver consulting services engagements, with an emphasis on moving customers to the Software-Defined Enterprise.

"With deep roots in storage, networking, application infrastructure, security, virtualization and cloud technologies, the Veristor professional services team of experts is dedicated to accelerating the success of our customers' enterprise IT," said Jim Glueckert, chief operating officer and executive vice president, Services and Support, Veristor. "We are pleased to be named a VMware Partner Professional Services Enterprise partner. It's a further milestone in our commitment to delivering innovative solutions to our customers."

"VMware is pleased to have Veristor join the VMware Partner Professional Services Program, which enables them to distinguish themselves by providing customers with a comprehensive solutions approach through the software-defined data center," said Shak Malik, director, Partner Services & Solutions, VMware. "We value our collaboration with Veristor, and look forward to our continued success together."

Through services-focused training, access to VMware IP materials, and sales and delivery support, the VMware Partner Professional Services Program empowers VMware partners to create a profitable services practice, while continuing to drive customer adoption of VMware solutions.

For more information on the VMware Partner Professional Service Program, please visit http://www.vmware.com/partners/ppsp.

Veristor delivers a complete suite of professional services designed to accelerate enterprise IT success. For more information on Veristor professional service offerings, visit: https://veristor.com/services/professional-services.

About Veristor Systems, Inc.

A leading provider of transformative business technology solutions, Veristor helps its customers accelerate the time-to-value for the software, infrastructure and systems they deploy. We do this by harnessing deep expertise in today's most advanced data center, security, networking, hybrid cloud, and big data technologies and guiding businesses to the right solutions for their most pressing challenges. And with a full suite of design, deployment, support, and managed service offerings, we work shoulder-to-shoulder with our customers at every step of their technology journey to make technology truly work for them. IT's just who we are. Learn more at veristor.com.

VMware is a registered trademark of VMware, Inc. in the United States and other jurisdictions. All other marks and names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies. The use of the word "partner" or "partnership" does not imply a legal partnership relationship between VMware and any other company.

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The New York Times states; "...of the estimated 7,000 languages spoken in the world today, nearly half are in danger of extinction and are likely to disappear in this century. Languages are now falling out of use at a rate of about one every two weeks."

The Shuar language is one of those endangeredjeopardizing the community's culture as well as their ancient knowledge of medicinal plants. To help preserve the traditions, the Paying Forward project encouraged communication between Shuar generations by pairing elders who speak the language with their grandchildren. In this way, the knowledge was passed down directly. A database of 50 botanical remedies has been transmitted, photographed and is now part of a growing archive.

Timothy Rose, Vitanova's Creative Director, also traveled to meet the Shuar. "We got an opportunity to research new, exciting botanicals as well as meet the indigenous knowledge-keepers," said Rose.

Vitanova is engaging with the world's leading linguists, anthropologists and indigenous communities to preserve life-saving plant species and the knowledge about those plantsboth of which dramatically affect all of humanity.

Global pharmaceutical companies are looking to plants as a source of new drug candidates. A child suffering from leukemia in 1960 faced a 10% chance of remission. By 1997, the likelihood of remission had been increased to 95%, thanks to two drugs derived from a wild plant native to Madagascar.

When asked about the project's impact Vitanova's botanical knowledge liaison, linguistics Professor Maurizio Gnerre said, "With the support of Vitanova, we've put children together with elders and created a special school for the kids to learn their own language and interact with nature."

"Vitanova knows that when a language and culture dies, vital botanical information goes along with it. And, that affects not just the indigenous people but all of us," said CEO, Kamal El-Wattar.

Vitanova founders are invested in programs around the globe. This month, Rose is traveling through Indonesia to meet with tribal knowledge keepers to continue the project.

Media Contact:

1-415-634-8328

Jax Harrison

[email protected]



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NEW YORK, Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Voya Investment Management, the asset management business of Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE: VOYA), announced today that effective August 1, 2017, the Voya Large-Cap Growth Fund has lowered the management fees and total expense ratio across all share classes.

Specifically, the Fund's management fees declined from 0.80 percent to 0.51 percent across all share classes. In addition, the firm has also simplified fee disclosures including:

The elimination of almost all of the waivers except for Class I

12b-1 fee for Class A shares drops from 0.35 percent to 0.25 percent

"On a regular basis, Voya's Product Team evaluates fees across our entire product line-up, relative to peers," said Jake Tuzza, managing director and head of Intermediary Distribution. "We believe these changes position our fund competitively versus the Morningstar Large-Cap Growth Category peer group."

Voya Large-Cap Growth Fund invests in stocks of large-sized U.S. companies, which fall within the range of companies in the Russell 1000 Growth Index. The Fund uses a fundamentals-based stock selection that seeks companies with positive business momentum, market recognition, and valuations with upside potential.

The investment team is led by Jeff Bianchi who has been on the Large-Cap Growth team since 1995. He became a portfolio manager for the Fund in 2000. The Large-Cap Growth team manages a total $11.7 billion in assets across mutual fund, CIT and separate account vehicles.

"Our investment process is aimed at creating consistent and reliable returns with attractive risk-adjusted performance," said Tuzza.

The below chart summarizes the new fee structure for the fund:



A C I R R6 W Management Fee 0.51% 0.51% 0.51% 0.51% 0.51% 0.51% Total Operating Expenses 1.05% 1.80% 0.76% 1.30% 0.57% 0.80% Net Expense Ratio 1.04% 1.79% 0.66% 1.29% 0.57% 0.79%

The adviser and distributor are contractually obligated to limit expenses to 1.15%, 1.90%, 0.90%, 1.40%, 0.80%, and 0.90% for Class A, Class C, Class I, Class R, Class R6, and Class W shares, respectively, through October 1, 2017. In addition, the adviser is contractually obligated to further limit expenses to 1.04%, 1.79%, 0.66%, 1.29%, 0.58%, and 0.79% for Class A, Class C, Class I, Class R, Class R6, and Class W shares, respectively, through October 1, 2018. The limitations do not extend to interest, taxes, investment-related costs, leverage expenses, extraordinary expenses, and Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses. These limitations are subject to possible recoupment by the adviser within 36 months of the waiver or reimbursement. Termination or modification of these obligations requires approval by the Fund's board.

Media Contact:

Kristopher Kagel

(212) 309-6568

[email protected]

About Voya Investment Management

A leading, active asset management firm, Voya Investment Management manages, as of June 30, 2017, more than $217 billion for affiliated and external institutions as well as individual investors. With 40 years of history in asset management, Voya Investment Management has the experience and resources to provide clients with investment solutions with an emphasis on equities, fixed income, and multi-asset strategies and solutions. Voya Investment Management was named in 2016 as a "Best Places to Work" by Pensions and Investments magazine. For more information, visit voyainvestments.com. Follow Voya Investment Management on Twitter @VoyaInvestments.

About Voya Financial

Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE: VOYA), helps Americans plan, invest and protect their savings  to get ready to retire better. Serving the financial needs of approximately 13.6 million individual and institutional customers in the United States, Voya is a Fortune 500 company that had $11 billion in revenue in 2016. The company had $517 billion in total assets under management and administration as of June 30, 2017. With a clear mission to make a secure financial future possible  one person, one family, one institution at a time  Voya's vision is to be America's Retirement Company. Certified as a "Great Place to Work" by the Great Place to Work Institute, Voya is equally committed to conducting business in a way that is socially, environmentally, economically and ethically responsible and has been recognized as one of the 2017 World's Most Ethical Companies by the Ethisphere Institute, as well as one of the Top Green Companies in the U.S., by Newsweek magazine. For more information, visit voya.com. Follow Voya Financial on Facebook and Twitter @Voya.

Investment Risks: All investing involves risks of fluctuating prices and the uncertainties of rates of return and yield inherent in investing. Growth stocks may be more volatile than value stocks due to their relatively high valuations, and growth investing may fall out of favor with investors. An investment in securities of Larger Companies carries with it the risk that the company (and its earnings) may grow more slowly than the economy as a whole or not at all. Foreign Investing does pose special risks including currency fluctuation, economic and political risks not found in investments that are solely domestic. Other risks of the Fund include but are not limited to: Initial Public Offerings Risks; Market Trends Risks; Other Investment Companies Risks; Price Volatility Risks; Inability to Sell Securities Risks; and Securities Lending Risks. Investors should consult the Fund's Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information for a more detailed discussion of the Fund's risks.

An investor should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of the Fund(s) carefully before investing. For a free copy of the Fund's prospectus, or summary prospectus, which contains this and other information, visit us at www.voyainvestments.com or call (800) 992-0180. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing.

2017 Voya Investments Distributor, LLC, 230 Park Ave, New York, NY 10169.

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CINNAMINSON, N.J., Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Rapidly growing e-commerce platform for specialty foods from around the world, Yummy Bazaar announced today that Weihua Yan has joined the company as Chief Technology Officer. Mr. Yan was cofounder and Chief Technology Officer of Quidsi, famously known for Diapers.com. Quidsi was acquired by Amazon in 2011 for over $500MM. Before the acquisition, Mr. Yan managed more than 200 team members and served on the executive team with Marc Lore, cofounder and CEO of Jet.com.

"I am excited to welcome Weihua to Yummy Bazaar," said Rebecca Chou, cofounder and CEO of Yummy Bazaar. "With over 20 years in e-commerce and large enterprise systems, he brings a unique blend of experience spanning e-commerce, operations, and online media. He is a well-rounded executive with an incredible background as well as operational expertise."

Having emerged from the founders' house in suburban New Jersey at the end of 2016, Yummy Bazaar has rapidly expanded to a company with its own fulfillment center in the southern part of the state. Yummy Bazaar gives customers the ability to shop one of the largest selections of specialty food from around the world in one place, highlighting selections from France, Italy, Japan, Korea, Turkey and more. Growing its product list every week, Yummy Bazaar is quickly becoming the go to shopping destination.

"I am thrilled to join Yummy Bazaar and believe Yummy Bazaar will revolutionize the shopping experience for specialty foods from around the world, while introducing top quality international brands as well as small batch food artisans to the U.S. market," said Mr. Yan.

"Mr. Yan's experience leading Quidsi's technology from the point where it was a garage startup to a company with sales of several hundred million dollars will be invaluable to Yummy Bazaar," added Rebecca Chou.

About Yummy Bazaar

Yummy Bazaar is the first e-commerce platform that is dedicated to offering the largest selection of authentic specialty foods from around the world in one place and at great value. With well over 1,500 products and growing weekly, Yummy Bazaar is a one stop shop that focuses on high quality name brand and artisanal specialty products, all delivered with exceptional service. With its careful curation, Yummy Bazaar makes authentic world gourmet food accessible and new product discovery easy and fun. For more information about Yummy Bazaar, visit www.yummybazaar.com.

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NEW YORK, Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Flat Rock Global, an alternative asset manager focused on developing yield driven investment strategies in sectors deemphasized by banks, announced that Western Asset, a global, fixed-income manager with $429 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2017, has taken a minority ownership stake in Flat Rock Global. John Thomson of Thomson Equity also invested alongside Western Asset. The investment supports Flat Rock Global's investment strategies, including their initial fund, Flat Rock Capital Corp., a business development company focused on investing in first lien, floating rate debt of middle market companies.

"We are pleased to partner with Western Asset, one of world's premier asset managers," said Robert K. Grunewald, CEO & Founder of Flat Rock Global. "We believe their successful track record of long-term, fundamental, value investing is consistent with our strategy." Grunewald sees opportunity for alternative debt providers, commenting, "With banks receding from middle market lending, private lenders will benefit from demand for growth capital."

Flat Rock Global exclusively offers its funds through registered investment advisors (RIAs), family offices and institutional investors with a single institutional style share class.

"We believe Flat Rock Global offers investors access to intriguing, yield-driven asset classes, most notably, Flat Rock Capital Corp's focus on investing in the debt of middle market companies," says James W. Hirschmann, CEO of Western Asset. "We find their focus on the growing middle market lending sector, with its favorable risk/return profile, an appealing investment strategy."

About Flat Rock Global

Flat Rock Global, LLC is a diversified alternative asset manager that develops yield-driven investment strategies focused on asset classes deemphasized by the banking sector. Flat Rock Global's initial fund, Flat Rock Capital, is a private, business development company (BDC) focused on making first lien, floating rate loans to middle market companies. To learn more about Flat Rock Global, please visit www.flatrockglobal.com.

About Western Asset Management

Founded in 1971, Western Asset Management is one of the world's leading fixed income value investors with $429 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2017. From offices in Pasadena, Hong Kong, London, Melbourne, New York, Sao Paulo, Singapore, Tokyo and Dubai, the company provides long-term, value-oriented investment services for a wide variety of global clients, across an equally wide variety of mandates. The firm is a wholly owned, independently operated subsidiary of Legg Mason, Inc. To learn more about Western Asset Management, please visit www.westernasset.com.

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SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- XOJET is expanding its network of retail offices to better serve its burgeoning customer base and the rapid growth of its charter-brokerage business. The leader in on-demand private-jet travel, which last month announced a suite of new membership programs, XOJET Access Solutions,TM is further strengthening its presence in key regions, with the opening of an office at Palm Beach International Airport to be closer to clients in Florida, where the firm saw an 18% increase in Southeast Florida flights in 2016 over 2015. Last year XOJET's top five most frequented airport cities in the southeast region of the U.S. were in Florida, which has experienced a growing concentration of wealth.

"Given that Palm Beach ranks number three among the top-five most traveled destinations in our network and is our most frequented airport in Florida as well as in all of our southeast-U.S. region, it made sense for us to open a retail office here to provide 24/7 personalized service, guidance and support to our clients," said Gregg Slow, executive vice president, sales and client services, for XOJET. XOJET Palm Beach will also help serve the firm's New York City and Northeast clients, many of whom have homes and business interests in Florida.

"With XOJET Access Solutions and now over 40 aviation advisors working out of five offices, namely New York City, Newport Beach, San Francisco, Sacramento and now Palm Beach, we can further extend the reach of our advise and serve business model to sophisticated private aviation consumers" noted Slow. "XOJET's geographic expansion is the next step in our continued evolution as a retail enterprise and the leading provider of aviation solutions for today's modern flyers," added Slow, who has 17 years of experience in private aviation.

Throughout the last four years XOJET has been continuously investing in the development of a robust retail enterprise to provide bespoke advice and service. The firm grew its preferred partner network to 1,200 approved aircraft, adding more light, mid-size and large-cabin aircraft to its super mid-size fleet, and, for the first time, started offering guaranteed hourly rates on light, mid-size and super mid-size jets. XOJET will also be adding new brand partnerships to provide XOJET Access Solutions members with incremental benefits and unique access to some of the world's most distinguished resorts, properties, brands and services. The firm is also developing new digital tools and a mobile app for clients.

Of the 200,000 flights XOJET has completed over the past decade, fifty percent occurred in the last four years, indicating a sharp rise in private-jet transport and the popularity of on-demand travel. In addition, the firm recently experienced a record forty percent growth in program sales and a forty-eight percent spike in charter-brokerage business. XOJET now services 7,000+ clients worldwide.

XOJET Palm Beach, 1500 Perimeter Rd, West Palm Beach, FL 33406-1406.

About XOJET

XOJET, founded in 2006 and owned by TPG Capital and Mubadala, has become the industry's premier private aviation services company, serving more than 7,000 clients worldwide. Our unique business model combines the flexibility of on-demand flying with a world-class service and operations infrastructure that is dedicated to providing the highest levels of client service at every point of their travel experience. We create custom flight solutions for businesses and individuals, with a focus on serving the most sophisticated private aviation flyers. XOJET's commitment to safety leadership has earned the highest safety ratings in the industry, including ARG/US Platinum and the distinguished ISBAO Stage III. XOJET is also an active member of the National Air Transportation Association (NATA) Presidents Council. For more information, please visit www.xojet.com.

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If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this





Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here
Darjeeling, Aug 5 : GJM President Bimal Gurung on Saturday said his party would raise a slogan "Bengal -- Darjeeling Chorho" during the upcoming "Tiranga Yatra" celebrating the 75th anniversary of Quit India Movement.

"..when we participate in the Tiranga Yatra, we will not only be celebrating our glorious freedom struggle, but we will also be protesting against Bengal's colonial rule. Therefore, along with the slogans of 'Vande Mataram' and 'Bharat Mata ki Jai', we will also be chanting 'Bengal - Darjeeling Chorho'," he said as his Gorkha Janmukti Morcha's (GJM) indefinite strike in the hills for the demand of a separate state entered 52nd day on Saturday.

"Just as how the British had enslaved us Indians and exploited and tortured us, the West Bengal government has also kept the people in Darjeeling hills, Terai and Dooars in a slave-like condition. Despite 70 years since independence, the people living in our region have not been accorded any freedom, we are still living under a colonial rule," he said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the party condemned the arrest of Narbu G Lama, a former GTA member from Takdah Teesta Valley, from Siliguri last night.

"His arrest was totally politically motivated and was done to suppress the democratic agitation for Gorkhaland. The arrest of only GJM leaders in this agitation only shows how the Government is targeting GJM leaders," said GJM Assistant Secretary Jyoti Kumar Rai.
Los Angeles, Aug 6 : Actress Amber Heard has reportedly parted ways from Tesla founder Elon Musk.

Heard, who was earlier married to actor Johnny Depp, has been dumped by her billionaire boyfriend, a source told dailymail.co.uk. "It's all over between Amber and Elon and she's devastated. It was his decision."

The source added: "He ended it a week ago. He'd heard certain things about her behaviour that didn't sit well with him. Amber can be very manipulative and selfish. Elon's back in Los Angeles while she's licking her wounds in Australia."
New Delhi, Aug 6 : Delhi assembly's four-day Monsoon Session will begin on Tuesday, official sources said on Sunday.

The Aam Aadmi Party government will re-introduce The Minimum Wages (Delhi) Amendment Bill, 2015; The Delhi (Right of Citizens to Time-bound Delivery of Services) Amendment Bill, 2015; and Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology Amendment Bill, during the session The Delhi assembly had passed and sent 14 bills, including these three, to the Union government for approval but most were returned with objections.

The state government had earlier requested the Central government to clear The Minimum Wages (Delhi) Amendment Bill, 2015, at the earliest so that effective implementation of the increased minimum wages could be done in the national capital. But the bill was returned.

The AAP government had increased minimum wages for unskilled, semi-skilled, and skilled workers by 37 per cent in March.
Los Angeles, Aug 7 : Model-actress Amber Rose says she is planning to marry her new beau 21 Savage.

Rose shared her love for the rapper over social media after he performed at Lollapalooza held at Grant Park in Chicago last week, reports aceshowbiz.com.

She took to Instagram to share some videos taken from the concert.

The words "Imma marry him" and "I love him" were written across the videos that showed the rapper, whose real name is Shayaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, delivering a lively performance in front of the crowd.

Rose and 21 Savage were first romantically linked around two months ago.
Anand (Gujarat), Aug 7 : Alleging that he was being targeted by the BJP, veteran Congress leader Ahmed Patel on Monday expressed confidence that he will win Tuesday's Rajya Sabha election from Gujarat.

In a rare appearance before the media, Patel, political secretary to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, said: "Besides the 44 legislators (who were flown to Bengaluru), we have the support of Janata Dal-United, Nationalist Congress Party and (rebel leader) Shankersinh Vaghela.

"I have spoken to Sharad Pawarji and he has promised all help to the Congress. They have even issued a whip. As for Vaghela, he has himself promised that he will vote for me and I believe he will keep his word," he said.

Asked about allegations of surveillance on him and Congress MLAs by the ruling BJP, he said: "I don't know why I am targeted like this. This is example of a banana republic.

"I have full confidence in my victory tomorrow despite the BJP's attempts and the numbers will surprise everyone," Patel said at a private resort near Anand where the 44 MLAs are lodged.

Patel needs 45 first preference votes in a House of 176 MLAs out of total 182. Six Congress MLAs have resigned.

He counts the 44 legislators, two of the NCP and the lone Janata Dal-United to see him through. Vaghela, who had resigned as leader of the opposition last month, and six other MLAs close to him were not taken to Bengaluru and neither have they resigned.
New Delhi, Aug 7 : Full-service airline Vistara on Monday said it will offer all-inclusive fares at Rs 799 for economy class and Rs 2,099 for premium economy in its two-day "freedom to fly" sale starting August 8.

According to the airline, the bookings under the sale will be available on August 8-9 for travel period between August 23, 2017 and April 19, 2018.

"Minimum 15 days advance purchase is required," the airline said in a statement.

The airline said the offer will include discounted fares for destinations like Goa, Port Blair, Leh (Ladakh), Jammu, Srinagar, Kochi, Guwahati, Amritsar, Bhubaneswar, as well as metro cities such as Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru.

"The lowest fare under this sale is available on the Srinagar-Jammu route, while other routes are also available at highly discounted fares," the statement added.

Currently, the airline operates to 19 destinations with over 625 weekly flights operated by a fleet of 15 Airbus A320 aircraft.
Amaravati, Aug 9 : Ace shuttler P.V. Sindhu on Wednesday assumed office as a Deputy Collector in Andhra Pradesh.

The Olympics badminton silver medallist took charge in the state secretariat at Gollapudi here.

Accompanied by her parents, she reached the office of Chief Commissioner of Land Administration (CCLA) and assumed the charge.

She reported to CCLA Chief Commissioner Anil Chandra Punetha and later signed the relevant documents to formally join the service.

Last month, Sindhu was appointed as Group-I officer by the state government. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu had handed over the appointment letter to her on July 29.

The state government had asked Sindhu to join duty as the Deputy Collector within 30 days.

In May, the state legislature had passed a Bill amending the State Public Services Act to appoint Sindhu as a Group-I officer in the government.

As any recruitment in public services has to be only through the State Public Service Commission, selection committee or employment exchange, the government had to amend the Andhra Pradesh (Regulation of Appointments to Public Services and Rationalisation of Staff Pattern and Pay Structure) Act, 1994.

Following her success in the Olympics last year, Naidu had announced a cash reward of Rs 3 crore, a residential plot in Amaravati and Group-I officer's job to Sindhu.

As she was born in Hyderabad and had been living in the city, the Telangana government also presented a cash reward of Rs 5 crore and a residential plot.

Although Telangana had also offered her a job, Sindhu accepted the offer of Andhra Pradesh, the native state of her parents.
Hagatna, Aug 9 : The Governor of the US territory of Guam on Wednesday downplayed the threat from North Korea after Pyongyang said it was making plans to attack the US military bases on the Pacific island.

"I want to reassure the people of Guam that currently there is no threat to our island or the Marianas," Governor Eddie Calvo was quoted as saying by Efe news.

Calvo added he has already discussed the matter with White House and military officials.

"An attack or threat on Guam is a threat or attack on the US. They have said that America will be defended," Calvo said.

Guam is an unincorporated territory of the US located about 3,400 km southeast of North Korea. The Marianas islands are located north of Guam.

North Korea is "now carefully examining the operational plan for making an enveloping fire at the areas around Guam with the medium-to-long-range strategic ballistic rocket Hwasong-12," a spokesperson for the North Korean military said in a statement published by the state news agency KCNA.

US Andersen Air Force Base on Guam hosts the nuclear-capable B-1B strategic bombers, which the US sent back to the Korean Peninsula on Tuesday.

"The US Department of Defense is monitoring this situation very closely," Guam Homeland Security Adviser George Charfauros said in a statement, adding that he trusted the defense system deployed against the threats.

North Korea's statement was released just hours after US President Donald Trump warned that if Pyongyang does not stop threatening the US, it "will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen".

Pyongyang previously condemned the latest package of sanctions imposed by the UN over its weapons programmes and threatened to take "physical actions" against the US.

The UN sanctions were adopted in response to North Korea's first intercontinental ballistic missile test fired on July 4 and a second intercontinental projectile tested on July 28.
Seoul, Aug 9 : South Korea is monitoring "possible provocation" by North Korea after Pyongyang warned of missile strikes against the American Guam island in the Pacific, Seoul's Unification Ministry said on Wednesday.

Ministry spokesman Baek Tae-hyun said South Korean and US officials were closely monitoring relevant moves in preparation for North Korea's "further provocation", Xinhua news agency reported.

Baek said the South Korean military authorities maintained a complete defence readiness in preparation for several possible situations, urging North Korea "to stop provocation and change attitude".

The remarks followed North Korea's warning of preemptive missile strikes against the US military base of Guam in response to two US strategic bombers sent on Tuesday to South Korea.

A North Korean Army spokesman earlier on Tuesday said the military was examining an operational plan for an enveloping missile strike at areas around Guam with its intermediate-range ballistic missiles Hwasong-12.

According to North Korean media, the US military flew two B-1B bombers based on the US Anderson Air Force Base in Guam over the Korean peninsula.

The bombers have been "threatening and blackmailing" North Korea through their frequent visits to the sky above South Korea, it said.

Just hours before North Korea's warning, US President Donald Trump warned Pyongyang that if it continued to threaten Washington, the Communist nation would face "fire and fury" the world has never seen.
Cosenza (Italy), Aug 9 : Police in southern Italy on Wednesday arrested woman and her son for stealing 460 kilogrammes of peaches from a local farmer.

Police nabbed the 63-year-old woman, F.Z., and her 43-year-old son, S.P., with the stolen fruit as they drove out of an orchard near the Calabrian town of Sibari, local newsite Gazzettadelsud.it reported.

The pair, who are both known to police, admitted taking the fruit, which was returned to its owner.
Seoul, Aug 10 : North Korea on Wednesday announced that a Canadian missionary who had been imprisoned since 2015 was released on humanitarian grounds.

Lim Hyeon-soo had been sentenced to a life term of forced labour for committing hostile acts against the state.

He was released on medical and humanitarian grounds, according to the Central Court of North Korea, the state-owned KCNA news agency reported.

The Canadian citizen of Korean origin had travelled to North Korea through China in January 2015 and was detained by North Korean authorities the same month.

In a trial held around the end of 2015 in Pyongyang, the country's highest court found Lim guilty of having conspired to overthrow the regime as a part of an alleged conspiracy by the governments of the US and South Korea.

The missionary was also found guilty of having carried out subversive activities with the intention of damaging the dignity of the supreme leadership and the social system of North Korea.

Lim, a sexagenarian head of the Light Korean Presbyterian Church in Mississauga (near Toronto), had admitted to the accusations in a confession released in July 2015 by KCNA.

However, several organisations denounced it as a likely case of a confession forced by authorities.

The Canadian's release comes at a moment of elevated tensions in the Korean peninsula, as Kim Jong-un's regime and US President Donald Trump's administration have strengthened their rhetoric against each other.

Lim's release came just months after the death of US citizen Otto Warmbier, who had been incarcerated in North Korea for 17 months and was sent back to his country in a comatose state.
Mexico City, Aug 10 : Mexico's economy has structural flaws that will not be resolved with the upcoming renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), credit rating agency Moody's has announced.

Mexico has for years relied on its poorly-paid work force to compete with other economies, and that is part of what is holding the country back, the agency said in a report on Wednesday.

When Mexico, the US and Canada signed the NAFTA and put it into effect in 1994, the trade deal was expected to help strengthen the Latin American country, "but Mexico has not attained the stellar growth rates that were anticipated from liberalising its economy".

"Mexico has maintained its comparative advantage through negative real wage growth, at the expense of income levels. As a result, instead of converging through trade, wage and productivity, gaps with the US have widened," the report said.

"Successful NAFTA talks alone will not fix structural impediments to Mexico's growth," senior analyst Madhavi Bokil wrote.

Mexico's income gap with its North American neighbours will only get worse unless the country takes steps to address the problem, including tackling its huge informal, or underground economy, according to the report.

The three countries plan to start trade talks in Washington on August 16.
Washington, Aug 10 : The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has sued the Washington D.C. metro system for refusing ads on "political" topics including birth control, ethical treatment of animals and the text of the First Amendment of the US Constitution.

The ACLU said on Wednesday that it represents a "diverse group of plaintiffs" in the lawsuit, including an abortion provider, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and former Breitbart columnist Milo Yiannopoulos, reports Xinhua news agency.

"To put it mildly, these plaintiffs have nothing in common politically. But together, they powerfully illustrate the indivisibility of the First Amendment," said the ACLU, which is a national organisation that works daily in courts, legislatures and communities to defend the individual rights and liberties.

According to the group, one of the rejected ads featured the text of the First Amendment in English, Spanish and Arabic, which the group proposed after US President Donald Trump was sworn in earlier this year.

The Washington D.C. Metro has argued that the advertisement "intended to influence members of the public regarding an issue on which there are varying opinions" or "intended to influence public policy".

Carafem, a birth control and abortion provider, wanted to promote an ad that said, "10-week-after pill. For abortion up to 10 weeks. $425. Fast. Private"; and PETA proposed an ad depicting a pig saying, "I'm ME, Not MEAT. See the Individual. Go Vegan".

Both were rejected on the same grounds, according to the ACLU.
Geneva, Aug 10 : The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said that 50 teenage African migrants were "deliberately drowned" by their smuggler off the coast of Yemen.

The UN agency said that some 120 Somali and Ethiopian migrants, who were 16 years old on average, were forced into the sea on Wednesday as they approached the coast of Shabwa, a Yemeni governorate along the Arabian Sea, reports Xinhua news ageny.

The teenagers were en route to Gulf countries via Yemen.

During a routine patrol, IOM staff found the bodies of 29 migrants in shallow graves on a beach in Shabwa.

"The survivors told our colleagues on the beach that the smuggler pushed them to the sea when he saw some 'authority types' near the coast," explained Laurent de Boeck, IOM Yemen chief of mission.

"They also told us that the smuggler has already returned to Somalia to continue his business and pick up more migrants to bring to Yemen on the same route. This is shocking and inhumane. The suffering of migrants on this migration route is enormous. Too many young people pay smugglers with the false hope of a better future," de Boeck added.

Smugglers have been active in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, offering fake promises to vulnerable migrants.

The IOM estimates that since January 2017, around 55,000 migrants have left the Horn of Africa to come to Yemen, mostly trying to find better opportunities in the Gulf countries.

More than 30,000 of them are from Somalia and Ethiopia and are under the age of 18 with a third are estimated to be women. The journey is especially hazardous during the current windy season in the Indian Ocean.
New Delhi, Aug 10 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday hailed the "strong and vibrant ties" between India and Seychelles, the Indian Ocean archipelago nation with which India has close defence and security ties.

Modi met with a Seychelles parliamentary delegation, led by Speaker Patrick Pillay and including Leader of Government Business Charles De Commarmond, which is on an official visit to India at the invitation of Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan.

During Modi's visit to Seychelles in March 2015, both countries had inked an agreement to develop infrastructure on Assumption Island, which lies 1,140 km southwest of the mainland of Mahe, and is one of the 115 islands that constitute Seychelles.

India, after leasing Assumption Island, began preparations for infrastructure development, including quarters for the Seychelles Coast Guard and fixing the airstrip on the remote island where there is very little human activity.

India and Seychelles have had cooperation in the field of defence and maritime security for many years, which has seen India helping to patrol the Seychelles waters and gifting several equipment to the Seychelles People's Defence Forces (SPDF).

Among the equipment gifted by India was a patrol ship to the Seychelles Coast Guard.

During Modi's 2015 visit, India announced gifting of a second Dornier surveillance aircraft to the Seychelles Coast Guard to increase maritime security. India gifted Seychelles its first Dornier in 2013.

During his meeting with the Seychelles parliamentary delegation on Thursday, Modi welcomed increased exchanges between the legislatures of both countries and also appreciated their role in upholding strong and vibrant ties between India and Seychelles as close partners, including in the Indian Ocean", a PMO statement said.

India sees Seychelles as a key partner in exploiting the blue economy and Modi visited that country in March 2015 with this as part of his agenda.

The two countries also have an elaborate architecture of defence and security with the growing menace of piracy and other economic offences in the strategic Indian Ocean region "The delegation shared their perspectives with Prime Minister on further strengthening cooperation and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries," the PMO statement said.
Bengaluru, Aug 10 : India will launch its eighth navigation satellite this month-end as a spare or back-up for its constellation in the geo-orbit, a top space agency official said on Thursday.

"We are preparing to launch the eighth Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS-1H) at the end of this month as a standby for the Navigation Indian Constellation (NavIC), which is operational for services," ISRO Satellite Centre Director M. Annadurai told IANS here.

The 1.4-tonne satellite will be launched from the state-run Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) spaceport at Sriharikota off the Bay of Bengal in Andhra Pradesh, about 80 km northeast of Chennai.

"The satellite is ready to move from our centre to Sriharikota on August 12 on a special vehicle for integration with the rocket at the space centre," said Annadurai on the margins of a technology event.

The launch authorization board will decide on the date and time after all the checks were completed during the window for the launch schedule.

The space agency, however, will use a medium Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV C39) with four strap-on motors to deploy the satellite first in the geo-transfer orbit and later in the geo-stationary orbit, about 36,000 km above the earth, where the NavIC is orbiting over the last four years.

"The spare or standby satellite will also make up for the non-functioning of the three rubidium atomic clocks on board the first one (IRNSS-1A) and one each in the other two NavIC satellites," ISRO's Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre Director K. Sivan told IANS from Thiruvananthapuram.

Clarifying that the spare satellite (IRNSS-1H) would augment the NavIC's operations, Sivan said IRNSS-1A would continue to orbit and provide the services it is programmed for the intended users as part of the system.

"We are not going to abandon the first one (IA) as it working well with all its functions except the atomic clocks being normal. In the other satellites, we are using only one clock, as other two are for redundancy," said Sivan.

The clocks provide precise locational data for the users.

The first one was launched in July 2013 and the seventh one (IRNSS-1G) in April 2016.

The multi-purpose satellite-based positioning system, akin to the American GPS, Glonass of Russia, Galileo of Europe and China's Beidou, supports vehicle tracking, fleet management, disaster management and mapping services besides terrestrial, marine and aerial navigation in the sub-continent.

The space agency plans to launch an additional space navigation satellite later this year to augment the services of the Rs 1,420 crore NavIC.

"The two spare navigation satellites will make up for any shortfall in the operations and service provided by NavIC to the users round-the-clock over the next 10 years," added Sivan.

NavIC provides two types of services -- standard positioning service and restricted service. The former is for all users while the latter is an encrypted service for only authorised users.
New Delhi, Aug 10 : The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the Kerala Police to share with the NIA the probe details of a case wherein a Muslim man's marriage to a Hindu woman was annulled by the Kerala High Court, which termed it a "love jihad".

A division bench of Chief Justice J.S. Khehar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud took serious note of the man's objection to sharing of the records with the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

"We want the whole picture. Let the whole picture come before us. Why should anybody doubt the NIA? Are you doubting the NIA? It's a government agency. We asked them to assist us," the bench told the man's counsel.

The bench said it gathered the "impression that the petitioner (husband) does not desire the correct and independent view of the controversy" to be brought before the apex court.

"We wanted to see whether it is an isolated case or a larger issue is involved," the bench said.

The apex court asked the Kerala Director General of Police to share the records of investigation conducted so far with the NIA so as to "enable them be alive to the situation at present".

The bench said it has asked the specialised agency to weigh in for "neutral and unbiased assistance" in the case.

"If there are issues going beyond the purview of Kerala, they should be able to assist us. Is this a small pocket individual issue or is it an issue that has wider ramifications that should concerns us? We want them to help us in this determination," said the bench.

The court, however, allowed the man to file a response on the NIA plea that sought the court's direction to the police to allow it to access to police records relating to the case investigation.

The Kerala High Court on May 25 had declared as "null and void" the marriage of a 24-year-old Hindu woman, who converted to Islam to wed a Muslim man in December 2016, terming it a "sham" and ordered Hadiya, as she is now known, be placed in her parents' protective custody.

Her husband Shafin Jahan, 27, challenged the High Court order in the top court, saying the order was an "an insult to the independence of women in India".

Approaching the Supreme Court with a request to order Hadiya's father to produce her in court, he had claimed she had converted to Islam of her own volition two years prior to their marriage.

Hadiya's father, however, had said that she was a "helpless victim" trapped by a "well-oiled racket" which used "psychological measures" to indoctrinate people and convert them to Islam.

Jahan is a criminal and his daughter was trapped by a network with connections to Popular Front of India and even the Islamic State, the father's lawyer had said.

Hadiya, earlier known as Akhila, was a homeopathy student in Kerala when she converted to Islam and changed her name. Jahan had met her with his family in August 2016 in response to her posting on a marriage website and they got married last December.

But in August 2016 itself, her father had approached the high court with a habeas corpus petition, alleging his daughter had been radicalised by some organisations and they also influenced her to marry a Muslim man so that she is out of the parents' custody forever.

He had also apprehended that there could be a scheme to send her to Syria to work with extremist organisations such as the IS since the man she married had been working in the Gulf.

The High Court, saying that "national interest is at stake", had asked the state police chief to conduct an investigation into cases of 'love jihad' and probe incidents of forced conversions.

Love jihad is a term used by right-wing Hindu groups to describe inter-faith marriages which they say is an Islamist conspiracy to convert Hindu women through marriage or coercion.
New Delhi, Aug 10 : Soon, all eateries in Delhi will display a toll-free number, where people can complain about food adulteration, Health Minister Satyendar Jain said in the state assembly on Thursday.

During question hour, Aam Aadmi Party legislator Jarnail Singh spoke about the poor food quality in the city and asked how citizens can raise the issue.

Responding to this, the Minister said the public can complain about food adulteration at the toll-free number 1800113921.

At this point, Speaker Ram Niwas Goel asked Jain whether it would be possible to display the number at all eateries and the Minister said that he will talk to his department and get it done.
Geneva, Aug 10 : Human traffickers forced up to 180 migrants from a boat off Yemen's coast on Thursday after some 50 migrants drowned in similar incident a day earlier, the United Nations migration agency said.

Five bodies have been recovered while around 50 people were missing after the incident on Thursday, the International Organisation for Migration reported.

On Wednesday, traffickers pushed over 120 Somali and Ethiopian migrants into the Arabian Sea off Yemen's southern Shabwa governorate, according to the IOM.

During a routine patrol of a beach in Shabwa, IOM staff found the shallow graves of 29 of the migrants who drowned on Wednesday.

"The dead had been quickly buried by those who survived the smugglers' deadly actions," IOM said.

The migrants had been hoping to reach countries in the Gulf via war-torn Yemen, IOM reported.
New Delhi, Aug 10 : The Lok Sabha on Thursday passed a bill to facilitate merger of five associate banks with the State Bank of India.

The State Banks Repeal and Amendment Bill, 2017, repeals two Acts -- State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks) Act, 1959, and State Bank of Hyderabad Act, 1956.

These Acts established the State Bank of Bikaner, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Travancore and State Bank of Hyderabad. These banks were subsidiaries of the State Bank of India (SBI).

The bill was passed consequent to the Union Cabinet granting its approval in February 2017, which allowed the SBI to acquire these subsidiaries.

Initiating the discussion, Congress member A.S.P. Muddahanumegowda lauded former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's decision of nationalising the banks. Shivkumar C. Udasi of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said the bill would facilitate the working of SBI by acquiring some subsidiaries.

Saugata Roy of Trinamool Congress, however, questioned the government about the money deposited in banks after demonetisation and asked how much of it was in the SBI.

He also questioned why the SBI Chairman went to Australia with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and alleged that he was there to approve a loan for a businessman from Gujarat.

Bhagwant Mann of AAP expressed doubt that after the merger, the SBI will acquire more non-performing assets.

N.K. Premachandran of Revolutionary Socialist Party expressed the fear that the merger might not be beneficial, and said that India did not need big banks. He said that in the United States of America, big banks had become the cause of turmoil.

Replying to the discussion, Minister of State for Finance Santosh Kumar Gangwar allayed fears over the merger leading to any problems in the bank in future and said the merger of the banks was done in the larger national interest.

"It will show good results in future," the minister said.

He also said that the government wanted to take the banks to the people's doorsteps.

"In the last two years, the doors of the banks have been opened for common people. Twenty nine crore new accounts have been opened in the country under the Jan-Dhan scheme, a fourth of which are zero-balance accounts," he added.

The bill was later passed by voice vote.
Kathmandu, Aug 10 : Amid the India-China military standoff, Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Thursday called on Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and discussed a wide range of bilateral issues -- in what is seen as New Delhi's diplomatic outreach to Nepal, which shares a long border with Tibet.

Sushma Swaraj arrived in Kathmandu to participate in the 18th BIMSTEC Ministerial meeting, which she will be addressing on Friday.

According to Dinesh Bhattarai, Foreign Relations Adviser to Deuba, the meeting especially focused on Deuba's upcoming state visit to India from August 23.

Sushma Swaraj, according to Bhattarai, told Deuba that India is all set to welcome Deuba in New Delhi. This will be his maiden foreign visit since taking over in June as part of a power-sharing agreement.

Bhattarai said both sides discussed all bilateral issues in the meeting - ranging from the latest political developments in Nepal to Indian development assistance in Nepal and the status of India-funded projects in Nepal.

There was no communication whether Sushma Swaraj raised the Doklam issue with Deuba.

However, the two held a one-and-one meeting for 15 minutes - during which high-stakes diplomatic issues are likely to have figured, said officials.

The talks between the two sides comes as Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang is set to visit Kathmandu next week, - an event that would be closely watched by India. Nepal and China in May signed a framework agreement on Beijing's One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative, and the two sides are also in talks to build a cross-border rail link.

"The meeting was mainly focused on PM Deuba's upcoming India visit and how both sides can optimize the opportunity," Bhattarai said.

After the over five-month-long economic blockade on the Nepal-India border in 2015, ties between the two neighbours had reached a low ebb. There is now understanding that both sides will take ties to a new height.

The visit of Deuba will further consolidate the bilateral ties where both sides will discuss the pending Indian projects in Nepal, including some energy, infrastructure and cross-border connectivity.

After meeting with Deuba, Sushma Swaraj also called on President Bidhya Devi Bhandari at the President's Office where the two sides discussed strengthening bilateral ties.

This is Sushma Swaraj's sixth visit to Nepal and the first high level visit since the new government under Deuba assumed office in Nepal in June 2017, said an Indian Embassy statement.

According to the statement, the two sides discussed an expanded bilateral agenda reflecting the updated national priorities of Nepal. Progress in the reconstruction activities and cooperation in hydro power sector also came up for discussion. Both sides agreed that there are immense possibilities for cooperation in infrastructure, connectivity and energy.

In the evening, Sushma Swaraj attended the inaugural session of 15th BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting.

(Anil Giri can be reached at girianil@gmail.com)
New Delhi, Aug 10 : Authors Aravind Adiga and K.R. Meera along with five other Indian authors have made it to the longlist of the seventh DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2017 for their books 'Selection Day' and 'The Poison of Love' respectively.

The longlist includes a total of 13 authors from across the South Asian countries which include three from Pakistan, two from Sri Lanka and one American writer based in India apart from seven Indian authors.

The other authors who have been selected are Anjali Joseph for 'The Living', Anosh Irani for 'The Parcel', Anuk Arudpragasam for 'The Story of a Brief Marriage', Ashok Ferrey for 'The Ceaseless Chatter of Demons', Hirsh Sawhney for 'South Haven', Karan Mahajan for 'The Association of Small Bombs', Omar Shahid Hamid for 'The Party Worker', Perumal Murugan for 'Pyre', Sarvat Hasin for 'This Wide Night', Shahbano Bilgrami for 'Those Children' and Stephen Alter for 'In the Jungles of the Night'.

This year's longlist comprises three debut novels and two translated entries where the original writing has been in Tamil and Malayalam.

"There were no such criteria for the longlist. The selection has been purely made on the basis of the literary quality, the writing skill and how much the writer has succeeded in communicating his or her writing to the readers," Ritu Menon, Jury Member, said at an event here on Thursday.

Menon added that the longlist comprises of novels that highlight fresh ideas and unique perspectives.

"South Asian authors are already making a prominence in world literature and the DSC Prize is another step to highlight the efforts and the talents that the authors have," she noted.

This year, the committee received 69 nominations.

Out of the 13 authors, the shortlist comprising of five authors will be announced next month at the London School of Economics. Award money of $25,000 will be given to the winner whose name will be announced on November 18 during the Dhaka Literary Festival.
New Delhi, Aug 10 : Congress President Sonia Gandhi has called a meeting of 18 opposition parties on Friday, the last day of Parliament's monsoon session, to discuss the future course of action of the joint opposition and chalk out a strategy against the Modi government.

The meeting will be chaired by Sonia Gandhi. Janata Dal-United leader Sharad Yadav has been invited for the meeting. He is in Bihar on a three-day visit.

West Bengal Chief minister Mamata Banerjee is slated to attend the meeting.

The meeting is likely to discuss the opposition rally called by RJD chief Lalu Prasad in Patna on August 27, which will target the newly-formed BJP-JD-U alliance in Bihar under Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. The Janata Dal-United President last month snapped ties with Grand Alliance of Rashtriya Janata Dal and Congress to form government in Bihar with the BJP.

Sharad Yadav on Thursday declared in Patna that he was still with the Grand Alliance of the RJD and Congress.

He is also organising a conclave in New Delhi on August 17, which will be attended by opposition leaders.
Kolkata, Aug 10 : West Bengal Minister and Kolkata Mayor Sovan Chatterjee was on Thursday grilled by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for around eight hours in connection with the Narada sting footage probe, an official said.

"He came to our office at 11.53 a.m. and left around 8.30 p.m," an ED official told IANS. He described Chatterjee's attitude as "non-cooperative".

Citing "administrative reasons", the state Fire and Emergency Services, Housing and Environment Minister and Trinamool Congress leader had skipped the ED summons in July and sought more time to appear before the agency.

Chatterjee was among a dozen TMC leaders allegedly caught on video receiving money in exchange for a promise to dole out favours to a fictitious company.

The clipping was uploaded on the Narada news portal in March last year ahead of the state assembly elections.

The investigating agency had on Wednesday interrogated Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim.

Besides Chatterjee and Hakim, Transport Minister Suvendu Adhikari and Panchayat Minister Subrata Mukherjee were also summoned by the investigating agency.

Trinamool MP Sultan Ahmed and Kolkata Deputy Mayor Iqbal Ahmed were also interrogated by the ED.
New Delhi, Aug 10 : The Delhi Assembly on Thursday passed the Minimum Wages (Delhi) Amendment Bill 2017 and the Delhi Netaji Subhash University of Technology Bill 2017. The bills were reintroduced in the assembly on Wednesday.

The House had earlier passed both bills in 2015 and sent them to the central government for clearance. But the bills were returned by the President to the assembly for "reconsideration".

The Minimum Wages (Delhi) Amendment Bill 2017 seeks to make the punishment to violators of minimum wages norm stricter.

Delhi Labour Minister Gopal Rai said that in the amended bill, the penalty for violation of law had been raised from the existing Rs 500 to Rs 50,000 and minimum imprisonment of six months increased to three years.

"In this bill, we have also made provisions that company or factory owners will not be able to sack the complainant (worker) till the case is resolved. We have also proposed time-bound proceedings," Rai told the House.

In March, Lt. Governor Anil Baijal approved the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government's proposal to hike minimum wages for labourers by 37 per cent.

The Delhi Netaji Subhash University of Technology Bill 2017 aims to accord the existing Netaji Subhash Institute of Technology (NSIT) the status of a university.

The latest bill carries an additional change relating to the appointing authority in the university.
New Delhi, Aug 10 : Seven lecturers of Dyal Singh College (Morning) were on Thursday asked to apologise for allegedly protesting against the operation of the Evening college during morning hours.

"You are required to sign an apology letter to be drafted by the Chairman Governing Body in matter of your conduct on July 20," read the letter sent by Principal I.S. Bakshi of Dyal Singh (Morning) College to the teachers.

"Furthermore, the Chairman Governing Body has desired that you can meet him in person, if you wish so. Failing which.... contempt of court proceedings may be initiated against you," it read.

Dyal Singh (Evening) College was given a nod by the Delhi University (DU) Executive Council (EC) last month to be converted into a morning college. After the decision, the evening adjunct began morning classes for the first year students from July 20, till the time it is able to operate as a full-fledged morning college.

However, a few students and teachers from the original morning college on the same day decided to meet Amitabh Sinha, who is Chairman for both the colleges, to complain against the space crunch which the 'merger' had occasioned.

"We met him to discuss the issue and told them that, though, the idea is good, the two colleges cannot function till there is enough space is available," Parmendra Kumar Parihar, one of the faculty members who has been asked to apologise, told IANS.

"There was no protest and the Chairman had then assured us that the 'conversion' will not take place until a decision is reached at the DU.... But now after 20 days of that meeting he is asking us to apologise," he said.

The contempt of court clause has its origin in a 2008 Delhi High Court order, Parihar said, which had prohibited the teachers and other workers of the college from staging any demonstration in or around 100 metres of the campus, as a result of their protest against Delhi Metro operations near their building.

Another DU Academic Council member, termed the principal's letter "dictatorial" saying that the morning classes by the evening college are "illegal", since the required amendments are yet to be made.

"That the evening college will become a morning one was approved by the Executive Council only 'in principle'. The amendments are yet to be made in the University of Delhi Act, which will then have to be approved by the Visitor of the University... protest is everyone's right and the wording of the letter is downright dictatorial," Pankaj Garg, an AC member and teacher at Rajdhani College, told IANS.

He cited a number of steps -- survey of the campus by the University engineer, bifurcation of resources between the two colleges etc -- to be executed before the college can technically be converted into a morning college.

Currently, the colleges are sharing a campus space of eight acres.
New Delhi, Aug 10 : Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Thursday said 753 cases of swine flu (influenza H1N1) were reported between January 1 and August 6, adding that enough stocks of medicine were available to tackle the disease.

The Minister told the house that 365 dengue cases, 246 chikungunya cases and 356 malaria cases were also reported in Delhi.

"People should not panic. There is no dearth of medicines and vaccines for swine flu in Delhi. We have reserved 1,000 beds in 19 government hospitals for such patients," Jain told the assembly while making a suo motu statement on swine flu and vector-borne diseases.

He advised people to avoid self-medication and to wash hands at regular intervals since the disease was contagious.

"We will also provide medicines for swine flu to private hospitals free of cost. We have allowed chemists to keep medicines but to sell these only on medical prescription," Jain said.
Auvik's network infrastructure RMM Auvik brings together an all-star team with exceptional technology built to give MSPs true visibility into their network infrastructure like never before.

Auvik Networks, a provider of network monitoring and management software for managed service providers, today announced it has raised CAD$15 million in a Series B round of financing led by OpenView, with participation from existing investors Celtic House Venture Partners and Rho Canada Ventures.

Auvik brings together an all-star team with exceptional technology built to give MSPs true visibility into their network infrastructure like never before, said Ricky Pelletier, Partner at OpenView, who joins the companys board. We are thrilled to be part of such an innovative company led by some of Canadas leading technologists and very much look forward to this next chapter in Auviks journey.

Auvik provides remote monitoring and management (RMM) focused on network infrastructure, such as switches, routers, firewalls, and Wi-Fi controllers. Its cloud-based software gives MSPs unprecedented insight into their client networks and automates complex and time-consuming tasks so they can scale their managed services efficiently and profitably.

The funding will fuel product development, partner success initiatives, and expansion into new markets.

Were seeing rapid adoption of Auvik which tells us weve developed a product that managed service providers have been waiting for for a long time, said Marc Morin, CEO of Auvik. Its incredibly rewarding to hear stories from our channel partners about the value were bringing to their businesses. And were just getting started.

Auvik Networks is currently expanding its team in areas across the organization, from sales and marketing to engineering. Current openings can be found on Auviks careers page: https://www.auvik.com/careers/

About Auvik Networks

Auvik is a software company that helps managed service providers improve the efficiency and profitability of their managed services. Auviks network infrastructure RMM (remote monitoring and management) gives MSPs better visibility, documentation, and monitoring for their client networks, and automates many time-consuming network tasks. Auvik was named to the 2016 ChannelE2E 100 list, which identifies top disruptors and innovators in the IT channel. Visit http://www.auvik.com or follow @AuvikNetworks on Twitter. Auvik is a registered trademark of Auvik Networks Inc.

About OpenView

OpenView, the expansion stage venture firm, helps build software companies into market leaders. Through our Expansion Platform, we help companies hire the best talent, acquire and retain the right customers and partner with industry leaders so they can dominate their markets. Our focus on the expansion stage makes us uniquely suited to provide truly tailored operational support to our portfolio companies. Learn more about OpenView at openviewpartners.com.

Media contacts

Jennifer Tribe

Director of Content, Auvik Networks

jtribe(at)auvik.com

519-804-4700 x132

Gail Axelrod

Director of Marketing, OpenView

gaxelrod(at)openviewpartners.com

617-478-0945
Trevor Greene

Red Comet is pleased to announce that Mr. Trevor Greene who was the 2013 National High School Principal of the Year has joined Red Comets Executive Advisory Board.

Mr. Greene taught Spanish and English for dozen years at the middle school, junior high, and high school levels, followed by three years in administration, before becoming the principal at Toppenish High School (THS) on the Yakama Indian Reservation in Toppenish, WA. During his tenure at THS, the school (94 percent minority,100 percent poverty) achieved a 94 percent graduation rate, and became the most decorated high school in Washington State  named a STEM Lighthouse School by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, twice honored as a state Golden Apple recipient, and presented with five Washington Achievement Awards.

Mr. Greene was selected as the 2012 Washington State High School Principal of the Year and, in 2013, received National Principal of the Year honors from the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP). Mr. Greene then fulfilled a one-year fellowship as a Principal Professional Development Specialist by the Association of Washington School Principals (in conjunction with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation), where he worked with K-12 principals state wide.

As a member of the Executive Advisory Board, Mr. Greene will offer strategic guidance and support to Red Comets executive team and will help position Red Comet as a premier online program in the State of Washington and beyond.

Red Comet (http://www.redcomet.org) is a Fully Accredited (NWAC, AdvancED) organization that has been offering online courses for credit since 1999. Students have over 175 courses to choose from. Many of these courses are also approved by the NCAA organization. In the State of Washington, the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) has approved the Red Comet program as a Multi-District Online Provider, Online Course Provider, and Online School Program. In a statewide survey, Red Comet received high ratings for student satisfaction. Students use the Red Comet online program for original credit, credit retrieval, and credit recovery.

For Immediate Release

Contact Information:

Ms. Sapna Ganeshan

President,

Red Comet

1-888-730-1101
Art in World Cultures

Red Comet is introducing a new course in Arts to help students gain an understanding and appreciation for art from various parts of the world. For the 2017-18 school year, students may enroll in the Art in World Cultures course which will take the students on a tour to various cultures throughout the globe.

Art is one of the highest expressions of any culture or society. Red Comets Art in World Cultures course will help the student learn about art from all over the world. This course covers art from several periods and regions. Students learn about the beauty of prehistoric art which includes cave paintings, megaliths and sculptures. In this course, students also study about the incredible Roman, Early Christian and medieval art. The course also dwells on the spectacular art produced in the Spanish world as well as Asian art. Upon completing this course, students will not only have a good understanding and appreciation for art from different parts of the world but also they will be able to appreciate the uniqueness as well as diversity.

Red Comet (http://www.redcomet.org) is a Fully Accredited (NWAC, AdvancED) organization that has been offering online courses for credit since 1999. Students have over 175 courses to choose from. Many of these courses are also approved by the NCAA organization. In the State of Washington, the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) has approved the Red Comet program as a Multi-District Online Provider, Online Course Provider, and Online School Program. In a statewide survey, Red Comet received high ratings for student satisfaction. Students use the Red Comet online program for original credit, credit retrieval, and credit recovery.

For Immediate Release

Contact Information:

Ms. Sapna Ganeshan

President,

Red Comet

1-888-730-1101
Red Comet - Tukwila School District Logo

Red Comet is partnering with Tukwila School District in Washington State to launch a brand new Alternative Learning Education program that will cater to students residing in King County and beyond. Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI)s Alternative Learning Department approved Foster High School as a Multidistrict Online School Program that will cater to students who seek flexible delivery options to obtain career and college readiness credits any time, any place, anywhere learning environment.

Tukwila Online Program will offer core academic, enrichment, and career and technical education courses for students in grade 6-12. This is a perfect option for traditional students looking for alternatives to manage personal, family, and school obligations. Students may enroll in this program for original credit, credit recovery or retrieval and have the option of enrolling in not only core courses but also in over 50 career / elective options. Tukwila School District being a public school district in Washington State, enrollment in this program is tuition free to students residing in Washington State.

Red Comet (http://www.redcomet.org) is a Fully Accredited (NWAC, AdvancED) organization that has been offering online courses for credit since 1999. Students have over 175 courses to choose from. Many of these courses are also approved by the NCAA organization. In the State of Washington, the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) has approved the Red Comet program as a Multi-District Online Provider, Online Course Provider, and Online School Program. In a statewide survey, Red Comet received high ratings for student satisfaction. Students use the Red Comet online program for original credit, credit retrieval, and credit recovery.

For Immediate Release

Contact Information:

Ms. Sapna Ganeshan

President,

Red Comet

1-888-730-1101
In order to track trends in the occurrence of cancer in North America, every newly diagnosed cancer case is reported to a population-based state, provincial or territorial cancer registry where statistics are compiled in a standard format so that we may make comparisons across geographical areas and over time. The North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR) annually reviews data from member registries to assure the quality, accuracy, and completeness of cancer incidence data. Each year, NAACCR evaluates cancer incidence data for the most recent data year, based on predetermined objective and independent registry certification criteria.

In 2017, cancer incidence data for cancer cases diagnosed in 2014 for the 70 population-based cancer registries were evaluated as part of the certification program. Nine Canadian (8 Provinces and 1 territory) and 55 U.S. registries (48 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and 4 metropolitan and 1 regional registry) were certified by NAACCR. The percentage of the North American population that is covered by high quality certified registries for 2017 is approximately 94%. A complete list of the North American certified registries can be found here: https://www.naaccr.org/certified-registries/. Achieving NAACCR certification is a considerable accomplishment and represents months of diligent effort to ensure the quality and reliability of North American cancer data. Data collected by member registries form the backbone of the cancer surveillance system supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Cancer Institute and public health agencies in Canada. The cancer data form the basis of North American cancer statistics and estimates, and are integral to countless cancer research studies.

Established in 1987, the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries, Inc. (NAACCR) is a collaborative umbrella organization for cancer registries, governmental agencies, professional organizations, and private groups in North America interested in enhancing the quality and use of cancer registry data. Its goal is to set standards and build consensus for the collection of uniform cancer data across the continent. All state and provincial central cancer registries in the United States and Canada are members.
Valerie Silveira, award winning author of Still Standing After All The Tears, will host her first STILL STANDING LIVE! Event Sept. 9, 2017 at the Lynnwood Convention Center.

Valeries message of hope to women struggling with lifes challenges will be energizing, and uplifting. These events are the foundation of a sisterhood that was born out of tragedy, but has transformed into triumph.

Already followed by thousands of women who look to her for encouragement online, Valerie is taking her online community and bringing it offline to support women around the country.

I want to encourage the women at these events to become women of courage who inspire others to stand up - to be the woman others can look to for courage and strength, said Valerie Silveira. You will laugh, you will cry, but mostly you will be empowered to start living again. This is going to be an explosive day of encouragement, inspiration and empowerment. You will not leave the same as when you walked in the door.

REGISTRATION: http://www.stillstandinglive.com

Includes Lunch & Free Parking

About Valerie

From 2001 to 2014, Valerie would cope with her daughters addiction. She would face the heartbreaking reality that her daughter was a heroin addict, and the painful truth that she was powerless to save her from her Addiction Beast. On August 28, 2016, her worst fear came true  her precious daughter was killed. Once again, she had to find the courage to stand up and fight -- this time with a hole in her heart. Today, she fights even harder to help others, this time with her Jamies spirit by her side. (Before her death, Valerie chose to call her daughter Jordan) Learn more at http://www.valeriesilveira.com.
Judson Spencer We couldnt be more excited to welcome Judson and his years of experience to the team, says Cindy L. Dolan, president and CEO of LHA Trust Funds.

LHA Trust Funds has announced the addition of Judson Spencer as the companys appointed vice president of Workers Compensation and Risk. Spencer has more than 20 years of experience in insurance operations, compliance, risk management and business process improvement.

Most recently, he served as the vice president of Operational and Regulatory Compliance at an international adjusting firm. Spencer has also lead the Process Improvement Department for a national third-party administrator, and held multiple managerial, safety and workers compensation positions for a regional health foundation in Ohio.

We couldnt be more excited to welcome Judson and his years of experience to the team, says Cindy L. Dolan, president and CEO of LHA Trust Funds.

LHA Trust Funds is a leading provider of multiline, third-party claims administration, risk management and safety consulting services in Louisiana. Since 1977, LHA Trust Funds has been providing self-insured businesses and healthcare providers across the state with effective insurance solutions to meet their specific needs.

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About LHA Trust Funds: For forty years, hospitals, healthcare facilities and physician practices have relied on the specialized programs and services provided by the Malpractice Trust Fund, Workers Compensation Fund and Physicians Trust. To learn more about the Trust Funds, please visit at http://www.lhatrustfunds.com
Every year, magazine readers are asked to vote for their favorite Valley businesses. The winners are honored with a Best of Our Valley Award.

For more than a decade, Arizona Foothills Magazine has served as the defining lifestyle magazine for affluent, well-educated readers in the upscale foothills communities of Arizona. The Best of Our Valley awards showcase the Valley businesses that provide innovative services that exceed customer expectations.

"It's an honor to join so many great businesses in being named one of the Best of Our Valley award winners," says My Biz Niche founder and CEO Shawn Byrne. "It's a testament to our determination to provide world class websites and excellent customer service and support every day."

My Biz Niche has worked with dozens of Valley businesses to create modern websites that look great and function optimally on desktop and mobile devices. The agency also offers a full range of digital marketing services from SEO and PPC to Marketing Automation and Social Media.

The web design and development industry is constantly evolving. Agencies need to adapt to the latest trends and provide clients with functional, up-to-date websites. Clean, search engine-friendly coding and attractive, intuitive designs are crucial elements for any business looking to succeed online. My Biz Niche has consistently demonstrated its proficiency in every aspect of web design and development to easily secure the Best of Our Valley award.

We strive to make every design project of web marketing campaign a success, no matter how challenging or ambitious, Byrne says. We look forward to serving the Valleys web design, development and marketing needs for many years to come.

About My Biz Niche:

My Biz Niche provides cutting-edge web design, development, search engine marketing and SEO services to businesses in Phoenix and all over the country. The agency specializes in rescuing failing digital marketing campaigns through a results-oriented approach combining creativity with technical expertise. Call 602-753-4917 to speak with My Biz Niche about your next digital project.
OutMatch is firmly focused on helping companies hire, grow, and develop great talent by delivering actionable workforce analytics that predict employee performance on the job.

OutMatch, a leader in helping organizations match the right people with the right jobs, announced today that Chief Analytics Officer Carol Jenkins, Ph.D. and Chief Marketing Officer Jason Ferrara will deliver presentations focused on predictive analytics at a pair of leading industry conferences hosted by the Talent Management Alliance next week in Philadelphia, PA.

On August 15, Ferrara will present The Data Difference: Using Analytics to Build a Better Workforce, as part of TMAs 2017 Talent Acquisition Summit. He will discuss the importance of predictive analytics in enabling managers to make better hiring decisions, provide insight on measuring the impact of a new hire, and outline how to use data-driven assessments to improve the overall hiring process.

On August 16, Jenkins will deliver a presentation entitled Predictive Hiring Analytics Can Transform Your Workforce at TMAs 2017 Healthcare Recruitment Summit. She will focus on aggregating and analyzing people data to measure candidate fit and the impact of new hires, and how to refine the hiring process and build the right team to grow and support an organizations business demands.

OutMatch is firmly focused on helping companies hire, grow, and develop great talent by delivering actionable workforce analytics that predict employee performance on the job, said Greg Moran, President and CEO of OutMatch. We look forward to sharing insight on the power of predictive data to enable companies to hire and develop engaged employees that are critical to profitability and success.

Working with recognized names such as American Airlines, Aspen Dental, Brinker International, Circle K, Esurance, Hyatt, and La Quinta, OutMatch processes more than 20 million candidates annually for job opportunities at over 200,000 locations. OutMatch provides the measurement, insight, and impact companies need to make better hires, with particular strengths among large, decentralized organizations with high-volume hiring needs in the hospitality, restaurant, retail, healthcare, and property management industries.

The Talent Management Alliance is a global knowledge-exchange network dedicated to the advancement of strategic talent management and leadership development practices. Its 2017 Talent Acquisition Summit will share case studies led by organizations that are winning the war for talent, focusing on real solutions to real challenges that companies are facing in the world of recruitment. The agenda is available at http://the-tma.org/strategic-recruitment/agenda/.

TMAs Healthcare Recruitment Summit will explore recruiting a high-performing workforce that is equipped to manage the ever-changing demands of healthcare delivery. For an agenda, visit http://the-tma.org/healthcare-recruitment/agenda/.

About OutMatch

OutMatch is transforming the world of work by helping companies hire, retain, and develop great talent. How? We deliver actionable workforce analytics that predict employee performance, so you can hire the right peoplethe absolute best match for your jobsand develop them into stellar employees who drive improved customer satisfaction and increased revenue. For more information, visit http://www.outmatch.com or @OutMatchHCM.
Summer is here and the Tourism Bureau kicked off an exclusive Summer travel campaign - Taiwan Summer Solstice 235 (representing Latitude 23.5), to celebrate Taiwan island and its offshore islands unique geography where Tropic of Cancer cuts across central Taiwan. With diverse landscapes and rich produce, Taiwan is praised as the Emerald on the Tropic of Cancer, radiating tropical and subtropical flairs!

Taiwan Tourism Bureau aimed to create a unique Summer festival and partnered with Ten Ren Tea  the reputable Taiwanese tea brand  for a series of refreshing Summer Green Tea menu. The Summer Green Tea Season features a variety of refreshing green tea beverages, such as Aiyu Jelly with Iced Green Tea, Lemon Sea Salt Sorbet with Green Tea, Green Tea Latte with Brown Sugar, and the Original Iced Green Tea. Along with a series of tailored Summer Solstice 235 tea tours, travelers will get to immerse themselves in Taiwans world renowned tea sensation through their sight, hearing, smelling, and taste buds for a summer feast.

One of the Summer Solstice 235 themed tea tours, Tour of East Rift Valley Wuhe Black Tea, takes you to the Wuhe Gaotai Tea Plantation in Ruisui, Hualian County. The tea plantation has been promoting the Pesticide-Free Organic Farming in recent years; their specialty tea is made with tea leaves sucked by tea green leafhoppers and carefully crafted into honey-flavored black tea. The black tea there has a strong aroma of fruit, honey, and flowers; it was picked from 700 tea products among 15 countries to receive the World Tea Award Gold Medal. Wuhe Terrace is also considered a home to the Ami people and a prehistoric cultural site. After sampling the delicious black tea and the scenery of the East Rift Valley, the tour continues to Taroko National Park  one of Taiwans most famous destinations  for an experience in the aboriginal culture and cuisine.

Another highlight is the Alishan Mountain Tea Tour. Alishan is a notable scenic attraction for its Sacred Tree Forest; its high altitude brings cooler climate and huge temperature difference between day and night, and with the irrigation of the mountain spring water, the tea leaves here grow slowly that make them tender and thick with soft stems. The High Mountain Oolong and Jinxuan Tea produced in this region have an exceptionally fresh aroma and depth of flavor. They have championed in many domestic tea contests, and are crowned the The Best Tea in Taiwan with a worldwide reputation.

In collaboration with the Tourism Bureau, Ten Ren Teas Tea Station created a new Butterfly Pea Tea series this summer, among which the U.S. and Taiwan fusion drink ,Tiffany Blue Milk Tea with Butterfly Pea, has become female customers favorite choice. In addition, Tea Station and China Airlines have a joint promotion for Taiwan tourism. Customers will receive a 5% discount on China Airlines tickets if you spend $100 or more at Tea Station.

Take advantage of this Taiwan Summer Solstice 235 opportunity for great fun in Taiwan. There are many featured trips offered by Taiwan tour buses as well as special promotions from over 40 hotels. Join the Taiwan Tourism Bureaus Facebook fan page at http://www.facebook.com/TourTaiwan for the most up-to-date news of Taiwan tourism!
Pre-kindergarten, elementary, middle and high school teachers can grow the budgets for their classrooms by teaching their students about agriculture.

Florida Farm Bureau Federation is offering multiple $250 mini-grants to certified Florida educators who are engaged in classroom instruction at the pre-K to 12th grade levels for the 2017-18 school year. Grants of up to $250 each will be awarded for original and creative activities or programs that increase the understanding of agriculture among students.

Agriculture can be incorporated into any subject, said Michele Curts, Florida Farm Bureau leadership programs coordinator. We hope that these grants will encourage more educators to integrate agricultural principles into such subjects as social studies, language arts, math and science.

Grant applications are due Oct. 2. Winners of the grant will be notified no later than Nov. 15 via email. Educators can apply for the grant by visiting https://floridafarmbureau.formstack.com/forms/grant.

The Mini-Grant Program is part of the Florida Farm Bureau Womens Leadership Committees commitment to support agricultural education in classrooms across Florida. A total of up to $20,000 will be awarded in mini-grants throughout the 2017-18 school year. Last year, 55 Florida teachers received grant funding for their agricultural projects. Florida Farm Bureau has awarded more than $180,000 in total grants toward promoting agriculture in the classroom since the programs inception in 1998.

Florida Farm Bureau is the states largest general agricultural organization, representing more than 146,000 member-families. We serve to enhance farm enterprise and improve rural communities.
Granicus

Granicus, the largest provider of cloud-based software solutions to government, today announced that it will be acquiring Novusolutions, a leading provider of legislative management software.

Novusolutions, a recognized innovator in the industry, has provided government organizations with advanced meeting automation and agenda technologies for over a decade. Combining Novusolutions with Granicus builds upon the October 2016 GovTech merger between Granicus and GovDelivery, enhancing the companys ability to provide comprehensive and innovative legislative management solutions to clients.

We are very excited to welcome Novusolutions to the Granicus family and are looking forward to working together to advance meeting and agenda priorities for clients around the world, said Granicus CEO Mark Hynes. Novusolutions has an excellent reputation as a company dedicated to client success and advancing public sector outcomes. We knew that this philosophy would be well aligned with the Granicus culture, and that together we will be in an even better position to help our government customers bring automation, efficiency, transparency and constituent engagement to their organizations.

Together, Granicus and Novusolutions serve over 3,000 organizations in the U.S. and the U.K. With the acquisition of Novusolutions, Granicus will serve the largest client footprint for cloud-based legislative management solutions in the country.

Novusolutions flagship product, NovusAGENDA, provides meeting and agenda automation that streamlines the approval, tracking and distribution of meeting materials for government clients.

Novusolutions is excited to join the Granicus team. Together, we bring our combined two decades of experience delivering automation and efficiency to government organizations,  said Novusolutions Founder Jay Vickers. The combination will provide our customers with additional resources and access to increased investments in innovation and world-class security.

Organizations that use Novusolutions products will not see any immediate changes in their service or experience. Over time, Novusolutions customers will benefit from additional resources and a dedicated commitment to future innovation, product acceleration and efficiency enhancements to legislative management.

About Granicus

Granicus provides technology that empowers government organizations to create better lives for the people they serve. By offering the industrys leading cloud-based solutions for communications, meeting and agenda management, and digital services to more than 3,000 public sector organizations, Granicus helps turn government missions into quantifiable realities. Granicus products connect more than 150 million people, creating a powerful network to enhance government transparency and citizen engagement. By optimizing decision-making processes, Granicus strives to help government realize better outcomes and have a greater impact for the citizens they serve.

For more information on Granicus, visit:

 http://www.granicus.com

 http://www.twitter.com/granicus
Education Funding Partners (EFP) today announced a partnership with Blackboard Inc. that will enable school districts nationwide to generate a sustainable, new revenue stream through digital advertising on district and school websites. EFP creates marketing partnerships between respected national companies and the K-12 public school community.

EFP adNet will integrate with Blackboard Web Community Manager (WCM), Blackboards community engagement platform. Blackboard clients using WCM will now have the option to leverage EFP adNet, a free platform, to select from a vetted list of education-appropriate brands and determine the placement of the brands digital ads on their website pages to drive revenue. EFP adNet is turnkey and seamlessly embeds into all Blackboard website templates and custom websites.

"Were pleased to offer districts and schools a new option for generating revenue they can count on, said Marc Rubner, VP, Community Engagement Product Management. "This partnership further demonstrates Blackboard's long-standing commitment to helping school districts nationwide solve their toughest challenges."

EFP engages education-friendly brands like Microsoft, Target, Walmart and Shutterfly, who want to reach parents and teachers through the trusted environment of school district websites. Districts can use the funds generated from running the ads any way they wish.

This partnership will broaden our reach to offer our free adNet revenue tool to more school districts and schools. Our goal is to create a movement to broaden districts opportunity to initiate new funding solutions, said EFP CEO Tom Weeks. The timing is right to partner with such an established player in the education technology field who is committed to providing innovative technology solutions for their educational platforms.

About Education Funding Partners

Education Funding Partners (EFP) puts the power of Fortune 500 marketing resources to work for public education by linking carefully selected brands and forward-thinking school districts to build successful partnerships. Leading companies engage with millions of parents, students and educators through a new, scalable and comprehensive marketing platform, while districts impacted by the ongoing budget crisis gain sustainable funding solutions. Through a national school district network built by EFP, brands invest in the K-12 community by preserving educational and enrichment programs. EFP (http://www.edufundingpartners.com) is a certified B Corporation, a for-profit company, guided by comprehensive social performance standards. EFP has been Awarded Best for the World by B Lab for the past four years and was named one of Five Bright Ideas for Education by Harvard Business School. EFP is a division of 2017 Abundant Venture Partners, LLC (http://www.abundantventurepartners.com).

CONTACT: Nancy Kerbs, Education Funding Partners  (508) 333-3488 or nkerbs(at)edufundingpartners(dot)com
Introducing STEM at a young age helps a childs cognitive development, in addition to improving social skills and teamwork abilities.

Children between the ages of 18 months and 3 years old are in one of the most impressionable stages in their lives, so engaging them in STEM activities at an early age can have a positive impact on their cognitive development.

Americans live in one of the most influential countries on the planet, rich with talent, ideas and influence that help shape the rest of the world. So, what does it say about this country that much of the talent comes from abroad, particularly when it comes to science-based fields. According to Mariano Sana, a Vanderbilt University professor, the ratio of foreign-born to U.S.-born scientists and engineers doubled in little more than a decade. No, its not an issue of Americans lacking talent, its a problem that stems from untapped potential and a indifference to developing that talent.

Women In STEM,LLC, based in Orland Park, IL , partners with Engineering For Kids/Chicagoland to tackle this issue head-on, by offering STEM education to kids ages four to 14 in the Chicago suburban area. Women in STEM founder, Rita Kikoen, sees myriad benefits to introducing kids to STEM concepts through Parent/TOT classes at even younger ages, too.

With this realization, STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) programs are making names for themselves across the country, from universities promoting their curriculums to toddler-targeted classes. Yes, thats correct, toddlers have become a focus for STEM programs. The more its thought about the more sense it makes, as toddlers and young childrens brains are absorbing everything they encounter  why not start them early?

Children are sponges, says Kikoen. Introducing STEM at a young age helps a childs cognitive development, in addition to improving social skills and teamwork abilities.

Incorporating stimulating exercises for toddlers such as counting, coloring and paper airplane building into a social setting allows parents and their children to bond with each other and other families, all while learning and being productive. 2-3 year olds are at the height of developing their dexterity and coordination. Additionally, there are major things happening inside of tots brains in terms of cognitive development and learning to think for themselves.
Indiana Limestone's Mavise Stone For the right projects, this could be a statement element in the design.

A rare discovery of Mavise Stone in one of the Indiana Limestone Companys working quarries makes the stunning, versatile stone available on a limited basis. The company is a premier supplier of natural limestone for a wide variety of building construction, decoration, landscape and hardscape purposes.

The Mississippian Era deposit of Mavise Stone was uncovered in an eight-acre section of the firms Victor Quarry near Bloomington. Mavise Stone is a unique natural stone tile material, often unavailable owing to its scarcity. Its strong, clean look of real limestone is ideal for upscale commercial or fine residential design.

Mavise Stone can be manufactured in standard sizes or custom fabricated into a one-of-a-kind product for interior finishes in both vertical and horizontal applications. Indiana Limestone Company, Mavise Stone contains the characteristics and structural integrity of a high-density material with a unique colorization. Its rich texture makes it the perfect material for flooring.

Because it is so scarce, Mavise Stone will only be available for a limited time.

Mavise is a really rare and wonderful addition to our line of block material, said Duffe Elkins, Indiana Limestone Company product manager. More like a marble in durability and with a unique veining and color movement, this material can be made into some striking tiles. Only found in an exclusive deposit, our core drilling has not identified additional supplies. For the right projects, this could be a statement element in the design.

For more on Indiana Limestone Company and its products, visit indianalimestonecompany.com.

About Indiana Limestone Company

Indiana Limestone Company is unmatched as the premier supplier of Indiana Limestone in a range of beautiful and lasting building products. Founded in 1926 (with predecessor firms that had been quarrying limestone since the mid-1800s), ILCO today remains the provider of choice for this internationally renowned natural stone. Throughout an illustrious history in which its stone has made such iconic structures as the Empire State Building, National Cathedral, and the Pentagon, ILCO has reliably provided the highest quality products and services carefully tailored to the needs of the market with an environmental, natural focus.
Marek Bardonski An organization is only as strong as the team. Sigmoidal grows its strong, battle-tested team and reinforces our commitment to bring our expertise to as many Fortune 1000 companies as possible. Tom Potanski, COO & Founder of Sigmoidal.

Marek has multiple years of experience in helping corporations to leverage Data Science to increase their revenues and is a key hire for Sigmoidal as the company works to further the mission of bringing Artificial Intelligence capabilities to automate data processes.

We are delighted to have Marek join the Sigmoidal team and decline multiple competing offers, said Mariusz Kierski, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Sigmoidal. His long term relationship with Machine Learning community coupled with his strong understanding of business will be crucial to the company.

Before joining Sigmoidal, Marek held positions at NVIDIA Switzerland where he has been working on research in the area of self-driving cars. He also worked on NASAs project aiming to improve the International Space Station rotation algorithm.

Mariusz noted that the market for Machine Learning experts is getting saturated and multiple companies are competing for the talent. Various companies change their strategies and instead on trying to assemble own Machine Learning / Deep Learning research teams, they leverage external help that makes the process simpler. Sigmoidal creates a unique opportunity across different industries that help businesses optimize their data flow pipelines.

An organization is only as strong as the team. Sigmoidal grows its strong, battle-tested team and reinforces our commitment to bring our expertise to as many Fortune 1000 companies as possible, said Tomasz Potanski, COO & Founder of Sigmoidal.

About Sigmoidal

Sigmoidal is a team of Machine/Deep Learning engineers, Data Scientists and Software Professionals from Europe with extensive experience in applying Deep Learning and Machine Learning algorithms to solve corporations problems with data processing automatization. The company specializes in working with hedge funds, financial institutions, drone and military companies.

For more information on Sigmoidal LLC, visit http://sigmoidal.io
BlueCart, Inc. hires new management team We have been blessed with extraordinary people who have done whatever it took to make BlueCart the industry leader we are today. The addition of a top tier leadership team represents the first step towards providing support to our outstanding team.

Now having grown to over 32,000 businesses on the platform, BlueCart is proud to introduce four new members to its management team. To date, BlueCart has attained majority of its market share without a formal process surrounding sales and growth. The new leadership teams includes Bill Mallek as VP of Sales (from Salesforce and Careerbuilder), Kris McKee as Product Manager (from Jumia), Glenn Yamasaki as Head of Talent and Human Resources (from Recruiter.net), and Daniel Lewis as Sales Development Representative (SDR) Manager (from ClearCare Online). This group will be responsible for accelerating the companys sales and product development goals.

Bill Mallek joins BlueCart with over 14 years of SaaS sales leadership experience. No stranger to success, Mallek spent over seven years with Careerbuilder.com as a director and a VP of sales, and over six years with Talent Objects, SuccessFactors/SAP and Salesforce Marketing Cloud. Mallek will be focusing on building and scaling BlueCart's sales function.

Mallek remarked, "I think the opportunity that BlueCart has is tremendous. With an industry that is still pushing paper and excel spreadsheets, the need for change is evident. BlueCart is revolutionizing the way these companies do business by providing the industry with a platform that streamlines and modernizes the wholesale procurement process for buyers and sellers. It's a very exciting time."

Kris McKee comes to BlueCart from Jumia.com, Africas largest e-commerce superstore, where she held the Head of Operations and Warehouse position. McKee brings ten years of experience with her, and an MBA from Columbia University.

"The BlueCart team is an amazing group of hard-working, fun-loving, foodies and I'm excited to be a part of the team that will make BlueCart an all-service platform for the hospitality industry, says McKee.

Glenn Yamasaki has a diverse background in recruiting, training, marketing, sales and leadership. From a recruiting standpoint, Yamasaki has helped tech startups in the Silicon Valley find engineering talent at all levels. In addition to recruiting, Yamasaki has experience in marketing and served in multiple roles for agencies serving tech, hospitality, and in business development.

Moving forward, Yamasaki states, Its critical as we grow to bring in overachievers who embrace the dynamic personality of our team and our culture. I couldnt be more excited to help expand our family of stunning colleagues.

Daniel Lewis has a 15 year sales career helping emerging companies and technology become the dominant players in their space. Most recently, Lewis was the SDR and Sales Operations Manager at ClearCare Online, a SaaS Platform for Home Care, and was a part of the team that made ClearCare a profitable company after the private acquisition by Battery Ventures.

Lewis remarks, BlueCart is uniting restaurants and vendors. Its both easy to use and efficient; I am excited to be part of this revolutionary journey.

The decision to bring in top talent was due to a rapidly increasing customer base and a need to expand the sales team. Since BlueCart has found itself growing at an expeditious pace, hiring a substantial leadership team was a paramount decision.

Konstantin Zvereff, BlueCarts CEO, comments, To date, we have been blessed with extraordinary people who have done whatever it took to make BlueCart the industry leader we are today. The addition of a top tier leadership team represents the first step towards providing support to our team of outstanding colleagues.

Co-founder and CTO, Jag Bansal, added, We are extremely excited to have the next wave of leaders join our management team and help spearhead the growth of our company. Their past experience and leadership qualities make them ideal candidates to help BlueCart achieve our vision of ubiquity in the Hospitality industry.

Over the next 12 months, Mallek et al. will focus on changing the outdated patterns of business BlueCart customers use today. Mallek says, "I think our biggest challenge right now is comfort. We are selling into an industry that is used to doing things the same way for a very long time, so a big part of our job as a sales team is overcoming that through education, agility, patience, and skill."

The rapidly-growing company recently raised $10 million in May for Series B, bringing their total funding to $17 million. BlueCarts SaaS product launched in 2014 offering a mobile platform to the hospitality industry to modernize and improve the wholesale procurement process between restaurants and distributors. BlueCart is Venture Capital funded and has offices in Washington DC, New York, San Francisco, and Chicago with over 32,000 businesses on its platform.
We offer a complete communications and care coordination solution that works the way our customers work, to engage the entire care team, other providers, patients and their families.

Updox, the industry leader for care coordination and healthcare connectivity solutions, has achieved the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC-Health IT) 2015 Edition Health IT Module Certification via Drummond Group LLC, an Authorized Certification Body (ACB) that has been empowered to test software for compliance with the requirements of the federal governments program. The stamp of approval designates that the solution offers functionality that enables eligible providers to meet requirements in the EHR Incentive Program (Meaningful Use) and Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) Program, to earn financial incentive dollars and avoid Medicare payment reductions. Testing for the 2015 Edition started this year and is the most current certification available through ONC.

"These certifications demonstrate our leadership in the industry and commitment to helping connect all of healthcare. We provide solutions for more than 80 EHR partners as a critical partner to help them meet Meaningful Use, and now Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) requirements. This large number of partners is a testament to the strength of our solution. While achieving meaningful use of health information technology is important, what makes us different is our solutions go beyond just the government requirements, said Michael Morgan, chief executive officer, Updox. We offer a complete communications and care coordination solution that works the way our customers work, to engage the entire care team, other providers, patients and their families. It drives us to go beyond just providers who are eligible for Meaningful Use but to provide the same communications and engagement solutions to all of healthcare, such as pharmacies and post-acute care. Healthcare is powered by communications and Updox is fast becoming the standard across all of healthcare.

To earn the certification, Updox was tested to be in accordance with applicable standards and certification criteria put forth by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

With more than 15 years of testing experience across various industries, Drummond Group LLC (DG) brings a high level of technical expertise to this process. Its healthcare experience also runs deep, having certified hundreds of EHRs since becoming an ACB in 2010.

Updox, which met the requirements for ONC 2015 Edition Health IT Modular Certification - Ambulatory, is a Direct messaging Health Information Services Provider (HISP) and patient engagement vendor.

This Health IT Module is 2015 Edition compliant and has been certified by an ONC-ACB in accordance with the applicable certification criteria adopted by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. This certification does not represent an endorsement by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

For details on the Updox Certification, please visit https://www.updox.com/updox-certifications

About Updox

Updox is the industry-leading healthcare care coordination solution. Named #571 on the Inc. 5000 list of America's fastest-growing private companies, Updox is integrated with more than 80 electronic health records (EHR) and serves more than 300,000 users and 72 million patients.

Through an extensive Direct messaging network and platform of apps, Updox connects various healthcare providers, including physicians, patients, payers, pharmacies, labs and healthcare partners. Once part of the Updox network, users or partners can access a full suite of applications including secure messaging, patient portal, appointment scheduling & reminders, credit card payments, and health alerts, all with the goal of driving improved outcomes through more efficient communications and better care coordination. Connect with Updox at http://www.updox.com.

About Drummond Group LLC

Drummond Group LLC is a global software test and certification lab that serves a wide range of vertical industries. In healthcare, Drummond Group LLC tests and certifies Controlled Substance Ordering Systems (CSOS), Electronic Prescription of Controlled Substances (EPCS) software and processes, and Electronic Health Records (EHRs)  designating the trusted test lab as the only third-party certifier of all three initiatives designed to move the industry toward a digital future. Founded in 1999, and accredited for the Office of the National Coordinator Health IT Certification Program as an Authorized Certification Body (ACB) and an Authorized Test Lab (ATL), Drummond Group LLC continues to build upon its deep experience and expertise necessary to deliver reliable and cost-effective services. For more information, please visit http://www.drummondgroup.com.
These courses would be ideal for healthcare professionals looking to expand their practice and grow their revenue.

Empire Medical Training offers over 27 accredited workshop training programs for physicians and health care professionals. These include nurse practitioners, DO, and DDS professionals. Empire Medical Training offers courses each year throughout the United States, Asia, and South America with topics ranging from Aesthetics, Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine, Pain Management, Surgery, as well as business topics for practice growth and compliance.

Empire Medical Training places a strong emphasis on the hands-on training portion of each procedural workshop to ensure the attendee is proficient in each technique. This month, they will visit states across the nation as well as Canada.

The first round of courses for the month will be held in Austin, TX. These courses are ideal for those looking to expand their medical practice to include aesthetic services. The weekend will kick off on August 11, 2017 with Platelet Rich Plasma training, which includes boosting the bodys natural healing process. Other courses this weekend will be Botulinum Toxin Training, Complete, Hands-On Dermal Fillers, and Advanced Botox and Dermal Fillers (Level II).

In addition to Austin, Empire Medical Training will be in Philadelphia, PA that same weekend. This location will include the following courses: Mesotherapy Training, Botulinum Toxin Training, Complete, Hands-On Dermal Filler, and Platelet Rich Plasma for Aesthetics.

Empire Medical Training is proud to offer courses in Toronto, Canada this month as well. The aesthetic courses will be held from August 25-27, 2017. These three-day workshops will include Platelet Rich Plasma for Aesthetics, Botulinum Toxin Training, and Complete, Hands-On Dermal Filler.

Other cities available this month include Orlando, FL, Nashville, TN, and Costa Mesa Orange County, CA. Each of these cities will include Platelet Rich Plasma for Aesthetics. Orlando, FL will exclusively offer courses in Pain Management such as Ultrasound Guided Interventional Pain Management Procedures. As President, Dr. Stephen Cosentino, states, These courses would be ideal for healthcare professionals looking to expand their practice and grow their revenue.

Empire Medical Training has been training Physicians and Health Care Practitioners since 1998, one of the longest procedural training institutions to date. With over 45,000 graduates in specialties such as Aesthetics, Anti-Aging and Weight Management Medicine, and Pain Management, Empire Medical Training is renowned throughout the United States and abroad as the premier academy for providing academic excellence. Dr. Stephen Cosentino pioneered ways to add new procedures and services as well as business strategies to a practice and improve patient care. As a result of Dr. Cosentinos commitment and dedication to the specialty and the field of medicine, Empire Medical Training is steadfast to developing new training programs and topics to broaden the scope of the primary care practitioner. All Empire courses are created through mainstream medicine using the most current technologies and standards of care.

For more information on the courses offered, or to register for a class, please visit their website, Facebook page, or call 866-366-1576.
Were thankful for publications like Workforces Hot List for validating the companies that have the expertise necessary to compliantly provide this vital service to employers.

InfoMart, a leading provider of global background checks and identity screening solutions, has been named on Workforce Magazine's annual "Hot List of Professional Background Checking Providers." The nationwide magazine, which is a publication of Human Capital Media (HCM), has chosen InfoMart for twelve consecutive years, citing the convenience of their platform and the evolution of InfoMart's technology as primary differentiators.

In the last year, InfoMart has redesigned their proprietary web-based submission and tracking system, WebASAP, and launched two first-to-market solutions, ASAP ID and Verified Watch List. Both of these systems alleviate the industry-wide challenge of properly identifying applicants before reporting criminal history matches to potential employers. As regulations increase, InfoMart leads the industry in altering processes and developing technology that keeps ahead of litigation to protect both the applicants and their clients. ASAP ID and Verified Watch List, as well as the revamp of WebASAP, simplify the background screening process and forefront the importance of compliance and applicant convenience.

"The background screening industry, which we've been instrumental in for nearly thirty years, is--necessarily--a highly regulated field, and it's only becoming more complex as contingent hiring and the global workforce expands," explains Tammy Cohen, InfoMart's Founder and Chief Visionary Officer. "The importance of experience in this field cannot be understated. Because of that, we're thankful for publications like Workforce's 'Hot List' for validating the companies that have the expertise necessary to compliantly provide this vital service to employers; we're thrilled that what keeps InfoMart a top provider is our experience bolstered by a continued objective to drive the industry forward."

In addition to this recognition from Workforce, InfoMart was recently named by HR Tech Outlook as one of the Top 10 Recruitment Software Solution Providers of 2017, and Business News Daily honored InfoMart for Best Background Check Services of 2017. Earlier this year, they earned the AJC's Top WorkPlaces Award as well as their fifth consecutive year as one of Atlanta's Best and Brightest Companies to Work For.

About InfoMart

InfoMart has been revolutionizing the global background and identity screening industry for over 27 years, providing businesses the information they need to make informed hiring decisions. They develop innovative technology that modernizes talent onboarding, including a first-to-market biometric identity authentication application and a verified sanctions search. The WBENC-certified company is a founding member of the National Association of Professional Background Screeners, and they have achieved NAPBS accreditation in recognition of their consistent business practices and commitment to compliance with the FCRA. The company is dedicated to customer service, speed, and accuracy, and it has been recognized for its success, workplace culture, and corporate citizenship with over 40 industry awards. To Get the Whole Story on InfoMart, please visit http://www.infomart-usa.com, follow @InfoMartUSA, or call (770) 984-2727.

For additional information, please contact:

Erica Clausen-Lee

InfoMart

(770) 984-2727 ext 1267

media(at)infomart-usa(dot)com
Gail Perry, CPA Our profession is in the process of being handed over to the brightest, most innovative, and most empathetic generation Ive seen in my lifetime. Those who are served by the accounting profession can look forward to fresh, out-of-the-box thinking

Accountex USA has added a fireside chat with CPA Practice Advisors Editor-in-Chief, Gail Perry as part of the new Emerging Leaders program. The interactive leadership series is being produced in collaboration with SUM Innovation. The session with Perry will focus on topics related to talent in the accounting profession, including managing multi-generational and diverse workforces.

The Emerging Leaders program will be delivered on September 7th from 8:45am to 8:00pm in a content-packed day. This day-long, immersive program is perfect for the emerging leader within small to medium-sized accounting practices, seeking ways to transform their firm, shift the culture, embrace technology, and influence others. Accountex USA will be held September 6-8, 2017 at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston.

Perry explained the significance of fostering young talent, CPA Practice Advisor has been naming the 40 Under 40 in the accounting profession for twelve years. Each year, its our honor to connect with and collaborate with these outstanding individuals. Our profession is in the process of being handed over to the brightest, most innovative, and most empathetic generation Ive seen in my lifetime. Those who are served by the accounting profession can look forward to fresh, out-of-the-box thinking and heartfelt actions to back up those great ideas.

The Emerging Leaders course at Accountex USA will demonstrate how leadership is a responsibility that carries weight and there are implications to choices and working with a team. Effectively executing key functions like delegation, project management, and goal setting are a part of the success equation. Attendees will learn how to grow their role in the organization and create an engaged workforce by cultivating talent, building great relationships, and providing the right type of feedback.

The Emerging Leaders program will also evaluate how advances in technology have created an abundance of profitable business opportunities for accounting professionals, and deepening authority in accounting technology creates a unique voice to influence others  both in and out of the office.

Accountex USA, the leading independent expo and conference on accounting technology. The event provides a three-day schedule focused around the solutions that move accounting and finance forward. The educational conference offers CPE with content from more than a single vendor perspective. Sessions are taught by experts, resulting in a high-caliber learning experience with real-world lessons and practical takeaways that can be implemented seamlessly. Registration is now open for full conference passes as well as expo-only admittance.

The Accountex USA expo brings together the largest selection of technology solutions and offers professionals in-person time to learn about the latest upcoming trends. The expo is the premier event of the year for the accounting and finance professional as well as the developer community. Last minute sponsor opportunities are available at http://www.accountexusa.com.

About Accountex USA

Accountex USA is the leading independent expo and conference focusing on accounting technology. Accountex USA focuses on the technology that moves accounting forward as well as the business processes and organizational success needed in the marketplace. It is an independent conference, which means that it offers more than one viewpoint of solutions. Accountex USA features the most accounting technology solutions at one major event, plus latest trends and the traditional technologies that still dominate, without any focus on a singular suite of products. http://www.accountexusa.com.
Wi-Tronix Violet Onboard Platform Ferromexs implementation of Violet shows the railroads commitment to innovation and to the utilization of state-of-the-art technology to improve safety and security, said Larry Jordan, Wi-Tronix President and Chief Technology Officer.

Wi-Tronix, LLC announced today that it will provide its advanced video analytics solution, Violet, to Mexican Class I railroad, Ferromex. Violet provides both snapshots and streaming video and associated data to railroads through a cloud-based SaaS solution to help railroads to improve their operational efficiency and safety procedures.

Wi-Tronix, the leader in smart rail technology, announced this significant deployment as a further expansion of its existing relationship with the railroad. The companies previously had announced in 2016 Ferromexs full-fleet deployment of the Wi-Tronix Wi-PU, the companys advanced on-board computing and SaaS-based data analytics solution.

This latest installation expands Ferromexs reliance on Wi-Tronix to support its ecosystem for the collection and utility of operational-critical data. The railroads access to this information improves overall efficiency and ensures that critical safety information is available in real time to all areas of railroad management. It also further demonstrates the Wi-Tronix systems expandability and its ability to grow with Ferromex into the future.

Violet camera and video analytics systems expand dramatically upon railroads traditional uses of locomotive digital video recorders (DVR). The Violet solution aggregates petabytes of video data in an Internet of Things approach to create actionable information from the locomotive video.

Ferromex will capitalize on Violets camera system to further ensure the safety of its crew and the security of both its assets and its cargo. Violets smart Visual Intelligence (VI) technology has the ability to provide the railroad with video analytics which can automatically monitor infrastructure and other mission-critical assets.

Ferromexs implementation of Violet shows the railroads commitment to innovation and to the utilization of state-of-the-art technology to improve safety and security, said Larry Jordan, Wi-Tronix President and Chief Technology Officer. This strategic decision to adopt Violet technology allows Ferromex to further optimize their technology investments and to most cost effectively solve their safety and security concerns. Violet VI and Virtual Reality (VR) technology takes safety and security solutions to new levels.

More information about Violet is accessible at www2.wi-tronix.com/violet.

About Wi-Tronix

Wi-Tronix is a leading provider of remote monitoring, video analytics, and predictive diagnostic solutions for high-value mobile assets in rail, marine, mining, and other industrial markets. Utilizing both edge computing and cloud-based SaaS services, Wi-Tronix provides real-time data aggregation and analytics on an unprecedented scale. Wi-Tronix works closely with its customers to improve the safety, service reliability, and operational efficiency of their transportation systems. The entire Wi-Tronix team is passionately committed to our global vision of saving lives and ensuring the most efficient and reliable movement of goods and people throughout the world. Wi-Tronix corporate headquarters are located in Bolingbrook, Illinois. For more information visit http://www.wi-tronix.com or follow Wi-Tronix on Twitter at @WiTronix.

About Ferromex

Ferrocarril Mexicano SA de CV (Ferromex) is a division of Mexico-based GrupoMexico. Ferromex operates the largest railroad network in Mexico with more than 10,000 km (6,200 miles) of track and connections to 8 seaports. The railroads mission is to Provide a safe, efficient and reliable transportation service that contributes to strengthen the connectivity and competitiveness of Mexico. For more information on Ferromex, please visit their company website at http://www.ferromex.com.mx.

For further information contact:

Chad Jasmin

Email: media(at)wi-tronix(dot)com

# # #
Badgr Solar Eclipse Badge Whether youre in the direct path of the eclipse or watching from afar, anyone in the world can earn Open Badges to commemorate their participation in this once-in-a-lifetime event. -- Wayne Skipper, CEO, Concentric Sky.

Badgr, the worlds leading open-source digital badging platform, is pleased to announce the gamification of the total solar eclipse on August 21, 2017. Anyone in the world can earn Solar Eclipse 2017 badges by visiting http://badgetheeclipse.com on the day of the eclipse.

Whether youre in the direct path of the eclipse or watching from afar, anyone in the world can earn Open Badges to commemorate their participation in this once-in-a-lifetime event, said Wayne Skipper, CEO of Concentric Sky.

Participants can earn up to 4 eclipse-related badges:

Eclipse Day 2017: Check in to show your interest in the eclipse at any time on August 21st from anywhere in the world.

Eclipse: Check in on August 21st from a location where the eclipse is visible, at least partially.

Path of Totality: Check in on August 21st from within the geographical region where the eclipse will be total.

Total Eclipse: Check in from within the path of totality while under total eclipse.

When participants visit the website, Badgr will use their location to allow them to claim the appropriate badge. Participants can earn more than one badge.

The Open Badges standard upon which Badgr is based is seeing growing adoption around the world. Originally created by Mozilla with funding from the MacArthur Foundation, the Open Badges standard was supervised by the Badge Alliance until January 2017, when it was transferred to IMS Global Learning Consortium - an open-governance, member-based standards consortium that is committed to furthering the adoption, integration, and portability of digital badges to meet the needs of learners, educators, and employers.

Originally created to serve as the official reference implementation for Open Badges during Concentric Skys stewardship of the Badge Alliance in 2015, the Badgr project has grown into a key part of the technology infrastructure for hundreds of the worlds leading academic institutions. Learn more at: http://badgr.io

###

Concentric Sky is an award-winning software development firm founded in 2005. Our partners include a number of prominent organizations such as The World Bank, The United Nations, NASA, NSF and NIH, as well as major publishers such as Encyclopedia Britannica, National Geographic and Cengage Learning. Badgr is a registered trademark of Concentric Sky.
These relatively quick, entirely online courses are a great fit for many students and will empower them to improve their careers and, ultimately, their lives.

Career Step, an online provider of career-focused education and professional training, is pleased to announce Wilkes Community College as its newest academic partner.

Wilkes Community College is passionate in providing all members of their community with quality education, said Glade Tidwell, Career Step Vice President of Academic Partnerships. We are excited to partner with them as they help students in the state of North Carolina further their career goals.

The North Carolina-based community college joins Career Step's network of academic partners, which includes more than 150 other educational institutions such as University of Central Missouri, California State University, Bakersfield and Louisiana State University.

Several new Career Step courses will be added to Wilkes Community Colleges continuing education catalog as a result of the partnership. The new courses include Professional Medical Coding and Billing, Medical Assisting, Medical Transcription and Editing, Medical Administrative Assistant with EHR, Pharmacy Technician  ASHP, Computer Technician and Healthcare IT programs.

We are excited to offer these high-quality programs to the students in our community because we feel the training will prepare students for successful careers in the healthcare industry, said Jeff Foster, Director, Innovative Programming & Business Training at Wilkes Community College. These relatively quick, entirely online courses are a great fit for many students and will empower them to improve their careers and, ultimately, their lives.

For more than a decade Career Step has partnered with academic institutions to provide industry-leading career training courses. These partnerships enable Career Step to assist students across the county further their education while providing institutions a turn-key solution to prepare more students for successful careers.

More information about Career Steps partnership with Wilkes Community College is available at CareerStep.com/wilkescc. To learn more about Career Steps academic partnership program, please visit CareerStep.com/partner.

About Career Step

Career Step is an online provider of career-focused education and professional training. The company has trained over 100,000 students for new careers as well as more than 100,000 healthcare professionals through its various continuing education courses. More than 150 colleges and universities nationwide have partnered with Career Step, and the company provides training for several of the largest and most respected healthcare employers in the nation. Career Step is committed to helping students and practicing healthcare professionals alike gain the skills they need to be successful in the workplaceimproving lives, advancing careers and driving business results through education. More information can be found at http://www.careerstep.com or 1-800-246-7837.
(LtoR) Cheng Xueqin, Anji Play Founder, and Mary Anne Kreshka, Sierra College Instructor, meet in China to plan pilot program at the Sierra College Child Development Center. We are looking forward to hosting a world renowned educator whose innovative approach encourages creating and making.

Sierra College and Hacker Lab announced that Cheng Xueqin, Director of the Office of Pre-Primary Education, Anji County Department of Education, Zhejiang Province, China will present Doing/Seeing/Thinking/Making: The Ecology of Anji Play, on Tuesday, August 15 from 6-7:30 PM at Hacker Lab Powered by Sierra College at 4415 Granite Drive, Rocklin, CA. The community is invited.

Xueqin will speak about her role leading the development of the Anji Play philosophy and social ecology over the past 16 years, explained Mary Anne Kreshka, Part-time Instructor, Human Development/Early Childhood Education, Sierra College. This event will provide rare insight directly from the founder into the design and development of the practices, materials, environments and technology that define the Anji Play ecology, said Kreshka.

Kreshka explained that Anji Play is the focus of a unique pilot program at the Sierra College Child Development Center (CDC), administered by a collaborative partnership that includes the Nevada County Superintendent of Schools Office, Placer Community Action Council-Kidz Kount, Inc., Early Head Start/Head Start, Sierra College, and the California State Preschool Program. Through the partnership, we are seeking to develop a model for local, interconnected and scalable educational change in close collaboration with Ms. Cheng and her team of Anji educators.

As a result of Sierra Colleges partnership with Hacker Lab, the large-scale play materials were built at the mid-town Sacramento makerspace. The system was designed in Anji and standardized by Grass Valley native and renowned designer Cas Holman, Faculty Department of Industrial Design, Rhode Island School of Design, said Kreshk. Hacker Lab member, Brannon Harris fabricated the play equipment for Sierra College.

Eric Ullrich, Co-Founder, Hacker Lab, believes that this is the first collaboration between a makerspace and the Anji Play collaborative system of play. Philosophically, makerspaces and Anji Play are very compatible so it was an amazing opportunity to build the play equipment for Sierra College in our space, said Ullrich. We are looking forward to hosting a world renowned educator whose innovative approach encourages creating and making.

Brannon Harris spent four weeks collaborating with the design team, developing prototypes and producing the final equipment. Working on this project, designed to provide a rich learning experience for young children, has actually provided me the richest learning opportunity I have had here at the Hacker Lab, said Brannon. It involved risk, reflection and real joy.

The design of Anji Play practices, materials, environments and technology develops from a primary respect for the childs interests, thinking, experience and voice, for the connection between the child and the local community and for the complexity, depth and non-linearity of the childs learning and development. The Anji Play approach is the focus of pilot programs at Sierra College Child Development Center, Sierra College, Grass Valley CA; Madison Public Library, Madison, WI; One City Early Learning Centers, Madison, WI and Contra Costa College, San Pablo, CA to develop a model for local, interconnected and scalable educational change.

About Sierra College

Sierra College District is rising to meet the needs of our community, serving 3200 square miles of Northern California with campuses in Roseville, Rocklin, Grass Valley and Truckee. With over 120 degree and certificate programs, Sierra College is Northern California's top community college for transfers to four-year universities and offers career/technical training and classes for upgrading job skills. Sierra graduates can be found in businesses and industries throughout the region. More information at http://www.sierracollege.edu.
DJ, producer, and actor, Kristian Nairn will be releasing his third solo single, titled Bigger, on Friday, August 11th via Radikal Records. Renowned locally and internationally in the field of music and performance, Kristian Nairn is a prolific homegrown talent. Widely recognized for his portrayal of the lovable and loyal Hodor on HBOs hit series Game of Thrones, Nairn has been DJing and producing for over a decade, holding down a residency for eleven years at Kremlin, one of Irelands most popular and enduring venues. Nairn is looking to build on the success of is past singles, Up/Beacon (feat. Leanne Robinson) and 4Love (feat. Salt Ashes)" which received rave reviews from publication like Ministry of Sound, Thump/Vice, and The Verge, with the release of Bigger.

Excited to share his new track, Bigger, with the world Nairn says, Ive been fortunate enough to tour the world over the past few years playing at some of the most amazing venues, with such incredible crowds, and this track really evolved from the sound of my live set. This is a much bigger sound for me than any of my previous releases, hence the name, and I cant wait to have it out in the world.

Watch Kristian Nairn's "Bigger" Music Video: https://youtu.be/UMNTXnt67bU

Kristian Nairn is currently traveling the United States, bringing his live DJ set, titled Rave of Thrones, to cities including Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Sacramento, Denver, and more. All upcoming tour dates are listed at https://www.kristiannairn.com/tour-dates

On Friday, August 11th Bigger will be available for digital purchase on all major platforms, including Amazon, iTunes, Google Play, and Bandcamp. The single will also be available to stream on all major streaming platforms, including Apple Music and Spotify.

Track-listing:

1. Bigger (Radio Edit)

2. Bigger

###

About Radikal Records:

Established in 1990, and based just outside of NYC, Radikal Records is one of the United States leading independent record labels. In business for more than 25 years, they are focused on marketing, promoting, and distributing artists  not only to audiences in the USA, but also on a global basis to partners world-wide. Artists included on their roster over the years include: 2 Unlimited, N-Trance, Zombie Nation, ATB, Yello, Scooter, Schiller, Blank & Jones, Cosmic Gate, Sinead OConnor, Ayah Marar, and many others. For more information visit: http://www.radikal.com
Alleged hacker acquitted of all felony charges in Brooklyn Not guilty verdict for alleged hacker

A federal jury of the Eastern District of New York has acquitted Fabio Gasperini of all the cybercrime felony charges against him. Official sources confirmed that this was the first ever click fraud case to proceed to trial in the United States.

According to court documents, Gasperini, a 34-year old resident of Rome, Italy, was arrested in the Netherlands last June 18, 2016, and later extradited to the United States. The indictment charged Gasperini with two counts of aggravated Computer Intrusion, Wire Fraud Conspiracy, Wire Fraud, and Money Laundering. If convicted of all counts of the indictment, Gasperini faced up to 70 years in prison.

Gasperini was represented by Simone Bertollini, an Italian American attorney. Court filings show that, at the arraignment, held on April 24, 2017, Bertollini had requested a speedy trial, which the Court set to July 24, 2017. Gasperinis attorney had also requested Gasperinis release on bail, which the District Judge denied. Gasperini later appealed his custody determination to the Second Circuit, without success.

In the two weeks of trial, prosecutors called over 20 witnesses and cybersecurity experts, including the Director of the Internet Storm Center. Prosecutors attempted to prove that Gasperini created and controlled an army of 150,000 computers around the world to run an auto-click scheme that defrauded online advertisers. During trial, Bertollini worked to undo testimony from expert witnesses, advertising executives, FBI investigators and business owners called by the government.

A large part of the evidence introduced at trial consisted of emails sent and received by Gasperini. Before trial, Bertollini had sought to suppress the emails, arguing that they were seized through to an extraterritorial application of the Storage Communication Act. Last year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit decidedin the famous Microsoft casethat the SCA does not apply outside the United States.

Another substantial part of evidence introduced at trial consisted of screenshots from the Internet Archive, also known as the WayBack Machine. Bertollini had sought suppression of the screenshots, arguing that they cannot be used against a defendant in a criminal case.

During closing arguments, Bertollini disputed the narrative of events given by the prosecutors. Bertollini said the government had presented no substantial evidence, and only independent theories that did not connect. He pointed out that none of the experts who testified had seen the actual botnet, all the evidence presented was circumstantial, and never led back to his client. Bertollini also wondered aloud how Gasperini could be convicted of conspiracy, when there were no co-defendants charged in the case.

On August 4, 2017, after two days of deliberation, the jury returned a not guilty verdict on all the felony charges. The jury found Gasperini guilty of one misdemeanor count of Computer Intrusion, which carries a maximum statutory penalty of one year. The verdict was a big surprise for many cybersecurity experts that have been closely watching the case.

Today, five days after the jury verdict, the District Court sentenced Gasperini to 12 months in prison, a $100,000 fine, and 12 months of supervised release. Experts confirmed that no one before had been given such an extreme sentence on a misdemeanor computer intrusion charge. Bertollini defined the sentence as unconscionable, and indicated that an appeal to the Second Circuit has already been filed.

Gasperini is expected to be returned to Italy within days, as his 13-month pretrial detention will be credited against todays sentence.

The case is USA v. Gasperini, case number 1:16-cr-00441, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
Vendavo Participants will hear how to establish price segmentations that correlate with company business models and key data elements.

To help distributors develop successful price segmentation strategies that lead to setting the right price for optimal profitability, Vendavo, a leading provider of intelligent pricing and margin optimization solutions, will host a webcast, 5 Key Steps to Intelligent Pricing on August 15 at 1 p.m. ET. Participation is free.

Led by Mitch Lee and Kim Long, both business consultants for Vendavo and Philip Denkabe, a Vendavo pricing scientist, participants will hear how to establish segmentations that correlate with company business models and key data elements.

In the session, pricing professionals will learn:



Why segmentation sets the stage for intelligent pricing

The impact of grouping commodity with non-commodity items

The risks of margin-based optimization model

Best practices for setting target prices

Participants will also receive a Best Practices whitepaper. Time for questions and answers have been allotted. Webcast registration is available online now.

##

About Vendavo

Vendavo harnesses the power of Big Data to generate actionable insights that enable businesses to sell more profitably. Our margin and profit optimization solutions help global customers make better data-driven decisions for pricing and sales effectiveness. Using cutting-edge analytics and deep industry expertise, Vendavo boasts the largest number of implementations for B2B enterprises in the industry, having helped more than 300 company divisions dramatically increase revenue, improve profit margins and maximize shareholder value. Located across the globe, Vendavo is the solution of choice for Global 2000 companies in industries such as chemicals, industrial manufacturing, high-tech, and distribution.
TPC Training Systems now provides training to over 130,000 active employees in TPC Online, its web-based learning platform. TPC Online's ability to administer, track, assess, and report on employee skills training has helped it grow from 5,000 trainees the first year to over 130,000 this year

TPC Training Systems now provides training to over 130,000 active employees in TPC Online, its web-based learning platform. This milestone comes as TPC Online celebrates its twelve-year anniversary. Since its release, TPC Online has grown to train an average of 10,800 new workers each year. TPC Online brings technical skills and safety-related content to clients seeking training in maintenance, plant, and manufacturing environments with the deepest industrial training catalog in the industry.

Since we introduced TPC Online in 2005, it quickly became the preferred method in technical skills training among our clients, said Andrew Kauser, Chief Strategy Officer, TPC Training Systems. TPC Online's ability to administer, track, assess, and report on employee skills training has helped it grow from 5,000 trainees the first year to over 130,000 this year.

Online training is growing as companies recognize the many benefits online training programs provide. TPC Online enables employees to increase skills through courses and learning plans that are fully customizable to the needs of the business and student. Interactive online training often results in a reduction of learning time, flexible scheduling, greater retention of concepts, and more.

Training administrators have adopted TPC Online as their primary training tool largely because it improves the oversight of maintenance training programs. The ability to manage specific content for unique users, all while tracking and evaluating each workers progress, has proven to be a valuable feature. Administrators can train at one facility or globally using consistent and cost-effective industrial skills training through TPC Online.

TPC Training Systems launched a new TPC Online product, TPC Online Professional, in 2017 that has accelerated the platforms growth. TPC Online Pro delivers training to facilities with smaller maintenance teams through a monthly subscription. TPC offers a 7 day trial period of the new system which hosts a curated set of TPCs most popular industrial skills training courses and essential reporting capabilities.

For more information about TPC Training Systems, please visit tpctraining.com. You can also contact us at 800.837.8872.

About TPC Training Systems: TPC Training Systems is a privately held company with headquarters in Buffalo Grove, IL. As part of Telemedia, LLC, the company offers a complete portfolio of training methods, including online, classroom, and on-the-job. The company has helped more than 40,000 client sites globally to train over 3.5 million skilled workers.
. To do so, first type the original number into the text box. Then click on the "Scientific Notation" option located at the top of the floating window. Finally, click on the "Standard" button found beneath the text box to display your result. This program is useful for scientists and engineers working with decimal-based numbers. It provides easy access to those who need to convert those numbers into more compact forms without having to do heavy math calculations first.

Scientific notation is a way to express very large or very small numbers. It is used in physics, chemistry and other fields where large numbers are common. Those numbers are written as a power of 10 followed by a number with an exponent. For example, 1,000,000 (one million) is written as 1  103. The exponent shows how many zeros are after the first digit. For example, 1,000,001 is written as 1  102. Scientific notation is a useful tool for making calculations easier. You can use it to write down very big or very small numbers in one step instead of writing out both the large and small numbers separately. You can also use it to express large or small numbers in terms of other units like centimeters or millimeters.

Scientific notation solver is an online tool that can be used to convert any number into scientific notation. Simply enter any number to the left of the decimal point and it will automatically convert it into a scientific notation equivalent. This web tool can be very helpful when you need to convert a large number into scientific notation. However, please note that this online tool can only convert numbers that are in scientific format. For example, it cannot convert a non-scientific number like "1,085" into a scientific notation equivalent. It is also important to keep in mind that this web tool only works when converting numbers from one particular format to another. For example, if you want to change a non-scientific number like "1,085" into standard format, then you will have to use another online tool like NumberFormatting.com.
This 'Back to School' scholarship is intended to give students an additional financial incentive to go back to school this September.

New England College of Business (NECB) announced today that it is offering a back to school scholarship. New students who are enrolling in a degree or certificate program that starts on August 21, 2017 or September 5, 2017 are eligible to apply.

The back to school scholarship is available to both undergraduate students and graduate students who meet admissions criteria. There is no cost to apply for the scholarship.

In order to qualify, undergraduate students must be taking at least one course in both the September 5 and October 30 terms, and must transfer a minimum of 24 credits worth of approved courses. Students who are awarded the scholarship will receive a 50% discount off of one courses tuition in both terms. The scholarship cannot be combined with any other institutional award.

Graduate students must be taking at least one course in each of the August 21, October 2 and November 13 terms. The scholarship will take the form of a 50% tuition discount in one course of the August term, and it can be combined with other institutional awards.

The back to school scholarship is not transferable, and cannot be used to pay for eResources fees or books. However, it can be awarded in addition to a corporate discount rate.

At New England College of Business, we work hard to make education as affordable as possible, said NECB President Howard Horton, Esq. This 'Back to School' scholarship is intended to give students an additional financial incentive to go back to school this September.

To apply for the scholarship, students must email scholarships(at)necb(dot)edu and request an application form. Interested graduate students must complete and submit the application by August 16, and undergraduates must apply by August 30.

About New England College of Business

Founded in 1909, New England College of Business (NECB) is a leading higher education institution offering quality education and online degrees at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Serving students across the United States, NECB is an online college accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) and is licensed by the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education. For information on NECB, visit https://www.necb.edu/, follow NECB on Twitter or connect with the school on Facebook.
Cybereason, the leading provider of behavioral-based enterprise attack protection, including endpoint detection and response, next-generation antivirus, and active monitoring services, today announces its inaugural industry event: DEEP 2017. This invite-only forum will feature dynamic thought leaders from the security industry and beyond including Steve Wozniak and Dan Ariely. Taking place on October 3rd and 4th at the Liberty Hotel in Boston, the format will include short, thoughtful talks that ask deep and smart questions and inspire audience participation.

The security industry is overdue for a new approach, said Lior Div, co-founder and CEO, Cybereason. In order to truly protect people and information in this digital, connected world, we have to foster fresh thinking. DEEP 2017 will be a platform that brings together maverick thought leaders to inspire, to enable and to equip our industry with the tools to ultimately reverse the adversarys advantage in our favor.

Current speakers span the technology industry across public and private sectors and include:

Steve Wozniak: Legendary Apple Co-Founder

Dan Ariely: New York Times best-selling author of The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty and Predictably Irrational; Professor, Duke University

Robert Bigman: Former Chief Information Security Officer of the CIA (1982-2012)

Ari Schwartz: Former Senior Director for Cybersecurity, United States National Security Council at The White House

Laura Louthan: Founder, Angel Cybersecurity; Former Director of Security, Sephora

Hans Olsen: Assistant Undersecretary for Homeland Security; Senior Advisor, Anti-Terrorism and Cyber Security, Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security

Ran Levi: Science author; Host and producer of Israel's most popular independent podcast.

For speaker and program updates or to request an invite to the event, please visit: DEEP 2017.

About Cybereason

Cybereason is the leading provider of behavioral-based enterprise attack protection, including endpoint detection and response (EDR), next-generation antivirus (NGAV), and active monitoring services. The Cybereason solution reduces security risk, provides complete visibility, and increases analyst efficiency and effectiveness. Cybereason partners with enterprises to gain the upper hand over adversaries. Cybereason is privately held and headquartered in Boston, with offices in London, Tel Aviv and Tokyo.

Learn more: https://www.cybereason.com/

Follow us: Blog | Twitter | Facebook

Media Contact:

Bill Keeler

Director, Public Relations

Cybereason

bill.keeler(at)cybereason(dot)com

(929) 259-3261
Will Sommerville joins the Consularcare team The world is changing, business travel is changing, and the global marketplace is evolving, but the support available to travellers is not keeping pace

Consularcare, the first and only company to provide private consular support services for overseas travellers, has announced the appointment of Will Sommerville as its Business Development Director.

Will has over 20 years experience in sales and business development, much of which was earned in the insurance and assistance industries, including key roles within the Collinson Group and Healix International.

Mike Jones, Consularcares Commercial Director, explains what a pivotal role Will will play in the company. The benefits and value of our products and services are internationally acknowledged now, so it is crucial that our Business Development Director not only understands the global marketplace, but has an appreciation of the key drivers and client requirements. Wills knowledge, experience and expertise within the industry make him perfect for the role.

Consularcare offers market-leading solutions for everyone travelling abroad, including visa enquiries, consultancy, and ConsularAssist. ConsularAssist services can benefit individual travellers wanting peace of mind or large organisations seeking to bolster their duty of care provision. Consularcare can assist with preparation for any eventuality and provide support in the event of an incident abroad. Its solutions have been developed to educate, assist and advise, and as the companys staff are former diplomats, customers can be confident that their expertise is second to none.

The world is changing, business travel is changing, and the global marketplace is evolving, but the support available to travellers is not keeping pace, says Will. Through its unique products and services, Consularcare is able to bridge the gap between help currently available in the private sector, such as medical and security assistance, and the support provided by governments. As a world-first, the reach for Consularcare is enormous, and I believe that it should form an integral part of all corporate travel and insurance policies for both leisure and business travel. I believe that there is massive scope for this service and as Business Development Director I am keen to take Consularcare to the next level and be part of the team.

For more details about Consularcare and its services call 020 3198 1890 or visit: http://www.consularcare.com
William Levy hosts a private dinner to benefit A Thousand Joys serving children suffering from trauma. "I believe all kids have the right to dream big and be successful in life. When they have the right tools, this can become a reality. - William Levy

Los Angeles, CA  August 11 to September 4 - Children from the groundbreaking Los Angeles nonprofit organization A Thousand Joys (ATJ) will benefit from an intimate dinner hosted by film and TV star, William Levy. And, eight lucky fans have a chance to get a seat at Levys table at a top eatery in Beverly Hills.

Levy was seen most recently starring alongside Milla Jovovich in Resident Evil: The Final Chapter and is currently in pre-production for his next project, Killing Sarai. The Cuban-born actor, named by Variety as one of the countrys 10 top Latino stars, launched a campaign this month to raise awareness and funds to help children whose dreams are challenged by the devastating effects of trauma.

The contest is simple. Participants can go to http://athousandjoys.org/william-levy/ and donate for a chance to win! Every $10 donation equals one chance to win one seat at the dinner table with Levy. Four winners will be randomly selected though a drawing. And, if fans want to ensure a seat at Levys table, up to two people can purchase a seat for $5,000 for themselves and a guest. Raffle winners will also receive up to $500 for travel expenses and hotel accommodations for two evenings. Personally signed autographs will be provided to the first 100 donors above $100. Since all levels of donations are important, a digital gift will be given to donors of less than $10.

Levy said, I am excited to help spread the word about an organization called A Thousand Joys, who spend every day helping kids deal with violence, poverty, neglect and other conditions that are out of their control by teaching them things like breathing, yoga and mindfulness. In other words, empowering them with coping skills. He went on to say, I believe all kids have the right to dream big and be successful in life. When they have the right tools, this can become a reality.

A Thousand Joys Transform program currently focuses on students in communities with some of the highest rates of poverty and violent crime. Research shows that exposure to violence can cause trauma that can keep a child on edge and can often lead to angry outbursts and an inability to focus on instructions and tasks. Trauma is one of the top predictors of school suspension and academic failure. Transform employs both traditional and non-traditional activities such as yoga, meditation, mindfulness and drumming to emphasize physical, emotional and psychological balance. This in turn helps students to gain a sense of empowerment and creates lifelong habits of emotional health and self-care.

A Thousand Joys aims to achieve a fundamental shift in thinking and practice in our school system that will result in more positive life outcomes, says ATJs Chief Executive Officer Liza Auciello, PsyD. Students entering our program often lack the skills to effectively manage their behaviors and emotions. After participating in our program, 80% of students report being better able to mange stress, while 75% are better able to handle anger.

This new mindset, Auciello says, helps students build coping and life skills that enable them to focus in the classroom and have a successful academic career.

A Thousand Joys founder, Raul Alvarado, says the organization plans to expand and replicate the Transform program to help many more students, their families and school staff. To this end, ATJ is converting their Transform classes into a new digital format that can be rolled out to thousands of Los Angeles students within the coming year. Alvarado says, We are leveraging the training and support material that we have developed over the past 10 years to create a new platform to reach children with the greatest need. Our goal is to provide the training and support to stop the destructive effects of toxic stress as early as possible to avoid the detrimental effects that start in early childhood.

For more information about A Thousand Joys and how to enter the contest to have dinner with William Levy, visit http://www.athousandjoys.org/william-levy/.
Indeed, a poll released Wednesday shows 87% of Cook County residents are upse t about the new one cent per ounce sugary drink tax, making a 2 liter bottle of soda pop cost 68 cents more.

CHICAGO  To the residents and businesses of Cook County, we have heard you loud and clear and so today I have filed an ordinance to repeal the Cook County Sweetened Beverage Tax, said GOP Commissioner Sean Morrison at a press conference held Wednesday at the Cook County Building.

Joining Commissioner Morrison as co-sponsors of the repeal ordinance are Commissioner Richard Boykin (D-1), Commissioner John A. Fritchey (D-12), Commissioner Timothy O. Schneider (R-15), and Commissioner Jeffrey R. Tobolski (D-16).

There was equal bi-partisan support opposing this tax last year, but the tax passed by a single vote and that tie-breaking vote was cast by President Preckwinkle herself.

The Beverage Tax is an absolute disaster for Cook County. Residents and businesses are getting punished by it. After witnessing the tremendous fallout and public backlash, I believe there are some on the board who voted to support the tax that could re-consider their original vote and support this repeal, said Commissioner Morrison.

Commissioner Morrison believes the Beverage Tax is the wrong remedy for Cook Countys fiscal issues. He added, There are alternative means to address those fiscal issues and we plan to present those remedies to President Preckwinkle as she prepares her 2018 budget proposal.

The repeal ordinance will be taken up by the Cook County Board on September 13.

"I call on all residents, businesses and municipal leaders to contact your Cook County Commissioner and encourage them to vote to repeal the Beverage Tax," Morrison said. He also strongly encourages taxpayers to attend the September 13 board meeting at the Cook County Building in downtown Chicago.

The Cook County Sweetened Beverage Tax has had a devastating impact on both Cook County residents and businesses since its enactment on August 2. The bipartisan coalition of commissioners sponsoring the repeal ordinance believes its in the best interest of the public and Cook County government to repeal this regressive tax.

The long-term damage caused by this tax to Cook Countys local economy and to its residents greatly outweigh the short-term fiscal benefit it will provide to the county budget.
This affirmation was done in consultation with all stakeholders of the association who were in support of governments move to ensure quality instead of quantity.

READ ALSO: Mathew Opoku wants basic school pupils to close at 4pm

President of GRNA, Mr. Kwaku Asante-Krobea explained that health training institutions in the country have in the past few years overpopulated their campuses irrespective of not having the capacity to accommodate them.

Health training institutions as it is now dont have the capacity to admit the number of students they did last year but they were doing so because of the pressure of the candidates that were putting in their application and also from other stakeholder institutions he said.

READ ALSO: Katanga threatens demonstration if fees are not reduced

With this change, both public and private institutions accredited to train nurses in Ghana will reduce their intake by almost 1,600 this year.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council has already met with all 75 accredited institutions training nurses in Ghana in relation to the new change.

A circular signed by Mr Felix Nyante, Registrar of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) reads:

The Nursing and Midwifery Council of Ghana would like to respectfully inform you of the admission quota for the 2017 admissions to nursing and midwifery training institutions. This follows discussions held in Koforidua on June 27, 2017 on the subject matter.

READ ALSO: Two students of University Of Ghana arrested for posting nudes online for airtime

Last year, 7,335 students were admitted to the various institutions, but the number will reduce to 5,737 when the directive is implemented.
And with such success accrued in showbiz and music, a celebrity of Sarkodie's can surely afford as many cars as he wants and "maybe" does not need to be using public transportation.

But Sarkodie did the "unthinkable" when he decided to hope into a taxi on August 10th.

The artiste decided to share a video of his trip on his social media pages with the caption "Taxi is Life".

In one of the videos, Sarkodie is heard engaging the taxi driver in a light conversation.

He asks the driver how much he fare would be, but the visibly starstruck driver could only respond, "How much are you willing to pay?".

Sarkodie jokingly responds, "if that is the case, then I won't pay oooh". He proceeds to show the driver where to stop as the video comes to an end.

READ ALSO: 5 times Sarkodie raised the fashion bar
This was followed by Dike's arraignment at the Ikeja Magistrates Court for two counts of assault and causing grievous bodily harm, Daily Post reports.

The drama came about after the accused caught Egbo having sex with another man in a vehicle which led to an uncontrollable anger.

The injury to the baby occurred while he was trying to discipline his wife whom he beat severally with a plank.

Speaking before court magistrate B.O. Osunsanmi, the accused mentioned that Egbo's promiscuity began when he lost his job.

In his attempt to confront the man who he caught with his wife, he disclosed that the latter prevented him from doing so by engaging him physically in a bid to take the plank from him.

He however met the opposition with his superior strength causing her to receive bodily harm which led her to report him to the police.

On the day of the incident, at about 12 .30 am, I came back to meet another man making love to my wife inside a vehicle.

I immediately picked up a stick, opened the door of the vehicle and hit the man on the head with it.

My wife took the stick from me and while we were dragging it, the man escaped.

I later overpowered her and beat her mercilessly with the stick.

She immediately ran towards where our baby was laid and picked him up. When she tried to run away with the baby, she fell and the baby fell into the fire, Dike told the court.
He believes that the government would put itself in a difficult situation if it goes ahead to implement the move.

I think that they are creating difficulties for themselves because the allowance is not something that should be brought back at this stage, he said on Accra-based Citi FM.

The government has sent a directive to all public nursing and midwifery schools to reduce their intake to only 60 percent of the schools capacity.

READ ALSO: Government cuts intake of nurses

Many believe that the decision to reduce intake of nurses now is to enable the government to fulfil its promise of restoring the nurses trainee allowance withdrawn by the previous NDC administration.

The Health Ministry has since explained that the decision to reintroduce the quota system is to improve the quality of nurses.

But Segbefia believes that the current quota system could only create shortage of nurses in the country since less nurses will be trained.

He explained that during his administration, they scrapped the allowance with the intention of introducing the trainees to the student loan scheme to increase admissions into the health institutions.

The laws at the time, however, prevented the trainees from getting access to the loan scheme.

But Segbefia said that they were in the process of bringing out policies to enable the students access the scheme but were not able to do so after losing power to the NPP.

We had said by this time that we will pay them 150GHc but we were hoping to change the law if we had come back to power and the student loan was available, we would not have gone back to dealing with the allowances we would have said that this is the student loan, apply for it like anybody else and go to work. And when you finish what we will give you as a guarantee is that we will try and employ you even on a staggered basis but we will make sure that we employ you because we need all the nurses.
The incident occurred at Enyan Abasa, a farming community in the Central region.

The deceased, who has been identified as Adwoa, was said to have mistaken the locally made liquor to water.

Reports say the akpeteshi which caused the girls death belongs to her mother, Nana Enyiwa.

Residents told Accra-based Adom FM that the mother often uses the akpeteshie as an appetizer before her meals.

The girl mistakenly drank it and began suffocating and bleeding through her nostrils.
The plaintiff, Nii Agyemankese II, said Adama Latse is an imposter and should therefore not be allowed to perform the traditional rites of the Ga people during the upcoming Homowo festival.

The suit was filed on August 8, and has six other defendants including David Tackie Commey Lomoko, Jonathan Tackie Commey Lomoko, Samuel Ago Lantei Lamptey.

As the Ga people prepare for the upcoming festival, there is controversy as to who will perform the Ga rites in the capacity as Ga Mantse.

As it stands now, there are four claimants to the stool since the demise of Ga Mantse Nii Amugi II in 2004.

READ ALSO:Another Ga Mantse installed

Apart from the current Ga Mantse, Boni Nii Tackie Adama Latse II, the two other claimants to the stool are Ayittey Canada, now deceased, and Dr Kelvin Tackie Abia.

In February this year, the Abola Piam kingmakers also installed one Nii Obli as the new Ga Mantse, hoping that the move will bring an end to the chieftaincy issues.

But that has not materialised, as another claimant to the stool, Nii Agyemankese II is praying the court to place an interlocutory injunction on Nii Adama Latse and stop him from sprinkling the Kpokpoi during the festival.

He also wants the court to prevent the defendant from entering the Ga Paramount Stool House at Abola Tunma We to perform any rite.
Richard Yaw Boadi, was sent to the Greater Accra Regional (Ridge Hospital) Hospital Tuesday afternoon in critical condition after he was allegedly shot by a car dealer.

Eyewitnesses said that the mechanic had asked the car dealer to move his vehicle away from where it was parked to make way for others moving into and out of the warehouse.

But the suspect got furious and had a heated exchange of words with the mechanic.

In the midst of the misunderstanding, the suspect fired a warning shot before aiming at the mechanic.

Residents did not take the shooting lightly and started attacking the suspect in his car.

READ ALSO: SHS student jailed for robbery in Prestea

Scores of them hurled stones and other objects at the vehicle of the suspect.

He would have been lynched if the police had not arrived in time.
He said it is time people in the party voice out their minds to the former President.

According to him, he has since sent a personal congratulatory message to Dr Sawyerr for speaking.

He said "Infact, I congratulated her, I sent a text message congratulating her for speaking her mind. I think it is very good for the party and good for the country. People should speak up their minds, they shouldnt be intimidated by anybody or terrorised by anybody. She's spoken her mind and she is entitled to do so."

The former national chairman speaking in an interview on Accra-based Joy FM, said he was not surprised about the article Dr Valerie wrote criticising and condemning Mr Rawlings.

Valerie Sawyerr reacting to a publication on the recent happenings in the NDC, she asked why Rawlings has remained silent on the corruptions under the government of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

In a statement, she wrote "They say he booms  I say he buzzes  like an agitated mosquito  looking for his next victim. Again, he heads for other Heads of State  describing their governance as riddled with corruption. Is he trying to say that his reign was unblemished or that his twin brothers (President Akufo-Addo) reign is unsullied? Really?"

Dr Asamoah speaking on the article by the deputy Chief of Staff, he said "maybe the language maybe kind of flowery in places, but the point she is making is that he [Rawlings] is attacking everybody and he falls out with everybody including people he has worked closely with and that is what she is criticising and I think she's got a point there.

"People must be used to criticism, that is the whole thing, why should the partys division be wider or deepened just because somebody has spoken her mind, I really dont understand that, people should be tolerant and begin to accept the right of people to express their opinion freely, so I really don't see what she has said is going to make matters worse than they are already. What we have to do is all of us to develop a good spirit of cooperation and harmony and the party goes on."
It has been a long-held view by some members of the NDC who are opposed to the former Presidents consistent criticisms of the party even in government, but the argument has been rekindled by Dr. Valerie Sawyerrs article couple of days which was critical of Mr. Rawlings and former Attorney General, Martin Amidu.

Though some party members have called for expulsion of the two bigshots from the party, Dr. Asamoah has taken the advocacy to a different level.

Speaking on Accra-based Joy Fm, he tried to prove why he and many others think that Former President Rawlings Could not have been the founder of the opposition NDC.

Dr. Asamoah said I dealt with the application of the NDC to the Electoral Commission for registration. The law at the time, and still the law is the same, is that you must have founders from the different districts... to sign the papers.

I can show you the duplicate of the papers. They are here right now because I dealt with that whole process, and President Rawlings name is not on that list.
Jubilee Party candidate Beatrice Kones, the wife of former minister Kipkalya Kones, went head-to-head with her firstborn Kevin Kones, of the Chama Cha Mashinani (CCM) party as they sought to claim the Bomet East parliamentary seat.

Mr. Kones was confident of a win and vowed not to step down in favour of his mother saying that he would emerge victorious under the CCM party.

It is my belief that CCM stands for what we aspire for as a people. Look at its stand on devolution. That is what I stand for since my late father also did the same, he said.

However, results from the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) seemed to give a very different narrative from that of Mr Kones.

As of Wednesday evening, Beatrice Kones had garnered 22,796 votes against her son's measly 2,410 votes, a clear indication that she was the outright winner.

Ms Kones had earlier on exuded confidence, saying she would win the seat. The seat I lost in 2013 is coming back and I will not let the people of Bomet East down. If he was in Jubilee, it would be a different tale," she said.

The duel, that had sparked excitement in the region, was viewed by residents as a pointer to democracy which allows anyone to vie for any elective position of their choice. Others, however viewed it as a family discord.
"The opioid crisis is an emergency and I'm saying officially right now it is an emergency," Trump told reporters on Thursday.

The White House hasn't released a formal document confirming the declaration yet, though it did say in a statement Thursday afternoon that Trump "has instructed his Administration to use all appropriate emergency and other authorities to respond to the crisis caused by the opioid epidemic."

Trump went on to say that he plans to spend a lot of time and money on addressing the opioid epidemic.

"We're going to draw it up and we're going to make it a national emergency. It is a serious problem the likes of which we have never had," he said. "You know when I was growing up they had the LSD, and they had certain generations of drugs. There's never been anything like what's happened to this country over the last four or five years."

Trump can declare the opioid crisis a national emergency under the Public Health Service Act or the Stafford Act, a decision that's usually reserved for natural disasters.

More than 183,000 people died from overdoses related to prescription opioid painkillers like oxycodone, hydrocodone, fentanyl, and morphine over the last 15 years.

Simply, the declaration elevates the severity of the opioid epidemic.

"It means every state health department, local government and the federal government would treat this as the top priority," Dr. Guohua Li, a professor of epidemiology at Columbia University told CNN.

While it is yet to be seen under what law Trump will make the declaration, STAT reported that doing so under the Stafford Act could "

Major funding increases or changes to federal policy to open up treatment and access to medications like naloxone or buprenorphine would still require action from Congress or new initiatives from agencies like the Department of Health and Human Services.

Ending a federal disincentive to fund treatment

The Institutions for Mental Diseases exclusion rule prohibits the use of federal funds for Medicaid patients in residential mental health or substance-use disorder treatment centers with more than 16 beds.

The rule is a major roadblock to expanding overloaded treatment centers in hard-hit states, said Deb Beck, the president of the Drug and Alcohol Service Providers Organization of Pennsylvania, a coalition of drug- and alcohol-abuse prevention, addiction treatment, and education programs and providers.

Changing the rule, which Beck called a "federal disincentive to fund treatment," would allow treatment centers to gain critical funding from Medicaid as well as expand their facilities to become more cost-efficient.

"It's very exciting," Beck told Business Insider. "Anything would be an improvement" from the current situation.

Several Republican and Democratic senators introduced legislation in May to eliminate the rule. And Beck said that no declaration of a "national emergency" is needed for Trump or Price to alter the rule.

Price said during a press conference Tuesday that most measures recommended by the Opioid Commission, including altering the IMD Exclusion rule, could be done without an emergency declaration.

Were talking about what should be done and working through the department and through the other agencies to come forward with that coherent strategy, that comprehensive strategy and recommendation for the president, and will do so in short order, Price said.

Eliminating the exclusion would effectively expand the use of Medicaid to treat those suffering from opioid-use disorder, drawing more funds and resulting in more access to sorely needed inpatient treatment.

"It opens up the existing infrastructure and gives patients access to a far broader range of treatment" by allowing Medicaid to pay for treatment in more settings, said Bradley Stein, a senior natural scientist at the Rand Corporation who studies substance-use disorders.

Its ironic

Expanding Medicaid is a striking contrast to the administration's efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, the law better known as Obamacare.

A key tenet of both Senate and House Republicans' plans to repeal Obamacare was a rollback of Medicaid and the expansion established under the law, which established that any adult living under 138% of the federal poverty level was eligible for states choosing to participate.

Overall, 1.29 million people are receiving treatment for substance-use disorders or mental illnesses as part of the Medicaid expansion, according to research conducted by Harvard Medical School Health Economics professor Richard Frank and New York University Dean Sherry Glied. About 220,000 of those people are receiving treatment for opioid abuse.

"It's ironic," . "It underscores how much the administration has been going in the wrong direction on healthcare ... and mitigating the crisis."

The potential for harm

Some drug policy advocates, like Smith, have questioned whether an emergency declaration could be used as justification to pursue, in his view, "counterproductive" and severe crackdowns on vulnerable communities, as has happened during past drug crises such as the crack epidemic in the 1980s and the methamphetamine crisis in the mid-2000s
Trump added that North Korea should "get their act together" or it would be in trouble "like few nations have ever been."

"The people that were questioning that statement, was it too tough? Maybe it wasn't tough enough," Trump said outside his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.

"It's about time that somebody stuck up for the people of this country and for the people of other countries," Trump continued, later adding, "We're backed 100% by our military."

Trump's initial threat was met hours later by North Korea announcing it would consider a missile strike directed at Guam, a US territory in the Pacific home to 7,000 US military personnel and 160,000 civilians. North Korea also dismissed Trump's "fire and fury" comment as "nonsense."

"Well, I don't think they mean that," Trump said.

Acknowledging the unprecedented nature of his threats against North Korea, Trump said, "It's the first time they heard it like they heard it."

"If North Korea does anything in terms of even thinking about attack ... they can be very, very nervous," Trump said in response to a question about North Korea's threat. "Things will happen to them like they never thought possible."

Trump also attacked the Clinton and Obama administrations for failing to halt North Korea's nuclear program.

"The people of our country are safe," Trump said later. "Our allies are safe."

He added that North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un, had "been pushing the world around for a long time," alluding to his aggression in the Western Pacific.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Wednesday said North Korea "should cease any consideration of actions that would lead to the end of its regime and the destruction of its people."
A report released Thursday found that the Environmental Protection Agency led by Administrator Scott Pruitt has been sorely lagging in environmental enforcement compared to the previous three administrations.

The agency has collected 60% less in civil penalties from polluters, according to the analysis from nonprofit, nonpartisan watchdog group Environmental Integrity Project.

In dollar amounts, the Trump administration has only collected $12 million so far, compared to the Obama administration's $36 million, the Bush's administration $30 million, and the Clinton administration's $25 million at this point in their terms.

"Trump campaigned on a promise of 'law and order,' but apparently law enforcement for big polluters is not what he had in mind," Eric Schaeffer, executive director of the Environmental Integrity Project and former director of civil enforcement at EPA, said in a press release.

The administrator has been very, very clear that he wants us to do what we can to keep the decisions we should be making out of the courts.

This is partially because Pruitt's EPA is waging significantly fewer lawsuits  just 26, compared to the previous three administrations' respective 34, 31, and 45.

And he's probably going to keep it that way. According to his senior adviser for air and radiation, Mandy Gunasekara, Pruitt wants to keep the EPA from having to wage costly legal battles.

"The administrator has been very, very clear that he wants us to do what we can to keep the decisions we should be making out of the courts," Gunasekara said at a coal conference in early May.

But no matter what Pruitt does  even if he does nothing at all  he can't keep the EPA or its decisions out of courts. That's because of how the EPA is inherently set up.

"Any final action by EPA ... is subject to judicial review in the courts. So the notion that EPA can reduce litigation unilaterally is fantasy," former EPA regional counsel Nancy Marvel told Business Insider.

We spoke to Marvel about three possible scenarios that can  and in many cases will  land Pruitt's EPA in court.

A do-nothing approach

Perhaps most importantly, the EPA is bound by law to fulfill certain duties. By sitting idly and doing nothing, Pruitt could open himself up to being sued for not doing enough.

The Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act have obligations, and deadlines for those obligations, for the EPA to act on. If the EPA doesn't act in a timely fashion, any US citizen can file a "citizen suit" to force the EPA's hand.

Under the Clean Air Act, for example, states are required to submit their plans to reach certain air quality standards set by the EPA. If states fail to submit plans in a timely fashion, the EPA is required to develop a plan for them, and if the EPA doesn't do that, the agency could be subject to lawsuits.

"Oftentimes, EPA will settle such cases by agreeing to act by a certain date," Marvel said. "Sometimes, the proper date for action will be litigated."

If the EPA fails to meet the date set by court, it could be held in contempt. Not having enough resources is not considered a defense the agency can use in court, which could be problematic if the EPA cuts staff.

Even if Pruitt instructs his staff to work tirelessly to meet all deadlines, Marvel said, litigation in these cases is usually inevitable, because "it is near to impossible even with the resources EPA has had for the agency to meet all the statutory obligations by the relevant date."

"[The] EPA has been and will continue to be sued by environmentalists, states, cities, and citizens on the actions that it is taking and failing to take," she added.

A do-something approach

If Pruitt decides to start creating new regulations, regardless of what they include, the EPA could also end up in court.

That's because of the regulatory process, Marvel explained. Once the EPA proposes a new regulation, takes public comment on it, and publishes the final text, entities like non-profit groups, environmentalists, and industry representatives have 30 to 60 days to challenge the rule in court.

Judges would then decide if the regulation was appropriate, considering both the facts and law.

"Environmentalists may say it's not stringent enough, and business may say it's not practical  it's too stringent," Marvel said. "Oftentimes what would happen is EPA would have developed a middle course and everyone's unhappy."

Regulations can be litigated for years. When he took control of the agency, Pruitt had several pending lawsuits against the EPA from when he was Oklahoma's attorney general and sued the agency for what he saw as overstepping its legal authority. He recused himself from 12 of those suits in May.

Pruitt could be held in contempt of court

If a court orders the EPA to act on a subject by a certain date, and the EPA doesn't, the agency would be failing to comply with a court order. In this case, Pruitt could be held in contempt of court.

Marvel explained that, for example, if the EPA cuts the roughly 3,000 employees it was planning to in its proposed budget earlier this year, the agency may not have enough employees to fulfill its obligations. If the agency was successfully sued for that, it still wouldn't have enough employees to do the work, so Pruitt could be held in contempt.

"Then the question becomes, 'What does that actually mean and what sanctions could be imposed by a court which holds an agency in contempt?'" Marvel said. It's a question scholars are still mulling over.

Based on a cursory review of past contempt cases, Marvel thinks Pruitt probably wouldn't be imprisoned or fined, due to protection under the doctrine of sovereign immunity. The president could fire him, but Marvel thinks that's unlikely. Either way, government agencies typically try hard to avoid a contempt citation.

"Agencies take very seriously the finding of contempt as a reprimand and are not anxious to be held in contempt," Marvel said. "We may see these concepts tested in this administration."

Pruitt already had his first lawsuit filed against him on February 25, 2017, just eight days after taking office. The lawsuit is demanding the EPA come up with a plan to protect salmon from hot streams, which are an early sign of climate change, Ecowatch reported.

Noah Oppenheim, executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fisherman's Association, one of the plaintiffs on the case, told Business Insider this suit is just the beginning.
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Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected! Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected!
While the general consensus has been that the gunmen were after one Chief Aloysius Nnamdi Ikegwuonu also known as Bishop, a suspected drug baron, following a sour deal in far away South Africa, indigenes of the Ozubulu town are insisting that their son is not a criminal and was not the target of the marauding gunmen.

A community leader Emedolibe Anyanwu who spoke on the allegation that Bishop was a drug baron, debunked such claims, saying he was a much-loved philanthropist who was held in high esteem in the community.

Speaking glowingly on what Bishop who holds the traditional title of Ebubechukwu Uzo, the community leader said:

Chief Aloysius our son is not a criminal. He is not a drug baron. Those who say he is a criminal do not know what they are saying. He is a man who never forgets his promises to the people of Ozubulu.

He has done so many things for us. Aside from paying the aged people in Ozubulu, he includes the oldest men in Ozubulu like Okenye Amakwa, Egbema, Eziora, and Nza, etc.

The four Obi in Ozubulu are now benefiting from salary scheme. We, the people of Ozubulu will increase the fire in our daily prayers for Almighty God to give him more blessing and long life in Jesus name.

Another member of the community who also said the stories making the rounds has no iota of truth, said Bishop is one of the most respected members of the community and they stand solidly behind him.

" the , is not into drugs. He engages in empowerment programmes as well as philanthropic works in our home town.

He single-handedly built the St. Philip Catholic Church in Amakwa, and handed it over to the Onitsha Diocese. He contributed heavily towards the building of the St. Aloysius Church of Divine Mercy, still in Ozubulu. How can such a God fearing man be a criminal?

Akuchinyere Nwata 1 was the one who tarred the bad roads in our community and invited the Governor to commission them."

Yet another community extolled the virtues of Bishop, saying he runs Non-Governmental Organisation [NGO] called the Ebubechukwu Uzo Foundation which is focused on empowering members of his community as well as neighbouring communities.
In a statement released by the group's national president, Gambo Ibrahim Gujungu, on Wednesday, August 9, 2017, the group blamed the protests on collusion between Southwest politicians and some Northern governors.

It further promised that the parties involved in the collusion will be exposed if the protests do not end soon.

The statement read, "Let it be known that we are not unmindful of what is happening in Nigeria. We know those that are behind the protest against the President, as a group we are giving them 7 days to call their attack dogs to order or we will have no option than to expose them.

''For the avoidance of doubt, we are aware that Southwest politicians are behind the plot, they are colluding with some Northern governors and some elements of the presidency who do not wish the country and President Muhammadu Buhari well. But their time is ticking.

''The funny thing about these northern governors is that many of them won their elections on the back of President Buhari, we wonder why they are now interested in themselves and very ready to sell the man who is their benefactor for a plate of porridge.

''It is the same situation that happened during the late Umaru Musa Yar'adua that wants to repeat itself. But instead of fighting for the region, these governors are busy holding nocturnal meetings and negotiating for the position of Vice President, but we will soon expose them."

The group also mentioned Ekiti state governor, Ayodele Fayose as a tool being used to wage a war against the president.

The governor has been one of the most outspoken critics against President Buhari's administration, and that has only gotten worse since the president flew to London over three months ago to resume treatment for an undisclosed illness.

The Chairman of the People's Democratic Party (PDP)'s Governors' Forum has accused Buhari's administration of dealing dubiously with the Nigerian public, especially on the health of the president.

ALSO READ: Governor insists Buhari is breathing with machine

In June, Fayose had alleged that the President had been on a life support machine and later threatened, weeks later, to release 11 pictures that proved the President's poor state of health.

His unending stream of attacks against the president has earned the governor serious backlash from many quarters.

The Arewa statement read, ''A Governor from the South West, Ayodele Fayose is being used for their crusade against the President, but our northern governors are only murmuring in their chambers afraid to confront him.

''But let it be known that as people committed to the emancipation of the north and the unity and development of the country as a whole, we cannot be cowed into silence by anybody.

''We know that it is the fundamental rights of every Nigerian to protest, but protest must have a human face.

''We believe that President Buhari has done the right thing by handing over power to the acting President Yemi Osinbajo who has been discharging his duties without hindrance.

''Those behind the scenes beating the drums of political discord should watch their steps. We are unto them.''

On Thursday, August 10, protesters in Abuja marched for the fourth straight day against the president's continued absence from the country.

The sit-out protest against the absentee president started with the "Our Mumu Don Do" movement led by entertainer and activist Charles Oputa (Charly Boy), who marched from Unity Fountain down to the Presidential Villa.

On Tuesday, the group, alongside "Concerned Nigerians" group, led by former social media director of the People's Democratic Party (PDP), Deji Adeyanju, were attacked by the police when officers fired gas canisters and water cannons to dismiss them.

A protester was injured and had to be rushed to the Federal Staff Clinic Federal Secretariat, while Charly Boy also fainted due to the attack.

Despite Tuesday's setback, the group marched again in Abuja on Wednesday with renewed strength in numbers.

The protesters' full demands are: "that the president either personally or through his aides make the true detail of his health known to all Nigerians; that president should address all Nigerians in a language we can all understand on the true state of his health and other national issues; that he returns to the country and resume work as president of Federal Republic of Nigeria in order to lead us out economic and security quagmire we have been pushed into as a nation; if President Buhari fails, refuses and/ or neglect to do any of the above , then he should resign from office; if he fails to honourably resign, then he should be impeached from office by the national assembly."

President Buhari left the country on May 7 to resume treatment in London for an undisclosed illness, leaving Acting President Yemi Osinbajo in charge of the country's affairs.
Lt. Col. Emmanuel Kingsley, the spokesperson of the 7 Division, Nigerian Army, announced this in a statement released on Wednesday in Maiduguri.

Kingsley said that Buratai had on Tuesday decorated two officers and 63 soldiers in recognition of their prowess.

Two officers and 63 soldiers serving under the 151 Task Force Battalion, 21 Brigade Nigerian Army, Operation LAFIYA DOLE, were decorated for their gallantry and bravery in the face of the enemy.

On 10th July, the soldiers came under Boko Haram insurgents attacks on two separate occasions, but they were able to manoeuvre their way out of the ambush.

They engaged the insurgents, inflicting heavy casualties on them and also recovered weapons, Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), gun trucks and logistics, he said.

Kingsley quoted Buratai as describing soldiering as a call to national duty, and tasked the soldiers to rededicate themselves to duty to weed out remnants of Boko Haram insurgents.

Buratai tasked the soldiers not to rest on their oars but conclude the fight against Boko Haram Terrorists and return to barracks to continue with training and other routine duties.

According to the spokesman, Buratai also visited military formations at Awulari along Bama Road, and inspected the test firing of an artillery weapons by 304 Artillery Regiment.

Buratai equally visited troops location at Alau Dam along Konduga Road and also joined soldiers on patrol in gun boats stationed at the jetty.

He added that the Chief of Army Staff earlier on Monday, visited 25 Task Force Brigade, 7 Division Nigerian Army, in Damboa and also inspected the training of troops of Mobile Strike Teams at Buni Yadi, Yobe State.

The Mobile Strike Force is due to be injected into Operation LAFIYA DOLE to enhance a more robust clearance operation against the remnants of Boko Haram terrorists in the North-East.

The Chief Army Staff was accompanied by Maj. Gen. David Ahmadu, the Chief of Training and Operations at the Army Headquarters, and Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, Theatre Commander, Operation LAFIYA DOLE.

Others were Brig. Gen. Ibrahim Yusuf, the Acting General Officer Commanding 7 Division, as well as other Principal Staff Officers and Directors from the Army Headquarters.
On that fateful Tuesday at around 12:30 pm, witnesses say a Nigerian fighter jet flew over the northeastern town of more than 40,000 people and dropped a bomb. Minutes later, it circled back to drop another.

"When it happened I heard some rumbling," Jugudum told AFP, mimicking the sounds of the explosion that knocked him unconscious.

"As I woke I called for my wife, but she was not around -- my children were gone," said the despondent 38-year-old, wearing a faded shirt and flip-flops.

"There was just shouting and shouting," he said of the aftermath of the air strike which a local official claimed at the time had killed as many as 236 people.

Jugudum and his family had fled to Rann from their village along with 500 others from the surrounding area when they came under attack from Boko Haram.

Jugudum has been forced to use crutches after his leg was injured in the attack for which he says he has received no compensation from the Nigerian government.

"They only apologised, they never gave us money -- not even one naira," said Jugudum, referring to the Nigerian currency.

AFP was recently granted rare access to the town and observed the aftermath of the bombing as well as the dire humanitarian situation in the area.

Aid organisations have struggled to reach the remote region during the country's rainy season, further complicating the task of delivering food aid and healthcare.

Life in Rann appeared calm: women washed clothes while men sat in the shade of trees and chatted. Others waited in line for food parcels.

Girls wearing neon-coloured hijabs walked through the wreckage of the bomb site, while boys played with improvised toy cars made of rusted sardine cans and bottle caps for tires.

'Fog of war'

And despite Jugudum's anger, soldiers on the ground claim that relations with the local population are generally good.

"They (the people) understand very well it was a mistake," said one soldier in Rann.

"We've been having a very good, cordial relationship with them."

But the Rann air strike nevertheless stands as a grim reminder of the massive civilian toll inflicted by the bloody eight-year Boko Haram insurgency and the ferocious government effort to stamp it out.

At first the Nigerian military blamed the bombing on the "fog of war".

But six months after the incident, it accused aid organisations operating in Rann of having failed to disclose their locations, leading the army to believe that Boko Haram fighters were massing in the town.

Bruno Jochum, director general of Doctors Without Borders (MSF), a medical charity working in Rann, rejected the army's claim, calling it "shocking".

"All the activities being carried out had been organised in full transparency with the Nigerian army," Jochum said.

"(The bombing) raises fundamental questions, such as how can this be decided? Why such a disproportionate use of force?" he asked.

The Rann incident is just one scandal plaguing the Nigerian military, which has been criticised by human rights organisations for the torture and extrajudicial killings of those suspected of being Boko Haram operatives.

It has also been accused of the sexual abuse of women living in camps for internally displaced people.

"It's a ruthless war, with tremendous levels of violence exerted from both sides on the population," Jochum said.

'Spiral out of control'

Over 20,000 people are estimated to have been killed in the Boko Haram conflict that has devastated northeast Nigeria and become one of the world's largest humanitarian crises.

After being elected to power in 2015, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari made tackling the insurgency a priority, winning back significant swathes of territory from the jihadists and declaring that Boko Haram is "technically defeated".

But a recent upsurge in attacks, including an audacious assault on an oil exploration team that killed over 60 people in July, is raising fears that Boko Haram is regaining strength.

According to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project, 5,177 people were killed by Boko Haram in just the past two years.

Nigeria's acting president Yemi Osinbajo has ordered the country's Abuja-based military chiefs to relocate to Maiduguri, the capital of northeast Borno state and birthplace of Boko Haram, to get a grip on the situation.

"It is a worrying indication of where the conflict is headed and whether the gains the Nigerian government made against Boko Haram could be reversed," said security analyst Ryan Cummings.
Kubo said that the programme was designed to provide monetary assistance to less privilege families, to woo them send their wards to school.

He said arrangements had been conclude to facilitate the implementation of the programme in the 27 local government councils of the state.

The state government is to introduce a Conditional Cash Transfer to support girl child enrolment and retention in school.

It is a deliberate attempt to address societal challenges and encourage growth of girl education in the state, Kubo said.

Kubo added that plans were underway to enrol about 56, 000 children orphaned by Boko Haram insurgency in the state.

He disclosed that the state government had constructed three orphanage schools in Maiduguri and Baga.

The commissioner stressed that the government had adopted practical measures to address challenges affecting the basic and post basic level of education, occasioned by the insurgency.

The state government is doing all it takes to ensure all school age children are back in classroom.

We have constructed thousands of classrooms and rehabilitated schools vandalized by the insurgents.

The state government paid its counter part funding to the Universal Basic Education (UBE) programme. This will facilitate construction of about 2, 000 classrooms and establishment of additional 20 model schools,.

Kubo further revealed that the state government was spending about N100 million monthly, on feeding of boarding school students.

ALSO READ:Gov Kashim Shettima depressed over latest Boko Haram massacre

He said more than N278 million was expended on payment of registration fees for indigents students who sat for 2016 Senior School Examination Certificate (SSCE) and National Examination Commission (NECO).
Faparusi, who is also a guber candidate, said that the bailout funds which Ekiti state received from the Federal Government, is enough to pay workers for some months.

According to Daily Post, he said the President of the Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Ekiti chapter, Bunmi Ajimoko had to prostrate and begged Fayose before he agreed to pay their 2015 entitlements.

Faparusi said Under Dr Kayode Fayemi, several appointments were made. Former Governor Fayemi appointed about 45-member cabinet and several Special Assistants and Senior Special Assistants and added to the State civil service the wage bill was N2.5 billion monthly.

But now, Governor Fayose, hiding under economic recession pruned down the appointments to about 30-member cabinet and with few special assistants reportedly less than 20 and he was still claiming a monthly wage bill of N2.5 billion while the LG is N1.4 billion even when available records at the Accountant Generals office confirmed that the authentic States wage bill was N1.7 billion when that of LG is N1.1 billion.

Even at N2.5b wage bill, the staggering N9.9 billion received by both local and state government can pay three months salaries for both State and local governments civil servants and the 2015 leave bonus across board.

So, Governor Fayose should stop treating the workers like slaves. He should know that the State runs a full-fledged monolithic economy resting primarily on civil service architecture and whatever affected that arm will permeate to all sectors like Ekiti people are currently groaning under hardship under the reign of terror as typified by Governor Fayose.

He also called on Nigerians to disregard Fayoses comments, adding that he is not fit to be a Governor.

ALSO READ: Why Governor Fayose has so many enemies

The Governorship aspirant said Governor Fayose is a man that loathed development of institution and party structure with passion. Rather than fortifying the PDP to be able to play opposition role, he decided to hijack their roles and subsumed them to the extent that the state PDP under Barrister Gboyega guntuase and Jackson Adebayo as Publicity Secretary was a shadow of itself.

I want to plead with Nigerians to ignore Fayoses ranting and perceive him as being grossly infantile and callow to be a governor under an ideal society except in a degenerated society like Nigeria.
"Information revealed that this is not unconnected to a kind of a 'gang war' between the children of the same village who are engaged in a warfare outside Nigeria," said Anambra state police commissioner Garba Umar, referring to South Africa.

Death threats had reportedly been made against the apparent target Aloysius Nnamdi Ikegwuonu, a wealthy young philanthropist who has been accused by some in the Nigerian media of involvement in the criminal underworld.

Such is Ikegwuonu's wealth that he had built roads and schools for the community and even appeared on advertising posters proclaiming his "humanitarian projects".

But on Sunday he was not in the church he had funded so lavishly, even donating three cars to new preachers, according to a local resident.

"The attackers went to the church where their target was supposed to be and started shooting at the crowd," said Umar, who put the death toll at 11, while witnesses say that as many as 20 parishioners could have been killed.

'Violence as a last resort'

The gunman or gunmen -- the number of attackers is disputed -- then turned their weapons on Ikegwuonu's father and the congregation in frustration at failing to locate their target.

The trigger for such apparently random bloodshed may have been pulled in South Africa's sprawling commercial capital Johannesburg which is home to many thousands of Nigerians.

Speaking to the Nation newspaper, a spokesman for Ikegwuonwu denied commissioner Umar's claim that "the mayhem was as a result of a drug war".

The spokesman described allegations that Ikegwuonwu was involved in the drug trade as "evil and malicious" to the Punch newspaper.

But AFP has received testimony of a feud between him and a man called Obreche -- who is understood to be from the same state as Ikegwuonu, nicknamed Bishop.

According to the account, Obreche treated Ikegwuonu like a son and helped him with his commercial activities in Johannesburg.

But the bishop is alleged to have feared competition from Obreche and his affiliates, turning on the man and his organisation in 2013.

Anambra state governor Willie Obiano said in a statement on Monday he had been briefed that "this dangerous conflict has been going on for a while in the country where they both live" -- but did not name the men.

"We are dealing with a dangerous gang war that has spilled over to Anambra state," he said.

Valentina Pancieri, a researcher in the criminology department at the University of Cape Town, described such violence as "very, very rare".

"Nigerian syndicates don't usually compete against each other and, unlike the Italian, Russian or Mexican mafia, they use violence as a last resort because they don't want attention to be drawn to them in foreign countries," she told AFP.

Nigerian police said on Tuesday that they had made arrests in connection with the incident without disclosing the identities of those held or how many people had been detained.

"There is a high possibility that innocent members of the public are being arrested... while the real culprits possibly hide," said Emeka Umeagbalasi, an activist with campaign group Intersociety which called for outside scrutiny of the Anambra state police investigation.

In 2016, the church posted on Facebook that "no weapon formed or fashioned against Chief Aloysius Nnamdi Ikegwuonu shall ever prosper in Jesus' name".
According to the report, the total estimated financial loss to Nigeria from corruption in the electricity sector starting from the return to democracy in 1999 to date is over Eleven Trillion Naira (N11 Trillion Naira).

This represents public funds, private equity and social investment (or divestments) in the power sector.

It is estimated that may reach over Twenty Trillion Naira (N20 Trillion Naira) in the next decade given the rate of Government investment and funding in the power sector amidst dwindling fortune and recurrent revenue shortfalls.

The 65 page report is titled: From Darkness to Darkness: How Nigerians are Paying the Price for Corruption in the Electricity Sector.

The report shows that, The much-publicised power sector reforms in Nigeria under the Electric Power Sector Reform Act of 2005 is yet to yield desired and/or anticipated fruits largely due to corruption and impunity of perpetrators, regulatory lapses and policy inconsistencies. Ordinary Nigerians continue to pay the price for corruption in the electricity sector--staying in darkness, but still made to pay crazy electricity bills.

Mr Femi Falana SAN who chaired the report launch said that, This report is a must read, and I promise to lead in the follow-up litigation efforts to ensure the full implementation of the recommendations of the report.

The report launch was also attended by Babatunde Irukera, the Director General/Chief Executive of the Consumer Protection Council (CPC); and Mr Ibrahim Magu, Chairman Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) who was represented by Mr Osita Nwajah, Director Public Affairs EFCC.

Both promised to work to ensure the full implementation of the recommendations contained in the report.

The report accused Dr. Ransom Owan-led board of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) of allegedly settling officials with millions of Naira as severance packages and for embarrassing them with alleged Three Billion Naira (N3,000,000,000.00) Fraud.

The authorities must undertake a thorough, impartial and transparent investigation as to the reasons why corruption charges were withdrawn, and to recover any corrupt funds, SERAP says

The report also called for the reopening and effective prosecution of corruption allegations, including the alleged looting of the benefits of families of the deceased employees of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) levelled against a former Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Power, Godknows Igali

It reads: The Obasanjos administration spent $10 billion on NIPP with no results in terms of increase in power generation. $13.278,937,409.94 was expended on the power sector in eight years while unfunded commitments amounted to $12 billion.

The Federal Government then budgeted a whopping N16 billion for the various reforms under Liyel Imoke (2003 to 2007) which went down the drains as it failed to generate the needed amount of electricity or meet the set goals. Imoke was alleged to have personally collected the sum of $7.8 million for the execution of the contract for the construction of the Jos-Yola Transmission Line, which was never executed. There were documented/reported allegations of corruption against Imoke that fizzled-out shortly thereafter.

Professor Chinedu Nebo handed over the assets of the PHCN to private investors on November 1, 2013. Prof. Nebo is alleged to have corruptly funded the privatized power sector with over N200 Billion despite privatization. The allegation of N200 Billion funding of the privatized power sector during Prof Nebos tenure should be thoroughly and transparently investigated and anyone suspected to be responsible prosecuted. Any corrupt funds should be fully recovered.

Our research revealed that the sum of N1.5 billion with which the vehicles were acquired was allegedly sourced from the diverted N27 billion insurance premium of deceased workers of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).

The National Assembly and members should desist from and avoid manipulating the award of electricity contracts or cite projects in their constituencies under the guise of Constituency Project. The National Assembly should publish and ensure the full implementation of the recommendations of all power-related investigations to date.

The report also said The Federal Government should back-down from Rural Electrification initiatives and allow States to undertake rural electrification through their respective Local Governments and Development Areas. Federal Government should consider fully divesting its stakes in the power sector and allow for efficient, decentralized sector governance by Federal and State governments, as appropriate, in line with the provisions of the Second Schedule, paragraph 13 and 14 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended).

The 36 state governments should wake up to their rights, duties and obligations under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria relating to the power sector by working to promote and ensure access to regular and uninterrupted electricity supply for all residents within their states. The 36 state governments have been abdicating the duties to the power sector, bearing in mind that Power is an item on the Concurrent Legislative List under the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended).

When the late Bola Ige took up the mantle of the Power and Steel Ministry in 1999, he probably didn't understand the magnitude of problems in the power sector and consequently, promised that within six months of his appointment, power failure will be a thing of the past and that on a regular basis, he will brief the nation on the state of power, steel and aluminum. Current minister Babatunde Fashola SAN also claimed that a serious Government will fix the power problem in six months

The power sector under Ige was characterized by epileptic and unreliable supply, bogus billing and archaic rate collection. The late Minister failed and was unable to put an end to these. His failure was attributed to acts of sabotage and corruption by people who were benefitting from the use of generators. The late Bola Ige was not accused of corruption.

When Rilwan Lanre Babalola (2008 to 2010) took over the affairs in the Ministry of Power, he met 3,700MW on ground and promised to increase it to 6,000MW and ensure a 24-hour power supply by the end of 2009. Six months after assuring Nigerians of making a significant impact in the sector, in September 2009, the 3,700MW capacity he met on ground dropped to 2,710MW which shortfall was attributed to inadequate supply of gas to the new generators.

The duo, Elumelu and Ugbane allegedly colluded in misappropriating over N10 billion public funds from the account of Rural Electrification Agency (REA). The research also established, based on evaluation and analyzing documents, a prima-facie case of misappropriation of unspent funds at the end of the year instead of returning same to the treasury. Alleged misappropriation of N500million to buy houses; diversion of REAs funds; flouting of governments rules on award of contracts and award of fictitious and unnecessary contracts without following due process.

The government of Nigeria handed over the transmission company to a Canadian company Manitoba, to manage and under a management service contract of over $200 million. Findings also show that the Transmission Company of Nigeria could not execute most of its approved 44 projects after having 50 percent of its N30 billion 2016 budget released to it. Funds were released from Eurobond. $23.6 million allegedly paid to Manitoba Hydro International (MHI) of Canada to manage the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) would appear to be without due process.

The privatization of PHCN would appear to have yielded the country total darkness. Gains of privatization were lost through alleged corruption, manipulation of rules and disregard to extant laws and lack of transparency in the exercise. The PBE encouraged the deferment of payment and restructuring of payment terms in contravention of bidding rules to the disadvantage of other bidders.

Billing methodology shrouded in secrecy. Billings do not reflect actual electricity consumptions in most cases. Most if not all, officials of the DISCOs are still very corrupt and demand gratification from customers before doing the job they are paid to do. Grand corruption against the Federal Government owner of the 40% stakes in the DISCOS, and by implications, the Nigerian masses due to non-remittance or under-remittances of the monies collected by the DISCOs.

The Manitoba deal is shrouded in secrecy as essential details of the deal remain unknown to Nigerians till date. The authorities should undertake a public-oriented audit on the state of affairs of the TCN two years before and after the Manitoba deal. The outcome of the audit should form basis for further action and charges in court against the suspected perpetrators and corrupt funds fully recovered," the report added.
It was gathered that human parts concealed in some sachets were found at the hideout located at Ile-Zik, around Ikeja along.

According to The Cable, three suspects have been arrested, while a sharp knife was found on one of the suspects said to have been posing as a mad man.

The suspects are said to be undergoing interrogation at Isokoko police station.

ALSO READ: This story of abduction will leave you scared

No fewer than eight police patrol vans are currently at the location, with a huge crowd flooding the place, causing major traffic.

This comes two days after a den was allegedly uncovered on the Ijaiye axis of the same expressway.

UPDATE:

The commissioner of Police in Lagos, Fatai Owoseni has refuted reports that the manhole served as a hideout for kidnappers.

Owoseni said the tunnel served as a home for destitute.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the aircraft landed at 5.35p.m at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.

The deportees, comprising 126 male, two female, were flown back into the waiting hands of officers of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and the Police.

Also on ground were officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).

The two females and four male deportees had medical cases.

The Director General, NEMA, Alhaji Mustapha Maihaja, represented by Mr Suleiman Yakubu, Zonal Coordinator, South West, NEMA, used the occasion to counsel Nigerians not to be deceived by phantom promises in their quest for pastures.

He said that one of those who returned had sustained bullet injuries all over his body had been stretchered into a NEMA ambulance.

Maihaja said the victim would be taken to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) for proper medical attention.

He advised Nigerians to stay back and contribute their quota to the socio-economic development of the country.

There are a lot of things you can do in Nigeria here. You dont have to travel outside the country in search of greener pastures.

My advice to parents is to keep tab on their children and to ensure that they know where their children are going and not to be deceived by phantom promises, he said.

Maihaja said NEMA and some state governments had put various schemes in place to help rehabilitate and reintegrate returnees into the society.

ALSO READ: 258 Nigerians return from Libya

The Director-General, National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, Mrs. Julie Okah-Donli, had on Wednesday said that 540 Nigerians were set for deportation from Libya, beginning from Aug. 10.

She had said that the deportees would be brought back to Nigeria in three batches.
Obaseki vowed to unmask the officials who sent the N283 million request for the conduct of the recent primary school examination in the state, which was eventually conducted at the cost of N30 million.

The governor issued the directive at the weekly Executive Council meeting held on Wednesday, in Benin.

The State Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Mr Paul Ohonbamu, made the disclosure while briefing journalists after the meeting.

A memo was sent to the governor for the conduct of the examination and N283 million was earmarked for the examination which eventually cost N30 million.

The governor is not comfortable with this. He has directed that those responsible for the disparity be identified and brought to book, Ohonbamu said.

He said the meeting also reviewed the law setting up the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) to keep pace with current realities in the basic education sub-sector.

According to Ohonbamu, the Obaseki-led administration places high premium on basic education and is committed to reorganising it to deliver quality education to the state.
THE GUARDIAN NEWSPAPER

Senate condemns attack on agitators as anti-Buhari protest continues

The protest against President Muhammadu Buharis absence from the country continued yesterday in Abuja despite attack on the protesters on Tuesday by policemen. Essentially, the protest at the Unity Fountain is against Buhari staying for over 90 days in London, United Kingdom on a medical vacation.

Army kill six Boko Haram terrorists in Borno State

Trops of 22 Brigade, 7 Division of Operation Lafiya Dole of the Nigerian Army, in partnership with Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), said they had killed six suspected Boko Haram terrorists in an ambush in Borno State.

How risk, others cost local airlines N10b premium yearly

The volatile nature of the air travel business environment in the country has been blamed for the high insurance premiums local airlines pay on aircraft and passengers estimated to be in excess of N10 billion yearly.

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VANGUARD NEWSPAPER

Ozubulu Church Attack: We are yet to recover from the shock CommunityThe Ozubulu community in Ekwusigo Local Government Area of Anambra State has released a comprehensive report of last Sunday attack of worshippers at St Philips Catholic Church, Amakwa, Ozubulu where many people lost their lives while several others got gunshot wounds.

Lassa fever: 3 more test positive at LUTH, 150 under watchThree persons under surveillance for Lassa fever at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, have tested positive to the disease.

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THE PUNCH NEWSPAPER

Obasanjo, YarAdua, Jonathan wasted N11tn on electricity SERAP

A human rights advocacy group, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, on Wednesday released a report detailing how over N11tn had been pumped into the power sector since 1999 without any result to show for it.

Three more LUTH workers test positive for Lassa fever

Three health workers, out of the 100 that had contact with a pregnant woman who died of Lassa fever at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba, have tested positive for the infection.

Anti-Igbo song: Fish out perpetrators, Oyegun, SERAP, Afenifere tell FG

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, and rights groups have condemned a hate song that is targeted at the Igbo.

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THISDAY NEWSPAPER

FG Restructures Debt Profile, to Issue Dollar-backed Treasury Bills

Badly weighed down by the debilitating effect of Nigerias huge debts, the federal government Wednesday sought a way out, approving the issuance of dollar-backed Treasury bills even as it extended the maturity period from between 91 and 364 days to two and three years respectively.

How Obasanjo, YarAdua, Jonathan Squandered N11tn Electricity Fund

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has alleged that the administrations of former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Musa YarAdua and Goodluck Jonathan squandered over N11 trillion meant to provide regular electricity supply for the country.

Court Strikes out FGs Suit against Seven Banks over TSA
In a statement by the Chairman, Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Sen. Aliyu Abdullahi, the Senate stated that though it did not support the protest, it would not support violation of fundamental rights of Nigerians.

A group, OurMuMuDonDo, led by Mr Charles Oputa, popularly known as Charly Boy, on Monday began an indefinite sit-out at the Unity Fountain, Abuja, demanding Buharis resumption of work or resignation.

But, on Tuesday, the police forcefully dispersed them after using water and teargas on them, which led to a fainting feat on Oputa.

While we are opposed to the subject of the protest, the Senate acknowledges that the protesters have the constitutional right to gather and express their views in a manner that will not breach public peace and order.

Since the Our-Mumu-Don-Do protesters did not conduct themselves in such a manner as to disturb public peace, it is not right for the Police to brutalize them as they reportedly did yesterday.

The police should review their rules of engagement and ensure that they are in line with that of modern democratic societies.

The rights of the people should not be violated by the police employed to protect these rights.

"Where the Police suspect that hoodlums are trying to hijack a protest, it is their duty to apprehend the hoodlums and those who break the law rather than generalise and thus brutalize innocent protesters.

We, however, urge the organisers of the protest to join other Nigerians in praying for the safe return of President Buhari.

They should note that any mortal can find himself in the situation where one needs medical attention and more time to fully recuperate.
The Senate President'sdirector of protocol, Arthur Ndiwe and head of administration, Folashade Adigun, were casualties in the clear out.

Addressing journalists at the National Assembly, Sarakis spokesman, Yusuph Olaniyonu said the exercise was necessitated by the need to select the best hands for the job.

It has been known since four months ago that a comprehensive staff review exercise was going on in the office of the Senate President," he said.

"It was just concluded a few days ago and the purpose of the exercise is to reposition the office to improve on service delivery to improve on his ability to deliver on the agenda of the 8th Senate.

We have served for two years and this is a long time enough to determine who is good enough to continue in the last phase of the service. The 8th Senate has just about 22 months to its expiration," he added.

Describing it as an issue of restructuring, Olaniyonu noted that the exercise was carried out in three categories.

Decisions have been taken on three sides. There are some members of staff who by their performance in the last two years have been deemed fit to continue and those ones are still there.

There is also a second category of people who were seconded from the National Assembly Service Commission to the office of the Senate President and in this exercise some of them were told to revert back to bureaucracy where they were from the beginning.

Then there is a third set who have been removed obviously maybe because they were found not to have met the expectation of their offices or who not helping enough in the function of the office, he added.

ALSO READ: What your lawmakers have been up to since the President left Nigeria

Reacting to claims that those affected were aides of the former Senate President, David Mark, he said: "It is good for a public official like the Senate President to have given everybody the opportunity to serve in that office. He has done that retaining everybody - carry on the entire team for two years, even more than two years.

The two years was sufficient enough to determine who is doing well, who needs a little push and who cannot really fit in entirely and within the two year the assessment was made and the decision was taken.

So nobody committed any sin. It was at the discretion of the Senate president. He has been able to determine within this period those that had helped in his agenda and so on.

This is important for the efficiency of the office.
State-run Anadolu news agency said that Renat Bakiev is accused of seeking to stage an attack at "the Incirlik airbase or a plane stationed there".

Quoting local police, it said that "for this purpose, he worked to obtain a drone".

Dogan news agency added that Bakiev is suspected of seeking to "stage a bomb attack aiming to bring down a US plane using a drone" at the Incirlik airbase.

He allegedly carried out reconnaissance work for the plot, both reports said, without giving further details on how the plan would have been put in place.

Anadolu further reported the suspect had asked fellow IS members through the Telegram messaging app for 2,800 lira ($790) in order to buy the drone.

The Russian embassy in Ankara said in a statement it was "carrying out the necessary work to understand what happened and make clear the circumstances"

The United States uses Incirlik, in Adana province, as a key base for air strikes against the IS jihadists in neighbouring Syria.

Bakiev also is suspected of carrying out preparations for a plot to attack a centre of the Alevi religious minority -- an offshoot of the Shia sect of Islam -- in Adana city, Dogan reported.

Bakiev was detained in Adana, it said. A court later remanded him in custody ahead of trial.

Anadolu also reported claims that Bakiev had been to Syria to fight with IS and had sought to stage an attack against American forces there, but without success.

Images showed the suspect -- clean shaven and wearing an orange T-shirt -- being led to a medical check by two Turkish policemen after his arrest.

Turkey was hit in 2016 by a succession of attacks that left hundreds dead in the bloodiest year of terror strikes in its history.

The attacks were blamed on IS jihadists who had taken swathes of territory in neighbouring Syria and Iraq as well as the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) who have battled the Turkish state in an over three-decade insurgency.

Thirty-nine people were killed, mainly foreigners in a gun attack by an jihadist gunman on an elite nightclub in Istanbul just 75 minutes into New Year's Day in 2017.

There has since been a lull in similar attacks, but tension and high security remain in big cities.

Turkish security forces have frequently detained Russians -- especially residents of the mainly Muslim northern Caucasus -- in raids against IS suspects in Istanbul.
Zuma survived the attempt to oust him, but he was weakened after at least 30 African National Congress lawmakers voted on Tuesday for a motion that would have forced him to resign.

Whoever succeeds him as party leader would be likely to be the next South African president, and Tuesday's vote underlined the fierce struggle for control of the party once led by anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela.

Zuma is seen as favouring his ex-wife, former African Union chief Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, to take over, ahead of Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa.

"The opposition will now step up its campaign against Zuma -- he is the symbol that they use to scare voters (away from the ANC)," Achille Mbembe, political analyst at Wits University in Johannesburg, told AFP.

"This is the end of the post-colonial story when the liberation movement comes to power but then loses its legitimacy."

On Tuesday, Zuma secured 198 votes against 177 for the opposition motion, which would have needed 201 votes to gain a majority and oust him -- and his entire cabinet.

'Mortally wounded'?

Many analysts said the vote, which was held by secret ballot, was closer than expected.

"Jacob Zuma survived yet again, protected by the party that elected him twice and shielded him from accountability countless times," Mmusi Maimane, leader of the main opposition Democratic Alliance party, said Wednesday.

"It was the first time in 23 years of democracy that such a number of ANC MPs broke rank," he said, calling for early elections.

Julius Malema, head of the Economic Freedom Fighters party, said: "Our work is now bringing some positive results... We will eat this elephant piece by piece."

Criticism of Zuma from within the ANC has grown amid multiple corruption scandals and South Africa's mounting economic woes.

Several opposition parties led thousands of anti-Zuma protesters outside the national assembly before Tuesday's vote, while supporters of the president held a rival march.

Afterwards, Zuma vowed the ANC would win the 2019 elections, telling supporters: "We represent the majority of this country. The ANC is there, it's powerful, it's big, it's difficult to defeat."

The ANC parliamentary group celebrated victory over what it described as an attempted "soft coup".

Parliament speaker Baleka Mbete made a surprise decision to hold the ballot in secret after a campaign by the opposition who hoped to encourage ANC members to vote against their leader.

A handful of MPs have publicly joined calls from anti-apartheid veterans and trade unions for Zuma to resign, as South Africa endures record unemployment and a recession.
Preliminary results showed he had won 98.63 percent of votes, handing him a third term in office.

The final results showed opposition leader Frank Habineza of the Democratic Green Party scored 0.48 percent and independent candidate Philippe Mpayimana 0.73 percent.

Both candidates conceded defeat this week after preliminary results were released.

However, Habineza stated that "some local authorities were not cooperative and there were hindrances to our election observers and party agents."

After the election, the United States said it was "disturbed by irregularities" observed during voting as well as a lack of transparency in determining the eligibility of prospective candidates.

"We hope the new electoral law to be debated in the next session of Parliament will clarify that process well before the 2018 parliamentary elections," read a State Department statement.

Similarly, the European Union acknowledged urged "further efforts to increase the inclusiveness and transparency of the (election) process, in particular as regards the registration of the candidates."

Kagame has been the de facto leader of Rwanda since, as a 36-year-old, his rebel army routed extremist Hutu forces who slaughtered an estimated 800,000 people -- mainly minority Tutsis -- and seized Kigali in 1994.

He was first appointed president by lawmakers in 2000.

He was made eligible to run for a third term following a referendum in 2015 that voted to remove term limits from the constitution and could potentially allow Kagame to seek election another two times and rule until 2034.

Kagame is credited with a remarkable turnaround in the shattered nation, which boasts annual economic growth of about seven percent.
Holidaymakers on a beach in southern Spain Wednesday were stunned when a black rubber boat full of migrants reached the shore, its occupants jumping out and running away as scores of sun-worshippers looked on.

On the same day, 12 migrants arrived in waters off the Spanish territory of Ceuta in northern Morocco on jet-skis, with one -- a 28-year-old man from Guinea -- drowning before he could be rescued, authorities said.

On Thursday morning, Spanish coastguards said they had rescued 10 men from sub-Saharan Africa in a rickety boat off Tarifa in southern Spain.

And the list goes on.

Safer route

According to the IOM's latest figures, until August 6, close to 8,200 migrants had arrived in Spain so far this year.

That is more than triple the number recorded at the same time last year, according to Joel Millman, a senior IOM spokesman, and already more than the total arrivals in 2016.

While the figure pales in comparison with Italy -- where more than 96,400 migrants have landed so far this year -- Spain is catching up with Greece where 11,713 alighted from boats in the same timeframe.

"It's possible that Spain will outperform Greece this year," Millman told AFP.

"If so, that's a big change."

He said many people taking the long route towards Europe were from west African countries like Senegal, Gambia, Guinea or Ivory Coast.

But to get to Italy, they have to cross the Sahara desert and crucially Libya, wracked by chaos as rival militias and administrations seek to control the oil-rich country.

Faced with the danger, some may be deciding to go up along the coast instead.

"We assume that some of the change is due to the fact that the route is considered a safe route up to the coast through Morocco," Millman said.

He added that the boats crossing the choppy sea to Spain were much smaller than those launching from Libya to Italy.

In Libya there "appears to be a very deliberate strategy to put people out there, in overloaded boats that begin to take on water almost immediately and then it's a race to see how quickly the people on the boat can summon aid," he said.

"Whereas in Spain, the strategy is smaller craft hoping to come in undetected, and undoubtedly some do."

Pregnant women, kids

Spain's Guardia Civil police force said that nine of around 30 migrants who arrived on the beach on Wednesday had been found, all of them minors in their teens.

Spokesman Manuel Gonzalez told AFP that while they did not have any ID on them, they were thought to be from Morocco.

The teenagers will be taken to migrant reception centres, where they can apply for asylum in Spain.

Inigo Vila, in charge of emergencies for the Red Cross in Spain, said the organisation had reinforced the number of people working on the coast in southern Andalusia and in Ceuta to help migrants when they make landfall.

"Some people arrive with little strength left, sometimes they got lost, lost the engine, don't have anything to eat or drink in the boat, some have sunburns or burns from the petrol. And others are fine and recover quickly," he said.

"It's always surprising to see pregnant women and children -- even if there aren't many -- who try to cross in these conditions, risking their life and that of the kids for a better life."

Land arrivals too

The number of sea arrivals, however, doesn't take into account those coming into Ceuta and Melilla, two Spanish territories in northern Morocco, by land.

Both cities are the EU's only land borders with Africa.

As a result, they are entry points for migrants who regularly try to climb high double border fences or force their way through them with wire cutters, or hide in vehicles crossing the frontier.
An estimated 10,000 to 25,000 people are stuck in the city, the Islamic State group's main stronghold, said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric, who noted that "exact figures remain difficult to verify due to the situation on the ground."

"Access to Raqa is not currently possible for the UN, due to the fighting on the ground," Dujarric said during his daily briefing.

"We remind all military actors of their obligations to protect civilians and ensure humanitarian access, in line with international humanitarian law."

In July humanitarian organizations distributed aid, including food and medications, to some 263,000 people out of at least 46 sites within the Raqa region, Dujarric said.

The Syrian Democratic Forces, a Kurdish-Arab alliance backed by an international coalition battling IS, entered Raqa city two months ago.

But the force's progress has been hindered by IS which is fighting hard to hang on to the de facto Syrian capital of the "caliphate" it self-proclaimed in June 2014.

The SDF is backed by the US-led coalition battling IS in Iraq and Syria, which has supplied weapons, air cover and a limited number of troops.
Twenty-five people were being treated for injuries on a beach on Yemen's Red Sea coast, the UN migration agency told AFP. It could not immediately confirm the nationalities of the casualties.

Despite a war that has left over 8,300 people dead since March 2015, Yemen continues to draw migrants from the Horn of Africa seeking work in the prosperous Gulf countries further north.

On Wednesday, human traffickers also forced more than 120 Somali and Ethiopian migrants into rough seas off Yemen to avoid arrest by local authorities, leaving at least 50 dead and 22 missing, the IOM said.

IOM teams, working with the International Committee of the Red Cross, found the bodies of 29 migrants in shallow graves along the coast of the southern Shabwa province. They had been buried by survivors.

The average age of those on the boat was 16.

"The smugglers deliberately pushed the migrants into the waters since they feared that they would be arrested by the authorities once they reach the shore," an IOM emergency officer in Aden told AFP.

Laurent de Boeck, the IOM Yemen Chief of Mission, said the boat's crew immediately returned to Somalia to pick up more migrants to bring to Yemen on the same route.

"The suffering of migrants on this migration route is enormous. Too many young people pay smugglers with the false hope of a better future," he said.

Long the poorest Arab country, Yemen is suffering what the UN has labelled the "largest humanitarian crisis in the world".

On top of years of fighting between the Saudi-backed government and Shiite Huthi rebels allied with Iran, the country is witnessing a cholera outbreak and a looming famine.

All that has left nearly 10,300 people dead and displaced millions.

Yet the IOM estimates some 55,000 migrants have left the Horn of Africa headed for Yemen since the start of 2017, more than half of them under the age of 18.
"Cabinet has approved the establishment of the Robert Gabriel Mugabe University,"Jonathan Moyo, minister of tertiary education, told a news conference.

"There can be no better recognition of President Mugabe's commitment to education and his exemplary leadership."

Moyo said the post-graduate university, to be located in Mazowe, 35 km (20 miles) outside Harare, would cost $1 billion, but he declined to say how the country would afford to pay the sum.

Construction would cost $800 million, with $200 million for an "endowment fund for research and innovation," Moyo said, adding the university would specialise in science, technology and engineering.

Mugabe, in power since Zimbabwe's independence from Britain in 1980, will contest elections due next year despite his advanced age and concerns over his frail health.

The country's economic output has halved since 2000, many basic services have collapsed, and government salaries use up more than 90 percent of all public revenue.
CHICAGO (AP)  The federal government is threatening to withhold about $87 million in food stamp funds from the state of Illinois if Cook County doesn't alter the manner in which the penny-an-ounce tax on sweetened beverages has been implemented.

Officials with Cook County, which includes the city of Chicago, said Thursday that the U.S. Department of Agriculture is objecting to how the tax is applied to purchases using food stamps, known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. USDA says the county must take "immediate steps" to become compliant, adding no taxes can be collected until the problem is solved.

Cook County officials told retailers that purchases made with food stamp benefits are exempt from the soda tax under federal law. However, it allows retailers to tax those purchases and provide refunds as a workaround for stores that haven't been able to properly update their point-of-sale systems.

The Agriculture Department on Monday warned the Illinois Department of Human Services in a letter that the refund system violates federal law and money could be withheld.

"It is (Food and Nutrition Services') strict interpretation that retailers may not charge the tax to SNAP recipients at any time and that providing an immediate subsequent refund at a customer service desk does not cure the problem or the violation of the law," said DHS official James Dimas in a memo to Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle on Wednesday.

USDA officials told the county the regulation was "unacceptable" in a telephone call in June.

In a statement, Cook County spokesman Frank Shuftan said the county was unaware the USDA considered the county's regulation to be unacceptable, believing the USDA was considering the policy and would follow up with any concerns.

"At this time, we believe we are in compliance with existing SNAP rules," Shuftan said. "We do however recognize that USDA's powers against the state in this regard are substantial and we will work collaboratively with both the state and USDA to address USDA's concerns."

The penny-per-ounce tax imposed by Cook County went into effect last week. It was originally slated to begin July 1, but was delayed by a lawsuit filed by the Illinois Retail Merchants Association that was later dismissed by a Cook County judge. The merchants are appealing the judge's decision.

Under the sweetened beverage tax, drinks in a bottle, or from a fountain machine, are taxable. But on-demand, custom-sweetened beverages, such as those mixed by a server aren't subject to the tax.
CAMBRIDGE  Henry County highway engineer Steve Brandau plans to retire Nov. 30 at the end of his most recent six-year term.

Mr. Brandau made the announcement to the county transportation committee Tuesday, noting the lengthy process mandated by the state of submitting applicants to the Illinois Department of Transportation before county board approval.

I don't know anybody that usually gives a three-month notice, but that's what it is, said Mr. Brandau.

Yeah, it's hard. I mean, it's been my life for a long time, Mr. Brandau said. He added "there's other people at the department and assistant county engineer Scott Stephenson would do very well.

Mr. Brandau has worked 35 and a half years for the Henry County Highway Department, including 30 years as county engineer.

Committee chairman Rick Livesay, R-Geneseo, noted the length of time it took the county to hire Mr. Stephenson. The committee pondered the possibility of having no applicants, and county administrator Colleen Gillaspie said Mr. Brandau might stay on if there were no candidates for the job.

In 2013, Mr. Brandau received an award from the Illinois Society of Professional Engineers, followed in 2014 by an award from the National Society of Professional Engineers.

In other business, the committee voted to recommend the county board approve a road agreement with Invenergy for the third phase of the wind farm that includes 53 General Electric turbines in Clover and Andover townships.

Project manager Dariusz Stachowiak said the firm anticipates a seven-month construction period.

Mr. Brandau said the proposed road agreement is enhanced from the two prior ones. Because county employees will spend more time checking road improvements, the company will pay $10,000 per month, with 80 percent going to the county and 20 percent to the townships.

He also said there is also a $2 million bond in case they don't do what they say they're going to do, as well as an escrow account for emergency situation, such as a collapsed culvert. He said the townships will receive $540,000 towards seal-coating or other costs while the county will receive $880,000 for blacktopping. Mr. Brandau said his feedback from township road commissioners is that the roads post-project are better than they were originally.

Invenergy project developer Allyson Sand told the committee the firm plans to start submitting building permits soon.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP)  A black teenager pointed a BB gun that looked like a handgun at police before he was fatally shot by officers outside an emergency youth center in eastern Arkansas, a prosecutor said Wednesday in announcing no charges would be filed against the officers.

Prosecuting Attorney Scott Ellington released body camera footage that shows 16-year-old Aries Clark was holding and raising what appeared to be a pistol on July 25 outside East Arkansas Youth Services in Marion.

The officers "ordered, cajoled, encouraged and begged" Clark to get rid of the gun, Ellington wrote in a letter to the head of Arkansas State Police, which investigated the shooting. In one video, an officer can be heard promising to put his gun down if Clark drops his, telling the teen: "You're somebody's kid, man. We don't want to do this."

Ellington said the two officers who fired their weapons  Brannon Hinkle and Wesley Smith  were justified in using lethal force. Both officers are white.

"Clark's actions that day brought about the circumstances that threatened the lives of at least four law enforcement officers had the gun he brandished been a firearm, as was perceived by the responding officers, and I cannot find that the officers acted criminally," Ellington wrote.

"Therefore, I find the officers were justified under these circumstances and no criminal charges will be filed in the matter."

The teenager's grandmother, Vickie Burks, disagreed and said her grandson wasn't violent.

"I think it's unfair and unreasonable," Burks said. "If you're a trained police officer, you can injure someone and not kill them."

An attorney said the Clark family had not been contacted by authorities about the decision. Attorney Kim Cole said the family had not viewed the footage released, but said her office had begun to review it.

"We will proceed with our independent investigation and continue our review of the footage. We will make a determination of next steps once our investigation has concluded," Cole said in a statement.

The teenager's mother, who declined comment Wednesday, told a Tennessee television station last month that the family had been trying to get help for her son because he was being disruptive.

Only Smith's shots hit the teen, according to Ellington's letter. Hinkle was on the southwest side of the building in Marion, a city just northwest of Memphis, Tennessee, while Smith was behind a tree on the building's northwest side.

Smith fired four shots when Clark raised his gun at Hinkle and the other officers, striking Clark three times in the back of his head, his back and his buttocks, Ellington wrote. Police recovered a 1911 BB pistol from the location where Clark fell after he was shot. Hinkle fired two shots at Clark, but neither hit the teen.

The youth shelter contracts with the state to provide services to children in foster care or to children and teens who have been involved in the juvenile justice system.

Ellington said Clark had been placed at the facility by court order, but had left two days before the shooting without permission or court approval. Ellington did not say why the teen had been placed at the facility.

Clark was initially denied re-entry, and police were called when he returned a second time, which Ellington said was a common practice to ensure residents who walked away don't have drugs or weapons before they're allowed back in.

Madelyn Keith, the executive director and CEO of East Arkansas Youth Services, said last month that Clark wasn't a resident at the time of the shooting. She did not immediately return a call for comment Wednesday.

The first officer to arrive observed Clark was holding what appeared to be a handgun, according to Ellington's letter. Several other officers, including deputies with the Crittenden County Sheriff's office, responded.

Marion Police Chief Gary Kelley said the officers, who had been on paid administrative pending the investigation, will return to work. Kelley declined commenting beyond Ellington's letter.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP)  A man charged in the shooting death of a western Missouri police officer has been arrested after an alert driver provided a tip that the fugitive was wandering within miles of where the killing took place, a law enforcement official said.

The driver reported seeing Ian McCarthy walking along a state highway near Bucksaw Marina, just east of Clinton, and he was arrested without incident late Tuesday, Sgt. Bill Lowe of the Missouri Highway Patrol said at a news conference later that night.

The arrest ended a two-day manhunt that began after 37-year-old Clinton police officer Gary Michael was shot to death during a traffic stop Sunday night in Clinton, about 75 miles (120 kilometers) southeast of Kansas City.

Michael and McCarthy had exchanged gunfire before the officer died and the driver fled. Lowe said McCarthy, 39, was suffering from a gunshot wound when a patrol trooper arrested him. Lowe declined to provide specifics about the gunshot wound except to say "Officer Michael was heroic to the end."

McCarthy was taken to a Kansas City area hospital for treatment and then was taken into custody at the Henry County jail. He is scheduled to be arraigned on Friday.

"We're just extremely thankful to the citizens of Henry County and citizens of Clinton that continued to give us tips and information. Without that, we may still be looking for him," Lowe said.

McCarthy was not armed when he was arrested. Investigators will continue to look for the weapon used in Michael's shooting and try to determine a motive, Lowe said.

As the investigation continues, attention turned to honoring Michael, who was the first officer killed in the line of duty in Clinton.

His body was returned Wednesday to Clinton from Kansas City, where it had been since Monday while an autopsy was performed. A long line of police cars from across the state accompanied the body on the nearly 70-mile route, with emergency lights flashing. Along the route, vehicles stopped as the procession passed and onlookers paused to watch.

Hundreds of residents waited with police officers to greet Michael's body when it arrived in Clinton. At the funeral home, his fellow officers saluted as his body was carried into the building before a prayer was said.

McCarthy is also wanted in New Hampshire, where a warrant was issued in 2013 when he failed to show up for sentencing on a disorderly conduct charge, according to court records in that state. He served about four years in prison there for first-degree assault and a parole violation. He also is wanted on a warrant out of Johnson County, Missouri, in 2015 for unlawful possession of a firearm.

Lowe said earlier Tuesday that it was possible that those outstanding warrants prompted McCarthy to shoot Michael to avoid arrest. He also could have been under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or not in his right mind for some reason, Lowe said.

Michael's brother, Chris Michael, said the family is relieved that the suspect has been caught alive so "justice could be served." Michael told KCTV5 that McCarthy's capture was a positive step for everyone mourning his brother.

"We're just happy that we're going to be able to put this one Band-Aid in a long process of healing on, and start to move forward," he said.

About 100 local, county and state law enforcement officers were involved in the search for McCarthy, who fled in his car, then on foot after the shooting.

Authorities earlier Tuesday converged on a home in Chilhowee, Missouri, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) northwest of Clinton after receiving a tip that McCarthy might be hiding there, but that tip did not pan out, Lowe said.

"It's a relief for us that he's in custody but it's with extreme sadness it was a result of Officer Michael losing his life," said Lowe Tuesday night. "There's no words we can say or express to his family, how sorry we are, but we hope this gives them some closure in this."

Michael, who had been on the force less than a year, was the first police officer killed in the line of duty in Clinton, a town of just 9,000 people. He was a military police officer overseas for about five years before returning to the Kansas City area. He decided in his 30s to become a police officer and served in Appleton City for a short time before joining the force in Clinton.

Services for Michael will begin with a public vigil Wednesday night at the Henry County Courthouse. A visitation is scheduled for Friday from 6-9 p.m. at the Vansant-Mills Funeral Home in Clinton, with the funeral scheduled for Saturday at 11 a.m. at the Benson Convention Center, with a public viewing two hours before the service.
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP)  Israel's embattled prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, lashed out at the media and his political opponents in an animated speech to hundreds of enthusiastic supporters on Wednesday, seeking to deliver a powerful show of force as he battles a slew of corruption allegations that have threatened to drive him from office.

Netanyahu's Likud Party organized Wednesday's rally in response to a swirling police investigation into suspected corruption, bribery and fraud by the longtime Israeli leader.

Party leaders described the gathering as an attempt to counter what they believe is a campaign by a hostile media and overzealous police and prosecutors. But the gathering was also seen as a test of Netanyahu's popularity and control over his party. For now, Likud appears to be firmly behind its leader, and any internal opposition remains in check.

Addressing the packed convention hall, Netanyahu accused the "leftist" media and political opposition of pushing for an indictment to topple him because they cannot defeat him at the ballot box. Some estimated the crowd numbered at least 2,000.

"The left and the media, and they're the same thing, you know, they are mustering an obsessive, unprecedented hunt against me and my family to carry out a regime change," he said.

Netanyahu also blamed the media for ousting two right-wing Israeli governments in the 1990 and held them responsible for the "disaster" of the Oslo Accords signed with the Palestinians in 1993, suicide bombings on public buses in the 1990s, and the second intifada in the early 2000s.

"Their aim is to apply illegitimate and nonstop pressure on law enforcement so they file an indictment at any price, with no connection to the truth, with no connection to justice," he said.

The speech resorted to a familiar strategy to Netanyahu. During a three-decade political career, he has frequently attacked the media, political opposition, Israel's Arab minority and the Palestinians in an attempt to rally Likud and portray himself as a victim.

Former prime minister Ehud Barak, one of the targets of Netanyahu's sniping, rebuffed Netanyahu's comments saying "there's no hunt, there's corruption."

Yair Lapid, a former finance minister under Netanyahu who heads the Yesh Atid party, tweeted after the prime minister's speech that it "crossed every line."

"What we saw this evening wasn't a rally of support for Netanyahu but a rally in support of corruption," Lapid said.

Netanyahu made no mention of the police or prosecutors handling the investigation. But he warned the Palestinians against hoping for his political demise. Palestinian leaders "will be disappointed too, because it won't happen," he said.

Likud leaders put heavy pressure on party activists to attend the rally. The gathering had a festive, at times raucous atmosphere, with activists hoisting Israeli flags, banners criticizing the media and chanting "Bibi, King of Israel," using his nickname. One banner read, "enough with the putsch attempt" and a second decried the "fake news" with an English expletive.

Netanyahu, the second-longest serving leader in Israeli history, is engulfed in a series of scandals relating to alleged financial misdeeds and supposed illicit ties to executives in media, international business and Hollywood.

Israeli police investigators say they suspect Netanyahu of being involved in bribery, fraud and breach of trust in a pair of cases.

Netanyahu's former chief of staff and longtime confidant, Ari Harow, recently signed a settlement connected to a separate case in which he agreed to testify against his former mentor. This has raised speculation that Netanyahu could be indicted soon, and has sparked opposition calls for him to step down.

Netanyahu has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and called the accusations a witch hunt.

David Bitan, Likud's parliamentary whip and a close Netanyahu ally, said some 1,500 people were signed up for Wednesday's event and he hoped even more would attend  including all the party's top officials and ministers.

No one in the party has come out against Netanyahu yet  reflecting both loyalty and the fear of crossing him.

Internal criticism has emerged only from those outside of politics. Limor Livnat, a former Likud Cabinet minister, has condemned the attacks on the police and prosecution and said that Netanyahu should step aside if indicted.

Israel's justice minister has said Netanyahu would not have to step down even if he is indicted. That means his short-term future will likely depend on whether he can maintain political and public backing.

Avraham Diskin, a political scientist at Jerusalem's Hebrew University, said there is no immediate threat and the goal of Wednesday's rally was to quash any thoughts of trying to challenge him.

"Netanyahu is tightening the bolts and exerting his authority," he said. "The whole point it to scare any of the 'pretenders' against getting ideas in their head. He's conveying that he is still powerful and everyone should keep their knives holstered."

Netanyahu has escaped several scandals before, but the scope of the latest accusations appears to pose his stiffest challenge yet.

One investigation involving Netanyahu, dubbed by police as "File 1000," reportedly concerns claims he improperly accepted lavish gifts from wealthy supporters, including Australian billionaire James Packer and Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan.

The second investigation, "File 2000," reportedly concerns Netanyahu's alleged attempts to strike a deal with publisher Arnon Mozes of the Yediot Ahronot newspaper group to promote legislation to weaken Yediot's main competitor in exchange for more favorable coverage of Netanyahu by Yediot.

A third investigation, "File 3000," relates to a possible conflict of interests involving the purchase of German submarines, in which Netanyahu's cousin and personal attorney represented the German firm involved in the deal.

Netanyahu has dismissed the suspicions as "background noise" and vowed to push forward.
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The franchise encompasses suburban and regional services radiating from Birmingham as well as suburban, regional and inter-regional services from London Euston to Milton Keynes, Northampton, Birmingham, Crewe, and Liverpool via the West Coast Main Line.

The contract, which begins in December and runs until March 2026, will provide 30,000 additional seats on peak services to and from Birmingham and London, with expansion of the train fleet enabling the operation of longer trains.

By 2021 West Midlands Trains will deploy 225 new EMU cars on West Coast Main Line services, 100 new EMU cars on Birminghams Cross-City Line, which will be extended to Bromsgrove next year, and 80 new DMU cars on suburban services from Birmingham Snow Hill. Metro-style vehicles will be introduced in the Birmingham area to provide more standing room on suburban services.

Free Wi-Fi will be introduced on all mainline services by the end of 2019 and passengers will receive 25%compensation for delays exceeding 15 minutes. Smart ticketing will be rolled out across the network and more than 800 new digital information screens will be installed at 150 stations to provide real-time information, with a new mobile phone app providing live information on train loading to help passengers avoid the most crowded services.

More than 70m will be invested in new and existing depots and there will be a 60m fund for station enhancements, including new car and bicycle parking spaces, refurbished waiting rooms, and cycle hire.

From December 2018, the franchise will introduce a new hourly Birmingham - Stoke-on-Trent service and an hourly Nuneaton - Coventry - Leamington Spa shuttle, which will serve the new station at Kenilworth.

Trains running only in the West Midlands area will be jointly managed by the DfT and West Midlands Rail (WMR), a consortium of 16 local councils.

New local branding and a new livery will be introduced for WMR services and there will be feasibility studies into the opening of new stations in the West Midlands.

The West Midlands franchise is currently operated by London Midland, a joint venture between Go-Ahead (65%) and Keolis (35%). London Midland has operated the franchise since November 2007 and was awarded a two-year interim franchise in December 2015. A further eight-week extension was agreed earlier this year.

Govia subsidiary London and West Midlands Railway was the only bidder to compete with West Midlands Trains for the franchise after MTR Corporation dropped out of the contest to focus on its joint bid with FirstGroup for the South Western franchise.
DSB Uppland operates Upptaget regional services from Uppsala to Gavle and Sala under a 10-year contract which began in June 2011. The contract covers the operation of around 3.2 million train-km per year.

The sale is part of the ongoing restructuring of DSBs international business and described by the company as a natural continuation of the divestment of foreign train operations already made by DSB.

The transfer of ownership is due to take place on September 1, subject to approval of the deal by the county of Uppsala.
Freight infrastructure improvements, particularly in rural locations, are a priority for the U.S. Department of Transportations latest round of awards.

The DOT released its proposed list of 10 project awards under the small project fiscal year 2017 Nationally Significant Freight and Highway Project program (FASTLANE). Of the 10 proposed awards, most were multimodal and all featured freight infrastructure improvements.

The Nationally Significant Freight and Highway Projects program was designed by Congress to fund projects that help improve Americas commerce and freight mobility especially, said President Leslie Blakey of The Coalition for Americas Gateways and Trade Corridors (CAGTC). We are pleased that this round of grants lives up to that standard. Rural lawmakers have long expressed concerns that competitive grants may not be effective in their regions and are more likely to favor urban areas. USDOT has done well to select freight-focused, multimodal small-scale projects in mostly rural areas that can improve business efficiency not only regionally but nationally.

The group said improving all levels of freight infrastructure is a win-win for urban and rural areas, as well as the country as a whole. Our nations goods movement needs are generated in both rural communities and urban centers, said Blakey, requiring dependable and cost-effective infrastructure from end-to-end. And competitive grants are an essential way to get vital investment to projects that can do the most good.

We applaud the Department for recognizing that small projects, not just megaprojects, can leverage federal funds and create important freight benefits, said Tim Lovain, CAGTC Chairman and Executive Vice President of Crossroads Strategies. A great example of a small project becoming an economic multiplier is this partnership between Port of Moses Lake and the Washington State Department of Transportation. Creating rail access to the Port of Moses Lake will deliver benefits by developing safer and more efficient access to the Ports industrial park.

The award helps pay for the estimated $30 million project to finish a rail line from Wheeler to the Port of Moses Lake, enabling manufacturers based in the port to ship by rail instead of truck.

According to DOT, funding requests for this small grant FASTLANE round totaled more than $1.8 billion, or 22.5 times the approximately $80 million made available for the program.
Short line railroads continue to emphasize their role as a critical economic link and job provider in events with elected representatives.

Rep. John Carter, a Republican from the 31st District, on Wednesday met with company executives to tour the Temple & Central Texas Railway, one of 12 short line railroads managed by Patriot Rail Company LLC, a member of the American Short Line & Regional Railroad Association.

The tour was led by David Lutz, Operations Manager for TC. It was a privilege hosting Congressman Carter and sharing our commitment to Central Texas with him, said Lutz. TC is committed to providing safe, reliable and efficient rail services to our customers in Central Texas.

The TC operates more than 10 miles of rail line in the Central Pointe Rail Park, a 3,500-acre industrial park with more than 50 tenants. It is located between Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. TC was awarded an exclusive long-term license agreement by the City of Temple to provide rail switching and other rail-related services to customers at the Park. TC interchanges traffic with BNSF Railway.

Freight rail is imperative to economic growth and prosperity, and I am proud to represent one of our nations premier short line rail lines supporting our economy in Central Texas, said Carter. It was a pleasure to learn more about the Temple & Central Texas Railway, the services they provide in Texas 31st District, and meet with and listen to the concerns of their employees. Their commitment to providing impeccable rail service in Temple has enabled Central Texas businesses to thrive.

The rail company discussed the importance of the 45G short line tax credit to maintaining a reliable and safe freight network. The tax credit expired at the end of 2016. The Building Rail Access for Customers and the Economy Act (BRACE Act) would make the tax credit permanent. The BRACE Act currently has 241 cosponsors in the House and 53 cosponsors in the Senate.

In Texas, 52 freight railroads operate and maintain over 10,000 miles of track and support almost 17,000 jobs, according to ASLRRA.
Amtrak and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) have ended their battle over operation, maintenance and use of the 37.9-mile Attleboro Line between Boston and the Rhode Island state line on the Northeast Corridor. The two parties have struck a new Attleboro Line Agreement under which Amtrak will provide maintenance-of-way and dispatching services through 2021.

This agreement ends a dispute over applicability of the federal Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act (PRIIA) of 2008, Section 212, which created the Northeast Corridor Commission and mandated the development of the Commuter and Intercity Rail Cost Allocation Policy, Amtrak said. The Policy, which is meant to provide a consistent methodology for calculating and assessing costs for all users of the Northeast Corridor, was jointly developed by all the owners and operators of rail services from Boston to Washington, D.C.

The MBTA now assumes responsibility for directing the capital program on the Attleboro Line. MBTA and Amtrak will contribute to capital projects and operating costs in a manner consistent with PRIIA and the Cost Allocation Policy, Amtrak said. Amtrak will allow the MBTA to use South Stations system for dispatching of the south-end branch lines, charging for its use of these facilities based on a proportionate sharing of facility and system costs.

The joint effort of Amtrak and MBTA to reach this new agreement demonstrates our shared recognition of the importance of continued investment in the rail infrastructure in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and throughout the New England region, said Tom Moritz, Amtrak Assistant Vice President of Infrastructure Access and Investment. We look forward to working closely with MBTA in the years to come to provide services that benefit both commuter and Amtrak customers.

The MBTA is pleased to have reached this agreement with Amtrak, signaling our collaborative efforts and mutual interests in maintaining world-class service for all rail customers through the Northeast Corridor, said Interim MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak. We look forward to working cooperatively with Amtrak now and in the future.
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Moscow court finds defendants in case of illegal referendum guilty of extremism

MOSCOW, August 10 (RAPSI, Oleg Sivozhelezov)  The Tverskoy District Court of Moscow has found four members of the Initiative Group to Campaign for a Referendum for Responsible Government guilty of organizing an extremist group, RAPSI correspondent reports from the courtroom on Thursday.

Defendants in the case are journalist of RBC Alexander Sokolov, publicist Yury Mukhin, civil activists Kirill Barabash and Valery Parfyonov.

Earlier the prosecutor asked the court to sentence Sokolov, Barabash and Parfyonov to 4 years in a penal colony and Mukhin to 4,5 years.

The defendants are indeed members of the Initiative Group to Campaign for a Referendum for Responsible Government, which, the authorities believe, is the successor of earlier banned Peoples Will Army (PWA), Mukhin told RAPSI. However, the action group aiming to organize the referendum was established yet in 2010, he said.

Sokolov, Parfyonov, and Barabash are charged with continuing to run the prohibited in 2010 Peoples Will Army, earlier headed by Mukhin. After the PWA was banned, the accused founded the Referendum Initiative Group seeking to make the authorities directly answerable to the people through changing the countrys Constitution.

Nevertheless, the prosecution says that in fact Mukhin and his supporters have attempted to destabilize the political situation in Russia and accomplish a regime change with illegal means.

In 1995, Yury Mukhin, a proponent of radical change, founded the Duel newspaper, which attempted to reach out to Russian conservatives and far left. The newspaper was banned in 2009 on grounds of extremism.
Defendants in case over illegal referendum to spend up to 4 years in prison

MOSCOW, August 10 (RAPSI, Oleg Sivozhelezov)  The Moscow Tverskoy District Court has sentenced four members of the Initiative Group to Campaign for a Referendum for Responsible Government to terms varying from probation to four years in prison for organizing an extremist group, RAPSI correspondent reported from the courtroom on Thursday.

Earlier today, the court found journalist of the RBC news agency Alexander Sokolov, publicist Yury Mukhin, civil activists Kirill Barabash and Valery Parfyonov guilty. Sokolov was sentenced to 3.5 years in a penal colony, while Barabash and Parfyonov were sentenced to 4 years in jail. Mukhin received a 4-year suspended term and additional 4 years of probation.

The defendants are indeed members of the Initiative Group to Campaign for a Referendum for Responsible Government, which, the authorities believe, is the successor of earlier banned Peoples Will Army (PWA), Mukhin told RAPSI. However, the action group aiming to organize the referendum was established yet in 2010, he said.

Sokolov, Parfyonov, and Barabash are charged with continuing to run the prohibited in 2010 Peoples Will Army, earlier headed by Mukhin. After the PWA was banned, the accused founded the Referendum Initiative Group seeking to make the authorities directly answerable to the people through changing the countrys Constitution.

Nevertheless, the prosecution says that in fact Mukhin and his supporters have attempted to destabilize the political situation in Russia and accomplish a regime change with illegal means.

In 1995, Yury Mukhin, a proponent of radical change, founded the Duel newspaper, which attempted to reach out to Russian conservatives and far left. The newspaper was banned in 2009 on grounds of extremism.
Russian Labor Ministry drafts rules for blacklist of corrupt officials

MOSCOW, August 10 (RAPSI)  The Ministry of Labor and Social Protection has drafted procedure for maintenance of the corrupt officials registry, according to the information on the ministrys website.

The document has been published on the official website of legal information for public discussion.

In July, President Vladimir Putin signed a law establishing nationwide list of officials and employees of law enforcement agencies, who had been fired because of loss of trust over corruption allegations.

The Registry lists government officials, employees of prosecution, investigation and customs service authorities as well as military servicemen, civil and municipal officials. In addition, the registry is to list employees of the Central Bank, the Pension Fund, the Social Insurance Fund and the Federal Compulsory Medical Insurance Fund. Employers must list employees in the registry in accordance with Russian Labor Code.

According to the rules drafted by the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, information about officials fired for corruption including surname, name, place of work, and the date of inclusion in the list, will be publicly available within 2 years after adding to the registry.

Berween 2012 and 2015, about 1,200 officials were fired from government services for failing to meet demands on prevention of conflict of interest and counteracting corruption. The registry is supposed to help government services to receive information on how potential employees follow demands of legislation on ethical standards and counteracting corruption.
North Korea recently launched its second successful test of an intercontinental ballistic missile. Many experts believe Pyongyangs missiles can already reach the West Coast of the United States, and perhaps even farther inland. There is understandable angst about the thought that leader Kim Jong Un might launch a nuclear strike on the U.S. homeland. Still, this is a risk we have known for more than a decade that we would probably someday face. We faced the exact threat from the former Soviet Union, a far greater foe, for more than 40 years during the Cold War, and have from China since the 1960s. It does not mean doomsday.

The number of nuclear warheads North Korea is believed to have ranges from as few as 10 to as many as 60, according to a recent estimate by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). The U.S. intelligence community has moreover concluded that North Korea has successfully produced a warhead that can fit on its missiles. What North Korea has not yet pulled off is a flight test of such a warhead on an ICBM.

The only thing we know for certain is that North Korea has ballistic missile capability sufficient to reach Japan -- its test launches have landed missiles into the Sea of Japan. That barrier could be the result of technical limitations, or a deliberate choice by Pyongyang to demonstrate capability without pushing provocation beyond the envelope.

However, even if the DIA's estimate is right, it does not mean that Kim Jong Un will attack the United States just because the capability is there. Indeed, Pyongyang has had the capability to nuke Seoul for more than a decade but has not done it. So Kims motivation for his relentless pursuit of long-range nuclear capability may have more to do with his own survival than with any desire for military aggression. What do Iraq and Libya have in common? Both countries lacked nuclear weapons, and Saddam Hussein and Moammar Gadhafi were both on the receiving end of U.S.-imposed regime changes.

More important, the vastly superior U.S. strategic nuclear arsenal acts as a powerful deterrent. Kim would face annihilation if he were to launch a nuclear weapon against the United States. He would have to be suicidal to take that risk, and the evidence suggests that he is not. It is important to remember that deterrence worked when America and the Soviet Union had thousands of warheads pointed at each other, and that supposedly crazy or irrational leaders with nuclear weapons -- leaders such as Josef Stalin and Mao Zedong -- were successfully deterred.

There is good reason to believe that direct deterrence will work with North Korea too, which is the primary and overriding U.S. national security concern. As such, it also means that military action against North Korea is not an imperative for U.S. policymakers because the choice is not between a war on the Korean Peninsula that would be "highly deadly," "terrible", and "horrific," according to U.S. Army Chief of Staff Mike Miley, and "a nuclear weapon detonating in Los Angeles [that] would be [even more] terrible." We would certainly prefer otherwise, but the reality is that deterrence allows us to contain a nuclear North Korea.

Whether extended deterrence via a U.S. nuclear umbrella over South Korea and other East Asian countries will work, however, is unclear. Can we credibly persuade Pyongyang -- as well as convince the South Koreans -- that the United States is prepared to risk Los Angeles for Seoul? This is essentially the bargain of extended deterrence, but is that a price Americans are willing to pay?

Rather than a nuclear monopoly on the Korean Peninsula, we might have to consider the prospect of South Korea deciding that the best way to deter the North is with its own nuclear capability. The current situation between India and Pakistan provides some cautious evidence that such a regional nuclear balance may be possible.

A more robust deployment of missile defense in both South Korea and Japan may also be an option to consider. The Chinese have objected to the deployment of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense batteries in South Korea, but given China's inability to curb Pyongyangs ambitions, Chinese objections could be overridden by South Koreas security needs.

Seoul should take primary responsibility for its own security rather than being wholly dependent on the United States. South Korea is the world's 11th largest economy, with a gross domestic product of $1.4 trillion -- more than 30 times larger than North Korea's $40 billion GDP, which is just slightly more than that of the state of Wyoming. And South Korea spends more than three times what the North spends on defense ($36 billion vs. $10 billion).

More important, a South Korea that defends itself would obviate the need for 28,500 U.S. troops to serve as a tripwire along the Korean border, and it would remove one of the main reasons North Korea has made the United States a target for its ICBMs.
There has been a landslide in relations between the US and North Korea. As Pyongyang's military power increases, Washington may find itself cornered into accepting an ugly option in order to move forward.

After another inelegant exchange of blustery rhetoric, the world is again imagining what military conflict between the US, its allies and North Korea would look like and seasoned observers are asking if the situation has reached a new and more dangerous stage.

This latest geopolitical boiling point started off with the announcement of unprecedented UN sanctions against North Korea on August 5, the result of a unanimous vote in the UN Security Council after Pyongyang tested a long-range ballistic missile on July 28.

North Korea promptly rebuked the sanctions and issued a threatening statement promising "righteous action" to make the US "pay the price." On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump uttered his now infamous statement promising North Korea "fire and fury like the world has never seen," if the regime threatened the US.

Adding fuel to Trump's fire, two separate reports from Japan and the US were released Tuesday that revealed that North Korea had developed the capability to miniaturize nuclear warheads for ICBM delivery faster than anticipated.

Pyongyang responded to Trump's tough talk directly thereafter, announcing they were examining plans to fire missiles toward the coast of the US territory of Guam. On Thursday, the North Korean military announced their plan in unusual detail. It specified a launch of four Hwasong-12 missiles, which would be aimed to fly over Japan and land in the Pacific Ocean "30-40 kilometers" off the coast of Guam.

Actions speak louder than words

Despite rhetorical escalation from the US, and threats of North Korean rockets stirring up waves in Guam, key facts on the ground have not changed.

As before, a preemptive military strike by the US on North Korea would have catastrophic consequences for South Korea and Japan. And the regime in Pyongyang is fully aware it would be destroyed in a direct confrontation with the US and its allies.

It remains true that both sides do not have the incentive to escalate. There have yet to be any orders received by US military on Guam for evasive action and there are no calls for evacuation of Seoul.

What has changed is the capacity of North Korea to directly threaten the USwith nuclear weapons and the willingness of President Trump to push Pyongyang's buttons with aggressive statements that are unusually bellicose for US diplomacy.

The Trump administration has made clear that the US will not accept a nuclear-armed North Korea with ICBM capability and Pyongyang has reiterated it will not give up any of its military capabilities.

"The bigger problem now is because the Trump administration has sent mixed messages about the possibilities for preemptive or preventive actions, North Korea's threats will echo those sentiments. The risk of miscalculation rises significantly." Jenny Town, the managing editor of the 38 North a think tank at Johns Hopkins University in Washington focusing on North Korea, told DW.

A new kind of deterrence

Rodger Baker, vice president of strategic analysis at the US geopolitical intelligence firm Stratfor, told DW that the US and North Korea are now closer to conflict than they have ever been over the past three decades.

"Driving this is the pace of the North's development," he said. "They are trying to achieve a demonstrable nuclear-tipped ICBM before the US acquires the political will to intervene physically." Baker added that the US knows the window for prevention is closing and at this moment, the potential for military action is highest. "It is a case of act now or lose the option for action," he said.

The North Korean regime maintains that its nuclear arsenal is essential for its survival and their possession acts as a deterrent, as in the case of other nuclear powers.

Speaking on Monday at the ASEAN Regional Forum in Manila, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho said that North Korea was a "responsible nuclear power" with "no intention" to threaten or use nuclear weapons against "any other country but the US, unless it joins military action of the US against North Korea"

"The United States has 'accepted' that China, Russia, India and Pakistan are nuclear states," said Baker, adding that in some ways the US military already considers North Korea to be a "nuclear power."

"Militarily, the US could manage a nuclear North Korea through traditional deterrence, rather than military action," added Baker. "But from a political perspective, it is not clear whether the US will 'accept' North Korea's membership in the nuclear club."

Accepting North Korean nukes?

During the Cold War with the Soviet Union, the US maintained a policy of "containment and deterrence" to address the threat of Soviet nuclear weapons. The strategy rests on limiting the effectiveness of weapons systems and providing a major disincentive for their use, also known as "mutually assured destruction."

The current problem with developing a policy of deterrence and containment is that the US has no intention to accept North Korea as a nuclear power and there is little to no dialogue between the two sides.

"Dialogue is really the only way that is going to get us out of this escalatory cycle," said Town from 38 North. "Sanctions play their role and as North Korea demonstrates new capabilities, bolstering deterrence capabilities is necessary. But pressure and isolation alone is not going to change North Korea's belief that it needs a deterrence capability."

Up to now, the US has said that it is open to dialogue only if North Korea is willing to abandon its nuclear program, an offer North Korea rejects outright. To begin dialogue, expectations must be changed.

Town said that ideally the US would need to find a politically feasible way to enter into exploratory talks without preconditions. "Only from there will we really understand what is achievable and be able to design a way forward."

"The biggest challenge to dialogue is that the two sides currently have conditions that are not conducive to compromise. North Korea will not give up its program, the US does not want to talk except in the context of the North giving up the program, so there really isn't a space for dialogue," said Baker from Stratfor.

"If the US shifts its position from one of stopping the program to one of managing through traditional deterrence, there is plenty of space for dialogue and even cooperation. But that requires the US to accept the North as a nuclear weapons state," he added.

No room for appeasement

There are massive risks for the US in accepting the North Korean regime under Kim Jong Un as a "rational" nuclear power. But regardless of political will and the threat of missiles, the US may find itself forced into acceptance as the costs of direct intervention have become too great. Another option could be to pursue a "de-facto" policy of deterrence and containment, while officially calling for a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula.

Read: Experts urge Donald Trump to dial down North Korea rhetoric

"The overall strategic assessment though is that a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula is in the best interest of all parties and efforts to achieve that are still ongoing," said Town, "However, the stronger North Korea's nuclear capabilities become, the harder that vision will be to achieve."

Richard Bush, Co-Director of the Center for East Asia Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution in Washington, wrote in a report released this week that the danger of accepting North Korea as a nuclear power that it could lead to a collapse of regional stability in Northeast Asia and open the door for the Kim regime to conduct smaller actions against its neighbors

"Once Pyongyang can target the continental United States, it will likely take bigger risks than it has to date. It would undertake such limited-war actions as much to achieve political gains as military ones. It would hope to test South Korean intentions and try to drive wedges within South Korean society," said Bush in the report.

But whether or not the US and its allies want to accept it, North Korea has nuclear weapons and missiles aimed at its neighbors. Talking them down from the edge of destruction will take more than fire and fury, but rather diplomacy that the world has never seen.
As right-wing dictators wreaked havoc on Latin America during the last century, left-wing movements played a major role in the struggle for democracy. At that time, such movements valiantly fought against the perpetuation in power -- continuismo is the Spanish word -- of dictators. They opposed military coups and became staunch advocates of freedom of expression and respect for human rights. Last but not least, imbued by a Marxist ideology they thought to be scientific, they claimed to be the heralds of an egalitarian society that the so-called laws of history made ineluctable.

For their commendable stance, the partisans of the Left paid a heavy toll in imprisonments, tortures, and deaths.

Today, though, one can recognize no principle or value, among those brandished by self-proclaimed progressive movements, that has not been ignored, sullied, or betrayed by the radical Left.

For starters, observe the hard-Lefts double standard with respect to continuismo. Leftists rebel against any re-election attempt of any political leader who is not to their liking. At the same time, they justify and applaud the longest and most tragic perpetuation of power in Latin Americas history, namely that of the Castro gerontocracy, as well as the continuismo of 21st century socialists such as Nicaraguas Daniel Ortega and Bolivias Evo Morales.

It has recently been the turn of Venezuelas president, Nicolas Maduro, to cling to power by resorting to brutal repression and convening -- without respecting the procedures established in the Constitution bequeathed by his mentor, Hugo Chavez -- a constituent assembly whose sole purpose is to eliminate what remained of the separation of powers in Venezuela and to consolidate the countrys dictatorship.

Maduros initiative has been repudiated not only by opposition leaders but also by a large number of prominent Chavistas, as well as by a wide spectrum of regional and global players -- among others, the governments of Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru. Even Switzerland, symbol par excellence of neutrality in international affairs, took a stand against the constituent assembly.

And yet the hard Left remains impervious to the destruction of democratic institutions in Venezuela. It has chosen to ignore or deny the electoral fraud that gave birth to the assembly in question -- a fraud that has been denounced by the British firm Smartmatic, the very company that installed Venezuelas current voting mechanism.

The despotic nature of Maduros regime has been denounced by Venezuelas attorney general, the long-time Chavista Luisa Ortega Diaz, and more generally by those within Chavismo who have departed from the countrys current leadership. But here, too, Latin Americas hard Left has turned a deaf ear to accusations.

The same double standard is at work regarding coups. Latin Americas radicals continue to cast their anathema on the overthrowing of any elected president who is not to their political standard. They thus vigorously denounced the failed attempt to overthrow President Hugo Chavez in 2002, as well as the eviction from power -- made in conformity with Constitutional provisions -- of pro-Chavista presidents Manuel Zelaya of Honduras and Fernando Lugo of Paraguay.

The same hard Left, however, has had no compunction about applauding whatever coup detat is carried out by so-called progressive forces. It passionately endorsed the overthrow of constitutionally-elected presidents by left-leaning generals Velasco Alvarado in Peru and Omar Torrijos in Panama, and, of course, Hugo Chavezs failed putsch in 1992 against President Carlos Andres Perez.

Now the regions radicals turn a blind eye as President Maduro dismantles Venezuelas constitutional order -- the very order bequeathed by their mentor, Hugo Chavez.

The hard Lefts double standard has, too, torn to pieces its alleged commitment to the advancement of social justice. Its members miss no occasion to condemn the inequalities that prevail in capitalist societies, but dont say a word about the new, corrupted class that has unlawfully seized Venezuelas riches. Never mind that the wealth of Venezuelas new class largely ends up deposited in banks abroad or invested in firms and real state in the reviled empire (i.e., the United States).

What is more, when corruption scandals involving hard-Left leaders are brought to public notice -- whether through the so-called Panama Papers or through the probe being conducted by Brazils judiciary into the bribes paid by that countrys public works firm Odebrecht -- the far Left prefers to look away, presumably in order not to play into the hands of the enemies of the revolution. They hasten instead to denounce such revelations as interventionist moves.

No less obnoxious is the hard Lefts indifference on the social inequalities that exist in Castroite Cuba. Never mind that the countrys top officials enjoy living conditions that have nothing to envy those of the wealthy bourgeoisies of other Latin American countries. Meanwhile the average Cuban has to survive on the lowest wages in the region, aside from Haiti, and devotes every day to the search of foodstuffs, medicines, and other essential goods. Those inequalities are unashamedly ignored by Latin Americas hard Left.

Such denaturing of values has also besmirched the radical Lefts condemnation of violence against women.

Indeed, its leaders and militants never say a word against the beatings that the shock troops of the Castro regime inflict regularly to the Ladies in White, those courageous and defenseless women who take to the streets of Cubas cities, usually during the Sunday mass, to call for the freeing of the islands political prisoners.

At the same time, they have the nerve of loudly vaunting the anti-imperialist virtues of Nicaraguas President Daniel Ortega, passing by in silence the sexual abuse accusations levelled at him by his step daughter Zoila America.

Regarding Venezuela, among the more than 300 women who have been detained for taking part in street protests, many have been subjected to torture. Five of them have denounced being submitted to humiliating skin searches while in jail. The hard Left does not care.

With their uncommendable attitude towards Latin Americas left-wing dictatorships, the regions radicals have no authority whatsoever to set themselves up to give moral lessons of any kind.
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Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott are open to having a sixth child.

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The 44-year-old reality star and 50-year-old television personality discussed the possibility of baby No. 6 during son Beau's red carpet debut at the Big City Moms Biggest Family Shower Ever event on Sunday in Los Angeles.

"Everything is so good," Spelling told E! News. "It's been a blessing having baby Beau. I think not just for our family but for us. Our love has grown stronger. My husband definitely has a lot of patience."

"Never say never," McDermott said of having more kids. "Our hands are pretty full right now, so we'd like to just enjoy the little ones we have right now. It's absolute insanity ... It's a happy, crazy, loving chaos."

Spelling and McDermott share 10-year-old Liam, 9-year-old Stella, 5-year-old Hattie, 4-year-old Finn and 6-month-old Beau, while McDermott is also dad to 18-year-old Jack.

Spelling previously discussed the possibility of another child following Beau's birth in March.

"All my kids have their little pair, so I could be open to one more," the star told People the next month. "Hey, if people call you the Brady Bunch, you have to complete the Brady Bunch."

"I forgot how much I loved being pregnant," she shared. "I love the connection. You are never alone."

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Spelling is known for playing Donna Martin on "Beverly Hills, 90210," and has since starred on the reality show "True Tori."

McDermott portrayed Renfield Turnbull on "Due South," and now hosts "Chopped Canada."
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ArcelorMittal may be interested in Bhushan Steel or Essar Steel, two of the five steel companies referred by the RBI for insolvency proceedings.

Ishita Ayan Dutt reports.

ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steelmaker, is likely to bid for stressed assets facing insolvency proceedings.

Among the 12 stressed accounts referred by the Reserve Bank of India for insolvency proceedings, five are from the steel sector: Bhushan Steel, Essar Steel, Bhushan Power & Steel, Monnet Ispat & Energy, and Electrosteel Steels.

In July, a team from SBI Capital Markets, which is advising lenders on restructuring packages for some of these companies, had visited London to meet ArcelorMittal's senior management.

The idea was to get ArcelorMittal to participate when the assets came up for bidding.

An e-mail to ArcelorMittal went unanswered.

Sources indicated that ArcelorMittal could be interested in Bhushan Steel or Essar Steel, depending on valuation, and was in discussion with a leading bank to evaluate and advise on the stressed asset buy.

Bhushan Steel has a steelmaking capacity of 5.6 million tonnes while Essar Steel has a capacity of 10 million tonnes.

Bhushan Steel's debt in 2015-2016 was Rs 44,478 crore (Rs 444.78 billion). Essar Steel's Rs 37,284 crore (Rs 372.84 billion).

ArcelorMittal has been trying to gain a foothold in India for a while now.

It signed a memorandum of understanding with the Jharkhand government in 2005 to set up a 12 million tonne plant in the state.

A year later, the company signed another MoU with the Odisha government for a similar-sized plant in that state.

Neither project made much headway.

In 2009, ArcelorMittal bought a 33.8 per cent stake in Mumbai-based galvanised steelmaker Uttam Galva Steels and a year later signed yet another MoU with the Karnataka government for a six million tonne steel plant, but that too remained a non-starter.

The company is now in talks with public sector Steel Authority of India for an automotive steel manufacturing joint venture.

Discussions have been on for some time though a breakthrough is expected in the next couple of months.

Bhushan Steel or Essar Steel could provide ArcelorMittal an entry into a growing market.

According to the World Steel Association, steel production in India is projected to grow at 6.1 per cent, the highest rate among the top 10 steel using countries.

The estimate for 2018 is 7.1 per cent.

If ArcelorMittal bids for Bhushan Steel it may be pitted against JSW Steel.

Recently, a consortium, including JSW Steel, lost out to another consortium led by ArcelorMittal for Italian steel plant Ilva.

Photograph: Francois Lenoir/Reuters
After initiating stern action against 331 companies, the market regulator seems willing to revoke its stringent restrictions for some entities.

Shrimi Choudhary and Dilasha Seth report.

Two days after suspending trading in 331 listed shell companies, the capital markets regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India ordered stock exchanges to verify their credentials and fundamentals.

In a letter to the exchanges on Wednesday, August 9, Sebi hinted if a company's business model appeared satisfactory, the trading ban could be revoked.

The move comes after Sebi faced widespread criticism from various quarters for classifying these entities as shell companies on Monday, August 7.

The market value of at least 10 companies on the list is over Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) each.

Also 161 of these companies were active in trading, with over 2.7 million public shareholders.

Sebi had directed exchanges to impose stringent trading curbs on these companies by putting them in the Stage VI of the Graded Surveillance Measure, GSM.

The companies were identified by the ministry of corporate affairs, with the help of the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) and the income tax department.

Three of these companies -- Prakash Industries, Parsvnath Developers, and J Kumar Infraprojects -- also moved the Securities Appellate Tribunal against Sebi's order.

They sought a stay on trading restrictions and claimed Sebi's directives were 'arbitrary and unreasonable.'

During the hearing on Wednesday, SAT asked the regulator to explain under which law or regulation the action had been taken.

'Natural justice should have been followed before action was taken,' the SAT panel observed.

Sebi argued it had not concluded the companies are shell firms and the action had been taken based on a MCA list.

Legal experts said Sebi should be careful while passing such orders as it could have a wide impact.

"Decisions that can have wide-ranging implications need to be carefully taken. There may be many companies on this list that are indeed shell companies, but that cannot justify mistreating even one well-functioning company," said Somasekhar Sundaresan, an independent lawyer.

Further, the appellate asked the Sebi counsel when the MCA communication was received and whether it was brought to the notice of Sebi chairman or any member.

The tribunal also asked what steps Sebi took after the MCA provided it with information.

Meanwhile, the Sebi counsel questioned the maintainability of the appeal stating that it was an administrative order and hence not admissible.

Sebi argued it had not concluded the companies are shell firms and the action had been taken based on a MCA list.

SAT asked Sebi to give a hearing opportunity to all three companies, failing which the tribunal will resume hearing in the matter.

The appellate also asked Sebi to respond on certain queries such as whether the officer who passed the impugned order had received the communication from the MCA.

It has also asked the regulator to file a reply on the due diligence done of the information received from the ministry.

The regulator's surveillance department has directed stock exchanges to seek the auditor's certificate from the companies, with a long list of disclosures.

These include annual income-tax returns for three years and description of pending tax disputes, if any.

Companies also need to provide status reports on compliance with the Companies Act and Sebi's listing regulations.

Besides, the companies will also have to give a framework of their business models - whether or not it was doing well.

They would have to disclose loan defaults or if they had been declared as a non-performing asset.

They would also need to furnish bank statements for the past one year, both for active or dormant accounts, as well as the annual returns of the past three years.

Bourses have been asked to verify the auditor's certificates and the documents provided by the companies.

Sebi in the letter said the exchanges will have to give a hearing to the companies concerned and submit a report.

The regulator also asked exchanges to submit the status report of the brokers and their respective clients (investors).

Sebi has instructed exchanges to ask brokers to check the credentials of their clients (investors).

'In case the credentials of the client is not found satisfactory then their unique client code (UCC) should be temporarily disabled by the exchanges,' Sebi said in the letter.

On the other hand, the government indicated that some of the companies might soon resume trading.

"We expect about a dozen companies might be allowed to resume trading within a week," said a finance ministry official.

Action against the identified companies was taken after a spike in trade was found during demonetisation, he added.

"Many have been found to be violating the income-tax rules," the official said. "These companies, however, will be given a chance to prove their position."

Photograph: Shailesh Andrade/Reuters
'It is an unpleasant fact of history that stronger nations dominate the power play and the only way it can be mitigated is through recourse to diplomacy,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.

Recommended for you: India's Chinese Challenge

The regional setting in which the India-China standoff at Doklam is playing out can only be ignored at our risk.

Most Indian pundits are training their guns on China's 'bullying -- its growing capacity to dominate the discourse regionally or bilaterally.

This sort of whining is futile since it is an unpleasant fact of history that stronger nations dominate the power play and the only way it can be mitigated is through recourse to diplomacy.

In the near term, the regional setting is decisively working to China's advantage.

This can be understood from three templates of regional politics that are currently playing out.

First and foremost, the 50th anniversary meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers, which concluded on the weekend in Manila, merits a close look. (Unfortunately, India lowered its representation to Minister of State for External Affairs Vijay Kumar Singh.)

The leitmotif in Manila was, undoubtedly, that China has emerged as the new regional leader, replacing the United States.

This has been in the making and is attributable to several factors, but what significantly hastened the transition is the US' difficulty to shape the region's agenda anymore.

The ASEAN countries no longer have confidence in American leadership and commitment in Asia.

In a revealing display of US priorities, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson didn't even bother to shape the ASEAN stance on South China Sea disputes but instead focused on rallying support on the North Korea problem.

In contrast, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was all over the place with diplomatic finesse to ensure that the grouping avoided any criticism of China.

From the joint communique issued by the ASEAN ministers, it becomes apparent that the grouping downplayed the areas of disagreements with China.

Vietnam reportedly tried to up the ante, but Cambodia blocked the move, and host country, the Philippines, smoothly glided into its newfound role as ASEAN's moderator vis-a-vis China, counselling compromise.

Thus, the communique blandly 'took note of the concerns expressed by some ministers' on ongoing reclamation activities in the area 'which have eroded trust and confidence, increased tensions and may undermine peace, security and stability in the region'.

Again, the communique underlined the 'importance of non-militarisation and self-restraint' in the disputed areas, but it also called upon 'all other States' -- not only claimants -- to do so, implicitly voicing criticism of external powers (the US, Japan, Australia, India, etc) from ramping up their naval footprint in the area.

Of course, a net gain for Beijing has been the complete absence of any reference to the Philippines' landmark arbitration award against China at The Hague.

Tillerson met with Wang in Manila. But their discussion narrowed down to the cooperation over the North Korea problem and the preparations for President Donald Trump's forthcoming State visit to China (expected in November).

Clearly, both sides will ensure that there are some historic 'takeaways' from Trump's China visit.

Trump desperately needs something big to flaunt as his trophy for 'America First -- and, make no mistake, Beijing will leverage Trump's dire necessity to stabilise the China-US relationship and make it predictable. (Tillerson spoke about a 50-year prospective planning for the Sino-American partnership.)

Meanwhile, with the military option against North Korea virtually ruled out, the Trump administration's dependence on China's cooperation to navigate the extremely perilous waters ahead is only increasing.

The Xinhua news agency highlighted on Wednesday, August 9, Tillerson's calm estimation, advising the American people to 'sleep well at night.'

Over and above, what also needs to be factored in is that US-Russia relations will continue to remain tense for a long time to come, which would in turn give added impetus to Moscow's strategic coordination with Beijing.

The fact of the matter is that unwittingly, Trump is compelled to pursue a tougher policy toward Russia than he'd have preferred -- paradoxically, an even tougher policy than Barack Obama's (from Moscow's perspective).

If Obama opted for 'selective engagement' with Russia, Trump is under compulsion from the US Congress to pare it down to 'very selective engagement'.

All in all, therefore, China finds itself in a comfortable position in regional politics.

Most certainly, this power dynamic may run as the near term scenario even as the North Korea problem and Russian-American tensions keep turning and turning in a widening gyre and there are no easy solutions in sight.

IMAGE: China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi, left, with Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Kono and ASEAN Secretary General Le Luong Minh before the 18th ASEAN Plus Three Foreign Ministers Meeting, part of the 50th Association of ASEAN Regional Forum meeting in Manila, Philippines, August 7, 2017. Photograph: Mohd Rasfan/Pool/Reuters
The BJP calculates that simultaneous polls to Parliament and TN assembly could help it, intent as it is on making the state break from its Dravidian past, says N Sathiya Moorthy.

A protest by Democratic Youth Federation of India members against the BJP government at the Centre, in Chennai. Photograph: PTI Photo.

It may sound too early and too speculative, but unless the three factions of the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam patch up or commit hara-kiri, either of them early on, Tamil Nadu may be heading for simultaneous elections to the state assembly alongside the one due for the Lok Sabha, in May 2019.

A remote alternative could be for the Opposition DMK to try and form an alternative government in the name of trying to avoid political instability in the state -- or the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-National Democratic Alliance decides to advance the LS polls to an earlier date with possible simultaneous polls to the state assembly.

After waiting for months despite being unduly provoked by the ruling AIADMK faction of Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, that he was working in tandem with the rival party group under three-time Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, or OPS, DMKs Leader of the Opposition M K Stalin has said that they were ready to topple the government.

Earlier, the party had maintained that they would not topple the Edappadi government, and let it fall under its own weight.

Stalins new calculations seemed to derive from a few political realities.

Despite internal troubles within the AIADMK, the Edappadi government does not seem anywhere near collapsing early, causing either an opportunity for the DMK to try and form an alternative government or take the state to early assembly polls.

Despite continual troubles with the internal faction under T T V Dinakaran, the Edappadi government is holding on. Their common rival in the OPS is nowhere near toppling either or both of them, even for the party leadership, leave alone the government.

All this means that the DMK-led combine with 98 MLAs in the 234-member state assembly may actively consider moving a no-trust motion against the Edappadi government. The DMK could make the move at the earliest, if only to silence critics and also unsettle the Edappadi faction that is gaining greater stability, if not additional legislative strength -- and more so, cadre support than in the past.

The DMK cannot afford it in the medium and long terms especially, though in the short term, it cannot afford to be seen as being jealous of a government in power.

Either the Dinakaran or OPS faction, or both, with the purported support of 25 and 11 MLAs each, would then have to back the government or vote against it.

There is also an increasing feeling that the current drag has negatively impacted the OPS faction, which was believed to have inherited a major cadre following.

Now, all three may need to reunite to go back to the Election Commission and reclaim the frozen Two Leaves symbol, a mascot of sorts for the AIADMK since MGR founded the party in the 70s.

The DMK seems to have calculated that either way, all three factions would stand exposed. The party also purportedly feels that any patch-up among the three factions, especially the government-saving Edappadi and Dinakaran groups, could lead to more groupism in the ruling party, starting with Cabinet reshuffle, beginning with the chief ministers job.

Even if the chief minister issue is settled, the consequent patch-up would have to involve Cabinet-level appointments of left-out party leaders to head government corporations and the like, leading to further disenchantment among the people. Either way, the DMK hopes to gain.

BJPs calculations

Simultaneous polls to Parliament could help the ruling BJP at the Centre, intent on making a break from the past in Dravidian Tamil Nadu.

Both party leaders and ideologues in the state seem to have convinced themselves that there is a political vacuum in Tamil Nadu after the death of AIADMKs charismatic chief minister Jayalalithaa and irrecoverable health issues of DMKs M Karunanidhi, and they (alone) could fill the vacuum, building up on the Modi magic elsewhere.

However, all purported post-Jaya attempts at dividing and/or re-uniting AIADMK factions do not seem to have borne fruit.

The more recent raids of Karnataka minister D K Shivakumar after he shielded Congress MLAs from BJP-ruled Gujarat of Prime Minister Modi has also raised questions as to why the Centre did not do so when the Sasikala-Edappadi faction of the AIADMK was keeping party MLAs confined to resorts in the Chennai suburbs of Koovathur earlier.

Even Tamil cinemas superstar, Rajnikanth, whom the BJP is rumoured to be wooing for joining the party and be its chief ministerial candidate, may have some questions to ask of the party -- and many to answer his cadres, voters and the media, if he were to enter active politics and on the BJPs side.

Yet, there is no denying Modis add-on value along with a Rajnikanth if simultaneous polls became possible, and both were to campaign together, either with the superstar in the BJP or as its ally, heading a new party and a new coalition.

Yet, this may not ensure that the combination could sweep the assembly polls. Given Tamil Nadus contemporary political history, excessive witch-hunting of the tax raids kind has only proved counter-productive as the ruling DMK found out in Jayas case in Election 2001.

Despite a pending high court verdict against her in the Tansi land-deal case, she contested and won all four assembly seats that she contested at the time.

AIADMK re-union

Yet, the BJP can hope to make some impact if and when Rajni too joined hands, but then it would still require the likes of the Vanniar-strong Pattali Makkal Katchi, which still polled the third highest vote-share of 4.5 per cent in the 2016 assembly polls.

There are incongruities, for instance, as the PMK leadership and Rajnikanth fans cannot stand each other -- but then the BJP leadership having succeeded in bringing in the PMK and rival DMDKs actor-politician Vijaykanth together under the NDA umbrella in Election 2014 can hope to repeat it with them all.

Yet, they all would have to remember that the NDA could not go anywhere in the Lok Sabha polls at the time even after polling a substantial 17.5 per cent vote-share. The question is, if they could repeat the performance, and if the Rajnikanth factor, if it came to that, can bring in another about 12-15 per cent for a sure-fire victory.

There is however no denying the possibility, at least in theoretical terms, though for now there are even non-Muslim fans of the superstar who will be upset if he were to join hands with the Hindutva BJP.

Even without all these, the Tamil Nadu voter is wary of reluctant political customers of the likes of Rajnikanth and the late Congress veteran, G K Moopanar.

Better or worse still, but ditching one or the other of the AIADMK factions, if it came to that, and thus leaving them alone, the BJP Centre might encourage and also facilitate their reunion on their own ahead of any future elections of the kind.

In such a scenario, a completely reunited AIADMK can go back to the EC and get back their Two Leaves symbol.

If anything, any BJP approach to Rajnikanth and calculations for a simultaneous polls without a reunified AIADMK, or without involving one or more factions of the party, would be good enough reason for them not only to reunite but also speak their minds to their cadres first and the Tamil Nadu voter later on.

In either case, not only Rajnikanth but also PM Modi and the BJP may have a lot more to explain than on AIADMKs corruption of the preceding years. This will go beyond the separate but common support that all three factions of the ruling party have extended the BJP-NDAs candidates for the presidential and vice-presidential polls, recently.

Should the BJP still want to bring the AIADMK and Rajnikanth together under its umbrella, leaving the chief ministers job to the former, then the superstar would have to be considered for a Lok Sabha seat and a Cabinet berth at the Centre...

As of now, of course, its all more in the realm of possibility than political reality.

N Sathiya Moorthy, veteran journalist and political analyst, is Director, Observer Research Foundation, Chennai Chapter.
'We are a plural society that for centuries, not for 70 years, has lived in a certain ambience of acceptance.'

'It is under threat,' outgoing Vice President Hamid Ansari tells Karan Thapar.

Thursday, August 10, was Hamid Ansari's last day as Vice President of India.

He's held the job for 10 years -- no one has held it longer -- and only one of his predecessors Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan has held it for as long.

Before he became Vice President Mr Ansari was India's ambassador to Afghanistan and Iran, to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

He was also high commissioner to Australia as well as India's permanent representative to the United Nations in New York.

Mr Ansari has also been chairman of the National Commission for Minorities as well as vice chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University.

In this exclusive interview with Karan Thapar, Mr Ansari looks back on his career, and in particular, on his 10 years as vice president as well as the chairmanship of the Rajya Sabha that went with that job.

The first of a multi-part interview:

Mr Vice President, let me start with a rather unusual question -- you were born on April Fool's day in 1937. Is that the secret of your success?

Well most of my life I got away without having to give a birthday party.

And that tradition was broken only in my first birthday in this House, when a message came in the morning that Dr and Mrs Manmohan Singh would wish to come and wish you happy birthday. I couldn't say no to that!

Now, you've spent 10 years as Vice President, and as I said, no one has spent more time as Vice President than that.

What did it mean to you, a career diplomat, to be Vice President of India?

Well, I said right in the beginning that every citizen is in a sense, a political creature. But being in the thick of things was a new experience, a novel experience.

Did the protocol, did the prestige become inhibiting for someone who was quite a free bird?

Or was it something that you were to accustomed to as a high commissioner and as an ambassador?

Well, yes but it was a different kind of constraint which one went through as the representative of the country.

This was a different kind of thing -- there were constraints on movement and things like that for understandable reasons.

One had to live with it.

Was it exciting and fun or was it at times intimidating and restrictive as well?

Well, not intimidating, but restrictive -- yes!

In other words, you couldn't do half the things that you would have liked to do because your position simply didn't permit it.

Couldn't walk down Chandni Chowk.

And a couple of other things that I suppose, we shouldn't mention...Let me put it like this, as Vice President you've had this unique and privileged vantage point to look at the functioning of the Indian political system.

This is also the 70th year of our Independence -- has our political system functioned effectively and smoothly?

Or is it often dysfunctional and perhaps disruptive?

It is both. It has been both.

Two things have happened. Over a period of 70 years, democracy has deepened in the country.

There's much greater voter participation, much greater public interest in what is happening in the political field.

On the other hand, the functioning of political institutions in the country at various levels, is not at its best.

And is that because of an individual responsibility, presumably it must be?

Well, collectively yes. Not individually, but collectively.

So, has the quality of the people who man institutions deteriorated, as the institutions themselves have become more established?

No, the quality has not deteriorated, but the mannerisms have changed.

I mean, you could not imagine, for example, in the early mid 50s or even in the 60s, disruptions of the kind that take place in the House today.

I want very much to talk to you about the functioning of the Upper House and your role as Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, but I'll come to that in a moment's time.

Let us first talk about your experiences as Vice President.

You served as Vice President under two very different Presidents -- Pratibha Patil for five years and Pranab Mukherjee for five.

How did they compare with each other?

No, that wouldn't be a fair thing to do.

I think each individual as the head of the Republic, has his or her own way of doing things.

And, frankly speaking, the Vice President has only a kind of ceremonial relationship with the Presidentship of the country.

In other words, you have to fit in where there is room?

Yes... I mean there are a lot of ceremonial functions in which you are together -- you are invited to Rashtrapati Bhavan -- I would go and periodically chat with the Presidents on matters of interest or general matters.

Did you find that your role as Vice President changed because of the nature of character of the President who was present?

Well, subjects change... of course.

With President Mukherjee one could go over the whole history of modern Indian democracy.

With Pratibhaji, it was a different kind of conversation.

Because their personalities and their interests were different?

Yes, yes.

You also have served for just over two weeks with the new President -- President Kovind.

How has he started? What sort of start has he had?

Well, I had the benefit of knowing President Kovind before he became President. Because as governor of Bihar, there were several occasions in which I visited Patna and we had good conversations.

Is he an easy person to get on with?

Oh yes, oh yes.

So there was a relationship with him, that in a sense, you might not have had with Pratibha Patil and Pranab Mukherjee, because you knew him before he became President.

No... I knew President Mukherjee well before that -- as a minister in the government of Indiraji, and much later as the minister in the government of Mr Narasimha Rao.

I was PR (Permanent Representative) in New York when he came as a minister of external affairs.

And these friendships, these relationships make a difference to the role?

Obviously, obviously.

You were also Vice President between two very different prime ministerships.

There was Manmohan Singh to begin with and Narendra Modi thereafter. Both men, we all know, are very different.

Are there senses in which they are similar, which you may be aware of, but the audience perhaps doesn't know?

I think that would require a little time to dilate on.

Because you can't say...

Because the personalities are very different.

The functioning styles are very different. Now, you may find common points in their functioning styles.

Personalities are obvious to everyone, I don't have to talk about it.

Does the Vice President have a fairly close relationship with the prime minister of the day? Or is it a very formal one?

It's most of the time a formal relationship, but there are occasions when there are very serious conversations.

You mentioned that on your first birthday as Vice President Dr Manmohan Singh and his wife came over to wish you. I imagine you've had three birthdays after Mr Modi took over.

Has Mr Modi been to wish you regularly?

Eh, regularly yes. I think the last occasion he was away, he sent a message. But first two occasions, yes.

He was there.

Yes, he did, yes.

Now one of the things that have happened and attracted enormous attention because, it is something that has never happened before, was in 2015 when a senior leader of the BJP -- he was general secretary then, he still is general secretary now -- Ram Madhav tweeted in public criticising your behaviour as Vice President.

He said that you had deliberately not participated in Yoga Day functions in that year and he also added that Rajya Sabha TV which falls under your charge hadn't covered the event.

Now, I know that Mr Madhav both apologised and deleted the tweets, but as I said that never before has the general secretary of a ruling party publically questioned, leave aside criticise the Vice President.

Were you surprised and taken aback by that?

Surprised yes because the facts were well known and very clear and there were my colleagues in office who put the public wise to it very quickly.

There was no ambiguity, there was no confusion.

Were you upset that this had happened?

Not really.

Because it was a breach of protocols to say the least?

Well yes, but protocol is breached from time to time.

Did you take up the matter with the prime minister?

No.

So, in other words you deliberately and consciously chose to forget it and let it go?

Not forget. It was absurd to begin with and I left it at that.

Did the gentlemen ever personally apologise or personally explained what he had done?

Let's not talk about that.

Something else that you did when you were Vice President was to travel extensively in Africa.

In the last five years alone you have travelled to ten different countries.

Many of those visits happened at a time when the number of attacks on Africans in India was steadily growing and each attack seemed to be worse than the last and it was creating enormous concern particularly amongst the African ambassadors who publically commented with anger.

Yes.

Did the heads of States you visited bring up this matter?

Not that I recollect. No.

So, they were diplomatic enough not to touch on a subject that could have been awkward for you to handle?

Well, yes but they did not touch upon it. We had very good conversations in each one of those visits.

And given the totality of the Indo-African relationship and the background to that relationship, my wife and I were very well received in each one of those countries.

Now, the official position of the Government of India articulated by the spokesperson of the MEA and the foreign minister was that these are not racists attacks, but the African ambassadors angrily dissented, they did so publically and large sections of the media was convinced that this was racism.

As someone who was an intelligent observer although watching from the Vice President's house, what was your opinion?

Was this an instance of Indian racism or simply law and order?

Well, it is scandalous to begin with.

It was the failure of law and order and it was the failure of public behaviour.

There can't be two views on a situation like this wherever it takes place, anywhere it takes place.

So, was the official response the right one or should they have been more willing to accept that this is more than just law and order?

Could have been more forthcoming.

They could have and should have been more forthcoming.

(Silence)

That's a very important point you have said. I want to use this moment Mr Vice President to talk about the general situation in the country today because I know it is one that concerns the large sections of the country.

Hardly a day goes by without us reading about cow vigilante attacks, earlier we read about lynchings, we have read about beef bans, people who refuse to say 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' have been publically told that they should leave the country, there have been accusations of love jihad, Ghar wapsi campaigns and even killings of rationalists.

How do you view all of this? Sitting in this house, how did you view all of this?

Breakdown of Indian values, breakdown of the ability of the authorities at different levels in different places to be able to enforce what should be normal law enforcing work and over all the very fact that the Indianness of any citizen being questioned is a disturbing thought.

Why were Indian values breaking down suddenly?

Because we are a plural society that for centuries, not for seventy years, has lived in a certain ambience of acceptance.

And that ambience is suddenly changing?

It is under threat.

IMAGE: Vice President Hamid Ansari, right, with Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, then President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Narendra D Modi and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar. Photograph: Atul Yadav/PTI Photo
Vice President-elect M Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday rejected as 'political propaganda' the view that there is a sense of insecurity among minorities in the country, apparently a rejoinder to outgoing Vice President Hamid Ansari.

Though Naidu did not name anyone, his comments are seen as a response to Ansari's remarks in a TV interview that there was unease and a sense of insecurity among Muslims in the country, and that 'ambience of acceptance' is now under threat.

"Some people are saying minorities are insecure. It is a political propaganda. Compared to the entire world, minorities are more safe and secure in India and they get their due," Naidu said.

He also disagreed with the view that there is growing intolerance, saying Indian society is the most tolerant in the world because of its people and civilisation.

There is tolerance that is why democracy is so successful, he said.

The former Bharatiya Janata Party president also cautioned against creating divide in the nation by singling out one community, saying it will draw adverse reaction from other communities.

"If you single out one community, other communities will take it otherwise. That is why we say all are equal. Appeasement for none justice for all," the 68-year-leader and former Union minister said.

He said history has proved that there is no discrimination against minorities.

"They (minorities) got in prominent positions including constitutional responsibilities because there is no discrimination, and also on account of their merit," he said.

Noting that India's uniqueness is its unity in diversity, he said sarva dharm sadbhav and secularism is in the mind and blood of India.

"India is secular not because of political leaders but because of its people and civilisation," he said.

Ansari's remarks come against the backdrop of incidents of alleged intolerance and violence by self-proclaimed cow protectors, for which opposition parties have attacked the central government.

Asked about incidents of alleged intolerance, Naidu said India is a huge country and there could be some 'stray' occurrences, which are 'nothing but aberrations'.

He, however, added that 'nobody can justify attacks on fellow citizens on the basis of community'.

Such incidents should be condemned and action should be taken by appropriate authorities, he said.

Naidu also said that some people blow out of proportion such incidents for political considerations. Some go to the extent of 'defaming' the county by raising such issues at international forum.

Some do it to create rift between communities and derive political mileage, he said, adding the basic problem arises due to vote bank politics and due to treating a community as vote bank.

A day before he takes oath as India's next vice president, he said his advice to politicians is not to drag communities into politics.

IMAGE: Vice President-elect M Venkaiah Naidu addresses the media in Hyderabad on Wednesday. Photograph: PTI Photo
IMAGE: Outgoing Vice-President Hamid Ansari being presented a scroll by RS Dy Chairman P J Kurien as Vice President-designate M Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan look on, during his farewell function at GMC Balayogi Auditorium at Parliament in New Delhi on Thursday. All Photographs: Shahbaz Khan/PTI Photo



On his last day as Rajya Sabha Chairman, Hamid Ansari was on Thursday accorded a warm farewell by leaders from across the political spectrum, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that he had done his best to uphold the Constitution.

Ansari served two terms as the Vice President by virtue of which he was the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha as well.

M Venkaiah Naidu will take over as the next Chairman of the Upper House of Parliament on Friday.

Members, while bidding farewell to Ansari, recalled his contribution towards enriching Parliament's functioning. Most of them appreciated his constant endeavour to stick to the rules and not allowing any legislation to be passed during din.

Some members also said that his decision to change the timing of the Question Hour from 11 am to 12 pm every day had proved beneficial.

Interestingly, there were also a few remarks of praise vis-a-vis the fitness of the 80-year-old Ansari as well. His love for sports was also highlighted.

In his remarks, the prime minister said, "On behalf of the citizens and both Houses of Parliament, I express gratitutde for the services you have rendered as Vice-President of the nation."

Modi said the outgoing Rajya Sabha Chairman had done his best to uphold the Constitution.

Referring to Ansari's career, he said his tenure as a diplomat was focussed on West Asia and had been associated with the 'same kind of atmosphere, same kind of ideology and same kind of people'.

IMAGE: Ansari exchanges greetings with former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other dignitaries.



The prime minister said that even after retirement from service, Ansari had mostly worked with the Minority Commission and Aligarh Muslim University.

"Your work remained limited in a particular area. But during these 10 years, you had to deal with a different kind of responsibility (in running the House). Each moment, you had to remain confined to the Constitution and you made a good effort.

"There may have been some struggle within you (all these years) but from now onwards, you won't have to face this dilemma. You will have a feeling of freedom and you will get an opportunity to work, think and talk according to your ideology," Modi told the outgoing Chairman.

Talking about Ansari's diplomatic career, the prime minister quipped that the way a diplomat talks or shakes hands, have a meaning and it cannot be understood immediately.

Modi said though he did not have much interaction with Ansari, he had understood a lot from him whenever they met.

"I hope you will continue to guide the nation in moving forward on the path laid down by the Constitution," he added.

Conveying his best wishes to Ansari and wishing him a long life, Modi noted that the outgoing Chairman has also kept himself physically fit.

IMAGE: Ansari with Vice President-designate Naidu.



Leader of the House and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said it was a very nostalgic occasion for both Ansari as well members.

"The chairperson's job is a very challenging job in this House ... This House, unlike in 1950s and 1960s, now has a changed character. It really reflects the strength of the parties in the state.

"The character of this House is that things start with a lot of acromonius debate, noise, disruptions but eventually you would have seen during your tenure that nothing remains indefinitely held up," he said.

At the end of the day, Jaitley said, the system of political consensus works in the Upper House and consensus is eventually reached, irrespective of who is in the government and who is in the opposition.

Jaitley added that a Chairman's job is also a thankless job and 'you take the good with not so good'.

"We have seen at times, when we members, have disrupted the House, your anguish was visible. It used to be more visisble in your concluding statement at the end of the sessions," he said.

He said that Ansari's tenure might have seen disturbances but it also saw a high quality of debates on many occasion.

"I am sure you retire from this House with great memories. We all recollect the sage advice that you kept giving to us and through us to the country from time to time... We will always have memories of you as the Chair and how you lent dignity to the quality of the debates in the house while presiding over it," the finance minster said.

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, during whose tenure Ansari had become the Rajya Sabha Chairman, hailed his contribution and said the country keeps on progressing despite challenges largely because of people like him.

Singh said he had received maximum possible guidance and cooperation from the outgoing Chairman.

Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad praised Ansari for the way he conducted the proceedings of the House.

Recalling his long association with Ansari, Azad said the Chairman was given several honorary degrees by different countries, but he never used them.

SP member Ram Gopal Yadav said Ansari conducted the House without any discrimination and never allowed any legislation to be passed in din. He hoped the next Chairman too would continue the tradition.

IMAGE: The outgoing Vice-President exchanges greetings with the PM as the Vice President-designate, the Lok Sabha Speaker and Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad look on.



Trinamool Congress leader Derek O'Brien told the House that Ansari does Yoga and routinely goes for evening walks to maintain good health. He said Ansari has been eating only sandwiches at lunch for the past 40 years and it 'must be a world record'.

He appreciated Ansari for extending the working hours of the Rajya Sabha's day from 5 pm to 6 pm.

Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Sitaram Yechury also appreciated Ansari for not allowing any bill to be passed in din and hoped that the practice will be continued.

He said Ansari's decision to shift the Question Hour timing from 11 am to noon has yielded good results as more questions are now taken up. Yechury also appreciated of Ansari's initiative of starting the Rajya Sabha TV channel.

Deputy Chairman P J Kurien said he had enjoyed working with Ansari.

"You protected me, you guided me and you corrected me," he said, adding "if we were to choose our destiny, then we all would pass a resolution to have Chairman Hamid Ansari for another term."

K Rehman Khan (Congress) said his days as Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman earlier were his best days when he worked under Ansari's guidance.

Naresh Agrawal of Samajwadi Party said people are known by the Chair they hold, but Ansari had shown that the Chair is known by the person holding it.

"You tought me discipline and I thought the point of order to this House," he said.

Anu Agha (Nom) said she has seen Ansari's anguish when the House was being disrupted. "We will miss your dignified presence and we look forward to guiding the nation with your love and wisdom".

K Parasaran (Nom) said Ansari had added dignity to the office of the Rajya Sabha Chairman.

Others who spoke include Amar Singh, Virender Kumar, Roopa Ganguly and Narendra Jadhav.

Nationalist Congress Party member Majeed Memon said that managing children in a primary school or kindergarten may not be as difficult as handling the House but Ansari always managed to do an exceptional job.

He said Ansari's performance in public sphere would continue to be important for the country.

IMAGE: Ansari with Naidu, Modi, Mahajan and Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.



Sanjay Raut (Shiv Sena) said Ansari, as Chairman never allowed any advocate, either on the ruling side or the opposition side, to flout the rules of the House.

He always imposed 'vice president's rule' and ensure that no norms are flouted, Raut quipped.

Naresh Gujral (Shiromani Akali Dal) said that Ansari was sagacious, scholarly and committed to secular values. He lauded him for paying due attention to smaller groupings in the House and would never hesitate from calling a spade a spade.

D Raja (Communist Party of India) said Ansari's advice was valuable while Karan Singh (Congress) recited a Sanskrit couple to bless Ansari.

Ansari sits on a higher chair but I am elder in age, Singh said.

Minister Ramdas Athavale paid tributes by reciting a few lines which left many members, including leader of the House Arun Jaitley, laughing.

"We wished that you could get another five years, but you belonged to that side and was not possible," he said.

V Maitreyan of AIADMK recalled the time when, he along with some other members, would decide whether to allow the House to function or not.

He, however, emphasised that Ansari handled these situations with skill and sagacity.

Many other members also lauded Ansari's impartiality, wisdom and clear approach as they paid tributes to him.
Six top terrorist commanders, including Lashkar-e-Tayiba's Abu Dujana, and Burhan Wani's successor Sabzar Ahmad Bhat of Hizbul Mujahideen, were among 132 terrorists killed in encounters with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir, so far this year, according to official figures.

Security forces and police are going after the terrorists, as they have fiercely intensified operations to hunt them down by acting on the hit-list of top terrorist leaders in Kashmir.

The number of terrorists killed in the past seven months this year is the highest in the same period over the past seven years.

"As many as 132 terrorists have been killed in encounters with police and security forces in Kashmir Valley in over seven months this year," a senior security official said.

While 115 terrorists have been killed till July-end, as many as 17 militants have been killed since then till August 9, as per official statistics.

While 38 LeT militants were killed in over seven months till August 9, 37 Hizb terrorists were eliminated along with three of the al-Qeada-linked Zakir Musa group, and another 54 unidentified militants were killed, mostly on the Line of Control.

"The relentless operations by the security forces have defeated the desperate attempts by Pakistan and its agents to spread terror in Jammu and Kashmir. Operations will be continued," a senior Army officer said.

The slain terrorists included six top commanders of LeT and Hizbul Mujahideen who were killed in fierce encounters in Kashmir during the period.

Top LeT commander Abu Dujana, a Pakistani national wanted in connection with several terror attacks, and his aide, were gunned down on August 1 by security forces in Hakripora area of Pulwama district.

Dujana was wanted for many attacks on security forces and political workers in south Kashmir.

He was variously described as a category 'A' or 'A++' terrorist by Army and police officials. He was carrying a reward of Rs 10 lakh on his head.

On July 1, another top LeT commander Bashir Lashkari and terrorist Azad Malik were killed in a firefight with security forces in Anantnag's Brenti village of Dialgam belt in south Kashmir.

Lashkari was involved in the killing of six policemen in the district's Acchabal area on June 16.

On May 28, top Hizb terrorist Sabzar Ahmad Bhat, 27, who was a close associate of slain Hizb commander Burhan Wani, was among two terrorists killed in an encounter in Tral, in south Kashmir.

Sabzar, who was seen as the successor of Wani, dropped out of school in his Rathsuna hamlet in Pulwama to join the Hizb in March this year. Wani was killed on July 8 last year.

On July 12, Sajad Gilkar was among three Hizb terrorist killed by security forces in Budgam district of central Kashmir.

Gilkar had played a key role in the lynching of Mohammad Ayub Pandith, a deputy superintendent of police, near Jamia Masjid in Nowhatta area of capital Srinagar on June 22.

Besides them, top LeT commander Abu Haris was killed in Bandipora in north Kashmir on February 14, followed by killing of Abul Ali in Budgam on April 22, while Abul Mala, Anis Bhai and Abu Mansoor of LeT were killed in Kupwara on March 15, Abu Umar of LeT was killed in Sopore on January 3, Abu Maviya was shot dead in Bandipora on January 10 and Sher Gujri was slain in Pulwama on March 9.

Most of the encounters took place in south Kashmir's Pulwama, Shopian and Anantnag, apart from Bandipora and Kupwara in north Kashmir and Budgam in central Kashmir, sources said.

In 2010, the highest number of 156 terrorists were neutralised in the first seven months of the year followed by 102 in 2017, 77 in 2016, 61 in 2011, and 51 each in 2014 and 2015 respectively, the data revealed.

Similarly, 43 terrorists were killed in 2013, followed by 37 in 2012.

The hunt for commanders and terrorists of various outfits has been intensified under operational strategy, security officials said.

The counter-terrorist grid continued to maintain dominance and deny any space to the terrorists.

Synergised hard-intelligence-based joint ops with the J&K Police and Central Armed Police Forces have been the hallmark of these operations, they said.

Police and security forces pinned down and killed those involved involved in the killing of seven policemen and lynching of Pandith immediately, officials said, adding, that a massive hunt has been launched to track down LeT commander Abu Ismail who has emerged as the mastermind of the deadly attack on Amarnath pilgrims on July 10.

In June, the Army released a 'hit-list' of 12 top militants who it aims to 'go after'.

The hit-list carried the names and pictures of the terrorists along with the areas they are active in and the strikes carried out by them.

Some on the list, including Dujana, have been eliminated over the past one month or so.

Representative image. Photograph: Umar Ganie/Rediff.com
A video of an obscene dance inside the classroom of a primary school Uttar Pradesh's Mirzapur during a birthday bash hosted by the village head and clips suggesting consumption of liquor went viral on social media prompting authorities to order a probe on Thursday.

The video showed girls dancing indecently to the rhythm of lilting Bhojpuri numbers inside the classroom of a primary school in Tetaria village in Jamalpur block on Raksha Bandhan on August 7, when the school was closed.

As the clip went viral on social media, the education department ordered a probe.

"A probe has been ordered in the matter and its report will be given to the District Magistrate for further action," Basic Sikshan Adhikari Pravin Kumar Tiwari said.

About the incident, the officer said, "The keys of school were taken by the village head on August 5 from the principal. As a number of tasks are done in the school through the village head, he was given keys. The village head organised a party to celebrate his son's birthday in the school."

A dance programme was held and liquor was also consumed there, he said.

When the school reopened on Tuesday, the students and the teachers had to remove empty liquor bottles and clean the strewn food left overs, he said.

"Holding of such events in school premises is not allowed and in this case too no permission was sought," Tiwari said.
Patel's victory, which came against heavy odds, has given the Congress and the rest of the Opposition the confidence that Modi and Shah weren't invincible.

Archis Mohan reports.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Ministers, Bharatiya Janata Party chief ministers and senior leaders on Wednesday, August 9, congratulated Amit Shah for completing three successful years as the party president and for his Rajya Sabha debut.

But the celebratory spirit was amiss at the BJP national headquarters -- 11, Ashoka Road -- and among party members of Parliament and ministers who attended Parliament on Wednesday.

The loss of a Rajya Sabha seat in Gujarat had caused much pain, or so it seemed.

The BJP had fielded Balwantsinh Rajput, who had defected from the Congress. But Rajput lost to Congress leader Ahmed Patel.

The situation in Ahmedabad was different, with Patel winning his Rajya Sabha seat despite the best efforts of Shah and his lieutenants.

The Congress and other Opposition parties finally had something to cheer about.

They have been facing a string of losses to the BJP, including in the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls in March.

The coup in Bihar with Nitish Kumar aligning with the BJP was Shah's latest hurrah.

"The last time I saw BJP leaders this downcast was after their defeat in the Bihar assembly polls in 2015," a Trinamool Congress MP said.

According to a Congress leader, Patel's victory, which came against heavy odds, has given the Congress and the rest of the Opposition the confidence that Modi and Shah weren't invincible.

Patel's win could also cause convulsions within the Congress, where Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi-led younger leaders are challenging the older guard.

A source said the absence of the Congress vice-president from Tuesday's Congress Working Committee meeting was deliberate.

"He claimed he was indisposed. But he was trying to send a message to the old guard that they needed to give him space," a senior leader said.

Patel's win as well as the fight put up by senior leaders Ashok Gehlot, P Chidambaram and others have strengthened the voice of the old guard.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi is now confronted with the challenge of brokering peace and preparing the party for the forthcoming assembly polls in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh by December.

Circumstances have also offered the Opposition another opportunity to rally forces.

Hours after the Election Commission announced Patel's win at 2.30 in the morning, BJP Lok Sabha member Sanwar Lal Jat died. Jat was an MP from Ajmer, and the seat is now headed for a bypoll.

Sachin Pilot -- the Congress' Rajasthan unit chief -- had represented the seat in 2009 and had lost to Jat in 2014.

Opposition parties suggested to the Congress that Pilot should contest the bypoll, especially given that he is a hardworking and popular politician and that the Vasundhara Raje-led BJP government is said to be losing ground.

The Opposition is also preparing to give tough fights to the BJP in the bypolls slated in Uttar Pradesh's Phoolpur and Gorakhpur Lok Sabha seats.

Phoolpur Lok Sabha MP Keshav Prasad Maurya, now the deputy CM in Uttar Pradesh, and Gorakhpur MP and Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath need to vacate the two seats by mid-September.

The Opposition is mulling fielding a common candidate in Phoolpur while the BJP is still unsure if it should ask Maurya to vacate the seat and risk an election or shift him to the Centre.

Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati's name has done the rounds as the joint Opposition candidate from Phoolpur. But she is unsure.

For now, all eyes are on Janata Dal-United rebel Sharad Yadav's conference on August 17 and Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad's Opposition unity rally in Patna on August 27.

Sharad Yadav is on the warpath against JD-U President Nitish Kumar's decision to ally with the BJP.

Meanwhile, the Congress president has invited all Opposition leaders for a meeting on the last day of the monsoon session, on Friday.

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee is flying down to attend the meeting.

After he retained his Rajya Sabha seat, Patel said Congress workers in Gujarat should now aim for 125 seats in the assembly polls due later this year.

"Our next target is to win the 2017 elections," he said.

The Congress also expelled rebel legislators, including Shankersinh Vaghela.

In some embarrassment for Nitish Kumar, Patel thanked Sharad Yadav, who took the initiative to ask the lone JD-U legislator in Gujarat to vote for Patel.

The vote proved crucial for Patel's win.

In a development related to the Gujarat assembly polls, the Election Commission on Wednesday, August 9, told the Supreme Court that it would be able to conduct the polls using electronic voting machines with a paper trail.

There were also those in the Opposition ranks who said the battles ahead were more difficult.

Former Jammu and Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah said Patel's win 'should have never been this difficult.'

'Introspection and strategy shift warranted. How much more evidence do we require to understand that we Opposition parties are up against a ruthless, finely tuned BJP political machine,' Abdullah tweeted.

In all of this, farmer organisations and trade unions have announced their plans to launch sustained protests across the country against the Modi government's policies.

IMAGE: Congress President Sonia Gandhi with her son and party Vice-President Rahul Gandhi. Photograph: Vijay Verma/PTI Photo
A new book reproduces original Chinese maps that contradict Chinese propaganda.

The book reveals Chinese intelligence admissions that Beijing never maintained any army base, customs office or other government function in the disputed area until 1983.

Claude Arpi digs deeper.

Recommended for you: Complete coverage of India's Chinese Challenge

IMAGE: On August 1, Chinese President Xi Jinping urged the People's Liberation Army to focus on war preparedness. Photograph: Chris Ratcliffe/Getty Images

On August 1, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China, chairman of the Central Military Commission and president of the People's Republic of China, presided over a grand function to celebrate the 90th founding anniversary of the People's Liberation Army, PLA.

From the rostrum of the Great Hall of People, he solemnly affirmed: 'The Chinese people love peace. We will never seek aggression or expansion, but we have the confidence to defeat all invasions. We will never allow any people, organization or political party to split any part of Chinese territory from the country at any time, in any form.'

The message was probably for India.

He urged the PLA to focus on war preparedness and forge an elite and powerful force that 'is always ready for the fight, capable of combat and sure to win.'

'All thoughts must be put on combat, and all work should focus on combat so the military can assemble, charge forward and win any time,' he said.

Meanwhile, the standoff continues on the ridge near the tri-junction of Tibet-Bhutan and Sikkim; for nearly two months, Indian and Chinese soldiers have faced-off here.

A day after Xi's speech, the Chinese government released a note titled: The Facts and China's Position Concerning the Indian Border Troops' Crossing of the China-India Boundary in the Sikkim Sector into the Chinese Territory.

There was nothing new in the note though most surprisingly, Beijing has ignored the Bhutanese and Indian notes released on June 29 and 30 respectively. It did not answer Thimphu's and Delhi's arguments.

However, the ministry of foreign affairs spokesperson in Beijing continued to insist on the 'unequal' treaty of 1890 (signed without the knowledge of the Tibetans), forgetting other agreements of 1895, 1904, 1908 and more importantly the Simla Convention of 1914, to which China had participated during several months.

In this context, it is interesting to look at a book, containing Chinese Intelligence maps, which was recently published.

Written by Ben Keiler (probably a nom de plume), it is titled Spying Against India (Chinese Military Intelligence from 1962 to 2012) Volume 1 and available on Amazon Kindle (external link).

Though it is difficult to verify the veracity of the content, it complements a map that's been circulating on Bhutanese Web sites.

A chapter entitled: The Western Territories of Bhutan explains that the above map is a copy of a Top Secret Chinese Intelligence map.

The copy was probably published to hide the embarrassing fact (for China) that Beijing knew that there were Indian and Bhutanese camps inside the area, which is today so vociferously claimed by China.

The book Spying Against India reproduces the original maps, along with the translation of the accompanying texts and provides its own comments.

The text on this map translates to:

'Luling (also called Ru-ling) area is located on southeast of the Rinchengang town, in the lower part of the Dro-mo (Lower Chumbi Valley).'

'The area includes some of the small rivers in the east of Dromo Machu, Charthang river and Luling river.'

'The size of the area is around 340 sq km, and there are more than 40 grasslands (pastures).'

'The source (of income) comes from the products of the forest; it is pretty marvelous.'

'According to some historical documents, before 1843, China put border stone pillars on the hill of Ha-la, which is the source of the Luling River.' (My note: Nobody has ever heard of these 'pillars').

'The western part of the Ha-la Mountain's range was in the past the pastoral area of the nomads of the Dro-mo (Chumbi).'

'In 1954, the Bhutanese army permanently settled at Charthang for the whole year. There were around 100 troops occupying the area.'

'In 1960, the Bhutanese soldiers came again and set up an observation post at Ha-rar with more than 20 soldiers. There were sent from the pasture ground of Charthang.'

'In 1973, the people of the Dro-mo (Chumbi) restored their control over the border area and managed to send their animals grazing like before in the upland region of Lang-ma.'

'Moreover, in 1975, we (China) established a forest park in the Langma's upland.'

'In 1983, we (China) set up a civil administration.'

'Now, the soldiers and nomads of Bhutan do not enter the lower part of Lang-ma's upland grassland by crossing the Phu-tren pass as before.'

***

This particular Chinese Intelligence map provides an overview of the disputed areas in Western Bhutan with textual 'classified' explanations.

The map is said to have been compiled by Chinese intelligence some 30 years ago.

The original maps with the positions of the Bhutanese and Indian armies were obviously not published in China, as they contradict Beijing's version of the historical background of the present standoff with India near the trijunction.

The above map provides the details of the previous map.

The present standoff between the PLA and Indian Army is taking place in the southern part of the map.

The legend for the map is interesting:

The top text shows what the Chinese consider the international border.

The second text is what India and Bhutan consider as the location of the border.

The third is the 'illegal' McMahon Line (in Eastern Bhutan, not shown on this particular map)

The fact that this area is shown in a separate colour (green), along with the captions, clearly demonstrates that the area was already disputed 30 years ago.

Yet today, China pretends that the area has always been Chinese territory!

***

This map, marked Document 67, shows that the royal army of Bhutan and the Indian Army were in control of the area in the 1980s. The key to the map is:

Blue circle: Permanent base of the Royal Bhutan Army

Blue triangle outlined: Observation post of the Royal Bhutan Army

Blue triangle: Checkpoint of the Royal Bhutan Army

Light brown circle: Indian Army base.

Not a single post occupied by the Chinese army is marked; the PLA was nowhere to be seen 30 years ago.

These facts contradict the Chinese propaganda: As admitted by Chinese intelligence, Beijing never maintained any army base, customs office or other government function in that area until 1983.

Further, according to Spying Against India:

'If we go to the map (marked) as Doc 67 (above), we see the 1987 reality as reported by Chinese military intelligence: There are four bases by the Bhutanese army and one by the Indian Army in that area alone. Those bases are located along the border and there is not one single Chinese base.'

The author of the book further comments:

'First no Tibetan from Yatung (in the Chumbi Valley) or any other Chinese lived there or even went there.'

'After some 20 years after the arrival of the Chinese army in Yatung, they start to send local Tibetans as 'nomads' with their cattle into that area to stake a claim. If those Tibetans are not expelled for some 10 years, they open a small civil administration post, which could be only an unmarked tent operated during summer.'

'Again if that civil administration station is not demolished they start to make propaganda to claim this area has been Chinese territory since ancient times.'

Perhaps more interesting is the Chinese description of the place where the conflict is presently going on. Here is the translation of the text:

'Tunglang (Doklang) area is located in the south, moreover the valley of Tunglang river is an area of more than 100 sq km.'

'Northern parts of that area are plain with lots of lakes and there are more than 30 small and big grassland.'

'Southeast are mostly forest with steep mountains and deep valley.'

'According to the historical documents, Tunglang grassland is the summer pastoral area of the people of Lower Dro-mo (Lower Chumbi) region, and the army of India and Bhutan both are not entering into the Tung lang area. They just observed the nomads and people from a big stone'

'From 1975, China's armies went around very carefully, almost once every year. .'

'Generally after we (the Chinese) reached near to the Lhamasi through Shismo, we [China] returned back.'

'In 1983, the boundary line of our observation was expanded towards the south and later it was getting nearer to the observation post of the Bhutanese army in Dung-Tsona in South of Trae grassland.'

The author of the book rightly notes:

'The names and areas of those disputed territories are not identical in China and Bhutan. Therefore, if the Chinese talk about Tonglang it's not identical in size and geographical location to what the Bhutanese and Indians called Doklam.'

He points out at the contradiction in the Chinese intelligence documents:

'A second and different Chinese story appears is in Doc 67 where Chinese intelligence marks one base of the Bhutanese army clearly inside that very area and two more at the border.'

***

The book Spying Against India also says that in Doc 70, we can see the deployment of Bhutanese and Indian army units in western Bhutan in 1987.

The first battalion of the Bhutanese army defended the area close to the border with Sikkim.

'In that location they made sure the Chinese army could not take any shortcut through Bhutanese territory and cut-off and encircle the Indian border defence in the northern areas of Sikkim.'

'The 2nd, 3rd and 5th battalions were positioned to defend the area between Yatung and the capital Thimphu.'

'The 6th battalion serves as reserve force and can be deployed in any direction. The Indian troops are intermixed with the Royal army of Bhutan to strengthen the defence but also to make sure the Chinese army cannot enter any area of Bhutan without fighting the Indian Army. This mix makes sure the Chinese cannot only target the Bhutanese army and grab more land without killing Indian soldiers.'

This was in 1987.

All this shows that the situation is far more complicated than the one presented in the recent Chinese statement.

In other words, the PLA has blundered in entering Bhutanese territory, a place that a few decades ago, China did not claim as its own. Today, at best for Beijing, it is 'disputed'.

It also illustrates clearly the Chinese method of claiming new territories: They first send grazers; if not objected to, the grazers visit every year; then a small patrol is sent; the following year a tent (representing the Civil Administration) is planted.

After a few years, it becomes 'Chinese territory administrated by China since immemorial times.'

And then Xi Jinping says: 'No one should expect us to swallow bitter fruit that is harmful to our sovereignty, security or development interests.'
Black flags over Idlib: The jihadi power grab in northwestern Syria

Publisher IRIN Author Aron Lund Publication Date 9 August 2017 Cite as IRIN, Black flags over Idlib: The jihadi power grab in northwestern Syria, 9 August 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/598c0bd04.html [accessed 13 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.

Life in northwestern Syria's war-torn and impoverished Idlib Province is already bad. And with the jihadi group Tahrir al-Sham now firmly holding dominion, it's about to get a whole lot worse for the two million people in the country's largest rebel-held region.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces have so far proved incapable of reclaiming Idlib and the surrounding opposition-dominated areas, and in the meantime Tahrir al-Sham has purged its main Islamist rival. In response, the opposition's traditional foreign patrons are taking a step back, cutting military support and reevaluating even the civilian aid they've been sending into the province for the past six years.

International politics aside, the world now needs to find an answer to the question of how northwestern Syria's civilians can be kept afloat if Western and Arab donors write Idlib off as an extremist haven, as they are likely to do-especially if Tahrir al-Sham tries to control aid flows. No less important is the question of what will become of these civilians, many of whom have been displaced from other parts of Syria or fled al-Assad's notorious secret police, if the Syrian army one day manages to retake the area.

How Tahrir al-Sham took charge

Ever since the Syrian army was run out of Idlib's eponymous provincial capital in March 2015, two groups have dominated the fractious Sunni insurgency there: the Nusra Front, which recently rebranded itself as Tahrir al-Sham, and its Islamist partner-cum-rival, Ahrar al-Sham.

The two groups started out as close allies, but they had subtle ideological differences and contradictory international alignments, and a tortuous power struggle followed.

An ideologically complicated creature, Ahrar al-Sham has received most of its support from Turkey, Qatar, and private Islamist funders, while keeping a wary distance from the United States and other Western nations. However, the group isn't terrorist-listed and it has repeatedly been invited to participate in UN-backed Syrian peace talks.

By contrast, the Nusra Front/Tahrir al-Sham is on various international terrorist lists and its leaders under sanction for its ties to the al-Qaeda movement; it has also been a target of US airstrikes. Successive name changes and a 2016 disavowal of al-Qaeda's tutelage have been roundly dismissed by the international community, including the United States. "The core of [Tahrir al-Sham] is al-Qaeda's affiliate in Syria," a State Department spokesperson told IRIN, adding that Washington's 2012 terrorism designation of that group will apply "regardless of what name it uses or what groups merge with it."

Over time, the growing involvement of foreign nations in Syria and recurring disputes over local influence led to new forms of intra-Islamist tension and polarisation, as smaller Idlib factions fell in behind either Ahrar or Tahrir al-Sham.

Though Ahrar al-Sham maintained a major presence in Idlib, the Nusra-Tahrir camp long seemed to have the upper hand, not least because Ahrar al-Sham was too internally divided to muster a real challenge. Last year, hawkish commanders within the group began to drift towards the Nusra/Tahrir camp. And despite both cash infusions and foreign encouragement, Ahrar al-Sham's Turkish-backed leaders failed to rally their own fighters and allies into a common front, dithering disjointedly in the face of their more cohesive and hard-nosed rival.

A rare bout of open violence in January 2017 saw Tahrir al-Sham grab strategically-located villages and coopt a group of jihadi-leaning commanders that had been the spine of Ahrar al-Sham's military apparatus. Wounded and weakened, Ahrar al-Sham remained as a bloated network of poorly coordinated local factions without much of a military edge. The influence of its Turkish-backed rump leadership began to diminish as minor, foreign-funded allies-collectively known as the Free Syrian Army-started to nervously sidle away, sensing that Ahrar al-Sham could no longer protect either them or itself.

But this was no quick defeat. Tension between the two rivals persisted, and rumours flew about preparations for a Turkish military intervention in northwestern Syria-the one thing that could potentially tip the scales back in Ahrar al-Sham's favour. In mid-July, checkpoint scuffles along the Turkish border slid into renewed infighting. In a series of violent clashes, Tahrir al-Sham overran Ahrar-held villages and seized the group's most valuable remaining asset, the border crossing at Bab al-Hawa, which controls access to Turkey. Though some Ahrar al-Sham units fought hard, the group as a whole failed to put up a serious defence. It now appears to have been reduced to a local faction among others, far from the powerhouse it once was.

What's left of the rest

With Tahrir al-Sham consolidating power, the jihadi takeover of northwestern Syria appears irreversible. But its opponents insist the non-jihadi anti-Assad rebellion still has some fight left in it. "We haven't heard the last of northern Syria," said a Syrian activist who has traveled in and out of the region for years, and whose family continues to work with a non-jihadi faction inside Idlib.

"Even though Ahrar al-Sham is as good as gone from Idlib, there are many other groups that aren't part of al-Qaeda and that resist al-Qaeda's influence over the area. There are Free Syrian Army groups in southern Idlib, there's [the Muslim Brotherhood-aligned] Failaq al-Sham, and many other minor groups. Discontent is also growing among local people," the activist told IRIN.

Tahrir al-Sham's takeover has raised fears that foreign donors and aid agencies will cut off or slow aid to Idlib in order to avoid overtly funding extremism. To the activist, this was another point in the anti-jihadi groups' favour. "Discontent will grow even more when aid from abroad stops because of Tahrir al-Sham," he said.

But although Tahrir al-Sham does not exercise complete control in Idlib and its surroundings, it seems to hold power where it counts. It controls a well-oiled political and administrative apparatus, has a deep bench of clerical support, and oversees most of northwestern Syria's strategic roads, checkpoints, and border crossings.

The short of it is that with a number of close allies, Tahrir al-Sham runs by far the strongest armed force in the province, now swelled by Ahrar al-Sham defectors who brought with them that group's arsenal of heavy weapons. Having knee-capped Ahrar al-Sham, it has no meaningful competition.

Hammering down this point and further enshrining their dominance, on 27 July the group unilaterally decreed a ban on the creation of new rebel groups in Idlib.

Cutting Idlib loose

Under the previous American administration, support for US-vetted rebels was meant to balance out extremist influence while keeping up the pressure on al-Assad. But in reality, it also created a space for better jihadi organised factions to organise.

It's not that Western policymakers were ignorant of this fact: they have been concerned by jihadi influence in Idlib for years, though most kept up appearances by embellishing the exploits of more palatable Free Syrian Army groups and secular civilian activists.

In March and April, however, US President Donald Trump made clear that the United States is no longer in the regime change business in Syria. Soon after, he reportedly shut down a four-year old CIA operation to fund, train, and arm anti-Assad rebels. While a parallel, Pentagon-led programme to support Kurdish and Arab fighters battling the so-called Islamic State continues to run - they are now about to take Raqqa - its beneficiaries have been banned from staging offensive operations against al-Assad's government.

The CIA programme had been at the heart of a secretive multinational operation in Turkey known as the MOM, for Musterek Operasyon Merkezi (Military Operations Centre), which also gathered Turkey, the United Kingdom, Qatar, France, and other pro-rebel governments in a joint operations room. The MOM is now apparently being dismantled, with so-called moderate rebels in northern Syria reportedly given six months to find their own sources of support.

A US State Department official contacted by IRIN refused to comment directly on the CIA programme, but said Washington's "top priorities in Syria are to defeat ISIS and other terrorists, de-escalate violence, ensure unhindered humanitarian access, and create the conditions for a credible political resolution." The official added that the US "will continue to work with our international coalition partners and Vetted Syrian Opposition forces to achieve these goals."

Even in the absence of MOM funding, some of the non-jihadi rebels might survive by drawing on local assets, private funds, and Qatari money channeled through Turkey. But most of the remaining Free Syrian Army factions in Idlib are likely to disintegrate once their salary scheme lapses. Individual fighters who remain committed to fighting al-Assad will likely be absorbed into Tahrir al-Sham or funnelled into an unthreatening, Tahrir al-Sham-approved front group.

That is, if the jihadi group can muster the resources to expand its operations and sustain the insurgency at current levels. For all of Tahrir al-Sham's organisational sophistication and military might, its leaders have struggled to come up with a workable economic model. Landing a few millions here and a few millions there in kidnapping ransoms cannot make up for the sort of funding streams that have been feeding Ahrar al-Sham and, through the MOM, the Free Syrian Army groups.

If the smaller rebel factions are deprived of salaries and arms from abroad, Tahrir al-Sham won't be able to mobilise them as auxiliaries or skim ammunition. And if the jihadi group begins to prey too aggressively on civilian trade through the Bab al-Hawa crossing or tries to divert foreign aid for its own purposes, it risks sawing off the branch it sits on by collapsing the local economy.

A bleak outlook

Idlib's future is now one of containment and ostracism, a cage for civilians trapped between al-Assad's ruthless regime and the jihadi extremists that lead the insurgency against him.

The American Syria expert Sam Heller has described Idlib's future prospects as "a jihadist-run mountain Gaza," with civilians exposed to bombing and sporadic ground attacks, dwindling aid, failing public services, and predatory jihadi rule.

In the long run, however, Idlib seems less tenable as an Islamist enclave than Palestine's Gaza Strip, which is run by the much more pragmatic Muslim Brotherhood offshoot Hamas - terrorist-listed in the West, to be sure, but also tacitly tolerated as part of a regional conflict.

But whenever the Salafi-jihadi school to which Tahrir al-Sham belongs has planted its flag in a country - be it in Libya, Mali, Yemen, or Somalia - it has triggered an international military response of some sort. The international community is unlikely to feel differently about Syria and simply accept Idlib's consolidation as an outlaw haven for extremist foreign fighters and jihadi training camps.

That's why no major power is likely step in the way of an attempt by al-Assad to cut a path back to the opposition strongholds of northwestern Syria, if or when he musters the resources to start attacking Idlib again. There will certainly be a lot of tut-tutting over human rights, but nothing that would stop a bullet - and although the regime is too weak to storm the whole region at once, it has every reason to try to nibble its way in from the edges.

Western diplomats cringe at the thought. A regime takeover of this region, where thousands of extremists have embedded themselves for an apocalyptic last stand among civilians who fear and hate al-Assad's government, is likely to be a drawn-out and brutal affair that could easily spiral into atrocity.

If at that point aid has dried up or cannot be distributed due to the militant stranglehold on local communities, and if borders remain shut, the resulting fighting and displacement - which for many will not be the first flight - will have a punishing effect on civilian well-being.

For now, jihadi-ruled Idlib remains uncomfortably contained and, thanks to foreign aid, barely functional. Since May, all sides have purported to respect the convenient fiction of Idlib as a "de-escalation zone" subject to a ceasefire, even though Tahrir al-Sham was explicitly excluded from that deal. Depending on developments elsewhere in Syria, this charade could go on for some time, and, in theory, Idlib's front lines may remain frozen for years.

Yet the jihadi factor undermines any hope for containment as a stable end state, or even as an interim solution, and with two million civilians trapped in the line of fire, the situation reeks of future menace and disaster.
By PTI: region: Govt

New Delhi, Aug 10 (PTI) Nineteen hydro-electric projects of various capacities are under construction in the Himalayan region, the Lok Sabha was informed today.

Union Minister of State for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Sanjeev Kumar Balyan, replying to a question, also provided data on the number of dam projects which have been concurred by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) and are yet to be taken up for construction, and also those which are under examination in the CEA.

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Of the 19 under-construction projects, all of which have above 25 MW capacity, four each are in Uttarakhand and Sikkim, three each in Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir and one each in Mizoram and Punjab.

Forty hydroelectric projects have been concurred by the CEA and are yet to be taken up for construction, the minister said.

Six hydroelectric schemes in Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh are under examination of the CEA, he said. PTI KND NSD

--- ENDS ---
Kenyan police must guard against using excessive force during elections

Publisher Amnesty International Author Abdullahi Boru Halakhe Publication Date 9 August 2017 Cite as Amnesty International, Kenyan police must guard against using excessive force during elections, 9 August 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/598c0cc64.html [accessed 13 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.

An ominous cloud hangs over this week's elections. Fearing a repeat of the violence that followed the 2007 election, police are poised to break up protests and have pinpointed what they are calling violence 'hotspots'.

Some incidents of violence already occurred during the campaign period.

Supporters of rival governorship candidates clashed in the western city of Eldoret on 19 July, leaving five people injured, as well as in Marsabit in northern Kenya on 26 July, where four people were injured.

Presumably the Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinnet had electoral violence in mind when he authorized the purchase of anti-riot equipment, including armored personnel carriers, tear gas and 36 water cannons, for use around the elections.

Of course, Kenya's police have a duty to protect people from violence, but they must do so in a way that respects both national and international law.

According to the Waki Commission of Inquiry which investigated the post-election violence in 2007-8, of the 1,133 people who were killed, close to 36% died of gunshot wounds from the police.

And, in May last year in Nairobi, police carried out a brutal crackdown on opposition demonstrators calling for new electoral commissioners. Many will remember the image of a heavily armed policeman stamping a protester's head into the pavement, which grabbed the world's attention at the time.

It is understandable, then, that some have raised concerns about the purchase by the police force of the new crowd control equipment. Such devices are by nature indiscriminate and have a high potential for harm. Their use must be strictly limited to situations of generalized violence and when all other means to contain the violence have failed.

People will almost certainly pour into the streets after the results are announced, either to celebrate their candidates' victories or bemoan their losses. Their public displays could take various forms, including demonstrations, meetings, processions, rallies or sit-ins. The role of the police is to facilitate these peaceful assemblies, not to disperse them.

If violent acts occur during such events, police have a duty to protect people from harm, but they must not use the violent acts of a few to restrict the rights of others. Any decision to disperse an assembly must be a last resort. In the event that they have to use force, police must observe the principles of necessity and proportionality. Under international law, firearms must never be used simply to disperse an assembly.

Kenyan law forbids it as well. Both the National Police Service Act and the Public Order Act restrict the use of firearms to exceptional circumstances. In particular, the two laws say firearms must only be used to save or protect life or in self-defense against imminent threat to life or serious injury.

While the police should, of course, position their resources where violence and loss of life is likely to occur, officers deployed in the areas identified as violence 'hotspots' must not believe they have carte-blanche to use excessive force.

Boinnet has, in various media interviews, said the force will maintain order "in strict compliance with the law" - fine words, which must now be put into practice.

Boinnet also stated that more than 100,000 officers drawn from the police, prison and forest services have been trained as part of the preparations for the election. These officers must be warned against using unnecessary, excessive and disproportionate force as they would be breaking the law.

Since 2007, the police force has undergone various legal and institutional reforms aimed at transforming it into to a professional, efficient and accountable police service that is trusted by the public. These efforts will come to nought if this year's election sees another heavy-handed response that violates the rights of those the police are sworn to protect - the Kenyan people.

Copyright notice:  Copyright Amnesty International
Kenya: Police must only use force as a last resort in dealing with protests

Publisher Amnesty International Publication Date 9 August 2017 Cite as Amnesty International, Kenya: Police must only use force as a last resort in dealing with protests, 9 August 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/598c0d7a4.html [accessed 13 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.

Kenyan police must not use unnecessary force in their handling of any election-related protests, said Amnesty International today amid fear and uncertainty in the country after the opposition rejected the initial publicly announced results.

In a live press briefing this morning, opposition candidate Raila Odinga, of the National Super Alliance (NASA) coalition, alleged the electoral commission's website had been hacked and the results manipulated in favour of the ruling Jubilee Party. He claimed the system had been hacked using the log-in details of Chris Msando, the top election body official who was found murdered on 31 July.



Initial publicly announced results showed the incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta leading in the votes.

"This morning's claims of election database hacking have raised suspicion and already pushed opposition supporters in some areas onto the streets. The police should not use force or firearms to break up peaceful protests. Force should only be used as a last resort, and even then only the bare minimum to prevent loss of life," said Muthoni Wanyeki, Amnesty International's Regional Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes.

"Any excessive or disproportionate use of force would violate Kenyan and international law."

Amnesty International has so far received reports that crowds are gathering in Nairobi's Mathare slums, and in the Kondele area of Kisumu, a pro-opposition county that has been the epicentre of heavy-handed crackdowns by the police in previous elections. In anticipation of protests, massive numbers of police heavily-equipped with crowd control equipment have deployed in many parts of the country.

"If the demonstrations turn violent, police have a duty to protect people from harm, but they must not use the violent acts of a few to restrict the right of others to protest peacefully. They must also ensure the safety and rights of independent election observers, and media reporting on the results," said Muthoni Wanyeki.

"Political leaders must also play their part by publicly urging their supporters to refrain from violence."

Kenyans went to the polls on 8 August to elect a president, governors, senators, members of county assemblies, women representatives to the county assemblies, and members of parliament.

Copyright notice:  Copyright Amnesty International
Australia: Press Vietnam on Rights

Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 9 August 2017 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Australia: Press Vietnam on Rights, 9 August 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/598c0f6e4.html [accessed 13 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.

Australia should press for significant progress on human rights at its August 10, 2017 bilateral human rights dialogue with Vietnam in Canberra in light of sharply worsening conditions, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch made a submission covering key areas for improvement, such as political prisoners and detainees, ending harassment and violence against activists and dissidents, and respecting freedom of expression and religion.

"Vietnam is making an all-out effort to repress criticism online in 2017," said Elaine Pearson, Australia director. "Australia and other countries need to have a uniform approach in holding the Vietnamese government accountable, and this means being more vocal about the worsening crackdown on bloggers and activists."

The government of Vietnam has a long record of limiting freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly for groups that criticize the government. Those brave enough to speak out often face multiple forms of police harassment, including intimidation of family members, arbitrary prohibitions on travel within Vietnam or abroad, brutal physical assaults, and fines.

Authorities also arbitrarily detain and hold people incommunicado for long periods without access to legal counsel or family visits. Courts impose long prison terms for violating vague national security provisions that criminalize speech and activism critical of the government. Police frequently torture suspects to elicit confessions and sometimes respond to public protests with excessive use of force.

Vietnam cracks down on bloggers and activists who post critical opinions on social media, charging many under article 88 of the penal code for "conducting propaganda against the state." More than 100 activists are in prison for exercising their basic freedoms of expression, assembly, association, and religion.

In June, Human Rights Watch released a report that documented 36 recent attacks on human rights activists, including beatings by people in civilian clothes who appeared to be acting at the behest of the authorities, or with their permission. Police usually fail to act on complaints against such assailants. In some cases, the assaults took place in plain view of uniformed police officers who did not intervene, even when the beatings took place in a police station.

Most recently, Tran Thi Nga, also known as Thuy Nga, was sentenced to nine years in prison under article 88 in a one-day trial after sharing articles and videos online that highlighted ongoing rights abuses tied to environmental crises and political corruption. Reports in state media said she was indicted for "defaming the administration" and "spreading reactionary ideas." A month earlier, blogger Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, also known as Mother Mushroom, was sentenced to 10 years in prison, also under article 88.

Rights activists and bloggers are not the only ones susceptible to criminal charges under Vietnam's draconian penal code. On January 1, 2018, a revised penal code comes into force that will hold defense lawyers criminally responsible for not reporting their clients to the authorities for a number of crimes, including "national security" crimes as defined under article 88. Human Rights Watch has protested that such a law will eviscerate the right to a defense.

The government has released political prisoners following foreign pressure. On July 28, 2017, a religious activist, Pastor Nguyen Cong Chinh, was released and, following a meeting with United States officials, sent to the US after being sentenced to 11 years of imprisonment for "undermining national unity policy" under penal code article 87. His wife was harassed and beaten after meeting with the US ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom, David Saperstein, in March 2016.

However, two days after Nguyen's release, on July 30, 2017, police arrested four prominent rights activists and former political prisoners - Nguyen Bac Truyen, Nguyen Trung Ton, Pham Van Troi, and Truong Minh Duc - for allegedly carrying out "activities that aim to overthrow the people's administration," according to article 79 of the penal code.

Police have also announced that prominent lawyer Nguyen Van Dai, and his fellow activist, Le Thu Ha, will be charged under article 79 for conducting propaganda against the state rather than article 88 and linked their cases with the recent arrests. Authorities arrested both in December 2015, and have detained them ever since. At least 14 other rights activists have been arrested and charged with vaguely defined national security violations since November 2016, pending investigation.

"Vietnamese bloggers and activists face daily harassment, intimidation, violence, and imprisonment," Pearson said. "Australia needs to unequivocally pressure Vietnam to stop these abuses."

Copyright notice:  Copyright, Human Rights Watch
Saudi Arabia: 14 Shia at Risk of Imminent Execution

Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 10 August 2017 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Saudi Arabia: 14 Shia at Risk of Imminent Execution, 10 August 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/598c10134.html [accessed 13 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.

Fourteen members of the Saudi Shia community are at imminent risk of execution after Saudi Arabia's Supreme Court in mid-July 2017 upheld their death sentences from an unfair trial for protest-related crimes, Human Rights Watch said today. Courts convicted the 14 based on confessions they had repudiated in court, saying that they were coerced.

Saudi Arabia's execution rate has accelerated since the country's leadership change on June 21. Since that date, Saudi Arabia has executed 35 people, compared with 39 during the first six months of 2017. Nine of the people executed since June 21 were convicted for nonviolent drug crimes.

"Saudi Arabia's public relations firms and management consultants have recently sold a reform narrative, but executions have only increased since Saudi Arabia's leadership change, and many more could be on the way," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "Executions are never the answer to stopping crime, especially when they result from a flawed justice system that ignores torture allegations."

Saudi Arabia's leadership change coincided with the transfer of many security powers and the prosecution service to new entities reporting directly to the king. The Interior Ministry carries out executions approved by Saudi courts and the king.

Authorities transferred the 14 Shia men without explanation from Dammam to Riyadh's Ha'ir prison on July 15, and have held some of them in solitary confinement and without contact with the outside world since then, family members told Human Rights Watch.

The 14 were among the defendants in a mass trial known as the "Qatif 24" case, as all defendants were from that Shia-majority area. The Specialized Criminal Court convicted all of them on protest-related crimes, and some faced charges of violence including targeting police patrols or police stations with guns and Molotov cocktails. Saudi media have described the 24 men as members of a "terrorism cell" that carried out over 50 armed attacks targeting security forces that killed "a number" of them and injured dozens.

The court convicted nearly all defendants based on confessions they later repudiated in court, saying the authorities had tortured them. The Specialized Criminal Court sentenced 14 to death in June 2016, and an appeals court upheld the verdict in May 2017. The court sentenced 9 others to prison terms between 3 and 15 years, and exonerated one defendant.

The Justice Ministry defended judicial authorities' handling of the case in a Saudi Press Agency statement on August 4, saying that the sentence was reviewed and approved by 13 separate judges. But it did not address the allegations that authorities obtained confessions by torture or that judges dismissed these allegations without investigating them.

The 14 men include Mujtaba al-Sweikat, whom authorities arrested in August 12, 2012, as he was trying to board a plane for the United States to attend Western Michigan University, as well as Munir al-Adam, who Saudi activists say lost hearing in one ear following beatings by interrogators.

Human Rights Watch analyzed 10 trial judgments that the Specialized Criminal Court handed down between 2013 and 2016 against men and children accused of protest-related crimes following popular demonstrations by members of the Shia minority in 2011 and 2012 in Eastern Province towns. In nearly all these judgments, defendants had retracted their "confessions," saying they were coerced in circumstances that in some cases amounted to torture, including beatings and prolonged solitary confinement.

The court rejected all torture allegations without investigating the claims. It ignored defendants' requests to demand video footage from the prison that they said would show them being tortured, and to summon interrogators as witnesses to describe how the "confessions" were obtained.

Saudi activists told Human Rights Watch that in July 2017, authorities also transferred to Riyadh another 15 men sentenced to death as part of an "Iran Spy Trial," and local media reported that an appeals court had upheld their death sentences in July. The verdict now requires approval by the Supreme Court and the king's signature.

Others currently on death row include four Saudis whom courts found guilty of offenses committed when they were children - Ali al-Nimr, Dawoud al-Marhoun, Abdullah al-Zaher, and Abdulkareem Al-Hawaj.

Of the 74 people executed so far in 2017, 52 were Saudi citizens. Among the foreigners executed were 12 Pakistanis who had been convicted on drug smuggling charges.

International standards, including the Arab Charter on Human Rights, ratified by Saudi Arabia, require countries that retain the death penalty to use it only for the "most serious crimes," and in exceptional circumstances. In 2012, the United Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions stated that in countries that still use the death penalty, it should be limited to cases in which a person intentionally committed murder, not to punish drug-related offenses. Article 37(a) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child prohibits capital punishment for children or child offenders in all cases.

The Death Penalty Worldwide Database, which collects information on executions across the globe, shows that Saudi Arabia has one of the highest execution rates in the world, and applies the death penalty to a range of offenses that do not constitute "most serious crimes," including drug offenses and "sorcery." In the Middle East, only Iran executes more people: since the start of 2017, Iran has reportedly executed at least 357 prisoners, according to Boroumand Foundation, a human rights group that documents executions in Iran.

Human Rights Watch opposes capital punishment in all countries and under all circumstances. Capital punishment is unique in its cruelty and finality, and it is inevitably and universally plagued with arbitrariness, prejudice, and error.

In 2012, following similar resolutions in 2007, 2008, and 2010, the UN General Assembly called on countries to establish a moratorium on the use of the death penalty, progressively restrict the practice, and reduce the offenses for which it might be imposed, all with the view toward its eventual abolition. The UN secretary-general at the time, Ban Ki-moon, called on countries in 2013 to abolish the death penalty.

"If the new leadership is serious about reform, they should immediately step in to stop these executions and put an end to sham trials in which defendants may have been convicted using torture-tainted confessions," Whitson said.

Copyright notice:  Copyright, Human Rights Watch
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.
Mali: Prevalence of levirate and who is practicing it; consequences if levirate is refused; protection and assistance offered by the state and civil society (2015-July 2017)

Publisher Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Publication Date 17 July 2017 Citation / Document Symbol MLI105822.F Related Document(s) Mali: Prevalence of levirate and who is practicing it; consequences if levirate is refused; protection and assistance offered by the state and civil society (2015-July 2017) Cite as Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Mali: Prevalence of levirate and who is practicing it; consequences if levirate is refused; protection and assistance offered by the state and civil society (2015-July 2017), 17 July 2017, MLI105822.F, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/598c6d074.html [accessed 13 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.

Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa

1. Prevalence of Levirate

In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a representative of the Malian National Commission of Human Rights (Commission nationale des droits de l'homme, CNDH), an [translation] "independent consultative administrative authority whose mission is to contribute to the promotion and protection of human rights" (NANHRI n.d.), stated that the practice of levirate [translation] "is not very frequent and  now actually appears to be disappearing in Mali" (Mali 30 June 2017).

In contrast, a 2016 report on Mali published by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women notes that levirate is one of the [UN English version] "harmful practices  [that] remain prevalent and unpunished" in Mali (UN 25 July 2016, para. 19). Similarly, a 2016 report on Mali published for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) reports that levirate is one of the "common and serious problems among women in Mali" (Mathys et al. Feb. 2015, 11). In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a representative of Women in Law and Development in Africa/Mali (WILDAF/Mali), a network of associations and individual members [translation] "whose goal is the protection and promotion of the rights of women and children," particularly through "assistance and legal support for women and children who are victims of abuse" (Governance in Africa n.d.), stated that [translation] "levirate is a tradition that is commonly practiced in Mali" (WILDAF/Mali 5 July 2017).

The CNDH representative stated that [translation] "levirate is practiced by all ethnic groups in almost every region of Mali" and that this practice "varies from one region to another and from one ethnic group to another" (Mali 30 June 2017). According to the same source,

[translation]

levirate is not part of every custom in Mali. For example, the Dogons and the Bobo people do not practice it.

However, four large ethnic groups practice the levirate. These groups are the Bambara, Soninke, Peulh and Malinke. (Mali 3 July 2017)

Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

According to the WILDAF/Mali representative, [translation] "in Mali, almost all groups practice levirate. It is more common in rural areas than in urban areas because women living in urban centres can usually access information on consent to marriage" (WILDAF/Mali 5 July 2017). Similarly, a report from June 2016, by the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), which was prepared in collaboration with civil society organizations in Mali, states that [translation] "levirate persists as a practice, particularly in rural areas" (FIDH et al. June 2016, 14).

2. Legislation

The CNDH representative noted that levirate [translation] "is a customary practice," which is not covered by the law (Mali 30 June 2017). Similarly, the WILDAF/Mali representative noted that [translation] "[t]he Code of Persons and the Family (Code des personnes et de la famille) makes no reference to levirate" and that it is actually the families and communities that [translation] "resort to this practice to consolidate family relationships [and] solidarity" (WILDAF/Mali 5 July 2017).

The same source made reference to Article 283 of the Code of Persons and the Family, as it relates to consent to marriage (WILDAF/Mali 5 July 2017). Article 283 of the Code of Persons and the Family provides the following:

[translation]

Article 283: Marriage is not possible if there is no consent.

The consent is not valid if it was obtained through violence or if an error was made about the person.

Each party must give their consent orally and in person before the civil registrar. It is noted by signature or, failing that, a fingerprint at the end of the certificate.

However, for geographical reasons, if one of the future spouses lives outside the place of marriage and is unable to appear in person before the civil registrar, that party may provide consent through a certificate prepared by the civil registrar for their residence.

This certificate is sent by this civil registrar to the civil registrar responsible for the marriage celebration.

The marriage must be celebrated in this case before a representative appointed by the party unable to attend. This representative must sign or, failing that, add their fingerprints to the end of the marriage certificate.

Consent by parents or legal representatives may be given within the conditions set out in paragraph 3 of this article.

By reason of illness or for geographical reasons, or any other cause, consent by parents or legal representatives may be given in writing in a certificate prepared by the mayor or head of the administrative district of the residence of the party concerned. The signature or, failing that, the fingerprints of the party concerned must be appended to this certificate. (Mali 2011)

The WILDAF/Mali representative explained that [translation] "it is often the case with levirate that it is a traditional marriage that has no legal value" (WILDAF/Mali 5 July 2017). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

3 . Refusing Levirate

According to the CNDH representative, levirate [translation] "is a customary practice that is not obligatory. The persons concerned are not obliged to accept it.  Spouses can refuse it without any consequences" (Mali 30 June 2017). The CNDH representative also stated the following regarding people who refuse levirate:

[translation]

Generally, there is no problem except for some women who do not have any financial resources and cannot take care of themselves. These people become vulnerable and often accept levirate so that they can get help to care for their children. (Mali 30 June 2017)

The same source also stated that refusing the levirate might cause [translation] "tension in the family" and, in particular, could have "repercussions for the rights of the children," such as "confiscating their inheritance and their mother's belongings, rejection [by] other family members, separation from their mother and having to quit school" (Mali 3 July 2017). The CNDH representative also explained that [translation] "generally speaking, when it is refused, the woman is the one who is most exposed and vulnerable. She could be beaten by the family, or even cast out and stripped of her belongings and/or her late husband's belongings" (Mali 3 July 2017). The WILDAF/Mali representative also noted that [translation] "the woman often has no choice but to accept [levirate] or else she risks losing any status within the family or the community and she is often deprived of any inheritance" (WILDAF/Mali 5 July 2017). The same source provided the following explanation:

[translation]

Levirate can be refused by the woman or by the deceased husband's brother, but the consequences are not the same. The deceased's brother can refuse[;] the family or the community can accept [his refusal], he will not be subjected to abuse or be rejected by the family or the community. However, if the woman refuses, she can be subjected to violence, she can be rejected, or she can be denied the inheritance from her husband, and her children can be taken from her if they are young. (WILDAF/Mali 5 July 2017)

A research report written by two University of South Florida consultants about the empowerment of women in the Sahel region, including in Mali, that was submitted to the UN World Food Program (WFP) notes the following:

Women have little choice but to accept their new husband, since the larger household assures food security and stability for their children. Refusing the levirate can create serious ruptures between families and even villages (if the refusing bride comes from elsewhere, the village will recoup its loss by bringing back one of its own widows from the neighboring community), and is therefore virtually unattested. (Boyer and Deubel Oct. 2016, 28)

4. Protection and assistance offered

The CNDH representative stated that [translation] "many women's rights and human rights organizations in Mali" are available for people who refuse levirate (Mali 30 June 2017). The same source explained that [translation] "many associations and NGOs" offer "legal and judicial assistance" through "legal clinics" (Mali 3 July 2017). According to the CNDH representative, the CNDH [translation] "intervenes on behalf of all citizens whose rights have been violated" (Mali 3 July 2017). Without providing any more details, the same source stated that religious and traditional authorities offer [translation] "many remedies" and that other jurisdictions can be approached or can intervene (Mali 3 July 2017).

Statistics on the use of these remedies or information about their effectiveness could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response

The WILDAF/Mali representative stated the following:

[translation]

Authorities can intervene if a woman has the courage to go to them. It should be noted that many women do not have the courage because they fear being stigmatized or because they do not know where to go after having approached the authorities. NGOs, like my organization, raise awareness and educate women on marriage and how to approach the authorities. We help women who come to us. We do not have a shelter for victims and the processes are often drawn out. The family or the community can pressure the women, and they then acquiesce and renounce their rights. (WILDAF/Mali 5 July 2017)

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Boyer, Micah and Tara Deubel. October 2016. Gender, Markets and Women's Empowerment: Sahel Region Case Studies in Mali, Niger and Chad. [Accessed 6 July 2017]

Federation internationale des ligues des droits de l'homme (FIDH) et al. June 2016. L'application de la Convention sur l'elimination de toutes les formes de discrimination a l'egard des femmes : Rapport alternatif aux 6eme et 7eme rapports periodiques du gouvernement du Mali. [Accessed 6 July 2017]

Governance in Africa. N.d. "WILDAF - FeDDAF = Women in Law and Development in Africa - Femmes droit et developpement en Afrique." [Accessed 12 July 2017]

Mali. 3 July 2017. Commission nationale des droits de l'homme (CNDH). Correspondence from a representative to the Research Directorate.

Mali. 30 June 2017. Commission nationale des droits de l'homme (CNDH). Correspondence from a representative to the Research Directorate.

Mali. 2011. Code des personnes et de la famille. Loi n2011 - 087 du 30 Decembre 2011. [Accessed 6 July 2017]

Mathys, Ellen, Emmet Murphy and Monica Woldt. February 2015. USAID Office of Food for Peace Food Security Desk Review for Mali, FY2015-FY2019. [Accessed 6 July 2017]

Network of African National Human Rights Institutions (NANHRI). N.d. Commission nationale des droits de l'homme du Mali. [Accessed 30 June 2017]

United Nations (UN). 25 July 2016. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Observations finales concernant les sixieme et septieme rapports periodiques (presentes en un seul document) du Mali. (CEDAW/C/M/LI/CO/6-7) [Accessed 6 July 2017]

Women in Law and Development in Africa/Mali (WILDAF/Mali). 5 July 2017. Correspondence from a representative to the Research Directorate.

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: Association espoir jeunes femmes; Association malienne des droits de l'homme; Association malienne pour le suivi et l'orientation des pratiques traditionnelles; Association pour le progres et la defense des droits et des femmes du Mali; Coordination des associations et ONG feminines du Mali; Professor of sociology, Universite du Quebec a Montreal; United Nations - UN Women Mali.

Internet sites, including: AllAfrica; Amnesty International; Care France; Courants de Femmes; Les Echos; ecoi.net; L'Essor; Factiva; Federation international des ligues des droits de l'homme; France - Cour nationale du droit d'asile; Freedom House; Genre en action; Gouvernance en Afrique; Human Rights Watch; Jeune Afrique; Journal du Mali; MaliActu.net; Maliweb.net; PanaPress; Radio France internationale; United Nations - Refworld.
By PTI: New Delhi, Aug 10 (PTI) Ahead of Independence Day, two men with suspected links to al-Qaeda were arrested here in two separate cases, the police said today.

In the first case, the Delhi Polices Special Cell arrested one Syed Mohammed Zishan Ali, suspected to be linked to the terror outfit. He was arrested here after being brought back from Saudi Arabia.

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The police were on the lookout for him for over a year, ever since three alleged AQIS (al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent) operatives were arrested in 2015.

Senior officers from the Special Cell confirmed the arrest. Further details are awaited.

In the second case, 25-year-old Raja-ul-Ahmed, with links to al-Qaeda, was detained last week by the Delhi Police following a tip-off from the West Bengal police.

A senior officer from the Delhi Police said that Ahmed was held last week. He did not divulge details about the date or the place of arrest.

Ahmed is a suspected member of Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), that is an al-Qaeda-inspired group in Bangladesh. PTI SLB KUN

--- ENDS ---
New York, NY -- (ReleaseWire) -- 08/10/2017 --This summer brings an exclusive release from Bullion Exchanges  the astounding 2017 8 oz. Silver Panda Fiji $5 Coin .999 Fine Antiqued  which celebrates the 35th anniversary of one of the most popular coin series in the world. This special issue comes with a unique limited mintage of just 888 pieces  a number that promises to make the coin highly collectible.



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This exceptional coin has a limited mintage of just 888 pieces worldwide which makes it a sought-after piece for any collector or investor. It's offered in an exquisite wooden box, colored as a bamboo tree and bearing a lovely image of two pandas encircled by the inscriptions "8 oz. Silver Panda" and "35th Anniversary of the Panda". Each coin displays its serial number written on the rim and is accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity. Bullion Exchanges will also offer the coin in certified cases with NGC designations.



The coin's 8 oz. weight and 888 issue limit were intentionally chosen due to the special meaning of the No.8 in the Chinese culture. Numbers have always had a significant role for people in China, which are obsessed with having lucky numbers in telephone numbers, dates of wedding ceremonies, car license plates, addresses, and bank accounts.



Get the astounding 2017 8 oz. Silver Panda Fiji $5 Coin .999 Fine Antiqued today  only 888 pieces!
Body cameras for the Mooresville Police Department have arrived. Find out when they will be used.
Tamil Nadu CM E Palaniswami and O Panneerselvam have decided to bury their differences to strengthen AIADMK. The two leaders are likely to meet PM Modi before they announce merger of the two factions of the party.

EPS and OPS are likely to meet PM Modi in Delhi on August 11.

By India Today Web Desk: Will the two warring factions of Tamil Nadu's ruling AIADMK merge? If sources are to be believed they will. Chief Minister E Palaniswami and late J Jayalithaa's trusted aide O Panneerselvam have agreed bury their differences and join hands to keep Sasikala and his nephew TTV Dinakaran away from power in the state.

An announcement regarding merger of the two AIADMK factions may be made soon but before that both Palaniswami and Panneerselvam are likely to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Both Palaniswami and Panneerselvam are in Delhi to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Venkaiah Naidu as Vice-President today.

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Reports say that according to the merger plans Panneerselvam is likely to be declared Tamil Nadu's Deputy CM and will be given crucial portfolios like Finance and Public Works Department (PWD).

Earlier in the day, CM Palaniswami challenged the authority of its Deputy General Secretary TTV Dinakaran, nephew of jailed party chief V K Sasikala, a move hailed by the rebel camp as an 'awakening'.

HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

Despite sources claiming that a merger between the AIADMK factions is on the cards, the Panneerselvam faction is firm on its demands - a probe into the late chief minister J Jayalalithaa's death and expulsion of Sasikala and her family from AIADMK. A meeting presided over by Palaniswami said the appointment of Dhinakaran as deputy general secretary was against party rules. Reacting to the development, a defiant Dinakaran later told reporters in Thanjavur that the party was still under his control. Dinakaran said his post was a nominated one and the party general secretary could name office-bearers to such posts. He asserted that the appointments he made were valid and in tune with party by-laws. He also cited Sasikala naming Forest Minister Dindigul C Srinivasan as party treasurer after the expulsion of incumbent Panneerselvam. Dinakaran said the incumbent AIADMK regime was set up by party general secretary VK Sasikala and hence it should not face any threat. The Palaniswami camp had in April announced the sidelining of Dinakaran and Sasikala from the party affairs and the state government. Dinakaran's appointment was under the scrutiny of the Election Commission, the AIADMK (Amma) led by Palaniswami said. To assert his position in the party by returning to active party work after a two-month hiatus after his arrest in a case related to alleged attempt to bribe the Election Commission officials. On August 4, Dinakaran had announced appointment of some new office-bearers, considered his loyalists.

ALSO READ:

AIADMK merger soon? EPS as CM, OPS to be deputy; party dumps Dinakaran

AIADMK merger done deal? OPS party chief, EPS to continue as CM; camps wait for Dinakaran's arrest

AIADMK: Panneerselvam, Palaniswami talk merger but marriage after divorce is not easy

ALSO WATCH:

--- ENDS ---
Tamil Nadu minister D Jaykumar said that he is confident about the merger of the two factions of the AIADMK.

By Pramod Madhav: The merger of the two warring factions looks like a possibility now after a deal that allows E Palaniswami to continue as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister with O Panneerselvam as his deputy is reported to have been reached.

Sources in the AIADMK said OPS is likely to be declared Tamil Nadu's Deputy CM and will be given crucial portfolios like Finance and PWD.

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Speaking with India Today, minister D Jayakumar said the merger may occur before August 15. When asked if OPS will get the Deputy CM post, he remained silent. According to sources O Paneerselvam is not comfortable getting this post

Semmalai and MaFoi Pandiarajan are also likely to be given Cabinet berths. While the former may get Health, the latter may be made the Industries minister.

To accommodate the two, current ministers MC Sampath and Vijayabhaskar are likely to be dropped from the state cabinet.

KP Munusamy, who is in the Panneerselvam camp, said that one of those demands includes a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the death of former chief minister J Jayalalithaa.

Manoj Pandian of the OPS faction said ,"We want Sasikala also to be out of the party."

The sources said that OPS may leave for Delhi on Saturday.

AIADMK DUMPS DHINAKARAN

In a related development, Team EPS has passed a resolution that invalidates the appointment of TTV Dhinakaran as the Deputy General Secretary of the AIADMK.

This is the first time that the chief minister has made a categorical assertion about the status of Dhinakaran's appointment by his aunt Sasikala on February 14 just ahead of her incarceration.

"Dhinakaran's appointment as Deputy General Secretary is illegal as per the party rules. He cannot hold any party post since he was not a party member for a continuous five years," said the resolution.

It added that a case was also pending with the Election Commission regarding his appointment.

The AIADMK also said that Dhinakaran was creating confusion by appointing several party office bearers. "Therefore, Dhinakaran's announcements also invalid."

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party is likely keeping a close watch on the developments in Chennai. Sources had previously told India Today that the BJP is looking to bring a united AIADMK into the NDA fold.

Also Read

AIADMK merger done deal? OPS party chief, EPS to continue as CM; camps wait for Dinakaran's arrest

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AIADMK: Panneerselvam, Palaniswami talk merger but marriage after divorce is not easy

ALSO WATCH | As talks are on to merge EPS, OPS factions of AIADMK into NDA, the road ahead is bumpy

--- ENDS ---
Dissident rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng, who remains under house arrest since his release from prison in August 2014, is unlikely to regain any measure of freedom before the ruling Chinese Communist Party's 19th congress later this year, his friends told RFA.



Gao, once a well-known human rights lawyer, now lives in a cave home in a remote village in the northern province of Shaanxi, and has been repeatedly denied permission by the Chinese police to see a dentist for treatment after losing several teeth to torture and neglect during his incarceration.



Gao, 53, has published a book detailing the torture he endured at the hands of the authorities during his time in prison, and has described being repeatedly tortured when he was secretly jailed at a "military site" during one of many disappearances.



"It's not going to happen, particularly not before the 19th Party Congress," a Xi'an-based friend of Gao's told RFA. "He will be put under very close surveillance, and there is no likelihood of his leaving that village."



"We will have to see whether an opportunity will arise after the Party Congress is over."



He said Gao's friends are extremely concerned about his safety and well-being.



"We are all very worried because the surveillance is so strict," the friend said. "I don't expect him to be allowed to leave."



Tortured, confined



Gao's memoir details the torture he endured at the hands of the authorities during his time in prison, as well as three years of solitary confinement, during which he said he was sustained by his Christian faith and his hope for China.



Fellow activists have been raising money to pay for a dentist, according to an activist who declined to be named.



"I think this shows that Gao Zhisheng still wields a very strong influence," the activist said. "That's why the Chinese Communist Party is keeping him under house arrest even after releasing him from prison."



"I think they want to go a step further in diminishing that influence, and to make an example of him, to frighten other rights activists, lawyers, and dissidents, because all they believe in is power and violence."



Gao remains under 24-hour surveillance by state security police after his release from a three-year jail term for "incitement to subvert state power" handed down in 2006 and suspended for five years, during which Gao repeatedly suffered forced disappearances and torture.



Call for release



William Nee, China researcher for the rights group Amnesty International, called on the Chinese government to release all prisoners of conscience.



"We have been following the case of Gao Zhisheng with concern, and we are extremely concerned that he has been placed under house arrest after being released from prison," Nee told RFA. "It is just another form of prison."



"We call [on the authorities] to allow Gao to go where he needs to go to get medical treatment, and to allow him to be genuinely at liberty," he said.



He said Gao's continuing house arrest even after being "released" from jail mirrors the treatment meted out to fellow rights lawyers and activists detained in a nationwide police operation since July 2015.



"They haven't even committed any crime, but the Chinese government continues to hold them under surveillance," he said.



Once highly praised by the Communist Party, Gao began to be targeted by the authorities after he defended some of China's most vulnerable people, including Christians, coal miners, and followers of the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement.



Reported by Hai Nan for RFA's Cantonese Service, and by Xin Lin for the Mandarin Service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie.




China on Thursday moved to clamp down on any unauthorized reporting of the earthquake in its southwestern Sichuan province, ordering news outlets to stick to the official line.



The ruling Chinese Communist Party's propaganda officials have issued a ban on any individual reporting of the quake, a leaked directive to media editors showed.



"Regarding the earthquake in Jiuzhaigou, Ngaba prefecture, Sichuan province, all outlets must stick to official copy from Xinhua news agency," an order from the party's propaganda ministry posted online by the U.S.-based China Digital Times website said.



Horrifying photos and video are forbidden, and outlets must stay on top of changes in online public comments. Be prepared to delete harmful information in a timely manner," it said.



Thousands of rescuers have poured into the scenic tourist region worst-hit by Tuesday night's 7.0 magnitude quake that killed 20 people and injured hundreds, with 16 tourists reported stranded near a lake in the Jiuzhaigou national park.



Local residents and tourists are sleeping outside, some in relief tents, for fear of further aftershocks and building collapses, with many of them clustered in the county town in Sichuan's Jiuzhaigou county.



As temperatures fall, many are at risk of illness, including colds and flu, sources said.



"There are around 10,000 people on the main square in the Jiuzhaigou county town right now, tourists," a source in the area told RFA. "There's no hope of transportation, because nothing can get in."



Damage to roads



"There is serious damage to many of the local roads, with massive rockfalls and landslides every kilometer or so," she said. "We have to rely on rescuers going to search each of the villages, and there are still many places that they haven't managed to reach yet."



She said some vehicles have managed to leave the area: "But there are too few, and they move too slowly. People are afraid to drive because of all the landslides."



"Only one bus has arrived here so far today, a bus which took away more than 20 people," she said, adding that a small number of people had been airlifted out by helicopter.



A business owner in Jiuzhaigou confirmed her account.



"For the time being, nobody can get into the area; they have to clear the roads first ... because some of the mountainside has likely tumbled down," he said. "They will only let people in when they can guarantee their safety."



Calls to Wang Zhongchen, spokesman for the Sichuan provincial government, rang unanswered during office hours on Thursday.



Tourism industry hit



A Chinese journalist in the quake-hit area said the quake has done huge and immediate damage to tourism in the area.



"Everyone has fled, except for the ones who are still waiting for transportation," he said. "And when they're gone, they'll leave a ghost town behind them."



"There is geological instability now, and it'll take time to recover."



Hong Kong's tourist industry association said all tours to the quake-hit area have been canceled, with more than 300 tourists in 20 tour groups run by its members currently affected by the quake.



"There is no way that we will get any more tourists this year, or for who knows how long," a Jiuzhaigou resident told RFA. "Just as business was looking up, we get this earthquake. There's no way we can recover from this in a couple of months."



"Will people want to come to Jiuzhaigou, one month from now? I think it'll take at least six months."



An employee who answered the phone at the Sichuan Tourism Association declined to comment when contacted by RFA on Thursday.



"Only official websites are allowed to put out news about this stuff, so there will be only one announcement," she said.



Death toll unclear



Beijing economics professor Hu Xingdou said he believes the authorities may be covering up the true extent of the death toll.



"I think it's likely that the toll of deaths and injuries from this earthquake was very serious, although it's not very high in the official media reports," Hu said.



"There are probably a lot that haven't been counted yet, and then there's the massive, even disastrous impact on the local economy, on society, and on people's livelihoods."



State media said that 47,000 tourists had been transferred to safer places as of 6 p.m on Thursday, while the ministry of transport in Beijing has initiated emergency response procedures in response to the damage to roads.



The Global Times newspaper said four foreign nationals were injured in the quake, out of more than 1,000 in the area.



Chinese seismologists warned that there might be more aftershocks in the coming days, the paper, which has close ties to the ruling Chinese Communist Party, reported.



Link to dams



However, some experts told RFA that the recent earthquake and the devastating 2008 earthquake that left tens of thousands dead are likely linked to a massive program of dam-building in the region in recent years.



"Actually, the [2008] earthquake and the Jiuzhaigou earthquake are in the same region, and these are reservoir-induced earthquakes," Germany-based hydrologist Wang Weiluo said in an interview on Thursday.

"A lot of scholars in China don't agree with this view."

"But the 2008 earthquake was clearly and directly linked to the Zipingpu reservoir," he said. "There have in fact been a number of earthquakes linked to hydropower projects in China's southwest."



In 2014, experts called for further research into reservoir-triggered quakes after a powerful earthquake left nearly 600 people dead in the southwestern Chinese province of Yunnan.



According to Yang Yong, a senior researcher in the seismology team at the Sichuan provincial land and mining bureau in Chengdu, the quake came just months after authorities in Yunnan's worst-hit Ludian county filled up a brand new 23 million cubic-meter (812 million cubic-foot) capacity reservoir.



Yang's colleague Fan Xiao told RFA on Thursday that the link between earthquakes and hydroelectric dams can't be ignored.



"Overdevelopment exacerbates local geological disasters," Fan said. "They have now built so many dams in that area that they can't find room to build any more."



"A lot of this is government-led, because they can extract a lot of income from selling water resources [for development]."



Reservoirs at fault



Fan and Yang told reporters in 2008 that pressure from the water in reservoirs contributed to the break-up of the earth's crust along the fault line, a claim that has also been made by other international seismology experts.



Reservoir-triggered seismicity is the term used by experts to describe the triggering of earthquakes by the physical processes that accompany the filling of large reservoirs.



Harsh K. Gupta, a top international expert on the subject, defined this in 2002 as "earthquakes occurring in the vicinity of artificial water reservoirs as a consequence of impoundment [i.e., the collection and confining of water]."



According to Gupta, more than 90 earthquakes are known to have been triggered by the filling of water reservoirs, including the 1967 Koyna earthquake in India, which measured 6.3 on the Richter scale.



Reported by Wong Lok-to, Wong Siu-san, Lam Kwok-lap, Ng Yik-tung and Sing Man for RFA's Cantonese Service, and by Yang Fan for the Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.




A sign welcomes visitors to Mantong township in the Palaung self-administered zone of Myanmar's northern Shan state in an undated photo.

Vehicles trapped in Mantong township for five days were able to leave the area in battle-scarred northern Shan state on Thursday after the Myanmar military reopened roads following an ambush by an ethnic armed group on one of its convoys, a local politician said.

The military closed off all entry and exit points to the township after the Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA) attacked one of its convoys on Aug. 5, prohibiting residents and visitors from coming into and going out of Mantong.

Mantong is one of two townships in the Palaung self-administered zone overseen by the ethnic Palaung, or Taang, people  a MonKhmer ethnic minority found in Shan state. The zones other township is Namhsan.

There were no reports of casualties from the attack.

About 20 vehicles were trapped in town, said Aik Mone, chairman of the Taang National Party who lives in Mantong. The road reopened this morning, and vehicles can travel to Namtu and Lashio from Mantong.

Myanmar troops are meanwhile continuing their search and arrest operations for the attackers, Mantong residents told RFAs Myanmar Service.

When the township was closed, government soldiers conducted searches at night and apprehended 10 people on Wednesday, they said.

Officials from the Palaung self-administered zone contacted Colonel Soe Moe Aung, Shan state minister for border security, who said he will talk to the government army about the arrests and ongoing clashes with the TNLA.

Thein Zaw, an official from the Palaung self-administered zone, told RFA that the Myanmar army has not yet confirmed the arrests.

TNLA battalion 434 has been engaged in hostilities with the national armys Light Infantry Division 77 in the Palaung self-administered zone in recent days, according to information on the website of the Palaung State Liberation Front, the TNLAs political wing.

The rebel army has been fighting the government military and another ethnic armed group  the Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army (RCSS/SSA)  in Shan state since late November 2015, about six weeks after the signing of a nationwide cease-fire agreement (NCA) between the government and eight of the countrys more than 20 ethnic armed groups.

The TNLA was excluded from signing the accord because of its ongoing hostilities with Myanmar's armed forces.

UNFC meeting

In a related development, a delegation of ethnic armed groups that have not signed the NCA met with the governments Peace Commission on Thursday at the National Peace and Reconciliation Center in Yangon for their sixth round of formal negotiations.

The United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC)  the umbrella organization for militias that have not signed a nationwide peace pact with the Myanmar government  discussed the nine-point proposal put forth by its Delegation for Political Negotiation (DPN), which lays out conditions under which ethnic militias will sign the NCA.

Peace Commission chairman Tin Myo Win said the parties would reach an agreement for UNFC members to sign the NCA at the current round of talks after 14 months of negotiations.

Daw [honorific] Aung San Suu Kyi strongly believes that all delegations will sign the NCA and participate in third Panglong Peace Conference, said Tin Myo Win, the commissions chairman. I also believe that both sides will build trust and work together to build a federal democratic system.

The peace conference is a key initiative of Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmars de facto leader who wants to end decades of civil war between the government military and rebel armies that have torn the country apart.

Two rounds of the Panglong Conference talks were held in August 2016 and May 2017. The government has yet to announce the date for the next round of talks expected later this year.

Khu Oo Reh, head of the DPN, said the government must create a fair situation for all ethnic groups if it wants those who have not signed the NCA to agree to the pact and participate in the next meeting of the governments Panglong Conference.

Though both sides agreed on the points on March 3 and released a joint statement about them, they have yet to put them into practice, he said.

In June, four ethnic militias, including the TNLA, broke with the umbrella organization over a disagreement with the UNFC about the NCA, which they want to include all rebel groups.



Reported by Zarni Htun, Thiha Tun, and Aung Theinkha for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khet Mar. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
Senior General Min Aung Hlaing (C) and lawmakers from the Arakan National Party (L) discuss the situation in Maungdaw township in western Myanmar's Rakhine state, Aug. 9, 2016.

Myanmars military commander-in-chief met with seven Rakhine lawmakers from the states dominant Arakan National Party in Naypyidaw on Wednesday to discuss the security crisis in the volatile region.

Aye Maung, chairman of the Arakan National Party (ANP), which represents the interests of the states ethnic Rakhine people, said the lawmakers and Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.discussed security issues in the northern part of the state and what to do about internally displaced persons (IDP) who live in camps in Rakhine.

We planned to submit a proposal to the lower house and upper house [of parliament] regarding the security situation in Rakhine state, but it was rejected, he told the online news service the Democratic Voice of Burma.

So, we decided to approach the Tatmadaw, Aye Maung said, using the formal name of Myanmars armed forces.

He also said that it was possible for parliamentarians to discuss taking action against terrorist groups in northern Rakhine's Maungdaw, Buthidaung, and Rathedaung townships under the countrys antiterrorism law and resettling Rohingya Muslims who live in the states IDP camps.

The tri-township area has been in a state of upheaval since security forces unleashed a crackdown following deadly attacks on three border guard stations on Oct. 9, which were blamed on a group of Rohingya militants.

Though the crackdown ended in February, security forces continue to patrol the tri-township area where disappearances, murders, attacks on security forces, and periodic killings by troops continue to occur.

In recent weeks, they have discovered camps along the Mayu mountain range thought to be used by Muslim terrorists.

In late July, eight farmers from the Myo minority, a sub-ethnic group of the states ethnic Rakhine people, were reportedly killed by Muslim militants in Maungdaws Kinegyi village.

It is a pity to have a case where eight people from an ethnic group have been killed at the same time, Aye Maung said. If we cant discuss this case in parliament and can only try to comfort ourselves by saying that the government is working on it, more people will be killed.

We cant approach the state counselor or the president to talk about it, so we have to look for another party that can protect people from being killed, he said in a reference to State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Htin Kyaw, both from the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) party.

Aung San Suu Kyi held a high-level meeting with government ministers in Naypyidaw on Wednesday to discuss Rakhines security situation, Myanmar News Agency reported.

They talked about plans to control violent attacks in the state, challenges to scrutinizing the citizenship verification process for Rohingya and prospects for resolving the issue, provision of humanitarian aid to the people, challenges to the states socioeconomic efforts in the state, and cooperation with Bangladesh, United Nations agencies and the international community, the report said.

More troops in Maungdaw

Meanwhile, the government has sent more troops to Maungdaw and has extended a curfew there by two months in an effort to curb ongoing violence, residents told RFAs Myanmar Service.

Locals say the move was done in preparation for an operation to clear out terrorists, though the government military has not released any information about it.

More police from other states and regions have been deployed in the tri-township area, residents said.

Roughly 1.1 million Rohingya live in Rakhine, with about 120,000 of them confined to IDP camps that were set up after deadly communal violence between Muslims and Buddhists in 2012.

Myanmar considers the Rohingya illegal immigrants from neighboring Bangladesh and denies them citizenship and access to basic services such as health care and education.

By Win Ko Ko Latt and Min Thein Aung for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khet Mar. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
Three Italian politicians called on both houses of Italy's parliament last week to explain why the leader of a prominent Uyghur exile association was detained on July 26 by a special unit of the Italian police at the time of a human rights conference, and to say how Italy plans to prevent similar incidents in the future.



Senators Luigi Compagna and Luigi Mancon and Italian Member of Parliament Roberto Rampi requested information on Aug. 1 and Aug. 2 from both the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies regarding the detention of Dolkun Isa, general secretary of the Munich-based World Uyghur Congress.



The international community is beginning to question whether this is running the risk of becoming a way to reach dissidents, political opponents, and human rights defenders across borders, as opposed to its original purpose of being an instrument to combat international organized crime, Sen. Manconi wrote in a letter released Aug. 1.



Isa was detained at the time he was scheduled to speak at a press conference organized by the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO), to which he belongs, and Italys Nonviolent Radical Party.

Isa, who is a German national, informed his German lawyer and the German authorities of his detention by cellphone.



He was held in custody for about three hours, forcing him to miss the entire conference.



Attack on freedom



The politicians' letter of inquiry states that Isas detention resulted in an infringement of the freedom of expression of the leader of a minority group by an official department of the Italian State.



Isa told RFA that he was pleased and grateful to the politicians for submitting questions to the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate to ask about his detention two weeks ago.



I hope this inquiry will clear the clouds over my detention and put an end to authoritarian countries like China abusing 'red alerts' issued by Interpol to harass and hunt down peaceful dissidents and human rights activists, Isa told RFAs Uyghur Service.



My case is a reminder to members of the European Union and United Nations that they should not take Chinas accusations against peaceful Uyghur activists like me seriously. And they should never let China dictate their internal politics, Isa added.



The letter to the Chamber of Deputies also asks for Italy's opinion of the incident and why, if Isa was considered to be a potential terrorist threat, he was not stopped when boarding his flight in Munich, when landing in Rome, or when entering or exiting his hotel, and why he was instead detained by 15 to 20 plainclothes members of the Divisione Investigazioni Generali e Operazioni Speciali (DIGOS) at the time of the conference.



'Baseless request'



The timing of Isas detainment led to the suspicion that the use of a red alert issued by Interpol, an international police organization, was made to harass peaceful dissents and human rights activists.



Interpol had issued an international alert on Isa several years ago based on what Isa called a politically motivated and baseless request by the Chinese government, and the alert was later rejected by German authorities, who viewed it as a political warrant, he told the DIGOS officers at the time he was detained.



In November last year, Chinas Deputy Minister of Public Security Meng Hongwei was elected president of Interpol. Isa told the officers who detained him that asking Interpol to run a check on his background  was like asking the Chinese government to do so.



However, the officers informed Isa that they intended to proceed with the Interpol check.



Isa told RFA after his release that he was treated well while in custody and expressed his gratitude to the German government for its intervention in his case. He also thanked members of the Italian Senate, the Nonviolent Radical Party, the UNPO, and the WUC for their concern.



But he condemned what he called the nefarious influence of the Chinese government on democratic Europe and said that it must stop.



[Nations of] the free world should not allow China to interfere in their internal affairs and let China use Interpol as an instrument to achieve its illegitimate objectives, Isa told RFA in an earlier report.



Reported and translated by Alim Seytoff for RFA's Uyghur Service. Written in English by Lillian Andemicael.




By PTI: interrogation

New Delhi, Aug 10 (PTI) Zeeshan Ali, an alleged Al-Qaeda terrorist deported from Saudi Arabia, was today produced before a Delhi Court which remanded him in custody of city police for two weeks for interrogation in a case of terror funding.

29-year-old Ali, a native of Jharkhand and relative of 2007 Glasgow airport attack suspect, was sent back from Saudi Arabia last evening in connection with the case in which he is also accused of conspiring with other Qaeda members to organise and make provocative speeches to recruit Indian youths and establishing a base for the terror outfit.

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After deportation due to violation of visa, the alleged terrorist was arrested by the Delhi Police last night at the Indira Gandhi International Airport as there was a Look Out Circular against him.

Ali was declared a proclaimed offender by a Delhi court on July 12, along with eleven others.

Their name was disclosed by five accused, arrested by the the probe agency earlier, as active cadres of this banned outfit operating in India from Pakistan and other countries and known as Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS).

While seeking his custody for 20 days, the police told Additional Sessions Judge Sidharth Sharma that Alis brother, Syed Mohd Arshiyan, and brother-in-law, Sabeel Ahmad, are also wanted in the case and he needed to be interrogated with respect to their possible hideouts.

"His brother-in-law Ahmad is brother of Kafil Ahmad, who had committed suicidal attack at Glasgow airport, London, in 2007," the police said.

It said that custody of Ali, who originally hails from Jamshedpur in Jharkhand, was required to identify the logistics, financial aid to AQIS from India and abroad and to interrogate and confront with the evidence collected so far so that the whole conspiracy can be unearthed.

Advocate M S Khan, appearing for Ali, however, opposed the plea.

Meanwhile, the five arrested accused -- Syed Anzar Shah, Mohd Asif, Zafar Masood, Mohd Abdul Rehman and Abdul Sami -- today completed their argument on charges before a court here.

Khan, appearing for some of the accused, told the court that there was no evidence against them and the entire case was based on disclosure statement.

The five, arrested between December 2015 and January 2016 from different parts of the country, were charged by the agency under the provisions of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

The deportation of Ali assumes significance as security agencies have cracked down on members of various terror outfits, particularly in the Kashmir Valley.

Three alleged terrorists, who were reportedly part of Zakir Musa-led Ansar Gazwatul Hind - an offshoot of Al-Qaeda, were killed in an encounter with security forces in Pulwama district in south Kashmir yesterday.

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Another person, Abdullah, who was associated with the Islamic extremist group Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), was arrested by Uttar Pradesh anti-terrorist squad on Sunday from Muzaffarnagar district.

ABT is Bangladeshi militant outfit inspired by Al Qaeda. PTI UK RKS RT

--- ENDS ---
Thirteen Vietnamese Montagnards seeking asylum in Cambodia were forced back to Vietnam on Wednesday, ending their hopes of being settled outside the country from which they had fled, sources said.



Speaking on Thursday to RFAs Vietnamese Service, Grace Buia volunteer with the U.S.-based rights group Montagnards Assistance Projectconfirmed the groups arrival in Vietnam.



They have arrived in Vietnam, but I dont know whats going to happen to them, Bui told RFA.



Usually, when [deported Montagnards] arrive in Vietnam, the authorities will come to pick them up. Then they bring them to a police station to work on some documents, take fingerprints, and then offer them a meal before letting them go home, she said.



Bui told RFAs Vietnamese Service on Tuesday that the 13 who would be sent back were among 16 whose requests for asylum were denied by the Cambodian government in June.



"The Cambodian government wanted to deport all 16 people, but I heard they had to postpone this because of public disapproval, Bui told RFA.



The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had objected to the removal of the group, and one asylum seeker quoted on Thursday by the English-language Cambodia Daily told Bui that they had been sent back from Cambodia against their will.



"He said no one wanted to go back to Vietnam."



Hundreds of Montagnards have fled their country in recent years and crossed the border into Cambodia, citing oppression by the Vietnamese government, religious persecution of the mainly Christian minority, and expropriation of their land.



Reported by RFAs Vietnamese Service. Translated by Emily Peyman. Written in English by Richard Finney.




Ten Vietnamese fishermen were detained on suspicion of poaching off a remote island in the southwestern Philippines, the coast guard said Thursday, months after President Rodrigo Duterte freed 17 others from Vietnam who were caught committing a similar offense.



The Philippine Navys flagship BRP Gregorio del Pilar was conducting a sea patrol on Tuesday when it intercepted a fishing vessel in the vicinity of the Malampaya gas field, located some 32 nautical miles from Taputin Island, which is part of Palawan province, according to an initial investigation.



The boat was later identified as a foreign fishing vessel carrying a Vietnamese flag, according to the coast guard.



Philippine coast guard officials, backed by the navy and personnel from the fisheries bureau, were immediately dispatched to conduct a search.



The search revealed that the suspicious vessel had ten crew members on board and more or less 70 pieces of slaughtered sharks. The Vietnamese men were promptly taken into custody.



They are being held for allegedly poaching in Philippine waters, and will be subjected to deportation proceedings, officials said.



Both countries are among six nations that have territorial claims in the South China Sea. The others are Brunei, China, Malaysia and Taiwan.



Foreign fishermen have often been caught off Palawan, and the arrests have fueled tensions in the region and complicated territorial disputes over the sea.



In November last year, Duterte freed 17 Vietnamese fishermen who had spent two months in detention after they were caught poaching in Philippine waters.



The release came shortly after Duterte made a working visit to Vietnam in September, where he had promised his Vietnamese counterpart Tran Qai Dang that his nationals would be freed.

Reported by BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service.
Rev. Marcel Taillon, a pastor at St. Thomas More Catholic Parish in Narragansett, and Krista Simpson, cofounder of The Unquiet Professional, reconnect Monday during a fundraiser held at Sons of Liberty. The fundraiser raised $1,658, all of which will go directly to assisting gold star families and veterans.
The police, on the basis of CCTV footage, had formed teams which led to the arrest of two college students, Ajit Singh and Rishikesh, while two of their friends are being searched for.

The police, on the basis of CCTV footage, had formed teams which led to the arrest of two college students, Ajit Singh and Rishikesh, while two of their friends are being searched for.

By Dev Ankur Wadhawan: The Alwar police in Rajasthan has cracked a bizarre case of shattered glasses and broken windowpanes of more than 100 cars.

The police, on the basis of CCTV footage, had formed teams which led to the arrest of two college students, Ajit Singh and Rishikesh, while two of their friends are being searched for.

During investigations, it was revealed that the bizarre plan to go on a glass breaking spree was hatched during birthday celebrations of one, Narendra Yadav, on the intervening night of August 4 and 5.

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Four college students, including Narendra and the two arrested, drank till around 1 in the night. Thereafter, the group decided they were not having enough fun and thus, they hatched a plan which they thought would make Narendra's birthday celebrations a memorable one. They took iron rod and stick and went on a car glass breaking spree.

The group, went to one colony after another, breaking glasses. The college students allegedly made unsuspecting people in Arya Colony, Indra Colony, Panchvati, Indra Colony, Sanjay Colony and others a victim of their reprehensible act.

"All four involved are college students. They wanted to make Narendra's birthday one to remember and hence went on breaking the glasses of cars in major colonies of Alwar. We have arrested two, the hunt for other two is going on.", said Paras Deshmukh, Additional SP, Alwar City.

--- ENDS ---
Scotts Addition Boulevard Association board members support the idea of a commuter rail station on the Boulevard  a vision proposed by former Virginia Commonwealth University President Eugene Trani.

(Trani) presented to the board a month ago, and we were quite impressed and unanimously endorsed his concept, said Mike Cline, president of the Scotts Addition Boulevard Association.

The board is on board with what Dr. Trani has proposed, Cline said, speaking Wednesday morning at the general membership meeting of the Scotts Addition Boulevard Association. About 100 people attended the meeting, which was held at the Science Museum of Virginia.

Trani and former state Sen. John C. Watkins in September co-authored a perspective piece that examined how a centrally-located commuter rail station on the Boulevard would benefit the region.

They argued that a single location on the Boulevard would be better than the two existing Amtrak locations on Staples Mill Road in Henrico County and Main Street Station in downtown Richmond.

Trani, speaking at the Scotts Addition Boulevard Association meeting Wednesday, said There literally has been no public discussion of what the plans are for Richmond.

And time is running out on this issue, he said.

The subject of where to locate commuter rail stations is part of a broader discussion of a federal and state supported Southeast High Speed Rail project to improve rail travel along the East Coast. A segment of that high speed rail project is focused on track configurations and commuter station locations along a 123-mile segment between Washington, D.C. and just south of Richmond.

Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation staff evaluated eight different station alternatives in the Richmond area, including Main Street, Staples Mill and a potential station on Boulevard, said Chris Smith, department spokesman.

The staff review recommended that the existing Main Street and Staples Mill are the preferred options in the Richmond area.
Wingstop, a restaurant chain selling chicken wings in an aviation-themed concept, is opening its first location in the Richmond region next week.

The new location at 4004 Meadowdale Blvd. in Chesterfield County has an event Tuesday and will open Wednesday.

The Wingstop has partnered with Sizzling Platter, a restaurant management company based in Utah, to operate the local restaurant.

We look forward to becoming the go-to spot for all things wings, sides and everything in between for Wingstops would-be, loyal and passionate fans alike, said Sizzling Platters CEO, Ted Morton, in a statement.

Wingstop has over 1,000 locations worldwide. It offers bone-in and boneless wings in 11 flavors, including Original Hot, Atomic, Hawaiian and Louisiana Rub.
A federal jury on Thursday found a physician who was described in court as a one-man opioid epidemic guilty on 19 charges after three hours of deliberations.

The nine-man and three-woman panel convicted Clarence Scranage Jr., 62, of King George County of one count of conspiracy to possess controlled substances with the intent to distribute them and 18 counts of distribution of controlled substances. Authorities accused him of being a key player in an area oxycodone pill mill.

The jury came back with the verdict about 4:10 p.m., and Scranage was immediately taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service. A sentencing hearing was set for Nov. 17. Authorities said earlier that Scranage could face hundreds of years in prison if convicted.

Scranages expression didnt change as the guilty verdicts on each of the 19 charges were read by a court clerk. He waved and smiled to his family members, some of whom began tearing up, before authorities took him into a back office. Two of his family members declined to comment. Angela Mastandrea-Miller, an assistant U.S. attorney, also declined to comment.

Scranage ran a pain-management practice in the Richmond area and acted as his own attorney during the trial.

Authorities allege  and witnesses testified  that he wrote hundreds of prescriptions for tens of thousands of 30-milligram oxycodone pills, in many cases to people he had not examined, in exchange for money.

The prescriptions often were given to middlemen who supplied him with the names of real people, pill-fillers, who filled the prescriptions in exchange for money. The pills were given back to the middlemen who sold them to dealers on the underground market.

Among two dozen government witnesses this week were Melissa Hernandez, Scranages former office manager who said that she saw Scranage handed cash by middlemen and that she believed Scranage knew what was going on, and one of the middlemen, Anthony Tot Harper, who said that he paid Scranage $500 for each prescription.

Harper, 45, of DeWitt, who was indicted with Scranage, pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge last week and testified against Scranage on Monday.

The alleged scheme was carried out from 2011 to 2015. A special agent with Virginia State Police testified that Scranage allegedly wrote more than 700 prescriptions for more than 127,000 oxycodone pills for pill-fillers and others involved in the scheme. The pills were worth millions of dollars on the street.

State police said Scranage came to their attention in 2012 when authorities received calls about his prescription practices from several pharmacies and an emergency room physician.

Mastandrea-Miller, the assistant U.S. attorney, told the jury Scranage was writing the prescriptions, in large part, for people he never saw. None of these pill fillers were addicts. ... They were people who were kind of desperate for money. She said the pills eventually were given into the hands of addicts all over Virginia.

Seven hundred and nineteen times he took his pen out and wrote a prescription for oxycodone without having a valid doctor-patient relationship with the person for whom the prescription was written, she said.

She said that without the prescriptions there were no pills. Gesturing toward Scranage, Mastandrea-Miller said, He is the genesis of the whole thing.

Ladies and gentlemen, the evidence in this case, I submit to you, is overwhelming, said Mastandrea-Miller, asking for guilty verdicts on all 19 charges.

Scranage appeared at times to struggle in his roles as both defendant and defense attorney during the trial. Among those watching the proceedings each day was his mother, Peaches Scranage, 80. She hugged some of Scranages supporters who were upset after he was taken away by authorities Thursday.

In his closing argument, the doctor strongly denied any guilt, blaming the misconduct on, among other things, overzealous law enforcement, corrupt or incompetent former employees, missing records, liars, and a conspiracy to keep him from learning what was happening with the oxycodone he was prescribing.

People who want them (the pills) make up stories. ... Its not easy to be a physician in a pain clinic, he told the jury. One thing I am, though, is guilty in trusting my nurses and staff in doing their job, Scranage said.

Yes, I know Anthony (Harper) and I know Melissa, and the two of them conspired to use my patients and his office for their own gain, Scranage said. Its clear I did not participate in a conspiracy, but the conspiracy was aimed at me, he said.

More than once, Scranage told the jury there had been no overdose deaths associated with the case.

Scranage said of the lawbreakers, Those people did what they did, but I did not know they did this. He said his first inkling authorities believed he was involved in a pill mill was after his arrest when he read it in the newspaper.

You have to believe me that I did not know this was going on, he pleaded to the jury.

Mastandrea-Miller got the last word and noted that Scranage told them, No one has died. No one had died.

We dont know where the pills went. We dont know if anyone died, she said.

Referring to an expert witnesss testimony Wednesday, she said, We do know Dr. (Gene) Kennedy classified him as a one-man opioid epidemic. Ladies and gentlemen, this has to stop here and now, she said.
A man from the Washington area was arrested Thursday in connection with several robberies in the Tri-Cities area, including Wednesday's holdup of an Exxon station on the Boulevard in Colonial Heights, police said.

Petersburg police, working in conjunction with authorities from Colonial Heights, Chesterfield County and Hopewell, responded at 12:45 p.m. to the Flagship Inn in the 800 block of South Crater Road in Petersburg. There they arrested Terrell Price, 26, said Petersburg police Lt. Emanuel Chambliss.

Price, who police said was residing at the motel, was charged in Colonial Heights with robbery, grand larceny, brandishing a firearm and felony use of a firearm. Chambliss said Price is facing similar charges in Petersburg in connection with Sunday's robbery of Liberty Cash Mart in the 100 block of East Washington Street.
So much for civility.

More than 500 people gathered Wednesday in the Virginia Historical Society auditorium for the contentious first public hearing of Mayor Levar Stoneys Monument Avenue Commission. The event, held with the intent to gather input on how best to add context to the Confederate statues lining Monument Avenue, bordered on chaotic as more than 40 speakers weighed in and tempers flared.

The standing-room-only crowd weathered a tense, two-hour hearing that saw members of the commission attempt in vain to keep the conversation civil as speakers offered opposing viewpoints. Audience members, at points, heckled or shouted down some speakers with whom they disagreed.

Wednesday evenings event was the first of two scheduled public hearings for the commission. Attendees who wished to speak were assigned a number upon entry. Organizers decided beforehand that 50 people chosen by raffle could talk for two minutes or less but did not stick with that plan throughout the night, allowing some to speak without having had their numbers called.

Gregg Kimball, the Library of Virginias director of education and outreach and the commissions co-chair, reminded speakers early in the night, when some chose to take up whether the statues should stay or go, that the commission was not holding the hearing to consider that.

If you want that middle ground, we need to find out what that middle ground is, he said.

The commission asked attendees to share what adding context to the monuments should look like  and what, if any, monuments they would add to the avenue if given the chance.

Henry Kidd, who identified himself as a former national officer of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, objected to adding context.

Every tourist who comes to Richmond wants to see Monument Avenue; they dont want to see a politically correct Monument Avenue, Kidd said.

Many people said adding signage to the monuments isnt objectionable, so long as it doesnt cast the men depicted in a negative light. Some suggested adding statues of prominent African-Americans to acknowledge their contributions to the city and state. Others said the monuments should remain untouched.

Thelma Brown said she didnt see her ancestors honored when she looked at Monument Avenue. She called the current monuments a reflection of oppression, and said they cause her pain.

Virginia has a debt to pay, and were waiting, she said.

Speakers suggested adding several prominent African-Americans to the avenue to recognize their historical contributions or significance. Names proposed included L. Douglas Wilder, the nations first elected black governor; Gabriel Prosser, who led a slave rebellion in 1800; and John Mitchell Jr., a pioneering African-American journalist.

Others lobbied for a monument to African-Americans enlisted in the Confederate military.

Despite efforts to keep the meeting civil, tensions rose throughout the night as speakers decried or defended the monuments and what they believe they stand for.

George Knight said the monuments represent white supremacy and questioned why Richmond continued to house participation trophies for the Confederacy.

You lost, get over it already! he shouted.

A mixture of applause and boos drowned him out.

Down with white supremacy! he said before leaving the mic to return to his seat.

Kimball chastised him.

Sir, you know, we really dont need that, he said. I hope you all did hear what I said at the beginning of this. We dont need inciting people. We need conversation.

The following speaker, Travis Toombs, said Monument Avenue was a Confederate memorial and that if anyone wants to build more monuments, they could do it elsewhere.

Theres an entire rest of the city to add statutes to whatever you so choose to, said Toombs, a Petersburg resident.

An hour and a half into the hearing, organizers kicked a woman out for shouting down a speaker who had run over his allotted time. She had previously spoken and was interrupted by audience jeers and asked to wrap up when her remarks ran long. A police officer escorted her out, and more attendees followed voluntarily.

One of those who left, Paul Benson, said he was doing so because the event was no longer fostering a constructive conversation.

Its theater of the absurd, Benson said.

As politicians in Charlottesville and New Orleans have pursued the removal of Confederate statues in their cities, Stoney has taken a different tack, publicly stating that he believes Richmonds monuments should remain.

In June, he formed a 10-person panel of community leaders, academics and historians and tasked them with exploring how best to add context to the statues that will tell the whole story. Those include Confederate Gens. Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee and J.E.B. Stuart; the president of the Confederate States of America, Jefferson Davis; and Confederate naval commander Matthew Fontaine Maury.

Stoneys stance has drawn criticism from people and organizations on both sides of the debate.

Some speakers questioned why the mayor wasnt present at Wednesdays public hearing. Stoney did not attend because hes at a conference in Salt Lake City, said his spokesman, Jim Nolan.

This meeting is about hearing the public, not hearing the mayor, Nolan said before the hearing.

As the proceedings drew to a close, Sarah Driggs, a member of the commission, told the audience that she was unhappy with what unfolded.

Im disappointed in how many people got up tonight just to make a speech.  Were here to hear ideas, Driggs said.

Members of the audience began to heckle her. Kimball, again, intervened. Im not sure this is going to be very productive, so Im just going to say thank you for coming out; we have another event coming up, he said.

The second public hearing is scheduled for Sept. 13 at the Virginia Historical Society.
Richmond will offer an amnesty period beginning next week for delinquent taxpayers to settle their outstanding balances with the city, an effort that Mayor Levar Stoney proposed to the City Council in his budget presentation last spring.

The period will run Tuesday through Oct. 16. Any person or business that, as of Feb. 1, 2017, owes taxes for back real estate, business or business license, admissions, lodging, meals, or personal property can settle the debt without paying penalties or outstanding interest. The amnesty is not extended to delinquent vehicle personal property taxes or vehicle license taxes.

This is the chance for citizens who owe to get right with the city, Stoney said in a news release. Our schools, police and other vital city services are paid for with tax revenues, and theyve been shortchanged by millions of dollars in unpaid taxes.

The city is aiming to generate $2.4 million in revenue during the period, a figure Stoney articulated in his budget proposal to the City Council in March. The council signed off on the amnesty program in May.

As of June 30, delinquent taxpayers owed the city $65.8 million, of which $37.5 million is real estate taxes, according to a monthly report the Finance Department provided to the council. Personal property taxes account for an additional $22.4 million of the sum; $5.6 million consists of admissions, lodging and meals taxes; and $233,000 is for delinquent general billing.

The sum accumulated over the past two decades and fluctuates day to day, according to John Wack, the citys director of finance. The next report, due out next week, will show the unpaid sum through July.

Normally, unpaid bills are subjected to a penalty equal to 10 percent of the principal sum upon missing the bills due date. Outstanding balances accrue interest daily at a 10 percent rate as of January 2017, Wack said.

The city last held an amnesty period in 2011, but it applied solely to real estate taxes and waived only the penalty, not interest, Wack said. The 60-day period resulted in about 1,000 people paying $1.46 million in back real estate taxes, he said.

At the councils request, the Virginia General Assembly in 2012 gave Richmond the authority to waive penalties and interest for all delinquent local taxes, but the city has not elected to until now. The upcoming period applies to all local taxes with the exception of delinquent vehicle personal property taxes.

The change is meant to incentivize more people to opt in, Wack said. In effect, the more people who participate, the more penalty and interest the city will leave on the table.

If youre six months delinquent, youre going to owe a lot less in interest than someone whos five years delinquent, he said. Were waiving more to collect more back taxes.

The amnesty comes with a stipulation: Participants must pay their delinquent bill, minus fees and interest, in full by the end of the period.

Alternatively, a six-month repayment plan may be arranged for those deemed eligible, according to the news release. Residents whose bills have been referred to collection agencies are eligible, the release states.

The city will send postcards to all addresses notifying residents of the program, regardless of whether a property owner owes back taxes, Wack said.

To participate, residents must sign up in person at City Hall, 900 E. Broad St., or at Southside Community Service Center, 4100 Hull Street Road.

The city will extend business hours to 7 p.m. at both locations on Aug. 17, Sept. 14, and Oct. 12. Additionally, both locations will offer Saturday hours of 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Aug. 19, Sept. 16 and Oct. 14.

Were trying to get people to catch on that this is their one-time window to come in and pay an awful lot less, Wack said. Were chasing those tax dollars.
A former Lee-Davis High School student was sentenced Thursday to serve six years in prison for the deaths of two friends who were passengers in the pickup truck he drove off the road and slammed into a tree after he had been drinking last year.

Nickolas Seth Fleming, 19, was sentenced on two counts of involuntary manslaughter in the deaths of Dylan Ballard, 17, and Elliot Hinton, 22. He had pleaded guilty this year.

Authorities said Fleming had five passengers inside his 2001 extended-cab Dodge Ram pickup truck on April 23, 2016, when he lost control of the vehicle as it rounded a curve in the 6000 block of Cold Harbor Road and crashed into a tree about 10:30 p.m.

Hanover County prosecutor Stephen Royalty said during Thursdays sentencing hearing that Fleming had been drinking as well as driving aggressively before the crash.

All he was concerned about was drinking and driving and driving fast, and thats what he did, Royalty said.

Prosecutors said that Fleming and his friends were tailgating and drinking at Richmond Raceway, and that after that days NASCAR race, the group dropped by a friends house to go swimming.

One of the passengers in Flemings vehicle told investigators that all five passengers had been drinking and smoking marijuana at a pond after the race, according to court documents. The friends then drove to a garage party in Mechanicsville, where they drank more.

The friends decided they needed to make a beer run at one point, and they piled into Flemings truck and drove to the Fas Mart at Creighton and Cold Harbor roads, according to the prosecution. At 10:26 p.m.  minutes before the crash  a surveillance camera captured Flemings truck parked outside the store, where his friends purchased beer and loaded it into the vehicle.

The force of the crash nearly split his truck in half, Royalty said.

Good Samaritans who rushed to the crash scene heard Fleming say, I cant go to jail or I wont go to jail. He also said, Yeah Im wasted, Royalty said. The prosecutor also said that when Fleming was asked how much he had been drinking, he answered, A lot.

The prosecutor said various analyses found Flemings blood-alcohol level was between 0.067 and 0.078 percent. For adults, the legal limit for driving in Virginia is 0.08 percent, but Fleming is underage.

Donna Ballard, Dylans mother, took the stand to say that it has been 587 days since she last saw her son alive. She described the time since Dylans death as 587 days that I have cried, 587 days of living with a broken, shattered heart.

Dylan was a perfect example of life, Ballard said.

Danny Hinton, Elliots father, told the packed courtroom about the things he would never see as a result of the crash that took his sons life. He said he would never see a grandchild from his son, and would never be able to have a complete family portrait done again.

Im never going to see Elliot grow up and become a man, Hinton said.

Pat Hinton, Elliots grandmother, said he was like a son to her.

I still cry when I cook the food that was his favorite, she said.

Jenifer Hinton, Elliots mother, said her son is the first thing she thinks of when she wakes up in the morning and the last thing she thinks about before she goes to sleep.

He was my whole heart, and my heart has not been whole, Jenifer Hinton said.

She said Elliot was her first-born  the first to take a bath in the kitchen sink and her first child to graduate from high school.

Brenda Harding, Flemings mother, offered her own emotional testimony about the crashs impact on her son, who she said suffered two broken legs and a broken jaw, among other injuries.

He constantly worries about me, his dad, how this has affected us, Harding said.

She said her son is tenderhearted person who cares about his friends.

He takes full ownership of his choices that night, but hes also a kid, a kid that made a terrible choice and wants to do better, Harding said.

In addition to Fleming, the other people who were injured in the crash were Becca Clements; Patrick Hinton, brother of Elliot; and Thomas Lumpkin, of Aylett. All but Lumpkin were students at Lee-Davis or had graduated in recent years.

Fleming apologized during his own statement to the court.

I never meant to hurt my friends, Fleming said, adding, Im deeply sorry for my actions.

Flemings defense attorney, Carl Witmeyer, said his client was close friends with the Dylan Ballard and Elliot Hinton. Witmeyer said Fleming has to live with the knowledge that he is responsible for their deaths. The attorney asked the court for forgiveness after his client made a terrible mistake.

His main hope is he can get out of jail and make a difference in this community, Witmeyer said.

Witmeyer disputed some points raised by the prosecution, including Royaltys contention that the truck was going 70 mph. The defense attorney said a passenger in the truck said they looked at the speedometer at the time of the crash and said the vehicle was going 50 or 55 mph. Royalty said two other witnesses  a motorist and a resident who lives near the crash site  estimated it was going about 70 mph.

One of the factors that Hanover Circuit Judge Patricia Kelly weighed as she determined sentencing was that the defendant had used cocaine while out on bond. Kelly also said that given his age, he shouldnt have been drinking in the first place.
A Hanover County man was sentenced Thursday to two years in prison for killing his boss last year.

Jesse Patrick Booth of Montpelier received that sentence after being found guilty of voluntary manslaughter in the March 2016 death of 59-year-old John Patrick Cassells Jr.

Booth, 29, worked for Cassells at Sleepy Hollow Landscaping and Tree Service and lived in the victims basement. Investigators said in court papers that Booth acknowledged pushing Cassells to the ground after an argument, causing the victim to hit his head on a pick-up truck.

After the altercation, Booth told a Hanover County Sheriffs Office investigator that he went into Cassells home and slept, court records state.

(The victim) was left overnight in the March cold, David G. Parker, a senior assistant commonwealths attorney for Hanover, said during Thursdays hearing.

The prosecutor noted Cassells had given Booth a job and a place to stay.

This is the way he was repaid, Parker said.

Booth apologized repeatedly during his sentencing, saying he constantly thinks about the incident and has trouble sleeping.

He was like a father figure to me. He was the father figure I never had, Booth said. He took me in as a son.

The defendant said he wished he could go back in time and change what happened.

I didnt mean to do it. It was an accident, Booth said. I ask for forgiveness.

Booth acknowledged under questioning from Parker that he did not call 911 and instead left the victim where he was overnight.

Booths attorney, Michael D. Clower, said his client didnt realize the extent of Cassells injuries.

He has this one time of pushing another person who grabbed him, and this is the result, Clower said.

Parker said there was a conspicuous streak of blood next to where the victim was found the next day by employees who arrived at the landscaping business. Cassells was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead.

The prosecutor also said a medical examiner said the extent of Cassells injuries would have been apparent to anyone who saw him. He had suffered a fractured skull, according to evidence referenced in a search warrant affidavit.

The morning that Cassell was pronounced dead, he had dried blood on his head, nose, mouth, arms and right leg, according to an investigator who photographed the injuries.

The remorse hes claiming is inconsistent with his conduct on March 17, 2016, Parker said.

Parker said he couldnt say with any certainty what the argument was about. The victim and the defendant had been out drinking on St. Patricks Day before the incident, Parker said.

Booth originally was charged with second-degree murder.

Hanover Circuit Judge Patricia Kelly said during the sentencing hearing that she found Booth guilty instead of the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter because she did not feel he meant to kill Cassells.

Kelly told the defendant that there was nothing he could do to make Cassells family whole again.

This is not something that can be fixed, Kelly said.

Kelly said that had the defendant not been drinking, perhaps he would have had a different response to the situation.

I do believe this is eating at you every day, Kelly said.

The judge sentenced Booth to 10 years in prison with eight years suspended.

Cassells sister, Kathi Marshall, said after the hearing she was pleased the defendant will spend some time behind bars for the crime.
Earlier this month, Jagan while addressing a public meeting in Nadyal town had said, "There is nothing wrong if people like Naidu are gunned down on streets in public glare.??

By Ashish Pandey: As polling day is nearing for Nadyal bypolls, the campaign of the Assembly bypolls scheduled on August 23 is getting murkier.

In a span of 10 days, yet again the leader of opposition and YSR Congress Party chief YS Jaganmohan Reddy attracted controversy when he said, "Nothing wrong if Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Ruling Telugu Desam Party chief Chandrababu Naidu is hanged."

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Earlier this month, Jagan while addressing a public meeting in Nadyal town had said, "There is nothing wrong if people like Naidu are gunned down on streets in public glare."

The bypolls on the Nadyal constituency is scheduled on 23rd of this month and both ruling TDP and opposition YSRCP is putting all its effort to win the election.

On Thursday during his Road show yet again YSR Chief targeted Telugu Desam chief and CM Naidu for his alleged failure of fulfilling promises and lack of development. Angers Jagan said"For your mistakes and betrayals, nothing wrong if you are punished with hanging."

It's important that the election commission has already issued a show cause notice to the 44 year old principal opposition leader for his earlier comment.

The By election of Nadyal which falls under Kurnool district of Rayalseema region of state has become a prestige fight for ruling Telugu Desam Party as opposition YSR Congress has christened the election result as referendum of Chandrababu Naidu lead TDP government as state is scheduled to go for election in 2019.

The by poll arrived as its sitting MLA Bhuma Nagi Reddy died from a heart attack in March this year.

Interestingly, Bhuma Nagi Reddy and his daughter Bhuma Akhila Priya won the election on YSR Congress party ticket but later switched sides and Joined Ruling Telugu Desam Party.

Allagadda MLA Bhuma Akhila Priya (26) was sworn in as youngest minister of Naidu Cabinet this year in April and now his brother Bhuma Brahmanand Reddy is the Telugu Desam candidate in the prestigious bypolls.

--- ENDS ---
A cyclist was killed Thursday morning in King George County after being struck by a van, state police said.

A 2005 Dodge Caravan heading west on Windsor Drive near U.S. Route 301 attempted to pass a cyclist in a legal passing zone, police said. The cyclist appeared to veer into the lane and was hit, police said.

The cyclist, Edward W. Abendroth, 28, of King George, died at the scene. The driver of the van was not injured.
The high-proof grain alcohol Everclear has hit the shelves at some Virginia ABC stores, but for people who live near college campuses, it might be hard to find.

Less than a third of Virginias 367 state-operated liquor stores are stocking the product after ABC officials decided not to carry the strong, unflavored alcohol at stores within a 3-mile radius of colleges and universities. That limitation took 106 stores off the table for Luxco, the St. Louis-based manufacturer of Everclear, according to data provided by ABC officials, and the company selected just 100 of the remaining 261 stores for its initial rollout.

Valerie Hubbard, an ABC spokeswoman, said that when the agency accepts a new product, the manufacturer gets to choose which stores will sell it.

We worked with them to determine what stores they wanted to be in, Hubbard said. The purpose of the university stores was to say these are stores that you cannot choose from.

As the General Assembly considered allowing the sale of Everclear in Virginia, concerns were raised that the move could exacerbate alcohol-related problems on college campuses by making it easier for hosts to add a highly potent kick when mixing up jungle juice or other fruit punches to serve to partiers.

H. Benson Dendy III, Luxcos lobbyist for the Virginia legislation, said the initial 100 stores, which he said is a standard number for new products, were chosen based on sales volume.

Theres no evidence with ABC that ABC stores near college campuses are selling any more alcohol products than other stores, Dendy said. He added that Everclear is targeted mainly toward middle-aged people who use it in infused cocktails.

The binge-drinking concerns led Gov. Terry McAuliffe to veto the bill in 2016. In his veto message, the governor said he shared concerns that young people would be drawn to the high proof and low cost.

On a second try this year  after higher education administrators received assurances that ABC would take steps to keep the unflavored, 151-proof alcohol away from college towns and a 2022 expiration date was added to the bill  the legislation passed and took effect July 1. At the 100 selected stores, Everclear is priced at $25.99 for a 750-milliliter bottle, the only size available and one that doesnt lend well to bulk purchases.

The safeguards did not satisfy some university presidents. At a hearing earlier this year, University of Virginia President Teresa Sullivan said lawmakers were undertaking an experiment on students and likened Everclear to a date rape drug that could be used in sexual assaults.

In an emailed statement this week, Sullivan welcomed the protections in ABCs distribution plan and urged officials to closely monitor the situation.

We are pleased that ABC has shown concern about Everclear and its potential harmful effects in the college environment, Sullivan said. We are encouraging the systematic collection of data between now and the renewal of the statute that permits ABC to sell Everclear. In the meantime, parents and universities will need to consider how to educate young people about the potential dangers of a clear, odorless and tasteless form of potent alcohol.

Because of the legislations 2022 expiration date, state lawmakers will eventually be forced to review the Everclear policy and vote to continue or end the sales.

The Everclear prohibition zone around college campuses will force city dwellers to drive to the outskirts to find a store that sells it. In Richmond, for example, the presence of Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of Richmond took almost 15 centrally located ABC stores out of the running, but Everclear can be found at stores a short drive away in western Henrico County and South Richmond.

Even though college-adjacent ABC stores will not regularly stock Everclear, customers can still get it from those locations using the agencys ordering system, according to ABC officials. Special orders must be picked up within 14 days or the alcohol will be shipped back to an authorized store or the ABC warehouse.

The push to legalize 151-proof Everclear in Virginia was accompanied by $8,500 in campaign contributions Luxco made to General Assembly leaders and McAuliffes political action committee. The legislations backers noted that Virginia was one of only two states, the other being Vermont, that did not allow sales of 151-proof clear grain alcohol, a milder but still strong version of the 190-proof Everclear thats banned in more than a dozen states.

Del. Barry D. Knight, a Virginia Beach Republican who sponsored the Everclear bills in 2016 and 2017, said he suggested a 3- to 5-mile radius around college campuses and cited Luxco research indicating most of its customers are 31 or older. Knight said he was not surprised to learn that Everclear would be stocked in less than a third of the states stores. Depending on the sales, he said, the number could drop to 50, or go up to 150.

You kind of need to test your product a little bit, Knight said.
The teen took the witness stand Wednesday in federal court in Alexandria. Shaking at times, she described being prostituted around the Washington area by two brothers she met at a Virginia motel.

Identified only as Danielle H. to protect her identity, the now-16-year-old testified that one of the brothers, Christian Hood, posted ads for her on the website Backpage earlier this year. His half brother Abdul Bangura was her boyfriend and her pimp, she said.

Hood's trial on sex trafficking charges comes as Backpage is under increasing scrutiny for hosting prostitution ads that include child-trafficking victims.

Bangura, 21, pleaded guilty to four felonies just as his trial was about to begin this week, including the production of child pornography for a video he made of himself having sex with Danielle. He faces a minimum of 15 years in prison.

Hood has argued that there is no direct evidence of his involvement in Danielle's prostitution; she testified that he met her in person only two or three times.

The first time, Danielle testified, was in February when she was living in an Econolodge Inn in Dumfries with her aunt.

She told him that she was 17; she later told his brother that she was 16.

"I thought, that's the way for them to talk to me,' " she testified.

According to court documents, Hood promised her "money and progress" and asked her to send him photos he could post on Backpage.

In her Backpage ads, the 4-foot-8-inch Danielle was advertised as "fun size" and "unforgettable."

"This is a case about how an adult man exploited a vulnerable 15-year-old girl," Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Reynolds said in his opening statement. Danielle, he said, was "naive" and "immature."

Bangura admitted that he would act as "security" for Danielle, driving her to motels, checking in on her during paid dates, providing her with condoms and taking a portion of the money she earned. At night, they slept together.

"I'm really starting to catch some feelings," she said in one text conversation. "I may not seem like the girl for you, but I am."

She asked him to delete an "ugly" video he recorded of her having sex with him, but he refused, according to text messages presented in court.

Asked whether Bangura returned her feelings, Danielle testified that now, "I'm not sure."

She is pregnant with his child, according to court documents.

Prosecutors said that Hood was involved in prostituting four other people on Backpage. He allegedly sent a text message in March asking someone named "Peach" for help finding more women: "ask the homies out there if they know any freaks that's trynna work on bp I'll show you how to make the ads n all that."

Defense attorney Douglas Steinberg emphasized that Danielle was engaged in prostitution before meeting Hood and that they interacted in person only two or three times.

Danielle said she had previously been prostituted on Backpage when she was 14, by another pimp named T.J. According to the testimony of FBI agent Alix Skelton, Danielle's mother also was involved.

She was located after a tip came in to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children that she might be a child-trafficking victim.

Anti-human-trafficking advocates have been pressuring Backpage for years to stop hosting prostitution ads. Documents published by The Washington Post last month show that the website does not just host but solicits sex-related ads. Members of Congress have pushed for a criminal investigation into the site.
A Virginia State Police trooper has been indicted on two felony charges in Scott County, Virginia.

Matthew Morgan Phillips, 28, of Bristol, Virginia, was indicted Monday on charges of rape by force, threat or intimidation, and forcible sodomy by force, threat or intimidation, according to Scott County Circuit Court records.

One count of the indictment states Phillips did commit rape by having sexual intercourse with a complaining witness on or about Jan. 12 to Jan. 23, 2017. It adds that the act was committed against the victims will.

According to the second count, Phillips did commit forcible sodomy with the complaining witness on or about Sept. 21 to Oct. 3, 2014. Again, the indictment states the act was accomplished against the will of the witness.

The court documents do not indicate the number of alleged victims.

The grand jury met Monday and heard evidence from Virginia State Police Sgt. G.S. Lewis, the indictment states.

Phillips has until his Aug. 15 court date to turn himself in to authorities.

The commonwealths attorney of Scott County recused himself in the case because Phillips is a trooper in the county. Russell County Commonwealths Attorney Brian Patton was appointed special prosecutor.

A search warrant had been filed and executed at the troopers residence earlier this year, according to records in Bristol Virginia Circuit Court. Officers sought and recovered the troopers cellular phone, the warrant states.
WASHINGTON

Progressives generally support better labor protections, including policies meant to provide higher wages, more predictable working hours, increased bargaining power, and greater access to paid family leave, sick leave and overtime. And given the raw deal that workers get so often, these are all policies that I generally support as well.

But lately, as Democratic leadership has increasingly embraced the far-left impulses of its base, Ive become convinced that the left needs to think harder about the unintended consequences of such benevolent-seeming proposals.

In isolation, each of these policies has the potential to make workers more costly to hire. Cumulatively, they almost certainly do.

Which means that, unless carefully designed, a lefty pro-labor platform might actually encourage firms to hire less labor  or at least to shift toward contract labor thats exempted from these cherished protections.

These are not mere hypotheticals. A two-tier labor market, in which some lucky workers are entitled to generous compensation and job security and the rest are hung out to dry, already plagues countries, such as France and Japan, with traditionally stronger labor protections than the United States.

But these are not outcomes that lefty politicians and policy wonks seem keen to grapple with. Its easier, or perhaps more politically convenient, to assume that pro-worker policies never hurt the workers theyre intended to help.

Take the proposal to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, a policy endorsed in the Democratic Partys new Better Deal platform.

An increase in the federal minimum wage, stuck at $7.25 for eight years, is long overdue. But more than doubling it would likely result in massive job losses and cuts in work hours.

Weve already seen preliminary evidence that raising wages in Seattle to $13 has produced sharp cuts in hours, leaving low-wage workers with smaller paychecks. And thats in a high-cost city. Imagine what would happen if Congress raised the minimum wage to $15 nationwide.

In West Virginia, the median hourly wage is just $14.79; in Arkansas, its $14.48; and in Mississippi, its a depressingly low $14.22. A $15 minimum wage could be binding on more than half of jobs in these states. In fact, in every state (not including D.C.), it could cover at least a quarter of positions.

That might seem like a good thing. Why wouldnt you want to improve the living standards of as many people as possible?

The answer: You wont actually be helping them if making their labor much more expensive, much too quickly, results in their getting fired.

Similarly, a year ago, the Obama administration issued a new overtime rule.

This rule massively expanded the universe of white-collar employees entitled to time-and-a-half pay for working beyond 40 hours per week. Before, white-collar workers earning salaries up to $23,660 were generally entitled to overtime. The new rule more than doubled the threshold, to $47,476.

The new threshold was to be implemented in one fell swoop, starting last December. There was fierce debate within the Obama administration about the wisdom of such an abrupt increase, but those who mentioned this to me declined to ever do so on the record. Meanwhile, left-leaning groups cheered the millions whose pay was about to go up.

Then, a court blocked the rule in November, and several weeks ago the Trump administration began the process of revising it. During his confirmation hearings, Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta cautiously suggested that a cutoff of about $33,000 might be appropriate, though he wanted to spend more time looking at the effects on workers and firms.

As strange as it feels to say something nice about policies being pursued by the Trump administration, this might be a better approach.

On this and other labor issues, says Michael Strain, director of economic policy studies at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, We need to be debating whether a cost-benefit test is passed, something on which reasonable people can disagree. Instead, Strain says, a lot of thoughtful, well-meaning people on the left seem to be looking for a free lunch  that is, for policies with all winners, no losers and no costs. (Kinda like the rights attitude toward tax cuts, I might add.)

Here I confess that Ive been guilty of this. Im often drawn to studies and stories about pro-labor policies that pay for themselves. And while there often is a pro-business or macroeconomic case to be made for policies that help workers, I pledge to be more mindful about potential unintended costs as well.

Readers, I hope youll hold me to this. And anyone else peddling free lunches, too.
By PTI: (Eds: Updates with more details)

New Delhi, Aug 10 (PTI) On his last day as Rajya Sabha Chairman, Hamid Ansari was today accorded a warm farewell by leaders from across the political spectrum, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that he had done his best to uphold the Constitution.

Ansari served two terms as the Vice President by virtue of which he was the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha as well.

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M Venkaiah Naidu will take over as the next Chairman of the Upper House of Parliament tomorrow.

Members, while bidding farewell to Ansari, recalled his contribution towards enriching Parliaments functioning. Most of them appreciated his constant endeavour to stick to the rules and not allowing any legislation to be passed during din.

Some members also said that his decision to change the timing of the Question Hour from 11 am to 12 pm every day had proved beneficial.

Interestingly, there were also a few remarks of praise vis-a-vis the fitness of the 80-year-old Ansari as well.

In his remarks, the prime minister said, "On behalf of the citizens and both Houses of Parliament, I express gratitutde for the services you have rendered as Vice- President of the nation."

Modi said the outgoing Rajya Sabha Chairman had done his best to uphold the Constitution.

Referring to Ansaris career, he said his tenure as a diplomat was focussed on West Asia and had been associated with the "same kind of atmosphere, same kind of ideology and same kind of people".

The prime minister said that even after retirement from service, Ansari had mostly worked with the Minority Commission and Aligarh Muslim University.

"Your work remained limited in a particular area. But during these 10 years, you had to deal with a different kind of responsibility (in running the House). Each moment, you had to remain confined to the Constitution and you made a good effort. "There may have been some struggle within you (all these years) but from now onwards, you wont have to face this dilemma. You will have a feeling of freedom and you will get an opportunity to work, think and talk according to your ideology," Modi told the outgoing Chairman.

Talking about Ansaris diplomatic career, the prime minister quipped that the way a diplomat talks or shakes hands, have a meaning and it cannot be understood immediately.

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Modi said though he did not have much interaction with Ansari, he had understood a lot from him whenever they met.

"I hope you will continue to guide the nation in moving forward on the path laid down by the Constitution," he added.

Conveying his best wishes to Ansari and wishing him a long life, Modi noted that the outgoing Chairman has also kept himself physically fit.

Leader of the House and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said it was a very nostalgic occasion for both Ansari as well members.

"The chairpersons job is a very challenging job in this House ... This House, unlike in 1950s and 1960s, now has a changed character. It really reflects the strength of the parties in the state.

"The character of this House is that things start with a lot of acromonius debate, noise, disruptions but eventually you would have seen during your tenure that nothing remains indefinitely held up," he said.

At the end of the day, Jaitley said, the system of political consensus works in the Upper House and consensus is eventually reached, irrespective of who is in the government and who is in the opposition.

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Jaitley added that a Chairmans job is also a thankless job and "you take the good with not so good".

"We have seen at times, when we members, have disrupted the House, your anguish was visible. It used to be more visisble in your concluding statement at the end of the sessions," he said.

He said that Ansaris tenure might have seen disturbances but it also saw a high quality of debates on many occasion.

"I am sure you retire from this House with great memories. We all recollect the sage advice that you kept giving to us and through us to the country from time to time... We will always have memories of you as the Chair and how you lent dignity to the quality of the debates in the house while presiding over it," the finance minster said.

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, during whose tenure Ansari had become the Rajya Sabha Chairman, hailed his contribution and said the country keeps on progressing despite challenges largely because of people like him.

Singh said he had received maximum possible guidance and cooperation from the outgoing Chairman.

Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad praised Ansari for the way he conducted the proceedings of the House.

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Recalling his long association with Ansari, Azad said the Chairman was given several honorary degrees by different countries, but he never used them.

SP member Ram Gopal Yadav said Ansari conducted the House without any discrimination and never allowed any legislation to be passed in din. He hoped the next Chairman too would continue the tradition.

Trinamool Congress leader Derek OBrien told the House that Ansari does Yoga and routinely goes for evening walks to maintain good health. He said Ansari has been eating only sandwiches at lunch for the past 40 years and it "must be a world record".

He appreciated Ansari for extending the working hours of the Rajya Sabhas day from 5 pm to 6 pm.

CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury also appreciated Ansari for not allowing any bill to be passed in din and hoped that the practice will be continued.

He said Ansaris decision to shift the Question Hour timing from 11 am to noon has yielded good results as more questions are now taken up. Yechury also appreciated of Ansaris initiative of starting the Rajya Sabha TV channel.

Deputy Chairman P J Kurien said he had enjoyed working with Ansari. "You protected me, you guided me and you corrected me," he said, adding "if we were to choose our destiny, then we all would pass a resolution to have Chairman Hamid Ansari for another term."

K Rehman Khan (Congress) said his days as Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman earlier were his best days when he worked under Ansaris guidance.

Naresh Agrawal of Samajwadi Party said people are known by the Chair they hold, but Ansari had shown that the Chair is known by the person holding it.

"You tought me discipline and I thought the point of order to this House," he said.

Anu Agha (Nom) said she has seen Ansaris anguish when the House was being disrupted. "We will miss your dignified presence and we look forward to guiding the nation with your love and wisdom".

K Parasaran (Nom) said Ansari had added dignity to the office of the Rajya Sabha Chairman.

Others who spoke include Amar Singh, Virender Kumar, Roopa Ganguly and Narendra Jadhav. PTI NKD MJH ADS SKC AKK

--- ENDS ---
A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
By Vidya : Bombay High Court today dismissed National Investigating Agency's (NIA) appeal against the lower court's order to not try ISIS recruit Areeb Majeed under Section 20 of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). The special NIA court and the lower court agreed with Areeb's lawyer that since ISIS was not declared a terrorist organisation in India prior to February 2015, Majeed could not be charged for being a member.

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Areeb, an engineering student and resident of Kalyan, had allegedly travelled to Iraq to join international terror outfit ISIS along with three others - Aman Tandel, Fahad Sheikh and Saheem Tanki. According to the chargesheet filed against Areeb by NIA, four of them had boarded an Etihad Airways flight in May 2014 for Abu Dhabi and travelled to Baghdad. Areeb, after that, had separated from the group and joined the ISIS.

The investigating agency claims that there was evidence to show that Areeb was indoctrinated into the ideology of the terror group and had returned to India with an ulterior motive. Areeb was arrested by the NIA in November 2014 and has been in jail since then. The agency further stated that ISIS was banned by the United Nations Security Council in 2014, which was binding on all member states, including India.

Bombay High Court division bench of Justice Ranjeet More and Justice Sadhna Jadhav, while hearing the case, were told a very different story by the NIA from what has been told until now. The agency said that Areeb and his friends had formed a terror gang of their own and so he should still be charged under Section 20. Areeb's lawyer Mubin Solkar contended,"Right from the Ministry of Home Affairs, to the letter to the NIA to investigate Areeb's case and to the draft charges which they presented before the lower court, nowhere has the NIA even whispered about Areeb forming a terror organisation of his own. Their intention throughout has been to show him as a part of ISIS." The division bench agreed with Solkar's defense and was of the view that reportedly, there was no material to suggest that Areeb was a member of a terrorist gang or terrorist association.

In the lower court, the trial against Areeb had taken a backseat all this while. Even though charges had been framed against Areeb and the evidence presented by the prosecution, the agency was pursuing charges against Areeb to be aggregated so that the trial was not conducted.

ALSO READ |

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Hadiya love jihad case: Supreme Court allows NIA to access Kerala Police's investigation report

Bhopal-Ujjain train blast: NIA files chargesheet against 4 men of ISIS' India module

--- ENDS ---
A Roanoke man was arrested Wednesday evening on charges in connection to a police chase the night before in Vinton.

Ricky Allen Akers, 28, is charged with felony eluding police, two counts of child endangerment, felony possession of marijuana and traffic charges, according to Vinton police. Hes being held at the Roanoke City Jail without bond. Akers is accused of leading police on a brief chase out of Vinton into northeast Roanoke, where the suspect vehicle crashed into a tree .

At about 10 p.m. Tuesday, an officer tried to stop a black Chevrolet Tahoe at the intersection of Tinker Avenue and Eighth Street in Vinton, police said. Lt. G. A. Austin said the Chevrolet was stopped because the license plate lights were not functioning.

The driver initially got out of the vehicle but then returned to the Chevrolet and fled. The officer pursued the vehicle north on Ninth Street into Roanoke, then onto Bibb Street Northeast. The vehicle, which appeared to exceed speeds of 70 mph, headed west on Carvin Street Northeast before crashing into a tree, Austin said. After the crash, the driver ran from the vehicle.

Officers found two children, who were 16 months and 12 years old, inside the Chevrolet. Child Protective Services officials later found guardians for the children, according to the release.

Staff reporter Amy Friedenberger contributed to this report.
A woman convicted of committing a spate of thefts and leading police on a short chase before her last arrest was sentenced Thursday to serve one year in jail.

Tara Simone Kellar, whos been in custody since her most recent arrest in December, will get credit for time served and must get treatment for drug addiction and mental health issues that her attorneys said fueled her run-ins with the law.

Kellar, 29, racked up a string of shoplifting-related charges in Roanoke County and Salem last year, as well as a felony charge of eluding police.

Officials said she led officers on a car chase for several blocks in December, running red lights and knocking down a stop sign in the process .

Over the course of several hearings, according to court records, Kellar pleaded guilty to one charge of shoplifting in Salem and no contest to two counts of petty larceny, one count of grand larceny and one count of eluding police in Roanoke County.

On Thursday, during a joint sentencing held in Salem Circuit Court, Judge William Broadhurst sentenced her to a total of three years with all but one year suspended. Shell be on probation for two years once released.

Shell be assessed for addiction and mental health issues, and must comply with any treatment required.
A Blacksburg attorney whose well-publicized struggles with mental illness and criminal charges twice led to loss of his license is preparing to take on new cases.

Joseph Graham Painter Jr., 70, had his law license restored in an order posted Tuesday on the Virginia State Bar Association website. The restoration comes about 3  years after a Montgomery County Circuit Court hearing in which Painter was found not guilty by reason of insanity on three charges of giving guns to a convicted felon and another charge of distributing drugs.

It feels great.  Im doing great, Painter said Wednesday.

Painter said that after his 2013 legal problems, he was diagnosed with bipolar II disorder. It has now been in remission for about three years, he said. Painter said that he continues to take a low level of medication.

Painter said that he is working to re-launch a criminal defense practice and is having his name re-entered on the court systems list of attorneys available to be appointed to represent less-well-off defendants. And Painter said his own experiences have prompted a new focus for his practice: advocating for people with mental health problems who are caught up in the legal system.

There are a lot of people who have mental health issues that arent being addressed, Painter said.

Renu Brennan, deputy executive director of the Virginia State Bar, said Wednesday that the Bar had no comment on Painters reinstatement.

Painter was once known for his involvement in local politics, donating to and avidly supporting many candidates, and running several times for office himself. In 1999 he came within 90 votes of a seat on the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors.

Bids to be elected commonwealths attorney didnt fare as well, nor did a campaign he mounted for a circuit court judgeship that eventually went to Robert Turk.

Painters legal troubles began in 2000, when he was charged with setting a series of fires at the Prices Meadow subdivision that was being built near Painters then-home on Rucker Road. Painter had complained that vibration from construction was damaging his residence.

He eventually pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges and no contest to three other misdemeanors. The prosecutor dropped two felony charges that would have automatically cost Painter his law license. In a plea agreement, Painter received a five-year suspended prison sentence and was ordered to move away from the subdivision.

In 2003, after Painters convictions, a panel of three circuit court judges on behalf of the state Bar decided to suspend his law license for a year. Painter testified that he had suffered with depression and anxiety and had no memory of setting fires.

It was a decade later that Painter again became a defendant, after being arrested outside a Christiansburg motel with a 22-year-old woman whom he had represented in court. Doris Ann Oliver eventually testified that she and Painter had become romantically linked and he gave her guns and drugs.

Oliver was sentenced in 2014 to serve three years in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm. The gun and drug charges against Painter were resolved with a rare not guilty by reason of insanity verdict.

On Wednesday, Painter insisted that he hadnt given drugs or guns to Oliver.

This time it was something I didnt do  I never got to tell my side of the story, Painter said.

He said that his mental illness, described in court as dementia by a neurologist, kept him from making a good defense. If Id been better, Id have fought it, Painter said.

The 2013 case included an episode in which Painters bond was revoked and he was sent back to jail after threatening a Montgomery Countys commonwealths attorney, having told a Pulaski assistant prosecutor that he was going to eliminate Mary Pettitt from the gene pool.

Pettitt could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

In late 2013, after Painter was found not guilty of the charges, the state Bar Disciplinary Board suspended his law license on impairment grounds.

Painter applied to have his license reinstated and last year, his psychologist wrote to a judge saying Painter has been in full remission for two years at that point.

The decision to lift the suspension of Painters license was entered by the disciplinary board on May 11.

In 2003, Painter told the panel of judges that was then considering the fate of his license that he knew his actions would continue to affect him.

I know that no matter what I do, I will always be known for the rest of my life as the lawyer who went crazy,  Painter said then.

But on Wednesday, Painter focused on the more recent set of charges, from 2013, and said he has nothing to put behind him.

I dont have to clear my name, Painter said. Because as far as Im concerned, I didnt do anything.
The actor, who is currently seen in Beyhadh, had married Akangsha Rawat in 2012.

By India Today Web Desk: Actor Piyush Sahdev, who is currently being seen on Sony TV's Beyhadh, is separating from his wife Akangsha Rawat after being married to her for five long years, according to a report in India Forums.

"Yes, Akangsha and I have been living separately since last 3 months. The divorce is already in process," the actor told India Forums.

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Earlier there were reports doing the rounds that the actor has moved on with one of the creative heads of Beyhadh. However, Piyush begs to differ.

"I am really upset with this news which is absolutely untrue. I am already going through a very rough phase in my life and all these rumours just add to my misery. It is my humble request to all to not spread such rumours and add fuel to the fire," the actor added.

Also read: Raghu Ram to throw a divorce party after court proceedings are over

Also read: Bigg Boss 9 contestant Mandana Karimi accuses husband Gaurav Gupta of domestic violence; files for divorce

--- ENDS ---
RICHMOND  Congress may have left town for August, but Virginias governors race is heating back up as both major-party candidates hit the TV airwaves with ads.

Republican Ed Gillespie was first up, beginning a series of three spots July 25, and two more announced Thursday. His Democratic rival, Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, unveiled his first TV ad of the general election on Thursday.

Northams ad will begin airing in Roanoke, Richmond, Norfolk and Charlottesville, a buy of more than $100,000, his campaign said.

Titled My Life, the 30-second spot features ordinary-looking people mentioning details about Northams bio  pediatrician, trained at Johns Hopkins, Army vet  and concludes with the candidate calling to expand access to health care for Virginians.

The biographical tone echoes his rivals early ads. Gillespies three spots, which continue to air in markets across the state, include a one-minute spot called American Dream that introduces Gillespie as the son of an Irish immigrant. It describes how Gillespie worked his way through college and wound up as an adviser to President George W. Bush. Shorter ads depict his youthful odd jobs and his plan for the economy. The new ads announced Thursday will focus on ethics reforms and public safety.

The Republican beat Northam to the TV punch after waging an extremely low-key primary campaign. The laid-back strategy saw Gillespie nearly lose the nomination to fellow Republican Corey Stewart, but left him with a healthy war chest of some $3.2 million, according to campaign finance disclosures filed last month.

Northam had spent considerably more fending off his primary opponent, former congressman Tom Perriello. Though he won by a healthy margin, Northam emerged with only about $1.75 million on hand, according to the July 17 filing.

Neither candidate is likely to hurt for money this year, though, with national attention focusing on Virginia as the only competitive governors race of 2017 (New Jersey has the only other contest, but the Democrat in that race is heavily favored). The Republican Governors Association has already given Gillespie $2 million since last months campaign finance disclosure, and the Democratic National Committee has given Northam $1.5 million.

The Roanoke Times contributed to this report.
CHARLOTTESVILLE  The Virginia ACLU and Albemarle County-based Rutherford Institute are representing Unite the Right rally sponsor Jason Kessler, saying a decision by Charlottesville officials to move the demonstration to McIntire Park may violate his First Amendment rights.

Meanwhile, officials reiterated their belief that the Aug. 7 decision to move the rally from Emancipation Park is constitutional and is not based on the content of the pro-white nationalist gathering.

The Rutherford Institute and ACLU Foundation of Virginia on Wednesday traded letters with City Attorney Craig Brown regarding Kesslers proposed rally and the reasons why the city approved the rally permit only for the larger McIntire Park.

The permit was originally for Emancipation Park, the site of a controversial statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.

The civil rights organizations wrote a letter Tuesday to Charlottesvilles city manager and city councilors demanding that the city give Kessler permission to hold his rally in Emancipation Park as originally planned.

Brown responded with a letter restating the citys position that the decision to move the demonstration was not made on the content of the speech or the number of expected protesters and counter-protesters.

I will take this opportunity to respond to your statements that any actions by the city that are motivated by opposition to the content of Mr. Kesslers message, or by the presence of counter-demonstrators at his rally, would be constitutionally suspect. We agree, Brown wrote. In this case, however, the city manager based his decision on substantial interests that are totally unrelated to whatever message that Mr. Kessler and his associates will be delivering.

Brown did not specify what interests led the city to change the rallys venue, but he noted that the city allowed a July Ku Klux Klan rally, with a similar message and counter-protesters, to occur at Justice Park.

[The city] and its employees made significant sacrifices to ensure that the Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan could hold a rally, albeit a much smaller one than planned for Unite the Right, at a downtown park despite substantial opposition from counter-demonstrators, Brown wrote.

While your letter makes a number of assertions that we would expect from [Kessler], you do not indicate whether either of you are or are not representing him, Brown wrote. Please let me know at your earliest opportunity whether you are, in fact, representing Mr. Kessler so that I will be able to fulfill my professional responsibilities pursuant to Rule 4.2 of the Virginia Rules of Professional Conduct.

The rule restricts with whom lawyers may discuss legal matters.

Brown asked that the civil rights organizations contact him rather the city councilors, city manager or mayor regarding the rally.

In response to Brown, Claire Gastanaga, the ACLUs executive director, confirmed that Kessler is a client. She said when the groups wrote the Tuesday letter they were simply rights organizations concerned with Kesslers First Amendment rights.

Since that time, and after we wrote to the council, Mr. Kessler has become a client of the ACLU Foundation of Virginia and Mr. Whitehead and his associate Doug McKusick have agreed to serve as co-counsel in the representation, Gastanaga wrote.

The citys Aug. 7 decision came after officials worried that multiple planned protests and thousands of protesters vehemently opposed to each other crammed into a four-block area could prove a safety issue.

Saturdays rally, scheduled for noon to 5 p.m., is expected to be attended by members of several groups in the alt-right movement and pro-white activists from across the country.

Charlottesville officials say that even though Saturdays Unite the Right rally has been approved only for McIntire Park and not Emancipation Park downtown, they will prepare for a large crowd in the downtown area.

City spokeswoman Miriam Dickler said the Charlottesville Police Department is preparing for the possibility that people will gather at both parks.
The father of the kids who were stamped on their face in Bhopal Central Jail claims that he and his wife had asked the guard to do so in order to avoid being pushed aside.

By Hemender Sharma: In a fresh twist to the Bhopal Central Jail guard's act of stamping two minors on their cheeks on Rakshabandhan day, the father of the two kids has now claimed that he and his wife asked the guard to do the same.

Speaking to India Today outside his house in Gandhi Nagar area in Bhopal, Yusuf Khan said, "I along with my wife and two kids had gone to the Bhopal Central Jail on the day of Rakshabandhan to meet my father-in-law, who is serving a sentence. As no prior appointment is required on Rakshabandhan, a lot of people had come to meet their relatives. It was very crowded and my kids were wearing full-sleeve shirts. In an attempt to save ourselves from being pushed aside, we asked the guard to stamp the kids on their face."

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Yusuf has given a similar affidavit to the jail authorities.

The DG jail has already started an inquiry into the matter and suspended the jail guard, who stamped the two kids on their faces. The State Human Rights Commission has also sought a reply from the Jail DG in one week's time.

The government, after the pictures of the two kids with stamped faces went viral, announced a compensation of Rs 10,000 each to them.

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Bhopal prison stamps minors' faces when they visit their jailed father

--- ENDS ---
By India Today Web Desk: Bigg Boss Tamil's popular contestant Oviya is ready to make her comeback on the show, according to reports.

The 26-year-old model and actress who quit the show citing medical reasons, is reportedly thinking of making a comeback to the controversial reality show hosted by Kamal Haasan.

Oviya, who claimed that she was depressed in the house after being cornered by the housemates, had allegedly attempted to take her life on the show. During her stay in the house, she had managed to gain a massive following among the viewers who call themselves Oviya army.

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According to a report in IBT, Oviya was apparently paid Rs 2.5 lakh every day for staying in the Bigg Boss house. And it is being said that she would make a comeback only if that amount is increased.

The makers of the show are trying hard to make her return possible on the show since the ratings have dipped drastically ever since the actress walked out of the show.

Also read: Bigg Boss Tamil: Popular contestant Oviya quits the show

Also read: Bigg Boss Tamil contestant Oviya wins heart, supporters launch 'Neenga shut up pannunga' campaign

--- ENDS ---
The book pulls no punches.

It sharply condemns conservatism for its role in a culture of vicious dehumanization, not to mention its sins of incoherence, rejection of empirical fact and plain hypocrisy. Writing of the rush by the conservative party, i.e., the GOP, to embrace the regrettable Donald Trump during the last election, the author is blunt and unsparing. Never has a party so quickly or easily abandoned its core principles ...

No, these are not new complaints; they have been made repeatedly in recent years. But what makes this particular bill of charges against conservatism and the Republican Party noteworthy is not the substance, but the source.

Meaning, a self-described proud conservative and a lifelong Republican  Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona. Flakes new book, Conscience of a Conservative  the title is an ode to Barry Goldwaters 1960 tome of the same name  takes conservatism and the GOP to task in no uncertain terms. Its being called an act of moral courage. It might even be one.

At the very least, the book is timely, particularly in its lamentation of the hatefulness  the word is not too strong  of the nations political divide. Flake captures this starkly in one painful anecdote:

January of 2012, President Obamas State of the Union address. Flake is sitting next to a friend, Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who is still recovering after being shot in the head the year before. During President Obamas applause lines, Gabby wanted to stand up but was unable to do so on her own, so I helped her. That often left me standing, a lone Republican among cheering Democrats.

He stood, he writes, not to support the president, but to help a cherished and brave colleague. Which should have been patently obvious to anyone with eyes and a functioning conscience, but it apparently made little difference to those who sent him furious text messages and emails during and after the speech, taking him to task for this act of political apostasy.

As noted, Flakes Conscience is being widely lauded. The Washington Post called it brave. USA Today dubbed it courageous. Columnist Michael Gerson said it was the single largest act of political bravery of the Trump era.

Youll get no argument here. But you will find an observation: this courage would be more impressive had it shown itself sooner. The GOP, after all, didnt lose its mind when Trump came to town. Rather, it was the loss of its mind that made Trump possible. And that loss predates his presidency by a good two decades.

How much of the dysfunction of those years  the baseless 24/7 investigations, the birther idiocy, the Islamophobia, the death panels, the obstructionism  might have been ameliorated by a little in-the-moment conservative courage? Republicans are not asked to abandon their low taxes, small government orthodoxy. No ideology, after all, has a monopoly on good ideas.

But this is not about ideology. Rather, its about the GOPs en masse retreat from reason, responsibility, statesmanship and simple decency.

This retreat has been objectively obvious for years, but the list of Republicans willing to stand up and concede the objectively obvious has been pathetically small. Now Flake adds his name, making it ... slightly less small.

Brave? OK. But that bravery is irrelevant until and unless his conservative conscience touches someone elses. His party, his people, need to acknowledge their dysfunction, need to own it  and fix it.

Otherwise, hes still standing alone while the wrong people applaud.

Pitts is a columnist for The Miami Herald who is syndicated by the Tribune Content Agency.
By John Long

If youve stumbled across this space with my byline before, youve probably figured out Im 1) a history buff and 2) a sucker for anniversaries divisible by five. So I couldnt let the month of August go by without marking the 75th Anniversary of a crucial event in Wordl War II. Its likely youve never heard of it, probably because it was an unmitigated Allied disaster. But it was, in failure, an important learning point which shaped future policy and arguably contributed in a roundabout way to eventual victory.

It was the Raid on Dieppe.

Backstory: Dunkirk, the 1940 British/French evacuation, had left Germany unchallenged on the continent. As soon as the evacuation was done, Britain began trying to devise a way to un-Dunkirk themselves and get back across the English Channel.

But by the summer of 1942, little was going well in the European Theater for the Allies. Hitler dominated Europe and was prevailing in North Africa, and there was little to be done about it yet. The Soviets were on the ropes and grousing that the western allies offered them no help.

With the U.S. now in the war, the prospect of an invasion seemed less impossible, but sober-minded strategists agreed it could not be done yet. One of the main questions was the unavoidable issue of supply and logistics. If we land a force in Northern France somewhere, how do we keep them supplied and reinforced? Ideally, the answer would be taking an intact port with working harbor facilities. But the Germans would certainly not allow us to take one easily.

Thus was conceived Operation Jubilee. A force of commandos, primarily Canadians of the 2nd Division, with some British troops and a few American Rangers, were to land below Dieppe, seize the town, gather intelligence, and then withdraw, all to evaluate the difficulties that would be involved in trying to seize a port when the real cross-channel invasion occurred.

While the troops were eager and courageous and parts of the plan looked good on paper, almost nothing went right when Jubilee went forward on Aug. 19, 1942. German defenses were far more effective than anticipated; landing craft went astray, or never got to shore; getting tanks across the beach to support the invasion proved extraordinarily difficult.

In only a few hours, the leaders of the Dieppe Raid recognized that the operation had failed and ordered a withdrawal of surviving troops. For Canada especially, it was the darkest day of the war so far: of the just under 5,000 Canadians who embarked for the operation, only 2,200 returned to England  the rest killed, captured or missing. Britain suffered just over 1,000 casualties. Three Americans of the 1st Ranger Battalion lost their lives  the first American blood spilled in the quest to retake Europe from Nazi domination.

Uncommon valor was a common virtue that day, as the saying goes. But its hard not to conclude that the whole thing was a disgraceful mistake. British military historian John Keegan was scathing in critique: In retrospect, Dieppe looks so recklessly hare-brained an enterprise that it is difficult to reconstruct the official state of mind which gave it birth and drove it forward.

The usual caveat for the Dieppe Raid goes along these lines: it was an inarguable catastrophe, but we learned some lessons. True. But (to borrow again from Keegan) thats like saying that at least we learned some valuable lessons in ship safety from the sinking of the Titanic. Accurate, but it hardly compensates for the loss of life.

Nevertheless, improvements in tactics for amphibious assaults, naval fire support, and use of air power would be applied before the next Allied attempt to cross the channel: D-Day, June 6, 1944. British planner and chief advocate of Jubilee, Lord Louis Mountbatten, would later claim, a bit self-servingly, that For every soldier who died at Dieppe, ten were saved on D-Day.

Its worth noting two sequels to the story. Allied planners became convinced that when the inevitable invasion of Fortress Europa happened, the chance of capturing an intact port was remote, no matter how obvious the need for it was. And so was born the idea of bringing our ports with us: the ingeniously designed artificial harbors codenamed Mulberries.

Second, the Canadian 3rd Division led the charge on D-Day across a bloody stretch of sand known as Juno Beach. They accomplished their mission in memory of brothers-in-arms who could not. At Juno Beach, our Canadian allies helped lay the ghosts of Dieppe to rest.

Long is the education director for the National D-Day Memorial.
Theres a quorum once more at the federal agency that will soon make a decision whose impact may be felt in this part of Virginia for decades to come.

That means the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission might soon vote on both of the two proposed natural gas pipelines that have roiled politics in the region  the proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline and the Atlantic Coast Pipeline.

If FERC doesnt approve those pipelines, it would be a massive shock. Even when it had a Democratic majority during the Obama administration, FERC was seen as little more than a rubber-stamp for pipeline projects. Now that it has a Republican majority, appointed by a president who champions fossil fuels, there seems little question about how this will play out.

Nevertheless, we have three questions to pose to the new FERC commissioners.

We begin with the premise that the commissioners are inclined to support the pipelines. Perhaps theyll sign off on anything thats put before them that looks like drill, baby, drill. Its not impossible, though, to be in favor natural gas pipelines generally  or even these natural gas pipelines in particular  and still have some critical questions. After all, the decision on whether to cut through 300 miles of mostly mountainous terrain for the Mountain Valley Pipeline, or 600 miles for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, is one that will be felt (and seen) for a long time. This is a generational decision, and wed like to think even pipeline supporters would want to get the answer right. So here are our three questions, framed in conservative language that the new FERC majority should identify with:

n Why hasnt FERC been willing to hold more public comment hearings? The commission rejected calls from both Democratic and Republican legislators to hold more hearings. Thats certainly one definition of the word bipartisan. The official explanation is that the commission didnt think there was anything new or different that would be said. That might well be true. Still, this is a decision that communities will have to live with decades. The commission cant spare just one more day? Really? Conservatives typically rail against big government; FERCs willful inflexibility here seems the very essence of what conservatives normally complain about.

n How accurate are the environmental studies? Critics say theyre riddled with errors, both of omission and commission. Pipeline companies say theyre not. We know this: These involve massive amounts of paper, enough to make War and Peace look like light summer reading at the beach. When critics say the studies draw the wrong conclusion, well, thats one thing. Much of that is simply philosophical  whether natural gas is a cheap, reliable fuel that can power our economy or whether its a fossil fuel whose carbon and methane emissions endanger our planet.

However, when critics say the studies are based on bad information, shouldnt the commissioners take special notice? We understand its not natural for conservatives to take the word of environmentalists. On the other hand, the pipeline opponents are, in a way, speaking the language of conservatives here, even if they may not recognize it themselves. Theyre saying the government has gotten something wrong. To ignore those criticisms would seem to invoke a special faith in the infallibility of government that Republicans usually disavow.

n Why wont FERC look at these two pipelines together? The exploitation of the Marcellus and Utica shale formations under the Appalachians has created an unprecedented building boom in East Coast pipelines. FERCs position has been to let market forces determine where those pipelines are built, which is another way of saying the pipeline companies get to decide. To some extent, that makes sense: We dont need federal regulators telling the Acme Pipeline Company to ship its product to, say, New York instead of Atlanta.

However, here we have a curious situation: Both the Atlantic and Mountain Valley pipelines start in essentially the same place (in northwest West Virginia) and travel in the same direction (east) and pass through generally the same spot (Southside Virginia). The only real difference is that the Atlantic Coast line continues on into North Carolina while the Mountain Valley terminates at Chatham. And, oh, they take two entirely different routes to get from Point A in West Virginia to Point B in Southside Virginia.

FERC insists on viewing these as two separate projects, which raises the question: How close do pipelines have to be before FERC would look at them together?

The environmental impact studies for both pipelines looked  however cursorily  at sharing a single route but dismissed the idea. Forgive us for being skeptical here. Environmentalists say we dont need either line, but even if we did, do we really need two different cuts through the national forest, two different crossings across the Appalachian Trail, two different crossings across the Blue Ridge Parkway, and so forth?

Stubbornly, FERC seems to keep its blinders on, which contributes to the perception that its not really a regulatory agency at all, but simply a pipeline approval agency. Is it really too much for FERC to look at the potential impacts of these two pipelines as one total package? This really seems a pretty minimal question  since its theoretically possible to support both pipelines and still think we ought to look at a way to cut their negative impacts in half. To not look at the two pipelines together suggests that pipeline construction really is the Wild West  build what you want, where you want. Is that really federal policy?

If not, how close would pipelines have to be before FERC looked at them together. Fifty miles? Five miles? Five feet? Again, environmentalists want to block both pipelines, so looking at the pipelines together would seem a pro-environmental move. Admittedly, it is. However, its not exclusively a pro-environmental move. Even some Republicans have advanced the notion that we should direct pipelines into designated energy corridors. Rep. Tom MacArthur of New Jersey says that would actually make it easier to build pipelines because it would be clear in advance where they should go.

The new commissioners could order up a single study of the two pipelines and not appear to be giving into pipeline opponents at all; they could say with a straight face theyre really enacting a Republican idea. And theyd be right.
Bombay High Court has asked Maharashtra govt to inform whether it has in place any mechanism to deal with emergency organ transplants (donation or retrievals), adding that if it doesn't, it must put in place one to deal with future contingencies.

By Vidya : Bombay High Court today directed the Maharashtra government to inform whether it had in place any mechanism to deal with emergency organ transplants (donation or retrieval situations), adding that if it didn't, it must put in place one to deal with future contingencies.

The court was hearing a petition in which a dialysis patient was expecting a kidney donation from a brain-dead patient named Manish Mehta in Hiranandani Hospital.

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The hospital itself has been disallowed by the health authorities from conducting any surgery related to organ transplants. However, the hospital recently received a patient who was brain-dead and the family wanted to donate his organs.

Advocate Sunny Shah, who is aware of the case, said, "The procedure to donate organs was to be carried out, but the health department barred it because of the hospital and the issues the department has with it. But this was an opportunity. If the patient's organs could be retrieved, the lives of five to six recipients would have been saved. We initially wanted to file a public interest litigation (PIL), asking for authorities to be ordered to retrieve the organs from Mehta. However, the court was of the view that the petition should be filed by the patient's family. That was really not possible as the patient's children were abroad and only his wife was with him here. In such a scenario, how could anyone file a petition."

In the meantime, a petition was filed by a dialysis patient called Swapnil Raut, who got to know about Mehta's case. The petition urged that the Maharashtra health department be directed to retrieve the organs from Mehta in Hiranandani Hospital. The division bench of Justice Anoop Mohta and Justice Bharati Dangre ordered the government pleader to take instruction from the department to ask whether this could be done. However, the goverment pleader even till late on Wednesday evening did not get any information and so the case was scheduled for hearing today. But as luck would have it, in a tragic turn of events, Mehta late on Wednesday night suffered a heart seizure. His organs after that could not in any way be retrieved to help other patients survive.

The court after learning about Mehta's passing away expressed grief but refused to dispose of the case. Raut's advocate Ashish Mehta informed that the matter would now be heard on August 24.

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Rules discriminate between kaali-peeli taxis, app-based cabs: Bombay HC to Maharashtra govt

Scrap rights body if you can't provide them office: Bombay HC slams Maharashtra

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By Sneha Agrawal: If the alleged stalking incident involving a Haryana BJP MLA's son makes your blood boil, here is a case that could scare you out of your wits. A 38-year-old woman has filed a complaint of stalking, extortion and sexual assault against a former senior colleague, who she claims not only assaulted her in India but continued the harassment and stalking even after she moved to Australia with her husband and two children.

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The police have booked the accused for causing hurt, rape, cheating, voyeurism and criminal intimidation. Mail Today is not disclosing his name because this reporter's attempts to contact him failed. The woman met the alleged perpetrator in her office. The accused was in the same department, but based in Hyderabad. Being the nature of the job, the victim often had to communicate with him.

"We used to have regular teleconferences and he would often travel to Gurugram for work. He even started involving me in his projects and make conscious efforts to be friendly and empathetic, and even appreciate my efforts in public," she said. About four out of five Indian women have faced public harassment ranging from staring, insults and wolf-whistling to being followed, groped or raped, said a survey by the charity ActionAid UK last year.

Hundreds of women this month took to social media to post selfies of themselves out at midnight with the hashtag #AintNoCinderella after a senior politician questioned why the woman, who was reportedly stalked by the Haryana MLAs son, was out at night. The victim alleged that the man eventually started discussing his personal life with her and would narrate stories of how he was facing a difficult time.

"He used to tell me about his cruel and selfish wife who had eloped with her cousin and how he was raising a daughter with special needs all alone without any support from the family. He told me that he needed a friend in such difficult times for stories and he was calling the frequently to discuss work and personal problems," she told the police. In March 2013, she claims that knowing she would be all alone at her Gurugram residence, the accused called her and said he was coming over in the evening.

"I poured him and myself a glass of cold drink. After serving him the drink I went inside the kitchen for a couple of minutes," says the FIR. After they finished the drinks, the victim says she fell unconscious. When she woke up, she found herself lying nude in the bedroom and the accused, who was sitting on a chair, asked her to forget what had happened and threatened her to keep quiet, saying otherwise she would risk not just het job but also her reputation.

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"He threatened to leak my objectionable photos, the video of the incident and asked me to please him in all ways and keep him happy," the FIR says. After that day, the woman says she was forced to accompany him to several high-end hotels and various cities across the country. "When I pleaded him to let me go, he began blackmailing me by threatening to reveal the incident to my husband and therefore I was forced to bear the pain of mental and sexual abuse." The woman also alleges that he began extorting money from her and she had paid him lakhs of rupees at several intervals.

"He sought `20 lakh as a lump sum amount to end the assault. I even agreed to that. However, a few days later I was again subjected to the assault," she said. The victim claims that the man stalked her to so closely that he even knew about her plans to migrate to Australia.

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Even after she moved, the accused continued to harass her. "He sent a long message to my husband, assassinating my character and sent us emails. His emails gave me feelers that he was still following me. I thought of complaining to the police just before moving to Australia but I did not do it to avoid being placed in an uncomfortable situation." The woman says she was walking on the streets of Melbourne one day, when someone touched her on the shoulder from behind, introduced himself as the accused and told her, "Prepare to die." However, when the victim turned around, she could not find anyone.

Also Read:

Shimla gangrape-murder case: Protests rock hill city, people accuse police of mishandling the case

Shimla gangrape case: Accused found dead inside Kotkhai police station

Shimla rape outrage: How Himachal, other states fare in crime against women

--- ENDS ---
Firestone Diamonds has revised its production guidance for the fiscal year 2018 as it begins a review of its current life of mine plan to optimise mining operations at its 75 percent-owned Liqhobong Diamond Mine in Lesotho.

It now expects to produce between 800,000 and 850,000 carats in the fiscal year 2018 from the previous guidance of 1 million carats.

However, the overall life of mine carats was not anticipated to change.

As part of this review, Firestone will be extending the mining of the weathered kimberlite over the coming months, in order to access the lower areas of the pit that have historically yielded higher grade and higher value diamonds, it said.

The company also plans to mine additional waste rock in the coming year, in order to improve the long term mining operations.

Firestone said the move was also expected to impact revenues in the current financial year.



Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished




Diamond cutters in Zimbabwe have called upon the government to get rid of the tender system in allocating diamonds as some companies are left with no gems if they lose during the bidding.

Zimbabwe, which currently has 12 cutting and polishing companies, reserve 10 percent of its annual diamond production for the local industry, according to The Source, a local business news agency with links to Reuters.

The issue of the tender system (is) a negative factor. Subjecting local companies to buying diamonds through a tender system does not encourage beneficiation because if one factory wins the whole parcel then that means other factories wont be working for that particular month, Diamond Beneficiation Association of Zimbabwe (DBAZ) chairman Richard Mvududu was quoted as saying.

We urge the government to allocate parcels to factories depending on their capacity rather than to compete with each other.

He said the mining industry urgently required a comprehensive mines and minerals policy for a conducive environment and a level playing field that encourages investment into the local beneficiation of Zimbabwe diamonds.

We are still cutting and polishing though not at the level we want to. We have had challenges in the past and we continue to have them because the industry is still at infancy, he said.

We are looking at removing impediments that have been negating progress in the industry, said Mvududu.



Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished




Sarine Technologies Ltd's revenue for the second quarter ended 30 June 2017 amounted to $18.2 mn, or 12% higher than $16.3 mn in the second quarter of the previous year.

Sarines H1 2017 Group revenue totalled $34.4 mn. According to the company's statement, Trade revenues from polished diamond related products and services represented about 2% of H1 2017 revenue and the proportion of contribution from this business segment is expected to grow as the year unfolds. For the half year, the Group recorded net profit of US$ 5.7 million.

On a y-o-y basis, however, both Q2 2017 and H1 2017 results were lower than those in the previous year. The company attributed this to lower equipment sales in India as well as higher operating expenses, in part due to the weaker U.S. Dollar. The Groups sales of inclusion mapping systems for smaller stones (primarily the MeteorTM) were affected by patent and copyright infringement activities of an illegal competitor in India, against which the Group has been taking aggressive legal and other actions.

With the addition of 16 GalaxyTM deliveries in Q2 2017, Sarine expanded the total installed base to 332 as of 30 June 2017.

Sarines CEO, David Block commented: For Sarine ProfileTM, we continue to enjoy successful business expansion in the Asia Pacific region and North America. In addition to new customers commencing services in Thailand and South Korea this quarter, we have concluded plans for launches with major Hong Kong and mainland China chains, with actual in-store operations scheduled for the beginning of 2018. Based on previous experience, we expect revenue from sales programs utilising Sarine ProfileTM in H2 2017 to double the revenues realised H1 2017.



Aruna Gaitonde, Editor-in-Chief of Asian Bureau, Rough & Polished




Stephen Lussier, executive vice president of marketing at De Beers, has been assigned a new task of overseeing the De Beers Diamond Jewellers (DBDJ), which has been fully-owned by the diamond company since March, according to Rapaport.

Meanwhile, DBDJ CEO Francois Delage will be reporting to Lussier.

In March, De Beers bought the 50% of DBDJ it did not already own from former joint-venture partner LVMH, which had operated the stores.

Lussiers remit also includes retail brand Forevermark, of which he was already CEO, and the International Institute of Diamond Grading & Research (IIDGR), De Beers grading laboratory.




The water level at the Mir mine in Yakutia continues to increase, while the rescue and search operation for the eight missing miners continues for the 6th day in a row. Groundwater gradually fills the mine workings.

To carry out the search and rescue operations more effectively, combined teams of rescuers of Russia's Ministry for Emergencies and miners of ALROSA were formed.

Vladlen Aksyonov, Deputy Head of the ministry has been working at the mine since the first day of the incident and spent five hours underground, personally assessing the safety for rescuers.

"To understand what the situation is, you need to see it with your own eyes and assess the scale of destruction, the work that needs to be done, and the situation itself  whether it is safe for rescuers or unsafe. I found it necessary to personally go down and inspect the work sites. The situation is complicated  there are multiple blockages, large plugs of clay. Most excavations are completely flooded, but we continue to work on saving people," Aksyonov said.

Examination of mine workings showed that the water level in the mine continues to rise, the hydrological situation is deteriorating. The site of search should be protected from water. Auxiliary tasks, such as the functioning of mine life support systems, delivery and installation of necessary equipment, many other works are carried out directly by the specialists of the enterprise. "In a record time, several powerful pumps were installed to drain water from the mine. Usually, this work takes about a month, but in this situation, all the technical and human capabilities were mobilized. More than 50 people from 4 of our enterprises have installed pumps in 72 hours," said the president of ALROSA, Sergey Ivanov.

The total number of rescuers at the site is 320 people, of which 170 are specialists from the Ministry for Emergencies sent to Mirny from various regions of Russia.




The woman was returning from office on her scooter around midnight when the men started following her. They even called out to her to stop and tried cornering her.

By India Today Web Desk: A call centre executive was on Monday night chased by two men in a car for almost 3 kms in Gurgaon. The woman was returning from office on her scooter around midnight when the men started following her. They even called out to her to stop and tried cornering her as well.

The woman filed a complaint against the duo at Sector 14 police station in Gurgaon on Tuesday morning. Although she could not recall the license plate number of the car, but she mentioned that the registration number began with 'HR 57'.

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According to the complainant, the men chased her till Atul Kataria chowk. An FIR has been filed under section 354D (stalking) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against two unidentified men.

The woman even dialed 100 for police help but did not get a satisfactory response. "This is a sensitive issue and if there has been a lapse on the part of our officials, necessary action will be taken," the police commissioner said.

Police are trying to trace the men based on details provided by the call centre executive. "We are checking the CCTV footage of the route and are trying to trace the vehicle number given by the complainant," said Ravinder Kumar, PRO, Gurgaon Police.

We are checking CCTV footage of the route and vehicle number given by the complainant: Ravinder Kumar, PRO Gurugram Police on stalking case pic.twitter.com/UgB0wcmeMV&; ANI (@ANI) August 10, 2017

The incident comes days after a Chandigarh woman Varnika Kundu was stalked by Haryana BJP chief Subhash Barala's son Vikas Barala and his friend Ashish Kumar. Both the accused were on Wednesday evening arrested by Chandigarh police on charges of stalking and attempting to abduct Varnika.

-With inputs from Aaj Tak

ALSO READ |

Chandigarh stalking case: CCTV video shows Vikas Barala's SUV following Varnika Kundu's car

Chandigarh stalking: Before granting bail, police dropped charges against Vikas Barala

Mumbai: I-T professional who stalked wedding planner nabbed

Yes, was following Varnika Kundu's car: Vikas Barala confesses before cops, says report

ALSO WATCH | Chandigarh stalking: Vikas Barala arrested, charged with attempt to kidnap

--- ENDS ---
(Agencia CMA Latam) - Foreign ministers from 12 countries in the Americas and the Caribbean condemned the National Constituent Assembly (ANC) in Venezuela and deemed it as a "breach of the democratic order" in the country, according to a joint statement released by Peru's Foreign Ministry after a meeting held yesterday in Lima.

The meeting was convened by the Peruvian government after the ANC's election, held on July 30. Last week the assembly was installed by the President Nicolas Maduro, despite protests, international criticism and local demonstrations by the opposition.

The foreign ministers of Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay and Peru maintained "their decision not to recognize the ANC, nor the acts that emanate from it."

The group also declared its full support and solidarity to the National Assembly - the country's parliament, controlled by the opposition - as well as to the Attorney General Luisa Ortega, who was dismissed by the ANC after being suspended for "serious misconduct in duty."

In the so-called Lima Declaration, the foreign ministers also condemned "the systematic violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms, violence, repression and political persecution, the existence of political prisoners and the lack of free elections under independent international observation."

Also, the foreign ministers declared their support for Mercosur's decision to suspend Venezuela, after applying the Ushuaia Protocol on Democratic Commitment for "breach of the democratic order."

They also stated that they would not support any Venezuelan candidacy in regional or international forums and organizations.

by Agencia CMA Latam

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Economic News

What parts of the world are seeing the best (and worst) economic performances lately? Click here to check out our Econ Scorecard and find out! See up-to-the-moment rankings for the best and worst performers in GDP, unemployment rate, inflation and much more.
(Agencia CMA Latam) - Possible U.S. sanctions against Venezuela would hurt, but not disrupt, companies such as Citgo Petroleum and Citgo Holding, according to a report by Moody's Investors Service.

The United States recently imposed sanctions on several Venezuelan citizens, including President Nicolas Maduro, and has threatened economic sanctions that could block oil sales to the country by Venezuelan state-owned oil company PDVSA.

The lack of access to PDVSA's oil would increase costs of crude and negatively affect its subsidiary Citgo's margins and credit metrics.

"While Citgo depends on Venezuela for about 28% of its crude supply, it buys heavily from other , and could rebalance its crude mix to an optimal profit level, although in several months," said Nymia Almeida, senior vice-president of credit at Moody's.

Although the company is indirectly exposed to international protests stemming from growing political turmoil in Venezuela, Moody's believes that if Citgo's access to PDVSA's oil were discontinued, it would not have to materially increase capital expenditures to adjust its refineries to a different mixture of crude, although its profitability would be affected.

"As Citgo relies on Venezuela for about 28% of its crude oil supply, it can buy heavily from other markets, rebalancing its crude oil mix to optimum profit levels, though over several months," the rating agency said.

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) - Brazil state-owned oil company Petrobras is expected to maintain the flow of positive results after the sale of its 90% stake in Nova Transportadora do Sudeste (NTS) to Brookfield and its affiliates, completed in the second quarter. However, three events should negatively impact the company's numbers.

The main one is the provision related to the Petros pension fund, of R$ 6.5 billion, resulting from a lawsuit related to the deductibility of expenses incurred in the renegotiation of the plan. It should also be impacted by the government's Tax Regularization Program (R$ 308 million), and the provision to terminate an individual lawsuit in the Federal Court of Pennsylvania.

According to a Credit Suisse's analysis team, another factor influencing the numbers is the higher exploratory costs in the period, amounting to US$ 200 million, with the amortization of dry wells. Despite these events, the brokerage firm estimates that the free cash flow will be the positive highlight of the company's quarterly report, with an additional reduction of US$ 3 billion in net debt.

Regarding operating results, analysts are expecting adequate numbers backed by a relatively high Brent-type oil barrel price, which should benefit the Exploration and Production area and partially offset the reduction in gasoline and diesel refining.

Also on the radar are a reduction in premiums on fuel prices in the domestic market and a drop in domestic oil production due to maintenance shutdowns.

Citi analysts expect a drop in profits from refining activity as the company continues to balance the price premium with market share in fuel imports.

"We believe that Petrobras did not regain market share in the distribution of gasoline and diesel in the quarter, considering that imports remained persistently high," Itau BBA analysts said in a report.

This situation leads the experts to maintain the premise that the refinery utilization rate will continue to fall.

The average of market analysts estimates for Petrobras net profit in the second quarter is at R$ 2.906 billion, from the R$ 370 million recorded in the same period of 2016. Net revenue should fall 4.57%, to R$ 68.062 billion, from R$ 71.320.

The average forecast for the EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) based on the estimates of nine brokerage houses is at R$ 21.926 billion, a 7.92% growth from the R$ 20.317 billion reported a year earlier.

by Agencia CMA Latam

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(Agencia CMA Latam) - Ibovespa, the benchmark stock market index in Brazil, fell 0.34% Wednesday, closing at 67,671.07 points, reflecting a landscape of increased risk aversion due to the mutual threats between the United States and North Korea and prompting investors to take profits.

"The external mood has been a nuisance since the late afternoon yesterday, with the North Korean issue, but I do not think we will have any significant consequences," said Elite Broker economist Hersz Ferman.

Among the highlights were Vale's shares (VALE3 -0.69%, VALE5 -1.68%), Itau Unibanco (ITUB3 -1.08%, ITUB4 -0.85%) and Banco do Brasil ( BBSA3 -1.91%), which is expected to disclose its quarterly results tomorrow. On the positive side, Equatorial shares (EQTL3 +3.45%) stood out, reflecting stronger quarterly data.

The locally traded US dollar was also driven by the risk aversion movement caused by the threats between the U.S. and North Korea. At the same time, investors are beginning to view domestic fiscal policy with caution, which deepens the Brazilian real's losses. At the end of the session, the US currency rose to 0.67%, at R$ 3.1520 for sale.

For Thursday, analysts highlighted the greater volume of corporate balance sheets, which may impact the Ibovespa, and call attention to the government's efforts to adjust public accounts. Itau analysts say that even with Wednesday's decline, "the bullish trend remains unchanged in the short term for the Ibovespa."

by Agencia CMA Latam

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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.
German consumer goods maker Henkel AG & Co. KGaA (HENOY, HENKY) reported Thursday that its second-quarter net income attributable to shareholders increased 11.2 percent to 624 million euros from last year's 561 million euros.

Earnings per preferred share grew 10.8 percent to 1.44 euros from 1.30 euros last year.

Adjusted earnings per preferred share were 1.55 euros, compared to 1.40 euros a year ago.

Sales in the quarter grew 9.6 percent to 5.10 billion euros from prior year's 4.65 billion euros. Organic sales growth was 2.2%. The company noted that all three units contributed to the positive development.

Further, the company confirmed its guidance for fiscal year 2017. The company continues to expect organic sales growth of 2 to 4 percent. Henkel anticipates that each business unit will generate organic sales growth within its forecast range.

The company still expects adjusted EBIT margin to increase to more than 17.0 percent and adjusted earnings per preferred share to grow between 7 and 9 percent.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
Derwent London Plc. (DLN.L) reported that its profit before tax for the first-half of 2017 grew to 145.8 million pounds from 98.5 million pounds last year.

Profit attributable to equity shareholders increased to 146.4 million pounds or 131.04 pence per share from 98.5 million pounds or 86.50 pence per share in the prior year.

First half EPRA earnings per share were up 22.3% to 45.42 pence.

Gross property and other income for the period declined to 99.4 million pounds from 101.4 million pounds in the prior year.

The company noted that the strong recurring earnings growth has enabled it to increase the interim dividend by 25.0% to 17.33p per share. It will be paid as a PID on 20 October 2017 to shareholders on the register as at 15 September 2017. This follows the 25% increase in last year's final dividend and the 52.0p per share special dividend paid in June 2017. It expects that the 2017 final dividend will increase by 10%.

The company has slightly raised our ERV estimates for 2017 to +2% to -3%, and are now of the view that yields are likely to remain firm this year.

Separately, Derwent London said that it has pre-let the lower ground floors and a new office pavilion at The White Chapel Building, 10 Whitechapel High Street E1, to Fotografiska. Fotografiska runs the world renowned photography museum in Stockholm and will use the space for Fotografiska - The London Museum of Photography.

The initial rent is 2.4 million pounds per annum or 27 per sq ft. Fotografiska will occupy the whole of Phase 2 comprising 89,000 sq ft on a 15-year lease with five-year rent reviews based on annual RPI increases with a cap and floor, and with a break in year 12. The rent free period is equivalent to 30 months on a 12-year lease, rising to 36 months on a 15-year term. Completion of Phase 2 is expected in the second-half of 2018.

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Business News
Today's Daily Dose brings you news about the outcome of Data and Safety Monitoring Board' interim analysis of ARCA biopharma's GENETIC-AF trial; stock offerings of Dynavax and Esperion; results of Galapagos' idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis study; Heron's progress in phase III program of HTX-011 and Sangamo's encouraging financial results.

Read on...

The Data and Safety Monitoring Board has completed the pre-specified interim analysis of ARCA biopharma Inc.'s (ABIO) GENETIC-AF trial. The DSMB has asked the Company to continue the trial with no changes.

GENETIC-AF is a phase 2B/3 double-blind, clinical superiority trial comparing the safety and efficacy of ARCA bio's investigational drug Gencaro to an approved drug TOPROL-XL for the treatment and prevention of recurrent atrial fibrillation or flutter (AF/AFL) in heart failure patients with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (HFrEF).

The Company expects reporting top-line results from the GENETIC-AF trial in the first quarter of next year.

ABIO closed Wednesday's trading at $1.70, down 8.11%. In after-hours, the stock gained 8.82% and was at $1.85.

Dynavax Technologies Corp. (DVAX) has offered to sell 5 million shares of its common stock to the public at a price of $15.00 each.

The Company has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase at the public offering price up to an aggregate of 750,000 additional shares of its common stock to cover over-allotments, if any. The gross proceeds to Dynavax from this offering are expected to be approximately $75 million.

The offering is expected to close on or about August 15, 2017, subject to customary closing conditions.

The Company's New Drug Application for Heplisav-B, an experimental hepatitis B vaccine, is under FDA review, with a decision date set for November 10, 2017.

DVAX closed Wednesday's trading at $17.20, down 7.77%.

Esperion Therapeutics Inc. (ESPR) has offered to sell 3.10 million shares of its common stock to the public at a price of $49.00 per share.

The underwriters have a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 465,000 shares of its common stock. The gross proceeds from this offering to Esperion are expected to be $151.9 million.

The offering is expected to close on or about August 15, 2017, subject to customary closing conditions.

Esperion shares touched an all-time intraday high of $57.38 on Aug.8, 2017, following positive top-line results from its phase II study evaluating the LDL-C lowering efficacy and safety of the Bempedoic acid/Ezetimibe combination plus Atorvastatin against placebo in patients with hypercholesterolemia.

ESPR closed Wednesday's (Aug.9) trading at $50.54, down 3.05%.

Galapagos NV (GLPG) has announced positive topline results from its phase 2a trial of GLPG1690 in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).

In the trial, dubbed FLORA, over the 12-week period, patients receiving GLPG1690 showed an FVC (forced vital capacity) increase of 8 mL, which is of statistical significance, while patients on placebo showed an expected FVC reduction of 87 mL (mean from baseline).

The Company plans to rapidly progress GLPG1690 in a late stage trial and had already discussions with regulators regarding trial design.

GLPG closed Wednesday's trading at $62.63, down 1.86%.

Heron Therapeutics Inc. (HRTX) has initiated patient enrollment in its phase III program of HTX-011, an investigational drug to prevent postoperative pain for the first 72 hours after surgery.

The program includes two pivotal Phase 3 efficacy studies in bunionectomy and hernia repair, representing a bony model and a soft tissue model, respectively.

The primary endpoints of the Phase 3 efficacy studies will be the difference in mean area under the curve (AUC) of pain intensity scores through 72 hours compared with placebo.

The phase III program is expected to be completed in the first half of 2018.

HRTX closed Wednesday's trading at $15.30, down 3.47%. In after-hours, the stock was up 4.87% to $16.04.

Organovo Holdings Inc. (ONVO) has reported better-than expected revenue for fiscal first quarter of 2018 while its quarterly loss has come in line with analysts' estimate.

In the three months ended June 30, 2017, total revenue rose to $990 thousand from $891 thousand in the comparable period of fiscal 2017. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting revenue of $940 thousand.

Net loss was $10.1 million or $0.10 per share for the fiscal first quarter of 2018, in line with analysts' estimate. This compared with a net loss of $8.8 million or $0.09 per share for the fiscal first quarter of 2017.

Looking ahead, the Company expects total revenue of between $6.0 million and $8.5 million for fiscal-year 2018. Fiscal 2017 total revenue was $4.2 million. Wall Street analysts' consensus revenue estimate for fiscal 2018 is $7 million.

ONVO closed Wednesday's trading at $2.08, down 0.95%. In after-hours, the stock was up 8.17% to $2.25.

Sangamo Therapeutics Inc. (SGMO) has reported a narrower loss and higher revenue.for the second quarter 2017.

For the second quarter ended June 30, 2017, Sangamo's consolidated net loss is $12.5 million or $0.17 per share on revenue of $8.3 million. This compared with a net loss of $26.6 million or $0.38 per share and revenue of $3.7 million for the same period in 2016.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the Company to incur a loss of $0.19 per share and revenue of $5.98 million.

As of June 30, 2017, the Company had cash of $266.5 million.

SGMO closed Wednesday's trading at $8.45, down 2.87%. In after-hours, the stock was up 5.33% to $8.90.

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Business News
Retail chain Payless ShoeSource is set to emerge from bankruptcy as soon as Wednesday, Reuters reported.

The company reportedly is banking on a strategy focused primarily on bricks-and-mortar sales at a time when retailers are closing stores as sales are being hit by growing e-commerce competition.

It was in April that Payless filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a move that allowed it to get rid of debt and reorganize operations.

Payless has disposed half of its $847 million of debt. Following the emergence from bankruptcy, Payless reportedly will have a relatively clean balance sheet. It will also have better terms on leases and vendor contracts worldwide.

With the new move, the company is seeking to position itself to compete in a tight U.S. market, open more stores across Latin America and develop new franchises in Asia.

Reuters reported that it is yet to get information on whether Payless' chief executive, Paul Jones, will stay on board to lead the turnaround effort.

Meanwhile, cjonline.com reported that Jones told employees that he has resigned his position, even as the firm is poised to exit bankruptcy this week.

In bankruptcy, Payless has closed roughly 700 mostly mall-based U.S. stores. But the company reportedly is opening four mega stores here to add to some 3,200 post-bankruptcy locations in the U.S. and abroad.

The company plans to invest $234 million over five years, including on systems that will adjust inventory quickly in response to customer demand, Reuters reported, citing court filings and interviews with company representatives.

As per court papers, Payless' core loyal customers are budget-conscious mothers, who still visit stores to find a perfect fit for under $30 during four key selling seasons, including Easter dress shoes, summer sandals, back-to-school, and winter boots.

Earlier, the company's decreasing revenues were attributed to inventory overpurchases, failure to keep up with necessary changes to be competitive online and other issues.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
An Indian-origin American lawmaker called out China for taking provocative steps that have escalated the Doklam standoff.

By Press Trust of India: Expressing concern over the Sikkim standoff between India and China, an influential US lawmaker has accused Beijing of taking provocative steps that have resulted in the escalation of tensions between the two Asian giants.

"I'm very concerned about what is happening on Doklam Plateau. I believe that China has taken certain provocative steps that have escalated into the current standoff on the plateau," Raja Krishnamoorthi, the Congressman from Illinois, said.

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Krishnamoorthi, 44, just returned from a short trip to India during which he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi this week and had a discussion on a wide range of issues.

He said the standoff issue did not come up during his meeting with the prime minister in New Delhi.

Talking about his views on the standoff, he said, "I have urged a diplomatic solution, a peaceful diplomatic solution to the current standoff, and I'm very hopeful that it can come about."

"It's very important that no country take provocative steps, especially in border disputes in the region," said Krishnamoorthi in response to a question.

The US has maintained its silence on the Sikkim standoff between the armies of India and China.

"We have seen these reports (on the standoff). We refer you to the Governments of India, China, and Bhutan for further information," a State Department spokesperson told PTI when asked about the American stand on the current Doklam standoff.

The US last month also had avoided commenting on the Sikkim standoff.

Meanwhile, analysts here criticised China for its aggressive stance.

Will Edwards, an Asia-Pacific and defense analyst at The Cipher Brief, recently wrote that the Chinese road could have serious strategic implications for Indias defence of its home territory due to a geographic feature that leaves India vulnerable.

"Allowing the Chinese road project to continue could provide Beijing with an avenue for its troops to strike the Chickens Neck, a narrow strip of land connecting Indias northeastern states to the rest of the country that could be severed in the event of conflict," he wrote.

ALSO READ | Doklam standoff: As India-China war of words continues, a look at how global media is reporting it

ALSO READ | 53 Indian soldiers remain at Doklam standoff site, China claims

ALSO READ | Hindi-Chini Bhai Bhai only way out: Dalai Lama on India-China Doklam standoff

ALSO WATCH | Modi govt pushing India into war: Chinese paper blames 'reckless' leadership for Doklam standoff

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Five US service members who are transgenders have challenged in court a ban announced by President Donald Trump on military personnel who belong to the community.

Lawyers from the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) filed a federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on behalf of the anonymous plaintiffs.

They serve in the Air Force, the Coast Guard, and the Army. Their years of service range from three years to two decades, and include tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In June 2016, after comprehensive review of the issue, the Department of Defense had announced that transgender people could serve openly in all branches of the U.S. military. The Department concluded that the ban served no legitimate purpose and that open service by transgender people would serve the military's best interests. Since then, thousands of transgender service members have begun to serve openly.

Trump issued a directive last month to reinstate a ban on transgender service members saying they would disrupt the military.

Trump's directive has created a tidal wave of harms that have already been felt throughout the armed services, and transgender people in military service are now facing uncertain future, including the potential loss of their professions, livelihoods, and post-military and retirement benefits, the plaintiffs say.

The complainants seek equal protection, due process and estoppel, based on the inequity of the reversal of military policy after thousands of service members followed protocol and informed their chain of command that they are transgender.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Political News
A display in a Walmart store that appeared to market firearms as a back-to-school item has backfired on the retail giant, with several people taking to social media to express their outrage.

A sign in a Walmart store that read "Own the school year like a hero" was placed directly above a glass case filled with rifles. Photos of the sign above the gun display spread like wildfire on social media.

Walmart has condemned the display and said it is working to identify the store that put up the exhibit. The company has apologized for the incident.

Twitter user Ismail Kidd Noorzai posted the photograph of the display on his Twitter page. The image, which was reportedly taken at a Walmart store in Evansville, Indiana, triggered angry responses from customers on social media. Several people felt it related to the mass shooting incidents in schools in the U.S.

Some of Walmart's earlier marketing strategies too have met with angry responses from customers.

In September 2016, Walmart was heavily criticized after the retail giant stacked up packages of soda cans to look like the World Trade Center at a Florida store. The retail giant meant it to be a tribute to 9/11 victims ahead of the 15th anniversary of the terrorist attack, however, it backfired and was criticized by everyone.

Last month, Walmart issued an apology after a third-party vendor on its website used a racial slur to describe a product. The seller used N-word to describe the color of a hair net used for weaves.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
After Jairam Ramesh, another senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar has raised concerns over lack of strategy in the party to tackle Narendra Modi and Amit Shah.

By India Today Web Desk: Despite Ahmed Patel snatching his Rajya Sabha seat from BJP's jaws in what he described as one of the toughest elections of his life, Congress veterans are worried over the party's future.

Days after senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh for 'a collective effort' by party leaders to 'overcome' the challenges it faced from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah, another veteran leader Mani Shankar Aiyar has called for a revamp of party strategy.

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Aiyar, while pointing out that his party had just 44 members in Lok Sabha, said the Congress needs to develop new ideas to remain relevant in country's politics.

"Congressmen should look at reality. We have only 44 MPs and faced serious setbacks," Mani Shankar Aiyar said.

"Congress needs new ideas new thoughts, new methods of working, new ways," he added.

'CONGRESS FACING DEEP EXISTENTIAL CRISIS'

Earlier, Jairam Ramesh had said that the Congress is facing an 'existential crisis'.

Ramesh also said that the business as usual approach will not work against Modi and Shah, and advocated for change to make Congress relevant.

"Yes, the Congress party is facing a very serious crisis," Ramesh told PTI in an interview.

He said the Congress had faced an 'electoral crisis' from 1996 to 2004, when it was out of power. The party had also faced a similar crisis in 1977, when it lost the elections held soon after the Emergency.

"But today, I would say that the Congress is facing an existential crisis. It is not an electoral crisis. The party really is in deep crisis," he said, when asked whether the threat of 'poaching' of MLAs posed by the BJP in Gujarat had forced the party to transport its MLAs to Karnataka to ensure party leader Ahmed Patel's victory in the Rajya Sabha polls.

ALSO READ:

Congress facing serious crisis: Jairam Ramesh

Rahul Gandhi's leadership in question as Congress continues to lose ground

North is more tolerant, cosmopolitan than south India: Jairam Ramesh at India Today Conclave

Congress expels 14 Gujarat MLAs who voted against Ahmed Patel in Rajya Sabha elections

Ahmed Patel's victory: A breath of fresh air for Congress

WATCH: Congress loyalists question leadership, chorus grows louder against Rahul Gandhi

--- ENDS ---
By PTI: report

By Sajjad Hussain

Islamabad, Aug 10 (PTI) A constructive engagement between Pakistan and India during the recently held water talks in Washington has raised hopes for an amicable resolution of disputes under the Indus Waters Treaty, a media report here said today.

Dawn News quoted an international expert, who closely monitors the Indo-Pak water talks, as saying that this was the first time in many years that delegates "held a constructive discussion, instead of merely stating their official positions."

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The expert, who was named by the daily, said in previous talks "sometimes the two sides did not even exchange formal greetings".

They would "just read the statements they brought with them and leave, but this time it was different," the expert said.

"A constructive engagement between Pakistan and India during the recently held water talks in Washington has raised hopes for an amicable resolution of this dispute," the report said, citing unnamed diplomatic sources.

India and Pakistan held secretary-level talks over the Indus Waters Treaty last week in Washington.

In a fact sheet, the global lender has said Pakistan opposes the construction of the Kishanganga (330 megawatts) and Ratle (850 megawatts) hydroelectric power plants being built by India in Jammu and Kashmir.

The World Bank, which hosted the talks at its headquarters, also noticed the positive change and mentioned it in a press release on August 1, noting that the "meetings...were held in a spirit of goodwill and cooperation", Dawn said.

In the lengthy fact sheet, the World Bank said Pakistan asked it to facilitate the setting up of a Court of Arbitration to look into its concerns about the designs of the two hydroelectric power projects.

On the other hand, India had asked for the appointment of a neutral expert to look into the issues, contending that the concerns Pakistan raised were "technical" ones.

The international lender had in November 2016 initiated two simultaneous processes for appointing neutral expert and establishing of a court of arbitration to look into technical differences between the two countries in connection with the projects.

The simultaneous processes, however, were halted after India objected to it.

After that, representatives of the World Bank held talks with India and Pakistan to find a way out separately.

The Indus Waters Treaty was signed in 1960 after nine years of negotiations between India and Pakistan with the help of the World Bank, which is also a signatory. PTI SH ASK ASK

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By PTI: Mumbai, Aug 10 (PTI) A sessions court here today stayed proceedings in a magistrates court in connection with a Rs 500-crore defamation complaint filed by Tata Trusts R Venkatramanan against ousted Tata Group chairman Cyrus Mistry and others.

The magistrates court had issued a summons to Mistry last month after taking cognisance of the complaint. Mistry then filed an appeal in the sessions court.

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"The process has been stayed as we argued that magistrates order was bad in law," said Mistrys lawyer Aabad Ponda.

The next hearing before the sessions court would be on September 11.

Venkatramanan, managing trustee of Tata Trusts, has filed a criminal defamation complaint against Mistry for making false statements, seeking compensation of Rs 500 crore.

An email sent by Mistry to the directors of Tata Sons and trustees of Tata Trusts contained "defamatory statements" against him, Venkatramanan said.

After he was ousted as the chairman of Tata Sons on October 24, 2016, Mistry, in an e-mail, alleged that fraudulent transactions worth Rs 22 crore had taken place at the groups aviation venture, AirAsia India, and accused Venkatramanan of having tried to cover it up.

The issue is now being probed by the Enforcement Directorate.

Venkatramanan said the email, which was leaked to the media, caused irreparable damage to his reputation.

His lawyer Parveez Menon said that they will contest the matter in the sessions court. PTI VI KRK ZMN

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Nothing and no one is perfect in this world. We know that much.

In other words, wherever there is good, it is inevitable that the bad and evil will follow. And in our haste to do good; we dont always get it right.

Folks, sometimes we get it wrong way, way wrong. That goes for everybody.

But thats okay. As long as we have an attitude of repentance, learn from our mistakes, change our ways and move on so we dont repeat the same thing, we could only get better.

Come to think of it, it is from making mistakes that we become better. Would it be fair to say that we dont learn if we dont get it wrong? Will success be as sweet if we didnt know the feeling of failure?

Which means mistakes  while no one wants them  are part and parcel of growth. What we need then is to be teachable, have an open mind and accepting of constructive criticisms to allow the process of the growth to mature.

Criticisms after all when taken and accepted well will do us a world of good as opposed to being praised all the time.

Yes its nice to be praised now and then but when all we want is praise, something is not right somewhere.

The point is that constructive criticisms make us better. They build us; they help improve our character and they make us stronger and tougher.

The fact is we cannot please everyone. Each and every one of us will at one point or another disappoint someone or some people through our actions or words. It happens because their expectations are not the same as what we deliver.

Today, there is reason to be optimistic. There is a reason to be happy that a new line of thinking in relation to the acceptance of complaints and criticisms has been declared in Samoa. We are referring to the comments by the Minister of Health, Tuitama Dr. Leao Tuitama, on page 3 of the newspaper you are reading.

Ladies and gentlemen, we hope everyone in Samoa  the government and private sector  read it and make it their own.

Now when it comes to the hospital, everyone has a story to tell. Among them are horror stories of poor services and whatnot. The good news is that Minister Tuitama is getting on top of it.

The hospital will soon have a booth somewhere in the lobby where the public can submit complaints about anything pertaining to the hospital, services, nurses attitudes, physicians, administrations, he said.

The Minister added that there are too many complaints against the hospital services that are not being addressed properly, or in a timely manner.

Sometimes the public feel their concerns are not being taken seriously by the hospital and yet complaints are just as important, he said.

This is where we know the standard of services we are providing, whether improvements are needed and that is why complaints are just as important.

Well you can say that again Mr. Minister.

Lastly, according to Tuitama, the lack of action on complaints has led to many people raising these issues in the media.

We both know this does not end well for the Health sector when issues are being publicly addressed, when it can be dealt with properly, said the Minister.

They have the right to complain and we have the obligation to respond... the turn around time should be within a week.

Sometimes the staff does not want to face up to their shortcomings and inadequacies but those are the things that will improve the services is to listen to the complaints.

Folks, this one of the best things any Cabinet Minister has said in a very long time. Let me repeat, members of the public have a right to complain while public servants have an obligation to respond. Wouldnt Samoa be a much better place if this line of thinking is actually used?

Well done, Minister Tuitama! Should the Ministry of Health pull this off, these guys surely deserve an award. But then its easier than done, isnt it?

Stay tuned!
The government should help to reduce the cost of living.

People are not the same. While some are high-income earners, others are struggling to keep up with the cost of living.

That is the life Lofa Asi from Falelauniu and Safotu Savaii is experiencing.

According to Asi, the cost of living is way too expensive for him and a lot of people.

Speaking to the Village Voice, the 59-year-old is not happy about the situation.

I understand that theres nothing anyone can do to change this except for the government, Asi told the Village Voice team.

The cost of living is a major problem because we have to live everyday knowing that we always have to pay for what we need and want in order to have it.

So its completely out of our hands to control the cost of living. Its entirely up to the government and I think they should act now because money doesnt grow on trees.

For me; I think what we spend most of my money on is food because this is a daily need; its difficult to budget sometimes knowing that youre an income earner.

I mean let alone buying sugar for $3-00; I think thats expensive because back in the days, it only costs me $0.50. Thats a big difference dont you think?

Its no reason why most of us now go to Chinese shops because we know we can afford most of their products.

And not forgetting the bills for water and electricity, sometimes it goes up to an amount of $400 and we always have to pay for it because these are things that have become important to our way of living.

But what is our own government doing to us to help? Nothing really.

The cost of living is a problem and problems are meant to be fixed.
The accused identified as Raza-ul-Ahmad was arrested by special cell department.

By Chirag Gothi: A suspected al- Qaeda liked terrorist was arrested by Delhi Police today.

Identified as Raza-ul Ahmad, a suspected Ansar Bangla terrorist was handed over to West Bengal police today. Raza was trying to flee to Nepal and was also involved in fake currency racket.

A case has been registered against him.

Ansar Bangla is Bangladesh based banned terror outfit. The group is accused of hacking atheist. The group owes allegiance to al-Qaeda in India.

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Also Read

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Exclusive: Zakir Musa could be the first al-Qaeda commander in India, say intel inputs

--- ENDS ---
Heres the thing. The idea that a 10-year-old girl was fooled by a complete stranger, who claimed that her mother had sent him to pick her up from school, before he took her to a banana patch where she was raped, sends shivers down the spine.

Its heartbreaking and it is difficult to accept that such a thing could happen here in Samoa, especially to such innocent young lives.

Whats even more disgusting from what weve been told, is that after he raped her, the man wouldnt leave until the frightened girl gave him $5 and a pack of biscuits. This has got to be one of the most horrifying stories weve seen in this country for a while.

We agree that these incidents are not new and that the rape and sexual abuse of young girls has become ever so prevalent. But there is something far more disturbing about this story.

Folks, the idea that someone who was already doing community service for a crime he had previously committed, was allowed to waltz into a school compound and led out a young girl should be a wake up call to everyone.

It should be a wake up call to all schools about the need to protect these innocent lives. It should also ring alarm bells for all parents about the need to educate our children on some very basic rules to protect themselves. One of them is the obvious one, that they should not talk to strangers. Period.

The good news is that this sexual predator, Isaia Liuafi, of Leauvaa and Talimatau, has been found guilty and will soon be serving the time he deserves at Tafaigata. We trust Justice Tafaoimalo Leilani Tuala-Warren will slap him with a custodial sentence to reflect societys absolute disgust at his treatment of this innocent girl.

Ladies and gentlemen, no one deserves to go through such an experience, let alone an innocent 10-year-old girl. What happened to her that day has got to be one of the most nauseating and stomach-churning experiences a girl could be subjected to. This repulsive man deserves to take the full brunt of the law. The justice system has got to make an example of him in terms of sending out a strong deterrent message that their kind are not welcomed in this society.

The concern is that we are seeing more and more of these cases emerging, involving such young girls. Not a week goes by now where we dont see stories of the Court dealing with rape cases involving innocent young lives.

In the Samoa Observer yesterday, there was a story about another 53-year-old man who has been jailed for raping a relative who was only 12 years old at the time.

What is going on in Samoa today?

What could possibly be driving the rise of such low-life behaviour in this so-called Christian state?

Everyone will have an answer. Its about time we start a decent conversation with the idea of finding some workable solutions to this problem.

In the meantime, we repeat the rape at St. Therese Lepea should be a timely reminder, not just to schools, but to all parents about the need to look after their children  especially girls.

As much as wed like to think that Samoa is safe, not everyone is the same. And there are some very sick people out there who have absolutely no morals and respect for the rule of law.

What this actually calls for is tighter controls at schools about drop off and pick up areas. We know the case at Lepea is not the first one and it will not be the last one if we dont do something about it.

Perhaps now it should be made mandatory for parents  and guardians  to sign in at school when they pick up their children. We have far too many young girls being allowed to leave the school compound without anyone accompanying them. This is a recipe for disaster, not just in terms of sexual crime, but also road safety.

Schools and parents should also be enforcing the message to students that they do not talk or interact with strangers at all. This should be one of the first things students should are taught. They should be told that even if they are picked up late, always ensure they stay within the sight of a teacher or a school official.

And lastly, the protection of our children is ultimately the responsibility of parents. It means we need to be more vigilant in terms of watching them anywhere and everywhere. It means we need to take total responsibility to pick them up from wherever they are.

In this country today, while it is sad to say, our young girls are no longer safe from these sex predators. In many cases, even inside the sanctuary of their own homes, they have been violated and raped. This is a crying shame.

We need to be sure we are doing everything in our power to ensure they are protected. Have a safe Friday, Samoa, God bless!
An Australia-based company, Infinite Water, is offering a core solution for drinking water, municipal wastewater and industrial wastewater.

The companys management team, led by Marketing Director, David Wong Tung, are participants at the Pacific Water and Wastewater Association Conference being held at Sheraton Samoa Aggie Greys Hotel, this week.

The Infinite Water team conducted a presentation on their Hydroxon system, which they claim is the first commercial plant to have successfully produced water that has met the World Health Organisation (W.H.O.) guidelines for drinking water.

Managing Director, Dr. Agatha Walzcuk, said their system makes drinking and wastewater treatment more cost effective and sustainable in emerging economies.

Our breakthrough technology has proven to treat highly contaminated water to the most demanding standards, simply, efficiently and cost competitively, she said.

We believe that access to safe, clean water and sanitation is a basic human right and we are working to develop a sustainable future for the water sector from an environmental perspective.

Hydroxon is Infinite Waters latest technology and has been in development for more than 10 years and on the market for eight months.

This equipments quality is a complete decontamination, and disinfection, compatible and also standardised to W.H.O. (World Health Organization) requirements.

Its up to 90 percent reduction in cost of treated water and its over 95 percent water recovery. Furthermore, there is no limit to the volume of treated water.

The system also uses only non-toxic chemicals and energy consumption is very minimal, they claim.

So how does the system work?

First is the conditioning, the raw water is pumped into the water tank then its dosed with specific chemicals which will correct the pH and prevent growth of bacteria and mold.

The conditioned water is then pumped in to the filtration system, where it meets with high levels of oxidative species that will decontaminate and disinfect.

This is where the pathogens are destroyed, heavy metals are precipitated, chemicals are degraded and organic matter is degraded as well the result is clean water.

The Hydroxon system features a design that can serve a broad range of applications with minor modifications, requiring minimal assembly.

Dr. Walzcuk emphasised the importance of drinking clean water, especially in remote islands like Samoa.

The Hydroxon system treats raw water, ground surface, rain and municipal pipe water to supply safe drinking water to the highest standards and at a lower cost than conventional technologies.

Dr. Walzcuk told the Samoa Observer they conducted a case study using copper in Townsville, Australia.

We treated industrial wastewater for safe discharge. The scope of the project involved the treatment of raw water from the wash down of mining equipment.

Infinite Water successfully removed all heavy metals and achieved exceptional water clarification, in full compliance with the Australian Drinking water guidelines, and was safely and cost effectively disposed into the ocean.

They also do work in China.

The Chinese government and the Peoples Liberation Army (P.L.A.) commissioned Infinite Water to engineer and design plans to treat surface water for various sources, rivers, lakes and ponds to produce drinking water which satisfies W.H.O. guidelines.

After building a prototype and commercial testing plant, we discovered the water had all sorts of contamination.

However, Infinite Water built and commissioned 25,000 litres per day inside the P.L.A compounds, producing safe drinking water from the Hydroxon system, again up to standard with W.H.O. guidelines.

The Hydroxon system used during a presentation produces between five to 1,000 kilolitres of water, per day and it costs $150,000 Australian dollars.
The family of a prisoner found dead at Tafaigata Prison last week has refuted claims by the Prison and Correction Services about the death of their beloved Siliva Aualiitia.

During an interview with the Samoa Observer yesterday, they also rubbished reports from Tafaigata Prison that he had escaped and committed suicide.

Instead, the grieving mother, Teevao Tivalu, said they suspect that Siliva was beaten since his body sustained multiple bruises on his face, legs and his hips.

The family provided photos of Silivas bruised body and face to the Samoa Observer, which we are not able to publish.

When we visited him at the morgue, I almost fainted and I didnt want to look at my sons face, she said. Part of his face was decomposed, his lips were swollen, his forehead was badly bruised and his buttocks suffered cuts as if he was being dragged.

Are those the signs of someone who had committed suicide? I dont think so.

Last week, the Assistant Commissioner of Prison and Correction Services, Ulugia Niuia Aumua, told the Samoa Observer that Siliva had escaped from prison on Monday 31 July 2017. He also said the prisoner was serving a two year term for theft.

But Ms. Tivalu said her son never escaped from prison and that he had not been charged with theft.

My son was not a thief and he was sent to prison because he assaulted some of his cousins from his fathers side, at Leauvaa, she said.

Every time he comes out, its because he was one of those prisoners who was allowed out on the weekends.

The mother added that her son had an illness and that he was waiting for an operation.

He had that when he came back from Australia and when he was sent to prison, the Court transferred him to Oloamanu Prison because he was underage, she said.

Every time we visited him, he would always complain of the pain, so we informed the Assistant Commissioner of the Prison, Ulugia, about my sons situation so that they would be aware of it.

We also requested to Ulugia if it was possible for my son to serve home detention, so that we can take him to the hospital for treatment, but Ulugia said they are actually in contact with a doctor named 'Isaia' and that his name was on the waiting list.

So this was some time in February, this year. Now look, its August and this has happened.

Ms. Tiuvalu said their family is struggling to come to terms with the fact Siliva has died and that he never received the operation he was promised.

We are in mourning because of our loved one, and most especially, its my son and my childrens brother, she said.

And seeing in the paper that these people are giving out the wrong information to the media is just an insult to us.

When the prison officers came to our house on Monday 31 July looking for him, we were angry because the way they approached us was inappropriate.

They just came and asked where Siliva was and that they had already came back from Vailele, where we are serving as pastors, and my son told them that he was not there.

I told them that Siliva was not there because he was in prison. One of the prison officers then told us that they had looked everywhere in the compound but he was not there.

That was Monday and after two days, they came to the school at Lalovaea and told my husband that our son is gone.

Ms. Tivalu said it was the most difficult thing to hear.

We were told that if we wanted to see his body we have to get an okay from the police station at Tuana'imato first, said the grieving mother.

So we did all that and then we went to the morgue. When the staff brought his body out, it was an unbelievably gruesome sight.

For someone who had committed suicide, they should never have looked like that. If I didnt know Siliva, I wouldnt believe that it was him who was on that bed.

From what we saw that day, we did not agree with what the Police said, that he had committed suicide, because of the marks he had on his body.

Even after we cleaned him up, everything became clear that he was beaten. From his head down to the tip of his feet, they all sustained bruises.

We were also told not to take any photos but we managed to take some photos because we have every right to take photos so that we can show the world that this was not suicide.

The family also said that up until now they still havent received any updates from the authorities about the death of their beloved Siliva.

We were told that the police are investigating the matter, said Silivas older sister, Julie Tivalu.

We called the hospital and the doctor who had done a report on my brother, Dr. Jancey Muaese, said that we have to contact the Tuanaimato Police station.

We have been calling but up until now, even though we have already buried my brother, we havent heard anything.

Julie said they are devastated to have lost such a dear family member.

We really miss him because he wasnt the kind of kid who would start trouble, she said. He was humble and I guess it was because he had so much anger towards his real fathers side, hence why he did what he did.

As for the grieving mother, she told the Samoa Observer that they would be suing the Prison and Correction Services, as well as the National Health Services.

At the moment, we are looking for a good lawyer who is willing to take on our case, she said.

I will fight until I get justice for my son because if we dont then we will never know what is really going on behind those bars.
Come 2018, parking meters will be a permanent fixture in the Apia town area.

Cabinet has recently given the green light for the Land Transport Authority to proceed with their long-awaited plans to install parking meters, starting in the Apia town area and other public places.

The reform has been on the drawing board a long time.

During a press conference this week, Senior L.T.A officials acknowledged that with Cabinets blessing, they would now proceed with the preparation and installation of parking meters, set to be up and running in 2018.

Apia is a rapidly growing economy and can quickly turn into a traffic nightmare for the downtown area if traffic is not managed properly, says L.T.As Assistant Chief Executive, Mataafa Sepilini Poufa.

With the growing number of vehicles year in and year out, the parking meters will somewhat alleviate the overcrowding of public parking spaces, and minimize traffic congestions, as well as traffic accidents.

In June, the Minister of Works, Transport and Infrastructure, Papalii Niko Lee Hang, confirmed the parking meters plan.

I can say that the L.T.A is looking at installing parking meters in the town area and public places, Papalii said.
The mothers of the Congregational Christian Church of Samoa at Vaiala are the proud recipients of a generous assistance package from the government of China.

The gift includes 20 sewing machines, sewing-related equipment, and three sewing specialists to train the mothers.

The President of the group, Ane Uele, gratefully acknowledged China for their help.

Well make good use of it, she said. We believe the training programme that we will now undergo for the next 28 days will really help our mothers to develop their families.

We all know that the cost of sewing is increasing so having these sewing machines for a programme like this will really help the mothers here in Vaiala.

The President also thanked their Member of Parliament and Associate Minister, Tamapua Victor Lenatai, for his help.

We also want to thank the sewing specialists from Hunan International Business Vocational College who are here to teach us sewing skills.

We are looking forward to more opportunities from the government of China to mothers here in our village and church.
Prime Minister Tuila'epa Sailele Malielegaois government has been accused of stalling the progress of an investigation into a complaint by a group of matai fighting to stop government-initiated projects they claim will alienate customary lands.

The groups spokesperson, Fiu Mataese Elisara, of Sili, told the Samoa Observer that the government has taken almost a year to comply with the decision of the Asian Development Bank (A.D.B) Compliance Review Panel (C.R.P) that the complaint is valid and should be investigated.

This has left the group extremely disappointed. Fiu is joined by Lilomaiava Dr. Ken Lameta, of Vaimoso, Teleiai Dr. Sapa Saifaleupolu, of Samatau, and Leuluaialii Tasi Malifa

In their initial complaint, the group raised alarm about the individualization, financialisation and alienation of customary land.

Their concerns arose as a result of an A.D.B Technical Assistance (T.A) initiative for Samoa to Promote the Economic Use of Customary Lands.

They argued that the project had been carried without meaningful consultation across Samoa. According to the group, under a series of projects called Promoting Economic Use of Customary Land, the A.D.B has driven land and financial sector reforms in Samoa to make it easier to lease customary land and to use those leases as collateral for loans.

The A.D.B wants to create a system through which a single authority figure can unilaterally lease out customary land, without consulting other members of the aiga.

Under the reforms, the lease agreement could then be used by the leaseholder to access credit from a bank.

But if the leaseholder is unable to repay the loan, the bank can take control of the lease, which could cover large tracts of customary land for decades.

It was not possible to obtain a comment from the government yesterday.

Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi is on a book tour in New Zealand.

But years after the complaint was lodged through A.D.B, Fiu said they are sad about the governments stalling tactics.

Our efforts in soldiering on is our strong belief that the time has passed for any further rhetoric. Time for action is Now! he said.

It is pitiful when we see that in this pivotal cause, fighting for our customary lands, the Now seems to take on a different meaning for most, when it is clothed in garments of fear, of conflicting agendas, of procrastination, and diplomatic euphemism.

Sadly for us, it is not a zero sum game! It is a winner takes all scenario!

Samoa can best be reminded that History has been a cemetery for oppressed people who have been persecuted until they vanish into historical oblivion! The question is, can we afford to expose our children to such a future? Will your conscience allow it? We cannot!

For context, the following is an update from the group for our readers:

On 30 August 2014 a group of four village chiefs filed an official complaint to ADB objecting to a series of ADB-backed reforms that will lead to the alienation of customary land. The chiefs are gravely concerned that the reforms, which have been carried out without meaningful consultation of Samoan people, could have the effect of individualizing control over land throughout the country, and ultimately placing large tracts of land in the hands of banks, foreign and national investors. Approximately 80 percent of land in Samoa is governed and owned under customary land tenure systems, which entail collective ownership by entire kinship groups, the Aiga.

According to the complainants We object to the ADBs determination to dispense with our customary laws and systems, which have successfully safeguarded the interests of the Aiga and village communities for millennia The risk runs high that benefits will flow not to local communities, but to foreign investors and national elites Meanwhile, members of our Aiga will face dispossession from potentially large-tracts of land, resulting in loss of income, threats to food security and impoverishment.

Leuluaialii Tasi Malifa, lawyer and Matai of Afega village explained: While the Constitution allows customary land to be leased, Article 102 prohibits the alienation of customary land from its rightful owners  the entire Aiga, including through a mortgage. The ADB-backed reforms violate the spirit and the letter of this fundamental Constitutional protection.

Teleiai Dr Sapa Saifaleupolu, a Matai of Samatau village said: Our customary systems of consensus building may be slow and frustrating in the eyes of the financial market, but they safeguard our rights and help ensure the equitable distribution of land and its benefits. It is these systems that have ensured our survival as a people into the 21st century.

Dr. Lilomaiava Lavea Ken Lameta, a Matai of Vaimoso and Safotu said: Meaningful Consultations if taken seriously in the last 14 years since 2003 as required under Article 109 of the Constitution should have ensured people across the country are aware of the reforms and actions and how they may be affected and allow them an opportunity to provide their genuine opinions that should have been taken into account in the government decisions on this and Government would have heard plenty of good ideas to enhance customary land productivity in a way that truly benefits local communities.

Fiu Mataese Elisara, a Matai of Sili Savaii said: These reforms are incompatible with the indigenous culture and political institutions of Samoa, and inconsistent with the needs and aspirations of the Samoan people. The failure of the ADB to comprehend this has sadly meant a missed opportunity to achieve the laudable goal of promoting economic use of customary land in a culturally, socially and politically appropriate manner, and without meddling with our customary land tenure system.

Dr. Natalie Bugalski, Legal Director at Inclusive Development International, who has offered voluntary advice to the Matais on the complaint, said: The reforms in Samoa are typical of the ADBs approach. ADB has a habit of viewing land solely as a commodity to be integrated into financial markets. ADB needs to respect the fact that some societies have a different relationship with their land and value its enduring social function above its financial value. By failing to hold meaningful consultations and properly assess the social implications of the reforms, ADB has violated its own safeguard policies,

Some two years of investigation by the independent grievance mechanisms of ADB, first by the Office of Special Project Facility (OSPF), and later when the complainants elevated their complaint to CRP as the highest grievance mechanism of ADB, resulted in CRP recommending that an investigation of the complaint was merited based on their findings.

The following relevant paragraphs from the Chairs Summary of the ADB Board Compliance Review Committee at its meeting of 14 July 2016, on the complaint resulting in the ADB Board decision of 19 August 2016 helps on context:

2. On the eligibility of the complaint, the Committee concluded as follows:

i) The Committee agreed with the CRP that there is evidence that ADB was not in compliance with its Public Communications Policy, notably OM Section L3. Specifically, ADB did not ensure all affected sections of the community were fully consulted

3. In these circumstances, the Committee agreed that in view of the current indicators, confirmed by CRP (paragraphs 42 of the CRP report on eligibility), that the Government of Samoa will propose legislative changes that would substantially remove material harm to the complainants, it should recommend to the Board that such a review should not proceed at this time

4. However, if, as the legislative process progresses, it becomes clear that a risk of material harm directly attributable to ADBs noncompliance with its Public Communications Policy remains, the Committee agreed that it may reconsider this recommendation.

Interesting enough, the Matais claim they know from reliable sources that the USA representative to the ADB Board did not approve the Board decision for a stay of execution in respect of the CRP recommended investigation. Instead the ADB Board decided to not proceed with the investigation but allow the Government of Samoa time to fulfill its undertaking to propose legislative changes that would substantially remove material harm to the complainants.

Subsequent to this decision of 19 August 2016, the four Matais rightly consider themselves an integral component of the process the Government was to undertake to deliver its legislative review in paragraph 3 and justifiably assumed that it was their right as complainants to be involved and updated on the proposed legislative changes. They naturally expected to be part of the meaningful consultations that CRP recommended Government implement with all stakeholders. CRP investigation findings revealed that contrary to compliance assurance by Government, less than 10% of those interviewed knew there was any such project activities existing in Samoa even after more than 10 years of project implementation.

Now after almost a year of the ADB Board decision, the Matais have patiently allowed Government freedom to proceed with its commitment to ADB Board on legislation reviews as well as engaging stakeholders in meaningful consultations, amongst other documented expectations of CRP and ADB Board that collectively will ultimately remove harms in the complaint.

However, the Matais frustrations on Government failure, through its Customary Lands Advisory Committee (CLAC), to engage them as an integral part of the process is reflected in the following series of their latest correspondence to Government, to current Chair of CRP, and to ADB. Arguably, there is strong manifestation that all have acted in a manner that the Matais see in their assessment to impartially lean towards support of Government and fail the requirement for independence, transparency, and ensuring that the Complainants as a major party were fully engaged.

Email of 12 July 2017: This is a follow up please on a CLAC response to our email below of 28 June 2017 which we have not been given the courtesy of a response. CLAC secretary kindly acknowledged our email of 28 June on same date and whilst our email was copied members of CLAC, the secretary also promised to share it with members of the CLAC.

CRP chair replied to our same email of 28 June two days later on 30 June to which we also replied same date and awaiting a further response from Mr Dingding TANG on that.

Email of 28 Jun 2017: Talofa CRP/CLAC/all - We wish to follow up please on specifically the CRP letter of 29 March 2017 in respect of its Management Update dated 22 March 2017 as well as CLAC response to us on 10 March 2017.

1. CRP reports that as of 22 March 2017, 12 community consultation meetings were held covering over 230 villages including about 2000 people (1%) of total population and a further two planned community consultations were expected in April. It added that all consultations were fully documented. As complainants, we again stress that the 1% of total population 'consulted' in the CRP report fails miserably the test for 'meaningful consultation' which is a major component of our complaint. We request that the records of the 'fully documented' consultations be shared with us for our information as we expected and further in respect of the CLAC assurance in its letter to us of 10 March 2017 stating that '...a summary of response to key issues will be publicly released and I would be happy to send you a copy...' To date, we have not seen any public release of the said summary of response let alone share copies with ourselves as promised.

2. We request also that CLAC and CRP share with us any drafts of documents that we expected as complainants that point to CRP stating that '...the reforms are designed to strengthen legislative protections preventing the alienation of customary owned land....and reforms aim only to allow leases of customary lands (allowed since Alienation of Customary Lands Act 1965) to be used as collateral, not the underlying ownership interest...' . As you know, this is the major component of our complaint as despite the so-called assurance, we continue to have doubt in the sincerity of the actions taken this far to address the harm detailed in our complaint and as confirmed in specific CRP decision 3 of 14 July 2016 "...the Committee agreed that in view of the current indicators, confirmed by CRP (paragraphs 42 of the CRP report on eligibility), that the Government of Samoa will propose legislative changes that would substantially remove material harm to the complainants....". CRP decisions of 19 August 2016 and related cover note DOC R60-16 also refer to this. As you will appreciate, it is impossible for us to follow the work by the Government of Samoa this far without these documents shared with us as complainants and integral party to the CRP decisions. Interesting in this case, CRP states ''...reforms aim only to allow leases of customary lands ...to be used as collateral..." when all along, ADB, CLAC, and Government of Samoa assured our peoples that it is only the "interests in customary land leases and licenses" that will be used for collaterals and mortgaged. Not leases of customary lands!

3. On CRP point about mortgaged leases of customary lands under Property Law Act 1952, and government push to have CLAC regulate mortgages of leases of customary lands under LTRA 2008 'to remove any possible uncertainty', therein lies the fundamental basis of our concerns. For us, the leases of customary lands allowed under and in the spirit of Article 102 of the Constitution through ACLA1965 (where the Deeds System of land registration at the time allowed recourse for true owners of lands to be protected even in the case of fraud) are fundamentally different from the leases of customary lands now pushed by the government under LTRA2008 where the act of registration of customary land leases and licenses in the Register secures protection for the investors (not customary land owners) under the Torrens Land Titles registration system through the 'indefeasibility' principle with related accrued protection by law and government giving it 'fee simple' and 'freehold' dna and legal status as specifically enforced under LTRA2008 Sections 32 and 33. Also we are concerned with what interpretations is CLAC and Government given to the legal doctrines of 'privity of contract' and 'privity of estate' in respect of Pt VII of the Property Law Act 1952 that is related to Section 48 of LTRA2008 in regards the 'registration of a mortgage is indeed registration of a conveyance' violating the spirit of Article 102 of the Constitution?

4. It is impossible for us to check on CRP point about rights of customary land owners being recognized and enforced by the reforms not having the chance given us as complainants and major party to the work now undertaken by CLAC for Government if the documents and reports are not shared with us as we understood and expected.

5. On CRP references to the 3 relevant current laws (the Property Law Act 1952, ACLA1965, LTRA2008) requiring amendments, we argue that these are the same three legislations identified by the Government from the beginning of the ADB TAs and thus not genuine in its Government commitment to " propose legislative changes that would substantially remove material harm to the complainants...". We suggest that in addition to the three identified, Government need to also review amongst all related legislations the Unit Titles Act 2009, Land and Titles Court Act 1981, etc.

6. CRP states in its 22 March 2017 management update that "...Government is currently planning to introduce legislative changes in the June Parliamentary Session". This June Parliamentary session is currently ongoing and whilst we have been trying to follow any progress in the process since August of 2016, you will appreciate that as a major party to the work Government is undertaking as a result of our complaint, it is impossible to comply with CRP suggestion in its letter to us dated 9 March 2017 - "We strongly encourage you to continue your efforts at resolving the issues with your government and the concerned operations department in ADB"

7. Finally, we would like to say that we as complainants have on goodwill and spirit of cooperation allowed the process of 'consultation' and 'legislative review' continue since CRP report of 20 July 2016 and ADB Board decision of 19 August 2016. Despite a number of our genuine requests for inclusion in the process as a specific party to this work, we have been substantively ignored.

To date, and with the limited information shared with us, we can only conclude that the so-called 'consultation' process has failed miserably the test for it being 'meaningful'! The legislative reviews as well point to the insincerity of government to be genuine in its commitment to ADB Board that "...Government of Samoa will propose legislative changes that would substantially remove material harm to the complainants..."

We have taken this opportunity in June 2017 to follow up with you on this work and look forward to your CRP and CLAC response to the points above and indeed to share with us all the related documents and drafts of legislative reviews generated as part of this process.

It is our intention to proceed with our advocacy work, the sharing of our concerns with our peoples, and would help us immensely if all the requested information were shared with us to enable a better alignment to any progress made thus far since 19 August 2016.

This letter also serves to again remind CRP of our predicament as complainants and an equal party to its decision of 19 August 2016. If we may, we note the unfortunate departure of Lalanath as one who best championed our cause in CRP and pray that the future of this complaint continues to secure that security and integrity.

Leuluaialii Tasi Malifa

Dr Lilomaiava Lavea Kenneth Lameta

Teleiai Dr Sapa Saifaleupolu

Fiu Mataese Elisara

The Complainants take this opportunity in the foregoing to update the people of Samoa on the status of their complaint as there has been and ongoing immense interest from our Samoan people in Samoa and outside of Samoa supporting this cause and initiative. Assurance from them point to extensive involvement of Samoans around the world, over the internet, social media, etc. and wish to thank those who have actively engaged in this struggle. We also wish to thank those who have given us assurance of their latent and spiritual support but for fear of reprisal and being targeted by Government, cannot do this openly.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  South Korean prosecutors have recommended a 12-year jail term for Lee Jae-yong, 49-year-old billionaire heir of the Samsung business empire, urging a court to convict him of bribery and other crimes.

Lee, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, became emotional Monday as he denied ever trying to seek political favors in his final remarks in the four-month-long trial. Lee was arrested in February amid a tumultuous corruption scandal that triggered months of massive public protests and culminated with the ouster of South Korea's president.

A panel of three judges at the Seoul Central District Court said they will hand down their verdict on Aug. 25.

Lee, princeling of South Korea's richest family and its biggest company, choked up during his final remarks, saying his ordeal was unjust but he had reflected during his six months in jail and realized that the bigger Samsung became, "the stricter and higher the expectations from the public and the society," a pool report from Monday's hearing said.

"Whether it was for my personal profit or for myself, I have never asked the president for any favors," he told the court.

In his remarks wrapping up the trial, Special Prosecutor Park Young Soo said Samsung's alleged bribery was typical of the corrupt and cozy ties between the South Korea's government and big businesses. Such dealings once helped fuel the country's rapid industrialization but now increasingly are viewed as illegal and unfair.

Park also accused Samsung officials of lying in their testimonies to protect Lee.

In past cases, South Korean courts have often given suspended prison terms to members of the founding families of the chaebol, the big, family-controlled businesses that dominate South Korea's economy. In some cases, presidents have pardoned them, citing their contributions to the national economy. But recent rulings on white collar crimes have shown less leniency. If convicted, Lee may be the first in his family to serve a prison term.

Lee was indicted in February on charges that included offering $38 million in bribes to four entities controlled by a friend of then-President Park Geun-hye, including a company in Germany set up to support equestrian training for the daughter of one of Park's friends, Choi Soon-sil.

Prosecutors alleged the bribes were offered in exchange for government help with a merger that strengthened Lee's control over Samsung at a crucial time for organizing a smooth leadership transition after his father fell ill.

Park was removed from office in March and is being tried separately. Her friend Choi also is on trial.

Lee has denied all charges. He has said he did not know of Choi or her daughter before the scandal grabbed national headlines and said Samsung's succession situation was not discussed during three meetings he held with the former president.

Samsung's lawyers do not contest having donated a large sum of money to the entities controlled by Choi. They disagreed with the prosecutors about the nature of the funds and insisted that at the time the donations were made Samsung was unaware that Choi controlled them.

Prosecutors also are seeking heavy penalties for four other former Samsung executives who had belonged to a once-powerful corporate strategy office that handled such activities. Prosecutors are seeing a 10-year sentence for Lee's mentor Choi Gee-sung, a former vice chairman at Samsung Electronics. They requested seven to 10-year terms for three other former Samsung executives.

Separately, South Korean police officials confirmed Monday that they are investigating Lee's father and Samsung chair Lee Kun-hee, who is ill in the hospital, on allegations of embezzlement and a tax law violation. Police officials raided the office that oversaw interior decorating of the elder Lee's private house in central Seoul.
The $80 million Plaza de Panama project in Balboa Park has overcome one legal hurdle, but more lawsuits await resolution.

Superior Court Judge Gregory Pollack ruled Tuesday against an environmental challenge, filed by the Save Our Heritage Organisation, of a plan to clear cars and parking from the center of the park.

The project, championed since 2010 by Qualcomm cofounder Irwin Jacobs, would divert traffic from the Cabrillo Bridge to remove cars and parking from two plazas in the center of the park and build a bypass bridge and parking garage, topped by landscaping.

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The plan is backed the City Council, Mayor Kevin Faulconer and nearly all park support groups and institutions.

But SOHO and various neighborhood and preservations groups criticize it for altering the look of the west entrance to the park where the bypass bridge would be built.

Some also object to the plan to charge for parking in a new garage that would be built south of the Spreckels Organ Pavilion.

Pollack ruled against SOHOs claim that much has changed since the plan was approved in 2012 and, therefore, a supplemental environmental impact report (SEIR) is required. One change, cited by SOHO and ordered by then-Mayor Bob Filner, turned the parking lot in front of the San Diego Museum of Art into a pedestrian zone.

The court finds that there is substantial evidence in the administrative record to support the citys decision not to proceed with a SEIR, Pollack said.

The judge accepted the citys argument that this change in park conditions, as well as others, were not significant to trigger more review.

SOHOs lawsuits have served no purpose other than to delay a widely supported project and to drive up costs for the taxpayers, City Attorney Mara Elliott said in a statement.

Project manager Gordon Kovtun welcomed the ruling saying, Were ready to get to work to reclaim 6.3 acres of parkland, add much needed parking and free the plazas from chronic vehicular traffic to allow more San Diego families and children to enjoy our citys crown jewel.

SOHO Executive Director Bruce Coons was studying the ruling but said an appeal is possible.

We owe it to San Diegans and millions of visitors to protect the landmark park from unnecessary and destructive alterations, Coons said.

A second court action, filed by local attorney Cory Briggs, has yet to be heard.

That second lawsuit challenges the bonds the city proposes to sell to cover about $50 million of the project; the remaining $30 million is being raised privately. Briggs also is challenging the cooperation agreement between the city and Jacobs Plaza de Panama Committee.

The committees attorney, Scott Williams, said a hearing is set for Aug. 25 and a trial for Sept. 29.

If the city and the committee prevail, he said, the matter could be cleared up enough by October to move the project forward.

A start date remains unknown, since the committee still has to raise its funds, bonds have to be sold, and building permits and other details have to be worked out.

Business

roger.showley@sduniontribune.com; (619) 293-1286; Twitter: @rogershowley
San Diego, which continues to rebuild its once robust cruise business, has been named one of the top ports in the U.S. and Canada.

In a ranking compiled by the online cruising resource, Cruise Critic, San Diego was rated by passengers as the fourth best port among destinations throughout the United States and Canada.

It marks the second year in a row that San Diego earned a top five designation, coming in ahead of Key West, Fla., and behind Bar Harbor, Maine; San Francisco; and Quebec City, Canada this year.

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The high rankings appear to be in line with San Diegos slow but steady success in growing the cruise industry business, which began declining seven years ago following a boom in the mid- to late 2000s..

Thanks to continued strong interest from Disney Cruise Line and the ports most frequent visitor, Holland America, San Diego is starting to see a steady upswing in cruise calls and passengers.

For the coming 2017-18 cruise season, which starts in September, the Port of San Diego expects 83 calls, down slightly from 90 this last season, although the passenger volume will grow from more than 224,000 to 242,000, according to the ports cruise marketing representative, Adam Deaton.

Those numbers are up from the 2015-16 season when there were 69 stops or departures from San Diego, accounting for 198,399 passengers.

We already are expecting 96 calls for the 2018-19 season so Im projecting well be getting close to 300,000 passengers, Deaton said. What Im hearing from the various cruise lines is that growth will continue for the next five years in San Diego. Well probably see 8 percent growth of passengers for the next couple of years.

While that growth and passenger volume dont come close to the San Diegos cruise industry heyday when there were as many as 900,000 passengers a year, there are clear signs of a steady rebound. The port estimates that each ship that begins and ends its voyage in San Diego boosts the economy by an estimated $2 million.

The higher passenger counts are fueled in part by the larger ships Holland America is using for its Mexican Riviera and Panama Canal cruises. Also growing its presence in San Diego is Disney, which will have the largest number of offerings yet in the coming season, with 19 calls on the 2,700-passenger Disney Wonder, mostly focusing on Mexican Riviera itineraries.

Where San Diego lost some ground was with Princess Cruises, which has sharply trimmed its stops in San Diego in favor of more lucrative cruises that sail from Los Angeles to Cabo San Lucas. During the last season, the line stopped about 11 fewer times here, Deaton said.

Meanwhile, Disney has been increasingly bullish on San Diego as a port of call since ending a two-year home port stint in Los Angeles about five years ago.

They love the position of San Diego as a great vacation destination, with cruise terminals right downtown and the hotels, airport and attractions right there for their passengers, Deaton said. It becomes a complete vacation for them so they can offer that high quality passenger experience their customers desire.

Those same amenities that appeal to Disney also are cited by passengers who highly rated San Diego on cruisecritic.com.

Easy to go around city, excellent public transport options and numerous interesting sites to visit, like Zoo, SeaWorld, Gaslamp Quarter, USS Midway and many shopping opportunities, wrote one passenger.

All rankings for Cruise Critics Cruisers Choice Awards were based on member review ratings for cruises taken in the last year.

Business

lori.weisberg@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-2251

Twitter: @loriweisberg
It probably was our most successful opening day ever, Sterling Anno said of Sundays first day of this years weeklong Oceanside International Film Festival. Anno said about 200 people attended the red-carpet event.

Hes hoping for just as great a closing day this coming Sunday when, in conjunction with the 40th anniversary of the first Star Wars film, Alan Roderick-Jones, a set designer who worked on that movie, will be given a lifetime-achievement award.

Anno, co-chair of the event, hasnt been with the festival since its beginning to make comparisons, but he is surrounded by people, like co-chair Anita Romaine, who have.

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Hes taken over this year from Dmitriy Demidov, who had helped steer the festival since its reawakening in 2012. Job obligations have forced Demidov to give up his local volunteer activities.

The festival actually began in 2009, but then was on hiatus until 2012.

Underwritten by the Oceanside Cultural Arts Foundation, itself more than 25 years old, the film festival has run every year since 2012.

It has grown from 25 films in 2009 to 70 this year.

And it has lived up to the word international in its title. Films have come from as nearby as Carlsbad and as far away as Sweden, Germany and Turkey.

They are independent films, judged twice: by a jury and by the audience.

Often, the awards are not the same. In general, the audience, which tends to be local, is more apt to vote for American-made films, but Anno said one year a whole contingent came from Israel without even knowing if its film had won.

Categories are best picture, best student film, best animation, best short documentary, best full-length documentary, best narrative short film and best narrative feature.

Opening and closing ceremonies are held at the Star Theatre downtown. The movies are shown at the Brooks Theatre a block away.

Both now offer live performances mostly, but they began as movie houses.

Each days screenings follow a theme with todays being horror genre; Fridays offerings featuring a Date Night selection of romances and Saturdays movie selections specializing in science fiction, serious drama and surfing.

Tickets are $15 ($10 for seniors, students and military) for each days screenings and are available at osidefilm.org.

On Saturday, Roderick-Jones will present a workshop on set design from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Anno expects it to be a sellout and says anyone interested in getting a ticket ($10) at the door should arrive early.

Anno, a San Marcos High School graduate who has been an actor and filmmaker himself, chose Roderick-Jones, with whom he was acquainted, for the award.

Roderick-Jones also is an interior designer, artist and photographer.

Besides Star Wars, he worked on Nicholas and Alexandra, another film that garnered Academy Awards. He began his career in 1961, working on The Victors in the Art Department at Shepperton Studios in his native England.

On Star Wars, Anno said, Roderick-Jones co-designed with the late production designer John Barry. He drafted and dressed the Cantina, Homestead Garage, Docking Bay 94 for the Falcon, Death Star Corridors, the Throne Room and the War Room. Although not credited in the 1977 film, he was finally acknowledged in the films second release and eventually written up in The Star Wars Insider Magazine (Issue 131 February/March 2012) as one of the unsung heroes of the Star Wars saga.

Sundays event, complete with red carpet, will begin at 2 p.m, with an after-party scheduled at Surfside Tap Room.

Free art event

Also on Sunday, SpringHill Suites by Marriott and Oceanside Friends of the Arts are bringing together local artists and artisans to showcase their work. The free event at 410 N. Myers St., from 4 to 8 p.m., is open to all ages.

Presentations will include culinary expressions by chef Davin Waite, musical performances, live art and an interactive section for kids.

There also will be local brewery, winery and cocktail tastings for the adults.

Lola Sherman is a freelance

writer. Contact her at lola@

seaside-media-services.com.
The robbers come out with a piece of the ATM machine and one them pulled out a gun and opened fire at constable Sachin and ASI Satpal Singh.

By Ajay Kumar: Being weaponless did not come in the way of two Delhi policemen whose courage and presence of mind helped foil an ATM robbery bid in Pandav Nagar area on Wednesday. The police managed to arrest one of the robbers and efforts are on to nab the remaining accused. ASI Satbir Singh and constable Sachin Kumar were on a night patrol on July 13 when they spotted two people sitting in a black Honda City around 2am.

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"Their behaviour seemed suspicious, so Singh and Kumar started making enquiry, without knowing that four of their accomplices at that time were breaking the ATM machine of Central Bank near Kukreja hospital," said R Satya Sundaram, Additional DCP of east district. The four robbers - their faces covered with handkerchiefs - managed to break some part of the ATM machine. But when they saw police personnel speaking to their accomplices outside the ATM, it made them panic.

The robbers come out with a piece of the ATM machine and one them pulled out a gun and opened fire at constable Sachin and ASI Satpal Singh. "Since both the cops were not carrying weapons, they ducked twice at the right time and saved themselves," Sundaram told the media persons. He added, "They were carrying baton and charged at them in retaliation at the same time. The retaliation of cops forced them to leave the piece of ATM machine on road and flee from the spot."

Also Read:

Chennai: 3 policemen arrested for allegedly robbing a passenger at Central Railway Station

--- ENDS ---
Ten years ago, Oceanside was known as a city where you could always find a hearty breakfast, cheap beer and tasty wings, tacos and barbecue.

What a difference a decade makes.

Today, more than two dozen new restaurants, wine bars and beer tasting rooms line the South Coast Highway corridor offering a mix of white-tablecloth dining, farm-to-table bites, prix-fixe menus and sushi so unique it lures diners from as far as Los Angeles.

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Oceansides culinary scene has exploded in recent years due to what Oceanside-raised sushi chef Davin Waite calls a perfect storm of reasons. Waite, whose wildly creative ways with fish have made him a media darling, runs two side-by-side restaurants on Coast Highway with his wife, Jessica: the popular 4-year-old sushi eatery Wrench & Rodent Seabasstropub and the Whet Noodle ramen shop, which opened last year.

Waite said that after the recession, tourism and real estate development surged; the city rolled out the welcome mat to new businesses; people started eating out again; high-end purveyors like San Diego seafood marketer Catalina Offshore Products began making North County deliveries; and the success of a few pioneering higher-priced restaurants encouraged other hopefuls to take the leap.

The first seeds of the transformation were sown in 2008, when San Diegos Harney Sushi opened a second outlet near the Oceanside train station. It arrived to cash in on the planned construction of several downtown hotel and condo projects (many of which would stall during the recession).

Then came San Diego restaurant visionaries David and Lesley Cohn, whove repeatedly blazed culinary trails in once-underserved communities like Hillcrest, La Mesa, Imperial Beach and Escondido.

We look for good areas coming up where were going to be happy five to 10 years down the road that we made the decision to go in, said David Cohn, president of Cohn Restaurant Group. We like the idea of urban revival areas. Oceanside at one time had a thriving downtown. We thought it could come back.

In 2010, the Cohns opened 333 Pacific on the clifftop bluff over the Oceanside Pier. They decided to make it a partial white tablecloth destination restaurant and spent as much money on the glass-walled building as they would have in the pricey Gaslamp Quarter.

We felt having views of the pier and ocean would always be worthwhile, he said. We also looked around Oceanside.  There were lots of mom-and-pop restaurants, but nobody trying to create a mid- to upscale experience.

Encouraged by the Cohns and Harney Sushi, married entrepreneurs Roddy and Aaron Browning were the next to jump in, opening their Flying Pig Pub & Kitchen on Tremont Street in 2011. The Brownings, who lived in Oceanside from 2004 to 2014, at first worried that their pork-centric, dinner-only pub would struggle.

The first two months we were nervous, but wow, people showed up on the very first day, Roddy said. It just kept gradually getting busier and busier and the organic growth was fun to watch.

Like Waite and a few others, the Brownings were happy to share their secrets with other Oceanside residents in the hospitality trade.

I wont take credit for creating a dining scene in Oceanside, but Ill take credit for showing other restaurateurs what we were doing, said Roddy, who moved with his wife to Vista three years ago, where theyve opened a second Flying Pig in another underserved area. We were an open book and were happy to help others get started.

As the recession waned, a rash of new eateries arrived. Christine Loyola opened the French patisserie and bistro Petite Madeline near City Hall in 2011. In 2012, Oceanside-raised besties Jamey Stone and Charlie Anderson opened The Privateer Coal Fire Pizza.

In 2014, three new beer hall/gastropubs opened on Coast Highway: Local Tap House & Kitchen, Bagby Beer Co. and Pour House. That year also welcomed two new restaurants, the Hello Betty Fish House near the pier and Ryan Jubelas Masters Kitchen and Cocktail, one of the citys most ambitious new dining projects.

Jubela, a racecar-builder-turned-pastry-chef, said he saw what was happening in his hometown and wanted to create a restaurant experience that reflected the changing city and its people.

Oceanside is a blue collar type of town, Jubela said. Were not Carlsbad, were not Del Mar. Were not even Encinitas. I was a little concerned that what I was trying to create might not work in Oceanside, that people might think it was too pretentious. But Ive found out thats far from the case.

Built in a 1938-era auto shop, Masters Kitchen has roll-up doors, a stunning arched wood ceiling and a diverse menu that ranges from $8 wings to $32 steaks.

People definitely like their burger and beer but they also want to be able to go out and have a nice glass of wine and a great steak, Jubela said. Thats what Oceanside is now. You can choose your story. You can have that nice fine-dining experience and you can also get that loud fast-casual board shorts and flip-flop experience as well.

In early 2016, partners Grant Tondro and brothers Zak and Nate Higson opened the Urge Gastropub & Whiskey Bank, a wildly popular restaurant/bar concept on South Coast Highway. They added the 101 Proof speakeasy in November.

Then last summer, chef/owner William Eick introduced the citys first nightly prix-fixe menu at 608 Oceanside, a farm-to-table restaurant on Mission Avenue. Like Jubela, Eick said hes discovered that Oceanside residents are increasingly open to better dining experiences.

I feel like its my job as a chef to build up the dining community and make it a better place, Eick said. The community of chefs we have in Oceanside is second to none. We have chefs, cooks and farmers working together, bouncing ideas off each other and not fighting over customers.

The newest players on the scene are wine bars, with three openings on Coast Highway in the past year. Married winemakers Julie and Craig Holme run Holme Estate Cellars, Anderson and Stone diversified their brand with the Privateer Marketplace & Wine Bar and longtime wine educator and chef Staci Miller opened The Millers Table.

Miller, who moved to Oceanside last year, said her 24-seat wine bar and restaurant was a success from the start thanks to repeat business from local residents and fellow restaurateurs like Waite who gather daily around the bars large communal table.

In L.A., I dont know if the communal table would work because people dont always want to know their neighbors, but everyone here has embraced it, Miller said. This community of chefs and residents has been so fantastic and welcoming.

Several new Oceanside restaurants are in the wings, which brings a new challenge. Several owners said the city has gradually transitioned from underserved to overserved and competition is becoming tougher.

But Cohn said thats not necessarily a bad thing.

The rising tide does lift all restaurants, Cohn said. Ten years ago, people wouldve said we were crazy to think that Oceanside could ever be a dining destination. But now people say its a pretty cool place and were happy.

NOTABLE OCEANSIDE OPENINGS SINCE 2008:

Bagby Beer Company, 601 S. Coast Highway. (760) 270-9075 or bagbybeer.com

Flying Pig Pub & Kitchen, 626 S. Tremont St. (760) 453-2940 or flyingpig.pub

Harney Sushi, 301 Mission Ave. (760) 967-1820 or harneysushi.com

Hello Betty Fish House, 211 N. Mission Ave. (760) 722-1008 or hellobettyoceanside.com

Holme Estate Cellars, 211 N. Coast Highway. (442) 264-7055 or holmeestatecellars.com

Local Tap House & Kitchen, 308 S. Coast Highway. (760) 547-1469 or localtaphouse.com

Masters Kitchen and Cocktail, 208 S. Coast Highway. (760) 231-6278 or mastersoceanside.com

The Millers Table, 514 S. Coast Highway. (442) 615-7200 or themillerstable.com

Petite Madeline Bakery & Bistro, 223 N. Coast Highway. (760) 231-7300 ro petitemadelinebakery.com

Pour House, 1903 S. Coast Highway. (760) 730-5944 or pourhouseoceanside.com

Privateer Coal Fire Pizza, 1706 S. Coast Highway. (760) 453-2500 or privateercoalfirepizza.com

Privateer Marketplace & Wine Bar, 1704 S. Coast Highway. (760) 453-2254 or privateer-marketplace.com

608 Oceanside, 608 Mission Ave. (760) 291-1040 or 608oceanside.com

333 Pacific, 333 N. Pacific St. (760) 433-3333 or cohnrestaurants.com/333pacific

Urge Gastropub & Whiskey Bank/101 Proof Speakeasy, 2002 S. Coast Highway. (760) 429-7424 or oceanside.urgegastropub.com

Wrench & Rodent Seabasstropub/The Whet Noodle, 1815 S. Coast Highway. (760) 271-0531 or seabasstropub.com

pam.kragen@sduniontribune.com
Shopping list? Check.

Reusable grocery bag? Check.

Family dog? Check.

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When many San Diegans hit the stores these days, often Rover is right beside them.

Big and small, friendly or frenetic, canines are riding in shopping carts, cruising store aisles or being toted in purses at grocery stores, retail shops and malls throughout San Diego County, domains once reserved just for service animals.

The welcome mat, and water bowl, are out for Scruffy at a number of national chains, big-box stores and indie boutiques, as businesses recognize the customer loyalty that puppy love can generate. A whopping 94 percent of dog owners, after all, consider their canines members of the family, according to a Harris Poll.

From all three county Nordstrom stores to most Home Depots and Lowes and the small businesses along Solana Beachs Cedros Avenue, shopping with the dog in tow isnt only accepted, its encouraged

San Diego is very pet-friendly, there are a lot of little streets, from Encinitas to Little Italy, where you can bring your dog, said Ria Roberts, a saleswoman at Solana Beachs Muttropolis, the trendy pet gear emporium.

But even at places that prohibit pooches, like San Diegos largest and most upscale mall, Fashion Valley, dogs seem to be the shopping accessory of choice.

And whats got some people growling is that this proliferation of dogs in stores not designated as pet-friendly is frequently under the faux cloak of them being service dogs.

People who just get the vest off the Internet, I dont think its fair to the people who truly have a service dog, said Roberts, of Cardiff.

Roberts couldnt be confused for someone whos anti-pet. Not only because of her job at Muttropolis, which has locations in Solana Beach and La Jolla, Roberts is also the proud owner of a rescue boxer named Gatsby.

Hes a very sweet dog and I take him pretty much everywhere I go, including to work and when she shops at Nordstrom.

But Roberts leaves Gatsby at home or in the car if shes going somewhere like the grocery store, where the 8-year-old pup isnt allowed.

Hes not a service dog. I do respect other peoples wishes.

If Californias new state law legalizing dogs on restaurant patios essentially codified a long-existing practice, 2011 rule changes to the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) have opened a doggy door of sorts to the nations retail establishments.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Divisions website, dog owners dont need to prove their pet is a service dog, nor do dogs need to wear anything that identifies them as trained service animals. Store owners are also limited in what they can ask about the dog.

When it is not obvious what service an animal provides, only limited inquiries are allowed, the regulations state. Staff may ask two questions: (1) is the dog a service animal required because of a disability, and (2) what work or task has the dog been trained to perform. Staff cannot ask about the persons disability, require medical documentation, require a special identification card or training documentation for the dog or ask that the dog demonstrate its ability to perform the work or tasks.

The federal ADA law supersedes state and county health code for pets, even where their presence would be considered unsanitary, like grocery aisles.

After such broad protections for the disabled were enacted, people started exploiting them quicker than you could ring Pavlovs bell. A flurry of websites offering service vests, ID tags and patches were unleashed. Shoppers who didnt want to bother with the fake paraphernalia soon recognized that store owners were somewhat stymied in preventing them from bringing their dogs in. Would businesses risk violating the ADA or alienating a customer? Or would they look away and possibly turn off those who may be afraid of dogs, allergic to pets or simply dont want them in stores?

People are petrified of coming across as anti-dog or anti-disabled, said Cynthia Chasan, a La Jolla resident who led a successful effort to keep two La Jolla beaches from being turned into off-leash areas.

To be clear  I am not a dog hater, Chasan said. I had a dog for 12 years, but Im a person who respected others with my dog.

Even the most ardent dog lovers are critical of those who defy the rules.

If your dog is not your service animal and a location is not pet-friendly, you should not attempt to bring your dog inside that establishment, said Hillary Prim, public relations director for the American Kennel Club. Additionally, AKC strongly condemns characterizing dogs as service animals when they are not, or attempting to benefit from a dogs service dog status when the individual using the dog is not a person with a disability.

Chasan said she sees dogs in every store she goes to but one recent sighting had her scratching her head.

I was in Costco and someone was walking around with their Great Dane. Thats like walking a horse through Costco!

A call to Costco for comment was not returned although several local employees who were queried  but could not speak officially  said only service dogs are permitted. Costco employees, like those at Trader Joes and Vons, said store managers try to be as diplomatic as possible when asking people to leave Fido outside.

That grocery stores and retail shops find themselves in a bind was evident in the reporting of this story. Of the 12 national chains contacted for comment, only four responded; three to reiterate that they welcome service dogs only, and one  Nordstrom  confirmed that all three of its San Diego County department stores (at UTC, Fashion Valley and Horton Plaza) are dog-friendly.

At area malls, the Westfield UTC and Otay Ranch Town Center have dog parks. The policy at Fashion Valley is that only service animals are allowed, insisted a representative, even after it was noted that its usually awash with dogs on leashes, in designer purses or specially outfitted doggy strollers.

In an unscientific tally on a recent sunny day, a Maltipoo on a leash dog was spotted within the first two minutes of arriving at Fashion Valley. Within seconds, a mall security officer rolled up on a Segway and asked the dogs owner to leave.

But that still left the 10 or so other pups sighted over the next 15 minutes  in and out of stores, one lounging on a chair in the sun, another in a baby stroller  who were out for a day of shopping.

In a smaller setting, the gift shop at Mission San Diego de Alcala, the Service Dogs Only sign doesnt seem to deter customers, said Pat Schmitzer, the missions business manager.

Everybody says my dog is a service. We dont argue with them but what can you do? she said, adding that parishioners have also taken to bringing their dogs to Mass.

We try our best to be sensitive, Schmitzer said. Their animals are their family and maybe they need saving, too.
Andrew Mills joined the Navy in 1934, when most jobs werent open to black men. But in the chaos of the Battle of Midway, racial tension took a back seat to courage.

Mills, the captains steward on the aircraft carrier Yorktown, returned to the damaged ship and saved the ships payroll and important papers when other men failed.

Now the 102-year-old World War II veteran  who never got a medal for his bravery  has been honored in a very public way.

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On Thursday, the Navy dedicated Andrew Mills Hall, a new 900-bed barracks for young sailors at North Island Naval Air Station.

1 / 10 102-year-old Andrew Mills, of Golden Hill, who was in the Navy and the steward for the captain of the aircraft carrier, USS Yorktown in 1942 during World War II, is escorted by Chief Petty Officer Select Chris Hope and Chief Petty Officer Select Jeremiah Street, as he salutes while arriving at the dedication ceremony for Andrew Mills Hall, the new barracks named after him at Naval Air Station North Island. Mills is credited with saving lives of other sailors when the USS Yorktown was hit and sank during the Battle of Midway, as well as breaking into the ships safe and retrieving important documents and the ships payroll as the ship was on the verge of sinking. He later became one of the Navys first black chief petty officers. (Howard Lipin / San Diego Union-Tribune) 2 / 10 102-year-old Andrew Mills of Golden Hill, who was in the Navy and the steward for the captain of the aircraft carrier, USS Yorktown in 1942, during World War II, when it sank during the Battle of Midway, cuts the ribbon at the dedication ceremony for Andrew Mills Hall, the new barracks at Naval Air Station North Island that will house more than 900 sailors and is named after him. He later became one of the Navys first black chief petty officers. (Howard Lipin / San Diego Union-Tribune) 3 / 10 102-year-old Andrew Mills, who was in the Navy and the steward for the captain of the aircraft carrier, USS Yorktown in 1942 during World War II, salutes during the dedication ceremony for Andrew Mills Hall, the new barracks at Naval Air Station North Island named after him. Mills is credited with saving lives of other sailors when the USS Yorktown was hit and sank during the Battle of Midway, as well as breaking into the ships safe and retrieving important documents and the ships payroll as the ship was on the verge of sinking. He later became one of the Navys first black chief petty officers. (Howard Lipin / San Diego Union-Tribune) 4 / 10 102-year-old Andrew Mills, who was in the Navy and the steward for the captain of the aircraft carrier, USS Yorktown in 1942 during World War II, is all smiles during the dedication ceremony for Andrew Mills Hall, the new barracks at Naval Air Station North Island named for him. He later became one of the Navys first black chief petty officers. (Howard Lipin / San Diego Union-Tribune) 5 / 10 102-year-old Andrew Mills, of Golden Hill, who was in the Navy and the steward for the captain of the aircraft carrier, USS Yorktown in 1942 during World War II, cuts a cake made special for him during the dedication ceremony for Andrew Mills Hall, the new barracks at Naval Air Station North Island. Mills is credited with saving lives of other sailors when the USS Yorktown was hit and sank during the Battle of Midway, as well as breaking into the ships safe and retrieving important documents and the ships payroll as the ship was on the verge of sinking. He later became a chief steward. He later became one of the Navys first black chief petty officers. (Howard Lipin / San Diego Union-Tribune) 6 / 10 Sailors assigned to the aircraft carrier, USS Carl Vinson, are the first group to check-in at Andrew Mills Hall, the new barracks at Naval Air Station North Island, named for 102-year-old Andrew Mills, who was in the Navy and the steward for the captain of the aircraft carrier, USS Yorktown in 1942, during World War II, when it sank during the Battle of Midway. He later became one of the Navys first black chief petty officers. (Howard Lipin / San Diego Union-Tribune) 7 / 10 Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Nicholas Hetzler and Petty Officer Maxwell Crouse, assigned to the aircraft carrier, USS Carl Vinson, are some of the first sailors to check-in at Andrew Mills Hall, the new barracks at Naval Air Station North Island, named for 102-year-old Andrew Mills who was in the Navy and the steward for the captain of the aircraft carrier, USS Yorktown in 1942, during World War II, when it sank during the Battle of Midway. He later became one of the Navys first black chief petty officers. (Howard Lipin / San Diego Union-Tribune) 8 / 10 Andrew Mills Hall, the new barracks at Naval Air Station North Island is named for 102-year-old Andrew Mills of Golden Hill, who was in the Navy and the steward for the captain of the aircraft carrier, USS Yorktown in 1942, during World War II, when it sank during the Battle of Midway. He later became one of the Navys first black chief petty officers. (Howard Lipin / San Diego Union-Tribune) 9 / 10 A large photo of Andrew Mills hangs in Andrew Mills Hall, the new barracks at Naval Air Station North Island thats named for 102-year-old Andrew Mills who was in the Navy and the steward for the captain of the aircraft carrier, USS Yorktown in 1942, during World War II, when it sank during the Battle of Midway. Mills is credited with saving lives of other sailors when the ship was hit and sank as well as opening a safe and retrieving the ships payroll and documents when the shipss paymaster was unable to do so. He later became one of the Navys first black chief petty officers. (Howard Lipin / San Diego Union-Tribune) 10 / 10 A special cake was made for 102-year-old Andrew Mills, who was in the Navy and the steward for the captain of the aircraft carrier, USS Yorktown in 1942 during World War II, during the dedication ceremony for Andrew Mills Hall, the new barracks at Naval Air Station North Island. He later became one of the Navys first black chief petty officers. (Howard Lipin / San Diego Union-Tribune)

At a time when segregation was the norm, and blacks were assigned the worst possible jobs, and they were treated like second-class citizens, Chief Steward Andy Mills risked his life to minimize the loss of life and Navy property, said Capt. Stephen Barnett, former commanding officer of Coronado Naval Base.

Mills went on to become one of the Navys first black chief petty officers.

Barnett spearheaded the drive to name the new barracks for Mills after getting to know him at a Coronado July Fourth parade two years ago.

Inspired by the stewards story, Barnett kept a postcard with Mills photo on his desk.

You see, he wasnt treated like his shipmates, but it never stopped him from his duty, Barnett told the audience Thursday. His example will serve as a daily reminder to the sailors who go out and face the same danger.

Though not unheard of, its somewhat rare for the Navy to name a building for a living person. Requests must be supported with detailed documentation, according to North Island officials who went through the process in Mills case.

The record must show that the person has demonstrated the Navys core values of honor, courage and commitment throughout a career  not just through heroic actions or significant accomplishments.

In other words, the bar is high and tends to favor the departed.

Mills enjoyed a heros welcome at the ceremony.

A ships bell rang out, and the master of ceremonies announced: Chief Steward Andrew Mills, retired, arriving.

Dapper in a crisp white shirt, blue tie and Navy ball cap, the World War II veteran rolled out in his wheelchair, escorted by two sailors in dress whites.

I think I have a lot of friends, Mills said in an interview before the ceremony. Its good to have friends.

The U.S. military was officially desegregated in 1948 by executive order of President Harry Truman.

Mills stayed in uniform until 1945. Then he embarked on a second, long career in the U.S. Postal Service before finally retiring for good.

Andy Mills sits next to a photograph of himself as a young Navy steward. Mills was being interviewed in front of the reception desk of a new North Island Naval Air Station barracks named in his honor. (Jeanette Steele/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)

I know this means a lot to him because of his sacrifices, especially early in his career, said Mills niece, Debbie Mills, on Thursday.

Hes told me stories about how difficult it was, and he just had enough of it, she said, referring to the days when black sailors were largely relegated to support jobs such as cooks and personal stewards.

Andy Mills was resilient, eventually buying a home in downtown San Diego, where he lived until recent years. Now, in his second century, Mills lives in a senior facility in southeastern San Diego, his family said.

As he rolled toward the podium Thursday, Mills flashed a grin and snapped a salute to the crowd.

Hes a gentleman even still at 102 years old, Debbie Mills said. For any ladies, hes going to try to hold open the door, even though hes in a walker now.

As the Navy evolved, the steward job category, or rate, went away.

One of its modern successors is the enlisted culinary specialist, or cook, who has the important job of keeping Navy stomachs full of fuel. On Thursday, the Mills dedication was packed with Navy culinary specialists, there to honor one of their own.

Senior Chief Reggie Leake, a culinary specialist at the Coronado Naval Amphibious Base galley, acted as master of ceremonies.

I am proud to share a rate with a genuine hero, Leake said.

Mills, USS Yorktown and the Battle of Midway

Mills was a steward aboard the Yorktown, a Navy aircraft carrier that was badly damaged in the May 1942 Battle of the Coral Sea.

The carrier limped back to Pearl Harbor, where it was given three days for emergency repairs before hurrying to participate in the Battle of Midway.

On June 4, Japanese dive-bombers attacked Yorktown, followed hours later by torpedoes. The crew abandoned, believing that the ship would sink.

But it didnt. Two days later, the captain organized a salvage crew to return to the damaged Yorktown. Mills volunteered.

The paymaster was ordered to go below decks to retrieve the carriers payroll and other important documents. He enlisted Mills and another steward.

Despite having the combination, the paymaster couldnt open the safe.

Mills stepped forward. Give me a chance to open it, he said, according to his retelling on Thursday.

He did, and they were able to hand a valise stuffed with papers over the side.

Soon after, while the salvage crew was still aboard, the Yorktown was attacked again by a Japanese submarine and eventually sank on June 7.

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

Facebook: U-T Military

Twitter: @jensteeley
A convicted child predator, whose proposed home was destroyed in a suspicious fire, has been released and is living in motels in Fresno County.

Jeffrey Snyder, 61, was released Monday from Coalinga State Hospital and placed in the custody of Liberty Healthcare, according to the Fresno County district attorneys office.

Liberty, the contractor hired to supervise Snyder 24 hours a day, and the California Department of State Hospitals looked at 1,749 homes in Fresno County as possible residences for him.

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But none of the homes were deemed suitable for Snyder, a sexually violent predator convicted seven times of molesting children, the district attorneys office said in a statement. With few options remaining, authorities had to house Snyder in motels.

The subject of Snyders housing has been contentious one for Fresno County residents. Under the law, he must be relocated in Fresno County, because that is where he was prosecuted.

A county judge previously rejected a bid to move him to northwest Fresno after owners of nearly 300 properties declined to rent to him, the Fresno Bee reported.

In January, authorities thought they had finally found housing for Snyder. But before he could move into the home, a court hearing was required to be held for public comment.

So that month, the district attorneys office and Fresno County Sheriffs Office announced the court hearing discussing his placement on the rural property.

The announcements included details about the proposed 756-square-foot, two-bedroom home and its address in Squaw Valley, an area in southwest Fresno County.

In a Facebook post, the Sheriffs Office urged Squaw Valley residents to speak up to stop Snyders placement in their community.

Its important to note that this same person was scheduled to be moved into a northwest Fresno neighborhood last year, but residents fought back and stopped him from moving in. Now the people of Squaw Valley have an opportunity to speak up, the Sheriffs Office wrote.

Days after the announcements, Snyders proposed home was destroyed in a suspicious fire.

Fire officials said the timing of the blaze raised some flags.

The cause of the fire was never determined, said Capt. Jeremiah Wittwer, spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection for Fresno County.

Investigators were not able to rule out the cause of electrical or arson, he said.

Snyder has been in and out of prison since 1979, when he was found to be a mentally disordered sex offender. According to the district attorneys office, Snyders victims were males 8 to 17.

After he was released from prison, Snyder was sent to Coalinga State Hospital, where he was receiving sex-offender treatment.

In March, a Fresno County Superior Court judge ruled that while Snyder still met the criteria of a sexually violent predator, he was eligible for outpatient treatment only through a conditional release. In June, the county judge ordered his release.

On conditional release, Snyder must wear a GPS ankle bracelet and attend sex offender treatment.

Because Snyder doesnt have a permanent residence, he must register as a transient sex offender with local police and check in every 30 days, said Tony Botti, a sheriffs spokesman. Other sex offenders who have permanent home addresses register on a yearly basis.

Records showed that Snyder registered Tuesday as a sex offender with the Fresno Police Department, Botti said.

If he violates the conditions of his release, he could be sent back to Coalinga State Prison.

Meanwhile, the search for permanent housing for Snyder continues.

When a suitable home is found, prosecutors said, a court hearing will be held for public comment.

On Wednesday, Snyders attorney, Curtis Sok, said he was worried about his client and hoped that he would recover.

While I fear for his safety and well-being after his release, I hope he would be a constructive and contributing member of out society, and the community will eventually accept and support his reintegration to our society as it would for any recovering and rehabilitated addict or ex-felon, he said.

veronica.rocha@latimes.com

Twitter: VeronicaRochaLA

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Being in an underwater cage suspended in a great white shark feeding ground sounds more like Guess Whos Coming to Dinner than someones dream vacation.

But you havent met Alexandra Alex Rose.

I would challenge anyone to find a more exhilarating way to spend seven days, says the 30-year-old marine biologist, photographer and writer. She returned here Monday from her fourth such shark encounter in the Pacific Ocean.

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While most folks regard great white sharks as a threat, Rose sees them as magnificent creatures that both humble and amaze. The media hype about sharks is that they are vicious man eaters. That is not the case. They get a bad rap.

She has transformed herself into a one-person PR force determined to try to change that negative perception by introducing people in influential positions to the marine creatures.

Rose honed in on Korea where pop culture and celebrity idolatry run strong  and where shark fin soup remains a delicacy. She reached out to TV and film stars there as well as to students at the Seoul Institute of the Arts, asking them to work on a shark encounter documentary film.

The shark excursion was nearly scuttled when the release of shark killer thriller 47 Meters Down caused four Korean actresses to cancel just a month before the trip. But actress Ji Young Ha agreed to join the South Korea contingent of three students, two camera operators and two dive experts.

The group, 15 in all, included Encinitas entrepreneur and diver Alex Suh, a conservationist who sponsored the expedition, and an Australian shark advocate who lost part of an arm and a leg in a bull shark attack in Sydney in 2009.

They left San Diego on Aug. 1 for Ensenada, Mexico where they boarded a nine-cabin shark excursion charter vessel. Their destination was Guadalupe Island about 150 miles offshore  about a 20-hour trip.

With its large population of elephant seals, sea lions and Guadalupe fur seals, the volcanic island is a magnet for migratory great whites who make it their home several months a year.

August to November is the peak shark season, and this trip did not disappoint. We had great white sharks around our boat all day, every day, said Rose, who lives in Chicago where she is science editor for Ocean Geographic magazine.

Using tuna bait as a lure, the visitors photographed male sharks, some as long as 15 feet, from the boat and also from a submerged metal cage. Rose said there were no scary incidents, although one shark bumped the cage when the bait lure came too close.

For her, the encounter highlight was witnessing the reaction of the Korean actress. To see someone go from being totally petrified to saying afterward, That was neat. Id do it again, and I love sharks, was thrilling, Rose said. I dont think I spoke to one person whose attitude wasnt changed by seeing the sharks.

She anticipates their mini-documentary will be ready for viewing by years end.

Meanwhile, on June 8 she launched a Blue Ring campaign in which, for a membership fee of $25 a year, supporters who love the ocean can marry it. They receive a symbolic silicone blue ring or pendant and a meriage certificate (playing off the French word mer for ocean).

Her goal is to raise $5 million to build two three-person submersibles to take visitors to ocean hope spots  sensitive areas identified as needing marine life protection.

Coronado bridge supports became canvases for colorful murals in Barrio Logans Chicano Park, recently designated a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. Department of the Interior. The park currently is featured in Preservation magazine. (Hayne Palmour IV / SDUT)

Picture perfect: Barrio Logans Chicano Park isnt your typical neighborhood park. It showcases a permanent display of the largest collection of outdoor murals in the country. So announces Preservation magazine, the Washington D.C.-based voice of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

The publication highlights the community park in its summer edition, describing both the parks colorful history and its museum of artwork.

Chicano Park was officially born out of a peaceful neighborhood protest against a proposed development on the site in 1969 that climaxed with a 12-day sit-in. As a result, the city agreed to designate the patch of land as a park.

Construction of the Coronado Bridge already had displaced numerous homes and bisected the community with its concrete buttresses. Instead of giving up on their neighborhood gathering place, though, residents decided to incorporate the bridge supports.

Well-known artists were recruited to turn the bridge piers and buttresses into canvases for murals depicting Chicano culture and the neighborhoods struggle to preserve its identity.

The crowning moment came last December when the park was designated as a National Historic Landmark, viewed as a victory by and for the community. Today the park isnt just a gathering place for locals, its a tourist attraction as well.

diane.bell@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-1518

Twitter: @dianebellSD

Facebook: dianebell.news
A San Diego defense contractor pleaded guilty Wednesday to aiding and abetting a Navy port engineer who hired the company despite their shared financial interest.

Alfonso Liburd, president and CEO of NevWest, took more than $30,000 in loans from John Nasshan, a combat systems port engineer, according to court documents. In turn, Nasshan, whose duties included recommending contractors and verifying their work on Navy ships at Southwest Regional Maintenance Center, hired NevWest for various jobs, court documents state.

NevWest, based near Brown Field Municipal Airport, specializes in areas including engineering, logistics, communications and combat systems, according to its Website.

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Nasshan is prohibited by law from working on projects that he has a financial interest in.

The two hid their relationship and dealt in cash amounts of $10,000 or less, so banking institutions would not be required to report the transactions, prosecutors said.

Liburd, 67, of Chula Vista, also admitted to lying to Defense Criminal Investigative Service agents about their partnership, denying he received any money from Nasshan.

Nasshan pleaded guilty to a conflict of interest in May and is set to be sentenced Friday.

kristina.davis@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @kristinadavis
At $46 per unit, Palomar College tuition is among the most reasonable in the state  and for high school students taking Palomar classes on the Ramona Community Campus, the cost is even better: Its free, said Ramona Community Campus Principal Kathryn Gunderson, Ph.D.

Ramona Community Campus at 1010 Ramona St. is home to Ramona Unified School Districts Montessori program and Mountain Valley Academy. Last fall, Palomar College opened a satellite campus there.

Registration has started for Palomars seven fall semester courses on the Ramona Community Campus. Classes will start Aug. 21. Economics 101, English 100, History 101 (through Reconstruction), American Sign Language 100, and three shorter business classes  Beginning Keyboarding, Beyond Outlook Essentials, and Customer Service  are offered. The business classes are among seven designed to fulfill requirements for the Business Information Worker certificate.

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History 101 will be on Mondays from 6 to 9:10 p.m., Economics 101 on Tuesdays from 6 to 9:10 p.m., English 100 on Mondays and Wednesdays from 6 to 8:05 p.m., and American Sign Language on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6 to 8:05 p.m. The semester will end Dec. 16.

In addition, Palomar will continue its English as a Second Language (ESL) and literacy/adult basic education classes at Ramona High School, 1401 Hanson Lane. ESL I, II, and III will be in separate classrooms at the high school on Mondays and Wednesdays from 6 to 8:50 p.m. from Aug. 21 through Dec. 16. Literacy/ Adult Education I and II will be in Spanish only Mondays through Thursdays from 6 to 8:20 p.m. from Aug. 21 through Dec. 16. These classes are free.

High School students taking Palomar classes on the Ramona Community Campus will receive dual credit for high school and for college. While tuition for high school students is free, students have to pay for books, and even then sometimes we can help out with that, Gunderson told district trustees this spring.

About 64 percent of students in spring semester classes at Ramona Community Campus were high school students, said Gunderson, reviewing high school enrollment in the classes offered. All of the 17 students in College Success were high school students, as were eight of the 21 students in English Composition, two of the 12 in Music Fundamentals, 28 of the 35 in U.S. History, and 12 of the 15 in American Sign Language, she said.

Palomar hopes to have close to 25 students in each class, added Gunderson.

Responding to questions and comments from trustees, Gunderson said students as young as 12 and 13 have taken Palomar classes. To do so, the younger students need permission from their school principal or counselor.

Weve had a handful of parent and student teams that have taken a class together, she added.

Because high school students receive dual credit for the Palomar classes they take, they can end up potentially with an AA degree and eliminate all of their general ed (requirements in college), said Rodger Dohm, school board president.

Mountain Valley Academy student Stassa Cappos, for example, earned two associate degrees by the time she was a high school junior. She starts her senior year at MVA this month.

Trustee Dawn Perfect noted that her daughter Tori, who graduated Ramona High School in June, will start college with a semester of college credits.

Another benefit of high school students taking Palomar courses is the opportunity to see what college is about, said Gunderson.

For more information about the fall semester classes Palomar College offers on its satellite campus in Ramona, see ramonausd.net and click on Palomar College  Learning for Success.

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Developers in the city of San Diego are facing tougher government enforcement at construction sites that have the potential to pollute rivers and streams  including fines and even stop-work orders.

Thats the result of a settlement San Diego officials entered into with water quality regulators that will require the city to pay $3.2 million and step up policing of development.

The agreement was reached after the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board brought a civil liability complaint against the city for alleged violations of its stormwater permit last year.

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Some contractors, for years, performed little to no erosion control at job sites even when city inspectors identified problems, according to a multi-year investigation by the board. Without proper precautions, sediment laced with chemicals and metals at such locations can wash into storm drains during downpours, clogging and polluting waterways.

Local officials pledged to continue recently ramped-up enforcement efforts, as well as spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on restoration projects at the San Diego River, Los Penasquitos Lagoon and Chollas Creek.

Water quality is of utmost importance to the city of San Diego, Assistant Chief Operating Officer Stacey LoMedico told the board Wednesday at a public hearing. As a coastal city that continues to grow, we will evolve and realize that our potential effects of development and construction have a profound impact on the environment, and thus, economy and the quality of life.

Starting in 2010, investigators with the water board found numerous construction sites with unstable earthen embankments and little erosion control. While city inspectors had sometimes citied developers for the violations, enforcement efforts were limited to the notices.

The city had inspected the site just days before, yet erosion and sediment control were clearly not in conformance with the citys stormwater standards, Rebecca Stewart, a sanitary engineer in the compliance unit for the regional water board, said at the water board meeting.

The issues persisted through 2014 despite repeated notifications by the water board to the city. That year, the board did an audit of the city departments that do construction stormwater inspections.

Investigators found that developers were not subject to escalating fines by the city, and said the municipal enforcement division was understaffed, with some employees unaware of the basic stormwater requirements for construction sites.

As part of the settlement agreement, city officials said that as of last fall they have rolled out a new enforcement protocol that includes fines and the ability to stop construction if a developer is repeatedly out of compliance. The city as also said that contractors that repeatedly violate stormwater regulations will be barred from bidding on city contracts.

Board member Tomas Morales applauded the new tougher rules. The sooner you can get to the stop-work, the sooner youre going to get compliance, he said at the meeting. That will be your most effective tool because otherwise it becomes a simple business decision for them.

The city has become a lot stricter in recent months with its stormwater rules for construction sites, said Michael McSweeney, public policy advisor for the Building Industry Association of San Diego County.

Theyre looking at things much more closely, he said. The rules are there. I think in the past there may of have been some misunderstanding (by the building industry) of what the rules are.

As part of the settlement, the city will pay more than $1.6 million to the State Water Resources Control Board Cleanup and Abatement Account. In addition, it will spend an equal amount on several environmental projects.

Under its settlement agreement with the regional water board, the city has pledged to conduct several water-quality improvement projects including:

$630,000 for restoration of the Los Penasquitos Lagoon. This project aims to restore the waterways historic salt marsh character by removing sand sediment that has clogged the inlet to the ocean. The city has routinely had to excavate the area to improve water quality and limit flooding in the area. The project is expected to be completed in 2021.

$225,000 for improvements on the San Diego River. The project includes removal of invasive species and trash to improve water quality and flood control. The efforts will also focus on clearing out areas that could be used by homeless encampments and planting native vegetation. Efforts are slated to run through 2020.

$72,400 to help restore section of Chollas Creek. The project is expected to build on current community effort to identify sites for habitat restoration and neighborhood beatification in the watershed. The city is required to cap the amount of bacteria, metals and the insecticide diazinon of the water body, which is state and federally recognized as impaired. The targeted effort is scheduled through 2018.

$682,932 for a bio-assessment tool to prioritize areas for future water-quality projects. The city in collaboration with the California Department of Parks and Recreation plan to create a protocol for analyzing existing water quality data and identifying the most cost effective strategies for improving water quality. Officials anticipate other municipalities could use the assessment tool once its finalized in 2020.

Twitter: @jemersmith

Phone: (619) 293-2234

Email: joshua.smith@sduniontribune.com
On Friday, the BIMSTEC ministerial meetings would take place on the sidelines of which External Affairs Minister will also hold bilateral talks with her counterparts from various countries

By Geeta Mohan: External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj, is representing India in the 15th Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Ministerial Meeting which is being held in Kathmandu on 10-11 August, 2017. The meeting will be preceded by BIMSTEC Senior Officials' Meeting.

The primary focus of this meet is to finalise the date for the 4th BIMSTEC Summit, which will be held later this year in Nepal - the host country. "During the meeting, Nepal will propose the date of the Summit," said Nepal's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Krishna Bahadur Mahara, told the media on Monday.

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Swaraj will arrive in the afternoon on Thursday and will call Nepali Prime Minister, Sher Bahadur Deuba, and President Bidhan Devi Bhandari, later in the evening. At 6 PM the BIMSTEC inaugural session will take place which will be attended by representatives of all member countries - Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Nepal. The session will be followed by a dinner hosted by the Foreign Minister of Nepal.

On Friday, the BIMSTEC ministerial meetings would take place on the sidelines of which External Affairs Minister will also hold bilateral talks with her counterparts from various countries. India Today has learnt that two bilateral meetings have been fixed. There would be meetings with Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

Source have confirmed that the Doklam border crisis would figure during the talks with Bhutanese Foreign Minister, Damcho Dorji, on Friday afternoon. The Indian embassy in Nepal is also hosting a reception for the External Affairs Minister at the India House.

The focus of BIMSTEC is to push Prime MInister Modi's 'Act East Policy' and to ensure forums like these are strengthened against 'difficult' neighbours like Pakistan. Hence, there will be a huge focus in boosting regional trade and security cooperation to fight the menace of terrorism. India will also push for conclusion of the long-pending Free Trade Agreement (FTA) by November, when the Summit level meeting will take place.

The foreign ministers from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Sri Lanka and the deputy foreign ministers from Myanmar and Thailand have confirmed their participation in the ministerial meeting. This ministerial meeting coincides with the 20th anniversary of the establishment of BIMSTEC.

Also Read:

India-Bhutan bilateral meet to be held on the sidelines of BIMSTEC, Doklam to be discussed

Sushma Swaraj rebuttal in Rajya Sabha: On Doklam, India's roadmap is peace with China, not war

WATCH | Wisdom not war is in diplomacy: Sushma Swaraj in Rajya Sabha

--- ENDS ---
Why cant the United States and North Korea just sit down and talk about it?

Over the last year, glimpses of a breakthrough in the long impasse between the two countries have been obscured by anxiety-producing new events  missile and nuclear tests, a bizarre assassination and the cruel death of the American college student Otto Warmbier.

Even talking about what talking would look like has proved complicated.

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Nine days after the U.S. presidential election, a pair of former U.S. State Department officials and two North Korean diplomats met discreetly at a hotel in Geneva for talks on how to get their estranged countries negotiating again.

Like others around the world, the North Koreans seemed to be expecting that Hillary Clinton would be the next president, but they were not unhappy with Donald Trumps victory, according to one of the Americans at the meetings.

They were surprised at the outcome of the election, but they had an open mind, said Joel Wit, a veteran North Korea hand who was one of the former U.S. officials who participated. They were willing to wait and see what the Trump administration would do.

There was even a slight reason for optimism. During the presidential campaign, Trump had said repeatedly he would be willing to talk directly to leader Kim Jong Un.

What the hell is wrong with speaking? And you know what? Its called opening a dialogue, Trump had said in June of 2016. If he came here, Id accept him, but I wouldnt give him a state dinner like we do for China and all these other people that rip us off when we give them these big state dinners.

He went on to suggest he would serve Kim a hamburger on a conference table.

The hamburger never materialized.

Shortly after Trumps inauguration, plans were made for North Korean envoy Choe Son Hui to come to New York for back-channel talks about reopening a more formal dialogue. She was scheduled to arrive on March 1. But events intervened. Two weeks before, Kim Jong Nam, Kim Jong Uns half-brother, was poisoned to death with VX nerve agent in the Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, airport in an attack widely blamed on the North Korean government; the State Department canceled the visa for Choes trip to New York.

In early May, a meeting finally took place in Oslo between Choe and a group of Americans led by Joseph Yun, the State Departments deputy assistant secretary for Japan and Korea. That meeting produced what in diplomatic parlance is known as a deliverable: North Korea agreed to release Warmbier, the American college student who had been held for 18 months after allegedly trying to swipe a propaganda poster from the Pyongyang hotel where he was staying as a tourist.

That was good news  except it turned out that the 22-year-old had suffered extensive brain damage while in North Korean custody  for reasons that are still unclear.

Warmbier died in June, shortly after his release. What had been billed by the North Koreans as a humanitarian gesture, intended to warm relations, instead had the opposite effect.

Since then, the North Koreans have conducted two tests of intercontinental ballistic missiles that they say are capable of reaching the United States.

Quiet back-channel talks with the North Koreans have been taking place regularly for years, despite the collapse of official six-nation diplomatic talks in late 2008. But nothing official has been scheduled, in large part because of a disagreement about whether there would be preconditions for the talks set by the United States.

We are stuck in this no-mans land. They are not going to have a meeting with preconditions imposed on the meeting, said Wit.

The Obama administration last year had agreed to drop the preconditions for talks to begin, but a tentative deal to negotiate fell apart after the United States in July put Kim Jong Un and 14 other top North Korean officials on a personal blacklist in response to a nuclear test conducted earlier in the year.

At that point, the North Koreans apparently decided that it wasnt worth their while to bother with a lame-duck president and that they would instead wait for the new administration.

Despite the recent exchanges of threats and bombast, Wit believes the North Koreans are still willing to negotiate. What theyve said is that they are open to restarting a dialogue with the new administration and that they are willing to discuss denuclearization, but that these initial meetings have to be without preconditions, he said.

The U.S. has asked that North Korea make some gesture to show its seriousness, such as pausing the relentless pace of weapons tests. The North Koreans have asked that the United States end its hostile policy toward their country by scaling back joint military exercises with South Korea.

Scott Snyder of the New York-based Council on Foreign Relations said he believes that North Koreas increased pace of weapons testing has been motivated partly by the desire to establish itself as a nuclear power in a position of strength before sitting down to negotiate.

We are in a kind of pre-negotiating phase where both sides are trying to shape the environment for their own purposes, Snyder said. The problem is imagining how that transitions to actual negotiations.

barbara.demick@latimes.com

Twitter: @BarbaraDemick
After President Trump threatened nuclear-armed North Korea with fire and fury  and after Kim Jong Uns hermit kingdom replied with a bombastic warning aimed at a speck of U.S. territory in the vast western Pacific  many Americans got busy Googling Guam.

To the outside world, the tropical island is perhaps best known as a bloody battleground in World War II.

In subsequent decades, Guam, the largest island in the Mariana chain, became an outsized bastion of U.S. military might in a remote but strategic region  a role that probably placed it in the gun sights of an erratic and often paranoid leadership in Pyongyang.

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And at a distance of about 2,100 miles, Guam lies closer to North Korea than any other U.S. territory.

For the islands 160,000-plus inhabitants  who awoke Wednesday to news of the North Korean militarys announcement that it was weighing operational plans for a ballistic-missile strike on Guam  it was a jolting switch from concerns like the local scuba-diving conditions, a bird population beset by invasive tree snakes and warnings of the ills of chewing betel nuts.

Native-born Guamanians are U.S. citizens by birth, and the islands governor, Eddie Baza Calvo, took to YouTube early Wednesday to inform constituents that he had been assured by the White House that Guam would be defended as if it were the U.S. mainland should North Korea try to strike.

This is not the time to panic, he told reporters. There have been many statements out there that have been made by a very bellicose leader, but at this point theres been no change in the security situation here on Guam.

More reassurance came from Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who arrived on a previously scheduled refueling hours after the latest North Korean threat while en route home from diplomatic stops in Southeast Asia.

Declining to echo Trumps belligerent tone, he played down the prospect of any immediate concerns that Kim would lash out at the island and said Americans should sleep well at night.

It wasnt the first time the island has been on the receiving end of Pyongyangs threats. There was similarly ominous talk from North Korea in 2013, making specific note that Guams sprawling Andersen Air Force Base, among other Pacific territories, lay within target range.

Still, many residents were worried about the unpredictability of North Koreas leader, and by the warnings of enveloping fire emanating from Kims capital.

Its kind of scary, because we dont know what this guy is capable of, Rudy Matanane, the mayor of the town of Yigo, which lies close to Andersen, told the Pacific Daily News. I hope our mother country does whats right for us.

For a place only about the size of Chicago, Guam is home to a good deal of heavy firepower, with the U.S. military presence taking up nearly one-third of its territory and some 7,000 troops stationed across the island.

In addition to Andersen, whose airborne arsenal includes B-52 bombers, military venues include Naval Base Guam, operating nuclear submarines and a U.S. Coast Guard station.

The 212-square-mile island, sometimes likened by military officials to a permanent aircraft carrier, is also shielded from ballistic missiles  at least in theory  by the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, similar to the one the U.S. is in the process of deploying, controversially, in South Korea.

Not unusually for a small, contained territory with a large military presence, there are occasional tensions between Guams civilian population and what can seem an overweening outside power. But the big U.S. deployment, together with tourism, is the islands economic lifeline, and Guam residents join the military in disproportionately large numbers.

Though tiny, Guam has witnessed some dramatic historical upheaval. Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, on his way around the world at the behest of the Spanish king, arrived in 1521, setting the stage for three centuries of Spanish colonial rule, the remnants of which can be seen in a scattering of landmark forts, palaces and churches.

As was the case in so many colonial outposts, contact with Western powers came at a terrible cost to the islands indigenous people. Smallpox burned a hellish path through the native Chamorro population, punctuated by natural disasters like typhoons and earthquakes. But Chamorros remain the largest ethnic group in Guam today, and have managed to keep their native language alive, using it alongside English.

Ceded to the United States at the close of the 19th century, Guam and its people fell captive to the Japanese soon after the Pearl Harbor attack in Hawaii in 1941, enduring more than two years of nightmarish occupation. Five years after the wars end, the island became an unincorporated U.S. territory, by act of Congress.

Guams residents cant vote in U.S. presidential elections, giving rise to some tart social-media commentary about how they did not elect Trump.

The territorys nonvoting congressional delegate, Democrat Madeleine Z. Bordallo, put out a statement urging the president to show steady leadership in dealing with North Korea.

laura.king@latimes.com

@laurakingLAT

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San Diegos worsening problem with police officer vacancies is prompting the city to increase pay, analyze the reasons why officers are leaving and develop new strategies for recruiting and retention.

Among those efforts is $4 million in higher stipends for uniforms and equipment that the City Council is expected to approve Friday. But city leaders say much more is needed.

The number of vacancies had climbed to 239 out of 2,040 budgeted positions through Tuesday  nearly 12 percent. Thats sharply up from 170 vacancies last October and 207 in April.

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San Diegos crime rate has remained low despite the vacancy problem, but there is less proactive policing, investigators are facing intense workloads and response times are longer than if the department were fully staffed.

And things look discouraging for the department moving forward, with applications down 36 percent over the last two years and about 600 of the departments 1,801 officers eligible to retire by 2022.

So the city is ramping up its efforts both short term and long term.

To help maintain minimum staffing levels despite the growing number of vacancies, $300,000 was added to the city budget in June to pay officers overtime so they can work longer hours when there are personnel shortages.

Long term, potentially significant pay raises are considered a key solution. And the city is expected to begin negotiating such hikes this October with the labor union representing police officers.

Those negotiations will be based partly on a $150,000 compensation study under way that aims to determine how officer pay in San Diego compares to other law enforcement agencies for rookies, longtime veterans and those in between.

An independent survey in fall 2014 showed San Diego police officers are at or near the bottom of the pay scale when compared to their counterparts in 18 other large cities and counties in California.

A recent analysis by the Union-Tribune shows San Diego rookies make $4,166 a month, compared with $5,730 in La Mesa, $4,910 for sheriffs deputies, $5,243 in El Cajon and $6,123 in Chula Vista.

But even compensation increases havent proved effective recently. San Diegos vacancy problem has continued to worsen despite a new five-year labor contract in spring 2015 that included $92 million in compensation increases for police officers.

So the city budget also includes $350,000 for a marketing effort to boost recruitment, which has become crucial with recent police academies running at about half capacity.

Many recruits take the first job offer they get, so the city may need to accelerate the hiring process and its background checks.

In addition, some other law enforcement agencies are more lenient than San Diego when it comes to convictions for drugs or driving under the influence. San Diego rejects about 95 percent of its applicants for one reason or another.

City Council members say they also want to study exactly why officers are leaving, suggesting the reasons may go beyond pay or be more complex than expected.

Theres still a lot I want to know about why people stay and why people leave, Councilwoman Barbara Bry said.

Councilman David Alvarez said he will be disappointed if the compensation study, which is scheduled for completion in October, doesnt go beyond analyzing pay.

We need to have a better assessment of why officers are leaving, he said. There could be other issues happening in the department that we dont know about and that need to be assessed.

Those could include morale, lack of advancement opportunities or other things no one has thought of, Alvarez said.

Bry and Alvarez said the $4 million for higher uniform stipends, which would all be paid out during the fiscal year that runs through next June, is only a small part of the solution.

We want to make sure they stay and are happy, Bry said. This is a positive step forward in terms of the council and mayor demonstrating to our police officers that we care very much about them. Its one step in the right direction.

Additional salary increases in future years could be part of the new labor negotiations scheduled for October. Bry said the talks, which are called a re-opener of the current contract, would be crucial.

Alvarez said he expects the city to offer significant salary increases to police despite tight budget times.

Public safety is the No. 1 responsibility for us so weve got to find a way to make it happen, he said, noting the city could pay for part of the increases with $5 million included in the budget for a special election that wont happen. Im certainly open to doing everything we can, as soon as we can, to make sure our Police Department is fully staffed and well prepared to serve the public.

Brian Marvel, president of the police officers labor union, didnt return phone calls this week.

Alvarez said the city needs to opt for real pay increases, not compensation increases like the $4 million for uniform stipend hikes.

The city has been opting for compensation hikes instead of traditional salary increases because of Proposition B, a 2012 ballot measure that froze pensionable pay for city employees until July of next year.

So the increases boost the take-home pay of officers without making the citys long-term pension debt any higher.

In the 2015 labor pact, most of the increases are higher stipends for uniforms, additional holiday pay and lower health insurance contributions.

City officials and leaders of the police union expressed optimism at the time that the deal would help improve the vacancy problem. Now they say things would be even worse without the deal.

The deals only salary hikes, which do impact pensions, are 3.3 percent raises in July 2018 and July 2019  after the Prop. B time frame. The October re-opener negotiations could increase those percentages.

Despite not affecting salary, the uniform stipend hikes will still help, Bry and Alvarez said.

The $4 million will cover an additional uniform/equipment/cleaning allowance of $1,505 for all officers, boosting the annual amount from $900 to $2,405.

In addition, officers with less than eight years of experience will get $2,100 more to cover the same expenses.

That move is in contrast to the 2015 deal, which gave larger raises to employees with at least eight years of experience. That was based on an analysis of which officers were departing to other law enforcement agencies most frequently.

Bry said the additional money for uniforms and equipment is justified.

Ive learned our police officers spend thousands of dollars a year on their uniforms and equipment, she said. This is money they will use to do their jobs for the community.

Mayor Kevin Faulconer, whose staff is handling the compensation study and marketing plan, agreed with Bry and Alvarez.

This is the latest step in our efforts to make officer pay more competitive, but we know there is certainly more work to be done, Faulconer said.

david.garrick@sduniontribune.com (619) 269-8906 Twitter:@UTDavidGarrick
Police have released sketches of the couple who sexually assaulted and robbed a woman at her University Heights home in a brazen morning attack on Tuesday.

The victim had just taken out her trash when a man and woman forced their way into her residence on Texas Street near Polk Avenue about 10 a.m.

The man grabbed the woman by the neck, pushed her against a wall and sexually assaulted her, while his accomplice ransacked the residence, police said. The intruders fled with stolen prescription pills.

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Its unclear what direction they went or if they used a vehicle to escape.

The man is described as black, 30 to 40 years old, about 6 feet 1 inches tall and about 175 pounds with dark brown hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a black or dark blue T-shirt and white shoes.

The woman was described as white, 40 to 50 years old, about 5 feet 5 inches tall with a stocky build and dirty blonde hair. She was last seen wearing a baggy, maroon hoodie.

Anyone with information about the whereabouts of the suspects was asked to call police at (619) 531-2210 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at (888) 580-8477. Tipsters may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

Twitter: @LAWinkley

(619) 293-1546

lyndsay.winkley@sduniontribune.com
SWAT officers surrounded a Spring Valley home where police thought a man wanted in the shooting of an off-duty sheriffs deputy was holed up Wednesday. No one was in the house when the officers went inside about four hours later.

The suspect was identified Wednesday night as 37-year-old Ray Pitoau.

He is accused in the shooting that wounded Deputy Jason Philpot and a bystander in the Gasmap Quarter early Monday.

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San Diego police said Philpot, an 11-year veteran, was shot three times in the shoulder as he tried to wrestle a gun away from a man near Island and Sixth avenues. The off-duty deputy was with a small group when the gunman confronted them, police said.

On Wednesday, the investigation into the shooting led police to a home on Tarleton Street near Walbollen Street in Spring Valleys La Presa neighborhood. Pitoau was thought to be inside.

Police did not say if he lives there.

We had some leads that we were following that led us to this home, police Lt. Ernesto Servin told reporters at the scene. He did not elaborate on the leads or say how police identified Pitoau as the suspect.

After the shooting, officers who scoured the area found a handgun and detectives later obtained video from surveillance cameras in the vicinity, police said.

On Wednesday, officers went to the home about 3 p.m. About an hour later, they summoned a SWAT team, police Officer Mark Herring said.

SWAT officers surrounded the house for roughly four hours, calling out for people to come outside. At least once, they shot out a front window, then threw inside what appeared to be a flash-bang grenade, neighbors said.

Residents were asked to stay indoors during the ordeal, but some watched from their front yards.

Around 8 p.m., the SWAT team slowly went in through the front door and back of the targeted house, neighbors said. Police said no one was found inside.

Neighbors said at least four men live at the house and that at least one woman, possibly one of their girlfriends, may have moved in a few months ago. The men oftentimes have friends over and hang out on their front porch, neighbors said.

Pitoau was described as Samoan, 5 feet 11 inches tall, 225 pounds, with black hair braided into two ponytails, brown eyes and a tattoo of the letters SD on his upper right chest.

Servin would not say if he has a criminal history or any gang ties.

Anyone with information about Pitoaus whereabouts was asked to call San Diego police at (619) 531-2000 or the Crime Stoppers anonymous tip line at (888) 580-8477. A reward of up to $1,000 is being offered for information that leads to his arrest.

Breaking News

Email: david.hernandez@sduniontribune.com

Phone: (619) 293-1876

Twitter: @D4VIDHernandez

UPDATES:

8:30 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details. This article was originally published at 4:45 p.m.
An FBI raid last month at one of the homes of Donald Trumps former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, provides the clearest evidence so far that special counsel Robert S. Mueller III is aggressively pursuing the investigation into the campaigns dealings with Russia and that his inquiry includes possible financial wrongdoing by Manafort.

Agents served a warrant early in the morning on July 26 at the Alexandria, Va., home of Manafort, a lobbyist with a long background of ties to pro-Russia politicians, according to Jason Maloni, a spokesman for Manafort.

Mr. Manafort has consistently cooperated with law enforcement and other serious inquiries and did so on this occasion as well, Maloni said in a statement about the raid, which was first reported Wednesday morning by the Washington Post.

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The search, conducted by FBI agents working on the case supervised by Mueller, sought records related to foreign bank accounts and foreign registrations, according to a person familiar with the investigation who spoke on condition of anonymity to comment on the probe.

The federal Bank Secrecy Act requires Americans to file disclosure forms with the government if they have foreign bank accounts valued at more than certain threshold amounts. Penalties for violation can run as high as 10 years in prison if the offense is especially serious.

The search showed that Mueller, who is working with a grand jury in Washington, has amassed enough evidence to justify a warrant seeking records. Unlike subpoenas, which a grand jury can issue on its own, a warrant requires prosecutors to persuade a judge that probable cause exists to believe that a crime may have been committed.

The search provides the first clear public confirmation that Muellers investigation now includes questions about Manaforts complicated finances. Manafort has not been accused of any wrongdoing.

The specific allegations that Muellers prosecutors are pursuing are not known, but in major investigations involving multiple potential subjects, a standard technique is to use charges against some possible perpetrators to persuade them to testify against others.

The raid came on July 26, the day that Manafort had been scheduled to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is also investigating the Trump campaigns possible collusion with Russian attempts to influence the 2016 election. That appearance was called off after Manafort agreed to provide the committee with records. The previous day, Manafort answered questions behind closed doors from staff of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Manafort has continued to cooperate with the Judiciary panels investigation, according to committee spokesman George Hartmann. His lawyers turned over 400 pages of documents, including his foreign agent filing, on Aug. 2. Manaforts lawyers are still discussing the terms for a closed-door interview with committee investigators.

The committee also received 20,000 pages of records from the Trump campaign last week, along with 250 pages from Donald Trump Jr., Hartmann said. The committee is still seeking records from the Trump Organization.

People close to Manafort complained that the raid was unnecessary because he had already agreed to turn over his records. A spokesman for Mueller declined to comment.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders declined to answer questions about the search, referring questions to Manaforts attorneys.

Manafort ran Trumps campaign during a pivotal period leading up to the Republican convention last summer. In June 2016, Manafort attended a meeting at Trump Tower that was set up by Donald Trump Jr., who forwarded Manafort an emailed invitation to get research on Hillary Clinton that he had been told was provided by the Russian government. Russia-Clinton-private and confidential, the subject line read.

Trumps son in law, Jared Kushner, also attended the New York meeting with a Russian lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya and four others, including a lobbyist who once worked with Soviet army intelligence and a longtime aide to an influential Russian oligarch. Manafort had agreed to turn over notes of that meeting to congressional investigators.

During the Republican convention in Cleveland, the Trump campaign worked to soften a plank in the party platform that originally called for the U.S. to provide weapons to Ukraine to fight pro-Russia forces.

Manafort was forced to leave the campaign after investigators in Ukraine said they were looking into allegations that he had been secretly paid more than $12 million by a political party connected to former Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych, a pro-Kremlin figure who was driven from office by a popular uprising in 2014.

Manafort, who worked for Yanukovych for more than a decade, announced in April that he was belatedly registering as a foreign agent.

In addition to allegations related to the campaign and transactions involving Manaforts work overseas, the FBI separately has been investigating real estate deals involving Manafort and his son-in-law, Jeffrey Yohai, including Los Angeles ventures involving actor Dustin Hoffman and his son Jacob.

The FBI has spoken to Yohai in hopes that he would cooperate and testify against Manafort, Maloni said. But he said the son-in-law has no information about Manaforts other business dealings. A lawyer for Yohai declined to comment.

Tanfani reported from Washington and Bierman from Bridgewater, N.J.

joseph.tanfani@latimes.com

Twitter: @jtanfani

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UPDATES:

2:05 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details about the search and reaction.

This article was originally published at 11 a.m.
An El Cajon police officer already suing the city for sexual harassment on the job received a series of salacious texts and photos from another department official  and plans to amend her lawsuit to include the new allegations.

According to a complaint filed earlier this month with the state Department of Fair Employment and Housing, El Cajon police Sgt. Anthony Kolombatovic sent Officer Christine Greer numerous improper messages.

One was a photo of a woman, naked from the chest up, apparently taken inside the bathroom of Greers house during a social event. In another text, the sergeant told Greer he regretted cheating in your home, the complaint alleges

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Then this: And ummm you might wanna wash that brown hand towel upstairs in your bathroom Im so sorry! Kolombatovic wrote the morning of May 7, 2016, the complaint claims. Use bleach hot water maybe some radiation & ghost peppers too

According to the complaint, Greer sent the texts to Chief Jeff Davis last month, after she received what she said was a retaliatory performance evaluation from her supervisor, the same sergeant.

This evaluation has no merit or facts supporting it, Greer told the chief. It is based on Sgt. Kolombatovics emotions and personal attacks against me. Sgt. Kolombatovic has used his power and authority as my sergeant to intimidate, harass and retaliate against me for my previous and pending lawsuit.

Greer, who already is litigating a sexual-harassment case against the city of El Cajon and Officer Richard Gonsalves, alleges that she received no reply from the chief.

She filed her complaint with the state and this week received a so-called right-to-sue letter. Greer and her lawyer now plan to amend the existing lawsuit against the city to include the latest sexual harassment allegations.

Gonsalves, who made national news last year when he was involved in the fatal shooting of unarmed man Alfred Olango, was demoted two years ago after a similar sexual-harassment claim by Greer.

The fact another supervisor was willing to send Officer Greer another nude photo and then punish her when she complained reveals just how deeply ingrained sexual harassment and retaliation is at the El Cajon Police Department, said attorney Daniel Gilleon, who represents the veteran officer. Its clear that the city of El Cajon holds civil rights in low regard.

Police spokesman Lt. Robert Ransweiler declined to discuss the allegations, citing the existing lawsuit Greer filed last year.

I am not at liberty to discuss any details on active litigation, he said.

The city of El Cajon issued a statement on the case. It said, The City of El Cajon was only recently informed of the photograph, which was allegedly taken over a year ago at a social gathering at Officer Greers home, hosted by herself. The person who allegedly sent her the photo was apparently an invited guest and friend of Greers. The city had no knowledge of either the event or the circumstances. The city takes any allegation of improprieties seriously and will conduct appropriate inquiries as necessary.

In court papers, lawyers representing the city in the 2016 case denied the allegations Greer lodged against Gonsalves.

Defendants further deny that said plaintiff has or will sustain damages in the sums alleged or in any other sum or sums, or at all, attorney Carrie Mitchell wrote.

Mitchell declined to respond to the charges regarding Kolombatovic.

The case originated in 2015, when Greer sued the El Cajon Police Department and then-Sgt. Gonsalves for sexual harassment.

The complaint included the allegation that Gonsalves sent Greer an unsolicited photograph of his genitals. It included claims that Greer had been wrongly passed over for a detective position and twice denied promotion to sergeant, and noted there were no females among the command staff.

The case settled for $90,000 in 2015 and Gonsalves was demoted to the rank of officer. Greer sued again last year, alleging a new set of claims related to subsequent harassment.

Among the new evidence discovered to date is that there is a long and sordid history at the ECPD of discrimination /harassment towards female personnel and an equally long and disturbing history of senior management within the the ECPD ratifying (if not encouraging) such conduct, the complaint alleged.

Lawyers defending El Cajon responded in court that the case did not merit moving forward, and Greer should not be allowed to amend allegations in her complaint.

Plaintiffs proposed (amendment) contains allegations that will be stricken and causes of action that fail as a matter of law, they argued. Where a proposed amendment is futile, the court has discretion to deny leave to amend, and the court should exercise such discretion here.

According to the complaint submitted to the state Fair Employment and Housing office, Greer has worked as a law enforcement officer for more than 25 years. It also claims many female law-enforcement professionals have been subjected to sexual harassment because the industry is male-dominated.

Earlier in her career, while Greer worked for the Escondido Police Department, the complaint states, she was sexually assaulted by another officer who decided it was okay to masturbate in the passenger seat of a squad car and even tried to force her hand onto his erect penis.

In her complaint against Kolombatovic, Greer claimed the incident became well-known across the police community and contributed to numerous cases of retaliation and harassment.

Despite knowing the abuse Officer Greer had faced, Sgt. Kolombatovic also knew that the El Cajon Police Department did not mind, and in fact it tolerated and ratified sexual harassment and retaliation, especially when it was directed at Officer Greer, it states.

The San Diego Union-Tribune reached out to Kolombatovic and was informed that department policy prohibits him from speaking to the Union-Tribune about this matter.

Gilleon said the lawsuit would be amended again next week to include the latest allegations.

According to the open-government website Transparent California, Kolombatovic was paid base salary of $94,000 in 2016, up from $82,000 in 2015. His overtime in 2016 was $22,000, up from $17,000 in 2015.

Watchdog Videos On Now Sexual misconduct accusers worry deputy is being protected 6:16 On Now City funded $2-million waterfront bathroom 1:26 On Now Public water district charges customer for legal work, response to records request On Now Video: Tiny homes won't be reused amid housing, homeless crisis On Now Attorney General seeks documentation for Miss Middle East On Now Rep. Hunter probe covers possible fraud On Now Video: SDG&E delaying solar credit for some low-income housing tenants On Now Video: Former San Diego Junior Theatre teacher sentenced for sex with teen girl 0:24 On Now Video: Shelter volunteers believe they were fired for finding a dog a home 0:49 On Now McKamey Manor is leaving San Diego 3:35

jeff.mcdonald@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1708 @sdutMcDonald
Retail giant Walmart apologized after a customer snapped a photo of a gun display in which the weapons appeared to be marketed as back-to-school items.

Own the school year like a hero, read the sign hanging above the glass case holding the firearms.

The woman who took the picture told The Washington Post that she and her husband were shopping at a store in Evansville, Indiana Wednesday morning when they came across the array of weapons in the sporting goods department.

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Leeanna May told the newspaper that she thought the display was disgusting. She said she told employees about her displeasure but her protest seemed to fall on deaf ears.

She tweeted the photo and received an immediate response from a company representative who asked in what store she had been shopping. That was followed by a tweet that said the offending sign had been taken down.

We appreciate you letting us know about this display. Which store location was this? -Vik  Walmart (@Walmart) August 9, 2017

Whats seen in this photograph would never be acceptable in our stores. We regret this situation and are looking into how it could have happened, said a company spokesperson in a statement.

Charles Crowson told the Post that he did not know who placed the sign above the case or whether it was a store employee or perhaps someone else.

There is also some dispute about the store in question. After the company asked for the location and then replied in its tweets that the matter had been taken care of at that particular store, it now disputes the location.

Crowson was working to clarify at which store the photo, which officials believe was legitimate, was taken.

May insisted it was at the store she had identified and has since made her Twitter account private.

The slogan about owning the school year is part of the retailers back-to-school marketing campaign, the spokesman said.

619-293-1710

debbi.baker@sduniontribune.com

twitter.com/Debbi_Baker
Having access to nature is a gift these days. In a time when our environmental protections are being threatened at a federal level, its more important than ever to get involved locally and make our voices heard.

Related: Why San Diego should restore Mission Bay wetlands

Thats why I encourage community members to join the effort to restore the northeast corner of Mission Bay and its wetlands.

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I grew up in San Diego and I remember running like a mountain lion through the Mission Bay wetlands, surrounded by tall cord grass, pickleweed and California sunflowers.

I can still feel the soft mud squishing under my toes as my cousins and I made our way to our sailboat, the Lena Over  named after my great-grandmother, Lena Kendall.

It was a time before Styrofoam and glass polluted the soggy shores. A time before development and over-commercialization crowded out our wildlife and before contaminated water led to closed beaches.

Back in the 1960s and 1970s, I spent a lot of time at my great-grandmothers cobblestoned home at the bays northern edge. Just steps outside her backdoor stretched Mission Bays 4,000 acres of beautiful marsh. To put this in perspective, nearly 50 Disneylands could have fit inside that wetland.

Wetlands hold a special place in my heart, but they are also significant to our coastline, water quality and wildlife. Wetlands buffer against sea-level rise, filter water pollution and provide habitat protection to wildlife.

Looking back, I never imagined that my childhood wonderland would one day disappear. But as I grew, so did the city. Our leaders dredged natural spaces to develop the Mission Bay that we see today when we look out from Crown Point.

Fortunately, my great-grandmother Lena Kendall knew how precious these wetlands were. Along with the A.H. Frost estate, she donated two parcels  40 acres in total  to the University of California in 1952.

Today, the Kendall-Frost Marsh is one of the last remaining coastal salt marshes in Mission Bay, let alone Southern California.

Recently, I learned about San Diego Audubons ReWild Mission Bay project, an effort to enhance and restore up to 170 acres of wetlands in the northeast corner of Mission Bay. My heart skipped a beat to see a community-based effort aimed at helping the struggling marsh that now resides behind a chain-linked fence.

Right now is a crucial time for Mission Bays future. Sea level rise threatens the future of the remnant marsh. Meanwhile, the city of San Diego is planning to redevelop parts of Mission Bays northeast corner  with a chance to restore some of it back to wetlands.

ReWild Mission Bay is our chance to make sure our kids inherit a sustainable bay with thriving wildlife and can connect with this unique habitat in an urban setting. I encourage community members to learn more about ReWild.

In April, more than 140 members of the community came out for the release of three draft final restoration plans for the northeast corner of the bay.

Attendees and online commenters weighed in on the plans and signed up to show support. Based on feedback from the public and our scientific committees, the plans are being refined for the final report, due out later this month.

Staff from the city of San Diegos Planning Department is watching closely to see the results from this effort and how the public responds. There is tremendous community and political support for this project, but there will be challenges ahead.

Right now, a concurrent effort called the De Anza Revitalization Plan threatens the sustainability of Mission Bays restored marshes.

That plan has focused too much on land uses that dont need to be located on the waterfront. Wetlands, and other coastal-dependent uses, need that space and ReWild is going to need the full power of our environmentally minded community members to lend their voices.

There are many ways San Diegans can help. Visit rewildmissionbay.org, spread the word on social media and tag @rewildmissionbay. Visit deanzarevitalizationplan.com to remind them how much our communities rely on wetlands.

Perhaps most importantly, call or email your City Council member to let them know you support healthy wetlands in Mission Bay.

Nature gives us balance so we are not surrounded purely by concrete, and it filters the unnatural pollution from human activity.

To quote the master plan for Mission Bay, the Bay is, and will remain, a place for water recreation of all sorts [and] shifting the direction of Mission Bay Park to account for its long-term ecological health is a choice for the future.

Munk is the great-granddaughter of Lena Kendall of Kendall-Frost Marsh.
A farewell event was organised in Rajya Sabha, where leaders from various parties heaped praises on Ansari.

By India Today Web Desk: Leaders across the political spectrum today paid tribute to the work and commitment of out-going Vice President Hamid Ansari.

A farewell event was organised in Rajya Sabha, where leaders from various parties heaped praises on Ansari.

"Your diplomatic insights were invaluable, especially when I discussed with you before and after my bilateral vists. You have been a career diplomat, what it means I got to known when I became prime minister. Observing you, I saw mannerisms of a career diplomat," said Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

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Modi added that Anasir is leaving with great memories and that his contribution has been significant.

"You belong to a great family that participated in the freedom movement. I have special regards, good wish from my side to you," said Prime Minister Modi.

HERE'S WHAT OTHER LEADERS SAID ABOUT ANSARI:

"We all will miss you. We will always miss you as the Chair of the House. We wish you good health and good luck for future. I wish him all the best. Hamid Ansari leaves us with great memories," said Arun Jaitley.

Leader of Opposition, Ghulam Nabi Azad, said that he has seen Ansari as the Chief of Protocol several times. He rues that in earlier times the Chief of Protocol was always seen in the photographs with prime minister, however, now it has changed.

"You were known as the best empire in this house," said Sitaram Yechury praising Ansari's work.

AIADMK's A. Navaneethakrishnan said that late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa greatly respected Ansari and he was always in her good books. He said that Ansari has been polite and considerate towards others.

Trinamool Congress leader Derek O'Brien remebered how he cherished Ansari's recitals of Urdu poetry. O'Brien said that despite the nature of work, Ansari was always jovial. He said that Ansari had a different perspective on even the most serious issues.

JD-U leader Ali Akbar said that Ansari spoke little but his words were always heartfelt.

Former Union Minister and veteran BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu will assume the office of the Vice President of India on Friday. Along with being the Vice President, Naidu will also be the chairman of Rajya Sabha.

Also Read:

Outgoing Vice-President Hamid Ansari's warning to Centre: Insecurity among Muslims

WATCH | Vice-President's farewell: Hamid Ansari's contribution important, says PM Modi

--- ENDS ---
Members of the U.S. military are subject to being uprooted and dispatched to another state or nation with a frequency unseen with the vast majority of Americans. This can lead to headaches and heartache for these men and women and their families.

But now Gov. Jerry Brown has signed into law a bill by Assemblyman Rocky Chavez, R-Oceanside, that will help reduce this stress in a fair, smart way. Under the measure, military family members who are admitted to a campus of the University of California, California State University and California Community Colleges while living in California wont lose their in-state tuition status if their parents or spouses are transferred elsewhere before classes start, so long as the students remain continuously enrolled. It covers transfer students as well as incoming freshmen.

College officials had no objection to the bill because it involves a relative handful of students and thus relatively little money. But for individual students and their families, in-state tuition status is extremely helpful financially. In a normal school year in which a student takes 30 credits of classes at a CSU campus, for example, the savings would be nearly $12,000.

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Chavez, a retired Marine colonel, is acutely aware of the hardships of military life. Good for him for acting to address one of those hardships.

Twitter: @sdutIdeas

Facebook: San Diego Union-Tribune Ideas & Opinion
Rep. Duncan Hunter has dismissed his messy personal scandal  in which campaign funds were used to pay for a staggering variety of Hunters and his familys expenses  as a media invention. The Alpine Republicans camp has said he fully addressed the matter by reimbursing his campaign for more than $60,000 in personal, undocumented or mistaken expenses since 2016. In March, Hunters attorney told Politico that the congressman had done nothing wrong and that any improper expenditures were inadvertent and unintentional.

This has always been hard to believe  but eventually the truth will emerge. The federal investigation into the Hunter scandal appears more far-reaching than first thought. A search warrant affidavit used to justify a February search of Hunters campaign treasurers office in Virginia indicates investigators are looking at Hunters finances dating back to 2010. Investigators wrote they were seeking evidence of a scheme to defraud First National Bank by making false statements related to video game charges which resulted in the refunding or crediting of charges not properly due as well as illegal spending of campaign funds for personal use, falsified official reports and conspiracy to engage in crime.

Hunter, who succeeded his father in 2008, is at risk of a stunning fall  of losing the safest of Republican seats because of silly self-inflicted mistakes. It would be possible to feel sorry for him  if hed ever shown genuine contrition. Now its too late for that.

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Twitter: @sdutIdeas

Facebook: San Diego Union-Tribune Ideas & Opinion
President Donald Trump blasted the top Republican in the U.S. Senate , Mitch McConnell , on Twitter three separate times in 24 hours this week, ramping up criticism of the Senate Majority Leader and the GOP for an inability to repeal and replace Obamacare after seven years of complaints about it.

In so doing, Trump never indicated that he has a role to play in the health care reform debate, too. While spending some time away from the White House, Trump called on McConnell to get back to work.

On Wednesday, Trump tweeted this. Ouch.

On Thursday morning, he tweeted again. Double ouch.

A second one on Thursday: You can do it!

The tweets, which come two weeks after Republicans in the U.S. Senate narrowly failed to pass a skinny repeal of the Affordable Care Act, have attracted questions and curiosity about the presidents spats with members of his own party at a time when he needs them the most.

Related: Read why McCain, Murkowski, Collins voted against 'skinny repeal' health bill

The tweets came after Trump expressed his disappointment to McConnell over the phone on Wednesday, The New York Times reported.

Update: Asked whether McConnell should resign, Trump told reporters that it would depend on whether the Senate Majority Leader accomplishes any of three legislative goals: repeal Obamacare, tax reform and infrastructure.

Is Trump waging a war against his own party or is he using tough love to compel its members to accomplish his legislative agenda? Heres a breakdown that could help explain this budding feud.

Why did Trump criticize McConnell this week?

It appears the president was reacting to remarks McConnell, R-Kentucky, made in the state on Monday about Trumps lack of experience when it comes to making laws.

Our new president had of course not been in this line of work before, McConnell told an audience at a Rotary Club in Florence, Kentucky. Trump, he added, had excessive expectations on how quickly things happen.

Is Trump right to criticize the GOP and McConnell?

It depends on who you ask.

On McConnells side is a powerful Republican ally, House Speaker Paul Ryan , R-Wisconsin, who on Wednesday released a video of him discussing the very important work being done on Capitol Hill. Likewise, Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, offered his support for McConnell.

On Trumps side are his supporters who argue that the GOP has failed to fulfill seven years of promises to repeal and replace Obamacare. They, too, aimed their attacks on McConnell over Twitter with the hashtag #DitchMitch, which comes as McConnell is supporting a Republican incumbent in an Alabama House campaign and Trump has endorsed his opponent, a Republican senator.

Is this the first time Trump has criticized members of his own party?

Of course not. Everyone remembers the nicknames he bestowed on his opponents as he ran for president.

Since his election, Trump has criticized other members of the Republican Party on numerous occasions, most notably Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona. At times, Trump has also called Ryan an ineffective leader.

Related: Trump vs. McCain: a brief, comprehensive history of discord

How is the world of politics responding?

Trumps criticism of McConnell has drawn mixed reactions  some are baffled and others say its part of Trumps narrative to drain the swamp  partly because Senate Republicans are Trumps strongest allies on Capitol Hill.

Also of note, McConnells wife, Elaine Chao, is the current U.S. transportation secretary and a part of the presidents Cabinet. Awkward.

Share your opinion with us: Do you think Trump is right to criticize McConnell and the Republican Party for failing to repeal Obamacare as they promised they would do for seven years? Should Trump have more support for his own party? Should Trump play a larger role in the health care debate and offer proposals of his own?

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.

UPDATES:

4:35 p.m.: This article was updated with additional from President Donald Trump.

This article was originally published at 12:40 p.m.
The Poway Unified School District is accepting applications for its free and reduced-price breakfast and lunch programs for students, officials announced.

The National School Lunch and School Breakfast programs run from July 1 through June 30, 2018. A new application must be submitted each year since a students eligibility status from the previous school year expires 30 days into the new school year. If their eligibility expires, students have to pay full price for meals unless their household receives a notification letter for free or reduced meals.

School officials do not have to send reminders or expired eligibility notices, officials said.

Eligibility is based on income and household size. For a chart, go to tinyurl.com/PUSDmeals17-18. Those not eligible now might become eligible later in the year if their income and household size changes, so the district accepts applications at any time during the school year.

Some families do not need to apply in order to qualify if they received a notification letter saying all children in their household automatically qualify for free or reduced-price meals since a household member receives benefits from CalFresh, CalWORKs, Medi-Cal or FDPIR.

School officials must be notified if a child in a household is not listed on the notification or if the household is turning down the meals.

Other students also eligible for the programs are those who meet the definition of foster, homeless, migrant or runaway. Children enrolled in Head Start also are eligible for free meals.

Those who might be eligible include households receiving Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, infants and Children (WIC) benefits and non-foster children if a foster child lives in their household.

To submit an application, go to myschoolapps.com. For assistance in filling out the form, call Lauri Patton at 858-668-2570. Applications must be submitted to Poway Unifieds Food and Nutrition Department.

Email: rbnews@pomeradonews.com
Fast service, quality parts, low price: pick two.

As a young man I saw this wry message on a poster hanging on the wall at my mechanics shop while I waited to have my car repaired. I always appreciated the honesty of it  they didnt promise something they werent able to deliver.

Sacramento should take a lesson from my mechanic.

Californias legislative leaders in the super-majority make many promises to their constituents: a living wage, good infrastructure, affordable healthcare. Many bills are passed every year with very worthy goals of improving life for working class families. Unfortunately, many of these bills are not designed to actually deliver whats promised. I think its wrong to make promises to constituents that you dont intend to keep.

Take last years minimum wage increase for example. During the Senate floor debate, I called it a false promise. Mandated wage increases drive up the cost of goods and services, reducing low-wage workers buying power. And as the recent University of Washington study on Seattles $15-per-hour minimum wage shows, it also means fewer jobs for low-wage earners. In Seattle, lower wage jobs are being eliminated and most likely absorbed by higher-paid positions filled by more-experienced workers, thus reducing opportunities for lesser-skilled or entry-level workers.

Further, whatever paycheck gains the minimum wage increase might have possibly given workers will almost immediately be eaten up by the new 12-cents-per-gallon tax increase on gasoline, which itself was a false promise.

In April, legislative leadership and the super-majority pushed through a tax increase that hits Californians with lower incomes the hardest. The new gas tax will cost families an additional $700 per year for their own vehicles on average, in addition to higher priced food and consumer goods due to increased transportation costs. Sadly, leaderships transportation bill failed to include any reforms at Caltrans to ensure efficient use of this new infusion of tax dollars, despite repeated audits of the agency showing waste, fraud and over staffing. The promise of better roads will be another empty one.

In June, the Senate passed a single-payer health plan, Senate Bill 562, which promised to provide healthcare for all. SB 562s estimated cost, however, was $400 billion  more than double the entire current state budget. Yet the bill was only 38 pages, contained no implementation details and provided no funding source.

It was clear to me that SB 562 would never make it through the rest of the legislative process, and that prediction came true when Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon pulled the bill as soon as it got to the Assembly. He said: This bill wasnt even half-baked. It wasnt even a bill. It was an incomplete list of principles.

I agreed with the speaker. Unfortunately, this description could be applied to a lot more bills than just SB 562.

Leadership does not need to keep paying lip service and making empty promises. We can create a real path to economic security for all Californians by creating career opportunities, responsibly investing in reliable infrastructure, and establishing a secure and accountable social safety net for the neediest members of our community. And Im ready to work with my colleagues from all parties on those real solutions right now.

Anderson, a Republican, represents the 38th State Senate District, which includes Poway and 4S Ranch.
A bill by Assemblyman Rocky Chavez signed into law this week will help some military families pay in-state college tuition in California, possibly saving students tens of thousands of dollars as they work on their degrees.

Under the old law, service members and their dependents who were admitted to University of California, California State University and California Community Colleges could lose their in-state tuition status if the service member moved to another state on official orders after the student is admitted.

Under the legislation from Chavez, R-Oceanside, theyll be able to keep their in-state tuition status even if military orders or retirement move their parent or spouse out of California. Gov. Jerry Brown signed the bill on Monday.

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The legislation was intended to clarify exactly when a student qualifies for in-state tuition. They could already keep their in-state status if they were taking classes when the service member moved out of state, but they could lose that status if they were admitted but had not yet started their studies, Chavezs office said.

A students plans for college could be quickly uprooted by the old policy and the unpredictable nature of the military.

There have been instances in the past where loopholes have undermined this residence classification, said a fact sheet from Chavezs office. It is not uncommon in the military to be deployed anywhere in the world at a moments notice. However, the current definition of in-state residency is contingent only upon that student being in attendance at that institution rather than being admitted.

The law applies to transfer students and incoming freshmen, and theyll be able to keep their in-state tuition status through their studies as long as they remain continuously enrolled. While three college systems are impacted by the bill, it will mostly impact students admitted in CSU institutions.

The community college system told an Assembly committee that there would be no costs because of the new law, while the CSU system said that the cost would be minor because only a few students would be affected. The UC system said that the new laws provisions are already in line with their current policies. The impact to students could be significant; it costs about $12,000 more per year in tuition for out-of-state students at San Diego State University.

Chavez, a Marine Corps veteran who rose to the rank of colonel and a graduate of Cal State Chico, introduced identical legislation last year that got stuck in the Senate Appropriations Committee. His district includes Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton as well as the cities and neighborhoods outside of the installation where many service members make their home.

Twitter: @jptstewart

joshua.stewart@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-1841
Because I feel that, in the Heavens above, The angels, whispering to one another, Can find, among their burning terms of love, None so devotional as that of Mother.

 Edgar Allan Poe The earliest tributes to mothers date back to the annual spring festival the Greeks dedicated to Rhea, the mother of many deities, and to the offerings ancient Romans made to their Great Mother of Gods, Cybele. Christians celebrated this festival on the fourth Sunday in Lent in honor of Mary, mother of Christ. In England this holiday was expanded to include all mothers and was called Mothering Sunday.

In the United States, Mothers Day started in 1908, when Anna Jarvis, a Grafton, W.Va., homemaker, organized a day to raise awareness of poor health conditions in her community, a cause she believed would be best advocated by mothers. She called it Mothers Work Day and held a memorial to honor her own mother. In 1912, she trademarked the phrases second Sunday in May and Mothers Day and created the Mothers Day International Association.

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Have you ever wondered why Mothers Day is written as a singular possessive? Its because Anna Jarvis specifically noted that Mothers should be a singular possessive, for each family to honor its mother, not a plural possessive commemorating all mothers of the world. Jarvis also invented Fathers Day.



On May 9, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson made Mothers Day a national holiday to be celebrated each year on the second Sunday of May. In honor of Mothers Day, lets celebrate some words that have one thing in common. They all end with the letters MA, an affectionate shortening of mother. From each definition, identify each MA-concluding word.

Example: American president: Obama.

Hint: The words that follow occur in alphabetical order.

Ill avoid all those generally unpleasant medical terms, such as asthma, blastoma, carcinoma, coma, eczema, edema, emphysema, edema, enema, glaucoma, hematoma, lymphoma, melanoma, plasma, sarcoma and trauma.

Answers repose at the end of this column.

southern state 2. _ mater 3. a person or thing despised or cursed 4. a pleasant odor 5. according to Hinduism, the essence from which all life originates 6. an unusual ability to influence people and arouse devotion 7. motion pictures 8. a punctuation mark 9. a problem that requires a choice between equally undesirable solutions 10. what you get at graduation 11. a system of principles or doctrines 12. formerly the chief monetary unit of Greece 13. a play 14. something that is ambiguous or puzzling 15. solid earth: terra 16. 3rd letter of the Greek alphabet 17. in Hinduism and Buddhism, the principle that ones actions determine ones future 18. a priest who adheres to the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Mongolia 19. a woolly-haired mammal of South America 20. capital city of Peru 21. what Gandhi was 22. western state 23. bin Laden 24. Latin American country 25. a full, wide view of an extensive area 26. ballerina 27. a large wild American cat; mountain lion; cougar 28. 18th letter of the Greek alphabet 29. a long-lasting mark or stain on ones character or reputation 30. __ cum laude

Answers1.Alabama2.alma3.anathema4.aroma5.Brahma6.charisma7.cinema8.comma9.dilemma10.diploma11.dogma12.drachma 13.drama14.enigma15.firma16.gamma17.karma(Watchout,ormykarmawillrunoveryourdogma!)18.lama19.llama20.Lima21.mahatma 22.Oklahoma23.Osama24.Panama25.panorama26.prima27.puma28.sigma29.stigma30.summa
PARAMARIBO, Suriname (AP)  A Canadian company that operates a gold mine in Suriname says it will dismiss roughly 10 percent of its workforce to reduce costs amid low global prices for the precious metal.

Toronto-based Iamgold Corp. announced the cuts Thursday. The company owns about 90 percent of the Rosebel mine, with the remainder owned by Suriname. Iamgold says the job reductions are needed to protect Rosebels long-term viability.

Local media say a strike halted mine operations Thursday after the job cuts were announced.

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An Iamgold spokesman in Suriname declined comment when asked about the strike, saying only that further company statements will be issued in coming days.

Its the latest bad news for Surinames commodities-based economy. Aluminum producer Alcoa has said it plans to close its Suriname operations next month.
Outgoing Vice-President Hamid Ansari spoke of Muslims in India feeling uneasy in an interview with Rajya Sabha TV yesterday. BJP's Mahila Morcha national executive member Priti Gandhi responded to Ansari's comments on Twitter asking him why he feels uneasy despite her 'Hindu majority' nation accepting him.

By Ganesh Radha-Udayakumar: India, a Hindu-majority nation, elected outgoing Vice-President Hamid Ansari to the second highest office in the land, and accepted him -- a Muslim -- "with open arms", so why does he still feel uneasy? Why would he speak about Muslims in India feeling uneasy?

That was how BJP Mahila Morcha national executive member Priti Gandhi responded to Ansari's remarks on Indian Muslims' feeling of unease in a final interview with Rajya Sabha TV.

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"Agenda kya hai? (What's the agenda?)," she asked on Twitter. See for yourself.

Reactions to the tweet were mixed. Several Twitter users took exception to the implications contained in the word 'accept,' and to the BJP leader's choice to mention the fact that a majority of Indians are Hindus.

It is him who is questioning the acceptance of this great nation, not me! read the whole tweet before you attack!- Priti Gandhi (@MrsGandhi) August 9, 2017

Accepted ....? You are saying like he is from some other planet ...!!! ??????- ???? Aamir ???? (@Aamir_Capri) August 10, 2017

Sorry this is not only your nation, nation has been a melting pot will be one for all people ,definitely it does not belong to one person- K S Kumar (@KishanderIsabel) August 10, 2017

What is 'your hindu nation' this nation isn't exclusive to you or Hindus or Muslims. It belongs to everyone.- Keerthi?? (@realkeerthi) August 10, 2017

It is as much his nation as "YOUR hindu majority nation". Shameful.- Jaane Doe (@AppliedFor) August 10, 2017

Ma'am,India still is not a "Hindu majority" nation,but a secular republic of all it's citizens.- Nazareth Nirmal Roy (@NazarethNirmal) August 10, 2017

India is of Indians. That's the majority.- Rakesh Malik (@rakesh1198) August 10, 2017

This marketing consultant pointed out that the Vice-President wasn't necessarily talking about himself.

You didn't accept him, your Party fielded candidates against him. And he is not talking about people like him who are at top.- Vishesh ????? (@Vishesh4) August 10, 2017

But there were those who appeared to be taking Priti Gandhi's side. Unfortunately, some of their comments smacked of bigotry or jingoism.

If Ansari, after being Vpres fears. Then it shows @INCIndia desperation to divide n scare Ppl pf India. No way they can rule again- Gags Maken (@GPSMaken) August 10, 2017

For 10yrs my Hindu majority nation accepted you with open arms, placed you at the pinnacle of power & you still feel uneasy? Agenda kya hai? https://t.co/Z8pzWddTG0- Priti Gandhi (@MrsGandhi) August 9, 2017

Except Abdul Kalamji I have not seen many Muslims at top positions thinking as Indians-they have always stooped down to being a muslim-pity!- Ramyavaran (@Ramyavaran) August 9, 2017

Hamid bhai nikal lo Pakistan. Kyu picture abhi baki hai mere dost.Jai Shri Ram????????????- Ankit Shah (@aryanshah84) August 10, 2017

But this Twitter user had a succinct response to Priti Gandhi's question, "Agenda kya hai?"

Agenda saaf hai.. To survive with dignity in own birth place..- Slippery Slope (@ansari_asgar) August 10, 2017

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ALSO READ

Pakistan: Sindhi cleric accuses minority-friendly Hindu lawmaker of being a RAW agent

India's largest Muslim body cites vicious atmosphere for minorities and cancels Eid reception

--- ENDS ---
After two consecutive terms as the Vice-President of India, Hamid Ansari leaves today the second-highest office under the Constitution of India.

By India Today Web Desk: A career-diplomat and politician Mohammad Hamid Ansari ends his two successful terms as Vice-President of India today. He was first elected as the Vice-President of India and the Rajya Sabha Chairman in 2007 and reelected in 2012 defeating Jaswant Singh of BJP by a margin of 252 votes.

The Rajya Sabha members and Prime Minister Narendra Modi showered lavish praise on Hamid Ansari for his contribution to Indian diplomacy and politics.

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Underlining Hamid Ansari's contribution in diplomacy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that his "diplomatic insights were invaluable" and admitted that the PM discussed finer points of diplomacy with the outgoing Vice-President "before and after" bilateral visits.

AS DIPLOMAT

The 81-year-old politician is considered an expert on West Asia and the Middle East. Having joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1961, Hamid Ansari served in various diplomatic missions for 40 years.

Hamid Ansari is credited with nurturing the strong bilateral relations with Iraq, Saudi Arabia and UAE. He also served at Indian missions in Rabat (Morocco) and Brussels (Belgium).

As the permanent representative of India in the United Nations, Hamid Ansari presented India's case forcefully. Hamid Ansari also served as the Indian High Commissioner to Australia and Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Iran and Saudi Arabia. His efforts in all these missions strengthened India's relation with the respective countries.

Hamid Ansari was awarded Padma Shree for his role in furthering India's diplomatic relations with various countries.

Having served in the Middle East for long, Hamid Ansari specialises the regional conflicts. Hamid Ansari has written books on the Middle East politics and conflicts. His notable publications have been, Iran Today: Twenty Five Years After the Islamic Revolution, Traveling Through Conflict: Essays on the Politics of West Asia, and Teasing Questions: Exploring Disconnects in Contemporary India.

BACK TO INDIA AND ROAD TO V-P OFFICE

Back in India, Hamid Ansari became vice-chancellor of the Aligarh Muslim University in 2000. He held the position till March, 2002.

Hamid Ansari's was actively involved in ensuring compensation to the Gujarat riots victims and pushing for revisiting the relief and rehabilitation for all the riot victims since 1984.

In 2006, Hamid Ansari was appointed as the Chairman of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM). But, he resigned as a year later, he was nominated for the post of Vice-President. During his brief tenure at the NCM, Hamid Ansari ensured quota for Dalit students in New Delhi's St Stephen's College.

HAMID ANSARI AS VICE-PRESIDENT

Hamid Ansari's 10-year-long tenure as the Vice-President and the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha was largely controversy-free. Bidding farewell to Hamid Ansari, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, "The way you handled proceedings in the Rajya Sabha earned you friends on both sides."

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However, critics list out a few controversies in which Hamid Ansari was involved as the Vice-President or the Rajya Sabha Chairman over the last 10 years. Hamid Ansari was criticsed for abruptly ending the Rajya Sabha on December 30, 2011 at midnight when the House was discussing the Lokpal Bill.

The then UPA government said that the House could not function as per the rules while the BJP-led Opposition contended that the Rajya Sabha could continue to debate the matter. Hamid Ansari, as per the practice, went with the government's view.

CONTROVERSIES THAT WERE NOT

Hamid Ansari was also criticised for not participating in or holding Yoda Day function in 2015 when PM Narendra Modi and the then President Pranab Mukherjee took part in the event organised with much fanfare.

The same year earlier, Hamid Ansari was criticised - after BJP leader Ram Madhav lashed out at the Vice-President - for not saluting the tri-colour on the Republic Day when the then US President Barack Obama was the chief guest.

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Later, his office and in an interview, Hamid Anasari himself clarified that he only followed the protocol. Hamid Ansari is said to have been the Protocol Officer under the government of India for the longest duration.

According to the official protocol, only the President of India is required to salute the Indian flag at the official Republic Day ceremony at the Rajpath.

Hamid Ansari, explaining his position, said if people don't know about protocol, he could not respond to their comments. This has been the trademark how Hamid Ansari dealt with his critics and controversies as the Vice-President and Rajya Sabha Chairman.

ALSO READ |

Outgoing Vice-President Hamid Ansari's warning to Centre: Insecurity among Muslims

Rajya Sabha bids farewell to Hamid Ansari: What Modi, other leaders said

WATCH | Vice-President's farewell: Hamid Ansari's contribution important, says PM Modi

--- ENDS ---
By India Today Web Desk: Recently, Dhanya Rajendran, editor-in-chief of The News Minute, wrote a simple tweet on Jab Harry Met Sejal -- that she walked out of the film halfway through, while she waited till interval for Vijay's Sura (2009). After the tweet went viral, several Vijay's fans trolled, abused and threatened Dhanya Rajendran for criticising a film that released eight years back. Breaking his silence, Vijay on Wednesday issued a statement and asked his fans not to abuse women and that everyone has the right to like/dislike a film.

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In the statement written in Tamil, Vijay said, "I am someone who respects women a lot. Everybody has the right to criticise anyone's film. It is my view that no woman should be spoken of in a demeaning way for any reason or any time. Everyone has to praise womanhood. I request that nobody should share hurtful and wrong views about women on social media."

His statement comes after the crime crime filed an FIR against four anonymous users who abused and sexually harassed Dhanya Rajendra on Twitter. According to Dhanya, 60,000 tweets were posted by individuals masquerading as fans. In fact, on Sunday, fans started trending the hashtag #PublicityBeepDhanya. After which, Dhanya lodged a complaint with cyber crime cell in Chennai.

Dhanya Rajendran received support from several journalists and celebrities. In fact, DMK working president MK Stalin on Wednesday wrote a strong message condemning the issue on Twitter.

Intolerance in any form, for expressing ones views in a democratic country is unacceptable. #FreedomofSpeech pic.twitter.com/7NacaVQXV9- M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) August 9, 2017

On the work front, Vijay will be next seen in Mersal, which is being directed by Atlee and is written by Baahubali writer KV Vijayendra Prasad. The first single Aalaporan Tamizhan will be out later at 5pm today. Produced by Sri Thenandal Films, Mersal is slated to release on Diwali this year.

ALSO READ: Why Vijay should own up to his fans abusing a journalist

ALSO READ: First single Aalaporan Tamizhan from Vijay's Mersal to be out on August 10

ALSO READ: Rajini, Kamal Haasan to attend Mersal audio launch?

WATCH HERE: Alaporan Tamizhan Teaser from Mersal

--- ENDS ---
Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 08/10/2017 -- As Finland left recession behind, consumer foodservice saw positive growth as more consumers could afford to eat out instead of home. It has been analyzed that, in recent years, operators have been helped by a consumer trend towards unconventional eating, creating greater opportunities for out-of-home meal occasions. A recent forecast report, titled "Finland- The Future of Foodservice to 2020" has been freshly broadcasted to the online repository of Market Research Hub (MRH), which offers widespread analysis of the Finnish Foodservice market over the next five years. This specific forecasts will give readers the ability to make informed business decisions through identifying emerging/declining markets.



Request Free Sample Report : http://www.marketresearchhub.com/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1256641



The competitive environment in consumer foodservice remained intense in Finland. Within the market, a low population density has led international operators to converge in the few populous cities, creating a fiercely competitive environment. Moreover, a fragile economic climate, high unemployment rate and low consumer confidence in Finland have solidified a shift towards a price conscious market. Constant weak economic growth has created a gradually cost-conscious foodservice market in Finland, with 29% of consumers citing price to be the most important factor influencing decision making.



This 156 pages study starts by presenting Finland's macro-economic landscape, which covers current macro-economic factors and their impact on Finland's foodservice market including GDP per capita, consumer price index, population growth and annual household income distribution. Additionally, a section covering major growth dynamics which highlights trends and factors in the foodservice market is outlined. Nowadays, Finnish consumers are increasingly thinking and buying local, forcing international operators to incorporate local ingredients, traditions and even celebrities in an attempt to show a connection between their brands and Finnish culture.



Moreover, in-depth data and forecasts of key channels segmentation within the market have been included. Key channels such as QSR, Coffee & Tea Shops, FSR, Clubs, Pubs and Bars; including the value of the market, number of transactions, number of outlets and average transaction price is assessed. As per the report, consumer foodservice in Finland is expected to see an improving performance in terms of outlets, transactions and value sales. In addition to this, detailing of consumer segmentation with the desires of known consumers among all major food service channel will allow readers understand the wants and needs of their target demographics.



Browse Full Report with TOC - http://www.marketresearchhub.com/report/finland-the-future-of-foodservice-to-2020-report.html



Later, Overview of market leaders within the four major channels including business descriptions and number of outlets are outlined in this study. Leading companies providing best food services are Arnolds, Coffee House, McDonald's, Burger King, Subway, Hanko Sushi, Pancho Villa, Rax Buffet, Starbucks, Wanha Mestari, Robert's Coffee, Hemingway's, Public Corner, Hesburger, Irish Pub, KotiPizza, Picnic, Presso, Restel Group, Rolls and Rosso.



Enquire about this Report - http://www.marketresearchhub.com/enquiry.php?type=enquiry&repid=1256641



About Market Research Hub

Market Research Hub (MRH) is a next-generation reseller of research reports and analysis. MRH's expansive collection of market research reports has been carefully curated to help key personnel and decision makers across industry verticals to clearly visualize their operating environment and take strategic steps.



MRH functions as an integrated platform for the following products and services: Objective and sound market forecasts, qualitative and quantitative analysis, incisive insight into defining industry trends, and market share estimates. Our reputation lies in delivering value and world-class capabilities to our clients.



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San Francisco, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 08/10/2017 -- Global Oil Storage Market: Snapshot



Key oil product storage types include those meant for crude oil, gasoline, aviation fuel, as well as middle distillates such as diesel, fuel oil, marine bunker fuels, naphtha, kerosene, gas oil, and petrol. Oil storage provides a greater level of constancy in costs of these products through the removal of fluctuations in the short term supply market for crude and all its derivatives. The Middle East is expected to continue being a primary target region for manufacturers of oil product storage units, due to the continued lead taken by the region in the production of crude.



Leakage of oil products is one of the leading causes of product wastage and traders and manufacturers are aware of the investments that are required into developing superior alternatives in storage that can help avoid these losses. This also includes diverting manual labor and manufacturing capabilities towards expanding the manufacture of these storage units. Carbon steel and stainless steel are the two key materials currently being used to manufacture oil storage units. Carbon steel has been a staple in the market primarily due to its lower cost, but provides several disadvantages that stainless steel can mitigate. It is very likely for more players to shift towards stainless steel storage units over the coming years.



Request Sample Copy of the Report @ https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=B&rep_id=1448



Global Oil Storage Market: Overview



Oil storage products are mainly comprised of gasoline, crude oil, aviation fuel, and middle distillates such as fuel oil, diesel, naphtha, marine bunker fuels, kerosene, petrol, and gas oil. Oil storage brings about stability in pricing by eliminating short term supply fluctuations of crude and its derivatives. On account of different stringent norms to thwart leakage, vendors of storage equipment have invested heavily in manpower and in building steel tanks. There are two types of material used in this process, namely, carbon steel and stainless steel. Although carbon steel is low priced, stainless steel will likely see significant demand in locations of high air salinity and open storage facilities. Further, the chromium content enhances resilience against strong chemicals, resulting in its higher demand in the global market.



Global Oil Storage Market: Key Trends



With the global glut in oil on account of the Middle East countries showing little signs of reducing production and the U.S. production of shale in massive quantities, supply has outpaced demand. This has necessitated the effective storage thereby resulting in a major growth in the global market for oil storage. Suppliers worldwide have augmented their inventories and infrastructure to store massive quantities of crude oil. Another factor fuelling an uptick in demand is the governments' endeavors to increase oil reserves to avert an economic crisis.



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A noticeable trend in the market is the stockpiling initiatives undertaken by nations such as the U.S., China, and India to cushion the price volatility and achieve consistent supply to the end-use sector.



Global Oil Storage Market: Market Potential



With the global oil supply not showing much signs of letting up, the future for the global oil storage market looks promising. These tanks are used mainly for gasoline, aviation fuel, crude oil, and middle distillates. Storage demand for crude oil is predicted to cross 1 billion cubic meters by 2025. However, capacity expansions and high demand for diesels and fuels for power and transportation sectors are expected to up demand for gasoline, aviation fuel, and other petrochemical derivatives in the next couple of years.



A major concern, however, is the increasing inventory due to lessened consumption. This results in economic losses to suppliers. Besides, strict rules pertaining to stockpiling of oil in above and below-ground tank installations is another factor hobbling the market. Control of Pollution (England) Regulations 2001 and the Water Environment (Scotland) Regulations 2006 are some of the primary legislations that industry participants in Western Europe need to comply with.



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Global Oil Storage Market: Regional Outlook



From a geographical perspective, the Middle East spearheads the global oil storage market on account of the increasing oil production and rising refinery throughput. Robust requirement for distillates, petroleum, and fuel in different industrial and commercial segments has significantly upped tank demand in the region. Nations such as Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE are at the forefront of driving growth in the region. Crude oil storage demand in Saudi Arabia is anticipated to reach 67.4 million cubic meters by 2025.



North America too contributes significantly to oil stockpiling demand. Asia Pacific oil storage market is also predicted to see a turnaround in petrochemical demand in the years ahead.



Global Oil Storage Market: Competitive Analysis



Some of the prominent players in the global oil storage market are Marquard & Bahls AG, ZCL Composites, Zepnotek Storage TanksLF Manufacturing, Columbian Steel Tank, Belco, and Palmer. Among them, Marquard & Bahls provides a wide array of tank designs to store crude oil, biodiesel, bioethanol, vegetable fats, and middle distillates.



About TMR Research

TMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in today's supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients' conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.



Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.
Wynnewood, PA -- (SBWIRE) -- 08/10/2017 -- At Wynnewood Dental Arts, Dr. DeFinnis and his staff are devoted to the art of the perfect smile. As a family dentistry of the Bala Cynwyd, PA and surrounding areas, they make an effort to calm and care for each and every one of their patients. By maintaining a friendly atmosphere in the office, they assuage the worst fears about dental practices. With a focus on sedation and emergency dentistry, Waynewood Dental Arts is serving all of the needs of their patients in Pennsylvania.



Having worked with phobic patients under general anesthesia since 1998, Dr. DeFinnis knows how to address anxieties relating to dentistry. Alongside his staff of professional assistants and hygienists, he is able to make his patients' visits as relaxing and comfortable as they should be. With his certification through the Dental Organization for Conscious Sedation, Dr. DeFinnis can administer a range of oral conscious sedation techniques. Whether it be nitrous oxide (laughing gas) or an oral sedative (such as halcyon or valium), these sedation techniques spare patients from any pain or discomfort during treatment.



If it's a dental emergency that's the reason for a visit, Dr. DeFinnis and his staff can handle it just as smoothly and professionally. Whether it be a toothache, canker sore, bleeding gums, loose or broken tooth, Wynnewood Dental Arts is ready to treat it. In the case of any emergency, patients can simply call their office and make an appointment. Any symptoms that patients exhibit will be diagnosed and treated with the appropriate dental procedure. Anyone who is seeking a friendly, family dentistry in Wynnewood, PA, and surrounding communities, should call Wynnewood Dental Arts at 610-228-4452, or visit their website.



About Wynnewood Dental Arts

At Wynnewood Dental Arts, Dr. Thomas DeFinnis, hygienists, assistants, and front office staff are concentrated on their patient's comfort above all else. Together, they are focused on building an atmosphere in which patients can feel at ease. Specializing in sedation, cosmetic, restorative, and family dentistry, Wynnewood Dental Arts makes every visit a pleasant one.



Learn more by visiting: http://wynnewooddentalarts.com/.
Countdown to totality

UofSC events will highlight the historical views of total solar eclipse

This ancient view of the sun's corona during an eclipse comes from one of several books in the Robert B. Ariail Collection of Historical Astronomy, Irvin Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, University of South Carolina Libraries that will be on display in advance of the Aug. 21 eclipse.

While University of South Carolina students, faculty and staff are always encouraged to reach for the stars, this August their focus will literally turn skyward to the once-in-a lifetime total solar eclipse.

Solar eclipses have long captured peoples imaginations throughout the ages, and the university will host special events dedicated to exploring the historical fascination surrounding such astronomical events starting Aug. 17 through the Aug. 21.

Its rare for an eclipse to happen in the same spot, and it is rare to see such a phenomena, says Michael Weisenburg, a reference and instruction librarian who oversees the Robert B. Ariail Collection of Historical Astronomy in the universitys Irvin Department of Rare Books and Special Collections.

The Aug. 21 eclipse will be the first total solar eclipse in the continental U.S. since 1979 and the first coast-to-coast total solar eclipse in 99 years. Weisenburg emphasizes the significance of such an event and highlights the different views of how eclipses were perceived throughout the years .

Eclipses were once terrifying events, he says. People came up with stories as to why they believed this happened throughout the centuries. They were thought of as demons, monsters and gods fighting in the heavens.

Weisenburg says during the classical period, people were able to loosely predict eclipses but could not decipher why total solar eclipses occurred.

Mythology considered them to be omens using the word shia which means to eat, he says. The Chinese believed that a supernatural figure was swallowing the sun. Others like the Vietnamese had stories of a frog eating the sun. There was no way to fully predict and explain with reasoning as to how and why total solar eclipse happened during those days.

The College of Arts and Sciences physics and astronomy department will hold a public lecture on Aug. 18, featuring renowned solar astrophysicist Sarbani Basu, chair of the astronomy department at Yale University.

The lecture entitled, Solar Eclipse: The Dread and the Fascination will take place at 7 p.m. in the W.W. Hootie Johnson Performance Hall at the Darla Moore School of Business. Basu will discuss the nearly 5,000-year history of solar eclipses and what humankind has learned from them.

Starting Aug. 17, The Robert B. Ariail Collection of Historical Astronomy will be on display in the Irvin Department of Rare Books and Special Collections at the Hollings library to showcase archived eclipse books dating back to as early as the 16th century.

Donated by amateur astronomer Robert Ariail, the 5,200 item collection is one of the most historically comprehensive and includes an entire history of astronomy represented in one collection.

Its a rare opportunity to see two once in a lifetime events, Weisenburg says. The total solar eclipse is a once in a lifetime astronomical phenomena and Mr. Ariails collection is a once in a lifetime collection.

Carolina graduate Ariail spent nearly his entire life collecting the books, and the items on display will showcase a selection of the most rare and relevant books to complement the viewing of the upcoming eclipse.

Featured will be books such as Novae Theoricae Planetarum, the oldest in the collection written in 1537 by Austrian mathematician and astronomer Georg von Peuerbach and De la Sfera del Mondo, the earliest printed star atlas written by the Italian philosopher Alessandro Piccolomini.

Other books on display will include 19th century amateur astronomy books used to make astronomical observations.

The gallery will be open to the public 8:30 a.m.5 p.m, Aug.17-18 and 21, and 14 p.m., Aug. 19.

The universitys McKissick Museum will also present an outdoor educational event Aug. 21 featuring naturalist-in-residence Rudy Mancke, who will discuss the nature of solar eclipses. The event will take place in front of McKissick Museum on the universitys historic Horseshoe at 2 p.m. in anticipation of the darkest part of the event at 2:41 p.m.

All events are free to the Carolina community and the public.

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The button that could have started a nuclear holocaust is gray -- not red.

I learned this after climbing into a nuclear rocket command silo, 12 floors below ground, and sitting in the same green chair at the same yellow metal console at which former Soviet officers once presided. Here, they practiced entering secret codes into their gray keyboards, pushing the launch button and turning a key -- all within seven seconds -- to fire up to 10 ballistic missiles. The officers never knew what day their practice codes might become real, nor did they know their targets.

This base in Pervomaysk, Ukraine -- about a four-hour drive from Kiev -- once had 86 intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of destroying cities in Europe and the United States. Though the nuclear warheads have been removed, the command silo with much of its equipment, giant trucks that carried the rockets to the base and an empty silo were preserved so that people could see what had been secretly going on at nuclear missile bases in the former Soviet Union. The museum's collection includes the R-12/SS-4 Sandal missile similar to those involved in the Cuban missile crisis and the RS-20A/SS-18 Satan, the versions of which had several hundred times the destructive power of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

"This is what the tourists come to see," said Igor Bodnarchuk, a tour guide for Solo East Travel, a Kiev company that specializes in tours of Soviet ruins. "What else do we have to offer?"

Tourists go to Paris to marvel at the majesty of the Eiffel Tower, to Rome to stroll the cobbled streets of the Vatican, to Moscow to behold the magnificent domes of Red Square. And while Ukraine has its own plethora of domed cathedrals, including monasteries with underground caves, thousands of tourists are trekking to this country for a uniquely Soviet experience. Here, they stand outside an exploded nuclear reactor at Chernobyl and rifle through the remains of a nearby abandoned city -- Geiger counter in hand. In Chernobyl's shadow, they marvel at the giant "Moscow Eye," an anti-ballistic-missile detector that rises 50 stories high and looks like a giant roller coaster.

Every day, a handful of travel companies ferry mostly foreigners to Chernobyl's 19-mile "exclusion zone." In 2016, Solo East Travel hauled 7,500 people there, up from only one trip in 2000.

"It used to be sort of extreme travel," said Sergei Ivanchuk of Solo East Travel. "You were very brave to go to Chernobyl in 2000. Now, not so much."

Ivanchuk insists that people who go to Chernobyl are not morbid. "They are intelligent people who want to learn something new, and are often interested in nuclear power," he said.

Likewise, people who venture to the missile base at Pervomaysk are interested in the Cold War. "It's a place to remember -- like the Holocaust -- about a dangerous time in history and what it means to have nuclear weapons," he said.

Earlier this year Russia deployed a new cruise missile, apparently violating its 1987 arms-control treaty with the United States, making the Soviet ruins in Ukraine seem all the more relevant.

_ _ _

The day I visited the former 46th Rocket Division in Pervomaysk, silver engines gleamed in the sunlight as the temperature edged up to 22 degrees. Sticking out of the snow were missiles reminiscent of the one Major T.J. "King" Kong rode like a rodeo cowboy in the movie "Dr. Strangelove." Nearby was a surface-to-air missile similar to the one that brought down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over Ukraine in July 2014.

The museum tour guides are all former Soviet officers who once worked at the missile base. Ours, Gennadiy Fil', once manned the nuclear controls. When American tourists dallied, snapping photos of the rockets above ground, he barked, "Ledz go!"

Then he darted through a heavy door of a squat building, down a series of winding stairs and through an underground tunnel, navigating by memory through the narrow, 500-foot-long passageway to the control center in a silo. The narrow cylinder is suspended from the ground -- theoretically, to withstand the shock of a counterattack.

In six-hour shifts, Fil' and another officer would descend in a tiny elevator (maximum capacity: three people) to the bottom of the silo. Stationed at metal consoles in an 11-by-11 control room, they would read secret codes from Moscow that flashed on a computer screen, then quickly tap them into a dingy yellow monitor. Then they pressed a small gray button and turned a key on the opposite side of the terminal to launch up to 10 nuclear rockets at once.

"You don't launch just one missile, because the other side is going to shoot back and destroy you," explained Elena Smerichevskaya, our Ukrainian interpreter. An intercontinental ballistic rocket fired at New York, she explained, would take about 25 minutes to hit its target.

Fil,' 55, said he never knew when he would be ordered to input real codes. It was his job, he said, shrugging. He said he had no moral objections to pushing the button. Launching nuclear missiles was a "political decision," something that people on top of the ground decided, not him.

He admitted that he feared the possibility of nuclear war. "You'd have to be crazy in the head not to be scared," he said.

But just in case Fil' or a fellow officer (two officers were required to launch a rocket) refused to push their buttons, reserve officers could be called up from a compartment beneath the control center.

For officers like Fil', there were both mental and physical challenges. The compartments were hermetically sealed, and Fil' said there was immense pressure on their ears. There were also concerns about the psychological impact of being isolated in the chambers. While the Soviets kept enough food and water on hand for 45 days, some men started to become batty after only two or three days inside the silo bunker, Smerichevskaya said.

While Fil' is glad the world didn't implode under his watch, he said, he is sad to have lost his job behind the missile controls.

_ _ _

In 1994, three years after Ukraine became independent, it joined the Non-Proliferation Treaty and agreed to dismantle its 1,900 Soviet missiles. At the time, Ukraine boasted the world's third-largest stockpile of nuclear warheads after Russia and the United States. Ukraine shipped its nuclear warheads to Russia and dismantled its silos, often blowing them up or filling them with cement. The control silo at Pervomaysk was the only one spared -- so it could become a museum. The 46th Rocket Division, part of the 43rd Rocket Army, was disbanded in 2001.

As a child growing up in the Cold War who was taught to hide under her school desk in case of a nuclear attack, I found it surreal to meet a man who had had his fingers on the triggers of the Soviet Union's nuclear warheads.

Fil' shakes his head at how things have changed. "I never thought I'd be standing here talking to an American," he said, his eyes wide with amazement. "I never thought I'd be having my picture taken. That was absolutely forbidden. And now . . . it's OK."

The museum claims that its silos are very similar to those still in operation in Russia. The Satan missile is still part of Russia's weaponry, although an improved version is set to be operational in 2018. Before Russia invaded Crimea and backed the separatists' war on Ukraine's eastern front, Russian soldiers frequently took their families to Pervomaysk to show them what they did at work, museum tour guides say. The missile sites in Russia remain secret.

The city of Pripyat was once a secret Soviet city, closed to anyone but workers of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor and their families. Now the city, an hour-and-a-half drive from Kiev, is a nuclear ghost town. Forty-nine thousand people were forced to evacuate the day after Chernobyl's Reactor No. 4 exploded on April 26, 1986.

Nearly all the first responders and soldiers died from radiation poisoning while trying to contain the graphite fire and the radioactive particles spewing from the destroyed reactor, explained Bodnarchuk, our tour guide. Officially, only 31 firemen and soldiers were killed. But some believe that the disaster claimed at least 10,000 lives as wind carried radioactive material into Belarus and Northern Europe.

Even though critics have said that the designs of Chernobyl are outmoded and inherently unsafe, Russia reportedly is still using 11 similar nuclear reactors.

Today, visitors can stand across the street from the damaged reactor at Chernobyl, which recently was covered by a huge, $2.3 billion shield. But the highlight of the tour is, by far, the crumbling city of Pripyat. Though tour operators are warned to stay out of Pripyat's buildings, tourists routinely stomp through the city, including the hospital where dying first responders were taken.

Tourists stick their Geiger counters against tatters of clothing in the hospital lobby and watch their machines shoot up to shockingly high levels -- 85 microsieverts per hour. The normal range is .09 to .30 microsieverts per hour, according to the tour company. Most guides carry their own Geiger counters; many tourists come with their own.

Tour operators claim that a visit to Chernobyl is no more dangerous now than a flight from Ukraine to North America. This calculation includes spending 10 minutes in front of the burned-out reactor and no more than two hours in Pripyat.

Solo East Travel has a video that shows how it came up with such math. Those calculations, however, don't factor in hovering over a firefighter's highly radioactive clothing that has been dug up from deep in the hospital. Nor do they specifically include driving through the red forest near the Chernobyl reactor -- where the radiation burned up all the trees, which were then bulldozed and buried. Our Geiger counters went crazy as we drove through the new-growth forest, registering 26 sieverts per hour.

Our guide tried to calm fears about our exposure to radiation by assuring us that any high levels on our body would be detected by the machines we had to pass through on the way out of Chernobyl's exclusion zone. Those machines -- old Soviet steel contraptions that look like retro airport metal detectors -- hardly inspire confidence.

To amplify tourists' shock, guides have embellished some of the Pripyat remains: Amid hundreds of crumbling gas masks spread over the floor of an elementary school, a baby doll has been placed on a chair -- wearing a gas mask. A hospital nursery has been outfitted with plastic dolls, placed in cribs with blankets, to make the scene appear even more macabre. Outside a village school building, old toys are scattered about. One-eyed teddy bears and dolls with missing limbs sit on bed springs at a village orphanage. Tables are set with plates and pots.

The most eerie scenes include an abandoned amusement park with its empty, lonely-looking Ferris wheel and bumper cars filled with leaves; a swimming pool with cracked tiles, its deep end filled with trash and an old shopping cart; school hallways cluttered with books; school desks laid out with science experiments; posters of Lenin and other Soviet leaders adorning classroom walls; and a broken baby carriage abandoned in a decaying community center.

Visitors are exhausted by the time their tour bus leaves Pripyat and turns down a one-lane road through a thick forest. Hiding there is the Moscow Eye, also known as the "Russian Woodpecker," an enormous metal structure silhouetted against the sky like a vertical Stonehenge.

Using over-the-horizon radar, the Moscow Eye was the receiver for a powerful radio broadcast sent from elsewhere in Ukraine. Some said that the signal's short, repetitive tapping noise sounded like a bird, thus the woodpecker moniker. Others say it sounded more like a machine gun. From 1976, until it went off the air in 1989, the unexplained radio signal interfered with many broadcasts. Listeners speculated that it was a method of Soviet mind control. Only in the past three years have tourists discovered its sublime metal architecture rising from the forest floor near Chernobyl, an anachronistic remnant from a not-so-distant era.

_ _ _

Solo East Travel

Prorizna St., No. 10, Office 105, Kiev

800-893-3153

Chernobyl tour: One- or two-day tours in Chernobyl, spending the night at a new hotel in the exclusion zone. Prices range from $79 for a one-day tour with a group to $349 for a two-day tour with an overnight stay. Tours typically include the Moscow Eye as part of the tour.

Missile Base at Pervomaysk tour: All-day tours with English-speaking drivers and guides range from $75 a person with a group of five or more to $300 for a single person private tour. The museum charges about $8 for admittance that is not included in the tour price.
Zhou Gang, a former Chinese ambassador to India, said that Indian officials were distorting information and that New Delhi suffers from a Cold War mentality.

By India Today Web Desk: A former Chinese ambassador to India today indirectly criticised Defence Minister Arun Jaitley, who on Wednesday told Parliament that lessons have been learnt from the 1962 Indo-Sino war and that Indian forces were prepared to handle any challenge.

The diplomat also said India views China as an obstacle for New Delhi to become the dominant power in South Asia and that this is "typical Cold war mentality."

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Speaking to Chinese state publication, People's Daily Online, Zhou Gang, the former envoy to India, said that India has clearly not learnt any valuable lessons from history and said that Indian authorities are infusing its public with distorted information.

Gang did not expressly mention Jaitley, but People's Daily Online said that the remarks were in response to comments like those made by Jaitley and Indian Army chief Bipin Rawat, who had recently said that India was prepared to fight a two-and-a-front war, referring to potential conflicts with China or Pakistan and internal security threats.

"Indian authorities could have done a lot to improve the two nations' relationships, but instead, it sees China as an obstacle hindering its access to becoming the dominant power of South Asia, which is a typical Cold War mentality," Zhou went on to say.

Today's People's Daily Online article also quoted a Chinese expert to say that India's actions in Doklam were illegal and were a sign of India's expansionism.

"By claiming UK's special privileges and legacies in the disputed areas, India has annexed Sikkim, as well as stirred up disputes in Tibet. It has also used its power to influence Bhutan, disrespecting its sovereignty. [History] has shown that the recent standoff is merely another show of India's expansionism," Guan Peifeng, an associate professor from the China Institute of Boundary and Ocean Studies at Wuhan University, said.

Both, Jaitley's and the two Chinese experts' comments come as the high-stakes but non-violent Doklam standoff nears the two-month mark. For seven weeks now, soldiers from the Indian Army and the People's Liberation Army have been locked in a face-off on the Doklam plateau near the India-China-Bhutan trijunction point.

The standoff followed Indian troops preventing the Chinese PLA from extending a road in the region. Since then, dozens of Indian have been in a what the Army has termed a "no war, no peace" situation. China has demanded an unconditional withdrawal of Indian troops while New Delhi has proposed a simultaneous retreat.

The standoff has been marked by rhetorical media pieces carried by Chinese state media. Publications have run a number of article or opinion pieces highly critical of India and some, more hawkish outlets have even warned of the Doklam crisis escalating.

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ALSO READ | Doklam standoff: As India-China war of words continues, a look at how global media is reporting it

ALSO READ | Hindi-Chini Bhai Bhai only way out: Dalai Lama on India-China Doklam standoff

ALSO READ | Doklam: What China stands to lose if it goes to war with India

ALSO WATCH | Two-minute history with Ramachandra Guha: Nehru's choices that played a part in 1962 Indo-China war

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The aircraft will be equipped with new reconnaissance pods which will help detect hardened terrorists in remote locations such as mountains and bunkers.

By Manjeet Negi: To counter China and Pakistan, India will increase firepower of its deadly fighter Su-30MKI. The enhancement will be done under the Rs 3,000 crore proposal which was recently cleared by the Narendra Modi government.

The aircraft will be equipped with new reconnaissance pods which will help detect hardened terrorists in remote locations such as mountains and bunkers.

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It can also identify bunkers built by the enemy in hidden terrain. The reconnaissance pods will help analyse suspected terrains where high value enemy assets or terrorists could be hiding and further locate the target and eliminate it.

Such reconnaissance pods were not available during Kargil war. With its presence, the Air Force could have easily destroyed the Pakistani Army and the terrorists hiding in the cover of bunkers made up of boulders and small natural caves in the higher reaches.

The Air Force describes the Sukhoi as its air dominance fighter because it allows the service to perform a multiplicity of missions required to keep up with India's rising global stature. The Sukhoi's versatility- owing to its extended range, speed, firepower and super-maneuverability - has given the IAF considerable freedom in deploying the aircraft in offensive missions.

ALSO READ |

Indian Air Force plans to add muscle to Sukhois

Doklam standoff: Indian Air Force chief says ready for any eventuality

Chinese media thinks PLA can annihilate Indian Army. Can they? A fact check

--- ENDS ---
Arun Jaitley in the Rajya Sabha said that Indian Army has learnt its lessons from 1962 war and the country has become much stronger over time.

By PTI: Amid the border standoff with China, Defence Minister Arun Jaitley today said the Indian armed forces are strong enough to meet any challenge to the country's security as he underlined that lessons have been learnt from the 1962 war.

He also said in the Rajya Sabha that the people of the country have a predominant wish of retrieving the parts of Jammu and Kashmir occupied by Pakistan since 1948.

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Jaitley, while initiating a special debate to mark the 75th anniversary of Quit India Movement launched by Mahatma Gandhi in 1942, said India had faced many challenges over these decades but "we can proudly say the country became stronger with each challenge".

He said India had "learnt a lesson" from the 1962 war with China that "the armed forces will have be made fully capable on our own because even today the nation faces challenges from our neighbouring countries."

Compared to 1962, the armed forces were made stronger in 1965 and 1971 wars, Jaitley said.

In 1962, India had to face a war imposed by China and suffer severe reverses. However, in the wars of 1965 and 1971 thrust by Pakistan, India had emerged victorious.

"I agree that some challenges are still there. Some people are targeting our country's sovereignty and integrity. But I am fully confident that our brave soldiers have capability to keep our country secure, may it be challenges on the eastern border or the western border," he said. "The armed forces can give any kind of sacrifice for the security of the nation," the defence minister asserted.

Jaitley's message assumes significance as it comes amid a two-month-long border standoff with China in Doklam even though he did not specifically mention it.

He also referred to the occupation of parts of J&K by Pakistan soon after the Independence.

"Initially (after Independence), we faced a crisis. Our neighbour had an eye on Kashmir. Even today, we cannot forget that a part of the country has got separated. It is a wish of every Indian today as to how to retrieve that part," the minister said.

Jaitley, who is Leader of the Rajya Sabha, said today was the day to commit to make India a strong, just and economically-progressive country.

He underlined the need for freeing the country from all kinds of violence, be it in the name terrorism, politics or religion.

Jaitley said the country is facing a bigger challenge from terrorism and Left-wing extremism.

In a clear reference to Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, he said a prime minister and a former prime minister had to lose their lives to terrorism.

Jaitley said people from across the border and also some people within the country who have taken to arms, are trying to spread terrorism especially in northern region of the country.

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He said the security forces, including army, CRPF and Jammu and Kashmir police have contributed a lot in fight against terrorist in J&K, though some incidents still take place.

Jaitley stressed that the House and the whole nation needed to commit in one voice to fight the menace of terrorism.

He also emphasised on probity in public life and reduction of money use in politics.

Emphasising that different religions and castes are an integral part of the country, Jaitley said it is important to maintain harmony in the country.

The minister said there should be no place in the country for violence in the name of politics, religion and terrorism.

"The country should be freed from such violence," he said and added that on this historic day there is a need to take pledge to make India strong, just and economically progressive.

While recalling the events related to Quit India movement launched on this day in 1942, Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad took a jibe on the ruling BJP, saying "last night too several incidents happened", an apparent reference to Rajya Sabha polls in Gujarat and subsequent events.

As Azad said parties of those who participated in the freedom struggle and those who did not could be easily searched online, CPM member Sitaram Yechury quipped that internet was not working.

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To this, Azad said the country has defeated the "mightiest powers" and one should not get afraid of such small issues like absence of internet.

Samajwadi Party member Ram Gopal Yadav talked about contribution of socialist leaders like Ram Manohar Lohia and Jai Prakasah Narayan.

He asked the government to keep an eye on Himalayan region as "the threat is from that side".

Senior JDU leader Sharad Yadav stressed that one should learn from history. "History should not distorted," he added. Also Read

Indian Army in no war, no peace mode against China in Doklam

After 130 years, government decides to shut down all 39 military farms

--- ENDS ---
Donny, a 30-foot tall inflatable fowl, is protesting against Trump being 'chicken' about taxes, Putin and North Korea.

By India Today Web Desk: A 30-feet inflatable chicken with a hairstyle matching US President Donald Trump landed in Ellipse, a lawn situated south of the White House. The chicken which is named Donny. Donny was placed in such a way that it instantly attracted the attention of news cameras situated near the White House.

The chicken was placed there by Taran Singh Brar who acquired permission from the Secret Services to inflate the chicken between Constitution avenue and White House South Lawn.

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Brar also set up a GoFundMe page back in March to raise money for the inflatable chicken.

Taran Singh Brar says he bought it for $1300. It's a visual protest. "Trump is too chicken to release his tax returns, to stand up to Putin" pic.twitter.com/JLohv0yl82- Philip Lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) August 9, 2017

In an interview with Reuters, Taran Singh said that he is protesting with this giant inflatable chicken because "Trump is too afraid to release his tax returns, too afraid to stand to Putin and is playing a game of chicken with North Korea".

WATCH: Inflatable chicken with Trump-like hair spotted outside the White House https://t.co/9lMvcrKhn2 via @ReutersTV pic.twitter.com/XVBb0iXKe5- Reuters Top News (@Reuters) August 10, 2017

Chicken Don who can also be found on Twitter with the handle @TaxMarchChicken was trending on social media feeds across the US on Wednesday.

BREAKING: There's an inflatable chicken with Trump's hair behind the White House pic.twitter.com/CPzyHeAixA- Rebecca Shabad (@RebeccaShabad) August 9, 2017

Who has the big Trump chicken on the Ellipse staring into the White House? pic.twitter.com/2O7cMRdyiW- Tom Manatos (@TomManatos) August 9, 2017

It appears some protesters have inflated this behind the White House. pic.twitter.com/TduZC591BK- Steve Kopack (@SteveKopack) August 9, 2017

"Trump Chicken" stood tall, had a crowd in Washington that loved him, and didn't say a word. He already had a better 2017 than Real Trump.- Tony Posnanski (@tonyposnanski) August 9, 2017

RT to thank Taran Singh Brar, mastermind of inflated #TrumpChicken He says "Trump's too chicken to release tax returns & stand up to Putin" pic.twitter.com/tCOK0IfLZC- The Hummingbird (@SaysHummingbird) August 10, 2017

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The Supreme Court has directed the National Investigation Agency to access the report of Kerala Police's investigation in the Hadiya love jihad case.

By Anusha Soni: The Supreme Court has directed the National Investigation Agency to access the report of Kerala Police's investigation in the Hadiya love jihad case.

The matter pertains to the conversion and marriage of 24-year-old Hindu woman Akhila alias Hadiya to a Muslim man by the name Shafeen Jahan, a native of Kollam.

The division bench of Kerala High Court had annulled the marriage and sent the woman back to the custody of her parents. The marriage was annulled on the grounds that the bride's parents were "neither present nor had they given their consent" for the marriage. The high court had also asked to investigate whether there were organised or systematic love jihad campaigns in the state. Kerala HC suspected that ISIS was recruiting from the state.

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The husband of the woman had moved the Supreme Court against the High Court ruling. In the last hearing, the court had sought the NIA's response. The agency on Thursday mentioned the matter and argued that it needed permission from Supreme Court to access the records. The court granted NIA permission and asked the husband why he was objecting to the sharing of the records.

NIA REPORT CRUCIAL FOR A FAIR PROBE: SUPREME COURT

The top court observed, "The NIA's report is essential for a free and fair investigation into the matter."

The bench led by Chief Justice of India J.S Khehar also noted in its order, "It seems that the petitioner husband does not desire a correct and fair investigation", clearly irked by the objection of the petitioner to not share the records. The court further asked him if he doubted the National Investigation Agency.

The court also clarified that its verdicts were not guided by catchphrases like 'love jihad'. "We are only seeking a factual investigation. We need to determine whether it is an isolated matter or there is something more to it", said Justice Chandrachud on the bench.

The court will hear the matter on August 16.

Also read |

Kerala High Court nullifies woman's marriage with Muslim man after bride's father raises Islamic State angle

Kerala High Court directs investigation into organised love jihad

--- ENDS ---
The trio, identified as Balvinder Gill, Balkar Singh and Satendra Rawat were picked up from Dabra, Chinoor and Thatipur in Gwalior town.

By Rahul Noronha: In a joint operation, the Madhya Pradesh and Punjab police late on Wednesday night arrested three people in Gwalior on charges of being involved with the Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) - a banned organisation that has been demanding independence.

The trio, identified as Balvinder Gill, Balkar Singh and Satendra Rawat were picked up from Dabra, Chinoor and Thatipur in Gwalior town.

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The trio have cases registered against them under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) in Punjab.

They are accused of organizing arms and ammunition for the KLF.

Sources said that a team from the Punjab Police had been camping in Gwalior for a few days after they got inputs about the presence of the wanted men in the region.

Finally, on Wednesday night based on inputs made available by the local police, the trio were finally arrested.

The area around Gwalior and Shivpuri districts in Madhya Pradesh had witnessed similar arrests in the heydays of Punjab militancy in the 1980s and 90s, mainly because the area has pockets of population that came down from Punjab after partition where pro Khalistani operatives found safe havens.

In Punjab too, there has been a spurt in activity between terror groups that had been lying low.

Sources in the security establishment said that while it is too early to call it a revival of militancy, it is clearly a worrying sign.

Also Read:

How Punjab is threatened by revival of Khalistan movement, considered defeated in 1990s

Pro-Khalistan group dares BJP workers to remove Azadi Hi Hal posters

Punjab: 5 booked, 1 arrested for sedition over 2020 pro-Khalistan referendum banners

--- ENDS ---
By PTI: (Eds: Adds more details of order/arguments)

Chennai, Aug 10 (PTI) The Madras High Court today stayed the look out circulars issued against former Union minister P Chidambarams son Karti Chidambaram and four others by the Centre over a corruption case filed by the CBI, holding that they were prima facie "unwarranted".

Justice M Duraiswamy granted the interim stay when petitions filed by Karti and others seeking to quash the circulars came up for hearing, and directed the central government to file its counter by September 4.

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Kartis associates C B N Reddy, Ravi Viswanathan, Mohanan Rajesh and S Bhaskararaman also got the interim relief.

Noting that the impugned circular had been issued just a day after the notice was sent under relevant CrPC sections asking Karti to appear on June 29 for questioning, the judge said, "this...according to this court, is prima facie unwarranted".

In the case of other four petitioners also, the circulars were issued even before the date of their appearance before investigating officers, which was also prima facie "unwarranted", he said.

The petitioners had made out a prima facie case for the grant of interim stay. "Therefore, the impugned look out circulars should be stayed till the disposal of the writ petitions," Duraiswamy said in his interim order.

He, however, made it clear that the petitioners shall co-operate with respondents at the time of enquiry, and in case of overseas travel inform the investigating officer in writing about the date of departure and arrival at least three days in advance.

The Foreigner Regional Registration Officer (FRRO) and the Bureau of Immigration under the Union home ministry had issued the circulars against Karti on June 16 last and against the four others on July 18.

In his petition, Karti contended that the look out circular was part of the central governments "political vendetta" and issued "arbitrarily" without jurisdiction to prevent him from travelling abroad.

He also said he had responded to the summonses issued by the CBI in connection with the case and there was "no absolute cause of action" for issuance of the circular.

The case is related to alleged irregularities in the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance to INX Media for receiving overseas funds when Kartis father was the Union finance minister in 2007.

CBI had claimed that the FDI proposal of the media house was "fallacious" but Chidambaram had cleared it.

The FIR dated May 15, 2017 was registered before the special judge, Prevention of Corruption Act, CBI, Patiala House, New Delhi. It was followed by searches at residences and offices of Karti and his friends, on May 16, 2017. The look out circular was issued onJune 16.

Opposing Kartis plea, the Centre had told the court that after the experience of liquor baron Vijay Mallya leaving the country, it had become imperative for it to issue the look out circular against him (Karti).

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Countering this, Karti said the CBI and the home ministry cannot cite past experience with certain persons who were not cooperating in investigation for issuing the circular against him.

He charged that the central government had been pursuing a "politically motivated vendetta" against his family and all persons even remotely connected to him were being targeted.

Claiming that the FIR, which he has challenged in court, had been filed based on "conjectures, inferences and surmises and not based on truth", he said the circular was based on it and was also liable to be set aside.

Incidentally, Karti has filed a fresh petition seeking quashing of the circular since the earlier one filed on August 4 had mentioned the date of the circular as July 18 in respect of him.

During the previous hearing on August 7, the judge had directed Additional Solicitor General G Rajagopalan, who appeared for the Centre, to furnish a copy of the look out circular to Karti and adjourned the matter today.

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Based on the copy of the circular, Karti filed a fresh petition which also came up for hearing today.

Senior Supreme Court counsel Gopal Subramaniam and Satish Parasaran, representing the petitioners, and the ASG made elaborate arguments following which the judge passed the interim order staying the circulars.

Subramaniam contended that the impugned look out circulars had been issued without any necessity whatsoever and without following any procedures. The circulars were issued only to tarnish the image of the petitioners, he charged.

Referring to the issuance of the circulars a day after the notice asking Karti to appear for questioning, he said this itself would establish the "mala fide intention" of the respondents in "harassing the petitioners and tarnishing their image."

The senior counsel further said the petitioners shall not abscond or leave India permanently with a view to preventing the respondents from investigating the alleged offences.

Sathish Parasaran, who appeared for the other petitioners, submitted that they were in no way connected with the alleged offences.

ASG Rajagopalan said the apprehension of the government was that the petitioners may leave India permanently and may also tamper with the evidences if they were allowed to go abroad. PTI CORR VS SRY

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Vale has sold the two 400,000 dwt valemaxes to Bocomm for $178m.

The mining company which has been moving out of shipowning following its pioneering VLOC project is looking to sell its last two valemaxes.

Vale is also negotiating the sale of its remaining two VLOCs, which is consistent with its strategy of strengthening its balance sheet and focusing on core assets, the company said.
While both sides remain tight-lipped about the reason of meet, sources suggest that article 35A is an issue that may have come up during discussion.

By Pooja Shali: In what be seen as hurried visit to national capital, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today met with Home Minister Rajnath Singh at his official residence.

While both sides remain tight-lipped about the reason of meet, sources suggest that article 35A is an issue that may have come up during discussion. The issue has raised eyebrows in the last few days.

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Mehbooba Mufti arrived at 5.30 pm at the official residence of Home Minister and the meeting lasted for approximately half hour. The CM left without any interaction with the journalists waiting outside. She is staying back in Delhi for the night.

The chief minister, meanwhile, has already expressed protest over the abrogation of article 35A.

Article 35A accords special power to Jammu and Kashmir Assembly for providing special privileges to permanent residents of the state.

The law bars a non-permanent resident to own properties or be employed with government. Also, a non-permanent resident of Jammu and Kashmir is not allowed to vote or contest in state assembly elections.

Interestingly, this controversial issue has brought arch rivals People's Democratic Party and National Conference on the same pedestal. Farooq Abdullah also expressed anger over any possibility to change the special status.

Farooq Abdullah is miffed with what he sees as an attempt change the demographic composition of the Kashmir Valley. And, this has come in the wake of a PIL challenging Article 35A in the Supreme Court. Article 35A has the most intricate relationship with Article 370.

ALSO READ

Article 35A in the dock, Centre in favour of 'larger debate' on the issue

Why Farooq Abdullah is angry over Article 35A and how it will impact special status of Kashmir

WATCH: Serious ramifications if J-K special status is tinkered: Mehbooba Mufti

--- ENDS ---
Detroit Barbers, the Ferndale-based barber shop and grooming supplies brand, has expanded. With their first barber shop having opened in Ferndale in 2016, the company has since opened a second location in Detroit's Corktown neighborhood. And with it comes plans for even more expansion. Detroit Barbers is owned by Royal Oak couple Chad and Jami Buchanan. Upon opening their Ferndale location, the company was met with immediate success, eventually leading to the build out of the second floor of their Woodward Avenue storefront to accommodate more customers. A second location seemed inevitable.Fans of the Ferndale location can expect the same type of services at the Detroit location. Staples like hot shaves, straight razor shaves, beard trims, hot facials, the latest designs, buzz cuts, haircuts, and kids cuts are all available at the new location. With a large two-floor footprint in Corktown, the Buchanans are planning for an apothecary and coffee shop to be built on the second floor later this fall or winter."We're extremely excited that the support from the community has allowed us to expand," Chad says. "It's a real loyal and giving client base that's embraced us."It's a natural progression for the company, he says, and one that's followed the historic corridor of Woodward Avenue, the spine of metro Detroit. It's an easy drive for the company's staff, about half of which will split time between barber chairs at the Ferndale and Detroit locations. The other half has a set clientele base that will keep them where they are."It makes it more interesting for them," Chad says. "A little change of scenery."The Buchanans have more big plans for expansion, built around their employees. The company, which also manufactures different pomades, shave oils, and similar grooming products, will begin manufacturing products based on their employees' wants and needs. Each barber will have the chance to develop and formulate their products."These are things that the barbers use on a daily basis," Chad says. "This way they'll get to give their own two cents on how a product holds and smells."Detroit Barbers in Corktown is located at 2000 Michigan Ave. in Detroit. The original location is located at 23236 Woodward Ave. in Ferndale.Got a development news story to share? Email MJ Galbraith here or send him a tweet @mikegalbraith
A medical office building in Clinton Township has become the first property in Macomb County to take advantage of PACE financing. PACE, or Property Assessed Clean Energy, is a national program that offsets the upfront costs of energy efficiency upgrades through a special property tax assessment.Construction will begin later this month on the Garfield Metro Building, a 20,000 sq. ft. medical office building owned by the Peleman family.The Pelemans have obtained $249,000 in financing for the project. Over the course of a 20-year, low rate, fixed-interest loan, the Pelemans are expected to save $733,133 with a total net savings of $254,725. The Pelemans are expected to net $12,736 average annual cash flow as a result of the energy efficiency upgrades, even while paying back the loan.Energy efficiency upgrades include the installation of LED lighting, high-efficiency heating and cooling systems, and high-tech system controls managed via smart phone. Sterling Heights-based companies BASS Controls and Bumler Mechanicals have been contracted for construction."If you look at all the medical office buildings in Macomb County, the potential is huge for future PACE projects," says Andy Levin, president of Lean & Green Michigan and managing partner of Levin Energy Partners.Levin says he's particularly happy for Macomb, a county that was on board early with PACE."I hope this is just the beginning of great things to come."PACE has helped finance numerous energy-efficiency construction projects throughout Michigan, including but not limited to manufacturers, warehouses, offices, and apartment buildings. A PACE announcement regarding a Detroit restaurant should be coming in the next week or two, Levin says.PACE helps businesses finance energy efficiency and renewable energy projects that save money in the long run but require expensive investment up front. It allows property owners this ability through a special property tax assessment with local governments. The tax assessment then frees up lenders' ability to provide up to 20-year, low rate, fixed-interest loans.Got a development news story to share? Email MJ Galbraith here or send him a tweet @mikegalbraith
MK Alagiri today said that his younger brother and DMK president MK Stalin is indirectly supporting AIADMK. He alleged that contracts are going to DMK with the help of AIADMK.

Alagiri went on to criticise Stalin by saying that DMK was not functioning. The politician said that the verdict of the 2G case is likely to impact DMK.

When asked about Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan's plunge into politics, he said that he was not in a position to speak about their future.

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He further said that since Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been running the nation for the past couple of years, the BJP will try to make inroads into Tamil Nadu politics.

However, he also said that Tamil Nadu politics is incomplete without Karunanidhi. Alagiri's comments come in the wake of the party's gala platinum jubilee celebrations for its mouthpiece Murasoli today. The event which will be celebrated with fanfare is expected to have guests like Superstar Rajnikath and Kamal Haasan.

When asked if the Murasoli event is being overlooked by Stalin, Alagiri said that he is unaware of the function and that he was not invited for it. Alagiri also said that he did not know much about the internal strife in AIADMK.

Alagiri, who was expelled in 2014, said that he will join DMK if Karunanidhi invited him. He went on to say that Stalin was not running the party properly. He accused Stalin of helping AIADMK. "He will help AIADMK for his own benefit even if TTV Dhinakaran does not support," said Alagiri.

When asked about Udayanithi Stalin's growing prominence in DMK, Alagiri said that he is unaware of any such development.

Also Read:

BJP govt destroying nation's unity by imposing Hindi on non-speakers, says MK Stalin

Tamil Nadu bandh: DMK's MK Stalin arrested during farmers protest in Thiruvarur

Chennai: DMK leader MK Stalin raises gutka scam in Assembly, slams Health Minister Vijayabhaskar

--- ENDS ---
Sen. Bam calls BOC negligent and corrupt for allowing P6.4B shabu shipment

Sen. Bam Aquino criticized authorities for looking the other way while a shipment of P6.4 billion worth of shabu breezed through the Bureau of Customs.

Sen. Bam called it a case of "negligence with corruption", where some Customs employees accept bribes to deliberately overlook illegal shipments.

"Iyong lumalabas is either may collusion or may negligence. May mga kasabwat ba and therefore nakapasok ang droga? O mayroong hindi gumagawa ng trabaho nila kaya nakapasok ang droga?" explained Sen. Bam during the hearing of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee on the matter.

"This seems like it's something in the middle, which is negligence with corruption. Binabayaran ka na huwag kang titingin, huwag na alamin, basta huwag mong gagawin ang trabaho mo, kaya nakapasok ang droga," Sen. Bam said.

Upon questioning by Sen. Bam, the BOC revealed that the owners of the illegal drug shipment from China have already been arrested and in custody of Chinese authorities.

"Ginagamit ang kahinaan ng ating sistema sa Customs para makapagpasok ng droga sa bansa. Let's take this opportunity to strengthen our Customs and uncover links between China and the Philippine drug trade," Sen. Bam said.

"Marami pa ang kailangan halungkatin," said Sen. Bam as he expressed eagerness to continue his questioning in the next hearing.
Senate approves Koko's proposal to create special committee for Marawi

Senate President Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III's resolution calling for the creation of a special committee that will focus on the rebuilding of Marawi City was adopted by the Senate on Wednesday.

Proposed Senate Resolution No. 457, filed on August 7, 2017, proposes the creation of the Senate Special Committee on Marawi, which will be tasked to study, review, assess, examine, investigate, and inquire into matters relating to the rebuilding of Marawi City.

"The extent of the damage sustained by Marawi City and the large number of displaced citizens caused by the rebellion requires a well-coordinated large-scale rebuilding effort on the part of the government", said Pimentel.

The committee was constituted with Senator Honasan as Chair, and Senators Lacson, Poe, Ejercito, and Aquino as members.

The Maute terrorist group launched a rebellion starting with an attack on Marawi on May 23, 2017, displacing 389,300 individuals as of July 1.

The Senate President said, "This is the Senate's contribution to President Duterte's call for full support, assistance, and cooperation for Task Force Bangon Marawi. The Senate will respond to the plea for help of our brothers and sisters from Marawi City."
Press Release

August 10, 2017 Use NBI, intel fund, NAIA big income to smash Maleta Gang Government should arrest the leaders and smash the syndicate of NAIA personnel who have been stealing from the bags of passengers, Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto said today. Recto made the call following the arrest of four baggage handlers for allegedly stealing the jewelry of the wife of Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. Recto said if authorities had only done that a long time ago, "the country would have been spared of this embarrassing incident." "It took a foreign VIP to lodge a complaint before authorities finally took action against a continuing crime routinely posted by its victims, our OFWs, in social media," Recto said. Recto urged the National Bureau of Investigation "and other non-NAIA based agencies" to conduct the probe and lead the hunt for the perpetrators. "Hindi na pwede na taga-NAIA lang, tulad ng NAIA police. You have to bring in outside investigators," he said. "Kung kailangang gamitan ito ng intelligence fund, it will be good money worth spending. When you steal from OFWs, they who are returning from long and low-paying hard labor abroad, then you are an enemy of the state," Recto said. Recto said taxpayer-paid PR drives to lure in more tourists are negated by the bad press the country's main gateway is getting. "'Yang Maleta Gang sa NAIA ang negative effect niyan sa turismo ay tulad din ng damage na ginawa ng Maute Group," Recto said. "One of the worst airports na nga in terms of passenger facilities and traffic congestion, tapos enveloped pa in other controversies," he said. "Maganda nga beaches natin, smiling nga tayo but we're having a hard time living down the stigma that our airport is either where they plant a bullet in your bag or they divest it of its contents," he said. He said "a serious airport cleanup drive" should include all other major airports. He said money should not be a problem in transforming NAIA's image as an "honest institution," and overcome a bad reputation inflicted by "a few bad eggs working there." "In 2014, government was already collecting P9.3 billion from NAIA passengers and airlines, netting P5.25 billion that year," Recto said. "Sa ganitong kita, ano ba naman ang gastos para sa dagdag na CCTV at pulis sa baggage routes?" Recto said a third of NAIA's P9.3 billion gross income came from the P550 international terminal fee and the P200 domestic terminal fee paid by passengers, which reached P3.5 billion in 2014. "Tapos kung Pinoy na turista ka na paalis, may travel tax ka na babayaran, only to discover upon arrival at your destination na mayroon din palang nangolekta ng gamit mo," he lamented. Travel tax rates range from P2,700 for a first class passenger; to P1,620 for an economy seat; and P300 for an OFW dependent. "Nagbabayad ka pa ng airport security fee, tapos ang gamit mo hindi secure. So para saan pa ang binayaran mo para sa iyong seguridad at ng iyong gamit?" he said. In 2014, P598 million in Airport Security Fees was collected from NAIA users. The whole amount was remitted by the Office of Transportation Security, a DOTC agency, to the Treasury, according to official reports.
By PTI: Srinagar, Aug 10 (PTI) Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi in Delhi today to discuss the legal challenges to Article 35A of the Constitution, official sources said.

The chief minister, who is scheduled to leave for Delhi in the afternoon, is also likely to meet leaders like JD(U)s Sharad Yadav on the issue of Article 35A that gives special status to the state and has been challenged in the Supreme Court, they said.

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Mehbooba is keen to build consensus against scrapping the Constitutional provision, which empowers the Jammu and Kashmir legislature to define the states "permanent residents" and their special rights and privileges, they said.

In a surprise development, Mehbooba had called on opposition National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah this week to seek the support of his party on the issue.

Abdullah had told her that she should meet the prime minister, all the important central ministers and also the BJP leadership to convince the Sangh Parivar against striking down the constitutional provision.

The chief minister has also held meetings with leaders of other opposition parties in the state, including Jammu and Kashmir Congress president G A Mir and DPN chief Ghulam Hassan Mir.

Sources in Mehboobas Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said striking down Article 35A will be "a catastrophe for all mainstream political parties in Kashmir".

It will be nothing short of a "tsunami" for mainstream politicians as protection of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir within the Indian Constitution is the "cornerstone of their politics", they said.

On the latest developments, NC spokesman Junai Mattu tweeted: "On #35A, bizarre of @MehboobaMufti to seek a consensus against BJP WHILE in an alliance with the BJP. She wants to have AND eat the cake".

"That is the crux of her dilemma - run with the hare & hunt with the hounds. She wants to govern with the BJP & oppose their politics with us," the partys working president, Omar Abdullah, said in a tweet.

The controversy erupted in 2014 after an NGO We the Citizens filed a PIL in the Supreme Court seeking Article 35A be struck down.

The Jammu and Kashmir government, under the guise of Articles 35A and 370, which grant special autonomous status to the state, has been discriminating against non-residents, who are debarred from buying properties, getting government jobs or voting in local elections, the PIL said.

Article 35A was added to the Constitution by a presidential order in 1954, it said.

While the state government contested the petition, saying the president had the power to incorporate a new provision in the Constitution by way of an order, the Centre, recently, expressed its reservations. PTI MIJ ANB MIN ANB

--- ENDS ---

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The atomic scare hit the Bay Area so hard and fast in 1950 and 1951, even the upscale shopping district of Union Square felt the impact.

When an outlaws severed head went on tour in SF

FOR YOUR FAMILYS PROTECTION, a sign stated, on top of a toolshed-sized concrete and steel bomb shelter across the street from the St. Francis Hotel. ATOMIC BOMB SHELTER.

As San Francisco leaders plan for a horrific possibility of a North Korea nuclear strike in 2017, they can do so knowing the city has been through this before. Fear of the spread of communism and the Korean War caused a wave of civil defense preparation in the Bay Area that would be hard to match.

San Franciscos efforts were led by Mayor Elmer E. Robinson, who built upon the citys civil defense plans from World War II. He made the citys readiness for an atomic bomb attack a priority, spouting dire warnings and criticizing other government officials for not preparing enough.

Mobilization started after Robinson invited other city leaders to a June 14, 1950, conference on civil defense, a weekend-long affair two weeks before the war officially started. The gathering included far-out theories  including the possibility of the Russians using a bomb to cause a 100-foot tidal wave, that would cover the state in radioactive mist.

The Mayors of target cities of the Pacific Coast sat down here yesterday to talk about what might be done in the event of an atomic attack, J. Campbell Bruce reported on the front page of The Chronicle. And from the talk of experts, if you are attacked with atomic weapons theres nothing much you can do, for the simple reason most people wont be around to do anything.

At the same conference, a federal official criticized the citys experts for fear-mongering. But Robinson pushed forward, calling for thousands of volunteer civil defense workers, running constant city-wide tests and eventually expanding his own executive powers.

San Franciscos air raid warning system flunked its first test yesterday, The Chronicle reported in 1950. So badly that Mayor Elmer E. Robinson announced he will invoke his emergency powers Tuesday to speed installation of bigger, better sirens.

While California Gov. Earl Warren outlined a civil defense plan with a target completion date of 1953, Robinson demanded immediate results, leaning heavily on his civilian defense director, retired admiral A.G. Cook.

When San Franciscans ignored a Dec. 30, 1950 whistle siren warning from the top of the Ferry Building  financial district workers thought it was a New Years celebration and threw confetti out their windows  Robinson dug up the citys gas-powered sirens from World War II and installed them atop Bernal Heights and the St. Francis Hotel.

Bob Campbell / The Chronicle

Union Square became the citys first official public shelter in case of enemy attack, and The Chronicle took photos of Robinson and Cook installing Air Raid Shelter signs. Smiling passersbys assembled under the parking garage during one of the regular 11 a.m. Friday drills.

San Francisco schools practiced duck and cover drills throughout 1951, instructing students to open the windows a crack so the blast force caused by the atomic bomb impact wouldnt drop broken glass on any children.

Robinson ordered a city survey of the effects of an atomic bomb hitting downtown San Francisco. The fire department reported they would work toward the center of the blast from all sides, extinguishing any fires as they went.

It wasnt long before fear led to new marketing opportunities. In March 1951, construction firm Barrett & Hilp put their bulky shelter on display in the middle of Union Square, offering free tours. Bomb shelters showed up at the Home Show at the Oakland Expo that summer, and in dozens of real estate listings.

Architectually designed for todays modern living, read one 1951 listing for a $26,000 house in the Westlake district just south of the city. 3 bedrooms, 2  baths, social and bar, bomb shelter, other extras 

Civil defense-related conspiracy theories appeared in The Chronicle letters page. In a late 1951 letter to the editor, Myrtle Raff of San Mateo predicted the siren tests themselves could mask an enemy assault.

With the widely publicized time and date for the practice of air alerts, just when would the enemy planes plan their attacks on us? Raff wrote. You guessed it  on a Friday at 11 a.m. The American people believe it pays to advertise.

More than 65 years later the weekly sirens continue on Tuesdays at noon, followed by instructions. (This is a test ) Theyre solar powered now, run by the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management.

The warning system hasnt been used for an actual civil defense-related emergency in all that time. But that fact never makes the threats seem any less real.

Peter Hartlaub is The San Francisco Chronicles pop culture critic. Email: PHartlaub@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @PeterHartlaub
Even by the standards of San Franciscos famously fractious land use fights, last months Planning Commission hearing on a plan to open a cannabis dispensary in the Sunset District was extreme.

The hearing lasted nearly seven hours. It included testimony from more than 150 members of the public. It was so heated that sheriffs deputies had to be brought in to keep the peace in the hallway outside of the chambers.

But it wasnt an isolated example: With sales of recreational marijuana set to become legal next year, the question of where marijuana is sold has become a hot topic at City Hall and in some of the citys neighborhoods.

The uncertainties around that question became obvious when the Board of Supervisors gave final approval in July to a citywide Office of Cannabis and then rushed to put new conditions on the industry. During a vigorous discussion, the supervisors spoke of their many concerns about what legalization of recreational marijuana would look like in San Francisco when sales begin Jan. 1.

Some feared the new business sector would lack racial diversity and called for the office to write a lengthy report on the issue. Others worried that a cannabis boom would drive up prices for medicinal patients, so they asked for a second report. Supervisor Ahsha Safai successfully pushed an ordinance limiting the number of dispensaries in his Excelsior district to three, saying the businesses draw complaints from area residents.

Most contentious of all was something that people on all sides of the issue acknowledge is happening: the clustering of medical cannabis dispensaries in small geographical areas.

Of the citys 38 dispensaries, District Six  which includes the Tenderloin and South of Market  has 13, about 34 percent. Many of these are clustered on or near Mission and Howard streets in SoMa  Urban Pharm at 122 10th St., the Green Room at 843 Howard St., SFFOGG at 211 12th St., Sparc at 1256 Mission St., Barbary Coast Collective at 953 Mission, and Re-Leaf Herbal Cooperative at 1284 Mission. And of the 27 in the pipeline  either proposed or approved but not open yet  District Six has 13.

The clustering is a result of zoning laws put in place in 2006. Medical cannabis dispensaries are banned from most areas that are zoned residential or industrial. They must be located at least 1,000 feet from a school or facility serving individuals younger than 18.

In a city as dense as San Francisco, where most neighborhoods are full of recreation centers, parks and schools, the land use restrictions have forced dispensaries to bunch up in green zones  the few slivers of the city where they are allowed.

Santino DeRose, a commercial real estate broker who leases retail space in neighborhoods across the city, said locations where dispensaries are allowed are in high demand. If we list a property in a green zone, we get bombarded with calls, said DeRose, although he added that many landlords wont lease to them because cannabis is still illegal under federal law.

Erich Pearson, co-founder of Sparc, the San Francisco Patient and Resource Center, which operates medical cannabis dispensaries in the Lower Haight and SoMa neighborhoods, said the city should reduce the 1,000-foot buffer zone at least to 600 feet, which is the distance that Proposition 64, which California voters approved last year, lays out. State law gives counties and cities the autonomy to lower it or expand it.

Even 600 feet in San Francisco is too restrictive, he said. Youre still going to have a lot of clustering.

He said he supports a moratorium on approvals of dispensaries, which could be converted into recreational pot stores, until new regulations are in place. Its hard to say that we should let 30 new applicants continue to cluster in neighborhoods that are already oversaturated, when others have none, he said.

In addition to zoning restrictions that block dispensaries in many areas, residents on the citys southern edge  both the Outer Mission and Visitacion Valley areas  say there is a flood of dispensary applications because of the proximity to San Mateo County, which so far has not allowed any cannabis dispensaries to open.

We are under siege in our neighborhood, said Joelle Kenealey, president of the Outer Mission Merchants and Residents Association. And until San Mateo County makes changes, we are going to be under siege.

There are three medical cannabis dispensaries on Outer Mission Street, and two more close by on Ocean Avenue. Two dispensaries have applied to open next door to each other on Bayshore Boulevard in Visitacion Valley. Another seven applications have been submitted nearby in District 11, although most were withdrawn either because of zoning issues or strong neighborhood opposition.

Safai, who made controlling dispensaries a centerpiece of his campaign last year, said the number of dispensaries in operation is sufficient to meet the cannabis needs of his constituents.

Amanda Ostrowitz, co-founder of CannaRegs, which tracks cannabis laws nationwide, said some of the stress San Francisco is experiencing is because the city is years ahead of many other California cities and counties in regulating dispensaries.

San Francisco is running into more problems because they have been so far ahead of everyone else in the state, Ostrowitz said. Most jurisdictions are waiting and watching other people.

Cities and counties across the state have tackled dispensary clustering in three ways, she said: a straight cap on their number; limiting them to specific zones and requiring a certain distance between locations. San Jose, which has just over 1 million residents, will allow only 16 licenses. Berkeley set its limit at six. California City (Kern County) allows one for each 13,000 residents  the current population  with a maximum of two. Arcata in Humboldt County limits dispensaries to a small medical marijuana innovation zone.

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.

While the state allows dispensaries within 600 feet of a school or child-serving organization, most cities and counties set it at 1,000 feet, Ostrowitz said. In Richmond, its 1,500 feet.

And beyond the question of where cannabis may be sold in the city, there is also the question of where it will be grown. Real estate broker John M.E. Stevenson said growers, mostly affiliated with individual dispensaries, are scouring the Bayview neighborhood and industrial parts of SoMa and the eastern Mission District for warehouse space, often offering two or three times more rent than other users do. But for the most part they are shut out because federally regulated banks wont lend money on buildings that have cannabis-related businesses.

Most landlords wont even look at a (medical cannabis dispensaries) deal, he said. There is an overwhelming number of growers running around looking for locations.

The Board of Supervisors will take up the cannabis zoning issue in September. At the boards last meeting in July, Supervisor Malia Cohen asked for a 45-day moratorium on new cannabis business permits when the board returns from summer recess in September.

This is not mean-spirited, Cohen said. This is not cloaked to deceive anyone. This is truly an opportunity  so we can pause and assert what the heck we are doing.

San Francisco Chronicle

staff writer Rachel Swan

contributed to this report.

J.K. Dineen is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jdineen@sfchronicle.com

Twitter: @sfjkdineen
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Although President Trump ran on a platform of rounding up and deporting bad hombres, Oakland nurse Maria Mendoza-Sanchez knew that she and her husband  who each lack legal status  would not be protected by their clean records.

I knew that not only our life but the life of many immigrants was going to change completely, said the mother of four as she recalled the night of the election. I knew this is going to be a totally different story now.

Nearly seven months later, her fears have been realized.

On May 23, immigration officials told the couple they had three months to make arrangements to leave for the Mexican homeland in which they last set foot 23 years ago. On Tuesday, they will reluctantly split up their family, flying to Mexico with their 12-year-old son to start a new life, while leaving their three older daughters  who are 16, 21 and 23  behind in the U.S.

In the past, Mendoza-Sanchezs background likely would have spared her from deportation. Shes the mother of three native-born U.S. citizens and one recipient of the governments Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. She owns a home in Oakland, has no criminal record, and works as a nurse in the cardiology and oncology wing of Highland Hospital.

Its supposed to be that if you assimilate to the culture of the country, you pay taxes, you work, you graduate college, you have a better chance, she said. It was supposed to be, but I did all that and Im still in this situation. I just dont understand.

The familys case, experts said, is one of many that highlights the major shifts under way since Trump took office and made nearly every immigrant in the country without documentation a priority for removal. Since February, more than 57,000 people have been ordered to leave the country  a nearly 31 percent increase over the same time period in 2016 under President Barack Obama.

It just shows that theres an absence of priorities for deportation from the present administration  its just totally random and theyre including some really good people like the Mendoza-Sanchez family, said Carl Shusterman, an attorney representing the couple.

Virginia Kice, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE, said Wednesday that over the last 15 years the couples case went through an exhaustive review by the immigration court system.

The courts have consistently held that neither of these individuals has a legal basis to remain in the U.S., Kice said.

She noted that while ICE continues to prioritize people believed to pose safety risks, the agencys acting director has said ICE will not exempt people from enforcement.

This administration is committed to the rule of law and to enforcing the laws established by Congress, she said. When we fail to enforce those laws, what message are we sending to the millions of people who respect that process and are waiting outside the U.S. now for visas that will enable them to enter the country lawfully?

Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The Chronicle

For years, however, immigrants with strong ties in the country, like Mendoza-Sanchez and her husband, were granted stays of deportation orders while ICE focused resources on people with felony convictions and gang or terrorism ties, said Heather Prendergast, chair of the ICE liaison committee for the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

Denying those stays, she said, is a simple way for the administration to boost deportations without expending resources.

This is a very easy group of people to go after, Prendergast said. If these sorts of cases are being denied, then who gets to stay here, and who is safe? Arguably it is no one.

The couples immigration saga began when they sneaked into the country in the early 1990s. In the early 2000s, they began an exhaustive effort to legalize their status by applying for asylum, and later they applied for green cards through the immigration courts  a nearly decadelong process that included a series of court dates and multiple appeals. They were denied in 2012.

Beginning in 2013, they were granted a pair of one-year stays before immigration officials, in 2015, informed them they didnt need stays because they were low priorities for deportation, Mendoza-Sanchez said.

In the meantime, Mendoza-Sanchez obtained her nursing degree and began working at Highland Hospital. Her husband, Eusebio Sanchez, is a truck driver, and the two have seen two of their daughters earn admission to UC Santa Cruz.

After being told in May that they had to leave the country, Mendoza-Sanchez and Sanchez went into planning mode. They picked up extra work hours and shifts in a bid to save as much money as possible for their three daughters who would be left behind.

The mother said she told her children, This is not up to me. These things are pretty much out of my control. Theres nothing I can do. Ive done everything. You be very strong.

Staying behind are 21-year-old Melin, who has one more year of undergraduate work to complete, as well as Vianney, 23, and Elizabeth, a 16-year-old who is going to be a junior in high school.

Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The Chronicle

Vianney, a DACA recipient, will become Elizabeths legal guardian and the two will stay in the family home together until their other sister joins them. Shes ready for the task but has concerns.

Im not exactly sure how to go about raising her because Im not her mother, the 23-year-old said Wednesday at their home, as her mother sat near her crying silently.

While Elizabeth promised to help clean the house to support her older sister, she said the prospect of her parents leaving during her high school years is daunting.

I always thought that my mom would be here during high school and if I had problems I could talk to her, but shes not going to be here for that, the teenager said, wiping away tears as she held her mothers hand.

She described how Mendoza-Sanchez hired tutors and worked with her when she struggled academically a few years ago.

She helped me get to where I am now, she said. Referring to supporters of increased immigration enforcement, she said, I just want them to imagine  what if it was their family that was going through this? How would they feel?

Hamed Aleaziz is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: haleaziz@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @haleaziz
Sen. Dianne Feinstein called Thursday for the federal government to reverse the deportation of an Oakland nurse and her husband, saying their removal after more than two decades in the country revealed the cruel and arbitrary nature of President Trumps crackdown on illegal immigration.

Responding to a front-page Chronicle story about Maria Mendoza-Sanchez and Eusebio Sanchez  who plan to depart for Mexico on Tuesday with their 12-year-old son to start a new life, while leaving behind three older daughters who have legal status  Feinstein went to the familys home for an afternoon meeting to discuss their plight.

These are the kind of people we should welcome into the United States with open arms, the California Democrat said. Tearing this family apart doesnt make anyone safer, it only places incredible hardship on their three children who will remain behind, forced to navigate their lives without their parents.

A spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE, defended the deportation order, saying the familys case had gone through a lengthy review in immigration courts, and that neither of these individuals has a legal basis to remain in the U.S.

But Feinstein said the removal of Mendoza-Sanchez and her husband, despite their deep ties to the country and lack of a criminal record, exemplifies that its nearly impossible for undocumented immigrants to get right with the law when they want to do so.

The Mendoza-Sanchez family has tried for two decades to obtain legal status, said Feinstein, whose office has supported the familys efforts in the past to remain in the country. The deportation of Maria and Eusebio would be a loss for the Oakland community. The equities of their case should be given full consideration so that this family has an opportunity to stay together.

As Feinstein walked up to the familys home, she hugged Mendoza-Sanchez, who cried and said, Thank you so much. The meeting lasted about an hour, and afterward the senator said of the case, Its everything that the law ought to have some mercy with.

Feinstein said that when the Senate comes back into session in September, she will introduce what is known as a private bill in a bid to help the family gain permanent residence. But such bills are rarely signed into law, and its unclear if the move would help Mendoza-Sanchez and her husband. Feinstein said the family will probably have to leave the country now, but hopes theyll be able to return in the future.

This is a mistake, Feinstein said. This shouldnt happen.

Californias other Democratic senator, Kamala Harris, was looking into how she might intervene in the matter as well. A representative said Harris office will continue to work with the familys attorney to explore all options available to keep this family together. They deserve the opportunity to fully contribute to the country they call home.

Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, said in a statement that she also had sought to help the family. She said the presidents heartless immigration policies represent a betrayal of our core American values. I condemn this decision.

Immigration officials told Mendoza-Sanchez and her husband in May that they had three months to make arrangements to leave for Mexico, a country they last visited more than 20 years ago.

They complied, but decided the best option was to split up the family, taking along their son  who is a U.S. citizen by birth  while leaving behind daughters who are 16, 21 and 23. The two younger daughters are also U.S. citizens by birth, and their 23-year-old daughter, Vianney, is protected by the governments Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

Mendoza-Sanchez and her husband, a truck driver, own a home in Oakland and have clean criminal records. She works as a nurse in the cardiology and oncology wing of Highland Hospital in Oakland. Vianney graduated from UC Santa Cruz and their daughter, Melin, is a senior at the same university.

Before meeting with Feinstein, the family held a news conference at their home. Carl Shusterman, an immigration attorney who represents the family, said the only thing that could help the family at this point is if officials decide to stay the deportation.

It is possible, we have been asking, he said. The facts of the case have been under a rock until the last 24 hours  now everyone knows about it, and it could change.

Mendoza-Sanchez said her chief concern was to stay in the country for one more year, so she could see Melin graduate from college.

I want to be there for her because she worked so hard, she said, and I want to have the opportunity to be there when she walks up the stage after so many years of hard work and dedication.

Immigration experts and attorneys say the Mendoza-Sanchez case is symbolic of the Trump administrations decision to make nearly every immigrant in the country without documentation a priority for removal. Since February, more than 57,000 people have been ordered to leave the country  a nearly 31 percent increase over the same time period in 2016 under President Barack Obama.

The couples immigration saga began when they sneaked into the country in the early 1990s. In the early 2000s, they began an exhaustive effort to legalize their status by applying for asylum, and later they applied for green cards through the immigration courts  a nearly decadelong process that included a series of court dates and multiple appeals. They were denied in 2012.

Beginning in 2013, they were granted a pair of one-year stays before immigration officials, in 2015, informed them they didnt need stays because they were low priorities for deportation, Mendoza-Sanchez said.

Virginia Kice, an ICE spokeswoman, said this week that the agency will not exempt people from enforcement.

This administration is committed to the rule of law and to enforcing the laws established by Congress, she said. When we fail to enforce those laws, what message are we sending to the millions of people who respect that process, and are waiting outside the U.S. now for visas that will enable them to enter the country lawfully?

Mendoza-Sanchez said she hoped attention on the familys case might help other families in similar situations.

I want to make a difference in a lot of immigrant families lives, she said. Im pretty sure we are not the only family going through this. If its difficult for my kids, who are teenagers and young adults, to go through this type of situation, I cant imagine how much harder it is for younger children.

Hamed Aleaziz is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: haleaziz@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @haleaziz
The Vice President-elect also disagreed with the view that there is growing intolerance, saying Indian society is the most tolerant in the world because of its people and civilisation.

Vice President-elect Venkaiah Naidu said minorities are more safe, secure in India compared to the entire world.

By Press Trust of India: Vice President-elect M Venkaiah Naidu today rejected as "political propaganda" the view that there is a sense of insecurity among minorities in the country , apparently a rejoinder to outgoing Vice President Hamid Ansari.

Though Naidu did not name anyone, his comments are seen as a response to Ansari's remarks in a TV interview that there was unease and a sense of insecurity among Muslims in the country, and that "ambience of acceptance" is now under threat.

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"Some people are saying minorities are insecure. It is a political propaganda. Compared to the entire world, minorities are more safe and secure in India and they get their due," Naidu told PTI.

He also disagreed with the view that there is growing intolerance, saying Indian society is the most tolerant in the world because of its people and civilisation.

There is tolerance that is why democracy is so successful, he said.

The former BJP president also cautioned against creating divide in the nation by singling out one community, saying it will draw adverse reaction from other communities.

"If you single out one community, other communities will take it otherwise. That is why we say all are equal. Appeasement for none justice for all," the 68-year-leader and former Union minister said.

He said history has proved that there is no discrimination against minorities.

"They (minorities) got in prominent positions including constitutional responsibilities because there is no discrimination, and also on account of their merit," he said.

Noting that India's uniqueness is its unity in diversity, he said sarva dharm sadbhav and secularism is in the mind and blood of India.

"India is secular not because of political leaders but because of its people and civilisation," he said.

Ansari's remarks come against the backdrop of incidents of alleged intolerance and violence by self-proclaimed cow protectors, for which opposition parties have attacked the central government.

Asked about incidents of alleged intolerance, Naidu said India is a huge country and there could be some "stray" occurrences, which are "nothing but aberrations".

He, however, added that "Nobody can justify attacks on fellow citizens on the basis of community". Such incidents should be condemned and action should be taken by appropriate authorities, he said.

Naidu also said that some people blow out of proportion such incidents for political considerations. Some go to the extent of "defaming" the county by raising such issues at international forum.

Some do it to create rift between communities and derive political mileage, he said, adding the basic problem arises due to vote bank politics and due to treating a community as vote bank.

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A day before he takes oath as India's next vice president, he said his advice to politicians is not to drag communities into politics.

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Every year, they come with hand-drawn signs and printed posters, with their children and their pets. They protest the past. They pray for peace, and remember the twin atom bombs that the U.S. dropped on Japan at the end of World War II.

But this year, they mostly talked about North Korea and its escalating tensions with the White House over its nuclear missile capabilities.

On Wednesday, 200 protesters gathered outside the gates of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to commemorate the 72nd anniversary of the bomb that decimated Nagasaki, just three days after another atomic blast did the same to Hiroshima. The gathering was heavy with emotion: indignation, outrage and fear over a potential nuclear build-up. The mood was set by verbal threats unleashed by President Trump a day earlier.

On Tuesday, Trump said he would unleash fire and fury on North Korea, the likes of which the world has never seen, if Pyongyang continued to issue threats against the U.S. The president supplemented his public comments with tweets on Wednesday boasting that the U.S. nuclear arsenal is now far stronger and more powerful than ever before and that his first order as president was to renovate and modernize the weaponry.

Now Playing: Hiroshima atomic bomb survivor Takashi Tanemori recalls the events of August 6, 1945 during an annual protest outside of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory on Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2017 in Livermore, CA. Video: JW Player

It was the last thing the protesters  from elementary-school-age children carrying posters covered in glitter to the senior citizens in wheelchairs holding raging granny signs  wanted to hear.

We are here to stand with the survivors of that nuclear attack, but we are also here to stop the next nuclear war before it starts, said Marylia Kelley, executive director of Tri-Valley CAREs, a small advocacy organization formed in 1983 by neighbors living near the Livermore laboratory, one of the nations hubs for nuclear weapons research.

We understand if we are ever going to rid the world of the threat of nuclear war, we need to have the total abolition of weapons, Kelley said. There are no right hands for these wrong weapons.

But putting those words to action, the demonstrators conceded, is not easy.

Livermore police officials said 47 protesters were arrested at the event on suspicion of civil disobedience.

The events speakers, including Pentagon Papers whistle-blower Daniel Ellsberg, stood on a small stage set up in the back of a pickup truck, struggling to be heard over the roar of traffic from a nearby intersection. People in the crowd clasped hands and hollered at every mention of Trumps tweets in the speeches  an ubiquitous theme.

What does it mean not to do no harm? said Janice Kirsch, a doctor and coordinator of the 350 Bay Area Speakers Bureau. You do not plan to fight a nuclear war, and you do not let people know it is possible because that is suicidal and crazy. Deterrence will not work.

Afterward, the protesters paused for a moment of silence. They closed their eyes and tipped their heads toward the sky. They breathed in the scent of damp grass and fresh-cut hay nearby. And then they marched.

Clean up Livermore was written in blue paint on one sign fashioned to look like a missile. Books not bombs read another. A woman wearing a yellow headband held a Plutonium is deadly poster. Many of the protesters, and even one lapdog, wore green tags around their necks reading, End war.

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.

Outside of the laboratorys gates, they sang, Ive been working on the missile all the live long day, and then lay prone on the street for a die-in. Volunteers traced each others bodies in white chalk. A dozen police officers in riot gear watched from the other side of the fence.

Scott Yundt of Livermore said he has come to the protest annually for 12 years. But Wednesdays felt different and unlike any other, he said.

Trumps statements are pushing us closer to the brink of a nuclear war, he said, standing on the street outside the laboratory. Theres a palpable and particular fear we are all feeling today. Conflict with North Korea and the United States is possible. I worry our president will press the nuclear button without the consent of the American people.

Barbara Milazzo, 53, of Mariposa held a framed sign bearing the words Peace is Patriotic. In 1986, she walked from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., with the sign to advocate for peace. She said she was upset the sign had a tangible use again.

The threats Trump made were chilling last night, she said. He is so capable of pushing that button. We are closer to nuclear winter than we have ever been since World War II. Just thinking about it despairs me. Im thinking, was that the last time I saw my daughter? Have I told my friends and family that I love them?

She paused, taking in the sight of the protesters gathered outside the gates.

This is the most we can do, Milazzo said. We are using our voices to protest. The rest is out of our control.

Lizzie Johnson is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: ljohnson@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @LizzieJohnsonnn
An explosive lawsuit against former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, filed by early investor Benchmark Capital, alleges gross mismanagement and other misconduct that threaten the value of its investment in Uber. The suit says Kalanick committed fraud to retain control of Ubers board and seeks to have him kicked off the board and pay unspecified damages.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Delaware Chancery Court, alleges that Kalanick  who co-founded ride-hailing company Uber in San Francisco, built it into the worlds most valuable private technology company, and still owns about 10 percent of its stock and 16 percent of its voting power  committed fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and breach of contractual obligations.

Such open conflict is rare in the clubby world of Silicon Valley. Venture capital firms strive to maintain an image of being friendly to startup founders, resolving disagreements behind closed doors. But Benchmark itself has investors  limited partners who could take action if Benchmark didnt act to protect their interests. And with Uber valued at $70 billion, fortunes are at stake.

Under Kalanicks watch, Uber experienced a pervasive culture of gender discrimination and sexual harassment and alleged(ly) harbored trade secrets stolen from a competitor, the suit claims.

A spokesman for Kalanick said the lawsuit is completely without merit and riddled with lies and false allegations. ... Benchmarks lawsuit is a transparent attempt to deprive Travis Kalanick of his rights as a founder and shareholder and to silence his voice regarding the management of the company he helped create.

Benchmark and Uber declined to comment.

If the allegations in the complaint are supported by the evidence, then Travis Kalanick has a very, very serious problem, said Joe Grundfest, a professor at Stanford Law School and former commissioner at the Securities and Exchange Commission. Potentially the proof could be quite easy, he said. Much of the information in the complaint is already in the public record now but wasnt known earlier, Grundfest said. All (Benchmark) would have to do is demonstrate that Kalanick knew about these problems at the times he requested various consents from the directors and didnt disclose them.

In other words, it comes down to who knew what when, he said.

Kalanick was ousted as Ubers CEO in June by Benchmark and other investors after the company was rocked by months of legal and ethical scandals, including allegations of a hostile workplace culture and a lawsuit by Alphabets Waymo alleging that Uber stole self-driving trade secrets. Kalanick had already taken a temporary leave after the recent death of his mother in a boating accident. But press reports said Kalanick was angling to return to lead Uber, just as Steve Jobs did years after being forced out of Apple.

The lawsuit makes it crystal clear that Benchmark  which owns 13 percent of Ubers stock and controls a fifth of its voting power  wants to make sure Kalanick never again assumes a leadership role.

Kalanicks overarching objective is to pack Ubers board with loyal allies in an effort to insulate his prior conduct from scrutiny and clear the path for his eventual return as CEO  all to the detriment of Ubers stockholders, employees, driver-partners and customers, the suit said.

In 2016, Kalanick worked to secure his position by rigging the board, the suit charges. He orchestrated a plan to expand the board from eight to 11 seats, giving himself the sole right to pick the new directors. When he resigned, he assured Benchmark that two of those three directors would be independent and subject to approval by other board members, according to the suit. Kalanick named himself to one of the three new board seats after he had to relinquish the seat reserved for the CEO, and refused to honor his commitments regarding the board seats, the suit charges.

Benchmark partner Bill Gurley was a longtime Uber board member and at one point a close confidant of Kalanick. According to news reports, the two fell out, with Gurley pushing for his resignation as CEO. Still, he remained publicly supportive. On the day Kalanick stepped down, Gurley tweeted, There will be many pages in the history books devoted to (Kalanick)  very few entrepreneurs have had such a lasting impact on the world.

Gurley left the Uber board after Kalanicks resignation and was replaced by another Benchmark partner, Matt Cohler. Cohler and Benchmark partner Peter Fenton had flown to Chicago to deliver a letter from investors to Kalanick urging his resignation, the New York Times reported in June.

By filing suit without public support from any other Uber shareholders or board members, Benchmark is revealing a huge split on Ubers board, said San Francisco lawyer Steve Hirschfeld, who is not involved in the case.

Normally these kinds of skirmishes are dealt with quietly and discreetly behind the scenes, he said. There must be a level of dysfunction on the board that they cant repair at this point. Benchmarks only way to get leverage is to file a lawsuit with scintillating allegations.

Robert Bartlett, a UC Berkeley law professor and co-director of the Berkeley Center for Law, Business and the Economy, said the lawsuit paints a picture of a company that Travis basically was ruling without a lot of direct oversight by the board. Its an indictment of the governance of Uber.

The suit rehashes much of Ubers annus horribilis, laying the blame for the scandals directly on Kalanick and saying that his misstatements and omissions sought to conceal his gross mismanagement from Benchmark and Ubers board.

The suit details several of the scandals:

Waymo vs. Uber lawsuit. Kalanick assured the board that Ubers $680 million acquisition of self-driving truck startup Otto would be transformative for Uber. Otto was started by former Waymo star engineer Anthony Levandowski, who now stands accused of having purloined trade secrets from Waymo to bring to Uber  the basis of a trade-secret-theft lawsuit Waymo filed against Uber, which is set for an October trial.

Recent public disclosures suggest that Kalanick apparently knew before (buying Otto) that Levandowski had improperly taken information from Waymo, the suit says. Waymos lawsuit presents significant legal, financial and reputational risks to Uber  risk that could have been reduced or avoided if Kalanick had disclosed critical facts about his own apparent knowledge at the time of the Otto acquisition.

India rape. An Uber driver was convicted of raping an passenger in India in 2014. After the rape victim sued Uber, the companys senior executives, including Kalanick, allegedly obtained and reviewed a medical report of the rape victim in an effort to discredit her claims, the suit says.

Sexual harassment and gender discrimination. After engineer Susan Fowler wrote a blog post about Ubers aggressive workplace culture, the company commissioned an external investigation.

Kalanick already knew and facilitated the pervasive cultural issues at issue, the suit said. A 2013 memo from Kalanick advised employees on rules for having sex with each other at a company event in Miami, according to the Recode news website.

Greyball. Uber used technology called Greyball to trick authorities investigating the company, according to a March New York Times article. Kalanick knew of the Greyball program but didnt tell the board anything about it, the suit says.

The lawsuit and the board schism it reveals dont bode well for Ubers attempts to hire a new CEO.

Uber is still a phenomenal opportunity, an unbelievable global brand, even if its now somewhat tarnished, Hirschfeld said. In theory, a lot of people would love to take a shot as the CEO, but its very hard to recruit a new CEO if you dont have the entire board behind you.

Carolyn Said is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer.

Email: csaid@sfchronicle.com
My immigrant Chinese grandmother loved Bob Barker.

Every weekday morning, shed turn on the television in time for The Price Is Right game show. We were thrilled when the prizes were unveiled in the final round. A new car! wed shout together  one of the phrases she knew how to say in English. What could symbolize the abundance and fortune of America more than a big, shiny, brand-new car?

Shed come here after her husband had passed away, to help take care of me, my brother and my sister while my parents worked. My parents had arrived in the 1960s to attend graduate school on science and engineering fellowships. My mother wanted to feed the world, and my father dreamed of designing towers. Eventually, they became U.S. citizens and petitioned to bring my grandmother.

But she didnt speak English and had left school after getting married, which would have been strikes against her in the new merit based immigration plan backed by President Trump.

In an attempt to cut legal immigration by half, the plan gives priority to those who speak English and have advanced degrees, among other factors.

While citizens could still apply to bring spouses and minor children here, the plan would get rid of preferences for siblings and adult children. Ive drawn much strength, encouragement and inspiration from my immigrant aunts, uncles and cousins, who have contributed greatly to this country, working in technology, science, health care, business and law, and taking part in their communities.

Under the proposal, older parents could come on renewable temporary visas for caretaking, but what of the families who might need a brother or sister to help instead? Besides, my grandmother taught me so much about love and sacrifice long after my childhood. After graduating from college and while working at my first newspaper job in Los Angeles, I spent many weekends getting dim sum with her; by then, shed moved in with my aunt. I started piecing together family history and felt more deeply connected to my ancestral culture, which helped inform my writing as a journalist and novelist, and opened my heart and mind beyond our borders  all of which would have been denied to me if my grandmother hadnt been able to settle here.

At present, slightly more than a million immigrants are granted green cards each year, mostly to relatives of citizens, while 140,000 are sponsored by employers. The proposal is the administrations latest attack against immigrants and the children of immigrants, blaming us for stealing jobs, lowering wages and straining public resources, and making the specious argument that the plan puts needs of American families first.

In the eyes of Trump and his supporters, families like ours arent American  or not American enough. Those viewed as eternal foreigners get turned into scapegoats, as in the case of the Chinese Exclusion Act or the imprisonment of Japanese Americans in World War II, and this plan is more of the same.

The president is trying to cover up his incoherent attempts at economic reform with his calls for a wall along the Mexican border, the Muslim travel ban, and now these proposed cuts.

Experts along the political spectrum say that enacting the plan would hurt the economy. We need low-skilled workers, in restaurant kitchens, the vineyards or elsewhere, and immigrant consumers help expand the economy, paying for goods and services.

Stuart Anderson, the executive director of the National Foundation for American Policy and a former senior immigration official under President George W. Bush, told the New York Times that theres a rationale for increasing the number of green cards to people with the skills that American employers want to hire. But theres no reason that cant be accomplished without still allowing people to bring family members in, he said. This is more of a political rationalization for just cutting out family categories.

The words best and brightest will have one less reason to stay, if they cant sponsor their extended family, and America will lose out if they return to their country of origin with the expertise they developed on our shores.

Alex Toms immigrant grandparents helped raise him and his siblings while his parents worked long hours at their small business. These are American values  to unite families and keep families together, said Tom, executive director of the Chinese Progressive Association, a Chinatown advocacy group that organizes low-income workers. Its contradictory to cut that in half.

A half that America would be poorer for without.

Vanessa Hua is a Bay Area author. Her columns appear Fridays in Datebook. Email: datebook@sfchronicle.com
Biking near an East Bay waterfront one recent weekend, Chronicle Managing Editor Michael Gray looked up and saw a reminder of work: William Randolph Hoist, painted on top of a lifting device for boats.

Research revealed that this was at Keefe Kaplan Maritime, a full-service boatyard with offices in Richmond and Sausalito. Our owners have a big sense of humor, said Marianne Armand, head of marketing for the company. The companys other equipment in Richmond includes Ella Liftgerald and Ed Crane. A hoist in Sausalito is labeled the Hauly Greengiant.

As to official family reaction to the tribute, chairman of the board of the Hearst corporation (which owns this newspaper) William Randolph Hearst III, said it seems OK, but it sounds a little more like the New York pronunciation of Grandpas name.

As Ryan Kosts story revealed, the Miniature Book Fair is at the Marriott Oakland City Center from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 13. The books, of course, are art objects. But Mark Aronoff suggests they are also practical, for filling your Millennium Tower bookshelves, so when they slide off onto your head you dont get a concussion.

A friend told Matt Regan that a colleague threw her under the boss.

And with buses/bosses in mind, Max de Frost suggests a Muni art festival competition, the winners of which would design full films to cover buses and create the most beautiful buses in the world ... with discreet underwriter credit spaces clearly visible on each bus. ... Imagine what this tech-heavy, artist-rich city could produce.

Fifty years after the Summer of Love, in this, the Summer of Meh Punctuated by Threat of Nuclear Annihilation, thank goodness for the civilizing influence of public pianos. Yountville has an outdoor piano in front of its City Hall and library, and come Aug. 18 at 11 a.m., thanks to music- and civic-minded Bill Ryan, a street piano on wheels will be installed in St. Helenas Lyman Park, next to City Hall. The piano will be played on Fridays and Saturdays through October. The first pianist up is Mike Greensill.

It takes a village: Ryan thanks Barbara Lyle for donating the piano, and Terry Miller for tuning it; contractor Rodney Friedrich, who built an undercarriage to make transportation easier; Dave Lider, who moved it; and Bob Beckstrom and a team from Pacific Union Realty who will be moving it outside every day and then dragging it inside. Ryan will house it in his garage through the winter.

If it wags its tail:

From a notice received this week about National Dog Day on Aug. 26: According to a study by the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA), the worlds leading and largest funeral service association, one-third of Americans would be extremely interested or interested in having a therapy dog present at a funeral service.

Meanwhile, Tom Walton forwards word that some Bay Area VIPs will participate in a Dog-Food Eating Contest at Pet Food Express on Blossom Hill in San Jose at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 12. The dog food to be eaten, says the company, is made of USDA meats and is fit for human consumption. Nonprofit shelters will reap some financial benefits from the proceeds of this event. As to the reputation benefits of a VIP who eats dog food, those may be negligible.

Deadline/Hollywood reports that Courtney Love, James Jagger, son of Mick, and Kelvin Harrison Jr. have signed on as cast members in a biographical movie about literary persona JT LeRoy, the writer conjured by American author Laura Albert. The film, directed by Justin Kelly, is based on the book Girl Boy Girl: How I Became JT LeRoy, written by Savannah Knoop, who made public appearances as LeRoy while Albert was doing the writing.

It isnt clear what roles the three additions to the cast will be playing, but theyre not the leads. Laura Dern is playing Albert; Kristen Stewart is Knoop; Diane Kruger is playing a French actress who brings LeRoy to Paris, then helps the writer get a film deal. Early reports in Variety connected James Franco with the project, but his name isnt mentioned in recent stories.

Although Albert and Knoop lived in San Francisco, the film is being shot in Toronto. Albert says her own book about her experiences will be out at around the same time as the movie.

Leah Garchik is open for business in San Francisco, (415) 777-8426. Email: lgarchik@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @leahgarchik

Public Eavesdropping

Man No. 1: I wish I had brought my parasol. Man No. 2: Thank you very much for not bringing your parasol.

Man to man on a hot day on the Sonoma Recreation Trail, overheard by Bob Coulter
Two entities that seem like they should be on the same page  a coalition of environmental groups and a plant-based food company  are at odds.

And the flash point is a veggie burger.

Impossible Foods in Redwood City is facing scrutiny about the safety of a key ingredient in its trademark Impossible Burger, commonly known as the veggie burger that bleeds.

In a letter published Thursday, the companys CEO and founder, Patrick Brown, lashed out at media coverage that he said misrepresented how food safety regulation works and falsely implied that Impossible Foods was trying to evade U.S. Food and Drug Administration enforcement.

We did everything as responsibly as we possibly could, Brown said in an interview. We went through every practice that is used by anyone to assess the safety of a new protein in the system.

The ingredient in question is bioengineered soy leghemoglobin, which gives the Impossible Burger its bloody red hue and meat-like flavor. The controversy arose on Tuesday when the New York Times published an article highlighting correspondence between the FDA and Impossible Foods that environmental groups say indicates that the protein had not met the agencys approval before going to market about a year ago. Brown said the company has followed all safety regulations for its plant-based burger and has been conducting extra voluntary safety testing since 2014.

The dustup demonstrates how environmental advocates and food technology startups can clash even when they share many larger sustainability goals. A Stanford biochemistry professor emeritus, Brown said he founded the company to reduce the environmental impact of the food system. But the companys use of biotechnology  the soy leghemoglobin is produced through genetic engineering  has brought both positive and negative attention.

Currently our FDA, EPA and USDA regulations are falling behind the very quickly moving development of new technologies, and one of the ways that our regulatory agencies are falling behind is they are not assessing the process of genetically engineering these ingredients, said Dana Perls of Friends of the Earth, one of the groups that raised concerns about Impossible Foods safety testing.

Unlike drug companies, food companies are not required to seek approval from the FDA when they debut a new product. But Brown said that because its soy leghemoglobin  what the company calls heme for short  is unfamiliar to the public and comes from a protein in the root of a soy plant that is generally not eaten, it decided to do extra testing.

Its not just (about) safety, but our responsibility to be transparent to consumers about whats in our product, why its in our product and everything we know about it that they might care about, said Brown, who added that he is an advocate for transparency as the co-founder of Public Library of Science, which makes access to scientific research open-source.

Though soy leghemoglobin is molecularly identical to the heme in meats and vegetables, Brown said, the company tested the protein in the lab to see whether it had any similarities with known allergens. They then sent the results to a panel that included faculty from a food allergy research center at the University of Nebraska, which found the protein safe for humans to eat.

Later, Impossible Foods voluntarily submitted the test results to the FDA in the hope of earning a status called Generally Recognized as Safe, or GRAS. Few traditional food companies make that extra effort, although San Franciscos Hampton Creek announced this week that a mung-bean protein it plans to use in a scrambled-egg replacement just received GRAS status from the FDA.

Gabrielle Lurie / The Chronicle 2016

The FDA did not grant that status to Impossible Foods heme in 2015. At the time, the organization wrote that it believes that the arguments presented, individually and collectively, do not establish the safety of SLH (soy leghemoglobin) for consumption, according to documents obtained by Friends of the Earth and the environmental and food safety groups ETC and Consumers Union, through a Freedom of Information request, and shared with the media.

In a joint statement, the groups argued that the company should have waited to debut the Impossible Burger if the FDA still had questions about the testing process.

Impossible Foods raised more than $250 million in funding from the likes of Bill Gates, with a new 67,000-square-foot Oakland factory scheduled to open this fall. The burger is now served in over 40 restaurants.

An Impossible Foods spokeswoman said that the FDA told the company at the time that the industry standard was to perform animal testing, something the company had initially avoided because of animal welfare concerns  after all, it is a veggie-burger company. But it eventually proceeded with testing the product on rats, giving them enough heme to reach the equivalent of 200 times what an average American eats daily in ground beef to no ill effects, Brown said.

The rat tests came back clean as a whistle, Brown said.

The rise of food technology companies centered in the Bay Area has brought the food regulation system under scrutiny, especially because it allows companies to conduct their own testing.

We need to overhaul our regulations, said Perls of Friends of the Earth. We need the FDA to be fully in charge of food safety. We need objective third-party assessments.

Brown said the groups objections are more about the use of biotechnology than the product itself.

The vast majority of their effort is an antiscience, anti-GMO crusade, Brown said. Their strategy has tended to be to try to effectively take down any company that is using biotechnology by whatever means they can come up with.

Impossible Foods had its expert panel approve its latest animal tests and will submit the new testing data to the FDA later this month. If the FDA has no questions, the process will be final.

Tara Duggan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tduggan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @taraduggan
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New Belgium Brewing Company of Fort Collins, Colo., has agreed to purchase the assets of San Franciscos Magnolia Brewing out of bankruptcy for $2.7 million.

Magnolia founder Dave McLean filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in late 2015. Since then, his two San Francisco breweries have remained open, but the future of the 20-year-old company remained unclear.

Dave and Magnolia are great friends of ours, New Belgium founder Kim Jordan said. Theyre venerable in San Francisco and have a lot of heritage.

Citing the recent sale of San Franciscos Anchor Brewing to Japanese brewery Sapporo, Jordan said: I just think its a really sweet opportunity for Dave, for us, and for the craft brewing community to do something like this.

Magnolias two brewpubs will remain open for business. Jordan said shes not sure whether the new owners will seek to increase production. The current capacity of Magnolias Dogpatch brewery is 30 barrels, and the Haight brewerys a mere 7 barrels.

New Belgium, meanwhile, produces about 1 million barrels annually, as of this year. Perhaps best known for its Fat Tire ale, the company has breweries in Colorado and Asheville, N.C., though Jordan  who lives part-time in San Francisco  said she has long considered a permanent move to California.

The Brewers Association defines craft breweries as those that produce under 6 million barrels per year. New Belgium is 100 percent employee owned, Jordan said.

Dick Cantwell, founder of Elysian Brewing, a Seattle craft brewer acquired by AB InBev in 2015, will join as Magnolias new head brewer. He will work alongside McLean, who now becomes a Magnolia employee, to oversee brewing.

Belgian brewery Oud Beersel, known for its lambic beers, has also been named a partner in this deal. The goal, said New Belgiums Bryan Simpson, is that Oud Beersel could eventually collaborate with Cantwell and McLean on spontaneously fermented beers under the Magnolia label.

Jordan said shes not counting out more acquisitions by New Belgium, though they might wait a bit. We think well spend at least a little time savoring this and enjoying it, she added.

Esther Mobley is The San Francisco Chronicles wine, beer and spirits writer. Email: emobley@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Esther_mobley Instagram: @esthermob
To talk about the story of Wind River doesnt tell you much about why its a superior movie. The story deals with a murder on an Indian reservation and an FBI investigation by an agent from out of town, and if youve made it this far into the sentence, I congratulate you, because I might have stopped either at the Indian reservation or the part about the FBI. Wind River sounds like the usual thing, but its not.

Yes, the story here performs its function. Its interesting and at times even exciting and suspenseful, but its emotional effect has much to do with the characters and our investment in them. Taylor Sheridan, who wrote screenplays for Sicario and Hell and High Water, wrote and directed this with an unmistakable commitment to the place and the people he was depicting. He takes us somewhere. We learn the customs, and the world, and the weary philosophy that everyone seems to share, and come away almost feeling as if weve been there, or that these people and places have somehow become part of our interior landscape.

The movie is set in Wyoming, on an Indian reservation during the winter, at a time when everything isnt just covered in snow, but practically buried in it. Everyone is slowed down. Going outside requires preparation and proper clothing. Walking is difficult. Driving is dangerous and complicated. So what looks peaceful from a distance actually is perilous, and everything awful in human nature that you might expect to be suppressed by the temperature and the landscape is just bottled up and looking for ways to explode.

A young womans body is found in the snow, miles from shelter. Her feet are bare and frostbitten, and she has died from something most of us have never heard of, a process by which the lungs crystallize and hemorrhage from the cold. An autopsy reveals that she was raped, so she was running from something. Jeremy Renner plays the hunter and tracker who finds her body, and it turns out that he knew her. She was a friend of his daughter, who died two years earlier and in pretty much the same way.

If this sounds like a crazy coincidence, a contrivance of the plot, it actually speaks to something far worse. Native American women have the highest rates of rape and assault in the country. So its not far-fetched that two girls who knew each other might suffer the same horrible fate.

Graham Greene plays the local police chief, but he has only a handful of officers tasked with policing an area the size of Rhode Island. So the FBI is brought in, but, inevitably, its just one agent, young and practically in training wheels, who knows nothing about Indian reservations or even cold weather. But as played by Elizabeth Olsen, shes tough and wants to do a good job.

Most of the movie deals with the tracker and the agent and their collaboration to find the person responsible. The plot gives the story propulsion, and there is never a sense of things slowing down, and yet Sheridan finds time to expand into the characters lives. Renners performance isnt so much about presenting a certain kind of professional or illustrating a certain kind of person within a certain kind of environment as it is about presenting a portrait in grief. Better still, its a portrait in living with grief and having it transform, in the words of Aeschylus, into wisdom, through the awful grace of God.

Renner is moving in this, and Olsen has a nice contained ferocity, which is a good and unsentimental choice for the character. But in some of the supporting and featured roles, there are stray moments that are hit too hard, that take Wind River into the realm of melodrama and almost past it, into absurdity. This is probably just a consequence of Taylors directing his own material and having no buffer between his impulses and what appears on screen.

All the same, Wind River is an impressive effort and an impressive result that opens up a world that most of us have never thought about and renders it with sorrow and vividness.

Mick LaSalle is The San Francisco Chronicles movie critic. Email: mlasalle@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @MickLaSalle

Wind River

Drama. Starring Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen. Directed by Taylor Sheridan. (R. 107 minutes.)
In the foreign policy aspect, Bangladesh has been referred to as the main development partner of India under the Narendra Modi government in Uday Mahurkar's book 'Marching With A Billion'.

By Sahidul Hasan Khokon: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sent a letter to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Indian High Commissioner Harsh Vardhan Shringla in Bangladesh handed over a letter to Sheikh Hasina at the Prime Minister's Office and a copy of the book 'Marching With a Billion' written on the assessment of Modi's government.

Prime Minister's Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim told reporters, but he did not say anything about the contents of the letter.

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In a press release of the Indian High Commission, the book 'Marching With a Billion', written by senior editor and political analyst Uday Mahurkar of Weekly India Today, various issues including infrastructure, foreign affairs, power and energy, social sector, financial, agriculture, digital technology progress have been reviewed from the three years of the Modi government.

In the foreign policy aspect, Bangladesh has been referred to as the main development partner of India under the Narendra Modi government. It also mentions the praise and recognition of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's zero tolerance policy against terrorism. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been given importance fer her exceptional leadership and cooperation in implementing the successful bilateral agreement between the two countries.

The Prime Minister said that the book will be a timely sight of progress and achievement of the world's largest democracy and India will be the champion of regional development under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In the meeting, High Commissioner Harsh Vardhan Shringla mentioned the implementation and progress of the MoU and agreement signed during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's India visit in April last. He appreciated the high level of view exchange of the two Prime Ministers to keep bilateral relations, dynamic for mutual cooperation between the two countries. The Prime Minister said this while expressing satisfaction over the progress of bilateral relations.

After the Indian High Commissioner, German parliamentarian Hans-Peter Woohi courtesy called on the Prime Minister. During this time, Hans Peter mentioned the strong relationship between the two countries.

During the visit of Sheikh Hasina to Munich this year, she mentioned the MoU signed between the two countries for e-passports. The Prime Minister expressed hope for the quick implementation of this project.

Also Read:

Teesta Agreement expected during Sheikh Hasina-Narendra Modi tenure

India gives scholarship worth Rs 35 crore to children of freedom fighters in Bangladesh

--- ENDS ---
The Bay Areas housing crisis is on full display in the tiny city of Brisbane.

Following two-plus hours of impassioned public comment on Monday night, the Brisbane City Council chose to delay, again, a crucial vote on allowing a proposed mixed-use development of office, retail space, and  most controversially  housing.

Close to a job-rich corridor, the proposed development would allow residents easy access to work and opportunities for consumption and recreation at home. The revenue from the development would fill Brisbanes tax coffers. Because the proposal includes more than 4,000 homes, apartments and condominiums, it would also lessen the incredible pressure on the regions housing stock.

But the proposed development would bring big changes to Brisbane. The plan would more than triple the citys population over the next 30 years.

Change is hard, and Brisbane residents dont want it.

Just 16 percent of Brisbane residents wanted to see the Baylands parcel developed as housing, in a recent city-commissioned study.

At Monday nights meeting, angry residents offered now-familiar antidevelopment tropes about how a development would ruin their homes and the character of their communities. They said other cities  not theirs  had the responsibility to deal with the housing crisis.

These sentiments, repeated over the course of generations, are a large part of the reason for the Bay Areas housing crisis.

Brisbane residents may resent hearing this from outsiders, but its true. Thats why so many outsiders, from state legislators to business groups to struggling young renters, have urged the council to approve the development.

The Brisbane city council has a decision to make. Does it want to carry on with short-term, popular policies that have failed the entire Bay Area? Or does it want to be brave enough to welcome new residents into its community? The right choice isnt easy, but it is clear.

This commentary is from The Chronicles Editorial Board. We invite you to express your views in a letter to the editor. Please submit your letter via our online form: SFChronicle.com/letters.
President Trump took office well aware of the opioid scourge, blamed for killing nearly 150 people a day. He followed through by naming a commission to come up with suggestions to curb addiction and overdose deaths tied to the drugs.

But hes now snubbing the panels advice for more research and rehab work plus a declaration of a national emergency aimed at focusing attention and more money at the highly addictive painkillers.

In his tired and predictable way, hes assigning blame to his predecessor, who Trump feels didnt do enough. The rest of his reaction isnt much better: People should stay off drugs, and law enforcement should crack down on dealers. Its warmed-over Just Say No and a renewed war on drugs. Those two approaches havent worked and do nothing for those already hooked or cash-strapped treatment budgets.

His approach restates the obvious and offers little for drug users. If they dont start, they wont have a problem. If they do start, its awfully tough to get off, Trump said. Its a wonder if he even read his own commissions work.

Trump passed on the commissions call for a national emergency. That step may be more symbolic than substantial, but it would give emphasis where its needed. Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, who was at the presidents side during remarks with reporters, said the declaration wasnt necessary.

The presidents shallow advice and lack of leadership turns the problem back to states and cities to solve.

Localities such as San Francisco are weighing injection centers where addicts may be able to shoot up safely. Police are studying whether officers should be equipped with the quick-acting drug naloxone to counteract overdoses. Congress could get in the act by widening Medicaid to pay for treatment.

These ideas come with costs and risks that a president should explore. But this president is going the opposite way: Form a committee, offer a few words, and then shelve the results. The cures for a continuing opioid crisis wont come from the Trump White House anytime soon.

This commentary is from The Chronicles Editorial Board. We invite you to express your views in a letter to the editor. Please submit your letter via our online form: SFChronicle.com/letters.
Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis has revoked the rights to the Shelton Theaters production of his The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, citing the shows script cuts, which violate federal copyright law, as well as the theaters response after he found out about the cuts.

The drama, produced by and starring Matt Shelton and directed by Richard Ciccarone, was scheduled to run through Saturday, Aug. 12, at the 74-seat Union Square venue, one of two spaces the Shelton operates at 533 Sutter. The Shelton cut a script that runs two to three hours down to 80 minutes, pared the cast down to nine actors (the Public Theaters 2005 premiere used 15; a La MaMa production in New York this year used 29) and also moved a monologue. After Guirgis issued a cease and desist order Saturday, Aug. 5, the shows four remaining performances were canceled. (This story was originally reported by Arts Integrity Initiative.)

Writing on his Facebook page, Guirgis says he found out about unauthorized changes to the text from his licensing house, Dramatists Play Service. Though he would have been fully within his rights to shut the play down immediately, he initially chose to allow the show to continue, provided the theater add large visible inserts to their programs, according to a letter he sent Shelton and Ciccarone on Aug. 1, which he later shared on Facebook. (Guirgis could not be reached in time for comment.) Those inserts were to read, The play you are seeing tonight has been improperly and extensively cut & edited. These edits and cuts were made without permission, against the wishes of the playwright, and in violation of Federal Copyright Law.

The letter continues: Put in the inserts. Or close the play. Your choice.

When Aren Haun and his wife, Sheila, went to the show on Thursday, Aug. 3, they saw that note in the program with the word Warning, in red capital letters, underlaying Guirgis text. My wife and I almost left before the show, Haun says over the phone. But they didnt, partly because they knew one of the actors in the cast.

The next morning, Haun, whos also a playwright, posted photographs of the program to a playwrights group on Facebook. It seemed so absurd, it seemed so extreme, that someone needed to say something about it, he says.

Commenting on Hauns post, Guirgis wrote, now i see they put a stupid WARNING thing over the statement i asked them include  and it looks more like marketing (oh, warning! something taboo)  rather than an admission of fault on their part.

After Shelton didnt immediately respond and apologize, Guirgis revoked the rights.

In an interview at the Hotel Rex across from the theater on Tuesday, Aug. 8, Shelton, who says he doesnt use Facebook, seemed shell-shocked by both the chain of events and the social media backlash it spawned.

When I read (the play), I saw something beautiful in it that spoke to me, he says, in the story of an imagined trial for the disciple Judas Iscariot, and particularly in the question, Can we forgive ourselves? (The irony is not lost on Shelton that this whole debacle unfolded around a play about a character famous for betrayal, especially since Shelton played the part of Satan in the show.)

I thought it would be a great piece to do, and I was excited to do it, and I made the horrible mistake of not asking permission to adapt it freely, he says. That was foolish on my part, and Im deeply sorry that I hurt (Guirgis) and I hurt others, including my cast. They got roasted on Facebook unfairly. It was totally my decision. Shelton says that although Ciccarone decided which cuts to make, I was the one who asked him to. As for the addition of the warning label, Shelton says he never intended to mock Guirgis; that was an effort to set off the insert as a special thing, an effort he now describes as dumb, a miscommunication.

From when he first read the play, Shelton knew he would need to truncate it to produce it, not because of timing constraints, even though the Shelton often performs two shows per night in its venues. (A typical bill features play first and then improv or comedy as a late show.) But hes produced the lengthy A Streetcar Named Desire before, making that work by starting at 7 p.m. The main issue with Judas Iscariot was cast size.

Shelton, whos part of a longtime Bay Area theater family  hes the son of renowned acting teacher Jean Shelton  knew he was violating copyright law; hes been at the Sheltons helm since 1993. I didnt reach out to the writer  to ask for permission to make changes  because I didnt have the status. I was afraid of his status.

He went ahead anyway. I thought I was so under the radar, so basement theater. As some of my colleagues have mentioned, Hey, youre no longer just hidden. Youre a known theater. I never saw it that way. Im still down there taking out the trash, doing the sets, I acted in the show  Im doing everything.

Shelton says that he and Guirgis resolved the matter amicably. Still, it was painful to be humiliated publicly and really viciously, he continues. Its like, I worked for 25 years in a basement. Im still there. I dedicated my life to it, to telling stories, to helping others tell stories. ... And if the theater community is throwing stones at each other, were deep, deep in a bad way. With the state of the world, where we are, we need to be helping each other, lifting each other up.

Of course, playwrights, no matter how widely known they are, are vulnerable, too: to having their creative vision and their legal rights violated. That, for Shelton, was the lesson. I didnt get that. I didnt understand that fully, he says.

Lily Janiak is The San Francisco Chronicles theater critic. Email: ljaniak@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @LilyJaniak
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Before you say, Who needs another version of Get Shorty?, take a gander at the 10-episode adaptation of Elmore Leonards sublime novel premiering on the Epix subscription channel on Sunday, Aug. 13. Its a beaut.

The credits for the Epix Shorty make it clear that the series is based in part on Leonards novel, which is not only true, it also explains why aspects of the show wont begin to revive your memories of the 1995 film. For one thing, Chili Palmer is nowhere in sight. Instead, meet Miles Daly (Chris ODowd), a hitman for a ruthless, bejeweled casino owner named Amara de Escalones (Lidia Porto). Miles and his partner, Louis Darnell (Sean Bridgers) get their hands on a movie script written by a suddenly deceased screenwriter who owed a lot of money to Amara. Miles gets the idea that they could get the movie made and use it as a way of laundering money for Amara. Amara likes the scheme and wonders if they can get John Stamos for the lead. She likes John Stamos.

They take the script to Rick Moreweather (Ray Romano), a Hollywood bottom-feeder who specializes in cheap, grade Z movies.

Along the way, there are lots of inconveniences, including a rivalry between Amaras operation and a gang looking to muscle in on Amaras territory because the feds are watching her every move. Amaras box-of-rocks nephew, Yago (Goya Robles), inadvertently lets gang members into the casino counting room, and gets his face bashed in while the bad guys abscond with $50,000 in receipts.

Miles is also struggling in his personal life. His long-suffering wife, Katie (Lucy Walters), would like to raise their daughter, Emma (Carolyn Dodd), in a household where dads business can never be discussed.

While creator Davey Holmes takes plot and character liberties throughout the three episodes sent to critics for review, he preserves the dark comic sensibility of Leonards vision. The Epix series becomes a neo-Nathanael West satire of the film industry, which, of course, is as ruthless and immoral as the crime business.

The performances are sublime. ODowds con-artist likability smooths over some of the overly convenient plot points in Holmes script. Romano, Bridgers and Robles are unforgettable in their respective roles.

But for my money, Lidia Porto steals the show. Sashaying around dusty Pahrump, Nev., with a fur throw tossed over her Joan Crawford shoulders, turquoise jewelry around her neck and on most of her garishly manicured fingers, her hair teased and sprayed into a dramatic cockscomb, Amara is a woman who was victimized once in her life, but only once. Porto delivers a magnificently comic performance.

Also in the magnificently comic category is the great Alan Arkin, making a cameo as Moreweathers father. Arkins son, Adam, is the shows co-executive producer, so he probably had his private number.

The premiere episode fires on all cylinders. While the second and third are very good, they plateau a bit. One reason for that is that Holmes wants us to care a lot about whether Miles can get his wife and daughter back. Keep trying, but we came for the buffet.

David Wiegand is an assistant managing editor and the TV critic of The San Francisco Chronicle. Follow him on Facebook. Email: dwiegand@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @WaitWhat_TV

Get Shorty: Comedy-drama, premieres 7 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 13, on Epix. Epix is a subscription channel available on some content providers, including AT&T U-Verse and Dish, and is available for subscription on several devices, including Apple TV, Roku, PlayStation 4, Amazon Fire, iPad and iPhone. Go to www.epix.tv to learn more.
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Mike Officer had seen this story before, and he knew how it usually ended.

Some old Zinfandel vines were about to be ripped out. These werent just any Zinfandel vines. This was Papera Ranch, a historic vineyard planted in 1934 at the corner of Santa Rosas Piner and Olivet roads. Paperas devoted longtime caretaker, Tom Feeney, had died; in 2006, Feeneys son sold the vineyard to a private real estate investment fund, ready to realize the plots full financial potential.

They were all set to tear out the Zin and plant Pinot Noir at Papera, Officer says. Because this is Russian River Valley, and Pinot Noir is what should be planted here, according to the pencil pushers.

Officer is the owner of the Carlisle Vineyard, a 90-year-old Zinfandel site just down the road from Papera. Hes become something of an evangelist for the areas old-vine vineyards.

This little neighborhood  some call it Piner-Olivet, for its main arteries  stands apart from the rest of the Pinot Noir-dominated Russian River Valley: Cooler and breezier than vineyards abutting the river along Westside and Eastside roads, Piner-Olivet was historically a stronghold for Zinfandel. In the late 19th century, it was settled by a group of families  the Pellettis, the Montafis, the Mancinis, the Barbieris, et al.  from a small town called San Pellegrinetto in the Italian province of Lucca.

Mike Officer believes these Italians now-ancient vineyards are treasures, and has tried over and over again to save these historic plots of land from dual threats: Santa Rosa residential development, and the Russian River cash crop  Pinot Noir.

The Barbieri Vineyard was rechristened as Pinot. Houses are being built where the old Gum Tree Ranch once stood. But Officer wasnt going to let Papera go without a fight. The ranch was too precious an artifact, too perfect a site for Zinfandel. Its vines, though elderly, are remarkably healthy. The wines it yields  from wineries including Carlisle, Williams Selyem, Bedrock and Novy  are extraordinary, and baldly contradict any popular notions of Zinfandel as jammy and hot. Papera Zins, rather, are juicy and floral, elegant and bright, spicy and complex. It is one of Californias great vineyards.

In the 11th hour, Officer managed to salvage Papera. A Palo Alto-based angel investor  and wine lover  named Stuart Coulson had contacted him, expressing interest in getting into the wine industry. I called him back, Officer says. And told him: You could save one of the great old-vine vineyards of the Russian River Valley. Coulson loved the idea. He acted quickly. The all-cash deal closed with a two-week escrow.

To me, its like having a beautiful work of art, or a historic building, and people just want to get rid of it, says Officer, who is a co-founder of the Historic Vineyard Society. I have to do whats right.

Now, happily for Officer, a new era is dawning on Piner-Olivet. After a series of defeats for the historic plantings, some new vintners have recently purchased properties in the area and made clear their commitment to upholding Piner-Olivets viticultural legacy.

The owner of Pinot Noir legend Williams Selyem, John Dyson, bought the Saitone vineyard last summer. A young upstart named Max Reichwage bought the historic Mancini Ranch. Zinfandel powerhouse Seghesio acquired Montafi. Beyond Piner-Olivet, but in its same spirit, winemaker Jesse Katz bought the old Ponzo property, a little ways north in the Russian River Valley.

When asked what their plans are for these properties, these newcomers all voice the same, unequivocal answer: Heck yes theyre keeping the Zin.

In implicit and explicit ways, Officer deserves much of the credit for this. His work with the Historic Vineyard Society has undoubtedly stirred a renewed interest in Californias heritage vineyards. In the cases of some Piner-Olivet properties  Papera, Saitone  Officer directly connected the right kinds of buyers with the sellers. Before Seghesio bought Montafi, Officer had leased it for an obscene amount of money, he says, to prevent the previous owners from planting Pinot there.

When he bought his own Carlisle Vineyard, in 1998, Officer beat out developers with much deeper pockets because he was able to convince then-owner Barbara Pelletti, whose father, Alcide, had planted the vineyard in 1927, that he would preserve her fathers vision.

Hes got nothing against Pinot Noir. Its just that Officer sees in the old vineyards of Piner-Olivet an endangered species  a link to the past that will quickly collapse under economic pressures if its defenders dont guard it carefully.

Anytime an old-vine vineyard sells, Im always concerned, says Officer. But I think producers, and now consumers, are starting to get a sense for what these vines really mean.

What, exactly, do they mean? Theyre just grapevines - and decrepit, straggly ones, at that.

The reasons why traditions stay is because of success in the past, says Jesse Katz, as of last November the owner of the Ponzo vineyard, planted in 1912. In other words, the longevity of these Zinfandel plantings testifies to their enduring appeal, impervious to any decades trends and fads.

(Ironically, Officer believes that the white Zinfandel craze in the 80s and 90s protected many of these plantings. Fruit from Montafi, Papera, Gambogi, Saitone, Barbieri and Carlisle all went into sweetish, blush-colored wines from wineries like DeLoach and Beringer. If it werent for white Zin, these vineyards wouldnt exist, Officer says.)

Katz was perhaps an unlikely suitor for Ponzo. He doesnt currently make Zinfandel; in fact, his Aperture and Devil Proof labels are tightly focused on Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec. But he was charmed by Ponzos old bones. Its made a Zinfandel maker out of him.

Likewise, Max Reichwage was not making any Zinfandel when he purchased the Mancini Ranch, near the Carlisle Vineyard, in 2014. We werent even looking for a vineyard, Reichwage says. He has his work cut out for him in renovating the 19-acre site, where at least 30 percent of the vines have died, and fruit trees  apple, pear, plum - intrude haphazardly where vines should be.

The cost-efficient way to replant would be to install trellises, todays standard method. But Reichwage has chosen to kick it old school: Hell be replanting head-trained vines, spaced 8 feet by 8 feet, mimicking the method of the original 1922 planting.

Trellises are like solar panels, says Jeff Mangahas, winemaker at Williams Selyem. Being vertical increases the efficiency of the fruit, from a sugar perspective. It leads to more sun, more evenness, more ripeness. Head-trained Zin - bush vines, the Europeans would say - is floppy, its sun exposure scattered and irregular, far less systematic in producing sugary grapes.

Williams Selyem is among Californias most famous Pinot Noir producers; less well known is the winerys longstanding interest in Russian River Zinfandel. Theyve long made a Zinfandel from Papera, and have recently begun working with Zin from the nearby Fanucchi Wood Road Vineyard. But Saitone, which the winery bought last summer, represents its first Zinfandel estate. Saitone retains some vines from its original 1895 planting.

Plantings of that era were never monovarietal  it wasnt customary to plant vineyard blocks to a single grape variety until after Repeal. So interspersed among the Zinfandel in these old fields is a cornucopia of mixed black varieties: a Mourvedre vine here, a Tempranillo vine there. Mixed black includes white grapes, too. Piner-Olivet sites have lots of Palomino, the main grape used in Sherry.

The Carlisle Vineyard, for instance, is 88 percent Zinfandel; 39 other varieties comprise the remainder. These include grapes  Ill go out on a limb here  you have never heard of: Albillo Mayor, Bouteillan Noir, Grec Rouge, Criolla Mediana Dos, Blauer Portugieser.

Officer lights up with reverence when he talks about his vineyard. Like an archaeologist piecing together the lives of an extinct population through fragments of their pottery, he finds himself excavating the farming practices, and thought processes, of the San Pellegrinetto settlers through the roots they left behind.

Was it random? Were the budders drunk? People did not keep good records, says Mike Officer. But I have a hard time believing it was all random.

In the Carlisle Vineyard, teinturiers  grapes with red, rather than clear, juice, like Alicante Bouschet and Grand Noir  are planted in the lower-lying, waterlogged areas. This must have been intentional, Officer reasons. I think Alcide Pellettis thinking was: I have this swale, its not the best soil, so Ill put teinturiers here since Im only interested in them for their color contribution. At Saitone, too, Alicante is planted more where the soils are a heavier, water-holding clay.

The preponderance of Alicante here sets Piner-Olivet apart from other old-vine Zin regions of Northern California. It makes sense: This area is cooler, so its wines would have wanted the color concentration that Alicante could provide. Similarly, theres a noticeable dearth of Carignan here, compared with other old-vine regions; Carignan is a high-acid grape, and acid is something the Piner-Olivet wines do not lack.

All over, the properties bear marks of the ties that bound the San Pellegrinetto immigrants. Every ranch in this area has the same English walnut tree, says Reichwage. And they all have the same shaped house, probably built by the same Italian carpenter.

That Reichwage will replant Mancini in the old, wide-spaced, head-trained way pleases Officer. He convinced Stuart Coulson to do the same when he renovated portions of Papera in 2009. Together, these are signs that Piner-Olivet can endure not only as a home for Zinfandel, but as a home for Zinfandel in the way that the Mancinis, Montafis, Paperas and Pellettis envisioned it.

Viewed this way, a heritage vineyard becomes so much more than a vineyard. Part of what Im doing here is trying to keep alive a way of farming thats slowly dying off, Officer says.

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Were not just preserving vineyards  were trying to preserve that culture of farming.

Esther Mobley is The San Francisco Chronicles wine, beer and spirits writer. Email: emobley@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Esther_mobley

Piner-Olivet tasting notes

Wines, especially Zinfandels, from the Piner-Olivet neighborhood of Santa Rosa show distinctive characteristics that you wont find elsewhere in the Russian River Valley appellation. These wines are lively, supple and lithe, and their cooler climate gives them mouth-watering acidity. Mike Officers 2014 Carlisle Vineyard Zin, for example, weighs in at 3.35 pH  a figure youd expect from a crisp white wine. The flavor signatures of this micro-region are bright, tart red and blue fruits: I found strawberry, raspberry, blueberry and pomegranate over and over again in these wines, juicy-ripe but never syrupy. If you associate Zin with jammy, hulking, overweight wines, think again. Piner-Olivets renditions are prime examples of what California can do best.

Carlisle Zinfandel Carlisle Vineyard Russian River Valley 2014 ($47, 15%): Mike Officer describes the signature flavor of his estate vineyard as mulberry, and its easy to see why. The bright, juicy wine perennially expresses tart red fruit  not only mulberry but also strawberry and pomegranate. In the background are graphite, blueberry, cocoa and exotic spice notes. A strong candidate for a conversion Zinfandel, if you know any skeptics who require a revelation.

Carlisle Zinfandel Russian River Valley Papera Ranch 2014 ($47, 15%): Its amazing how much powerful flavor this wine packs into such a lithe frame. Ripe bright fruits  red raspberry preserves; juicy red plum  and the flavor of licorice are lifted by a searing line of acidity.

Carlisle Red Wine Russian River Valley Two Acres 2013 ($45, 15%): This Mourvedre-dominant wine comes from a tiny, 2-acre plot in Piner-Olivet planted around 1910. It was the first vineyard Mike Officer took under his wing, before buying the Carlisle Vineyard. Though its clearly not Zin  notice that leathery, cured-meat savory character mingling with the aroma of fresh peonies  it screams Piner-Olivet, with seductive blue and red fruit notes and ultra-bright acid.

Carlisle Zinfandel Mancini Ranch Russian River Valley 2015 ($47, 15.5%): Brilliant, nearly neon magenta in the glass, Carlisles 2015 Mancini oozes pomegranate, cassis and blueberry. Tart and supple, and among Carlisles lighter-postured offerings.

Joseph Swan Zinfandel Zeigler Vineyard Russian River Valley 2012 ($34, 13%): The century-old Zeigler Vineyard, across the street from Mancini, is wild-looking, dotted with scattered, struggling vines. Much lighter and more translucent in the glass than other Zins from the area, Swans interpretation of Zeigler shows Russian River qualities more often associated with Pinot Noir: Bing cherry, sweet dried sage, terra cotta.

Joseph Swan Zinfandel Mancini Ranch Russian River Valley 2012 ($34, 12.9%): Like Swans Zeigler Zinfandel, the winerys Mancini Ranch bottling is light and earthy. It conveys the unmistakable flavor of strawberry rhubarb pie, with red cherry and forest floor notes. Very Russian River.

Hartford Zinfandel Russian River Valley Jolenes Vineyard 2014 ($60, 15.5%): From the Maffei Vineyard, planted in the 1920s; Jolenes is Hartfords amalgamation of the owners names, Joanne and Arlene. This is textbook Russian River Zin: a fruit salad of ripe strawberry and explosive juicy blueberry, zippy with bracing acidity.

Bedrock Zinfandel Russian River Valley Papera Ranch 2015 ($44.95, 14.5%): A denser vintage from Papera than 2014, with an inky texture and grippy tannins, but sacrificing none of the sites signature bright acid. The fruit is explosive, ripe and red: raspberry, rhubarb and strawberry, grounded with tobacco and sage accents.

Bedrock Zinfandel Carlisle Vineyard Russian River Valley 2015 ($44.95, 14.6%): Ripe blueberry and boysenberry mingle here with red raspberry preserves. These ultra-bright fruits are grounded by the wines brambly, graphite-laced character.

Seghesio Zinfandel Maffei Vineyard Russian River Valley 2015 ($48, 15.4% ): Showing the heft of the 2015 vintage, the currant, red plum, strawberry and blueberry flavors are ripe to the point of bursting, as if baked in a pie. This is a wine of structure, with singing acid and considerable tannins.

Seghesio Zinfandel Montafi Ranch Russian River Valley 2015 ($65, 15.4%): This is Seghesios first vintage from Montafi Ranch, which the winery recently purchased. Earthy and floral, its marked not only by bright red fruits like raspberry and cherry but also fig and a suggestion of cooling eucalyptus. Tart and zippy.

Williams Selyem Zinfandel Papera Ranch Russian River Valley 2015 ($65, 14.8%): Pungent with cumin, star anise, Asian spice and lavender, Williams Selyems 2015 Papera has at its core the red berry fruits and piercing acidity that are the signatures of this extraordinary vineyard.

Williams Selyem Zinfandel Saitone Vineyard Russian River Valley 2016 (not yet released): I tasted a barrel sample of the 2016 Saitone, the winerys first from its new estate vineyard, and found it remarkably integrated for its age. Blue fruited and high-toned, its got supple tannins, wafting floral aromas of rose and lavender.

Reichwage Carignan Mancini Ranch Russian River Valley 2016 (not yet released): Max Reichwages inaugural vintage from his estate vineyard  which I tasted from barrel  includes a wine from the sites all-Carignan block, a rarity in the Piner-Olivet area. Inspired by Joseph Swans Cotes du Rosa wine, Reichwage fermented these grapes in whole clusters. The result is a grippy, fresh mouthfeel, its red fruits anchored by earthy notes of terra cotta and brick.
Ron Chapple/Getty Image

A man survived a terrifying ordeal Wednesday morning in the Portola neighborhood of San Francisco when three men broke into his home in broad daylight, tied him up and robbed him, police said.

The three intruders woke the 60-year-old victim as he slept in his home on the 500 block of Hamilton Street about 11:14 a.m. and demanded he hand over his belongings, according to the San Francisco Police Department.
A lengthy Craigslist ad for a personal assistant and its request for help with, well, life itself has gone viral just hours after its posting.

The ad starts off simply enough: Two 30-something  or 40-something, as it was later updated to  executives with a dog are looking to get their lives organized since their work hours keep them busy. They've accepted reality, they told Craigslist readers. They need a personal assistant.

Yet despite its straightforward beginning, the listing then devolves into what at best could be called a personals ad. Filled with minute quality-of-life problem descriptions, the hopeful future-employers created a laundry list  sometimes literally  of issues they wished their future assistant would solve.

THANKS, CRAIGSLIST: Craigslist saves the day after man forgets where he parked car

In a very stream of consciousness manner, the writer describes how nothing gets done in the couple's household. "Nail polish gets chipped and remains chipped" and "instead of dry cleaning something it will just never be worn again," the ad laments in its 248-word "problem" section of the ad.

"Does the idea of helping us to go from zero to hero in all of the above areas make you smile OR cringe?" the ad asks. Cringers can exit to the right, thank you.

The solution? You, if you're chill and willing to get the job done. Along with a (very long) list of ideal qualities, the job posters get down to the nitty-gritty. Among typical requirements one would seek in an assistant (drug-free, no criminal record, valid driver's license), were some eccentric items, mostly having to do with the aforementioned dog.

Among them: You must be "able to swim well in the ocean (dog likes swimming; you may need to get him when he goes out too far)" and "able to protect a dog from being attacked by another dog," while being "willing and happy to clean up occasional dog vomit and/or diarrhea."

Poor little guy.

MYSTERY CHICKEN: Who's behind the giant inflatable chicken trolling the White House? This man.

Among the many qualities that would earn the applicant "bonus points" (including "enjoy[s] giving manicures/pedicures"), the would-be employers asked for an email with the subject line "[INSERT YOUR FULL NAME] + [INSERT YOUR WORST QUALITY]," a five-minute video of yourself answering a specific list of questions and links to four personal social media profiles of yourself.

Phew. Did I cover everything?

Twitter, of course, quickly glommed onto the ad, picking apart everything from the details of the employer's lives, the entire "bonus points" section (for the full ad/list, see below), with most sharing the link to the full ad with an air of incredulity.

"Folks, FOLKS, I think I have found the most bananapants job ad of all time," started one such tweet.

"Tag yourself. I'm 'nail polish gets chipped and remains chipped,'" one writer declared on her Twitter account. ("I'm 'I buy fresh flowers but don't have time to trim daily and change the water,'" another quipped. "I'm 'cringer,'" another replied.)

"A mom. They need a mom," one social media user chipped in.

"I love that in San Francisco you can just buy a wife now," one Twitter user mused.

"My greatest hope is that either this is a fake ad or that the person who takes this job slowly destroys these people's lives from the inside," one concluded at the end of a string of tweets on the topic.

Is the ad real, and as horrible as people are making it out to seem? Judge for yourself and read the full text of the original ad below. Keep in mind that not all heroes wear capes, sometimes they're just someone's personal assistant. Good luck to whomever applies.

UPDATE, Aug. 10: The couple in question answered some questions via email. To read their responses to the ad, head here.

(Note: The latest version of the ad has since had some revisions made, but can be found here. This is a version of the ad that appeared on Craigslist as of noon Wednesday.)

Personal Assistant MUST LOVE DOGS - PT/FT, $25-$30/hr (SOMA / south beach)

---Interviewing daily---

Hi and thx for visiting.

We're two 30-something executives living in the city with a sweet medium-sized, hypoallergenic dog. Work is crazier than ever which means that we don't have time to maintain our personal lives. We've finally accepted that we need a full-time (or part-time) personal assistant.

THE PROBLEM:

----------------------

We're resorting to unhealthy take-out and processed foods -- anything we can grab and munch on in-between working on our computers, we aren't getting enough sleep (8 hrs/night is a must but rarely achieved), that very cute dog I mentioned doesn't have someone to play with daily, personal social media accounts are neglected, I buy fresh flowers but don't have time to trim daily and change the water, indoor plants are dying, vacations and fun trips aren't taken because there's no time to plan them, dirty laundry is neglected until we run out of clean clothes to wear, merchandise that should be returned doesn't get returned, phone calls to customer support don't get made, prescriptions aren't refilled, instead of dry cleaning something it will just never be worn again, pants that are too long never get hemmed, that cute dog doesn't get taught new tricks or get his coat brushed out as often as it needs to be, things that we're meaning to order don't get ordered, items slated for donation sit in a corner for months, groceries aren't put away into the cabinet, the sink is eternally filled with soaking dishes/pots/pans, picture frames hang on the wall with no photos inside, the closet is in need of reorganization, appointments aren't scheduled, information isn't updated, nail polish gets chipped and remains chipped, investment opportunities go un-researched, and that crucial"date night" consists of collapsing onto the sofa and watching a movie because we're so exhausted from the work week.

Does the idea of helping us to go from zero to hero in all of the above areas make you smile OR cringe?

For the cringers, feel free to exit now :) Good luck with your search!

For the smilers, you're making me so happy. I know that you're going to help us so much.

THE SOLUTION:

----------------------

Our ideal full-time (or part-time) personal assistant is chill but also gets sh*t done.

Ideally, you have experience being a personal assistant for a CXO in the past (and you really liked it).

You aren't dramatic or tightly wound, however, you're also not lazy or sloth-like (nothing against sloths). You're level-headed and your friends think you have great judgment. You're down to earth, not cocky, humble, and always willing to admit when you're wrong. You aren't too stubborn to apologize. You don't get defensive and deflect. You own your mistakes and see them as opportunities to improve. You have confidence in yourself and although you are very empathetic, you rarely get overwhelmed by your emotions. You aren't dramatic and you aren't having regular melt-downs. You're warm, welcoming, and always down for a good time. You take pride in your work quality (no matter what it is -- big or small) and believe everything you create is a reflection of you and your character/abilities so you want it to be good. You notice inefficiencies and tend to find ways to save time, streamline, or automate where you can. You're observant and detail-oriented. You always know where your keys are or where your wallet is because you make it a point to place them in the same place. You have a great memory and rarely have to say "Oh, I forgot." You believe that there's a place for everything and everything should be in its place. You're naturally organized and clean. You don't like messiness. You feel compelled to straighten items if they're crooked. Aesthetics, design, and beauty in life are things that you notice and appreciate. It genuinely makes you happy to help others and make others smile. You find it rewarding to do things for others. (If you don't feel this way, you will either hate this role or it will be awkward for us because you won't seem happy.) Your friends think that you're the one in your group who has their act together the most in terms of being responsible, responsive, and risk-averse. You take pride in working smart vs. working hard. You do things well AND you do it as quickly as possible. You consistently strive for both quality and speed. You like to laugh and your friends think you can be funny. You smile and/or laugh when you tell a joke or say something humorous (dry senses of humor need not apply)! You care about visual presentation and delivery of your words. You enjoy making things look nice. You enjoy making things smell nice. You have a kind heart and try to not be selfish. You are generous with your attention and love. You are a strong communicator and can tell an engaging story. If something needs to get done, you find a way. You're very comfortable with technology and devices. You use your smartphone all the time. You use your laptop all the time. Google is your best friend. You take pride in how you look -- whatever that "look" or style may be for you. At the same time, you also want to be practical and functional (e.g., you're "bohemian chic" but avoid the giant wedges that will prevent you from hustling around town, you're "cool hipster" but don't wear the super tight jeans that won't leave you room in your pockets to hold my dog's potty bags, you're totally "minimalistic modern" but avoid the white on white look so you're not afraid to get dirty when cooking, etc.)

REQUIRED HOURS:

----------------------

Location = SoMa

Commitment = on-call 24/7 for emergencies/urgent/important matters

Hours = Approximately 40 hrs/wk (mostly during the workweek)

TYPICAL SCHEDULE:

----------------------

Mon - Fri

- 10am - 11am = dog time (feeding, brushing, walking, washing, play with, teach tricks, take photos)

- 11am - 12pm = cleaning home (dishes, laundry, vacuum, dusting, wiping down countertops, clean up rare dog accident, etc.)

- 12pm - 1pm = improving look, ambiance & functionality of home (reorganizing cabinets, refreshing flowers, etc.)

- 1pm - 3pm = run errands (dry cleaning, tailor, groceries, clothes shopping, dog store, picking up Rx, stop by the office, etc.)

- 3 pm - 6 pm = on your computer/phone (investment research, post on our social media for us, planning a trip, ordering things online, scheduling an appointment, organizing receipts & other bookkeeping, taking notes while listening in on a meeting or call, cooking us dinner, food prep for the dog, book us dinner reservations or schedule our "date nights", etc.)

Sat or Sun

- Take the dog to the beach before dropping him off at the dog groomer for a wash and blow out

- Sometimes you may need to help us with something over the weekend

REQUIREMENTS:

----------------------

* Written and spoken English language FLUENCY

* Able to maintain strict confidentiality

* No smokers (cigarettes, marijuana, other)

* No heavy drinkers (max of 5 drinks per week)

* No drug users

* No past criminal record

* Must love dogs and animals

* Valid drivers license (car will be provided if necessary for work) with experience driving in SF

* Experience with GSuite, MSOffice, Adobe Suite

* Experience with MacOS and iOS (computer and phone will be provided)

* Touch typing 60+ WPM

* Prior experience as dog owner

* No injuries or physical constraints that would impede your ability to rearrange furniture, lift a 40 lb dog up several flights of stairs, carry heavy grocery bags or luggage, etc.

* Able to swim well in the ocean (dog likes swimming; you may need to get him when he goes out too far)

* Able to protect a dog from being attacked by another dog

* Willing and happy to clean up occasional dog vomit and/or diarrhea

BONUS POINTS:

----------------------

* Multilingual

* Experience as a personal/executive assistant

* Experience with a high-maintenance dog (long haired, allergies, etc.)

* Experience with long hair in general (you have long hair and know how to brush tangled hair without causing pain)

* You are a great cook and know how to make both rich, savory vs. lean, healthy meals

* Enjoy giving manicures/pedicures

* Well-traveled

* Experience in high-end/luxury retail or hospitality industry

* Good eye for design and style

* Prior experience reviewing and negotiating contracts

* Prior experience with home redesign, remodel, contractor management

* Physically strong

* Lift weights and/or tone as exercise

* Practiced in self defense or fighting styles (you can protect someone who is in danger)

* You like fashion

* You watch GoT and/or Silicon Valley

* Former or current aquarium owner (know how to set up a tank and create an ecosystem)

RULES TO APPLY:

----------------------

1. Submit an email with the subject line: "[INSERT YOUR FULL NAME] + [INSERT YOUR WORST QUALITY]." We're confirming that you read the job description thoroughly, as well as breaking the ice by seeing if you're aware of how you're not perfect :p No one is so feel free to be candid :) If you don't follow that formula for the subject line, your email won't be opened.

2. With your computer webcam or handheld smartphone, record and attach a 5 min video of you answering ALL of the following: What did you like about this posting? Confirm if this posting applies to you 100% (including personality description, qualifications, schedule, responsibilities, etc.). Tell us in what way(s) you're not ideal for us (be transparent, no one is perfect and that's okay, bonus points for honesty). Have you been a personal assistant before? For who? What was a typical day? Why can you be trusted to care for a dog? Can you cook us delicious food? What else should we know about you?

3. In your email response, include these 4 social media profiles if you have them (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram) so we can confirm your identity. Also, tell us where you live, how long would it take you to get to SoMa? Do you have a car? If so, what make, model and condition?

WARNING:

----------------------

If you don't follow #1 - 3 then you won't be considered for an interview.

THX FOR READING & WE LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM YOU :

XOXO

Doodle Lovers
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Police in San Rafael released a photo and a sketch Wednesday in hopes the public will help them identify a man who allegedly groped a woman repeatedly as she jogged in a park earlier this summer.

The 46-year-old victim was jogging on a path behind Pickleweed Park shortly before 11 a.m. on June 18 when the suspect came up from behind her and groped her as she fought back and pulled herself away, according to the San Rafael Police Department.

The man approached her from behind and grabbed her again two more times on her jog, and both times she fought back and got away, police said.

It is not known if the suspect followed her for the specific purpose of contacting her again, further out on the path or if he simply walked in that direction and saw the victim again, police wrote in a statement.

A witness saw the suspect grabbing the victim and thought the two knew each other and were playing around, police said. When she learned from the victim that the incident was a sexual battery, she looked for the suspect and tried to take a picture of him, but he turned his face away, according to police.

On August 3, the victim worked with police to create a sketch of the suspect based on her memory, police said.

The assailant is described as a 15 to 20 year old Hispanic man with a heavy build, dark windswept hair shaved short on the sides and long on top, dark eyes and a square face, wearing a white shirt with black stripes at the time of the incident. police reported

Anyone with information about this crime should call San Rafael Police at (415) 485-3000.

Filipa Ioannou is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: fioannou@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @obioannoukenobi
By PTI: By Shirish B Pradhan

Kathmandu, Aug 10 (PTI) Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba said today his country "unreservedly" condemns terrorism in all its forms as he called for greater regional connectivity and integration for the collective prosperity.

Addressing the 15th ministerial meeting of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation in Kathmandu, Deuba said the BIMSTEC region, like any other region of the world, has not been immune to the dangers of terrors and threats of destruction and damages.

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"Terrorism, transnational crimes, human and drug trafficking have deeply disturbed peace and harmony in our society," he said.

"BIMSTEC embodies the aspirations for integrated economy, the aspirations or shared progress, and the aspirations for transformative development outlook throughout the region, he noted. ?The need for greater connectivity and integration has been more evident than ever for the pursuit of collective progress and prosperity of our region," Deuba said.

The member countries of BIMSTEC are India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal.

Nepals Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara urged close cultural ties and cordial people-to-people contacts to strengthen progress, peace, and prosperity in the region.

"I wish to underline that with our strong collaboration we can fulfill the aim of regional economic integration, can achieve social progress, and can enjoy shared prosperity within the region," Mahara said at the inaugural session.

A BIMESTEC ministerial meeting will be held tomorrow. PTI SBP ABH

--- ENDS ---
A man clinging to the side of a speeding car was killed in the Temescal neighborhood of Oakland shortly after noon on Wednesday when he slipped under the car and was run over, police and witnesses said.

The car, described as a red Audi, sped around the corner of Rich and Webster streets, three blocks northeast of the MacArthur BART station, with the man hanging off the side of the car and holding on through the window or the door, members of a utility crew working in the area said.
Jena Willingham, a mom from Alabama, has gone viral after sharing a post to Facebook that perfectly captures the first-day-of school for both students and parents.

The image shows Willingham floating comfortably in the pool with a drink in hand while her three kids stand behind her  packed and ready for school  looking less than enthused for their first day.
Aliens of mystery planet Nibiru created human race, and now, the planet is about to collide with Earth in September, say conspiracy theorists. We might die in 45 days, if the theory comes true.

By India Today Web Desk: If conspiracy theorists are to be believed, a planet will clash with Earth in September. To further reaffirm this, they believe that the coming solar eclipse will call for the apocalypse.

On Monday, August 21, 2017, all of North America will witness an eclipse of the sun for the first time in 99 years, where Moon will pass in front of the sun, casting darkness across swathes of the Earth's surface.

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It is called the Great American Eclipse and is a once-in-a-lifetime celestial spectacle.

David Meade, who authored 'Planet X - The 2017 Arrival' asserts that the planet, Nibiru, also know as Planet X, will crash into Earth on September 23, 2017.

If one is to believe in that, then you have some 40 days to find a bunker and store essentials like food and water, maybe books to feed the soul for whatever days you are left with.

But then, one is sent into a fix because scientists deny Nibiru's existence.

However, Meade believes -- or is rather convinced -- that he is right, after having stumbled upon some passages from The Bible to justify his claims.

Meade earlier said that Nibiru will mark the end of Earth in October, but now he has fixed his mind on September, only until he changes his mind again.

THE BIBLE PASSAGES AND CONSPIRACY THEORISTS

According to media reports, Meade and other conspiracy theorists don't have evidence to keep their theory erect, but are leaning on passages from The Bible to support their theory.

They claim that The Bible passages and the solar eclipse's existence support the idea that the end of times is approaching.

Meade told a news portal this month, "The Great American Eclipse of August 21, 2017, is a major - huge - harbinger."

The conspiracy theorist points to warnings in the Old Testament book of Isaiah, Chapter 13, Verses 9 to 10, which reads, "See, the Day of the Lord is coming - a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger - to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it.

"The Stars of Heaven and their constellations will not show their light. The rising Sun will be darkened and the Moon will not give its light."

Meade says this passage is connected to what he has dubbed the "33 Convergence", where a strand of coincidences all include the number 33.

UNDERSTANDING THE 33 CONVERGENCE BETTER TAKING HELP OF THE BIBLE

"When the eclipse begins on August 21, the sunrise will be dark, just as Isaiah predicts," Meade says.

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"The moon involved is called a black moon. These occur about every 33 months. In the Bible, the divine name of Elohim appears 33 times in Genesis.

He added: "The eclipse will start in Lincoln Beach, Oregon - the 33rd state - and end on the 33rd degree of Charleston, South Carolina. Such a solar eclipse has not occurred since 1918, which is 99 years - or 33 times three."

Thirty three days after the US' total solar eclipse - on the 23 September - the stars will align just as the book of Revelation says they will, before the world ends.

"This indeed is an amazing omen and a frightful sign," according to Meade.

NIBIRU, CREATION OF EARTH AND ALIENS

NASA has debunked the unseen planet. Nibiru, or Planet X, was first mentioned in 1976 by Zecharia Sitchin in his cult book 'The 12th Planet'.

The mysterious planet is believed to be home to a race of ancient aliens called the Annunaki, who are thought to be behind the creation of human race.

Author of the UFO Investigations Manual -- Nigel Watson -- supports Sitchin's idea.

"Nibiru collided with a planet called Tiamat that was situated between Mars and Jupiter. The result was the creation of the asteroid belt and planet Earth.

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"Nibiru is populated by the Anunnaki, an advanced humanoid race, who visited Earth thousands of years to mine gold in Africa.

"As an outcome of needing workers to carry out these mining operations they used genetics to create Homo Sapiens," Watson said.

The prediction has been wandering around us since decades but the Nibiru prediction of it colliding with earth has definitely caught the attention of many.

However, these doomsday predictions have never actually materialised.

FYI || TRAPPIST-1 is 40 light-years away: NASA discovers 7 earth-like planets which may have alien life on surface ||

FYI || TRAPPIST-1 is flaring a lot: Newly discovered planets might not have stable conditions for life to exist ||

FYI || New-found exoplanet 'Super-Earth' could host alien life ||

--- ENDS ---
Magnolia Pictures

Although Sabaah Folayan and Damon Davis rarely stray beyond the borders of Ferguson, Mo., in Whose Streets?, their front-lines documentary about a torn community pushing for change in the wake of the 2014 shooting death of black teenager Michael Brown, viewers thoughts probably will be roaming far and wide, and across time.

Like to Michigan in 1967, where Kathryn Bigelows current Detroit portrays race riots during the civil rights decade. Or to Washington and presidents 44 and 45, and the societies they reflect. Or Nevada and O.J. Simpsons impending parole. Even San Francisco and such relatively mundane matters as Colin Kaepernicks employability. In short, Whose Streets? does not shy away from our wide racial divide and is a loud plea for an America that embraces all its citizens, even if it seems we are further from that goal than ever before.
ALAMO, Texas  While the economy in Texas has boomed over the past 20 years, along the border with Mexico about a half million people live in clusters of cinder-block dwellings, home-built shacks, dilapidated trailers and small houses.

Texas has more than 2,300 of these communities known as colonias, the Spanish word for colony. For decades, the villages have sprung up around cities as a home for poor Latino immigrant families. Some are shantytowns with neither drinkable water nor waste disposal, and since the 1990s, the state has spent hundreds of millions of dollars trying to improve the worst and stop new ones from forming.

But that commitment is now being questioned. In the past few months, Texas lawmakers cut university budgets that help give immunizations and health checkups to children and others in the colonias. They did not renew a key program that provides running water and sewer service. And this summer, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott abruptly shuttered the office that since 1999 has coordinated the work of various agencies in the communities.

Lawmakers who represent the border area, and groups that provide help for indigent people there, are worried that concern about the living conditions and health risks in the colonias is flagging in a state government now taking a tougher stance toward immigrants.

To some, it all feels like the colonias are no longer a problem. Thats not true, said Nick Mitchell-Bennett, executive director of the Community Development Corporation of Brownsville, which helps residents of the colonias obtain sturdier housing. Were approaching going back to the 70s and 80s, when conditions were at their worst.

Since the 1950s, Mexican migrants and families priced out of cities have jerry-built houses on cheap border scrubland from Texas to California, buying illegally subdivided lots from developers beyond the reach of utilities and building codes. Some shanties are made from scraps of plywood, with old campaign yard signs for siding and truck tires used as weights to hold down tarp roofs. Most of the residents are in the U.S. legally, but some not.

Before her dad built a two-room house in an area known as Little Mexico, Eva Carranzas family lived in half of a rundown trailer after coming across the border illegally from Reynosa. Another family lived in the trailers other rooms.

The bathroom was outside. We had to go outside for everything because the water wasnt connected to the trailer, Carranza said.

Residents work in nearby cities. Carranza makes around $350 a month babysitting and cleaning homes

Paul J. Weber is an Associated Press writer.
By PTI: New Delhi, Aug 10 (PTI) The government is not considering any merger of the UGC and the AICTE into a single higher education regulator at present, the Rajya Sabha was informed today.

"No such proposal is under consideration at present, to merge the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) into a single higher education regulator," Minister of State for HRD Mahenrda Nath Pandey said in a written response in the Rajya Sabha.

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However, HRD Ministry officials had earlier claimed that the government was mulling introducing Higher Education Empowerment Regulation Agency (HEERA) to replace the UGC and the AICTE with an aim of eliminating overlaps in jurisdiction and remove irrelevant regulatory provisions.

The HRD Minister said in the response that the idea of establishing a single regulator for higher education is not new and various committees on higher education have earlier recommended a single body.

"While the National Knowledge Commission (2006) recommended an independent regulatory authority for higher education, the Committee on Renovation and Rejuvenation of Higher Education (2009) advocated an apex regulatory body by converging multiple regulatory agencies in the field of higher education.

"The UGC Review Committee in 2014 had also recommended that the commission should be replaced by an apex institution titled National Higher Education Authority," Pandey said. PTI GJS ANB

--- ENDS ---
DESERT CENTER, Riverside County  Just beyond the southeast corner of Joshua Tree National Park, rows of boarded-up houses, gouged mountainsides and concrete ruins are an ugly reminder of the never-ending battle over the Wests public lands.

This scarred piece of California desert is whats left of one of the countrys largest open-pit mining operations and the little company town that Kaiser Steel Corp. built after World War II. More than three decades after the Eagle Mountain iron mine closed, it still haunts the park that borders it on three sides.

Plans to turn the site into a huge landfill and dump as much as 20,000 tons a day of Southern California garbage into the gaping mine pits died in 2013 after years of court battles. Now, a private company wants to use the pits for a $2 billion hydropower project.

The plant, proponents say, would help boost renewable energy use in Southern California and lower greenhouse gas emissions. But park officials fear the hydropower project could draw down local groundwater levels and harm wildlife.

The Eagle Mountain tract, shaped like a handgun aimed at the parks interior, offers a lesson in what can happen when federal monument protections are stripped from public lands  as President Trumps administration is considering doing at a number of national monuments in the West.

Its been a sordid history, said Mark Butler, a former Joshua Tree superintendent who is retired from the National Park Service.

In 1936, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established Joshua Tree National Monument on roughly 825,000 acres of federal and railroad holdings northeast of Palm Springs, capping a hard-fought campaign to conserve a singular desert landscape of Joshua trees, massive boulders and spectacular vistas.

But the monuments ban on new mining claims infuriated gold and silver prospectors whod long mined the area. In the 1940s, Kaiser Steel bought old patented claims to iron deposits in the Eagle Mountains and started digging them up.

In 1950, Congress shrank the monument by more than a third, chopping a chunk off the northern boundary and the Eagle Mountain area. The way was cleared for Kaiser to blast millions of tons of iron ore out of the mountainsides over the next three decades and ship it by rail to the roaring blast furnaces of the companys Fontana steel plant.

The 1994 California Desert Protection Act that upgraded Joshua Tree to a national park added much of the Eagle Mountains to the park. But the law omitted the abandoned mine and surrounding federal land.

On a recent day, the town remnants baked in 120-degree heat beneath a mountain of mine tailings. The hulking ruins of the ore loading area looked like a bombed-out village in Afghanistan. Rock benches traced the excavation of four huge pits.

The 360-degree view swept from park peaks to the north, over the moonscape of the mine to the haze-veiled Chuckwalla Valley in the distance.

This would be full of water, said Jeff Harvey of Eagle Crest Energy Co., looking at one of two pits that Eagle Crest wants to convert to reservoirs.

Separated by about 1,400 feet of elevation, the reservoirs would be part of what Lowe calls an elegant solution to a problem California is confronting as it boosts renewable energy production.

The sun doesnt shine and the wind doesnt blow according to peak electricity demand. Utilities need some way of storing wind and solar power  or shifting the production time.

One way is with battery systems. Another is through pumped water  the method that Eagle Crest proposes to use in an area that averages less than 4 inches of rain a year.

When the solar panels and wind turbines that are sprouting from the desert floor churn out more power than the electrical grid needs, Eagle Crest would use some of that excess to pump water through an underground tunnel system to the 191-acre upper reservoir.

Later in the day, when energy demand climbs, the water would be released back into the tunnel system, powering turbines and generating electricity at it flowed downhill to the 163-acre lower reservoir.

Pumped storage is not new. There are seven of the operations scattered around California at reservoirs and lakes. Eagle Mountain would be the biggest in the state, capable of producing 1,300 megawatts of electricity  enough to supply nearly 1 million homes.

Like all pumped hydropower systems, it would actually consume more energy pushing water uphill than it generates with the downhill flow.

Unlike the other California operations, Eagle Crest would use groundwater  piped from three new wells drilled on private land in the Chuckwalla Valley to the south.

Over the projects four-decade life, the company says, it would withdraw a total of about 100,000 acre-feet from the Chuckwalla aquifer. That is enough to supply 200,000 homes for a year.

It is also enough to worry park officials.

They dont think groundwater feeds their springs. But the Pinto Basin aquifer on Joshua Trees east side supplies the Chuckwalla with underflow. Draw down the Chuckwalla, they fear, and groundwater levels in the park could drop.

The aquifers that underlie the park are ancient, Joshua Tree Superintendent David Smith said. Once you start depleting those reservoirs, no one knows whats actually going to happen. How will that affect the park?  I dont want to take that risk.

He cited a 2012 research paper by federal scientists who concluded that groundwater recharge rates in the Chuckwalla Basin may be much lower than previously estimated, suggesting the aquifer is already in overdraft.

Eagle Crest, which bought the 10,000-acre Eagle Mountain site two years ago for $25 million, disputes the paper. Even if it is accurate, Harvey says, company wells would deplete the Chuckwalla aquifer by less than 1 percent.

Groundwater isnt the parks only worry. The hydropower project would disturb an area that has been largely quiet for decades, allowing bighorn sheep and other wildlife to return.

Butler warns that plopping two artificial lakes on such arid land would attract ravens and other predators that could prey on threatened desert tortoises and other park wildlife.

Youre going to be essentially changing the ecology of that region, said Butler, who was Joshua Trees superintendent from 2011 to 2014.

Despite the Park Service objections, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission granted Eagle Crest a hydropower license in 2014.

In April, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management announced it was preparing to approve a right-of-way on federal land outside of the park for 12 miles of Eagle Crest transmission lines and a 15-mile, buried water pipeline from the wells.

Both agencies essentially concluded that the hydropower project would not cause significant environmental harm and would not deplete the aquifer over the long term.

Bettina Boxall is a Los Angeles Times writer.
Trump's unexpected remarks prompted North Korea to say it was finalising plans to fire four intermediate-range missiles over Japan to land 30-40 km from Guam.

Donald Trump warned North Korea that it would face "fire and fury" if it threatened the US as a "load of nonsense". (Photo: Reuters)

By Reuters: North Korea dismissed today warnings by US President Donald Trump that it would face "fire and fury" if it threatened the United States as a "load of nonsense", and outlined detailed plans for a missile strike near the Pacific territory of Guam.

North Korea's apparently rapid progress in developing nuclear weapons and missiles capable of reaching the US mainland has fuelled tensions that erupted into a war of words between Washington and Pyongyang this week, unnerving regional powers and global investors.

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Trump's unexpected remarks prompted North Korea to say on Thursday it was finalising plans to fire four intermediate-range missiles over Japan to land 30-40 km (18-25 miles) from Guam, adding detail to a plan first announced on Wednesday.

Guam, more than 3,000 km (2,000 miles) to the southeast of North Korea, is home to about 163,000 people and a US military base that includes a submarine squadron, an air base and a Coast Guard group.

"Sound dialogue is not possible with such a guy bereft of reason and only absolute force can work on him," a report by the North's state-run KCNA news agency said of Trump.

The army will complete its plans in mid-August, ready for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's order, KCNA reported, citing General Kim Rak Gyom, commander of the Strategic Force of the Korean People's Army.

While North Korea regularly threatens to destroy the United States and its allies, the report was unusual in its detail.

Masao Okonogi, professor emeritus at Japan's Keio University, said before the latest KCNA report that Pyongyang may be issuing a warning or advance notice of changes to its missile testing programme rather than threatening an attack.

"I believe this is a message saying they plan to move missile tests from the Sea of Japan to areas around Guam," he told Reuters. "By making this advance notice, they are also sending a tacit message that what they are going to do is not a actual attack."

Click here to Enlarge Locator map for Guam, with visitor arrivals in the past years (Source: Reuters)

Japan could legally intercept a North Korean missile headed towards Guam if it posed an existential threat, Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera said on Thursday in remarks reported by Kyodo news service, a reiteration of Tokyo's position.

However, experts say Japan does not currently have the capability to shoot down a missile flying over its territory headed for Guam.

Experts also said the detail provided by North Korea made it likely it would follow through with its plans to avoid being seen as weak or lacking in resolve.

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AVOIDING MISCALCULATION

Guam Governor Eddie Calvo said there was no heightened threat from North Korea.

"They like to be unpredictable, they'll pop a missile off when no one is ready and they've done it quite a few times. Now they've telegraphed it," he told Reuters in an interview.

"They're now telegraphing their punch, which means they don't want to have any misunderstandings. I think that's a position of fear," he said.

With defences covering South Korea and Japan, naval assets between Korea, Japan and Guam, and Guam's own missile defence system, there was a "multi-level defensive umbrella" protecting residents, Calvo said.

The United States and South Korea remain technically still at war with North Korea after the 1950-53 Korean conflict ended with a truce, not a peace treaty.

Tension in the region has risen since North Korea carried out two nuclear bomb tests last year and two intercontinental ballistic missile tests in July. Trump has said he will not allow Pyongyang to develop a nuclear weapon capable of hitting the United States.

US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis issued a stark warning on Wednesday, telling Pyongyang the United States and its allies would win any arms race or conflict.

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"The DPRK should cease any consideration of actions that would lead to the end of its regime and the destruction of its people," Mattis said in a statement, using the acronym for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

In a video of a rally in Pyongyang released by KCNA, Pak Hyong Ryol, the manager of a Pyongyang cornstarch factory, said North Koreans did not mind any kind of sanctions.

"They cannot stop our advance. This is the answer of our heroic Kim Il Sung-Kim Jong Il working class which has been grown up under the warm care of the Party," Pak said, referring to North Korea's first two leaders.

HEADING TOWARDS CONFRONTATION

North Korea accuses Washington of devising a "preventive war" and has said any plans to execute this would be met with an "all-out war, wiping out all the strongholds of enemies, including the U.S. mainland".

Washington has warned it is ready to use force if needed to stop North Korea's ballistic missile and nuclear programmes but that it prefers global diplomatic action. The UN Security Council unanimously imposed new sanctions on North Korea on Saturday.

China, North Korea's main ally, has consistently urged both sides to work to lower tensions.

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Influential Chinese state-run tabloid the Global Times said the North Korean nuclear issue was heading towards confrontation and it was time for the United States to respond to Pyongyang's security concerns.

"North Korea has almost been completely isolated by the outside world. Under such extreme circumstances, Pyongyang will weigh all its possible options," it said in an editorial on its website on Thursday. "Washington should stimulate Pyongyang's desire to engage with the outside world and return to the international community."

ALSO READ |

North Korea says seriously considering plan to strike US territory Guam

Why North Korea is planning a missile strike on Guam of all places in the US

Donald Trump says North Korea will be met with fire and fury if it threatens US

Guam governor shrugs off North Korea's mid-August strike plan

ALSO WATCH | Trump warns North Korea over nuclear threats, says will be met with fire and fury if it threatens US

--- ENDS ---
The governor of Guam said there was some concern among the public on Guam but no panic, and the authorities were "very confident" that there was no heightened threat despite the warnings from North Korea.

The governor of Guam said the authorities were "very confident" that there was no heightened threat despite the warnings from North Korea.

By Reuters: The governor of Guam on Thursday dismissed North Korea's statement that it will develop a plan by mid-August to launch missiles at the US Pacific territory as coming from "a position of fear", and said there was no heightened threat.

North Korea's state media said earlier that, under the plan to be presented to leader Kim Jong Un, four intermediate-range missiles would be fired into waters 30-40 km (18-25 miles) from Guam "to signal a crucial warning to the United States".

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Guam is home to about 1,63,000 people and a US military base that includes a submarine squadron, an air base and a Coast Guard group.

"They like to be unpredictable. They'll pop a missile off when no one is ready and they've done it quite a few times. Now they've telegraphed it," Guam Governor Eddie Calvo told Reuters in an interview on the island.

"They're now telegraphing their punch, which means they don't want to have any misunderstandings. I think that's a position of fear."

He said there was some concern among the public on Guam but no panic, and the authorities were "very confident" that there was no heightened threat despite the warnings from North Korea, which were first made on Wednesday.

"There is a defence umbrella contained within South Korea, there is a defence umbrella for Japan, there are naval assets between Korea, Japan and Guam, and there is a missile defence system of Guam that make up a multi-level defensive umbrella," Calvo said.

"At this point, based on what facts are known, there is no need to have any concern regards heightening the threat level."

US President Donald Trump had on Wednesday warned North Korea that "if it escalates nuclear threat, it will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen", the US media said. A tough response from him was expected after it was revealed earlier in the day that North Korea had produced a miniaturised nuclear warhead that could be fitted inside its missiles. The revelation was based on the assessment of the US intelligence agencies.

ALSO READ |

North Korea says seriously considering plan to strike US territory Guam

Why North Korea is planning a missile strike on Guam of all places in the US

Chinese tabloid warns North Korea against nuclear and missile tests

Donald Trump says North Korea will be met with fire and fury if it threatens US

ALSO WATCH | Trump warns North Korea over nuclear threats, says will be met with fire and fury if it threatens US

--- ENDS ---
By PTI: By Sajjad Hussain

Islamabad, Aug 10 (PTI) Pakistan and Afghanistan have decided to resume high-level trade talks next month, the first such engagement between the two countries in nearly two years as Kabul wanted to involve India in dialogue.

The proposal for resuming talks by convening a meeting of their Joint Economic Commission (JEC) in Kabul was made by Afghanistans ambassador to Pakistan Hazrat Omar Zakhilwal during a meeting yesterday with Pakistans Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.

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It will be the first high-level talks between the two neighbouring countries since November 2015 when Afghan President Ashraf Ghanis condition to continue talks with Pakistan on all issues, including trade, subject to involvement of India.

The deteriorating security situation also triggered an intermittent war of words between the two countries with Afghan officials holding Pakistan responsible for each such incident.

"It will be a great opportunity for Islamabad and Kabul to repair their diplomatic and business relations which have discontinued since November 2015," a source privy to the development told Dawn.

An official statement issued after the meeting said ambassador Zakhilwal stated that the next session of the Pak- Afghan Joint Economic Commission (JEC) was due and proposed that it might be held in Kabul in September.

Dar welcomed the proposal and said mutually convenient dates be decided to hold the session next month.

The deadlock between Afghanistan and Pakistan was due to Kabuls insistence that India should be included in bilateral and trilateral agreements.

Kabul wanted to include India in the Trilateral Transit Trade Agreement ? Pakistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan.

Afghanistan also wants access to markets of India and SAARC countries through Wagah border, according to officials.

Dar was of the opinion that the JEC meeting should provide an opportunity to discuss measures for furthering the cause of economic cooperation between the two countries.

The Afghan envoy was informed that Pakistans economic affairs division would cooperate with the Afghan embassy to work out details for the JEC meeting whose main focus will be enhancement of bilateral trade and economic cooperation.

The 10th Pak-Afghan JEC session was held on November 23, 2015, in Islamabad.

The JEC is a highly important forum that takes into consideration important issues, including trade facilitation, enhancement of bilateral and transit trade, highway and railway projects, scholarship scheme for Afghan students, as well as potential joint ventures in various other sectors.

One of the fallout of the suspension of talks was a decline in bilateral trade.

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Pakistans exports to Afghanistan dropped by a significant 27 per cent over the past one year, owing to several factors.

Pakistans exports to Afghanistan had reached an all-time high of USD 2.4 billion in 2010-11. It remained over USD 2 billion in the subsequent two years.

Since then, exports started to dwindle and hit USD 1.43 billion in 2015-16. In the first quarter of the current financial year, exports were recorded at USD 362.5 million.

It clearly reflects that the annual exports to Afghanistan will now be around USD 1 billion when the figure for 2016-17 is finalised.

Talks on several issues have been on the back burner for a couple of years because of Kabuls loss of interest in concluding a trade liberalisation regime with Pakistan.

In 2014, both sides agreed to initiate negotiations on a bilateral preferential trade agreement (PTA), with Pakistan sharing a draft text of the agreement with Afghanistan.

In 2015, Afghanistan conveyed to Pakistan that it would formally respond to the draft PTA by January 2016. This issue will be raised at the upcoming JEC meeting, the report said.

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To encourage business-to-business interaction between the two countries, a joint business council (JBC) comprising leading businessmen from both sides was established.

The first meeting of the JBC was scheduled for August 2015. When Kabul failed to send its response, a new date for the JBC meeting was scheduled for February 17 last year in Islamabad.

However, no meeting of the JBC has been held so far.

Pakistan recently reminded Afghanistan to convene the 7th meeting of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Coordination Authority in Kabul as had been agreed at the last meeting held in 2016.

It will be one of the important issues to be raised at the JEC meeting.

The draft text on avoidance of double taxation was also shared, but no follow-up meeting has been held so far. PTI SH MRJ

--- ENDS ---
Researchers who examined and dated them said the long-necked creature was the biggest of a group of large dinosaurs called titanosaurs.

This Jan. 14, 2016, file photo shows visitors to the American Museum of Natural History examining a replica of a 122-foot-long dinosaur on display at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. A study proclaims a newly named species the heavyweig

By AP: A study proclaims a newly named species the heavyweight champion of all dinosaurs, making the scary Tyrannosaurus rex look like a munchkin.

At 76 tons (69 metric tons), the plant-eating behemoth was as heavy as a space shuttle.

The dinosaur's fossils were found in southern Argentina in 2012. Researchers who examined and dated them said the long-necked creature was the biggest of a group of large dinosaurs called titanosaurs.

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"There was one small part of the family that went crazy on size," said Diego Pol of the Egidio Feruglio paleontology museum in Argentina, co-author of the study published Tuesday in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

The researchers named the dinosaur Patagotitan mayorum after the Patagonia region where it was found and the Greek word titan, which means large. The second name honors a ranch family that hosted the researchers.

Six fossils of the species were studied and dated to about 100 million years ago, based on ash found around them, Pol said. The dinosaur averaged 122 feet long (37 meters) and was nearly 20 feet high (6 meters) at the shoulder.

A cast of the dinosaur's skeleton is already on display at the American Museum of Natural History. It's so big that the dinosaur's head sticks out into a hallway at the New York museum .

Legendary T. rex and other meat-eaters "look like dwarfs when you put them against one of these giant titanosaurs," Pol said. "It's like when you put an elephant by a lion."

Scientists have known titanosaurs for a while, but this is a new species and even a new genus, which is a larger grouping, Pol said. Another titanosaur called Argentinosaurus was previously thought to be the largest.

"I don't think they were scary at all," Pol said. "They were probably massive big slow-moving animals."

"Getting up. Walking around. Trying to run. It's really challenging for large animals," he said.

The big question is how did these dinosaurs get so big, Pol said. Researchers are still studying it, but said it probably has to do with an explosion of flowering plants at the time. Along with a forest, it was like an all-you-can-eat buffet for these dinosaurs and they just got bigger.

"It's hard to argue this isn't a big deal when it concerns the (probable) largest land animal ever discovered," University of Maryland paleontologist Thomas Holtz, who wasn't part of the study, said in an email.

Kristi Curry Rodgers, a paleontologist at Macalester College who wasn't part of the study, praised the work as important. She said the fact that Patagotitan's bones show signs that they haven't completed their growth "means that there are even bigger dinosaurs out there to discover."

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Also Read |

135-million-year-old dinosaur fossil found in Kutch

Chenanisaurus barbaricus: Fossil of one of the last dinosaurs believed to have roamed Earth found in Morocco

--- ENDS ---
By PTI: New Delhi, Aug 10 (PTI) Notwithstanding the chill in the Indo-Pak ties, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sent best wishes to newly-elected Pakistani premier Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and said India desires a democratic and stable Pakistan.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has also written last night to her Pakistani counterpart Khawaja Asif, who assumed office last week, senior officials said here.

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In his message, Modi has also said that India desires a democratic and stable Pakistan at peace with its neighbours, officials said.

According to officials, Swaraj in her message said India wants good neighbourly relations with Pakistan in an atmosphere free of terror and violence.

Indo-Pak ties nosedived after a series of attacks last year, including the Uri strike, carried out by the Pakistan- based terror outfits. Following the attacks, India boycotted the SAARC Summit, which was scheduled to be held in November last in Pakistan. PTI PYK ZH

--- ENDS ---
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You might have heard that its really tough for millennials to buy a home these days. Theyre drowning in college debt, struggling with a small housing supply because boomers arent selling, and its all making them feel bummed about their homeownership prospects.

Now one report says they may never own a home if they keep attending bachelor parties in Instagram-worthy locations.

The real estate site Zillow found that the average cost of attending nine bachelor or bachelorette parties in a persons lifetime comes surprisingly close to the 20 percent down payment on a median-priced US home. Though, not so much if youre living in the Bay Area.

Zillow reached that conclusion by looking at bachelor party data from the wedding site The Knot. That surveys respondents, who were not all millennials, said they spend an average of $1,532 on bachelor parties and $1,106 on bachelorette parties  including travel and lodgings. The site found that one in five bachelor parties is a destination wedding, requiring travel.

Attend nine bachelor parties, which a person can easily do in their 20s and 30s, and youre looking at $13,788. Sure, that would buy a mountain of avocado toast, but thats also about one-third of the down payment on the price of the median US home: $200,000.

Thats also not including the added cost of attending the wedding itself  the Knot data says the average wedding attendee spends $888 including travel, lodgings, wedding attire, and gifts; people in the wedding party spend an average of $1,154.

Of course, for those of us in expensive metropolitan areas, theres a big caveat: Even if you save that amount of bachelor/bachelorette party money, you still may be way short of the dough needed to buy a home. The median-priced San Francisco-metro area home according to Zillow is $854,300, meaning if you attend no bachelor parties (think of the FOMO), youre only saving 8.1 percent of a 20 percent down payment. For bachelorettes, its 5.8 percent.

Within San Francisco itself, the median-priced home is over $1.2 million. And if you can afford a house at that price, you can probably afford to send off your friends.

In Seattle, which is rapidly getting expensive as well and has a median price of $447,100, nine bachelorette parties amount to 15.4 percent of the 20 percent down payment  for bachelorettes, 11.1 percent.

Save that party cash in Texas, on the other hand, and youre much closer to buying that home. The median price in Houston is $178,400, and nine bachelor parties equal 38.6 percent of your down payment  27.9 percent for bachelorettes.

And in San Antonio, where the median is $162,700, you could save a hefty 42.4 percent of your payment by not attending bachelor parties instead  30.6 percent for bachelorettes. Just stay away from your social-media feeds if you do.
1 Venezuela crackdown: Venezuelas government continued to crack down on opponents with an order to arrest a fifth opposition mayor who has been promoting protests against President Nicolas Maduro. A small group of youth, some of them masked, set up barricades of strewn metal objects in the eastern Caracas district of El Hatillo on Thursday to protest the previous days supreme court decision to order Mayor David Smolansky imprisoned for 15 months for not obeying orders to shut down the protests.

2 Syria war: Syrian government forces and their allies captured a key area along the border with Jordan on Thursday in their latest push against insurgents groups there. Syrian state media said the capture closes major smuggling points used by rebels to bring in weapons and fighters from Jordan into the war-torn country. Syrian state TV reported that the troops captured an area of 502 square miles. The oppositions Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed the push by the troops. Syrian troops have captured wide areas around the country over the past year, mostly under the cover of Russian air strikes.
By India Today Web Desk: Bigg Boss 11 is all set to premiere in September and the show makers are leaving no stone unturned to get the best set of contestants for the show.

Recently, there were reports that Canada-based fitness vlogger Navpreet Banga, who's also known as Priyanka Chopra's lookalike in social media has been approached for the show.

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Navpreet confirmed that she was offered the show and she rejected it. "I found out from an article that I'm even in consideration for the show. I got the final call, where they wanted me to think about it. And I rejected it right away," Navpreet said to Hindustan Times.

Navpreet, who has more than 175K followers on Instagram doesn't want to be a part of the show where the reason she is being considered for the show is her similarity to Priyanka Chopra.

"This lookalike thing makes me feel that I'm nothing else but that. People call me [Priyanka's] lookalike all the time. Some even say that I do it on purpose. I can't change the way I look; I am born this way and I sound this way. I don't want to be known as PC's lookalike because I am so much more," added Navpreet.

Navpreet is a full time Youtuber and will soon be seen in a Punjabi film, which is set in the 1920s.

Also read: Priyanka Chopra's lookalike to be part of Bigg Boss 11?

--- ENDS ---
MANILA  A U.S. warship sailed close to a Chinese man-made island in the disputed South China Sea in an operation that challenged Chinas vast territorial claims in busy international waters, a U.S. Navy official said Thursday.

The official said Chinese vessels were in the vicinity when the John S. McCain sailed in a routine freedom of navigation operation near Mischief Reef on Thursday. It was not immediately clear whether the Chinese demanded the U.S. destroyer leave as they have done in the past.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to speak to the media about the matter.

China, which claims the South China Sea virtually in entirety, has protested such repeated U.S. military operations, which President Trumps administration has continued partly to reassure allies locked in territorial rifts with Beijing.

Tensions escalated a few years ago when China began to build seven reefs, including Mischief, into islands, including three with runways, which the U.S. and Chinas neighbors fear could be used to project Beijings military might and potentially obstruct freedom of navigation. China has reportedly installed a missile defense system on the new islands.

The U.S. is not involved in the long-seething disputes in the busy and potentially oil- and gas-rich waters involving China, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. Washington, however, has declared it in its interest to ensure that the conflicts are resolved peacefully and that freedom of navigation and overflight remain unhampered. An estimated $5 trillion in annual trade passes through the waterway.

In the latest sail-by, U.S. military officials notified Philippine counterparts of the maneuver, a Philippine official said, adding Filipino forces were not involved.

Philippine marines stationed in a marooned ship on a disputed shoal may have monitored the U.S. Navy operation because they are based near Mischief Reef, which is also claimed by the Philippines, the official said.

U.S. Pacific Fleet spokeswoman Lt. Cmdr. Nicole Schwegman said all Navy operations are conducted in accordance with international law and demonstrate that the United States will fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows.

That is true in the South China Sea as in other places around the globe, she said.

Although China opposes inclusion of the sea disputes in international conferences, partly to prevent the U.S. and other Western governments from intervening, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and Japans new top diplomat, Taro Kono, expressed concern over aggressive actions in the waters.

They sought compliance with an arbitration ruling last year that invalidated Chinas claims in the South China Sea. China has ignored and dismissed the ruling as a sham.

Washingtons critical actions came as it courts the help of China, North Koreas ally, in taming Pyongyangs nuclear weapons ambitions and ending its missile tests.

Jim Gomez is an Associated Press writer.
The Reserve Bank will recognise two bonds issued by state-owned Kiwibank as regulatory capital under the Capital Adequacy Framework, having previously rejected them.

The ruling covers $100 million Tier 2 convertible subordinated bond issued in June 2014 and $150 million of Additional Tier 1 perpetual bonds issued by Kiwibank subsidiary Kiwi Capital Funding Ltd (KCFL) in May 2015.

Kiwibank said that the RBNZ has issued a non-objection letter about the bonds after the lender made changes to address the central bank's concerns. Previously the bank concluded Kiwibank had levels of control or significant influence over KCFL it viewed as inconsistent with the securities qualifying as regulatory capital.

The lender cancelled an A$175 million bond issue in March as a result of the RBNZ's preliminary decision and subsequently, shareholders New Zealand Post, the New Zealand Superannuation Fund and Accident Compensation Corp poured in a collective $247 million in new equity capital to ensure Kiwibank's capital stayed within the regulator's limits.

Kiwibank's chief executive Paul Brock said what now happens to that $247 million is a decision for the bank to make.

"Decisions on our capital composition are a matter for our shareholders and the Kiwibank board," he said.

The RBNZ has been reviewing the definition of bank capital, the measurement of risks that the banks face, and the minimum capital requirements and buffers to set up a regime that provides confidence in the banking sector. It wants to complete a review of banks' capital settings by early next year.

In July, the central bank released a second options and issues paper on a wide-ranging review of the system's capital framework. It proposed limiting common equity and preference shares as the only allowable instruments qualifying as Tier 1 capital, and long-term subordinated unsecured debt without triggers that freeze interest payments as Tier 2 capital. Other instruments would still be available for banks to use to fund their operations but wouldn't go towards the regulated capital levels.

(BusinessDesk)

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South Port New Zealand, the country's southernmost deep water port, has appointed long-serving manager Nigel Gear as the new chief executive from October.

Departing CEO Mark O'Connor, who has been at the port for 24 years, will officially hand over to Gear on Oct. 1 but will remain at the port until early November.

Gear is currently the port's commercial manager and has previously held management positions in operations, warehousing and finance in addition to earlier roles within the fuel and meat processing sectors. He has been at the company for 23 years.

Gear was selected after a recruitment process that attracted "strong interest from a number of very capable candidates," chairman Rex Chapman said in a statement. He noted that Gear "is already well known by our customers and has been part of a very successful management team operating during the companys recent period of growth."

South Port first listed in July 1994 and since O'Connor became CEO in 2000 the shares have climbed more than 500 percent to trade recently at $5.71. They reached a record $6.19 in October last year. Profit was a record $8.7 million in the June 2016 year and in the first half of the current year, earnings climbed 54 percent to about $5.1 million.

(BusinessDesk)

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Speaking at the 75th anniversary of DMK's mouthpiece Murasoli, Kamal Haasan said Karunanidhi had asked him to join the party way back in the 80s but he is yet to respond to his offer.

By India Today Web Desk: It doesn't get bigger than this for Tamil movie fans. Superstars Rajanikanth and Kamal Haasan shared stage at an event organised by Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) today.

The DMK is celebrating 75th anniversary of party's mouthpiece Murasoli. Kamal Haasan was one of the speakers at the mega event. While Haasan was seen sitting beside DMK's Stalin, Rajanikanth was seated in the front row with with the audience which also included former BCCI boss N Srinivasan.

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"People ask me on Twitter whether I have been making fun of DMK? If I wanted to I would have joined politics way back in the 80s when DMK chief Karunanidhi sent me a telegram asking me to join the party. I haven't replied to him till date," Kamal Haasan. "Tamil Nadu is now witnessing a new era," added Kamal Haasan.

The presence of both Rajanikanth and Kamal Haasan at an event organised by the main Opposition party of Tamil Nadu is hugely significant as both the megastars have given ample hints in the recent past about joining politics.

'READY FOR WAR'

In June, Rajinikanth admitted that he is discussing the prospects of his joining politics but would make an announcement once he finalises it.

"I have not denied it. We are discussing and yet to take a decision. Once I take a decision I will inform you," the actor told reporters.

The actor, who met his fans in May, had asked them to "prepare for war" hinting that he might consider entering politics.

"When a war comes, they will come to the rescue of their motherland. I have a profession, work, duty and so do you. Go to your places, do your duty, take care of your vocation. Let us face the war when it comes," he had said.

KAMAL HAASAN SLAMS CM PALANISWAMI

In the last few days, Kamal Haasan has alleged corruption in the current Palaniswami government in Tamil Nadu. The government has not taken kindly to the accusations with Chief Minister Palaniswami saying that the actor does not know politics

"He is into acting... does not know about politics. After he comes to politics and says (such) things, we will give him a proper respone," the Tamil Nadu chief minister said.To this, Kamal Haasan posted a message on Twitter in which he said "the day I expressed my voice against imposition of Hindi, I had become an amateur politician".

Without naming anyone in his Twitter post, the actor said that those "behind power" and those who forget their responsibility by accepting money" were threatening action against him for tax evasion. Kamal Haasan exhorted people to come forward and question the government. He said that it is the duty of a responsible citizen to question the government on corruption.

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Rajinikanth to take the political plunge? Soundarya Rajinikanth has this to say

WATCH: Kamal Haasan backs Panneerselvam, says he has proved his mettle till now

--- ENDS ---
Posing as an ACB officer, Sahil Rajpal, grandson of former MLA Radheshyam, had demanded Rs 10 lakh from Public Health Engineering Department engineers for settling a fraud case.

By Press Trust of India: Rajasthan's Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) today arrested the 31-year-old grandson of a former MLA and BJP from Sriganganagar for allegedly extorting money by making spoof calls, police said.

Posing as an ACB officer, Sahil Rajpal, grandson of former MLA Radheshyam, had demanded Rs 10 lakh from Public Health Engineering Department engineers for settling a fraud case in which they were allegedly involved, senior officials said.

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"He had also allegedly taken Rs 1.5 lakh from the complainant," said Inspector General, ACB, Sachin Mittal.

IG Mittal said this is perhaps the first case in Rajasthan where "spoof calls" were made using international gateway internet calling.

"We were chasing the accused since February and had contacted telecom companies of nine countries to nab him," Mittal said.

Superintendent of Police, ACB, Tejaswini Gautam said the accused is an English (Honours) graduate and was arrested from the MLA quarters in Jaipur.

She said Rajpal is being interrogated for his role in similar crimes committed in past and others involved in the activities.

Rajpal will be produced before the court tomorrow, she said.

ACB sleuths said that the accused had made calls to SPML Company, a complaint of which was lodged with CBI.

In the much-talked about SPML Company fraud case, names of PHED engineers and senior officers of the company had cropped up.

The case was investigated by ACB officer Shankar Dutt Sharma. Rajpal, posing as Sharma, had called PHED engineers and SPML officers, the police said.

Also Read:

Yes, was following Varnika Kundu's car: Vikas Barala confesses before cops, says report

Chandigarh stalking case: Police recovers footage from 5 CCTV cameras

Chandigarh stalking: Why was she out so late, asks BJP leader

ALSO WATCH: India Today accesses CCTV footage in Chandigarh stalking case

--- ENDS ---
Rajeev Khandelwal and Surveen Chawla were last seen together in Ekta Kapoor's Kahiin Toh Hoga.

Rajeev Khandelwal and Surveen Chawla will be seen in Alt Balaji's next. Picutre courtesy: Instagram/rajeevkhandelwalfandom

By India Today Web Desk: Actor Rajeev Khandelwal, who was last seen in Sony TV's Reporters is making a comeback with Alt Balaji's upcoming web series.

Rajeev has been paired opposite actress Surveen Chawla in the series.

This is not the first time that the duo will be working together. Rajeev and Surveen have earlier worked together in Ekta Kapoor's Kahiin Toh Hoga, where Rajeev played Sujal and Surveen played his sister-in-law Charu.

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Set against the backdrop of Kashmir, the show is titled Haq Se, which will revolve around the lives of four sisters Meher, Jannat, Bano and Amal. Surveen plays the role of Meher while Rajeev plays Naushad Rizvi.

The web series has also roped in actors like Simone Singh and Waqar Sheikh in pivotal roles.

Also read: Rajeev Khandelwal might return to television; 5 actors that we need to see on TV again

--- ENDS ---
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Rep. Dan Donovan is urging the U.S. Department of Education to investigate millions of dollars a charitable foundation with ties to Iran made to dozens of American colleges and universities.

Donovan (R-Staten Island/Brooklyn) sent a letter to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos after a federal jury ruled that the Alavi Foundation was controlled by Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions.

The letter cites the risk of rogue nations illegally attempting to subvert American academic institutions through back channels.

"I find it deeply concerning that a state sponsor of terrorism may be using shell organizations to transmit funds to various colleges and universities so they may hire educators that espouse pro-Tehran views," Donovan wrote. "It is crucial that the U.S. government takes action to prevent Iranian propaganda from infiltrating institutions of higher learning."

Donovan said an investigation is necessary to learn more about the donations and if they impacted the hiring of professors or curricula taught.

It is estimated that the Alavi Foundation donated more than $2 million to various U.S. colleges and universities.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- An odor of smoke wafting over Staten Island on Thursday morning is due to a fire in Pennsylvania, according to Notify NYC.

The blaze in Morrisville is the source of the odor, Notify NYC said.

The community is located west of Trenton, New Jersey.

"In Morrisville, Pa., multiple fire companies from Bucks County (and Mercer County, across the Delaware River) were on hand working to contain a massive junkyard fire at Sims Metal Management on Steel Rd S, that started late Wednesday night, continuing into Thursday," according to our sister website, NJ.com.
Page Content

At the Department of Communication, Business Outreach and Placement Program (BOPP) student interns Julianne Robert(16) and Omari Philips(18) took part in hosting a TV Program that will play on Cable TV for the next 3 weeks.





Julianne, of the Charlotte Brookson Academy, and Omari, of the St. Maarten AcademyPSVE division, were trained in several areas at the DCOMM, from administrative tasks to video production to media communication.





The student interns worked along with DCOMM staff members to contribute their part of a information program, called Inside Government.





The two students interviewed the Prime Minister William Marlin, Minister Silveria Jacobs, the BOPP coordinator Faye Arnell, and a couple of BOPP students interns.





Julianne and Omari said that interning at DCOMM was a learning experience and productive. I enjoyed working at DCOMM. I learned a lot, and it was a lot of fun, Omari said. Julianne echoed those same sentiments in her period spent at DCOMM, working in office management, TV production, and media arts.





The BOPP students interviews can be seen on DCOMM TV Program, Inside Government, on St. Maarten Cable TV, Channel 115 at 7pm. The first program airs on August 11, and it will highlight the BOPP program. There will be other programs hosted by these student interns on August 18th and August 25th.





Julianne and Omari are part of the 50 plus students who took part in the BOPP program, which is coordinated by the Department Social Cultural (SC) Development and are dedicated to placing exam and pre-exam students of the secondary schools as well as students of the tertiary educational level in a four weeks summer job during the months of July and August.





The SC Department said that the BOPP enables highly-motivated students to gain invaluable work experience in government departments or local businesses during the summer vacation.




Page Content

President of the St. Maarten Academy School Board,

Principal,

Fellow teachers,





Good morning.

Wow, where did time go? It feels like it was just a few weeks ago, that I stood here, addressing many of you and welcoming you to the new academic year and welcoming several of you to our new country Sint Maarten.

Once a teacher, ALWAYS a teacher, they say. I know this to be the gospel truth, at least, in my own case. As some of you may already know, I have been a teacher most of my life; actually, I dare say, all my life.

And although politics has consumed most of my time and energy in the latter part of my still rather young existence, I can say without doubt that nothing gives me more satisfaction than to run into one of my former students and be called Meneer Marlin.

Just yesterday in the evening I ran into one of them with not only her daughter, but with her grandchildren as well.

I am sure some of you know that feeling. Maybe one or two of you might have even been my former students. I can assure you, however, that nothing is more satisfying, not a huge pay hike, (although none of us, including me, would turn that down); not fewer or the brightest students to teach; not an ultra-modern classroom with the latest technological gadgets; not a beautiful school building in an upscale neighborhood not any of all these things that we sometimes clamor for - and I am the first to admit that teachers really need some of these to enable them perform to their best ability  but not any of them individually or collectively can be as satisfying to a teacher as the success of his or her students in society.

The single most important reward that we as teachers seek is to see our students excel in whatever they eventually become in life.

This is because, as English playwright George Bernard Shaw once said, What we want is to see the child in pursuit of knowledge, and not knowledge in pursuit of the child.

We all agree, I think, that as the popular saying goes, knowledge is power. Imparting knowledge to our students means empowering them to face the rigors of life.

This is not an easy task. In fact, it is perhaps one of the most difficult things to do in life. Teachers, good teachers, are everything to their students, particularly the teenage students that you have to deal with.

I single out this group because they are at the age of rebellion, of self-discovery, and of knowing it all without any need for advice or counsel from their elders.

The modern teenager may even be more challenging not only to teachers at school, but also to their parents at home. But which one of us hasnt been through that stage in our lives?

It is precisely at this age that students dont care how much you know until they know how much you care, to put it in popular parlance.









Caring is an essential attribute of a teacher. Maria Montessori put it like this: what really makes a teacher is love for the human child; for it is love that transforms the social duty of the educator into the higher consciousness of a mission.

However, let me hasten to stress that it would be unfair to heap all the burden of education on the shoulders of teachers. I totally agree with American author and three-time Pulitzer winner, Thomas Friedman when he said:

There's no question that a great teacher can make a huge difference in a student's achievement, and we need to recruit, train and reward more such teachers.

But here's what some new studies are also showing: We need better parents. Parents more focused on their children's education can also make a huge difference in a student's achievement.

In other words, for us to achieve that excellence that we all desire, that we all aspire to, we must view our mission as a collaboration between teachers and parents, between the classroom and the home.





As government, I can tell you that we are committed to doing all in our power to facilitate that partnership. We know as well as you do that the new St. Maarten we have begun to build since 10-10-10, October 10, 2017, can only be achieved by all of us working together.

As that African adage says, it takes a village to raise a child. I would go one step further and say that it takes a whole people, working together, to build a nation of excellence because according to Warren Bennis, a pioneer in Leadership studies, excellence is a better teacher than mediocrity.

We cannot condone or, worse still, entrench mediocrity and expect to be among the best in the region and the wider world.

It takes a culture of excellence to achieve that. We cannot, as teachers, throw up our hands at the slightest challenge or give up on that one student who may be learning at a different pace than the others and expect our own attitude not to rub off on our students.

At the end of the day, the statistics that really counts is how much have we been able to help that one student achieve, who couldnt learn at the same pace as his classmates, rather than how many of the bright students in our class were able to pass their CXC examinations.

Dont get me wrong, success at those exams is very important for all the students in your care. But as Bill Gates noted, Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose.





We should not fall for that seduction. Rather, we should be reminded always that teaching is not just a profession that creates other professions, but more than anything else, it is an art.

In the words of someone who should know, John Steinbeck, Nobel Prize in Literature, teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit.

Great teachers, like great artists, have a big heart. That is what is required to mould and shape the young minds entrusted to you. That is what is necessary to transform our society and indeed the world in which we live today.

I am sure I need not tell you that great teachers are great learners as well. They learn from their peers as well as from their students. They know, better than anyone else, that education is life itself, not a stage on the journey we call life.

They also know that although ours is the Age of Technology, Bill Gates himself, an icon of the technological age, said Technology is just a tool. In terms of getting the kids working together and motivating them, the teacher is the most important.

Allow me to state here that it was the realization that technology, information technology in this digital age, is what will drive future progress, which prompted me to launch the idea of transforming St. Maarten into a smart city.

As I indicated then at this year's Governor's Symposium, a smart city can only be achieved by smart people. Forming and inspiring that new generation of smart St. Maarteners is a task that constitutes part of your responsibility.

As you prepare to start the new school year, I want you to know that you are important not only in the lives of the children you teach, but also very important in the life of the new St. Maarten we must build together.





I cannot emphasize enough how much I appreciate your work, your commitment, your dedication and your love. Even when it is not always obvious, let it be known that I am proud of you and proud to be called a teacher, like you.

On behalf of government, I wish you a most successful new school year.

I thank you.




Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Munisamy Thambidurai, addressed the Parliament in Tamil for a while, to make a statement against the alleged 'Hindi imposition' being carried out by the Union government.

By Pramod Madhav: Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker, Munisamy Thambidurai, on Wednesday, addressed the Parliament in his native tongue, Tamil. However, as soon as he started speaking, the members disrupted him, saying, they were unable to comprehend his language.

Thambidurai, then switched over to English, and said, "The government is trying to impose a particular language. Now, if I have to speak in Tamil, I'll have to get permission".

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Thambidurai stated, even he doesn't understand Hindi or English, but still has to listen to it, as there is no translator for him.

"Emphasis should be given to regional languages like Tamil, Telugu and Bengali. A person should be allowed to speak freely in his native tongue inside the Parliament", he said.

Thambidurai then continued his speech in his English.

Also Read:

Learn Kannada in 6 months or leave, bank employees in Karnataka told

Bengaluru: Pro-Kannada group blacken Hindi sign boards at metro stations

Bengaluru: Namma Metro services resume after staffers call off strike

WATCH | Language war intensifies in Karnataka as pro-Kannada groups make fresh demands

--- ENDS ---
By India Today Web Desk: One of the biggest hits of 80s, Ram Lakhan acquired the status of a cult film over the years. And when amost two decades later, Rohit Shetty decided to remake the film, Bollywood enthusiasts couldn't contain their excitement. Almost everyone wanted to know who was stepping into the shoes of Anil Kapoor and Jackie Shroff for the remake.

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From Shah Rukh Khan to Ranveer Singh, many names popped up in the last few months. But nothing transpired in the last two years. And in a recent interview to Filmfare, Rohit Shetty revealed that the film has been shelved.

The filmmaker said that no actor is ready to do a two-hero film, and that's the reason Ram Lakhan remake has been shelved.

He told the magazine, "No, the Ram Lakhan remake is not happening. Two stars don't want to work together, they just want to promote each other's films. This young lot, they will tweet for each other, but they will not work with each other."

Rohit added, "The last lot to work together is Ajay Devgn and Akshay Kumar or Abhishek Bachchan and Hrithik Roshan. But the new lot won't work with each other, I don't know why they are insecure of each other? So, now we have just kept it aside. I guess we will have to make it again with Anil Kapoor and Jackie Shroff."

ALSO READ: Karan Johar, Rohit Shetty join hands for Ram Lakhan remake

ALSO READ: Shahid Kapoor to play Ranveer Singh's 'bade bhaiya' in Ram Lakhan remake?

ALSO WATCH: I love doing all that, director Rohit Shetty on action in Singham Returns

--- ENDS ---
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By India Today Web Desk: Ranbir Kapoor's love life has always been under the radar. Be it her relationship with Deepika Padukone or his break-up with Katrina Kaif, Kapoor junior has always been in the news for his affairs.

Ever since he joined Bollywood, his name has been linked to many. But not many know that once upon a time, Ranbir dated Avantika Mailk - Imran Khan's wife.

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Yes, the Barfi! actor had a huge crush on Avantika back in the 90s. Avantika used to work as a child artist in a popular serial Just Mohabbat, and Ranbir was so much in love with her that he used to visit her every day on the sets of the show.

In fact, the two dated for almost five years before parting ways. Avantika later started dating Imran Khan, and after dating each other for eight years, Avantika and Imran tied the knot in 2011. They now have a daughter together.

Meanwhile, Ranbir made his Bollywood debut with Saawariya. Ranbir and Avantika have remained friends despite their break-up. And this picture is proof.

ALSO READ: Ranbir Kapoor gets intimate with a mystery girl, photos go viral

ALSO READ: Has Ranbir Kapoor found love in a Mumbai girl? Hint: She is not from film industry

ALSO WATCH: Amitabh tells Ranbir about dealing with failure and bankruptcy

--- ENDS ---
As per government estimates, Rohingya's population has increased four times in the country in the last two years. In 2015, their population was estimated to have been 10,500, as per Kiren Rijiju's reply in the Lok Sabha given two years ago.

By Prabhash K Dutta: Responding to a question in Parliament on Wednesday (August 9), Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju said that the government was firm on deporting about 40,000 Rohingya Muslims from the country.

As per government estimates, Rohingya's population has increased four times in the country in the last two years. In 2015, their population was estimated to have been 10,500, as per Kiren Rijiju reply in the Lok Sabha given two years ago.

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In a written response, the Home Ministry informed the Rajya Sabha that the central government has directed the concerned state governments to set up task force at district levels to identify and deport the illegally staying foreign nationals.

WHO ARE ROHINGYAS?

Rohingyas are ethnic Muslims of Myanmar living in Rakhine province in the Arakan region. Following clashes between dominant Buddhist communities in Myanmar, a large number of the Rohingya Muslims were forced to leave their country beginning 2012.

The government of Myanmar does not recognize Rohingya Muslims as citizens. They are effectively stateless people since 1982 when Myanmar passed a new citizenship law. Officially, Myanmar government refused to recognize the Rohingya as an ethnic group.

In 2015, Myanmar stated that as terminology, Rohingya had "never been included among over 100 national races of Myanmar." It says that Rohingya Muslims are mainly Bengali's settling in the country illegally after Myanmar's independence in 1948 and in the aftermath of 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.

On the other hand, there are some references saying that Rohingyas had settled in the Arakan region as early as 15th century. Rohingya Muslims claim that they are native of the Arakan region. The term Rohingya is said to have its origin in word Rakhanga or Roshanga. Arakan's another local name is Rohanga.

In 1799, some European writers identified Rohigya Muslims as Rooinga living in the Arakan region as different from neighboring Hindus. But, the government of Myanmar does not agree with the claims of the Rohingyas.

MIGRATION TO INDIA

Following the clashes and absence of protection from the government, the Rohingya Muslims started to flee the country in boats. Their boats kept floating in the Bay of Bengal and along the Strait of Malacca prompting journalists to give them the name of Boat People.

India being the largest neighbor of Myanmar, Rohingyas flocked to India with the hope of better livelihood and shelter as refugee. But, India does not have any specific refugee plan. So, the Rohingya Muslims, who could enter the country, started looking for jobs and settled wherever they got a source of income.

As of now, the Rohingya Muslims are, according to the Home Ministry, mostly settled in Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Delhi, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Andra Pradesh and Manipur. The largest number of Rohingyas is in Jammu and Kashmir government.

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According to the Jammu and Kashmir government's estimate, there are around 5,700 Rohingya Muslims in the state. However, the central government says that their number could be around 10,000-11,000 if actual headcount is carried out.Responding to a question in Parliament yesterday, Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju said that the government was firm on deporting about 40,000 Rohingya Muslims from the country.

As per government estimates, Rohingya's population has increased four times in the country in the last two years. In 2015, their population was estimated to have been 10,500, as per Kiren Rijiju reply in the Lok Sabha given two years ago.

In a written response, the Home Ministry informed the Rajya Sabha that the central government has directed the concerned state governments to set up task force at district levels to identify and deport the illegally staying foreign nationals.

Responding to a question in Parliament yesterday, Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju said that the government was firm on deporting about 40,000 Rohingya Muslims from the country.

As per government estimates, Rohingya's population has increased four times in the country in the last two years. In 2015, their population was estimated to have been 10,500, as per Kiren Rijiju reply in the Lok Sabha given two years ago.

advertisement

In a written response, the Home Ministry informed the Rajya Sabha that the central government has directed the concerned state governments to set up task force at district levels to identify and deport the illegally staying foreign nationals.

REFUGEES IN INDIA

The government of India has not set up any refugee camps for the Rohangiyas living in India. Interestingly, according to the central government, there are no refugee camps for Bangladeshi refugees either. But, there are 107 camps in Tamil Nadu and one in Odisha for Sri Lanka refugees.

As for the Tibetan refugees, the government has, in principle, given them political asylum but they are staying in settlements on their own in the country.

Now, that the government has made it clear that it would work for deportation of Rohingya Muslims, concerns are being raised about their safety.

Amnesty International India, in a statement issued yesterday said, "Forcing Rohingya asylum-seekers and refugees back to Myanmar would violate the international principle of non-refoulement - which is recognized in customary international law and is binding on India - that forbids states from forcibly returning people to a country where they would be at real risk of serious human rights violations."Responding to a question in Parliament yesterday, Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju said that the government was firm on deporting about 40,000 Rohingya Muslims from the country.

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Also Read:

Poonam Mahajan launches Bharat Jodo campaign

TMC MP seeks equal treatment to women in films, sports

--- ENDS ---
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Good morning Canberra!

The only thing standing between you and the weekend is this annoying Friday, which is meant to be warmer than we've known recently. There was an overnight 'low' of 8 degrees, a top of 15 and mostly sun for the ACT today. It's much the same except for some cloud on Saturday, which will have a low of 2 degrees and a maximum of 14. Then there's a minimum of 1 degree and a high of 16 the next day. Not a bad weekend at all.

What's making news as we're finishing off the week?

Pups mauled
A Canberra woman has pleaded guilty to manslaughter with diminished responsibility over the death of her mother at the family's home in Dunlop. 

Gabrielle Woutersz, 26, was arrested after Norma Cheryl Woutersz, 56, was found dead in her backyard in October 2014.

Gabrielle Woutersz, 26, has been in custody since her arrest. Credit:Rohan Thomson

Police said Woutersz repeatedly hit her mother's head with a claw hammer before she dragged the woman's body outside and tried to bury it in a planter box she emptied of dirt.

Woutersz' father called police after he arrived home to find his dead wife tied to a stepladder by her ankles in the backyard and his daughter cooking eggs inside the house.
By PTI: New Delhi, Aug 9 (PTI) The Rajya Sabha today witnessed heated exchanges between the government and the opposition over whether to take up legislative business or debating the Chandigarh stalking case and printing of differently-sized new currency notes, leading to its adjournment for the day.

The House, which had earlier seen a discussion on the 75th anniversary of the Quit India Movement, witnessed two adjournments as the opposition and the treasury benches stuck to their respective stands before the Chair called it a day.

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While the government wanted to push the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill for consideration and passage, the Congress-led opposition members wanted to discuss the contentious issue of Chandigarh stalking case and discrepancies in the printing of new currency notes.

Consensus eluded on running of the House even after the leaders of the two sides met in the presence of Deputy Chairman P J Kurien to break the deadlock.

Those who attended the meeting after the second adjournment included Union Ministers Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Ravi Shankar Prasad, Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma, Jairam Ramesh and Kumari Selja.

Naqvi later said in the House that the Congress party had agreed to take up legislative business first and later discuss the issues raised by them and claimed that the Congress party was "now retracting from its commitment".

He said the government understood the oppositions intention that they would first discuss the issues they are raising and then walk out of the House so that the bill is not passed. Prasad repeatedly stressed that the Banking Regulation Bill was "very important and pro-poor" and would empower the RBI to ask banks to initiate proceedings against bad loans. However, the opposition members did not relent and stuck to their stand on discussing the issues first and then taking up the legislative business.

Pressing for a discussion on their issues including the Chandigarh stalking incident, the opposition members led by those from the Congress trooped into the well, raising anti- government slogans. They also raised slogans against the BJP on the matter related to stalking of a girl in Chandigarh by the son of a Haryana BJP leader. Congress deputy leader Anand Sharma said Chandigarh being a Union Territory was directly administered by the Home Minister who should come to the House and give a statement on the issue. Terming the banking bill as important one, Sharma said that "Please do not pass it in the din."

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D Raja of CPI also said no bill should be passed in the din.

Kurien then said if the House was always witnessing a pandemonium, "what can the Chair do". Pressing for a discussion on the issues raised by the opposition, Sharma said tomorrow the new chairman of the House will join and there would be no time for a discussion on the bill. Selja said the government was protecting the accused in the stalking case and trying to push matter under the carpet.

Even after intervention by Kurien, both sides remained defiant on their respective stands, leading to the premature adjournment of the House for the day.

Earlier initiating the discussion, senior congress leader Kapil Sibal gave a notice to suspend legislative business in and take up the matter related to discrepency in the sizes of the new currency notes being printed.

"We are confronted with a very serious issue...we have discovered differently-sized notes in the public domain. We would like to know what is going on? Who is printing these notes," Sibal said. His notice was however rejected by the Deputy Speaker. PTI MSS KKS ARC

--- ENDS ---

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The University of Canberra Public Hospital aims to be a new "calming" place for patients to heal, with planning even detailing the colours of interior paints to help rehabilitation, a senior ACT health director says.

Tina Bracher made the comment during a visit to the $212 million-odd hospital construction site on Thursday, joined by ACT government ministers and senior construction managers of the massive project.

ACT health executive director of mental health, justice health and drug and alcohol services, Tina Bracher, at the UC Public Hospital work site. Credit:Jamila Toderas

Aiming to help reduce the ever-increasing acute care burden on Canberra's two existing public hospitals, the UC hospital will provide services focussed on physical and mental rehabilitation for patients discharged from wards after their immediate acute needs are met.

Due for completion mid-next year, the hospital 140 overnight beds and 75 "day spaces", revised from the initial 200 beds originally planned, which will treat patients rehabilitating after everything from surgery and trauma, like car accidents, to strokes and serious mental illnesses.
A 39-year-old man will face court this morning charged with offences related to a series of aggravated burglaries and an aggravated robbery in Canberra clubs during July and August.

The Canberra Irish Club in Weston, the Southern Cross Yarralumla Yacht Club, the Turner Rugby Union Club, the Harmonie German Club and Hotel Kurrajong have been targeted by two men over the past several weeks.

A Hotel Kurrajong employee was threatened with a firearm on Wednesday.

An ATM was taken from the yacht club and a cash redemption machine from the Turner Rugby Union Club.

Police allege that on Wednesday the 39-year-old man went to Hotel Kurrajong, pointed a firearm at an employee's face and demanded cash, fleeing with money and a safe.
Dozens of sexual violence academics from throughout Australia have joined to advocate for change in how universities respond to sexual assault and harassment.

RMIT justice and legal studies lecturer Anastasia Powell formed the consortium on the back of the Human Rights Commission's report on sexual violence in university communities. A sector-wide survey found one in five students were sexually harassed and 1.6 per cent sexually assaulted in a university setting in 2015 and/or 2016.

Dr Anastasia Powell. Credit:Penny Stephens

The Consortium of Australian Sexual Violence Researchers, which has more than 60 members, will release regular evidence briefs to help inform university responses to the Change the Course report.

"We aim to be an independent voice that will advocate for change and sustainable solutions to issues of sexual violence and harassment that we hope that universities will then take on board and use to develop their responses," Dr Powell said.
Two Canberra men who defrauded the agency responsible for managing the money of some of the capital's most vulnerable people have been handed jail sentences.

Stephen Evans, 33, will spend at least 17 months locked up, while Donald Tawanda Savanhu, 38, avoided time behind bars after his 18-month prison sentence was fully suspended.

Donald Tawanda Savanhu, 38, of Ngunnawal, leaves the ACT Magistrates Court in 2015. Credit:Michael Inman

The pair were among four men charged for scamming $1.65 million from the ACT Public Trustee's office.

The trustee helps to care for Canberrans who, as a result of illness, accident or disability, must give someone else the power of attorney to make decisions on their behalf.
Europe is a great place for a holiday, but Asia is where the work is.

So, after five days back home, I found myself in Semarang earlier this week having breakfast with the amazing Mari Pangestu. Ms Pangestu embodies modern Indonesia.

She was educated at the University of California, Davis and the ANU in Canberra, where her father had been a professor, and she went on to serve in the Indonesian government as the minister of trade and minister of tourism and creative economy.

Regular readers would know of my business in Indonesia as chairman of the Australia Indonesia Centre on behalf of the Australian and Indonesian governments.
Sydney households on the best electricity market offers are paying almost $840 less every year than those on the worst, while in rural and regional NSW the difference is as much as $1230.

Usually when such discounted plans expire, consumers are automatically shifted to "standing offers," which are on average $325 to $450 more expensive than July last year.

But after an agreement reached between government and retailers on Wednesday, electricity retailers will write to customers in "plain English" with alternative offers when the discount ends, before a more costly standing offer takes hold.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the move would help "cut a better deal for Australian families", with the potential to save households more than $1000 a year.
Victoria is officially the preferred home for AGL Energy's planned $250 million gas import terminal, designed to ensure supply at a reasonable price.

AGL said on Thursday that Crib Point, near Western Port, had been provisionally picked for the jetty but that it would not make a final decision on the ambitious project until the 2019 financial year.

AGL chief executive Andy Vesey said that time was needed to gain the necessary approvals and to work closely with local stakeholders.

"We are taking this step by step," he said. "The most important thing is to build community support. We are not looking for an expedited path."
One of Mark Zuckerberg's top lieutenants was in Sydney this week, as Facebook launched a charm offensive on the Australian media industry.

Adam Mosseri, a ten-year veteran of the social media behemoth and the man in charge of one of its most critical features, the news feed, was in town, offering olive branches to Australia's top publishers, including executives from Fairfax Media and News Corp.

Facebook is not the most popular entity on the planet among publishers, who - despite benefiting from its massive reach - also are being hurt by the network's growing dominance of the digital advertising market, alongside Google.

The good news for the local media industry was that Mosseri came bearing gifts: Facebook is testing new tools designed to weed out fake news and clickbait and to help publishers grow their audiences, and in theory even their revenues, including through subscriptions.
Indian mining giant Adani has been fined $12,000 for a stormwater breach at its Abbot Point coal terminal during Tropical Cyclone Debbie.

The Adani-owned Abbot Point Bulk Coal was granted a temporary licence to more than triple its "suspended solids" releases during the severe weather in March.

The coal export facility at Abbot Point.

But the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection claimed more than eight times that amount was released into the ocean near the north Queensland facility.

The fine did not relate to water released into the surrounding wetlands, which was still under investigation.
Industrial sites around Melbourne Airport continue to attract large logistics businesses with the latest, Direct Couriers, taking a 10-year and two-month lease at Growthpoint Properties Australia's site.

The courier business struck a deal with Growthpoint for the 14,082 square metre site at 45-55 South Centre Road, on the southern boundary of the aviation precinct.

Industrial sites around Melbourne Airport continue to attract large logistics businesses. Credit:Craig Abraham

Growthpoint said the lease was struck on commencing net rent of $72.50 per sq m for about $1 million per annum and was subject to fixed 3.5 per cent rental increases.

As a result of the deal, Growthpoint's industrial portfolio was 99 per cent occupied with only one vacancy near Brisbane's airport at 5 Viola Place, the group said.
By PTI: New Delhi, Aug 10 (PTI) In a jolt to Sahara chief Subrata Roy, the Supreme Court today rejected his plea to put on hold the auction process of the groups Aamby Valley property in Pune district of Maharashtra valued at Rs 34,000 crore.

The apex court told Roy that his proposal of paying Rs 1,500 crore, if the auction process was halted or postponed was allowing it to make a statement "willing suspension of disbelief" (believe the unbelievable).

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A bench, headed by Justice Dipak Misra, said the auction process will go on according to the schedule and if Rs 1,500 crore is paid by the contemnor (Roy) into the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)-Sahara refund account by September 7, then it may pass an appropriate order.

"We are not inclined to entertain the prayer of the contemnor. The prayer is hereby rejected. If any agreement is reached by the group to raise money, then appropriate orders will be passed," a bench also comprising Justices Ranjan Gogoi and A K Sikri said.

During the hearing, senior advocate Kapil Sibal said that the auction process of Aamby Valley which would start with the publication of a notice on August 14, should be postponed at least till September 16 to enable Roy arrange the money.

"Your proposal is making us to make a statement that it is willing suspension of belief", it said.

Sibal said that hotels in New York have been sold and soon money would be coming into the Sahara account after which Rs 1,500 crore would be deposited into the SEBI-SAHARA refund account by September 7, as had been directed by the court.

"Our request is that the auction process for Aamby Valley, which will be initiated by way of publication of a notice should be postponed till September 16, as the value of property will fall drastically once it is put on sale in public domain," Sibal said.

He said that Sahara has been on verge of entering an agreement with a Mauritius-based company to raise money, but for that purpose, the auction process has to be postponed for the time being.

"We are negotiating a deal of subscription agreement whereby an investor will invest 1.67 billion dollars in Aamby Valley out of which around Rs 5000 crore will given to the SEBI-Sahara refund account," he said.

Senior advocate Arvind Datar, representing the SEBI, opposed the proposal of the Sahara chief saying that every time a process starts, the group came up with some objection in order to delay the process.

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He said that it was a global auction and interested parties from across the world would participate and Rs 4.4 crore hasd already been spent in initiating the process.

"It will not be approrpiate, if the auction process is stalled," he said and added that according to SEBIs research, the said Mauritius-based company, named by Sahara, did not exist.

To this, the bench said it was not going to pass any order and the auction process would not be stalled or postponed.

It said the group could pursue the negotiation with the investor and the court would pass an order at the appropriate time.

Roy had yesterday moved the apex court seeking to put a hold on the auction process to sell the groups property by the official liquidator of the Bombay High Court.

The apex court had on July 25 asked the embattled Sahara chief to deposit Rs 1,500 crore in the SEBI-Sahara account by September 7 and said that it might then deliberate upon his plea seeking 18 months more time for making complete repayment.

The court had simultaneously approved the draft sale notice and terms to dispose of the property prepared by the official liquidator of the Bombay High Court.

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"The official liquidator shall publish the sale notice as given by him and the notice shall be published on August 14. The steps which are required to be taken for the publication of the sale notice, are allowed," the court had said.

The Sahara Group had earlier sought 18 months time to repay around Rs 9,000 crore balance amount of the principal amount of Rs 24,000 crore.

Sibal, however, had said that according to the group, the remaining amount was around Rs 8,000 crore and it had made all efforts to deposit the money.

Roy, who has spent almost two years in jail, has been on parole since May 6 last year. The parole was granted the first time to enable him attend the funeral of his mother. It has been extended since then.

Besides Roy, two other directors -- Ravi Shankar Dubey and Ashok Roy Choudhary -- were arrested for failure of the groups two companies -- Sahara India Real Estate Corporation (SIRECL) and Sahara Housing Investment Corp Ltd (SHICL) -- to comply with the courts August 31, 2012 order to return Rs 24,000 crore to their investors.

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Another company director Vandana Bhargava was not taken into custody. PTI MNL SJK ABA RKS SC

--- ENDS ---
Optus aren't the only ones to give you links when the internet is down (C8), says Susan Donegan, of Invergowrie. "When ringing Telstra to report an internet outage the automatic voice gives the same 'helpful' response. When I reached a real person I inquired why and was told 'Telstra presumes everyone has a smartphone'." What a tangled world wide web they weave.

The C8 items about canvas water bags took Harry Bell, of Bowral, down memory lane. "Back in the 1860s my grandfather, Sydney Bell, worked for the Oriental Bank in Burrengong (Lambing Flats) and took the week's gold to Bathurst or Goulburn, without escort. One day he was stopped by a group of armed horsemen who asked for a drink. He poured one from his water bag and they left. He loved to tell us of the false bottom in the bag: water above, gold below."

When it comes to fortunes and number plates, Michael Afaras, of Henley, says not everyone would be rushing to snap up "4". "The Chinese consider 4 unlucky because it is nearly homophonous to "death". Many apartment blocks owned or tenanted by Chinese do not have a level 4, such as the new development on the corner of Herring and Epping Roads, Macquarie Park."

Tying in banks and number plates, Allan Gibson, of Cherrybrook, recalls that the Bank of New South Wales' pool cars had black and yellow plates ending in "282". "Why 282? All the bank's vehicles were registered until 28 February."

Mate, there's war on Spoonerisms. Richard Edmonds, of Balcolyn, says his favourite Ronnie Barker example was proposing the Loyal Toast to a meeting of clerics. "He uttered the immortal line: 'Glaze your arses to the queer old Dean'."
There's good reason to think the White House doesn't know what it's doing in handling a nuclear stand-off with North Korea that could end catastrophically. US President Donald Trump has been said to have 'miscalculated' in threatening to respond with "fire and fury" to any further threats to his country from the pariah state, but that might be too generous. It's more than plausible he didn't calculate at all. His comments took his own administration by surprise and provoked only more aggression from North Korea, which vowed to finalise a plan to fire four missiles into the waters off the Pacific island of Guam, a United States territory used as a strategic base, to create a "historic enveloping fire." That the US response to North Korean aggression is being led, and undermined, by a president who appears incapable of keeping to a nuanced, strategic response bodes poorly for the prospects of a peaceful resolution to this escalating conflict.

While Trump's rhetoric grows more violent, his secretary of state Rex Tillerson has softened the US' position, telling Americans they can sleep easy and stressing his country was working diplomatic channels. He claims that the path of diplomacy and sanctions is working. But US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis appeared to echo his commander-in-chief's bellicosity, saying the combined allied militaries "now possess the most precise, rehearsed and robust defensive and offensive capabilities on Earth", and that North Korea's military "will continue to be grossly overmatched by ours and would lose any arms race or conflict it initiates." Whether or not the US is consciously emphasising its range of options in dealing with North Korea, it's escalating the situation and taking a major risk. Sometimes wars start for no major reason at all. In the Cold War black comedy Dr Strangelove, a communications error and a rogue general brought on nuclear apocalypse. In the world of fact rather than fiction, historians say that statesmen blundered into World War I, and didn't know why. In the North Korean stand-off, there are many moving parts that, through no fault of any single individual, could set off a chain of events leading to war. The White House needs to be a well-oiled machine in this unpredictable environment. Instead, its responses are getting more chaotic, inflaming the matter.
Lieutenant Commander Henry Albert Longdon Hall, MBE, OAM, MiD, RAN retired, was one of the most decorated naval combat veterans of WWII, and after, in a long permanent navy career. His service spanned 1938 until 1981. He joined the Royal Australian Navy as an ordinary seaman second class and retired as an officer after 43 years of loyal and distinguished service. He was a member of the "vanishing present", one of the great generations, who dedicated his life to the naval profession. That same good citizenship continued with his active involvement as he contributed to the wider local community.

"Nobby" is the sobriquet given to all Halls who joined the services. Short of stature, intelligent and wise, he was feisty, as the occasion demanded, but no less effective or efficient. His speech was clear and direct, and his bark and bite were moderate in their application, often deservedly so. He was widely respected as a personality who was the very embodiment of the navy.

Lieutenant Commander Henry Hall at an Anzac commemoration in 2012. Credit:Karleen Minney

Henry was born in Sydney on April 4, 1922, joining the pre-war RAN at 16. After four years service, as an able seaman, he found his baptism of fire in one of the crucial battles of WWII. It was during his draft to HMAS Canberra that he was a witness and participant at Savo Island in 1942. He was a range taker in the foremast of Canberra when it was crippled and sunk on August 9. For his heroic actions, he was mentioned in despatches (MiD), for his skill, resolution and coolness during operations in the Solomon Islands.

In his own words, Hall peppered his recollections with salty epithets. One can only imagine the fear and visceral terror he faced during a naval night engagement, when the Japanese warships took the best of luck and fortune available to them. "Everything is awfully wrong. I'm in the midst of madness, sounds never heard before. Screams of horror and pain, flying glass, shrapnel whistling through the air  tearing into flesh and bone."
It's never a good look for a departing MP to jump into an industry they've worked closely with as minister. The public are rightly leery that it raises questions about conflicts of interest while in office, and also creates an uneven playing field for all the other individuals and interest groups seeking to curry favour with the government.

That's why the Prime Minister's Statement of Ministerial Standards says former ministers "will not lobby, advocate or have business meetings with members of the government, Parliament, public service or defence force on any matters on which they have had official dealings as minister in their last 18 months in office". Former Coalition ministers Andrew Robb (Trade) and Ian MacFarlane (Industry and Science) have also faced questions over their post-parliamentary roles, with the Chinese company Landbridge and the Queensland Resources Council respectively.

Bruce Billson, the former small business minister who is now chairman of the franchise lobby group, Franchise Council of Australia. Credit:Andrew Meares

But Bruce Billson's breach took things to another level. It makes a mockery of the standards of propriety, transparency and accountability we are entitled to expect from our politicians. In his last four months as an MP he was not only drawing a parliamentary salary but was also paid $75,000 by his future employer, the Franchise Council of Australia. He was in breach of the rules requiring that the payment be disclosed on the parliamentary register. As the Prime Minister Mr Turnbull observed, "It was not appropriate to fail to comply with the standing orders and not make that disclosure."

Mr Billson has apologised for what he described as a "discourtesy to the House of Representatives" and an "administrative failure". It's not a distraction he needs just at the moment, with the effectiveness of his evidently fervent lobbying on behalf of his new employer about to be tested by the imminent Senate debate on the Vulnerable Workers Bill.
Constitutional recognition of Australia's original inhabitants needed to come before referendums on other issues were held, Indigenous leader Noel Pearson argued on Thursday.

Mr Pearson, a member of the expert panel on constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians and the referendum council, said Indigenous recognition had to come before a referendum on a republic or four-year parliamentary terms.

Noel Pearson at the Queensland Media Club on Thursday. Credit:Dan Peled/AAP

"I would just urge that those issues be definitely put back to another term and a time in the future," he said.

"It would be grossly unfair if the Indigenous recognition referendum is not first cab off the rank for a referendum."
Tony Abbott has called for Australia urgently to consider a missile defence shield to protect against attack by nuclear-armed North Korea.

This means that Australia's two most recent former leaders  one Labor and one Liberal  have now made such a call in the last four weeks.

Australia has no defence against intercontinental ballistic missiles. The government has yet to indicate any interest in acquiring one.

After US President Donald Trump this week said he would deal with Pyongyang's threats with "fire and fury", North Korea said that "only absolute force can work on him".
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is selling the postal vote on same-sex marriage as a chance for "all Australians to have their say" on the issue.

"It's an important question. Everyone will get an opportunity to have their say," he said on Thursday.

There is a lot riding on the postal plebiscite. The government says unless there is a majority "yes" vote, it will not allow a vote in parliament.

But will the non-compulsory $122 million vote accurately reflect what Australians think about marriage equality?
Jennifer Lawrence has made not one, not two, not three, but four appearances on the cover of Vogue's prestigious September issue this year, as the fashion tome reveals four separate covers to celebrate its 125th anniversary.

The actress, who has previously appeared on the cover of Vogue twice, appears in three cover photographs for the magazine, as well as a painted portrait by US artist John Currin.

The painting shows Lawrence in a rather flamboyant white and pink fur Miu Miu hat.

It is the first time the September issue, noted as the magazine's highest selling issue each year, has featured a painted cover, although painted works have previously appeared on the front of the magazine. Salvador Dali, notably, has painted four Vogue covers.
The former principal of elite Sydney girls' school, Kambala, is suing the school and two teachers for defamation following her resignation, which came after more than 100 teachers signed a motion of no confidence in her.

Debra Kelliher left the Rose Bay school in April after some teachers and parents complained to the school council about her leadership.

The former principal of Kambala, Debra Kelliher, is suing the school and two teachers. Credit:Nick Moir

At the time, the school council, headed by prominent businesswoman Sally Herman, wrote to parents to tell them Ms Kelliher had resigned effective immediately after doing a "wonderful job" at the Anglican school during her 3 year tenure.

But Ms Herman's letter annoyed some parents and teachers.
A NSW doctor has been found guilty and reprimanded for unsatisfactory professional conduct for prescribing addictive opioids and other pharmaceuticals to 13 patients.

But he was allowed to keep practising under supervision because of his previous "unblemished record" and his inexperience dealing with difficult patients who were drug dependent and doctor shopping.

In a decision released this week, Dr Angelo Manuel Arreza was found to have prescribed drugs in dosages that were too high and too frequent. There were five cases where he prescribed inappropriate combinations of drugs and 10 patients to whom he prescribed drugs not recommended for their conditions.

He had "seriously threatened the future safety of the patients", the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal ruled. It decided against suspending or cancelling his registration because he was unlikely to ever be guilty of professional misconduct again, given his extensive research and reading about prescribing addictive drugs and other therapy for pain sufferers since the complaints were made more than two years ago.
By India Today Web Desk: Since sex in India is still restricted to the hush-hush in bedrooms, buying sex toys in the country has been an ordeal, to put it mildly, especially for women.

For most people residing in metro cities, purchasing sex toys involves walking down dingy lanes, and exploring shady places. People from smaller towns mostly resort to buying them during an international holiday, or asking their friends who're vacationing abroad to do the same. Thanks to the large market that these factors throw open, a lot of contemporary businessmen are now investing in this not-so-widely-accepted source of trade, through online shopping portals.

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Even online, though, there still remains a striking difference between the number of men and the number of women who buy sex products. ThatsPersonal, a sexual wellness products website conducted a survey analysing data from over 80,000 orders, which shows that 62 per cent of their customers are male and the rest 38 per cent are women.

And what do these customers purchase? While most women purchase intimate massagers, men are inclined towards, surprise surprise, lubricants. The other majorly sold products include delay sprays, sexy lingeries, pleasure rings, condoms and 'sexcitement' lotions.

Also Read: Hanif Kureishi's new book is about love, sex and nothing

Photo: Pinterest

Out of the 38 per cent women buyers, most of them are from Punjab, and prefer 'sexcitement' products over intimate massagers, as compared to their counterparts from other states. Women from Punjab purchased the highest number of 'sexcitement' products like arousal oils in the year 2016, according to the survey.

The survey also states that Gujaratis develop three times higher sexual appetite while fasting during the nine consecutive days of Navratri. Apart from condoms, products like adult games, edible lingeries, edible body paints and pleasure rings also see a higher demand during this festive season.

Photo: Pinterest

Also Read: Watch this mother and daughter talk about sex, without saying the word 'sex'

Gujaratis from smaller towns like Rajkot, Baroda and Bhuj have been observed to like lubricants, adult games, penis pumps, sexy lingerie and intimate massagers.

While women across the country are not frequent buyers, 53 per cent of the products sold in Baroda are bought by women.

Photo: Pinterest

According to the survey, Bhopalis get experimental in bed with different flavours of condoms, with 28 per cent of the customers being women.

While Assamese have been purchasing the most number of kinky, BDSM products, men in Uttar Pradesh prefer to invest in penis enlargement products.

--- ENDS ---
A man accused of murdering his wife asked two women if they wanted a threesome a few weeks after the teenage bride went missing, a Sydney jury has been told.

The women testified they visited their friend Steve Fesus to offer him their support after hearing of his wife's disappearance in August 1997.

Steve Fesus has pleaded not guilty to murdering Jodie Fesus Credit:Andy Zakeli

"He said: 'I have got a bottle of champagne in the fridge - why don't you two get on the floor and we can have a threesome?" said witness Kim Duncan in the NSW Supreme Court on Thursday.

Fesus, 46, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Jodie Fesus, 18, in August 1997 at their Shellharbour home, on the NSW south coast, before burying her body in a shallow grave at Seven Mile Beach, near Gerroa.
Shane Boyle was recovering from cancer surgery when he decided to celebrate with a group of friends on a night out in Kings Cross.

The 22-year-old from Sydney's south-west was ordering food at a Bayswater Road takeaway when he was punched in the head and knocked unconscious.

The next thing he remembered was waking up in hospital, feeling "confused and sore".

Mr Boyle has taken the unusual step of issuing a public statement, via NSW Police, saying he has "no hard feelings" towards his attackers but wants them to come forward.
Emergency roadworks to fix a sunken section of the Gateway Motorway wrapped up at 4pm, but northbound traffic showed "no signs of easing" as peak hour continued.

Australian Traffic Network reporter Olympia Kwitowski said traffic on the Gateway Motorway was backed up from the roadworks near Wyampa Road down to Airport Drive, and surrounding roads were also affected.

A section of the Gateway Motorway appears to have sunk.

"We've got massive delays northbound on Sandgate Road, through Virginia and Boondall," she said.

"Bowen Bridge Road, Lutwyche Road, Gympie Road and Gympie Arterial Road, very heavy northbound from the Valley all the way up to Bald Hills."
Mr Pearson said the Queensland education system had a "long, long, long way" to go. "These remote Indigenous schools are the poorest in the country," he said. "I see no sign that there's any kind of serious strategy to turn that situation around." Indigenous people make up 4 per cent of the total population in Queensland, according to the latest Census data. But they make up two-thirds of the children locked up, according to an Amnesty International Report, and 32 per cent of the population in adult jails, according to the ABS.

It comes after Mr Pearson's Good to Great Schools pulled out of running Aurukun State School in November 2016, leaving it to the Education Department. Aurukun State School was closed briefly in 2016 after staff were threatened, with allegations the principal was attacked by a group of teenagers, and teachers evacuated. In February, an audit office report found Education Department staff overstated how many students were enrolled at the Aurukun school due to incorrect interpretation of policies and poor record-keeping. Asked at the Queensland Media Club whether he wanted to re-engage with the Aurukun school, Mr Pearson said he did. "It's the great heartbreak of my life losing that school," he said.

"I'm not in public life to lose things like that - those children are my most precious anxiety. "I don't believe (Education Minister) Kate Jones and (Education Department director-general) Jim Watterston have done the right thing by those children. "So yes, I harbour that hope and dream. Not for my sake, but for theirs." Mr Pearson said he did not believe the outcome for the school was fair. "Essentially that school got shut down for a law-and-order problem down the street," he said.

But Mr Pearson did not answer a question on whether he would write to Education Minister Kate Jones asking to teach his program at Aurukun again. "They know our position on that," he said. "I think that this whole question of fixing up the schools in remote areas is still a big agenda for us." An agreement is in place between Good to Great Schools for Coen and Hope schools. Ms Jones said positive change was being seen in the Aurukun community, starting at the school.

She said the government had introduced Years 7 to 12 at the school. "While students still have the option of undertaking secondary education at boarding schools, those who are not ready to leave their community can now continue at Aurukun State School with a flexible learning program," she said. "This is what the community asked for. "This approach has proved successful with 47 students now enrolled and engaged in secondary studies at the school." Ms Jones said the school focused on individual case management, working closely with families to support students into study, training or work.
It's starting to smell a bit like an election.

Queensland Labor ministers started Thursday by spruiking all their achievements since wresting government from the LNP in 2015.

Is Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk entering electioneering mode? Credit:Robert Shakespeare

While ministerial statements in Parliament usually have a positive bent, these speeches had an element of finality about them.

There is another sitting week in two weeks, so why the hard sell?
"No body, no parole" laws have passed Queensland Parliament with support from both the government and opposition.

The legislation is designed to ensure murderers who haven't identified the location of their victims' bodies won't be released without serving maximum time.

The new laws passed with support from both the government and opposition. Credit:Kylie Pitt

The opposition had been trying to pass its own amendments to the legislation, but some last-minute discussions with the government on Wednesday night saw Attorney-General Yvette D'Ath change the amendments to ensure the legislation passed.

Members of two families affected by the laws, the Pullen family and the Split family, watched the passage of the legislation from the public gallery on Thursday, and applauded when it was passed.
Two patients have died during a gastro outbreak at an aged-care home in Brisbane's south.

A Metro South Health and Hospital Service spokesman confirmed its public health unit was informed on July 29 of a norovirus outbreak at a Yeronga facility, operated by Regis Aged Care.

Two patients have died during a gastro outbreak at Regis Aged Care in Yeronga. Credit:Nine News / Twitter

"Metro South Public Health Unit is aware of the deaths of two frail residents who were affected by the outbreak," he said, in a statement.

Regis confirmed the outbreak and said controls had been in place since July 28 but said the gastro outbreak did not kill the patients.
In the wake of the ransomware outbreaks using Wannacry and the related follow-up, Petya  which one could view as a litmus test for those who hadn't patched after the first one  much discussion has occurred around effective IT security, the "right" tools to use to protect organisations, and the "correct" priorities.

Ransomware is a relatively new excursion into the malware modus operandi. Essentially, when it gets a foothold on a system it encrypts whatever data it can access, rendering it permanently inaccessible unless a ransom is paid to decrypt it.

The WannaCry warning screen, Chinese version. Credit:AP

Variants can encrypt not just the data on the infected computer but also anything attached, including network-attached storage, USB hard drives, and back-up drives that are online.

This has led to a shift in the business model for malware exploitation. Previously, monetising the data on the owned computer was the responsibility of the attacker. Now monetisation depends on the value of the now-inaccessible data to the organisation or individual affected.
A woman who police thought was going to die after she was repeatedly hacked with an axe by her ex-husband in a shopping centre in suburban Melbourne said she would "never be the same me again".

Her account was heard publicly for the first time after her statement to police was released by the court on Thursday.

An ambulance leaves Fountain Gate shopping centre car park on March 27. Credit:Seven News

The documents were made public after her former partner, who she had separated from a year earlier, pleaded guilty to intentionally causing serious injury with gross violence in the Melbourne Magistrates Court.

He had previously been charged with making threats to kill his ex-wife in 2014, but avoided a conviction and received a 12-month community corrections order and a fine.
A man who allegedly stabbed a business owner in a terrifying daylight robbery on a shopping strip in Melbourne's inner suburbs has been charged.

The woman ran screaming from her North Carlton Newsagency, chasing a man carrying her cash register about 3pm on Wednesday.

The crime scene. Credit:Channel Seven

A quick-thinking chef from neighbouring cafe Babajan intervened to stop the man fleeing in a taxi on Pigdon Street.

But the man got away as cafe customers, including a student nurse, helped the injured newsagent.
The sharp difference in reactions of Sharad Yadav and Nitish Kumar to Ahmed Patel's Rajya Sabha win lays bare the rift between the two senior party leaders, with many suggesting that a split is imminent.

Sharad Yadav may look at a possible merger or alliance with Lalu Prasad. Photo: PTI.

By Kritika Banerjee: As veteran Congress leader Ahmed Patel pulled off a dramatic midnight victory over BJP's Balwantsinh Rajput in the Rajya Sabha election in Gujarat, Janata Dal (United) leader Sharad Yadav tweeted a picture of him and Patel, congratulating the latter for his win.

"Heartiest congratulations on your victory in Rajya Sabha election in spite of toughest hurdles. Wish you all the success in your career," said Sharad Yadav.

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In contrast, JD(U) chief and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was left red-faced after party's Gujarat MLA Chhotubhai Vasava claimed to have voted for Ahmed Patel, helping him win the cliffhanger. Janata Dal (United), which is once again back in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Bihar, had asked its Gujarat MLA to vote for the BJP candidate.

Heartiest congratulations on your victory in Rajya Sabha election in spite of toughest hurdles. Wish you all success in your career. pic.twitter.com/ICNTmq02nY- SHARAD YADAV (@SharadYadavMP) August 9, 2017

The sharp difference in reactions of Sharad Yadav and Nitish Kumar to Ahmed Patel's Rajya Sabha win lays bare the rift between the two senior party leaders, with many suggesting that a split is imminent.

WHAT'S BREWING BETWEEN LALU AND SHARAD?

While the two leaders often differed on several issues, Nitish Kumar's decision to walk out of the Grand Alliance with the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and instead form the government with the BJP in Bihar may have hit the last nail in the coffin.

JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav today kicked off a three-day outreach programme, Samvaad Karyakram, in Bihar. "Over the next three days, I will visit eight-nine places. The mandate of 11 crore people has been ripped apart. I am also very hurt," he said, adding that he is still with the Grand Alliance.

With Sharad Yadav's relation with Nitish Kumar turning bitter, Lalu Prasad-led RJD has been making overtures to woo him. At the Patna airport, Sharad Yadav was welcomed by RJD members and RJD leader Rambadan Rai.

A little over a week ago, RJD chief Lalu Prasad urged Sharad Yadav to start a nationwide tour to defeat "communal forces" in the country. "I will appeal Sharad ji to undertake a nationwide tour and throw all his energy into defeating the communal forces that have fanned out in the country," Lalu Prasad said.

LONG-TERM PLANNING AND BIHAR 2020

As talks of Sharad Yadav launching his own political outfit are gaining steam, RJD's posturing is more than just symbolic. There are speculations in Patna that Sharad Yadav may not launch his own party but merge his faction with the RJD.

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In terms of numbers, JD(U) MPs in Rajya Sabha Ali Anwar and Veerendra Kumar are known to be Sharad Yadav's supporters. JD(U)'s Gujarat MLA Chhotubhai Vasava, who went against the party wish and voted for Ahmed Patel, may also switch sides.

Sharad Yadav has also met senior Congress leaders in the last few weeks since Nitish Kumar broke away from the Grand Alliance.

A new alliance between Sharad Yadav, Lalu Prasad's RJD and the Congress may offer competition to Nitish Kumar in the 2020 Assembly election in the state.

ALSO READ:

Sharad Yadav's tweet attack on BJP: Black money stashed abroad did not return

Sharad Yadav backs Gujarat MLA who voted for Ahmed Patel, deepening JD-U rift

JD-U leader Sharad Yadav breaks silence on Nitish Kumar's alliance with BJP in Bihar, calls it unfortunate

ALSO WATCH: It is unfortunate: JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav breaks silence over new Bihar coalition government

--- ENDS ---
Opposition Leader Matthew Guy says he is "considering a number of options" to make political donations more transparent in Victoria.

"I have, not just after this week but before had a keen interest in reform of political donations in this country," Mr Guy said on Thursday morning.

"We have contemporised our probity regime, we have not contemporised our fundraising structures and I am quite keen to have a debate around it.

"I am a supporter of changing, of reforming our donations structures in this country, I think that the time has certainty come to that. If real time is part of that I am more than happy for that."
An early morning shooting in Melbourne's north on Friday has sparked fears it could be payback for the fatal shooting of a man on Wednesday.

Two men have been shot in the legs and a third man bashed in the second shooting in two days in Roxburgh Park.

The incident took place in Orion Way about 2.30am.

Two men were taken to Royal Melbourne Hospital in a stable condition with non-life threatening injuries while a third man was also taken to the hospital with facial injuries.
Opponents of Melbourne City Council's plans to spend $250 million renovating the Queen Victoria Market have released their own design to overhaul the site.

Lobby group Friends of Queen Victoria Market on Thursday morning unveiled their uncosted plans for the market revamp that include an elevated green space on top of the existing parking area and retaining its heritage sheds.

A proposed redesign of the Queen Victoria Market by architect John McNabb. Credit:Simon Schluter

Spokesman Phil Cleary, who ran against Lord Mayor Robert Doyle at last year's council elections, said the plans by Melbourne architect John McNabb were "more respectful of the market's character and heritage" than those offered by the city council.

The Andrews government last month signed off on a plan by Melbourne City Council to allow the developer it has selected, PDG, to build a 42-level tower on land the council owns across the road from the market's deli.
Outgoing Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan says he's had no job offers so far but would "certainly be interested" in a role which involves advocacy.

Mr O'Callaghan will officially retire as the state's top cop next week after 13 years in the job.

Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan.

Chris Dawson, a former WA Police deputy commissioner, has been appointed to the role and will start on August 16.

On Thursday Mr O'Callaghan said while he had no offers on the table, he had spoken to WA mining magnate Andrew Forrest about a range of issues, mostly about the plight faced by those in remote Aboriginal communities.
First Quantum Minerals has announced Wednesday to suspend the Ravensthorpe nickel operation in WA's south-east after the metal used in stainless steel production missed a rally by everything from aluminum to zinc.

The Vancouver-based company, which employs close to 300 people according to the ABC, will place Ravensthorpe on care and maintenance next month at an estimated cost of $10 million, plus $5 million annually.

Hundreds of jobs are on the line after news the Ravensthorpe nickel mine will shut down.

Restarting would cost about $10 million, it said in a statement. The company's shares lost as much as 4.4 percent in Toronto, the worst performance among peers.

"Ravensthorpe is an excellent operation with an outstanding workforce and supportive community but the continuing depressed nickel market conditions, over some years, leaves us no option," Chairman Philip Pascall said.
Bogota: As Australian Cassandra Sainsbury arrives back in Bogota's El Buen Pastor women's prison after a Colombian judge rejected her drug trafficking plea deal, she does so in a bus filled with other women, but in a sense she is more isolated than ever.

She's now staring down the barrel of a court process that could end in three decades worth of jail time.

Unsurprisingly, the prosecution is not in her camp. They worked with her and the defence team to construct a plea deal as far back as June, as was revealed in court on Wednesday, Bogota time.

The deal then fell apart because of Ms Sainsbury's revelation that her family had been threatened. She did so on record, in front of the judge who ultimately threw out the plea deal.
What installations are on Guam and how significant are they?

Guam has two major bases: Andersen Air Force Base in the north and Naval Base Guam in the south.

Children play in the sand in Tumon, Guam, the small US territory North Korea has threatened to attack. Credit:AP

The naval base dates to 1898, when the US took over Guam from Spain after the Spanish-American War. The air base was built in 1944, when the US was preparing to send bombers to Japan during World War II.

Today, Naval Base Guam is the home port for four nuclear-powered fast attack submarines and two submarine tenders.
Nairobi: A bitterly divisive presidential election in Kenya has descended into chaos after the opposition leader claimed that a government-sanctioned hacking attack had subverted the results to rob him of victory.

Police shot dead three protesters as violent clashes in the capital and elsewhere raised fears that the country could again be pitched into electoral violence after Raila Odinga accused Uhuru Kenyatta, the president, of resorting to "massive" fraud to secure re-election.

Supporters of Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga demonstrate in Kibera, Nairobi, Kenya. Credit:AP

Mr Kenyatta, seeking a second and final five-year term, was on course for a convincing victory, raising suspicions among his rival's supporters that yet another Kenyan election had been rigged. With nearly all the votes tallied, the president had secured 54.3 per cent of the vote against Mr Odinga's 44.8 per cent, according to provisional results released by the electoral commission - a much wider margin of victory than opinion polls had suggested.

Although the election appeared to have been the best-run in decades, Mr Odinga was quick to reject the result, claiming there had been a reprise of the rigging that probably cost him victory 10 years ago.
New York: Anxiety over North Korea spiked on Tuesday when President Donald Trump warned that, if the country makes any more threats against the United States, it "will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen."

Social media filled with nervous jokes and at times outright panic over whether Trump and North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un, could bluster their way into unintended nuclear war. Some posted maps showing what the blast areas of a nuclear strike in Washington or New York might look like. Others asked whether it was time to build a bomb shelter.

The Trump administration seemed to cultivate this sense of alarm. Sebastian Gorka, a White House adviser, told Fox News that the stand-off is "analogous to the Cuban missile crisis," which nearly brought the United States and Soviet Union to war.

North Korea's nuclear program is deadly serious, but research on the nature of foreign threats and nuclear weapons, as well as North Korea's own track record, suggests that Americans can hold off on building those bomb shelters.
Seoul: North Korea has freed a Canadian pastor serving a life sentence on humanitarian grounds, the official KCNA news agency said, just hours after US President Donald Trump warned the US would counter any threat from the North with "fire and fury".

There was no clear connection between the release of Hyeon Soo Lim and the heightened rhetoric between Washington and Pyongyang over nuclear threats.

Canadian Pastor Hyeon Soo Lim was released by North Korea on Wednesday. Credit:Screengrab

Canadian officials had said on Tuesday a delegation led by the country's national security adviser had gone to North Korea to discuss Lim's case.

Lim, who served in one of the largest churches in Canada, had been sentenced to hard labour for life in December 2015 after North Korea accused him of attempting to overthrow the regime.
Yadav said that the Mahagathbandhan during 2015 Assembly elections had forged an agreement with people to provide government for five years but Nitish's change of stand has broken the trust.

Senior JD-U leader today declared that he still stands with the Mahagathbandhan.

By Rohit Kumar Singh: The war between senior JD-U leader Sharad Yadav and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has escalated with the former declaring today that he still stands with the Mahagathbandhan. Yadav took a contrary stand on party national president Nitish Kumar snapping ties with Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Congress to form government with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

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Yadav, who reached Patna for the first time after the political turmoil, slammed Nitish for forging alliance with BJP.

"In the last 70 years of Indian politics, I have never seen two rival alliances who fought elections on different manifestos coming together in the middle of the 5-year term. People of Bihar are hurt by the political development and now I am going to the people," said Sharad Yadav.

Yadav said that the Mahagathbandhan during 2015 Assembly elections had forged an agreement with people to provide government for five years but Nitish's change of stand has broken the trust.

"We had promised to respect the people's mandate and like them, I am also hurt," said an angry Yadav.

Yadav received a warm welcome at the Patna airport and most present were RJD leaders and workers. These Yadav supporters even chanted anti-Nitish slogans. "Jo Hitler ke chaal chalega, wo Hitler ki maut marega," chanted Sharad Yadav's supporters.

Former RJD MLC Ram Badan Rai, who was also present at the airport to greet the JDU leader, told India Today that Sharad Yadav has RJD's backing. "Sharad Yadav has taken the right step by standing against Nitish Kumar. He has RJD's support. We have all come to provide moral support to him," said Rai.

Yadav will be travelling to over half dozen districts including Vaishali, Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga, Saharsa and Madhepura over the next three days to gauge the mood of the people before taking a final decision on his next political move.

ALSO READ |

Sharad Yadav backs Gujarat MLA who voted for Ahmed Patel, deepening JD-U rift

JD-U leader Sharad Yadav breaks silence on Nitish Kumar's alliance with BJP in Bihar, calls it unfortunate

Rift in JD-U? Sharad Yadav meets Rahul Gandhi, to meet party leaders

ALSO WATCH | It is unfortunate: JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav breaks silence over new Bihar coalition government

--- ENDS ---
London: Leaders of nations called for greater efforts to open talks with North Korea on Wednesday, pushing back against an escalation of military rhetoric between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

North Korea, reacting to a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for sanctions against the North for developing nuclear weapons and missile systems, said it would not give up its military program and said its missiles could reach anywhere in the United States. After Trump threatened "fire and fury" on Tuesday if North Korea's provocations continue, Kim Jong Un's regime then announced that it was considering to attack Guam, a US territory in the Pacific.

Some US allies appeared to blame Trump's remarks for the escalation.

Germany's foreign office called "on all parties for moderation," on Wednesday.
A TV news report on the range of North Korea's missiles at the Seoul Train Station in South Korea. Credit:AP Trump's critics tend to view his "fire and fury" threat as evidence of a president gone over the edge. "Trump is fulfilling expectations of someone who lashes out dangerously at real and perceived challengers," said Blair, the former launch officer who is now a research scholar at Princeton University. "He is raising the risk of a conflict that escalates to nuclear war. He has proven time and again to be . . . unable to apply a deft hand at diplomacy." Trump voters often said their reasons for supporting him outweighed their sense that he could be dangerously impulsive. Credit:AP But the president's defenders see him working from the gut, with admirable instincts to protect the nation and take pride in American power.

Fred Doucette, a longtime Trump supporter who is assistant majority leader in New Hampshire's House of Representatives, watched Trump's appearance Tuesday and was disappointed that he didn't declare a national emergency on opioid abuse, but pleased to hear the president deliver a strong message to North Korea. Voters made it clear that they trusted Clinton vastly more than Trump on the use of nuclear weapons. Credit:AP "The president spoke in a language that Kim Jong Un understands - and, personally, I think they should follow up on that and show them that we mean business," said Doucette, 52, a Navy veteran and retired firefighter and paramedic. "I assume the president spoke with his generals and his Cabinet first." Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the president's remarks were no harbinger of imminent nuclear war but rather tough talk designed to send Kim a clear message. "Americans should sleep well at night," Tillerson said. Doucette said he does exactly that. "When the phone rings at 3am, I want Donald Trump to be the president that answers that phone call," he said. "I sleep well at night with President Trump, very well."

Last year, 10 former Air Force nuclear launch officers issued an open letter warning that Trump "should not be entrusted with the nuclear launch codes . . . He has shown himself time and again to be easily baited and quick to lash out, dismissive of expert consultation and ill-informed of even basic military and international affairs." But on Wednesday, those officers were no longer united in their view of Trump. "The reaction to this is not wholly rational," said one of the signatories, who spoke on condition that he not be named because his employer has not authorised him to speak on the record. "A lot of people are caught up on Trump the character - and he is erratic - without thinking about whether there's historical precedent for this kind of language. I'm actually a little relieved that Trump is crawling inside the North Koreans' helmets. I would not have chosen those words, but he did put the fear of God into them." But another of the former "missileers" said Trump's fiery rhetoric was evidence of exactly what he had warned about last fall. "He speaks impulsively and he acts impulsively, and I don't know what restraints there are on President Trump," said Mark Lussky, a retired lawyer who served on a missile combat crew from 1972 to 1976. "He doesn't know how to back down on anything."

At the core of the anxiety over Trump's remarks is the worry that the president made his threat without consideration of what might follow. The sheet of paper he held in his hand was about opioid abuse, not the conflict with North Korea. Yet the White House was quick to issue assurances that, as press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, although Trump's "words were his own . . . the tone and strength of the message were discussed beforehand" by Chief of Staff John Kelly and others on the National Security Council. Presidents don't usually improvise comments on global crises. "What would be 'normal' in the Bush or Obama or Clinton administrations would be for the combination of strategic communications people and policy people - including the national security adviser - to develop, in consultation with the State Department and the Defense Department, a messaging strategy with top lines that they felt the president needed to emphasise," said a senior diplomat who served in all three administrations. To many Trump critics, the president's remarks were of a piece with what seems like a casual attitude toward wielding the unfathomable power of America's arsenal. On the campaign trail, he said that any Iranian vessels that "make gestures at our people . . . will be shot out of the water." Trump, who attended a military academy as a teenager and repeatedly dodged the draft for the Vietnam War, had hoped to add tanks and heavy military equipment to his inaugural parade in January but was overruled. Trump was dining with Chinese President Jinping Xi at Mar-a-Lago in early April when he authorized an airstrike on a Syrian airstrip. As he later described the moment, "We're now having dessert. And we had the most beautiful piece of chocolate cake that you've ever seen, and President Xi was enjoying it. And I was given the message from the generals that the ships are locked and loaded, what do you do? And we made a determination to do it, so the missiles were on the way."

The Clinton campaign ran ads focused on Trump as commander in chief throughout October, including one spot that showed Trump asking "Why can't we use nuclear weapons?" "One of the great concerns voters had, particularly independent voters, was the threat of somebody that impulsive, that erratic, that unprepared, having control over the nuclear codes," said Jim Margolis, the campaign's media adviser. Some of those voters acknowledged Trump's erraticism yet voted for him anyway. "There may have been a presumption that if elected, Trump would settle down, become more presidential, less crazy in his taunts and that the cocoon of security advisors around him would keep him in check," Margolis said. "Clearly, that presumption was wrong." Another anti-Trump spot, made by a super PAC run by former senator Bill Bradley, targeted Ohio voters and evoked the famous 1964 Daisy ad for then-President Lyndon Johnson that capitalised on fears that his Republican challenger, Barry Goldwater, was too reckless to be trusted with nuclear codes. Bradley's ad showed the mushroom cloud of an atomic bomb detonating, and it showed TV host Chris Matthews telling Trump that "nobody wants to hear" a presidential candidate talk about using nuclear weapons.
PHILIPSBURG:---The Public Prosecutor of Sint Maarten demanded on Wednesday a prison sentence of 3 years and payment of the amount of more than 727.145 guilders. Funds that were charged by the suspect J.A.J.R. In employment is extinguished.

This is the research "Tarpon". An investigation started in 2014 following a statement by the Secretary General (SG) of the Ministry of General Affairs in June 2014 following an investigation by Government Accountant Bureau Office Sint Maarten (SOAB) in connection with suspicion of ambitious eclipse and money laundering.

J.A.J.R. was director of the National Security Service Sint Maarten (Veiligheidsdienst Sint Maarten, VDSM). In connection with the investigation, several searches took place during the investigation. The suspect was detained for 12 days in provisional custody in connection with the investigation.

According to the investigation purchases were made on the creditcard of the VDSM, this between 2011 and 2013, for which he did not give any explanation. It involves various private purchases such as the purchase of a gold bracelet at a jeweler at Sint Maarten (2012), purchase of expensive clothing at Schiphol (2012), purchases at a department store in the Netherlands (2012) as well as the purchase of a BlueRay player (2012 ), a two-person plane ticket to Miami (2012), a plane ticket and overnight stay for two on St. Kitts, purchase of airline tickets for him and his family to Orlando (2012) and overnight stays at a luxury hotel in Miami (2012). The suspect also made several cash withdrawals for the amount of 273,000 guilders (2012, 2013).

The Public Prosecutor in this case was clear, crime does not pay, he said.

The judge give his verdict in this case in three weeks, on August 30, 2017 at 9 AM.

Prosecutor's Office Bulletin.
PHILIPSBURG:--- On Friday August 4th, 2017 board members and representatives of the St. Maarten Marine Trades Association (SMMTA) met with the Minister of Justice, Rafael Boasman, and members of his cabinet to discuss concerns pertaining to the Immigration policy and related issues. The discussions focused on seeking mutually beneficial solutions for challenges experienced by the marine sector, in trying to balance island security and sustainable economic growth during the off-season. Special emphasis was placed on promoting awareness and the use of the so-called Caribbean Carpet Visa (CCV).

Minister of Justice, Rafael Boasman, acknowledged the on-going desires by all parties to improve economic growth, while at the same time taking into account Governments on-going responsibility to keep the destination safe and secure. The minister stressed on the increase of ongoing organized cross border criminality and international terrorism.

The SMMTA representatives commended the Minister for his flexible approach in seeking workable and balanced solutions that specifically affect the Marine sector in general, and the Mega Yacht business to the island in particular.

The goal of the meeting was, amongst others, to ensure that the immigration policies in effect for Country St. Maarten are well understood by all stakeholders, including the agents of the visiting mega yachts, their crew members and visitors in general. Together with government, the SMMTA will improve the accessibility of this information, so that the stakeholders are aware of the existing visa requirements for St. Maarten to avoid unnecessary inconvenience to visitors.

The Caribbean Carpet Visa provides additional benefits for repeat travelers as it is granted for a period of one year, and may thereafter be renewed for a period of three years, as compared to the current 90 days, which is considered a short coming by the SMMTA.

SMMTA will work on collaborative marketing effort to ensure that the requirements for the Caribbean Carpet Visa specifically for passengers and crew members of the mega yachts from countries subject to Dutch Kingdom Visa laws, is well publicized, and therefor well known.

Equally important is the debunking of the thought that entry into Sint Maarten with a Schengen visa is possible, as is in Europe.

The SMMTA will aggressively promote the Caribbean Carpet Visa requirements, as well as proactively register marine industry visitors for the CCV at upcoming boat and trade shows in Europe, the USA and the Caribbean through informative seminars and events on St. Maarten.

SMMTA President, Brian Deher was quoted as saying: We feel that there is an opportunity here to not only help our customers be compliant with our Countrys Immigration Policies, but also to handle this in a way as to promote St. Maarten in general from a tourism point of view through press releases and other marketing outlets that our members are actively using.

The minister emphasized the importance of dialogue with entities of the private sector such as SMMTA to be abreast of ongoing developments, general concerns and challenges, to make St. Maarten a safer and more enjoyable destination. This is a step towards decreasing red tape to enter the country, while ensuring that the right policies are in place and are being adhered to.
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By PTI: New Delhi, Aug 10 (PTI) Shares of Security and Intelligence Services (SIS) erased early gains to close with a loss of over 7 per cent against the issue price of Rs 815 in debut trade today. The stock listed at a premium of 7.36 per cent at Rs 875 on BSE. However, it gave up all the gains later and finally closed at Rs 756.70, showing a loss of 7.15 per cent over the issue price. During the day trade, it touched a high of Rs 878 and a low of Rs 749. At NSE, shares of the company slumped 7.11 per cent to close at Rs 757.05. In terms of equity volume, 13.20 lakh shares of the company were traded on BSE and over 80 lakh shares changed hands at NSE during the day. The companys market valuation stands at Rs 5,535.94 crore. The initial share sale offer of Security and Intelligence Services (India) Limited was oversubscribed 7 times.

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The company had set Rs 805-815 per share as the price band for the IPO.

The company provides security solutions and business support services to a wide range of customers across India and Australia.

Axis Capital Limited, ICICI Securities Limited, IIFL Holdings Limited and Kotak Mahindra Capital Company Limited were the global coordinators and book running lead managers to the offer. PTI SUM MR

--- ENDS ---
Everything you need to know about No. 20 Notre Dame's game vs. Navy Saturday in Baltimore
Sitaram Panchal passed away after a long battle with kidney and lung cancer.

By India Today Web Desk: Sitaram Panchal, who was seen in films like Peepli Live, Paan Singh Tomar, passed away after a long battle with kidney and lung cancer on Thursday morning. The actor was 54.

According to a report in Indian Express, Panchal was not keeping well for a long time, and succumbed to cancer. One of his relatives was quoted as telling the website, "Sitaram Panchal passed away this morning. He had breathing difficulties. He was not keeping well for a long time."

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Panchal had a three-year long battle with cancer, and film fraternity came forward to help the actor financially in his difficult time.

Panchal, who made his Bollywood debut with Bandit Queen in 1994, went onto do films like Legend of Bhagat Singh, Slumdog Millionaire.

He was last seen in Akshay Kumar's courtroom drama, Jolly LLB2. He is survived by his wife Uma and a son.

ALSO READ: Dilip Kumar discharged from hospital

ALSO READ: Dilip Kumar in ICU, kidneys not functioning properly

--- ENDS ---
Georgetown, SC (29440)

Today

Sunshine and clouds mixed. Much cooler. High around 60F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Clear skies. Low 38F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.
In an exclusive interview with India Today, Skill Development Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy highlighted the challenges his ministry is facing. Rudy said he is ready for the challenge.

By Shwweta Punj : The Prime Minister's ambitious Skill India campaign has come under criticism for not being as aggressive in its approach. In fact, findings of a government panel raised question marks on the efficacy of government subsidized skilling programmes, casting a shadow on the Prime Minister's coveted Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana.

However, two-and-half years after the Ministry of Skill Development was constituted, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, the person in-charge of the dauntingtask of skilling 400 million people by 2022, is combative and focused as he outlines his priorities and challenges in a conversation with Shweta Punj, Senior Editor, India Today.

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Q) You have pointed out rightly that we need to build an employable workforce, what are your priority sectors?

A) Now that we have added the services sector, it has the largest potential for employment. If you look at the retail sector, we require about 1.6 crore youngsters to join the retail sector, the apparel sector, textiles, hospitality, the tourism sector and the health sector- where you need blood sample collectors, dialysis assistants - all these are not in the formal medical education system. So once we are able to create the curriculum for short term skilling and then they move as an apprentice to an establishment where hands on training takes place, it is a work force which is skilled. All this should have happened parallel to the education system in the last 60 years but since all this has been left behind - it will take some more time to stabilize.

Q) We have always had polytechnics and ITI's. How different is your strategy now?

A) Biggest challenge was convergence and syncing. From short term skilling to 8th drop out- to 8th plus 2 years. It is from there to tenth, plus 2 years of it- then polytechnics being migrated from HRD to Skill Development Ministry, all this is an indication of creating a parallel vertical of skilling for school dropouts to diplomas.

Q) How much of a challenge is it to find good trainers/ teachers?

A) Very difficult. That is why we are partnering with Indian Armed Forces, Public Sector Undertakings. We have created a portal where all these people who have the skills, post retirement can partner with us. We have worked on a lot of partnerships with other countries.

Q) So, what targets are you working with?

A) My ministry on its own has to train about a crore in the next 2.5 years. Demand for training at entry level is outstripping the capacity of the training centres.

Q) Yes, training centres- why don't we see enough of them?

A) Now it is coming up. That was the challenge, initially when it was coming up, it was not in the right ecosystem, a lot of rif-raf. Now, we have visible training centres where you can walk in and see for yourself. This was the biggest challenge. Through this, the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendra which is being established in Parliamentary constituencies across the country - whereever they have come up there is visible short term training. The youngsters come in large numbers to get themselves trained.

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Q) But a lot of questions have been raised on the efficacy of the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Yojana?

A)That was because of the franchise system. We have issued a notification and we have got rid of it. We only deal with individual centres which have a branded, standardized format and not people who are subletting it - that had created problems but we could check it in time.

Also Read:

People have skills but lack employability, will develop that: Rajiv Pratap Rudy, MoS for skill development

Priyanka Chopra to endorse Skill India campaign

--- ENDS ---
By PTI: New Delhi, Aug 9 (PTI) Union minister Smriti Irani today attacked Congress chief Sonia Gandhi over her speech on the Quit India movement during a special discussion in the Lok Sabha, saying it was a "long, pitiable lament" over the loss of control Nehru dynasty wielded before her partys defeat in 2014.

In a Facebook post, Irani said Gandhi was bent upon to prove that blood is thicker than water and was bitter and illiberal".

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The Congress president in her speech in the Lok Sabha had made veiled dig at the BJP-led government wondering whether the "forces of darkness" were trying to destroy the roots of democracy as "clouds of hate and division" were hovering over secular and egalitarian values.

Irani alleged that Gandhi also used "expressions such as nafrat aur badle ki raajneeti (politics of hate and revenge) totally out of context to vitiate the atmosphere in the House and made it seem like an election campaign speech."

She said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was forward- looking, positive, unifying and gracious in his address as he exhorted people to rise above all kinds of differences, including those created by politics, to forge ahead by fighting poverty, injustice and terrorism.

"In contrast, Sonia Gandhis speech lacked any passion or vision, bordering on the monotonous," Irani said.

Irani also said there are certain events in the life of a people when their representatives are expected to rise above partisan considerations to tap into solidarity, a latent sense of the we feeling, that helps forge national identity, and added that the 75th anniversary of the Quit India movement - a national uprising that convinced the British masters definitely qualifies for such a time.

Gandhi, however, Irani said, failed that test of leadership while Modi was statesman-like. PTI KR PYK SMJ

--- ENDS ---
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By PTI: New Delhi, Aug 10 (PTI) The countrys installed solar power capacity has crossed 13 GW mark with states of Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu emerging as leading green energy producers, Parliament was informed today. Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Gujarat, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh have crossed the solar installed capacity of 1 GW, as on July 31, 2017, Union minister Piyush Goyal informed the Lok Sabha.

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"As on July, 31, 2017, the cumulative solar energy capacity installed is 13,652 MW while the same at the end of 2014-15 was 3,743.97 MW," Power, Coal & New and Renewable Energy and Mines Minister Piyush Goyal said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

Andhra Pradesh tops the chart with 2,048 MW followed by Rajasthan (2,022 MW), Tamil Nadu (1,697.32 MW) and Telangana (1609.27 MW). The minister further stated that the Government of India has revised the National Solar Mission target of grid connected solar power projects from 20 GW to 100 GW by 2022.

The same is sought to be achieved through rooftop solar projects (40 GW) and ground mounted solar projects (60 GW), the minister added. PTI KKS MR

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According to his account, Ahmed A. attracted the attention of Hamas, the radical Islamic group, because he was active in the youth organization of the rival Palestinian group Fatah, distributing flyers and openly criticizing Hamas. He claimed that Hamas had shot one of his fellow Fatah members in the leg. When Hamas summoned him for an interrogation, he said, he became deathly afraid. In late 2008, he used traffickers to flee to Greece, via Egypt and Turkey, and eventually made his way to Scandinavia.

He had already given this account to officials in Norway, where he had applied for asylum but was denied. To be recognized as a refugee in Germany, he had to present something new. But when questioned by an official in his asylum hearing, Ahmed A. was unable to provide any convincing new information. "And everything you have said here today you already said in Norway?" the official asked. "I said the same thing there," Ahmed A. replied.

His statements were also riddled with contradictions. He admitted that he had remained in the Gaza Strip for more than a year despite his supposed fear of persecution, and was able to finish high school. "I studied economics. My siblings also attended school. We are all educated," he said. The official asked if his family had had any trouble with Hamas. "No, there were no longer any difficulties with Hamas," he replied. The only piece of new information he could think of was that his parents' house was damaged in the 2014 Gaza war. "I need to help my family now. I have to try to get them out of there."

After two hours and 10 minutes, the case seemed clear. Everything pointed to a quick decision, and to his asylum application being rejected. It seemed likely that steps would be taken to deport him to the Palestinian territories. But nothing happened.

This was taking place in the summer of 2015, just as the tensest phase of the refugee crisis was beginning. Hundreds of thousands of migrants would arrive in Germany in the ensuing months. An internal order at BAMF stated that the many cases from the Balkans and Syria were to be given priority processing.

Two weeks after the hearing, there was a serious failure at BAMF, as DER SPIEGEL reported earlier this week. Because he had already applied for asylum in Norway, the German authorities should have sent him back to Norway immediately in accordance with the Dublin Regulation of the European Union, which Norway observes even though it is not a member of the EU. A BAMF official filed the necessary request on July 14, 2015, politely asking the Norwegians to take back Ahmed A. But the Norwegian migration authority, UDI, wrote a prompt and brief response the next day, stating that the deadline had expired -- one day earlier. We regret to inform you, officials wrote, that Norway is not willing to take back the above-named person.

The Ahmed A. file was shelved at BAMF, where it remained on file for almost a year and a half.

A Period of Uncertainty

As long as the case was pending before the federal agency, Hamburg state officials could not get involved and, for instance, request replacement documents for deportation. Their only option was to house Ahmed A. in a refugee hostel and wait.

It was a period of uncertainty, which typically contributes to mental illness in refugees, according to psychotherapist Mechthild Wenk-Ansohn. She works in the outpatient clinic at the Center Uberleben in Berlin, a facility that counsels about 1,000 migrants and refugees a year. Those who simply sit around at the hostel, without permission to work or take courses, quickly begin to feel humiliated and angry, making them more susceptible to a mental crisis. "The best prevention," says Wenk-Ansohn, "is having a clear outlook for the future."

At first Ahmed A. seemed to believe that he had a future in Germany. When he telephoned with his mother, he proudly told her that he was regularly attending German lessons. In January 2016, nine months after his arrival, he agreed to a video interview with Christian Weissgerber, a Berlin refugee activist. They had met briefly in Hamburg, in the Refugees Welcome Cafe at the university, which A. often frequented. The Palestinian invited Weissgerber to visit him in the container housing unit where he lived, and cooked him a meal of rice and peppers. Deniz Rau (*), 25, a law student, also met A. at the refugee cafe. They sang songs, played the guitar and had fun together.

A short time later, A. took a long-distance Flixbus to Berlin to film the interview. They met at a cafe in the Prenzlauer Berg neighborhood, the Kombinat Schmackofatzke. In the one-hour interview, which was never released, A. looked tired. Still, he seemed reflective, open and hopeful in the interview, speaking in English. He brought a book to the interview, The Plague by Albert Camus, and said he was using it to learn German. "It's really very difficult," he said.

In his conversation with the activist, Ahmed A. spoke at length about his failed attempts to gain asylum in Europe, not just in Norway, but also in Spain and Sweden, where one of his brothers lived. He talked about the attacks in Paris and the New Year's Eve assaults on women in Cologne. He said that he regretted what had happened there, and that it was not at all representative of Muslims. He also said that the men who had committed sexual assaults in Cologne should be punished or deported.

A. also said that he was not religious. "I was born as a Muslim, but I am not religious. I believe in values, in good values," he said, adding that he had Christian and Jewish friends. "I hope for peace, and I hate no one."

A year and a half later, the same man would indiscriminately stab people in Hamburg, allegedly in the name Islam.

None of this could have been anticipated at the time. Looking at the video today, perhaps the only thing that seems unusual about A. is that he appears to be slightly resentful. "Life in the camp is complicated," he said. "It is very difficult, because so many people live there." He also said that the weather in Germany bothers him. "I don't like the cold." In the video, there was snow on the street outside.

The filmmaker recalls that he spent a nice weekend with A. after the interview. A. went to the German Historical Museum in the morning, and in the evening they played poker and smoked marijuana. There was no sign of fundamentalism or aggression.

Signs of Problems

But the refugee activist received disturbing news from friends at the Hamburg Refugees Cafe in the weeks that followed. Something wasn't right with Ahmed A., they said. He had severed ties with his friends, including the volunteer Deniz Rau.

According to the reports, A. would sometimes withdraw for days, and he had stopped drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana. During these periods, he spent more time at the mosque than usual and berated his Muslim friends for not obeying the rules of Islam. But then he seemed perfectly normal again. The friends were perplexed. Was A. merely "emotionally drained" or had he been radicalized? No one believed that he could have been planning an attack, which is why they did not notify the police. Instead, in the spring of 2016 they turned to Legato, a Hamburg counseling center that deals with cases of "radicalization with religious underpinnings," for advice.

The hostel management also contacted Legato. But after meeting with A., the counselors said the case was beyond their abilities. They said he was exhibiting signs of emotional disturbance, and that they were unable to get through to him. When contacted by DER SPIEGEL, the counseling center said that it did not comment on individual cases.

Apparently, the Hamburg police didn't learn that the refugee from the Gaza Strip had become radicalized in Germany until spring of 2016. On April 1, a concerned man walked into a police station at the back of the main train station in Hamburg. The officers at that particular station normally deal with pickpocketing cases and drug offences, not terrorism.

The man's account resembled that of Ahmed A.'s friends. He said that a man he knew at the Kiwittsmoor refugee hostel in the Langenhorn neighborhood had stopped drinking and smoking, and was talking a lot about religion. The police officer filed a report. It would later emerge that the man in question was Ahmed A. But the police officer noted a different name in his report: Ahmad al-Ahmad.

The report was sent to the State Protection Office of the Hamburg police department. Initially, no one there paid much attention to the suspected case of Islamist radicalization. In May or June, a police officer compared the name to those of the residents of the refugee hostel. He found a 15-year-old boy, but the description given by the man who had made the report couldn't possibly be a match. The case was returned to the files and, once again, nothing happened.

Now, only a few weeks after the controversial police operations during the G-20 summit, Hamburg's Mayor Olaf Scholz, of the center-left Social Democrats, and his administration are once again facing sharp criticism. The chain of mistakes, oversights and omissions in the case is easy to reconstruct. When an officer with the State Office of Criminal Investigation (LKA) visited the refugee hostel in the Langenhorn neighborhood in June, he knew nothing about the report that had been filed in the police station. The LKA officer's task was to train employees at the hostel as part of an Islamism Sensitization Program. The employees told the officer that one of the residents was an asylum-seeker who was behaving strangely and had apparently become radicalized: Palestinian Ahmed A.

The LKA officer wanted to speak to A. immediately. He asked A. whether he could provide information about the Islamist scene in Hamburg. But Ahmed A. was uncooperative, and the attempt to recruit the refugee as a source failed. Apparently the conversation had nothing to do with the Palestinian man's radicalization and his personal problems. Once again, the case was ignored.

It was only after the case was sent to the Hamburg State Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the domestic intelligence agency that monitors possible radicalism, in late August, that someone began to pay attention. It was almost five months after the person had made his report at the police station.

An employee at the state office stumbled upon Ahmed A.'s name while scrutinizing the names of asylum-seekers at the hostel. The tipster from the spring was asked to come in for another conversation. He confirmed that the name was correct, and he said that A. had asked him about the best way to get to Syria. The suspect may have intended to join Islamic State .

The State Office for the Protection of the Constitution contacted the federal police force to request that Ahmed A. be detained at the border. But A. did not leave the country.

He was confronted with the Islamism allegations during his next appointment at the aliens' registration authority. A. was apparently close to tears, an employee of the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution later noted in his report, insisting that he was a peaceful person. But he was emotionally agitated, according to the report, and his facial expressions and gestures also caught his attention. These are all signs of an emotionally unstable personality.

But Ahmed A. was never seen by a psychologist or a psychiatrist, neither in the fall of 2016, when he appeared increasingly disturbed, nor at a later date.

A Common Problem

Iris Hauth of the Society for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Psychosomatics and Neurology (DGPPN) is only too familiar with the problem. She is the chief physician at a psychiatric hospital in Berlin's Pankow district. There are about 5,000 refugees in the district, and last year 80 of them were admitted to the hospital with symptoms of acute emotional crisis. According to Dr. Hauth, the same number was already reached in the first six months of this year. "And those are only the extreme cases," says Hauth. The goal should be to intervene much earlier, she explains, but it remains an elusive one. Many counselors lack the necessary knowledge, she says, and many have inhibitions about contacting a psychiatric facility.

To address the problem, DGPPN issued a position paper in March of 2016, proposing that asylum-seekers be tested for psychological disorders during the initial medical examination, and that personnel at refugee intake and counseling centers receive the necessary training. There were ambitious concepts at first, says Hauth, but the enthusiasm quickly dissipated, and only a few were implemented. As is so often the case, it ultimately came down to a lack of funding.

Beginning in November 2016, there were growing signs that Ahmed A. was becoming radicalized. A tip from an employee of the refugee cafe at the university in Hamburg reached the security authorities. The employee said that she had seen the Palestinian at the cafe a number of times. One day, she said, Ahmed A. turned up at the cafe dressed in a djellaba, a traditional Arab robe. "Terror will come to this place, too," he allegedly threatened.

A. was also exhibiting strange behavior at the Kiwittsmoor refugee hostel. He was knocking on the doors of other residents at night, shouting, "Allahu akbar," or God is great.

Crazy, out of it, strange -- these were the words counselors and fellow residents were now using to describe the young asylum-seeker. But who could speak with him if even professional counselors were unable to get through to him? There was a lot of discussion in late 2016 and early 2017, but very little was decided. As a result, Ahmed A. was left on his own, and he increasingly began to drift away.

The State Office for the Protection of the Constitution collected the individual incidents and wrote a report. The document, dated January 10, 2017, describes a personality change in A., who was 25 at the time. The authors recommended bringing in the city's social psychiatric service to assess him.

But it never happened. Why no one at the LKA acted on the recommendation of the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution is currently the subject of internal investigations. In the spring of 2017, the director of the hostel for asylum-seekers and a Legato employee also recommended bringing in experts with the social psychiatric service.

But the lead LKA official assigned to the case apparently felt that this was unnecessary. According to his assessment, the service should only be asked to intervene if Ahmed A. presented a concrete threat to himself or others -- a threshold the LKA official did not believe had been crossed. He reportedly said that if anyone else in the group felt differently, they should take steps on their own. But it didn't happen, even though social psychiatric services are designed to address such cases: to counsel people with psychological issues, as well as people associated with them, even if there is no acute threat.

There is no credible answer to the question of whether psychological counseling would have helped the Palestinian regain his footing or averted the stabbing attack. Conversely, says trauma therapist Cornelia Reher, doing nothing was the worst option of all. Reher is the chair of Segemi e.V., a Hamburg association that advocates for improving counseling or refugees and migrants. In her experience, the majority of refugees who need psychological counseling "tend to be depressive and anxious, but they are certainly not aggressive." According to Reher, once a person is radicalized, he or she has usually lost interest in therapy. By then, it is too late for psychological intervention.

A Deadly Turn

Terrorist or psycho-killer? Or both? Last year's attacks in Ansbach, Wurzburg and Munich prompted questions about how society should react to these kinds of perpetrators.

In his work with radicalized young men and women, Berlin prevention expert Ahmad Mansour has repeatedly found that mental crises increase susceptibility to Islamist ideologies. Of course, he adds, this is not only the case with refugees, but also with many Germans who have joined groups like Islamic State.

But he says there are unique aspects to the psychological counseling of refugees, who are confronted with the trauma of war and escaping war-torn regions, the feeling of being overwhelmed in a place far from home, a foreign language and crowded conditions in a refugee hostel. All of this can encourage radicalization in a small portion of refugees. "We need much more dedicated psychological and psychiatric care," says Mansour. "The police and social workers alone are not enough to cope with the problem," says Kerstin Sischka of the Diagnostic and Therapeutic Network for Extremism in Berlin, which works with the Hayat counseling center.

A psychiatric expert will probably evaluate the extent to which Ahmed A. is mentally disturbed as part of the criminal trial. After his arrest, the Federal Prosecutor's Office was initially hesitant about taking over the case. It wasn't clear whether an arrest warrant should be issued for the attacker, or if it would be better to admit him to the forensic department of a psychiatric hospital.

Although employees at the Foreigners' Registration Office noticed, in December 2016, that Ahmed A. was nervous and constantly chewing on a toothpick, they felt that he was polite and cooperative until recently. To their surprise, when his asylum application was denied he said he would return to the Gaza Strip voluntarily. He spoke with his mother by telephone a day before the attack. "Ahmad wanted to come back," she told DER SPIEGEL.

The prospects of forcibly deporting a Palestinian without a passport are normally poor, and it had not happened a single time this year or the last. It was all the more surprising that A. reported, in February 2017, that he had already been in touch with the Palestinian diplomatic mission. Soon afterwards, he traveled to Berlin, bringing along photos for the necessary passport replacement documents. The Palestinians contacted him a short time later to say that everything was in order, except that the photos were the wrong size. A. then traveled to Berlin a second time to deliver new photos. After that, the Palestinians told him that the documents would be ready by this summer.

This explains why no one in Hamburg thought of requesting detention pending deportation for Ahmed A. Under these circumstances, no judge would have approved such a request. A.'s case was considered largely closed. For the officials involved, he was already halfway to Gaza.

A. had an appointment with the Foreigners' Registration Office on the Friday before last. He wanted to inquire about the status of his case. He said that if there were still problems with his papers, he could have his father send him his passport. He seemed calm. There was no vacant look in his eyes, no sweat on his forehead.

At 3:10 p.m., he took a kitchen knife from a shelf in an Edeka supermarket in Hamburg-Barmbek and ripped off the packaging. A trainee was straightening up rice packages when he heard loud noises in the next aisle. Thinking that some customers were fighting, he ran over to break it up.

When he entered the next aisle, the trainee saw a man with a crazy look in his eyes and knife in his hand, only two meters away. He turned and ran away, hiding in the employee bathroom. An employee working behind the meat counter watched as A. approached another customer and, without hesitation, stabbed him in the chest. The 50-year-old man collapsed immediately and intially survived, but eventually succumbed to the severe injuries. Ahmed A. ran outside, shouting, his face red with anger. He stabbed passersby outside the supermarket, until young men managed to stop him with chairs, rocks and sticks. Like Ahmed A., most of the young men were migrants. They are now being called the "heroes of Barmbek."

When he was questioned, A. said that he wanted to die as a "martyr." Investigators have not been able to determine if he was in contact with IS or another terror organization. IS has also not claimed responsibility for the attack, as it often does in such cases. Still, during his interrogation Ahmed A. insisted that he is a terrorist. When they searched his room at the refugee hostel, the investigators found a self-painted picture with the seal of the Prophet in his locker, the same kind of picture used by IS. There were also traces of cannabis in his blood.
WASHINGTON  An FBI raid last month on Paul Manaforts Virginia home appears to put the New Britain native at the heart of an investigation by special prosecutor Robert Mueller into President Donald Trumps connections to Russian intelligence.

In the early morning operation in late July, federal agents seized and hauled away documents from the home in Alexandria, Va., home. Manafort spokesman Jason Maloni on Wednesday confirmed news accounts of the raid, although he declined to specify its location.

FBI agents executed a search warrant at one of Mr. Manaforts residences, Maloni said in a statement. Mr. Manafort has consistently cooperated with law enforcement and other serious inquiries and did so on this occasion as well.

But Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., who has pushed to bring Manafort before the Senate Judiciary Committee of which he is a member, called the raid a significant and even stunning development.

Manafort served three months as President Trumps campaign manager last year until he resigned in August 16 amid headlines over consulting ties to Ukraines pro-Russia former president and his political party.

What this raid indicates is that theres reliable evidence connecting Manafort with some criminal wrongdoing, said Blumenthal, who served as U.S. attorney for Connecticut between 1977 and 1981. Until we see the warrant, if it becomes available, we cant know with certainty what crime it is. But for a judge to issue a search warrant requires more than just suspicion; it requires probable cause.

The fact that Mueller and the FBI found it necessary to use surprise in conducting the raid seems to decimate Manaforts claim that he is cooperating with law enforcement, Blumenthal said.

Trump has bitterly denounced the investigation as a hoax.

Last month, the Republican leadership of the Judiciary Committee issued a subpoena to Manafort, but retracted it after he promised to turn over documents and provide an interview. With the Senate in recess, that timetable remains in limbo.

The Washington Post reported the raid occurred July 26, which was the day after Manafort was interviewed by staff members of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Because of his representation of ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, a one-time ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Manafort could well prove to be one of the Trump campaigns main avenues to Russia.

The scion of a family deeply involved in the construction business and New Britain Republican politics  his father served three terms as the citys mayor  Manaforts own GOP connections date back to the 1970s, when he was active in College Republicans and worked for then Connecticut Gov. Thomas Meskill.

The Mueller investigation is aimed at establishing whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russian government and intelligence figures in Russian efforts to swing the 2016 presidential election to Trump.

Manafort was present at a key June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower in New York City conducted by Donald Trump Jr.

Trump Jr. had been advised the meeting would be with a Russian government attorney who could provide damaging information on Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. The promised disclosures were part of Russia and its governments support for Mr. Trump, Trump Jr. was told in a series of emails he disclosed himself.

Trump Jr.s response: If its what you say, I love it.

Various news organizations have reported on Mueller probing Manaforts wide-ranging financial dealings and real estate investments, as well as now-closed bank accounts in Cyprus that may have been used for money laundering.

Email: dan@hearstdc.com
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Public tap water is tested around the clock in Connecticut, yet drinking contaminants still make it to our homes, according to a new report.

The states water supplies are in compliance with state and federal maximum contaminant levels, but at least half a dozen contaminants were found in some of Connecticut's drinking water at levels above current health guidelines, according to a new database released last week by the Environmental Working Group, a national advocacy organization based in Washington D.C.

Because of potential health risks, Connecticuts public health code sets maximum contaminant level goals (MCLGs) for chemicals. These guidelines are not enforceable, but they help water utilities and consumers determine at which level a contaminant has any known or expected health risks.

In Fairfield County, three disinfection byproducts known as trihalomethanes were detected in water samples from 2010 to 2015, according to the database, which catalogues water test results from state agencies and the EPA. Many scientific studies show these three chemicals increase the risk of cancer and may cause problems during pregnancy at certain concentrations, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

For two of these chemicals, bromodichloromethane and dibromochloromethane, EWGs data shows that all towns in Fairfield County exceeded the states MCLG limits.

With current chemical water treatment technologies, these contaminants are difficult to avoid, and will remain legal until it becomes technically and economically feasible to remove them.

I think weve seen improvements in treatment technology over the past 40 years and technology will continue to improve our ability to detect chemicals at lower and lower levels, said John Herlihy, vice president of water quality and environmental management at Aquarion Water Company, the state's largest water utility provider.

Some chemicals occur naturally in drinking water like radon and uranium, while others can be due to industrial pollution. Trihalomethanes are formed during the treatment process, when chlorine is used for disinfection, Herlihy said.

Hexavalent chromium, dubbed the "Erin Brockovich" chemical, was found in Stamford, Norwalk, Greenwich, Darien, Seymour and Danbury, according to EWG. Despite scientific studies finding that hexavalent chromium can cause cancer when consumed at low levels, the federal Safe Drinking Water Act and the Connecticuts public health code havent set a limit or health goal for the chemical.

The lifetime risk of developing cancer from hexavalent chromium is low in Fairfield County, according to EWG. A 0.02 ppb level of hexavalent chromium would represent a cancer risk of one in a million, according to Californias Public Health Goals. This risk is doubled is some towns like Danbury and Greenwich.

More Information Aquarion encourages customers with additional questions about water quality to contact its Water Quality Department at 1-800-832-2373. See More Collapse

Drinking bottled water is not necessarily a healthier alternative since water manufacturers are not required to disclose all contaminants, according to EWG. To reduce exposure to contaminants, the environmental group suggests purchasing water filters.

But Herlihy argues that water filters can also put you at risk, if you dont change them regularly. Chemical compounds that are trapped in an overused filter can come out at high concentrations.

The customers can have confidence that their drinking water is safe to drink, Herlihy said. We meet all the health standards set by the EPA and by the Connecticut Department of Public Health.
Germaphobes now have scientific evidence to back up their swimming pool concerns, with more and more studies showing that chemicals and parasites send thousands of swimmers to the doctor every year.

Mishandling of chemicals at public and residential swimming pools, as well as hot tubs and spas, leads to 3,000 to 5,000 visits to emergency departments in the U.S. each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Almost half of the patients are under 18.
A video has surfaced in which Haryana BJP chief Subhash Barala is seen taking oath to work for Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign.

By India Today Web Desk: After taking oath as an MLA from Tohana, Haryana BJP chief Subhash Barala had promised in 2014 to work for 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' (save daughter, educate daughter) campaign in the state. Two years later, Subhash Barala repeated his promise by taking a vow.

The board displaying his name outside his residence at Tohana, Fatehabad, prominently displace the 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' slogan.

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Meanwhile, a video has surfaced in which Barala is seen saying that he would not let violence against women happen anywhere, home or outside. Barala is said to have made the statement in February, 2016 at a function at Tohana.

Ironically, Subhash Barala has been seen using his political might to save his son Vikas in a case of stalking a woman. Vikas Barala has been arrested for stalking Varnika Kundu, the daughter of a senior IAS officer posted in Haryana. Vikas has confessed to his crime during questioning by police.

The Haryana BJP chief's son has been arrested for the second time after he was released on bail by Haryana police the day he was arrested on the charges of stalking Varnika Kundu.

Police initially slapped IPC Section dealing with abduction but later it was dropped making it possible for Vikas Barala to go home a few hours after he was arrested. His father Subhash Barala was accused of trying to save his son by putting pressure on police. The BJP is the ruling party in Haryana.

ALSO READ |

Yes, was following Varnika Kundu's car: Vikas Barala confesses before cops, says report

WATCH: Chandigarh stalking case: Subhas Barala, who once took Beti Bachao oath, on 'Beta Bachao' mission

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By India Today Web Desk: Qubool Hai's Zoya aka Surbhi Jyoti will soon be back on the small screen.

The pretty actress was last seen in Star Plus' psychological thriller, Koi Laut Ke Aaya Hai opposite Shoaib Ibrahim. She will next be seen in Colors' new investigative thriller Dev. The show has Ashish Chowdhry, Puja Banerjee and Sumona Chakravarti in the lead.

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According to reports, Surbhi will be appearing in one of the episodes of the show, where she will be playing the role of a lawyer. It would be interesting to see Surbhi in the lawyer's attire.

Surbhi will also be seen in &TV's soon to be premiered show Comedy Dangal.

Also read: These pictures from Karanvir Bohra, Surbhi Jyoti, Surbhi Chandna's grand 'Qubool Hai' reunion are giving us friendship goals

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By PTI: New Delhi, Aug 10 (PTI) Tata Motors today launched its compact sedan Tigor in Nepal at a starting price of NPR 23.45 lakh.

The company has introduced the model in the neighbouring country in association with its sole authorised distributor Sipradi Trading.

"With the launch of Tigor, we expand our product portfolio, invite new customers and reinforce our spirited comeback in the passenger vehicle market," Tata Motors Head International Business Johnny Oommen said in a statement.

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Sipradi Trading President Saurya Rana said Tigor is a gem of a product from Tata Motors and the company expects it to do well in the Nepalese market.

Tata Motors had launched the compact sedan in the domestic market in March this year. PTI MSS SBT

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KIMBALL  The Nebraska Writers Guild made its last stop in Kimball on Aug. 6 to celebrate Nebraskas 150th birthday.

The Six Corners of Nebraska tour hosted literary readings, speakers, writing seminars, author fairs, writing contests and historical re-enactors. Attendees heard snippets of fiction and nonfiction across several genres.

Western Nebraska author Deb Carpenter-Nolting read from her book, Grizzly Attack in Colorado: The Ed Wiseman Story. Carpenter-Nolting spent hours in the interview and research process. The book was a labor of love. Carpenter-Nolting read about the moment of the attack, describing the thoughts, actions and smells of the attack. Her descriptions allowed the listener to see what happened.

Faith Colburn, of North Platte, is a fifth-generation Nebraskan. She read from her family memoir, Threshold, which includes details back to 1854 when her family arrived. She also read about how her grandmother married the homeliest man she ever met.

Her second reading from The Reluctant Canary Sings is part fiction, part nonfiction and is about parts of her parents lives.

My mother didnt want to talk about her life, Colburn said. She only talked about five facts, so its a hybrid of what she did.

Anashta Celovich, of McCook, is one of several writers in the family. Celovich has been writing her entire life.

I started writing poetry as a young teen to cope with tragedy, Celovich said. It was my only out.

Celovich attempted writing novels, but got bored because it didnt move fast enough. Metamorphosis was published in June 2017 and features 110 poems. Her next book, Soulbind is expected in spring 2018.

Celovich agreed to read from her poetry because she wanted people to know there are many types of writing and all are good outlets. She enjoys poetry, which she feels is a lost art, and hopes to help be a catalyst to reviving the genre.

All it takes is pen and paper, and you can get through a lot of things, she said. Why not start there and see where it gets you?

Connor Sandall is the winner of the Six Corners of Nebraska  Southwest Future Great Writers of Nebraska contest. He is a fourth-generation writer and a junior at McCook High School. His winning entry was a short story, The Lone Dog, told from the viewpoint of a family dog waiting for his owners to return home.

Childrens author N.L. Sharp, of Fremont, read at each of the six stops on the tour. In addition to reading from her first book, Today Im Going Fishing with My Dad, Sharp is also the publisher of Prairie Land Press.

After Today Im Going Fishing with My Dad was published, the publisher went bankrupt. Sharp learned when this happens, the ISBN, a number that identifies a book worldwide, is no longer valid.

The only way I could make it go back in print was to become my own publisher, Sharp said.

After reacquiring the rights to the book, it was once again made available. Another book, Effies Image, became a Nebraska Golden Sower nominee.

Award-winning author Tim Nolting, of Bushnell, read from his book, 101 Yesterdays, Vol. 2. Nolting spent seven years writing a weekly column at the Gering Citizen newspaper. His readers prompted him to put his columns into book form. Noltings stories capture life in the Panhandle and the hearty pioneer spirit.

In They Called the Wind Mariah, Noltings brisk pace captures not only the listeners attention, but matches the theme of the story.

Author Bart Schaneman, formerly of Scottsbluff, read from Someplace Else: On Wanderlust, Expatriate Life and the Call of the Wild. Schanemans book explores the idea of a life lived inside is not lived, and delves into the question about our relationship with the wild.

John Bahr, of Sidney, read from his memoir, Journey into Paralysis. The story follows Bahr from a fun-filled day on May 6, 2003, enjoying motorcross to his accident and beyond. While a student at Western Nebraska Community College, he wrote a story in English class about a day in his life. It eventually became his memoir.

It was therapeutic, Bahr said. After what I went through, I kind of hope it will help other people.

Bahr remembers every detail from that day, he said. He remembers the gear he wore and how he felt indestructible. He said he remembers being on a ventilator and thinking about how much we take for granted, including the ability to breathe.

Childrens author Kristin Ganoung, of Halsey, read from George and the Stolen Sunny Spot.

Its about a farm cat who thinks he is in complete charge of the farm until the humans invite a new couple to the farm and they bring a cat, Ganoung said.

The new cat also has two dogs that act as bodyguards.

Ganoung was an elementary school teacher for 22 years. She chose the story of George because she has read many books about farm animals and found it frustrating they were treated as glorified people.

I tried to represent animals doing their jobs and having the personalities they would normally have on a farm, Ganoung said.

Six Corners visited Chadron (northwest), Norfolk (northeast), Bellevue (southeast), McCook (southwest), North Platte (Big Springs Corner) and Kimball (Panhandle southwest).

For more information about the Nebraska Writers Guild, visit http://www.nebraskawriters.org/.
ASHLAND, Neb.  The United States has strong missile defenses but cant sit and wait for North Korea to put a nuclear weapon atop a missile, a threat that is becoming real, Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., said Wednesday.

We cant allow that to happen, Fischer told about 300 people attending a conference sponsored by the Nebraska, Omaha and Lincoln Chambers of Commerce at the Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum near Ashland.

One positive step, Fischer said, was the U.N. Security Councils vote Saturday to impose economic sanctions, supported by China and Russia. Both nations have strong trade relationships with North Korea.

So those trading relationships need to end, in many instances, if theres going to be any kind of pressure put on the (North Korean) regime, she said. But we shouldnt be naive about this, either, since such sanctions may not stop North Koreas missile program.

Fischer is a member of the Armed Services Committee and chairwoman of the subcommittee that oversees missile defenses, nuclear weapons and the U.S. Strategic Command, based at Offutt Air Force Base.

She cited recent news reports that a North Korean nuclear-tipped missile could reach major U.S. cities. The Washington Post reported this week that a recent assessment by U.S. intelligence found that a critical milestone has been reached: North Korea has successfully produced a miniaturized nuclear warhead that can fit inside its missiles.

People ask if they should be worried. Are we going to see something happen today or tomorrow? Fischer said. I would say to you that we live our lives, and we are realistic about the threats that we face as a nation, and we prepare for those threats, but we live our lives.

And, again, its very important that we dont just sit back, but that we engage with our friends and foes to address a danger and a threat that is becoming real and that is something that we may have to face in the not-too-distant future.
After facing allegations of VVIP treatment meted out to the accused, Chandigarh police have barricaded the police station where Vikas Barala is currently lodged.

By Manjeet Sehgal: Chandigarh police has put itself on an extra alert after attracting criticism for serious lapses in the investigation of the Varnika Kundu stalking case. There's a curfew like situation in and outside Sector 26 police station where the accused Haryana BJP chief's son Vikas Barala and his accomplice Ashish Barala are currently lodged.

The image above shows the security barricade outside the police station, which has become pro-active particularly after the Ministry of Home Affairs started monitoring the case. The cops posted at Sector 26 police station were annoyed after visuals aired on India Today Group channels showed one of them offering cold coffee to the accused stalkers.

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The cops first banned television cameras inside the police station and then restricted their entry till the compound. Till Wednesday, when the accused Vikas Barala and Ashish were arrested, television cameras were allowed to shoot inside the police station compound but on Thursday they even closed the entrance gates. Camera persons were seen finding holes in the barbed wires fixed on the retaining wall of the police station to insert cameras.

Cops guarded the police station as if it was facing a threat from outsiders, particularly the media.

All this was done to save the accused Vikas Barala from the cameras. The cops blocked the view and kept standing in front of the accused till he boarded the police vehicles.

ROAD CLOSED FOR PUBLIC

Another example of the undeclared curfew near the police station was the Sector 26 road which was closed in front of the police station by creating barricades on both the sides. The traffic was diverted to a slip road. This created inconvenience to the people.

"Don't know why the road has been closed. It is really troublesome. I was compelled to go back," said a car driver who reached the other end of Sector 26 using the slip road.

Interestingly, the barricades were removed as and when the police officials wanted to use the closed road. The accused have been remanded to police custody for two days and the security around the police station is expected to remain like this till then.

Also Read:

Chandigarh stalking: Vikas Barala arrested, charged with attempt to kidnap

Chandigarh stalking: BJP's Babul Supriyo reduces Vikas Barala's act to 'mischief'

Also Watch:

India Today Exclusive: Chandigarh harassment victim speaks

--- ENDS ---
It is a word often used by political candidates. Once elected the word seems to slip from their vocabulary.

As candidates they accuse those in office of not being this, but promise if elected they will be.

In the dictionary, the word is defined as crystal clear, see-through, translucent, easy to perceive or detect. The word is transparent.

Candidate Barack Obama said he would be transparent. President Barack Obama was not.

Candidate Donald Trump said he would be transparent. President Donald Trump has not been, so far.

Our Congress is no different and unfortunately, the lack of true transparency flows all the way down to our local politicians. When running for office they promise to be transparent, but once elected those promises are quickly forgotten.

Politicians somehow forget, not only their promises but that they are hired hands. They are not the boss, they're hired officials. They may see us citizens as stupid, uninformed and not capable of understanding the important decisions they must make for the city, state or nation, but they are wrong.

A hired hand does not have the right or authority to keep their boss in the dark, or give bits and pieces of the project. Yet our elected officials do so regularly.

Every elected officials needs to understand they are no more than the voters' hired hand.

Unfortunately, the hired hands in Gering failed to realize this on Tuesday when the council met as a Committee of the Whole. The topic to be discussed was possible sites south of Morrill that might work for a new landfill.

The law allows government officials to go behind closed doors to address some issues. When personal issues that may compromise the reputation of an individual need discussed or the city is in negotiations to purchase a piece of land. But on Tuesday there was no personnel issue nor was there any land negotiations on the table. They were just going to talk about possible sites for a new landfill.

Going into executive session, the council cited protection of the public interest. We (the Star-Herald) objected.

The story, ran in Tuesdays Star-Herald said, Gering City Attorney Jim Ellison said the city had identified several sites, but wanted to get feedback from council members, prompting the need to exclude the public from its discussion.

Feedback from council members does not call for an executive session.

However, it does trigger what is called the Open Meetings Act. The act is to assure that government bodies operate in the open. There are times they can go into executive session, however, this should not have been one of them.

In Johnson v. Nebraska Environmental Control Council the Court of Appeals stated, according to the Nebraska Attorney Generals website, the Court of Appeals held that informational sessions where the Council heard reports from staff of the Department of Environmental Control were briefings which were subject to the requirements of the open meetings statutes. The Court stated that listening and exposing itself to facts, arguments and statements constitutes a crucial part of a governmental bodys decision making. As a result, receiving information triggers the requirements of the statutes, and the open meetings law applies to meetings at which briefing or the formation of tentative policy takes place, as well as to meetings where action is contemplated or taken.

In our opinion, and we believe in the courts opinion, the discussions Tuesday should have not have constituted an executive session. You the public had a right to hear what was being discussed.

Beside the legal agreement their reasoning, to protect the public interest makes me wonder, Are not the voters members of the public? Do they not have a right to know what sites are being considered? Do they not have a right to hear the feedback of their elected representatives?

Council members not wanting their views, their comments, questions and feedback aired in public are not being transparent.

As the bosses, it is time we demand transparency. There is no good legal reason to go behind closed doors on most things politicians try to slip into the backroom to discuss. In fact, the Open Meetings Act encourages boards to err on the side of openness.

Whenever the hired hands arent willing to let the boss see what they are doing, the boss begins to wonder. Once the wondering begins, the rumors start to fly and grow.

Transparency is the best way to keep the bosses happy, keep the rumors from getting out of control and run a city, state and nation.

Crystal clear, upfront and honest politics  it is a novel idea, but it is the type of politics most bosses would like to see their hired hands practice at all levels.
LINCOLN  Participate in a citizen science opportunity by pairing with an expert to find and identify as many species as possible in a specific area. Come to Indian Cave State Park near Shubert for BioBlitz on Sept. 9-10.

BioBlitz is an opportunity to contribute to a scientific census of Indian Caves wildlife and plant life and to learn about each of the species counted. This free event for all ages will include birds, reptiles and amphibians, plants and trees, mammals, insects, bats, geology, as well as guided tours and stories about the parks petroglyphs and ghost town. In addition, there will be a presentation Sept. 9 on weather and safety measures to take while outdoors.

A park entry permit is required. Contact Adam Jones at adam.jones@nebraska.gov for more information or call the park at 402-883-2575.

Spend time with Game and Parks at 2017 state fair

Join the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission for the 2017 Nebraska State Fair with a full schedule of fun activities for the entire family.

Game and Parks fair home is the Nebraska Building. Popular features and activities include an indoor archery range, indoor air gun range, kids Nerf gun range, bird scavenger hunt game, 6,000-gallon aquarium, indoor meandering stream, kids games, accessible outdoor sky fort, demonstrations and more.

There also is a video display detailing the history of Game and Parks. Additionally, a NEBRASKAland Magazine photo display will feature prints of wildlife, landscapes and beautiful scenes from outdoor Nebraska. The prints will be available for purchase.

Game and Parks staff will give a variety of presentations during the fair on topics such as fish cleaning, outdoor cooking with kids, and a kids waterfowl calling contest.

The Nebraska State Fair takes place in Grand Island Aug. 25 through Sept. 4. For more information on Game and Parks activities and features, as well as for a full schedule of demonstrations, visit outdoornebraska.gov/statefair/.
By MARK EVANS mevans@stegenherald.com Westover and Smith roads, on the far western edge of the county, will get paving priority for 2023. Country commissioners and Scott Schmieder, county road and bridge foreman, decided at last Thursdays commission meeting to go ahead and seal up that corner of the county. That way, graders will not have
Ilie Dragne, manager of Salcia farm in Teleorman County, was detained, on Thursday, for 30 days, by prosecutors with the Prosecutor's Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice (PICCJ) in the case investigating tax evasion offenses that have supposedly incurred damages to the state budget of over 39 million lei.

Dragne was heard on Thursday at Police Precinct 1, following the Thursday morning searches at the pig farm in Salcia, Teleorman County. The Supreme Court's Prosecutor's Office announced Thursday morning that police officers from Bucharest and eight counties are conducting searches at 80 locations - residences and headquarters of construction, facility management, waste processing and swine breeding companies - in a tax evasion case with damages worth over nine million euro.

Prosecutors have determined that in the accounts of 12 commercial companies operating in the fields of construction, facility management, waste processing and swine breeding in the 2010-2016 period, in order to avoid the payment of taxes and duties due to the state budget, fake expenditures were entered in their accounting records, which caused the state budget to incur pecuniary losses amounting to 39,873,671 lei (the equivalent of 9,079,017 euro), of which 15,815,202 lei in lesser profit tax and 24,058,469 lei in illegal VAT deductions.

Agerpres.
The current status of the army endowment programmes has been the topic for discussion at Thursday's consultations held between the Defence Minister Adrian Tutuianu and the representatives of the national defence industry, at the Ministry of National Defence headquarters. "Minister of National Defence Adrian Tutuianu, together with the Chief of General Staff General Nicolae Ciuca and Secretary of State Florin-Lazar Vladica on Thursday had a meeting at the MApN headquarters with a delegation of Elbit Systems, one of the most important foreign investors in the Romanian defence industry," reads a release of the Ministry of National Defence sent to Agerpres on Thursday.

On this occasion, they analyzed the current status of the endowment programmes and centralized the operational requirements of the capabilities needed for the Army, so that he planning schedule will be observed, according to commitments made by the Romanian Government. Moreover, they also presented the possibilities in terms of transfer of technology to our country. "Such meetings will continue in the next interval according to the calendar of consultations we established with the main actors on the national defence industry market," reads the release. Participating in the meeting were also the representatives of the Ministry of Economy and Ministry for the Business Environment, Trade and Entrepreneurship.
Minister for Romanians Abroad Andreea Pastarnac stated on Thursday in Suceava that one of the objectives of the ministry she is coordinating concerns the preservation of the national identity, and to this end it considers the financing of projects which aim at the extension, professionalisation and streamlining of media in Romanian.

"One of the Ministry's major objectives is to preserve the spiritual and linguistic identity of the Romanians living abroad today. We have very large communities that have already settled abroad for 15-20 years. (...) We are trying to approach on two levels, the Romanian language at the educational level and the Romanian language promoted through the media in the Diaspora. There are a large number of publications, newspapers, television and radio stations and on-line publications in the Romanian language of Romanians living outside the country borders and, through our ministry's financing programme, we have tried this year, to pay special attention to publications and provide direct support through the grants we give. We have a project to support journalists in Serbia where we have important communities and there are struggles to maintain media in the Romanian language," Andreea Pastarnac said.

The minister also announced that in the second semester of this year a training programme will be carried out for Diaspora journalists, in Bucharest and also in areas in Romania where there are important territorial studios producing programmes for the historical communities, but also for a new Diaspora.

According to Pastarnac, the ministry's budget is 8 million lei, and according to the current legislation in force, the financing is made on four pillars, without any budget separation between them. "The way the Ministry works, according to Law 321 in force, is based on their requests. So, if you had a daily paper or a blog in the Diaspora, you would write a project and request the ministry's support for your activity. The draft is submitted to a committee which, in the light of the recently adopted national strategy, would be taken into consideration, would be approved or not. So how a grant is given is based on the direct requests of journalists in the Diaspora," Andreea Pastarnac further said, stating that any authorized person, blog or NGO meeting the conditions of the financing guide can apply, and the ministry representatives strive to approve as many requests as possible.

Agerpres.
Executive Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), Senator Niculae Badalau, on Thursday told a press conference that works at a new Danube bridge might start in 2018 in Giurgiu, with Chinese companies carrying out the project.

"I think that at the end of next year works at a new modern railway bridge across the Danube will start at Giurgiu, with Chinese companies working on the project. I don't know how long it will take, but I am satisfied that it will be fast - if the Chinese do it. The Chinese plan investing in Europe and particularly in Romania, where they have a strong community. At their latest meeting, the Romanian and Bulgarian Prime Ministers discussed this subject and the Bulgarian Premier agrees with the project. The idea emerged following talks with the Chinese and it's good they accepted and I convinced the government the bridge should cross the river at Giurgiu," Badalau said, mentioning that this infrastructure project will provide a major connection between Balkan states and Central Europe, and that the plan also includes a Maglev train project based on a China-developed concept.

Agerpres.
By India Today Web Desk: Vikas Barala, the son of Haryana BJP chief Shubhash Barala, who was arrested on Wednesday for stalking and attempting to kidnap a woman on the streets of Chandigarh last week, has reportedly accepted the charges against him before the Chandigarh Police.

Four days after being let off on bail, Barala (23) and his friend Ashish Kumar were finally arrested on Wednesday after massive outrage in the Parliament and in media.

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The victim, 29-year-old Varnika Kundu, daughter of a bureaucrat, shared the entire ordeal of being chased by Vikas and his friend Ashish Kumar for hours on Friday night in a Facebook post. Kundu, who works as a DJ, said they blocked her car, banged on her window and even tried to force open the door.

Vikas Barala and his friend Ashish Kumar were first arrested on Saturday. The two men were initially charged under five different sections of the Indian Penal Code. However, two sections (IPC Sections 365 and 511), which related to kidnapping, were dropped on Saturday, following which Vikas and Ashish were released on bail from the police station itself. The two charges that were dropped were non-bailable offences. Soon Varnika Kundu's Facebook post went viral leading to massive outrage on social media and in the Parliament. Questions were raised on Chandigarh Police for diluting the case as Vikas is Haryana state BJP chief's son. The case also took a political turn with Opposition targeting the BJP. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi said that the BJP government in the state must ensure that the guilty get punished and must not "collude" with culprits. Opposition also demanded Vikas's father Shubhash Barala's resignation, which the latter refused to do. Questions were also raised at Varnika for stepping out so late in the night. Vikas Barala's cousin Kuldeep Barala shared her photograph's on social media questioning her character. Interestingly, Kuldeep himself is accused of abducting a minor girl and a case was registered against him on May 8 2017. However, with full support from her IAS father, Varnika said that she shall not back down. There were 9 CCTV cameras on the entire stretch from Sector 5 to Sector 23, out of which footage from five cameras were recovered on Monday. BJP MP Subramnian Swamy on Tuesday said that he has filed a PIL and would seek a CBI inquiry in the matter if he need be. "The reason I have to file the PIL is because the police had already done the somersault in the FIR. They have listed only bailable offences. The police succumbed to some pressure. In the court monitor I will seek CBI inquiry, if necessary, with the SIT so that justice is done," ANI's report quoted Swamy as saying. Chandigarh Police will produce Vikas and Ashish in the magistrate court today afternoon. According to reports, the police wanted to recreate a crime scene.

Also Read

Varnika Kundu stalking: Kirron Kher hits out at victim shamers, asks if men should be kept at home at night

Chandigarh stalking: Subash Barala seeks more time for son's appearance before cops

WATCH: Chandigarh stalking: Vikas Barala arrested, charged with attempt to kidnap

--- ENDS ---
Ansari's second term as the Vice President ends tomorrow. He made the statements in wake of the incidents of intolerance and cow vigilantism in the country.

By India Today Web Desk: Outgoing Vice President Hamid Ansari in his last interview today said that there is a feeling of unease and a sense of insecurity among Muslims in the country. He asserted that ambience of acceptance is now under threat.

Ansari's second term as the Vice President ends tomorrow. He made the statements in wake of the incidents of intolerance and cow vigilantism in the country.

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Stating that he had flagged the issue of intolerance with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his cabinet colleagues, Ansari, 80, also described as a "disturbing thought" that Indianness of citizens was being questioned.

Asked in an interview to Karan Thapar on Rajya Sabha TV whether he shared his concerns with the prime minister, Ansari replied in the affirmative.

"Yes...yes. But what passes between the Vice President and the Prime Minister in the nature of things must remain in the domain of privileged conversation," the Rajya Sabha Chairman said.

He also said that he has flagged the issue with other union ministers too.

"Well, there is always an explanation and there is always a reason. Now it is a matter of judgement, whether you accept the explanation, you accept the reasoning and its rationale," he said when asked about the response of the government.

In the interview, Ansari referred to incidents of lynching and 'ghar wapsi' and killings of rationalists as a "breakdown of Indian values, breakdown of the ability of the authorities at different levels in different places to be able to enforce what should be normal law enforcing work and over all the very fact that Indianness of any citizen being questioned is a disturbing thought."

"Yes it is a correct assessment," Ansari said when asked whether he agreed with the assessment that the muslim community is apprehensive and that it was feeling insecure as a result of the kind of comments made against them.

"Yes it is a correct assessment, from all I hear from different quarters, the country; I heard the same thing in Bangalore, I have heard from other parts of the country, I hear more about in north India, there is a feeling of unease, a sense of insecurity is creeping in," he said.

Asked whether he felt that the muslims are beginning to feel they are not wanted, Ansari said, "I would not go that far, there is a sense of insecurity."

He said India is a plural society that for centuries, not for seventy years, has lived in a certain "ambience of acceptance" which is now under threat.

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He was of the view that the propensity to be able to assert your nationalism day in and day out is "unnecessary".

"I am an Indian and that is it."

Ansari was of the view that while tolerance is a good virtue, it is not a sufficient virtue. "...therefore you have to take the next step and go from tolerance to acceptance," he said.

VERSION OF NATIONALISM

At an event in Bengaluru on Sunday, Ansari said the "version of nationalism" that places cultural commitments at its core promotes intolerance and arrogant patriotism.

Responding to a question on comments made by some BJP leaders related to minorities, he said he would not talk about political people or political parties.

"But to me, every time such a comment appeared or came to my knowledge; I mean my first reaction was that, A: the person is ignorant, B: that he is prejudiced and C: he does not fit into the framework that India has always prided to itself on, which is to be accommodative society," he said.

Responding to questions on triple talaq, Ansari said it is a social aberration, not a religious requirement.

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"Firstly, it is a social aberration, it is not a religious requirement. The religious requirement is crystal clear, emphatic, there are no two views about it but patriarchy, social customs has all crept into it to create a situation which is highly undesirable," he said.

He said the courts do not have to step in as the reform has to come from within the community.

"The courts can say that we don't recognise it. That's all. I mean a marriage has to be recognised on certain occasions by the system of the state. And if a state functionary at a particular point of time refuses to recognise a happening which may be the product of a triple talaq, that s it," he explained.

To a poser on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, the former diplomat said, "the problem has always been primarily a political problem. And it has to be addressed politically."

He agreed to a suggestion that politicians are ducking the problem.

"That s my impression. And I m not the only one in the country...when young boys and girls come out on to the streets and throw stones day after day, week after week, month after month, it's something to worry about because they are our children, they are our citizens.

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"Something is obviously going wrong. What exactly, I am not the final word on it, but I think there are enough people in the country who are worried about it. Eminent people belonging to different political persuasions and their worry must be taken on board," the Vice President said.

Also Read

Budget session: Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari praises backbenchers for their contributions

Hamid Ansari sworn in as 14th vice-president of India

--- ENDS ---
Even though it's the best selling beer in America, Bud Light has an image problem. The beer has consistently lost market share in recent years, as drinkers shifted to craft beer and other alternatives.

Anheuser-Busch InBev, which has its North American headquarters in St. Louis, is rolling out two new TV ads Thursday to "address the common misperception many have about its light beer" the brewer said, as it seeks to reverse its underdog status.

The new TV ads airing Thursday night during the NFL's game against the Denver Broncos and Chicago Bears will focus on the beer making process and its ingredients, A-B said.

The commercials are similar in tone to Budweiser's "Brewed the Hard Way" ads that highlight the beer making process, ingredients and quality and mark a departure from Bud Light's focus on humor to attract beer drinkers.

Theres nowhere to hide imperfection when youre brewing a light lager, Andy Goeler, Bud Light's vice president of marketing, said in a statement. Beer drinkers trust that every time they reach for a Bud Light, theyre going to get the crisp, refreshing taste they know and love. That process starts with four essential ingredients  barley, rice, water and hops."
A man of vision and courage, Dr. John F. Hardesty went from being a prisoner of war in World War I to creating pioneer work in ophthalmology.

Now, his name will stand above Washington University's ophthalmology and visual sciences department at the medical school.

The endowment that prompted the name change came from Hardesty's daughter, Jane Hardesty Poole, a 1961 Washington University graduate.

Born in St. Louis in 1887, John Hardesty earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from St. Louis University, and then volunteered for service in the Army during World War I, a school publication said.

While serving on the front lines, he was captured by the Germans and spent eight months in prison camps, orchestrating the escape of three prisoners from one of those units.

Upon returning home in 1920, Hardesty served on the faculty at St. Louis University until his death in 1953.

In 1934, he wrote a pioneering thesis for the treatment of glaucoma, Washington University chancellor Mark S. Wrighton noted.
In the latest confirmation that Missouri will be a key battleground in next years national fight for the U.S. Senate, the National Republican Senatorial Committee launched a new radio ad Thursday attacking U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., fully a year before the 2018 Democratic primaries.

The ad is aimed at the states rural demographic  the same voters McCaskill has been courting lately and will again in upcoming events during the Senates August recess.

The running, chasing, tackling and the winning ... I love a rodeo, and riders on the bull, says a folksy male narrator in the ad, which will run through the weekend in the Cape Girardeau and Sikeston markets to coincide with the Sikeston rodeo. The narration lauds folks who want to make America great again ... Washington needs more folks that do, not just talk.

The script then criticizes McCaskill for voting with her party, and against President Donald Trump, on repealing Obamacare, court nominations and other issues.

Its just too bad  McCaskill would rather cozy up to radical liberals in Washington than make America great again, concludes the narrator.

In a written response to the GOP ad, the Missouri Democratic Party noted that McCaskill has voted to confirm more than half of Trumps Cabinet nominees, and that Trump signed a bipartisan agro-terrorism bill that McCaskill co-sponsored.

This ad is just smoke and mirrors from national Republicans, who are pinning their hopes of defeating a strong, Missouri-first senator on a candidate who broke his promise to Missourians not to be another ladder-climbing politician just eight months after taking office, said the Democratic statement. The unnamed reference is to Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley, who took office in January and is considering seeking the GOP Senate nomination next year.

The new GOP ad is clearly designed to shore up support among people the GOP likely can already count on next year: rural Missourians who heavily supported Trumps election last year.

Republican campaigns in some areas of the country are distancing themselves from the controversial president. But the fact that Trump won Missouri by almost 20 points  while Republican Sen. Roy Blunt, in the same election, held onto his seat by only about 3 points  indicates that Trump is an asset rather than a liability among Missouri Republicans.

Still, why the GOP focus on rural voters the party already has in its corner? Part of the answer might be McCaskills early strategy of high-visibility events in rural areas, a move that appears designed to soften her image there.

McCaskills office said she will spend the Senates August recess touring the state, including stops Friday in Cuba, Potosi, Sullivan and Farmington. She has additional town halls planned in Barry, Cape Girardeau and Polk.

In a statement announcing her town hall schedule for Friday, McCaskills office noted that she was raised in rural Missouri.

McCaskills Friday events, which are open to the public, include:

 Cuba: 8:30 a.m., Recklein Auditorium, 202 North Smith Street.

 Sullivan: 10:30 a.m., Sullivan Senior Center, 730 West Main Street.

 Potosi: 12:45 p.m., Washington County Ambulance District, 6900 Bill Gum Boulevard.

 Farmington: 3 p.m., Farmington City Hall, Long Room, 110 West Columbia Street.
JEFFERSON CITY  A year after the states top farm organizations endorsed a Democrat for governor for the first time, Republican Gov. Eric Greitens will preside over a Salute to Agriculture next week at the Missouri State Fair.

In a move that could help burnish the new governors farm-country credentials after last years snub, the first-ever event is being organized by the Missouri Republican Party, which says it wants to celebrate Missouris long history as an agricultural powerhouse.

Along with Greitens, the rally will feature speeches from other top state GOP officials, including Attorney General Josh Hawley, Treasurer Eric Schmitt and Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft.

Attendees must obtain a free ticket to get into the event, which is being held at the Directors Tent, immediately following the governors Ham Breakfast at the fair.

Party officials will be expressing their gratitude to and for Missouris robust agricultural industry and all of those who play a part in making sure it continues to thrive, said Missouri Republican Party spokeswoman Keelie Broom.

The party is renting the tent for an estimated $200 per hour.

Longtime fair officials say they have concerns about the event bringing a more partisan flair to the fair, which opened Thursday in Sedalia.

There has always been a conscious desire to insulate the state fair from partisan political activity, said Springfield, Mo., attorney Sean McGinnis, an original member of the Missouri State Fair Commission and a former member of the University of Missouri Board of Curators.

McGinnis and others surveyed by the Post-Dispatch said the fair was given an independent board in 1995 to separate it from partisan control.

I have concerns because every action, particularly in politics, generates a reaction. Actions in politics also create precedents, he said.

The new event has left some observers scratching their heads because the Ham Breakfast has traditionally been viewed as a nonpartisan event where agriculture and politics intersect at the fair.

For more than 60 years, incumbents, challengers and other candidates from around the state gather for ham, potatoes and politics.

In 2012, for example, former Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat, was in a race for re-election against GOP candidate Dave Spence. At the breakfast, however, Nixon used his speech to focus on drought relief efforts.

In 2003, U.S. Sen. Christopher Kit Bond, a Republican, declined to answer questions about his 2004 re-election campaign.

Schmoozing is basically what this is about, Bond said at the time.
Just a few weeks ago, the Humane Society of Missouris Animal Cruelty Task Force rescued a dog, Molly, from a hot car near the St. Louis Zoo. By the time investigators removed her from the vehicle, the car temperature had reached more than 130 degrees. Fortunately, the passer-by who noticed Molly knew to alert zoo officials, who immediately called law enforcement and the Animal Cruelty Task Force to the scene.

Video of this rescue was widely shared, igniting conversation around the thoughtless act of leaving animals in parked cars during hot, or even just warm, weather. When outside temperatures are 70 degrees or more, a parked car can heat up an additional 20 to 30, even 40, degrees within minutes, which can be deadly for a trapped pet.

At the Humane Society of Missouri, we wish situations like Mollys were rare, but every summer we receive a significant number of calls to rescue pets from similar plights. The Animal Cruelty Task Force plays an important role in making sure these pets are rescued and cared for as soon as possible. But more is needed to put this issue top of mind for Missourians. Its time to empower citizens to help.

This past January, California put a Right to Rescue measure into action. Its a Good Samaritan law that makes it legal for citizens to rescue animals trapped in hot cars, as long as certain conditions are met. First, the citizen must call law enforcement. Then they must make sure the car cannot be opened and determine whether the animal is in imminent danger or suffering harm. If its necessary to take action before law enforcement arrives, the citizen must use no more force than necessary to get into the car, and remain with the animal until first responders arrive. The law provides a legal framework for bystanders to take action, protecting them from criminal liability for actions taken reasonably and in good faith.

According to the Animal Legal Defense Fund, 26 states currently have some form of a hot car law prohibiting the endangerment of an animal by leaving it unattended in a vehicle. Of those 26 states, 11 give citizens the right to rescue animals trapped in hot cars.

Sadly, Missouri is not one of these states.

Currently, our Animal Cruelty Task Force can only work with local officials to prosecute animal abusers under general anti-cruelty laws. While this is important in our efforts to end the cycle of abuse and neglect, it often falls short in truly holding animal abusers accountable for their actions, and it doesnt help pets in times of crisis.

Missouri citizens are severely limited in the action theyre allowed to take should they witness an animal trapped in a hot car. With no protection against criminal liability, bystanders can only gather information (such as the vehicles make and model, location and condition of the animal), call the local police as well as the Animal Cruelty Hotline at 314-647-4400, and wait until help arrives.

As a whole, Missouri must do more to protect defenseless animals from the trauma of being abandoned and confined in what can only be described as a deathtrap. We encourage Missouri lawmakers to propose a law similar to Californias recent Right to Rescue Act. The Humane Society of Missouri is in the process of drafting a bill for the 2018 legislative session to address this deadly situation. We ask all citizens to urge your representatives to make Missouri the next state where companion animals are protected and abusers are punished.

In the meantime, before one more dog like Molly is left in harms way, it is up to animal advocates to spread the word about the life-threatening danger of leaving a pet in a parked car. The Humane Society of Missouri implores pet owners to remember and repeat our life-saving motto: 70 Degrees and Over, Dont Take Rover.

 Leave pets at home where it is cool and they have access to fresh water.

 Be vocal about hot weather pet safety in your community.

 Distribute hot weather flyers, which you can pick up at one of our locations.

Pets like Molly deserve better. Those protecting our pets deserve better. Join us in advocating for the furry friends who are so very deserving of our love and care.

Kathy Warnick is president of the Humane Society of Missouri.
At 4:45 a.m. Sunday, the 72nd anniversary of the U.S. nuclear attack on Hiroshima, Japan, it was raining and dreary when state Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal and I began exchanging blurry-eyed emails. Our pre-dawn plan was to track the radioactive legacy of St. Louis contribution to Americas nuclear arsenal.

A dark, muddy and messy adventure around St. Louis Lambert airport awaited us. The emails were our mutual gut-check to make sure we really, really wanted to do this.

The Hiroshima anniversary was sheer coincidence, but it was an absolutely appropriate day to commemorate St. Louis pivotal role in the two devastating explosions that brought an end to World War II. It turned out to be a week of coincidences. The threat of nuclear war with North Korea reared its ugly head on Wednesday, exactly on the anniversary of the U.S. bombing of Nagasaki, Japan (a raid whose group operations officer was none other than my wifes grandfather).

The uranium that went into the most deadly weapons ever deployed in wartime, and subsequent weapons that werent deployed, was processed for enrichment just north of downtown at the riverside Mallinckrodt plant and other facilities near the airport from 1942 to 1957.

The Army Corps of Engineers estimates that about 121,000 tons of uranium refinery residues and contaminated material were stored around the airport. If you follow the train tracks that run from the gates of the Mallinckrodt plant, theyll take you right to the airport area where Chappelle-Nadal and I went exploring on Sunday.

We brought with us a Geiger counter supplied by Republican state Sen. Rob Schaaf of St. Joseph, who describes himself as an ally in his Democratic colleague Chappelle-Nadals effort to find out what happened to all of that nuclear waste and whether ongoing dangers merit state compensation to people whose homes are in the affected area.

St. Louisans by now are fully aware that much of the Manhattan Project radioactive waste was buried in unlined pits at the West Lake Landfill. The story of how the waste got there is fascinating  but also appalling and well worth recounting.

Scientists at the time were well aware of the dangers posed by elevated levels of radiation, but the general public was assured there was no danger as hundreds of train cars and trucks loaded with radioactive waste plied their way through residential neighborhoods. In September 1946, public concerns first surfaced in federal court about radiation danger from the waste. A Post-Dispatch report at the time said the government and Mallinckrodt termed the waste not radioactive or otherwise dangerous. That was a bald-faced lie.

It wasnt until 1976 that the federal government acknowledged the dangerous radiation levels at one dumpsite off Latty Avenue in Hazelwood. The Post-Dispatch published an exhaustive series about the contamination threat in 1989, but serious cleanup efforts didnt start until years later.

Today, the only thing keeping visitors and wildlife away from that Latty Avenue site is a six-foot chain link fence, barely 100 yards away from Coldwater Creek.

The waste was transported with minimal regard to the dangers. Spillage occurred. Some truckers dumped their loads in empty fields to cut their workday short. Improper storage, handling and transportation of materials causes the spread of these materials along haul routes to vicinity properties, the Army states in its own timeline.

A site just over the airports northeastern fence was where thousands of barrels of radioactive waste sat stacked, rusting and unattended, for decades.

The sheer size of the problem  millions of cubic yards of radioactive waste  presented a daunting cleanup challenge. For decades, rain water trickled off the barrels. The radioactive runoff went straight into Coldwater Creek, and then into the Missouri River, 14 miles away.

To this day, the Army still doesnt know the extent of potential exposure. Thousands of acres remain vulnerable to lingering radioactive contamination.

Chappelle-Nadal has spent years contacting former residents and recording their memories of trucks and trains dumping the waste near homes in the municipalities of Berkeley, Hazelwood, Robertson and Carrollton. A neighborhood ballfield was so contaminated it had to be sealed off. Many of the senators interviewees or their close relatives have suffered cancer or other radiation-related health problems.

Today, most of the sites where they lived have been bulldozed. Massive warehouses are under construction in places where waste had been buried.

A local group, Coldwater Creek Facts, has for years collected data on incidents of cancer along the Coldwater Creek watershed, documenting and mapping 2,725 cases. Their maps are a startling indictment of government neglect.

On Sunday, Chappelle-Nadal and I explored only a tiny swath with the Geiger counter. Our rank-amateur readings around a warehouse and along a small section of old train tracks produced no startling results. Well keep looking.

Its a shame that St. Louis Manhattan Project legacy is nothing more than a massive radioactive dumping ground. The far greater shame is the number of lives still being shattered by it.
Stratford-upon-Avon Railway Station.

A COMPANY called West Midlands Trains Ltd - which is a joint venture between Dutch firm Abellio, and the East Japan Railway Company and Mitsui and Co Ltd, both based in Japan - are to take over the running of services to and from Stratford-upon-Avon train station.

It takes over from London Midland, which was the only other bidder for the West Midlands franchise and just two months ago had been given an extension to its contract.

A date for the handover has not yet been confirmed.

The 500,000 refurbishment of Stratford train station is not affected by the change of operator and will go ahead next summer, the Herald has been told.

Changes on the Stratford to Birmingham line that will be introduced by Abellio will include earlier first services, additional rush hour services, two trains an hour on Sunday but not until 2021, and refurbished carriages.

Further up the line there will also be an additional early morning, week day service between Dorridge and Birmingham via Solihull, and enhanced week day evening frequencies between Birmingham and Kidderminster, Birmingham and Solihull, and Birmingham and Shirley.

Smart ticketing and live passenger information will also be rolled out under the nine-year contract, as will compensation for delays of more than 15 minutes, in line with the Department for Transports policy.

Dominic Booth, managing director of Abellio UK, said: "We will be investing nearly 1billion into the network, delivering new trains, better stations and a whole host of other benefits for passengers."

Transport secretary, Chris Grayling, added: "We are improving the whole travelling experience with live train crowding information, compensation for people delayed by 15 minutes or more, smart ticketing and better value tickets for part-time workers."

London Midland has been operating West Midlands services since 2007, with the franchise due to expire in 2015. But delays in the tender process meant that was extended twice.

Managing director, Patrick Verwer, said We have created a strong foundation for the new operators to build on. During the months ahead we will continue to work with West Midlands Trains Ltd, the DfT and all our stakeholders to ensure a smooth transition into the new franchise.
Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, while addressing a mammoth gathering at Rawalpindi late Wednesday night, took a pledge from the people that they would get their mandate respected.

The former premier reached Rawalpindi's Committee Chowk in a rally 12 hours after departing from the Punjab House, Islamabad, as supporters showered his vehicle with rose petals during what is considered to normally be a 30-minute drive.

A huge crowd gathered for his journey along the Grand Trunk Road bridging the 380 km between Islamabad and Lahore. "Around 50 percent of the people here are those who have just come to watch the scene," said bystander Nazakat Ali.

Sharif inquired from the large crowd, which had come out to support him, "Were these prime ministers not the people's choice? When will the people's mandate be respected?" adding that this joke has been repeated in Pakistan for 70 years.

"Promise me you would get your mandate respected. Promise me you wont allow your prime minister to be humiliated this way," he stated then.

"If you do not protect your rights, they will continue to be snatched away from you," he told his supporters.

"The judges said there is no corruption case against Nawaz Sharif, so why was I disqualified? I leave this for history to determined," Sharif  who has held the PMship three times  noted.

"I am going home and I do not want you to get me restored," he added.

The ex-PM said he had never seen such an outpour of love by people anywhere in the country. "A few people in Pindi say it is their city. Tonight, based on this crowd here, I tell them that this is my city."

Asking the crowd if they accept the Supreme Court's decision  a question that elicited a loud "No" from his supporters  Sharif said, "One court has given its decision, now this court will make a decision, the court of the people of Pakistan."

"Nawaz Sharif is still our prime minister," said worker Niaz Ahmad, who wore a lion look-alike costume and chanted, "Lion, Lion!" referring to the election symbol of Sharif's political party.

The PML-N leader summarised thereafter that the court of Pakistani people has announced its decision that they did not accept the ruling against him.

"When I first came to power, I was sent home after two and a half years. Now, I have been disqualified for not withdrawing the salary," he lamented.

Pakistan will celebrate 70 years of independence from British rule on August 14 this year but the country has never had a full-term prime minister, with numerous governments being interrupted by either military coups, judicial disqualification, or presidential decree.

"Every prime minister in this country was given one-and-a-half-year tenure, on average, to govern. Some were executed, some jailed, some handcuffed, and some exiled."

Sharif said he was not hungry for power, but that he desired to change the country and ensure the people's mandate is respected. He said he cannot accept "if people vote for someone and that person is sent home by others".

"I was sent home the first time; the second time, I was handcuffed. We have not been allowed to work in peace."

He said it was unfair to disqualify him on the grounds of not having declared a salary from his son's Dubai-based company among a list of assets submitted ahead of the 2013 elections that brought him to power.

Sharif lambasts opponents

During his address, Sharif also slammed his opponents, accusing them of "spreading unrest in the country".

"He spends his life in Canada, then comes here to ruin things," the PML-N leader criticised.

Rally via GT Road

Earlier, the former prime minister's caravan entered Rawalpindi, continuing its journey via the GT Road towards Lahore  his hometown. Sources told Geo News it is unlikely that he will be able to leave the city tonight.

Strict security preparations were made for the rally, with a significant number of police personnel, including elite force commandos, deployed. A helicopter also followed the procession to provide safe passage for the rally.

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi  Pakistan's new prime minister and a close Sharif ally  said the former leader was alert to security threats. "The bigger a leader is, the bigger the threat is," Abbasi told.

The security threat was underlined more so consequent to fears stemming from a truck bomb explosion that took place in Lahore on Monday, killing one person and injuring dozens.

The gathering was a show of force by Sharif, 67, who resigned during his third stint as prime minister after the Supreme Court in a closely-followed, well-documented case ruled on July 28 he should be disqualified and ordered a criminal probe into his family over allegations stemming from the "Panama Papers" leaks of international offshore companies.

The ex-PM departed from Punjab House around noon. Senior government officials  including the interim Prime Minister, members of the federal cabinet, and PML-N leaders  were present to see him off.

Chaudhry Nisar  a disgruntled party leader  was conspicuous through his absence from the procession.

The event remained largely peaceful, though Sharif's supporters assaulted the crew of two local TV stations that had been critical of him during the court proceedings, police official Hafeez Khan said.

The decision for Sharif to reach out to masses by travelling via GT Road was taken at a party meeting at Punjab House a couple of days ago. Senator Asif Kirmani  Sharif's special aide on political affairs  said the route was changed after demands by PML-N's local leaders and MNAs.

Following his disqualification as the prime minister, Sharif stepped down from the position and headed to his Murree residence alongside family members and close confidants.

Shehbaz?

Party leaders have recently suggested that Abbasi will hold office until elections due next year, a reversal of earlier indications that Sharif's younger brother, Shehbaz, would take over.

Shehbaz is now likely to replace his brother as party chief because Pakistani law bars convicted or disqualified persons from leading a political party.
The Labour Partys proposed fresh water tax will hit the Bay of Plenty hard, say local MPs Simon Bridges and Todd Muller.

Labour Party leader Jacinda Ardern announced the policy earlier this week, which includes a royalty on all users of fresh water, including private exporters.

Labour would charge an unspecified royalty for commercial water and use the money to clean up rivers, lakes and streams.

Tauranga MP Simon Bridges says Labours water tax is a huge concern for the Bay of Plenty economy, with the kiwifruit industry valued at $1.6 billion.

With kiwifruit being one of the fastest growing industries, this tax would kill its competitiveness, says Simon.

The tax is only looking at a small group of people like farmers, wine growers, and horticulturalists, its not fair on everyone.

Bay of Plenty MP Todd Muller agrees, saying the tax will put primary industries and exporters at a disadvantage.

Horticulture is one of the pillars of our local economy here in the Bay. The wealth this industry generates flows right through our local businesses.

How can we expect our primary industries and exporters to compete globally and sell our produce to the world with a Labour Party that not only refuses to back them, but actively puts them at a disadvantage?

Horticulture New Zealand chief executive Mike Chapman says the flow on effects will be felt at the supermarket checkout.

"Horticulture is a rapidly growing industry, contributing significantly to the economic wellbeing of New Zealand. Our vision is healthy food for all forever, says Mike.

We do not want to see the cost of fruit and vegetables grown in New Zealand, supporting local economies and providing jobs, pushed up higher than the cost of imported or processed food. We do not believe the long-term outcomes from a blanket water tax would benefit New Zealanders."

Todd believes Labour needs to be clearer about this tax and says there arent enough details.

They are essentially asking for a blank cheque.

Labour Party candidate for Tauranga Jan Tinetti says the policys details will be worked out with stakeholders after the election, if Labour forms the government.

In the first 100 days, all the interest groups will be brought together to sit down and have a discussion. Its funny National is deciding what the tax is going to look like when Labour has said we want to consult after the election. Its a little but mischief-making on their part, in that respect, she says.

But it will not be anywhere near what people are thinking. But we have to take a stand on water, because we have a diminishing commodity here. If we dont have water, were in for huge problems.
New evidence shows one in five children continue to be exposed to smoking in cars.

The research, led by the University of Otago, Wellington, and published in the New Zealand Medical Journal recently, analysed trends in childrens second hand smoke exposure in cars.

The surveys were conducted between 2006 and 2015 and included between 19,000 and 29,500 students who were asked whether, in the past week, others had smoked around them in a car or van.

Professor Richard Edwards, co-director of the research collaboration, says his teams analysis shows that exposure of children to smoking in cars is unacceptably high and actually increased in 2015 with close to one third of Maori students and over a quarter of Pacific students reporting being in a car with someone smoking in the past week.

"If the levels of exposure reported in 2015 in the survey applied to all Year 10 students, we estimate that almost 12,000 14-15 year-olds were exposed to smoking in cars each week in that year.

In October 2015 a petition presented to parliament by Smokefree Northland prompted a Health Select Committee investigation and subsequent recommendation that the government introduce legislation or other measures to ban smoking in cars carrying children under the age of 18 years.

The government rejected the recommendation on the grounds that "present initiatives are sufficient to deter smoking in cars carrying children under the age of 18 years".

Richard says levels of second-hand smoke in cars is a severe health hazard for children. Many countries, including the UK and states and provinces in Australia, Canada and America, have introduced legislation to prohibit smoking in cars where children are present. So, New Zealand is falling well short of international best practice on protecting children from this completely avoidable harm."

The health effects of second-hand smoke for children include increased risk of respiratory tract infections, exacerbations of asthma and glue ear.
Police say a 14-year-old male is among a pistol waving trio that robbed the Murupara store on Wednesday afternoon.

The young person will be appearing in the Rotorua Youth Court this morning charged with the aggravated robbery of the Murupara General Store.

Three people entered the store about 3.30pm and punched a female store worker in the face and assaulting a man working in the store.

Two were armed with pistols and the third with a screwdriver, says Detective Sergeant Tony Colby of Bay of Plenty police.

"The female store worker was punched in the face, and the male worker was also assaulted, says Tony in an earlier report.

"The store workers were both treated by ambulance staff for minor injuries and police are offering them support."

The offenders took cigarettes from behind the counter and tried to grab the cash register before running from the shop.

"The offenders were disguised, with one wearing a yellow scarf on his face."

"Murupara is a small community and there is a high chance that someone will know who these offenders are.
Next week New Yorks Dead Rabbit bar will be bringing its signature flair to the UK capital by taking up a 7-day residence in the iconic hotel, which celebrated its 200th birthday in 2012.

From the 15th to the 22nd of August, the Dead Rabbit will pop-up at Claridges Bar with a menu packed with exotic cocktails and classic bar food.

Reflecting the bars Irish heritage, the menu will also feature Irish Coffee. Meanwhile bar foods such as cumberland sausage rolls and lamb shepherds pie will share space on the menu with loftier dishes like lobster devilled eggs.

We at Claridges are big fans of the Dead Rabbit and admire their impact on the cocktail scene not just in New York but also on a global scale, says Claridges Bar Manager Denis Broci.

Were excited to have Sean and Jack bring a level of New York edginess as well as Dead Rabbit mischief and mayhem to Mayfair.

During its history, the hotel has been a favourite with royalty as well as eminent figures from the world of show business, including Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn and Alfred Hitchcock.

Founded in 1812 as Mivart's Hotel, it was sold in 1854 to a Mr and Mrs Claridge, who owned a smaller hotel next door. The couple combined the two operations and eventually changed the name of the hotel to Claridge's.
It was a rainy morning but those gathered were not daunted in their excitement to be celebrating the groundbreaking of a new mental healthcare center in Marion.

Mount Rogers Community Services Board broke ground July 28 for the Rhea B. Lawrence Recovery Center, under construction on the campus of Southwestern Virginia Mental Health Institute.

Lawrence is recognized by MRCSB for his outstanding career in the private and public sectors and for his unwavering commitment to helping others, as noted at the groundbreaking ceremony.

He has been an exemplary public servant representing Smyth County on the board of directors of MRCSB for over 14 years, four as chairperson. He has advocated passionately for the needs of individuals with mental illness, substance use disorders and developmental disabilities and he has worked tirelessly to ensure the availability of quality services to all citizens of Smyth, Wythe, Bland, Grayson and Carroll counties and the City of Galax served by MRCSB since 1972.

Rhea Lawrence expressed his honor at being included in the naming of the building and enjoyed the many years he worked with the community services board.

The Rhea B. Lawrence Recovery Center is described as a state-of-the-art, eight-bed residential crisis stabilization program, replacing the current Cornerstone facility that has operated in Marion since 2006.

In 2013, MRCSB officials said that Cornerstone provides crisis stabilization services to about 243 adults each year.

The center will be a one-level building with residential and counseling space. The Cornerstone building is owned by the county. It was first owned by MRCSB and then sold to the county during renovations of the area that included the new parking garage.

Services at MRCSB are designed for guests with a primary mental health diagnosis. The program offers short-term stabilization services for adults, with a mission to provide creative, recovery-based services in a warm and inviting, least restrictive environment that instills education, self-awareness, hope and self-determination as building blocks for change.

The groundbreaking ceremony included a welcome from Lisa Moore, executive director, and turning of the soil by Lawrence and members of his family and members of the CSB board, the Smyth County Board of Supervisors, and the Marion Town Council.

During a 2012 dispute about a proposed new MRCSB center in Marion, Lawrence spoke passionately about trying to get agency offices in this community. You dont know how hard I worked to get buildings here in Smyth County, he told the Marion Town Council in the spring of 2012.

MRCSB board members now representing Smyth County are Howard Burton, Susie Jennings, Beverly Mountain and Susan Sneed.

The organization provides an array of community services for individuals with mental health, intellectual and developmental disabilities, and substance use disorders. All services include the use of person-centered planning and embrace concepts of self-determination, empowerment and recovery as core principles in supporting individuals to achieve their highest possible level of participation in work, relationships and all aspects of community life.

The Mount Rogers Community Services Board participates in a statewide initiative sponsored by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services and the Partnership for People with Disabilities in "Becoming a Person-Centered Organization." This initiative is a two-year program that provides monthly training to staff, from all tiers of the agency, in order to become more person centered in day-to-day practices and supports individuals receiving services to have lives of their own choosing as a part of their community. Although learning is ongoing, we find that utilizing person-centered practices helps facilitate those we support to develop and maintain better relationships, enjoy their work, look forward to participation in community activities, experience fewer crises, and regularly express joy and happiness with their lives.

Completing this two-year program recognizes Mount Rogers Community Services Board as a Center of Excellence.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Energy marketers can still sell electricity and natural gas to low-income customers in New York - at least for the time being -- thanks to a court order this week that extends the industry's legal battle against state regulators.

An appeals court judge on Wednesday issued a temporary restraining order that blocks the state Public Service Commission from implementing a moratorium on energy sales by independent marketers to low-income customers.

The order from Justice Christine Clark of the Third Department marks another turnaround in a long-running legal battle between the PSC and energy service companies, also known as ESCOs. Regulators have been trying for a more than a year to ban ESCOs from serving low-income customers, but the matter has been tied up in court.

Now lawyers for the PSC have until Aug. 23 to make arguments to the Appellate Division of state Supreme Court for why they should be able to implement the moratorium.

The National Energy Marketers Association and several energy marketers, including BlueRock Energy, of Syracuse, are appealing a Supreme Court decision from June. That decision had given PSC officials the green light to block ESCO sales to low-income customers.

Craig Goodman, president of the marketers association, said state officials have no justification for the moratorium. The PSC policy would "eliminate choice for an entire segment of New York's energy consumers simply because of their financial status, based on entirely unfounded assumptions about ESCOs,'' he said.

But PSC officials insist that low-income customers risk overpaying for energy if they switch from their utility to ESCO service.

"We are concerned that low-income customers have been overcharged by millions of dollars by some ESCOs,'' said Jon Sorensen, speaking for the commission.

Contact reporter Tim Knauss anytime | email | Twitter | 315-470-3023
WASHINGTON (AP) -- North Korea on Wednesday officially dismissed President Donald Trump's threats of "fire and fury," declaring the American leader "bereft of reason" and warning ominously, "Only absolute force can work on him."

In a statement released on state media, General Kim Rak Gyom, who heads North Korea's rocket command, also said his country was "about to take" military action near the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam. He said the North would finalize a plan by mid-August involving mid-range missiles hitting waters 30 to 40 kilometers (19 to 25 miles) away from the island.

The plan will then go to the commander in chief of North Korea's nuclear force and "wait for his order," Kim was quoted by KCNA as saying. He called it a "historic enveloping fire at Guam."

The statement only served to escalate tensions even further in a week that has seen a barrage of threats from both sides. While nuclear confrontation still seems incredibly remote, the comments have sparked deep unease in the United States, Asia and beyond.

A day after evoking the use of overwhelming U.S. military might, Trump touted America's atomic supremacy. He said his first order as president was to "renovate and modernize" an arsenal that is "now far stronger and more powerful than ever before."

Tens of thousands of North Koreans gathered for a rally at Kim Il Sung Square carrying placards and propaganda slogans as a show of support for their rejection of the United Nations' latest round of sanctions. (AP Photo/Jon Chol Jin)

It was a rare public flexing of America's nuclear might. And Trump's boasting only added to the confusion over his administration's approach to dealing with North Korea's expanding nuclear capabilities on a day when his top national security aides wavered between messages of alarm and reassurance.

If Trump's goal with two days of tough talk was to scare North Korea, Kim, the commander, put that idea quickly to rest.

He called Trump's rhetoric a "load of nonsense" that was aggravating a grave situation.

"Sound dialogue is not possible with such a guy bereft of reason and only absolute force can work on him," the KNCA report quoted him saying.

Kim said the Guam action would be "an effective remedy for restraining the frantic moves of the U.S. in the southern part of the Korean peninsula and its vicinity."
International development divides the world into objects and ideas. The objects (children, elephants, forests) are saved by ideas (Western). Stephanie Hanes brilliant first book focuses on one object of development, the Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique, and holds it up so that we can see the many hands shaping its story. She describes her effort as a safari of sorts through our African stories, a voyage into how we got here and what we do now. Though it could easily fall into the category of environmental writing or development studies, this book is a page-turner rooted in investigative journalism.

Hanes most direct critique of development is saved for the books title, White Mans Game: Saving Animals, Rebuilding Eden and Other Myths of Conservation in Africa. She resists cynicism throughout, sticking to her central question: Why do Western efforts to help the environment and Africa so often fail? [It] is not because of bad planning or poor investment strategies, she writes. We failalthough we almost never admit itbecause we are stuck in our own mental framework. We cannot see the other narratives, even when they actively clash with our own.

Gorongosa National Park is part of a spectacularly beautiful but war-battered ecosystem in central Mozambique. At its heart, both geographically and spiritually, is Mount Gorongosa, a heavily forested mountain that creates the conditions for the year-round water that feeds the parks floodplain.

In the mid-2000s, Gregory Carr, an American with millions of dollars of extra money to put into philanthropic enterprises, witnessed Mozambiques beauty and decided it was the countrys secret weapon, Hanes writes. Perhaps, he thought, he could take part of this stunning landscape and turn it into a development engine. Carr became Gorongosas champion and de facto owner. He shaped its boundaries and defined its narrative.

Hanes effortlessly eases us into discursive analysis, not with Michel Foucault, but with the simple structure of a five-act play. She explains this tidy narratives utility to a philanthropist like Greg Carr: He can control the plot line. His five-act play, she says, goes like this: Act 1 is the backstory. People who care about GorongosaPortuguese colonistsestablish an exclusive hunting reserve in Gorongosa in the 1920s. Its conservation begins. Act 2 is the rising action. National park status is designated in 1960, hunting is banned, and thousands of buffalo, zebra, hippos, antelope and other animals thrive. The rich and famous come to see its beauty for themselves. Act 3 is the climax. The park closes in 1981 because of war. Soldiers and poachers kill nearly all the animals. Local people continue to kill what animals remain and deforest the mountainside. Act 4 introduces the protagonist. Carr and his foundation come to the rescue. Act 5, the resolutionstill to comeis what Carr calls, Happily Ever After.
Niagara Falls police have arrested a man from Youngstown, Ohio after finding a dead woman in his car in Niagara Falls, according to reports.

According to WIVB, Niagara Falls police took JeShawn Elliot, 27, into custody Wednesday after his vehicle was located in a parking lot across from Tony Roma's on Buffalo Avenue. Police told WIVB that Elliot parked his car there, rented a bike and ran off, leaving the body in the trunk.

Niagara Falls police received a tip by police in Youngstown, Ohio, who got a call from a man who said his brother had just stabbed his girlfriend and was headed to Niagara Falls to commit suicide.

Jeshawn Elliot appears in Niagara Falls court, charged with assault of officer with deadly weapon. DA Investigating homicide charges @WKBW pic.twitter.com/QC2ZsFlCCQ  Thuy Lan Nguyen (@ThuyLanWKBW) August 10, 2017

More than 25 officers showed up to take Elliot into custody. Officers had to use a taser on him because he lunged at them with a knife.

The girlfriend, Anvia Mickens, had a missing person's report filled out for her by her mom.

Mickens was stabbed several times, according to police.

Elliott was charged with attempted assault of an officer with a deadly weapon and menacing an officer, according to WKBV. Prosecutors are looking into possible homicide charges.
CHITTENANGO, N.Y. -- A bill expanding cancer coverage for New York's volunteer firefighters is one signature away from becoming a law.

And on Thursday, state legislators urged Governor Andrew Cuomo to approve the bill that will help care for volunteer firefighters who contract cancer after battling fires.

The New York State Legislature passed a bill in June that gives cancer coverage to the more than 110,000 volunteer firefighters who serve across the state. The legislation would give $25,000 to firefighters diagnosed with fire-related cancers.

Assemblyman Anthony Brindisi speaks about cancer coverage for firefighters on Thursday at the Chittenango Fire Department in Chittenango.

Assemblyman Anthony Brindisi (D-Utica), Assemblyman William Magee (D-Nelson) and Sen. David Valesky (D-Oneida) met with firefighters at the Chittenango Fire Department in Madison County to show support for the bill. The Firemen's Association of the State of New York joined the rally.

The bill would fill in coverage gaps for volunteer firefighters who have served for at least five years.

Brindisi, one of the bill's sponsors, said volunteers who risk their lives to protect others should not be abandoned.

"No one who volunteers day in and day out to serve and protect their community should be denied coverage for a condition that is the clear result of their occupation," he said in a news release. "During my efforts over the past several years, I commonly heard compelling stories from supporters of the bill of firefighters who survived cancer, but without the coverage for it they deserve. Signing this bill would right that wrong."
Its hard to believe that the founder of Tesla Motors and SpaceX could have such reactionary views about artificial intelligence. Elon Musk last weekend had some very un-Musk-like things to say about AI when he addressed the U.S. National Governors Association meeting in Providence, Rhode Island. AI is a fundamental existential risk for human civilization, and I dont think people fully appreciate that, Musk said. He even suggested that government ought to regulate the nascent industry  but its hard to regulate that which isnt yet formed. Its reminiscent of what happened when the George W. Bush administration decided to restrict stem cell research. The regulation didnt work because the research simply moved to more friendly jurisdictions.

It harkens back to the warning of Jurassic Park character Dr. Malcolm  that life always finds a workaround. AI will be no different, so we need to embrace it and work with it.

Whats striking is that those pronouncements came from the man who reinvented the space program as a for-profit industry, and who also took the electric car to the edge of technological capability and then busted through all barriers.

In both cases, something new and good resulted. In space, Musks company this year demonstrated lift capacity to launch 10 satellites at once and return its booster rocket to Earth for an upright landing.

His other companys cars, though expensive, gradually have been reaching the general marketplace, and there is a multibillion dollar waiting list for the next model.

Fly Like Lindbergh

It would be Pollyannish not to acknowledge that things dont always work out, but then again, even when things go sideways its exceedingly rare that they threaten human civilization.

To unpack this: For all the notoriety Musks success has brought him, its worth remembering that his greatest successes have been in reimagining existing paradigms, like cars and space.

Before that Musk had a lot to do with getting PayPal up and running. Theres nothing wrong with any of that. Musk has shown that you can make a lot of money building a better mousetrap. However, his comments suggest that he might not be as well positioned on the cutting edge as weve been led to believe.

Way out there on the cutting edge, there are no paradigms to improve. You have to make things up out of whole cloth, and its hard. Consider the difference between John Harrison and Charles Lindbergh.

Lindbergh, an aviator, was first to cross the Atlantic in an airplane, and he won the US$25,000 Orteig prize (more than $300,000 in current funds) for doing so. If he hadnt been the one, some other person would have performed the feat, because there were multiple teams jockeying for position at the time.

Most importantly, the solution to the problem was constructed from off-the-shelf parts. It takes nothing away from the courage and stamina of the man who could stay awake for more than 33 hours to make the trip to recognize that Lindberghs feat was of a different order than Harrisons accomplishment.

Navigate Like Harrison

Two centuries earlier, Harrison figured out how to determine longitude at sea and won most of a prize established in 1714 by the British parliament for a successful solution. The Longitude Prize was worth a cool Pounds 20,000  equal to about Pounds 2.5 million today.

Harrison was a carpenter and clock maker. He knew a lot about making a standing pendulum clock with wooden gears. However, his solution to longitude involved building a clock out of metal, without a pendulum, and capable of precision not seen up to that time.

Harrison had to reinvent timekeeping, and the result was the first chronometer capable of encountering life at sea and maintaining the correct time within a small margin.

So perhaps Musk is more Lindberghesque than Harrisonian  more into improving solutions than inventing his own. The whole idea of the brave new world of AI can seem scary to him  and thus his crusade to save us.

Musks Providence pronouncements were not the first cautionary words he has offered on AI. His warnings earned a lengthy treatment earlier this year in a Vanity Fair article by Maureen Dowd, Elon Musks Billion-Dollar Crusade to Stop the A.I. Apocalypse, which details his efforts to save humanity from machine-learning overlords.

Really?

On the other hand, Musks Tesla factories are models of robotic efficiency and seem to be a significant counterfactual to his statements in Providence. However, robotic assembly lines might be drone-like compared with Musks vision of powerful AI. Possibly, he is angling to clear out some space for a new venture hes been incubating.

Neural Lace

Musks new company, Neuralink, might be an attempt to build what hes called a neural lace, which might function as a kind of interface between the human brain and machines.

There arent many details yet, so keep an eye out for whatevers next. Meanwhile, Id take the Providence declaration with a bowl of chowder.

Everywhere we look today, things are changing in fundamental ways. The AI scare  and thats what it is  was forecasted a few years ago in The Second Machine Age, by a couple of MIT professors who warned that the acceleration and disorientation we feel is exactly what happens in the second half of an exponential growth curve.

Theres no doubt that job losses can be scary, and the new era never arrives in time to short-circuit the pain associated with the end of a prior era. Still, there are lots of things we can do to smooth the situation.

First and foremost, we can quit the unproductive doomsday talk and figure out in earnest how to take advantage of whats before us.

We also can embrace the change and actively participate in its rollout. Participation yields control, and thats far more useful than trying to shut something down.

Were looking at a free market phenomenon, which means it has a momentum of its own that wont be stopped by regulation  more or less the same situation Dr. Malcolm found himself in. By the way, electric cars are the same type of free market phenomenon, so its a pity their patron hasnt seen that yet.
Essential, a startup Android cofounder Andy Rubin formed, has raised $300 million in funding, backed by investors the likes of Amazon, Tencent, and Foxconn.

That means reports back in June were true. With new money in its coffers, Rubin's company can push its Essential PH-1 smartphone forward.

In fact, Rubin confirmed via Twitter that the $700 smartphone is already in "full mass production." Reuters adds the company will announce a formal release date next week.

Rubin also shared some photos showing the production process, with stacks of what looks to be PH-1's outer frames being carried away by a mechanical carousel. Despite the release next week, Essential has spoken very little of its phone. There have been some speculations that it could be another case of vaporware, but we've already seen the hardware and gotten a look at its spec sheet, so everything seems to be in order.

Essential PH-1 Specs

The Essential PH-1 will rival Apple's iPhone 8 and Samsung's Galaxy S8. It boasts a lot of the usual flair: a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chip, Adreno 540 for graphics, 4 GB of RAM, 128 GB of onboard storage, and a 3,040 mAh battery for juice, just a tad bit more than the Galaxy S8's 3,000 mAh capacity.

Its design is fairly unusual, though, which might definitely look bothersome for other people. There's a 5.7-inch Quad HD display, but on the topmost part sits a front-facing camera, which disrupts the shape of the screen. Going bezel-less is commendable, though, but customers have to contend with the odd design choice if they plan on purchasing the device.

The Essential PH-1 will launch exclusively via Sprint in the United States but will be available unlocked on Amazon's website, reports Business Insider. Both Essential and Best Buy will also carry the handset through their individual stores.

Is The Essential PH-1 Worth Considering?

For a lot of reasons, the Essential PH-1 looks great on paper. It seems there's really not much wrong it can do, thanks to Rubin's expertise in mobile devices. However, while it may get many things right, it's also true that other smartphones including cheaper ones have already proven their merit. Breaking into the industry with a $700 premium smartphone is a bold move, but hopefully, Rubin can pull it off.

Essential Home

Aside from a smartphone, Essential plans to release a smart speaker called the Essential Home, due later this year. It will compete with Google's Home and Apple's HomePod. It'll host similar features found in current smart home devices, but the pitch is different: Essential Home is tailored for interacting with various smart home ecosystems. Users will be able to use Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, and Siri to make voice commands.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Acer Philippines Throws Grand Ball Pit Party In Celebration Of Its 1st Transnational Brand Day Event

Acer Day was conceptualized to continually refresh and breathe new life into the brand, as well, as to boost the publics awareness and knowledge about Acer products, Acer Philippines Sales and Marketing Director Sue Ong-Lim said.

With a theme of Be Cool Everyday, Acer Philippines held a Grand Ball Pit Party to celebrate its first transnational and biggest brand day event at the Glorietta Activity Center. Acer Day was celebrated in 14 countries, including China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, and Vietnam.In the country, popular rock artist Basti Artadi and hard rock band Kjwan graced the stage to excite more the Acer fans who attended the celebration.In addition, popular DJs Euric and Nina were also present in the gathering.Acer also promised to fans that Acer Day just marks the beginning of more celebrations of the brand. Consumers are also advised to expect for better get-together soon. It was revealed that every August 3rd in the future will be Acers brand day, where new brand activities and events will surely happen.See Also: Acer Unveils Powerful Hello Kitty Limited Edition Laptop; Yours for Php45,999 Meanwhile, the Acer Day event website officially started last July 21 and will run until October 3. To participate, consumers only have to log in with their social media accounts to participate in a total of 11 daily challenges.These challenges will help them earn Cool Points, which may be exchanged for raffle tickets. Five Acer Swift 7, one Acer Spin 1, and three Predator Helios 300 will be drawn on October 11.To learn more about the treats and exclusive deals, visit the event website at www.acer-day.com/ph.
In its May 20th statement following the presidential election, the Iranian Resistance said, In Rouhanis second term massive economic and social destructions along with political suppression would continue. Rouhani neither wants, nor is able to seriously alter the foundations, structure or behavior of this historically backward regime And indeed it should never be expected from him, who for the past 38 years has held the highest positions in the regimes security and military apparatus in domestic suppression and war mongering. And as his rivals have noted, he was the one who called for public hanging of conspirators during Friday prayers right from the beginning.

The new Minister of Communications and Technology, Mohmmad Javad Azari Jahromi, has been a Ministry of Intelligence (MOIS) agent since the age of 21. He was appointed to the MOIS Technical Department and Director of Surveillance during the 2009 uprising, and played a large role in arresting demonstrators and quelling the uprising. In his appointment of Azari Jahromi, Rouhani attempts to confront the growing influence of the Iranian Resistance among the Iranian people.

According to YJC website, associated to the IRGC, Jahromi said on July 17th, We are blocking 3,300 Telegram channels each week and around 13,000 each month. For two years now we have been surveilling these channels, including pornography, religious beliefs and even political material It is true that the channel of the Peoples Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) is open, and as the leader has said these people have murdered our youth. The PMOI/MEK are using Telegram and other social media platforms to quickly publish their desired material.

The YJC website, also published remarks by the director of the Working Group on Criminal Material Determination, The PMOI/MEK are freely spreading propaganda inside the country through social media and providing material for our youth? In fact, these very channels have disrupted our order We have been humiliated in social media he said.

Amir Hatami is Rouhanis new Defense Minister, who is a member of the IRGC paramilitary Bassij, and who, according to state media, has a criminal past. Hatami also played an active role in confronting the PMOI/MEK during the 1988 Operation Eternal Light. State media wrote, that he had an active and effective role in the struggle against anti-revolution groups and the PMOI/MEK, along with infiltration teams in the countrys northwest and western regions. Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei sent him a letter of gratitude. Khamenei also appointed the 32-year-old to Brigadier General and Deputy Army Intelligence Chief of the Islamic Republic of Iran In 1999.

Rouhanis new Labor Minister is Habibollah Bitaraf, a former member of the six-man central council of the students who supported former Iranian Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini. He was also one of the officials in charge of raiding the US Embassy and taking it hostage in 1979. He was one of the initial organizers of the Construction Jihad foundation and a member of the IRGC during the bloody Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s.

The new Minister of Industry, Mining and Trade, Mohammad Shariatmadari, has been a senior official since the early days of the regime. He played an active role in establishing and organizing the Revolution Committees and the MOIS in 1985, after which, he was appointed Deputy Intelligence Minister. He was also allegedly involved in plundering ordinary peoples assets. He was in charge of the Setad Ejraiye Farmane Hazrate Emam  Headquarters for Executing the Order of the Imam, which is said to be a massive economic cartel, controlled directly by Khamenei himself, with assets worth $95 billion, mainly from confiscating assets belonging to regime dissidents. (National Council of Resistance of Iran article, August 9, 2017)

Rouhanis new Justice Minister, Alireza Avaie, was in charge of executions in Khuzestan Province, southwestern Iran during the 1988 massacre. He replaced Mostafa Pourmohammadi, who was part of the Death Committee, who sentenced thousands to execution during the 1988 massacre.
One of the most stressful parts of pet ownership is what to do with your four-legged companion when you travel. While some pet owners opt for boarding, others choose to bring their furry family members along.

If youre looking to hit the road or fly the skies with your canine companion or feline friend, American Kennel Club has some tips to make the trip as smooth as possible.

Health Checks: Bring your pet to the veterinarian for a check-up before going on a long journey trip. Make sure all vaccinations are up to date and obtain a record showing proof of up-to-date vaccinations. Health certifications are required for airline travel.

Ask the vet about potential health risks at your destination, like Lyme disease, and what the necessary preventive measures your pet needs to take.

Crates: If traveling by car, pets should be confined to a crate or carrier in the back seat. This will prevent distractions as well as protect the animal in the event of a collision. It can also keep your pet from getting into trouble in a hotel or at your host's home. Airlines also require that pets travel in a carrier or crate, whether they are flying in the cargo hold or plane's main cabin. Contact your airline directly for information on their pet policy.

Crates are available from most pet supply stores. Look for these features when purchasing and check out these crash-tested options:

Large enough to allow the pet to stand, turn and lie down.

Strong, with handles and grips, and free of interior protrusions.

Leakproof bottom covered with absorbent material.

Ventilation on opposing sides, with exterior rims or knobs to prevent blocked airflow.

Have Proper ID: In the event that your dog or cat slips away during the trip, you significantly increase the odds of recovery by making sure they can be properly identified.

Make sure your dog has a sturdy leash and collar. The collar should have identification tags with the dog's name, your name, and your home phone number, as well as proof of rabies shots.

Mark your pet's crate with your name, contact number, destination phone number, and photo of your pet. You should also carry a picture of your pet.

Consider a permanent form of identification, such as a microchip.

Traveling by car: Bringing your pet along for a road trip requires more than just throwing a crate in the back seat, especially for long-distance trips or if you plan on being away for a long period of time.

Get your pet geared up by taking him on a series of short drives first, gradually lengthening time spent in the car.

Bring food, a bowl, leash, a waste scoop, plastic bags, grooming supplies, medication and first-aid, and any travel documents.

Be sure to pack plenty of bottled water, and avoid feeding your pet in a moving vehicle. Traveling on a full stomach can also cause pets to become car sick.



Keep the car well-ventilated. If the dog is in a crate, make sure that fresh air can flow into the crate.

Don't let pets ride cars with their heads outside the window. Dirt and other debris can enter their eyes, ears and nose and cause injury or infection.

Make frequent stops to allow your pet to go to the bathroom and get some exercise. Be sure to clean up after your pet.

Traveling by plane: Most airlines have their own set of rules for canine air travel. Call ahead for information and make arrangements in advance of your trip.
On November 11, the EU announced the renewal, until November 14, 2023, of the sanctions against officials linked to the Administration of Nicolas Maduro. | Read More
According to official North Korean news reports, a top aide to supreme leader Kim Jong-Un is on a ten day trip to meet with Iranian leaders in Tehran, along with officials from North Koreas army, navy and air force.

Levitt believes, Iran is not a closed economy that is entirely blocked off from the rest of the world, while North Korea largely is, meaning that Tehran has a lot to lose from breaking the 2015 nuclear deal that eased sanctions on the country, which allows deals such as the one to build cars in Iran that was made by French automaker Renault earlier this week, or the one French energy giant Total recently made with the Iran.

Meanwhile, it is estimated that more than 90 percent of all trade conducted by North Korea goes through China. Levitt added, when one situation goes wrong it is inevitable that you think about the other. He believes that President Donald Trumps administration must focus its attention on North Korea.

Still, Ed Walker, a former representative for the Clinton administration in Egypt, disagreed, saying, As soon as you start distracting U.S. efforts to contain Iran, that frees up space for Iran to move forward with its nuclear program. Walker also said that if the Trump administration cant keep both issues in-check at the same time, they should quit and go home. Walker added, President Trump has put himself at a terrible disadvantage by leaving key posts at the State Department unfilled and by not hiring qualified staff fast enough.

Michael OHanlon, who specializes in U.S. defense strategy and the use of military force at the Brookings Institution, warned in an interview last week, that Iran is using whats happening on the Korean Peninsula as a test. He asked, What lessons will Iran draw if North Korea gets away with not only getting a bomb, but building up continuously with China and Russia tolerating it?
This blog generally follows traditional journalistic standards. It's not about opinions, though you may read one here occasionally. It's about facts that we think will be useful to rural journalists, non-rural journalists who do rural stories, and others interested in rural issues. We don't try to be provocative, so we don't generate as many comments as most blogs with the level of traffic we have, but we certainly invite comments -- and contributions, to

.

REPUBLICATION
A Ruston dentist whose brother-in-law worked at the Shaw Group in 2012 was acquitted Thursday on federal insider trading charges relating to the announcement that year that Shaw was being acquired by Chicago Bridge & Iron Co. for $3 billion.

Federal prosecutors had alleged that Jesse H. Roberts III reaped a $700,000 profit from confidential information allegedly provided by his brother-in-law, Scott David Zeringue.

Roberts was found not guilty on one count each of securities fraud and conspiracy to commit securities fraud. He did not testify in his own defense. The jury deliberated for about eight hours Thursday. The trial began last week.

"Jesse and his family have been through a horrible ordeal. They feel blessed and thankful that the jury considered all the evidence and reached a just verdict," Roberts' lead attorney, former federal prosecutor Shaun Clarke, said outside U.S. District Judge John deGravelles' courtroom shortly after the judge read the unanimous verdicts to a packed courtroom.

Zeringue was vice president of construction operations for Shaw when he claims to have passed confidential information to Roberts in July 2012 about the impending sale of the Baton Rouge-based engineering and construction firm. The sale was publicly announced July 30, 2012, causing Shaw's stock to soar.

Zeringue pleaded guilty in 2014 to securities fraud conspiracy and is waiting to be sentenced. He testified last week that he shared secret information with Roberts that Zeringue's boss had passed on to him.

In his closing argument Wednesday to the 12-person jury, Clarke called Zeringue a government "hostage" who lied to the FBI

"He's a scared little man  who knows that the only way to stay out of prison is to make them (prosecutors) happy," he said. "Scott Zeringue is looking out for No. 1."

Federal prosecutors alleged Roberts used inside information to invest in Shaw stock options several times in July 2012 prior to the public announcement.

"The jury has rendered its verdict and we accept it," acting U.S. Attorney Corey Amundson, who was in the courtroom when the verdicts were announced, said afterward. "We will nevertheless continue to pursue complex white collar crimes whenever we believe sufficient evidence exists to do so."

Roberts' attorneys argued the information about the planned sale of Shaw to CB&I had been leaking out and that Roberts, an experienced trader, used information available to the public to invest in Shaw stock options and hit it big.

"This was not a rumor" that Roberts acted on, Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Dippel told the jury Wednesday. "This was not just talk around the coffee machine or water cooler."

Dippel described the actions of Zeringue and Roberts as a "partnership in crime."

Clarke acknowledged to the jury that Roberts "hit the jackpot" but said "hitting the jackpot is not a crime."

Zeringue admitted in court that he bought Shaw stock, using his company computer in his Essen Lane office at Shaw headquarters, after learning from his boss that a sale was imminent. Zeringue also said he asked Roberts to buy $5,000 in Shaw stock for him prior to the July 2012 announcement.

Zeringue testified Roberts came to Baton Rouge in November 2013 and handed him $30,000 in cash in the driveway of Zeringue's home. Roberts' attorneys have called the cash a gift.

Roberts allegedly told another Ruston resident, Billy J. Adcox Jr., about the information he received from Zeringue. Adcox was indicted in 2015 and is awaiting trial, accused of turning a $37,000 profit from his alleged insider trading activities.

Adcox's attorney, Marci Blaize, said she hopes federal prosecutors will reassess their position against her client in light of Roberts' acquittal.

"Any favorable outcome for Dr. Roberts is favorable for Billy Adcox," she added.

Three other people, including former Shaw Group employee Kelly Liu, were indicted last month and accused of insider trading and illegally profiting from Shaw's sale to CB&I.
Baton Rouge-based Stonehenge Growth Capital has invested $5 million in PosiGen, a Jefferson-based company that leases solar power systems to residential customers.

The investment will allow PosiGen to expand its operations in Connecticut and provide clean energy technology to 750 low- to moderate-income residents. PosiGen has more than 10,000 residential customers in Louisiana, Connecticut, New York and Florida.

Stonehenge Growth Capital, a subsidiary of Stonehenge Capital Co., made the $5 million investment through the Invest CT program, a program that requires 25 percent of all capital goes into green technology.

Stonehenge's investment will allow PosiGen to provide an additional 750 rooftop solar panel systems to further reduce Connecticut households energy costs. The electricity generated from these panels is used to heat, cool and illuminate homes in an eco-friendly and affordable way.

+4 Solar leasing widens the appeal of sun power A hurdle that has long impeded the widespread use of solar energy to heat and cool homes is 

"We are thrilled to partner with Stonehenge Growth Capital to further expand our footprint across the state of Connecticut while sustainably lowering utility costs for a large and underserved community," PosiGen Chief Executive Officer Thomas Neyhart said.

Connecticut has committed to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent below 2001 levels by 2050, and the addition of 750 solar panel systems will help the state to continue to meet its goals. Construction of the new solar systems is now under way.

PosiGen's business model allows it to reach low-income households, which traditionally haven't been able to afford solar panels, said Stonehenge Growth Capital Managing Director Charles Haberkorn. This ability makes PosiGen a leader in the clean energy space.

Stonehenge Growth, a subsidiary of Stonehenge Capital Company LLC, has invested more than $1 billion in small businesses since 1993. Stonehenge Capital is one of the largest financiers of state tax credits in the United States. The company has invested in projects generating more than $2.5 billion in various state tax credit incentives. Stonehenge also invests in projects that generate federal historic and renewable energy tax credits.
AMITE CITY  Dorothy Brooks sat in the same wheelchair, in the same Amite City house as she did Aug. 12, 2016, the day the water rose. This time, almost a year later, she sat ready to meet the man who rescued her.

I didnt think it was that bad," Brooks, 70, said, recalling last summer's devastating flood.

She had been inside the home with her family on that August day, and before she realized what was happening, the front yard was under water. Then the front porch. Then slowly the home's floorboards.

I worried about how soon they were going to get her out of here," said Brooks' sister, Laverne Andrews, who lives with her. "The water was coming up high fast."

Andrews recalled how Tangipahoa Parish sheriff's deputies arrived on their no-outlet street as the water was filling the low-lying land, but they first worked to evacuate homes farther back on Bankston Road so no residents would get stranded.

Not seeing the video below? Click here.

Time was working against Andrews and Brooks. The water kept rising, and within an hour it was in their house, which sits at least 2 feet above the ground.

Andrews said she wandered out into the water because she wanted to make sure the authorities knew she had a house full of people unable to make their own escape: her older sister, Brooks, and her four grandchildren, ages 10 and younger.

"I remember when we were going to the back (of Bankston Road), y'all didnt have any water in here," said Sgt. Thomas Wheeler, the deputy who carried Brooks to safety, wading through almost waist-deep water  a moment that was forever captured by an Advocate photographer.

"When I first passed, (the water) was probably at about the middle (porch) step, I could see the steps," Wheeler said. "By the time we finished up back there, there was probably 4 to 5 inches in the house."

Wheeler walked up those front steps once again in July, this time taking Brooks' hand and introducing himself. Looking up at the deputy at least twice her size, Brooks joked he was even bigger than she remembered.

I sure thank you for rescuing me," Brooks said, her wavering voice almost hard to make out. Every time it rains, I think about it.

Thats what we do," Wheeler replied. It wasnt just me, we had a small army out here. We had four or five guys that helped, too.

By the time Wheeler and his team had assisted everyone in the extended family to safety, the house had 2 feet of water inside, Andrews said.

Andrews and the family stayed in a local community center that first night, then in a motel and at friends houses. Andrews worked quickly to get back into her home, renovating room by room. Almost 12 months later, she said, the house is pretty much back to normal  but the effects of the flood linger.

"Every time it rains and thunders, (my granddaughter) gets so scared, she puts her hands over her ears," Andrews said. "Ever since then, shes worried its going to flood."

The photo of Wheeler carrying Brooks from the house  taken by Advocate photographer Travis Spradling  became an icon of the flood, often used by politicians to demonstrate the effects of the flood as they worked to get help for their constituents.

"That picture helped a lot of people, Wheeler said.

To capture that moment, Spradling had followed instructions from his editor to capture the flooding in Amite, and with guidance from authorities and reporters, he found the Sheriff's Office working on Bankston Road  though he could only drive so far down the flooded road.

"I parked in a soggy field and hiked in, and basically hiked until I started seeing people coming out of houses," Spradling said. "The first pictures I shot there were of Ms. Brooks."

Spradling also shot a photo of deputies carrying Andrew's 7-year-old grandson to safety, an image he said he found just as impactful as the one with Brooks.

"The big challenge was trying to stay out of Sgt. Wheeler's way," Spradling said. "He was trying to walk forward, I was trying to walk backward  it was all I could do to get close enough to them to make a good picture."

And walking backward in a flood can be dangerous, he noted, but especially bogged down with expensive and necessary photography equipment.

"The primary concern is getting the pictures, the secondary concern is making sure my equipment will work tomorrow," Spradling said, remembering the relentless pouring rain.

Despite the circumstances, Wheeler said it meant a lot to be able to see Brooks doing well a year later.

"She reminds me a lot of my mom," Wheeler said. "My mom was small like that. She passed from cancer. When I picked (Brooks) up, I remembered picking my mom up."
In the wake of yet another flood event in New Orleans, everyone is looking for someone to blame for this one event and ignoring a larger trend that extends past the microcosm of New Orleans.

Last year, Louisiana had a one in 1000-year flood event, according to the National Weather Service, which affected people from Lafayette to the north shore, forced thousands out of their homes in the Baton Rouge and central Louisiana areas and left yours truly stranded in Abbeville for the larger part of a week. On top of that, Lafayette flooded again this May, the north shore flooded in March 2016, right before that major event, and parts of New Orleans have now been left underwater twice just this summer, including a smaller event in late July.

Lafayette, Baton Rouge and the north shore are not bowls. None of these floods were caused by tropical systems or even major storms. The flood last Saturday is not the fault of elevation or pumps, although of course, they play a part, but the latest symptom of the changing nature of the water cycle.

Climate scientists have been warning us that more intense rain systems that drop more water in less time would be one of many symptoms of climate change. Being in the wettest area of the country we are more at risk for these storms than most other areas, and were only beginning to see the effects.

Gov. John Bel Edwards, mayors Mitch Landrieu, Sharon Broome, Joel Robideaux and others would be wise to take a step back and look at this trend with a wider lens. The president has made clear he will not be addressing climate change or its effects. How long will it be worth businesses and peoples time and money to have to keep rebuilding in south Louisiana? How many floods will it take before we realize this is the new normal?

Michael Francingues

warehouse mananger

Baton Rouge
Louisiana leaders are still asking the federal government for more money to aid the recovery from last year's historic floods, but a year after the storm it remains unclear how much more the state should expect.

Louisiana has received nearly $1.7 billion spread over two appropriations from Congress since the Aug. 11, 2016 flood. The next bite at the apple comes next month, when Congress must approve another federal spending plan to keep the government running.

But two significant questions linger: How hard will the Trump administration push for the state to receive additional aid? And how much?

Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat who has personally appealed to the Republican president for additional flood recovery dollars, estimates that at least $2 billion more is needed.

More than 95 percent of the aid Louisiana has received so far came during the Obama administration, which had backed similar disaster recovery programs in the past. Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump's administration supported a third round of funding for Louisiana, but at a fraction of what Edwards and the state's Congressional delegation had sought. Additionally, Trump's administration has called for the end of a program traditionally used to funnel long-term recovery dollars to states.

Edwards spokesman Richard Carbo said the governor continues to make the case for additional aid.

"They've been very receptive," Carbo said. "The administration has shown nothing but support for answering the needs of this state."

U.S. Rep. Garret Graves, a Baton Rouge Republican who represents some of the hardest-hit areas, said this week that he also thinks the Trump administration is receptive to supporting additional aid  if the state can demonstrate that it is needed.

"It's very difficult to quantify the unmet needs when so much money's in the bank," Graves said.

About 1 percent of the $1.69 billion the state has received for the flood recovery has been doled out, after the state waited months for the federal government to grant access to the funds.

State officials say they are currently promoting homeowner and business owner surveys through door-to-door campaigns, public service announcements and robocalls. People must fill out the surveys to get in the pipeline to qualify for aid, but leaders say that they also must provide documentation to support the state's requests for additional money from the federal government.

Nearly 40,000 homeowner surveys have been completed so far. State leaders say that it remains thousands fewer than the estimated need.

"Certainly, it's been a little harder than I wanted it to be," Edwards said recently of the effort to get more people signed up.

The Restore Louisiana Task Force has set aside $1.3 billion to help homeowners rebuild their flood-gutted houses.

Another $134 million is dedicated to programs to help restore rental housing stock, $62 million to small business assistance, $105 million for infrastructure and $9.8 million for watershed efforts.

"There are needs that are unmet," Carbo said. "We're going to continue to make that case."

Federal aid after disasters typically flows to states in waves. The first wave is FEMA assistance, which doesn't require congressional action and is largely dedicated toward short-term needs for individuals, like hotels and replacement of essentials. FEMA also covers assistance for state and local government recovery efforts.

+6 Gov. John Bel Edwards tours home repaired through state flood program Lillie Gumm is about two weeks away from moving back into her house that took on three feet 

Assistance for homeowners' and business owners' long-term recovery needs is approved by Congress outside of FEMA. Traditionally, it has flowed to Louisiana through the Community Development Block Grant Program under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, as it did with the nearly $1.7 billion in long-term recovery assistance that has been granted to Louisiana for last year's floods and the recovery dollars that followed Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.

The Trump administration earlier this year released a budget blueprint for Congress that calls for eliminating CDBG funds entirely, and the White House has been unclear about what path it would take in times of disaster. The blueprint document says that the budget "devolves community and economic development activities to the state and local level, and redirects federal resources to other activities."

Asked about the administration's view of the need for additional aid for Louisiana, a White House spokesman said, "The Trump administration is committed to supporting state and local efforts to prepare for, respond to and protect from disasters which includes homeland security."

A year into the flood recovery and at the peak of hurricane season, the Trump administration has not faced a large-scale, billion-dollar disaster so it has yet to demonstrate how it will react to one.

Both Trump and Vice President Mike Pence traveled to the Baton Rouge area in the immediate aftermath of the floods and saw the damage first-hand. Pence, during a trip back to Louisiana this summer to meet with business leaders, returned to a home that they previously visited. It's been rebuilt through aid from Samaritan's Purse, an evangelical Christian aid organization  not the federally funded state assistance program, which only began distributing funds a week after Pence toured the fully-rebuilt Denham Springs home.

About $51.4 million, roughly 3 percent of the flood recovery money received so far, has been allocated since Trump took office. That's about 2.5 percent of the state's additional $2 billion ask.

Graves said he has had multiple meetings with HUD. Secretary Ben Carson is scheduled to be in Baton Rouge in the coming week, and Edwards is expected to further make the case to him for additional flood money.

"He's going to get a first-hand look of what the devastation was and why we think additional resources are justified," Carbo said.

This week, HUD announced that it had granted Louisiana a reprieve from the normal low- to moderate-income requirements  from 70 percent to 50 percent, which could free up funds that might otherwise go unused for wealthier people who were affected by the floods.

Graves said he is seeking additional waivers from HUD and policy changes that could free up money and cut through red tape.

"We still have people living in gutted homes, tents, trailers and other conditions that are not acceptable," Graves said. "That's an example of why people are so frustrated with government."

Graves said he thinks that the state should have moved more rapidly and wondered whether the state's run into the unusual problem of having low participation among homeowners because many have moved on and sought alternative means to recovery.

"I've had strong concerns about how this disaster has been managed," Graves said. "The data doesn't lie and it's difficult to justify or substantiate those timelines."

Edwards, meanwhile, has repeatedly pointed to the federal government as the cause of delays and frequently mentions the "historic" speed of Louisiana's recovery efforts.

On the one-year anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, New York City, New York state and New Jersey had distributed no money through their homeowner reconstruction programs. The Texas Observer reported that three years into that state's recovery from Hurricane Ike, Texas had disbursed less than 3 percent of the $1.7 billion set aside for housing recovery.

"I'm as frustrated as anybody," Edwards said. "We're working as hard as we can."
Joe Carr heard that the pumps were manned. He heard they were working, that they were turned on. Then, along with everyone else, he heard some
Canberrans living close to the city will have to travel further for Access Canberra when its Dickson shopfront closes in September and its building is demolished.

The closure follows the relocation of the suburb's motor vehicle inspection station in May this year and the opening of a new one in Hume.

Artist impressions of the Doma Group's planned redevelopment of the Dickson Motor Vehicle Registry, which is bordered by Northbourne Avenue and Challis Street.

Canberrans in the inner-north will have to travel further for Access Canberra, either to the Belconnen service centre 8km from the Dickson shopfront, or 9km to Gungahlin's service centre.

However Access Canberra Director of Customer Coordination Josh Rynehart says customers will still live within 12km of the nearest service centre or shopfront.
Maged Al-Harazi was sentenced to 30 years in Canberra's jail for killing his wife. He will likely be deported upon his release. "We mourn the loss of Sabah day and night. We will always cherish our loving memories of Sabah and our time together. Mr Al-Harazi will never steal those memories from us." A jury found Al-Harazi guilty of murder after a dramatic five-week trial and less than five hours of deliberations in April. Sabah Al-Mdwali, 28, was found dead inside her Gordon home in March, 2015. Credit:Jeffrey Chan The couple moved to Australia after their arranged marriage in Yemen in 2005.

But their relationship was volatile and they often argued about where they would live; Al-Harazi was unhappy and wanted to return to Yemen while his wife wanted to stay close to her family in Canberra. The day of the murder, Al-Harazi had lost work and the pair had signed a 12-month agreement for their Gordon home. Neighbours heard a loud argument from the couple's home that broke out about 9pm and raged for five hours. Justice Refshauge found Ms Al-Mdwali had either been in the process of breastfeeding or had only just finished nursing their baby when her husband began to stab her. Bloodstains were found on the infant's sleeping bag.

He said, either way, the attack on her at that time when she was vulnerable was serious and "invokes reasonable revulsion". Al-Harazi had stabbed his wife about 20 times before she had rolled over and he knifed her in the back about 30 more times as she lay motionless. "The continued stabbing when she was alive is a serious matter because of the pain and terror it would have cause Ms Al-Mdwali until she lost consciousness and, ultimately, her life," Justice Refshauge said. "The attack was ferocious, sustained and extensive." The couple's two older children were also inside the house at the time; his daughter saw him with a knife and blood on his shirt. Al-Harazi crafted a story, telling them their uncle and grandfather had killed their mother.

He had driven to Tuggeranong police station with the children and told them his wife's father and brother were responsible for her killing. The two men were arrested in the hours after her death, but later released without charge as police instead turned their investigation to her husband. Justice Refshauge said Ms Al-Mdwali was clearly vulnerable around the time given she was breastfeeding, partially clothed and in her own bedroom and bed. He found Al-Harazi intended to kill his wife as he stabbed her, but found the attack was not premeditated. At sentencing, Al-Harazi had said Allah told him in a prophecy his wife had been unfaithful and deserved punishment.

He'd declared himself a "hero" and said Allah said he would avenge what had happened to him. Justice Refshauge said the "strange evidence" showed a lack of remorse and insight. He was not satisfied Al-Harazi suffered a serious psychotic illness, but found he had mental impairments that affected his culpability for the murder to a small degree. But he said the seriousness of the offence and its aggravating features warranted a significant sentence. Justice Refshauge grew emotional as he spoke of the pain and loss suffered by Ms Al-Mdwali's family, particularly her children, who had been "desolated" by the loss of a precious daughter, sister and mother.
They may be year 11 students and it may be a mock United Nations but the importance of their draft resolutions and standard of debating reflect the real deal.

When 70 students from around Australia gather at Old Parliament House later in August for the Model United Nations Assembly, they will be debating issues from preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons in the Korean peninsular to tackling piracy in the Horn of Africa.

Students at the one of the past Model United Nations Assembly held in Canberra for the past 21 years by the Rotary Club of Canberra Sunrise.

Addressing climate change, eliminating violence against women and girls and protecting human rights while countering terrorism will also be tossed back and forth for the event from August 18 to 20.

Held by the Rotary Club of Canberra Sunrise since 1996, the Model United Nations Assembly is something keenly embraced by the students, many of whom wear the national costume of the country they represent.
The Winnunga Aboriginal health service is still absent from Canberra's jail months after an independent review found there was a need for its presence, an inquest into the death of Indigenous inmate Steven Freeman has heard.

Mr Freeman, 25, died on May 27, 2016, two days after being admitted to the prison methadone program. The inquest is examining his admission to the program and the quality of care and supervision afforded to him in the days afterwards.

Inquest: Steven Freeman.

Professor Michael Levy, clinical director of justice health services, gave evidence on Thursday, and said negotiations about Winnunga's presence in the jail in fact went back six years. Mr Freeman's death had "regrettably" brought into focus again the absence of its medical services, he said.

The professor told the court Winnunga's former medical director Peter Sharp used to provide a service at the jail two hours a fortnight, but the doctor died in 2011 and the service lapsed.
Pokie manufacturer Aristocrat has upped its bet on the online gaming market with the $US500 million ($635 million) acquisition of Plarium, the Israeli gaming company behind Vikings: War of Clans.

Aristocrat's shares rallied as much as 6.15 per cent before closing up 1.9 per cent at $21.19 on Thursday.

Vikings: War of Clans has repeatedly ranked in the top 10 grossing strategy games since its release in August 2015. Credit:Plarium

Plarium has nine key titles including Terminator, Soldiers Inc and Sparta: War of Empires, and a pipeline of future releases. Its most popular game, Vikings: War of Clans, has repeatedly ranked in the top 10 grossing strategy games since its release in August 2015. Plarium's games are free to play, but certain features are available for players to buy.

Aristocrat, which derives the bulk of its earnings from electronic gaming equipment, hardware and systems sales, said the deal would increase the revenue contribution from its fast-growing digital business from 14 to 22 per cent on a pro forma basis.
AMP will stick with its struggling life insurance business for now but is "open-minded" about the prospect of joining other financial services companies selling out of the sector.

AMP on Thursday announced it would complete a reinsurance program for its life insurance business by year-end that would release $1 billion in capital, protect it from spikes in claims and reduce earnings volatility.

In releasing AMP's first-half results which showed a 15 per cent drop in profit compared to last year, chief executive Craig Meller said life insurance was a "challenging industry".

AMP was "open minded" on a sale but the "focus is absolutely on driving the [life insurance] business effectively," Mr Meller said.
How much does this prickly, petulant man know about the Korean War? Credit:AP I have a personal stake: my grand-daughter is a Korean citizen, and spends part of her time under howitzer barrels below the 38th Parallel. Just when we thought the markets were becalmed, with equity volatility at 90-year lows, the "August Curse" threatens to strike again. General Douglas MacArthur reduced Pyongyang to rubble with incendiary bombs. Does Trump know this when he talks of "fire and fury"? It was the credit "heart-attack" on Wall Street exactly 10 years ago that kicked off what was to become the global financial crisis, and it was Russia's default in August 1998 that caused the East Asian financial crisis to metastasise.

This has more in common with August 1914, when the long-simmering tensions between the status quo powers and a rising Germany erupted - in remote territory - into a battle for world domination. Just when we thought the markets were becalmed, the "August Curse" threatens to strike again. It embroils us all because it is the first super-charged test of whether US and China can manage their "G2" global condominium. If markets are jittery as President Donald Trump threatens to unleash "fire and fury like the world has never seen" on Pyongyang, they should be. Any misjudgment could shatter the globalised financial and economic system that underpins asset prices. Valuations are stretched to extreme levels on the premise that the international order is in safe hands. Quite obviously it is not. Today, the Shiller price-to-earnings ratio of the S&P 500 index is around 30. This is the highest in 150 years of usable data, excluding the two anomalies of 1929 and the dotcom bubble.

Bulls argue that this is sustainable because globalisation generates surplus capital, and generates red-blooded economic growth rates of 4 per cent or so. Well exactly, and what happens if "Chimerica" suddenly goes off the rails? Chinese leader Xi Jinping patiently tried to explain the complexities of North Korea to the US President at their meeting in Florida. "After listening for 10 minutes, I realised it's not so easy," said Trump with disarming candour. That is a start, at least. But how much does this prickly, petulant man know about the Korean War - that forgotten "meatgrinder of American manhood" - when the US fatally misjudged Mao Tse-tung's red lines, invaded the North, and blundered into a full-blown conflict with China? Does he know how close General Douglas MacArthur came to acting on his plan to rain 38 cobalt-H bombs over northern China, rendering it uninhabitable?

His atom bombs were never dropped. But as Bruce Cummings writes in his poignant history, Korea's Place in the Sun, MacArthur did create a zone of devastation near the Yalu River, flattening "every factory, city, and village" across a thousand square miles. He blew up the irrigation dams that watered 75 per cent of the North's food production. He reduced Pyongyang to rubble with incendiary bombs. Every city in the North was levelled. Each looked like another Hiroshima. Does Trump know this when he talks of "fire and fury"? Trump's wild threats are grist to the mill of Kim Jong-un. The hermit regime thrives on such bluster. It plays to the North's siege mythology and justifies emergency sacrifice. Professor John Kelly from Pusan University says North Korea's purpose in acquiring nuclear weapons is essentially defensive. The bankrupt regime craves a deterrent to avoid the fate of Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi. "They aren't stupid," he says.

But if hot rhetoric makes sense for Kim Jong-un, it is another matter coming from the White House. The danger is that this shouting match sets off a spiral that provokes Mr Trump into overreacting. If the Trump doctrine is that US red lines must be enforced, he has manoeuvred himself into a credibility trap. The tripwire is set low. He vowed to unleash carnage even if North Korea merely "threatens" the US. The military consensus is that the US cannot destroy Kim's nuclear capability with a first strike and that any such attack risks a retaliatory holocaust in the peninsular. The crisis can therefore be treated only as a containment question, working with the grain of South Korean and Chinese leadership in diplomatic concert. It goes without saying that almost the entire world agrees that Kim Jong-un must not be allowed to miniaturise nuclear warheads or master the "re-entry" phase in a missile attack. All share this objective. What they have zero confidence in is the judgment and temperament of Trump.
Travis Kalanick, who built Uber into a transportation behemoth, was ousted as chief executive of the ride-hailing company in June by unhappy investors. Now one of those investors has escalated the battle by suing Kalanick, claiming fraud and other transgressions, in an attempt to remove him from Uber's board of directors.

Benchmark, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm that is one of Uber's largest shareholders, filed suit against Kalanick on Thursday in Delaware Chancery Court, accusing the former CEO of fraud, breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty.

The suit said Kalanick failed to disclose a pattern of misbehaviour and impropriety inside the company while he was Uber's leader. The entrepreneur's "overarching objective is to pack Uber's board with loyal allies in an effort to insulate his prior conduct from scrutiny and clear the path for his eventual return as CEO all to the detriment of Uber's stockholders, employees, driver-partners, and customers," the suit said.

The suit added that Kalanick's position on Uber's board "is thus improper and inequitable, and should be invalidated."
It didn't take long for Australia's biggest ethanol producer, Manildra, to secure a meeting with the new Berejiklian government after it was sworn in at the end of January.

A meeting with innovation and better regulation minister Matt Kean on March 2 was the first for Manildra under the new government.

The subject was the mandate which says that 6 per cent of all petrol sold in the state must be ethanol.

No doubt the reason for the meeting was to check that the new minister was on board with the latest regulatory gift to Manildra by a state government.
The line dividing North and South Korea was drawn by two young colonels in the middle of the night on August 11, 1945. They were thrust into a room, given a map, and told to come up with a solution within half an hour. The Koreans were not consulted, and nor were the British or the Chinese. US military planners were focused solely on the surrender of Japan and the rush to pre-empt the Soviet Red Army coming down from the North.

One of the colonels happened to be Dean Rusk, a Rhodes scholar who would become US secretary of state in the 1960s. He drew the line through the 38th Parallel because it "would place the capital city in the American zone".

Rusk feared that Seoul was indefensible, and he was right: the city was overrun within days when the North attacked in the Korean War. His fateful line is why so much of this great metropolitan area of 24 million people is today within artillery and rocket range, regularly threatened with a "sea of fire" by the Communist Kim dynasty.

Today Kim Jong-un has an estimated 8000 rocket launchers and artillery pieces on the border. A study by the Nautilus Institute said 30,000 civilians might be killed in the first barrage.
[August 09, 2017] LendIt Lang Di Fintech Names Omega One PitchIt Competition Winner

NEW YORK, Aug. 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- LendIt, the world's largest show in lending and fintech, named Omega One the winner of its Lang Di Fintech PitchIt competition in Shanghai on July 16. Out of eight PitchIt finalists (and hundreds of applicants) at China's largest fintech conference, Omega One, an automated trade execution platform, was chosen as the winner for its innovation in the cryptocurrency markets. In partnership with JadeValue, Shanghai's co-working and incubation space, Lang Di Fintech PitchIt is a leading global competition for fintech startups to earn mentorship, endorsement and exposure to institutions, investors and broad visibility. Omega One presented a 5-minute pitch demonstrating their company story, product and vision for the future of transparency. "The judges were impressed with Omega One's solution that helps the entire cryptocurrency market," said Jason Jones, co-founder, LendIt. "Omega One opens the market to the next wave of capital from institutional investors by providing much needed transparency and liquidity. The Omega One team is young, smart and hungry and they are dialed in to a big opportunity." "Winning the PitchIt competition is further evidence that the innovations happening in the crypto space are no longer considered a sideshow in the financial technology world. They are now moving into the spotlight. This is exciting not just for Omega One, but for other disruptors building products in the crypto ecosystem," said Alan Keegan, Chief Executive Officer, Omega One. As the winner,Omega One received a RMB 1 million investment from JadeValue and co-working space for six months. The company also received two tickets to LendIt USA 2018 as well as round trip airfare and full accommodations for the duration of the conference. The LendIt team will also curate meetings with fintech companies and investors during Omega One's trip to the U.S.



Lang Di Fintech was held in Shanghai on July 15  16, 2017. More than two hundred speakers from five continents focused on the intersection of technology and financial services in Asia, specifically addressing artificial intelligence, machine learning, identity verification through biometrics, the blockchain's impact on capital markets, the emergence of insurtech, financial inclusion, financial wellness, wealth management for the mass affluent, innovation in real estate technology, applying alternative data to credit underwriting and decisioning, the emergence of digital banking, and fintech cooperation with banks. For more information about LendIt, visit www.lendit.com.

About LendIt LendIt is the world's largest show in lending and fintech. Our conferences bring together the leading fintech platforms, investors, and service providers in our industry for unparalleled educational, networking, and business development opportunities. LendIt hosts three conferences annually: our flagship conference LendIt USA as well as LendIt Europe in London and Lang Di Fintech in China. LendIt USA 2018 will be held in San Francisco from April 9 - 11. Learn more at www.lendit.com. About Omega One Despite massive growth in crypto markets, exchanges and other market intermediaries remain illiquid, fragmented, costly to trade on, and open to theft by hacking. Omega One solves these problems by providing traders, investors and institutions with a decentralized automated trade execution system that intelligently implements their trades across the world's crypto exchanges, shielding them from counterparty risk and reducing their costs of trading. By radically increasing the liquidity of crypto markets, we are laying the foundation for their maturation as an asset class and building the financial system of the future. For more information, please visit omega.one. Follow Omega One Twitter

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[email protected] View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lendit-lang-di-fintech-names-omega-one-pitchit-competition-winner-300502193.html SOURCE LendIt

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Queensland Labor senator Murray Watt attended the meeting in Shayne Neumann's office. Credit:Lisa Maree Williams Fairfax Media understands there are active discussions within Labor, particularly MPs in the party's Left faction, about changing Labor's asylum seeker policies with a view to making them more compassionate. They are pointing to next year's ALP national conference as an opportunity to push for a substantive shift in policy, although not all in the Left believe that's possible. Immigration Minister Peter Dutton. Credit:Andrew Meares It is understood MPs are anxious to demonstrate greater concern for people stuck on the islands, and to better articulate the government's failure to resettle refugees after more than four years.

Outspoken Labor senator Lisa Singh, a long-time refugee advocate, said the government should investigate the death of Mr Shamshiripour. Sam Dastyari spoke passionately about refugees at a pub function on Wednesday night in Canberra. "That's the usual procedure when you have the duty of care," she said. "This is a shameful chapter in our history." Meanwhile on Wednesday night, Labor senator Sam Dastyari railed against the lengthy detention of refugees during a free-wheeling "politics in the pub" session at the Civic Pub in Canberra. Hamed Shamshiripour died on Manus Island.

While his comments were in line with current Labor policy, he promised Labor would seek a "fundamental shift" in the way refugees who come by boat are processed. "This is what I believe we need to take to the next election and I believe we will take to the next election," Senator Dastyari said. "To start off, you open up the camps. You bring transparency, you actually process these people, and you start actually finding a place for these people to go. I think that is a huge change from what we're doing at the moment." Senator Dastyari, of the NSW Right, said the refugee debate in Australia had become "messed up" and was based on the idea that "if we deny one group of people's rights enough, that somehow this actually saves lives, this is right thing to do and it's the moral thing to do". "Piss off. No," he said. "None of this is okay and it's not good enough for us as a society."

Senator Dastyari lamented the death of Mr Shamshiripour in the "mosquito-infested swamp that is Manus [Island]", telling the supportive pub crowd: "You can't look at that and not ask yourself, how is that OK?" On Thursday, Immigration Minister Peter Dutton would not take responsibility for the death, but said: "The loss of one life is one too many, and I'm determined to get people off Manus, [and] to do it in such a way that we don't restart boats." Mr Dutton said there would be a coronial inquest into the death. "I don't want people on Manus Island," he said. "I didn't put people on Manus Island. My responsibility was to clean up the mess that was left to us by Labor. The important thing is that we aren't adding to the numbers on Manus Island." During Wednesday night's book launch with The Australia Institute, Senator Dastyari also opened up about a "flippant" phone call he had in 2013 with then prime minister Kevin Rudd when the former Labor government announced the so-called Papua New Guinea solution.
Communications Minister Mitch Fifield has written to ABC managing director Michelle Guthrie to demand the public broadcaster explain why it devoted an episode of Australian Story to Labor senator Sam Dastyari.

As well as the episode of Australian Story, Senator Fifield has asked the ABC to explain why a recent Media Watch episode heavily featured an interview with Senator Dastyari.

Communications Minister Mitch Fifield says "it is important for the ABC not to be seen to be favouring any individual in terms of its programing". Credit:Andrew Meares

The ABC came under fire from a wide array of politicians for the July 31 profile of Senator Dastyari, which was blasted as a "puff piece", "propaganda" and an "infomercial" to promote Senator Dastyari's book.

Senator Dastyari resigned last year from the Labor frontbench after it was revealed he got a Chinese donor to pay for a personal debt.
Bill Shorten says Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will be personally responsible for "every hurtful bit of filth" unleashed by public debate on the same-sex marriage postal survey, while confirming Labor will pull out all the stops and campaign for a "yes" vote.

In a passionate speech after question time - which drew a standing ovation from his Labor colleagues - the Opposition Leader put to bed suggestions the federal ALP could boycott the vote and urged Australians who support same-sex marriage to vote in the non-compulsory survey.

The decision to throw support behind a "yes" vote had not been taken lightly by the ALP and will likely be followed by the Greens, unions, business and at least some same-sex marriage advocates, such as Australians 4 Equality.

The ALP held a series of meetings with same-sex marriage advocates on Wednesday to discuss tactics and strategy about the campaign. It has also been discussed at a series of working groups that included the ALP leadership group and other MPs on the front line of the campaign for marriage equality, such as legal affairs spokesman Mark Dreyfus and shadow assistant minister for equality Terri Butler.
Okay, time for me to wrap up. What happened?

Labor has confirmed it will campaign for a "yes" vote in the same-sex marriage plebiscite;

in the same-sex marriage plebiscite; it still has grave reservations about the method but says that will not stop it campaigning for change;

but says that will not stop it campaigning for change; a legal challenge has been lodged against the postal vote;

has been lodged against the postal vote; Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has tried to temper some of Donald Trump's language about North Korea ; and

has tried to temper some of ; and Parliament has passed the government's changes to workplace laws that outlaw secret payments to employers and union officials.

My thanks to Andrew Meares and Alex Ellinghausen and to you for reading and commenting.

You can follow me on Facebook.

Alex, Andrew and I will be back on Monday. We hope to see you then. Go well.
Ask any woman about her experiences of public space and you're likely to be met with a visible bristle as she remembers all the times she was subjected to unwanted harassment, abuse or even physical violence.

Public space can be dangerous for everybody (and in fact, men's risk of violence is drastically higher in such places than it is in domestic settings), but it tends to be dangerous for women in very specific ways.

Public transport is one of the biggest areas of safety concern for girls and women. Credit:Stocksy

Unfortunately, this risk to women is also countered by a mistrust of women's testimonies. When we talk about our experiences of harassment and violence, we are often told we're either overreacting or lying outright. The scepticism shown to women (not only from men but also from other women) crosses between both the private and public spheres, but the latter is especially galling in a society that uses the threat of Stranger Danger to try to control women's behaviour.

Simply put, we are told to exercise caution in public because of "bad people", but we are disbelieved when we take charge of our narratives and offer accounts of the very things we are told to be afraid of.
A corruption problem within the Australian Border Force has been "cauterised" with the arrests of two customs officials accused of facilitating an international drug syndicate, according to the body's acting head.

A Fairfax Media investigation revealed on Thursday the officials had long-standing links to some members of Sydney's Jomaa family, an alleged organised crime group.

Ali and Abbas Jomaa were arrested in Sydney and a third member of the family, the alleged head of the operation who cannot be named, was taken into custody in Dubai.

Former customs official Johayna Merhi, a "long-term associate" of the Jomaas, was accused of providing inside knowledge to the family to avoid detection.
A man has been charged with the attempted murder of his wife after a woman was stabbed repeatedly in a home in Fairfield on Thursday afternoon.

Emergency services were called to Polding Street just before 2pm, where they found the 53-year-old woman with serious injuries. She had suffered "a number of stab wounds", police say.

A NSW Ambulance spokesman said the woman was treated for multiple lacerations and stab wounds to her groin and bruising to her head.

She was rushed to Liverpool Hospital with a police escort, where she remains in a serious condition.

The Fairfield Advance reported the woman's son called triple-0 after the stabbing, hiding with his mother in a locked room until police arrived.
An urgent court action threatens to disrupt the billion-dollar WestConnex project and add more than $80 million to the final price tag.

Listed property company Desane Group filed a short service order in the NSW Supreme Court this week accusing the NSW government of trying to unfairly seize a Rozelle property.

The WestConnex proposal includes a plan for the acquisition of a property on Lilyfield Road, Rozelle.

Joined to the action was Roads and Maritime Services and the Sydney Motorway Corporation, the principal agencies behind the government's signature infrastructure project, WestConnex.

At the centre of the dispute is a 5200 square metre triangle of land in Rozelle, on Lilyfield Road. The Desane Group has grand plans for the site, including 200 apartments with views of the city and Blackwattle Bay and 1800 square metres of retail and commercial space.
Wagons, vans and unroadworthy cars dumped at Brisbane Airport are likely to be sold to scrapyards within the next two weeks, unless their owners come forward.

Seventeen vehicles have been left at the airport for more than 90 days, and all of which were listed as abandoned vehicles in a public notice on Wednesday.

Brisbane Airport Corporation is preparing to sell or scrap 17 vehicles abandoned at the airport. Credit:Glenn Hunt

A Brisbane Airport Corporation spokeswoman said there were myriad scenarios as to why vehicles ended up dumped in the airport car park, including the owner being delayed overseas or interstate due to illness or death, but sometimes the vehicles were simply stolen or dumped.

"There are also cases of vehicles under finance that are left inside the car park," she said.
Top 3 Drivers Impacting Satellite-based EO Market Growth in Europe, by Technavio

Technavio analysts forecast the satellite-based earth observation (EO) market in Europe to grow at a CAGR of almost 15% 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/20170810005058/en/

Technavio has published a new report on the satellite-based earth observation market in Europe from 2017-2021. (Graphic: Business Wire)

The research study covers the present scenario and growth prospects of the satellite-based earth observation market in Europe for 2017-2021. The market is segmented based on type (VAS and data) and geography (Russia, the UK, and rest of Europe).

The satellite-based earth observation market in Europe will grow steadily during the forecast period. The EU spends billions of dollars on earth observation programs. ESA organizes the data delivery for 30 satellites and above. The European Commission (EC) acts on behalf of the EU, which is responsible for the overall initiative for the requirements and management of the services. ESA creates a family of satellites called Sentinels, particularly for the operational needs of the Copernicus program. Many Sentinel satellites are expected to be launched under this program.

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Technavio ICT research analysts highlight the followin three factors that are contributing to the growth of the satellite-based earth observation market in Europe:







Rising technological enhancement in satellite imagery

Increasing association with major earth observation public organizations

Increasing government funding for space programs

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Rising technological enhancement in satellite imagery

Aided by high-resolution cameras, satellite imaging has witnessed a considerable degree of improvement in its uses. Earth observation satellites now provide a substantial degree of information and are extensively used in the areas of defense, oil and gas exploration, mining, and meteorology.

Rohan Joy Thomas, a lead machine to machine (M2M) and connected devices research analyst at Technavio, says, "Vendors have strengthened their R&D efforts to develop innovative equipment, including superior lenses. They are also developing innovative remote sensing technologies and high-resolution cameras to improve the quality of images captured by satellites. In addition, Spot Image, along with GeoEye and DigitalGlobe (News - Alert), generates over 60% of the total revenue from the commercial sales of data."

Increasing association with major earth observation public organizations

Considering the further development of EU-ESA functioning relationship, there is a high benefit to be gained from greater synergies with key European organizations of relevance to the GEOSS, particularly with ESA, EUMETSAT, and the EU.

"Rosetta mission of ESA, Earth observation and meteorology capabilities, such as Meteosat, and the commercial telecommunications and launch systems with the Ariane family and Vega are missions that are worth mentioning. Currently, Europe has the second-largest public space budget in the world with programs and facilities spanning several European countries," adds Rohan.

Increasing government funding for space programs

Government spending on space programs had reduced significantly between 2009 and 2012. Before 2010, the spending had reduced due to the global economic recession of 2008-2009. In 2010, the sovereign debt crisis hit Europe subsequently, and the US initiated a budget law, which is a measure that cuts federal spending.

The EC focuses on three primary aspects that are security research, space research, and satellite navigation programs of Europe. ESA is the primary element in Europe consisting of 19-member states obliged to contribute an amount for core programs based on the GDP. ESA focuses on upgrading and developing its launch vehicles, earth observation activities, and space science missions.

Top vendors:

Airbus Group

ImageSat International

MDA (News - Alert)

Thales Group

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View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170810005058/en/
An interstate truck driver has been denied bail after he was arrested for allegedly kidnapping a Brisbane woman at random earlier this week.

The 50-year-old NSW man, who has no criminal history, is alleged to have spontaneously taken the woman on Monday afternoon and assaulted her over 17 hours.

A woman was allegedly abducted at random and assaulted in a 17-hour ordeal. Credit:Twitter/Nine News

The man briefly appeared in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Thursday and will have his case return to court on September 4.

AAP
The cleanliness and quality of food served in Brisbane has been questioned more than 1000 times since April last year.

The latest food safety complaint data, for April to June 2017, revealed 213 complaints were made  109 about food premises and a further 104 questioning if the food was unsafe or caused infection.

A picture taken by food safety investigators at a Brisbane Sushi Station.

From April 2016 to June 2017, the Brisbane City Council received 1166 complaints relating to food safety  568 about food premises and 598 about unsafe food and infection.

Suburbs that attracted the most complaints were Brisbane City, Fortitude Valley, South Brisbane, Upper Mount Gravatt and Inala.
The driver who allegedly smashed into a car, killing a 14-year-old girl and her mother, may have fought with "a loved one" at a pub before he got behind the wheel, police say.

Teenager Xinyu Yuan and her mother, 44-year-old Ma Li Dai, were leaving a parent-teacher conference at Lighthouse Christian College in Cranbourne East on Wednesday night when their Toyota was struck by a Holden Commodore.

They were driving out of the school car park, about to turn onto the South Gippsland Highway near Devon Road, when their car was hit.

The Holden sedan had been seen dangerously weaving through traffic before the crash, and police are investigating whether alcohol and speed were factors.
Police search for the rifle used in the double murder of Garry Heywood and Abina Madill. Under our rules, a sample is taken after conviction and then only on application to a court, which means our level of forensic capture is 23 times less than other states. Or putting it another way: Police estimate if our laws were consistent with the majority of states, DNA capture would jump to 70,000 from the present number of 3000 obtained on court order post conviction. (Exceptions include taking DNA when a person is suspected of a specific crime.) In fact some prosecutors "don't bother" to make application to certain magistrates they feel routinely reject DNA submissions. Many of those orders are made after the offender has been released from custody, which means the crook is instructed to turn up to a police station for the test. This means many don't (would you if it would implicate you in unsolved crimes?) resulting in police wasting thousands of hours trying to find them. Rapist and murderer Raymond 'Mr Stinky' Edmunds. Each year, police take the fingerprints of 69,000 suspects on arrest yet only DNA 3000 on conviction. This simply makes no sense, as both are unique physical patterns that can link a person to a crime. So why can you ink a thumb but not swab a mouth?

(And another thing. The law has just been changed so police can take DNA from a convicted sex offender without a court order but need court permission to do the same to a convicted murderer. How dumb is that?) Rebels bikies: Perhaps on the way to a pottery class. Credit:Jay Cronan Not only does this mean we are not solving our own crimes but we are failing in our national responsibility. Crooks arrested here who match crimes on the National Criminal Investigation DNA Database (NCIDD) are escaping because their samples are not uploaded. Take the 1993 case of a dreadful home invasion and rape in Shepparton that after 16 years looked unlikely to be solved. Then in 2009, Victorian detectives ran the last remaining sample through NCIDD, which matched a low-level crook named Neville Mansfield who had been arrested and convicted in Queensland of burglary. He was later sentenced 11 years for the rape. Now reverse the circumstances. If he had been arrested in Shepparton over a burglary and the rape had been committed in Queensland, there would have been no forensic match and the crime would not have been solved. And if we in Victoria believe such mandatory DNA testing is a breach of human rights, why was the evidence against Mansfield accepted in his trial?

Apparently it is perfectly fine as long as we don't do it. What a pathetic cop-out. Interstate police claim some of their crooks hide out in Victoria because they are unlikely to be DNA tested. The former head of the WA Police DNA Unit, Grant Taylor, said Victoria was the "black hole" in the national data base. He said as many of those arrested were repeat offenders, one swab could solve, "five, ten or even 20 crimes". "When it was first introduced (nearly 20 years ago) we were able to solve crimes by the bucket load." This shambles follows a long history of Victoria being forensically idiotic, with double murderer and serial rapist Raymond Edmunds a tragic case in point. In 1966, Edmunds killed teenagers Garry Heywood and Abina Madill in Shepparton  a crime that remained unsolved for 19 years until police found Edmunds' fingerprints matched those found at the crime scene.

He was fingerprinted in March 1985 after his arrest for indecent exposure in Albury. But if he had committed that offence just over the river in Wodonga he would not have been linked to the crime because at the time Victoria did not have mandatory fingerprint laws. If Edmunds had been printed when first arrested in Victoria in the late 1950s his dabs would have been on file and would have later matched the Madill/Heywood murders, which would have stopped him committing more than 30 serious sexual assaults while undetected. The civil libertarians who blocked that reform for years have blood on their hands because Edmunds didn't have ink on his fingers. And when the law was finally changed did, the criminal justice system collapse? Were the innocent persecuted? Of course not. It was all a storm in a herbal teacup. Police are preparing for a change of the law, and new custody officers employed to supervise prisoners in police cells are being trained to take mouth swabs. And in forensics they are about to increase the number of boffins who process DNA from three to 70. It is understood Police Minister Lisa Neville (she is getting a good rap from cynical coppers who don't have much time for politicians) is keen to bring Victoria into line with the rest of Australia, but someone is dragging the chain.

This is just one example of the disconnect from what police want to what politicians promise and what is finally delivered. In August 2015, the government promised an "unprecedented crackdown" on organised crime with the introduction of anti-consorting laws designed to stop serious crooks meeting to plan criminal activities. "These new laws will ensure our state is well-prepared to deal with the forms of organised crime facing us in 2015. We will find them out, stop them in their tracks and keep Victorians safe," the government promised. In July last year, there were similar headlines when the Criminal Organisations Control Amendment (Unlawful Associations) passed parliament with penalties of up to three years' jail and fines of $54,000. The law, we were told, would target outlaw bikies, Middle Eastern crime gangs and known drug traffickers. These are the powers police had wanted for years  to disrupt crooks planning crimes before they committed them. Finally, police would be able to issue warning notices that if breached would result in arrest. So more than a year down the track, how many Mr Bigs have been arrested? Well none. Mr Mediums? None. Mr and Mrs Small Fry? Zippity doo dah.
Australia's most wanted man is a master of disguise.

And police say they have reached a dead end in their search for him.

Convicted killer Graham Potter has eluded capture for more than seven years, despite public appeals, rewards for his capture and countless public sightings.

The 59-year-old has been on the run since he failed to appear at court to face conspiracy to murder changes in Melbourne, on February 1, 2010.
A state high school in Victoria has set a controversial goal to "delay sexual activity in school-aged youth".

Parents of year 8 students at Officer Secondary College were shocked to receive an email on Tuesday promoting abstinence as part of the school's Respectful Relationships curriculum, a state government initiative aimed at stamping out domestic violence.

"Our shared goal is to delay sexual activity in school-aged youth," it read.

One parent, who did not want to be named, said the school was sending students a "damaging, archaic" message by telling them to abstain from sexual activity until they graduated.
Western Australia's Director of Public Prosecutions won't be appealing against the verdict and sentence in the Elijah Doughty case, which sparked widespread protests when it was handed down last month.

The man who struck the 14-year-old as he rode a stolen motorcycle near Kalgoorlie in August last year, and cannot be named for legal reasons, was acquitted by a jury of manslaughter but convicted of dangerous driving causing death and sentenced to three years in jail.

Elijah Doughty as hit and killed by a car in a West Australian gold mining town. Credit:Facebook

"It has been determined that there are no grounds upon which there are prospects of a successful appeal of either the acquittal of the offender on the charge of manslaughter, or the sentence imposed on him," the DPP said in a statement.

Elijah's death sparked race riots in Kalgoorlie, with Indigenous supporters carrying signs calling for 'justice' and with banners reading 'the lives of our kids matter'.
Bangkok: A Cambodian court has quashed a bid by Australian filmmaker James Ricketson to have espionage charges against him dismissed.

Mr Ricketson was sent back to Pray Sar, a notoriously harsh and overcrowded prison on the outskirts of Phnom Penh on Thursday, where he has contracted a skin disease.

In this photo from Cambodian website Fresh News, Australian filmmaker James Ricketson is seen apparently operating a drone.

His lawyer Ou Helene told the Phnom Penh Post that a closed court hearing rejected a request to annul the proceedings and dismiss a charge of gathering sensitive information with the intention of supplying it to a foreign state.

"The decision is finalthe decision to dismiss the annulment request cannot be appealed," she said.
Washington: The US government expelled two Cuban diplomats in May, after Americans working at the US Embassy in Havana suffered unexplained physical ailments, the State Department said on Thursday.

US officials blamed a string of bizarre incidents that left a group of American diplomats in Havana with severe hearing loss, attributed to a covert sonic device.

Tourists ride vintage American convertibles as they pass by the United States embassy in Havana, Cuba, as tensions eased last year. Credit:AP

A small number of Americans began reporting symptoms at the end of 2016, and a few either were removed for medical treatment in the United States or asked to leave, State Department officials said on Thursday.

Some of the diplomats' symptoms were so severe that they were forced to cancel their tours early and return to the United States, officials said.
Apple CEO Tim Cook: outspoken about US law. Credit:Bloomberg This point of view makes for difficulty in matters today such as fighting terrorism or even defending the integrity of the news environment of democracies. Increasingly, in this young century, the values of this tech community are clashing with the wider values of the political society that gave birth to them: liberal democracy. China and the US represent vastly different visions of government - online too. Chinese President Xi Jinping and ex-US President Barack Obama. Credit:Bloomberg And what's happening to democracies in the digital age? Liberal democracies  the ones that demand free elections, independent courts, and promote the rule of law  have been stunned by how the technology can be turned against them by authoritarian nations.

"With the benefit of hindsight, it is now apparent that the democracies long failed to realise that a new era of competition was underway between autocratic and democratic states," writes Christopher Walker of the National Endowment for Democracy. Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook: Initially incredulous that his platform influenced voters. Credit:AP Yet the attitude of a lot of thinking in the tech community remains adversarial to the governments which ultimately must protect them. PM Malcolm Turnbull said it himself in July. "There is a culture particularly in the United States, a very libertarian culture, which is quite anti-government in the tech sector." Edward Snowden finds a willing audience in the tech community.

In Russia's hands Snowden's cause has, in the West, helped drive a wedge between the tech community and the broader government, between the governments and the publics, and between the US and allies such as Australia. Unwittingly, the tech community has become a conduit for such division. As a former East German Stasi colonel explained in how to use information to attack an enemy: "A powerful adversary can only be defeated through [] a sophisticated, methodical, careful, and shrewd effort to exploit even the smallest 'cracks' between our enemies [] and within their elites." Snowden, for any initial righteousness in his cause, has become  whether he appreciates the fact or not  a part of the machine aimed at distorting opinion within the West. And the opinions of techno-libertarians seem to be a ripe target for exploitation.

If, as many of them believe, that "information wants to be free", then who are we to oppose the release of information clearly intended to manipulate Western opinion? The attitude helps to explain the muted criticism groups such as WikiLeaks, ShadowBrokers and Guccifer 2.0 got during the 2016 election from many in the tech community at the time. As NED's Walker recently wrote "authoritarian regimes have learned to use modern media to their advantage," and one of the ways they are doing it is by using "the opportunities offered by the new media environment to sow confusion and distrust." But with Silicon Valley, the distaste for government  legitimate or not  seems to be in the DNA. In a 1996 essay called "A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace", cyberlibertarian John Perry Barlow proclaimed "we have no elected government, nor are we likely to have one".

It's not always contempt for democratic politics, as much as the strange disconnect from the reality of them. In the aftermath of propaganda-dominated 2016 election, Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg described as "crazy", the notion the social media platform "influenced the election in any way". Political scientist Thomas Rid described Twitter as an "unwitting agent" of Russian propagandists for the company's unwillingness to provide statistics on the number of bot accounts used to amplify disinformation. The libertarian indifference to nation-state enables such corporate behaviour. Meanwhile, groups such as Electronic Frontier Foundation, The Centre for Democracy & Technology, and Digital Rights Watch in Australia have remained largely silent about the information pollution coursing over social media networks. (The EFF has criticised Apple's VPN decision).

It's ironic that the roots of Silicon Valley's culture date back to the US war effort to defend democracy during World War II. Scientists created the new discipline of cybernetics or the study of human interaction with machines  which spurred a lot of cross-discipline collaboration  forming the fertile ground for Silicon Valley's genius. Today however that genius has evolved into something that is increasing risks for Western democracy. Liberal democracies must be able to defend themselves online. Too much of the tech community dismisses, or even mocks, the fundamental political reality confronting the governments that guarantee and protect their rights. Loading
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Texas A&M President Michael K. Young said while the university is in solid financial shape, there still is work to be done as it strives to be the best institution it can be -- particularly when it comes to providing resources for its faculty.

Young, who opened up the second and final day of the Texas A&M System Board of Regents' finance committee meeting with a presentation on the university's proposed budget, said among the greatest challenges facing the university as it looks toward its future is the discrepancy in the student-to-faculty ratio compared to peer universities.

He said A&M had a 23-to-1 ratio of faculty to students in the fall 2016 semester. As a comparison, Young noted the University of Texas had an 18-to-1 ratio -- 23 percent better than A&M -- and the University of Michigan has a 12-to-1 ratio -- 92 percent better than A&M.

According to A&M documents, it would take an additional 740 faculty members to reach the UT ratio and an additional 2,443 faculty members to reach the Michigan ratio.

"This is among our biggest challenges for growth," Young said. "... We would like to improve that [ratio] as quickly as we can, but it does take time to hire quality faculty, [and] it is also a tremendous financial challenge."

Young joked that he has promised incoming Vice President and Provost Carol Fierke -- a former administrator at the University of Michigan -- that the university will reach the faculty-to-student ratio of her previous employer during her time at A&M.

Young said a relatively low average faculty salary is another challenge the university is facing.

In fiscal year 2016, the average salary for a full professor at the university was $140,745 -- falling behind UT at $156,928, the University of Texas at Dallas at $156,650 and the University of Houston at $144,425.

"We made some progress up until about 2012, and then we kind of slipped back," Young said. "... That's something we have to watch very carefully, because at the end of the day [university success] really does start with the faculty. We attract great students and we do great research because we have a great faculty, and it is absolutely imperative we keep that."

Young said the university is recommending approval for one-time merit raises for up to 15 percent of the faculty and staff. That would add up to $5.34 million -- $3.04 million for faculty and $2.3 million for staff.

He said the university also will request approval to exceed the current full-time equivalent employee cap by 180, bringing the total to 5,176. Young said 130 of the requested positions would be for faculty, and 50 would be for staff.

The total proposed revenue for the university's fiscal year 2018 budget is expected to see a 6 percent increase -- more than $109.07 million over the previous year -- bringing it to a total of $1.88 billion.

Growth in tuition and fees are expected to contribute more than $60.85 million to the university's projected revenue thanks to a combination of increased enrollment and raised tuition costs.

Young said the university would see a projected 5 percent increase -- $79.58 million -- in the proposed expense budget for fiscal year 2018, bringing the total to $1.66 billion.

According to A&M documents, 58 percent of the proposed expenditure budget -- a value of $959.47 million -- is tied to personnel costs.

Although Young said the university administration is proud of its ability to "do more with less," he also like the opportunity to try doing "more with more."

He said if A&M were to be funded by the state Legislature at UT's rate -- "not that we really care," Young quipped -- there would be a 13 percent increase to its revenue, worth $43 million.

One specific area where Young said he hopes to see the university -- and its sibling schools in the A&M System -- receive additional support from state lawmakers is in the funding of Hazlewood Act programs available to veterans and their families.

Young said while the university is proud of its role in supporting men and women who have served the nation through the armed forces, the financial burden of the program is a challenge for the rest of the institution's students.

"This is becoming difficult to sustain at the levels at which it is currently," Young said. "We're proud of the fact that we have so many veterans, and we're delighted to welcome their families. They are a critical part of our community, but we would love some help from the state in ensuring that can continue."

Fiscal year 2016 saw the Hazlewood exemptions account for $20.7 million of the university's budget, and fiscal year 2017 is estimated to see that number rise to $22 million, according to A&M documents. Over the past five years, the program has seen consistent growth. In fiscal year 2012, it accounted for $9.4 million of the university's budget.

Looking forward to the future, Young said the university has several goals it is hoping to achieve, including a $74 million investment in improving classroom technology and innovation equipment and practices. Other goals include increasing research expenditures from $893 million in 2016 to $950 million by 2020, reaching 16,500 degrees awarded overall by 2020 -- it was 15,302 in 2016 -- and increasing undergraduate participation in internships, research and international experiences.

In 2016, a quarter of the university students had an international experience, 31 percent participated in undergraduate research and 36 percent had an internship, according to A&M documents. Young said he hopes to see international experiences reach 40 percent, undergraduate research get to 33 percent and students participating in internships at 45 percent.

In addition to the university's presentation, Regents also heard updates from the Texas A&M Health Science Center, Texas A&M University at Galveston and the seven A&M agencies.

The Board of Regents will meet on the Texas A&M campus for a regular meeting on Aug. 23.
April 29, 1940 - August 6, 2017

Lelve Gayle was born in Weldon, Texas to Ben and Annie Mae Gayle. He peacefully passed from this life surrounded by his loving family to begin eternal life with his Heavenly Father on Sunday, August 6th, at the age of 77. Lelve married his childhood sweetheart, Melody Robinson in 1959. They were blessed with a beautiful family. Lelve became a Christian at a young age. He and Melody attended A&M Church of Christ for over 40 years. Lelve lived an amazingly full life. All who knew him were inspired by his kind, giving spirit as well as his positive outlook. Many sought his advice because of his clear vision, wisdom, and integrity.

Lelve is survived by his wife, Melody, his son Dr. Justin Gayle and wife Marilyn, and their children Shelby (and husband Justin Mullinnix), Gentry, and Brady, his daughter Julie Baker and husband Keith, and their children Colton and Caleb, and his daughter Meleah Steelman and her children Lilly and Zane--who all live locally. Lelve is also survived by two sisters--Gaye Cecil of Crockett, Texas her daughter Sherald Wood and her husband David, their daughters Holly and Terri and family. Evelyn Coleman and husband Bill of Plano, Texas and their sons John and Jeff and family, and Misty Sizemore and Brittany Borski and family.

After graduating from Lovelady High School, Lelve enrolled in the Corps of Cadets at Texas A&M. He is a 1964 graduate of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Texas A&M University. After graduation, Dr. Gayle served in the U.S. Air Force as the Dyess Air Force Base veterinarian overseeing the Sentry Dogs. His military service was followed by a period of 10 years in private veterinary practice. In 1976, Dr. Gayle joined the Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (TVMDL). He served as Case Supervisor, as Head of Diagnostic Services, and as Executive Director--having been appointed to this position in 2002. While serving as Case Supervisor, Dr. Gayle earned his Master of Science Degree in Veterinary Toxicology from Texas A&M. As Executive Director of the Diagnostic Lab, Dr. Gayle oversaw major upgrades in the laboratory's capabilities including new space for high consequence animal disease testing and a mobile laboratory facility. These improvements made it possible for unprecedented in-field diagnosis of rapidly infectious animal diseases that threatened the nation's livestock industry. His tenure as Executive Director also included overseeing diagnostic facilities in Amarillo, Center, and Gonzales, Texas. In this role he directed one of the largest, busiest veterinary diagnostic laboratory systems in the world. Under his leadership, the Texas Diagnostic Laboratories improved the field of veterinary toxicology at a local, state, national and international level. His expertise in diagnosing large animal infectious disease was sought out worldwide.

Dr. Gayle served as president of the Texas Academy of Veterinary Practice in 1985, after which he went on to hold every executive leadership position in the Texas Veterinary Medical Association, including his service as TVMA President in 1996. He has received numerous recognitions including the Distinguished Achievement Award from the Texas Veterinary Medical Association (1988), the Vice Chancellor Award in Excellence (1994), the Regents Fellow Service Award (1999), and the Texas Poultry Federation Distinguished Service Award (2007). Dr. Gayle was also named as a Distinguished Member of the Texas Veterinary Medical Association and as Associate Vice Chancellor and Executive Director Emeritus at Texas A&M University in 2007. Finally in 2013, he was recognized as an Outstanding Alumni of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences with Texas A&M University. He was honored with an endowed scholarship in his name by Dr. and Mrs. Cocanougher. Dr. Gayle loved and was dedicated to his co-workers and his work as a liaison between veterinarians and diagnosticians. His goal was to ensure that veterinarians, especially throughout the state of Texas, were receiving high quality, collaborative care as they worked directly with Texas cattle ranchers.

While his work as a veterinarian was both distinguished and influential, his service to others was his lifelong passion. He served as academic advisor for the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets, Company D-2. In this role, he received one of his most treasured accomplishments, Outstanding Faculty Academic Advisor. As their advisor, Company D-2 received the General Moore Outstanding Unit Award naming the Dogs the top unit in the Corp. Dr. Gayle held back tears as the entire company marched from the main building on campus to present him with a personal award for his leadership in helping the D-2 Unit achieve their goals.

Dr. Gayle was lovingly known by his grandchildren as their "Opa". There was no venture too great or small that he would not tackle for them. This included yearly hunting and camping trips where he established the distinguished outfit affectionately known as the "Whistle Brigade". Opa was a man of strict rules and high expectations but on one fateful camping trip the Whistle Brigade relentlessly begged him to bring home the puppy that wandered in their campsite at Ratcliff Lake. His answer all week was a resounding --no! When their Oma showed up and fell in love with the little scrappy puppy he was outnumbered. He finally relented on one condition, he would not tie him up, and if he ran off there would be no search party. "R.C." became Opa's daily partner in his retirement and did not leave his side during his final days. Opa was an avid outdoorsman and he fostered his love and respect for the outdoors in his grandchildren. One of his favorite pastimes throughout his life was horseback riding. He spent countless hours saddling, leading, and teaching his grandchildren to ride his beloved horse Peaches. Opa was a man of many talents including tree climbing, catching armadillos bare-handed, cooking "cowboy breakfast" over an open fire and even reviving a baby calf with CPR. In his children and grandchildren's eyes, there was nothing he could not do. He was their hero, and he created memories and traditions that will be passed on to many future generations.

Visitation will be at Hillier Funeral Home on Highway 6 South will be Friday, August 11th from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. The Celebration of Life Service for Dr. Gayle will be at A&M Church of Christ in College Station, Saturday, August 12, 2017 at 1:00 p.m. with a graveside service at College Station Aggie Field of Honor immediately following.

Memorial contribution checks can be made to the "Texas A&M Foundation for the Dr. Lelve Gayle Endowed Scholarship" and mailed to the "Office of the Dean, Texas A&M Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, 4461 TAMU College Station, Texas 77843-4461." Family and friends are invited to share memories to honor Lelve's life at www.hillierfuneralhome.com.
September 21, 1939 - August 5, 2017

John B. Gelderd, age 77, passed away on August 5, 2017. Family and friends are invted to come celebrate his life at a memorial service at 10 a.m. Saturday, August 12, 2017 at Christ United Methodist Church in College Station.

On September 21, 1939, John Gelderd was born in Wasquehal, France during a WWII German bombing raid. His father was an American who was employed by International Harvester, a company that was building supplies for the Allies. Due to the unrest in Europe and sensing that this American family would not be looked upon kindly by the Germans, they managed to leave Europe on one of the last ships available before the German blockade. They moved to Chicago and upon his father's retirement the family relocated to Clearwater, Florida where John and his brothers grew up.

Upon high school graduation, John joined the Air Force and worked as an electrical technician with the Strategic Air Command (SAC). As his time for discharge drew near, his service was extended due to the Cuban Missile crisis. After 4  years, he was honorably discharged.

He enrolled in the University of Florida where he received his Bachelor of Science degree and in 1972 received a PhD in Neuroscience at Schand's Teaching Hospital. From 1972-1977 he was employed by the Louisiana State University Medical School. There he met and married his wife of 40 years, Laura. After one week of marriage they moved to College Station to help start the new medical school at Texas A&M .While there, he proudly served on the executive committee for the Faculty Senate. He was also instrumental in establishing the Neuroscience curriculum for the College of Medicine. Before retiring in 2009, he rose to be the interim head of the Dept. of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics. During his 32 year career at TAMU, Dr. Gelderd received numerous teaching awards and upon retirement was awarded the prestigious title of Professor Emeritus.

John is survived by his wife of 40 years, Laura; daughter, Jennifer Holm and husband Carlton of Georgetown, Texas; daughter, Julie Barkman and husband Wade of College Station, Texas; brother, Edward, of College Station; and his much loved grandson and namesake, Cooper John, son of Jennifer and Carlton. He was preceded in death by a daughter, Lisa Marie.

The family would like to extend special and heartfelt thanks for their excellent care and support to Scott and White physicians Juddi Yeh, David Hackethorn, Bill Rayburn, and Bill and Jacquelyn Covington.

Memorial contributions may be sent to Christ United Methodist Church- Music Ministry, 4201 St Hwy 6 S, College Station, TX 77845 or Hospice Brazos Valley, 502 W. 26th St., Bryan, Texas 77803.

In addition, the family would like to acknowledge the incredible love and support we have received from our very special friends: Bill and Sharon Premaza of Venice, Florida, Tom and Polly McRae, of Punta Gorda, Florida, John and Gail Pipes of Destin, Florida, Adriano and Vancene Farinola of College Station, Texas and Judy Malazzo of Bryan, Texas. We couldn't have made it through this without you.

Express condolences at CallawayJones.com
Gov. Greg Abbott may be wishing he had laid out fewer than 20 subjects for the 30-day special legislative session he called.

And Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick may wonder if rapidly passing bills through the Senate inadvertently may have handed House Speaker Joe Straus the keys to the legislative car.

Patrick, after all, made the special session necessary.

By playing keepaway with must-pass sunset safety-net legislation at the end of the regular legislative session, Patrick forced the special session, to continue the doctor-licensing board and four other agencies.

He wanted another shot at bullying Straus and the House into passing his anti-transgender bathroom bill, plus a bill to make it tougher for local governments to raise property taxes.

The House dutifully passed the sunset safety-net legislation  but its own, not the bills the Senate had sent over. Take that, Patrick.

Straus also more or less shamed Abbott into opening the call to school finance revision, rather than just a teacher bonus.

Meanwhile, Democratic Houston auditor Mike Collier is challenging Patricks 2018 re-election as bad for Texas businesses and for Texans in general.

Collier calls Patrick the million-dollar man  the estimated cost of the special session Patrick caused.

Its your money, said Colliers campaign email Friday. Because Dan Patrick couldnt get his job done during the regular session, Texans are forced to spend $1 million of our tax dollars on this special session. Dan Patrick is not only wasting our time focusing on bathrooms, hes wasting our money.

Texans know  we should be focusing on classrooms, not bathrooms! Collier said.

Patrick cost taxpayers $1 million, but Instead of fixing our schools, roads, and property taxes, Dan Patrick is stirring up hate and distrust (and) alienating businesses with his bathroom bill, Collier said.

Patrick on July 26 bragged about the Senates fast work on Abbotts 20 items.

In the past week, (senators) have logged almost 57 hours in committee hearings and over 33 hours on the Senate Floor to pass 18 bills on the Special Session call, said Patricks statement. The senators are a true testament to what can be accomplished when you are determined to do what is best for Texas. 

Senate Democratic Caucus Chairman Jose Rodriguez of El Paso responded in a column for his hometown newspaper, charging that the rush was accomplished by running roughshod over time-honored legislative processes.

Patrick in 2015 had axed the Senates tradition of requiring a two-thirds vote  21 of the 31 senators  to consider legislation, reducing it to three-fifths, or 19, Rodriguez wrote. Thus the number to block a bill was raised from 11 to 13  neutering the Democrats, who are outnumbered 20-11 by Republicans.

This past week, the Texas Senate, which once prided itself on being known as a great deliberative body, ignored long-standing rules, disregarded the minority opinion, and threw itself into passing divisive primary election fodder, sacrificing good public policy and the democratic process, Rodriguez wrote.

At the 30-day sessions midway point, Patrick complained on a right-wing social media talk show that Straus has snubbed his attempts to talk.

Abbott, Patrick and Straus had met for a traditional weekly Wednesday breakfast during the regular session, but tensions broke that down halfway through the session.

My door is open, Patrick said on the interview show. The speaker has my phone number. He knows where I am most of the time. I dont care about our differences. I dont care about anything thats been said in the past. I want to sit down and find a way to complete the governors agenda.

But he couldnt resist another shot at Straus, who had overseen de-fanging Patricks bathroom bill in the regular session. Abbott included it in the sessions call.

Right now, if that bill fails, he alone will have killed it, Patrick said of Straus.

Straus, in interviews, agreed he uses the tools of being the Houses leader to protect House members from having to vote on Patricks and Abbotts hot-button proposals.

This bathroom bill is a perfect example of that, Straus said.

Straus says his door is always open, press spokesman Jason Embry said.

The Speaker is more than willing to meet with the lieutenant governor and has always expected that they would talk at the appropriate time during the special session, Embry said.

Still, Straus might view such a meetings usefulness as remote  sort of like President Barack Obamas mention of U.S. Senate Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, at the 2013 White House Correspondents Dinner:

Some folks still dont think I spend enough time with Congress, Obama said. Why dont you get a drink with Mitch McConnell? they ask. Really? Why dont you get a drink with Mitch McConnell?

Dave McNeely is dean of the Texas Capitol press corps. Email him at davemcneely111@gmail.com.
She currently works as the programme coordinator of Plant for the Planet, preparing the organisations "Trillion Tree Campaign". Her team plan to plant enough trees to absorb up to half of man-made carbon emissions.

ZAIDON Falah, Iraq, 28 years old: There are not many climate activists in Iraq. Zaidon is one of them. He recently compared the threat of climate change to the threat of ISIS.

He has cooperated with the Iraqi Environment Department and conducts seminars and lectures to highlight the impacts of climate change and pollution. Burning fossils fuels is nothing else than vandalism," he argues.

ARTHUR Wyns, Belgium, 24 years old: A tropical biologist by profession, Arthur is driven to fight climate change to make sure his subject of study doesn't disappear".

He has worked as an environmental researcher across three continents. he also founded his own NGO in Belgium, focusing on community projects and education and wrote a book on the recent refugee crisis on the side. And all that before he got into climate journalism at the age of 24. Today he is a campaign manager at Climate Tracker.

JULIUS Schlumberger, Germany, 22 years old: The initial spark for Juliuss engagement was a UN simulation during which he realised that just understanding politics is not enough: We should move things forward and push for having a say in the decisions that form the world we will live in, Julius tells The Ecologist.

He connects young people and enables them to influence decisions themselves. In his summer holidays he conducts a summer school on international climate politics for highly talented pupils from all over Germany.

He also organises scholarships for 10 young people from the Global South to attend the UN climate summit in Germany in 2017. When 196 countries come together for this years UN climate conference in Germany- the COP, Julius coordinates the conference of the Youth (COY).The big international youth climate conference connects young climate activists from all over the world.

ANAM Zeb, Pakistan, 28 years old: Anam is identifying tactics to get climate change in the media around the world: Outside of the major global media hubs, there is hardly any action-based research informing civil society about how to get climate change on the front pages of local newspapers."

She has lead media research projects on climate reporting in over 20 countries on 3 continents in countless languages - in 2017 alone. She identifies training and communication needs as well as obstacles to climate reporting and strategies how to get the media and public interested in climate change.

RABYIA Jaffery, United Arabic Emirates, 22 years old: Rabyia is a media activist: she initiates "viewing parties" in cafes and universities together with environmental videographers.

To increase climate awareness and encourage community engagement, she organises and mobilises social media influencers. "I am driven by fear, a sense of responsibility, and hope, Rabyia tells The Ecologist.

NOEKA Naidoo, South Africa, 25 years old: "I always wanted somebody do something about the issues that plague our society - then I realised I was somebody.

Neoka remembers the moment when she decided get involved in climate activism. She started studying environmental science in Durban. When the UN climate conference took place in her city in 2011, she took part in direct action and civil disobedience.

At the same time she started a research career at project 90 by 2030 and started coordinating the South African climate civil society in the lead up to the Paris Agreement. Today she bridges international and local politics as an international policy and energy expert working with communities.

ANDREA Gracia, Peru, 26 years old: "Spending time in the Peruvian Amazon with people who work in conservation of the tropical rain forests, made me realise how everybody can join the climate action. I learned to appreciate the resources we are given by nature which inspired me to pursue a more sustainable lifestyle, Andrea tells The Ecologist. Andrea has worked on various youth campaigns and organised regional climate summits all over Latin America.

LINA Yassen, Sudan, 19 years old: Lina is a Sudanese environmental activist and a chemical engineering student. When she went to the UN climate summit in Marrakesh last year, she was the only journalist from her country and published in the three biggest newspapers of the country.

In Sudan we have a war that started due to climate change and whenever I think about the amount of people who has suffered from this, I tell myself that I need to continue raising awareness, she says. "Trump is clearly ignoring the fact that climate change kills and affects more people worldwide than terrorism, Lina tells The Ecologist.

About This Author

Andreas Sieber is a media researcher, data-lover and passionate climber. He has organised some of the biggest youth campaigns in Germany, worked for several NGOs and coordinated the press analysis in the Saxon State chancellery. He manages partnerships and campaigns for Climate Tracker.
MONTROSE (JG-TC) -- An Indiana man died Wednesday afternoon from injuries received in a four-vehicle accident on Interstate 70.

A truck driver from Shelbyville received a traffic citation for allegedly causing the accident, according to a news release from Illinois State Police.

Daniel T. Waterfill, 61, of Plainfield, Ind., was pronounced dead at the scene, two miles east of Montrose in Cumberland County, the news release said.

It said the accident took place in the interstate's eastbound lane about 1:30 p.m. Wednesday when Waterfill's car and two other vehicles had stopped or slowed for a construction zone.

A tractor-trailer driven by Coles A. Johnson, 24, of Shelbyville failed to stop and hit the rear of Waterfill's car, causing the accident, the release said.

It said Johnson received a citation for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident.

It also said the impact forced Waterfill's car to hit the back of the tractor-trailer driven by Dale E. Bondy of Waterloo, Iowa. Bondy's truck was pushed into back of another tractor-trailer driven by Alerto Rios, a resident of Mexico, it said.
For some people who follow human evolution news, recognizing species is really just about whether youre a lumper or a splitter. Many people assume that the names of species are about ego, not evidence.

But nature presents us with real challenges, which still cause different scientists to approach the past with different assumptions. Let me give some examples.

Just today, I got notification of a new paper by Walter Neves and colleagues, in which they suggest that Australopithecus sediba and Homo naledi are actually South African representatives of Homo habilis. Some people might scoff at thisafter all, the Dinaledi fossils are only 236,000335,000 years old, while the latest-known H. habilis is around 1.6 million. But a young date for some fossils doesnt bar them from from membership in a species with much older fossil representatives. Identity is tested with morphological evidence, not geological age.

Now, I disagree with the idea that H. naledi is the same species as H. habilisNeves and colleagues have come to this taxonomic conclusion by neglecting all the morphological evidence showing H. naledi is different from H. habilis. But its not so easy to reject the idea that these species might be close relatives. As we pointed out earlier this year, H. naledi might even conceivably be a descendant of H. habilis or Au. sediba. On the other hand, Mana Dembo and colleagues showed last year that H. naledi seems to be closer to modern and archaic H. sapiens than to H. erectus (and much closer than H. habilis). These are stark differences of interpretation, from similar parts of the skeleton.

[see my article: The plot to kill Homo habilis]

At the other extreme, this week Jeffrey Schwartz is set to present results of his own examination of the Dinaledi Chamber sample. According to his abstract, all the teeth belong to one species, but some of the skulls represent anothertwo species in this assemblage, not just one. I havent seen the details of this analysis, but Im pretty sure I disagree with this one, too.

I admit that it would be fatuous to say that ego plays no role in paleoanthropology. Scientists express provocative opinions that will draw attention from the press.

Still, the trouble with taxonomy isnt just about new fossil discoveries like H. naledi or Au. sediba. We have seen similarly broad and vociferous diversity of opinions in the last few years about H. erectus, Au. deyiremeda, Au. anamensis, H. floresiensis, Denisovans, Neanderthals, H. heidelbergensis, Kenyanthropus platyops, and others. These are species new and old, and the same issues keep arising again and again.

Many people would say that taxonomic debates just reflect basic philosophy about variationagain, lumping versus splitting. But thats really only one of the dimensions:

How much variation should a species include? Broadly, all of us recognize that some species are polytypic (as humans are today), but small and fragmentary samples make it very hard to distinguish polytypy from distinct species. There are living polytypic species that include very extensive variation, and living sister species that barely differ from each other, making model selection difficult. What kind of data provide evidence of similarity or difference? Some researchers rely mainly on phenetic similarity measures, using geometric morphometrics, principal components or canonical variates approaches. Others examine discrete (or threshold) traits, counting shared derived traits as evidence of similarity and ignoring shared primitive traits. This group was once dominated by cladists, but in recent years Bayesian approaches have become more and more common. What temporal or geological information is sufficient to justify pooling fossil specimens into a single sample? Some scientists are willing to assume that fossils from the same 500,000-year period belong to a single population, even if they preserve different parts of the skeleton or minimally overlap. Others draw trees that separate every specimen into its own operational taxonomic unit. The concept of a paleodeme is based on lumping specimens by date and geography, an approach that has come more and more into question as the fossil record increases.

Anthropologists may get a bad rap from other biologists for arguing about taxonomy so much, but in reality many areas of taxonomy are undergoing seismic shifts following more widespread application of genetics and phylogeographic analyses.

For example, bovid systematists have been arguing for the last few years about whether to double the number of species they recognizea debate about living species with abundant morphological samples and genetic data. Meanwhile, living and fossil elephants are on the verge of a complete revision of relationships, based on ancient DNA and the appreciation of deep diversity between forest and savanna African populations. Similar examples are unfolding across mammalian systematics.

Neandertal and Denisovan DNA has shown us that hominins also exchanged genes by introgression, occasionally but recurrently despite hundreds of thousands of years on their own trajectories. Genetic evidence of African ghost lineages means other long-lasting Pleistocene populations once existed.

H. naledi might potentially be one such lineage. I have no idea what the closest relative of H. naledi will prove to be. Whether it reproduced with human populations or not, it shows that many cherished human features may not have been uniquely derived evolutionary developments.

I cant help but feel that we are standing at a special moment in the history of paleoanthropology. New data give us the opportunity to make progress on old areas of disagreement about species and phylogeny. We have to start by taking what we now know about the later Pleistocene, and seriously appling these lessons to earlier periods of human evolution. Our assumptions about the past really are changing.

Whatever we choose to call species wont change their nature. But our assumptions determine the way we frame our future studies, including our attempts to find more fossil evidence. That makes it important to communicate clearly about what these ancient species mean, both with each other and with the public.
Draft horses hitch shows will be featured during the first three days of the 2017 Nebraska State Fair, with the draft horse pull competition coming to the fairs second Friday on Sept. 1.

The draft show hitch shows will be 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 25; 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 26; and 4 p.m. Sunday, all in the Five Points Bank Arena. The cost per show is $5, which does not include gate admission. Likewise, admission to the draft horse pull show is $5, excluding gate admission. Children age 5 and under will be given free admission to the hitch shows as well as the pull competition.

Both the draft horse hitch shows and the draft horse pull are sponsored by the Grand Island Independent.

Bill Angell, livestock superintendent for the Nebraska State Fair, noted there are various classifications to the hitch shows. They have cart classes, which is just one horse, and they have all the way up to six horses, he said.

When it comes to draft horses, many people seem to feel the more, the better. As a result, the six-horse team competition is often a fan favorite. Fortunately, all the hitch shows at the Nebraska State Fair will feature six-horse hitch teams as part of the competition.

Angel Acres, Express Clydesdales, Fairview Farms, Heritage Hill Farms, Hersch Belgians, Hidden Y Percherons, JKA Belgians, Jensen Shires, Makers Belgians, Mark Messenger Memorial Hitch, Mohney Farm Belgians, Roby Belgians, Willow Creek Belgians, Young Living Percherons and Zubrod Percherons are the names of the six-hitch teams that compete in and win draft hitch shows at state fairs and special draft horse shows all over the country.

Hitch show judging is based on a variety of factors, including conformation of the teams. The hitch should also should represent the best of the breed pulling the wagon. Judges also weigh movement of the horses and the driving, looking to see how well the horses work together, whether all the horses are pulling equally and that all of the traces are tight.

Angell said that as part of the hitch show competition, the draft horses will go through different paces such as walking and trotting. He said the judge also will look to see how well the draft horses change direction under the direction of the driver.

All of that competition is for points also for the chance to go to the finals, which are in Oklahoma City in October, Angell said. That opportunity helps bring some of the top draft horse teams in the country to the State Fair.

When most people think of draft horses, they picture really massive animals. That mental image is not incorrect. But people are attracted to draft horses because of more than just their size. To see that large of an animal to move with the grace that they do, its pretty awesome to watch, Angell said.

While hitch shows competitions are based on huge draft horses who can move with amazing grace, the Sept. 1 pull competition is looking for draft horses that demonstrate pure power and strength.

The pull show is hosted by Midwest Dynamometer Horse Pulling of Grinnell, Iowa. That event features two different weight divisions of draft horses, who compete to see who can pull the most weight as measured by a dynamometer, which was created to provide a standardized method of measuring the pulling power of a team of horses. All the pull teams must pull the weighted dynamometer a specified distance to have a successful pull. The weight the horses must pull increases with each successive pull.
Central Community College-Grand Island Campus will host Jim Greenhouse for a presentation on Aug. 20.

Greenhouse is the space science director at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science in Albuquerque. He will present Your Last Eclipse Talk of the Century at 3 p.m.

Attendees will find out a little about the suns power and the cosmic coincidences that come together to cause an eclipse. Theyll learn how to view and take photos of the eclipse safely and find out about NASA computer programs and apps that will help them enjoy this celestial spectacle.

Eclipse glasses will be on sale while supplies last.

Greenhouse manages New Mexicos largest planetarium, publicly accessible observatory and astronomy exhibit gallery. He plans a schedule of events during the year that incorporate telescopic observing.

He is also an active member of the Albuquerque Astronomical Society and presents outreach programs at schools with the clubs portable planetarium. He recently received the societys John Dobson award for presenting astronomy education programs and regularly supports observing events at New Mexicos Dark Sky Park monument.

During his 35-year astronomy education career, he has also worked at museums in Texas, Tennessee, Georgia and North Carolina.

Greenhouse will be a guide to special groups and schools that Grand Island Campus will be hosting on the day of the eclipse, as well as CCC employees and students.
Nearly 9,000 Grand Island Public School students will be outdoors when the total eclipse of the sun takes place on Aug. 21.

Undoubtedly, every other student in Hall County  along with thousands of local residents and visitors from around the world  will also be outdoors to experience an event that will not occur again in Grand Island until 2744  757 years from now. With an event that rare, Grand Island Public School officials are working to ensure that each of its students gets to experience the phenomenon of twilight occurring during the middle of the day.

Jack Sheard, GIPS marketing and communications director, said school officials tried last school year to get every parent to sign permission slips for their children to participate in the educational activities that will take place during the eclipse. Just a tiny sliver of parents have not yet given permission.

Sheard said school officials will work hard during open houses and the first two days of school to get those remaining permission slips, as well as the signatures of parents whose children who are brand new to the district.

Katie Ramsey, GIPS curriculum coordinator for science, said planning for the solar eclipse has been underway for quite some time. Every bit of that long lead time was needed to accomplish that goal.

Ramseys first step was applying for a classroom mini-grant from the Grand Island Public Schools Foundation to ensure each student in the district would have the special glasses needed to view the solar eclipse safely.

She said the cost of outfitting every single GIPS student with the special glasses exceeded the maximum amount for a mini-grant award. The foundation then went out and found funding from Wells Fargo to cover the amount that was above the mini-grant maximum, Ramsey said.

That supplemental funding was secured not last school year, but the spring of the school year before, because I knew I wanted to get things started early, Ramsey said. Consequently, she had to estimate the total number of GIPS students and staff members who would need viewing glasses. Unfortunately, the total number of students and staff members grew well beyond her original estimate.

So Ramsey successfully applied for a NASA Nebraska grant to obtain additional glasses. Even that third grant was not quite enough. The result was a fourth grant from the Nebraska Department of Education.

The special viewing glasses are needed because regular sunglasses or makeshift filters will not screen out the harmful infrared radiation that can burn the retina of the eye. In the worst case scenario, such burning can even cause a person to suffer permanent blindness.

Ramsey said that in addition to getting the viewing glasses, shes also sent out links that show other safe ways to view the solar eclipse, such as the pinhole viewer method or even using a kitchen colander that has multiple pinholes to project the solar eclipse onto a piece of white paper. The safety (of viewing the solar eclipse) is going to be covered, she said.

Ramsey learned the time when the partial eclipse starts and ends, as well the time when totality (the total eclipse) begins and ends for each school location in the district. She then sent that information to staff in each GIPS school building. Every school location has a chart of exact times for when each of the phases occurs, so theyll know when its safe to take their glasses off during totality.

This past spring, Ramsey put together a diverse committee of GIPS staff to brainstorm ideas and plans so students would get maximum educational benefit from the solar eclipse.

The committee included elementary, middle school and high school teachers. It also included science teachers and teachers in subjects other than science, as well as integration specialists, assistant principals and principals. The committee compiled a list of recommendations on how to view the solar eclipse, as well as a list of suggested ways to enhance the educational value.

Ultimately, staff in each of the 19 GIPS school buildings are being allowed to develop their own eclipse viewing plans. Each school has its own unique, individual needs, Ramsey explained. I did not feel like there could be one district-wide plan on how to participate.

But all GIPS students will have one thing in common on Aug. 21: Sack Lunch Day.

Ramsey said paper sacks were sent last spring from the districts food service department to students at Barr Middle School and all 14 elementary schools. Those students then decorated the sacks to celebrate the eclipse, before returning the paper bags to the food service department. On Aug. 21, all GIPS students from kindergartners all the way through high school seniors will eat their lunches from those decorated paper bags.

Ramsey said teachers may have created lessons for their students to study after the solar eclipse. But she also hopes that going through the experience of the total eclipse will affect each students remaining years of formal education. While that actual day is going to be so awesome and we couldnt be any more fortunate to be on this path of totality, the thing we need to keep in mind is what happens in the hours, the days, the weeks, the months, and even the years that follow.

She said no value can be placed on what each student will experience and the memories they will create.

Ramsey suspects the event will certainly have an impact when students have science lessons about the phases of the moon, lunar eclipses, solar eclipses and the transfer of energy from the sun to the earth, to name just a few possibilities. The event also may have a long-term impact on students in other subjects such as writing or reading, especially if they choose to read more non-fiction or science books.

With 19 school buildings, different grade levels in each building, and a wide variety of classrooms in each school, it is impossible to describe all the individual educational activities that will occur in the district on Aug. 21, Ramsey said.

But Ramsey knows this for sure: We are ready. We have the glasses; we have tons of safe viewing procedures; we have the lessons for before, during and after. Actually, for during, I just hope students take it all in. How does it feel? How does it sound? How does it look? What are the changes they are noticing? And then for years go come, students going to be able to use this experience as they attach new learning to what theyve already experienced.
A Houston man is coming to Nebraska next week, hoping to finally get a satisfying view of a total solar eclipse on his third try.

My first one was in 1972 on the Gaspe Peninsula in Canada, and we were rained out for that one, said Paul Sventek, 63.

In 1991, Sventek traveled to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. That trip was fairly successful, but he didnt see the eclipses corona.

So after 45 years, the amateur astronomer is motivated to taste success in Nebraska.

Although hes not sure yet exactly where, Sventek knows hell be in Nebraska Aug. 21.

What excites him about the celestial occurrence?

Its just that chance of seeing those neon pink prominences erupting from the sun, he said.

Sventek has always been interested in the stars.

Its been a hobby since I was in diapers, said Sventek, who works as a geophysicist in the oil and gas industry.

In 1972, he was fresh out of John F. Kennedy High School in Chicago.

There were three other guys and me, and that was really our high school graduation present, said Sventek, who was 18 at the time.

They made the trip to Cap-Chat, Quebec.

The trip was a washout.

In fact, I really wish I could have saved that last picture I took, because it was maybe five minutes before totality, he said. The picture, of course, was cloudy. You could see the narrow crescent of the sun, all that was left. And then just to the left of the suns image was this big black cloud. You knew it was over. When the shadow hit, it went dark and it started raining for us.

In 1991, Sventek traveled to Mexico in connection with the Houston Astronomical Society. One of the organizations members was a pilot, who chartered a jet for the group to Cabo San Lucas.

There were two groups of people, he said. One group stayed at the hotel drinking, and us idiots got on a bus and went to the exact center line. You could predict what happened.

The people who stayed at the hotel on the coast saw everything perfectly, he said. For the guys on the center line, a few minutes before totality, a very, very thin cloud layer formed. You were able to look through it. You saw those neon pink prominences, but you couldnt see the corona. Thats what breaks my heart, because I have not seen that yet.

Driving from Texas, Sventek will arrive in Nebraska Aug. 19 and will leave Aug. 21.

He may witness the solar eclipse from Stuhr Museum, but hes not sure yet. He may enjoy the spectacle from Broken Bow, Beatrice or somewhere else.

Since Aug. 1, he has been studying the skies each day at the crack of dawn.

Back in my previous life, when I got out of college, I used to work as a meteorologist, so I like to think I can still do it, Sventek said, laughing.

He looks at satellite pictures to see which vantage points are best.

Sventek wont make a final choice of location until Aug. 21.

Itll be a decision depending on the weather, he said.

In Nebraska, Sventek will use a small telescope, on which will be mounted a camera with a 300mm lens. Using the clock-driven device, he hopes to capture several images during totality that are five to 10 seconds long.

He also pays attention to lunar eclipses and asteroid occultations.

The latter occur in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

Observers study the amount of time a passing asteroid passes in front of a star.

By gathering those various amounts of time, you can get a rough idea of an asteroids shape.

Thats an exciting thing that amateurs can still do, Sventek said.
The Community Redevelopment Authority will consider approving a redevelopment contract to allow for a new, two-story apartment building when it meets Thursday.

Weinrich Developments Inc. is requesting $52,768 in tax-increment financing to assist in the development of a two-story, four-unit apartment building at the corner of Division and Plum streets.

Regional Planning Director Chad Nabity previously told The Independent that Weinrich Developments intended to renovate the property and rent it out, but discovered more work needs to be done on the property.

Because it is within a blighted and substandard area, and is zoned for higher density residential, they are looking at exchanging the one worn-out, single-family dwelling for the four-plex property, Nabity said.

He also said previously that the TIF funds will be used for demolition of the existing building, extension of the utilities and exterior lighting for the parking area. He anticipated the TIF will be paid off in about 10 years.

The new apartment building would face Plum Street.

The CRA approved a resolution on June 14 to enter into a redevelopment contract with Weinrich Developments.

On July 5, the Regional Planning Commission met and found the plan amendment is consistent with the comprehensive plan for the city of Grand Island.

The Grand Island City Council passed a resolution to enter into the redevelopment contract with Weinrich Developments at its July 25 meeting.

The CRA meets at 4 p.m. Thursday in the City Council chambers at City Hall.
The Grand Island school board on Thursday evening will be asked to approve two separate contracts, one to help boost student academic achievement and the other to help a system to get students thinking more about potential careers while still in high school.

The first is a three-year proposal for Star 360 at a cost of $149,979. The school district will use the MAP (Measurement of Academic Progress) test to identify students who need academic interventions, known as RTI. An initial Star 360 assessment then shows what the student needs in terms of academic intervention or help. Subsequent assessments next show whether those interventions are actually helping the student improve academically.

The second contract would be with Steele Dynamics at a maximum cost of $78,380 to create a prep academy system for Grand Island Senior High.

The school district used a consultant to come up with building design and curriculum design for the Career Pathways Institute on Adams Street. However, the school district wants all GISH students to be involved in a career pathway, even if they take all their classes at the Senior High campus.

Students could change their pathway choice while at Grand Island Senior High, and they certainly could choose a different career path following graduation from GISH. However, the intent is to get students to think much more seriously about their post-high school career plans, and that should help them connect the school work they are doing with the career they want to pursue.

The intent also would be to create student relationships with local Grand Island businesses, which could provide the young people with real world learning experiences.

In other action, the board will hear a number of information items, including a proposal for selling naming rights for certain portions of Memorial Stadium to help finance the facilitys renovation. Areas that could be named for donors include the press box, concession stand, locker rooms, meeting room and outdoor pavilion. The proposal asks that naming rights be granted to at least three areas, with as many as five areas being named according to the donors wishes.

Naming gifts would be granted at a minimum of a $300,000 contribution. If more than one donor requests the same area for naming rights, then the naming rights would be given to the donor who contributes the most money.

The Grand Island School Foundation would eventually bring donor names with allotted naming areas to the school board for final approval.

In a related action, the board is scheduled to review the proposed contract with the architectural firm of Cannon Moss Brygger & Associates for its work on the Memorial Stadium renovation project. The contract proposes paying CMBA 6.15 percent of the cost of the work, plus a fixed fee of $25,000 for a stadium consultant and a fixed fee of $25,000 for field vertification and modeling.

The board also will hear about pay for substitute teachers for the 2017-18 school year, with pay increasing by $2 per day for both short-term and long-term substitute assignments and across all categories of substitute teacher: local certificate, $130 short-term and $140 long-term; full certificate, $137 short-term and $147 long-term; and retired GIPS substitute teacher, $145 short-term and $184 long-term.

Other information items for the board will include a presentation on what the school districts students will be doing for educational activities during the Aug. 21 solar eclipse. Grand Islands location in the middle of the eclipse path means it will have one of the longest periods of darkness when the moon passes in front of the sun.

Lincoln Elementary Principal Maureen Oman and Howard Elementary Principal Julie Schnitlzer will give reports about their schools to the board as part of the August meeting.

Also during the meeting, Katelyn Hill will be introduced as the student board representative from Grand Island Senior High for the 2017-18 school year, while the school districts safety committee will be recognized by ALICAP, which provides insurance pool coverage for Nebraska school districts, for its efforts in making GIPS a safe school district for insurance purposes.
As Rebekah and Austin Wesson left the courthouse in Wichita, Kansas, on Friday, the 19-year-old newlyweds could not stop smiling.

"I'm Mrs. Wesson," Rebekah Wesson said, brandishing her newly christened name, her mother later recounted.

Austin Wesson grabbed her around the waist and pulled her close.

"You are my wife," he told her. "You are my wife."

On Saturday, what would have been their first full day as a married couple, the young couple planned a dinner together. Rebekah Wesson bought the ingredients for a pork chop recipe she hoped to cook for her new husband, a meal they would never get the chance to eat.

They had also registered for their wedding reception, which was set for late September. They would exchange their vows again in a religious ceremony among the trees in the backyard of the bride's parents, and would serve their guests pizza, Rebekah Wesson's mother, Rachel Bouma, told The Washington Post. They would have a campfire where their family and friends could make s'mores.

Rebekah Wesson had already purchased her wedding dress - an A-line dress with a tulle skirt and beaded, laced top.

But the celebratory dinner, and the backyard wedding, would never be.

On Saturday, the day after becoming husband and wife, the Wessons crashed into a tree after the pickup truck they were riding in went off a dirt road. Austin Wesson, the driver, died at the scene, the Wichita Eagle reported. Rebekah Wesson died in a Wichita hospital early Monday.

Authorities say the cause of the crash is still under investigation.

Rachel Bouma was at a wedding reception for another young couple when she saw a missed call from her daughter's cellphone. She called the number back and heard a man's voice, identifying himself as a sheriff's deputy.

"I honestly thought Austin was just playing a joke on me, because he could tease," Bouma said. Then, the deputy told her there had been an vehicle crash, her daughter was at the hospital.

The crash happened several hundred yards from the Boumas' home near Clearwater, Kansas.

Early Monday morning, Bouma posted a message to Facebook:

"It is with an unbearably shattered heart that we inform you that our darling daughter, Rebekah Christina, went peacefully into the arms of her loving Savior. . . She is with the Lord that she loved so deeply and so joyfully and she is with her husband of just one day, Austin Wesson, whom she loved with all her heart. We thank God that they are together while grieving their loss so very deeply. Please keep both our families in your prayers and especially that Austin's family would be able to be here quickly."

Instead of preparing for a wedding, the young couple's families are now preparing for a joint funeral next week.

Austin Wesson's family members, who live in South Africa, will be flying to Kansas later this week. It will be their first time meeting their son's in-laws.

Rebekah Wesson's sisters, who planned to be her bridesmaids, will be wearing their smoky blue bridesmaids skirts to the funeral. She had two sisters and two brothers.

"Our hearts were just broken," John Bouma, Rebekah Wesson's father, told The Post.

The lives of "these two beautiful young people, he said, "were cut short." But, he said, "obviously it was in God's plan to take them home to heaven."

John Bouma recalled the couple's fleeting, but promising romance, a relationship that spanned continents.

His daughter met Austin Wesson, a native of the Cape Town area of South Africa, in February during a gap year program called World Race. Participants in the Christian program spend nine months in three different continents, doing mission work at each location.

While serving at a school in South Africa, Rebekah met Austin Wesson, who was on a different mission trip. "They really hit it off right away," John Bouma said.

After Rebekah's three months in South Africa, she kept in touch with Austin Wesson through a video calling app.

And it was over one call in April that Austin Wesson asked to speak with Rebekah's father. He asked John Bouma for permission to date his daughter, "which I thought was quite something," the father said.

"He was very respectful, just a sweet, polite and engaging young man," John Bouma said.

In June, Austin Wesson received an exchange-student visa that allowed him to come to the U.S. That same month, he asked the Boumas for their daughter's hand in marriage.

Despite their young age, the parents could tell "they were very serious about each other." They said yes, and Austin Wesson proposed the next day.

In the short time the parents saw the couple together, they enjoyed witnessing "how sweet their love for each other was," Rachel Bouma said.

"It was very tangible," she said. "You could not see them and not know. They just lit up a room."

The mother looked back on one morning, when Austin and Rebekah - or "Bekah," as the family called her - were making breakfast. The song, "Hey There Delilah" came on the radio, and the two of them began dancing through the kitchen. Rebekah laughed as Austin twirled her around. Her mother filmed the moment, unbeknown to the couple.

The mother recalled how hours before Saturday's fatal car crash, her new son-in-law laughed talking about their wedding registry, a concept not common in South Africa.

"Mom, you gotta help because we don't know what we're doing," he told Rachel Bouma, she recounted. "There's just so much."

After getting married, the couple planned to move to Michigan for college. They would then continue to travel and do mission work together, John Bouma said.

"They had a very strong faith in God and wanted to serve Jesus, be the hands and feet of Jesus, ministering to other people," he said.
ALLIANCE  The executive director of the Nebraska Brand Committee is leaving for a new job in Texas.

Committee chairman John Widdowsen announced at the committee meeting Wednesday that Bill Bunce will be leaving at the end of August.

The Brand Committee records ranchers' brands, inspects cattle to verify ownership and investigates missing livestock and cattle rustling.

Bunce says he's accepted a position as vice president of the Houston-based American Brahman Breeders Association. He says the opportunity is "the best thing for my family."

The Brand Committee hired Bunce in November after its previous executive director, Shawn Harvey, resigned in the wake of a critical state audit.
Following on the heels of resumption of beef trade with China, heralded by Nebraska beef producers as a big step forward, our state was dealt a big blow with Japans announcement in late July that it is raising its tariff on frozen beef from the U.S. to 50 percent.

Japan was the top export market for U.S. beef last year, valued at $1.5 billion. And according to data compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation, first quarter U.S. beef sales to Japan this year increased 42 percent over 2016. It was also the No. 1 export market for Nebraska beef, with a value of more than $316 million in 2016.

But this announcement will change the landscape.

The U.S. and other countries without free trade agreements were already paying a 40 percent tariff to ship beef to Japan. Now its 50 percent, and Australia, which has its own agreement with Japan, is being rewarded with a 27 percent tariff.

One of the first acts of the Trump administration was to pull the U.S. out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement that included Japan. Trump said at that time that he wanted to negotiate a free-standing agreement with Japan that would be more favorable to the United States.

But there is no indication that a trade agreement is coming soon.

An analysis conducted by Nebraska Farm Bureau showed that virtually every county in the state would have benefited from the TPP, with the state projected to see agricultural cash receipts increase by more than $378 million annually.

According to that analysis, more than $150 million, or nearly 40 percent of Nebraskas projected increase in sales of agriculture products under TPP, would have come from the sale of Nebraska beef to TPP countries.

After Japans tariff increase, 3rd District Rep. Adrian Smith said, Now is the time for the Trump administration to follow through on their promise for a better deal for Nebraskas cattlemen and women, and now is the time for a bilateral agreement with Japan.

Smith, who serves on the Ways and Means Committee that has jurisdiction over trade agreements, introduced a resolution in the U.S. House in March urging the administration to begin the process of establishing a trade agreement with Japan.

Gov. Pete Ricketts has also expressed disappointment with the administration for rejecting the TPP and putting Nebraska in this situation.

Ricketts said that Japans tariff increase will have a serious economic impact on Nebraskas beef community. Japan is Nebraskas No. 1 export market for beef products, with a value of more than $316 million in 2016 alone.

He said it is anticipated that this will shift purchases from frozen to fresh beef, triggering beef safeguard tariff increases on fresh beef as well later this year, compounding the impact on Nebraskas beef exports.

Nebraska produces high-quality beef products that Japanese consumers would surely love to be able to purchase.

In fact, when some students from Ozu, Japan, were visiting Central Nebraska the week of the tariff announcement, one of them said her favorite food from her Nebraska visit was the beef. These students have taken their favorable experiences with Nebraska beef back to Japan, but it will take some action by our president and Congress to see that they can continue to enjoy it.
Most politicians practice their own version of the classic bait and switch sales pitch. Adrian Smith, Nebraskas 3rd District representative in Congress, executes his with professional expertise. Dangle a popular concept in front of your constituents and get them on your side: Americans spend 2.6 billion hours each year filing income tax returns, he says, so lets Simplify the process, expand the standard deduction, and allow 90 percent of Americans to file their taxes on a form the size of a postcard. And then exploit. Pull the switch. Dangle some scare tactics and a dose of nonsense in front of them and they will probably buy into it: Nebraskans have continually called for the elimination of the death tax, which threatens farmers, ranchers, and small business owners. Our plan will end this damaging tax once and for all.

And just how damaging is the death tax, also known as the estate tax? Well, for starters, 99.8 percent of estates owe nothing due to the exemption of $5.49 million in 2017, a figure that has risen year after year while the tax rate has fallen (about 17 percent). Obviously, only very wealthy heirs who are able to pay are affected and only a handful of small, family-owned farms and businesses owe any tax at all. Furthermore, not one single farm had to be sold to pay the estate tax as Smith would have you believe. It appears that Smiths concern is simply another Republican ruse to obtain enormous tax breaks for the 2 percent.

Meanwhile, the loss of this significant source of revenue provided by the estate tax, about $269 billion over a decade, would deprive America of funds to support health care, education, national defense, scientific research, environmental protection and infrastructure. And this does the damage, not the tax.

But not to worry, the likes of the Waltons (Walmart), Trumps, and the rest of the ultra-rich power figures will surely reward Smiths campaign kitty. The tax break for the Waltons would be an estimated $53 billion if the death tax is jettisoned. And as for Smith, rest assured his constituents will continue to re-elect him, as long as that big R precedes his name on the ballot. And sadly, they get what they deserve, a weak puppet who votes against the best self-interests of the majority.
It's not over. Thousands of uncounted ballots remain in Bucks, Montco

Bucks County officials do not anticipate all ballots cast Tuesday will be counted - or not - until next week. Leaving House key races in limbo
Lincoln's first Dick's Sporting Goods store will open sometime next month, the retailer announced Thursday.

A spokeswoman said a specific date has not yet been set.

The store at Gateway Mall will employ about 70 full- and part-time workers and also plans to hire about 35 temporary employees, Dick's said in a news release. Those interested in jobs at the store can go to www.dickssportinggoods.jobs.

Dick's is the largest sporting goods chain in the U.S., with nearly 700 stores and more than $6 billion in revenue.

The Gateway store, which will be Dick's fifth Nebraska location, will have 70,000 square feet and take up two levels. It will sell a full range of sporting goods, from shoes and clothing to fitness equipment to hunting and fishing gear.

The store will have two ground-level exterior entrances and an interior entrance on the building's upper level between Sears and JCPenney.

Gateway General Manager Chad Becwar said Dick's is a store that people in Lincoln and surrounding areas "have expressed a desire to have in the market."

"We are excited to partner with Dicks Sporting Goods and have them part of our retail mix at Gateway Mall," Becwar said in an email. "The grand opening of another big-box retailer in the Lincoln market exhibits our commitment to the community."
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Linkedin EDITORIAL (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, August 10, 2017 08:19 1921 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97ac1e721 4 Editorial #Editorial,crime,law-enforcement,#Crime Free

A child in Banyuwangi, East Java, threw diesel fuel on his playmate and set him on fire last Thursday. The surviving victim reportedly witnessed his friend steal the fuel and cried thief  in panic. In the same week, a young father in Bekasi, east of Jakarta, was killed when he was set on fire by a mob that accused him of stealing amplifiers from a mushola (prayer room). Reports said the victim, Muhammad Al Zahra, was an electronic repair man.

Mob justice is alive and well. It is wishful thinking to say that such crimes stopped following horrific, lawless years after Soeharto stepped down in May 1998. The governments National Violence Monitoring System recorded thousands of incidences of mob justice over the years across Indonesia in which hundreds were killed for suspected theft. The only good news? Researchers suggest many more incidences could have occurred were it not for improved policing.

The Banyuwangi report also shows that children learn fast  too fast compared to slow efforts in fixing all our ills. How did the aforementioned boy, aged around 12, acquire the instinct to light up his friend? He learned it from adults, naturally, as did the children who shouted Kill Ahok! in a recent parade, expressing resentment to the now imprisoned former Jakarta governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama.

These incidents warn us that we are on the verge of losing our humanity with our delayed, numbed reactions, along with each report of mob justice.

The pregnant widow of the Bekasi victim could only say my husband is not an animal, while their toddler son has also questioned his fathers fate. Police arrested a few suspects, but the involvement of a mob, and of youngsters in the Banyuwangi incident, shows tough law enforcement barely addresses our severely sick society  despite all appearances and rhetoric of religious devotion.

Poverty in the reported communities neither explains similar incidences in the areas that are less poor.

Pundits cite distrust in authorities. Locals in Bekasi said they were incensed at recent robberies and thought the victim had been stealing an amplifier or a motorcycle. When you report a missing chicken to the police, people say, you lose a goat.  the lame justification when taking the law into their hands, often fatally. Too often it is much easier for a bystander to record a horrifying scene and spread news of it as an exclusive scoop rather than to immediately contact the police to stop the crime.

Too many of us are accomplices in such crimes. People have said street justice is a much more effective deterrent than reporting suspected criminals to the police, as they are likely hardened armed robbers and even repeat offenders. That victims of mob trials turn out to be innocent is regarded as tragic collateral at best.

This is where we are ahead of our 72nd anniversary of independence. As we constantly experiment in bringing out the best in our children, it is the adults who must be rushed to emergency to be treated for insanity.
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Linkedin Tamma Febrian (The Jakarta Post) Singapore  Thu, August 10, 2017 15:13 1920 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97ac2ca9a 3 Opinion financial-technology,fintech,#fintech,bank,banking-industry,#banking Free

The word financial technology or fintech has become such a buzzword that everyone in the banking industry is so fixated with, but only little is understood. This is concerning especially when we look at how rapid the fintech industry has grown over the last few years.

While it is always exciting to understand what the new innovation has to offer, the billion dollar question still remains: Just how big of an impact could this have on our banking industry?

If history is any indication, it is that companies will eventually fall into slow death if they fail to innovate no matter how entrenched their market position is. A closer look at Blackberry offers a case in point. Some technology sceptics would argue that this will not happen easily to the banking industry, given that banks are such a core structure of the economy that it is almost virtually impossible to replace them.

Recent developments in the rise of Robo-advisers and investments in digital and P2P lending platforms, however, appear to support arguments on the contrary. Already we are seeing Alibaba dominating the payment scene in China while similar local companies like Go-Pay in Indonesia is also rapidly evolving into a commendable competitor of the banks in the payments scheme locally.

The level of threat does not go unnoticed within the banking professionals sphere. Based on a survey by PWC, about 81 percent of the banking and fintech players in Indonesia would see a degree of disruption in the way the banks are doing business, with which roughly 50 percent of them observe potential significant disruptions. These numbers look worrisome, but perhaps the more pertinent matter would be to understand how exactly fintech raises these anxieties to the sector.

When assessing the imminent threat like fintech, one has to understand just which economic function the innovation is taking hold. According to a paper published by the Financial Stability Board, fintech innovation can emerge from five economic functions: Payments and settlement, deposits, lending and capital raising (ie crowdfunding), market support, investment management investor service (ie. Robo adviser) and insurance. For each of these functions, the banks face varying degree of replacement risks.

For example, for countries with high banking penetration and financial literacy like Singapore, emergence of peer-to-peer (P2P) lending would likely pose a more moderate threat for now given the entrenched market position of the banks. The risk is probably more imminent for Indonesian banking industry, given the emerging technology players could easily exploit the market inefficiency by tapping on the vast unbanked populations easily through their mobile applications.

New players such as Investree or Modalku were just some who had taken a notice of this opportunity. While they may be far from becoming the behemoths to compete with the local banks, a quick glance at how Chinas fintech unprecedented growth offers a glimpse of how the competitive landscape could rapidly change.

On the payment and settlements front, we have also seen how fintech has exposed the inefficiencies in the banks existing business processes. For example, in the cross-border interbank payment, the current average transaction costs for sending remittances abroad through bank average around 10.99 percent of the nominal amount globally, according to a report by World Bank. This is highly inefficient and perhaps one of the catalysts for online remittance companies like TransferWise to exist.

Another study estimates suggest that mortgage borrowers in the US and European market could potentially save $480 to $960 per loan and banks would be able to reduce costs in the range of $3billion to $11billion by lowering processing costs in the mortgage origination process. Such figure further highlights the inefficiency in the banks current operating structure. The figure would likely be more substantial on the percentage basis if similar survey is conducted in Indonesia.

Given the myriad ways and magnitude that fintech can potentially impact the industry, it is understandable that no one has perfectly answered the billion dollar question mentioned above.

That said, to say that fintech will completely overhaul the existing banking system may seem quite a stretch for now, in light of the banks established franchise and the potential regulatory oversight that these new players would also be subjected to once they become more systematically important.

Nevertheless, this is, of course, not a reason for the banks to be complacent. Because there is one thing that is clear: it is that the fintech wave is not going to recede anytime soon. If any, it may possibly become a sweeping force that could change the way we are banking in the future. For now, emergence of fintech players will become a testing ground for banks to continue to innovate and regulators to stay on their feet.

***

The writer is associate director at Fitch Ratings Singapore, covering banks and financial institutions around ASEAN region. The opinions expressed in this article are his own.

---------------

We are looking for information, opinions, and in-depth analysis from experts or scholars in a variety of fields. We choose articles based on facts or opinions about general news, as well as quality analysis and commentary about Indonesia or international events. Send your piece to community@jakpost.com.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, August 10, 2017 12:03 1921 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97ac2464d 1 Lifestyle boss,employees,employer,success,workplace Free

Most of the articles that you can find about career development on the internet offer suggestions on how to impress the boss, or how you can get your boss to listen to your ideas. But what should you if you are the boss?

As you climb up the corporate ladder, being a leader seems like an indication of success, but surely by now youve realized that actually being a leader and taking on the responsibilities that come with the title isnt always so easy. Here are several important tips to keep in mind if you want to become a successful boss as compiled by kompas.com:

Recruit the best team, and actually trust them

Employees work best when they feel trusted and empowered. Give them that. Create a work environment that ensures they feel valued, and refrain from constantly pestering them.

Many Harris, a managing editor, suggests that as a boss, you should always be present to offer support and feedback. However, at the end of the day you have to trust that your subordinates have the ability to think and make decisions on their own, and that youve hired someone fully capable of doing the job.

Read also: Common behavior of the worst bosses

Dont be afraid to admit to your mistakes

A good boss will be able to win over the respect of their subordinates if they are able to own up to their own mistakes and take responsibility where necessary. In doing this, you will be able to build trust amongst your team.

Additionally, dont be afraid to ask for a second opinion. This will not only allow you to make the most informed decisions, but it will also give encouragement to your subordinates. Accept that managers may also make mistakes, Nancy, an executive director, advises.

Master the job

Theres no better way to show your team that you know what youre doing than actually being present and working with them. Subordinates will be more likely to become loyal and respectful if you can show them that you are willing to support the team every step of the way.

You wont have to be involved in every detail of the work, but do keep an eye on them so that you can have clear insight into the tasks that the team is working on, as well as the obstacles that they may face.

Read also: Ten truly remote places where your boss cant track you down

Offer honest feedback

Oftentimes, we may feel reluctant to offer honest feedback, in fear that we may discourage, offend, or even anger members of the team. However, many employees actually prefer it when the boss is able to provide honest, constructive criticism.

While you may find these conversations difficult to have, feedback like these are important to ensure that the teams progress continue to improve.

Be a good listener, and be prepared to offer solutions

As a leader, you have to be a good listener. This means carefully listening to members of your team, and ensuring that you stay aware and knowledgeable of the problem.

Remember that your subordinates will look up to you for guidance, so be prepared to focus on helping them come up with a solution. (tha/kes)

Topics : boss employees employer success workplace
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Linkedin Marcel Thee (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, August 10, 2017 09:28 1921 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97ac1f81c 4 Art & Culture illustration,Debbie-Tea,PANTAINANAS,art-and-culture Free

Monochromatic and with the right touch of playful-symbolism that hops between joyful and sarcastic, artist-photographer Debbie Teas pieces ease comfortably into the various merchandise she sells them on: greeting cards, bags, phone cases, air fresheners, patches, shirts, prints and more.

Even as its creator admits that PANTAINANAS is a commercial (if creative) endeavor that was an extension of her true passion for photography, the illustrations settle in a manner that is catchy without being intrusive.

Debbie describes the moniker (which translates as pineapple beach combined as one word) as a genderless art label which works to combine a love of graphic prints with clean lines and simple patterns.

Debbie says that she tries to make the illustrations look effortless.

I think this effortless feeling is something that makes my work easy and pleasant to see. I mean, it doesnt give off an intimidating feeling. I always like the playful-interactive approach.

The name itself represents her land-of-the-gods surroundings and its tropical heaven nuance.

I was talking on the phone to one of my besties about starting this art project, and I said to him I wanted a simple name that would remind people of the beach, of summer feelings, and of Bali, she explains.

It only makes sense. Debbie feels like her move to Bali from Jakarta has inspired and benefitted her creative output.

Indonesian artist-photographer Debbie Teas work through her PANTAINANAS brand has garnered her plenty of admirers and customers ever since she moved to Bali a few years ago to set up her brand. (Instagram.com/pantainanas)

Im thankful that I made the move to Bali as I feel PANTAINANAS wont ever exist if I didnt, she looks back. I think I truly needed that alone time in Bali  far from my family and all the pressure in Jakarta, to think clearly and to give myself some space, as well as a new perspective to live and continue working in a completely new environment.

She also hypothesizes that creative businesses such as hers tend to find a more-encouraging, less-competitive environment in Bali. She feels that there is more pressure to stay with whatever current trends may be brewing.

Everyone can do whatever they believe in, in their own style, she says.

For me, living in Bali gave me that much of confidence and self-worth. And on top of that, most of people Ive met, appreciated what I was doing and my artwork. Id say this is a very important foundation of my brand and myself as the creator.

Debbie began drawing as a child, somewhat holding onto a dream of becoming an illustrator or manga artist. After studying 2D animation after graduating from high school and discovering photography (particularly lomography) in the process, Debbie moved to the Netherlands to studio Fine Arts Photography at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam.

New love: Bali-illustrator Debbie Tea gave up her passion for photography and found a new love in her PANTAINANAS brand. (pantainanas.tictail.com/File)

From there, she dove deep into photography. She was selected as one of the New Dutch Photography Talents in 2013 and took part in a variety of photography exhibition with her photos being features in prestigious publications like WERK x COMME des GARCONS and Eloquence Magazine. One of her photos, Sputnik Sweetheart, won her the Asia Creative Award by ACN Japan in 2015.

Debbie sees some similarities between her photography and the art she produces for PANTAINANAS, even as she admits to the brand serving her more commercial sensibilities. If Im honest, I think Im at my most self when I do photography. I consider my photo works to be transparent and honest, at least to myself, she says.

Of the similarities, Debbie says that visually speaking, most of them dont have much details, colors and depth; a lot of them are rather flat and minimal. The idea or the content can be quite abstract as well. They both reflect me as a person and my daily life situations. Unless I must, I dont usually work on a thing that is unfamiliar to me or something I feel far from.

PANTAINANAS came as a result of reality hitting Debbie. Coming back from the Netherlands, Debbie says that reality hit her pretty hard, making her feel like she would eventually hit a dead end as a photographer if she continued down that path. Her family also started pressuring her to make something that they felt was more worthwhile, meaning something that actually made money.

Debbie Tea began by uploading her illustrations to the photo-sharing social media app, Instagram. (Instagram.com/pantainanas)

I started to kind of despise the act of making an artwork and the idea of me being an artist. To put it simply, I felt like I couldnt make a living being an artist and I decided to do something else, she says, adding that the shock of having to abandon photography was another big push for the move to Bali.

Debbie began by uploading her illustrations to the photo-sharing social media app, Instagram. Like a lot of other Instagram success stories, the feedback came organically and by large numbers.

Things took off pretty fast. I got more Likes and Followers, then finally real demands came in. People emailed and messaged me, asking if I was up for commission work or if I was going to produce merchandise.

For Debbie, PANTAINANAS has become her new home, shifting the satisfaction she used to get from photography with another  the pleasures of seeing people using things with her drawings on them.

To me, this is it  this is where all the fun is. To see that my creations are literally used and worn by people, truly gives me this proud and joyful feelings; that I can actually be useful to others and that my works are more than just eye-pleasers. Obviously, it also gives me a significant boost in terms of income. All of these things have pretty much convinced me that Im on the right track.
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Linkedin I Wayan Juniarta (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, August 10, 2017 10:17 1921 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97ac205f1 4 Art & Culture panji-mask,Panji-Tales,art-and-culture,traditional-dance Free

It was the love story that shaped the Javanese versions of chivalry and noblesse oblige. Its beauty and message have been immortalized in songs, poems and dances that are still performed today in Java and Bali. Its influence has spread beyond the borders of the archipelago into Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia and even India.

Known as Panji, the story narrates the trials and tribulations that Panji Inu, the young prince of Kahuripan, must overcome to reunite with his true love, Chandra Kirana, the princess of Daha. The challenges the young prince must face range from rampaging demons to violent criminals, an elusive tiger, distressed peasants and vindictive gods.

It holds major importance in the Javanese tradition because Panji is believed to be more than just an ordinary prince. He is the ideal knight, who steadfastly defends the weak, pursues the truth and remains faithful to his love. He is also the ideal nobleman, who cares for his subject and excels at both governing and pursuing artistic endeavors.

Read also: Great Indonesian literature: Tales of Panji

Moreover, Panji is credited with creating the first Javanese theater and gamelan orchestra as well as forging the first kris, the iconic wavy dagger that symbolizes gallantry and spirituality in the Javanese tradition. Panji is also known as the protector of batik.

These significances and the fact that Panji has become a shared heritage of Southeast Asia countries was the primary reason behind the ongoing campaign, spearheaded by the National Library (Perpusnas) and former Minister of Education, Wardiman Djojonegoro, to request that UNESCO include the story in its Memory of the World Register.

Gambuh: A photograph taken in the 1930s by prominent ethnomusicologist Colin McPhee shows a Gambuh performance at Sesetan, a village south of Denpasar. (UCLA Ethnomusicologist Archive/File)

The register lists documentary heritage recommended by the International Advisory Committee, and endorsed by the Director-General of UNESCO, as corresponding to the selection criteria regarding world significance and outstanding universal value. The decision on Panjis inclusion on the list is expected to be made later this year.

Panji is unique because it was created in East Java and was not influenced by Mahabharata and Ramayana, and later on was adopted and assimilated by other regions, Wardiman said, referring to the two great Hindu epics that heavily influenced the archipelagos political and cultural landscape prior to the emergence of Islam.

Art scholar Prof. I Made Bandem, who presented a paper on Panji during a seminar on Indonesian literature in 2015 in Berlin, supported the campaign, stating that to a certain extent Panji is the nations cultural father figure for his attributed role in inventing gamelan, kris and batik, as well as its own, indigenous superhero.

Panji is a superhero most importantly because he is a character who was born in the pre-Hindu times and has survived the Hindu, Islam and post-independence eras of this country, he said.

The ways the character influenced and was influenced by the values and norms of different eras without compromising its core traits of righteousness and fidelity to a large extent mirror the journey of this archipelagic nation, which for centuries has embraced foreign influences and transformed them into its own rich and diverse culture that stays faithful to its core values.

Rare: A character from a Wayang Klitik wooden puppet show, which in the past was one of the primary art forms for telling the Panji stories. (Treasures of the National Museum Jakarta/File)

Drawing on the multitude of research carried out by influential scholars, such as Poerbatjaraka, AJ Bennet Kempers, Fritz A. Wagner, S.O. Robson and Mantle Hood, Bandem said that the likely origin of the Panji story went back as far as the early Indonesian oral tradition of the kidung, when in pre-Hindu times magical songs and history were carried by singing bards. These early traditions were pushed into the background by Hindu influences in the 8thand 9th centuries, which resulted in a courtly, written literary style.

The prominence of the Panji story became well established by the 14thcentury during Majapahit times in East Java in the form of the literary kidung. From there it is possible that it spread to Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, Bali, Central Java, West Java and the other islands of Indonesia, he said.

Kidung is an indigenous poetic form better suited to the Javanese language than other poetic forms imported from India, which used Sanskrit-based kawi.Panji stories never use kawi and instead use the Jawa Tengahan language.

Names of places and characters in Panji stories bear similarities with the ones mentioned in Pararaton (Book of Kings), a semi historical account of the rise of two actual kingdoms in East Java  Singasari and Majapahit. Moreover, names and episodes from Panji stories are also found in several inscriptions and ancient reliefs.

Longing: A Legong dancer portrays the sadness of the princess upon learning about her separation from the prince. (JP/I Wayan Juniarta)

There are innumerable versions of the Panji story found in Java, including Kuda Narawangsa, Angron Akung, Panji Cakel Wanengpati, the Serat Kanda[] the differences from one to another are minor and the principal theme is always the same, Bandem said.

These stories have been passed through the generations mainly via traditional performing arts. In Central Java they have been passed down through the Wayang Gedog shadow puppets, the nearly extinct Wayang Kelitik wooden puppets, and the Wayang Topeng masked dance drama. In West Java, Panji stories have reached the masses through Wayang Orang and Topeng Babakanmasked dance dramas.

In Bali, Panji stories have become the backbone of some of the islands most important performing arts, including Gambuh, a dance drama revered as the mother of all Balinese dances, Arja opera and Legong Keraton, arguably one of the most beautiful and complicated Balinese dances.

Panji narrates both personal and universal struggles that any modern person can relate to and in this context we would be very happy if the world embraced it as our shared heritage, Bandem said.
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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, August 10 2017

The police have arrested five out of seven suspects allegedly involved in the mob killing of a man accused of stealing in Babelan district, Bekasi, West Java.

An angry mob beat Muhammad Azahra, 30, and burned him to death after he was thought to have stolen an amplifier from a mosque.

Bekasi Police chief Sr. Comr. Asep Adi Saputra said officers had arrested AL, AR, SD, SU and NA after questioning witnesses.

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Cass County authorities havent ruled out foul play in the death of a woman whose body was found Saturday in the woods near Weeping Water.

"We really want to know why and how this happened, and what circumstances led up to that, (so) we're not jumping to conclusions in where we go with it," said Cass County Sheriff Chief Deputy Brad Lahm.

He said the sheriffs department doesnt believe there is a threat to the public, but still doesn't know exactly what happened.

"We do lots of coroner (investigations), and this one's got a few curveballs, Lahm said Wednesday.

Investigators have not yet made a positive identification on the woman, who they believe is in her 30s and not from the area, he said. They are working with law enforcement outside the county to try to confirm her ID.

Decomposition of her body suggested she had been where she was found for several days, he said.

The chief deputy said he hopes officials can confirm her identity and notify her family by week's end.

Results from an autopsy conducted Monday in Omaha are pending, Lahm said.

The body was discovered Saturday night in a wooded area west of the town of 1,000. Lahm declined to say who found it or how it was reported.

Sheriff's deputies needed help from the county's emergency management agency to access the remote scene. Emergency management provided ATVs to reach the area and lighting to help investigators, Lahm said.

It's the kind of death investigation that's rare but not altogether unheard of in Cass County, he said.

A boy discovered a human skull off a trail near Camp Carol Joy Holling in June. The skull has been sent to a lab in Kansas for an anthropologist to examine.

In 1992, mushroom hunters discovered the remains of Mary Cronin in a wooded area northwest of South Bend. Her murder remains unsolved.
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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Hagatna, United States  Thu, August 10, 2017 15:40 1920 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97ac2dd5d 2 World North-Korea,US,missile,Nuclear,Guam,defense Free

Guam's governor on Thursday said the US territory was "well-equipped" to handle any North Korean strike thanks to robust infrastructure that had survived earthquakes and typhoons, after Pyongyang released a detailed plan to launch missiles towards the island.

A drumbeat of threats by North Korea over the years has fostered a sense of resilience among the island's 162,000 inhabitants, whose lives are deeply intertwined with the US military, which has 6,000 troops based there.

Guam Governor Eddie Calvo said the remote Pacific island was accustomed to being a target ever since Washington placed military installations there.

"We have to understand that even in a million-to-one scenario we have to be prepared with Guam being what it has been for decades, an American territory with strategic military assets in place in a very dynamic region.

"We are prepared for any eventuality, more so than any other American community," he said.

He did not elaborate on Guam's defences but the island houses two US military installations, and is also armed with a sophisticated weapons system known as THAAD, which can destroy short, medium and intermediate-range missiles in their final phase of flight.

"The way our infrastructure is built -- an 8.3 earthquake a decade ago, powerful typhoons -- they are well-equipped to coordinate both pre-event and also post-event," he said.

Hours earlier, as North Korea's war of words with US President Donald Trump intensified, Pyongyang said it was developing a plan to launch four intermediate-range missiles towards the Pacific island.

In Guam's capital Hagatna, residents were unruffled by Pyongyang's rhetoric.

"If it's going to happen it's going to happen," Loiue Joyce, a woman in her mid-20s, said of the North Korean threat, as she enjoyed a day of shopping.

"Scary? Yes, but what can we do? We live on a small island. There's really nowhere to hide if the attack were to happen."
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, August 10, 2017 13:20 1920 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97ac284ab 1 National ICMI,JimlyAsshiddiqie,haj,haj-fund,BPKH-Haj-Fund-Management-Agency,BPKH,#Haj,infrastructure Free

The Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals Association (ICMI) has supported the government's initiative to invest some of Rp 96 trillion (US$7.2 billion) of the haj fund in infrastructure projects.

ICMI chairman Jimly Assiddique said infrastructure projects were a safe investment and profitable.

"The government's infrastructure projects are impossible to cause losses, such as the construction of toll roads. It has to be a safe investment, and infrastructure is the safest," the former Constitutional Court chief justice told reporters in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Read also: Indonesia aims to have world largest haj fund in 10 years

He also supported the establishment of the Haj Fund Management Agency (BPKH), which has been given the authority to manage the fund.

"The establishment of the BPKH is mandated by the 2014 Haj Law to manage the fund, which had so far been stuck and used for nothing," Jimly added.

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo inaugurated seven supervisors and managers of the BPKH last month, with Yuslam Fausi acting as the head of the supervisors.

The Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals Association (ICMI) chairman Jimly Assiddique says investing some of the Rp 96 trillion (US$7.2 billion) of haj funds in infrastructure projects is safe and profitable. (Shutterstock/File)

With the establishment of the BPKH, the entire haj fund management, previously handled by the Religious Affairs Ministry, was transferred to the agency.

According to the law, one of the agency's duties is to invest the money in five forms of investment, including in banking, gold, securities and direct investment. (yon/bbs)
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Linkedin Moses Ompusunggu (The Jakarta Post) Makassar  Thu, August 10, 2017 18:47 1920 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97ac36e04 1 National Russia,China,LAPAN,space-station,morotai,Biak,spaceport Free

Indonesia is eyeing the possibility of cooperation with China and Russia to support the government's ambition to set up its first-ever satellite-launch station, National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN) chairman Thomas Djamaluddin said on Thursday.

He said Indonesia would also talk with other countries with vast experience in aeronautics such as Japan, South Korea and India to support the project.

Morotai in Maluku and Biak in Papua are the strongest candidates as locations for the project given their proximity to the Pacific Ocean, according to LAPAN.

"The countries are active in aeronautics activities," Thomas said at the 2017 Ritech Expo venue in the Central Point of Indonesia complex in Makassar, South Sulawesi. The exhibition is a side event of the 22nd National Technology Awakening Day held in the largest city of Sulawesi.

Read also: LAPAN warns more space debris may fall in Sumatra

Thomas claimed that China was the only country that had shown an interest in supporting the project. But he stopped short and said "Indonesia would reach out to all [countries]."

The agency has yet to estimate the timeline of the project or estimated cost. But it has set a target of Indonesia having its own satellite-launch station before 2040.

In 2012, then Russian ambassador to Indonesia Alexander A. Ivanov said Moscow had a keen interest in the idea of developing a satellite-launch station in Biak.

LAPAN currently operates a rocket-launch station in Garut, West Java, which has been active since 1965. (bbs)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, August 10, 2017 13:09 1920 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97ac26cde 1 Business WaskitaKarya,Trans-Java,toll-road,on-sale Free

State-owned construction company PT Waskita Karya plans to sell nine sections of the Trans-Java toll road to fund other toll road projects.

The company will sell the toll road sections to raise immediate funds, Waskita Karya president director Muhammad Choliq said in Jakarta on Wednesday. Other options, such as through initial public offering (IPO), will take too much time, he added.

Choliq revealed that 14 companies had already expressed interest in buying the toll road sections, including state-owned toll road operator PT Jasa Marga, diversified conglomerate PT Astra International and a number of foreign investors.

The tender will start this month and close by the end of September, Choliq said.

While he did not mention the going price, he said the company would try to make as much profit as possible through the sale.

Waskita is currently building 1,260 kilometers of toll roads worth Rp 110 trillion (US$8.24 billion). The government requires the projects to be finished by 2019.

The Trans-Java Toll Road runs from Merak Port in Banten to Banyuwangi in East Java and spans more than 1,000 kilometers. About half of the toll road is in operation.

The toll road sections up for sale include the Kanci-Pejagan, Pejagan-Pemalang, Pemalang-Batang, Batang-Semarang, Pasuruan-Probolinggo, Solo-Ngawi and Ngawi-Kertosono sections. (dis/bbn)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, August 10, 2017 15:03 1920 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97ac2b841 1 Business PT-Garam,BPPT,salt-factory,NTT,Luhut-Binsar-Pandjaitan Free

State-owned salt company PT Garam has expressed its agreement to develop a salt factory using technology invented by the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) to produce about 500,000 tons of salt per year.

The company needs Rp 1.8 trillion (US$134.89 million) in funds to develop the factory.

PT Garam has expressed its readiness [to develop the factory]. They say they will seek a bank loan, said BPPT head Unggul Priyanto in Jakarta on Wednesday, as reported by tempo.co.

Previously, Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan said the government would develop salt fields and factories on 5,000 hectares of idle land in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) to address the scarcity of the commodity.

According to the BPPT, NTT, West Nusa Tenggara and South Sulawesi were ideal places to introduce the technology, because they offered large stretches of land and experienced low rainfall.

Previously, PT Garam president director said his company was managing salt fields on 400 ha of land in Bipolo village, Kupang regency, since 2016. He said his company would be ready to manage another 3,800 ha of land in NTT for salt factories.

Meanwhile, the head of the National Land Agencys office in NTT, Josias Benyamin Lola, said all of the 22 regencies in the province had great potential to develop salt fields.

Unggul explained that the BPPT would offer its technology, which shakes up seawater to increase salt levels before it flows into reservoirs, where drying facilities are located. (bbn)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Japan News/ANN) Tokyo  Thu, August 10, 2017 21:28 1920 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97ac3760e 2 World #Japan,#ForeignDiplomacy,#ForeignMinistry,#TaroKono Free

Foreign Minister Taro Kono made his presence felt on his first overseas trip since taking the position last week. In fluent English, Kono exchanged opinions with other foreign ministers and distinguished himself on several occasions, including with an off-the-cuff counterargument to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Although Kono has made a solid start, however, the diplomatic arena contains many pending issues  and producing good results will not be easy.

On Tuesday evening, Kono wrapped up his series of meetings, including with foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Plus Three countries in the Philippines, and took a chartered flight to Nagasaki.

On Wednesday, he attended the annual memorial ceremony to commemorate the victims of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, where he spoke English with dignitaries including Lassina Zerbo, executive secretary of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization.

Kono worked as an intern for a member of the US House of Representatives, and is widely regarded as the most accomplished English speaker in Japanese political circles. During his recent visit to the Philippines, he held talks with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson without the help of an interpreter.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wanted Kono to bring his energy and ability into full play. Living up to these expectations, Kono initiated and held a press conference Monday for foreign media outlets.

On Sunday, Kono also chatted with his North Korean counterpart, Ri Yong Ho, at an event attended by the foreign ministers of each attending nation.

During Konos talks with Wang, the Chinese foreign minister said he was disappointed by Konos remarks at the meeting of foreign ministers from member countries of the East Asia Summit framework. Kono shot back, China needs to learn how to behave as a major country.

However, Kono has also been careless on occasion. The front page of Tuesdays edition of the Global Times, a Chinese newspaper, carried a photo of Kono bowing as he shook Wangs hand. This caused some furrowed brows in the Japanese government.

Its a tactic by the paper that gives the impression China is higher in rank than Japan, an aide to the prime minister said. He acted carelessly.

Despite this, a senior government official said of Kono: Hes made a good start. If he continues to develop in this role, he could be a candidate to become prime minister.

Kono has a packed schedule of diplomatic meetings, including the so-called two-plus-two meeting of the Japanese and US foreign and defense ministers due to be held in Washington on Aug. 17. The situation surrounding North Korea is becoming increasingly tense. Japan is dealing with issues involving China in the East China and South China seas, and the comfort women issue and other matters with South Korea. The tests of Konos diplomatic skills look set to continue.

Topics :

This article appeared on The Japan News newspaper website, which is a member of Asia News Network and a media partner of The Jakarta Post
A courtly, romantic tale from ancient Java is on its way to being recognized as part of the worlds heritage.

It was the love story that shaped the Javanese versions of chivalry and noblesse oblige. Its beauty and message have been immortalized in songs, poems and dances that are still performed today in Java and Bali. Its influence has spread beyond the borders of the archipelago into Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia and even India.

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Linkedin Dylan Amirio (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, August 11 2017

French new wave band Phoenix is a band that has stayed consistent in bringing charm and cheer to a musical landscape that has since been ravaged by social justice problems and a pessimistic overall mindset.

The 20-year-old French band, Phoenix, is coming fresh off of releasing their latest album Ti Amo, which is a cavalcade of candied summery sounds, amorous lyrics and sunny atmosphere.



Inspiration for the album came from summers on the Italian coast and a desire to create a positive world view amidst the tensions in France over the past few years.



Musically, the band sees the album as a simple and pure one, distant from the complexities of their last album, Bankrupt!, released in 2013. What makes Phoenix stand out from their French peers is the way that they manage to maintain their optimism above all.



Phoenixs albums have not lost any of its charm. On each, listeners can hear a band that is content in their camaraderie as friends and artists, evolving together and delivering an inclusive experience with their listeners.



Since 2009s Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, the epic album that really elevated the bands name to a loftier place, Phoenix seems to deliver their albums as events that the world should take part in, alongside the band.



Bankrupt! was rolled out in a broad and encompassing fashion, with things such as Spotify commentary tracks and much-hyped previews of their songs. Bankrupt! took them around the world in its corresponding tour, including a 2014 gig in Jakarta, where they had also played back in 2009.



Phoenix guitarist Christian Mazzalai has fond moments of the bands visits to Jakarta.



The 2014 concert was especially memorable for being set outside in the middle of incredibly heavy rains. Despite being forced to rush through their set and their equipment getting wetter by the second, Mazzalai said it was still one of their best shows ever.

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Linkedin Mech Dara (The Phnom Penh Post/ANN) Phnom Penh  Thu, August 10, 2017 17:53 1920 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97ac34f79 2 SE Asia #cambodia,#SouthChinaSea,#SouthChinaSeaDispute,#ASEAN,#ASEAN-China Free

Cambodia Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn on Wednesday defended the governments stance on the disputed South China Sea, saying the country had acted in an independent and neutral manner at the recent ASEAN Foreign Ministers meeting in Manila, despite accusations that the Kingdom had helped water down a communique addressing Chinas territorial ambitions in contested waters.

An impasse was broken late on Sunday night when the communique  a joint declaration from the member states  was passed. Despite calling for non-militarisation in the South China Sea and raising concerns about land reclamation, the statement did not insist on a legally binding code of conduct for managing the area, as Vietnam had pushed for.

Sokhonn attempted to equate the drafting of joint statements to making soup, where he said each country would like to add their own ingredients but that in the end the soup had to be palatable to all ASEAN member states. But when the one who likes chili and puts a lot of chili, what about the country who does not like chili, should they agree with it? The Vietnamese had requested a lot of words to be strong, he said.

This is not the first time Cambodia has been accused of sacrificing regional cooperation on behalf of China. In 2012, as chair of the ASEAN meet, Cambodia helped kill a similar statement on the South China Sea and for the first time in its 45-year history the body failed to issue a joint statement after a foreign ministers meeting.

[Critics] like to use the weak country as a sandbag for them to punch because the sandbag cannot respond, Sokhonn said.

Topics :

This article appeared on the Rasmei Kampuchea Daily newspaper website, which is a member of Asia News Network and a media partner of The Jakarta Post
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Linkedin (Pesona Indonesia) Jakarta  Thu, August 10, 2017 13:32 1920 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97ac28ab4 2 News Tourism-Ministry-Pesona-Indonesia,tourism-ministry-wonderful-Indonesia,Baliem-Valley-Cultural-Festival,world-record Free

The ongoing Baliem Valley Cultural Festival (FBLB) currently held in Baliem Valley, the Jayawijaya Mountains from August 8 to 11 has broken national and world records for the throwing of more than 1,359 sege (traditional spear).

Sege is a war instrument made of wood and has the length of 2.5 meters and the diameter between 5 to 7 meters. The spear is usually painted in black but some tribes decorate it with white and red colors. For hunting purposes, the spearhead is smeared with poison, however, all spears for the festival were painted in black with the tip of the spearhead were made less sharp and poisonless.

Read also: Jokowi's Madam Tussaud wax figure to wear batik

This Sege-throwing activity made it into the national record number 3344/ORI/Agustus/2017 that was signed by Agung Elvianto and World Record Holders Republic (RHR) that has the main office in London. These records were given to Jayawijaya administration for the throwing of 1,000 sege that was done simultaneously, said Jayawijaya tourism department head Alpius Wetipo.

Throughout the 28 years, FBLB has been held, this is the first time the spear-throwing activity is included in the festival.

A total of 1,359 men took part in the activity that attracted around 50,000 tourists. Only men were allowed to participate, however the total of men from the 14 participating districts were less than 1,000, the committee then decided to allow tourists to participate as well.

Themed 'Art of Dance & War', the festival showcases the Papuan war tradition and traditional dances including the War Dance. Some of the Papuan tribes such as Dani, Yali and Yani are taking part in the festival where they will perform a mock tribal war battle. (asw)
Nancy Hicks Reporter Nancy Hicks reports on Lincoln city government, but shes been following the leaders of local and state government for more than 40 years. Follow Nancy Hicks Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today

The University of Nebraska expects to pay Lincoln more than $50,000 for the work of city police officers on home gamedays, based on a contract for that work.

Gamedays are a partnership between UNL and the city police, said Chief Jeff Bliemeister.

The police direct traffic in the downtown area before and after a game, on the citys dime.

But in between they head to Memorial Stadium, where they help UNL police with security, and thats on the universitys dime.

NU pays the overtime pay rate plus the cost of employee benefits for each officer, so NU reimburses the city for actual costs, Bliemeister said.

Because of security concerns, Bliemeister will not say exactly how many off-duty officers are called in for game days. But officers are not allowed to take home game days off, except for limited reasons.
That did not take long. Just hours after State Sen. Daniel Squadron announced his resignation, there are already concerns about the process for selecting his successor. One of those raising concerns is Squadron himself.

The Democratic Party will choose a nominee, not in an open primary, but through its county committees in Manhattan and Brooklyn (Squadrons 26th Senate District snakes through parts of both boroughs). There will then be a general election in November. According to the rules, Brooklyn could be excluded altogether. Today Squadron sent a letter to Keith Wright, chair of the New York County Democratic Committee, and Frank Seddio, chair of the Kings County Democratic Committee.

Unfortunately, the process for filling a state legislative seat in this case is not what it should be: a nonpartisan special election, wrote Squadron. The senator has proposed legislation along these lines, but the bill has not become law. In the interest of fairness, he urged the chairs to, make this process as democratic as possible and to allow a full vote of the County Committee across both Manhattan and Brooklyn, and to be bound by its result.

Earlier in the day, NY1 reporter Zack Fink says he was told by Wright that he intended to speak with Seddio this evening about coordinating the vote. So Squadron may get his wish.

This afternoon, Crains reported the following:

The process to replace (Squadron) involves obscure mechanisms that could empower old allies of Sheldon Silver, whose corruption scandal cost him the Assembly speakership two years ago Voters do not decide who runs on each political partys ballot line in such an election. That determination is made by each partys county committee, a panel of insiders typically elected unopposed and unseenand in the case of Democrats usually affiliated with a local Democratic club. Their pick will essentially determine Squadrons successor because the district is heavily Democratic County committee members from Silvers Harry Truman Democratic Club will have a say in filling Squadrons post. However, because the Senate district is larger than the Assembly turf and incorporates parts of Brooklyn, they will not be the only voice.

Well be waiting for a formal announcement from the county chairs. One key issue: when the county committees will meet. If they gather before the Democratic Primary on Sept. 12, the makeup of the electors will obviously be different than it would be following the primary.

As we reported earlier, Assemblyman Brian Kavanagh has already announced hes running for Squadrons seat. This afternoon, we asked Squadron whether he would be making an endorsement. The senator responded by saying that today he is only focused on speaking with constituents throughout his district and explaining his decision to step down.

Well have more from our interview with Sen. Squadron tomorrow on The Lo-Down.

UPDATE 8/10: We spoke last night with Paul Newell, a local district leader who ran unsuccessfully for the Lower East Side assembly seat last year. Newell says hes considering running for state senator, but he will wait to make a formal decision until after party leaders have decided how the selection process will be handled. Newell said hes confident of support from two political clubs  Downtown Independent Democrats and Lower East Side Democrats. That support will be critical at the county committee.

Squadron Letter: County Committee Process by The Lo-Down on Scribd
A California man who duped a Lincoln restoration shop out of thousands of dollars for a specialty engine he didn't deliver was sentenced to prison Wednesday.

Steven D. Shaull, 60, of Anaheim, California, was sentenced to two years in prison after pleading no contest to theft by deception of $1,500 to $5,000 in June.

State investigators said Shaull advertised a 426 Hemi crate engine on eBay and agreed to sell it to Restore a Muscle Car in 2015.

After the business sent him $11,500, Shaull never sent it the engine it needed to restore a 1971 Plymouth Barracuda, the company's owner and investigators said.

He also never refunded the money the restoration shop sent him, investigators said.

The Department of Motor Vehicles investigator who worked the case suspected the Lincoln shop was one of many would-be buyers nationwide who lost money trying to buy Shaull's engine.

Arrested last August, Shaull ultimately entered a plea in exchange for a reduced felony theft charge.

After his release, Shaull must serve one year of post-release supervision.
Recent outrage at the gender wage gap for BBC presenters has resulted in many other industries being put under scrutiny.

And as it so happens, a further look into the British

modelling industry has illuminated some quite unexpected statistics.

Despite women in the US generally earning far less than their male counterparts, it has recently been disclosed that

female models earn a whopping 75% more than male models.

Cara Delevingne was revealed to be the highest earner, raking in a huge 8 million a year, with Rosie Huntington- Whiteley taking second place with her 6.5 million wage slip

and Kate Moss not far behind at 5 million per year, despite previously holding the top spot.

Such statistics would surely have us believe that the fashion and modelling industry is one where women do not face any kind of discrimination in the workplace. The only industry, where female pay comes out above the men. But all is not as it seems.

Even in the fashion world, the very top positions continue to be held by males, with women holding just 1.7% of CEO roles.

In fact, there are no women listed in the top 20 highest paid fashion executives- even luxury designer brand, Chanel, which is known for being traditionally female, is now headed by a man.

It should also be noted that this kind of gender discrimination occurs in the fashion design industry too. Most of the big names that come to mind (think Mark Jacobs, Christian Dior, Christian Louboutin etc) are all men, acting as proof that even in a workplace that was viewed as female, women still dont seem to be as successful as men in terms of fashion design and executive positions.

Fashion designer, Tom Ford, seems to think he knows why, stating, "when women design for other women, they proceed from a standpoint of practicality- not fantasy" , suggesting male fashion design seems to be more valuable and high art than that of a female designer, who tend to create more practical and wearable clothing pieces.

Jul 8, 2017 at 7:01am PDT The caged Roxy bucket bag. A post shared by ALEXANDER WANG (@alexanderwangny) on

Of course, there are still some very successful female fashion designers, Vivienne Westwood, Miuccia Prada and Stella McCartney for example.

But, all in all, its evident that gender discrimination is still more than prevalent in the creative and business side of the fashion world. And in any case, is the wage gap for female models really something we should be celebrating as a victory?


With the latest in the Conjuring franchise set to hit cinemas this weekend, David F. Sandberg tells us all about what it was like working with demonic dolls, nervous cast members, and putting his stamp on the Annabelle universe.

Working predominantly in short film before hitting big screens last year in his directorial debut, this is the second time that Sandberg time ever has graced a Hollywood set  the first being for his own adapted short piece Lights Out. His explosive trajectory as a big-budget horror director is impressive to say the least, with a style thats all his own and an enthusiasm for creating creepy stories thats impossible to emulate.

Of his transition to Hollywood, Sandberg stated: Im enjoying it! My first movie was very daunting just because I had only made zero budget shorts before; Id never been on a film set, and Id never been to film school you know? Then all of a sudden they let me direct a Hollywood movie and I put all this pressure on myself. I was telling myself this better be awesome, and this is my one shot at Hollywood.

On Annabelle: Creation, Id already made my first movie and now I knew more how things worked, I didnt have that same pressure. On this one, it was just a lot of fun  you get to work with such talented people and you can do all these things that would just be impossible to do in the world of short film.

Sandberg still takes inspiration from his past short film works however, utilising Attic Panic in a particularly fraught scene in an abandoned barn. People were telling us that we should make a movie out of Attic Panic, but we felt like theres really not enough story there for a feature film. So instead, I thought I could still recreate parts of it in a feature film... Its alright to steal it if its from yourself!

Annabelle: Creation also served as the first time Sandberg has made a film using an already established franchise, previously making short horror movies from his own creative content. Even though it was a step away from the norm for the director, he didnt find the process restrictive: It was quite freeing  its a very different movie, especially to the first Annabelle The only things that James Wan wanted was to make sure we had these references to The Nun and the universe at large.

With the next instalment, The Nun, coming to cinemas next year, its understandable that Wan wanted the franchise to remain as interconnected as possible. On collaborating with the man with a huge modern horror monopoly, Sandberg began with: Yeah  I mean, Im just a fan. Arent we all? Since the first Conjuring Ive been a big fan of his, its pretty amazing that a just few years since I saw it I would get to do my own set in its own universe!

Amazing as it is, the Conjuring franchise does come with its own drawbacks. Well, one drawback  a potentially haunted set. The previous films have infamously had strange goings-on occurring throughout filming, with enough circumstantial evidence to get even the most hardy cast members feeling a little uneasy. Sandberg remained much more level headed during the filming of Annabelle: Creation, but the same cant be said of Stephanie Sigman, aka Sister Charlotte:

Im not personally a believer in the supernatural and stuff like that. I dont get freaked out by that  it was more the cast. Stephanie was like I dont want to touch that doll, shes too creepy! Then she heard that on The Conjuring one and two they had the set blessed by a priest, and she was like we need to do that on this movie. So we did! We had a priest come in and bless the set and then she was more okay with touching the doll  even though she never really felt quite comfortable with it. Looking at the inherent creepiness of the Annabelle doll, I dont really blame her.

Of what scares Sandberg himself, he said: I mean its just a fear of the unknown in general. Looking back at the shorts that Ive made and sort of analysing them, I realised that they all are about a person who thinks they are alone, and then realises theyre not. So I guess thats something that scares me  being in a place and being like okay theres some sort of presence here and Im not actually alone.

As with his latest Annabelle film and Lights Out, these presences more often than not come in the form of an impossibly dark, inhuman silhouette. To create this personified fear of the unknown, Sandberg mused on the process: Just try to have as little detail as possible, just try to have that darkness. The more darkness you have, the more you let your mind fill in the blanks. You feel what you imagine will be worse than whatever we can come up with on set. Theres a couple of transformation scenes in the dark that particularly play on this concept, and I can confirm  Sandberg will use your imagination against you in the worst way.

Theres plenty more to come from the director, with Shazam! being next on the list. A step away from the world of horror and one into the land of comics, its another chance for imaginative manipulation  but this time in the form of a young boy who can change into a superhero at will.

Im entirely sure this isnt the last we will see of Sandbergs horror work however  with Lights Out in talks for a sequel and a slew of shorts begging for a feature release, theres plenty more scares on the table for the Swedish scare pro. For now however, there's Annabelle: Creation, which is more than enough fright to keep audiences going for a few years yet.



Annabelle: Creation is out in cinemas on the 11th August 2017.
Would LOVE everyones thoughts on this. My friends cafe in #Brunswick, Handsom Her - is for women by women AND an has a 18% gender tax! pic.twitter.com/tVSX3PO4q8  Paige Cardona (@paigecardona) August 3, 2017

world

theory

The surcharge is intended to represent the 18% pay gap between men and women in professional roles across Australia, a statistic which is further applicable within the UK. While some have praised the cafe for reflecting real world issues, others have been critical to note that it is unfair and sexist to impose such rules. Without insight, yes, asking men to pay more for their food and drinks is unfair and placing them in a position where they are considered to be of lower social importance than women is discriminatory upon gender. Though the surcharge is only in place for one week each month and is not compulsory (with these profits being donated to charity), it is right to consider such a rule unfair. After all, why should you have to pay more if you are a man and why do women deserve these special rights? However, this is entirely the point. This small cafe in Australia has become a microcosm; a miniature variation, with the characteristics of something much larger, of the workingreversed. In the working world, women are commonly known to be paid less than men working in the same roles and are often cheated out of opportunities such as promotions based solely upon assumptions made regarding their gender.Here in this small cafe, men get to experience, in a very real and tangible way, how it feels to be a woman in the working world. As such, they can learn and understand from this experience, both how fortunate they are to have such automatic entitlements and how the working environment is discriminatory against genders regardless of skills and capabilities.Though it has long been respectively common knowledge that women are often paid less than men for doing the same work, little change has developed over the years and taking a fresh approach to the issue may be what needs doing. We know the pay gap exists, but what often is ignored, is the impact that wage differences have on the lifestyles of men and women. It can be argued that, for both genders, there is a clear difference between the interpretation of a goods value in association with disposable income. Each month, many women will receive less in their pay checks than men. Although the goods are the same price for both genders, inwomen will pay for them out of a higher percentage of their salaries than men, making everyday goods more expensive for women than their male counterparts. Handsome Her have looked beyond the obvious statistic to encourage both men and women alike to consider the negative impact pay differences are having upon livelihoods for no logical reason. Overall, Handsome Her have brought to light the issues of gender inequality in the workplace deliberately in a way which is unfair and discriminates against men. They do so with the overall aim of getting men and the wider world to understand the very real impact workplace discrimination has upon womens careers and livelihoods. Though with an approach that may be considered by some to be radical, it is a necessary step for advancements of female rights in the workplace.
A survey carried out by The Sutton Trust has revealed that the percentage of young people planning to go to university is at its lowest for eight years.

The survey, which involved 2,881 students aged 11-16 across the UK, found that the likelihood that students felt they would attend university has fallen, whilst concerns regarding student debt have risen.

Financial worries appear to be the main reason for the drop as the study goes on to reveal that both the percentage of those who stated worries about tuition fees and paying back loans has increased, as has the number of low-income households, who said they had no interest in attending university.

The Sutton Trust revealed that the percentage of young people who stated they are interested in going into higher education was at its lowest since 2009, with 2017s figures showing 74% of those surveyed being either very or fairly likely to go to university. This figure is down from the Trusts recorded high of 81% in 2013 and further down from last years survey, which recorded 77%.

Despite the fact the percentage of students looking to attend university but are harbouring worries about the cost has been decreasing in recent years, it has shot back up to 51% this time around. This further shows how the huge cost of attending university is significantly affecting young peoples mindset when it comes to making a decision on higher education.

The Trust left two recommendations for the government to consider in order to improve the figures, including a call to reform the student funding system, enabling poorer students to face lower costs, and also for students to be ensured a fair deal on loan repayments.
university

The study,, investigated how much it costs parents to properly provide for their children whilst theyre at university and found that the amount of money is far higher than many may have thought. At almost 300 a month, one in five parents that were surveyed concluded that university wasnt worthwhile for their children with only one in seven saying that they could cover their childs costs in full. Aviva found that 43% of parents said their child was in paid work whilst at university and another 42% said that their child worked during the holidays. Parents believe this to be an issue as 37% of those who took part in the survey felt that working whilst athad a negative impact on their childs studies. These statistics, which included the fact that students could find themselves with up to 44,000 worth of debt come graduation, mean it's hardly surprising that parents are struggling to give their children the financial support they need. The Customer Director for Aviva, Louise Colley, suggested that parents could prepare themselves for the possibility of funding university in the future by saving even small regular amounts throughout the child's life. A third of parents who took part in the study stated their intention to support their child in paying off their student debts but only one in ten said that they could pay off their childs debts entirely. These figures further suggest that university is becoming increasingly expensive for families, whilst the students themselves are having to sacrifice the overall quality of their degree by working in an attempt to cover the cost of studying in the first place.
1/ In Defense of Rachel and Joey: A Thread  kaneandgriffin (@kaneandgriffin) August 8, 2017

Name the TV show plot line that you're still angry about. Mine? Rachel/Joey.  Juliet Mushens (@mushenska) August 7, 2017

being

I always thought I was against Joey & Rachel but this phenomenal thread is a GAME CHANGER https://t.co/leUZk1QY5C  Kitty (@redlemonader) August 8, 2017

I went into this very sceptically but now I feel like my eyes have been OPENED. https://t.co/IHCYbW01KC  Amy Jones (@jimsyjampots) August 9, 2017

This thread has changed my life https://t.co/jXGY8I5vhn  Amy Elizabeth (@amy__liz) August 8, 2017

This is magic! my eyes feel suddenly so open https://t.co/rYl2BOpcxK  susieblues (@susieblues) August 8, 2017

This is the best series of tweets I have ever read, I am SCREAMING IN AGREEMENT. When they just sit and hold each other at the restaurant  The Quibbler Podcast (@quibblerpodcast) August 9, 2017

A very fine thread, above and beyond Ross being the absolute Worst. https://t.co/drdiuYbYEA  Alan Sepinwall (@sepinwall) August 8, 2017

This thread is literally the reason Twitter must be cherished. It's sublime and ALL TRUE omg. https://t.co/vHoY14MNg3  Jane Casey (@JaneCaseyAuthor) August 8, 2017

This is the best Friends thread in the history of Twitter https://t.co/uQEdERJAgO  Lauren Ingram (@laureningram) August 8, 2017

Friends Fans. Read this. It's long. Make several brews. So worth it. https://t.co/oO3qST4Dk6  Caroline Hirons (@CarolineHirons) August 9, 2017

This thread is 100 tweets long but my god it's worth it. One of the most important arguments of our time https://t.co/m5KpF3lEtA  Harry Bunting (@HarryBunting1) August 9, 2017

It had been a long time coming, with the two going through heartache and heartbreak. They had tried being together and apart and then drunkenly got married, divorced and had a baby together.But in the run-up to the finale, where Rachel gave up on her potential new life in Paris to be with Ross, there was a flicker of something else: a romance with Joey Tribbiani. Now an epic Twitter thread has defended the Rachel and Joey sub plot and gone as far as to say the duo should have ended up together and, maybe, Ross wasnt Rachels lobster after all.It came after fellow Twitter user Juliet Mushens invited people to name TV plot lines that youre still angry about and declared her pet peeve as Joey and Rachel.Twitter user @Kaneandgriffin compiled an argument worthy of Rosss PhD thesis analysing #TeamJoey and #TeamRoss. And even more immense, she was bringing people around to her way of thinking as the tweets went on. And on. And on. Her first message hit social media at 8.04pm. Her well thought out defence came to a close at 10.32pm. Fans told of the threada game changer and eye-opener for a show that ended more than a decade ago.Should that be best-ever thread?And people did not mind the l-o-n-g thread for an issue so important.Which leaves just one question?
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Opponents of the Keystone XL pipeline will "put our bodies on the line" to block construction if state regulators approve the project, a lead activist said Thursday.

"There would be so much civil disobedience, it would make Standing Rock look like a rehearsal," said Jane Kleeb, founder of Bold Nebraska.

Kleeb spoke after the conclusion of a four-day, courtroom-style hearing by the Nebraska Public Service Commission, which is reviewing whether the proposed pipeline is in the public interest.

Nebraska's approval is one of the final necessary steps before pipeline builder TransCanada can begin turning dirt on the 1,179-mile project.

The five elected commissioners have until Nov. 23 to reach a decision. Their review includes about 20,000 pages of documents and comments from about half a million people who weighed in on the project, either in writing or in person at four public hearings over the summer.

The PSC will continue to accept written comments through Friday afternoon.

Appeals are almost certain, regardless of the commission's decision.

Opponents say the pipeline wouldn't benefit Nebraska and poses too great a risk to the land, cultural sites, wildlife and other natural resources. If anything, they argue, TransCanada should consider a route through the state that closely follows its existing Keystone pipeline.

TransCanada contends it has met the standards required in state law, and that any negative impacts from the Keystone XL would be minimal.

"The preferred route has been studied exhaustively. It's one of the most studied cross-border pipelines in history," said TransCanada spokesman Matt Johns.

"The safety, the environmental merits of this project have been studied at length, and the preferred route has been the route that has been determined to be the safest and most environmentally-responsible route."

The 275-mile portion of the pipeline that would cut through the state would run from Keya Paha County in north-central Nebraska to a pumping station in Steele City, along the Kansas state line. There, it would connect with the existing Keystone pipeline to haul Canadian crude oil from Hardisty, Alberta, to the U.S. Gulf Coast.

The original Keystone tracks farther east, from Cedar County almost directly south to Steele City.

Ken Winston, a lawyer for the Sierra Club and Bold Nebraska, tried Thursday to force TransCanada to provide more data on an alternate route that would closely follow the original Keystone pipeline.

Retired Judge Karen Flowers, presiding over the hearing under contract with the PSC, denied Winston's request.

Flowers also rejected opponents' attempts to block added written testimony by TransCanada, which they argued made substantial changes to the company's original application.

After three full days of lengthy, sometimes intense questioning, the hearing ended before noon Thursday "with a whimper," said Dave Domina of Omaha, an attorney for landowners along the route who oppose the Keystone XL.

The final day focused mainly on how TransCanada and its contractors would avoid disturbing Native American cultural sites that might be located along the pipeline route.

Brad Jolly, a lawyer for the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska, challenged TransCanada consultant Erin Salisbury on how and when the company learned the location of the Ponca Trail of Tears.

The Trail of Tears is the route followed by Ponca Chief Standing Bear and other members of the tribe in 1877 during their forced relocation to Indian Territory in modern-day Oklahoma.

The Keystone XL would cross the trail in two places; there is also a Trail of Tears campsite along the pipeline route.

Salisbury claimed last month in written testimony that the Keystone XL wouldn't impact any known historic properties, but Jolly pointed to maps and emails showing TransCanada knew about the Trail of Tears as early as 2015.

TransCanada handles all cultural sites with "ultimate care," Johns said after the hearing.

Jennifer Baker, a lawyer for the Yankton Sioux Tribe, also voiced concerns about a workforce camp, or "man camp," which could house pipeline workers during construction.

TransCanada has said a camp, if needed, would be about 10 miles northwest of O'Neill, near the Yankton Reservation in South Dakota.

Rick Perkins, logistics manager for Keystone XL, said while pipeline workers are subject to random drug tests, TransCanada hasn't met with local law enforcement along the route in Nebraska and the company doesn't prohibit sex offenders from working on the pipeline.

Like previous days, Thursday's hearing drew a quiet crowd of about 75 people.

Nebraska State Patrol spokesman Cody Thomas thanked attendees for remaining "safe and orderly" this week and during public hearings throughout the summer.

"We hope that that level of dialogue continues," he said.

However, patrol officials are preparing in case protests erupt along the route following the Public Service Commission's decision.

Nebraska sent some of its own troopers to North Dakota last fall when thousands of protesters gathered along the final link of another pipeline, the Dakota Access, near Cannon Ball, North Dakota, and the Standing Rock Indian Reservation.

"We've learned from what happened in North Dakota," Thomas said.

But Nebraska faces an added complication: While the Standing Rock protests were limited to certain locations, anti-pipeline demonstrations here could pop up anywhere along the route.

The Keystone XL apparently died in 2015 after being rejected by then-President Barack Obama. But President Donald Trump revived the project earlier this year as one of his first acts in office.

Nebraska's decision could determine the pipeline's ultimate fate.

Lawyers for TransCanada, its labor union supporters, and landowners, environmental groups and tribes who oppose the Keystone XL will submit closing briefs to the Public Service Commission in writing by Sept. 15.

The judge asked lawyers to keep their briefs no longer than 50 pages, the same length required by the Nebraska Supreme Court.

"You might as well start getting used to those requirements," Flowers said.
SCOTTSBLUFF  Authorities say a passenger jet landed safely in Scottsbluff after losing power in one of its two engines on a flight to South Dakota.

Aerodynamics Inc. says Flight 217 carrying 46 passengers and three crew members set down at Western Nebraska Regional Airport around 6:40 p.m. Wednesday, 70 minutes after its Denver takeoff. The Embraer 145 aircraft was headed for Pierre and then Watertown, South Dakota.

Aerodynamics Chief Operating Officer Mickey Bowman said Thursday that all the passengers used ground transportation to continue their journeys. He said the plane remains at the Scottsbluff airport for repairs.
Bob Allpress figures just about every bird species that migrates through Nebraska flies past his ranch along the Keya Paha River.

In May, he spotted six endangered whooping cranes in a neighbor's cornfield down the road. And from their own land, he and his wife can see a bald eagle nest in a tree across the water.

"It's about the size of a Volkswagen," Allpress said Wednesday.

The nest is about 200 yards from the proposed route of the Keystone XL pipeline, which would cut diagonally through his land, one of the oldest remaining homesteads in north-central Nebraska's Keya Paha County.

Allpress was one of a half-dozen farmers and ranchers who testified against the Keystone XL during the third day of a public hearing before the Nebraska Public Service Commission, which is reviewing whether the route is in the public interest.

The 36-inch, $8 billion oil pipeline would run 1,179 miles from Hardisty, Alberta, to Steele City, Nebraska, where it would connect with the existing Keystone pipeline, carrying Canadian heavy crude to the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Most of Wednesday's testimony focused on how the Keystone XL might impact whooping cranes, as well as sacred Native American burial grounds and artifacts along the route.

In addition to stone tools and arrowheads, officials from the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska have surveyed the Allpress ranch and found depressions from earth lodges, an indicator of long-term settlement in the area, said Shannon Wright, the tribe's historic preservation officer.

But lawyers for TransCanada sought to show that the company follows adequate procedures to protect such sites, and that any impact the Keystone XL might have on whooping cranes and other bird species would be minimal.

Any danger to the cranes would be from new power-transmission lines that would be needed for five pumping stations along the pipeline. Power lines are one of the main killers of migratory birds.

TransCanada says it would need about 20 miles of new transmission lines for the Keystone XL. Environmental groups opposing the project say 60 miles will be necessary.

The risk to the whooping crane population  as few as 400 wild birds worldwide  would be "small" either way, acknowledged Paul Johnsgard, a Lincoln wildlife biologist who testified about the threat to cranes at the request of environmental groups Sierra Club and Bold Nebraska.

Still, Johnsgard said he would oppose any construction of new power transmission lines on a migration route.

Johnsgard, 86, has devoted much of his life to studying whooping cranes, but he admitted under cross examination by TransCanada attorney Jim Powers of Omaha that he reached his conclusions about the Keystone XL without reviewing the companys application or federal reviews of the proposed route.

"You don't know what literature was considered by the people who analyzed this on behalf of Keystone or on behalf of the state of Nebraska or the U.S. government at the time you made this statement, do you?" Powers asked.

"Not specifically," Johnsgard replied, later adding, "No."

TransCanada also challenged a study by University of Nebraska at Omaha lawyer and economist Michael O'Hara that concluded the Keystone XL would hurt property values along the route.

While pipelines can be a magnet for activity in some places, such as near pumping stations, they can act as a physical barrier to development elsewhere along the route, OHara said.

Having a pipeline would also hurt the hedonic value of the land it crosses, OHara determined  that is, the value resulting from owners feelings about living along a pipeline instead of something such as a pond or stream.

TransCanada lawyer Patrick Pepper of Omaha noted that O'Hara's conclusions conflict with those of the U.S. State Department and a consultant hired by the Public Service Commission, who found no negative impact on property values.

Allpress, the rancher, said some value can't be quantified, such as that of the Native American artifacts found on his land.

"They are our history."

The hearing, being held at the Cornhusker Marriott Hotel, is scheduled to continue Thursday with more testimony from TransCanada officials. The Public Service Commission will probably reach a decision in November.
RACINE  The unsettlingly war-like threats between President Donald Trump and North Korea have caused Modine Manufacturing Co. to cancel plans for a public stock offering.

On Wednesday, Racine-based Modine announced it had begun the process of offering 5 million shares of its common stock. It also intended to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to buy up to 750,000 additional shares. That plan had been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 9, and Modine reported it intended to use all of the proceeds of the offering to pay down outstanding debt.

However, on Thursday Modine reversed course with a second announcement that the public stock offering was being terminated.

The termination results from an assessment by the companys management that current equity market conditions are not conducive for an offering on terms that would be in the best interests of the companys shareholders, read a statement from Modine, a $1.5 billion global designer and manufacturer of thermal management technology.

Company Chief Financial Officer Mick Lucareli said Thursday that the face-off currently ongoing between Trump and North Korea led Modine to call off the stock offering.

In the latest, Trump ratcheted up his threats after Pyongyang announced it had a plan to fire missiles near the U.S. territory of Guam; Trump said his previous statements had not been tough enough, despite his threat this week to rain fire and fury upon North Korea if it fired missiles at Guam.

Date for future offering uncertain

Lucareli said much planning had gone into the stock offering. The company had intended to use this window of time to do the offering, following last weeks company earnings report but before late August, when the market typically slows because of summer vacations.

The stock markets had been pretty favorable during the stock offering planning period, Lucareli continued. But what Modine encountered was that the Trump and North Korea situation has created a lot of nervousness in the market. A lot of investors are just sitting on the sidelines.

Rather than sell its stock in this environment and likely watch as it gets underpriced, Modine elected to terminate the offering, Lucareli said.

Its nothing we knew heading into the week, he remarked.

Investors should not hold their breath waiting for Modine to resurrect the stock offering, Lucareli said, because it wouldnt be a possibility for several months. He commented, Well take a long, hard look before we could consider going back out again.
YORKVILLE  While area residents await news about whether Taiwanese giant Foxconn will come to Racine County, another Taiwan-based company has announced it is moving manufacturing operations to Yorkville, just west of Interstate 94.

The Racine County Economic Development Corporation on Wednesday announced that Johnson Health Tech North America plans to relocate its South Milwaukee manufacturing operations to Yorkville and has signed a lease for a 200,000-square-foot facility in the Grandview Business Park at 1333 Grandview Parkway.

Johnson Health Tech North America is a manufacturer of award-winning fitness equipment. Its global management headquarters are based in Taichung, Taiwan, with global product development, marketing and engineering based in Cottage Grove, Wis.

While the move comes at a time when a lot of focus is on Foxconn, its not at all connected to Foxconn, said Jordan Brown, business recruitment specialist for the RCEDC. He said talks about moving Johnson Health Tech stared last fall and the company needed to move because it was time for a new facility.

Johnson Health Tech considered several options before deciding to relocate its South Milwaukee operations to Racine County.

This new location will be home to the companys manufacturing and production of a variety of fitness equipment under several brands.

Johnson Health Tech is committed to investing in Racine County and creating new opportunities for growth, said Howard Launstein, plant controller of Johnson Health Tech North America.

Staffing forecast

When fully staffed, the project is expected to employ 75 people at the Racine County manufacturing location, and possibly more in the future. Launstein said some of the employees will move over from South Milwaukee, but they are already working with the Racine County Workforce Development Center to fill open positions, everything from stock room employees and assemblers to welders and CNC operators. The starting pay is about $12 to $14 and can go up depending on the position.

Johnson Health Tech North America is a great example of a growing company that has found increased value in Racine County, Racine County Executive Jonathan Delagrave said in a release announcing the move. We are pleased that Johnson Health Tech chose to invest here, taking advantage of Racine Countys prime location in the heart of the Chicago-Milwaukee corridor.

Yorkville Town Chairman Peter Hansen also welcomed the new business in a release, saying, Johnson Health Tech North America is a fantastic business and we are pleased they have chosen our community as the center of their manufacturing operations.
Actor Rajkummar Rao, who has featured in intense roles in films like Shahid and Trapped, will be seen dancing for a change in the quirky entertainer Bareilly Ki Barfi. He says he learnt it by looking at actors.

"Like most of the people in small towns, I learned dancing by looking at a lot of actors dancing. That's how I learnt it," Rajkummar said in a statement.

In Bareilly Ki Barfi, the National Award winning actor is playing the role of Pritam Vidrohi, a small town guy.

He gave a dekko of his dancing skills at the launch of the song Twist kamiraya here earlier this week.

The film features Kriti Sanon alongside Rao and Ayushman Khurana.

Written by Dangal writer-director Nitesh Tiwari and Shreyas Jain, the movie is scheduled to release on August 18.

It marks Ashiwny Iyer Tiwari's second film as a director after Nil Battey Sannata.
Book: Maidless in Mumbai

Author: Payal Kapadia

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Pages: 163

Price: Rs 299

There is a life with a maid and then there is another life when the maid abandons your home, turning your life upside down. Nothing, probably, can be more catastrophic than this!

Author Payal Kapadia relates an honest tale that most urban or sub-urban residents can relate to  getting the "dream maid" who understands one's priorities, does all the household work and takes up all the responsibility of maintaining the house. Alas, finding one such can be a difficult task indeed.

Kapadia's book revolves around a career-oriented journalist who has just become a mother and is desperately looking for a maid. The protagonist dreams of a "dream maid", and for that, begins the "interview process".

As the protagonist meets several domestics, she encounters maids whose demand ranges from "three sets of nighties, two towels, two pillowcases, one blanket, shampoo, a separate conditioner, a mobile phone plan, fish twice a week, two hours of afternoon naptime and a Bengali newspaper subscription because in Kolkata, everyone reads the paper. Also, "no kich-kich" as that "makes my head turn!"

Finally, the protagonist has her days of peace because she finds that perfect maid she was looking for  Deepu. But happiness didn't seem to last too long as Deepu abruptly leaves without any notice.

With the maid gone, the author describes her situation as "crying over a lost maid is like sobbing over a skin cell sloughed off during a facial". And then again begins the maid-hunting.

But there is another side of the coin, the grim reality about how the domestics are often exploited and discriminated by the upper classes which the book doesn't touch upon.

Consider the recent incident at an upscale housing society in Noida where a domestic was allegedly beaten up by the residents who caught her stealing money. It ended up in a stone-pelting situation between the society residents and a group of domestics.

Also, a television channel should be told that creating a mockery at the expense of someone who belongs to a less privileged class does not tickle the funny bone.

Finally, is it worth spending hours reading the book?

It is not extraordinary writing. A few pages will give readers a glimpse of what is contained in the rest of the pages. But what saves the book from being criticised is it doesn't mock or humiliate domestics but rather shows how dependent urban lives are on them.
India has withstood many adversities over time and still we all have stood together in unison. There are numerous cultures, languages, traditions and customs yet we have always believed in unity in diversity.

Nonetheless, there have been many events that have paved the way for different ideas of India and given rise to many controversies. Our country has multiplicity across various segments and a way forward is to keep the concord intact.

From mass exodus of Kashmiri Pandits in the year 1990, the violence in Kashmir valley and inflicted dissent between Hindu and Muslim communities, to the current scenario of the nation, where one's patriotism is questioned at each and every step, the nation is going through significant political and social changes.

Highlighting these issues, Nidhi Razdan, a well-known television journalist, has made an attempt to bring to the fore our understanding of India, in the latest book titled Left, Right and Centre: The Idea of India, which is vital for today's time.This book deliberates upon a range of issues that are imperative at this time.

In the wake of 70th year of India's Independence, this book, edited by Razdan, puts together the diverse views of our politicians, activists, artists and academicians, and offers their myriad ideas of our country in the contemporary time.

"Today, the discourse about Kashmir has become part of the neo-nationalism of our times. We say Kashmir belongs to India and yet it is almost as if the rest of India has abandoned the Kashmiri people. There is no attempt to understand their alienation and pain. There is no political outreach. Today's 'nationalist' narrative has only increased the distance between New Delhi and Kashmir. Many Kashmiri Pandits, who have now spent 25 years in exile, want to return home but only if they will be safe. They aren't a big vote bank, so no government has seriously listened to their concerns or acted on them," Razdan writes.

She forthrightly elucidates on the several phenomena that took place recently, such as judgement on standing up for the national anthem in movie halls, mob-lynching on bovine issues, attacks by vigilantes and many more, and also seeks to find out whether we are as a country heading towards the right direction.

In this argumentative book, Razdan writes, "The chestthumping narrative on Kashmir is part of the larger nationalist narrative we are increasingly seeing in India. Today, you have to wear your patriotism on your sleeve.You have to wear it on social media, in television debates, even in the cinema.

To question the government, the courts, the army is to be antinational. To differ is to be unpatriotic. It's my patriotism versus yours. In a country where there are reports of over 30 million cases pending before the courts, it is rather incredible that the Supreme Court had time to pronounce judgements on what constitutes their brand of nationalism." Besides, taking a clear dig at the current government and also on chanting slogans, the editor unabashedly pens down, "Strident nationalism and chants of 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' are now 'the new normal'.

Worship of the cow is 'the new normal'. 'The new normal' is the new world of post truth or 'alternative facts'. To justify drowning out voices of dissent and disagreement by those who can shout louder. 'The new normal' is where the country's largest state is headed by a man whose claim to fame is a hardline Hindutva rhetoric, calling for 'take 100 Muslim girls for one Hindu girl they take'."

Razdan raises pertinent questions that in a way open the door to multifaceted thinking rather than a one-way thinking. She sheds light on questions like, "Is India overshadowed by a monologue? Is there space for alternative views? Or, are we expected to fall in line? And speak in unison? Even after seventy years of independence is India an insecure nation? Do we feel easily threatened by dissent, by slogans because we are inherently insecure? India has weathered many storms and insurgencies in the past seventy years, but with all our problems and warts, we have largely remained a united, thriving, vibrant nation. But I wonder whether we are deeply insecure in our core."

The compelling easy-tounderstand language and the book's significance to the current scenario of India make it an attention-grabbing read. In all there are 12 chapters that give insight into a variety of significant issues and each chapter critically analyses various facets of India.

Eminent people like Yashwant Sinha, Derek O'Brien, Shashi Tharoor, Aruna Roy and Shabana Azmi have contributed to this book.
Japanese tech giant Toshiba incurred a net loss of 965.6 billion yen ($8.7 billion) in the 2016 fiscal year, according to its financial results released on Thursday.

The company released its financial results for the previous fiscal year, which ended on March 31, after having obtained partial approval from its auditors and postponed the announcement on three occasions, reports Efe news.

Toshiba's massive losses and accounting problems in the last financial year have primarily stemmed from the indebtedness of its nuclear power plant division, Westinghouse Electric, in the US, which declared bankruptcy in March, and also caused the Japanese group to be demoted to the second section at the Tokyo Stock Exchange last week.

As a result, Toshiba also incurred a negative net worth of 552.9 billion yen, the company said in the statement.

Despite this, the Japanese conglomerate posted an operating profit of 270.79 billion yen during the 2016 fiscal year, marking a significant rebound compared to 2015 when the company posted almost double the losses.

Sales declined 5.5 per cent year-on-year to 4.87 trillion yen.

For the current financial year, which will end on March 31, 2018, Toshiba expects to return to profit and register a net profit of 230 billion yen.

The company also estimates that its operating profit would rise to 400 billion yen, a 77.4 percent inter-annual increase, while sales would grow 2 percent to 4.97 trillion yen.

The bankruptcy of Westinghouse Electric propelled Toshiba to begin a process of restructuring  including the sale of its memory chips business, which has also been pushed back and whose terms are being negotiated with a Japanese conglomerate.
A court on Thursday acquitted all the 10 accused in a case relating to a suicide bomb blast at a police building here in 2005.

The Metropolitan Sessions Court acquitted them due to lack of evidence.

A Home Guard was killed and another injured when a suicide bomber from Bangladesh blew himself up at the Task Force office in the high-security Begumpet area on October 12, 2005.

A Special Investigation Team claimed that Harkatul Jihad-e-Islami (HUJI) of Bangladesh was involved in the blast. The suicide bomber was identified as HUJI activist Dalin.

The SIT arrested Mohammed Abdul Zahid, Abdul Kaleem, Shakeel, Syed Haji, Ajmal Ali Khan, Azmat Ali, Mahmood Baroodwala, Shaik Abdul Khaja, Nafees Biswas and Bilaluddin, a Bangladeshi citizen, and filed chargesheets against them.

The SIT also claimed that the masterminds behind the attack, Mohammed Abdul Shahid alias Bilal and Gulam Yazdani, were killed in Pakistan and New Delhi respectively.

Abdul Azeem, counsel for the accused, told reporters that the court acquitted the accused as the prosecution failed to provide evidence.

The defence counsel said the prosecution's case was entirely dependent on the confession statements made before the SIT and circumstantial evidence.

He said the police arrested the accused without any proof against them.
A lucrative, high in demand business simmers out from the shadows every Eid. The applying of mehendi, or henna, becomes imperative and salons all across the country burn the midnight oil on the night before the festival, catering to hundreds of women who turn up en masse for their requisite hand-candy. A good amount of traffic crowds around popular salons and the strong smell of mehendi resiliently permeate the air.

Other than the two Eids, mehendi is also applied to the hands is during weddings. But while its demand may fluctuate through the year, mehendi application is a tradition deeply entrenched in local culture.The bride puts it on under the vague belief that the darker the shade of her mehendi, the more happily married she will be. And on festivals, mehendi application is considered an important, often expensive, requirement.

This does not mean, though, that mehendi is merely for the traditionalists. Internationally, henna can take on funky patterns; on Madonna, an Om symbol on the hand or dotted decoratively around her face, a Maori henna-inspired tattoo flaunted by Rihanna or a blue-haired Gwen Stefani with a paisley printed on her bare shoulder.

The usual mehendi customer, however, isnt a big fan of the risque, having a penchant for routine winding trellises, multi-tiered florals and paisleys, trailing down the hand, stretching on to the wrists, decorating the back of the hand and then, the feet. The bona fide fanatic may also opt for a band to be etched on her upper arm, lower arm or around her ankle. This may result in the customer whiling her time away at the salon for hours but when it comes to mehendi, one has observed women showing admirable patience and an eagerness to sharply elbow any other who dares to usurp their turn with the exhausted (but fast getting rich) mehendi-waali. Mehendi wars on the night before Eid are a common, inevitable occurrence.

Also interesting are the slight changes in design being introduced by mehendi aficionados a change in colour and some very distinctive patterns, for instance. Here are some of the trends that weve noticed:

Regular mehendi gives off a deep burgundy shade and can be beautiful when applied with finesse. However, innovations can be made with a change in colour. Red mehendi gives off a bright red hue which can be eye-catching. Black mehendi is often available as an option although it is not recommended since it contains dyes that can often lead to severe allergies. White henna  which is basically a paste that can be applied in the same way as genuine mehendi  can be used to make a stark unique statement. And if the mehendi-wearer is feeling adventurous, there are UV-henna tattoos that glow in the dark. Again, like black and white mehendi, the UV-paint isnt actual henna but can be applied the same way as henna  in conventional patterns or avant-garde swirls.

Also, bling-lovers sometimes opt to have their mehendi tattoos coloured in with glitter. This is not usually in good taste, with the mehendi-wearer acquiring a Midas touch of sorts, rubbing off glitter on whatever she touches.

African henna is purely for the bold-hearted, usually featuring geometric designs, thick borders and distinctive filigree patterns. Tribal patterns are common and the designs are usually filled in extensively, leaving a stark stain on the skin. Infusions of glitter are also common. Usually large, the African style often extends beyond hands, winding about the entire length of an arm or the lower leg.

In complete contrast to its African counterpart, Turkish mehendi is delicate and extremely intricate. Peacocks, paisleys, criss-crossing grids and spirals dominate designs that are quite similar to regular local motifs. However, while mehendi in the subcontinent is often filled in in places, the Turkish style consists of thin, dense borders.

Largely popularised by pop-star Rihanna, Maori designs are a funky alternate to the usual henna patterns. Inspired by the Maori tribes of New Zealand, the patterns are distinctive; sharp zig-zags, pointy stars, fish hooks, mantises and artisticallyshaped fish, among others. The designs usually have symbolic interpretations: water-inspired designs speak of the balance between the spiritual and material world, fish hooks symbolise good fortune and heartshaped leaves are said to have healing energy!

Increasingly, one sees innovations in mehendi design via customisation. There are brides who shrug away the conventional mehendi motifs, opting for their love stories to be etched out on their hands, complete with skylines of places where they first met the groom, special mementos and important events. Enthusiasts are also seen steering their mehendi towards avant-garde territory  a peace sign, calligraphy, city skylines, prayer bead patterns printed down the wrist like a bracelet or even prints that emulate lacy gloves!

Its fun, exciting and gives mehendi, hitherto always entrenched in tradition, a cool, young vibe that it never had before.

(Dawn/ ANN)
After achieving independence our founding fathers sat down to a frame Constitution where they adopted representative parliamentary democracy as the model most suited to Indias needs, ethos and experience. Welfare of the people was given primarily to Parliaments charge subject to certain restrictions. But the extent of watch and vigil, however perfect it may be, will not breed operational efficiency unless it is free from fear or favour. Legislative performance without fear or favour is made possible by the possession of privileges.

Just as the judiciary is conferred an independent status, so also the legislature is accorded privileges. From its parliamentary origins, legislative privilege has been defended not in terms of protecting representatives themselves, but of advancing the interests of the public at large. However, legislatures in India are it seems desperate to endure the archaic, unfettered and uncodified privileges which goes against the very ethos of constitutionalism and rule of law.

The Privileges of the House

The Constitution (Articles 105 and 194) provides that power, privileges and immunities of the legislature shall be as may from time to time be defined by the legislature, and until so defined, shall be those of the House of Commons. The privileges of the House of Commons had been grouped under two heads  (1) those demanded of the Crown by the Speaker of the House of Commons at the commencement of each Parliament and granted as a matter of course, and (2) those not so demanded by the Speaker.

Under the first heading comes (a) freedom from arrest (claimed in 1554), (b) freedom of speech (claimed in 1541), (c) the right of access to the Crown (claimed in 1536) and (d) the right of having the most favourable construction placed upon its proceedings.

The privileges of the House of Commons under the first head were claimed at the commencement of every Parliament by the Speaker addressing the Lord Chancellor on behalf of the Commons. They were claimed as ancient and undoubted and are, through the Chancellor "most readily granted and confirmed by the Crown.

Of the three things thus claimed, two, namely, the freedom of the person and the freedom of speech and certain consequential rights like the right to exclude strangers from the House and the control or prohibition of publication of the debates and proceedings are common to both Houses.

Parliamentary Democracy and Legislative Privilege

A full and free debate is the essence of parliamentary democracy, and therefore for a deliberative body like the House of Lords or the House of Commons freedom of speech was of utmost importance.

Although freedom of speech was claimed and granted at the commencement of every Parliament, it had hardly any protection against the autocratic Kings, for the substance of the debates could be and was frequently reported to the King and his ministers which exposed the members to royal wrath.

Secrecy of parliamentary debates was, therefore, considered necessary not only for the due discharge of the responsibilities of the members but also for their personal safety. The original motive for secrecy of debate was therefore the anxiety of the members to protect themselves against the action of the sovereign, but it was soon found equally convenient as a veil to hide their proceedings from their constituencies.

This object could have been achieved in two ways, namely; (a) by prohibiting the publication of any report of the debates and proceedings and (b) by excluding strangers from the house and holding debates within closed doors.

The conclusion which can be deduced from this discussion in relation to this particular privilege of House of Commons was summarized by Erskine May in his classical work: So long as the debates are correctly and faithfully reported, the orders which prohibit their publication are not enforced; but when they are reported mala fide the publishers of newspapers are liable to punishment.

Public Exclusion: A Negation of Democratic Principles

The House of Lords and the House of Commons exercised their power to punish for publication of proceedings of the house when the same was published with mala fide intention.

So, mala fide was a necessary ingredient of the publication to attract the doctrine of privilege and that the instances given are of the period between 1756 and 1893. Justice Subba Rao in his strong and progressive dissent in the famous Searchlight case [M. S. M. Sharma v. Sri Krishna Sinha AIR 1959 SC 395] demolished the claim of the majority and observed that the House of Lords asserted the privilege in 1801 when its proceedings were published mala fide, though they were expressly ordered to be expunged.

He emphasised on the principles of democracy and argued that the proceedings of the houses of Parliament or legislature should be made public. It would be in the interest of the nation that people must know what is happening inside the house. Justice Subba Rao, to support his point referred to Chief Justice Cockburn, who effectively rejected the significance of the privilege claimed in modern democracy.

The learned Chief Justice questioned this privilege in Wasan v. Walter [(1868) L.R. 4 Q.B. 73] where he observed: Where would be our confidence in the government of the country or in the legislature by which our laws are framed, and to whose charge the great interests of the country are committed, where would be our attachment to the Constitution under which we live, if the proceedings of the great council of the realm were shrouded in secrecy and concealed from the knowledge of the nation?

How could the communications between the representatives of the people and their constituents, which are so essential to the working of the representative system, be usefully carried on, if the constituencies were kept in ignorance of what their representatives are doing?

Practically, each house not only permits but also sanctions and encourages the publication of its proceedings and actually gives every facility to those who report them. Prohibition of publication through standing orders happens to prevent any misuse of this facility. Justice Subba Rao also quoted Ivor Jennings, who in his book The British Constitution argued that publication of the proceedings of the Parliament is one of the very fundamental and essential ingredients of any democratic set up and it should not be stopped.

Scope of Privilege in India

Justice Subba Rao expressed his opinion on the scope and extent of privilege of the House of Commons (which in turn was made available to legislatures in India) in the following words: In the seventeenth century, the House of Commons made standing orders prohibiting the publication of its proceedings. But that was a necessary precaution in that critical period when the representatives of the people were in conflict with the crown and they were careful that their proceedings should not reach the ear of the Crown.

In the aristocratic eighteenth century, the opposition to publication was founded not only on the fear of misrepresentation, but on impatience of the pressure of public opinion. But gradually and imperceptibly, as a result of conflicts and compromises and as parliamentary form of government became perfect and broad based, not only publication was allowed but actually encouraged by the House of Commons. In the year 1950, it would be unthinkable and indeed would have been an extraordinary phenomenon for the House of Commons claiming the privilege of preventing the publication of its proceedings.

The said orders, though not expressly repealed or modified, were no longer enforced in accordance with their tenor; but were in effect modified by practice and precedents.

Archaic, Uncertain and Repressive

Seventy years have passed since independence and the experience gained in the working of the Constitution in this period is adequate to guide the process of codification of legislative privileges as intended by the drafters of the Constitution in Article 105(3) and 194(3). The 44th Constitutional Amendment Act made some superficial changes in Articles 105(3) and 194(3) but the substance remained the same. The purpose of this amendment, as stated by the then Law Minister while replying to the discussion on the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, was that a proud country like India would like to avoid making any reference to a foreign institution in its own solemn constitutional document.

The amendments made in the articles 105(3) and 194(3) were, however, of verbal nature and the position remains basically the same as on 26 January 1950. While western democracies have dumped antediluvian ideas of privilege and moved towards greater transparency and accountability in their functioning, legislatures in India still clasp obsolete notions of privilege despite having a normative Constitution.

The codification of privileges is attacked because it would make the privileges subject to fundamental rights and judicial review. And fruition of new privileges would not be easily conceivable. Justice Subba Rao in 1959 showed farsightedness and wisdom in his dissenting opinion.

The Justice M.N. Venkatachaliah Commission also recommended that privileges should be defined and codified for the free and independent functioning of the legislatures. Thus denial on part of legislature is against the spirit of the Constitution.

(The writer is Associate Professor of Law at National Law University Odisha and currently on deputation as Deputy Registrar, Supreme Court of India. The views are personal.)
Divine Lord

Lord Krishna is the mischievous Bal Gopal, the beloved of all gopikas (cow herding girls in Vaishnava theology). But on the occasion of Janmashtami, he becomes the little boy of all Indian households.

The birth of Krishna, the most powerful incarnation of Lord Vishnu, is celebrated throughout the country with great zeal in the holy cities of Vrindavan and Mathura.

According to the Holy Scriptures, Lord Krishna was born, to Yadhava king Vasudeva and Mathura ruler Kamsas sister Devaki, to put an end to the diabolical rule of Kamsa and restore happiness on earth. During their wedding, there was a message from heaven that the eighth child of Devaki would kill Kamsa.

He had already killed his sisters six children but Lord Balarama, who was the seventh, was saved by divine forces. Lord Krishna, the eighth child, was born in an auspicious hour when the star Rohini was effulgent and nature was expressing her joy with inexplicable fervour.

Vasudeva had no clue on how to protect the baby from Kamsa, but a chain of miracles left him awestruck. The prison gates were flung open and the guards fell asleep to some mellifluous tune. With that, Lord Vishnu appeared and guided him to carry the child to Gokul where his friend Nanda lived. It rained heavily that night as the Yamuna River overflowed but when Vasudevas feet touched the water, the river divided to make way for him and the serpent Sheshnag provided them shade from the incessant downfall.

Reaching Gokul, he exchanged Krishna with the baby girl of Nanda and Yashodha. The Garbha Griha (sanctum sanctorum) of the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi (birthplace) Temple at Mathura is believed to be His exact birthplace. In Vrindavan, Krishna is known by the name of Sri Banke Bihari.

It is believed that till this day the Lord descends to the earth to perform Rasa Lila with the gopikas. There is a small grove in Vrindavan known as Nidhivan which is known to be the resting place of Radha and Krishna. It is said that the trees there are actually gopikas who come to life after evening sets in.

They dance at the mesmerising tune of the flute. In the after noon, the priests put two tooth brushes, holy water in a jug and sweets in a hut at Nidhivan and prepare bed for the Lord after the evening prayers. In the morning the bed is often found to have been slept on and the offered things used.

There are similar other folklores about the His birth that have survived generations. Janmashtami is not merely a festival as it conveys a deeper message that we are living in the darkness of our own vices. But with the birth of Lord Krishna on this auspicious day, all such darkness fades away.

(Sutanu Bhattacharyya, Coordinator, Class XI, Hindu School)

Representing youth

Krishna Janmashtami brings joyous colours to our life. Predominantly observed in the state of Maharashtra, this festival is also celebrated in Kolkata, with paying obeisance to Lord Krishna in various temples and distributing prasad (part of the food offered to the God) to devotees thereafter.

In Maharashtra, it is one of the noted ceremonies which calls in for great enthusiasm among the old and young ones alike. Besides its importance in Hindu mythology, this celebration is also dedicated to the children who are considered His forms.

On this day, the youth enthusiastically takes part in performing the ritual of Dahi Handi. The tradition enacts the mischievous Kanha and his friends frequent acts of stealing curd from the households of Gokul as is depicted in the mythological stories.

The participants are known as govindas or govinda pathaks.

Various societies of Maharashtra hang curd filled pots at great heights awaiting Mandalis (community of disciples) to arrive in their society and keep the tradition going on. Devotional songs are sung along with beating of drums, playing of shehnais and trumpets to cheer the govindas.

They start forming the human pyramid, till the point they reach the height of the handi full of curd. Generally it goes up to about three to four tiers with the topmost consisting of the small govinda of the Mandali. The base tier consists of the sturdy members, on which climbs the other members until it forms a pyramid. It is more of a social festival than a religious one.

The Mandalis are mostly people belonging to the economically backward class, for whom it is both an enjoyment and an opportunity to win something substantive. The tradition of thus showcases a unified bond of friendship and oneness as was there between Krishna and his friends.

On this day, Krishna is seen as a boy full of life and mischief, as if representing youth.

(Sayan Chandra, Class XII, Coordinator, St Thomas' Boys' School, Kidderpore)

Restorer of wisdom

Adding brighter hues to the festive moods of rainy days is the celebration of Krishna Janmashtami or Krishnashtami. Although celebrated nationally, this is a day of enormous significance for the Hindus.

As legends say, Kamsa, the king of Mathura, found joy in inflicting pain to his subjects. For his immoral activities, he was cursed that his sister Devakis and Yadhava king Vasudevas eighth son will be the cause of his death. Since then, he became even more violent and heartlessly killed six of their children. But Krishna, as Lord Vishnus avatar, enlightened Devakis lap with his birth.

That day was also the Ashtami (eighth day) of Krishnapaksha (the time when moon fades) in the month of Bhadrapada (according to Hindu calendar).

Growing up in Gokul as Kanha, with the love and care of his foster parents, Nanda and Yashodha, his divine powers made themselves visible through his mischievous acts. Later he emerged as the invincible warrior and demolished Kansa and held the throne in Dwarka.

During the war of Kurukshetra, Krishna introduced himself to Arjuna, one of the five Pandava brothers, as an embodiment of Lord Vishnu and explained that the purpose of His holy birth on earth is to drive away all evils and establish the realm of morality and truthfulness.

Janmashtami is not only a day of endless remembrances of this deity, but also for rejoicing traditions like Dahi Handi, flying kites, chanting kirtans (a form of devotional songs), or visiting fairs.

(Manjush Halder, Coordinator, Class VIII, Bongaon High School)

Lover of sweets

Janmasthami is a sacred festival popularly celebrated every year according to the Bhadromash (August-September) of the Hindu calendar.

Krishna, the eighth avatar of Lord Vishnu, was born on this day. His birthday is celebrated with great joy and fervour throughout India as fasts are observed, games are played and His deity is worshipped and dedicated His favourite delicacies.

As kids, we have all grown up watching and listening to stories and songs about Lord Krishna and how his sweet tooth would drive him and his friends to hunt for milk or butter in almost all households of Gokul.

To keep it out of reach from Krishna, the gopikas used to hang the pots of butter high up on the roof but they still managed to steal it. During this occasion, taler bora (sugar palm fritters) is made.

The women of most Indian households are adept at beating the rather bitter palm until it becomes really sweet to taste and cook them into the delicious fritters.

Other popular sweets dedicated to Lord Krishna are rabri, jaggery, rasmalai, pera, (all different types of sweet dishes) dahi (curd), makhan (butter), kheer, mohan bhog and so on. The women observe fasts and pay offerings to the Lord four times in the day of Janmashtami as the exact moment of His birth is unknown.

The fast is broken the following day after feeding the Brahmans.

Interestingly, Lord Krishna is known to have 108 names, some of which are even used for naming sweets.

(Anwita Dasgupta, Coordinator, Class IX, St Clare School)

Shelter forever

Different religious books have described Lord Krishna in various forms besides his stereotypically worshipped idols. Starting from the Shree Krishnakirtankavya to the latest religious update, the Lord has been referred to as the saviour. Besides being the deity people have been worshipping as a power, a grace and a rescuer since ages, Lord Krishna has played versatile roles in sheltering his devotees.

Talking about this subject first comes his blessings to a childless woman. Have we not seen such pious women loving the idol of little Krishna as her unborn son? Yes, we have. We have also seen Lord Krishna to become the father to an orphan child.

Poor children have found their protector Godfather at the feet of the Lord. The woman abandoned by her husband, seeks shelter at His feet.

The warrior who lost his legs in the battlefield or the poor man whose house got burnt or the parents whose child cries in the deathbed, have prayed to Lord Krishna seeking strength to fight. The king the shepherds, arrives as an inconspicuous avatar in our lives to eliminate our sorrows and bring peace to our lives.

This Janmashtami lets keep the incense sticks away, the flowers and the bells aside and chant hymns dedicating to the Lord of the Lords  Lord Krishna.

(Oishi Pattanayak, Coordinator, Class XII, Belda Gangadhar Academy)
The Encyclopedia Britannica reads, Flags recognisable as such were the invention, almost certainly, of the ancient Indians or the Chinese. It is doubtless that the west has a tendency to consider China every time, as a creator of many things while India has much scientific evidence of its originality.

It was on the 22 July, 1947, in the then BritishIndian Parliament Session, that the present tri-coloured National Flag had been selected. From different school studies, we learned many things about the fixation and evaluation of our flag-identification.

In 1883, a book was published in Lahore titles Indian National Songs and Lyrics.

The very first page of the book contained a picture of a flag. It was just a white rectangular space with a full sun in the middle. Under the picture, the words Our National Standard were written.

It was probably one of the first representations of our future national flag. In 1904, our freedom fighters were battling the British with tremendous spirit in favour of liberty, but sadly without flag to be united under. Sister Nivedita was one of the biggest inspirations during the fight against British colonialism.

It was she who made a flag of red, bordered by yellow.The flag contained a five-faced Bazra (sharp pointed edges weapon) and the word Vande to the right and Mataram to the left side of the symbol. According to some, it was first furnished in 1906.

The flag was popularised as the Nivedita-Flag. In 1906, a further design came forward. It was slightly larger than Niveditas representation. In this flag, the upper third was blue, lower third was red and the middle was yellow. There were eight stars within the blue section and here also the words Vande-Mataram were written in the middle in Sanskrit.

The left corner of the bottom red section had a white crescent moon with a star and the right corner contained a white image of sun.

The eight stars represented the eight provinces that British India was divided into at the time. Rastra-Guru Surendranath who founded the Indian National Association, decided to organise a day of noncooperation on 7 August 1906.

He also furnished a flag with the combined efforts of freedom fighters Sachindra Prassad Bose and Sukumar Mitra. In this representation, the upper part of the flag was orange with eight half-blossomed lotuses, yellow in the middle and green at the bottom. Later the flag came to be known as the Calcutta flag.

On 22 August 1907, Madam Vikhaji Kama, Vinayak Damador Savarkar and Shamji Krishnabarma hoisted a national flag in Stuttgart, Germany.This flag was also tri-coloured. From top to bottom; first green then deep saffron and finally red. This flag is known as the Berlin Flag.

Mahatma Gandhi, in 1916, decided to design an indistinguishable national flag. Pingali Bhankatayya, a famous writer and artist at the time, took charge. He coloured the flag using only red and green. Bapu did not accept this.

He wanted a tri-coloured flag with the Charkha in the middle. In 1921, Gandhiji again changed the design of the flag, but unfortunately it was not accepted unanimously.

However, in 1931, Pingali Bhankatayya planned a new tricoloured flag, where the upper third was saffron, the middle was white and below it was green.

The flag also contained the Charkha at its centre. The present national flag was ultimately designed by the committee, led by our very first president, Dr Rajendra Prassad.

The committee took the Chakra in the place of Charkha.

(Coordinator, Class XI, Kalyani University Experimental High School, Kalyani, Nadia)
RACINE  Friends and family of 20-year-old Dashaun Jordan, shot to death early Monday in a case of mistaken identity, have returned to the alley where he was killed to honor him.

Candles, balloons, and teddy bears lined the area Wednesday where he died and messages of support, love and loss were scrolled on cards and on the alley wall itself for Jordan.

We did it in tribute to him, his cousin Orience Carothers said. He deserves his peace and words of friends that loved him and family. We constantly go back to show our love to my guy. We know he is still here with us. Nothing is better than cooling with him.

Carothers said its been growing since they put it together the day after he was shot in an alleged act of random violence tied to the gang culture in Racine.

My cousin did not deserve this, Carothers said. He really didnt. He only wanted to make it out of Racine. I cant really speak to the streets but, yeah, its a crazy gang problem.

Rytrell Earl, an alleged member of a Racine gang called Northside for Life, is charged in Jordans death.

The 17-year-old allegedly told investigators he and two other gang members had been driving in rival gang territory, the 1600 block of Phillips Avenue, when they saw Jordan and his group of friends walking down an alley.

They allegedly opened fire, believing the group to be members of a rival gang, according to the criminal complaint. Jordan was not a gang member, rather an aspiring rapper who was reportedly walking back from a fish fry with friends.

He was in the wrong place at the wrong time, said resident Antoine Williams. Racine is getting rough.

Williams, who has lived in the neighborhood for 29 years, said it was a shame the homicide happened half a block from the Racine Police COP house at 1900 16th St.

They ride past all day, Williams said. It feels like they are stopping the wrong people.

Williams, who was a former gang member when he was younger, said the OGs, or original gangsters, and elder members of the gang who kept the peace on the streets are all in jail, leaving the younger members to run amok.

There are rules and policies they live by, Williams said. Theyre locking all the old OGs up. These kids, teenagers, you cant tell them anything. Theyre the problem.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi has called a meeting of 18 opposition parties on Friday, the last day of Parliament's monsoon session, to discuss the future course of action of the joint opposition and chalk out a strategy against the Modi government.

The meeting will be chaired by Sonia Gandhi. Janata Dal-United leader Sharad Yadav has been invited for the meeting. He is in Bihar on a three-day visit.

West Bengal Chief minister Mamata Banerjee is slated to attend the meeting.

The meeting is likely to discuss the opposition rally called by RJD chief Lalu Prasad in Patna on August 27, which will target the newly-formed BJP-JD-U alliance in Bihar under Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. The Janata Dal-United President last month snapped ties with Grand Alliance of Rashtriya Janata Dal and Congress to form government in Bihar with the BJP.

Sharad Yadav on Thursday declared in Patna that he was still with the Grand Alliance of the RJD and Congress.

He is also organising a conclave in New Delhi on August 17, which will be attended by opposition leaders.


On the eve of taking over as Vice President, M Venkaiah Naidu said on Thursday outgoing Vice President Hamid Ansari's remarks that Muslims in India were feeling insecure were loaded with politics.

Naidu maintained that there was no fear among Muslims in India  "the most tolerant country in the world".

"Some people are saying minorities are insecure. It is a political propaganda. Compared to the entire world, minorities are more safe and secure in India and they get their due," Naidu told a section of the media.

"Agenda of politics should be development. People try to use minority issues for political purposes," he said.

Naidu, 68, who was a part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet, did not name anyone in his comments but he was obviously referring to Ansari's remarks to Rajya Sabha TV that there was a feeling of unease and insecurity among the Muslims amid rising incidents of intolerance and vigilante violence.

The new Vice President disagreed, saying India was "the most tolerant country in the world" and had an "ethos of mutual respect for each other".

"India is the best model of secularism. If you single out one community, other communities will take it otherwise. That is why we say all are equal. Appeasement for none, justice for all.

"Despite different languages, different attires, our country is one. Unity in the diversity is India's speciality."

The former BJP leader said the history of India was witness to the fact that members of minorities have never been discriminated against and have got prominent positions including constitutional responsibilities "on account of their merit".

Naidu said incidents of vigilante violence in the name of cow or caste or religion in "a huge country" like India were "nothing but aberrations".

"Unfortunately, some people are trying to blow (these incidents of violence) out of proportion and trying to defame India, raising it to the national forum," he said.

He said incidents like that needed to be deplored and appropriate action taken against perpetrators of such acts.

Naidu will be administered the oath of office by new President Ram Nath Kovind at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday.
Wanted Al-Qaeda terrorist Syed Mohammad Zishan Ali has been arrested at the IGI airport here, police said on Thursday.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Pramod Singh Kushwah said Ali, 29, a proclaimed offender and hailing from Jamshedpur in Jharkhand, was arrested from Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport here on Wednesday.

Kushwah said that on Wednesday, police received information that Ali, along with at least 30 other Indians, has been deported from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for visa violation. He was arrested when he landed here.

In September 2014, a video announcing the constitution of Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) was posted by Al-Qaeda over its media arm, following which security agencies made multiple arrests.

Questioning of one of the arrested members of AQIS revealed that Ali was working for the organisation from Saudi Arabia along with his brother, police said.

Kushwah said that though police tried to arrest Ali and other cadres of AQIS, they evaded arrest and were declared proclaimed offenders.

Ali was presented before Additional Sessions Judge Sidharth Sharma on Thursday and he was remanded to 14-day police custody.

Police told the court that Ali has to be taken to various places and his custody is required to unearth the entire conspiracy.

The DCP termed Ali's arrest as a 'major achievement' in safeguarding the nation against dreaded international terrorist organisations like Al-Qaeda.

"His arrest and continuing interrogations are likely to provide crucial leads about his other associates and also about infiltration and expanse of AQIS in India and neighbouring countries," Kushwah said.
Independence celebrations bring to my mind the days I spent in my hometown, Sialkot City. After earning a law degree I was settling down to be a lawyer, but partition upset my plans. It made me leave the place where I was born and brought up. Its a sad recollection whenever I think about it. But the silver lining is that personal relations between Hindus and Muslims were mostly not affected.

My father, who practised medicine, was stopped from migrating whenever he thought of moving out of Sialkot. One day my mother and he decided to travel without letting people know. They boarded the train unnoticed. Sometime later, a few youngsters from the neighbourhood recognised them and requested them not to leave. My father said that they were going only to meet the children who were already in Delhi and would return soon after.

But the boys were insistent not to let them travel. After some time they relented and told my parents that they could travel by the same train a day later. They were frank enough to admit that there was a plan to kill all passengers at the nearby Narowal Bridge that day. And this happened.

The following day they came to our place and told my parents that they could travel. They said they have made sure that their journey would be safe. Not only that they helped my ailing parents to cross the bridge on foot and bid goodbye at the border. I stayed back for a few days and took the other road route to Wagah. A brigadier who had been transferred to India came to my father before he left and asked if he could do anything. My father looked towards me and asked the brigadier to take me across the border.

I travelled in the back of the jeep which was full of luggage. Sialkot is a little removed from the main road to Amritsar. But I was aghast to see the road was full of hundreds of people. One smaller stream was pouring into Pakistan and we, the bigger one, travelling to Amritsar. One thing was certain; there was no going back. I could get the stench of dead bodies. People would make way for the jeep.

At one place an old Sikh with a flowing beard stopped us and begged me to carry his grandson to the other side. I told him that I had just completed my studies and I could not afford to bring up a child. He said it did not matter and requested me to leave him at a refugee camp and he would catch up with him soon. I said no and even today his helpless face haunts me.

At Sialkot one wealthy Muslim, Ghulam Qadar, opened one of his bungalows and told my father to occupy it as long as he felt that things were not safe in the city. That bungalow itself became a refugee camp and at one time there were about 100 people living there. Qadar would provide rations to all of us.

Our milkman was very regular in his supply. When I crossed the border, I had only a small bag with a pair of trousers and Rs.120 which my mother had given. But I had BA (Hon) and LLB degrees and was confident that I would rebuild my life. However, I was worried about my father who would have to start all over again at Jalandhar. But he became very popular within a few days and patients would flock in from morning to evening. I travelled to Delhi where a maternal aunt was living at Darya Ganj.

Jamma Masjid was quite near and I would eat there because good non-vegetarian food was available at a cheap price. That is where I met someone who took me in the Urdu paper, Anjam, and that is how I began a career in journalism. The rest is history. But I do not want to dwell on it.

Was partition necessary because one million people died on both sides? That bitterness still lingers. And they continue to live in hostility. India and Pakistan have gone to war three times, in 1965, 1971 and 1999. Even today, the border bristles with enmity and armed soldiers who are always ready with fingers on triggers. We have already celebrated the 70th Independence Day.

But instead of having soft-borders, which I imagined, we have barbed wires and patrolling all the time. The level of escalation on the long borders never subsides. The two countries are not on speaking terms. Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj has said that there can be no talks with Islamabad when it encourages infiltrators.

Pakistan says that they are not the stakeholders and have no control over the infiltrators movement. Thus the two neighbouring countries continue to be at a distance without any contact. Getting a visa has become very difficult. Relatives and friends on either side are the real sufferers.

Pakistan wants a solution to Kashmir as a precondition. Kashmir itself is a long story because the partition formula recognised only India and Pakistan. There is no provision to reopen and think about the independence of the valley which the people there want. In fact, they have taken to guns to achieve their goal.

Some time ago, I met some of them in Srinagar and found them to be adamant to make the valley an independent Islamic state. No amount of argument that this was not possible convinces them. I cannot imagine our parliament ever entertaining a resolution to make Kashmir independent.

Pakistan considers that it is the lifeline for it. Therefore, I do not see any solution even for the next 70 years, the period we have wasted in firing at each other.

The first thing should be to withdraw the petition from the UN and assure Pakistan that India wants peace and good relations with Islamabad. Maybe, the media heads on both sides should sit across the table and make some concrete proposals.

(The writer is a noted journalist, columnist and commentator)
It is indeed seldom that a judge of a Sessions Court attracts media attention for factors not directly attributable to the importance or sensationalism of the case which he is trying: the kudos generally are reserved for their Lordships in the High Courts and Supreme Court.

That is all the more reason to appreciate Sidharth Sharma, Additional Sessions Judge, Delhi, for coming down heavily on counsel for the Enforcement Directorate attempting to inject patriotism into a case he was prosecuting.

It was a courtroom not a TV studio, the judge admonished lawyer Rajeev Awasthi. Without commenting on the merits of the case being processed by the ED against Kashmiri separatist leader Shabir Shah, the court was clearly irked by counsel asking the accused to prove his loyalty to the nation by chanting Bharat Mata ki jai.

Since the ED comes under the supervision of eminent jurist and finance minister Arun Jaitley, the legal profession would be keen to see how the minister views the matter and whether the services of Awasthi will be retained by the financial watchdog. The Additional Sessions Judge was obviously not impressed.

Lawyers, admittedly, do not live or function in isolation, yet it has to be asked if it is necessary for them to play to the gallery, exploit political sentiments, or swing with the public mood to press their case ~ admittedly the politicians among the legal fraternity have made a fine art of that. However, when a case is at the trial stage the focus should be on facts, not fanciful interpretation of them.

The action taken by the National Investigation Agency, Enforcement Directorate etc to thwart the funding of violence and separatist activity in the Kashmir Valley has been widely recognised, what additional purpose would be served by seeking that a person accused in any of the cases prove his patriotism by articulating sentiments to which he obviously does not subscribe?

Maybe the lawyer felt he was reaffirming his own loyalty by exposing the accused. The short point, however, is whether a successful prosecution is critically dependent on such an exposure?

The embroidery could be seen not just as unprofessional but signs of a weak case requiring much dressing up: agencies like the ED must be careful that their counsel do not fritter away the fruits of their probes by immature publicity stunts.

Even if the call to chant Bharat Mata ki jai is in consonance with other controversial moves,~ a courtroom is hardly the place in which patriotism is to be proven in response to a counsel bullying tactics. Additional Sessions Judge Sharma has displayed the moral courage to keep proceedings in his court on the straight and narrow ~ not easy in the prevailing ambience.
When the Central government invoked the state subject alibi to disown its duty on cow vigilantism, few would have imagined the same protective cover would extend to politically-patronised goons who deem young women fair game.

Yet Chandigarh is a Union Territory directly under North Block, so calling for a report on the stalking and attempted abduction of a young woman professional was a less-than-token effort: particularly since the prime accused is the son of the president of the Haryana unit of the BJP.

Rajnath Singh and Kiren Rejiju will never live-down the infamy resulting from a shameful abdication of responsibility towards women. Where there ought to have been immediate and ringing condemnation to show they are different, there was nary a word from them, and it was left to unrelenting public pressure to force the Chandigarh police into abandoning a patent cover-up exercise.

Sure, eventually, the law appears to be taking its course but the home ministry can claim little credit for that, even if it now attempts to project a positive image: it would be too little, too late.

Claims of the police that they were under no pressure rings hollow, had there not been such huge outrage in society the missing video evidence would never have re-surfaced, nor more substantive sections of the law added to the case against Vikas Barala and his co-accused.

There will be need to sustain that pressure: cases against political entities are frequently diluted once the matter fades from the front pages.

There will also be need to ensure that the victims father, an IAS officer who resisted the politicians and stood by his daughter, is not subsequently fixed.

Politicians have long, vicious, memories. In popular perception the BJP leadership in New Delhi tried to connive with its strongmen in Haryana to protect one of their own. Legal technicalities and criminal jurisprudence apart, there is a moral dimension to the affair, and the party leadership has done nothing to convince the public that it has taken the Barala-clan to task.

On the contrary, some BJP activists, including a junior minister in Narendra Modis council, have proceeded to not only underplay the stalking but join in the attempt at assassinating the young victims character. Or to ask why non-BJP politicians were not so vocal after other sick incidents?

Maybe the partys national president was pre-occupied with Gujarat, surely others could have admonished the Haryana leaders.

Sushma Swaraj, who hails from the state, has portrayed herself a heroine to afflicted-women in Pakistan ~ a little domestic action would have been appreciated.

How the case against Barala proceeds is a legal issue, yet in the political sphere there would now be reason to believe that BJP workers would be in danger of choking on their words if they dared utter beti bachao
Mozilla, the non-profit which runs the Firefox internet browser, said it was launching a drive against "fake news" as fact-checking software backed by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar got its first run-out in public.

The US-based open source group said it was "investing in people, programs and projects" in a new initiative to actively "disrupt misinformation online".

It said the "internet's ability to power democratic society suffers greatly" because of fabricated stories, such as the Pope endorsing Donald Trump for the US presidency and India's 2,000-rupee note containing a tracking device.

The Kenyan election this week has also seen both bogus BBC and CNN news reports circulating on social media.

Morzilla's innovations director Katharina Borchert said that it was working on tools for Firefox and better online education with media groups, universities and tech activists.

The "Mozilla Information Trust Initiative" comes as an automated real-time fact-checking engine developed by the Full Fact foundation was demonstrated in London.

The group, which is backed by Omidyar and Hungarian-born investor and philanthropist George Soros, said its software is capable of spotting lies in real time, and was used to fact- check a live debate at the House of Commons.

Full Fact have been working with Britain's Office of National Statistics on the project, which they insisted was still very much at the test stage.

"As the proponents of propaganda and misinformation become more sophisticated in their use of technology, it is important that fact checkers do not fall behind in our fight against it," Full Fact said.

"This is an important investment in the future of fact- checking," Stephen King, of the Omidyar Network, told The Guardian newspaper.

"You only have to look at the number of initiatives that have risen up to address this challenge, either by tech companies or other organisations to see how worrying this phenomenon is to so many," Borchert added.

"Whether it's become a big enough priority is perhaps a better question," she said, arguing that it was time for rival news organisations to "rally around" to confront fake news.
Tamil superstar Vijay has said he is against the culture of abusing women for expressing their views on social media and other online platforms.

"I respect women a lot. Everybody has the right to criticize anyone's film. I believe no women should be spoken of in a demeaning way no matter what happens. We all have to praise womanhood," Vijay said in a statement.

He added: "Nobody should pass hurtful comments against women on social media."

His statement comes days after his fans abused and sexually harassed a woman journalist, Dhanya Rajendran, on Twitter.

On Wednesday, Dhanya Rajendran lodged a complaint with Cyber Crime Branch of police in Chennai against four anonymous Twitter handles.

Vijay's fans targeted the journalist after she tweeted that she walked out of a screening of Vijay's film "Sura" a few years ago and compared the bad experience with Shah Rukh Khan starrer "Jab Harry Met Sejal".

The fans passed sexual remarks against Dhanya Rajendran and dragged her family as well as colleagues for insulting their star.
At least five migrants drowned and 50 went missing on Thursday when smugglers forced 180 Africans off a boat bound for Yemen, a day after a similar drama that left 29 dead, the International Organization for Migration said.

Twenty-five people were being treated for injuries on a Yemeni beach, said the IOM, which could not immediately confirm the nationalities of the casualties.

Smugglers on Wednesday forced more than 120 Somali and Ethiopian migrants into rough seas off Yemen to avoid arrest by local authorities, leaving at least 29 dead and 22 missing, the organisation said.
Five US active-duty transgender troops on Wednesday sued President Donald Trump in a Washington federal court over Trump's tweets about a possible ban on transgender people from serving in the US military.

They are arguing that the president's related tweets have impinged on their constitutional rights, and, though there is no concrete new policy from the White House yet, they have already been harmed because they no longer have a reasonable expectation they can continue serving.

"The directive to reinstate a ban on open service by transgender people violates both the Equal Protection component of the Fifth Amendment and the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution," says a complaint filed by two LGBTQ groups on behalf of the five anonymous soldiers, listed only as Jane Doe 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.

"The categorical exclusion of transgender people from military service lacks a rational basis, is arbitrary, and cannot be justified by sufficient federal interests," the complaint filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia wrote.

The five plaintiffs in the lawsuit have nearly 60 years of combined service, according to the groups, namely the National Center for Lesbian Rights and the GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a White House spokeswoman, said the White House "will work with the Department of Defense to lawfully implement the policy," but revealing no details about how or when such a policy would be released.

"As is with any ongoing litigation we cannot comment on it," she told BuzzFeed News in an email on Wednesday.

On July 26, Trump tweeted that the US military "will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military," claiming he had consulted with "generals and military experts" before making the decision.

"Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you," he said in another tweet.

However, Pentagon so far hasn't promulgated such a ban. US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford said the next day that Pentagon would not change the current policy until the White House issued further "guidance."

The Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law estimates there are more than 15,000 transgender troops in the US military. The RAND Corporation estimates there are between 1,320 and 6,630 transgender personnel in the active service and between 830 and 4,160 in the selected reserve.

According to a report released by the Palm Center on Wednesday, it would cost 960 million dollars for Pentagon to recruit and train replacements for the estimated 12,800 transgender troops serving in the US armed forces.
RACINE  State legislators are discussing an amendment to the state budget that would give the Racine Unified School District, in the event the state gives the district a failing grade this fall, an extra year to improve its standing to prevent some failing schools from being part of the Opportunity Schools and Partnership Program.

Because of the failing report card last year, State Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, said the district is looking at that potential this year which could result in the state and the county determining the future of some failing schools.

That means they would take five schools out of the Unified school district, eliminate all positions and then rehire all of those positions and then redo all of those schools and they would be out of the district, Wanggaard said. That would trigger a potential referendum for Sturtevant, Caledonia and Mount Pleasant, that they could form their own school districts.

The legislature would likely approve the 2017-19 budget before the state test results are released in November so the amendment, if it goes through, would allow Unified an extra year of leeway before any schools become part of the Opportunity Schools and Partnership Program, if the district receives another failing grade.

In November 2016, the district received a grade of fails to meet expectations from the state with 11 schools failing to meet expectations including Case, Horlick and Park high schools. However, several schools were docked points based on test participation, absenteeism rate and dropout rate, which moved them into the fails to meet expectations category.

Wanggaard, who has been championing the amendment, said the district has made important changes, specifically highlighting the launching of the Academies of Racine and changing Knapp Elementary School to a community school.

To allow some of those things to come to fruition, I think that will get them up and going and moving in the right direction, Wanggaard said.

Report to county executive

According to the state statute, the Opportunity Schools and Partnership Program would automatically go into action after the second straight year of receiving a failing grade from the state and schools in the program would be run by a commissioner.

The commissioner is selected by the county executive from a pool of applicants appointed by the governor, city mayor and county executive. The commissioner also reports to the county executive.

Wanggaard said the amendment would give the district another year to prove themselves.

If they fail then it goes to an Opportunity School (and Partnership Program) and it also triggers the referendum for those municipalities that want to have their own district, Wanggaard said, adding it would be up to the municipalities to decide if they want to be involved with the Opportunity School and Partnership Program or try to form their own district.

In the past, some in Caledonia have advocated the community starting its own district.

Huge and stressful issue

The district is aware of the seriousness of a another failing grade from the state and is concerned that if the amendment does not go through, the Opportunity Schools Partnership Program will go into effect.

Stacy Tapp, chief of communications and community engagement for Unified, said a task force was formed to focus on areas to improve the state test results after last years failing grade.

The district has been focused on improving our report card results, Tapp said. Weve also been focused on engaging students through the academy model and other efforts. However, we wont get the report card until fall.

School Board President Robert Wittke said hes been in contact with local legislators about the initiatives the district has taken in the wake of last years results, which he views as an anomaly, but he said the community should know the seriousness of the situation.

This is a huge and stressful issue, Wittke said. This would not be something thats good for the community  Its one of the most important issues that were facing.

Wittke said hes confident the district has taken the right steps with forming the Academies of Racine and now the middle school transformation.

Delaying handbook, boneheaded decision

The changes the district has been making have not been lost on local legislators.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said the delay would allow the Academies (of Racine) to take hold.

Although no amendment has been officially drafted, Vos said this will be part of the discussion but recent issues such as the employee handbook make it difficult.

I still continue to be frustrated that as we are looking to try to give (Unified) more wiggle room to be able to turn the district around at a local level, then they make a boneheaded decision like delaying the handbook, Vos said.

If the amendment does pass, its likely legislators will insist on certain conditions which could include approving a handbook that is compliant with Act 10.

Recently, the current handbook has come under scrutiny. Specifically, the legality of the Board of Adjustments was questioned by School Board Vice President and Mayor Dennis Wiser.

The Board of Adjustments is defined by the current handbook as being comprised of equal representation of the District and the authorized representative of the teaching staff... to consider the appropriate level of benefits, plan design, structure, premium contributions and all other issues related to health, dental and disability benefits.

Act 10 bars public employees from negotiating for benefits and only allows negotiation for salaries.

If the amendment does not go through, Wanggaard said the Opportunity Schools and Partnership Program would automatically go into effect, unless we do a statutory change with a separate bill to change (the program).

Every time this (Opportunity Schools and Partnership Program) is done its the students that are at risk, Wanggaard said. Theyre not being prepared for what these changes are. I know its difficult for the staff and stuff like that but its the students that need the preparation to go on for their potential future.
American nuclear arsenal is now far stronger and "more powerful than ever", US President Donald Trump said in an apparent warning to North Korea over its repeated missile tests.

Trump's tweets come a day after he told reporters that North Korea's threats against the US, if they continue, will be met with "fire and fury" like the world has never seen before.

"My first order as President was to renovate and modernise our nuclear arsenal. It is now far stronger and more powerful than ever before," Trump said in the first of his two tweets.

"Hopefully we will never have to use this power, but there will never be a time that we are not the most powerful nation in the world!" Trump said in another tweet.

A day earlier, Trump warned North Korea of consequences of threatening the US.

"North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States. They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen. He has been very threatening, beyond a normal statement," Trump told reporters at his vacation home in New Jersey.

He was responding to reporters' questions on the North Korea's nuclear capabilities.

"As said, they will be met with fire, fury, and, frankly, power the likes of which this world has never seen before," he said.

Trump's remarks came amidst reports that North Korea is coming close to obtaining an atomic weapon that can strike the US.

Media reports said North Korea has successfully miniaturised a nuclear warhead that can fit inside its missiles.

House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi slammed Trump for making such a remark.

"Since President Trump took office, North Korea has accelerated its nuclear programme to unprecedented levels. The president's most recent comments are recklessly belligerent and demonstrate a grave lack of appreciation for the severity of the North Korean nuclear situation," she said.

"The US must respond to the North Korean nuclear threat by working with other nations including Russia and China to enforce the new United Nations sanctions and must join with our allies to advance a diplomatic solution," she said.

Senator Dianne Feinstein said isolating the North Koreans has not halted their pursuit of nuclear weapons.

"And President Trump is not helping the situation with his bombastic comments. There is no question that North Korea is seeking to add a nuclear warhead to an ICBM capable of reaching the United States," she argued.

"What this tells me is that our policy of isolating North Korea has not worked. The United States must quickly engage North Korea in a high-level dialogue without any preconditions. Hopefully, Secretary Tillerson is already discussing the possibility of reopening talks with our Asian partners during his current trip. In my view, diplomacy is the only sound path forward," Feinstein said.

According to Arms Control Association, a peaceful resolution to the escalating crisis is more difficult than ever to achieve.

"Trump's attempt to play the role of nuclear 'madman' is as dangerous, foolish, and counterproductive as North Korea s frequent hyperbolic threats against the United States," it said in a statement.

"Trump's latest statement is a blatant threat of nuclear force that will not compel Kim to shift course. In fact, repeated threats of US military force only give credibility to the North Korean propaganda line that nuclear weapons are necessary to deter US aggression, and it may lead Kim to try to accelerate his nuclear programme," Arms Control Association said.
A German satirist who claims Twitter is failing to delete hate speech has captured the social media giant's attention offline  by stencilling the offending messages outside its Hamburg office.

The Jewish man, Shahak Shapira, claimed that Twitter had just responded to just nine of his 300 complaints in six months, the BBC reported on Wednesday.

A YouTube video has emerged showing the man stencilling 30 tweets which include statements that are homophobic, xenophobic and involve holocaust denial.

"If Twitter forces me to see these things, then they'll have to see them too," said Shapira in the video titled "#HeyTwitter".

The nine responses he got from Twitter said the tweets did not violate the site's rules, the report added.

He described the comments as "not just plain insults or jokes, but absolutely serious threats of violence".

"Germany needs a final solution to Islam," read one of the tweets.

"Let's gas the Jews," says another, in reference to the Nazis' murder of six million Jews during World War Two.

Shapira applauded Facebook which, in contrast, removed 80 per cent of the comments he had reported during the same six-month period.

Hate speech is an especially sensitive subject in Germany due to the crimes committed by the Nazi regime in the Second World War, the BBC reported.

In June, the country passed a law which could force social media companies to delete racist or slanderous posts within 24 hours or face a fine of up to 50 million euros ($58 million).
The US has announced that it expelled two Cuban diplomats in May after Americans working at the US Embassy in Havana suffered "unexplained physical ailments".

A small number of Americans began reporting symptoms at the end of 2016, and a few were either removed for medical treatment in the US or asked to leave, State Department officials were quoted as saying by the Washington Post on Wednesday.

State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert linked "incidents which have caused a variety of physical symptoms" to the decision to expel two Cubans, but she did not directly blame the Cuban government for harming the Americans.

"We don't have any definitive answers about the source or the cause of the matter," she said.

A CNN report cited several senior government officials as saying that Washington believes several State Department employees at the US embassy in Havana were subjected to an "acoustic attack" using sonic devices that left at least two with such serious health problems they needed to be brought back to the US for treatment.

Nauert also did not say how many US officials remained at the embassy in Havana as a result of the incidents or whether they have been replaced, but she did say that all of those affected are State Department personnel and not private US citizens.

Cuba's Foreign Ministry said it was investigating the allegations. It called the expulsion of its staff unjustified but said it was willing to co-operate with Washington to clarify what had happened.

"Cuba has never, nor would ever, allow the Cuban territory to be used for any kind of action against accredited diplomats or their families," the Ministry said.

One US official told CNN that the country's employees in Havana embassy could have suffered permanent hearing loss as a result.

"It can be quite serious," the official told CNN. "We have worked with the Cubans to try and find out what is going on. They insist they don't know, but it has been very worrying and troublesome."

The Federal Bureau of Investigating is looking into the matter, the report said. Further US action could follow if that investigation points to Cuban government targeting of US employees, officials said.

The State Department separately said in a statement that it had "reminded the Cuban government of its obligations under the Vienna Convention to protect our diplomats".




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The last days of the Newfie Pride

There were many nights he didnt sleep. The numbers and scenarios turned over and over in his mind, making rest impossible. Id get up two, three oclock in the morning, night after night, come out to the kitchen table and work the numbers every ...
RACINE  At approximately 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, a car crashed into a pole near Reefpoint Brew House, leaving the vehicle with severe damage and deployed airbags.

According to scanner reports and eyewitness accounts, a woman was trapped in the passenger seat.

Several Racine Police Department vehicles responded in addition to crews from the Racine Fire Department and a Racine County Sheriff's deputy. Officers easily helped the woman out, one witness said.

The woman reportedly said to authorities that she was not the driver, and that the actual driver fled on foot after the crash. But several eyewitnesses said they did not see anyone fleeing the car following the crash.

The woman became irate and began yelling profanities at officers before being taken into custody at the scene. No police supervisor was on the scene to provide official comment late Wednesday.
Organization: Ministry of

Education, Science, Technology and Sports

Project Name: Uganda Skill

Development Project (SDP)

Funding Source: World Bank

Duty Station: Kampala,

Uganda

Reports to: Project Coordinator  ARSDP & USDP

About World Bank SDP Project:

The Government of Uganda applied for US$100,000,000 financing from the

World Bank for the Skill Development Project (SDP) whose objectives to enhance

the capacity of institutions to deliver high quality and demand driven training

programs in the Agriculture, Construction and Manufacturing sectors. The

purpose of SDP is to create a scalable model for high quality vocational and

technical training which is linked to labor market needs ~or specific sectors.

The model comprises of establishing Centers of Excellence (CoE) with a network

of vocational institutions (with well- prepared students; well-trained faculty;

high quality, relevant curricula; adequate facilities and equipment; teaching

resources and assessment systems), and an institutional framework that

encompasses development sector skill councils. The project will work with four

colleges, 12 network institutes and will focus on three sectors of manufacturing,

construction and agriculture. The Uganda SDP under Component 2 shall support

Improving Quality and Relevance of Skills Development through upgrading three

Uganda Technical Colleges (UTC) at (Lira, Elgon, and Bushenyi) and Agricultural

College (Bukalasa) to CoEs, offering competency-based raining of high quality

in low-level (artisans), medium-level (craftsman) and higher-level

(technicians) skills demanded in selected trades/occupations in the

manufacturing, construction, and agriculture sectors of the Ugandan economy.

Job Summary: The Financial

Management Specialist will be tasked with performing financial Management

functions of USDP and ARSDP Projects. The incumbent will manage and monitor all

the financial activities of the project in line with the international and the

Government of Uganda (GoU) financial regulations while ensuring compliance with

the Local Education Group audit and fiduciary requirements, and performing

analytical work on financial management and financial accountability issues.



Responsibilities: Key Duties andResponsibilities:

The incumbent will be responsible for

developing financial plans and budgets for the project coordination unit

in consultation with the Budgeting section in the MoES.

Managing disbursement of funds for project

activities in line with project financial/budget and work plans and in

liaison with the head of accounts at MoES

Tasked with the preparation of monthly,

quarterly and annual financial reports as per the reporting requirements

Development and implementation of project

internal controls for proper management of project financial and physical

resources

Periodic evaluation of the project

financial performance against the project objectives

Reporting periodically on financial

program activities in line with the reporting guidelines

Tasked with the facilitation of the audit

of the annual financial statements together with internal audits and

reviews.

Perform the responsibilities of a

Financial Management Specialist as a full member of a multi  disciplinary

team for a variety of the IDA Project coordination Unit within the MoES

operational and tactical tasks for both daily operations as well as

analytical financial work.

Prepare justifications in form of a

statement of ex-penditure for Special Account advances for PS/ESs

submission to the World Bank;

Steer the preparation of reviews and

adhering to the Projects Implementation Documents and Operations Manuals;

Compile quarterly and annual budgets,

monitor and report on financial trends and prepare replenishment applications

to Government of Uganda and World Bank respectively as per the guidelines

Produce within agreed timeframes and in

the standard formats, monthly financial statements and financial

management reports to aid management decision making

Support the Head of Accounts in the

preparation of quarterly and annual reports.

Implement adequate internal controls for

management of project financial and physical resources to ensure

effectiveness, efficiency and economic use of resources.

The jobholder will also evaluate the

project financial performance against projected funding obligations for

the determination of expenditure priorities and timely replenishment of

funds

Manage disbursement of all project funds

for project activities in accordance with the internal controls to ensure

avoidance of fraud, and financial mismanagement

Coordinate the accounting and financial

arrangements for the different components and categories of projects

Coordinate the timely annual financial

audit and the value for money audit of the project

Guide and support the beneficiary colleges

and Network Institutes under the project in financial management aspects

to ensure compliance with underlying principles.















Experience: Qualifications, Skills andExperience:

The ideal candidate for the World Bank Project

Financial Management Specialist vacancy should hold a Bachelors Degree in

Commerce (Accounting), Business Administration (Accounting) Accounting,

Finance from a recognized University.

Possession of a post graduate

qualification in Financial Management, Business Administration or related

field is an added advantage

The applicant must also have completed

accreditation to professional bodies like ACCA or CPA.

A minimum of seven (7) years of practical

experience in financial management or related accounting duties in a

public or private institution.

At least three years exposure and

experience in financial and accounting procedures of Government of Uganda,

World Bank or other Multilateral Development Banks is an essential

requirement.

Experience in finance and administration

is an added advantage

Extensive knowledge of the Government of

Uganda IFMS system is desirable.

Ability to prepare and interpret financial

statements and books of accounts, including management accounts is

required

How to Apply:

All candidates are encouraged to deliver their application letters,

updated curriculum vita and photocopies of academic and professional

certificates to the address below. Please clearly indicate the position being

applied for on top of the envelope.

Commissioner Human Resource Management,

4th Floor, Embassy, Embassy House,

Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Sports,

P.O. Box 7063 Kampala. Uganda

st August

2017 Deadline: 21August2017
A deal that disregards Dr KCs demand

A parliamentary taskforce has decided to grant affiliation to medical colleges that meet the criteria before a law enforcing a 10-year moratorium on establishing new medical schools in Kathmandu Valley comes into force.
But the tribe has a long way to go
Tamil actor Vijay has said he is against the culture of abusing women for expressing their views on social media and other online platforms.

I respect women a lot. Everybody has the right to criticise anyone's film. I believe no women should be spoken of in a demeaning way no matter what happens. We all have to praise womanhood, Vijay said in a statement.

He added: Nobody should pass hurtful comments against women on social media.

His statement comes days after his fans abused and sexually harassed a woman journalist, Dhanya Rajendran, on Twitter.

On Wednesday, Dhanya lodged a complaint with Cyber Crime Branch of police in Chennai against four anonymous Twitter handles.

Vijay's fans targeted the journalist after she tweeted that she walked out of a screening of Vijay's film Sura a few years ago and compared the bad experience with Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Jab Harry Met Sejal.

The fans passed sexual remarks against Dhanya and dragged her family as well as colleagues for insulting their star.
There are a very few movies which receive critical acclaim months before they get released. Nila Madhab Panda's Kadvi Hawa is one such film that has received a Special Mention at the National Film Awards earlier this year.

The film will see acclaimed actors Sanjay Mishra, Tillotama Shome and Ranvir Shorey in lead. The story is a powerful and heartrending drama that captures the issue of the real threat of climate change and its effects on the lives of two ordinary people who survive in extreme weather conditions.

Since the film carries a global message, its first look was unveiled in the presence of Erik Solheim, UN Under Secretary General and Executive Director of UN Environment. Solheim thinks that an entertaining film like Kadvi Hawa is a great medium to spread the message about climate change since people feel that UN talks about the environment in a boring way.

Highlighting the idea to make the film, Panda says, It's an important film for each one of us because climate change is happening everywhere. The idea is to tell an emotional story of people who face the brunt due to change in climate so that people take with them the message and learn from the mistakes. Even though we have damaged the environment in the past, I wish that people, after watching the film, take steps to save the planet as they leap in the future.

The film's story germinated in 2005 when Panda was in his hometown, Orissa, to shoot his first documentary on climate change for Discovery channel. It was then that he came across the shocking incident of rising water levels that persuaded him to make a film on the issue.

Years ago, the coastal belt of Orissa housed seven villages. But in 2005, when I went there, I realised that only two of them survived. I also saw two handpumps submersed in the sea. When I spoke to the local people, they told me that years ago, the handpumps used to be in the middle of the village and due to change in climate, the water level rose and swallowed the handpump.

Actor Sanjay Mishra who is playing the role of a blind farmer in the film says that the film is relevant as a major change in climate is happening now. There was a time in Delhi, when sweaters were worn during October. Now people sit under air conditioners till mid November. This is scary and it's time we took steps to stop the harm. Since cinema is a mirror to the society, our idea is to raise the consciousness among people about Kadvi Hawa.

Akshay Kumar Parija, producer of the film, feels that the movie is coming at an appropriate time when United Nations framework conventions for climatic change is going through a sensitive phase. When Panda conceived the story three years ago, there was no UN forum for climate change. It was just in a discussion phase and we had considered it much before that. I hope that people will wake up after watching the film and they will contribute in addressing this issue together so that we can save more lives, he says.

Actor Ranvir Shorey thinks that globally there's much more needs to be done and calls it the time to consider climate change an important job. We are at a time when action is needed now and unfortunately, at the same time, there is so much happening in the global politics that the issue of climate change is taking a backseat. When actual time comes for climate change, suddenly that subject becomes second priority and seemingly important issues are put in the foreground like job creation and economy.

Kadvi Hawa has been invited to 22 international festivals so far. It is supported by Shakti Foundation and will be released on November 24.
Former Union home minister and Congress general secretary Sushil Kumar Shinde said the BJP used all dirty tricks to prevent Congress president Sonia Gandhis political secretary, Ahmed Patel, from winning the Rajya Sabha elections from Gujarat but failed miserably. Patel got 44 votes and won the prestige fightthat saw him position against BJP president Amit Shahby a whisker. Shah and Union minister Smriti Irani polled 46 votes each and got elected to the Rajya Sabha from Gujarat. Patel returned to the Rajya Sabha from Gujarat for a fifth term. The Election Commission came to the rescue of Patel, after it held the votes of two Congress rebels invalid as they had showed their ballot papers to the BJPs election agent.

Said Shinde to THE WEEK, This is a government which is not interested in governing. It wants to simply fulfil its propaganda. The governments new programmes were only renamed versions of schemes launched by our government. The government has totally failed to revive the economy. Its foreign policy is inconsistent.

Shinde said Patels victory in the Rajya Sabha elections should be an eye-opener for the BJP. The BJP should stop misusing power at least now and shed its arrogance. It should not ruin democratic practices, said Shinde. When asked if the Congress could win the assembly elections in Gujarat later this year, Shinde said it was too early to say that. The BJP is a strong force in Gujarat. Let us see. We need to work hard to defeat the BJP, he said.

Said Ashok Gehlot, former Rajasthan CM and senior Congress leader, to THE WEEK, "What happened in Gujarat is a naked dance of vendetta politics. It is in the interest of the nation for the Congress to win the assembly elections in Gujarat."
The leader of Awami Itehad Party (People's Unity) and MLA of Langate, Abdul Rashid, on Thursday, said he was ready to join the Hurriyat Conference to pursue the cause of right to self-determination.

Senior separatist Syed Ali Shah Geelani had yesterday said the ''conspiracy to remove the Article 35A of the Constitution was aimed at changing the demography of the state and asked the mainstream leaders to join the resistance movement (separatists) to pursue the cause of right of self-determination and prevent the Centre from creating a Palestine-like situation in Kashmir."

Addressing a crowded press conference, Rashid said he will seek an appointment with pro-resistance leaders to discuss the offer of joining them.

"It is not the time to blame each other but work for the resolution of Kashmir dispute and stop New Delhi from its to change the nature of the dispute in Jammu and Kashmir,'' Rashid said.

He said Geelan's appeal to the mainstream parties is of significance and relevance and sincere voices needed to respond.

He said during the last eight years he has met Geelani on several occasions and offered him his support, which the veteran separatist leader, he said, had acknowledged three years back.

He said the pro-freedom leadership and himself were on the same page regarding right to self-determination for Jammu and Kashmir.

''The sincere offer by Geelani Sahab should be taken seriously by all saner voices,'' the legislator from Langate said. ''New Delhis designs to force Kashmiris on the defensive by snatching their special status needs concrete, united and strategic approach.''

He said he would seek appointments with Geelani, Mirwaiz, Yaseen Malik and other pro-freedom leaders, so their offer to mainstream leaders to join them could be discussed with sincerity.

He said he was open to the idea of quitting from the Assembly if the separatists presented a roadmap for the people of Kashmir in a proper way.

He appealed to the NC working president and former chief minister Omar Abdullah not to launch personal attacks against Geelani and others for the larger interest of Kashmiris at this stage.

Rashid is known for his pro-separatist view that he articulates in television debates and the floor of the assembly.

He demanded plebiscite in both sides of Kashmir across the line of control and invokes and has been highly critical of the use of force by security forces in dealing with the protesters.

In a video message, he asked Kashmir police whether it would be fair on their part to fire bullets, pellets and tear shells on protesters if the article 35A was struck off by the Supreme Court.
BIMSTEC senior official level meet kicks off in Kathmandu

The 18th session of the BIMSTEC senior official level meeting kicked off in Kathmandu on Thursday.
A Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader in Bihar was shot dead near Patna on Thursday by unidentified assailants, police said.

Kedar Rai was out on his morning walk in Danapur when the attack took place, the police said.

"It appears to be the work of a sharpshooter," a police officer added.

A seriously injured Rai was rushed to a hospital but declared brought dead. Rai, who was in his 50s, was considered close to RJD chief Lalu Prasad.

According to his family members, he had informed district police about a threat to his life and had even sought security cover. But the request was ignored, they said.

Angry over the incident, hundreds of Danapur residents shouted slogans against Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and staged a protest demanding the arrest of the killers.

Rai is the second RJD leader in Bihar to be murdered after Nitish Kumar formed the new JD-U-BJP government after dumping the Grand Alliance with the RJD and Congress in July end.

Minhaj Khan was the other RJD leader, who was shot dead on July 29 in Siwan district.

Khan was a popular youth leader and was said to be close to former Siwan MP Mohammad Shahabuddin who is currently in prison.
There are two Janata Dal (United)s. One is the sarkarigovernment, and the other is the aslithe real. Saying so at Sonepur where his Bahujan Chaupal Yatra made its first halt on Wednesday, Sharad Yadav, who was for ten long years the president of JD(U) made it amply clear that he and the present party president and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had divorced. All that was left for the relationship to end was for him to be expelled by the party. That way, he will be able to retain his Rajya Sabha seat.

By sarkari JD(U) he meant those who were in government and in the company of the BJP, while by real he meant the others, particularly those who had voted for the grand alliance in September 2015 assembly elections.

The breaking point was not really because Yadav helped Ahmad Patel of the Congress get one all important vote at the cost of violating the party whip in the Rajya Sabha elections from Gujarat. It catapulted Patel to victory, and led to the embarrassment of Nitish Kumar who is part of the NDA and runs a coalition government in his state. Yadav brazenly tweeted his congratulatory message to Patel and posted a picture of the two of them together!

Ahmad Patel's victory was the result of Yadav's anger over developments in the party in Bihar. A founding member of the party, Yadav is angry over his party joining the BJP bandwagon. He has gone on record to say that he had no clue to Kumar's idea of resigning and was even more scandalised at the manner in which he became the chief minister of a JD(U)-BJP coalition government the next morning. There was absolutely no discussion in the party, let alone the alliance, said Yadav. He has asserted that he continues to be with the grand alliance, and charges the chief minister with betraying the trust of 11 crore voters who gave the mandate to the grand alliance.

Yadav resigned from the post of president in April 2016, and Nitish was for the first time elected party president in order to make him the face of the JD(U) that wanted to spread itself beyond the Hindi heartland, particularly Bihar.

Even before Nitish Kumar became president, he became the second pole in the party, with Yadav being the first. Yet, they worked as a team, and Sharad Yadav stood by Nitish Kumar when he snapped his links with the BJP and NDA, and also when he formed the grand alliance ahead of the assembly elections in 2015.

Yadav's Bahujan Chaupalinteraction with the massesYatra is meant to go on till Saturday. There are, according to reports, very few party members in his caravan. Many in the JD(U) apprehend that just the way Nitish Kumar landed in the lap of the BJP, Sharad Yadav may find himself in the Rashtriya Janata Dal of Lalu Yadav.

JD(U) leader K.C. Tyagi says the national executive of the party will meet in Patna on August 19.
The two ideologically divergent ruling partnersthe Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)in Jammu and Kashmir are headed straight for a showdown as the debate over the abrogation of Article 35A of the Constitution heats up.

The alliance between the PDP and the BJP which was called "the meeting of the North Pole and the South Pole" by the late PDP patron, Mufti Muhammad Sayeed, seems to be cracking at the seams.

"Why are they doing it," a visibly disturbed Mehbooba Mufti asked as she warned that any tinkering with the special status of J&K would bring about a situation where "shouldering the national flag" in Kashmir would become impossible for pro-India parties in the state.

The Jammu-centric BJP and the Valley-centric PDP are politically "destined" to oppose each other over the highly sensitive issue.

A presidential order in 1954 brought into existence Article 35A which gives the Jammu and Kashmir legislature powers to define the permanent residents of the state and their privileges.

A petition filed in the Supreme Court seeking abrogation of Article 35A pleads that the presidential order was not ratified by the country's Parliament which alone has the powers to amend the Constitution.

"The president of India cannot exercise the powers to amend the Constitution which is the sole prerogative of Parliament," says the petition, filed by an NGO.

The regional National Conference (NC) headed by Farooq Abdullah, who has been Chief Minister of the state thrice, called an opposition meeting, which was attended by the Congress, the NC and independent legislators of the state.

Abdullah told reporters after the meeting that abrogation of Article 35A would unleash an uprising that the government would not be able to handle.

A day after this statement, Mehbooba Mufti called on Abdullah to discuss ways and means to protect Article 35A.

A statement issued by the NC said the meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere. Abdullah is learnt to have advised Mehbooba to meet other like-minded leaders to work out a joint strategy for the legal defence of the article.

Senior PDP leader and a minister, Naeem Akhtar, said it was a move intended to rise above party politics in the larger interest of the state.

"This is to underline the fact that the constitutional relation between the state and the centre is based on Article 370 and provisions like Article 35A. If anybody tries to weaken these, it will weaken the constitutional relationship between the state and the centre," Akhtar said.

He said the two leaders had agreed that it was time to rise above party politics in the interest of the state.

A meeting called by a citizens' forum in winter capital Jammu has vehemently advocated the abrogation of Article 35A to bring J&K closer to the rest of the country.

Speakers at the meeting in Jammu accused the NC president of trying to mount pressure on the Supreme Court judges by threatening an "uprising" if the article was held as null and void by the bench hearing the petition.

The separatists have also called for a protest shutdown on August 12 against attempts to do away with the state's special status.

It is generally argued in the Valley that abrogation of Article 35A would not only do away with the special citizenship rights of the people in J&K, but would also take to its logical conclusion the rightwing agenda of the state's complete merger with India.

As all eyes remain fixed on the decision of the apex Court on the petition filed before it, the political temperatures in J&K are rising to a point where the "meeting of the North Pole and South Pole" would become politically as impossible as it is geographically.

(IANS)
Former ministers son holds two PAN cards

Mohammed Abdulla Khan, son of Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan, came under the scanner for allegedly possessing two PAN cards. He had allegedly submitted a different PAN card when he filed nomination papers to the Election Commission, and a different one for IT returns. The matter came to light after an investigation done by Rampur's District Magistrate who has sent his report to the office of chief electoral officer. A complaint was registered by RSS worker Aakash Saxena who is the son of a BJP minister. Saxena has also demanded to annul legislative assembly membership of Mohammed Abdulla Khan and lodge an FIR against him.



Akhileshs convoy skips toll tax

Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadavs convoy of about 200 vehicles going from Lucknow to Faizabad crossed the Ahamedpur toll plaza without paying toll tax. This has been confirmed by the toll plaza manager Arvind Singh Chauhan who said that this has caused loss of Rs 17,000 to the state exchequer. According to project director P. Shiv Shanker, there is no exemption for former chief ministers. However, he added that the matter is yet to come to him. Akhilesh and his team were on their way to address a rally in Faizabad.



Rahul Gandhi 'missing'

Amethi, which also happens to be Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi's Lok Sabha constituency, witnessed an interesting incident over the past few days. Posters claiming Rahul Gandhi to be missing were spotted in various places. The posters in Hindi read: Amethi ke manniye sansad Rahul Gandhi Amethi se la-pata hai. Jiske karan sansad dawara karayae jane wale vikas karya inke karyakal mein thap hain [Respected MP of Amethi, Rahul Gandhi is missing. Because of this development works supposed to be undertaken during his tenure have come to a halt]. Congress party workers blame the prank on BJP and RSS workers. Rahul Gandhi had last visited Amethi during the assembly polls in February. Though the Congress plans to register an FIR in this connection, police officials say that they have not yet received any complaint. BJP leader Uma Shanker Pandey said that his party men does not have any role to play in this issue.

Watered-down fuel in vehicles

Several vehicles in Lucknow, on Wednesday, stopped running mid-way. Investigations have revealed the culprit to be adulterated fuelpetrol and diesel mixed with water. Consumers protested, and a subsequent inquiry found that three petrol pumps in the city were selling adulterated fuel. These petrol pumps were shut down by authorities.



Voter ids for a meagre sum

A suspected Bangladeshi terrorist who was nabbed by police recenlty has made some startling revelations. He said terrorists who sneak into India from Bangladesh through border states of Tripura, Assam and West Bengal get fake documents such as Aadhaar cards and voter ids easily in India. After that they can freely visit any part of the country. He had come to India in 2011 via Tripura where he got his fake voter id and other documents by shelling out a small amount of money.






Gina Miller, the Indian origin campaigner who won a Brexit legal challenge against the UK government, has said she has been receiving threats of acid attacks and is afraid to leave her home.

The 52-year-old businesswoman, who had mounted a successful legal challenge to prevent British Prime Minister Theresa May from triggering Brexit without Parliament's approval, on Wednesday said that if the threats continued and became too much to bear she would "seriously consider" leaving Britain, the Guardian reported.

"I have been getting threats of having acid thrown in my face for months and months now. When I see someone walk towards me on the street with a bottle of water or something, I just freak out," the newspaper quoted her as telling Verdict magazine.

With the backdrop of a spate of acid attacks across the country, she said, "My life has completely changed."

Miller spoke of her fears just weeks after a man, Viscount Rhodri Philips, was jailed for 12 weeks for racially abusing her on the social media.

Four days after she won the High Court challenge against the government over Brexit last year, Phillips offered a bounty for her to be run over. He offered "5,000 for the first person to accidentally' run over this bloody troublesome first generation immigrant".

He described her as a "boat jumper" adding: "If this is what we should expect from immigrants, send them back to their stinking jungles".

In a statement to court, Miller said she felt "violated" by his remarks, which were "offensive, racist and hateful".

But even Phillips' three-month jail sentence has not put people off sending malicious messages and death threats, Miller said.

"I get people who send me death threats who include their name and full address on the letters. People are so bold that they just don't hide," she said.

She has had 24-hour security installed in her home, hired security guards and is forced to spend weekends at home with her family because she cannot face leaving the house, the report said.

"If it came to the point that it was just too much to bear from a security point of view, if I sat down with my police teams and we felt that it was a really serious threat, I would have to seriously consider leaving the UK," Miller added.

"This would break my heart because I love this country and I am fighting for it."

In January this year, the Metropolitan police said they had issued eight "cease and desist" notices to people who had sent Miller threatening messages.
The problem with issuing a dire ultimatum as a first response to a traditionally bellicose regime is that the one issuing it is boxed in. That could well be the problem that President Donald Trump could likely face as he deals with North Korea's supreme leader Kim Jong-Un's increasingly aggressive moves threatening the United States.

In a statement that is said to have taken the national security establishment by surprise, the US president said, North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States. They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen. This came in the aftermath of unconfirmed reports that US intelligence had learned that Pyongyang has produced miniaturised nuclear warheads that can be mounted on a missile.

Coupled with the fact that it now has long-range intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) capable of reaching the United States, the latest unconfirmed intelligence is certainly worrisome. However, through the retaliatory threat of unleashing fire and fury like the world has never seen, thereby clearly implying a nuclear strike, Trump's statement may turn out to be one too soon.

Rather than feeling chastised, North Korea seems to feel emboldened as its state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) issued several statements, including the one that said the government was "carefully examining" plans to launch missiles at the US-controlled island of Guam in the Pacific Ocean. The island is a greatly significant US strategic outpost in the Asia-Pacific region, 28 per cent of which is occupied by the military. There are currently 6,000 US military personnel stationed there and there are plans to add another 5,000 marines by 2022.

A day after the US president's "fire and fury" threat, Pyongyang upped the ante, calling it a "load of nonsense" on August 9. It went a step further by issuing an even more specific threat to fire four missiles that it said would land within 40 kilometers of Guam as a sort of a shot across the bow.

That Pyongyang intensified its original threat barely 24 hours later in the face of the unprecedented warning from the US president speaks of the imprudence of his response. It is the kind of ultimatum that has to be backed with action without which Washington will have no next step as Pyongyang continues to ratchet up its aggression. Kim Jong-Un considers nuclear weapons as his only guarantee of survival in the face of mounting international pressure on him. He is not going to give those up, no matter what the international community might say or do.

Guam's 3,400-mile distance from Pyongyang is well within its strike capabilities and it is not altogether inconceivable that the mentally-besieged supreme leader might actually carry it out. If that happens, Trump can always retaliate well below his "fire and fury like the world has never seen" threat but that would expose his bluster to Kim, something America cannot afford. The 33-year-old Kim sees nuclear weapons as equalising him with the 71-year-old Trump despite such massive chasm between the two countries' military and economic strengths.

At a personal level, the idea that he is able to provoke a strong response from the US president senior to him by nearly four decades is bound to give Kim a considerable thrill. Traditionally, the North Korean leadership has thrived on such saber-rattling and now that the sabre has a nuclear edge, it is expected to make diplomatic intercourse with him that much harder.

The US president's statement is in direct conflict with his own Secretary of State Rex Tillerson just a few days ago. "We do not seek a regime change," Tillerson said on August 1 before he set off on a visit to the Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand. "We do not seek the collapse of the regime, we do not seek an accelerated reunification of the peninsula, we do not seek an excuse to send our military north of the 38th parallel," he said.

A little over a week later the situation has taken a 180-degree turn with reports of Pyongyang being able to miniaturise nuclear warheads, stringent United Nations sanctions against North Korea, Trump's extraordinary statement and Pyongyang's threat against Guam.

The "fire and fury" statement has startled many. Republican Senator John McCain (Arizona), not known to shy away from wars, said in a radio interview: "I take exception to the president's comments because you've got to be able to do what you say you're going to do. In other words, the old walk softly but carry a big stick, Teddy Roosevelt's saying, which I think is something that should've applied because all it's going to do is bring us closer to a serious confrontation."

It is hard to make concession in the name of Trump's characteristic penchant for hyperbole and bluster because he is dealing with a leader who has lived outside international norms in the tradition of his father Kim Jong-Il and grandfather Kim Il-sung. Unless the US president thinks that he can conduct his country's foreign policy with a measure of matching cavalier style, his threat might turn out to be a case of premature articulation.

IANS
Chitwan folks begin relay hunger strike in support of Dr KC

Solidarity for Dr KC Alliance has organised a relay hunger strike in Chitwan expressing support for Orthopaedic surgeon Dr Govinda KC who has been staging an indefinite hunger strike.
CIAA names investigation officer as it boosts probe

The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has named an investigation officer to conduct a detailed enquiry into Nepal Oil Corporations (NOC) controversial land deal.
A number of months ago, a large esrog orchard was planted in Jordan, in an area near a central city as the investors are hopeful relations with Jordan will remain peaceful and he will be able to import mehudar esrogim from there. These esrogim will provide a solution during shmitah year but owners are hopeful there will be esrogim before the next shmitah.

The idea that of an entrepreneur during the last shmitah year, and for this purpose he contacted businessmen in Jordan and studied the area. A special agronomist was also sent to inspect the area, in order to provide a professional opinion regarding the quality of the esrogim that would grow in a desert area.

After the various tests, including the economic feasibility, it was decided to involve the members of the Eida Chareidis kashrus, who gave their blessing to the move, after they were presented with the main argument that the move was made for the shmitah.

Esrogim require a great deal of work and even when there are tensions between Israel and Jordan, there will be activities on the ground as Jews will be required to work to take care of the planted trees towards realizing a good crop.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
The Israeli military on Thursday said it has identified two residential buildings in the northern Gaza Strip as potential military targets after discovering Hamas terror tunnels underneath them.

The army released satellite images of the homes, located near the Israeli border, on Thursday, a day after it struck Hamas targets in Gaza in response to a rocket strike on southern Israel.

Maj. Gen. Eyal Zamir, head of Israels Southern Command, said the situation in Gaza is stable, but volatile. But he said the two buildings in the photos would be legitimate targets in the event of a future conflict and would draw Israeli forces into densely populated civilian areas.

The military did not say how the tunnels had been identified.

One of the buildings identified was a six-story residential building constructed in the past two years, after a 2014 war with Gazas Hamas rulers.

The location of the tunnel shafts in these buildings is intended to disguise them under civilian cover, the army said in a statement. In wartime, these exploited locations become legitimate military targets under international law.

During a 2014 war, Hamas used tunnels to attack Israeli targets. Israel destroyed over 30 tunnels during the fighting and has identified the tunnels as a strategic threat.

Israel began construction of an underground anti-tunnel barrier along the border last year. Zamir said the barrier was expected to be completed within two years.

Hamas's tunnel network is running right under its civilians' feet pic.twitter.com/3s9akXo0AC  IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) August 10, 2017

(AP)
I have four pretty tiny company pensions having moved jobs a few times in quite quick succession.

One has just over 5,000 in it and is invested by BlackRock in its own global equities fund. Thats from an old employer so I no longer contribute to it.

Two of them  also from old employers  are likely to have just a few hundred pounds in them and Ive got no idea where theyre invested or how to get at them.

I am also contributing to my company pension with my current employer. This is invested with Fidelity and Ive chosen a mix of five different funds that I think are a bit higher risk, as Im still in my early 30s.

If you do nothing when you move jobs then your company pension stays where it is

I want to know whether I should consolidate these pots, how I do this and also where I should consolidate to?

Can I put everything into a Sipp and if I do this, will my employer contribute to that or will they keep contributing to my existing company pension?

The reason I am wondering about a Sipp is that the number of investment options in the company pension scheme is really limited and Id like more choice.

Selby: Once youre sure your policies dont come with guarantees or exit fees, you can look into consolidating your pots with a single provider

Tom Selby, senior analyst at AJ Bell, replies: Your situation mirrors that faced by millions of other savers in the UK. People have, on average, 11 jobs throughout their working lives and its possible that each of these jobs will come with its own pension plan.

If you do nothing when you move jobs then your pension stays where it is.

For many people consolidating their pots to a single provider makes sense simply from an administrative perspective. That way you have just one account to log in to, one set of investments to keep an eye on and one lot of charges to monitor.

Before you consolidate your pensions its worth checking if your existing plans come with any guarantees, such as a Guaranteed Annuity Rate (GAR).

These can be extremely valuable and if you decide to transfer, any guarantees will be lost.

These were more common in policies sold in the 1980s and 90s, so given your age its pretty unlikely your pensions will come with guarantees  but its worth double-checking with your provider.

If youre sure your policies dont come with guarantees or exit fees, you can look into consolidating your pots with a single provider

The next thing to check for is exit fees - again these are more common in older policies so youre unlikely to be affected.

While these have been capped at 1 per cent for people who access their pot from age 55, they remain uncapped for transfers before age 55.

Once youre sure your policies dont come with guarantees or exit fees, you can look into consolidating your pots with a single provider.

In order to do this youll need your old schemes policy number, which you should be able to get from the scheme provider. Once you provide this and some personal details to your chosen scheme, they should contact your old provider and sort out moving your investments over. This process shouldnt take longer than four to six weeks.

You should think carefully about whats important to you when picking your new provider.

Different firms have different costs and charges, with some charging a percentage of the assets you invest and others a flat fee.

Equally, some providers will offer a wide range of investments while others might offer a more limited choice, so its worth spending some time shopping around before you transfer.

You should also check the charges associated with the funds you are buying and think about how much risk you want to take.

As you rightly say younger people can tend to absorb more investment risk than older savers, but you still need to be aware that the value of your fund could go down as well as up  especially in the short term.

Costs and charges are particularly important and even a small difference in charges could reduce the value of your retirement pot by tens of thousands of pounds over your lifetime.

When it comes to your workplace pension  which comes with a matched employer contribution as well as tax relief  your employer does not have to offer you a choice of schemes.

Some might offer to enrol you into a self invested personal pension (Sipp) and pay contributions into that scheme, but this is entirely up to their own discretion.

You can, however, open a Sipp yourself and move your workplace fund into this account if thats what you want to do. However, your employer may only pay contributions into your existing company scheme which would negate some of the benefits of having everything in one place so this is something worth checking with your employer.

Its possible that the process of monitoring your pensions will change significantly in the next few years.

The Government has tasked the pensions industry with creating Pensions Dashboards, a technology-driven solution which it is hoped will allow you to see the value of all your retirement pots online in one place  even if you dont decide to transfer.

It is envisaged this project will be complete by 2019, although people may still choose to transfer if they think they can get a better deal by consolidating their pots in one place.
Experts say Doklam standoff opens avenue for Nepal to settle its boundary issues

Amid a seven-week military standoff between India and China over Doklam plateau, Beijing on Tuesday upped the ante, with the Press Trust of India quoting a senior Chinese official as saying what New Delhi would do if China enters Kalapani region in Uttarakhand or Kashmir.
MBABANE  The capital city does not have sex workers! On Tuesday night, police officers were spotted around the city centre and the outskirts of the capital city, looking for women found loitering at night.

The officers who started the operation at around 10pm, were seen as far as Ngwenya border gate and in the city centre until around 2am. All the isolated places in town and outside of town were visited by the cops and some were stationed there for some time before moving along to the next suspected hotspot for sex workers.



In all the places they visited, they could not find even one woman breaking the law and they had to abandon their operation without making an arrest.

However, it was a different story for police officers from Lobamba, who had a fruitful operation as three arrests were made of ladies of the night. The operation was held by police from both Lobamba and Ezulwini police station the same night. Ezulwini is mostly known to have sex workers who target tourists booked at the hotels and lodges in that area.



Superintendent Khulani Mamba, the Chief Police Information and Communications Officer, confirmed the arrest of three sex workers in Lobamba.

It would seem the sex workers around Mbabane have discussed the arrest issues with those in Manzini. In the past, we heard that the ladies would be found near the Fire and Emergency Services Station at night but we did not find anybody there. Lobamba police also arrested only three women when normally they are a lot. If you are found on the wrong side of the law, you will face the music. There were no arrests of sex workers in Mbabane. Those arrested in Lobamba were taken to court, Mamba said.



The three women appeared at the Lobamba Swazi National Court and they were sentenced to four months imprisonment with an option of a fine of E400, which they all paid.

Recently, Manzini police arrested 30 sex workers who were taken to court and they entered pleas of guilty. Also, Piggs Peak sex workers found themselves having to face the law after they were rounded up by police officers.



They were charged with breaking section 49 (1) (e) of the Crimes Act as amended in the Kings Order Council No.27 of 1977, which among others provides that: Any person is guilty of an offence if found loitering at anytime in any thoroughfare or public place for purposes of prostitution or solicitation or to the annoyance of the public.
Former Minister Sibusiso Shongwe and his lawyer Mzwandile Sobandla Dlamini during one of his court appearances after his arrest. (File Pic)

MBABANE -I have not dumped my client. These were the words of lawyer Mzwandile Sobandla Dlamini after he was asked why he failed to show up in court on Tuesday to represent former Minister Sibusiso Shongwe.

Shongwe instructed Dlamini of MS Dlamini Legal to represent him in his corruption trial, which was scheduled to begin on Tuesday. However, Dlamini was nowhere in court when the matter was called.



In a brief interview yesterday, Dlamini said he had spoken to the former minister and explained his reasons for not showing up and he understood.

He further mentioned that he would be appearing on behalf of Shongwe in his next appearance.

I am not running away from Shongwe and I am still representing him in the matter. Although I cannot disclose the reasons in public, why I did not show up, but I can safely say they were personal and not in any way related to the matter, he stated.



Dlamini said he was prepared for the matter and would avail the reasons for not showing up to the judge.

To indicate that Shongwe is still my client, I have not filed any notice withdrawing as his attorney of record, concluded Dlamini.

On Tuesday, Vusi Thomo of Sibusiso B Shongwe and Associates, who appeared on behalf of the former minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, informed the court that Shongwe was facing a very unfortunate situation.

He explained that since Friday last week, lawyer Dlamini could not be located or reached on his cellphone until the matter went to court.



Thomo told the court that they had not been able to locate Dlamini since last week despite that he was the instructed attorney.

Thomo said it was Dlamini who was instructed to move the application challenging the arrest warrant.



Judge Mbutfo Mamba gave Senator Shongwe time to instruct an attorney and the matter will proceed on Monday. The judge said the trial would proceed with or without Shongwes chosen attorney.

The unavailability of Dlamini on Tuesday resulted in the court postponing the matter.

My only consideration is the absence of Dlamini. At this stage it would not be proper to order that the trial should continue in his absence. His absence has not been explained. I shall give him a chance to instruct counsel. But we cannot wait forever, said Judge Mamba.
MANZINI  An outing by a group of pupils has brought agony after one of them was allegedly drugged and later became unconscious for about five days.



The family of the15-year-old boy, who only responded to doctors medication for just a few minutes before reverting to his unconscious state, still has unanswered questions on what exactly happened to their son.

The family was called and informed that *Muzi was lying unconscious in a flat at Mbhuleni after a school outing.



*Muzi, together with his friends from Mbekelweni Lutheran High School, decided to go swimming in one of the resorts around the Ezulwini Valley on Saturday, an outing which they had planned from the beginning of the year.

Gogo Msibi, who is a guardian to *Muzi, who is doing Form IV at the same school, said no one was giving any clarity on what exactly happened to her grandson.



She said all she knew was that her grandson was with 15 other pupils and they ended up in Matsapha where *Muzi was found unconscious.

Suspicions are that the boy, an orphan who lost both his parents when he was young, was forced to eat food or have drinks laced with either marijuana or other unknown dangerous and highly intoxicating drugs.

Gogo Msibi said she was called by her grandsons classmates on Sunday morning, informing her that *Muzi could not wake up and seemed not to be breathing.



Apparently the friends had paged through *Muzis phone and found Msibis number.

When I eventually got transport to the place, I found him in a bad state. His eyes were closed and he was not moving or talking. An ambulance was called and he was rushed to the hospital. After doctors had attended and put him on intravenous fluids, he started having seizures and was hallucinating. He was then given injections. I know that he is asthmatic and that could have also contributed to his condition. As to what happened before I was called, I do not have any idea as I was not there, Gogo Msibi said.



From there onwards, *Muzi has been in an unconscious state.

Msibi further revealed that her grandson was a well-behaved boy, who never involved himself in mischievous activities such as drinking and smoking.

The boys grandmother also revealed that before he reverted to his unconscious state in hospital, *Muzi tried to speak but was hardly audible.
Flash flood wreaks havoc in Kaski village

Fifteen homes were destroyed when a flash flood struck Pathre settlement of Machhapuchhre Rural Municipality-5 in Kaski on Tuesday night.
Free visa free ticket scheme a dud: Panel

The highly ambitious government scheme of free visa free ticket introduced in for migrant workers has been a complete failure, a House panel report has concluded. The government had announced the scheme in June 2015 with an aim to facilitate migrant workers leaving the country in search of jobs.
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By Gina Martinez

Police have arrested a man they believe could be behind six attacks against women in Forest Park since 2011.

Mark Andrade, 42, of Richmond Hill, was arrested last week in connection with the attempted rape of a 24-year-old in March 2013, police said.

According to the criminal complaint, Andrade disabled the victim with a stun gun and demanded that she show her breast and crotch, telling her Were going to have sex, I have a condom.

The complaint said that during the attack he removed her shorts and underwear. The victim felt a hard object in his pocket and believed it was a weapon, which turned out to be a beer bottle, and threw it into a nearby bush as she was assaulted, it said When a couple approached the scene, Andrade fled and took the victims cellphone, underwear and shorts, the complaint said.

Officers were able to find the beer bottle and the DNA collected matched Andrades, leading to his arrest, police said. Andrade had been arrested earlier on charges of grand larceny in Nassau County and his DNA was then entered into the states data bank, which produced a match, police said.

Andrade is also suspected of attacking five additional women between 2011 and 2013, police said. In 2011, a 54-year-old and a 13-year-old were attacked in separate incidents. Then in 2012, two women, one 34 years old and the other 40, were groped on the path along Park Lane South. In August 2013, a 69-year-old woman was Tazed and raped in the area as well. Police said they were still investigating those other attacks.

Andrade was arraigned in Queens Criminal Court Friday and charged with attempted rape, robbery, assault and criminal possession of a weapon. He was held on $2 million bond or $500,000 cash bond in the March 2013 attack.

Cameras were installed in Forest Park last year following the attacks.

Queens residents can rest assured today because of the professionalism of our NYPD Queens Special Victims Task-Force and Queens South, Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Maspeth) said. After years of terrorizing women in Forest Park, a solid arrest has been made. I will work closely with the Queens District Attorney to make sure we have a prosecution done to the fullest extent of the law.

On Wednesday, Crowley presented the NYPDs Forest Park Stranger Rape Pattern Investigation Team of the Special Victims Division with a City Council proclamation. According to Crowley, the proclamation honored their work and dedication to safeguarding local residents and the countless people who visit Forest Park every single day.

Crowley said the 32-member team followed up on more than 120 tips and leads, interviewed hundreds of people, examined video from dozens of locations, performed analytical data mining, and obtained and processed forensic evidence from each assault crime scene.
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By Bill Parry

The NYPDs Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating a bias incident in Astoria where a food vendor was pelted by eggs wrapped in hateful notes. Farid El-Baghdadi, 56, told police the eggs were thrown at him while his food truck was parked on Steinway Street several times in the last few weeks.

It happened again Monday as El-Baghdadi, an Egyptian, sat next to his van on Steinway Street near 25th Avenue. El-Baghdadi was hit on his right side with an egg attached to a note that contained anti-Muslim and anti-Arab messages, police said.

He was not hurt and a search of the area was negative, according to the NYPD.

This vicious attack is hateful and derogatory. Astorians deserve a safe community without fear of assault or harassment because of their religion, City Councilman Costa Constantinides (D-Astoria) said. As hate crimes have risen this past year, we reaffirm our core American beliefs in justice and unity, and stand against hatred and bigotry. We thank the 114th Precinct and the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force for investigating this heinous crime.

 Bill Parry
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The Black Leadership Action Coalition rallied outside the New York City Board of Elections Tuesday demanding restoration of voting sites at LeFrak City, contending the relocation of the polls is an act of voter suppression.

The voting booths had been removed because of complaints starting in 2008 that they were not in compliance with the American Disabilities Act, but were only recently relocated, giving little notice to LeFrak City residents who have been using the booths for more than 50 years.

It is the duty of the Board of Elections to inform tenants of this move and grant the opportunity to make the locations more accessible, but they made no effort to do any such thing, and asked for zero input from the community, Black Leadership Action Coalition Founder and President Bertha Lewis said. With the primary in one month, this relocation is far too short of notice for residents. If this was such a big issue, why werent they moved last year or back in 2008 when the issues were first identified? This is just a political tactic designed to disenfranchise low-income people and people of color from the right to vote. This type of voter suppression is something we normally associate with the South and ultra-conservative politics, so you would think that in a city as diverse as ours, you would not see such an outrageous abuse of power.

The LeFrak City complex houses nearly 25,000 resident and is considered to be partial to Hiram Monserrate in his City Council race with Assemblyman Francisco Moya (D-East Elmhurst) for the East Elmhurst seat. Lewis has endorsed Monserrate.

The Board of Elections did not respond to a request for comment by press time.

The relocation of polling sites should never happen without getting input from residents of the affected community  and without letting them be involved in every aspect of the decision making process, District Leader Geoffrey Davis said. Doing anything less than that is de facto disenfranchisement.

Lewis called for alternatives to the relocation of the voting booths a half mile away. She suggested several fixes to make the sites ADA compliant, including increased voting sites within LeFrak City to reduce the number of people at each site and a change in the wheelchair ramps.

Instead of using the disabled as a cover for their political game, we at BLAC, along with other community groups, are willing to work with the New York City Board of Elections to find a way to keep the District 21 polling site within LeFrak City for the upcoming election and to develop a permanent solution to the problem. This does not just affect one election or one party. Everyone should be concerned about such an outrageous and blatant attempt at voter suppression.

Lewis also called for a joint investigation by the state Board of Elections and the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.
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By Tammy Scileppi

If you believe that enjoying a good cup of coffee and colorful artwork is great for the psyche, you should check out Forest Hills newest java hotspot, Pink Forest Cafe, which opened its doors to eager patrons last Friday at 72-01 Austin St.

I am so happy to see the addition of the Pink Forest Cafe to the east end of Austin Street, said Forest Hills Chamber of Commerce President Leslie Brown. There have been several great spots that have opened on the east end that are really making this side of Austin Street a hip place to be. I Ramen, Violets Bake Shop, Snow Days, and Forest Hills Barber are some of the new cool places that have opened recently.

I just love the eclectic menu featuring teas, coffee, Asian sandwiches, and the warm, inviting vibe at the Pink Forest.

According to Brown, the husband-and-wife team that opened the cafe, own a dance studio in Manhattan, so this will be their first restaurant. They plan on being active in the community and joining the chamber, and look forward to participating in the Sept. 24 Shop Forest Hills Fall Street Fair.

Pink Forest was mobbed with new customers Saturday morning. That evening, the cafe was already running out of certain menu items, according to the friendly counter person/barista, who took the time to describe some of their tempting artisanal offerings.

But while there are plenty of unique and standard options, like Vietnamese sandwiches and freshly baked bagels and croissants, it seems theres one that really stands out. The cafes featured item, JianBing, is a traditional Northern Chinese dish with over 100 years of history. Its made with flour and egg, fried to a crispy fritter and filled with sweet sauce, hot sauce, lettuce, green onion, and coriander.

Forest Hills-based visual artist Susan Varo of My Works of Art, LLC, visited the cafe for coffee and dessert and while she was there, asked about exhibiting her artwork, but was told they were still in the process of opening. A while back, her paintings, along with other community artists works, were displayed at the Red Pipe Cafe, located across the street from Pink Forest.

Cafes have always been frequented by creative types. What better place to work and get inspired, while socializing, eating and drinking good coffee?

Well-known writers and authors of yesteryear wrote some of their most famous works while sitting in a cozy cafe, where they could observe people and watch the world go by. The same is true today.

J. K. Rowling (Author and Harry Potters creator) once said, The idea of just wandering off to a cafe with a notebook and writing  and seeing where that takes me for a while  is just bliss.
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By Lenore Skenazy

Marco! Halle Berry calls to her insanely adorable son in the new movie, Kidnap.

Polo! the 6-year-old gleefully calls back.

Marco! Halle calls again, as they play in a sun-dappled park.

Polo!

If youve seen the poster for this movie  or heck, noticed its name  it will come as no surprise that a few minutes later, when Halle is distracted by a phone call from her lawyer telling her that her ex wants full custody of the kid (hiss!), her child disappears. He has been Taken.

Oh wait. Sorry. Thats the Liam Neeson franchise. But anyway, yes, her child has disappeared in the blink of an eye  no one saw him snatched, he didnt protest or scream  and a few frantic scenes later Halle spies him being loaded into a car even older than my own. Incredible. How is it that child-snatching is presented as such a lucrative business (according to the movie, kids go for $100,000 each) and yet the snatchers drive clunkers?

It must be because they drive the most amazing clunkers in all creation, capable of careening through 90 minutes of Hollywood car chases. For that is what Kidnap quickly becomes: Halle on the heels of the creeps, gunning down the highway (setting off other car wrecks on the way, all treated as meh, because she is a mom on a mission), interspersed with car interior shots of Halle talking to herself  Im coming, baby!  and  thats it. Plus, in one scene, theres a shovel to someones head. Now you dont have to buy a ticket.

But a trite script and only moderately tense car chase are not whats criminal about this movie. Whats criminal is that it is supposed to be a heroic tale of Halle dealing with every moms worst nightmare: a stranger kidnapping her kid. But instead of empowering moms, the plot reinforces the idea that this particular crime is, if not common, at least something that normal parents should consider when taking their kids on an outing.

Thinking that way is not only terrifying, it is changing the way we parent, and the way our kids grow up.

Strangers kidnapping young children and selling them is such a vanishingly rare crime that David Finkelhor, director of the Crimes against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire, said hed file the Kidnap movie under science fiction. In fact, if for some reason you wanted your child to be kidnapped by a stranger, do you know how long you would have to leave him or her outside, unattended, for this to be statistically likely to happen?

A day? An hour? Two minutes while you talk on the phone to your divorce lawyer?

The answer is 750,000 years. Its like how many lottery tickets you would have to buy to make it statistically likely youd win. Youd have to leave your kid outside for 750,000 years before you could be pretty sure hed be kidnapped, according to numbers crunched for me by Warwick Cairns, author of How to Live Dangerously.

And yet, around the country, parents wait with their kids at the bus stop every morning now, or drive them door-to-door. A Mayo Clinic study found that three out of four parents are afraid their children will be abducted. This fear translates into kids being constantly supervised outdoors, or simply stashed indoors, for fear of predators.

A single movie doesnt move the needle, but what we have today is a culture so obsessed by kiddie kidnapping youll often find a booth at street fairs where parents are encouraged to fingerprint their kids, save a bit of their hair, and sometimes even have the kids take a dental impression, all to be prepared if the unthinkable (that we cant stop thinking about) occurs.

An article this past weekend about one such booth quoted a mom saying, Theres so many children that are taken, and trying to get all these things together in that moment of panic is hard.

The author is already rehearsing the Kidnap scenario in her head.

What is the harm of being prepared? Its that in our focus on kidnapping, we have changed childhood. Fewer kids run around outside or even know how to organize a game. We think were keeping them safe, but in reality we are exposing them to far more likely dangers. Obesity and childhood depression are both up. My gosh, adult onset diabetes soared 30 percent from 2000 to 2009  in kids.

We are making our kids more emotionally and physically vulnerable by not letting them do things on their own. Until we give them back some unstructured, unsupervised time outside, consider them kidnapped  by us.
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By Bill Parry

During the last two winters, Sunnyside resident Regina Shandley and members of the United Forties civic association have volunteered to collect socks for residents of homeless shelters that operate at hotels in Woodside. The sock drives started after a woman at the Metro Hotel on Queens Boulevard told Shandley that most of the residents there had only one pair of socks for the entire winter.

Last winter, we collected enough to fill several garbage bags. We gathered between 700 and 1,000 pairs, Shandley said. If we could get that many socks in Sunnyside and Woodside, imagine what we could do if we did the drive citywide. Wed collect millions.

A new door-to-door survey, commissioned by the city, found that residents of four western Queens neighborhoods have a civic engagement level more than 48 percent higher than the national average. The study, released last week, surveyed more than 850 residents of Sunnyside, Woodside, Jackson Heights and East Elmhurst. It was conducted by Professor John Mollenkopf of the CUNY Graduate Center and the Mayors Community Affairs and Public Engagement Units.

This one-of-a-kind effort reveals the contours of civic engagement in some of New York Citys most diverse and interesting neighborhoods  and shows their residents care about neighborhood issues and commit their time to taking care of them, Mollenkopf said.

For nearly three decades, the Jackson Heights Beautification Group has enlisted volunteers to assist in the upkeep of the neighborhood.

By volunteering, residents participate in democracy that goes beyond the voting booth, Jackson Heights Beautification President Len Maniace said. They become part of a community of people that helps shape the future of our neighborhood as a place for all its residents. I think volunteering for a group like ours connects you to many of your neighbors, people who you probably would never have known. As a result, we think weve helped to make Jackson Heights the small town in a big city.

The neighborhoods were selected for their diverse economic, racial and housing characteristics. The study found residents engaging at more than three times higher than had traditionally been reported.

No, Im not surprised at all, Shandley said. Ive lived on the Sunnyside-Woodside border for more than 30 years and the residents here are very generous with their time and money. After Hurricane Sandy the community got together to collect supplies and the hallways of Councilman Jimmy Van Bramers offices were filled in no time.

Other findings showed residents face significant obstacles to volunteering, such as lack of time and lack of knowledge of available volunteer opportunities. In response, the city will launch the NYC Neighborhood Civil Engagement Pilot in the Sunnyside, Woodside and Jackson Heights area later this year to help volunteer organizations recruit and manage volunteers and increase the visibility and access of volunteer opportunities to residents.

That would be great, Shandley said. There are so many people who want to get involved but dont know how to get involved with the organizations that need the most help. If we could connect them, it would be amazing.

Based on the results, NYC Service will expand to additional neighborhoods in 2018.
Anup Ojha is a reporter for The Kathmandu Post primarily covering social issues and human interest stories. Before moving to the social beat, Ojha covered arts and culture for the Post for four years.
Dutch police arrested two suspects on Thursday as part of an investigation into the illegal use of a potentially harmful insecticide in the poultry industry, the Dutch prosecution service said.

Millions of chicken eggs have been pulled from European supermarket shelves as a result of the scare over the use of the insecticide fipronil, and hundreds of thousands of hens may be culled in the Netherlands.

Prosecutors said in a statement they had conducted raids at eight locations in the Netherlands and Belgium, confiscating cars and seizing bank accounts and real estate.

The arrested suspects were directors at Dutch company Chickfriend, which is at the center of the scandal. Officials at the company could not be reached for comment.

Raids were conducted at locations linked to Chickfriend, which allegedly used the pesticide, as well as potential suppliers.

The company directors are suspected of threatening public health and possession of a prohibited pesticide, prosecutors said.

Fipronil is a popular insecticide to treat pets for fleas and ticks but it is forbidden for use in the food chain. The World Health Organization considers fipronil to be moderately toxic and says very large quantities can cause organ damage.

The German agriculture ministry estimates that 10.7 million possibly contaminated eggs were delivered to Germany from the Netherlands, according to a report to be published in the Rheinische Post newspaper on Friday.

The ministry, in response to a query from the Greens party, also cited growing concerns about processed foods that might contain contaminated eggs, and said data received from the Dutch and Belgian governments had been "insufficient", the paper said.

Romania\s food safety authority, ANSVSA, seized one tonne of German origin liquid egg yolk contaminated with fipronil from a warehouse in the western county of Timis, it said on Thursday.

"The quantity was seized from the storage space of the unit which received it from Germany. No amount of that bunch was sold on the Romanian market. The 1,000-kilogram egg yolk will be neutralized by incineration," ANSVSA said.

In Britain, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) said it had found more eggs than previously believed had entered the food chain, mainly through processed food.

"It is very unlikely that these eggs pose a risk to public health, but as Fipronil is unauthorized for use in food-producing animals we have acted with urgency to ensure that consumers are protected," it said.

It is likely that the number of potentially contaminated eggs to enter the U.K. is closer to 700,000 than 21,000 previously reported, the FSA said.

SOURCE: REUTERS
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
Human distress

Govt needs to do more to protect migrant workers in the Gulf region
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The Port of Coeymans is likely to help build components for another power plant that PSEG is building in Connecticut.

Officials with the port say there are plans to build another large heat recovery steam generator, similar to the $195 million generator that was built at the port and shipped this week down the Hudson River to Sewaren,N.J., where PSEG is building a new $600 million natural gas, combined cycle power plant that will replace recently decommissioned coal plants.

Being able to make and deliver such a large generator, after putting the eight-million-pound piece of equipment on a barge towed by tug boats, is now a competency that port officials can pitch to companies seeking such expertise.

The 130-foot-tall generator was assembled by a joint venture between two companies, Durr Mechanical Construction of New York City and Megrant Corp. of West Babylon, L.I. The project employed 350 people in Coeymans.

The pieces used to put together the steam generator arrived by ship at the Port of Coeymans, but everything down to moving each piece had to be carefully orchestrated between port workers and Durr/Megrant.

"This was all completely engineered," said Rich Robinson, general manager at the Port of Coeymans, which is owned by local businessman Carver Laraway. "We worked the dock and marine aspects, and then of course Durr and Megrant had the expertise to put everything together."

That expertise should bode well when the next generator is needed for PSEG's $550 million Bridgeport, Conn., project. Known as Bridgeport 5, the Connecticut project is one of three plants, including the plant in Sewaren (known as Sewaren 7) and another plant in Maryland called the Keys Energy Center, that PSEG is currently building.

"This port is humming, there is a ripple effect," state Assemblyman Peter Lopez told the Times Union last week as the generator was being prepared for its journey down the Hudson River.

Meanwhile, it will take just about as long to unload the newly arrived steam generator off the barge in New Jersey as it took to get it on the barge in Coeymans. Then it must be hooked up.

"Next steps are for the (generator) to be rolled off the barge and set this weekend," said PSEG spokeswoman Melissa Ficuciello. "The remaining piping is to be installed and hydro tested in late October (or) early November."
ALBANY  Would medical marijuana be used by more patients in New York if they could chew it or rub it on their skin?

On Thursday, the state Health Department announced a number of new actions, including a move to allow production and sale of medical marijuana lotions, patches, chewable tablets and lozenges, expanding the roster of non-smokeable forms of the drug.

The agency's proposals comes as data shows just more than half of all medical marijuana patients in New York are repeat buyers of the drug, with the overall number of frequent customers rising as patient registration has increased.

Through Aug. 1, DOH data showed that 13,428 patients had been dispensed a medical marijuana product more than once, while 22,182 of the 25,736 overall patients had purchased medical marijuana products at least once. Though the overall number of repeat buyers has increased since late January  when DOH data showed that 6,403 of nearly 13,000 patients were repeat customers  the roughly 50 percent number for repeat use has remained the same.

That percentage is hugely important to the five companies that currently grow, produce and sell medical marijuana products statewide. Not only is it an indicator of how many chronically ill patients are able to seek medicine on a regular basis, but it also paints a picture of the smaller frequent customer base that is split among the companies.

Those five companies have warned that demand does not equal supply. The New York Medical Cannabis Industry Association, on behalf of four of the five companies, sued to try to block the licensing of five new companies earlier this year. That lawsuit is pending, and DOH licensed the five new providers earlier this month.

Ari Hoffnung, CEO of currently operating company Vireo Health of New York, said he estimates there are between 7,500 and 10,000 "active patients," whom he defines as patients who purchased medical marijuana products at least once a month for three consecutive months.

"It's not only about business: We became a registered organization because we saw an economic opportunity, but we all saw an opportunity to help alleviate pain and suffering," he said. "So it's also a measure of how many New Yorkers are being helped by the program. And I think when you look at these numbers, you realize that a lot more people could be helped by the program."

DOH spokesman Ben Rosen noted that the addition of chronic pain as a qualifying condition earlier this year led to a relative boom in patient totals, and a number of those patients may have been certified only recently and have not been receiving medical marijuana long enough to become repeat buyers.

There is a laundry list of other reasons why the repeat buyer number may be lower than the overall patient total, including the price of products, given that insurance coverage is not available for medical marijuana. Other factors include patients' difficulty traveling to the closest dispensary and, in some cases, the death of severely ill patients who were registered for the program.

Rosen said that the department is committed to growing the program responsibly, not only adding chronic pain as an eligible condition but also allowing home delivery (approved in certain areas, including the Capital Region). He also pointed to DOH licensing the five new companies, which will double production and, eventually, boost the number of dispensaries to 40 statewide.

On Thursday, DOH announced a number of new actions, including a move to allow production and sale of medical marijuana in new forms such as lotions, patches, chewable tablets and lozenges.

Based on feedback from physicians, the department also will create a two-hour certification course for practitioners, in addition to the current four-hour courses. Industry players have repeatedly said that physician participation in the medical marijuana program is key to its growth.

Those changes will be published in the State Register on Aug. 23 and are expected to be adopted after a 30-day public comment period.

Hoffnung, the president of the industry association, did say the program is heading in the right direction as overall patients counts and repeat buyer counts increase. But he likened the program's trajectory to a driver who is merging onto the highway from a local road and needs to speed up to 60 mph to merge successfully.

"You come to a complete stop before you merge, and now you're accelerating and you're at 5 miles an hour, 10 miles an hour and 15 miles an hour," he said. "Are you heading in the right direction and at the right speed? Yes. But until you get to 55 (or) 60, you're not where you need to be."

"Are we headed in the right direction? Yes," he added. "Are we close to being there? No, unfortunately not."

Claire Hughes contributed. mhamilton@timesunion.com  518-454-5449  @matt_hamilton10
CATSKILL  Pilot error and poor weather conditions may have caused an Albany-bound barge carrying more than 60,000 barrels of refined gasoline up the Hudson River to run aground April 4, state investigators have concluded.

No fuel leaked from the vessel, and no violations of environmental law were found during the Department of Environmental Conservation's investigation into the barge crash near Dutchman's Landing Park.

"Pilot error combined with poor weather conditions are possible contributing factors to this accident," the report states.

At the time of the crash, the barge was being towed by a tugboat, the Meredith C. Reinauer. The tug's captain, Steven Hardy, was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol, investigators determined. Neither he nor anyone on the crew face charges in connection with the crash.

The impact at 8:30 a.m. set off a scramble to determine if the rocks had damaged the barge's hull, and if the 2 million gallons of gas should be transferred onto another barge. Crews hastily removed water from the vessel's ballast to lighten its load.

The barge was freed at 3 a.m. the following morning when the tide rose. The tugboat pulled the vessel back into deeper water and toward the Port of Albany, where crews pumped gasoline from the barge into a storage facility.

Seven men were aboard the tugboat pulling the barge when the crash occurred, but only four were on duty, the DEC wrote in its "After Action" report. The document was released to the Times Union on Thursday.

Four hours after the crash, state environmental conservation officers boarded the tugboat to speak with Hardy, the 64-year-old captain.

He told the officers that he had been heading north against the current on the east side of the Hudson, navigating "in nearly zero visibility due to the fog" and relying on electronic navigation equipment, the report stated.

At about 8:15 a.m., the GPS indicated the barge was nearing the eastern edge of the channel, and Hardy tried to swing the vessel back into the lane. A heavy incoming tide pushed the tug and the barge sideways, sending it toward the channel's western edge, the DEC wrote.

Hardy tried to compensate again by turning northward, but hit a stone channel marker just north of Catskill Creek, the report stated. Hardy and the three other on-duty crew members all passed drug and alcohol tests administered by the U.S. Coast Guard.

A witness recalls foggy crash

A 71-year-old man who witnessed the crash from the shoreline told state investigators that he could only see small portions of the tugboat and barge through the "extremely foggy" conditions. He recalled watching the vessel move along the edge of the channel before righting its course several times and eventually running aground, the report stated.

The barge and tugboat were about 30 feet from the channel when the barge hit the rocks and got hung up in 6 feet of water.

"He's way off the channel," DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos said April 4 as he stood on the shore. "It looks like it's on a really bad trajectory at this point. If it hadn't hit the channel marker it would have run into the shoreline, possibly."

"Allegedly, it was foggy this morning but GPS units work, no matter what," Seggos said.

The barge was being pushed from Newburgh to Albany by the Meredith C. Reinauer when it ran aground, said Gary Gould, a spokesman for Staten Island-based Reinauer Transportation Co., which owns the barge. A person who answered the phone at the company Thursday said Reinauer Transportation had not seen the DEC report and could not discuss it.

U.S. Coast Guard spokesman Charles Rowe said Thursday that he was unsure whether the Coast Guard's separate probe is complete.

DEC scrutinizes its own response

The DEC report also analyzed how the agency's own communication during an emergency response could be improved in the future.

Five minutes after the crash, someone called Greene County 911, whose dispatchers notified troopers in Catskill. A State Police sergeant then texted two state environmental conservation officers, who work out of their homes and use cell phones to communicate.

Those DEC agents, who were the first officials on scene, arrived 35 minutes later in a boat. In transit, they called their regional office to notify a captain and the DEC Spill Response Team.

But DEC Central Dispatch was "never notified of the incident and found out about the grounding through the local news and when (environmental conservation officers) began calling out at the site," the report stated.

"Regardless of that breakdown, it did not affect the response," DEC Executive Deputy Commissioner Kenneth Lynch said in a Thursday interview. He added that while "our dispatch was not notified, the important part is we were notified and we were first on scene."

As environmental conservation officers arrived on scene at 9:35 a.m., a representative from Reinauer contacted the National Response Center to report the crash. That federal body emailed the DEC Spill Response Team at 9:41 a.m., but the email was not forwarded to regional or central staff.

"Moving forward, any new NRC reports that are sent to the DEC will automatically be forwarded to the proper region," the report states.

Three weeks after the crash, Commissioner Seggos sent a memo to DEC leaders that outlined a new procedure for reporting "a significant incident."

The "DEC executive is currently working with other state agencies to streamline Significant Incident response," the letter stated. "Until that effort is complete and communicated out to the Department, effectively immediately, the following protocol should be followed."

The letter instructed DEC leaders to contact the commissioner, deputy commissioner, assistant commissioner or director of emergency management via cell phone and email with a detailed report of the emergency "within 10 minutes of DEC becoming aware of such event." The executives would then notify the governor's office and state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services.

During the Hudson River crash, "everyone got timely notice," Lynch said. "But we want to make sure we have redundancies. ... At the end of the day, for this case, we believe we responded appropriately."
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CANAAN  A Tuesday car crash and manhunt in Columbia County ended a crime spree in four states, State Police said.

Around 1:30 a.m., a caller to 911 reported a three-car crash near the intersection of Routes 22 and 295 in Canaan, State Police said.

Troopers arrived to find that one of the cars involved  a 2011 Ford F-550 tow truck  was stolen from Barnsville, Pa., and the pit bull left inside had been taken from its owner in Montgomery, Ala., State Police said. The driver and passenger were nowhere in sight.

A preliminary investigation determined that 31-year-old Jonathan Kimball was driving north on Route 22 in the stolen tow truck when he ran a red light and hit a 2008 Chevrolet Blazer, State Police said. No one was injured.

After the crash, Kimball allegedly tried to flee by reversing the tow truck but hit a car parked in the Bar-Ken repair shop lot, troopers said. That's when he and his passenger, 46-year-old Steven P. Nance, took off running, State Police said. Nance was arrested nearby.

As troopers scoured the area for Kimball, they received reports that another car had been stolen nearby and later ditched in Pittsfield, Mass., State Police said.

Eleven hours after the crash, at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, someone called the State Police to report that a suspicious person fitting Kimball's description had returned to the scene of the collision, troopers said.

Patrol cars, a helicopter and police dogs were sent to find him. About five hours later, Kimball was found walking down Route 22 and arrested, State Police said.

Kimball and Nance are charged with felony criminal possession of stolen property. Kimball is also charged with felony grand larceny.

Nance was arraigned in Canaan Town Court and taken to the Columbia County jail in lieu of $10,000 cash bail or $20,000 bond. Kimball was arraigned in Claverack Town Court and taken to the county jail in lieu of $10,000 cash bail or $25,000 bond.

Troopers in New York are coordinating with investigators in Alabama, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.
Ex-Google engineer James Damore says problems with the company's culture prompted him to write the memo on gender differences that ignited a social media firestorm and led to his dismissal.

Damore, who went from employee to outcast upon the memo's circulation, said in his first public comments that he penned the document out of a love for Alphabet Inc.'s Google. Damore was a software engineer at the search giant's Mountain View headquarters until Monday afternoon, when he said he was fired for "perpetuating gender stereotypes." His missive  published internally to Google employees late last week  argued that conservative viewpoints are suppressed at the company and biological differences explain in part why more men work in software engineering than women.

"A lot of this came from me seeing some of the problems with our culture at Google, where a lot of people who weren't in this group-think just felt totally isolated and alienated," he told YouTube chat-show host Stefan Molyneux in an interview posted online. "There were many people that came to me and said, 'yeah I'm thinking of leaving Google because this is getting so bad.'

"I really thought this was a problem Google had to fix," he added.

Damore had stayed largely silent since the weekend, only confirming to a few news outlets including Bloomberg why he believed he was fired and that he was currently exploring legal remedies. In the video, the software engineer revealed he created the document  started on a 12-hour flight during a work trip to China  after attending a "secretive" diversity training session that rubbed him the wrong way.

"There was a lot of just shaming: 'no, you can't say that. That's sexist.' There's just so much hypocrisy in a lot of the things that they were saying," he said on the video. "I decided to create the document to clarify my thoughts."

Many in Silicon Valley denounced Damore's arguments, including Google Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai, who said Monday in a memo to employees that the engineer's manifesto violated Google's Code of Conduct and that suggesting "a group of our colleagues have traits that make them less biologically suited to that work is offensive and not OK."

But others  mainly right-wing groups  agreed with his description of a "politically correct monoculture" and in particular, saw Google's decision to fire him for voicing an unpopular opinion as proving exactly his point. Julian Assange tweeted that WikiLeaks would hire Damore, adding "Censorship is for losers." Gab.ai, a far-right social network, also offered Damore a job, calling his writing "a beautiful work of art." Other supporters raised more than $5,000 on a crowdfunding campaign to help Damore fight his firing.

Damore's publicly available biographical details, mostly from his LinkedIn profile, are not all true: He says that he has a Ph.D. from Harvard University in Systems Biology, which his supporters frequently noted as a credential for him to talk about the biological differences between men and women. A Harvard spokeswoman said Damore only completed a master's in systems biology, a field that uses quantitative methods to study biological systems such as cells and organisms. A spokesman for the University of Illinois confirmed he has a Bachelor of Science degree in molecular and cellular biology from 2010. An online resume says he was a competitive chess player and held research positions at Harvard, Princeton University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

An online CV and Facebook profile suggest Damore hails from suburban Chicago. His Facebook page only has a few snippets: an album of charcoal sketches, including portraits of actors Will Smith and Keira Knightley, and posts such as one from 2013 saying how excited he was to be starting a job at Google in Mountain View soon.
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Indulge me while I get a little starry-eyed over the recent arrival of Mio Posto in downtown Albany after its displacement from Saratoga Springs by fire. Who am I to ask the gods what transpired for the former Lark & Lily to become available as Mio Posto's new home? Did Sylvia Meder Lilly wake up one morning and decide it was time to pass the baton? Was it preordained that chef-owner Danny Urschel and Lilly, who worked together at Yono's some 20 years ago, would come together this way? Who knows? But rarely is there such a seamless hand-in-glove merger of displaced restaurateur and turnkey digs. Put your dinner in the fridge and get over there. When you can tell friends you're taking them out for a good meal  and it actually is  that's news you can bank.

It's been two years since my glowing review of Mio Posto in its diminutive space on Saratoga's Putnam Street, where cioppino sang a brothy siren song and Urschel converted me with his creamy, milk-steeped sweet corn-husk polenta. It's also been a year since I chronicled my fondness for Lark & Lily as the most recent incarnation of the Lark Street basement wine bar.

The space works as it has since its 2003 makeover: the warm terra-cotta brick and built-in wood benches, cozy fireside nooks, secretive rear patio quite hidden from view, even a duet of sidewalk tables for hard-core, down-insulated smokers sipping wine in an upstate blizzard. This is where the Lark Street pedestrians are, and the rest of us should be to benefit from this new union of chef and space. Come winter, the Center Square masses won't only leave their apartments to huddle by the subterranean fireplace with a glass of wine; they'll be prancing over like sugarplum fairies to be properly fed.

Add on the Urschels' autumn plans for a cicchetti bar menu and a cocktail program to match the new full bar, and there's more than a whiff of potential in the air. In fact, with only 35 seats inside and two lavs, I can't help but wonder if they'll be stormed at the door.

More Information Mio Posto 200 Lark St. Albany Phone: 518-542-7581 Web: www.miopostoalbany.com Reservations: Recommended. Credit cards: All major. Hours: 4:30 to 9:30 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 4:30 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, closed Sunday. (Starting in September, they will open Sundays and close Mondays. Parking: Street Disabled access: No. (There are stairs into the basement at the front and up to the rear patio. However, it is possible to access the reach the patio through a rear gate and the sidewalk tables are an option.) Attire: Casual. Prices: Antipasta $10 to $26, pastas $12 to $22 (with half and full portions), entrees $26 to $36, desserts $7 to $10. Food: (*** 1/2) Beautiful Italian-influenced dishes with classic sauces, fresh local ingredients, daily menu changes and compositions bursting with flavor. Beverage: (**1/2) Small full bar (and future plans for create cocktails) and a simple list of 30+ most European wines with some New York features. By the bottle, $28 to $120 (most in the $30 to $40 range); by the glass, $6 to $12. Service: (***) Friendly and attentive. Ambiance: (***1/2) Cozy, Euro-rustic basement osteria with fireplace, seating nooks and a seasonal rear patio. Personality: (***) Slightly quirky, subterranean gem with a quiet wine-sipping crowd and all weather appeal. Overall Rating: ***1/2 See More Collapse

Urschel is simply good at what he does, which is his Italian-Mediterranean take on a casual osteria. And  in no way as a slur on his creativity  he sticks to what works, bringing welcome dependability to his compositions. Imported from the original Mio Posto menu are the bittersweet agrodolce and brodo (broth), the herb-garlic burro (butter), the sugo, demi-glace and Bordelaise sauces. There's the roasted cauliflower I raved about before roasted cauliflower reached peak stride, the Maplebrook soft cheeses, locally sourced proteins (Maple Leaf duck and Edelweiss veal), signature layered eggplant antipasta and Sunday sauce meatballs. Storage is as tight as ever, so menus printed daily reflect nightly tweaks and adjustments large and small.

I've sat in virtually every seat inside, so as it's summer we're in the rear courtyard, where the action of the kitchen plays out like a backlit puppet show through open second-floor windows and the clank of pans and orders form a subtle sound overhead. Regrettably we each go for a glass of white ($10 each) before discovering the full bar, and would have saved more than a penny with a carafe of house wine, or any of the reasonably priced bottles once we commit to another round.

It's a clear path to happiness when heart-shaped sheets of culatello di zibello arrive in all its irresistibly porky, funky, dry-aged, translucent glory under creamy stracciatella (a rare, full-frontal commitment to burrata's rich innards), and olive oil-poached heirloom tomatoes  riotous sweet flavor bombs  blanched, peeled, macerated in agrodolce and basil and plunked atop the cheese. Sweet Jesus, it's good.

A shrimp bruschetta ($14)  a trio of plump prawns and spinach pulled together with rich pour of herb garlic butter  is everything that the version at Jack's Oyster House is not. Even the toast discs keep their crunch. A baby arugula salad entangled with sunflower sprouts ($12) is blasted with summer sun from cantaloupe vinaigrette and grilled white peaches, the fruity sweetness brilliantly offset by the twang of Gorgonzola dolce. A single bite flips a switch on your taste buds and blows your mind.

There's pork belly  firmer and leaner than usual, in a robust, tall cube  to contrast against a pillow of soft corn polenta. Sweet-tart tomato agrodolce slipped between the two dials up flavor while a pinch of purple sanyo radish microgreens fires peppery rounds on top. Spaghetti tondi (the tondi a superfluous reference to its round shape) twisted with truffle crema and oyster and cremini mushrooms ($14/$22) absorbs subtle smokiness and a spot-on hit of salt from pan-rendered capicola. On a hot night, the half portion is easily enough.

A sunny-side-up egg leaks gold over thinly pounded veal ($32) pooling in a startlingly beautiful Marsala-sweetened demi studded with more vibrant toms. Crisp-capped seared scallops ($30) with lily-white flesh take sweetness from sweet corn crema, and the lush lobster risotto boasts chunks of lobster so you don't have to go sharking for runty bits. These are plates that prompt smiles, and sauces that whoop with flavor.

There's obvious and veteran experience evident in touches from the kitchen: warm bread brought out in a sackcloth pouch, the complimentary garlic-white bean dip, and the piping-hot, soft ricotta zeppole ($8)  simple fried dough street food  given bidirectional boshes of flavor from salted caramel ice cream and sweet vanilla mascarpone.

I can hardly find fault. Maybe tiny wrinkles like a tart Meyer lemon panna cotta struggling to stay together in the heat; pale biscotti a touch underdone, and affogata, as delicious as it was, served in such a tall cup that the espresso melted the ice cream into a coffee smoothie instead of creating a moat. Mere quibbles.

Heidi Urschel, wife and partner, is an omnipresent guiding force, so when we alert our server to a foreign body in a dish, she takes charge with effusive apologies, offered to comp our meal (which we refused as excessive for a minor snafu), and finally presented an unopened bottle of wine. If there's a gold standard for making amends, this is it.

Mio Posto has slipped seamlessly into its new home, doubled its seating and added a full bar to the subterranean enoteca roots. It's lovely inside and out. Mio Posto's tiny charms continue on Lark Street. It's a magical fit.

A somewhat hefty dinner for three  including three appetizers, three entrees, three desserts and six glasses of wine (which bumps up the final bill)  came to $259.84 with tax and 20 percent tip.

Susie Davidson Powell is a British freelance food writer in upstate New York. Follow her on Twitter, @SusieDP. To comment on this review, visit the Table Hopping blog, blog.timesunion.com/tablehopping.
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MILTON  Political signs for candidate Barbara Kerr have gone missing. And her opponent wants to help.

Scott Ostrander, who will face Kerr in a Republican primary for town supervisor, is offering $500 reward to anyone who can help in the arrest of the person who stole about 30 Kerr signs, including one that was 3-by-5 feet, framed and posted into the ground on Geyser Road.

"Steal my opponent's campaign signs and you'll go to jail," Ostrander said at a press conference on Wednesday. "No matter one's political views, we should all agree that stealing campaign lawn signs is truly un-American."

Ostrander, who made the announcement outside town hall, did not invite Kerr to the press conference.

"I think that he would have notified me," Kerr said. "To me, this is political grandstanding."

Not to be outdone, Kerr too will offer $500 for the arrest and conviction of the sign thief, but said she has full confidence in the police's ability to capture the roadside robber.

Kerr also took issue with Ostrander having a political press conference on town property.

"Who set up the podium, town employees?" she asked.

Ostrander said it was in the parking lot and that it's public property.

"I wasn't inside of town hall," he said.

The two Republicans have had a contentious relationship since Ostrander joined the Town Board back in February. Kerr opposed his appointment to replace resigning board member Bruce Couture because he was the Republican Committee pick, not the pick of the board members.

Ostrander is now the town Republican Committee's choice for town supervisor. He has also been endorsed by outgoing Supervisor Dan Lewza.

Ostrander, a former Ballston Spa police officer, said he has had signs stolen too.

"As a former law enforcement official, I want to see anyone caught stealing campaign signs to be prosecuted to the fullest extent under the law," he said.

He said anyone with information about the thefts should contact Saratoga County Sheriff's Office at 518-885-6761.

State Police said stealing a lawn sign could lead to misdemeanor larceny charges. A sign snatcher, if convicted, would likely face a fine.
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WATERFORD  A parade of yellow ribbons and the wail of a solitary bagpipe guided the community on Wednesday night to Soldiers and Sailors Park. There, family and friends of Maj. Caine Goyette gathered to honor the hometown Marine who was killed on June 10 when the plane he piloted crashed in the Mississippi Delta.

In an emotional ceremony with his Marine squadron as well as local police, fire and city and county officials, Goyette was remembered as "a native son who was truly a remarkable man."

"He deeply touched everyone in the Waterford community," Supervisor John Lawler said.

Judging by the crowd that overwhelmed Broad and First streets, that appeared to be no exaggeration. Many remembered him as a boy, playing Wiffle ball, swimming in their pool or going fishing.

"Caine was a fine young man," said Mayor J. Bert Mahoney who knew him and his family as they lived in the same neighborhood. "He was polite, shy, quiet with a touch of mischief in his eye."

The 41-year-old officer, who served in Okinawa, Bahrain and Africa, died with 15 other Marines after his KC-130 aircraft experienced a midair emergency. He was the highest ranking military man on the flight the day of the crash, which is the deadliest Marine Corps aviation mishap since 2005.

Friends talked about Goyette's love of food, especially desserts, and how, when he retired, he planned on raising bees and making jam. They recalled how bright he was, graduating from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with a degree in electrical engineering. They also remembered his laugh.

"You couldn't talk about Caine without mentioning his laugh that could shake you to the core," said lifelong friend Edward Rolfe. Trying to proceed between tears Rolfe ended by saying, "He was an amazing father, husband, son and man."

Goyette's parents and sisters attended the ceremony that was sprinkled with music played by the Capital Brass and the synchronized flag-carrying ritual of the Color Guard. Standing at motionless attention throughout the ceremony were the elite unit of Marines who served with Goyette.

He lived on a 100-acre farm in Westerlo with his wife, Andrea and their two daughters.

Serving as master of ceremonies, Waterford Councilman Frank McClement assured Goyette's family that he will be memorialized with the other Waterford soldiers who names are etched in stone at the park.

"Caine was an example for all of us to follow," McClement said. "I promise you, his name and legacy will not be forgotten."
Albany  Most months, scientists at the states Wadsworth Center laboratories receive one or two requests to test blood or spinal fluid samples for Powassan virus.

In the last month, however, those requests are up to as many as a dozen a week.

Thats since news of three cases of the rare tick-borne virus in Saratoga County, including one implicated in the June death of 74-year-old Gansevoort resident Charles Grant Smith III. While three cases of Powassan in one county is not unheard of  it happened in Westchester County in 2007  it has put New Yorkers and their doctors on alert. This is, after all, a potentially deadly disease for which there were only 26 reported cases statewide in the previous 16 years.

Recent stories have demonstrated the disease is tough to nail down. Smiths family has expressed frustration that it took doctors weeks to determine what was causing his chest pain and fevers in May.

And last week, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer mistakenly announced at Albany Medical Center that there were more cases of Powassan virus in the Capital Region than the three reported. The senators information turned out to be a misinterpretation of results from screening tests that determined patients could  but didnt for sure -- have Powassan virus.

Wadsworth is the only lab in the state and one of a few in the country that test for Powassan virus, according to Ron Limberger, director of the laboratories Infectious Disease Division. Scientists test for the virus on request, but also in cases where they suspect it could be a culprit.

The previous 26 cases of the virus, for instance, were determined through detective work, said Susan Wong, director of Wadsworths Diagnostic Immunology Laboratory. Doctors requested tests for the far more prevalent West Nile virus, a mosquito-borne illness. When the lab received a blood sample with a request to test for West Nile, scientists looked to see if encephalitis, or brain swelling, was one of the patients symptoms. If it was, theyd also test for Powassan, which causes encephalitis, even if the patient hadnt reported a tick bite. The thinking was that the patient had been outside (per the mosquito bite) but might not have seen the tick.

The labs scientists continue to determine which tests to run based on doctors observations as well as the specimens sent in, according to Wong and Kirsten St. George, chief of Wadsworths viral diseases laboratory.

Part of what makes Powassan tricky is timing. A person can be infected within 15 minutes after a tick attaches to the skin, allowing scant time to avoid illness by removing the tick. The virus has an incubation period, however, of seven to 30 days, St. George said, meaning that most infected people wont experience symptoms for at least a week. But by the time symptoms show up, the virus generally cant be detected anymore in a persons blood or spinal fluid, where a relatively quick and definitive test can show its present.

Instead, scientists must look not for the virus but for antibodies to Powassan in the blood. Antibodies are evidence that a persons own immune system mounted a defense against the virus, proving that it must have been there.

The most definitive check for Powassan antibodies, a plaque reduction neutralization test, is time-consuming and can only be done at Wadsworths Griffin Laboratory in Slingerlands. Because a host of other illnesses can cause encephalitis and other Powassan symptoms, it isnt efficient to do a PRNT on every blood sample from patients with those symptoms, St. George said.

So scientists conduct screening tests first. When these initial tests show a high suspicion of Powassan, the blood samples go off to Griffin.

Wong said doctors should also remember that there are lots of old causes for encephalitis that havent gone away. They include, for example, West Nile, another mosquito-borne illness called Eastern equine encephalitis and herpes.

As Wadsworth scientists check patient samples, other Health Department staff are testing more than 2,700 ticks collected from 35 sites in Saratoga County to see whether this years three confirmed Powassan cases are an indication that more area bugs carry the virus than previously thought, said Bryon Backenson, head of the Health Departments Vector Surveillance unit.

Testing ticks for the virus is a simpler process than finding disease in humans. The bugs are crushed in a machine, Backenson said, and then their genetic material is extracted for analysis.

Results from the ticks are expected later this month.
The following appeared in a Washington Post editorial:

Profound change may someday come to Saudi Arabia. The new crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, last year offered a soaring blueprint for modernizing the kingdom, "Vision 2030," that promised to build "a thriving country in which all citizens can fulfill their dreams, hopes and ambitions." The document also vowed to build a "tolerant" country with "moderation as its method" that is "a global investment powerhouse" and "an epicenter of trade and the gateway to the world."

The crown prince clearly wants to move Saudi Arabia toward a future not beholden to oil. But in one important respect Saudi Arabia remains mired in the dark ages: Human rights are trampled upon, and free expression crushed.

The latest sign of this backwardness is the fate of 14 Saudi men, all from the country's Shiite minority, who are facing execution for allegedly staging protests in the kingdom. The men are charged with terrorism-related offenses, but human rights groups say confessions from the defendants were extracted under torture. Among those condemned to death are Mujtaba'a al-Sweikat, who, after attending pro-democracy protests inspired by the Arab Spring in 2011 and 2012, was arrested at an airport in December 2012 as he was leaving the country to visit Western Michigan University, which he was thinking of attending. He was not given a reason for his arrest and has been in prison ever since, convicted without having access to legal representation, according to human rights activists. In a July 22 statement, Western Michigan faculty and administrators said Sweikat was "subject to sleep deprivations, beatings, cigarette burns, solitary confinement and others forms of torture or suffering." He was sentenced to death "on the sole basis of a confession extracted by torture," they added, citing the findings of the U.N. human rights office.

Another travesty surrounds the fate of blogger Raif Badawi, who has been jailed since 2012 following his online appeal for a more liberal and secular society. His sentence was 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes. Badawi's aspirations were also for a tolerant and moderate Saudi Arabia, but that was a threat to the kingdom's conservative Islamic establishment. His treatment offers a reason to doubt Crown Prince Salman's commitment to "Vision 2030."

If Saudi leaders want to embrace modernism, they could start by reversing the barbaric death sentences imposed on 14 Shiite men for taking part in demonstrations.
Actor Jim Carrey's lawyers have won the right to obtain the medical records of his former girlfriend, Cathriona White, who hailed from Cappawhite, in west Co. Tipperary.

Ms Whites family are taking an action against the Canadian-American actor after Ms White died from a fatal overdose of prescription drugs two years ago.

Lawyers for Cathrionas husband Mark Burton and her mother Brigid Sweetmen, claim the actor used his "wealth, influence and celebrity status" to provide the medication.

But lawyers for Mr Carrey (55) have argued that Ms White had been taking medication for a separate treatment.

Mr Burton and Ms Sweetmans legal team attempted to prevent disclosure of Ms Whites medical records on privacy grounds. However, a Judge in the Los Angeles Superior Court this week directed that they should be disclosed.

Also at issue is whether Mr Carrey transmitted diseases to Ms White, after allegedly testing positive for Herpes under a false name.

Mr Carreys lawyer claimed that his client absolutely did not transmit any herpes and he did not give her his pain medication and she could access her own.

Mr Carrey, who denies all allegations, will face a 20-day jury trial under the Drug Dealer Liability Act from April 26th.

Mr Carrey attended and was a pallbearer at Ms Whites funeral in her native Cappawhite, in October 2015.
The collapse of the Lough Derg Marketing Group, which was established in the 1990s, has been lamented by Cllr Ger Darcy.

The Fine Gael councillor told a joint meeting of Nenagh MDC and Killaloe MDC that Tipperary was poor at promoting the Lough Derg region.

You could drive from Athlone to Limerick and not know there was a lake there, he said.

There is a great richness of heritage common to both sides of the lake, but we have neglected to work together, he said, urging that they also work with Galway County Council to promote the region.

He was supported by Cllr Joe Hannigan, who said that there was a need to get buses off the main roads and visit Lough Derg.

Tourism is a key economic driver in rural Ireland, said the Independent councillor.

However, Cllr Seamus Morris warned that if Irish Water goes ahead with its plan to pump 330 million litres of water per day from Lough Derg to Dublin, there would be nothing there to promote.

Killaloe's Cllr Pat Hayes, FF, agreed that Lough Derg had never had its full share of tourism projects, and claimed that the new Ireland Ancient East brand was no good once you pass Kilkenny or Wicklow.

However, he was hopeful that the purchase of Holy Island by Clare County Council would bring in tourists.

Fellow councillor Pat Bourke, FG, pointed out that Holy Island could bring up to 45,000 visitors annually, getting a spin off from the 170,000 who visit Clonmacnoise.

We need to pull it all together, said Fianna Fail's Cllr John Carroll.
Alice PR & Events was founded in July 2015 by Thurles woman Martina Quinn and, since then, has won over 50 accounts and expanded to a staff team of eight.

A Dublin-based firm set up by a Thurles woman is marking two years in business this summer and has announced a number of new hires and business wins.

Alice PR & Events was founded in July 2015 by Thurles woman Martina Quinn and, since then, has won over 50 accounts and expanded to a staff team of eight.

Another Thurles local, Emily Brennan, also works at the firm  in the role of Account Manager.

Both Ms. Quinn and Ms. Brennan are natives of Rossestown, and attended the Ursuline Convent, Thurles.

Alice PR & Events works with clients in the corporate, STEM, education, recruitment, events and not-for-profit sectors, including the Irish Research Council, Career Zoo, Guaranteed Irish, WellFest, Culture Date with Dublin 8, and Dress for Success Dublin.

Recent staff additions include Eva Dowling as Senior Account Manager and Louise Scott Heatley as Northern Ireland Associate.

Ms. Dowling previously worked as Senior Corporate Affairs Executive with Ibec, and Communications Executive with the Office of the Chief Scientific Advisor.

Ms. Scott Heatley, who is based in Belfast, has 20 years experience in marketing, communications and event management, including senior roles with Translink, The Royal Shakespeare Company and The National Trust.

Partnership with Language

Alice PR & Events has also embarked on a partnership with the creative agency Language. Established in 1989, Language provides strategic advertising, design and communications services to public-sector and corporate clients.

The partnership between Language and Alice PR & Events sees senior personnel from both agencies collaborating on client projects. The two firms share premises on Great Strand Street in Dublin city centre.

Commenting today, Martina Quinn, Founder and Managing Director of Alice PR & Events, said: It has been a busy and exciting two years since Alice was established, and were delighted to be growing our business through important and engaging client projects.

Adding a Northern Ireland Associate to our team has allowed us to offer clients an enhanced 32-county service. Our partnership with Language, meanwhile, means clients can avail of the full suite of creative communications services all under the one roof.
Indian Minister Sushma Swaraj arrives in Kathmandu

Indias External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has arrived in Kathmandu to attend a meeting of foreign ministers of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC).
[August 09, 2017] Moreno Valley Unified School District Selects Q by Aequitas Solutions

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif., Aug. 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Q, a premier student information system (SIS) developed by Aequitas Solutions, Inc. was selected by Moreno Valley Unified School District (MVUSD) to replace its current system Infinite Campus. After conducting a comprehensive review of 5 leading systems and official RFP responses, viewing live demonstrations and talking to references, the selection committee overwhelmingly chose Q to be the district's new SIS system. Q allows MVUSD to streamline processes, increase efficiency and better accomplish the goals set in the district's strategic plan. Q provides the district with the tools to be more responsive to the needs of its administrative staff, teachers, parents and most importantly students. The core Q suite provides a comprehensive offering that includes many features and functions that other SIS vendors currently charge for. Q will allow the district to increase its level of service while reducing costs. "At Aequitas Solutions, Inc. we strive to provide the best Student Information System (SIS) and SIS centric services in the industry. We focus on providing fast, easy to use, functional solutions and on building long term relationships by providing ur clients with the tools that allow them to quickly respond to and adapt to the ever-changing K-12 education environment," said John Uhler, CEO. "MVUSD has a great reputation as a leader in K-12 in California and an amazing staff. We are extremely excited to partner with MVUSD."



"After being on Infinite Campus for 10 years we decided that it was time to do our due diligence and see what other solutions were out there and what new capabilities they offered," said Aaron Barnett, the district's Information Systems Technology Director. "As a result, the district chose Q to move us forward." About Q

Aequitas Solutions, Inc. is a leader in innovative K-12 student management systems. Its mission is to lead the K-12 industry by providing next generation student management solutions that push traditional SIS boundaries, to build lasting customer relationships based on openness, honesty, integrity, and a true sense of partnership. Q, it's highly successful solution managing the information needs of over 1 million students and their parents, is a full-featured student information system utilizing innovative tools, and proactive data analysis allowing educators to more fully focus on the individual and constantly changing needs of students. Aequitas Solutions is headquartered in Rancho Cucamonga, CA. Related Links Aequitas Solutions, Inc. Moreno Valley Unified School District CONTACT: John Uhler

[email protected] View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/moreno-valley-unified-school-district-selects-q-by-aequitas-solutions-300502317.html SOURCE Aequitas Solutions, Inc.

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GI Dynamics to Provide Shareholder Update on 2017 Second Quarter Results

GI Dynamics Inc. (ASX: GID), a medical device company that has commercialized EndoBarrier in Europe, the Middle East and South America for patients with type 2 diabetes and obesity, announces it will update investors on 2017 second quarter results as reported on Form 10Q for the period ended June 30, 2017.

The company will host a webcast at 6 pm EDT 14 August 2017 | 8 am AEST 15 August 2017.

Accessing the Webcast:

The webcast may be accessed by clicking here or on the GI Dynamics website. The link provided will give you access to view and listen to the webcast on a computer, tablet or mobile device.

For those preferring to listen by telephone, please dial-in five minutes prior to the start of the call. Regional dial-in numbers are as follows:







United States (Toll-Free): 877 407 6184 United Kingdom (Toll-Free): 0 800 756 3429 Germany (Toll-Free): 0 800 182 0040 Australia (Toll-Free): 1 800 687 004 International (Toll; charges will apply): 201 389 0877

The transcript for the call will be available on the company's website shortly following the webcast.

About GI Dynamics

GI Dynamics, Inc. (ASX:GID) is the developer of EndoBarrier, the first endoscopically delivered device approved for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and obesity. EndoBarrier is not approved for sale in the United States and is limited by federal law to investigational use only in the United States. Founded in 2003, GI Dynamics is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. For more information, please visit www.gidynamics.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170809006235/en/
[August 09, 2017] ACL Strengthens Asia-Pacific Leadership Team with Former Thomson Reuters and Mazars Executives

ACL upscaling Asia-Pacific operations to serve emerging market for regulatory compliance, anti-corruption and risk management technology VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- ACL, the software provider helping governments and the world's largest companies quantify risk, stamp out fraud and optimize performance, today announced the strengthening of its Asia-Pacific management team with the addition of two experienced leaders. Stephen Thurley has been named managing director of the Asia-Pacific region, and Anthony Fernandez has joined as director of data-driven GRC consulting. These additions to the team will augment ACL's continued efforts to infuse strong execution and productivity into Asia-Pacific operations, to better serve a major growth market for GRC. "Asia is a growth market for GRC and ACL is taking a smart, proactive approach to building market and technology leadership," said Michael Rasmussen, chief GRC pundit at GRC 20/20 Research, LLC. "Bringing mature GRC functionality to the region is highly valuable because the market is virtually unpenetrated and is in need of best-in-class solutions." As managing director, Stephen Thurley will lead and accelerate the growth of ACL's Asia-Pacific portfolio. Thurley has 26 years of software slutions experience, most recently in sales leadership at SAI Global and Thomson Reuters. His prior experience includes head of sales, GRC Asia Pacific for Thomson Reuters PLC and managing director at Wolters Kluwer Financial Services, Asia Pacific and Japan.



"Not only am I incredibly impressed by what ACL has accomplished and the forward-looking vision for the Asia-Pacific region," said Thurley. "But also, ACL has successfully built an end-to-end solution that is the most powerful offering in the market, anywhere." Anthony Fernandez, a Certified Public Accountant, joins ACL from global audit, accounting and consulting group, Mazars, where he was associate director of business risk & consulting. He brings deep industry expertise, with previous positions including general manager of internal audit at Grupokaybee and head of risk advisory and COO at RT, LLP. In his new role, Fernandez will lead ACL Asia's Professional Services team, responsible for driving customer success through consulting, implementation, training and support services.

"At a time when organizations across Asia and the Pacific region are seeking proven software to tackle regulatory compliance, corruption and risk management challenges, we are infusing strong leadership and productivity into our Asia-Pacific business," said Sean Zuberbier, chief revenue officer at ACL. "Both industry veterans, Steve and Anthony came on board because they believe in what we build, what we offer to our customers and the acceleration of market demand. I'm looking forward to having two of the sharpest GRC minds in the region leading our growth." To learn more about ACL's leadership, please visit: www.acl.com/about-acl/company-overview/management/. Supporting Resources: For the latest news and best practices in audit, governance, risk management, compliance and anti-fraud, visit: www.acl.com/blog

Follow ACL on Twitter: @ACLServices

Join ACL on LinkedIn: www.acl.com/LinkedIn

Like ACL on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ACLServices  2017 ACL Services Ltd. ACL and the ACL logo are registered trademarks of ACL Services Ltd. All other company and product names are trademarks of their respective owners. SOURCE ACL

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[August 09, 2017] Globe Telecom's Fuse to Provide Loans Powered by Mambu

SINGAPORE, August 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Mambu helps to transform existing operations and launch new products to potentially reach Globe's 60 million customers Mambu, the SaaS banking engine, today announced it will be powering the consumer and business lending products of Fuse, the lending arm of Filipino financial technology firm Mynt, by September 2017. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130924/642408-a )

Launched in 2015, Mynt is a subsidiary of leading Philippine telecom company Globe Telecom which has a customer base of over 60 million. Mynt is increasing access to financial services through mobile money, micro-loans and technology by leveraging the mobile and store networks of its partners and parent company in a country with 113% mobile penetration but only 31% banking penetration. Mynt launched its lending business, Fuse, in 2016 to address the credit vacuum in the Philippines. Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which account for 99.6% percent of total registered companies in the country, as well as individuals face significant difficulty in accessing credit from incumbents due to stringent credit decisioning, limited authentication documentation and lack of collateral. John Rubio, President and CEO of Mynt said: "Most Filipinos do not have credit history on which future financial transactions may be based. This, in turn, leads to poor access to legitimate credit facilities and proliferation of informal lenders. Through Fuse, we are changing this scenario in order to provide financial services in a non-traditional manner that will benefit the majority of our population who are unbanked." "Mambu understood our vision and is enabling us to rapidly create, launch, and service tailored products that address the local market needs," said Anthony Thomas, President an CEO of Fuse. "In Mambu we have found the right partner to accelerate and scale our lending business, as well as power innovative and secure consumer and business loan products."



The solution's flexibility will allow Fuse to overcome some of the challenges specific to the Philippines by autonomously configuring them for the market. "Mambu's SaaS model provides Fuse with a best-in-class solution which benefits from continued enhancements and requires little resource to maintain," said Thomas. "We will be able to scale, integrate with the latest technologies and be ready to manage the significant transaction volumes we anticipate."

"Leveraging the agility of the Mambu SaaS banking engine we will enable Fuse to provide innovative and much needed loan products to Filipino businesses and consumers," said Chiou Hao Chan, Mambu Managing Director, APAC. "Mynt is in an ideal position to disrupt the market and meet consumer demand for convenient and safe digital lending. We anticipate an increasing number of telcos and third-party providers in APAC will move into the financial services market and look forward to supporting this shift."

About Fuse Lending, Inc. (Fuse) Fuse is a tech-based lending company in the Philippines that provides fintech-enabled loans including micro, personal, and business loans, without the usual restrictions applied by banks and other lending institutions to its customers. It is operated by Mynt, a fully-owned subsidiary of Globe Telecom. For more information, visit http://www.fuselending.com. Follow us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/fuselending. About Globe Fintech Innovations, Inc. (Mynt) Mynt is a fully-owned subsidiary of Globe Capital Venture Holdings, Inc. that provides innovative and first-in-world fintech solutions to consumers, merchants, and organizations. Its purpose is to enable financial access for consumers and merchants by disrupting traditional channels through digital financial technology services. It operates two fintech companies: GCash, a micropayment service that transforms the mobile phone into a virtual wallet for secure, fast, and convenient money transfer, and Fuse, a tech-based lending company that enables Filipinos to get personal and business loans through use of mobile technology, alternative data, and innovative credit scoring methods. For more information, visit http://www.mynt.xyz . About Mambu Mambu is the SaaS banking engine powering disruptive loan and deposit products. We are the lean alternative to cumbersome core banking systems. Helping our clients to successfully start up new business ventures, transform existing operations, launch new products and expand into new markets. Mambu provides financial institutions of all sizes with the agility to rapidly design, launch, service and scale their banking and lending portfolio. Launched in 2011, our technology powers over 5000 loan and deposit products which serve over 3 million end customers. With more than 180 live operations in over 40 countries, ranging from FinTech revolutionaries to traditional banks, Mambu is helping financial institutions evolve and thrive in the digital age. For more information, please visit our website or follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn. SOURCE Mambu

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[August 10, 2017] Mail.Ru Group Limited: Unaudited IFRS Results for Q2 2017

MOSCOW, August 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Mail.Ru Group Limited (MAIL:LI, hereinafter referred as 'the Company' or 'the Group'), one of the largest Internet companies in the Russian-speaking Internet market, today releases unaudited IFRS results and segment financial information for the three months ended 30 June, 2017. (Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/478583/Mail_Ru_Group_Logo.jpg )

Performance highlights Three months ended 30 June 2017 Q2 2017 Group aggregate segment revenue grew 36.8% Y-o-Y to RUR 13,127 million. Q2 2017 Group aggregate segment EBITDA grew 6.5% Y-o-Y to RUR 4,595 million. Q2 2017 Group aggregate net profit grew 2.1% Y-o-Y to RUR 3,038 million.

Six months ended 30 June 2017 H1 2017 Group aggregate segment revenue grew 33.3% Y-o-Y to RUR 26,328 million. H1 2017 Group aggregate segment EBITDA grew 12.8% Y-o-Y to RUR 9,846 million. H1 2017 Group aggregate net profit grew 18.5% Y-o-Y to RUR 6,812 million.

Net cash position as of 30 June 2017 was RUR 8,597 million. Commenting on the results of the Company, Dmitry Grishin, Chairman of the Board, and Boris Dobrodeev, CEO (Russia) of Mail.Ru Group, said: "We are pleased to report our results for the second quarter of 2017 where we have continued to see strong growth in all areas. Q2 revenue, including all acquisitions on a pro forma basis, grew 36.8% Y-o-Y to RUR 13,127m. As we have stated previously, 2017 remains an investment year for us and we continue to significantly invest and expand our new projects which, at this stage, are not contributing to EBITDA. As such EBITDA grew 6.5% Y-o-Y to RUR 4,595m. On 28th June, we announced that we had received formal notification from the tax authorities that a significant part of our Russian IVAS revenues are eligible for exception from Russian VAT. This change was applicable from January 1st. As a result of this, we are presenting our Q1 2017 numbers to reflect this change on a pro forma basis. Q1 2017 revenues would have grown 30.0% Y-o-Y to RUR 13,201m from the reported 24.4% Y-o-Y growth to RUR 12,636m and Q1 2017 EBITDA would have been RUR 5,251m, compared to the reported RUR 4,884m. H1 revenues, therefore grew 33.3% Y-o-Y to RUR 26,328m with EBITDA growing 12.8% Y-o-Y to RUR 9,846m. Advertising revenue growth remained strong in Q2, with the trends that we have seen over the last few periods continuing. Despite us continuing to use part of our ad inventory to boost our new products (mainly Youla, Am.ru, Delivery Club and BeepCar), advertising revenues grew 28.7% Y-o-Y to RUR 5,395m. Growth was driven by both the further development of our advertising technologies and the adoption of our ad formats by advertisers. As in previous periods the fastest growing advertising revenues remained in-feed advertising across the social networks and in video and mobile. We continue to see advertising budgets shift from all other mediums to digital, and especially to mobile. Through H2 2017, we will continue to focus on the growth of mobile and video advertising and on the continued roll out of new ad technology. Egagement continues to rise across all platforms, better ad targeting and other tools increase efficiency and our unique market position on mobile allows us to continue to take advantage of the market trends.



In Q2, VK continued to perform strongly with further growth in engagement. Revenues grew 59.1% Y-o-Y to RUR 3,074m. Advertising continued to be the bulk of the revenues, and while VK IVAS increased in Q2, advertising revenues grew faster than total revenues. We continue to make improvements to the platform and the user experience. In Q2, we updated the VK for business section, added new ad formats. VK stories are becoming a good driver of user engagement. Despite the blocking of VK in Ukraine, and the usual seasonal effects, total and mobile monthly active users continued to grow Y-o-Y to 91m and 77m in June respectively. For the rest of 2017, the focus will remain on mobile newsfeed advertising. As previously commented, we expect the ad load and pricing to continue to increase from the current levels. We continue to see significant further opportunities for VK with both an expanding user base and an increasing number of features.

In Q2 2017, on a pro forma basis our MMO games revenue grew 53.6% Y-o-Y to RUR 3,850m. International revenues also continued to grow and in Q2 accounted for around 50% of total MMO revenues. Q2 growth was driven by both ongoing success in existing titles and new releases. Warface and War Robots continue to perform well and are our two largest games. Revelation also continues to deliver good performance both domestically and internationally. We have also had a number of successful new releases, most notably the console version of Skyforge which has been well received and the successful launch of HAWK. Through the rest of 2017 there will be a number of additional releases including a significantly updated version of Armored Warfare. As such, we expect to see continued good growth from games in 2017. In Q2 2017 IVAS revenues grew 24.4% Y-o-Y. While aspects of mobile IVAS remain challenging we are pleased with the initial results of the new cross-platform IVAS initiatives specifically the subscription services including VIP services. There will be further new mobile products through the year. Including the effect of the VAT changes, we now expect IVAS revenues to see solid growth for the rest of the year. Since the acquisition of Delivery Club in November 2016, we have seen very significant growth in all operating metrics. In May we announced the acquisition of ZakaZaka which we are now integrating into Delivery Club. During Q2 2017 the total number of monthly orders for the combined Delivery Club business hit a new high of over 950,000 and the number of restaurants exceeded 5,750. We continue to make a number of improvements to the product to make it both easier for the user to order, and easier for the restaurants to manage and process orders. Based on the current trend lines we anticipate that Delivery Club H2 2017 revenues will continue to experience very strong growth. Delivery Club will remain in investment phase for the rest of 2017 as it consolidates its market leading position. However, while the business does not contribute to EBITDA at present we would expect it to move into profitability during 2018. Since its launch around 18 months ago, our location-based marketplace - Youla - has seen consistent and strong user growth. This has continued in Q2 2017 with a new high of 20m monthly active users and over 4m daily active users on all platforms. The app remains consistently in the Top-5 Overall in Russia in the App Store and Google Play combined (according to App Annie). Over the last twelve months the Youla app demonstrated the highest gain in monthly audience among all apps measured by Mediascope (Russia, cities 700k+, age 12-64, June 2017). In April 2017, we announced the acquisition of Am.ru, one of the major auto classified sites. Am.ru is currently being integrated into Youla. As we have previously stated we will continue to examine the potential of some limited monetization experiments later in H2 2017 however the main focus for this year will be the further driving of user numbers and engagement. In Q2 we added a number of new features to Youla such as full integration into OK and the addition of full seller functionality to the desktop version. User feedback and engagement remain very positive and hence we anticipate further user growth through 2017. In Q1 2017, we launched our long distance ride sharing service BeepCar. In February, the service was introduced in Russia, and later expanded to 18 more countries. During Q2 we saw strong growth in mobile app installs which reached 1.9m by June. In the near term we are focused on building user numbers and hence BeepCar currently is not a revenue contributor. In Q2 the cash generating capacity of our business remained unchanged and cash conversion was as expected. As a result net cash, post M&A related payments, at the end of Q2 was RUR 8,597m. Since Q4 2016, we have made a number of acquisitions, all of which fit well with the core strategy and mobile assets of the Group and present significant opportunities for the future. With a strong balance sheet and unchanged cash generation capabilities we will continue to examine further similar-sized acquisition opportunities in the future. We had a strong H1 2017 with good contributions from advertising, games, Delivery Club and with IVAS returning to growth in Q2. We are encouraged by the progress in games, and see great potential as Delivery Club continues to benefit from both a fast growing market, and increased user engagement. The blocking of our products in Ukraine during Q2 has had some adverse effects on the revenues and we estimate the negative effect of around 1.5% of total revenues in 2017. Despite this, the rest of the business continues to perform very well. As such, and taking into account the effect of Ukraine, based on current visibility, we are pleased to increase our FY 2017 revenue guidance from previous guidance of 17-21% Y-o-Y pro-forma revenue growth to pro-forma revenue growth of between 23-26% Y-o-Y to RUR 52.6-53.9bn. FY 2017 remains a year of significant investment in the new products and given the significant potential that we see in them we will continue to aggressively invest in our new initiatives. We do not expect them to contribute to EBITDA this year. We also continue to not anticipate any meaningful revenue contributions from BeepCar or Youla in 2017. Taking this into account, we expect our 2017 EBITDA around RUR 20bn." The full version of the press release can be accessed at https://corp.mail.ru/en/press/releases/10067/.

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[August 10, 2017] Jameson Blatchford Joins PSM, a Chicago Based Business and Technology Consulting Firm

CHICAGO, Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- We are pleased to announce the addition of Jameson Blatchford as our newest Senior Consultant. Mr. Blatchford brings twenty years of business development experience to Porcaro Stolarek Mete Partners, LLC. Prior to joining PSM he was the VP of Business Development with Netrolix, an Artificially Intelligent Wide Area Network provider. He has extensive experience working with customers to strategically align their business needs with the appropriate technical solutions. He has a proven track record of building long-term successful partnerships and executive relationships with both his internal and external constituents. He has held strategic positions with Avaya, Level 3, Global Crossing and AT&T building and managing multi-million-dollar account bases. He is a graduate of Denison University. According to Mr. Blatchford, "It's an exciting time in our industry. With the proliferation of cloud services, SD-WAN, mobility and the Internet of Things, clients are faced with more hoices than ever to keep their users connected. I am excited to be aboard and look forward to contributing to PSM's outstanding culture."



PSM Senior Partner Dave Stolarek added, "PSM specializes in bringing the Strategy, Technology and Talent to our clients to ensure they maximize their successes. We are thrilled to have Jameson join our team. His experience in delivering value to Chicago business will be critical as we continue to grow." Mr. Blatchford will be based out of PSM's Chicago headquarters.

About Porcaro Stolarek Mete Partners, LLC (PSM) Headquartered in Chicago, IL and founded in 2014, PSM is a business and technology consultancy located in downtown Chicago. We focus our business strategy efforts on strategy development and strategy execution for firms under 500 million in revenue. Our technology consulting offerings center around getting small and mid-sized businesses to the cloud, managed services, and IT staffing & recruiting. PSM also has a carrier services group that brokers voice and data services for our clients. PSM is focused on long-term relationships with our clients, career growth, and the absolute best corporate culture for our employees. www.psmpllc.com For immediate media inquiries:

Michael Murphy

Operations Manager

312-800-9968. View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/jameson-blatchford-joins-psm-a-chicago-based-business-and-technology-consulting-firm-300502494.html SOURCE Porcaro Stolarek Mete Partners, LLC

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[August 10, 2017] Yellow Pages Limited Reports Second Quarter 2017 Financial and Operating Results

MONTREAL, Aug. 10, 2017 /CNW Telbec/ - Yellow Pages Limited (TSX: Y) (the "Company"), a leading Canadian digital media and marketing company, released its operational and financial results today for the quarter and six months ended June 30, 2017.







Financial Highlights (In thousands of Canadian dollars, except percentage, per share and customer count information)











For the three-month periods

ended June 30, For the six-month periods

ended June 30, Yellow Pages Limited 2017 2016 2017 2016









Revenues $191,219 $210,487 $380,727 $414,114 Adjusted EBITDA1 $44,425 $58,931 $90,900 $120,824 Adjusted EBITDA1margin 23.2% 28.0% 23.9% 29.2% Net earnings $820 $10,953 $1,478 $24,104 Diluted earnings per share $0.03 $0.38 $0.05 $0.83 Cash flow from operating activities $37,230 $32,627 $51,012 $56,875 Free cash flow1 $14,565 $23,154 $31,235 $47,408 Customer count2 236,500 244,000 236,500 244,000

Highlights for the Second Quarter of 2017 Digital revenues decreased 2.9% year-over-year to $138.3 million . Digital revenues now account for 72% of total revenues.

. Digital revenues now account for 72% of total revenues. Total digit visits ("TDV") to the Yellow Pages network of properties grew over 50% year-over-year to 162 million. This increase is a result of Yellow Pages syndicating listings and content across its owned and operated media properties and strong partnership network.

Customer count decreased 3% year-over-year. Yellow Pages will place increased emphasis on growing the customer base through the acquisition of high potential customers and the retention of existing customers to stabilize and grow the Company's revenues.

Yellow Pages continued progress in operationalizing its new customer offerings and go-to-market strategy. Yellow Pages expects to begin piloting elements of these initiatives, including evergreen contracts, in the second half of 2017. The Company remains on track to complete implementation of these initiatives in 2018.

Yellow Pages will begin piloting MyTime solutions in Q3 2017. Yellow Pages entered into a Canada -wide exclusive licensing agreement with MyTime, a cloud-based all-in-one commerce platform for SMEs, to provide online booking, messaging and payment capability to its customers.

-wide exclusive licensing agreement with MyTime, a cloud-based all-in-one commerce platform for SMEs, to provide online booking, messaging and payment capability to its customers. Yellow Pages Board of Directors appointed Ken Taylor as interim President and CEO and commenced a process of identifying a permanent successor.

as interim President and CEO and commenced a process of identifying a permanent successor. Yellow Pages expects to meet its 2017 guidance targets communicated on May 10, 2017 for total revenue, adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow. The Company has lowered its 2017 expectations for customer count and digital revenue growth. As we disclosed on July 26th , the Company continues to believe that digital revenue will increase this year but we no longer expect to reach our previously stated target of approximately 4% growth. "My priorities are to complete the refinancing of our Senior Notes, to drive efficiencies and operational performance in all segments of our business and to ensure continued momentum on the delivery of our new customer offerings and go-to-market strategy," said Ken Taylor, CFO and interim President and CEO of Yellow Pages Limited. Segmented Information In conjunction with Yellow Pages' updated corporate strategy announced in Q1 2017, the Company has made changes to how it manages, allocates capital and assesses performance of the business. The Company's operations have been divided into the following four segments: YP  digital and traditional marketing solutions, including owned and operated media, provided to small and medium sized enterprises ("SMEs")

Agency  national advertising services to brands and publishers, primarily through Mediative, Juice and Totem subsidiaries

Real Estate  media and expertise to help Canadians buy and sell their homes, via ComFree/DuProprio ("CFDP") and Yellow Pages NextHome subsidiaries

Other  diversified portfolio of media properties, including 411.ca and local lifestyles magazines specific to the Western Canadian market An overview of each segment and the performance of each segment for the three and six-month periods ended June 30, 2017 can be found in the August 10, 2017 Management's Discussion and Analysis. Yellow Pages will provide quarterly results on a segmented basis going forward. Financial Results for the Second Quarter of 2017 Total revenues for the quarter ended June 30, 2017 decreased 9.2% year-over-year to $191.2 million, mainly due to lower print revenues. Digital revenues totalled $138.3 million down 2.9% from the same period last year due to declines in the Agency and YP segments. Print revenues decreased 22.2% year-over-year to $52.9 million, mainly due to a decline in the number of print customers as marketing spending shifts from print to digital. Adjusted EBITDA totalled $44.4 million for the second quarter 2017, compared to $58.9 million during the same period last year. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 23.2% compared to 28% in the prior year. The decrease in Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin was mainly impacted by lower overall revenues and changes in product mix, partially offset by cost saving initiatives. Net earnings for the second quarter 2017 were $0.8 million, or $0.03 per diluted share, compared to $11 million, or $0.38 per diluted share, for the same period last year. The decline in net earnings was primarily due to lower Adjusted EBITDA offset partially by a decline in financing costs. The Company generated free cash flow of $14.6 million for the second quarter of 2017, down from $23.2 million the previous year due to lower Adjusted EBITDA. Net debt amounted to $371 million at June 30, 2017. 2017 Guidance For the year ending December 31, 2017, Yellow Pages anticipates: Total revenues between $770 million and $780 million ;

; Adjusted EBITDA between $170 million and $180 million ;

; Free cash flow between $50 million and $55 million ;

; Customer count of approximately 230,000;

Capital expenditures, net of related lease incentives, of less than $65 million . As part of establishing the above guidance, the Company made the following assumptions: Economic conditions in Canada will not deteriorate;

will not deteriorate; The decline in print revenues will remain at or below 25%;

The Company will be able to introduce, sell and provision the new products and services that support our customer base and Average Revenue per Customer (ARPC) assumptions;

The revenue mix between the Company's digital owned and operated, services and resale solutions will not materially change from anticipated levels;

The Company will be able to further accelerate customer acquisition levels at currently anticipated ARPC and over time, retain and upsell newly acquired customers;

Investments in marketing and branding will evolve legacy perceptions and boost awareness of our digital media platforms and marketing solutions;

The Company will be able to realize efficiency gains in its cost structure to support profitability and cash flow generation; and

Guidance is based on current accounting standards and policies. The Company cautions that the assumptions used to prepare the guidance provided above, although currently reasonable, may prove to be incorrect or inaccurate. Accordingly, actual results may differ materially from expectations as set forth above. The guidance provided above should be read in conjunction with, and is qualified by, the section Forward-Looking Information beginning on page 1 of the August 10, 2017 Management's Discussion and Analysis. Conference Call & Webcast

Yellow Pages Limited will hold an analyst and media call and simultaneous webcast at 8 a.m. (Eastern Time) on August 10, 2017 to discuss second quarter 2017 results. The call may be accessed by dialing 416-340-2219 within the Toronto area, or 1-800-478-9326 outside of Toronto. The call will be simultaneously webcast on the Company's website at: https://corporate.yp.ca/en/investors/financial-reports/ The conference call will be archived in the Investors section of the site at: https://corporate.yp.ca/en/investors/financial-events-presentations/ A playback of the call can also be accessed between August 10 and September 10, 2017 by dialing 905-694-9451 within the Toronto area, or 1-800-408-3053 outside of Toronto and entering passcode 9131919. About Yellow Pages Limited

Yellow Pages Limited (TSX: Y) is a Canadian digital media and marketing company that creates opportunities for buyers and sellers to discover, find, interact and transact in the local economy. Yellow Pages holds some of Canada's leading local online properties including YP.ca, RedFlagDeals.com, Canada411.ca, 411.ca, Bookenda.com, dine.TO, DuProprio.com, ComFree.com and YP NextHome. The Company also holds the YP, YP Shopwise, YP Dine, RedFlagDeals, Canada411, 411, Bookenda, DuProprio, ComFree and YP NextHome mobile applications and Yellow Pages print directories. In addition, Yellow Pages is a leader in national advertising through its divisions devoted to servicing the marketing needs of large North American brands, including Mediative and JUICE. For more information visit www.corporate.yp.ca Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements about the objectives, strategies, financial conditions, results of operations and businesses of the Company. These statements are forward-looking as they are based on our current expectations, as at August 10, 2017, about our business and the markets we operate in, and on various estimates and assumptions. Our actual results could materially differ from our expectations if known or unknown risks affect our business, or if our estimates or assumptions turn out to be inaccurate. As a result, there is no assurance that any forward-looking statements will materialize. Risks that could cause our results to differ materially from our current expectations are discussed in section 6 of our August 10, 2017 Management's Discussion and Analysis. We disclaim any intention or obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by law, even if new information becomes available, as a result of future events or for any other reason. 1Non-IFRS Measures

In order to provide a better understanding of the results, the Company uses the term Adjusted EBITDA, defined as income from operations before depreciation and amortization, impairment of intangible assets and restructuring and other charges. Adjusted EBITDA is not a performance measure defined under IFRS and is not considered an alternative to income from operations or net earnings in the context of measuring Yellow Pages' performance. Adjusted EBITDA does not have a standardized meaning and is therefore not likely to be comparable to similar measures used by other publicly traded companies. Management uses Adjusted EBITDA to evaluate the performance of its business as it reflects its ongoing profitability. Management believes that certain investors and analysts use Adjusted EBITDA to measure a company's ability to service debt and to meet other payment obligations or to value companies in the media and marketing solutions industry as well as to evaluate the performance of a business. As well, free cash flow is a non-IFRS measure generally used as an indicator of financial performance. It should not be seen as a substitute for cash flow from operating activities. Free cash flow is defined as cash flow from operating activities, as reported in accordance with IFRS, less an adjustment for capital expenditures and change in operating assets and liabilities. Free cash flow is not a standardized measure and is not comparable with that of other public companies. Management considers free cash flow to be an important indicator of the performance of its business as it shows how much cash is available to repay debt and to make sound investment decisions. Management believes that certain investors and analysts use free cash flow to value a business and its underlying assets as well as to evaluate a company's performance. Free cash flow for comparative periods presented has been restated to conform to this year's presentation, which includes an adjustment for change in operating assets and liabilities. The change to this measure has been made to remove the movements in working capital items to better reflect the underlying performance of the business. Net debt is a non-IFRS measure and does not have any standardized meaning under IFRS. Therefore, it is unlikely to comparable to similar measures presented by other publicly traded companies. Net debt is defined as current portion of long-term debt plus long-term debt and exchangeable debentures, less cash. Management considers net debt to be an important indicator of its financial leverage as it represents the amount of debt that is not covered by available cash. Management believes that certain investors and analysts use net debt to determine a company's financial leverage. 2 As at June 30 SOURCE Yellow Pages Limited

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[August 10, 2017] Mouser Electronics and Grant Imahara Explore Vertical Farming in Shaping Smarter Cities Series

DALLAS and FORT WORTH, Texas, Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Mouser Electronics Inc., a leading global distributor of electronic components, along with celebrity engineer Grant Imahara, today released the third video in the Shaping Smarter Cities series, part of Mouser's award-winning Empowering Innovation Together program. In the latest video, Imahara travels to Tokyo to meet with top executives and engineers from Mirai and discuss new developments in vertical farming. Imahara learns about how these technological innovations are helping to feed a growing population plagued by extreme space restrictions and resource limitations. The Shaping Smarter Cities series is supported by Mouser's valued suppliers Analog Devices, Intel, Microchip Technology and Molex. "In the hands of true innovators, technology has the power to give us exciting new products, but it can also protect our environment and change the way we fulfill our most basic human needs, like food," said Glenn Smith, President and CEO of Mouser Electronics. "Our Shaing Smarter Cities series focuses on technology's potential for solving life-changing problems on a global scale."



"The potential of this technology is mind blowing  providing food for millions while using a fraction of the resources needed for traditional farming," said Imahara. "Not only will innovative technology create a more connected human race; it will normalize access to our most basic needs." Tokyo has nearly 38 million people packed into 845 square miles, making it the most populous metropolitan area in the world. The sheer number of people in one city creates logistical and infrastructure problems, notably sustainably feeding the entire population. To investigate new solutions to these problems, Imahara visits Mirai's facilities, learning how indoor vertical farming uses 40 percent less power than traditional farming and leads to 80 percent less food waste and 99 percent less water consumption than outdoor fields.

Imahara speaks with Nagateru Nozawa, COO of Mirai, to gain insight into the additional benefits their technology can provide, such as shorter transportation distances from farm to market and the minimized use of pesticides. Because the vertical farm is located inside a metropolitan area, fuel and delivery expenses are significantly reduced, further helping the environment while also lowering food costs. The Empowering Innovation Together program has been one of the most visible and recognized programs in the electronic component industry, featuring projects ranging from bringing superhero technology to life to 3D printing a semi-autonomous car with drone technology. The focus of this year's program is about solving tough problems that impact humanity as a whole. Visit http:www.mouser.com/empowering-innovation for more information. About Mouser Electronics

Mouser Electronics, a Berkshire Hathaway company, is an award-winning, authorized semiconductor and electronic component distributor, focused on the rapid introduction of new products and technologies to electronic design engineers and buyers. Mouser.com features more than 4 million products online from more than 600 manufacturers. Mouser publishes multiple catalogs per year providing designers with up-to-date data on the components now available for the next generation of electronic devices. Mouser ships globally to over 550,000 customers in 170 countries from its 750,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art facility south of Dallas, Texas.

For more information, visit www.mouser.com About Grant Imahara

Well known in the engineering community, Grant Imahara has paired his engineering expertise with a Hollywood TV and film career. In addition to his roles on MythBusters and BattleBots, Imahara is the inventor behind many famous robotic characters, including the Star Wars prequel-era R2-D2, talking robot sidekick Geoff Peterson from The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, and the rhythmic arms on the modern-day Energizer Bunny. 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. Intel is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation in the United States and other countries. Media Contact: Jennifer Gooding

PRIME|PR

O: 512.477.7373

M: 310.927.1829

[email protected] Related Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjxRMBa9dQE View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mouser-electronics-and-grant-imahara-explore-vertical-farming-in-shaping-smarter-cities-series-300502579.html SOURCE Mouser

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[August 10, 2017] Broadcast Equipment Market Worth 5.82 Billion USD by 2023

PUNE, India, August 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The report "Broadcast Equipment Market by Application (Radio and Television), Technology (Analog and Digital), Products (Dish Antennas, Amplifiers, Switches, Encoders, Video Servers, Transmitters, and Modulators) and Geography - Global Forecast to 2023", published by MarketsandMarkets, the Broadcast Equipment Market is expected to grow from USD 4.38 Billion in 2017 to USD 5.82 Billion by 2023, at a CAGR of 4.87% between 2017 and 2023. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160303/792302 ) Browse 75 Market Data Tables and 40 Figures spread through 153 Pages and in-depth TOC on "Broadcast Equipment Market - Global Forecast to 2023" http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/broadcast-equipment-market-111738599.html Early buyers will receive 10% customization on report The rising demand for ultra high definition (UHD) content production and transmission, radical shift of products from hardware oriented to software and open architecture based, and increasing D2C offerings through OTT services and multi-channel networks in developed economies are some of the factors driving the growth of the broadcast equipment market. Download PDF Brochure @ http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownload.asp?id=111738599 Increasing use of video servers to store and play out multiple video streams to drive the growth of broadcast equipment market The broadcast equipment market, on the basis of product, has been segmented into dish antennas, amplifiers, switchers, encoders, video servers, transmitters and repeaters, modulators, and others, The market for video servers is likely to grow at the highest rate between 2017 and 2023. The increasing number of broadcasters offering direct-to-consumer (D2C) propositions through OTT services, along with traditional distribution routes, is fueling the growth of the market for video servers. In broadcasting, servers act as hosts and are used to deliver various contents or videos. These servers are used to store and play out multiple video streams without degrading the video signals. Broadcast video servers often store hundreds of hours of compressed audio and video (in different codecs), play out multiple and synchronized simultaneous streams of videos, and also ensure quality interfaces such as SDI for digital video and XLR for balanced analog audio, and AS/EBU digital audio.



Market for digital broadcasting expected to grow at a high rate between 2017 and 2023 The market for digital broadcasting is expected to grow at a high rate between 2017 and 2023. Digital broadcasting offers several advantages over analog broadcasting, including choice of programming and services such as additional channels, HD offerings, radio data services, and pay programs. It also allows consumers to avail better quality content with considerably lesser signal interference, without compromising on picture quality.

North America expected to hold the largest market share, while the broadcast equipment market in APAC likely to witness the highest growth rate between 2017 and 2023 North America held the largest share of the broadcast equipment market in 2016. The increasing number of cable and satellite television channels and the rising penetration of the Internet have provided broadcasters with many choices for their own creative and political expression. The growing cultural diversity throughout North America has also led to the increase in the number of broadcast channels, which, in turn, has boosted the demand for broadcast equipment in this region. Europe is also one of the potential markets for broadcast equipment. The broadcast equipment market in APAC is expected to grow at the highest rate between 2017 and 2023. Inquiry Before Buying @ http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_Buying.asp?id=111738599 The major players in the broadcast equipment market include Cisco Systems, Inc. (US), Ericsson AB (Sweden), Harmonic Inc. (US), Evertz Microsystems, Ltd. (Canada), and Grass Valley (Canada). Browse Related Reports Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA) Market by Component (Hardware, and Software), Device Type (Portable, and Vehicular (Mobile)), Application (Commercial, and Public Safety), and Geography - Global Forecast to 2022 http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/terrestrial-trunked-radio-market-%2053325729.html Over the Top Market by Content Type by Platform (Smart Devices, Laptops, Desktops, and Tablets), by Service (Consulting, Installation, and Maintenance), by Revenue Model, by Deployment Model, by Vertical, by User Type, by Region - Global Forecast to 2020 http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/over-the-top-ott-market-%2041276741.html Subscribe Reports from Semiconductor Domain @ http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Knowledgestore.asp About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies' revenues. Currently servicing 5000 customers worldwide including 80% of global Fortune 1000 companies as clients. Almost 75,000 top officers across eight industries worldwide approach MarketsandMarkets for their painpoints around revenues decisions. 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. Contact:

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[August 10, 2017] Expedia reveals 10 busiest destinations for Labor Day 2017

BELLEVUE, Wash., Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Labor Day weekend is one of the busiest travel periods of the summer, spurring more air travel in 2016 than other midyear holidays such as Memorial Day and Independence Day.1 A recent Expedia survey2 confirmed that nearly 25 percent of Americans plan to get out of town for Labor Day this year. To help travelers get in one last summer getaway, Expedia today released data on the busiest destinations and where to go for a great deal. "Just because a destination is in-demand doesn't necessarily mean travelers will pay a premium," says Sarah Gavin, vice president of global communications, Expedia.com. "Places like London are over 35 percent more popular this year, but roughly 15 percent less expensive. And when you combine that with the hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars you can save when you bundle your flight and hotel, that's an incredible value." New York and Las Vegas Among Busiest Cities for Labor Day3 Expedia flight booking data suggests that these North American cities are shaping up to be the busiest destinations for Labor Day weekend: New York Las Vegas Los Angeles Orlando Chicago Seattle San Francisco Denver Dallas Atlanta The best deals for Labor Day weekend Many destinations that are seeing a rise in popularity this year versus last year are actually less expensive. For example, while Las Vegas is twice as popular this year versus last year, it is 10 percent cheaper, as are Honolulu and Austin.4 Internationally, Reykjavik is seeing nearly twice the interest this year, but coming in around 25 percent cheaper this August compared to last. Similarly, Paris and Barcelona are experiencing rising demand yet represent a great deal for travelers, with savings of roughly 15 percent, respectively.5



Top Package Deals One of the best ways to save even more on a trip is by booking as a package. When travelers book hotel and flights at the same time, the combination can yield an average of up to $600 in savings  and sometimes a lot more. Expedia analyzed U.S. bookings from February 1 to July 31, 2017 to determine destinations where travelers can find deep package savings. Strong package deals abound to destinations including:6

Italy  particularly Rome , Florence, Milan and Venice  savings on package bookings up to $2,200

 particularly , Florence, and  savings on package bookings up to The Bahamas  savings on package bookings up to $1,200

 savings on package bookings up to London  savings on package bookings up to $2,100

 savings on package bookings up to Hawaii  including Kauai , The Big Island and Oahu  savings on package bookings up to $1,000

 including , The Big Island and  savings on package bookings up to Greece  savings on package bookings up to $1,500

 savings on package bookings up to Costa Rica  savings on package bookings up to $650 For more information and great deals for Labor Day 2017, visit https://www.expedia.com/g/dd/lastminute-labor-day or download the Mobile App. About Expedia.com

Expedia.com is one of the world's largest full service travel sites, helping millions of travelers per month easily plan and book travel. Expedia.com (https://www.expedia.com/, 1-800-EXPEDIA) aims to provide the latest technology and the widest selection of top vacation destinations, affordable airfare, hotel deals, car rentals, destination weddings, cruise deals and in-destination activities, attractions, services and travel apps. With the Price Guarantee, Expedia.com customers can get the best rates available online for all types of travel.  2017 Expedia, Inc. All rights reserved. Expedia and the Airplane logo are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Expedia, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. CST # 2029030-50. Web site: https://www.expedia.com/ 1Based on air tickets sold for travel during Memorial Day (May 27 to 30, 2016), Independence Day (July 2 to 5, 2016) and Labor Day (September 2 to 5, 2016).

2Survey commissioned by Expedia and conducted by Google Consumer Surveys, polling more than 1,000 respondents, aged 18-65+, located in the U.S.

3Flight data based on air tickets sold between January to July 31, 2016 and the same dates in 2017 for travel during Labor Day.

4Based on booking dates during Q2 2017 vs. Q2 2016, with travel during Labor Day week.

5Data based on a Q2 2017 booking window with an August 2017 travel window vs. a Q2 2016 booking window with an August 2016 travel window.

6Package savings based on bookings from Feb 1  July 31, 2017. View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/expedia-reveals-10-busiest-destinations-for-labor-day-2017-300502780.html SOURCE Expedia.com

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Narayani Hospital without lab kits to test swine flu

The Narayani Sub Regional Hospital in Birgunj has run out of lab kits for testing swine flu (Influenza A H1N1), making diagnosis of the disease difficult.
[August 10, 2017] Halunen Law, Nichols Kaster, and Apollo Law Win Landmark Decision on Behalf of Employee in Minnesota Whistleblower Case

A unanimous decision by the Minnesota Supreme Court on Aug. 9 did away with 15 years of case law and significantly expands protections for employees who report illegal conduct. In "Friedlander v. Edwards Lifesciences, LLC, et al.," the Minnesota Supreme Court decision held that a 2013 amendment to the Minnesota Whistleblower Act changed the definition of "good faith" to eliminate consideration of employees' motivations in making reports. Since the amendment, what constitutes "good faith" requires only that the employee's report is neither reckless nor knowingly false. This is a major victory for employees and the rule of law in Minnesota according to attorneys at Halunen Law, Nichols Kaster, and Apollo Law -- the three Minneapolis-based law firms law firms representing the plaintiff, James Friedlander. Friedlander began working for Edwards Lifesciences in 2011. In his lawsuit, Friedlander claims that in 2015 his employer hatched an unlawful scheme of deceptive trade practices that violated the company's contractual obligations. Friedlander repeatedly voiced his objections to the scheme to his supervisor. He was later fired. Halunen Law, counsel for Friedlander, brought suit under the Minnesota Whistleblower Act, alleging that Friedlander's termination was in retaliation for his opposition to his employer's unlawful scheme. Defendants moved to dismiss Friedlander's case on the pleadings. They argued that his reports of illegal conduct were not made in good faith -- as required by the Whistleblower Act -- because they already knew about the purportedly illegal conduct before Friedlander expressed his opposition. Defendants' argument relied on a series of Minnesota Supreme Court decisions interpreting the term "good faith" to mean "for the purpose of exposing an illegality." Friedlander opposed defendants' motion and argued that the Minnesota legislature had abrogated the court's prior interpretations of good faith by defining the term to mean something else in a 2013 amendment to the act. According to the legislature's definition, a report is made in good faith as long as it is made not knowing that it is false or in reckless disregard of the truth. Friedlander asked the federal district court to certify the legal question to the Minnesota Supreme Court through a rarely used statutory procedure. The federal district court granted the request. Halunen Law then joined forces with co-counsel Nichols Kaster PLLP and Apollo Law to present Friedlander's case to the Minnesota Supreme Court. In the court's opinion, Chief Justice Lorie Gildea explained that the court must adhere to the statute's plain language. "Interpreting the phrase 'good faith' to have a meaning other than that given [by the leislature] would contradict the plain language of the amended statute." The court concluded that "the 2013 amendment to the Minnesota Whistleblower Act, defining the phrase 'good faith'  eliminated the judicially created requirement that a putative whistleblower act with the purpose of exposing an illegality."



Clayton Halunen, managing partner of Halunen Law, commented: "The legislature recognized that employees who make reasonable reports of wrongdoing are worthy of the law's protection. After the 2013 amendments, the lower courts continued to apply the old case law. It was frustrating to watch. With today's decision, the Minnesota Supreme Court makes clear that the statute's plain language governs." Steven Andrew Smith, a partner at Nichols Kaster, agreed, "The court's decision added much-needed clarity to the law and unequivocally shifted the focus of whistleblower cases back to where it should be: on whether an employer terminated or penalized an employee for opposing illegal conduct."

Adam Hansen, of Apollo Law, who argued the case before the Minnesota Supreme Court, said, "Today's decision reinforces the value of protecting whistleblowers from unlawful retaliation. The decision reaffirms that employees can take steps in the workplace to call out illegal conduct without fear of losing their jobs. Ultimately, today's decision will protect not just employees, but the public. The court recognized that protecting employees who oppose unlawful practices--for example, environmental dumping, financial crimes, or workplace safety hazards--helps stop the illegal behavior from happening in the first place." Attorneys Stephan Premo of Halunen Law, and Matthew Alan Frank of Nichols Kaster PLLP, briefed Friedlander for the Minnesota Supreme Court. Both agreed, "James showed remarkable integrity when he took a stand according to his conscience and put his job on the line. Not many people would do the same if placed in a similar position." Link here to read the full decision. (File #: A16-1916) ABOUT HALUNEN LAW: Halunen Law offers expertise in litigating consumer class actions and proven track record of success in challenging deceptive marketing, corporate fraud, and illegal business practices. Halunen also offers experienced representation to employees and whistleblowers under the False Claims Act and other statutes. With offices in Minneapolis and Chicago, Halunen Law has achieved a reputation as a fearless, tenacious and successful plaintiffs' law firm, with a laser focus on achieving justice for its clients while creating meaningful social change. For more information about Halunen Law visit HalunenLaw.com About Nichols Kaster, PLLP: The firm is led by its partners, who are regularly selected by their peers as Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers, and are leaders in numerous professional organizations, such as the National Employment Lawyers Association, the ABA Federal Labor Standards Legislation Committee, the Practising Law Institute, Minnesota National Employment Lawyers Association, Public Justice, and the Council for the Minnesota State Bar Association's Consumer Litigation Section. For more information about Nichols Kaster PLLP visit www.nka.com. About Apollo Law: Apollo Law represents employees and consumers in appellate litigation. Apollo Law began with a simple premise: that employees and consumers should have access to top-flight appellate counsel. Large corporations employ a deep and talented bench of appellate specialists. Apollo Law brings the same singular focus, experience, and knowledge to bear on behalf of employees, consumers, and other aggrieved individuals. Through its work, Apollo Law aims to vindicate the rights of its clients while improving the legal landscape for workers and individuals everywhere. For more information about Apollo Law's appellate services, visit www.apollo-law.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170810006010/en/

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[August 10, 2017] Circa Reports Sales and Operating results for the Second Quarter Ended June 30, 2017

CALGARY, Aug. 10, 2017 /CNW/ - Circa Enterprises Inc. (TSXV:CTO) (the "Company" or "Circa"), a manufacturer of equipment for the telecommunication, electrical utility, and construction industries, reports results of operations for the second quarter ended June 30, 2017. Summary of second quarter operating results: Q2 2017 consolidated sales of $6.6 million , representing a 5.3% increase over the Q2 2016 sales of $6.3 million

, representing a 5.3% increase over the Q2 2016 sales of Cash flow from operations during the quarter of $1.0 million

Profit for the period from continuing operations for Q2 2017 of $223,000 , or $0.02 per share compared to profit from continuing operations of $161,000 , or $0.02 per share for Q2 2016

, or per share compared to profit from continuing operations of , or per share for Q2 2016 EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA of $384,000 for Q2 2017 compared to EBITDA of $316,000 and Adjusted EBITDA of $338,000 for Q2 2016 (see below for explanation and calculation of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA)

for Q2 2017 compared to EBITDA of and Adjusted EBITDA of for Q2 2016 (see below for explanation and calculation of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA) Working capital of $8.4 million , including $1.3 million in cash and no outstanding debt at June 30, 2017

, including in cash and no outstanding debt at Subsequent to quarter end, the Company acquired substantially all of the assets of Guardian Telecom Inc. for approximately $3.5 million Summary of year-to date operating results: Consolidated sales of $12.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2017 , compared to sales of $12.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2016

for the six months ended , compared to sales of for the six months ended Profit for the period from operations for the six months ended June 30, 2017 of $273,000 , being $0.03 per share compared to loss for the period from operations of $193,000 , or $(0.02) for the same period in 2016

of , being per share compared to loss for the period from operations of , or for the same period in 2016 EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA of $462,000 for the six months ended June 30, 2017 compared to EBITDA of negative $(34,000) and Adjusted EBITDA of $275,000 for the six months ended June 30, 2016 (see below for explanation and calculation of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA) EBITDA is earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. Adjusted EBITDA is earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization and is adjusted for restructuring costs related to the acquisition of Alberta Computer Cables. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are a non-IFRS financial measures and do not have any standardized meaning prescribed by International Financial Reporting Standards and, therefore, may not to be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. Management believes that EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are useful supplemental measures, which provides an indication of the results generated by Circa's primary business activities prior to consideration of how those activities are financed, amortized or taxed. Readers are cautioned, however, that EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA should not be construed as an alternative to comprehensive income determined in accordance with IFRS as an indicator of the Company's financial performance. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are calculated by the Company as follows:









(unaudited)

Six months 30 June 2017 (unaudited)

Six months 30 June 2016 (unaudited)

Three months 30 June 2017 (unaudited)

Three months 30 June 2016

$000's $000's $000's $000's Profit (loss) for the period from operations 273 (193) 223 161 Income taxes 79 26 106 89 Interest - - - - Depreciation and amortization 110 133 55 66 EBITDA 462 (34) 384 316 Restructuring costs - 309 - 22 Adjusted EBITDA 462 275 384 338

Consolidated sales for the second quarter of 2017 were $6.6 million -- a $0.3 million or 5.3% increase over the same period in 2016. Sales in the Metals segment were up $0.4 million on strong orders across most regions and in the custom metal portfolio. This was partially offset by a reduction in Telecom sales of $0.1 million as the Company saw a continuing decline in demand for its surge protection equipment due to a technology shift away from copper-based infrastructure. The Company posted after tax profit of $223,000 in the second quarter of 2017 compared to $161,000 in the second quarter of 2016. This earnings improvement was due to higher overall sales combined with lower selling, general and administrative costs in the Telecom segment with the absence of redundant and restructuring costs associated with the operations of the acquisition of Alberta Computer Cables. The increased Metals segment sales generated higher gross profit and operating profit. The stronger earnings were slightly hampered by high selling commissions paid on the higher sales and legal fees incurred on the acquisition of the Guardian Telecom business, which closed early in the third quarter. As a result of the higher sales and lower overall expenses, the Company posted after tax earnings of $223,000, compared to after tax profit of $161,000 in the second quarter of 2016. Grant Reeves, Circa's President and Chief Executive Officer, stated: "It was a very good quarter for Circa with positive revenue momentum and strong earnings, the completion of a strategic acquisition and the commissioning of a new CNC punch press at our Metals facility. We are pleased with our revenue growth in the Metals segment that reflects new products, increased capacity and efficiencies from new equipment. Telecom revenue grew for cable and connectivity products, which offset waning demand for surge protection products. The Guardian Telecom acquisition is expected to boost Telecom revenues with a broad range a new products and invigorate the segment. We are excited to realize the potential of our recent investments and build on the solid operating performance of our team." CIRCA ENTERPRISES INC.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive (Loss) Income

Unaudited

Six months

ended 30 June 2017 Six months

ended 30 June 2016 Three months

ended 30 June 2017 Three months

ended 30 June 2016

$000's $000's $000's $000's









Sales 12,117 11,994 6,632 6,301 Freight (329) (310) (178) (134) Net sales 11,788 11,684 6,454 6,167 Cost of sales (8,824) (8,683) (4,722) (4,496) Gross profit 2,964 3,001 1,732 1,671 Selling, general and administrative expenses (2,612) (2,862) (1,403) (1,401) Restructuring costs - (309) - (22) Operating profit (loss) 352 (170) 329 248 Other income - 3 - 2 Finance costs - - - - Profit (loss) before tax 352 (167) 329 250 Income tax expense (79) (26) (106) (89) Profit (loss) for the period from operations attributable to shareholders of the Company 273 (193) 223 161 Other comprehensive (loss) income







Exchange differences on translating foreign

operations, net of tax (78) (108) (79) 40 Total comprehensive income (loss) for the period attributable to shareholders of the Company 195 (301) 144 201









Earnings (loss) per share (in $'s)







Basic and diluted 0.03 (0.02) 0.02 0.02 Circa Enterprises Inc. is a public company with operations in Alberta, Ontario and Florida. The outstanding common shares of Circa Enterprises Inc. are listed and trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the trading symbol CTO. 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. The Company's quarterly financial statements and related management's discussion and analysis have been filed with certain securities regulatory authorities in Canada and may be accessed electronically through the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com. SOURCE Circa Enterprises Inc.

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[August 10, 2017] Georgia Cyber Academy Kicks Off 2017-2018 School Year

Students and teachers at Georgia Cyber Academy (GCA), an accredited, full-time online public charter school program, head back to the virtual classroom on Aug. 14th. A statewide school available to students in grades K-12, GCA offers students a rigorous and engaging curriculum. GCA offers a unique opportunity for students to find an academic setting that is right for them, no matter their needs. "Students enroll at GCA for a variety of reasons," says middle school assistant principal Michelle Blackwell. "Thanks to the flexibility of online learning, we can support their unique needs." Georgia state-licensed teachers facilitate online classes for students from across the state, and are also able to provide one-on-one support to students and their families through email, phone and face-to-face gatherings. Regular school outings to museums, parks, and other educational sites foster connections within the GCA community. "I enjoy working at an online school," says academic advisor Wendy Oleksinski. "Not only does GCA offer the innovative use of technology, it also offers a rigorous curriculum and additional layers of family support when needed." Students across all grade levels take the core subjects of language arts, math, science, and history, as well as additional offerings in appropriate grade levels, such as music, art, world languages and physical education. Highschool students have access to a robust catalogue of core and elective courses, and can further set themselves apart by earning both high school and college credits through dual enrollment at a network of over 70 colleges statewide.



To learn more about enrollment, visit http://gca.k12.com/how-enroll.html and connect with school leaders at an upcoming in-person or online information session at http://gca.k12.com/events-calendar.html. About Georgia Cyber Academy

Georgia Cyber Academy (GCA) is an accredited full-time online public charter school program that serves students in Kindergarten through 12th grade. As part of the Georgia public school system, GCA is tuition-free, giving parents and families the choice to access the curriculum and tools provided by K12 Inc. (NYSE: LRN), the nation's leading provider of K-12 proprietary curriculum and online education programs. For more information about GCA, visit http://gca.k12.com. About K12, Inc. K12 Inc. (NYSE: LRN) is driving innovation and advancing the quality of education by delivering state-of-the-art, digital learning platforms and technology to students and school districts across the globe. K12's curriculum services over 2,000 schools and school districts and has delivered more than four million courses over the past decade. K12 is a company consisting of thousands of online school educators providing instruction, academic services, and learning solutions to public schools and districts, traditional classrooms, blended school programs, and directly to families. The K12 program is offered in more than seventy K12 partner public schools across the country, and through private schools serving students in all 50 states and more than 100 countries. More information can be found at K12.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170810006145/en/

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[August 10, 2017] Two Saint-Eustache businesses innovate to grow and create high-quality jobs

Government of Canada support totalling $291,500 to help HRT Industries and Trafic Innovation deliver projects SAINT-EUSTACHE, QC, Aug. 10, 2017 /CNW/ - [Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions (CED)] - By investing in innovation, we are preparing Quebecers for the jobs of today and tomorrow. This benefits the businesses and the communities in which the high-quality jobs are created. The financial assistance announced today by the Government of Canada will help two innovative manufacturing enterprises strengthen dozens of jobs and create around five new ones for the region's residents. The announcement was made by Linda Lapointe, Member of Parliament for Riviere-des-Mille-Iles, acting on behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Minister responsible for CED. An investment of $175,000 will enable HRT Industries Inc. (website in French only) to acquire state-of-the-art equipment, namely four Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machining centres. HRT Industries Inc., a subsidiary of FusiA Groupe, will thus be able to integrate itself into FusiA Groupe's 3D digital modelling manufacturing cell. The project will contribute to the development of Quebec's leading-edge expertise in 3D manufacturing, a process that is emerging globally and holds tremendous promise for the future, particularly in the aviation industry. The funding will enable HRT Industries to differentiate itself from its competitors and to continue its shift towards greater diversification by producing more complex niche products. Trafic Innovation Inc. has been awarded $116,500 in financial assistance. The business will be able to launch a commercialization strategy in Latin America for its innovative products, including its flagship product, the DEFLEX delieator, made with a polymer blend capable of absorbing repeated impact forces and returning to its original shape and smart LED traffic signs. These exports are part of the fast-growing "smart city" niche. Trafic Innovation's products help improve the safety and flow of road networks, making them easier to navigate, which also affects the quantity of greenhouse gas emissions produced by vehicles.



The funding, in the form of repayable contributions, has been granted through CED's Quebec Economic Development Program (QEDP), under the Government of Canada's broader Innovation and Skills Plan. Quotes

"HRT Industries and Trafic Innovation were able to develop innovative processes and products for their clients by building on the expertise of their teams and being open to innovation. Combining technology with the work of experienced teams is helping Quebec businesses grow and conquer new markets."

Linda Lapointe, Member of Parliament for Riviere-des-Mille-Iles "As part of the Innovation and Skills Plan, our government will be making multi-year investments to make Canada a global centre for innovation. This will stimulate innovation, creating even more well-paid jobs, and help grow the middle class." The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister responsible for CED "With CED's support, HRT Industries Inc. is continuing its "industrial revolution," which began in 2015 when it joined FusiA Groupe, the leader in France and Canada in metal additive manufacturing or 3D metal printing. These new investments will bring together HRT's skills and FusiA's innovation, providing our clients with a complete leading-edge service, from design advice for 3D metal printing to quantity production of certified complex printed parts for the aviation industry." Cyrille Chanal, President, HRT Industries "Over the past five years, Trafic Innovation has invested a significant amount of its resources into reinventing its product lineup so as to be at the cutting edge of the industry with a line of value-added products for export to the Canadian, Central American and U.S. markets. Currently, our network encompasses all the Canadian provinces and Central American countries; we will enter the U.S. market by the end of 2017. We receive support from CED, Export Development Canada (EDC) and CanExport for our Central American marketing activities." Robert Laforce, President and CEO, Trafic Innovation Inc. Quick facts CED is one of six regional development agencies under the responsibility of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development.

For more information on CED's key directions until 2021, consult Strategic plan 2021 or visit www.dec-ced.gc.ca. Stay connected

Follow CED on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube

Follow FusiA Groupe LinkedIn

Follow Trafic Innovation on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube SOURCE Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions

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November 2022 is Subscriber Appreciation Month

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More than a decade after the Supreme Court outlawed Chhaupadi, an ancient Hindu practice that banishes women from the home during menstruation and after childbirth, the Legislature-Parliament on Wednesday enacted a new law criminalising the centuries-old custom.
Clay Chastain: Fraudulent KCMO election

Clay Chastain is not done quite yet. Tomorrow Chastain will file a lawsuit against the crooked City for deliberately placing fraudulent misleading ballot language (Ballot Question #2) before voters that did not reflect the intent or substance of his valid petition submitted to the City by the people. Chastain will also ask the court to nullify the election results for Ballot Question #2 and order the City to re-submit to voters, at the next regularly scheduled election, Chastains rapid rail / electric bus / bikeway petition proposal in its original form.Because the crooked City deliberately placed before voters a vague, misleading and poorly worded ballot measure, Ballot Question #2 never had a chance.Why would the majority of Kansas City voters(1) Approve a rail-based transit measure that did not even inform them where the rail lines would run?(2) Approve a citywide expansion of an archaic operating streetcar system that runs in traffic?Indeed, they did not.And as one might expect, Kansas City voters did not want to give the dishonest-acting City a blank check to expand, in whatever direction the City chose, an archaic operating rail system.No doubt, many voters were totally confused by the Citys deliberately vague and poorly-worded ballot language that did not reconcile with, nor represent the substance of, Chastains original petition proposal that 2,500 voters mandated be placed before citywide voters.Since the election was fairly close, one can reasonably conclude that Ballot Question #2 would have had a good chance to be approved by voters had Chastains more detailed, more sensible rail system been described to voters as it appeared in its original form on the face of the petition.For sure, Clay Chastain, the petitioners and the Kansas City voting community deserve to know the answer to that question.The City placed before voters (against Chastain's official protest) ambiguous, fraudulent and manipulative ballot language that did not even represent the intent or substance of Chastain's transit proposal as follows...The City told voters that Chastain's petition proposal would extend the City's downtown streetcar system (and how it operates slowly in traffic) in several unidentified directions. The petition proposal 2,500 Kansas City voters mandated be placed before citywide voters called for... "transforming the streetcar system" into a rapid citywide rail system and operating it along 4 very specific routes (with very specific stops) inside transit greenways that would separate the rail cars from traffic. That is not the plan the Citys ballot language described to Kansas City voters.Mayor Sly James and the City pulled the same dirty trick against Chastain involving his 2014 light rail petition proposal when they also placed before voters fraudulent ballot language (that did not even include the words "light rail"!) in order to turn off, mislead, and manipulate voters into rejecting Chastain's light rail ballot measure.Democracy and improving the Citys public transportation infrastructure is on the line in Kansas City, and I will not give up on either of those two coinciding moral causes until the people are allowed to vote on my vision, in its original petition form, without interference from the underhanded-acting City.So if the corrupt-acting Sly James and City think Chastain's era of activism is now Gone with the Wind, I advise them to wet their fingers, stick them up in the wind and then go check tomorrow's court filing.And if Mayor Sly James and the City continue trying to pick a fight with Clay Chastain those bullies will do so to their legal and political detriment.Clay Chastain...still fighting to improve Kansas City and protect the people's democratic petition process.##############
The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) has released regulations for both conventional and Sharia compliant financing-based crowdfunding businesses.



For the first time it will be possible for small and medium sized businesses in Bahrain and in the region to raise conventional or Sharia compliant financing through crowdfunding. Firms operating an electronic financing/lending platform must be licensed in Bahrain under the CBB Rulebook Volume 5  Financing Based Crowdfunding Platform Operator.



The general regulations are the same for both conventional and Sharia compliant financing based crowdfunding platforms. For the latter, an additional requirement is to ensure that the financing structure is Sharia compliant by engaging a Sharia advisor or outsourcing this function to a third party.



The key highlights of the crowdfunding regulations are as follows:



 Minimum capital requirement for crowdfunding platform operators is BD 50,000 ($131,600).

 Only Person to Business (P2B) lending / financing is permitted.

 Small and medium sized businesses with paid up capital not exceeding BD 250,000 can raise funds through crowdfunding platforms.

 These SMEs may be based in Bahrain or outside; however, in case of foreign SMEs the platform operators have to clearly mention the cross-border and jurisdictional risk financiers have to take.

 It is the responsibility of the lenders/financiers to perform their own creditworthiness assessment on borrowers/fundraisers.

 Crowdfunding platform operators have to comply with the CBB rules on Anti Money Laundering, Combating Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT), consumer protection, etc.

 Only Expert and Accredited investors are allowed to provide financing through these platforms; they can lend up to 10 per cent of their net assets to a single borrower/fundraiser (and sign a self-declaration form to this effect).

 Retail investors are not permitted to participate given the high-risk nature.

 Platform operators have to clearly and publicly disclose their fees, charges and commissions.

 Platform operators may provide financing to borrowers/fundraisers who use the platform subject to obtaining the required license from the CBB to provide credit and adequate disclosure.

 If a borrower/fundraiser is unable to raise at least 80 per cent of its crowdfunding offer size the attempt would be considered unsuccessful and any monies received would have to be refunded within seven calendar days.

 A borrower/fundraiser can raise a maximum of BD 100,000 through crowdfunding in a year; the financing tenor should not exceed 5 years.



We expect Bahraini entrepreneurs to benefit from the global crowdfunding trend, which provides a viable alternative to bank financing. In particular, the CBB is keen to see Bahrain dominate the Sharia compliant financing-based crowdfunding market in the region. The demand for Sharia compliant financing is already high and we expect to see it reflected in the crowdfunding market as well, said Khalid Hamad, executive director at the CBB.



The Central Bank of Bahrain has announced a series of measures towards consolidating its position as a regional financial hub, including the introduction of a Regulatory Sandbox to facilitate Fintech initiatives. It is expected that equity-based crowdfunding regulations will be announced later this month.  TradeArabia News Service
The cake artists at Broadway Bakery in Dubai have created the world's most expensive edible cake at the request of a client to celebrate the Indian Independence Day. The cake costs $40,000!



It features Bollywood celebrity Aamir Khan (as Mahavir Singh Phogat) looking on with unwavering conviction as he trains his daughters Geeta and Babita for Olympic greatness, a scene from the much-acclaimed Hindi movie 'Dangal'.



How was the cake prepared?

The client wanted gold to be generously incorporated into the cake and the request was fulfilled by coating each medal with 75 gm of edible gold. The gold medals are beautiful replicas of the medal Geeta Phogat won in the 2010 Commonwealth Games wrestling finals.



It took Broadway Bakery's teams 3.5 weeks and 1,200 man-hours to create this $40,000 work of art. Even though the sculpture took a long time to complete, the cake sponge is to be made fresh the night before the actual event, the bakery said.



Reaching the client's satisfaction was a long and challenging road, and it required the bakery to first create a full-size imitation before a confirmation was received that the design met their standards.



What is edible gold?

Edible gold is used as a cosmetic ingredient in food and drinks around the world. Europeans have been adding gold leaf to food and liquor since the Renaissance and this very gold can also be found adorning certain Japanese candies and South Asian pastries.



The cake is 100 per cent edible and made entirely using sugar fondant, the signature chocolate sponge, ganache, Belgian chocolate, demerara sugar and edible gold. The Signature Chocolate Cake is one of the best tasting gourmet cakes in town. The public continues to love the unique taste of the bakery's cakes in Dubai and third party customer reviews are a testament to the quality they're accustomed to expect, said the bakery.



How many people worked on the cake?

Because not all cake artists speak Hindi, we made special arrangements for them to watch the movie with English subtitles to allow them to immerse themselves into the "Dangal" experience. Watching the movie allowed our artists to relate to the theme of the project and gave them the right inspiration to create the most breathtaking sculpture, the bakery said.



Broadway Bakery's fondant artists, head chef, and high-tech product design teams studied Aamir Khan's personality for over a week to perfect the actor's expression and larger than life presence.



How big is it?

The model is 4 feet tall from the base to the tip of Aamir Khan's head. The fresh sponge weighs 30kg while the overall weight comes to 54kg. At the current weight, the cake can comfortably serve 240 guests.



Why Aamir Khan and why Dangal?

The client wanted to build something that reflected the common man's struggle and how India had progressed into the modern era. She was proposed a few concepts based on some of India's most nationalistic movies including Rang De Basanti, Chak de! India, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag and Lagaan.



The product team designed the Dangal cake to depict the vital role that women played in breaking stereotypes. Indian women have raised the country's standing despite social, cultural and economic barriers, and have overcome everyday challenges to collectively lead India to a global powerhouse.



Broadway Bakery specialises in pop culture themed cakes and gourmet cake delivery in Dubai. - TradeArabia News Service
AirAsia continues to connect Asean further with the inaugural flight of its latest route to Sihanoukville, Cambodia, flying four times weekly directly from Kuala Lumpur.



The airline is also the first Malaysian carrier to operate the unique route in Cambodia.



The maiden flight, AK264, recorded a remarkable flight load of 100 per cent and all guests on board were treated to a special send-off at klia2. A receiving ceremony was also held at the Sihanouk International Airport with a water cannon salute upon the arrival of the aircraft.



Spencer Lee, head of commercial for AirAsia Berhad, said: We are thrilled that our first flight to Sihanoukville marked a milestone with a successful full flight for our 50th unique route. As a truly Asean airline, it remains as our commitment to drive tourism efforts to all countries that we operate in especially within the region. This coastal city in Cambodia presents great potential and dynamic opportunities in terms of tourism, trade and economy which we are happy to be a part of this journey to develop Sihanoukville further. We would like to also take this opportunity to thank Cambodia Airports, Cambodia Tourism and the local authorities for their tremendous support in the launch of this new route.



With Sihanoukville added into our extensive network map of over 120 destinations, we hope to grow this city to be a popular tourist destination that enables travellers from the region to experience a hidden side of Asean that has yet to be discovered. More importantly through this direct route, we want to open up air travel for the people of Sihanoukville to explore Asean and the world using our wide connectivity across 27 countries, he added.



As the countrys fourth-largest city, Sihanoukville offers a getaway with untouched beaches, jungle mountains, mangrove and marine life. Visitors can take in the beautiful islands of Koh Rong Samloem and Koh Rong; enjoy the late night scene along Ochheuteal Beach; immerse in lush nature at the Kbal Chhay Waterfalls, or the countrys first national park, the Ream National Park; or savour fresh seafood like sear-grill squid and the national dish, Amok Trey.



AirAsia also connects Kuala Lumpur directly to capital city of Phnom Penh with 21 times weekly flights as well as Siem Reap with 14 times weekly flights. - TradeArabia News Service
CEO CHAT: OANDAs Vatsa Narasimha Talks FX Trading

24/6/365.

$5.3 trillion per day traded.

Thats the foreign exchange trading market by the numbers, but numbers and data dont always tell the full story. For many years, FX trading was dominated by a handful of banks and custodians who traded on behalf of institutional investors, But this is changing, according to Vatsa Narasimha, Chief Executive Officer of OANDA, the online multi-asset trading services and foreign exchange solutions for individuals and businesses. Narasimha recently spoke to Traders Magazine about the growth of the retail trading sector and the changing face of the industry.

The retail trading industry as we know it today emerged as a result of developments in technology, explains Narasimha. On the institutional side, technology moved trading from the floor of the exchange to the computer screen, and over the last 15 years or so weve seen the same thing happen in the retail trading industry. Increasingly were seeing the use of technology to break down the information arbitrage that used to exist between institutional and retail traders. We continue to arm our clients with order book indicators and sentiment analysis, which provide retail clients with the same comprehensive view of client orders and positions that have long been the reserve of professional FX brokers.

Today, OANDA combines trading technology and institutional-grade execution across a wide range of asset classes, to allow clients to trade global market indices, commodities, Treasuries, precious metals and currencies. However, the company originally began life in 1996 as a small tech firm, built on the belief that the internet and technology would open up the markets to create fair access for everyone.

In 2001 the company launched a platform that helped pioneer the advent of Internet-based currency trading, introducing a host of first to market in the process, such as automated execution, instant settlement on trades, trades of any size between one and 10 million units, and interest calculated by the second.

However, while Narasimha stands proud of the accomplishments his firm have made in terms of democratizing the forex industry, he is quick to assert that there are significant risks associated with currency trading of which retail investors must be made aware. Leveraged trading does carry significant risk, due in large to the fact that rapid market shifts can result in losses that by far outweigh initial investments.

The Swiss National Bank crisis of 2015 offers a perfect example, during which time we saw a seismic shift in the markets in a very short space of time. Within a few seconds of the central bank removing the peg, the EUR/CHF rate dropped by 1,615 pips and USD/CHF dropped by approximately 1,405 pips. While some FX traders were left unscathed, traders long CHF in line with the prevailing long-term trend at the time were hit hard, and anyone leveraged by at least 4 to 1 was wiped out completely. Some traders leveraged by greater amounts found themselves with negative balances, owing their brokers five or even six figure sums well in excess of their deposits.

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For more information on related topics, visit the following channels:
NTNC installs cameras at Tikauli to study wildlife

The National Trust for Nature Conversation (NTNC) has installed close-circuit cameras along the Tiakuli biological corridor in Chitwan in a bid to conserve wildlife and monitor their movement.
PM to ask India to amend power trade guidelines

The Energy Ministry has requested Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba to urge India to remove discriminatory provisions in the Guidelines on Cross Border Trade of Electricity which prohibit private and third country hydropower developers in Nepal from exporting electricity to India with a one-time approval.
Probe into drowning deaths of children in Rautahat underway

Minister for Home Affairs Janardan Sharma said on Wednesday that investigation into the deaths of four children in Rautahat is underway.
Manmeet Gill

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, August 9

The District Health Department has sounded high alert as at least two suspected cases of swine flu were reported at hospitals in the city. Both the patients are not residents of the district, but were shifted here for treatment today.

A patient from Jalandhar was admitted to a private hospital. Another patient from Gurdaspur was admitted to Government Medical College here.

As other such cases have already been reported from Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Patiala and Mohali, the department has been keeping a keen watch, claimed the district epidemiologist, Dr Madan Mohan. He said samples of the patients were being examined and civil surgeons of both the districts had been intimated.

Health officials stated that the early onset of swine flu was worrying. Swine flu earlier was associated with winter months, but this time it has come early, said a faculty member at Government Medical College.

Dr Madan Mohan said all the hospitals had been instructed to intimate the department as soon as a suspected swine flu patient reached their facility. It will help us obtain the samples and get these examined at the lab in the medical college. The tests at the government facility are conducted free of cost, said Dr Madan Mohan.

He said an isolated ward for swine flu patients has been set up at Government Medical College and the department has enough stock of medicines for such patients. Dr Madan Mohan said no case from the district had been reported so far.

The health officials, in an advisory for the general public, have asked them to take ample precautions, especially at crowded places. Besides, the residents are advised to consult physicians in case they feel any of the symptoms associated with flu. The symptoms of swine flu include headache, cough, fever, loss of appetite, aches, fatigue, running nose, sneezing, watery eyes, irritation in throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Pneumonia may also develop in chronic conditions.

Civil Surgeon assumes office

The Civil Surgeon, Amritsar, Dr Narinder Kaur, assumed office on Wednesday. She has been shifted from Mansa by the Health Department. While talking to health officials, she said, I shall try to work with the same zeal and enthusiasm with which I worked in Mansa. I seek the support of every employee. Dr Narinder Kaur has served in the district in the past too in the capacity of Senior Medical Officer at Tarsikka and Mannawala. Senior officials of the department were present on the occasion.
New Delhi, August 10

Tata Motors and Volkswagen group firm Skoda on Thursday said they have decided not to pursue a proposed long-term partnership due to feasibility issues, just over four months after they had entered into the agreement.

The companies said a joint technical feasibility study has found that strategic benefits for both parties are below the desired levels.

They, however, said that following intensive and constructive discussions of the last few months, they are not ruling out possible future collaborations.

We have evaluated the technical feasibility and degree of synergies for the envisioned partnership. We have concluded that the strategic benefits for both parties are below the threshold levels, Tata Motors CEO and Managing Director Guenter Butschek said in a statement.

He, however, said: We remain positive of exploring future opportunities with the Volkswagen group.

In a separate statement, Skoda Auto said: ...neither the technical nor the economic synergies are achievable to the extent desired by both parties. As a result, a planned strategic alliance will no longer be pursued for the time being.

The Czech auto major further said: Both companies would like to emphasise that following the intensive and constructive discussions of the last few months, they are not ruling out possible future collaborations. Tata Motors and Skoda Auto had undertaken a joint technical feasibility and commercial evaluation for their proposed collaboration but concluded that the envisioned areas of partnership may not yield the desired synergies as originally assessed.

In March this year, Tata Motors, Volkswagen group and Skoda announced entering into a long-term partnership for joint development of products with the first rollout expected in 2019.

Based on the strategic alliance, Tata Motors had planned to launch products in the Indian market starting calendar year 2019. On the other hand Skoda Auto was to take the lead on behalf of the Volkswagen Group to drive forward work towards development of vehicle concepts in the economy segment.

However, in June it emerged that the partnership had run into rough weather, with differences over use of platform and doubts related to business viability.

The two companies were exploring using Tata Motors AMP (Advanced Modular Platform) with VW technology, especially electronics, for products meant for emerging markets in order to gain significant cost advantage over VWs MQB-A platform.  PTI
Chandigarh: The Department of Political Science, PGGC-46, on Wednesday celebrated the 75th anniversary of the Quit India Movement. The history of the movement was narrated by the head of department, Shashi Wahi. Students sang patriotic songs. Teachers also shared their views. TNS
Pulsar Dare Venture season III announced

HH Bajaj, the sole distributor of Bajaj motorcycles in Nepal, in association with Samsung has announced the third season of Pulsar Dare Venture with a tagline New Route, New ThrillsA call for fearless riders.
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 9

The police today arrested the son of the Haryana BJP president along with his friend for an abduction bid, four days after they were accused of stalking 29-year-old Varnika Kundu, daughter of an IAS officer.

Vikas Barala, 23, son of Haryana BJP chief Subhash Barala, and his friend Ashish Kumar, 22, were arrested after they were interrogated for nearly two hours by the Chandigarh Police. While the accused were asked to appear at the Sector 26 police station at 11 am, they kept the cops waiting for nearly three-and-a-half hours. They were taken for interrogation soon after they showed up around 2.30 pm.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

The two were arrested on the intervening night of August 4-5 after they allegedly chased and tried to block the victims car with their SUV while she was heading home. Despite the victims statement to the police that an abduction attempt was made, the two were subsequently released on bail as they were charged under a bailable offence. This led to widespread protests by various political parties, student outfits and NGOs.

DGP TS Luthra said non-bailable charge under Sections 365 (attempt to abduct with intent to wrongful confinement) and 511 (attempt to commit offences punishable with imprisonment for life or other imprisonment) of the IPC had been added to the FIR.

The FIR was initially lodged under Section 354-D (stalking) of the IPC. A few hours later, Sections 341 (wrongful restraint) and 185 (drunk driving or driving under the influence of drugs) of the Motor Vehicles Act were added. The maximum punishment for the offence under the charge applied today is up to seven-year imprisonment.

During interrogation, new things came to light following which these sections have been added and both the accused have been arrested, the DGP said. We will take the accused to the scene of crime and reconstruct the route, he said.

The DGP claimed there was no political pressure on the police and that the investigations were being carried out professionally and independently. The accused would be produced in court tomorrow, where the police would seek their custody.

DGP Luthra said after their first arrest, both men allegedly refused to give blood and urine samples. The accused are law graduates and know the law. They refused to give samples as they know that under law, they can refuse... but, in such circumstances, such refusal shall be held against them in the probe and during the trial.
Tribune News Service

Kurukshetra, August 10



Noted film and theatre actor Sitaram Panchal, who appeared in 'Peepli Live' among other movies, died at his Mumbai residence this morning. He was 54.

He was battling kidney and liver cancer for the last four years and his health deteriorated in the past few months.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

He belonged to Narwana in Jind district. and was an alumnus of the National School of Drama (NSD), Delhi.

The actor celebrated his 26 marriage anniversary yesterday and had posted celebratory pictures on his Facebook page.

His father Shri Ram Panchal was a tea vendor in Narwana.

After completing his schooling in Narwana, Panchal got admission at University College here. It was during his stay in Kurukshetra that the late actor got involved with theatre.



Panchal started his Hindi film career with acclaimed the 'Bandit Queen' in 1996.

During his lifetime, Panchal worked in films like 'Peepli Live', 'Pan Singh Tomar', 'The Legend of Bhagat Singh' and 'Slumdog Millionaire'.

He was honoured with a lifetime achievement award during the Haryana International Film Festival organised here in April this year.

Unable to foot his medical bills, the actor and his colleagues in the film industry had started an online campaign to generate funds.

The Haryana Government had also recently granted a sum of Rs five lakh to the actor.
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 10

Less than six months after the controversial mutation of 464 acres of Gwal Pahari land in Gurgaon came under the judicial scanner, the Punjab and Haryana High Court today largely referred the matter to the civil court. The copy of the orders was not yet available.

Disposing of a majority of the pleas before it, the Bench of Justice SS Saron and Justice Avneesh Jhingan kept a couple of petitions pending while directing the parties concerned not to carry out construction, alienate the land or create third-party rights.

Situated in the foothills of the Aravallis, Gwal Pahari in Gurgaon district is close to New Delhi and Faridabad. The development is significant as Haryana, on a previous date of hearing, had asserted that the shamlat land was with the Municipal Corporation-Gurgaon (MCG).

The Bench was told that 164 acres of the total 464 acres had been vacated and 300 notices issued. No less than 139 persons had filed civil suits and stay had been ordered in some cases.

A petition in public interest was filed in the matter by Gurgaon resident-cum-RTI activist Harinder Dhingra for a CBI probe to find the persons involved in prime land mutation.

Alleging the involvement of bureaucrats, politicians and local revenue officials, he had claimed that ownership of the disputed land was with the gram panchayat of Gwal Pahari since 1940 and transferred to the MCG in 2010.

The then Financial Commissioner (Revenue), not competent to pass an order on mutation in 2012, had favoured some builders, he alleged. The order was passed on the application of a private party challenging the 2010 transfer of land.

The order was challenged by the MCG before the Financial Commissioner, who stayed the order. But in October 2015, another IAS officer had restored the order. Thereafter, the matter had reached the state government and a decision was taken for mutation of land in favour of the MCG.

But, this order, too, was declared void in January by District Collector TL Satyaprakash. This order was stayed by Gurgaon Divisional Commissioner D Suresh in February, the court was told.

The Bench had already made it clear that encroachments from shamlat or village common land were required to be removed by taking legal recourse. The Bench had added that ordering an inquiry into the matter would not help and the solution lay in following the Haryana Municipal Act.

The Bench asserted that the accepted position was that the land was with the MCG since 2010. If it is shamlat land, provisions under Section 408-A need to be initiated and we will monitor it, the Bench asserted. Section 408-A of the Haryana Municipal Act deals with power to evict persons from corporation premises and land.

The case
Srinagar, August 10

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi in Delhi on Thursday to discuss the legal challenges to Article 35-A of the Constitution, official sources said.

The Chief Minister, who is scheduled to leave for Delhi in the afternoon, is also likely to meet leaders like JD(U)s Sharad Yadav on the issue of Article 35-A that gives special status to the state and has been challenged in the Supreme Court, they said.

Mehbooba is keen to build consensus against scrapping the Constitutional provision, which empowers the Jammu and Kashmir legislature to define the states permanent residents and their special rights and privileges, they said.

In a surprise development, Mehbooba had called on opposition National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah this week to seek the support of his party on the issue.

Abdullah had told her that she should meet the Prime Minister, all the important Central ministers and also the BJP leadership to convince the Sangh Parivar against striking down the constitutional provision.

The Chief Minister has also held meetings with leaders of other Opposition parties in the state, including Jammu and Kashmir Congress president G A Mir and DPN chief Ghulam Hassan Mir.

Sources in Mehboobas Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said striking down Article 35-A will be a catastrophe for all mainstream political parties in Kashmir.

It will be nothing short of a tsunami for mainstream politicians as protection of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir within the Indian Constitution is the cornerstone of their politics, they said.

On the latest developments, NC spokesman Junai Mattu tweeted: On #35A, bizarre of @MehboobaMufti to seek a consensus against BJP WHILE in an alliance with the BJP. She wants to have AND eat the cake.

That is the crux of her dilemma - run with the hare & hunt with the hounds. She wants to govern with the BJP & oppose their politics with us, the partys working president, Omar Abdullah, said in a tweet.

The controversy erupted in 2014 after an NGO We the Citizens filed a PIL in the Supreme Court seeking Article 35-A be struck down.

The Jammu and Kashmir government, under the guise of Articles 35-A and 370, which grant special autonomous status to the state, has been discriminating against non-residents, who are debarred from buying properties, getting government jobs or voting in local elections, the PIL said.

Article 35-A was added to the Constitution by a presidential order in 1954, it said.

While the state government contested the petition, saying the President had the power to incorporate a new provision in the Constitution by way of an order, the Centre, recently, expressed its reservations. PTI
New Delhi, August 10

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Thursday met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh amid reports that she had come to the national capital to drum up support for preventing attempts to remove special status to the state under the Constitution.

The meeting lasted for nearly 45 minutes, officials said without elaborating about the topics that were discussed.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

The meeting comes in the backdrop of growing pressure on Mehbooba, who is caught in a catch-22 situation over the ongoing matter in the Supreme Court on revoking Article 35-A of the Constitution that grants special status to the state.

The chief minister is likely to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi tomorrow afternoon which is to be followed by a courtesy call on to the newly-appointed President Ram Nath Kovind, they said.

It was not immediately clear whether Mehbooba would be meeting leaders of other political parties, including that from the Congress, Janata Dal(U) and Left parties.

Mehbooba is keen to build consensus against scrapping the Constitutional provision, which empowers the Jammu and Kashmir legislature to define the state's "permanent residents" and their special rights and privileges, they said.

Mehbooba had met opposition National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah this week to seek the support of his party on the issue.

Abdullah had told her that she should meet the prime minister, all important central ministers and also the BJP leadership to convince the Sangh Parivar against striking down the constitutional provision.

Sources in Mehbooba's Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said striking down Article 35A will be "a catastrophe for all mainstream political parties in the Kashmir Valley".

It will be nothing short of a "tsunami" for mainstream politicians as protection of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir within the Indian Constitution is the "cornerstone of their politics", they said.

"That is the crux of her dilemma  run with the hare & hunt with the hounds. She wants to govern with the BJP and oppose their politics with us," the party's working president, Omar Abdullah tweeted.

'Time to say goodbye to Article 370'

In a related development, PDP's alliance partner, the BJP, said in Jammu that time had come to bid a farewell to Article 370 and Article 35A of the Constitution as they created a "separatist psyche".

Both these articles, instead of being beneficial to the people of the state, have done great damage and hampered progress and development, said state BJP spokesperson Virender Gupta.

"The time has come when the people of Jammu and Kashmir should say goodbye to Article 370 and ask the Government of India to revoke Article 35 A," he said.

The controversy erupted in 2014 after an NGO 'We the Citizens' filed a PIL in the Supreme Court seeking Article 35A be struck down.

The Jammu and Kashmir government, under the guise of Articles 35A and 370, which grant special autonomous status to the state, has been discriminating against non-residents, who are debarred from buying properties, getting government jobs or voting in local elections, the PIL said.

Article 35A was added to the Constitution by a presidential order in 1954, it said.

While the state government contested the petition, saying the president had the power to incorporate a new provision in the Constitution by way of an order, the Centre, recently, expressed its reservations.  PTI
Shivani Bhakoo

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, August 9

There was unrest over the non-payment of dues among the contractors of the Municipal Corporation today, as over 40 contractors held a dharna outside the Zone-D office of the MC.

The contractors have decided to halt all works going on in the city till the time the civic body or the state government release their payments.

Talking to Ludhiana Tribune, Tavinderpal Singh, president of Municipal Corporation Contractors Association, Ludhiana, said today, the contractors have lost patience. How can the authorities expect us to survive without payments? Payments worth over Rs100 crore are pending, but the MC authorities are not releasing the funds. We have been meeting the MC Commissioner on a regular basis and every time we are sent back with mere assurances that payments will be released within a week. The contractors of Hot Mix Plant here have already stopped the work. They are not doing anything for the past over two months and now, all contractors have decided to strike work, said Tavinderpal Singh.

The contractors have stopped all works saying the MC had to provide payments worth over Rs40-45 crore, while approximately Rs50 crore was due from the Punjab Infrastructure Development Board (PIDB).

If the authorities had shortage of funds then why did they float tenders and issued work orders? How can we continue to spend from our own pockets? asked Manmohan Singh.

The contractors said the MC had taken a loan of Rs100 crore from bank and from that amount, a payment worth Rs20 crore was made by the civic body. The contractors demanded that the amount (remaining Rs80 crore) be used to make payments to the contractors so that the public does not suffer and development works are carried out smoothly. But it does not suit the authorities as hefty interest amount would have to be paid by the cash-starved MC to the bank if the amount is used.

The contractors said ever since the Congress Government took over in Punjab, not a penny had been released to them. They said they had met Congress MLAs, too, but in vain. We will be holding a meeting to decide if we have to continue with the dharna. But as of now, we have stopped the works going on in city, said Tavinderpal Singh.
Mumbai, August 10

Three men, who were returning after participating in the Maratha Kranti Morcha in Mumbai, were on Thursday killed and two others injured where a truck collided with their car at Yeola tehsil in Nashik district, a police official said on Thursday.

The car was initially hit by another vehicle on the rear side. As a result, the car driver lost control over the wheels and the vehicle swerved into an adjoining lane, he said.

At the same time, a truck, which was going towards Nashik from Vaijapur, collided with the car on Yeola-Vaijapur road at Khamgaon Shivar at around 7 am, the official said.

The police rushed to the spot after a passerby alerted them about the mishap, he said.

The police then took the five car passengers to a nearby hospital where three of them were declared dead before admission, the official said.

The two other injured passengers were admitted to a hospital in Nashik, he said.

The police have apprehended the truck driver, he said, adding that a probe is on into the mishap. PTI
Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 10

More than 70 years after the Faizabad Civil Court rejected its claim over Babri Masjid as a Shia Waqf, the Shia Central Waqf Board of Uttar Pradesh has moved the Supreme Court to assert its claim over the disputed site.

Interestingly, the Special Leave Petition  which challenged a 1946 decision of the Faizabad Civil Court  said the Babri Masjid demolished by Hindu Karsevaks in 1992 was built by demolishing a Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.

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The petition is likely to be taken up by a three-judge bench of Justice Dipak Misra, Justice Ashok Bhushan and Justice S Abdul Nazeer at 2 pm on Friday along with cross-appeals filed by various parties.

Almost seven years after the Allahabad High Courts September 30, 2010 order dividing the 2.7-acre disputed land at the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid site equally between Ram Lalla, Nirmohi Akhara and Sunni Waqf Board, the Supreme Court is scheduled to take up cross-appeals on August 11.

Referring to the gazetteer of the district which contained references to Babri Masjid, the Shia Waqf Board said, It shows that according to local affirmations, Babar came to Ajodhia in 1528 AD. And halted here only for a week and it was during his regime the Janmasthan temple was destroyed and on its site a mosque was built using largely the materials of the old structure."

It said: "Trial court committed error in not appreciating that it is the Wakif who creates wakf. Even if someone (king) orders for building a mosque, the Wakif is the one who actually creates the Wakf by dedicating it to the God. In the instant case admittedly the mosque was built by Abdul Mir Baqi presumably out of his funds since Babar stayed near Ayodhya only for 5-6 days whereas construction of mosque took much more time (demolition of temple and building of mosque)..", said the petition.

It said the "trial court failed to appreciate that merely `ordering' to build mosque does not make that person as Wakif. Someone has to build it and having title, may be in the edifice, can dedicate it to the God. Maybe that Babar ordered Abdul Mir Baqi to build mosque, Mir Baqi (Shia) chose the site and having demolished the temple got the mosque built and dedicated it to the God, thereby creating a Shia Wakf.

Shia Central Waqf Board has filed an affidavit in the top court, saying a mosque can be built in a Muslim dominated area at a reasonable distance from the most revered place of birth of Maryada Puroshottam Ram.

It opposed the stand of the Sunni Central Waqf Board which has been fighting a protracted legal battle for re-building Babri Mosque, saying, Sunni Central Waqf Board, UP, is under the dominant control of Sunni hardliners, the fanatics and non-believers in peaceful co-existence, who have absolutely no stake in the present case.

It has already requested the top court to appoint, in the larger public interest, a committee headed by a retired Supreme Court judge to suggest proposals for an amicable settlement. The committee should include two retired judges of the Allahabad High Court, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister or his nominee, a nominee from the PMO, Shia Central Waqf Board, Nirmohi Akhara (a party to the dispute) and the Hindu community, the affidavit suggested.
New Delhi, August 10

The Central Information Commission has directed the Union culture ministry to clarify its stand on whether the Taj Mahal is a mausoleum built by Shahjahan or a Shiva temple gifted to the Mughal emperor by a Rajput king.

The question, forwarded as an alternative narrative of history by some claiming to be historians and the subject of various court cases, reached the CIC through an RTI plea and is now at the culture ministrys door.

In a recent order, Information Commissioner Sridhar Acharyulu said the ministry should put to rest the controversy and clarify doubts about the history of the white marbled mausoleum, considered one of the wonders of the world.

Acharyulu recommended that the ministry give information on its stand on the cases related to the provenance of the Taj Mahal, and on the frequent claims based on historian PN Oak and advocate Yogesh Saxenas writings.

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He noted that some cases in courts, including the Supreme Court, were dismissed while some were pending.

Acharyulu said the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), being a party in some cases, must be holding the counters (affidavits) filed on its behalf and by the culture ministry.

The Commission directs the Archaeological Survey of India to share those copies with the appellant at additional fee constituting the cost of copying, before August 30, 2017, he said.

The CIC was pulled into the debate after an applicant, BKSR Ayyangar, approached the ASI through an RTI application asking whether the monument in Agra was the Taj Mahal or Tejo Mahalaya.

Many people stating that Taj Mahal is not Taj Mahal and it is Tejo Mahalaya, that this was not constructed by Shahjahan, but was gifted by Raja Maan Singh; hence give the facts as per ASI reports-details with evidences, he asked.

The ASI told him no such record was available with it.

Among other records, Ayyangar also demanded construction details of the 17th century monument, including its rooms, hidden rooms and the rooms closed to him citing security reasons.

Acharyulu noted what he expected from his RTI application was research and investigation into the history of the Taj Mahal, which is beyond the purview of the RTI Act and ASI.

It is unreasonable to ask for opening of closed rooms, bringing out hidden things, and for excavations underneath the protected monument of Taj Mahal and rewriting the history under an RTI application, he said.

Before Taj Mahal was declared as such protected monument, people should have filed their objections. Those who wanted Taj Mahal to be declared as Tejo Mahalaya should have filed objections, he stated in his order.

The information commissioner added that the ASI had to inform the appellant whether any excavations were done in the protected site of the Taj Mahal and, if so, what was discovered.

Decision regarding excavation has to be taken by the competent authority concerned and Commission cannot give directions to excavate or open the hidden or closed rooms in Taj Mahal, he said.

Oak had written a book Taj Mahal: The True Story, arguing that Taj Mahal was originally a Shiva temple built by a Rajput king which was adopted by Shahjahan, he noted.

Oak claiming himself to be a historian not only wrote a book but also approached the Supreme Court in 2000 to declare Taj Mahal as Shiva temple. However, the Supreme Court reprimanded him for having a bee in his bonnet about the Taj Mahal, the information commissioner said.

Acharyulu cited a petition, seeking removal of ASI notices that the Taj Mahal was a Mughal structure, filed before the Allahabad High Court.

On February 21, 2005, the bench of Allahabad High Court consisting of Justices BS Chauhan and Dilip Gupta agreed that the petition raised disputed question of facts, which could not be adjudicated upon in a writ jurisdiction, and dismissed it. PTI
New Delhi, August 10

The government on Thursday asserted in the Lok Sabha that those involved in stalking and alleged attempt to abduct a 29-year-old woman in Chandigarh will be punished.

The government assurance came after the issue was raised by Congress member Deepender Hooda and led to a war of words with the BJP members.

Hooda demanded action against the culprits as well as those who are trying to hurt the image of the victim on social media.

Haryana BJP chief's son Vikas Barala and his friend Ashish Kumar are the accused in the case.

Hooda wanted to know why no female officer was present when the statement of the victim was recorded under Section 164 of CrPC before the SDM.

BJP member from Chandigarh Kirron Kher shot back, saying Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh had given a clear direction to the police not to yield to political pressure in the case and do whatever is right.

She also said boys should not be allowed out during nights while the girls should be allowed.

Stressing that she had also stood up for the rights of the girls, Kher said one should accept that there are societal norms.

While one section is progressive, the other is not so, she said and lamented "misogynist" comments made some political leaders in past.

As the two sides trade charges, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar assured the members that "whosoever has committed the wrong would be punished. No one will be let off.

The minister said even the "victim is appreciating the prompt action taken by the Chandigarh police".

Kumar urged the Opposition parties to desist from giving a political colour to the sensitive issue. He stressed that it is the duty of the government to safeguard the women.

The two accused in the case were re-arrested yesterday after they were charged with a non-bailable offence of attempted abduction under section 365 of the IPC and section 511, which relates to an attempt to commit an offence punishable with life or other imprisonment.

A Chandigarh court today remanded them to two-day police custody.  PTI
Snow leopards spotted in Gorkhas Chum Valley

Snow leopards have been spotted at Chhekampar and Chumchet areas of Chum Valley in Gorkha.
Bijay Sankar Bora

Tribune News Service

Guwahati, August 10

Protest is rife in Bodoland Territorial Autonomous District Council (BTC) areas in Assam in view of a Facebook post threatening to kill the Chief Executive Member (CEM) of the BTC and leader of Bodoland Peoples Front (BPF), Hagrama Mohilary.

A Facebook post under the name of one Bodo youth, Dwimalu, has threatened to kill Hagrama Mohilary stirring a hornets nest in Bodoland areas. Protesting BPF members have burnt effigies of a youth called Dwimalu Basumatary hailing from Lahatipara in Bijni in Chirang district of the BTC and have lodged an FIR with the police demanding his immediate arrest for posting threat to Hagrama Mohilary on Facebook.

The situation in Bodoland areas has already remained calm but tense in the wake of the August 1 killing of the president of All Bodoland Minority Students Union (ABMSU), Lalfiqul Islam. The police are yet to apprehend the assailants while two people have been arrested so far for interrogation making various organisations in the state crying foul against sluggish police investigation even though a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted to probe the murder.

The state government has said that it has already recommended a CBI investigation into the killing of the minority student leader.
Mukesh Ranjan

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 10

Buoyed by security forces success in neutralising terrorists in south Kashmir, the security apparatus is now working out a plan to launch similar operations, which is based on specific actionable intelligence, in north Kashmir and also Naxal-affected areas of the country.

Till date, most of the counter-terror operations that resulted in gunning down 132 terrorists this year, were undertaken in south Kashmir, but the presence of nearly 120 terrorists in the north remains a matter of concern, sources in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said.

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In the joint operations, the Army, the state police and the Central Reserve Police Force have been working in close coordination, and in most of the successful ventures they acted upon specific inputs about location and movement of terrorists to neutralise them.

MHA sources said that now the security establishment at the Centre and in the state felt that the huge presence of terrorists in north Kashmir, most of them exported from Pakistan, posed a potential threat.

Sources said the intelligence agencies, along with security forces, had enhanced their surveillance to track the network of over-ground workers who assisted the terrorists, as a clear direction had been issued from the Central government.

According to intelligence inputs, Pakistani terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba has managed to flood the terror ranks in both south and north Kashmir.

Of the 258 terrorists recruited in the past one year, 139 belong to LeT, making it the most active terror outfit in Kashmir. This includes 39 localsa new trendas earlier, local recruits were more attracted towards Hizbul Mujahideen, a group that is primarily oriented to the cause of Kashmir, sources said.

Similarly, in case of Naxal-affected areas, the security forces (both the CRPF and states police), based on intelligence inputs, had identified 36 ultra leaders and instructions had gone down the line to eliminate all the identified ones, sources said.

The aim is to finish off the entire Naxal leadership, who are mostly active in Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Odisha, a senior MHA official said.
K V Prasad

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 10

Amid the ongoing crisis in the Gulf with Qatar under sanctions, the United Arab Emirates conveyed India that the current situation would not impact Indian community in that country or in the region.

The visiting Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash told this during his meeting with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj here on Wednesday evening.

The Minister arrived here to share Abu Dhabis perception of the developments in the region since the Saudi Arabia, UAE and Egypt severed ties with Qatar last month accusing the latter of supporting terrorism and destabilising the region.

Interacting with a select group of journalists, the Minister said India and UAE relationship is transforming and intensified with cooperation now focused on strategic and political plane.

Emphasising that the issue of Qatar was linked to the latters encouragement to terrorism, he said the assessment of the countries in the Gulf is that Doha at trying to destabilise the region accusing it of openly supporting extremism, terrorism and jihadi elements. Qatar, he said, must give up the policy.

On being asked to elaborate on UAE view on Indias suggesting the world adopt a definition of terror, he said, the issue of arriving unanimity across different countries was difficult since perception varied.

Asked about terror attacks from Pakistani soil, Gargash said UAE has been among the first to speak against such attacks underscoring that recourse to violence and terror in under the banner of political reasoning. Terrorism is terrorism and political cause should be rejected and cannot justify violence.

Gargash said any escalation in the current standoff in Doklam between India and China has the potential to cast a very disruptive impact in the region and hoped that both New Delhi and Beijing will be resolved harmoniously.
New Delhi, August 10

The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Kerala Police to assist the National Investigation Agencys inquiry into allegations of radicalisation in a case that involved a Muslim man marrying a Hindu woman in Kerala.

A Bench of Chief Justice JS Khehar and Justice DY Chandrachud asked the petitioner, Shafin Jahan  a man from Kerala who had appealed to the court after the Kerala High Court cancelled his marriage to the woman  why he was opposed to NIAs petition to investigate records in the case. The court said that it gathered the impression that "the petitioner (Jahan) does not desire the correct and independent view of the controversy" be brought before the court.

"We want the whole picture. Why should anybody doubt the NIA? Are you doubting the NIA?" the Bench asked.

The NIA asked the court earlier in the day for directions to have the Kerala Police allow it to access records of investigation.

Jahan, who had married a Hindu woman in December, had moved the Supreme Court after the Kerala High Court cancelled his marriage calling it an insult to independence of women in the country.

The woman, a Hindu, married Jahan after she converted to Islam.

The agency was investigating claims that the Islamic State had recruited the woman and Jahan was a stooge. The court called the case an instance of love jihad. PTI/ Agencies


New Delhi, August 10

Vice President-elect M Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday rejected as "political propaganda" the view that there is a sense of insecurity among minorities in the country, apparently a rejoinder to outgoing Vice-President Hamid Ansari.

Though Naidu did not name anyone, his comments are seen as a response to Ansari's remarks in a TV interview that there was unease and a sense of insecurity among Muslims in the country, and that "ambience of acceptance" is now under threat.

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"Some people are saying minorities are insecure. It is a political propaganda. Compared to the entire world, minorities are more safe and secure in India and they get their due," Naidu told PTI.

He also disagreed with the view that there is growing intolerance, saying Indian society is the most tolerant in the world because of its people and civilisation.

There is tolerance that is why democracy is so successful, he said.

The former BJP president also cautioned against creating divide in the nation by singling out one community, saying it will draw adverse reaction from other communities.

"If you single out one community, other communities will take it otherwise. That is why we say all are equal.

Appeasement for none justice for all," the 68-year-leader and former Union minister said.

He said history has proved that there is no discrimination against minorities.

"They (minorities) got in prominent positions including constitutional responsibilities because there is no discrimination, and also on account of their merit," he said.

Noting that India's uniqueness is its unity in diversity, he said 'sarva dharm sadbhav' and secularism is in the mind and blood of India.

"India is secular not because of political leaders but because of its people and civilisation," he said.

Ansari's remarks come against the backdrop of incidents of alleged intolerance and violence by self-proclaimed cow protectors, for which opposition parties have attacked the central government.

Asked about incidents of alleged intolerance, Naidu said India is a huge country and there could be some "stray" occurrences, which are "nothing but aberrations".

He, however, added that "Nobody can justify attacks on fellow citizens on the basis of community". Such incidents should be condemned and action should be taken by appropriate authorities, he said.

Naidu also said some people blow out of proportion such incidents for political considerations. Some go to the extent of "defaming" the county by raising such issues at international forum.

Some do it to create rift between communities and derive political mileage, he said, adding the basic problem arises due to vote bank politics and due to treating a community as vote bank.

A day before he takes oath as India's next vice president, Naidu said his advice to politicians is not to drag communities into politics.  PTI
Our Correspondent

Fatehgarh Sahib, August 10

The district police claimed to have busted a 10-member interstate gang of car thieves and arrested four of them.

They recovered 31 cars and SUVs worth Rs 3.5 crore from different parts of the state on their disclosure. They confessed to have stolen 56 vehicles.

The police claimed it to be one of the biggest recoveries and with the arrest of six other members, more vehicles are likely to be recovered. The police said the role of insurance company officials was also under scanner.

Addressing mediapersons, Patiala zone IG Amardeep Singh Rai and Fatehgarh Sahib SSP Alka Meena said CIA staff, Sirhind incharge, Harminder Singh got a tip-off that Balwinder Singh, alias Saba, of Amritsar, running a workshop at Faridkot, along with his accomplices had been involved in theft of cars.

The IG said the police followed them and succeeded in arresting Balwinder along with his three accomplices on the Amritsar-Wagah border. The other three arrested are Simarjeet Singh and Sandeep Singh of Faridkot and Mandeep Singh of Amritsar.

Narrating their modus operandi, the SSP said they used to enter the vehicle by breaking the rear windowpane and with the help of a software they used to corrupt the security system and used master keys to start the vehicle.

After taking the vehicle to the workshop at Faridkot, they used to get the chassis, engine number and number plates of totally damaged accidental cars with the help of insurance officials and used in these cars. The gang members were helped by Monu of Chandigarh and Lalli and Kewal of Amritsar in selling the cars. One Ramjit, alias Ram, of Delhi is also the mastermind of the gang.
Jupinderjit Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 10

In an initiative to help the beleaguered farmer community, six people, including four NRIs, donated money through the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to the families whose one or more members have committed suicide.

Leader of Opposition Sukhpal Khaira said at a press conference here on Thursday afternoon that the initiative was started by a number of NRIs in the past few days and later some locals also chipped in despite their limited resources.

Though the Centre and state government can help these families, we cant depend on them to act. Individuals with a big heart can contribute to the cause, he said.

He also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to shake the 12 big families of the country who owe most of the bad debt faced by the banks. Money from these families can help many farmer families.

Khaira said the AAP is just a facilitator between the donors and recipients and would not open any special bank account for the purpose.

On this occasion, Surjit Singh, father of Australia-based NRI Rashpal Singh, of Charar village near Bhogpur handed over a cheque for Rs 2 lakh to a victim family.

Other donors included Jeet Singh Kular from the US, Dashmesh Singh Pannu of Sidhwan Bet and Manjit Singh Ghuman from the Netherlands.

Khaira also sought a special girdawari for damage to the crops caused by the whitefly attack and floods. He demanded an inquiry into the spurious pesticide scam reported by The Tribune on Thursday.
Jupinderjit Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 10

The Counter-Intelligence wing of Punjab Police, in a joint operation with the Anti-Terror Squad of Madhya Pradesh Police, arrested three 'militants' of the Khalistan Liberation Force from Gwalior on Thursday morning.

They have been identified as Balkar Singh, Balwinder Singh and Satinder Singh. They are believed to have supplied arms to the members of a terror module recently nabbed by Punjab Police.

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The terror module was run by Canada-based Gurpreet Cheema, the police said, adding that Cheema was organising terror groups in Punjab and supplying them arms through these militants.
Melbourne

Modern humans may have exited Africa and arrived in Southeast Asia over 70,000 years ago, much earlier than previously thought, said scientists.

The study led by researchers at Macquarie University in Australia also suggests that humans could have potentially made the crossing to Australia even earlier than the accepted 60,000 to 65,000 years ago.

The dating of a cave site in West Sumatra in Indonesia, called Lida Ajer, provided researchers the first evidence for rainforest use of modern humans.

"Rainforests are not the easiest place to make a living, especially for a savannah-adapted primate, so it suggests that these people were ahead of the curve in terms of intelligence, planning and technological adaptation," said Gilbert Price from University of Queensland in Australia.

As a result of thorough documentation of the cave, reanalysis of the specimens, and a new dating programme, it was confirmed that the teeth found there were of modern humans, Homo sapiens, and dated back 73,000 years.

A barrage of dating techniques were applied to the sediment around the fossils, to overlying and underlying rock deposits in the cave and to associated mammal teeth, indicating that the deposit and fossils were laid down between 63,000 to 73,000 years ago, researchers said.

The study was published in the journal Nature. PTI
Beijing, August 10

China wants to expand its anti-corruption cooperation with Canada, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Canadian counterpart, a country which Beijing says has been a popular destination for dirty Chinese officials fleeing abroad.

Canada and China said last year they would talk about a possible extradition treaty, which China has long wanted so it can press for the return of people it says are corrupt officials who fled to Canada.

Many Western countries are reluctant to sign extradition deals with China, partly out of concern about the integrity of its judicial system and treatment of prisoners.

Meeting in Beijing, Wang told Chrystia Freeland that both countries should push for expanded, mutually beneficial cooperation in all areas, Chinas foreign ministry said late on Wednesday.

Both must take the joint fight against cross-border crime as an aim, and expand anti-corruption and legal enforcement cooperation, the ministry paraphrased Wang as saying.

It did not elaborate.

Canada refuses to send people to countries without assurances they will not be executed.

In 2011, Canada deported a man China had wanted in connection with a massive smuggling and bribery case, Lai Changxing, after a legal battle in which a Canadian court dismissed concerns he could be tortured or executed if sent home.

A Chinese court jailed Lai for life the following year.

A few graft suspects have also come back to China from Canada on their own accord, according to the Chinese government.

China has been trying to get increased international cooperation to hunt down corrupt officials since President Xi Jinping began his war against graft almost five years ago. Reuters
Travel around in style with new Tata Tigor

Tata Motors announced the commercial launch of its new Tata Tigor, a car that is meant for the young and fast-paced generation of Nepal. Sipradi Trading Pvt Ltd is the sole authorised distributor for Tata Motors in Nepal.
Washington, August 10

The entire administration of Donald Trump is speaking in one voice on the threat posed by North Korea and how to tackle it, a State Department official has said, dismissing reports that there was dissent in the US Presidents regime over the issue.

Some of you may disagree with this, but the United States is on the same page. Whether its the White House, the State Department, the Department of Defence, we are speaking with one voice.

And the world is, in fact, speaking with one voice, and we saw that as it came out of the UN Security Council with the resolution that passed less than a week ago, State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert told reporters yesterday.

Tensions have escalated with North Korea over the last several days. On Tuesday, President Trump reacted to reports that North Korea had produced a compact nuclear warhead by warning the country that it would face consequences if it threatened the United States.

Nauert said America along with other nations condemned Pyongyangs destabilising activities.

Theyve continued to take part in that, two ICBM launches in less than a month. The world remains very concerned about that, she added.

ICBM (Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile) has increased the reach of North Korean projectiles to the American mainland.

Nauert said that the US-led international pressure campaign on North Korea is working very well and yielding results, which was reflected in the unanimous sanctions passed by the United Nations Security Council on Pyongyang.

We see that the pressure campaign, which is a long-term campaign, but that campaign is working. It is ratcheting up the pressure on North Korea, she said.

The state department spokesperson defended Trumps remarks that the North Korean threat to the US will be met with fire and fury.

Look, the president is sending a strong message to North Korea in the kind of language that North Korea understands.

The secretary (of state) has talked in the past about how the president is a very effective spokesman.

People listen to him, and those were the Presidents words, sending a message loud and clear to North Korea, she said.

There are lots of ways, we believe, to get through to Kim Jong-un and his regime. And our issue is not with the people of the DPRK, it is with the regime itself, she added.

Nauert said the international community is in agreement with the United States and many of its partners and allies are in favour of putting additional pressure on North Korea.

The secretary happens to be coming back from the ASEAN conference, where they had tremendous success. It was a good week for diplomacy. We are all singing from the same hymn book, she said. PTI
London, August 10

At least six people were injured on Thursday when a bus ploughed into a shop on a busy high street in London, the media reported.

Images on social media showed the double-decker bus wedged into the side of Poggen Pohl Kitchen Design Centre after mounting the pavement on Lavender Hill, Clapham, reports the Guardian.

A section of the shop's awning appeared to have pierced the front windows on the bus's upper deck.

A Metropolitan police spokesman said: "Police were called at 6.55 am to reports of a bus in collision with a building.

"Officers, the fire brigade and ambulance services are in attendance.

"The driver has been taken to a south London hospital. A number of passengers were treated at the scene. Two passengers remain trapped on the upper deck. The road is currently closed to traffic." IANS
Colombo, August 10

Sri Lankas Foreign Minister Ravi Karunanayake resigned on Thursday over corruption allegations after being linked to a businessman under investigation for alleged irregularities at a government bond sale.

Karunanayake, 54, told Parliament that he was resigning from the Cabinet to create a new political culture in Sri Lanka and ensure that opponents are not able to destabilise the government.

I am resigning not with any guilt but with pride, Karunanayake said and dismissed allegations of corruption.

Last week, Karunanayake appeared before a presidential commission of inquiry in connection with the bond sale scandal in 2015.

Perpetual Treasuries Ltd, a subsidiary of a company owned by the son-in-law of Sri Lankas then-central bank chief Arjuna Mahendran, bought more than half of the controversial bond issue on February 27, 2015, prompting charges of a conflict of interest.

Mahendran and his son-in-law, Arjun Aloysius, have denied any wrongdoing.

Karunanayake is accused of taking on lease a luxury apartment in Colombo paid for by Aloysius of Perpetual Treasuries.

Karunanayake said his daughter had struck a deal with the apartment owner who was linked to the company under probe over bond sale.

Aloysius company had allegedly benefited by insider information on the two Central Bank bond issues in 2015 and 2016.

President Maithripala Sirisena, who came into power promising to end corruption, has been under pressure to act against Karunanayake.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said Karunanayakes resignation had created a new political culture. He said politicians in the past had never resigned when accused of corruption. PTI
Istanbul, August 10

Turkish authorities on Thursday detained a Russian suspected member of the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group for allegedly plotting a drone attack on an American warplane at a US base in southern Turkey.

State-run Anadolu news agency said that Renat Bakiev is accused of seeking to stage an attack at "the Incirlik airbase or a plane stationed there".

Quoting local police, it said that "for this purpose, he worked to obtain a drone".

Dogan news agency added that Bakiev is suspected of seeking to "stage a bomb attack aiming to bring down a US plane using a drone" at the Incirlik airbase.

He allegedly carried out reconnaissance work for the plot, both reports said, without giving further details on how the plan would have been put in place.

Anadolu further reported the suspect had asked fellow IS members through the Telegram messaging app for 2,800 lira ($790) in order to buy the drone.

The Russian embassy in Ankara said in a statement it was "carrying out the necessary work to understand what happened and make clear the circumstances"

The United States uses Incirlik, in Adana province, as a key base for air strikes against the IS jihadists in neighbouring Syria.

Bakiev also is suspected of carrying out preparations for a plot to attack a centre of the Alevi religious minority  an offshoot of the Shia sect of Islam  in Adana city, Dogan reported.

Bakiev was detained in Adana, it said. A court later remanded him in custody ahead of trial.

Anadolu also reported claims that Bakiev had been to Syria to fight with IS and had sought to stage an attack against American forces there, but without success.

Images showed the suspect  clean shaven and wearing an orange T-shirt  being led to a medical check by two Turkish policemen after his arrest.

Turkey was hit in 2016 by a succession of attacks that left hundreds dead in the bloodiest year of terror strikes in its history.

The attacks were blamed on IS jihadists who had taken swathes of territory in neighbouring Syria and Iraq as well as the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) who have battled the Turkish state in an over three-decade insurgency.

Thirty-nine people were killed, mainly foreigners in a gun attack by an jihadist gunman on an elite nightclub in Istanbul just 75 minutes into New Year's Day in 2017.

There has since been a lull in similar attacks, but tension and high security remain in big cities.

Turkish security forces have frequently detained Russians  especially residents of the mainly Muslim northern Caucasus  in raids against IS suspects in Istanbul.

Several Russians have been arrested over the triple suicide bombing and gun attack on Istanbul's main international airport in June last year blamed on IS. The trial is due to get start on November 13.  AFP
Voice of the people

The UML promotes one type of nationalism in Nepal, but will all their cadres follow?
A former University of Tulsa student charged in a series of sexual assaults and burglaries on the TU campus last year is in the Tulsa Jail after a lengthy extradition battle.

Luis Alberto Molina faces 24 charges including one count of first-degree attempted rape, four counts of sexual battery, seven counts of peeping tom, one count of peeping tom with photographic/electronic equipment, seven counts of first-degree burglary and one count of larceny from a house.

Molina, 20, was arrested by San Antonio police in October after the Northern Oklahoma Violent Crimes Task Force notified authorities there about a warrant for his arrest.

Molina had been fighting extradition to Tulsa by claiming there was insufficient evidence to prove he was the wanted person and that the extradition order was signed by the lieutenant governor instead of the governor.

A Texas appeals court ruled the extradition was lawful, and Molina was booked into the Tulsa Jail on Wednesday.

Molinas arrest last year followed a lengthy investigation into a series of burglaries and sexual assaults alleged to have taken place from February through October. Many of the intrusions targeted student athletes or their roommates.

In multiple incidents he is accused of touching women while they were in bed. During one intrusion, the victims undergarments were stolen from her apartment.

Molina is also accused of using a cigarette to rape an intoxicated, unconscious student after he took her to her university apartment, and hes alleged to have recorded the assault on video. He is accused of attempting to rape another woman on a different occasion, according to an affidavit.

In each intrusion, the assailant entered the victims bedrooms between 2:30 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. and gained entry in similar ways: by walking through an unlocked common room and proceeding to individual bedrooms, according to a news release from the Tulsa Police Department at the time of Molinas arrest.

Authorities said they linked Molina to the intrusions after the universitys Information Technology Department found that he was logged into the schools wireless internet network and was accessing wireless access points for the apartments around the time the incidents occurred.
OKLAHOMA CITY  Gov. Mary Fallin on Thursday said she thinks a special session is in order after the Oklahoma Supreme Court nullified a $1.50 fee on cigarettes.

In a lawsuit brought by tobacco companies, the states high court ruled lawmakers failed to follow constitutional requirements for revenue-raising measures and tax increases when they passed Senate Bill 845 last session.

The measure conclusively demonstrates that the primary operation and effect of the measure is to raise new revenue to support state government, according to the opinion.

Revenue-raising measures must originate in the House and cant be passed in the last five days of a session. In addition, tax increases must get a supermajority in both chambers or go to a vote of the people based on State Question 640, passed by voters in 1992.

SB 845 originated in the Senate, was passed on the last day of the session and got a bare majority in both chambers.

The opinion said the measure imposes a sin tax, or tax on goods or activities considered harmful or immoral.

If the tax can be transformed into a fee just by calling it one and adding some regulatory gloss to it, then the promise made to citizens in 1992 when they passed State Question 640 would be empty, the opinion said.

The governor said she will speak with legislative leaders from both parties about the budget shortfall the ruling creates.

My belief is we will have to come into special session to address this issue, Fallin said.

Spokesmen for House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, and Senate President Pro Tem Mike Schulz, R-Altus, said last week that if Fallin called a special session, lawmakers would return.

Senate Republicans are expected to meet Friday.

The courts opinion states the assessment on cigarettes would create the single largest source of new revenue for the state, but the legislation enacting the fee doesnt actually allocate the revenue to pay for smoking-related costs.

It goes on to note one section of the legislation explains that only $1 million  less than 0.5 percent  of the revenue is earmarked for programs designed to reduce smoking.

The remaining $224 million is sent to a fund that supports the general operations of state health agencies, with no requirement that those agencies spend even a penny of the funds on smoking related activities, it states.

Denying that creation of the new revenue was meant to balance the budget, the opinion states, is, as our Governor put it, to deny the stark REALITY of (the) state budget crisis facing our Legislature this past term.

Lawmakers used $215 million generated by the tax in the fiscal year 2018 budget.

The Oklahoma Health Care Authority, the states Medicaid agency, was to receive $70 million, or about 7 percent of its appropriation.

The Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services would have received $75 million, about 23 percent of its appropriation.

The Department of Human Services was to receive $69 million, or about 10 percent of its appropriation.

These agencies and the people they serve cannot sustain the kind of cuts that will occur if we do not find a solution, Fallin said.

SB 845 was to take effect Aug. 24. It was passed after failed attempts to pass a tobacco tax.

Lawmakers were faced with an $878 million shortfall in crafting the fiscal year 2018 budget. Fiscal year 2018 began July 1.

If Fallin were to call a special session, lawmakers would face the prospects of mustering enough votes to pass it as a tax, something they previously failed to do, or cut other agencies and reallocate those funds to lessen the blow to those that are impacted by the bill.

The ruling was written by the courts newest member, Justice Patrick Wyrick, who Fallin appointed in February.

All justices agreed to strike down the $1.50 fee.

The court heard oral arguments on Tuesday on the tobacco tax lawsuit and two other challenges to revenue-raising bills.

Auto dealers have filed suit on similar grounds against House Bill 2433, which removes the sales-tax exemption on vehicles, thus imposing a 1.25 percent sales tax on top of the existing 3.25 percent excise tax.

Republican gubernatorial hopeful Gary Richardson, a Tulsa attorney, also challenged the sales tax and two other bills.

He challenged House Bill 1449 that puts a $100 fee on electric-drive motor vehicle registration and a $30 fee on hybrid-drive motor vehicle registrations.

He also challenged House Bill 2348 which uncouples Oklahomas annual tax deduction from the federal deduction level.
About Yusra

Syrian refugee and Olympic swimmer Yusra Mardini was appointed the youngest ever Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency in April 2017, aged just 19. She advocates for refugees globally through sharing her own inspiring story and has become a powerful voice for the forcibly displaced across the world and an example of the resilience and determination to rebuild lives and positively contribute to host communities.

Yusra fled conflict in Syria when she was just a teenager and made the treacherous sea journey to Europe with her sister, Sara. The engine on their boat stopped working mid-crossing and the sisters and two others jumped into the water and, for several hours guided the dingy to safety, saving the lives of everyone onboard.

After finding refuge in Germany, Yusra was selected to compete at Rio 2016 as part of the first ever Refugee Olympic Team. Having written about her struggle with being called refugee she became the proud flagbearer for the team. She was catapulted on to the worlds stage and subsequently went on to address world leaders at the UN General Assembly, meet the Pope and be honoured with several awards. Yusra competed once again for the Refugee Olympic Team at Tokyo 2020.

Yusras incredible story is told in her memoir Butterfly: From Refugee to Olympian - My Story of Rescue, Hope and Triumph and in the upcoming Netflix film The Swimmers, released on 23 November 2022.

In her role as UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, Yusra has shared her personal experience and her passion for refugee rights and inclusion with audiences from school children to CEOs, from thought leaders to heads of state. She has given key note speeches at Google Zeitgeist, WE Day, the World Economic Forum in Davos, the Global Womens Forum and many other world stages. She also supports UNHCR campaigns, events and fundraising activities through extensive media and social media, including interviews with UNHCR Special Envoy Angeline Jolie for TIME, Olympic Swimmer Katie Ledecky for Discovery, CNN, MBC, BBC

Field Visits

In September 2019 Yusra returned to the Middle East for the first time since fleeing her home in Syira. She travelled to Jordan with UNHCR to spend time with fellow Syrians living in Zaatari Refugee Camp. She met with a group of young girls involved in an informal education and empowerment project at a UNHCR supported community centre, hearing their stories and encouraging them to pursue their dreams.

In April 2018 Yusra travelled with UNHCR to meet refugees in Sicily who had undertaken similar desperate journeys to her own to escape conflict and reach safety. Yusra reflected on her trip in a takeover of the official UNHCR Instagram account and wrote the foreword for our Desperate Journeys report focused on children and young people.

In August 2017 Yusra travelled with UNHCR to Japan to undertake a series of high level advocacy meetings and high profile media interviews in order to help build empathy and understanding of refugees ahead of the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020. Whilst there she also delivered an inspirational speech to hundreds of school children and took part in a Facebook Live with fellow UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, Miyavi.
Asylum-seekers sit outside their housing units at the regional processing centre on Manus Island, Papua New Guinea.  UNHCR/Vlad Sokhin

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is gravely concerned by deteriorating conditions at the Manus Island Regional Processing Centre, as authorities seek to relocate people to Lorengau or elsewhere in Papua New Guinea. The announcement of the closure of the Centre, in the absence of appropriate alternatives, is causing acute distress among refugees and asylum-seekers. UNHCR is deeply saddened by the tragic death of a young refugee yesterday, which also highlights the precarious situation for vulnerable people on Manus Island.



The planned closure of the Centre, along with the announced withdrawal of current medical care, torture and trauma support and security services by October 2017, is exacerbating a highly stressful situation for the 773 people who remain on Manus Island. Many fear for their safety outside the Centre, particularly in the wake of several violent incidents in recent years.



To prevent further tragedies and an escalation of the crisis, the planned closure of the Manus Island Regional Processing Centre must only take place in the context of continued critical services, and in line with Australias ongoing responsibility for the refugees and asylum-seekers it has transferred to Papua New Guinea and Nauru. Any further reduction of fundamental support for refugees and asylum-seekers transferred by Australia to Papua New Guinea would add to the serious health and security risks of people who have been in detention over the last four years.



UNHCR renews its call for Australia to urgently find viable, humane solutions outside of Papua New Guinea and Nauru for those remaining under offshore processing arrangements.

Media enquiries

Catherine Stubberfield | +61 424 545 569 | [email protected]

UNHCR Regional Representation in Canberra

UNHCRs Regional Representation is based in Canberra, and is responsible for the promotion and protection of refugee rights in Australia, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
By: Chet Scheltema  Regional Director, Dezan Shira & Associates

South East Asia continues to attract foreign investors seeking to draw from its ever-more-skilled, abundant and still relatively inexpensive labor resources. However, historic sensitivity to abusive labor practices, and in some cases combined with the influence of litigious jurisprudence, has led to an environment where foreign investors are advised to tread cautiously and lay a solid foundation for human resources management, lest they run afoul of local labor laws or trigger costly labor disputes. One pillar of this firm foundation is typically a well-crafted employment contract.

Certain South East Asian countries, including Vietnam  and Indonesia and Malaysia  distinguish themselves by mandating a formal, written labor contract signed by the parties. Rather than viewing it an additional administrative burden, foreign investors should consider this as an opportunity to establish a firm foundation for human resources management in Vietnam.

Written contract

Where a worker is hired in Vietnam for more than several months, a labor contract is required, both in the Vietnamese language and in the native language of the employee.

The contact should lay out the key terms of the employment relationship, including the location of work, scope of work, work and rest hours, length of the employment term, salary, and details of social insurance provided, and matters relevant to preserving health and safety.

If such a contract is not signed, then a penalty may apply in the amount of a minimum of VND 500,000 (US$20) up to a maximum of VND 20,000,000 (US$800) per infraction. Additional fines and penalties may apply and outstanding taxes and/or social insurance would be due and owing.

Employment term

The term of the labor contract should normally range from twelve to thirty-six months, although it could be an indefinite term contract, and in some cases a seasonal employment relationship of less than a year is permitted.

It should be noted that a fixed term employment contract twice renewed becomes an open term employment contract, with ramifications when terminating the relationship and calculating severance. If termination is unlawful, then reinstatement may be required or additional severance.

Probation may not exceed thirty days, sixty days in instances where the work is highly technical. Probation contracts are treated as a distinct contract from a standard contract. During the term of probation contacts, both the employer and the employee may cancel the agreement without prior notice if the position or performance fails to live up to the terms agreed to. Once the probation contract reaches its end, the employer may decide if it would like to engage the employee under a standard labor contract.

Special provisions: confidentiality, intellectual property, and non-compete clauses

Although employees are bound by a statutory duty of confidentiality and while intellectually property in theory belongs to the employer, investors are advised to clearly set the tone of the relationship in the labor contract with strong confidentiality and intellectual property protection terms and to address special circumstances. For instance, if the employee works non-traditional hours, then where will the line be drawn between work time and personal, thus helping to avoid confusion about who owns any intellectual property developed.

As for non-competition, an employer may attempt to include provisions restricting the future activities of an employee post-employment, although such clauses will generally be treated as unenforceable.

Terminating or amending an employment contract

A labor contract may only be amended by mutual agreement of the parties in writing, except of course in instances of promotion or salary increase, in which case a notice should be sent to the employee.

Either the employer or employee may unilaterally terminate employment by 30 days prior notice, or by 45 days prior notice under an indefinite term contract.

An employee may be immediately dismissed in unusual cases where an act of severe or gross misconduct has occurred, including in such instances as theft or repeated violation of company rules. However, the employer must follow a number of steps, including conducting a formal hearing, and should formally document that it has done so. In such an instance, severance may not be required.

Vietnamese labor law also allows an employer to terminate the employment relationship where an act of god has occurred (force majeure), although specific steps and procedures must be followed. Employee(s) would be entitled to statutory severance.

Severance

Employees completing twelve (12) months of employment are entitled to severance within seven (7) days in the amount of half a month of salary for each year of work completed (determined by the average of last six months). A full month of salary is required when terminated for reason of structural or technological change, economical restructuring, or because of merger or consolidation.

Dispute resolution

Dispute resolution in Vietnam is managed in a way consistent with a cultural preference for resolving disputes through mediation and settlement. Employers must establish a labor conciliation council within the company to serve as the first recourse to resolve disputes. A public district conciliation panel may become involved to address intractable disputes. In some unusual cases, the dispute may be brought directly to the courts.

Personal income tax and social insurance

Although not specifically addressed in the labor contract itself, the employer is under a statutory requirement to withhold and pay personal income tax at the rates specified below. For any additional tax due, the employee would become responsible and file and contribute at the year end.

Social insurance allowances must be withheld and contributed by the employer as follows, if the term of the contract is greater than three months. The specific allowances withheld are for sick leave, maternity, work-related accidence and occupational illness, pension, and mortality. For employees working less than three months in duration, the contribution is included in the salary, and the employees then becomes responsible to make payment.

RELATED: Social Security in Vietnam: Understanding Your Obligations

Conclusion

Establishing a firm foundation to human resources management in Vietnam starts with preparing and signing well-considered employment contracts. Far from being an administrative nuisance imposed under Vietnamese law, when handled deliberately with guidance from experienced counsel, they should be regarded as the first step in establishing robust human resources for a company by cultivating stability in the workforce and limiting disputes and disruption.

Dezan Shira & Associates Brochure

Dezan Shira & Associates is a pan-Asia, multi-disciplinary professional services firm, providing legal, tax and operational advisory to international corporate investors. Operational throughout China, ASEAN and India, our mission is to guide foreign companies through Asias complex regulatory environment and assist them with all aspects of establishing, maintaining and growing their business operations in the region. This brochure provides an overview of the services and expertise Dezan Shira & Associates can provide.

An Introduction to Doing Business in Vietnam 2017

An Introduction to Doing Business in Vietnam 2017 will provide readers with an overview of the fundamentals of investing and conducting business in Vietnam. Compiled by Dezan Shira & Associates, a specialist foreign direct investment practice, this guide explains the basics of company establishment, annual compliance, taxation, human resources, payroll, and social insurance in this dynamic country.

Managing Contracts and Severance in Vietnam

In this issue of Vietnam Briefing, we discuss the prevailing state of labor pools in Vietnam and outline key considerations for those seeking to staff and retain workers in the country. We highlight the increasing demand for skilled labor, provide in depth coverage of existing contract options, and showcase severance liabilities that may arise if workers or employers choose to terminate their contracts.
The negotiations on selling Ocean Bank to foreign investors are hoped to be finished soon

Plentiful offers, little success

After the failure of Singaporean United Overseas Bank (UOB) to acquire Global Petro Commercial Joint Stock Bank (GPBank), GPBank is now in negotiations with another investor.

According to a source of VIR, this failure originated mainly from the low price offered by UOB, but there was another reason. UOB requested to buy the entire bank, including its bad debts, however, at the time, Vietnamese regulations did not have any mechanism to provide guarantee for these bad debts.

Similarly, many foreign investors have shown interest in acquiring Ocean Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Ocean Bank), but no agreement was made up till now, mainly due to concerns over the bad debts after acquisition.

Bui Huy Tho, deputy director of the Department for Management of Credit Institution and Banking Operation Licensing at the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), said that it is not easy for a foreign investor to acquire a weak bank in Vietnam because banks liabilities are various and their branch network stretch all over Vietnam.

Before acquiring a weak bank, foreign investors should come up with ways to resolve bad debts, Tho said.

Recently, the National Assembly issued Resolution No.42/2017/QH14 on the pilot settlement of credit institutions bad debts. Accordingly, collateral resolution will be facilitated.

The negotiations on selling Ocean Bank to foreign investors are in the second phase. With this new regulation, it is hoped that all parties will come to a mutual agreement soon.

Vietnamese banks luring in foreign investors

Besides the three banks - GPBank, Vietnam Construction Bank, and Ocean Bank, that require SBV intervention, there are a number of weak banks in need of a working restructuring plan. Resolution 42 will speed up the restructuring of these banks with the participation of both domestic and international investors.

Regarding foreign investors, Dr Le Xuan Nghia, an economist, said that M&A for weak commercial banks will be more popular if the government expands the foreign ownership limit.

Foreign investors, especially those from Southeast Asia, are showing interest in the Vietnamese market, Dr Le Xuan Nghia said.

Vietnamese banks are attractive to foreign investors as evidenced by the growing number of investors entering the country. At the middle of July, Singaporean UOB was granted the licence to establish a wholly-owned subsidiary in Vietnam, raising the number of entirely foreign-owned banks in Vietnam to nine. At present, there are at least two regional banks showing intentions to join the market.

The attractiveness of Vietnamese commercial banks may derive from the rapid growth of the retail sector. Besides, it seems that the fastest way to gain market share is to implement M&A deals.

Economist Dinh The Hien said that there would be an increasing wave of investment from foreign enterprises pouring into Vietnamese financial companies and banks in 2017, and some deals would be implemented soon.
A 12.7ha area of dioxin contaminated land has been returned to the Transport Ministry after cleaning the soil of dioxin. VNS Photo Cong Thanh

The agreement was signed by representatives from the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence, Air Defence-Air Force Command (ADAFC) and the US Agency of International Development (USAID).

This is the second portion of land to be turned over for new development as part of expansion of the a Nang International Airport, while USAID and the Ministry of National Defence continue their collaboration to clean up dioxin contaminated soil and sediment at the site of the former US a Nang Air Base.

The handover of land for the second phase of the project commencing marked close co-operation between Viet Nams defence ministry and USAID for several years in cleaning up dioxin contamination at the airport, said Lt. General Pham Ngoc Minh, deputy chief of the General Staff under the Viet Nam Peoples Army,.

Todays event also marks significant efforts made by Viet Nam and the US towards addressing the consequences of war. The project, which completed its first phase in May, had handed over a 5.97ha plot for building runways and parking lots at the airport in preparation for the 2017 Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) Summit in a Nang later this year, he said.

He said the project plans to return another 16ha in the first quarter of next year for the airport expansion project.

Lt. General Minh said the Defence Ministry and USAID will continue co-operation in cleaning up dioxin contamination on 51ha at the Bien Hoa Airport in ong Nai Province.

He said Viet Nam and the US have also agreed to boost co-operation in landmine and bomb clearing projects as well as chemical contamination in other regions in Viet Nam.

According to the Defence Ministry, nearly 6 million hectares have thus far been identified as being contaminated with dioxin or landmines and other unexploded ordnances (UXOs).

The ministry is scheduled to start the Viet Nam-Korea landmines and bombs remediation Project next month. The project will receive US$20 million in non-refundable Official Development Assistance (ODA) from the South Korean Government.

Under this project, an area of 8,000ha will be handed over to provinces of Binh inh and Quang Nam in 2019.

VN-US milestone

Launched in 2012, the Environmental Remediation of Dioxin Contamination at a Nang Airport Project is seen as an important milestone in the development of Viet Nam-US relations. It will also deliver a cleaner, safer environment for the residents of a Nang.

The project has successfully treated over 94,000 cubic meters of contaminated soil and sediment and is expected to complete set tasks early next year.

Viet Nam and the US have been working together to clean up Agent Orange contaminated sites in Viet Nam since 2007.

This project uses an In-Pile Thermal Desorption (IPTD) system into which batches of contaminated soil and sediment are placed in a container and heated to a temperature of 335 degrees Celsius, which destroys 95 per cent of dioxins.

The soil is later removed from the container and tested for traces of contaminants before being put back.

a Nangs former US air base is considered a dioxin hotspot containing high levels of the toxic substance. Other such spots include Bien Hoa in the southwestern province of ong Nai and Phu Cat Airport in Binh inh Province.

The Office of National Steering Committee 33 estimates that there are about 148,000 cubic metres of dioxin-contaminated soil at a Nang Airport; 7,500 cubic metres the Phu Cat Airport and between 450,000 or 500,000 cubic metres at the Bien Hoa Airport.
Eric Solberg, CEO from EXS Capital was very positive when predicting that M&A activities in Vietnam would double or triple in the next five to ten years.

Coming from Locus Capital Partner, managing partner Jacob Hoyeon Won predicted that consumer retail will be the most attractive, especially for Korean investors.

Dang Van Thanh, chairman of TTC Group, and Danny Le, head of business development from Masan Group, stressed that Vietnam continues to be a capital destination of foreign investment, especially in agriculture and finance.

In the real estate sector, Duong Thuy Dung, senior director, head of professional services from CBRE Vietnam, predicted that in 2017-2018, three segments which will attract most M&A will include houses for sale in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, hotels and condotels in coastal provinces, and industrial properties stretching from the north to the south of the country.

The optimistic forecasts were also shared by Nguyen My Phuong, CEO of Tien Phuoc Group, with more deals and increased value.

Experts also shared their experiences of success and failure of the notable deals in 2016-2017 from the perspective of independent experts as well as insiders.

Challenges and opportunities in M&A activities, negotiating and signing M&A contracts, the role of advisory firms in deals, valuation, finance, and arranging capital for deals were the main issues raised in this session.

Nguyen My Phuong - CEO of Tien Phuoc Group One of the most significant issues for Tien Phuoc is that we choose very carefully our partners and continuously cooperate with them after the first deal. The cooperation between Tien Phuoc and Keppel Land is a typical example for this continuous cooperation. At the beginning of our business, we needed experience, then in the following stage, we got more familiar with our partners and also understood more about our advantages. Apart from this, we need the flexibility of a private company. Going from one, we now have more than three joint ventures. We have been sharing our values and long-term commitment. We have achieved transparency and made our partners believe in our prestige. Our experience is how to harmonise benefits among partners. We think that when two sides sit in the same boat, we have a basis for win-win benefit.

Dung Duong - Senior director, head of Professional Services, CBRE Vietnam A lot of foreign investors in real estate may have little knowledge of the Vietnamese market, thus they prefer to partner up with Vietnamese firms. The two most popular methods are partnerships and co-investments, as you can see in recent deals in the property market. The main challenge is information transparency, which is really important for foreign investors. This does not only come from the firms themselves, but from the entire market in Vietnam. Some investors are confused about a lot of Vietnamese lawsfor example, one land plot is up for permanent ownership, while the one next to it is only available for 50 years. Many investors have no idea what the reason behind this difference is, and they are discouraged from entering Vietnam. As a result, I believe that the legal framework needs to be more detailed to avoid confusions like these.

Eric Solberg - CEO of EXS Capital We believe that the Vietnamese market, like other emerging markets, needs investment funds with 20 or 30 years of long-term capital in order to grow sustainably. The most important thing when deciding which company to invest in is whether we share the same vision. Since it is a long-term relationship, both partners need to trust each other and have great confidence in each other. Some foreign investors demand a lot and Vietnamese companies need to respond well to these demands. It all boils down to transparency, integrity, corporate governance, and management. EXS Capital looks to build a number of industry leaders, such as SonKim Land, and we also assist them to raise capital through various channelsbank credit, public offerings, and private placements. Another important thing for firms is to have talents to facilitate growththat is something we cannot help with, so we look closely into this matter when investing in a company. Valuation is not always about price, it is about expectations and negotiations. A healthy partnership between two M&A partners is a complementary one with a shared vision.

Jacob Hoyeon Won - Managing Partner of Locus Capital Partner Many Korean investors are interested in doing M&A with Vietnam because the country is close to Korea and has a large population. Contrary to the fast-growing Vietnamese economy, Korea is maturing and growth is slowing down. Korean companies must look for growth elsewhere, and they have a lot of money to do so. Many clients of mine are mostly interested in Vietnam, even more than Indonesia. These clients tell me that many factories in Vietnam are really productive and they have strong confidence in the overall market. Vietnam has a stable geo-political climate, too. That said, it can be challenging for Korean investors to find the right target in Vietnam. Korean investors want majority control in a the company, and the firm must have good growth potential. In the past, Korea also offered a lot of M&A opportunities thanks to the wave of privatisation. I believe Vietnam will be the same. 2017 is a good year for Korean investors to come to Vietnam for long-term business deals.

Dang Van Thanh - Chairman of TTC Group M&A will be on the rise in several sectors, without being limited to just one or two. Thus, businessmen should be ready to avail themselves of opportunities in time. Young businessmen are responsible for creating added value for the society, customers, employees, and themselves. Meanwhile, purchasers are willing to acquire projects with a good price to gain market share. TTC is among the few companies to acquire foreign companies. Following M&A, companies should be flexible to operate the companies. A smooth transition might take two years. Cultural differences are one of the most challenging factors for successful M&A. When TCC acquired eight companies, we had to combine the cultures of these companies to create a synergy.
Four domestic carriers have made efforts in reducing flight delays and cancellations. - Photo vietnamnet.vn

There were about 25,657 flights during the month - up 5 per cent year-on-year. Of the total, 21,736 flights or 84.7 per cent arrived on time, 177 were cancelled, while the remaining were delayed mainly due to late arrivals.

Among the four airlines, the Vietnam Air Services Co, VASCO, recorded the highest percentage of on-time flights - 94.7 per cent. Jetstar Pacific came next with 87.4 per cent of on-time flights, followed by the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines with 85.4 per cent and Vietjet with 82.2 per cent.

The rates of delayed and cancelled flights of four domestic airlines over past six months were 12.2 per cent and 0.5 per cent, respectively, recording a year-on-year fall of 3.6 percentage points and 0.1 percentage points, according to CAAV.

Earlier in June, the Noi Bai International Airport had asked all domestic airlines to improve operations, minimise the number of delays, and enhance passenger experience.
To Burrow (uc) / To Fill (Lap) are antonymous verbs. Void (Rong) / Whole (ay) are opposite adjectives. When placed together, the pair uc Rong/Lap ay exposes a contradictory correlation: burrowing into ones wholeness/ filling ones void. The exhibition uc Rong/Lap ay accentuates a psychological and tangible void-wholeness through personal, private and contrasting inquiries.

The exhibition space is divided into four rooms, with distinctive concerns.



Thanh Vinh questions the filled/voided in national narrative, hence his use of fictional characters to strive for a rewritten history from an individualistic standpoint.



Thuy Anh utilizes domestic and direct task to confront the void/fullness within the relationship of the female body vs orthodoxical burden; or better yet, the relationship of abject/object  body/screen and the intimacy in-between.



Kim Duy employs remnants of pictures to examine the narration of imaginative images through the concept of segmentation and wholeness.



Nghia Dang uses painterly gesture in an effort to poke at the need for austerity in artmaking.



The work in the exhibition does not aim for concrete interpretation but rather an attempt toward materialization  a symbolic act of filling or burrowing  while hinting at individual wish of each artist in confronting their own voided reality.



Thanh Vinh, born in 1988 in Hanoi, finished bachelor degree of fineartsat the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, China in 2011, then went to the Netherlands for a Master of Fine Artsat AKV|St.Joost ins  Hertogenbosch in 2014. Thanh Vinhs works represents how to connect both tradition and rapid change of globalization and mass media and bring it to the future.



Thuy Anh (b.1993) is a visual artist from Hanoi. She graduated from DePauw University in 2015 with a B.A in Studio Art and English and is currently enrolled at the School of Visual Arts (New York City) for an M.F.A in Interdisciplinary Fine Art. Her body of work consists of installations, sculptures and videos.



Kim Duy (b. 1987) is a visual artist living and working in Hanoi. Duys works often incorporate a variety of media, subjects and systems.



Nghia Dang (b. 1994 in Hanoi) is currently finishing his B.A in Painting and Visual Critical Studies at the Art Institute of Chicago. Nghia mainly works with painting, incorporating a variety of form and medium in his practice.
Ferro-silico-manganese, a kind of ferroalloy with iron, silicon and manganese, is a key ingredient for steelmaking.-Photo hindustanalloys.in

The information was revealed by the Viet Nam Trade Office in the Republic of Korea.

The items under investigation are imported ferro-silico-manganese products under the HS code: 7202.30.0000.

On December 7, 2016, the KTC initiated an anti-dumping investigation on ferroalloy imported from Viet Nam, Ukraine and India at the request of companies Dongbu Metal, Simpac Metal, Simpac Metalloy and Taekyung Industrial.

Earlier, an investigation into dumping and material injury issues had been scheduled from July 1, 2015, to June 30, 2016, and from January 1, 2013, to June 30, 2016, respectively.

After four months of investigations, the KTC arrived at a preliminary conclusion that there was enough evidence of anti-dumping practices and substantial damages to the Korean industry.

The KTC said it would recommend that the finance ministry levy punitive duties of 6.08 - 32.32 per cent on ferro-silico-manganese products imported from these three countries, for underselling and causing damage to the local industry.

The tax rate for Viet Nam is expected to be 7.48 per cent.

The alloy made of iron, silicon and manganese is a key ingredient for manufacturing steel, the Korean antitrust agency said.

The Korean market for the alloy was estimated at 230,000 tonnes in 2015, worth 250 billion won (US$220 million). Products imported from Viet Nam, India and Ukraine accounted for nearly 40 per cent of the market.

This June, the KTC conducted on-site investigations of Vietnamese enterprises.
During the first session called Identifying Breakthrough Opportunities, the pressing issues of equitising state-owned enterprises (SOEs), state divestment, and the foreign ownership cap have been discussed by representatives from government agencies and leading consultancy firms.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment understands that Vietnam has to follow international rules if the country wants to attract M&A capital. Policymakers need to respond to investors suggestions and give them full support, said Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung.

In particular, investors at the forum wanted to know whether they need to finalise all payments before obtaining the investment certificate for an M&A deal. In some transactions, investors do not buy shares from the company itself, but from other shareholders, and are confused whether they need to pay the money to the company or to the shareholders.

Other major themes in the session include the increasing supply of M&A deals from equitised SOEs. New opportunities in the banking sector were also discussed as the new law on bad debts resolution was recently passed in June.

The matter of the foreign ownership limit, which has prevented many investors from entering conditional business sectors, was another highlight of the session.

Dang Quyet Tien, deputy head of the Corporate Finance Department of the Ministry of Finance, answered that the detailed list of SOEs to be equitised has recently been released. The government is also pushing forward with state divestment and is welcoming foreign investors to help restructure weak banks.

To recap the session, policymakers promised that more legal reforms are underway and investors can be assured that Vietnam is trying its best to improve the efficiency and transparency of the M&A market for foreign investors.

Nguyen Huu Quang - Deputy Head of the National Assembly's Finance and Budget Committee To push up the process of equitisation, we have to clarify which ones are outstanding and which are hindering this process. During the last 20 years of equitisation, we have achieved many results. Before 2016, equitisation was done quite strongly, however, after that, the process has been slowing down. This, I think, is partly caused by the economic crisis which brings many disadvantages to the financial market. Furthermore, the Vietnamese overnments policy on equitisation is not attractive enough for enterprises. Lastly, both enterprise owners and labourers are not aware of the advantages the equitisation could bring about. The issue of evaluating a state-owned enterprise is very important as well, as the potential of land area which the enterprise owns.

Bui Huy Tho - Director of Banking Inspection and Supervision under the State Bank of Vietnam The National Assembly has recently passed the law on bad debts resolution. This new law will allow financial institutions to sell their collaterals or sell debts under the market value. I believe that the new law will help Vietnamese banks solve their bad debts problems and most importantly, improve their health and attract new M&A partners. In fact, the Vietnamese government welcomes all foreign investors to help restructure struggling banks, and we hope that the M&A market for banks will become livelier following the law on bad debts resolution. In the future, we should probably introduce new laws on banks' private placements and employees' shares, as this is also causing some concern for foreign investors.

Quach Ngoc Tuan - Deputy director of Legislation Department under the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) MPI has assisted the government in improving the investment climate, especially with the recent implementation of the laws on Investment and Enterprise. We are reviewing legal constraints to propose changes to relevant ministries. One issue that can be changed is that some provincial authorities request foreign acquirers to pay for the deal before adjusting the business registration. For this matter, I believe that the investors only need to submit documents of transfer or contract to state agencies. This regulation has been stipulated in Decree No.78/2013/ND-CP, guiding the Law on Enterprise on enterprise registration. Seck Yee Chung - Partner of Baker & McKenzie Vietnam has seen the second wave of M&A recently, however, different to the last time, the manufacturing sector has been developing strongly and Vietnams competitiveness is no longer based on low-value products. Especially since last year, we have seen many investors from Thailand, South Korea, and Japan. We see that some sectors have been saturated, however, the market remains potential. In the coming time, the legal system will create more favourable opportunities for investors to invest in Vietnam and take part in M&A activities. There are a number of issues which the government should upgrade, such as shortening and simplifying investment registration procedures and making the environment more competitive, especially as Vietnam has joined the WTO. Vietnam has also been very active to be recognised as a market economy, therefore there must be more changes to attract more foreign investors into the country.
Almost two years ago, on December 25, 2015, Masan Group issued a press release on the M&A deal with Singha from Thailand. Among hundreds of M&A deals in 2015, this was the deal that pushed the value of the Vietnamese M&A market over the $5-billion mark for the first time.

The fact that a foreign company invested $1.1 billion in a Vietnamese business, which was a record at the time and remains one of the largest deals the market has seen so far, deeply impressed the business community in Vietnam.

However, the stellar value was not the only thing making this deal unique. This was the first time in Southeast Asia, and perhaps even in the world, that two giants in consumer products joined forces without the usual buyout.

It should also be noted that with a strategic investment like this, the typical committed cooperation period is usually five to seven years, and the future of the partnership will be considered afterward. In reality, many strategic partnerships were signed in 2006-2008, with many investors quickly divesting after three to five years.

However, Danny Le, head of development and strategy at Masan, and Palit Bhirombhakdi, CEO of Singha Asia, affirmed that they have committed to a vision of more than 20 years. After the deal was announced, many media outlets had analysed the unique nature of this deal as a valuable lesson for other Vietnamese companies.

Singha, considered the king of the living room in Thailand, and Masan, king of the kitchen in Vietnam, both set their sights on a larger market, inland ASEAN (including Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia), and joined forces to achieve their common vision.

Just nine months after the partnership was signed, Masan introduced the Chin-su Yod Thong fish sauce in Thailand and received great support from Thai customers.

Unique M&A activities

20 years ago, Masan was known for exporting instant noodles and spices, and now, it is known as one of the largest consumer product manufacturers, leading in many fields, from fish sauce, soy sauce, convenient food to coffee and meat products. According to a Masan survey, by the end of 2016, 98 per cent of Vietnamese households were using at least one of Masan product. Its net revenue in 2016 was approximately $2 billion.

For Masan, whether it is to change direction or expand product lines, M&A seems to be the go-to method. For example, when Masan entered the meat products market, its key first step was to invest in Proconco (and later acquire a controlling stake) acquiring its famous brand of Bio-zeem supplemented brand. In order to complete the 3F value chain (Feed-Farm-Food), Masan has spent over VND2.1 trillion ($92.4 million) to acquire 29.94 per cent strategic capital in Vissan, the countrys largest pork supplier.

Masan Nutri-Science, a member of Masan Group, owns 29.94 per of Vissan

The 3F value chain is an instrumental step for Masan to carry out its vision of bringing the price of meat products to a reasonable level, which currently stands at double the prices in the US. At the same time, the company aims to respond to the growing demand for clean meat products with clear origin. Masan expects to complete the 3F value chain by mid-2018.

Of course, M&A is not the only tool helping Masan become the largest supplier of pork in Vietnam. In 2016, this corporation invested VN1.2 trillion ($52.8 million) to build one of the largest clean pig farm in Vietnam.

M&A or investment, Masan always chooses the most beneficial method to manoeuvre the consumer product market. According to Danny Le, M&A is simply a tool for Masan to grow and not its end goal.

When acquiring a stake in other companies, at the strategic or controlling level, Masan never looks to gain revenue or profit, but rather to set the groundwork to support its overall strategy. This groundwork could be better technology to create better products at more affordable prices or a distribution network to expand Masans impressive existing network or to help develop and protect the strong brand of Masan, Le said.

True to this principle, the scale of a deal has never seemed to be a concern for Masan. The company bought Phu Yen Beer for only $12 million to acquire its brewing technology and created the brand Su Tu Trang (White Lion), currently very popular at south-eastern and south-western provinces.

On the other hand, Masan spent over VND1.07 trillion ($47 million) to acquire a controlling stake in Vinacafe Bien Hoa and enter the Vietnamese coffee market in 2011, and announced plans to raise its ownership in the coffee company with an additional VND444 billion (19.5 million) in 2016.

As such, Massan is currently holding two M&A records in Vietnam, both in terms of the value and the number of deals (not including real estate acquisition projects).

Most recently, in April 2017, Masan made another excellent M&A deal, selling capital from Masan Group and Masan Nutri-Science to KKR, a large US investment fund. Not only did this deal value up to $250 million, but also marked KKRs second investment in Masan, after a $359-million deal in 2011, returning more than the expected profit.

The return of KKR was due to the new foundation Masan has built in the meat products market. KKR shares Masans vision and believed that this would turn out to be another profitable investment.

When selling, we specifically look for investors who believe in Masans vision and its ability to realise it, said Le.

The art of using money

Masan does not want to borrow money to perform acquisition, Le shared. To most other companies, funding sources are usually the first concern when considering a buyout or investment in another company.

We are always ready for deals, even unexpected ones. Monetary discipline is a top priority when doing M&A, Le said.

Short-term benefit was never Masans concern. Prior to KKR, an investor has offered a 20 per cent higher buying price, but Masan refused because that company did not share its long-term vision. Similarly, when acquiring a stake or buying out another firm, Masan is always prepared to offer a much higher price than competitors because the right foundations can make up for the price difference within two or three years.

Danny Le does not find striking an M&A deal difficult, the challenge lies in post-M&A business development.

Apart from monetary discipline, the hardest parts for buyers are knowing what you need, whether the seller possesses what you need, and whether you can do better than the acquired business currently does.

Of course, it is impossible to foresee everything, but it is crucial to create your own principles of buying or selling and share with your partner the vision of serving customers with better products. At Masan, we sell our stakes when an investor can share our development vision and buy when we can get better foundations to grow in the consumer products sector, with the ultimate goal of serving our customers, Le said.

Masans leaders shared that the corporation will continue M&A activities in fields serving the consumer demand with large market opportunities and high growth potential. The market may once again see some unique M&A deals.
The pregnant hotgirl dies after a plastic surgery

The Medical Examination and Treatment Department asked the city health authority to liaise with the surgeons who directly performed the operation and involved hospitals including Van Hanh General Hospital, Peoples Hospital 115 and the general Hospital in Hoc Mon District.

In its document, the Medical Examination and Treatment Department said that medical incidents in cosmetic surgeries in clinics under the municipal Department of Healths control had been reported lately; for instance, the death of Edward Hartley, American national, during liposuction surgery at Viet Thanh Beauty Clinic.

The Health Department in HCMC must liaise with related agencies to set up scientific council to probe the cause of the death and submit the report to the Ministry because it related to foreign people.

Additionally, the Department must provide training to medical workers and re-arrange plastic surgery activity to curb the incident.
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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Mr Vu Huy Hoang Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang talks about possible solutions to this challenge.



A green economic development model is becoming fashionable not only in Vietnam, but in other economies worldwide. Is the Ministry of Insdustry and Trade (MoIT) ready to develop a low carbon and sustainable industrial growth strategy?



As everyone may know, the green economy is a fast growing new economic development model in contrast to the existing economic one based on fossil fuels. In the midst of the global economic crisis, the United Nations Environment Programme called for a global green new deal in which governments were encouraged to support the economic transformation to a greener economy.



To reach this goal, governments should update their policies to facilitate the efficient use of the natural resources, the development of clean technology, new energy, green transport, waste management, green buildings, green agriculture and forestry sectors while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and environmental pollutants.



As a platform for the development of Vietnams green industrial sector, since 2008, the MoIT has focused on the issuance and introduction of across-the-board environmental protection regulations in the industrial sector to better manage the adverse environmental impacts on the sector.



On the basis of these strict rules, the MoIT has gradually conducted investigations into manufacturing bases nationwide and ordered relevant parties to regularly report environmental assessments.



The MoIT has also coordinated and supported its member groups and companies to issue their own environmental protection rules such as those in the textile and garment, coal mining, steel, power and chemical sectors.



In addition, the MoIT has played a leading role in implementing medium and long-term sustainable development programmes such as the Vietnam National Energy Efficiency Programme, the biofuel development strategy, the action plan to respond to climate change, the cleaner industrial production strategy and the environment industry development plan, all of which are designed to develop Vietnams industrial sector in a sustainable manner while reducing emissions until 2020.



The Vietnam Cleaner Production in Industry Strategy towards 2020, which was approved by the Vietnamese government in September 2009, seems to offer little market incentives to motivate firms to invest and produce green products and services. In this context, do you have confidence in the feasibility of this plan?



I have to say that, to a certain extent, although cleaner production is not a new concept on a global scale, there are few Vietnamese firms that are fully aware of this. Cleaner production is a smart technological and management solution that maximises effective use of the natural resources and minimises carbon dioxide emissions in the environment.



Therefore, it is agreed that cleaner production helps manufacturers to reduce production costs through improved productivity by using less industrial feedstocks and spending less on environmental treatment. This has been already proved by many cleaner production demonstration projects which the MoIT implements in line with the cleaner production in industry strategy. Basically, cleaner production does not mean the manufacturing of cleaner products.



With an aim to successfully implementing the Vietnam Cleaner Production in Industry Strategy towards 2020, the MoIT is actively working on strategy components such as public awareness enhancement, design of a cleaner production website and database, technical assistance, development of cleaner production models and issuance of legal and financial incentives to whom cleaner production applies. Based on these across-the-board action plans, I am absolutely confident that the strategy will be a success.



Many of Vietnams industrial parks still lack proper treatment systems, leading to the problem of untreated waste being dumped in the environment. What solutions are needed to stop this and promote cleaner production in industrial parks nationwide?



It is true that environmental protection has increasingly become a critical issue in many industrial parks in Vietnam despite the relevant regulations in force. Many industrial parks nationwide lack good waste treatment and management systems. Such problems are the result of businesses poor planning and ability to protect the environment. Secondly, the enforcement of the environmental protection regulations is questionable.



It is a certain that such issues cannot be addressed overnight. This can only be dealt with if the Vietnamese government makes greater efforts to raise public and businesses awareness and capacity building of environmental protection. The government and relevant agencies should also introduce a wide range of cleaner production models and technologies to businesses inside and outside industrial parks while the environmental protection regulations must be better respected.



Whats more, management authorities of industrial parks nationwide should be increasingly aware of their responsibilities and duties in regard to environmental protection within their boundaries and they should be given incentives for good performances.



Currently, Vietnams industrial production remains largely dependent on fossil fuels such as coal and oil. How can Vietnam balance the need of industrial feedstocks for its fast industrial growth and savings of non-renewable energy?



Vietnams energy demand is forecasted to reach 47.63 million tonnes of oil equivalent (TOE) in 2010, 83.99 million TOE in 2020 and 97.3 million TOE in 2025. Meanwhile, the countrys energy consumption demand during 2010-2025 is estimated to grow an average 8.6-9.7 per cent, per year. Therefore, it is argued that Vietnams fossil fuels such as coal and crude oil may be exhausted by the end of the 21st century.



In this context, the Vietnam National Energy Efficiency Program (VNEEP), approved by the Prime Minister on April 14, 2006, is a set of activities to encourage, promote and disseminate energy efficiency and conservation in the public sphere, in science and technology research activities and in management measures needed to carry out synchronous activities on energy efficiency and conservation throughout society.



The VNEEP is the first-ever long-term comprehensive plan to institute measures for improving energy efficiency and conservation in all Vietnams economic sectors. The programmes energy savings goal is 3-5 per cent of total energy consumption during 2006-2010 and 5-8 per cent of the total energy consumption during 2011-2015. The programme contains a comprehensive set of measures that cover six government sectors (institutions, education and information), industry, equipment and appliances (for the residential and commercial sectors), buildings and transport.



In line with the VNEEP, the MoIT also completed the drafting of the Energy Efficiency Law to be submitted to the 12th National Assemblys seventh session in May. Once effective, the new law will act an important legislative framework on energy efficiency and consumption in industrial production, construction site management, domestic activities and energy consumed equipment, and will also ensure the targets of national energy security and environmental protection will be met.



Reports reveal that power loss during the transmission and distribution stages is still huge in Vietnam. What are you doing to prevent such losses?



According to our statistics, during 1990-2010, Vietnams power demand is expected to grow at an average 13-14 per cent, per year. Hydro power is the dominant source of generation in Vietnam so that the country is highly exposed to hydrological risks and power shortages during the dry season. As a result, power cuts often cause pain to domestic end-users and businesses.



To address this problem, the MoIT has actively taken actions to accelerate the progress of new power plant construction, review power tariffs, restructure the power sector in line with market mechanism and ensure stable power supplies. We are playing the leading role in power saving campaigns in manufacturing, trading and services sectors.



We have also encouraged individual and corporate consumers to use power saving appliances, applying effective power control measures and strengthening investigations over power saving and efficiency use activities at administration agencies and businesses. In relation to power producers and traders, the MoIT has regularly conducted checks-up for operation and maintenance of their power generation and distribution systems so as to prevent power losses and power cuts.



In parallel with technical and management tools, the MoIT is also cooperating with other relevant government agencies to promote public awareness raising and education programmes of energy efficiency and the need to use power saving appliances. These programmes are very important to ensure the targets of the VNEEP will be met.
A group of young scientists have called on South Korea's President Moon Jae-In to scrap the appointment of a controversial figure accused of covering up a notorious stem cell research fraud AFP/Ahn Young-joon

A group of young scientists have called on South Korea's President Moon Jae-In to scrap the appointment of a controversial figure accused of covering up a notorious stem cell research fraud AFP/Ahn Young-joon

Park Ki-Young was appointed to head a newly-created science centre, putting her in charge of allocating government subsidies and budgets for research projects.

But a decade ago Park was a key figure in a scandal involving the fabrication of research by prominent stem cell scientist Hwang Woo-Suk.

"Her name is far from innovation. The name is rather a nightmare to science and technology workers," a group of 240 young scientists said in a statement.

It called on President Moon Jae-In to scrap the appointment, announced earlier this week, accusing Park of remaining "unrepentant" despite being "at the centre" of the scandal surrounding Hwang.

The scientist was lauded as the "pride of Korea" after claiming to have derived stem cell lines from cloned human embryos - a world first - in two articles published in the journal Science in 2004 and 2005.

But his research was later found to be fraudulent and riddled with ethical lapses.

Park played a key role in supporting Hwang and his research projects with generous government subsidies when she served as a presidential aide for science and technology from 2004 to 2006.

She was also one of 15 co-authors of one of Hwang's Science papers.

She resigned after being accused of covering up crucial flaws in Hwang's stem cell study and sweeping under the carpet ethical lapses involved in Hwang's projects that used many human eggs.

Even so she went on to become a biology professor at Sunchon National University.

A labour union of government researchers issued a separate statement calling Park's new nomination a "death knell" for South Korean science and technology.

The Biology Research Information Centre, a renowned online community of researchers which revealed Hwang's frauds, also joined the criticism, together with multiple activist groups and the country's three opposition parties, which asserted she was parachuted into the post because of her connections with Moon.
Since the consolidation of governing Vietnamese laws to streamline capital flow from foreign countries while ensuring local business protection, the approaching merger-and-acquisition (M&A) landscape appears more flexible for both sides.

Looking ahead, what can we expect from the ample projections for M&A deals in the investment market?

In the first half of 2017, Vietnam continued to attract significant foreign direct investment (FDI). FDI disbursement reached $7.72 billion, a rise of 6.5 per cent year-on-year, while registered FDI hit $19.22 billion, up 54.8 per cent.

Much of the FDI increase, as usual, went to industrial development in the manufacturing sector.

In May, Thailands Hemaraj Land & Developments joint venture with local infrastructure firm Cienco 4 gained approval for a $1 billion, 32,200 hectare industrial park in Nghe An province in central Vietnam.

FDI has also been directed to other sectors of the property market contributing to growth and value. Prime office and hospitality segments are showing high occupancy, increased office rents and healthy room rates. While these sectors are gaining more traction among developers, investor focus is still on operating assets  except for prime location development opportunities in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.

With limited available stock we are seeing significant yield compression with recent transactions achieving record pricing levels.

Japanese investors continue to be active in the market. Nishi Nippon Railroad and Hankyu Realty have partnered with local firm Nam Long with a total investment of $351 million in developing Mizuki Park, a 26ha residential project in Binh Chanh district of Ho Chi Minh City.

Aeon Mall, the renowned Japanese retail group, has entered into a joint venture with BIM Group to develop their second Hanoi mall on a 16.7ha site, with a total estimated investment of $200 million.

Local developer SonKim Land has also successfully completed their $100 million funding round with Japanese investors.

Savills also played a part in the maturing Ho Chi Minh City property market with a strata title office sale in District 1 in early 2017. The transaction set a market precedent by securing separate strata titles for office space and the hotel within a single property.

This fresh approach demonstrates Savills Vietnams ability to not just broker the most significant deals in Vietnam, but to advise on deal structuring for the most sophisticated real estate projects.

In addition to the office sector, the Savills team is currently focused on hospitality, as well as residential development and urban car parking projects.

Last year, the improving hospitality market resulted in a number of successful transactions, for example, the sale of a premium four-star hotel located in the heart of District 1.

Savills was appointed as the exclusive agent for the vendor and delivered a transaction value significantly higher than expectations.

The second quarter of 2017 should continue to see strong interest in residential development projects. China Fortune Land Development Group has acquired a stake for $65.3 million in the VinaCapital Dai Phuoc Lotus project.

This is a residential township project on a 198.5ha site in southern Dong Nai province next to Ho Chi Minh City. VinaCapital also transferred their 65 per cent stake in the Hanoi-based Times Square mixed-use project to Elite Capital Resources Limited for approximately $41 million.

Opportunities and pitfalls

M&As in Vietnam are also being nurtured by a number of international trade agreements.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership  now without US involvement  is a giant free trade area (FTA) deal expected to eliminate tariffs on goods and services, remove many non-tariff barriers, and harmonise a host of regulations.

As Vietnam joins such an FTA, it will see significant investment capital flow into supporting industries, value-added services, retail, industrial, and hospitality sectors.

These sectors will boost Vietnams competitive advantages and pave the way for an acceleration of M&A activities. The deep involvement of Vietnam in the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), the recovery of the real estate market, and the new generation of FTAs are all key factors driving M&A activities.

However, many M&A negotiations are very time consuming and the closing process is often difficult.

It is important that investors seek professional advisors with experience navigating the legal environment and deal structures appropriate for the Vietnam market.

With such advice, investors can approach the market with confidence and maximise their participation in the booming Vietnam M&A market.

By Neil MacGregor Managing director, Savills Vietnam
A number of companies are jumping on the government initiative to remove the FOL and attract foreign invesmtent

According to Vu Anh Dung, vice president of Vietnam-Japan University cum head of panel of judges of the M&A Deal Awards 2017 under the framework of Vietnam M&A Forum 2017, one of the factors making foreign investors ignore Vietnamese enterprises is the low limit of foreign ownership, which is currently maximised at 49 per cent.

Besides, in equitised domestic enterprises as well as large-scale private enterprises, domestic shareholders still want to hold the controlling stake. Meanwhile, when foreign investors plan to acquire domestic enterprises, they want to own a majority stake in order to join management activities as well as build development strategies and business plans.

The problem has been resolved since Decree No.60/2015/ND-CP was issued. Notably, about 20 domestic enterprises have completed procedures for increasing the FOL, garnering foreign investors attention.

In late July, Vietnams biggest publicly-traded drug maker Hau Giang Pharmaceutical JSC (DHG) received its shareholders approval to lift the FOL to 100 per cent.

This decision is expected to lure in more foreign investors along with the existing big foreign shareholder Taisho Pharmaceutical Holdings (24.5 per cent). At present, DHG is operating with positive business results. Notably, in the second quarter of this year, DHG acquired VND1.03 trillion in revenue and VND186 billion in after-tax profit.

According to the cumulative figure of the first six months of this year, DHG earned VND1.8 trillion in net revenue and VND360 billion in after-tax profit, signifying increases of 7 per cent in net revenue and 17.2 per cent in after-tax profit.

Binh Minh Plastic Company (BMP) and Tien Phong Plastic JSC (NTP) are domestic enterprises receiving attention from foreign investors after State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC)s decision to divest from them in 2017 and their shareholders approval to lift the FOL to 100 per cent.

Numerous other domestic enterprises, including Thanh Cong Textile-Garment-Investment-Trading JSC (TCG), foodstuff producer Kido Group, and PVI Holding Company, have published information about their plans to remove the FOL to attract foreign investors.

Luring in foreign investment is part of a long-term strategy to expand foreign operations. Hoa Binh Construction and Real Estate Corporation (HBC) is also considering removing the FOL in 2017.

According to HBC chairman Le Viet Hai, Vietnamese enterprises need to think globally and attracting foreign investment is an important step to help them expand their operations aboard.

According to theory, when the FOL barrier is removed, foreign investors will immediately jump to acquire stakes in domestic enterprises. However, according to Vu Anh Dung, the reality is different because there are other problems persisting.

First, almost all foreign investors pay attention to large-scale enterprises with strong development potential. Meanwhile, almost all listed Vietnamese enterprises have the chartered capital between $2-4 million, and the capitalisation of VND5-10 million, thus, their competition capacity is low.

Second, in case of large-scale enterprises, when foreign investors hold a majority stake (over 50 per cent) in any enterprise, removing the FOL will not attract the existing strategic foreign shareholders because they already hold a controlling stake and increasing investments will not bring much more benefit.

Besides, foreign investors are also worried about the transparency of financial records made available by Vietnamese enterprises as well as barriers in legal procedures, divestment and equitisation policies.

Almost all M&A deals in Vietnam are small-scale deals valued under $20 million, making up 64.16 per cent of the total deal value and 90 per cent of the number of transactions. Deals worth over $500 million make up 17.66 per cent, while deals worth $100-500 million make up 8.72 per cent. 9.47 per cent of the deals were worth $20-100 million.

Singaporean enterprises rank first in the number of deals, with a total of 20 transactions, while Thai enterprises became the largest investors with a total capital sum of $1.2 billion.
The food and beverage sector is the biggest target for M&As by foreign firms Photo: Le Toan

According to Ly Kim Chi, chairwoman of the Ho Chi Minh City Food and Foodstuff Association, many long-standing and prestigious brands in Vietnams food sector have been acquired.

The association recorded a large number of its member firms being acquired by foreign players, a trend that is forecast to rise in the coming time. Some Vietnamese firms sold their business because they are less competitive than their foreign counterparts in the increasingly integrated global market. However, this does not mean that they went for fire-sale prices. In fact, some firms have been acquired for more than their real-world valuation.

Chi said that foreign investors are interested both in Vietnams developing consumer market, and as a gateway market for foreign firms to enter the ASEAN market  a bloc with more than 600 million consumers.

Nguyen Quynh Lan, managing director of the Business Information Unit at data and business information provider StoxPlus, said food and beverage is the sector of greatest interest to foreign investors for mergers and acquisitions (M&As), with a total deal value of more than $1.4 billion in 2016. Most of the active acquirers are from Singapore and Thailand.

She noted that Singaporean investors are very active in the Vietnamese market, with 55 deals being struck in 2016 at a total value of over $1 billion. Food and beverage is the most attractive sector to Singaporean firms. However, a lot of deals by Singapore-based companies are from offshore funds or private equity funds.

In 2016, the biggest deal from Singapore was that of F&N Dairy Investments Pte., Ltd., when it purchased a Vinamilk stake from the State Capital Investment Company (SCIC). F&N Dairy Investments belongs to Singapore-based Fraser & Neave, owned by Thai billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi.

Korean investors also had some notable M&A deals, such as CJ and Daesang purchasing shares in Cau Tre Foods and Duc Viet Foods, respectively.

Leading global investment firm KKR recently completed its $250 million investment in Masan Group  in particular, in its branded meat products, Masan Nutri-Science. The transaction makes KKR the second-largest foreign shareholder of Masan Group  after the stake owned by GIC Private Limited  as well as the largest outside shareholder of Masan Nutri-Science.

At the end of 2016, Masan took the first step to serve ASEAN consumers by launching Chin-su Yod Thong fish sauce in Thailand. The plan was aided by Thai giant Singha Beer, which bought in heavily to Masan subsidiaries in 2015, at a total price of $1.1 billion.

More newcomers are looking for opportunities to penetrate the Vietnamese market. Australias Carlton & United Breweries (CUB) is currently eyeing the Hanoi Beer, Alcohol and Beverages Corporation (Habeco) and Saigon Beer, Alcohol and Beverages Corporation (Sabeco).

Meanwhile, Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corporation (TTL), the largest tobacco and liquor company in Taiwan, is on track to enter the Vietnamese market soon. The firm has plans to distribute beer products in Vietnam by hiring a Vietnamese brewery to manufacture its products, and to develop its own brewery in the country at a later time.

According to market research provider Euromonitor International, Vietnamese drinkers are expected to consume a total volume of 3.88 billion litres of beer this year, up from 3.64 billion litres in 2016. Among brewers, Sabeco is Vietnams leading beer manufacturer, with 40.9 per cent market share, followed by Heineken, Habeco, Carlsberg, and Sapporo, respectively.

As Vietnams food and beverage industry picks up, around 500 businesses from 20 countries and territories will be gathering at Vietfood & Beverage  ProPack 2017 at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center from August 9-12. There will be around 600 pavilions from Taiwan, Poland, Malaysia, Thailand, Korea, and China, showcasing their products with a view to exploring the domestic market, finding local distributors, and setting up businesses in Vietnam.
An armed French soldier patrols next to a forensic police officer near the site where a car slammed into soldiers in Levallois-Perret, outside Paris, on August 9, 2017 AFP/STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN

An armed French soldier patrols next to a forensic police officer near the site where a car slammed into soldiers in Levallois-Perret, outside Paris, on August 9, 2017 AFP/STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN

The suspected terror attack follows a string of assaults that have hit France since January 2015, claiming more than 230 lives.

The suspect, a 36-year-old Algerian man, has been hospitalised after police shot him five times.

The servicemen were hit by a BMW which drove down a quiet street in the upmarket western Paris suburb of Levallois-Perret at around 8.00am (0600 GMT).

It accelerated as it neared the troops, rammed into them and then sped away. Three were shocked and lightly hurt, while the other three sustained more serious injuries which are not life-threatening, officials said.

"I heard a huge crash which I thought was the sound of scaffolding being put up," said Thierry Chappe, an AFP employee who lives in a building opposite the crime scene.

Some 300 police later tracked the rented vehicle to a motorway near the northern port of Calais.

After a chase, officers opened fire, wounding the unarmed driver who was arrested then taken to hospital, sources involved in the manhunt said.

The suspect lived in the Yvelines suburb of Paris and had no previous convictions.

Pictures showed the black BMW - rented by the suspect, according to French media reports - with a crumpled front end and smashed windscreen on the A16 motorway.

An AFP journalist saw masked police carrying out a search in Bezons in the northwestern Paris suburbs.

SOLDIERS ON THE STREETS

The servicemen targeted in the assault were part of the 7,000-strong anti-terrorism Sentinelle force set up in January 2015 after jihadist gunmen attacked the offices of satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, killing 12.

The armed, uniformed soldiers of the force patrol the streets and guard high-risk areas such as tourist sites and religious buildings.

President Emmanuel Macron congratulated security forces on Twitter for apprehending the suspect, adding: "Vigilance remains a duty at all times."

Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said Sentinelle forces had been attacked on six different occasions since 2015. France has been under a state of emergency since the Islamic State attacks in Paris in November 2015, which left 130 people dead.

Some experts believe patrols should be withdrawn from the streets where they are an obvious target for extremists, but the government is likely to hesitate to do so in case of another major attack.

"The opposition would jump on the argument that 'you've dismantled Sentinelle, there's been an attack and you are to blame'," said Alain Rodier, a specialist from private national security organisation Cf2R.

The Paris prosecutors' office said its anti-terrorism unit has launched a probe into "attempted killings ... in relation to a terrorist undertaking".

The Islamic State group (IS) has repeatedly targeted France because of its participation in the US-led international coalition fighting the militants, with French jets carrying out air strikes in Syria.

LATEST ATTACK

The incident came just four days after Sentinelle soldiers intervened to control an 18-year-old with a history of psychological problems at the Eiffel Tower where he brandished a knife and shouted "Allahu Akbar" (God is Greatest).

He told investigators he wanted to kill a soldier, sources close to the case told AFP.

In February, a man armed with a machete attacked four soldiers on patrol at Paris's Louvre Museum, while in April another extremist shot and killed a policeman on the Champs-Elysees, the French capital's most famous boulevard.

In June, a 40-year-old Algerian doctorate student who had pledged allegiance to IS attacked a policeman with a hammer outside Notre Dame cathedral.

Over the past two years the wave of attacks in France has seriously dented visitor numbers in the world's top tourist destination, but the industry has begun to recover as incidents have become more widespread and generally less deadly.
The code of M&A

The main areas of legislation that affect mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in Vietnam are the 2014 Law on Enterprises (the company law), the 2014 Investment Law, and the 2006 Securities Law (amended). Together with the contract law principles set out in the 2015 Civil Code and 2005 Commercial Law, these form the legal framework for M&A in Vietnam.

In addition, the 2010 Law on Credit Institutions and the 2004 Competition Law regulate M&A transactions involving mergers of certain types of companies  commercial banks for example.

Target companies

One common method for foreign companies to seek a business presence in Vietnam is through the acquisition of a local target company. The target may be either a joint stock company (JSC) or a limited liability company (LLC). A JSC must have at least three members owning shares issued by the JSC. Unlike a JSC, an LLC may have a single member (but not more than 50 members) and each member owns an equity interest (similar to the concept of partnership interest) in the LLC.

As a general rule, foreign investors may acquire an entire equity position in a target company, except when the target operates in certain service sectors. For example, a foreign ownership cap of 49 per cent is applicable to shipping companies, and a 30 per cent cap is placed on commercial banks.

Deal structure

Three options exist for structuring an acquisition transaction: a share purchase, an asset purchase, and a merger.

A share purchase involves the acquirer purchasing shares or equity interest in the target company  be they existing shares from the shareholders or newly-issued shares from the target company. Thus, with a share purchase, the acquirer would take over the target company along with all of its assets, liabilities, and obligations. With an asset purchase, only the assets (and liabilities) specified in the sale and purchase agreement are transferred to the acquirer.

In a merger, the acquirer will take on all of the target companys assets and liabilities, and as a result, the target company will cease to exist. By contrast, in a share purchase or asset purchase, the target company continues to operate.

From a foreign investors perspective, both asset purchases and mergers share a common characteristic: the foreign acquirer needs to take on the entire target company or specific assets and liabilities of the target company through an existing company in Vietnam.

In case of incorporation of a new company used to accommodate the proposed acquisition, the foreign acquirer would need to apply for an investment registration certificate under the 2014 Investment Law.

Licensing and forex issues

In order to acquire shares in any target company, a foreign acquirer needs to obtain a security trading code from the Vietnam Security Depository. If the foreign acquirer intends to acquire 51 per cent or more of any target companys share capital (or acquiring shares or equity interest in a target company operating in a sector where foreign investment is subject to conditions)  then the proposed acquisition must be registered with the relevant local investment authority.

With regards to foreign exchange control requirements, the foreign acquirer is required to open a VND-denominated capital account with a commercial bank or foreign bank branch operating in Vietnam. All payments relating to any acquisition or divestment must be channelled through this account. Purchase prices are required to be expressed and made in VND as well.

Competition Law

As a general rule, any merger or acquisition leading to a prohibited economic concentration (i.e. both acquirer and target company having a combined market share of more than 50 per cent within the relevant market) is strictly forbidden. However, the parties may proceed with the proposed acquisition if the combined market share stands at 50 per cent or less. This is subject to prior written notification to the competition authority if such combined market share remains between 30 and 50 per cent.

Public takeovers

Acquisitions of 25 per cent or more of existing shares in a public company (i.e. a JSC having 100 or more shareholders or a listed JSC) is subject to tender offer processes, as set out in the securities regulations. The acquirer must register a tender offer filing with the State Securities Commission, and then make a mandatory public offer to all shareholders of the target company.

The acquirer is required to comply with certain disclosure obligations, as imposed by the securities regulations.
President Hassan Rohani has presented his government (that is everyone apart from the Minister for Higher Education which he still has to appoint) to Parliament for confirmation.

Iranian political life is established on a dialectic between those on the one hand who support the anti-imperialist and Islamist Revolution of 1979 (the so-called conservatives) and those who are open to the former colonial powers (the so called reformers). Contrary to an idea that has gained acceptance, this division bears no relation to either individual liberties or to social conditions.

When he was a member of parliament, Sheikh Hassan Rohani was the first point of contact of the CIA and Mossad in the Iranian Revolution during the Iran  Contras affair.

Even if the Majlis confirms each cabinet minister, one at a time, the Government will probably end up being composed only of male Shi-ites who are fairly mature in age.

Until now, Sunnis (who represent between 8  10 % of the population) have always been appointed ministers.

The Western press is reacting strongly to the lack of diversity with respect to gender and age (the average is likely to be 58 years) of this government and seems to ignore the fact that it does not represent the Sunni minority. This is probably due to a lack of understanding of Iranian culture. In this culture, while true that for centuries now, men have traditionally held positions of responsibility, (sometimes even on an honorary basis), the top positions have often been assigned to women and occasionally to the young.

The only government to which a woman was appointed minister was the government of the anti-Imperialist Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (child of the Revolutionary Guards). The woman appointed was Marzieh Dastjerdi, who was the Health Minister from 2009 to 2013.

A number of ministers are still in their former positions. However the Defence Minister, Hossein Dehghan, has been replaced by his deputy, Amir Hatami. The former was a Revolutionary Guard (Conservative), whereas the latter is a child of the Army.

This all-male Shiite government confirms that the male Shiite ecclesiastical apparatus (the Reformer) dominates political life, and this to the detriment of the Revolutionary Guards, those conserving all that was gained through the Revolution.
A number of President Trumps supporters have asked him to cut ties with his National Security Adviser, General McMaster.

Mc Master is extremely brilliant and considered to be right at the top of the field in matters of strategy and Russian arms. However, his work in the National Security Council reveals that he continues to have contact with the Team Obama and this casts doubt on the decisions he has taken.

First, General Mc Master has fired several members of the Council, which was unjustified in at least two cases. All the members fired were known to be opposed to the agreement that the Obama Administration reached with Iran.

Second, it appears that in April, he gave permanent access to classified information to his predecessor, Barack Obamas National Security Adviser, Susan Rice. As it happens, Congress is investigating Rice because she is suspected of spying on the Trump team during the electoral campaign and the transition period.

Third, for the last eleven years General Mc Master worked for the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). This think thank was used by the Obama Administration to sell the Iran deal. This operation was directly financed by George Soros, either directly by the Soros Foundation or through its intermediary, Ploughshares Fund. Furthermore IISSs principal donors are multinationals that are currently trying to get a foot in Iran. Finally on 5 June 2017, John Kerry, the former Secretary of State invited by Ploughshares Fund, declared that General Mc Master was the best resource to follow through with the Iran deal.

Media Matters for America, which is David Brocks firm and which is also funded by George Soros, has leapt to Mc Masters defense.

Three weeks ago, President Trump fired the White Houses chief administrative officer, Reince Priebus, who was organizing leaks of confidential information to destabilize Trump.
Gibraltars Fintech Sector Moves Forward

Government have stated it welcomes the announcement by Xapo (Gibraltar) Limited of the grant of its E-money license by the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (GFSC) and of the commencement of its business from Gibraltar.

"Governments proposed framework for the regulation of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) has attracted much international attention and the attraction of Xapo, a premium global fintech business to Gibraltar augurs well for our continued development in this space."

Albert Isola, Minister for Commerce commented, I am delighted to welcome Xapo to Gibraltar with their professional and highly experienced team to our jurisdiction. Xapo have shared their expertise with us and the GFSC in the development of our DLT regime from its inception two years ago, and I am confident that they will continue to contribute to the development of Gibraltar as a centre of excellence in this exciting sector."

Wences Casares, CEO of the Xapo group and a recognised international expert in this field also commented, We are delighted to have received our license in Gibraltar. After an extensive jurisdictional analysis we chose to make Gibraltar our home in respect of the exciting opportunities that our e-money license brings the group, and we look forward to being part of Gibraltars continuing growth as an international financial centre and Fintech hub. Looking back at Xapo as a Palo Alto startup in 2013 we have come a long way and are excited about the future. Xapos vision is one of free, instant and global value transfer and the development of inclusive financial services. I would also like to thank Joey Garcia and the team at ISOLAS and the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission for their pro-active engagement and support in our application process.

A spokesperson for the Government of Gibraltar said it continues to believe that its proposed DLT regulatory framework will provide an environment for quality and premium firms to operate from Gibraltar as it leads the way in balancing the needs of this innovative sector with the interests of consumers and the good reputation of our jurisdiction.
Dedicated theater patron. Photo: Bruce Glikas/Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic

Performers in Broadways Groundhog Day might have trouble differentiating between their real lives and their characters tonight when they look out in the audience and see Bill Murray. On Tuesday, Murray saw the musical adaptation of the 1993 movie that he starred in, for the first time. Always one to commit to a bit, Murray decided to live like Phil Connors, the lead character he originated, by repeating his same day over again (or at least his evening plans), by going to see the show for a second night in a row on Wednesday. The New York Times reporter who went with Murray last night, Sopan Deb, confirmed Murrays repeat viewing:

THIS IS NOT A JOKE: Bill Murray went to see the Groundhog Day musical again tonight.  Sopan Deb (@SopanDeb) August 10, 2017

I should note: Murray repeatedly told cast members last night that he'd come see it again. I don't think anyone thought it'd be immediately.  Sopan Deb (@SopanDeb) August 10, 2017

During Tuesdays performance, Murray was quite the engaged audience member, yelling, guffawing, pumping his fists, and openly weeping. Whos to say what hell do this time around  or if, like Phil Connors, hell keep the bit going many times over  but any young boys also in attendance should look for opportunities to ask for a Junior Mint from the actors pocket.
In early January, the novelist Dennis Cooper turned 64. As a birthday present to himself, he dedicated a post on his popular blog to the late French filmmaker Robert Bresson. Cooper considers Bresson  an art-house favorite renowned for movies of austere and inscrutable beauty like Mouchette and LArgent  to be his favorite artist of the 20th century in any medium, and hes frequently acknowledged the directors influence on his own work. The epigraph for Coopers 1994 novel, Try, is taken from an observation about actors in Bressons Notes on the Cinematograph and serves as a skeleton key for all of Coopers early books: The thing that matters is not what they show me but what they hide from me and, above all, what they do not suspect is in them.

Cooper, who now resides in France after being a lifelong Los Angeleno, has for decades been one of the countrys most controversial novelists, loosely affiliated (or just lumped in) with a couple generations of so-called transgressive writers, from Kathy Acker to Bret Easton Ellis. Coopers fiction, which includes the novels Closer, Frisk, and The Marbled Swarm, is more accessible than Ackers and more tender and complex than Elliss, and it can be just as disturbing as either  his books are populated by damaged, drug-addled queer teenagers and predatory older men, with vague plots that hinge on graphic, occasionally horrific, fantasies of sexual violence. For this, The Village Voice in 2000 called Cooper the most dangerous writer in America, but that sobriquet doesnt communicate how Coopers lurid subject matter provides camouflage for a radical, rigorous exploration of novelistic form and language. Now, however, Dennis Cooper is done, or almost done, with being a novelist  he is reinventing himself in the model of his idol Bresson.

Which is why, a few months after his 64th birthday, in the seaside town of Cherbourg, France, Cooper was holed up in an artists residence that caters to circus performers, attempting to make his own film of austere and inscrutable beauty. The project he was working on isnt Coopers first movie  in 2015, along with his collaborator Zac Farley, he co-wrote a collection of abstract, quasi-pornographic short films called Like Cattle Towards Glow  but the new film, titled Permanent Green Light, is a more ambitious, more conventional undertaking. The $160,000 budget is impossibly tiny, but its about four times what Cooper had for Cattle. And this time, hes working with a decent-size professional crew and actors who have a bit of experience. The screenplay, which he co-wrote with Farley, turns on a young mans obsession with blowing himself up so spectacularly as to make his death beside the point. One inspiration for the film was the story of Jake Bilardi, an Australian teenager believed to have died while taking part in an ISIS suicide bombing in Iraq in 2015. The story really intrigued me, Cooper says. If he didnt care about ISIS, why did he do this? And if he wanted to kill himself, why was he so elaborate about it?

Cast of Permanent Green Light in Cherbourg. Photo: Michael Salerno

In person, Cooper is as sweet and laid-back as his work is dark and difficult. On set, he spends most of his time working with the actors, many of whom are in their teens and 20s, guiding them gently through the profound, sometimes perplexing emotions they need to exhibit. The shoots a tight 12 days, and theyre shooting out of sequence, so his notes to the cast are often detailed reminders about their mental states at that moment. On day four, when the actors gather for a scene where their characters attend the funeral of an adolescent girl, Cooper takes aside Benjamin Sulpice, the 20-year-old acting student whos playing the lead character. This is where everything changes, Cooper says to him. After Sulpice completes one not entirely satisfying take, Cooper approaches him again and tries to focus him. Benjamin, youre not inside the character, he says. Youve got to get inside there. Sulpice nods.

Though hes always collaborated widely within the art and literary worlds, Cooper found that, once hed moved to Paris, he had a newfound zeal for group projects, teaming up frequently with the prolific French-Austrian choreographer Gisele Vienne. This was owed, in part, to the isolation of being in Paris and not speaking French, but he was also ready to take a long break from fiction. I was just at a point in my life, he says, where I really wanted to do something new and completely scare myself.

Speaking over Skype while in production, Cooper wasnt exactly scared, but he was kind of frustrated and cranky (and fighting a bad cold). Working with other people is great, though not when those people are telling him he cant do stuff. Theyre halfway through the shooting schedule and have completed only a third of the script  scenes are constantly being relocated, shots simplified. The next day they have to shoot the films climactic scene  an explosion  and Coopers keenly aware of how difficult itll be. Not only is the setup really complicated, he says, and not only are we trying to do more than time allows, but Benjamin has to do a lot of really important stuff. He has to go into a lot of very intense, deep spaces. All day. For 12 hours.

By the end of July, Cooper and Farley were finishing up their picture edit on the film. For the most part, it was going smoothly, though Cooper still occasionally struggled with finding the kind of creative consensus that pretty much characterizes feature filmmaking. When writing, he seldom shows his fiction to anyone before its finished, and so he was unusually combative when revealing the film as a work in progress. Their producer came by to see an early cut and said he didnt like what Cooper considers the films most important scene, but Cooper wouldnt budge. That is a perfect, sublime scene, he said to the producer, and no one is touching it.

Cooper and Farley have final cut, so if all goes according to plan, theyll submit Permanent Green Light to the Berlin International Film Festival, where they hope itll premiere in February. As strenuous and difficult as making the film is, it has had the welcome effect of renewing Coopers creative energy. It reminds me of writing fiction when I was first starting out, he says. Were really just finding our way into it and trying all kinds of stuff. He hasnt completely abandoned fiction  hes written three-quarters of a first draft of an untitled autobiographical novel that he says is completely different than anything hes ever published before. But thatll be the last one, he believes. Ive written nine novels. Thats enough. I think Im out of ways to write novels that are challenging to me. But these other forms are where I can be the artist I want to be.

*This article appears in the August 7, 2017, issue of New York Magazine.

*The original version of this article incorrectly stated that Cooper was a co-director on Like Cattle Towards Glow.
French Montana. Photo: Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Coachella

Its sometimes hard to tell if die-hard New York rap fans enjoy listening to hip-hop more than they enjoy arguing about it. Since the decline of East Coast rap from the national preeminence it commanded in the 80s, 90s and early 00s, an endless debate has been spun out between classicists defending the honor of a bygone era and fans of newer artists  southern or local, but deeply influenced by the South  that the loyalists derided as simplistic and undignified. As with any quarrel, each contestant sees their opponents flaws too clearly to ever focus on their own. The classicists, with the local-radio hosts serving as high priests, really are kind of stiff and old and dull, but theyre not completely wrong to view acolytes of the new guard as frivolous and gullible and green either. The strife never really dies down: at any point it can start afresh, its ashes set newly alight by this or that stray comment in an interview or radio broadcast.

The reasonable notion that the old music was truly great and that a lot of the new music is great as well never really gains currency, despite it being the truth. And in a culture and time when attention centers on provocation and outrage, what gets overlooked, all too often, is the current music of New York itself.

New York City rap is obviously not what it was in the days when Biggie, Mobb Deep, Wu-Tang, Nas, and Jay-Z were at their peak, but that doesnt mean its suffering either. New York is fine, and explaining how its fine will go some way in explaining how it can become great again.

The leading sign that the citys stature has changed is the state of the album. New York doesnt churn out classic LPs at anywhere near the pace it did: Jays recent 4:44 is the exception that highlights the rule. Mixtapes, though never known for perfection, have hardly fared better: its been six years since the last definitive tape, A$AP Rockys Live. Love. A$AP. But monster singles? New York still has those in abundance. Bobby Shmurdas Hot Nigga in 2014 and 2015, Desiigners Panda and Young M.A.s OOOUUU in 2016, Cardi Bs incendiary Bodak Yellow (which has shot up into the Billboard top 15 within a scant few weeks). And then theres French Montana, the former mixtape legend whos carved out a lane for himself as a host for songs of the summer: last years Lockjaw has been succeeded this summer by Unforgettable, currently hanging at third on the Hot 100. Much like Lockjaw, Unforgettable is an ideal summer song, a loose but precise composition that balances deftly between hot and cool tones: Frenchs more reserved verse makes an ideal complement for Swae Lees impassioned yet still poised verse and chorus.

Its easy to argue that the strength of these singles speaks to the subordination of New York to the South. Panda was a pitch-perfect knockoff of Atlantas Future; Bodak Yellow is an open homage to South Floridas Kodak Black; Kodak was the featured artist on Lockjaw; Swae Lee, the writer of Unforgettable as well as a featured artist, hails from Mississippi and now Atlanta; if Shmurda and Young M.A.s flows and sounds are less nakedly indebted to the South, its still clear that they owe at least as much to trap music as they do to the New York school of versecraft originated by Rakim. But take a closer look: Even if these singles are inflected by the South sonically, their commercial success is very much a product of New York, a city whose enormous concentration of people and media offers a correspondingly huge advantage to hometown artists. The idea of New York kowtowing to the South is an illusion generated by inhabitants of a city cursed with the sort of megalomania believing that either New York is on top of the world or its nothing. In fact, the current relation between New York and the South is something of a partnership: The raw product gets shipped north to be processed by local importers and sold to a local audience. The abundance of radio stations, magazines, and other media outlets in New York ensures that any song by a local artist that has the potential to take off will definitely take off. The South offers material and innovation, the North markets and infrastructure: Its an exchange where everyone wins.

New York will always be too big to be run by anything except New York. You could even argue that New York is underestimated currently in terms of influence: some of the citys most prominent artists, like Harlems A$AP Rocky and Queens Nicki Minaj, are typically overlooked in the local discourse because of their willingness to adopt sounds that dont fit the stereotypical image of New York rap. The city is loaded with enough institutions, money, and connections to guarantee that, should it take the lead in innovation once again, everyone will hear about it; even if it doesnt, its sitting comfortably enough anyway. New York raps most representative figure is probably French Montana himself: Always in demand, coasting on connections (to Diddy, to Rick Ross, to Max B), exuding an easy charisma, neither traditional nor avant-garde, French embodies the spirit of a city whose sound will always be too big to fail. Given all this, its tempting to wish that everyone could finally stop arguing and just relax about the state of New York rap  but then again, nothing could be less true to the citys essence than relaxation.
Riz Ahmed. Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Its early yet in negotiations, but Riz Ahmed is reportedly in talks for a role in Sonys Venom, the Spider-Man spinoff that stars Tom Hardy. In case you blacked out just now, let us tell you again so you dont forget: Riz Ahmed might be in a superhero movie with Tom Hardy. (These casting directors must be very busy thinking about boys lately.) The specific role has not yet been disclosed, but sources tell Variety that hell be playing a popular Marvel Comics character. Other insiders have told The Hollywood Reporter that Ahmed will not be playing Carnage, so pick another popular Marvel Comics character, if thats who you were going to guess. Sony had no comment on the matter, but if this Riz news is true, the studio is setting up a nice little thirst trap.
Long before Steve Bannon was encouraging trolls to rally support around Trump, he realized their great power through World of Warcraft. Not fictional trolls, mind you, but the disaffected white-male kind, who rallied against Bannons gold-farming business, and made him realize its really easy to radicalize gamer anger. Soon after, Bannon took over Breitbart, harnessed the anger of Gamergate via Milo Yiannopoulos, and brought the alt-right into American politics, as Bee puts it, like a reverse Buffy standing at the Hellmouth yelling, Come on in demons!
Anthony Scaramucci, being very shy. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

In a tweet posted this afternoon, Stephen Colbert told censors to gird themselves, because Anthony The Mooch Scaramucci will be appearing as a guest on The Late Show next Monday. Colbert doesnt seem like The Moochs most sympathetic audience, but the Mooch also seems like he doesnt turn down a PR opportunity  for better or worse. The former White House communications director has reportedly been delighting in his newfound celebrity, posing for photos with fans (with his mirror-finished blue aviator shades on) and even receiving an ovation upon walking into a Westhampton Beach restaurant recently, according to Axios. President Donald Trump doesnt love associates taking the spotlight away from him, but he likely respects the reality-fame hustle of the man he hired for a job then subsequently fired ten days later.
The queen is making a very punctual return to Netflix on December 8. The second season of The Crown, the last with Claire Foy as Queen Elizabeth II, will cover the period from 1956 to 1964, as the queen adjusts to the styles of the 60s, gets to meet JFK, and remains as royally chilly as one might hope. Mixing things up, weve got a few trips around the world, Matthew Goode sexily smoking, and Philip with a beard, which indicates inner turmoil. Enjoy Foys performance while you can, as Olivia Colman will step in for the next two seasons to play the queen for the following two decades.
Photo: TVLand/Viacom

TV Lands Younger never shies away from friendly ribbing of the New York publishing industry. From its blatant send-up of George R.R. Martins Game of Thrones series with Edward L.L. Moores Crown of Kings and its H Is for Hawk homage in the award-winning P Is for Pigeon  not to mention its commentary on the unfair way romance novels are scoffed at  Younger likes to have fun with the world in which it lives.

This playfulness is definitely on display in this weeks episode, which finds Fosters Liza at PitchFest, an event where amateur authors have the chance to pitch their book ideas to publishing houses. Its as terrible as it sounds: Liza is bombarded with stories about alien spider queens and Girl on the Train rip-offs (but shes on a bus!) before finally hearing a possible contender. Since anyone is allowed to pitch at PitchFest, Vulture decided toss its hat in the ring. Herere some book ideas weve been working on  and if theres any interest, Younger, you know where to find us.

Outsider

Remember the Alamo, they say. But all Anna Devec wants to do is forget it. When the history professor crosses a hidden tributary of the San Antonio River while chaperoning a school trip, she unwittingly steps out of 2017 and into 1836, at the height of the Texas Revolution. After coming to grips with the fact that this is not a dream, Anna attempts to blend in with her new surroundings using little more than her wits and extensive knowledge of the time period. But its hard to blend in when you catch the eye of the charming, powerful frontiersman, Davy Crockett. Despite herself, Anna falls for the mysterious man in the raccoon hat, entering into a torrid love affair that she knows is doomed. With the fateful battle of the Alamo only weeks away, Anna is faced with one life-defining question: Does she preserve history, or her heart?

The Brunch

The story of two Brooklyn couples who come together one Saturday for a seemingly friendly meal. Over croque madames and bottomless mimosas, Barry, Graham, Simone, and Denys exchange platitudes in hopes of avoiding the real reason theyve met this sunny New York afternoon. But not even the most elegant of breakfast burritos can keep their secrets buried: Eventually, they must confront the violent crime that ties them together and the darkness that hides within each of them. Also, the drink special only lasts two hours, so time is of the essence.

Teenage Love Triangles in a Dystopian World

Lets cut to the chase: The majority of YA novels may purport to be about stubborn teen girls trying to survive in or destroy the dystopian hellscape they inhabit, but theyre really about love triangles. Lets give the people what they want! In Teenage Love Triangles in a Dystopian World, the love triangles are the way to survival. At the age of 18, all citizens of Ackweil are forced into the annual Match Making, where they are split into groups of three and given six months to figure out which pairing is true love and who is the chump left standing alone. In Ackweil, this isnt just a matter of the heart, but a matter of life and death: The reject is sent deep into the bowels of the Rejekt City to live out the rest of his or her days in dark seclusion. But what happens when our heroine Cady gets matched with her best friend Avon and her biggest crush Saxby? Will she choose friendship or the possibility of love? Will Avon sacrifice himself to give the girl of his dreams everything she wants? Will Saxby ever put on a shirt? TLTIADW is a thrilling new YA series that cuts to the core of the genre in an exciting, romantic, and age-appropriately sexy way.

Rejekt City (Teenage Love Triangles in a Dystopian World #2)

After Avon sacrifices himself so that Cady can guiltlessly select Saxby as her Ultimate Match, he is sent underground with the other castoffs to spend the rest of his life in Rejekt City. Its a sad, dark place where residents are subjected to eternal singledom, public therapy sessions, forced cat ownership, and Michael Boltons How Am I Supposed to Live Without You? on a loop. When Avon stumbles upon a group of Rejekt rebels who arent ready to settle for a life underground, he quickly moves up their ranks and leads the group on a trek to the surface. Little does Avon know that Cady has realized she made a mistake in letting Avon go, and will risk anything to get him back, even if it means challenging the mysterious Match Maker herself  a dangerous undertaking that no one in Ackweilian history has ever survived.

The Deadliest Catch  Is Love

Discoverys hit show The Deadliest Catch meets the next great erotic thriller. When Captain Jasper Willis takes his elite fishing crew out to the Bering Sea for crab season, he doesnt know that hell be tested in ways he could never imagine. The men aboard the Falling Star catch a bounty of Alaskan king crabs bigger than ever before, but the celebration is premature when the ship is caught in a dangerous storm and left stranded at sea. With their catch going bad and their supplies running short, another fishing vessel passes by offering help. Quickly, Jasper realizes nothing is as it seems on the Outrigger. As his men start to disappear mysteriously, Jasper has to rely on the newest member of his own crew, the young deckhand Samuel. Together, Jasper and Samuel forge an unbreakable bond built on survival and an undeniable attraction. Their love will ultimately unlock the mystery of their strange would-be rescuers and lead them home.

The Bluebird

An epic bildungsroman written as an homage to Charles Dickens, The Bluebird follows Cornelius Dugan, a young boy orphaned when his parents die in a house fire, leaving him only with his mothers outdoor bird feeder to remember them. Neal struggles for most of his life, but when he discovers secrets about the original owner of the bird feeder  secrets his mother kept from everyone she loved  hes drawn into the underbelly of the bird-watching world. A world full of intrigue, heartbreak, and redemption await the down-on-his-luck orphan.
For the past couple of weeks, Ive been reading up on the Peloponnesian War, a long and destructive conflict that took place about 2,500 years ago between the Greek states of Athens and Sparta. During part of the war, Athens was led by a military commander and politician named Pericles. He was also the person most responsible for building up the Acropolis in Athens, including the famous Parthenon.

Part of its decoration was a long marble frieze (basically a narrative mural in sculpture) portraying mythic and historic scenes. Today, a significant portion of that frieze is known as the Elgin Marbles and is nowhere near Athens.

The absent pieces are called that because around 1803 a Scotsman named Thomas Bruce (the Seventh Lord Elgin), Britains ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, received permission from that government to remove antiquities from Athens, then under control of the Turks. Ultimately, Elgin took about 250 of the 524 total feet of the elaborately figured frieze. He intended to pack it off to his ancestral home in Scotland, but in 1816 sold the pieces to Parliament which then gave them to the British Museum. Theyve been there ever since and are now one of the Museums most popular attractions.

All this has not gone without criticism, even in England.

Imagine if the Mona Lisa had been sawed in half during the Napoleonic Wars, journalist Christopher Hitchens wrote in Vanity Fair in 2009, and the halves were now in St. Petersburg and Lisbon. Wouldnt there be a legitimate case for reuniting the pieces and seeing the work as it was meant to be? In this case, the head of the goddess Isis, for example, is in Athens while her body is in London. Part of Poseidons torso is in London, his backside in Athens. And so on.

For decades Athens had no suitable way of displaying the Elgin Marbles, its old museum being woefully inadequate. But in 2009, a new state-of-the-art museum opened in the shadow of the Acropolis featuring a large space specifically recreating the floor plan of the Parthenon, designed to display all the marbles in their original positions, while affording a clear view up to the ancient building itself.

But England and the British Museum are not keen on returning Lord Elgins legacy. Their official position is that the sculptures are part of everyones shared heritage and transcend cultural boundaries, and that keeping them allows different and complementary stories to be told about the surviving sculptures, highlighting their significance for world culture and affirming the universal legacy of ancient Greece. Not surprisingly this doesnt satisfy the Greek government.

Earlier this year some Greek politicians began insisting that the return of the marbles to Athens be part of the upcoming Brexit negotiations. Londons Guardian newspaper agreed. Putting the return of Lord Elgins stolen marbles on the Brexit negotiating table would lead both to a boon for Britain and a triumph for European enhancement of its heritage. Speaking also of that heritage, Lydia Koniordou, the Greek Minister of Culture and Sport, says the restored Parthenon sculptures would be a symbol of Western civilization. It is the emblem of democracy, dialogue and freedom of thought.

In the first century AD, Plutarch wrote that a bloom of eternal freshness hovers over the works in the Parthenon as if some ageless vitality had been breathed into them. That vitality still remains. Its a tall order to embody freedom and democracy. But great art can do it where other material goods will always fall short.
The city of Waco received a sales tax rebate this week larger than that for August of last year, but several area cities were not as fortunate.

Wacos check from the State Comptrollers Office totaled $3.47 million, a more than 1.4 percent increase from the $3.42 million a year earlier.

Rebates received in August reflect sales in June and reported to Comptroller Glenn Hegar in July.

Hegar announced he would send cities, counties, transit systems and special purpose taxing districts $779.2 million in local sales tax allocations this month, 1.3 percent more than last August.

Hewitt continues to receive more in sales tax rebates than last year after the arrival of a new Walmart store, though the boost has been less than expected. Hewitts August rebate was $200,252, a 22.5 percent increase from $163,427 in the same month last year.

Hewitt officials had predicted the store would boost rebates by $80,000 to $100,000 monthly. Still, sales tax numbers could improve as retailers and restaurants fill outparcels near the store.

The Cracker Barrel chain is considering a restaurant next to Walmart, a Hewitt officials said recently.

Elsewhere, Woodway received a rebate of $252,947, a 9 percent jump from the $232,082 in August of last year.

Beverly Hills also enjoyed an improvement, its rebate increasing to $56,796 from $51,240 a year earlier, a 10.8 percent jump.

Bellmeads rebate of $317,432 was almost $2,200 more than last years, but the numbers were disappointing elsewhere around Greater Waco.

Lacy Lakeview, Lorena, Robinson and McGregor all experienced drops in their August rebates, with McGregor seeing a 15.1 percent slide.

So far this calendar year, Wacos rebates total $25.5 million, about 2.5 percent more than its $24.8 million in rebates during the same period last year.

Through June, retail spending in Waco and its suburbs reached $1.7 billion, down three-tenths of a percent from the six-month tally in 2016, according to Amarillo-based economist Karr Ingham, who prepares a monthly report for the First National Bank of Central Texas and the Tribune-Herald.

Shoppers get a break from paying sales taxes this Friday, Saturday and Sunday, which is tax-free weekend in Texas. Spending on most clothing, footwear, school supplies and backpacks priced at less than $100 is exempt from the 8 percent state and local tax.

Consumers are expected to save $87 million on the sales tax holiday, according to a press release from the Texas Comptrollers Office.
By mid-September, cameras will surround Baylor Universitys main campus to improve the quality and speed of criminal investigations, according to the schools top safety official.

More than 175 cameras will oversee Dutton Avenue, South Eighth Street, Bagby Avenue and University Parks Drive in the four-phase project.

The move is a piece of broad campus security efforts, said Mark Childers, associate vice president of public safety and security.

Prior to joining Baylor in 2014, Childers was an 18-year veteran of the Secret Service and eight-year veteran of the U.S. Marshals Service.

Childers protected President George W. Bush by coordinating security at his Crawford ranch and planning security on domestic and foreign trips. He said he once spent a month in Pakistan studying security locations before the presidents trip.

Were working everything from bicycle theft to anti-terrorism, Childers said of his duties at Baylor. We bring those Secret Service layers of protection and apply that to campus. I said, Folks, if you think this is a retirement deal, its time to find a new job. 

Video footage will not be monitored live but reviewed to assist in Baylor and Waco police investigations.

Childers said relationships with Waco police, the McLennan County Sheriffs Office, the McLennan County District Attorneys Office and surrounding agencies have improved since 2014.

Baylor went from having OK relationships to really good, strong, proven relationships, Childers said.

Renewed memorandums of understanding, threat assessment meetings and increased training have become the norm within the Baylor Department of Public Safety since the law firm Pepper Hamilton LLP conducted its investigation into how reports of sexual violence were handled from 2012 through 2015.

Top Baylor officials were given a previous wake-up call in 2014 by Margolis Healy, a leading firm that specializes in higher education safety, security and compliance.

Former Baylor President Ken Starr had touted the review within the universitys efforts to protect students.

The findings led to the replacement of then-Police Chief Jim Doak and the hires of Childers and Title IX Coordinator Patty Crawford, who resigned last year amid a bitter public battle with the university.

Childers said the university has been very supportive of staff and expansion of resources in his department.

A technical security specialist position was another product of the Margolis Healy review, Childers said.

The first installations of cameras helped Baylor and Waco police catch several alleged bicycle thieves, he added.

More than 1,000 cameras will soon cover the 1,000-acre campus, and Baylor buildings utilize identification card readers and panic alarms.

Officials visited Yale University and Virginia Tech University in preparation for the installations.

(Public safety) is that intense, a 24/7 strong forward lean, said Childers, who added that he works harder at Baylor than he did in the Secret Service. Always assessing and re-assessing what were doing. We can never stop and say, Weve made it. 
As a leading workforce development organization with deep roots in Texas and strong partnerships with the business community, we are deeply concerned with the tone, content and potential outcomes of the immigration debate in the United States today. We are especially concerned with the fate of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. With actions aimed directly against undocumented residents occurring at an alarming and growing rate, we fear many of the impressive, ambitious young men and women with whom we work will soon be targeted for unfair and unnecessary detainment and deportation.

DACA was put in place in 2012 to provide temporary relief for undocumented residents who were brought to the United States through no fault of their own, since it was their parents or guardians who brought them as children. DACA participants  colloquially known as Dreamers  are not getting amnesty. They must first pay fines, adhere to strict age and residency requirements, undergo rigorous background checks and reapply on a regular basis. In exchange, they get temporary relief from deportation  in short, temporary legal status  which allows them to come out of the shadows, live, work and study openly in the only country most have ever known and even do the kind of things you and I take for granted, such as getting a drivers license.

President Trump, along with House Speaker Paul Ryan and more than 70 other elected Republicans, have called for a legislative solution for Dreamers. Since then, three pieces of bipartisan legislation, including the DREAM Act and RAC Act, have been introduced. These would allow those who apply to receive a pathway to citizenship after meeting a variety of criteria, including passing a background check.

However, the presidents administration continues to send mixed messages about DACAs fate. Perhaps even more concerning is the fact that DACA is now directly under attack by various state attorneys general. These legal officials in 10 states  including Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton as well as Idaho Gov. C.L. Otter  sent a letter in June asking the Department of Justice to remove DACA protections and deport these young people. A larger group of 20 state attorneys general responded by writing to the Trump administration asking them to reject this request.

At Skillpoint Alliance, we provide highly intensive job-training programs for individuals who are just beginning to enter the workforce or seeking to embark upon a new career pathway. These individuals  especially in an immigrant-heavy state such as Texas  tend to be young and thus have a natural and significant overlap with those who participate in DACA (nearly a million young people in the United States as a whole, including tens of thousands here in Texas). Given these circumstances, our recruitment team regularly receives calls from DACA participants terrified about what might happen to them if they enter our programs. These calls have come from both case managers and potential participants.

These fears are justified in that anyone who enters our program would likely be immediately removed if his or her permit is revoked through elimination of the DACA program  if not outright deported. Students who complete our programs graduate with a variety of certifications and licenses. We can only assume these certifications would be revoked in the event that a student is no longer a legally documented resident. This would mean that the hardworking individuals whom we certify would no longer be able to work in the skilled jobs for which we trained them. Our alliance of employers would lose skilled workers and colleagues.

The Dreamers have broken no laws  if they had, they wouldnt have qualified for the program  and they have grown up in and deeply love our country. They should not be punished for the actions of their parents or guardians. Removing these young people after promising them legal status if they came out of the shadows and played by the rules would be a moral, political and economic disaster for our nation and state.

Congressman Bill Flores, we ask you to take a lead on this and help protect these children.
WAHOO  Saturdays rain was a welcome one for area corn and bean growers, who are recovering from a hot, dry July.

Every growing season is different, said Extension Educator Keith Glewen. Every year there is some event, whether its pestilence, hail, high wind or flooding.

This year, growers got their crop planted early in April, but by mid May some heavy rain and cold afterward had some replanting, Glewen said.

Its been a challenge for some guys, Glewen said.

Some growers planted corn late, into May and even June.

Meteorologist Van DeWald with the National Weather Service in Valley said May ended slightly above normal in regard to precipitation, but dry conditions developed over the course of June and July, and July ended between an inch and 1.5 inches below normal for the month in rainfall.

We were in a short term deficit on precipitation, but not long enough to put us into a drought category, DeWald said.

With precipitation in question, growers are taking the steps to keep things productive.

Were watering pretty heavy, said Nebraska Soybean Association Director Dan Bartek of Colon. At first we waited for some precipitation, but were pumping full steam ahead until the rain comes through,

Glewen agreed.

August is bean month, Glewen said. Soybeans need water in August or it will adversely affect the bean,

August is a make or break month for beans. Plants are like people  they like it just right, Bartek said.

Precipitation could be a problem the rest of the summer, DeWald said.

But theres no clear pattern  no clear signal for wet or dry conditions, he said.

The low precipitation was not the July problem. The heat was felt as well.

Bartek said corn pollination has been a little erratic this year due to the heat.

It gets so hot the corn wont pollinate like it should, he said.

Corn will curl to protect itself and not give off any transpiration, Bartek said.

Transpiration is the process by which moisture is carried through plants and changes to vapor to be released into the atmosphere.

Beans are in the growth stage this month. Last month the corn took it a little harder than the beans, Glewen said.

Cattle feeders were challenged some days with just keeping them alive, Glewen said.

Were fortunate enough to have irrigation, Bartek said. And we want to be responsible with it.

However, as temperatures have cooled over the first week of August, Glewen said producers have been more optimistic than in July.

With cool weather, the crops are not as stressed, Glewen said.

Even with cooler temperatures, growers without irrigation will need rain, Glewen said.

Bartek said optimal weather for soybeans is cool dry mornings. Foggy, humid mornings are when diseases will develop.

Other issues growers are facing this year are herbicide drift.

Its causing some issues with off target damage, Glewen said.

Most of this damage has been evident in beans, he said.

But, beans often respond in a manner that we hadnt anticipated, he said. We have a lot yet to learn about them.

Bartek said with cooler temperatures and precipitation, the plants will grow like theyre supposed to.

The U.S. Drought Monitor released Aug. 3 still shows Saunders, Butler and Lancaster counties out of the highlighted areas. But abnormalmly dry conditions continue to creep closer. Nearby Dodge, Colfax and Polk counties are the latest additions under that category. Northern parts of Platte County have already been listed as being in moderate drought.

According to the Aug. 3 report, no part of the state is listed greater than severe drought.
RAYMOND  When Jim Ballard surveys the ground of the winery and vineyard, he sometimes cant believe what he and his family accomplished.

At times he just sits back in awe of those first steps they took two decades ago, when James Arthur Vineyards was only a twinkle in their eyes.

The winery will celebrate its 20th anniversary Sept. 13.

Sometimes it feels like its just yesterday, planting those first grapes, he said. Sometimes its like holy smokes, that was a long time ago.

He never intended for the vineyard to become the well-known winery it is today, but hes glad it worked out that way.

Everything you see here, everything we accomplished is kind of a hobby that got out of control, Ballard said.

Despite never having been a big wine drinker, Ballard took an interest in starting a vineyard during his undergrad years. One of his teachers planted the seed.

When I was in undergrad at the university I had a professor that always talked about a vineyard he owned up near Plattsmouth, he said. Sometimes we would talk about that more than the class.

So along with soaking in his broadcast journalism courses, Ballard found himself thinking about vineyards more and more often.

I put that in the back of my mind, he said. That it would be kind of cool to do someday. Grow some grapes and make a little wine.

Eventually, Ballard just had to act on the urge. So he approached his father-in-law, James Arthur Jeffers, with the idea. He owned some property and was trying to look at different ways to use the land. After Jeffers planted a few apple trees, Ballard approached him with his vineyard idea.

He looked at me funny and said, sure, why not, Ballard said.

So the grapes started going in the soil around 1995, Ballard said. Planting the first 100 vines was a learn-on-the-fly sort of deal.

We had no idea what we were doing, Ballard said. We read a few books, asked a few questions.

They did something right, because the grapes turned out pretty satisfactory.

We had a great growing season, he said. The next year they were still alive, so we thought, were experts, lets put another couple hundred in.

After that, Jim and his wife, Barb, started visiting wineries across the country. Nebraskas first winery opened in 1996, so the industry was in its infancy in the state.

It was Ballards father-in-law that eventually proposed the idea of putting a winery on the property.

He said, lets do a winery, Ballard recalled. I said alright lets do it. He really got ball rolling. The rest, as they say, is history.

So the winery  the second in the state  opened Sept. 13 1997, but there werent enough grapes to make the wine. The family made the best of what they did have, though, which meant plenty of apple wines that first year.

Being one of the first wineries in the state meant Ballard had to deal with a lot of questions.

The first year, people were very curious, he said.

Friends and colleagues would ask how his job was going, and he would tell them he left work to start a winery.

They would be like, you did what, he said.

The first visitors couldnt believe the winery was actually growing grapes and making wine in Nebraska.

They would say, this is crazy you guys grow grapes here, Ballard said. They thought we were making it out of corn or beans or something.

The family learned quickly that Nebraska weather made room for only certain types of grapes, which defined what wines would be easiest to produce.

The first three years were a huge learning experience

for us, too, Ballard said. What maybe works in Missouri or Iowa or Michigan may not work here. Youve got to figure out whats going to work. Youve got to utilize your land and then youre at the mercy of Mother Nature.

Nebraska wine enthusiasts may have noticed that many of the states wines are on the sweeter side, Ballard said. That has a lot to do with what types of grapes do best in winter weather.

Still, Nebraska makes some good sweet wine.

Id put our wine up against anyone in the world when it comes to sweeter wines, Ballard said.

Ballard said he enjoys tending to the vines and making the wine. But what he enjoys most is meeting new friends. Hes met so many people over the years. At first they may be customers, but many soon become friends.

Thats one of the things I enjoy most, he said. Its meeting people from all over the world and to get their stories and to see the look on their face when they try Nebraska wine.

Making their state proud has always been a goal for Ballard and his family.

Our whole idea going in was, first of all, are we going to make it, he said. Number two was how can we leave a mark on Nebraska that they can be proud of.

After 20 years of good wine and happy customers, it seems James Arthur Vineyards may have achieved both of those goals.

Still, its sometimes hard to believe.

If you told me 22 years ago that Id be sitting here talking to you about this place, Id say youve had a little too much wine, Ballard said. Because I never envisioned this.
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Wanted in Rome is a monthly magazine in English for expatriates in Rome established in 1985. The magazine covers Rome news stories that may be of interest to English and Italian speaking residents, and tourists as well. The publication also offers classifieds, photos, information on events, museums, churches, galleries, exhibits, fashion, food, and local travel.
Treasurer Scott Morrison has turned up the political pressure on the Commonwealth Bank, saying the lender has had an "epic fail" and citing "very troubling" issues of culture and governance.

After the explosive allegations that it breached anti-money laundering laws overshadowed CBA's $9.9 billion annual profit on Wednesday, Mr Morrison criticised the bank over the affair but gave no further clues about how the government may respond - if at all.

"First of all, I think it is an epic fail and I think it's incredibly serious, and at the end of the day, it's in the first instance that the Commonwealth Bank  and particularly their board  [has] to assure the public about their confidence in that bank," Mr Morrison said on ABC Radio's AM program on Thursday.

Mr Morrison met with CBA chairman Catherine Livingstone on Tuesday, after financial intelligence agency Austrac last week alleged the bank had failed to report to authorities thousands of large transactions in its ATM network, and that criminal gangs had laundered millions through the bank.
Fallen Eagle Ben Cousins is facing more time behind bars after failing a drug test in a Perth prison.

According to 9 News Perth the former Eagle has been ordered to complete extra rehabilitation and won't be eligible for release at the end of the month, as expected.

The parole board has ordered Ben Cousins to complete further rehabilitation courses.

Cousins' lawyer Michael Tudori told the news outlet that the 38-year-old failed a drug test but insisted it happened when he was first remanded in custody and that "he is currently drug free and in positive spirits".

"When Mr Cousins was first remanded in custody he tested positive to an illicit substance on one occasion," his lawyer said.
A Perth woman faces thousands of dollars in vet bills after being left with false details by the owners of two dogs who mauled their schnauzer at a Bunnings store in Inglewood.

Hannah Milk told 6PR's Oliver Peterson her mother was at the hardware store, leaving 12-year-old Monty on a leash outside.

Thankfully Monty is expected to make a full recovery. Credit:Hannah Milk, Facebook

While she was inside the shop she heard dogs attacking and Monty squealing in pain. She ran outside and found two "incredibly aggressive pit bulls or staffy-cross pit bulls" attacking Monty ferociously despite being on a leash, Ms Milk said.

Monty suffered pierce wounds to his skull and jugular, and one of his ears was ripped open.
Washington: US President Donald Trump on Thursday thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin for ordering the United States to slash its diplomatic staff in Russia, remarks likely to rekindle criticism of Trump's kid-gloves handling of Putin.

Breaking nearly two weeks of silence on Putin's July 30 order cutting US embassy and consulate staff by nearly two thirds, Trump said: "I'm very thankful that he let go of a large number of people because now we have a smaller payroll."

US President Donald Trump meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 Summit in Hamburg. Credit:AP

Trump said "there's no real reason for them to go back" and "we're going to save a lot of money," in response to Putin's Cold War-style move, differing from the reactions of other presidents in similar circumstances in the past.

It also clashes with a State Department official having called Moscow's order "a regrettable and uncalled-for act."
Police in Pennsylvania say a 6-year-old boy has been shot to death by his 10-year-old brother while the two were home alone.

Allegheny County say officers and paramedics arrived at the mobile home in West Mifflin, near Pittsburgh, at about 9:45 a.m. Wednesday to find the 6-year-old with a gunshot wound to the head. He was taken to a hospital, where he died from the injury.

Investigators determined the boy's 10-year-old brother fired the gun in the mother's bedroom.

Superintendent Coleman McDonough says the boys' mother was at work when the shooting happened. He says the 10-year-old first called his mom and then called 911 at her urging.

The investigation is ongoing, and McDonough says there's "no excuse for a weapon to get in the hands of a child."

(Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
Alec Baldwin sues to 'clear his name' in movie set death
By West Kentucky Star Staff Aug. 10, 2017 | 09:57 AM | PADUCAH, KY





A caretaker of a McCracken County woman has been arrested and charged with spending the woman's money.According to the McCracken County Sheriff's Office, it all started several months ago in the Spring when a resident said she had multiple charges she didn't make against her bank account. The victim stated that she had been in the hospital and discovered the charges when she was able to return home. The victim suspected her caretaker had stolen her debit card.During the investigation, deputies say they located video where the suspect, Marty Hartfelder, had allegedly used the debit card without the victim's permission. It was learned that Hartfelder had used the victims money to place money on an account at a local detention facility, to pay her cell phone bill, to purchase lottery tickets, and purchase other various items. Hartfelder also allegedly used the victims government issued identification card to perform financial transactions. The victim estimated that Hartfelder stole over $3,000 from her.An arrest warrant was issued for Hartfelder and she was arrested by Kentucky State Police on Tuesday.Hartfelder was charged with theft of identity and fraudulent use of a credit card over $500. She was booked in to the McCracken County Regional Jail. Deputies say the investigation is ongoing and more charges are possible.
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By West Kentucky Star Staff

Aug. 10, 2017 | BENTON, IL

By West Kentucky Star Staff Aug. 10, 2017 | 11:50 AM | BENTON, IL

An Illinois man who pleaded guilty in May to bank fraud related to his work on an apartment complex near SIU Carbondale has been sentenced.



The U.S. Attorney's office for the southern district of Illinois says 56-year-old Christopher E. Creek of Champaign was sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison.



In May, Creek admitted that while developing an apartment complex known as the Pointe at SIU, he submitted fraudulent requests for draws of construction loan funds to banks that financed the project using fake company names, then used those funds for his own purposes, including payments to subcontractors and material suppliers he owed from prior jobs.



Creek was also ordered to pay $376,890.84 in restitution and a $2,000 fine. He must also serve three years' supervised release after his time in prison.



Creeks sentencing hearing was held at the federal courthouse in Benton, Illinois.
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By West Kentucky Star Staff Aug. 09, 2017 | 12:58 PM | WESTERN KENTUCKY

As the solar eclipse approaches, residents have been warned by officials that local infrastructure could be stretched to the limit due to the influx of thousands of people. Cell phone coverage is no exception.Hood Harris of AT&T Kentucky told WKDZ radio in Cadiz that they are preparing for the huge crowds in the Hopkinsville area by bringing in what they call a COW - Cell on Wheels - a temporary tower for increased coverage."Actually, what we have there is what we call a Mega-COW because it's even bigger than our typical cell on wheels. We use these in times of emergency if the network is down, or in times like this when we're expecting large crowds that are bigger than our standard network is designed for. We move this in to give us extra capacity," Harris said.Hood said they are planning for the temporary tower to provide reception for ten times the number of people that a normal cell tower would provide. But it's not the first time they have provided service to large crowds.He said, "At the Kentucky Derby, we have 170,000 people there, and we bring in COWs and assets like this, and typically do a good job of handling it. I think we're gonna be in good shape, but none of us know what to expect on that day. It's gonna be interesting to see what happens, from from the cell network and traffic to all the logistics and infrastructure that goes into trying to handle a crowd of this size."Harris said workers are currently testing the system to make sure it will be working at its best by next weekend, when most people are expected to begin arriving.AT&T is deploying COWs in eight other locations along the eclipse path, including Carbondale, Illinois.

On the Net:
New Ross mourns tragic death of Anthony Rochford (47): We will remember him for all the great times
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Liverpool have reportedly rejected a whopping bid of 100m euros from Barcelona for Philippe Coutinho.

Eager to splash some of the 200million they made after selling Neymar to PSG, Barcelona see the Brazilian playmaker as an ideal, if not exactly like-for-like, replacement.

After having an initial bid of 85million for Coutinho turned down, the La Liga giants have come back with an even bigger offer. However, once again Liverpool have refused to play ball.

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The 26-year-old Coutinho moved to Anfield from Inter Milan in 2013, joining for a modest fee of 8.5million.

However, with Jurgen Klopp hoping to launch a sustained Premier League title tilt this season as well as competing in the Champions League, the Reds need Coutinhos goals and assists.

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Coutinho did sign a new five-year deal with Liverpool back in January.

Still, one wonders just how long the Merseysiders can stave off the advances of the cash-rich Catalans, while the Brazilian star himself must surely be even just a little bit tempted by a move to the Nou Camp?
Jake Overgaard, the Agriculture Educator for the University of Minnesota Extension in Winona County, recently received the 2017 Achievement Award from the National Association of County Agriculture Agents during its annual meeting and professional improvement conference held in Salt Lake City, Utah. This award is given to agents with 10 years or less of service in cooperative extension and have exhibited excellence in the field of extension education.
Fabulous tales of fortunes in 1924, freshwater pearls taken from Mississippi River mussels are still told along the shores of Lake Pepin and in the declining pearl button cities such as Muscatine, Iowa. Many of these accounts of finds in clam shells are true and recorded in the account books of jewelry houses of the past.

A wife of a clammer at Pepin, Wis., according to Emil Liers, Homer, once a shell and pearl buyer, sold a pearl taken from a pot of shells for a dollar to a buyer. Within two years, this same pearl after it had been peeled and polished passed through half a dozen buyers, was sold retail from a Fifth Avenue Store in New York for $25,000.

Pearl hunting, of course, was just a byproduct of the major industry of clamming that boomed along the upper river from 1900 to 1924. It made millions and, for a time, made Muscatine, Iowa, where most of the shells went by boat, the undisputed button capital of the U.S.

It was another example of the pioneering spirit of feast of famine during the height of this boom. Winona had two prosperous cutting factories located in the area near the foot of Johnson street. Straight Slough was the major source of shells for these factories.

But a mussel is a slow growing creature  taking a quarter of a century to develop into a four-inch shell. Fisherman who made as high as $50 a day, cleaned out the mussel beds of the river in a span of 25 years. Today only a few clammers are left on the upper river.

But in that span of time, clamming wrote a fabulous chapter of river history. J. E. Boepple, who formerly worked in a button factory in Germany, started it all when he picked a shell from the river near Muscatine in 1891 and realized that it was a very valuable button shell. He set up the first pearl button factory there.

Expansion came almost overnight. The market for the buttons seemed unlimited as did the supply of shells. Fisherman gave it their nets, farmers quit farming, and clerks left their counters. It was like a gold rush. Clamming boats became the most common boats on the river. Some hard-working fishermen would gather a ton of shells in a day. As one bed was cleaned out or no longer profitable, the clammers pushed northward, always finding new wealth and more pearls to add to the thrill. Pearls rolled on bars in payment for their drinks.

Lake Pepin became the greatest mussel fishing grounds on the river. Its bottom was an ideal spawning grounds. The Bureau of Fisheries, after surveys, was convinced that the industry was doomed unless artificial aid could be secured. A plan of artificial infecting host fish was tried. Each species of fish was a host to certain species of mussel. The valuable Quadrula ebenus mussel was found only on the skipjack  a fish now missed on the upper river.

Much work in this field done at Fairport station in this way by men like A. F. Shira who explored the possibility of producing pearls artificially.

Pollution from the large cities; the changes made in the river by the nine-foot channel; and manufacturing of artificial pearl buttons caused the colorful clammer, with his little bag of pearls, his squatter family, and his strange craft to vanish from the river.
A Sauk County committee has recommended the hiring of a Wisconsin Department of Transportation engineer to be the countys next highway commissioner.

During a meeting Tuesday, the Sauk County Boards five-member Highway and Parks Committee recommended Professional Engineer Patrick Gavinski for the position.

Supervisor Dave Riek of Spring Green, a committee member, said Gavinski was one of three finalists interviewed during a closed session meeting Tuesday. After the interviews, the committee returned to open session and unanimously recommended Gavinski.

The Sauk County Board will consider Gavinskis two-year appointment to the position during its monthly meeting Tuesday.

He came across as being a very intelligent individual that has taken the extra steps to get his (professional engineer) license, Riek said. He also has bridge inspection credentials, which we were looking for.

Gavinski  who could not be reached for comment  graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering, according to his resume. He has been employed by WisDOT since 2008, and currently works as a soils and materials engineer.

Gavinski would replace 25-year Sauk County Highway Commissioner Steve Muchow, who retired in April amid a personnel investigation into employee allegations. Muchow has denied any wrongdoing, and the Wisconsin Department of Justice is reviewing the matter.

Riek said Gavinski has broad shoulders in a professional sense, and seems well-equipped to handle any challenges related to the controversy that currently surrounds the highway department.

I think bringing in new ideas and new perspective will be very beneficial to Sauk County, Riek said.

Other applicants included Beaver Dam Department of Public Works Supervisor Kris Quandt, a University of Illinois graduate, and Professional Engineer Jonathan Maxwell, a UW-Platteville graduate who currently works as a transportation team leader with Baraboo-based MSA Professional Services.
Rebranding Waupun has nothing to do with hot irons and cattle, although the area has plenty of dairy cows and metal fabrication.

What it does involve is how visitors perceive the city, its amenities, its location and how the city is poised for growth.

The Waupun City Council, and many active in the community, heard the plans for growth, and saw the new city logo Tuesday night at Waupun City Hall. While it has been known as Prison City and the City of Sculptures in the past, the new brand has more to do with attracting new industries and residents than bragging of its past  although some were disappointed by the switch.

The high point of the meeting was the unveiling of the new city logo by marketing project manager Mark Knickelbine. It includes WAUPUN, with a plus sign connected to WISCONSIN, over the words economic growth. To the left is stylized foliage encircling two abstract figures.

People talk about me getting to work with the fun stuff, but this is not your brand, said Knickelbine. You brand is the story that you tell about yourself. Its what others will think and feel when they talk about Waupun from an economic development standpoint.

He said that distilling Waupuns story had its challenges, with so many attributes and so much history.

We were trying to balance a sense of dynamism that we associate with industry and manufacturing and economic development, generally, with the agricultural aspect, the natural aspect, having that sense of rural values. I think that with your help weve come up with something that is really strikingly original for an economic development logo ... but will work to convey those sets of general ideals about Waupun.

Dodge County Historical Society President Jay Graff expressed disappointment in not seeing any of Waupuns iconic images in the logo, which was echoed by a woman walking to her car.

We have the perfect logo in the End of the Trail sculpture here in Waupun, she said. Its known around the world. Thats what we should be using.

Most chairs in the chamber were full for the presentation, which began with an introduction by Cathy Schlieve, Waupun city administrator/director of economic development.

In November of last year I approached you and said we need to undertake a branding effort, and thank you for supporting that, she said. As we talked about this notion of Waupun as a place where we want people to invest  whether its a business, or coming as a tourist, or deciding to live here  we need to treat our city as a brand would be treated. We all know that Waupun has a great quality of life, but every city is saying that. That doesnt give us any handles to work with. Were called Prison City, and it doesnt matter how far you go from Waupun people know that. We know some equity has been built in city of sculptures, although there is another community that also proclaims that, so thats not unique.

Schlieve talked about taking a regional approach.

We need to take command of our story and we need to leverage the assets that are unique to this community so we have what I like to call handles  really tangible, valuable things that are aimed at the particular targets that were trying to attract here.

She warned that the brand may not be what people expect, but is directed at the task of promoting growth.

Its a different way of thinking, but its a very good affirmation of the things weve been working on, she said. Certainly new opportunities will present themselves because of this work.

Janet Ady, president and CEO of Ady Advantage, presented her companys findings in an Economic Development Strategic Plan and Brand Platform. That platform indicated measures of preparedness and how they are perceived by businesses and individuals thinking about moving to Waupun.

Thanks to the community for your participation, because this is obviously something that is really important, and timely because youre at the cusp, I think, of more great things. This is an effort that can tie things together and create a path forward, said Ady.

After we took a look at all the assets youve got we took an outside view and asked Who would put the greatest value on that, she said. Its no longer enough to say its a great place to live, work and play without articulating why. Whats your elevator speech? What differentiates you from other places?

She said Waupun is ideally suited for three areas of growth.

We have a very strong agricultural presence, she said. Thats a competitive advantage that other places dont have. You have location and access to regional markets, and there is access to raw materials. There are also great opportunities in transportation and distribution, as well as manufacturing, which is competitive as far as labor costs, in training resources and in access to markets.

Being prepared for growth is key, according to Ady, putting Waupun in a place more attractive than communities without it. Pairing with other promoters is also important, linking to other resources that can foster growth locally, as well as around the state and throughout the region.

A good website, she believes, is paramount.
Suspicious  Tuesday at 7:46 a.m., an officer saw a woman urinating in the dog park located near the Beichl Avenue and Maryann Drive intersection. The woman said she had no other choice. She was warned.

Miscellaneous  Tuesday at 8:09 a.m., a 5-year-old boy was locked out of his home in the 500 block of West Street. The boy snuck out while his mother was sleeping. The parents said they are working on getting different door handles.

Vandalism  Tuesday at 10:27 a.m., someones house was egged in the 600 block of East South Street.

Suspicious  Tuesday at 10:52 a.m., someone told police that a man and woman were going in and out of a restroom together in Smyth Park.

Battery  Tuesday at 2:13 p.m., an employee at Arbys, 111 Frances Lane, told police that a couple was in the restaurant eating and a woman came in and caused a disturbance. The 22-year-old woman was cited with battery.

Traffic  Tuesday at 3:05 p.m., someone told police that a person was riding a motorcycle, popping wheelies and cutting in front of traffic in the 600 block of South Center Street.

Accident  Tuesday at 5:20 p.m., a man and a woman were involved in a vehicle accident near the Gateway Drive and Francis Court intersection. The man was cited with inattentive driving.

Theft  Tuesday at 5:25 p.m., a woman 900 block of South Spring Street reported the theft of medication from her purse.

Traffic  Tuesday at 7:45 p.m., someone near the North Spring Street and Oneida Street intersection told police that a vehicle was moving at 50 mph in the city and the driver was flipping off people. A traffic stop resulted in police warning the driver for speed.

Disorderly conduct  Tuesday at 7:53 p.m., a woman flagged down an officer near the North University Avenue and Prospect Avenue intersection. She told the officer that a man drove by twice and was yelling things out his window.

Suspicious  Tuesday at 9:23 p.m., a woman reported that children were inside the old hospital, 208 La Crosse St., with flashlights. A traffic stop near the Front Street and Center Street intersection resulted in police citing a 15-year-old boy with instructional permit violation and trespassing; a 16-year-old was cited with trespassing and theft; a 17-year-old boy was cited with trespassing; and a 16-year-old girl was cited with trespassing and curfew violation.
Along a desolate country road in northeastern Wisconsin, Manuel Estrada speeds toward work in his rumbling silver Ford SUV. He's running late for his predawn shift. And he's worried.

His boss is counting on him; she's been down a worker for a month. More than 400 Holstein cows stand blinking, waiting to be milked. His family needs the paycheck from his $11.50-per-hour job.

And Estrada, 30, hopes the police aren't waiting for him too.

It's a risk he runs regularly during his 15-minute commute from his home in Manitowoc to the 150-year-old family dairy farm where he's worked for two years.

Estrada, who has been in the country illegally for 13 years, is an unlicensed driver. This route passes through one of the top dairy-producing counties in the nation. If he's picked up by police, he could have an even bigger worry than a traffic ticket due to ramped up immigration enforcement under President Donald Trump.

"What I am afraid of is the separation of family and being separated from my kids," he said in Spanish.

Estrada's boss, Abby Driscoll, voted for Trump. She has tried to reassure anxious employees after the election, telling them to just stay out of trouble.

"I was expecting some things to happen when I voted for Trump," she said. "As far as all of his immigration policies, I guess I wasn't expecting it to go as far as it did already."

These are strange times in America's Dairyland. Wisconsin voters gave Trump the electoral bump he needed to claim the White House in the 2016 election, the first time since 1984 that a Republican presidential candidate won the state.

Voters in Manitowoc County, where Estrada lives, overwhelmingly favored Trump. But police there say they focus on responding to local crime, not enforcing federal immigration law.

As one of the Wisconsin's largest industries, dairy production is heavily dependent on immigrant workers. Farmers say few if any U.S. citizens apply for these jobs. Driscoll and some other farmers say the Trump immigration crackdown is making it harder to find workers.

State Rep. Bob Gannon, R-Slinger, is not sympathetic.

"If it takes illegal immigrants to make their business model operate, I think their model is broken," he said. "I'm in agreement with President Trump that if you break the law in the United States, you should expect to get a one-way ticket out of here."

Gannon is a co-sponsor of a controversial Assembly bill aimed at preventing sanctuary jurisdictions of all types.

The bill and its companion measure in the Senate would ban local governments from prohibiting police from asking about a person's immigration status. The proposal also would require law enforcement to honor all "lawful" requests by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain people suspected of being in the country illegally. Communities that violate the law would be assessed a fine of up to $5,000 a day.

Officials in Milwaukee County are on opposite sides of the issue. Milwaukee County's firebrand sheriff, David Clarke, rails against sanctuary cities and locks up immigrants whenever asked, ignoring a county policy that restricts the practice. Other county officials have drawn federal scrutiny for their stance on protecting immigrants here illegally.

Sanctuary? What sanctuary?

Under U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the Justice Department in May asserted for the first time what the government considers a sanctuary. Citing a section of U.S. immigration law, Sessions said that state and local authorities who don't share information with federal agents are sanctuary scofflaws.

Milwaukee County is one of nearly a dozen jurisdictions that received a notice from the Justice Department threatening to withhold more than $340 million in federal grant funding if officials failed to prove that local authorities share information with immigration agents.

Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting collected details on the sanctuary policies in all 10 jurisdictions. Policies include whether police can ask people about their immigration status or whether the jail agrees to honor requests from ICE to hold people who would otherwise be released.

Milwaukee County made the list because five years ago its Board of Supervisors passed a measure that honors those ICE detainers only for serious offenders. While many county jails contract with ICE for reimbursement, Milwaukee so far has not.

Peggy Romo West, the supervisor who pushed the resolution and the county board's first Latina, said she did not want the county burdened with jailing petty criminals.

"Just on the financial angle it makes sense," she said. "They weren't paying us per day what it was that we were spending. And so why should the citizens of Milwaukee County eat that cost?"

For Sheriff Clarke, an ardent Trump supporter, any hint of resistance or indifference to federal immigration matters is unconscionable  and grounds for punishment.

"I don't know how any law enforcement official or public official  a mayor or a governor  can sit back with a straight face and say our communities are stronger because of illegal immigration," Clarke told Fox News' Sean Hannity earlier this year.

His office rejects the county's stance on detainer requests. He keeps inmates behind bars whenever ICE agents ask, at an annual cost to the county of nearly $1 million to detain roughly 3,000 immigrants. Clarke declined multiple interview requests.

Milwaukee County stands to lose $7.5 million a year in federal funding. The county has said it is in compliance with the new DOJ directive.

Status questions limited in Milwaukee

Yet in the county seat, Milwaukee police are instructed not to "routinely" ask residents about immigration status if it would impede interviewing witnesses, filing of an incident report, conducting a criminal investigation or receiving a citizen complaint.

Mayor Tom Barrett declined to say whether Milwaukee is or isn't a sanctuary, adding to the lack of clarity on where the city stands on the issue.

"If what they are trying to do is take our limited resources and move them from local law enforcement to federal law enforcement, I do have a problem with that," Barrett said.

Elsewhere, policies vary widely, but five of the 10 jurisdictions rank high in terms of their status as sanctuaries based on policies that shield people from immigration enforcement. Milwaukee is characterized as medium.

Chicago and Cook County, Illinois, for instance, prohibit on-duty officers from sharing information with ICE about a person's immigration status. On Monday, Chicago sued the Justice Department over its move to make sanctuary cities ineligible for its grants.

On the flip side, officials in Las Vegas and Miami have told the Trump administration that they have changed their policies this year to begin honoring ICE detainers. Officials in both places say the Justice Department recently told them they are in compliance with federal law.

The rest of the jurisdictions on the list have policies against honoring ICE detainers. All but one  Cook County  makes an exception if a person has been accused or convicted of a serious crime.

At one point, longtime conservative radio talk show host Charlie Sykes might have sided with Clarke. But late in his 25-year radio career, it became clear to Sykes, a fierce Trump critic, how entwined the state's dairy industry was with illegal immigration.

"This is not an economy that is being damaged by illegal immigrants," he said. "We're really being kept afloat by it."

Rise in hostility

As a 17-year-old, Estrada crossed into the United States from Mexico and ended up in Manitowoc "on a whim."

Farm work came natural to him  he grew up on ranches  and he was hired quickly. And then he met his wife, Jennifer, and her four children from a previous marriage.

A fluent Spanish speaker born and raised in Wisconsin, Jennifer saw her family split apart when her then-husband was deported to Mexico. She moved the family south of the border, but soon returned to Manitowoc with just her four children in tow. She and Estrada now have a 3-year-old son together.

"If we don't want to end up paying $10 for a gallon of milk we need to start protecting our workforce and our community," she said. "These are people in our community that are living in fear."

At a June rally on a rainy morning at the state Capitol in Madison, the Estradas spoke before a crowd gathered to protest the proposed anti-sanctuary law supported by Gannon.

"They call this the dairy state, but it's thanks to the strength of the immigrants," he told the crowd.

The couple has applied with the Department of Homeland Security to adjust Manuel's immigration status. They feel confident that the government will grant them what they want.

But if ICE agents do come looking for her husband or other dairy workers, Jennifer Estrada has a plan: a team of two dozen people who have agreed to shelter people at risk of deportation.

On a dairy farm he co-owns in Sheboygan County, Daniel Guerrero takes a different tact. The dozen workers all live on the grounds to avoid contact with police. When they need to go to the grocery store or the dentist, Guerrero drives them.

Originally from Mexico, Guerrero came to this farm almost 20 years ago. The farm has prospered, growing from 300 cows to a herd of 2,000. In that time, he said, only one American job seeker has applied.

"He lasted for two hours," Guerrero said. "It's too hard for him."

Driscoll said she wishes it wasn't this way. She'd like to hire legal workers and U.S. citizens.

"We definitely realize that, you know, we are maybe turning a blind eye to it that some of these workers are in this country illegally," she said.

Estrada doesn't really blame Driscoll for voting for Trump. But he did warn her after the election that she could be milking the cows by herself.

Alexandra Hall of Wisconsin Public Radio and the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism contributed to this story, which has been edited from the original version written for Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting. It was distributed by the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, which collaborates with Wisconsin Public Radio, Wisconsin Public Television, other news media and the UW-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication. All works created, published, posted or disseminated by the Center do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of UW-Madison or any of its affiliates.

Andrew Becker can be reached at abecker@revealnews.org, Patrick Michels can be reached at pmichels@revealnews.org and Alexandra Hall can be reached at alexhall@wisconsinwatch.org.
July 29, 2:26 a.m. The Columbus Fire Department was called to assist the Dodge County Sheriff with the use of our drone.

July 29, 6:38 p.m. The Columbus Fire Department responded to illegal burning on Chapel Street in the city of Columbus.

July 30, 8:48 p.m. The Columbus Fire Department responded to a gas leak on Highway 16 in the town of Columbus.

Aug. 1, 1:15 a.m. The Columbus Fire Department responded to an odor investigation on Vista Circle in the city of Columbus.

Aug. 1, 8:49 a.m. The Columbus Fire Department responded to assist EMS on Metzger Court in the town of Calamus.

Aug. 2, 5:42 p.m. The Columbus Fire Department responded to a motor vehicle accident with no injuries on Old Highway 73 in the town of Columbus.

Aug. 3, 3:11 p.m. The Columbus Fire Department responded to assist EMS on North Ludington Street in the city of Columbus.

Total fire calls for 2017: 99
A Portage woman has been charged with felony drunken driving following a collision on New Pinery Road that sent another woman to the hospital Monday.

Melissa Schoenbeck, 47, appeared in Columbia County Circuit Court on Tuesday to face a charge of operating a motor vehicle causing injury as a repeated offense. She faces up to six years in prison if convicted.

Columbia County Assistant District Attorney Clifford Burdon said Schoenbeck was in court a week earlier on a drunken driving charge as a third offense. He said a preliminary breath test from Mondays arrest showed she had a 0.243 blood alcohol level, three times the legal limit to drive in Wisconsin.

She turned in front of a person, totaled the car, and that person was taken to the hospital, Burdon said.

The first of the two incidents happened Aug. 2, when, according to court documents, a Portage police officer saw a car driving through the city with a passenger who was wanted by authorities. The vehicles registration also was expired and the officer turned on his lights for a traffic stop.

The driver, Schoenbeck, reportedly appeared to be drunk and refused to comply with officers. She was taken into custody and taken to Divine Savior Healthcare where, after receiving a warrant, a blood draw was forcibly taken to determine blood-alcohol content.

Schoenbeck appeared before Judge W. Andrew Voigt the next day, charged with drunken driving as a third offense and was released on a $2,500 signature bond.

Monday just before 5:30 p.m., a Portage police officer was dispatched to the intersection of West Collins Street and New Pinery Road. There a Toyota Rav 4 was in the intersection and a Dodge Ram pickup truck had struck a light post.

The woman who had been driving the Toyota was taken to the hospital where she told officers that she was passing through the intersection when the truck turned in front of her, resulting in the crash.

The driver of the pickup was identified as Schoenbeck.

Shes struggling to keep up with the child support payments she has to take care of the children she has, said defense attorney Alexander Kostal, but she informs me that the most amount of money she could reasonably pay is between $100 and $200 and if a cash bail is set much above that, it is likely she will sit in jail for quite some time.

If Schoenbeck is convicted of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated as a third offense, the charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 45 days in jail and maximum of one year.

The court certainly understands that addiction is a scary animal, said Voigt, but it also never ceases to amaze that people who struggle to make money for child support can find money for beer and other substances, and then claim poverty when we have this conversation.

Voigt ordered Schoenbeck to be held on $1,000 cash bond, and scheduled her to next appear in court for an Oct. 12 return hearing.

These are just allegations, said Voigt, but clearly this defendant is either unwilling or unable to follow bond restrictions that were imposed just six days ago.




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Police are asking anyone who may have seen anything; knows who was driving the vehicle; or has cameras in the area of Elmwood Avenue, to contact Detective Prior or Officer Smoot at (508) 278-7755.
Toshiba reports financial results, avoids delisting

10 August 2017

Share

Toshiba Corp, which reported its long-awaited earnings results today, says it has "dedicated itself" to eliminating risk related to the overseas nuclear power business, swiftly recovering and strengthening its financial base and strengthening its organisational management. The industrial and electronics conglomerate posted a net loss of 965.7 billion ($8.8 billion) for the financial year ended 31 March, an improvement of 30 billion from a revised outlook provided in June, but still more than double the loss of the previous year.

Toshiba was able to meet the deadline to report its results after its auditor, Auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers Aarata gave a "qualified opinion" on the financial statements, meaning it broadly endorsed the results. Meeting the deadline reportedly reduces the risk for Toshiba of being delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

The company forecasts a profit for the 2017 financial year, ending 31 March 2018, of 230 billion, a 59% rise in operating profit to 430 billion and an increase in sales to 4.97 trillion.

Toshiba also reported earnings results for the latest quarter, which ended June 30. Operating profit climbed almost sixfold from last year to 96.7 billion as profit from chip operations quadrupled. Sales rose 8.2%, while net income fell 37% to 50.3 billion.

Toshiba noted that, in "eliminating risk" related to the overseas power business, Westinghouse Electric Company, its US subsidiaries and Toshiba Nuclear Energy Holdings (UK) Limited, had all filed for Chapter 11 proceedings under the US Bankruptcy Code on 29 March. These filings deconsolidated Westinghouse from Toshiba, starting from the FY2016 full-year business results, and the financial results of Westinghouse are now classified as discontinued operations in Toshiba's consolidated profit and loss statement.

Reflecting Westinghouse's deconsolidation, Toshiba's net sales decreased by 284 billion to 4.87 trillion.

A presentation on the results by Masayoshi Hirata, Toshiba's representative executive officer and corporate executive vice president, noted changes to the parent company guarantees for Westinghouse. On 27 July, Toshiba and the owners of the project to construct two Westinghouse AP1000 reactors, units 2 and 3 at the VC Summer nuclear power plant in South Carolina, USA, reached agreement on Toshiba's parent company guarantee for fulfilment of the project. The agreed amount is the maximum that Toshiba announced in its revised outlook issued on 23 June. This agreement, along with that reached with the owners of the project to construct two Westinghouse AP1000 reactors, units 3 and 4 at the Vogtle plant in Georgia, eliminates any further risk to Toshiba related to the construction of the reactors.

The amount of Toshiba's other parent company guarantees for Westinghouse is 28.5 billion lower than the provision in loss from discontinued operations made in the revised outlook on 23 June, as an agreement on cancellation of part of the guarantees was made at the end of June. The breakdown of provision for parent company guarantees is 412.9 billion for Vogtle, 243.2 billion for VC Summer and 31.6 billion for others.

Scana Corporation subsidiary South Carolina Electric & Gas on 31 July announced its decision to cease construction of two AP1000 reactors at VC Summer. The announcement followed co-owner Santee Cooper's decision to suspend construction because of projected completion delays and cost overruns. Scana is to file for regulatory permission to abandon the project.

Construction began on the first of four AP1000 reactors in the USA - Summer unit 2 and Vogtle unit 3 in Georgia - in March 2013, with work beginning on Summer 3 and Vogtle 4 in November of that year. Work is still continuing at the Vogtle project, for which Westinghouse recently negotiated a long-term services agreement with co-owner Southern Nuclear Co.

AP1000s under construction in China are unaffected by the Westinghouse bankruptcy filing. Wang Binghua, chairman of China's State Power Investment Corporation, recently vowed that his company will make sure its first two AP1000 plants at Sanmen and Haiyang will start producing electricity by end of 2017.

Researched and written

by World Nuclear News

Related topics
A cult of personality is often created through the means of propaganda, where a political leader is heavily glorified. Though the term itself is not inherently good or bad, it often has negative connotations as it is commonly used in dictatorships or totalitarian regimes. Here is a list of world leaders who have been accused of harboring a cult of personality.

10. Turkmenistan - Saparmurat Niyazov

The central Asian country of Turkmenistan was part of the Soviet Union until gaining its independence in 1991. Politician Saparmurat Niyazov began his term as First Secretary of the Turkmen Communist Party in 1985. Years later, in 1999, he was appointed president for life which garnered him a place in history as the leader of one of the worlds most notable personality cults. Under his totalitarian rule political opponents were routinely jailed or confined to psychiatric hospitals, the media was closely controlled by the state, and Niyazov enacted variousbizarre policies such as outlawing ballet and opera and banning young men from having long hair or beards. The leader also renamed months of the year in honor of his family members and had a revolving golden statue of himself constructed atop a building in the capital city of Ashgabat.

9. Iraq - Saddam Hussein

Saddam Hussein ruled his homeland of Iraq as its fifth president from July 1979 to April 2003. Hussein was a believer in socialism and Arab nationalism. Husseins cult of personality arises from his absolute rule of law of which the consequences of breaking such laws usually had fatal consequences. Hussein achieved in closely tying the military to the work of the government. Economically the Iraqi leader nationalized industries such as oil production and was given control over the national banks. Husseins regime was characterized by violence and repression. Its been estimated that Husseins security force was responsible for the murder of approximately 250,000 people.The end of Saddam Husseins personality cult came with the invasion of American forces in 2003. After his capture, the ex-leader was jailed, put on trial, convicted of numerous crimes against humanity, and executed in 2006.

8. North Korea - Kim II-Sung and Kim Jong-il

Personality cults rely on the use of propaganda to create an idealized portrait of a leader or regime. Known as the Great Leader King Jong-il (the elder) imposed strict rules on every aspect of life in North Korea. Citizens were grouped into five strata in the "songbun" system. Placement was determined by the actions of ones fathers ancestors. In 1967, Jong-il imposed his Monolithic Ideological System which forbid any form of contradiction. King Jong-il, Kim II- sungs son, took over after his fathers death in 1994. Recently, the dictator has been in the international spotlight for his aggressive attempts to create an atomic weapon powerful enough to reach the U.S.

7. Haiti - Francois Duvalier

The Caribbean island of country of Haiti was once a Spanish and then French colony. Francois Duvalier rose to power in 1957 when he became the nations president. In keeping with the inner workings of personality cults, Duvalier, also known as Papa Doc, relied on the violent organization called "Tontons Macoutes" or "Bogeymen" to terrorize opponents and undesirable members of the public. Among the most outlandish claims made by the dictator was that he believed himself to be the physical embodiment of his country. He was also convinced that he had a special relationship with God and thought of himself as being immaterial as opposed to an ordinary human being. Duvalier went so far as adding a section to the Lords Prayer in his honor.

6. Russia - Joseph Stalin

Editorial credit: Tomasz Bidermann / Shutterstock.com.

Joseph Stalin is considered to be one of the most ruthless, powerful, and blood thirsty dictators in world history. The Russian leader combined his Marxist and Leninist beliefs into his own political theory known as "Stalinism". His domestic agenda reflected his desire to move the Soviet Union from being reliant on agriculture to a more industrialized nation. The dictators repressive policies were a key factor in the devastating famine of 1933-34. Stalin also systematically disposed of his enemies in operations such as the Great Purge in which countless Russians were imprisoned, exiled, or killed. Although at the beginning of World War II Stalin entered into a pact with the Nazi regime, Hitler invaded Russia in 1941 thus beginning a long and bloody conflict between the two powers.

5. Albania - Enver Hoxha

The authoritative regime of communist dictator Enver Hoxha lasted over forty years from 1944 until his death in 1985. Politically Hoxha subscribed to an anti-revisionist MarxismLeninism ideology. The leader wielded his power by maintaining an image of charismatic authority over the countrys citizens. Hoxha ran the government without respect for the rule of law, democracy, and personal freedoms. Imprisonment, court trails merely for show, and torture were all routine practices. Any dissent was subject to severe punishment including being sentenced to a forced labor camp or execution. Hoxhas policies included repressive control of the media, a clamp down on traveling abroad, and, in an effort to discourage the influence of Islam, beards were banned.

4. Equatorial Guinea - Francisco Macias Nguema

Equatorial Guinea is a small nation located on the western coast of Africa. Francisco Macias Nguema held the position as the country's first Prime Minister in 1968. His regime lasted until a political coup in 1979. Nguema became an orphan at a young age when his father, an alleged witch doctor, was murdered by Spanish authorities. Shortly afterward, he lost his mother to suicide. After Nguema embarked on a political career he served in a variety of positions including as mayor, territorial member of parliament, and deputy prime minister. Free elections were held in 1968 and Nguema then rose to the rank of head of state. From this point onward the leader moved to afford himself extensive political power over all branches of government. In 1972, after merging all of the countrys political parties into the United National Party, Nguema was given the distinction of President for Life and was afforded absolute power over the nation. Violence played an important role in Nguemas regime and he is said to have ordered countless families killed and entire villages destroyed. A factor which mightve influenced Nguema and help explain some of his strangest edicts was his steady consumption of cannabis and other various psychedelic substances.

3. Vietnam - Ho Chi Minh

Editorial credit: Bule Sky Studio / Shutterstock.com.

Ho Chi Minh was a communist leader who began his career as the Chairman and First secretary of the Workers Party of Vietnam. As a young man, Ho Chi Minh studied and worked in numerous foreign countries including France, the U.S., the U.K., the Soviet Union, and China. Various military campaigns and frequent violence marked the rule of Ho Chi Minh and his efforts to secure Vietnams quest for independence. After the leaders death in 1976, the Vietnamese city of Saigon was renamed Ho Chi Minh City in his honor. The late leader also has a museum dedicated to his life and achievements and appears on the nations currency.

2. China - Mao Zedong

Editorial credit: Zhao jian kang / Shutterstock.com.

Chairman Mao Zedong played a major role in shaping China into the super power it has become today. The communist revolutionary/poet/political theorist/ military strategist served as Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China from 1949 until his death in 1976. Early on in his rule, he ordered the mass killing of his political enemies whom he referred to as "counterrevolutionaries". Its estimated that during this 1949 purge, between two and six million people lost their lives. Zedongs attempts to move Chinas economy away from being an agriculturally based one toward the development of various industries contributed to a devastating country wide famine which cost some fifteen to fifty five million citizens their lives.

1. Venezeula - Hugo Chavez

Editorial credit: Watch_The_World / Shutterstock.com.

Hugo Chavez ruled the South American nation of Venezeula as its President from 1999 to 2013. A former member of the nations military, Chavez went on to found the "Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement-200". After a failed coup he received a prison sentence but was released after two years. Chavez then went on to form the Fifth Republic Movement and in 1998 was elected for the first time as Venezuelas president. Politically the leader implemented an array of anti-imperialist policies which were often at odds with U.S. interests. During his time in office, society in Venezeula was characterized by high rates of crime, prison overcrowding, corruption, a booming drug trade, and widespread crippling poverty.
Nicknamed "The Crossroads of the West," Salt Lake City is a large city situated in Salt Lake County in the US State of Utah. Salt Lake City serves as the state's capital and is its largest and most populous city. The city is at the heart of the "Salt Lake City Metropolitan Area" and is further located within a larger metropolis that is referred to as the "Salt Lake City-Ogden-Provo Combined Statistical Area." Salt Lake City is home to the world headquarters of the LDS Church and also serves as the country's industrial banking center. The city serves as a prominent tourist spot that offers many outdoor recreation activities for visitors.

Geography Of Salt Lake City

Downtown city skyline of Salt Lake City, Utah, at dusk.

Salt Lake City covers a total area of 286 sq. km and is located in the northwestern corner of the Salt Lake Valley at an elevation of 1,319m above sea level. The city is surrounded by the Oquirrh Mountains in the west, the high Wasatch Range in the east, and the Great Salt Lake in the northwest. The mountains surrounding the city contain many narrow canyons such as Emigration Canyon, Millcreek Canyon, Parleys Canyon, etc. The city's highest point is the Grandview Peak, which rises to an elevation of 2,868m, while the city's lowest point is located close to the Jordan River and the Great Salt Lake at an elevation of 1,280m. Salt Lake City contains several neighborhoods, of which the eastern neighborhoods are considered to be affluent, whereas the western neighborhoods are considered to be ethnically diverse and are inhabited by the working class. Sugar House, Yalecrest, the Avenues, and Federal Heights are some of the city's affluent eastern neighborhoods, while Glendale, Poplar Grove, Rose Park, etc., are some of the city's western neighborhoods.

Climate Of Salt Lake City

According to the Koppen climate classification, Salt Lake City experiences a cold semi-arid climate, having hot, dry summers and very cold winters. The hot summer season in the city lasts from June to September, with average high temperatures ranging between 33.3C and 18.8C. The cold winter season lasts from the end of November to the end of February, with average low temperatures ranging between -5C and 2.7C. The principal source of rainfall in the city is from the massive thunderstorms that move into the city from the Pacific Ocean along the fast-flowing jet stream, mainly from October to May. The city receives an average snowfall of 60 inches from November to April. It is to be noted that the adjacent Great Salt Lake also dramatically affects the climate of Salt Lake City, primarily through lake-effect snowfalls. It has been recorded that approximately 10% of the city's annual precipitation and a yearly 6 to 8 lake-effect snowfalls are due to this lake effect.

Brief History Of Salt Lake City

The Eagle Gate Monument in Salt Lake City, Utah. The monument was erected in 1859 and commemorates the entrance to Brigham Young's property. Editorial credit: Oscity / Shutterstock.com

Salt Lake City was initially inhabited by the indigenous Weber Ute, Shoshone, and Paiute tribes for thousands of years before the members of the LDS Church settled it. According to the Government of the United States, the land belonged to the public domain. In 1825, an American mountain man named James Felix Bridger became the first to explore the Salt Lake area. In 1843 and 1845, the Great Salt Lake and the Salt Lake Valley were surveyed by Captain John Charles Fremont. In July 1847, a group of permanent settlers named the Latter-day Saints arrived here, searching for a secluded area for practicing their religion. It is believed that a group of Mormons led by Brigham Young founded the present-day city. Due to its closeness to the Great Salt Lake, the city was initially named "Great Salt Lake City." After the Utah Territory was established, the "Great Salt Lake City" became the territorial capital, and its name was shortened to "Salt Lake City."

The Population And Economy Of Salt Lake City

As per the latest US Census, Salt Lake City has a population of 197,756 inhabitants. The city has a population density of 701.84 inhabitants per sq. km. The largest ethnic groups in Salt Lake City are the non-Hispanic White, which accounts for 64.8% of the city's population, followed by other races at 12.4%, Hispanic White at 8.05%, Asians at 5.3%, and Two or more races at 2.59%. About 88.7% of the city's residents were US citizens, and the average car ownership in the city was two cars per household. The most prominent industries in Salt Lake City are the University of Utah, Westminster College, and the LDS Business College.

The economy of Salt Lake City employs about 111,000 people in various large industries, including Educational Services, Health Care & Social Assistance, Retail Trade, Utilities, Transportation, and Professional & Business Services. The city's median household income is $60,676, and the median property value is $314,500. Two Fortune 1000 companies, namely Zions Bancorporation and Questar Corporation, are headquartered in the city. The city served as the host for the 2002 Winter Olympics, and since then, tourism has significantly increased in Salt Lake City. Recreational tourism in the Wasatch Mountains is also one of the city's significant economic activities.

Tourist Attractions In Salt Lake City

Temple Square

Aerial view of Temple Square, including Salt Lake Temple and the LDS Church Office Building in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah.

Located at the center of Salt Lake City, Temple Square is a complex that covers an area of 0.04 sq. km and is owned by the LDS Church. Temple Square contains two visitor centers in addition to the Salt Lake Temple, Seagull Monument, Salt Lake Tabernacle, and the Salt Lake Assembly Hall. In recognition of the Mormon achievement in Utah's settlement, the Temple Square was designated a National Historic Landmark District on January 29, 1964.

Liberty Park

The Tracy Aviary at Liberty Park provides educational fun activities for kids to learn about our diverse aviary ecosystems. Editorial credit: M Outdoors / Shutterstock.com

Established in 1881, Liberty Park is one of the oldest parks in Salt Lake City. This well-known public urban park covers an area of 0.40 sq. km and contains a small pond with two islands and the Tracy Aviary. The Liberty Park is a popular location for several recreational activities like jogging, cycling, rollerblading, playing, picnicking, etc. On December 11, 1980, Liberty Park was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Natural History Museum Of Utah

Natural History Museum of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. Editorial credit: Uladzik Kryhin / Shutterstock.com

Located on the University of Utah's campus, the Natural History Museum of Utah is one of the popular attractions in Salt Lake City. It displays various interesting exhibits and more than 5,000 artifacts with particular emphasis on Utah and the Intermountain Region. The museum features the paleontological discoveries in Utah and preserved artifacts from the prehistoric people who lived in the region.
The state of Washington is located in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Olympia is the state capital of Washington, and also serves as the administrative seat of Thurston County. The city is located at an altitude of 95 feet above sea level and covers an area estimated at 19.68 square miles, 91% of which is land, and 9% is covered by water. The population of Olympia is estimated to be 50,302 as at 2015, and has a population density of 2,685 people per square mile. The current mayor of Olympia is Cheryl Selby.

History of Olympia

Olympia has been inhabited by the Lushootseed people for several thousands of years. The native community included the Puyallup, Squaxin, Chehalis, Nisqually, Duwamish, and the Suquamish tribes. The first record of Europe settlers occurred in 1792, when the British Vancouver Expedition, led by Peter Puget, arrived in the area. Levi Smith and Edmund Sylvester both claimed the land that is now constitutes Olympia in 1846. By 1851, the US Congress sanctioned the creation of Customs District in Washington Territory, and the population grew over the years when Oregon Trail immigrants settled in the area. The name Olympia was given to the town in 1850, when Colonel Isaac N. Ebey, a resident, suggested the name because the Olympic Mountains in the northwest were visible from the town. In 1896, the Olympia Brewing Company was established in Olympia, and it brewed the Olympia Beer brand until 2003. In 1949, a major Earthquake hit Olympia and destroyed most of the city's historic buildings. The city was hit again by earthquakes in 1965 and 2001.

Demographics

The population of Olympia is predominantly Caucasian (86%), and also includes Asians (6.05%), mixed race (3.8%), African Americans (1.4%), Native Americans (1.06%), and native Hawaiians (0.37%). 87% of Olympia's citizens speak English, and 5% speak Spanish. Literacy levels in Olympia are high, standing at 92% of adults aged above 25 years. About 41% of people above 25 years hold a bachelor's degree. About 46% of the men and 43% of women are married, while 40% of men and 30% of the women have never been married. The median age of the people living in Olympia is about 38 years.

Economic Activities

The main economic activity of Olympia has been manufacturing, especially the manufacturing of plastics and industrial supplies. Recently, tourism has increased due to Olympias broad range of conservation areas and public parks. Tourism has increased by 27% between 1998 and 2003, and has been increasing ever since. Commercial shipping at the Port of Olympia is also a substantial contributor to the economy of this city.

Weather and Climate

The area surrounding Olympia experiences warm summer, Mediterranean climate. Olympia's dry and warm season begins at the end of June and ends in mid-September, with temperatures averaging 70F. The cold season starts in mid-November and ends at the end of February, and is wet and chilly with temperatures averaging 43F.
Sunflower oil is widely used in cooking due to its nutritional values, pleasant taste and health benefits. It also has a variety of industrial uses. The following are the main producers of sunflower oil across the globe. The listing is based on the average tonnes produced between the years 1993 and 2004 according to FAOSTAT.

5 top countries

Russia

With 1,865,498 tonnes, Russia is the largest producer of sunflower oil. The cultivation of sunflower seeds in the country takes up about 6.8 million hectares of land with the main growing regions being Krasnodar, Rostov, Belgorod, Saratov and Voronezh. Processing plants are also located in the regions to cut costs on transportation of sunflower seeds. In the year 2014, the volume of sunflower oil produced in the country was almost 4.8 million tonnes.

Ukraine

Ukraine has risen to become a leading producer and exporter of sunflower oil over the years. The average production from 1993 to 2004 was 1,768,556 tonnes. In the year 2016, the country exported about 4.8 million tonnes of the oil, with the total earnings estimated at $3.7 billion. The main market for the countrys sunflower oil is India, which imported 30%, followed by China with 16%. The country also yields large volumes of sunflower meal which it uses locally to manufacture feeds and exports to other countries such as France, Poland, Belarus amongst others.

Argentina

The country produced 1,554,961 tonnes in average. Sunflower is mostly cultivated in the provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa and Cordoba. By the year 2004, the country had a sown area of about 1.9 million hectares of the crop. The yield of sunflower oil for the same year was about 1.2 million tonnes and approximately the same volume of sunflower meal. Of this yield, the country exported 920,000 tonnes of the oil with the main importers being the Netherlands, Egypt and South Africa. Netherlands, the UK and Italy also imported sunflower meal from the country in the same year.

France

France had an average yield of 542,667 tonnes between 1993 and 2004. In 2013, the nation had a production of 578,800 tonnes of sunflower oil from an estimated 770,732 hectares of sown area. France is currently the largest producer in the European Union. A significant amount of the oil produced is exported while the rest is consumed domestically where it is used for cooking and in food processing industries like making margarine.Sunflower meal is used locally in the country as a feed for cattle, rabbits, poultry and pigs.

Turkey

Between 1993 and 2004, the country had an average production of 535,792 tonnes. The main sunflower seed production region in the country is Trakya. During the 2006/2007 period, Turkey harvested about 1.325 tonnes of sunflower seed which after crushing yielded about 545,000 tonnes of oil and 715,000 tonnes of sunflower meal. Due to huge demands for the oil, the country also imports sunflower seed from other countries. After processing the seeds, it exports processed oil and margarine to other countries.

Conclusion

The cultivation of sunflower seed and processing of sunflower oil is of huge economic benefits to these nations. Exports of sunflower oil in crude or processed forms are big earners for the countries. They also benefit from the by-product, sunflower meal, which they either export or use locally to make animal feed. Employment provided by this sector is also highly beneficial to the economies of the five countries.
MP Gets Virgin Media Update  Public Information Event Next Week

This article is old - Published: Thursday, Aug 10th, 2017

Wrexhams MP Ian Lucas has again met with Virgin Media in Wrexham for a progress update on the companys work in the area.

Mr Lucas secured a Commons commitment from Virgins Chief Executive to invest in the town during a Select Committee session in 2015. Since then Mr Lucas has worked with the company and Wrexham Council officers to help make Virgin Medias plans for a new fibre broadband link for Wrexham, serving more than 20,000 properties, a reality.

Speaking after the meeting, he said: It was good to catch up and to hear that work is progressing well to link Wrexham up. Preparatory work has now been completed in parts of the town  and new work is underway all the time. This is a long-term, major infrastructure investment, but it will make a real difference once completed.

It is already helping to drive market competition in Wrexham  and there are increasing opportunities for Wrexham people to get faster broadband.

I would urge people who want better broadband to look closely at what services are already available, and to register their interest in any services which are likely to be coming online soon. Its important that people are aware of what connections are available  and that they make use of them.

Id also ask Wrexham councillors to make sure they are helping to ensure work to boost Wrexhams communications infrastructure is carried out in their wards in as convenient a manner for their constituents as possible.

This week Virgin Media were keen on advertising on Wrexham.com again that there will be a drop in information event at St Johns Church Hall, Borras Rd, LL13 9ER between 6pm  8pm in just over a weeks time on Thursday 17th for those who want information on their forthcoming works in and around the town centre.

(Top Pic: A previous meeting)
Over the past month, an unprecedented media and political campaign has been launched against members of the federal parliament who allegedly hold, or are entitled to hold, citizenship of another country as well as Australian citizenship.

The witch-hunt involves a provision in Australias British colonial-era 1901 founding Constitution, declaring ineligible anyone owing allegiance to a foreign power. This anti-democratic clause today potentially disqualifies millions of peopleabout half the populationwho were born overseas or had a parent born overseas, even if they are Australian citizens.

Two Australian Greens senatorsparty co-leaders Scott Ludlam and Larissa Watershave resigned their seats already. Ludlam was born in New Zealand and Waters in Canada, and both were unaware they automatically remained citizens of those countries. They had lived in Australia since they were infants.

However, as soon as the issue was raised in the mediain circumstances that remain murkyLudlam and Waters each quit without any fight, not even a legal challenge. Instead, they both abjectly apologised for their supposed negligence in not checking their status.

After parliament resumed this week from its six-week winter recess, the Senate referred their cases to the High Court, the countrys supreme court, along with those of two other senatorsa National Party government minister and a One Nation representative. Other MPs could face challenges. Media outlets have drawn up lists of more than 20 declared to be suspect because of their migrant heritage.

Every parliamentary partythe ruling Liberal-National Coalition, the Labor Party, the Greens and the various third partieshas joined the crusade against so-called dual citizens sitting in parliament or even standing for election. None has called for the scrapping of the anti-democratic provision.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull quickly endorsed the witch-hunt, deriding the incredible sloppiness of the Greens. Labor leaders demanded that the Coalition come clean on any of its MPs at risk of dual citizenship. Greens leader Senator Richard Di Natale was the most fervent of all, demanding an official investigation of all 226 members of parliament to immediately establish their eligibility.

This hue and cry is anti-democratic to the core. Australia has an estimated six million dual citizens, who are potentially barred from standing for or sitting in the parliament.

Section 44(i) of the Constitution disqualifies anyone who is under any acknowledgment of allegiance, obedience, or adherence to a foreign power, or is a subject or a citizen or entitled to the rights or privileges of a subject or a citizen of a foreign power.

The clause excludes not just dual citizens. It covers any Australian resident entitled to foreign citizenship. For some countries, children and even grandchildren of citizens may be entitled to citizenship. In other countries, like Canada and New Zealand, citizenship is acquired by birth and sometimes may be virtually impossible to renounce.

The words adherence to a foreign power could extend even further, particularly in wartime conditions, to anyone with an overseas family heritage, or who opposed a war or wartime measures such as conscription. It should be recalled that during both world wars, thousands of residents of enemy descentGerman, Italian and Japanesewere arbitrarily rounded up and interned in camps for the duration of the war.

The anti-democratic character of this provision is highlighted by the fact that when it was adopted, there was no concept of Australian citizenship. Instead the continents inhabitants were classified as subjects of the British monarch, as were people throughout the British Empire.

The colonial politicians and businessmen who drafted the Constitution opposed using the word citizen because it smacked of republicanism. While they had their own imperialist ambitions, they were tied to the apron-strings of the empire, which remained their economic backstop and great power guarantor.

The only reservation of the founding fathers was that the term subject of the Queen would open the door for Asiatic royal subjects from Hong Kong and elsewhere. The constitutional convention debates are full of references to barring the Chinese and other coloured races.

In the end, this fear was addressed by the first parliament adopting legislation to expel Pacific Island labourers and impose English-language dictation tests to exclude immigrants not of the British race.

However, British subjects from elsewhere in the Empire such as New Zealand, Canada or Britain could stand for and sit in parliament, as long as they met basic residency and age requirements.

Australian citizenship was only introduced in the Nationality and Citizenship Act 1948. By then the ruling class had shifted its alignment behind the US following World War II. Even so, it was not until 1987 that British subjects were no longer entitled to Australian citizenship.

Today, section 44(i) stands as a barrier to essential legal and democratic rights. With the exception of the Aborigines, the entire population is composed of people who are either immigrants or the descendants of immigrants who have arrived since 1788. Moreover, Australia, like many other countries, is increasingly diversifying because of the globalisation of economic and social life.

Full civil political rights, including to stand for elected office, should be available to all, regardless of birthplace, skin colour or ethnic background. More broadly, people should be free to live and work where they choose, with full democratic participation, not straitjacketed by the anachronistic capitalist nation-state system.

More than a century after it was imposed, section 44(i) is being brought to centre stage now for definite political purposes.

One immediate motive is to create a potential vehicle to remove politicians, and possibly governments, via legal challenges and court rulings, effectively overturning election results. Over the past decade, the Australian political establishment has become increasingly unstable, with one government falling after another, amid rising popular discontent with glaring inequality, falling living conditions, attacks on basic democratic rights, and mounting militarism.

If any Liberal or National lower house MP is disqualified, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbulls government could lose its one-seat majority, triggering a new election or the formation of a highly unstable minority government, led by the Coalition or Labor.

The other, underlying, purpose is to whip up nationalist sentiment. This is designed to divide Australian workers along ethnic and communal lines, as well as split them from their fellow workers across Asia and internationally. Such agitation seeks to create the ideological climate for war. Around the world, with the Trump administration in the lead, ruling elites are inciting protectionism, jingoism and bigotry as a means of diverting the deepening social tensions outward and justifying war-mongering threats.

True-blue Australian MPs only, was the headline of an Australian editorial on July 20, highlighting the nationalist character of the outcry. The Murdoch publication insisted that patriotism, loyalty and national pride are essential pre-requisites for sitting in parliament.

The disqualification of foreign MPs is just one manifestation of this promotion of nationalism. The government is proposing legislation to restrict Australian citizenship to patriots. Applicants will have to formally pledge allegiance to Australia and pass tests of Australian values and university-level Englishreminiscent of the White Australia dictation tests.

In late 2015, the Coalition government also pushed through legislation, with Labors backing, enabling it to revoke the citizenship of dual nationals by decree. The immigration minister can now unilaterally declare, on the basis of secret intelligence reports, that someone has renounced Australian citizenship. These provisions could be used to terminate the basic rights of many people, including those opposing the predatory and criminal wars being conducted by the US and its allies, such as Australia.

For now, these powers have been confined to dual citizens, but there have been calls within the government to extend the measures to all citizens. Citizenship is an essential democratic right, without which members of society can be stripped of all political and civil rights, including to vote, stand for office and obtain health, education, welfare and other social services.

These developments are a warning sign. The clouds of war are gathering, and the media and political establishment is trying to foment a xenophobic atmosphere, with far-reaching implications for fundamental democratic rights.
Thousands of metro Detroit residents, seeking dental and optical care, are attending a free health clinic, which started Wednesday at the Cobo Hall convention center. Hundreds lined up outside before doors opened at 6 a.m. highlighting the medical crisis in the state, where an estimated 600,000 residents are uninsured and far more cannot afford high co-pays and deductibles. The threeday event is expected to attract more than 4,000 people.

The Motor City Medical Mission (MCMM) was organized by California and Florida-based religious institutionsFreedom Clinic and United Handswhich have held similar events with volunteer medical professionals throughout the US and other countries.

The primary need is dental care, Ann Burnett, executive director of the Motor City Medical Mission Project, told the World Socialist Web Site. Those that come in are in many cases living with pain and cant get treatment for things such as abscesses. We also have eye exams and can give them reading and prescription glasses. One gentleman came in for dental services and we were able to pick up early stages of cancer, and probably saved his life.

Comparing health conditions in the US to Latin American countries her group has gone to, Burnett said, We just came back from Suriname and there are a lot of similarities with the US. There was only one country we were blown away with, and that was Guatemala. Only two out of very 1,000 to 1,500 people we saw suffered from diabetes or hypertension. We were used to seeing a figure of 70 percent in the US, some of it undiagnosed.

We are struck by how large the need is locally, said Dr. David Williams, who is on the board of United Hands and is a professor of public health, sociology and African American studies at Harvard. We are seeing people who are employed, but cant afford a tooth extraction. The US ranks near the bottom in health care. Even Cuba has a higher life expectancy than the US.

Those attending included entire families, employed and unemployed workers, retirees, and military veterans, who were made up of different races, nationalities and ages. There was overwhelming anger over the lack of affordable health care, with many expressing anger against both Trump and Obama, and insisting that necessities like teeth cleanings, fillings and a pair of glasses should be basic rights for everyone. Some who spoke with WSWS reporters were in visible pain.

Outside all the glitz and neon lights in the downtown area, in the neighborhoods working class people havent had any wage increases and they can hardly take care of their families, said Jeremy, who has worked restaurant jobs and is studying for his Commercial Drivers License. My dad was the only one who worked and he raised a family of four in a suburban home. Now me and my wife both work and we struggle to make ends meet.

Im here for dental work because we dont have insurance. I need at least two implants and a couple of fillings. I cant drink any cold or hot foods. You learn deal with the pain. Theres lots of people in pain, thats why theres the opioid crisis. It is a lot cheaper to hand somebody oxycodone than pay for their physical therapy.

Antoinette brought her mother, Yvonne, a retired federal worker, for dental care. The retirees paid their dues and they should be given the medical care they were promised. America is the richest country in the world. The senators dont have the same insurance we do. Everyone should have medical care, she said.

Of the pharmaceutical corporations, Karen said, They don't want cures; they want paychecks. Speaking of her brother, who was given at least five stents before finally receiving a triple-bypass surgery, she said the insurance companies are doing just enough to keep the patients alive, when they ought to be addressing patients' real medical problems.

Candice White, a home health and drug rehabilitation aide, said, If you work in the medical field the insurance costs so much. They take $200 out of every paycheck for health insurance, plus $11 for dental. After taxes, Im bringing home $600 every 10 tens, and thats if I get full-time hours.

Pat Stephens, who used to work for Texas Instruments in Dallas, said, These corporations are making all kinds of money and they are nickel and diming workers on health benefits. Texas Instruments was a revolving door: the older workers were quitting after not getting any raises and the new ones were coming in at half the pay.

The government should make the employers pay for health care and public schools. The government bailed out the banks and the auto companies. Im going around with my teeth hurting and dont have thousands for implants or fillings. We should get the exact same health care as the senators.

Karen Turner-Bryant is a worker at Fiat Chrysler. Commenting on the role of the United Auto Workers union, she said, They told us to vote in favor of the last contract because it was as good as it's going to get. Now she cant afford her prescription medication or glasses, and is forced to wait in line at the free clinic for medical attention.

The whole system needs to be reorganized, said Sylvia. There should be universal health care. Proactive care is better than reactive care. That would be the goal. Its the same thing with education. It should not be about which district or area you live, it should be for everyone. Instead, all the money goes to waste in the wars.

Congress votes to pay themselves, but they wont raise the minimum wage. Health care costs are going up, living expenses are going up, but the budget of taking care of people hasnt. There are people making money off the people who are struggling. Elections are just putting a plug on the boat. Its still going to sink. You have to start with a rebuilding of the whole boat.

Ive been following the health care crisis for eight yearsit sucks, said Tobie. Its just a bunch of politicians giving lip service. People are hurting, and they dont care. You cant use your health insurance because your deductible is so crazy high. So, whats the use of getting it? Me and my wife are paying $14,000 a year for health insurance for a family of four, and we cant afford to go to the doctor.

Theyve got money but theyd just as soon put it into missiles and bombs instead of helping people here. Theyre always looking to start another war. They want to go liberate Iraq and Afghanistan, why? So, they cant have any health insurance either? Theyre going to make it just like here? Whats so great about here? They say they want to spread our message, but it isnt a very good message.

The top five percent of people have all the money, and they say its going to trickle down to other people. But theyre just going to keep all their money.

Josefean is on Medicare, but that does nothing, she said. She was given the run-around when she tried to enroll on the Obamacare exchanges. One person would direct her to the next, in an endless chase of phone calls. All they care about is money.

Darrell has health insurance with Blue Cross Blue Shield through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchange. He complained that many places don't accept his insurance, and that he has to pay out of pocket. Dental care isn't covered under his plan.

Rosetta complained about the health care racket, in which she has to struggle to pay $500 per month for insurance. The stress of this financial burden might give me high blood pressure, for which the pharmaceutical companies promote drugs that create their own side-effects, creating a snowball effect of prescriptions and ailments.

Chufon waited in line for dental care. She works as an independent contractor, which allows her employer to avoid paying for any healthcare. She expressed anger over the opioid epidemic. The government allows these pharmaceutical companies to sell those pills, knowing full well what happens. People get addicted, and then what? They turn to the streets.

Beverly waited in line with her children. Everybody is experiencing the same thing, she said, looking around at the long line of people waiting for medical attention. It doesn't matter if you have insurance; you cant have quality healthcare. Speaking of the ultra-wealthy and their paid politicians, she said, I don't think anything they're doing benefits us. They have the best health care. They don't care about the small people. They only want what's good for them. Take care of the small people!

Denise Bass, a housekeeper for 21 years lost her job two years ago. I need to get work on my front two teeth. They did some work already but it was just a temporary fix. To get it properly fixed Id have to pay $800 out of pocket. I cant afford that.

People are already suffering and they are cutting Medicaid and other programs. I recently saw on the news, lines of people at another health clinic in Virginia. It doesnt matter what nationality, ethnicity, race you are, everyone needs healthcare at some point. Thats life, you need it to live.

Tony Valentine drives a shuttle bus for the Detroit Medical Center. Trump is a business person who wants everyone to workeven senior citizens who have been working their whole lives. He wants to cut Medicaid. But America is the richest country in the world. Theres no reason to cut Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security or any of it.

Up until October of last year I was getting $194 every month in food assistance. After October, it got knocked down to $19 a month. Who could survive on that? They want us to get Obamacare but thats expensive too.

Jamel, a small business owner, said, The economy is not doing well for most people, many people dont have jobs. Youll be seeing a lot more events like this if Republicans carry through their cuts to health care.

Therie Hill, Jr., a 73-year-old Vietnam War veteran who is ninety percent disabled due to Agent Orange poisoning, said, I get some care through the VA because of my service but my grandson isnt getting any of that care. Hes just a year out of high school and Im here to get him some basic dental work.

I am a native Detroiter and was drafted immediately out of high school. I came back in July 1967, one day before the Detroit rebellion began. I was in one war zone and came back to another. I saw tanks rolling down the street from my porchthey wouldnt let us leave the city. You can imagine that it was even worse for me, because it brought back all of the fighting in Vietnam.

I filed a claim for compensation for injuries in 2002 but Im still waiting. Theyll probably keep me waiting until I die. Its a shame theres a long line like this in America. Trump says he wants to make America great? Therie said, as he gestured to the line around him. Hows this?
The standoff between Indian and Chinese troops on the Doklam Plateau, a remote ridge in the Himalayan foothills, is continuing, amid growing warnings and threats of an impending military clash.

Indian Defence Minister Arun Jaitley told the countrys parliament Wednesday that its military is ready to meet any challenge and has already demonstrated with its victories over Pakistan in wars in 1965 and 1971 that it has learned the lessons of 1962. This was a reference to the month-long 1962 Sino-Indian border in which Beijing gave New Delhi a bloody nose, then ordered its troops to withdraw.

In an even more significant and troubling sign of the escalation of tensions, the Indian Ministry of Defense (MOD) has urgently requested additional funds of Rs. 200 billion ($3.1 billion) from the finance ministry to speed up the procurement of munitions, armaments and other war materiel. This follows on last months announcement that the MOD had given Vice Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General Sarath Chand special powers to speed up emergency purchases of the ammunition and spare parts needed to wage war.

New Delhi has repeatedly suggested that the Doklam border crisis could be defused by both sides withdrawing their troops from the disputed ridge.

But China is adamant that it is up to India to take the first step, by recalling its forces unilaterally.

Beijing has repeatedly termed Indias actions unprecedentedly provocative. Unlike previous border disputes, the Indian Army is confronting Chinese troops on territory to which New Delhi itself has no claim, but is rather the subject of a dispute between China and the small Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan.

Moreover, Beijing disputes Indias claim that it interceded at the request of Bhutan to stop Chinese construction workers from expanding a road on the disputed plateau. Beijing contends that New Delhi acted unilaterally, then leaned on Bhutan, which India has long treated like a protectorate, to join it in protesting the alleged Chinese incursion on its territory. To date, Bhutans government has issued only one statement on the almost two month-old Doklam standoff, and did so close to two weeks after the alleged Chinese incursion began.

Beijing has repeatedly served notice that its patience is wearing thin and that it will not allow the standoff to continue indefinitely.

On Tuesday, a Chinese diplomat Wang Wenli told a delegation of Indian journalists, If India continues going down the wrong path, we have the right to use any action under international law to protect the lives of our troops. New Delhi should stop sending signals that everything is under control.

The previous day the delegation had visited a Peoples Liberation Army garrison on the outskirts of Beijing where they were treated to a demonstration of Chinese marksmanship. Addressing the journalists, PLA Senior Colonel Li declared, What the Indian troops have done is an invasion of Chinese territory. He added, You can report about what the Chinese soldiers are thinking about. I am a soldier, I will try my best to protect (Chinas) territorial integrity. We have the resolve and determination.

Yesterday, an editorial in the government-owned China Daily, titled New Delhi should come to its senses while it has time, warned that the window for a peaceful solution of the border dispute is closing. The countdown to a clash between the two forces has begun, affirmed Chinas largest English-language newspaper, and the clock is ticking away the time to what seems to be an inevitable conclusion.

The principal cause of the rapid deterioration in Sino-Indian relations, of which the current border confrontation is only the latest and most explosive example, is Indias ever deeper integration into Washingtons military-strategic offensive against China. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu supremacist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, India has opened its military bases and ports to routine use by the Pentagon; greatly expanded bilateral and trilateral military-strategic ties with Japan and Australia, US imperialisms principal Asia-Pacific allies; and parroted Washingtons aggressive stances on both the South China Sea dispute and North Korea.

The Chinese Communist Party regime, which speaks for the capitalist oligarchy that has arisen from the Stalinist bureaucracys restoration of capitalism, has no progressive answer to the US drive to encircle and subjugate China. Organically incapable of making any appeal to the antiwar sentiment of working people around the world, it oscillates between seeking an accommodation with Washington and pursuing its own increasingly aggressive militarist policy, while whipping up bellicose nationalism.

In a further sign of the mounting war danger, the Indian media has given prominence to an interview in which the Indian-born economist and British Labour Peer Meghnad Desai warned of the imminence of a Sino-Indian war, while voicing his hope and expectation that American imperialism would come to Indias support.

I think at this time it is very likely that we will be in a state of full-scale war with China very soon, Desai told the India Asia News Agency (IANS).

Willfully ignoring Indias emergence as a frontline state in the US offensive against China, Desai sought to paint China as an aggressor in both the Himalayas and the South China Sea.

Desai, who has long traveled in Indian government and ruling class circles, said that a war would not be restricted to the Doklam Plateau, but will start from all places, across the northern Himalayas. Such a war, he warned, will not be controllable, but Indias defence co-operation with the US and its allies will bear fruit.

India, he continued, cannot stand up to China without American help and support. America cannot stand up to China without Indian help. That is the symmetry in this relationship.

On June 18, the very day Indian troops interceded on the Doklam and forced the Chinese construction workers to cease their road-building, Modi was meeting with Trump at the White House. At the conclusion of that meeting they pledged to further expand the Indo-US global strategic partnership.

As Desais remarks underscore, even a war that begins as a border skirmish could rapidly escalate and quickly draw in the US and other powers. Indeed, the BJP government and the Indian elite are banking on drawing on US support, raising the prospect of a conflict that quickly escalates into a global conflict among nuclear powers.

Even if such a catastrophe were averted and a war between India and China limited to a border war, it would have calamitous consequences for working people around the world.

Such a war, whatever its outcome, would only strengthen imperialism.

A Chinese victory would only cause the Indian bourgeoisie to cement its place in a US-led NATO-type alliance against China. Moreover, Germany, Japan and the other imperialist wars would use the events in the Himalayas as a pretext to accelerate their plans for rearmament and war.

In the event China suffered a defeat, US imperialism would seize on the opportunity to intensify its reckless military-strategic offensive against China. Meanwhile, the Modi government, flush from reversing the humiliation of 1962, would step up its efforts to bully Indias neighbours into recognizing it as the hegemon of South Asia and whip up a climate of bellicose nationalist euphoria to intensify the assault on the working class and drive Indian politics still further right.
New Zealands Inland Revenue Department (IRD), responsible for tax collection, last month confirmed plans to slash its staff numbers by 25 to 30 percent by 2021.

At least 1,500 and as many as 1,947 workers will be made redundant, out of a total workforce of 5,647. This is part of the IRDs Business Transformation project, which aims to save the national government up to $7.65 billion by 2024.

Further details have not been made public. According to the Public Service Association (PSA), which has some 3,000 trade union members at the IRD, the department also plans to cut wages for new staff. The PSA says up to 4,000 staff will be affected in varying ways by the restructure. Many will have to reapply for new positions.

Staff members were informed on July 19 that layoffs could begin in February 2018. The IRD has 17 offices around the country and has not said which will be affected. The IRD first announced last year it was planning the redundancies, partly attributing them to technological changes.

In fact, the cuts are part of the National Party governments ongoing austerity drive. Since 2008, following the global financial crash, more than 5,000 core public sector jobs have been eliminated. Health and education are severely underfunded and access to welfare has been cut for thousands of people.

Government-owned companies have also sacked thousands of workers, including NZ Post, which has eliminated over 2,000 jobs. The collapse of state-owned coal mining company Solid Energy has led to about 2,000 layoffs and devastated entire towns.

This assault has been carried out with the full collaboration of the trade unions, including the PSA. The union has helped to ensure orderly lay-offs at several departments, including the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), Ministry of Justice, Department of Conservation and Ministry of Agriculture.

The PSA announced from the start that it agreed with the IRD restructure, and would help implement it. In a statement on April 4, 2016, the union said it would collaborate with the IRD at every step of the way and praised management for being proactive so far in communicating with us about the change process. PSA national secretary Erin Polaczuk said: Its inevitable jobs will go, but we are committed to retaining as many as possible.

Polaczuk reiterated the message on May 10, 2017. Criticising the IRDs threat to withhold redundancy from workers who refused to accept new job descriptions, she stated: We understand Inland Revenues desire to maintain a flexible workforce ahead of the proposed job cuts... Change happens, and our members understand this.

Having supported the cuts, the union has made tactical criticisms of IRDs process. On July 19 Polaczuk told Radio NZ: I just think theyre being a bit hasty by thinking that they can reduce the number of staff by that amount.

In a statement on July 31, Polaczuk declared that despite working closely with IRD for more than a year, the PSA was forced to conclude that the managements final document includes sweeping changes to members roles, risks putting staff under extreme stress and could negatively affect New Zealands ability to pursue tax avoidance and compliance.

In other words, the unions main concern is to keep working closely with the IRD to find means to impose the job cuts, so as to overcome members resistance and ensure tax compliance.

Doubtless under pressure from PSA members outraged over the unions sellout, Polaczuk sought to deflect the blame, stating that the leadership at Inland Revenue has failed PSA members.

Like other unions, the PSA is seeking to drum up support for the opposition Labour Party and the Greens ahead of the September 23 election. A union press release on July 20 said Labour was committed to a restoration of funding to vital public and community services.

The Labour Party has made limited criticisms of the IRD restructure, saying it would undermine the governments stated goal of reducing tax avoidance by multinationals. New Zealand has one of the most deregulated tax environments in the world. As the leaked Panama Papers revealed, it is also a haven for foreign trusts, where the worlds elites stash hundreds of millions of dollars.

Labours revenue spokesman Michael Wood told TVNZ: Improving IRD does not require a whole-scale gutting of the organisation and loss of experienced workers. However, the party has made no commitment to reverse the cuts to the IRD and other departments if it wins the election.

Despite its campaign rhetoric, the Labour Party has no substantial differences with the governments agenda. Labour and the Greens have committed themselves to Budget Responsibility Rules, limiting spending to 30 percent of gross domestic product, about the same as the current government.

In Auckland, thousands of jobs have been slashed by Labour- and Greens-backed municipal councils, including 1,200 following the amalgamation of Aucklands local councils from 2010 to 2012. The current city council, led by former Labour Party leader Phil Goff, is cutting hundreds of library jobs and preparing hundreds of redundancies in public transport. The PSA has fully collaborated with the library cuts, just as the union is doing at the IRD.

In recent months workers in several industries have faced job cuts and attacks on wages and conditions, including transport and library workers, engineers and meat processing workers. In every case they confront unions that work hand-in-hand with the government and corporations to suppress any struggle against this offensive.

There is a growing mood of rebellion among workers and distrust of the unions and Labour. The Socialist Equality Group (NZ) says bluntly to workers that the way forward is not through these reactionary, anti-worker organisations but in a rebellion against them on the basis of a socialist perspective.

For IRD workers to defend their jobs they must take matters into their own hands. Worker-run rank-and-file committees must be formed, independent of, and in opposition to, the PSA and the Labour Party, to unite workers nationally and internationally who are facing similar attacks. We urge IRD workers who are looking for a program to fight the job cuts and pro-business restructuring to contact us at sep.wellington@gmail.com.

The author also recommends :

Job cuts planned for Auckland rail services

[28 July 2017]

The way forward for New Zealand meat workers

[27 June 2017]

Gender pay deal used to promote unions, government

[3 May 2017]
This is the concluding part of a two-part series. Part one was posted on August 9.

As explained in the WSWS series on the 1916 Rising, Any assessment of the Easter Rising and [James] Connollys role in it must proceed from an understanding that had there been a development of a revolutionary working class movement against imperialism and war beyond the borders of Ireland, everything would have taken a different course. But this was prevented by the political capitulation of the leaders of the parties of the Second International and their support for the war aims of their own ruling classes. For this reason, it was Connollys misfortune that the potentially closest allies of the Irish working class, their brothers and sisters across Britain, were misled by the treacherous leaders of British Labourism and the union bureaucracy, who were among the most fervent proponents of social chauvinism. [5]

Knox states that the 1916 rising led to a revolution which in 1919-1921 created over 100 soviets. However, in his haste to contrast revolutionary, soviet-creating Irish workers with the backward British, Knox ignores the immense radicalisation that also swept across Europe, including Britain, in response to the October 1917 Revolution in Russia. He also omits reference to the circumstances of the Irish soviets suppression.

The movement in Ireland was directed both against British imperialism and against the Irish capitalists and large farmers. It expressed the huge class tensions and the attractive power of the Russian revolution internationally to workers and the oppressed.

A soviet a democratic workers council of actionemerged from a two-week-long general strike and workers control of Limerick in 1919 in opposition to the British Armys declaration of a Special Military Area. Some 15,000 workers struck, then regulated and organised the distribution of supplies. But the soviet was betrayed by the Irish Trade Union Congress, the local Sinn Fein mayor and the Catholic Church.

The same year, a general strike in Belfast which coordinated successive transport and power workers strikes, shut down the shipyards for a month. The strike committee, which took the form of a soviet, organised the distribution of power supply and was in contact with workers in Glasgow and London. At the time the authorities, rightly, viewed the Belfast strike committee as a far greater threat than the IRA.

In 1920, most towns in Ireland saw some form of general strike. Between 1921 and 1923, hundreds of extended occupations and strikes took place, some of which hoisted a red flag and declared themselves to be soviets. All were eventually suppressed, not by the British Army, but by the IRA, or, after the Anglo-Irish Treaty and partition, by both pro-and anti-treaty forces. [6].

Events in Ireland took place simultaneously with a major intensification of the class struggle in Britain.

Prior to the war, in 1911, during the Great Unrest, transport workers in Liverpool launched a general strike which was confronted by 3,500 troops and resulted in the killing of two workers. Winston Churchill directed the cruiser HMS Antrim to the Mersey. Troops were also used against workers in South Wales.

Even during the war, despite the cultivation of a patriotic war fever and the historic capitulation of the Labour and the trade unions, class struggle continued, particularly in the engineering industries on the Clyde river.

These tensions reached a new peak after the Russian revolution and the end of the war. Less than three months after the Armistice, Churchill dispatched tanks to confront thousands of workers demanding reduced hours in Glasgow. Mutinies took place with increasing frequency in the navy and army including in opposition to British intervention against Bolshevik Russia. Some 10,000 soldiers in the port of Folkestone refused to follow orders and organised which vessels arrived or left. In August the same year, a battleship, HMS Valiant, was once again dispatched to the Mersey. [7]

In January 1919, there was a general strike in Glasgow at the same time as that in Belfast, involving 100,000 workers. It ended in savage conflict with the police on Bloody Friday and the government sending in the army.

Only the leadership of the trade unions saved British capitalism. Above all, in 1921, the Triple Alliance, which unified large and powerful sections of the working class in the mines, transport and rail, was prevented by its own leadership from a decisive confrontation.

Over this entire period, one of British imperialisms greatest fears was that the possibility of the struggle against the brutalities of colonial rule in Ireland forging an alliance with the politically radicalised working class in Britain. Preventing this was a major factor behind all the political calculations of the British ruling class, including its troublesome wing in the North.

In the event, the Anglo-Irish Treaty that created the Irish Free State and partitioned off the North, worked well for British imperialism. In power, the Irish bourgeoisie immediately showed its true colours. It prosecuted a bloody civil war against anti-treaty forces using British artillery and armoured cars that led to up to 4,000 deaths, including 77 executed Irish republicans. The class movement that led to the soviets was suppressed, while the Irish trade unions proved themselves no better than their British counterpartshaving sided with the pro-Treaty government in the civil war.

The worst impact of the Treaty was in Protestant Ulster, where thousands of Catholic workers were burnt out from their homes and hundreds were killed in street battles.

Class tensions in Britain finally culminated in the historic 1926 General Strike, which immediately involved 4 million out of 5.5 million workers. But by this time the situation in Ireland had been brought under control.

Only with an established Marxist political leadership could the working class have fully taken advantage of a situation which was pregnant with revolutionary possibilities on both sides of the Irish Sea. But in 1919, no comparable party existed in Ireland or Britain to replicate the role played by the Bolsheviks in Russia.

Although a Communist Party had been established in 1921 in Britain, by 1926 it had already come under the disastrous influence of Stalinism and the perspective of socialism in one country. Stalins intervention in 1926 ensured the lessons of the 1921 Black Friday betrayal of the Triple Alliance by the union bureaucracy were ignored. Instead, the perspective All Power to the [TUC] General Council was imposed and the general strike was defeated. [8]

The revolutionary impulse that led to the formation of a Communist Party in Ireland was similarly aborted by the development of Stalinism.

Thereafter successive Irish governments were generally willing to do the bidding of the British. The Irish state integrated the Catholic Church into every aspect of its operations, and upheld all manner of social backwardness. Over the border Protestant Ulster, with its ferocious anti-Catholic discrimination, gerrymandered elections and paramilitary police, was correctly described as John Bulls political slum.

Only in the late 1960s did these arrangements begin to unravel. As the Trotskyists of the Socialist Labour League pointed out, the primary concern dictating the British Labour governments dispatch of thousands of troops to the North in 1969 was not geo-political, but the threat of a powerful working class movement uniting across the line of partition, breaking up the sectarian Orange state and posing a revolutionary challenge to capitalist rule in Ireland and Britain.

This occurred during a new period of immense revolutionary struggles by the working masses globally, which rocked all the major imperialist powers. In Britain, the class struggle escalated to an intensity greater than between 1919 and 1926.

Knox opposes this approach, arguing that partition was, above all, shaped by Britains geo-political concerns relating to Ireland.

Such concerns, of course, are real. Ireland has for centuries been a strategic location for British war planners, seeking to secure shipping lanes to the British mainland while preventing it becoming a launch-pad for invasion from the west. However, when presented with power, the Irish bourgeoisie repeatedly proved its willingness to succumb to the interests of its imperialist hegemon in these matters.

Under the terms of the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921, the Souths main portsknown as the treaty portswere made available to the Royal Navy. When the British government finally agreed to hand them back in 1938 it was not long before the Irish government, with the outbreak of World War II and the British/US need to develop Northern Ireland as a key military outpost, quietly allowed Allied overflights and interned German prisoners of war.

During the Cold War, Northern Ireland again played a critical role in NATOs war plans against the Soviet Union. Although Ireland refused to formally join NATO, the military alliance was, as Knox himself admits, reliant on Irish radar support. More recently, Shannon airport became an important stopover for NATO and CIA rendition flights. All these examples show to the extent to which claims of Irish neutrality are a hoaxand have been for decades. Rather what is always characterised by the actions of successive Irish governments is the continual bending of the knee to the strongest imperialist power.

Once upon a time this was undoubtedly in the direction of British imperialism, but now the Irish bourgeoisie is pulled between reliance on its former colonial master and agricultural export market Britain, the major destination of its industrial exports, the European Union and the largest source of external investment, the United States.

The real issue behind our disagreement with Knox is over the bankrupt perspective of Irish nationalism, versus the struggle for socialist internationalism. It is over to which social force workers in Ireland should orient, facing, as they do, an unrelenting assault on their living standards and a breakdown of European and world capitalism, of which Brexit and the revived political crisis in Northern Ireland are an expression.

Should they seek alliances with one or other imperialist power, or with the international working class, including its British contingent, on a perspective of world socialist revolution? Should they follow the map of geopolitics, or that of the class struggle?

Knoxs view is the formerand this is the significance of his uncritical, if not glowing, references to the EU, despite Irish workers recent experience with the EU-led troika of the European Central Bank, the IMF and the European Council which imposed billions of austerity cuts on social spending.

Knox rests his forlorn hopes on an Ireland bristling with EU rockets and air defences as a means of protecting the Irish economy from the pressure of its former British hegemon. Under conditions of intense instability and growing inter-imperialist rivalry, with, moreover, the future status of the Northern Ireland border under Brexit entirely unresolved, such harebrained notions resolve to a modest proposal for war between Britain and the EU!

In opposition to Knoxs economic nationalism and politics reduced to imperialist intrigue, we insist that workers in Ireland, in Britain, in Europe and internationally must unite against a common enemy to end all national divisions through social revolution. This perspective must find political expression through the establishment of an Irish section of the International Committee of the Fourth International, which the formation of the Socialist Equality Group is a vital step towards accomplishing.

Concluded

References/further reading:

5: One hundred years since Irelands Easter RisingPart One, Jordan Shilton, posted on 26 March 2016

6. For example: Irish Soviets 1919-23, Robert Nielsen, posted on 8 October 2012.

7. Simon Webb, 1919: Britains Year of Revolution, Pen and Sword History (2016), Kindle location 578.

8. Stalin, Trotsky and the 1926 British General strike, Part Three, Chris Marsden, posted 30 December 2008.
Wednesday morning, a group of soldiers from Operation Sentinel was attacked by a vehicle that reportedly tried to run them over in Levallois-Perret, west of Paris, France, where they are deployed. Of the 10 soldiers, six were wounded, two of them seriously, according to official statements. They were leaving a public residence where they live that has been provided by the city of Levallois.

Operation Sentinel is the anti-terror operation launched by former President Francois Hollande after the January 2015 attacks against Charlie Hebdo. It mobilizes 15,000 soldiers across France.

A suspect was detained a few hours after the event, on the highway between Boulogne and Calais. The man, who was apparently not armed, was nevertheless shot. Aged 37, Hamou B. is reportedly an Algerian living in Sartrouville; the media published his picture. However, as of this writing it was still not formally established that he carried out the attack this morning.

The attack followed another incident Saturday, where an 18-year-old Mauritanian, interned for six months in a psychiatric hospital, tried to force his way through security controls at the Eiffel Tower and threatened soldiers with a knife. He did not resist his arrest by the soldiers, however. His detention was ended Monday after psychological examination found a lack of discernment, and he was sent back to a hospital from which he had been released for a first unaccompanied leave.

The anti-terror section of the Paris prosecutor's office is nevertheless accusing him of attempted assassination of persons endowed with public authority in relation to a terrorist enterprise, and association of wrong-doers in relation to a criminal terrorist enterprise.

The same juridical entity is opening an investigation of the Levallois event on the same charges, though the prefecture is still describing it as being apparently premeditated.

Right after the Levallois event, however, well before the identity and motivations of the driver or even what had happened were clearly established, politicians, the media, and the government were insisting in chorus that it was a terror attack. All insisted it was premeditated, suggesting that it was a planned attack on the French state.

There is no doubt this is a deliberate act, Patrick Balkany, the right-wing mayor of Levallois, told BFMTV. It took place in a dead end in front of the soldiers' barracks. The vehicle clearly waited for them to come out and reach their vehicle and then tried to ram them. There were allegations in Le Parisien that it was a terror attack against the General Directorate of Interior Security, France's internal intelligence service whose headquarters are in Levallois.

Isabelle Balkany, the mayor's wife, tweeted: Odious, premeditated, and voluntary aggression against soldiers of the Sentinel operation in Levallois.

We know it is a deliberate act, it is not an accidental act, asserted Interior Minister Gerard Collomb (formerly of the Socialist Party). The interior and defense ministers both visited the soldiers in hospital amid extensive media coverage.

Questions are continuing to emerge in the media, however. Le Parisien noted that the attack on the soldiers was rapid and confusing. The group of soldiers, it wrote, did not have the time to take down precise details. Ninety minutes after the attack, the paper reported that the wounded soldiers were hit by their own car. According to our sources, the driver's BMW rammed a military vehicle that bounced and hit the group of soldiers.

Another question raised by a witness, which still remains unanswered, is why the soldiers did not shoot.

If ultimately it emerges that it was indeed a terror attack linked to the Islamic State, this would only serve to underscore that France's state of emergency does not prevent terror attacks. These continue despite numerous measures that police mainly use against social protests inside France. The house arrests, bans on protests and strikes, the closure of public and meeting places, the bans on travel, the multiple consecutive detentions for investigation, searches and seizure by day or night, and mass electronic spying on the population do not keep the French people safe.

Increasingly, media pundits on security matters themselves are questioning the wisdom of using the army for anti-terror missions inside France.

Yesterday morning, asked by France Info if the Levallois event was a terror attack, Jean-Charles Brisard of the Terrorism Analysis Center replied: We must wait for details on these events. Since the beginning of the year, we have seen more and more attacks targeting the personnel deployed in Operation Sentinel. This raises the question of whether the operation itself is appropriate, as it has become a real trap. It deploys and exposes these soldiers, who become permanent and visible targets.

In fact, it is above all the NATO powers' wars in Libya and Syria that are responsible for these attacks. The Islamist networks, that were mobilized to provide foot soldiers to these wars launched by NATO, carry out the attacks even though they are well known to the intelligence services across Europe. They are protected because they play a key role in imperialist policy in the Middle East.

To stop the attacks requires above all stopping the military interventions of French and European imperialism and their aggressive actions in the Middle East.

The particularly hysterical reaction of the French political establishment to the latest attacks reflects the growing crisis of newly-elected President Emmanuel Macron's administration. Macron is plummeting in the polls amid rising social anger over his planned austerity policies. Illusions spread by the press that there would be a Macron economic miracle are giving way to the reality that this is a government of the financial aristocracy that plans to dictate deep social cuts to workers.

For the Macron administration, setting up a police state is a priority. The comments of Balkany, Collomb and Co. are the instinctive reaction of a political establishment whose isolation from the overwhelming majority of the population is ever more evident.

For these forces, any event of this kind must serve to justify maintaining the state of emergency, transferring it into common law, and permanently abolishing civil liberties won through sacrifices of entire generations, including in struggles against the Nazi Occupation and the Vichy regime.

Monday, Defense Minister Florence Parly insisted that Operation Sentinel will remain in place as long as it remains useful to the protection of the French people and will soon be adapted so that it continues in the long term.

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe stated yesterday afternoon that our country still faces an elevated threat level, and this remains on the order of the day.
FBI agents raided the home of Paul Manafort, former campaign chairman for Donald Trump, in late July, the Washington Post reported Wednesday. The raid was conducted in the pre-dawn hours of Wednesday, July 26, shortly after Manafort met voluntarily with the staff of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

The raid was based on a search warrant obtained by Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller, who heads the federal investigation into allegations that the Russian government interfered in the US presidential election and that representatives of the Trump campaign collaborated in efforts to damage their Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton.

According to the Post report, The search warrant was wide-ranging and FBI agents working with special counsel Robert Mueller departed the home with various records. At least some of the documents seized in the raid had already been turned over to congressional investigators.

The precise reason for the raid is not clear, but the timing suggests that Mueller was concerned that Manafort had been alerted by the meeting with the Senate staff about the direction his investigation was taking and might withhold or destroy documents before they could be obtained through a grand jury subpoena.

It is equally likely that the raid was intended as a show of force to intimidate Manafort and other potential witnesses in the Russia investigation. If that was the case, it appears to have had the desired effect: Manafort has made no public comment on the raid and there was no media publicity for nearly two weeks, until the brief report appeared in the Post .

Manafort has already provided documents to the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Senate Intelligence Committee and the House Intelligence Committee, which are investigating various aspects of the alleged Russian interference and the claims of Trump campaign collusion with Moscow.

The Post reported that these documents included notes that Manafort took from a June 2016 meeting with Donald Trump Jr. and a Russian lawyer at Trump Tower.

Manafort is the Trump campaign official with the longest and highest-level connections with wealthy Russians and pro-Russian elements in Ukraine, including the former president of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, who was driven out of office in 2014 in a US-backed right-wing coup.

Press reports suggest that Mueller is investigating a number of financial matters involving Manafort but unrelated to Russia and the Trump campaign, including the mortgage on his home in the Hamptons and payments for his work as a political adviser in Ukraine.

This tends to confirm speculation in the American press that Manafort is a prime target of the Mueller investigation, which wants to turn him into a major witness against Trump as the anti-Russian campaign unfolds.
The Pentagon is planning to launch drone air strikes on the island of Mindanao in the southern Philippines, NBC News revealed Monday citing two unnamed US defense officials. The story was published as US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson met with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte in Manila in the wake of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum held there over the weekend. The island of Mindanao, with a population of over 22 million, has been under martial law for nearly three months as the Philippine military has carried out a bombing campaign, with the direct support and guidance of US military forces, on alleged Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) elements in the city of Marawi. What has been done to the people of Marawi is a war crime. Hundreds of civilians have been killed and over 400,000 driven from their homes, turned into internally displaced refugees. They are scattered across Mindanao and the Visayas in search of shelter in the midst of the typhoon season, often malnourished and some even starving. Martial law serves the interests of US imperialism. The US military was involved in the initial attack by Philippine forces that led to the declaration of martial law, special forces operatives have participated in assaults carried out throughout the city, and US surveillance planes have directed the daily bombing barrages. Since his election a year ago, Duterte sought to rebalance Philippine diplomatic and economic ties toward Beijing and, to a certain extent, Moscow, and proved intractable to Washingtons interests. Over the course of his predecessors term in office, US imperialism had through legal and military means sharply escalated its war drive against China, using Manila as it leading proxy in the region. When the volatile and fascistic Duterte took office, Washington funded his murderous war on drugs, but, when he began to distance himself from US dictates, the US State Department found that they were concerned with human rights. The pressure of this campaign only opened up a far wider gulf between Manila and Washington, as Duterte lashed back denouncing US crimes during the Philippine American War. Clearly, alternative and more drastic means to either control or eliminate Duterte were needed. Washington built the military of its former colony, and the top brass were all trained in and loyal to the US. As Duterte flew to Moscow to meet with Putin to negotiate a potential military agreement, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, working with Washington and behind the back of the Philippine president, launched an attack on the private army of a ruling class family in Marawi which they claimed had pledged loyalty to ISIS. The attack allowed Lorenzana to declare martial law and compel the president to return to the Philippines.

Washington began calling the shots in Marawi and effectively throughout the country. Duterte disappeared from public life for two weeks. Lorenzana, using the authority of martial law, restored joint maritime exercises with US forces which Duterte had scrapped as they clearly targeted against China. The US Embassy in Manila began directly interacting with the military brass, circumventing the presidential palace of Malacanang entirely. Duterte reemerged to the limelight as a man disciplined by Washington. The message was clear, if he wished to remain in power he had to toe the US line. Washington had no problems with his war on drugs, which has killed over 12,000 people in the past year, provided he served US interests. Tillerson declared that he would not be raising issues of human rights in his meeting with Duterte. In a press conference with Tillerson, Duterte groveled. We are friends. We are allies, he declared. I am your humble friend in Southeast Asia. Washington is not content with securing Dutertes loyalty, however. In essence they are looking to effectively re-colonize the Philippines, establishing military bases throughout the country, and directly dictating the course of its politics. Already Washington has begun operating with the hubris of the colonial master. The plan for the US to launch a campaign of drone bombing in Mindanao is in an advanced stage of readiness, yet by their own admission, neither the civilian government, nor the Philippine military brass have been informed of the plan. In July, General Paul Selva, vice chairman of the US Joint Chiefs, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that Washington intended to give a name to its mission in the Philippines, a move which would secure greater funding for the US operations in the country. Selva stated, Particularly in the fragile areas of the southern Philippines, I think its worth considering whether or not we reinstate a named operation, not only to provide for the resources that are required, but to give the Pacific Command commander and the field commanders in the Philippines the kinds of authorities they need to work with indigenous Philippine forces to actually help them be successful in that battle space. Washington already has boots on the groundspecial forces participating in the battles in Marawi, and its surveillance planes determining targets in the bombing campaigns. An escalation beyond this to additional kinds of authorities would involve the direct US bombing of the city. The Duterte administration attempted weakly to fend off the US encroachment on Philippine sovereignty, responding to the reports that US would begin a bombing campaign in the country by declaring that the combatants in Marawi were ISIS inspired. The US-Philippine Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) of 1951 only allows US combat operations in the country if it is directly attacked by a foreign power. Herein lies the significance of the labeling of what is essentially the private army of a ruling class family as ISIS. Under the terms of the MDT, Washington can argue that the forces in Marawi are a foreign invasion force.

The fiery anti-imperialist posturing of Duterte is gone, and his press secretary is weakly attempting to preserve national sovereignty by claiming that the enemy combatantslargely children and young men recruited and armed by a section of the Mindanao eliteare only inspired by ISIS. The Armed Forces of the Philippines meanwhile put out a press statement, saying, we appreciate Pentagons reported desire to help the Philippines, but added that we have not yet received formal notice of the offer. The ultimate target of Washingtons drive to re-colonize the Philippines is China. On August 4, U.S. Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission Michael Klecheski opened a Joint Maritime Law Enforcement Training Center (JMLETC) on the island of Palawan, which is the closest to the disputed South China Sea. At the facility US forces will be working with and training the Philippine military in order to enhance the countrys maritime domain awareness capabilities and to stop large-scale weapons from transiting through or near Philippine territorial waters, including by means of the use of force. Large-scale weapons near Philippine territorial waters is a clear reference to the stationing by the Chinese of materiel on the disputed Spratly Islands. The events of the past three months in the Philippines reveal yet again that US imperialism will go to any lengths to achieve its ends. US forces manufactured the threat of ISIS out of a private army largely comprised of child soldiers, oversaw the bombing of a beautiful city killing hundreds of civilians and turning four hundred thousand more into poverty-stricken refugeesall to orchestrate the declaration of martial law and set the stage for military dictatorship.
Another reactionary, racialist campaign has been launched against white artist Dana Schutz, whose painting of black youth Emmett Till, murdered in Mississippi in 1955, came under attack in March when it was shown as part of the Whitney Museums Biennial in New York City.

Bostons Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA), which is staging a solo show of Schutzs work that runs until November 26, is the target this time.

To their credit, nearly 80 artists and architects, members or members-elect of the National Academy of Art, have defended the new Schutz show and praised the ICA for refusing to bow to forces in favor of censorship or quelling dialogue.

During the Whitney Biennial, protests began the first day the show was open to the public, March 17, when one African American artist blocked Schutzs painting, Open Casket, from view. Others later took similar action.

This was followed by an open letter to the Whitney, written by British-born artist Hannah Black and signed by two dozen other black artists. The letter demanded not only that the painting be removed from the Biennial, but that it be destroyed and not entered into any market or museum.

This communication contended that Open Casket should not be acceptable to anyone who cares or pretends to care about Black people because it is not acceptable for a white person to transmute Black suffering into profit and fun, though the practice has been normalized for a long time.

There was a general feeling that with the demand that the Till painting be destroyed, reminiscent of Nazi painting and book burnings in the 1930s, the identity politics crowd had gone too far. The New York Times, in the person of longtime art critic Roberta Smith, intervened, as we noted, to simultaneously register disapproval of the most strident arguments of Hannah Black and company while affirming and reinforcing the basic tenets of identity politics and racialized thinking generally.

These reactionary, racialist forces are now back in action, in Boston. There is no improvement in their arguments or witch-hunting methods, nor in the attitude of the Times. However, as noted, some artists have spoken out this time.

A group of self-described local artists, activists and community members decided to protest when they learned that the ICA was planning a Dana Schutz exhibition, at which, incidentally, Open Casket would not be displayed. Nine of their rank met with curator Eva Respini and ICA staff on July 20 for three hours.

Not satisfied with the results of that conversation, the group penned an open letter July 25 to the museum. The document is preposterous. It takes for granted everything it needs to prove and makes entirely unsubstantiated accusations.

This is a typical passage: Hearing what you have had to say so far, we do not feel that the ICA is making a responsible decision as an institution of art and culture. At this point we are unconvinced that ICA has the will to challenge the egregiousness of continued institutional backing of this type of violent artifact. Peoples humanity cannot be up for debate. We must challenge directors and curators of cultural institutions to face the moral gravitas of reckless cultural insensibilities of artists in their charge and not waver due to the weight of their bottom lines.

What they apparently mean by a violent artifact is Schutzs entirely legitimate response to the mutilation and murder of Emmett Till, part of the history of racist brutality in the US. Tills killers were functioning to enforce Jim Crow segregation in the South. The origins of that system were bound up in the late 19th century with the need of the American ruling elite to divide the white and black poor in the South, as well as to confront the emergence of the industrial working class in the North.

Just as the murders of Joe Hill and Frank Little of the IWW and Sacco and Vanzetti are part of the history of every section of the American working class, so too is the cruel killing of Emmett Till. Artists of every color and ethnicity have the right to represent these crimes in as honest and forceful a manner as possible.

The Boston open letter goes on, In Open Casket Dana Schutz paints over and erases the passion of a sorrowing, grieving mother, addressing the world with her truth. We were hoping to hear the ICA resist the narrative that Black people can be sacrificed for the greater good.

What does this possibly mean? It is perfectly obvious to every person of good will that Schutz was paying tribute and bringing a terrible tragedy to the attention of a wider public.

The letter complains that the exhibition will do grave, cultural harm, without providing the slightest evidence. Even without Open Casket in the exhibition, the protesters claim, the institution will be participating in condoning the co-opting of Black pain and showing the art world and beyond that people can co-opt sacred imagery rooted in oppression and face little consequence, contributing to and perpetuating centuries-old racist iconography that ultimately justifies state and socially sanctioned violence on Black people.

There is a type of political disorientation and self-delusion here that borders on madness. Again, the letter does not provide any proof that Schutz, much less the ICA, is condoning Black pain and participating in the co-opting of sacred imagery. The assertion that Schutz is somehow participating in perpetuating centuries-old racist iconography is slanderous and absurd.

The open letter authors do not represent the Black community in Boston or anywhere else. They represent a tiny layer of affluent, ambitious petty-bourgeois operators who want to monopolize images of Black pain for their own advancement and gain.

They make a series of provocative demands. They urge, Please pull the show. This is not about censorship. This is about institutional accountability, while still managing to suggest, presumably as the second best possibility, The ICA should acknowledge publicly and in the text of the exhibition that a white femme artist tampered with the intention of a grieving Black mother to humanely show in undeniable detail the brutality endured by her 14 year old adolescent childthat this is in line with a long tradition of white supremacy obscuring and ultimately erasing narratives of the continued genocide of Black and indigenous peoples.

Why not insist the artist set herself on fire in the museums lobby?

One could go on, but why bother? This is a deeply reactionary campaign, and ICA officials have been far too polite in the face of this blatant attempt at censorship.

The New York Times, in its inimitable fashion, headlined its article on the Boston protest, Outrage Follows a Painter from the Whitney Biennial to Boston. Whose outrage? What outrage? The outrage of this self-serving crowd of racialists?

If the facts were made public, the overwhelming majority of museum goers and ordinary residents, black and white, would be appalled, yes, outraged, by this campaign itself.

Dozens of National Academy of Art members or members-elect issued their own open letter August 3. It reads in part, We would like to voice our unequivocal support for Dana Schutz, who was recently excoriated by a group of Boston artists who were demanding that her current exhibition at the ICA in Boston be canceled, a demand meant to penalize Schutz We support the ICA-Boston and its decision to exhibit the works of Dana Schutz, and to maintain programming that fosters conversations between people with different points of view, especially given our current political climate of intolerance.

The list of signatories includes Marina Abramovic, Chuck Close, Ed Ruscha, Dread Scott, Jack Whitten, Cindy Sherman, Catherine Opie and Kara Walker.

The artists should be congratulated. There needs to be far more vocal and public opposition to this type of rotten, repressive activity.
The destruction of Grenfell Tower in North Kensington and the murder of a still unconfirmed number of residents have horrified millions worldwide. But for all the leading British political parties, the disaster did not come out of the blue. The dangers of flammable and incorrectly installed cladding have been known for decades.

As early as 1988, the British authorities introduced a building regulation, BR135, to oversee external cladding systems on residential tower blocks. In 1991, the fire that raced up all 11 storeys of a residential tower block in Knowsley Heights, Liverpool, underscored the warning that retrofitting elderly tower blocks with external rain screen and insulation created potential deadly fire risks. A gap between the cladding and the wall of the building functioned as a chimney, allowing fire to spread vertically and with terrifying speed.

Between 1990 and 1999, serious fires internationally, in Winnipeg, Munich, Philadelphia and Te Papa, New Zealand, underscored the emerging threat. In the United States, flammable cladding similar to the type used at Grenfell was banned in 1998. US building codes currently require new buildings or major refurbishments to come with sprinkler systems, fire alarms, emergency loudspeakers, multiple escape routes and stairwells that expel smoke.

In 1999, there was another, this time fatal, fire in the UK.

One afternoon, a fourth-floor flat in a 13-storey tower block caught fire in Irvine, Scotland. Flames leapt from the flat, tore upward over the external cladding and consumed the living rooms of all eight flats directly above. William Linton, a disabled worker, died in the blaze, while four people, including an 85-year-old woman, were taken to hospital. Firefighters warned temperatures reached between 700 and 800 Centigrade. If the blaze had started at night, there would have been many more deaths.

In response, the House of Commons Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee heard evidence little more than a month later. The record of the hearing and submitted evidence, available online, stand as an indictment of the entire British political system.

Committee members in attendance included MPs from Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats. Having attended these hearings, the parties involved know exactly the risks posed by cladding.

A submission from the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) noted:

The primary risk therefore of a cladding system is that of providing a vehicle for assisting uncontrolled fire spread up the outer lace of the building, with the strong possibility of the fire re-entering the building at higher levels via windows or other unprotected areas in the face of the building. This in turn poses a threat to the life safety of the residents above the fire floor.

The FBU warned that fighting fire externally in a building of over 25 metres in height was impossible because no fire appliances could reach beyond this height. Grenfell Tower, like hundreds of tower blocks in Britain, is more than 67 metres tall. Firefighters were therefore dependent on fighting an external fire from within a burning building.

The FBU stated unequivocally:

It is for these reasons that we believe that all cladding used on multi-storey buildings over 25 metres in height and the fixing systems should be completely non-combustible, or achieve a fire resisting standard equivalent to the external walls.

The FBU also warned that current regulations were inadequate for dealing with fires spreading vertically and that fire safety testing was unrealistic.

The committee also heard evidence from the Fire Safety Development Group, representing companies manufacturing fire safety equipment. This pointed to widespread concern amongst many fire fighters about the safety of external cladding systems consisting of metal-faced foam plastics. These systems will generally have Class 0 fire performance [to inhibit the spread of fire across a surface], but in real fires the foam plastic lining can ignite and burn. This helps to spread the fire via the building fabric and there will be an increase in the generation of smoke and toxic fumes.

The committee recommendation was weaker than the FBU demands. We believe all external cladding systems should be required either to be entirely non-combustible, or to be proven through full-scale testing not to pose an unacceptable level of risk in terms of fire spread  (emphasis added).

What an acceptable risk entailed was anyones guess.

Letters were sent to local authorities and social housing landlords to this effect, and the report produced changes in building regulations. But in a further erosion, the regulation updates in England and Wales were still less clearly worded than those in Scotland.

After 2005 in Scotland, all materials used for external cladding and associated cavities were finally required to be non-combustible and the entire system should inhibit the spread of fire. In England and Wales, however, materials of limited combustibility were deemed acceptable as insulation material, while less-restrictive conditions were placed on the system as a whole.

In the aftermath of the June 14 Grenfell fire, not one of Scotlands 300 or so residential tower blocks, most of which have been refurbished, have been identified as having external cladding systems comparably dangerous to that installed at Grenfell Tower.

Why did the Labour Party, which was in power in both Westminster and Holyrood at the time, consider it appropriate for tower block residents in Glasgows concentration of tower blocks over 20 storeys to be better protected than those in London? This goes to the heart of the devolution of powers to regional assemblies in Scotland and Wales, which was instigated by Tony Blair to enable the fragmentation and destruction of Britain-wide standards and provisions while dividing the working class against itselfall in the name of greater local democracy and accountability!

This is a far cry from suggesting that Scotlands tower blocks and public buildings are without problems.

Only three tower blocks, in Ayr, are reported to have internal sprinkler systems. On at least two occasions, external panels installed during refurbishments have caught fire.

In 2009 in the Gorbals, Glasgow, a 61-year-old man, Thomas Smith, was killed and several people needed treatment when newly installed panelling protecting a balcony from the elements caught fire. One of the fire officers in charge said, In my 20-plus years in the fire service I have never seen such a fierce fire.

In 2015 in Springburn, Glasgow, another fire involving similar balcony panelling spread over several floors. Dripping plastic carried the fire downwards as well as upwards. Remedial steps in both cases amounted to blocking off the routes used by the fire to travel from one flat to another.

Potentially dangerous cladding has also been found in schools and hospitals. Reynobond PE aluminium, used at Grenfell Tower, has been used in 44 Scottish schools. As with the rest of the UK, no plans are in place to remove it, as none of buildings are over 18 metres in heightthe arbitrary height set for removal after Grenfell. Napier University in Edinburgh has, however, begun removing similar cladding from one of its student halls of residence. Kooltherm K15 Rainscreen, also used in Grenfell, has been installed on a recently completed 14-storey super-hospital in Glasgow, the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde have no plans to remove the material, either.

For its part, the Scottish National Partys austerity drive has resulted in the loss of 1,024 firefighter jobs since 2010, a 13 percent cut.
A UK Foreign Office spokesman yesterday said the UK would continue to work with the US and our international partners to maintain pressure on North Korea.

The statement continued, We have been consistently clear and forthright in our condemnation of North Koreas destabilising and illegal behaviour, including through support for UN Security Council resolutions to bring in sanctions that will limit North Koreas ability to pursue its nuclear weapons programme.

Downing Streets declaration was made in the immediate aftermath of President Donald Trump threatening Pyongyang with fire and fury in response to North Koreas nuclear weapons programme. It is designed to contrast with the European Union and Germanys expressed concern at what Chancellor Angela Merkels government called a rhetorical escalation between the US and North Korea.

A German Foreign Ministry spokesman, Martin Schaefer, said further saber rattling was unhelpful and called on all parties to show restraint. Schaefer added that Germany backs a proposal by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson for talks with North Korea, while the EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherinis spokeswoman, Catherine Ray, said a lasting peace and denuclearization of the Korean peninsula must be achieved through peaceful means. For Mogherini, that excludes military action.

Whatever the differences between the positions of Tillerson and Trump, the UK Conservative government has staked its post-Brexit future on being the most loyal ally of the US in all its military actions.

While in Australia on July 27, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson told an audience of Australian business heads and politicians at the Lowy Institute that the UK would commit UK aircraft carriers to secure freedom of navigation exercises in the waters of the South China Sea.

One of the first things we will do with the two new colossal aircraft carriers that we have just built is send them on a freedom of navigation operation to this area, he said. They would patrol just a few miles off Chinas coast, to vindicate our belief in the rules-based international system and in the freedom of navigation through those waterways which are absolutely vital for world trade.

British Defence Minister Michael Fallon, who accompanied the foreign secretary on the trip, added, We have the right of freedom of navigation and we will exercise it.

Last year Britains Royal Air Force sent four military aircraft to Japan for joint exercises in the same region. While in Australia, Fallon reminded his hosts, We flew RAF Typhoons through the South China Sea last October and we will exercise that right whenever we next have the opportunity to do so, whenever we have ships or planes in the region.

Tensions in the South China Sea have escalated due to the belligerent statements and actions of the Trump administration, which is challenging Chinas control over the Spratly Islandsconstructed or expanded in the South China Sea by Beijing.

Under the Obama administration, the US Navy sent guided missile destroyers on three earlier occasions within the 12-nautical-mile territorial limit around Chinese islets. Earlier this year, the US sent two bombers over the region, just a week after a US guided-missile destroyer deliberately intruded within the 12-nautical-mile territorial limit claimed by China around Triton Island in the Paracel Islands.

During a visit designed to secure post-Brexit trade agreements, the two Tory government ministers agreed with their Australian counterparts that the two countries would strengthen arrangements to share classified information on defence, security and counter-terrorism operations and conduct cooperative military activities in the Asia-Pacific region. They also discussed the deployment of soldiers in domestic counter-terrorism operations based on the UKs Operation Tempererunder which troops were deployed on the streets of Britain in May after the Manchester bombingand legislation proposed recently in Australia.

After meeting with Johnson, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said the two had discussed the issue of the South China Sea as one of the pressing challenges of the Asia-Pacific region. The South China Sea is one of the busiest commercial sea routes in the world, carrying $5 trillion worth of trade a year.

Just two days after his Australian speech, Johnson warned in response to a long-range missile test by Pyongyang, The UK will stand alongside our allies and partners as we confront the growing threat North Korea poses to regional and international security.

During the campaign for the June 8 British General Election Johnson said that North Korea must be disarmed. Speaking at the UN Security Council, he said, Britain stands alongside our allies in making clear that North Korea must obey the UN and halt its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmesdisarming in a complete, verifiable, and irreversible manner.

Today US, British and Norwegian armed forces are concluding a 10-day North Sea war games exercise that began almost immediately after Johnsons declarations in Sydney.

Taking place off the northwest coast of Scotland, Britains Carrier Strike Group linked up with the US aircraft carrier USS George H. W. Bush in a naval exercise codenamed Exercise Saxon Warrior.

The operation included 15 warships from various NATO countries, more than 100 aircraft and nearly 10,000 armed forces personnel. Among other ships deployed were two Type 23 frigates--HMS Westminster and HMS Iron Dukethe destroyer USS Donald Cook, missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea and the Norwegian frigate HNoMS Helge Ingstad.

The exercise paused briefly as the UKs just launched 3 billion aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth--currently undergoing sea trials before entering servicesailed alongside it. Measuring 280 metres and weighing 65,000 tonnes, the HMS Queen Elizabeth is the largest ship ever built for the Royal Navy. Britains second new carrier, HMS Prince of Wales, is being fitted out ahead of its expected launch in 2020.

The USS George H. W. Bush took part following its deployment in the Middle East, where its jet fighters conducted more than 30 strikes against ISIS targets, according to the Daily Mail .

The US Navy said the exercise was carried out to develop theatre-specific combat skills and enhance cooperation between multi-national forces. It would offer a myriad of challenges to the multi-national and multi-platform force by creating a diverse and unpredictable war environment based on fictional geo-political and military scenarios.

The UK Defence Journal cited Commander Eric Retz, US Navy Carrier Strike Group 2s operations officer, who said, Saxon Warrior will test every aspect of our war-fighting capabilities-from air wing strikes to the self-defence of the carrier.

Ahead of HMS Queens Elizabeths launch, British armed forces personnel have been embedded with the USS George H. W. Bush, to learn and build their individual and ultimately collective skill set, said Commodore Andrew Bretton, the commander of the Royal Navys carrier strike group.

Britain has not been able to deploy its own aircraft carrier since the Ark Royal was decommissioned in 2011.

Bretton told the Press Association, We have been out of carrier strike operations for several years, so the opportunity to learn from our American cousins is extremely welcome, and has been really important in enabling us to accelerate that programme.

Captain Jerry Kyd, HMS Queen Elizabeth Commanding Officer, described the US-led fleet as an awesome embodiment of maritime power projection. And given that the United Kingdoms Carrier Strike Group Commander and his staff are embedded on board the US carrier for Saxon Warrior shows the closeness of our relationship with the US Navy and the importance that both nations place on the delivery of the UKs Carrier Strike programme.

Kyd emphasised, HMS Queen Elizabeth is at the start of her journey to generate to full warfighting capability, but we are working hard to ready ourselves to take our place in operations and the line of battle alongside our closest allies.
The criminal machinations of Volkswagen are not exhausted by the diesel emissions scandal and the formation of an auto cartel. The history of Germanys largest automaker, which began under Hitlers Nazi regime, has once again caught up with VW. Research conducted by broadcasters NDR and SWR, as well as the Suddeutsche Zeitung, confirms that during the period of Brazils military dictatorship, which ruled the country from 1964 to 1985, VW participated in the persecution of regime opponents.

The firms own plant security service at its facility in Sao Paulo operated like an intelligence service, according to the research. It spied on VW employees, prepared lists of political opponents which ended up in the hands of the authorities, arrested militant workers and transferred them to the political police and enabled the arrest of workers by the military police on the grounds of the plant, thereby handed them over to be tortured. The companys chief executive was informed of the arrests as early as 1979.

Public Broadcaster ARD screened a documentary entitled Collaborators? VW and the Brazilian military dictatorship on July 24. The film showed how VW do Brasil, Volkswagens subsidiary in Brazil, used plant security to spy upon workers opposed to the regime in the plant and in their private lives. The mere suspicion that they could be involved in trade union or communist activities was sufficient to justify VW handing workers over to the military junta. Hundreds of oppositional workers were tortured in prisons and killed as a result.

VW workers in Sao Paulo who survived have been targeting the VW company in Germany for years and demanding compensation. Two years ago, they filed a class action lawsuit and the state prosecutor in Sao Paulo has since been investigating VW.

An interview with the now 91-year-old former VW chief Carl Hahn, who was a member of the supervisory board of the companys subsidiary in Brazil at the time, exposes the ongoing and persistent callousness of the company. Hahn denied outright having known anything about the collaboration. Asked about the latest investigations, he responded cynically, They should just do it; we have more important things to get on with here.

Hahn added that the company had the desire to move forward before noting with a smug smile, However, I can tell you that we werent communists.

The VW spokesman in Wolfsburg, Germany said as little as possible. Asked about the investigations, he blandly noted, There are different interpretations, accusations must of course be proven. We should wait a little and not jump to premature conclusions.

A central figure in the 45-minute documentary is the former toolmaker Lucio Bellentani, who tells his life story. Shortly after the military coup in 1964, the 19-year-old began his career at VW do Brasil. He soon became active on the periphery of the Brazilian Communist Party.

In the summer of 1972, secret police held a pistol to his back, arrested him and led him away in handcuffs during the night shift in the pressing plant. The armed VW plant security force and VW staff were on the scene. The first interrogation occurred in the human resources department. He was beaten, and ordered to give the names of other trade union and party activists. Since he remained silent, they brought him to the notorious prison of the political police (DOPS).

Bellentanis only crime was the distribution of leaflets and organisation of discussion circles. He encountered other VW colleagues in prison and still cannot forget their desperate cries. His wife was only allowed to visit him with their two small children after 47 days of imprisonment and torture. He was released after two years.

Although Lucio Bellentani has retained his humor, he is marked by this period to the present day. He and a number of former colleagues have been meeting up for years and have absolutely no intention of letting VW off the hook. They therefore have placed a lot of hope in the class action lawsuit, which is based on their testimony.

But VW continues to play for time. Former VW chief historian Manfred Krieger, who visited Brazil in 2014 and called for a memorial for the workers, was laid off in the autumn of 2016. He was forbidden to give interviews for the documentary.

VW subsequently hired the Bielefeld-based historian Christopher Kopper, son of the long-serving spokesman for the board of Deutsche Bank, Helmar Kopper, in hopes that he would place the companys interests first in the investigation of the brutal methods of suppression employed by VW do Brasil.

But contrary to expectations, the historian, who is to present his final report in the autumn, came to similar conclusions to the research conducted by NDR, SWR and the Suddeutsche Zeitung, which evaluated investigation files, internal VW papers from the period in question, documents of the VW supervisory board, reports from the Foreign Ministry and classified papers from the DOPS torture chambers under the military dictatorship.

The key finding is clear: The picture emerging from all of this is that VW did not only collaborate and assist the regime, but was an independent actor in the repression. A good collaborator.

While VW do Brasil persecuted militant workers and handed them over to the goons of the military dictatorship, it was simultaneously employing and protecting high-ranking Nazi collaborators.

Following the opening of VWs new plant in Sao Paulo in 1959, one of the first to be employed there was Franz Stangl. The SS captain was a participant in the Nazis T4 euthanasia program and obtained the class I and II War Merit Cross with distinction, according to a subsequent court ruling. In 1942, he received a promotion to commandant of the Sobibor and Treblinka concentration camps.

After the war, he fled to Brazil, like many other high-ranking Nazis. There, he worked for eight years undisturbed under his own name in VW do Brasils plant maintenance. It remains unclear whether he was involved in the plant security service. He built a house close by, where the war criminal being sought around the globe was able to live unmolested.

Asked whether he was aware that Stangl had been employed by VW do Brasil under his own name for years, former VW chief Hahn answered, We certainly didnt know every concentration camp commandants name and that those who came from Germany would be employed there is, I think, a matter of course.

Without the research of Simon Wiesenthal, who tracked down Nazi war criminals around the globe, Stangl would probably never have been identified or arrested. In March 1967, Wiesenthal complained in a letter to North Rhine-Westphalias Justice Minister Josef Neuberger that the Volkswagen plant in Sao Paulo made available to Stangl its lawyer, Dr. Garcia, who is of course seeking to resist the extradition. Basileu Garcia was considered one of Brazils top prosecutors at the time. In addition, according to Wiesenthal, German industrial circles were applying considerable pressure to Brazilian business circles to hinder the extradition.

Stangl was arrested in Sao Paulo on 28 February, 1967, and despite the efforts at resistance extradited to Germany. It would take another four years before he was sentenced by a court in Dusseldorf to life imprisonment. The ruling was accessory to murder in 400,000 cases.

Shortly after Stangls arrest, then VW chief executive Friedrich Wilhelm Schultz-Wink justified the employment of Stangl by saying, In addition, Brazilian law forbids asking any questions of or collecting information on workers or employees. In light of the collaboration with the Brazilian military and persecution of oppositional workers, it would be hard to make a more cynical statement. Incidentally, Schultz-Wink was himself a member of the Nazi Party.

The VW concern, together with the Social Democrat-Green government in Lower Saxony, has yet to comment on VWs collaboration with the military dictatorship or the Stangl case.

What has been the response of the IG Metall trade union and the works councilors imbedded in VW? The answer is a stony silence. Neither the IG Metall nor the works council in Wolfsburg has taken a position on the matter. Not a single word of protest, no call to the VW board that it may wish to at least apologize for the criminal acts against Brazilian workers.

This feckless and subservient behavior of the trade union and works council can only surprise those who have a completely uncritical relationship with them or defend the unions nationalist policies.

During a massive general strike in Brazil in 1979, which also included VW workers, a small delegation of VW workers from Sao Paulo visited Wolfsburg to confront the VW board of directors with the criminal machinations at VW do Brasil. One of them openly challenged then VW chief executive Toni Schmucker during a trade union conference in Wolfsburg city hall and reported on the collaboration between VWs plant security force and the military dictatorship.

The VW board downplayed the situation and maintained a low profile, but IG Metall did not lift a finger. There is no indication of any solidarity rallies, and there is not even a record of notes of protest to the board of management. The current evasion by the trade union is a clear sign that IG Metall not only displayed a complete lack of solidarity with their Brazilian colleagues at the time, but also bore joint responsibility for their persecution.

Even now, when VWs own company historian has been forced to confirm this grim episode, IG Metall and the works council stand behind company management to a man. Workers must draw far-reaching conclusions from this, and not only at VW. The huge crisis in the auto industry will spare no-one, and this will above all require a bitter struggle for jobs and wages, which can only be waged with a socialist orientation.

The example of the struggle by former VW do Brasil workers illustrates how workers confront a united front of company management, trade unions and the political establishment. The lawsuits filed by the former VW workers risk grinding to a halt without the workers having obtained justice or compensation. Without a global alliance of VW workers, which first and foremost demands a break with the pro-capitalist trade unions, the workers rights cannot be defended.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - A former Tallahassee piano teacher accused of sexually abusing a child in an after-school program has been arrested.

Jeffrey William Henry, 52, is accused of committing sexual battery upon a child from the years 2007 - 2011 when the child was between the ages of 5 - 9 years old.

The abuse is alleged to have taken place while the student was receiving piano lessons at the School of Arts and Sciences at 3208 Thomasville Road in Tallahassee.

The Tallahassee Police Department said the agency is working closely with the School of Arts and Sciences and Stubbs Music Center to review records and collect evidence.

The probable cause affidavit says Henry performed sexual acts in front of the child, touched her inappropriately and showed her pornographic images.

Such incidents may number more than 100, according to documents.

The victim only described the abuse to her mother in July of 2016 when her mom was trying to talk to her about bad people that may try to hurt her, the affidavit said.

The mother then sent an anonymous letter to the School of Arts and Sciences that said Henry had molested her child and urged the school to fire him. After receiving the letter, the after-school program director told investigators, the school stopped allowing Henry to provide lessons.

In an interview with investigators, Henry, arrested Wednesday, was asked what should happen to someone convicted of molesting a child.

Initially, Henry said he had no opinion. But when pressed, according to the probable cause affidavit, he said that "the person should 'probably go to jail. Then they should get some counseling.'"

He is charged with sexual asault of a victim under age 12 and with lewd and lascivious behavior on a victim less than age 16.

TPD investigators are asking people who believe they were victims of Henry to call them at (850) 891-4200.

If someone has information about the crime they may also call Crime Stoppers at (850) 574-TIPS.

MOBILE USERS: Download our WTXL news app on your Apple and Android devices for the latest from South Georgia and North Florida. Also, download our WTXL Weather Now app for Apple and Android devices to get the latest local weather wherever you go.
THOMASVILLE, Ga. (WTXL) - New residential students at Thomas University are moving into their on-campus residence halls Thursday and will have new student orientation Friday.

About 120 new students plus their family members will be on campus Friday for the orientation.

MOBILE USERS: Download our WTXL news app on your Apple and Android devices for the latest from South Georgia and North Florida. Also, download our WTXL Weather Now app for Apple and Android devices to get the latest local weather wherever you go.
LOWNDES COUNTY, Ga. (WTXL) - The parents of Kendrick Johnson have been ordered to pay nearly 300,000 dollars in attorney fees to those they accused of killing their son and the parties they say covered it up.

The ruling from Lowndes County Superior Court Judge Richard Porter stems from a $100 million dollar wrongful death lawsuit filed by the parents in 2015

The lawsuit accused two brothers of killing their son.

The lawsuit also claimed in-part that the members of the board of education did not properly investigate a 2009 incident involving an altercation on a school bus between Johnson and another student while on a school trip to north Georgia.

In August of 2016, Judge Porter ruled that a long list of the people who were sued by the family of Johnson are entitled to get some of their attorneys' fees reimbursed.

Johnson's body was found under mysterious circumstances in a rolled up gym mat at the old Lowndes High School gym in 2013.
George Hansen and his attorney David Allen stand as jurors leave a Yakima County Superior Courtroom Tuesday. Hansen is accused of sexually assaulting an employee of his law firm. (DONALD W. MEYERS/Yakima Herald-Republic)
People sign up Tuesday night to speak to the Prosser School Board about the suspension of two district employees who posted anti-immigrant comments on Facebook. (Cameron Probert/Tri-City Herald)
Johanna Shieh is a junior at West Valley High School and is a member of the Yakima Herald-Republics Unleashed program for teen journalists. 
Despite months of unrest and protests against ultra-Orthodox men being drafted into the IDF, the months of July and August are bringing a period of relative calm.

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Ultra-Orthodox extremist groups are rushing to declare victory, claiming, "The message has trickled down. Haredi soldiers are no longer passing through here (Mea Shearim)." However, moderate elements aren't convinced and claim, "The police used a heavy hand against attackers and they have relaxed."

Ultra-Orthodox protestors and the police (:  )

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Police and ultra-Orthodox protestors

The leaders of the protests and unrest against the conscription lawwhich have including the burning of effigies dressed as IDF soldiers, physical attacks and intimidationare the Jerusalem-based Lithuanian Faction.

Officially, while some have reservations about physically attacking soldiers, the faction's leader, Rabbi Shmuel Auerbach, stated that it was permissible to attack and humiliate Haredi soldiers.

Rabbi Avraham Boimel, a central figure in the Jerusalem Faction and a close associate of Auerbach, said that the goal of the protests was to make it clear that "there is no such thing as an ultra-Orthodox soldier."

Boimel blamed violent incidents on those wearing uniforms who entered their neighborhoods provocatively to prove to residents that a Haredi soldier is a legitimate thing. Boimel also blamed the police for provoking riots with their presence.

Photo: Israel Police

"Soldiers no longer pass thereand not because they are afraid, but because they realized it was not appropriate," said Boimel.

"This phenomenon has returned to its true dimensions, and no one hears any more about the riots, because sanity and the truth always prevail. The ultra-Orthodox public made its point: A soldier and an ultra-Orthodox Jew are two opposite things."

A source in the Jerusalem District Police said, "The policy of zero tolerance permeates to the other side. The same group of Haredim that are causing unrest realize that they will not achieve their goal through force. This policy also comes with the collection of evidence. We are not only arresting rioters, but we are also identifying where they're coming from by using security cameras."

The tough police policy is demonstrated not only by the amount of arrests, but also by the amount of indictments filed against rioters.

"Since the beginning of the protests, the State Attorney's Office has issued dozens of indictments against rioters. Intelligence activities will not stop, the policy of police dressing as soldiers will continue and the reality is that any ultra-Orthodox who wants to attack a soldier thinks twice," added the same police official.

Lt. Col. (res.) Rabbi Rami Ravad, former chief rabbi of the Air Force and one of the heads of the IDF's program to integrate Haredi soldiers into the IDF, believes that the wave of arrests targeting draft dodgers is what has inflamed tensions. Ravad pointed out that now that arrests have dropped, disturbances have followed suit.

However, the calm does not appear to be made to last long, as evidenced by the events of the previous two days.

Police received a call concerning a death in Mea Shearim and upon exiting the enclave, the patrol car was pelted with stones.

Photo: Israel Police

However, police understand that with each arrest for a failure to report to the IDF or with actions perceived as desecrating Shabbat, tensions can easily become combustible.
The truth must be told, although many will read this and rage: Bibi is back on the balcony . As he was then, in October 1995, at Jerusalems Zion Square. The same hand-waving; the same false comprehensive accusations against imaginary, demonic enemies; the same demagogy, the same incitement; the same body language and forced smiles; the same sarcasm; the same manipulations.

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The crowd in Jerusalem was frantic. It saw the Oslo Agreement as treason against the state. The Kahanists, who proudly held a fake picture of then-Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in an SS uniform, received smiles and friendly slaps on the back. You could cut the atmosphere with a knife.

The crowd which filled Pavilion 1 at the Tel Aviv Convention Center on Wednesday evening was completely different. Most of it was connected in some way or another to the system controlled by the Likud partyCentral Committee members, city council members, political appointments in governmental and public authorities, contractors living on agreements with local authorities and ministries.

The same hand-waving, the same false accusations against imaginary demonic enemies, the same demagogy, the same incitement, the same body gestures and forced smiles, the same sarcasm, the same manipulations (Photo: AFP)

We're the people of Israel, one of them told me, and he was right. There were mostly men over the age of 40 there, but they were not the only ones. There were religious and secular Jews, Sephardim and Ashkenazim, residents of central Israel and the periphery, quite a few womenand even members of the LGBT community. Two of their flags were waved proudly alongside flags of Israel, and no one protested, not even the Haredim who were there.

A large part of this public looks at Netanyahu with real admiration. They love him and love his wife. After the eventwhich concluded with the singing of two anthems, Hatikva and the Likuds election jingleNetanyahu came down to the audience. People cried as they approached him. They begged for a selfie with him. They begged for a selfie with his wife, Sara. One of the assistants of a senior Likud member told me later that they looked at him the way 12-year-old girls look at Justin Bieber, no less.

But others were in a hurry to leave. In his speech, Netanyahu quoted something he had heard from one of you on Wednesday. They dont want to bring you down, that person had told him. They want to bring us down, all of us. Those words were heard loud and clear. Each and every one of them, so the theory went, stand to lose if Likud loses power. One will lose a job, another will lose his livelihood and someone else will lose his connections. All together, they will genuinely fear for the states fate if its under the rule of a different party.

Netanyahu isnt telling them the truth when he describes the investigations against him as a plot devised by a hidden enemy (the media? The Left?) to replace the government. The Netanyahu cases are being investigated by a police commissioner who he appointed. Only a person who has lost his mind can attribute left-wing views to Roni Alsheikh. The decisions on the cases are being made by an attorney general who he appointed, a man who served under him as cabinet secretary. Whoever ascribes left-wing views to Avichai Mandelblit is living in a fantasy world. The medias influence on their decisions is smaller than the medias influence on Netanyahus decisions.

Neither the Left, which is quietly dying, nor the media concern him. Mandelblit, Alsheikh and the investigators concern him. They are the ones he is directing his arrows at. You wont dare touch me, hes telling them, because the people support me.
Israeli forces demolished the homes of the terrorists who killed Border Policewoman Hadas Malka and Sgt. Elhai Taharlev and sealed the home of another terrorist overnight Wednesday.

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On June 16, 2017 , Braa Saleh, Usama Atta and Adel Ankush, armed with knives and firearms, mounted an attack in two different scenes near Jerusalem's Old City. Border Policewoman Hadas Malka, 23, was fatally wounded when she fought them off.

Atta and Saleh's families petitioned the High Court of Justice in an effort to prevent the demolition, but while the court decided against demolishing the ground floor of the three homes, it approved the demolition of the second flood of Atta and Saleh's homes and sealing off the second floor of Ankush's home in the village of Deir Abu Mash'al.

Demolition of terrorists' homes in Deir Abu Mash'al

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"In these difficult and challenging days of unrest, security forces stand guard and defend the lives of the state's citizens and maintain public order with total devotion. The political echelons are also required to show level-headed and decisive policy," Judge Yitzchak Amit wrote in his ruling a week ago. "Unfortunately, some terror attacks have not been thwarted and the outcome is bitter and painful, such as the attack in which Hadas Malka was murdered."

He stressed that Regulation 119which allows ordering the demolition of a home where suspected terror activity occurred or a home of terrorists, their accomplices or supportersis enacted as a measure of deterrence, not punishment.

The IDF, with the help of the Border Police and the Civil Administration, also demolished the Silwad home of Malik Hamed, who killed IDF soldier Sgt. Elhai Taharlev in a vehicular attack at the Ofra Junction in April.

Hadas Malka, left, and Elhai Taharlev.

In his interrogation, Hamad admitted his desire was to murder as many soldiers as possible: "To kill Jews and die a martyr's death."

Hamad's family also petitioned the High Court against the demolition, but the court rejected their appeal out of hand.

"I found no cause for the court to intervene in the decision of the military commander, who believes the demolition of the structure is necessary to maintain the deterrence that would prevent terrorism," Yitzchak determined.
The IDF is accelerating the construction of its subterranean barrier on its southern border in a bid to preemptively thwart threats emanating from the Gaza Strip.

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According to GOC Southern Command Maj. Gen. Eyal Zamir, nothing would deter Israels military from constructing the barrier designed to deliver a decisive blow or severe setback to Hamass terror project.

Working on the barrier (:  )

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Speaking during a briefing to journalists at the border, Zamir said, The barrier against the Gaza Strip will be built even if it means fighting a justified incursion against Hamas."

Construction of barrier (Photo: Barel Efraim)

Zamirs comments came against a background of intelligence gathered by the IDF demonstrating Hamass sinister use of resources to expand its tunnel network despite the conspicuous and seemingly deliberate risk to its civilian population.

During a conversation with Ynet Wednesday, Zamir said that expediting the construction of the barrier is not intended to see the tenuous ceasefire with Hamas unravel, but that the IDF would not shy away from another confrontation should Gazas rulers choose to launch one.

Tunnel shafts underneath residential buildings (Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)

We are not indifferent and are striking Hamass capabilities without it leading to an escalation, just as we did two nights ago and in other operation, Zamir added in reference to the airstrikes on Hamas positions in retaliation for a rocket landing in Ashkelon fired from the strip Tuesday.

Hamas has been deterred and restrained and is doing all it can to avoid an escalation. But Hamas is investing massively for the next campaign, he emphasized. The situation can change any moment, and I am working to preserve the calm, strengthen deterrence and in particular improve our readiness for war.

The building hilighted in red is a mosque (Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)

During the briefing to the journalists, Zamir provided just one example demonstrating Hamass strength and determination to enter Israeli territory, which is manifested in its continued construction of tunnels despite the the IDFs success in obliterating many during Operation Protective Edge in 2014.

Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit

According to intelligence information, the digging of two tunnels has been underway in northern Gaza over the last two years, just one kilometer from Israels border.

Work on the two tunnels were carried out underneath residential buildings occupied by families while one of the buildings above contains six floors. The second has been dug near to a mosque.

In any showdown with the IDF therefore, the human cost could prove devastating since both are situated on the outskirts of Beit Lahia and the Al-Shati Camp Refugee Camp

Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit

Upon analysis of the intelligence collated about the construction of the tunnels, the IDF has mapped out blueprints indicating that underneath the six-story building is a parking lot connecting the tunnels entrance shaft to a more elaborate network.

The second tunnel entrance is underneath the home of a Hamas activist, Omar Hamed, who lives with his father, brother wife and five children.

We will turn the tunnels into a death trap in the next war, Zamir warned. Whoever is inside these buildings is endangering himself and his children, and this entire building is a legitimate military target and has entered our bank of objective.

Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit

As part of the IDF project to neutralize the threat of subterranean penetration into Israel, the military is also working on a what is known as an indicative barrier wall, which is expected to cost NIS 4 billion.

The concrete barrier will sink to a depth of dozens of meters and also be topped with a six-meter security fence above ground. Together, the high-tech and concrete barriers will be able to detect and destroy every tunnel identified as it approaches.
North Korea freed a Canadian pastor serving a life sentence on humanitarian grounds, the Canadian prime minister and North Korea's KCNA news agency said, just hours after the United States warned it would counter any threat from the North with "fire and fury."

There was no clear connection between the release of Hyeon Soo Lim and the heightened rhetoric between Washington and Pyongyang.

A statement from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's office on Thursday said that Lim had been freed and "will soon be reunited with his family and friends".
Israels Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the prison sentence of a teenage terrorist, Ahmad Manasra, who carried out a stabbing attack in Pisgat Zeev in 2015, would be slashed from 12 years to 9-and-a-half years.

The attack took place in the Jerusalem neighborhood when two Manasra and another Palestinian minor stabbed two Israeli teens, leaving a 13-year-old in critical condition.

At the time of the attack, the terrorists were aged 15 and 13, from Beit Hanina. Both were shot at the scene by Israeli security forces. The 15-year-old was killed and Manasra was wounded.
South Korea urged North Korea on Thursday to stop all action that is driving up tension on the Korean Peninsula. The government also said it will seek all methods possible to resolving tensions with the cooperation of other countries.

The remarks were made by presidential Blue House spokesman Park Su-hyun in a media briefing after the standing committee of the Blue House's National Security Council held a regular meeting to discuss recent events.

Earlier on Thursday, North Korea dismissed warnings by US President Donald Trump that it would face "fire and fury" if it threatened the United States as a "load of nonsense" and outlined detailed plans on for a missile strike near the US Pacific territory of Guam.
The Supreme Court on Thursday shortened the sentence of a 14-year-old Palestinian terrorist who stabbed an Israeli teen his age and another man in Jerusalem's Pisgat Ze'ev in October 2015.

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A 13-year-old Israeli teen and a 21-year-old Israeli man were seriously wounded in the attack.

The teen terrorist was sentenced to 12 years in prison. The Supreme Court accepted his appeal and shortened his sentence to nine-and-a-half years.

The teen terrorist

Judge David Mintz determined that while the terrorist's actions were grave, "he has so far gone a long way in his rehabilitation."

In October 2015, the terrorist , who was then 13, made the trip from the Arab east Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina to the nearby Jewish neighborhood of Pisgat Ze'ev with his 15-year-old cousin. Armed with 15cm-long kitchen knives, they stabbed a 21-year-old man and a 13-year-old teen who was riding his bike.

The cousin also tried to attack police officers who arrived at the scene, but was shot dead. The younger attacker was wounded and arrested.

"Despite the fact the appellant's conviction of attempted murder was lawful, one must not ignore the fact his role in the incident was minor compared to that of (his cousin)," Judge Mintz wrote in his ruling. "In addition, one must take into account the appellant's young age, the rehabilitation process he is undergoing, and the opinions filed in his case. Furthermore, an expert opinion by the probation service recommends mitigating the appellant's punishment and shortening the prison sentence given to him."

In his decision, the judge cited "the insights the appellant is showing concerning the offenses he committed, his orderly behavior while in detention and now in prison, and the probation service's impression that a long imprisonment would have undesirable effects on him."
A Palestinian woman, who is also the niece of one of the founders of the Fatah movement, recently stated her unequivocal disapproval of terror attacks carried out by Palestinians against Israelis, citing violent education as the root cause of the phenomenons continuation.

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Sandra Solomon, a Palestinian born in Ramallah who converted to Christianity more than ten years ago and became a supporter of Israel, condemned the recent Halamish attack in which a terrorist broke into a home and killed three members of the Salomon family.

Sandra Solomon's message of love for Israel

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The Palestinian terrorist who murdered a family on Friday evening in Halamish; where did he get the idea to enter a home and kill the people who were in there? asked Solomon. The young Palestinians who carry out attacks are already murdered from a psychological point of view by the education that is given to them.

The 39-year-old Solomon, originally called Fida, is the niece of a Fatah official Sahar Habash who was a close confidant of Palestinian Authority Yasser Arafat.

As a child, I was brought up to hate Israel, she admitted during a visit to Israel. The most important thing to us was the liberation of the Al-Aqsa mosque, the liberation of Jerusalem and the destruction of the State of Israel.

We watched the second intifada on television she said as she recalled her childhood between Jordan and Saudi Arabia. After every big terror attackincluding when children were killedcandy was given out. The education that was given to me was that only Palestinians are the victims, that they are oppressed in this conflict and that the Zionists are the occupying criminals who took the land for themselves.

The life changes Solomon underwent and her decision to turn away from the culture of hate instilled within her didnt take place overnight.

Originally, she made the decision to convert to Christianity due to her criticism of Islam's treatment and oppression of women and the lack of freedom of expression it offers.

I didnt agree to walking around with a Hijab (a headscarf worn by Muslim women) as women were obligated to do in Saudi Arabia, she said.

After managing to divorce her husband after being forced to marry him when the two had a baby, she left for Canada with her little boy, where the two continue to live today in Toronto.

When I explained to my family in Jordan that I had converted, my sister threw her suitcase to the street and threw me out of the house, she added.

As a result, Solomon remains ostracized by her family as an outcast but the sense of foreboding can never fully diminish. If they knew exactly where I was today, they would surely kill me. I know that, she claimed.

Sandra Solomon (Photo: Yuval Hen)

During her time in Canada, Solomon was exposed to information about the Jewish people and Jewish history. I started reading the Jewish bible and I realized that a long time before Muhammad and Islam Jews lived in the area. The power of truth changed me, she continued.

So inspired had Solomon become from the material she was exploring, she decided to get two prominent tatoos in Hebrew saying, Jesus is the messiah on her right arm and Israel on her forearm.

Over the last few days, Solomon has been staying in Ramallah and says that while she has to be vigilant about displaying her tattoos in public, she does not fear the citys streets.

Nevertheless, she has encountered experiences in which she has been the subject of abuse.

A young Palestinian who saw my tattoos spat on me, but Im not scared, she said before highlighting the hypocrisy in Palestinian society of boycotting Israeli goods while using their essential products.

Among Palestinians, there are calls to boycott Israeli products, but phones and medicines that are used by them are products of Israel, she said.

Solomon says she recognizes Palestinians have a right to exists as an equal minority with rights granted under Israeli sovereignty, but she rejects the notion of a two-state solution.

I dont believe in a two-state solution because I see what happens in the West Bank. There are pictures hung in the streets of terrorists who are considered to be heroes. The Palestinian people dont want peace, they glorify the intifada, she concluded.
DUBAI - A court in the United Arab Emirates has convicted an Iranian national for spying and aiding Tehran's nuclear program, sentencing him to 10 years in jail then deportation, local newspapers reported on Thursday.

The man, named as 48-year-old Reza Mohammed Hussain Mozafar, was found guilty of spying and fraud to smuggle equipment and devices that could be used in Iran's nuclear program, the English language Gulf News daily said citing court documents.

The Abu Dhabi government-owned al-Ittihad newspaper carried a similar report.

The Abu Dhabi-based Federal Appeals Court also found him guilty of harming relations between the UAE and the United States by importing equipment from America and smuggling it to Iran, in violation of United Nations sanctions in place at the time, the Wednesday ruling said, according to Gulf News.

The case is the latest in a series in the UAE involving people on trial for smuggling or spying for Iran, the newspapers said.
An Iranian convicted of being a spy in the United Arab Emirates and trying to smuggle equipment for the Islamic Republic's nuclear program has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.

The state-run WAM news agency reported late Wednesday that 48-year-old man, identified only by the initials H.R.M.H.M., imported the equipment from the US with the intention of sending it onto Iran.

The report said the man would be deported after serving his sentence.

Iran long has described its nuclear program as peaceful. Western fears over it prompted sanctions later lifted by the 2015 nuclear accord with Iran, which capped its enrichment of uranium.

In April, a UAE court sentenced another Iranian identified by the initials S.M.A.R. to 10 years in prison for similarly trying to aid Iran's nuclear program.
Residents of Israeli towns situated in the Gaza region have praised the IDFs recent announcement that it intends to accelerate the construction of its subterranean barrier on the southern border in a bid to preemptively thwart threats emanating from the Hamas-ruled enclave.

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With the new hastened pace of work, the underground wall is scheduled to be complete within the next year-and-a-half to two years. The giant concrete slab will stretch across the entire border and also be topped with a six-meter security fence above ground.

Moreover, the high-tech and concrete barriers will be able to detect and destroy every tunnel identified as it approaches.

Construction of barrier (Photo: Barel Efraim)

On Wednesday, GOC Southern Command Maj. Gen. Eyal Zamir said nothing would deter Israels military from constructing the barrier designed to deliver a decisive blow or severe setback to Hamass terror project.

The barrier against the Gaza Strip will be built even if it means fighting a justified incursion against Hamas, said Zamir.

Mayor of Sderot Mayor Alon Davidi, whose city has been one of the most seriously affected by Hamas terror network, said that he absolutely trusts the general.

I see the campaign against a Hamas to be a long-term one. Thats why we need to look at the long-term and short-term situation. Whether it is when there is rocket fire, or when we conduct operations and there is no quiet, we are ready to take any situation to restore quiet, said Davidi.

If the security apparatus decided that the barrier project will quash Hamass motivation to operate against us, and in practice will neutralize the threat of terrorists penetrating through tunnels or land, we as a civilian system will be partners in the effort and will provide all required support, the mayor added.

If the situation deteriorates, we will know how to handle it and enable the IDF to complete what it has to. The barrier is a project that will significantly improve the sense of security among the residents.

Head of the Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council, Alon Schuster, also expressed his satisfaction with the progress being made on the barrier, saying it is another step toward the defense of the residents in the Gaza region and evidence of this is in the demographic growth that we are experiencing at this time.

More and more families are deciding to settle in our communities, some of which are far from the fence by hundreds of meters.

Indeed, some of the residents themselves agreed with Schuster, saying that there was undoubtedly a palpable sense of bolstered security.

Building hilighted in red is a mosque between two Hamas tunnels (Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)

It made me very happy to know that the project is being significantly accelerated and will actually provide us with a defense against the most concerning threatthe threat of tunnels, said Yifat Ben Shushan, a resident of Netiv HaAsara located in the Negev. It absolutely does increase my sense of security as a resident and a mother.

Ben Shushan added that in her opinion, the barrier constitutes a military solution to the precarious patterns of intermittent wars in the area.

But it isnt a solution to the problem of Gaza, she added, saying that the situation in the strip has a direct impact on the Israeli towns nearby.

On the other side of the fence there are close to two million civilians who live under the Hamas regime and are in a serious humanitarian situation, she acknowledged.

There is a military solution but in order for there to be lasting quiet for the long term, a clear policy must be implemented in everything connected with the Gaza Strip. Unfortunately, that is not happening, she noted before offering a somewhat gloomy prediction if the deadlock continues unabated.

The problem with Gaza will continue even after the barrier is up. The scenario in which many people are attacking the fences and trying to infiltrate Israel because of the humanitarian crisis is extremely concerning, and is already at our doorstep.
Hamas is reportedly considering advancing an unprecedented move in the Gaza Strip in response to the harsh sanctions imposed on it by the Palestinian Authority. This is a scenario that has been taken into account in Israel and could lead to chaos in the Gaza Strip. A source within Hamas said that the organization's military wing recently submitted a proposal to the organization's political leadership, suggesting Hamas create a political and security vacuum in the Gaza Strip by waiving its management of the Gaza Strip.

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In such a scenario, Hamas will not hand the reins of power over to the Palestinian Authority, but implement a four-part plan that will create a vacuum in the Strip that could lead, among other things, to a new military confrontation with Israel.

A Hamas military procession in Gaza (Photo; Reuters)

The plan details that after Hamas relinquishes its political rule over the Gaza Strip, Gaza Police will continue to function together with local institutions that will provide services to Gaza residents. At the same time, security forces in the strip that are subordinate to Hamas will carry out civilian missions but not security ones. Hamas's military wing would then fill the security vacuum in Gaza, by assuming control over the region's security and deploying its forces throughout the territory, along with the smaller military forces of other factions.

Photo: AFP

The proposal is perceived as a threat to Abbas, as it pushes to create a military regime in Gaza without civilian rule, a reality that could easily devolve into unbridled violence. Hamas is apparently also aiming to have Arab countries pressure Abbas to lift sanctions off the Gaza Strip, in an effort to prevent a possible military escalation against Israel.

Photo: AFP

The sanctions imposed by Abbas against Hamas in recent months include halting the delivery of diesel fuel to Gaza's power plant, halting payments to Israel for the electricity consumed in Gaza, the cessation of salaries by the Palestinian government to many government officials in Gaza, the reduction of medication deliveries to hospitals in the Gaza Strip, and a reluctance to pay for the passage of patients from the Gaza Strip to Israel, in addition to funding their stay in Israeli hospitals.

The sanctions on the Gaza Strip come following Abbas's demand that the Hamas-led governance of the Gaza Strip be dismantled: since the governance serves as a sort of shadow government in Gaza, Abbas's ultimate goal in the matter is for Hamas to relinquish its governing powers and transfer sovereignty to the Palestinian Authority.
Two men released from al-Qaida captivity after six years in northern Mali made their first public appearances Thursday, recounting their ordeals and saying they were not clear whether any ransom was paid for their freedom.

"I think it's wrong to pay ransoms," 42-year-old Johan Gustafsson, who was freed in June, told reporters in Sweden. "I hope they let me out because they were tired of me." Sweden has insisted it never paid any ransom and that his release was obtained through negotiations.

Gustafsson and 42-year-old Stephen McGown were the longest-held of a number of foreigners seized by Islamic extremists in Mali, where several armed groups roam the West African country's north. The extremists have made a fortune over the last decade abducting foreigners in the vast Sahel region and demanding enormous ransoms for their release. McGown told reporters in South Africa he didn't know whether any ransom was paid for his release in late July. He said he was well-treated during his long years in the desert, but "you always knew you were a prisoner."
A Canadian pastor freed from a North Korean prison on humanitarian grounds is healthy and not in critical condition, his family said on Thursday.

Hyeon Soo Lim, who served in one of the largest churches in Canada, had been sentenced to hard labor for life in December 2015 after North Korea accused him of attempting to overthrow the regime.

On Wednesday, North Korea's KCNA news agency said he was released on "sick bail." Lim is expected to return to Canada later on Thursday, a source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
Im a fan of early morning radio shows. Ive been known to sit in my car, in the parking lot, a little too long if Im intrigued by a topic being discussed by the DJs at hand.

That was the case last week, as I found myself wasting about 15 minutes of Aug. 3, 2017, to marvel at the year of Hysteria.

What is Hysteria, some of you may ask.

Well, it is one of the most iconic record albums of all time, which was released on Aug. 3, 1987.

And it made 1987 the year of Hysteria, according to the DJs.

Hysteria was the name of the album released by Def Leppard on that date. They sold over 25 million copies worldwide . . . and gained legions of fans that include me.

I say include and not included because the fan status remains current.

They remain on tour. It was just a few months ago that thousands of us Nebraskans descended upon the Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln to dance and sing along with the band as they performed our beloved tunes of Animal, Women, Pour Some Sugar on Me, Hysteria, Armaggedon It, Love Bites, and Rocket.

I danced until I had shin splints, sang until I lost my voice and suddenly felt young all over again.

While I technically knew it, I didnt need to hear the DJs proclaim that this day in history marked the 30th anniversary of that legendary time.

Really? Thirty years?

I can do the math. I know it is correct. But my soul cant bear the realization that such a special time was so long ago already.

Yes, 1987 was the year of Hysteria and so much more.

Also that year, disposable contact lenses became available for commercial distribution.

And Compaq Computer Corporation introduced the new Compaq Portable III, which miraculously started with a weight of 18 pounds, and promised to provide the power and function of a high performance desktop computer in a small, self-contained unit that is easy to carry.

Bangle Watches were must have accessories and the beautiful fringed mid-calf boots were extremely important.

The most popular toys included the Talking Alf (modeled after the popular television show) and the drug, Prozac, made its debut in the United States.

Jim Bakker, televangelist, got himself into some trouble and this innovative adult cartoon called The Simpsons was watched for the first time.

We went to the movie theater and saw films with titles we still recognize. Ever heard of Dirty Dancing, Three Men and a Baby, Fatal Attraction, Beverly Hills Cop II, Good Morning Vietnam, Lethal Weapon, Wall Street, or Moonstruck?

And Def Leppard wasnt the only one hitting us with incredible, iconic music. It was a historical year in the musical world as Michael Jackson released the Bad album, U2 gave us The Joshua Tree, and Bon Jovi brought us Livin on a Prayer.

I think 1987 was really the beginning of us following sagas on the news over long periods of time . . . hours, even days. Remember watching the constant coverage of getting Baby Jessica McClure out of the well?

Oh, and the Fox Broadcasting Company started.

That year, people mourned the passings of Liberace, Andy Warhol, Danny Kaye, Rita Hayworth, Fred Astaire and Lorne Greene.

The average cost of a new house in the United States was $92,000 and a gallon of gas was 89 cents.

A postage stamp was 24 cents  and email didnt exist yet.

A Ford Mustang typically cost $9,200 and a Honda Accord brought $10,925.

Ronald Reagan was president and acid-washed denim was delightfully the greatest textile known to man.

Bill Clinton was the governor of Arkansas and the Minnesota Twins won the World Series.

Nancy Pelosi headed to Washington for the first time and Howard Stern was not allowed on the radio.

People still liked Pee Wee Herman and Princess Diana wore the historically beautiful black off-the-shoulder dress thats now in a museum.

Thirty years.

That used to sound like a long time.

I guess it really isnt, because it seems like all of that just happened.

It certainly was the year of Hysteria . . . and so much more.
Three decades after President Reagan signed the largest tax reform in our countrys history into law, our tax code is once again desperately in need of a pro-growth overhaul.

The good news is tax reform is at the forefront of our agenda, and a framework is in place. It will still be a heavy lift, as it should be, but we need to get it done.

This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity we have been building toward for years. Since 2011, the Ways and Means Committee has held more than 40 hearings on tax reform. This years hearings have focused on specific aspects of our plan, from increasing U.S. competitiveness in the global marketplace to growing small businesses.

Among other insights gleaned from these hearings, one theme has remained clear: We cannot afford to wait any longer to reform our tax code. This is why we are committed to enacting tax reform this year. In fact, leaders from the House, the Senate, and the Trump administration issued a statement at the end of July declaring a united front and shared vision for moving forward.

Our plan for tax reform will lower rates, decrease the number of tax brackets, and increase the standard deduction so Americans can keep more of their paychecks.

Due to the complexity of our current tax code, Americans spend 2.6 billion hours each year filing individual income tax returns, with an annual compliance cost of $99 billion. This is an enormous economic drain. Our plan would expand the standard deduction and simplify the filing process to allow about 90 percent of Americans to file their taxes on a form the size of a postcard.

Nebraskans have continually called for the elimination of the death tax, which threatens farmers, ranchers, and small business owners. These producers and entrepreneurs take pride in their hard work, and many want future generations to continue it. The government should encourage their efforts, not stand in their way, and our plan will end this damaging tax once and for all.

Tax reform will benefit Americans across the country, but it is especially important to the livelihood of our rural economy. As the American Farm Bureau Federation observed, Many of the provisions of the tax reform blueprint will be beneficial to farmers, including reduced income tax rates, reduced capital gains taxes, immediate expensing for all business inputs except land, and the elimination of the estate tax.

To reap the greatest economic benefits of revamping our tax code, we need to focus on bold, permanent reforms. The certainty achieved through permanent reforms has the potential to drive double the economic growth as short-term tax cuts  which means more jobs, higher wages, and a healthier economy.

It has been 31 years since the last significant tax reform. Throughout the 31 days of August, the Ways and Means Committee is highlighting 31 reasons why we need tax reform this year. Check out the list at WaysandMeans.house.gov/31Reasons, and please continue to share your thoughts with me as we work to create greater opportunity through a simplified tax code.
We often hear that Congress cant work together, or that Republicans and Democrats are unable to find compromises on behalf of the American people. While there are days when that seems true, I want to highlight a few recent cases where I have joined with my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to pass meaningful legislation to help the lives of Nebraskans. I think they prove that when we work together, Congress can be effective.

Right before I headed to Nebraska for the summer work period, the Senate approved three bipartisan bills I have been working on with my colleagues on the Senate Commerce Committee. The legislation included Karis Law, the Spoofing Prevention Act, and the Developing Innovation and Growing the Internet of Things (DIGIT) Act. These bills would help keep Nebraskans safe and make important telecommunications updates.

In December 2013, Kari Hunt was murdered in a Texas hotel room. As this assault unfolded, Karis 9-year-old daughter desperately dialed 911 for help.

The call did not go through.

Like millions of American children, Karis daughter knew that 911 was for emergencies, but they were in a hotel room. The phone required her to press 9 to reach an outside line, something a nine-year-old would never think to do.

Everyone should be able to access 911 during an emergency. Thats why I teamed up with Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) to fix this obvious flaw in our phone systems. We introduced Karis Law, legislation that requires multiline telephone systems (MLTS), commonly found in hotels and offices, to enable direct access to 911.

Emergency calls should be standard no matter where you are. By having phone companies change how MLTS work, Karis Law ensures families can call for the help they need, especially when traveling and staying in hotels.

The Senate also worked together to pass a law protecting some of the most vulnerable in our society from fraudulent scams. I joined Senators Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) to introduce and help pass the Spoofing Prevention Act of 2017.

Spoofing, the deliberate falsification of telephone numbers and/or names through Caller-ID, has become a major problem for Nebraskans and law enforcement. Thieves are often posing as the IRS or FBI to trick people, especially the elderly, into handing over banking information. This practice is so common that over the past few years the FBI has posted warnings about scammers using the Bureaus identification to target Nebraskans.

Our bipartisan coalition joined together to help stop these scams. The Spoofing Prevention Act cracks down on spoofing by prohibiting the practice on all voice calls, including calls made over the internet. It also bans caller ID spoofing via text messaging. Finally, our bill directs the Government Accountability Office to report on how the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission are combatting spoofing.

Weve been working together to promote prosperity and entrepreneurialism, as well.

Earlier this year, I joined Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) to reintroduce the DIGIT Act, a bill to open up lines of communication between the private and public sector to spur innovation. This legislation will help our state build on the success of the Silicon Prairie in Lincoln and Omaha. It promotes the Internet of Things by streamlining regulations and convening a working group to prevent potential problems, such as regulatory silos, a circumstance where poor communication between agencies and innovators creates duplicative or inefficient regulations. Government regulators shouldnt stand in the way of great American ideas and creativity. The DIGIT Act helps the identify outdated regulations that only act as obstacles to innovation and success.

Americans are creative and know how to build a safe, successful society. These three bills show how effective senators can be when we work together to serve our constituents. I am hopeful that the Senate can find more common ground to help the American people.

Thank you for participating in the democratic process. I look forward to visiting with you again next week.
About Fillmore County Hospital

Fillmore County Hospital is a county owned 20-bed critical access hospital, which opened the doors of its brand new state-of-the-art hospital on March 1, 2012. We deliver patient and family focused care where compassion, innovation and teaching are vital. Our vision is to be the regional choice for valued health services. We are recognized for our team's knowledge and compassion in delivering exceptional care, innovative services and trusted outreach and education in all states of life.



Whatever degree of care you need, we want to provide it to you. We strive constantly to help our patients get back to their day-to-day lives. Our team continues to make a difference in the lives of our community members every day. They work hard to assure the safety and wellbeing of their patients. It is our goal is to give patients and those who love them the peace of mind that they are in good hands. Our services are a result of this aspiration - care you need just the way you need it.



As our patient you will be given the care you need 24 hours a day so that you recover and can return to your daily life. We believe by taking an active role in your health will help you enjoy a healthier future. Building a healthier future is a partnership between you and the doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals who can help you change your health habits. You can play an active role in making these changes. Know your goals, make changes in your health habits and take your medicines correctly. Being educated on your own health can reduce future problems by helping you to react quickly to new or worsening symptoms.
YORK  Matt Wagner and Sheila Hubbard, members of the York City Council, have been named the new members of the LB 357 committee which oversees the fund holding receipts from the citys latest  percent sales tax.

During a recent meeting of the city council, Mayor Orval Stahr explained that the committee has representatives of the city and the school district.

Two members of that committee are no longer on the city council so we are asking that they be replaced and Im recommending these appointments, Mayor Stahr said.

The council agreed to have their peers appointed.

Also during the regular meeting of the council, there was a heartfelt group gesture when all in attendance observed a moment of silence in memory of Karen Hying. She worked for the city 39 years, in the water department. She passed away on Friday, July 28, and her funeral was held the morning of Thursday, Aug. 3. The council meeting was held that night and Mayor Stahr opened the regular meeting with the moment to honor her.

Also during the regular meeting, wording was changed in a fee ordinance to better reflect services provided by the fire and rescue department. The term of lift assistance was changed to treat and release, as requested by the citys billing company.

Mayor Stahr reported that he would again be meeting with county officials regarding a combined emergency dispatch center.

York City Administrator Joe Frei reported that the process of hiring a new police chief was on the fast track. He said he and members of the citys civil service commission would be interviewing the first round of applicants and then narrowing to a second round. Frei said there were initially 16 applicants  three didnt make the qualifications and two dropped out.

The council also adopted the National Electrical Code, which is required. This makes the citys regulations consistent with federal and state laws.
This has been a long time in the making, but in our continuing pursuit to bring only the best of firearms, 2nd Amendment and defence related news to our readers, we are very excited to announce the next step in our evolution as a company.

As of 2020, Minuteman Review is now the proud owner and operator of Your Defence News, a website with a long history of breaking huge news stories and investigative journalism.

We hope you are equally as excited as us.

This means that now the teams of Minuteman can combine with the firepower of Your Defence News to stay at the absolute forefront for our readers.

Keep an eye. Big things are coming soon. We couldn't be more excited.

In the meanwhile, here are some of our most popular posts and categories to keep you busy.

Happy shootin' my friends!

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New York: Community-driven hospitality company Airbnb is offering visitors to rent out US President Donald Trump`s early childhood home in Queens, New York, the media reported.

The former Trump residence, located in Jamaica Estates, a wealthy neighbourhood in Queens, is available for $725 per night, reports CNN.

The listing features five bedrooms and three-and-a-half bathrooms, along with an original kitchen and "opulent furnishings (that) represent the style and affluence in which the Trumps would have lived", according to the Airbnb advertisement.

"This is a unique and special opportunity to stay in the home of a sitting President."

Built by the President`s father, Fred Trump in the 1940s, the Tudor-style home is where Donald Trump lived until he was four years old, and the property`s address is listed on his birth certificate.

The 2,500 sq.ft home was sold last December to real estate investor Michael Davis, who flipped the property to an unnamed bidder in March for $2.14 million.

Misha Haghani, founder of Paramount Realty USA, which oversaw the property`s auction last year, told CNN on Wednesday that the value of the Trump home goes "beyond the brick and mortar".

"Clearly there`s value in the property that`s intangible in nature," Haghani said, adding "That`s why there`s demand for tenants to live there on a nightly basis, just to say they stayed in the home of the sitting President."

The Airbnb ad adds that there is "no relationship with the White House, the President, Donald Trump or the Trump organisation in any way".

Along with space for 20 guests, the listing also touts that there is a giant cut-out of Trump in the living room, which makes for a "great companion for watching Fox News late into the night".

However, Haghani told CNN that "the cut-out wasn`t there when we sold the home".

In the past, Trump has often mention about his time at the residence.

When then-Presidential candidate Trump was shown a photo of his old residence in an appearance on NBC`s "The Tonight Show" starring Jimmy Fallon, Trump said "I had a really good childhood; oh, that`s sad to look at that, I want to buy it".
Washington: The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has sued the Washington D.C. metro system for refusing ads on "political" topics including birth control, ethical treatment of animals and the text of the First Amendment of the US Constitution.

The ACLU said on Wednesday that it represents a "diverse group of plaintiffs" in the lawsuit, including an abortion provider, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and former Breitbart columnist Milo Yiannopoulos, reports Xinhua news agency.

"To put it mildly, these plaintiffs have nothing in common politically. But together, they powerfully illustrate the indivisibility of the First Amendment," said the ACLU, which is a national organisation that works daily in courts, legislatures and communities to defend the individual rights and liberties.

According to the group, one of the rejected ads featured the text of the First Amendment in English, Spanish and Arabic, which the group proposed after US President Donald Trump was sworn in earlier this year.

The Washington D.C. Metro has argued that the advertisement "intended to influence members of the public regarding an issue on which there are varying opinions" or "intended to influence public policy".

Carafem, a birth control and abortion provider, wanted to promote an ad that said, "10-week-after pill. For abortion up to 10 weeks. $425. Fast. Private"; and PETA proposed an ad depicting a pig saying, "I`m ME, Not MEAT. See the Individual. Go Vegan".

Both were rejected on the same grounds, according to the ACLU.
Islamabad: An aggressive Nawaz Sharif, leading a mammoth rally from Islamabad to his hometown Lahore, on Thursday launched a scathing attack on the Supreme Court for ousting him as Pakistan`s Prime Minister.

Sharif spewed fire as he addressed large groups of supporters gathered on the rally route. But he insisted he was not greedy for power and wanted to change Pakistan for the better.

"I have not come here to ask you to make me Prime Minister again. I don`t want power. Neither am I greedy for power... I have self-respect," the veteran leader told his cheering supporters after reaching Jhelum, a major city along the Grand Trunk Road.

The media quoted Sharif as saying that while the people`s mandate catapulted him to power, he was ousted "in a minute".

"Millions elect their leader and five judges disqualify him with a stroke of pen. Can you tolerate this? Even those judges said Nawaz Sharif didn`t indulge in corruption," he thundered, and asked people to question why their leader was disqualified when he was not involved in corruption.

"People of Jhelumi should ask why was Nawaz ousted. There is no stain of corruption, my hands are clean," said Sharif, who was disqualified on July 28 on charges of corruption linked to what has come to be known as the Panama Papers.

He wondered why the Supreme Court judges failed to hold former military dictators accountable for subverting the Constitution.

"You choose a Prime Minister but a judge or military dictator tears up your vote. This needs to change if Pakistan is to progress," said Sharif, who in 1999 was ousted by then Army chief Pervez Musharraf.

"Dictators rule the country for 10 years but a Prime Minister cannot even complete his tenure."

Referring to the security situation in Pakistan, Sharif said he had brought peace to Karachi and Balochistan. This helped the economy.

Sharif will stay in Jhelum overnight and resume his journey to Lahore on Friday morning. On Thursday, he began the second leg of his "homecoming rally" after leaving Rawalpindi`s Punjab House.

He began his journey on Wednesday from Islamabad. Due to the massing of supporters on the way, it took 12 hours for the rallyists to reach Rawalpindi, 20 km away.

In his Wednesday night speech in Rawalpindi, Sharif called the apex court decision to depose him a "joke" and an insult to voters.

Sharif`s convoy includes senior party leaders Amir Muqam, Abid Sher Ali, Hanif Abbasi, Marvi Memon and Zaeem Qadri.
So what do we have here? Its a Peugeot 208 on Indian roads. Wow! Already? Could this be the first entrant for India from the house of PSA Group? Well, it sure looks like it. As far as size is concerned, it will fit the sub-4m segment well and in its 5-door avatar, it promises to be an excellent package for our country.

PSA Group is a French conglomerate, comprising of Peugeot, Citroen, DS Automobiles, Opel and Vauxhall Motors. In January this year, the automotive joined hands with CK Birla Group to try its luck in India for the third time. Out of the lot, it is Peugeot thats the most likely to bring its products in the country.

Of course, no confirmed details have surfaced yet but lets just see what the Peugeot 208 is composed of in European right-hand drive markets. As far as engines are concerned, the 208 is offered with a range of petrol- and diesel-powered ones. What makes it fit for India is the 1.2-litre petrol engine that is available in three different tunes - 68PS/106Nm, 82PS/118Nm and 110PS/205Nm. We hope its the latter two that are shortlisted for India. Fingers crossed! Transmission options available are either a 5-speed manual or a 5-speed ETG (piloted manual gearbox).

On the other hand, the diesel engines have 1.6-litre cubic capacity. The company will have to tinker the configuration to bring its size down to 1.5-litres. Only then, the 208 diesel will be classified as a small car in India and hence, attract the least tax burden. Transmission options offered with this engine include a 5-speed manual or a 6-speed manual.

PSA Group recently acquired the Opel and Vauxhall brands from General Motors. Thanks to this takeover, PSA Group is now the second largest carmaker in Europe. For its India plans, it even bought the iconic Ambassador marque from Hindustan Motors. Peugeot, it seem, is not going to leave any stone unturned this time around.

Source: CarDekho.com
New Delhi: Tata Motors on Thursday said it has ended talks with Volkswagen group's auto maker Skoda on their proposed partnership following feasibility issues, a move that comes just over four months after they had entering into the agreement.

The company said a joint technical feasibility study has found that strategic benefits for both parties are below the desired levels, although it has kept the doors open for future collaborations with the VW group.

"We have evaluated the technical feasibility and degree of synergies for the envisioned partnership. We have concluded that the strategic benefits for both parties are below the threshold levels," Tata Motors CEO and Managing Director Guenter Butschek said in a statement.

He, however, said: "We remain positive of exploring future opportunities with the Volkswagen group".

The statement said Tata Motors and Skoda Auto had performed a joint technical feasibility and commercial evaluation of a potential collaboration.

"Based on intense and constructive discussions, both the companies have jointly concluded that the envisioned areas of partnership may not yield the desired synergies as originally assessed," it added.

The two companies have decided to keep in touch for future areas of collaborations, it added.

Tata Motors, Volkswagen group and Skoda had in March this year announced entering into a long-term partnership for joint development of products with the first rollout expected in 2019.

Based on the strategic alliance, Tata Motors had planned to launch products in the Indian market starting calendar year 2019. On the other hand Skoda Auto was to take the lead on behalf of the Volkswagen Group to drive forward work towards development of vehicle concepts in the economy segment.

However, in June it emerged that the partnership had run into rough weather, with differences over use of platform and doubts related to business viability.

The two companies were exploring using Tata Motors' AMP (Advanced Modular Platform) with VW technology, specially electronics, for products meant for emerging markets in order to gain significant cost advantage over VW's MQB-A platform.

It had turned out expensive and there was a realisation that the business proposition of such a collaboration was not as attractive as it was assumed.
Patna: In a shocking incident, senior IAS officer Mukesh Pandey allegedly committed suicide in the national capital on Thursday.

He was posted as the District Magistrate in the Buxar district of Bihar. Pandey committed suicide at a railway station in Ghaziabad district of Uttar Pradesh, ANI said.

His body was recovered from the tracks of the railway station.

The twitter handler of IAS Association expressed condolence over the death of the IAS officer and tweeted, "Shocking news of sad & untimely demise of Mukesh Pandey, IAS, DM Buxar, Bihar. Deepest condolences and may the departed soul Rest in Peace."

Shocking news of sad & untimely demise of Mukesh Pandey, IAS, DM Buxar, Bihar. Deepest condolences and may the departed soul Rest in Peace  IAS Association (@IASassociation) August 10, 2017

According to another report, Pandey came to Delhi on Wednesday citing ill health of one of his relatives. He was staying at Leela Hotel at Delhi's Chanakyapuri.

A India Today report claims that the District Magistrate first tried to kill himself by jumping off a mall in Janakpuri area. However, Delhi Police reached on time and managed to foil his plan. Thereafter, the Pandey ran to Ghaziabad area and committed suicide by jumping in front of a train.

Delhi Police sources said that from the preliminary investigation, it was learnt that Pandey was reportedly facing dispute at home.

The source further claimed that before committing suicide, he sent a message to a relative and mentioned about his intention to jump off a building in Janakpuri area in Delhi. He also spoke a suicide note he had left in his hotel room.

The relative immediately approached the Delhi Police and asked them to intervene. By the time a team of Delhi Police reached the location, Pandey managed to escape and reached Ghaziabad area and jumped before a running train.

The police recovered the suicide note from the hotel, that read, "I am committing suicide in district centre area of Janakpuri, west Delhi near Hotel Piccadilly by jumping off the 10th floor of the building. I am fed up with my life. I don't believe in human existence anymore. I am sorry. I love you all! please forgive me!"

The top bureaucrat was a 2012 batch IAS officer and hailed from Bihar's Chhapra. He was recently appointed as the District Magistrate of Buxar.

Further details awaited.
New Delhi: Whenever it comes to promote his films, Akshay Kumar has always gone the extra mile.And in his promoting spree, his immense support to the army personnel is very evident too.

The 49-year-old actor, who was in the national capital to promote his upcoming movie `Toilet Ek Prem Katha,` met the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force.

Taking to Twitter, he posted a picture with a caption, "Lovely visiting the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force this morning. Nothing but deepest respect for their never-dying spirit!"

Lovely visiting the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force this morning. Nothing but deepest respect for their never-dying spirit! pic.twitter.com/UiKeNN6b3K August 9, 2017



Varun Dhawan was also present at the occasion.

Got to spend the day with our commandos at the indo-Tibet border police camp. #realheroes #inspired. pic.twitter.com/GKyASkDBe3  Varun Dhawan (@Varun_dvn) August 9, 2017



Meanwhile, Akshay is doing all it takes to raise curiosity around his film. He recently collaborated with Kaya Constructs to make public toilets in many cities, including Delhi and Mumbai too.Helmed by Shree Narayan Singh, the movie also stars Bhumi Pednekar in a pivotal role.

The film releases on August 11.
Chennai: The bitter power struggle in Tamil Nadu's ruling AIADMK, which began after the death of party supremo J Jayalalithaa, may end soon as the two warring factions have inched closer to a merger deal.

According to media reports, the two warring factions of the AIADMK have given in-principle nod to the merger move and a formal announcement in this regard is likely to be made after a meeting between Chief Minister Edapaddi Palaniswamy and O Panneerselvam or OPS.

We are confident, hope so, D Jayakumar, Tamil Nadu Minister, was quoted as saying by ANI on the merger of the two AIADMK factions.

Significantly, a resolution adopted at the meeting called by E Palaniswamy of his faction to discuss the unification issue today agreed that VK Sasikala's appointment as party general secretary was only till the election of new chief.

The AIADMK (Amma) resolution further stated that the appointment of Dinakaran as Sasiskala's deputy was done against party by-laws.

The resolution, signed by the office-bearers including Palaniswami, said, ''Dhinakaran was expelled by Jayalalithaa in December 2011 from the primary membership of the party. His reinduction into the party on February 14 and his appointment as deputy general secretary the following day were in violation of party bylaw 30 (V).''

"Since he failed to continue as primary member for five years, he cannot hold any position in the party as per by-laws," the resolution said.

Dinakarans recent appointments have led to confusion in party ranks, the AIADMK (Amma) faction resolution adopted at the meeting chaired by CM Palaniswami stated.

Hindustan Times had earlier reported that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edapaddi Palaniswamy is in favour of a merger which, he feels, will further strengthen the party.

A merger of the two factions of the AIADMK, if finally approved, will further sideline the ruling party's jailed general secretary VK Sasikala and her family.

After former chef minister J Jayalalithaa's death in December last year, her long-time aide VK Sasikala took over the reins of the party.

She soon became the AIADMK general secretary and was just a step away from becoming the chief minister before she landed in troubled waters in connection with a corruption case that landed her in jail.

Sasikala then appointed her nephew, TTV Dinakaran, as the deputy general secretary to maintain her grip over the party.

Dinakaran, who too faces corruption charges, has been attempting to push Chief Minister Palaniswamy to the edge by planting office-bearers loyal to him.

According to sources close to the two factions, Dinakarans action has probably accelerated the merger move between Palaniswamy group and the faction led by former chief minister O Panneerselvam.

According to the insiders, OPS will remain the interim general secretary of the AIADMK till the Election Commission decides the validity of Sasikalas appointment as the party chief.

Palaniswamy, who replaced OPS after his revolt, will continue to be the chief minister.

If the proposal gets a go-ahead from the senior leaders of the two factions, Palaniswamy is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Importantly, Palaniswamy is also scheduled to visit New Delhi to attend the swearing-in of vice president-elect M Venkaiah Naidu this evening.

Panneerselvam, who wants at least three ministerial berths to lawmakers loyal to him, is firm in his stand that Sasikala and her family must be kept out of the party and government.

The merger will be sealed only if conditions set by OPS are met, the sources said.
San Francisco: American technology company Essential Products has announced that its new smartphone will be available soon and has now got the backing of Amazon and Chinese investment holding company Tencent.

"We are in full mass production, ramping up to deliver your Essential Phone. Find out where you can get yours next week!" Andy Rubin, who established Essential Phone startup, tweeted on Wednesday.

The announcement comes at a time when the world is eagerly waiting for two of the most powerful devices - Samsung Note 8 and iPhone 8 and the devices will look forward to disrupt the duopoly of Samsung and Apple from the smartphone market.

Rubin, a co-creator of the Android mobile operating system, said he plans to announce next week when the $699 device will become available. It was first promised a June release.

According to a report in CNet, the smartphone startup has raised $300 million in new funding and signed up retailers to sell its first device.

The startup has gained important backers, including Amazon, Tencent and Foxconn, who have come on as strategic investors, joining prior investors Playground, a startup accelerator co-founded by Rubin and venture capital firm Redpoint.

The Essential Phone will be sold unlocked on Amazon and Best Buy.

The latest funding round gives Essential a valuation of about $900 million to $1 billion, the report said.

Rubin said the new phone that runs on Ambient OS would make things simpler for customers.

Along with the phone, Essential is also developing a smart home hub. Amazon, which has a leading position in smart speakers with its Echo, invested in Essential via its Alexa Fund.

"Essential Products has a compelling vision and roadmap for connected devices that integrates voice technology in novel ways," Paul Bernard, Director Of Corporate Development for the Alexa Fund, was quoted as saying.

Access Technology Ventures, a venture-capital firm, led the latest investment round, which also included Australia`s sovereign-wealth fund and tech investors Vy Capital and Altimeter, the report noted.
New Delhi: United Breweries Ltd (UBL) on Thursday said its Chairman Vijay Mallya has ceased to be director of the company following market regulator Sebi's order against him.

On January 25 this year Sebi had restrained Mallya from holding position as director or key managerial personnel of any listed company which has not been vacated till date, UBL said in a regulatory filing.

"The board at its meeting held on Thursday has authorised filing of requisite forms/intimations with the Registrar of Companies and other authorities notifying Vijay Mallya's cessation from holding position of director in the company," it said.

In January, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) had restrained Mallya and six others from the securities market and also from "buying, selling or otherwise dealing in securities in any manner whatsoever, either directly or indirectly" till further directions.

The market regulator's order was issued close on the heels of CBI naming Mallya, Kingfisher Airlines and eight others in a charge sheet related to loan default case.

Mallya, whose now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines owes more than Rs 9,000 crore (including interest) to various banks, had fled India on March 2, 2016.

The CBI has two cases against him- one related to the IDBI Bank case and the other related to a loan default of over Rs 6,000 crore filed on the basis of a complaint from a State Bank of India led consortium.
New Delhi: Amidst wide-ranging debate on whether Bitcoins should be banned, regulated or subjected to self-regulation, this Bengaluru eatery made practical application of payment through the Virtual Currenciey (VC).

As per a report in the Bloomberg Quint, Suryavanshi restaurant at Bengaluru's Indiranagar allows its guests to dine in and pay via Bitcoins.

The restaurant's other outlet at Whitefield also accepts Bitcoins as mode of payment.

The two Suryavanshi restaurants are probably the only outlets in the Karnataka capital and one of the few eating joints in the country that let customers pay through bitcoins, the website reports.

What are Bitcoins?

Bitcoin is the "new money" - minted and exchanged on internet.

The Bitcoin system is not managed by a central authority as it relies on a peer-to-peer network on the internet.

Anyone can join the network as a user or provide computing capacity to process the transactions.

In the network, the user's identity is hidden behind a cryptographic pseudonym, which can be changed as often as is wanted.

Transactions are signed with this pseudonym and broadcast to the public network to verify their authenticity and attribute the Bitcoins to the new owner.

What is the status of Bitcoins in India?

There are no regulations governing virtual currencies, including bitcoins, in India at present and the RBI has not given any licence to any entity/company to operate such schemes, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had told Parliament early this month.

In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley further said there is evidence that crypto currency/bitcoins are being used in the country and the bitcoin market in India has seen notable growth over the last few years.

"At present, there are no regulations governing VCs including Bitcoin (BTC) in India. Further, RBI has advised that it has not given any licence to any entity/company to operate such schemes or deal with Bitcoin or any virtual currency," Jaitley said.

Recently, Jaitley had held an inter-ministerial meeting to examine risks related to VCs like bitcoins.

Recently, a domestic app-based bitcoin exchange Zebpay said it has five lakh downloads on the Android operating system and was adding more than 2,500 users every day.

Bitcoins were in news recently after a massive global ransomware attack 'WannaCry' hit systems in over 100 countries. The cyber criminals demanded a fee of about USD 300 in crypto-currencies like bitcoin for unlocking affected devices.
New Delhi: Jugnoo - a hyperlocal startup vastly supported by auto rickshaw network and its B2B SaaS offerings, commences a new service called Jugnoo Partner Program.

The program invites various businesses and entrepreneurs to join as partners.

It is designed for partners to have access to resources and knowledge needed to offer Jugnoo services to the final customers.

The aim is to provide top quality customer experience and to explore better business opportunities that`d eventually help in generating more sales globally.

Jugnoo through its SaaS based solution, Tookan provides a generic platform to manage and track - field workforces that enable on-demand deliveries, at-home services and on-street customer acquisition.

It also helps to communicate seamlessly with customers and to take data driven business decisions.

The benefits of becoming a partner include training sessions, access to Jugnoo`s knowledge base, free software licenses for internal use and training, bug reporting on behalf of customers, periodic release of new versions etc.

The official partners can choose from different revenue model options and can benefit from one-time as well as monthly recurring revenues.

Commenting on the launch of Partner Program, Samar Singla, CEO and Founder of Jugnoo said, "With the global presence of our B2B product and expansive growth in SaaS based platform worldwide, initiating partnership program seems like the right way to go. This will help us make our reach more comprehensive and help us accelerate our business."
New Delhi: The Rajya Sabha on Thursday passed the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2017, which empowers the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to resolve stressed assets clogging the banking system.

The Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2017, seeks to amend the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and replace the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2017, which was promulgated in May this year.

The measure allows the RBI to initiate insolvency resolution process on specific stressed assets.

The RBI would also be empowered to issue other directions for resolution, appoint or approve for appointment, authorities or committees to advise the banking companies for stressed asset resolution.

Non-performing assets of banks have risen to over Rs 9 lakh crore and now RBI is being given power to refer the cases to Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board.

Moving on fast-track, the RBI had in June identified 12 large loan defaulters who account for 25 percent of the total bad loans in the banking sector.

Action under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code has already begun in certain cases, including Essar Steel, Bhushan Steel and Bhushan Power & Steel.

With Agency Inputs
New Delhi: Flipkart has raised an estimated USD 2.5 billion from SoftBank Vision Fund, making the fund created by Japanese conglomerate SoftBank one of the biggest shareholders of India's largest e-commerce player.

"This is the biggest ever private investment in an Indian technology company," Flipkart said in a statement without disclosing the sum invested.

The investment will make the USD 100 billion Vision Fund one of the largest shareholders in Flipkart, the e-tailer said.

People familiar with the deal said the investment is worth USD 2.5 billion, with about USD 1.5 billion being directly funnelled into Flipkart and USD 1 billion for part of Tiger Global Management's stake.

The SoftBank Vision Fund, the world's largest technology-focused fund, will get about 20 per cent stake in Flipkart, they said.

The investment, which comes less than two weeks after Snapdeal dropped merger talks with its bigger rival, will swell Flipkart's cash holdings to more than USD 4 billion.

Snapdeal is backed by SoftBank.

The investment is part of the financing round announced in April this year where Tiger Global-backed Flipkart had raised USD 1.4 billion from Tencent, Microsoft and eBay. At that time, Flipkart was valued at USD 11.6 billion.

With the latest funding, Flipkart is estimated to have raised well over USD 5 billion till date.

SoftBank was mediating the talks for Snapdeal's merger with Flipkart. The discussions were terminated after the smaller rival decided to pursue an independent path.

Sources had said SoftBank was keen to pick up stake in Flipkart and was looking at investing about USD 1.5-2 billion.

For Flipkart, the funding provides it with more arsenal to compete with Amazon. The two companies have been locked in an intense battle for leadership in the burgeoning Indian e- commerce market.

"India has a thriving Internet market with close to 500 million Internet users and as per market research, the Indian e-commerce market is expected to grow at a five-year CAGR in excess of 30 per cent," the statement said.

The funding round further solidifies Flipkart's balance sheet and will help accelerate investment in driving continued market leadership, it added.

Amazon and Flipkart have been pumping in millions of dollars to strengthen infrastructure as well as bring more sellers and buyers online.

While Flipkart has now raised close to USD 4 billion this year, Amazon pumped in about USD 600 million across various units in India since January this year.

"This is a monumental deal for Flipkart and India. Very few economies globally attract such overwhelming interest from top-tier investors," Flipkart co-founders Binny Bansal and Sachin Bansal said.

Masayoshi Son, founder, Chairman and CEO of SoftBank Group Corp, said India is a land of vast opportunity.

"We want to support innovative companies that are clear winners in India because they are best positioned to leverage technology and help people lead better lives. As the pioneers in Indian e-commerce, Flipkart is doing that every day," he added.

SoftBank, which has investments in Indian start-ups like Snapdeal and cab aggregator Ola, had committed investments worth USD 10 billion in India in 2014.

In May this year, SoftBank pumped in USD 1.4 billion (over Rs 9,079 crore) in Indian digital payments platform Paytm.

SoftBank Vision Fund, founded by Son, has participants like Apple, Foxconn and Public Investment Fund of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. While reporting its financial results for June quarter, SoftBank had included the Fund as a new reportable segment.

The completion of the investment in Flipkart is subject to customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC served as financial advisor and Gunderson Dettmer LLP served as legal advisor to Flipkart.

Citi served as financial advisor and AZB and Partners served as legal advisor to the SoftBank Vision Fund.
Zee Media Bureau/Smriti Srivastava

Who is Vijaypat Singhania?

Vijaypat Singhania was the chairman emeritus of the Raymond Group of clothing and textiles and a former Sheriff of Mumbai, from 19 December 2005 to 18 December 2006.

Achivements

Vijaypat Singhania, an ambitious aviator, holds the world record for highest altitude gained travelling in a hot air balloon, at the age of 67.



He also holds a world record for his solo microlight flight in 1998 from UK to India.



He has flight experience of over 5,000 hours.



In 1994, Singhania won the gold medal in the Federation Aeronautique Internationale air race covering a distance of 34,000 km spanning 24 days.



He was conferred the rank of Hon. Air Commodore of the Indian Air Force, to mark this occassion.



In 2005, Singhania was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Aero Club, and in 2006, the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India.



He is also the author of a book called 'An Angel in the Cockpit' accounting his journey from the UK to India on a microlight aircraft in 1988.



In March 2007, he was nominated to be Chairman of the Governing Council, IIM Ahmedabad.

Family background

Vijaypat Singhania, son of Lala Kailashpat Singhania (significant part of JK organisation) has two sons- Madhupati Singhania is the eldest and Gautam Hari Singhania is the youngest. Have a look at the pictorial representation below to understand the Singhania family tree better:

Graphics credit: @livemint

Singhania Vs Singhania- Rivalry

Madhupati Singhania, the eldest son of the tycoon, in 1998 suspended bond with his family. He moved to Singapore leaving his ancestral house in Mumbai, along with his wife and four children.

Before this, 56 years old Madhupati participated into a Family Agreement according to which he abandoned his rights as well as his children to the family property. As soon as, he made his exit, Gautam Hari Singhania was elevated to the designation of managing director of Raymond.

Recent controversy

The man who invested his sweat in Raymond Ltd and made it India's largest clothing brand, is in trouble now. By his own admisison, one of the country's richest men, is leading a hand-to-mouth life at present. Singhania who now resides in rented row house in south Mumbai's upscale Grand Paradi society blames his son Gautam for his pathetic financial condition.

Three days back, the senior Singhania had petitioned Bombay High Court seeking possession of a duplex in the redeveloped 36-storey J K House on Malabar Hill.

The court was informed about his miserable financial condition as well. Vijaypat's lawyer told the court that 78-year-old business tycoon's son drove him away from the scene after he gave away all his wealth to him. The court was informed that Singhania gave up all his shares in the company worth around Rs 1000 crore in his son's favour.
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Thursday issued notice to the Delhi Police on bail plea of S. Chandrashekar, arrested in the Election Commission Two Leaves symbol bribery case, involving All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) leader T.T.V. Dinakaran.

Justice Ashutosh Kumar sought the response along with a status report from the police before the next date of hearing on September 5.

The petition, filed through advocate Gurpreet Singh, alleged that "to the utter surprise and shock, he was subjected to illicit monetary demands", of around Rs. 2 crore by jail authorities.Gurpreet Singh, alleged that "to the utter surprise and shock, he was subjected to illicit monetary demands", of around Rs. 2 crore by jail authorities.

He urged that he be shifted to a prison other than the high-risk one to be protected from cruelty and torture.

The plea alleged that "he was shifted to the ward occupied by high-risk detainees and convicts endangering his life and that he was subjected to immense psychological pressure."

It further said that two jail officials subjected him to a strip-search in gross violation of his right to live with dignity and that he was subjected to immense humiliation in front of other inmates.

Chandrashekar was denied bail by the high court on June 14 on the ground that the police had seized a fake Rajya Sabha member ID card from his possession which was a "serious threat on Parliament`s security".

The Delhi Police Crime Branch had filed an over 700-page chargesheet alleging Chandrashekar, who was arrested on April 16, had conspired with Dinakaran to bribe the Election Commission officials to get the `two leaves` symbol for the Sasikala-led AIADMK (Amma) faction.
New Delhi: In a major security breach ahead of the country's 70th Independence Day, a police Gypsy was stolen from the South Extension in south Delhi.

According to a ToI report, the stolen vehicle, which belonged to the Quick Reaction Team (QRT) of the Delhi Police, had flashers on top.

The vehicle was attached to the Tughlaq Road Police Station and had just returned from a patrol.

According to available information, the driver of the Gypsy had gone home and parked the vehicle outside his house.

When he returned, the vehicle was missing. Immediately, a PCR call was made and messages flashed across Delhi.

The incident has sent security agencies in a tizzy and a massive hunt has been launched to trace the vehicle.

Delhi Police personnel deployed at barricades set up across the city in view of the 70th Independence Day and all beat officer have been asked to increase vigilance.

The DCP-level officer has been asked to probe the matter, according to the report.

The latest incident of theft comes days after the intelligence agencies warned of possible car-bomb attack before August 15.

Intelligence agencies are also assisting the police in tracking down the stolen vehicle.

A case of theft has been registered in this regard.
New Delhi: The government is not considering any merger of the UGC and the AICTE into a single higher education regulator at present, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Thursday.

"No such proposal is under consideration at present, to merge the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) into a single higher education regulator," Minister of State for HRD Mahenrda Nath Pandey said in a written response in the Rajya Sabha.

However, HRD Ministry officials had earlier claimed that the government was mulling introducing Higher Education Empowerment Regulation Agency (HEERA) to replace the UGC and the AICTE with an aim of eliminating overlaps in jurisdiction and remove irrelevant regulatory provisions.

The HRD Minister said in the response that the idea of establishing a single regulator for higher education is not new and various committees on higher education have earlier recommended a single body.

"While the National Knowledge Commission (2006) recommended an independent regulatory authority for higher education, the Committee on Renovation and Rejuvenation of Higher Education (2009) advocated an apex regulatory body by converging multiple regulatory agencies in the field of higher education.

"The UGC Review Committee in 2014 had also recommended that the commission should be replaced by an apex institution titled National Higher Education Authority," Pandey said.
New Delhi: In a bid to eliminate the harmful effects of plastic on human life and the environment, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has ordered an interim ban on the use of non-biodegradable plastic bags which are less than 50 microns in Delhi.

An environment compensation of Rs 5,000 on anyone found in possession of such banned plastic has also been announced.

The tribunal has further directed the Delhi government to seize the entire stock of plastic within one week from today.

The bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar asked the AAP-ruled city government and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee to file an affidavit by a senior most officer and inform it how directions with regard to waste management in the city were being implemented particularly in respect to plastics.

Last year, the green body had banned the use of disposable plastic in Delhi and NCR with effect from January 1, 2017 and directed the city government to take steps to reduce dumped waste.

On July 31, the Tribunal slammed the Delhi government over indiscriminate and rampant use of plastic in the national capital despite its prohibition.

The bench had directed the city government to strictly enforce its ban order in the city and sought a status report on the issue.

The NGT had prohibited the use of disposable plastic in the entire city, especially at hotels, restaurants and for public and private functions, while asking the Delhi government to take appropriate steps against "storage, sale and use" of such material from January 1 this year.

It had also said that an environment compensation of Rs 10,000 would be imposed on vegetable vendors and slaughter houses for throwing garbage in public places.

(With PTI inputs)
Ahmedabad: Veteran leader Shankersinh Vaghela on Thursday claimed Ahmed Patel's victory in the Rajya Sabha polls came through a "well thought-out conspiracy" scripted by Congress leaders and voiced reservation over the Election Commission's decision to invalidate the votes of two MLAs.

Vaghela, who revolted against the Congress last month, claimed party leaders drew up the plan to ensure Patel's victory a day ahead of the voting on August 8.

"It was a conspiracy by the Congress (leaders) to win the election. Otherwise, their candidate would never have won. Their leaders planned everything in advance. They had prepared the documents to support their objection a day before the poll and challenged the voting as per that plan," Vaghela told reporters in Gandhinagar.

He was referring to the votes of rebel Congress MLAs Raghavjee Patel and Bholbhai Gohel, which were invalidated after Congress' polling agent Shaktisinh Gohil lodged a complaint with the EC.

"The polling agent of the Congress intimidated these MLAs as part of the conspiracy. I think that the EC has no right to intervene during the counting of votes, as only the returning officer can take such a call," he said.

"The EC must apply its mind and watch the video footage to get the clarity (on the matter)," he said, adding the panel's decision will be challenged in the Supreme Court.

The Gujarat Congress had yesterday expelled eight MLAs, including Vaghela and his son Mahendrasinh, for cross-voting.

"I would resign as Congress MLA next week," Vaghela said, adding that despite being a dedicated Congressman, his loyalty to the party was questioned.

Vaghela had last month dissociated himself from the Congress and also given resignation from the post of Leader of the Opposition in the Gujarat Assembly.

He claimed that he had warned the party high command about the possibility of cross-voting in the Rajya Sabha polls but no action was taken on that.

"The party did not take action when cross-voting took place in the presidential polls. At that time, I warned the party high command about similar situation in the Rajya Sabha polls. But, they ignored my warning," he said.

"If the Congress had not taken 44 MLAs to Bengaluru, around 25 would have resigned," Vaghela claimed.
New Delhi: As many as 379 IAS officers have not filed their immovable property returns (IPRs) for the year 2016, the government told Parliament on Thursday.

The IPRs for the last year were to be filed by January 31, 2017.

"Out of 5,004 officers as per civil list 2017, as on date 379 IAS officers have not filed their IPRs for the year 2016. Of these, 38 officers have retired till date and two have expired," Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.

Of the total officers, the highest of 37 are from Manipur-Tripura cadre, 34 of union territories cadre, 32 of Andhra Pradesh, 31 of Uttar Pradesh, 27 of West Bengal cadre, and 22 of Punjab cadre, Singh said.

There are 20 IAS officers of Odisha cadre, 19 each of Jharkhand and Nagaland cadres, 18 of Karnataka, 17 each of Rajasthan and Uttarakhand, 15 of Telangana, 12 of Madhya Pradesh, 11 of Jammu and Kashmir, nine of Assam-Meghalaya, eight of Bihar, four of Tamil Nadu, five of Sikkim, three of Kerala, two each of Chhattisgarh and Gujarat, and one of Maharashtra, he said.

As per rules, officials would be denied vigilance clearance if they fail to submit IPRs in time.
New Delhi: Underworld don Dawood Ibrahim has shot back saying 'who are you?' when a CNN-News18 reporter asked the Mumbai blasts mastermind if it was him.

Rattled by the reporter's phone call, Dawood tried to figure out damage control by pretending to be his aide Javed Chotani, the news18.com reported.

There was a pause on the other end when the News18 reporter identified himself.

'No this is Chotani speaking,' he tried to take evasive action, the report said.

Chotani is reportedly a bookie who manages Dawoods businesses in Dubai. He was also allegedly involved in the 2013 IPL spot-fixing case.

When the scribe insisted for a small interview, Dawood reportedly handed over the phone to real Chotani, who from then on did all the talking.

When asked if Dawood himself had picked up the phone, the panic was palpable at the other end, the report said, adding, There was a rustle as Chotani turned to his boss for directions.

The reporter could hear a background voice saying Haan... bolo, bolo, and then Chotani faithfully repeats over the phone Haan... bolo, bolo.

Here is a transcript of the phone conversation published by News18.com.

CNN-News18: So, sir? You are in Karachi, Pakistan.

Javed Chotani: Who said so?

CNN-News18: This is a Pakistani number.

Dawood: Dont waste time.

Javed Chotani: Fear God. You are wasting time. Who are you talking to? Who are you interviewing? Do you know anything?

Javed Chotani: No, you tell me. You are taking such a long interview. You are talking so much. Do you even know who you are talking to?

CNN-News18: To Dawood.

Javed Chotani: Fear God. First, you are taking his name this way. You thought you will get to talk to him over the phone just like that.

Javed Chotani: Who gave you this number? Delete this number. Give me a number so that I could pass your message on to Dawood through somebody.

Javed Chotani: You mashallah sound like an intelligent journalist. Do you really think that you will just dial any number and Dawood sahab will pick up the phone? And you will interview him?

Javed Chotani: Give me your number. I will make you talk to him.

CNN-News18: 90XXXXXXXX

Javed Chotani: Okay, tell me. Will you interview directly in the studio?

CNN-News18: I will send the camera to Karachi.

Javed Chotani: To Karachi? Why? Why are you just asking me to make you meet or talk to him? Send me your number.

CNN-News18: Sir, please give me a small interview.

Dawood: No, interview. No.
New Delhi: Amid an ongoing stand-off with China over Doklam in Sikkim, the Indian Army has reportedly ordered the evacuation of a village close to India-Bhutan-China tri-junction.

According to media reports, the Indian Army has asked villagers living in Nathang village to immediately vacate their houses.

Nathang is just 35 km from Doklam - the site of the two-month old stand-off between Indian and Chinese troops.

However, it is still not clear if the order had been issued to accommodate thousands of Indian soldiers belonging to the 33 Corp who have been asked to move towards Doklam from Sukna.

The move is also being seen as a precautionary measure by the Indian Army to avoid civilian casualties in case of a skirmish.

The move holds significance in the wake of repeated threats from China over the ownership of Doklam.

A state-controlled Chinese daily had on August 9 warned that the countdown to war has begun and India should come to its senses and withdraw troops from Dokalam.

China has also reportedly deployed more troops to the stand-off zone in Sikkim's Dokalam.

A fresh editorial in the Global Times, titled New Delhi should come to its senses while it has time, went on to state that the window to peacefully resolve the stand-off in Doklam was closing as the row enters its seventh week.

The countdown to a clash between the two forces has begun, and the clock is ticking away the time to what seems to be an inevitable conclusion.

This is just one of the several vitriolic articles that have appeared in Chinese news agency Xinhua and their newspaper Global Times, in recent past.

The face-off between Indian and Chinese troops though is two months old now.

It started in mid-June in Doklam tri-junction when Indian troops stopped the Chinese army from building a road in the disputed area. China building a road on that site, India feared, would allow Chinese troops to cut Indias access to its north-eastern states.

China, however, claims that it was constructing the road within its own territory.

Since the stand-off, India has constantly batted for a dialogue but China has demanded immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Indian troops before a dialogue or peace process is initiated.
New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah on Wednesday completed his three years in office on Wednesday.

The workaholic Shah, considered to be a master political strategist, and the closest confidante of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has rapidly increased BJP's electoral footprint and clinch states like Goa, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh.

The Modi-Shah combine has turned to be a nightmare for the fractured Opposition, which has failed to understand the logic of changing voter profile.

Shah, who was appointed as BJP president on July 9, 2014, has successfully blended his astute organisational skills with the NaMo charisma, and the result is evident. At present, the BJP has 13 states under its belt and it is in power in five more with alliance partners, besides enjoying unchallenged power at the Centre.

The 52-year-old leader from Gujarat is considered to be the architect of BJP's historic win in Uttar Pradesh during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. He helped BJP bag 73 of the state's 80 Lok Sabha seats in UP. Not only this, the party won a thumping majority in the 2017 state Assembly elections, which also saw Yogi Adityanath at the helm.

Under the leadership of Shah, BJP has emphasised on booth management, which has reaped rich dividends for the ruling party.

Party leaders are quick to point out that under him the BJP has not only won most elections it contested, it also saw its vote percentage rise even in the polls it lost, like in Bihar.

Besides setbacks in 2015 when BJP failed to make the grade in Delhi and Bihar, the BJP juggernaut rolled on as it formed its maiden governments in Assam, Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir.

Under the leadership of Shah and Modi, the resurgent BJP has now set its eyes on West Bengal, Kerala, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. Notably, BJP's presence in these particular states is very less and all of them are ruled by strong regional parties.

In states like Jammu and Kashmir, Assam and Manipur, the BJP has tasted power for the first time. In Goa, where it finished second after Congress, Shah despatched Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, a canny practitioner of realpolitik, to cobble together a majority and form a government with smaller parties.

In Arunachal Pradesh, the party under Shah engineered mass defection by 33 of the 43 MLAs of People's Party of Arunachal Pradesh and formed its own government.

The party also notched more than ever vote share in local bodies polls in Odisha, Kerala and West Bengal, states which Shah has marked out as it as the next potential growth regions for the party during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

With an eye on the next Lok Sabha elections, the former Gujarat home minister has announced that the party's golden era will arrive when it rules across the country from "panchayat to Parliament".

Under him, the BJP, once considered a 'Brahmin-Baniya' party, has reached out to the backward classes and Dalits, a strategy that paid rich dividends in the UP Assembly elections.

BJP chief Amit Shah was elected to the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. Shah, who on Wednesday resigned as legislator of the Gujarat Assembly, challenged the Congress to a battle in the forthcoming Assembly polls.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded on Thursday the contribution of outgoing Vice President Hamid Ansari as the chairman of the Rajya Sabha, saying he could maintain a delicate balance in the Upper House because of his "intellectual capability and skills".

He suggested that Ansari, whose term ends today, should write a book on how the functioning of the Rajya Sabha could be made more effective and the institution "even more credible".

The prime minister said the various decisions that Ansari took as the chairman of the Rajya Sabha have something concrete to offer.

He brought order in the House enabling the government to complete its business and such decisions could help others to understand how to improve its functioning, Modi said at a farewell function in honour of the vice president.

Earlier, BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya had criticised the vice president for his comment that there was a sense of insecurity among Muslims and said such a "petty" remark was not expected from someone in his position.

He also wondered if Ansari was looking for "political shelter" after retirement.

"I condemn his comments. He has made political comments as he is retiring. He is still the vice president and such comments do not suit his office's dignity. It seems he is making such comments to find political shelter after retirement," he said.

In an apparent reference to Ansari, Vice President-elect M Venkaiah Naidu rejected as "political propaganda" the view that there is a sense of insecurity among minorities.

Though Naidu did not name anyone, his comments were seen as a response to Ansari's remarks in a TV interview that there was an unease and a sense of insecurity among Muslims, and that "ambience of acceptance" was now under threat.

"Some people are saying minorities are insecure. It is a political propaganda. Compared to the entire world, minorities are more safe and secure in India and they get their due," he told PTI.

At the farewell function, Modi said Ansari could maintain a delicate balance in the House because of his "intellectual capability and skills".

He said in public life several controversies were associated with public figures of which some being true and others false.

But to the best of his knowledge, Ansari faced no controversy in his long public life which was worth emulating, Modi said.

He recalled that Ansari's cousin Brig Mohammad Usman laid down his life while fighting the Pakistan Army and tribal raiders in Jammu and Kashmir in 1948.

The prime minister said farewell ceremonies were meant to help successors learn from the qualities of the person retiring.

He hoped that Naidu, who was amongs those present, would follow the precedent set by Ansari.

Replying to the felicitations, Ansari said he had been rendered speechless by the words of praise for him.

On his tenure as the presiding officer of the Rajya Sabha, he said there were purposeful exchanges in the House that did not result in animosity.

"No one accused me of of leaning to one side. I am retiring highly satisfied," he said.

Ansari said as a common citizen, he would go back to the vibrant democracy and watch the institution from a "different angle".

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, Deputy Speaker M Thambi Durai, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman P J Kurien, Union ministers including Arun Jaitley and Ananth Kumar, Naidu, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad and former prime minister Manmhan Singh were present on the occasion.

Several Rajya Sabha members posed for a group photograph on the last day of Ansari in office.
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Thursday will hear a plea filed against senior Congress leader Sajjan Kumar seeking cancellation of bail in regard to 1984 anti-Sikh riot case.

On July 19, the Delhi High Court heard Kumar's plea seeking cancellation of the anticipatory bail granted by the trial court related to killing of three Sikhs in West Delhi area during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

On July 13, a second judge of the Delhi High Court recused himself from Kumar's case. Earlier too, one judge had recused from hearing the matter.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) had approached the Delhi High Court seeking cancellation of the anticipatory bail granted by the trial court to Kumar.

On June 10, the first Delhi High Court Judge recused himself from hearing Kumar's bail cancellation plea in connection with the riots, as the appearing advocate was his relative.

Earlier in April, the court had reopened five cases in connection with the 1984 anti-Sikh riots that were closed in 1986.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had also filed appeals against the acquittal of Kumar and life sentence to ex-councilor Balwan Khokhar.

The high court had taken suo motu cognizance as during course of the arguments, Kumar's lawyers mentioned these matters as precedents since co-accused Mahender Yadav, Balwan Khokhar and Kishan Khokhar had been acquitted in them.

The court noted that eyewitnesses had not been examined in those cases and there was a "travesty" since investigation was not done properly.

The court took suo motu cognizance of the "errors" in the 1986 trial judgment, adding that key eyewitnesses were not examined and cases were closed "very rapidly" seemingly without proper investigation and trial.

The bench passed this order after taking note of the trial court judgments passed in 1986 in the five cases.

The apex court had also directed the Centre to deposit more than 190 files in connection with this case.

Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi told the Supreme Court that the SIT in as many as 263 cases had no case files and there was no trace of any victim or witness.

On February 20, the Centre filed a status report in the top court on the investigation conducted by the SIT into anti-Sikh riots cases.

The anti-Sikh riots that broke out after the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, claimed 2,433 lives in Delhi alone.
Panaji: The BJP on Thursday hit back at the Goa Congress president Shantaram Naik over his statement questioning the saffron party's contribution in freedom struggle in the context of the 75th anniversary of the Quit India movement.

BJP leader Hemant Golatkar said the Congress was responsible for "all the ills and problems like the Kashmir issue".

"We pity the ignorance of Naik about the history of India and the independence struggle as he was just a child during the Independence movement and during liberation movement of Goa," the BJP's North Goa general secretary said.

He said it was the Congress party which was responsible for "all the ills and problems like the Kashmir issue, disputes with China, poverty, and deep-rooted corruption".

Golatkar said the Congress was responsible for creation of Pakistan, which has become a constant irritant for our country.

"The BJP led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Centre and by Manohar Parrikar in the state are trying to resolve the problems and the mess created by successive Congress governments," he said.
New Delhi: The Government of Bhutan on Thursday pointedly refuted a Chinese foreign ministry claim that Bhutan had conveyed through diplomatic channels to China that the trilateral border stand-off area in Doklam in the Sikkim sector is not its territory.

Official sources in the Bhutanese Government told ANI over phone, "Our position on the border issue of Doklam is very clear. Please refer to our statement which has been published on the web site of Bhutan's foreign ministry on June 29, 2017."

The Bhutanese sources were responding to a stunning, but unsubstantiated claim made by China's top diplomat, Wang Wenli, that Bhutan had conveyed to Beijing through the diplomatic channels that the area of the standoff was not its territory.

Wang, who is the Deputy Director General of the Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs in China's foreign ministry, reportedly conveyed this information to a visiting Indian media delegation on Wednesday.

She, however, did not provide any evidence of her claim, which official sources in Bhutan said is at complete variance with Thimphu's stated position and actions.

While acknowledging that Bhutan had protested to the Chinese government about Beijing violating a bilateral pact by allowing its troops to construct a road in the Doklam area on 16 June, Wang was quoted, as saying, "After the incident, the Bhutanese made it very clear to us that the place where the trespassing happened is not Bhutan's territory."

She further was quoted, as saying that "Bhutanese find it very strange that the Indian border troops are on the Chinese soil," and implied that her views have been gleaned from Bhutanese state media and legal blogs which have "more convincing information".

Official sources in Bhutan, however, firmly countered this claim today by saying that their country's foreign ministry has clearly emphasized in their June 29 statement that, "Bhutan has conveyed to the Chinese side, both on the ground and through the diplomatic channel, that the construction of the (motorable) road inside Bhutanese territory is a direct violation of the (written) agreements (of 1988 and 1998) and affects the process of demarcating the boundary between our two countries."

The Bhutanese foreign ministry statement clearly states that the attempt by the Chinese Army to construct the motorable road from Dokola in the Doklam area towards the Bhutan Army camp at Zompelri was a unilateral action that needed to be stopped immediately pending settlement of the boundary issue.

The sources said that the statement is clear that the agreements of 1988 and 1998 also state that both sides "will refrain from taking unilateral action, or use of force, to change the status quo of the boundary (and that) Bhutan hopes that the status quo in the Doklam area will be maintained as before 16 June 2017."

India has also cited the Bhutanese foreign ministry as emphasizing that "the construction of the road inside Bhutanese territory is a direct violation of the 1988 and 1998 agreements between Bhutan and China and affects the process of demarcating the boundary between these two countries."

India has conveyed to China that the road construction would represent a significant change of status quo with serious security implications for New Delhi.

India has said both sides should first pull back their troops for any talks to take place.

Bhutan has no direct diplomatic relations with China and maintains contacts with Beijing through its diplomatic mission in New Delhi.

Bhutan and China have held 24 rounds of talks to resolve boundary dispute, while India and China have completed 19 rounds of talks.
New Delhi: The countdown to war has begun and India should come to its senses and withdraw troops from Dokalam, a state-controlled Chinese daily said on Wednesday. China has also reportedly deployed more troops to the standoff zone in Sikkim's Dokalam.

Currently, about 300 Chinese troops are at the standoff site, facing nearly 350 Indian soldiers staying in 30 tents. But now, the China's Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) has pitched 80 tents around the Dolam plateau, reported the Indian Express. As of now, there are less than 800 Chinese soldiers in the area.

Indian officials, meanwhile, have refused to comment on this. Yesterday, sources told Press Trust of India that Indian Army is in a 'no war, no peace' mode against the Chinese military against the Chinese military in Dokalam and status quo continues in the area.

Chinese media said India has ignored China's stern warnings and should now be ready to face serious consequences, reported news agency IANS.

The "clock is ticking away", said the editorial piece in the daily, further adding that India will only have itself to blame if it didn't withdraw troops from Doklam where both the countries have been in a stand-off for the past seven weeks.

Meanwhile, the Indian Army has preponed their annual two-week exercise  Operational Alert, popularly called Op Alert, for 33 Corps overlooking the Sikkims border to acclimatise themselves with their likely area of operation.

The acclimatisation happens in two stages: Stage-1 acclimatisation which is conducted over six days, post which troops can operate up to 11,800 feet and Stage-2 acclimatisation another four days, post which soldiers can operated up to 14,700 feet.

With Agency Inputs
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Thursday issued notice to the Delhi Police on the bail plea of Sukesh Chandrashekar, arrested in the Election Commission bribery case involving AIADMK (Amma) leader T T V Dhinakaran.

Justice Ashutosh Kumar sought the response along with a status report from the police before the next date of hearing on September 5.

Appearing for Chandrashekar, senior advocate Aman Lekhi sought bail for him and said he had been in jail for the last four months.

Chandrashekar, who was arrested on April 16, has been denied bail once by the high court and twice by the trial court.

The high court had on June 15 rejected his bail plea on the ground that police had seized a fake Rajya Sabha member ID card from his possession, which was a "serious threat to Parliament's security".

A chargesheet was filed in the case on July 14.

The police have alleged in the chargesheet that Dhinakaran and Chandrashekar conspired to bribe Election Commission (EC) officials to get the 'two leaves' symbol for their party.

The Delhi Police Crime Branch also included in the chargesheet allegations of forgery for purpose of cheating, using forged document as genuine, possessing a forged document, intending to use it as genuine and criminal conspiracy.

Chandrashekar had moved the high court last week alleging that he was tortured despite an order not to subject him to violence inside Tihar Jail.

The high court on July 24 had warned of "serious action" over the allegations of torture and said any such incident would not be tolerated.
Kathmandu: Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj arrived here on Thursday on a two-day visit to participate in the 15th BIMSTEC ministerial meeting.

The visit comes ahead of Nepali Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba`s proposed visit to India beginning August 23.

Besides taking part in the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) meeting, Sushma Swaraj will meet Deuba, President Bidhya Devi Bhandari, opposition leader K.P. Oli, Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal "Prachanda" and Madhes-based leaders.

Officials said Sushma Swaraj will also take stock of latest political developments in Nepal.

Deuba will inaugurate the ministerial meeting on Thursday evening which will be attended by the Foreign Ministers of Nepal, India, Bangladesh and Bhutan. Deputy Foreign Ministers of Myanmar and Thailand will also be participating in the event.

The 18th Session of the BIMSTEC senior officials` meeting kicked off in the capital on Thursday morning.

India`s position on BIMSTEC is crucial, said a Nepali official.

Nepal is the current chair of the regional grouping and the member states will also discuss fixing the date of the fourth BIMSTEC Summit to be held in Nepal later this year.

Among the top agenda of the BIMSTEC meeting are finalising the free trade agreement among the member states. They will negotiate market access for professionals, reducing the duty cuts on trading goods and other items, among others.
Mumbai: The ED on Thursday conducted searches at few locations here in connection with its money laundering probe against Pune-based stud farm owner Hasan Ali Khan and others.

Officials privy to the operations of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said the agency launched the searches early morning on at least four premises here and are acting under sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The agency, which has booked Khan (62) and few of his alleged associates under criminal charges of money laundering in 2011, had swooped down on a dozen premises last year too, in connection with its probe.

The action against Khan and his other associates had come about after a lull of about six-years when he was first booked by the ED. The central probe agency wants to revive the case and bring to light additional evidences in the case.

Khan, who was also jailed under anti-money laundering charges, was released on bail in August, 2015.

The CBI too had registered a case against Khan and others early this year on charges of alleged criminal conspiracy and corruption.
New Delhi: Hours ahead of his swearing-in ceremony, Vice-President elect M Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday said that the agenda of politics should be development, while also adding that India is the most tolerant country in the world.

"India is the most tolerant country. Indian ethos is of mutual respect for each other. People try to use minority issues for political purposes," he said.

"Unfortunately, some people are trying to blow it out of proportion and trying to defame India, raising it to national forum," he added.

Venkaiah Naidu speaks to media- WATCH here.

#WATCH: Vice President elect Venkaiah Naidu speaks to media https://t.co/Hem5QZ7RZY August 10, 2017

His remarks came shortly after outgoing vice-president Hamid Ansari asserted that "there is a feeling of unease and a sense of insecurity among the Muslims in the country."

In his last interview on Wednesday, before demitting the office, Ansari had said that the Muslims in the country were experiencing a "feeling of unease."

"A sense of insecurity is creeping in as a result of the dominant mood created by some and the resultant intolerance and vigilantism," Ansari had said in an interview to Rajya Sabha TV.

Ansari also referred to incidents of lynching and alleged killings as a "breakdown of Indian values, breakdown of the ability of the authorities at different levels in different places to be able to enforce what should be normal law enforcing work and over all the very fact that Indianness of any citizen being questioned is a disturbing thought."

On a related note, in his last address as the VP, Ansari said that democracy would turn into tyranny, if opposition groups are not given the right to free criticism, adding that a democracy is distinguished by the protection it gives to minority.

"A democracy is distinguished by the protection it gives to minority. Democracy is likely to degenerate into a tyranny if it does not allow the opposition groups to criticise freely and frankly the policies of the government. But at the same time, the minorities have also their responsibilities," he said, quoting former president Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan during his farewell speech at the Rajya Sabha.
Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi in Delhi on Thursday to discuss the legal challenges to Article 35A of the Constitution, official sources said.

The chief minister, who is scheduled to leave for Delhi in the afternoon, is also likely to meet leaders like JD(U)'s Sharad Yadav on the issue of Article 35A that gives special status to the state and has been challenged in the Supreme Court, they said.

Mehbooba is keen to build consensus against scrapping the Constitutional provision, which empowers the Jammu and Kashmir legislature to define the state's "permanent residents" and their special rights and privileges, they said.

In a surprise development, Mehbooba had called on opposition National Conference (NC) President Farooq Abdullah this week to seek the support of his party on the issue.

Abdullah had told her that she should meet the Prime Minister, all the important central ministers and also the BJP leadership to convince the Sangh Parivar against striking down the constitutional provision.

The chief minister has also held meetings with leaders of other opposition parties in the state, including Jammu and Kashmir Congress President G A Mir and DPN chief Ghulam Hassan Mir.

Sources in Mehbooba's Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said striking down Article 35A will be "a catastrophe for all mainstream political parties in Kashmir".

It will be nothing short of a "tsunami" for mainstream politicians as protection of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir within the Indian Constitution is the "cornerstone of their politics", they said.

On the latest developments, NC spokesman Junai Mattu tweeted: "On #35A, bizarre of @MehboobaMufti to seek a consensus against BJP WHILE in an alliance with the BJP. She wants to have AND eat the cake".

"That is the crux of her dilemma - run with the hare & hunt with the hounds. She wants to govern with the BJP & oppose their politics with us," the party's working President, Omar Abdullah, said in a tweet.

The controversy erupted in 2014 after an NGO 'We the Citizens' filed a PIL in the Supreme Court seeking Article 35A be struck down.

The Jammu and Kashmir government, under the guise of Articles 35A and 370, which grant special autonomous status to the state, has been discriminating against non-residents, who are debarred from buying properties, getting government jobs or voting in local elections, the PIL said.

Article 35A was added to the Constitution by a presidential order in 1954, it said.

While the state government contested the petition, saying the President had the power to incorporate a new provision in the Constitution by way of an order, the Centre, recently, expressed its reservations.
New Delhi: Leaders of 18 opposition parties led by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi will meet to chalk out a common strategy to corner the NDA government on a range of issues in the national capital on Friday.

According to sources, the opposition leaders will meet in parliament library to work out an effective strategy to take on the Centre when the Monsoon session ends.

An invite has been sent to leaders of opposition parties, including JD(U)'s Sharad Yadav by Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad on behalf of the Congress chief.

Besides top Congress leaders, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee is also likely to attend the meeting along with other senior leaders like Mayawati, Akhilesh Yadav and Sitaram Yechury, sources said.

Since Sharad Yadav is in Patna, he may be represented by Ali Anwar Ansari.

Apart from the Congress, Left parties, TMC, RJD, JD(U), NCP, JMM, DMK, NC, SP, BSP, RLD, JD-S, Kerala Congress, AIUDF besides some others are slated to participate in the meeting.

The 18 opposition parties had earlier decided to meet once a month to discuss various crucial issues and maintain better coordination among themselves to 'unitedly' take on the government.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who arrived here today, met senior Congress leaders Ahmed Patel ahead of the opposition meeting tomorrow.

The Trinamool chief also met President Ram Nath Kovind which was described by her party officials as a "courtesy" call.

Party sources said during her 10-minute meeting, Banerjee assured Kovind that her party will maintain cordial relations with him.

Congress leader Ahmed Patel visited the TMC supremo at her South Avenue office to discuss the agenda for the meeting tomorrow, TMC party sources.

This will be Banerjee's second opposition meeting in Delhi. She had attended the opposition meeting ahead of the presidential election last month.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Kerala Police to render "all assistance" to the NIA in ascertaining whether there is any wider amplitude to the issue raised by a Muslim man whose marriage was annulled by the Kerala High Court that described it as a case of "love jehad".

A bench comprising Chief Justice JS Khehar and Justice DY Chandrachud took serious note of the objection raised by the counsel for Kerala-native Shafin Jahan that he was opposing the NIA's plea to peruse the investigation record of the case.

The bench said that it gathered the impression that "the petitioner (Jahan) does not desire the correct and independent view of the controversy" be brought before the court.

However, the bench allowed Jahan to respond to the plea of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) seeking court's direction for Kerala Police to allow it to have access to the investigation records of the case.

"We want the whole picture. Why should anybody doubt the NIA? Are you doubting the NIA?" the bench asked.

Earlier in the day, the NIA had moved the apex court seeking a direction that it be allowed to have access to the police records relating to the investigation into the case.

Jahan, who had married a Hindu woman in last December, had moved the apex court after the Kerala High Court annulled his marriage saying that it was an insult to independence of women in the country.

The woman, a Hindu, had converted to Islam and later married Jahan.

It was alleged that the woman was recruited by Islamic State's mission in Syria and Jahan was only a stooge.

The high court, while declaring the marriage as "null and void", had described the case as an instance of 'love jihad' and ordered the state police to conduct a probe into such cases.
New Delhi: In a major development, the Supreme Court on Thursday said that there should be a common question paper for National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET), reported ANI.

The top court also rapped the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) for setting up different questions for students appearing for NEET in regional languages.

Several students and subject experts had alleged that the regional language question papers in NEET were different and more difficult than that in Hindi and English.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court considered Centre's submission that it was willing to include Urdu as a language in the NEET from academic session 2018-19 onwards.

Currently, the common entrance test for admission into medical and dental courses is being conducted in ten languages  Hindi, English, Gujarati, Marathi, Oriya, Bengali, Assamese, Telegu, Tamil and Kannada languages.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday reprimanded the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs for frequently remaining absent from the both Houses of Parliament.

The Prime Minister reportedly told the BJP MPs that newly elected Rajya Sabha MP Amit Shah will make sure the party lawmakers are in attendance in both the Houses.

Now Amit Shah is here, all your leisure days are over," the PM said, while addressing the MPs during the BJP Parliamentary Party meeting.

We have asked you multiple times to be present in Parliament. Still some MPs remain absent. What do you think of yourselves? You are nobody, I am nobody, its the BJP that is of utmost importance, Modi told MPs.

In July, PM Modi had expressed his displeasure over BJP members' absence from the both Houses of Parliament leading to trouble or embarrassment for the government.

Earlier this month, BJP president Amit Shah took a serious view of party members not attending the Rajya Sabha despite a whip.

Shah made his displeasure clear at the BJP parliamentary party meeting after the government faced an embarrassing situation in the Upper House with a united opposition pushing some changes to the Constitution amendment bill on backward classes.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar had confirmed the development saying, the BJP chief asked party MPs to be present in both Houses during the session and told them "not to repeat" (such conduct).
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday reportedly warned BJP MPs who don't attend Parliament that they may not get to contest the next Lok Sabha polls if they persist with the habit.

Addressing the Bharatiya Janata Party's parliamentary party meeting here, Modi also praised Amit Shah on completing three years as the BJP President and on being elected to the Rajya Sabha, saying he had brought back the culture of hard work known in the Jan Sangh days.

Informed sources said Modi told the meeting that the party was bigger than any individual and asked why MPs should be reminded about the need to attend Parliament.

According to sources, Modi said there should not be any need to issue whips to ensure their attendance.

"What are you and me? The party is everything... You do what you want to, I will see in 2019," Modi was quoted as saying, in apparent hints that they may be denied nomination in the next election.

Modi also reminded the members that Amit Shah will be in Parliament now and they should be regular in attending the sittings.

It was the first meeting of the BJP parliamentary party attended by Shah after being elected from Gujarat to the Rajya Sabha.

The BJP is the successor to the Bharatiya Jan Sangh, which merged into the Janata Party in 1977. The BJP was formed in 1980.

Modi said it was easy to run a political party while being in the opposition but relatively difficult when it was in power.

He urged the BJP MPs to work for the success of "Tiranga Yatra" (August 9-15) and "Sankalp Yatra" (August 15-30).

Stressing that the freedom movement from 1942 to 1947 was decisive in ending British rule, Modi said a similar effort had to be made in the next five years to take India to new heights by 2022, the 75th anniversary of the country`s Independence.
New Delhi: In his last address as the Vice President of India, Hamid Ansari on Thursday said the Rajya Sabha is a creation of Constitution that portrays Indian diversity.

While giving his farewell speech, Ansari, who relinquishes office after a decade, called for the need for restraint on hasty legislation.

"The Upper House upholds democracy's sacred creed that debate is not a stumbling block, but an indispensable preliminary to wise action," the outgoing Vice President asserted.

The Rajya Sabha today heaped lavish praises on Chairman Hamid Ansari, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior members lauding him for upholding constitutional norms.

Praising Vice President Ansari, Modi said the Chairman did his best to uphold the Constitution. The Vice President is the Chairman of Rajya Sabha.

The PM said that Ansari was leaving behind "great memories" and his "contributions have been important".



"You have been a career diplomat, what it means I got to know when I became the Prime Minister. Observing you I saw mannerisms of a career diplomat."
New Delhi: Nearly two weeks after Nitish Kumar re-assumed the post of state Chief Minister with the support of old ally BJP, Bihar seems to be headed for another political showdown.

According to sources, Nitish-led Janata Dal (United) is likely to crack the whip on senior party member Sharad Yadav, taking away his Rajya Sabha membership.

Sources further added that Yadav may be expelled, if he does not quit on his own.

On Wednesday, the senior JD(U) veteran announced the kickstart his three-day Jan Samvad Yatra, where he will meet the people of Bihar and discuss the repercussions of withdrawal of the grand alliance between Rashtriya Janata Dal and JD(U).

Yadav will visit around 10 ten constituencies of Bihar from August 10 to 12.

"I am going to meet the people and will discuss the condition of the state after the withdrawal of the grand alliance. I have not done any preparation for this. I will stay there overnight and will talk to people on this issue," Yadav told ANI. He said the people supported the grand alliance and expected a lot from it, adding that they are hurt with its withdrawal.

"I was one of those who asked the people of Bihar to vote for the grand alliance. I consider this as a responsibility. The people are hurt with this withdrawal," he said.

Yesterday morning, Yadav congratulated Congress leader Ahmed Patel for his victory in Gujarat Rajya Sabha polls:

Heartiest congratulations on your victory in Rajya Sabha election in spite of toughest hurdles. Wish you all success in your career. pic.twitter.com/ICNTmq02nY  SHARAD YADAV (@SharadYadavMP) August 9, 2017

Sources close to Yadav said that his life is under danger and they are worried about him.

Rumours of split between Nitish and Yadav has been doing rounds for sometime now.
New Delhi: Outgoing Vice President Hamid Ansari on Wednesday said there is a feeling of unease and a sense of insecurity among the Muslims in the country.

Ansari, who demits office after 10 years as Vice President on Thursday, claimed that he had flagged the issue of intolerance with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union ministers.

The outgoing VP asserted the "ambience of acceptance" is now under threat amid rising incidents of intolerance and vigilante violence.

Ansari made the statements while giving an interview to Rajya Sabha TV.

When asked to elaborate on his discussions with the Prime Minister and the Cabinet ministers, Ansari said, "Well, there is always an explanation and there is always a reason. Now it is a matter of judgement, whether you accept the explanation, you accept the reasoning and its rationale."

Ansari, 80, also said that there is a breakdown of Indian values and the ability of authorities at different levels in different places to be able to enforce what should be normal law enforcing work.

While referring to the incidents of lynching and 'ghar wapsi' and killings of rationalists, the outgoing VP said, "Over all the very fact that Indianness of any citizen being questioned is a disturbing thought."

To a poser on the on the issue of triple talaq, Ansari said the practice was a social aberration and not a religious requirement.

Asked if the courts should step in, he said: "You don't have to. The reform has to come from within the community."

Asked about the fact that even the Supreme Court has ruled that the National Anthem should be played before film screenings and some other courts giving similar directions, Ansari said: "The courts are a part of society. So what the courts tend to say sometimes is reflective of the prevailing atmosphere. I call that a sense of insecurity... This propensity to be able to assert your nationalism day in and day out is unnecessary. I am an Indian and that is it."

When asked to comment on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, the former diplomat said, "the problem has always been primarily a political problem. And it has to be addressed politically."

Ansari will demit office today and veteran BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu will take over.

Naidu, who had humble origins in an agriculturist family in Andhra Pradesh, was on August 5 elected as the Vice of President of India. He defeated the combined opposition candidate Gopalkrishna Gandhi by a huge margin of 272 votes in a straight contest.
New Delhi: Union Minister Smriti Irani on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on Congress president Sonia Gandhi for her speech on the Quit India Movement during a special discussion in the Lok Sabhan in which she lamented over the loss of control Nehru dynasty wielded before Congress's defeat in 2014.

Irani, who on Tuesday won the Rajya Sabha election, praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for describing Mahatma Gandhi's call of Do or Die as one that was instrumental in hastening Indias journey to Independence by transforming the freedom movement into a larger mass mobilisation that touched the farthest corners of the subcontinent.

Smriti wrote a post on her Facebook wall where she wrote: Gandhi was bent upon to prove that blood is thicker than water and was 'bitter and illiberal'.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader attacked Sonia for giving credit only to the Congress party for India's Independence movement.

Irani accused Gandhi for denigrating the contribution of the millions who stood behind Mahatma Gandhi in response to his clarion call, courting arrests and indulging in widespread civil disobedience to mark the Quit India movement in 1942.

Laying down the comparison between PM Modi's and Gandhi's speech, Irani said: "Not only the PM spoke of the past but also of the future, not only spoke about India but also of the world. Highlighting the role that women played in the Quit India movement, he emphasised that we must strive to empower women and facilitate their optimum contribution towards building a New India by destroying the shackles that held them back.:

"He also spoke about how Indias quest for freedom bolstered the Independence struggles of other nations under the yoke of colonialism. Exhorting the people of the country to rise above all kinds of differences, including those created by politics, to forge ahead by fighting poverty, injustice and terrorism, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was forward-looking, positive, unifying and gracious in his address, as the occasion demanded."

The Congress president on Wednesday expressed concern over attacks on democracy by the "communal and repressive forces" in the country.

"When we are celebrating 75 years of the Quit India Movement, there are doubts among people whether fear is overshadowing the sense of freedom; whether attempts are being made to destroy the democratic structure, also freedom of speech, equality and social justice," Gandhi said in the Lok Sabha during the special session to mark the 75th anniversary of the movement.
Jammu: Six top militant commanders, including LeT's Abu Dujana, and Burhan Wani's successor Sabzar Ahmad Bhat of Hizbul Mujahideen, were among 132 terrorists killed in encounters with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir, so far this year, according to official figures.

Security forces and police are going after the militants, as they have fiercely intensified operations to hunt them down by acting on the hit-list of top terrorist leaders in Kashmir.

The number of terrorists killed in the past seven months this year is the highest in the same period over the past seven years.

"As many as 132 terrorists have been killed in encounters with police and security forces in Kashmir Valley in over seven months this year," a senior security official told PTI.

While 115 militants have been killed till July-end, as many as 17 militants have been killed since then till August 9, as per official statistics.

While 38 LeT militants were killed in over seven months till August 9, 37 Hizb terrorists were eliminated along with three of the al-Qeada-linked Zakir Musa group, and another 54 unidentified militants were killed, mostly on the LoC.

"The relentless operations by the security forces have defeated the desperate attempts by Pakistan and its agents to spread terror in Jammu and Kashmir. Operations will be continued," a senior Army officer said.

The slain militants included six top commanders of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Hizbul Mujahideen who were killed in fierce encounters in Kashmir during the period.

Top Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander Abu Dujana, a Pakistani national wanted in connection with several terror attacks, and his aide, were gunned down on August 1 by security forces in Hakripora area of Pulwama district.

Dujana was wanted for many attacks on security forces and political workers in south Kashmir.

He was variously described as a category 'A' or 'A++' militant by Army and police officials. He was carrying a reward of Rs 10 lakh on his head.

On July 1, another top LeT commander Bashir Lashkari and militant Azad Malik were killed in a firefight with security forces in Anantnag's Brenti village of Dialgam belt in south Kashmir.

Lashkari was involved in the killing of six policemen in the district's Acchabal area on June 16.

On May 28, top Hizb militant Sabzar Ahmad Bhat, 27, who was a close associate of slain Hizb commander Burhan Wani, was among two militants killed in an encounter in Tral, in south Kashmir.

Sabzar, who was seen as the successor of Wani, dropped out of school in his Rathsuna hamlet in Pulwama to join the Hizb in March this year. Wani was killed on July 8 last year.

On July 12, Sajad Gilkar was among three Hizb militants killed by security forces in Budgam district of central Kashmir.

Gilkar had played a key role in the lynching of Mohammad Ayub Pandith, a deputy superintendent of police, near Jamia Masjid in Nowhatta area of capital Srinagar on June 22.

Besides them, top LeT commander Abu Haris was killed in Bandipora in north Kashmir on February 14, followed by killing of Abul Ali in Budgam on April 22, while Abul Mala, Anis Bhai and Abu Mansoor of LeT were killed in Kupwara on March 15, Abu Umar of LeT was killed in Sopore on January 3, Abu Maviya was shot dead in Bandipora on January 10 and Sher Gujri was slain in Pulwama on March 9.

Most of the encounters took place in south Kashmir's Pulwama, Shopian and Anantnag, apart from Bandipora and Kupwara in north Kashmir and Budgam in central Kashmir, sources said.

In 2010, the highest number of 156 militants were neutralised in the first seven months of the year followed by 102 in 2017, 77 in 2016, 61 in 2011, and 51 each in 2014 and 2015 respectively, the data revealed.

Similarly, 43 militants were killed in 2013, followed by 37 in 2012.

The hunt for commanders and terrorists of various outfits has been intensified under operational strategy, security officials said.

The counter-terrorist grid continued to maintain dominance and deny any space to the terrorists.

Synergised hard-intelligence-based joint ops with the J&K Police and Central Armed Police Forces have been the hallmark of these operations, they said.

Police and security forces pinned down and killed those involved in the killing of seven policemen and lynching of Pandith immediately, officials said, adding, that a massive hunt has been launched to track down LeT commander Abu Ismail who has emerged as the mastermind of the deadly attack on Amarnath pilgrims on July 10.

In June, the Army released a "hit-list" of 12 top militants who it aims to "go after".

The hit-list carried the names and pictures of the militants along with the areas they are active in and the? strikes carried out by them.

Some on the list, including Dujana, have been eliminated over the past one month or so.
Jammu: Blaming Article 370 of the Constitution for the creation of a "separatist psyche", the Jammu and Kashmir unit of the BJP said today that the time has come for the people of the state to say goodbye to it and also to Article 35 A.

Both these articles, instead of being beneficial to the people of the state, have done great damage and hampered progress and development, said J&K BJP spokesperson Prof Virender Gupta.

"The time has come when the people of Jammu and Kashmir should say goodbye to Article 370 and ask the Government of India to revoke Article 35 A," he said.

The prevailing situation in the Valley shows that Article 370 has created a "separatist psyche" and acts as a breeding ground for "separatist emotion", Gupta said.

Article 370 grants special status to J&K, while Article 35 A, added to the Indian Constitution through a presidential order, empowers the J&K legislature to define the state's "permanent residents" and their special rights and privileges.

Article 35 A has come under focus after two Kashmiri women approached the Supreme Court and challenged it. They contended that it had disenfranchised their children.

The BJP is a part of the ruling alliance in J&K where it has partnered the PDP. However, the saffron party's views on Article 370 and Article 35 A appear at variance with its ally.

At a recent event in Delhi, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti had said that if Article 35 A was tinkered with, there will be no one in Kashmir to uphold the national flag.

Opposition National Conference (NC) has also spoken against any attempt to tamper with these provisions.

However, according to the BJP spokesperson, Article 370 is responsible for keeping the settled issue of J&K alive and encourages the separatists and external forces to interfere in the internal matters of India.

He said that Article 370 was increasing the alienation of the people of the Valley and was taking them away from the national mainstream.

"The Kashmiri leadership for its own vested political interests has always indulged in a competitive game to exploit the people in the name of Article 370," Gupta alleged.

The BJP spokesperson said that in spite of large scale funding from the Government of India, Jammu and Kashmir has not been able to develop its own sustainable economy and has remained underdeveloped and backward in many fields.

Industrialists and business houses from outside hesitate to open ventures in the state and as a result, it is facing the crisis of unemployment and migration of skilled and talented youth to the rest of the country, he added.

"Academicians and experts from the rest of the country are discouraged because of the Article to contribute in the educational growth of the state", he claimed.

Gupta alleged that Article 370 is also responsible for widening the mistrust and alienation between the people of the Valley and those of Jammu and Ladakh regions.

He called upon the people of Jammu and Kashmir to also look into the utility of Article 35 A claiming it was "most discriminatory" and differentiated between men and women with regard to their rights as a citizen of the state.

Significantly, on Tuesday, in a surprise development, J&K Chief Minister Mufti had gone to meet NC president Farooq Abdullah.

Sources in the NC had after the meeting said that the legal challenge mounted on the validity of Article 35A of the Constitution was the main subject of discussion between the two leaders.
Bengaluru: Amid growing differences among the Veerashaiva-Lingayat community leaders on the issue of separate religion status, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday said the government has no stand on the matter.

The chief minister also said that a "misconception" is being created that he instigated the separate religion demand.

"Government has no stand on this. There is this misconception that I started the issue," Siddaramaiah said.

He?said the Veerashaiva Mahasabha had organised a felicitation for him and requested him to ask the Centre to recommend an independent religion status to them.

"I said they should unitedly give the request and that the government after examining it will make the recommendation. What is wrong in that? The issue was not initiated by me, it is they who made the request," he told reporters in Chamarajanagar district.

Leaders and pontiffs who are propagating that?Lingayats are separate from Veerashaivas, today held a meeting?in the city to plan their strategy.

Stating that several religious and community leaders?had made requests for separate religion status, Siddaramaiah said "I have only told them to come together with a request."

The clamour for granting separate religion status?to the dominant Veerashaiva-Lingayat community has grown after? Siddaramaiah reportedly gave an assurance.

At an event?organised by the Mahasabha, he had assured that he was ready to make a recommendation to the Centre if the entire community reached a consensus.

As the issue gained momentum, resentment brewed within the community over projecting Lingayats and?Veerashaivas as the same.

While one section under 'Akhila Bharata Veerashaiva? Mahasabha' has demanded separate religion status, asserting that Veerashaiva and Lingayats are the same, the other wants it only for Lingayats as they believe that Veerashaiva is one among the seven sects of Shaivas, which is part of Hinduism.

The Veerashaiva-Lingayat community that pays?allegiance to the 12th century "social reform movement"?initiated by Basaveshwara has a substantial population in Karnataka, especially in the northern parts of the state.

They are also present in parts of Andhra Pradesh,? Maharashtra and Telangana, among others.

Though Congress support to a separate religion cause ahead of the 2018 assembly polls was seen as an attempt to cause damage to the BJP, which enjoys considerable support from the community, it now stands divided between Lingayat and Veerashaiva cause.

The BJP and several sections of the Hindu community?are opposed to the move to give Veerashaiva-Lingayat separate? religion status and have accused the Siddaramaiah government of dividing the society to draw political mileage ahead of? assembly elections due early next year.
New Delhi: The Maharashtra government has moved the Supreme Court challenging the Bombay High Court's verdict which had decriminalised possession of beef in case the animals were slaughtered outside the state.

It has challenged the verdict of May 6 last year striking down sections 5(d) and 9(b) of the Maharashtra Animals Preservation (Amendment) Act, 1995, which criminalised and imposed punishment on persons found in possession of beef of the animals, slaughtered in or outside the state, on the ground that it infringed upon a person's "right to privacy".

The high court had termed as "unconstitutional" the provisions which held mere possession of beef as crime, saying only "conscious possession" of the meat of the animals slaughtered in the state would be an offense.

The appeal would come up for hearing tomorrow before an apex court bench of justices R K Agrawal and A M Sapre.

The plea, filed through advocate Nishant R Katneshwarkar, has assailed the judgement saying the restriction imposed by the 1995 Act on possession of flesh of cow, bull or bullock could not be interpreted and concluded to be an infringement of "right to privacy".

It said that the high court "while coming to the finding that right to privacy forms part of the fundamental right to personal liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution, ought to have appreciated that right to privacy has not yet been designated as a fundamental right".

The plea said that according to the verdict, obligation upon the state to prove "conscious possession" of beef would "constitute an unsurmountable circumstance readily available to the wrongdoer to escape sentence".

It said that the high court had "failed to appreciate that the restriction imposed by the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Act, 1995 on the possession of flesh of cow, bull or bullock could not be interpreted and concluded, in any stretch of imagination, as infringement of right to privacy".

In its judgement, the high court had upheld the ban on slaughter of bulls and bullocks imposed by the Maharashtra government, but had decriminalised possession of beef in case the animals were slaughtered outside the state.

Under the state Act of 1976, there was a ban on cow slaughter and possession and consumption of the meat. However, in 2015, the ban on the slaughter of bulls and bullocks was also included in the Act by an amendment.

According to the verdict, the burden of proving innocence would not be on individuals and the onus to prove that the law was violated lay on the prosecution.

The judgement had came on a batch of petitions filed in the high court challenging the constitutional validity of the Act and in particular, the possession and consumption of beef of the animals slaughtered outside Maharashtra.
Mumbai: In a significant development, Indian Muslim clerics and imams have called for action against 26/11 mastermind and Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed for his anti-India activities.

According to ANI, a resolution was passed against the JuD chief at a gathering at Madrassa Darul Uloom Ali Hasan Ahle Sunnat in Mumbai on Wednesday.

Around 1000 Indian Muslim clerics, who attended the event, urged to denounce JuD, along with several other Pakistan-based terror outfits.

A resolution passed by the clerics was sent to Amr Abdellatif Aboulatta, chair of the UN Security Council's Counter-Terrorism Committee at the Security Council, with a copy marked to the Prime Minister's Office.

Pakistan is playing both sides, on one hand it pretends to be curtailing terror and, on other hand, it is stoking it, a prominent cleric attending the Madrassa Darul Uloom Ali Hasan Ahle Sunnat said.

When asked the reason behind passing the resolution, Maulana Mohammed Hashim Ashrafi, patron of Madrassa Darul Uloom Ali Hasan Ahle Sunnat, said Indian clerics were "morally bound to oppose those who kill or support the killing of innocents in the name of Islam".

The 13-page resolution also speaks about Kashmir which is an internal issue of India and that no third party should interfere in it.

Earlier in 2015, Anjaria had also sought the fatwa against terror outfit Islamic State which was signed by over 1000 Muslim clerics and imams.
Mumbai: In a major push to the Maharashtra government's efforts to improve the ease of doing business in the state, around four lakh registered hotels and restaurants in the state might be able to operate 24x7 soon.

The state Legislative Assembly today passed the bill which seeks amendments to the Maharashtra Shops and Establishments Act.

The bill states that shops and establishments in the state are divided into two categories- mainly those having the employee strength below 10 and above 10.

The changed provision of keeping establishments open 24x7 is available for both the categories. The establishments and shops having employees less than 10, will have to submit their details as self-declaration to the local authority and it will face minimum scrutiny.

On the other hand, establishments with more than ten employees, will be scrutinised for their licences and services. "But the government would ensure that they would not be harassed," Chief Minister Fadnavis had said in the assembly during a discussion on the bill.

The bill had been tabled in the assembly yesterday.

It would now be sent to the Legislative Council for discussion, where the ruling coalition of BJP and Shiv Sena do not hold majority.
Mumbai:  Janmashtami, the birth anniversary of Shri Krishna - the effervescent king of hearts - will be celebrated this year on August 14 according to the Gregorian calendar.

This year, devotees of the Lord will be celebrating his 5244th birth anniversary.

And to make the occasion even more joyous, we have listed some of the most famous songs dedicated to Lord Krishna from Hindi films. Check them out here:

Kanha So Ja Zara  Baahubali: The Conclusion

Madhuban Mein Jo Kanhaiya Kisi Gopi Se Mile  Lagaan

Maiyya Yashoda  Hum Saath Saath Hain

Woh Kisna Hai  Kisna

Mach Gaya Shor Saari Nagri Mein  Khuddar

Govinda Aala Re Aala  Bluff Master

Bada Natkhat Hai  Amar Prem

Mohe Chhedo Na- Lamhe

Madhuban Mein Radhika - Kohinoor

Mohe Panghat Pe - Mughl-E-Azam

Mohe Rang Do Lal - Bajirao Mastani

Mere Toh Giridhar Gopal  Meera

Yashomati Maiyya Se  Satyam Shivam Sundaram

Heres wishing one and all a very Happy Sri Krishna Janmashtami.
New Delhi: After a three-year long battle with lung and kidney cancer, Sitaram Panchal who was mostly known for his role in the movie 'Peepli Live' passed away on Thursday morning. He was 54.

According to an Indian Express report, a relative of Panchal said:



Sitaram Panchal passed away this morning. He had breathing difficulties. He was not keeping well for a long time.

On Monday, the actor also sought help from fans and well- wishers through a Facebook post which read:

Bhaio meri help karo meri cancer se halat kharab hoti ja rahi hai apka kalakar bhai sitaram panchal,

Panchal was seen first in the movie 'Bandit Queen' in the year 1994 and has several hit films to his credit, such as 'Pan Singh Tomar', 'The Legend of Bhagat Singh' and 'Slumdog Millionaire'.
New Delhi: Co- founder of the famous rock band 'Pink Floyd'- Roger Waters, in an interview in Washington DC on Wednesday called out to his fellow musicians for not abiding by the cultural boycott on Israel, Press TV reported.

Here is the Twitter post by Press TV:

Pink Floyd co-founder, Roger Waters calls on fellow musicians to boycott Israel pic.twitter.com/KXiwqfWlzB  Press TV (@PressTV) August 10, 2017

Roger Waters said:

'Tom Yorke is wrong about not endorsing the policies of the Israeli govt by playing there.

Spokespersons of that govt have said how excited they are that this is the next thing that's happened for their Hasbara, which is explaining to the rest of the world what a wonderful and precious democracy Israel is. And willy- nilly when they cross the picket line, they are making a public statement that they DO endorse the policies of the government, whatever they say because that's what would be reported in Israel and that is what gets reported around the world. That is why Radiohead are being so soundly criticized by anybody with progressive ideas about human rights.'

'Civil soc in Palestine in 2005 started the PDS movement themselves. This isn't something imposed by a bunch of foreign rock musicians. This is something that they started and they have made an appeal to all artists, writers, musicians, actors, directors, anybody in the rest of the world to observe the picket line which they have drawn and to ask us to observe a cultural boycott of the country. '
New Delhi: Your dream to buy diamonds will soon be within approachable range soon. You can now invest in high quality diamonds by investing as little as Rs 900 per month for 30 months, as per a report in the Economic Times.

Paving the way for diamond futures trade, markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has given in-principle approval to Indian Commodity Exchange (ICEX) for commencement of trading in this contract.

ICEX said in a statement it will launch three diamond contracts of 30 cents, 50 cents and 1 carat. It will also initiate agreements with clearing banks, vaulting companies and grading agencies for launch of diamond contracts.

Considering the minimum diamond contracts of 30 cents, which comes at about Rs 27,000 at current prices, the buyer will have to pay Rs 900 per month for 30 months, the ET said.

This is going to be world's first diamond trading bourse. Under the diamond SIP scheme, buyers will have to open an account with an ICEX broker.

After opening the account, the buyer will have to complete the know-your-client (KYC) process and then deposit some money with the broker.

The buyer also has to tell the broker the exact date of each month when the broker should buy the diamond (in electronic form) for the buyer, ET said.

Trading in diamond contracts done through electronic form --demat. This will allow the buyer to purchase even as one cent of the precious stone.

However, the buyers will be able to convert the diamond held in the demat account to physical form only after accumulating 30 cents of it.

ICEX is soon going to launch a systematic investment plan (SIP) for retail buyers to acquire diamond. It has already started mock trading which is expected to go live later this month.
Melbourne: Modern humans may have exited Africa and arrived in Southeast Asia over 70,000 years ago, much earlier than previously thought, scientists said today.

The study led by researchers at Macquarie University in Australia also suggests that humans could have potentially made the crossing to Australia even earlier than the accepted 60,000 to 65,000 years ago.

The dating of a cave site in West Sumatra in Indonesia, called Lida Ajer, provided researchers the first evidence for rainforest use of modern humans.

"Rainforests are not the easiest place to make a living, especially for a savannah-adapted primate, so it suggests that these people were ahead of the curve in terms of intelligence, planning and technological adaptation," said Gilbert Price from University of Queensland in Australia.

As a result of thorough documentation of the cave, reanalysis of the specimens, and a new dating programme, it was confirmed that the teeth found there were of modern humans, Homo sapiens, and dated back 73,000 years.

A barrage of dating techniques were applied to the sediment around the fossils, to overlying and underlying rock deposits in the cave and to associated mammal teeth, indicating that the deposit and fossils were laid down between 63,000 to 73,000 years ago, researchers said.

The study was published in the journal Nature.
Chennai: The Madras High Court on Thursday stayed the 'look out circulars' issued against former Union minister P Chidambaram's son Karti Chidambaram and four others by the Centre over a corruption case filed by the CBI, holding that they were prima facie "unwarranted".

Justice M Duraiswamy granted the interim stay when petitions filed by Karti and others seeking to quash the circulars came up for hearing, and directed the central government to file its counter by September 4.

Karti's associates C B N Reddy, Ravi Viswanathan, Mohanan Rajesh and S Bhaskararaman also got the interim relief.

Noting that the impugned circular had been issued just a day after the notice was sent under relevant CrPC sections asking Karti to appear on June 29 for questioning, the judge said, "this...According to this court, is prima facie unwarranted".

In the case of other four petitioners also, the circulars were issued even before the date of their appearance before investigating officers, which was also prima facie "unwarranted", he said.

The petitioners had made out a prima facie case for the grant of interim stay. "Therefore, the impugned 'look out circulars' should be stayed till the disposal of the writ petitions," Duraiswamy said in his interim order.

He, however, made it clear that the petitioners shall co-operate with respondents at the time of enquiry, and in case of overseas travel inform the investigating officer in writing about the date of departure and arrival at least three days in advance.

The Foreigner Regional Registration Officer (FRRO) and the Bureau of Immigration under the Union home ministry had issued the circulars against Karti on June 16 last and against the four others on July 18.

In his petition, Karti contended that the look out circular was part of the central government's "political vendetta" and issued "arbitrarily" without jurisdiction to prevent him from travelling abroad.

He also said he had responded to the summonses issued by the CBI in connection with the case and there was "no absolute cause of action" for issuance of the circular.

The case is related to alleged irregularities in the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance to INX Media for receiving overseas funds when Karti's father was the Union finance minister in 2007.

CBI had claimed that the FDI proposal of the media house was "fallacious" but Chidambaram had cleared it.

The FIR dated May 15, 2017 was registered before the special judge, Prevention of Corruption Act, CBI, Patiala House, New Delhi. It was followed by searches at residences and offices of Karti and his friends, on May 16, 2017. The look out circular was issued on?June 16.

Opposing Karti's plea, the Centre had told the court that after the experience of liquor baron Vijay Mallya leaving the country, it had become imperative for it to issue the look out circular against him (Karti).

Countering this, Karti said the CBI and the home ministry cannot cite past experience with certain persons who were not cooperating in investigation for issuing the circular against him.

He charged that the central government had been pursuing a "politically motivated vendetta" against his family and all persons even remotely connected to him were being targeted.

Claiming that the FIR, which he has challenged in court, had been filed based on "conjectures, inferences and surmises and not based on truth", he said the circular was based on it and was also liable to be set aside.

Incidentally, Karti has filed a fresh petition seeking quashing of the circular since the earlier one filed on August 4 had mentioned the date of the circular as July 18 in respect of him.

During the previous hearing on August 7, the judge had directed Additional Solicitor General G Rajagopalan, who appeared for the Centre, to furnish a copy of the look out circular to Karti and adjourned the matter today.

Based on the copy of the circular, Karti filed a fresh petition which also came up for hearing today.

Senior Supreme Court counsel Gopal Subramaniam and Satish Parasaran, representing the petitioners, and the ASG made elaborate arguments following which the judge passed the interim order staying the circulars.

Subramaniam contended that the impugned look out circulars had been issued without any necessity whatsoever and without following any procedures. The circulars were issued only to tarnish the image of the petitioners, he charged.

Referring to the issuance of the circulars a day after the notice asking Karti to appear for questioning, he said this itself would establish the "mala fide intention" of the respondents in "harassing the petitioners and tarnishing their image."

The senior counsel further said the petitioners shall not abscond or leave India permanently with a view to preventing the respondents from investigating the alleged offences.

Sathish Parasaran, who appeared for the other petitioners, submitted that they were in no way connected with the alleged offences.

ASG Rajagopalan said the apprehension of the government was that the petitioners may leave India permanently and may also tamper with the evidences if they were allowed to go abroad.
Chennai: T T V Dhinakaran on Thursday warned of 'surgical action' against Chief Minister K Palaniswami and rubbished the party statements questioning his appointment as AIADMK (Amma) Deputy General Secretary and that of party chief VK Sasikala.

As Sasikala's handpicked CM raised a banner of revolt against her, Dhinakaran wondered how the Palaniswami camp could comment against Sasikala when they themselves had furnished an affidavit to the EC, endorsing her appointment as party chief.

"They are talking something outside and have stated something different in the affidavit furnished with the EC," he said and claimed that such an attitude amounted to cheating. He said when the Chief Minister's camp had agreed that Sasikalas appointment was done by the party leadership, the subsequent appointments done by her, including naming him as party deputy general secretary, was valid too.

Dhinakaran, who is Sasikala's nephew, said his post was a nominated one and the party general secretary could name office-bearers to such posts. He asserted that the appointments he made were valid as well and these were in tune with party bye-laws. He also cited Sasikala naming Forest Minister Dindigul C Srinivasan as party treasurer.

The Minister could operate the bank accounts only because his appointment by Sasikala was valid, he said. After the then treasurer O Panneerselvam was expelled from the party, Srinivasan was named treasurer. Dhinakaran said the same leaders who were now talking against them were the ones who had campaigned for him in the RK Nagar bypoll which was subsequently cancelled.

Dismissing the meet chaired by Palaniswami as caused by fear and selfish motives, he said the AIADMK was in the control of the party chief and himself. "For sure all steps will be taken for the partys growth. If the situation warrants, surgical action will be taken, he said, adding it does not matter if it was Chief Minister Palaniswami or others.

"We have the courage to take action and we have the support of cadres to do it." Without naming anyone, he said action would be taken against those who had forgotten about who had appointed them to their current positions in the government and those who had joined hands with rivals to continue on their posts. Palaniswami's name was proposed by Sasikala for CM's post at a hurried meet at a nearby resort after a Supreme Court order convicted her in an assets case.

Dhinkaran said the Palaniswami camp's act of coming out against him was due to several fears and one of them was that he was going to start my state wide tour to strengthen the party. "They have given these statements out of fear," he said.

He claimed that the chief ministers camp had wantonly misinterpreted party rules to say that his appointment was against the party law and also questioned their using the letterhead of undivided AIADMK which was barred by the EC.

Dhinakaran said the incumbent AIADMK regime was set up by party general secretary Sasikala and hence it should not face any threat. He said he still had the good heart of ensuring that the government does not face any danger because of the selfishness and wrong moves" of some leaders.

"Nothing of that sort will happen. But those who commit mistakes will correct it or they will be reformed," he said when asked if the government faced any threat. In the same breath, without naming the Palaniswami camp, he said they only want to protect their office and are not worried about the party". He alleged that they were in the mindset of "decamping with whatever was available."

Dhinakaran is perceived to command the loyalty of approximately 30-35 legislators in the 234 member House. "No one can confuse cadres they are clear," he said adding that the people too were closely following. They knew who were ungrateful and who were good people and it would be reflected in the 2019 Parliamentary elections. To a question if he would welcome back Panneerselvam, he said "not only O Panneerselvam, even those from other parties are welcome".
Chennai: The TTV Dhinkaran camp in AIADMK on Thursday hit out at Chief Minister K Palaniswami for questioning the authority of the Deputy General Secretary, terming it as a "betrayal" and warned him of a backlash.

Two senior leaders of the Dhinakaran camp also called Palaniswami a "traitor".

AIAMDK's Karnataka unit secretary and Dhinakaran loyalist V Pugazhenthi termed as a "drama", the AIADMK Amma faction led by Palaniswami questioning the authority of Dhinakaran, besides that of jailed party chief V K Sasikala.

"These decisions are not binding on us. Party supporters will not accept this. They have poked their eyes with their own fingers," he told reporters.

"We are holding consultations with our Deputy General Secretary (Dhinakaran). Anything can happen. This is the peak of betrayal where Palaniswami has ventured into," he said.

Such decisions cannot be taken by a few office-bearers, as was done today, but is a larger exercise with a number of them required to take decisions, Pugazhenthi said.

He vowed "to teach a lesson to traitors."

The leader also alleged the possibility of role of former chief minister and rebel faction chief O Panneerselvam in today's developments.

"There could be behind the screens agreement with Panneerselvam," he alleged.

Another Dhinakaran loyalist, Nanchil Sampath, said the Chief Minister-led camp had come out with a "unilateral announcement" questioning the former's authority.

"By doing such a thing, Panneerslevam has got an important place in the list of traitors. History has seen many traitors and this is another betrayal," he said.

He questioned the Palaniswami camp's reasoning that Dhinakaran's appointment was not valid for the fact that he had not been a member of the party for five years prior to the appointment, since the late Chief Minister and party supremo J Jayalalithaa had expelled him in 2011.

Sampath recalled he had quit the Vaiko-led MDMK in December 2012 and was appointed the party's deputy propaganda secretary that very day by Jayalalithaa then.

"Where were they then. Did these rules expire then?" he asked.

He said Dhinakaran himself will announce the future course of action following today's developments.
San Francisco: Microsoft has announced it will not support digital certificates issued by Chinese outfits WoSign and StartCom as "they failed to maintain the standards required by company`s Trusted Root Programme".

"Microsoft has observed unacceptable security practices including back-dating SHA-1 certificates, mis-issuances of certificates, accidental certificate revocation, duplicate certificate serial numbers and multiple CAB Forum Baseline Requirements (BR) violations," the company said in a post on Wednesday.

The Microsoft Trusted Root Certificate Programme supports the distribution of qualifying root certificates in Microsoft Windows and other Microsoft products and services.

The decision means ace Windows 10 will not trust any new certificates from these Chinese Certificate Authorities (CAs) after September 2017 and allow "natural deprecation of WoSign and StartCom certificates by setting a "Not Before a date of 26 September 2017", the company said in the post.

Google, Apple and Mozilla binned WoSign certificates in 2016.

Microsoft said it values the global Certificate Authority community and only makes these decisions after careful consideration as to what is best for the security of our users.

Meanwhile, WoSign has dubbed Microsoft`s post "misleading".

According to a report in The Register, the company said it has replaced its root certificate in November and that its recent certificates present no risk to users.

StartCom claims to be "the 6th biggest CA in the world, securing more than half a million websites worldwide".
Lucknow: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday alleged that the Uttar Pradesh government had termed a powder used to polish furniture as PETN explosive to prevent former MLAs from entering the assembly complex.

On July 12, a packet of powder was found in the state assembly after which Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath told the House that it was a dangerous plastic explosive, Pentaerythritol Tetranitrate (PETN).

The chief minister had recommended an NIA probe into it and an FIR was lodged under various sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 121A (conspiring to wage war) of the IPC.

"For preventing the entry of former MLAs to the Vidhan Bhawan, a powder used for polishing furniture was termed as explosive PETN by the state government," Akhilesh said at a press conference here.

The former chief minister also alleged that the BJP government was misusing the police to harass his party's workers by framing fake cases against them.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other BJP leaders used to allege that the SP was running police stations. Now, the BJP government is using the police for playing politics with rivals," he said.

Akhilesh alleged that to make its district panchayat chairman in Auraiya, the BJP was harassing incumbent Kallu Yadav and his family, and claimed that cases of rape and murder were lodged against him.

"The same is being done with other members. We will complain about it to the Election Commission and the Governor," he said.

On SP MLCs resigning and moving to the BJP, Akhilesh said, "It shows, BJP leaders are afraid of facing the electorate and were poaching SP members for entry to the Upper House."

Commenting on MLCs Yashwant Singh and Bukkal Nawab, who joined the BJP, he predicted that "one is going to become the housing minister and other is being given the revenue and transport department".

"Both are now clean and upright after joining the BJP," he ridiculed.

On the removal of four members from the Lohia Trust, Akhilesh sarcastically said, "I am not bothered about it. I am being termed as 'Aurengzeb' (the Mughal emperor). Beware of me."
Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday said his government is aiming to provide 10 lakh houses in rural and two lakh houses in urban areas under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.

The Uttar Pradesh CM announced that in rural areas, Rs 1.20 lakh will be given for the construction of a house, Rs 12,000 for a toilet and Rs 15,700 extra to people who would build their homes themselves.

The government shortlisted 5,129 families in urban areas who would be able to avail the benefits.

The people residing in the urban areas would get Rs 2,50,000 - Rs 1,50,000 by the central government and Rs 1,00,000 will be allocated by the state administration.
Dubai: At least 56 people have drowned over the past 24 hours, and dozens remain missing, after human traffickers forced 300 African migrants off two Yemen-bound boats and into the sea.

Survivors -- all Ethiopian and Somali migrants -- managed to make their way to Shabwa, a southern province along Yemen's Arabian Sea coastline, the International Organization for Migration said.

The war in Yemen has left over 8,300 people dead and displaced millions since 2015, but the impoverished country continues to draw migrants from the Horn of Africa seeking work in prosperous Gulf countries further north.

At least six people drowned today after human smugglers forced 180 Ethiopians off their boat and into the choppy waters of the Arabian Sea, an IOM spokesperson told AFP.

Thirteen people remained unaccounted for, the spokesperson said. The majority of the migrants appeared to be teenagers and young adults.

Yesterday, traffickers also forced more than 120 Somali and Ethiopian migrants into the rough seas off Yemen to avoid arrest by local authorities, leaving at least 50 dead and 22 missing, IOM reported.

IOM teams, working with the International Committee of the Red Cross, found the bodies of 29 migrants in shallow graves along the coast of Shabwa, currently under the control of Yemeni troops backed by the United States.

They had been buried by survivors.

"The smugglers deliberately pushed the migrants into the waters since they feared that they would be arrested by the authorities once they reach the shore", an IOM emergency officer in Aden, where the Yemeni government is based, told AFP.

Laurent de Boeck, IOM's Yemen mission head, said the boat's crew immediately returned to Somalia yesterday to pick up more migrants headed to Yemen on the same route.

He described the forced drownings as "shocking and inhumane".

"The suffering of migrants on this migration route is enormous. Too many young people pay smugglers with the false hope of a better future," he said.

Long the Arab world's most impoverished country, Yemen has all but collapsed in what the United Nations has called the "largest humanitarian crisis in the world".

Years of fighting between the Saudi-backed government and Shiite Huthi rebels allied with Iran have been compounded by a cholera outbreak that has killed almost 2,000 people and the looming threat of famine.

The IOM estimates some 55,000 migrants have however left the Horn of Africa for Yemen since the start of 2017, more than half of them under the age of 18.

The journey is particularly dangerous at this time of year due to high winds in the Indian Ocean.

Despite the war, smugglers -- who are highly active in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden -- have continued to offer passage through Yemen, which shares a land border with Saudi Arabia.

In March, a helicopter opened fire on the vessel carrying over 140 Somali passengers in the Red Sea off the Yemen coast, killing 42 civilians and wounding another 34.

A confidential UN report, seen by AFP in June, said the attack constituted a violation of international humanitarian law and was most likely carried out by a Saudi-led military coalition backing Yemen's UN-recognised government.
Washington: Expressing concern over the Sikkim standoff between India and China, an influential US lawmaker has accused Beijing of taking provocative steps that have resulted in the escalation of tensions between the two Asian giants.

"I'm very concerned about what is happening on Doklam Plateau. I believe that China has taken certain provocative steps that have escalated into the current standoff on the plateau," Raja Krishnamoorthi, the Congressman from Illinois, said.

Krishnamoorthi, 44, just returned from a short trip to India during which he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi this week and had a discussion on a wide range of issues.

He said the standoff issue did not come up during his meeting with the Prime Minister in New Delhi.

Talking about his views on the standoff, he said, "I have urged a diplomatic solution, a peaceful diplomatic solution to the current standoff, and I'm very hopeful that it can come about."

"It's very important that no country take provocative steps, especially in border disputes in the region," said Krishnamoorthi in response to a question.

The US has maintained its silence on the Sikkim standoff between the armies of India and China.

"We have seen these reports (on the standoff). We refer you to the Governments of India, China, and Bhutan for further information," a State Department spokesperson told PTI when asked about the American stand on the current Doklam standoff.

The US last month also had avoided commenting on the Sikkim standoff.

Meanwhile, analysts here criticised China for its aggressive stance.

Will Edwards, an Asia-Pacific and defense analyst at The Cipher Brief, recently wrote that the Chinese road could have serious strategic implications for India's defence of its home territory due to a geographic feature that leaves India vulnerable.

"Allowing the Chinese road project to continue could provide Beijing with an avenue for its troops to strike the 'Chicken's Neck', a narrow strip of land connecting India's northeastern states to the rest of the country that could be severed in the event of conflict," he wrote.
Kualalumpur: China will offer Malaysia advanced rocket launchers and a radar system to be based on the southern tip of the Southeast Asian country, media reports have said, in a move that could raise security concerns for neighbouring Singapore.

The offer was to be made by a delegation of Chinese officials who visited Malaysia on Wednesday for the launch of a $13 billion rail project being built by China, news portal The Malaysian Insight reported, quoting an unidentified source.

Up to 12 units of the AR3 multiple-launch artillery rocket system (MLRS) will be offered to Malaysia in a purchase programme with a loan period of 50 years, the source told the news website.

The size of the loan or the cost of the ordnance was not disclosed. The type of radar system was also not disclosed.

Singapore`s Straits Times also reported the offer, quoting a senior Malaysian government source on Thursday as saying that it was "lightly touched on" during talks between Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and Chinese State Councillor Wang Yong at the ground-breaking ceremony for the rail project.

The Straits Times said a firm decision on the proposal would only be made during a planned visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Malaysia later this year.

Reuters could not verify the reports independently.

"This is the first time I`m hearing it," Malaysia`s Treasury Secretary, General Mohammad Irwan Serigar Abdullah, said when asked by Reuters about the Chinese proposal.

Chinas foreign and defence ministries did not respond immediately respond to requests for comment.

Singapores foreign affairs and defence ministries were also not immediately available for comment.

China has been upset with Singapore in recent months because of what China has viewed as undue interference by the city-state over the South China Sea dispute and Singapore`s close defence ties with the United States and self-ruled Taiwan, which China claims as a renegade province.

The AR3 artillery rocket system was built by China specifically for export. It first came into use in 2011 and is regarded as one of the most powerful MLRS units available.

Malaysia signed a deal to purchase four littoral mission ships from China last year.
Cairo: Egypt`s interior ministry said on Thursday its forces had killed three jihadists suspected of involvement in deadly attacks against the country`s Coptic Christian minority.

An officer also died in a shootout in the southern province of Qena on Tuesday, security officials said.

Egypt is battling a local affiliate of the Islamic State jihadist group, which has claimed attacks that have killed more than 100 Copts since December.

The shootout occurred after a suspected jihadist, who had previously been detained, guided police to an alleged hideout in Qena, the ministry said in a statement.

"As soon as the security forces reached the location, the terrorist elements suddenly opened fire using all types of weapons, which forced them to retaliate," it said.

The shootout led to the killing of the detained suspect, a policeman who was guarding him, and two other suspected jihadists, the ministry said.

At the hideout, police found weapons and "gold jewellery which was probably stolen from some of the Christian victims" of a previous attack.

On May 26, masked gunmen killed 29 Copts as they travelled in a bus to Saint Samuel monastery in Minya province south of the Egyptian capital.

The bus attack followed two suicide bombings of churches in April that killed 45 Copts. In December, a suicide bomber struck a church in Cairo, killing 29 Copts.

Copts make up about 10 percent of Egypt`s 90-million population.

Egypt`s IS affiliate is based in North Sinai province, where hundreds of soldiers and policemen have been killed in attacks since the military`s ouster in 2013 of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.
Washington: A constructive engagement between Pakistan and India during a latest round of water talks held here has raised hopes for an amicable resolution of the dispute, according to a top international expert.

The World Bank, which hosted the talks at its headquarters two weeks ago, also noticed this positive change and mentioned it in a press release on August 1, noting that the "meetings' were held in a spirit of goodwill and cooperation", Dawn news reported on Thursday.

Islamabad and New Delhi disagree over construction of the Kishenganga (330MW) and Ratle (850MW) hydroelectric power plants being built by India. Islamabad contends that the technical design features of the two plants contravene the Indus Waters Treaty.

The plants are on a tributary of the Jhelum and Chenab rivers, respectively.

The expert, who closely monitors the Pakistan-India water talks, told Dawn that this was the first time in many years that delegates "held a constructive discussion, instead of merely stating their official positions".

The expert said in previous talks "sometimes the two sides did not even exchange formal greetings".

They would "just read the statements they brought with them and leave, but this time it was different", he added.

The Indus Waters Treaty was signed in 1960 after nine years of negotiations between Pakistan and India with the help of the World Bank, which is a signatory.

Seen as one of the most successful international treaties, it has survived frequent tensions, including conflict, and has provided a framework for irrigation and hydropower development for more than half a century.

According to The World Bank, the two sides have agreed to meet again next month.
Jerusalem: An Iranian blogger for an Israeli news site arrived in Israel on Thursday from Turkey where she faced possible deportation back to the Islamic republic, the website said.

The 32-year-old woman, Neda Amin, blogs for the Persian-language edition of The Times of Israel.

She moved in 2014 to Turkey where she risked being deported to Iran because of her illegal status and feared her life would be in danger back home, the website said.

Israel and Iran are arch-enemies.

"After The Times of Israel alerted Israeli authorities of her plight, government officials immediately responded and paved the way for her safe arrival in Israel," the website said.

Interior Minister Aryeh Deri, who authorised her entry in the Jewish state, greeted her at Tel Aviv`s Ben Gurion airport.
TOKYO - Japan said it had conducted joint air drills with U.S. supersonic bombers in Japanese skies close to the Korean peninsula on Tuesday as tension in the region escalates amid North Korea`s continued ballistic missile tests.

The exercise around Japan`s southern Kyushu island involved two U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer bombers and two Japanese F-2 jet fighters, Japan`s Air Self Defence Force (ASDF) said in a news release.

North Korea said on Wednesday it is considering a strike on the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam, hours after President Donald Trump said any threat from Pyongyang would be met with "fire and fury."

Andersen Air Force Base on Guam is where the U.S. keeps its B1-B bombers deployed to the Asia Pacific.

The U.S. planes, which were designed to carry nuclear bombs and later switched to conventional payloads, followed up the drills with Japan with a separate exercise with South Korean Forces, the ASDF said.
Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia`s armed forces said on Thursday they had received no offer from China to buy advanced rocket launchers and a radar system to be based at the southern tip of the Southeast Asian country, rebutting media reports.

The denial followed reports that a Chinese delegation visiting Malaysia this week had proposed basing the military equipment in Johor, a Malaysian state bordering Singapore.

Quoting an unidentified source, the Malaysian Insight news portal said the delegation made the offer on Wednesday, following the launch of a $13-billion rail project being built by China.

A Malaysia military spokesman said no such proposal had been received, however.

"As far as the armed forces are concerned, there has been no such proposal," a spokesman for the Malaysian Armed Forces told Reuters by telephone.

According to the report, up to 12 units of the AR3 multiple-launch artillery rocket system (MLRS) were on offer in a purchase programme with a loan period of 50 years.

The size of the loan or the cost of the ordnance was not disclosed. The type of radar system was also not disclosed.

Singapore`s Straits Times also reported the offer, quoting a senior Malaysian government source on Thursday as saying it was "lightly touched on" during talks between Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and Chinese State Councillor Wang Yong at the ground-breaking ceremony for the rail project.

The Straits Times said a firm decision on the proposal would only be made during a visit planned by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Malaysia later this year.

"This is the first time I`m hearing it," Mohammad Irwan Serigar Abdullah, Malaysia`s treasury secretary-general, said, when asked by Reuters about the Chinese proposal.

China`s Foreign Ministry referred questions to the Defence Ministry. The Defence Ministry declined comment, saying weapons exports were not part of its remit.

The AR3 artillery rocket system was built by China specifically for export. It first came into use in 2011 and is regarded as one of the most powerful MLRS units available.

Malaysia signed a deal to buy four littoral mission ships from China last year.
SEOUL/WASHINGTON - North Korea dismissed on Thursday warnings by US President Donald Trump that it would face "fire and fury" if it threatened the United States as a "load of nonsense", and outlined detailed plans for a missile strike near the Pacific territory of Guam.

North Korea`s apparently rapid progress in developing nuclear weapons and missiles capable of reaching the U.S. mainland has fuelled tensions that erupted into a war of words between Washington and Pyongyang this week, unnerving regional powers and global investors.

Trump`s unexpected remarks prompted North Korea to say on Thursday it was finalising plans to fire four intermediate-range missiles over Japan to land 30-40 km (18-25 miles) from Guam, more than 3,000 km (2,000 miles) to the south.

Guam is home to about 163,000 people and a U.S. military base that includes a submarine squadron, an air base and a Coast Guard group.

"Sound dialogue is not possible with such a guy bereft of reason and only absolute force can work on him," a report by the North`s state-run KCNA news agency said of Trump.

The army will complete its plans in mid-August, ready for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un`s order, KCNA reported, citing General Kim Rak Gyom, commander of the Strategic Force of the Korean People`s Army.

While North Korea regularly threatens to destroy the United States and its allies, the report was unusual in its detail.

Masao Okonogi, professor emeritus at Japan`s Keio University, said the North Korean reports suggested Pyongyang was issuing a warning or advance notice of changes to its missile testing programme rather than threatening an attack.

"I believe this is a message saying they plan to move missile tests from the Sea of Japan to areas around Guam," he told Reuters. "By making this advance notice, they are also sending a tacit message that what they are going to do is not a actual attack."

BOASTS ABOUT POWER

The United States and South Korea remain technically still at war with North Korea after the 1950-53 Korean conflict ended with a truce, not a peace treaty.

US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis issued a stark warning earlier on Wednesday, telling Pyongyang the United States and its allies would win any arms race or conflict.

"The DPRK should cease any consideration of actions that would lead to the end of its regime and the destruction of its people," Mattis said in a statement, using the acronym for North Korea`s official name, the Democratic People`s Republic of Korea.

Tension in the region has risen since North Korea carried out two nuclear bomb tests last year and two intercontinental ballistic missile tests in July. Trump has said he will not allow Pyongyang to develop a nuclear weapon capable of hitting the United States.

On Wednesday, Trump boasted about US nuclear capabilities.

"My first order as President was to renovate and modernize our nuclear arsenal. It is now far stronger and more powerful than ever before," Trump said on Twitter. "Hopefully we will never have to use this power, but there will never be a time that we are not the most powerful nation in the world!"

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who was in Guam on a previously scheduled visit, played down the rhetoric, saying he did not believe there was an imminent threat from North Korea and "Americans should sleep well at night".

Earlier on Wednesday, Guam Governor Eddie Calvo dismissed the threat and said the island was prepared for "any eventuality" with strategically placed defences. He said he had been in touch with the White House and there was no change in the threat level.

HEADING TOWARDS CONFRONTATION



North Korea accuses the Washington of devising a "preventive war" and has said any plans to execute this would be met with an "all-out war, wiping out all the strongholds of enemies, including the U.S. mainland".

Washington has warned it is ready to use force if needed to stop North Korea`s ballistic missile and nuclear programmes but that it prefers global diplomatic action, including sanctions. The U.N. Security Council unanimously imposed new sanctions on North Korea on Saturday.

China, North Korea`s main ally, has consistently urged both sides to work to lower tensions.

Influential Chinese state-run tabloid the Global Times said the North Korean nuclear issue was heading towards confrontation and it was time for the United States to respond to Pyongyang`s security concerns.

"North Korea has almost been completely isolated by the outside world. Under such extreme circumstances, Pyongyang will weigh all its possible options," it said in an editorial on its website on Thursday.

"Washington should stimulate Pyongyang`s desire to engage with the outside world and return to the international community."

A senior U.S. official who deals with the Korea issue said the "fire and fury" comment, which was Trump`s strongest warning yet for North Korea, was "unplanned and spontaneous".

"There had not been any discussions about escalating the rhetoric in response to Kims statements or about the possible effects of doing that," the official said.

However, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters national security officials had been aware of the tone of Trump`s message before he gave it.

"The words were his own. The tone and strength of the message were discussed beforehand," Sanders said.
Madrid: Spain could overtake Greece this year in the number of migrants arriving by sea, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Thursday, using boats and even jet-skis.

On Wednesday afternoon, holidaymakers on a beach in southern Spain were stunned when a black rubber boat full of migrants reached the shore, its occupants jumping out and running away as scores of sun-worshippers looked on.

On the same day, 12 migrants arrived in waters off the Spanish territory of Ceuta in northern Morocco on board jet-skis, with one -- a 28-year-old man from Guinea -- drowning before he could be rescued, authorities said.

On Thursday morning, Spanish coastguards said they had rescued 10 men from sub-Saharan Africa in a rickety boat off Tarifa in southern Spain.

And the list goes on.

According to the IOM`s latest figures, until August 6, close to 8,200 migrants had arrived in Spain so far this year.

That is more than triple the number who reached Spain at the same time last year, according to Joel Millman, a senior IOM spokesman, and already more than the total arrivals in 2016.

While the figure pales in comparison with arrivals in Italy -- where more than 96,400 have landed so far this year -- Spain is catching up with Greece where 11,713 have arrived by sea in the same timeframe.

"It`s possible that Spain will outperform Greece this year," Millman told AFP.

"If so, that`s a big change."

He said many people taking the long route towards Italy via the Sahara and Libya were from west Africa.

But with the dangers faced, some may be deciding to go up along the coast instead.

"We assume that some of the change is due to the fact that the route is considered a safe route up to the coast through Morocco," Millman said.

He added that the boats crossing the short but choppy sea to Spain were much smaller than those launching from Libya to Italy.

In Libya there "appears to be a very deliberate strategy to put people out there, in overloaded boats that begin to take on water almost immediately and then it`s a race to see how quickly the people on the boat can summon aid," he said.

"Whereas in Spain, the strategy is smaller craft hoping to come in undetected, and undoubtedly some do."
Istanbul: Turkish authorities have detained a Russian national suspected to be a member of the Islamic State (IS) group and accused of planning to attack a US base in southern Turkey, a report said on Thursday.

Dogan news agency said Renat Bakiev is accused of seeking to "stage a bomb attack aiming to bring down a US plane using a drone" at Incirlik airbase.

He is suspected of carrying out reconnaissance work for the plot, the report said, without giving further details.

The United States uses Incirlik, in Adana province, as a key base for operations against the IS jihadist group in neighbouring Syria.

Bakiev also carried out preparations for a plot to attack a centre of the Alevi religious minority -- an offshoot of the Shia sect of Islam -- in Adana city, Dogan said.

Bakiev was detained in Adana, it said. A court will rule on whether he should be remanded in custody.

Turkey was hit in 2016 by a succession of attacks that left hundreds dead in the bloodiest year of terror strikes in its history.

The attacks were blamed on IS jihadists who had taken swathes of territory in neighbouring Syria and Iraq as well as the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) who have battled the Turkish state in an over three decade insurgency.

Thirty-nine people were killed, mainly foreigners in a gun attack by an jihadist gunman on an elite nightclub in Istanbul just 75 minutes into New Year`s Day in 2017.

There has since been a lull in similar attacks, but tension and high security remain in big cities.
Ankara: Turkish authorities on Thursday issued detention warrants for 35 people, including nine journalists, on suspicion of links to last July`s attempted military coup, the state-run Anadolu news agency said.

The suspects, including the editor of the opposition Birgun newspaper Burak Ekici, were accused of "membership of an armed terrorist organisation", Anadolu said. It said police were carrying out raids at the suspects` addresses.

The suspects were believed to be users of ByLock, an encrypted messaging app the government says was used by the network of US - based cleric Fethullah Gulen. Gulen, whom Ankara blames for orchestrating the abortive coup, has denied involvement in the attempted military takeover.

Anadolu said the detention warrants were aimed at the media branch of Gulen`s network. The identities of the other suspects were not immediately clear.

The on-going crackdown, particularly against journalists, has alarmed rights groups and some of Turkey`s Western allies, who fear the government is using the coup as a pretext to quash dissent.

Some 150,000 people have been sacked or suspended from jobs in the civil service and private sector and more than 50,000 have been detained for alleged links to the putsch.

Some 150 media outlets have also been shut down and around 160 journalists are in jail, according to the Turkish Journalists` Association.

The government, however, says the measures are necessary due to the gravity of the threats it faces.
Washington: A U.S. Navy destroyer carried out a "freedom of navigation operation" on Thursday, coming within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island built up by China in the South China Sea, U.S. officials told Reuters.

The operation came as President Donald Trump`s administration seeks Chinese cooperation in dealing with North Korea`s missile and nuclear programs and could complicate efforts to secure a common stance.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the USS John S. McCain traveled close to Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands, among a string of islets, reefs and shoals. China has territorial disputes with its neighbors over the area.

It was the third "freedom of navigation operation" or "fonop" conducted during Trump`s presidency. Neither China`s defence ministry nor its foreign ministry immediately responded to a request for comment.

The operation was the latest attempt to counter what Washington sees as Beijing`s efforts to limit freedom of navigation in the strategic waters, and comes as Trump is seeking China`s cooperation to rein in North Korea.

Tensions have risen recently after North Korea carried out two nuclear tests last year and two ICBM tests last month, prompting a strong round of U.N. sanctions which angered Pyongyang who threatened to teach the United States a "severe lesson".

Trump in turn responded by warning North Korea it would face "fire and fury" if it further threatened the United States.

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis issued a stark warning to North Korea on Wednesday, telling Pyongyang that it should stop any actions that would lead to the "end of its regime and the destruction of its people."

The United States has criticized China`s construction of islands and build-up of military facilities in the sea, and is concerned they could be used to restrict free nautical movement.

The U.S. military has a long-standing position that its operations are carried out throughout the world, including in areas claimed by allies, and they are separate from political considerations.

The Trump administration has vowed to conduct more robust South China Sea operations.

In July, a U.S. warship sailed near a disputed island in the South China Sea claimed by China, Taiwan, Vietnam.

Experts and officials have criticized President Barack Obama for potentially reinforcing China`s claims by sticking to innocent passage, in which a warship effectively recognized a territorial sea by crossing it speedily without stopping.

China`s claims in the South China Sea, through which about $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes each year are contested by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.
YEREVAN, AUGUST 10, ARMENPRESS. Large-scale construction, major international events, toughening of disciplinary rules: Kazakhstans capital Astana receives new impetus in recent years. The city prospers not only for tourists, but also for local people. There are construction works at every corner of the city. Firstly, it seems those construction works are linked with the Astana Expo-2017 international event. The local people state that this major international event has its influence since within the frames of the Expo large-scale construction has been carried out, however, giving new impetus to the city, equipping with beautiful structures is the states policy, especially when there is a demand for new buildings.

A city with a population of nearly one million is distinguished by its unique cleanliness. Not only the city cleaning works are well organized, but also the disciplinary rules have been toughened. When walking in the city you will not see cigarette on the ground. There are strict rules, fines for throwing the cigarette on the ground. The local people said the cameras and police record any violation.

During those days Astana is quite crowded, since in addition to tourism season, the Astana Expo also has contribution to that. This is the first Expo that is being held in one of the CIS participating states. The Expo will last 3 months from June 10 to September 10. 115 countries and 18 international organizations approved their participation in the Expo, tourism flow reaching to millions is expected. Armenia is also taking part in the Expo, the Armenian pavilion is under the title Silk Road. The participating states present the best energy-saving technologies, the existing innovative developments in use of energy alterative resources.

The cultural, as well as various events during the Expo present a unique interest, as well as the celebrations dedicated to the National day of participating countries. Within the frames of the Expo, an ethnic village has been created in Astana where cultural events are being regularly held. One of them took place in July which was also attended by the Armenian dance groups. The Armenian children presented national dances. The event was also attended by Sahak Salumyan  Chairman of Van Armenian cultural center operating in Astana, who presented with pride their work aimed at maintaining the Armenian identity.

We make all efforts to maintain the culture and language. We can proudly state that we have a dance group which consists not only of Armenians, but also of children of various nationalities who are interested in Armenian dances. The Armenian community in Astana has a Sunday school, Sahak Salumyan told Armenpress.

Anna Gziryan

Full material is available in Armenian
YEREVAN, AUGUST 10, ARMENPRESS. Canadian-Armenian couple Margar and Eliz Sharapkhanyan say Armenia is the only homeland for Armenians.

The couple lives in Ushi village of Aragatsotn province since 2007. They have renovated the villages school, the culture house with their own resources.

Margar Sharapkhanyan was born in Greece, studied in Italy, and lived in Canada for 40 years, but he told Armenpress that he feels good himself only in Armenia.

I have been in different countries, but I didnt feel myself an Armenian neither in Greece, Italy nor Canada, I feel my identity only in Armenia. The person, who was born, grew up and lived abroad, needs to live in Armenia. Whether we want or not, we are foreigners in all countries, the only country that we consider as ours is Armenia, Margar Sharapkhanyan said, adding that Armenia is not only Yerevan, but also the provinces and villages. I believe in Armenias villages, and the rural economy should develop. Ushi is a small village, I bought a land here and built a house, now I and other people are working in the land. We have renovated the school and constructed a culture house, he said.

Speaking about visiting Armenia with his wife, Margar said he and his wife are from Ushi village. She didnt complain, and now doesnt complain as well. Your wife must also have a desire to visit Armenia, he said.

Today as well the couple has many plans in connection with the village. They have no plans to return to Canada. They are impressed by the village and consider it as their only home.

Armenuhi Mkhoyan
YEREVAN, AUGUST 10, ARMENPRESS. Armenias government approved the draft decision to sign a framework agreement on the construction, funding, ownership and exploitation of Shnogh hydroelectric power plant in Lori province (76 MW capacity) with the Investors Club of Armenia non-public contractual investment fund, reports Armenpress.

Ashot Manukyan, minister of energy infrastructures and natural resources, said for the implementation of the program a memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been signed between the government and the fund on April 13, 2017. Based on the MoU provisions, the fund has applied to the government with a proposal to implement the program and an initiative to attract necessary financial resources.

The adoption of the decision stems from the governments action plan which aims to strengthen energy security. It is a well-known fact that the water resources of Debed and Araks rivers remain underused, and this investment program aims at partially fill that gap. The program will be implemented within the frames of public-private sector cooperation. It was discussed long ago and is the first major program of the Investors Club of Armenia, the minister said, adding that the program is in accordance with the standards presented to environmental organizations. Within the framework of the program the fund will cooperate with Western specialized companies. A total of 150-180 million USD investment is required for the program, however, this number can be further adjusted.

The hydroelectric power plant will be a modern complex engineering structure which will be equipped with latest technologies and will be environmentally safe. The HPP will produce 5% of our countrys domestic electricity consumption, Ashot Manukyan said, adding that the HPP is being built for the upcoming 100 years. More than 500 notifications and proposals were made over the program which were mainly accepted.

Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan said good and prospective program has been presented.

It is expected the government will assist the constructor to obtain land for the HPP construction.

The launch of activities of Investors club of Armenia non-public contractual investment fund was officially heralded on March 25 with the participation of the Prime Minister of Armenia Karen Karapetyan and over 3 dozens of Diaspora Armenian businessmen from the Russian Federation. Back on January 25, 2017 numerous Armenian businessmen in Russia had issued a statement on their readiness to support the reform process in Armenia and to participate together with the Government of Armenia in the initiatives and business projects in Armenia.






YEREVAN, AUGUST 10, ARMENPRESS. The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs have one task in the negotiations over the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict - to prevent all possible military developments, Shavarsh Kocharyan  deputy minister of foreign affairs of Armenia, told reporters after the Cabinet meeting, reports Armenpress.

Their number one task is to take steps to reduce level of military tension. The next mission of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs is to contribute to the sides to come to an agreement, the deputy FM said, adding that the Co-Chairs are focused on this issue.

According to Kocharyan, they understand very well that its impossible to speak about any progress on this issue and the reason of that is Azerbaijan with its policy. The deputy FM said as before Azerbaijan hopes to resolve the conflict by force, be it in the line of contact with Artsakh and in the border with Armenia. According to him, even though now there may be a relative silence along the line of contact with Artsakh, incidents are taking place both there and in the border with Armenia. All this yet again shows that Azerbaijan is not inclined to a peaceful settlement of the conflict and as before it hopes to solve it by force, Shavarsh Kocharyan said.

Armenian foreign minister Edward Nalbandian earlier informed that the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan will meet in New York in the second half of September.
YEREVAN, AUGUST 10, ARMENPRESS. Its obvious that when negative developments are taking place in Russias economy, they affect the neighboring countries, including Armenia, Shavarsh Kocharyan  deputy foreign minister, told reporters after the Cabinet meeting, in response to a question how the new economic sanctions against Russia will affect Armenia, reports Armenpress.

The classical example of it is when crisis started in Russia, it affected both the EAEU member state Armenia, Azerbaijan, which is not a member of the union, as well as Georgia. In this sense it is clear to everyone that those states that are linked with Russia with various forms, of course, are being affected, he said.

Asked whether it is impossible to neutralize the risks, Kocharyan said Armenia cannot have any impact on sanctions imposed against Russia.

Our common economic policy is the following: to deepen the existing economic ties and create new economic ties and new relations. And for that purpose there are already different targeted countries. We should establish economic ties with all that are beneficial for us, the deputy FM said.




YEREVAN, AUGUST 10, ARMENPRESS. Another meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council will take place in the capital of Kazakhstan, Astana, on August 14 which will be attended by the Heads of the Executives of the EEU member states. Armenpress reports the official website of the Russian Government informs, noting the Russian Premier Dmitry Medvedev will leave for Kazakhstan to participate in the meeting.

The Heads of the Executives of Armenia, Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kirgizstan will discuss key issues of integration partnership in the Eurasian Economic Union. Particular attention will be paid to sectoral cooperation, including the establishment of a single electricity market and the implementation of coordinated measures in the sphere of transport.

The report on the joint works for propelling the digital agenda of the Union will be presented to the Heads of the Governments. Its also planned that issues over privileged trade regimes with the international partners of the Union and other issues of bilateral interest will be discussed.
Independent business The Tiny Bakery is to cease trading from Saturday 2 September after operating for the last three years.

The Leicestershire-based bakery, which specialises in selling artisan breads, cakes and bespoke celebration cakes, announced the closure via its Facebook page, with the owners stating they would be hanging up their oven gloves and putting away the baking trays for the last time on 2 September.

Were very sad not to be able to keep our little bakery going any longer; we will miss it, said owners Linzi Abraham and Alwyn Morris. Parting is such sweet sorrow, as Shakespeare truly said.

The co-owners urged its customers to visit the bakery to say its farewells and promised that any celebration cake orders placed after its closure would be completed.
... is a community which cannot take collective action on the issues of the day without endangering the conditions for its existence and effectiveness. There is no mechanism by which it can reach a collective position without inhibiting that full freedom of dissent on which it thrives. It cannot insist that all of its members favor a given view of social policy; if it takes collective action, therefore, it does so at the price of censuring any minority who do not agree with the view adopted. In brief, it is a community which cannot resort to majority vote to reach positions on public issues.

The constituent institution may not take action, as an institution, on the public policy controversies of the day in such a way as to require students, faculty, or administrators to publicly express a given view of social policy.

Yesterday, I came to bury Caesar. That was a mistake, so today, I'm going to praise him.By "Caesar," I mean the North Carolina Legislature. I wanted to "bury" them-in rhetorical fashion-for removing institutional neutrality out of the otherwise outstanding North Carolina Campus Free Speech Act ( HB 527 ). After we published that article, I reread the bill and discovered that a slightly weaker version of the provision mandating institutional neutrality was still there (albeit with the wording changed and in a different place in the bill).The good news is, I get to praise the legislature for enacting a really important piece of legislation that will do a great deal to fend off increasing politicization of the University of North Carolina system and North Carolina Community College System.The passage of the Free Speech Act this legislative session was a great advance for the spirit of free inquiry that is, or should be, at the heart of higher education. It provides greater protection for campus free speech, which has been under impassioned- at times even violent-assault . And it encodes North Carolina's public college students' right to free association and the right to hear ideas they deem worthy of attention.It also gave the state a policy of institutional neutrality, which means that a university cannot take an official policy position on political issues. This will be a powerful tool for pushing back against the extreme politicization of the universities that has been occurring since the 1960s.Perhaps the most important justification for institutional neutrality was crafted by the " Kalven Report ," the product of a committee formed at the University of Chicago amidst the turbulence of 1960s-era student uprisings to explore the role of the university in political matters. The committee was chaired by noted law professor and First Amendment scholar Harry Kalven, Jr. and had other prominent members such as Nobel Prize-winning economist George Stigler and African-American historian John Hope Franklin.The Kalven Report posited that, because "the mission of the university is the discovery, improvement, and dissemination of knowledge," individual professors must be able to pursue truth wherever the facts and logic lead. The university therefore:Unfortunately, academic institutions taking such "collective" positions are on the upswing today, if not officially, then in de jure (implied) fashion. One ominous example is the increasing trend for schools to require that faculty or even graduate students sign diversity statements in which they must commit to fostering ideals of "diversity, equality, and inclusion." A report from the Oregon Association of Scholars uncovered roughly 20 colleges and universities on the West Coast that do so; most likely, there are at least 100 throughout the nation.According to that report, the 10-campus University of California system not only requires all new hires to sign diversity statements, but also examines faculty candidates' research to see whether it addresses "race, gender, economic justice or inequality."The Free Speech Act explicitly addresses the type of affront to academic freedom displayed by diversity statements such as the ones uncovered by the Oregon NAS. The provision on institutional neutrality reads:Which draws a clear line that the universities cannot cross, providing a crucial means for North Carolina higher education to prevent egregious academic freedom offenses in the future. For examples of schools adopting politicized policies are myriad and increasing. In one instance, the Oregon report revealed that, at Portland State University, "in the 2017-18 academic year, for instance, all undergraduates will be sent for mandatory classes on 'social justice' prior to being allowed to proceed with their studies." Or in 2008, the University of Delaware forced dormitory residents to undergo what the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education called " ideological indoctrination ."This is not to say that all problems of politicization will be forever solved by the new policy; there are plenty of problematic situations it does not cover. One limitation is illustrated by concerns about the Climate Leadership Statement , a petition signed by over 700 college presidents. (In North Carolina, both Carol Folt of UNC-Chapel Hill and Randy Woodson of NC State are signatories.) It declares a need to take the lead in combating anthropogenic climate change; the issue is still very much an open question, despite efforts by some to make it appear as settled science as is the presence of gravity.It may be acceptable for a college president to sign a petition about such a contentious issue as global warming-but only if he or she was doing so as an individual scholar, not as a public academic institution's CEO. However, that was not the case with the Climate Leadership Statement, which explicitly stated that signing the petition was only for the highest level of college administrators. Its opening sentence is:We, the undersigned presidents and chancellors of colleges and universities, believe firmly in the power, potential, and imperative of higher education's key role in shaping a sustainable society.A school president signing a petition may be a lower standard of imprimatur than declaring an official policy, but it still sends a message to the rest of the campus. One can easily imagine the chilling effect on an assistant professor of meteorology, physics, or geology who is skeptical of man's effect on the climate seeking tenure at a school where the president signed such petition.Since such statements are not actual policies, the Free Speech Act as voted into law falls short of preventing them. Initially, the Free Speech Act contained a solution for such implied intimidation arising from politicized statements made by administrators (who are not speaking as independent scholars but as the school's top decision-makers). When the bill was introduced early in this year's legislative session, the institutional neutrality provision included another clause that read:The constituent institutions shall strive to remain neutral, as an institution, on the public policy controversies of the day.That clause would have greatly expanded the power of the state to prevent the encroachment of undue political activity on its public campuses, even such situations as university and college presidents and chancellors signing position statements (acting in their positions as school CEOs).With all manner of academic organizations and administrators pushing the envelope steadily in a more radicalized direction, finding ways to keep academia open to varying views in the future may prove difficult. At least, it will be difficult without erecting safeguards before it is too late. Such protections are not likely to come from within, since so many faculty and administrators have already moved at least partially in a politicized direction, or would rather not put themselves at risk by objecting. University boards (of trustees, governors, regents, or visitors) have proven to be too timid or too easily manipulated to make bold moves to restore a more balanced and open academic sensibility.It therefore falls to the legislature to prevent our public colleges and universities from incrementally or implicitly making one-sided politics the law of the academic land. For it is to be generally expected that an organization dominated by a passionately partisan faction will attempt to make that perspective permanently unassailable from within or without. The politicization of higher education has already become a severe problem, with some segments of academia calcified into ideological purity. For example, at UNC-Chapel Hill, there are 17 departments with no registered Republican faculty members With the Free Speech Act, the North Carolina legislature has provided some powerful safeguards against future politicization of the state's colleges and universities, and it deserves great praise for securing those protections. Of course, more needs to be done, so it should not rest on this year's laurels but continue to improve the academic atmosphere in the state's higher education institutions for the benefit of all North Carolinians.
In the Supreme Court's upcoming fall session, we will find out whether or not the First Amendment still exists in any meaningful way. Specifically, the Court's regard for free speech and the free exercise of religion will be put to the test in Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. This case involves Jack Phillips, who founded the Masterpiece Cakeshop in 1993, a small bakery in Lakewood, Colorado. While Phillips himself is a gifted cake artist who specializes in custom products, the shop also sells pre-made cakes and other baked goods. Philips had been allowed to serve his community with his talents while living according to his faith for years, until the Colorado Civil Rights Commission endeavored to take that away from him in the name of the left's backwards brand of "progress."In the summer of 2012, a gay couple requested that Phillips design them a personalized cake for their upcoming wedding. While Phillips politely explained that his faith would not allow for him to personally design a cake for a same-sex wedding, it was made clear that he would be happy to sell them any of the bakery's other products or a pre made cake. The couple proceeded to file a complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights Commission. This swiftly led to a suit being brought against Phillips' bakery under a state public accommodations statute that prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation. While Phillips and his attorneys argued that he was happy to serve the couple, and that he only sought to avoid personal expression in violation of his religious beliefs, the Colorado Appellate Court has torched both the Constitution and precedent in declaring that Phillips is not protected under the First Amendment.With regards to the free speech clause, there are two huge flaws in the state's argument. First, the Court's holding that an art such as cake design is not protected speech is a complete abandonment of precedent. From Stromberg v. California (1931), where the Supreme Court ruled that the state could not prevent individuals from flying certain flags, to the more well known Texas v. Johnson (1989), where the Court determined that flag-burning was protected under the First Amendment, the Courts have consistently stood in favor of a right to symbolic speech as long as it consists of an expressive act. In this case, Phillip's personal design is clearly expressive, and therefore should be treated as First Amendment speech.The second flaw deals with the Court's precedent on compelled speech. Starting with West Virginia Board of Education v. Barnette (1943), it has been a fixed principle in American law that the right to free speech implies a right not to speak. In Barnette, Justice Jackson eloquently stated that, "no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein." If the State were to succeed in coercing Phillips into designing a same-sex wedding cake, it would be doing exactly what solid precedent says it has no authority to do.This case has obvious ramifications for our understanding of the First Amendment's free exercise clause as well. If Colorado has its way, Phillips will be forced to violate his faith in order to run his private business. This notion runs contrary to Americanism in every way possible, and is just another example of the left's war on religious liberty. To make matters worse, the state has prescribed Orwellian punishments for Phillips and his staff. These include a mandatory "re-education program" and "quarterly 'compliance reports' for two years." If the state's disregard for the First Amendment is not frightening enough, the idea of government "re-education" of religious individuals exercising their constitutional rights should do the trick.On the bright side, both the current Supreme Court's conservative and liberal wings have been quite good on the First Amendment. The concern is whether or not the Court's moderates, which include Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Kennedy, will see the issue through the lens of free expression rather than gay rights. It should be hoped that cases like Barnette and Johnson are seen as the relevant precedent here instead of Obergfell, which redefined marriage in a shocking display of judicial activism, but has little relevance here. Moreover, It is very possible to believe it's wrong to discriminate against gay citizens or be personally in favor of same-sex marriage and simultaneously recognize one's constitutional right to run their business according to their personal religious principles. It should be hoped the Court does not confuse the two, and sides with the Constitution on this one.
Mrs. Retha Adams Price, age 78, of Jacksonville, NC and recently of Belhaven passed away Tuesday August 8, 2017 at the home with her family.Retha was born in Washington County on July 21, 1939. She was the daughter of the late Dan and Mary Jackson Adams. Retha was raised in Pinetown and Belhaven where she graduated with the Class of 1957 from John A. Wilkinson High School. Retha then moved to the Big Town of Jacksonville, NC where she was employed and retired with 37 years of experience from the Carolina Telephone Company.On September 25, 1993, she married Donald Price who preceded her in death on March 6, 2017 after 23 years of marriage. In addition to her parents Retha was preceded in death by her two brothers, James Ray Adams of Winston Salem and Daniel Gray Adams of Washington, NC.Retha is survived by her beloved sister and faithful care giver, Lou Adams Skinner of Belhaven, niece, Angie (Dewayne) Creech of Pantego, NC, nephews, Clifton (Phyllis) Skinner of Belhaven and Eric Skinner of Raleigh, NC and many more nieces and nephews.A graveside service will be held 11:00 AM Thursday August 10, 2017 at Belhaven Community Cemetery and will be officiated by Ray Williams and Carl Ezelle.The family will receive friends at the home of Lou Skinner, 417 East Pungo Street, Belhaven, NC.In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to The First Assembly of God Church, US 264 Bypass, Belhaven, NC 27810.The family would like to extend a special thanks to Kindred at Home Healthcare and In Home Hospice for their faithful, compassionate help.Kristy, Jenny, Tony, Brandy, Amy, Beth, Linda, Kathy, Robin, and Mr. Darrell you were a joy and a blessing to Retha and also to us. Thank you all and may God bless you.Online condolences may be addressed to the family by visiting www.paulfuneralhome.com Paul Funeral Home of Belhaven is honored to serve the Price family.
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.
Randy Gamel-Medler, his husband, and their son moved to a small town in Oklahoma. Town leaders treated them abusively and threatened them on a number of occasions.

The threats were made good when Gamel-Medler's home was vandalized, set aflame, and then Fire department did not react. The home was located just a few blocks from the Station, but burnt to the ground.

Gamel-Medler is suing the lot of them in Federal court.

Randy Gamel-Medler, his husband and their 7-year-old adopted African-American son moved to Hitchcock, Oklahoma in August 2016. Roughly a month later, Gamel-Medler was threatened by a town trustee at a town council meeting after he learned that Gamel-Medler, a white man, had a son who is African-American, according to the complaint. "What's going to happen when your house burns down and we don't send out the fire trucks?" Meradith Norris, a defendant in the lawsuit, asked. Town officials ignored the police report Gamel-Medler filed. In May, Gamel-Medler was assaulted by defendant Jonita Pauls Jacks, who called him a "fucking queer" and threatened his son, saying that she was going to grab his son and "rip his nigger head off and shit down his throat." The town deputy sheriff refused to allow Gamel-Medler to file a police report and chalked up the incident to free speech. On May 28, the complaint describes an incident in which Gamel-Medler called the sheriff's office to report a burglary after he heard glass breaking in his garage. He then called the fire department to report a fire in his garage. But the fire department, which is located one block from Gamel-Medler's house, failed to arrive in time to save his home. As his house burned, four of the defendants, including Mayor Edsall, looked on, according to the complaint. Gamel-Medler quit his job and moved his family out of Hitchcock. Nine defendants are named in the lawsuit  including Rick Edsall, mayor of Hitchcock and Tony Almaguer, sheriff of Blaine County

Via Proud Parenting
IT Trends

3 Ways IT Is Impacting Student Success

Three CIOs talk about technology's role in student success and the wide-ranging ways that the IT organization is contributing to institutional goals.

Over the past several years, student success initiatives have burst onto the scene as academic officials have sought to respond to pressure to improve retention and graduation rates. Philanthropic groups such as the Gates Foundation and state legislatures have made student success a point of emphasis. Many universities don't have the technology infrastructure to respond to the needs of these new programs, which raises the question of the CIO's role in designing solutions.

Why should CIOs be proactive on the issue of student success? "It is important to be engaged in things that are important to the overall mission of the university," said Scott Winslow, practice manager at EAB, a consulting firm and technology platform provider. Winslow recently led the research for a report about optimizing IT's role in student success (see "4 IT Priorities for Student Success" below). "In many cases CIOs and their teams aren't viewed as strategic partners on campus," he said. "They are viewed as keeping the lights on." Student success is an area where they can contribute to longer-term institutional goals.

Campus Technology asked three CIOs how their IT organizations contribute to student success initiatives on campus and the areas they have chosen to emphasize.

Oral Roberts University: Enterprise Integration to Lower Friction for Students

Mike Mathews, who has been CIO at Oral Roberts University (OK) for three years, has spent that time focusing on an enterprise integration project called "ORU GeoVision" to unite more than 30 IT systems under a single login for students, faculty and staff.

"We understand that students live in a fluid world," Mathews said. "We wanted to make sure students didn't have to think about the learning management system [LMS] as a product or logins and passwords for the student information system [SIS]."

Mathews worked closely with Kathaleen Reid-Martinez, provost and vice president for academic success, to convert that concept of fluidity into a technology plan.

"We started three years ago and made quick progress. Here is the evidence: This semester we finished with 95 percent retention between fall semester and spring semester for freshmen," said Mathews, who also claims that the technology has helped lead to comparably high retention rates between on-campus and online students. "We try to make things easy for students  whether it is getting their assignments or finding out where things are located, we want to make it simple for them. We believe that is what GeoVision has done."

He added that faculty members have bought in, too. "They no longer have to enter student grades into the SIS when they are already in the LMS. This is pure integration," he said. "Nobody has to touch anything. When faculty love something, the other pieces fall into place."

Mathews noted that unlike many universities, Oral Roberts is not interested in hearing about analytics. "I cannot go to other university executives here and talk about analytics. That is 10-year-old terminology. It doesn't resonate. They are tired of hearing from ed tech companies about analytics. We have stayed away from using that term. We talk about intelligence, fluidity and seamless integration."

Washington State University: Personalizing Education the Amazon Way

Sasi Pillay, vice president of information technology and CIO at Washington State University, is investing in WSU's business intelligence capabilities with an eye toward personalizing education in much the same way that online retailers such as Amazon personalize the shopping experience.
(Credit: Loui Brezzell) Amariyanna 'Mari' Copeny known as Little Miss Flint raised 1,000 backpacks and $10,000 with the help of non-profit Pack Your Bag for students in Flint, Mich.(FLINT, Mich.) -- Amariyanna "Mari" Copeny may only be 10 years old, but she's already earned the nickname "Little Miss Flint" for the charity work she's done around the city.



Copeny's latest project involves making sure her fellow students in Flint, Michigan, can be prepared as they return to school.



Thanks to a partnership with non-profit organization Pack Your Back, which was started in May 2016 by students at Central Michigan University, Copeny launched her own challenge on July 28.



She raised enough money to fill 1,000 backpacks along with another $10,000 in donations.



It was the second time Copeny had raised funds to purchase backpacks for Flint students. Last year, she only had enough money to give away 100 backpacks.



Copeny's mother Loui Brezzell told ABC News her daughter was sad that not every student could be helped, so "she was determined to get more backpacks this year."



The goodies were handed out to excited students last Sunday inside Mott Community College.



The backpacks included "everything you need to go back to school," Brezzell said. "Backpacks, pencils, pens, markers, crayons, notebooks, highlighters and books."



Brezzell, 28, said it's no surprise that her daughter has a reputation for her charity work, as she was raised "around giving."



"She knows that it's best to give to other people who are unfortunate," she continued. "It's become second nature to her."



Galen Miller, founder of Pack Your Back, said the partnership was effortless.



"Mari's been great," he added. "They do an amazing job."



Copeny's mother said her daughter "loves Flint and loves the kids." She thought it was important to help, especially since some children will be going back to school while the city continues to deal with the effects of the water crisis.



"Education is important, especially when dealing with the Flint water crisis and the effects from that. You want to make sure these kids have the best possible start that they can have," Brezzell added.



Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
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New York, August 10, 2017Authorities in Hong Kong should immediately drop all charges against reporter Mak Ying-sheung, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Mak testified at Hong Kongs High Court on contempt of court charges yesterday, according to news reports. The charges stem from allegations that she violated an order requiring protesters to leave a protest in 2014, the reports said. At the time, Mak was an intern at the news website In-media, but did not have a press pass when she was arrested, In-media reported. Her application for press credentials was being processed.

Mak told the court that she was at the November 26, 2014, protest on assignment to report and take photos, and that she did not intend to hinder clearance of the area or to obstruct arrests, which is the substance of the contempt charge. At the protest, an officer said she did not have a press pass, while another pulled at her bag, she told the Hong Kong Free Press. She said she was preparing to leave the area but paused to help an activist who tripped in front of her, and thats when she was arrested.

Over the course of September-December 2014, Hong Kong saw a series of large protests against proposed changes to its electoral system, in what became known as the Umbrella Revolution.

Prosecutors in Hong Kong should drop the charges against Mak Ying-Sheung, who was arrested simply doing her job as a journalist covering a protest of local and global interest, CPJ Asia Program Coordinator Steven Butler said. This legal harassment is the latest evidence of erosion of media freedom in Hong Kong.

The High Court yesterday asked if In-medias name referred to independent Hong Kong mediawhich would imply an editorial stance favoring Hong Kongs independence from mainland Chinaor Hong Kong independent media. Mak explained that independent referred to the news organization and not Hong Kong, according to reports.

Prosecutors played video at the High Court hearing yesterday that they said showed Mak chanting slogans at the protest. Mak denied the video was of her, according to Hong Kong Free Press. At the court hearing, an In-media editor confirmed that Mak was on assignment when she was arrested and that police had not sought confirmation from the news organization that Mak was a reporter, Hong Kong Free Press reported.
This year the federal government is projected to spend almost $4.1 trillion, with over $600 billion in deficit spending. According to a January Government Accountability Office (GAO) report and the White Houses PaymentAccuracy.gov, $144 billion was spent on improper payments last year. GAO reported that improper payments increased by $7 billion from FY 2015, mostly due to growing Medicaid costs. PaymentAccuracy.gov estimated that the rate of error was 4.7 percent.

However, both numbers undercount what is likely the full reality of improper payments.

Improper payments are defined as those payments that send too much or too little money to intended recipients. Programs with the rates of improper payments over 10 percent are Medicare fee-for-service, Medicaid, Earned Income Tax Credit, Unemployment Insurance, the national school lunch and breakfast programs, and two Veterans Affairs programs. Medicaid and Medicare fee-for-service account for $77 billion of the $144 billion, and Medicare Advantage Part Cs 10 percent improper payment rate totaled $16 billion.

In an e-mail, GAO Director of Financial Management and Assurance Beryl Davis said that these payments can sometimes be fraudulent as well as simple error.

Davis is the lead author of a regular GAO analysis of federal agencies abilities to audit their operations. Uncle Sam has tracked improper payments since a 2002 law signed by President George W. Bush . In 2012, Congress began requiring federal examination of high-priority programs -- differentiated by having a higher threshold of concern.

The official 2016 error rate of 4.7 percent is lower than the 2015 rate of 4.8 percent, but it is an incomplete figure that  in keeping with a years-long tradition  creates the impression that taxpayer dollars are all being wisely spent.

It is impossible under current law to know precisely how much money is wasted on improper payments. First, the official error rate cited above is only accurate if the government includes the Pentagons Defense Finance and Accounting Service Commercial Pay program. GAO noted in its report that OMBs method of analysis on DFAS may not be reliable. Without including this program, the error rate would jump from 4.7 percent to 5.1 percent, since the agency spends $249 billion but has an alleged error rate of about $111 million.

Davis further explained that many programs are not required to report improper payments.

Current law defines significant improper payments as gross annual improper payments (i.e., the total amount of overpayments and underpayments) exceeding (1) both 1.5 percent of program outlays and $10 million of all program or activity payments made during the fiscal year reported or (2) $100 million (regardless of the improper payment percentage of total program outlays).

This means that many programs that have lower or higher error rates are simply not being reported.

How much of the federal government does not record improper payments? My calculation shows that 19.5 percent of the budget is not included in the GAO and PaymentAccuracy.gov estimates. Instead, the $144 billion comes from just 80.5 percent of the budget.

To its credit, the Obama administration greatly improved the share of dollars examined. My analyses of FY 2013 and FY 2015 showed that just 68 percent of the budget was examined in 2013, and about 75 percent in 2015. But the 2016 numbers still overlook one-fifth of the federal budget.

Veronique de Rugy, Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center, said that the cost of improper payments and other inefficiencies in the federal government  such as fraud and duplication  fail to include opportunity cost to taxpayers or impact on economic growth from government inefficiencies. She also said that Democrats who praise the low administration costs of these programs ignore that these low costs are due to the programs lack of attempt to end fraud, waste, and abuse.

Improper payments are not the only problem facing taxpayers when it comes to accountability of agencies. For fiscal year 2015, 15 of 24 federal agencies were not able to fully account for their dollars in line with the 2012 law, according to Inspector General reports  and those agencies accounted for about 96 percent of improper payments in 2015.

Many opportunities for significant savings are available, such as the annual GAO reports on duplication. According to former Senator Tom Coburn, a Manhattan Institute fellow, duplication wastes at least $200 billion per year. Tens of billions in annual health care and military-specific savings have also been targeted by various policy experts and politicians. OMB did not respond to multiple requests for comment as to how the administration plans to better hold agencies accountable to taxpayers.

Greater transparency, such as that seen in Senator James Lankfords (R-OK) bipartisan Taxpayer Right to Know Act, could help elected officials, bureaucrats, and the public collaboratively identify where dollars are misplaced.

The implications of wasted taxpayer dollars are significant, especially as U.S. debt continues to grow. The official $144 billion in improper payments totals $1,041 for each of the 138.3 million U.S. taxpayers  no small chunk of change for hard-pressed workers. On the policy front, $144 billion is about two-thirds more than the Department of Educations 2015 budget, and could fund Medicaid expansion in 2018 17 times over. If either party was serious about compromise, Democrats could shift savings on wasteful spending to their favorite programs while Republicans could lower some taxes and reduce the deficit.

Dustin Siggins is a contributor to Economics21.

Interested in real economic insights? Want to stay ahead of the competition? Each weekday morning, e21 delivers a short email that includes e21 exclusive commentaries and the latest market news and updates from Washington. Sign up for the e21 Morning Ebrief.
The United States congratulates the people of Rwanda on their active and peaceful participation in the presidential election held August 4. More than 6.6 million Rwandans cast ballots for Mr. Kagame, according to the official tally, though this number appears inflated. Just over 80,000 voted for the opposition. The government claimed turnout totaled 97.6 percent.

But the electoral process fell short of democratic standards. State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said

"We are disturbed by irregularities observed during voting and reiterate long-standing concerns over the integrity of the vote-tabulation process."

The United States commends the Rwandan media for reporting on complaints of harassment of some opposition candidates and Rwandan citizens during the campaign. The U.S. also commends average citizens, the National Electoral Commission, and government officials for speaking out and addressing those complaints. Spokesperson Nauert added, "We applaud the televised [presidential] debate, while noting that voters understanding would have benefited from broader participation of the candidates themselves."

The U.S. remains concerned by the lack of transparency in determining the eligibility of prospective candidates. It is hoped the new electoral law to be debated in the next session of parliament will clarify that process well before the 2018 parliamentary elections.

Rwandan President Kagame has led the country of 12 million people since his rebels helped to end the 1994 genocide in which more than 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were massacred by Hutu extremists. Under President Kagame, Rwanda has made great economic strides, but his critics say this has come at the expense of civil liberties and media freedoms. Human rights groups report that his government has used state powers to silence the opposition through systematic repression.

A constitutional amendment in 2015 allows Mr. Kagame to stay in power until 2034 if he pursues it. The United States expressed disappointment with the change to the constitution and Kagames decision to seek a third term.

The United States encourages the Government of Rwanda to foster an environment where civil society and all political parties can participate in elections without intimidation and elections truly reflect the will of the people. The United States stands by the people of Rwanda in their efforts to build strong democratic and inclusive institutions in order to ensure long-term stability and a democratic, prosperous future for all.
On June 25, 1996, members of the Saudi Hizballah terrorist group attacked the Khobar Towers apartment complex used to house U.S. and foreign military personnel near Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.





The attackers drove a tanker truck filled with plastic explosives into the parking lot and detonated it, all but destroying the nearest building. The attack killed 19 U.S. servicemen and one Saudi citizen, and wounded 372 others of many different nationalities.

Abdelkarim Hussein Mohamed al-Nasser, a Saudi citizen, helped plan and carry out the attack. A U.S. federal court has indicted him for conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction against U.S. nationals, conspiracy to destroy U.S. property, and related charges.



AlNasser stands approximately 5 feet 8 inches, or 173 centimeters, tall, and has black hair and brown eyes.



The Rewards for Justice Program is offering a reward of up to five million dollars for information leading to al-Nassers arrest or conviction.



The U.S. guarantees that all credible reports will be investigated and the identity of all informants will be kept confidential. If appropriate, the U.S. is prepared to protect informants by relocating them. If you have information on this man, contact the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate and the tip line at www.rewardsforjustice.net or e-mail information to RFJ@state.gov.
Before she became the darling of Vanity Fair and Vogue, Annie Leibovitz, 67, spent 13 years on the staff of Rolling Stone magazine, taking simple, spontaneous photos of anything from rock concerts to political rallies. Her talent elevated photo reportage to an art form, and after three years she was promoted to chief photographer on the cult publication that would be defined by her cool, elegant and often black and white images  a far cry from the glossy, stylized concept-driven shots she would later become synonymous with.

Now, an exhibition: Annie Leibovitz: The Early Years: 1970-1983 at the Luma art center in Arles in southern France, presents a collection of more than 2,000 of her photos charting what happened after this precocious young photographer approached Robert Kingsburg, the artistic director of Rolling Stone, for a job. It was 1970, San Francisco, and the magazine was a bible of hippie counterculture, while Leibovitz was little more than a teenager who had studied art by day and photography by night after returning from volunteering on a kibbutz in Israel.

A reporter always wants to find out whats going on behind the scenes Annie Leibovitz

She had no experience, but Kingsburg recognized her potential and snapped her up. Several weeks later, she had notched up her first photo credit on a portrait of the poet Allen Ginsberg smoking marijuana with a young man in a turban. She went on to photograph the McGovern and Carter presidential campaigns, as well as producing portraits of Andy Warhol, Jack Nicholson, Jane Fonda, Patti Smith, Roman Polanski, Muhammad Ali and Dali and other 1970s icons.

The exhibition is a lesson for the young photographer, she says. It shows the kind of energy and work needed to get anywhere.

Leibovitz also worked with some of Rolling Stones most prestigious writers, such as Hunter S. Thompson and Tom Wolfe. [Thompson] wrote his articles while drinking in bars. People thought he was just a friendly guy but in reality he was working, she says.

When it comes to Tom Wolfe, she says: He always wore a suit but he never sweated.

In many respects, Leibovitz was ahead of her time and her techniques, which were unusual then, have since been widely adopted. During the electoral campaigns, I photographed the people surrounding the candidates, she explains. Its something we see all the time now. A reporter always wants to find out whats going on behind the scenes.

For five or six years my work was atrocious Annie Leibovitz

The exhibition also captures her outstanding photo reportage of Nixons resignation. As Leibovitz had no access to the president himself, she captured the essence of the event with details, such as a group of soldiers rolling up the carpet after Nixon had departed the White House.

But some of her most memorable photos are of the Rolling Stones on tour, an extended period of hedonism that landed her in rehab, but not before she had zoomed in on the magnetic sensuality of Mick Jagger. It took me eight years to leave the tour, she says. It almost killed me, but I survived.

In 1977, Rolling Stone founder Jann Wener believed San Francisco had become a cultural backwater and decided to switch his headquarters to New York. It was a difficult move for everyone, says Leibovitz, who found it hard to sleep and spent her nights driving around in her car until she would run out of gas.

Driving became a Leibovitz motif and many of her subjects are photographed in their cars  Bruce Springsteen, Tina Turner, Peter Falk, Brian Wilson, Norman Mailer and the actor Tommy Lee Jones. Theres even a shot of Mick Jagger driving the wrong way along the highway.

The exhibition evokes nostalgia and Leibovitz admits that hours before it opened, she shed several tears as she went round it alone. I still dream about California, she says, adding that the writer  and one of her subjects  Joan Didion could have written about her uprooting.

John Lennon appears somewhere toward the end of the exhibition. He is naked and lying in a fetal position, embraced by Yoko Ono on the floor of his apartment in the Dakota building. Its probably her best-known photograph, taken five hours before Lennons assassination. I wanted them both naked but Yoko refused, she says. When I took the photo John told me, Youve captured our relationship exactly. Just hours later, he was dead.

It was December 1980. After his death, the picture became an icon. Its fascinating how news can change the way you see a photograph, says Leibovitz. She would never be so crass is to choose it as her favorite but its obviously special to her. A good photograph is one that stirs personal feelings and experiences in whoever is looking at it, she says.

Lennons death was a turning point for Leibovitz. The 1970s were over and the brave, slightly innocent optimism of those years would be replaced by the cynicism of the 1980s, with Ronald Reagan in the White House imposing his neoliberal ideas on the United States and the world.

Andy Warhol and fashion writer Diana Vreeland in New York in 1976. ANNIE LEIBOVITZ (FONDATION LUMA)

Leibovitz left Rolling Stone in 1983 to work for a number of other magazines, closing the door on an era. It was, she says, inevitable: I was living for the next assignment, with an empty fridge, full of obsession and energy. I felt I couldnt live like that for much longer.

Post-Rolling Stone, Leibovitz started to experiment with different styles, a prelude to her spectacular portraits for Vanity Fair and Vogue. There is evidence of it creeping into her work toward 1983  a portrait collection of poets including Tess Gallagher and Robert Pen Warren captures some of the turbulence of their inner worlds.

But Leibovitz readily admits it was a difficult period in her career. For five or six years my work was atrocious, she says. I still find it difficult to look at it. I think Im best at photo reportage. Im not a great studio photographer. Im not like Irving Penn or Richard Avedon, who were masters at studio work. I think of myself as more of an observer.

English version by Heather Galloway.
Barcelona City Hall is banning Segways and bicycle taxis, along with electrically powered scooters and skateboards  modes of transport mainly used by tourists  from the citys Ciutat Vella historic quarter. The move has been prompted, according to councilor Gala Pin, by the misuse of these personal vehicles, which residents continually complain about.

Tourists on a segway tour of Barcelona. Joan Sanchez

Responding to the announcement, Roberto Pertinez, with the citys association of companies providing sustainable mobility, which includes bicycle taxis, said: We earn a living through physical activity and try to work where there are customers, whether they are tourists or not.

He accused City Hall of not warning the associations members of its decision, despite them having held several meetings with officials. They are putting us in the same category as other, very different businesses, such as those who hire out electric scooters and skateboards. A decree of this nature could put some firms out of business and a lot of people wont be able to earn a living, he said.

Pertinez said there are around 150 bicycle taxis in Barcelona: Before July, only 50 were authorized. I dont understand why City Hall doesnt make an effort to impose some order rather than simply banning them.

The ban will not apply to residents of Barcelona who own electrically powered scooters and Segways

The decree will come into effect toward the end of August and will apply for six months to begin with. Segways and other electric two-wheeled vehicles will be allowed along a small route in the center of the Catalan capital.

No restrictions are to be imposed on cyclists, nor will the ban apply to residents of Barcelona who own electrically powered scooters and Segways, and who use them to go to work or take children to school.

Barcelona City Hall is aiming to create a registry of rented two-wheeled vehicles and bicycle taxis.

Local police are to be tasked with monitoring compliance of the ban; anybody found in breach of the new rules faces a fine of between 100 and 500.

The move comes at a time when Barcelona City Hall is under pressure from growing numbers of locals who are unhappy at soaring visitor numbers, as well as from local businesses dependent on the tourist sector.

This pioneering rule aims to solve the problems of co-existence in public areas and to encourage sustainable and safe mobility, said Pin.

English version by Nick Lyne.
Crawl like a worm, shouted soldiers at Paula Colmenarez Boscan, a law student at Venezuelas Central University after they seized her in the eastern suburbs of Caracas during a demonstration in July against President Nicolas Maduro. Around a dozen soldiers arrested me. They groped me between my legs while they took me away on a motorbike. They covered my head, they beat me and they stole my cellphone. They only freed me when a photograph of my arrest went viral, she explains.

Her case has raised international concern about the mounting repression in Venezuela. On Tuesday, the UNs High Commissioner for Human Rights highlighted the widespread and systematic use of excessive force by the regime in Caracas against protestors. The report condemned arbitrary arrests, cruel treatment and torture of dissidents during opposition protests, which are now in their fifth consecutive month. Tarek William Saab  Venezuelas Ombudsman and attorney general appointed by the National Constituent Assembly, the new legislative body created by the government  refused to discuss the report with EL PAIS.

They threw tear gas canisters at us. It was like a Nazi gas chamber Gaetano Costa, academic

Tamara Tarciuk of Human Rights Watch says that most of those who have been tortured are dissidents or critics of the government: They are not the well-known opposition leaders, but instead ordinary people who the government considers dissidents simply because they take part in demonstrations or because they are passing by near one.

In June, Mileidy Gonzalez, a nursing assistant, was arrested by police when she was walking near a demonstration in the western city of Barquismeto. I was tied up by the wrists and hung up and then I was beaten repeatedly. They threatened to rape me and plant drugs on me if I reported them. They destroyed me, she says.

She has photographs of her scars, and her spleen was damaged. She spent eight days in hospital after her beating, but was never given a medical report on her condition after she was arrested.

No doctor dared to. They didnt even scan me, she explains, adding that she must now report each month to a court after she was charged with damaging property and resisting arrest.

I was hung up by the wrists and beaten repeatedly. They threatened to rape me Mileidy Gonzalez, nursing assistant

Gaetano Costa, a 42-year-old academic and member of opposition party Popular Will, was first arrested by the paramilitary Bolivian National Guard (GNB) in 2014 at a demonstration. I was not alone. Several others were arrested with me. We were taken to a GNB building and beaten and threatened with being disappeared. They threw tear gas canisters at us. It was like a Nazi gas chamber. The soldiers said we belonged to the opposition, he says. He has continued protesting this year and was again arrested and beaten.

Gonzalez says he believes his testimony could be useful to raise awareness internationally about human rights abuses in Venezuela. Andres Colmenarez, the head of NGO Funpaz, corroborates the stories of mistreatment of opponents of the regime. He says the majority of people arrested and tortured do not dare to speak out. During the protests of 2014, some 80 people reported being tortured in the state of Lara; this year the figure is 20. That isnt because there have been fewer cases, but because people do not dare to make these abuses public, he says.

Tamara Bechar, a lawyer with the Human Rights Center of the Andres Bello Catholic University, says that police and security forces act with impunity, which deters people from reporting abuses.

Mileidy Gonzalez, who was hospitalized after soldiers tortured her. Fabiola Ferrero

I have defended minors, aged 16 and 17, arrested during protests. They have told the courts about abuses and mistreatment, some of it of a sexual nature, by the state security forces. This is all logged officially, but nothing happens to the people responsible, who are all soldiers, she explains. Taraciuk says it is essential that such cases are all documented. Today it is impossible to imagine justice in Venezuela because all judicial power is simply an adjunct of the government.

Spider-Man, the alias used by a member of the so-called Resistance Movement, has not reported the soldiers who he says blinded him in his left eye during a protest against the vote for the Constituent Assembly on July 30.

They had beaten me earlier at a police station, but I continued protesting because I wasnt afraid, he says. The 22-year has since gone underground, saying he dare not report the soldiers who beat him: They would arrest me and they would remain free.

English version by Nick Lyne.
The business of US financial services group Blackstone would, at first glance, appear to be pretty simple: it buys up companies and assets that are in difficulties, in search of the biggest capital gain in the shortest time possible. With this implacable logic, the US investment fund entered the Spanish real estate market in 2013, acquiring protected housing stock from Madrid City Hall, which at the time was in need of liquidity. But it pulled off an even bigger deal on Tuesday, when it bought up half of the toxic real estate portfolio from failed Spanish lender Popular .

A block of social housing in the Madrid neighborhood of Carabanchel, owned by an affiliate of Blackstone. Samuel Sanchez

The purchase was made from Spains Banco Santander, which in June bought the struggling Banco Popular for one euro in order to prevent its collapse. Like many other Spanish lenders, Popular had suffered from exposure to bad loans following the slump in the property market after a decade-long boom that ended in early 2008.

Thanks to the deal, overnight Blackstone became the biggest completely private real estate firm in Spain. Founded in the 1980s with seed capital of $400,000, the company has just added 5 billion of assets from Popular to the 7 billion it already had in Spain from its 2013 operation. The companys total assets in the country now total just over 12 billion.

Blackstone has positioned this investment as a medium-term bet on the economy of a country that has seen four years of growth

Spains so-called bad bank  known as SAREB, and which was set up to absorb the toxic assets of a number of nationalized Spanish lenders  beats out Blackstone with assets of nearly 40 billion. But while its stakeholders are mostly private, it still counts on 45% of public capital via Spains bank rescue fund, known as FROB.

Blackstone has positioned this investment as a medium-term bet on the economy of a country that has seen four years of growth, but critics see the move as the definitive arrival in Spain of one of the biggest vulture funds in the world. This important investment reflects our confidence in the robust recovery of the Spanish economy, read a statement from Jonathan Gray, the head of the ever-more-important real estate department of Blackstone. Its a bold bet on one of Europes best turnaround stories, wrote Tom Buerkle in an analysis article published on Breaking Views.

The net book value of the real estate business of Popular was 30 billion. But after a number of depreciations and amortizations executed first by Popular and later by Santander, the value of this portfolio of land, housing, commercial units and other assets fell to 10 billion. For the 51% of this stock Blackstone has paid just over 5 billion.

Even before this deal, the US fund was one of the biggest players in the sector in Spain

But even before this deal, the US fund was one of the biggest players in the sector in Spain, with nearly 100,000 real estate assets controlled via dozens of companies. The deal that was closed in the summer of 2013 saw Blackstone buy up 1,860 social housing units, parking garages and storerooms from Madrid City Hall, which was then controlled by Popular Party Mayor Ana Botella. The firm paid 127.5 million for the deal. The following year, the fund bought up the toxic mortgages on the books of Catalan lender Catalunya Banc. Valued at 6.4 billion, the package was snapped up by Blackstone for a little over half that amount, around 3.6 billion.

With some 370 billion of assets under management around the world, Blackstone is one of the giants of capital risk. Real estate is gaining more and more ground in its investment portfolio, now accounting for nearly a third of its assets. The total value of its real estate business is 104 billion, making it the biggest owner of bricks and mortar in the world.

Blackstone has sometimes been presented as an archetype of the excesses of capitalism, and its chairman and CEO, Stephen A. Schwarzman, as a representative of the villains of Wall Street. In an in-depth profile published in 2008, the magazine The New Yorker reported on the indignation sparked by news that Schwarzman had pocketed $677 million in cash for a public offering that also saw him retain shares valued at $7.8 billion, turning him into one of the richest men in the country.

Sources close to the company argue that the arrival of Blackstone in Spain should be seen as a boost for the sector

But in contrast to this view, sources close to the company argue that the arrival of Blackstone in Spain should be seen as a boost for a real estate sector that is in dire need of some good news. The same sources add that if the fund is able to move in and manage a pool of land and housing that was frozen up until now its because it can offer something that the banks dont have: flexibility. Blackstone offers three things: management, management and management, conclude these sources.

Four years on, the sale of 1,860 protected social housing units by Madrid City Hall to Blackstone continues to cause controversy. The municipal housing company has been pursuing the invalidity of the deal in the courts, arguing that it caused a serious weakening of the councils assets given that the 127.5 million paid by the fund was well below market value. But the courts have ruled on two occasions that the sale was legal.

English version by Simon Hunter.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 10

Trend:

Perth hosted a meeting of Azerbaijans Honorary Consul in Australia Aydan Rzayeva with the Governor of Western Australia Kerry Sanderson on Aug. 9.

During the meeting, Honorary Consul Rzayeva informed Governor Sanderson about Azerbaijan, and about the work carried out to expand and develop political, trade, economic, parliamentary, humanitarian and other ties between the two states.

Rzayeva also informed that the first Azerbaijan-Australia business forum will take place in Baku in October. She added that dozens of businessmen from Australia are expected to attend the event.

The honorary consul invited Kerry Sanderson to visit Azerbaijan.

The governor of Western Australia, for her part, praised the success Azerbaijan has achieved in political, economic and other spheres, and expressed desire to visit Azerbaijan. She emphasized the need to expand ties between the two states, and added that the October business forum will create good opportunities for this.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 7

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

The logistics center that is being built in Kars as part of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway project will be commissioned in October 2018, Turkeys Ministry of Transport, Maritime and Communications told Trend Aug. 7.

The projects cost is estimated at about 94.3 million Turkish liras.

According to the ministry, a land plot of 300,000 square meters was given for the construction of the logistics center.

Annually, 412,000 tons of cargo will be transported through the center.

Ministry added that 16-km railway lines will be built in the territory of the logistics center. They will be connected to the Kars-Erzurum railway.

Agreement on creation of the logistics center was signed on July 19, 2017 during the visit of Head of Azerbaijan Railways CJSC Javid Gurbanov to the Kars Province in order to get familiarized with the progress in the BTK project.

The BTK railway is being constructed on the basis of the Georgian-Azerbaijani-Turkish intergovernmental agreement. 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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Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 10

By Maksim Tsurkov  Trend:

Negotiations, related to the creation of a new route of transporting the goods from southern China to Europe through Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan, are currently underway, Kheyrulla Humbatov, head of department of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party (YAP) for Azerbaijan Railways CJSC, said in the interview.

According to him, Azerbaijan Railways, jointly with other transportation structures, is the initiator and participant of several major international projects related to the increase of countrys transit potential.

The Association of the Trans-Caspian International Transportation Route was established at the end of the last year. Consolidated tariffs and a single window system were introduced on the route since. Currently, preparation measures for alternative routes of the North-South corridor are initiated, noted Humbatov.

He recalled that, for further development of the North-South corridor, railway administrations of Azerbaijan, Russia and Iran have organized a test mode transportation of goods from Irans Bandar Abbas to Moscow in 14 days.

Meanwhile, works, to attract the Indian cargo for a more intense and continuou transportation via the corridor, are underway, he said.

Moreover, by introducing a single tariff policy active measures are taken to organize safe and rapid freight traffic in the direction of Iran-Azerbaijan-Black Sea-Europe via the South-West corridor, which is a new branch of the North-South corridor, added Humbatov.

The International North-South Transportation Corridor is meant to connect Northern Europe with Southeast Asia. It will serve as a link connecting the railways of Azerbaijan, Iran and Russia. The corridor is planned to transport 6 million tons of cargo per year at the initial stage and 15-20 million tons of cargo in the future.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @MaksimTsurkov
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 10

By Anvar Mammadov - Trend:

Financial Monitoring Service of Azerbaijans Financial Market Supervisory Authority has removed Adil Muhammad Mahmud abd Al-Khaliq, a citizen of Bahrain, from the list of persons subject to international sanctions for their support of terrorism, said a report of the service posted on its website.

He was arrested in the UAE in January 2007 on charges of being a member of the Al-Qaeda terrorist group, according to the report.

This is the 20th 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, August 10

By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:

The US is expected to export more natural gas than it imports in 2017, according to the August Short-Term Energy Outlook of the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

The United States has been a net exporter for three of the past four months and is expected to continue to export more natural gas than it imports for the rest of 2017 and throughout 2018, said EIA. The US status as a net exporter is expected to continue past 2018 because of growing US natural gas exports to Mexico, declining pipeline imports from Canada, and increasing exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

EIA expects exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the country to increase.

US liquefaction capacity continues to expand as five new projects currently under construction come online in the next three years, increasing total US liquefaction capacity from 1.4 billion cubic feet per day at the end of 2016 to 9.5 billion cubic feet per day by the end of 2019, said the report.

Based on construction plans, EIA expects that by 2020 the United States will have the third-largest LNG export capacity in the world after Australia and Qatar.

The United States is currently the world's largest natural gas producer, having surpassed Russia in 2009. Natural gas production in the United States increased from 55 billion cubic feet per day in 2008 to 72.5 billion cubic feet in 2016.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn
Baku, Azerbaijan, August 10

By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:

The need for oil supply cuts is now almost permanent due to increasing output from Nigeria, Libya and the US, Spencer Welch, director of the oil markets and downstream team in the London-based IHS Markit, told Trend Aug.10.

In truth, the need for the supply cuts has gone on longer than most of the participants originally anticipated. This was supposed to be quick nudge to re-balance the market. The production increases from Nigeria, Libya and US mean that the need for the supply cuts is now almost permanent, said the expert.

The oil markets are already re-balanced, the issue is that stocks are barely falling and the supply cutters aim to get global oil stocks down to 5-year average levels by end 2017, this is unlikely to be achieved, according to Welch.

The message to the oil markets is that OPEC and Saudi are trying to sustain the supply cut deal, which is vital if their objectives are to be achieved, he added.

Commenting on the meeting between Saudi Arabia's energy minister Khalid al-Falih and Iraqi oil minister Jabar al-Luaibi, the expert noted that this is fairly significant, because Iraq is a key contributor to the supply cut deal and their compliance has been falling, to less than 30 percent of promised cuts delivered.

It is unlikely that the others, particularly Saudi, will tolerate this for long. Saudi has always said the cuts had to be a team effort and those lagging in compliance would not be tolerated and must be addressed head-on. So Iraqs role is key, because continued low compliance threatens the whole deal, said Welch.

Earlier, Khalid al-Falih posted a picture of himself on Twitter greeting Iraqi oil minister Jabar al-Luaibi and said the two had discussed "the importance of uniting the efforts of all countries for market stability".

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
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 10

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

Astana will host a meeting of heads of the member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the organization told Trend Aug. 10.

According to the OIC, the meeting will be held in Astana for the first time.

It is expected that the meeting will take place at the end of August, or early September, added the OIC.

According to the information provided by the organization, economic, social and political issues will be discussed during the upcoming event.

Currently, preparation works are underway to organize the meeting, said the OIC.

It should be noted that on Aug. 1, Istanbul hosted a meeting of foreign ministers of OIC member states, during which the ministers discussed the recent clashes in Jerusalem between Israelis and Palestinians.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 10

By Kamila Aliyeva  Trend:

Kyrgyzstan received two AN-26 Russian aircraft Aug. 10, press service of the Central Command of Kyrgyz Armed Forces reported.

The ceremony also included the launch of the aviation technical and operational unit.

Chief of the Central Command of the Armed Forces of Kyrgyzstan Rayimberdi Duishenbiev, as well as representatives of the Russian Defense Ministry, the Central Military District and the airbase in Kant led by the Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin attended the event.

Aviation equipment was transferred to the Kyrgyz side within the framework of gratuitous assistance on the basis of the agreements concluded between Russian and Kyrgyz Presidents.

Russian Defense Ministry has also provided Kyrgyzstan with spare parts, units, consumables, training and auxiliary equipment, as well as theoretical, flight and practical training for Kyrgyz servicemen.

An-26 military transport aircraft will enhance the capabilities of Kyrgyz Armed Forces in dealing with the tasks related to the transportation of cargo and personnel, disembarkation of special-purpose units during training and special operations, air reconnaissance and bombing.
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Aug. 10

By Huseyn Hasanov  Trend:

Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan, as leading powers in energy production, advocate the transformation of the Caspian Sea basin into a territory of stability, progress and broad international partnership in Eurasia, said Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.

He made the remark at the government meeting, the agenda of which was dedicated to the results of Berdimuhamedovs official visit to Azerbaijan on Aug. 8-9, the Vatan newspaper reported Aug. 10.

Power engineering plays a major role in economy, security, ecology, social aspect, and diplomacy, noted the Turkmen president.

According to the performance indicators of the six months of 2017, the volume of trade turnover between Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan rose by 40 percent, as compared to the same period of 2016.

This fact testifies to the effectiveness of the ongoing work in this area, added Berdimuhamedov.

According to him, the key factor in the effective development of interstate relations is the intensification of trade and economic cooperation.

Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan, which are neighbors in the Caspian Sea, are interested in using alternative routes for the access of their energy resources to Europe.

Turkmenistan is one of the key players on the energy market of the Caspian region and Central Asia.

Hydrocarbon resources of Turkmenistan can be sent in the western direction if a pipeline is constructed across the Caspian Sea to the shores of Azerbaijan, from where the hydrocarbon resources can be sent to Turkey and further to Europe.

Continuous transportation of Turkmen oil through Azerbaijan in recent years is an illustrative example of the mutually beneficial cooperation.
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Aug. 10

By Huseyn Hasanov  Trend:

Turkmenistan exports cement produced at the plant in the countrys Lebap Province to neighboring Afghanistan, Neutral Turkmenistan newspaper reported.

Plant was built in the mineral-rich Koytendag district of the province.

Project, associated with the plant construction, was focused on three key components: the quality, affordability and environmental friendliness of the production, said the report.

It was previously reported that country produces more than three million tons of cement per year.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug 9

By Farhad Daneshvar  Trend:

Recent deal with French automaker Renault concerning the launch of the joint venture in Iran would play a key role in the development of the Middle Eastern countrys auto parts manufacturers and suppliers, an industry official told Trend.

Industrial Development and Renovation Organization of Iran (IDRO) cemented 660 million deal with French automaker Renault on Monday.

Secretary of the Iranian Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association Mohammad Reza Najafi-Manesh believes that, cooperation between Iranian and European auto parts manufacturers and suppliers would lead to the transfer of the technical know-how to his country.

At the same time, the Iranian side would provide necessary human resources, in the form of the skilled workers, for the car parts manufacturing, he added.

Najafi-Manesh further expressed hope that, cooperation between Iranian and European car parts manufacturers and suppliers would help car makers grab a bigger share of the local and regional markets.

Secretary said that, currently in Iran at least 50 car parts manufacturing joint ventures have been organized in collaboration with international partners. He elaborated, outlining German Robert Bosch and Continental as two of the most outstanding foreign car parts manufacturers and suppliers having established several joint ventures in the Islamic Republic.

Last year Robert Bosch had announced plans for opening its office in Tehran, due to the growing potential of Iran's car market, in view of the international sanctions lift.

There are about 1,200 local auto parts suppliers in Iran. Nonetheless, international carmakers say that their efforts aimed at launching new JVs were slowed by the obligation to produce 40 percent of the required car parts in the Islamic Republic, claiming that Iranians lack the capabilities of high quality spare parts production in the country.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug 9

By Farhad Daneshvar  Trend:

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani presented his cabinet to the Parliament for a vote of confidence on Tuesday, bringing about considerable changes to his economic team, which could indicate his economic policies for the four-year term.

It seems that the new administration would tend to take conservative measures aimed at facilitating a better coordination between various parts of the countrys economy, in a bid to enhance international cooperation.

Rouhani has re-appointed Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh and Agricultural Minister Mahmoud Hojjati. President has also kept Abbas Akhoundi as Minister of Transportasion.

Mohammad Shariatmadari, who has been named as Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade, is among new members of the cabinet. Masoud Karbasian is another newcomer of Rouhanis economic team, who is expected to serve as Minister of Economy, once he secures the vote of confidence from the Parliament. Habibollah Bitaraf has been nominated for the post of Energy Minister.

Economy Minister

Proposed Economy Minister Masoud Karbasian over the past four years has served as Deputy Economy Minister and the head of Irans Customs Administration.

He is planning to implement the policies, which will bring more transparency in economy, speed up interaction with the world and strengthen the private sector.

"Masoud Karbasian has expertise in general policy-making process and is considered to be a technocrat, who enjoys proper relations with most of political fractions and wings in Iran," Mehrdad Seyed Asgari, Norway-based Iranian financial analyst, told Trend.

"However Karbasian, who holds doctoral degree in Management and Planning, appears to lack the knowledge of dealing with (at least some areas of) Irans complicated economy," he added.

"Karbasian, however, performed greatly carrying out reforms in the countrys Customs Administration during the first term of President Rouhani," Mehrdad Seyed Asgari stated.

Industry, Mine and Trade Minister

Mohammad Shariatmadari served as the Vice President of Executive Affairs during Presidnet Rouhanis first term.

Enhancing the performance of the Ministry, improving the business environment in the country through increasing competitiveness, booming the countrys industrial exports and backing private sector appear to be among his main tasks over the next four years.

Attracting foreign direct investment and helping the country become a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) are other major tasks for the newcomer.

"Mohammad Shariatmadari is a pro-reform figure that enjoys great support from the Office of the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei," Mehrdad Seyed Asgari said.

"He has a good record in trade sector and is capable of developing inter-agency coordination between the three sector of economy, namely, industry, trade and mine, as well as other sub-sectors."

"He has rarely come under the criticism of the opponents of the government due to his close ties with the Supreme Leaders Office," Mehrdad Seyed Asgari suggested.

Energy Minister

Coming to the post of Minister of Energy it is noteworthy to mention that Habibollah Bitarf has been involved in the construction of several dams in Iran, which has caused sharp criticism over its role in the climate change of the country.

Financial Tribune, Iranian English-Language news site, earlier reported that Iran is the worlds third leading country in dam construction, with some 200 contracting companies, 70 consultant firms and 30 corporations as well as hundreds of hydroelectric manufacturing units operating projects in 40 countries.

Experts say heedless dam construction poses a threat to the environment, desiccating some of the country's water-rich areas.

Over the past three decades, for the purposes of irrigation and energy production 600 dams were built, an average of 20 per year.

Iran's average precipitation has fallen to 205 mm in the past 15 years, down from 250 mm some 15 years ago. Average rainfall throughout the world is around 750 mm, while Irans annual precipitation is only a third of that figure. 2013 study by the World Resources Institute ranked Iran as the worlds 24th most water-stressed nation, putting it at extremely high risk of future water scarcity.

Oil Minister

"Despite all criticism over Irans recent oil deal with Total, reappointing Zanganeh as Oil Minister proves that Rouhani is satisfied with his performance and the President is determined in continuing his previous policies on oil and gas, tough this may step up the pressure on his administration"

Back in July French Total, with 50.1 percent stake, signed a $4.8 billion worth agreement with Iran to develop the phase 11 of South Pars gas field, causing bitter criticism from Rouhanis opponents.

"President Hassan Rouhanis decision on the new members of the next administration suggests that he is going to continue the conservative polices on economy aimed at expanding the counties ties with the outside world," the expert concluded.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 10

By Emil Ilgar  Trend:

Russian Rostec plans to test a helicopter in Irans hottest regions, with plus 50 degree Celsius temperatures, company told IRNA, Aug.10.

Report says that the company would test Ka-226 twin-engined Russian utility helicopter.

Prior to this, Russian Helicopters Company reported Aug. 9 that, the Russian Helicopters Holding Company (part of Rostec State Corporation), together with the Iran Helicopters Support and Renewal Company (IHSRC), will test the light utility helicopter Ka-226T for its usability at extremely high temperatures.

Tests will be conducted on the Iranian companys site, within the framework of the memorandum signed by the parties in May of 2017 at the international exhibition HeliRussia-2017. Ka-226T has already arrived in Iran and started its first test flights.

The objective of these tests, which will continue until the end of August, is to prove the usability of Ka-226T at ambient temperatures of up to 50C plus.

Moreover, in early September, Russian Helicopters, together with IHSRC, are planning to hold a conference in Iran, to acquaint the potential customers with the test results, specifics of the Ka-226T operation and its competitive advantages, the report added.

"Testing of Ka-226T in the extreme climatic conditions of Iran will make the helicopter even more attractive for the potential operators not only in this country, but also throughout the Middle East. We can notice a great interest towards this helicopter in the region even now, and we hope that our cooperation with our partners from IHSRC will allow us to turn this interest into several contracts and agreements," said Andrey Boginsky, CEO of Russian Helicopters.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 10

By Farhad Daneshvar  Trend:

Irans ATA Airlines is planning to resume its Tehran-Baku flights as of early September, an informed source told Trend.

The company, which launched its Tehran-Baku flights in June 2016 for the first time, has suspended its flights since July 8 due to measures aimed at devising new structures concerning the route, the source, who asked to remain anonymous, added.

The ATA Airlines, which was established in 2008, is headquartered in Tabriz and performs 80 flights per day, making it the fourth busiest Iranian airline after Iran Air, Mahan and Aseman.

Back in July, Azerbaijani Minister of Culture and Tourism Abulfas Garayev voiced his countrys interest in the flights from various cities of Iran to Azerbaijans Baku, Ganja and Nakhchivan cities. The minister expressed hope that this would contribute to development of tourism industry in both Iran and Azerbaijan.

About 60,000 Iranians visited Azerbaijan during Nowruz holidays (late March) in the current year.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 10

By Emil Ilgar  Trend:

About 22,500 Iranian pilgrims arrived in Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj, head of Iran's Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization, Hamid Mohammadi said Aug. 10, state-run IRIB TV reported.

A fourth of them was transported by Saudi airlines and the rest by Iranian airliners, he said.

Up until now, Saudi Arabia has issued 45,000 visas for Iranians. Previously, Iran had announced that 80,596 Iranians would perform Hajj this year.

Iranians could not perform Hajj last year. Riyadh cut its ties with Tehran in early 2016 due to the violent protests in front of its Iran-based diplomatic missions right after the Kingdoms execution of leading Saudi Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr. Since that time, Iranians lost the ability to attend the Hajj.

A year earlier, a deadly stampede had occurred during Hajj rituals in Mina, near Mecca, killing thousands of pilgrims, including about 400 Iranians.

In January, however, Iran stated that it had received official invitation from Saudi Arabia, announcing the latters willingness to host Iranian pilgrims.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 10

By Kamila Aliyeva  Trend:

The United States sanctions will impact its relations with Russia and China in a negative way, while they will also prove to be unsuccessful with regards to North Korea, Dr. Taryn Shepperd, expert in US-Chinese relations, told Trend.

In fact, I believe that the sanctions have proved - for a long time now - to have been ineffective against this regime, and I believe that they will continue to be so  certainly so long as China (and others) turns a blind eye to certain circumventions and only half-heartedly supports them, she said.

Expert emphasized that either way, the sanctions will prove their inefficiency in the short and long terms.

She further said that, sanctioning North Korea, which is, according to her, focused on survival, internal cohesion and a sense of external threat, will remain ineffective.

Any regime, that bases its legitimacy and the very survival on strength and a sense of national pride, can ill afford to be seen to 'give in' to external threats and demands, Dr. Shepperd said.

The only way to counteract the threat presented by the regime and its current policy is to seek the engagement with it, and to do so in a symbolically equal and respectful diplomatic manner, according to the expert.

To further seek to punish and effectively 'talk down' to such politicians and leaders will only serve to lead to a further sense of humiliation and ostracization, which will not only likely prove self-fulfilling, but also end up punishing those who already suffer within the society on the receiving end of such punitive diplomatic measures, she added.

U.S. has recently imposed a new set of sanctions against Iran, Russia and North Korea on Aug 2. The sanctions were expected to bring North Korea and Iran closer.

Although the sanctions are not officially directed against China, they concern Chinese banks and trading companies involved in financing of the China-DPRK commodity trade.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 10

By Kamila Aliyeva  Trend:

There is a discrepancy between US rhetoric and its actual policy, Adnan Tabatabai, CEO of the Center for Applied Research in Partnership with the Orient (CARPO) and an expert in the Middle East politics, told Trend.

With the current US administration we are seeing a lot of discrepancy between rhetoric and actual policy. Therefore, I think we all have to wait and see in which fashion words of intent by Tillerson and Lavrov to improve Moscow-Washington ties eventually materialize, he said with regards to a recent meeting between the top officials of Russia and the US.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson held a meeting in Manila Aug. 6. It was the first meeting between the officials since US imposed a new set of sanctions against Russia Aug. 2. Both sides vowed for continuation of dialogue in order to improve ties between the two countries.

Tabatabai noted that against the backdrop of the recent US sanctions against Russia, it is impossible to imagine Russia-US relations changing in substance.

As for Iran, we have to remember that Russia is not seen by Iran as an ally. Tehran will, hence, not be too worried about Tillersons and Lavrovs statements, he said.

With regards to Syrian issue Tehran sees realities on the ground in its favor and does not believe the US will gain political capital in Damascus any time soon, according to the expert.
North Korea is working on plans for a missile strike near the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam, calling President Donald Trump's warning of "fire and fury" a "load of nonsense" and that only absolute force can work on him, Reuters reported.

Pyongyang's state-run KCNA news agency issued an update on its strike plans after Trump's incendiary comments on Tuesday that threats to the United States from Pyongyang would be met with "fire and fury."

Trump's unexpected remarks prompted North Korea to say it was considering plans to fire four intermediate-range missiles to land 30-40 kilometers (18-25 miles) from Guam, home to about 163,000 people and a U.S. military base that includes a submarine squadron, an air base and a Coast Guard group.

The army will complete its plans in mid-August, ready for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's order, KCNA said on Wednesday, citing General Kim Rak Gyom, commander of the Strategic Force of the Korean People's Army.

The news agency said Trump "let out a load of nonsense about 'fire and fury'," adding "sound dialogue is not possible with such a guy bereft of reason and only absolute force can work on him."

On global markets, the strong rhetoric and sharp increase in tensions drove investors out of stocks and other risky assets on Wednesday and into textbook safe havens like gold and Treasuries.

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis issued a stark warning earlier on Wednesday, telling Pyongyang the United States and its allies would win any arms race or conflict.

"The DPRK should cease any consideration of actions that would lead to the end of its regime and the destruction of its people," Mattis said in a statement, using the acronym for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The United States and South Korea remain technically still at war with North Korea after the 1950-53 Korean conflict ended with a truce, not a peace treaty. North Korea regularly threatens to destroy the United States.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 10

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

More than 35 journalists, suspected of having links with the Fethullah Gulen movement, have been detained in Turkey, local media reported on Aug. 10.

Reportedly, detained journalists used a special communication program  ByLock, which was widely used by supporters of the Fethullah Gulen movement.

Names of the detainees have not been disclosed.

It should be recalled that on July 15, 2016, Turkish authorities stated that a military coup attempt took place in the country, as a group of servicemen declared the transition of power. Taking into consideration that rebelling servicemen started to surrender on July 16, Turkish authorities stated that the coup attempt had failed. Nonetheless, more than 255 Turkish citizens were killed during the attempted coup.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 10

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

Rinat Bakiyev, Russian citizen, established member of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group, has been detained in the Turkish province of Adana, Turkish media reported, Aug. 10.

Bakiyev was detained while trying to land a drone, which was flown from the Incirlik Air Base.

It should be noted that Syria has been suffering from the armed conflict since March of 2011, which, according to the United Nations, has claimed more than 500,000 lives.

Militants from various armed groups are confronting the Syrian government troops. The Islamic State, the Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG) and Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) are the most active terrorist groups in Syria.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
Current relations between Moscow and Ankara are "promising", Russias new ambassador to Turkey, Alexei Yerkhov, has told Turkish media, Anadolu reported.

"In the meantime, it requires a serious effort to bring them [relations] to a higher level," Yerkhov told Ankara representatives of various media groups, including Anadolu Agency Editor-in-Chief Metin Mutanoglu, who met the diplomat at the Russian Embassy in the Turkish capital earlier this week.

The newly appointed ambassador, previously the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Crisis Management Center, replaces Andrey Karlov, who was assassinated at an art exhibition in Ankara on Dec. 19 last year.

Karlov had been delivering a speech at the opening of an art gallery when a gunman shot him several times.

Turkish-Russian relations were tested after Karlov's assassination. However, Russian leader Vladimir Putin described the shooting as a "provocation" designed to undermine ties with Turkey.

Yerkhov insisted political dialogue between Russia and Turkey was growing.

"I am talking about the communication between our senior management. Phone discussions between Russias president [Vladimir Putin] and Turkeys president [Recep Tayyip Erdogan] have gained significant momentum recently," he added

Yerkhov said Karlovs killing had left both the Russian Foreign Ministry and the public in deep sorrow.

"We know that the investigation carried out by Turkey continues. We know that the institutions conducting the investigation in Russia are in intensive contact with their Turkish counterparts.

"We are sure that after completing the investigation, the results will be shared with the public and the Turkish people," Yerkhov said.

He also said Moscow appreciated Turkey's steps to immortalize Karlov's memory.

Ankara renamed Karyagdi Street in Cankaya district, where the Russian embassy is located, after Karlov.

Yerkhov also served as Russias consul general in Istanbul between 2009 and 2015.

"During my six years of service, of course, I had difficult and beautiful times, but these six years were the happiest years of my life," he said.

Yerkhov said there was "very tight" coordination between Moscow and Ankara on Syria, based on the context of the Astana process.

The ambassador said the fundamental aim of the Astana talks process was to create a non-conflict atmosphere in some regions of Syria.

"We know that the situation in northern Syria is now very sensitive and it has become sensitive in the light of recent developments. The sensitivity of this situation indicates that we should have close the cooperation between the two countries," Yerkhov said.

About the Syrian peace talks in the Kazakh capital Astana, Yerkhov said humanitarian aid could be delivered to regions where clashes had been stopped.

Yerkhov said the Astana process did not collide with Geneva-based talks, adding: "For this reason, institutions and organizations that can contribute positively to both processes should definitely take part in it."

A December cease-fire in Syria brokered by Russia, Turkey, and Iran led to the Astana talks, which are being held in parallel to UN-backed discussions in Geneva, to find a political solution to the six-year conflict.

He said a "180-degree change" has not been experienced in Syria due to the difficult situation there.

"There is an emotional aspect for me to establish peace in Syria because I served there for three years and it is a special case for me to have peace there and the regions that I visited before," Yerkhov said.

Yerkhov said the trade volume between Moscow and Ankara had decreased, but economic relationships overall had developed.

"We think there is still substantial potential in trade between the two countries which has not been discovered," he added.

Erdogan frequently reiterates that Turkey's desire is to increase mutual trade volume with Russia up to $100 billion.

After Turkey shot down a Russian military jet over an airspace violation in November 2015, Moscow took several measures against Ankara, including banning imports of Turkish agricultural products and ending visa-free travel for Turks.

In June, Moscow lifted the ban on some agricultural produce and Turkish companies involved in construction, engineering, and tourism.

Yerkhov did not comment on the delivery of a Russian air missile system to Turkey, saying: "This is a question that I do not want to answer."

"Due to its sensitivity, it is being discussed in detail by both Turkish and Russian media. There is a huge humming noise both in Washington and Brussels on this issue. If you look at the Russian websites, you will find many different interpretations," he said.

Yerkhov said his every word on this issue could be perceived as true or different, or it can be abused.

"My offer is to talk this issue after a while," he added.

Erdogan previously said negotiations on the missile system had been "largely" completed and he said the purchase of S-400 system is not "worrying".

Russian presidential aide Vladimir Kozhin said in late June that Moscow and Ankara had agreed on the delivery of S-400 mobile systems but that the Kremlin had not approved a loan for the deal.

The S-400 system was introduced in 2007 and can carry three types of missiles capable of destroying ground and air targets, including ballistic and cruise missiles.

It can track and engage up to 300 targets simultaneously and has an altitude ceiling of 27 kilometers (17 miles).
KYODO NEWS - Aug 10, 2017 - 12:51 | Feature, All

In early July, seven men and women gathered over coffee and snacks at a Buddhist temple in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward to discuss death.

Over two hours, the talk ranged from how to reduce fear of death and cope with a loved one's passing to living out one's days fruitfully.

The event was a "Death Cafe," a nonprofit get-together set up to increase people's awareness of death and help them make the most of life.

A Death Cafe is not a counseling session or grief support group. It brings together people, often strangers, to help familiarize them with life's end.

"No specific agenda is set here. All we do is talk about death," Tatsuya Sakamoto, who organized the event in the main hall of Shineiji Temple, told the other participants at the outset of the session.

"Perhaps you will be able to clarify what you think about death by putting it into words," said Sakamoto, a 59-year-old music producer.

After Sakamoto broke the ice, each of the other six, who had found out about the event mainly through social media, began to talk about his or her own thoughts on death.

Of different ages and backgrounds, they had a variety of reasons for attending.

"After I lost my husband, I began to think of my own death," one woman said.

Another participant, a graduate school student, talked about death in scientific terms, while a medical worker discussed having to face patients dying on a daily basis.

A woman in her 40s still regrets not spending more time with her grandmother in her final days, more than 10 years ago. "I should have worked less," she said.

A woman in her 50s, single and with no children, said, "I came here to explore how I should live out the rest of my days, rather than how I should die."

Death Cafe originated with Swiss sociologist Bernard Crettaz, who developed the concept of the "Cafe Mortel" in 2004 following his wife's death.

Based on the idea, the first Death Cafe is said to have been held around 2011 in London, spawning a worldwide movement spread by social media. Now, thousands of Death Cafes are held in some 40 countries.

In Japan, the movement took off in cities such as Sendai, Kyoto and Fukuoka.

Before opening his first Death Cafe in April 2016, Sakamoto volunteered as a grief counselor, supporting people who lost family in the March 2011 disaster in northeastern Japan, and hospice patients close to death.

Masatoshi Shoji, a 49-year-old translator, organized a Death Cafe in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, following his wife's death from illness.

Although he felt a deep sense of loss, he had no one he could turn to cope with his grief. It was then that he encountered a Death Cafe, where he was able to express his thoughts and feelings without hesitation.

This motivated him to start his own cafe. In doing so, he introduced rules to make the gathering meaningful for all participants. One of these is not to challenge what other people say.

Tea, coffee and snacks are seen as essential elements of a Death Cafe, as they help to foster a supportive, congenial atmosphere. Shoji has added musical performances and poetry recitals to make the event even more comfortable and relaxing.

"People tend to feel isolated if they have worries -- regardless of whether these are philosophical issues or sorrows related to someone's death," Shoji said. "They may feel relieved if they find a place to talk frankly."

Opportunities for people to see death close up and to gain solace from religion are decreasing as more people die in hospital and funeral services are increasingly simplified, said Masahiko Miura, deputy chief priest of Shineiji Temple.

"People cannot avoid death -- both the death of those close to them and their own. Having a candid exchange of views at a Death Cafe and listening to what others think about death may help them to recognize what death means for each person," said Miura.
KYODO NEWS - Aug 10, 2017 - 14:35 | Feature, All

Key airports and railway stations in Japan's major urban areas became congested with travelers Thursday as the annual rush of summer holidaymakers got into full swing.

A number of domestic flights from Haneda airport in Tokyo, notably those bound for the northern main island of Hokkaido and southern islands in Okinawa, were fully booked while almost all reserved seats on westbound Shinkansen bullet trains leaving Tokyo Station were full throughout the day.

The international hub airports of Narita near Tokyo and Kansai, located south of central Osaka, were packed with people going on overseas trips during the peak holiday period from Thursday through Aug. 20.

About 55,600 people are expected to leave for foreign destinations on Thursday, according to the operator of Narita airport. It also estimates the total number of travelers, both outbound and inbound, at nearly 1.07 million with peak departure numbers coming on Friday and arrivals on Aug. 20.

Officials at Kansai airport say about 728,500 passengers are likely to travel on international flights during the 11-day period, including 35,100 who are expected to leave on Thursday alone.

Friday will most likely be the peak day for people traveling to internal Japan destinations by rail or on expressways. For return trips, congestion is expected to be spread over several days.
- Georgina Onuoha has shared her thoughts on President Buharis continued absence from the country

- She slammed those who voted for him

- The actress also lauded Charly Boys efforts at demanding answers

President Buharis continued absence has elicited several responses from Nigerians all over the world. Entertainers have also shared their thoughts on the matter with actor Jim Iyke leading the charge.

Now, actress Georgina has blasted the president and those who voted for him. She accused Nigerians of not paying attention to serious issues like the whereabouts of our leader.

See her full post below:

READ ALSO: Homosexuality is a sin - SDot slams MIs stance on gays

The lonely voice in the wilderness.. I will rather walk alone than walk with the crowd and get missing. I salute his courage, I salute his wisdom and I commend his bravery. Only few men of honor are left. 99.9% of us have sold our conscience to the devil, money and greed.

We who are supposed to be the mouth piece of our people given the platform we have, will rather remain silent because we are in bed with those that rob our people of their basic human dignity. We are quick and swift to show off our ill gotten money on social media, yet we can't speak truth to power. We've become a frozen generation, a greedy race and an incorrigible people.

We will take deals and gigs an hail those who languish our nations wealth on trivial things. A non-entity becomes a Local government chairman in less than two, starts building mansions, we praise him and melt jungle justice to an average man that steals garri to feed his family due to hunger and poverty. "Where is Your President Nigerians"? I've said it always; those who do not learn from history are bound to repeat its mistakes. 1983 was just like yesterday, under Buhari we will always have SAP, yet Nigerians are mute and pleased to be govern in absentia.

When will you all begin to demand your rights and speak truth to power? we all praise on social media our ignorant elected officials who are busy dancing on social media and displaying fleets of cars and wealth gotten from stealing from the people, yet we adore them. Una suffering no va start, this is just the beginning. Those who objected to the election of Buhari were seen as infidels and cursed out? How is the change working for you all now? Remain silent, instead of demanding answers from your government.

Watch BBN, Kim K, Riri, Beyonce, etc oh yeah.. they are being taken care of. Join this honorable man @areafada1 and demand accountability from your elected officials. Don't come on my page to ask me about Buhari because I never voted for him and will never even if I were deaf and dumb. This is your opportunity to demand accountability and speak for your self. Come and beat me if you don't like my views.

Anyone agree with Georgina?

Watch BBNaijas Gifty tell NAIJ TV why she wants to be a star actress like Tonto Dikeh below:

PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android and read the best news about Nigeria

Source: Legit.ng
Elkhart, Ind. is the leading creator of construction jobs in the US. The metro area saw a 44.7% increase in construction jobs between July 2009 and May 2017.

The US economy has 8.1 million workers in the construction industry, which represents about 5.3% of the total US workforce.

But homebuilders (LEN, TOL) have repeatedly cited a lack of skilled construction workers as a reason for a delay in new home construction, which has been putting pressure on home prices.

Trulia provided data exclusively for Yahoo Finance, analyzing which metro areas have experienced the most growth. Truly did this by calculating the difference in workers in the construction industry in July 2009 and May 2017 across the US 430 metro areas. These figures include both commercial and residential construction workers.

An increase in construction jobs reflects a lot more than occupations in a single industry. It indicates that those metros are rising in population and ultimately building more homes and commercial buildings.

The fact that theyre growing means there will be future opportunity for employment. Increasingly, job growth and all-around prosperity are happening in the South and West. If there are people living in areas that are too expensive or dont have a lot of opportunity, some of these markets may be the place to go. It doesnt mean there wont be challenges in finding employment  but these jobs might be more accessible, says Ralph McLaughlin, chief economist at Trulia.

Where are the construction jobs?

Elkhart, Ind., just east of South Bend, leads the pack as the leading creator of construction jobs. The metro area saw a 44.7% increase in construction jobs between July 2009 and May 2017.

McLaughlin says Elkharts growth isnt quite as significant as other cities further down the list like Naples and Cape Coral, Fla., Austin and Charlotte. The explanation for those cities growth is quite simple: There is demand for residential real estate, specifically because of retiring baby boomers.

Elkhart, on the other hand, is a midwestern town that was hit pretty hard by the recession and they had a low number to begin with at the end of the recession, he explains.

Story continues

RV manufacturing is the bread and butter of the city, which has the nickname RV capital of the world; the metro area produces 85% of all US-made RVs, according to Reuters. In 2009, then-President Barack Obama even made a trip to Elkhart to tout his economic plan after hundreds of workers lost their jobs.

With RVs making a serious comeback over the past few years, its a huge business opportunity for cities like Elkhart. With sustained demand for RVs, there will be more people needed to work in the industry  and employees will need a place to live.

Construction growth in Provo & Greeley

Coming in at No. 2 is Utahs third-largest city  Provo. Believe it or not, the city has been hailed as a mecca for tech professionals and creatives. As the home to Brigham Young University and a mere 43 miles south of Salt Lake City, its been able to attract young talent.

Provo is a hotbed of growth, with startups and tons of educated households settling down there. Their construction comes from a hybrid of residential and commercial building, says McLaughlin.

Greeley saw a 36% increase in construction jobs between 2009 and 2017. McLaughlin credits the boom to Colorados increasing population growth, the nearby Air Force base and major job providers like Hensel Phelps Construction (the largest employer in the area) being headquartered and Halliburton (HAL) having part of its energy workforce there.

Moving away from the Northeast

In general, the top metro areas are overwhelmingly in the West and South. The glaring loser? The Northeast. New Bedford, Mass., is the first Northeastern metro area that appears on the list  at No. 53  having experienced an 18.3% increase in construction jobs between 2009 and 2017.

The Northeast is losing population  people are migrating away. And, when people are leaving an area that puts a damper on demand for new construction, whether its commercial, residential or industrial, says McLaughlin. Young households that have been stifled for opportunity are going to warmer and drier pastures to take advantage of jobs.

With the construction industry projected to grow 10% from 2014 to 2024 (faster than the average for all occupations), there is a massive opportunity for those willing to attain the skills and meet the demands of a construction job  and perhaps experience a new part of the country.

Melody Hahm is a writer at Yahoo Finance, covering entrepreneurship, technology and real estate. Follow her on Twitter @melodyhahm. Read more:




Mike Pence

During a previous interview, Anthony Scaramucci suggested there was an ulterior motive behind Vice President Mike Pence's recent hires

Nick Ayers, a political campaign strategist with little to no federal government experience, was hired as Pence's chief of staff last month

Pence railed against reporting that he was preparing for a 2020 presidential run, calling it "disgraceful and offensive"

A portion of Anthony Scaramucci's profanity-laced conversation with a reporter from The New Yorker two weeks ago was left out of the magazine's initial bombshell report, which helped lead to Scaramucci's removal as White House communications director.

According to The New Yorker's Washington correspondent, Ryan Lizza, Scaramucci appeared to drop hints about why Nick Ayers, a former campaign veteran with no federal government experience, was recently appointed as Vice President Mike Pence's chief of staff.

"Why do you think Nick's there, bro?" Scaramucci said. "Are you stupid?"

"Why is Nick there?" Scaramucci asked. "Nick's there to protect the vice president because the vice president can't believe what the f--- is going on."

The unearthed portion of the conversation  Lizza said he originally omitted it because he thought Scaramucci's comments about colleagues like the White House chief of staff were more newsworthy at the time  shines a new light into the dynamics between Pence and President Donald Trump following the New York Times report last weekend that Pence's surrogates may be orchestrating a shadow campaign for a potential 2020 presidential run.

[Money Basics: How the IRS works]

The Times' Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns spoke with more than 75 Republican elected officials, donors, and strategists who claimed there was "widespread uncertainty about whether Mr. Trump would be on the ballot in 2020, and little doubt that others in the party are engaged in barely veiled contingency planning."

Story continues

The Times said that Ayers had expressed to several major Republican donors that Pence "wants to be ready" and that multiple Pence advisers had "already intimated to party donors that he would plan to run if Mr. Trump did not."

Pence strongly rebuked The Times' reporting, calling it "disgraceful and offensive" to himself, his family, and his team.

"The allegations in this article are categorically false and represent just the latest attempt by the media to divide this administration," he said.

"Whatever fake news may come our way, my entire team will continue to focus all our efforts to advance the president's agenda and see him reelected in 2020," Pence continued. "Any suggestion otherwise is both laughable and absurd."

Political operatives, however, said they weren't at all surprised by the potential of a Pence 2020 run.

"While some of what Vice President Pence is doing differs from what his predecessors did, I don't find it particularly extraordinary," Ron Klain, who served as Vice President Al Gore's chief of staff, told The New Yorker. "Overall, I would say that whenever Mike Pence runs for office in the future, the liability he will carry from this period is not how he distanced himself from Trump but, rather, how he deepened his ties to the president."

"In 2020, at the end of a failed, one-term Trump presidency, no amount of PAC money or donor meetings will insulate Vice President Pence from the political fallout from being Donald Trump's transition chief, Capitol Hill liaison, right-hand man, and principal surrogate," Klain said.

Donald Trump Mike Pence

NOW WATCH: Rob Goldstone, a man with cringeworthy Facebook videos, could bring down the president's son





More From Business Insider
WASHINGTON  President Donald Trumps threat on Tuesday to rain fire and fury down upon North Korea if the nuclear-powered hereditary dictatorship made any more threats against the United States immediately increased fears of a nuclear war that could kill millions. It took less than 24 hours for North Korea to cross Trumps red line and threaten to shoot missiles near the U.S. island territory of Guam. In those same 24 hours, U.S. officials walked back the erratic presidents off-the-cuff and already-crossed red line.

Tensions between North Korea and the U.S. are undoubtedly at their highest levels in years. North Korea has been a nuclear power for more than a decade and now may possess long-range missiles with the capability to carry nuclear warheads to the U.S. mainland. Trump warned in the spring that there could be a major, major conflict between the U.S. and the North. And the United Nations security council just imposed its toughest-ever round of sanctions on North Korea.

But experts on Korea and nonproliferation agree that there is one incredibly easy way to avoid war: The U.S. should simply not pre-emptively bomb or attack North Korea.

We cant attack them, said Robert Kelly, a professor of diplomacy at Pusan University in South Korea. Were talking about a million people who are going to get killed. So lets not do that.

Kim Jong Un and the ruling regime of North Korea are not suicidal. They are not seeking martyrdom, former Secretary of Defense William Perry wrote in HuffPost in March. They want to stay in power, and they understand that if they launch a nuclear attack, their country will be destroyed, and they themselves will be killed  it would end the Kim dynasty.

As every U.S. president has made clear since the Korean War armistice in 1953, any attempt by the North to move on South Korea or other U.S. allies like Japan would result in the end of North Korea as a nation and of the Kim dynasty.

The flip side of that coin is that any attempt by the U.S. to attack North Korea would be met with all-out force from the North. For decades, the 10 million people living in Seoul have lived with the possibility that the North could incinerate the city with conventional weapons at any moment. Now armed with nukes, the North could destroy more than one city on its way to the dustheap of history. The North would lose the war, but millions could die.

Story continues

Neither North Korea nor the U.S. has initiated this mass blood-letting. Its clear that none of the countries involved want that  especially not South Korea. President Moon Jae-In made that clear in a phone call with Trump this week. Moon emphasized that South Korea can never accept a war erupting again on the Korean Peninsula, according to a statement from his office.

South Korea President Moon Jae-In met with President Donald Trump in June amid tensions with North Korea. (Photo: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI via Getty Images)

At this point, that leaves either punitive sanctions (which the North is already under) or negotiations as the options to get the North to pause its nuclear and missile tests and possibly reach the United States stated goal of having a nuclear-free Korean peninsula.

Negotiating, however, is far more difficult than the easy step of just not bombing North Korea.

A number of Democratic Party senators have begun to call on Trump to immediately enter into talks with North Korea without any preconditions. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who has said the U.S. is not seeking regime change in North Korea, is currently the only high-level Trump administration official calling for talks, but he has said those talks cannot begin until the North halts its missile tests for an unspecified period of time.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) is the most prominent Democrat, but not the only one, calling for the U.S. to immediately begin talks with the North Koreans.

Reports that North Korea is capable of miniaturizing a nuclear warhead to deliver on an ICBM shows theyre closer than originally believed to building a nuclear weapon capable of hitting the United States, Feinstein told HuffPost in a statement. This accelerated timeline has created an urgent need to restart diplomatic discussions. Calls for preconditions on direct talks delay that effort. A diplomatic solution is only possible if we get North Korea to the negotiating table  time is not on our side.

Those talks would likely begin in secret without any preconditions. The parties involved  which, beyond the U.S. and North Korea would likely include South Korea, China and Japan and possibly Russia  would be able to set any conditions for public diplomatic talks, including temporary moratoriums on missile tests and nuclear tests by the North.

The North, of course, would need some assurances from the U.S. and its allies. Those nations would need to listen to North Korea seriously to decide what assurances to provide.

The North Koreans say this over and over again, said Joel Wit. Wit is a senior fellow at the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and the former coordinator of the U.S.-North Korea Agreed Framework. They are willing to put their [nuclear] program on the table if the U.S. drops its hostile policy toward North Korea. Well what does that mean, hostile policy?

Wit, who has also spoken to the North Koreans as part of unofficial negotiations, explains that hostility means the general posture of the U.S. to North Korea in every regard from the political, security and economic.

One place to start is with North Koreas ongoing complaints about the routine military exercises conducted by the U.S. and South Korea. After the North tested a medium-range missile in February, the U.S. sent nuclear capable B-52 bombers to fly over the Korean peninsula during these military exercises. Earlier this year, North Korea offered to halt nuclear testing in exchange for the U.S. and South Korea halting all military exercises.

North Koreans rally in support of their country's stance against the U.S. in Kim Il-Sung square in Pyongyang. (Photo: KIM WON-JIN via Getty Images)

Leon Sigal, a longtime Korea nuclear negotiations expert who has engaged in unofficial negotiations with the North Koreans for years, told HuffPost the North Korean proposal to stop all military exercises is a nonstarter and they know it.

But there is room for the U.S. to give North Korea something on military exercises. In past efforts to open talks with North Korea, the U.S. has varied the number of troops involved, the types of exercises undertaken and the types of bombers flown. For one year, under President George H.W. Bush, the U.S. and South Korea suspended the exercises.

Sometimes [the North Koreans] say cancel the exercises, Wit said. But they just dont want us to hold big exercises.

He says the U.S. should make public changes to the military exercises as part of talks to get the North Koreans to agree to a moratorium on their nuclear and missile tests.

Initial talks are not going to result in the North giving up its nuclear program immediately, although the program should be on the table during formal talks. The program gives North Korea intense leverage in talks with the U.S. and provides a level of security not had by dead dictators Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi, who once sought nuclear weapons and met grisly deaths after U.S.-backed wars leveled their regimes. Obtaining a moratorium on tests would be a big step, but almost everyone agrees the final goal of the U.S. is and should continue to be the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.

It would be a really serious mistake to drop the objective, the long-term objective, of a nuclear-free Korean peninsula, Wit said. I think the North Koreans would eventually agree to that.

Getting to a nuclear-free peninsula, however, would require big steps that are not normally discussed in U.S. politics. That would including providing North Korea with a more permanent security guarantee by agreeing to negotiate a peace treaty to replace the Korean War armistice.

I think people ought to start thinking about [a peace treaty] because the reason why 1994 and 2005 [deals] fell apart is we didnt do anything about the larger steps of ending enmity, Sigal said.

Ending enmity and hostility may be the only way to stop North Korea from being a permanent nuclear power. But that may be all pie in the sky, particularly with the disorganized, understaffed, inexperienced and undiplomatic Trump administration running the show. Not to mention the Norths insularity, intransigence and history of breaking deals.

Not everyone thinks that negotiations will work, of course. Kelly argues the U.S. should maintain President Barack Obamas policy of strategic patience. He says the U.S. should tighten sanctions, go after North Korean money in Chinese banks and increase funding for missile defense.

He also supports talking to the North Koreans, even if theyve cheated on deals in the past. But he adds, The best possible outcome is that the North Koreans come to the table and they negotiate away their nuclear missile program for something reasonable. Thats just not going to happen. Theyll ask for outrageous concessions that were not going to give them.

Sigal believes that its just too late in the process to wait on sanctions before starting negotiations. I think the fundamental question that has to be asked to the people who are talking about sanctions is how long it will take and how many ICBMs, nuclear weapons and better nuke weapons will the North have in the meantime. I think thats fundamental here. We dont have a lot of time.

Jessica Schulberg contributed reporting.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Success How I Did It podcast

John Sculley

John Sculley is the former CEO of Pepsi and Apple. He was brought on by Steve Jobs to be the then-young founder's "adult supervision."

Sculley started his career at Pepsi driving its trucks and eventually became its CEO.

He stayed at Apple for 10 years, and had a tense relationship with Jobs that led to Jobs' temporary departure from the company.

After Apple, Sculley became a tech investor and he's now a founding member of a healthcare startup that he thinks could one day generate even more revenue than Apple.

John Sculley remembers the first time he met Steve Jobs. He was CEO of Pepsi at the time, and he flew to California to meet with the then-26-year-old cofounder of Apple about a potential CEO role there.

Jobs had met about 20 other candidates and been unimpressed. But after 5 months of getting to know Sculley, he was sold and offered him the job. Sculley initially turned it down. Then Jobs dropped a now-famous line on him that made Sculley change his mind:

"Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life? Or do you want to come with me and change the world?"

Sculley spent a decade at Apple, and it was a roller coaster ride. So was his relationship with Jobs. During one particularly tense moment, Jobs planned a coup to unseat Sculley. When Sculley learned about Jobs' plan, he held a board meeting that resulted in Jobs running from the room crying and taking a long sabbatical. It's a moment Sculley now regrets.

"In hindsight, now that I have decades of perspective, I didn't appreciate how important founders are," Sculley said in an interview for Business Insider's podcast, "Success! How I Did It."

"This was not a power struggle; this was two different points of view of how do you make the company sustainable. I can't change it, that's history, but it's actually beautiful that Steve did eventually come back to Apple, and of course he ended up becoming a very successful CEO. Steve Jobs 2.0 had matured tremendously from Steve Jobs 1.0."

Story continues

After Sculley left Apple, he became a tech investor. He's now the cofounder of a healthcare startup that he thinks could become even bigger than Apple someday, RXAdvance. He says 5% of the US population  the chronically ill  accounts for $1.5 trillion in spending. And he thinks he's figured out a way to solve it.

"It turns out that the avoidable drug impacted medical costs this is out of that $3 trillion of health spending adds up to about $840 billion. That's many times bigger than most industries, certainly in high tech, and of that $840 billion, it's estimated that $350 billion is avoidable expense," Sculley explained.

Sculley discussed his career, his friendship and eventual falling out with Steve Jobs, and his new healthcare initiative on the podcast, which you can listen to below.

Subscribe to "Success! How I Did It" on Acast or iTunes. Check out previous episodes with:

Below is a transcript of the conversation, which has been lightly edited for clarity and length.

John Sculley Alyson Success! How I Did It

Alyson Shontell: We're so happy to have you, John.

John Sculley: Thank you.

Shontell: I want to go back to the beginning. Tell me about growing up.

Sculley: I was born in New York City, and when I was 5 or 6 years old, I never wanted toys; I wanted electrical parts so I could build things. And I was better at taking things apart and putting them back together, but I always had extra pieces left over, so I think it was an early warning that I was a better designer than an engineer.

I went to Brown, studied architectural design, and then I also went to RISD at the same time, and then I went on to the graduate school of architecture at the University of Pennsylvania. I never actually completed it. I moved over to the business school, the Wharton Business School, and got my MBA. I wanted to be an industrial designer, so I went to business school for that, and I then went on to marketing at Interpublic Group of Companies, which was one of the first organizations to actually think about brand marketing. I worked on Coca Cola's account, and then I was recruited by Pepsi, and I ended up being Pepsi's first MBA. I was called the High Wire Act because I was in my 20s and I was given jobs of increasing responsibility that I was totally unqualified for.

From driving Pepsi trucks to becoming Pepsi's CEO in 10 years

Pepsi Challenge PepsiCo

Shontell: So talk about your first job at Pepsi and what it was like.

Sculley: I was the first MBA and they didn't know what to do with me, so they put me out in Pittsburgh, in a bottling plant, and I worked in the bottling lines, and then I was sent on to Phoenix, Arizona, where I also drove trucks and I put up signs, Pepsi signage, in various neighborhoods in 120-degree heat and I was then sent on to Las Vegas for a month of training, and then I finally ended up in Milwaukee. So I got a really hands-on introduction to the soft-drink industry. I was so appreciative of the fact that I was able to not only learn a business through what I learned at business school, but I was able to learn it with hands-on learning. I'm a huge believer in hands-on learning.

Shontell: So you drove the Pepsi delivery trucks?

Sculley: I did, yeah.

Shontell: So from there all the way on up to CEO.

Sculley: I learned some amazing things, and I'll give you a perfect example of it. I was appointed marketing VP when I was just turning 30 years old and the first assignment I was given was to design a bottle that could compete with the little 6.5-ounce returnable bottle that Coke had that was a classic design. And we thought about that and we said, so why are we trying to design another little glass bottle? We make our money selling liquid ounces  why not design a really big bottle? And out of that came the development work of the first plastic bottle, the first 2-liter plastic bottle, and Pepsi brought that to market several years before Coca-Cola. It was a huge thing for us because, at the time I became marketing VP, we were outsold by Coke in the US, 10 to 1, in 50% of the country, so we were really a regional brand, and when we came out with the 2-liter plastic bottle, it completely changed the way in which soft drinks were merchandised. Because I was a designer, I designed the merchandising equipment and all the various things around it to help introduce the 2-liter bottle, and then we followed that on with the Pepsi Challenge.

Shontell: You hopped around all over the country for Pepsi and you were the youngest VP in Pepsi by age 30, eventually became its CEO within 10 years of being there. What do you think are the most important things you did during that first 10 years to take you from driving trucks to becoming CEO of the whole thing?

Sculley: I was always insatiably curious. I still am. I kept observing  when I was working in bottling plants, resetting shelves in supermarkets, out on the trade, talking to other Pepsi bottlers, observing, thinking, asking questions, you know. Why is it done this way? I think that, while I didn't know what the word "entrepreneur" was at that time, it's exactly the characteristics that I look for when I'm looking for really good entrepreneurs to lead companies because you have to have an inquiring mind, you have to say there must be a better way to do things, and now with technology at a point where everything is possible, how do we turn the possible into the probable? And it all starts with a passion to do something really well, to solve a problem in a way that's never been solved before, and to have just an incredible work ethic, to be persistent.

Shontell: One thing you also touched on was the famous Pepsi Challenge. It helped you guys take market share over Coca-Cola, which was this behemoth in the space, especially in Texas, where people had no idea really what Pepsi even was. They didn't think about drinking it.

Sculley: Yeah, the first market we introduced to the Pepsi Challenge in was San Antonio, Texas. It was one of those markets we were outsold by 10 to 1. The idea that someone would even think about having a different soft drink than Coca-Cola didn't even cross their minds, so we had to do something outrageous to get their attention and we knew from some of the research that we'd been doing a consumer taste test, that Pepsi actually had a slight preference over Coke  not much, but a slight preference of a few points over Coke.

Shontell: In terms of taste?

Sculley: In terms of taste, as long as you didn't put the brand label on it. As soon as you put the brand label on it, people always chose Coca-Cola. So the Pepsi Challenge was built on a blind taste test. My favorite one was in San Antonio. It was a grandmother with her little granddaughter looking over her shoulder. The grandmother said, Well, I don't know why I'm here. I've never had a Pepsi before. And as they do the reveal and the grandmother could see what she picked, the little granddaughter says, "Grandma, you picked Pepsi." And the grandma says, I can't believe it. I've never had one before. I guess I really do like Pepsi better than Coke. Bang, that was our commercial. And we did that over and over again because it was a brand-new tool, so it really caught everybody, including Coca-Cola, off guard. Coke was outraged, and that was the beginning of the Pepsi Challenge.

Shontell: And is it true that you chose Coca-Cola in a blind taste test?

Sculley: Oh, I wish you wouldn't bring that up! I was in Hawaii because we would introduce market by market, and fortunately those days we didn't have cable television so that you could see something that happened in Hawaii all the way back on the mainland. But I was being interviewed live in Honolulu and the lady interviewing me as people were taking the Pepsi Challenge taste test said, Well, why don't you take the challenge test? And I sort of hesitated, but there wasn't much I could say, so, unfortunately, I picked Coca-Cola.

Meeting Steve Jobs

steve jobs john sculley steve wozniak

Shontell: Well, it was an authentic test then, I guess.

So Steve Jobs grew very interested in this idea that you had helped build this huge promotional campaign for Pepsi and you were really focused on perception marketing. What was the first time you met Jobs? Do you remember?

Sculley: I do. Apple had been looking for a new CEO. They had fired their first CEO, and they were looking for a new CEO. Steve wanted the job. They said he was 26 years old, he was too young, and he was considered a little bit disruptive in those days. So they said, OK, you're the largest shareholder, you're the chairman of the board, you get a veto, right, but you're not ready to be the CEO. So they went through about 20 different candidates and Steve vetoed every one of them. They had exhausted the obvious candidates in the high-tech industry in California, and they went to executive recruiter Jerry Roach and Jerry Roach said, well, I want Steve to meet John Sculley. So I went out to Apple. Most people I knew had never even heard of Silicon Valley. We're now back in 1982. I showed up in Silicon Valley and when I got to Apple  remember, there was no GPS, just a map and a rented car  I wasn't even sure I was in the right place because there were no commercial buildings around, it was just houses and a few tilt-up structures, and it turned out that Steve was upstairs in the second floor of a converted house, and that's where he and I met for the first time.

Shontell: And so you go and meet this 26-year-old. What was Apple like in those days?

Sculley: The time that I joined, which was the following year in 1983, we were $569 million in revenue, the company had gone public a couple of years earlier, and it was really about as far from what any company looks like in corporate America. The building where Steve was building the Macintosh  it was still over a year away from being introduced  had a pirate flag flying from the flagpole on top of the building, a one-story building. When I went in, there were motorcycles and a Bosendorfer piano, which is one of the highest-end pianos, because Steve loved beautifully designed products.

The average age of the Mac team was 22 and Steve never wanted more than 100 people working in the Mac group, because he said he couldn't remember their names. So if you wanted to add somebody, somebody had to go, and those were the rules that Steve laid out. He was not an engineer: He was a brilliant individual with this ability to see around corners, to see things that other people couldn't see. I've learned over the years that there are some really talented people who can take the same evidence, the same facts, and look at them and see them in a way that interprets those facts entirely different than most people do.

The reason I got recruited to come to Apple  the board wanted adult supervision, Steve wanted someone who could teach him this experience marketing, because he used to say, I'm going to build something that the world's never seen before. I'm going to build a computer for creative people to be able to create and do things that they didn't imagine they were able to do. The rest of the world was focused on business machines, engineering work stations, how many bits and bytes of technology was involved. And Steve was focused on design. I had studied to be a designer and I didn't consider myself an engineer. I was comfortable around electronics, but I thought of myself more a designer. It was really design, curiosity, wanting to do things that had never been done before that brought us together.

Shontell: So you meet him and at this point he's turned down every other CEO option in tech and he's gone outside of tech now to find you. How did you win him over? What was that first meeting like? How did you not blow it like all the other guys did?

Sculley: I decided to talk to him about things that I knew he knew nothing about.

Shontell: So you made him feel dumb?

Sculley: No. I wanted him to realize that he didn't have all the answers. So I took him to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and I took him through the Greek sculpture and showed him what Praxiteles did with the Praxitelean curve. I showed him how the Parthenon was designed and the mathematics used behind it, and I started teaching him about all these things that he had never been exposed to before. And I think it was, in hindsight, a good way for us to talk to each other. Let's get to know each other on a subject that I thought I could spark his curiosity and something he didn't know anything about.

Shontell: And it worked.

Sculley: It worked.

Shontell: And originally you said no to the offer?

Sculley: The most memorable moment was about five months after we had met. We were together every weekend, either in California or New York as we were getting to know one another. And finally it was March of 1983 and we were standing on the terrace of the new apartment Steve had just bought.

It was a triplex with a fabulous view and we were looking out over the Hudson River and as the sun was starting to go down, I said Steve, I've been thinking about it a lot and I'm not coming to Apple. I'm going to stay here in the East Coast doing what I'm doing. I'll be an adviser for free. Let's just be friends, but I'm not coming to Apple.

And he stood right up close to me, maybe 20 inches away, and looked up at me and he said, Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life? Or do you want to come with me and change the world? Steve Jobs was one of these people who always knew what to say at exactly the right moment to get what he wanted. So even then I didn't change my mind, but a week later I was working for Apple.

The moment that made Steve Jobs cry

John Sculley Apple Computer

Shontell: Was it hard working with Steve those first few years? Because he wanted your job, the board told him no, and then you come in. How was working with him?

Sculley: The first year was spectacular  the board was very happy because they had some adult supervision. Turned out that the Apple 3, the next product after the Apple 2, failed, and then they followed with another product called Lisa, and that was failing, and the reality was that the only cash flow for the company was the Apple 2 when I joined. The Macintosh was still more than a year away and nobody expected to be cash flow positive for probably three years. So my job became managing the Apple 2. It didn't take any special knowledge of computers. It was all about marketing and sales, and we were able, in that year, to turn the Apple 2 around, we got back on a growth path, and it just was churning out cash flow, so Steve was happy about that.

A lot of the things we did after the first year were around, how do we grow the Macintosh into a sustainable business? And those were the things which actually laid the foundation for a lot of the things that even Apple uses today as first principles. But it also was what led to the breakdown in my relationship with Steve.

Shontell: Yeah, so talk a little bit about what happened there.

Sculley: When the Macintosh was first introduced, it was considered a brilliant conception but an impractical solution for anyone other than kids learning how to do simple things like draw images on a computer screen and simple word processor. So the next year, Steve came up with this idea he called the Macintosh Office, and by then Apple had developed a laser printer, the first commercial laser printer, and the processors that ran the laser printer were just not powerful enough to make it work very quickly. The Macintosh Office was a big disappointment and Steve was really down in the dumps, so he decided it was my fault and I said, Steve, the Macintosh, I'm told by the engineers, is just not ready yet to do all the things we're claiming it can do and that another year or two, microprocessors will be powerful enough.

He said, No, it's your fault, John. You made me price the Macintosh too high at $2,495 when we launched it  he wanted to launch it at $1995  and he said, You've got too much advertising and marketing going on the Apple 2. I want you to take the advertising down on the Apple 2 and put it behind the Macintosh and lower the price.

And I said, Steve, if we do that, we run the risk of throwing the company into a loss. We can't do that unless we go talk to the board. He said I don't think you'll do that and I said Watch me.

And so the two of us went and we explained our different positions to the board, they ended up meeting with us individually, and at the end of it, the board said, we want the third cofounder, Mike Markkula, to go and do his own investigation, talk to the engineers, talk to the executives, and come back and make a recommendation to the board, which he did about a week and a half later.

And when he came back, he said, I've done my investigation, and everybody agrees with John, not with Steve. And so the board said, "Steve, you can still be the chairman of the board, you're the largest shareholder, but we want you to step down from the Macintosh group as head of it because you're too disruptive."

Steve was very much in shock; he never thought that that would happen, and he was furious at me. He went off on sabbatical for a while, and then about a month and a half later. I was supposed to go to China on a trip and one of the executives came to me and he said, John, if you get on that plane tomorrow, you'll never come back as CEO. Steve's planning a coup while you're in China.

And so I canceled my trip to China. I called a meeting of the executive staff and Steve was at one end of the table and I was at the other and I said, Look, Steve, I heard that you're planning a coup when I go to China.

He said, Yes, I am. I think you're the wrong guy to be running Apple.

I said, Well, I clearly can't run it if I don't have the support of the team, so let's go around the room and ask each of the members  I didn't know what they were going to say  each of the exec staff members what they think.

Each of them said, Steve, you're the visionary, you're the genius, there wouldn't be an Apple without you, but we don't agree with what you want to do. We agree with John.

Steve burst into tears and ran out of the room and that was really what led to him going off on a long sabbatical for about almost four months. He was never actually fired, but I have to say in hindsight now that I have decades of perspective, I didn't appreciate how important founders are. This was not a power struggle; this was two different points of view of how do you make the company sustainable.

I can't change it, that's history, but it's actually beautiful that Steve did eventually come back to Apple, and of course he ended up becoming a very successful CEO. Steve Jobs 2.0 had matured tremendously from Steve Jobs 1.0.

Shontell: So let's talk about what Apple was like after Jobs while you were there. Revenues grew tremendously. One of your big projects was Newton. So talk about some of your big projects there and what those years were like after Jobs.

Sculley: I was actually there for 10 years as CEO, and if you repeat something long enough people believe it's what happened. A lot of people think that after Steve, the company crashed and then Steve came back and saved the company. Steve did come back and save the company  15 years later.

What happened in between was we grew the Macintosh into the largest-selling personal computer in the world. It passed every other hardware product in the world. By the time I left Apple, in the beginning of 1993, we were the most profitable computer company in the world, more profitable than IBM or HP, and we had $2 billion in cash and we had $200 million of debt. So the company was actually in a very good place.

The challenge was that Microsoft under Bill Gates' leadership and Intel under Andy Groves' leadership  Moore's law, the processors kept getting faster and more powerful  Intel could build a huge business selling processors and Microsoft could build a huge business selling software operating systems and apps and it was as good as the Macintosh. Everyone started to panic at Apple, the board panicked, the executives panicked, and they said, "What are we going to do?" We'd have to lay off over 80% of our people, even if we doubled the price that Windows was selling their operating system at, it would take us a very high risk path that we could ever get to break even, so I was adamantly against it. I said, If we do that, we'll bankrupt the company, and I don't want to be a part of it. So I was fired and then Apple went through, for the next four and a half years, two CEOs before Steve came back, and the company almost went bankrupt.

The part of the story that most people don't know is that we were working on a new product, an entirely different field. We called them personal digital assistants and we were developing a new product along that idea called Newton. Newton was going to be our entree into this handheld market where you just have a touchscreen. This is before the worldwide web. It's before digital cellphones. None of this stuff existed at that time, and I remember going to a computer electronics show in January of 1993 and giving a keynote speech about the future of computing and that it would be about handheld devices and that they'd be sold in the billions. I got ridiculed because people said that is the most ridiculous statement we've ever heard anyone in technology say.

When we launched the product, there was very little that the Newton could do, and people weren't particularly excited about it, and Newton was not a market success and eventually was dropped from the market. But what is important in Apple's history is that the 43% of ownership of that microprocessor that was developed for the Newton eventually became worth $800 million. When Gil Amelio, who was the CEO just before Steve Jobs returning, needed to make a payroll and then had the wise decision to acquire Steve Jobs' next software company that he was able to pay for it with the 43% of the technology that Apple had codeveloped, which is known as the ARM processor. The ARM processor is in every smartphone, every mobile device in the world. It was recently sold to SoftBank for $32 billion. It is one of the foundation technologies of these devices, which were ridiculed as never going to happen.

Shontell: Do you see parallels between your reign at Apple and Tim Cook's?

Sculley: Not really. I think Tim Cook is doing a brilliant job. He's a far better manager than I could ever hope to be. He is exactly what Steve Jobs needed. Steve was the visionary, Steve was the one who would take the risk. Tim is a more cautious executive and he is an evolutionary leader who has grown the market value of Apple into the most valuable company in the world. He never compromised on the quality of the products, he has great integrity, he's highly admired by everybody, so Tim Cook is a superstar, but he is very different from the Steve Jobs that I knew.

Starting a "noble cause" that could become bigger than Apple

John Sculley

Shontell: And so take me into the time after Apple. I think someone said to you that you needed to reinvent yourself every 10 years. So have you reinvented yourself?

Sculley: Well, after Apple, I went into a regulated industry. I was part of the founding team of a company called MetroPCS. I've been in financial services. A decade ago, when I thought about what I'd learned from Steve Jobs and Bill Gates and the noble cause, and a good friend of mine, Bob Metcalfe, who invented Ethernet, he said, You know, we have to reinvent ourselves, and as I thought about that, I said, Well, I'm going to reinvent myself around a noble cause, which was healthcare.

Here's a $3 trillion industry that's not sustainable in the US in its present form. There's all this incredible talent that is inventing new ways to do things in other industries and somehow, healthcare got left behind. The most exciting thing that I've been involved with since Apple is a company that I'm part of, the cofounding group and chairman of the board, but most importantly, the chief marketing officer of, and just a fabulously talented CEO-founder named Ravi Ika. Ravi realized that he could fundamentally change the way that we serve the most expensive population in the country for healthcare. Five percent of the population accounts for $1.5 trillion of health spending. That's half the health spending in America.

Shontell: And what is that 5% of the population?

Sculley: These are the chronically ill. They are often low-information people. They may live in trailer homes or they may live in single-room apartments. They may live in assisted living. They are probably going to be older. They typically have nine chronic-care diseases.

How do you avoid additional medical procedures that are time-consuming and expensive? It turns out that the avoidable drug impacted medical costs, this is out of that $3 trillion of health spending, adds up to about $840 billion, that's many times bigger than most industries, certainly in high tech, and of that $840 billion, it's estimated that $350 billion is avoidable expense. McKinsey Global Institute is one of the people who've tried to document what this opportunity is and if you could take just a percentage of that avoidable expense for medications and the impact of wrong medications or overprescribed medications or people not adhering to taking their medications routinely, if you could take just a few percentage out of that $350 billion of waste abuse, of medications, prescribed medications, you could pay for health insurance for every American.

Shontell: So how do you do that? It sounds easy, but it also sounds impossibly hard.

Sculley: Well, it takes a really granular understanding of the domain of that sector of healthcare because there are precedents, there are protocols, there are rules, regulations that have no logic to them. It's an industry that spends more money on lobbying than any other industry in America, so there is lots of political pressure to do things to the benefit of different parts of the healthcare economy. So it can be not just adjudicating the benefits between pharmaceutical companies and health plans where this information is traditionally used, but he takes it all the way across to the specialist physicians, to the other health professionals, all the way out to point of care. So the result is that we founded the company in 2013.

Shontell: And what's it called?

Sculley: It's called RXAdvance. This year we'll do $500 million of contracted revenue. Next year we expect to be at $2.2 billion contracted revenue and by 2020 we're pretty confident that we'll be somewhere between $10 billion and $12 billion of revenue. We'll be nicely profitable in 2018.

Ravi Ika and I were recently out meeting with Gov. Kasich from Ohio and Gov. Scott Walker from Wisconsin and showing them that there's opportunity to take hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars out of the cost of Medicaid, because Medicaid is not sustainable with the opioid epidemic that's going on now. We were down meeting with six different senators in Washington before the vote on the healthcare bill, saying, look, what you're debating has very little consequence on improving the life quality of the most seriously ill patients.

There's no way to come up with a better healthcare system unless you get bipartisan support. So it may be fortunate, in hindsight, that the bill was rejected, because it may force us, whether it happens in 2017 or after the elections in 2018, to bring in innovation as part of the solution. There may actually be ways to bring innovation into this industry as it's been brought into the automotive industry and the transportation industry and into ecommerce and social media, all these other industries are getting completely disintermediated. Why not healthcare?

Advice for the next generation

John Sculley

Shontell: I just had one more question for you. You wrote a book, "Moonshot." And it was about career lessons from a bunch of founders and entrepreneurs and CEOs, including yourself. Looking back now on your career, what advice would you give to someone who's just starting theirs out?

Sculley: Be curious. Insatiable curiosity is infectious to everyone around you. To find something to become passionate about, to constantly ask the right questions. We live in an era today where we can get the answers for everything. In my generation, going to school meant learning the answers. Today, education should be more about knowing what the right questions are. The answers come for free. Having a passion, willing to be persistent even if you stumble and make mistakes, pick yourself back up, never give up, never ever give up. It's tempting to give up, you know, when you embarrass yourself, and we've all done it. But it's an amazing time to be an entrepreneur because not only is the stuff getting more capable and powerful, but it's becoming more reliable and the costs are coming down dramatically. So you can go out as an entrepreneur and start a company on a credit card and go to AWS and a few other services and be pretty virtual and, who knows, you may be the next Steve Jobs.

Shontell: Great, thank you so much, John. It's been a pleasure.

Sculley: Thank you.

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Barbara Hoey of Kelley Drye & Warren

When Google Inc. fired a software engineer for writing and distributing a controversial memo on gender diversity at the company, Google stepped on the very thin line that separates protected workplace speech from speech that creates a hostile work environment. Did Google come down on the legal side of the line?

Aimee Delaney

"Yes," was the unequivocal answer of Barbara Hoey, chairwoman of Kelley Drye & Warren's labor and employment practice group in New York City. "In the context of this memo, you do exactly what Google did. It's a no-brainer."

Jonathan Hyman's Ohio Employer Law blog also came down on the side of Google. Hyman is a partner at Meyers Roman in Cleveland.

Hyman wrote in a blog post that the employee "is free to speak his mind (within limits), and Google is free to terminate him (within those same limits), but I believe that when an employee takes a stand against its employer's commitment to diversity, that employee has crossed the line, and the employer has no choice but to terminate."

But Aimee Delaney, a partner at Hinshaw & Culbertson was more circumspect. "You as a general counsel just want to make the assessment to understand the risk, based on your own corporate culture and needs," Delaney said, declining to say if she would have fired him.

Delaney continued: "You can still decide that firing is the decision worth making. Just do it with your eyes open. And I imagine Google did."

Firing any employee carries a risk of legal action, but terminating a worker who engaged in a highly public attack on his company's diversity policies carries added risk and engenders controversy, Delaney noted.

The brouhaha started in late July when the worker, James Damore, posted a 10-page memo to an internal Google site that questioned the company's gender diversity policies. The memo was widely posted on social media and has gone viral.

The company policy discussion in the memo, most lawyers agree, could arguably be considered "protected concerted activity," which is sanctioned for employees under the National Labor Relations Act. But the memo went on to discuss why Damore believes women, on average, may not be biologically suited for roles in technology or leadership.

Story continues

Damore cited as female traits "neuroticism," a lower tolerance for stress and lack of assertiveness.

The memo has created a firestorm. First, Google, which has been subject to a U.S. Department of Labor inquiry that includes a look into possible compensation disparities disadvantaging women, fired Damore on Monday. And on Tuesday Google CEO Sundar Pichai sent out a companywide note explaining the dismissal.

"Much of what is in that memo is fair to debate," Pichai's note said. "However, portions of the memo violate our code of conduct and cross the line by advancing harmful gender stereotypes in our workplace."

The note added the code of conduct expects "each Googler to do their utmost to create a workplace culture that is free of harassment, intimidation, bias and unlawful discrimination."

Damore could not be reached for comment Wednesday, but told the New York Times earlier that he probably would pursue legal action against Google.

The Times quoted an email from Damore that read: "As far as I know, I have a legal right to express my concerns about the terms and conditions of my working environment and to bring up potentially illegal behavior, which is what my document does."

Damore also has reportedly filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board against his former employer.

Delaney of Hinshaw & Culbertson said part of a company's risk assessment in deciding how to proceed in this situation, would be to determine if the employee was engaged in speech and concerted activities that are protected under federal fair labor laws. But if the speech violates the company's code of conduct, then the company must take some action.

This legal scenario is not unusual, she said, regardless of the size of the company. "This raises some unique issues, but over the last decade employers very frequently are dealing with employees posting something out in the universe of the internet that bleeds into the workplace, and they ask, 'Now what do we do?'" she said.

Hoey said federal law allows an employee to make legitimate work complaints in a reasonable manner. "I think he [Damore] failed on both counts," she said. His work complaint morphed into "absolutely stereotyped statements about an entire class of people," she explained, and the way he chose to communicate it was "inappropriate and disruptive of the workplace."

Whatever the legal analysis, this much is sure: the public controversy has catapulted Damore into the public spotlight.

On one side, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange criticized Google's "censorship" and offered Damore a job.

A Harvard University scientist tweeted that, "Google drives a big sector of tech into the arms of [President Donald] Trump: fires employee who wrote memo about women in tech jobs."

And U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, accused Google of being an "ideological echo chamber" that can't handle thoughtful critiques of its monoculture.

On the other side, Anita Hill, the U.S. feminist icon and of counsel at Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, urged women to take legal action. In an op-ed article in Tuesday's New York Times, Hill wrote about the lack of diversity and equality in the tech industry.

"The leaked Google memo should serve as an alert about how deeply and passionately anti-equality attitudes are held," her article said. "It's time women in tech consider taking advantage of the law to disrupt the industry once and for all."

Contact Sue Reisinger at sreisinger@alm.com.
The governor of Guam, Eddie Baza Calvo, told Fox News Brian Kilmeade on Wednesday that hes used to threats against the territory and supports President Donald Trumps warning that North Korea will be met with fire and fury.

I want a president that says that, Calvo said to Kilmeade, who was filling in on Tucker Carlson Tonight.

On Tuesday, Trump threatened North Korea after reports surfaced that the country was escalating its nuclear program, telling reporters: North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States. They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen.

On Wednesday, North Korea said it is considering using intermediate-range ballistic missiles near Guam.

Calvo has responded calmly to the threat of a potential nuclear war. When Kilmeade asked him whether Trumps remarks get to the heart of the problem or solve the problem in the big picture, he said: As far as Im concerned, as an American citizen, I want a president that says that if any nation such as North Korea attacks Guam, attacks Honolulu, attacks the West Coast, that they will be met with hell and fury.

Calvo also said that while he is concerned and worried about North Korea, there is no panic.

If you can recall, just going back to 2013, this is about the third or fourth threat made specifically to Guam.

We encourage everyone to go through their lives and live them like they would any other day, he added.

The biggest concern Calvo seemed to have, which he referenced while appearing on Tucker Carlson Tonight and on CNNs The Lead with Jake Tapper, was South Carolina Republican Lindsey Grahams statement that Trump was ready to go to war with North Korea and that it wouldnt impact Americans.

If theres going to be a war to stop [North Korean leader Kim Jong Un], it will be over there, Graham said last week. If thousands die, theyre going to die over there. Theyre not going to die here, and [Trumps] told me that to my face.

Story continues

Calvo noted that Guam is home to many American citizens, and theres also the rest of the Mariana archipelago to consider  where over 200,000 American citizens live.

He said it was important that those folks that are in a position of leadership ... understand, too, that war is the last option, because not only will tens of thousands of American military forces and dependents be affected by a regional war, but because the Western Pacific has American soil in it, then a couple hundred thousand Americans could get caught in the crosshairs.

I think its important to be very strong, at the same time be calm, he told Kilmeade. Ive had enough briefings with the military, that there is a multilayered defense starting from Korea, Japan, as well as in the Western Pacific  as well as our terrestrial assets here in Guam, with the THAAD missile defense system  that American communities such as Guam, as well as other American communities, will be protected.

Also on HuffPost

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Attorney General Jeff Sessions

In a July 2017 interview with The New York Times, President Donald Trump said he would never have nominated Sessions if he had known the attorney general would recuse himself from the Russia investigation. He called Sessions' decision "extremely unfair ... to the president."

Former FBI Director James Comey

Trump said that Comey, whom he fired in May, was lying during testimony before Congress and that he tried to use a dossier filled with uncorroborated, damaging information about Trump to pressure him.

Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe

The Times reported that Trump suggested McCabe, who served as acting FBI director for a few months in mid-2017, had a conflict of interest because McCabe's wife received a campaign donation during a 2015 Virginia Senate race from a PAC connected with Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat and friend of Hillary and Bill Clinton.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein

The president accused Rosenstein of having conflicts of interest and said he was disappointed to learn that Rosenstein had worked as a federal prosecutor in Baltimore. "There are very few Republicans in Baltimore, if any," Trump said.

Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III

Trump warned that Mueller would be crossing a line if the Russia investigation expanded into Trump's finances. Trump also said the special counsel had many conflicts of interest that Trump hadn't talked about yet, but would "at some point."

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Jeff Bezos Jeff Bezos tweeted in June that he wanted short-term, high-impact ways to do social good.

An artificial intelligence platform put 46,000 suggestions to a vote, using a method inspired by how bees swarm.

Universal access to clean drinking water was the winner.

In mid-June, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos made an open request on Twitter for ways he could dip his toes in the philanthropy world. More than 47,000 people responded, suggesting ideas from dog training for PTSD victims to improving education in the developing world.

But Louis Rosenberg says he has overwhelming evidence that universal access to drinking water is the real genius idea.

Rosenberg is the CEO and founder of Unanimous AI, an artificial intelligence platform that purports to make super-intelligent decisions based on the wisdom of the crowd. The company takes its cues from the animal kingdom, in which birds form flocks, fish form schools, and bees form swarms, all in effort to make smarter choices to survive, Rosenberg said.

"They're literally smarter together when they converge as a system on answers," Rosenberg told Business Insider. Unanimous AI mimics this model by creating online "swarms" where people can tackle any question thrown at them and use their collective wisdom to converge on a single answer.

When the company has held these swarms, the group has correctly predicted the winners of the 2015 Oscars, the first four horses of the 2016 Kentucky Derby in 2016, and the eight teams that would make it to the 2016 MLB playoffs, including the Chicago Cubs' victory.

Rosenberg wanted to see how a swarm might respond to Bezos' call for philanthropic ideas. The company pulled each of the then-46,000 replies and distilled them to 200 broad categories of ideas. Then it asked 300 users (or "scouts") to rank the 200 ideas on a scale of 1 to 10. In nature, scouts are bees that go searching for new homes and present their ideas to the hive. Scores of 7.0 or higher were included for final consideration.

Story continues

Groups of roughly 100 people went through a series of swarms to eliminate solutions it saw as poor, ultimately arriving at six big ideas: universal access to clean water, cancer treatment assistance, health clinics for the poor, essential equipment for rural hospitals, free medicine for the poor, and mobile health clinics.

During the live deliberation, some people changed their answers while others held firm, Rosenberg said. Ultimately, about a minute went by before the swarm converged on access to clean drinking water.

Rosenberg admitted that there are no guarantees the swarm's decision is necessarily the best, and he doesn't have empirical studies to bolster swarm decision making as the ideal approach for business decisions. But what he does have is the company's track record and the confidence that nature has found a method humans can implement themselves.

He said there is also the element of repeatability. When his company performs the same swarms over and over, it tends to see the same results emerge. This suggests something inherently virtuous about the power of the swarm over the individual, Rosenberg said.

"This really wasn't close," he said. "There was a very, very strong sentiment in the swarm intelligence that universal access to clean drinking water was the issue that was the best use of the funds and you could have the biggest impact and the most long-lasting impact and also the most immediate impact."

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Traders work in front of the German share price index, DAX board, at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, August 8, 2017. REUTERS/Staff/Remote

By Helen Reid

LONDON (Reuters) - European shares fell back on Wednesday, with all major benchmarks in the red after a car hit a group of soldiers in a Parisian suburb in what was said to be a deliberate act.

The falls followed U.S. and Asian market declines after North Korea said it was considering plans to attack Guam, which has a large U.S. military base.

Strong results from Scout24 and Novo Nordisk lifted those shares, but the pan-European STOXX 600 extended early losses to fall 0.7 percent. Euro zone stocks and blue-chips dropped 1 percent.

France's CAC 40 extended losses to hit a session low, down 1.2 percent after the car incident in Paris..

Germany's DAX was also down 1.1 percent as bond yields fell.

Gold miners Randgold Resources and Fresnillo were among the only gainers on the FTSE, up 1.9 to 2.3 percent as investors rushed to the safety of gold.

Banks meanwhile suffered heavy losses, down 1.2 percent.

Results also drove some sharp moves lower.

Chemicals group Brenntag led fallers, down 5.5 percent after second quarter results undershot expectations. "M&A seems to be the main driver while organic growth remains unsatisfying," said Baader Helvea analysts.

G4S shares fell 4.7 percent despite the security group reporting first-half profit up 7.6 percent and saying its turnaround was on track. Stifel analysts pointed to operating cashflow being weaker year-on-year.

German flavours and fragrance maker Symrise fell 3.6 percent, with analysts pointing to margins missing estimates.

Overall, results season has been strong, analysts and investors said. Earnings growth for the MSCI Euro zone companies reporting this quarter is tracking at 15.7 percent, with 76 percent of results in so far.

"I still think there's more good news than bad news [in results] because you're still seeing underlying economies growing at a decent clip," said Andrew King, head of European equities at BNP Paribas Asset Management.

"On a longer term view you're now starting to see a break with the history of constant earnings downgrades," he added.

Story continues

Scout24 was a stand-out performer, jumping 6.6 percent to a seven-month high after the German online classifieds company said it had won back customers in the second quarter. Its shares had fallen sharply after a broker downgrade last week.

The healthcare sector outperformed thanks to strong gains from the world's top maker of diabetes drugs, Novo Nordisk, up 3.9 percent after beating second-quarter profit forecasts.

Dutch oil firm SBM Offshore gained 4.7 percent, on track for its best day in more than a year, after its first-half results beat expectations with higher investments in deep sea projects.

(This story has been refiled to reflect July name change to BNP Paribas Asset Management from BNP Paribas Investment Partners, paragraph 13.)

(Reporting by Helen Reid; Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is 'afraid of his own shadow,' says ex-ambassador Bill Richardson

Kim Jong Un 's constant concern about being overthrown as leader of North Korea complicates any dealings with the reclusive nation over its nuclear missile program, said Bill Richardson, whose past diplomatic missions included negotiations with Pyongyang.

Richardson, formerly ambassador to the U.N. and Energy secretary during Bill Clinton 's presidency, said on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" Wednesday that President Donald Trump 's "fire and fury" threat against North Korea was "over the top."

"You never know how the North Koreans are going react ... especially Kim Jong Un who's afraid of his own shadow, who is concerned about him being toppled, regime change," said Richardson, adding he was encouraged that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson tamped down Trump's rhetoric.

Returning from a trip to Asia, Tillerson said early Wednesday: "I think Americans should sleep well at night. I have no concerns about this particular rhetoric of the last few days." Tillerson made the comments on a refueling stop in Guam, the U.S. territory that North Korea threatened to bomb.

State media in North Korea said late Tuesday Pyongyang was considering a strategy to strike Guam .

Hours earlier, Trump warned North Korea about facing "fire and fury" if it continued to make threats against the U.S. after intelligence showed the isolated nation successfully created a miniaturized nuclear weapon designed to fit inside its missiles.

Trump doubled down on the tough talk in tweets Wednesday morning.

"This is the gravest situation I've seen in the Korean Peninsula in a very long time," said Richardson, but he insisted "it's not a crisis situation" yet.

Story continues

Richardson, a Democratic former governor of New Mexico, said the U.S. should aim to get North Korea to agree to pause its weapons tests in exchange for a dialogue "to see if there's common ground."

Meanwhile, the United Nations Security Council unanimously imposed new sanctions on North Korea on Saturday that could cut its $3 billion annual export revenue by a third.

"This is the first sanction on North Korea that has some bite. But it's only going to happen if China stops the cross-border smuggling and they enforce the sanctions," said Richardson, who unsuccessfully ran for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination.

Richardson currently runs a foundation, the Richardson Center for Global Engagement, which aims to mediate prisoner releases and international conflicts.

Recently, he worked to free American college student Otto Warmbier, who was held for 17 months by North Korea after being convicted of stealing. In June, the 22-year-old was sent home on what Pyongyang said was humanitarian grounds. Warmbier, who was in a coma for a year, died shortly thereafter.

 Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.





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Snap has not snapped back.

The social media company reported worse-than-expected quarterly results on Thursday, with a loss that was steeper than expected and revenue that missed estimates, as it added fewer users than Wall Street anticipated.

Snap added 7 million daily users during the second quarter  a slower rate than the 8 million added in the first quarter.

Its shares fell 14 percent in premarket trading to $11.74, below the all-time intraday low of $11.91 set during regular trading on Aug. 3.

Here's how Snap did:

Adjusted EPS: Loss of 16 cents per share vs. loss of 14 cents per share expected by a Thomson Reuters consensus estimate

Revenue: $181.7 million vs. $186.2 million expected by a Thomson Reuters consensus estimate

That's up 153 percent from revenue of $71.8 million in the year-ago period.

Daily active users (DAUs): 173 million vs. 175.2 million expected by a StreetAccount estimate

Average revenue per user (ARPU): $1.05 vs $1.07 expected by FactSet

Snap races to snag users from an ever-growing field of rivals

Snap's second-ever quarterly report as a public company came at a crucial time for the owner of the ephemeral messaging app.

The company went public in March amid a dearth of IPOs, and was well-received at first: Shares jumped 44 percent on the first day of trading . But Wall Street analysts , including offering underwriter Morgan Stanley, have gradually lowered the expectations. The stock has been under pressure, falling about 41 percent over the past three months.

Despite reporting double-digit year-over-year growth in daily users and triple-digit growth in revenue on Thursday, Snap has struggled to meet the high bar of constant growth that's been expected of Silicon Valley companies like Facebook.

About 173 million people open Snapchat's app each day worldwide, a 21 percent increase from a year ago. And average revenue per user rose 109 percent from this time last year, the company said Thursday.

Story continues

But compared to the first three months of the year, the growth seems less dramatic: DAUs grew 4 percent quarter over quarter, and ARPU grew 16 percent. The company saw a surge of ARPU growth in Europe and the rest of the world, but the increase in North America was more muted.

Losses also piled up during the quarter. In the three months ended in June, Snap posted a shortfall of $443.1 million, as costs rose across the board, especially in marketing, R&D and operations. The company  a huge patron of Google Cloud  did save money in hosting costs thanks to more efficient infrastructure.

Snap (NYSE: SNAP) makes money from advertising, like short video clips and sponsored augmented reality filters. Digital advertising  dominated by Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) and Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL)  has become a challenging area to monetize, so a growing pool of users means there's an increasing number of eyeballs that will see ads and return money to investors.

But there are more challenges ahead. Chief financial officer Drew Vollero said on a conference call that the company would continue at a slower pace of hiring in the third quarter, noting that the third quarter of last year saw revenue boosts from tentpole events like the Summer Olympics and election. Plus, Vollero said, new products like Snap Maps lure users into spending more time on the platform, but also increase the cost for Snapchat.

As Snap has struggled to buoy a falling share price over the quarter, competitors have caught up. Multiple agencies have told CNBC that interest in Snapchat among advertisers is flat to declining as many influencers and creative agencies look to Facebook's Instagram . Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL) is also in talks to create a quick-loading media platform similar to Snapchat's Discover, according to The Wall Street Journal. And with most of its user base on iOS (at least as of earlier this year), Snap is also beholden to Apple, which has its own augmented reality ambitions.

While Snap may be small, it boasts high engagement among the coveted millennial age group. Martin Sorrell, head of advertising giant WPP, told CNBC this month that his company plans to double its spending on Snap this year.

 CNBC's Michelle Castillo contributed to this report.

WATCH:

How to trade Snap's lifetime low: 4 plays

Disclosure: CNBC parent NBCUniversal is an investor in Snap.





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Andrew Lo is a professor of finance and the director of the Laboratory for Financial Engineering at MITs Sloan School of Management.

His research spans a wide range of topics, including the empirical validation and implementation of financial asset pricing models; the pricing of options and other derivative securities; financial engineering and risk management; trading technologies and market microstructure; computer algorithms and numerical methods; financial visualization; statistics, econometrics and stochastic processes; nonlinear models of stock and bond returns; and hedge fund risk-and-return dynamics and risk transparency.

Lo is a co-author of The Econometrics of Financial Markets, A Non-Random Walk Down Wall Street, The Heretics of Finance, The Evolution of Technical Analysis, and the author of Hedge Funds: An Analytic Perspective.

He is also currently an associate editor of the Financial Analysts Journal, the Journal of Portfolio Management, Quantitative Finance and the Journal of Computational Finance, as well as a co-editor of the Annual Review of Financial Economics.

Thats quite an impressive resume. Now Lo has turned his attention to evolutionary and neurobiological models of individual risk preferences and financial marketsthe subject of his new book, Adaptive Markets: Financial Evolution at the Speed of Thought.

The Biology Of Markets

Lo writes: The Adaptive Markets Hypothesis is based on the insight that investors and financial markets behave more like biology and physics, comprising a population of living organisms competing to survive, not a collection of inanimate objects subject to immutable laws of motion.

The adaptive markets hypothesis differs from the efficient markets hypothesis in that it implies that market prices need not always reflect all available information, but can deviate from rational pricing relations from time to time because of strong emotional reactions like fear and greed.

Story continues

It further implies that market risk isnt always rewarded by market returns and that the wisdom of crowds is sometimes overwhelmed by the madness of mobs.

However, Lo adds, the madness of mobs eventually subsides and is replaced by the wisdom of crowdsat least until the next shock disrupts the status quo. From the adaptive markets perspective the efficient markets hypothesis isnt wrongits just incomplete.

In fact, its long been known that individuals arent always completely rational, and thus we should not be surprised that markets arent always efficient. Because, to replace a theory, you need a better one, Lo developed the adaptive markets hypothesis.

Lo explains: Psychologists and behavioral economists agree that sustained emotional stress impairs our ability to make rational decisions. Fear leads us to double down on our mistakes rather than cutting our losses, to sell at the bottom and buy back at the top, and to fall into many other well-known traps that have confounded most small investorsand not a few financial professionals. Our fear makes us vulnerable in the marketplace.

Lo shows that biofeedback measures now enable us to study human behavior. And thanks to new technological developments like MRI, we can now watch how the human brain functions in real time as we make decisions, leading to the development of the field of neuroeconomics.

Collections Of Quirks

Lo demonstrates that we arent rational actors with a few quirks in our behaviorinstead 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 behavior an economist would consider wildly irrational.

He continues: 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.

He summarizes the adaptive markets hypothesis with these five key principles:

We are neither always rational nor irrational, but we are biological entities whose features and behaviors are shaped by the forces of evolution. 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. 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 but related to biological evolution. Financial market dynamics are driven by our interactions as we behave, learn and adapt to each other and to the social, cultural, political and economic environments in which we live. Survival is the ultimate force driving competition, innovation and adaptation.

Lo notes that, under the adaptive markets hypothesis, we never know for certain if our current heuristic (a rule of thumb that guides our decisions) is good enough. We can only conclude whether it is through trial and error. Over time, heuristics will eventually adapt to yield approximately optimal solutions.

The adaptive markets hypothesis provides us with a predictive framework for making sense of behavioral biases. Not only can we understand how they arise, we can predict when theyre likely to arise and what their effects will be on markets.

A Hypothesis At Work

Lo also offers many examples of his adaptive markets hypothesis at work.

For example, he provides a brief history of David Shaw, one of the first quants and founder of the hedge fund D. E. Shaw & Co.whose spectacular success clearly demonstrated that markets werent perfectly efficient. Shaw built an organization of top mathematicians who would detect and exploit even the smallest of market anomalies.

Lo relates how, along the way, Shaw noticed market dynamics were persistently changing over time, and changing in ways that required his firm to work harder for profits. As Lo writes, effects tended to disappear over time.

He goes on to quote Shaw, who explained: Anomalies that had previously generated significant profits stopped making money, and you had to discover other, more complex effects that people hadnt found. The market is never completely efficient, but it certainly has a tendency to become more efficient over time.

Shaw admitted that quantitative trading was becoming more challenging every year as more and more quants pursued careers in finance and the level of competition kept rising. This point is one of the main themes in my recent book, co-authored with Andrew Berkin, The Incredible Shrinking Alpha.

High-Frequency Trading

Another example of the evolutionary nature of adaptive markets involves high-frequency trading. At first, high-frequency traders made windfall profits because humans were inefficient in comparison.

However, as time passed, the high-frequency traders were mainly competing against each other, and to be successful, they had to engage in an arms race by investing in faster and more expensive hardware. Eventually they will be pushing against evolutionary limits.

In addition, a new stock exchange, the IEX (the Investors Exchange), was launched. It has electronic speed limits that prevent high-frequency traders from participating. This is the adaptive markets hypothesis at work.

Financial Innovation

Los new book is a fascinating exploration of the evolution of financial innovation. Its filled with fascinating stories of what drives human behavior and, ultimately, markets.

Reading Adaptive Markets will provide you with an understanding of the reasonsbased in biology and human naturethat the market is not perfectly efficient. That said, active management isnt easy, because as Lo points out, competition and arbitrage work to make the markets ever-more efficient.

If you are interested in learning more about Los book, you can read a more detailed review by economist Laurence Siegel.

Larry Swedroe is the director of research for The BAM Alliance, a community of more than 140 independent registered investment advisors throughout the country.

Recommended Stories

Permalink |  Copyright 2017 ETF.com. All rights reserved
CHAMPLAIN, N.Y. (AP) -- They have come from all over the United States, piling out of taxis, pushing strollers and pulling luggage, to the end of a country road in the north woods.

Where the pavement stops, they pick up small children and lead older ones wearing Mickey Mouse backpacks around a "road closed" sign, threading bushes, crossing a ditch, and filing past another sign in French and English that says "No pedestrians." Then they are arrested.

Seven days a week, 24 hours a day, migrants who came to the U.S. from across the globe  Syria, Congo, Haiti, elsewhere  arrive here where Roxham Road dead-ends so they can walk into Canada, hoping its policies will give them the security they believe the political climate in the United States does not.

"In Trump's country, they want to put us back to our country," said Lena Gunja, a 10-year-old from Congo, who until this week had been living in Portland, Maine. She was traveling with her mother, father and younger sister. "So we don't want that to happen to us, so we want a good life for us. My mother, she wants a good life for us."

The passage has become so crowded this summer that Canadian police set up a reception center on their side of the border in the Quebec community of Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) south of Montreal, or almost 300 miles (480 kilometers) north of New York City.

It includes tents that have popped up in the past few weeks, where migrants are processed before they are turned over to the Canada Border Services Agency, which handles their applications for refuge.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police are adding electricity and portable toilets. A Canadian flag stands just inside the first tent, where the Mounties search the immigrants they've just arrested and check their travel documents. They are also offered food. Then shuttle buses take the processed migrants to their next destination. Trucks carry their luggage separately.

The Canadian military said Wednesday that about 100 soldiers began arriving to prepare a site for tents to accommodate almost 500 people. The soldiers will also install lighting and heating equipment.

Story continues

How this spot, not even an official border crossing, became the favored place to cross into Canada is anyone's guess. But once migrants started going there, word spread on social media.

Under the 2002 Safe Country Agreement between the United States and Canada, migrants seeking asylum must apply to the first country they arrive in. If they were to go to a legal port of entry, they would be returned to the United States and told to apply there.

But, in a quirk in the application of the law, if migrants arrive in Canada at a location other than a port of entry, such as Roxham Road, they are allowed to request refugee status there.

Many take buses to Plattsburgh, New York, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) south. Some fly there, and others take Amtrak. Sometimes taxis carry people right up to the border. Others are let off up the road and have to walk, pulling their luggage behind them.

Used bus tickets litter the pavement, their points of origin mostly blurred by rain that fell on nights previous. One read "Jacksonville."

One Syrian family said they flew into New York City on tourist visas and then went to Plattsburgh, where they took a taxi to the border.

The migrants say they are driven by the perception that the age of Republican President Donald Trump, with his ban on travelers from certain majority-Muslim countries, means the United States is no longer the destination of the world's dispossessed. Taking its place in their minds is the Canada of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, a member of his country's Liberal Party.

Most of the people making the crossing now are originally from Haiti. The Trump administration said this year it planned to end in January a special humanitarian program enacted after the 2010 earthquake that gave about 58,000 Haitians permission to stay temporarily in the U.S.

Walking toward the border in a group on Monday, Medyne Milord, 47, originally of Haiti, said she needs work to support her family.

"If I return to Haiti, the problem will double," she said. "What I hope is to have a better life in Canada."

Jean Rigaud Liberal, 38, said he had been in the United States for seven months and lived in Florida after he left Haiti. He learned about Roxham Road from Facebook and said he thinks "Canada will be better than America."

"We are not comfortable in America," said Liberal. "We are seeking a better life; we don't want to go back to Haiti."

On the New York side, U.S. Border Patrol agents sometimes check to be sure the migrants are in the United States legally, but they said they don't have the resources to do it all the time.

Besides, said Brad Brant, a special operations supervisor for the U.S. Border Patrol, "our mission isn't to prevent people from leaving."

Small numbers continue to cross into Canada elsewhere, but the vast majority take Roxham Road. U.S. officials said they began to notice last fall, around the time of the U.S. presidential election, that more people were crossing there.

Francine Dupuis, the head of a Quebec government-funded program that helps asylum seekers, said her organization estimates 1,174 people overall crossed into Quebec last month, compared with 180 in July 2016. U.S. and Canadian officials estimated that on Sunday alone, about 400 people crossed the border at Roxham Road.

"All they have to do is cross the border," Dupuis said. "We can't control it. They come in by the hundreds, and it seems to be increasing every day."

Canada said last week it planned to house some migrants in Montreal's Olympic Stadium. It could hold thousands, but current plans call for only 450.

In most cases, once the migrants are in Canada they are released and can live freely while their claims for refugee status are processed, which can take years. Meanwhile, they are eligible for public assistance.

Brenda Shanahan, the Liberal Party member of Parliament who represents the area, visited the site Monday. She is proud of her country for being willing to take in the dispossessed, she said, but there is no guarantee they will be able to stay in Canada.

"It's not a free ticket for refugee status, not at all," Shanahan said.

Opposition Conservative lawmaker Michelle Rempel said the Trudeau government lacks a plan to deal with the illegal crossings, even though a summer spike had been anticipated.

"All that we have heard is that we are monitoring the situation," she said. "The government needs to come up with a plan right away to deal with this."

It will further backlog a system in which some refugees are already waiting 11 years for hearings, Rempel said. Canadians will question the integrity of the immigration system if the "dangerous trend" of illegal crossings continues, she said.

Trudeau himself recently said his country has border checkpoints and controls that need to be respected.

"We have an open compassionate country, but we have a strong system that we follow," he said. "Protecting Canadian confidence in the integrity of our system allows us to continue to be open, and that's exactly what we need to continue to do."

Inancieu Merilien, originally of Haiti, moved to the United States in 2000 but crossed into Canada late last month. U.S. authorities, he said, are trying to scare Haitians by refusing to guarantee they'll be able to stay.

"There's a big difference here. They welcomed us very well," he said after leaving the Olympic Stadium to begin looking for a home in Montreal's large Haitian community. "They're going to give us housing in apartments. I hope everything goes well."

___

Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Rob Gillies in Toronto, Evens Sanon in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and Patrick Lejtenyi in Montreal.
VoyagerII wrote:

If you go to a top 15 school, the H1b visa is not an issue. You will will get. It is not as tough as some comments above indicate. Plus in the long run, the top 15 schools will give you all the mobility you want, since most of the top firms here have huge international operations.

When everything is said and done, if the school is a top 15, the H1b visa should not be an issue. Further, for your prospective schools, check out their international student placements rates....that should tell you all you need.

Agreed with your view regarding mobility...however, with the lottery system, everyone is at par...whether he / she is a graduate of the no.1 B school or the no.100 B school. Getting a sponsorship is not difficult if one is from one of the top B schools; however, whether the person is able to stay in the US or not depends upon his/her winning in the lottery i.e. it is purely luck based
A lot of Nigerian women are taking steps to breach barriers and work in fields that people believe are only meant for men.

Legit.ng recently reported the story of a young lady who graduated as the best flying student from the Nigerian Air Force.

Another young Nigerian lady identified as Fatima Ajus has breached barriers by working as an aircraft mechanic.

She became the talk of social media after her story was shared on Instagram.

Meet young female engineer who works as an aircraft mechanic Photo Source: Instagram user Surykmata

READ ALSO: 91-year-old grandma bags Bachelor's degree (photos)

The young engineer works hard to repair and fix air-crafts for a better flying condition.

An Instagram user identified as Surykmata shared the engineers story and expressed that the sky is the limit for women everywhere.

It seems Nigerian men should watch out because the Nigerian women are coming for their jobs and they are ready to excel at it.

PAY ATTENTION: Get all the latest gossips on NAIJ Gossip App

However, some Nigerian women are already taking the bull by the horns by working hard, Legit.ng recently interviewed some lady mechanics working in Abuja.

Source: Legit.ng
As of August 26th, 2021 Yahoo India will no longer be publishing content. Your Yahoo Account Mail and Search experiences will not be affected in any way and will operate as usual. We thank you for your support and readership. For more information on Yahoo India, please visit the FAQ
1 A relative cries in an alleyway near the body of a man who had been shot in the head, as angry people shout at the police, in the Mathare slum of Nairobi, Kenya. Kenya's election took a violent turn in the country's capital.
This is Whats Trending Today.

Every day seems to be a different day on the internet.

For example, August 8 was International Cat Day. There were even more pictures of cats on social media than usual.



It was both International Beer Day, and Coast Guard Day on August 4. Later this month, people will celebrate Rum Day (August 16) and Eat a Peach Day (August 22). On August 28, if you see someone wearing a bow tie around their neck, it might be because it is Bow Tie Day.

In 2014, Money magazine interviewed John-Bryan Hopkins. He is a food writer from Birmingham, Alabama. Hopkins started a website called Foodimentary.

Hopkins said he created different food celebration days for fun, and they caught on. For example, August 2 was National Ice Cream Sandwich Day. Did you celebrate by eating a frozen treat made of ice cream and two cookies?

The magazine called these days fake holidays. But that may not be fair. Many people enjoy celebrating these days, even though they may not be formally recognized.

In the article, Hopkins said he has the right to change what is being celebrated on any given day. I might  decide that I dont like whats being celebrated that day, he said. So I make it a new one.

Hopkins said he does not usually make days celebrating healthy food. I like the foods that America really likes, he said.

Some upcoming food-related holidays celebrate filet mignon and soft-serve ice cream.

This Wednesday was Book Lovers Day. Many internet users celebrated the calorie-free act of reading. People who wrote on Twitter using the hashtag #BookLoversDay received a smiley-faced emoji reading a book.

Some publications created lists of ways to celebrate the day. Bookish.coms 10 Ways to Celebrate National Book Lovers Day included visiting the library, buying a new bookshelf and re-reading an old favorite book.

The magazine Fast Company reminded people of a story from earlier this year. It listed the five books on Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates summer reading list.

The books included Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance, A Full Life by former U.S. president Jimmy Carter, and Born a Crime by talk show host Trevor Noah. His book is about growing up with a black parent and a white parent in South Africa. Noah was a young boy during the period known as apartheid.

TED Talks reminded readers of their list of 101 book recommendations for the summer. They are broken into categories like: When you are lying in the sun, When you are in the mood for adventure, and When you are spending the summer in the city.

And thats Whats Trending Today.

Im Dan Friedell.

Dan Friedell wrote this story for VOA Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor.

What did you do to celebrate Book Lovers Day? We want to know. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.

_______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

sandwich  n. two or more cookies, crackers, or slices of cake with something between them

cookie  n. a sweet baked food that is usually small, flat, and round and is made from flour and sugar

fake  adj. not true or real

calorie  n. a unit of heat used to indicate the amount of energy that foods will produce in the human body

emoji  n. a small digital image used to express an idea in electronic messages

elegy  n. a sad poem or song


Parents usually teach their children how to cross the street safely, by looking both ways for cars. But do they also teach them to put away their cell phones?

The city of Honolulu, Hawaii wants everyone to learn that lesson.

Texting while crossing the street will soon be banned in the city. Beginning on October 24, you could be fined from $15 to $99 if you step into a Honolulu street while looking at your phone. Honolulu is the first major U.S. city to ban what is called "distracted walking." It recently passed a law in a seven to two vote. The law says: "No pedestrian shall cross a street or highway while viewing a mobile electronic device." In other words, do not look at a screen when you cross the street or you could be fined.

The laws creators hope it will lower the number of people hit and killed by cars in the city. Mayor Kirk Caldwell told Reuters news agency, "We hold the unfortunate distinction of being a major city with more pedestrians being hit in crosswalks, particularly our seniors, than almost any other city in the country."

The law includes all electronic devices with screens: cell phones, tablets, gaming devices, digital cameras and laptop computers. The law does permit an exception. Pedestrians may use such devices in the street to call emergency services and rescue workers, such as firefighters and police officers.

Pedestrian deaths have been increasing as the use of cell phones rises. The Governors Highway Safety Association, or GHSA, says pedestrian deaths in the United States increased 25 percent between 2010 and 2015. That trend continued in 2016 with the number of pedestrian deaths rising to almost 6000, 11% higher than in 2015.

Other U.S. cities may follow Honolulu. The state of Washington was the first to outlaw distracted driving back in 2007. Now, 46 other states as well as D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, have laws against texting while driving reports the GHSA.

If you still want to text while walking, you could avoid being fined in Honolulu (and be safer, in general) by using a voice-controlled digital assistant such as Siri or Google Assistant. Or you could just wait until you are again, safely, off the street.

I'm Caty Weaver.

Do you think a law banning distracted walking is a good idea? Vote in the poll:

Carolyn Nicander Mohr wrote this report for VOA Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor.

Do you like Honolulu's new law that bans texting while walking? Do you think it will make Honolulu safer and reduce pedestrian deaths? Do you text while walking?

Share your thoughts in the Comments Section below or on our Facebook page.

______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

distracted - adj. unable to think about or pay attention to something : unable to concentrate

pedestrian - n. a person who is walking in a city, along a road, etc.

distinction - n. the quality that makes a person or thing special or different

senior - n. a person who is older than another person

trend - n. a general direction of change

digital assistant - n. an application program that can understand natural language and complete electronic tasks for the user
A Spanish company has opened the first public napping space in Madrid.

Siesta & Go promises Spaniards a quiet and restful getaway in the middle of the citys business center.

Napping spaces are nothing new; places to rest already exist in other big cities, such as Tokyo, London, Brussels and New York. But the idea would appear to work well with the culture of Spain, where people traditionally take an afternoon nap, called a siesta.

Siesta & Go invites people to try a different place to lie down and enjoy the qualities of a short rest.

The siesta is considered one of those small pleasures of life, especially recommended in every way for its clear health benefits, the company says on its website.

The Madrid nap bar recently opened with 19 beds. They can be rented by the minute or by the hour. People can choose either a private or shared room. An hour of napping time inside a private room costs about $15.

The company also offers areas to work, as well as armchairs, newspapers and coffee for those not wishing to sleep.

Philip Marco is one happy customer. Marcos says he gets tired during the day because he has a long drive to work. He says a siesta is the perfect way to build up energy.

I come for about 30 minutes, something like that. Sleep 30 minutes and that usually is enough for me to be able to get through the evening.

Siesta & Go provides all bedding, clean nightshirts and other materials. Nappers can request to be woken up when their time is up.

While many Spaniards love their midday naps, others like Carlos Villarroja say they are just too busy to keep this tradition.

Its a Spanish tradition, but I think its more of a legend than a tradition. Because with the lifestyle we have, the working hours, the rhythm of life that all Spanish workers have, you have very little free time for a siesta, in my case, at least during the week.

But many health experts believe there is evidence that taking a short nap can be very good for the body and mind.

Guy Meadows is founder of the Sleep School, which aims to help people get better sleep. He says power naps can increase energy, improve memory and help people stay focused, along with other benefits.

Actually, weve seen that you can double an individuals ability to solve a creative problem after a power nap, than if they hadnt [napped].

Siesta & Go cites scientific studies suggesting that taking a siesta can also prevent heart disease, lower blood pressure and reduce stress.

Im Bryan Lynn.

Faiza Elmasry reported this story for VOA News. Bryan Lynn adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.

_____________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

nap  n. a short period of sleep

recommend  v. to say something or someone is good and should be chosen; to suggest

rent  v. money paid in return for being able to use property belonging to someone else

legend  n. a story from the past that is believed by many people, but cannot be proven as true

rhythm  n. a repeated series of events or activities

benefit  n. something that produces a good effect

afternoon  n. the period between the middle of the day and sunset
More than half of the languages spoken by Indias 1.3 billion people may disappear over the next 50 years.

The Peoples Linguistic Survey of India, or PSLI, recently made the comment during the launch of the latest volume in its planned 50-volume study of the countrys languages.

There are as many as 780 languages spoken in India, the PSLI said. The scholars called for increased efforts to preserve the languages spoken by Indias tribal communities.

G.N. Devy, the chair of PSLI said, At least 400 Indian languages are at the risk of dying in [the] coming 50 years.

India has already lost 250 languages in the last 50 years.

Devy added that, when a language is lost, so is a culture.

The scholars and teachers at PSLI document Indian languages in order to save cultural heritage and diversity.

Most of the at-risk languages are spoken by tribal communities. Children from these communities sometimes receive no education. If they do go to school, they are taught in one of Indias 22 officially recognized languages.

Ashis Nandy is a political psychologist. He said India has many old languages, some spoken for the last 1,000 years. He said such languages are surviving somehow in India, but we are hardly passing them on.

Devy said the PSLI will soon start work on a project to document about 6,000 living languages in the world. Their report is expected to come out by 2025.

Im Ashley Thompson.

Reuters reported this story. Ashley Thompson adapted it for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor.

_________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

volume - n. a book that is part of a series or set of books

preserve - v. to keep (something) safe from harm or loss
A 60-year-old man in Singapore is under investigation for putting toothpicks into a seat on a public bus.

Police in Singapore are describing the incident as a suspected case of mischief.

Through extensive questioning and with the help of video evidence, officers  established the identity of the suspect," a police statement said this week.

The man could receive a two-year jail sentence if he is found guilty.

The Reuters news agency says pictures of three toothpicks sticking up from the bus seat were published on Facebook in July. A Facebook user said she saw the three small sticks just as she was preparing to sit down. She urged other users to look closely at their seat before sitting down. Her message was shared more than 2,500 times.

Singapore has one of the lowest crime rates in the world. Yet one of the governments public information signs reads, Low crime doesnt mean no crime.

Judges are known for taking firm action against violators of minor crimes. Those found guilty of damaging or destroying property have been sentenced to canings -- beatings with a stick.

The wealthy city-state bans the import of chewing gum, in part, to keep public spaces clean.

Two years ago, a smoker was fined about $14,550 for throwing cigarette ends out of a window of his home.

The police said investigations into the case of the toothpicks were continuing. The crime carries a punishment of up to two years in jail, a fine or both.

Im Jonathan Evans.

The Reuters news agency reported this story. George Grow adapted the report for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor.

_____________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

toothpick  n. an instrument for removing food particles trapped between teeth

mischief  n. a cause of damage, harm or evil

chewing gum  n. a sweetened, soft material that people bite on, but do not eat

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.
Aircrafts registered in Qatar and the national carrier, Qatar Airways, can now fly through the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrains air spaces, the Montreal-based International Civil Aviation Organization said Tuesday.

The Montreal-based International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has been working with various Middle Eastern states to ensure equitable access to airspace for Qatar-registered aircraft since sanctions were announced on June 5, ICAO spokesman Anthony Philbin said.

UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Egypt on June 5 severed ties with Qatar over its alleged support for terrorism. The four countries cut air, ground and sea links, banning Qatari aircrafts from their air space.

Some existing air route availability has been assured, and some new temporary or contingency routes have also been developed, including through Bahrain and UAE airspace, he told AFP news agency.

In face of the ban, which has affected the national carriers business and travellers plans, Doha urged the ICAO to intervene.

The ICAO and the states involved are continuously monitoring related air route suitability and ATM (air traffic management) measures, which may still be subject to further modification if necessary, by mutual agreement, Philbin said.

A meeting held in Montreal last week discussed contingency routes that had been planned as part of a preliminary agreement reached earlier this month, but not yet opened to Qatar-registered flights, Al Jazeera reports.
Mutations on the envelope protein surface of different Zika virus strains. Credit: Reproduced from Ref. 1 and under CC BY 4.0  2017 Sebastian Maurer-Stroh et al.

Genomic detectives have traced the most recent outbreak of Zikaa mosquito-borne virus that became a pandemic linked to neurological defectsback to a strain in South-east Asia.

A Zika strain was first identified in South-east Asia in the 1960s, and it is thought to have maintained a low-key presence across the region since. Two mosquito species, Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, are the virus' principal carriers and can be found across a wide band straddling the equator, extending patchily beyond the subtropics. A member of the Flavivirus genus, which also contains the dengue and West Nile viruses, Zika usually causes no or mild symptomsa fever, rash, and aching joints.

Given its localized history, scientists are still baffled as to why a Zika strain suddenly headed east to French Polynesia in 2013, causing a suspected 32,000 cases within a year. From there, it moved on to the Caribbean and Brazil, where it exploded. Most worryingly, between late 2015 and early 2016, more than 4,000 Brazilian infants were born with abnormally small heads; a result of microcephaly, stunted growth of sections of the fetal brain. Brazil is previously thought to have had roughly 1,000 cases annually. In February 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared neurological complications linked to Zika a public health emergency. To date there are thought to have been between three and four million cases of Zika across 84 countries.

Part of the global scientific response was the consolidation of a cross-disciplinary group of A*STAR researchers, already connected after working together on SARS and later swine flu. They were uniquely positioned to study the first known Zika outbreak in Singapore in August 2016, identifying it as separate from the strain that had reached South Americawhich some consider an important clue about the evolution of the virus in Asia1. Some of these insights might help explain why the pandemic suddenly spread east from Asia.

The Singapore outbreak

The city-state's researchers, agencies and clinicians were already well-prepared when the Singaporean outbreak started in August 2016. Identified first in the Kallang-Aljunied neighbourhood, a total of 455 cases were reported across three months and were centered around 15 major clusters. Through enhanced surveillance coupled with intensive vector control, Singapore's Ministry of Health (MOH) and National Environment Agency (NEA) quickly identified and managed infected people, and eradicated mosquitoes and removed breeding sites. New cases were reduced by 48 per cent within a month.

Zika patients were initially isolated in the Communicable Disease Centre at the multidisciplinary Tan Tock Seng Hospital, one of the city's largest. Staff there had a chance to trial a new diagnostic test it had been developing with Masafumi Inoue, a molecular pathologist at the A*STAR Experimental Therapeutics Centre (ETC), along with colleagues at the Environmental Health Institute (EHI) and the Bioinformatics Institute (BII) also at A*STAR. Inoue reports that it worked exceedingly well on real Zika infections. "Clinical results showed the test is between six and 32 times more sensitive to Zika and dengue than the hospital's old dengue antibody assay test," he says.

The test itself uses a blood sample, from which ribonucleic acid (RNA) is extracted and copied through a technique called polymerase chain reaction (PCR), improving analysis. It harnesses simple hospital machinery, yielding results in three to four hours, and tests for all four key strains of dengue and all lineages of Zikaimportant, as approximately 12,000 cases of dengue were also reported to have been circulating for the first nine months of 2016. Inoue now hopes to submit the test for use internationally.

Crucially, within a week of Singapore's first localized case of Zika, the National Public Health Laboratory (NPHL) and A*STAR's Bioinformatics Institute (BII) had looked at the whole genome of the virus and confirmed that this wasn't the Brazilian Zika doubling back to Asia via international travel. "To our surprise, the Zika strain causing the local outbreak was derived from a local version that has been circulating in South-east Asia since the 1960s," says BII virus bioinformatician, Sebastian Maurer-Stroh.

Zika strains identified prior to 2013 have not been linked to severe neurological complications.

Which strain of Asian Zika caused the Zika outbreak?

There have only been a few confirmed cases of microcephaly in Asiain Thailand and Vietnam. The initial BII analysis suggested that Singapore's new Zika strain diverged in early 2010 from the strain that spread to Brazil. Comparing emergent South-east Asian or Pacific strains like this one, says Maurer-Stroh, could be key to understanding why the microcephaly pathology was a huge problem in Brazil and not in Asia.

Researchers from A*STAR's Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN), Lisa F.P. Ng and Florent Ginhoux, have recently helped link the Polynesian strain, which sits between the Asian and the Brazilian in strain lineage, to brain inflammation in fetal brain cells. But, they question why microcephaly hasn't been observed in other parts of Asia. "We don't know why there's microcephaly in Brazil and not in other places in the world where the virus is still circulating like parts of the Pacific or even Singapore," Ng says. The link between Zika and microcephaly is still unclear, she adds, but studies at SIgN have observed a link to immunodeficiency in mice. One theory is that parts of the Americas population could have been immunodeficient or genetically predisposed to microcephaly. To Ng, two of the key questions that researchers should be asking are whether host genetics are at play, and whether the population in Brazil might have been pre-exposed to other risk factors.

Maurer-Stroh has another hypothesis. Microcephaly, he says, could be the result of an unidentified genetic mutation in the virus that developed somewhere between South-East Asia and Brazil. "That it's been under the radar in Asia for so long would indicate that the change happened after the first big outbreak," says Maurer-Stroh.

He's working with Bruno Reversade, a molecular biologist at the A*STAR Institute of Medical Biology and the NEA, comparing Asian strains and the Brazilian strain in search of important changes in toxicity and pathogenicity. Maurer-Stroh says it's a work in progress, but they are starting to see differences.

One of the probable evolutions could have been in virus concentration levels. Indeed, in April, an international group of scientists including Singaporean researchers Julien Pompon, Menchie Manuel, Jun Hao Tan and October Sessions, at the Duke-NUS Signature Research Program noted a key difference between the South American and the Asian strains. By feeding mosquitoes Zika-infected blood, the consortium found that the Americas strain of Zika is more effectively transmitted than the Polynesian strain by Aedes aegypti showing in the mosquitoes' saliva faster and at significantly higher concentrations.

Developing a searchable 'Zika Server'

As this strain information becomes clearer Maurer-Stroh hopes to amass it in a computer-based server through which users could search for different Zika strainssimilar to the BII's FluSurver, which is a functioning part of WHO's virus surveillance network. The 'ZikaSurver' would help governments determine the risk associated with the strain, and perhaps eventually help inform individual prognoses and treatments.

Releasing genomic information particularly in Asia-Pacific will be the key, says Maurer-Stroh. "The fact that we found this intermediate strain in Singapore  fast filled a gap in what we know about the global spread and evolution of the virus. But, globally I haven't seen the same release of information, especially in other south-east Asian countries that have the same virus," he says, and suggests that trepidation from tourism and business bodies might play a role.

A*STAR is trying to lead by example. BII released an early analysis of Zika genomes to WHO in March 2016, and after the recent outbreak, Singapore was again quick to share. "Because no genomes from this recent regional strain were known," says Maurer-Stroh, "NPHL immediately shared the genome sequence with WHO and published the initial results within three weeks of the first detected case while the outbreak was ongoing". A*STAR's Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) also sequenced another 100 Zika genomes from the Singapore outbreak using a novel enrichment technology developed by Duke-NUS and GIS affiliate, October Sessions. Ng agrees that the limited sampling in Asia has hindered efforts to identify the source of the recent outbreak, but she's hopeful.

The big problem with flaviviruses

Another obstacle is that there is still no specific and licensed treatment for Zika. Ng's theory is that there are still multiple strains of Zika in circulation with "wide antigenic diversity and immunity". She says there is no generic therapy, so many approaches of "vaccines, antiviral medicines, antibody treatment" should be made available, but must be complementary.

Recently, a team led by Laurent Renia, the executive director of SIgN, has been working on using the antibodies of fellow flavivirus dengue to treat Zika. Flaviviruses are all largely mosquito-borneand include tropical diseases like Ross River Fever and Yellow Fever. Zika is so similar to dengue that this is yielding results says Renia.

The team at SIgN has identified a particularly promising Zika-neutralizing antibody and shown that it has an effect even on mice with immune deficiencies. This is especially significant in light of the link SIgN has observed between immune deficiency and microcephaly. Two mutations of this dengue antibody he notes also lowered Zika viral loads in fetal organs and placentas in pregnant mice, and were able to stop related fetal growth problems. "Of course, these findings provide the basis for any partner with pre-clinical vaccine candidates to screen for drugs," says Renia. Once pre-clinical trials are done, these antibodies could be developed into treatments.

The similarity of Zika to dengue is also a concern. Dengue has been particularly resistant to vaccine development for many decades because of a unique phenomenon called 'antibody dependant enhancement' or ADE. Because dengue strains are similar but not identical, antibodies against one strain can bind to other strains, but imperfectly. As a result, when a person contracts two different strains of dengue over the years, the antibodies he has against first strain may enhance the new infection instead of fighting it, leading to more severe illness. The worry is that Zika will do the same. Ng says this underlines the need to develop a wide a range of treatment and prevention options.

For now, the global impact of Zika appears to be waning. Maurer-Stroh notes this is probably due in part to the protective effect of prior infections, but also because of the effectiveness of targeted responses such as that in Singapore. Nonetheless, Zika is still being found in countries with the vector mosquito species, and research on treatments, detection and genomic tracing will continue.
Credit: shutterstock.com

A number of revelations have surfaced recently about the activities of Big Tobacco companies in markets across the developing world. One investigation by Reuters revealed how Philip Morris International has been targeting young people in India through colourful adverts and promotions at clubs and parties in large cities like Delhi. In Uganda, British American Tobacco has won a legal battle to limit the expansion of health warnings on packets and point-of-sale displays.

For those who have studied the history of the tobacco industry, these tactics will come as no surprise. In the developing world, Big Tobacco seemingly is replicating the advertising strategies which it first carried out in countries like Britain more than 60 years ago.

Public health efforts in Western countries have proved effective in changing the law and stubbing these out  and subsequently boosting the decline in smoking rates. It is this experience that has made some tobacco companies so determined to fight against similar public health measures in the developing world.

A historical perspective, then, can be useful in illuminating their strategies, helping to explain why the tobacco industry is so protective of its marketing activities.

Introducing market research

Cigarettes are a fairly standardised product. There are only a few properties that can be altered to distinguish one brand from another, which is why advertising is so important. It's through marketing and advertising that different brands distinguish themselves in what remains a crowded marketplace.

Data from OECD Factbook 2013.

This was particularly apparent in the UK in the 1950s and 1960s, when the British tobacco industry resumed advertising cigarettes following a lull in sales during the period of rationing that trailed World War II. Powered by the developing techniques of market research, tobacco companies began tailoring their promotions to specific demographics.

In particular, studies of the motivations of consumers in the mid-1950s emphasised how important young people were for cigarette manufacturers. Market research for John Player & Sons and Imperial Tobacco, for example, found that: "The maintenance and stability of the cigarette market depend in large measure on the constant recruitment of youth (age 1523, roughly) to the cigarette smoking habit."

To do this, admen suggested a host of advertising themes and promotions which they thought would appeal to young people. They talked about a brand having a particular "atmosphere" or "identity", and marketing activities were designed to enhance this.

For instance, the tobacco manufacturer WD & HO Wills introduced a new filter-tipped brand in 1960, Strand cigarettes. Adverts featured a lone figure  the Strand man  stalking around a city at night, smoking. The tag line went: "You're never alone with a Strand."

Loneliness, and the suggestion that Strand cigarettes could help you overcome it, were emphasised in the campaign because it was believed this would resonate with young people. Market research at the time revealed that youth was a time of heightened insecurity, with young people socialising and going out more as they entered the adult world. The ads presented Strand cigarettes as a foil to this  a social prop to occupy yourself with when social situations became awkward or you found yourself alone.

Get 'em while they're young

Equipped with this knowledge of young people and their social habits, tobacco companies also began supporting their ad campaigns by running promotions, which took place at various commercial leisure venues. For example, in support of their Bachelor cigarettes brand, John Player & Sons ran a competition in the early 1960s which took place at Mecca dance halls up and down the country.

Dubbed the "Ideal Bachelor Competition", male contestants and their female dance partners could win prizes of cigarettes and money by dancing the "Bachelor Quickstep" and answering several questions. All entries had to be aged under 40, and a panel of six young women picked the winner, basing their decision on the "Qualities of an Ideal Bachelor". These included qualities you might expect, such as having a "bright and cheerful personality", "a smart appearance" and a "good steady job", as well as being a smoker.

Events such as this provided a tobacco firm with the opportunity to publicise and give out samples of their product. What's more, it made brands seem exciting, youthful and modern.

The tobacco industry targets young people because they're impressionable. Their product and brand preferences are not yet set, and they tend to be willing to experiment. Companies need new generations of smokers to sustain sales, replacing those smokers who either quit or die.

One of the reasons that smoking remained so prevalent within Britain during the 20th century is that the government enacted anti-smoking measures in a piecemeal fashion, allowing the industry to invest in other avenues such as sport sponsorship. Governments in developing countries should take notice of this and tackle tobacco marketing comprehensively, leaving no avenue for Big Tobacco to exploit.

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
Sigrid Langhans, PhD and colleagues at Nemours and the University of Delaware have developed a process to apply 3-D tumor cell cultures in high throughput screening labs, to spur more meaningful drug discovery. Credit: Cindy Brodoway

The field of cancer research is moving rapidly toward three-dimensional (3D) laboratory cultures because 3D models can speed drug discovery and better predict the efficacy of using certain drug therapies. Just 1% of drugs investigated ever make it through the gamut of testing and approval to market. Technology that accommodates better precision in drug discovery and treatment is now being pursued with intensity.

A traditional two-dimensional (2D) culture is a flat monolayer grown in a plastic dish, which, while containing tumor cells, does not necessarily mimic the three-dimensional nature of a tumor. In other words, 2D doesn't reflect the human body. Think of a sheet of tissue versus a ball of tissue. The ball more accurately represents the tumor's composition and in vivo conditions.

One of the problems with applying 3D cell cultures to drug discovery has been the incompatibility of 3D models with high throughput screening (HTS) techniques in place in drug discovery labs. Research in bridging this gap is hot as scientists, engineers and physicians work together to develop ways to connect 3D models and HTS to lead to more meaningful drug discovery.

The advantage of the new process is that it allows greater predictability of the effectiveness and toxicity of certain drug therapies before the drugs move into clinical trials which, in turn, is expected to lower the attrition rate of new medicines under development. Because the 3D models offer a more in vivo-like context, researchers will be able to re-visit drug therapies that may have been ruled out or overlooked in the past using 2D models.

Nemours Biomedical Research and the University of Delaware (UD) Department of Materials Science and Engineering have developed a patent-pending process to make 3D models work in HTS labs, allowing drug discovery to move into more meaningful screening systems. Sigrid Langhans, PhD, of Nemours, along with Darrin Pochan, PhD, of the University of Delaware and colleagues, published an article about their findings this week in Analytical Biochemistry.

Dr. Langhans, Head of the HTS Lab at Nemours, says the new process can mimic the physical properties of tumors and signaling pathways, which vary greatly between 2D and 3D models. Many drugs never make it to market because labs are not using appropriate models. The process is a simple one with broad applicability and no need for additional specialized equipment. Her focus at Nemours is on pediatric brain tumors - specifically medulloblastoma - but she says many labs will be able to duplicate the process to look into other types of pediatric and adult cancers. "The technology is simple and can be tuned and adapted so that it's broadly applicable in other labs," she said.

Glioblastoma, the form of brain cancer that Sen. John McCain has, is aggressive and hard to treat in adults. It is also one of those tumors where 3D culture technologies hold great promise. There is potential, Langhans said, for the Nemours/UD process to further research and treatment if investigators are able to generate more models for glioblastoma and thus speed the discovery of more drug therapy options.

Provided by Nemours
Credit: University of New South Wales

As new treatments for hepatitis C reshape the landscape, new data from UNSW underscore the need to address issues including discrimination, stigma and engaging marginalised communities.

Tens of thousands of Australians have been cured of Hepatitis C since new treatments were made universally available last year, and a report released last month said Australia is on track to eliminate hepatitis C by 2026.

But while new treatments continue to dramatically reshape the landscape, data from the Centre for Social Research in Health's (CSRH) Annual Report of Trends in Behaviour 2017: Viral Hepatitis in Australia underscores the need for caution.

Addressing stigma in healthcare settings, engaging marginalised communities in prevention, and continuing to trial innovative models of care will all be imperative if the 'new era' of treatment is to fulfil its promise, the report says.

It also notes the challenges of dealing with hepatitis B: about one third of people living with the disease are yet to be diagnosed and only 6% have been treated.

The report was presented on 10 August at the Australasian Viral Hepatitis Elimination Conference (AVHEC) in Cairns.

The Annual Report of Trends in Behaviour presents data from a selection of the behavioural and social research conducted by the CSRH. It is designed to inform prevention, diagnosis and treatment by critiquing and questioning the assumptions that sometimes underlie research, policy and practice around viral hepatitis.

Key issues in the 2017 report on viral hepatitis include:

The need to continually innovate harm reduction programs in ways that reflect how transmission happens in the everyday

Exploring best models of care for affected communities

The impact of stigma on the capacity of affected communities to navigate treatment systems

Understanding and preventing hepatitis C transmission within heterosexual couples

Examining strategies beyond equipment distribution

Gaps in the way that hepatitis C prevention sector understands and addresses risk

Lead author Dr Joanne Bryant, Senior Research Fellow at the CSRH, said the report particularly highlighted the challenges of testing, diagnosis and care of Aboriginal people with hepatitis C.

"While we found that Aboriginal Australians living with hepatitis C were generally satisfied with their care, they were often subject to stigma and discrimination, which can create a barrier in accessing healthcare," Dr Bryant said. "Policies and programs need to be culturally tailored to address the unique needs and experiences of Aboriginal people living with hepatitis C and their communities."

The report found that most hepatitis C infections occur early in people's drug using pathways but many young people had limited knowledge about the availability of sterile injecting equipment.

In a survey of 210 socially marginalised young people at risk of transitioning to injecting drug use, a third (34.3%) of participants thought they knew where to obtain sterile needles, fewer (24.3%) could correctly identify a service, and the sources most commonly identified  hospitals (27.8%) and pharmacies (25.0%)  were not specifically needle distribution services.

"These findings suggest that needle distribution policies should focus less on getting 'at-risk' young people to visit primary needle and syringe programs and more on improving services that they already know about, such as hospitals and pharmacies, or finding ways of bringing sterile needles to them, such as through peer distribution," Dr Bryant said.

The report also notes that despite the majority of needle or syringe sharing occurring between sexual partners, the framing and delivery of harm reduction in Australia has little capacity to recognise intimate partnerships, including addressing the hepatitis C risks specific to them.

"Not only might more effective harm reduction strategies be achieved by moving to a practice framework that addresses the social context of injecting, including the experience of couples, the broader drug treatment and hepatitis C care sectors might also benefit from recognising the importance that partnership plays in the lives of couples who inject drugs," Dr Bryant said.

The report also examines risks factors, attitudes and knowledge of hepatitis B, and highlights that about one third of people living with the diseases are yet to be diagnosed and only 6% have been treated.

Stigma remains a factor influencing decisions about care and treatment of people living with hepatitis. But for those diagnosed with liver cancer, the report says lack of English-language proficiency can be a barrier to accessing health services and understanding the implications of a cancer diagnosis.

"Our recommendations include a directory of Chinese-speaking medical practices and Chinese language interpretation services, the development of Cantonese and Mandarin language health promotional materials, and identifying opportunities to support family doctors and liver specialists," Dr Bryant said.

Professor Carla Treloar, Director of the CSRH, said 'Viral transmission happens in complex ways that are impacted by social context and the relationships of people at risk of acquiring viral hepatitis. Within the exciting context of new generation hepatitis C treatments, there remains the need to continually innovate harm reduction programs in ways that reflect how transmission happens in the everyday.'

More information: Annual Report of Trends in Behaviour 2017: Viral Hepatitis in Australia. Annual Report of Trends in Behaviour 2017: Viral Hepatitis in Australia. unsworks.unsw.edu.au/fapi/data  f6bd8eeb6e?view=true
Different populations of white blood cells secrete different levels of IL-1, a pro-inflammatory protein that normally helps the body fight off infection and injury, but may also trigger autoimmune disease and inflammatory diseases. An investigation by A*STAR researchers and collaborators shows that a regulatory protein called Hsp27 is responsible for some of these differences in subsets of monocytes.

The results help explain some of the diversity and sub-specialization of the immune systemand could yield new treatment strategies for patients with rheumatoid arthritis, colitis, diabetes and other ailments.

"These findings represent the first comprehensive and unifying data on IL-1 production by monocytes, and identify the Hsp27 pathway as a main player and potential novel therapeutic target for inflammatory disease," says Wong Siew Cheng from the A*STAR Singapore Immunology Network, who led the research project.

Wong teamed up with Heather Wilson, an immunologist at the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom, to study IL-1 production in different subsets of monocytes. The two researchers jointly supervised a PhD student, Eva Hadadi, who used surface markers to sort monocytes isolated from human blood into three subpopulations: classical, intermediate and non-classical monocytes.

Hadadi then induced IL-1 production and maturation through a two-step stimulation protocol. In this way, the researchers observed that classical and intermediate monocytes produced and released more than twice as much IL-1 as non-classical monocytes.

They then searched exhaustively and systematically for reasons to explain this differential production of IL-1. Non-classical monocytes were no less receptive to the stimulation protocol, they found, so that didn't account for their low IL-1 output. Nor were these white blood cells generally deficient in their ability to produce pro-inflammatory signaling proteins or process their maturation.

"Instead," says Wong, "these cells expressed abundant Hsp27," an essential subunit of a protein complex involved in breaking down the RNA transcripts of IL-1 before they can be turned into proteins. As a result of this differential Hsp27 activity, overall IL-1 levels remained low in non-classical monocytes but high in classical monocytes.

The findings indicate that IL-1-spewing classical monocytes are the true culprits behind inflammatory disease and that therapies designed to boost Hsp27 levels in these cells might help tamp down unwanted inflammation. However, Wong notes that Hsp27 is also known to promote other pro-inflammatory molecules. "Hence," she says, "the type of treatment option to utilize will be based on the type of disease."

More information: Eva Hadadi et al. Differential IL-1 secretion by monocyte subsets is regulated by Hsp27 through modulating mRNA stability, Scientific Reports (2016). Journal information: Scientific Reports Eva Hadadi et al. Differential IL-1 secretion by monocyte subsets is regulated by Hsp27 through modulating mRNA stability,(2016). DOI: 10.1038/srep39035
Around 700,000 eggs implicated in a Dutch insecticide scandal have been distributed in Britain in processed food, authorities said Thursday, while playing down the risk to public health.

"It is likely that the number of eggs that have come to the UK is closer to 700,000 than the 21,000 we previously believed had been imported," said the Food Standards Agency, a government department.

"However, as this represents 0.007 percent of the eggs we consume in the UK every year, it remains the case that it is very unlikely that there is any risk to public health from consuming these foods."

It said the eggs had not been sold individually but were in processed foods such as sandwich fillings and saladssome of which will have already been eaten, with the rest now being withdrawn from sale.

"Many of the eggs involved were mixed with other eggs which have not come from affected farms so fipronil residues will be highly diluted," said the agency, referring to the insecticide which was first found in Dutch eggs.

The statement added: "The decision to withdraw these products is not due to food safety concerns, but is based on the fact that fipronil is not authorised for use in food producing animals."

Around 85 percent of eggs consumed in Britain are produced domestically, and the Food Standards Agency said that testing on UK-laid eggs has so far found no evidence of contamination.

Agency chairwoman Heather Hancock said: "The number of eggs involved is small in proportion to the number of eggs we eat, and it is very unlikely that there is a risk to public health.

"Based on the available evidence there is no need for people to change the way they consume or cook eggs. However, fipronil is not legally allowed for use near food-producing animals and it shouldn't be there."

 2017 AFP
Baseline PET scan shows uptake of manganese chloride tracer in mouse pancreas, in research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison department of radiology. Signal is greatly reduced in mice given a drug that inhibits insulin production, and conversely, intensified in mice given a stimulator of insulin production. Credit: Reinier Hernandez et al UW-Madison, Diabetes, August, 2017.

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have developed a new measurement for the volume and activity of beta cells, the source of the sugar-regulating hormone insulin.

In a study published in the August edition of the journal Diabetes, Weibo Cai and colleagues used a PET scanner to detect minute levels of a radioactive chemical in the mouse pancreas. Cai, the senior author of the study and an associate professor of radiology, says that unlike previous methods for measuring the quantity of beta cells, the new test also measures how actively these cells are making insulin.

PET scanning, or positron emission tomography, is used to detect minute quantities of tracers, commonly for finding cancer and metastases. This area is a specialty of Cai. Cai says the test may be used to evaluate treatments or cell transplants intended to slow or reverse diabetes.

With a provisional patent filed through the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, Cai has begun planning a series of human trials that could lead to Food and Drug Administration clearance for a new method to determine the quantity and condition of the beta cells. The first step in these trials would look at the distribution and potential toxicity of the radioactive manganese chloride used as a tracer.

A shortage of insulin, due to the death or inactivity of the beta cells, causes type I (formerly "juvenile") diabetes. The same problem can also cause type II diabetes. But this condition, once called "adult onset" diabetes, can also result from insufficient response to insulin. "In some conditions you can have an adequate number of beta cells, but not all of them are functioning," says Cai. "We measure volume and get a product of function times volume, which is what everybody wants to know."

The chosen tracer has a short half-life, so the exposure to radiation is no greater than what is now used in the many PET scans used to detect cancer.

Because blood sugar tests are cheap and reliable, Cai is not proposing to replace them for detecting diabetes. Instead, the new test could be used to track the effectiveness of medicines and other measures intended to dampen the immune assault that kills beta cells.

The test could offer advantages over earlier methods to detect and analyze beta cells, Cai says. Some magnetic resonance techniques can give information about the quantity and function of beta cells, he says, but they use a dose of manganese chloride that is at least 1 million times higher than the new PET technique, suggesting an advantage in lower toxicity.

Other tests detect beta cells by identifying receptors that are unique to those cells, "but even if cells are not functioning, the receptors are still there," Cai says, "so that does not tell you if they are making insulin. Our test is based on the calcium channel, a portal that the cell uses to exchange chemicals with its environment. The cell has to be active to take up manganese chloride, therefore it's functioning, and if you have more functioning beta cells, then you have more insulin."

Overall, Cai says, "We don't think there is another way to do this with this degree of accuracy."

The other authors included Matthew Merrins and Michelle Kimple, both assistant professors of medicine at UW-Madison who focus on diabetes research.

The development of the new test is more proof that chance favors the prepared mind, says Cai. First author Reinier Hernandez, who was Cai's graduate student and is now a post-doctoral radiology researcher in Madison, came up with the idea when he noticed high uptake of manganese chloride in the pancreas while exploring a PET tracer for cancer. Plenty of people saw apples fall from a tree, but at least according to legend, it was only Isaac Newton who was prompted to think deeply about gravity. "When the apple falls from the tree, you have to put out your hand to catch it," Cai says. "Reinier did. Another person might have missed it."

Preparation played a second crucial role in the story, adds Cai. "People knew that manganese chloride uptakes in the beta cells, but nobody could make radioisotopes that were pure enough. But Jerry Nickles and Jonathan Engle [the past and present directors of the campus PET Cyclotron Laboratory] are the best in the world at making chemically pure manganese chloride with determined radiological activity. So we were only ones able to pull this off."
Looking beyond shape: the DNA methylome reveals neuronal identity. Human cortical neuron types are identified by their cytosine methylation signatures. Each type of human neuron has a distinct cytosine methylation profile. Luo et al. used a newly developed single-cell methylome sequencing method to survey both mouse and human cortical neuron diversity (colored dots in distinct clusters), extending the legendary studies of neuronal morphology (background image) by Santiago Ramon y Cajal (1852-1934). Credit: Salk Institute/Jamie Simon

Under a microscope, it can be hard to tell the difference between any two neurons, the brain cells that store and process information. So scientists have turned to molecular methods to try to identify groups of neurons with different functions.

Now, Salk Institute and University of California San Diego scientists have, for the first time, profiled chemical modifications of DNA molecules in individual neurons, giving the most detailed information yet on what makes one brain cell different from its neighbor. This is a critical step in beginning to identify how many types of neurons exist, which has eluded neuroscientists but could lead to a dramatically better understanding about brain development and dysfunction. Each cell's methylomethe pattern of chemical markers made up of methyl groups that stud its DNAgave a distinct readout that helped the Salk team sort neurons into subtypes. The work appears in the journal Science on August 10, 2017.

"We think it's pretty striking that we can tease apart a brain into individual cells, sequence their methylomes, and identify many new cell types along with their gene regulatory elements, the genetic switches that make these neurons distinct from each other," says co-senior author Joseph Ecker, professor and director of Salk's Genomic Analysis Laboratory and an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

In the past, to identify what sets different types of neurons apart from each other, researchers have studied levels of RNA molecules inside individual brain cells. But levels of RNA can rapidly change when a cell is exposed to new conditions, or even throughout the day. So the Salk team turned instead to the cells' methylomes, which are generally stable throughout adulthood.

"Our research shows that we can clearly define neuronal types based on their methylomes," says Margarita Behrens, a Salk senior staff-scientist and co-senior author of the new paper. "This opens up the possibility of understanding what makes two neuronsthat sit in the same brain region and otherwise look similarbehave differently."

Credit: Salk Institute

The team began their work on both mouse and human brains by focusing on the frontal cortex, the area of the brain responsible for complex thinking, personality, social behaviors and decision making, among other things. They isolated 3,377 neurons from the frontal cortex of mice and 2,784 neurons from the frontal cortex of a deceased 25-year-old human.

The researchers then used a new method they recently developed called snmC-seq to sequence the methylomes of each cell. Unlike other cells in the body, neurons have two types of methylation, so the approach mapped both typescalled CG methylation (for DNA sequence containing the nucleotides cytosine and guanine) and non-CG methylation.

Neurons from the mouse frontal cortex, they found, clustered into 16 subtypes based on methylation patterns, while neurons from the human frontal cortex were more diverse and formed 21 subtypes. Inhibitory neuronsthose that provide stop signals for messages in the brainshowed more conserved methylation patterns between mice and humans compared to excitatory neurons. The study also identified unique human neuron subtypes that had never been defined before. These results open the door to a deeper understanding of what sets human brains apart from those of other animals.

Salk and UC San Diego scientists identify neuron types predicted by epigenomic signatures. The image shows neuron populations expressing marker genes for specific neuron subtypes: Tle4 (red), Sulf1 (green) or both (yellow). Credit: Salk Institute

"This study opens a new window into the incredible diversity of brain cells," says Eran Mukamel of the UC San Diego Department of Cognitive Science, a co-senior author of the work.

Next, the researchers plan to expand their methylome study to look at more parts of the brain, and more brains.

"There are hundreds, if not thousands, of types of brain cells that have different functions and behaviors and it's important to know what all these types are to understand how the brain works," says Chongyuan Luo, a Salk research associate and co-first author of the new paper, along with UC San Diego graduate student Christopher Keown. "Our goal is to create a parts list of both mouse and human brains."

Once that "parts list" is complete, Ecker says they'd also like to begin studying whether the methylomes of neurons in people with brain diseases are different than those from healthy people. "If there's a defect in just one percent of cells, we should be able to see it with this method," he says. "Until now, we would have had no chance of picking something up in that small a percentage of cells."

More information: "Single-cell methylomes identify neuronal subtypes and regulatory elements in mammalian cortex" Science science.sciencemag.org/cgi/doi  1126/science.aan3351 Journal information: Science "Single-cell methylomes identify neuronal subtypes and regulatory elements in mammalian cortex"
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

School-based mental health programs can reach large numbers of children, with increasing evidence of effectiveness in improving mental health and related outcomes, according to a research review in the September/October issue of the Harvard Review of Psychiatry.

"This review provides evidence that large-scale, school-based programs can be implemented in a variety of diverse cultures and educational models as well as preliminary evidence that such programs have significant, measurable positive effects on students' emotional, behavioral, and academic outcomes," write J. Michael Murphy, EdD, of Massachusetts General Hospital and colleagues.

School-Based Programs Focus on Preventing Mental Health Problems

An estimated 13 percent of children and adolescents worldwide have significant mental health problems such as anxiety, disruptive behavior disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and depression. Especially if left untreated, these disorders often persist into adulthood, with lasting effects on many aspects of life.

Over the years, many programs have been designed to deliver preventive mental health services in schools, where children and teens spend so much of their time. Substantial research now shows that school-based mental health interventions can be widely implemented and can lead to population-wide improvements in mental health, physical health, educational, and social outcomes.

Dr. Murphy and colleagues identified and analyzed school-based mental health programs that have been implemented on a large scale and have collected data on specific mental health outcomes. The authors estimate that the eight largest programs have reached at least 27 million children over the last decade.

The interventions vary in their focus, methods, and goals. The largest program, called "Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports" (PBIS), focuses on positive social culture and behavioral support for all students. The second-largest program, called "FRIENDS," aims to reduce anxiety and to teach skills for managing emotions and coping with stressnot only to children, but also to parents and teachers.

Most of the school-based mental health interventions were designed to focus on mental health promotion or primary prevention for all students in the school; some programs also target students at high risk of mental health problems. Most of the programs have been implemented across school districts, while some have been introduced on the state or national level.

Available research provides "moderate to strong" evidence that these interventions are effective in promoting good mental health and related outcomes. For example, studies of FRIENDS have reported reductions in anxiety, while PBIS has shown improved reading scores and fewer school suspensions. Other programs have shown benefits such as reducing bullying at school; one intervention has even been linked to lower rates of substance abuse in young adulthood.

The authors point out that school-based mental health interventions have been studied almost exclusively in high-income countriesdespite the fact that about 80 percent of the global population of children live in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). But there's evidence that this may be changing, since three of the eight largest programs have been implemented "to scale" in LMICs. One of these, called "Skills for Life," has been running on a national basis in Chile for more than a decade.

"Data sets of increasing quality and size are opening up new opportunities to assess the degree to which preventive interventions for child mental health, delivered at scale, can play a role in improving health and other life outcomes," Dr. Murphy and colleagues conclude. With ongoing data collection and new evaluation frameworks, they believe that school-based mental health programs have the potential to "improve population-wide health outcomes of the next generation."

More information: J. Michael Murphy et al. Scope, Scale, and Dose of the World's Largest School-Based Mental Health Programs, Harvard Review of Psychiatry (2017). J. Michael Murphy et al. Scope, Scale, and Dose of the World's Largest School-Based Mental Health Programs,(2017). DOI: 10.1097/HRP.0000000000000149
Neil R. Malhotra, MD, an assistant professor of Neurosurgery and Orthopaedic Surgery and the vice chairman of operations in the department of Neurosurgery. Credit: Penn Medicine

Spine disc related low back and leg pain is a major challenge and is the second most common reason that patients visit the doctor in the United Statesoutnumbered only be respiratory infectionsand is the leading cause of disability worldwide. Compression of the spinal nerves is one of the most common diagnoses and is frequently reversible with surgery.

Kevin Clark, 51, is one of 200,000 individuals in America who suffer with debilitating back pain, leg cramps, and difficulty standing, bending or walking due to spinal nerve compression and stenosis each year. He sought help from Penn Medicine neurosurgeons, and today, Clark is celebrating three months of being pain-free after suffering debilitating back pain, leg pain and thigh numbness for over a year. He became the first patient in Pennsylvania to undergo a life-changing, minimally invasive spine surgery through a single incision in his side that had him up and walking just hours after surgery. Neil R. Malhotra, MD, an assistant professor of Neurosurgery and Orthopaedic Surgery and the vice chairman of operations in the department of Neurosurgery, performed Clark's procedurecalled an endoscopic percutaneous lumbar spinal nerve decompression and discectomyat the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in May.

Clark, a bridge inspector from Quakertown, Pa., had been experiencing back pain and numbness in his right upper leg and thigh for nearly a year. Clark previously had undergone open spinal laminectomy surgerya procedure during which a small portion of the bone over the nerve root and/or disc material is removed to give the nerve root more spacethree years earlier for nerve compression causing symptoms in the back and below the knees. He had an excellent surgical result, with 100 percent improvement of his symptoms, but he felt that the surgery recovery was tough, with incision pain lasting nearly three months. But since the surgery helped, he was prepared to do it again to get relief from his new problem above the knee. When he heard that there was another option for his problem, Clark agreed to become the first patient in the state to receive the new minimally invasive treatment. Following the procedure, Clark said, "The speed of recovery alone has been amazing. I was able to walk around without pain the same day." He noted that he had rapid results for his different problems with both surgeries, but with this surgery there was almost no incision painrelief without suffering the more typical side effects of surgery.

According to Malhotra, Clark's symptoms of numbness, stabbing pain and cramping in the legswhich some patients have described as being as intense as having a toothache in the legwere caused by a spinal disc herniation. Unlike the more invasive lumbar laminectomy, the endoscopic procedure involves only one small incision in the patient's side. The procedure allows the surgeon to address the cause of the ailment while minimizing symptoms from surgery-incisional pain and muscle dissection pain.

But Malhotra also notes that the procedure is not for everybody. "This is the best option for patients with symptoms in one leg that is caused by a disc herniation or a foraminal stenosis," he advised.

Nationally, doctors perform 500,000 spinal decompression operations each year. Malhotra says at least a quarter of those who would normally receive more invasive procedures for spinal stenosis might qualify for the minimally invasive approach. While the endoscopic decompression procedure has a 70 to 90 percent success rate versus a 90 to 100 percent success rate with more invasive procedures, the minimally invasive approach of the endoscopic procedure provides a more rapid recovery and enables a patient to pursue a more invasive option in the future if necessary.

"It's exciting to be able to offer the least invasive surgery for the greatest immediate benefit to the patient," Malhotra said. "The reason why I was excited to adopt and help develop the procedure is because I can provide the same benefits to patients as a more invasive procedure does with the least incision and risk."

In the future, Malhotra hopes to help evolve the tool to be able to use it for removing spinal column and spinal cord tumors. This would allow surgeons to remove tumors with less incision and shorter recovery time.

"When it comes to cancer patients, they may not have a good prognosis, so you always want to find ways to get them out of the hospital and on to living their lives sooner," Malhotra said. He's hopeful that the procedure will be adapted for tumor removal within the next two to three years. Malhotra added, "I am enthusiastic to develop this remarkable tool to serve my cancer patients in the coming years and I am ecstatic that it is ready today for patients with spinal nerve pain."
Alice Yan, an associate professor in UWM's Zilber School of Public Health, is studying whether exercise and other factors can help reduce the racial disparity in breast cancer survival rates. Credit: UWM Photo/Elora Hennessey

Alice Yan knows that beating breast cancer takes more than good medical care: It takes a community of like-minded women determined to live a healthier lifestyle.

Yan, an associate professor of community and behavioral health promotion at the Joseph J. Zilber School of Public Health, recently finished a four-week group exercise program with 12 African-American breast cancer survivors. The program is part of a two-year cancer survivorship study funded by the American Cancer Society. The study aims to address significant racial disparities in breast cancer outcomes in the United States.

"African-American women have a 23 percent lower five-year relative survival rate than their white counterparts," Yan said. "Research has shown that exercise plays a vital role in improving the lives of breast cancer survivors. Even brisk walking can be beneficial."

Unfortunately, many breast cancer survivors do not have an active lifestyle. The next step, then, was supporting African-American women cancer survivors in making exercise part of their lifestyle.

A key element in accomplishing this research study was community participation. Yan partnered with the Black Health Coalition of Wisconsin to develop the exercise program, which was conducted at the Martin Luther King Community Center on North 16th and West Vliet streets.

The first part of Yan's study involved focus groups in which the women identified culturally relevant and contextual factors that presented barriers to exercise, as well as those that would enhance the likelihood that they would participate in exercise on a regular basis.

"One thing we saw was that it was important that the programs be offered where the women live, work and socialize," Yan said.

The community involvement helped ensure that the program had a culturally sensitive design.

"So, for example, the participants are very spiritual, very religious, and they concluded their exercise session with group prayer, very often expressing gratitude for the strengthboth physical and moralto participate."

Yan also feels the group setting is another factor that will help the women motivate each other to continue after the study is over.

In August, the project is expanding to include 45 women. This phase includes a self-management component to help participants better manage treatment or cancer-related side effects or symptoms such as nerve pain, tiredness and joint pain. In addition to exercise programming, this project will also provide guidance on nutrition to mitigate comorbiditiesobesity, cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetesthat exacerbate those health effects.

Now roughly halfway through the study, Yan has come to know and admire the participants. And she's come to appreciate their fortitude.

"I've learned a lot about their faith, their hope and purpose of lifefactors that motivate these women to survive," Yan said. "One is their religious faith. Another is their inner strength and resilience.

"They are strong black women. Their stories are inspiring to me. In the midst of their darkest hours, these women decided to opt for a fighter mentality instead of a defeated one. To them, life was worth fighting for, as it's a precious gift from God. They've been through a lot, but they are still so committed to supporting their families and neighborspeople who rely on them."

Lisa Goodwin, a five-year cancer survivor and a lay-health adviser for the project, said she found the program helpful for her neuropathy, but also good for her mind and spirit.

She pointed out that the impact on the women has continued even after their participation was finished.

"Some of the ladies in the group called me, and we've started getting together to work out on our own," Goodwin said.

Yan hopes to build on this current two-year study with a five-year study that has a broader geographical reach.
Credit: University of Stirling

Scots' daily consumption of 110 tonnes of sugar from cut-price food and drink is fuelling obesity, a University of Stirling academic has warned.

Linda Bauld, Professor of Health Policy, spoke out after Cancer Research UK calculations suggested Scottish people devour the equivalent amount of sugar packed into 4.3 million chocolate bars  or 3.1 million cans of cola  every day, through unhealthy food and drink bought on special offers.

Cancer Research UK said they carried out the research to highlight why Scotland is in the grip of an obesity epidemic.

Professor Bauld, a Cancer Research UK cancer prevention expert, said: "Obesity is the unpalatable cost of the cheap deals routinely served up in our shops.

"It leaves a bad taste to know such an enormous amount of discounted sugar is lining our stomachs and weighing so heavily on the nation's health.

"We need urgent action now to prevent thousands of cancers in the future."

Promotions

With obesity linked to 13 different types of cancer, Cancer Research UK called for government restrictions on multi-buy offers and related promotions on unhealthy food.

These promotions account for around 40 percent of all expenditure on food and drinks consumed at home in Scotland.

Scotland also has among the highest obesity rates in Europe, according to NHS Health Scotland information. Cancer Research UK commissioned a YouGov survey that suggested around seven in 10 Scots supporting restrictions on multi-buy offers on high-fat and sugar-laden foods.

Professor Bauld added: "When it publishes its obesity strategy, the Scottish Government has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to introduce measures that will have a profound impact on our lives.

"We know that less healthy foods and drinks are more likely to be bought on promotion than healthier foods and anyone who regularly navigates the aisles knows how hard offers on junk food are to resist.

"And with studies showing the most deprived in our society are more often obese and less likely to get their five-a-day of fruit and vegetables, much more needs to be done to make healthy options affordable instead."
Slovak authorities said Thursday they had discovered a batch of insecticide-tainted eggs imported from The Netherlands via Germany as the scandal spread to Romania and Denmark.

Slovak veterinary inspectors found 21 packages of hard-boiled and peeled eggs that were contaminated with fipronil in a warehouse of the western village of Vrbove, agriculture ministry spokeswoman Zuzana Peiger Acjakova told AFP.

Fipronil is commonly used to get rid of fleas, lice and ticks from animals but is banned by the EU from use in the food industry. It can harm people's kidneys, liver and thyroid glands.

The problem is believed to stem from a substance used by Dutch company Chickfriend which farmers in the Netherlands and Belgium say they hired to treat their chickens.

The eggs at the centre of the scandal have mainly come from the Netherlands, followed by Belgium and Germany. Scores of farms have been shut.

Sweden, Switzerland, Britain, France and Luxembourg have also found contaminated eggs, and on Thursday Danish authorities said twenty tonnes of the eggs had been sold there.

Slovak authorities were informed about the shipment of tainted eggs by an EU-wide rapid alert system, Acjakova said.

"Freshness is a criterion that consumers should take into account, because it determines the quality of the product," Slovak Agriculture Minister Gabriela Matecna said in a statement.

"Slovak foodstuffs are under strict control of our veterinary administration from the field to the shelves," she added.

 2017 AFP
One tonne of egg yolk liquid contaminated with the insecticide fipronil has been found in Romania, the first discovery in eastern Europe since the tainted egg scandal erupted, the veterinary health authority said Thursday.

The egg yolk liquid found in a warehouse in the west of the country was imported from Germany, but "none of the product has been offered for sale," the Romanian authority ANSVSA said.

The discovery came about after "a specific alert from the European Commission" as part of its rapid response system regarding human and animal food, ANSVSA spokeswoman Alina Monea told AFP.

"Our inspectors are monitoring poultry farms around the country," she added.

Romania brings to nine the number of European countries affected by the spiralling egg contamination that started in the Netherlands where farmers are believed to have used a substance containing the fipronil insecticide to treat red lice in chickens.

 2017 AFP
In this photo taken on Saturday, Jul. 8, 2017, workers fill bottles with water at the mineral water refilling station in Sanaa, Yemen. Yemen's raging two-year conflict has served as an incubator for lethal cholera. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)

Collapsing on sidewalks and constantly vomiting, some of the Yemeni villagers barely make it to the tiny health center where doctors spread cardboard sheets in the backyard and use trees to hang bags of IV fluids for patients.

They are part of a stream of hundreds of suspected cholera victims that continues to converge on the center from the impoverished town of Bani Haydan in Yemen's northern Hajja province. Just hours after being infected, vomiting and diarrhea cause severe dehydration that can kill without rapid intervention.

Yemen's raging two-year conflict has turned the country into an incubator for lethal cholera: primitive sanitation and water systems put Yemenis at risk of drinking feces-contaminated water; wells are dirtied by runoff from rainfall on piles of garbage left uncollected for weeks; farmland is irrigated with broken sewers due to lax oversight and corruption; medical intervention is delayed due to unpaid government employees and half of the country's health facilities are out of service.

The cholera outbreak in Haiti has killed more than 9,000 people since 2010, but Yemen has seen the largest outbreak of the disease recorded in recent memory in any country in a single year. The United Nations and international aid organizations say they are shocked at the speed and scale of the outbreak.

In this photo taken on Wednesday, Jul. 12, 2017, a girl drinks water from a well that alleged to be contaminated water with the bacterium Vibrio cholera, on the outskirts of Sanaa, Yemen. Yemen's raging two-year conflict has served as an incubator for lethal cholera. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)

"It's a cholera paradise," said George Khoury, head of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Yemen. "It's a recipe for disaster."

One in every 120 Yemenis is now suspected of being sick with cholera, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

There have been around 2,000 deaths in the country since April 27. About 5,000 people fall sick every day and more than 450,000 more are suspected of having the disease, according to the World Health Organization.

The majority of those exposed to the bacteria known as Vibrio cholerae don't fall sick and only 1 in 10 infected people develop signs of cholera. Cases are mostly treatable with a simple rehydration solution or IV rehydration.

In this photo taken on Thursday, Jun. 29, 2017, a man is treated for suspected cholera infection at a hospital in Sanaa, Yemen. Yemen's raging two-year conflict has served as an incubator for lethal cholera. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)

The role the war has played in Yemen's cholera outbreak can't be overemphasized, said Adeeb al-Rassabi, Sanaa general coordinator for the Electronic Disease and Warning System, the country's epidemic surveillance system. If not for the conflict, "we would have been able to contain cholera in no more than one month, no more, no doubt."

Khoury acknowledged that U.N. agencies were caught by surprise at the rapid increase in the spread of the disease and missed an opportunity to control it in its early stages.

U.N. organizations and government health authorities initially thought the outbreak was over after a mild wave of the disease that started in October. A decline in new cases in February prompted a cut in funds to health centers and a relaxation among health monitors, said al-Rassabi.

But the outbreak returned with a vengeance in late April and Khoury pointed to the failure of the surveillance system designed to spot early cases as a primary reason for its return.

In this photo taken on Wednesday, Jul. 26, 2017, a man fills a tank lorry with water from a water-tap in Sanaa, Yemen. Yemen's raging two-year conflict has served as an incubator for lethal cholera. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)

"This is like a fire alarm so if there is smoke and the system is not working, the fire will rage (throughout) the entire place," he said.

Yemen's civil war pits a Saudi-led coalition supporting the internationally recognized government against Shiite Houthi rebels. Disputes between the government and Houthis over revenues have left about a million civil servants, including 30,000 medical staffers, without salaries since September.

Rima al-Youssefi, head of the surveillance system, defended her agency, telling The Associated Press that employees work around the clock without pay. "There is no budget ... there is a severe shortage of everything," she said.

Her agency is just one of many state bodies that have been left to fall apart without help from the international community. Although the U.N. has appealed for $2.1 billion for relief work this year, only 44 percent has been funded.

In this photo taken on Wednesday, Jul. 26, 2017, a girl scavenges for recyclable items at a garbage dump in a street in Sanaa, Yemen. Yemen's raging two-year conflict has served as an incubator for lethal cholera. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)

In the town of Kohlan al-Sharaf, not far from Bani Haydan, doctors use overhead flashlights to examine patients in a school converted into a makeshift health center after the facility next door reached full capacity.

Cash-strapped doctors say they haven't been paid for months and some have pawned their wives' jewelry to buy clean water. Health workers tasked to monitor, collect and report data to the central agency are in debt, even borrowing money to charge their phones.

The war, which has killed 10,000 civilians, caused famine to spread to parts of the country. U.N. figures show there are 17 million people who are hungry. Nearly 80 percent of Yemen's children need humanitarian assistance while 2.2 million children suffer from acute malnutrition. Around 14.5 million people do not have access to clean water and sanitation.

The chance of death from cholera increases if patients already suffer from malnutrition or other health issues.

In this photo taken on Thursday, Jun. 29, 2017, an elderly woman is treated for suspected cholera infection at a hospital in Sanaa, Yemen. Yemen's raging two-year conflict has served as an incubator for lethal cholera. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)

Last month, U.N. agencies canceled the delivery of a million doses of vaccines, saying it was already too late for the vaccines to act as a preventive measure. Another reason was concern that their uneven distribution in areas under Houthi and government control could fuel the conflict.

The strong majority of cholera-infected people, who have access to health services, survive.

U.N. agencies have set up more than 1,000 centers for treatment and are trying to compensate medical workers with stipends and help thousands of volunteers who go from door to door to spread awareness among families on how to protect themselves from cholera.

A recently updated map from WHO shows cholera has affected 22 of Yemen's 23 provinces but is concentrated in the northern region, which falls under the Houthis' control. This is where the majority of the population livesabout 70 percent of Yemen's 26 million people.

In this photo taken on Wednesday, Jul. 12, 2017, a women fills a bucket with water from a well that alleged to be contaminated water with the bacterium Vibrio cholera, on the outskirts of Sanaa, Yemen. Yemen's raging two-year conflict has served as an incubator for lethal cholera. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)

According to WHO, the Hajja province northwest of Sanaa ranks among the worst stricken areas and has a total 366 deaths since the second wave of the disease started April 27. In some areas in Hajja out of reach of U.N. agencies, large numbers of Yemenis have been infected. In Bani Haydan village, nearly 20 percent of the population has fallen sick or died of cholera.

The civil war has forced the displacement of 3 million people, further contributing to the problem. When newcomers to a village set up septic tanks underneath their houses not far from water wells, sewage often leaks into the drinking water.

In the cholera hotspot of al-Umayri village, where the first case was reported in Sanaa province, one water well labeled "polluted" is still frequented by barefoot boys carrying jerry cans. Near Sanaa's main water treatment plant, which pumps treated sewage to farmlands, farmers frequently break the pipelines and irrigate their farmlands with raw sewage. The harvest goes to Sanaa's residents and restaurants.

Poor sanitation and sewage are decades-old problems in Yemen, where millions depend on water wells.

In this photo taken on Saturday, Jul. 8, 2017, a worker fills bottles with water at the mineral water refilling station in Sanaa, Yemen. Yemen's raging two-year conflict has served as an incubator for lethal cholera. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)

Some fall under the jurisdiction of central authorities but the majority are run by individuals who sell the water to truck owners, who then distribute it to tanks attached to households. Depending on their income, families either buy water directly extracted from wellsusually not a safe source of drinking water or from a mushrooming number of privately owned water stations, which disinfect and purify water before selling it in bottles.

Field workers take samples from the wells and stations. Those found contaminated are ordered shut down. However, many bribe corrupt bureaucrats to get their stations or wells reopened.

Nashwan al-Attab, deputy health minister, produced a map of Sanaa province. Red dots depicted cases of cholera, many concentrated around water wells. "We believe they are contaminated ... there is no other explanation."

Cholera outbreaks will continue until millions of Yemenis get access to clean water and that will remain a challenge as long as there is war, experts say.

"My main message here is that if the cholera outbreak goes down, don't forget about Yemen and stop supporting (the country), else we may have another (outbreak) in a few months," said Marije Broekhuijsen, a UNICEF sanitation and hygiene specialist.

In this photo taken on Wednesday, Jul. 12, 2017, boys carry buckets to fill with water from a well that is alleged to be contaminated water with the bacterium Vibrio cholera, on the outskirts of Sanaa, Yemen. Yemen's raging two-year conflict has served as an incubator for lethal cholera. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)

In this photo taken on Wednesday, Jul. 12, 2017, people fill buckets with water from a well that is alleged to be contaminated water with the bacterium Vibrio cholera, on the outskirts of Sanaa, Yemen. Yemen's raging two-year conflict has served as an incubator for lethal cholera. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)

In this photo taken on Thursday, Jun. 29, 2017, an elderly woman is treated for suspected cholera infection at a hospital in Sanaa, Yemen. Yemen's raging two-year conflict has served as an incubator for lethal cholera. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)

In this photo taken on Wednesday, Jul. 26, 2017, a man adds chlorine solution as he fills a tanker truck with water from a water tap in Sanaa, Yemen. Yemen's raging two-year conflict has served as an incubator for lethal cholera. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)

 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
A man donates blood in National Blood Transfusion and Research Centre in Sanaa, Yemen, Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2017. The director of Yemen's national blood bank says the facility could shut down within a week after a medical aid charity ended its support. Ayman el-Shihari, the blood bank's general director, said Thursday its closure could lead to a "humanitarian catastrophe." (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)

Yemen's national blood bank faces a complete shutdown within a week after a medical aid charity ended its two-year support, the facility's director said on Thursday, warning that the closure could exacerbate the existing humanitarian crisis in the war-torn country.

Doctors Without Borders, known by the French acronym MSF, gave out its last donation to the blood bank in June after it signed an agreement with U.N. World Health Organization handing over the support to the U.N. agency.

"Supplies are running out," Ayman al-Shihari told The Associated Press over the phone from the Yemeni capital, Sanaa.

The MSF supplies cover only two months.

Al-Shihari added that the facility has yet to receive any aid from the WHO.

Yemen is facing the world's worst humanitarian crisis. The two-year-long war has crippled the country's health system, depleted access to safe drinking water and put millions on the brink of famine.

Al-Shihari said that the bank's closure could lead to a "humanitarian catastrophe," noting that the facility receives up to 3,000 cases monthly, including patients with cancer, thalassaemia, kidney failure and those wounded in the war. Thalassemia is a hereditary form of anemia that requires regular transfusions.

A Saudi-led coalition embarked on a campaign in March 2015 in Yemen with the aim of dislodging Iran-backed Shiite Houthi rebels who control the capital and much of the north and restoring to power the internationally-recognized government of Abed Rabbou Mansour Hadi.

The stalemated war has killed at least 10,000 people and has led to extensive civilian suffering with 17 million going hungry and nearly 80 percent of Yemeni children in need of humanitarian assistance, according to U.N. figures.

A man donates blood in National Blood Transfusion and Research Centre in Sanaa, Yemen, Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2017. The director of Yemen's national blood bank says the facility could shut down within a week after a medical aid charity ended its support. Ayman el-Shihari, the blood bank's general director, said Thursday its closure could lead to a "humanitarian catastrophe." (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)

A man donates blood in National Blood Transfusion and Research Centre in Sanaa, Yemen, Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2017. The director of Yemen's national blood bank says the facility could shut down within a week after a medical aid charity ended its support. Ayman el-Shihari, the blood bank's general director, said Thursday its closure could lead to a "humanitarian catastrophe." (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)

A man donates blood in National Blood Transfusion and Research Centre in Sanaa, Yemen, Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2017. The director of Yemen's national blood bank says the facility could shut down within a week after a medical aid charity ended its support. Ayman el-Shihari, the blood bank's general director, said Thursday its closure could lead to a "humanitarian catastrophe." (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)

People donate blood in the National Blood Transfusion and Research Centre in Sanaa, Yemen, Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2017. The director of Yemen's national blood bank says the facility could shut down within a week after a medical aid charity ended its support. Ayman el-Shihari, the blood bank's general director, said Thursday its closure could lead to a "humanitarian catastrophe." (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)

 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Germany withdraws from Energy Charter Treaty

Is Jordan country that has not supplied arms to Armenia?: 'The press usually has reliable information'

European Commission approves nationalization of Russian Gazprom's German subsidiary

Pashinyan: If the state interferes with the exchange rate unnecessarily, the economy will only suffer

U.S. to work with strategic coalition of Southeast Asian countries

Armenian PM: To reform army, it is necessary to make military service more attractive

Putin and Raisi discuss topical issues of the bilateral agenda

Blinken: Ukraine must decide on timing and content of any talks with Russia

Catholicos expresses hope that Russia efforts will contribute to ensuring free, safe life of Artsakh Armenians

More than 50 of poorest developing countries are on brink of bankruptcy, says UN official

Armenia ex-ombudsman: We are facing serious national security issues (PHOTOS)

Biden has no plans to meet with Saudi crown prince at G20 summit

EU offers natural gas price cap assurances amid disagreements with member countries

Scholz is against establishment of ceasefire in Ukraine on Kremlin's terms

Turkologist: Turkey does not support agenda of achieving peace with Armenians

Sweden to not permit deployment of nuclear weapons on its territory after joining NATO

Erdogan signs decree on appointing Turkey ambassador to Israel

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Armenia FM meets with France minister of foreign trade

Foreign Policy: US to resume nuclear arms control talks with Russia

Armenia opposition MP: Artsakh army reduction is impermissible

Biden to warn Chinas Xi that North Korea path could lead to increase in US military presence

US Treasury chief: India can buy as much Russian oil as it wants

Newspaper: Armenia authorities trying to find legal grounds for signing peace treaty

Newspaper: People of Karabakh not going to tolerate final destruction of their army

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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

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Pashinyan: Presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan listened to presented proposals

Volvo reveals its flagship EX90 electric crossover

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Pashinyan: Russia cannot withdraw from Karabakh unless it creates additional guarantees for peacekeeping mission

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Russia bans entry of Biden's family and White House press secretary

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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?

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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

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Delegation of Russian MPs visits Jermuk resort town

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The only school operating in Batumi city of Georgia was closed because of the small number of students.

Leader of Georgian-Armenian Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Bishop Vazgen Mirzakhanyan told Armenian News  NEWS.am that the Diocese is currently working with the Georgian Ministry of Education towards opening an Armenian school in Adjara.

Many parents dont know Armenian, it being hard for them to bring their children to an Armenian school. Thus, they took them mainly to Russian and Georgian schools, the Bishop noted.

Pursuant to the census conducted in Georgia in November 2014, up to 8,000 Armenians reside in Batumi, 1,000-1,500in Kobuleti and 1,500in Chakvi. According to Bishop Vazgen Mirzakhanyan, in the recent years many Armenians return from Moscow and other countries to work in Adjara.

The number of Armenians in Adjara declined in the 90s. Currently, no drastic decline in the number of Armenian population in Adjara is observed. On the contrary, the Armenians, who moved to Moscow or other places, return to Batumi and work there. They mainly engage in businesssmall and medium-sized. The youths provide different services on ships, working in the sphere of services,he noted.

In Mirzakhanyans words, Adjara Armenians mainly face no issues related to work, since they live in a seashore region and know the language, which helps them integrate into the Georgian society. It is easier for them to find a job. Some of them have turned their houses into hotels and manage earning money that way. Unlike those living in other settlements, the Armenians here are integrated into the society, there being no ethnic discrimination. The Armenian population here mainly speaks Russian. They also know Georgian and thus have no language issue, he added.

Large number of Turks and Azeris live in Adjara but, according to the Bishop, this circumstance raises no obstacles for the local Armenians. There are no anti-Armenian sentiments. Moreover, many Armenians find jobs in the companies of Turkish businessmen. Many Turkish companies also employ Armenians, who know Turkish. Surb Prkich church operates in Batumi, and oddly enough, many Turkish tourists visit it. There are no stressed anti-Armenian sentiments and they have never existed. The pastor of the church is Priest Ter Ararat Kumbaryan. Since 2014, Alexander Mantashyan Educational and Cultural Center has been operating: it includes a kindergarten, Sunday school and clubs. The Adjara Armenians lead quite an active cultural life, Mirzakhanyan stressed.
DOT Proposes $78.88 Million in FASTLANE Small Grants to 10 Infrastructure Projects

Seven of the 10 proposed grants are targeted projects in rural areas to increase freight mobility and produce greater economic opportunities, according to DOT.

The U.S. Department of Transportation has provided a list of 10 proposed FASTLINE Small Project grant awards totaling $78.88 million to the authorizing committees of jurisdiction for a 60-day congressional review period.

Seven of the 10 proposed grants are targeted projects in rural areas to increase freight mobility and produce greater economic opportunities, according to DOT. The awards will enhance safety at more than 100 rail crossings, repair nearly 250 miles of track, and improve more than 50 rail bridges, allowing communities in Maine, Mississippi, Florida, Georgia, and Texas access to the national freight rail network.

In total, the $78.88 million in proposed FASTLANE awards will lead to approximately $217 million in total investment in infrastructure. "Transportation is a key to accessing opportunity and improving our quality of life," said Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao. "These targeted investments will assist communities in building infrastructure systems that will improve safety for the traveling public and provide increased access to greater long-term economic opportunity."

The proposed recipients of the discretionary grants are listed here:

US 550 South Connection to US 160, La Plata County, Colorado, $12,312,886.50 - to construct a new 1.7-mile alignment of U.S. 550, connecting with U.S. 160 at the Grandview Interchange.

Taylor County Florida Competitiveness & Employment by Rail (CEBYR) Project, Taylor County, Florida, $8,671,513.50  to rehabilitate the Georgia & Florida Railway (GFRR) including upgrades to 19 active warning public grade crossing devices, rebuilding 90 public and private grade crossing surfaces, hardening 16 bridges to support increased traffic, installing approximately 70,000 crossties, and resurfacing approximately 80 miles of railway between Foley, Fla. and Adel, Ga.
August 10, 2017  Phuket, Thailand : In celebration of the auspicious occasion of 85th birthday anniversary of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit Kitiyakara also known as the National Mothers day on August 12, 2017.

JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa, 5-star Phuket beach hotel, in collaboration with Mai Khao Marine Turtle Foundation and its business partners of Marine Turtle Declaration for Mai Khao, has arranged hands-on activity The Beach Cabbage Planting, to celebrate the Mothers day and Mother Nature, from August 8  11, 2017, at their hotels beachfront.

Mr. Oriol Montal, General Manager of JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa presided over the opening ceremony held in honor of Her Majesty Queen Sirikits devotions to the country and joined associates and Sirinat National Park officers to plant the sea flower tree along the Phukets Mai Khao beach.

In this occasion, One thousand and Seven hundred beach cabbage seedlings planted at the JW Marriott Phukets beachfront.

Taking care of the planet is like taking care of our home and community. As part of the declaration on sea turtle nesting site conservation and rehabilitation at Mai Khao Beach that our JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa has signed up among 10 hospitality operators, 3 government sectors and Mai Khao Marine Turtle foundation since last March 2015. We all continue to exercise environmental initiative programs, in order to protect and care of Marine Turtle and Mai Khao Community. Furthermore, we are delighted to host some kind of Mother Nature activity to show our appreciation to the Mother of Thailand, Her Majesty Queen Sirikit. This definitely marks a great significant and meaningful to all of us said Mr. Oriol Montal, General Manager, JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa.
Ancient turkey DNA used to tracks migration of Mesa Verde Pueblo people from southwest Colorado. Credit: National Park Service

Ancient DNA used to track the mass exodus of Ancestral Pueblo people from Colorado's Mesa Verde region in the late 13th century indicates many wound up in the Northern Rio Grande area north of Santa Fe, New Mexico, inhabited today by the Tewa Pueblo people.

Here's the twist: The DNA came from domesticated turkeys that had been kept by ancient Pueblo people in both places, according to University of Colorado Boulder Assistant Professor Scott Ortman, one of four lead study authors. The study indicates DNA from turkey bones unearthed at Mesa Verde matched the turkey DNA in the northern Rio Grande area after the Mesa Verde society buckled.

"What we found was good evidence of a substantial influx of turkeys into the northern Rio Grande region that had the same genetic composition as turkeys from the Mesa Verde region," Ortman said. "This is a new line of evidence suggesting a strong connection between contemporary Tewa Pueblo people in New Mexico and the Pueblo people who lived in Mesa Verde country before its collapse."

A paper on the subject was published in a recent issue of the science journal PLOS ONE. In addition to Ortman, the study included co-authors from Washington State University, the University of California, Davis and the University of Oklahoma.

The Mesa Verde region was a hub of Southwest Puebloan society, populated by as many as 30,000 people in the middle of the 13th century, Ortman said. But a severe drought in 1277, coupled with resource depletion and social upheaval, is thought to have triggered a massive migration south to New Mexico and Arizona by the end of the 13th century.

For the study, Ortman and his colleagues used mitochondrial DNAwhich is passed down from mother to offspringextracted from turkey bones buried in the Mesa Verde region before the migration and mitochondrial DNA collected from the northern Rio Grande region before and after the Mesa Verde was abandoned.

Turkeys had been kept as a source of feathers to make blankets and other goods by the Mesa Verde inhabitants before A.D. 1000, Ortman said. But after that the archaeological record shows the Mesa Verde people began raising the turkeys as a meat source, causing turkey bones to become much more common in the archaeological record.

The study showed the genetic composition of the turkey population in the northern Rio Grande changed substantially before and after the Mesa Verde exodus. Since the genetic composition of the northern Rio Grande turkeys after the migration period was genetically indistinguishable from the birds that lived in the Mesa Verde country before the migration, it appears the migrating people took their turkeys with them, he said.

Ortman said the people fleeing the Mesa Verde area in the 13th century likely moved to many places in present-day New Mexico and Arizona during the great migration.

"The argument we are making is that a sizable chunk of the Mesa Verde population moved to the northern Rio Grande region," Ortman said. "And this group of migrants stimulated the formation of the Tewa Pueblo people that live in the area."

Previously, Ortman and his colleagues used biological, linguistic, oral tradition and material culture evidence to suggest that the ancestors of the Tewa-speaking Pueblo people in New Mexico lived in the Mesa Verde region and migrated to the northern Rio Grande during the 13th century. The recent study is the first ever to use ancient DNA to look at the scientific puzzle, Ortman said.

While the research team also looked at mitochondrial DNA from what were thought be domestic dogs buried at Mesa Verde and in the northern Rio Grande area, it did not pan out for an interesting reason, Ortman said. While the remains of most of the Mesa Verde canids were genetically dogs, almost all of the canids buried in the northern Rio Grandetraditionally thought to be dogswere actually coyotes.

"It's an interesting puzzle as to why the northern Rio Grande people buried so many coyotes," he said.
Future coastal defences, harbours and ports could enhance biodiversity within the marine environment through the use of cement substitutes. But the materials used need to be selected carefully in order that native and non-native species are not adversely affected, a study by the University of Plymouth suggests.

With the pressures of climate change and many of the world's population living on or near the coast, there is growing demand to increase development of the marine and coastal environment.

Many schemes already use cement replacements, but with them being introduced on a larger scale, there is a pressing need to determine their effect on the organisms which colonise them and the wider marine environment.

Scientists from the University conducted a series of tests over a two-month period and said some of these alternative materials appeared to have a negative effect on colonising native species but had no effect on non-native species.

The study, published in Ecological Engineering, is one of the first to combine chemical leaching and biological data regarding the use of artificial materials within coastal and marine infrastructure.

Lecturer in Environmental Science Dr Louise Firth, the study's corresponding author, said: "As cement production is so energetically costly to produce, the construction industry is now investigating cement replacements using waste materials. Our work has shown that native and non-native species have contrasting responses to different waste material cement replacements. This highlights that much more research is needed in this area to assess the full environmental impact of such practices before adopting cement replacements in the marine construction industry."

For the study, scientists placed tiles made using cement as well as varying quantities of two widely used substitutes  pulverised fly ash (PFA) and ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS)  at waterfront locations in Plymouth.

They then monitored them for a period of seven weeks, assessing the quantity of chemicals from the tiles that leached into the marine environment but also the effects on colonising biofilms and macro-algae.

The results showed that cement replacement materials leached different metal concentrations: PFA was higher overall and GGBS was lower overall.

It also showed that there was an impact on colonising species. Whilst there was no significant difference in biofilm percentage cover or non-native species richness between treatments, it was found that treatments containing GGBS had lower native species richness than the control treatment (that had no cement replacements).

This study is the latest in which academics from Plymouth have explored the impact of coastal infrastructure on the marine environment. The University is also one of the partners in the World Harbour Project, which is seeking to develop resilient urban ports and harbours globally.

Dr Firth added: "The biodiversity associated with sea defences may have beneficial effects, such as habitat provision, water filtration and even strengthening the structures. However, the results presented here highlight the fact that differences in concrete composition can have significant effects on the biodiversity of subtidal fouling organisms that colonise artificial surfaces. This information could be used in future to help design features that enhance biodiversity and the ecosystem services this provides at little or no extra cost."

More information: Ryan S. McManus et al. Partial replacement of cement for waste aggregates in concrete coastal and marine infrastructure: A foundation for ecological enhancement?, Ecological Engineering (2017). DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoleng.2017.06.062 Journal information: Ecological Engineering
This handout picture released by the European Space Agency shows near Earth Asteroid 2012 TC4 appearing as a dot at the centre of this composite of 37 individual 50-second exposures obtained with the FORS2 instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope.

A house-sized asteroid will shave past our planet on October 12, far inside the Moon's orbit but without posing any threat, astronomers said Thursday.

The space rock will zoom by harmlessly at a distance of about 44,000 kilometres (27,300 miles)an eighth of the distance from the Earth to the Moon, according to the European Space Agency,

This is just far enough to miss our geostationary satellites orbiting at about 36,000 kilometres.

"We know for sure that there is no possibility for this object to hit the Earth," Detlef Koschny of ESA's "Near Earth Objects" research team told AFP.

"There is no danger whatsoever."

The asteroid, dubbed 2012 TC4, first flitted past our planet in October 2012 at about double the distancebefore disappearing from view.

It is about 15-30 metres (49-98 feet) long, and was travelling at a speed of some 14 kilometres (nine miles) per second when spotted.

Scientists expected the asteroid to return for a near-Earth rendezvous this year, but did not know how close it would get.

Now, the Very Large Telescope of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Chile has managed to track the rock down, some 56 million kilometres away, and determine its trajectory.

"It's damn close," said Rolf Densing, who heads the European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany.

"The farthest satellites are 36,000 kilometres out, so this is indeed a close miss," he told AFP.

For researchers, the near miss will provide a rare chance to test Earth's "planetary defence" systemswhich at this point are focused on early warning rather than active asteroid deflection.

Not this time

Observing TC4's movements "is an excellent opportunity to test the international ability to detect and track near-Earth objects and assess our ability to respond together to a real asteroid threat," said an ESA statement.

Asteroids are rocky bodies left over from the formation of our solar system some 4.5 billion years ago.

There are thought to be millions of them, most of them in a "belt" between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.

A space rock slightly bigger than TC4, at 40 metres, caused the largest Earth impact in recent history when it exploded over Tunguska, Siberia, in 1908.

In 2013, a meteoroid of about 20 metres exploded in the atmosphere over the city of Chelyabinsk in central Russia with the kinetic energy of about 30 Hiroshima atom bombs.

The resulting shockwave blew out the windows of nearly 5,000 buildings and injured more than 1,200 people. It caught everyone unawares.

If an object the size of TC4 were to enter Earth's atmosphere, "it would have a similar effect to the Chelyabinsk event," said the ESA.

But Earth's atmosphere stretches only a few hundred kilometres far, and TC4 will comfortably miss it. Also, it would likely behave very differently to the Chelyabinsk object.

"The Chelyabinsk meteoroid was a piece of comet and they are usually made of icy material," said Densing.

"Due to the icy nature it probably dissipated in the atmosphere... When we're talking about asteroids, this is solid material. They are mostly made up of iron, so will not so easily dissipate their energy in the atmosphere."

TC4 is unlikely to shed any debris into the atmosphere.

Even if it did, no evacuation would be required for an object this size, said Koschny, merely a warning for people to stay away from windows that could shatter from the shockwave.

Densing, who has previously warned that humanity is not ready to defend itself against an Earth-bound object, said he would not lose any sleep, "not over this one.

"However, it makes you wonder what will happen next time," he said.

"I would have felt a bit more comfortable if we... had a longer pre-warning time."

 2017 AFP
German chemical giant BASF said Thursday it would not reapply for EU authorisation for some uses of pesticide Fipronil, at the heart of a tainted egg scandal that has set member states at odds.

"For business reasons, BASF has decided not to pursue re-registration for treatment of seeds in Europe," a spokesman told AFP, adding that the authorisation would expire on September 30.

The pesticide was only authorised for a small number of applications in treating seeds, it added, making the "high costs" of the registration process uneconomical.

BASF added that its decision did not affect the chemical's use as a "biocide" against ants, cockroaches and termites, which is allowed in the EU until 2023.

Belgium on Wednesday accused the Netherlands' food safety authority NVWA of failing to inform it that eggs were tainted with Fipronil despite knowing about it since last November.

NVWA denied that it had known definitively about the contamination so soon, but admitted it had received an anonymous tip about the pesticide being used to clean chicken pens in order to combat red lice in that month.

The insecticide scandal only became public on August 1 when authorities in the Netherlands ordered eggs pulled from supermarket shelves and urged shoppers to throw any they had away.

Contaminated eggs have since been discovered in Germany, Belgium, Sweden, Switzerland, Britain and France, with several supermarkets pulling millions of eggs off the shelves.

Fipronil is commonly used in veterinary products to get rid of fleas, lice and ticks, but is banned by the EU from being used to treat animals destined for human consumption, such as chickens.

In large quantities, the insecticide is considered by the World Health Organisation to be "moderately hazardous" and can have dangerous effects on people's kidneys, liver and thyroid glands.

 2017 AFP
Credit: Yeexin Richelle

Researchers have calculated a new benchmark for compensation pay-outs that are awarded to victims of violent crime.

Using data from Australia, the study found that victims of violent crime require an average award of AU$88,000 (around 53,000) to compensate for tangible and intangible costs of crime.

The researchers also found that the costs are higher for females than for males, with an average of AU$102,000 (62,000) for women and AU$79,000 (48,000) for men.

The team  from City, University of London (UK) and Monash University (Australia)  produced estimates of the amount of money that is needed to help people return to their former levels of life satisfaction.

Writing in The Economic Journal, they argue there are difficulties with the current ways that compensation figures are decided upon by judges, tribunals and juries around the world, who are being asked to make very hard calculations about the intangible costs of violent crime.

The researchers suggest that their methodology can be applied to other countries besides Australia. They say compensation figures may be similar in nations such as the UK that have similar institutional environments. However, they argue specific figures for other countries would depend on various other factors.

Offsetting the costs of crime

Researcher Dr Agne Suziedelyte, of the Department of Economics at City, University of London, said: "The costs of violent crime victimisation are often left to a tribunal, judge or jury to determine, which can lead to considerable subjectivity and variation. Some people get too much, while others don't get enough.

"This research provides a benchmark for the compensation that victims need to offset the costs of crime. These include direct costs, such as loss of income, as well as invisible effects, like reduced mental wellbeing, negative impacts on relationships and feelings of personal safety.

"Judges and juries can use this benchmark to pivot around, with larger or smaller amounts awarded depending on the nature and severity of cases. Our method can also be used to set maximum limits for pay-outs."

Methodology

The primary data source for the study was the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey, which provided a sample of 18,534 people who were questioned on a range of issues over an 11-year period (2002-2012).

To calculate compensation estimates, the researchers looked at three key measures: whether respondents reported being victims of crime, their reported life satisfaction and their reported positive income shocks, such as winning the lottery.

The researchers found 1.5 per cent of HILDA respondents reported being the victim of physical violence in the past 12 months and it was found that being a victim of crime had negative effects on various aspects of wellbeing.

According to the HILDA survey data, victimisation decreases life satisfaction substantially, more so for females than males.

By looking at the impact of a "large positive income shock" on life satisfaction, it was found that financial gain was on average followed by better reported wellbeing. This supports the premise that compensation can help people return to their pre-victimization levels of wellbeing.

Gender differences

The paper states: "It is estimated that, on average, violent crime victims would need to be awarded A$87,900. The estimated compensation is higher for females (A$101,800) than for males (A$79,300).

"The difference between genders is driven by victimisation having a larger negative effect on the life satisfaction of females than males, and by the income shock having a smaller positive effect on the life satisfaction of females than males.

"In other words, women are more adversely affected by being a victim of physical violence and are less positively affected by receiving a large monetary windfall."

It was found that the aspects of life most affected by crime for women were relationships with partners, safety, and home. For men, safety was also affected as was satisfaction with neighbourhood, but satisfaction with home was not. A likely explanation for these gender differences is that a significant proportion of victimisation experienced by women is domestic violence.

The paper, "Victimisation, Wellbeing and Compensation: Using Panel Data to Estimate the Costs of Violent Crime," was published online by The Economic Journal.

More information: David W. Johnston et al. Victimisation, Well-being and Compensation: Using Panel Data to Estimate the Costs of Violent Crime, The Economic Journal (2017). DOI: 10.1111/ecoj.12478
The view from the gondola at 40 km altitude during a Crab observation. Credit: SSC

New observations of polarised X-rays from the Crab Nebula and Pulsar, published today in Scientific Reports, may help explain sudden flares in the Crab's X-ray intensity, as well as provide new data for modeling  and understanding  the nebula.

Since it was first observed little more than a thousand years ago, the Crab Nebula has been studied by generations of astronomers. Yet new observations by researchers in Sweden show this "cosmic lighthouse" has yet to give up all of its secrets.

The researchers' observations of polarised X-rays from the Crab Nebula and Pulsar, published today in Scientific Reports, may help explain sudden flares in the Crab's X-ray intensity, as well as provide new data for modeling  and understanding  the nebula.

The polarisation of Crab X-rays reveals how and where they are produced in the extreme environment of the nebula, says Mark Pearce, Professor of Physics at KTH Royal Institute of Technology and lead author of the study.

"Our measurements indicate that the X-rays come from an organized region in the vicinity of the pulsar at the centre of the nebula," Pearce says. "Electrons gyrating around magnetic field lines in this region produce the X-rays. The measurements are made in an unexplored energy range, so they provide new information which will help to solve the puzzle of how high energy radiation is generated."

The PoGO+ gondola developed by SSC containing the X-ray telescope and pointing system developed by DST Control. The PoGO+ flight team is lined up in the foreground. From left to right: Jan-Erik Stromberg (DST Control), Nagomi Uchida (Hiroshima Uni.), Christian Lockowandt (SSC), H.-G. Floren (Stockholm Uni.), Mark Pearce (KTH), Victor Mikhalev (KTH), Hiromitsu Takahashi (Hiroshima Uni.), Maxime Chauvin (KTH), Mette Friis (KTH), Takafumi Kawano (Hiroshima Uni.), Mozsi Kiss (KTH), Theodor-Adrian Stana (KTH). Credit: Mark Pearce, KTH

In 1054 CE, Chinese astronomers recorded the appearance of a new bright star on the sky - an event we now refer to as a supernova, or exploding star. The aftermath of this cataclysmic event was a rapidly rotating neutron star: the Crab pulsar, barely 15 km in diameter but with a mass equal to our solar system's Sun, surrounded by an expanding nebula of particles and radiation.

Neutron stars are a kind of ultra-dense zombie sun that forms when a star exhausts its fuel and collapses upon itself due to the force of its own gravity. If they were any denser, they'd be black holes.

Pearce says that while detecting the Crab's X-rays is routine business for research satellites, examining the polarisation of these emissionsthat is, the plane in which the radiation waves oscillateis new territory.

"Neutron stars are fascinating objects," Pearce says. "The Crab pulsar rotates around an axis 30 times per second producing flashes of X-rays  a sort of cosmic lighthouse. The X-rays arise from the acceleration of electrons in intense magnetic fields (10 trillion times stronger than the earth's magnetic field), up to energies typically a hundred times higher than obtainable at the LHC accelerator."

In the paper published in Scientific Reports on August 10th 2017, new light is shed on the pulsar through novel measurements conducted by a balloon-borne telescope, PoGO+ ("PoGO plus"), flown at the top of the atmosphere in summer 2016.

The flight path of the PoGO+ balloon. Credit: SSC

Just like visible light or radio waves, X-rays are electromagnetic and they can be polarised, or in other words, the electric field can oscillate in a specific plane. Usually, the polarisation cannot be measured by X-ray telescopes, so researchers miss out on some of the information carried by these X-ray messengers, Pearce says. The PoGO+ mission was developed specifically to measure the polarisation of X-rays from the Crab and other celestial bodies, with the aim of opening a new observational window on these objects.

Since X-rays are readily absorbed by the earth's atmosphere, observations need to take place high in the stratosphere. In the early hours of July 12 2016, an enormous, 1.1 million-cubic-metre helium balloon carrying a specially built telescope was released from the SSC Esrange Space Centre, near Kiruna in northern Sweden, to do just that.

The PoGO measurements are the first-made in the so-called "hard X-ray" band, covering the energy range 20-160 keV, and provide new data for Crab modeling. Results from the PoGO missions are the first from a dedicated X-ray polarimetry mission in more than 40 years. PoGO+ reveals that a relatively high fraction, 21 percent, of Crab X-rays are polarised even though observations encompassed both the pulsar and topologically complex nebula.

Pearce says that this indicates the X-rays originate from a compact region with a well-ordered magnetic field. "The angle of the polarisation plane is aligned to the rotation axis of the pulsar, as expected for electrons which generate X-rays through synchrotron processes while trapped in toroidal trajectories around the pulsar," he says. "By accurately determining the arrival time of X-rays, PoGO+ was able to distinguish between X-rays which originate from the nebula and pulsar."

The overall emission was found to be dominated by the nebula. Comparing the measured nebula polarisation angle with that measured at optical wavelengths also indicates that the emission site is associated with the torus  a donut shaped luminous structure in the inner part of the nebula. Pearce says that the lower polarisation angle seen for the pulsar is in line with results at optical wavelengths - an important confirmation that these more straight-forward measurements are a reasonable proxy for X-ray models.The PoGO+ polarisation results are compatible with those obtained in 2013 from the PoGOLite Pathfinder.

The consistency between these results may help to elucidate the cause of sudden increases in the Crab X-ray intensity which were recently observed. Such flares were unexpected for an object which was long considered to be a celestial standard candle for X-rays.

More information: M. Chauvin et al. Shedding new light on the Crab with polarized X-rays, Scientific Reports (2017). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-07390-7 Journal information: Scientific Reports
Venezuela has two other private mobile phone operators: Spanish-owned Movistar and Digitel

A massive cyberattack that took down government websites in Venezuela earlier this week also has left seven million mobile phone users without service, the government said Thursday.

A group that calls itself The Binary Guardians claimed responsibility for attacks that targeted the websites of the government, the supreme court and the National Assembly.

"These terrorist actions which affected the Movilnet's GSM platform on Wednesday left without communication seven of the state operator's 13 million users," Science and Technology Minister Hugbel Roa said.

Venezuela has two other private mobile phone operators: Spanish-owned Movistar and Digitel.

Roa said the outage was part of a wave of attacks that began Monday when dozens of government and private company websites were hacked.

Roa said there also have been nine cuts in the country's fiber optic network, which has cut off already precarious internet service to seven states.

"The attacks were carried out with the help of foreign agents, trying once again to disrupt our country's connectivity," Roa said, adding that an investigation was underway.

 2017 AFP
During the total solar eclipse, the Moon will turn off the ionosphere's source of extreme ultraviolet radiation: The ionosphere will go from daytime conditions to nighttime conditions. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Katy Mersmann

On Aug. 21, 2017, the Moon will slide in front of the Sun and for a brief moment, day will melt into a dusky night. Moving across the country, the Moon's shadow will block the Sun's light, and weather permitting, those within the path of totality will be treated to a view of the Sun's outer atmosphere, called the corona.

But the total solar eclipse will also have imperceptible effects, such as the sudden loss of extreme ultraviolet radiation from the Sun, which generates the ionized layer of Earth's atmosphere, called the ionosphere. This ever-changing region grows and shrinks based on solar conditions, and is the focus of several NASA-funded science teams that will use the eclipse as a ready-made experiment, courtesy of nature.

NASA is taking advantage of the Aug. 21 eclipse by funding 11 ground-based science investigations across the United States. Three of these will look to the ionosphere in order to improve our understanding of the Sun's relationship to this region, where satellites orbit and radio signals are reflected back toward the Earth.

"The eclipse turns off the ionosphere's source of high-energy radiation," said Bob Marshall, a space scientist at University of Colorado Boulder and principal investigator for one of the studies. "Without ionizing radiation, the ionosphere will relax, going from daytime conditions to nighttime conditions and then back again after the eclipse."

Stretching from roughly 50 to 400 miles above Earth's surface, the tenuous ionosphere is an electrified layer of the atmosphere that reacts to changes from both Earth below and space above. Such changes in the lower atmosphere or space weather can manifest as disruptions in the ionosphere that can interfere with communication and navigation signals.

"In our lifetime, this is the best eclipse to see," said Greg Earle, an electrical and computer engineer at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia, who is leading another of the studies. "But we've also got a denser network of satellites, GPS and radio traffic than ever before. It's the first time we'll have such a wealth of information to study the effects of this eclipse; we'll be drowning in data."

The Moon's shadow will dramatically affect insolation -- the amount of sunlight reaching the ground -- during the total solar eclipse. Credit: NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio

Pinning down ionospheric dynamics can be tricky. "Compared to visible light, the Sun's extreme ultraviolet output is highly variable," said Phil Erickson, a principal investigator of a third study and space scientist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Haystack Observatory in Westford, Massachusetts. "That creates variability in ionospheric weather. Because our planet has a strong magnetic field, charged particles are also affected along magnetic field lines all over the planetall of this means the ionosphere is complicated."

But when totality hits on Aug. 21, scientists will know exactly how much solar radiation is blocked, the area of land it's blocked over and for how long. Combined with measurements of the ionosphere during the eclipse, they'll have information on both the solar input and corresponding ionosphere response, enabling them to study the mechanisms underlying ionospheric changes better than ever before.

Tying the three studies together is the use of automated communication or navigation signals to probe the ionosphere's behavior during the eclipse. During typical day-night cycles, the concentration of charged atmospheric particles, or plasma, waxes and wanes with the Sun.

"In the daytime, ionospheric plasma is dense," Earle said. "When the Sun sets, production goes away, charged particles recombine gradually through the night and density drops. During the eclipse, we're expecting that process in a much shorter interval."

The denser the plasma, the more likely these signals are to bump into charged particles along their way from the signal transmitter to receiver. These interactions refract, or bend, the path taken by the signals. In the eclipse-induced artificial night the scientists expect stronger signals, since the atmosphere and ionosphere will absorb less of the transmitted energy.

"If we set up a receiver somewhere, measurements at that location provide information on the part of the ionosphere between the transmitter and receiver," Marshall said. "We use the receivers to monitor the phase and amplitude of the signal. When the signal wiggles up and down, that's entirely produced by changes in the ionosphere."

A layer of charged particles, called the ionosphere, surrounds Earth, extending from about 50 to 400 miles above the surface of the planet. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Duberstein

Using a range of different electromagnetic signals, each of the teams will send signals back and forth across the path of totality. By monitoring how their signals propagate from transmitter to receiver, they can map out changes in ionospheric density. The teams will also use these techniques to collect data before and after the eclipse, so they can compare the well-defined eclipse response to the region's baseline behavior, allowing them to discern the eclipse-related effects.

Probing the Ionosphere

The ionosphere is roughly divided into three regions in altitude based on what wavelength of solar radiation is absorbed: the D, E and F, with D being the lowermost region and F, the uppermost. In combination, the three experiment teams will study the entirety of the ionosphere.

Marshall and his team, from the University of Colorado Boulder, will probe the D-region's response to the eclipse with very low frequency, or VLF, radio signals. This is the lowest and least dense part of the ionosphereand because of that, the least understood.

"Just because the density is low, doesn't mean it's unimportant," Marshall said. "The D-region has implications for communications systems actively used by many military, naval and engineering operations."

Marshall's team will take advantage of the U.S. Navy's existing network of powerful VLF transmitters to examine the D-region's response to changes in solar output. Radio wave transmissions sent from Lamoure, North Dakota, will be monitored at receiving stations across the eclipse path in Boulder, Colorado, and Bear Lake, Utah. They plan to combine their data with observations from several space-based missions, including NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory and NASA's Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager, to characterize the effect of the Sun's radiation on this particular region of the ionosphere.

During typical day-night cycles, the ionosphere  shown in purple and not-to-scale in this image  waxes and wanes with the Sun. The total solar eclipse will cut off this regions source of ionizing radiation. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Duberstein

Erickson and team will look further up, to the E- and F-regions of the ionosphere. Using over 6,000 ground-based GPS sensors alongside powerful radar systems at MIT's Haystack Observatory and Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, along with data from several NASA space-based missions, the MIT-based team will also work with citizen radio scientists who will send radio signals back and forth over long distances across the path.

MIT's science team will use their data to track travelling ionospheric disturbanceswhich are sometimes responsible for space weather patterns in the upper atmosphereand their large-scale effects. These disturbances in the ionosphere are often linked to a phenomenon known as atmospheric gravity waves, which can also be triggered by eclipses.

"We may even see global-scale effects," Erickson said. "Earth's magnetic field is like a wire that connects two different hemispheres together. Whenever electrical variations happen in one hemisphere, they show up in the other."

Earle and his Virginia Tech-based team will station themselves across the country in Bend, Oregon; Holton, Kansas; and Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter, South Carolina. Using state-of-the-art transceiver instruments called ionosondes, they will measure the ionosphere's height and density, and combine their measurements with data from a nation-wide GPS network and signals from the ham radio Reverse Beacon Network. The team will also utilize data from SuperDARN high frequency radars, two of which lie along the eclipse path in Christmas Valley, Oregon, and Hays, Kansas.

"We're looking at the bottom side of the F-region, and how it changes during the eclipse," Earle said. "This is the part of the ionosphere where changes in signal propagation are strong." Their work could one day help mitigate disturbances to radio signal propagation, which can affect AM broadcasts, ham radio and GPS signals.

Ultimately, the scientists plan to use their data to improve models of ionospheric dynamics. With these unprecedented data sets, they hope to better our understanding of this perplexing region.

"Others have studied eclipses throughout the years, but with more instrumentation, we keep getting better at our ability to measure the ionosphere," Erickson said. "It usually uncovers questions we never thought to ask."
Credit: Northwestern University

Taiwan has faced water shortages for decades  and the Chicago area may face them within the next 20 years as aquifer levels for well water drop while Great Lakes water use is limited by an interstate compact.

As drought conditions worsen worldwide due to global warming, improved water conservation and efficiency systems become increasingly necessary. National Taiwan University (NTU), a prestigious research institution located in Taipei, is seeking to harness the power of the international science community here and globally to propel cities into a more sustainable future.

The Dragon Gate Program of National Taiwan University, in collaboration with Argonne National Laboratory west of Chicago, and Northwestern University are pioneering water reclamation and reuse technologies. One is a filtration systems that produce clean water from salt water or wastewater. The project is in its third year.

Yupo Lin, an electrochemical engineer at ANL, is leading the research team to scale up a filtration technology called Resin Wafer Electrodeionization (RW-EDI). The process purifies wastewater by pushing it through a series of porous ion exchange membranes with an electric field on either side. The result is an energy-efficient and economically viable approach to water reclamation, Lin said.

"We don't have many natural resources in Taiwan," said Lin. So far, the Argonne RW-EDI process has only been demonstrated as a pilot program. But the team hopes to soon create systems that can be used commercially and improve water efficiency on a large scale. Plans are underway to do just that.

"We're doing this research to solve problems that South Taiwan is facing," said postdoctoral fellow Ming-Huang Wang. "We want to create a versatile technology."

Wang works with the Carbon Cycle Research Center at NTU, but is now spending 10 months in the Energy Systems Division at ANL, where he is working with Lin on water reuse technologies that could be applied in Taiwan and elsewhere as water shortages spread due to climate change.

RW-EDI does not purify wastewater to the extent that it is drinkable. However, the brackish or semi-pure water that is extracted can still be used for numerous purposes.

"We tend to think that most of the water that's used is what people drink, but that's not true," said Aaron Packman, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Northwestern University. He is partnering with Lin, Argonne, and NTU on the RW-EDI project. "One of the strategies that we're looking at is to try to separate the drinking water from industrial water use," he said. The technology could remove compounds that are problematic for industry to produce water that can be used for cooling and other purposes.

"You don't have to treat water to drinking standards if it's going to be used for industrial purposes," said Packman, part of the Northwestern-Argonne Institute for Science and Engineering. "There are ways to be more efficient."

Because power plants are the largest consumers of water in the U.S., using more efficient sources for cooling water would have a significant impact on the water supply. It's hard to imagine that a place like Chicago, which sits right alongside Lake Michigan, could ever face water shortages, but estimates indicate that industrial and economic development could be limited in the city within the next 20 years. "If we find a way to reuse the wastewater that opens up a huge amount of new development potential," said Packman.

The NTU-ANL-NU partnership and the Dragon Gate Program have created opportunities for scientists from both institutions to contribute to technologies that could improve resource management, not just in Chicago and Taipei, but across the globe.

A consortium of global scientists will gather Aug. 5 and 6 at a conference hosted by NTU to explore opportunities for new international collaborations. The symposium isl focusing on clean water technologies, the vital links between urban food, energy and water supplies, and green infrastructure. Lin and Packman will be addressing these topics at the symposium, along with Seth Snyder, a mechanical engineering professor at Northwestern, and scientists from several institutions.

"We are aiming for integrated water-energy solutions including a mixture of technological innovation and integration of engineered systems with natural systems," said Packman. The collaboration between leading scientists in this field could produce the ingenuity that will allow cities to continue to function as resource scarcity becomes a more imminent threat.
Credit: NASA MichoudJ. Guidry

NASA's powerful Space Launch System rocket is a few steps closer to launching the Orion spacecraft now that its liquid propellant tanks are ready for testing.

Assembled by the world's largest robotic rocket welder at NASA's Michoud facility in New Orleans, USA, the liquid oxygen tank seen here is ready for qualification, while the remaining three tanks are being processed.

The tanks must prove they can do exactly what they were designed to do as well as pass structural testing. At NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, they will be strapped to the engines and fired to check their performance under launch conditions.

The liquid oxygen and hydrogen tanks hold over 2.6 million litres of propellant to power the rocket's core stage that is comprised of four RS-25 engines and two solid rocket boosters.

Every bit of that thrust will be needed to propel the Orion spacecraft beyond low orbit to the Moon and beyond, for which ESA is contributing the European Service Module (ESM).

Once in orbit, the ESM will provide the spacecraft with electricity, water, oxygen and nitrogen as well as temperature control. A propulsion qualification module is being tested at the White Sands Test Facility in the US.

NASA's uncrewed Exploration Mission-1 will be launched from the historic pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, sending Orion some 70 000 km beyond the Moon before it returns to Earth.
A school of sardines in Italy. Credit: Wikimedia / Alessandro Duci

Researchers at Newcastle University (UK) found that European sea bass experienced higher stress levels when exposed to the types of piling and drilling sounds made during the construction of offshore structures.

The fish also showed signs of being confused when they encountered a potential predator while exposed to these underwater noises. When researchers played recordings of piling sounds and mimicked an approaching predator, the seabass made more turns and failed to move away from the predator.

When exposed to drilling sounds the sea bass actively avoided these areas, spending more time in what the research team called the 'safe zone'.

The fish also took longer to recover from exposure to the underwater sounds.

Lead researcher Ilaria Spiga explained: "Over the last few decades, the sea has become a very noisy place. The effects we saw were subtle changes, which may well have the potential to disrupt the seabass's ability to remain 'in tune' with its environment.

"Sea bass, along with other bony fishes, rely on a characteristic 'startle and response' mechanism to get away from predators. Exposure to underwater noises can make it harder for fishes to detect and react to predators. It could also impair their own ability to detect food.

"Man-made marine noise could potentially have an adverse effect on reproduction also. If fishes actively avoid areas where these sounds are present it could prevent them from entering spawning grounds, or affect communication between individuals."

The researchers played recordings of drilling from the English Channel made during the installation of a new tidal barrage, while the sound of piling was taken from the construction of a new lifeboat station at Swansea Bay.

The piling was characterised by intense pulses of low frequency sound whereas the drilling was continuous noise. Both piling and drilling sounds overlap with the hearing range of sea bass and many other species of fish of 100 - 1000 Hz.

Offshore construction, shipping, and even some onshore activities can all add to ambient noise levels underwater.

Although noise is recognised as a pollutant by the European Union's Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), currently only applications for larger or more complex projects have to be registered with the UK government's Marine Noise Registry.

Now, the research team are calling for this to be expanded by proposing limits on the length of time that underwater drilling and piling can take place, or replacing piling with drilling, to give fish time to recover from the physiological changes that these noises induce.

More information: Ilaria Spiga et al, Anthropogenic noise compromises the anti-predator behaviour of the European seabass, Dicentrarchus labrax (L.), Marine Pollution Bulletin (2017). DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.06.067 Journal information: Marine Pollution Bulletin
Algae by-products can be processed into foodstuffs, green plastics and textiles, fertiliser, fine chemicals and renewable transport fuels. Credit: Lochlan de Beyer

Borrowing from Al Gore, it may be an "inconvenient truth" but the world is facing two massive global challenges  food and energy security.

By 2050 we will need to feed 10 billion people. That will require a 70 per cent increase in food production and a doubling of our energy supply, while decreasing our carbon footprint. Existing agricultural and industrial production systems are incapable of meeting these demands. Something radically different and incredibly efficient is needed right now.

Could algae farming be the answer?

A report released today by Australia21, an independent not-for-profit think tank, answers this question by predicting that algae farming will grow into a major new industry worth tens of millions of dollars to regional economies annually. Ultimately, it will become a multi-billion-dollar industry.

The report, "Opportunities for an expanded algal industry in Australia," came out of a roundtable, to which I was invited, to explore the opportunities that exist in Australia for an expanded algae industry. There was a real sense of excitement as the diverse group of 24, with expertise in science, policy and entrepreneurship gathered to explore the potential of algae farming.

As someone who has spent almost a lifetime studying algae, I was aware the participants appreciated the immense potential for the use of algae in a wide range of products and industries. Although the report acknowledges the industry is in its infancy, the recommendations about how to take algae farming mainstream are an important step in converting our excitement into progress.

Ahead of the meeting though, the big challenge was the seeming inability of Australian companies to establish something similar to the vibrant and dynamic suite of algal-based industries seen in Europe and the US. Apart from Australia's small population, and fewer small to medium business, there must be something more that has constrained growth. After all, this is a country with all the natural advantages required for algae farming. My question was: if the algae industry hadn't established itself over the past 30 years, why would it be any different now?

As the meeting progressed it became clear things have changed. I'm convinced that over the next two to five years we'll see a raft of enterprises across sectors ranging from agriculture to pharmaceuticals that will use algae both as a raw material and as a platform for new industries.

Why the lack of progress with small and medium businesses?

Like any new entrant, algae as a raw material must disrupt the status quo that often subsidises existing businesses and supply chains. The fact that algae is a sustainable, planet-friendly product doesn't help the financial bottom line  at this stage, at least. This is where the science, research and development, and entrepreneurship need to connect to improve the efficiencies along the algal production chain.

At the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) we are addressing the issue of connectivity with a recently funded NSW government initiative called the Deep Green Biotech Hub, where innovators, universities, business and government can meet. This catalyst for innovation has significantly increased the visibility of algal-based biotechnologies.

There was general agreement at the Australia21 roundtable that a roadmap is needed to articulate strategy with government and potential investors to demonstrate how algal farming can benefit Australia. Although algae-based biofuels may get us some way along the path to our goal, it's clear the production and extraction of high-value products for new industries will get us closer to our desired destination. That's a prospect that is both exciting and also within reach.

More information: Opportunities for an expanded algal industry in Australia: Report of a roundtable of stakeholders in the Algal industry. australia21.org.au/wp-content/  Australia-Report.pdf
Systematic records of sea levels began in the 19th century (links to Prince of Wales Island, Alaska). At the time, the objective was to create a standard for measuring elevations on land. Since the end of the 20th century, satellites (right) have been collecting sea level data which, in view of ongoing global warming, are of growing interest. Credit: NOAA, NASA

Every measurement starts at zero. This simple fact is anything but trivial when it comes to measuring geographic elevations, as opinions have long differed about how mean sea level should be defined. Sea level as a reference point changes not only with the tides but also differs depending on the location at which it is measured. The fact that global warming is causing changes in sea levels does not make matters any easier. At the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Wilko Hardenberg focuses on this variable reference and its history.

How high is the sea? At first sight, the answer appears simple: zero metres. About 200 years ago, efforts were undertaken to precisely determine this zero point, or, to be more accurate, an average value of the sea level as a reference. The first self-recording gauges were constructed in the UK around 1830. These measuring instruments were able to record water levels regularly over long periods, allowing a mean sea level to be calculated from the individual measurements. In 1831, British engineer John Augustus Lloyd proposed using the value as a reference point for measuring elevations. The idea came to him while he was calculating the height difference between London Bridge and Sheerness at the mouth of the Thames.

From the mid-19th century, several countries established their own network of self-recording gauges. From the data obtained, they calculated the mean sea level and began to use it as a zero point for geodesics. Wilko Hardenberg from the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science believes that those efforts were beset by uncertainties from the outset. The geographer and historian is researching the origin of reference values used today to determine anthropogenic environmental changes. "Actually, the sea is unreliable as reference point. It is in constant motion. By establishing a zero point, you are artificially defining a yardstick, a boundary between sea and land that is decoupled from actual conditions."

The shifting sea

It did not take long for reality to catch up with the surveyors. In the 1860s, metrologists in Central Europe joined forces with the aim of precisely determining longitudes and latitudes in Europe. At the suggestion of the Prussian military land surveyor Johann Jakob Baeyer, the Central European Arc Measurement Committee was set up and charged with the task of defining a common reference point for measuring elevations. "At that time, it was assumed that all the seas surrounding Europe had the same surface level," Hardenberg says. "People were confident that a common reference point could be easily determined. However, when precise national measurements were compared, significant differences between the data of the various countries became apparent."

Land below sea level on the Mediterranean

Long debates followed, but no agreement. The national reference points remained in place, and this arrangement was confirmed once again in the late 1920s. The differences in elevation are quite significant: The Amsterdam level was adopted by the German Empire in 1879. Austria settled on the level in Trieste in 1875, which is 34 centimetres lower. The Kronstadt level used by Eastern European countries, which was measured between 1825 and 1839, sets the zero point 14 centimetres above the Amsterdam standard, while the Ostend level determined in Belgium is 230 centimetres lower.

The European Union has been trying to agree on a common level since the 1990s. The Amsterdam level was chosen as the reference point for the European Vertical Reference System (EVRS)  rather arbitrarily according to Hardenberg. "The irony is that this level does not even define a mean sea level but rather a high water point." Moreover, the level was defined as early as in 1683/84, well before precision measurements were possible. "Because the Mediterranean is low-lying, some areas measure below zero level on the Amsterdam scale. That is precisely what countries want to avoid, which is why they are sticking to their own points of reference", the science historian explains. "And other reference systems exist anyway in the US and Canada."

Nowadays, sea level can be determined far more precisely with the help of satellite data. Of course, this does not solve the problem of standardization. Even differences in temperature and variations in salinity and continuous air and sea currents can result in differences of up to two metres.

Change in perspective from land to sea

Quite apart from the measurement of tall objects, the determination of sea level at the end of the 20th century has taken on new significance. Climate change has become central to research and also to the question of how global warming affects coastal water levels. In terms of sea level, this has shifted the scientific focus from land to water. The way in which this shift in perspective has occurred lies at the heart of Wilko Hardenberg's research project. "As a matter of fact, changes in mean sea level were investigated as early as in the 19th century," the science historian says. "At the time, however, they were not ascribed to a rise in water but to coastal subsidence. The first call to analyze sea level changes dates back to 1948."

Today, it is regarded as a fact that average sea levels have risen worldwide over the past 150 years. To determine the magnitude of the rise precisely, data from past centuries are invaluable. "It is important to know how the data were obtained," emphasizes Wilko Hardenberg.

The protracted debate about a common zero level has been eclipsed by the analysis of historical changes. Satellite data from the last 20 years show that sea levels vary greatly from region to region. Consequently, the focus is once again placed on regional levels. The first reliable data do not define a long-term average but rather a new zero point for research.
Lida Ajer cave - a small but well decorated front entrance. Credit: Julien Louys, Author provided

Modern humans were present in Southeast Asia about 20,000 years earlier than previously thought, according to new evidence published in Nature today.

An international research team led by Macquarie University applied new archaeological techniques to a longstanding question - were the human teeth discovered more than 120 years ago from Lida Ajer cave really modern human? The techniques allowed us to identify and date ancient human teeth from this Sumatran cave.

These teeth are the key to understanding when humans first travelled through the region, and provide the first evidence of modern humans in rainforests. It was a journey that eventually led humans to Australia.

An early discovery

The Lida Ajer cave, in the Padang Highlands of Sumatra, was originally excavated in the late 1880s by the Dutch scientist Eugene Dubois, who found two human teeth. He was already famous for finding "Java Man", the first evidence of a missing link between humans and other great apes.

But the evidence had been ignored when considering the path of human dispersal out of Africa and across to Asia, mostly because ofr doubts over the age and identification of the teeth.

Our study aimed to establish a solid age for the evidence and test whether the teeth did indeed belong to a modern human.

The hardest part was trying to find the cave site again, almost 120 years on from Dubois's excavation. We only had a sketch of the cave and a rough map from a copy of Dubois' original field notebook. It took myself, Rokus Awe Due from the Indonesian Centre for Archaeology, and many locals more than a week of constant searching.

We stumbled across the cave almost by accident. The minute I saw a large rock column in the entrance, I knew we had found the cave dug by Dubois many years earlier. It was important to find the cave again to sample the sediments in which the fossils were found. That way we could make sure that resulting age was reliable.

Lida Ajer modern human tooth (left top) with its corresponding scanned image (left bottom) compared to an orangutan tooth (right). Credit: Tanya Smith and Rokus Awe Due, Author provided

Dating the teeth

To establish the importance of this evidence we used advanced modern dating techniques and state-of-the-art imaging methods to confirm the age and identity of the teeth. These techniques would not have been available to Dubois.

The tooth analysis allowed us to look at the internal structure of the teeth, exposing the enamel thickness and the junctions between the enamel and dentine. These junctions are crucial for distinguishing modern human teeth from other ape teeth such as orangutans, and other much older human species.

We applied a range of different dating techniques (luminescence, uranium series and electron spin resonance dating) to improve the accuracy of the fossil age.

As the techniques measure different events, such as the last exposure to sunlight and the timing that cave rock deposits were laid down, any agreement between techniques indicates the resulting age is likely to be solid.

Our results indicate that the human teeth were laid down in the cave between 73,000 and 63,000 years ago, implying that modern humans were living on the landscape at that time.

A rainforest route

The evidence from the fossils in the cave suggests that the modern humans were living in a rainforest environment. This is surprising because the oldest previous evidence of rainforest use by modern humans in Southeast Asia was from 45,000 years ago.

This cave site, shown on the map above, is not within the accepted route of modern humans dispersing through this region, which is considered to be more to the east of Sumatra or closer to Borneo. It was thought that modern humans preferred a coastal route and yet we now have evidence of modern humans inland in western Sumatra.

Dubois field sketches of Lida Ajer cave location copied directly from his field notebook. His rough sketch of the cave location close to Payakumbuh village has annotations added to make the features clearer. Credit: Naturalis museum, the Netherlands/Kira Westaway

One of the co-authors on this study is Julien Louys, a palaeontologist currently at Griffith University. He said:

"Living in dense rainforests requires complex hunting technology and knowledge that the first humans out of Africa would not have possessed and yet we find evidence of modern humans in rainforests as soon as they arrived in Southeast Asia."

Perhaps the conditions at the coast were not suitable for survival? It's hard to imagine what the coast of Sumatra would have looked like. The sea level would have been between lower than today so this evidence would now be under water.

But we do know that surviving in a rainforest is difficult as it requires complex planning to find and secure enough food. The Lida Ajer evidence indicates that by at least 60,000 years ago, modern humans were capable of rising to this challenge.

And on to Australia

So what does this mean for the first Australians? If modern humans first arrived in Southeast Asia nearly 20,000 years earlier than previously accepted, then why did they wait until 60,000-50,000 years ago before crossing over to Australia, as was previously thought?

Our study suggests that modern humans could potentially have made the crossing earlier. Recent work from northern Australia confirms this to be true, with evidence that humans have been living in the Madjedbebe cave site as early as 65,000 years ago.

So were the first Australasians much quicker at getting from Africa to Asia, much better at adapting to new environments, and much better at exploring new areas than we previously thought?

This evidence seems to suggests so, and indicates that Southeast Asian caves may have many more surprises left to uncover.

More information: K. E. Westaway et al. An early modern human presence in Sumatra 73,00063,000 years ago, Nature (2017). DOI: 10.1038/nature23452 Journal information: Nature

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
Multiplexing, the ability to send multiple signals through a single channel, is a fundamental feature of any voice or data communication system. An international research team has demonstrated for the first time a method for multiplexing data carried on terahertz waves, high-frequency radiation that may enable the next generation of ultra-high bandwidth wireless networks. The image depicts of numerical simulation of terahertz waves being emitted from the new multiplexer device. Credit: Mittleman lab / Brown University

Multiplexing, the ability to send multiple signals through a single channel, is a fundamental feature of any voice or data communication system. An international research team has demonstrated for the first time a method for multiplexing data carried on terahertz waves, high-frequency radiation that may enable the next generation of ultra-high bandwidth wireless networks.

In the journal Nature Communications, the researchers report the transmission of two real-time video signals through a terahertz multiplexer at an aggregate data rate of 50 gigabits per second, approximately 100 times the optimal data rate of today's fastest cellular network.

"We showed that we can transmit separate data streams on terahertz waves at very high speeds and with very low error rates," said Daniel Mittleman, a professor in Brown's School of Engineering and the paper's corresponding author. "This is the first time anybody has characterized a terahertz multiplexing system using actual data, and our results show that our approach could be viable in future terahertz wireless networks."

Current voice and data networks use microwaves to carry signals wirelessly. But the demand for data transmission is quickly becoming more than microwave networks can handle. Terahertz waves have higher frequencies than microwaves and therefore a much larger capacity to carry data. However, scientists have only just begun experimenting with terahertz frequencies, and many of the basic components necessary for terahertz communication don't exist yet.

A system for multiplexing and demultiplexing (also known as mux/demux) is one of those basic components. It's the technology that allows one cable to carry multiple TV channels or hundreds of users to access a wireless Wi-Fi network.

The mux/demux approach Mittleman and his colleagues developed uses two metal plates placed parallel to each other to form a waveguide. One of the plates has a slit cut into it. When terahertz waves travel through the waveguide, some of the radiation leaks out of the slit. The angle at which radiation beams escape is dependent upon the frequency of the wave.

"We can put several waves at several different frequencieseach of them carrying a data streaminto the waveguide, and they won't interfere with each other because they're different frequencies; that's multiplexing," Mittleman said. "Each of those frequencies leaks out of the slit at a different angle, separating the data streams; that's demultiplexing."

Because of the nature of terahertz waves, signals in terahertz communications networks will propagate as directional beams, not omnidirectional broadcasts like in existing wireless systems. This directional relationship between propagation angle and frequency is the key to enabling mux/demux in terahertz systems. A user at a particular location (and therefore at a particular angle from the multiplexing system) will communicate on a particular frequency.

The video shows the researchers toggling between video signals by adjusting the angle of a receiver to match the angle at which signal is emitted from their multiplexing system. Credit: Mittleman Lab/Ducournau Lab/Brown University/CNRS/University of Lille

In 2015, Mittleman's lab first published a paper describing their waveguide concept. For that initial work, the team used a broadband terahertz light source to confirm that different frequencies did indeed emerge from the device at different angles.

While that was an effective proof of concept, Mittleman said, this latest work took the critical step of testing the device with real data.

Working with Guillaume Ducournau at Institut d'Electronique de Microelectronique et de Nanotechnologie, CNRS/University of Lille, in France, the researchers encoded two high-definition television broadcasts onto terahertz waves of two different frequencies: 264.7 GHz and 322.5 GHz. They then beamed both frequencies together into the multiplexer system, with a television receiver set to detect the signals as they emerged from the device. When the researchers aligned their receiver to the angle from which 264.7 GHz waves were emitted, they saw the first channel. When they aligned with 322.5 GHz, they saw the second.

Further experiments showed that transmissions were error-free up to 10 gigabits per second, which is much faster than today's standard Wi-Fi speeds. Error rates increased somewhat when the speed was boosted to 50 gigabits per second (25 gigabits per channel), but were still well within the range that can be fixed using forward error correction, which is commonly used in today's communications networks.

In addition to demonstrating that the device worked, Mittleman says the research revealed some surprising details about transmitting data on terahertz waves. When a terahertz wave is modulated to encode datameaning turned on and off to make zeros and onesthe main wave is accompanied by sideband frequencies that also must be detected by a receiver in order to transmit all the data. The research showed that the angle of the detector with respect to the sidebands is important to keeping the error rate down.

"If the angle is a little off, we might be detecting the full power of the signal, but we're receiving one sideband a little better than the other, which increases the error rate." Mittleman explained. "So it's important to have the angle right."

Fundamental details like that will be critical, Mittleman said, when it comes time to start designing the architecture for complete terahertz data systems. "It's something we didn't expect, and it shows how important it is to characterize these systems using data rather than just an unmodulated radiation source."

The researchers plan to continue developing this and other terahertz components. Mittleman recently received a license from the FCC to perform outdoor tests at terahertz frequencies on the Brown University campus.

"We think that we have the highest-frequency license currently issued by the FCC, and we hope it's a sign that the agency is starting to think seriously about terahertz communication," Mittleman said. "Companies are going to be reluctant to develop terahertz technologies until there's a serious effort by regulators to allocate frequency bands for specific uses, so this is a step in the right direction."
In this Oct. 19, 2016 file photo, a man fishes for salmon in the Snake River above the Lower Granite Dam in Washington state. A group that represents farmers says saving imperiled salmon in the largest river system in the Northwest U.S. is too costly and is turning to the Trump administration. The Columbia-Snake River Irrigators Association wants the government to convene a Cabinet-level committee known as the "God Squad" due to its authority to allow exemptions to the Endangered Species Act. (Jesse Tinsley /The Spokesman-Review via AP, File)

A group that represents farmers is calling the costs of saving imperiled salmon in the largest river system in the Pacific Northwest unsustainable and is turning to the Trump administration to sidestep endangered species laws.

The Columbia-Snake River Irrigators Association wants the government to convene a Cabinet-level committee with the power to allow exemptions to the Endangered Species Act. Known as the "God squad" because its decisions can lead to extinctions of threatened wildlife, it has only gathered three timesthe last 25 years ago during a controversy over spotted owl habitat in the Northwest.

The irrigators association is frustrated with court rulings it says favor fish over people, claiming the committee could end years of legal challenges over U.S. dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers and bring stability for irrigators, power generators and other businesses that rely on the water.

Environmental groups call the request a publicity stunt and say it could hurt fishing companies and others that rely on healthy runs of federally protected salmon and steelhead.

The association sees hope in a series of pro-industry environmental decisions by President Donald Trump. His administration has rescinded an Obama-era rule that would shield many small streams and other bodies of water from pollution and development, enacted policies to increase coal mining on federal lands and proposed giving Western states greater flexibility to allow development in habitat of sage grouse, a threatened bird.

Darryll Olsen, association board representative, said the irrigators requested the committee during former President Barack Obama's tenure but got nowhere. He said the Trump administration has been encouraging during talks, leading to a formal request last month for a meeting with Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke.

"What we're asking for is that the secretary give direction to the (Interior) Department to work with us to review the steps for implementing the God squad," Olsen said.

Zinke can gather the committee, which he would chair and would include other natural resource agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency. It also would include representatives from Washington state, Oregon, Idaho and Montana.

If five of the federal committee members agree, they could exempt U.S. agencies from Endangered Species Act requirements for one or more of the thirteen species of salmon and steelhead listed since the early 1990s.

In this 2013 file photo, the Ice Harbor Dam on the Snake River is seen from the air near Pasco, Wash. A group that represents farmers says saving imperiled salmon in the largest river system in the Northwest U.S. is too costly and is turning to the Trump administration. The Columbia-Snake River Irrigators Association wants the government to convene a Cabinet-level committee known as the "God Squad" due to its authority to allow exemptions to the Endangered Species Act. (Bob Brawday /The Tri-City Herald via AP, File)

The irrigators group, which has 120 members growing food crops in Washington state and Oregon, expects to meet with Zinke soon, Olsen said.

Interior spokeswoman Heather Swift said in an email that the agency could not comment on a committee that had not been formed and that she had no information about Zinke's meetings.

Joseph Bogaard, executive director of a coalition of conservation, commercial, sport fishing and business groups called Save Our Wild Salmon, blasted the irrigation association's request.

"It's a terrible idea that will deliver great harm to the people and businesses of the Pacific Northwest," said Bogaard, whose coalition relies on the fish to produce millions of dollars of revenue.

A federal judge ruled last year that the government had not done enough to improve salmon runs despite spending billions of dollars and urged it to consider removing four dams on the lower Snake River.

Todd True, a lawyer with the environmental law firm Earthjustice who represented some plaintiffs in that 2016 ruling, said the God squad request should go nowhere.

"There isn't any basis to convene the committee because there are reasonable alternatives to save the fish," he said, pointing to the dam removal option. "Their removal would be a big step forward."

This year, fish counts at dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers have been well below the 10-year average, which biologists blame on droughts in 2014 and 2015 and warming ocean conditions.

Various results have emerged the three times the God squad has convened. It refused to grant an exemption for a Tennessee dam in the 1970s over a fish called the snail darter. Regarding crane protection in the Midwest, a settlement was reached before the panel offered a decision.

In 1992, it voted to sidestep protections for the northern spotted owl and allow the Interior Department to sell timber on land in Oregon.

 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Figure 1. Zipfian distribution of the frequency (vertical axes) and the rank in the frequency table (horizontal axes) of the first hundred words of Melvilles Moby Dick. The line was predicted by Zipfs law, and the dots depict the actual word frequencies in the text. Credit: Radboud University

Did you know that in every language, the most frequent word occurs twice as often as the second most frequent word? This phenomenon called 'Zipf's law' is more than one century old, but until now, scientists have not been able to elucidate it exactly. Sander Lestrade, a linguist at Radboud University in The Netherlands, proposes a new solution to this notorious problem in PLOS ONE.

Zipf's law describes how the frequency of a word in natural language, is dependent on its rank in the frequency table. So the most frequent word occurs twice as often as the second most frequent word, three times as often as the subsequent word, and so on until the least frequent word (see Figure 1). The law is named after the American linguist George Kingsley Zipf, who was the first who tried to explain it around 1935.

Biggest mystery in computational linguistics

"I think it's safe to say that Zipf's law is the biggest mystery in computational linguistics," says Sander Lestrade, linguist at Radboud University in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. "In spite of decades of theorizing, its origins remain elusive." Lestrade now shows that Zipf's law can be explained by the interaction between the structure of sentences (syntax) and the meaning of words (semantics) in a text. Using computer simulations, he was able to show that neither syntax or semantics suffices to induce a Zipfian distribution on its own, but that syntax and semantics 'need' each other for that.

"In the English language, but also in Dutch, there are only three articles, and tens of thousands of nouns," Lestrade explains. "Since you use an article before almost every noun, articles occur way more often than nouns." But that is not enough to explain Zipf's law. "Within the nouns, you also find big differences. The word 'thing', for example, is much more common than 'submarine', and thus can be used more frequently. But in order to actually occur frequently, a word should not be too general either. If you multiply the differences in meaning within word classes, with the need for every word class, you find a magnificent Zipfian distribution. And this distribution only differs a little from the Zipfian ideal, just like natural language does, as you can see in Figure 1."

Not only are predictions based on Lestrades new model completely consistent with phenomena found in natural language, his theory also holds for almost every language in the world, not only for English or Dutch. Lestrade: "I am overjoyed with this finding, and I am convinced of my theory. Still, its confirmation must come from other linguists."

More information: Sander Lestrade et al. Unzipping Zipf's law, PLOS ONE (2017). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0181987 Journal information: PLoS ONE
Meet with Partner Tech, the Intelligent Solution Provider at RSPAs #RetailNOW

Stop by Booth #325 to learn more about Partner Techs ground breaking up to 5 year warranty and our newest retail solutions

Irvine, CA  August 3, 2017  Partner Tech, a Qisada, company, invites value-added resellers (VARs) and other solutions providers attending RSPA RetailNOW to learn how they can grow their businesses with intelligent point of sale (POS) solutions. Partner Techs products work with electronic shelf labels (ESL), digital signage, and product image recognition to enable VARs retail and restaurant clients to begin benefitting from the Internet of Things (IoT) today. Moreover, Partner Techs intelligent solutions give a competitive edge to the VARs who provide them.

Partner Tech is scheduling demos and meetings in their Booth #325 at RetailNOW, August 6-9, 2017 at the Paris Hotel and Casino is Las Vegas, Nevada, and will have several new POS hardware solutions on hand including:

SP-1060: This high-end POS terminal delivers high computing power and is available in IoT Ready and IoT Advanced models. The future-proof SP-1060 also gives retailers the ability to scale and add new functionality.

SP-5514: This compact, modern all-in-one touchscreen terminal gives merchants advanced POS functionality almost anywhere. The aesthetic SP-5514 works with even the most stylish decor.

EM-300: Partner Techs EM-300 enterprise tablet delivers powerful mobile POS technology for retail and restaurant applications. Its a high-performance, rugged tablet for mobile POS, or add Partner Techs POS base and peripherals for use as a countertop terminal.

Partner Tech also invites VARs to learn more about its ground-breaking up to 5-year warranty on its newest products.

Schedule an appointment for a demo in Booth #325 to experience the power and quality behind Partner Techs products: https://www.partnertechcorp.com/rspa-appointment/

About Partner Tech

Partner Tech Corporation, a Qisda company, is a manufacturer of PC-based, open architecture point of sale (POS) terminals and peripherals, acclaimed as some of the best systems and solutions in the industry. A pioneer in the POS industry, Partner Tech developed many worldwide firsts including the first all-in-one POS with an integrated printer, the first POS with mobility, and the first POS base to expand enterprise tablet functionality for retail use, and continues with R&D to help the retail industry move into the future. For more information, visit http://partnertechcorp.com/ or contact Sandra@partnertechcorp.com



Other Point of Sale news of interest:
The following companies are subsidiares of Cigna: Accredo Health Group, Accredo Health Incorporated, Alegis Care, Allegiance Life & Health Insurance Company, Allegiance Re, American Retirement Life Insurance Company, Benefits Management Corp., Bravo Health Mid-Atlantic, Bravo Health Pennsylvania, Brighter, CareAllies, CareCore National LLC, Central Reserve Life Insurance Company, Ceres Sales of Ohio, Choicelinx, Cigna & CMB Life Insurance Company Limited, Cigna Apac Holdings Limited, Cigna Arbor Life Insurance Company, Cigna Beechwood Holdings, Cigna Behavioral Health, Cigna Behavioral Health of California, Cigna Behavioral Health of Texas, Cigna Bellevue Alpha, Cigna Benefits Financing, Cigna Brokerage & Marketing (Thailand) Limited, Cigna Cedar Holdings, Cigna Chestnut Holdings, Cigna Corporate Services, Cigna Data Services (Shanghai) Company Limited, Cigna Dental Health, Cigna Dental Health Plan of Arizona, Cigna Dental Health of California, Cigna Dental Health of Colorado, Cigna Dental Health of Delaware, Cigna Dental Health of Florida, Cigna Dental Health of Illinois, Cigna Dental Health of Kansas, Cigna Dental Health of Kentucky, Cigna Dental Health of Maryland, Cigna Dental Health of Missouri, Cigna Dental Health of New Jersey, Cigna Dental Health of North Carolina, Cigna Dental Health of Ohio, Cigna Dental Health of Pennsylvania, Cigna Dental Health of Texas, Cigna Dental Health of Virginia, Cigna Elmwood Holdings, Cigna Europe Insurance Company S.A.-N.V., Cigna European Services (UK) Limited, Cigna Finans Emeklilik ve Hayat A.S., Cigna Global Holdings, Cigna Global Insurance Company Limited, Cigna Global Reinsurance Company, Cigna Global Wellbeing Holdings Limited, Cigna Global Wellbeing Solutions Limited, Cigna HLA Technology Services Company Limited, Cigna Health Corporation, Cigna Health Management, Cigna Health Solutions India Pvt. Ltd., Cigna Health and Life Insurance Company, Cigna HealthSpring, Cigna Healthcare Holdings, Cigna Healthcare Mid-Atlantic, Cigna Healthcare of Arizona, Cigna Healthcare of California, Cigna Healthcare of Colorado, Cigna Healthcare of Connecticut, Cigna Healthcare of Florida, Cigna Healthcare of Georgia, Cigna Healthcare of Illinois, Cigna Healthcare of Indiana, Cigna Healthcare of Maine, Cigna Healthcare of Massachusetts, Cigna Healthcare of New Hampshire, Cigna Healthcare of New Jersey, Cigna Healthcare of North Carolina, Cigna Healthcare of Pennsylvania, Cigna Healthcare of South Carolina, Cigna Healthcare of St. Louis, Cigna Healthcare of Tennessee, Cigna Healthcare of Texas, Cigna Healthcare of Utah, Cigna Holding Company, Cigna Holdings, Cigna Holdings Overseas, Cigna Hong Kong Holdings Company Limited, Cigna Insurance Middle East S.A., Cigna Insurance Public Company Limited, Cigna Insurance Services (Europe) Limited, Cigna Intellectual Property, Cigna International Corporation, Cigna International Health Services, Cigna International Health Services BVBA, Cigna International Health Services Kenya Limited, Cigna International Health Services SDN BHD, Cigna International Services, Cigna International Services Australia Pty. Ltd., Cigna Investment Group, Cigna Investments, Cigna Korean Chusik Hoesa, Cigna Laurel Holdings, Cigna Legal Protection UK Ltd., Cigna Life Insurance Company of Canada, Cigna Life Insurance Company of Europe S.A.- N.V., Cigna Life Insurance Company of New York, Cigna Life Insurance New Zealand Limited, Cigna Linden Holdings, Cigna Magnolia Holdings, Cigna Myrtle Holdings, Cigna Nederland Alpha Cooperatief U.A., Cigna Nederland Beta B.V., Cigna Nederland Gamma B.V., Cigna Oak Holdings, Cigna Palmetto Holdings, Cigna Poplar Holdings, Cigna Sequoia Holdings, Cigna Spruce Holdings GmbH, Cigna Taiwan Life Assurance Company Limited, Cigna Walnut Holdings, Cigna Willow Holdings, Cigna Worldwide General Insurance Company Limited, Cigna Worldwide Insurance Company, Cigna Worldwide Life Insurance Company Limited, CignaTTK Health Insurance Company Limited, Connecticut General Corporation, Connecticut General Life Insurance Company, CuraScript Inc., E-2 CIGNA CORPORATION - 2018 Form 10-K, ESI Mail Pharmacy Service Inc., ESI Partnership, ESI Resources Inc., Express Scripts Holding Company, Express Scripts Inc., Express Scripts Pharmaceutical LLC, Express Scripts Pharmacy Inc., Express Scripts Strategic Development Inc., FirstAssist Administration Limited, Firstassist Insurance Services Ltd, Great-West Healthcare of Illinois, Grown Ups New Zealand Limited, Health-Lynx LLC, HealthSource, HealthSpring, HealthSpring Life & Health Insurance Company, HealthSpring of Alabama, HealthSpring of Florida, HealthSpring of Tennessee, KDM Thailand Limited, LINA Financial Services, LINA Life Insurance Company of Korea, Life Insurance Company of North America, Loyal American Life Insurance Company, MCC Independent Practice Association of New York, Manipal Cigna Health Insurance Company Limited, Medco Containment Life Insurance Company, Medco Health Services Inc., Medco Health Solutions Inc., NewQuest, NewQuest Management Northeast, Olympic Health Management Services, Oz Parent, PT Asuransi Cigna, Provident American Life and Health Insurance Company, Qualcare, Qualcare Alliance Networks, Qualcare Captive Insurance Company Inc. PCC, Qualcare Management Resources Limited Liability Company, RHP (Thailand) Limited, Scibal Associates, Sterling Life Insurance Company, Tel-Drug, Tel-Drug of Pennsylvania, Temple Insurance Company Limited, United Benefit Life Insurance Company, Verity Solutions Group, Zurich Insurance Middle East, and eviCore 1 LLC.

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PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Southeast Asian countries are "not happy" with North Korea's missile tests, Cambodia's foreign minister said on Wednesday, calling them a threat to regional security. The comments come as tension grows between Washington and Pyongyang. U.S. President Donald Trump warned on Tuesday that North Korea would face "fire and fury" if it threatened the United States, provoking a riposte that the North was examining a plan to fire missiles at the U.S.-held Pacific island of Guam. Trump's warning comes as U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson visits countries in Asia, where he attended a regional meeting in Manila at the weekend and urged Southeast Asia to cut back on ties with North Korea. In Phnom Penh, Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn said he called on the North to soften its stance during a meeting with its foreign minister, Ri Yong Ho, in Manila. "We sent a message to them that all ASEAN countries are not happy with the actions of North Korea that still continue to violate the United Nations resolution," he told reporters, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. "It's an insult to the international community as a whole, and it's a threat to peace and stability of the region." Cambodia is a key regional ally of China, which this week said it would pay the biggest price from new United Nations sanctions against North Korea because of its close economic ties with the country. Cambodia has previously made clear it will not back any further nuclear development efforts by North Korea. (Reporting by Prak Chan Thul; Editing by Amy Sawitta Lefevre and Clarence Fernandez)
A Cambodian political analyst was jailed for 18 months on Thursday for accusing prime minister Hun Sen's ruling party of having a hand in the murder of prominent government critic. Kem Ley was gunned down in July last year while drinking coffee outside a petrol station in the capital in a brazen daylight murder that sent a tremor through civil society groups. A former soldier, who calls himself "Meet to Kill", was sentenced to life imprisonment in March for the killing. Political analyst Kim Sok was charged with defamation and inciting unrest for comments in a radio interview suggesting links between the ruling Cambodia People's Party and the shooting. The complaint was brought by Cambodia's strongman premier Hun Sen who has ruled the country for over three decades. A Phnom Penh court on Thursday found Kim Sok guilty of the charges and sentenced him to 18 months in prison, ordering him to pay $200,000 in compensation to the ruling party. Kim Sok's comments could have ignited anger among the public "that would lead to chaos in the society", Judge Ky Rithy said. A defiant Kim Sok refused to stand up before the judge, prompting four prison guards to force him to his feet. He also demanded a re-trial, yelling "I don't respect a scarecrow judge." Hun Sen is renowned for using Cambodia's pliant courts to tie-up his critics -- including activists and the opposition party, which is hoping to oust him in elections next year. Some 27 political prisoners have been thrown in jail since 2013 with dozens of ongoing prosecutions against others, according to a tally by Amnesty International. Hun Sen, one of the world's longest serving leaders, portrays himself as a premier who has brought growth and stability to an impoverished country ravaged by decades of war. But many Cambodians, especially the young and city-dwellers, say corruption, inequality and rights abuses have flourished under his watch, raising the prospect of a tight general election next year.
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - After nearly six years as a hostage of the Al Qaeda group in Mali, South African tourist Stephen McGowan said he would keep the beard that brushes his chest when he bows to speak into the microphone. McGowan was released last month after being kidnapped, along with four other foreigners, while touring Mali on motorbikes. One, a German, was killed in the kidnapping. A Dutch hostage was freed in 2015 in a raid by French special forces and a Swede was released in June this year. "I'll probably keep the beard. I see all of my friends are growing them. They've become funky," McGowan told a conference on Thursday. Recently discharged from hospital after a week in observation and treatment for numerous minor ailments, McGowan, flanked by his widower father and his wife, shyly recalled details of ordeal. "I don't believe they knew my nationality. It would have been first prize for them if I was British," McGowan said. "They kidnapped me just because I was non-Muslim." He eventually converted to from Catholicism to Islam, and said that this made his stay easier. South Africa's government said no ransom was paid to secure his release. Gift of the Givers, the organisation that acted as intermediaries between Al Qaeda and government, said on Thursday McGowan had been released on compassionate grounds. McGowan said he was driven across remote stretches of the Sahara in the back of utility truck with other hostages, and housed in a grass hut, handcuffed and blindfolded for long periods. He was told on a the drive home his mother had passed away. (Reporting by Mfuneko Toyana; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)
By Dahlia Nehme and John Davison BEIRUT (Reuters) - After fighting against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for six years, rebel soldier Abu Mohammed laid down his arms as part of a peace deal in his home town of Moadamiya last year. But he has now fled Syria into Turkey. His reason: the Syrian army told him to report for duty and he feared being sent to his death fighting his former allies or Islamic State. "We're tired of war and bloodshed, we've had as much as we can take," Abu Mohammed said in a phone interview from Turkey. The 27-year-old, who declined to give his full name, said he had signed onto the peace deal in Moadamiya, a Damascus suburb that was a rebel stronghold until last year. He said he had been told the Moadamiya agreement would exempt him from frontline duty. "We stayed in the town on that basis." But this spring, he heard that men from Moadamiya had been conscripted not to serve locally but to fight for the government against rebel soldiers. "People began to get worried," he said, adding that he left after the army gave him 48 hours to report for military service. Reuters could not independently verify the account of other soldiers from Moadamiya being taken to fight on front lines, but it echoed that of a second former rebel from Moadamiya. Declining to be named, he said defectors were being sent to the front lines in breach of agreements communicated to them verbally by what is officially termed a "reconciliation committee", consisting of officials and local representatives of a defeated area. The government minister responsible for local agreements, Ali Haidar, denied the state had broken any commitments in Moadamiya, saying accusations it had were being promoted by foreign states and rebels "annoyed" by the agreements. He said many former rebels had joined the army, and hundreds had been "martyred in the front lines against terrorism". The rapid succession of agreements in former rebel strongholds near Damascus such as Daraya, Qudsaya and al-Tal underline how far the scales have tipped in Assad's favour in the war that spiralled out of protests against his rule in 2011. It is part of a dramatic reversal of fortunes for Assad since 2015, aided militarily by Russia and Iran. Fear of conscription has been a major sticking point in the local agreements, a diplomatic source said, helping to encourage residents to leave for rebel-held areas of northern Syria in what Assad's opponents call a policy of forced displacement. The government has given safe passage to thousands of rebels and civilians out of government-held territory under the deals. Syrian officials say people are free to choose whether to go or stay put and that the deals are designed to secure peace and restore state services and authority to recaptured areas. DEEP SCARS After crushing centres of rebellion in the big cities of western Syria, the Syrian government has brokered agreements with many areas that were once in the hands of rebel fighters. As part of these deals, rebels have the choice of taking safe passage to territory held by insurgents in northern Syria. They can also stay behind on condition that they hand over guns and sign a pledge to never take up arms against the state. Syrian law states that all men must complete 20 months of military service once they turn 18, a term that can be extended in wartime. It does not apply to men who have no brothers. The Syrian military has long been seen as overstretched in the war, leaving the government heavily dependent on Iran-backed Shi'ite militia allies from across the region in its fight against rebel areas in western Syria and Islamic State militants to the east. The former rebels fear being sent as cannon fodder. In the case of Moadamiya, where the deal was finalised in September, conscription was meant to be confined to local areas, according to diplomatic and humanitarian sources and local officials involved in the talks. The psychological scars of Syrias seven-year old conflict run particularly deep in Moadamiya. The area was one of several near Damascus targeted by chemical weapons in 2013. The West blamed the government for the attack which used sarin gas. Damascus denied any role. The local agreement for the area resulted in hundreds of rebel fighters and their families being evacuated to Idlib. Others, like Abu Mohammed, decided to remain behind and turn in their weapons. IN HIDING As part of the agreement, the Syrian state flag was raised again over government buildings in Moadamiya. Restrictions on movement in and out of the area - which is still surrounded by the army - were eased. There is no longer any armed presence inside the town, even from the government side, according to several residents and former opposition activists contacted by Reuters. Yet the second former rebel contacted by Reuters by phone said he and around 100 others there had gone into hiding, fearing enlistment to a front line where he might be killed. "The defectors are now stuck in Moadamiya, they won't leave," said the former rebel, who defected to the rebellion in 2012 during his military service and who refused to give his name for fear of discovery. He said he was recently summoned to a meeting where defectors were threatened with arrest if they did not show up for duty. "Some of them joined up, others didn't," he said. "I thought of leaving, but my financial situation is very bad," he said, adding that he would need to pay people smugglers $2,600 to get out Syria. "I can't think of anything now. I have nothing to think about, I have no dreams or a future." Abu Mohammed said he was smuggled out to Turkey with the help of friends in rebel-held Idlib in northern Syria. He said he had sold his house in Moadamiya to finance his passage. A 50-year-old man whose two eldest sons face conscription said in a separate telephone interview that they needed "psychological preparation" if they were to return to the army. "For a young man who not that long ago was fighting the regime, after six years of war - if you now make him join the side he was fighting against, this is a problem," said the man, who gave his name as Mahmoud. Haidar, the minister for national reconciliation, said the terms of reconciliation deals grant former militants and men who abandoned military service six months before conscription once their "legal status is settled". Former fighters in many areas had expressed a desire to join local security units operating under government supervision to safeguard their areas as part of the reconciliation agreements, Haidar said in written answers to questions from Reuters. The state had no objection to this, he said, without saying whether it had been offered to defectors as an alternative to frontline duty. (Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Philippa Fletcher)
A Swede who was held hostage by Al-Qaeda in Mali for more than five years before being freed in June said Thursday he was opposed to ransoms being paid in kidnapping cases. Johan Gustafsson, 42, told reporters he did not know why his captors had chosen to release him but he hoped his government was telling the truth when it said its policy was not to pay ransoms. "Personally, I think it's wrong. It puts other people in danger... It's so much money that ... has a tremendous effect. They can use that money in their war machinery," Gustafsson said of jihadists, in his first press conference since returning to Sweden on June 26. Gustafsson was abducted by Al-Qaeda's North African affiliate Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in Timbuktu, northern Mali, in November 2011 along with South African national Stephen McGown and Dutchman Sjaak Rijke. Rijke was freed in April 2015 by French special forces, and McGown was released on July 29 this year. AQIM was one of several jihadist groups that took control of Mali's north in 2012 before being ousted by a French-led military operation launched in January 2013. The group had released several videos of the hostages over the years, but little was known about the kidnappers' demands. Few details have emerged about how Gustafsson's release was secured. Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom said it was the result of "several years of efforts" by police, politicians, diplomats and Swedish and international authorities. Gustafsson said he did not know of any negotiations but had been driven out of the desert by his captors before being handed over to "teary-eyed" Swedish police, who then escorted him home.
Turkish authorities on Thursday detained a Russian suspected member of the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group for allegedly plotting a drone attack on an American warplane at a US base in southern Turkey. State-run Anadolu news agency said that Renat Bakiev is accused of seeking to stage an attack at "the Incirlik airbase or a plane stationed there". Quoting local police, it said that "for this purpose, he worked to obtain a drone". Dogan news agency added that Bakiev is suspected of seeking to "stage a bomb attack aiming to bring down a US plane using a drone" at the Incirlik airbase. He allegedly carried out reconnaissance work for the plot, both reports said, without giving further details on how the plan would have been put in place. Anadolu further reported the suspect had asked fellow IS members through the Telegram messaging app for 2,800 lira ($790) in order to buy the drone. The Russian embassy in Ankara said in a statement it was "carrying out the necessary work to understand what happened and make clear the circumstances" The United States uses Incirlik, in Adana province, as a key base for air strikes against the IS jihadists in neighbouring Syria. Bakiev also is suspected of carrying out preparations for a plot to attack a centre of the Alevi religious minority -- an offshoot of the Shia sect of Islam -- in Adana city, Dogan reported. Bakiev was detained in Adana, it said. A court later remanded him in custody ahead of trial. Anadolu also reported claims that Bakiev had been to Syria to fight with IS and had sought to stage an attack against American forces there, but without success. Images showed the suspect -- clean shaven and wearing an orange T-shirt -- being led to a medical check by two Turkish policemen after his arrest. Turkey was hit in 2016 by a succession of attacks that left hundreds dead in the bloodiest year of terror strikes in its history. The attacks were blamed on IS jihadists who had taken swathes of territory in neighbouring Syria and Iraq as well as the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) who have battled the Turkish state in an over three-decade insurgency. Thirty-nine people were killed, mainly foreigners in a gun attack by an jihadist gunman on an elite nightclub in Istanbul just 75 minutes into New Year's Day in 2017. There has since been a lull in similar attacks, but tension and high security remain in big cities. Turkish security forces have frequently detained Russians -- especially residents of the mainly Muslim northern Caucasus -- in raids against IS suspects in Istanbul. Several Russians have been arrested over the triple suicide bombing and gun attack on Istanbul's main international airport in June last year blamed on IS. The trial is due to get start on November 13.
Josh and Benny Safdie, young filmmaking brothers from New York City, make handcrafted low-budget movies that are clearly indebted to the independent giants of the 60s and 70s: Martin Scorsese, John Cassavetes, even Albert Maysles (whose influence can be seen in their one documentary to date, Lenny Cooke). The Safdies prefer handheld or traveling cameras, overlapping dialogue, and guerilla-style shoots that incorporate their characters into everyday life on the street.

Critics often describe the Safdie brothers films as jagged or rough, though theres a high degree of forethought (sometimes a tad too much for my taste) behind every aesthetic choice. With their last three feature films, though, the brothers have been hitting their stride. 2010s Daddy Longlegs was an unsparing semi-autobiographical glimpse at a childhood with a manic and irresponsible father. In 2014s Heaven Knows What, they cast the author of a heroin-addiction memoir as herself, to powerful and grim effect. Now this years Good Time, the closest thing the brothers have yet made to an action thriller, makes excellent use of their particular shooting style, which could itself be described as displaying symptoms of mania. Over the course of a day, a night, and part of the next day, we followor struggle to keep up withlow-level scam artist and would-be bank robber Constantine Connie Nikas (Robert Pattinson) as he hurtles around Queens in search of $10,000 to bail out his mentally disabled brother. Nick Nikas (Benny Safdie) is being held in jail for reasons that are entirely Connies fault. Whether out of guilt or worry for his defenseless younger siblingwho, its implied, has suffered abuse at the hands of the grandmother with whom he livesConnie swears not to go home until he has conjured up that bail money, by hook or (as turns out to be the case) by crook.

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The final shot provides a welcome moment of emotional release in this unremittingly fast-paced chase movie.

In the course of this journey, Connie will start out with bad ideas (like bank robbing) and move on to truly terrible ones, each hasty decision a flawed attempt to fix damages caused by the last. After Nick gets beaten up in jail and taken to a nearby hospital, Connie manages to smuggle his unconscious body out in a wheelchaironly to discover beneath the patients heavy face bandages that hes rescued the wrong man. Instead of his unfairly jailed brother, Connie is saddled with Ray (played by Heaven Knows What actor Buddy Duress, who actually missed that films premiere while jailed at Rikers Island), a surly alcoholic whos fresh out of prison himself and has no intention of going back. The two of them hatch a plan to sell a stash of homemade LSD Ray knows about. (Its hidden, a touch too cinematically, inside an amusement park haunted house called Romance Apocalypse.) Along with Crystal (Taliah Webster), a 16-year-old girl whose grandmothers car theyve commandeered for this mission, Connie and Ray set out to recover the drug stash, sell the contents, and split the cash.

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Connies reckless, driven energy finds its equivalent in Sean Price Williams mobile yet steady-handed cinematography, which creates ever-shifting frames in which these permanently off-balance characters bounce and collide. The electronic score, by Oneohtrix Point Never, is both unusually omnipresent and unusually avant-gardesounding for a movie of such otherwise naturalistic style. This counterpoint between music and image is mostly effective though a few momentslike a car pulling up to a White Castle to the sound of anxious, discordant plinks and boomsstrike an overly self-conscious and needlessly manipulative note. (The visual equivalent to this moment is a scene at the amusement park that takes place in black light. The closed-down erotic-themed haunted house was creepy enough, guys.)

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This story about white working-class men on the run also includes two secondary but pivotal characters of color: the adolescent girl who joins Connie and Ray on their joyless joyride, and a security guard (Barkhad Abdi) who attempts to apprehend them inside the black-light funhouse. Though theres no overt commentary regarding the racial divide that separates these characters from their white counterparts, a lot is expressed in the long last look that passes between Pattinsons Connie and Crystal, the black teenager whowithout revealing too muchreceives worse treatment at the hands of the cops they encounter than Connies bleach-blond, sweet-talking self. The final shot, tooa long close-up on Pattinson in which we see him finally taking in the enormity of human damage his night has wroughtprovides a welcome moment of emotional release in this unremittingly fast-paced chase movie.

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When Pattinson was the favorite to win Best Actor at Cannes for this performance, an award he eventually lost to Joaquin Phoenix in Lynne Ramsays You Were Never Really Here, there was widespread surprise expressed that the inert hunk of the Twilight franchise had matured into an inventive actor capable of and willing to take on challenges. Having already admired Pattinsons post-vampire work in David Cronenbergs Cosmopolis and elsewhere, I wasnt surprised to see him kill it in this role as a shambling antihero in the Dog Day Afternoon mode. With this movie, both Pattinson and the Safdie brothers have broken new ground in their careers; if you havent been keeping track of what either of them is up to, Good Time would be a good time to start.
On June 16, 2015, Donald Trump announced his bid for the presidency of the United States with what back then constituted a shocking statement. When Mexico sends its people, theyre not sending their best, he said. Theyre bringing drugs. Theyre bringing crime. Theyre rapists. And some, I assume, are good people. The outrage poured in quickly. Leaders in the Republican field vehemently denounced their fellow candidate and major corporationsincluding NBC, which broadcast his reality TV series Celebrity Apprenticecut ties with Trump.

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He did not back down. That same month, Trump told CNNs Jake Tapper that people coming into the United States from all over  are killers and rapists. He also threw in an additional claim, declaring, Public reports routinely state great amounts of crime are being committed by illegal immigrants.

This is not true. Study after study shows undocumented immigrants commit crimes at lower rates than the general population, and crime rates in cities with large immigrant populations have fallen disproportionately in recent years. Regardless, the lie that undocumented immigrants are likely to be violent criminals would help propel Trump to the GOP nomination and ultimately the presidency. Propagating this myth and using it to justify an immigration crackdown have since become a central focus of Trumps Justice Department, which in late July announced potentially unconstitutional new policies that will attempt to punish cities that refuse to comply with requests from Immigration and Customs Enforcement. (On Monday, the city of Chicago sued the Department of Justice over its plan to withhold grant money from these sanctuary cities.)

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Since he won the White House, Trump has continued to galvanize support for his anti-immigrant agenda by highlighting individual horror stories of predators and criminal aliens who poison our communities. At a rally in Youngstown, Ohio, two weeks ago, Trump cited one such case in graphic detail:

Youve seen the stories about some of these animals. They dont want to use guns, because its too fast and its not painful enough. So theyll take a young, beautiful girl, 16, 15, and others, and they slice them and dice them with a knife because they want them to go through excruciating pain before they die. And these are the animals that weve been protecting for so long. Well, theyre not being protected any longer, folks.

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Upon Trumps promise to give these animals what they have coming to them, the crowd erupted in applause. After stalking around the stage to soak up the adulation, Trump announced a nationwide crackdown on sanctuary cities, a promise that instigated yet another ovation. He continued:

American cities should be sanctuaries for law-abiding Americans, for people that look up to the law, for people that respect the law, not for criminals and gang members that we want the hell out of our country.

Sanctuary cities legislation has passed the House, along with Kates Law, named for Kate Steinle, who was brutally killed by a five-time-deported illegal immigrant. We are asking the Senate to vote on sanctuary cities and Kates Law legislation. Weve got to get it passed.

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This time, the Trump supporters gathered in Youngstown launched into applause at the mere invocation of Kate Steinles name. Theyd heard her story before.

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On July 1, 2015, Jose Ines Garcia Zarate shot 32-year-old Kathryn Michelle Steinle in the back as she walked with her father on San Franciscos Pier 14. Her dying words were Help me, dad.

Garcia Zarate, a Mexican national whod been deported from the U.S. five times and had seven felony convictions, including for heroin possession and manufacturing narcotics, quickly admitted to firing the gun. Within days, it also came out that the San Francisco Sheriffs Department had refused to tell federal immigration officials when Garcia Zaratewho would have been deported upon his return to federal custodywas scheduled to be released from jail, instead allowing him to go free a few months prior to Steinles killing. (Until recently, reports have referred to Garcia Zarate by what his lawyer says is an alias, Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez.)

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For Trump, Steinles deathcoming as it did two weeks after his notorious Mexican rapists speechwas the most convenient of tragedies. On July 10, 2015, Trump was seventh in the Republican field, according to the RealClearPolitics polling average. Ten days later hed overtaken Jeb Bush for the No. 1 spot among GOP contenders. While Trumps rise to the top of the Republican primaries was probably inevitable, the timing of that rise was not. Something happened in July to send Trumps numbers soaring, noted David Frum in the Atlantic that month. That something may have been the murder of Kathryn Steinle.

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Two days after Steinles killing, then-candidate Trump came out with a statement describing the young womans death as yet another example of why we must secure our border immediately. He added, This is an absolutely disgraceful situation and I am the only one that can fix it. Nobody else has the guts to even talk about it. That wont happen if I become president.

For Trump, the death of Kate Steinle was a branding opportunity.

Whereas Trump had previously been buffeted with criticism for describing undocumented immigrants as violent criminals, Steinles death shifted the narrative of the primary in his favor. Within a week, he was telling an uncorroborated version of the story, one that vindicated his entire platform. This man, or this animal, that shot that wonderful, that beautiful woman in San Francisco, this guy was pushed back by Mexico, Trump told CNN on July 8. Mexico pushes back people across the border that are criminals, that are drug dealers.

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Less than two weeks later, at the Family Leadership Summit in Ames, Iowa, Trump again told this distorted tale, this time bragging about the good it had done for his campaign:

I am so proud of the fact that I got dialogue started on illegal immigration. And people in the mediain all fairness, they were very rough on me that first week and then many of them have now apologized to me, and almost everybodys apologized, because it turned out I was right. Beautiful Kate in San Francisco was shot by an illegal, who was here five times and they couldnt do anything about it. And believe me, Mexico kept pushing him back because they didnt want him. Believe me, thats true.

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Trump then transitioned into noting that the moderator of the Family Leadership Summit was (allegedly) wearing one of my ties, explaining that Trump-branded apparel is very nice. He then said John McCain wasnt a real war hero.

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For Trump, the death of Kate Steinle was a branding opportunitya chance to mark himself as the candidate whod stood up to a supposed immigrant scourge, and to advertise to voters that hed been right about an issue that everyone else was too politically correct to talk about. Steinles death also gave Trump an opening to stoke the fears of primary voters. If beautiful Kate in San Franciscoa young, innocent white womancould be murdered in cold blood by a Mexican animal, so could any young, innocent white woman in any town in the United States.

Predictably, the Kate Steinle story caught fire in conservative media. In a commentary five days after the shooting, Rush Limbaugh said Steinles killer was exactly the kind of guy Donald Trump was talking about. Breitbart News also covered the story obsessively, with one typical headline reading Media Cover Up Illegal Immigrant Criminality.

The media figure who did the most to push the story was Fox News Bill OReilly. On July 6, 2015, he began The OReilly Factor with a lengthy monologue on Steinles killing. Mexican criminals represent a whopping 16 percent of all convicts serving time in federal penitentiaries, he shouted. Thats a huge burden on the American taxpayer and a dangerous situation for we the people, like 32-year-old Kate Steinle. OReilly, who was practically snarling, told the camera that the mayor and city supervisors of San Francisco are directly responsible for the murder of Kate Steinle and the Obama administration is complicit. He then encouraged the Department of Justice to arrest San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and the citys board of supervisors. Thats not going to happen because racial politics drives the law these days, which is why Trump caught so much hell, OReilly explained.

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OReilly, whose employment was terminated by Fox News earlier this year amid reports that he and the network had settled five sexual harassment lawsuits that had been brought against the commentator, had a solution for the various problems hed enumerated. The Fox News host urged Congress to pass Kates Law, a piece of legislation of his own conception that would make it a felony punishable by five years in prison to recross the border after having previously been deported. Who will sponsor the new law? Who will do it? Please let me know directly, OReilly pleaded. Were looking for some legislators in Washington who have courage. Are you out there? Are you out there?

The next day, OReilly announced that he had posted a petition on his website calling on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Speaker of the House John Boehner to pass Kates Law, which at that point did not exist. The following evening, OReilly said that about 150,000 people had already signed the petition.

On July 9, three days after OReillys initial plea, Republican Rep. Matt Salmon of Arizona introduced the Establishing Mandatory Minimums for Illegal Reentry Act, which he dutifully dubbed Kates Law. As Salmon announced in a press release, his bill did exactly what OReilly had asked, amend[ing] existing law to mandate five-year minimum sentences for individuals who return to the United States illegally after deportation. Less than two weeks later, Trumps campaign rival Ted Cruz introduced a parallel bill in the Senate, saying, What happened to this young woman on a pier in San Francisco is heartbreaking.  Clearly, our laws are not adequately deterring those who have already been deported from illegally reentering the country.

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OReilly built his successful persuasion campaign on a highly misleading factual claim. His assertion that a whopping 16 percent of all convicts in federal prisons are Mexican criminals did not account for the fact that a huge proportion of those incarcerated individuals have been locked up for committing immigration offensesthat is, nonviolent crimesand are awaiting deportation. A 2017 Cato Institute study found what many previous studies have reported: When you exclude immigration-related offenses, both documented and undocumented immigrants are much less likely to be incarcerated than native-born Americans.

It was true that Garcia Zarate was an undocumented immigrant. It was also true that he killed Kate Steinle. It was not true that her death emblematized a nationwide trend of undocumented immigrantsor animals, in the parlance of Donald Trumpmurdering innocent people. And despite what OReilly, Trump, and many Republican legislators would have you believe, the more you examine the details of Steinles killing, the more obvious it becomes that this is not a crime that lends itself to easy lessons.

Jose Ines Garcia Zarate, whose trial for the murder of Kathryn Steinle is scheduled to begin later this month, has spent the vast majority of the past 25 years in American prisons after repeated attempts to re-enter the country from Mexico. NBC Bay Area, which obtained Garcia Zarates criminal history via a federal database, found that hed been convicted of four drug-related felonies, the most recent of which came in 1996. His other three felony convictions resulted from his repeated attempts to enter the United States. His lawyer says that prior to Kate Steinles killing, hed never been charged with a gun offense or violent crime.

In September 2009, Garcia Zarate was caught once more trying to re-enter the United States and spent five-plus years behind bars. He was set to be deported upon his release in 2015. Thats when the system broke down.

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In March 2015, Department of Justice officials decided to send Garcia Zarate to San Francisco on a 20-year-old outstanding warrant for the purchase of $20 worth of marijuana. The city, however, was no longer prioritizing such crimes and dismissed his case. At that point, it would have made sense to return him to federal custody for deportation.

That month, though, San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi had sent guidance to his office with a new interpretation of San Franciscos sanctuary city policy. Mirkarimi decreed that the sheriffs department would deny Immigration and Customs Enforcement access to inmates in jail and would not provide their release dates or times without a court order or warrant, even in cases where the inmate had been convicted of multiple felonies. His department ignored ICEs request to be made aware of Garcia Zarates release date, and the seven-time felon was set free in San Francisco in April. According to his lawyer, Garcia Zarate started wandering the streets in a city where he had no connections.

On June 27, 2015, two months after Garcia Zarate was released from custody, a .40-caliber SIG Sauer semi-automatic pistol was stolen from a car belonging to a Bureau of Land Management ranger. The gun was allegedly left loaded and unsecureda violation of agency policyin a backpack in the car, which was broken into in downtown San Francisco. Garcia Zarate says that on the day of the shooting he found the pistol wrapped in a T-shirt or rag, and that the trigger went off when he picked it up. He has not been charged with stealing that gun, and his lawyer says the prosecution hasnt presented any evidence that he did. Regardless, it is undeniable that Jose Ines Garcia Zarate picked up that pistol on July 1, 2015, and that a bullet fired from the gun struck and killed Kate Steinle.

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Garcia Zarate did not know Kate Steinle. He had no known motive to murder her on the pier that day. Most significantly, the shot that struck Steinle in the back hadnt been aimed at her or anyone else.

Both the prosecution and the defense acknowledge that the bullet that killed Steinle had first ricocheted off the pier. According to testimony from a preliminary hearing, that bullet appears to have hit the ground 12 to 15 feet in front of where Garcia Zarate was sitting, then bounced off the pavement and traveled an estimated 90 feet farther before killing Steinle.

You couldnt do this on purpose, James Norris, the former head of the San Francisco Police Departments crime lab, told the court as a witness for the defense at one of Garcia Zarates preliminary hearings in San Francisco Superior Court. (Norris also says the bullet likely hit the ground just three feet in front of where Garcia Zarate was sitting.)

More than anyone else, it was Donald Trump who turned Kate Steinles death into propaganda.

In an interview, Norris told me that, given the path of the bullet, it was impossible that Garcia Zarate had tried to shoot Steinle on purpose. Craig Fries, a forensics expert who is not involved in the Steinle case but has been testifying for 20 years on ballistics trajectory analysis, told me he agreed that Steinles killing was likely unintentional. It would be highly unlikely that anybody could predict the path of that bullet with enough accuracy to strike somebody, he said, adding that this is not the way that somebody would try to shoot somebody, just based on common sense.

During preliminary hearings and in public statements about the case, prosecutor Diana Garcia has argued that Garcia Zarate did shoot Steinle intentionally. This was no accident, she told the court in September 2015. He had in his hands an instrument of death and he used it. She suggested that Garcia Zarate had executed a skip shot in which he was aiming the gun at the victim or the area of the victim, and the bullet skipped off the cement of the pier and hit the victim in the back. The prosecutor added that Steinle was his target, and that Garcia Zarate was playing his own version of Russian roulette. (The district attorneys office would not discuss the case with me on the record.)

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According to a civil suit brought by the Steinle family, Garcia Zarate admitted to being under the influence of narcotics, including but not limited to, marijuana and sleeping pills at the time of the shooting. Garcia Zaratewho reportedly has a second-grade education and barely speaks any Englishalso told police he was shooting at seals or a black fish when Steinle was killed.

In an interview with the local ABC News affiliate four days after the shooting, Garcia Zarate said hed been on sleeping pills and couldnt remember exactly what hed done but that he was sure the shooting was an accident. He proffered this idea that he may have been shooting at seals, but even the police officers dont believe it, Matt Gonzalez, Garcia Zarates lawyer, said during a preliminary hearing. [He was] trying to put out an [accidental] explanation for what happened because he doesnt understand American jurisprudence.

Garcia Zarates story is plausible. While on drugs, he could have picked up a gun wrapped in a shirt, and that gun could have gone off by accident. The SIG Sauer weapon that killed Steinle is a favorite of law enforcement on account of its quick-shooting capacity. If Mr. [Garcia Zarate] encountered this weapon when it was cocked and loaded [in whats known as single-action mode]  its pretty easy for this thing to just go off, ballistics expert James Norris told me. In an op-ed for the San Francisco Examiner last month, Gonzalez listed dozens of cases in which law enforcement officers have accidentally discharged a SIG Sauer. In 2014, a federal air marshal in New Jersey accidentally shot himself. In 2015 in Pennsylvania, a state trooper and firearms instructor accidentally killed another trooper during safety training. This year in Michigan, a sheriffs deputy accidentally shot a schoolteacher in the neck.

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Garcia Zarate has been charged with second-degree murder. That means the prosecution would have to prove he acted with an abandoned and malignant heartthat is, that he was recklessly indifferent to the high risk that someone might be killed or that he intended to commit a dangerous felony that could result in someone dying. Second-degree murder in California carries a punishment of 15 years to life in prison. If Garcia Zarate isnt convicted of second-degree murder, he could be found guilty of manslaughter. Given his prior felonies, his lawyers told me, Garcia Zarate could get a maximum of 17 years if hes convicted of involuntary manslaughter.

By virtue of when, how, and where it took place, Kate Steinles death instantly became a political event. In the immediate aftermath of her killing, politicians of both parties found one point of consensus: Jose Ines Garcia Zarate should not have been in the United States. Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who as San Francisco mayor in 1985 signed the citys first sanctuary city ordinance, wrote to the citys current mayor to say Garcia Zarate should never have been released from custody. For his part, Mayor Ed Lee wrote to San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi urging him to rescind [the] policy [that led to Garcia Zarates release] immediately, in the interest of public safety. Hillary Clinton told CNN in July 2015 that San Francisco had made a mistake in allowing Garcia Zarate to go free and said she had absolutely no support for a city that ignores the strong evidence that should be acted on.

Meanwhile, the effort to sell Kates Law was intensifying. Bill OReilly hosted Steinles parents on his show on July 13, their drained, grief-stricken faces appearing alongside a rotating gallery of photos of their smiling daughter. Her father, Jim Steinle, told the story of his daughters final moments, how they laughed and went in the Ferry Building and came out and  stopped at the pier and enjoyed the beauty of San Francisco. And then, he said, We heard a shot and Kate went down, and the restwe all know what happened then.

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It was a shattering piece of television, one that invited audience members to share in the pain of a devastated mother and father. We are hoping for some good to come out of all of this, said her mother, Liz Sullivan.

Well, thats where we come in, OReilly offered.

After a commercial break, OReilly brought up his petition to pass a law named after their daughter, which by then had about 400,000 signatures. Steinles parents said they backed OReillys efforts. I support Kates Law because it would be a legacy in her name and her death would not go unnoticed, her father said. You just want it to be a good, solid law that wont have holes in it, her mother added.

When Jim Steinle said the family wants to be involved in the language of the law, OReilly offered to send the couple to Washington. Eight days later, Kates father was testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee, his chair positioned a few feet away from a poster-size photo of his daughter. Steinle, who appeared to be holding back tears, said Kate was beautiful, kind, happy, caring, loving, and deep in faith. The nation, he explained, had suffered a self-inflicted wound in the murder of our daughter by the hand of a person that should have never been on the streets in this country. He did not go into policy details, simply expressing that we feel strongly that some legislation should be discussed, enacted, or changed, to take these undocumented immigrant felons off our streets for good. He concluded his testimony by saying, Wed be proud to see Kates name associated with some of this new legislation. We feel that if Kates Law saves one daughter, one son, a mother, a father, Kates death wont be in vain.

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Jim Steinle hoped to instigate an effort to improve immigration enforcement. It soon became clear, though, that his daughters death would be deployed in service of a xenophobic, racialized message. On the campaign trail, Trump erased every bit of nuance from the Kate Steinle narrative. At an event in Oskaloosa, Iowa, four days after Jim Steinle testified on Capitol Hill, the candidate invoked the memory of beautiful Kate and suggested her killer may have been forced over the border by the Mexican government.

The next month, Trump used Garcia Zarates mug shot in an attack ad against the immigration-friendly Jeb Busha commercial that evoked the infamous Willie Horton ad that had been used to stoke racial fear in the service of George H.W. Bushs 1988 election. In its coverage of the Steinle killing, conservative media played up this not-so-subtle dog whistle. Fox [often] took the opportunity to juxtapose pictures of the white-skinned, fair-haired, smiling Ms. Steinle with the grim mug shot of the brown-skinned Garcia Zarate, law professor Christopher N. Lasch wrote in a journal article published last year. Ultimately, the narrative spun out by Donald Trump is that he alone is the one who can build a wall to protect beautiful [white] Kate from the brown animal who killed her.

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Kate Steinles parents did not endorse these racialized politics. They had wanted to do something to honor their daughters memory, and to prevent other mothers and fathers from feeling the pain that they felt. Despite what Trump implied on the stump, they did not sign on to be a part of his campaign. Unlike other victims of immigration crime, they never stood beside him at a rally. They had not asked him to get on stage, at event after event, and invite his supporters to seethe at the memory of beautiful Kate, the young woman whod been shot and killed by a Mexican immigrant.

In the first few weeks after Kates death, her brother, Brad Steinle, had bristled at Trumps sensationalizing of his sisters killing. Donald Trump talks about Kate Steinle like he knows her, he told CNNs Anderson Cooper. He said that the candidate didnt know the familys political views and that Trumps immigration policies were not rational and not common sense.

In September 2015, the San Francisco Chronicles C.W. Nevius reported that Jim Steinle and Liz Sullivan quickly realized theyd gone from a family tragedy to a political talking point. They did not oppose sanctuary cities, Steinle said, and they didnt believe undocumented workers in Californias Central Valley should be deported. If you deport them, what are you going to eat? Rocks? he told the Chronicle. I mean, they feed the United States.

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Sullivan was blunt in her assessment of what her daughters death had meant for Donald Trump. [We] were just what he neededbeautiful girl, San Francisco, illegal immigrant, arrested a million times, a violent crime and yadda, yadda, yadda, she said. We were the perfect storm for that man.

Steinles parents have gone back and forth in their desire to be public figures, and its hard to fault them for this wavering. In October, one month after saying that Chronicle interview would be their last, they went back on the OReilly Factor to express their frustrations about Congress failure to pass Kates Law. Its very frustrating to see how Washington doesnt work, Sullivan said. Its pretty consistent and its frustrating and its aggravating and something needs to change. In 2016, the Steinle family filed a wrongful death suit against the city of San Francisco over its release of Garcia Zarate; that lawsuit was dismissed earlier this year, but the family is appealing the case. Their federal lawsuit, which accuses the Bureau of Land Management ranger of negligence for allegedly leaving his gun unsecured, has been allowed to go forward.

Aside from public statements around these lawsuits, the family has mostly stayed quiet since late 2015. Through the familys lawyer, Steinle and Sullivan declined to comment for this story. Jim Steinle did say a few words to a Chronicle writer this June, expressing regret that his daughters name had ever been attached to a piece of legislation. I dont know who coined Kates Law. It certainly wasnt us, he said.

Kates Law passed in the House of Representatives three weeks after Steinles death. It didnt stand a chance in the U.S. Senate. This vile legislation might as well be called the Donald Trump Act, Minority Leader Harry Reid said in October 2015. The bill, which needed 60 votes to proceed, went down with 54 senators voting in favor and 45 voting against.

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Bill OReillys brainchild had at that point been tacked on to a larger bill to withhold funds from sanctuary cities, basically dooming it with Democrats. But passing legislation wasnt Republicans primary goal. A speech from Ted Cruz on the Senate floor showed the October vote was more about preening than problem solving. For every Democratic senator, this vote today is a simple decision: With whom do you stand? the thenpresidential candidate said. Do you stand with the violent, criminal illegal aliens who are being released over and over again?

In San Francisco, too, all the political posturing that followed Steinles death failed to produce any reforms that might have prevented her killing. Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi would be voted out of office in November 2015 after facing a barrage of criticism over his handling of the Steinle case and other unrelated scandals. His successor Vicki Hennessy said during the campaign that there was room for notificationnot detention, but notificationwhen we have someone in our custody that has a felony. Ultimately, Hennessy and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors agreed to a half-reform that would allow the sheriffs department to notify ICE if a detainee had committed a violent or serious felony in the past seven years or three or more lower-grade felonies in the previous five years. This new policy, though, would not have applied to Jose Ines Garcia Zarate, whose felony convictions would not have been considered violent or serious.

Representatives from both the San Francisco Sheriffs Department and the mayors office declined to comment when asked why the citys revised sanctuary city policy was not written to encompass a case like Garcia Zarates. John Avalos, the former member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors who crafted the revised policy, told me hed written it to be as limited as possible, with the goal of protecting undocumented immigrants from getting caught up in the criminal justice system unnecessarily. City Attorney Dennis Herrera, who defended the sheriffs department in the lawsuit brought by the Steinle family against the city of San Francisco, told me that the tragedy clouds what really is the issue, and that is that sanctuary city jurisdictions for the most part have been successful in promoting public safety in their communities.

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Steinles death raises an incredibly thorny question: How do we enforce our immigration laws without damaging the very communities were trying to protect? On the national level, Trump and the Republican Party have shown little interest in assessing that question in good faith.

The presidents lies about immigration have become our national agenda.

This June, the House of Representatives once again passed Kates Lawthis time in tandem with the No Sanctuary for Criminals Act, which would block federal grants from sanctuary cities and allow families of victims like Kate Steinle to sue those cities. Again, Republicans tortured the truth about Kate Steinles death for political ends. In an editorial written for Fox News, Attorney General Jeff Sessions described Steinles killing as an intentional act of murder committed in cold blood. In a press conference held by Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and thenHomeland Security Secretary John Kelly, Rep. Raul Labrador used the occasion of Kate Laws passage to attack Democrats. They oppose the policies that would have prevented Kates death and murder, he said.

Kates Law and the No Sanctuary for Criminals Act are now headed to the Senate, where Democrats likely hold enough votes to block their final passage. Sen. Al Franken, a member of the judiciary committee that will take up these bills, told me the GOPs exploitation of the Steinle case and others like it goes back to Trumps initial campaign announcement. It bothers me the way that this [case] is used to attack undocumented immigrants, he said. The first thing in [the presidents] announcement speech was theyre rapists and murderers. I think there is a kind of hateful appeal to xenophobia in all of this. I think we have to not reward that.

More than anyone else, it was Donald Trump who turned Kate Steinles death into a piece of propaganda. He portrayed the killer as a violent animal, a depiction that doesnt line up with the facts of the case. He said Mexico pushed Jose Ines Garcia Zarate back across the border onto the United States. This is a total lie. During at least one campaign event, Trump said Garcia Zarate shot Steinle five times. She was shot once and that shot was likely a freak accident.

The story of how Trump has used Kate Steinle is the story of his political career. He claimed millions of undocumented immigrants stole the popular vote for Hillary Clinton, then launched an election integrity commission to affirm his beliefs. His fabricated memory of seeing thousands and thousands of Muslims in New Jersey cheer the collapse of the World Trade Center on 9/11 helped inspire his call for a Muslim ban that is now law. His repeated incantations of beautiful Kate led to the establishment of Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement, a group within ICE that will help sell the false belief that undocumented immigrants are a criminal blight.

This is government by anecdote, not evidencethe proliferation of often imaginary and sometimes exaggerated stories that exist to validate the worldview of a man who owes his job to racial resentment. Trump, of course, couldnt sell this vision if there werent millions of people who wanted to believe it and a political party who wanted to buy it. The presidents lies about immigration have become our national agenda, and the Republican Party has abetted Trump every step of the way.

In his most recent interview, Jim Steinle told the San Francisco Chronicle that at this point he doesnt want to see his daughters name invoked by either side in the immigration debate. You just hope it ends someday, he pleaded. I dont know when.

So long as the Steinle familys tragedy can be used to promote a campaign of fear, its not going to end any time soon.

Top image: A large photo of Kathryn Kate Steinle is shown while her dad, Jim Steinle, testifies during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill on July 21, 2015. Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images.
The small business landscape is changing with the wave of deregulation proposed and implemented by the administration of President Donald Trump.

To understand how all this is affecting small businesses, its important to recognize the regulatory balancing act between the federal government and the states, says ComplyRight, a firm specializing in helping small businesses navigate a variety of compliance issues.

Generally, federal laws create a minimum threshold for the entire nation  like the federal minimum wage standard; however some states and individual cities have chosen to set higher minimum wage laws. As the Trump administration moves to loosen or eliminate federal labor regulations, state legislatures have increasingly moved in to fill the vacuum with regulations of their own.

For small businesses, particularly those operating in multiple regions, this may result in navigating a baffling array of new local and state regulations where previously there might have been a single set of federal standards.

This new complexity has left many small business owners feeling like theyre getting caught in the crossfire. While a decrease in federal regulations might seem like a positive, keeping track of a bewildering morass of local rules may prove extremely challenging. Here are a few examples.

Minimum Wage

Minimum wage laws are the most visible example of the current clash between state and federal regulations having an impact on small businesses.

The Trump administrations first pick for Labor Secretary, fast food executive Andrew Puzder, was an outspoken opponent of raising the federal minimum wage. His replacement and now confirmed Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta doesnt appear to have differing views.

Yet, at the local level, pushed by protests from labor groups, governments have taken a very different course.

New York Citys minimum wage is set to rise to $15 dollars per hour by 2019. Washington, D.C. plans to do the same by 2020. Furthermore, nineteen other states already raised their minimum wage standards at the beginning of the year. Overall, the Economic Policy Institute estimates that 4.3 million low wage earners will get a bump.

All of this makes compliance a moving target for small businesses, especially those operating in more than one state. Imagine operating retail stores in New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, while trying to figure out how to comply with differing minimum wage regulations at all your locations.

Because they work to stay ahead of the complexity, ComplyRight found that in addition to state regulators, city and county regulators were taking on more of the responsibilities of setting their own laws.

Paid Sick Day Regulation

Paid sick leave is yet another area where disparities between national and local standards can make things more complicated for small businesses.

Currently, private businesses are not required by federal law to provide paid sick days to their employees  however many do.

Locally, however, things are a bit more complicated.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), seven states have passed some form of paid sick leave legislation, as has Washington, D.C.

There are also other local governments that have passed their own regulations requiring sick leave, according to the National Partnership of Women and Families. ComplyRight reports that more than 25 cities now have their own paid sick leave requirements.

National business groups are working with Republican leadership in the U.S. House to craft a minimum federal standard for sick days  similar to the federal minimum wage standard, reports NPR.

In addition, an Obama era executive order mandating paid sick leave for employees of federal contractors seems likely to remain in effect, says Bloomberg.

But for now, businesses with locations in several states  or even several municipalities  could be required to follow different sick leave requirements for each office.

Criminal History

For small businesses, the compliance maze continues to twist and turn. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Commission supplies another curve when asking candidates about their criminal history. While federal law does not prohibit employers from asking about it, federal EEO laws restrict employers from using these answers to automatically disqualify applicants as part of the decision-making process.

ComplyRight supplies some further statistics. Several states and more than 150 cities and counties have passed legislation requiring employers to take any questions about criminal convictions off job applications.

If youre a small business owner feeling a little dizzy and not sure where to turn, theres hope. ComplyRight supplies expert resources and tools to help small businesses untangle federal and state labor laws.

For more details on the topic, check out the ComplyRight webinar on the changing compliance climate for employers.
Suspicions about the flawed drawing of EU funds at the Education Ministry have turned into a major scandal for the current government.

Font size: A - | A +

Here are the facts to help you understand what this ongoing scandal is all about.

1. How much money is involved?

Overall, the Research and Innovation operational programme has a budget of 2.2 billion to be distributed, partly by the Economy Ministry and partly by the Education Ministry through the Research Agency that falls under its jurisdiction.

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2. How are EU funds for science distributed?

The ministry issues calls for projects. The two largest calls amounted to almost 600 million. None of the universities who responded to the call, entitled Long-term Strategic Research, succeeded. That call was to distribute 288 million for projects. The other call, aimed to support industrial research and development centres, was to distribute 301 million. Some dubious companies succeeded with their projects here.

3. What are the allegations against the minister?

There is a suspicion that the distribution of money in the calls for projects has been manipulated. The rectors of the major universities in the country complained that none of their projects received funding. None of the major projects for long-term strategic research received money from these funds. The opposition has joined in the criticism of Plavcan and want to oust him.

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Read also: Education minister fails to explain distribution of EU money Read more

4. Who is Peter Plavcan?

Plavcan has worked at the Education Ministry for more than 25 years. He is a career bureaucrat. He was nominated for the ministerial post by the SNS. He is not a member of the party. He also faced some scandals in his previous career, for instance when he accepted high rewards for an honorary post with the Students Loan Fund. He returned the money when the scandal was publicised.

5. Why did the universities not receive any funding?

Their research projects did not get enough points from project evaluators. Other projects were higher up in the rankings and received funding. The Education Ministry has not disclosed the names of the projects, arguing that the contracts have not been signed yet. The ministry and the European Commission are checking on the distribution process for these funds.

6. Why are some of the companies who won the grants problematic?

Many companies that will receive money from the call for projects for R&D centres changed the focus of their business activities in the Business Register just before they applied to fulfil the conditions of the call. However, they have been returning minimum revenues and were engaged in completely different activities before the call, like marketing or cleaning services. Despite it all, they received millions of euros for research.

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7. Is there any proof that bribery was involved in the project evaluation stage?

The Prefa Alfa company has spoken out. Its owner Frantisek Zvrskovec said that he was contacted by one of the evaluators, Peter Klamo. He claims Klamo told him that he needs to pay 20 percent of the value of the project if he wanted it to be successful. Zvrskovec wrote an official complaint to the Government's Office and to OLAF, the EU anti-fraud agency.

8. Who is Peter Klamo?

He is a board member of the Welding Research Institute. The institute is a partner for four other projects that have gotten funding. Since Klamo was evaluating his competitors projects, Transparency International Slovensko recently pointed out that he had a clear conflict of interest. There is a suspicion that he deliberately put his competitors at a disadvantage.

9. What does Plavcan have to say about the scandal?

Peter Plavcan thus far has only offered scarce comments on the scandal. He claims he does not have a direct impact on the distribution of EU funds. This is true in theory, but the fact is that the money is distributed by the Research Agency that belongs under the Education Ministry. Plavcan appointed the head of the agency, Rastislav Beliansky, in May 2016. SNS also stands by its minister.

10. Who is looking into the distribution of EU funds for science and research?

The police are investigating the distribution of EU funds based on the motion of the Special Prosecutors Office. Also, select Education Ministry employees as well as the European Commission are looking into the matter.

Sme

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The M.R. Stefanik Airport marked the highest monthly tally in its 66-year history.

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In July 2017, the airport handled 304,388 passengers, Veronika Sevcikova informed the TASR newswire on August 9.

Only once before has the airport surpassed the 300,000 mark before, Sevcikova said. That was in July 2008, when it handled 304,146 passengers. The latest figure is higher by some 200 passengers.

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The airports head, Jozef Pojedinec, said that both regular and charter flights contributed to the rise, with the latter category posting a 21-percent increase on an annual basis. He added that the total tally for this July is some 18 percent higher than for July of last year.

In 1990s a year, in 2017 a month

In 1997, the airport needed a whole year to reach 300,000 passengers. Since the beginning of 2017, the airport has been used by 1.04 million travellers, which is an additional 7 percent on a yearly basis.

The greatest numbers of passengers flew to London-Stansted, Dublin, Milan-Bergamo, Moscow-Vnukovo and Antalya in Turkey, TASR wrote. The number of flights to and from the airport in July rose by 7 percent annually to 3,180.

A total of 2,109 tonnes of cargo were transported to or from the airport in July, a year-on-year rise of 8 percent.
They were delivered to Slovakia via Germany and Austria.

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The veterinary inspectors discovered that some eggs imported from the Netherlands were contaminated with the pesticide Fipronil.

The eggs were found in the warehouse for gastronomic facilities in Vrbove, close to Piestany (Trnava Region). There were a total of 24 packages of cooked and peeled eggs delivered to Slovakia through several countries, the Slovak Agriculture Ministry informed on August 9.

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The eggs were first exported to Germany, where they were cooked and peeled, and then sent to Austria. They were delivered to Vrbove from the Austrian firm.

This case proved that freshness is a criterion the consumers should take into consideration, Agriculture Minister Gabriela Matecna said, as quoted in a press release.

She called on people to ask about the origin of foodstuffs not only when shopping but also when eating in restaurants and hotels.

The Slovak foodstuffs are strictly controlled by our veterinary administration, Matecna said.

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The inspectors meanwhile are checking whether the packages in Vrbove are being correctly withdrawn. They also also scrutinising the distribution list to find any facilities to which the eggs might have been delivered.

Slovakia received information about the contaminated eggs via the rapid alert system. Remnants of Fipronil have already been found in eggs imported to Germany, Belgium, the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland and Hong Kong.

The supervising authorities found the illegal substances were used by producers who treated the hens with a product against parasites, which is known as DEGA 16. The producer was illegally adding Fipronil to this product. DEGA 16 is used in the Netherlands, France, Italy, Germany and Poland.

Though not all batches are contaminated, the inspections are still underway, the Agriculture Ministry said.
But a foreign trade surplus was a positive surprise, according to analysts.

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The week-long strike at Bratislava-based carmaker Volkswagen Slovakia has significantly impacted the export numbers for June.

The total export of goods amounted to 6.2258 billion, down by 4.6 percent compared to the previous month, while the imports amounted to 5.7768 billion, which was 6.6 percent lower than in May.

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The detailed structure of June exports will be published next month, but the main suspect is indisputable  the week-long strike at Volkswagen cut the June production and exports of the Slovak automotive sector, analyst with UniCredit Bank Czech Republic and Slovakia Lubomir Korsnak wrote in a memo.

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This also impacted the imports of materials and semi-products for production, Korsnak said.

Another important factor impacting foreign trade was the oil price.

In annual terms, however, both exports and imports grew, each by 0.9 percent, according to data from the Statistics Office.

The foreign trade surplus amounting to 449 million came as a surprise. This was been the highest since last August and is comparable to that of June 2016. This means that the reduction of foreign trade surpluses stopped in June, and the 12-month surplus remained unchanged, amounting to 4 percent of GDP, Korsnak said.

With the impacts of Easter and the strike in Volkswagen Slovakia, foreign countries probably did not contribute much to the increase in the Slovak economy in the second quarter of the year, according to the analyst.

The increase of both exports and imports nearly stopped, Korsnak said.

The GDP growth was thus probably most impacted by household consumption, he added.

As for the following months, Korsnak expects the foreign trade surpluses to be lower, particularly at the end of this year.

This drop in surpluses will only be temporary, though, and will pertain particularly to the imports of technologies linked to big investments in the automotive sector, Korsnak explained.

After the production launch of the new carmaker, Jaguar Land Rover, the foreign trade surpluses are expected to rise again in the second half of 2018 and the whole of 2019, he added.

He also expects the positive foreign trade balance to drop from last years 4.5 percent of GDP to 3.7 percent this year. In 2019, however, it should rise to 5 percent of GDP.
Forget sheep cheese and liquor. Slovaks can also earn recognition in the chocolate industry.

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Being located far from cocoa beans-growing area does not mean Slovaks cannot produce chocolate in a way that respects the area where it is grown.

At Nitra-based Lyra Chocolate, maintaining a relationship with the place the cocoa beans are grown and the people who grow them is part of the chocolate production process.

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We dont get our beans from the internet, Katarina Jaklovska of Lyra Chocolate told The Slovak Spectator. We get them from real people.

The company maps the designs for its new products and coordinates business and social partnerships from its original plant in Ivanka pri Nitre, located near the Western Slovakia city of Nitra.

Lyra Chocolates cocoa beans come to Slovakia through partnerships with cocoa bean-growing experts and farmers in Ecuador and Colombia, where the chocolate companys direct interaction with farmers has led to social projects in the harvesting regions.

We say we know the farmers. Jaklovska said. They are producing the cocoa beans for us. We have to know them, and they have to know us as well.

Jaklovska said that one program Lyra supports in Colombia provides local kids with breakfast to help motivate them stay in school, while another program underway has recently formed a joint venture with an indigenous community in Ecuador.

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When we get the cocoa beans from them, we are going to pay a bit more, Jaklovska said of the farmers. We are going to be fair to them.

Paying attention to health

The company is currently in the testing phase to create a functional chocolate containing active probiotics, to be introduced in a line of original Slovak chocolates that use raisins, sunflower seeds or poppy seeds as toppings.

The chocolates earth-toned paper packaging  created by a Slovak designer  has also earned recognition within the chocolate industry, and Jaklovska said that there are plans to collaborate with the designer to market some chocolates with locally-produced apple cider.

These chocolate-makers say they look at the quality of their product with a holistic health view and adhere to high safety standards to protect their customers. In June, the factory was awarded one of the most well-respected global certificates for food and production safety.

Jaklovska said that said that Lyras production and roasting equipment and techniques are used in place of additives to give the chocolate its taste and appearance.

While Lyra Chocolate has plans to open a store in the new Vienna train station and is working to sell its chocolate on airlines in Asia, the company is continuing to base its production and sales in the home country of the companys founders.

We are going to do more stuff for Slovakia, Jaklovska said.
In the village of Kamanova, on the lee side of the Tribec mountain range in western Slovakia, the night of August 10 almost broke temperature records.

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A temperature of 26.3 Celsius was measured, which is a mere one degree less than the absolute Slovak record from July 29, 2013 in Piestany. The Slovak Hydro-Meteorological Institute (SHMU) stated this, as cited by the TASR newswire.

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Influenced by the persistent south-eastern wind, a tropical night was recorded almost everywhere in the territory of the Trencin, Trnava, Nitra and Bratislava regions, SHMU writes, adding that temperatures rose to 20C and more.

On the lee side of the mountains in south-west Slovakia, the night did not even cool down below 25C in some places due to warm, muggy wind, the meteorologists added.

Horne Lefantovce in the Nitra District also experienced hot weather. Apart from a very warm morning, we also recorded especially sultry weather in several places, SHMU wrote. The meteorologists also stated that the air temperature keeps rising throughout August 10, achieving almost 30 degrees around 8:30 in Kamanova.
One of Kias biggest suppliers of plastic components is coming to the Kysuce region.

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Seoyon E-Hwa, the South Korean automotive industry company, is coming to the town of Cadca, the Hospodarske Noviny daily wrote on August 10.

The companys own production is not sufficient anymore, thus boosting its position in Slovakia and opening a third production factory, after Povazska Bystrica and Dubnica nad Vahom. In the Cadca-Svrcinovec locality, it will build production and storage rooms containing facilities for the production of plastic components for cars, with a total area of more than 14,000 square metres (around 9,000 for production and the rest for logistics).

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It is expected to employ 450 people in 2018 and invest 31 million in the new plant. Construction is expected to start in a few weeks, and there are plans to launch production within a year.

Both the company and Cadcas administration have refused to give more detailed information. The Economy Ministry also answered evasively when asked whether the investor was asking the state for incentives. We dont comment on plans undergoing the assessment process, replied spokesman for the ministry Maros Stano for the economic daily.
The coalition leaders on August 3, the week before Danko sent his letter. (Source: Sme - Jozef Jakubco)

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It took just one letter for a coalition crisis to break out in Slovakia this August.

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The ruling coalition has been in crisis since Andrej Danko, leader of the junior coalition Slovak National Party (SNS), wrote a letter to his two coalition partners. In the letter withdraws SNS from the coalition agreement they signed less than a year ago, on September 1, 2016. At that time, the Siet party left the coalition and the new threesome signed a new deal.

Dankos decision came out of the blue for his partners as well as for observers. MPs of the opposition, the ruling coalition, and even people from within SNS admitted they were surprised or even shocked by his move.

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The SNS leader argues that the coalition needs to set new priorities and new rules for their mutual relationship.

The good socio-economic situation in 2017 shows that its necessary to focus on new challenges and priorities that need to translate into the coalition agreement and into a new programme statement of the government, Danko wrote to his partners.

The letter launched a series of meetings among the leaderships of the ruling parties. Senior coalition Smer leader, Prime Minister Robert Fico, convened a coalition council for the next day, August 8, to discuss the situation with Danko and Most-Hid leader Bela Bugar.

As he arrived to the meeting, he limited his statements to the journalists expecting the leaders in front of the Borik Hotel in Bratislava, telling them: You are pathetic, all of you.

After the meeting, only Bugar spoke to the media, while Fico and Danko slipped away from the hotel during his briefing.

Problems at the Education Ministry

The opposition sees Dankos move as an effort by SNS to cover up the scandal involving the distribution of EU funds by Education Minister Peter Plavcan.

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The Education Ministry has been accused of mishandling money from EU funds for research and innovation. The ministry faces suspicions of manipulating the distribution of money from EU funds, amounting to almost 600 million within two calls for projects. Of great suspicion is that none of the Slovak universities has received money for their long-term projects; another problem is that some companies who have been granted funding only changed their focus of operations in the Business Register shortly before responding to the call.

There have also been corruption allegations. The police are checking on the case, and so is the European Commission.

Therefore, [Danko] is provoking a seemingly serious conflict within the coalition, reads a statement signed by SaS leadership.

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Danko denied the accusations and recalled that the system for drawing EU funds in the education sector was set up in December 2015, when Smer nominee Juraj Draxler was at the helm of the education department.

The opposition is determined to go through with its earlier plan to oust Plavcan from the ministerial post after the summer break, on August 18.

What SNS says

SNS politicians however, do not cite the suspicions at the Education Ministry as the reason for Dankos move.

They admitted to having discussed the possibility of withdrawing from the coalition agreement at their leadership session on August 3, but only as an extreme option. SNS deputy chair Anton Hrnko was unable to explain why Danko went through with that option without consulting party leadership. On August 3 he only said:

This is not how I imagined an effective government, as quoted by the Sme daily.

Another SNS deputy chair Jaroslav Paska, explained the crisis as due to the long-term unwillingness of coalition partners to coordinate work in the regions. He alleged that Smer refuses to vacate the posts for SNS nominees in the regional offices.

There have also been allegations that the Governments Office has been mistreating Danko recently.

SNS sees conspiracies

While Most-Hid and Smer limited their comments to the media at first, the SNS went on complaining about the troubled relations within the coalition even after the first coalition meeting.

Paska, speaking to the media on August 8, hinted that some SNS members feel like there is some coordination between the OLaNO opposition and the Governments Office, particularly after Erik Tomas returned to serve as the media advisor there.

It looks like that entity [OLaNO] has been set up to fling dirt with materials that have been prepared somewhere else, Paska said as quoted by the Sme daily. We feel that the coordination is starting to clearly show.

Paska refused the education ministers responsibility for the dubious practices around the EU funds for science and research.

If anyone feels that Smer and OLaNO leader Igor Matovic are cooperating, they must have gotten heatstroke, Bugar responded at his August 9 press conference.

OLaNO is rejecting such allegations as well, calling them absurd. So did Tomas, who previously worked as state secretary at the Education Ministry, but now claiming in an interview with the Sme daily that he hasnt worked at the ministry for a year now and has no access to its documents.

Besides, most of the documents are public, he told Sme.

Who is Gucik?

Due to the coalition crisis, the name of Michal Gucik also resurfaced in a new controversy. Gucik, the former general director of the TA3 news channel (which belongs to tycoon Ivan Kmotrik), has previously worked on campaigns for the now obsolete HZDS of Vladimir Meciar and the SNS. He is also alleged to be behind the partys racist billboard from the 2010 election campaign.

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Now, on August 7, Danko and Bugar met at Guciks house in Bratislava.

If Mr Danko had been somewhere else, I would have met him there, Bugar told the August 9 press conference when asked why he was photographed coming to Guciks house.

Gucik has had several business activities linked with Kmotrik in the past. Kmotrik refused to give details about his relations with Gucik when asked by the Sme daily.

He surely has some relationships and is in the position of a quasi-media advisor, but surely not a political one, Kmotrik said about Gucik.

Early elections unlikely

As The Slovak Spectator went to print on August 10, the coalition crisis remained unresolved. The three partners were set to meet on Friday, August 11 again, to hear Dankos ideas about how the coalition should work going forward.

Speaking after the meeting, Bugar stressed that the fall of the government or early elections were not an option.

There is no alternative to the current government, he said, citing the outcome of the August 8 meeting with his coalition partners, which he also repeated in the two days that followed.

In the Slovak political environment, the coalition agreement does not have much binding force. It is a political rather than constitutional document. In this sense, SNS withdrawal does not automatically mean that the government should fall or that early elections are likely. None of the local observers expect things to go that far in fact.

This crisis is unlikely to lead to early election, political analyst Grigorij Meseznikov told The Slovak Spectator.

At the same time, however, he noted that it is questionable if the current government survives full term, since the predictability level of one of the coalition partners is very low.
Cardinal Health, Inc. operates as an integrated healthcare services and products company in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, and internationally. It provides customized solutions for hospitals, healthcare systems, pharmacies, ambulatory surgery centers, clinical laboratories, physician offices, and patients in the home. The company operates in two segments, Pharmaceutical and Medical. The Pharmaceutical segment distributes branded and generic pharmaceutical, specialty pharmaceutical, and over-the-counter healthcare and consumer products. The segment also provides services to pharmaceutical manufacturers and healthcare providers for specialty pharmaceutical products; operates nuclear pharmacies and radiopharmaceutical manufacturing facilities; repackages generic pharmaceuticals and over-the-counter healthcare products; and offers medication therapy management and patient outcomes services to hospitals, other healthcare providers, and payers, as well as provides pharmacy management services to hospitals. The Medical segment manufactures, sources, and distributes Cardinal Health branded medical, surgical, and laboratory products and devices that include exam and surgical gloves; needles, syringe, and sharps disposals; compressions; incontinences; nutritional delivery products; wound care products; single-use surgical drapes, gowns, and apparels; fluid suction and collection systems; urology products; operating room supply products; and electrode product lines. The segment also distributes a range of national brand products, including medical, surgical, and laboratory products; provides supply chain services and solutions to hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, clinical laboratories, and other healthcare providers; and assembles and sells sterile, and non-sterile procedure kits. The company was incorporated in 1979 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ohio.
Vipshop Holdings Limited operates online platforms for various brands in the People's Republic of China. It operates in Vip.com, Shan Shan Outlets, and Others segments. The company offers women's apparel, such as casual wear, jeans, dresses, outerwear, lingerie, pajamas, and maternity clothes; men's apparel comprising casual and smart-casual T-shirts, polo shirts, jackets, pants, and underwear; and skin care and cosmetic products, including cleansers, lotions, face and body creams, face masks, sunscreen, foundations, lipsticks, eye shadows, and other cosmetics-related items. It also provides shoes and bags, which comprises casual and formal shoes, purses, satchels, luggage, duffel bags, and wallets; handbags; apparel, gears and accessories, furnishings and decor, toys, and games for boys, girls, infants, and toddlers; sportswear, sports gear, and footwear for various sporting activities; home furnishings, such as bed and bath products, home decor, kitchen and tabletop items, and home appliances; and consumer electronic products. In addition, the company offers food and snacks, beverages, fresh produce, and pet goods; beauty products; and internet finance services, including consumer and supplier financing, and microcredit. Vipshop Holdings Limited provides its branded products through its vip.com and vipshop.com online platforms, as well as through its internet website and cellular phone application. Further, it offers warehousing, logistics, product procurement, research and development, technology development, and consulting services; software development and information technology support solutions; and supply chain services. Vipshop Holdings Limited was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Guangzhou, the People's Republic of China.
AmerisourceBergen Corporation sources and distributes pharmaceutical products in the United States and internationally. Its Pharmaceutical Distribution segment distributes brand-name and generic pharmaceuticals, over-the-counter healthcare products, home healthcare supplies and equipment, and related services to various healthcare providers, including acute care hospitals and health systems, independent and chain retail pharmacies, mail order pharmacies, medical clinics, long-term care and alternate site pharmacies, and other customers. It also provides pharmacy management, staffing, and other consulting services; supply management software to retail and institutional healthcare providers; and packaging solutions to various institutional and retail healthcare providers. In addition, this segment distributes plasma and other blood products, injectable pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and other specialty products; provides other services primarily to physicians who specialize in various disease states, primarily oncology, as well as to other healthcare providers, including hospitals and dialysis clinics; and offers data analytics, outcomes research, and additional services for biotechnology and pharmaceutical manufacturers. The company's Other segment provides integrated manufacturer services, such as clinical trial support, product post-approval, and commercialization support; specialty transportation and logistics services for the biopharmaceutical industry; and sells pharmaceuticals, vaccines, parasiticides, diagnostics, micro feed ingredients, and various other products to customers in the companion animal and production animal markets, as well as demand-creating sales force services to manufacturers. AmerisourceBergen Corporation was incorporated in 2001 and is headquartered in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania.
The following companies are subsidiares of Illinois Tool Works: A V Co 1 Limited, A V Co 2 Limited, A V Co 3 Limited, ACCU-LUBE Manufacturing GmbH - Schmiermittel und -gerate -, AIP/BI Holdings Inc., Accessories Marketing Holding Corp., Advanced Molding Company Inc., Allen France SAS, Alpine Engineered Products, Alpine Systems Corporation, Anaerobicos S.r.l., AppliChem GmbH, Avery Berkel France, Avery India Limited, Avery Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Avery Weigh Tronix, Avery Weigh-Tronix Finance Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix International Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix LLC, Avery Weigh-Tronix Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix Properties Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix Suzhou Weighing Technology Co. Ltd., Azon Limited, B.C. Immo, Beijing Miller Electric Manufacturing Co. Ltd., Berkel Ireland Limited, Berrington UK, Brapenta Eletronica Ltda., Brooks Instrument B.V., Brooks Instrument GmbH, Brooks Instrument KFT, Brooks Instrument Korea Ltd., Brooks Instrument LLC, Brooks Instrument Shanghai Co. 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Ltd., ITW FEG Hong Kong Limited, ITW FEG do Brasil Industria e Comercio Ltda., ITW Fastener Products GmbH, ITW Fluids and Hygiene Solutions Ltda., ITW Food Equipment Group LLC, ITW GH LLC, ITW GSE ApS, ITW GSE Inc., ITW Gamma Sarl, ITW German Management LLC, ITW Global Investments Holdings LLC, ITW Global Investments Holdings Y Compania Sociedad en Comandita por Acciones, ITW Global Investments Inc., ITW Global Tire Repair Europe GmbH, ITW Global Tire Repair Inc., ITW Global Tire Repair Japan K.K., ITW Graphics Asia Limited, ITW Graphics Thailand Ltd., ITW Great Britain Investment & Licensing Holding Company, ITW Group France Luxembourg S.ar.l., ITW HLP Thailand Co. Ltd., ITW Holding Quimica B.C. S.L. Sole Shareholder Company, ITW Holdings Australia L.P., ITW Holdings I Limited, ITW Holdings II Limited, ITW Holdings III Limited, ITW Holdings IV Limited, ITW Holdings IX Limited, ITW Holdings Inc., ITW Holdings V Limited, ITW Holdings VI Limited, ITW Holdings VII Limited, ITW Holdings VIII Limited, ITW Holdings X Limited, ITW Holdings XI Limited, ITW ILC Holdings I Inc., ITW IPG Investments LLC, ITW Imaden Industria e Comercio Ltda., ITW India Private Limited, ITW International Holdings LLC, ITW Invest Holding GmbH, ITW Ireland Holdings Unlimited Company, ITW Ireland Unlimited Company, ITW Italy Holding Srl, ITW Japan Ltd., ITW Korea LLC, ITW LLC & Co. KG, ITW Limited, ITW Lys Fusion S.r.l., ITW Materials Technology Shanghai Co. Ltd., ITW Meritex Sdn. Bhd., ITW Metal Fasteners S.L., ITW Mexico Holding Company S. De R.L. de C.V., ITW Mexico Holdings LLC, ITW Morlock GmbH, ITW Mortgage Investments II Inc., ITW Mortgage Investments III Inc., ITW Mortgage Investments IV Inc., ITW Netherlands Administration BV, ITW Netherlands Beta B.V., ITW Netherlands Finance Alpha BV, ITW New Universal LLC, ITW New Zealand, ITW Ningbo Components & Fastenings Systems Co. Ltd., ITW Novadan Sp. Z.o.o., ITW PPF Brasil Adesivos Ltda., ITW Packaging Technology China Co. Ltd., ITW Participations S.a r.l., ITW Pension Funds Trustee Company, ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids Japan Co. Ltd., ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids Korea Limited, ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids OOO, ITW Performance Polymers ApS, ITW Performance Polymers Wujiang Co. Ltd., ITW Performance Polymers and Fluids Group FZE, ITW Peru S.A.C., ITW Poly Mex S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Polymers Sealants North America Inc., ITW Pronovia s.r.o., ITW Pte. Ltd., ITW Qufu Automotive Cooling Systems Co. Ltd., ITW Real Estate Germany GmbH, ITW Residuals III L.L.C., ITW Residuals IV L.L.C., ITW Rivex, ITW SMPI, ITW SPG Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Simco-Ion Shenzhen Co. Ltd., ITW Slovakia s.r.o., ITW Spain Holdings S.L., ITW Specialty Film LLC, ITW Specialty Films France, ITW Specialty Materials Suzhou Co. Ltd., ITW Sverige AB, ITW Sweden Holding AB, ITW Test & Measurement Equipment Shanghai Co. Ltd, ITW Test & Measurement GmbH, ITW Test and Measurement Italia Srl, ITW Test and Measurement Services Industry and Trade Ltd., ITW Texwipe Philippines Inc., ITW Thermal Films Shanghai Co. Ltd., ITW UK, ITW UK Finance Beta Limited, ITW UK Finance Delta Limited, ITW UK Finance Gamma Limited, ITW UK Finance Limited, ITW UK Finance Zeta Ltd., ITW UK II Limited, ITW Universal II LLC, ITW Welding, ITW Welding AB, ITW Welding GmbH, ITW Welding Products B.V., ITW Welding Products Group FZE, ITW Welding Products Group S. DE R.L. De C.V., ITW Welding Products Italy Srl, ITW Welding Products Limited Liability Company, ITW Welding Produtos Para Solgdagem Ltda., ITW Welding Singapore Pte. Ltd., ITW de France, ITW do Brasil Industrial e Comercial Ltda., Illinois Tool Works Chile Limitada, Illinois Tool Works ITW Nederland B.V., Illinois Tool Works Inc., Impar Comercio E Representacoes Ltda., Industrie Plastic Elsasser GmbH, Inmobiliaria Cit. S.A. de C.F., Innova Temperlite Servicios S.A. de C.V., Innovacion y Transformacion Automotriz S.A. de C.V., Instron Brasil Equipamentos Cientificos Ltda., Instron Foreign Sales Corp. Limited, Instron France S.A.S., Instron GmbH, Instron Japan Company Ltd., Instron Korea LLC, Instron Shanghai Ltd., Instron Thailand Limited, International Leasing Company LLC, Isolenge - ITW Sistemas de Isolamento Termico Ltda., Itw Spraytec, KCPL Mauritius Holdings, Kester, Kleinmann GmbH, Krafft S.L., Loma Systems, Loma Systems BV, Loma Systems Canada Inc., Loma Systems sro, Lombard Pressings Limited, Lumex Inc., Lys Fusion Poland Sp. z.o.o., M&C Specialties Co., MAGNAFLUX GmbH, MEHB Holdings Limited, MGHG Property LLC, MTS 2 LLC., MTS 3 LLC., MTS China Holdings LLC, MTS Europe Holdings LLC, MTS Holdings France S.a.r.l., MTS Japan Ltd.., MTS Korea Inc.., MTS Systems China Co. Ltd., MTS Systems Corporation, MTS Systems Danmark ApS., MTS Systems Europe B.V., MTS Systems Finance C.V.., MTS Systems Germany GmbH, MTS Systems Holding B.V.., MTS Systems Hong Kong Incorporated, MTS Systems Limited, MTS Systems Norden Aktiebolag, MTS Systems S.r.l, MTS Systems., MTS Systems.., MTS Sytems Do Brazil, MTS Testing Solutions India Private Limited., MTS Testing Systems Canada Ltd., Manufacturing Avancee S.A., Meritex Technology Suzhou Co. Ltd., Meurer Verpackungssysteme GmbH, Miller Electric Mfg. LLC, Miller Insurance Ltd., NDT Holding LLC, NOVADAN APS, North Star Imaging Inc., Nova Chimica S.r.l., Orbitalum Tools GmbH, PENTA-91 OOO, PR. A. I. Srl, PT ITW Construction Products Indonesia, Pacific Concept Industries Limited Enping, Panreac Quimica S.L., Paslode Fasteners Shanghai Co. Ltd., Peerless Machinery Corp., Polyrey, Premark FEG L.L.C., Premark HII Holdings LLC, Premark International, Premark International LLC, Prolex Sociedad Anonima, QSA Global Inc., Quimica Industrial Mediterranea S.L., R&D Engineering A/S., R&D Prague s.r.o., R&D Steel ApS., R&D Test Systems A/S., R&D Tools and Structures A/S., RDGDK Engineering Private Limited, Ramset Fasteners Hong Kong Ltd., Rapid Cook LLC, Refrigeration France, S.E.E. Sistemas Industria E Comercio Ltda., ST Mexico Holdings LLC, Sealant Systems International Inc., Sentinel Asia Yuhan Hoesa, Shanghai ITW Plastic & Metal Co. Ltd, Simco Japan Inc., Simco Nederland B.V., Societe de Prospection et dInventions Techniques  SPIT, Speedline Holdings I Inc., Speedline Holdings I LLC, Speedline Technologies GmbH, Speedline Technologies Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Speedline Technologies Mexico Services S. de R.L. de C.V., Stokvis Celix Portugal Unipessoal LDA, Stokvis Danmark ApS, Stokvis Holdings S.A.R.L., Stokvis Promi s.r.o, Stokvis Prostick Tapes Private Limited, Stokvis Tapes B.V., Stokvis Tapes Benelux B.V., Stokvis Tapes Deutschland GmbH, Stokvis Tapes France, Stokvis Tapes Hong Kong Co. Limited, Stokvis Tapes Italia s.r.l., Stokvis Tapes Limited, Stokvis Tapes Limited Liability Company, Stokvis Tapes Norge AS, Stokvis Tapes Oy, Stokvis Tapes Polska Sp Z.O.O., Stokvis Tapes Shanghai Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes Sverige AB, Stokvis Tapes Taiwan Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes Tianjin Co. Ltd., Stolvis Holdings II S.A.R.L., Subsidiaries, Technopack Industria Comercio Consultoria e Representacoes Ltda., Teknek China Limited, Teknek Japan Limited, Teksaleco Ltd., The Miller Group Ltd, Thirode Grandes Cuisines Poligny, Tien Tai Electrode Co. Ltd., Tien Tai Electrode Kunshan Co. Ltd., Unichemicals Industria e Comercio Ltda., VR-Leasing Sarita GmbH & Co. Immobilien KG, VS European Holdco BV, Valeron Strength Films B.V., Veneta Decalcogomme S.r.l., Versachem Chile S.A., Vesta, Vesta Global Limited, Vesta Guangzhou Catering Equipment Co. Ltd, Viltronics Soltec, Vitronics Soltec B.V., Wachs Canada Ltd., Wachs Subsea LLC, Weigh-Tronix Canada ULC, Weigh-Tronix UK Limited, Wilsonart International Holdings LLC, Wynn Oil South Africa Pty Ltd., Wynn's Automotive France, Wynn's Belgium BVBA, Wynn's Italia Srl, Wynn's Mekuba India Pvt Ltd, and Zip-Pak International B.V..

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Brookdale Senior Living Inc. owns, manages, and operates senior living communities in the United States. It operates in three segments: Independent Living, Assisted Living and Memory Care, and Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs). The Independent Living segment owns or leases communities comprising independent and assisted living units in a single community that are primarily designed for middle to upper income seniors. The Assisted Living and Memory Care segment owns or leases communities consisting of freestanding multi-story communities and freestanding single-story communities, which offer housing and 24-hour assistance with activities of daily living for the Company's residents. This segment also operates memory care communities for residents with Alzheimer's and other dementias. The CCRCs segment owns or leases communities that provides various living arrangements, such as independent and assisted living, memory care, and skilled nursing; and services to accommodate various levels of physical ability and healthcare needs. It also manages communities on behalf of others. As of December 31, 2021, the company owned 347 communities, leased 299 communities, and managed 33 communities on behalf of others. Brookdale Senior Living Inc. was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee.
Brookfield Asset Management is an alternative asset manager and REIT/Real Estate Investment Manager firm focuses on real estate, renewable power, infrastructure and venture capital and private equity assets. It manages a range of public and private investment products and services for institutional and retail clients. It typically makes investments in sizeable, premier assets across geographies and asset classes. It invests both its own capital as well as capital from other investors. Within private equity and venture capital, it focuses on acquisition, early ventures, control buyouts and financially distressed, buyouts and corporate carve-outs, recapitalizations, convertible, senior and mezzanine financings, operational and capital structure restructuring, strategic re-direction, turnaround, and under-performing midmarket companies. It invests in both public debt and equity markets. It invests in private equity sectors with focus on Business Services include infrastructure, healthcare, road fuel distribution and marketing, construction and real estate; Industrials include manufacturers of automotive batteries, graphite electrodes, returnable plastic packaging, and sanitation management and development; and Residential/ infrastructure services. It targets companies which likely possess underlying real assets, primarily in sectors such as industrial products, building materials, metals, mining, homebuilding, oil and gas, paper and packaging, manufacturing and forest product sectors. It invests globally with focus on North America including Brazil, the United States, Canada; Europe; and Australia; and Asia-Pacific. The firm considers equity investments in the range of $2 million to $500 million. It has a four-year investment period and a 10-year term with two one-year extensions. The firm prefers to take minority stake and majority stake. Brookfield Asset Management Inc. was founded in 1997 and based in Toronto, Canada with additional offices across Northern America; South America; Europe; Middle East and Asia.
Summit Midstream Partners, LP focuses on owning, developing, and operating midstream energy infrastructure assets primarily shale formations in the continental United States. The company provides natural gas gathering, compression, treating, and processing services, as well as crude oil and produced water gathering services. Its unconventional resource basins include the Utica and Point Pleasant shale formations in southeastern Ohio; the Williston Basin that consists of the Bakken and Three Forks shale formations in northwestern North Dakota; the Denver-Julesburg Basin, which include the Niobrara and Codell shale formations in Colorado; the Permian Basin that comprise the Bone Spring and Wolfcamp shale formations in New Mexico; the Piceance Basin, which include the Mesaverde formation, and the Mancos and Niobrara shale formations in western Colorado; the Barnett Shale formation in north-central Texas; and the Marcellus Shale formation in northern West Virginia. The company also owns an ownership interest in Ohio Gathering, which owns and operates natural gas gathering and condensate stabilization facility in the Utica Shale in southeastern Ohio. It serves natural gas and crude oil producers. Summit Midstream GP, LLC operates as a general partner of the company. The company was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
State Street Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides a range of financial products and services to institutional investors worldwide. The company offers investment servicing products and services, including custody; product accounting; daily pricing and administration; master trust and master custody; depotbank services; record-keeping; cash management; foreign exchange, brokerage and other trading services; securities finance and enhanced custody products; deposit and short-term investment facilities; loans and lease financing; investment manager and alternative investment manager operations outsourcing; performance, risk, and compliance analytics; and financial data management to support institutional investors. It also engages in the provision of portfolio management and risk analytics, as well as trading and post-trade settlement services with integrated compliance and managed data. In addition, the company offers investment management strategies and products, such as core and enhanced indexing, multi-asset strategies, active quantitative and fundamental active capabilities, and alternative investment strategies. Further, it provides services and solutions, including environmental, social, and governance investing; defined benefit and defined contribution; and global fiduciary solutions, as well as exchange-traded fund under the SPDR ETF brand. The company provides its products and services to mutual funds, collective investment funds and other investment pools, corporate and public retirement plans, insurance companies, foundations, endowments, and investment managers. State Street Corporation was founded in 1792 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.
By Barbara Lewis

LONDON, Aug 10 (Reuters) - A British explorer for mineral resources in Africa will on Thursday become the first venture of its kind to be listed on London's AIM market for growing companies, its CEO said.

Following the recovery of the mining sector from a commodity price crash in 2015-16, a handful of new companies have listed.

But smaller exploration companies known as project generators, which find assets but sell them on or agree joint ventures to develop them, have generally preferred the Canadian or Australian exchanges.

"We will be the only listed project-generator business that has a focus on Africa," Steven Poulton, chief executive of Altus Strategies, told Reuters. Poulton had told Reuters in May he planned to list the company's shares.

The aim is to raise 1 million pounds ($1.3 million) for project exploration in Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ivory Coast, Morocco and Liberia.

He describes Altus as "a counter-cyclical mining project generator", saying its simultaneous targeting of multiple assets offered "a portfolio approach to exploration risk".

While major miners focused on cost-cutting and recovering from the downturn, Altus used the time for low-cost exploration, seeking gold, bauxite, copper, iron ore, zinc and silver.

Supporters of Altus include Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp, with which it has a joint venture agreement on copper development in Ethiopia, and Sprott Global Resource Investments of Canada, which will hold around 16 percent following the IPO.

Sprott Global Resource Investments is a unit of Toronto-based Sprott Inc (Frankfurt: A78.F - news)

Altus Strategies has also partnered with Australia-listed Canyon Resources to develop its discovery of bauxite in Cameroon and has sold a gold discovery in Liberia to Avesoro Resources.

The Altus listing follows three other mining listings so far this year in London, the London Stock Exchange (Other OTC: LDNXF - news) said.

They are Russian gold miner Polyus , listed in July, Jangada Mines, which is exploring for gold and platinum in Brazil and listed in June, and Rainbow Rare Earths, listed in January, which is developing a rare earth project in Burundi. ($1 = 0.7687 pounds) (Reporting by Barbara Lewis; Editing by David Holmes)
SEAL DOD stealth boat

Darren M. Moore/US Navy

Everyone knows that when Navy SEALs arrive at their target, they can do some serious ass-kicking. But how they get to the point of attack is changing  and becoming more high-tech.

According to a report from TheDrive.com, the Combatant Craft Assault has been stealthily prowling the battlefield, giving SEALs new capabilities to insert into hostile territory and then make a clean getaway.

The CCAs reportedly took part in Eager Lion, a joint exercise in Jordan, and also got a moment in the spotlight when Army Gen. Joseph Votel, the commander of United States Central Command took a training ride in one.

According to AmericanSpecialOperations.com, the CCA is 41 feet long, and is capable of carrying M240 medium machine guns, M2 heavy machine guns, and Mk-19 automatic grenade launchers. The boat is also capable of being air-dropped by a C-17A Globemaster, making it a highly flexible asset.

These boats can operate from the well decks of Navy amphibious ships or afloat staging bases like USS Ponce (AFSB(I) 15) and USNS Lewis B. Puller (T-ESB 3), which departed this past June for a deployment to the Persian Gulf region.

The craft reached full operational capability this year. While initially built by United States Marine, Inc., Lockheed Martin is now handling maintenance of these boats, which are manned by Special Warfare Combatant Craft Crewmen. Two other stealthy special-ops boats, the Combatant Craft Medium and the Combatant Craft Heavy, are reportedly in various stages of development and/or deployment to the fleet.

CENTCOM has seen a number of incidents with Iran, including a near-midair collision between a drone and a F/A-18E Super Hornet. Iran also notably seized American sailors in December, 2015 detaining the crews of two Riverine Command Boats. The stealthy boats could prevent future incidents by being far more difficult to track.

You can see the Eager Lion video with a CCA cameo below.

Story continues

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By Mitra Taj and Marco Aquino LIMA (Reuters) - Peru fears Venezuela may be headed towards civil war as a political crisis deepens and its economy implodes under the rule of socialist Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Peru's foreign minister told Reuters on Wednesday. Speaking a day after summoning his counterparts from across the region to Lima to condemn the "rupture of democratic order" in Venezuela, Ricardo Luna said Maduro's support at home and abroad had shrunk as he seeks to consolidate power through the constituent assembly, a powerful new body run by the ruling Socialist Party loyalists. Peru has been one of Venezuela's harshest critics since centrist President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski took office a year ago, replacing a former ally of late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez. Luna called Maduro's accusation that Kuczynski is conspiring with U.S. President Donald Trump "absurd." Peru's concern, he said, is the humanitarian crisis that has already sent waves of Venezuelan refugees to neighbouring nations, including some 40,000 to Peru in the past six months. "Our fear is that you really have a low-intensity civil war, which would produce a humanitarian crisis of great proportions," Luna said in an interview in his offices in Lima. "It's not necessarily going to happen, and it's not easy to compare it to major crisis such as the one we have in Syria. But it is a large country. It's a complex situation. It's something that's been building in time," Luna said. More than 125 people have died in clashes in Venezuela since the opposition began sustained protests in April. On Sunday, Venezuelan authorities quelled an attack on a military base by soldiers and armed civilians, killing two of them in a dramatic escalation of unrest. Luna said Maduro's "autocracy" does not appear to have sufficient support among Venezuelans to hold on to power for several decades as Cuba's government has, and it may not be long before the oil-producing country's economy collapses completely. "The last leg can last weeks, months, or even half a year. Not more than that," Luna said. Peru is evaluating new ways to pressure Venezuela to enact democratic reforms, including expelling Venezuela's ambassador from Peru or reducing Peru's diplomatic presence in Venezuela, Luna said. While Maduro might shrug off the Lima Declaration signed by 12 nations on Tuesday, including Canada, Brazil and Mexico, the collective condemnation sends a signal to the world that most in the region no longer sees Venezuela as a democracy, Luna said. The new bloc plans to meet to discuss Venezuela again at the United Nations General Assembly. (Reporting By Mitra Taj and Marco Aquino; Editing by Michael Perry)
Northrop Grumman Corporation operates as an aerospace and defense company worldwide. The company's Aeronautics Systems segment designs, develops, manufactures, integrates, and sustains aircraft systems. This segment also offers unmanned autonomous aircraft systems, including high-altitude long-endurance strategic ISR systems and vertical take-off and landing tactical ISR systems; and strategic long-range strike aircraft, tactical fighter and air dominance aircraft, and airborne battle management and command and control systems. Its Defense Systems segment designs, develops, and produces weapons and mission systems. It offers products and services, such as integrated battle management systems, weapons systems and aircraft, and mission systems. This segment also provides command and control and weapons systems, including munitions and missiles; precision strike weapons; propulsion, such as air-breathing and hypersonic systems; gun systems and precision munitions; life cycle service and support for software, weapons systems, and aircraft; and logistics support, sustainment, operation, and modernization for air, sea, and ground systems. The company's Mission Systems segment offers cyber, command, control, communications and computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems; radar, electro-optical/infrared and acoustic sensors; electronic warfare systems; advanced communications and network systems; cyber solutions; intelligence processing systems; navigation; and maritime power, propulsion, and payload launch systems. This segment also provides airborne multifunction sensors; maritime/land systems and sensors; navigation, targeting, and survivability solutions; and networked information solutions. Its Space Systems segment offers satellites and payloads; ground systems; missile defense systems and interceptors; launch vehicles and related propulsion systems; and strategic missiles. The company was founded in 1939 and is based in Falls Church, Virginia.
According to recent studies, nearly 40% of Americans do not get enough sleep, which can lead to a number of health-related issues such as obesity, high blood pressure, heart problems, diabetes, and many others.

How did you sleep last night? If your answer is, It could have been better, you are not alone. A recent study by the Better Sleep Council states that while 66% of Americans say they need eight or more hours of sleep a night, only 27% of them are actually getting it. According to the study published in May 2017, not only are Americans not getting enough sleep, 30% of people say they are dissatisfied with the quality of their sleep too!

Why is sleep so important? Cant we just get an extra shot of espresso in the morning? Maybe hit the snooze button two or three more times? It turns out not getting enough sleep can affect almost every aspect of a healthy life. According to the National Institutes of Health, sleep is involved in the healing and repair of your heart and blood vessels. Ongoing sleep deficiency is linked to an increased risk of heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and stroke. Sleep deficiency is even linked to an increased risk of obesity.

Sleep is very important to me. If I dont get a quality nights sleep it affects everything else I do. After a bad nights sleep, I have less energy to exercise. I am more likely to have just whatever is around for breakfast and tend to be less effective at work, Erin told the Better Sleep Council.

It seems the effects of lack of sleep on health are getting out to the public. We are finding many of our guests are extremely health conscious. They are looking for a better nights rest so they can have a healthier life, said Jack Freed, the mattress buyer at American Home Furniture and Mattress, headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico with six Mattress Centers located throughout the state.

Americans are searching for answers in this never-ending quest for the perfect nights sleep. In the past year, Americans have spent an estimated $41 billion on sleep aids and remedies  a number that is expected to jump to $52 billion by 2020. Unfortunately, this may be wasted money, as Consumer Reports found that, on average, sleeping pills like Ambien and Lunesta only help people get eight to 20 minutes of extra sleep a night.

The answer to a healthier nights rest is right under our noses, or under our bodies, as the case may be. Gordon, another respondent, told the BSC, We have recently purchased a new mattress and its totally helped. I used to fall asleep on the couch with the TV on. With the nice new mattress, I now shut off the TV and go to bed.

Gordon is not alone, a full 37% of consumers intend to replace their current mattress within the next two years. If these consumers havent purchased a mattress in the last ten years, they will be entering a new world of mattress shopping. No longer will you be searching for a firm or a plush. Now youll be choosing between a traditional coil, memory foam, or hybrid mattress. The technological advances in mattresses in just the past 10 years is amazing, said Ted Leveque, President of American Home Furniture and Mattress.

Its our job to help the guest find the perfect mattress for the perfect nights sleep, said Cynthia, one of 20 factory-trained sleep specialists employed by American Home Furniture and Mattress statewide. I see myself as a guide, helping someone locate the perfect mattress for them and their needs, remarked Jessica, another of American Home Furniture and Mattress sleep specialists. American Home Furniture and Mattress not only offers New Mexicos only true, one-year comfort guarantee and the guaranteed lowest price, they also offer up to 72-month financing. So it has never been easier to get into the mattress of your dreams. Its fun making people happy! laughed Jessica.

So if youre finding yourself stuck in a rut of tossing and turning, if youre waking up sore and unable to have a productive day, the answer to your problem may be right under your body! Remember, a perfect nights sleep is just a visit away to your local American Home Furniture and Mattress.

http://www.americanhome.com/mattress-center/
The film industry continues to be a bright spot for the New Mexico economy.

For the third year in a row, the industry has broken its own record of direct spend into the economy with $505.9 million.

That is up from $387 million in fiscal year 2016.

In addition to that, the state also saw 52 productions with a budget of over $1 million, up from 30 in fiscal year 2016.

Because the number of productions grew, the number of worker days also increased  to 448,304 from 260,307 in fiscal year 2016.

Productions mostly are in the Santa Fe/Albuquerque area.

Albuquerque Studios saw a huge impact during this last year. Wayne Rauschenberger, chief operating officer of the studios, said there were a couple times that the studios had four shows shooting at the lot. Part of that success is thanks to return customers.

We get a call from them every time they want to come back, he said. We also try to accommodate the locations stuff. Theres a back lot for Midnight, Texas and using some of the other back spaces for The Brave and The Night Shift outdoor shots. Weve been able to accommodate everything theyve thrown at us.

Gov. Susana Martinez released the information on Wednesday at ABQ Studios while on a portion of the set of NBCs drama The Brave.

From our talented workforce to our unmatched scenery and robust incentives, the choice is clear  New Mexico is the perfect place for film and television production, Martinez said. Were proud of all our state has to offer, and pleased that our film industry helps us build on our momentum in growing and diversifying New Mexicos economy.

Martinez touted the work of the New Mexico Film Office.

Nick Maniatis, film office director, said the film office seeks out a diverse group of productions because the landscape of the industry is constantly changing.

We have a lot of smaller (productions) and we have TV series that are 10 episodes and some are longer, he said. We have big TV studio productions. Were really trying to attract all different types. I want to accomplish more in digital media, but we dont have enough people to get that done. Were small, but were mighty.

Maniatis said a third year of increases also helps the film office make incremental changes to streamline the process.

One of the upgrades is the New Mexico Film Residency Certification Card, which makes the hiring of New Mexico residents easier for both the film and television industries. This helps smooth things out for workers in the industry, he says. Were constantly looking at ways to make it better.
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced Wednesday the approval of New Mexicos consolidated state plan  and those of Nevada and New Jersey  under the Every Student Succeeds Act.

Throughout this approval process, it has been exciting to see how each state has chosen to serve its students through the flexibility afforded to them under ESSA, DeVos said in a statement. The efforts put into these plans by chief state school officers, governors and others is evident, and I look forward to continuing to collaborate with each of them as we work to expand and improve educational opportunities for all students.

In fact, New Mexicos ESSA plan was rated as the best among the 17 states that had submitted documents to the federal government through late June, according to an independent review. Last week, Delawares plan was the first in the nation to win approval.

Bellwether Education Partners and the Collaborative for Student Success said New Mexico was the only state to receive the highest marks in the majority of categories  five out of nine  that were reviewed, including standards and assessments, student success indicators and measures of academic progress.

Christopher Ruszkowski, acting secretary for the New Mexico Public Education Department, told the Journal that the plan incorporated opinions from across the state.

PED officials traveled to six New Mexico cities last year to collect public feedback on New Mexicos education system. The department revisited those communities this spring to discuss ESSA and the draft plan.

Its been a lot of blood, sweat and tears, Ruszkowski said Wednesday. One of our big goals was to be one of the first to submit and one of the first to be approved.

Ruszkowski said the early approval will create stability and continuity during the upcoming school year, which begins Monday. He also touted the accolades from independent review after independent review across the political spectrum.

Gov. Susana Martinez called the U.S. Department of Educations approval welcome news for New Mexicos students, teachers and schools.

Over the last few years, our students and schools have made a lot of progress, she said in a statement. Federal approval of this plan will help us continue this progress so that more New Mexico kids have a chance to succeed in life.a

While Albuquerque Public Schools officials had said the plan sets high expectations that could be difficult to achieve, APS Superintendent Raquel Reedy expressed a willingness Wednesday to work with the plan.

We look forward to learning more about the new plan and continuing to work with PED to improve outcomes for all children in New Mexico, she said in a statement.

The U.S. Education Department said that allowing states more flexibility in how they deliver education to students is at the core of ESSA. Each state crafted a plan that it feels will best offer educational opportunities to meet the needs of the state and its students.

The department listed these unique elements from New Mexicos plan:

 Provides clear measurements of interim progress and targets for all subgroups for English language arts and math through 2020, including targets for all subgroups for four-, five- and six-year adjusted cohort graduation rates through 2020.

 Utilizes an A-F School Grades accountability system, with grades tied to a schools identification for comprehensive support and improvement.

 Implements the Principals Pursuing Excellence and Teachers Pursuing Excellence programs, which embed mentors for educators in struggling schools.

Still, some lawmakers have been critical of New Mexicos ESSA plan.

State Sen. Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque, chairwoman of the Legislative Education Study Committee, said there is widespread hatred and dislike of both the teacher evaluations and the school grades.
Nearly 12 years after a daylong August rampage left five people dead, the man police say is responsible is set for his routine two-year competency review.

Today, 2nd Judicial District Judge Benjamin Chavez will revisit the original ruling in the case that found John Hyde was not competent to stand trial, after which he was committed to a mental institution for 179 years. Every two years, Hyde is entitled to a competency review. If he is ever deemed competent, his case could be taken to trial.

Hyde is accused of shooting Department of Transportation worker Ben Lopez, 54, who was found dead early the morning of Aug. 18, 2005, outside of his office on Volcano NW. Hours later, David Fisher, 17, and Garrett Iversen, 22, were found dead in the motorcycle shop where they worked just before 5 p.m. on far east Central Avenue.

Albuquerque police officers Michael King, 50, and Richard Smith, 46, were shot to death around 10:30 p.m. as they arrived to Hydes home near Central and University for a mental health pickup.

Hyde, 60, who had managed his schizophrenia for years, saw his mental health deteriorate when his medication was changed months before the shootings. Attempts by Hyde and his family to find help for his unusual behavior were unsuccessful.

Three days before the shootings, hed gone to a local hospital asking for help, but was told he would need to make an appointment, according to APD detectives at the time. He returned the day before the shooting, but was unable to see his doctor at that time, too.

The shooting spree shocked the city and sparked regional discussions on behavioral health funding that petered out before many changes were made.

In past years, court documents show, both sides have agreed, based on information contained in reports compiled by a doctor at the New Mexico Behavioral Health Institute, that Hyde remained dangerous and not competent to proceed. He remains detained in a secured, locked facility.

In criminal law, competency generally deals with whether a defendant understands the proceedings and can assist in his own defense.
So far, two people have died while searching for Forrest Fenns buried gold: Randy Bilyeu in 2016 and Parris Wallace this year. In response, State Police Chief Pete Kassetas has called for Fenn to end the treasure hunt. Certainly, we want people to get outdoors and enjoy New Mexico, Kassetas told the Santa Fe New Mexican, but you have to do it safely.

I agree with Chief Kassetas that outdoor adventures need to be safe ones. I disagree with his call to end the hunt. I say this knowing that if the hunt continues, other people may die.

Apparently, both Bilyeu and Wallace drowned in the Rio Grande. Thats part of a pattern: a study of 2003-07 deaths in U.S. National Parks showed that the leading cause of death was drowning. Of course, there are plenty of other ways to die in the outdoors. Recently, a Texas doctor and experienced hiker, Sarah Beadle, died of apparent heat exhaustion in the Grand Canyon. If the National Park Service banned hikes during the searing Grand Canyon summers, Dr. Beadle would be alive today  but I dont recall anyone suggesting that those hikes should end.

In a country where individual freedom and the outdoors go hand in hand, we accept that the basic responsibility for safe adventures lies with the adventurers. We also accept that no matter how careful people are, tragedy cannot be eliminated entirely. Not at home, not at work, not in the wild.

The deaths of Randy Bilyeau and Parris Wallace are tragic  but thousands of people have been drawn outdoors by Fenns treasure without harm to themselves. Each year, many more people hike, climb, ride, hunt, bicycle, go four-wheeling, strap on cross-country skis, step into kayaks or rafts, or otherwise find ways to enjoy New Mexicos stunning beauty, for any reason they choose. None of those activities is risk-free, but when they do lead to tragedy we dont talk about outlawing deer hunts or kayaks. Instead, we call for programs to teach people how to minimize the risk and hope that people bother to learn.

If the Fenn treasure hunt comes to an end, those seeking adventure and not prepared to deal with it will make the same mistakes for different reasons. And a very few people who do everything right might die anyway, because death comes to us all. Pulling the treasure will not change anything but a detail. I hope that Fenns gold stays wherever it is and continues to draw people out of their ordinary lives. If they notice the beauty around them and realize that their life has become an adventure, theyll have found the treasure Forrest Fenn sent them to find.
One day [Marine Theodore Wallace] saw an officer casually aim his rifle and try to shoot a Vietnamese boy in the distance.

Sir, what are you doing? hed asked.

Hes probably supplying the [North Vietnamese Army], the officer said. Whats he doing out here anyway?

Its his country! said Wallace.

 Mark Bowden, Hue 1968: A Turning Point of the American War in Vietnam

WASHINGTON  As Vietnams 1968 Tet holiday approached, Gen. William Westmoreland, commander of U.S. forces there, cabled the Joint Chiefs in Washington that he had a plan. He would serenade, perhaps into dissolution, the communist forces he was certain would concentrate on attacking U.S. forces based at Khe Sanh near the demilitarized zone:

The Vietnamese youth is quite sentimentally disposed toward his family, and Tet is a traditional time for intimate family gatherings. The Vietnamese PSY War  Psychological Warfare  people have recently written a highly sentimental Tet song which is recorded. The Vietnamese say it is a tear-jerker to the extent that they do not want it played to their troops during Tet for fear their desertion rate will skyrocket. This is one of the records we will play to the North Vietnamese soldiers in the Khe Sanh-Con Thien areas during Tet.

This surreal nugget is from Mark Bowdens magnificent and meticulous history, which tells, with excruciating detail, a story that is both inspiring and infuriating. His subtitle is an understatement. As the epicenter of North Vietnams Tet offensive throughout South Vietnam, the swift capture of Hue, the countrys third-largest city, by communist forces  and of the 24 days of ferocious fighting that expelled them  became a hinge of American history. A month later, President Lyndon Johnson announced he would not seek re-election in an America where opposition to the war and trust in the government were moving inversely.

After the battles first day, Jan. 31, Westmoreland told Washington that the enemy had about 500 men in Hues Citadel. He was, Bowden writes, off by a factor of 20. So it went with U.S. intelligence. A few months earlier, Walt Rostow, Johnsons national security adviser, had told a Hue-bound reporter on deep background that the war was essentially already won because a crop called IR8 rice was going to stymie the communists revolution with a green revolution. Rostows theory was slain by this fact: The Vietnamese disliked the taste of IR8 rice.

The communists arriving in Hue immediately began advancing the revolution by purging enemies of the people in what became an orgy of violent score-settling. While Westmoreland remained fixated on Khe Sanh  Never, writes Bowden, had a general so effectively willed away the facts  a secret U.S. planning group met in Okinawa the day after the offensive began to consider a plan, code-named Fractured Jaw, involving tactical nuclear weapons. Westmoreland said these were not needed in the present situation.

Bowdens interviews, almost half a century on, with those who fought, on both sides, have produced unexampled descriptions of small-unit combat. The communists many months of large-scale infiltration and preparation were matched by their military skills. To a man, Bowden writes, the American veterans I interviewed told me they had faced a disciplined, highly motivated, skilled and determined enemy. To characterize them otherwise is to diminish the accomplishment of those who drove them out of Hue. In June 1968, Westmoreland was relieved of his command.

What Bowden calls one of the great shots in the annals of combat photography is of a U.S. tank in Hue draped with dead and wounded Marines. None were identified. Until, more than four decades later, Bowden found that the 18-year-old with a hole in his chest, who looked dead, or nearly so, was Alvin Bert Grantham from Mobile, Ala., whose story Bowden tells.

During house-to-house fighting, Marine Eden Jimenez was clearing rooms  tossing in grenades, then spraying the room with bullets  in one of which he found a wardrobe that he had riddled. In it was a mortally wounded woman holding a rifle and a baby. Bowden writes: When he was an old man, living in Odessa, Texas, he still wondered almost every day about that woman and child.  Who was she? How would he have felt if hed killed the baby, too?

Hue, like the war that pivoted there, continues to haunt some elderly men who live among us. And the wars legacy lives in Americans diminished trust in government. Since 1968, trust has not risen to pre-Vietnam levels.
We dont know how to teach kids from poverty. They come with no skills  well, they have street-fighting skills. Theyve got a lot of skills; theyre just not academic skills.

Im really tired of being attacked by people who dont understand education.

 State Sen. Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque and chair of the Legislative Education Study Committee

Its hard to know where to start addressing the senators comments, made at a national conference on states complying with the federal Every Student Succeeds Act.

You could begin with trying to imagine hearing Stewarts comments as a child or parent in a low-income family. Or hearing them as a teacher of children in poverty. Or hearing them as any caring taxpayer. But lets just start where Stewart should have: the kids.

In 2017, economically disadvantaged students at Riverside Elementary in the Gadsden school district improved their math proficiency by 8.7 percent over 2015, and their English language proficiency by 12.4 percent. Their counterparts at Barry Elementary in Clovis improved their English language proficiency by 9.2 percent and their math proficiency by 13.4 percent. And their counterparts at Gil Sanchez Elementary in Belen improved their English language proficiency by 5.3 percent and their math proficiency by 16 percent.

All three schools, like too many in New Mexico, have a student population that is more than 98 percent low-income. While their scores are still below where they need to be  with less than 50 percent of students proficient in most cases  they show dramatic improvement. These are, presumably, the kids Stewart believes have street-fighting skills, not academic ones.

Yet the data shows that thousands more students statewide, with the help of great teachers, can now do math and read at grade level. They are on a path to academic, college and/or career success. And thats something even a lowly layperson can understand about education.

Stewart is a former longtime educator at Albuquerque Public Schools and may be speaking from her experience there. But in her comments she sold many students, and her former teaching colleagues, short. The senator and her pals in the teachers union  which recommended she attend the conference in New Orleans to be seen as THE NM expert on ESSA  maintain more money, not standards and accountability, will improve the states abysmal education rankings.

She pointed out Republican Gov. Susana Martinezs administration released a video of snippets of her speech, which she said were taken out of context. In a follow-up interview with the Journal, she insisted she is tired of being attacked by people who dont understand education.

Regardless, while Stewart was in the limelight denigrating our students and throwing up her hands at the prospect of teaching them, the standards set in the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers exam and the accountability embedded in teacher evaluations and school grades based on student improvement are showing something quite different.

Because no matter what Stewart might proclaim from a dais in New Orleans, there are teachers in New Mexico who know very well how to teach kids from poverty. The data on schools from Gadsden to Clovis to Belen and beyond shows it. And while there is much work to do, those teachers, and their students, are doing that important work every day.

And its student improvement that proves New Mexicos low-income kids have much more than the street smarts Stewart gives them credit for  they, and the professional educators who teach them every day are just plain smart.

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.
New Mexicos 2018 general election is 15 months away, but candidates are already starting to roll out endorsements.

This week, veteran newsman Sam Donaldson officially backed Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jeff Apodaca in a video spot, and 1st Congressional District candidate Antoinette Sedillo Lopez announced she had been endorsed by U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., a fellow former law professor.

While most state voters likely wont be fully focused on the 2018 campaign season until next year, the early endorsements can be used to help raise money and to increase a candidates credibility.

In the governors race, Democrat Michelle Lujan Grisham has already landed an endorsement from Attorney General Hector Balderas and Emilys List, a group dedicated to electing Democratic women in favor of abortion rights to public office.

You can expect more endorsements in the coming weeks and months, especially because the gubernatorial race and two of the states three U.S. House races wont feature incumbents  U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Lujan is the only one seeking re-election. Lujan Grisham and Republican U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce are both running for governor.

PEARCEs SEAT: Carlsbad physicist Jack Volpato has entered the increasingly crowded GOP field for an open southern New Mexico congressional seat.

Volpato, a former Eddy County commissioner, cited incumbent U.S. Rep. Steve Pearces recent decision to run for governor  instead of for re-election in the 2nd Congressional District  as a key factor in his launching his own campaign.

Its a wide-open race, Volpato told the Journal.

He said that if elected, he would bring expertise on health care and safety net issues to the nations capital, and criticized the Republican-controlled Congress for having mismanaged attempts to repeal or overhaul Obamacare, officially known as the Affordable Care Act.

That is something you just dont try to do in the first 100 days of an administration, Volpato said, adding that more hearings should be held on the issue.

On other issues, Volpato said he would favor transferring federally owned land to state control and would oppose gun control measures.

The two other Republicans seeking the partys 2018 nomination for the GOP-leaning congressional district are Land Commissioner Aubrey Dunn and state Rep. Yvette Herrell of Alamogordo. More candidates could enter the race in the coming weeks.

On the Democratic side, four candidates have announced: Tony Martinez of Las Cruces, David Baake of Las Cruces, Mad Hildebrandt of Socorro and Ronald Fitzherbert of Las Cruces.

Dan Boyd: dboyd@abqjournal.com
Copyright  2017 Albuquerque Journal

Peter Grotte-Higley was 3 years old in 1939 and living in what was then Czechoslovakia when the Nazis sent his Jewish father to Sachsenhausen concentration camp.

As World War II came to a close, the invading Russian army forced 10-year-old Peter and his mother into a collection camp, where he recalls hearing people being beaten at night.

Grotte-Higley survived to tell the story of his eventual freedom, his success in the British advertising world and his retirement at age 58 with a healthy savings account and pension.

But at the age of 81, Grotte-Higley is trapped again  this time placed by a private guardianship company in a boarding house where he gets three meals a day and shares a room with another man. He isnt free to come and go, as he wishes. And he wants out.

It isnt a very clean place. My health is getting worse. The food is not adequate for somebody thats got bad kidneys. Im not getting the care I need, he told two Journal reporters.

Over the course of 70-plus years, Grotte-Higley has gone from being a prisoner in a Russian collection camp to being a protected person under the law in New Mexico. He says he has no access to any money and no way to find out his status as a court-assigned ward of Ayudando Guardians Inc., which last month was indicted along with its two top principals for alleged embezzlement of client funds.

The home where he has been placed isnt licensed or inspected by the state. A manager could not be reached for comment.

When two Journal reporters on Tuesday attempted to take Grotte-Higley to Ayudandos offices in Albuquerque at his request, a caretaker at the home barred him from leaving. A reporter who went inside to help Grotte-Higley gather up his documents and photos then was asked to leave the premises.

Call the police, an indignant Grotte-Higley told the reporter. I am not a prisoner here.

But under the states guardianship system, those like Grotte-Higley typically have no freedom to come and go, or to have visitors of their choosing. Their life decisions are dictated by a guardian or conservator appointed by a judge. They are at the mercy of the courts to find out where their life savings went. If they ever find out.

Without children or close family, Grotte-Higley on Jan. 28, 2016, was deemed mentally incapacitated in Bernalillo County District Court. Unable to handle his living and financial affairs, he was suffering from a number of medical issues. Six months earlier, his wife of 17 years, Nancy, died in her sleep.

An employee of the Jewish Care Program of Albuquerque is listed as the petitioner who asked the court to approve a guardianship/conservatorship for Grotte-Higley, who still tries to attend synagogue on Saturdays at Congregation Albert if he can find a ride or get a cab.

Wants accounting

The circumstances of his guardianship are unclear because state law requires so much confidentiality, ostensibly to protect the incapacitated persons privacy.

A court docket sheet, the only public record available, shows state District Judge Denise Barela-Shepherd of Albuquerque appointed Ayudando as Grotte-Higleys guardian and conservator in February 2016. Why he needed a guardianship/conservatorship isnt specified  although he had been suffering from health problems and recalls signing papers agreeing to the guardianship.

The medical reports that gave the rationale for him being deemed mentally incapacitated arent public. The docket sheet says four annual account/reports were filed between August 2016 and April 28 of this year.

The reports, also confidential, are required by state law to inform the judge about the incapacitated persons well-being and finances and whether a guardianship/conservatorship is still needed.

Grotte-Higley recalled receiving a conservator report just one time that didnt detail his finances. He recalled the judge in the case ordering Ayudando to give a detailed report on my spending (and income) but they never did.

Judges in New Mexico are bound by a judicial code of ethics to refrain from discussing pending cases in their courts.

Ayudando troubles

Guardianships and conservatorships, whether via a family member or professional firm, are supposed to be a last resort for people who cant manage their affairs, many of whom have dementia or Alzheimers.

New Mexicos system is under review by a special state Supreme Court task force set to propose reforms and ways courts can maintain better oversight of clients they place under guardianships.

The federal indictment of the 11-year-nonprofit Ayudando Guardians shocked many in the guardianship and legal community because Ayudando specialized in caring for the elderly and mentally or physically incapacitated. A federal indictment unsealed July 19 alleges the firms two principals and their families used client funds, including their monthly benefit payments, to support a lavish personal lifestyle.

Company credit cards were used to purchase up to $4 million in goods and services over the past three years that didnt appear related to client needs, federal documents allege.

One federal agent in a search warrant affidavit described Ayudando as a company permeated by crime. Grotte-Higley said he knew nothing about what he called the Ayudando scandal until alerted by the Journal.

Typical Bohunk

Grotte-Higley agreed to be interviewed by the Journal reporters last Saturday at a Northeast Heights restaurant. In recent months, his health had recovered to where he went to social events, including the monthly meeting of Albuquerque Recorder Society, a musical club that he had attended several years earlier but stopped.

He has relied on taxis to get to and from the meetings, but recently made the acquaintance of Journal reporter Olivier Uyttebrouck, who also plays the recorder.

In the past, Grotte-Higley has been allowed to leave the boarding house if accompanied by a responsible person or if transported by taxi, he said.

During the near three-hour interview with Uyttebrouck and reporter Colleen Heild on Saturday, Grotte-Higley recounted his life, promising to be as objective as I can. He maintained a sense of humor throughout, reminding the reporters he was born in what was then Bohemia. Im a typical Bohunk, he added.

Grotte-Higley said he agreed to be placed in a guardianship at a time when he was more severely ill than he is today. Before Ayudando was appointed, Grotte-Higley had a quadruple bypass, high blood pressure and at least one stroke, he said. He also recalled a series of falls.

Grotte-Higley did not know the U.S. Marshals Service had a court order to oversee Ayudandos operations until a reporter told him. He wondered why he hadnt seen an Ayudando representative in weeks. But he wanted to call the telephone number set up by federal authorities for clients and their families to call if they had questions.

He got a recorded message asking him to leave his contact information.

How the heck do I get out of that place? a frustrated Grotte-Higley said of his living arrangement, pounding his fists on the table.

Holocaust survivor program

Grotte-Higley had already been involved with the Jewish Federation of New Mexico.

Grotte-Higley said a social worker with the Jewish Care Program of the Federation has been trying to help him move to new lodging. She didnt return a phone call seeking comment on Wednesday.

Grotte-Higley on Tuesday planned to visit the Ayudando office on Central Avenue SE to speak with the U.S. Marshals Service about his case.

But a woman who identified herself as Deborah Brem, a manager for Malama Enterprises that manages the boarding house on Tennessee NE where he lives, told Journal reporter Uyttebrouck that he could not take Grotte-Higley to Ayudandos office.

I cant let this happen, Brem said. There is nobody that he can speak with right now. Grotte-Higley would need permission from Ayudando Guardians to leave the property, she said. At this point, Ayudando is still in place.

The reporter told Brem that Ayudando Guardians and its two principals are under federal indictment for looting client accounts and money laundering, and that Grotte-Higley wants to speak with someone about the consequences of the indictment for his finances and well-being.

Im very well aware of the situation there, Brem responded.

When reporters called Grotte-Higley later Tuesday on his cellphone, he said he could not talk freely because his caretaker was there with him. The Journal tried three times to reach Grotte-Higley at the same number on Wednesday, but he didnt answer. The calls went straight to a voice mail  that had not yet been set up.

Struggle for dignity and self-respect

Through the help of the Red Cross and the Czech underground, as he called it, Peter Grotte-Higley and his mother escaped from the Russian collection camp. They had to cross the Ore Mountains, winter was approaching and we were still wearing summer clothes.

It was an awful Nazi nest, he recalled of the war years.

But when the Russians arrived, we lost everything. They were worse than the Nazis. You know they were beating people during the night, waterboarding them I think. I saw them march up a group of people and the next thing we heard was gunshots.

Grotte-Higley reunited with his father in England. But he doesnt know whatever happened to his mother, who stayed in Czechoslovakia to help her parents after their escape from the camp.

Grotte-Higley says he managed to start a business in England that extended all over Europe. When he retired at the age of 58, he said he had a savings of well over $250,000 in U.S. dollars.

His retirement in America brought him to the Albuquerque area, where the woman who became his second wife lived.

He said he has two monthly pensions, including one from the United Kingdom that provides about $1,400 a month, and a second pension from a German insurance company for which he once worked.

Over the past year Grotte-Higley relied on a series of Ayudando Guardian representatives for transportation, trips to the doctor and for a $100-a-month debit card for his incidental expenses.

But at least twice when he tried to use the card to pay for purchases, he was told there were no funds on the card.

I was at Walmart, he recalled. Its highly embarrassing. How can they embarrass me like that?

Grotte-Higley often expresses frustration about his lack of independence, saying he is unable to leave the house to walk for exercise. A sociable man, he complains that he has little social stimulation in the home.

He also does not know what became of money he had saved or the two pension payments he once received.

The judge told them (Ayudando) to give a detailed report on my spending and finances, he told the Journal. They never did. Or at least, Grotte-Higley said, he never saw it.

Look, I have no money whatsoever, he said. I need a little bit of money to maintain my self-respect.
BOISE, Idaho  A group that represents farmers is calling the costs of saving imperiled salmon in the largest river system in the Pacific Northwest unsustainable and is turning to the Trump administration to sidestep endangered species laws.

The Columbia-Snake River Irrigators Association wants the government to convene a Cabinet-level committee with the power to allow exemptions to the Endangered Species Act. Known as the God squad because its decisions can lead to extinctions of threatened wildlife, it has only gathered three times  the last 25 years ago during a controversy over spotted owl habitat in the Northwest.

The irrigators association is frustrated with court rulings it says favor fish over people, claiming the committee could end years of legal challenges over U.S. dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers and bring stability for irrigators, power generators and other businesses that rely on the water.

Environmental groups call the request a publicity stunt and say it could hurt fishing companies and others that rely on healthy runs of federally protected salmon and steelhead.

The association sees hope in a series of pro-industry environmental decisions by President Donald Trump. His administration has rescinded an Obama-era rule that would shield many small streams and other bodies of water from pollution and development, enacted policies to increase coal mining on federal lands and proposed giving Western states greater flexibility to allow development in habitat of sage grouse, a threatened bird.

Darryll Olsen, association board representative, said the irrigators requested the committee during former President Barack Obamas tenure but got nowhere. He said the Trump administration has been encouraging during talks, leading to a formal request last month for a meeting with Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke.

What were asking for is that the secretary give direction to the (Interior) Department to work with us to review the steps for implementing the God squad, Olsen said.

Zinke can gather the committee, which he would chair and would include other natural resource agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency. It also would include representatives from Washington state, Oregon, Idaho and Montana.

If five of the federal committee members agree, they could exempt U.S. agencies from Endangered Species Act requirements for one or more of the thirteen species of salmon and steelhead listed since the early 1990s.

The irrigators group, which has 120 members growing food crops in Washington state and Oregon, expects to meet with Zinke soon, Olsen said.

Interior spokeswoman Heather Swift said in an email that the agency could not comment on a committee that had not been formed and that she had no information about Zinkes meetings.

Joseph Bogaard, executive director of a coalition of conservation, commercial, sport fishing and business groups called Save Our Wild Salmon, blasted the irrigation associations request.

Its a terrible idea that will deliver great harm to the people and businesses of the Pacific Northwest, said Bogaard, whose coalition relies on the fish to produce millions of dollars of revenue.

A federal judge ruled last year that the government had not done enough to improve salmon runs despite spending billions of dollars and urged it to consider removing four dams on the lower Snake River.

Todd True, a lawyer with the environmental law firm Earthjustice who represented some plaintiffs in that 2016 ruling, said the God squad request should go nowhere.

There isnt any basis to convene the committee because there are reasonable alternatives to save the fish, he said, pointing to the dam removal option. Their removal would be a big step forward.

This year, fish counts at dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers have been well below the 10-year average, which biologists blame on droughts in 2014 and 2015 and warming ocean conditions.

Various results have emerged the three times the God squad has convened. It refused to grant an exemption for a Tennessee dam in the 1970s over a fish called the snail darter. Regarding crane protection in the Midwest, a settlement was reached before the panel offered a decision.

In 1992, it voted to sidestep protections for the northern spotted owl and allow the Interior Department to sell timber on land in Oregon.
DENVER  Prosecutors say a former chairman of the Colorado Republican Party committed voter fraud using his ex-wifes identity in the 2016 presidential election.

The Greeley Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/2vpZRuW ) Steve Curtis pleaded not guilty Wednesday to one count of voter fraud and one count of forgery, a class five felony. If convicted, Curtis faces up to three years in prison.

Weld District Court Judge Julie Hoskins scheduled a four-day trial for December.

Curtis served as the chairman of the Colorado Republican Party from 1997-99, and he since has worked as a talk show host on the radio station KLZ-AM 560 in Denver.
Nearly $1.3 million in state and local funds will help Raytheon Missile Systems K-Tech division in Albuquerque expand its operations at the Sandia Science and Technology Park.

Gov. Susana Martinez announced the Local Economic Development Act funding today, including $850,000 from the state and $425,000 from Albuquerque, although the city council must give final approval. The money will boost Raytheon efforts to expand from its current 103,000-square-foot facility at the tech park into a second, 72,000-square-foot building there. It will hire about 60 more people in the process.

The Journal first reported on the companys facility expansion in April. Officials say the state and Raytheon were negotiating the LEDA funding at that time.

This is great news for New Mexico and another example of whats possible when businesses know theyre welcome in our state, Gov. Susana Martinez said in a statement.

Mayor Richard Berry said the city is thrilled.

I am pleased that they have been able to take advantage of our great workforce and through their strategic location at the Sandia Science and Technology Park they are able to take advantage of potential collaborations with the worlds finest scientists, Berry said.

Raytheons K-Tech division specializes in designing and building directed energy systems, including laser-based technology, and high-powered electromagnetic, or microwave systems. The company has worked closely with the Air Force Research Laboratory at Kirtland Air Force Base on those technologies, including the militarys new Counter-electronics High-powered Advanced Missile Project, or CHAMP, which the Air Force Lab and the Navy are now working to mount on aircraft.

Once operational, CHAMP could fly over buildings and installations to destroy electronics, computers and other systems using microwaves and no explosions, reducing collateral damage.

Raytheon has also developed its own ground-based Phaser microwave system to protect bases and installations from incoming enemy drones or missiles. If deployed, it would be manufactured by Raytheon K-Tech in Albuquerque, company executives told the Journal last spring.

Raytheon has already leased its new facility at the tech park and will be moving in next month, said Raytheon Missile Systems spokesman Lorenzo Cortes.

The LEDA funding will help pay for building improvement and construction costs and some lease abatement, according to the Economic Development Department.

Raytheons 180-employee team in Albuquerque could grow to about 240 over several years, Cortes said. The company also employs about 350 people on the Navajo Nation, where it makes electromechanical assemblies and other products for missiles.

This workforce expansion enables Raytheon to develop some of the most advanced technologies and capabilities that keep our warfighters and our nation ahead of the threat, Raytheon Missile Systems President Taylor W. Lawrence said in a statement.

The governor met with Raytheon executives in Boston last year to discuss the companys role in building a directed-energy industry cluster in Albuquerque, said Economic Development Secretary Matt Geisel.

There are a lot of opportunities to build that cluster in collaboration with the Air Force lab, Geisel told the Journal. A lot of cutting-edge technology is being developed behind the gate in cooperation with companies like Raytheon outside the gate.
An Albuquerque Police Department officer has been arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated after crashing his patrol car into a curb late Wednesday night, according to court documents.

Joshua Malecki, 28, has been with the department for almost seven years and is a patrol officer in the Northeast Area Command, according to Celina Espinoza, an APD spokeswoman.

She said he was in his marked Dodge Charger when he hit the curb but was not on duty.

Espinoza said Malecki was put on paid administrative leave immediately  which means he will not be able to perform any law enforcement duties  until after an internal investigation.

She said if he is indicted on the charges, he will be fired.

The department is committed to taking swift action in this case, but must follow policy and the rules set out in the unions collective bargaining agreement, Espinoza wrote in an email.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court, Malecki was driving near Wyoming and Constitution NE around 11:15 p.m. Wednesday, when he struck a curb, damaging his two left tires.

He called a friend to pick him up and take him home, but then decided to call his supervisor to report the crash.

Malecki told the responding officers that his wife had gone to her mothers house with their children and he was on his way there when he crashed into the median. He said he drank a cocktail of Seagrams Seven Crown and 7UP before leaving the house.

According to the complaint, Malecki performed poorly on field sobriety tests and blew a breath sample above the legal limit. The complaint did not say what the results were. He was booked into the county jail and released on his own recognizance hours later, according to online jail records.

Police Chief Gorden Eden said he was troubled by the incident. He said an internal investigation is being conducted into the specifics of what happened and whether Malecki had been involved in other crashes.

As a department, we work diligently to identify, arrest and convict people for DWI, and weve done a very good job of that, Eden said. Its very concerning for me to have one of our officers arrested for DWI.
TUCSON, Ariz.  An Amphitheater High School student in Tucson has been arrested in connection with an alleged threat made against the school via social media.

Principal Jon Lansa notified parents that arrest occurred Thursday after a parent saw a threatening Instagram post and contracted police.

Lansa says the student wasnt at the school at the time.

The students identity wasnt released.

Thursday is the first day of school for the Amphitheater district.
NAIROBI, Kenya  A dispute over Kenyas presidential election intensified Thursday when supporters of opposition leader Raila Odinga said an unofficial tally showed that he won  a claim that conflicted with a provisional official result that put incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta in the lead.

Although most of the East African nation was calm after Tuesdays vote, scattered clashes broke out between police and opposition supporters.

The uncertainty has left Kenya in political limbo, as its people await final results that they hope will dissipate tensions over vote-rigging allegations and preserve the long-term stability that has made the country a commercial hub.

Opposition official Musalia Mudavadi claimed to have complete data from election commission servers showing Odinga with a lead of several hundred thousand votes over Kenyatta, contrary to results on the commissions website that put the president more than 1 million votes ahead.

The opposition has received information from confidential sources in the election commission that indicates the actual presidential election results contained in their database, Mudavadi said. He said there was a serious attempt to try to either doctor or alter the final results.

Odinga, a former prime minister who has run unsuccessfully for president three times before, said hackers infiltrated the commissions computer system and manipulated results against him.

Commission chairman Wafula Chebukati said a hacking attempt was made but it failed. Election officials are painstakingly trying to confirm their provisional results showing Kenyatta in the lead with checks of documents from polling stations nationwide. The election commission has until Aug. 15 to release the final tally.

The long wait is leading to tension, said political analyst Hezron Mogambi. We are supposed by now to have had results, but the delay has been caused by the fact that the opposition had complaints about the system of transmitting results.

Clashes between police and opposition supporters erupted in a Nairobi slum. Police fired on rioters in Kawangware, a poor area of the capital, according to an Associated Press photographer. One wounded man was carried away by protesters who said police shot him. Demonstrators also burned tires in Kibera, another Nairobi slum.

Violence also broke out in Garissa county, where opposition supporters demonstrated against the announcement of a ruling party candidate as the winner of a gubernatorial race. Police tried to restore calm after part of the towns market was burned by arsonists, said a regional official, Mohamud Saleh.

On Wednesday, at least three people were shot and killed in confrontations between security forces and opposition supporters in several areas of Kenya.

International observers said they have not noted any signs of interference with the vote and appealed to Kenyans to be patient.

We affirm the conviction that the judicial process, the judicial system of Kenya, and the election laws themselves make full and adequate provision for accountability in this election. The streets do not, said former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, an election observer for The Carter Center, an international democracy promotion group led by former President Jimmy Carter.

Added Marietje Schaake, the Dutch head of the European Union mission observing the vote: Elections should never be an issue of life or death.

She said Odingas hacking allegations should be seriously looked at as part of the process of verifying the final tallies.

John Mahama, chief election observer for the Commonwealth and former president of Ghana, said the voting and counting system appeared credible, transparent and inclusive.

There was no immediate comment on the latest developments from Kenyatta, 55, whose father was Kenyas first president after independence from British colonial rule.

Angry crowds jeered police patrolling in Kawangware, an opposition stronghold.

People are demonstrating because of their rights, said Edwin Onyango, a supporter of the 72-year-old Odinga.

Odinga lost in a 2007 election that was followed by violence fueled by ethnic tensions that killed more than 1,000 people. He also lost the 2013 vote to Kenyatta and took allegations of vote-tampering to the Supreme Court, which rejected his case.

Some Nairobi residents said he should acknowledge another lost campaign.

He has done a lot for this country, said James Maina Bajirane. And at this particular time, at his age, he should concede defeat and the country goes on.

___

Associated Press journalists Ben Curtis and Tom Odula in Nairobi contributed.
Copyright  2017 Albuquerque Journal

SANTA FE  New Mexico is already embroiled in a legal fight with Texas over water rights. Now, there could be a dust-up over dirt.

State Land Commissioner Aubrey Dunn said Thursday that his office suspects road crews from a Texas county have been crossing into southern New Mexico and taking dirt, sand and gravel back into the Lone Star State.

We have a dirt bandit on our hands, and he is stealing from New Mexico schoolkids, Dunn said.

He said the site in question  in rural Otero County about four miles north of Dell City, Texas  is designated as state trust land. And any unauthorized mining activities on state trust land would represent a violation of New Mexicos Constitution, Dunn said.

In addition, Dunn said aerial photography indicates the mining activity likely began sometime from 2012 to 2014.

After the land commissioner sent a letter to Hudspeth (Texas) County commissioners demanding the mining activities be halted until a full review can be conducted, the countys attorney responded by expressing confusion about the exact location of the border between Texas and New Mexico.

Once we know exactly where the line is, then we can determine what needs to be done to rectify the situation, Hudspeth County Attorney C.R. Kit Bramblett wrote in his response letter.

The State Land Office replied to that letter last week by sending photographs of survey markers that appear to clearly indicate the mining site is in New Mexico.

New Mexico has a long history of legal struggles with Texas, including a 1927 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that set part of the boundary line between the two states and an ongoing dispute over management of water from the Rio Grande.

The latest issue could be resolved without the courts involvement, although it was unclear Tuesday how much restitution the State Land Office might be seeking in the case.

The State Land Office oversees more than 9 million acres of state trust land and roughly 13 million acres of subsurface mineral rights that are intended to help fund public schools, higher education and other beneficiaries.

Revenue from state trust land comes from oil and natural gas royalties, grazing rights, mining and other activities.

Land has been the catalyst for many a range war, and not much has changed here in the Wild West, said Dunn, a Republican who is running for Congress next year. Nowadays we just fight our battles in court, and thats where well see the perpetrators if they dont pay up.
Copyright  2017 Albuquerque Journal

State District Judge Shannon Bacon has rejected a challenge to the Albuquerque Minimum Wage Ordinance, approved by voters in 2012, but she did not immediately rule on a motion to throw out the legal challenge to the proposed Healthy Workforce Ordinance, which is slated to appear on the Oct. 3 ballot.

Ruling from the bench Thursday morning, Bacon said she did not have jurisdiction to move forward with the portions of the lawsuit seeking to declare that the minimum wage ordinance is unenforceable. She indicated that she would issue a ruling on the proposed sick leave ordinance soon to give the parties an opportunity to appeal her decision.

Assistant Albuquerque City Attorney Christopher Tebo noted that ballots have to be mailed to overseas voters on Aug. 19.

The challenge to the minimum wage ordinance and the proposed sick leave ordinance was filed by attorney Pat Rogers on behalf of the Association of Commerce and Industry, the New Mexico Restaurant Association, NAIOP  which represents commercial real estate developers  and Kaufman Fire Protection Services.

The suit alleges that the proposed Healthy Workforce Ordinance is a form of voter fraud known as logrolling, because it lumps 14 different issues as one. It also alleges that home rule municipalities do not have the power to enact voter-initiated legislation.

If approved by voters, the Healthy Workforce Ordinance would require employers to allow workers to earn paid sick time off. It would apply to full-time, part-time and temporary workers at any business with a physical presence in Albuquerque.

Supporters say the ordinance would ensure that workers dont have to choose between their paycheck and caring for themselves or a loved one.

Opponents argue that the ordinance would hurt businesses, because of higher costs and onerous record-keeping requirements.

While the lawsuit names the city of Albuquerque and City Clerk Natalie Howard as defendants, it was Tim Davis, an attorney with the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty, who faced off against Rogers in court on Thursday. Davis represented the intervenors in the lawsuit  Organizers in the Land of Enchantment, El Centro de Igualdad Y Derechos, OLE Education Fund and Rebecca Glenn.

Bacons ruling followed a hearing, during which Davis argued that the challenge to the minimum wage ordinance could not move forward because it constitutes an election challenge. That election challenge, he said, needed to have been filed within 30 days of the election results being certified.

Rogers argued that it was not an election contest, but Bacon disagreed.

Its astonishing and disheartening that business groups were trying to cut hard working New Mexicans wages by nearly $3,000 a year, OLE member Trae Buffin said in a news release. Im overjoyed that the court agreed with the people and that the minimum wage is safe in Albuquerque.

As for the challenge to the proposed sick leave ordinance, Davis argued that Albuquerque is a home-rule municipality, and, as such, it has the power to exercise all powers not expressly denied. Voter initiatives are not expressly denied, he said. He also argued that the logrolling prohibition doesnt apply to municipalities, but, even if it does, he said, the proposed Healthy Workforce Ordinance wouldnt constitute logrolling because all of the provisions contained in it relate to sick leave and to how that measure should be enacted.

Rogers argued that the states founders deemed initiatives to be objectionable, and, unlike in many other states, did not include that right in the state constitution.

Initiatives are inconsistent with the constitution of New Mexico, he said.

Rogers also argued that the prohibition against logrolling does, indeed, apply to municipalities. And he said the coupling of many different and substantial provisions to the proposed ordinance  including a prohibition on the City Council altering it in any substantive way and the granting of class action status  constitutes logrolling.

This ordinance  was drafted in the dark, in secret without any public meetings without any opportunity for anyone who disagrees with it to point out betters ways to do this or how unworkable various sections are, Rogers said.

Davis countered that thousands of Albuquerque voters signed the petition to get the sick leave ordinance on the ballot.

The idea that this was drafted in the dark and that nobody knows whats going on here completely ignores the fact that there were over 20,000 individual interactions with voters who signed the petition and had the opportunity to read the entire ordinance when they did so, he said.
PHOENIX  A judge overseeing a religious discrimination case against polygamous communities in Arizona and Utah has appointed an official to monitor municipal decisions involving housing rights and make sure other changes ordered by the court are carried out.

Roger Carter, city manager of Washington, Utah, was appointed to monitor municipal operations in the sister cities of Colorado City, Arizona, and Hildale, Utah, on behalf of the court. His appointment on Aug. 3 was a response to a 2016 jury verdict that concluded nonbelievers were denied police protection, building permits and water hookups on the basis of religion.

Carter was the last of three outsiders hired to help carry out the court-ordered overhaul of the towns, which are under court supervision for the next decade as punishment for the discrimination verdict.

The towns were accused of serving as an arm of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a radical offshoot of mainstream Mormonism, which disavowed polygamy more than 100 years ago.

The civil rights case marked one of the boldest attempts to confront what critics have said was a corrupt regime in both towns. It provided a rare glimpse into the inner workings of secluded towns that are shrouded in secrecy and distrustful of the government and outsiders.

As a court monitor, Carters responsibilities include reviewing the way the towns handle utility applications and building permits, make changes made to city ordinances, and handle citizen complaints about housing rights.

The overhaul ordered by U.S. District Judge H. Russel Holland nearly four months ago called for the appointment of two other officials who would focus on operations in the towns shared police department.

Jurors at the 2016 trial concluded the towns officers arrested nonbelievers without probable cause and made unreasonable searches of their property.

The judge also has said police employees communicated with and provided financial assistance for church leader Warren Jeffs while he was a fugitive. Jeffs is currently serving a life sentence in Texas for sexually assaulting girls he considered brides.

Holland previously rejected the U.S. Justice Departments bid to dismantle the police department as a remedy.

Instead, he appointed Robert Flowers, chief of the Santa Clara-Ivins City Police Department in Utah, to serve as a mentor to the chief of the Colorado City Marshals Office and offer advice on the operations of the agency.

Jim Keith, the police chief of Washington, Utah, will serve as a consultant and help the towns police department develop new policies on internal affairs investigations and hiring officers, including removing town managers and city council members from a police hiring committee.

___

Follow Jacques Billeaud at twitter.com/jacquesbilleaud. His work can be found at https://www.apnews.com/search/jacques%20billeaud.
Tata Steel re-affirms its entry into the home solutions market by launching the new product line, Pravesh - steel doors with wooden finish, as a part of its growth strategy in the B2C segment. To help it create a formidable presence in consumers minds, J. Walter Thompson Kolkata has come up with a unique digital-first campaign called #DoorsOfIndia. Coming from a strong insight Every Door Has A Story, this campaign is a real-time discovery of stories and untold facts of some of the most prominent doors around India. To partner in this initiative, J. Walter Thompson has brought on-board its network partner Hungama Digital Services (HDS), a leading full service digital agency with capabilities in digital ideation, production, social media and on-ground activation. The intra-network collaboration will make sure that this integrated idea leads to a whole lot of digital conversations around doors per se and thereby enable Pravesh doors to get positioned as the brand behind such conversations.

#DoorsOfIndia is a one-of-its-kind on-road journey that would be passing through the diaspora of Indian geography, dialects and cultural nuances curating stories of prominent doors. It would cover more than 30,000 Kms across 46 cities in 15 states over a period of 5 months. A unique discovery in true sense, this campaign would comprise of 6 explorers (travel bloggers) who will embark on the journey covering 6 different regions of India curating doors of various kinds -- ornamental, historical, interesting, and more. These curated door stories will be published almost real-time on the dedicated microsite -www.doorsofindia.com along with social media amplification across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. This digital campaign is being supported by mainstream media as well including Print, OOH, BTL activations. The media outreach is being planned in such a way that the region of the ongoing journey gets exposed to the #DoorsOfIndia creatives and relates to the same.

Commenting on the initiative, Peeyush Gupta, Vice President-Steel (Marketing & Sales) at Tata Steel said; "The campaign will help us to tell the world the importance of doors in a home. The Doors of India campaign will help us to reach out to the people and open doors to more business in this category which has huge potential."

Commenting on the creative concept, Tarun Rai, CEO, J Walter Thompson South Asia said; The Doors of India campaign is an example of taking a strong concept and amplifying it across media  from on-ground to online. From activation and traditional media through to digital. I am very happy that two of the Thompson group companies J Walter Thompson and Hungama Digital Services are collaborating on this project to implement a challenging but exciting, 30,000 Kms Pravesh Doors journey through India.

Credits:

Concept & Project Head: Surojit Sen (AVP & CSD  Digital, JWT)

Campaign Head: Carlton Dsilva (CEO & CCO  Hungama Digital Services)

On-ground Lead: Deven Sagar (Hungama Digital Services)

Account Management (JWT): Tania Sinha (AVP & CSD)

Account Management (HDS): Surya Narayanan, Charu Sharma, Ebrahim Mandviwala

Creative Team (JWT): Partha Choudhary, Tandra Chakraborty, Suvrajit Kundu, Shubhrakanti Mandal, Sayasi Ghosh

Creative Team (HDS): Manesh Swamy, Paresh Jodhawat, Suraj Talulikar, Ninad Shelar

Digital Team (JWT): Soham Sengupta, Sulakshana Goswami

Social Media (HDS): Dipshika Ravi, Shreyas Deshmukh

Technology Team (HDS): Mandar Kamat, Tejashree Lad, Nitin Kalel, Tarun Sisodia, Nikhil Khandelwal

Analytics (HDS): Meghana Kelkar, Naman Ahluwalia, Rudolph Pereira

Following are some of the video links:

Main Launch Concept: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJ2oz5yet0A

Doorway to Heaven at Tiruchirapalli: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGyoDbOQEKU

Door of Diversities at Patna Museum: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9rDr1DSKwE

Social Media URLs:

facebook.com/TataPravesh

twitter.com/TataPravesh

instagram.com/TataPravesh
Reaffirming its commitment towards introducing new technology and fueling innovation in its Smartphone range, Panasonic India today launched the power packed Eluga A3 and A3 Pro and announcaed the appointment of Bollywood celebrity Taapsee Pannu as the new face for its Smartphone Business, in addition to Varun Dhawan, the existing brand ambassador. The company also unveiled its latest brand campaign So Much To Do for the new Eluga product series, allowing the user to do so much. Panasonic Eluga A3 and Eluga A3 Pro equipped with ARBO  the virtual assistant are priced at Rs. 11,290 and Rs. 12,790 respectively.

The smartphones were today launched in the capital in the presence of Mr. Manish Sharma, President & CEO, Panasonic India & South Asia, Vice President, Appliances Company and Executive Officer, Panasonic Corporation, Mr. Pankaj Rana, Business Head  Mobility Division, Panasonic India and actor Taapsee Pannu.

The new range comes with Panasonics stylish innovative design and enhanced camera features, giving consumers the ultimate opportunity to experience and do much more. The full metal body smartphones with split-screen feature come with a massive 4000 mAh battery thereby giving it ample backup to last for a day.

The 9.1 mm light weight devices come with an impressive 5.2 Full HD display with Asahi Dragon Trial glass and a thin bezel, giving the user enhanced visual experience with sharper image quality and vivid colours. The 13 MP Phase Detection Auto Focus rear camera with LED flash and 8 MP front camera captures life-like pictures and superb selfies.

Conveying elegance and panache, the Eluga A3 and A3 Pro offer 16 GB and 32 GB internal storage respectively and support expandable storage up to 128GB via a microSD card slot. The devices are power-driven by 1.25 GHz, MTK 6737 Quad core (Eluga A3) and 1.3GHz, MTK6753 Octa-core processor (Eluga A3 Pro). The 4G VoLTE enabled smartphones provide additional security to the user with the Front Fingerprint Sensor. Both the devices are paired with 3GB RAM, Android 7.0 Nougat and Google Duo for user friendly one-on-one video calling and for connecting faster with your loved ones.

Highlighting the companys strategy towards the smartphone division in India, Mr. Manish Sharma, President & CEO, Panasonic India & South Asia, Vice President, Appliances Company and Executive Officer, Panasonic Corporation said, We believe our in-house developed artificial intelligence (AI)-based virtual assistantArbo will be a differentiator. Today, softwares comprising of applications and user-interface (UI) have become the deciding factor to upgrade yourself to the next level of technology. The evolution of technology software has opened endless opportunities. Customers will continue to look for technology which will shape the product interface and the way we interact with our smartphones.

Commenting on the launch, Mr. Pankaj Rana, Business Head  Mobility Division, Panasonic India, said, Further to the positive response of Eluga Ray series, we are happy to introduce two more powerful smartphones in the Eluga portfolio- Eluga A3 and A3 Pro. With the new improved features and enhanced quality the user will be able to do so much more. The Smartphones come in 3 stunning colors - Mocha Gold, Gold and Grey which define and compliment consumers style quotient. Also, our AI Assistant  Arbo will track and understand all your activities and help you make a schedule so that you dont miss out on anything from your daily routine

He added, We learned that the consumer wishes to do new things every day. With our new brand campaign So Much To Do we want the user to explore, create, practice and mostly do things that they have never done. Taapsee with her recent performances has developed a connect with the millennials and will surely infuse freshness to the new range. We are very happy to have her as our brand ambassador and look forward to this association.

Eluga A3 and A3 Pro will be available from 10th August 2017 onwards across all Panasonic brand shops and other retail outlets across the country.

Key Features:
With a rapidly evolving business and economic landscape there is a dire requirement of fresh thinking, new skill sets, greater flexibility & adaptability, more collaboration as well as the ability to think on ones feet.

Diversity in the workforce has become a necessity today, and more so in the leadership positions. It cant be denied that women bring a high level of creativity and empathy while solving problems and handling crises. Women leaders bring to the table a different level of dexterity.

AdGullys The W-Suite series features interactions with influential women leaders in India, who share some deep insights on what being a woman leader means in Indias business landscape, the mantras to succeed, achieving work-life balance, pay parity and much more.

Priyanka Shah, Director  Mobile, Isobar India, joined the agency in January 2016. Prior to that, she was with Ogilvy & Mather, where she was Mobility Head (Mumbai) and was heading the mobile business across brands for Mumbai region. Prior to this, she was with PHD, where she was handling mobile strategy and planning for HUL (all brands).

An engineer by qualification, Shah has over eight years of professional experience in Telecom, MVAS Marketing and Mobile Marketing, with a focus in business/ functional analysis and product management. She has been successful in devising mobile first strategies for brands across categories like FMCG, Healthcare, Automobile, F&B, etc.

Being an engineer always made her extremely driven towards technology and its innumerable possibilities. Shah brings to the table a unique combination of marrying brands with technology to get the most impactful solution out of it and loves to call herself a Mobile Architect.

The biggest high in her career was being featured as Top 25 Mobile Women to Watch 2017 Globally  in Mobile Marketer edition by Boston Consulting.

What defines a woman leader in todays ecosystem?

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a Leader, as quoted by John Quincy Adams, and to my mind this holds true for women and men. And in the future, I hope there will be no female or male leaders, only LEADERS.

Why do you think a smaller percentage of women than men reach the top of their professions?

Women have to be tougher, putting double the effort and perform twice as well to be considered half as good. The Glass ceiling is a barrier so subtle that it is transparent, yet so strong that it prevents women from moving up the corporate hierarchy.

Work place bias is a structural impediment for women since the business world as a whole is still run by men, many of whom make unwarranted assumptions based on stereotypical notions about how women do or should behave. Different standards are applied for the evaluation of women and men  in hiring, work assignments, compensation, and promotions. Men and women are judged by different criteria, they are expected to perform differently, and they are rewarded differently for the same.

Women are also more likely than men to voluntarily step off the career ladder, unable to overcome the guilt and stress of balancing their workplace and home, sacrificing their positions if their family responsibilities so demand. The timing of taking breaks from work can have a negative effect on career trajectories and stop women from following traditional routes to senior roles.

Do you think women leaders are still scrutinised as much for style as for substance?

I believe style and substance both go hand in hand, more so in todays digital era. Your Charisma or Style is a measure of your confidence, whereas substance is a measure of your mettle, what you are made of. This holds true for both men and women. Style is important because your personality isnt the first thing people see, so If you have it, flaunt it, and let your work and actions take care of the rest.

Style can also indicate your mind-set...Teresa May wore bold, leopard-patterned shoes when she entered 10 Downing Street for the first time. Did she put those on thinking that she was signalling something: I mean business?

Dozens of countries around the world have had women at the helm, including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Argentina, Norway, Denmark, Liberia and Canada. But female leaders are still scrutinised as much for style as for substance, and invariably compared to one another  a sign that they are considered exceptions, rather than the rule.

Do you think the leadership effectiveness of women is higher than men? Why?

Women are as ambitious, educated and prepared as their male peers and more emotional too. I believe that being emotional is not an emotion one should hide, but an asset that one should share. The feeling side of the brain is as important to leadership as the logical thinking side of the brain, since it makes them leaders one can connect to, relate to. Also, women are more solution-oriented and deft at multitasking.

Women leaders in the 80s and 90s and women leaders today  what are the key differences? And what are the things that havent changed much?

The rules have changed. Societys idea of what represents a legitimate and appropriate career for women has moved on. Women have always worked, but I think its just accepted now that women have a career.

In the early 90s, there was no such reality: women worked at work and worked at home. Work-life balance was once seen exclusively as a womans problem, specifically, one faced by mothers. These days, men also talk the talk, accept household responsibilities and believe in equal division of labour at home.

Workplaces, too, have become more supportive when it comes to catering to the needs of working parents. From onsite creches, discounted child care services, to day care centres for toddlers, to perks such as increased paid maternity leave, options to take a years sabbatical, and work from home options.

How do you maintain a balance between career goals and family responsibilities? How frequently do you have to sacrifice one for the other?

Working women inevitably have to make hard choices at times between family responsibilities and career. But keeping in mind that my family also benefits from my working, and since I have the ability to switch on and switch off from professional life to personal life and vice versa, I am able to make things work out satisfactorily. Also, I enjoy tremendous support from my partner and family, which definitely goes a long way in keeping me focused and sane.

Do you think pay parity exists in our corporates today across levels? What about pay parity at the leadership levels?

Significant gender differences are evident  with women much more likely than men to say that the two genders are not treated equally.

Women are united in their views across generations: Millennial women, who are starting their careers on a fairly equal footing with their male counterparts, are just as likely as older generations to believe that women face an uphill climb in terms of being treated alike.

I believe pay parity is a critical issue. However there are some organisations like Isobar or Dentsu Aegis Network, who have taken efforts to bridge the gap and support women working in their organisations in every possible way to achieve what they deserve and set examples for others to follow.

Optimism aside though, it is still up to us women to fight for what we deserve. In this case, we deserve equal pay, which means an end to gender discrimination and hopefully, a more transparent system able to eradicate these parities in the future.

What would be your advice to women aiming for the C-suite?

Remember the words of Margaret Thatcher: Any woman who understands the problems of running a home will be nearer to understanding the problems of running a country.

Be the kind of woman that makes other women want to be you.

What, according to you, are the 3 important lessons new women leaders need to learn?

Learn by example: Find role models who can help them visualise where they could be at different points in the future. Take inspiration from those whove gone before them, and learn how to better navigate their own careers from the experiences of these role models  their successes and their failures.



Use your voice: When it comes to standing up for what you believe in or voicing your opinions on things, never fail to make use of your voice. Make use of what God has given you and say what you think, say what you believe in, and argue against what you dont.



Stay grounded: You need your support system with you always.
Ziox Mobiles, from Sun Air Voice Pvt Ltd, is bullish on India and has firmed up plans to establish a stronger foothold in the Indian market. The brand has lined up a total investment of over Rs 200 crore, which shall span for a year. Rs 100 crore has been allocated for marketing for FY2017-18. Ziox aims to achieve estimated revenues of Rs 1,000 crore and sales of 10 million product units.

Actor Sushant Singh Rajput has been roped in as brand ambassador for the brand and Ziox Mobiles believes that this association will further boost the brands legacy as the actor resonates to the brand promise: Quality that Speaks.

Commenting on this association and a promising future, Deepak Kabu, CEO, Ziox Mobiles, said, The future looks bright. Ziox Mobiles has a range of phones in the pipeline with exciting new launches. We are enthralled to present Sushant Singh Rajput as the new face of Ziox Mobiles. With Sushant on board, it will help augment sales and further its reach in the market. The partnership with him is timed with Ziox Mobiles next phase of expansion on a pan-India level.

Sushant embodies talent, youthfulness and style. More importantly, he blends well with the core values of hard work, reliability, and is the epitome of our brand philosophy, Kabu added.

Speaking on the association, Sushant Singh Rajput said, I have always known Ziox Mobiles to be an inspirational brand in terms of their persuasion to become Indias biggest mobile brand. I am happy to be associated with a brand which is very young, and has a journey that is very similar to mine. I love how this brand designs its products to suit every need of its customers and is constantly innovating itself as I see myself doing that while working on a role. I look forward to being part of the Ziox Mobiles family and to contribute to its fascinating growth journey in India.

Meanwhile, Ziox is in the final stages of signing on a creative agency for the brand. It is, however, not looking at getting a media agency on board at this point in time.

The brand has also announced its plan to set up two new manufacturing units (in Sikkim and Noida) and R&D facilities apart from the existing New Delhi unit, with a holding capacity of around 1 million units per month.

In conversation with Adgully, Deepak Kabu opens up more on Zioxs journey in India, the communication strategy, growth plans, TG and much more. Excerpts:

How has these two years been for Ziox since its launch in India?

I have enjoyed every moment being associated with this company. We started with very low numbers, but the vision of the company was very clear to the management, owners and promoters. Having a clear vision on what we want to do and the factory in place has helped us tremendously in reaching where we are today in such a short span of time. We had aimed at getting the distribution in place and now cover pan India. Ziox today has tied up with over 40,000 retailers across India.

Which are the media platforms that you are focusing on more?

We will be focusing on everything. We have started with print media and now will be moving towards ATL and then digital as well. We cant leave any loopholes and will focus everywhere to get to those numbers.

What is the TG and the markets that you are looking at?

We do not have a predetermined target group as we want this phone to be available for everyone. Indian consumers do not mind spending money on a phone, provided they receive good features, specifications and excellent user experience. Ziox has done several ATL activities especially in the southern markets.

What is the price band that Ziox is focusing on?

There is enormous competition in the mobile segment in the range of Rs 7,000 to Rs 20,000, but there is a vacuum in the price range of Rs 3,000-Rs 6500 as there are hardly any phones available in this price range. Ziox caters to this mid-level price range with its budget phones. Since we are only 2 years old in the market, we made our distribution strong, aided with Above The Line (ATL) activities, and now the consumer knows about the brand and its offerings. Going forward, we will venture into premium smartphones and high-end phones as we would have created significant brand equity in the next few years.

What is the distribution strategy?

Ziox has a very solid distribution in place and we are leveraging e-commerce as well. We have tied with Amazon and Flipkart, where we will sell a series of phones exclusively on these platforms. We are also receiving good response for our phones that we sell on channels like Shop CJ, Homeshop 18 and so on.

How challenging has India proved to be as a market for Ziox with Chinese brands taking over the market now?

One should never underestimate Indian brands. We are going to be a good example of that. All Indian brands are making good numbers now. In the last couple of months, the numbers have gone up for Indian brands. When you are playing at your home ground, there are obviously some positives that one can justify. We have planned to sell 10 million handsets by next year and we are quite sure that we can achieve it. Since no one else has been able to sell 3 million units in a year but us, we are positive about our future achievements.

Please tell us about the upcoming phone offerings from Ziox?

We will launch ZioPix very soon, which will be a budget phone, along with two new smartphones  Titan and Titan Pro.
A.M. Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of a- of Polskie Towarzystwo Reasekuracji S.A. (Polish Re) (Poland). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (rating) is stable.

The ratings of Polish Re reflect the explicit support provided by its ultimate parent, Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited (Fairfax), in the form of a legal binding guarantee with an indefinite term. The rating affirmations also consider Polish Res volatile risk-adjusted capitalisation, historically weak underwriting performance and uncertain business profile.

In addition to the explicit parental guarantee, Fairfax continues to provide technical and capital support, as well as other forms of assistance to Polish Re, which includes technical reserving support and investment management services. In 2015, Polish Re participated in Fairfaxs acquisition of QBE Insurance Group Limiteds (QBE) branch operations in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia. As part of the transaction, Polish Re provided a 100% quota share protection for new and renewal business underwritten by the former QBE branch operations. In the first half of 2016, Fairfax migrated this business to its newly established direct insurance company based in Luxembourg, which now underwrites new policies written out of the former QBE branches. At the same time, the quota share arrangement between Polish Re and the former QBE insurance operation expired.

In 2016, Polish Res gross written premiums decreased by 39% to PLN 263 million, driven largely by the discontinuation of the quota share arrangement with the former QBE branches acquired by Fairfax. Polish Res risk-adjusted capitalisation remained stable in 2016. However, A.M. Best believes the sufficiency of Polish Res risk-adjusted capitalisation over the medium term will likely depend upon a sustained improvement in technical performance and a smooth run-off of its Polish motor third party liability (MTPL) reserves.

Polish Re produced an underwriting loss of PLN 4.7 million in 2016 (2015: profit of PLN 3.7 million), driven largely by reserve strengthening in the Polish MTPL run-off portfolio and adverse currency movements. These were softened by favorable reserve development in other lines of business. Although A.M. Best expects Polish Res withdrawal from the unprofitable MTPL segment to support a lower level of claims activity in the longer term, adverse run-off experience could still arise from legislative changes in Polands motor liability regime. In addition, technical results are likely to remain affected by the impact of the global softening in reinsurance conditions on pricing.

Polish Re continues to face material challenges in improving its competitive position, owing to its limited business profile in the highly competitive international reinsurance market. Although managements decision to withdraw capacity from the unprofitable MTPL segment is expected to benefit Polish Res future performance, it has also altered materially the companys business profile, increasing its susceptibility to a volatile operating environment.

This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on A.M. Bests website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see A.M. Bests Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Understanding Bests Credit Ratings. For information on the proper media use of Bests Credit Ratings and A.M. Best press releases, please view Guide for Media - Proper Use of Bests Credit Ratings and A.M. Best Rating Action Press Releases.

A.M. Best is the worlds oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

Copyright  2017 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170810005933/en/

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Martina Seydoux, +44 20 7397 0308

Financial Analyst

martina.seydoux@ambest.com

or

Salman Siddiqui, +44 20 7397 0331

Associate Director

salman.siddiqui@ambest.com

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Christopher Sharkey, +1 908-439-2200, ext. 5159

Manager, Public Relations

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Jim Peavy, +1 908-439-2200, ext. 5644

Director, Public Relations

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ASUS has briefly leaked the ZenFone 4 Selfie, the ZenFone 4 Selfie Pro, and the ZenFone 4 Max on its online shop, though the listings for those have already been taken offline. That said, it wasnt done before the information was saved in Googles chrome web cache. Due to this you can see the images above and below of the three different phones complete with details on specs and hardware, including color, design elements, and price, though the costs that are listed in the images are for Europe and not the U.S. or other international markets, so its important to keep in mind that the prices for anywhere but Europe are still technically unknown.

When it comes to the cost for Europe, The ZenFone 4 Max is actually going to be the least expensive, coming in at a price of 229,99, while the ZenFone 4 Selfie comes in at 299,99, and the ZenFone 4 Selfie Pro comes in at 399,99, which are essentially 230, 300, and 400. When it comes to specs, the ZenFone 4 Max comes with a 5.2-inch IPS HD screen powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 processor, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage space, an 8-megapixel front camera, and a 13-megapixel plus 5-megapixel dual camera setup on the back. Its also coming with a 4,100mAh (as opposed to the 5,000mAh battery for the model that was announced back on July 4th) battery and support for expandable storage, and comes in Pink with a White face. The ZenFone 4 Selfie Pro on the other hand comes with a 5.5-inch Full HD screen powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor, paired with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage space, which is also expandable via microSD card. For the cameras things are switched around as the dual camera setup is on the front here, with a 24-megapixel plus 5-megapixel pair of sensors, while the camera on the back is 16-megapixels. This phone also has a much smaller battery as it holds a capacity of 3,000mAh.

As for the ZenFone 4 Selfie, it comes with a 5.5-inch display but it will be HD just like the ZenFone 4 Max instead of Full HD like the ZenFone 4 Selfie Pro, and it will come with a 20-megapixel plus 8-megapixel dual camera setup on the front instead of the 24-megapixel plus 5-megapixel. For the rear camera its carrying a 16-megapixel sensor as well, and its powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor paired with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage space, also expandable with a microSD card if needed and it also comes with a 3,000mAh battery. Both the ZenFone 4 Selfie and ZenFone 4 Selfie Pro will come in Black, and all three phones will come running on Android 7.0 Nougat and come with fingerprint sensors.
Samsung is now rolling out the August 2017 security patch for the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge units sold in Mexico. It is likely that the patch currently being deployed by the South Korean tech giant is dated August 1, 2017 rather than the newer August 5, 2017 update. This is likely the same software that was released earlier this month for the Samsung Galaxy J7 Prime and it contains fixes for many vulnerabilities found in the operating systems media framework. Ten of the security issues found resolved in the August 1 package are considered by the search giant as critical. However, not distributing the newer update may leave the devices vulnerable to attacks that exploit the flaws found in Broadcoms networking drivers and the OSs kernel components.

Aside from the flaws found in the Android operating system, the August 2017 security patch fixes loopholes in Samsungs proprietary skin. The South Korean smartphone manufacturer identified 12 major vulnerabilities found in the companys own software. While others were not disclosed at this time, the firm noted that the problems originate from its softwares lack of boundary checking. If exploited, the smartphones memory may become corrupted and the data stored may also be accessed by unauthorized individuals. The issues are found in devices running Android 6.0 Marshmallow and Android 7.0 Nougat, and therefore users of these handsets should expect an update to arrive soon.

The Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge is one of the two flagship devices released by the manufacturer back in early 2016. Like most other devices, the handset is expected to receive two major operating system upgrades and three years of support with security patches and bug fixes. The handset, like its smaller brother the Samsung Galaxy S7, has already received Android 7.0 Nougat earlier this year and it is expected that the two products will receive an update that should install Android 8.0 within a few months after it is released. Once the update is installed, the owners of the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge should see that the firmware version has changed and is now identified as the G935FXXU1DQH3 once they check for it in the device settings. More devices should receive the new patch soon, though it may take several weeks before it actually arrives.
James Damore, the ex-Google software engineer who was terminated by the company on Monday after his internal memo criticizing the tech giants diversity initiatives went viral and ended up on the Internet, says that the upper management shamed and smeared him, but only after the document was posted online and became a subject of media scrutiny. In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Mr. Damore said that hes disappointed with the latest turn of events, adding that he loved Google long before joining the Mountain View, California-based firm. Despite the fact that his memo was created and shared internally a month ago, no one from the companys management warned him about possible repercussions of sharing it more widely, he said.

Mr. Damore also responded to the criticism directed at him by YouTube Chief Executive Officer Susan Wojcicki who on Wednesday said that his memo was hurtful and would have been criticized even more widely if he used the same arguments to attempt explaining the lack of minority workers in the tech industry. According to him, that argument is a false analogy and an attempt to smear him without actively trying to discuss the issue. In the original memo, Mr. Damore claimed that certain biological differences between men and women can largely be used to explain the fact that women are underrepresented in the tech segment, a notion that many of his colleagues labeled as misleading and outright discriminatory, while he claimed he has pro-diversity stances and only wants to see Google approach the issue in a more sensible manner.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai also criticized the contents of the document and stated that the company will continue working on maintaining an inclusive work culture, and a similar sentiment was previously expressed by the firms new Vice President of Diversity Danielle Brown. In an email sent to Googlers on Sunday, Ms. Brown said that the companys employees should feel safe expressing their opinions so long as those beliefs arent in violation of Googles Code of Conduct and federal laws on equal employment, which was the basis used for firing Mr. Damore who now said hes considering taking legal action against Alphabets subsidiary. The controversy followed shortly after Google recorded a major win in its dispute with the U.S. Department of Labor that accused it of systematically underpaying women.
Lenovo has just confirmed that the entire Phab2 lineup of devices will not receive an update to Android 7.0 Nougat, as you can see in the provided image down below, which comes straight from the company. Now, this means that even the Lenovo Phab2 Pro with Tango is stuck on Android 6.0 Marshmallow, which is quite surprising. Aside from the Phab2 Pro, the Lenovo Phab, Phab Plus, Phab2 and Phab2 Plus will not be updated to Android 7.0 Nougat either. This essentially means that the Lenovo Phab and Phab Plus are stuck on Android Lollipop, while the other two devices are at least running Android Marshmallow.

Now, in addition to these five smartphones, Lenovo has decided not to update the Lenovo Tab3 7 Essential and the Tab3 10 Business, which are the companys two tablet offerings. The former comes with Android 5.0 Lollipop out of the box, while the second one runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow. Needless today, such decision by Lenovo is quite disappointing, especially for those of you who purchased one of the aforementioned devices. Having said that, Lenovo has announced that the company is switching to stock Android recently, which means that the companys custom skin is a thing of the past, which might have something to do with the decision not to update the Phab-branded devices to Android 7.0 Nougat.

Having said that, its worth noting that the company had already introduced the first device to sport stock Android, the Lenovo K8 Note. This phone was announced in India yesterday, and it remains to be seen if it will hit any other markets in the coming weeks / months. Most of you probably know that Motorola is owned by Lenovo, though Moto-branded phones run a close-to-stock version of Android, so theyre far easier to update than Lenovos previous phones were. It remains to be seen whats next for Lenovo, but you can expect to see close-to-stock Android on both Lenovo and Moto-branded smartphones from now on, which is something that many users will welcome, and that should mean that the Lenovo-branded devices will get update much faster than before, though it remains to be seen if Lenovo will be able to deliver.
The Moto Z2 Force and the 360 Camera Moto Mod are available for purchase in the United States as of today, Motorola Mobility confirmed on Thursday. The latest Android flagship from the Lenovo-owned original equipment manufacturer (OEM) can be purchased directly from the company or any of the fifth largest carriers in the country, and will also be available from Best Buy in the coming days. In accordance with the firms original promise, all consumers who purchase the Moto Z2 Force will also get one Moto Insta-Share Projector Mod free of charge. The phone accessory will be delivered to them by mail and theres currently no word on how long will this particular promotion will last, though it likely depends on supplies.

The device is priced at $720 which can be paid off in installments by getting it on a carrier plan, while the 360 Camera Moto Mod has a price tag of $299.99. Originally announced last month, the Moto Z2 Force is Motorolas first true flagship released this year and yet another product from the company that supports its proprietary Moto Mods. The handset boasts a 5.5-inch display panel with a resolution of 2,560 by 1,440 pixels and is rather compact, measuring in at 155.8 x 76 x 6.1mm and weighing 143g. Its powered by the Snapdragon 835, Qualcomms most powerful system-on-chip (SoC) to date and the first piece of silicon from the company manufactured on the 10nm process node. The Moto Z2 Force also features 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal flash memory which is expandable via a dedicated microSD card slot by up to 256GB. The rear side of the handset houses two 12-megapixel lenses with an aperture of f/2.0 and a dual-LED (dual tone) flash, whereas its top bezel features a 5-megapixel camera module with f/2.2 aperture and another dual-LED flash unit.

The Moto Z2 Force runs Android 7.1.1 Nougat out of the box, with this particular software build being only lightly modified by Motorola, making it relatively similar to the stock Android experience. The handset is expected to be released in select European and other markets in the coming months, the OEM previously confirmed.

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Yet another real-life image of whats believed to be the Galaxy Note 8 emerged online earlier today, having been shared by known industry insider Evan Blass. The photograph that can be seen above adds more credence to numerous reports that the Galaxy Note 8 is set to become Samsungs first smartphone with a dual camera setup on its back panel. The device shown in the newly uncovered image seems to be wrapped in some kind of a protective case and wasnt recorded from a particularly revealing angle, yet the photo still heavily hints at its dual camera setup with a dual-LED (dual tone) flash unit, in addition to showing a heart rate monitor and a fingerprint reader on the back side of the upcoming phone.

The placement of the fingerprint scanner was one of the few criticisms received by the otherwise highly praised Galaxy S8 lineup, though the sensor seen on the supposed Galaxy Note 8 is somewhat farther apart from the nearest camera lens and should hence be harder to mistake for an imaging module and vice versa. The entire primary camera setup of the device also seems to be protruding from its body, albeit only slightly, similar to how the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S7 series also featured a small camera bump. Regarding other aspects of the highly anticipated phablet, the Galaxy Note 8 is expected to be equipped with a 6.3-inch Super AMOLED screen with a QHD resolution and a tall aspect ratio of 18.5:9 which will likely be marketed as another Infinity Display.

The international variant of the phablet should be powered by the Samsung-made Exynos 8895 system-on-chip (SoC), whereas the U.S. one is thought to sport Qualcomms Snapdragon 835, and both are expected to launch with 6GB of RAM and at least 64GB of storage space. Models with more RAM and flash memory have been the subjects of some rumors in recent months, though they are unlikely to be available outside of select Asian markets. The Galaxy Note 8 will be officially unveiled on August 23, Samsung previously confirmed, indicating that the companys new Android flagship should be released by late September, if not sooner.

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Pocket tweet as leak. pic.twitter.com/Yldut4U4xd  Evan Blass (@evleaks) August 10, 2017
Today well compare two devices that ship with premium hardware, offer premium build quality and come with premium price-tags. The Google Pixel XL is the larger of the two first-generation Pixel devices launched by Google, replacing the much-loved Nexus-line of affordable smartphones that ran pure Android and was a hit not just with the Android developer community, but with millions of pure Android lovers around the world. Sonys Xperia XZ Premium, on the other hand, is the latest flagship smartphone from the Japanese tech major, and comes with an attractive design aesthetic and cutting-edge processing power. They are both great smartphones to own, but only one can win our head-to-head today, so which one is it? Lets find out!

Specifications

Google Pixel XL

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As mentioned already, the Google Pixel XL is the larger of the two first-generation Pixel smartphones launched last year. The devices are designed, developed and marketed by Google, and are manufactured by Taiwanese tech company HTC. The handsets were officially announced last October, and were put up for sale internationally shortly thereafter. As a successor to the Nexus devices, the Pixel twins have managed to cater to the dedicated Android fan base, even though many of them were originally infuriated at the idea of losing their beloved Nexus lineup. However, the lure of high-end hardware, best-in-class cameras, pure Android experience and super-fast updates soon won over most of the skeptics, with large sections of the dedicated Android community embracing them much the same way they had welcomed the Nexus line years earlier.

The Pixel XL ships with a 5.5-inch WQHD (2560 x 1440) AMOLED display that has Corning Gorilla Glass 4 for protection. The device is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 SoC, which may now sound outdated because of the Snapdragon 835, but is still faster than the chip that powered some of the best phones from last year, including, Samsungs Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge. Googles phablet also comes with 4GB of DDR4 RAM and either 32GB or 128GB of UFS 2.0 storage, depending on the model. The device also ships with a rear-facing fingerprint scanner as well as an NFC chip for compatibility with Android Pay.

Imaging options on the Pixel XL include a rear-facing 12.3-megapixel sensor with an 1/2.3-inch sensor size and 1.55m pixel size. The sensor is paired with a lens that comes with an f/2.0 aperture. The camera has EIS, PDAF & Laser Autofocus, alongside a dual-tone, dual LED flash. The camera can take 2160p videos at 30fps and 1080p videos at up to 120fps. The front-facing selfie-cam comes with an 8-megapixel sensor with an 1/3.2-inch sensor size and 1.4m pixel size, alongside an f/2.4 lens. You can only, however, record 1080p videos at 30fps with the front-facing camera. The one thing that needs to be noted here, is that in a benchmark test conducted by DxOMark last year, the Pixel (and Pixel XL) camera received a score of 89  the highest yet for a smartphone at the time.

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On the software side of things, the Pixel XL originally shipped with Android 7.1 Nougat on-board, and along with the Pixel, was one of the first two smartphones to have had Google Assistant pre-installed. As for the rest of the Pixel XL spec-sheet, the device includes a non-removable 3,450mAh Li-ion battery with fast-charging enabled, while local connectivity options include dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA and hotspot, alongside Bluetooth 4.2 with A2DP, LE. The device also has GPS with A-GPS and GLONASS. In terms of sensors, the device ships with an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a proximity sensor, a magnetometer and a barometer. The device measures 154.7mm in length, 75.7mm in width and 8.5mm in thickness while weighing in at 168 grams.

Sony Xperia XZ Premium

The Xperia XZ Premium is not just one of the best-looking smartphones on the market today, but also boasts of some truly impressive hardware thats on par with the very best on offer right now. The phone features an IPS LCD Triluminous display that has a 4K pixel resolution (3840 x 2160) and is protected by Cornings Gorilla Glass 5. The device is powered by the Snapdragon 835 SoC that comes with eight custom Kryo 280 cores, four of which are clocked at 2.45GHz while the other four run at a maximum frequency of 2.19GHz. An integrated Adreno 540 GPU takes care of all the graphics processing needs. The device comes with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage that can be expanded by a microSD card of up to 256GB in capacity.

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In terms of optics, the rear-facing camera on the Xperia XZ Premium comes with a 19-megapixel sensor with 5-axis electronic image stabilization (EIS), PDAF and laser autofocus along with the customary LED flash. The camera has an f/2.0 aperture, a 25mm focal length and a 1/2.3 sensor size, with software features that include geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection, HDR and panorama. The camera can record 4K videos at 30fps and 720p videos at an astonishing 960fps, although only for very short bursts (just about 0.15 seconds). The front facing camera is a 13-megapixel sensor that can record 1080p videos at 30fps and, comes with an f/2.0 aperture, a 22mm focal length, a 1/3-inch sensor size and 1.12m pixel size.

The Xperia XZ Premium also ships with a whole host of sensors including, an accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity sensor, barometer, magnetometer (e-compass) and color spectrum sensor. The device carries a non-removable 3,230mAh Li-ion battery with support for Qualcomms Quick Charge 3.0, while cellular connectivity includes support for 4G LTE, 3G HSPA and 2G GSM standards. The Xperia XZ Premium features USB Type-C connectivity, but also includes a 3.5mm audio port. In terms of software, the device comes with pre-installed Android 7.1 Nougat and is likely to receive the Android O update going forward. Like most Sony flagships before it, the Xperia XZ Premium is also fully waterproof and dust resistant, and comes with an IP68 certification, meaning, it can be submerged in up to 1.5 meters of water for up to 30 minutes at a stretch.

While the Xperia XZ Premium is a decent smartphone in general, youll need to remember one thing if youre planning to buy the device in the U.S. Like its recent predecessors, it also doesnt have a fingerprint scanner in its U.S. variants. So in spite of a rather hefty price-tag, the device doesnt come with a standard biometric sensor thats fairly common these days even in $100 devices for the most part.

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And The Winner Is 

The Final Word

The Sony Xperia XZ Premium is an excellent all-round smartphone with a build quality thats second to none. It packs the latest hardware, offers comprehensive protection from the elements and, comes with a striking, yet elegant design thats unmistakably Sony. On paper, its got pretty much everything youd want from a modern-day smartphone, but in reality, it was difficult to overlook a couple of key issues while deciding the on winner in this comparison. First and foremost is the missing fingerprint scanner that admittedly, is an annoyance only for U.S. residents, but it renders your device incompatible with various mobile payment systems, which is just unacceptable for a device that costs as much as this one. The second thing that went in the Pixel XLs favor are all the third-party developments that always follow Googles handsets. For a true Android aficionado, they are just too hard to resist. Even if youre not into all that, youd still appreciate the lightning-quick updates that not only bring new features and fix annoying bugs, but also keep your device protected from the latest malware. That being the case, the Google Pixel XL is the clear winner in todays comparison, all things considered.
Facebook plans to add around 3,000 new staff members to its content control teams around the world in the near future, whose main job will be to hunt down and take action against hate speech and terrorist propaganda on the social network, recent reports indicate. Around 500 of those new employees are reportedly going to be coming from Germany where numerous cases of online hate speech have been recorded in recent years. The country already hosts about 700 of Facebooks content control staff, mostly working out of Berlin and through outsourcing companies. On top of hiring more staff, Facebook is reportedly going to be bolstering psychological and other types of support for content control staff, who typically see some of the worst speech and content that the web has to offer in the course of performing their duty and ensuring that members of the public do not see that same content.

Amid a very charged worldwide social and political climate, the pressure is on tech companies with public-facing products, such as Facebook and Google, to help stamp out damaging hate speech and propaganda that can aid the causes of extremists. Europe in particular has been cracking down hard on tech companies in recent months, pressuring them to do more to curb the spread of hate and messages encouraging violence. Germany has been one of the tougher authorities taking action against hate speech since the outbreak of racially-charged and nationalist speech online in the wake of the ongoing worldwide refugee and immigration crises.

Aside from social pressure, companies like Facebook have even come under regulatory fire recently, with some countries authorities threatening the corporations with all kinds of legal action, including large fines, if they dont find ways to reign in the rash of hate speech thats been spreading online. Many such firms have taken to working with the governments on those issues; Facebook and Google launched an initiative last year to help stamp out misleading and hateful news content, commonly referred to as fake news, in Googles news feeds and search results, as well as Facebooks social networks, though many governments are now calling for them to do more.
According to ETNews, a Korea-based news outlet, Samsung has decided on a roadmap for the Galaxy Note 8 sales. This report claims that the company will start selling its new flagship on September 15, which is in accordance to previous reports. The pre-order period will be shorter than it was for Samsungs Galaxy S8 flagships, which is quite interesting. Now, consumers in Samsungs homeland will be able to pre-order the companys new flagship phablet from September 1 and September 10, after which the company will start selling the phone on September 15, and were presuming that Samsung will ship out pre-ordered phones between September 10 and September 15, as those units will go out first.

The Galaxy S line is usually more popular than the Galaxy Note line, even though the companys Galaxy Note-branded phones have been closing in, to a degree. In any case, Samsung had received more than one million pre-orders for the Galaxy S8 in Korea only, and it will be interesting to see whether the Galaxy Note 8 can break that record. Most people would probably say that something like that wont happen, as the Galaxy S line is still more popular, but keep in mind that the Galaxy Note 8 will be the first Galaxy Note-branded handset in the last two years (not counting the Galaxy Note FE), and those who were planning to get the Galaxy Note 7 will probably get the Galaxy Note 8, at least quite a few of those consumers. The Galaxy Note FE did get released a while back, that is true, but that is not a true Galaxy Note release, as the Galaxy Note FE is a refurbished phone, and it was actually launched not long ago.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 will be announced on August 23 in New York, and the device will resemble its Galaxy S8 siblings quite a bit, though it will ship with sharper corners. The device will be made out of metal and glass, and it will sport a dual camera setup on the back. The S Pen stylus will ship along with the Galaxy Note 8, and the companys new phablet will probably sport a 6.3-inch QHD+ Infinity display with an aspect ratio of 18.5:9. The Galaxy Note 8 is expected to pack in 6GB of RAM and 128GB of expandable storage, while it will be fueled by the Exynos 8895 SoC in Europe, Korea, China and some other markets. The Snapdragon 835 will fuel the Galaxy Note 8 is the US, and a couple of other regions.
Samsung Electronics on Wednesday won a class-action case which saw approximately 1,900 owners of the Galaxy Note 7 sue the company for 935 million won  around $822,000  over various inconveniences they claimed to have experienced due to the recall of the 2016 phablet. The lawsuit was filed in Samsungs home country in October and the Seoul Central District Court now ruled that any inconveniences caused by the recall werent unacceptable to a degree that theyd warrant such significant compensation, especially in light of the fact that the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) organized an extended recall period and gave its customers plenty of opportunities to return their possibly dangerous devices when it best suited them, receive a full refund, and in most cases even keep the accessories they got with the handset as part of several promotions.

The case was largely based on the fact that the Seoul-based phone maker recalled its ill-fated handset on two occasions; after initial reports of various Galaxy Note 7 units catching fire and exploding with no apparent reason started emerging around the world, the company pulled the device from the market and re-released it after several weeks, claiming that it has managed to identify a design flaw that caused the original ordeal. Further developments revealed that wasnt the case, as some batteries powering the safe variant of the device were later proven to have melted in an equally spontaneous manner, leading Samsung to issue an unprecedented second recall of the Galaxy Note 7 and promptly discontinue the Android-powered phablet. Two successive recalls were cited as the main reason for various inconveniences of the plaintiffs, a notion that the competent court had now dismissed.

Regardless of the last years problems, the Galaxy Note 8 is projected to be a massive commercial hit in many of Samsungs key markets. The successor to the discontinued flagship will be officially unveiled on August 23 and is expected to go on sale in South Korea on September 15. The same court that now ruled in Samsungs favor is meant to issue a verdict on a much more important case for the company later this month, as Samsung Group Vice Chairman Jay. Y. Lee is currently waiting for the courts opinion on the 12-year prison sentence that local prosecutors proposed for him based on charges of bribery, embezzlement, perjury, and hiding the proceeds of a criminal act.
A company in the UK that falsely claimed to be associated with Google has been shut down by the High Court as the result of an investigation by The Insolvency Service that revealed that the company was charging consumers to use a free service, among other financial crimes. The company in question went by the name of Movette Ltd and operated out of Manchester. The free Google service that it charged users for was Google My Business, a management services that allows businesses and other public entities to control how they appear on the search giants results pages.

While there would be nothing wrong with selling services to operate this management console or any other aspects of search engine optimization on a businesses behalf, this firm crossed many legal and moral lines in how it did so. For starters, the company told customers that it was affiliated with Google, and that nonpayment would result in the client being unable to manage their profile through Google My Business. The company also did not let customers know that contracts automatically renewed every 12 months, and even told non-customers that the company already had a contract with them under which the client was obligated to pay up. To add insult to injury, clients that were smart enough to get away from Movette Ltd found themselves falling victim to offensive and threatening debt collection measures. Clients were charged amounts ranging from 199 to 249 every 12 months, and the authorities investigation ended up revealing that the company had raked in some 537,000 in fees before being shut down.

The company operated for about two and half years, almost directly following the shutdown of Online Platform Management Consultants Ltd, a firm that operated in a similar fashion and was similarly shut down by the High Court. Authorities did not conclude whether the two companies overlapped in any way, such as having the same staff or any carried-over assets. Investigation Supervisor Colin Cronin from the Insolvency Service commented on the case, saying that Movette Ltds actions would not be tolerated in the UK, and that anybody who is offered to sign up for Google My Business in the future should very carefully investigate the service on offer and the company offering it to them before agreeing to anything.
Ian Haynes, Professor of Archaeology at Newcastle University, discusses the challenges in providing students with a thorough archaeological education and discusses how new programmes at Newcastle are rising to the task.

While universities are inevitably feeling the bite of this current recession, for students, graduates, and colleagues in higher education and the heritage sectors, many of the most pressing challenges go back even further. How is a unit to deliver world class teaching that continually engages with research? How can students be equipped with an education that delivers the best practical training in archaeology while simultaneously delivering the range of graduate skills now expected from all degree programmes?

Neither question allows for complacency. I refuse to accept the widespread view that at BA level archaeology degrees can only really be expected to deliver generic academic skills. Having worked for field units, museums and several different universities, both in the UK and abroad, I am often struck by what I had to learn the hard way, but which could have been taught more effectively at university. Working with my Newcastle colleagues and archaeological employers to deliver new skills modules has been intensely satisfying  I feel we are addressing these challenges head on. Our new placement modules are making a difference too, students and employers alike find them attractive and informative.

No less challenging is the effective development of Masters programmes. This must be understood in an international context: the UK attracts candidates studying for a Masters degree from all over the world. But how can programmes meet the diverse needs of students who come from many different systems and who will subsequently go on to work in very different institutions?

These points have been very much in our minds at Newcastle as we have reviewed our Masters offerings in Archaeology, Greek and Roman Archaeology, Roman and Byzantine Archaeology and the Archaeology of Historical Periods. We have added optional pre-MA training to help students with gaps in their skill-set get up to speed before they start the degree and this year we have added two new specialisations, one in Neolithic and Bronze Age Europe, and another in Roman Frontiers Studies, both of which take advantage of the particular concentration of expertise and resource that we enjoy at Newcastle.

I am particularly involved in the Frontier Studies programme and delight in the fact that so much of it can be taught on our doorstep. Of course with so many Roman sites in the vicinity and an outstanding collection of material in the museum on campus, there is a danger that the conversation can quickly turn parochial. We avoid this by travelling extensively out of the region, drawing on the Universitys extensive history of research in North Africa, Central Europe and Asia Minor and by remembering that our local stretch of frontier, Hadrians Wall, is in many respects atypical. This is an exciting programme and the shared seminars we run with our colleagues in Human Geography, for example, ensure that the ideas and discussions are always fresh and stimulating. I believe this specialisation option will prove an excellent formation for those wishing to pursue a career in Roman provincial archaeology, whether as field archaeologists, curators or university academics (or of course, a combination of these roles). For some, it will prove an excellent spring board into doctoral research, but we are also expecting candidates whose primary aim is to spend a year deepening their knowledge of the armies and frontiers of the Roman Empire.

Source:

Professor Ian Haynes,

Professor of Archaeology at Newcastle University
Former King & Wood Mallesons ( KWM ) employees have been offered compensation to settle a claim they made in in February over the way redundancies were handled as the firms European arm collapsed.Legal Week, Legal Cheek, and The Lawyer report that around 200 former employees of KWMs failed Europe, UK, and Middle East (EUME) business have been offered up to 3,832 (around $6,300) in compensation. Payment will be capped at 479 (about $790) per week, the maximum payment the UKs Insolvency Service Redundancy Payment Office can make.Quantuma, the administrators of the failed legacy SJ Berwin business, admitted that there was a technical breach in consultations regarding redundancies. In the UK, a formal 45-day consultation process is required before the termination of more than 100 jobs.Whilst [KWM] had commenced and undertaken a consultation process, the consultation had concluded early due to the onset of the firm entering administration. As a result, there was a technical breach in respect of the required duration for the consultation process, Quantuma said.Herrington Carmichael, the law firm that represents the former employees, has advised the group that the offer is the maximum recoverable value available. It recommended accepting the offer to avoid a full employment tribunal hearing.Quantuma is being advised in the administration process by law firms CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang and Ashfords.
Human Rights Medal

Young Peoples Human Rights Medal

Business Award

Racism. It Stops With Me Award

Media Award

Tony Fitzgerald Memorial Community Individual Award

Community Organisation Award

Law Award

The Australian Human Rights Commission wants lawyers to make nominations for the 2017 Human Rights Awards.We all know someone, or perhaps a business or organisation, that deserves to be recognised for their inspiring work; for their devotion to making Australia a better place and their commitment to ensuring our rights and freedoms are enjoyed by all, on an equal basis, HRC President Rosalind Croucher AM said in a statement sent to Australasian Lawyer.Although Im only a few days into my role as president of the Australian Human Rights Commission, Im looking forward to finding out about the great human rights work that you, and others you know, are doing, she said.The emeritus professor, who was formerly the president of the Australian Law Reform Council, began her seven-year term at the end of July , succeeding fellow academic Gillian Triggs.Last years Human Rights Law Award winner was Anna Cody, director of Kingsford Legal Centre, who was recognised for her high-quality case work for thousands of disadvantaged people, as well as advocating for law reform to address systemic human rights breaches.Human Rights Medal category winners include Pat Anderson, Peter Greste, Eddie Mabo, Rt Hon Malcolm Fraser, Ian Thorpe, Jeremy Jones, Professor Fred Hollows, Sister Clare Condon, and Dorothy Hoddinott.The awards are given under eight categories, which are:Nominations close for all eight categories on Monday. Details and nomination forms are at http://hrawards.humanrights.gov.au
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New Zealand Ministry of Justice redefines meaning of a law firm

A late amendment to New Zealands Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Amendment Bill has redefined the meaning of law firm after an unintended error.



The proposed legislation will bring law firms under the AML/CFT legislation but concerns were raised by law firms Russell McVeagh and Chapman Tripp that the wording would have meant individual members of a partnership being responsible for reporting.



The original wording defined a law firm as: (a) a barrister or solicitor practising on the barristers or solicitors own account: (b) in relation to 2 or more lawyers practising law in partnership, the partnership: (c) an incorporated law firm.



That was changed by the Law & Order Committee to: (a) a barrister or barrister and solicitor, practising on the barristers or barrister and solicitors own account (whether in partnership or otherwise) or (b) an incorporated law firm.



The New Zealand Law Society backed the concerns of the law firms and wrote to the Ministry suggesting an amendment which would mean the law firm being treated as a single reporting entity whether incorporated or not.



The provision now reads: "Law firm means - (a) a barrister or a barrister and solicitor who is practising on the barrister's or barrister and solicitor's own account in sole practice; (b) in relation to 2 or more barristers and solicitors practising law in partnership, the partnership; (c) an incorporated law firm."



Foreign law firms will be good for India says Supreme Court lawyer

Harish Salve, recently named Indias most expensive lawyer, says foreign law firms will be a good thing for the countrys legal profession.



Writing in the Economic Times, the Supreme Court lawyer says that foreign firms are not interested in taking work from local firms litigation practices but will operate in a similar way to large accountancy firms.



That, Salve says, will mean large foreign firms directly hiring Indian lawyers which will benefit the profession by giving junior lawyers experience of working for global firms.



The benefits mean that those lawyers will then be used to working in a global law firm culture, making a transition to working in other countries easier.



Imagine if your law firm was based on a private jet

The offices of law firms are evolving into collaborative, modern workplaces but one law firm in Houston, Texas has taken things to new heights, literally.



Patterson and Sheridan is an IP specialist firm which operates in Houston but is pushing into Silicon Valley where sky-high commercial real estate has made an innovative solution a reality.



The firm bought a 9-seater corporate jet and regularly flies teams of lawyers to California.



The Houston Chronicle reports that even with the $3 million price tag for the jet and running costs of $2,500 an hour, the far lower costs of commercial real estate and staff in Houston compared to San Francisco make it competitive.
A Houston-headquartered intellectual property boutique firm has found a novel way to maintain a major presence in Silicon Valley without establishing a big office.On the second Tuesday of each month at Sugar Land Regional Airport in Texas, a Gulfstream G200 jet fills with Patterson + Sheridan lawyers, ready for its regular trip to Silicon Valley. For the next few days, the boutique firms bus shuttles lawyers to meet with clients in California.The firm is finding success with the high-flying mobile office strategy, The Houston Chronicle said . Apart from enabling them to keep existing clients happy with monthly face-to-face meetings even though they only maintain a small office in Palo Alto, it also improves business development.This means that the firm is finding it easier to grow its client list in Silicon Valley, which already includes Applied Materials, FOX Factory, Intuit, Qualcomm, Taylor Guitars, and Western Digital.Patterson + Sheridan doesnt view its plane as a luxury item, said Todd Patterson, the firms founder. It always flies full and lawyers work during flights and thus are able to bill time at about US$250 per hour while they are in the air. It also enables the lawyers to avoid about 36 hours wasted time in airport processing on commercial flights per month.The firm also does not have to spend on a large office in Silicon Valley where two-bedroom apartments are rented at an average of US$3,800 per month.It helps Patterson + Sheridan maintain other offices, or meet with clients around the country, too. Sometimes the jet flies to Seattle, Washington; St. Louis, Missouri; Greensboro, North Carolina; and Rochester, Minnesota. All in all, it logs 150,000 miles a year for the firm.The jet also enables the firm to attract top talent, who may be lured by the prospect of working for top clients in Silicon Valley all while being able to live in Houston where the cost of living is lower.Patterson + Sheridan is also able to offer competitive rates, since it does not have a large overhead in Silicon Valley. In Houston, where most of the firms IP work is done, salaries are 52% lower and real estate is about 43% cheaper than in Silicon Valley, the report said.All of these combine to make the US$1,900-per-passenger average cost and the US$2,500-an-hour operating cost of the US$3m jet worth the firms expense.
An eclectic group is financially backing TechDirt, a tech news site being sued for libel by the same lawyer who helped take down Gawker.

Who's involved: The Charles Koch Foundation, Craigslist Founder Craig Newmark's CraigConnects, Union Square Ventures, WordPress parent Automattic and the Freedom of the Press Foundation. The financial support is worth more than a quarter of a million dollars.

Why this matters: Their backing comes as some news organizations shy away from writing about a powerful or well-resourced person out of fear of a lawsuit  which some have called the Gawker Effect. This helps to chart a path for the types of publishers that can't survive the kind of libel suits that are becoming more common in the post-Gawker age.

The details: The parent company for Techdirt is facing a libel suit filed by a man who claims he invented email, who is represented by the same lawyer who led the case that resulted in Gawker Media's bankruptcy. The same person settled with Gawker in 2016. Techdirt's founder, Mike Masnick, has said that the lawsuit has "already taken a massive toll on us and our ability to function and report." To help the Techdirt weather the lawsuit, the group of philanthropies, companies and private individuals is funding a year of coverage on the site devoted to free speech issues.

Techdirt said in a statement that the case has highlighted ways in which there might be a lack of understanding among members of the public about free speech protections, sparking the new effort. Jesse Blumenthal, who leads tech initiatives at the Charles Koch Institute, said that "the way in which Techdirt has responded to this is by doubling down on their coverage of free speech issues, and I think that really has institutional and scalable effects."

Our thought bubble: This sends a message that there are wealthy Americans or their proxies willing to push back on a trend toward litigation over negative news stories driven by some of their peers. Venture capitalist Peter Thiel, for example, funded the lawsuit against Gawker; and VC Vinod Khosla recently said, per Recode, that he'd be open to paying for a lawsuit if a media outlet offended him.
Here's one of the most intriguing  and consequential  theories circulating inside the White House:

The generals, the New Yorkers and Republican congressional leaders see themselves as an unofficial committee to protect Trump and the nation from disaster.

see themselves as an unofficial committee to protect Trump and the nation from disaster. This loose alliance is informal.

But as one top official told us: "If you see a guy about to stab someone with a knife, you don't need to huddle to decide to grab the knife."

The theory was described to us in a series of private chats with high-ranking officials:

The generals  White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis  speak frequently, see the world similarly and privately express a sense of duty to help steer Trump. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Joseph Dunford, is an ally.

 White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis  speak frequently, see the world similarly and privately express a sense of duty to help steer Trump. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Joseph Dunford, is an ally. The New Yorkers, including economic adviser Gary Cohn and Deputy National Security Adviser Dina Powell (with 25 years of foreign-policy experience), have subsumed some of their personal views to blunt Trump's worst ideas. This crowd is highly skilled at communicating with the president (using visuals and grand positioning) to refine or moderate "America first" provocations. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin is also very involved, helping demand a process where POTUS has all the information to make domestic and international economic decisions.

including economic adviser Gary Cohn and Deputy National Security Adviser Dina Powell (with 25 years of foreign-policy experience), have subsumed some of their personal views to blunt Trump's worst ideas. This crowd is highly skilled at communicating with the president (using visuals and grand positioning) to refine or moderate "America first" provocations. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin is also very involved, helping demand a process where POTUS has all the information to make domestic and international economic decisions. Republican congressional leaders won't win any profiles in courage for standing up to Trump. But almost all could move against the president if special counsel Bob Mueller finds crimes, or the president succumbs to radical instincts.

These officials see their successes mostly in terms of bad decisions prevented, rather than accomplishments chalked up:

They view their main function as getting real facts to the president, and injecting their belief in the importance of alliances and military relationships around the world.

their main function as getting real facts to the president, and injecting their belief in the importance of alliances and military relationships around the world. As an example, if Trump had plunged ahead with his thirst for a trade war, the U.S. might not have won China's backing in the U.N. vote last weekend for sanctions against North Korea.

if Trump had plunged ahead with his thirst for a trade war, the U.S. might not have won China's backing in the U.N. vote last weekend for sanctions against North Korea. These officials pick their battles, knowing that Trump is going to go ahead with some decisions  like renouncing the Paris climate agreement  no matter what.

And much of what they do is silent. AP reported that Mattis and Kelly, when he was still Secretary of Homeland Security, "agreed in the earliest weeks of Trump's presidency that one of them should remain in the United States at all times to keep tabs on the orders rapidly emerging from the White House."

is silent. AP reported that Mattis and Kelly, when he was still Secretary of Homeland Security, "agreed in the earliest weeks of Trump's presidency that one of them should remain in the United States at all times to keep tabs on the orders rapidly emerging from the White House." These officials think Trump deserves a functioning staff, West Wing and process. They say they believe in him, but want the processes in place to give him accurate information and the right options.

think Trump deserves a functioning staff, West Wing and process. They say they believe in him, but want the processes in place to give him accurate information and the right options. Outside critics contend that these aides are rationalizing their role as enablers.

Be smart: One of the biggest dangers to Trump's reign is that if Mueller acts or public support plummets, he suddenly could be lonely in his own White House.

Editor's Note: Get more stories like this by signing up for our daily morning newsletter, Axios AM.
In his second set of remarks to reporters on Thursday, President Trump said he would like to "thank" Vladimir Putin for ordering the U.S. to cut its embassy staff in Russia by 755, in response to U.S sanctions:

"I want to thank him because we're trying to cut down our payroll and as far as I'm concerned I'm very thankful that he let go of a large number of people because now we have a smaller payroll. There's no real reason for them to go back. I greatly appreciate the fact that we've been able to cut our payroll of the United States. We're going to save a lot of money."

Other key quotes, per the USA Today's Gregory Korte:
Senior Armenian government officials have made conflicting statements about the possible impact on Armenia of new economic sanctions which the United States has imposed on Russia.

The sanctions targeting the energy sector could further hurt the Russian economy that contracted in 2016 and 2015 amid falling oil prices. The first U.S. and European Union sanctions slapped on Moscow in 2014 added to Russias economic woes.

Russia is Armenias number one trading partner and main source of multimillion-dollar remittances from Armenians working abroad. Hence, fears in Yerevan about the fallout from the additional sanctions imposed by the U.S. Congress late last month.

Sanctions [against Russia] have long been in force but as you can see, our economy has already adapted to them, Armenian Minister for Economic Development Suren Karayan said on Thursday. Right now I see no cause for serious concern.

Finance Minister Vartan Aramian was less sanguine when he spoke to RFE/RLs Armenian service (Azatutyun.am) last week. I dont think that these sanctions will create the kind of a serious situation which we saw in 2014-2015, he said. But in any case, they will certainly damage Armenia.

Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharian likewise admitted on Thursday that a fresh economic downturn in Russia would have spillover effects on Armenia. Obviously, when there are negative developments in the Russian economy they reflect on all of Russias neighbors, he told reporters.

Kocharian said that Armenia is now seeking to diversify its foreign trading partners in hopes of minimizing g the impact of the U.S. sanctions.

Karayan also stressed the importance of diversifying Armenian exports. In the first half of this year, our exports to the [Russian-led] Eurasian Economic Union rose by 25 percent, while exports to the European Union rose by 20 percent, he said. So we are trying to diversify our export markets.

Last week, the government drew up a priority list of 14 nations with which it will be seeking closer economic ties. The list includes Russia, the U.S., China and the key EU member states as well as neighboring Georgia and Iran. The government pledged to foster greater Armenian exports to those countries and attract more investments and tourists from them.
10 August 2017 10:34 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

The Human Rights Commissioner (Ombudsman) of Azerbaijan, Elmira Suleymanova has sent an appeal to international organizations in connection with the Armenian armed forces shelling the Azerbaijani civilians, in particular children.

The appeal reads that the Armenian Armed Units fired from large-caliber guns at the Garalar village of Azerbaijans Tovuz region on August 7, from the occupied Azerbaijani territories. As a result of this Armenian provocation, aimed at killing the civilian population, 13-year-old Ramil Yusibov, a resident of the Garalar village, was wounded and hospitalized.

Suleymanova stressed that Armenias shelling civilians, including children, are a part of a long-term policy of terrorism carried out by the aggressor state.

Armenia flagrantly violates the norms of international humanitarian law by continuing aggressive actions and subjecting to intensive shelling the front-line positions of the Azerbaijani army and the Azerbaijani territories inhabited by civilians, the appeal reads.

The ombudsman reminded that on July 4, 2017, at about 20:40 (UTC +4), the Armenian armed forces 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. As a result of this provocation, the residents of the village Sahiba Guliyeva, 50, and Zahra Guliyeva, 2, were killed. Servinaz Guliyeva, 52, who got wounded, was taken to a hospital and was operated on.

The military aggression of Armenia against Azerbaijan, ethnic cleansing and terrorist acts that continue for more than 25 years should be regarded as acts of crime, and effective measures should be taken in line with the norms of international law in order to punish the perpetrators of these crimes, the statement says.

Its confidence in its impunity didnt allow Armenia to learn a lesson from what had happened, the statement reads. Even despite the protest of the international community, which condemned the atrocities, in particular the shelling of civilian population, children and women, Armenia again committed another crime, as a result of which 13-year-old Ramil Yusibov was wounded on August 7.

As a result of the Armenian leaderships military adventure on April 2-5, 2016, 34 civilians were wounded along the front line, and six people, including children, were killed, the appeal reads.

Armenias immediate and deliberate attacks on civilians and civilian facilities of Azerbaijan are a serious violation of international humanitarian law and human rights, in particular the 1949 Geneva Convention and its Additional Protocol #1, as well as the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

These developments, reaffirming the occupation policy and inhuman acts of Armenia, once again prove that Armenia doesnt recognize the norms of international law.

The Azerbaijani ombudsman appealed to the world community, authoritative international structures and colleagues, urging them not only to condemn, but also to make effective efforts to put an end to the prolonged Armenian aggression, the murder of civilians, and the massive violation of human rights.

The international community shouldnt remain indifferent to such cruelty and inhuman acts, and it must ensure that the invader Armenia  which committed international crimes  is punished in line with the UN Charter, added Suleymanova in her statement.

The appeal was sent to the UN Secretary General, UN Security Council, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, UNICEF, Organization of Islamic Cooperation, European Commission, Council of Europe, OSCE and ombudsmen of various countries.

---

Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
10 August 2017 17:46 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

At a time when both Azerbaijan and international mediators were looking forward for the resumption of peace talks to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Armenia has once again showed its reluctance to engage in serious negotiations.

Armenia, the aggressor country responsible for the lack of peace in the region, continues to aggravate the situation on the frontline.

On August 7, Armenian Armed Forces broke the ceasefire and targeted the Garalar village of Azerbaijans Tovuz region. The intense shelling resulted in wounding of an Azerbaijani teenager Ramil Yusibov. The 13-year-old boy was in the yard of his house when an Armenian shell fell there. Receiving multiple shrapnel wounds, Ramil was urgently operated in the region hospital.

"The shell fell beside me and exploded. A lot of shrapnel hit my legs and I quickly ran into the house," the boy told local media soon after the incident. His father noted that it is the second time the Armenian Armed Forces have fired the teenager. "They do not allow civilians to go out," he added.

Doctors extracted many bullet fragments from the boy`s leg after he was wounded by the Armenian troops.

At 7 p.m. I received a call and was told that Armenians shot a teenager who was hospitalized with severe wounds. I rushed to work. The boy was 13-year-old Ramin Yusifov who lives in Garalar village, said Kamaladdin Abbasov, a surgeon at Tovuz central hospital.

We removed a lot of bullet fragments from Ramins leg. We immediately started a surgery. The boy was badly scared, said the doctor.

A representative of the Tovuz Region Executive Power, in turn, said that the Azerbaijani Armed Forces take measures not to let the civilian population and houses be a target for the Armenian troops. Currently, there is a relative stability in the village.

However, the Armenian aggressors did not stop firing at the Azerbaijani civilians. Next day, a group of Armenian militaries attempted to commit sabotage against the Azerbaijani troops in the Khojavend-Fuzuli direction of the frontline. However, the Azerbaijani Army prevented the sabotage and the enemy suffered losses  one of the sabotage group members was killed.

This loss couldnt quiet the aggressive nature of the Armenian Armed Forces. They continued breaking the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops. Over the past 24 hours, Armenias armed forces have violated the ceasefire by 115 times using large-caliber machine guns.

Most recently, Armenian Armed Forces using 82- and 120-millimeter mortars and grenade launchers, shelled the Alkhanli village of Azerbaijans Fuzuli region. As a result of this provocation, the residents of the village Sahiba Guliyeva, 50, and Zahra Guliyeva, 2, were killed. Moreover, the third civilian Servinaz Guliyeva, 52, got seriously wounded.

Obviously, the Armenian leadership aims to harm Azerbaijan in any way, and no calls from international community can change the aggressive stance of the Armenian authorities.

Many international experts are sure that time has long come to exert significant pressure on Armenia for its aggressive policy against Azerbaijan and for its refusal to withdraw from the occupied territories of the country.

Political expert Peter Tase noted that the European Union institutions, governments of European countries and the OSCE should actively condemn the attack of the Armenian armed forces on the civilian population of Azerbaijan.

The U.S. Secretary of State and Secretary of Department of Treasury should urgently convene a meeting to consider the possibility of imposing economic sanctions against Armenia," Tase told Trend. "The international community remains silent about the crimes against humanity committed by the Armenian government and its corrupt armed forces."

The expert added that international institutions should impose political and economic sanctions against Yerevan until Armenia withdraws its troops from the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan.

Natalie Goulet, French senator and vice-chair of the Senates Foreign Affairs Committee, also emphasized the necessity for a firm condemnation of Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan and imposing of sanctions against Armenia.

Civilians are killed every day in a lot of conflicts. It is unbearable. The Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is one of them, she told Trend.

We need now a peace process and probably international forces to keep the ceasefire. We also need a serious will of the international community, Goulet said, adding that there is no need for another war, especially in the South Caucasus.

Azerbaijani MP Sahib Aliyev, in turn, noted that the military junta in Armenia is distinguished by its cruel attitude against children.

It is surprising and regrettable why the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs are not only tolerant towards the child murderers, but also patronize them?! Why doesn't the world community want to give a real assessment to the child murderers, the aggressive regime and the military junta?! Aliyev said.

All the aggression of Armenia against Azerbaijan stems from the desire of the Armenian leadership to gain a foothold in 20 percent of Azerbaijans internationally recognized territory that was occupied in early 1990s. For more than two decades the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict fails to be resolved due to Armenias unconstructive position and unwillingness to engage in negotiations with Azerbaijan. Thus, the aggressor country continues its attempts to preserve the inadmissible status quo in Nagorno-Karabakh, and Azerbaijani civilians living near the frontline fell victim of this policy of Armenia.

---

Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
10 August 2017 17:57 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

The cases of Armenian soldiers evasion of service and willful abandonment of combat positions became more common in recent months. The soldiers, mainly those who serve for the Armenian armed forces located in the occupied regions of Azerbaijan, leave their military units in defiance of the military statute, and Armenian army cannot put an end to this trend.

For instance, a soldier of Armenian Armed Forces G. Piriposyan, who serves in a military unit located in Azerbaijans occupied region of Khojavand, self-willedally left the military unit on August 4. Two days later, four other Armenian soldiers willfully left military units located in the territory of another occupied region of Azerbaijan - Tartar. Three of them, Sergey Mardanyan, Sagir Avakyan and Ivan Vanesyan were punished in accordance with the military statute, while the fourth soldier admitted that he was hungry and went to find food.

Another incident took place in one of the units of the Armenian army located in the occupied Fuzuli region of Azerbaijan. On the night of August 7, a senior commander Khalatyan willfully left the combat position. Khalatyans fellow officers informed that he was drunk.

The most interesting story happened in another military unit located in occupied Khojavand. During the sudden check of the high command of the artillery battalion, it was found that three soldiers were absent. The Armenian officer tried to deceive the leadership of the military unit by presenting other soldiers instead of the absent ones.

All these stories show that anarchy and chaos reign in the national army of Armenia.

Moreover, many Armenian soldiers do not receive even the minimum of the necessary provision in their military units. They are fed with poor-quality food, while unsanitary conditions prevail in military units; contagious diseases, especially the infectious ones are wide-spread there.

In addition to these terrible conditions, the Armenian army officers often abuse their soldiers, as well as steal and sell their clothes and food. There are also many deaths of Armenian soldiers in mysterious circumstances.

Last years April fights between Armenian and Azerbaijani armed forces also confirmed the grave situation in the Armenian army. As it turned out, Armenian soldiers were dying not having even bullets, and the tanks could not go into battle, as they had water instead of fuel. Thus, Armenian soldiers had no choice but to leave combat positions and flee.

---

Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
10 August 2017 10:00 (UTC+04:00)

By Bharati Sadasivam

Over the next few months, the 12,000 employees based at Apples headquarters in Cupertino, California will complete their move to an extravagant new campus. The spaceship, covering 2.8 million square feet, includes a two-story yoga studio, running paths, and even revolutionary pizza boxes that keep slices crisp. One thing it does not have, however, is daycare.

When it comes to ignoring the importance of childcare for working parents, Apple is far from unique. And that omission places a powerful drag on parents ability to achieve their economic potential, with women suffering the most.

Worldwide, women carry out twice as much unpaid domestic and care work  including raising children, caring for sick or elderly family members, and managing the household  as men do. In Mexico, India, and Turkey, women do three times more care work than men.

This gender chore gap limits womens choices, as it impedes their ability to obtain formal education, secure good jobs, and achieve equal pay. Indeed, though women around the world actually work morethan men in total (including both paid and unpaid work), they earn one quarter less, on average, hold only one quarter of executive positions in the private sector, and occupy less than one quarter of all seats in national parliaments. Only half of working-age women worldwide are in the paid labor force, compared to more than three quarters of men.

This situation is slowly beginning to change. Unpaid household and care work is gradually shedding its reputation as womens work, and men today are assuming more household responsibilities than their fathers and grandfathers did. Some countries, particularly in Europe, are revising traditional leave policies so that parents can choose how to allocate time off after the birth of a child.

More broadly, the value of unpaid household and care work  not just for children and family members, but also for the long-term health of societies and economies  is increasingly being recognized. Efforts to measure the contribution of care work to national economies have produced estimates ranging from 20% to 60% of GDP.

In 2015, United Nations member states adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which call for recognizing, reducing, and redistributing unpaid care work  a measure long proposed by feminist economists and gender-equality advocates. The question now is what can actually be done to meet this objective.

The responsibility will lie, first and foremost, with governments. After all, while businesses or neighborhood associations may offer childcare options to working parents, costs and quality vary widely. Government action is needed to ensure that care services cover all who need them  from preschool children to the sick, the disabled, and the elderly  and that they are universally accessible and affordable.

Beyond services, however, achieving the SDGs targets will require policy change. Most important, governments must establish requirements for parental and family leave programs. Together with private companies, they can also provide monetary incentives for men and women to share household and care work more equally. Such policies have proved effective not only in Northern Europe  the most commonly cited model  but also in Eastern European countries like Lithuania, Estonia, and even Hungary, demonstrating that they can be applied anywhere.

At a time when many governments, particularly in the developing world, are faced with severe fiscal constraints, such interventions may seem farfetched. But spending on the care sector should be viewed as an investment, not a cost. A recent study in Turkey showed that one dollar of public money invested in the care sector could create 2.5 times as many jobs as a dollar invested in the construction industry. More than half of those jobs  decent jobs that could raise incomes and living standards, particularly for poor households  would go to women.

International institutions can play an important role in helping governments to seize the opportunities presented by investment in the care sector. In the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the United Nations Development Programme undertook an initiative that helped women who had mostly worked at home their entire lives to find jobs in the care sector, enabling them to make use of their skills, by caring for children and for young adults with disabilities, while earning an income.

As populations grow and age, the care sector will only increase in importance. Adapting to these new circumstances now will give countries a considerable advantage, as it bolsters womens rights and freedoms, generates jobs, and make societies more equal. So what are we waiting for?

Copyright: Project Syndicate: Making Womens Work Count

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10 August 2017 14:29 (UTC+04:00)

By Sara Israfilbayova

A number of large-scale infrastructure projects have recently been carried out in Azerbaijan's transport sector in a bid to turn the country into the regional transportation hub. This included the construction of the Baku International Sea Trade Port, state-of-the-art airports and roads of international importance, renewal of the railway lines in the direction of the East-West and North-South transport corridors.

These projects have made a crucial contribution to the expansion of the country's foreign economic relations and its attractiveness for the transporters.

Today, the negotiations are underway over the creation of a new international route for the transport of goods from southern China to Europe through the territories of Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan.

Head of the Department for Azerbaijan Railways at the ruling New Azerbaijan Party (YAP) Kheyrulla Humbatov said that Azerbaijan Railways, jointly with other transportation structures, is the initiator and participant of several major international projects related to the increase of countrys transit potential.

The Association of the Trans-Caspian International Transportation Route was established at the end of 2016. Consolidated tariffs and a single window system were introduced on the route since. Currently, preparation measures for alternative routes of the North-South corridor are initiated, Humbatov told Trend.

He recalled that, for further development of the North-South corridor, railway administrations of Azerbaijan, Russia and Iran have organized a test mode transportation of goods from Irans Bandar Abbas to Moscow in 14 days.

Meanwhile, works, to attract the Indian cargo for a more intense and continuous transportation via the corridor, are underway.

Active measures are being taken to organize the safe and rapid transportation of goods along the South-West corridor, which is a new offshoot of the North-South corridor, towards Iran-Azerbaijan-Black Sea-Europe through the application of a policy of uniform tariffs, Humbatov added.

The International NorthSouth Transport Corridor is a 7,200-km-long multi-mode network of ship, rail, and roadroute for moving freight between India, Russia, Iran, Europe and Central Asia.

The corridor is planned to transport 6 million tons of cargo per year at the initial stage and more than 10 million tons of cargo in the future.

The agreement on creation of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR) was signed in April 2016 in Baku by the railway authorities of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Kazakhstan.

About 300,000-400,000 containers are expected to be transported via the Trans-Caspian international transport route by 2020. Growing interest in the transport infrastructures passing through Azerbaijan's territory is expected to make the country a major transport hub in the region.

The International East West Transport Corridor links the Far East countries - China, Japan, Korea with Europe, but the North-South project will connect the Scandinavian countries to the Persian Gulf, due to which these two projects will not compete.

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10 August 2017 17:15 (UTC+04:00)

By Laman Ismayilova

Music Band project continues to unite music lovers in Baku with a series of concerts taking place at Fountain Square.

The project, co-organized by Culture TV channel and Heydar Aliyev Palace, covers rock, jazz, pop music and aims at developing of good musical taste, Trend Life reported.

The outdoor arena allows to establish live communication with the audience, contributes to a pleasant leisure of residents and numerous guests of the city.

The next guest of the project were people's artist of Azerbaijan Enver Sadigov (accordion) and instrumental ensemble "Qaytag".

The ensemble together with Sadigov, jazz pianist Emil Afrasiyab and tar performer Alakbar Alakbarov and others fascinated the viewers.

The musicians performed works by Azerbaijani composers, movie soundtracks and famous songs, which were welcomed by the audience with thunderous applause.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

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10 August 2017 10:44 (UTC+04:00)

SPEs 4th annual Caspian Technical Conference and Exhibition will return to Baku, Azerbaijan on November 1-3 2017.

This year's theme "Chasing the Margins," will focus on the current market conditions facing the oil and gas industry, both globally and on a local level, Azertac reported.

The event will provide a platform for local, regional, and international experts to discuss topics relevant to maintaining and boosting technological advancements and developments in the region.

Over 400 industry professionals attended last year's CTCE and it drew senior speakers from the highest echelons of government as well as operators, service providers, advisory firms, and energy research companies.

The 2017 event will bring attendees quality technical content, increase professional development, and provide unique networking with top industry professionals.

The Society of Engineers of the oil and gas industry (SPE) is non-commercial professional association the members of which work in the field of development and production of energy resources.

More than 143,000 people from 147 countries of the world are members of SPE. The Society is a recognized source of technical information in the field of exploration and production of oil and gas and provides the services through publications, conferences, technical seminars, forums and the website - www.spe.org.

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10 August 2017 11:32 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan, as leading powers in energy production, advocate the transformation of the Caspian Sea basin into a territory of stability, progress and broad international partnership in Eurasia, said Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.

He made the remark at the government meeting, the agenda of which was dedicated to the results of Berdimuhamedovs official visit to Azerbaijan on August 8-9, the Vatan newspaper reported.

Power engineering plays a major role in economy, security, ecology, social aspect, and diplomacy, noted the Turkmen president.

The performance indicators for the six months of 2017 show that the volume of trade turnover between Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan rose by 40 percent, as compared to the same period of 2016.

This fact testifies to the effectiveness of the ongoing work in this area, added Berdimuhamedov.

The key factor in the effective development of interstate relations is the intensification of trade and economic cooperation, according to him.

Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan, which are neighbors in the Caspian Sea, are interested in using alternative routes for the access of their energy resources to Europe.

Turkmenistan is one of the key players on the energy market of the Caspian region and Central Asia.

Hydrocarbon resources of Turkmenistan can be sent in the western direction if a pipeline is constructed across the Caspian Sea to the shores of Azerbaijan, from where the hydrocarbon resources can be sent to Turkey and further to Europe.

Continuous transportation of Turkmen oil through Azerbaijan in recent years is an illustrative example of the mutually beneficial cooperation.

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10 August 2017 14:53 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Perth hosted a meeting of Azerbaijans Honorary Consul in Australia Aydan Rzayeva with the Governor of Western Australiac Kerry Sandersonc on August 9.

During the meeting, Honorary Consul Rzayeva informed Governor Sanderson about Azerbaijan, and about the work carried out to expand and develop political, trade, economic, parliamentary, humanitarian and other ties between the two states.

Rzayeva also informed that the first Azerbaijan-Australia business forum will take place in Baku in October. She added that dozens of businessmen from Australia are expected to attend the event.

The honorary consul invited Kerry Sanderson to visit Azerbaijan.

The governor of Western Australia, for her part, praised the success Azerbaijan has achieved in political, economic and other spheres, and expressed desire to visit Azerbaijan.

She emphasized the need to expand ties between the two states, and added that the October business forum will create good opportunities for this.

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10 August 2017 12:22 (UTC+04:00)

By Sara Israfilbayova

Crude prices slightly changed on August 10, continuing to win back data on the decline in oil reserves in the U.S.

Brent crude is down 0.1 percent, at $52.66, after earlier trading as high as $52.80, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude is at $49.52, after rising to $49.69 earlier. The contract gained 0.8 percent in the previous session, Reuters reported.

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) of the U.S. Department of Energy published data on weekly oil reserves in the U.S. on August 9. Commercial oil reserves (excluding the strategic reserve) for the week ended on August 4 fell by 6.5 million barrels, or 1.3percent-to 475.4 million barrels.

"We have settled into a range. The U.S. dollar is slightly stronger, which may be creating a bit of negativity, but broadly I think the market is trading sideways at the moment," said Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney.



At the same time, rise of oil prices is held back by statistics on weekly stocks of gasoline in the U.S. Gasoline stocks increased by 3.4 million barrels, or by 1.5 percent-to 231.1 million barrels. Analysts had expected a decline of 1.479 million barrels.

Oil prices, to some extent, also affected by the results of an extraordinary technical meeting of OPEC+, during which the least disciplined parties to the agreement - Iraq, Kazakhstan, Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) promised to cut production in the near future in accordance with their obligations.

Earlier, Saudi Arabia announced plans to reduce oil exports by 520,000 barrels per day in September.

The next meeting of the OPEC+ Technical Committee will be held on August 21 in Vienna.

OPEC made a deal to slash the output by 1.2 million barrels per day in December 2016.

With non-OPEC participants, the oil production cut will see 1.8 million bpd, equal to 2 percent of global production. This is the organization's second production cut in the last two years, and its second intervention in the global oil market since mid-2014 when oil prices began to fall.

The deal participants agreed to extend the production adjustments for nine months, on May 25, 2017.

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10 August 2017 16:13 (UTC+04:00)

By Ali Mustafayev

Russia continues to keep a tough stance on the tomato import from Turkey, once exporting huge volumes of agriculture products to the country.

Although Russia allowed import of a significant number of agro products in early 2017, tomato market is still closed for Turkey.

Turkish Minister of the Economy Nihad Zeybekchi stated that his country will have to take contra measures, in case Russia doesnt remove the current restrictions on the import of Turkish tomato.

We are under a considerable pressure from the local exporters, because of the continued ban on the tomato and other vegetables import. We will take retaliatory measures to neutralize this pressure. It cant go on like this, said Zeybekchi, according to TASS.

The Turkish government is hopeful for effective dialogue during the negotiations scheduled for August 17-19 in Izmir. Ankara considers this meeting very important for Turkey, although Turkish officials dont know exactly what to expect since different statements were made by the Russian ministers.

Russian Agriculture Minister Alexander Tkachev earlier announced that the country is not going to resume import of tomatoes from Turkey.

The ban on the tomato import is considered to be the most negative for Turkey since Russia was the largest market for the Turkish tomato export with annual profit amounting to billions of dollars.

In 2016 Russia imposed a number of economic sanctions on Turkey, including the suspension of visa-free travel to Russia for Turkish citizens, limits on Turkish residents and companies doing business in Russia and bans on import of Turkish products.

Russia dropped restrictions on Turkish citrus fruits in late 2016 and both nations signed a memorandum agreeing to lift the vast majority of the bilateral trade restrictions laid down in 2015. However, the Russian ban on Turkish tomato imports still remains in place.

Russia says that the reason lies in Russian agriculturists, who invested a large amount of money in the national agriculture during tensions between Russia and Turkey and who are still waiting for the profit.

The level of vegetable production in Russia increased by 30 percent from 2014 to 2017.

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10 August 2017 17:14 (UTC+04:00)

By Ali Mustafayev

Iran will return a 7-century-old church bell, which was kept in a museum in Urmiya, to Turkey.

The church bell originally belonged to the Saint Mary Church in Turkey's eastern Van province and was brought to Iran during wartime.

The vice-chair of Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, Mirhadi Kareseyyed-Romiani, said that Iran will return all historical artifacts to the countries of their origin in line with legal procedures, Daily Sabah reports.

He noted that this policy is based on improving friendly relations with Iran's neighbors.

Previously, Turkey announced that a Special Committee on the Historical Heritage will be organized in order to return valuable artifacts, lost during the World War.

The Committee will consist of the members of Justice and Development Party, Nationalist Movement Party and Republican Peoples Party. It will be authorized to negotiate with countries on questions of the return of Turkeys historical legacy.

The list of the artifacts belonging to Turkey and repatriated abroad at the wartime will be compiled by the Committee.

Minister of Culture and Tourism of Turkey Ertugrul Gunay previously stated that Turkey is planning to gather together all the valuable historical monuments of the country and to open the largest historical museum not only in the Middle East and Balkans, but in the whole world.

The Archaeological Community agrees that Turkey has every right to return its ancient artifacts stolen and exported by the smugglers.

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10 August 2017 14:03 (UTC+04:00)

By Sara Israfilbayova

Qatar has simplified the visa regime for 80 countries, including Azerbaijan.

Thus, citizens of 47 countries, along with Azerbaijanis, will be able to obtain a visa for 30 days upon arrival in Qatar. Further, citizens of these countries can extend their visa for another 30 days.

Citizens of 33 countries, including European Union (EU) countries, the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Turkey, Seychelles, will be able to obtain a visa upon arrival in Qatar for up to 180 days.

The diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and the State of Qatar were established on September 14, 1994. Over the years, the bilateral, regional and international cooperation between the two countries has been developed.

Azerbaijan sent an export missions to Qatar on February 25-27 2017.

Opening of the direct air flights (Doha-Baku-Tbilisi) has contributed to the increase of cooperation between the two countries.

The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Qatar exceeded $170,000 in 2016, $107,000 of which accounted for the export to Qatar, according to Azerbaijans State Customs Committee.

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First up, Joe Biden is thinking about dropping tariffs against China. But theres a spy in prison this morning that helps us understand why he shouldnt. Ill explain.





Your second brief, If youre looking for a good paying job, you might consider being a CEO for a health insurance company. One executive made $142M dollars last year. Let's talk about that.





And as always, Im keeping an eye out for developing stories. Put this one on your radar. Mexican cartels are grooming American kids online and paying them cash to traffic illegals or run drugs across the border. Ill share details.





If you enjoyed this episode of the President's Daily Brief, remember to subscribe and listen daily at podfollow.com/pdb.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
When A Classroom Was Turned Into A Dance Bar! Pulse oi-Syeda Farah

With each passing day, we get to read about the most bizarre things that are happening in schools. The recent shocking case of the teacher sharing his intimate pictures with his female students was a total shocker. And now there's a new incident that has surfaced up.

Uttar Pradesh school tuned into dance bar to celebrate birthday, Watch | Oneindia News

This is an incident that happened in a Government school of Mirzapur, UP, India, where the school was turned into a dance bar. The leaked video has gone viral all over the internet.

Incidents like these make us wonder where is the system heading to? It's high time such things be put to an end and people mend their ways.

Check out more details on this bizarre incident.

The Stage Was Students' Benches! The video shows women dancing on a makeshift stage and the men are seen showering money on the dancing women. The women are seen dancing on the benches, while there is loud music being played in the background. Apparently, The School Was Shut For 3 Days! According to the sources, the school was shut for three days during the weekend to mark the occasion of Raksha Bandhan. It was at this time that the Gram Pradhan took the keys and organised a party on one of the nights to celebrate his son's birthday. It Seemed To Be A Big Event... Apparently, the programme was attended by village heads from the nearby areas. It saw attendees showering money on the women dancing on Bhojpuri songs. The village head was also seen trying to imitate the moves of the dancers as well! pulse He Posted Pics Of A Cheating Girlfriend & It's Gone Viral! #WATCH: Government primary school in Uttar Pradesh's Mirzapur turned into a 'dance bar' by locals on the night of #RakshaBandhan pic.twitter.com/NGz8YypQCc  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) August 9, 2017 What's Happening? Check the video. The video would surely make many furious as to where is our system heading! What's your take on this? Share your thoughts on the same.
Ireland's Mainstream Renewable Power is confident it will be able to maintain a steady pipeline of power projects in Chile, an executive told Reuters on Wednesday, even as some firms have soured on the country's renewable sector in recent years.

Aela Energia, a joint venture between Mainstream and British private equity firm Actis, on Wednesday announced it had sealed $410 million in bank financing to construct two wind farms with total capacity of 299 megawatts in the South American nation.

The financial close on the farms, known as Sarco and Aurora, marks one of the biggest wind power deals in Chile, which has seen a wind and solar energy boom in recent years due to a steady regulatory framework and near-perfect conditions for such sources of power.

But it also comes as falling energy prices, transmission grid issues and sluggish demand from the nation's key mining sector begin to sow doubts among some investors.

Still, Mainstream remains optimistic, the company's commercial manager for Chile, Daniel Canales, said on Wednesday.

He said the firm was looking to some of the banks that financed Sarco and Aurora to help its plans to build wind farms needed to fulfill 986 megawatts in contracts Mainstream was awarded by the Chilean government last year.

"We've started conversations with the current banks, looking toward the next platform," Canales said.

He added that Mainstream had received "significant" interest from outside firms looking to partner on new wind projects. In April, Reuters reported that one of those firms was U.S. industrial conglomerate General Electric Co.

In neighboring Argentina, Mainstream is also very interested in participating in upcoming public power auctions, Canales said.

However, he said the Argentine market required structural changes to realize its full potential, such as improved regulations, investments in transmission and less macroeconomic uncertainty.

"Because of that we're thinking about entering on a small scale, with a well-located project," he said. (Reuters)

Source: www.businessworld.ie


Modified On Aug 10, 2017 01:24 PM By Raunak

It could become MGs D-segment offering in the country and will go up against sedans such as the Toyota Corolla, Hyundai Elantra and others.

Introduced in 2010, the outgoing MG6 was the first MG to be launched in 16 years (in sedan and fastback avatars). It was the revival car for MG, the famed British automaker, under the ownership of the Chinese auto major, SAIC (Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation). MG is likely to begin its Indian operations by 2019.

In Picture: First-gen MG6

The MG6 didnt spark much fire in its home market (the UK) and was discontinued last year, but it is still on sale in select markets, including Australia. Though the MG6 didn't perform as expected, the MG3 hatchback and the MG GS SUV are keeping the resurrected British brand afloat globally.

The second-generation of the MG6 has been spied completely undisguised in China and is expected to debut at the 2017 Chengdu Motor Show later this month. The leaked images indicate that its design is in line with MGs latest product, the ZS/XS compact SUV. At the front, it has MGs current grille design with its octagonal logo at the centre and is flanked by wrap-around headlamps. The interior is also in line with that of the ZS/XS. If you notice, the spied model is a fastback, as the hood opens with the rear windscreen like the outgoing version.

The information about the upcoming MG6 is scarce at the moment, but it is likely to borrow the 1.5-litre turbo petrol motor from the MG GS SUV. In the latter, this 1.5-litre engine puts out over 160PS and 250Nm and is mated to a 6-speed manual or 7-speed dual-clutch automatic. The Australian-spec outgoing MG6 is powered by a 1.8-litre turbo motor (160PS/215Nm) mated to a 6-speed dual-clutch.

Stay tuned to CD for the reveal of the possibly India-bound MG Motors MG6.

Source
Modified On Aug 10, 2017 04:33 PM By Jagdev for Skoda Rapid

The Rapid Monte Carlo is a cosmetically enhanced version of the regular Rapid with no mechanical changes

Skoda will launch a special variant of the Rapid in mid-August (most likely next week), the Rapid Monte Carlo. The Rapids Monte Carlo edition is mechanically the same car as the regular Rapid but will get a host of exterior and interior cosmetic updates. It will most likely be based on the top Style variant of the Rapid.

The Rapid Monte Carlo will be available with the signature red exterior colour with black-coloured roof, front grille, ORVMs, and tailgate spoiler. A new set of black 16-inch alloy wheels will also be available exclusively for this edition. The sporty theme will continue on the inside with an all-black interior with red stitching on the flat-bottom steering wheel and upholstery.

While prices for the Rapid Monte Carlo are expected to be out next week, Skoda has announced that the deliveries of the car will begin in September 2017.

The Rapid Monte Carlo will get the same engines as the regular version. So, the diesel version will get the 1.5-litre, 110PS engine while the petrol version will use the 1.6-litre, 105PS engine. Since the Style variant of the regular Rapid is available with both manual and automatic transmission options with both the engines, the Rapid Monte Carlo might be available with the same combination too.

The prices (ex-showroom Delhi) of the Skoda Rapids Style variant are as follows:

Petrol manual  Rs 10.24 lakh

Petrol automatic (6-AT)  Rs 11.46 lakh

Diesel manual  Rs 11.95 lakh

Diesel automatic (7-DSG)  Rs 13.06 lakh

Going by the additional cosmetic touches on the Monte Carlo edition, we expect it to be priced around Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000 over the respective Style variants.

Read More on : Rapid AMT
Birla Corp to seek board approval for Mukutban plant

10 August 2017

Birla Corp is due to put its proposal plans for a greenfield plant at Mukutban near Yavatmal district, India, before its board of directors for approval.



"We are planning to invest around INR2400 crore [US$375m] for the 4Mta greenfield cement plant at Mukutban. We will now go to the board for approval," said Harsh V Lodha, chairman of Birla Corporation, in a press release following the company's AGM on Monday. The new plant would be funded through a mixture of debt and internal accruals, he said.



Upon completion of the new plant, the group's total cement capacity would increase from the current 15.5Mta (after the acquistion of Reliance Cement) to touch 20Mta.

Published under
FLSmidth reports 11% rise in revenue

10 August 2017

FLSmidth reported an 11 per cent rise in revenue and a 25 per cent increase in EBITA in the 2Q17, driven by continued momentum in in orders from service activities.



Consolidated order intake grew by five per cent in the three month period while revenue rose to DKK4585m from DKK4135m a year earlier. The growth was attributable to all divisions but Minerals, as mining capital investments remained soft despite a firmer sentiment and an improved order pipeline, the company said in a statement.



Operating profit (EBITA) amounted to DKK342m and included one-off costs of DKK-92m related to corrective actions announced last year and the demobilisation of an operation and maintenance contract. The EBITA margin was 9.5 per cent adjusted for one-off costs.



The quarter also saw an improvement in the Group's capital efficiency. The return on capital employed advanced to 9.8 per cent from eight per cent in 2Q of last year as a result of lower capital employed and higher EBITA.



"We are pleased to report solid progress towards our KPI targets. The Group's service activities continue to benefit from the firming global growth and improvement in confidence. With Q2 marking the fourth consecutive quarter of strong aftermarket momentum, especially in mining, the service business is stabilising at a higher level," commented Group CEO, Thomas Schulz.



Cement division

FLSmidth noted that April-June period was another quarter of good cement order activity which rose by 27 per cent to DKK1023m supported by a large order in Pakistan for a complete cement production line. During the quarter the company also won an operation and maintenance (O&M) contract in Morocco to operate port equipment for handling phosphate, fertilisers and sulphur. As FLSmidths O&M business is part of the company's cement division, all O&M orders are booked in this division, irrespective of end customer or industry.



Revenue in the cement division increased 12 per cent to DKK1030m and increased by 18 per cent adjusted for currency, due to timing of projects. In addition to foreign exchange adjustments, the order backlog was adjusted by DKK250m in Q2 related to the demobilisation of an O&M contract in Angola.



EBITA declined to DKK-68m (2Q16: DKK15m), corresponding to an EBITA margin of -6.7 per cent. EBITA was impacted by one-off costs of DKK-76m of which DKK-30m impacted production costs.



Overall guidance for 2017

Following the results, FLSmidth confirmed its guidance for 2017. Revenue is expected to be DKK17-19bn and the EBITA margin between 7-9 per cent. The return on capital employed (ROCE) is expected to range between 8-10 per cent. EBITA guidance includes one-off costs of DKK-150m related to corrective actions launched in 2016 (previous expectation DKK -200m) as well as other one-off costs of DKK-62m recognised in the 2Q.

Published under
Kuwait Cement sees decline in quarterly profit

10 August 2017

Kuwait Cement reported a decline of 37.1 per cent in profits to KWD4.38m (US$14.48m) in the second quarter this year compared to KWD6.96m (US$23.01m) in the same quarter a year ago.



In the first half of 2017, the company posted a fall of 17.9 per cent in profits to KWD9.98m compared to KWD12.16m in 1H16, according to a bourse filing issued on Wednesday.



The decrease in profits is attributed to a higher finance cost to the consolidated income statements by KWD154,430, as well as a drop of KWD3.5m in gross profit.



In the first quarter of 2017, Kuwait Cement recorded a rise of 7.7 per cent in profits to KWD5.6m compared to KWD5.2m in 1Q16.

Published under
Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras explores for, produces, and sells oil and gas in Brazil and internationally. The company operates through Exploration and Production; Refining, Transportation and Marketing; Gas and Power; and Corporate and Other Businesses segments. It engages in prospecting, drilling, refining, processing, trading, and transporting crude oil from producing onshore and offshore oil fields, and shale or other rocks, as well as oil products, natural gas, and other liquid hydrocarbons. The Exploration and Production segment explores, develops, and produces crude oil, natural gas liquids, and natural gas primarily for supplies to the domestic refineries. The Refining, Transportation and Marketing segment engages in the refining, logistics, transport, marketing, and trading of crude oil and oil products; exportation of ethanol; and extraction and processing of shale, as well as holding interests in petrochemical companies. The Gas and Power segment is involved in the logistic and trading of natural gas and electricity; transportation and trading of LNG; generation of electricity through thermoelectric power plants; holding interests in transportation and distribution of natural gas; and fertilizer production and natural gas processing business. The Corporate and Other Businesses segment produces biodiesel and its co-products, and ethanol; and distributes oil products. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras was incorporated in 1953 and is headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Why August 10 is a 'black day' for India's Dalit Christians and Muslims

Today, August 10, is marked as a 'black day' for Dalit Christians in India, who suffer not only for being a religious minority but for being part of the 'untouchable' caste.

The Dalits are the caste formerly known as the 'untouchables', a historically poor and marginalised community.. Most of India's Christian community  around 70 per cent  are part of the Dalit caste and face both social and religious discrimination in wider society and even within the Church.

The Indian Constitution enshrines certain protections and a type of 'affirmative action' (such as education/employment quotas) for the Dalit caste to offset their social disadvantages. However, the 'Black Day' marks a presidential order signed on that day in 1950, when India's first president, Rajendra Prasad, declared that 'no person who professes a religion different from the Hindu religion shall be deemed to be a member of a Scheduled Caste'. The order effectively excluded both Christian and Muslim Dalits from affirmative action programmes designed to improve conditions for them.

The day has been used as a focus for campaigning against the legislation since 2009. The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) has called for black badges to be worn, alongside hosting rallies, meetings and candle-lit vigils to raise awareness of the day.

The CBCI website highlights caste discrimination not just in Indian society but within the Church.

The most Rev Dr A Neethinthan, Bishop of Chingleput, wrote in an August newsletter that today was 'an opportunity for Christians to commit themselves to root out casteism and discrimination from within the Church. All of us acknowledge and even assert that caste discrimination and untouchability are against the fundamental tenets of Christianity.

'However, we are painfully aware that practices of untouchability and discrimination do exist in the Church. The CBCI has repeatedly condemned cast discrimination and called for the eradication of the same.'

Neethinthan quoted a 1982 CBCI declaration which condemned the caste system as a 'denial of Christianity because it is inhuman. It violates the God-given dignity and equality of the human person. Human dignity and respect are due to every person and denial of this is a sin against God and man. It is an outright denial of the fatherhood of God'.
Breastfeeding mom vents anger on Facebook after being asked to leave Elevation Church during service

The multi-campus Elevation Church in North Carolina pastored by Steven Furtick has responded to a controversy that arose Sunday after a church member posted a comment on social media saying she was told to leave during service because she was breastfeeding her baby in public.

On Sunday night, a mother from South Carolina who attends services at an Elevation Church campus in the Ballantyne neighborhood of Charlotte took to Facebook to air her grievances after she was told that she had to go to the ladies room to breastfeed her child rather than doing it in the sanctuary during service.

"I just got kicked out of church for breastfeeding with a cover on and directed to the bathroom. Shame on you Elevation," mother Amanda Zilliken wrote in her Facebook post, which included a photo of the church's bathroom.

According to local news station WSOC-TV, Zilliken drives about an hour to attend the church service every Sunday and never had a problem breastfeeding her child there before.

It didn't take long after Zilliken's Facebook post for the outrage to ensue on social media. In fact, a "nurse-in" has been scheduled by protesters for Aug. 20 at the Ballantyne campus.

Additionally, a GoFundMe campaign has been launched to help Zilliken pay for a lawyer so that she can file a lawsuit against the church. As of Wednesday afternoon, $1,400 had been donated.

According to North Carolina law, a woman may breastfeed in "any public or private location where she is otherwise authorized to be."

Elevation Church released a statement to WSOC-TV explaining that the church allows breastfeeding mothers to attend its services and even has several designated areas for breastfeeding mothers should they choose to use them. The statement added that it was a church volunteer who spoke with Zilliken about the matter.

The Elevation Church statement reads:

"We do not have a policy that nursing mothers can't be in the sanctuary.

"A volunteer had a conversation and felt both parties arrived at the same conclusion to exit mutually. We are sorry that this in any way offended anyone. We welcome everyone and anyone to attend Elevation church.

"We have several designated areas for nursing moms at Ballantyne specifically  one private to allow pumping and it's close to the auditorium for convenience and the other in the actual baby area with a TV to allow mothers to still be part of the worship experience."

Zilliken told the news station that her goal in raising awareness about this issue is not to "bash" the church that she attends every Sunday.

"I do, however, think that everything was handled wrong," she was quoted as saying.

According to WSOC-TV, the Aug. 20 "nurse-in" was organized by a breastfeeding advocate from New Jersey named Ariel Tauro.

"You can see here we have this nursing mother's room. We have a video set up. We have this. We have that. But that's it. That's where it stops," Tauro said, speaking about the facilities provided by Elevation Church, which she insinuates are lacking.

While some on social media are calling for the church to be "shut down," others are coming to the church's defense.

Leanna Jones Stroup, a North Carolina elementary school music teacher, warned against the idea of shaming a whole church based on the actions of a volunteer.

"I am sorry that this happened but I do not believe that the church should be condemned for one person's actions. Would you condemn the whole church for the actions of one person if a man murdered someone?" Stroup asked in a Facebook post. "No! We would not condemn the church the murderer went to in that instance. It would be the choice of the murderer not the actions of the church. (I know this example seems to be extreme). I believe this is an attack on the church for sure!"

This article was originally published in The Christian Post.
'Ecumenism of hate' row: Now 'befuddled' evangelical leader and Catholic bishop hit back

A leading American evangelical and a New York Catholic bishop have separately hit back at allies of Pope Francis who recently attacked US conservative Catholics and evangelicals for their 'ecumenism of hate,' with both respondents pointing to 30 years of productive cooperation between the two groups.

Perhaps, at times, they arguably prove the point of the offending article, by referring to unity over the fall of Communism, and gatherings between the two groups which have included hawkish, neo-conservative opinion.

But the retorts, from bishop William Murphy and Johnnie Moore, are powerful, clear and evocative.

The international row began when, as Christian Today reported last month, Antonio Spadaro and Marcelo Figueroa condemned 'Manichaean language that divides reality between absolute Good and absolute Evil' in an article they wrote together on the 'surprising ecumenism' between the two groups.

Spadaro is a Jesuit priest who edits La Civilta Cattolica, and Marcelo Figueroa is a Presbyterian pastor who is editor-in-chief of the Argentinian edition of L'Osservatore Romano.

Spadaro's paper is considered the official voice of the Vatican and its contents are approved before publication by the Vatican secretary of state.

There has been a flurry of reaction, some agreeing with the article and some critical  all of which is welcome and healthy, according to Murphy.

Following the article's publication, the Archbishop of Philadelphia, Charles Chaput, wrote that it was 'an exercise in dumbing down and inadequately presenting the nature of Catholic/evangelical cooperation on religious freedom and other key issues'.

Writing on Catholicphilly.com, the Archbishop argued that 'progressives' who are 'wary' of religious liberty should realise that religious freedom is what allows faith communities to serve the poor and 'those in need'.

Now, Moore has written to Fox News with a hard-hitting message of bemusement and the full text of a friendlier letter he has sent to Pope Francis.

'Like many Christians in America I was befuddled by the incredibly caustic language used by the authors of a Vatican-vetted article last month which characterized the relationship between Evangelicals and Catholics in the United States as an "ecumenism of hate",' he said.

'I remembered a different version of this phrase ("ecumenism of hate") used by Pope Francis himself when he called the historic unity enjoyed by Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox and Evangelical Christians an "ecumenism of blood". He did so in light of persecution around the world which he has characterized as producing more martyrs today than at anytime in history.

'I found it shocking and intolerant for the article's authors to misappropriate language first used to unite the church to cause division within it. It reminded me of Romans 14:10, "Why do you pass judgment on your brother?"

'The authors of the piece in the La Cattolica Civiltas also used words like "radicalization" and even drew comparisons to ISIS. They also said that Evangelicals and conservative Catholics were in pursuit of a theocratic state. We are not, of course. We simply want to protect our religious liberties so we can continue to minister. Though, I couldn't miss the irony that the article was published from within the Vatican, a theocratic state.

'I cannot imagine that the article's authors understand the beautiful relationship that Catholics and Evangelicals have had in the last 30 years in the United States. Together, we have worked in pursuit of the fall of communism, led a vast resurgence of pro-life sentiment in the United States, and we have fought for religious liberty here and abroad. Our humanitarian collaboration has also saved millions of lives among the poor and persecuted.

'Rather than being offended, I decided to try and make peace by writing Pope Francis. The Bible says in Romans 12:18, "If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all."'

In his letter sent on August 3, Moore requests a meeting between evangelical and Catholic leaders and the Pope, before praising Francis and seeking common ground over the persecution of all Christian denominations around the world.

'We [US evangelicals and Catholics] think it would be of great benefit to sit together and to discuss these things. Then, when we disagree we can do it within the context of friendship. Though, I'm sure we will find once again that we agree far more than we disagree, and we can work together with diligence on those areas of agreement.

'We feel like this conversation is an urgent one, and I will bring a half dozen or so of our denominational heads and significantly influential Evangelicals for our time together.

'We would also like to use the time to meet with various other high level officials throughout the Vatican to find ways in which we can cooperate on matters of great concern to us all, especially as it relates to refugees, the poor and the persecuted...

'With all the respect in the world and with love for Christ's Church and every corner of it, I'll earnestly await your reply.'

Also yesterday, Murphy, who is Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, NY, wrote a nuanced article in America Magazine, also critical of the piece that came out of Rome.

First, a concession: 'It must be admitted that the "surprising ecumenism" that the authors describe does exist to some degree. Ours is a vast country in which one can find many points of view, as well as many alliances and coalitions.'

However, 'the authors seriously misrepresent the experience the Catholic Church has had with evangelicals these past 30 or more years.

'For example, in 1987, a group calling itself Evangelicals and Catholics Together began a dialogue in New York at the Union League Club. Among the participants were the evangelical ministers the Rev. Richard Land and the Rev. Charles Colson, the Catholic Cardinal Avery Dulles, SJ, and the neoconservative lay Catholic scholar Michael Novak. As one present and participating, I can assure readers that the inspiration was a critical adherence to the Bible and to the "social gospel" traditions that were harmonious among the respective Christian denominations. Father Spadaro and Rev Figueroa's essay is devoid of any serious engagement with the neoconservatism of authors like the Rev Richard John Neuhaus, George Weigel and Michael Novak.'

Murphy says that Spadaro and Figueroa misinterpret key aspects of American life, even the motto 'In God We Trust' and what it represents, and accuses them of generalising. 'They misunderstand how widespread and how many-faceted is the sense that Americans have that God has blessed us. Americans by and large see such a blessing not as a sense of self-righteousness or superiority, but rather a recognition that God is the source and ultimate end of all the good and positive aspects of life in our country. Are there some who are xenophobic and jingoistic? Some who exaggerate and exploit that sense of blessing? Yes, sadly, there are. However, when Father Spadaro and Rev Figueroa use such a broad brush and turn the phrase into a sinister one or proof of nefarious intentions, it might well lead others to see the authors as guilty of the same kind of exaggerations.'

He also lavishes praise on the Pope, before claiming that the authors of the controversial article had created a 'straw man'.

'We do not simply applaud the Pope. We look to him for inspiration. We seek to let his word and his example shape our positions and our actions,' Murphy writes. 'He shows us the importance of confronting those persons and issues that are truly important. Yet, by the end of Father Spadaro and Rev Figueroa's argument, I was convinced that the authors are fighting a straw man whom I too oppose. While they clearly support the Holy Father, the way they present Pope Francis' approach and his teaching seems to me to be weaker than the dynamic and robust approach we have come to recognize as Pope Francis at his most vibrant and inspiring.'

Murphy concludes with a question: 'There is no reason for fear. Pope Francis shows us that every day. But do we avoid our responsibility if we are afraid to speak the truth in love, reject the extremes of all ideologies and offer a service to the world that mediates by word and deed the Gospel message of God's love and Christ's redemption of all humankind?'

From the point of view of the Vatican-approved authors, however, there may be another question: is it all ideologies that are being rejected by the American Catholic-evangelical alliance? Or just one: the liberal left?

Further, Murphy talks of speaking 'the truth in love'. Which brings is to another question, perhaps the most famous question in the world: 'What is truth?'
Homelessness in Britain expected to grow by 76 per cent in 10 years: What can Christians do to help?

The number of people sleeping rough across Britain will increase by three quarters (76 per cent) in the next decade, with an estimated 16,000 Britons homeless by 2026. Christian charities have urged widespread action to prevent the dire predictions becoming a reality.

The news comes from national homeless charity Crisis, whose latest report published today estimates that at any time in 2016 as many as 9,100 people were sleeping rough across the UK.

The charity warned that poverty was the primary cause of homelessness and that current trends would continue if the government's 'current policies continue unchanged'.

The findings, which included research by Heriot-Watt University, found that in 2016 68,300 households were sofa-surfing, 19,300 households were living in unsuitable temporary accommodation and 37,200 household were living in hostels.

The number of households in temporary accommodation is expected to nearly double (growing by 93 per cent) in the next decade.

Crisis chief executive Jon Sparkes said: 'This year Crisis marks its 50th anniversary, but that's little cause for celebration. We still exist because homelessness still exists, and today's report makes it only too clear that unless we take action as a society, the problem is only going to get worse with every year that passes. That means more people sleeping on our streets, in doorways or bus shelters, on the sofas of friends or family, or getting by in hostels and B&Bs.'

Paul Hackwood, Executive Director of Church Urban Fund, the community social action arm of the Church of England, told Christian Today: 'Across the country, churches and faith-based organisations are working alongside statutory organisations, charities and other partners to respond to levels of street homelessness that are already substantially increased compared to a decade ago.'

Hackwood said that the dire Crisis predictions 'would amount to tremendous hardship for the families and individuals involved. Our Together programme working in local communities provides night shelters and emergency provision which helps to support people who end up on the streets.

'What we need however as a society is an orientation towards the common good, so action needs to be taken to address the causes of homelessness, and to prevent these predictions from becoming a reality.'

New Hope, a Christian homelessness charity based in Watford, England, said the predictions matched its own experience. A spokesperson told Christian Today: 'Since 2012, New Hope has witnessed a consistent rise in the need for its services. The Rough Sleeping Prevention Service, a team dedicated to identifying and providing first-contact support to those who are rough sleeping or sofa surfing, has documented a consistent increase of five to six individuals each year and has more than doubled since 2012. A greater worry, of course, is that there could be many more that have yet to make themselves known to the charity.

'Across the UK, the situation mirrors that of Watford...the total number of people counted as sleeping rough [in the UK] has more than doubled since 2010 and...the average cost of rent across the UK is expected to increase by 25 per cent over the coming years, increasing the potential for further rough sleeping.'

He added: 'New Hope is concerned that if this trend is to continue, the pressure on registered charities such as themselves will increase beyond the point that can be managed and that places within the temporary accommodation will become rare.'

The Crisis report notes that the present tide could be stopped. A 60 per cent increase in new housing could reduce homelessness by 19 per cent by 2036, while increased prevention work could reduce levels by 34 per cent in the same period. The charity's Everybody In campaign calls for a concerted national effort to 'change opinions, raise awareness and ultimately end homelessness for good'.

New Hope added that Christians or concerned citizens could make simple but significant efforts to help.

'It may seem obvious but the accommodation and support provided by homelessness charities comes at a price  financial donations to your local or preferred homelessness charity provides the means to keep their services running and, eventually, to expand their provision,' its spokesperson said.

'It is equally important, however, that our local MPs and councils work together to end the struggle for affordable housing once and for all. Please take the time to speak to your local MPs, of your own party and those of other parties, and express your concerns as it is only together that change can be affected. Finally, please pray. Pray for those in greatest need, and for those who work tirelessly in their local area, pray for change.'
Hyeon Soo Lim's church is 'ecstatic' at his release

Canadian Christians are celebrating the release of a pastor who hadd been held captive in North Korea since 2015.

Rumours began a few days ago that 62-year-old Hyeon Soo Lim was to be released and confirmation appeared to come from North Korea's state news agency.

The decision to release pastor Lim comes just hours after a high-level Canadian delegation, led by the prime minister's national security adviser, had arrived in the country in the hope of intervening in his case, as Christian Today reported yesterday.

The Globe and Mail reports that pastor Lim's church  Light Korean Presbyterian church in Mississauga, Ontario  was 'ecstatic' at the news of his release.

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau welcomed the news and said, 'The Government of Canada was actively engaged on Mr Lim's case at all levels.'

His statement continued, 'Pastor Lim's health and well-being remain of utmost importance to the Government of Canada, and we are working to ensure that he receives any required medical attention.' That was all he could reveal at the moment,' Operational security considerations prevent us from discussing the matter further,' the prime minister said.

The seriousness of Pastor Lim's situation became even more clear after the death of US student Otto Warmbier earlier this year, after his release from North Korean imprisonment. Pastor Lim is reported to be in poor health.

President Trump has dialled up the rhetoric against North Korea in recent days, saying he would respond to North Korean aggression with, 'fire and fury and, frankly, power the likes of which the world has never seen before'.

Pastor Lim's church, which is around 3,000 strong, has supported various missions to North Korea. He is of South Korean origin. He has made over 100 trips to the North since 1997 and helps to run nursing home and orphanages there.

But in February 2015, he was arrested and eventually found guilty of trying to overthrow the regime of Kim Jong Un. He has been in captivity ever since, in spite of poor health.

Raymond Cho, a member of parliament who knows Pastor Lim said he was relieved at his release. 'I believe in the power of prayer, he said, 'I prayed for him every night, twice a night.'

Another politician who had campaigned for his release, Senator Yonah Martin said, 'I had a great sense of relief but it took me by surprise only because it had been so long.'
Korean Christians beg Trump, Kim to step back from the brink

Korean Christians have warned of the risk of war on the peninsula because of rising tensions between US President Donald Trump and North Korea's President Kim Jong Un.

The National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK) said in a letter to South Korea's President Moon Jae-In that it hoped to see a peaceful reunification of North and South but that it was alarmed at developments. 'To make matters worse, President Trump has declared that "North Korea would face fire and fury, one never witnessed by the world", the letter says. 'Military tension is at its height in the Korean peninsula and there is fear of war spreading among the people.'

The lives of the people in South Korea should not be threatened by the provocative acts of the US and North Korea, said the letter. 'The road to peace is a difficult one, but the harder it gets the more important it is that we keep the principle, it states. 'We cannot start sincere dialogues when we place blame for the opponent's extreme actions or when we insist various pre-conditions for dialogue.'

It urges Moon to send a special envoy to North Korea, saying: 'Our prayers will be with you always, as you are desperately struggling for a better future of our country.'

According to the World Council of Churches, there is 'no other geographic context in which the risk of regionally and globally catastrophic conflict is greater, and no point in recent history when tensions in the region have been higher.' It says it is 'of critical and urgent necessity that the risks of conflict be reduced, not heightened'.

In a statement yesterday reacting to the imposition of fresh sanctions on the regime, WCC general secretary Olav Fykse Tveit warned against the 'escalating rhetoric and accelerating cycle of threat and counter-threat between antagonists in this situation'.

'The latest statements by the President of the United States of America adopt a tone almost indistinguishable from the threats emanating from North Korea,' he said. 'While no doubt intended to project strength and resolve, they risk taking the world yet closer to the precipice of conflict.'

The sanctions adopted by the UN Security Council were likely to be counterproductive, he said, as they had never worked before and had failed to prevent the North acquiring nuclear weapons. Furthermore, sanctions had impeded humanitarian access and contributed to the rising tensions.

Tveit said: 'We call for a sea-change in the international community's approach to North Korea, in favour of dialogue and engagement rather than military and political confrontation.'

The warnings from Tveit and the South Korean Churches stand in stark contrast to backing given to Donald Trump by a leading US evangelical, Robert Jeffress, who said: 'God has endowed rulers full power to use whatever means necessary  including war  to stop evil. Jeffress continued: 'In the case of North Korea, God has given Trump authority to take out Kim Jong Un.'
Now JK Rowling slams pastor for backing North Korea war: 'The devil can cite Scripture'

JK Rowling has rebuked evangelical pastor Robert Jeffress for saying God has given Donald Trump the authority to drop nuclear bombs on North Korea.

Entering into the debate, the Harry Potter author tweeted a William Shakespeare quote from The Merchant of Venice to rebuff the hardline conservative pastor.

She tweeted: 'The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose. An evil soul producing holy witness, Is like a villain with a smiling cheek.'

The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.

An evil soul producing holy witness

Is like a villain with a smiling cheek..."

Wm Shakespeare https://t.co/Oy9TehJxSa  J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) August 10, 2017

Retweeted more than five thousand times just three hours after publishing, it joins the heavy criticism aimed at Jeffress after the evangelical adviser to the President told Fox News: 'The Bible gives President Trump the moral authority to use whatever force necessary, including assassination or even war, to take out an evildoer like Kim Jong-un. I think most Christians understand that."

In a dig at Barack Obama's adminstration, Jeffress added to the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN): 'I'm heartened to see that our President  contrary to what we've seen with past administrations who have taken, at best, a sheepish stance toward dictators and oppressors  will not tolerate any threat against the American people. When President Trump draws a red line, he will not erase it, move it, or back away from it. Thank God for a President who is serious about protecting our country.'

The pastor of the 12,000-member First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, is one of the evangelical leaders who prayed for Trump and was a member of his advisory committee during the 2016 presidential election.

It comes after JK Rowling was forced to apologise for a previous attack on Trump where she accused of him of refusing to shake hands with a disabled boy after initial press footage seemed to indicate he had done so.

JK Rowling had written: 'Trump imitated a disabled reporter. Now he pretends not to see a child in a wheelchair, as though frightened he might catch his condition.

'This monster of narcissism values only himself and his pale reflections. The disabled, minorities, transgender people, the poor, women (unless related to him by ties of blood, and therefore his creations) are treated with contempt, because they do not resemble Trump.'

She later apologised to the boy's mother when footage emerged proving Trump had indeed shaken the boys hand and spoken with him.

She wrote to his mother: 'Re: my tweets about the small boy in a wheelchair whose proffered hand the president appeared to ignore in press footage.

'Multiple sources have informed me that that was not a full or accurate representation of their interaction.

'I very clearly projected my own sensitivities around the issue of disabled people being overlooked or ignored onto the images I saw and if that caused any distress to that boy or his family, I apologise unreservedly.'
Why I'm evangelical about Greenbelt  even the bits that aren't evangelical

There are a number of summer rituals that seem to take place every year. Being surprised that Wimbledon has come around so quickly, remembering that August's weather is about as good as November's and so on...

Another ritual is the denouncement of the Greenbelt Festival by British conservative Christians.

In 2009, there was outrage over the invitation of Gene Robinson, the first openly gay bishop of the Anglican Communion. In 2010 there was a call for a boycott over the invitation of gay human rights activist Peter Tatchell. Before and since there have been regular calls from conservatives to avoid the festival.

Greenbelt began in the early '70s as an evangelical event and has, of course, significantly broadened its horizons since then. At Greenbelt these days, you will find Christians of all denominations. Yes, there are some atheists too, among the crowds and on the stages. There are also Muslims, Jews and those of other faiths.

This year's controversy centres around the news that there will be a form of Muslim chant showcased in one venue. As Christian Today reported, the session will involve, 'teaching 'basic universal Sufi chants' which 'are rhythmic, healing and a unique form of worship' according to the Greenbelt website. Festival-goers are invited to 'come, enter in, learn and participate.''

This has prompted more discussion on social media, with one Christian media outlet sharing the news, prompting hundreds of angry comments from users.

I'm not going to get too bogged down in responding to this particular issue. Suffice it to say this is one session among hundreds, which is open to anyone, but in no sense integral to the programme. Muslims have been attending and speaking at Greenbelt for years and the sky hasn't fallen in. Those angrily commentating on this news don't seem to be people who've actually experienced Greenbelt and I'd be surprised if they knew the difference between a Sufi and a Salafi approach to Islam.

Personally, I don't believe Christians and Muslims should worship together, as we're fundamentally approaching God in a different way. In that sense, I've very much evangelical  the cross, scripture, personal conversion and activism are all important to my understanding of my Christian faith.

In spite of (or even because of?) that, I'm keen to find out more about the Muslim faith and to do so in a constructive environment in which we can all be respected and listened to. Greenbelt is one such environment. I'm also keen to interact with more Muslims. In a world where there are over a billion of them, and counting, that just seems like a common sense point of view.

Why, then, do I continue not just to attend Greenbelt but to volunteer there?

There are three reasons.

Firstly, there is loads of content that is 'evangelical'. A few years ago I recall vast queues to hear NT Wright speak. In a venue which held over 3,000 people, there were scores who couldn't get in, so popular was the New Testament scholar. Other evangelical voices I've enjoyed in recent years include theologian Alister McGrath, Archbishop Justin Welby, politician Baroness Berridge, activist Shane Claiborne and many more besides. I even held my hands aloft and sang myself hoarse (along with a packed Big Top) while Graham Kendrick led worship.

Secondly, what is the point in an event that takes place in a hermetically sealed environment? Where is the opportunity for growth if we are never challenged? I've heard stuff at Greenbelt that I disagree with. Heck, I've introduced acts at Greenbelt and then disagreed with them while standing at the side of the stage.

I don't see this as a problem to be covered up. It's a strength of the festival. There are plenty of other events which have their own theological line and stick to it  and that's OK. Greenbelt isn't like that, it challenges as much as it comforts. By its own admission, the festival doesn't always get it right, but without risk, there's less chance of reward.

Thirdly, I remain involved in Greenbelt because it is scratching in areas that other festivals don't itch. Touching on the urgently pressing issues of racial injustice, political disenfranchisement and the existentially important issues surrounding environmental destruction, the festival is an important prophetic voice. Other festivals are brilliant for expositional Bible teaching, extended musical worship and so on. But without that prophetic edge that Greenbelt offers, the whole body in the UK would be suffering.

Again, I don't agree with everything that happens at Greenbelt. That's kind of the point.

I've noticed a worrying trend among some Christian friends. Their propensity to judge Greenbelt without having even been is frightening. Yes, a gay bishop once took part, but does that mean the whole event is worthless? Some are willing to write off the whole event simply because they don't agree with the position of one speaker. In a world pulling apart over political, theological and philosophical differences, let's be careful before we criticise others. Perhaps the answer is even to get a ticket, come along and join the conversation?

Follow Andy Walton on Twitter @waltonandy
Just over half of people who did not volunteer in the last year say that work commitments were a factor, while some 44 per cent of people over 75 didn't think they were the right age to take part, according to figures published this week.

This week the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport published additional information that was collected for the Community Life Survey, but was not part of the final report, including a question on the barriers to volunteering.

The Community Life Survey for 2016/17 revealed that 22 per cent took part in formal volunteering once a month and 63 per cent had engaged at least once a year. Those that did not take part in any formal volunteering in the last year were asked to indicate what the barriers were, with 52 per cent citing work as a barrier.

People between 35 and 49 were most likely to say work was a barrier, with 72 per cent saying so; 69 per cent of those between 25 and 34 also cited work as a barrier.

I do other things with my spare time

The next most frequently cited barrier for people was simply doing other things with their spare time, with 35 per cent saying this was the case.

People aged 65 to 74 were most likely to cite other activities, with 46 per cent giving this as a reason.

Some 12 per cent of respondents said that they didnt know of any groups that need help. The same percentage said that they hadnt heard about opportunities and 17 per cent said that they had not thought about it.

Just over 10 per cent cited illness or disability. Just 3 per cent said it was not their responsibility.

Age matters

In many cases it appears that people's age is a factor in their reason for not volunteering.

Older people were more likely to think they are not the right age, with 44 per of over 75s saying this was a barrier. They were also more likely than the average to cite illness or disability.

Some 13 per cent of those aged 65 to 74 said they were not the right age. For those aged 50 to 64 just 3 per cent thought they were the wrong age.

Younger people, aged between 16 and 24, were more likely than other age groups to have study commitments. They were also slightly more likely to not be aware of need or opportunity.

Civil Society Media is hosting its Charity People & Culture Conference on 20 September 2017. For more information, and to book, click here




Ryan Graves announced he would step down from an operating role at Uber on Thursday. This profile originally ran in May. Travis Kalanick has become the face of Uber, the brash and super-successful entrepreneur that "holds no prisoners" and bleeds "Uber blood." But central to Uber's recent unraveling is a less familiar face  Ryan Graves, the start-up's first CEO. Though Graves has faded from Uber's limelight over the past seven years, an explosive internal investigation may lead to his termination, sources indicated to Recode this week. Yet Graves' role at Uber remains somewhat mysterious. Back in 2010, Kalanick didn't want to run Uber full time  and put Graves in the role. Then a 20-something newlywed fresh out of the Midwest, Graves was an unlikely executive who served only a short stint at the helm of Uber in 2010. But he has remained at the company through its success, and more recently, its turmoil.

Uber head of global operations Ryan Graves (R) eats with fourth grader Frederick Dozier during Cooking Matters, a nutrition class taught by 18 Reasons, a local partner of Share our Strength at Glen Park Elementary School in San Francisco, California, December 10, 2014. Beck Diefenbach | Reuters

In particular, Graves was aware of "greyballing," a tool Uber used to evade authorities around the world, according to The New York Times. That program is now subject to a criminal probe, Reuters reported. Graves' stake in Uber is also enough to make him one of the world's youngest billionaires, according to Forbes. That stake, and the board seat that comes with it, became crucial as Uber has fielded a series of scandals that include accusations of gender bias and alleged intellectual property theft. An Uber insider told Business Insider that Graves, known as Uber's "Mr. Nice Guy," had "vanished from the office," and that employees feel Graves hasn't displayed the leadership they would have expected. Recode reports that Uber's HR  accused by a former employee of dismissing sexism allegations  reported to Graves.

From intern to CEO

Graves' professional trajectory was exponential: He went from an intern to a top start-up executive. On a now-defunct Tumblr, Graves listed his positions prior to Uber as an intern for 3 months at FourSquare, while he was also a program manager at GE Healthcare as part of the Information Management Leadership Program. Graves, a San Diego native and Padres fan who grew up near the beach and wanted to see the world, had a sparse technology background. A member of the water polo club team and the Beta Theta Pi fraternity, Graves graduated from Miami University in Ohio with an economics degree in 2006, a period he described as "some of the best years of my life." He married his college sweetheart, a kindergarten teacher named Molly who loved fashion. After interning at UBS, Graves said he did a stint as a consultant at a Chicago firm called PartnerSolve, following Molly to the Windy City, before founding and subsequently shuttering at least one start-up, a Tweetdeck-like social media project called SocialDreamium. "When I joined GE at the very end of 2007 I had expectations of what opportunities the job would provide," Graves wrote in a Facebook post. "Since I had interest in technology, I joined the Information Management training program to follow the path of [former GE chief] Jack Welch. There was an 'unofficial' promise that if I was the top of my class at the 1-year point I would be able to work abroad, there was the off program salary that was very appealing, there was the job titles, and the opportunity to work directly for a CIO."

The early days of UberCab

By mid-2009, Kalanick was "temporarily" running Uber, which had yet to launch, with co-founder Garrett Camp. "I wasn't yet ready for a full-time gig  still recharging from a 10 year non-stop startup life in P2P technology  and we both thought the business was going to be pretty low-tech, mostly operational  Little did we know," Kalanick wrote of early days at Uber. By January 2010, Kalanick said, he was interviewing Graves to take over. "Funny story how we brought him in. I was hitting Craigslist, Twitter, and other channels looking for the right candidate. What resulted was the Awesomest job post and response I've ever seen (I'm @konatbone):" Source: Uber Newsroom He got the job and moved to Hayes Valley in San Francisco, leaving a half-packed apartment in Chicago after 4 years. "The world of no health insurance, jamming late nights, endless responsibility, and some of the most fun I've ever had are ahead of me and I'm so stoked," he wrote. Graves started working at Uber in March 2010, demoing the product, with Kalanick dropping by for about 15 to 20 hours a week. Graves steered the company through its launch and first round of financing  for the next two years he didn't take any vacations. In the first two months after the app launched, the company went from coordinating 5 rides per night to about 50, Graves said in a Facebook post, crediting the rise to customers' forgiveness for early-stage companies. The team started hiring for their first full-time engineer in April, and by June, Graves had moved the rest of his stuff to San Francisco. "I work with a ton of young startup executives, but rarely have I had the opportunity to work with someone as high quality as Ryan," Kalanick wrote at the time. "He's got the trifecta: Hustle, emotional intelligence, and smarts. .... He learned the startup game fast and worked his ass off to build the Uber team and make the San Francisco launch and subsequent growth a huge success."

Graves, center right, poses with NASA astronaut Jose Hernandez, center left, with Los Ubers, a group of Uber employees "committed to spreading the vibrancy of Latino culture" Source: Uber Newsroom But by December, Kalanick took over as CEO. Graves cited their "mentor/mentee" relationship, and both said they were "pumped" by the changes in the company, calling it a "partnership, not a replacement." Graves, then general manager and vice president of operations, wrote later that the handover was "a little bit of an ego/gut check." "I wasn't being forced out, and the position Travis was asking me to accept was one that I thought really aligned with my strengths," Graves said in an interview with a venture capital firm. Since then, Graves has been involved in a myriad of projects, including the company's international expansion and UberEats meal delivery service. His Twitter feed, mostly silent on Uber's issues, is largely focused on politics (he's a passionate environmentalist). Now a family man, Graves aims to be home for dinner at least once a week for dinner with his young children.

The anti-Travis?

Kalanick has undoubtedly been a driving force in Uber's skyrocketing valuation, which now approaches $68 billion, according to CB Insights. "Travis is who he is. He doesn't try to play the political brand or water things down," SB Projects, an early Uber backer, told CNBC last year. Jason Calacanis, another investor in Uber, said Kalanick has the makings of a "legendary CEO" in the vein of Microsoft's Bill Gates and Oracle's Larry Ellison.

Uber founder Travis Kalanick Danish Siddiqui | Reuters

But that hard-driving approach has also lent itself to a "fighter mentality," Calacanis said. Susan Fowler, a former Uber engineer, wrote that Uber's culture was, indeed, political, noting that upper management did little to address her concerns about sexism. "We all lived under fear that our teams would be dissolved, there would be another re-org, and we'd have to start on yet another new project with an impossible deadline. It was an organization in complete, unrelenting chaos," Fowler wrote in a viral blog post. Fowler doesn't name which executives were involved in the most inflammatory incidents she witnessed, like the decisions to exclude women from getting corporate leather jacket. But that kind of behavior does not seem to fit Graves' personality, at least not from what we know as his early days as an executive, more than 7 years ago. He was "nice, genuine and hardworking," according to one college friend who spoke to CNBC.

Culture isn't something that you force feed your team. Ryan Graves Uber

In his book, "The Upstarts," author Brad Stone describes Graves' hiring of Austin Geidt, the first woman to work at Uber. Geidt had been addicted to drugs in college, recovering to find her career adrift before she was hired by Graves as a marketing intern. She told Stone that she struggled to fit, had "terrible impostor syndrome," and found Kalanick stressful. But Graves "counseled her in the stairwell to the office, with Geidt in tears." "Instead of firing her, though, Graves gave her time to find her footing," Stone wrote. "Later he dismissed his first driver-operations manager and installed Geidt in the role." She, like Graves, would go from intern to key Uber exec and advocate of Uber's culture. But in a 2012 interview with a venture capital firm, Graves also emphasized that he thought rewarding individuals was an important part of building culture in a company  but that forcing the culture issue was "kind of lame." "Culture isn't something that you force feed your team," Graves said. "It's more of a byproduct of who you are collectively, what you stand for, and what you value most. If you focus on people individually  the work that they do and the way in which they're rewarded  I think that will have a far greater impact on your business, and culture will take care of itself."

An uncertain future for top Uber executives
Mobile payment platforms Apple Pay and Alipay are displayed for a photograph in Hong Kong, China, on November 1, 2016.

"Visa has a maximum capacity of processing 25,000 payments per second. But Alipay can process 50,000 payments, twice as much, per second."

"JPMorgan every year, as we speak, processes through our QuickPay 94 million payments," she said, "But Tencent, the Chinese company, over Chinese New Year, in five days processed 46 billion payments. Basically that means 800 million payments per hour.

Speaking before a crowd of hundreds at the Rise Conference in Hong Kong last month, Jing Ulrich, vice chairman Asia Pacific at JPMorgan Chase, heaped praise on the two Chinese online payment juggernauts, Alibaba Group's Alipay and Tencent's Tenpay.

The giants of the banking world are starting to publicly acknowledge the dominance of mobile payment methods devised by Chinese technology firms  and, more broadly, a failure to keep up with fintech rivals in certain areas.

The rise of online payments through non-bank services, exemplified by Alipay and WeChat Pay  which falls under the Tenpay umbrella  in China, has caused another banking giant, Goldman Sachs, to stand up and take notice too.

The firm recently published a report, led by Mancy Sun, which reveals the value of third-party payments in China grew more than 74 times from 2010 to 2016, from US$155 billion to a staggering US$11.4 trillion.

Of that total, 56 per cent took the form of peer-to-peer transfers while about 16 per cent was consumption-related. Furthermore, payments made via third-party payment companies comprised 40 per cent of all retail sales, a figure that is still growing.

The user base in China of these applications is also mind-boggling. Goldman Sachs' report showed that there were 3.4 billion third-party payment accounts in China last year.

As of December, Tenpay managed around 600 million payment accounts. By March this year, Alipay had reached 520 million payment accounts. Both numbers dwarf the 197 million users Paypal has globally.

More from the South China Morning Post:

Most Android stock trading apps in Hong Kong are rife with security risks, study shows

Facebook bought an AI startup that could turn its middling virtual assistant into a Siri killer

Sichuan earthquake stirs up painful memories of 2008 disaster

The emergence of new electronic payment methods is undoubtedly reshaping consumer behaviour.

Li Yong, 23, a resident of Guangzhou, Guangdong, rarely carries cash with her nowadays. When it comes to commuting, she said major metro stations all feature machines which allow riders to top up their metrocards or purchase tickets with either Alipay or Tenpay. Or she can make use of dockless shared bikes if she does not want to take the metro.

"I only carry my wallet when I have to board a plane or a train because I need to show my IDs on those occasions," she said.

Li believes mobile online payment now accounts for the majority of urbanites' daily expenses, more than spending with credit cards and cash combined.

"There are QR codes for Alipay or Tenpay for expenses as small as one-yuan soymilk or a five-yuan chow-fun in a street-side breakfast place," she said. "You can find QR codes at snack stands, street vendors or places like H&M."

The growth rate of the online payment sector is showing no signs of abating. According to Chinese central bank data, online payments through non-bank services expanded 60 per cent in the first quarter to 47 billion transactions valued at 26.47 trillion yuan (US$3.9 trillion), 43 per cent more than last year.

And it's not just online payments where the traditional banks are being left behind. They're also losing ground to mobile trading platforms.

The second quarter of this year was a tough one for the trading desks of big Wall Street banks.
Chef'd meal kit Chef'd

Blue Apron's horrendous six weeks as a public company isn't killing off the meal-kit market. Rival start-up Chef'd just raised $35.2 million, according to a filing this week with the SEC. Chef'd CEO Kyle Ransford confirmed exclusively to CNBC on Wednesday that pork producer Smithfield Foods invested $25 million. related investing news Wedbush removes Tesla from its top stocks list, says Twitter deal an 'albatross' Additionally, Campbell Soup contributed $10 million in the round (a deal that was announced in May), with the remaining $200,000 coming from online grocer Fresh Direct. Chef'd is skirting the venture capital path and is instead reeling in cash from strategic investors who are seeking to adapt to digital trends in the food industry. Corporate capital gives the company a different approach to a market that features 10 or more players all vying for consumers who want meals delivered directly to their door. "E-commerce and direct-to-consumer is an evolving space," said Ransford, who founded the company in 2013 after a career in real estate and investing. "The strategics are ahead of the financial players in terms of understanding where the market is and what it's doing." Research firm Packaged Facts estimated in mid-2016 that the market would hit close to $1.5 billion last year, and most forecasts show it expanding many times over in the next decade. That still represents a tiny fraction of the total grocery market, but all the growth is in online ordering.

Within the crowded field of meal-kit companies, only Blue Apron has tested the public markets. The results haven't been pretty. Blue Apron had planned to sell shares at $15 to $17 a piece and ended up cutting that price to $10 in late June. The company, which is scheduled to report quarterly results on Thursday for the first time since its IPO, has since lost 38 percent of its value, closing on Wednesday at $6.24. Plated, another competitor in the market, said in a filing on Monday that it's raising $12 million in debt, which could be a sign that the equity markets have soured for at least some companies in the space. Plated didn't respond to a request for comment. Other competitors include HelloFresh, Home Chef and PeachDish. Ransford highlighted two primary characteristics that differentiate his company from Blue Apron and other players. The first is that Chef'd, which delivers hundreds of thousands of meals a month, is not a subscription business, meaning consumers can order whenever they want and from a wide selection of over 1,000 breakfasts, lunches and dinners. Secondly, Ransford said that Chef'd spends just 1 percent of its sales on promoting the product. Blue Apron, by contrast, spent about 25 percent of its $245 million in first-quarter revenue on marketing. Rather than offering free meals and deep discounts for newcomers and spending heavily on social media, Chef'd relies on partnerships with household brands that have big budgets.

I didn't have to start a company to find out that you can sell a dollar for 90 cents, or 50 cents. Kyle Ransford Chef'd CEO

Last year, the start-up teamed up with the New York Times to become the exclusive meal kit for the newspaper's online cooking section, and last month Chef'd partnered with Coca-Cola to offer combination food and beverage kits. It also gets a lot of business through Amazon, where a search for "meal kits" typically puts Chef'd results at the top, and has gotten some publicity for raising money on crowdfunding sites Indiegogo and CircleUp. "We do some discounting, but we shy away from get your first order free and deep discounting," Ransford said. "I didn't have to start a company to find out that you can sell a dollar for 90 cents, or 50 cents." It's still a costly business that requires a hefty logistics machine. Chef'd has 350 employees, with about 85 percent of them in the company's three warehouses: two in Brooklyn and one in El Segundo, California. Ransford said he's opening a bigger facility in California and planning another in Texas for 2018.

watch now
As lenders in China release their financial report cards this month, investors can expect clearer signs on how well banks in the world's second-largest economy are holding up against a government-led clamp down on swelling debt. The health of the Chinese banking sector is closely-watched as lenders hold more than 90 percent of total financial assets in the world's second-largest economy, according to Reuters. But the banks' abilities to control risks were brought into question when growing indebtedness led regulators to intervene on fears of instability breeding turmoil. With the banks' earnings reports for first half 2017 scheduled to begin Friday, analysts said more attention will be paid to financial indicators that show the amount of risky assets the lenders hold and their exposure to the "shadow banking" sector. Shadow banking is a broad category of banking-like services from non-traditional players; it can include loans from non-financial companies as well as investment products. It is outside the bounds of normal banking regulation, so it largely goes unregulated.

Chinese flag Getty Images

As for what experts are watching, Nomura analysts wrote that net interest margin and fees will be key. The former is a measure of how successful a bank's investment decisions are compared to its debt situation. The latter, grouped under non-interest income in a bank's balance sheet, is monies earned from the sale of financial products. "Compared to bottom line growth ... we attach more importance to the [net interest margin] and fees trend, as well as banks' risk profile both on the balance sheet (receivables investment) and off the balance sheet (wealth management products)," the Nomura analysts wrote in a note this week. "We see financial deleveraging to continue and banks still holding large exposure to such [riskier] assets either on or off the balance sheet to be under more pressure ahead," they added. Such stress will be felt most by small and medium-sized banks, the profitability of which has been supported by funds raised through channels involving the shadow banking sector. Questions about those lenders' resilience are a test of strength for China's entire banking industry, noted Alice Guan, Phillip Securities' market specialist for Greater China. A preliminary earnings report by mid-tier lender China Merchants Bank showed some signs of strains. Non-interest income slipped 11 percent in the second quarter after jumping 47 percent in the previous three months. That's likely a result of the government's crackdown on wealth management products. Such products are commonly sold by banks to raise funds. Before Beijing got tough, the lack of regulation in the space resulted in banks investing those proceeds in risky and struggling industries, or in other similar products  growing contagion risks in the system. China Merchants Bank's audited first half results are due on Aug. 19. Reports by its peers such as China Minsheng Bank will help to paint a fuller picture of the regulatory impact. The country's big five banks, likely to report in the last week of August, are expected to be relatively unscathed by the stricter regulatory environment given their larger capital buffers and ability to handle risks. But the overall credit tightening could affect them down the road, with rising funding costs threatening profitability in what is turning out to be a tougher operating climate, Guan told CNBC.

watch now

The big five banks are Industrial and Commercial Bank of China , China Construction Bank , Bank of China , Agricultural Bank of China and Bank of Communications , which have assets among the largest in the world. "Credit risk is still the main risk faced by commercial banks this year," Guan said. "Compared to the first six months, China's banking industry will face more challenges from the overall business environment. Economic growth is expected to slow down in the second half of the year, monetary and regulatory policies will be more stringent."

Not-so-bad early indicators?
In honor of National Book Lovers Day, former President Bill Clinton took to social media on Tuesday to share some of his favorite titles. The books he recommends range from suspenseful thrillers like "House of Spies," by Daniel Silva to political non-fiction like "Warnings: Finding Cassandras to Stop Catastrophes," by Richard A. Clarke and R.P. Eddy. While Clinton's experience may be in politics, many of his favorite books can also help people get ahead in business. For instance, "The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements," by Eric Hoffer harnesses social psychology to discover what makes an individual become a fanatic. No matter what kind of business you work in, knowing how to make people fans of your product is an invaluable skill.

One book on his list stands out: "How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia," by Mohsin Hamid, which parodies popular get-rich-quick books. Hamid writes, "There are forks in the road to wealth that have nothing to do with choice or desire or effort, forks that have to do with chance." Check out the full list of books the 42nd president recommends:

Killers of the Flower Moon, by David Grann

"Killers of the Flower Moon," by David Grann tells a true story about the murder of multiple members of the Osage Native American tribe. Grann follows an undercover team of Texas Rangers who work with the Osage community to expose one of the most chilling conspiracies in American history.

Empire of Cotton: A Global History, by Sven Beckert

This book won the Bancroft Prize from Columbia University and was a Pulitzer Prize finalist. Beckert's nonfiction work traces how the American cotton industry and slave trade impacts modern capitalism. Through this analysis, he is able to better understand and explain modern inequality.

House of Spies, by Daniel Silva

Silva's suspenseful thriller follows an international agent, a shady businessman and a former British model as they hunt down a villainous terrorist in the South of France.

A Great Reckoning (A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel), by Louise Penny

This mystery novel by Louise Penny follows Canadian police officers as they search for the truth behind the death of a beloved professor.

The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements, by Eric Hoffer

Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Eric Hoffer uses his understanding of social psychology to investigate how mass movements take shape and what makes a person a fanatic.

Yitzhak Rabin: Soldier, Leader, Statesman, by Itamar Rabinovich

Itamar Rabinovich uses his experience as a foreign diplomat and academic to paint a picture of Yitzhak Rabin, Israel's first native-born prime minister. Rabinovich's book describes Rabin as "an awkward politician who became a statesman, a soldier who became a peacemaker."

Boys in the Trees: A Memoir, by Carly Simon

Carly Simon's memoir tells the story of her childhood, rise to fame and the unraveling of her relationships with some of the most famous men of the day including former husband James Taylor.

How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia, by Mohsin Hamid

Hamid's novel uses the style of a self-help book to tell the story of a sickly boy with ambitions of wealth and success. Hamid's final advice when it comes to finance? "Slough off your wealth, like an animal molting in the autumn."

Blindsided: The True Story of One Man's Crusade Against Chemical Giant DuPont for a Boy with No Eyes, by Jim Ferraro

"Blindsided" is an intense legal thriller about attorney Jim Ferraro, who spent 10 years and millions of dollars of his own money to take on DuPont Chemical on behalf of a woman who was exposed to a harmful DuPont product while pregnant, causing her son to be born without eyes.

Gratitude, by Oliver Sacks

Before passing away from cancer, neurologist and writer Oliver Sacks wrote a series of essays contemplating life and its meaning. "Gratitude" is a collection of his final work. He writes, "My predominant feeling is one of gratitude. I have loved and been loved. I have been given much and I have given something in return. Above all, I have been a sentient being, a thinking animal, on this beautiful planet, and that in itself has been an enormous privilege and adventure."

Warnings: Finding Cassandras to Stop Catastrophes, by Richard A. Clarke and R.P. Eddy

In "Warnings," A. Clarke and R.P. Eddy, both national security advisors under President Clinton, investigate how to best predict when a disaster will strike.

High Noon: The Hollywood Blacklist and the Making of an American Classic, by Glenn Frankel
Closely followed trader Art Cashin said Thursday that DoubleLine CEO Jeffrey Gundlach may have played a small role in moving Wall Street's fear gauge higher this week.

Billionaire bond guru Gundlach predicted Tuesday on CNBC that the will fall at least 3 percent by the end of the year, and when that happens, the VIX will double.

"I think the jump (in the VIX) got a big boost from Jeffrey Gundlach," UBS' director of floor operations at the New York Stock Exchange said on "Squawk Alley."

"When (the VIX) started moving on its own, people I think started climbing on board. So, you got to put the Gundlach factor in there somewhere," Cashin added.

The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX ), widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, has soared this week amid heightened tensions between the United States and North Korea. The index is up 44 percent week to date.

Before this week, the VIX held near historical lows around 10 or below this year. It hit an all-time low of 8.84 on July 26.

Regarding North Korea, Cashin said to keep an eye on safe haven trades. On Wednesday, he said that if the situation between the U.S. and North Korea escalates, a flood into safe havens will be the first warning sign.

Traditional safe havens have seen solid inflows as tensions have increased.

Cashin said Thursday that if problems persist it could begin to affect trade.



"We here in the U.S. easily forget that South Korea is a major trading partner of China as is Japan. If that begins to impair, what does that do to the Chinese economy? What does it do to the economies of South Korea and Japan? And what will that do to the world economy?" he said.

"Obviously this market is not saying we're going to war," Cashin added.
(BOE) has decided to keep using polymer, an ingredient containing beef for its banknotes.

The new polymer 5 note featuring Sir Winston Churchill Joe Giddens/WPA Pool | Getty Images News | Getty Images

The (BOE) has decided to keep using polymer, an ingredient containing beef, for its banknotes despite a backdrop of animal rights activists angered by the move. The U.K.'s central bank said on Thursday that it would continue using the substance in future print runs, and that the only other viable options to printing polymer notes was to use chemicals derived from palm oil. Concerns were raised over the latter option as palm oil has been linked to serious environmental issues surrounding deforestation, climate change and the survival of endangered species. The BOE's decision followed a lengthy consultation involving 3,544 people. Of those who expressed their thoughts, 3,010 (88%) were against the use of animal-derived additives and 1,472 (48%) were against the use of palm oil derivatives. Just under a third of respondents (31%) expressed preference against the use of both animal and palm oil derivatives.

Bank of England governor Mark Carney poses with a new polymer five pound note on September 13, 2016 in London Stefan Wermuth/WPA Pool | Getty Images News | Getty Images

"The Bank fully recognizes the concerns raised by members of the public, both prior to and during the consultation, and has not taken this decision lightly," the BOE said in a statement on Thursday. "The Bank also understands that the decision it has reached may not address the concerns of all parties, but in making this decision, the Bank has considered very carefully the relevant factors and taken into consideration all of its objectives, including its responsibility to maintain confidence in the currency through the issuance of high quality, secure bank notes and achieve value for money for taxpayers." Polymer will be used in the printing of the new 20 and 10 notes, and will still be used for the printing of future runs of the 5 banknote. Earlier this year, . The introduction of the controversial note led to protests by vegan-led animal rights activists last November, which consequently prompted the institution to launch an investigation into better substitutes for the ingredient.

watch now

PETA advocates banknote boycott
Benchmark Capital, one of Uber's earliest investors and largest shareholders, is suing Uber co-founder and ex-CEO Travis Kalanick on claims of fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and breach of contract. It's an unusual and dramatic move in Silicon Valley to see a venture firm sue one of the executives it backed.

Axios previously reported the suit.

The filing alleges that Kalanick made "material misstatements" and hid crucial information about company problems from the board in order to attain more power there.

It specifically claims, "Kalanick intentionally concealed and failed to disclose his gross mismanagement and other misconduct." Among other things, it calls out "Kalanick's personal involvement in...an Uber executive's alleged theft of the medical records of a woman who was raped by her Uber driver in India."

The suit revolves around a June 2016 decision by Kalanick to increase the size of the board by 3 seats, from 8 to 11. Kalanick named himself to one of those seats after stepping down as CEO earlier this year.

Benchmark now says they never would have allowed the expansion if they'd known about widespread allegations of sexual harassment within the company, and the pending conflict with Alphabet subsidiary Waymo over the alleged theft of trade secrets related to self-driving cars.

What Benchmark wants, the filing suggests, is to boot Kalanick from the board and Uber management for good, while kicking the number of board members back down to 8 total. The firm is also seeking "an award of related damages caused by Kalanick's fraud."

Earlier today, Uber's first employee and original CEO, Ryan Graves, stepped down as the company's senior vice president of global operations, but announced that he will maintain his board position there.

For now, Kalanick holds 10% of stock and 16% of voting rights in Uber, while Benchmark has 13% of stock and 20% of voting rights. The ride-hailing pioneer was valued around $70 billion in its last funding round, but is now reportedly considering selling shares at a price that would value it at $40 billion to $45 billion.

A spokesperson for Kalanick told CNBC in an emailed statement:

The lawsuit is completely without merit and riddled with lies and false allegations. This is continued evidence of Benchmark acting in its own best interests contrary to the interests of Uber, its employees and its other shareholders. Benchmark's lawsuit is a transparent attempt to deprive Travis Kalanick of his rights as a founder and shareholder and to silence his voice regarding the management of the company he helped create. Travis will continue to act in the interests of Uber and all of its stakeholders and is confident that these entirely baseless claims will be rejected.

Benchmark declined to comment beyond what's contained in the filing.

Here's the full filing:
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note sat lower at 2.201 percent at 3:48 p.m. ET, its lowest level since June 28. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was also lower at 2.778 percent. Bond yields move inversely to prices.

U.S. Treasury yields fell on Thursday, as investors tried to shrug off the geopolitical tensions surrounding North Korea and the U.S.

President Donald Trump on Thursday ramped up his rhetoric on North Korea again, saying his warning of bringing "fire and fury" on the isolated nation may not have been tough enough.

Earlier this week, President Donald Trump said that North Korea would face "fire and fury" if it continued to threaten the States, however North Korea has dismissed these warnings by the U.S. incumbent as a "load of nonsense", according to Reuters.

North Korea also went on to detail plans of a missile strike near the U.S. island territory of Guam, with the state run media agency KCNA stating that the North's army would be able to finalize its plans by mid-August; Reuters added.

In the data space, the Producer Price Index (PPI) fell 0.1 percent versus expectations of a 0.1 percent increase, the biggest drop in nearly a year, according to Reuters.

Though the correlation between the PPI and the consumer price index has fallen, last month's drop in producer prices could caution the Federal Reserve, which is looking to gradually raise interest rates and curtail its balance sheet.

In other data news, the U.S. weekly jobless claims totaled 244,000 versus 240,000 estimated.

The Treasury Department auctioned $15 billion in 30-year bonds at a high yield of 2.818 percent.

The bid-to-cover ratio, an indicator of demand, was 2.32.

Indirect bidders, which include major central banks, were awarded 66.8 percent. Direct bidders, which includes domestic money managers, bought 5.4 percent.

The Treasury Budget is expected to keep investors on their toes, with it set to be released at 2 p.m. ET.
China, the world's largest steel producer, has been working to tackle overcapacity in the sector, as the government seeks to find economic growth outside of heavy industry and manufacturing, The cutbacks also come amid long-time claims by the U.S. and Europe that China was selling its unwanted steel at lower prices on global markets, hurting producers elsewhere.

China's steel prices are rising, and the government is getting worried about striking the right balance on the markets.

In March, the government announced plans to slash steel capacity by 50 million metric tons this year in efforts to tackle pollution and curb excess supply. Experts say the prospect of limited steel is pushing prices up, and it's got authorities worried about market volatility. China is also the world's top steel consumer, so higher prices translates to better profits for industry, but it also means increased costs for sectors like construction that use much of the alloy.

The government is convening meetings this week with regulators and industry executives as prices have surged, Reuters reported, citing a source at the China Iron and Steel Association.

For Beijing, it's a tough situation: tackle steel overcapacity, rebalance economic growth, control environmental pollution and also manage market stability  especially in advance of a leadership shuffle due in the fall.

So far this year, steel rebar futures have rallied on the Shanghai Futures Exchange  the September 2017 contract is up 40 percent to date, and is sitting today at around 4,131 yuan, according to Reuters data.

Even on Monday, the price of hot-rolled coil, a key steel product, surged 5 percent after Hebei province announced new measures to limit steel production to half of its capacity during the winter months, Nomura analysts wrote in a note. Hebei accounted for nearly one-fourth of China's total steel production in the first half of this year.

In the long run, analysts and companies expect higher prices to stay as the cutbacks continue, with China's curbs estimated to reduce overall crude steel production by 5 to 10 percent, according to Nomura. China's steel exports are likely to continue to dip, after falling in July, said Charles Bradford, metals analyst and president at Bradford Research.

"Output in China's steel industry has sometimes been curtailed temporarily in order to tackle environmental problems, but we think the production cutbacks in the latest measures will be substantial compared to the other occasions," wrote the Nomura analysts.

For industry, that's good news when it comes to stronger earnings, especially after China's faltering economic growth triggered a rout in global commodities over a year ago, prompting industry to pull back on investment and jobs.

S&P Global said on Wednesday it expected India's Tata Steel to see healthy profitability for the rest of the year. Japan's steel industry is also seeing a boost in export margins. And South Korea's steel industry is poised to benefit with less Chinese steel coming in  the country is a major steel export destination for China, and firms there have been in fierce competition with the Chinese.

Baoshan Iron and Steel , China's largest steel company, fell around 3 percent in the Thursday morning session, but is up 30 percent so far this year.
An Oregon business has developed technology that could help to alter the way we think about nuclear power. NuScale Power's small modular reactors, or SMRs, measure 65 feet tall and 9 feet in diameter.



Jose N Reyes, co-founder and CTO of the business, told CNBC's Sustainable Energy that they were "commercializing a small, modular reactor. It's a nuclear power reactor, that's a pressurized water reactor that can produce 50 megawatts electric enough power for about 50,000 homes."

For its part, the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Nuclear Energy has said that advanced small modular reactors are a key part of the department's "goal to develop safe, clean and affordable nuclear power options."

According to the DOE, the advantages of advanced SMRs include their relatively small size, lower capital investment and "provisions for incremental power additions."

Reyes added that the NuScale power module consisted of a reactor vessel inside a containment vessel, all factory manufactured. As many as 12 modules can be operated and monitored from a single control room. Reyes went on to explain that the design was scalable, and that customers could add power as and when it was needed.



One potential advantage of the modular system lies in the amount of space it takes up, with Reyes saying that a NuScale facility's 'protective zone' could be at a site's boundary.

"What that means then, is a reduction in cost but it also reflects the fact that this is a very, very safe plant," he claimed. By contrast, Reyes said that traditional nuclear power plants in the U.S. were required to have a 10 mile radius around the plant to act as a protective zone.

The director general of the OECD's Nuclear Energy Agency, William D. Magwood IV, told Sustainable Energy that SMRs were an "entirely new way of building a nuclear power plant."



Magwood IV added that the SMRs were "getting away from the large central stations that cost so much to build, and are so difficult, and replacing those with small factory built modules which can be put in place very cost effectively."
A phone showing an ethereum price chart on the Coinbase exchange platform. Todd Haselton | CNBC

While bitter infighting and subsequent price rise has taken center stage, rival cryptocurrency ethereum has been quietly pushing higher in the background. On Wednesday, ethereum hit $314.75, the highest level in over a month since it reached $322.28 on June 29, according to CryptoCompare, a platform monitoring live prices of major cryptocurrencies. The price pulled back at a bit on Thursday to just above $301. But ethereum has been climbing steadily. Over the past two weeks, ethereum is up nearly 50 percent. All the while, the bitcoin community has been fighting for its future. The price took a beating for a while but just recently came back to hit a record high after the fighting was resolved.

What's behind the rise?

South Korea is driving the trade with over 60 percent of buying happening in Korean won. Lawmakers in South Korea are looking to regulate ethereum and bitcoin which is buoying sentiment. At the same time, there has been huge hype around so-called initial coin offerings (ICOs). ICOs are a way for start-ups to raise money from users, similar to crowdfunding, by allowing them to buy a stake. In return, the user will receive a token or digital currency, which are equivalent to shares in the firm. ICO money in June and July surpassed early stage venture capital and angel funding. Many of the firms doing an ICO are blockchain start-ups built on the ethereum blockchain. The ethereum blockchain is particularly useful for so-called smart contracts which are automatically executed when certain conditions are met. The number of transactions in a single day using ethereum also hit a record high this week, according to industry website Etherscan, showing the traction the digital currency is getting.

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The Google employee who was fired by the tech giant earlier this week over a viral memo has said that the company's products have been hurt by a "lack of ideological diversity".

James Damore, the 28-year-old former Google engineer who was sacked by the corporation for allegedly "perpetuating gender stereotypes", made the claim in his first televised interview with a news media outlet.

"I support diversity and inclusion, and I think that also our lack of ideological diversity has hurt our products," he told Bloomberg Television on Wednesday.

Damore said that assumptions among "left-leaning circles" about conservative employees at Google had "hurt" his former employer in the interview. "It makes us alienate large portions of the population," he claimed.

Mr Damore's firing triggered widespread debate on gender differences and efforts to make the technology sector more diverse.

Women hold 26 percent of professional computing occupations in the U.S., and only 20 percent of Fortune 100 chief information officer positions being held by women in 2016, according to research by the National Center for Women and Information Technology.

Companies like Uber have been hit by allegations of pervasive discrimination and harassment against women.

In the wake of Damore's memo, more than 60 female employees are considering bringing class-action lawsuits against the company over alleged sexism and pay inequality, according to The Guardian.
A team of researchers say they have brought scientists one step closer to safely transplanting organs from pigs into humans.

Researchers from a biotechnology startup eGenesis and several universities in China, Denmark and the United States, have used CRISP-Cas9 gene editing techniques to remove diseases that could be transmitted from pigs to humans during tissue transplants.

The research could help scientists use animals to solve the shortage of available cells, tissues, and organs, which impacts hundreds of thousands of patients around the world.

The team published their results Thursday in the journal Science.

The concept of using animals to grow transplantable material for humans is called "xenotransplantation," and the team said in their study they consider it a promising solution to the problem.

"What we are trying to do is create a world where there is no shortage of organs," said eGenesis Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer Luhan Yang in an interview with CNBC. Yang was one of the authors of the current paper.

There are currently more than 100,000 people in the United States awaiting organ transplants, and only 20 to 30 percent of them will ever receive one, she said. eGenesis, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is entirely focused on furthering xenotransplantion as a viable option.
When it comes to rising tensions around North Korea, Goldman Sachs said markets eventually expect talks rather than militaristic conflict.

"Markets have been pricing a diplomatic outcome," Charles P. Himmelberg, head of global credit strategy at Goldman Sachs, said in a Wednesday report with two other analysts.

"For decades, complacency has been the 'right trade' when it comes to North Korea," the report said. "Our sense is that investors have grown comfortable with the view that geopolitical tensions invariably result in diplomatic talks, in which case the right trade is to buy any dips. The result is a market psychology that is relatively resistant to the pricing of geopolitical risk."

The S&P 500 has fallen more than 1 percent this week amid a flurry of intense statements by both the U.S. and North Korea.

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump's warned the U.S. will react to any North Korean threats with "fire and fury." North Korean state media then said it was "carefully examining" a plan to strike the U.S. territory of Guam in the Pacific. The headlines followed a report earlier Tuesday that the rogue state has successfully created a miniaturized nuclear weapon designed to fit inside its missiles.

Trump hardened his stance on North Korea Thursday, telling reporters that his "fire and fury" statement maybe "wasn't tough enough."

The "escalating war of words over the past 24 hours between the U.S. and North Korea has caused a modest repricing of Korean risk assets and global safe havens," Himmelberg said.

But he noted that South Korean derivatives markets for stocks and currencies do not show significant concern about geopolitical risk. "Even though tensions continue to mount and North Korea's nuclear program continues to advance, it appears markets have yet to see enough evidence that this time is different," he said.

As of Thursday afternoon, U.S. stocks remained about 2 percent or less below of their all-time highs and gold, a safe haven asset, climbed to only a two-month high. Even the South Korean KOSPI stock index remained within 4 percent of the record high hit on July 25.

Markets may not be far off when expecting diplomacy over conflict.

State Secretary Rex Tillerson said Wednesday that he does not believe there is an imminent threat from North Korea.

China  seen by many as having significant sway over North Korea  repeated in a Wednesday statement its call for involved parties to work toward "the right track of dialogue and negotiation."

More than two-thirds of North Korean trade is with China, but Beijing would rather maintain the status quo. That would prevent the collapse of the rogue state and avoid a potential influx of refugees over the border.

To be sure, price action may be hiding the true story, especially as fresh statements from North Korea and President Trump added to the tense situation.

"We still suspect that investors are more concerned than markets reveal," Himmelberg said.

Hedge funds have piled into the South Korean five-year credit default swap as insurance against fallout from a North Korean nuclear attack. On Thursday, the cost of protection climbed to 64.95 basis points, up 11 percent for the week and its highest since May 2016.

Source: S&P Capital IQ
And what a topic to discuss: Damore's essay has resulted in massive and sometimes ugly debates inside and outside Google about diversity, gender issues and free speech, about which many disagree.

The gathering will take place at Google headquarters in Mountain View, Calif. today and streamed live to its global offices, reaching the 60,000 employees that the Alphabet unit employs. Since many will not be at work when the meeting takes place, it will also be available for replay.

That's because at 4 pm PT, the tech giant will hold an all-hands meeting to discuss the firing of James Damore and the controversial internal memo he wrote about women and their biological weaknesses related to tech that got him canned .

One thing is clear: It will be one of the biggest public challenges the cerebral, soft-spoken and  in my experience  unfailingly thoughtful executive will face in his 13 years at Google (and almost two as its CEO), as he seeks to calm the muddy and sometimes ugly waters that Damore has churned up via his post titled "Google's Ideological Echo Chamber."

Pichai made the final decision about Damore's fate, after what several sources characterized as a tough debate by top management, with initial disagreement over how to handle the situation. It took place Monday in person and via phone after a weekend of trying to corral top staff, many of whom were on vacation, including Pichai.

According to those familiar with the discussion, his dozen direct reports whom he consulted were initially at odds about what to do about Google's continual and complex balancing act between free speech and fostering a safe workplace.

"Just like all of Google is struggling with this, we were not unanimous at first about whether what [Damore] wrote merited firing, although we all came around to it," said one top exec, "But Sundar had to make a call about what kind of Google he wanted to stress and he did."

Others in the meeting said it centered on how much latitude employees should have to express their opinions  one of the central tenets of Google since its founding  versus creating a culture that is trying to become attractive and safe to a broader range of people.

"I think the problem and also benefit of Google has been that we've created and encouraged an environment where everyone thinks they can say what they want, because that is what has always been the way it has been," said another top exec. "But, at some point, if we really want to change, we have to think harder about what impact that has, especially when it makes women or others feel unsafe in the environment we have created."

It's a split reflected at the very top of Google's owner, Alphabet, where its top lawyer, David Drummond, has been one of the most vocal advocates of free speech over the years. He was not part of Monday's decision-making meeting, as an Alphabet exec.

Meanwhile, another longtime Google leader, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, who was, penned her own essay that appeared in Fortune this week, with an opposite take:

"While people may have a right to express their beliefs in public, that does not mean companies cannot take action when women are subjected to comments that perpetuate negative stereotypes about them based on their gender. Every day, companies take action against employees who make unlawful statements about co-workers, or create hostile work environments."

It's all against a backdrop of a company that  contrary to Damore's contention that he had been "shamed" into silence  has allowed its employees an unusual amount of latitude to air their opinions on a myriad of online platforms and in offline gatherings on everything from the quality of the food at its many free cafeterias to the political stances of the company.

(Sorry, young James: But, IMHO over nearly two decades of covering the company, Google workers never seem to shut up about anything. In fact, I seen low-level engineers insult its founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, at public events with the pair insulting right back. My takeaway: Good lord, they all talk too much for techies.)

And talk I am certain they will do today, with Pichai facing a buzzsaw of differing opinion about that on both sides of an ever-complex debate about gender and diversity.

Some inside Google think it took too long for bosses there to react to what they consider a fatuous screed; while others disagree with their decision to eject Damore from the company altogether for speaking his mind.

And some want the company to do even more to fix persistent statistics that show around 80 percent of its technical staff is male that might have led to such musings; even as others think Google's diversity programs to help improve the numbers are deeply flawed and even discriminatory toward men.
Despite a possible delay in implementing the remaining provisions of a new federal investor-protection regulation, one thing seems clear to many observers: Requiring financial advisors to act in the best interest of their clients is an approach that's probably here to stay. The Labor Department is requesting an 18-month postponement in the effective date of certain parts of the so-called fiduciary rule. Yet the provision that requires advisors to provide advice in retirement accounts that aligns with investors' best interests took effect June 9. "The basic structure of a fiduciary obligation isn't likely to go away," said Duane Thompson, senior policy analyst at Pittsburgh-based consultancy Fi360. "There could be some interest in narrowing the scope of the definition of a fiduciary, but I think the [requirement] will stay in place."

The 18-month postponement request was outlined in a court brief filed Wednesday in Minnesota related to a lawsuit the Labor Department is a party to. If the delay is approved by the Office of Management and Budget, the effective date for complying with the rule's remaining provisions would be pushed out to July 1, 2019, from Jan. 1, 2018. The pieces of the rule facing a delayed effective date pertain to specific written disclosures from financial services firms, including the requirement that advisors earning commissions on investments in retirement accounts sign a legally binding agreement putting their clients' interests ahead of their own. While opponents are cheering the delay, they also say the parts of the regulation that already have taken effect are hurting investors. "The fiduciary rule effectively limits choices for investors because the government and trial lawyers are the ones who define, under the rule, which investments are in the 'best interest' of investors," said John Berlau, a financial policy expert at the Competitive Enterprise Institute.

Eric Audras | PhotoAlto | Getty Images

Opponents say the evidence of harm to investors lies in the fact that some brokerages are changing the way they approach management of individual retirement accounts, or IRAs. For instance, at a congressional hearing in June, public testimony shows that Philadelphia-based Janney Montgomery Scott was in the process of moving "upwards of 10,000 of [its] customer retirement accounts" to "no-advice service desks." "They are too small for the risks imposed by [the fiduciary rule] or too costly to place in an advisory account that would remove the supposed conflicts the [Labor Department] is trying to regulate," said Jerry Lombard, president of Janney's Private Client Group, in a statement given to a congressional committee on behalf of the New York-based SIMFA, which represents brokerages, banks and asset managers. Meanwhile, the rule already has been undergoing a review, which was ordered by President Trump in February.

Most investors already thought their advisor was legally required to act in their best interest. That wasn't [necessarily] true until June 9. The bar has been raised. Duane Thompson Senior policy analyst at Pittsburgh-based consultancy Fi360
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As the world turns its attention to reports that North Korea has mastered a key component to making a nuclear missile, experts warn that the White House must also keep its eye on Iran. The concern, some say, is that Tehran will see that if North Korea can get away with building a nuclear weapon in spite of U.S. protests, then it can, too. Matt Levitt of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy said North Korean progress may lead Iran to try to become the next nuclear power. "It's a human and emotional response, but also logical," he said of Tehran's possible goals. Adding to worries Iran will try to take advantage of the U.S. focus on North Korea, a top aide to supreme leader Kim Jong Un is on a 10-day trip to meet with Iranian leaders in Tehran, according to official North Korean news reports. The reports say top officials from North Korea's army, navy and air force are part of the trip. Alireza Nader, an expert on Iran for the global policy think tank RAND Corp., said the meetings aren't surprising. "Iran and North Korea cooperate on many fronts but mostly on defense," he said. Nader added that "most of the North Korean relationship with Iran centers on missile systems. North Korea was helping Iran, but now Iran is helping North Korea with technology for inter-continental ballistic missiles."

The Iran-North Korea relationship

Despite colliding ideologies, the relationship between the Islamic Republic and communist-atheist North Korea began to blossom during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s. Iran sold oil to North Korea to raise cash for military supplies. Iran still ships some oil to North Korea, but that's limited because North Korea doesn't have much to trade in return for the fuel. "The relationship is really more military than anything" according to Nader. Levitt cautioned, however, that the North Korean crisis and the situation in Iran are not entirely parallel: "Iran is not a closed economy that is entirely blocked off from the rest of the world, while North Korea largely is."

Iranian President Hasan Rouhani, right, meets with a top North Korean leader, Kim Yong Nam, in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Aug. 3, 2013. Ebrahim Noroozi | AP

That is, Tehran has more to lose from breaking the 2015 international nuclear deal that eased sanctions on the country, while North Korea is a true rogue nation. In fact, French automaker Renault earlier this week struck a deal to build cars in Iran, and energy giant Total recently reached a deal with the Iranians. Estimates show that more than 90 percent of all trade conducted by North Korea goes through China, whereas Iran is seen as a regional power in the Middle East. But, Levitt added, "when one situation goes wrong it is inevitable that you think about the other." Still, he said, President Donald Trump's administration right now has no choice but to focus most of its attention on North Korea.

Dealing with multiple trouble spots

Former U.S. ambassador Ed Walker disagreed. Walker, who served in Egypt, Israel and the United Arab Emirates, said it's crucial that the Trump team focuses on both issues at the same time. "As soon as you start distracting U.S. efforts to contain Iran, that frees up space for Iran to move forward with its nuclear program," he said.

A ballistic missile is launched and tested in an undisclosed location, Iran, March 9, 2016. Mahmood Hosseini | TIMA | Reuters
Less than a year after major retailers started dropping Ivanka Trump's fashion brand en masse, the label is opening its own brick-and-mortar store.

A Politico reporter spotted the first daughter's storefront opening in New York's Trump Tower this fall. Insert nepotism joke here?

@AnnieKarni: Coming soon to Trump Tower -- a stand alone Ivanka Trump store.

The fashion label has been under fire for the better part of 2017. After the Grab Your Wallet boycott galvanized shoppers to stay away from stores that carry Trump family products, Nordstrom dropped the line in February, citing weak sales. Neiman Marcus dropped Trump's fine jewelry line shortly after, then Burlington and Belk pulled product from their sites (but still carry it in stores). And finally, T.J. Maxx employees were told to hide the label's merchandise among other products and toss its signage in the trash. There was also that whole ethics controversy after counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway went on Fox & Friends to tell viewers to buy the brand. Oh, and labor activists were detained by Chinese police in May after looking into the factories that make Ivanka Trump products.

More from Racked:

The latest GOP legislative loss is American stores' gain

People are still mad about Amazon's Breitbart ads

Your stars and stripes T-Shirt technically violates the flag code

In an interview with Refinery29, brand president Abigail Klem said that since landing in the hot seat in February, the company's seen "some of the best performing weeks in the history of the brand." The New York Times found that despite having stepped down from her daily role in January, Trump herself took home $6 million from the brand over the past year.

Why the label has not sold directly via its site or its own stores has been something of a mystery. In 2011, the company opened a jewelry and accessories store in Soho, but the location quietly shuttered in 2015. The label has, until now, relied on wholesale distribution to stores like Bloomingdale's, Macy's, and Lord & Taylor. A brick-and-mortar location won't just propel the company's visibility (after all, how much more visible can a brand possibly be?), but provide a destination for Ivanka's diehard fans to show their love via cold hard cash.

When reached for comment by Racked, the Ivanka Trump brand confirmed the store will be opening in New York City but would not add anything further.
A daily morning look at the financial stories you need to know to start the day. STOCKS/ECONOMY -Stock futures are down as tensions with North Korea continue to rise. We get a lot of key data today, including weekly jobless claims, the producer price index, and federal budget figures. NORTH KOREA THREAT -North Korea is detailing its plan to hit Guam with a missile attack , and dismissing President Donald Trump's warnings as "nonsense." Trump aide Sebastian Gorka says the U.S. will use "any appropriate measures" against North Korea , but will not reveal them publicly. Japan says it can shoot down any missile North Korea fires at Guam. OBAMACARE -President Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell are now publicly blaming each other for the failed attempt to repeal and replace Obamacare. Health insurers on the Obamacare exchanges are planning on big premium rate hikes and blaming the White House for not guaranteeing to continue the subsidies they receive for remaining in the program. OIL/ENERGY -U.S. crude prices are higher and holding at the $49 a barrel level. -Gasoline prices rose to $2.36 a gallon , national average. -Mazda is claiming it's made a breakthrough that will make car engines up to 30 percent more fuel efficient. LEGO SHAKEUP -Lego has replaced its CEO after just eight months on the job and is now led by a team focused on digital products. TAX WARS -A conservative group is challenging the new Seattle city tax on people making $250,000 or more per year. CUBA ATTACK -We are now learning that American diplomats in Cuba were struck by a covert sonic device in the fall of 2016, leaving them with severe hearing loss. The U.S. has responded by expelling two Cuban diplomats from the U.S. REGULATION NATION -The Labor Department may delay by 18 months new rules on financial advisers set to take effect in January 2018.

North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un watches a military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA). KCNA | Reuters
Nordstrom reported second-quarter earnings and sales on Thursday that topped analysts' expectations, sending shares of the stock higher after market close.

Same-store sales  a metric monitored closely by Wall Street  for the company were also positive, a rare outcome among department stores of late. Nordstrom said its results this period were fueled by more customers ringing up purchases online.

Nordstrom's stock was last climbing more than 3 percent higher in after-hours trading on the news. Shares had closed Thursday down 4.3 percent, following mixed reports by retail rivals Kohl's , Macy's and Dillard's .

"In a day of muted results clouded by continued sales declines, Nordstrom has provided a ray of sunshine," GlobalData Retail Managing Director Neil Saunders wrote in a note to clients. "The company has, for a long time, invested in its retail proposition and has taken sound strategic decisions like the diversification into off-price and the development of an omnichannel plan."

Here's what the company reported vs what Wall Street was expecting:

Earnings per share: 65 cents, compared to an estimate of 64 cents, according to analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters.

Revenue: $3.79 billion, compared to a forecast for $3.75 billion, Thomson Reuters said.

Same-store sales: an increase of 1.7 percent, compared to a forecast drop of 0.4 percent for full-line and Rack stores, according to Thomson Reuters.

Nordstrom's net income fell to $110 million, or 65 cents per share, from $117 million, or 67 cents per share, one year ago. Net sales rose 3.5 percent, to $3.72 billion.

Nordstrom said its Anniversary Sale this year, which is historically the company's biggest sales event of the year, "performed better than recent trends."

Notably, the retailer delivered online sales growth of 20 percent at Nordstrom.com, and 27 percent growth at Nordstromrack.com and HauteLook. Off-price sales at Nordstrom Rack were up 3.1 percent, while sales at full-line stores in the U.S. fell 4.4 percent. That is still better than a year ago, when sales fell 6.5 percent at its American full-line stores.

"Our Rack business is an important way to attract new customers to Nordstrom," Co-President Blake Nordstrom said on a call with analysts and investors. As the company opens new off-price locations, "these stores incorporate our latest store designs with improvements to the layout and fitting room experience," he added.

Nordstrom should have 232 Rack locations open, in total, by year end.

The best-performing merchandise categories for Nordstrom this quarter were women's apparel and beauty.

So far in 2017, Nordstrom has opened six Nordstrom Rack stores and closed one of its full-line stores. While many of its department store peers have been forced to shutter unprofitable stores, Nordstrom has been known to keep a leaner real-estate footprint.

Looking ahead, Nordstrom has updated its full-year outlook; it now sees net sales increasing by about 4 percent, a tad better than a previous forecast for 3 to 4 percent growth. Nordstrom still expects comps to be flat, but it has increased the low end of its range for profit.

Nordstrom now expects to earn between $2.85 to $3 per share for the fiscal year 2017, compared to previous expectations for earning $2.75 to $3 a share.

The company also included highlights from its Nordstrom Rewards loyalty program, which now has 9.4 million active users in the U.S. and Canada. Sales from Nordstrom Rewards customers represented 56 percent of second-quarter sales, compared with 48 percent a year ago.

"It remains clear to us that Nordstrom is on a much better trajectory than most other players in the department store segment," GlobalData Retail's Saunders said.

"The Nordstrom family know this, which is one of the reasons why they looked into taking the company private. Whatever the outcome of that process, Nordstrom should not be tarred with the same brush as other department stores."

Still top of many analysts' minds this quarter are Nordstrom's latest talks to go private  something the company didn't comment on in Thursday's earnings release.

In June, the department store chain announced it was exploring such a transaction by the Nordstrom family after forming a special committee. Reuters then reported that the Nordstrom family would be offering "preferential terms" to potential equity partners willing to fund a buyout.

As a private company, Nordstrom would likely be able to focus on initiatives such as investing more in e-commerce, closing underperforming stores and expanding its off-price chain, Nordstrom Rack, without pressure from shareholders.

Women's Wear Daily last week reported that time was running out for Nordstrom to court a buyer, based on conversations the publication had with various bankers. Sources told WWD that Nordstrom continues to have conversations with potential partners, but those discussions are being described as "informal" and "just talks."
Baird just raised its share forecast for Raytheon by 25 percent on growing optimism over its future missile defense sales in light of rising tensions with North Korea.

"We are raising the price target of Raytheon  reflecting the significant programs wins both domestically and internationally for missile defense and missile systems that puts Raytheon in position for favorable organic growth in 2018 and beyond," Baird analyst Peter Arment wrote in a note to clients Thursday.



Arment reiterated his outperform rating and increased his price target for Raytheon shares to $212 from $170, representing 18 percent upside from Wednesday's close.

Defense stocks surged to all-time highs Wednesday.



Arment said 42 percent of Raytheon's contract backlog is from international customers  the highest percentage among industry peers. He said the company's missile defense systems such as Patriots, THAADs and radars are a "major driver" of its sales to 80 countries.



Raytheon is a subcontractor of the Terminal High Altitude Defense missile defense system, which is built along with Lockheed Martin . The system is deployed in South Korea and on Guam, where the U.S. has major military bases.



"We attended a Raytheon management-hosted investor event last night that reiterated this theme of large program franchises being refreshed or just commencing for both the DoD and international customers," Arment wrote.



Many of the large defense stocks have already rallied based on expectations for an improved outlook for U.S. defense spending under the Trump administration.



The SPDR S&P Aerospace and Defense ETF is up 28 percent since the Nov. 8 election through Wednesday compared with the S&P 500's 16 percent return during the period.



The White House has proposed a nearly 10 percent increase in the military budget to $603 billion for fiscal 2018.



"This budget will be a public safety and national security budget," Trump said on Feb. 27. He called for a "historic increase in defense spending to rebuild the depleted military of the United States of America at a time we most need it."
A new international report has confirmed that 2016 was the hottest year for the planet in 137 years of record keeping.

It was the third year in a row to break the record.

This latest installment of the annual State of the Climate report attributes the new high to a strong El Nino and long-term global warming.

The report was released Thursday by the American Meteorological Society. Almost 500 scientists from more than 60 countries participated in the project, according to a news release from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Global sea surface temperatures reached a new record high, and Arctic sea ice extent at the end of its annual growth season was at its lowest maximum level in the nearly 40 years of satellite records.
Sen. Ron Johnson said Thursday his comments about how Sen. John McCain's brain tumor may have influenced the Arizona Republican's vote against an Obamacare repeal were "misconstrued."

The Wisconsin Republican drew sharp criticism for saying in a radio interview Tuesday that McCain had "a brain tumor right now. That vote occurred at 1:30 in the morning. Some of that might have factored in."

"I think my comments were completely misconstrued. I was trying to first of all defend John's position. A lot of us were pretty upset about the process, and I was also just being sympathetic with his condition," Johnson said on CNBC's "Squawk Box." "I've got nothing but a great deal of respect for John McCain."
An imbalance in supply and demand is the root cause of recent pain for companies such as and , said Chip Davis, CEO of the Association for Accessible Medicines, the trade group for generic and biosimilar medicines.

"[Analysts are] pointing to some of the imbalances in the generic marketplace that haven't happened overnight, and that are continuing to evolve, but the reality is that the sustainable, robust competitive market is at risk now," Davis told CNBC on "Power Lunch."

He expects generic drugmakers will continue to feel pressure in the pharmaceutical market amid declining prices and nearly flat revenues.

Davis pointed to the "consolidation in the wholesalers and the retail pharmacy" as one cause for the deflationary environment, saying that there are "only three or four purchasers in the market, which are controlling 90-plus percent of the supply."

From June 2016 to June 2017, the number of generic prescriptions is nearly flat, up around 1 percent, while revenue is down 12 percent, he said.

Davis said he expects that if these conditions persist drugmakers will drop out of the market and that could potentially lead to a situation similar to the flu vaccine shortage in 2004. In that case, the number of suppliers shrank, resulting in an insufficient amount of the vaccine.

"We want to make sure we don't see the same type of concerns that we did previously in the vaccine sector," Davis said.

He also praised the new commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Scott Gottlieb.

"The robust level of competition per se is a good thing and new FDA commissioner Gottlieb should be applauded for his action plan  as we want to make sure that we don't have just competition but sustainable competition," Davis added.

The competitiveness of the market has been a flashpoint for generic drugmakers. Teva Pharmaceutical's interim

On Wednesday, in what CEO Heather Bresch called "a tough quarter."
U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Thursday, as investors kept their focus on rising tensions between North Korea and the U.S.

Dow Jones industrial average futures fell 51 points, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures declined 9.25 points and 36 points, respectively.

Earlier this week, President Donald Trump said that North Korea would face "fire and fury" if it continued to threaten the States, however North Korea has dismissed these warnings by the U.S. incumbent as a "load of nonsense", according to Reuters.

The comments raised concerns about further escalation of tensions between the two nations and pushed U.S. stocks from record levels.
Shoppers pay for items at a Toys 'R' Us store in New York City.

Toys R Us is coming back to New York's Times Square, just in time for the holidays.

The toy retailer announced on Thursday that it will be opening a temporary location, beginning in August, in the historic Knickerbocker Building. Toys R Us will take 35,000 square feet of retail space in a three-level store.

Toys R Us closed the doors of its former 110,000-square-foot Times Square location about two years ago. That store included an indoor Ferris wheel and a life-size Barbie dollhouse.

"The Times Square holiday shop reunites our brand with an iconic New York destination, which we are thrilled about," CEO Dave Brandon said in a statement.

"More importantly, the store offers customers a host of products tailored to the needs of city dwellers and visitors  all in interest of bringing play to kids and families around the world."

A representative from Toys R Us didn't immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment about the length of its stay at the temporary location.

Notably, the new shop will include interactive elements and a play area for kids.
If President Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans indeed separate, perhaps the neighbors shouldn't be surprised. Their relationship has struggled from the start.

Trump flirted with Democrats for years before pummeling 2016 Republican campaign rivals and putative allies alike on the way to the White House. The result has been the most barren partnership in modern presidential history.

Since Ronald Reagan's 1980 election propelled a political realignment, every new president has scored a major early legislative victory except one. That's Trump  despite the advantage of full Republican control of Congress. And that failure has left him sounding increasingly like a political independent.

By this point in 1981, Reagan had won enactment of his signature tax and budget cuts; he signed them into law on August 13. By this point in 1989, President George H.W. Bush had already signed legislation responding to the savings and loan crisis.

In 1993, Bill Clinton had signed his major deficit reduction bill. In 2001, George W. Bush's tax cuts had been law for two months.

In 2009, Barack Obama had long since enacted economic stimulus legislation in response to recession and financial crisis. House Democratic leaders had unveiled their version of the Affordable Care Act on the way to House passage in November and passage of a different version in the Senate the next month.

Trump has not only failed to win repeal of what became Obamacare, but he has made no progress at all on other top legislative objectives. The White House has not even proposed either tax reform details or an infrastructure plan.

No wonder a dyspeptic new president has spent part of his summer vacation stewing, and casting blame on Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell. That won't help reverse his fortunes this fall.

Republicans have already shown diminished patience with Trump's behavior  by turning toward bipartisan health care legislation, for example, despite the president's demand that they try again to repeal Obamacare. They've warned Trump not to fire special counsel Robert Mueller as the former FBI director's investigation into Russia's election interference poses mounting danger to the White House.

On tax cuts, Republicans face the same internal divisions that sunk them on health care. With 2018 midterm elections looming, however, Trump's criticism of McConnell and others won't preclude action.

"The survival instinct on both sides is going to drive them to do something on taxes," says former GOP lawmaker Vin Weber.

But turning on his allies now curbs his ability to shape the direction of an effort that's dauntingly complex under the best of circumstance.

"Trump has now forced many GOP senators to choose: Trump or McConnell," observes Steve Bell, a former top GOP Senate aide now at the Bipartisan Policy Center. "McConnell, if he wishes to challenge Trump on a major measure, will win a majority of the GOP caucus."

The outlook for what Trump calls "a very big infrastructure bill" is darker. Republicans, who don't share Trump's zeal for infrastructure spending, are growing ever-less likely to do him favors. Democrats, who do share that zeal, have no incentive to help a president who is uniformly loathed by their base and has sub-40 percent approval ratings as a result.

"They're nowhere on infrastructure," says former GOP Rep. Tom Davis, who recently dined with Trump Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and her husband, McConnell. One self-inflicted wound: the president has failed to nominate anyone for 11 of 18 top political jobs at the Transportation Department, just as he has failed to nominate anyone for more than 60 percent of top jobs requiring Senate confirmation throughout the executive branch.

History shows a new president's best opportunity for big victories lies in his opening months, when the flush of electoral victory maximizes White House power. Even Lyndon Johnson, after his landslide 1964 election gave him robust Democratic Congressional majorities, pressed aides to act quickly for fear that their clout would soon dwindle.

"He said you may think you have four years," presidential historian Michael Beschloss recalls, recounting LBJ's message to his staff. "It basically has to be within the first six months."

He was right on both counts.

By the first week of August 1965, Johnson had created Medicare and Medicaid and signed the Voting Rights Act. And then his clout began shrinking amid discord at home and the Vietnam quagmire abroad.

In the 1966 midterm elections, Johnson's party lost 47 seats in the House and four Senate seats. Two years later, the president declined to seek re-election.
President Donald Trump speaks at a meeting with administration officials, including Counselor Kellyanne Conway (L) and Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price (C), on the opioid addiction crisis at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, on August 8, 2017. Nicholas Kamm | AFP | Getty Images

A little more than a week after a White House commission gave its recommendations for what to do about the opioid epidemic, President Donald Trump seems ready to defy one of its big proposals. On Tuesday, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price said that the Trump administration will not declare a national emergency over the crisis, although the option remains "on the table." "We believe at this point that the resources we need or the focus that we need to bring to bear to the opioid crisis, at this point, can be addressed without the declaration of an emergency," he said. More from Vox:

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Trump's scary tweets about nuclear weapons, explained A national emergency declaration was the first proposal from Trump's commission  which pointed out that due to drug overdoses, there are "approximately 142 Americans dying every day, [and] America is enduring a death toll equal to September 11th every three weeks." And it looks like the Trump administration isn't making it a priority. But would declaring a national emergency actually do much to address the crisis? I turned to public health experts to answer the question. From the top, they were clear that there's a lot of uncertainty. Typically, national emergency declarations are held for immediate, short-term crises like hurricanes and contagious disease epidemics, such as H1N1. There's no precedent for declaring a national emergency for a long-term public health issue like the opioid crisis. But a declaration could potentially unlock some support to address the crisis, including some funding and special regulatory waivers that could bolster prevention programs as well as access to addiction treatment and the opioid overdose antidote naloxone. This wouldn't be enough to solve the crisis by any means, but, Lainie Rutkow of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health said, it "could make a difference, or it could at least jump-start things that would then be helpful in the longer term."

How an emergency declaration could work

The Trump administration could declare a national emergency through two different laws: the Stafford Act or the Public Health Service Act. The Stafford Act would involve a declaration from the president, and it would unlock resources typically reserved for natural disasters like hurricanes and tornadoes. The Public Health Service Act would require a declaration from the secretary of health and human services, and it would unlock other resources and tools focused more on the medical side. The immediate impact of such a declaration, experts said, is it would send a message. "When an emergency is declared, whether it's by the president or by a state governor, the first thing that it does is give the public notice," Rutkow said. "In many ways, it's a communication tool to express how severe a particular threat is." Generally, the effect of a declaration through either law is that it expedites access to resources and different tools in response to a crisis. But depending on which law the administration uses to declare an emergency and what guidance the administration gives along with such a declaration, the resources that are unlocked could vary. The Stafford Act could be used to mobilize and coordinate different federal and state agencies to home in on the opioid crisis. This could also come with limited funding from the federal disaster relief fund, which amounts to about $1.4 billion as of June. That money could possibly be used to scale up law enforcement or addiction treatment in response to the crisis. The Public Health Service Act would allow the mobilization and deployment of medical staff in underserved areas. Rutkow said this could be used to staff up or train providers for medication-assisted treatment, which is considered the gold standard for opioid addiction care. Or it could be used to waive state licensing requirements for doctors, letting addiction specialists go into areas that currently don't have enough access to such care. A declaration through either law could also allow Section 1135 waivers for Medicaid. This would let the HHS secretary bypass regulatory hurdles that normally apply to the public health program. For example, under the Social Security Act, federal Medicaid funds can't reimburse services from inpatient facilities that treat "mental diseases," including addiction, with more than 16 beds. Eliminating this barrier through 1135 waivers would let states open more treatment options. Rutkow also pointed to the emergency declarations that several states have made in response to the opioid crisis, which allowed them to use more funding to, as one example, scale up treatment and the use of naloxone. For instance, Alaska Gov. Bill Walker's declaration allowed Jay Butler, chief medical officer of the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, to issue a standing order for naloxone across the state, making the drug accessible to anyone without the prescription it typically requires. Still, with much of this, there's a lot of uncertainty. Rutkow cautioned, "No one can point you to the exact model for how this would work for an emergency that's been declared for a noncommunicable health condition. This is a new thing." Some experts are skeptical. Tom Frieden, the former head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said the Stafford Act "doesn't seem appropriate or useful" for this situation, because it's usually saved for immediate, short-term crises. As for the possible benefits of the Public Health Service Act, he said that "it's an in-depth legal question of what these are and whether they'd be helpful." For one, he argued that the message sent by an emergency declaration wouldn't do much. "There's always the argument that declaring something an emergency increases attention to it, but in this case there's a lot of attention  just not a lot of effective action so far," Frieden said. He added, "[I]t could help, in the right context, as part of a comprehensive response, and if it encourages both funding and better collaboration between public health and law enforcement. If it's just a political statement not backed by money or commitment to more action, and if it's a way to propagate the criminalization of addiction, then it would be counterproductive. So, no easy talking point, but it depends on how it's done." This, at least, seems to be a point of agreement about an emergency declaration: It all comes down to how it's done, and it should only be one part of a broader solution.

The opioid epidemic needs a more comprehensive fix
President Donald Trump's doubling down on his "fire and fury" comment is only encouraging Pyongyang to stay on its current nuclear weapons "course," says an arms control expert.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is unlikely to voluntarily give up his nuclear weapons and ballistic missile delivery system  and he probably fears doing so would invite the United States or others to topple his regime.

In the 33-year-old dictator's view, Libya's Moammar Gadhafi, Iraq's Saddam Hussein and Serbia's Slobodan Milosevic  all leaders who didn't have nuclear weapons  are examples of how change can be abrupt and often harsh.

"Kim is not nuts, but a student of history," said Harry Kazianis, director of defense studies at the Center for the National Interest, a Washington think tank founded by former President Richard Nixon. "So was his grandfather and his father as well."

At the same time, Trump's comment Thursday that his earlier "fire and fury" statement on North Korea may not have gone far enough risks reinforcing Kim's pro-nuclear stance, according to some experts.

"We've got a continuing escalation of threats and a war of words between the two countries," said Kingston Reif, director of disarmament and threat reduction policy for the Arms Control Association, a Washington-based research and advocacy group.

Added Reif, "And that in my view increases the risk of miscalculation and potential conflict  and just reinforces the North Korean regime's view that its nuclear weapons are absolutely necessary and it needs to continue on its current course."

"The more we threaten North Korea  the more it will convince Kim Jong Un and the regime that they need to continue to pursue and augment their nuclear capabilities," said Reif.

North Korea's nuclear ambitions date back to the 1950s under the communist regime's first leader, Kim Il Sung, who received help from the former Soviet Union. The first nuclear test was conducted in 2006, and a Tuesday report from the Washington Post said the Defense Intelligence Agency believes the dynastic regime now has "up to 60 nuclear weapons" in its arsenal.

Still, where denuclearization may be possible is if the North Korean regime gets a peace treaty to replace the armistice agreement that has been in place since the Korean War. That new agreement would have assurances to protect the Kim regime.

"If the United States were to ever try to conduct regime change against North Korea, they know that the North Koreans would launch every nuclear weapon they have," said Kazianis.

To be sure, the state-run North Korean media also color the threat of regime change with frequent outbursts and nationalistic messages. For example, last month when Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo suggested that the North Korean people "would love to see" regime change the Pyongyang state-run media threatened that they could hit "the heart of the U.S." with a nuclear warhead.

North Korean media also has referred to previous examples of leaders who gave up nuclear weapons.

For example, a commentary last year by the state-run Korean Central News Agency said, "History proves that powerful nuclear deterrence serves as the strongest treasured sword for frustrating outsiders' aggression."

At one point, Libya's Gadhafi had various weapons of mass destruction programs but decided to give them up in an agreement with the U.S. and the U.K. Less than a decade later, his 42-year regime was overthrown and he was hunted down and killed. Iraq's Saddam Hussein also was said to have a WMD program at one point too but gave it up.

According to Kazianis, the Kim regime "understands the cold-blooded fact that if you do not have nuclear weapons, you are susceptible to the conventional military power of the United States. What nuclear weapons does for North Korea is it's essentially a military game changer. "
Trump said Tuesday that any threat to the U.S. by Kim Jong Un would be met with "fire and fury like the world has never seen" which has since prompted the totalitarian regime to announce plans for a strike on the U.S. military base of Guam.

The U.S. president has been accused of responding with undue aggression to continued threats from North Korea and its expanding military arsenal. Charles Hecker, a senior partner at consultancy Control Risks, told CNBC that this was an attempt to distract from the domestic controversies which have dogged the Trump administration over recent months.

Escalating tensions between the U.S. and North Korea have highlighted similarities between President Donald Trump and another political heavyweight: Vladimir Putin , according to one leading political analyst.

"This is a trick out of Vladimir Putin's book, which is to always whip up an international conflict or to whip up a domestic conflict, to distract everybody from what's going on internationally," Hecker noted.

"It never hurts to whip up a good international conflict when you're facing some problems at home. We've forgotten the Russia investigation for the past few days," he added, referring to the ongoing probe into the Trump administration's alleged ties with Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election.

The home of Trump's former election campaign manager Paul Manafort was raided by the FBI Wednesday as a string of Trump associates face investigations over their ties with Putin's government. The political lobbyist, who left the campaign over these alleged links, is now being targeted as someone who may testify against former colleagues.

Though the "temperature has gone up" on international relations between the U.S. and North Korea, Hecker said that "geopolitical fundamentals" of the conflict have not changed that dramatically and, despite increased sabre-rattling, Kim Jong Un is unlikely to take action which could undermine his leadership.

"North Korea is not going to want to do anything that will absolutely spell the end of the regime and any sort of military conflict on the Korean Peninsula is the end of North Korea."

"We think that they know that at some point diplomacy is going to kick in here and there can be and probably will be a negotiated solution," he added.

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The escalating saber rattling between the U.S. and North Korea has raised the prospects of an economic confrontation between America and China.

At issue are a series of sanctions against Pyongyang designed to convince North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to curb his ambitions to develop a nuclear missile capable of striking the U.S. mainland.

But those measures have had little impact on the increasingly bellicose stand-off, and on Thursday President Donald Trump repeated his complaint that Beijing needs to lean harder on Pyongyang to defuse rising tensions.

"I think they can do a lot more and I think they will do a lot more," the president told reporters. "We lost hundreds of billions of dollars a year on trade with China. They know how I feel. It's not going to continue like that."

On Tuesday, Trump threatened to inflict "fire and fury" on North Korea if it continues to pursue its nuclear weapons program. A recent series of successful North Korean test launches were matched Wednesday by Kim's threats to launch a missile at the U.S. territory of Guam.

The latest round of sanctions includes fresh restrictions, unanimously approved Saturday by the United Nation Security Council, that target North Korean exports of coal, iron, iron ore, lead, lead ore and seafood. The measures also ban countries from hiring more North Korean laborers, bar new joint ventures with North Korea and ban fresh investment in existing joint ventures.
BackyardProduction | Getty Images

It is impossible to talk about the causes of the opioid epidemic without pointing to the manufacturers and distributors that marketed and proliferated these dangerous pills. Yet over the past several years, these multibillion-dollar companies have avoided much in the way of serious accountability. Until  maybe  now. This year, multiple lawsuits have been launched against opioid manufacturers and distributors. With the opioid crisis now having resulted in more than 300,000 deadly opioid overdoses since 1999 (greater than the population of Cincinnati), there's a push to hold accountable the people and companies behind the products that spawned the epidemic. More from Vox:

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Trump's scary tweets about nuclear weapons, explained One of those lawsuits came from Ohio, which sued five opioid manufacturers and their subsidiaries. The state's Republican attorney general, Mike DeWine, said that these companies knowingly misled patients and physicians about the drugs' risks. "They knew they were wrong, but they did it anyway  and they continue to do it," DeWine said in a statement. "Despite all evidence to the contrary about the addictive nature of these pain medications, they are doing precious little to take responsibility for their actions and to tell the public the truth." DeWine even compared opioid manufacturers to tobacco companies, arguing in the lawsuit that opioid manufacturers are "borrowing a page from Big Tobacco's playbook." Previously, the Cherokee Nation also made headlines when it announced it was suing opioid distributors and pharmacies, including CVS , Walgreens , and Walmart , for their involvement in supplying the pills to the Cherokee population. At the center of their claim: data that shows 845 million milligrams of opioids were distributed in the 14 counties that make up the Cherokee Nation  which, if you assume an average pill size of 20 milligrams, amounts to 360 pills for each prescription opioid user in the Cherokee Nation. These lawsuits get to the two major legal arguments that different jurisdictions are raising against opioid makers and distributors: Starting in the mid-1990s, opioid manufacturers unleashed a misleading marketing push underplaying the risks of prescription opioids and exaggerating the drugs' proven benefits. This, the lawsuits argue, adds up to false advertising with deadly consequences  by encouraging doctors to overprescribe the pills and getting patients to think the pills were safe and effective. Opioid distributors supplied a ton of these pills, even when they should have known they were going to people who were misusing the drugs. This is backed by data that shows that in some counties and states, there were more prescribed bottles of painkillers than there were people  a sign that something was going very wrong. Federal and some state laws require distributors to keep an eye on the supply chain to ensure their products aren't falling in the wrong hands. Letting these drugs proliferate, the lawsuits say, violates those laws. Opioid manufacturers and distributors, of course, ferociously deny these allegations. While some suits have been settled, and some executives have even been criminally convicted for their involvement in the epidemic in the past, opioid companies vigorously reject the argument that they have carelessly fueled the current drug crisis. And so far, what the companies have paid by and large amounts to peanuts compared with the profits they've taken in from the drugs. Still, more lawsuits are coming, with New Hampshire most recently joining the fray with a suit against OxyContin producer Purdue Pharma. And according to the lawyers who have worked and advised on these cases, a growing number of jurisdictions are showing interest in such legal challenges. The ultimate hope is this could all lead to some sort of massive settlement  one that would quash the practices that helped lead to the deadliest drug overdose crisis in American history.

The case against opioid makers: false advertising

Ohio's central claim against opioid manufacturers is that these companies knew  or at least should have known  that their products weren't safe or effective, yet they advertised their products as safe and effective anyway. The state's lawsuit goes after five opioid manufacturers and their subsidiaries: Purdue Pharma, Endo, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (and subsidiary Cephalon), Johnson & Johnson (and subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals), and Allergan. The lawsuit cites several examples of misleading marketing: An Endo-sponsored website, PainKnowledge.com, in 2009 claimed that "[p]eople who take opioids as prescribed usually do not become addicted." Janssen approved and distributed a patient education guide in 2009 that attempted to counter the "myth" that opioids are addictive, claiming that "[m]any studies show that opioids are rarely addictive when used properly for the management of chronic pain." Purdue sponsored a publication from the American Pain Foundation, which was heavily funded by opioid companies, claiming that the risk of addiction is less than 1 percent among children prescribed opioids  suggesting pain is undertreated and opioids are necessary. This is only a small sampling. In total, DeWine claims opioid companies spent "millions of dollars on promotional activities and materials that falsely deny or trivialize the risks of opioids while overstating the benefits of using them for chronic pain." Contrary to opioid companies' claims, there has been evidence for literally centuries that opioids are highly addictive. Some of their marketing, in fact, explicitly tried to debunk this well-known fact: They characterized the understanding that opioids are addictive and potentially deadly as "opiophobia." They latched onto a five-sentence letter to a medical journal that, with nearly no proof, claimed addiction among opioid patients is rare. (One author of the letter later said he was "mortified" at what drugmakers had done.) And they directly communicated with doctors  through videos, pamphlets, and other marketing  to foster the idea that new opioids on the market were safe and effective. The current epidemic is proof of what we already knew: As opioid companies saw their profits increase, so too did drug overdose deaths and treatment admissions. It's not just the addiction claims, though. Opioid companies also misled doctors and the public about the effectiveness of their drugs. As an extensive Los Angeles Times investigation found, Purdue's opioid OxyContin was marketed for its supposed ability to provide 12 hours of pain relief. But as Harriet Ryan, Lisa Girion, and Scott Glover reported, "Even before OxyContin went on the market, clinical trials showed many patients weren't getting 12 hours of relief. Since the drug's debut in 1996, the company has been confronted with additional evidence, including complaints from doctors, reports from its own sales reps and independent research." This was critical to Purdue's competitive advantage: If it really didn't provide 12-hour relief, then it wasn't more effective than other similar painkillers on the market. In the face of the evidence, though, Purdue stood by its claim for years. And it told doctors that if patients weren't seeing the promised results, then the problem was that doses were too low. These efforts, it seems, were in the name of profit. One sales memo uncovered by the Times was literally titled "$$$$$$$$$$$$$ It's Bonus Time in the Neighborhood!" This is alarming for public health: As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned, higher doses significantly increase the risk of overdose and addiction. The Los Angeles Times investigation found, "More than half of long-term OxyContin users are on doses that public health officials consider dangerously high, according to an analysis of nationwide prescription data conducted for The Times." Opioid makers' claims that their drugs are an effective treatment for chronic pain are similarly faulty. There's simply no good scientific evidence that opioid painkillers can effectively treat long-term chronic pain as patients grow tolerant of opioids' effects  but there's plenty of evidence that prolonged use can result in very bad complications, including a higher risk of addiction, overdose, and death. In short, the risks outweigh the benefits for most chronic pain patients. Yet opioid makers were highly influential in perpetuating the claim that their drugs can treat chronic pain. Several public health experts explained the recent history of opioid marketing in the Annual Review of Public Health, detailing Purdue Pharma's involvement after it put OxyContin on the market in the mid-1990s: Between 1996 and 2002, Purdue Pharma funded more than 20,000 pain-related educational programs through direct sponsorship or financial grants and launched a multifaceted campaign to encourage long-term use of [opioid painkillers] for chronic non-cancer pain. As part of this campaign, Purdue provided financial support to the American Pain Society, the American Academy of Pain Medicine, the Federation of State Medical Boards, the Joint Commission, pain patient groups, and other organizations. In turn, these groups all advocated for more aggressive identification and treatment of pain, especially use of [opioid painkillers]. By encouraging long-term prescriptions for chronic pain, opioid companies fueled the epidemic. As a CDC study found, the risk of dependency, which can lead to addiction, dramatically increases the longer one uses opioids. This is the kind of marketing that led Ohio to file a lawsuit. Similar challenges from Mississippi, Oklahoma, Missouri, and New Hampshire are going through the courts right now. Local jurisdictions in several states have also filed similar challenges. Kentucky previously settled with Purdue (for $24 million) and Janssen (for nearly $16 million) in cases alleging misleading marketing. In 2007, Purdue Pharma and three of its top executives paid more than $630 million in federal fines for their misleading marketing. The three executives were also criminally convicted, each sentenced to three years of probation and 400 hours of community service. As the opioid epidemic has continued, however, more and more lawsuits are expected to come. I reached out to the companies named in Ohio's lawsuit. Only Purdue gave a comment on the record: "We share the attorney general's concerns about the opioid crisis and we are committed to working collaboratively to find solutions. OxyContin accounts for less than 2% of the opioid analgesic prescription market nationally, but we are an industry leader in the development of abuse-deterrent technology, advocating for the use of prescription drug monitoring programs and supporting access to Naloxone  all important components for combating the opioid crisis."

The case against opioid distributors: allowing diversion

Beyond the false advertising charges, there's a separate legal argument, dubbed the "diversion theory" by some of its proponents. This argument has so far been leveled against companies that distribute opioids, particularly in a recent lawsuit by the Cherokee Nation against big names like the McKesson Corporation, Cardinal Health, AmerisourceBergen, CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart. Under federal and some state laws, opioid distributors have a legal obligation to stop controlled substances from going to illicit purposes and misuse. The diversion theory argues that these distributors clearly did not do that: As the opioid epidemic spiraled out of control, and as some counties and states had more prescriptions than people, it should have become perfectly clear that something was going wrong  yet, the claim goes, distributors continued to let the drugs proliferate. Michael Canty, an attorney at the New Yorkbased firm Labaton Sucharow who's advising states and other jurisdictions on opioid-related legal challenges, drew a comparison between opioid distributors and credit card companies. "[Credit card companies say], 'Someone tried to make a very large purchase on your account in another state and we flagged it as suspicious and stopped it from going through.' That's what distributors should be doing," Canty said. "For example, there's a small town with 500 residents, and the local pharmacies order a million pills from the distributors. That should set off an alarm bell from a compliance standpoint or a quality control standpoint, where the distributors say, 'Wait a minute, what's going on here? We need to investigate this order. And until it passes muster, we won't ship.'" The Cherokee Nation has some fairly alarming numbers behind its claim, suggesting there were literally hundreds of pills on average for each opioid user in the Cherokee Nation. This is a national problem. The CDC, for example, put out 2012 data that found there were more painkiller prescriptions than people in several states. West Virginia's case is particularly striking. It is the state hardest hit by the epidemic, suffering the highest rate of opioid overdose deaths in 2015. A previous investigation by the Charleston Gazette-Mail in West Virginia found that from 2007 to 2012, drug firms poured a total of 780 million painkillers into the state  which has a total population of about 1.8 million. Some of the numbers were even more absurd at the local level: The small town of Kermit has a population of 392, but a single pharmacy there received 9 million hydrocodone pills over two years from out-of-state drug companies. "When you have 140 prescriptions being written for every 100 people, you know that people have failed to meet their obligations," Serena Hallowell, who's also with Labaton Sucharow, said. "And they're not just ethical obligations, which I would say they have too. They're obligations under state and federal law and their own industry guidelines as well." The Cherokee Nation's lawsuit is the first to really push against all of these opioid distributors at once. But other jurisdictions have pursued legal challenges as well; West Virginia, for one, settled with Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen for $36 million in payouts (although the companies denied wrongdoing), and several counties in the state are pursuing new legal challenges. Meanwhile, some distributors have already been dealt penalties for their negligence. Just this year, for example, McKesson agreed to pay a $150 million settlement to the Department of Justice for failing to report suspicious orders of pharmaceutical drugs, particularly opioids, and stopped sales of at least some distribution centers in multiple states. And that came after McKesson paid a more than $13 million fine for similar violations in 2008. CVS, Walgreens, and Cardinal Health paid fines, sometimes multiple times, for similar violations in the past several years. Similar challenges could, in theory, be tried against opioid manufacturers as well. The Drug Enforcement Administration, for one, previously pursued one of the nation's largest opioid makers, Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals, for the proliferation of its pills in Florida since 1999. But as the Washington Post found, the investigations went nowhere. In the end, the company agreed to pay, without admitting wrongdoing, just $35 million to settle the case with the federal government  far from the billions in dollars the DEA reportedly hoped for, and a tiny fraction of the $3.4 billion in revenue the company reported in fiscal year 2016. I contacted the opioid distributors named in the Cherokee Nation's suit for comment. AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, and CVS said they are committed to stopping the misuse of their products, and that they will work closely with federal regulators to do so. Cardinal Health went further, arguing that it "is confident that the facts and the law are on our side, and we intend to vigorously defend ourselves against the plaintiff's mischaracterization of those facts and misunderstanding of the law."

One goal of the lawsuits: a tobacco-style settlement agreement
"There is no military option short of general warfare in Korea  with the likelihood of millions of casualties  that could eliminate [the North's] nuclear and missile capabilities."

Of course, it would be better if the North had neither nuclear weapons nor ICBM's. We have known this. Our anti-proliferation efforts have definitely impeded the North' acquisition of these weapons. But today, after decades of relentless North Korean efforts, assisted by a few other states, they are now a nuclear power.

And there is no military option short of general warfare in Korea  with the likelihood of millions of casualties  that could eliminate their nuclear and missile capabilities. As for diplomacy, the example of Moamar Qaddhafi, deposed and murdered a few years after giving up his nuclear program, no doubt makes the North even more determined to maintain their nuclear arms program.

So, this is a situation we must be prepared to live with indefinitely; setting an objective of rolling back the clock is unrealistic and ultimately unachievable. Instead we should seek strategic stability and continued U.S. deterrence in the region.

For more than a decade the U.S. has sought China's help in dealing with North Korea. But China is ambivalent at best. China doesn't want to pressure the North so strongly that its regime could collapse, unleashing a flood of refugees into China.

In addition, China no doubt would like to see U.S. forces leave South Korea; China probably believes that some level of tension on the Korean Peninsula actually promotes this Chinese objective. But China also doesn't want open warfare, which would impose huge costs and would likely end with the collapse of its North Korean buffer state. So, on balance China isn't all in to help us.

China's behind-the-scenes influence has also been diminished by Kim Jong Un's repeated purges of members of his government and family who have close ties to China or, like his brother, might replace him.

Some might worry that these purges suggest a weakened regime, a regime so unstable that it might not be deterrable, that it might deliberately launch a nuclear strike even though it would mean certain suicide. But, thus far, there is insufficient evidence to draw such a conclusion.

We have dealt with other nuclear armed potential adversaries that were at various times wracked by internal crisis, and we were wise enough not to engage in preventative nuclear warfare. When we did resort to preventative war-in Iraq in 2003-it proved to be a huge mistake.

We have to be strong and resolute, and not engage in some risky, ill-advised military action. Our objectives are best met by keeping a strong military presence in Korea, by enhancing our own strategic missile defenses, and by robust dialogue and diplomacy with North Korea itself, as well as with China and other neighboring countries.

Sharp rhetoric directed at the North doesn't help; it provokes an escalating reply whose main impact is always to frighten people and actually undercut support for a strong U.S. deterrent presence.

Commentary by Retired General Wesley Clark, a former NATO Supreme Allied Commander and a Senior Fellow at the UCLA Burkle Center. Follow him on Twitter @ GeneralClark.

For more insight from CNBC contributors, follow @CNBCopinion on Twitter.
will be canceled, and some believe it could even be beefed up.

watch now

Annual war games exercises with tens of thousands of U.S. and South Korean forces are expected to start later this month and could further inflame tensions with North Korea. Defense experts see little or no chance Washington will call off the two-week drills. They believe doing so would jeopardize readiness and be the wrong signal to nuclear-armed North Korea and U.S. allies in the region. The North has previously indicated it might sit down for talks but first wanted joint military exercises to be halted. The North Korean regime led by 33-year-old Kim Jong Un sees the drills as a provocation and sometimes responds with threats and a show of power. For example, last year the hermit regime conducted its fifth nuclear test exactly a week after the joint military exercises had formally concluded. "The North describes them as a threat, but they're not a threat," said retired Army Special Forces Col. David Maxwell, now associate director of Georgetown University's Center for Security Studies. "North Korea and the regime are not crazy but they are paranoid. And they don't trust us just as much as we don't trust them." One of the threats last year from the drills was North Korea vowing its military is "fully ready to mount a pre-emptive retaliatory strike" on South Korea and the U.S., according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency. It also called the exercises "a clear manifestation of a vicious plot" to hurt the communist state and its people.

Army forces train for task force mission during annual exercise known as Ulchi Freedom Guardian in South Korea. Source: US Army

Maxwell, who served in Korea and elsewhere, described the drills as "a computer command-and-control exercise that is designed to train commanders and staffs in the execution of a war plan for the defense of Korea." Last year, about 25,000 U.S. service members on the Korean peninsula participated in the so-called Ulchi-Freedom Guardian exercises, including some coming from offshore. About 50,000 South Korean troops and several other U.S. allies also participated. According to South Korea's Yonhap News Agency, this year's Ulchi-Freedom Guardian exercises are scheduled to start on Aug. 21. "The U.S. Forces Korea is still considering whether or how to announce the plan for the exercise, largely based on a computer simulation called a war game," Yonhap said Thursday. "One dilemma is the lack of official communication channel with the North to notify it of the training schedule in advance." The U.S. military declined to comment to CNBC. The U.S. Forces Korea previously described the exercises as "designed to enhance alliance readiness, protect the region and maintain stability on the Korean Peninsula."

South Korean soldier and police participate in an anti-terror and anti-chemical terror exercise as part of the 2016 Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG). Chung Sung-Jun
Criticizing the former Obama administration for being too open in its diplomatic discourse, Gorka said that Washington would continue to keep its cards close to its chest until North Korea shows signs of acting on its continued threats of nuclear act. North Korea announced on Wednesday that it plans to launch a missile test on the U.S. military base of Guam.

"Donald Trump has been unequivocal: he will use any appropriate measures to protect the United States and her citizens," Gorka told the BBC's "Today" program.

Sebastian Gorka, who is deputy assistant to the president, said on Thursday that the White House will use any means necessary to defend the United States and its citizens from military attack, but insisted that the administration would not disclose these measures ahead of time.

Washington is ready to use "any appropriate measures" to defeat the growing threat from North Korea, according to one of President Donald Trump 's key aides.

White House Deputy Assistant To The President Sebastian Gorka speaks as he is interviewed by Fox News remotely from the White House June 22, 2017 in Washington, DC.

"We do not telegraph our future scenarios and how we are going to react. That's how the Obama administration thought strategy works. That's not how it works," insisted Gorka.

"If you show players around a table your poker hand, you will lose that game. It is not a good idea in cards; it is a very bad idea in geopolitics. We have sent a very clear message: do not challenge the United States because you will pay a cost if you do so. Any other details are classified and will remain so," he added.

The Trump administration has come under scrutiny for its response to Kim Jong Un's threats however, with critics saying its lack of clarity could serve to escalate tensions.

Earlier this week, Trump warned North Korea about facing "fire and fury" if the isolated nation makes more threats against the U.S.

On Wednesday, Trump touted the U.S. nuclear arsenal on Twitter but said he hopes "he will never have to use it."

"My first order as president was to renovate and modernize our nuclear arsenal. It is not stronger and more powerful than ever before," Trump claimed in a Tweet. "Hopefully we will never have to use this power, but there will never be a time that we are not the most powerful nation in the world," he added.

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Online outrage is being directed at Wal-Mart for a gun display at one of its stores, after a photo went viral on Wednesday of a sign that hung above it.

The photo shows a back-to-school banner that reads "Own the school year like a hero" situated above a glass case full of guns.

TWEET

"What's seen in this photograph would never be acceptable in our stores," a Wal-Mart spokesperson told CNBC in a statement. "We regret this situation and are looking into how it could have happened."

Initial reports said the store was in Evansville, Indiana, but that has not been confirmed by Wal-Mart as of Thursday afternoon. The company had started its investigation midday Wednesday, after the photo began circulating.

The customer who initially tweeted the photo and who also spoke with The Washington Post has since taken her Twitter account private.

The woman, Leeanna May, insisted in an interview with the Post that the photo was taken in Evansville.

"We have already lost so many innocent lives to guns," May told the Post. "People don't seem to honestly care."

But Wal-Mart's latest tweets to unhappy customers tell a different story. It appears there is still some confusion regarding which store displayed the sign.

TWEET

TWEET

After initially tweeting about removing the sign in Evansville, Wal-Mart is now looking into whether the photo was doctored or if the display of guns was part of a prank by customers.

This isn't the first time Wal-Mart has come under a viral attack for its products.

In July, Wal-Mart used a racist term to describe a wig cap sold on its website by a third party. The color of the hat was listed as "n brown."

The retailer also drew fire in 2016, prior to Sept. 11, when a store used Coca-Cola products to build two towers signifying the World Trade Center. A banner reading "We will never forget" hung above it.

 CNBC's Courtney Reagan contributed to this reporting.
The last few years have seen renewable energy technologies become price competitive, the CEO of Dong Energy told CNBC on Thursday.

"I do believe what we've seen  especially over the last couple of years  is we've seen renewable technologies coming down very rapidly in price," Henrik Poulsen said.

"We're really seeing green technologies becoming very price competitive and that is also beginning to now materialise in some of the most recent auctions we've seen around the world," Poulsen went on to add.

Poulsen was speaking after Dong Energy, which is headquartered in Denmark, announced operating profit (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) had increased by DKK 1.8 billion ($283 million), reaching DKK 4.4 billion in the second quarter of 2017.

"We've had a very strong first half, Q1 was slightly below expectations but it was all a matter of timing across the quarters," he said. "And here, in (the) second quarter, we've had 70 percent EBITDA growth. So for the full first half year, we've had a very strong first half year of '17."

Poulsen went on to add that we were now at an "inflection point." Renewable technologies, he said, had, "come so far down in price that we can build green energy systems for the future that are also quite cost competitive and price competitive for the consumers."
"The Security Council has come through with a tough set of new sanctions. The focus should be there, on unity, on building up the reputation of the Council and respect for international law."

Every success, from ending South Africa's nuclear program to ending Saddam Hussein's, has been accomplished through negotiations, often backed by sanctions. Negotiations nearly succeeded with respect to North Korea in 1994, but failed for reasons that could have been avoided. The positive reports of the Iran nuclear deal continue to roll in.

Some believe that Iran made concessions because of the threat of force by the U.S. and Israel. The more accurate view is that economic sanctions worked. If attacked pre-emptively, Iran would have had the right to counter-attack. Every sovereign state in the world is a member of the United Nations and understands the importance of the rule against the use of force. Iran would have had considerable support in responding to such an unlawful, pre-emptive attack.

Apparently, President Trump's threats are based on the view that only fear of force will get North Korea to the bargaining table. This is a highly dangerous game that defies the evidence and undermines the very norms needed for a negotiated outcome. Pushed too far, North Korea may well unleash its own pre-emptive attack.

There may be only one international legal principle more important than the prohibition on the use of force, and that is the prohibition on the use of nuclear weapons. The International Court of Justice ruled in a case in 1994 that international law did not forbid five states, the Security Council's Permanent 5, from possessing nuclear weapons.

But the World Court was equally clear that virtually no scenario exists where the P5 could lawfully use their nukes. Nuclear weapons have such a wide impact of killing and destruction they are inherently indiscriminate and disproportionate.

Officials are now downplaying Trump's threats as just rhetoric. If so, then North Korea knows that, too, making them worse than useless.

Rhetoric alone can undermine the provisions of world order needed for an agreement to be negotiated and honored. The Security Council has come through with a tough set of new sanctions. The focus should be there, on unity, on building up the reputation of the Council and compliance with international law so that mandates respecting North Korea are deemed worth honoring by North Korea and the global community.

Commentary by Mary Ellen O'Connell, the Robert & Marion Short professor of law and is the

research professor of International Dispute Resolution, Kroc Insitute at University of Notre Dame. Follow her on Twitter @OConnell_IntLaw.

For the latest commentary on markets in the U.S. and around the world, follow @CNBCopinion on Twitter.


Types of obituaries

The Missourian publishes two types of obituaries  family obituaries and life stories.

A family obituary is the version submitted by a funeral home or family. Please see the submission form for details on cost and deadlines. Family obituaries

A life story is a closer look at a person's life and involves a reporter contacting family and friends. Life stories are based on newsworthiness and consent of the family. Life stories.
The Missourians Opinion section is a public forum for the discussion of ideas. The views presented in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Missourian or the University of Missouri. If you would like to contribute to the Opinion page with a response or an original topic of your own, visit our submission form
This is a current list of the top 250 companies by market capitalization on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Learn more .

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is one of the largest, and most recognizable, stock exchanges in the world. The NYSE is in New York City, New York at 11 Wall Street. The NYSE has been in existence since the earliest days of the United States becoming a nation, in 1792 and is primarily made up of blue-chip companies with large market capitalizations. In fact, many of the stocks that make up the Dow Jones Composite Index (i.e. The Dow) are listed on the NYSE.

This article gives a brief history of the New York Stock Exchange. In addition, it covers topics such as what kind of stocks trade on the exchange, what are the listing requirements, how trading is performed, and what the daily price movement of the NYSE tells investors about investor sentiment.

What Were the Origins of the NYSE?

Today, the New York Stock Exchange is known as the center of the financial universe. However, the exchanges origin is far more humble. On May 17, 1792, 24 stockbrokers signed the Buttonwood Agreement creating a centralized exchange to help provide order to the securities market in what was still a young nation. The "Buttonwood Agreement comes from the tree of the same name under which the founders signed the agreement.

An initial benefit of the exchange was how it removed the need for auctioneers when trading commodities like wheat and tobacco and to set a commission rate. The exchange initially focused on government bonds.

However, the exchange had no formal home. Business was usually conducted informally in the local coffeehouses. In 1817, the exchange changed its name to the New York Stock & Exchange Board which later became the New York Stock Exchange. At this time, the exchange adopted a constitution that set the rules for trading. A group of stockbrokers met twice a day at 40 Wall Street to trade 30 stocks and bonds.

Over time, the exchange moved became the financial hub of the country and moved to its current location in 1865.

What Kind of Stocks Trade on the NYSE?

As of June 2022, the NYSE includes approximately 2,400 companies with a market capitalization of over $28.2 trillion. Although the NYSE trades stocks of all market capitalizations, its best known for trading the stocks of large cap companies. These have the benefit of being mature companies in mature industries. And many of these companies reward shareholders with dividends.

However, that also means that many of these companies are better suited for value investors as opposed to growth investors. In bear markets this stability can be a benefit for investors as these stocks tend to perform less bad than more volatile stocks. But in a bull market, these stocks are not likely to provide investors with the growth that they look for.

An interesting fact about how the NYSE and NASDAQ operate is that the companies with the five largest market caps on the NYSE are also listed on the NASDAQ exchange.

What Are the Listing Requirements For the NYSE?

The NYSE has strict guidelines that govern the types of companies that can list on the exchange. Here are the major requirements that all companies must meet:

The company must have at least 2,200 shareholders

The company must trade over 100,000 shares per month

The company must have a market valuation of over $100 million

The company must generate more than $75 million in annual revenue

However, there is at least one advantage of having such stringent requirements. That is the companies that meet the requirements generally find it easier to get more investors funds when they hold their initial public offering (IPO).

Once a company begins trading on the NYSE, it must continue to meet these requirements. If it doesnt it can be delisted. In addition to these requirements, the stock must continue to trade above $1. If the price of a stock drops below $1 for more than 29 consecutive trading days, the stock receives an Initial Price Violation Notice.

At that point, the company has 10 days to provide the exchange with a plan for bringing their shares above $1.

How are Trades Executed on the NYSE?

For over a century, the floor of the NYSE was the place for investors to be. This meant trades were conducted by traders who ran buy and sell orders across the trading floor looking to broker a deal for their clients. But with the birth of the NASDAQ exchange in 1971, the New York Stock Exchange began conducting electronic trading.

However, the NYSE continues to conduct trades in an auction style. Brokers purchase stocks on behalf of their clients or firms. Every order features a broker who will enter the order electronically and a specialist who serves as the market maker for that stock. The specialist posts bid and ask prices and manages the actual execution of the trades. And there are still a handful of stockbrokers who still traffic buy and sell orders physically on the floor of the exchange.

How Does the NYSE Signal Investor Sentiment?

Like its counterpart, the NASDAQ, the NYSE measures the risk appetite of investors. When the NYSE is moving higher over a length of time, it signals that a risk on environment. Conversely when the NYSE moves lower over a significant period, it signals that investors are moving to a risk off position.

Some Final Thoughts on the NYSE

Financial news networks plan their programming schedule around the opening and closing bell of the New York Stock Exchange. Its still considered a distinguished honor when individuals or groups are invited to ring the opening bell. In fact, Warren Buffett is attributed with saying that in the short term, the stock market acts like a voting machine. A fact that many U.S. presidents will attest to.

The NYSE is the oldest and most recognizable of all the stock exchanges. It also has the most stringent requirements for inclusion. And those requirements must be maintained even after a stock begins publicly trading on the exchange.

Although the NYSE still has a small in-person Trading Floor, much of the trading is done electronically to provide traders with the speed to execute trades.
Boston Scientific Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets medical devices for use in various interventional medical specialties worldwide. It operates through three segments: MedSurg, Rhythm and Neuro, and Cardiovascular. The company offers devices to diagnose and treat gastrointestinal and pulmonary conditions; devices to treat various urological and pelvic conditions; implantable cardioverter and implantable cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators; pacemakers and implantable cardiac resynchronization therapy pacemakers; and remote patient management systems. It also provides medical technologies to diagnose and treat rate and rhythm disorders of the heart comprising 3-D cardiac mapping and navigation solutions, ablation catheters, diagnostic catheters, mapping catheters, intracardiac ultrasound catheters, delivery sheaths, and other accessories; spinal cord stimulator systems for the management of chronic pain; indirect decompression systems; and deep brain stimulation systems. In addition, the company offers interventional cardiology products, including drug-eluting coronary stent systems used in the treatment of coronary artery disease; percutaneous coronary interventions products to treat atherosclerosis; intravascular catheter-directed ultrasound imaging catheters, fractional flow reserve devices, and systems for use in coronary arteries and heart chambers, as well as various peripheral vessels; and structural heart therapies. Further, it provides stents, balloon catheters, wires, and atherectomy systems to treat arterial diseases; thrombectomy and acoustic pulse thrombolysis systems, wires, and stents to treat venous diseases; and peripheral embolization devices, radioactive microspheres, ablation systems, cryotherapy ablation systems, and micro and drainage catheters to treat cancer. The company was incorporated in 1979 and is headquartered in Marlborough, Massachusetts.
The following companies are subsidiares of Air Products and Chemicals: 7001 Hamilton Properties LLC, ACP Europe SA, ACP Zolder Invest NV, AJWAA Emirates Gases Company LLC, AJWAA Gases LLC, AP Services South America SpA, APCI (U.K.) Inc., Abdulla Hashim Gases & Equipment Co. Limited, Air Products (Anshan) Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products (BR) Limited, Air Products (Cangzhou) Co. Ltd., Air Products (Changsha) Co. Ltd., Air Products (Chongqing) Chem-Materials Co. Ltd., Air Products (Dongguan) Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products (Guangzhou) Electronics Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products (Hangjin Qi) Co. Ltd., Air Products (Hefei) Electronics Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products (Hong Kong) Co. Ltd., Air Products (Huaibei) Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products (Inner Mongolia) Hydrogen Energy Technology Co. Ltd., Air Products (Jiangxi) Co. Ltd., Air Products (Jincheng) Co. Ltd., Air Products (Jinjiang) Electronics Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products (Kunshan) Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products (Linfen) Co. Ltd., Air Products (Middle East) FZE, Air Products (Nanjing) Electronics Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products (Ningbo) Hi-Tech Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products (Qindao) Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products (Rozenburg) B. V., Air Products (Shandong) Engineering Co. Ltd Nanjing Branch, Air Products (Shandong) Engineering Co. Ltd., Air Products (Shanxi) Co. Ltd., Air Products (Shenyang) Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products (Tianjin) Co. Ltd., Air Products (Xi'an) Gases Co. Ltd, Air Products (Xia'men) Electronics Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products (Zhongshan) Gases Co. Ltd, Air Products (Zhumadian) Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products A/S, Air Products Advanced Materials LLC, Air Products Ammonia Distribution AD GmbH, Air Products Ammonia Distribution LLC, Air Products Ammonia Distribution Ltd., Air Products Ammonia Holdings LLC, Air Products Asia Inc., Air Products Bahrain W.L.L, Air Products Blue Energy, Air Products Brasil Ltda., Air Products Canada Ltd./Prodair Canada Ltee, Air Products Caribbean Holdings Inc., Air Products Central Asia Group LLC, Air Products China Inc., Air Products Debang (Lianyungang) Co. Ltd., Air Products Ecuador S.A., Air Products Emirates Gases LLC, Air Products Equipment Limited, Air Products Gas O.O.O., Air Products Gases Holdings B. V., Air Products Gases S.A.E., Air Products Gesellschaft mbH, Air Products GmbH, Air Products Group Limited, Air Products Gulf Gas LLC, Air Products Helium Inc., Air Products Helium Inc. Qatar Branch, Air Products Holdings B. V., Air Products Holdings GmbH, Air Products Huadong (Longkou) Co. Ltd., Air Products Hydrogen Company Inc., Air Products Hydrogen Energy Technology (Zibo) Co. Ltd., Air Products Iberica S. L., Air Products Industrial Gas LLC, Air Products International LLC, Air Products Investments B. V., Air Products Investments Holdings LLC, Air Products Investments LLC, Air Products Ireland Limited, Air Products Israel Ltd., Air Products Italia S. r. I., Air Products Japan Inc., Air Products Japan K. K., Air Products Korea Inc., Air Products LLC, Air Products Leasing B. V., Air Products Llanwern Limited, Air Products Lu'An (Changzhi) Co. Ltd., Air Products Maghreb S. A.R. L., Air Products Majan LLC, Air Products Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Air Products Management BV/SRL, Air Products Manufacturing Corporation, Air Products Manufacturing LLC, Air Products Middle East Industrial Gases Company Limited, Air Products Nederland B. V., Air Products Netherlands Gases B. V., Air Products O. O.O., Air Products PLC, Air Products PLC Branch, Air Products Peru S. A., Air Products Qudra (GICIS), Air Products Renewable Energy Limited, Air Products S.A., Air Products SAS, Air Products San Fu Co. Ltd., Air Products Saudi Investment Company, Air Products Services Europe S. A., Air Products Shared Services Sdn. Bhd, Air Products Singapore Industrial Gases Pte. Ltd., Air Products SinoHytec (Beijing) Hydrogen Energy Technology, Air Products Slovakia s. r. o., Air Products South Africa (Proprietary) Limited, Air Products Sp. Z o.o., Air Products Specialized Process Equipment SDN, Air Products Switzerland Sarl, Air Products Taiwan Holdings Co. Ltd., Air Products Ukraina LLC, Air Products West Coast Hydrogen LLC, Air Products Yanbu Limited, Air Products and Chemicals (Anhui) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Banan) Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Beijing) Distribution Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Binzhou) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Chengdu) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (China) Investment Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Chongqing) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Dalian) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Guangzhou) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Guiyang) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Hefei) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Hohhot) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Jiyuan) Onsite Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Lianyungang) Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Nanjing) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Nanjing) Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Pengzhou) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Putian) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Qingdao) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Shaanxi Pucheng) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Shaanxi) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Shanghai) Electronics Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Shanghai) Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Shanghai) Gases Production Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Shanghai) Gasification Technology Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Shanghai) Hydrogen Energy Technology Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Shanghai) On-Site Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Shanghai) Systems Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Shangluo) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Shenzhen) Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Tangshan) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Tianjin) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Tongxiang) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Weifang) Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (WuXi) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (WuXi) Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Xi'an) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Xingtai) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Xinxiang) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Xuzhou) Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Yichun) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Yulin) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Zhangjiagang) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Zhejiang) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Zhuhai) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Zibo) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals Inc., Air Products and Chemicals Inc. of Utah, Air Products and Chemicals Tech Development (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals de Mexico S. A. de C. V., Air Products spol s.r.o., Asia Industrial Gas Company Ltd., Bangkok Cogeneration Company Limited, Bangkok Industrial Gas Co. Ltd., Beer Gas Cymru Cyf, Beijing AP BAIF Gas Industry Co. Ltd., Beijing Shuimu Tongda Transportation Co. Ltd., Blue Ocean Industrial Gases Co. Ltd., Carbolim B.V., Carburos Via Augusta Logistics S. L., Caribbean Industrial Gases Unlimited, Centro Tecnico Indura Limitada, Chengdu Air & Gas Products Ltd., Chengzhi Air Products Hydrogen Energy Technology Co. Ltd., China Shenhua Coal to Liquid and Chemical Co., Consolidacion Comercial Infra S. A. de C. V., CryoService, CryoService Limited, Dixons of Westerhope Limited, DuPont Air Products NanoMaterials, EPCO Carbon Dioxide Products, EPCO Carbon Dioxide Products Inc., East Coast Nitrogen Company LLC, East Coast Oxygen Co., Far Eastern Industrial Gases Co. Ltd., Gaolu Air Products and Chemicals (Shanghai) Energy Technology Co. Ltd., Gardner Cryogenics, Gas Direct Limited, Gas Supply Services Ltd., Gas Technologies Ltd., Gases Industriales de Colombia S.A.  Cryogas, Gases Integrated Company Limited (GIC), Gasin II Unipessoal LDA, Gastel Limited, Gazsur S. de R. L. de C. V., Goar Allison & Associates, Green BioFuel s.r.o., Harvest Energy Technologies, Harvest Energy Technology, Helap SAS, INOXAir Products Pvt. Ltd., Indura, Indura Argentina S.A., Indura Holding LLC, Indura Holdings Colombia LLC, Indura Inversiones Limitada, Indura S. A., Indura Sociedad Comercial Limitada, Inner Mongolia Jiutai New Materials Technology Co. Ltd., Inversiones Air Products Holdings Limitada, Jazan Gas Projects Company, Jazan Integrated Gasification and Power Company (JIGPC), Jubail Waves for Gases Company, KRIG Holdings B. V., KRYVYI RIH Industrial Gas, Korea Industrial Gases Ltd., Kulim Industrial Gases Sdn Bhd, Lida SAS, M&M Gases Limited, Markaziy Osiyo Sanoat Gaz LLC, Matgas 2000 A.I.E., NEOM Green Hydrogen Company, NMAP Services Unlimited, Napro S.A., Olin DNT Limited Partnership, Oxigeno Medicinal Domiciliario Limitada, Oxygen & Argon Works, Oxygen & Argon Works Ltd., Oxygen Center Ltd., Oxygen Warehouse Trade (1980) Ltd., PQ Ammonia, PT Air Products East Kalimantan, PT Air Products Indonesia, PT Air Products Indonesia Services, Permea China Ltd., Permea Inc., Procal, Prodair Air Products India Private Limited, Prodair Corporation, Prodair Escravos Limited, Prodair S. A. S., Prodair et Cie S.C. S., ROVI Cosmetics International, S.I.Q. Beteiligungs, SAGA SAS, SCWC Corp., STP & DIN Chemicals Sp. Z.o.o., STS Science Technologies and Services Ltd., Sapio Produzione Idrogeno Ossigeno S. r. l., Servicios Indura Limitada, Shanxi Lu'An Air Products (Hydrogen Energy) Co. Ltd., Sociedad Espanola de Carburos Metalicos S. A., Soprogaz SNC, Stravinsky Investments LLC, Tanasio Industrial Gases Cyf, The Former SR Manufacturers Inc., Union Mobiliere Industrielle S. A.R.L., Vitalox Industrial S.L.U., WuXi Hi-Tech Gas Co. Ltd., Yangnon Industrial Gas Trading Company Limited, Yangon Industrial Gas (Thilawa) Company Limited, Zhangjiakou HyPower New Energy Technology Co. Ltd., Zhangjiakou Jiaotou Hydrogen New Energy Technology Co. Ltd., and Zibo Chuangcheng Design.

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Telecom Argentina S.A., together with its subsidiaries, provides telecommunications services in Argentina and internationally. The company offers telephone services, including local, domestic, and international long-distance telephone services, as well as public telephone services; and other related supplementary services, such as call waiting, call forwarding, conference calls, caller ID, voice mail, itemized billing, and maintenance services. It also provides interconnection services, such as traffic and interconnection resource, dedicated Internet access, video signals transportation in standard and high definitions, audio and video streaming, dedicated links, backhaul links for mobile operators, data center hosting/housing services, dedicated links, layer 2 and layer 3 transport networks, video links, value-added services, and other services. In addition, the company offers mobile telecommunications services, including voice communications, high-speed mobile Internet content and applications download, online streaming, and other services; and sells mobile communication devices, such as handsets, Modems MiFi and wingles, and smart watches under the Personal brand. Further, it provides internet connectivity products, including virtual private network services, traditional Internet protocol links, and other products; data services; and programming and other cable television services. The company was formerly known as Cablevision S.A. and changed its name to Telecom Argentina S.A. in January 2018. Telecom Argentina S.A. was founded in 1979 and is based in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
This company is definitely on a growth path since we bought it last December, said Oneil Khosa, CEO of Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line, in an interview with Cruise Industry News.

Khosa combined forces with former Norwegian Cruise Line CEO Kevin Sheehan to buy the one-ship brand, and estimates the company will carry some 250,000 passengers on sailings from Palm Beach this year aboard the Grand Celebration.

According to the 2017-2018 Cruise Industry News Annual Report, that would make the 1986-built ship ninth on the list of total annual ship-by-ship capacity globally. It would also make the brand the 18th biggest company by annual passenger capacity  between Dream Cruises and Cunard Line.

Khosa, a former ship financing guru, has a minority stake in the cruise line  the only one in the market offering two-night cruises.

We feel very comfortable where the business is today, he said. We have taken a lot of initiatives to upgrade the product delivery to the consumer, and that has been very evident in our customer satisfaction ratings.

Major adjustments include a new steakhouse restaurant aboard and plans to add a high-end coffee and gelato option.

With valet parking at the terminal, passengers can board in under 30 minutes. As the only cruise line operating from Palm Beach, Bahamas Paradise has been able to work closely with the port to fine-tune the embarkation and disembarkation process.

Customers are also offered cruise and stay packages in the Bahamas, where two-, four-, and six-night hotel stays can be combined with cruises from Palm Beach. Seventy-five thousand room nights will be generated by the lines passengers this year, said Khosa.

Most of the lines guests are first-time cruisers, he said, and around 50 percent come from the South Florida area.

As for the product, the company offers value for money, Khosa explained.

The sole player in the two-night cruise market, and the only cruise line in Palm Beach, Bahamas Paradise is in its own world. Hotel operations are run in-house while CMI Leisure handles marine.

Its also a lot of work, said Khosa of the two-night program. You have more embark/debarks. One of the reasons we are successful is we have a cruise terminal to ourselves.

Growing would come in the form of additional capacity, he continued. We intend to deliver a two-night cruise product, and have no intention to do anything else.

Khosa was a former first officer for Royal Caribbean, leaving the at-sea life to go to business school, which led to a post at DVB bank financing cruise deals. Becoming an expert in ship finance, he then went on to start Blue Ocean Cruises in India. He is now working to build up Bahamas Paradise, with Kevin Sheehan, Jr, president of the company, while Sheehan, the former Norwegian CEO, is the chairman.
Paul Love, CO-OPs Chief Information Security Officer, and Veronica Desrosiers, VP of Enterprise Risk Management, attended DEF CON, the hackers conference, in Las Vegas last month. If you arent familiar with DEF CON, imagine roughly 20,000 hackers, media folks, government and law enforcement agents, security experts and hacking industry vendors under a single roof  all to witness the state of the art in the inglorious world of hacking.

Every year, DEF CON seems to generate news. This year, hackers worked their magic on voting machines. In less than an hour and half, they managed to hack the voting system DEF CON set up  and they found more than one way in. Also in the news: Marcus Hutchins, the hacker who singlehandedly disabled the Wannacry ransomware bug was himself arrested by the FBI.

How did two serious security experts navigate in this environment? Heres what they had to say:

What was your first impression?

Veronica: Going in, my expectation was that this would be just another typical security conference, where Id learn more about what security attackers and defenders are doing in the security space, so we can continue to mature our controls to meet evolving threats. Ive been to many conferences, and expected the usual professional and organized type setting. Within the first few minutes there, I knew I was in for an adventure.
Summer is still here. And, for many American families, theres still time to celebrate it as we all inch closer to the 2017-18 school year. Whether its enjoying a few days of fun in the sun, a back yard cookout, a long weekend away or something else, many of us will be hitting the road to spend time with friends and family this month.

AAA reports that the old school family road trip is the most popular vacation for families who travel this year. And, multiple sources report family travel trends for Generation Z, Millennials, Generation X and Boomers that suggest multi-generational domestic trips are a thing this year.

With this in mind, TruStage has joined forces with CU Solutions Group to help connect  and celebrate  the last weeks of summer this year through a social media sweepstakes.
AbbVie Inc. discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells pharmaceuticals in the worldwide. The company offers HUMIRA, a therapy administered as an injection for autoimmune and intestinal Behcet's diseases; SKYRIZI to treat moderate to severe plaque psoriasis in adults; RINVOQ, a JAK inhibitor for the treatment of moderate to severe active rheumatoid arthritis in adult patients; IMBRUVICA to treat adult patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL), and VENCLEXTA, a BCL-2 inhibitor used to treat adults with CLL or SLL; and MAVYRET to treat patients with chronic HCV genotype 1-6 infection. It also provides CREON, a pancreatic enzyme therapy for exocrine pancreatic insufficiency; Synthroid used in the treatment of hypothyroidism; Linzess/Constella to treat irritable bowel syndrome with constipation and chronic idiopathic constipation; Lupron for the palliative treatment of advanced prostate cancer, endometriosis and central precocious puberty, and patients with anemia caused by uterine fibroids; and Botox therapeutic. In addition, the company offers ORILISSA, a nonpeptide small molecule gonadotropin-releasing hormone antagonist for women with moderate to severe endometriosis pain; Duopa and Duodopa, a levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel to treat Parkinson's disease; Lumigan/Ganfort, a bimatoprost ophthalmic solution for the reduction of elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) in patients with open angle glaucoma (OAG) or ocular hypertension; Ubrelvy to treat migraine with or without aura in adults; Alphagan/ Combigan, an alpha-adrenergic receptor agonist for the reduction of IOP in patients with OAG; and Restasis, a calcineurin inhibitor immunosuppressant to increase tear production, as well as other eye care products. AbbVie Inc. has a research collaboration with Dragonfly Therapeutics, Inc. The company was incorporated in 2012 and is headquartered in North Chicago, Illinois.
The following companies are subsidiares of American International Group: AGC Life Insurance Company, AIG APAC HOLDINGS PTE. LTD., AIG Aerospace Insurance Services Inc., AIG Asia Pacific Insurance Pte. Ltd., AIG Asset Management (Europe) Limited, AIG Asset Management (U.S.) LLC, AIG Assurance Company, AIG Australia Limited, AIG Brazil Holding I LLC, AIG CIS Investments LLC, AIG Canada Holdings Inc., AIG Capital Corporation, AIG Capital Services Inc., AIG Claims Inc., AIG Credit Management LLC, AIG Egypt Insurance Company S.A.E., AIG Employee Services Inc., AIG Europe Holdings S.a.r.l, AIG Europe S.A., AIG Federal Savings Bank, AIG Financial Products Corp., AIG General Insurance Co. Ltd., AIG Global Asset Management Holdings Corp., AIG Global Operations Inc., AIG Global Real Estate Investment Corp., AIG Global Reinsurance Operations, AIG Holdings Europe Limited, AIG Insurance (Thailand) Public Company Limited, AIG Insurance Company China Limited, AIG Insurance Company JSC, AIG Insurance Company of Canada, AIG Insurance Company-Puerto Rico, AIG Insurance Hong Kong Limited, AIG Insurance Management Services Inc., AIG Insurance New Zealand Limited, AIG International Holdings GmbH, AIG Investments UK Limited, AIG Israel Insurance Company Ltd, AIG Japan Holdings Kabushiki Kaisha, AIG Kenya Insurance Company Limited, AIG Korea Inc., AIG Latin America I.I., AIG Latin America Investments S.L., AIG Lebanon SAL, AIG Life Holdings Inc., AIG Life Limited, AIG Life South Africa Limited, AIG Life of Bermuda Ltd., AIG MEA Holdings Limited, AIG MEA Limited, AIG Malaysia Insurance Berhad, AIG Markets Inc., AIG Matched Funding Corp., AIG PC Global Services Inc., AIG Philippines Insurance Inc., AIG Property Casualty Company, AIG Property Casualty Inc., AIG Property Casualty International LLC, AIG Property Casualty U.S. Inc., AIG Re-Takaful (L) Berhad, AIG Resseguros Brasil S.A., AIG Seguros Brasil S.A., AIG Seguros Mexico S.A. de C.V., AIG South Africa Limited, AIG Specialty Insurance Company, AIG Technologies Inc., AIG Travel Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., AIG Travel Assist Inc., AIG Travel Assist Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., AIG Travel EMEA Limited, AIG Travel Inc., AIG Uganda Limited, AIG Vietnam Insurance Company Limited, AIG WarrantyGuard Inc., AIG-FP Pinestead Holdings Corp., AIG-Metropolitana Cia. de Seguros y Reaseguros S.A., AIGGRE Europe Real Estate Fund I GP S.a r.l., AIGGRE Europe Real Estate Fund II GP S.a r.l., AIGGRE U.S. Real Estate Fund I GP LLC, AIGGRE U.S. Real Estate Fund II GP LLC, AIGGRE U.S. Real Estate Fund III GP LP, AIGGRE U.S. Real Estate Fund IV GP LLC, AIU Insurance Company, AM Holdings LLC, Ageas Protect, AlphaCat Managers Ltd., American General Corporation, American General Life Insurance Company, American Home Assurance Co. Ltd., American Home Assurance Company, American International Group UK Limited, American International Realty LLC, American International Reinsurance Company Ltd., American International Underwriters del Ecuador-Holding S.A. en Liquidacion S.A., Arthur J. Glatfelter Agency Inc., Blackboard Insurance Company, Blackboard Specialty Insurance Company, Blackboard U.S. Holdings Inc., C.A. de Seguros American International, Commerce and Industry Insurance Company, Crop Risk Services Inc., Eaglestone Reinsurance Company, Ellipse, Franklin Life Insurance Company, Fuji Fire and Marine, Glatfelter Insurance Group, Glatfelter Underwriting Services Inc., Globe and Rutgers Insurance Group, Grand Isle SAC Limited, Granite State Insurance Company, Illinois National Insurance Co., Inversiones Segucasai C.A., Johannesburg Insurance Holdings (Proprietary) Limited, Laya Healthcare Limited, Lexington Insurance Company, Lexington Specialty Insurance Agency Inc., National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh Pa., National Union Fire Insurance Company of Vermont, New Hampshire Insurance Company, PCG 2019 Corporate Member Limited, PT AIG Insurance Indonesia, Pine Street Real Estate Holdings Corp., Risk Specialists Companies Insurance Agency Inc., SAFG Capital LLC, SAFG Retirement Services Inc., Service Net Warranty LLC, Stratford Insurance Company, SunAmerica Asset Management LLC, Talbot Holdings Ltd., Talbot Underwriting Holdings Ltd., Talbot Underwriting Ltd., The Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania, The United States Life Insurance Company in the City of New York, The Variable Annuity Life Insurance Company, Travel Guard, Travel Guard Group Canada Inc./Groupe Garde Voyage du Canada Inc., Travel Guard Group Inc., Tudor Insurance Company, VALIC Financial Advisors Inc., Valic Retirement Services Company, Validus Holdings, Validus Holdings (UK) Ltd., Validus Holdings Ltd., Validus Reinsurance (Switzerland) Ltd, Validus Reinsurance Ltd., Validus Ventures Ltd., Volunteer Firemen's Insurance Services Inc., and Western World Insurance Company.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Novo Nordisk A/S: Aldaph SpA, Beijing Novo Nordisk Pharmaceuticals Science & Technology Co. Ltd., CS Solar Fund XIV LLC, Calibrium, Corvidia, Corvidia Therapeutics Inc., Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, Dicerna Pharmaceuticals Inc., Emisphere Technologies, Emisphere Technologies Inc., MB2 LLC, NNE A/S, Neotope Neuroscience Limited, Novo Nordisk, Novo Nordisk (China) Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd., Novo Nordisk (Pty) Limited, Novo Nordisk (Shanghai) Pharma Trading Co. Ltd., Novo Nordisk B.V., Novo Nordisk Canada Inc., Novo Nordisk Colombia SAS, Novo Nordisk Comercio Produtos Farmaceuticos Lda., Novo Nordisk Denmark A/S, Novo Nordisk Egypt LLC, Novo Nordisk Farma OY, Novo Nordisk Farma S.R.L., Novo Nordisk Farma dooel, Novo Nordisk Farmaceutica Limitada, Novo Nordisk Farmaceutica do Brasil Ltda., Novo Nordisk Finance (Netherlands) B.V., Novo Nordisk Health Care AG, Novo Nordisk Hellas Epe., Novo Nordisk Holding Limited, Novo Nordisk Hong Kong Limited, Novo Nordisk Hrvatska d.o.o., Novo Nordisk Hungaria Kft., Novo Nordisk Inc., Novo Nordisk India Holding Pte Ltd., Novo Nordisk India Private Limited, Novo Nordisk Kazakhstan LLP, Novo Nordisk Kenya Ltd., Novo Nordisk Lanka (PVT) Ltd, Novo Nordisk Limited, Novo Nordisk Limited Liability Company, Novo Nordisk Ltd, Novo Nordisk Mexico S.A. de C.V., Novo Nordisk North America Operations A/S, Novo Nordisk Norway AS, Novo Nordisk Panama S.A., Novo Nordisk Pars, Novo Nordisk Peru S.A.C., Novo Nordisk Pharma (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Novo Nordisk Pharma (Private) Limited, Novo Nordisk Pharma (Singapore) Pte Ltd., Novo Nordisk Pharma (Taiwan) Ltd., Novo Nordisk Pharma (Thailand) Ltd., Novo Nordisk Pharma AG, Novo Nordisk Pharma Argentina S.A., Novo Nordisk Pharma EAD, Novo Nordisk Pharma GmbH, Novo Nordisk Pharma Gulf FZE, Novo Nordisk Pharma Inc., Novo Nordisk Pharma Korea Ltd., Novo Nordisk Pharma Limited, Novo Nordisk Pharma Ltd., Novo Nordisk Pharma Operations (Business Area) Sdn Bhd, Novo Nordisk Pharma Operations A/S, Novo Nordisk Pharma S.A., Novo Nordisk Pharma SARL, Novo Nordisk Pharma SAS, Novo Nordisk Pharma Sp.z.o.o., Novo Nordisk Pharma d.o.o., Novo Nordisk Pharma d.o.o. Belgrade (Serbia), Novo Nordisk Pharmaceutical Industries LP, Novo Nordisk Pharmaceutical Services Sp. z o.o., Novo Nordisk Pharmaceuticals (Philippines) Inc., Novo Nordisk Pharmaceuticals A/S, Novo Nordisk Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Novo Nordisk Pharmaceuticals Pty. Ltd., Novo Nordisk Pharmatech A/S, Novo Nordisk Pharmatech US Inc., Novo Nordisk Production SAS, Novo Nordisk Production Support LLC, Novo Nordisk Producao Farmaceutica do Brasil Ltda., Novo Nordisk Region AAMEO and LATAM A/S, Novo Nordisk Region China A/S, Novo Nordisk Region Europe A/S, Novo Nordisk Region Japan & Korea A/S, Novo Nordisk Research Center Indianapolis Inc., Novo Nordisk Research Center Seattle Inc., Novo Nordisk S.P.A., Novo Nordisk Saglik Urunleri Tic. Ltd. Sti., Novo Nordisk Saudi for Trading, Novo Nordisk Scandinavia AB, Novo Nordisk Service Centre (India) Pvt. Ltd., Novo Nordisk Slovakia s.r.o., Novo Nordisk Tunisie SARL, Novo Nordisk US Bio Production Inc., Novo Nordisk US Commercial Holdings Inc., Novo Nordisk US Holdings Inc., Novo Nordisk Ukraine LLC, Novo Nordisk Venezuela Casa de Representacion C.A., Novo Nordisk d.o.o., Novo Nordisk s.r.o., PT. Novo Nordisk Indonesia, S.A. Novo Nordisk Pharma N.V., UAB Novo Nordisk Pharma, Xellia Pharmaceuticals, Ziylo, and Ziylo Limited.

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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.
Total Energy Services Inc. provides various products and services to the oil and natural gas industry primarily in Canada, the United States, and Australia. It operates through four segments: Contract Drilling Services, Rentals and Transportation Services, Compression and Process Services and Well Servicing. The Contract Drilling Services segment offers contract drilling services to oil and gas exploration and development companies. As of December 31, 2021, it operated a total fleet of 95 drilling rigs. The Rentals and Transportation Services segment provides drilling, completion and production rental equipment, and oilfield transportation services in western Canada and in the United States. This segment owned and operated a fleet of 79 heavy trucks. The Compression and Process Services segment offers gas compression services; and designs and packages skid style compressors and proprietary trailer-mounted compressors under the NOMAD brand in Canada and the United States, the European Union, Australia, and Mexico. It had 53,800 horsepower of compression in its rental fleet. The Well Servicing segment offers well services. This segment operated a total fleet of 83 well servicing rigs across Western Canada, mid-western United States, and Australia. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.
The following companies are subsidiares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.: 2235158 Alberta Limited, A.J. Amer Agency, AHC Digital LLC, AIX Limited, AJG Coal LLC, AJG Financial Services LLC, AJG Meadows LLC, AJG North America ULC, AJG RCF LLC, AJGRMS of Louisiana LLC, ARM RE Ltda., AVIATION INSURANCE SERVICES, AVRECO, Ace IRM Insurance Broking Group, Acumus Holdings Limited, Acumus Interco Limited, Acumus Ltd, Adams & Associates International, Adaptive Marketing LLC, Adco General Corporation, Advanced Benefit Advisors, Aequus Trade Credit, Affinity Marketing Group, Ahrold Fay Rosenberg, Aires Consulting Group, Alesco Risk Management Services Limited, Alize Limited, Allied Claims Administration Inc., Alternative Market Specialists, Altman & Cronin Benefit Consultants, American Freedom Carriers Inc., American Security Services Corp., American Wholesalers Underwriting Ltd, Andrew-Anthony Insurance Agency, Anthony Hodges Consulting Limited, Antrobus Investments Limited, AquaSurance, Argentis, Argentis Financial Group Limited, Argentis Financial Management Limited, Argus Benefits, Armstrong/Robitaille/Riegle, Artex (SAC) Limited, Artex Cedar Hill, Artex Corporate Services (Malta) Limited, Artex Corporate Services Limited, Artex Holdings (Gibraltar) Limited, Artex Holdings (Malta) Limited, Artex Insurance (Guernsey) PCC Limited, Artex Insurance (Tennessee) PCCIC Inc., Artex Insurance Brokers (Malta) PCC Limited, Artex Insurance ICC Limited, Artex Intermediaries Ltd, Artex Risk Solutions (Bermuda) Ltd, Artex Risk Solutions (Cayman) Limited, Artex Risk Solutions (Gibraltar) Limited, Artex Risk Solutions (Guernsey) Limited, Artex Risk Solutions (International) Ltd, Artex Risk Solutions (Malta) Limited, Artex Risk Solutions (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Artex Risk Solutions (UK) Limited, Artex Risk Solutions Inc., Arthur J Gallagher (Norway) Holdings AS, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (AUS) Ltd, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (Bermuda) Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (Illinois), Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Insurance Brokers of California Inc., Arthur J. Gallagher (Aus) Pty Ltd, Arthur J. Gallagher (Bermuda) Holding Partnership, Arthur J. Gallagher (Life Solutions) Ltd, Arthur J. Gallagher (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Arthur J. Gallagher (U.S.) LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher (UK) Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher Asesoria S.A.C., Arthur J. Gallagher Australasia Holdings Pty Ltd., Arthur J. Gallagher Brokerage & Risk Management Services LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Broking (NZ) Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher Financial Services Professionals Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Group Quebec ULC, Arthur J. Gallagher Holdings (UK) Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher Insurance Brokers Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher Latin America LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Management (Bermuda) Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher Real Estate Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services (Hawaii) Inc., Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services Inc., Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services of Utah Inc., Arthur J. Gallagher School Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Service Company LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Services (UK) Ltd, Ashmore & Associates Insurance Agency, Atlantic Risk Management Corp., Atrex Insurance (Cayman) SPC Limited, Avantek Pty Ltd, Axe Insurance PCC Limited, BIS Insurance Services, Baker - Tillys employment benefits solutions, Ballard Benefit Works, Bankers Financial Benefits, Barmore Insurance Agency, Behnke & Co. Inc., Bellisle Pty Ltd, Belmont Associates Consultants, Belmont Insurance Holdings Limited, Belmont International, Belmont International Limited, Benefit Development Group, Benefit Management Group, BenefitLink Resource Group, Benefits Planning & Insurance Agency, Benefits Unlimited, Bennett & Shade Co., Bergvall Marine, Bergvall Marine A.S., Besselman & Little Agency, Big Savings Insurance Agency Inc., Blenheim Park Ltd, Blenheim Park Services Limited, Blue Holdings Pty Ltd, Blue Horizon Insurance Services, Blue Water Benefits, BluePeak Advisors, Blueleaf Consulting Pty Ltd., Bluewater Incorporated Cell Insurance Company, Bollinger Inc., Bollinger Insurance Services Inc., Bowen Miclette Britt & Merry of Arkansas Inc., Brendis & Brendis, Brim AB, Broker Benefit Services, Brokerage Professionals, Brown Hobbs & McMurray Insurance, Bultman/Bell Associates Inc., Burkwald & Associates, Burns-Fazzi Brock & Associates, Bushong Insurance Associates, C&B Consulting Group, CGM Gallagher Insruance Brokers (Trinidad & Tobago) Limited, CJM Solutions Inc., CMA Solutions LLC, Cairnstone Financial, California Insurance Center, Capital Bauer Insurance Agency, Capitol Benefits Group, Capsicum CRLA LLP, Capsicum Re Brasil Participacoes Ltda, Capsicum Re Latin America Corretora De Resseguros Ltda, Capsicum Reinsurance Brokers Bermuda Limited, Capsicum Reinsurance Brokers Miami Inc., Carefree Marketing Inc., Carpenter Cammack & Associates, Cashan & Co., Castle Insurance Associates, Centennial Insurance Agency, Charity First Insurance Services Inc., Charles Allen Agency, Charter Lakes Insurance Agency, Chris Schroeder Insurance, Christie-Phoenix, Cintran Claims Canada Limited, Classic Insurance Services, Cleaveland Insurance Group, Cohen & Lord Insurance Brokers, Cohn Financial Group, Coleman Group Holdings Limited, Coleman Holdings Limited, College and University Scholastic Excess Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Commercial Insurance Brokers, Complete Benefit Alliance, Complete Financial Balance, Complete Financial Balance Pty Ltd, Consolidated Casualty Specialties LLC, Construction Risk Solutions, Contego Underwriting Limited, Contego Underwriting Ltd, Continental Excess & Surplus, Convergence Risk Services Ltd, Copper Mountain Assurance Inc., Cornwall & Stevens Co., Corporate Benefit Advisors, Corporate Life Consultants, Countrywide Accident Assistance Limited, Coverdell & Company Inc., Coverdell Canada Corporation, Cowles and Connell, Craig M. Ferguson & Co., Crist Elliott Machette Insurance Services, Crombie Lockwood (NZ) Limited, Davis-Poston & Associates, Denman Consulting Services, Detlefs Johnson & Partners, DiBrina Group, Dickinson & Associates, Discount Development Services L.L.C., Discovery Benefit Solutions, Dodson-Bateman & Co., Donald P. Pipino Co. Ltd., E. S. Susanin Inc., EHE Holdings LLC, EHS Holdings Limited, Elantis Premium Funding (NZ) Limited, Elantis Premium Funding Limited, Elite Benefits Insurance Marketing Services, Employee Benefits Analysis Corp., Employee Benefits of The Carolinas, Encore Insurance & Bonding, Everett James, Evolution Risk Services Limited, Evolution Technology Services Limited, Evolution Underwriting Group, Evolution Underwriting Group Limited, Evolution Underwriting Limited, Excel Insurance Services, FYI Direct Canada Corporation, FYI Direct LLC, Farallone Pacific Insurance Services, Fenchurch Faris Limited, Fidelity Benefits & Insurance Services, Financial Profiles Inc., Finergy Solutions Pty Ltd, First Agency, First Iowa Insurance Agency, First Premium Inc., First Premium Insurance Group, Fish & Schulkamp, Fishermans Insurance Services, Foley Healthcare Limited, Fortress Financial Solutions Pty Ltd, Fortress Insurance LLC, Foundation Strategies, Fox Lawson & Associates, Franklin-Case Agency LLC, Fraser MacAndrew Ryan Limited, Friary Intermediate Limited, Fuller & O'Brien, G.S. Chapman & Associates Insurance Brokers, G.S. Levine Insurance Services, GBS (Australia) Holdings Pty Ltd, GBS Administrators Inc., GBS Insurance and Financial Services Inc., GBS Retirement Services Inc., GBS Specialty Markets LLC, GGB Finance 1 Limited, GGB Finance 2 Limited, GGB Finance 3 Limited, GGB Finance 4 Limited, GPL Assurance, GPL Assurance Inc., Gabor Insurance Services, Gale Smith & Co. Inc., Gallagher (Bermuda) Insurance Solutions Ltd., Gallagher - Grace/Mayer Insurance Agency, Gallagher Bassett Aires Inc., Gallagher Bassett Canada Inc., Gallagher Bassett Insurance Services Ltd., Gallagher Bassett International Ltd., Gallagher Bassett NZ Pty Ltd., Gallagher Bassett Services Inc. , Gallagher Bassett Services Pty Ltd., Gallagher Bassett Services Workers Compensation Victoria Pty Ltd., Gallagher Benefit Services (Canada) Group Inc., Gallagher Benefit Services (Holdings) Limited, Gallagher Benefit Services Inc., Gallagher Benefit Services Management Company Limited, Gallagher Benefit Services Pty Ltd, Gallagher Benefits Consulting Limited, Gallagher Bomford Couch Wilson, Gallagher Burgess, Gallagher Canada Acquisition Corporation, Gallagher Caribbean Group Limited, Gallagher Clean Energy LLC, Gallagher Communications Limited, Gallagher Community Clinic RPG LLC, Gallagher Consulting Ltda, Gallagher Corporate Services LLC, Gallagher Coyle, Gallagher CyberRisk, Gallagher Energy Risk Services Inc., Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC, Gallagher Holdings (UK) Limited, Gallagher Holdings Bermuda Company Limited, Gallagher Holdings Four (UK) Limited, Gallagher Holdings Three (UK) Limited, Gallagher Insurance Brokers (Barbados) Limited, Gallagher Insurance Brokers (St. Kitts & Nevis) Limited, Gallagher Insurance Brokers (St. Lucia) Limited, Gallagher Insurance Brokers (St. Vincent) Limited, Gallagher Insurance Brokers Jamaica Limited, Gallagher International Cash Management s.r.l., Gallagher International Holdings (US) Inc., Gallagher Investment Advisors LLC, Gallagher Inwest Group, Gallagher Koster, Gallagher Lambert Group, Gallagher Madison Risk & Insurance Services, Gallagher Mauritius Holdings, Gallagher Mississippi Brokerage LLC, Gallagher RE Colombia Ltda Corredores de Reaseguros SA, Gallagher Risk & Reward Limited, Gallagher Risk Group LLC, Gallagher Risk Placements Pty Ltd, Gallagher SKS, Gallagher Service Center LLP, Gallagher-Tarantino, Galtney Group, Game Day Insurance Inc., Gardner & White Corp., Gardner Marine Agency, Garza Long Group, Gatehouse Consulting Limited, Gault Armstrong Kemble Pty Ltd, Gault Armstrong SARL, Giles Group, Giles Holdings Limited, Giles Insurance Brokers, Gillis Ellis & Baker Inc., Goodman Insurance Agency, Grandy Pratt Co., Greenseed Alternative Mangaers Platform Ltd, Grossman & Associates, Group Benefits of Arkansas, Group Insurance Associates, Gruppo Marcucci, HLG Holdings Limited, HMG-PCMS Limited, HPF Investments LLC, HR Owen Insurance Services Limited, Hagan Newkirk Financial Services, Hagedorn & Company, Hardman & Howell Benefits, Harlequin Insurance PCC Limited, Hartstein Associates Inc., Healthcare Professionals Purchasing Group LLC, Healthcare Risk Solutions, Heath Lambert Group Ltd., Heath Lambert Limited, Heath Lambert Overseas Limited, Heiser Insurance Agency, Henderson Phillips Fine Arts Insurance, Herbruck Alder & Co., Heritage Insurance Brokers (CI) Limited, Hesse & Partner AG, Hesse Consulting, Hexagon ICC Limited, Hexagon Insurance PCC Limited, Hill Chesson & Woody, Hogan Insurance Services, Home & Travel Limited, Honour Point Limited, Horseshoe Corporate Services Ltd, Horseshoe Fund Services (Cayman) Ltd, Horseshoe Fund Services Ltd, Horseshoe Fund Services USA Inc., Horseshoe ILS Services UK Ltd, Horseshoe Insurance Advisors US LLC, Horseshoe Insurance Advisory Ltd., Horseshoe Insurance Services Holdings Ltd, Horseshoe Insurance Services Holdings US Inc., Horseshoe Management (Gibraltar) Limited, Horseshoe Management (Ireland) Ltd, Horseshoe Management Ltd., Horseshoe PCC Limited, Horseshoe Re Limited, Horseshoe Services (Cayman) Ltd, Horseshoe Services (Pty) Ltd, Horton Insurance Agency, Housing Authorities Services Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Human Resource Management Systems, I-Protect Underwriting Pty Ltd, IBIS Advisors, IBS Reinsurance Singapore Pte Ltd, ILS Fund Services Ltd., ISG International, ITI Solutions, Igloo Insurance PCC Limited, Independent Benefit Services, Independent Fiduciary Services, Ink Underwriting Agencies Limited, InsSync Group Pty Ltd, Inspire Underwriting Limited, Instrat Insurance Brokers, Instrat Insurance Brokers Pty Ltd, Instrat Integration Holdco Pty Ltd, Insurance Acquisitions Holdings Limited, Insurance Associates Inc., Insurance Dialogue Limited, Insurance Dialogue Ltd., Insurance Plans Agency, Insurance Plus Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Insurance Point, Insurance Risk Managers of Missouri Inc., Insure My Villa Limited, Insure Pty Ltd, Integrated Healthcare Strategies, InterNational Insurance Group, InterPacific Underwriting Agencies, Intermountain Financial Benefits, Interstate Insurance Underwriters, JPGAC LLC, James F. Reda & Associates, James R. Weir Insurance Agency, Jenkins and Associates, Joe E. Martin Inc., John P. Woods Co. Inc., Jones Brown, Jones Brown Group Inc., Jones Brown Insurance Solutions Inc., Joseph Distel, Joseph James & Associates Insurance Agency, Just Landlords Insurance Services Ltd, KDC Associates, KRW Insurance Agency, Kahl Insurance Services, Kaler Carney Liffler & Co. Inc., Kane Group - Insurance Management Operations, Kelly Financial, Kent Kent & Tingle and RBS, Keyser Benefits Corp., Kingspark Enterprises Pty Ltd, L&R Benefits, LSG Insurance Partners, Learn About Money Limited, Lewis & Associates Insurance Brokers, Leystone Insurance & Financial, Life Plans Unlimited, Lincoln Financial Management, Longfellow Financial, Lucas Fettes Limited, Lucas Fettes and Partners Limited, Lutgert Insurance, MA Underwriting Pty Ltd, MDM Insurance Associates, MG Advanced Coal Technologies-1 LLC, MGA Insurance Services, MRS Holdings Ltd., Madison Scott & Associates, Managed Healthcare Solutions, Mannequin Insurance PCC Limited, Marchetti Robertson & Brickell Insurance, Marine Insurance Service, Martin Gordon & Jones Inc., McDowall Associates Human Resource Consultants, McIntyre Risk Management, McLean Insurance Agency, McNeary, McPherson Benefits Group, McRory & Co., Mecacem Insurance SPC Ltd, MedInsights Inc., Melton Insurance Associates, Memberworks Canada LLC, Merit Insurance, Metcom Excess, Metzler Bros. Insurance, Meyers-Reynolds & Associates, Mid America Group, Midwest Surety Services, Mike Henry Insurance Brokers, Mike Henry Insurance Brokers Limited, Mike Henry Insurance Funding Limited, Miller Buettner & Parrott, Miller-Harrison Insurance Services, Milne Alexander Pty Ltd, Minvielle & Chastanet Insurance Brokers, Monument Insurance (NZ) Limited, Monument Llc, Monument Premium Funding Limited, Mortgage Insurance Agency, Murphy Consultants, Mutual Insurance Services, NationAir Aviation Insurance, National Administration Co., National Ethics Association, National Transportation Adjusters, Nelson/Monarch Insurance Services, Nicoud Insurance Services, NiiS/Apex Group Holdings, Nonprofit Insurance Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Noraxis Capital Corp, Nordic Forsakring & Riskhantering AB, North Alabama Insurance, Nourse Insurance Brokers, O'Gorman & Young, OAMPS (UK) Limited, OAMPS Gault Armstrong Pty Ltd, OAMPS Limited, OAMPS Special Risks Ltd, Offshore Market Placements Limited, Optimum Talent, Orb Financial Services, Orb Financial Services Limited, Osprey Insurance Brokers Limited, Oval Group, Oval Healthcare Limited, Oval Insurance Broking Limited, Oval Limited, Oval Management Services Limited, Oxygen Insurance Managers, P2 Group, PEN Insurance Management Advisors Ltd, PT IBS Insurance Broking Service, Pacific Insurance Agency, Palmer Atlantic Insurance, Palmer Atlantic Insurance Ltd, Palmer Atlantic Risk Services Ltd., Park Row Associates, Parkstar Enterprises Pty Ltd, Parmia Pty Ltd, PartnerSource, Pastel Holding (NZ) Company, Pastel Holdings Pty Limited, Pastel Purchaser (NZ) Limited, Pastel Purchaser Pty Limited, Pavey Group Holdings (UK) Limited, Pavey Group Holdings Limited, Pavey Group Limited, Pearson Dunn Insurance Inc., Pen Underwriting Canada Limited, Pen Underwriting Group Pty. Ltd., Pen Underwriting Limited, Pen Underwriting Pty Ltd, Persing Dyckman & Toynbee Inc., Personal Advice Services Pty Ltd, Petty Burton Associates, Pointer Insurance Agency, Portmore Insurance Brokers (Wilshire) Limited, Portmore Insurance Brokers Limited, Potter-Holden & Co., Powell Insurance Agency, Premier Insurance Services Inc., Premier Risk Services, Premium Finance Corporation, Preston-Patterson, ProSource Financial, Professional Agents Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Professional Claims Managers, Proinova AB, Proinova Agency AB, Pronto California Agency LLC, Pronto California General Agency LLC, Pronto Florida Claims LLC, Pronto Florida General Agency LLC, Pronto Franchise LLC, Pronto General Agency Ltd, Pronto General Agency Management LLC, Pronto Holdco Inc., Pronto Holding California LLC, Pronto Holding Florida LLC, Pronto Insurance Agency of Laredo Inc., Pronto Premium Finance LLC, Property & Commercial Ltd., Property Insurance Initatives Limited, Property and Commercial Limited, Protected Insurance Company, Protection Plan Association Inc., Protek Group Limited, Providium Consulting Group, Ptarmigan Underwriting Agency Limited, Ptarmigan Underwriting UK Limited, Purple Bridge Claims Management Limited, Purple Bridge Finance Limited, Purple Bridge Group Limited, Purple Bridge Investments Limited, Purple Bridge Online Services Limited, Purple Bridge Publishing Limited, Quantum Underwriting Solutions Limited, Quillco 226 Limited, Quillco 227 Limited, R. L. Youngdahl & Associates, R.G. Speno Inc., R.W. Scobie, RA Rossborough (Guernsey) Ltd., RA Rossborough (Insurance Brokers) Ltd, REGENCY Group inc., RGA Referencing Limited, RGA Underwriting Limited, RIL Administrators (Guernsey) Ltd., RJ Dutton Inc., RSM Insurance Services Limited, Reassurance Holdings Inc., Rebholz Insurance Agency, Reid Manson Ltd., Reimbursement Services, Rentguard Limited, Reward Management Limited, Reynolds & Rodar Insurance Group, Riley & Associates, Rio 587 Limited, Rio 588 Limited, Risk & Reward Group, Risk Management Partners Limited, Risk Placement Services Inc., Risk Planners, Risk Services (NW) Limited, Risk Services (NW) Ltd., Risk Solutions Group Limited, Robert A. Schneider Agency, Robert Keith & Associates, Roberts & Roberts Insurance Service, Robinson-Adams Insurance, Rossborough Healthcare International Ltd, Rossborough Insurance (IOM) Ltd., Rossborough Insurance Services Ltd. (Jersey), S. A. Freerks & Associates, SEG Insurance Ltd, SGB-NIA Insurance Brokers, SHILLING Ltd, SKANCO International, SMERI AB, SRS Underwriting Pty Ltd, Secure Enterprises Pty Ltd, Securitas Re, Sellers Group, Sentinel Indemnity LLC, Septagon Insurance PCC Limited, Shuford Insurance Agency, Sigma II Insurance Agency, Sinclair Billard and Weld Limited, Sobieski & Bradley, Solid Benefit Guidance, Spanjers Insurance Agency, Spataro Insurance Agency, Specialised Broking Associates, Specialty Risk, Stackhouse Poland, Stackhouse Poland Bidco Limited, Stackhouse Poland Group Limited, Stackhouse Poland Holdings Limited, Stackhouse Poland Midco Limited, Stackouse Poland Limited, Stanton Group, Stark Johnson & Stinson Inc., Steel Agency, Strata Solicitors Ltd, Strategic Health Plans Corp., Strathearn Insurance Brokers, Strathearn Insurance Brokers (Qld) Trading Trust, Strathern Insurance Group Pty Ltd, Strathern Integration Holdco Pty Ltd, Strathern Unit Trust, Strong Financial Resources, Summit Insurance Group, Sunday and Associates, Sunderland Insurance Services, Super Advice Corporate Services Pty Ltd, Taylor Benefits, Texas Insurance Agency, Texas Insurance Managers, The BeneTex Group, The Buchholz Planning, The Chapman Group, The Commonwealth Consulting Group, The Daniels Group Inc., The EHE Group LLC, The EHE Insurance Agency LLC, The Eagle Insurance Agency LLC, The Eriksen Group, The Forker Company, The Gleason Agency, The Great Lakes Agency, The HR Group, The Hawk Agency, The Human Capital Group, The Lance Group, The Levitt/Kristan Co., The MW Bagnall Company, The Old Greenwich Consulting Group, The Parks Johnson Agency, The Plus Companies Inc., The Presidio Group, The Producers Choice, The Rains Group, The Splinter Group, The Titan Group, The Treiber Group, The Woodsmall Companies Inc., Title & Covenant Brokers Ltd., Title Investments Limited, Tom Sherwin Insurance Agency, Total Reward Group, Total Rewards Group (Holdings) Limited, Towle Agency, Transwestern, Tri-State General Insurance Agency, Triad Insurance Agency, Triad USA, Tribeca Strategic Advisors, Trinder & Norwood, Trip Mate, Trissel Graham & Toole, Tropp & Co., Tudor Risk Services, Tyloma Holdings Limited, Uni-Care Inc., Unison Inc., Universico Group, Unoccupied Direct Limited, V2V Holdings LLC, VEBA Service Group, Vasek Insurance Services Limited, Velo ACU LLC, Velo Holdings Inc., Verbag AG., Vertrue LLC, Victory Insurance Agency, Vincent L. Braband Insurance, Vital Benefits, Voluntary Benefits Solutions, W. E. Kingsley Co. Inc., WM. W. George & Associates, Walker Taylor Agency, Welling Associates, Wesfarmers Insurance - Insurance Brokerage Operations, Western Benefit Solutions, White & Company Insurance, Whitehaven Insurance Group, William Gallagher Associates Insurance Brokers, William H. Connolly & Co., Williams Insurance Agency Inc., Williams-Manny Insurance Group, Winn & Company Insurance Brokers, Wischmeyer Benefit Partners, Woodbrook Underwriting Agencies, Woods & Grooms, WorkCare Northwest, Worksite Communications, Y. S. Liedman & Associates, YOA Capsicum Reinsurance Broker Limited, Zenor Limited, Zuber Insurance Agency, and e3 Financial.

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Aviva plc provides various insurance, retirement, investment, and savings products in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, and internationally. The company offers life insurance, long-term health and accident insurance, savings, pension, and annuity products, as well as pension fund business and lifetime mortgage products. It also provides insurance cover to individuals, small and medium-sized businesses for risks associated with motor vehicles and medical expenses, as well as property and liability, such as employers' and professional indemnity liabilities. In addition, the company provides investment management services for institutional pension fund mandates; and manages various retail investment products, including investment funds, unit trusts, open-ended investment companies, and individual savings accounts for third-party financial institutions, pension funds, public sector organizations, investment professionals, and private investors. It markets its products through a network of insurance brokers, as well as MyAviva platform. The company was formerly known as CGNU plc and changed its name to Aviva plc in July 2002. Aviva plc was founded in 1696 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.
Truist Financial Corp. operates as a financial holding company, which engages in the provision of banking services to individuals, businesses and municipalities. The firm offers a variety of loans and lease financing to individuals and entities, including insurance premium financing, permanent commercial real estate financing arrangements, loan servicing for third-party investors, direct consumer finance loans to individuals, credit card lending, automobile financing and equipment financing. It also markets a range of other services, including deposits, life insurance, property and casualty insurance, health Truist Financial Corp. operates as a financial holding company. It engages in the provision of banking services to individuals, businesses and municipalities. The company operates through the following segments: Consumer Banking and Wealth; Corporate and Commercial Banking; and Insurance Holdings. The firm offers a variety of loans and lease financing to individuals and entities, including insurance premium financing, permanent commercial real estate financing arrangements, loan servicing for third-party investors, direct consumer finance loans to individuals, credit card lending, automobile financing and equipment financing. It also markets a range of other services, including deposits, life insurance, property and casualty insurance, health insurance and commercial general liability insurance on an agency basis and through a wholesale insurance brokerage operation, merchant services, trust and retirement services, comprehensive wealth advisory services, asset management and capital markets services. The company was founded on December 6, 2019 and is headquartered in Charlotte, NC. insurance and commercial general liability insurance on an agency basis and through a wholesale insurance brokerage operation, merchant services, trust and retirement services, comprehensive wealth advisory services, asset management and capital markets services. The company was founded on December 6, 2019 and is headquartered in Charlotte, NC.
The Commercial Court has given Bank of Uganda and businessman Sudhir Ruparelia 60 days within which to amicably settle their differences before the case file is forwarded to a judge for trial.

On Tuesday this week , the Head of the Court justice David Wangutusi appointed city lawyer Harriet Magala from Kituuma Magala and company advocates as an arbitrator in this case where Bank of Uganda accuses Sudhir of siphoning over 700bn shilings from his Crane Bank.

Bank of Uganda jointly sued Sudhir together with his company Meera Investments for illegally transferring 46 crane banks branch tittles into the names of Meera investments which again lease them to Crane Bank.

However according to the registrar in-charge of mediation matters at the Commercial Court Vincent Emmy Mugabo, mediation in this case cannot start unless all the necessary documents and pleadings are filed in court by the two warring partieis.

He explained the there is a counter claim filed by Sudhir against Bank of Uganda and Crane Bank that has not been responded to by the central bank.

Mugabo also ellaborated on the mediation process which is now a rule of practise to all civil matters that was enrolled in courts as an alternative despute resolution mechanism mainly to clear case backlog and maintaing relationships between parties.
The following companies are subsidiares of Molina Healthcare: Aetna & Humana - Medicare Advantage, Affinity Health Plan, AmericanWork Inc., Better Health Network, Camelot Care Centers Inc, Children's Behavioral Health Inc., Choices Group Inc., College Community Services, Dockside Services Inc, Family Preservation Services Inc., Family Preservation Services of Florida Inc., Family Preservation Services of North Carolina Inc., Family Preservation Services of Washington D.C. Inc., Family Preservation Services of West Virginia Inc., Florida NetPASS LLC, Hclb Inc., Magellan Complete Care, Maple Star Nevada Inc., Maple Star Oregon Inc., Mercy CarePlus, Molina Clinical Services LLC, Molina Healthcare Data Center Inc., Molina Healthcare of Arizona Inc., Molina Healthcare of California, Molina Healthcare of Florida Inc., Molina Healthcare of Georgia Inc., Molina Healthcare of Illinois Inc., Molina Healthcare of Iowa Inc., Molina Healthcare of Louisiana Inc., Molina Healthcare of Maryland Inc., Molina Healthcare of Michigan Inc., Molina Healthcare of Mississippi Inc., Molina Healthcare of Nevada Inc., Molina Healthcare of New Mexico Inc., Molina Healthcare of New York Inc., Molina Healthcare of North Carolina Inc., Molina Healthcare of Ohio Inc., Molina Healthcare of Oklahoma Inc., Molina Healthcare of Pennsylvania Inc., Molina Healthcare of Puerto Rico Inc., Molina Healthcare of South Carolina LLC, Molina Healthcare of Texas Inc., Molina Healthcare of Texas Insurance Company, Molina Healthcare of Utah Inc., Molina Healthcare of Virginia Inc., Molina Healthcare of Washington Inc., Molina Healthcare of Wisconsin Inc., Molina Holdings Corporation, Molina Hospital Management LLC, Molina Information Systems LLC dba Molina Medicaid Solutions, Molina Medical Management Inc., Molina Pathways LLC, Molina Pathways of Texas Inc., Molina Youth Academy, NextLevel Health Illinois, Pathways Community Corrections Inc., Pathways Community Services LLC, Pathways Community Support of Texas Inc., Pathways Health and Community Support LLC, Pathways Human Services LLC., Pathways of Arizona Inc., Pathways of Delaware Inc., Pathways of Idaho LLC, Pathways of Maine Inc., Pathways of Massachusetts LLC, Pathways of Oklahoma Inc., Pathways of Washington Inc., Providence Community Services, Providence Human Services, Raystown Developmental Services Inc., The Game of Work LLC, The RedCo Group Inc., Total Care Medicaid plan, Transitional Family Services Inc., Unisys -Health Information Management, and YourCare Health Plan.

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Valley National Bancorp operates as the holding company for Valley National Bank that provides various commercial, retail, insurance, and wealth management financial services products. It operates through Commercial Lending, Consumer Lending, and Investment Management segments. The company offers non-interest bearing, savings, NOW, money market, and time deposit accounts; commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, residential mortgage, and automobile loans; loans secured by the cash surrender value of life insurance; home equity loans and lines of credit; and secured and unsecured other consumer loans. It also invests in various securities and interest-bearing deposits with other banks; and provides international banking services, such as standby and documentary letters of credit, and related products, as well as foreign exchange transactions, documentary collections, foreign wire transfers services, and transaction accounts for non-resident aliens. In addition, the company offers investment services for individuals and small to medium sized businesses; and trusts and custom -tailored investment strategies for various retirement plans. Further, it provides trust services, such as living and testamentary trusts, investment management, custodial and escrow services, and estate administration to individuals; tax credit advisory services; property and casualty, life, health, and title insurance agency services; and health care equipment lending and other commercial equipment leasing services, as well as owns real estate related investments. Additionally, the company offers online, mobile, and telephone banking services; and overdraft, drive-in and night deposit, automated teller machine, remote deposit capture, and safe deposit facility services. As of December 31,2021, it operated 232 branch offices in New Jersey, New York, Florida, and Alabama. The company was incorporated in 1927 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
PNM Resources, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides electricity and electric services in the United States. It operates through Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM) and Texas-New Mexico Power Company (TNMP) segments. The PNM segment engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. The segment generates electricity using coal, natural gas and oil, nuclear fuel, solar, wind, and geothermal energy sources. As of December 31, 2021, this segment had owned or leased facilities with a total net generation capacity of 2,168 megawatts; and owned 3,426 miles of electric transmission lines, 5,751 miles of distribution overhead lines, 5,765 miles of underground distribution lines, and 250 substations. The segment also owns and leases communication, office and other equipment, office space, vehicles, and real estate. The TNMP segment provides regulated transmission and distribution services. As of December 31, 2021, the segment owned 983 miles of overhead electric transmission lines, 7,297 miles of overhead distribution lines, 1,408 miles of underground distribution lines, and 113 substations. The segment also owns and leases vehicles, service facilities, and office locations throughout its service territory. The company serves approximately 806,000 residential, commercial, and industrial customers and end-users of electricity in New Mexico and Texas. PNM Resources, Inc. was incorporated in 1882 and is headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
ResMed Inc. develops, manufactures, distributes, and markets medical devices and cloud-based software applications for the healthcare markets. The company operates in two segments, Sleep and Respiratory Care, and Software as a Service. It offers various products and solutions for a range of respiratory disorders, including technologies to be applied in medical and consumer products, ventilation devices, diagnostic products, mask systems for use in the hospital and home, headgear and other accessories, dental devices, and cloud-based software informatics solutions to manage patient outcomes, as well as provides customer and business processes. The company also provides AirView, a cloud-based system that enables remote monitoring and changing of patients' device settings; myAir, a personalized therapy management application for patients with sleep apnea that provides support, education, and troubleshooting tools for increased patient engagement and improved compliance; U-Sleep, a compliance monitoring solution that enables home medical equipment (HME)to streamline their sleep programs; connectivity module and propeller solutions; and Propeller portal. It offers out-of-hospital software solution, such as Brightree business management software and service solutions to providers of HME, pharmacy, home infusion, orthotics, and prosthetics services; MatrixCare care management and related ancillary solutions to senior living, skilled nursing, life plan communities, home health, home care, and hospice organizations, as well as related accountable care organizations; and HEALTHCAREfirst that offers electronic health record, software, billing and coding services, and analytics for home health and hospice agencies. The company markets its products primarily to sleep clinics, home healthcare dealers, and hospitals through a network of distributors and direct sales force in approximately 140 countries. ResMed Inc. was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.
Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE:ARE), an S&P 500<sup></sup> urban office real estate investment trust ("REIT"), is the first, longest-tenured, and pioneering owner, operator, and developer uniquely focused on collaborative life science, technology, and agtech campuses in AAA innovation cluster locations, with a total market capitalization of $31.9 billion as of December 31, 2020, and an asset base in North America of 49.7 million square feet ("SF"). The asset base in North America includes 31.9 million RSF of operating properties and 3.3 million RSF of Class A properties undergoing construction, 7.1 million RSF of near-term and intermediate-term development and redevelopment projects, and 7.4 million SF of future development projects. Founded in 1994, Alexandria pioneered this niche and has since established a significant market presence in key locations, including Greater Boston, San Francisco, New York City, San Diego, Seattle, Maryland, and Research Triangle. Alexandria has a longstanding and proven track record of developing Class A properties clustered in urban life science, technology, and agtech campuses that provide our innovative tenants with highly dynamic and collaborative environments that enhance their ability to successfully recruit and retain world-class talent and inspire productivity, efficiency, creativity, and success. Alexandria also provides strategic capital to transformative life science, technology, and agtech companies through our venture capital platform. We believe our unique business model and diligent underwriting ensure a high-quality and diverse tenant base that results in higher occupancy levels, longer lease terms, higher rental income, higher returns, and greater long-term asset value.
By Tobbias Jolly Owiny & Cissy Makumbi:

A senior legal officer in the prosecution of former LRA commander Domnic Ongwen has said radio communications by Ongwen will be the major evidence during his trial.

At the peak of the LRA insurgency in Northern Uganda, the UPDF through its intelligence intercepted and recorded these communications at various locations at 4th Division barracks in Gulu, Acolpii 5th Division barracks in Pader and in Soroti as well.

Although many victims who witnessed the attacks have testified against Ongwen before the ICC, the court has been availed four different audios of Ongwens radio communications to his chief Joseph Kony.

In an interview with Daily Monitor in Lira, Paul Benjamin Bradfield says in the different recordings, Ongwen who sounds determined and passionate, makes radio calls to his superior Kony even without being assigned, informing him of the magnitude of the attacks he has made.

He tells Kony how he butchered soldiers, women, men and children, burnt down everything and how other survivors fled for their lives.

He is then congratulated by Kony who sounds very impressed of the number of the civilians and UPDF soldiers killed in the attack upon hearing that only his mothers backyard had been spared.

Bradfield says it is now upon the ICC judges to credit the intercepted radio calls by Ongwen as a justification that he commanded the attacks.
By Fred Kiva:

The Electoral Commission has declared Taban Idi Amin as MP elect for Kibanda North Constituency in Kiryandongo district after his sole rival Sam Otada withdrew his candidature just hours to todays by-election.

Samuel Kiyingi, the Kiryandongo district Returning Officer says Otada wrote to the Electoral Commission last evening withdrawing his candidature.

Kiyingi added that the by-election has been called off and Amin declared winner.

We are not going to have an election today (Thursday), because honourable Otada has withdrawn his candidature, so we have instead declared Honourable Amin elected unopposed.

Otada has been in court challenging Taban Aminis eligibility saying his rival did not put right issues leading to his election nullification in May.

His application was however dismissed by High Court in Masindi in July for lack of evidence.

The former Kibanda County Legislator later unsuccessfully appealed to High court in Kampala.

Kiyingi said Otadas decision to withdraw from the race was taken moments after he lost a petition at Kampala High Court.

There has been a case going on at the High Court and the judge has ruled in favour of electoral commission, that Amin was nominated legally so he saw no reason of pursuing the case further. He has written to electoral commission headquarters, he has sent us a copy, we have the document here. Kiyingi said.

Otadas withdrawal also comes a day after NRM Chairman and President Yoweri Museveni campaigned for the partys flag bearer Idd Amin.
Indian market leader Bharti Airtel has sold another stake in its tower unit Infratel to a consortium of investors.

The sale of the 3.65% stake in Infratel has generated nearly INR25.7 billion ($403 million) for its parent firm, with Airtel selling 67.53 million shares in the tower unit at INR380.60 per share.

The operator leads the Indian mobile market with a 23% market share, but is burdened by massive debts which it aims to alleviate through its divestment of Infratel holdings. Following the sale of this stake, Airtel and its wholly owned subsidiaries have an interest of 58% in Infratel.

Airtel needs to finance a nationwide 4G network in order to compete effectively with newcomer Reliance Jio, which has been offering 4G since September 2016. Jios opening promotions of free voice and data services attracted over 100 million subscribers within months, instigating a race to the bottom price war among its rivals.

In March, a consortium of investors including private equity firm KKR and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a 10.3% stake in Infratel for INR61.9 billion ($952 million). Some of the investors involved in this previous deal are reportedly also involved in the most recent sale.
Kosovo and Balkans-focussed marble quarrying and finishing company Fox Marble announced on Thursday that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Pristine Stone in New York.

The AIM-traded firm said the deal with the US-based natural stone importer and distributor would establish a new distribution outlet for Fox Marble products in the United States.

Under the three-year agreement, Fox Marble would take a 5% share in Pristine Stone for nil consideration.

Pristine Stone would act as a marketing, sales and distribution agent for the marble material produced by the company from its quarries in Kosovo and Macedonia.

The marble supplied to Pristine Stone would be cut and polished into slabs and tiles at Fox Marble's own facility in Lipjan, Kosovo, before being shipped to the United States.

In consideration, and subject to achieving minimum sales volumes of $1.5m over the three years as determined by Fox Marble, Pristine Stone would be granted priority rights to sell Fox Marble material in the US.

It would also be granted 750,000 warrants issued in equal instalments over three years at an exercise price of 2p over market price on the day of issue.

This agreement builds on our strategy of increasing our global footprint as we continue to develop further as a fully integrated production, processing and distribution company of preeminent quality marble, said Fox Marble chief executive Chris Gilbert.

As such we look forward to working with Pristine Stone which, through our incentivised distribution agreement is structured to help deliver maximum sales penetration of our marble product into the American market.
Geopolitical tensions mounted on Wednesday after comments from Donald Trump, directed at North Korea, sent shockwaves across global markets.

In the latest stand off between the US and N. Korea, Trump was quoted as saying North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States, adding They will be met with the fire and the fury like the world has never seen. He has been very threatening beyond a normal state, and as I said they will be met with the fire and fury and frankly power, the likes of which this world has never seen before. Thank you.

This came in responce to N. Korean threats of carrying out missile strikes on the US Pacific territory of Guam.

Brad Bechetel at Jefferies in New York said in a note, "Obviously we are looking at the increased tensions between the U.S. and North Korea," adding "Tensions are still high and not going away at the moment. Safe havens are bid and markets are a little uneasy."

As a result, safe haven currencies such as the yen and Swiss franc (CHF) saw some buying interest on Wednesday.

USD/CHF has been fairly bid since comments two weeks ago from governor Jordan of the Swiss National Bank (SNB) stated that the currency was overvalued and too strong.

The pair has rallied since late July from an area of 0.9444 to a high of 0.9772 on the 8 August.

Preliminary nonfarm productivity and labour cost figures were relased showing a reduction of 0.9% and 0.6% respectively. These negative figures weighed further on the pair taking it from a day high of 0.9663 to the day low of 0.9613 by 1300 BST.

A slight recovery was seen by the London close, with the pair trading at 0.9655, down 0.86% on the day.

USD/JPY went much the same way, as both the yen and CHF are seen as safe haven currencies to buy in times of geopolitical turmoil.

The pair is still on track to form a double top on the daily timeframe with support in the 109.34 area. Comments from Trump along with the negative US figures and rising doubt of a rate rise in the US all seem to be weighing on this pair. USD/JPY traded steady at 110.06 by 1700 BST, down 0.23% on the day.

Cable was relatively unchanged on the day, up marginally 0.01% by the London close, trading at 1.3004 with the euro suffering much the same fate, only managing a slight push lower, 0.12% to trade at 1.1742.
As investors try to divine what end-game the different players behind the recent heightened tensions around the Korean peninsula might have in mind, at least one broker mused aloud about the possibility that part of China's establishment, namely its military, might believe it has something to gain from the course of recent events.

For analysts at SP Angel, Pyongyang's threat to fire missiles near the US Pacific territory of Guam - which might provoke a US reaction - dovetailed nicely with China's plans in the South China Seas and North Pacific.

"This suggests to us that the Chinese military may be pulling more strings in Pyongyang than we had previously considered, hence their refusal to cut oil the supply to North Korea," the broker said in a research note sent to clients.

"So is Kim Jong-un acting for the Chinese military using North Korea to push the US and others out of the South China Seas and the Pacific?," they said.

The analysts also asked aloud how North Korea had been able to get its hands on so much military technology and the capacity to build nuclear warheads and intercontinental ballistic missiles.

"The world has not faced this form of brinkmanship since the end of the Cold War. But is it brinkmanship or simply the beginning of the end for North Korea?"
The European Union expanded its sanctions on North Korea as the back and forth between the US and Pyongyang escalated.

Asset freezes and travel bans have been increased steadily as the nation has repeatedly violated United Nations resolutions on its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

After intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests of missiles capable of reaching the US mainland were carried out by North Korea last week, the UN imposed its "most stringent" restrictions so far with the intention of cutting nearly $1bn out of the country's export revenue.

In accordance with the UN resolution, the EU Council said in a statement released Thursday that it had added a further nine individuals, including the state-owned Foreign Trade Bank (FTB) to its sanctions list, taking the total number of blacklisted individuals to 103, plus 57 entities.

"This resolution was adopted on 5 August 2017 in response to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s ongoing nuclear-weapon and ballistic missile-development activities, in violation and flagrant disregard of previous UN Security Council resolutions," the statement noted.

The DPRK's actions, which the statement says "gave threat to international peace and security," will block transactions in coal, iron and iron ore, ban imports of copper, nickel, silver and zinc from North Korea, as well as suspend scientific and technical cooperation and even slow the flow of earnings made by the country's citizens while abroad being sent home.
Britain's economy slowed further in July on the back of weaker services sector activity, according to a closely-followed estimate of trends in the economy, although improvement was expected.

The rate of growth in the UK's gross domestic product slowed to 0.2% over the three months ended in July, according to the National Institute of Economic and Social Research.

That was down from the 0.3% clip observed over the second quarter and well below the economy's long-run trend of 0.6%.

Nonetheless, Amit Kara at NIESR said he expected a "modest" recovery in the backhalf of 2017 on the back of stronger global growth and weaker Sterling.

Acting as headwinds, on the other hand, consumer spend was seen being weighed down by weak wage growth and uncertainty related to Brexit.

"Further out, we see quarterly economic growth strengthen somewhat to 0.4-0.5 per cent as the economy rebalances away from domestic demand and towards net trade. Economic growth however, remains below its long-run average growth rate of 0.6 per cent because of subdued productivity growth."
The Co-Operative Bank reduced its losses in the first half of the year, but saw 25,000 personal accounts being closed in the same period.

The bank, which was rescued in 2013 with an investment from a group of US hedge funds, is still fretting about its future as it seeks a long-term growth strategy.

Losses narrowed to 135m from 177m for the first six months of the year, as it moved to make changes to its IT systems and cut costs.

The bank agreed a further rescue deal in June to shore up its balance sheet with a 700m cash injection from investors.

Liam Coleman, Co-Op Bank chief executive, thanked the banks customers despite the drop to around 1.4m accounts.

Following a period of uncertainty around the future of the bank, Id like to express my thanks to our customers for their loyalty and our colleagues, regulators and wider stakeholders for the support they have shown, Coleman said.

Of course there is more hard work ahead, and like other banks, we recognise there are risks to the UK economy, but this is a great bank and we are positive about the future.
North Korea has defied threats of fire and fury from Donald Trump, deriding his warning as a load of nonsense and announcing a detailed plan to launch missiles aimed at the waters off the coast of the US Pacific territory of Guam. A statement attributed to General Kim Rak Gyom, the head of the countrys strategic forces, declared: Sound dialogue is not possible with such a guy bereft of reason and only absolute force can work on him. The general outlined a plan to carry out a demonstration launch of four intermediate-range missiles that would fly over Japan and then land in the sea around Guam, enveloping the island. - The Guardian

The Trump administration warned North Korea last night to drop its quest for a nuclear missile capable of reaching the US or face the end of its regime and the destruction of its people. James Mattis, the defence secretary, made the remarks as two American B-1B strategic bombers flew close to the Korean peninsula, joined by Japanese fighter jets. The bombers also carried out exercises with South Korean forces. - The Times

The chief executive of one of Aims biggest tech companies has taken a leave of absence amid an investigation into allegations about a fraud indictment in the United States. Telit Communications has appointed independent solicitors to review reports connecting Oozi Cats, the Israeli tech companys founder, to a case in the US dating from the early 1990s. The investigation was triggered by media reports, originating in Italy  where Mr Cats is understood to live  suggesting he was indicted by the district court of Massachusetts in 1992. - The Times

Scandinavian newspaper owner has taken a stake in the debt-laden publisher of the i, Johnston Press. Custos, which owns the free Swedish title Metro, revealed in a stock exchange filing it has built a 5.1% holding, ranking it in Johnston Press's top six shareholders. The move is likely to fuel speculation over the fate of Johnston Press, which is fighting for its future under the threat of a default on its 220m debt pile. Its bonds are due for repayment in 2019 and credit ratings agencies say it will not be able to refinance due to tough conditions in the local newspaper market that accounts for most of its income. - The Daily Telegraph

Petrofac has turned to a renowned City litigation lawyer to handle its response to the Serious Fraud Offices bribery investigation. Edward Sparrow, a partner at Ashurst, the law firm, will communicate with the SFO as it conducts its investigation into the oil services companys conduct in the Middle East. - The Times

Altice is weighing up a bid for Charter Communications in a deal that could be worth around $200 bn. The French cable television and telecoms giant, which is led by Patrick Drahi, the Franco-Israeli billionaire, will be pitted against Softbank, the Japanese telecoms company run by Masayoshi Son, in a race to buy the No 2 cable company in the United States. - The Times
Students in the Netherlands have built a biodegradable

electric car that seats up to four people and can travel at 50 miles (80 km) per hour.

The Lina is

said to be the worlds first biocomposite car.

According to

Composites Manufacturing magazine, the Lina only weighs 660 pounds, as its chassis consists of a honeycomb core made of polylactic acid (a completely biodegradable resin derived from sugar beets) sandwiched between two flax fiber composite sheets, giving the car a strength to weight ratio similar to glass fiber.

Only the wheels and suspension systems are not yet of bio-based materials, Yanic van Riel, one of the developers from the TU/Ecomotive team at the Eindhoven University of Technology, told Reuters.

The cars frame is made of sugar beet resin sandwiched between Dutch-grown flax. TU/Ecomotive

Another advantage of the cars light weight is that it significantly reduces battery size. Team leader Noud van de Gevel said only 30 kilograms (66 pounds) of battery packs were needed to power the Lina for a range of about 100 kilometers (62 miles).

Thats about four times more efficient than the BMW i3  and thats in real city driving, [which includes] breaking, stopping and accelerating, he quipped.

Van de Gevel told Reuters that the prototype has not yet passed crash tests as the material will not bend like metal, but break.

The group intends to test drive the Lina later this year on city streets once its approved by the Netherlands Vehicle Authority.

Watch here to see the car in motion:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTEuJP5jeqE
By Graham Readfearn

So a couple of weeks ago I wrote a story for DeSmog reporting on self-described lunatic farmer Joel Salatins views about climate change and how he thought it might not be caused by humans.

Theres been quite a reaction to the story, mainly through Facebook discussions sparked by Salatin himself and by others who are part of what you might broadly describe as the sustainable farming movement (this is an entirely imperfect term though, given the diversity of thought among the great many people looking for alternative ways to grow healthy food in a way that has less impact on the environment).

Ive been accused by one Australian figure, Tammi Jonas, the interim president of the Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance, of writing an unproductive and divisive article that was pure click bait gotcha rubbish. More on that in a bit.

Salatin penned a long response on his Polyface farms Facebook page that was liked almost 3,000 times and shared 1,000 times more.

So I thought I should go over some of the responses and clear a few things up.

First, some background.

Salatin describes himself as a Christian libertarian environmentalist capitalist lunatic.

Hes a high-profile figure, has appeared in multiple documentary films, written books and is an oft-invited speaker. Hes been featured in Time magazine and inspired many people to change how they work on the land.

All want to learn more about the work on his Polyface farm in Virginia, where he uses a mix of useful modern tech (electrified fencing, for example) and livestock movements to mimic natural processes and enrich his soil and pasture without needing to load it up with artificial chemicals and fertilizers (that, again, is a very short summary of what he does, and some might be unhappy with it). He is a big advocate for having localized food systems. For that and more, many people are rightly thankful for his work.

In late June, Salatin appeared at a Red Pill Expo in Montana alongside some characters with what you might politely call unconventional views (the twin towers in the 9/11 attacks came down because of a controlled explosion, climate change is a hoax and other such conspiratorial rubbish).

I wrote a story about that, and given I knew about Salatins status I wanted to know why he had agreed to appear.

Given I write a lot about climate science (its a lot of my beat), I asked him some questions about his views on climate change.

Salatins response came in after the first story had been published, so I wrote a follow-up.

In short, Salatin told me he thought scientists might be wrong that humans are causing climate changea position that puts him at odds with pretty much every major scientific institution in the world, not to mention the actual evidence in the scientific literature.

I put Salatins claims to several climate scientists and asked people in the sustainable food movement about his views, and then published a story about it. Pretty straight forward really.

Nowhere in the story did anyone challenge the legitimacy of his methods on the farm.

Clearly, his views on climate science are seperate, as the story pointed out.

But this was a story not only because Salatin had shared a platform with conspiracy theorists, but also that he is a high-profile individual who is in a position to reach and influence large numbers of people (as he has done with his advocacy for his own farming methods).

Salatin published a response (you should read it), where he described venomous vitriolic vituperative invectives coming at him from a blog regarding climate change and asserting that Im a classic climate change denier.

[facebook https://www.facebook.com/Polyfacefarm/posts/10154572977401105 expand=1]

In his response, Salatin seemed to want to undermine the credibility of the story by ignoring how criticism of his position was not coming from me, but from several respected climate scientists.

Those critics are no lightweights. It was Prof. Stefan Rahmstorf, of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, who said Salatin was repeating standard denier talking points.

Rahmstorf went to great lengths to deconstruct Salatins throwaway line that because Greenland was once named that because it was a pastoral, hospitable place to live, this somehow showed the current threat from human-caused climate change might not be real.

There is no evidence that Greenland was any greener or had substantially less ice during Viking times than now, or for that matter in the first half of the 20th century before global warming really took off, Rahmstorf told me.

It was Prof. Andy Pitman, director of the Australian Research Council Center of Excellence for Climate System Science, who pointed out Salatins claim that a few decades ago we were inundated with the science that by now, we would enter a new ice age was another classic denier myth.

Pitman also pointed out Salatins claim that science is limited to what we can observe and what we can duplicate was also false.

Because Salatin did not link to my original story, or explain to his followers that it was actually not a blog criticizing him but several leading climate scientists, this gave his audience a selective and partial version of the story.

Nor did Salatin actually respond to any of the criticisms of his views, but instead took the opportunity to criticize scientists, based on his own experience with those working in agricultural science and other related fields. He wrote:

[Scientists have] been grossly wrong as many times as perfectly right. Each of these oops orthodoxies included a minority view of heretics who were eventually exonerated in the process of time. Farmers learn patience.

He seems to have transposed his distrust of scientists in one field, into another entirely different field. This, to me, is like being skeptical of brain surgeons because you once met a dodgy animal vet.

One commenter wrote: Joel, Ive been following you for years. You even inspired me to start my own small livestock farm. But you lose me completely when you start equating climate science with pasteurization and industrial animal husbandry. Really? Its just sad if you see equivalency there.

Perhaps because it fits with his libertarian politics of individualism, Salatin offered a laundry list of things which people would not be doing if they really, really, seriously thought their actions today, right now, were causing climate change.

No more movie theatres, flights, recreational sports, driving, fast-food and a few other trappings of modern life.

I wonder if Salatin extends his accusation of a lack of conviction on climate change to all the people who fly him across North America and the rest of the world to have him speak (hes been to Australia eight times)?

One commenter wrote to Salatin: Your argument seems to be (1) Since most people dont take drastic actions to reduce climate change, they dont really believe it. (2) Since most people dont really believe it, it isnt true. Both components are erroneous. First, many people belive [sic] that eating junk food, or smoking, or leading sedentary lives is bad for their health, yet do it anyway. Jumping from belief to action is very hard, especially when consequences are somewhere far in the future. Second, facts dont depend on whether anyone believes in them.

Salatin concluded:

You see, folks, what we do says a lot more about our convictions than what we say, what we sign, or at whom we yell.

Fellow Guardian blogger Martin Lukacs has written an excellent critique of this idea that we should all be more concerned with our personal actions than those of governments or corporations (as is often the case, I personally think you have to balance both and suspect Salatin might think the same).

Lukacs argues a great victory of the prevailing neoliberal politics is to shift the blame and guilt for the worlds problems away from governments and corporations to individuals.

While we busy ourselves greening our personal lives, fossil fuel corporations are rendering these efforts irrelevant, writes Lukacs. You should read it.

Now onto some other criticism.

My story, according to a Facebook comment from Tammi Jonas, was pure click bait gotcha rubbish. It should be said I tried to contact Jonas for comment, as she has hosted Salatin in Australia before. I left voicemail messages and sent a text but by the time she responded, the story was live. Coincidentally, she told me a reason she was in intermittent contact was that she was actually at Polyface farms with Salatin at the time.

Ive since had a long conversation with Jonas over the phone. She still contends my story was not productive and that Salatins views on climate science shouldnt matter. She says he doesnt speak about it publicly anyway. She thinks I shouldnt have written the story, but also accepts that Salatin should not be beyond criticism.

Many other commentators either refused to accept that Salatin was a denier, or attacked my story for not covering in detail all the other good stuff that Salatin has done.

But does it matter if Salatin refuses to accept the evidence for human-caused climate change?

As Dr. Nick Rose, executive director of Sustain: The Australian Food Network and a lecturer on food systems at William Angliss Institute in Australia, wrote in one Facebook comment:

Why should he be immune from being held up to scrutiny  why does his hero farmer status mean that his views should not be publicly discussed? This discussion is not about damaging his reputation as a farmer. It is about warning about the dangers of putting people up on pedestals and working out for ourselves, as a movement, after critical and careful reflection, what our values and principles need to be.

Another commenter wrote:

Anti-climate science perspectives are getting a good deal of air time in these responses, as are comments about single mothers & people on welfare. In other words, his comments have added fuel to a very ugly fire burning in USpolitics right now. So words themselves can be as important as deeds when they promote contempt.

Rose also posted my original story on his own Facebook page, prompting more heated discussions.

[facebook https://www.facebook.com/camilo.tucker/posts/1510902475651240 expand=1]

There was some especially insightful and lively commentary on the Facebook page of social entrepreneur Robert Pekin.

Pekin carries the awesome job title of CiEiO at Food Connect, a leading community-assisted agriculture business in Brisbane (Ive written about Robert and have met him many times and, I think, weve probably shared beers on a few occasions some years ago. For what its worth, I think hes a fantastic bloke, but I disagree with his view that Salatin had offered any kind of rebuttal to the substantiveness of the original story).

Russ Grayson, a Sydney-based independent journalist with a specialism in permaculture and food security, wrote a blog post on the reactions to the story. Heres a bit of that:

What we have here among regenerative agriculture practitioners and supporters in Australia, though, is cognitive dissonance over Salatins social/political/religious attitudes and his farming system. People recognise the value of his farming system but his attitudes are out of synch with those of many in that movement in Australia.

There is a second disconnect, too. It is Salatins adopting an approach to farming that would form part of any larger strategy to ameliorate the worse impacts of a changing climate while being a climate change denier. It is understandable that some see this as a glaring contradiction.

So this is the bit where Im supposed to offer some neat little concluding paragraph that pulls all these threads together.

Well, youre not going to get one.

Reposted with permission from our media associate DeSmogBlog.
The Standing Rock Sioux and Cheyenne River Sioux tribes asked a federal judge Tuesday to shut down the Dakota Access pipeline.

While the tribes insist that a June order instructing the Army Corps of Engineers to complete a more thorough analysis of the pipeline means that pipeline operations should be shut down in the meantime, the tribes also reluctantly proposed improvements, including creating a spill response plan, should the court decide to keep the pipeline running.

The question before the court now is whether the pipeline should continue operating, exposing the tribes to the very risks that the Corps will be examining, while this remand is underway, the tribes wrote in a brief. Under both the law of this Circuit as well as the history of this action, the answer is no.

In the Midwest, Native resistance is gearing up for the next challenge: representatives from the Ponca, Santee, Omaha and Winnebago tribes signed a treaty Tuesday to join more than 150 tribes in Canada and the U.S. in opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline. The four federally recognized Tribal Nations in Nebraska insist that they will pursue peaceful methods of legal opposition and protest.

As reported by KLKN, Larry Wright Jr. with the Ponca Tribe of NE said the treaty stressed The impact that [Keystone XL] will have negatively when it does leak and get into those waterways and into our soils and ultimately as it crosses our tribes historic land base.

Wright also emphasized the tribes opposition to government seizure of farmers land through eminent domain.

It wasnt right when they did it to us and we dont think its right to do it to landowners today, Wright told KLKN.

For a deeper dive:

DAPL: The Hill, AP. Nebraska: KLKN, Lincoln Journal Star, AP. Commentary: Esquire, Charles Pierce analysis

For more climate change and clean energy news, you can follow Climate Nexus on Twitter and Facebook, and sign up for daily Hot News.
Volkswagen is offering German drivers up to 10,000 euros ($11,810) off a new, cleaner VW if they trade in an older diesel car of any brand.

The carmaker, which has taken a big hit to its public image ever since its

emissions-cheating scandal, said in a statement it is shouldering its share in the responsibility for climate-compatible, health-compatible mobility on Germanys roads.

The Car Connection explained that such an older diesel car falls under European emissions standards 1  4, which allow diesels to emit up to 0.50g/km of nitrogen oxide. To compare, the latest Euro 6 standards have a limit of 0.08g/km.

According to

Reuters, the rebates are available across Volkswagen and its subsidiaries, from 2,000 to 10,000 euros at the namesake brand, 3,000 euros to 10,000 euros at Audi and 5,000 euros at Porsche.

Volkswagen said customers can gain an additional discount of up to 2,380 euros ($2,800) if they buy an alternative energy vehicle, such as ones powered by electricity, natural gas or a hybrid system.

BMW, Daimler and Ford have similar schemes for drivers to switch to cleaner cars.

VWs offer is valid to the end of 2017. A Volkswagen spokesman told

AFP that the company is considering extending the offer beyond Germany to cover all of Europe.

Volkswagen has made a push towards

earth-friendlier vehicles ever since its 2015 scandal, in which the company admitted that 11 million of its diesel vehicles worldwide were secretly equipped with software used to cheat on emissions tests.

In October, following its

historic emissions settlement, Volkswagen agreed to pay $4.7 billion for environmental programs and promotion of zero-emissions vehicles.

In June, the German carmaker brought back its beloved old-school hippy van but with a

21st century upgradethe new I.D. Buzz is all-electric.
The Indian Army has ordered the evacuation of the villages around Doklam in the deadly areas of India and China. According to sources, a few hundred villagers living in Nathnang village have been asked to leave the house immediately. Nathang is located 35 km from doklam.

However, it has not been clear yet that the order to evacuate from Sukna to Doklam. According to the Sources, it has been mentioned that these places are evacuated for the stay of 33 Crop Soldiers or to Make People Safer in Indo-China fight.

In the Talk with Emit Post to those living in Nathang, it has been confirmed that they have witnessed a considerable increase in military activities in the area. Nathnang is a small village where some hundred people live.

However, army officers did not talk about military activities. Some senior army officials said that this is an annual practice which was done in September but was done earlier this year.

According to some reports, Indian Army is telling the regular maintenance steps of the troop movement in the region. From the military sources, the same statement is coming out that the army is in a position of war, not peace. In military language, it means to be in a confrontational state with the enemy.

Let us state that there has been a situation of stalemate in Dokalm for more than 50 days of India and China. Since the creation of a road in Doklam of Bhutan and China objection to it, the armies of India and China are present in front of us.

After this, the Chinese media has threatened the war several times. On Tuesday, China also warned of interference in Kashmir and Kalapani in Uttarakhand. China also rejected Indias suggestion in which India had said that both the forces of both countries should come together to pursue.

China is sticking to the fact that after Indias first removed its forces from Doklam, no talks would begin. In such a scenario, the two countries armies remain in their respective places.
PITTSBURGH--Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem devised a method enabling computers to mine databases of patents, inventions and research papers, identifying ideas that can be repurposed to solve new problems or create new products.

Specifically, they developed a way for computers to find analogies -- comparisons between sometimes disparate methods and problems that highlight underlying similarities.

As anyone who enjoyed watching TV's MacGyver disarm a missile with a paperclip or staunch a sulfuric acid leak with a chocolate bar could tell you, analogies can provide critical insights and inspiration for problem solving. Tapping huge databases of inventions could spur innovation, but doing so without the help of analogies is, well, like finding a needle in a haystack.

Computer scientists at Carnegie Mellon and Hebrew University cracked the analogy problem by combining crowdsourcing and a type of artificial intelligence known as deep learning. By observing how people found analogies, they obtained insights they used to train computer software to find even more analogies.

"After decades of attempts, this is the first time that anyone has gained traction computationally on the analogy problem at scale," said Aniket Kittur, associate professor in CMU's Human-Computer Interaction Institute.

"Once you can search for analogies, you can really crank up the speed of innovation," said Dafna Shahaf, a CMU alumnus and a computer scientist at Hebrew University. "If you can accelerate the rate of innovation, that solves a lot of other problems downstream."

The research team will present its findings on Thursday, Aug. 17, at KDD 2017, the Conference on Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where the research paper already has won both Best Paper and Best Student Paper awards.

Analogies have played a role in any number of discoveries. Italian microbiologist Salvador Luria conceived an experiment on bacterial mutation -- which later earned him a Nobel Prize -- while watching a slot machine. The Wright Brothers used insights about balance and weight acquired while building bicycles to help them achieve powered flight. A trick for removing a loose cork from a wine bottle inspired an Argentinian car mechanic to invent a device to ease difficult childbirths.

Finding analogies isn't always easy, particularly for computers, which don't understand things on a deep semantic level like humans do. Researchers have tried handcrafting data structures, but this approach is time consuming and expensive -- not scalable for databases that can include nine million U.S. patents or 70 million scientific research papers. Others have tried inferring this structure from large amounts of text, but this approach identifies primarily surface similarities, not the deep understanding useful for problem solving. To pursue a new approach, Kittur, who has spent years studying crowdsourcing as a means of finding analogies, joined forces with Shahaf, who has specialized in computational analogies.

Along with Shahaf's Ph.D. student Tom Hope, and CMU post-doctoral researcher Joel Chan, they devised a scheme in which crowd workers hired through Amazon Mechanical Turk looked for analogous products in the Quirky.com product innovation website. Based on the product descriptions, they looked for those that had similar purposes or employed similar mechanisms.

"We were able to look inside these people's brains because we forced them to show their work," Chan explained. A description for a yogurt maker, for instance, might yield words such as "concentrate," "food," and "reduce," associated with its purpose and words such as "liquid," "pump," and "heating" associated with its mechanism. "In terms of analogies, this isn't about yogurt, but about concentrating things," he noted.

Based on these insights, the computer could learn to analyze additional product descriptions and identify its own analogies, many of which reflected similarities between seemingly disparate products, not simply surface similarities. When crowd workers subsequently used the analogies to suggest new products, these "distant" analogies yielded the most innovative ideas, Hope said.

The same approach could be used to tailor computer programs to find analogies in patent applications or scientific research papers.

The National Science Foundation supported this research, as did Bosch, Google and CMU's Web 2020 initiative.

The CMU AI initiative in the School of Computer Science is advancing artificial intelligence research and education by leveraging the school's strengths in computer vision, machine learning, robotics, natural language processing and human-computer interaction.

###

About Carnegie Mellon University: Carnegie Mellon is a private, internationally ranked research university with programs in areas ranging from science, technology and business, to public policy, the humanities and the arts. More than 13,000 students in the university's seven schools and colleges benefit from a small student-to-faculty ratio and an education characterized by its focus on creating and implementing solutions for real problems, interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation.
Winners of the Puteri Muslimah Indonesia 2017 / Courtesy of Korea Tourism Organization



By Jung Min-ho

The winners of an Indonesia beauty pageant will travel around Korea for about a week, the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) said Thursday.

The KTO said it has invited three winners of the Puteri Muslimah Indonesia 2017 to Korea as part of an effort to diversify the country's tourism market beyond China and Japan.

According to the KTO, they will look around some of the popular tourist places in Seoul and PyeongChang from Aug. 12 to 17, and their travels will be aired on Indosiar, an Indonesian TV station.

The KTO and Indosiar have planned and coordinated the program together over the past six months.

"Women in their 20s and 30s are key marketing targets of the program," a KTO official said. "We hope it will improve the image of Korea as a luxurious tourist destination."

According to the KTO, more than 17.2 million foreigners visited Korea last year. Nearly half of them were Chinese (8 million), followed by Japanese (2.3 million).
Each year, thousands of infants in the United States end up in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) with acute kidney injury (AKI), a condition in which the kidneys falter in performing the critical role of filtering waste products and excess fluid from the blood to produce urine. Being able to identify neonates during the early stages of AKI is critical to doctors and clinician-scientists who treat and study this condition, explains Patricio Ray, M.D., a nephrologist at Children's National Health System.

Without an accurate definition and early identification of newborns with AKI, it is difficult for doctors to limit the use of antibiotics or other medications that can be harmful to the kidneys. Neonates who have AKI should not receive large volumes of fluids, a treatment that can cause severe complications when the kidneys do not properly function.

Until recently, there was no standard definition for AKI, leaving doctors and researchers to develop their own guidelines. Lacking set criteria led to confusion, Dr. Ray says. For example, different studies estimating the percentage of infants in NICUs with AKI ranged from 8 percent to 40 percent, depending on which definition was used. In 2012, a group known as the Kidney Disease Improved Global Outcome (KDIGO) issued practice guidelines for AKI that provide a standard for doctors and researchers to follow. They focus largely on measuring the relative levels of serum creatinine, a protein produced by muscles that is filtered by the kidneys, and the amount of urine output, which typically declines in adults and older children with failing kidneys.

The problem with these guidelines, Dr. Ray explains, is they are not sensitive enough to identify newborns experiencing the early stages of AKI during the first week of life. Newborns can have high serum creatinine levels during the first week of life due to residual levels transferred from mothers through the placenta. Also, because their kidneys are immature, failure often can mean higher--not diminished--urine production.

In 2013, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, convened a meeting of leading neonatologists and pediatric nephrologists--including Dr. Ray--to review state-of-the-art knowledge about AKI in neonates and to evaluate the best manner to assess kidney function in these patients. They published a summary of their discussion online June 12, 2017 in Pediatric Research.

Among other findings, the group concluded that the current definition of AKI lacks the sensitivity needed to identify the early stages of AKI in neonates' first week of life. They also said that more research was needed to fill this gap.

That's where Dr. Ray's current research comes in. Working with fellow Children's Nephrologist Charu Gupta, M.D., and Children's Neonatologist An Massaro, M.D., the three clinician-scientists reviewed the medical records of 106 infants born at term with a condition known as hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), in which the brain doesn't receive enough oxygen. Not only does this often lead to brain injury, but it also greatly increases the risk of AKI.

Because these babies had been followed closely in the NICU to assess the possibility of AKI, their serum creatinine had been checked frequently. The researchers found that about 69 percent of the infants with HIE followed at Children's National never developed signs of kidney failure during their first week of life. These babies' serum creatinine concentrations dropped by 50 percent or more by the time they were 1 week old, about the same as reported previously in healthy neonates. Another 12 percent of the infants with HIE developed AKI according to the definition established by the KDIGO group in 2012. These infants:

Required more days of mechanical ventilation and medications to increase their blood pressure

Had higher levels of antibiotics in their bloodstreams

Retained more fluid

Had lower urinary levels of a molecule that their kidneys should have been cleared and

Had to stay in the hospital longer

A third group of the infants with HIE, about 19 percent, did not meet the standard criteria for AKI. However, these babies had a rate of decline of serum creatinine that was significantly slower than the normal newborns and the infants with HIE who had excellent outcomes. Rather, their outcomes matched those of infants with established AKI.

Dr. Ray notes that by following the rate of serum creatinine decline during the first week of life physicians could identify neonates with impaired kidney function. This approach provides a more sensitive method to identify the early stages of AKI in neonates. "By looking at how fast babies were clearing their serum creatinine compared with the day they were born, we could predict how well their kidneys were working," he says. Dr. Ray and colleagues published these findings July 2016 in Pediatric Nephrology.

He adds that further studies will be necessary to confirm the utility of this new approach to assess the renal function of term newborns with other diseases and preterm neonates. Eventually, he hopes this new approach will become uniform clinical practice.

###
The gene-editing technology called CRISPR has revolutionized the way that the function of genes is studied. So far, CRISPR has been widely used to precisely modify single-celled organisms and, more importantly, specific types of cells within more complex organisms. Now, two independent teams of investigators are reporting that CRISPR has been used to manipulate ant eggs--leading to germline changes that occur in every cell of the adult animals throughout the entire ant colony. The papers appear August 10 in Cell.

"These studies are proof of principle that you can do genetics in ants," says Daniel Kronauer (@DanielKronauer), an assistant professor at The Rockefeller University and senior author of one of the studies. "If you're interested in studying social behaviors and their genetic basis, ants are a good system. Now, we can knock out any gene that we think will influence social behavior and see its effects."

Because they live in colonies that function like superorganisms, ants are also a valuable model for studying complex biological systems. But ant colonies have been difficult to grow and study in the lab because of the complexity of their life cycles.

The teams found a way to work around that, using two different species of ants. The Rockefeller team employed a species called clonal raider ants (Ooceraea biroi), which lacks queens in their colonies. Instead, single unfertilized eggs develop as clones, creating large numbers of ants that are genetically identical through parthogenesis. "This means that by using CRISPR to modify single eggs, we can quickly grow up colonies containing the gene mutation we want to study," Kronauer says.

The other team, a collaboration between researchers at New York University and the NYU School of Medicine, Arizona State University, the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and Vanderbilt University. , used Indian jumping ants (Harpegnathos saltator). "We chose this species because they have a peculiar feature that makes it easy to transform workers into queens," says Claude Desplan, a Silver Professor at NYU and one of the senior authors of the second study. If the queen dies, the young worker ants will begin dueling for dominance. Eventually, one of them becomes a "pseudoqueen"--also called a gamergate--and is allowed to lay eggs.

"In the lab, we can inject any worker embryo to change its genetic makeup," Desplan says. "We then convert the worker to a pseudoqueen, which can lay eggs, propagate the new genes, and spawn a new colony."

Desplan, co-senior author Danny Reinberg, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator at NYU Langone, and Shelley Berger, the Daniel S. Och University Professor in the departments of Cell and Developmental Biology and Biology at Penn, began studying these ants several years ago as a way to learn about epigenetics, which refers to changes in gene expression rather than changes in the genetic code itself. "The queens and the worker ants are genetically identical, essentially twin sisters, but they develop very differently," Desplan says. "That makes them a good system for studying epigenetic control of development."

The gene that both research teams knocked out with CRISPR is called orco (odorant receptor coreceptor). Ants have 350 genes for odorant receptors, a prohibitively large number to manage individually. But due to the unique biology of how the receptors work--a great stroke of luck, in this case--the investigators were able to block the function of all 350 with a single knockout. "Every one of these receptors needs to team up with the Orco coreceptor in order to be effective," says Waring Trible, a student in Kronauer's lab and the first author of the Rockefeller study. Once the gene was knocked out, the ants were effectively blind to the pheromone signals they normally use to communicate. Without those chemical cues, they become asocial, wandering out of the nest and failing to hunt for food.

More surprisingly, knocking out orco also affected the brain anatomy in the adult animals of both species. In the same way that humans have specialized processing centers in the brain for things like language and facial recognition, ants have centers that are responsible for perceiving and processing olfactory cues that are expanded compared to other insects. But in these ants, the substructures of these sensory centers, called the antennal lobe glomeruli, were largely missing.

"There are many things we still don't know about why this is the case," Kronauer says. "We don't know if the neurons die back in the adults because they're not being used, or if they never develop in the first place. This is something we need to follow up on. And eventually, we'd like to learn to what extent the phenomenon in ants is similar to what's going on in mammals, where brain development does depend to a large extent on sensory input."

"Better understanding, biochemically speaking, how behavior is shaped could reveal insights into disorders in which changes in social communication are a hallmark, such as schizophrenia or depression," Berger says.

In a third related study from the University of Pennsylvania, researchers led by Roberto Bonasio altered ant behavior usingthe brain chemical corazonin. When corazonin is injected into ants transitioning to become a pseudo-queen, it suppresses expression of thebrain protein vitellogenin. This change stimulated worker-like hunting behaviors, while inhibiting pseudo-queen behaviors, such as dueling and egg deposition.

Further, when the team analyzed proteins the ant brain makes during the transition to becoming a pseudo-queen, they found that corazonin is similar to a reproductive hormone in vertebrates. More importantly, they also discovered that release of corazonin gets turned off as workers became pseudo-queens. Corazonin is also preferentially expressed in workers and foragers from other social insect species. In addition to corazonin, several other genes were expressed in a worker-specific or queen-specific way.

"Social insects such as ants are outstanding models to study how gene regulation affects behavior," says Bonasio, an assistant professor of Cell and Developmental Biology. "This is because they live in colonies comprised of individuals with the same genomes but vastly different sets of behaviors."

###

Papers Cited:

1. Cell, Trible et al: "orco mutagenesis causes loss of antennal lobe glomeruli and impaired social behavior in ants."

URL for paper when published: http://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(17)30772-9

DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2017.07.001

This research was supported by the National Institutes of Health, a Searle Scholar Award, a Klingenstein-Simons Fellowship Award in the Neurosciences, a Pew Biomedical Scholar Award, a Leon Levy Neuroscience Fellowship, a Kravis Fellowship, and a National Research Service Award Training Grant.

2. Cell, Yan et al: "An engineered orco mutation produces aberrant social behavior and defective neural development in ants.

URL for paper when published: http://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(17)30770-5

DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2017.06.051

This research was supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and one of its Collaborative Innovation Awards (HCIA) and the National Institutes of Health.

3. Cell, Gospocic et al.: "The neuropeptide corazonin controls social behavior and caste identity in ants"

URL for paper when published: http://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(17)30821-8

DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2017.07.014

This research was supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Searle Scholars Program, the Charles E. Kaufman Foundation, and a Linda Pechenik Montague Investigator Award.

Cell (@CellCellPress), the flagship journal of Cell Press, is a bimonthly journal that publishes findings of unusual significance in any area of experimental biology, including but not limited to cell biology, molecular biology, neuroscience, immunology, virology and microbiology, cancer, human genetics, systems biology, signaling, and disease mechanisms and therapeutics. Visit: http://www.cell.com/cell. To receive Cell Press media alerts, contact press@cell.com.
New York, NY (August 9, 2017)--When doctors can't find a diagnosis for patient's disease, they turn to genetic detectives. Equipped with genomic sequencing technologies available for less than 10 years, these sleuths now routinely search through a patient's DNA looking for mutations responsible for mysterious diseases.

Despite many successes, the search still comes back empty more often than not. In fact, disease-causing mutations are found in only about 1 in 3 to 4 patients suspected of having a strongly genetic condition.

A big reason why most investigations turn up empty-handed is the "dark genome." Only 2 percent of the human genome is well understood by scientists. This small fraction contains the 20,000 genes that encode instructions for making the cell's proteins. The remaining 98 percent--the "dark genome"--is largely a mystery. Although it's known that the dark, non-coding genome regulates genes--turning them on and off, for example--the details remain obscure.

As a consequence, sequencing data from the entire genome "is currently considered almost uninterpretable," says David Goldstein, PhD, the John E. Borne Professor of Medical and Surgical Research and Director of the Institute for Genomic Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center, and today's genetic detectives restrict their search for disease-causing mutations to the sliver of genome that contains protein-coding genes.

To help locate pathogenic mutations in the vast non-coding genome, Goldstein and his colleagues Ayal Gussow and Andrew Allen have developed a new technique called Orion. Orion is designed to flag regions of the non-coding genome that are likely to contain disease-causing genetic changes by identifying parts of the genome that are under selection in the human population.

"We anticipate that researchers will immediately start using Orion to help them find pathogenic mutations in patients in which previous sequencing efforts were negative," says Dr. Goldstein. Details about the method were published online today in PLOS ONE.

Orion was developed by comparing the entire genomes of 1,662 people with one another and identifying stretches of DNA that vary little from person to person. Because these regions are "intolerant" to change, they are most likely doing something important, says Dr. Goldstein, lead author of the paper.

That means a mutation in an intolerant region is more likely to cause disease than a mutation in a tolerant (read: less important) region. This prediction was confirmed when the researchers mapped the locations of previously identified non-coding mutations: more mutations fell within Orion's intolerant regions.

Previous methods to explore the non-coding genome focused on areas of the non-coding genome that have been retained in multiple species over evolutionary time, suggesting they, too, have an important function. However, this approach is not able to identify regions of the genome that have taken on important new functions in humans.

Orion isn't yet a finished product, Goldstein says. As more genomes are sequenced, the resolution of Orion's regions will improve dramatically.

"At that point, we are optimistic that Orion will constitute one helpful tool in the effort to identify variants throughout the genome that influence the risk of both rare and common diseases, says Dr. Goldstein.

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The study is titled, Orion: Detecting Regions of the Human Non-Coding Genome that are Intolerant to Variation Using Population Genetics. Authors are Ayal Gussow (Duke University, Durham, NC, and Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY), Brett Copeland (CUMC), Ryan Dhindsa (CUMC), Quanli Wang (CUMC), Slave Petrovski (CUMC and University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), William Majoros (Duke), Andrew Allen (Duke), and David Goldstein (CUMC).

The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health (1U01MH105670, 1UM1HG00901, F31NS092362, RC2NS070344; U01NS077303; U01NS053998, RC2MH089915, K01MH098126, R01MH097971, U01HG007672, and UM1AI100645), Biogen, Inc.; SAIC Fredrick Inc.; the Joseph and Kathleen Bryan Alzheimers Disease Research Center; the Duke Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology and Immunogen Discovery; the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; the Ellison Medical Foundation; and the Murdock Study Community Registry and Biorepository.

David Goldstein is a founder of and holds equity in Pairnomix and Praxis, and receives support from Janssen, Gilead, Biogen, AstraZeneca, and UCB. The authors declare no other conflicts of interest.

Columbia University Medical Center provides international leadership in basic, preclinical, and clinical research; medical and health sciences education; and patient care. The medical center trains future leaders and includes the dedicated work of many physicians, scientists, public health professionals, dentists, and nurses at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, the Mailman School of Public Health, the College of Dental Medicine, the School of Nursing, the biomedical departments of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and allied research centers and institutions. Columbia University Medical Center is home to the largest medical research enterprise in New York City and State and one of the largest faculty medical practices in the Northeast. The campus that Columbia University Medical Center shares with its hospital partner, NewYork-Presbyterian, is now called the Columbia University Irving Medical Center. For more information, visit cumc.columbia.edu or columbiadoctors.org.
According to the scientists, their aim is to monitor the viral genome's evolution

An international group of researchers on board a mobile laboratory equipped with an innovative handheld genetic sequencing device are tracking the movement of the Zika virus since it disembarked in Brazil and began spreading through the Americas.

According to the scientists, their aim is to monitor the viral genome's evolution and to understand what has happened, so as to be able to predict future outbreaks and to keep diagnostic methods up to date.

The first results of Project ZiBRA (Zika in Brazil Real Time Analysis), which is supported by Brazil's Ministry of Health, FAPESP and several other entities, were published in the journal Nature.

"By combining epidemiological and genetic data, we were able to see that Zika circulated silently in all regions of the Americas at least a year before the virus was first confirmed, in May 2015," said Nuno Faria, a researcher in the Zoology Department of Oxford University, UK, and first author of the article.

According to Faria, Zika was introduced into Brazil's Northeast region in February 2014. Transmission in the region probably occurred throughout the year but was not especially pronounced.

"The major outbreak very probably occurred in 2015, concurrently with the dengue outbreak," he said. "Zika spread from Northeast to Southeast Brazil [initially Rio de Janeiro] and also to the Caribbean and other countries in South and Central America, eventually reaching Florida."

The findings were based on an analysis of 254 whole genomes of the pathogen, 54 of them sequenced in this study. Most of the new genetic data were obtained using MinION, a palm-sized sequencer made by Oxford Nanopore Technologies and weighing less than 100 g.

The protocols that enabled this technology to sequence Zika were developed as part of Project ZiBRA and gave rise to a second article that was also published in the journal Nature Protocols.

"The test was first used in 2015 in Africa, during the Ebola epidemic. Its main advantage is that it can be performed at the site where a case has been notified, so that the virus's trajectory can be tracked in real time. The device is smaller than a smartphone and can sequence the whole genomes of microorganisms. Sequencing of larger organisms will be possible soon," said Ester Sabino, a researcher at the University of Sao Paulo's Tropical Medicine Institute (IMT-USP) in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and a co-author of the article.

The larger the number of sequences generated, the easier it becomes to understand when the virus entered Brazil, how it spread across the continent, and, above all, how it is evolving, Sabino added.

The analysis is made possible by the molecular clock technique, which evaluates substitutions in certain gene sequences. These changes occur at a relatively constant rate, with the genes comparable to clocks in that their mutations indicate when different viral isolates diverged.

"The idea for the project came up in 2016, when the first epidemiological and genetic findings on Zika in the Americas were published by part of the group in the journal Science. At the time, we had sequenced seven viral isolates. The number of samples was insufficient to give us a broad notion of Zika's diversity on the continent," said Luiz Carlos Alcantara from Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ) in Bahia State, northeastern Brazil.

ZiBRA was approved in a joint call for proposals issued by three British research funding agencies: the UK Medical Research Council, the Newton Fund, and the Wellcome Trust. The original proponents were joined by researchers funded by several Brazilian institutions - the National Council for Scientific & Technological Development (CNPq), FAPESP, FIOCRUZ, Evandro Chagas Institute, the Ministry of Health and USP - and others from Birmingham University and Oxford University, UK.

A mobile lab was installed in a bus and, in 2016, visited Central Public Health Laboratories in four northeastern states: Rio Grande do Norte, Paraiba, Pernambuco and Alagoas. Besides Alcantara, Faria and Sabino, the initiative was coordinated by researchers Nick Loman, from Birmingham University's School of Biosciences; Oliver Pybus, from Oxford University's Zoology Department; and Marcio Nunes, from Evandro Chagas Institute in Para, Brazil.

"At each Central Lab, we analyzed 300-400 blood samples from patients with suspected Zika virus infections, performing a total of 1,330 tests. The diagnostic technique was real-time PCR [which detects viral RNA in the sample]. When the result was positive, the virus's genetic material was sequenced," Alcantara said.

With support from two fixed labs, at FIOCRUZ in Salvador, Bahia, and IMT-USP in Sao Paulo, isolates from the Southeast region and from Tocantins State were also sequenced.

The genomes of four viral isolates from Mexico and five from Colombia were sequenced in the US by scientists who collaborated with the group, also as part of Project ZiBRA.

"The analyses showed that the viruses found in the various regions of Brazil and other Latin American countries had not yet undergone many mutations or developed significant diversity," Alcantara said. "However, in light of what's been observed in Asia, the virus is likely to be very different in the near future, so we have to continue monitoring developments. If the tests used for diagnosis don't keep up with the virus's evolution, they may become ineffective."

According to Alcantara, the virus appears to have arrived in Asia from Africa shortly before 2007, when it caused the first major epidemic in Micronesia. Fresh outbreaks occurred in the Philippines (2012) and French Polynesia (2013 and 2014). It is then believed to have arrived in Brazil, which has reported the largest number of cases to date: more than 200,000 by December 2016, according to the article.

"The virus has changed a good deal since it left Africa," Alcantara said. "Its diversity here in the Americas will probably be much greater in seven or ten years' time. We must maintain genomic surveillance in order to be prepared for a new outbreak if and when it comes."

In addition to helping Central Labs diagnose hundreds of suspected Zika cases in 2016, the ZiBRA researchers also trained the teams that took part in tests during the road trip to perform genomic surveillance using the MinION portable sequencer.

Alcantara is now heading the second stage of the project, which involves monitoring dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever, as well as Zika.

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DENVER -Eligibility criteria continue to increase in number and complexity for lung cancer clinical trials.

Cancer clinical trials have complex requirements for design, study, and eligibility criteria that often act as a barrier to the development of new clinical trials as well as patient enrollment. With the advent of molecular targeted therapies and immunotherapy, requirement criteria have continued to increase in number and complexity. Despite calls to streamline cancer clinical trial processes and efforts to improve cancer clinical trial patient accrual, completion rates and generalizability, fewer than two percent of adults with cancer in the United States participate in clinical trials.

A group of investigators in the United States conducted a retrospective study to evaluate contemporary trends in cancer clinical trial inclusiveness and complexity. The group quantified and categorized eligibility criteria in lung cancer clinical trials sponsored or endorsed by the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) Thoracic Committee from 1986 through 2016. Associations between clinical trial characteristics and eligibility criteria were analyzed by nonparametric statistical methods, such as the Wilcoxon two-sample test and the Kruskal-Wallis test.

The results of the study were published in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology, the official journal of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) . A total of 74 lung cancer clinical trials sponsored or endorsed by the ECOG Thoracic Committee with full study protocols were identified. Medical therapy trials (targeted therapy and immunotherapy) had an increase in eligibility criteria over time from 17 in 1986-1995 to 28 in 2006-2016 (p<0.001), whereas there was no significant change in eligibility criteria for surgery or radiation therapy trials. There was no association between trial phase and number of criteria (p=0.45). Disease stage showed an increased trend in eligibility criteria with a median 12 for early stage, 21 for locally advanced stage and 19 for advanced stage (p=0.08). The following categories had statistically significant increases in eligibility criteria: cardiac, concurrent medications, gastrointestinal, hematologic, hepatic, inflammatory, neurologic, renal and prior cancer therapy (p<0.05). There was no significant change in eligibility criteria in the pulmonary and endocrine categories. The study also demonstrated an increase over time in the number of required screening procedures, such as blood tests.

The authors comment that, "Medical therapy lung cancer clinical trials are becoming more complex, with growing numbers of eligibility criteria and screening procedures. While this trend may hypothetically increase the scientific yield or safety of a protocol, it also potentially hinders patient accrual, decreases study completion rates, limits generalizability and increases costs. The increase in eligibility criteria appears to reflect the general practice of adding new criteria relevant to contemporary treatments such as immunotherapy and molecularly targeted therapies, without revisiting and removing criteria not pertinent to these interventions. With federal funding for cancer clinical trials decreasing and a substantial proportion of NCI-sponsored cancer clinical trials not completing accrual, ongoing efforts to simplify eligibility and procedures will be critical moving forward. Tailoring inclusion and exclusion criteria to match the intervention under study represents a key step in this process."

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Co-authors Suresh Ramalingam, Joan Schiller, David Johnson and David Gerber are members of IASLC.

About the IASLC

The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) is the only global organization dedicated solely to the study of lung cancer and other thoracic malignancies. Founded in 1974, the association's membership includes more than 6,500 lung cancer specialists across all disciplines in over 100 countries, forming a global network working together to conquer lung and thoracic cancers worldwide. The association also publishes the Journal of Thoracic Oncology, the primary educational and informational publication for topics relevant to the prevention, detection, diagnosis and treatment of all thoracic malignancies. Visit http://www.iaslc.org for more information.

Media Contact: Becky Bunn, 720-325-2946; Becky.Bunn@iaslc.org
In contrast to what has been previously believed, development of blood stem cells to mast cells, a type of specialised immune cell, does not depend on a growth factor called stem cell factor. This has been demonstrated in a new collaborative study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet and Uppsala University, and published in the scientific journal Blood. The results could pave the way for new treatments for certain types of blood diseases.

Allergy and asthma affect a high percentage of the population. Mast cells are specialised immune cells that play an important role not only in these conditions but also in other diseases such as mastocytosis, a haematologic disease involving an increased number of mast cells. It has been commonly understood that the growth factor stem cell factor, which stimulates mast cell development, is essential for the formation of mast cells. Now researchers at Karolinska Institutet and Uppsala University have shown that this is not the case. The researchers analysed mast cells and their progenitors in blood from patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia, a disease of the blood.

"When the patients were treated with the drug imatinib (Glivec), which blocks the effect of stem cell factor, the number of mature mast cells dropped, while the number of progenitor cells did not change. We were thus able to conclude that mast cell progenitors did not require stem cell factor", says Professor Gunnar Nilsson at the Department of Medicine, Solna, and the Centre of Excellence for Systemic Mastocytosis at Karolinska Institutet, and Visiting Professor at the Department of Medical Sciences, Uppsala University, who led the study.

By culturing the mast cell progenitor cells present in blood, which are relatively uncommon (about 10 cells per million white blood cells), the researchers found that mast cell progenitors could survive, divide and partially mature without stem cell factor. Instead, development can take place with the factors interleukin 3 and 6.

"The study increases our understanding of how mast cells are formed and could be important in the development of new therapies, for example for mastocytosis for which treatment with imatinib/Glivec is not effective. One hypothesis that we will now test is whether interleukin 3 can be a new target in the treatment of mast cell-driven diseases", comments Joakim Dahlin, Researcher at the Department of Medicine, Solna, at Karolinska Institutet and first author of the study.

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The research has been financed with support from the Swedish Research Council, the Swedish Cancer Society, Ollie and Elof Ericsson's Foundation, Hans von Kantzow's Foundation, Tore Nilson's Foundation, the Cancer and Allergy Foundation, The Cancer Research Funds of Radiumhemmet and Karolinska Institutet.

Publication: Joakim S Dahlin, Maria Ekoff, Jennine Grootens, Liza Lof, Rose-Marie Amini, Hans Hagberg, Johanna S Ungerstedt, Ulla Olsson-Stromberg, Gunnar Nilsson. KIT signaling is dispensable for human mast cell progenitor development. Blood, online 8 August 2017. doi: 10.1182/blood-2017-03-773374.
Ryohei Yasuda, Ph.D., Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience's (MPFI) Scientific Director, was one of two outstanding recipients of the 2017 Nakaakira Tsukahara Memorial Prize, awarded July 20 in Chiba-city, Japan. Presented during the 40th Annual Meeting of the Japan Neuroscience Society, the Nakaakira Tsukahara Memorial Prize is awarded by the Brain Science Foundation to recognize scientists conducting outstanding research in the life sciences.

The award was created in memory of Professor Nakaakira Tsukahara, Ph.D., who made exceptional contributions to the field of neuroscience. Awardees were invited to deliver a special lecture at the Japan Neuroscience Society's annual meeting and received a prize of 1,000,000, approximately $10,000.

Dr. Yasuda's research group at MPFI is focused on the molecular mechanisms underlying synaptic plasticity - the ability to strengthen or weaken the synapses or sites of communication between neurons. Understanding the mechanisms responsible for the regulation of synaptic strength is critical for understanding how neural circuits function, how they form, and how they are shaped by experience.

Dr. Yasuda has received many recognitions for his outstanding research in neuroscience, including the 2015 National Institute of Health's (NIH) Pioneer Award, which recognizes scientists demonstrating creativity and groundbreaking approaches in biomedical or behavioral science. Dr. Yasuda was one of only 13 scientists in the country to receive the NIH Pioneer Award in 2015.

Future research in the Yasuda Lab is expected to lead to crucial advances in the understanding of intracellular signaling in neurons and will provide key insights into the mechanisms underlying memory formation and brain diseases. These insights will hopefully lead to the development of drugs that could enhance memory and prevent or more effectively treat epilepsy and other brain disorders.

###

>About MPFI

The Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience (Jupiter, Florida, USA) specializes in the development and application of novel technologies for probing the structure, function, and development of neural circuits. It is the first research institute of the Max Planck Society in the United States.
Wilmington, DE - The field of cancer research is moving rapidly toward three-dimensional (3D) laboratory cultures because 3D models can speed drug discovery and better predict the efficacy of using certain drug therapies. Just 1% of drugs investigated ever make it through the gamut of testing and approval to market. Technology that accommodates better precision in drug discovery and treatment is now being pursued with intensity.

A traditional two-dimensional (2D) culture is a flat monolayer grown in a plastic dish, which, while containing tumor cells, does not necessarily mimic the three-dimensional nature of a tumor. In other words, 2D doesn't reflect the human body. Think of a sheet of tissue versus a ball of tissue. The ball more accurately represents the tumor's composition and in vivo conditions.

One of the problems with applying 3D cell cultures to drug discovery has been the incompatibility of 3D models with high throughput screening (HTS) techniques in place in drug discovery labs. Research in bridging this gap is hot as scientists, engineers and physicians work together to develop ways to connect 3D models and HTS to lead to more meaningful drug discovery.

The advantage of the new process is that it allows greater predictability of the effectiveness and toxicity of certain drug therapies before the drugs move into clinical trials which, in turn, is expected to lower the attrition rate of new medicines under development. Because the 3D models offer a more in vivo-like context, researchers will be able to re-visit drug therapies that may have been ruled out or overlooked in the past using 2D models.

Nemours Biomedical Research and the University of Delaware (UD) Department of Materials Science and Engineering have developed a patent-pending process to make 3D models work in HTS labs, allowing drug discovery to move into more meaningful screening systems. Sigrid Langhans, PhD, of Nemours, along with Darrin Pochan, PhD, of the University of Delaware and colleagues, published an article about their findings this week in Analytical Biochemistry.

Dr. Langhans, Head of the HTS Lab at Nemours, says the new process can mimic the physical properties of tumors and signaling pathways, which vary greatly between 2D and 3D models. Many drugs never make it to market because labs are not using appropriate models. The process is a simple one with broad applicability and no need for additional specialized equipment. Her focus at Nemours is on pediatric brain tumors - specifically medulloblastoma - but she says many labs will be able to duplicate the process to look into other types of pediatric and adult cancers. "The technology is simple and can be tuned and adapted so that it's broadly applicable in other labs," she said.

Glioblastoma, the form of brain cancer that Sen. John McCain has, is aggressive and hard to treat in adults. It is also one of those tumors where 3D culture technologies hold great promise. There is potential, Langhans said, for the Nemours/UD process to further research and treatment if investigators are able to generate more models for glioblastoma and thus speed the discovery of more drug therapy options.

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Nemours is an internationally recognized children's health system that owns and operates the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware and the Nemours Children's Hospital in Orlando, Florida, along with pediatric primary and specialty care sites in Delaware, Florida, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland. Established as The Nemours Foundation through the legacy and philanthropy of Alfred I. duPont, Nemours offers pediatric inpatient and outpatient clinical care, research, education, advocacy and prevention programs to families in the communities it serves. For more information, visit http://www.Nemours.org
The academic biomedical research community should improve its ability to mitigate and recover from the impacts of disasters, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

WASHINGTON -- The academic biomedical research community should improve its ability to mitigate and recover from the impacts of disasters, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The consequences of recent disasters, from hurricanes to cyberattacks, have shown that the investments of the U.S. federal government and other research sponsors -- which total about $27 billion annually -- are not uniformly secure.

The report recommends 10 steps that academic research institutions, researchers, and research sponsors should take to bolster the resilience of academic biomedical research. For example, academic research institutions should implement mandatory disaster resilience education for research students, staff, and faculty. And the National Institutes of Health should convene a consortium of stakeholders to discuss efforts research sponsors can take to enhance the disaster resilience of the biomedical research enterprise.

"Disasters that damage research laboratories and the institutions that house them can have enormous impacts on the safety and well-being of humans and research animals, on career trajectories, and on scientific progress," said Georges Benjamin, chair of the committee that wrote the report, and executive director of the American Public Health Association. "Continuing scientific advancement and the promise of future discoveries will require a commitment to resilience -- and an unparalleled partnership across the emergency management and academic research sectors."

The report reviews how past disasters such as Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy affected academic institutions, faculty, and research projects. The planning failures that lead to the greatest damage are often rooted in flaws that are systemic to an institution or to general practices across institutions - for example, generators and other utilities stored on low floors, research animals housed in basements, and emergency plans that do not account for employees' inability to reach the site and implement them.

Resilience planning should be an institution-wide process that requires the full endorsement of senior leadership, the authority to establish priorities, and the necessary financial support, the report says. This planning should be aligned with the planning taking place at the local, state, and national levels (the National Preparedness System). The goal of these efforts should be to protect human life, research animals, and property and the environment and to maintain the integrity and continuity of research. Each institution should designate a "chief resilience officer for the research enterprise" -- a qualified senior individual with oversight of disaster resilience efforts specifically for its research enterprise. This individual should lead a planning committee, which should work with the institution to assess the unique characteristics of the institution's research enterprise, determine resilience goals and objectives, and develop and implement plans.

Principal investigators should work with their academic research institutions to safeguard and preserve critical research data, supplies, and reagents. Institutions should increase incentives for off-site storage and the duplication of critical samples and data. Protection of these materials and data is the responsibility of both the PI and the institution, the report says. In addition, institutions should develop performance-based standards for facilities and critical infrastructure that support their research enterprise. For example, they can ensure that disaster-resistant construction is an explicit design requirement for all new research buildings.

In addition, academic research institutions should implement mandatory disaster resilience education and training programs and integrate these programs within the broader safety, ethics, and compliance training programs for students, staff, and faculty of the research enterprise. Such programs could educate and train new researchers in disaster response and resilience upon hiring or enrollment, for example, and train key institutional responders in the Incident Command System to improve their ability to communicate with first responders outside the institution.

Academic research institutions also should acknowledge that there is an ethical imperative to conduct disaster resilience efforts to preserve the lives and prevent the suffering of research animals, the report says. Institutions should consider designating facilities that house these animals as essential facilities and strive to incorporate fail-safe design criteria. Possible actions include developing evacuation and shelter-in-place procedures, as well as procedures in case research animals escape.

Each academic research institution should think about how to best invest its constrained financial resources in the pre- and post-disaster environments to sustain and grow its research enterprise and develop an institutional financial investment strategy, the report says. For example, institutions could identify new sources or reallocate traditional sources of capital funds to enhance disaster resilience.

Research sponsors also have an essential role in building resilience, the report says, and taking a more assertive role in protecting their research investments through initiatives and policies would incentivize resilience at academic research institutions. The National Institutes of Health should convene a consortium of research sponsors (public and private), academic research institutions, professional associations, and private-sector stakeholders to jointly discuss actions research sponsors can take to enhance resilience.

In addition, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services should explicitly recognize the academic biomedical research community as a subsector of the Healthcare and Public Health Critical Infrastructure Sector, and actively engage the community in sector-specific activities related to resilience. Making the academic biomedical research community more disaster-resilient through the development and implementation of risk-based protective programs and resilience strategies for infrastructure will enhance the nation's disaster resilience and protect its biomedical research investment.

The study was sponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and National Institutes of Health. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine are private, nonprofit institutions that provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions related to science, technology, and medicine. They operate under an 1863 congressional charter to the National Academy of Sciences, signed by President Lincoln. For more information, visit http://national-academies.org. A roster follows.

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Newsroom

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES, ENGINEERING, AND MEDICINE

Health and Medicine Division Board on Health Sciences Policy

Committee on Strengthening the Disaster Resilience of Academic Biomedical Research Communities

Copies of Strengthening the Disaster Resilience of the Academic Biomedical Research Community: Protecting the Nation's Investment are available from the National Academies Press on the Internet at http://www.nap.edu or by calling 202-334-3313 or 1-800-624-6242. Reporters may obtain a copy from the Office of News and Public Information (contacts listed above).

Georges C. Benjamin, M.D.1 (chair)

Executive Director

American Public Health Association

Washington, D.C.

John G. Benitez, M.D., M.P.H.

Medical Director of Emergency Preparedness

Tennessee Department of Health

Nashville

Andrew C. Cannons, Ph.D.

Laboratory Director

Bureau of Public Health Laboratories

Division of Disease Control and Health Prevention

Florida Department of Health

Tampa

Prescott Deininger, Ph.D.

Director

Tulane Cancer Center

Tulane University

New Orleans

Bradford Goodwin Jr., D.V.M., DACLAM

Former Director (retired)

Animal Research Facilities

University of Texas Health Science Center

Houston

Alexander P. Isakov, M.D., M.P.H.

Executive Director

Office of Critical Event Preparedness and Response

Emory University

Atlanta

Lisa G. Ludwig, Ph.D.

Professor

Program in Public Health

University of California

Irvine

Kirk R. Pawlowski, M.Arch.

Architect and Planner

Portland, Ore.

Chris D. Poland, M.S.2

Consulting Engineering, and

Disaster Resilience Fellow at the National Institute of Standards and Technology

Canyon Lake, Calif.

Neil Rambo, M.Libr.

Director

Health Science Library and Knowledge Informatics

Ehrman Medical Library

New York University Langone Medical Center

New York City

John A. Rock, M.D., M.S.P.H.

Founding Dean and Senior Vice President for Health Affairs

Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine

Florida International University

Miami

Leonard Taylor Jr., M.B.A., M.F.A., R.A.

Senior Vice President

Operations and Support Services

University of Maryland Medical Center

Baltimore

Catherine Vogelweid, D.V.M., Ph.D., DACLAM

Clinical Professor

Department of Veterinary Pathobiology

College of Veterinary Medicine

University of Missouri

Columbia

STAFF

Lisa Brown, M.P.H. S

taff Officer

1 Member, National Academy of Medicine

2 Member, National Academy of Engineering
On Aug. 21, 2017, the Moon will slide in front of the Sun and for a brief moment, day will melt into a dusky night. Moving across the country, the Moon's shadow will block the Sun's light, and weather permitting, those within the path of totality will be treated to a view of the Sun's outer atmosphere, called the corona.

But the total solar eclipse will also have imperceptible effects, such as the sudden loss of extreme ultraviolet radiation from the Sun, which generates the ionized layer of Earth's atmosphere, called the ionosphere. This ever-changing region grows and shrinks based on solar conditions, and is the focus of several NASA-funded science teams that will use the eclipse as a ready-made experiment, courtesy of nature.

NASA is taking advantage of the Aug. 21 eclipse by funding 11 ground-based science investigations across the United States. Three of these will look to the ionosphere in order to improve our understanding of the Sun's relationship to this region, where satellites orbit and radio signals are reflected back toward the Earth.

"The eclipse turns off the ionosphere's source of high-energy radiation," said Bob Marshall, a space scientist at University of Colorado Boulder and principal investigator for one of the studies. "Without ionizing radiation, the ionosphere will relax, going from daytime conditions to nighttime conditions and then back again after the eclipse."

Stretching from roughly 50 to 400 miles above Earth's surface, the tenuous ionosphere is an electrified layer of the atmosphere that reacts to changes from both Earth below and space above. Such changes in the lower atmosphere or space weather can manifest as disruptions in the ionosphere that can interfere with communication and navigation signals.

"In our lifetime, this is the best eclipse to see," said Greg Earle, an electrical and computer engineer at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia, who is leading another of the studies. "But we've also got a denser network of satellites, GPS and radio traffic than ever before. It's the first time we'll have such a wealth of information to study the effects of this eclipse; we'll be drowning in data."

Pinning down ionospheric dynamics can be tricky. "Compared to visible light, the Sun's extreme ultraviolet output is highly variable," said Phil Erickson, a principal investigator of a third study and space scientist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Haystack Observatory in Westford, Massachusetts. "That creates variability in ionospheric weather. Because our planet has a strong magnetic field, charged particles are also affected along magnetic field lines all over the planet -- all of this means the ionosphere is complicated."

But when totality hits on Aug. 21, scientists will know exactly how much solar radiation is blocked, the area of land it's blocked over and for how long. Combined with measurements of the ionosphere during the eclipse, they'll have information on both the solar input and corresponding ionosphere response, enabling them to study the mechanisms underlying ionospheric changes better than ever before.

Tying the three studies together is the use of automated communication or navigation signals to probe the ionosphere's behavior during the eclipse. During typical day-night cycles, the concentration of charged atmospheric particles, or plasma, waxes and wanes with the Sun.

"In the daytime, ionospheric plasma is dense," Earle said. "When the Sun sets, production goes away, charged particles recombine gradually through the night and density drops. During the eclipse, we're expecting that process in a much shorter interval."

The denser the plasma, the more likely these signals are to bump into charged particles along their way from the signal transmitter to receiver. These interactions refract, or bend, the path taken by the signals. In the eclipse-induced artificial night the scientists expect stronger signals, since the atmosphere and ionosphere will absorb less of the transmitted energy.

"If we set up a receiver somewhere, measurements at that location provide information on the part of the ionosphere between the transmitter and receiver," Marshall said. "We use the receivers to monitor the phase and amplitude of the signal. When the signal wiggles up and down, that's entirely produced by changes in the ionosphere."

Using a range of different electromagnetic signals, each of the teams will send signals back and forth across the path of totality. By monitoring how their signals propagate from transmitter to receiver, they can map out changes in ionospheric density. The teams will also use these techniques to collect data before and after the eclipse, so they can compare the well-defined eclipse response to the region's baseline behavior, allowing them to discern the eclipse-related effects.

Probing the Ionosphere

The ionosphere is roughly divided into three regions in altitude based on what wavelength of solar radiation is absorbed: the D, E and F, with D being the lowermost region and F, the uppermost. In combination, the three experiment teams will study the entirety of the ionosphere.

Marshall and his team, from the University of Colorado Boulder, will probe the D-region's response to the eclipse with very low frequency, or VLF, radio signals. This is the lowest and least dense part of the ionosphere -- and because of that, the least understood.

"Just because the density is low, doesn't mean it's unimportant," Marshall said. "The D-region has implications for communications systems actively used by many military, naval and engineering operations."

Marshall's team will take advantage of the U.S. Navy's existing network of powerful VLF transmitters to examine the D-region's response to changes in solar output. Radio wave transmissions sent from Lamoure, North Dakota, will be monitored at receiving stations across the eclipse path in Boulder, Colorado, and Bear Lake, Utah. They plan to combine their data with observations from several space-based missions, including NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory and NASA's Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager, to characterize the effect of the Sun's radiation on this particular region of the ionosphere.

Erickson and team will look further up, to the E- and F-regions of the ionosphere. Using over 6,000 ground-based GPS sensors alongside powerful radar systems at MIT's Haystack Observatory and Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, along with data from several NASA space-based missions, the MIT-based team will also work with citizen radio scientists who will send radio signals back and forth over long distances across the path.

MIT's science team will use their data to track travelling ionospheric disturbances -- which are sometimes responsible for space weather patterns in the upper atmosphere -- and their large-scale effects. These disturbances in the ionosphere are often linked to a phenomenon known as atmospheric gravity waves, which can also be triggered by eclipses.

"We may even see global-scale effects," Erickson said. "Earth's magnetic field is like a wire that connects two different hemispheres together. Whenever electrical variations happen in one hemisphere, they show up in the other."

Earle and his Virginia Tech-based team will station themselves across the country in Bend, Oregon; Holton, Kansas; and Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter, South Carolina. Using state-of-the-art transceiver instruments called ionosondes, they will measure the ionosphere's height and density, and combine their measurements with data from a nation-wide GPS network and signals from the ham radio Reverse Beacon Network. The team will also utilize data from SuperDARN high frequency radars, two of which lie along the eclipse path in Christmas Valley, Oregon, and Hays, Kansas.

"We're looking at the bottom side of the F-region, and how it changes during the eclipse," Earle said. "This is the part of the ionosphere where changes in signal propagation are strong." Their work could one day help mitigate disturbances to radio signal propagation, which can affect AM broadcasts, ham radio and GPS signals.

Ultimately, the scientists plan to use their data to improve models of ionospheric dynamics. With these unprecedented data sets, they hope to better our understanding of this perplexing region.

"Others have studied eclipses throughout the years, but with more instrumentation, we keep getting better at our ability to measure the ionosphere," Erickson said. "It usually uncovers questions we never thought to ask."

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For more information on the upcoming total solar eclipse: https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov
NASA's P-3 research plane begins flights this month through both clouds and smoke over the South Atlantic Ocean to understand how tiny airborne particles called aerosols change the properties of clouds and how they influence the amount of incoming sunlight the clouds reflect or absorb.

The Observations of Aerosols above Clouds and their Interactions, or ORACLES, field mission is carrying out the month-long field campaign from Sao Tome and Principe, an island nation off the west coast of Africa. From there researchers will investigate an area off the coast of Angola, where two phenomena meet. One is natural: a low-lying cloud bank that naturally forms over the ocean. The other is at least partly human-made: a plume of smoke from seasonal fires set on agricultural fields across central Africa.

The short lifetime of aerosols in the atmosphere make them among the most variable components of Earth's climate system. An umbrella term for any small particle suspended in the atmosphere, aerosols can be either light or dark, reflective or absorbent of sunlight, and can enhance or suppress the formation of cloud droplets. They can be natural, like desert dust, sea salt or pollen. They can also result from human activities, such as sulfate particles which form from the oxidation of sulfur dioxide emitted from power plants, or, as is the case in Central Africa, soot and ash from human-made fires.

"Imagine a plume of smoke," said ORACLES Principal Investigator Jens Redemann of NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley. "If you see it over the contrast of a dark ocean, it looks lighter, which means the aerosols making up the smoke would have a cooling effect at the top of the atmosphere -- they reflect more radiation."

In contrast, "if you look at those aerosol particles over a cloud deck, they make the clouds appear darker sometimes, and that would have a warming effect at the top of the atmosphere," he said.

The sheer variety of aerosol particle types and the fact that they stay in the atmosphere for just days to weeks, compared to years spent by greenhouse gases, means they are among the most challenging to understand and incorporate into climate models, said Redemann, which is why the data collected from the P-3 aircraft measurements of aerosols and clouds are so important.

"Ideally, we're going to create a data set climate modelers can use to test their parameterization of these cloud-aerosol interactions," said Redemann. "So ten years from now, someone can go back and say, 'OK, I wonder if these guys collected data on mechanisms A, B, C and I can use that to get the mechanisms correct in my model.'"

One of those climate modelers is Susanne Bauer at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York City, who is also a member of the ORACLES science team.

"In order to develop climate models, we have to consider microphysical processes, such as how a cloud droplet gets formed and how such droplets and physical conditions inside and outside of a cloud are changed by the presence of aerosols," she said. "These can only be measured in the field."

Those microscopic interactions between particles and droplets have multiple effects. In addition to direct effects like absorbing or reflecting sunlight, Bauer said, "they can change how much sunlight a cloud reflects back to space and the lifetime of a cloud. Possibly they can influence if it's raining or if a cloud will start to drizzle." Understanding these small-scale processes is crucial to gaining knowledge about how human-made pollution is changing the climate globally via cloud effects.

NASA's P-3 research aircraft, managed at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, is outfitted with a suite of instruments to directly measure these and other properties from air drawn into the plane through inlets on the sides and wings. Each instrument is operated by small groups of scientists who make up the ORACLES research team.

"The work we do can only be done by a large, dedicated team," said Bernadette Squire Luna, ORACLES project manager at Ames, who manages the logistics for the nearly one hundred scientists who will be rotating through Sao Tome in August. "We have scientists from five NASA centers, ten universities and two national labs, as well as new international partnerships."

The August 2017 deployment is the second of three annual deployments designed to capture different parts of the agricultural fire season each year.

###

To learn more about the ORACLES mission, visit https://espo.nasa.gov/oracles.

NASA collects data from space, air, land and sea to increase our understanding of our home planet, improve lives and safeguard our future. NASA develops new ways to observe and study Earth's interconnected natural systems with long-term data records. The agency freely shares this unique knowledge and works with institutions around the world to gain new insights into how our planet is changing.

For more information about NASA Earth science research, visit http://www.nasa.gov/earth.
(Portland, Ore.) Aug. 9, 2017 - Portland State University researchers and the National Science Foundation (NSF) have publically released high-resolution maps of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, a globally unique Antarctic polar desert.

The PSU scientists led a team of researchers supported by the NSF to map the area using LIDAR technology. LIDAR, which stands for Light Detection and Ranging, is a remote sensing method that uses pulsed laser beams to measure the Earth's surface and make precision elevation maps.

The maps cover 3,564 square kilometers of the McMurdo Dry Valleys and allow researchers to compare the present-day conditions with aerial surveys conducted almost 13 years ago.

The data, collected by aerial survey missions flown in the Southern Hemisphere summer of 2014-2015, provides detailed imagery of the perpetually ice-free region, where changes, such as rapid erosion along some streams, have been observed in recent years.

"The project will help us assess what parts of the landscape are vulnerable to climate warming," said lead researcher and PSU geologist Andrew Fountain. "We've seen dramatic changes in the topography due to subsurface ice melt. Overall the glaciers have thinned by several feet. These are examples of what will happen if the region warms in the future as the models predict," he said.

The Portland State team and the National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping carried out the mapping aboard a Twin Otter aircraft during an eight-week field season, beginning in December of 2015.

The McMurdo Dry Valleys are interesting to a wide range of scientists from biologists to geologists to glaciologists. The valleys are, for example, one of the few places on the massive continent -- which is the size of the U.S. and Mexico combined -- where bedrock is exposed, allowing geologists to reconstruct the continent's geological history.

The region also is home to one of NSF's Long Term Ecological Research sites, which support studies of its unusual habitat, dominated by microbial life, both in the soil and in unique ecosystems under at least one of its glaciers and in several of its highly salty lakes.

The area also is one of the few regions on Earth that most closely resembles the surface of Mars. NASA has conducted studies there to look at how microbial life survives in such a harsh environment, giving them insight on what they may find on Mars.

Evidence of past glacial advance and retreat is also more easily observed in the Dry Valleys, which provides window into the past behavior of the vast Antarctic ice sheets, the activity of which can influence global sea levels.

###

The LIDAR maps are publicly available on two NSF-funded facilities: Open Topography , and the Polar Geospatial Center.

About Portland State University (PSU)

As Oregon's only urban public research university, Portland State offers tremendous opportunity to 27,000 students from all backgrounds. Our mission to "Let Knowledge Serve the City" reflects our dedication to finding creative, sustainable solutions to local and global problems. Our location in the heart of Portland, one of America's most dynamic cities, gives our students unmatched access to career connections and an internationally acclaimed culture scene. "U.S. News & World Report" ranks us among the nation's top 10 most innovative universities. http://www.pdx.edu | @PSUinfoandnews
LA JOLLA -- (Aug. 10, 2017) Under a microscope, it can be hard to tell the difference between any two neurons, the brain cells that store and process information. So scientists have turned to molecular methods to try to identify groups of neurons with different functions.

Now, Salk Institute and University of California San Diego scientists have, for the first time, profiled chemical modifications of DNA molecules in individual neurons, giving the most detailed information yet on what makes one brain cell different from its neighbor. This is a critical step in beginning to identify how many types of neurons exist, which has eluded neuroscientists but could lead to a dramatically better understanding about brain development and dysfunction. Each cell's methylome -- the pattern of chemical markers made up of methyl groups that stud its DNA--gave a distinct readout that helped the Salk team sort neurons into subtypes. The work appears in the journal Science on August 10, 2017.

"We think it's pretty striking that we can tease apart a brain into individual cells, sequence their methylomes, and identify many new cell types along with their gene regulatory elements, the genetic switches that make these neurons distinct from each other," says co-senior author Joseph Ecker, professor and director of Salk's Genomic Analysis Laboratory and an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

In the past, to identify what sets different types of neurons apart from each other, researchers have studied levels of RNA molecules inside individual brain cells. But levels of RNA can rapidly change when a cell is exposed to new conditions, or even throughout the day. So the Salk team turned instead to the cells' methylomes, which are generally stable throughout adulthood.

"Our research shows that we can clearly define neuronal types based on their methylomes," says Margarita Behrens, a Salk senior staff-scientist and co-senior author of the new paper. "This opens up the possibility of understanding what makes two neurons--that sit in the same brain region and otherwise look similar--behave differently."

The team began their work on both mouse and human brains by focusing on the frontal cortex, the area of the brain responsible for complex thinking, personality, social behaviors and decision making, among other things. They isolated 3,377 neurons from the frontal cortex of mice and 2,784 neurons from the frontal cortex of a deceased 25-year-old human.

The researchers then used a new method they recently developed called snmC-seq to sequence the methylomes of each cell. Unlike other cells in the body, neurons have two types of methylation, so the approach mapped both types--called CG methylation (for DNA sequence containing the nucleotides cytosine and guanine) and non-CG methylation.

Neurons from the mouse frontal cortex, they found, clustered into 16 subtypes based on methylation patterns, while neurons from the human frontal cortex were more diverse and formed 21 subtypes. Inhibitory neurons--those that provide stop signals for messages in the brain--showed more conserved methylation patterns between mice and humans compared to excitatory neurons. The study also identified unique human neuron subtypes that had never been defined before. These results open the door to a deeper understanding of what sets human brains apart from those of other animals.

"This study opens a new window into the incredible diversity of brain cells," says Eran Mukamel of the UC San Diego Department of Cognitive Science, a co-senior author of the work.

Next, the researchers plan to expand their methylome study to look at more parts of the brain, and more brains.

"There are hundreds, if not thousands, of types of brain cells that have different functions and behaviors and it's important to know what all these types are to understand how the brain works," says Chongyuan Luo, a Salk research associate and co-first author of the new paper, along with UC San Diego graduate student Christopher Keown. "Our goal is to create a parts list of both mouse and human brains."

Once that "parts list" is complete, Ecker says they'd also like to begin studying whether the methylomes of neurons in people with brain diseases are different than those from healthy people. "If there's a defect in just one percent of cells, we should be able to see it with this method," he says. "Until now, we would have had no chance of picking something up in that small a percentage of cells."

###

Other researchers on the study were Jingtian Zhou, Yupeng He, Rosa Castanon, Jacinta Lucero, Joseph Nery, Justin Sandoval, Brian Bui, and Terrence Sejnowski of the Salk Institute; Junhao Li of UC San Diego; and Laurie Kurihara and Timothy Harkins of Swift Biosciences Inc.

The work and the researchers involved were supported by grants from the NIH BRAIN Initiative, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and the National Institutes of Health.

About the Salk Institute for Biological Studies:

Every cure has a starting point. The Salk Institute embodies Jonas Salk's mission to dare to make dreams into reality. Its internationally renowned and award-winning scientists explore the very foundations of life, seeking new understandings in neuroscience, genetics, immunology, plant biology and more. The Institute is an independent nonprofit organization and architectural landmark: small by choice, intimate by nature and fearless in the face of any challenge. Be it cancer or Alzheimer's, aging or diabetes, Salk is where cures begin. Learn more at: salk.edu.
Awarded in recognition of distinguished research in oceanography related to sound and the sea

Dr. Andone C. Lavery has been selected as the 2017 recipient the Walter Munk Award for Distinguished Research in Oceanography Related to Sound and the Sea. Dr. Lavery is an Associate Scientist with Tenure in the Department of Applied Ocean Physics & Engineering at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

The citation that will be included on the certificate signed by the Secretary of the U.S. Navy and the president of The Oceanography Society reads as follows:

Through discrimination between the scattering by zooplankton and physical microstructure using broadband acoustic measurement methods and models, Andone Lavery has quantified important biological and physical parameters leading to new understanding of both ocean physical processes and marine biology.

An excerpt from the nomination letter written by James F. Lynch states that "Andone's work has been very much in the spirit of acoustical oceanography and the Walter Munk Award's stated criteria for acoustics, ocean science, and instrumentation development. Her Arctic oil spill work also has a fine scale echo of Walter's ATOC work, where he was concerned with measuring ocean warming due to anthropogenic activity. Both pieces of research have a deep societal motivation."

Dr. Lavery will receive the Munk Award during the 174th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America in New Orleans, Louisiana (December 4 - 8, 2017), and she will also be recognized during the Ocean Sciences Meeting in Portland, Oregon (February 11-16, 2018). She will also give presentations at both meetings.

Dr. Lavery joins the list of distinguished prior recipients of the Walter Munk Award:

2015: Carl Wunsch, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University 2013: Steven Holbrook, University of Wyoming 2011: William Kuperman, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, USA 2009: James F. Lynch, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, USA 2006: Peter F. Worcester, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, USA 2003: H. Thomas Rossby, Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, USA 2001: Robert C. Spindel, Applied Physics Laboratory of the University of Washington, USA 1999: Robert Pinkel, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, USA 1997: Stephen A. Thorpe, Southampton Oceanography Centre, UK 1996: Leonid M. Brekhovskikh, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Russia 1994: David M. Farmer, Institute of Ocean Sciences, Canada 1993: Walter Munk, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, USA

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The Oceanography Society (TOS) was founded in 1988 to advance oceanographic research, technology, and education, and to disseminate knowledge of oceanography and its application through research and education. TOS promotes the broad understanding of oceanography, facilitates consensus building across all the disciplines of the field, and informs the public about ocean research, innovative technology, and educational opportunities throughout the spectrum of oceanographic inquiry. TOS welcomes members from all nations. Any individual, business, or organization interested in ocean sciences is encouraged to join and to participate in the activities and benefits of the society.

As a professional society, TOS is committed to supporting a community that encourages the open expression and exchange of ideas, that is free from all forms of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation, and that is welcoming to all members and to those who participate in its activities. In pursuit of that commitment, TOS is dedicated to the philosophy of equality of opportunity and treatment for all participants.

The Oceanography Society is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization incorporated in the District of Columbia.
There are about 100 billion neurons in an adult human brain. We've long known they don't all look the same. We also know they don't behave the same. But we're still trying to find out just how many different types of neurons there are and what they do. To be able to do this at scale, scientists are turning to molecular methods.

Now, a team from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and the University of California San Diego has, for the first time, profiled chemical modifications in the DNA of individual neurons, giving the most detailed information yet on what makes one brain cell different from its neighbor.

Published in Science, the study analyzed a neuron's methylome, or pattern of methylated DNA. DNA methylation is chemical addition of methyl groups to the bases in a DNA molecule, which alters how genes are expressed without changing their sequence. These are epigenetic changes, and cataloging them, in a total of about 6,000 cells or 1 trillion DNA bases, enabled the team to sort the neurons into subtypes and create new kinds of brain maps based on a neuron's gene expression. The study also identifies new subtypes of neurons.

The paper's senior co-authors are Joseph Ecker, director of Salk's Genomic Analysis Laboratory and an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Margarita Behrens, senior staff scientist at Salk, and Eran Mukamel of the UC San Diego Department of Cognitive Science. The first authors are Chongyuan Luo, a Salk research associate, and Christopher Keown, a cognitive science graduate student at UC San Diego.

The coauthors believe their paper makes important advances both in molecular biology and in computation.

"Our research shows that we can clearly define neuronal types based on their methylomes," said Behrens. "This opens up the possibility of understanding what makes two neurons -- that sit in the same brain region and otherwise look similar -- behave differently."

Mukamel, assistant professor of cognitive science and head of the Computational Neural Data and Dynamics Lab at UC San Diego said, "Our study represents a completely different way to look at the diversity of brain cell types. The innovation of the paper is that we were able to prepare DNA libraries from individual neurons and at scale. It is a bit like taking a census but of gene expression, surveying thousands of cells."

Earlier single-cell methods have focused on analysis of RNA. But levels of RNA can change with conditions, while methylomes are generally stable throughout adulthood. Methylomes, the researchers hypothesize, offer a more precise way to identify neurons.

The team studied neurons in both a mouse and a human. They used a single-cell methylome sequencing method they'd recently developed, applying it to 3,377 neurons from the frontal cortex of a young adult mouse and 2,784 from the frontal cortex of a deceased human male aged 25. Unlike other cells in the body, neurons have two types of methylation, so the team's approach mapped both types.

Neurons from the mouse frontal cortex, they found, clustered into 16 subtypes based on methylation patterns, while neurons from the human frontal cortex were more diverse and formed 21 subtypes. The methylation patterns of inhibitory neurons - those that provide the brain's "stop" signals - were more alike between mice and humans than those of the excitatory (or "go") neurons. This suggests greater evolutionary conservation of inhibitory neurons and might be a clue to their importance. The study also defines new subtypes of human neurons.

"We think it's pretty striking," said Ecker, "that we can tease apart a brain into individual cells, sequence their methylomes, and identify many new cell types along with their gene regulatory elements, the genetic switches that make these neurons distinct from each other."

The team's results add to the "brain atlas in an objective, data-driven way," said Mukamel, who is also an affiliate of the Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind at UC San Diego. And that could lead to better understanding not only of the differences between the brains of humans and other animals but also to better understanding of brain development and dysfunction.

The current research follows an earlier paper published in Science, led by Behrens and Ecker with Mukamel as one of the first authors, on epigenetic changes in the developing brain.

Next steps for the work include studying more mice and more humans, as well as comparing methylomes in the brain cells of healthy individuals to those suffering from brain diseases. The coauthors explain that their approach allows them to see differences in neurons that were invisible before.

"If there's a defect in just one percent of cells, we should be able to see it with this method," Ecker said, "Until now, we would have had no chance of picking something up in that small a percentage of cells."

###

Other researchers on the current study were Jingtian Zhou, Yupeng He, Rosa Castanon, Jacinta Lucero, Joseph Nery, Justin Sandoval, Brian Bui, and Terrence Sejnowski of the Salk Institute; Junhao Li of UC San Diego; and Laurie Kurihara and Timothy Harkins of Swift Biosciences Inc.

The work and the researchers involved were supported by grants from the NIH BRAIN Initiative (5U01MH105985 and 1R21MH112161), the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and the National Institutes of Health (2T32MH020002).
Aug. 10, 2017--Ancient DNA used to track the mass exodus of Ancestral Pueblo people from Colorado's Mesa Verde region in the late 13th century indicates many wound up in the Northern Rio Grande area north of Santa Fe, New Mexico, inhabited today by the Tewa Pueblo people.

Here's the twist: The DNA came from domesticated turkeys that had been kept by ancient Pueblo people in both places, according to University of Colorado Boulder Assistant Professor Scott Ortman, one of four lead study authors. The study indicates DNA from turkey bones unearthed at Mesa Verde matched the turkey DNA in the northern Rio Grande area after the Mesa Verde society buckled.

"What we found was good evidence of a substantial influx of turkeys into the northern Rio Grande region that had the same genetic composition as turkeys from the Mesa Verde region," Ortman said. "This is a new line of evidence suggesting a strong connection between contemporary Tewa Pueblo people in New Mexico and the Pueblo people who lived in Mesa Verde country before its collapse."

A paper on the subject was published in a recent issue of the science journal PLOS ONE. In addition to Ortman, the study included co-authors from Washington State University, the University of California, Davis and the University of Oklahoma.

The Mesa Verde region was a hub of Southwest Puebloan society, populated by as many as 30,000 people in the middle of the 13th century, Ortman said. But a severe drought in 1277, coupled with resource depletion and social upheaval, is thought to have triggered a massive migration south to New Mexico and Arizona by the end of the 13th century.

For the study, Ortman and his colleagues used mitochondrial DNA--which is passed down from mother to offspring--extracted from turkey bones buried in the Mesa Verde region before the migration and mitochondrial DNA collected from the northern Rio Grande region before and after the Mesa Verde was abandoned.

Turkeys had been kept as a source of feathers to make blankets and other goods by the Mesa Verde inhabitants before A.D. 1000, Ortman said. But after that the archaeological record shows the Mesa Verde people began raising the turkeys as a meat source, causing turkey bones to become much more common in the archaeological record.

The study showed the genetic composition of the turkey population in the northern Rio Grande changed substantially before and after the Mesa Verde exodus. Since the genetic composition of the northern Rio Grande turkeys after the migration period was genetically indistinguishable from the birds that lived in the Mesa Verde country before the migration, it appears the migrating people took their turkeys with them, he said.

Ortman said the people fleeing the Mesa Verde area in the 13th century likely moved to many places in present-day New Mexico and Arizona during the great migration.

"The argument we are making is that a sizable chunk of the Mesa Verde population moved to the northern Rio Grande region," Ortman said. "And this group of migrants stimulated the formation of the Tewa Pueblo people that live in the area."

Previously, Ortman and his colleagues used biological, linguistic, oral tradition and material culture evidence to suggest that the ancestors of the Tewa-speaking Pueblo people in New Mexico lived in the Mesa Verde region and migrated to the northern Rio Grande during the 13th century. The recent study is the first ever to use ancient DNA to look at the scientific puzzle, Ortman said.

While the research team also looked at mitochondrial DNA from what were thought be domestic dogs buried at Mesa Verde and in the northern Rio Grande area, it did not pan out for an interesting reason, Ortman said. While the remains of most of the Mesa Verde canids were genetically dogs, almost all of the canids buried in the northern Rio Grande--traditionally thought to be dogs--were actually coyotes.

"It's an interesting puzzle as to why the northern Rio Grande people buried so many coyotes," he said.

###

Contact: Scott Ortman, scott.ortman@colorado.edu, 303-492-6064

Jim Scott, CU Boulder media relations, jim.scott@colorado.edu, 303-492-3114
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Taboo words provoke certain responses in readers' heart rates and brains, diminishing their attention and memory, research has shown.

A new paper by scholars at the University of Illinois suggests that the physiological and psychological effects of profanity and other taboo words on people who read or hear them may be due largely - but not entirely - to the context and individual audience members' likelihood of being offended.

Taboo words are words that are restricted from societal use. Much of the prior research on taboo words' effects involved recording participants' reactions as they viewed isolated taboo or neutral words, rather than in natural communicative situations.

"In the real world, taboo words are uttered or written by people in specific situations," said Kiel Christianson, a professor of educational psychology at the university. "Depending on the identity of the speaker and the appropriateness of the situation in which they say it, a given taboo word may have stronger or weaker psychological and/or physiological effects on the listener."

Christianson and his co-authors conducted two experiments in which they used eye-tracking software to monitor people's attention levels and memory while they read sentences containing swear words or the euphemisms for such words. Their findings were published recently in the journal Acta Psychologica.

Christianson hypothesized that the more surprising the use of profanity was - as defined by the speaker or the situation - the more attention people would direct to it. He also hypothesized that readers' likelihood of being offended by taboo words would mediate their attention level, affecting how rapidly they read each sentence, their ability to recall a probe word preceding the taboo word in every sentence, or both.

Eighty native speakers of American English read a series of sentences on a computer monitor that depicted "saints" or "sinners" - people viewed as likely or unlikely to use either swear words or their socially acceptable euphemisms in specific circumstances where swearing might be viewed as appropriate or inappropriate.

Participants also completed a survey that assessed their attitudes toward people who swear, which was used as a measure of each person's likelihood of being offended by profanity and the circumstances in which they might view it as acceptable.

"The eye-tracking software allowed us to see where and for how long readers' attention was directed," Christianson said. "According to binding theory, one of the two popular theories about taboo words' effects, participants' recall should have improved when they read sentences containing taboo words. However, according to global resource theory, the other current popular theory, their memory should have been poorer when a sentence included a taboo word."

Readers devoted more attention to taboo rather than nontaboo words, the eye-tracking software showed. However, context mattered: When saints used taboo words in taboo-appropriate situations, readers spent more time reading both the sentence and the taboo word itself, and their accuracy in recalling the probe words improved.

"Taken together, the results seem to support both global resource theory and binding theory, but only to an extent," Christianson said. "Our finding that a taboo word draws attention - either at the word or sentence level - when a 'saint' utters it in a taboo-appropriate situation is not accounted for by either theory."

Christianson conducted a second experiment in which all of the speakers in the sentences were saints, and readers were alerted at the beginning of each sentence to the taboo status of an upcoming word, i.e., "Everyone was shocked when..."

In that experiment, the participants who were expected to be offended spent greater time focused on the probe words, and their ability to recall them improved - except in surprising contexts, when they spent more time looking at the taboo words or their euphemisms.

"Participants' memory and attentional resources were diminished as their attention was increasingly allocated to the taboo word," Christianson said. "Conversely, as their likelihood of taking offense decreased, the details became more memorable due to the emotionally conditioned but nonthreatening taboo word. An utterance's shock value rises as a function of situational factors and an individual audience member's propensity for offense."

Since neither binding theory nor global resource theory individually accounted for taboo words' effects in the contexts studied, Christianson proposed combining them into a new theory called situated speaker-hearer individual difference theory.

"Strictly speaking, the predictions need not be limited only to taboo words," Christianson said. "However, given the pervasive negative associations and learning situations surrounding taboo words, they are the most likely type of words to display the interactive pattern of pragmatic and emotion-driven effects we found."

U. of I. alumni Peiyun Zhou, Cassie Palmer and Adina Raizen, who collaborated on the research while they were students at the university, co-wrote the paper.

###
Today almost all information stored on hard disc drives or cloud servers is recorded in magnetic media, because it is non-volatile (i.e. it retains the information when power is switched off) and cheap. For portable devices such as mobile phones and tablets, other forms of non-magnetic memory are used because the technology based on magnetism is impractical and is not energy efficient. In an age of mass data storage and portable devices which collect and process information, the search is on to find smaller, faster, cheaper and more energy efficient ways, of both processing and storing increasing amounts of data.

In the course of their research into the use of magnetic domain walls (local regions of magnetic "charge" usually driven by magnetic fields) to increase our capacity for information storage and logical processing, physicists at the University of Nottingham have discovered a phenomenon which has allowed them to 'manipulate' the structure of a magnetic domain wall.

The research carried out by researchers in the Spintronics Group in the School of Physics and Astronomy, in collaboration with York University, has been published in the open access journal Scientific Reports (Scientific Reports 7, Article number: 7613 (2017) doi:10.1038/s41598-017-07944-9). It could provide a route to creating a new class of highly efficient, non-volatile information processing and storage technology.

Dr Andrew Rushforth, from the School of Physics and Astronomy, said: "In the drive towards increasingly miniaturised, portable devices, the need to store and process information with low power consumption is becoming a critical issue. Concepts for information storage and logical processing based on magnetic domain walls have great potential for implementation in future information and communications technologies."

Magnetic media

The main benefit of using magnetism is the fact that the magnetic state remains stable when power is removed from the device, enabling non-volatile storage of information. By contrast, most processors and random access memory (RAM) chips store information using electrical charge which is fast, but dissipates when the device is powered down.

Magnetic random access memory (MRAM) is a promising form of non-volatile RAM based on magnetism which has recently found applications in some niche markets. In MRAM information is written using electrical current which generates heat and stray magnetic fields.

To date there are no technologies which use magnetism to process information.

Harnessing magnetism to process and store information

A solution to these problems may lie in the use of magnetic domain walls. A magnetic domain wall forms in a magnetic wire and separates regions where the magnetisation points in opposite directions. Under certain conditions it consists of a region in which the magnetisation rotates around a central vortex core, which points into or out of the wire.

An analogy would be the way in which water rotates around a vortex core as it drains down a plug hole. The sense of rotation of the magnetisation in the vortex wall -- its chirality -- can be clockwise or anticlockwise. There have been proposals to use the chirality to both store and process information. The problem is finding a way to manipulate the vortex domain wall.

Previously it has been shown that the chirality can be manipulated by applying magnetic fields to complicated nanowire geometries, but the use of magnetic fields is wasteful of energy and limits the ability to address individual domain walls selectively.

A surprising discovery

The researchers have discovered a way to control the chirality of the vortex domain wall using an electric field.

Dr Rushforth said: "We didn't set out to switch the chirality of the domain walls. We were actually trying to see if we could make them move. When we noticed that the chirality was switching, we were rather surprised, but we realised that it was an interesting and novel effect that could potentially have important applications. We then had to go back to the office and perform micromagnetic calculations to understand why and how the phenomenon occurs."

The team used the strain induced by an electric field applied to a piezoelectric material (which deforms mechanically in response to an electric field) to manipulate the chirality of the domain wall.

The knowledge is at an early stage. Until now it hasn't been obvious how one could control magnetic domain walls reversibly and predictably using electric fields. This research helps to solve that issue, but there remain practical issues to be addressed.

The next stage in the work will be to investigate how the chirality switching depends upon the material properties and the geometry and dimensions of the magnetic wire.

The University of Nottingham has filed a patent application for a memory device based on the effect.

###

Leaders in the field

The field of information processing using magnetic domain walls was pioneered by Professor Russell Cowburn of Cambridge University, but at the time at Durham University and Imperial College London, just over a decade ago.

The work at the University of Nottingham was funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and was carried out in collaboration with the University of York. The experiments were carried out at the Diamond Light Source synchrotron, an x-ray facility funded by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and Wellcome Trust near Oxford.

The use of electric field induced strain to control magnetic devices has become an area of increasing focus recently because it has been recognised that it is much more energy efficient than using magnetic fields or electrical currents. There are several academic groups around the world investigating this approach, including several groups in the UK.

Ultimately, it is hoped that it will lead to energy efficient memory chips and processors for use in portable devices such as laptops, phones and tablets.
Australian scientists have discovered why heavyweight galaxies living in a dense crowd of galaxies tend to spin more slowly than their lighter neighbours.

"Contrary to earlier thinking, the spin rate of the galaxy is determined by its mass, rather than how crowded its neighbourhood is," says study first author Associate Professor Sarah Brough of UNSW Sydney and the ARC Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics.

The finding, based on a detailed study of more than 300 galaxies, is published in The Astrophysical Journal.

To measure how fast their galaxies rotated, the researchers used an instrument called the Sydney-AAO Multi-object Integral field spectrograph (SAMI) on the 4-metre Anglo-Australian Telescope in eastern Australia.

SAMI 'dissects' galaxies, obtaining optical spectra from 61 points across the face of each galaxy, 13 galaxies at a time.

"We want to know which factors really drive how galaxies evolve," says team member Dr Matt Owers of the Australian Astronomical Observatory and Macquarie University. "In this case, we've sorted out nature versus nurture."

The new finding runs counter to previous studies, made with smaller samples of galaxies, which concluded that a galaxy's spin rate is determined by the other galaxies in its neighbourhood.

Associate Professor Brough says this earlier conclusion was spurious. "Once you take into account the strong association with mass, there's no link between a galaxy's spin rate and its environment," she says.

###

The research team was drawn from the Australian Astronomical Observatory; UNSW Sydney; the universities of Sydney, Melbourne, Queensland and Oxford; The Australian National University, Macquarie University, Swinburne University of Technology; Yonsei University in South Korea and the California Institute of Technology.

The ARC Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics (CAASTRO) is a collaboration between The University of Sydney, The Australian National University, The University of Melbourne, Swinburne University of Technology, The University of Queensland, The University of Western Australia and Curtin University, the last two participating together as the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR).

CAASTRO is funded under the Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence program, with additional funding from the seven participating universities and from the NSW State Government's Science Leveraging Fund.

Media contacts:

Associate Professor Sarah Brough

UNSW Sydney: 612-9385-5470

s.brough@unsw.edu.au

UNSW Science media:

Deborah Smith

612-9385-7307, 61-478-492-060

deborah.smith@unsw.edu.au
A University of Oklahoma biology professor, Michael E. Kaspari, has been awarded a $1.2 million National Science Foundation grant to study MacroSystems ecology--exploring how Earth's temperature, precipitation and biogeochemistry govern the abundance, diversity and activity of ecological communities. Kaspari will test these models by generating the first standardized field data from entire communities of ground dwelling arthropods--an invertebrate animal having an exoskeleton, a segmented body and paired jointed appendages.

"Community data at continental extents are sparse and restricted to a few taxa. They vastly underrepresent the terrestrial arthropods--perhaps the most diverse and abundant animal group--in part due to the immense effort required to count, size and identify taxa ranging from mites to ants to beetles to spiders," said Kaspari.

Kaspari will lead the project, "MSB-FRA: Testing abiotic drivers of activity, abundance and diversity of ground-dwelling arthropod communities at a continental scale," from August 15, 2017 to July 31, 2021, with colleagues from the new OU Geographical Ecology group: Katie Marshall, Matthew J. Miller and Michael D. Weiser, Department of Biology, OU College of Arts and Sciences; and Cameron Siler, Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History. The NSF grant is one of 10 new awards in support of ecological research at regional to continental scales.

The few existing data suggest that as one travels from deserts to rainforests, terrestrial arthropod communities vary dramatically. By understanding the sources of this variation, Kaspari's group hopes to better understand how arthropods regulate ecosystem services like decomposition and seed dispersal. The new dataset will build a baseline for predicting and monitoring changes in communities, including the spread of invasive species, over the next 30 years.

###

For more information about this project, contact Michael E. Kaspari at mkaspari@ou.edu.
An expert meeting was held at the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Serbia to discuss the upcoming early presidential elections, as well as the progress and dynamics of systemic political reforms carried out by the President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
A University of Portsmouth academic has helped to develop European guidelines to treat brain tumours more effectively.

Geoff Pilkington, Professor of Cellular and Molecular Neuro-oncology and one of the UK's leading brain tumour specialists, was one of only three UK academics who devised the European Association for Neuro-Oncology (EANO) guidelines on the diagnosis and treatment of adult patients with astrocytic and oligodendroglial gliomas, including glioblastomas.

The guidelines provide guidance for diagnostic and management decisions, while limiting unnecessary treatments and costs. They are a resource for professionals involved in the management of patients with glioma, for patients and caregivers and for health-care providers in Europe.

The recommendations discuss prevention, early diagnosis and screening, histological and molecular diagnostics, therapy and follow-up. The authors have also integrated the results from recent clinical trials that have changed clinical practice.

Professor Pilkington, Head of the Brain Tumour Research Centre at the University of Portsmouth, said: "The implementation of this guideline requires multidisciplinary structures of care and defined processes of diagnosis and treatment. It focuses on pathological and radiological diagnostics and the main treatment methods of surgery, radiotherapy and pharmacotherapy.

"For example, the use of prognostic and diagnostic markers such as IDH mutations and MGMT methylation status, may aid in improved therapeutic planning with high grade malignancies."

The guidelines are based on the May 2016 WHO classification of tumours of the central nervous system and on scientific developments since the 2014 guideline.

Professor Pilkington added: "The new guidelines are timely, coming in the wake of the revised WHO classification of tumours of the central nervous system which adds molecular profiling to classical histopathological pattern recognition in order to potentially stratify individual sub-groups of patients to receive more personalised therapies. This, we hope, will lead to improved survival times and improved quality of life, post treatment."

###

Read the EANO guidelines here https://www.eano.eu/eano-guidelines/
PHILADELPHIA - Ants have proven themselves to be the newest (and brightest) animal model on the laboratory block. Nevertheless, "ants-as-animal-model" darlings is a fairly new thing. But not for Shelley Berger, PhD, and Roberto Bonasio, PhD, from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. For the last decade, Berger, Bonasio, and colleagues from the NYU School of Medicine and Arizona State University (ASU), have been working with several ant species (and other animal models) to tease out the molecular inner workings of aging, cancer, and brain neuroscience, among other areas. The Berger and Bonasio labs look at changes in DNA itself as well as changes in how DNA is expressed (the field of epigenetics) to accomplish these discoveries. Berger is the Daniel S. Och University Professor in the department of Cell and Developmental Biology. Bonasio is an assistant professor of Cell and Developmental Biology.

"Social insects such as ants are outstanding models to study how gene regulation affects behavior," Bonasio said. "This is because they live in colonies comprised of individuals with the same genomes but vastly different sets of behaviors." The colony typically includes one queen, carrying out all the egg-laying, and numerous workers, who sacrifice reproduction to provide all other tasks for the group.

This week, in a pair of papers published in Cell, the team turned to an ant species -- the Indian jumping ant (Harpegnathos saltator) -- that does not behave like most ants. In this species any female worker can change into a "pseudo-queen," in the absence of the true queen and establish dominance on her colony. Berger and colleagues genetically engineered this species in different ways using now-famous CRISPR technology that dramatically changed their social and reproductive behavior.

"In the broadest sense, these studies suggest, albeit indirectly, that the human brain might also be subject to this type of molding," Berger said. "Better understanding, biochemically speaking, how behavior is shaped could reveal insights into disorders in which changes in social communication are a hallmark, such as schizophrenia or depression."

In one study, a CRISPR-engineered mutation in the orco gene disabled the ants' sense of smell. Mutant ants displayed asocial behavior, such as not interacting with other ants in the colony, not foraging for food, and not displaying pre-mating grooming. In these orco mutants, there is stunting of projections made by odor receptors on neurons in ant antennae into the smell center of the ant brain. Ants exhibit cooperative social behaviors that depend on chemical odors called pheromones. The orco gene encodes the co-receptor of all odor receptors and mutations in orco significantly impact ants' sense of smell, and therefore social communication.

In the other study, Bonasio and colleagues injected the brain chemical corazonin into ants transitioning to become a pseudo-queen, which suppressed expression of a brain protein called vitellogenin. This change stimulated worker-like hunting behaviors, while inhibiting pseudo-queen behaviors, such as dueling and egg deposition.

Further, when the team analyzed proteins the ant brain makes during the transition to becoming a pseudo-queen, they found that corazonin is similar to a reproductive hormone in vertebrates. More importantly, they also discovered that release of corazonin gets turned off as workers became pseudo-queens. Corazonin is also preferentially expressed in workers and foragers from other social insect species. In addition to corazonin, several other genes were expressed in a worker-specific or queen-specific way.

Now that ant mutants are a reality, Berger, Bonasio, and their collaborators are primed to make important discoveries on how these and other genes control social behavior in ants and other animals.

###

In addition to Berger, the senior authors of the ant mutant study are Danny Reinberg at NYU School of Medicine, Claude Desplan at NYU, and Jurgen Liebig at ASU. The study on the behavioral effects of corazonin was performed largely by Janko Gospocic, a postdoctoral fellow in the Bonasio laboratory, with contributions by Emily Shields, a doctoral student in Genomics and Computational Biology and Karl Glastad, a postdoctoral fellow in the Berger laboratory, as well as Reinberg, Liebig, and Tim Linksvayer from Penn. Berger is also director of the Penn Epigenetics Institute.

The ant epigenetic project was funded by a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Collaborative Initiative Award (HCIA #2009005). Ant research in the Bonasio lab is funded by the National Institutes of Health (DP2MH107055), the Searle Scholars Program (15-SSP-102), the Charles E. Kaufman Foundation (KA2016-85223), and a Linda Pechenik Montague Investigator Award.

Penn Medicine is one of the world's leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and excellence in patient care. Penn Medicine consists of the Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System, which together form a $6.7 billion enterprise.

The Perelman School of Medicine has been ranked among the top five medical schools in the United States for the past 20 years, according to U.S. News & World Report's survey of research-oriented medical schools. The School is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $392 million awarded in the 2016 fiscal year.

The University of Pennsylvania Health System's patient care facilities include: The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Penn Presbyterian Medical Center -- which are recognized as one of the nation's top "Honor Roll" hospitals by U.S. News & World Report -- Chester County Hospital; Lancaster General Health; Penn Wissahickon Hospice; and Pennsylvania Hospital -- the nation's first hospital, founded in 1751. Additional affiliated inpatient care facilities and services throughout the Philadelphia region include Good Shepherd Penn Partners, a partnership between Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network and Penn Medicine.

Penn Medicine is committed to improving lives and health through a variety of community-based programs and activities. In fiscal year 2016, Penn Medicine provided $393 million to benefit our community.
The Australian Sunshine Coast's plant diversity has helped University of Queensland researchers confirm that nurture has the upper hand - at least when it comes to plant microbes.

Australian Centre for Ecogenomics director Professor Phil Hugenholtz said a study of microbial communities necessary for plant development, led by UQ's Yun Kit Yeoh, could improve crop and plant yields.

"Plants have evolved over 400 million years to provide favourable environments for microbes, which they host all over their bodies, from leaves to roots," said Professor Hugenholtz, of UQ's School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences.

Previous studies looking at the influence of microbial communities on their plant hosts had focused on model plants and crops, such as legumes and sugarcane, but not across a range of species.

At a symposium in Greece in 2012 I noticed almost all the plant researchers worked on one or, at most, a few plant species, so you'd hear them referring to each other as, he's a lettuce guy, or she's a sugarcane person," he said.

"My group is interested in the relative effects of nature versus nurture on host-associated microbiomes, and you need a good evolutionary cross-section of the host group to see whether microbiota are evolving with their hosts (nature) or are the result of environmental conditions (nurture).

"That kind of analysis was unlikely to happen if researchers weren't looking across a wide spectrum of plant species.

He said School of Agriculture and Food Sciences researcher Professor Susanne Schmidt had suggested that data from the Cooloola dunes from the Great Sandy National Park on Australia's Sunshine Coast would be ideal to answer this question.

"This comprises a wide range of plant species in close proximity in very different soil environments, allowing the nature versus nurture question to be teased apart.

"It's also important to note that Australia is one of the few places where you have access to representatives of the entire plant kingdom - you couldn't have covered the same evolutionary range of plant species in Europe for instance."

Professor Schmidt said Cooloola was ideally suited with a progressive series of dune systems that had developed over several hundred thousand years within close proximity.

"We collected root and soil samples from non-seed and seed plant lineages - lycopods, ferns, cycads, conifers and flowering plants - that co-occur across dune systems, and surveyed the resident bacterial communities," she said.

The study found that plant genetics influenced the recruitment of root communities in a manner consistent with their evolution, but this was secondary to the much larger environmental influence.

It also supported the inference that a core root microbiome has evolved with terrestrial plants over their 400 million year history.

Professor Schmidt said one significant difference between plants and animals was plants' limited ability to vertically transmit microorganisms between generations.

"Plants also have limited mobility and generally remain at a single place their entire lives. As a consequence, microbial communities associated with plants have to be primarily drawn from the environment," she said.

Similar to recent revelations on the importance of gut microbial communities in animals, there was good evidence that plant growth and vigour depended on favourable microbes.

"Increasingly, farmers want to capitalise on beneficial microbes to support their crops, and science can assist the design of effective crop probiotics to make crops healthier, hardier and more productive, by increasing their resilience to pests, diseases and environmental stresses, and improving access to nutrients," she said.

"Knowing that all plants harbour a core root microbiome is a step towards understanding the principles of the intricate relationship between microorganisms and plants.

"We now need to find out what roles these root-enriched microorganisms play and how we can harness their potential for ecological agriculture."

The study, which also involved Dr Paul Dennis, Dr Chanyarat Paungfoo-Lonhienne and Dr Richard Brackin of UQ's School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, Professor Mark Ragan of UQ's Institute for Molecular Bioscience, and UQ Science honours graduate and Biodiversity Assessment and Management senior botanist Lui Weber, is published in Nature Communications (DOI 10.1038/s41467-017-00262-8).

###

It was funded primarily by the Queensland Smart State Co-Investment Fund, James S. McDonnell Foundation and Bioplatforms Australia.
Rapid improvement in DNA sequencing has sparked a proliferation of medical and genetic tests that promise to reveal everything from one's ancestry to fitness levels to microorganisms that live in your gut.

A new study from University of Washington researchers that analyzed the security hygiene of common, open-source DNA processing programs finds evidence of poor computer security practices used throughout the field.

In the study, which will be presented Aug. 17 in Vancouver, B.C., at the 26th USENIX Security Symposium, the team also demonstrated for the first time that it is possible -- though still challenging -- to compromise a computer system with a malicious computer code stored in synthetic DNA. When that DNA is analyzed, the code can become executable malware that attacks the computer system running the software.

So far, the researchers stress, there's no evidence of malicious attacks on DNA synthesizing, sequencing and processing services. But their analysis of software used throughout that pipeline found known security gaps that could allow unauthorized parties to gain control of computer systems -- potentially giving them access to personal information or even the ability to manipulate DNA results.

"One of the big things we try to do in the computer security community is to avoid a situation where we say, 'Oh shoot, adversaries are here and knocking on our door and we're not prepared,'" said co-author Tadayoshi Kohno, professor at the UW's Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering.

"Instead, we'd rather say, 'Hey, if you continue on your current trajectory, adversaries might show up in 10 years. So let's start a conversation now about how to improve your security before it becomes an issue,'" said Kohno, whose previous research has provoked high-profile discussions about vulnerabilities in emerging technologies, such as internet-connected automobiles and implantable medical devices.

"We don't want to alarm people or make patients worry about genetic testing, which can yield incredibly valuable information," said co-author and Allen School associate professor Luis Ceze. "We do want to give people a heads up that as these molecular and electronic worlds get closer together, there are potential interactions that we haven't really had to contemplate before."

In the new paper, researchers from the UW Security and Privacy Research Lab and UW Molecular Information Systems Lab offer recommendations to strengthen computer security and privacy protections in DNA synthesis, sequencing and processing.

The research team identified several different ways that a nefarious person could compromise a DNA sequencing and processing stream. To start, they demonstrated a technique that is scientifically fascinating -- though arguably not the first thing an adversary might attempt, the researchers say.

"It remains to be seen how useful this would be, but we wondered whether under semi-realistic circumstances it would be possible to use biological molecules to infect a computer through normal DNA processing," said co-author and Allen School doctoral student Peter Ney.

DNA is, at its heart, a system that encodes information in sequences of nucleotides. Through trial and error, the team found a way to include executable code -- similar to computer worms that occasionally wreak havoc on the internet -- in synthetic DNA strands.

To create optimal conditions for an adversary, they introduced a known security vulnerability into a software program that's used to analyze and search for patterns in the raw files that emerge from DNA sequencing.

When that particular DNA strand is processed, the malicious exploit can gain control of the computer that's running the program -- potentially allowing the adversary to look at personal information, alter test results or even peer into a company's intellectual property.

"To be clear, there are lots of challenges involved," said co-author Lee Organick, a research scientist in the Molecular Information Systems Lab. "Even if someone wanted to do this maliciously, it might not work. But we found it is possible."

In what might prove to be a more target-rich area for an adversary to exploit, the research team also discovered known security gaps in many open-source software programs used to analyze DNA sequencing data.

Some were written in unsafe languages known to be vulnerable to attacks, in part because they were first crafted by small research groups who likely weren't expecting much, if any, adversarial pressure. But as the cost of DNA sequencing has plummeted over the last decade, open-source programs have been adopted more widely in medical- and consumer-focused applications.

Researchers at the UW Molecular Information Systems Lab are working to create next-generation archival storage systems by encoding digital data in strands of synthetic DNA. Although their system relies on DNA sequencing, it does not suffer from the security vulnerabilities identified in the present research, in part because the MISL team has anticipated those issues and because their system doesn't rely on typical bioinformatics tools.

Recommendations to address vulnerabilities elsewhere in the DNA sequencing pipeline include: following best practices for secure software, incorporating adversarial thinking when setting up processes, monitoring who has control of the physical DNA samples, verifying sources of DNA samples before they are processed and developing ways to detect malicious executable code in DNA.

"There is some really low-hanging fruit out there that people could address just by running standard software analysis tools that will point out security problems and recommend fixes," said co-author Karl Koscher, a research scientist in the UW Security and Privacy Lab. "There are certain functions that are known to be risky to use, and there are ways to rewrite your programs to avoid using them. That would be a good initial step."

###

The research was funded by the University of Washington Tech Policy Lab, the Short-Dooley Professorship and the Torode Family Professorship.

For more information, contact the research team at dnasec@cs.washington.edu.
August 10, 2017 - School-based mental health programs can reach large numbers of children, with increasing evidence of effectiveness in improving mental health and related outcomes, according to a research review in the September/October issue of the Harvard Review of Psychiatry. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer.

"This review provides evidence that large-scale, school-based programs can be implemented in a variety of diverse cultures and educational models as well as preliminary evidence that such programs have significant, measurable positive effects on students' emotional, behavioral, and academic outcomes," write J. Michael Murphy, EdD, of Massachusetts General Hospital and colleagues.

School-Based Programs Focus on Preventing Mental Health Problems

An estimated 13 percent of children and adolescents worldwide have significant mental health problems such as anxiety, disruptive behavior disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and depression. Especially if left untreated, these disorders often persist into adulthood, with lasting effects on many aspects of life.

Over the years, many programs have been designed to deliver preventive mental health services in schools, where children and teens spend so much of their time. Substantial research now shows that school-based mental health interventions can be widely implemented and can lead to population-wide improvements in mental health, physical health, educational, and social outcomes.

Dr. Murphy and colleagues identified and analyzed school-based mental health programs that have been implemented on a large scale and have collected data on specific mental health outcomes. The authors estimate that the eight largest programs have reached at least 27 million children over the last decade.

The interventions vary in their focus, methods, and goals. The largest program, called "Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports" (PBIS), focuses on positive social culture and behavioral support for all students. The second-largest program, called "FRIENDS," aims to reduce anxiety and to teach skills for managing emotions and coping with stress--not only to children, but also to parents and teachers.

Most of the school-based mental health interventions were designed to focus on mental health promotion or primary prevention for all students in the school; some programs also target students at high risk of mental health problems. Most of the programs have been implemented across school districts, while some have been introduced on the state or national level.

Available research provides "moderate to strong" evidence that these interventions are effective in promoting good mental health and related outcomes. For example, studies of FRIENDS have reported reductions in anxiety, while PBIS has shown improved reading scores and fewer school suspensions. Other programs have shown benefits such as reducing bullying at school; one intervention has even been linked to lower rates of substance abuse in young adulthood.

The authors point out that school-based mental health interventions have been studied almost exclusively in high-income countries--despite the fact that about 80 percent of the global population of children live in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). But there's evidence that this may be changing, since three of the eight largest programs have been implemented "to scale" in LMICs. One of these, called "Skills for Life," has been running on a national basis in Chile for more than a decade.

"Data sets of increasing quality and size are opening up new opportunities to assess the degree to which preventive interventions for child mental health, delivered at scale, can play a role in improving health and other life outcomes," Dr. Murphy and colleagues conclude. With ongoing data collection and new evaluation frameworks, they believe that school-based mental health programs have the potential to "improve population-wide health outcomes of the next generation."

###

Click here to read "Scope, Scale, and Dose of the World's Largest School-Based Mental Health Programs."

Article: "Scope, Scale, and Dose of the World's Largest School-Based Mental Health Programs" (doi: 10.1097/HRP.0000000000000149)

About the Harvard Review of Psychiatry

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ROCKSPRING, Pa.  Ag Progress Days will offer beef tours to show the difference implants can make in beef cattle.

The tours are Aug. 15-16, 9:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 a.m. each day, and Aug. 17, 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.

The calf-fed Holstein demonstration, led by the Pa. Beef Producers Working Group, uses several groups of calves to explore whether feeding Holsteins can be productive for Pennsylvania beef producers. This year, some Holsteins were not implanted to measure the difference in cattle growth.

Cattle that are implanted have a 10- to 15- percent increase in ADG when compared with cattle that are not implanted, said Tara Felix, Extension beef specialist who will guide the APD tour.

While economics change year to year, most implant strategies return $50 to $100 per animal on average, said Felix

During the tour, Penn State Extension experts, PA Beef Council and cattle buyers will lead the demonstration and answer questions.

Visitors can register for the free tour at the Corn Crib on Ag Progress Days Main Street. The bus will leave from that area and go to the Livestock Evaluation Center.

After the tour participants will receive a $5 Beef Buck to purchase food that day from the Pennsylvania Cattlemens Association booth.

To learn more, contact Bridget Bingham, Pennsylvania Beef Council executive director, at BBingham@pabeef.org.
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Farm businesses across the UK are set to benefit from over 300,000 of grants in the latest round of funding that has been awarded by The Princes Countryside Fund to nine vital new projects.

The fund, established in 2010 by Prince Charles, has announced that it will be supporting 19 new projects overall throughout the UK through its grant giving programme.

The aim of the fund is to improve the prospects of family farm businesses and the quality of rural life, and has donated over 8.5 million to farms and rural communities in the past seven years.

Funding has been awarded to The Farmer Network in Cumbria and the Yorkshire Dales, Upper Teesdale Agricultural Support Services, and Farm Cornwall, all of which provide practical assistance and support a valuable network for farming communities.

Grants have also been given to support the future generation of farmers and farm managers, with funding going to Myerscough College and Bishop Burton College, and to the Scottish Association of Young Farmers Clubs to deliver succession planning workshops.

'Generous support'

Rhonda Thompson, Business Development Manager at Bishop Burton College said: The Farm Management Development Programme, now in its third year, thanks to the generous support of The Princes Countryside Fund, offers young people working in the agricultural industry a chance to learn the vital management skills needed to run a profitable farming business.

Designed by farmers and delivered with industry experts, the course provides a platform not only to up-skill tomorrows managers, but also a way to inspire young people, and highlight that they are key in shaping the future of farming.

Cosmic, a social enterprise and IT company has been given a grant to support digital skills in upland areas of Dartmoor and Exmoor.

Kate Doodson, joint CEO of Cosmic said: We are delighted to be providing digital support and mentoring for farmers in our most rural locations of Dartmoor and Exmoor. Through our awarded grant, we will be able to transform farmers lives, enabling them to better understand the benefits of digital.

Funding has also been awarded to research the sustainability and resilience of farmer farms, with grants being awarded to the National Sheep Association and the Uplands Alliance.

'Wide diversity'

Phil Stocker, Chief Executive of the National Sheep Association said: The grant from The Princes Countryside Fund will enable progress of an important industry initiative to promote the wide diversity of sheep meat in the UK."

"The work should also help in the survival of four of our most valuable farming assets  the genepool of our 60 or so native sheep breeds, as well as the traditional farming systems, landscapes and communities which produce them.

Announcing the grant recipients, Claire Saunders, Director of The Princes Countryside Fund said: We are thrilled to be able to support so many farming initiatives in this round of funding, alongside the support we offer to rural community based projects."

"Our recent report, Whod be a farmer today?, highlighted the disconnect that the general public has with farmers and the UKs rural areas, and our grant programme is providing essential support during what is an uncertain time for people living and working in the countryside.

New grants awarded to projects to support farming communities:

UK wide: National Sheep Association 14,700

England: Uplands Alliance 13,800

North East of England: Myerscough College 49,520; Bishop Burton College 24,000; The Farmer Network 43,241

North West of England: Upper Teesdale Agricultural Support Services 30,000

Scotland: Scottish Association of Young Farmers Clubs 29,850

South West of England: FarmCornwall 49,235; Cosmic 48,312
Retailer Morrisons has pledged not to sell fake farm brands, with farmers in the past severely criticising other supermarkets for the practice.

Morrisons has recently hosted hundreds of real farmers in its stores who will be selling British food to customers.

More than 70% of the food that Morrisons sells this week will be British, which is the highest share it reaches during the year.

British lamb, soft fruits, summer vegetables such as broccoli, courgettes and sweetcorn, salad ingredients, and new potatoes reach the peak of their seasonality.

Morrisons is also introducing the opportunity to Meet the Real Farmer. Farmers will explain the benefits of home-grown food to customers.

With 83 per cent of the UK population living in urban areas (Source: ONS 2016), 46 per cent of Brits have never met a farmer, 32 per cent have never visited a working farm and 52 per cent say they dont know how the food they buy is grown.

Fake farm brands

Fake farm brands can give an impression that food comes from a British farm, market or town when it may in fact be imported from overseas.

The farming industry has reacted angrily to the branding, accusing retailers of misleading consumers and riding on the coattails of the trust UK farmers have built.

The most recent and high profile example is Tescos introduction of brand names such as Woodside Farms and Boswell Farms.

Yorkshire pig farmer and former National Pig Association chairman Richard Longthorp said Tesco appeared to have 'forgotten the lessons about trust it should have learned from the horsemeat scandal.

Real farm names

Morrisons is making the commitment to stop the sale of these brands as 70 per cent of UK adults say they object to the use of fake farm brands and only want real place names or farm names to be used on packaging and branding.

Joe Mannion head of British Livestock at Morrisons, said: Real farmers have an important role to play in explaining to customers how important real British food is, and how customers can tell whether food is from the UK or not.

Supermarket customers are sometimes presented with misleading images of farmers on their food and we believe that by meeting our real farmers, customers will see and value that we know where our food comes from.
Yields increase quickly in response to annual applications of organic materials and the value of organic material goes beyond its nutrient value, according to a new report.

The latest research findings also suggest the role of organic materials in stimulating biological activity could be more critical than the amount (weight/number) of organisms in the soil.

Based on the analysis of numerous field and pot trials across England, Northern Ireland and Scotland, the full report contains a wealth of information on the influence of organic matter on the yield and quality of cereals and oilseed rape.

Non-nutrient benefits

Organic materials are a valuable source of plant nutrients and can be used to make large savings in the use of manufactured fertilisers.

The nutrient benefits of organic materials are well described in the AHDB Nutrient Management Guide (RB209) but other benefits were poorly understood.

Dr Amanda Bennett, who manages natural resources research at AHDB, said: To reveal the non-nutrient benefits of applying organic matter, you require trials that account for the nutrient effect and part of this work set out to do just that.

Field trials were set up to produce full nitrogen response curves in the presence and absence of four organic matter amendments  anaerobic digestate, compost, farmyard manure and crop residues.

Each autumn for four consecutive years, amendments were applied at several rates (0, 1, 1.75, 2.5 and 3.5 tonnes of carbon per hectare) in field experiments at Rothamsted Research.

Yields increased quickly in response to amendments. At the 2.5 tonne rate, for example, it took as little as two years for yield increases to become statistically significant, compared to the control.

Analysis of data, from multiple trials, also showed benefits continued (although at a reduced level) for at least two years after applications ceased.

Crops responded well to amendments and yielded more than expected in relation to the nitrogen applied, around 10 per cent more.

Despite considerable effort, no clear cause of the non-nutrient yield response was found. Results, however, suggested the mass or number of soil organisms may not be as critical as the activity of the organisms present and this warrants further investigation.

Use of organic amendments was associated with a greater degree of yield consistency in trials, confirming they can be used as part of efforts to promote system resilience.

The full report, which includes information on the influence of tillage approaches, the effect of pre-treating crop residues before incorporation and guidance on costs and quality of amendments, can be accessed via cereals.ahdb.org.uk/organicmatter

The research was funded by AHDB, Defra and the Waitrose Agronomy Group and was led by Rothamsted Research.
Producers see losses increase to 26-28 per pig, estimates show
70% of Tiger Zinda Hai Is Complete

As per a Deccan Chronicle report, a source close to the project has revealed that 70 percent of the movie is already complete and they will wrap the shoot of the movie by the first week of September.

Iulia To Join Salman And Team

Reportedly, Salman's rumoured girlfriend Iulia Vantur will be joining Salman and the team in Abu Dhabi.

Recommended Video Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif's CLOSENESS making Iulia Vantur INSECURE | FilmiBeat

Past & The Present

While one would think that the two might give each other a cold shoulder there given Kat's past and closeness with Salman, they both have found a common ground. They know their places in Salman's life.

Salman And Katrina Share An Amazing Camaraderie

The report further quoted a source as saying, "They've taken their relationship to the next level. There is an amazing understanding between them now. They sit and chat for hours between shots. He gives her a lot of gyaan between shots. Earlier, she didn't listen to him. Now she does; very carefully."

Will Lulia Get Upset?

Now, it needs to be seen how Lulia would react to their bonding on the sets.
Ex-Bigg Boss contestant and self-proclaimed Godman, Om Swami was arrested yesterday (August 9) from Bhajanpura by Delhi Crime Branch. He was apparently arrested in connection with a 2008 case.

It has to be recalled that when Om Swami was in the Bigg Boss house, a theft case lodged by his brother Pramodh Jha, against Om Swami, saying despite repeated calls he failed to turn up in the court. The court had also directed Om Swami to appear before the court on December 3, 2016.



His brother had accused the former Bigg Boss contestant of stealing 11 bicycles along with various important documents from his bicycle shop in Delhi's Lodhi nine years ago.

Vinodh Jha, also known as Om Swami, was asked to leave the house, but was brought back to the show after the matter was solved.

Om Swami, whose real name is Vinodh Jha, was declared a proclaimed offender by the Saket court in the case, last year. A non-bailable warrant was also issued against him.

Apparently, Om Swami was hiding in a house in Northeast Delhi's Bhajanpura. He was arrested by a joint team of Inter-State Cell of Crime Branch and Lodhi Colony police station.

In February, Om Swami and his assistant were booked for molesting a woman in public.

It has to be recalled that Om Swami was thrown out of the Bigg Boss house as he crossed all the limits by throwing his piss on the fellow contestant Bani.

Post his exit, he had also given nonsensical statements against the host of Bigg Boss makers and Salman Khan. He had even threatened the makers that he will sabotage the grand finale.

(With PTI Inputs; Image Source: ANI)
"[W]e haven't necessarily found [any defense companies to buy] that we found to be compelling either from a price expectation perspective or from a fit and rationale perspective."

-- General Dynamics CFO Jason Aiken

For months I've been saying that defense stocks in general have gotten too expensive. General Dynamics (GD -4.08%) seems to agree with me, and now Wall Street does, too -- at least in part. Yesterday, investment megabanker Morgan Stanley initiated coverage of the defense sector, assigning new ratings to four of the nation's biggest defense contractors.

The big surprise? Last month, I argued that at today's high valuations, the only two defense stocks I'd even consider putting new money into today are Raytheon (RTN) and Lockheed Martin (LMT -5.48%). And would you care to guess which companies are Morgan Stanley's two top picks in the defense industry?

Yep, Raytheon and Lockheed Martin. Here's what you need to know.

Morgan Stanley's sole sell

Let's start at the bottom with General Dynamics, Morgan Stanley's least favorite stock in the defense space. Initiating coverage of General Dynamics with an underweight rating and a $185 price target, Morgan Stanley predicts that General Dynamics stock will lose 6% of its value over the next 12 months. Admittedly, General Dynamics' 1.7% dividend yield should soften the blow. But still -- investors buy stocks in the hopes that they will go up, not down. That's not the way Morgan thinks this story will play out, however.

What doesn't the banker like about General Dynamics? Two things:

First, Morgan Stanley doesn't see President Trump delivering on his promise to spend more money on the military -- and the U.S. Navy in particular. Unfortunately, data from S&P Global Market Intelligence show that "marine systems" accounts for more than a quarter of the revenue General Dynamics depends on in a year. Thus, bad news for naval shipbuilding contracts is bad news for General Dynamics.

Granted, aerospace is also a big business for General D. Gulfstream jets account for barely 25% of General Dynamics' revenue, but nearly 40% of its profits. That's both a blessing and a curse, though, because Gulfstream's sky-high profit margins -- twice what rivals Bombardier, Dassault, and Textron earn -- are starting to attract competition. General Dynamics may struggle to maintain the fat profit margins that produce those profits "given competitive threats" from rival business-jet builders.

Northrop grumblin' about cash

Turning next to Northrop Grumman (NOC -7.32%), Morgan Stanley assigns this one an "equalweight" rating (i.e., hold) and a $279 price target, suggesting minimal upside. In the analyst's opinion, Northrop Grumman's "light free cash flow yields and margin growth" disqualify the stock from receiving a buy rating.

I've highlighted Northrop's margin issues myself -- and not so long ago -- so I won't rehash that complaint here. As far as the company's free cash flow goes, it...really doesn't go very far. Over the past 12 months, Northrop reported earning GAAP profits of $2.3 billion, which was up modestly from last year's full-year results. Unfortunately, S&P Global data confirm that with Northrop generating less than $1.5 billion in free cash flow during the period, the company is generating only about $0.63 in real cash profit for every $1 it claims to be earning.

Raytheon rising

And now it's time for some happier news. Despite the exceptions noted above, and despite some misgivings about how much defense stocks have already run up, Morgan Stanley is still broadly optimistic about the defense industry "given headlines around North Korea, Russia, the Mideast" and generally "expanding" defense budgets. One of the two stocks Morgan still sees as having room to run is Raytheon.

Praising the company's expertise in missile defense, its broad international exposure, and its decision to invest in cybersecurity, Morgan Stanley says Raytheon is "positioned for solid revenue growth and upside surprises" in the years to come, according to StreetInsider.com (requires subscription). Even more than the business opportunities, though, the analyst just loves Raytheon's balance sheet, which it describes as "A-rated."

Morgan Stanley gives Raytheon an overweight rating and predicts its stock -- below $179 today -- will rise past $188 within a year.

Lockheed Martin: Finally ready to fly?

The single defense stock that Morgan Stanley likes best, though, is Lockheed Martin -- and it's not hard to see why. Over the past year, Lockheed Martin stock has gained only 16%, which is a smaller gain than any of the other big defense contractors have enjoyed, and indeed, only slightly better than the average stock on the S&P 500.

But the thing is, Lockheed Martin stock is a lot better than average -- which is why Morgan Stanley recommends buying it. As Lockheed Martin spins up its F-35 fighter jet manufacturing machine -- a business likely to thrive over the next five to six decades -- Morgan Stanley praises the company's "robust segment margin growth ... [and] multi-decade revenue visibility." At the same time, while some have criticized Lockheed's decision to acquire low-margin Sikorsky from United Technologies a couple years back, Morgan Stanley believes that there's a lot of "growth potential in helicopters" that Lockheed has yet to capitalize upon.

Between these two businesses, and certain Lockheed "missile-related solutions" besides, Morgan Stanley predicts that Lockheed Martin will enjoy an industry leading "5-year EPS CAGR of ~15%." Admittedly, that's nearly triple the rate of earnings growth that the rest of Wall Street expects to see, and therefore something of an outlier. But consider: Lockheed Martin stock sells for just 17.4 times earnings today. Lockheed's 17.4 P/E, weighed against 15% growth and a 2.5% dividend, would value Lockheed Martin stock at just under the magical 1.0 PEG ratio...

...and make Lockheed Martin stock a buy.
A tenant farmer in Essex has been fined, alongside a waste company and one of its directors, after pleading guilty to using illegally deposited waste in order to build up a flood defence.

The case was brought by the Environment Agency (EA) and was heard in Chelmsford Magistrates Court on 3 August.

The court heard that 3,920t of inert waste was deposited on land at Little Hayes Farm, Stow Maries between 15 April and 8 May 2015.

See also: Farmers warned over illegal waste scam

This was in breach of a U1 waste exemption which would have allowed 1,000t of soil and stone to be deposited for construction purposes.

However, the court was told the work was also carried out without a flood defence consent or permission from Natural England.

In addition, the area was within an environmentally sensitive area which benefits from protection as a site of special scientific interest, a special protection area, a special area of conservation and Ramsar site.

At the hearing, Simon Hollington pleaded guilty to knowingly causing the illegal deposit.

TJ Cottis Transport and company director Jedd Cottis also pleaded guilty to depositing the waste without an environmental permit and failing to comply with duty of care requirements.

In total, the group was fined 19,430.

Prosecution

Miriam Tordoff, prosecuting for the EA, told the court the waste was deposited on the land in an attempt to strengthen the existing flood defence.

The material used was construction and demolition waste from development sites and TJ Cottis Transports own permitted waste treatment facility.

Mr Hollington employed TJ Cottis to deliver waste to land at Little Hayes Farm, Stow Maries, she said.

The company paid Mr Hollington 4,800 to deposit it, but the company accepted they saved 24,000 in landfill charges by depositing the waste on Mr Hollingtons land.

Mrs Tordoff explained following the EAs request to remove the waste Mr Hollington had applied for an environmental permit to do this.

The waste is expected to be moved later this year.

Risks

Speaking after the case, Lesley Robertson, EA enforcement team leader, said the incident should highlight to landowners that risk-taking was not acceptable.

Owning a piece of land means accepting a responsibility to the surrounding area and all that resides there, be it business, homes or wildlife.
The USA Embassy Urges Russia To Respect Georgia's Sovereignty and Territorial Integrity - GeorgianJournal
Panasonic Eluga A3 Pro first impression: A decent performer with average looks! Reviews oi -Vijeta Panasonic is revamping its smartphone product line up in India and plans to launch 11 smartphones in coming two months. It has introduced Eluga A3 and Eluga A3 Pro to begin with its rampage.

Panasonic Eluga A3 Pro First impression

Panasonic is trying to revamp its smartphone product line up in an attempt to take the Indian market by storm. The Japanese multinational electronics corporation hopes to find its rightful place among myriads of brands operating successfully in India.

Panasonic has announced that in the coming two months it will launch a total of 11 smartphones in the country. All the devices will be in the range of Rs. 6,000 to Rs. 15,000. Panasonic launched the Eluga A3 and A3 Pro on August 9, 2017, in India.

The Eluga A3 and Eluga A3 Pro are exactly the same in the matter of looks and have minor differences when it comes to specifications of the two devices. Interestingly enough Panasonic has introduced a virtual AI assistant, ARBO, on both the devices which is something new for smartphones in the price segment. Talking of price segment, the devices have been priced very closely. Panasonic Eluga A3 will cost Rs. 11,290 while Eluga A3 Pro will cost Rs. 12,790 in India. The devices will be available for sale August 10 onwards on Panasonic retail stores as well as other offline retailers.

Specifications: Nothing extraordinary

The devices have a metal uni-body and boast 5.2-inch IPS HD Display. While the Eluga A3 is powered by 1.25GHz MediaTek MT 6737 quad-core processor the Eluga A3 Pro gets an octa-core MediaTek MT6753 processor clocked at 1.3GHz.

Both the handsets have 3GB of RAM, however, Eluga A3 gets 16GB ROM while A3 Pro gets 32GB inbuilt storage. The smartphones support microSD card for memory expansion to 128 GB. Eluga A3 and Eluga A3 Pro run Android Nougat 7.0 out-of-the-box. They have stock Android for UI which is clean and pretty quick.

The smartphones have a 13MP rear camera with LED flash and phase detection autofocus. The front camera is 8MP snapper. The devices have 4000mAh battery and both weigh 161 grams.

We got our hands on Panasonic Eluga A3 Pro at the launch event. Let's go ahead with the first impression of the device.

Form factor: Light weight and comfortable in hands

Panasonic Eluga A3 Pro has sharp edges on the sides. The front panel of the device comprises of a home button at the base which doubles up as a finger print sensor. The front camera rests on top along side a notification LED.

The volume rockers and lock/unlock toggle is on the right side edge while the SIM tray is on the left side. The rear panel of the handset has the primary camera at the center top with LED flash right below it. The speaker grill lies at the base of the rear panel.

The micro USB 2.0 port is at the bottom edge of the device while the top edge houses the 3.5 mm audio jack.

The Eluga A3 Pro has a metal uni-body and even for a metal body, the smartphone felt pretty light weight in hands. It offers a comfortable grip which makes it easy to hold in hands and use with one hand as well. Although it's a bit of a challenge to reach every corner of the smartphone while using it with just one hand.

Eluga A3 Pro looks decent although it is nowhere close to killer looks of Eluga Arc which is a fabulous smartphone for a reasonable price.

Camera: Responds well in low light conditions

Panasonic Eluga A3 Pro has an 8MP front facing camera which responds quite well in low light conditions and captures well saturated and well-lit pictures. It certainly captures life-like pictures as promised by Panasonic.

The rear camera is a 13MP snapper with phase detection auto focus which is pretty quick. The rear camera does not compromise with the quality of the image and hence the photos it captures are not too noisy, It does not blow the highlights and develops an optimally exposed picture.

User Interface: Clean stock version with few enhancements

The user interface is stock Android version which inadvertently concludes that the UI is pretty basic and very few elements that may cause a lag in operating the handset.

One of the major enhancement for Eluga A3 Pro is the virtual AI assistant support. Panasonic has named its virtual assistant ARBO. Although we could not put ARBO to its best use due to unaccounted reasons it will certainly not be as good as Siri. Since Panasonic claims it to be an AI assistant we will certainly see several improvements in its functioning with time.

Performance: Quick switching between apps!

Although it would be too early to judge the performance of the device I can assure you that the device will perform smoothly. Switching between apps was quick and also apps opened up without too much of a lag.

Of course, an elaborate and extensive performance test is due for the device but the first impression it left was satisfactory enough.

Conclusion: Decent enough yet not a catch!

Panasonic has certainly offered a decent device in the price range however it isn't anywhere close to a catch. It leaves an overall impression of an average Android smartphone. We hope upcoming Panasonic smartphones have better looks to offer.

We will provide you an in-depth review of Panasonic Eluga A3 Pro soon enough. Keep an eye out on our smartphone review section.

Best Mobiles in India




Haiti - News : Zapping...





Investigation on bad results of the Bac

According to Miloody Vincent, Head of Communication at the Ministry of National Education, the Ministry should soon set up a commission to analyze the causes of the low success rate at Bac 2016-2017 (National Success Rate 30.74 %) https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-21744-haiti-news-zapping.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-21736-haiti-flash-complete-results-of-the-bac-2016-2017-for-the-10-departments-and-per-student.html



Reforestation of the littoral

In order to reforest the coastline of various communes in the coastal zone of the South Department devastated by the passage of Hurricane Matthew, the Departmental Department of the Ministry of the Environment, strengthens its nursery in Carpentier (Port-Salut). This nursery, endowed with coastal species such as grapes, icaques, mangroves, will also allow the reforestation of the immediate environments of the mouths of the zone, in order to protect populations against rising tides. Established in 2014, with the support of UN-Environment from a funds of the Government of Norway, this nursery has already been used to plant hectares stripped of the mangrove ecosystem of St Jean du Sud. https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-21742-haiti-environment-bamboo-against-the-devastating-impacts-of-water.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-21531-haiti-environment-launch-of-a-central-nursery-in-camp-perrin.html



Electricity 24/24 for all in 22 months ?

On the sidelines of the inauguration of a Presidential Commission for Innovation and the Socio-professional Integration of Young People https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-21773-icihaiti-politics-investiture-of-the-commission-for-the-socio-professional-integration-of-young-people.html , President Moise reiterated his promise made 2 months ago https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-21342-haiti-flash-moise-reiterates-his-promise-of-electricity-24-24-throughout-the-country-in-2-years.html provide electricity 24/24 in the country within 22 months now "When I said electricity would be available 24 hours a day, I was not talking only about Port-au-Prince, but about the entire country" without explaining how he intends to keep that promise...



The Lottery of Haiti wants to draw inspiration from the Dominicans

On Monday 7 and Tuesday 8 August, Marie Margareth Fortune, the Director General of the Haitian State Lottery (LEH) was on an exploratory mission at the National Lottery of the Dominican Republic, which regulates gambling on the territory Dominican to take advantage of their best practices.



Project of professional insertion of the disabled

The Office of the Secretary of State for the Integration of People with Disabilities (BSEIPH), through its Placement Service, met with representatives of associations of people with disabilities around the professional integration project "Employment for people with disabilities". The exchanges proved the enthusiasm of the potential beneficiaries of the project carried out by Handicap International in collaboration with other partners including the BSEIPH, the INFP, the Fondation Fonkoze, Palmis and "Sant Kore Lavi".



The Leogane Training Center changes its name

The Ministry of Defense informs the general public that its Training Center located in the commune of Leogane, Route Nationale #2, is now called: Anacaona Military Training Center of Leogane.



HL/ HaitiLibre


















InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), one of the world"s leading hotel companies, announces the opening of the Holiday Inn Express Tuxpan hotel in Veracruz, Mexico. This new-build 132-room hotel is IHG"s third property in the city, with the Holiday Inn Tuxpan hotel and Crowne Plaza Tuxpan hotel already located nearby.

Located alongside the warm, calm waters of the Tuxpan River, the property is on Carretera a La Barra Rd Km 6.5 in La Calzada neighborhood and is just five minutes away from the beach and ten minutes from the broad mangroves area. After the construction of the new Mexico-Tuxpan highway, Tuxpan is now the closest beach destination from Mexico City making it ideal for travelers seeking relaxation and ecotourism adventures alike. The property also offers convenient access to the commercial and industrial areas, and it is a one-hour drive from El Tajin Archeological area.

The Holiday Inn Express Tuxpan hotel has a 24-hour fitness center, indoor and outdoor children's swimming pools, outdoor swimming pool for adults, meeting space and a spacious parking lot. Guest rooms have modern design, comfortable queen, king-size, or two double beds, a sitting area with a lounge chair, 40" TV Flat Screen, iron and ironing board, minibar and an in-room coffee machine with complimentary coffee. The hotel also offers enhanced technology through IHG Connect and improved service delivery for a simple, smart travel experience.

Hotel website
Available on iOS and Android mobile devices, Fiesta Rewards powered by Intelity will give guests direct access to hotel services and information at more than 141 properties in Mexico, including: Live Aqua, Grand Fiesta/Fiesta Americana, Fiesta Inn, One Hotels and Gamma Hoteles

Orlando, Fla. -- Today Intelity announces that the enterprise app it developed for Grupo Posadas S.A.B. de C.V., the largest hotel operator in Mexico, is now LIVE at four brands: Live Aqua, Grand Fiesta / Fiesta Americana, Fiesta Inn, One Hotels, and Gamma Hoteles. Launch of the Fiesta Rewards app powered by Intelity will enable 141 properties to communicate with guests more effectively throughout their journey and provide them with direct-access to hotel services and information. In addition to providing easy access for booking stays, facilitating mobile check in and placing roomservice orders or service requests, the Fiesta Rewards app with enable members of its frequent traveler loyalty program (bearing the same name) to view their point balances and membership level.

"The Fiesta Rewards app powered by Intelity is like having a personal concierge at your fingertips," said Javier Barrera, Posadass Vice President of Franchise. "It offers travelers the same level of service and hospitality our loyal customers have come to expect, but it's accessible via a mobile platform. This enables guests to make the most of their travel experiences by having one-touch access to anything they may need, like requesting in-room amenities, setting the alarm clock, ordering roomservice, or scheduling activities. All this, plus information about the hotel's location and services, as well as directions to the hotel and even the local weather, is available with just a tap on the Fiesta Rewards app. We are pleased that as of today, Posadas is delivering the attentive service our guests demand in a mobile platform they appreciate."

Fiesta Rewards leverages the Intelity ICE (Interactive Customer Experience) platform, expanding the elegant guest-facing interface into a full enterprise-level digital eco-system. The guest-facing interface is managed through the ICE Control System to empower hotel management and staff with the ability to monitor the entire platform. Operational features include content control, direct marketing and messaging, business intelligence, and ticket management through the included Intelity Request Manager. The Request Manager enables tracking of guest requests through to fulfillment and provides insight into service performance.

"Gearing up for this launch has been a year in the making, but it's been well worth the wait for Posadas properties and their guests," said Intelity CEO and President David Adelson. "Fiesta Rewards is a vehicle for delivering instant gratification to today's modern travelers  especially Millennials. Today, Posada's high-profile brands across Mexico can now give travelers access to virtually anything they need from anywhere; whether they are across the globe booking a trip of a lifetime or poolside placing an order for lunch. Fiesta Rewards also facilitates digital guest feedback through our integration partnership with TripAdvisor, as well as ensuring guest-data protection through the Gigya customer-identity management platform. Whether you are drawn to a Posadas destination by lifestyle, luxury or adventure, the new Fiesta Rewards app powered by Intelity will deliver a frictionless, memorable experience."

For more information about Intelity's solutions for the hospitality industry, click here.

About Intelity

Intelity, headquartered in Orlando, Florida, is the creator of the world's first and most widely used integrated guest services platform, ICE (Interactive Customer Experience). With certified integrations to all major hotel back-end management systems (POS, PMS, Ticketing, Spa and Room Controls), Intelity's complete guest service platform is a centralized property-automation system that delivers concierge-level services, guest request tracking and fulfillment, business-intelligence analytics, marketing/messaging capabilities, and a full content management system. Since beginning operations in 2007, the Inc. 5000 company has gained a reputation as a leader in hospitality technology with installations across six continents, including most major brands and many celebrated independent properties. Intelity was recently designated as the "Official Mobile & In Room Technology Provider" for Forbes Travel Guide, as well as the "Best Mobile App in Hospitality" from Travel Weekly's Magellan Awards and the "World's Leading Hotel Brand App" from the World Travel Awards. For more information, please visit www.intelitycorp.com.

Barb Worcester
Where Will Your College Major Take You?

Posted by Lisa Barber on Thursday, 08-10-2017 1:02 pm

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                          Youve walked across the stage to the strains of Pomp and Circumstance, flipped your tassel to the left side of your cap and posed hurriedly for a picture your parents will definitely buy for the fireplace mantel. Now its time to begin the next stage of your life: college. And of course, youve got to choose a college majorbut which major is the right one? The future stretches ahead of you, and there are many possibilities to pursue based on your talents and interests. At the same time, student debt is a serious concernthe average student in the Class of 2016 had $37,172 in debt, and its the now the second-highest consumer debt category after mortgages. Which is all to say that choosing the right major is more important than ever before. A good career starts with a solid foundation, says Paul Wolfe, SVP of Human Resources at Indeed. A students major may lead to a variety of options that they dont even know about yet....

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Meeting the Department of Natural Resource phosphorus limits could get pricey for the village of Bangor.

Public Works Director Steve Baker told the Bangor Village Board Tuesday to meet the mandated phosphorus limits for wastewater plants will cost the village $2-2.5 million.

In response to the high cost of reducing the phosphorus out of the waste water plant, Baker asked the board to sign a letter penned by the League of Wisconsin Municipalities to ease the burden on small towns like Bangor.

A lot of us small entities dont feel its fair that we get stuck with most of the cost, he said.

In response to the high cost of reducing the phosphorus levels in water exiting the plant, the village would need to make substantial upgrades to the plant or face stiff fines.

Baker said, if fined, the county would redistribute the money to local farmers to take actions to reduce run off from their fields, which is a significant source of phosphorus.

Doesnt this sound like a really silly circle? board member Jason Steinke asked. How is it fair that we are being forced to foot the bill for something that is out of our control?

The board voted unanimously to approve the letter signing in support of easing the burden of complying with the Clean Water Act.

They (DNR) are afraid of the farmers, Baker said. Sorry, thats why they are going after the municipalities.

Great Lakes Utilities

The Bangor Municipal Utility may soon be able to purchase power at lower rates beginning January 2018 said Nilaksh Kothari, managing director for Great Lake Utility at Tuesday nights board meeting.

At this time, a standing contract with the village utility is preventing Great Lakes Utility from fighting for better rates; however, that contract is up January 2018.

There was nothing we could do until that contract expires, he said, adding that once it does, Great Lakes Utility can really start massaging your power supply costs starting next year.

Great Lakes Utility functions like a cooperative for municipal utilities. Bangor is one of 11 municipalities that participate in this co-op.

You are actually an owner of Great Lakes Utilities, Kothari said. Steve (Baker) here is the city representative.

All 11 municipalities have voting rights on the board.

We are the largest municipally-owned utility in the state of Wisconsin, he said.

Kothari explained that by itself Bangors small utility would struggle to purchase the rights to power at competitive rates, but because power is purchased through Great Lakes Utility, they are able to source power at much lower rates.

All power purchased by Bangor to serve its customers is sold wholesale. The local utility is then responsible for setting the rate based on energy pricing, salaries, maintenance costs and upgrades.

All the retail is done locally through Steve and the village board, Kothari said.

According to Kotharis report, the Bangor Municipal Utilitys cost to obtain power from Great Lakes Utility will begin to trend downward beginning in 2019.

We are forecasting that your costs will be lower than what they are, Katharine said. They will remain flat or lower until 2021.
Mumbai, Aug 10 (IBNS): Infrastructure major Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) has been awarded a contract worth Rs 810.37 crore by Jammu & Kashmir State Power Development Corporation Limited (JKSPDCL).

The contract is for construction of the 93 MW (3x31 MW) New Ganderbal Hydro Power Project on Sind River in Central Kashmir on EPC basis.

The work is to be completed in 48 months.



The New Ganderbal is run off the river hydro power project on Sind River, a tributary of River Jhelum.

The scope of work includes planning, design, engineering and execution of civil and infrastructure works as well as manufacturing, assembling, inspection, testing and commissioning of electro-mechanical and hydro-mechanical equipments.



Commenting on new order win, Arun Karambelkar, President & CEO, HCC Ltd. said: This prestigious contract demonstrates our EPC expertise in the hydro power sector.

With a wide array of competencies for building various modules of hydroelectric projects, HCC has garnered expertise and distinction through complex project management in every step of engineering, procurement and construction.


Kolkata, Aug 10 (IBNS): Consumer electronics brand Panasonic India on Thursday announced the appointment of Bollywood celebrity Taapsee Pannu, as the brand ambassador, in addition to Varun Dhawan, the existing brand ambassador for its Smartphone Business.

The company also commenced its new Ad campaign titled SO MUCH TO DO for its Eluga series featuring both Taapsee Pannu and Varun Dhawan.

The campaign is about exploring, creating, and trying what youve never done with Panasonic Eluga smart phones, the perfect smartphones to get started. The 360 degree campaign will be supported on television, Print, OOH, Cinema and Digital platforms.

Speaking about the association with Taapsee Pannu, Sarthak Seth, Head - Brand & Marketing Communications, Panasonic India & South Asia, said, We were looking for a fresh face, Taapsee perfectly embodies our corporate identity for smartphone business in actions, values and voice. Her authentic approach to living a technology oriented lifestyle on a daily basis reflects both our Smartphone range and connects with the brand personality."

Taapsee Pannu said, We, as film actors, lead a very hectic lifestyle and have so much on our list every day. I believe it is important to take out time for yourself and do things which you have never done. I am happy to be a part of this association, representing a trustworthy brand like Panasonic is itself an honour. The cutting edge technology and product design that goes into Panasonic smartphones differentiate it from the rest.



Born in Delhi, Taapsee is known for her work in South Indian cinema and Bollywood. She has worked as a software professional and also pursued a career in modelling before becoming an actress. During her modelling career, she appeared in a number of commercials. After a short stint with modelling, Taapsee made her acting debut with the 2010 Telugu film.
Image Credit: Rangayana Mysore

Birmingham, Aug 10 (IBNS): Prisoners in India have been given leading roles performing in Shakespeare plays as part of an innovative process aimed at rehabilitating offenders.

Birmingham, Aug 10 (IBNS): Prisoners in India have been given leading roles performing in Shakespeare plays as part of an innovative process aimed at rehabilitating offenders.

The unorthodox recruitment strategy was uncovered as one in a series of stories showcasing the English playwrights impact in South Asia, which are currently being featured in an exhibition at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in the UK.

Sairah Amin, an English Literature student at Birmingham City University (UK), found the story of the Rangayana Mysore theatre company who created the process and spend time travelling across prisons in India to find inmates who can perform in their plays, including Hamlet, King Lear and Hamlet.

The practice is used to help prisoners engage with a range of emotions through their performances and encourage them to look at their offenses from a different perspective.

An image of two inmates performing one of the Bards most iconic scenes, where Hamlet discovers the skull of Yorick, is currently featured in the Shakespeare in South Asia exhibition which runs until Friday 8 September at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in Stratford-upon-Avon.

The exhibition has been put together by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust supported by Dr Islam Issa, Senior Lecturer in Literature at Birmingham City University, as well as six of his students from the School of English. It highlights the significant impact of the playwright in that part of the world.



Sairah Amin said: I found the story compelling because it makes us feel hope. We can see that real people are behind Shakespeare's words and there is a real impact being made.

On the opportunity to act as a curating assistant for the exhibition, she said: The experience forced me to think of Shakespeare differently. As someone with both Pakistani and Indian roots, I was finally able to see my own identity reflected in Shakespeare. This project was a refreshing chance to see myself within literature and also to tell the stories of minorities.

Elizabeth Dollimore, Informal Learning and Programmes Manager at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, said: Shakespeare is an internationally known icon of literature and culture and as guardians of his birthplace and creative legacy, it is important to acknowledge the many ways Shakespeare is enjoyed overseas."

We focused on South Asia in this exhibition to mark the 70 years since the partition of India and Pakistan. Working with Islam and his students has given this exhibition a uniquely quirky journalistic feel exploring a range of individual stories of how Shakespeare touches communities, Dollimore said.

Shakespeare is considered to be a means of rehabilitation and coping in India with his works believed to teach prisoners valuable lessons about empathy and morality  as well as channelling their feelings into the arts.

Dr Islam Issa, the exhibition's content curator, said: This exhibition presented a few challenges because South Asia has an interesting relationship with English culture, mainly due to a long colonial history. But in so many cases, including this one, it became clear that today, anyone can take ownership of Shakespeare. Sometimes we found plays being adapted to various cultures, which is perhaps expected, but whats more notable is how often Shakespeare is used to address current needs and concerns.
Chandigarh, Aug 10 (IBNS): Haryana Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief, Vikas Barala, who was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly stalking a senior IAS officeras daughter will be produced in the court on Thursday.

Vikas was summoned by the Chandigarh police on Wednesday morning for stalking a video jockey Varnika Kundu last Friday night when the latter was returning home in her car.

Both were soon released on bail.

Initially it was reported that the CCTV footage was missing.

However, the police on Tuesday said the CCTV footage of the night is available.

The victim Varnika alleged that on Friday night her car was followed by a Tata Safari Storm (HR-23G-1008).

According to her, the men driving the SUV were drunk and pulled up close to her car several times.

She alleged that they even tried to block her way to force her to other routes.

She claimed that at one point, the SUV blocked her way and the person in the co-drivers seat got down and started walking towards her vehicle.

She then reversed the vehicle and started moving. However, the men continued to follow her.

The girl then called up the 100 helpline and gave the number details of the SUV and her location.

A day after Vikas was arrested, BJP's state Vice President Ramveer Bhatti triggered an outrage when he said girls should avoid going out during night to keep themselves safe.

Though Bhatti condemned the incident, he made the remark in several interviews to news channels.

Haryana Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Subhash Barala on Wednesday said his son Vikas must be punished if he is found guilty after the complete investigation in the Chandigarh stalking case.

Dismissing the accusation of pressuring the cops, the state BJP chief said: "We are not politicising the case or influencing the investigation."

He even referred to the victim as his daughter-like.

Hours after receiving the summons, Vikas Barala who is an accused in the Chandigarh stalking case, reached the police station in the afternoon.

Interacting with the reporters, Chandigarh DGP Tejinder Luthra said: "Vikas Barala and his aide, accused of stalking daughter of IAS officer, has been formally arrested."

Apart from Barala, his friend Ashish Kumar (27) was arrested from the Housing Board light point late on Friday night.

Both were soon released on bail.

Initially it was reported that the CCTV footage was missing.

However, the police on Tuesday said the CCTV footage of the night is available.

The victim Varnika Kundu, who is a video jockey, alleged that on Friday night her car was followed by a Tata Safari Storm (HR-23G-1008).

According to her, the men driving the SUV were drunk and pulled up close to her car several times.

She alleged that they even tried to block her way to force her to other routes.

She claimed that at one point, the SUV blocked her way and the person in the co-drivers seat got down and started walking towards her vehicle.

She then reversed the vehicle and started moving. However, the men continued to follow her.

The girl then called up the 100 helpline and gave the number details of the SUV and her location.

A day after Vikas was arrested, BJP's state Vice President Ramveer Bhatti triggered an outrage when he said girls should avoid going out during night to keep themselves safe.

Though Bhatti condemned the incident, he made the remark in several interviews to news channels.

Haryana Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Subhash Barala on Wednesday said his son Vikas must be punished if he is found guilty after the complete investigation in the Chandigarh stalking case.

Dismissing the accusation of pressuring the cops, the state BJP chief said: "We are not politicising the case or influencing the investigation."

He even referred to the victim as his daughter-like.
Ranchi, Aug 10 (IBNS): Jharkhand wrestler Vishal Kumar Verma was electrocuted to death on Wednesday while pumping out water from a flooded Jaipal Singh stadium in the state capital, media reports said.

Apart from wrestling, Verma was employed to look after office works at the state unit.

The stadium was flooded due to the ongoing renovation works worsened by monsoon.

State wrestling association secretary, Bhola Nath Singh said Verma was found unconscious after which he was taken to a hospital. He was quoted by Hindustan Times as saying: "He didnt respond to treatment and was declared dead. Its an unfortunate incident."

Verma finished fourth in the 74 kg freestyle event during the last national meet in Gonda, Uttar Pradesh.

He also clinched a gold in the last Jharkhand state competition.
Chennai, Aug 10 (IBNS): The removal of TTV Dinakaran, Sasikala's nephew, from the post of AIADMK's deputy general secretary, on Thursday, has fuelled speculations that a merger between the Panneerselvam and Palaniswami factions is likely anytime soon, according to media reports.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami not only removed Dinakaran through a resolution but has also invalidated all appointments made by Dinakaran, media reported.

Chief Minister Palaniswami has convened a meeting of ministers and top leaders at party headquarters on Thursday.
Kolkata, Aug 10 (IBNS): After being summoned twice, Kolkata Mayor and state minister Sovan Chatterjee appeared at Enforcement Directorate (ED)'s office at CGO Complex in Kolkata's Salt Lake area on Thursday afternoon for interrogation in connection with Narada sting case, reports said.

According to sources, the cabinet minister reached ED office at around 12 pm.

Earlier on Wednesday, West Bengal Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Minister Firhad Bobby Hakim was interrogated by ED officials for nearly 4 hours 30 minutes in connection with the same case.

Meanwhile, the ED has also sent multiple notices to two other TMC lawmakers- Subrata Mukherjee and Suvendu Adhikari- in connection with the same case, asking them to appear before the agency on Aug 11 and Aug 22, respectively, sources said.

Since Mar 14 last year, news portal- Narada News- released several sting operation footage, where TMC's leaders, ministers, MPs and MLAs were allegedly seen accepting bribes.

However, TMC leadership had claimed that the sting footage was doctored and a conspiracy of the opposition parties.

After getting direction from the Calcutta High Court and Supreme Court, the CBI has started a probe into the case.

On April 17, the investigation agency registered an FIR in connection with the case under several non-bailable sections against 12 influential leaders, cabinet ministers, MLAs and MPs of TMC and one senior IPS officer, who were seen accepting money in the sting footage, reports said.

Besides the CBI, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has also registered a money laundering case in Narada sting case and it is currently investigating the case.

(Reporting by Deepayan Sinha)
Sushma Swaraj departs for Nepal, to take part in BIMSTEC Foreign Minister's meeting India Blooms News Service | | #SushmaSwaraj, # BISMTEC, # Nepal, # ForeignMinistersMeeting

New Delhi, Aug 10 (IBNS): External Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj on Thursday departed for Nepal, where she will take part in the BIMSTEC Foreign Minister's meeting.
New Delhi, Aug 10 (IBNS): The Rajya Sabha on Thursday bid farewell to outgoing Vice President of India Hamid Ansari, according to media reports.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi joined Rajya Sabha members in the farewell ceremony to convey his best wishes to the outgoing vice president.

Prime Minister Modi said that Hamid Ansaris family has an illustrious history of over 100 years in public life.

The Prime Minister said that the Vice President had been a career diplomat, and he had benefited from the Vice Presidents insights on diplomatic issues on several occasions.

Hamid Ansari, 80, whose second term as the vice president ends on Thursday, said that he had flagged the issue of 'intolerance' with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his cabinet members, reported NDTV.

Ansari also said that the questioning of citizens over their love for India as a "disturbing thought", according to media reports.

Media reports quoted the Vice President Ansari (as per his interview on Rajya Sabha TV) as saying that incidents of lynching and 'ghar wapsi' and alleged killings of rationalists is a "breakdown of Indian values, breakdown of the ability of the authorities at different levels in different places to be able to enforce what should be normal law enforcing work and over all the very fact that Indianness of any citizen being questioned is a disturbing thought."

Veteran BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu will take over as Vice President of India after Ansari demits office on Thursday.
New Delhi, Aug 10 (IBNS): Delhi police arrested two alleged terrorists with links to al Qaeda, about a week ahead of Independence Day celebrations, according to media reports on Thursday.

Syed Mohammed Zishan Ali, was arrested from the Delhi airport after being brought back from Saudi Arabia, media reported.

Hailing from Jharkhand, Ali was operating from Saudia Arabia, reports said.

The other alleged operative, Raja-ul-Ahmed, said to be from Bangladesh, was arrested last week by Delhi Police Special Cell, according to media reports, following inputs shared with them by the West Bengal Police.
New York, Aug 10(Just Earth News): The United Nations humanitarian wing is deeply concerned about the safety and protection of the thousands of civilians inside Raqqa city, many of them women and children, who are caught in the crossfire of the ongoing conflict, a UN spokesperson said on Wednesday.

The humanitarian community is assisting displaced people  and host communities  in at least 46 sites, camps or areas of high concentration of internally displaced people in the area, and they are reaching over 263,000 people with some form of assistance in July, Spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters at the regular Headquarters press briefing in New York.

He added that assistance includes various types of food, including daily rations of bread, medicines and medical supplies, as well as nutrition assistance.

The offensive to retake Raqqa city from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da'esh) began two months ago. Ground fighting and airstrikes in and around the city have led to mass displacement and a deterioration of the humanitarian situation inside the city.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), an estimated 10,000 to 25,000 people remain trapped in the city, although exact figures remain difficult to verify due to the situation on the ground.

Access to Raqqa is not currently possible for the UN, due to the fighting on the ground, Dujarric said, reminding all military actors of their obligations to protect civilians and ensure humanitarian access, in line with international humanitarian law.

Photo: UNICEF/Delil Soulaiman

Source: www.justearthnews.com
Toronto, Aug 11 (IBNS): Ontario Ombudsman has held Toronto public and Catholic school boards responsible for the crisis regarding the school bus, media reports said.

The Ontario Ombudsman Investigation stated the two boards were complacent in the whole matter.

They said the boards were well aware of the shortage of drivers as early as 2016.

After the new transportation agreement, several routes were revised as per the new methods of assigning routes.

The Investigation found out that some operators were either unable or unwilling to cover those routes.

Though the boards were informed about the crisis by a top transportation official prior to the beginning of the academic year, none of them paid heed to the warning.

Ombudsman Paul Dube was quoted by 680 News: "My investigation found that, far from being unpredictable and beyond the control of the school boards and Toronto Student Transportation Group, the 2016 transportation disruptions were rooted in their actions and inactions before the start of the school year."

The boards said they brought several changes which include giving routes to bus operators which were earlier in the planning process, installing new software for bus routes and the launch of the online transportation portal.



(Reporting by Souvik Ghosh)

Image: Creative Commons.




Plantations Were Prisons: Mobilizing for the Aug. 19 Millions for Prisoners Human Rights March in Washington DC

--Part one of an interview with Law Professor Angela A. Allen-Bell





By Angola 3 News





Robert H. King and Albert Woodfox of the Angola 3 are issuing a call to everybody concerned about the human rights of US prisoners: "We know the economic situation for African Americans, other minority communities, and poor whites is very difficult. However, if there is any way possible for you to get to the Millions for Prisoners Human Rights March in Washington DC on August 19 , so that your voice can be heard, so that we can speak in one voice, please join us. Enough is Enough!"





Albert Woodfox was released from prison in February, 2016 after over 43 years in solitary confinement. Robert King, the other surviving member of the Angola 3, spent 29 years in solitary confinement until his release in 2001. Along with personally traveling to Washington DC for the March on August 19, both King and Woodfox are currently working to spread the word and raise awareness about the upcoming event.





The August 19 March will gather near the White House, in Lafayette Park, where the March will begin at 12:00 Noon. The organizers "seek to unite activists, advocates, prisoners, ex-prisoners, their family and friends, as well as all others committed to the fight to drastically reduce or eliminate prisons and the prison system, and replace them with more humane and effective systems. Our aim is to expose the prison industrial complex for what it is. We want to challenge the idea that caging and controlling people keeps communities safe."







Albert Woodfox emphasizes the importance of the March: "This is an opportunity to bring to light a lot of stuff that has been kept in the dark about prisons and the judicial system. August 19 will give an opportunity for a mother, father or grandparents to speak about the horrors of their loved ones being in prison."





The impact of the US prison system on families is a central focus of the March, and is an issue Woodfox speaks directly to: "If you consider the degrading and humiliating experiences that family members sometimes have to endure just to visit, in my opinion it has risen to the point now where the judge sends an individual to prison, he is also sentencing the whole family." Furthermore, "because of economic hardship, particularly with minorities, it js very difficult for a family to give the kind of support that they want to give to their loved ones. Those are the kinds of things people will get a chance to talk about on August 19."





The event's two core demands involve the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution, which was ratified in 1865, following the end of the Civil War. The 13th Amendment abolished slavery, except for prisoners, stating specifically: "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."





The organizers of the March are demanding that "the 13th amendment enslavement clause of the United States Constitution be amended to abolish legalized slavery in America." Furthermore, they demand "a Congressional hearing on the 13th Amendment enslavement clause being recognized as in violation of international law, the general principles of human rights and its direct links to" several different issues, including "private entities exploiting prison labor," "companies overcharging prisoners for goods and services," and "producing the world's largest prison population."









Albert Woodfox argues that the enslavement clause was added to the 13th Amendment "to appease Southern politicians and wealthy men. A lot of people think that slavery is over, but it is not." Woodfox continues: "Anyone who has been convicted of a felony in this country becomes a slave of the state, and you lose your human rights and in most cases your citizen rights for a long time, in some cases forever. Some states have laws where if you are convicted of a felony, then you lose your right to vote. The American Revolution was about exactly that: taxation without representation. If I am a former prisoner and I am lucky enough to get a job, I will be paying taxes but I dont have the right to vote because I went to prison. Okay, I went to prison and I paid my dues, so why when I come back into society do I not have the basic human right in an organized society and that is to vote. Those are the kinds of things we are trying to bring to light to American citizens."





As the August 19 March approaches, we are publishing a new interview with Southern University Law Professor Angela A. Allen-Bell. In our discussion featured below, Prof. Bell provides an in depth analysis and further historical context for properly understanding what she argues are the legitimate criticisms presented by organizers and participants in the March.





For example, Prof. Bell confronts the history and legacy of slavery head-on, asserting: "When it comes to African Americans, we have been incarcerated from the time we arrived in this country. Plantations were prisons. The change from incarceration on a plantation, to incarceration in custodial institutions, to incarceration where there are no physical limitations, but where one exists in a state of civic and political oppression, in my view, is nothing more than semantics. Mass incarceration started when slavery started."









Part two of our interview will be published next week, in advance of the August 19 March.





(PHOTO: Professor Angela A. Allen-Bell)





Angola 3 News: Your recent article published by the Mercer Law Review, entitled "How The Narrative About Louisiana's Non-Unanimous Criminal Jury System Became a Person of Interest in the Case Against Justice in the Deep South" examines instances where twelve-person juries are allowed to cast judgement with fewer than twelve individuals voting in favor of a finding of guilt in non-capital, criminal cases involving hard labor sentences. Mercer Law Review





Can you please explain what your critique of this policy is, and how it relates to your broader critique of institutionalized white supremacy in the US criminal justice system?





Angela A. Allen-Bell: In felony cases that are not death penalty cases, Louisiana seats twelve jurors, but allows a conviction upon the vote of only ten of those jurors.





In 1803, when Louisiana became a territory, unanimous verdicts were required. Non-unanimous verdicts were introduced in Louisiana after slavery ended. This Jim Crow era law made its way to the Constitution of 1898 after a convention of all white males expressed that their: mission wasto establish the supremacy of the white race.





The change from unanimity was to: (1) obtain quick convictions that would facilitate the use of free prisoner labor (vis-a-vis Louisianas convict leasing system) as a replacement for the recent loss of free slave labor; and (2) ensure African American jurors would not use their voting power to block convictions of other African Americans. In my view, this law:





 Creates an arbitrary system whereby defendants of 48 states are afforded greater 6th Amendment protections than defendants in Louisiana and Oregon, the only two states that allow the use of criminal, non-unanimous juries.





 Establishes an illogical disparity in 6th Amendment protections between state courts and federal courts since all federal courts require unanimous juries (even federal courts in Louisiana and Oregon).





 Contributes to wrongful convictions.





 Ignores the credible research on group thinking, which suggests that unanimous verdicts are more reliable, more careful and more thorough.





 Creates a legal means for prosecutors to discriminate when it comes to jury practices by allowing them to circumvent the US Supreme Court's 1986 Batson v. Kentucky decision, which prohibits prosecutors from using race as a reason not to select someone for jury service.





 Contributes to the creation of an automated justice system whose aim is speed as opposed to justice and genuine concern for public safety.





 Ignores longstanding 6th Amendment tenants calling for unanimity dating back to the enactment of the 6th Amendment and the time of the Framers.





 Allows different standards between the states and the federal government for the protection of fundamental rights in defiance of the Bill of Rights, which mandates otherwise.





 Undermines public trust in the judicial system.





 Contributes to the oppression of classes of people.





 Contributes to mass incarceration.





We often think of slavery in racial terms. The scale of slavery is often overlooked. When slavery was abolished, it was the largest financial asset in the American economy. This is significant because it speaks to the coveted nature of the system and hints to the veraciousness of the appetite that would have existed to maintain it.





Laws such as the 13th Amendment and Louisianas non-unanimous jury law create the appearance of legitimacy in government while simultaneously serving as legal blueprints for the oppression of certain people. They were written to ensure that African Americans could not achieve social or political equality. These laws represent the legislation of oppression and white supremacy. Justice and oppression cant coexist. Therein lies the problem.





The historical record is replete with examples of this taking form under the cover of law, policy and/or practice. For example, following the end of segregation in Louisiana, the legislature created a Segregation Committee and an Association of Citizens Councils. These bodies were to work in close cooperation with the legislature to preserve white supremacy. One of the things they did was set up programs for parish voting registrars where registrars were trained on how to promote white political control.





Mississippis legislature created a Sovereignty Commission for using legislation to maintain white supremacy. Alabama added language to its constitution that prevented people from voting if they were convicted of certain enumerated crimes. The crimes that they included in the legislation came from conviction statistics. They used those statistics to select crimes that African Americans were mostly convicted of and then those crimes were put into the constitutional enumeration with the intent of disenfranchising African Americans.





I encourage people to stop viewing these injustices as solitary wrongs. They are so much more than bad laws or bad policies. Justice seekers must view these laws within the context of the system they were designed in. Fixing these laws will accomplish a very narrow goal: one bad law gone. I discourage a fix. I encourage a solution.





The real issue is the system that plays host to such injustices and human rights abuses. The focus of this generation has to be on systemic change. This is the only way to finally confront the complex layers of institutionalized racism and supremacy in the criminal justice system.





Since the late 1980s, Congressman John Conyers has repeatedly introduced H.R. 40, which calls for the establishment of a Commission to Study the Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act. Whats important about this legislation is the aspect that would create a federal commission to review the institution of slavery, the resulting racial and economic discrimination against African Americans, and the impact of these forces on African Americans who are living today. Studies are routinely done in this country concerning lesser matters. It makes logical sense for the government to devote its resources to fully acknowledging the far-reaching impact that slavery has had on usall of us.





Since slavery ended, there have been too many instances of law and policy being used as an agent of repression. And it is law and policy that has defined our economic, political and social existence. At what point have we collectively confronted this reality and what it has done to the infrastructure of our government and our legal system? The upcoming march wisely seeks to confront this void.





A3N: What is the current status of the non-unanimous jury rule in Louisiana? Are there currently any challenges to it in the courts or elsewhere?





AB: The law remains in the criminal code and in the state constitution. It continues to be championed and used by many prosecutors on a regular basis. At the same time, there are continuous defense challenges in Louisiana (and Oregon) state courts. Louisiana courts render predictable and ritualistic rulings that maintain the status quo.





On rare occasions when Louisiana courts have agreed to review the merits of non-unanimous jury challenges, they harmoniously declare that the solution to this injustice is to place a toilsome burden of proof on criminal defendants. Notably, on February 9, 2017, in the case of State v. Lee, Orleans Parish Criminal District Court Judge Arthur Hunter ruled that proof of disproportionate impact requires the testimony of a statistician or social scientist who has:

"[P]reformed a peer-reviewed study which looked at raw data concerning jury verdicts. This data would have been divided based on unanimous and non-unanimous juries. The data then would have been analyzed for guilty, not guilty, hung juries, and overturned verdicts. The data would also be teased apart based on race, gender, and even religionTo show disparate impact, the court needs to see a full-scale study which looks at the numbers to provide conclusive demographic data"





There are ongoing efforts by Oregon and Louisiana defense attorneys to have this issue reviewed by the US Supreme Court (who last spoke on this issue in its flawed, 1972 Apodaca v. Oregon plurality opinion). A mounting grassroots advocacy effort led by the ACLU of Louisiana, the Innocence Project New Orleans, myself and a few other local lawyers and exonerees devoted to the dismantling of this law has also formed.





A3N: In your Mercer Law Review article and earlier in this interview, you present the historical context for the non-unanimous jury rule by citing how the 13th Amendment abolished slavery, except for prisoners. The 13th Amendment is a central focus of the upcoming Millions for Prisoners Human Rights March in Washington DC August 19.





In your opinion, in order to understand our present circumstances, how significant are these historical origins of the US prison system? What is the legacy of the laws criminalizing former slaves, known as the Black Codes and the convict lease system that accompanied the 13th Amendments legalization of slavery for prisoners?





AB: After Abraham Lincoln was elected, Southern states started to secede from the Union. The Civil War ended in May 1865. The 13th Amendment was ratified in December 1865. The 13th Amendment was an attempt by Congress to get those Southern states back. Thus, the exceptions clause. The primary architect of the legislation was a slaveholder. In his recent book, Slaves of the State, Dennis Childs poignantly describes this legislative charade. He writes:





"The grandest emancipatory gesture in U.S. history contained a rhetorical trapdoor, a loophole of state repression, allowing for the continued cohabitation of liberal bourgeois law and racial capitalist terror; the interested invasion of objective, color-blind, and duly processed legality by summary justice and white supremacist custom; and the constitutional sanctioning of state-borne prison-industrial genocide."





The legacy is that they all contributed to the continuation of the conditions of slavery. They collectively ensured that slavery never ended, but merely changed forms. These historical origins help us understand the current state of affairs as much as they underscore the significance of the upcoming march, which seeks to eradicate these structural defects in our injustice system.





A3N: You write that your Mercer Law Review article advocates against impersonal, mechanized systems of justice that are built upon defendants, dockets, cases, quotas, formulas and rapidity. This article calls for the justice community to see cases in a highly personal wayto see cases as stories written about humans.





In this same vein, even human rights activists can perhaps get so caught up in the statistics of injustice (like mass incarceration and the racially discriminatory so-called war on drugs.) that we can downplay or even forget the human story behind the statistics. What is that story? What do you think is the US prison systems impact on prisoners, prisoners families, and the broader human community?





AB: Nothing about who we are as a mass incarcerator should be viewed as a current event. When it comes to African Americans, we have been incarcerated from the time we arrived in this country. Plantations were prisons. The change from incarceration on a plantation, to incarceration in custodial institutions, to incarceration where there are no physical limitations, but where one exists in a state of civic and political oppression, in my view, is nothing more than semantics. Mass incarceration started when slavery started. And, since that time, African Americans have experienced some form of imprisonmentthe differences are in the degrees.





The notion of incarcerating people as a form of individual punishment did not always exist. The practice was to convict then punish, not to confine. Death and corporal punishment were used extensively before opposition to the death penalty formed. The practice of using physical structures to separate people from society came as an alternative to this.





These institutions (along with immigrant detention centers) have transcended the Southern racist and exploitative agenda and morphed into incubators for capitalist contrivances. At this moment in America, there are over 2.2 million incarcerated people. Incarceration has increased by more than 500% in the last forty years. My research does not offer justification for such sweeping efforts to lock people up. What it does show is that laws, policies, racism, bias, unjust practices, abuses and a nearly automated judicial system has led to the creation of what I liken to an organized human trafficking system where poor people are ushered through courts on virtual conveyor belts and funneled into the unyielding grip of custodial detention and state supervision.





As people understand this, they will approach conversations about prisons and convictions with caution and begin to develop the capacity to see inmates as something more than just defendants or criminals. This matters because perception and characterization shapes our level of empathy.





In no way am I suggesting that every prisoner is free of culpability and is undeservingly in custody. I dont feel that way at all. I am suggesting that the system is so inherently flawed and so riddled with bias (both implicit and explicit) that it often treats the innocent and the guilty the same and, once in it, the system engulfs a person and often fast-tracks them to becoming their worse self.





Prisons are breeding grounds for sickness, recidivism, exploitation, cruelty and destruction. In their current form, they are not a good use of public dollars. With this appreciation, we can no longer dismiss conversations about prisoners. We cant rest on the notion that inmates put themselves there.





In this same vein, we must fight the overuse and abuse of solitary confinement, both in the general population and on death row. This system affords too much unchecked authority to prison officials. The harms far outweigh the benefits. The situation has been too well studied to be refuted at this point. Prolonged solitary confinement causes anxiety, depression, anger, cognitive disturbances, perceptual distortions, obsessive thoughts, paranoia, psychosis and a host of other medical and emotional challenges. It costs more. It is disproportionately used on minorities and vulnerable populations, such as the mentally ill and members of the LGBT community.





The march organizers are correct when they refer to solitary confinement as torture and torture as a human rights violation. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture has declared it to be so.





This march represents a moment for people to see what prisons are as much as what they are not. Certainly, they are needed for public safety in some instances. But the scale of the situation in the United States far exceeds what is necessary for public safety.





Prisons create and ensure an underclass. Prisons provide a free labor base. Prisons destroy families and kill potential in people. Prisons provide profits to those who have a stake in them.





--Angola 3 News is a project of the International Coalition to Free the Angola 3. Our website is www.angola3news.com, where we provide the latest news about the Angola 3. Additionally we are also creating our own media projects, which spotlight the issues central to the story of the Angola 3, like racism, repression, prisons, human rights, solitary confinement as torture, and more.




Minneapolis radio and podcast artists Todd Melby and Melissa Wray will host a pair of events next week while in Houston County as part of the Citizen-Artists-in-Residence program.

Melby and Wray plan to produce an audio reel of the stories that they collect during their time in Houston County, which will then be made available to the general public. Separately, theyll also use what theyve gathered in future personal projects; a possible radio story for Melby, and a podcast series exploring both rural and urban stories for Wray.

A meet and greet event will be 6 p.m. Monday, Aug. 14, at the KARST Driftless Guidepost, 111 Cedar St., Houston.

A community workshop will be at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 16, at Caledonia Public Library, 231 Main St. E. At the workshop, theyll offer tips and prompts to craft a compelling story, in both essay and audio formats.

Both events are free and open to the public. Registration is required for the workshop. Contact residency coordinator Erin Dorbin at cccartistresidency@gmail.com.

The CAIR program, based just outside of Houston, works in partnership with the Houston Arts Resource Council), a non-profit organization devoted to promoting arts in the region.
Lifestyle Raising the Bar

Opened in May, the Sushi Bar serves up modern Japanese dishes and, you guessed it, sushi. / The Irrawaddy

Yangons myriad Japanese eateries have a new restaurant to compete withits secret weapons are exceptionally well-sourced sashimi and fine-grade Wagyu beef.

Singaporean Eugene Heng opened Sushi Bar in Sule Square in May, his third restaurant, after opening two of the same name in Singapore over the last four and a half years.

The concept, in Singapore at least, is quality modern Japanese food with a focus on sushi and sashimi that wont break the bank.

After Myanmar friends visited his Singapore branches, they convinced him to set up a joint venture in Yangon.

As the name suggests, the restaurants sushi and sashimi are its strength. Fatty tuna, snapper, and mackerel are flown over fresh from Japan.

Crucially, the fish isnt frozenso the texture and taste of the glistening sashimi is (almost) as fresh and refreshing as youd find in Tokyos famous Tsukiji fish market.

The otoro (fatty tuna) is supple and full of flavor as is the salmon, flown in from Norway, especially with the restaurants freshly grated wasabi root.

The rest of the menu by chef Boo Kae Lunpreviously of Nadaman Japanese restaurant at the Singapore Shangri Lashould not be overlooked, particularly the more modern, fusion dishes.

The pan-fried foie gras in teriyaki sauce with slow cooked daikon and pumpkin puree is pure indulgence.

The dish is a master class in fusion cookingthe luxury of French fine dining with the foie gras and puree marries with the succulent Japanese white radish. Worth the indulgence at 16,900 kyats.

Equally sumptuous is the foie gras ikura chawanmushitraditional Japanese steamed egg with foie gras.

The Miyazaki Wagyu was another highlight of Sushi Bars menu. Like the sashimi, the quality of the Japanese grade A5 sirloin speaks for itself. Eugene told us he brings it over personally, seven kilograms at a time, from Singapore. Served medium rare, its a melt-in-your-mouth treat.

Eugene admits, however, that Sushi Bar is unlikely to find itself as the restaurant of choice for Yangons discerning Japanese residents. Its lack of a Japanese chef and shopping mall location mean all those its ingredients cannot be faulted, but it lacks a little authenticity.

The Irrawaddys hot tip? Be sure to reserve one of the booths on the window side of the restaurant for a more secluded, intimate dining experience overlooking Sule Pagoda Road rather than Sule Square shoppers.
Burma ANP Asks Army Chief to Segregate Ethnic Communities in Maungdaw

Young Muslim men in Maungdaw Township, Rakhine State. / Htet Naing Zaw / The Irrawaddy

NAYPYITAW  The Arakan National Party (ANP) urged Myanmar Army Commander-in-Chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing to segregate Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine States Maungdaw Township in the aftermath of killings of ethnic Mro people in the south of the township.

A seven-member ANP delegation visited the military chief in administrative capital Naypyitaw on Wednesday to discuss local concerns and called for heightened security measures in Rakhine State.

Ethnic [Rakhine] villages are surrounded by Bengali villages, so, we called for designating No-Bengali zones in the area, U Khin Maung Latt of the ANP, who was at the meeting, told The Irrawaddy.

The stateless Rohingya Muslim population of 1.1 million in Rakhine is referred to as Bengali by many in the state and the government, to infer that they are interlopers from Bangladesh.

Tension has been running high recently between the two communities, who remain largely separated since inter-communal violence in 2012 and 2013 displaced around 140,000 people, the vast majority of them Muslim Rohingya.

Myanmar Army-led security operations, in response to attacks on border guard posts that killed nine police, drove 75,000 Rohingya across the border to Bangladesh and very likely amounted to crimes against humanity, according to the UN.

The commander-in-chief did not give a clear response to the request, according to attendees.

ANP secretary U Oo Hla Saw, who was also present at the meeting, said the party requested to meet the army chief as the military is responsible for national security.

The ANP elaborated on the concerns of ethnic Rakhine people and recent militant acts in the area, and the army chief seemed to be keen to provide the best security he could for ethnic Rakhine people, he said.

The army chief said he would fully protect ethnic groups in Rakhine State and that he would take care of the routes that [immigrants] use to come in illegally, and make sure the Mayu mountains are not used by militants, said U Oo Hla Saw, who is a Lower House member of parliament for Mrauk U Township.

Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaings Facebook page said the two sides discussed further cooperation for stability and development in Rakhine State.

The ANP delegation said the ruling party National League for Democracy (NLD) and the army have different views on the Rakhine issue.

Also on Wednesday, the Upper House agreed to consider U Khin Maung Latts proposal which urged the government to take action against suspected militants in northern Rakhine State under the 2014 Counter-Terrorism Law and help locals who have fled their homes because of recent killings in the area.

Last week, six ethnic Mroa sub-ethnic group of Rakhineof Kay Gyee village near the Mayu mountain range in southern Maungdaw Township were found dead with gun and machete wounds. It remains unclear who was responsible for the killings.

The State Counselors Office reported hundreds of ethnic Rakhine from several villages had left their homes and moved to other villages following the unrest.

Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing remarked that ethnic youth should cooperate with security forces, according to ANP delegates, when asked about providing arms for local people.

Also present at the meeting was deputy commander-in-chief of defense services and army commander-in-chief Vice-Snr-Gen Soe Win and chief of general staff (army, navy and air) Gen Mya Tun Oo. The ANP delegation was headed by chairman Dr. Aye Maung.

The Myanmar government on Sunday, in its investigation report into the Rakhine security operation, repeated rejections of accusations of human rights abuses, calling reports of possible genocide fabricated.

The government continues to block a UN fact-finding mission tasked with investigating alleged atrocitiesincluding extra judicial killings, arson, and rapecommitted by Myanmar Army and police during the Rakhine security campaign that began last year.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.
Burma Bill Committee Calls for Reduced Sentencing in Telecom Law

An NLD member who was charged under the Telecommunications Act for insulting the army chief on Facebook appeared in Yangons Hlaing Township Court on Nov. 17. / Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy

YANGON  The Lower House Bill Committee called to reduce the maximum prison term under Article 66 of the Telecommunications Law including online defamation charges to less than three years on Thursday.

The law, which was enacted in 2013 under former President Thein Sein, is undergoing amendment.

Article 66(d), a controversial law that limits freedom of expression online, currently provides for a maximum prison sentence of up to three years for anyone convicted of extorting, coercing, restraining wrongfully, defaming, disturbing, causing undue influence or threatening to any person by using any Telecommunications Network.

The law has been, and still is, used to stifle political dissent, through punishment that is severe in relation to the crime. It has been used to charge more than 80 people with online defamation, including more than a dozen members of the media who have been detained and jailed.

A member of the Lower House Bill Committee, U Tun Tun Hein, told parliamentarians on Thursday that the term of imprisonment must be reduced in order for those accused under the statute to be guaranteed bail in line with criminal procedure.

The Upper House approved amendments of the law on Aug. 2 without reducing the imprisonment term. The amended bill states that those charged under Articles 65, 66(a), (b) and (d) may be granted bail, leaving it to the judges discretion.

According to Myanmars criminal procedure, charges that can be accompanied by three or more years in prison do not permit bail to be granted.

This point makes it clear that bail is not allowable under Article 66, U Tun Tun Hein told parliamentarians on Thursday.

If we amend the imprisonment to less than three years, these will become bailable charges in line with existing law [criminal procedure], he added.

The Lower House Bill Committee presented their observations on the draft amendment of the law that has been approved in the Upper House. The committee praised the changes, saying they give the accused greater chances to defend themselves, stop third parties from filing cases and expedite legal action.

The Lower House will discuss the amendments in the upcoming session.
Burma H1N1 Death Toll Rises to 19

Waibagi Hospital / Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy

YANGON  Two more children died of the H1N1 virus on Wednesday, bringing the death toll to 19 since the flu outbreak was confirmed on July 21, according to Ministry of Health and Sports.

The two children were from Irrawaddy and Magwe regions, according to the Public Health Department in Naypyitaw.

According to the health ministry, a total of 183 people contracted the H1N1 virusalso known as swine flubetween July 21 and August 9. A total of 63 patients11 at Waibagi Hospital in Yangon and 52 at hospitals in other regions and statesare still receiving medical treatment, but most of them are recovering, according to the ministry.

However, according to the daily statements released by the ministry about the virus and deaths, the number of people who contracted and died of virus has continued to rise.

Local businessmen, companies, as well as UN agencies and international organizations, are providing cash, medicine, medical equipment and masks, according to the ministry. Turkey will provide flu vaccines, and China will also supply the antiviral medication Oseltamivir, flu vaccines, and medical equipment including respirators.

Meanwhile, the medical superintendent of Irrawaddy Regions Pyapon Township Hospital has been discharged from Waibagi Hospital after recovering from the H1N1 virus, the medical superintendent of Waibagi Hospital Dr. Aye Aye Aung told The Irrawaddy.

The medical superintendent was admitted to Waibagi Hospital on August 3 after she became sick during the last week of July and was discharged on Tuesday, she said.

The deputy director-general of the public health department Dr. Than Tun Aung said at a meeting on the H1N1 flu on Sunday that the ministry would treat the outbreak as a pandemic, and still had not been able to bring it under control.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko
Burma Ministry Pledges Legal Protection For Domestic Workers

Scars are visible on the arm and hand of Ma San Kay Khaing, who escaped from five years in domestic servitude in Rangoons Kyauktada Township. / Lawi Weng / The Irrawaddy

YANGON  The Ministry of Labor, Immigration and Population has pledged to provide legal protections for Myanmar housemaids working abroad without proper documentation, the minister said on Thursday.

Responding to a parliamentary question on such protections raised by Lower House lawmaker U Min Thein of Magwe Divisions Taungdwingyi Township, Minister U Thein Swe acknowledged that traffickers and agents have been sending female domestic workers to foreign countries illegally, since his ministry has ceased to provide such work documentation since 2014.

Due to language barriers and very few chances to communicate with other organizations outside [of their employers houses], they are unable to get the legal rights of the host countries, Minister U Thein Swe said.

By collecting data from migrant workers in foreign countries, we will arrange to legalize the status of domestic workers, the minister told lawmakers.

Lawmaker U Min Thein questioned if the ministry planned to put forward a clear policy granting legal protections for domestic workers who are employed by local families in foreign countries and within Myanmar. He cited a recent suicide in which a domestic worker, who was a Myanmar national, jumped from a high-rise apartment in Singapore, allegedly as a consequence of ill treatment by her employer, as well as the high profile case of the two enslaved teenaged housemaids in the Ava tailor shop in downtown Yangon.

Minister U Thein Swe also acknowledged the need for a separate law dedicated to preventing and tackling abuse, exploitation, and debt bondage carried out by employers against housemaids. He also pointed out that there are limitations in trying to collect information about such workers and to investigate allegations of violations by employers due to the nature of domestic work.

They are usually employed through relatives and friends or through brokers and agents, and they stay inside the houses of their employers, he explained. [For these reasons,] we have difficulty in inspecting if the employers follow the regulated [maximum] working hours or respect the rules.

The ministry has so far only officially approved sending some 130 domestic workers to Singapore through a bilateral agreement between the two governments, but it is estimated that as many as 40,000 Myanmar nationals are currently engaged in domestic work in Singapore, according to the ministry.

International Domestic Workers Day was celebrated last week for the first time in Myanmar with the assistance of the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the Livelihoods and Food Security Trust Fund (LIFT).

On June 16, 2011, the ILO adopted a landmark treaty, the Convention on Decent Work for Domestic Workers, which laid out the rights of domestic workers. The convention requires countries to guarantee domestic workers the same rights as other workers regarding daily and weekly rest periods, working hours, overtime compensation and paid annual leave; as well as adequate protection against violence.
Burma Tatmadaw Troops Arrive in Sittwe, Bound for Maungdaw: Source

Myanmar Army troops arrive in Sittwe on Thursday. / Myanmar Pressphoto Agency

Naypyitaw  A fully equipped Tatmadaw battalion believed to be dispatched to Maungdaw arrived at Sittwe Airport on Thursday morning, sources close to the Rakhine State government confirmed to The Irrawaddy.

At around 9 a.m. today, two military planes landed at Sittwe Airport. All of [the passengers] are soldiers. There may be around 100 in each plane. I heard they cant proceed to Maungdaw because of bad weather and are staying in Sittwe, a Sittwe local who was present at the airport told The Irrawaddy on the condition of anonymity.

Sources close to the Rakhine State government told The Irrawaddy that they do not know the exact number of troops, but that they are meant to assist the security police force rather than directly engage in area clearance operations.

The dispatch follows the Arakan National Party (ANP)s request to the Tatmadaw commander-in-chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing to boost security in the area on Wednesday.

Weve officially asked for further deployment of Tatmadaw forces for the security of Rakhine State. We pointed out that existing security forces are too small to protect ethnic villages. The army chief said the Tatmadaw has large forces and that he would increase the troops if necessary. And he did as he said today, ANP lawmaker U Pe Than, representing Myebon Township in the Lower House, told The Irrawaddy.

A senior military officer who asked for anonymity confirmed that the deployment was made at the request of ANP. However, he declined to give further details, citing security reasons.

A spokesperson from the Rakhine State government said that the civil administration is not informed of military matters, and that he knew nothing more about what was reported regarding troop movements.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.
News Govt, UNFC Still at Odds on Signing NCA

The sixth round of formal talks between the government's Peace Commission and the United Nationalities Federal Council. / Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy

Government representatives expressed high hopes of reaching an agreement in peace discussions with the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) in Yangon on Thursday, despite UNFC representative Khu Oo Reh saying the trust-level between the parties was zero.

The comments were made in opening remarks at the sixth round of formal talks between the government Peace Commission and ethnic bloc the UNFCs Delegation for Political Negotiation (DPN) at the National Reconciliation and Peace Center in Yangon.

An agreement to have UNFC members sign the nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA) would be reached at this round of talks after 14 months of negotiations, said Peace Commission chairman U Tin Myo Win in his opening remarks.

The Peace Commission and the UNFC discussed the DPNs nine-point proposal of conditions leading to the blocs groups signing the NCAone of which being that all five members of the UNFC are invited to sign.

U Tin Myo Win added that chairperson of the National Reconciliation and Peace Center State Counselor Daw Aung San Su Kyi had sent a message to say she strongly believed the talks could finalize the ethnic bloc signing the NCA and she hoped they could walk forward towards peace at the next stage of the 21st Century Panglong Union peace conference.

DPN leader and UNFC general secretary Khu Oo Reh, however, said in his opening remarks: I feel like the essential trust level is still at zero after after 14 months of talks.

The position of peace policy markers bore no reality to the situation on the ground, he added.

Active members of UNFC which will decide whether to sign after talks are: the New Mon State Party (NMSP); the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP); the Lahu Democratic Union (LDU); the Arakan National Council (ANC); and the Shan State Progress Party (SSPP).

Government spokesperson U Zaw Htay, who attended Thursdays meeting, said that after heated discussions, the two parties were in a positon to reach an agreement.

Under discussion were the location of Myanmar Army outposts and the inclusion of international observers in the ceasefire monitoring.

Discussions will continue, and end, on Friday.

In July, The Irrawaddy reported that four non-NCA signatory ethnic armed groups had resigned from the UNFC: the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), the Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA), the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and the Wa National Organization (WNO).

Under the U Thein Sein administration, eight ethnic armed groups signed the NCA in October 2015.

The current National League for Democracy-led government held two rounds of peace conferences in August 2016 and May 2017. The next round is scheduled to take place within the next six months.
Commentary Fitting a Round Peg into a Square Hole

The three journalists detained for unlawful association await their next hearing on Friday. / The Irrawaddy

HSIPAW, Shan StateLast Friday, residents woke up to see beefed up security forces in their tourist town in northern Shan State. The night before, they also noticed several police and army vehicles patrolling the town.

About 60 police officershalf of the towns police forceand additional army personnel were dispersedly deployed at almost every corner of the town and on its main road. They were all fully equipped with automatic rifles at the ready and pistols on their waist belts.

The heavy security in this tiny town was for a court hearing to be held in the morning.

Dont be mistaken that this was for jailbird criminals. On the contrary, it was for three detained reporters and three locals who traveled with them. On June 26, Ko Lawi Weng of the Irrawaddy and Ko Aye Nai and Ko Pyae Phyo Aung of DVB were arrested by the military and later charged with Article 17(1) of the unlawful association act.

Before 10 a.m., traffic police halted all trucks and vehicles to make way for a police custody van and escorted police vehicles and motorcycles, which turned on an earthen road leading to the Hsipaw Township Court.

Residents rarely saw such a scene in the town and had the impression that it was a very important case since the first hearing on July 28.

Yes, it is a high profile case despite being held in a small town. The international community and the entire nation are watching over it with interest because the case is a legal battle between independent media and the military, which is the most powerful institution in the country.

Not only we journalists but also many people in the country see the case as a test of whether the countrys judiciarytraditionally notorious for not being independent, impartial or fairhas changed under the countrys first elected government run by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

Just before the first court hearing, the military affirmed that it would not put pressure on judges handling the detained journalists case and accept the courts decision. Few people believe those words based on their past experiences and a public consciousness that the judiciary was controlled by the previous military regimes.

Coming out of the police custody van on Friday morning, the three detained journalists told reporters that they believed that the court would release them on bail if the country had rule of law because they were only doing their jobs as journalists. Those hopes didnt last long, as judge U Kyaw Moe Thu denied them bail soon after court started around 10 a.m.

The courtroom is tiny but the hearing for this case has been unprecedented. One social worker who was observing in the court for hours told me that he had never seen such intensive questioning, especially against a military prosecutor, during other hearings held for the same charges.

Six lawyers of the defendants bombarded prosecutor Adjutant Thet Naing Oo of the military with questions involving journalistic rights to freely contact sources regardless of who they are, the controversial unlawful association act, the nature of the independent media in serving the public and so on.

The essence of the questions indicated that the militarys charge against the journalists was like putting a round peg into a square hole and that these charges were simply wrong. The prosecutor seemed like he had been defeated on the battlefield. It was a minor victory on that battlefield in the eyes of the defendants, their family members, reporters and other observers in court compound.

Locked up in police custody just behind the court for the lunch break, our reporter Lawi Weng asked me, How long might the case take? Honestly, I didnt have a clear answer for his simple question. Itll be hard for anyone to answer his question.

What I could say was that we have been trying our best to defend him and other detained reporters together with our lawyers. Simultaneously, we have been trying to make concerned authorities of the government understand that the journalists were wrongly charged from the start. But the government cant interfere with the military, which is the main prosecutor in the case.

The bigger question that is still lingering is whether the court can act independently and justly. Though the military said it wouldnt put pressure on judges and the court in this case, we have to wait and see how the court and the judge act.

In the meantime, our detained journalists are waiting in a cell in Hsipaw Prison for their next court hearing this coming Friday.
The ANZ head of a company that sells networking equipment has contested claims made by IDC that the business market for Ethernet switches is being affected by the spread of cloud computing.

Graeme Reardon, the managing director for D-Link in the ANZ region, told iTWire that IDC was basing its conclusions on sell-in data, or vendor to distributor shipments.

IDC had said that sales of Ethernet switches in the first quarter of 2017 fell 21% year-on-year and 12% quarter-on-quarter, the biggest drop since 2015.

It also added that while earlier declines could be linked to events like federal elections, the most recent was systemic and driven by the fact that Australian businesses were moving workloads to the cloud.

But Reardon, who pointed out that D-Link sales were measured by sales to the end-point or the customers themselves, claimed that D-Link had seen 22% quantity growth year-on-year in the overall switching space.

The DGS-1200 Smart Switch Series grew 7%, the DGS-1500 Smart Pro Series grew more than 30% and the DXS-1200 10Gb Smart Switch Series grew more than 100%, though off a smaller base, Reardon said. He did not provide actual numbers.

"As IDC rightly stated, virtualisation and software-defined networking is occurring in the data centre, and is clearly having an effect on those vendors focused in that space," he said.

"However, affordable, on-premise switching solutions continue to be in demand as businesses require the ability to move larger files, including data and video, around the business network.

"We are now starting to see the takeoff of 10Gb to the desktop in corporate and SME customers, not just in the data centre, reflecting in our 10Gb switch growth in Q2 2017."

Reardon said power over Ethernet remained a key driver of growth in the business switching space for D-Link. "(This was) on the back of IP surveillance solutions being rolled out, as well as wireless APs being installed with PoE as the preferred choice, rather than having electricians running power into hard-to-reach roof cavities/ceiling corners etc," he added.

The company had recently launched its new range of managed switches, "which, according to Tolly Group, outperform competitive products in both performance, energy consumption and cost per port, so we expect continued growth in the higher-end managed switch space also", he said.

Reardon claimed that D-Link remained the leader measured by total number of Ethernet ports shipped in the Asia-Pacific region excluding China and Japan, citing IHS Technology figures which gave it more than 37% marketshare.

"In the focus areas that we participate in  corporate businesses and SMEs  D-Link also is the clear leader in unmanaged switch number of ports shipped, with over 60% marketshare, as well as being number one in the smart switch space with over 30% market share by the number of ports shipped across the region," he said.
The following editorial appeared in the July 28 edition of The Free Press of Mankato:

With three out-of-the-blue tweets on Wednesday morning, President Donald Trump seemed to surprise everyone from his staff, to the Pentagon to lawmakers in Congress.

After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you, Trump tweeted.

We are disappointed in the presidents decision to ban transgender Americans from serving in the military. Like many of the presidents tweeted policy statements, this one came without explanation, without a timeline and without any indication on what would happen to the estimated 15,500 transgender soldiers currently serving in the military.

In a Wednesday afternoon press briefing, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders couldnt answer that question, Thats something that the Department of Defense and the White House will have to work together as implementation takes place and is done so lawfully, she said.

While it is not necessarily surprising that Trump wants to roll back the Obama-era policy of allowing transgender people to serve  since he seemingly wants to overturn every Obama-era policy  what is surprising is the backlash he has received even from conservative lawmakers including Sens. Richard Shelby, R-Ala.; Thom Tillis, R-N.C.; Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska; and Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, who all came out against the policy.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, gave this statement, I dont think we should be discriminating against anyone. Transgender people are people and deserve the best we can do for them.

A statement issued by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., read, The Presidents tweet this morning regarding transgender Americans in the military is yet another example of why major policy announcements should not be made via Twitter. The Department of Defense has already decided to allow currently-serving transgender individuals to stay in the military, and many are serving honorably today ... There is no reason to force service members who are able to fight, train, and deploy to leave the military  regardless of their gender identity. We should all be guided by the principle that any American who wants to serve our country and is able to meet the standards should have the opportunity to do so  and should be treated as the patriots they are.

We agree with McCain. Leaving more than 15,000 service people wondering if theyll be kicked out of the military was reckless. Its also bad policy. These patriots deserve better.
Cloud POS provider Vend has appointed Dave Scheine to the newly created role of country manager for APAC.

"When I first met Dave, it quickly became clear that he would bring incredible capability and experience to Vend," said chief executive Alex Fala.

"But just as importantly, he shares our values. His passion for small business and local retail, and his drive to help grow a great company really stood out. We're really pleased to have him on board to lead our Australian and Asia-Pacific team."

Scheine previously worked for Yelp, where he served as director of European operations and more recently as director for APAC.

Earlier in his career he held a series of positions at Google, culminating in senior manager of international online sales and operations.

Scheine is a non-executive director of start-ups Newbe Global and Honee, and an adviser to GoFundMe. He also acts as a start-up mentor for the Melbourne Accelerator Programme and Startmate

He holds a BA in communication from Stanford University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Two employees of Salesforce were fired soon after they finished giving a talk at the recent DEFCON security conference in Las Vegas.

A report in ZDNet said that offensive security director Josh Schwartz and senior offensive security engineer John Cramb were sent a text message by an unnamed senior executive, terminating their employment. Schwartz is from San Francisco while Cramb works for the company in Sydney.

The pair were part of the company's so-called red team that worked on testing its defences from within.

The message was apparently sent half an hour before they gave their talk on a tool called MEATPISTOL, a play on an existing vulnerability testing tool called Metasploit.

The tool was expected to be released as an open source effort so that other companies could use it as well.

But another text message, which both Schwartz and Cramb were reported to have seen an hour before their talk, instructed them not to announced the public release of the code for MEATPISTOL.

The pair, however, went ahead with their talk and announcement. Schwartz announced the firing on his Twitter account.

He later deleted the tweet and set his account to private.

Comment was sought from Salesforce but company spokesman Jake Standish told iTWire: "We don't comment on matters involving individual employees."

The Electronic Frontier Foundation has said it will represent the two sacked employees.

EFF deputy executive director Kurt Opsahl told iTWire in response to a query: "Yes, EFF is representing Josh Schwartz and John Cramb with respect to their talk at DEFCON. We are not aware of any pending court action."
Researchers at the University of Adelaide say that USB connections can leak information, making them less secure than once thought.

Tests were carried on more than 50 different PCs and external USB hubs and 90% were found to leak information to an external USB device.

The team will present a paper on their findings at the USENIX Security Symposium in Vancouver, Canada, next week.

Asked whether this kind of leakage was possible when an USB device was plugged directly into a PC or other device, Dr Yuval Yarom, head of the research project, told iTWire:

"When computers have multiple USB ports they typically (i.e. in all cases we looked) support those through an internal hub. That is, the computer has a hub embedded inside... and this hub allows the computer to support multiple USB ports.

"We have tested both with external hubs and with the internal hubs and found vulnerabilities in both scenarios.

"In particular, we tested direct connections to 34 different computers, including desktops, laptops and all-in-one computers from major brands, such as Lenovo, Apple, Asus and Dell. We found that we could snoop on keystrokes in all but four."

Dr Yarom, a research associate with the University's School of Computer Science, said it had been thought that because information was only sent along the direct communication path to the computer, it was protected from potentially compromised devices.

But our research showed that if a malicious device or one thats been tampered with is plugged into adjacent ports on the same external or internal USB hub, this sensitive information can be captured. That means keystrokes showing passwords or other private information can be easily stolen.

The leak was discovered by a student Yang Su, in the School of Computer Science, in collaboration with Dr Daniel Genkin (University of Pennsylvania and University of Maryland) and Dr Damith Ranasinghe (Auto-ID Lab, University of Adelaide).

They used a modified cheap novelty plug-in lamp with a USB connector to read every keystroke from the adjacent keyboard USB interface. The data was sent via Bluetooth to another computer.

Dr Yarom advised people against just sticking any USB key they found into their own PCs or laptops and suggested that a long-term solution would be to redesign USB connections to improve their security.

The USB has been designed under the assumption that everything connected is under the control of the user and that everything is trusted  but we know thats not the case," he said. "The USB will never be secure unless the data is encrypted before it is sent.
Auckland, 10 August 2017  Staff scheduling and forecasting tools have been shown to reduce labour costs in the contact centre by up to 46%, and yet over half (57%) of all businesses dont use tools to schedule workers.

Research conducted by Pyrios partner Genesys spotlights a big missed opportunity to shave operating costs from customer management and seconds from customer handling times.

But seizing the opportunity is no walk in the park, with contact centre managers required to capture and analyse customer interactions across multiple channels before they can provide more intelligent staff scheduling.

An eBook published by Genesys outlines six key strategies for higher-functioning workforce management in the age of omnichannel communication.

The six key recommendations include:

1. Integrate workforce management and contact centre systems

2. Use interaction recording to understand customer experience from end-to-end

3. Analyse both historical and real-time customer interaction information to developing routing strategies

4. Conduct ongoing skills assessment and training to help employees do their jobs better

5. Use a single reporting tool to automate the collection and reporting of key statistics

6. Provide omnichannel agent desktops to help your workforce provide the kind of service customers expect

Download the eBook  Optimise your workforce for the omnichannel revolution

Omnichannel  is a cross-channel business model that companies use to increase customer experience. Companies that use omnichannel say that customers value continuity of experience regardless of the channel they use to interact with that company.

About Pyrios

Pyrios is a communications technology specialist. We deliver a range of smart communications technology, consulting, integration and managed services to help our clients deliver brilliant customer engagement, every time. We provide services across Australia and New Zealand with offices in Auckland, Wellington, Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra and Perth. Learn more at www.pyrios.com.

For useful news and updates follow Pyrios on Twitter (@PyriosSocial) and LinkedIn.

About Genesys

Genesys powers more than 25 billion of the worlds best customer experiences each year. We put the customer at the centre of everything we do and passionately believe that great customer engagement drives great business outcomes. More than 10,000 companies in over 100 countries trust the industrys #1 customer experience platform to orchestrate seamless omnichannel customer journeys and build lasting relationships. With a strong track record of innovation and a never-ending desire to be first, Genesys is the only company recognised by top industry analysts as a leader in both cloud and on-premise customer engagement solutions. For more information www.genesys.com/anz.
NEC Australia has been awarded a special employer support award for its support of Australias Defence Force Reservists.

NECs support for the reservists was recognised by the Victoria Defence Reserves Support Council with the award of the 2016 Employer Support Award (Large Private Business category).

The award recognises NEC Australia as a reservist-friendly organisation due to its provision of continued and significant support to reservist employees.

NEC Australia employee, Lance Corporal Dan Lydford, nominated NEC for of its unwavering support, commitment, and accommodating manner for his training and operational requirements. NEC Australia was also credited for supporting Lance Corporal Lydfords duties at short notice.

NEC Australia is extremely proud of our employees who dedicate time and energy to such a vital activity as protecting Australias defence and security interests. We consider it an honour to support our reservists when theyre called upon to serve the nation and, equally importantly, to assist them as they return to work, said Mike Barber, chief operating officer NEC Australia.

We understand that reservists face the extra pressure of balancing service with the usual life and work commitments and humbly accept this award for the support we provide Mr Lydford and other employees with dual responsibilities.

Colin Radford, DRSC Victoria State Chair, said, Employers such as NEC understand that you dont have to wear a uniform to serve your country. By supporting their reservists to serve and return to their civilian employment, they are making a huge contribution and getting a skilled, accomplished leader in the bargain.
Contention ratios alone would not be enough for consumers to make a judgement as to which ISP would provide sufficient bandwidth for their needs, an academic claims.

Rod Tucker, Laureate Emeritus Professor at the University of Melbourne and a member of Labor's Expert Panel that advised on the NBN, told iTWire that the claim made by Robin Eckermann, an adjunct professor at Canberra University and one of the people behind the TransACT network, was misleading.

Eckermann had suggested that if the NBN Co, the company rolling out Australia's national broadband network, made contention ratios available to consumers, then that would be of help for them to understand whether a particular ISP could meet their needs.

He gave the following example: "For example, if an RSP was supporting (say) 100 customers at 100 Mbps connection speed, 100 at 50 Mbps, 500 at 25 Mbps and 300 at 12 Mbps over a CVC, the total *theoretical* demand that these customers could generate is 31,100 Mbps.

"If the RSP was buying only (say) 300Mbps CVC capacity to support all these 1000 customers, they would be operating the CVC at a contention ratio of around 104:1  and at this level, it is predictable that there would be congestion at busy times."

But Tucker said it was not as simple as that.

"Under the scenario that Robin mentioned (100 users at 100 Mbps connection speed, 100 at 50 Mbps, 500 at 25 Mbps and 300 at 12Mbps), and with a contention ratio of 104:1, the 100 users with 100 Mbps plans would be disadvantaged more than other users with lower-speed plans," he said.

"Assume, for example, that 5% of all users are trying to download data at the same time (i.e. 5 users with 100Mbps plans, 5 with 50Mbps plans, 25 with 25 Mbps plans, and 15 with 12 Mbps plans." These 50 users would be competing for a share of the 300Mbps CVC allowance in Robins example.

"On average, these 50 users would end up with a connection speed of 6Mbps. For those customers who signed up for a 12Mbps plan, this might not be too much of an inconvenience, but for the 5 users on 100 Mbps plans, an actual speed of 6Mbps would be a great annoyance."

Tucker said Eckermann's solution was not really going to work.

"For a user to understand what kind of service they are going to get from their RSP, they need more information than just the contention ratio. Other information would include details of the relative numbers of customers on different plans, and whether the RSP has ways to provide priority to customers on higher speed plans."
Vancouver, British Columbia / TheNewswire / August 10, 2017 - Harvest Gold Corporation (TSX.V: HVG) ("Harvest Gold" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the commencement of a two-phase mechanical trenching program at Harvest's flagship gold property in Suriname. As announced on April 27, Harvest has embarked on an exploration program that consists of a data review, including the modelling of existing geophysical data, sampling, auger drilling and trenching. The data review and modelling is now complete. The rainy season has passed and initial trenching will begin this week.

In May 2017, Harvest contracted Mr. Carl Windels, a leading expert on 3D modeling and interpretation of airborne geophysical surveys to re-analyze the 2011 magnetic and radiometric survey data collected by Terraquest Ltd. Windels reprocessed the data and integrated the modeling with previous auger sampling and geology of the Tibiti project.

Windels' interpretation defined more than 20 targets based on an integrated interpretation. These targets are associated with a deep-seated dilation zone along a major northeast trending shear zone. The targets correlate very well with the previously identified auger sample targets, T-1 and T-2, on which trenching is to begin this week (Figure 1). In addition, Windel's work has identified at least 10 new targets to the west and north of T-1 and T-2 where there is minimal geochemical sample data and that can be followed up in a subsequent exploration program.

Harvest Gold President and CEO Rick Mark states: "The evaluation by Mr. Windels further supports the merits of the Tibiti concession as a site for significant gold mineralization. The rainy season has passed in Suriname and trenching will begin this week. We look forward to the results of our initial trenching program to establish drill targets at Tibiti and guide us on future trenching. In Mexico, the pre-drilling exploration program, being operated by JV partner Evrim Resources, continues at Cerro Cascaron."

Details of the trenching program

In Phase One, one trench totaling approximately 200 meters will be completed in the T1 region, where previous trenching of geochemical and auger gold anomalies identified gold mineralization in saprolite. Follow up trenching in the T1 area will test new targets as well as attempt to extend mineralization encountered in the past. At least 7 trenches are being considered in the T1 area, totaling approximately 1100 meters.

At the T2 area, approximately 2.5 km to the south of T1, an initial trenching program of approximately 300 meters in two trenches is proposed to test the core of an 800-meter-long auger gold anomaly. This will mark the first trench testing of auger soil results in the T2 area. At least four trenches totaling approximately 700 meters of trenching are proposed for the T2 area. Trench locations were determined using auger soil data and airborne magnetic data. Final trench positions may be modified depending on saprolite depth, and local topographic and drainage conditions, being determined now.

Trenching results will be used to better focus and target core drilling.

About the Tibiti concession

The Tibiti concession is in the north central portion of Suriname, approximately 45 km west of the Rosebel Gold Mine of IAMGOLD and 100 km southwest of the capital city Paramaribo. The Tibiti project, Rosebel Gold Mine, and the former Saramacca joint venture of Golden Star and Newmont all occur within the same structural and lithologic trend of the eastern Marowijne Greenstone Belt of Suriname.

The Tibiti project has potential to define economic gold mineralization with continued exploration, including drilling, based on its location within this structural and mineralized trend of gold mines and exploration projects. In addition, there is significant small-scale alluvial mining activity to provide evidence of the presence of gold on the concession and examination of the gold grains suggests only local transport within the concession boundaries. The area has had a history of geologic mapping and gold testing of alluvial drainages by the Geological Survey of Suriname (GMD). This suggests the gold potential of the concession has been known for some time however the concession has not been systematically explored with modern exploration techniques in the past.

The Tibiti concession consists of 10,000 hectares and was granted as an exploitation concession by the Suriname Ministry of Natural Resources in 2015 for a period of 15 years. The exploitation concession status of Tibiti is very positive as it avoids further renewals required with exploration concessions and permits mining on the concession with a royalty paid to the government.

Quality Assurance/Quality Control

Mr. Warren Bates, P. Geo (APGO#0211), the Company's Director of Property Investigation, is the Qualified Person for this press release for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101, and has reviewed and approved the technical information herein.

About Harvest Gold

Harvest Gold is a gold-focused mineral exploration company with an experienced board of directors and management whose collective geological and financing experience exceeds 200 years. In addition to Tibiti, Harvest also holds two fully registered mineral concessions on properties in the Republic of Suriname: the Gonini River and Oelemari concessions and can acquire an 80% interest from Evrim Resources Corp. in the newly acquired Cerro Cascaron project, located in Chihuahua State, Mexico.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - August 10, 2017) - Ashanti Gold Corp. (TSXV: AGZ) ("Ashanti" or the "Company") is pleased to announce additional results of seven drill holes from the recently completed 53 Reverse Circulation ("RC") hole, 6073 metre drill program that tested mineralization on the Kossanto East Project (the "Property") in western Mali (see August 2, 2017 press release) (Figure 1).

The targets Gourbassi East and Gourbassi West (Figure 2) showed mineralized areas on the Property from historical exploration and thus were the initial focus for Ashanti's first drill campaign. At Gourbassi East, gold mineralization, as defined in historic drilling, occurs within two adjacent zones with a collective strike length of approximately 900m. The results from the first seven drill holes reported by Ashanti (see press release August 2, 2017) outlined new high grade material within the centre of the mineralized zone where it is interpreted to be 50-100m wide. The drill results reported here include intercepts along strike 100m north (GERC 108, 110, and 111) of previously reported section 3850 results, and 200 metres south (GERC114) of that section (Figure 3, section 3650). In addition, intercepts in GERC 108, 109, and 111 reveal mineralization over a wider extent than previously known.

The extent of this gold mineralization is open along strike to the northwest and to the southeast as well as down dip, where it has been tested to approximately 125m. Mineralization occurs as veins and stockwork within a zone of silicified and carbonate-altered quartz-eye rhyolite. Altered host rocks are traceable at the surface to the northwest and southeast. Multiple structural controls on mineralization are apparent.

Drilling continued to return excellent grades and widths, including (see Table 1):

25 m @ 1.53 g/t Au including 12 m @ 2.73 g/t Au and also including 3 m @ 7.95 g/t Au (GERC 108)

25 m @ 1.13 g/t Au including 5 m @ 2.34 g/t Au (GERC111)

13 m @ 2.34 g/t Au including 8 m @ 3.24 g/t Au (GERC114)

Table 1: Highlights of Gold Intercepts GERC108 to GERC114

Hole # From (m) To (m) Interval (m)* Au (g/t) GERC108 32 35 3 0.32 52 77 25 1.53 incl. 60 72 12 2.73 incl. 60 63 3 7.95 89 91 2 0.30 GERC109 94 96 2 1.59 105 107 2 1.07 118 122 4 0.86 144 150 6 0.38 GERC110 24 29 5 0.58 75 85 10 0.55 GERC111 25 50 25 1.13 incl. 44 49 5 2.34 80 82 2 0.24 GERC112 25 27 2 0.57 GERC113 31 33 2 0.28 GERC114 6 7 1 0.39 13 14 1 0.35 45 46 1 0.33 85 88 3 0.95 94 107 13 2.34 incl. 94 102 8 3.24

*Intervals are intercept widths in drill hole and not true widths. There is insufficient geologic information to determine true widths at this stage of the project. Drill holes are oriented to provide the best intercept for the interpreted dip direction of mineralization.

Tim McCutcheon, CEO of Ashanti, said: "Key to demonstrating the value of Kossanto East is multiple broad intercepts of mineralization along the entire strike of the mineralized zone. Following up on incomplete historical work, Ashanti is methodically demonstrating the size potential of the deposit."

Figure 1: Regional geologic map of the Kedougou-Kenieba Inlier, the most northwesterly exposure of Birimian rocks in the West African craton. The Kossanto East property lies between two regional structures, the Senegal-Mali Shear Zone and the Main Transcurrent Shear Zone both of which feature prominently in localizing mineralization for numerous gold deposits. Structural relationships on the property suggest that structures parallel to these shear zones pass through the property and control mineralization.





Figure 2: Map shows historic drilling (blue collars) and Ashanti current drilling (red collars) and Ashanti current drilling reported here (green collars).





Figure 3. Section 3650 showing drill holes, trenches, gold intercepts, and interpreted mineralized zone.





The Company advises that drill holes are oriented to intersect stratigraphy at an optimal angle, however true widths cannot be determined as detailed information on the true orientation of stratigraphy at the point of intersection of the drill hole is not available. Quality control is monitored by the insertion of blind certified standard reference material and blanks at a rate of 1/20 samples. Blind duplicate splits are inserted into the sample stream at the rate of 1/50 samples. In addition, the laboratory inserts their own certified standard and blank samples at the rate of 1/20 samples. All samples have been analyzed by SGS Laboratories in Bamako, Mali an internationally accredited testing company.

About Kossanto East Project

The Kossanto East Project is a 66.41 km2 concession in the prolific Kedougou - Kenieba Inlier, the northwestern most exposure of Birimian rocks in West Africa and host to the Loulo and Sadiola group of world class gold deposits (Figure 1). Ashanti has acquired 100% in the property from Alecto Minerals PLC (see press release of August 8, 2017). The Property hosts two principle historically drill-tested targets, Gourbassi East and Gourbassi West (Figure 2) and several surface anomalies identified in surface samples and Rotary Airblast (RAB) drill holes. Geochemical anomalies identified by previous explorers and Alecto Minerals PLC led to drill testing and successful intersection of gold mineralization. The results reported here are from Gourbassi East. Further results from Gourbassi East and Gourbassi West are anticipated in the coming weeks.

ABOUT ASHANTI GOLD

Ashanti is a gold-focused, exploration and development company with advanced projects in the northern Ashanti Belt of Ghana and the Kenieba Belt of Mali. The Company targets projects where existing work demonstrates attractive potential for near-term mine development and where it has a competitive advantage due to past work experience of the team and specific project know-how.
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Aug. 10, 2017) - Trevali Mining Corporation ("Trevali" or the "Company") (TSX:TV) (LMA:TV) (OTCQX:TREVF) (FRANKFURT:4TI) has released financial results for the three months and six months ending June 30, 2017. Second quarter ("Q2") net income was US$0.1-million, or 0 cent per share on concentrate sales revenues of US$47 million and EBITDA1 for the quarter came in at US$10.8 million.

This release should be read in conjunction with Trevali's unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and management's discussion and analysis for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2017, which is available on Trevali's website and on SEDAR. As at January 1, 2017 the Company has changed is presentation currency to the U.S. dollar (US). All financial figures are in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

Q2-2017 Results Highlights:

Concentrate sales revenue of $47 million, up 110% versus $22.4-million in Q2-2016

EBITDA 1 of $10.8 million

of $10.8 million Net income of $0.1 million or $0.00 per share

Income from mine operations of $10.1 million, increase of over 150% from Q2-2016

Total cash position of $21.4 million and working capital of $12.5 million

Quarterly consolidated zinc production of 29.9 million payable lbs, lead production of 9.9 million payable lbs and 385,505 payable ozs. of silver; 43.5 million payable lbs of Zinc Equivalent ("ZnEq") 2

Consolidated site cash costs of $0.49 per pound of payable ZnEq 2 produced or $49.75/tonne milled

produced or $49.75/tonne milled Santander site cash costs of $37.82/tonne milled, in the mid-range of 2017 annual cost guidance of $35-40 per tonne milled

Caribou site costs were $60.61 per tonne milled, marginally above the 2017 annual cost guidance of $55-60 per tonne milled reflecting the transition process to owner-operated mining

Provisional realized commodity selling prices for Q2-2017 sales was $1.20 per pound zinc, $0.98 per pound lead and $16.85 per ounce silver

"Ongoing optimization initiatives through the second quarter at Caribou delivered incremental improvements and site operating costs are in line with forecast ranges," stated Dr. Mark Cruise, Trevali's President and CEO. "As previously disclosed, increased water at Santander in early-Q2 delayed production development of the higher-grade Magistral North zone by approximately one quarter while pumping infrastructure upgrades are finalized. At Caribou, zinc recoveries improved over the quarter as ongoing operational efficiencies continue to be implemented. The transition to owner-operated underground mining at Caribou over Q2 has already resulted in realized production improvements with record production logged in July."

"Additionally, we are very pleased with the overwhelming shareholder approval in Q2 of our previously announced transaction to acquire the Rosh Pinah and Perkoa zinc mines from Glencore," continued Dr. Cruise. "With anticipated closure of the transaction in late August, Trevali will transform into a top-10 global zinc producer and create a premier pure-play zinc miner with sector-leading leverage to the commodity all as the macro-zinc environment remains very bullish due to global production shortfalls and LME zinc warehouse inventories being drawn down to an almost 9-year low."

Q2-2017 Financial Results and Conference Call

The Company will host a conference call and audio webcast at 10:30AM Eastern Time on Friday, August 11, 2017 to review the financial results. Participants are advised to dial in 5-to-10 minutes prior to the scheduled start time of the call.

Conference call dial-in details:

Toll-free (North America): 1-877-291-4570

Toronto and international: 1-647-788-4919

Audio Webcast: http://www.gowebcasting.com/8588

Summary Financial Results (US$ millions, except per-share amounts)

Q2-2017 Q2-2016 Revenues $47.0 $22.4 Income from mining operations $10.1 $4.3 Net income (loss) $0.1 ($0.2) Basic Income per share $0.00 ($0.00)

Q2-2017 Consolidated Santander and Caribou Production Statistics and 2016 Comparison

Q2-2017 Q2-2016 Tonnes Mined 371,802 177,415 Tonnes Milled 431,093 219,086 Payable Production: Zinc lbs 29,949,149 15,157,944 Lead lbs 9,912,095 5,575,792 Silver Oz 385,505 222,121 Zinc Equivalent lbs Payable Produced 43,478,281 24,229,762 Site Cash Operating Costs per ZnEq Payable lbs Produced2 $0.49 $0.32 Total Cash Operating Cost per ZnEq Payable lbs Produced2 $0.88 $0.70 Site Cash Operating Cost per Tonne Milled $49.75 $35.64

Consolidated Sales Statistics and 2015 Comparison

Q2-2017 Q2-2016 Zinc Concentrate (DMT) 31,596 17,112 Lead Concentrate (DMT) 11,948 4,964 Payable Zinc lbs 27,644,763 15,229,650 Payable Lead lbs 9,828,395 5,711,542 Payable Silver Oz 379,577 222,166 Revenues4 $46,986,000 $22,400,000 Average Realized Metal Price: Zinc $1.20 $ 0.89 Lead $0.98 $ 0.78 Silver $16.85 $17.09 Zinc Equivalent lbs Sold3 41,186,175 24,433,262

(1) EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) is calculated by considering Company's earnings before interest payments, tax, depreciation and amortization are subtracted for any final accounting of its income and expenses. The EBITDA of a business gives an indication of its current operational profitability and is a NON-IFRS measure. (2) ZnEq Payable Pounds Produced = ((Zn Payable lbs Produced x Zn Price)+(Pb Payable lbs Produced x Pb Price)+(Cu Payable lbs Produced x Cu Price)+(Au oz Payable Produced x Au Price)+(Ag oz Payable Produced x Ag Price))/Zn Price. (3) ZnEq Payable Pounds Sold = ((Zn Payable lbs Sold x Zn Price)+(Pb Payable lbs Sold x Pb Price)+(Cu Payable lbs Sold x Cu Price)+(Au oz Payable Sold x Au Price)+(Ag oz Payable Sold x Ag Price))/Zn Price. (All metal prices are the average realized metal price for the period). (4) Revenues include prior period adjustment.

Santander Zinc Mine, Peru

Q2-2017 Santander Production Statistics and 2016 Comparison

Q2-2017 Q2-2016 Tonnes Mined 148,698 177,415 Tonnes Milled 205,401 219,086 Average Head Grade (%)

Zinc

Lead

Silver (oz/t)

3.70%

0.87%

1.24

4.16%

1.39%

1.32 Average Recoveries (%)

Zinc

Lead

Silver

87%

81%

67%

89%

87%

73% Payable Production: Zinc lbs 12,070,046 15,157,944 Lead lbs 3,049,724 5,575,792 Silver oz 181,949 222,121 Zinc Equivalent lbs Payable Produced 17,249,658 24,244,311 Site Cash Operating Costs per ZnEq Payable lbs Produced2 $0.45 $0.32 Total Cash Operating Cost per ZnEq Payable lbs Produced2 $0.91 $0.70 Site Cash Operating Cost per Tonne Milled $37.82 $35.64

Q2-2017 Santander Sales Statistics and 2016 Comparison

Q2-2017 Q2-2016 Zinc Concentrate (DMT) 14,104 17,112 Lead Concentrate (DMT) 2,978 4,964 Payable Zinc lbs 12,141,233 15,229,650 Payable Lead lbs 2,740,815 5,711,542 Payable Silver Oz 171,206 222,166 Revenues4 $19,343,000 $22,400,000 Average Realized Metal Price: Zinc $1.17 $ 0.89 Lead $0.98 $ 0.78 Silver $16.90 $17.09 Zinc Equivalent lbs Sold3 16,909,941 24,433,262

(1) EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) is calculated by considering Company's earnings before interest payments, tax, depreciation and amortization are subtracted for any final accounting of its income and expenses. The EBITDA of a business gives an indication of its current operational profitability and is a NON-IFRS measure. (2) ZnEq Payable Pounds Produced = ((Zn Payable lbs Produced x Zn Price)+(Pb Payable lbs Produced x Pb Price)+(Cu Payable lbs Produced x Cu Price)+(Au oz Payable Produced x Au Price)+(Ag oz Payable Produced x Ag Price))/Zn Price. (3) ZnEq Payable Pounds Sold = ((Zn Payable lbs Sold x Zn Price)+(Pb Payable lbs Sold x Pb Price)+(Cu Payable lbs Sold x Cu Price)+(Au oz Payable Sold x Au Price)+(Ag oz Payable Sold x Ag Price))/Zn Price. (All metal prices are the average realized metal price for the period). (4) Revenues include prior period adjustment.

Over the second quarter the Santander mill continued to operate above its 2,000 tonne-per-day nameplate capacity by approximately 13 percent with 205,401 tonnes of mineralized material being milled giving quarterly zinc production of 12.1 million payable pounds, 3.0 million payable pounds of lead and 181,949 payable ounces of silver.

Q2 site cash operating costs were $37.82 per tonne (or $0.45 per zinc equivalent payable lb produced), within the 2017 annual cost guidance of US$35-$40 per tonne milled. (Please refer to Non-IFRS Measures in the June 30, 2017 Management Discussion and Analysis).

Mine and mill metal unit production was below plan due to excessive rainfall during the recent mountain wet season while planned pumping infrastructure upgrades were in progress. This necessitated rescheduling of the mine sequencing during the second quarter and resulted in lower-grade material, approximately 3.7 per cent zinc versus 4.5 per cent zinc planned, being processed and subsequent lower payable zinc production. Due to the delayed access to planned higher-grade stopes being deferred by approximately one quarter, the planned production during the remainder of 2017 will not be sufficient to make up the zinc unit deficit. These higher-grade production stopes will now be extracted in Q1-2018; consequently, the Company is revising Santander payable zinc production guidance downward on a full-year basis with lead and silver production guidance remaining unchanged.

Subsequent to the end of Q2, average Santander zinc head grades have been increasing as mining operations sequence into higher-grade zones of the deposits.

The Phase I, approximately 13,000-metre, 2017 Santander exploration drill program commenced during the quarter utilizing both surface directional and underground drill rigs. The aim of the program is to aggressively probe the depth and lateral extents of the Magistral and Santander polymetallic systems that remain open for expansion in addition to converting additional inferred tonnages into higher confidence categories to support longer-range mine planning. Contingent on success, Phase II drilling will continue to define and expand the mineralized systems.

2017 Santander Mine Production Guidance

The 2017 revised production guidance estimate for the Santander mine is:

52-57 million pounds of payable zinc in concentrate

12-14 million pounds of payable lead in concentrate

700,000-900,000 ounces of payable silver

Site cash costs for 2017 are estimated at approximately US$35-40 per tonne milled (please see Cautionary Note on Forward Looking Statements at the end of this document).

Caribou Zinc Mine, Canada

Q2-2017 Caribou Production Statistics and Q1-2017 Comparison

Q2-2017 Q1-2017 Tonnes Mined 223,104 222,264 Tonnes Milled 225,692 232,880 Average Head Grades % Zinc 5.50% 6.15% Lead 2.45% 2.68% Silver (oz/t) 2.179 2.29 Average Recoveries % Zinc 78% 75% Lead 61% 64% Silver (in lead concentrate) 39% 38% Payable Production: Zinc lbs (pounds) 17,879,104 19,619,395 Lead lbs (pounds) 6,862,370 8,107,773 Silver Oz 203,556 217,085 Zinc Equivalent lbs Payable Produced 26,228,623 29,199,484 Site Cash Cost per ZnEq Payable lbs Produced2 $0.52 $0.49 Total Cash Cost per ZnEq Payable lbs Produced2 $0.86 $1.06 Site Cash Operating Cost2 per Tonne Milled $60.61 $61.17

Q2-2017 Caribou Sales Statistics and Q1-2017 Comparison

Q2-2017 Q1-2017 Zinc Concentrate (DMT) 17,491 24,966 Lead Concentrate (DMT) 8,970 10,092 Payable Zinc lbs 15,503,529 21,773,627 Payable Lead lbs 7,087,580 7,873,706 Payable Silver oz 208,371 203,078 Revenues4 $27,643,000 $40,318,000 Average Realized Metal Price: Zinc $1.22 $1.27 Lead $0.98 $1.04 Silver $16.84 $17.70 Zinc Equivalent lbs Sold3 24,276,234 31,217,344

(1) EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) is calculated by considering Company's earnings before interest payments, tax, depreciation and amortization are subtracted for any final accounting of its income and expenses. The EBITDA of a business gives an indication of its current operational profitability and is a NON-IFRS measure. (2) ZnEq Payable Pounds Produced = ((Zn Payable lbs Produced x Zn Price)+(Pb Payable lbs Produced x Pb Price)+(Cu Payable lbs Produced x Cu Price)+(Au oz Payable Produced x Au Price)+(Ag oz Payable Produced x Ag Price))/Zn Price. (3) ZnEq Payable Pounds Sold = ((Zn Payable lbs Sold x Zn Price)+(Pb Payable lbs Sold x Pb Price)+(Cu Payable lbs Sold x Cu Price)+(Au oz Payable Sold x Au Price)+(Ag oz Payable Sold x Ag Price))/Zn Price. (All metal prices are the average realized metal price for the period). (4) Revenues include prior period adjustment.

Q2-2017 production at the Caribou Mine saw ongoing optimization initiatives and improvements to zinc recoveries. In Q2, Caribou produced 17.9 million pounds of payable zinc, 6.9 million payable pounds of lead and 203,556 payable ounces of silver. Recoveries averaged 78% for zinc, 61% for lead and 39% for silver. Mill throughput for Q2 was 225,692 tonnes. Lower Q2 production was a result of transitioning mining operations from contractor to owner operated and sequencing of underground mining operations through a lower-grade section of the mine plan. Subsequent to Q2, July production has set a new operational record since the inception of underground mining at Caribou with monthly mine production of 96,485 tonnes or an average of 3,112 tonnes-per-day. Given that mining team integration and training is ongoing the Company feels that additional operational improvements are feasible on a go forward basis.

During Q2, the Caribou mine successfully transitioned to owner-operated underground mining, with minimal disruption, and the new Sandvik-supported mine fleet is now essentially fully operational. It is anticipated improved operational efficiencies should deliver mine cost savings of approximately $5-to-6 per tonne going forward.

Q2 site cash costs at Caribou were $60.61 per tonne, trending lower than Q1 site cash costs of $61.17. The Company anticipates significant savings in overall Caribou operating costs will be achieved once site transitions fully to owner operated status in the second-half of 2017 (Please refer to Non-IFRS Measures in the June 30, 2017 Management Discussion and Analysis).

2017 Caribou Mine Production Guidance

The 2017 production guidance estimate for the Caribou mine is:

90-93 million pounds of payable zinc in concentrate

30-32 million pounds of payable lead in concentrate

800,000-900,000 ounces of payable silver

Site cash costs for 2017 are estimated at approximately $55-60 per tonne milled (please see Cautionary Note on Forward Looking Statements at the end of this document).

While not included in the Q2-2017 Financial Statements, second quarter production from the Rosh Pinah mine in Namibia and Perkoa mine in Burkina Faso (that are both being acquired from Glencore PLC under definitive agreements announced earlier this year (see March 13, 2017 news release TV-NR-17-06) and with an effective date of April 1, 2017)5 are reported below.

Rosh Pinah Zinc Mine, Namibia5

Preliminary Q2 Rosh Pinah production was 24.8 million pounds of payable zinc, 3.2 million payable pounds of lead and 67,997 payable ounces of silver. Recoveries averaged 86% for zinc, 67% for lead and 40% for silver. Mill throughput for the quarter was 164,320 tonnes.

Rosh Pinah Mine Q2-2017 preliminary production statistics

Q2-2017 Tonnes Mined 165,187 Tonnes Milled 164,320 Average Head Grades: Zinc 9.51% Lead 1.39% Silver (ounces/ton) 1.03 Average Recoveries (%): Zinc 86% Lead 67% Silver 40% Concentrate Produced DMT (dry metric tonnes): Zinc 26,366 Lead 3,620 Concentrate Grades: Zinc 51% Silver in zinc conc. - Lead 43% Silver in lead conc. 18.5 oz/t Payable Production: Zinc (pounds) 24,788,624 Lead (pounds) 3,153,673 Silver (ounces) 67,997

2017 Rosh Pinah Mine Production Guidance

The 2017 production guidance estimate (on a full-year basis) for the Rosh Pinah mine is:

100-105 million pounds of payable zinc in concentrate;

9-11 million pounds of payable lead in concentrate; and

200,000 ounces of payable silver.

Total site cash costs for 2017 are estimated at approximately US$45-50 per tonne milled (please see Cautionary Note on Forward Looking Statements at the end of this document).

5 Contingent on the closing of the Transaction, which is expected to occur on or before August 31, 2017. The Transaction has an effective date of April 1, 2017. Constitutes forward-looking information. See "Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements at the end of this document.

Perkoa Zinc Mine, Burkina Faso5

Preliminary Q2 Perkoa mine production was 46.6 million pounds of payable zinc with an average recovery of 95%, a record quarter for Perkoa operations. Mill throughput for the quarter was 161,755 tonnes.

Perkoa Mine Q2-2017 preliminary production statistics

Q2-2017 Tonnes Mined 183,720 Tonnes Milled 161,755 Average Head Grades: Zinc 16.31% Average Recoveries (%): Zinc 95% Concentrate Produced DMT (dry metric tonnes): Zinc 47,551 Concentrate Grades: Zinc 52% Payable Production: Zinc (pounds) 46,612,401

2017 Perkoa Mine Production Guidance

The 2017 production guidance estimate (on a full-year basis) for the Perkoa mine is 165-170 million pounds of payable zinc in concentrate.

Total site cash costs for 2017 are estimated at approximately US$95-100 per tonne milled (please see Cautionary Note on Forward Looking Statements at the end of this document).

5 Contingent on the closing of the Transaction, which is expected to occur on or before August 31, 2017. The Transaction has an effective date of April 1, 2017. Constitutes forward-looking information. See "Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements at the end of this document.

Transaction Update

Following overwhelming shareholder approval of 99.8% in favour of the transaction to acquire Glencore's African Zinc assets (the "Assets"), the Company is finalizing the $190-million debt component of the transaction as announced on March 13, 2017. The new senior secured facility is to be comprised of $160 million in a term loan, and a $30-million revolving working capital line (the "Facility"). Preliminary pricing for the Facility ranges from LIBOR plus 3-to-4 percent. The loan syndicate, comprised of five global banks and led by The Bank of Nova Scotia and Societe Generale, has completed all technical due diligence and the Company has received preliminary credit approval from all syndicate members, subject to final legal documentation. Proceeds from the facility will be used to acquire the Assets and to refinance a portion of Trevali's existing debt. The Facility is subject to customary due diligence and legal compliance and is ongoing.

The Company and its lenders remain on track to finalize the Transaction on or before August 31, 2017, subject to receipt of requisite regulatory approvals (including in respect of antitrust matters) and other customary closing conditions.

Qualified Person and Quality Control/Quality Assurance

EurGeol Dr. Mark D. Cruise, Trevali's President and CEO, and Paul Keller, P.Eng, Trevali's Chief Operating Officer, are qualified persons as defined by NI 43-101, have supervised the preparation of the scientific and technical information that forms the basis for this news release. Dr. Cruise is not independent of the Company as he is an officer, director and shareholder. Mr. Keller is not independent of the Company as he is an officer and shareholder.

ABOUT TREVALI MINING CORPORATION

Trevali is a zinc-focused, base metals mining company with two commercially producing operations.

The Company is actively producing zinc and lead-silver concentrates from its 2,000-tonne-per-day Santander mine in Peru and its 3,000-tonne-per-day Caribou mine in the Bathurst Mining Camp of northern New Brunswick. Trevali also owns the Halfmile and Stratmat base metal deposits, located in New Brunswick, that are currently undergoing a Preliminary Economic Assessment reviewing their potential development. Additionally, the Company has entered into a definitive agreement with Glencore PLC to acquire a portfolio of zinc assets from Glencore, including an 80.08% interest in the Rosh Pinah mine in Namibia, a 90% interest in the Perkoa mine in Burkina Faso, an effective 39.24% interest in the Gergarub project in Namibia, an option to acquire 100% interest in the Heath Steele property in Canada and certain related exploration properties and assets.

The common shares of Trevali are listed on the TSX (symbol TV), the OTCQX (symbol TREVF), the Lima Stock Exchange (symbol TV), and the Frankfurt Exchange (symbol 4TI). For further details on Trevali, readers are referred to the Company's website (www.trevali.com) and to Canadian regulatory filings on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - August 10, 2017) - GoldQuest Mining Corp. (TSX VENTURE: GQC) ( FRANKFURT : M1W) ( BERLIN : M1W) ("GoldQuest" or the "Company") is pleased to report assay results from the latest 4-hole batch of drill holes from its ongoing Tireo exploration drill program. The holes are all from the recent Cachimbo Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide (VMS) Discovery. All drilling occurs within the Company's 100% owned Tireo Concessions, which hosts the multi-million-ounce Romero Project in the Dominican Republic.

Highlights:

TIR-17-35 intersected two gold mineralization zones including:

46.6 metres of 1.08 g/t gold

And 11.7 metres grading 6.34 gold

Including 1.3 metres grading 47.7 g/t gold, 30 g/t silver, 2.32% zinc and 0.18% copper

Assays from four holes at Cachimbo are reported herein. All four holes, TIR-17-33, 34, 35 and 36 intersected gold within the upper strata-bound polymetallic massive and semi-massive sulphide horizon of the VMS system. Hole TIR-17-35 intersected a second lower zone of mineralization which may be proximal to the feeder to the system and future drilling will follow up. The mineralization remains open along strike and down-dip of the Cachimbo discovery hole, TIR-16-09, which intersected 5 metres grading 14 g/t gold, 74 g/t silver, 12% zinc and 1% copper (see release dated January 10, 2017).

Hole TIR-17-33 was collared approximately 50m south-east of the discovery hole at the same platform as hole TIR-17-32. The hole confirms that the upper mineralization horizon is dipping to the east. Holes TIR-17-34/35 and 36 were collared approximately 160 metres to the south-east of the discovery hole. Hole TIR-17-34 suffered a mechanical failure just as it entered the mineralization zone and had to be abandoned. Hole-17-35 hit the intended target of hole TIR-17-34 and intersected a second deeper zone with higher gold and base metal grades.

Drilling continues at Cachimbo and will test areas along strike to expand the mineralization envelope as the Company continues to explore for a potential copper-gold rich feeder system, like the Romero Deposit.

"About a year ago we launched our regional Tireo drilling campaign seeking new significant gold deposits. Today we are proud to share results from the latest holes from the definition phase of our Cachimbo discovery," commented Bill Fisher, GoldQuest's Executive Chairman. "It is early days and with each new hole we unveil more of the story of the Cachimbo geology and its potential. We are proud of our successes and in our continued ability to find gold in this emerging mineral district."

Plan Map





Section B-B'



Table 1. Tireo Drilling Intersections

Hole From (m) To (m) Length (m) Au g/t Ag g/t Cu % Zn % TIR-17-33 85.34 90.27 4.93 0.71 6.51 0.01 0.07 and 92.72 98.5 5.78 1.26 102.87 0.01 0.10 and 103.53 106.68 3.15 0.66 17.89 0.01 0.06 TIR-17-34 106.01 111.25 5.24 0.87 6.57 0.03 0.30 hole stopped due to mechanical failure while in mineralization TIR-17-35 105.82 152.4 46.58 1.08 1.68 0.01 0.09 including 120.31 132.5 12.19 2.37 2.34 0.02 0.16 and 186.75 198.4 11.65 6.34 4.37 0.03 0.33 including 188.34 189.6 1.26 47.70 30.00 0.18 2.32 TIR-17-36 103.57 117.25 13.68 1.47 9.08 0.04 0.44

*Interval grades are calculated using uncapped assays. Gold values did not exceed 47.7 g/t which is below the capping level for Romero of 72.2 g/t. Intervals may not represent true widths. There is insufficient drilling to determine the exact orientation of the mineralized zones at this time.

Table 2. Collar locations and hole directions for Tireo holes

Hole Easting Northing Elevation Azimuth Dip TIR-17-33 266,342 2,097,245 1196 225 -75 TIR-17-34 266,459 2,097,243 1188 225 -90 TIR-17-35 266,459 2,097,243 1188 225 -85 TIR-17-36 266,459 2,097,243 1188 225 -70

QA/QC

As part of the Company's Quality Assurance and Quality Control procedures (QA/QC) the Company reviews results from Certified Standard Reference materials (CRSM or Standards), which are inserted at a rate of five per 100 samples. Within the results disclosed herein there were no samples with results outside of the recommended tolerances for the standards. In GoldQuest's drill programs, composite intervals were chosen using a combination of geological criteria and mineralization, averaging around two metres core length. The drill core is cut in half with one half of the core sample shipped to ACME Labs by GoldQuest technicians. The remaining half of the core is kept at the Company core shack for future assay verification, or any other further investigation. Assays within intervals below the 0.005 g/t detection limit for Au were given a zero value. All drill samples were prepared and screened by ACME Labs (Vancouver); metallic fire assay and multielement ICPMS were assayed by ACME Analytical Laboratories (Vancouver). Gold values are determined by standard fire assay with an AA finish, or, if over 10.0 g/t Au, were reassayed and completed with a gravimetric finish. Copper and zinc values exceeding 0.2% were re-assayed with a 4-acid digestion and AAS finish. When zinc values exceeded 10% a classic titration was carried out for zinc. QA/QC included the insertion and continual monitoring of numerous standards, blanks and duplicates into the sample stream, at random intervals within each batch. The comprehensive GoldQuest Quality Assurance and Quality Control protocols can be viewed on GoldQuest's website at: http://www.goldquestcorp.com/index.php/corporate/corporategovernance.

The information in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Jeremy Niemi, P. Geo., Vice President, Exploration of GoldQuest and a Qualified Person for the technical information in this press release under NI 43101 standards.

About GoldQuest

GoldQuest is a Canadian based mineral exploration company with projects in the Dominican Republic. GoldQuest is traded on the TSXV under the symbol GQC and in Frankfurt/Berlin with symbol M1W. The Company is well funded to carry out the exploration programs reported on in this release and to advance the development of its Romero gold/copper discovery, also located in the Tireo Formation of the Dominican Republic.
Rockets, space-age coatings and the fundamental aspects of the universe were on display Thursday in La Crosse.

The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse hosted the annual Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium conference in the Student Union, bringing together students and professors from across the state to talk about research and career fields in aerospace, astronomy and other related industries. The keynote speaker at the Wisconsin Space Conference was Thomas Corbitt, a professor of physics at Louisiana State University, who talked about the recent discovery of gravitational waves and direct confirmation of the existence of black holes.

Posited 100 years ago, gravitational waves came out of Albert Einsteins general theory of relativity as the mechanism for communicating gravitational forces through space and time. Because gravity is so much weaker than other fundamental forces such as magnetism  think about how well a small kitchen magnet defeats the gravitational pull of the whole planet  Einstein thought it might never be possible to ever measure or confirm the existence of these waves.

It is really hard for people to create (measurable) gravitational waves, Corbitt said. We have to rely on the universe to create something we can detect.

Scientists have been working on building detectors sensitive enough to detect the waves for decades, Corbitt said, using lasers and mirrors to try and detect the minuscule stretching and contracting of space-time that gravitational waves would cause as they travel at the speed of light. The modern LIGO detectors in the United States use tunnels four kilometers long to measure these changes, which are no larger than a tiny fraction of the size of an atom.

Overcoming the engineering challenges of measuring on these tiny scales was no small feat, Corbitt said, as the LIGO program has cost more than $1 billion and required refinements since the first detectors went online in the early 2000s. That work paid off when the detectors were turned on in 2015 and detected the first proof of the existence of black holes.

These astronomical bodies are many times more massive than a star and have all that matter compressed into a small amount of space. Because the gravitational pull of a black hole is so large, electromagnetic radiation such as light, radio waves and heat cannot escape a black holes grasp, leaving little for more traditional devices like telescopes to detect.

Because of their size, these behemoths are great candidates for detecting gravitational waves, Corbitt said, and the LIGOs first detection was of the disturbance two of the massive bodies created a billion years ago as they orbited each other at more than half the speed of light and merged, all in the fraction of a second. A few months later, a second black hole merger was detected, and the results of these groundbreaking discoveries were released to the world in 2016.

This data was the most direct evidence we have for black holes, Corbitt said. This breakthrough shows there are still mysteries in the universe and things we havent seen yet.

At LSU, Corbitt is one of more than a 1,000 people who are part of the LIGO program, and he works with his undergraduate and graduate students to study new ways to make the LIGO detectors more sensitive and able to pick up smaller gravitational waves. Student research is a critical part of the space grant program in Wisconsin, director Kevin Crosby said, as it provides a pipeline of qualified STEM professional for careers aligned to the mission of NASA and other aerospace companies.

Two UW-L students presented information on their own research project, where they attempted to study how useful a potential thin film coating would be. Indium tin oxide is used as a film coating on everything from flat-panel screens to solar panels but is expensive, Indium is as costly as silver and has environmental concerns since the metal is toxic.

Instead, physics student Jacob Pfund and math and physics student Avery McLain looked at creating a similar conductive and transparent material using zinc oxide and graphene, a special form of carbon. The research looked into how well the material would work as a thin film as well as its conductivity and other properties, which they conclude make it a promising candidate.

It was a fascinating experience, McLain said about the research project. There are so many important applications this could be used for.
VANCOUVER, Aug. 9, 2017 /CNW/ - Nevsun Resources Ltd. (TSX:NSU) (NYSE MKT: NSU) (Nevsun or the Company) today announced its financial results for Q2 2017 and key strategic and capital allocation updates to its core assets, the high-grade Timok Upper Zone copper-gold project in Serbia and the cash producing Bisha mine in Eritrea. Nevsun's recently appointed President and CEO, Peter Kukielski, has completed a comprehensive strategic review which included several trips to Serbia and Eritrea.

Peter Kukielski commented, "Nevsun's mission, and the reason I joined the Company, is to build a strong, multi-mine mid-tier mining company, delivering shared prosperity to all stakeholders. With great people, strong assets and a clean balance sheet the Company is well positioned to deliver that vision. In getting to know the business I have been pleased to meet the teams we have on the ground and to witness the strong support we enjoy from our local governments and other stakeholders."

Mr. Kukielski continued, "To ensure we properly evaluate optimization opportunities and increase the level of front end engineering at Timok, we will now complete the Preliminary Feasibility Study ("PFS") in Q1 2018. We will provide the market with an interim update via an updated Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") in October 2017. The additional time spent on the PFS will reduce the time needed for a Feasibility Study, and we therefore continue to maintain our target for production in 2021. We are also required to make tough capital allocation decisions across the business. We have decided to only fund the capital for a four year open pit at Bisha. With additional capital, deeper material remains economic and we are working with the State of Eritrea to assess reserve increase options. Overall, the Company is in a stronger position to fund Timok with cash flow from Bisha and cash of $171 million on the balance sheet."

Highlights

Peter Kukielski appointed President and CEO on May 12, 2017

appointed President and CEO on Decided to publish an updated Timok PEA in October 2017

Revised Timok PFS timeline to Q1 2018

Timok remains on-track for 2021 production with decline construction commencing in Q4 2017

Decided to invest $24 million in capital in a four year open pit at Bisha (all funded from operating cash flow)

in capital in a four year open pit at Bisha (all funded from operating cash flow) Ended period with cash and cash equivalents of $171 million

Sold 34.3 million payable pounds of zinc in zinc concentrate at C1 cash costs (1) of $0.92 per payable pound sold

of per payable pound sold Sold 7.7 million payable pounds of copper in copper concentrate at C1 cash costs (1) of $1.59 per payable pound sold

of per payable pound sold Recorded a $70 million non-cash, pre-tax write-down of long term stockpiles and mobile equipment

Timok Project Review

Q2 2017 Q1 2017 Q4 2016 Q3 2016 Spending  Upper Zone $ 6,314 $ 7,668 $ 5,924 $ 2,785 Spending  Lower Zone 5,781 2,914 2,022 1,013

The Company has spent $14 million to date in 2017 on Upper Zone activities, and expects that the PFS will be achieved within the $40 million budget despite the extended timeline. Key milestones achieved to date in 2017 include the completion of all planned infill drilling (30,000 metres) and the advancement of key technical mining, metallurgical and environmental studies. The Company is on track to commence decline development in Q4 2017, with permitting well advanced, and the contract tendering process on schedule.

The Company has recently commenced a 10,000 metre drilling program to search for additional nearby, high grade Upper Zone type deposits, with two rigs actively drilling at June 30.

The Company has spent $9 million to date in 2017 (cumulative $12 million from June 2016) on the Lower Zone drilling program. The Company has drilled 29,000 metres to date, and is targeting another 16,000 metres of Lower Zone drilling in 2017, with eleven rigs actively drilling at June 30.

Financial Review

Q2 2017 Q1 2017 Q4 2016 Q3 2016 Revenue (millions) $ 66.1 $ 71.6 $ 36.2 $ 22.9 Operating income (loss) (millions) (65.1) 11.7 (4.9) 17.5 Net income (loss) (millions) (70.2) 2.9 (8.5) 6.0 Working capital (millions) 171.1 190.3 201.1 206.9 Copper price realized, per payable pound sold $ 2.65 $ - $ - $ 2.10 C1 cash cost per payable copper pound sold(1) 1.59 - - 0.72 Zinc price realized, per payable pound sold 1.16 1.28 1.17 - C1 cash cost per payable zinc pound sold(1) 0.92 0.89 1.06 - (1) C1 cash cost per pound is a non-GAAP measure  see the MD&A for discussion of non-GAAP measures and cash costs.

Q2 operating results were pre-released. See the news release from July 13, 2017 for operating details and commentary.

Changes to 2017 Outlook and Guidance

Deliver an updated Timok PEA in October 2017

Deliver Timok PFS in Q1 2018 (previously September 2017 )

) Produce 190 to 210 million pounds of zinc (previously 200 to 230)

Zinc cash cost $0.70 to $0.90 per payable pound sold (no change)

per payable pound sold (no change) Produce 20 to 30 million pounds of copper (previously 10 to 20)

Copper cash cost $1.55 to $1.75 per payable pound sold (previously $0.90 to $1.10 )

per payable pound sold (previously ) Monetize 15,000 gold equivalent ounces from stockpiles (previously 10,000)

Capital investment of $104 million (previously $88 million )

Revised production guidance reflects the fact that Bisha no longer produces bulk zinc concentrate and copper concentrate has been produced every month since February 2017 with improved recoveries. Cash cost changes reflect mix in copper vs zinc (hence different allocation of costs) as well as higher than anticipated mining costs.

Revised 2017 capital spending guidance is as follows:

Timok Upper Zone decreased to $40 from $45 million ;

from ; Timok Lower Zone decreased to $14 from $17 million due to slower than planned drilling;

from due to slower than planned drilling; Timok Upper Zone greenfield exploration commenced with additional $4 million budget as announced April 20, 2017 ;

budget as announced ; Bisha sustaining capital increased to $41 million from $17 million primarily to acquire new heavy mining equipment; and

from primarily to acquire new heavy mining equipment; and Bisha regional exploration spending remained unchanged at $9 million for 2017.

Bisha Reserve Estimate

Bisha and Harena proven and probable primary ore reserves as of December 31, 2016 declined to 9.6 million tonnes at 6.16 percent zinc, 1.05 percent copper, 0.69 g/t gold and 44.9 g/t silver. See Appendix of this release for complete table and assumptions. At a processing rate of 2.4 million tonnes per annum, the Bisha operation now has a reserve mine life to mid-2021, down from approximately 8 years at the last reserve estimate. The decrease is due to the decision to mine a smaller pit at Bisha. A larger capital investment to mine a larger pit was considered, however, the Company determined that on a risk-adjusted basis this alternative was not the most prudent allocation of capital at this time

The new technical report assumes 70% recovery of copper to copper concentrate and 77% recovery of zinc to zinc concentrate, down from the previous reserve estimate of 85% and 80% respectively. These levels are the best current estimate of long-term recoveries for processing Bisha primary ore. We expect to achieve the new recoveries in 2018 and have retained a leading metallurgical expert full time to drive continued improvement at Bisha.

The Company has allocated an additional $24 million of sustaining capital in 2017, primarily for the acquisition of new heavy mining equipment. This additional capital provides a robust return on investment while de-risking mining and processing of the above reserve.

For more details, please refer to the NI 43-101 technical report supporting this reserve and the resources reported in February 2017 filed on SEDAR, EDGAR and the Company's website.

Bisha and Harena Underground Studies

Bisha has approximately 28 million tonnes of measured and indicated mineral resources and 31 million tonnes of inferred mineral resources within 20 kilometres of the existing mill. While results of both the Harena and Bisha underground scoping studies were marginal, converting regional resources into reserves remains a long term objective.

For more detail on the underground scoping work, please refer to Section 24 of the NI 43-101 technical report supporting this reserve and the resources reported in February 2017 filed on SEDAR, EDGAR and the Company's website.

Q2 2017 Results Conference Call and Webcast Details

The Company will hold a conference call and webcast on Thursday, August 10, 2017, at 8AM Vancouver / 11AM Toronto, New York / 4PM London, to discuss the Q2 2017 results.

Conference Call:

Please call in at least five minutes prior to the conference call start time to ensure prompt access to the conference. Dial in details are as follows:

North America: 1 888-390-0546 / +1 416-764-8688 / +1 778-383-7413

UK: 0800 652 2435 (toll free)

Other International: +1 416-764-8688 / +1 778-383-7413

The conference call will be available for replay by phone until Thursday, August 17, 2017, by calling 1 888-390-0541 / +1 416-764-8677 and entering passcode 458226 #.

Webcast:

A live audio webcast of the conference call will be available on the Company's website www.nevsun.com or by clicking here

About Nevsun Resources Ltd.

Nevsun Resources Ltd. is the 100% owner of the high-grade copper-gold Timok Upper Zone and 60% owner of the Timok Lower Zone in Serbia. Nevsun generates cashflow from its 60% owned copper-zinc Bisha Mine in Eritrea. Nevsun is well positioned with a strong debt-free balance sheet to grow shareholder value through advancing Timok to production.

Qualified Persons Statement

The information in this report that relates to mineral reserves was prepared by Anoush Ebrahimi P. Eng. of SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc.

Peter Manojlovic, P.Geo., and Frazer Bourchier, P.Eng., are Nevsun's designated Qualified Persons and have reviewed and approved the contents of this press release.
U.S. Rep. Ron Kind jokingly cowered behind the statute of limitations Wednesday as he confessed to his gang involvement when he attended Roosevelt Elementary School in La Crosse.

The La Crosse Democrat boldly dropped that bombshell during the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the 1923 buildings reincarnation as Roosevelt School Apartments  even though four La Crosse police officers attended the doings and potentially could have slapped him if they hadnt had to leave early.

Revealing the existence of the previously under-the-radar neighborhood gangs of the North Side Jack Rabbits and the Kane Street Killers, Kind even suggested that the rival groups had rumbled.

If you ever want to hear a loud rumble, throw M-80s in a large drum they had out here, Kind said from the buildings front steps where the ceremony took place. It wakes up the neighborhood at 2 a.m., and youll have four or five squad cars chasing you the rest of the night.

The reflection was among the flood of memories Kind said the historical preservation project stirred in him about attending Roosevelt, which he described as an essential part of the larger family in the close neighborhood of families who raised children collectively.

The congressman must have been a holy terror, because he said he had expected to see Mr. Frankes detention room named after me in the renovated building because of the shenanigans he had pulled. James Franke was one of Roosevelts most beloved principals, guiding the school from 1962 until his retirement in 1979.

Kind also addressed more serious matters connected with the $6.9 million public-private project to create affordable housing while also preserving the historical footprint of Roosevelt, which closed in 2014 when Northside Elementary School was built to assume the teaching role.

Community Development Block Grants and Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, both of which were among the financial underpinnings for the Roosevelt project, are targeted in President Donald Trumps proposed budget.

CDBG funds are under assault in the federal budget  I will try to do my best to protect that, Kind said.

Mayor Tim Kabat saluted La Crosse School Superintendent Randy Nelson and the school board for sticking to their goal of ensuring that the building would be repurposed to a community asset instead of being sold to the highest bidder and perhaps being bulldozed.

Noting the importance of Wisconsins historical tax credits in the project, Kabat lamented that those credits are imperiled in Gov. Scott Walkers budget proposals.

Those historical tax credits were vital, as were tax incremental financing, Kabat said, adding that the city is fortunate that such financing has rebounded from not too long ago, when TIF was a four-letter word.

Brian Schimming, chief operating officer of the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority, which provided the 4 percent low-income tax credits for the 33-unit project, noted that such endeavors are complicated but must be shouldered.

These are tough projects, with legacy issues, but  we have to deal with affordable housing issues, Schimming said.

State Rep. Jill Billings cited the two-pronged value of projects such as the Roosevelt conversion: providing affordable housing and retaining young people.

The La Crosse Democrat expressed delight at seeing Kody Conniff featured in the Tribune Wednesday as a Roosevelt tenant. Her children attended Logan High School with Conniff, so she is familiar with the 21-year-old, she said.

Acknowledging that Conniff would have been embarrassed to hear her sing his praises, Billings said, He has spark and energy  the type of person we want to keep in the community, with his skills and talent.

We want to keep bright futures here instead of moving to other cities, Billings said.

Wisconsin Senate Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling, who also noted that the state historical tax credit is under attack in Madison and must be protected, said the Roosevelt conversion also provides a good housing option for young families just getting on their feet.

Its another check mark on the revival of the North Side and the rebranding of the North Side as Uptowne, said Shilling, D-La Crosse.

The project didnt occur without a few hitches, said Ted Matkom, the Wisconsin market president of Gorman and Co. of Oregon, Wis., which bought the building from the school district for $300,000 and employed local laborers in the construction.

Before the closing on the building, school district workers removed the schools lockers with the intention of using them in another school, Matkom said.

The architect freaked out, Matkom said, because leaving the lockers in the building was tied to the (historic) tax credit and had to be put back.

Superintendent Nelson confirmed as much and explained board members motive for selling to Gorman, which had gained credibility with two other affordable-housing projects in the city  the Gund Brewery Lofts at 2130 South Ave. and the Grand River Station apartments downtown.

Despite the insistence of some people in the community that the district should sell to the highest bidder and walk away, Nelson said, We had to get into this and give back to this neighborhood.

Cited repeatedly as the driving force behind the project was City Council member Andrea Richmond, who lives a block from the apartments.

I want to say this in as kind and loving way as possible, Kabat said, Andrea, at times, is a pain in the neck, but when she gets behind a project, she will not be stopped.

For her part, Richmond praised Gorman for preserving an important element of the school, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

I respect the company for saving the playground for the community, she said. It is a great asset where neighborhood children continue to play.

Richmond also made a point to tell the mayor that shes still got a respectable to-do list in her pocket.
Four people face a substantial battery charge after being arrested July 24 in the town of Lisbon following a bar fight.

Ryan N. Forrest, Nancy Hawver, Shawn Kelley and Katie Williams could be fined $10,000, or face no more than three years and six months, or both, in prison for the battery charge. They are charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct and each could be fined $1,000 or be imprisoned for no more than 90 days, or both.

According to a criminal complaint:

On July 24, Juneau County deputies responded to a bar fight at Wonderlys in the town of Lisbon. The report indicated five people were involved and one person was lying on the ground, unconscious. Two people were quickly taken into custody.

Witnesses told the deputies Forrest punched one male in the face, knocking him unconscious. Two other females, Katie Williams and Nancy Hawver allegedly continued to kick the man in the face while he was lying unconscious. According to the report, the man, 53, was bleeding heavily from the face and had a pool of blood underneath his head.

During an initial investigation, Nancy Hawvers phone was seized and police obtained a search warrant to view contents stored in the phone. Hawver admitted to having a cell phone video recording of the fight.

When questioned by police, Forrest said he was involved in the fight, but said he was only trying to push people away from his friend, Shawn Kelley. The owner of the bar was also interviewed and said she told people to leave when she sensed a fight was going to start and that Hawver attempted to fight her. Kelley started getting rough with the alleged victim. They went into the parking lot and the fight began.

The owner said she saw several people gang up on the man and went back into the bar to call 911. When she returned, the man was on the ground and Williams was allegedly kicking him. She tried to push people away from the alleged victim. Another witness said the man was not instigating the fight and that Kelley was the primary aggressor. He tried and another male tried stopping the fight by pushing Kelley away. He said Forrest ran up and punched the man in the face, unprovoked. Kelley tried taking a swing at another male who was trying to break up the fight, but missed.

Forrest denied punching the man, saying he only did some pushing and shoving, but several witnesses alleged he did strike the injured man. He was arrested and taken to jail, along with the other people who attacked the male. At the hospital he told a deputy he was kicked in the face and had his head stomped on, and didnt know why he was attacked. A doctor confirmed the male had several broken bones on the right side of his face, including the jaw, cheek and eye bone areas.

Forrest has an initial appearance scheduled for Aug. 9 at 9 a.m. Hawver will also be at the Juneau County Justice Center Aug. 9 for a hearing. Williams was also charged with obstructing an officer and will have her initial appearance Aug. 9. Kelley, also faces a charge for resisting and obstruction, but no future court activity has been recorded.
Biology is the study of all living organisms, including this adorable jewel bug and the plant it's perched on.

Biology is the study of life. The word "biology" is derived from the Greek words "bios" (meaning life) and "logos" (meaning "study"). In general, biologists study the structure, function, growth, origin, evolution and distribution of living organisms.

Biology is important because it helps us understand how living things work and how they function and interact on multiple levels, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica (opens in new tab). Advances in biology have helped scientists do things such as develop better medicines and treatments for diseases, understand how a changing environment might affect plants and animals, produce enough food for a growing human population and predict how eating new food or sticking to an exercise regimen might affect our bodies.

The basic principles of modern biology

Four principles unify modern biology, according to the book "Managing Science" (Springer New York, 2010):

Cell theory is the principle that all living things are made of fundamental units called cells , and all cells come from preexisting cells. Gene theory is the principle that all living things have DNA, molecules that code the structures and functions of cells and get passed to offspring. Homeostasis is the principle that all living things maintain a state of balance that enables organisms to survive in their environment. Evolution is the principle that describes how all living things can change to have traits that enable them to survive better in their environments. These traits result from random mutations in the organism's genes that are "selected" via a process called natural selection. During natural selection, organisms that have traits better-suited for their environment have higher rates of survival, and then pass those traits to their offspring.

The many branches of biology

Although there are only four unifying principles, biology covers a broad range of topics that are broken into many disciplines and subdisciplines.

On a high level, the different fields of biology can each be thought of as the study of one type of organism, according to "Blackie's Dictionary of Biology (opens in new tab)" (S Chand, 2014). For example, zoology is the study of animals, botany is the study of plants and microbiology is the study of microorganisms.

A botanist is a biologist who studies plants. (Image credit: Shutterstock)

Within those broader fields, many biologists specialize in researching a specific topic or problem. For example, a scientist may study behavior of a certain fish species, while another scientist may research the neurological and chemical mechanisms behind the behavior.

There are numerous branches and subdisciplines of biology, but here is a short list of some of the more broad fields that fall under the umbrella of biology:

Biochemistry: The study of the chemical processes that take place in or are related to living things, according to the Biochemical Society (opens in new tab). For example, pharmacology is a type of biochemistry research that focuses on studying how drugs interact with chemicals in the body, as described in a 2010 review in the journal Biochemistry.

Ecology: The study of how organisms interact with their environment. For example, an ecologist may study how honeybee behavior is affected by humans living nearby.

Genetics: The study of heredity. Geneticists study how genes are passed down by parents to their offspring, and how they vary from person to person. For example, scientists have identified several genes and genetic mutations that influence human lifespan, as reported in a 2019 review published in the journal Nature Reviews Genetics (opens in new tab).

Physiology: The study of how living things work. Physiology, which is applicable to any living organism, "deals with the life-supporting functions and processes of living organisms or their parts," according to Nature (opens in new tab). Physiologists seek to understand biological processes, such as how a particular organ works, what its function is and how it's affected by outside stimuli. For example, physiologists have studied how listening to music can cause physical changes (opens in new tab) in the human body , such as a slower or faster heart rate , according to the journal Psychological Health Effects of Musical Experiences (opens in new tab). .

The multidisciplinary nature of biology

Biology is often researched in conjunction with other fields of study, including mathematics , engineering and the social sciences. Here are a few examples:

Astrobiology is the study of the evolution of life in the universe, including the search for extraterrestrial life, according to NASA (opens in new tab). This field incorporates principles of biology with astronomy.

Bioarchaeologists are biologists who incorporate archaeological techniques to study skeletal remains and derive insights about how people lived in the past, according to George Mason University (opens in new tab).

Bioengineering is the application of engineering principles to biology and vice versa, according to the University of California Berkeley (opens in new tab). For example, a bioengineer might develop a new medical technology that better images the inside of the body, like an improved Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) that scans the human body at a faster rate and higher resolution, or apply biological knowledge to create artificial organs, according to the journal Cell Transplant.

Biotechnology involves using biological systems to develop products, according to the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (opens in new tab). For example, biotechnologists in Russia genetically engineered a better-tasting and more disease-resistant strawberry, which the researchers described in their 2007 study published in the journal Biotechnology and Sustainable Agriculture 2006 and Beyond (opens in new tab).

Biophysics employs the principles of physics to understand how biological systems work, according to the Biophysical Society (opens in new tab). For example, biophysicists may study how genetic mutations leading to changes in protein structure impacts protein evolution, according to the Journal of the Royal Society

A 3d Illustration of the chain of amino acids that make up protein. (Image credit: Getty Images)

What do biologists do?

Biologists can work in many different fields, including research, healthcare, environmental conservation and art, according to the American Institute of Biological Sciences (opens in new tab). Here are a few examples:

Research: Biologists can perform research in many types of settings. Microbiologists, for instance, may study bacterial cultures in a laboratory setting. Other biologists may perform field research, where they observe animals or plants in their native habitat. Many biologists may work in the lab and in the field  for example, scientists may collect soil or water samples from the field and analyze them further in the lab, like at North Carolina University's Soil and Water Lab (opens in new tab).

Conservation: Biologists can help with efforts in environmental conservation by studying and determining how to protect and conserve the natural world for the future. For example, biologists may help educate the public on the importance of preserving an animal's natural habitat and participate in endangered species recovery programs to stop the decline of an endangered species, according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (opens in new tab).

An ecologist taking a water samples from a creek. (Image credit: Getty Images)

Healthcare: People who study biology can go on to work in healthcare, whether they work as doctors or nurses, join a pharmaceutical company to develop new drugs and vaccines, research the efficacy of medical treatments or become veterinarians to help treat sick animals, according to the American Institute of Biological Sciences (opens in new tab).

Art: Biologists who also have a background in art have both the technical knowledge and artistic skill to create visuals that will communicate complex biological information to a wide variety of audiences. One example of this is in medical illustration, in which an illustrator may perform background research, collaborate with experts, and observe a medical procedure to create an accurate visual of a body part, according to the Association of Medical Illustrators (opens in new tab).

Additional resources

If youre curious about just how wide-reaching biology is, The University of North Carolina at Pembroke (opens in new tab) has listed a number of biology subdisciplines on their website. Interested in a career in biology? Check out some options at the American Institute of Biological Sciences (opens in new tab) website.

Bibliography

Lornande Loss Woodruff, History of Biology, The Scientific Monthly, Volume 12, March 1921, http://www.jstor.org/stable/6836 (opens in new tab).

P.N. Campbell, Biology in Profile: A Guide to the Many Branches of Biology (opens in new tab), Elsevier, October 2013.

The University of North Carolina at Pembroke, Biology Sub-disciplines (opens in new tab), October 2010.

University of Minnesota Duluth, What is Biology? (opens in new tab), January 2022.

Eric J. Simon et al, Campbell Essential Biology (opens in new tab), Pearson Education, January 2018.
Water buffaloes wallowing in the wetlands of northern Turkey are carrying some unlikely passengers on their backs  tiny frogs.

Researchers spotted the buffalo-riding amphibians  marsh frogs Pelophylax ridibundus  in the Kizilirmak Delta along the coast of the Black Sea, a region with freshwater and brackish lakes, and plentiful marsh vegetation alongside farmlands and pastures.

From April to November, domesticated Anatolian water buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) are released from their pastures to roam the marshes. And when they do, they collect frog hitchhikers, which forage on the buffaloes' shaggy bodies for flies. Birds are known to play a similar role with some types of mammals, but this is the first study to describe this type of mutually beneficial relationship between large mammals and amphibians, the scientists wrote. [Daring Duos: Photos Reveal Unlikely Animal Friends]

In the natural world, there are many examples of the strategy known as mutualism  when two species interact for their mutual benefit. In Borneo, small mammals called tree shrews lick nutritious nectar from a carnivorous pitcher plant, which they in turn nourish by depositing their poop inside its insect-snaring pitcher trap. Cuckoo chicks "reward" the hardworking species they trick into fostering them by secreting a substance that repels predators. And many bird species  such as the oxpecker  survive on insects and parasites that they pick from the fur of their mammalian hosts.

The study authors observed the buffaloes on 12 occasions over seven days in October 2012, and recorded 10 instances of individual buffaloes that were festooned with frogs, most of which were actively foraging. Some frog-carrying buffaloes were standing and some were lying down, and the frogs were gobbling flies from positions across the big animals' backs, with some even squatting on the buffaloes' heads.

For tiny marsh frogs in Turkey, a water buffalo is like a walking buffet. (Image credit: Zduniak et al.)

Fly catching appeared to be the frogs' primary reason for taking up temporary residence on the buffaloes' backs. But it's also possible that the small amphibians benefited from the body heat of the large mammals, which likely warmed the frogs when air temperatures were cooler, according to the study.

As many as seven buffaloes at a time hosted fly-eating frogs on their backs, the scientists noted. One buffalo carried a total of 27 frogs and another carried 19 frogs  though the average number of frogs per buffalo was typically between two and five  and the frogs foraged "in a similar manner as birds on large mammals," the study authors reported.

Additional observations the following year confirmed that the frogs only exhibited this behavior in the fall, perhaps because their population density was higher during this time of the year, leading to greater competition for food, the scientists suggested in the study.

The findings were published in the June 2017 issue of the open-access journal Acta Herpetologica.

Original article on Live Science.
The Aug. 21 total solar eclipse that will be visible across a swath of the United States is not a danger to pregnant women, despite a handful of traditional myths linking eclipses to dangers in pregnancy.

These myths don't seem as prevalent for the 2017 eclipse as they have been for previous eclipses, like those in the 1990s, said E.C. Krupp, an astronomer and the director of Los Angeles' Griffith Observatory. Still, echoes of the myths remain online: The parenting site Romper recently published a piece contrasting the attitudes of Eastern and Western medicine regarding eclipses and pregnancy, and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch rounded up some traditional eclipse superstitions.

"This kind of thing often comes up in casual conversation," Krupp told Live Science. In a 1998 article for Sky & Telescope, Krupp wrote that people asked him whether solar and lunar eclipses cause birth defects or miscarriages whenever the events are nigh. [The 8 Most Famous Solar Eclipses in History]

Traditional beliefs

Before the advent of modern astronomy explained that eclipses result from the normal celestial movements of sun, moon and Earth, cultures had to make their own explanations. Most of these were supernatural in nature. As Live Science's sister site Space.com reported, the Toba people of South America believed that spectral jaguars attacking the moon caused the deep red hue of a lunar eclipse. The Hindu text the Mahabharata, written around 400 B.C., blamed the solar eclipse on the head of the demon Rahu, which consumes the moon and the sun but then passes them through its disembodied neck.

"When an eclipse takes place, it really does shake the foundations of things," Krupp said, especially from the point of view of an ancient farmer or hunter who depends on the reliable movements of the sun or moon across the sky. Thus, Krupp said, many myths highlight the potential dangers of an eclipse, or associate eclipses with vengeful deities.

Multiple cultures developed superstitions specifically about pregnant women and eclipses. The Aztecs believed lunar eclipses might turn gestating fetuses into mice, according to Bernardino de Sahagun, a Franciscan missionary to what is now Mexico who wrote about Aztec beliefs starting in 1529. The people of traditional Mexican cultures and some South Asian cultures associated eclipses with cleft palate, a common birth defect in which the upper lip and upper palate of the mouth fail to fuse.

This concern for pregnant women might have stemmed from associations between women and the moon due to the menstrual cycle, Krupp said. Or it could just be that pregnant women and their unborn babies seemed particularly at-risk when the sky did alarming things.

"It's hard to imagine, in any society, anyone more vulnerable than a pregnant woman," Krupp said.

All about the eyes

In reality, the only physical danger from the eclipse has nothing to do with pregnancy, fetuses or the womb. (Cleft palate is caused by a mix of genetic and environmental factors, and can result from certain chemical exposures or medications, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  not by a 2-minute obscuring of the sun or moon.)

The actual danger of an eclipse relates to the eyes. The partially obscured sun is just as bright as the sun on any normal day, Krupp said. At totality, when the solar disk is fully covered, it's safe to look at the eclipse directly, but ONLY during that very short time, which can last just a minute or less. But before or after totality, or if the eclipse is only a partial eclipse from your viewing area, solar eclipse glasses from a reputable dealer are a must. Genuine No. 14 welder's glass is also safe for solar eclipse viewing, Krupp said. Looking at the solar eclipse directly, outside of totality, can damage a person's eyes.

But otherwise, don't panic, Krupp said. "People hear [that] you can't look at the sun, and they get the idea that somehow, maybe the eclipse is not safe," he said. With proper eye protection, he said, it's not only safe, but also a chance to stand in awe of the cosmos  something both the pregnant and nonpregnant can enjoy.

"We have a chance to see the solar system actually working, to see the laws of gravity moving before our very eyes," Krupp said.

Original article on Live Science.
Introduction

(Image credit: Keystone/Getty)

The North Korean government recently released a statement saying it was "examining" plans for a strike on the U.S. territory of Guam.

For many Americans, this is the first time that Guam, a tiny island hidden in the remote stretches of the Western Pacific Ocean, has entered their consciousness. But where is Guam, how did the United States acquire it and why would North Korea want to attack it?

From its early history to its political significance, here are 10 facts about the tiny Micronesian island.

It's a distant locale

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Guam sits in an area of the Pacific Ocean that could fairly be described as "the middle of nowhere."

It's located about 1,500 miles (2,490 kilometers) from the Philippines and about 1,600 miles (2,600 km) from Japan. It is part of the 500-mile-long (800 km) volcanic archipelago known as the Mariana Islands, according to "Destiny's Landfall: A history of Guam" (University of Hawaii Press, 2011). Its nearest neighbor within the Mariana Islands is about 270 miles (436 km) away.

It's a tiny but beautiful island

(Image credit: Google)

Guam is the largest of the 15 islands in the Marianas. Still, with just 210 square miles (543 square km) of land, it's about half the size of Los Angeles. The island had a population of about 162,000 in 2016, according to the World Bank.

The island is known for its white-sand beaches, and the Mariana Trench, the deepest ocean trench on the planet, isn't far away.

The island chain was formed along a subduction zone  where one tectonic plate is diving beneath another  around 60 million years ago. However, it has risen above and subsided beneath the waves several times over the course of those millennia, and has millions of limestone and reef shelves formed from the skeletons of mollusks and other calcium-rich sea creatures, according to "Destiny's Landfall."

The island is also home to several unique species, such as the flightless koko bird, the damselfish and the Serianthes tree, according to the University of Guam. During World War II, brown tree snakes somehow slithered their way onto the island. The tree snakes have become huge pests and have wiped out many of the local birds and reptiles, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Humans have a long history here

(Image credit: Album/Florilegius/Newscom)

The Chamorro people, whose ancestors originally sailed from Southeast Asia, have occupied the island chain for about 4,000 years. "Chamorro," which is actually the name the Spanish used to identify the inhabitants when they first encountered them, is based on a variant of the local indigenous population's name for their high-caste members, the chamorri, according to "Destiny's Landfall."

The original indigenous people of Guam are Austronesian. Linguistic clues suggest they are most closely related to the people of Taiwan and the Philippines, according to "Destiny's Landfall." However, over years of colonial rule, the Chamorro have mixed with people from Spain, Germany, the Philippines, America and many other nations.

(Image credit: Joe Rosenthal/AP)

Europeans first made contact with people in this area of the Pacific in 1521, when Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan first set foot on the island. Magellan had been searching for the spice islands of the Moluccas. He and his men were on poorly outfitted ships and were too ignorant of the ocean's bounty to fish for their meals, so they survived on rats, sawdust and ox-hide rigging, according to "Destiny's Landfall."

When the explorers made landfall on Guam, they were surrounded by proas, the sleek and nimble boats of the local Chamorro people, who began to take items off the Portuguese vessels. In retaliation, Magellan's men fired crossbows and killed several of the local Chamorro. The Chamorro managed to steal a skiff from the Europeans, who left and then returned the next day to take the skiff back. In the process, they burned several villages and proas and killed eight more Chamorro, before taking on more supplies and heading out again, according to "Destiny's Landfall."

For most of the next 100 years, however, there were only intermittent contacts with European sailors, including Spanish ships that docked about once a year before moving on to Acapulco, on Mexico's Pacific coast. However, in 1668, the Spanish invaded and colonized the island. They also brought missionaries, who would largely convert the island population to Roman Catholicism. [The World's Catholic Population]

Guam offers military advantages

(Image credit: Sgt H F Williams/Hulton Archive/Getty)

For most of the last few centuries, Guam has been occupied militarily by a parade of different foreign powers, from Spain to Germany to Japan to the United States. This constant military domination is likely due, in part, to the island's unique geography and location. It is the largest landmass in Micronesia and the highest island in the vicinity, and it also has several safe harbors and multiple airstrips, making it perfect for a military outpost. Additionally, it sits at the intersection of the trade winds and the equatorial current, meaning that for centuries, sailors could take advantage of the prevailing winds and currents to land there for restocking or a break on the way to other destinations, according to "Destiny's Landfall."

America has a long history with Guam

(Image credit: Sgt H F Williams/Hulton Archive/Getty)

America first captured Guam during the Spanish-American War in 1898. It was initially used as a way station en route to the Philippines, but its military importance grew as it became the main communication channel for a telegraph line that connected the United States mainland with Hawaii and the Philippines, according to "Destiny's Landfall."

At the time, Japan was the dominant maritime power in the Pacific, and was rapidly expanding its influence in order to access more resources. Japan occupied the island of Saipan within the Mariana Islands, just 100 miles (161 km) away, according to "Guam 1941 & 1944: Loss and Reconquest" (Bloomsbury, 2011). American leaders were concerned about the possibility of a war with Japan and some military leaders wanted to beef up military fortifications on Guam, which would serve as a crucial link in their efforts to hold the Philippines. However, support from Congress was minimal and intense military fortifications never occurred.

America instituted Jim Crow laws on the island in 1907, segregating locals from American enlisted men in terms of housing and schooling. Laws preventing intermarriage between the locals and most Navy enlisted men also took effect around this time. Guam started using American currency in 1909 and also began observing all United States federal holidays around that time. However, none of the locals could vote. But under American rule, the local people gradually did experience an increase in their standard of living, with fewer disease outbreaks and greater educational opportunities, according to "Destiny's Landfall."

Japan controlled Guam during World War II

(Image credit: Keystone/Getty)

Japan invaded Guam on Dec. 8, 1941, just a few days after its attack on Pearl Harbor. [Secret Spies, Sunken Ships: 8 Pearl Harbor Mysteries]

At the time, about 700 people defended the island, which had relatively little other military fortifications. After a token resistance, the American forces gave up. The Japanese immediately renamed the island, and would hold it for another two-and-a-half years.

Over the next few years, American forces devised an elaborate multistep plan for capturing islands, including Guam, in the Pacific. This plan was first set in motion in January 1944, with the initial conquest of the Kwajalein Atoll. Guam's recapture was part of a series of steps designed to retake islands in the South Pacific from Japanese forces, including the recapture of Saipan and Tinian, in the Mariana Islands, on the way to the Philippines. The American military retook the island of Guam from Japanese forces in the Second Battle of Guam, which lasted for about two months and ended in August 1944.

The plan called for heavy air bombardment by planes stationed at the Marshall Islands, then bombardment by ship, according to "Guam 1941 & 1944: Loss and Reconquest." American forces landed on the island in late July, and by Aug. 8, the Japanese had given up their resistance. (One Japanese holdout, Shoichi Yokoi, was found hiding in the island's jungles 28 years later, however, the New York Times reported.)

Guam residents are ambivalent about independence

(Image credit: Three Lions/Getty)

Despite more than 100 years of American occupation, the territory of Guam has continued to be in a kind of limbo: While it's not considered to be an independent nation, and its occupants are U.S. citizens with U.S. passports, they cannot vote in general elections for president. Guam has a delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives, but the individual cannot vote. (If the inhabitants of Guam move to the United States, they can vote.)

In 1950, President Harry Truman signed the Guam Organic Act of 1950, which allows native people on the island some level of self-governance, with their own elected governor, court system and legislature, and a bill of rights (which is skimpier than the one afforded Americans on the mainland, but it does provide for rights such as separation of church and state). Federal taxes would also go back to Guam's coffers, according to that act.

However, many people in Guam still chafe over this in-between status. Guam is currently an unincorporated territory, but in theory it could vote for full-fledged statehood or for full sovereignty. In several referenda over the years, however, people in Guam have consistently voted to maintain the status quo, with some improvements.

Why North Korea singled out Guam

(Image credit: U.S. Navy)

So why did North Korea single out Guam as a likely place of attack? Aside from being a strategic hub for centuries, Guam has the advantage of being able to quickly ramp up its military protections for U.S. allies (and North Korean enemies) such as South Korea and Japan. Guam is home to about 6,000 troops and several huge military outposts, including Andersen Air Force Base and the Naval Base Guam, and is home to a nuclear submarine homing station for the United States.

In addition, Guam is home to the terminal high-altitude area defense battery (THAAD), which is designed to shoot down missiles as they reenter the atmosphere. (A second THAAD system is placed in South Korea).

Originally published on Live Science.
The Vernon County Democratic Party will host speakers and meals on Aug. 16 and Aug. 20.

Vernon County Highway Commissioner Phil Hewitt will report on the condition of county roads at a Community Supper at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 16, at the Hillsboro shelter on Water Avenue and Elm Street. The Vernon County Highway Committee and Board of Supervisors passed a resolution July 25 urging a gas tax measure to adequately and sustainably fund the states transportation. The event is free and food is provided.

Wisconsin Democracy Campaign executive director Matthew Rothschild will discuss the Crisis of Democracy in Wisconsin and Washington at the Vernon County Democratic Party summer picnic at 5 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 20, at the farm of Jim and Gloria Servais, E2560 Hamburg Road, Stoddard. Food will be provided an a $10 donation is suggested.

For further information, contact Joan Kent at 608-625-2339.
by Jess Nelson , August 10, 2017

One of every five email marketing messages fails to reach its intended recipient, according to Return Paths annual email deliverability report.

Global email deliverability has remained stagnant -- hovering around 80% -- for the third consecutive year, according to Return Path analysis of 2 billion promotional emails sent to consumers between April 2016 and June 2017. Return Paths data is derived from performance statistics across 140 mailbox providers throughout America, South America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific regions.

Twenty percent of promotional email either lands in the spam folder or goes missing altogether, limiting the potential ROI of email campaigns by a fifth. Global email deliverability only improved slightly from the 79% deliverability reported in Return Paths 2015 and 2016 studies.

"Reaching the inbox has always been a challenge for marketers, says George Bilbrey, president and co-founder of Return Path. Today, one fifth of all email fails to reach the inbox, which means marketers are missing out on potential revenue, as well as the opportunity to build strong relationships with subscribers."

advertisement advertisement

Canadian and Australian email marketers have the highest success rates for deliverability, maintaining an average inbox placement rate of 90%. Australia also ranked as the best country for email deliverability in Return Paths 2016 study, and has become a startup hotbed for email marketing technology. Canadas deliverability rates have improved from 79% in 2015 to 90% today, likely due to Canadas more stringent email spam laws.

The United States has the lowest inbox placement rate among the countries analyzed by Return Path. Although deliverability rates have improved from 73% to 77% year-over-year, the United States trails European countries. The U.K. has an average inbox placement of 84%, while France and Spain both have deliverability rates of 82%.

Bilbrey recommends that marketers pay special attention to their sender score reputation, engagement metrics, and content to increase inbox placement rates.

Mailbox providers and spam filters use these key metrics to decide whether or not messages will be delivered to the inbox," he says.
Iain King examines the relationship between war and thought in the writings of Niccolo Machiavelli.

Men rise from one ambition to another; first they seek to secure themselves against attack, then they attack others.

 Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince, 1532

Machiavelli was many things: a scholar and writer, a spin doctor for the government of his city-state of Florence, a civil servant and diplomat, and, later, a political prisoner denounced as a traitor. But, for all his achievements, Machiavelli himself was most proud of his time as a soldier.

Machiavelli was born in 1469. His father was well established within Florences aristocratic elite, but, crucially, came from an illegitimate branch of the ruling dynasty. This meant Machiavelli was destined to be close to power, but never to wield it in his own name.

He was soon inducted into the inner sanctum of Florentine authority, and  following the death of the long-time ruler of the city state, Lorenzo Medici  rapidly gained a reputation for political effectiveness.

Aged just 29, Machiavelli was appointed to manage Florences military affairs  an important role in the midst of the Italian Wars, and one which, for the mercantile city of Florence, initially involved more diplomacy than fighting.

Roving diplomat

Energetic and determined, Machiavelli journeyed to the most magnificent courts of the day: to France, Germany, and an exhausting number of other city-states in Italy, including the Vatican, often several times.

As he would disclose in his later writings, Machiavelli felt no compunction to be consistent in his dealings with foreign leaders. Indeed, he regarded the art of shuttle diplomacy to be about putting patriotic interests above his respect for those he was meeting. And, anticipating Clausewitz, Machiavelli saw a continuum between war and politics: he regarded diplomacy and the threat of military action as inseparable, almost interchangeable.

Machiavelli survived the downfall of his patron, Savonarola. Indeed, he managed to consolidate his power when Piero Soderini became head of state in 1502. Machiavelli was soon given responsibility for one of Florences most-sensitive issues: re-establishing authority over Pisa.

Pisa had revolted from Florentine rule in 1495, during the French invasion, and, though the French had been driven out, Pisa remained brazenly independent. Previous attempts to reassert control had failed  largely because the Florentines had relied on Swiss and other mercenaries, who had refused to advance, even after their cannon had breached Pisas city walls.

A citizen army

Machiavellis approach was different, arguing loyalty to the cause was more important than military professionalism. In 1506, he persuaded the Grand Council of Florence  by 817 votes to 317  to back his idea for a citizenbased army.

He spent several months recruiting volunteers from around Tuscany, and had soon assembled a force of some 5,000 volunteers. Most were peasants with minimal training; Machiavelli was more certain of their patriotism than he was of their military effectiveness.

So he sought complementary ways to force Pisa to yield. He consulted Leonardo da Vinci, who sketched a plan to divert the River Arno, Pisas main water-supply. But several of Machiavellis men drowned trying to implement it: Da Vincis hydroengineering project was beyond the technology of the day.

Machiavelli was more successful at starving Pisa out: he bought off the besieged citys main ally, the city of Lucca, which had been supplying Pisans with food. Machiavelli made sure that, when Pisa eventually did capitulate in June 1509, his loyal citizen army distributed food among the hungry inhabitants, welcoming the Pisans back into the fold in an early hearts and minds operation.

But Machiavellis military triumph was short-lived. The Florentine premier Soderini remained allied to France, against Machiavellis advice, entangling Florence in further intrigue. Further political mis-steps irked Spain, which invaded in 1512 with a full and professional army.

Machiavellis citizen militia, and his embryonic cavalry force, were soundly defeated: 5,000 Florentine citizens were killed, many women raped, and the citys churches looted.

The Medici were returned to power, and Machiavelli was swiftly turfed out of his multiple official positions. He was even imprisoned and tortured, before being exiled to his estate several miles from the city of Florence.

The Prince and The Art of War

Bitter at being ousted, and still ambitious for political power, he wrote The Prince in 1513. The book offers advice to the ruler of a state, richly informed by Machiavellis own experiences.

The text has been interpreted as a very long job-application, since Machiavelli was obviously pitching to be taken back on as an advisor to the ascendant Medici dynasty. He was turned down, and so began concentrating on other written works, which included a masterful history of Florence, political analyses of Imperial Rome, a novella, a comedy, and a satirical play.

Machiavellis 1520 book The Art of War was his most widely read publication during his lifetime. It sought to define a philosophy of warfare, drawing lessons from both Renaissance Europe and ancient civilisation. As might be expected from such a political figure, Machiavelli advocates psychological measures over brute force, recommends avoiding unnecessary battles, and discusses at length the requirements for a successful ambush.

Partly because of his military writings, Machiavelli was eventually hired by the Medici, in 1526, to review the citys fortification. When they were overthrown the following year, however, the 58-year-old Machiavelli was already terminally sick: he died one month later.

The political scientist

To describe someone as Machiavellian is almost always to insult them: the Renaissance scholars name has become synonymous with skulduggery, cunning, and immoral power-politics. Some of Machiavellis analysis is so cynical, JeanJacques Rousseau suggested it might have been a spoof, written to expose the underhand tactics of his contemporaries.

Machiavellis two most-famous books  The Prince and Discourses on Livy  offer practical advice for political leaders. Machiavelli sets out to discover the best way to govern a state, and uses contemporary and Classical examples to deduce brutal lessons.

To maintain power, he says, leaders should inspire fear rather than seek popularity. They must pretend to be virtuous, while using all means to eliminate any potential opposition to their rule. Machiavelli regards religion and ethics as mere tools to establish social order, which, in turn, he values only because it allows a ruler to preserve his authority.

Even though several of his books were banned, Machiavellis work became and remains very influential. Earlier writers had set out high-minded notions of what leaders ought to do, but Machiavelli drew lessons from what they really did, pioneering the modern study of political science.

Machiavelli himself was intelligent enough to anticipate that leaders of all shades would follow his ideas, while disowning them in public.

This article appeared in issue 52 of Military History Monthly. To subscribe to the magazine, click here.
The ballots have been cast, the votes have been counted, and we are delighted to announce the winners of this years MHM book awards!

We curated a list of 2016s best military history titles: the nominees for the inaugural Military History Monthly book awards, and asked our readers to vote for their favourites. Our selection includes some of the best-researched, most-insightful, and most-readable titles reviewed and featured in the magazine over the last year. The winners are as follows:

MHM BOOK OF THE YEAR

WINNER  GOLD AWARD

Sea Eagles of Empire: the Classis Britannica and the battles for Britain by Simon Elliott

This masterly text surveys the little-known story of the naval forces of the Roman Empire in Britain. Always in the shadow of the legions, Sea Eagles of Empire restores the Roman navy in Britain to its rightful place at the centre of any comprehensive understanding of the long duration of Roman power.

WINNER  SILVER AWARD

Jacobites: a new history of the 45 rebellion by Jacqueline Riding

Prince Charles Edward Stuart, the Young Pretender, landed in the Western Highlands of Scotland in July 1745. His aim was to win the throne of Britain for his father James, the Old Pretender. Riding places this attempt firmly within the context of the rivalry between Britain and France, and the ongoing War of the Austrian Succession, providing a lively read that combines military detail with wider political and social context.

WINNER  BRONZE AWARD

Air Power: a global history by Jeremy Black

Charting the rise of military aviation, this ground-breaking new book covers both the world wars and the more limited conflicts of the 20th and 21st centuries. Jeremy Black looks at debates around strategic bombing, aircraft carriers versus battleships, and how airpower has become the weapon of choice, spreading maximum destruction with minimum commitment.

MHM ILLUSTRATED BOOK OF THE YEAR

WINNER

Armour of the English Knight by Tobias Capwell

Capwell is such a master of his subject that he is able to communicate complex ideas and observations clearly and accessibly. He argues for a specifically English tradition in armour, observably different from the better-known European styles. Well illustrated and with sumptuous photographs, this book is a delight to read.

Congratulations to all our winners and publishers!

For more information about the books featured in our shortlists, click the following links:
Authorities have identified the woman killed Tuesday in a head-on crash in the town of Holland.

Melissa Ann Woten, 28, was a passenger in a Ford Focus that was hit on County Road V when a Jeep Liberty driven by 46-year-old John Rinartz crossed the center line. Woten, of Trempealeau and formerly of Racine, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the La Crosse County Sheriffs Office.

Wotens 6-year-old child, who was riding in the back seat, and the driver of the Focus, 26-year-old David Hatch, were both injured in the crash. Rinartz was also taken to a local hospital with undisclosed injuries.

The crash occurred shortly after 3:30 p.m. The Wisconsin State Patrol is assisting with the investigation.
Martin Marix Evans explores the muddy terrain of the Third Battle of Ypres, the effects it had on the action, and what can be found there today.

This article was featured in the February 2011 issue of the magazine. A 15-page special feature on Passchendaele will appear in issue 83 of Military History Monthly, on sale 13 July 2017.

In October 1914, the tiny British Expeditionary Force, with Belgian and French allies, clashed with the advancing German armies and only just held them in the First Battle of Ypres. This left the Germans in occupation of the Mesen (Messines in French) Ridge, south of Ieper (Ypres) and Hill 60, where the question mark-shaped ridge begins its curve through Hill 62 to Passendale (Passchendaele), also in German hands. The ridge overlooks the fertile, carefully-drained valleys under which are found impervious clay sub-soils. The ruin of the drainage system by shellfire was to create the most terrible fighting conditions encountered on the Western Front. Hill 60 was lost in December and was mined and counter-mined in a fearful subterranean battle until the end of the war; as the tortured terrain still bears the scars.

The Second Battle of Ypres began on 22 April 1915 and saw a makeshift Allied force pushed back to a line much closer to the town, running north from Hill 60, yielding Hill 62 and Sanctuary Wood, where the trenches survive even today. This was the starting point for the five-month fight in 1917, the Third Battle of Ypres, that culminated in the assault on Passchendaele. It was planned in two phases; first, the taking of the Messines Ridge and, second, a swift break-out over the Passchendaele Ridge having secured the Gheluvelt Ridge which linked them.

The Second Army, commanded by Lieutenant General Sir Herbert Plumer, had dug 21 mines as deep as 40m and as long as 2km to place explosives under the German defences. On 26 May 1917, British artillery bombarded those lines, and, on 7 June at 3.10am, the mines were blown up. The Germans were shattered. Australian and New Zealand troops rolled forward. The reality of the ridge as a lookout and obstacle can be appreciated from the New Zealand memorial in Mesen. Although the Germans recovered, the front line ran due south from Hill 60 by 14 June. Phase one had been a success.

The stolid, methodical Plumer was succeeded, in the north, by the dashing General Sir Hubert Gough, commanding Fifth Army. Over the next six weeks, in lovely weather, the supplies were gathered and the men assembled  and the Germans beavered about reinforcing their lines. On 31 July, after a massive barrage, the attack began. Pilkem Ridge, the first of a succession of low watersheds to be overcome, was soon in British hands, and General Erich Ludendorff noted, besides a loss of 2km to 4km of ground along the whole front, it caused us [Germany] very considerable losses in prisoners and stores  But that day it rained solidly, more than 21mm in all  84% of July 1916s total rainfall. Rain continued to fall, shell-holes multiplied and filled with water, and the streams draining from the crucial ridge were destroyed. The new German defensive system, a lightly held but deep front line with counterattack units in strength to the rear, was taking its toll.

Goughs efforts were stalling, and while Sanctuary Wood had been regained on the first day, progress along the Gheluvelt Ridge, towards Polygon Wood, demanded increased action in the south. His II Corps was transferred to Plumer, who asked for three weeks to prepare for a fresh attack. The rain ceased, only to begin again on 19 September. The next day, battle resumed with the Australians, I ANZAC Corps, entering the Battle of the Menin Road which, at great cost, pushed the east along the ridge. The Battle of Polygon Wood followed on 26 September. The advent of October was celebrated with heavy rainfall and the Battle of Broodseinde, on the ridge south of Passchendaele. The Australians moved at such a pace that they nearly overtook their own shellfire, and only the northern end of the accursed ridge remained to the enemy. It was the morass the battlefield had become that halted the ANZACS in the First Battle of Passchendale on 12 October, and the Canadian Corps took their place in the line. The Second Battle of Passchendaele gave a first hold on the firmer ground of the ridge above Tyne Cot on 26 and 27 October. On 10 November the high ground was finally gained.

Visiting the battlefields

The superb museum, In Flanders Fields, housed in the great Cloth Hall in central Ieper, is the best place to begin a visit both for an overall understanding and to obtain, in the museum shop, specialist tour maps and guides to the numerous sites and museums in the area. The region is the scene of four First World War battles, of which the third is the best known  so beware of confusing them. If the visitor starts at Mesen and travels along the ridge (Hill 60, Hill 62 and Sanctuary Wood, Polygon Wood, Zonnebeke, Tyne Cot, and Passendale) and returns to Ieper across the ridges and valleys now restored to agriculture by way of Poelkapelle and Langemark, a good appreciation of the scenes of battle will be possible.

This article was featured in the February 2011 issue of the magazine. A 15-page special feature on Passchendaele will appear in issue 83 of Military History Monthly, on sale 13 July 2017.

To subscribe to the magazine, click here.
This month, three lucky readers have the chance to win a copy of Implacable Foes by Waldo Heinrichs and Marc Gallicchio, courtesy of Oxford University Press.

On 8 May 1945, VE Day marked the demise of Nazi Germany. But for the Allies, the war was only half-won. Exhausted American soldiers, ready to return home, were sent to join the fighting in the Pacific. By the spring and summer of 1945, this had turned into a gruelling campaign of blood attrition against an enemy determined to fight to the last man.

Germany had surrendered unconditionally, but the Japanese would clearly make the cost of victory extraordinarily high.

In Implacable Foes, award-winning historians Waldo Heinrichs (a veteran of both theatres of war in World War II) and Marc Gallicchio bring to life the final year of World War II in the Pacific.

Taking us right up to the dropping of the atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the book unpicks not only Japanese policies of desperate defence, but also the rancorous debates on the home front.

They deliver a gripping and provocative narrative that challenges the decision-making of US leaders, and unravels the consequences of prioritising the European front.

The result is a masterly work that evaluates the nearly insurmountable trials associated with waging global war, and the sacrifices necessary to succeed.

Competition closed
The January issue of Military History Monthly, the British military history magazine, is on sale today.

In this issue we cover:

The Dutch War of Independence

MHM explores the Dutch transformation of war in the age of pike and shot, with a special focus on Maurice of Nassaus defining victory, the Battle of Nieuwpoort. This 17-page special feature includes:

 Warriors and weapons

 Strategy and tactics

 Timeline

 Battle Maps

 The Legacy

Rebels to Redcoats  The Scots who survived Culloden

Robbie MacNiven explores the fate of some of the legendary Highlander veterans of the Battle of Culloden.

Hitlers Flying Bomb  Rise of the V-1 rocket

Dave Sloggett reviews the rocket attacks on Britain during the Second World War, and considers just how effective they were.

Dogger Bank  Dress rehearsal for Jutland

Stephen Roberts investigates what the British and German fleets learned about modern naval warfare at the Battle of Dogger Bank in 1915.

Also in this issue: Behind the Image, Thinkers at War; War Culture; Museum Review; Event Listings; Book of the Month; Competitions; and much more.

From the editor

When did modern war begin? Silly question: it depends on what you mean by modern. And there is no simple definition, because modern is a term you apply to a process of change.

Lets reconfigure. When did the Medieval way of war based on dense agglomerations of warriors give way to a modern one based on lines of professional soldiers drilled to operate like a machine? Henry V fought the Battle of Agincourt with an army of the first type. Marlborough, 300 years later, fought the Battle of Blenheim with an army of the second type.

Firepower had, of course, transformed the battlefield in the interval. But tactics had to change in line with new weapons, and it took time for generals to catch up with the drift of technology.

The most important tactical innovator is little known: Maurice of Nassau. And the testing-ground of the new tactics? The long Dutch War of Independence from 1566 to 1609.

Our special feature this issue is a detailed examination of the reforms and generalship of the greatest soldier of the Dutch Protestant Revolution. Our argument is that Maurice of Nassau was really the founding-father of 300 years of linear infantry tactics.

Also in this issue we have Stephen Roberts analysis of the clash of battlecruisers at the Battle of Dogger Bank in January 1915, Dave Sloggetts assessment of the V-1 rocket attacks on Britain in 1944, and Robbie MacNivens report on the later military exploits of Jacobite veterans of Culloden.
The latest issue of Military Times, on sale today, is packed with features, eye-witness accounts and and articles.

Some key features within the February 2011 issue include:

Rommels Stormtroopers at the Battle of Caporetto

One of the most specular victories of the First World War took place at Caporetto in 1917. After two and a half years of trench stalemate, a change of tactics broke and routed the Italian army in three days.

It was the worlds first Blitzkrieg, and saw the emergence of young German Lieutenant called Erwin Rommel.

As a taster, see our Five reasons why the Battle of Caporetto was so decisive

The end of the Feudal Knight

In the 12th Century the mounted knight seemed invincible, but in the 14th century armoured.

The feudal order was crumbling, a new force was rising. Michael Prestwich explores the 14th century triumph of peasant-infantry on the battlefield

Desert Triumph over Mussolini

It was one of the most unusual victories in the history of the British Army. In two months between 7 December 1940 and 7 February 1941, General Richard OConnors Western Desert Force of 30,000 men advanced 500 miles into Libya and captured 130,000 Italians. Mussolinis dream of a North African empire was shattered. Military Times analyses the campaign.

Also in this issue:

 Diary of a Dunkirk Hero

 War on the Mind  the British authorities reaction to Shellshock in WWI

 Ian Murrays Bouncing Bomb Man

 Battlefield guide to Passchendaele

If you would like to subscribe to the magazine, click here to find out about our special subscription offers!
10.08.2017 LISTEN

Last week, news broke that OM Studios offices had been shut downed by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) over monies owed for an audit done for the year 2010 to 2015.

An online publication triggered the Chief Executive Officer, Abraham Ohene-Djan who rebated the claims in a post on his official Facebook page stating the company has not, and did not intend to withhold payment to the revenue authority but was only waiting for their documents to be released for an independent auditing which was being delayed by the GRA process.

However, the Chief Executive has revealed that the company has paid the outstanding amount of Ghc340,000 and made public all receipts of the payments due the Ghana Revenue Authority and is seeking legal advice over some disputed figures on the audit report.

The Chief Executive of the company who is currently on a Masters program in the UK has also challenged the author of an irresponsible publication Chris Vincent, to provide evidence of their claims suggesting the company owes its workers arrears. The renowned director stated the company is currently consulting its lawyers over a defamation lawsuit against the UK Luton based blogger.

Below are all receipts of payments made by OM Studios, one of the leading and respected audio-visual production media house in the Ghana, now called OM Integrated (OMI) after restructuring to focus on online content production in 2016.

Img104
Kigali (AFP) - Rwanda's electoral commission on Wednesday confirmed President Paul Kagame's overwhelming victory in last week's presidential election, even improving his score slightly to 98.79 percent.

There had been little doubt that the 59-year-old would return to the helm of the east African nation which he has ruled with an iron fist since the end of the 1994 genocide.

Preliminary results showed he had won 98.63 percent of votes, handing him a third term in office.

The final results showed opposition leader Frank Habineza of the Democratic Green Party scored 0.48 percent and independent candidate Philippe Mpayimana 0.73 percent.

Both candidates conceded defeat this week after preliminary results were released.

However, Habineza stated that "some local authorities were not cooperative and there were hindrances to our election observers and party agents."

After the election, the United States said it was "disturbed by irregularities" observed during voting as well as a lack of transparency in determining the eligibility of prospective candidates.

"We hope the new electoral law to be debated in the next session of Parliament will clarify that process well before the 2018 parliamentary elections," read a State Department statement.

Similarly, the European Union acknowledged urged "further efforts to increase the inclusiveness and transparency of the (election) process, in particular as regards the registration of the candidates."

Kagame has been the de facto leader of Rwanda since, as a 36-year-old, his rebel army routed extremist Hutu forces who slaughtered an estimated 800,000 people -- mainly minority Tutsis -- and seized Kigali in 1994.

He was first appointed president by lawmakers in 2000.

He was made eligible to run for a third term following a referendum in 2015 that voted to remove term limits from the constitution and could potentially allow Kagame to seek election another two times and rule until 2034.

Kagame is credited with a remarkable turnaround in the shattered nation, which boasts annual economic growth of about seven percent.

However rights groups accuse Kagame of ruling through fear, relying on systematic repression of the opposition, free speech and the media.
Rome (AFP) - An Eritrean priest once in the running for the Nobel Peace Prize for helping migrants is now under investigation in Italy on suspicion of abetting illegal immigration.

"I received a letter from the Trapani public prosecutor's office on Monday informing me of the investigation," Mussie Zerai told AFP in Rome, insisting that he was innocent.

After fleeing Eritrea as a youngster and arriving in Italy alone aged 16, Zerai entered the seminary aged 45 and became a reference point for migrants in distress for a period of almost 15 years.

For a long time, his was the only telephone number many had to call for emergency assistance.

Don Mose would sometimes receive dozens of calls for help per day, mostly from migrants in distress calling from a satellite phone from their rickety vessels at sea.

He would transmit the coordinates of the stricken boats to the Italian coast guard but also sometimes to the privately-run rescue ships known to be in the vicinity.

That is likely the reason his name ended up in a probe Trapani prosecutors have opened into illegal immigration which focuses largely on the roles played in migrant rescues by the privately-funded NGOs.

The investigation lead to the seizure last week of a boat run by German NGO Jugend Rettet, which is accused of having had direct contact with traffickers off the coast of Libya.

"It's totally contradictory to attack the humanitarian organisations to fight illegal immigration. It's like protesting against diseases by taking it out on the doctors," Zerai said.

"Instead we should tackle the causes of the disease (illegal immigration), which make these people desperate enough to risk their lives at sea," he added.

He referred in particular to the plight of hundreds of thousands of people trapped in refugee camps in Ethiopia and Uganda, with barely enough food and water to survive and little hope of a better future.

"There is a famine going on in the Horn of Africa, the dictatorship, the war ... there will always be refugees, you cannot just tell them 'don't come, keep your suffering away from us'.

"Africans also have the right to live and have a future," he said.
10.08.2017 LISTEN

Stakeholders in South-East on Wednesday applauded the All Progressives Congress (APC) for sustaining democracy in the country.

They also praised the APC government for translating the hopes and dreams of the people into reality and creating for Nigeria an environment of good order and civilization.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) government is the most efficient and accountable in the history of Nigerias democracy.

At a meeting focused on mapping out strategies for the November 2017 Anambra State Governorship Election, the leaders praised the National Chairman of APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun for opening up the ruling party to every Nigerian citizen and compelling government functionaries at the various levels to better their people and their surroundings.

A statement from the South-East Unity and Advancement Forum (SEUAAF) after the meeting in Awka described the alleged N850 Million bribery story as wicked, baseless and reckless.

The story is spurious. It is a political fabrication aimed at undermining the national chairmans integrity and causing confusion in the party.

The leaders condemned the suspended National Deputy Publicity Secretary of APC, Comrade Timi Frank and those behind him for encouraging anarchy in the party.

It is totally irresponsible for Frank and his sponsors to promote chaos and tribal bitterness in the countrys ruling party. Frank and his sponsors want to turn back the clock on the progress we have made.

Signed by SEUAAF National Chairman, Chief Maxwell Okoye, the leaders charged Oyegun, APC National Leader, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki, former vice president, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and others to work round the clock to ensure that the party wins in Anambra, Ekiti and Osun states.

We come from different background with divergent political ideologies. We also hold a variety of views. However, let us put the people ahead of political interest. Let us support President Muhammadu Buhari, Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo and the National Working Committee of our great party in creating a country which everyone experiences a better life. Let us work in cooperation for 2019.

Oyegun, according to the leaders, transformed APC into a formidable, highly disciplined political machine that outperformed other parties in presidential, national assembly and governorship elections in Nigeria.

They also promised to teach All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and others a lesson in democracy on Saturday, November 18, 2017.
Map of Nigeria locating an armed attack on a church in Ozubulu. By AFP (AFP)

10.08.2017 LISTEN

Lagos (AFP) - Eleven worshippers gunned-down in a Nigerian church funded by a man accused by some of being a drug lord and described by others as a philanthropist may be victims of "gang war".

Just hours after the slaughter at the Sunday mass in St Philip's in the Ozubulu area of southeastern Anambra state, detectives linked the killings to local mafia-style syndicates that have influence well beyond Nigeria's shores.

"Information revealed that this is not unconnected to a kind of a 'gang war' between the children of the same village who are engaged in a warfare outside Nigeria," said Anambra state police commissioner Garba Umar, referring to South Africa.

Death threats had reportedly been made against the apparent target Aloysius Nnamdi Ikegwuonu, a wealthy young philanthropist who has been accused by some in the Nigerian media of involvement in the criminal underworld.

Such is Ikegwuonu's wealth that he had built roads and schools for the community and even appeared on advertising posters proclaiming his "humanitarian projects".

But on Sunday he was not in the church he had funded so lavishly, even donating three cars to new preachers, according to a local resident.

"The attackers went to the church where their target was supposed to be and started shooting at the crowd," said Umar, who put the death toll at 11, while witnesses say that as many as 20 parishioners could have been killed.

'Violence as a last resort'

The gunman or gunmen -- the number of attackers is disputed -- then turned their weapons on Ikegwuonu's father and the congregation in frustration at failing to locate their target.

The trigger for such apparently random bloodshed may have been pulled in South Africa's sprawling commercial capital Johannesburg which is home to many thousands of Nigerians.

Speaking to the Nation newspaper, a spokesman for Ikegwuonwu denied commissioner Umar's claim that "the mayhem was as a result of a drug war".

The spokesman described allegations that Ikegwuonwu was involved in the drug trade as "evil and malicious" to the Punch newspaper.

But AFP has received testimony of a feud between him and a man called Obreche -- who is understood to be from the same state as Ikegwuonu, nicknamed Bishop.

According to the account, Obreche treated Ikegwuonu like a son and helped him with his commercial activities in Johannesburg.

But the bishop is alleged to have feared competition from Obreche and his affiliates, turning on the man and his organisation in 2013.

Anambra state governor Willie Obiano said in a statement on Monday he had been briefed that "this dangerous conflict has been going on for a while in the country where they both live" -- but did not name the men.

"We are dealing with a dangerous gang war that has spilled over to Anambra state," he said.

Valentina Pancieri, a researcher in the criminology department at the University of Cape Town, described such violence as "very, very rare".

"Nigerian syndicates don't usually compete against each other and, unlike the Italian, Russian or Mexican mafia, they use violence as a last resort because they don't want attention to be drawn to them in foreign countries," she told AFP.

Nigerian police said on Tuesday that they had made arrests in connection with the incident without disclosing the identities of those held or how many people had been detained.

"There is a high possibility that innocent members of the public are being arrested... while the real culprits possibly hide," said Emeka Umeagbalasi, an activist with campaign group Intersociety which called for outside scrutiny of the Anambra state police investigation.

In 2016, the church posted on Facebook that "no weapon formed or fashioned against Chief Aloysius Nnamdi Ikegwuonu shall ever prosper in Jesus' name".

For now, the 'Bishop' remains in play.
Nairobi (AFP) - A jittery Kenya awaits final poll results Thursday, with President Uhuru Kenyatta holding a strong lead after a vote marred by opposition claims of rigging and the death of four people in election-related violence.

The east African nation, keenly aware of post-poll violence a decade ago that left 1,100 dead, was on a knife-edge after a day of isolated protests in opposition strongholds.

The unrest broke out after opposition leader Raila Odinga claimed massive fraud as Kenyatta surged ahead in provisional results, with 54 percent compared to his 44.7 percent. Results from over 96 percent of polling stations were in.

Two protesters were shot dead in the flashpoint slum of Mathare in Nairobi, where police also fired tear gas at crowds who burned tyres and blocked roads throughout the day.

An AFP photographer saw one of the victims, a young man with a massive gunshot wound to the head.

Nairobi police chief Japheth Koome said the two who were killed had tried to "attack our officers with pangas (machetes) and that's when the officers opened fire on them."

The mother of a man allegedly shot in the head by police in Nairobi's Mathare slum

In the southeastern Tana River region, police said five men armed with knives had attacked a vote tallying station and stabbed one person.

"Our officers killed two of them and we are looking for others who escaped," said regional police chief Larry Kieng.

"We have not established the motive yet, we don't know if it is political or if it's a criminal incident but we are investigating and action will be taken."

The region is prone to attacks by Al-Qaeda linked Shabaab militants.

Hacking attack denied

Decrying a "sham" tallying process, Odinga detailed accusations of a major attack on the electronic voting system, saying hackers had gained entry using the identity of top IT official Chris Msando, who was found tortured and murdered late last month.

"This is an attack on our democracy. The 2017 general election was a fraud," said Odinga, claiming detailed evidence of the hackers' movements.

The 72-year-old, who is making his fourth bid for the presidency as the flagbearer for the National Super Alliance (NASA) coalition, accused his rivals of stealing victory from him through rigging in 2007 and in 2013.

"You can only cheat a people for so long," he said.

Election commission (IEBC) chief Ezra Chiloba denied that the crucial electronic system -- seen as key to avoiding fraud -- had been compromised.

"Our election management system is secure. There was no external or internal interference to the system at any point before, during or after the voting," he told a press conference.

Odinga's claims led to isolated protests in his stronghold in the western city of Kisumu as well as in slums in Nairobi.

Responding to the tensions, former US secretary of state John Kerry, an observer with the Carter Centre, expressed confidence in the electronic voting system and urged Kenyans "not to jump to conclusions".

"It is also going to be critical to the leaders of Kenya to step up and lead in the next days to give people confidence that this process is being worked carefully, thoughtfully and respectfully."

Calls for calm

Aside from the alleged hacking, the opposition's main complaint was that results streaming in electronically had yet to be backed up by a scanned copy of the results from constituencies.

Supporters of Kenya's opposition National Super Alliance (NASA) run during clashes with security forces in the western town of Kisumu

Chiloba assured that these forms were coming in and that candidates' teams were being given access to them. The IEBC has insisted the results on its public website should not be considered final until they have been cross-checked.

Raphael Tuju, secretary-general of Kenyatta's Jubilee party, urged the opposition to "look at the figures soberly" and accept the results.

Odinga urged his supporters to "remain calm as we look deep into this matter".

But he added: "I don't control the people."

The heads of nine international observer missions released a joint statement calling on parties and their supporters to remain calm, and turn to the courts with their grievances.

"We appeal to all citizens of Kenya to remain committed to peace and the integrity of the electoral process," read the statement.

Dynastic rivalry

The contest between Odinga and Kenyatta was seen by pollsters as too close to call ahead of the vote.

It is the second time the two men have faced off in a presidential election, a dynastic rivalry that has lasted more than half a century since their fathers Jomo Kenyatta and Jaramogi Odinga went from allies in the struggle for independence to bitter rivals.

Kenyatta, 55, is credited with overseeing steady economic growth of more than five percent. But food prices have soared under his watch, and several major corruption scandals broke out in his first term.
The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), has told hawkers in the city to leave ahead of an impending decongestion exercise.

This exercise according to the assembly is aimed at bringing sanity in the capital city.

We wish to bring to the fore that, their activities are a contributory factor to the heaps of garbage deposited along the roads and additionally, they also place themselves in harm's way as vehicles can accidentally crash into them as had been witnessed many times before, the AMA said in a statement copied citifmonline.com.

The assembly wishes to remind them that their activities are contrary to the AMA hawkers bye-law of 2011 and section 117(1) of the road traffic regulations ,2012(L.I.2180),and are punishable by the law, the statement signed by the Co-ordinating Director of AMA, Sam Ayey-Datey added.

The focus areas for the decongestion exercise include the Central business district (CBD), Kaneshie market area, N1 highway (the Mallam Achimota stretch), Darkuman-Kokompe, Ordokor Kwashieman road , Nima highway, Agbogbloshie, Kwame Nkrumah Interchange and its environs.

The notice comes just a few months after the AMA vowed not to relent in its efforts to clear all unauthorized traders along the streets of the Metropolis despite some resistance from the hawkers.

They AMA has also in the last few weeks prosecuted some people at Lapaz and Achimota for dumping refuse indiscriminately in the said areas.

The decongestion exercise according to the AMA, will be done in collaboration with the Ghana Police Service.



By: Rita Mensah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
A National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament in the Yunyoo constituency in the Northern Region, Joseph Bipoba Naabu has called for calm in his party after calls for the suspension of the party founder, Jerry John Rawlings and former Attorney General, Martin Amidu.

According to the MP, such calls are not necessary because the suspension of the two NDC stalwarts won't do the party any good.

Speaking on the Point Blank segment on Eyewitness News, Mr. Naabu said when they talk about sacking people from the party then we will end up by sacking everybody and politics it's all about the numbers.

The MPs remark comes on the back of calls for the suspension of Rawlings and Martin Amidu from the NDC because some NDC members believe that some utterances by the two have brought the name of the party into disrepute.

Former Deputy Chief of Staff, Dr. Valarie Sawyerr had chastised the two over the same issue.

In the case of Mr. Amidu, some two NDC members namely  Evans Amankwah and Abigail Elorm Mensah, petitioned the leadership of NDC to have him punished.

But Mr. Naabu on Point Blank argued that such suspensions contributed to the NDC's loss in the December poll.

If somebody does something and you don't like it, you should instead find a way of handling it and not to say you will sack him. How can your father build a house, take care of you, brought you up and you turn around and say that your father is not normal and thus should leave the house for you? That is what does who are calling for former president to be sacked are doing. We lost the election because of this kind of complacency and thinking. If we continue to sack people then the party will end up not winning any election at all, he added.



By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana

Follow @AlloteyGodwin
This year annual Ga and Dangbe Homowo festival has been celebrated in Toronto-Canada.

The celebration which was full of splendor achieved a common purpose of many indigenes of Gas and Dangbes resident in Toronto-Canada that was to present the traditional and cultural traits of the people to others to cherish.

It also sent a strong signal to the queen mothers and king makers back home in Ghana that they have no excuse but to work tirelessly to enstool a new Ga Matse to rule the Ga Traditional Area.

Full exhibition of Ga and Dangbe cultural and traditional activities drew a lot of Ghanaians and non-Ghanaians to the G.ROSS picnic park in Toronto-Canada over the weekend.

Demonstrating to the public to see, the Toronto Ga chief priest, Wulomo Nunmo Nii Akrong[Dr], dressed in full traditional regalia took the gathering through the selection of a rightful heir, the initiation and swearing of the Toronto Ga Chief Nii Kwei Anku to the subjects which was delightful to watch indeed.

The splendid performance of the Wulomo Nunmo Akrong supported by sub-chiefs clearly argued or pointed out to the world that queen mothers and king makers of the Ga state have no excuse to continue living several years without a chief after the death of Nii Amugi the late Ga mantse.

In one accord, the chiefs, queen mothers, king makers and the supporting crowd cheered the Toronto Ga Matse as he went round sprinkling Kpokpoi the traditional food to hoot at hanger.

GA STATE HAS NO EXCUSE STEPHEN A.QUAYE [2]

After the excellent performance of the chief priest and the chiefs, some members of the gathering questioned if Ga state has an excellent laid down procedure in selecting a rightful heir, initiation, swearing and taking of authority as a chief, then what is holding those back home from giving the Ga state a king?

Wulomo Nunmo Akrong, urged Ghanaians to live in peace with one another, work hard to live a responsible live, support each other, take advantage of opportunities their resident destinations offer and always strive to be law abiding citizens wherever they find themselves.

Through libation, he prayed asking God for mercies, good health, wealth, protection and security for the country Ghana and Canada.

He prayed for healing for the sick, scholarship for the smart and clever youth to acquire requisite skills and knowledge to be able to overcome the challenging economic and employment difficulties, parental love and care for children and respect and dignity from children to the elderly.

He further stressed the unity among Ghanaians both home and abroad stating that, in unity lies the strength and good heart for peace and development as he personally went round to exchange pleasantries with members and wish all prosperous days ahead.

Also, the chiefs and the people were delightful to watch in the whole celebration activities as they participated fully in traditional dances, cooking and performed other customarily rites.

GA STATE HAS NO EXCUSE STEPHEN A.QUAYE [3]

The sumptuous Ghanaian dishes that were served were interesting experience for invited quests and members who enjoyed very much.

A dazzling range of artistic events at the celebration at the park made invited quests to discover authentic Ghanaian rhythms and dance which urged the invited guests to participate fully which saw the Ghanas consul general to Toronto Mr. John Bosco Kpebasani gracing the event.

The Ga Adangbe Association of Toronto now will wrap up 2017 annual Homowo festival activities with a dinner dance on August 19, to raise funds to support the sick kids wards in hospitals in Toronto, the association president Mrs. Christian Nuamah disclosed.

202

609[1]

685[1]
Peppers are spicy but we still eat them. Their flavour is unique and indispensable. Arguably, their taste and smell are the elements that determine the impression of foods.

Former President, Jerry John Rawlings name is ringing everywhere this week. Its ringing in Axim (down southwestern part of Ghana) and its ringing in Zabzugutatale in the north. Over 38 years ago, the Rawlings ring tone was much-sought after and it seems it is loud today too.

So whats in that name thats keeping its influence and prominence still in Ghanas political landscape?

Is he the only one with clout in the NDC?

The answer perhaps, is no. However, it appears his influence and undying prominence can be compared to the peppers sensory characteristics. And with that golden belt still hanging at his corner, I would advise his sworn critics to tone down the rhetoric. You stop a sinking boat from sinking you dont help it to sink because you might all end up perishing.

During the week someone sneezed in her room little did she know that probably many would catch the contagion and it would trend on the social media. A member of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Alhaji Iddrisu Bature was possibly the first to catch the cold. The editor of the Alhaji and Alhaji newspaper had called on the NDC to sack its founder, Jerry John Rawlings.

Whats the reason? According to Alhaji Bature some comments made by Mr. Rawlings before and after the 2016 general elections have brought the party into disrepute. Disrepute! What does that mean, is it euphemism for defeat or shame?

..Nobody is beyond sanctions in the NDC, not Jerry Rawlings, not Martin Amidu. And if any founder of the party including Jerry Rawlings and Martin Amidu is bringing the name of the party into public ridicule and disrepute, they deserve to be hauled before the party and sanctioned accordingly, he stated.

His comments on Tuesday during a radio discussion programme followed an article written by former Deputy Chief of Staff, Dr. Valarie Sawyer who served under the presidencies of Mills and Mahama. Dr. Sawyer had taken a swipe at Messrs Rawlings and Martin Amidu former Attorney General.

Commenting on the issue Alhaji Bature said: President Akufo-Addo and the NPP have demonstrated that nobody is beyond discipline in any political party. They took disciplinary action against high ranking members of their party and yet convincingly won the election. NDC can do the same,

And what did Dr. Sawyers article say?

In part her write-up stated that Mr. Rawlings was still flogging a dead horse [NDC] although they are in opposition and further criticised him for praising President Akufo-Addo despite some scandals that had rocked the government.

They say he booms  I say he buzzes  like an agitated mosquito  looking for his next victim. Again, he heads for other Heads of State  describing their governance as riddled with corruption. Is he trying to say that his reign was unblemished or that his twin brothers (President Akufo-Addo) reign is unsullied? she rhetorically asked.

So can NDC sack Rawlings?

Article 41 of NDC Constitution under the headline: COMPLAINTS AND APPEALS PROCEDURE states among others that:

1. Any member who has reasonable grounds to believe that another member or other members of the Party are in breach of the provisions under clause 8 of Article 38 may lodge a petition in writing to an appropriate Executive Committee for redress.

2. a. Where the grievance is against the leadership of the Party at any particular level the petition may be lodged with the Executive Committee of the next higher level.

3. a. All members of the Party are enjoined to exhaust the complaints procedure contained in this Constitution before recourse to legal proceedings or adverse publications in the media against the Party at any level.

Alhaji Bature makes a case to the effect that before the December 7 general polls NPP sacked some of its leaders and therefore NDC can do the same. They took disciplinary action against high ranking members of their party and yet convincingly won the election. 

That sounds like a false analogy or comparison fallacy (also known as the look-elsewhere effect). Theres always a chance that the conclusion might be false despite the truth of the premise. Yes, its true the NPP took punitive action against some of its leaders but was that the reason why NPP won the 2016 election?

Perhaps there were factors other than the suspension of its top ranking officials that contributed to the partys victory. It could be its campaign message that there was high corruption in the NDC, which President Rawlings also alluded to time and time again before the general election. Maybe it was also its message that labeled NDC as incompetent party. It was possibly Dumsor and the perceived arrogance and disrespect which many people blamed the NDC for.

That said, I think the Botchwey Committee Report post 2016 election prognosis dossier will be of great interest to those who still have no clue as to why NDC sorely lost the last election. The reasons for NDCs fall have been captured in black and white in that report.

Above all, I think the comparison between the NPP and NDC is unsound. Probably, Alhaji Bature should have focused on an internal case. For example, he should have made reference to Dr. Josiah Aryehs case--- the former General Secretary of the party (May his soul rest in peace). The former NDC scribe was sacked over an allegation that hed been bribed by the then opposition NPP.

For the records the NPP didnt just wake up one eerie morning when the Monsoon winds were drubbing the Gulf of Guinea coast and decided to suspend or sack its Chairman and General Secretary. They followed the due process and exhausted the entire process

Also, Alhaji Bature on the Eyewitness News claimed that Mr. Rawlings clout in the NDC has dwindled drastically following his consistent critique of the party and any attempt to believe that he still has grip on the party is only an illusion.

He [Jerry Rawlings] has forfeited any legitimate right to remain the founder of the party. When the party ahead of 2012 election advertised that it was going to hold a rally at Mantse Agbona and he was the special guest, he issued a statement he is not going to be a part of it because he has not been invited. Rawlings has forfeited his right to remain the founder of the NDC. Nobody is above discipline in any party, he added.

I think his comments rather tend to create sharp schism. It also fuels the notion that some clique are trying to hijack the party and make the former president a back seat observer. Must we always rant on radio programmes to make our cases heard, especially if or when it involves party stalwarts such as Rawlings? Wouldnt it have been better if theyd called him to order through closed door meetings?

If he wouldnt shut up his mouth, what do you expect us to do? I could hear his avowed critics make such remark. But was the right approach used to resolve the issue if there was ever the attempt? Sometimes its the approachability that gets the result. At times, its the people involved in the negotiation that make things happen. Fire for fire might backfire.

So what would NDC do without Rawlings?

Would they be singing Hosanna, Hosanna or theyd be singing Dabi dabi ebeye yie? Would Volta region remain its bastion or the World Bank as its commonly known in terms of votes? How would Rawlings exist generally impact on the electoral map in relation to NDCs performance? Would there be divisions more than whats already perceived in the party? Would the former president go without taking down the party he helped to found? And would the NDC be able to win an election without him campaigning for the party? I think the 2016 election was a testament, though debatable, when he was virtually sidelined. There are certainly more questions than answers.
The writer

10.08.2017 LISTEN

Dear Mr. Martin Amidu.

Greetings.

Where did your likes Martin Amidu jet off?

Mr. Martin Amidu are you sure you're okay?

How did we get here?

The NDC is now in opposition by kind courtesy of your likes! Congratulations Mr. Citizen Vigilante.

I can see you've started poking your nose and rearing your ugly head into the affairs of the NDC again what is it again?

You say wetin?

That Mrs. Charlotte Osei is incompetent and that she was put there to help the NDC rig the elections?

Like seriously?

Mr. Martin Amidu, you've over stepped your boundary. Enough of your HYPOCRISY.

You claim you're an anti corruption crusader right? That's a joke!

Mrs. Charlotte Osei is currently hot for fighting corruption in the electoral commission, is that incompetence? Misappropriation of funds of the electoral commission staff is the bone of contention. Shouldn't that interest you? Arent you a citizen vigilante anymore?

Mr. Martin Amidu, GHc 20million was squandered in the Ghana @60 celebration. We were told the money was coming from corporate Ghana; till date we don't know who they are. We don't know who contributed what? We don't know their source of funding. We don't know how much was donated. Isn't this corruption? We're now being told that GH5Million was taken from the District Assembly Common Fund for the 2 hours ceremony! Surprisingly enough the Ghana @60 committee have not been able to render proper accounts to Ghanaians. You've seen nothing wrong with that? Or have you suddenly lost your citizen vigilante oil in your blood?

Mr. Martin Amidu; Hon. Ken Ofori Atta; the Minister of Finance issued a $2.25Billion dubious Bond in 8 hours. The issuance violated industry best practices requirements and laid down procedures. The bond issue was shrouded in secrecy. 95% of the bond was issued to a business partner of the Financial Minister; conflict of interest is what we're talking about here. The cost of the issue is still unknown. Ghanaian banks were silenced in the deal. The law requires that bonds of this nature be advertised which was not adhered to. The law requires government and assigns to conduct due diligence on entities before engaging in any business transaction on behalf of the people of Ghana. Due diligence was not carried out on the successful bidder. The law requires that for bonds of this nature the Ghana SEC be notified. There's currently no board at SEC. This makes these technically non-functional. The law requires that for bonds of this nature the BoG be notified. They were not notified. The law requires that for bonds of this nature the Attorney General who is the principal state attorney be notified. She confirmed she wasn't aware of issuance of the bond. Mr. Citizen Vigilante you haven't seen anything wrong with this?

Mr. Martin Amidu, Boakye Agyarko, the Minister of Energy bribed Parliament with GHc 150, 000.00 to qualify for his vetting. Hon. Mahama Ayariga; the Member Of Parliament for Bawku Central Constituency; your own brother said it. You didn't see the need to stand up for him? Wasn't that corruption?

Mr. Martin Amidu, Alfred Obeng Boateng, the Managing Director of BOST sold 5million litres of contaminated fuel to his own unregistered company which was unlicensed. You've seen nothing wrong with that? Ain't you an anti corruption crusader anymore?

Mr. Martin Amidu, goats, sheep, guinea fowls, cows is currently the primary requirement for an appointment in this regime. Hon. Otiko Djaba, the Minister for Gender said this publicly. You've seen nothing wrong with that? Ain't you a citizen vigilante anymore?

Mr. Martin Amidu, our 110 ministers are unable to fight common Army Worms. This is super incompetence. You've seen nothing wrong with that?

Mr. Martin Amidu, invincible forces attacked a senior police officer by name ASP Nanka Bruce at the Flagstaff House under CCTV cameras. Till date no single arrest has been made. Delta forces stormed the Ashanti regional circuit court, attacked the Presiding judge, vandalized properties and freed it's co-terrorists members who were standing trial for unlawfully entering the Ashanti regional coordinating council and assaulting the regional security coordinator with the reason that they didn't know him and could not comprehend why the President didn't appoint one of them as the Regional security coordinator. Invincible Soldiers stormed the Tema Metropolitan Assembly premises to stop proceedings and threatened that what will happen in Accra would be worse than what happened in Kumasi if they are not employed. You've seen nothing wrong with that?

If this is not witchcraft then what is it?

I should not be responding to you because you're a senior Comrade but understand this; one who brings untrodden faggots to his house should expect the visit of Lizards.

Enough is enough; thanks for the memories Mr. Martin Amidu but it's time to say goodbye. I will be joining forces to sign a petition for your suspension from the NDC. We want to organise ourselves not antagonize ourselves.

Enough said.

#LetsSeeHowItGoes

Assibid Dauda

Binduri Youth Activist.
"Political life is nothing without ideals but ideals are empty if they don't relate to real possibilities", Says Anthony Gideon.

One thing probably we might have all failed to notice and critically examine or observe is that from day one the anti-Rawlings movement have set him up to quickly start speaking against the current government on corrupt practices and other issues of national interest.

Rawlings was very smart and rejected those calls by ignoring those calling on him to say something. He did nothing so most people are made to believe that there is something wrong! Or in a worst case scenario believe he is in bed with the NPP! If Rawlings speaks against corruption in the NDC and people are not happy about it, is it worth to speak against it when it is seen in another party? This is our double standards in the politics we do. It is not about issues but about where we belong.

Secondly, I am very happy that many at times people fail in their attempts predicting Jerry Rawlings. He is a great leader. He is not predictable because he assumes no form. He chooses when to do what and not on the instructions or on provocative coercion of any person or persons. He chooses his own time.

Since when did we start realizing that Jerry Rawlings' pronouncements against corruption and other bad social vices would help cure them? Or is it because this time it is not an NDC government that is in power so it pays for Rawlings to speak against corruption? And when an NDC government is in power we can ask him to stop? Come on people! Don't be fooled by this circular argument by the Dr. It is nothing but a mere incitement and very soon you will see people feeding on it to attack Rawlings as it has already started.

In any case what difference would it have made if Jerry Rawlings has chosen to speak against Nana Akufo Addo and his "corrupt" government when there are already that bashings from all angles including members of the NDC, where Rawlings belongs? If that would have made a difference, why not against his own party in power at the time? He received big insults from the people in the party as if we were without blemish. Have you remember the situations that gave birth to the "Babies with sharp teeth"?

The Dr's attack is an engineered one and lacks the critiques of her status as a Dr. but this should be understood. There is currently an internal "war" as to who leads the NDC in 2020. Activists are working hard on things that would ensure or enhances the chances of their preferred candidate or candidates. Rawlings's influence this time would be significant. Inciting emotions against Rawlings this time is well calculated and for that to work well, link him with anybody who appears to be losing public sympathy. But let leave this one here for now!

Rawlings chooses when to speak and I am yet to see anybody or group successfully coercing him to do so rather than at his own time and terms! As to whether there was corruption in the government that he lead in the past and for which reason or reasons some people believe that he has no moral right to speak on issues of corruption or should speak when he has not chosen yet to do so, is not a sound argument. It is a mere appealing to people's emotions and history. This is rather unusual and uncharacteristic of a status of a Dr. But who I am to question the intellect or an opinion of a Dr. in Ghanaian politics?

Coming events cast their shadows! I believe there are more important things to do to build the NDC party than to be fighting over Jerry Rawlings's silence on the alleged corrupt practices in Nana Akufo Addo-led NPP government. Edefu laa!!

Alexander Bediako.
Accra, Aug 9, GNA - The Annual Internal Audit Conference to provide a platform for key stakeholders in the fiscal and audit sector to chart plans and robust mechanisms to ensure judicious use of national resources, has opened in Accra.

The two-day dialogue, being organised by the Internal Audit Agency (IAA) was on the theme: 'Safeguarding National Resources through effective Public Financial Management."

Over thousand participants drawn from both public and private institutions across the country are attending the event.

Opening the conference, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in a speech read onhis behalf said government was committed to improving the condition of service and the general working conditions of employees in the public sector to enhance efficiency.

He said: 'Government is aware of the frustrations and sometimes disappointment of staff of the public sector in terms of compensation, which sometimes engender all sorts of problems.'

'It is also important to state that productivity in the public sector remains an issue of greater concern to me. It is important to note that when time and other resources under our control are not efficiently utilised, revenue generations becomes a problem, compensation of staff become affected.

'The vicious cycle of inadequate resources, low productivity and low compensation continues. We need to break this jinx and I believe you, as key players of Public Financial Management System, would come out with solutions for our considerations,' he added.

President Nana Akufo-Addo said the internal audit functions had become increasingly vital in achieving objectives of government and that of the private sector institutions.

Mr Ransford Agyei, the Acting Director-General of the Internal Audit Agency, said the IAA has the mandate to ensure quality professional practice of internal auditing in the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and Metropolitan, Municipal and Districts Assemblies (MMDAs).

He said the Agency, having worked for more than 12 years had positioned itself, to assist MDAs and MMDAs to implement good corporate governance practices that would ensure the safeguarding of national resources.

It would also secure economic, effective and efficient use of those resources to facilitate the achievement of organisational and national objectives.

He said the Internal Audit Agency was poised to roll out prudent 'preventive and more risk-focused programmes to bolster internal auditing in the public sector.

'The Agency leads and collaborates with other institutions under the National Anti-Corruption Plan,' to achieve its goals.

Mr Agyei said, the Agency continued to train its officials to make them more efficient for the task and to assist internal auditors in public institutions to fulfil their requirement to ensure an improved performance of the institutions.

Dr Esther Oduraa Ofei-Aboagye, a Researcher in Public Administration and Local Governance and the Chairperson for the event, said effective public financial management was crucial for good governance and the programme was very critical for Ghana's economy.

She said improved delivery of public goods and services was critical for the industrial growth of every country.

She said it was commendable that Ghana had a new Public Financial Management (PMF) Act 2016, (Act 921) to strengthen public financial management system.

Dr Ofei-Aboagye explains that the PMF Act would mitigate fiscal indiscipline and ensure proper management of public resources for economic growth.

'Efficient public financial management is central to creating a relationship of mutual trust and shared consensus between government and citizens that is at the core of the development," she added.

She, therefore, urged the participants to engage fully with each other to conceive a strong apparatus to protect the public purse.

Various speakers were billed to lecture on topics such as 'Effective Public Financial Management; Key to National Development', 'The Role of the Internal Auditor in Embedding Effective Good Governance in Public Sector' and 'The Public Financial Management Law and the Public Officer'.

GNA

By Patience Gbeze / Gideon Ahenkorah, GNA
Accra, Aug. 9, GNA - President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Thursday said accountability was important if the country is to make progress in its developmental efforts.

To that effect, he said, public officers should be accountable for their decisions, actions, inactions and general behaviour in the use of public resources.

'In this connection, monitoring, supervision and evaluation mechanisms should be strengthened in all public institutionsto ensure that public office holders were monitored, supervised and well evaluated on their performance and the use of resources for accountability of their stewardship,' he added.

In a speech read on his behalf by Mr Yaw Osafo-Marfo, Senior Minister, at the opening of the Annual Internal Audit Conference in Accra, the President said, 'we need to change the fundamentals of the economy and also change our attitudes towards management of public resources'.

The conference is being organised by the Internal Audit Agency (IAA) in collaboration with the Government of Ghana to provide a platform for deliberations and discussions by managers and other stakeholders of public institutions to craft a roadmap towards addressing their challenges as well as find solutions to problems in their quest to safeguard national resources.

The two-day event was on the theme, 'Safeguarding National Resources through Effective Public Financial Management' and it has attracted all managers from both public and private institutions across the country.

President Nana Akufo-Addo said: 'Without an efficient public financial management system that is anchored on fiscal discipline, effective allocation and utilization of resources and efficient service delivery, our efforts to develop this nation will elude us.

'Sound financial management systems lead to better control and management of public resources and government attaches high priority to improving financial management practices in the public sector. Our commitment to this is reflected in the number of programmes and reform initiatives that have been put in place towards the stabilization and the ultimate acceleration of the economy,' he added.

The President said government was committed to directing its energies into the creation of rigorous internal audit systems in the public sector as part of its commitment to protect the public purse.

Mr Kan Dapaah, Minister of National Security, noted that Ghana's challenges were not lack of resources but poor management of the abundant resources, especially in the public sector called for attitudinal change.

Mr Ransford Agyei, Acting Director-General, IAA said aside the numerous challenges faced by Internal Auditors; the fundamental issue has been their compensations as compared to their counterparts in other classes of employment.

He advised those heads of institutions who used transfers as a tool to punish officers of Internal Audit Units by reason of their work to stop as the act was unacceptable.

Mr Agyei noted that Internal Auditors in the public institutions were required to play a competent role of ensuring that control systems such as specified under the Public Financial Management (PFM) Act, (2016), Act 921 were effective for improved accountability and performance in public service.

Mr Agyei said the Agency continued to train its officials to make them more efficient for the tasks ahead.

Mr Daniel Dormelevo, the Auditor General, called for greater collaborations between the public and private institutions beyond their heads to enhance efficiency and progress.

He suggested a conference for both Internal and External Audit officers to brainstorm on issues affecting their various institutions. Dr Esther Oduraa Ofei-Aboagye, a Researcher in Public Administration and Local Governance, and the Chairperson for the event, said effective public financial management was crucial for good governance and the programme was very critical for Ghana's economy.

She said improved delivery of public goods and services was critical for the industrial growth of every country, adding that it was commendable that Ghana had a new Public Financial Management Act (2016), Act 921 to strengthen public financial management system.

Dr Ofei-Aboagye explained that the PMF Act would mitigate fiscal indiscipline and ensure proper management of public resources for economic growth.

'Efficient public financial management is central to creating a relationship of mutual trust and shared consensus between government and citizens that is at the core of the development," she added.

The conference would see 16 topics captured under the theme, being discussed with appropriate recommendations to propel the country's efforts towards economic viability.

GNA

By Patience Gbeze/Gideon Ahenkorah, GNA
Accra, Aug. 8, GNA - Dr Lord Mensah, a Finance and Investment Expert, has observed that it would be difficult for government to maintain low macro-economic indicators while promoting economic growth at the moment.

He said government's policy strategy was to bring down the macro-economic indicators before going to the financial market to borrow money to execute the projects it promised Ghanaians during the 2016 General Election.

'So maintaining a stable macro economy is quite difficult but government must find an optimum balance between ensuring economic growth and maintaining the macro-economic indicators at very low levels,' he explained.

The Financial and Investment Expert was answering a question on the call on the government not to sacrifice economic growth to maintain the macroeconomic indicators, which was captured in a communique issued by participants at the end of this year's Ghana Economic Forum in Accra.

Dr Mensah, who is a Senior Lecturer at the Business School, Finance Department of the University of Ghana, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, on Wednesday, said economic growth was a situation where ordinary people had access to potable water, could afford three quality meals a day, have access to quality education, fresh graduates getting decent employment while people had access to affordable housing.

Therefore, he said, for government to provide all these services to the populace, it had to borrow from the financial market and that would cause some macro-economic indicators to shore up.

The two-day forum was held on the theme: 'Building a Ghanaian Owned Economy, 60 Years after Independence.'

The participants, which included economic and business gurus, policy-makers and think tanks discussed strategic issues like entrepreneurship and innovation, agriculture, insurance and how Ghanaian business could take advantage of the stable macro-economic environment to make gains.

Commenting on the call for government to nurture some indigenous businesses into global giants, Dr Mensah said government's policy was anchored on creating an enabling macro-economic environment for businesses.

However, he said government could provide a labour force for local businesses that want to operate outside the corridors of Ghana.

He cited the Chinese government that supported her local industries with prisoners to provide affordable labour to execute contracts abroad and repatriate the benefits back to China.

He said Ghanaian companies that want to go global should first and foremost saturate the local market with high market share and with affordable prices.

This, according to him, would motivate government to offer them some incentives.

The Financial and Investment Expert also suggested that government could institute a special fund for indigenous companies that want to go global to tap into it.

Responding to the call for government to protect local banks from being swallowed by big foreign banks, he noted that government could help in that direction by way of regulation.

He said since the banking industry was about competition, risk management and innovative products, local banks must brace themselves up with the requisite capital requirement so that they could raise the necessary funding for mega contracts.

'The foreign banks have financial muscle and so they often come into the local banking industry with innovative products that enhances competition.

'Therefore there should be a blend between the local banks and the foreign ones because government cannot stop them from coming,' he observed.

With regard to the call for Ghanaian businesses to own the Ghanaian economy, he said, most of the businesses in the country were owned by the indigines, adding: 'The Ghanaian businesses already owned the economy.'

Nonetheless, he said, there was the need for Ghanaian businesses to build their financial capacity to invest in the oil and gas industry since that sector required huge capital base to venture into it.

'You know our oil resources are offshore and that requires big capital to invest in that area for instance, prospecting, development of the oil wells and production demands huge capital, therefore Ghanaian businesses should look at how best they could raise financial resources to invest in that sector in order to retain the benefits here,' he said.

Touching on the need for Ghanaian businesses to collaborate with themselves to raise the requisite funds for investment and expansion, Dr Mensah observed that per the Ghanaian cultural heritage, Ghanaian businesses did not like collaboration.

According to him, most local businesses were established through blood lineage or family resources therefore they did not like someone to come in with capital and share the benefits.

In addition, he said some local businesses were 'selfish' and did not understand the chain of production and, therefore, they want to operate with their little capital, hence they failed to expand to employ more people.

'If you look at other business jurisdiction there is someone providing labels for a company producing bottled water while another person is also producing plastics for production,' he explained.

'So that helps those companies to grow and support their economies.'

Touching on leveraging on technology for business transactions, Dr Mensah said with the mobile phone usage penetration hitting high level with about 36 million Ghanaians using mobile phones, businesses must take advantage to explore the social media to market their products.

He, therefore, entreated other African countries to emulate Ghana's mobile telephony success.

The two-day forum was organised by the Business and Financial Times Newspaper with partnership from other major media organisations including the Ghana News Agency.

GNA

By Godwill Arthur-Mensah, GNA
Accra, Aug 9, GNA - The Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) on Wednesday, urged government to involve communities to be affected by mining in decisions concerning the extraction of mineral resources to ensure sustainable development.

It said involving affected communities in such decisions was key, not only to empower them in terms of the details of contracts signed, but enable them to make inputs that would ensure their welfare through the equitable disbursement of the revenue accrued, and also insist on their right to sustainable livelihood and the expansion of infrastructure for their benefit.

Mr Benjamin Boakye, the Executive Director of the Africa Centre for Energy Policy, addressing a national level stakeholders' forum on mineral extraction for sustainable development in Accra on Wednesday, said it was important for the country to draw lessons from the past to prevent a repetition.

He said in the past government signed off contracts to foreigners and failed to look at linkages involving local suppliers of the chain whose skills were not developed enough to contribute to the mining industry.

He said these decisions had over the years remained centralized, leaving affected communities with very little or no benefits at all, as their lack of knowledge about, and involvement in such contracts left them with no power to demand for their rights to socio-economic development.

He said the mistakes of the past in the mining sectors of the country had led to the massive impoverishment of affected communities, leaving the people with no sustained livelihood or improved infrastructure for development.

He cited some of the reasons why Ghana though endowed with numerous mineral resources, was still wallowing in poverty, as poor planning for the industry, politics-led and lack of transparency of these decisions, and the failure to plan for the appropriate use of revenues accrued from the resources, with the assumption that they would automatically translate into development.

Besides, the country had failed to build local industries for processing its own raw materials, builds local capacities in terms of skills, plan for the appropriate infrastructure such as electricity, water and roads, for specific mineral resources, and did not insist that investors carried out such project for the benefit of the affected communities.

Mr Boakye said leveraging on Ghana's new mineral resources for development, government must invest in building modern technologies, ensure value addition, skills enhancement and build infrastructure to attract jobs and sustain livelihood of communities in mining areas.

Ms Pauline Anaman, the Head of the Policy Unit of the Africa Centre for Energy Policy, said the ACEP, in partnership with the Wassa Association of Communities Affected by Mining (WACAM) and the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), had completed baseline and fiscal benchmarking study on the Sheini Iron Ore deposits project in the Northern Region.

The project, she said, involved the exploration of iron ore in commercial quantities, and had the potential to expand the country's economic progress and had trickling down effects of social progress and sustainable development for its people.

She said it had therefore become imperative to understand the extent of fiscal impacts that the Sheini iron ore project was likely to bring.

Ms Anaman said based on findings which included a holistic assessment of the minerals sector, the Centre had made some strong recommendations to government for its consideration, to ensure equitable distribution of revenue and the maximum benefit of the people in these communities.

GNA

By Christabel Addo/ Cecilia Aboagye - GNA
Taiwanese manufacturing company Foxconn should have a deadline to create the 13,000 jobs it has promised to bring to Wisconsin in exchange for a $3 billion incentive package funded by state taxpayers, the Senates leader said Thursday.

Lets say we go through all these hoops, and the locals do as well ... but then the jobs dont show up, Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, told conservative talk radio show host Jerry Bader Thursday morning. Theres no timeline necessarily for job creation, and I think thats got a lot of people nervous.

Later Thursday, after Senate Republicans met with members of Gov. Scott Walkers administration who are negotiating with Foxconn, Fitzgerald said he was assured such deadlines could be worked into the contract being drafted. Lawmakers do not have a final say on that contract, however.

Fitzgerald also said he still hasnt sought to find out whether he has enough votes in his caucus to pass legislation authored by Walker that provides $2.9 billion in refundable tax credits to Foxconn over 15 years, exempts the company from another $150 million in sales taxes on construction materials and equipment, and waives environmental regulations.

Meanwhile, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said Thursday he is confident the bill will pass the Assembly  a vote he has scheduled for next week.

I am not going to do anything that is going to screw up this deal, he said on a conservative talk radio show Thursday evening.

Foxconn Technology Group wants to build a 20 million-square-foot LCD panel manufacturing campus  its first in the U.S.  in Racine or Kenosha counties and has promised to hire 13,000 workers.

An analysis released this week by the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau shows the state will not begin to recoup the money it provides Foxconn in tax credits until 2043.

While Walker has proposed tying the tax credits to job creation, the bill also provides the company with $1.4 billion in tax credits for the construction of the campus and exempts their spending from sales taxes on materials and equipment.

The bill neither specifies when the jobs must be in place nor sets a minimum number of jobs the company must create in exchange for the tax credits.

There should be some benchmarks along the way, Fitzgerald told Bader. I dont think we are concerned about the ultimate payout, or break-even point, its more what are we going to see five years or 10 years from now.

Republican lawmakers in recent weeks have been wrapped up in securing Foxconns promise to build the campus in Wisconsin but they also still have not passed a 2017-19 state budget, which was due to be in place by July 1.

Fitzgerald signaled Thursday that both tasks could be completed this month. He said he wants a public hearing on the legislation on Aug. 22 and for the Legislatures Joint Finance Committee to use the rest of that week to finish its work on the state budget.

Fitzgerald also said he wants to build in a cushion in the next state spending plan in case theres an economic slowdown that results in lower tax revenues for the state.

Were continually hearing that theres a possibility that the economy could soften, he said. We dont want to be in a position where we have to revisit the budget.

He didnt say whether Walker administration officials have warned of such a slowdown, but said he has heard those concerns from lawmakers elsewhere in the country.

Finance committee co-chairwoman Sen. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills, said the Senate can multitask and wrap up both the budget and the Foxconn bill in that time frame. She also signaled support for the Foxconn legislation, which has already received a public hearing in the Assembly and is set for a floor vote next week.

Rep. Adam Neylon, R-Pewaukee, who heads the Assembly Committee on Jobs and the Economy which held the hearing, said he has heard lawmakers are considering submitting to him between 50 and 60 amendments making changes to the bill but that seven are being drafted  four of which also have support from Democrats.

Changes to the bill could include the annexation of the town of Yorkville, which is in Racine County, through a referendum process, Neylon said, signaling that Foxconn could be close to choosing that area for the proposed campus. Walker has said the company was deciding between two sites  one each in Racine and Kenosha counties.

Other changes being considered could include creating a provision for job training and requiring or providing an incentive to choose Wisconsin-based companies for construction work, and allowing money from a tax incremental financing district created for Foxconn to be used to build and expand fire and police services. Changes to the bills language regarding wetlands also could be made and the bill could end up clarifying the state Department of Natural Resources oversight of the construction process, Neylon said.

Another amendment could create a new position within the state Department of Administration to work with Foxconn to secure Wisconsin vendors, Neylon said.

Neylon said more changes could be submitted before his committee votes on the bill, which they are scheduled to do on Tuesday. The full Assembly plans to vote on the bill on Aug. 17.

While Assembly Republicans have moved quickly to pass the Foxconn legislation, which was introduced Aug. 1, Fitzgerald appeared on radio shows Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning to defend against criticism that the Senate is moving too slowly. The Senate introduced its version of the bill Thursday afternoon.

Fitzgerald told Capitol reporters this week the bill needed further vetting and that Assembly Republicans have not at all involved the Senate in the process to amend the bill.

Amid pressure from some conservative talk radio show hosts not to bungle the deal with Foxconn by taking too long to pass the incentive package, Fitzgerald said its been suggested to him to support the bill and read it later.

Were not going to do that in the state Senate, he told Bader. We never have; we never will.

Vos, who represents the area Foxconn is considering, expressed dismay on a conservative talk radio show that Fitzgerald and Senate Republicans have taken this long to start considering the legislation.

He told host Mark Belling that he asked Fitzgerald repeatedly to participate in a joint committee hearing on the bill, but Fitzgerald refused, prompting Vos to go it alone.

I am falling all over myself to see how can I generate the very best deal for the company and the taxpayer, Vos said.
Laklevikope (V/R), Aug. 9, GNA - Mr Kofi Dzamesi, the Minister of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, has called on chiefs to maintain the sanctity of the chieftaincy institution as it is the anchor for socio-economic development.

He expressed unhappiness with the widespread of chieftaincy conflicts across the country adding that they were counter-productive to community and national mobilization efforts.

The Minister said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency on the sidelines of the commissioning, graduation and speech day of Footprint International School (FPIS), a private basic school at Laklevikope near Aflao.

'Respect for chiefs and the institution stands to be undermined if the conflicts persist and I will urge them to re-look at ascension to thrones and land issues which form the main sparks for the conflicts', Mr Dzamesi said.

He said chiefs remain the rallying point for community and national development, for which reason they ought to operate in peace.

Mr Dzamesi said government was making the needed effort at resolving chieftaincy conflicts through new approaches and appealed to chiefs to commit themselves to community development.

Some students and teachers were rewarded for their hard work.

GNA

By Dominic Adoboli, GNA
Accra, Aug. 9, GNA - President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Wednesday restated his vowed commitment to fulfill the pledges he made to Ghanaians before assuming the reins of the country.

He says he want Ghanaians to look upon him as a man of his word, and as someone who tells the truth and delivers on his promises, and as such he would keep to his promises during his tenure of office.

Speaking to health workers at the Effia Nkwanta Hospital, on the last day of his three-day working visit to the Western Region, President Akufo-Addo indicated that two important campaign promises he made in the run-up to the December 2016 elections were going to be met.

'Because of the importance of education, the first pledge to be met will be the Free High School policy. You know how much I have been abused and traduced.

'I have been vilified, with people saying that I am doing it for politics, I am trying to buy votes, I can't do it, and I am lying to the people of Ghana.

'But by the grace of God and with the energy of the Minister of Education, Matthew Opoku Prempeh, in September, the Free SHS policy is coming,' the President said.

He said his administration committed itself to restoring the nurses and teacher training allowances.

'I am happy to inform you that the Asempa Budget that Ken Ofori-Atta read in March has made provision that at the beginning of this academic year, in September, the nurses and teacher training allowances are going to be restored in full.'

President Akufo-Addo revealed that government had secured funding to commence the construction of a regional hospital in the Eastern Region, and was currently examining four different proposals for the building of a hospital for the Western Region.

'I do not think it would be right that because we want to build a new regional hospital, we abandon this old, famous hospital. I don't think it would be right, and I am going to do all that I can to do all that I can, with the support of the Ministry, to make sure that that doesn't happen. Effia Nkwanta already has important teaching and important facilities here, and it will be rehabilitated,' he said.

Bemoaning the poor state of the country's health infrastructure, President Akufo-Addo expressed the importance of rebuilding the country's health infrastructure.

'We begin not just with the physical rehabilitation, but with the preparation of the human material in our healthcare delivery system, and the rehabilitation and revival of the National Health Insurance Scheme. The NHIS was Kufuor's great legacy to our nation.

'We (the NPP) are back in office, and it is our duty to restore the NHIS back to full health and vitality and that is what we are going to do.'

Government has already paid GH 500 million out of the GH 1.2 billion NHIS debt inherited from the previous government. Payments to NHIS service providers for 2017 are up-to-date.

President Akufo-Addo appealed for the unalloyed understanding and support of Ghanaians, especially of the health professionals, as government undertook reforms to return the country's economy to full health.

'It is not going to be easy because our public finances were in a poor state. Unfortunately, I did not inherit a treasury filled with a lot of money. I inherited a bankrupt economy filled with debt. I am, nonetheless, not intimidated by the debt. Anybody with a good heart and good head and with determination can turn debt into money, and that is what I intend to do.

'I need your support and understanding to give this nation a first class health delivery system that the people of Ghana deserve, and we are going to do so with your active support and participation,' he said.

'You are some of the most important people in any society certainly here in Ghana - health workers, doctors, nurses and paramedicals. All of you, together, represent a huge and important human capital for the development of our country. I want you to know that you have a government in place that is going to give you the maximum support so that you can do your work well for the benefit of our people and the health of our nation,' he added

GNA
It was a nice atmosphere at the Roman Catholic A park, Bibiani, as the chiefs and town folks welcomed the president on his Thank You tour. The presence of the military and the police sent signals of tight security. This was expected, yes!. The first gentleman of the land has to be protected.

I sat behind the clergy, specifically Rev. Father Asare who gave the opening prayer. I had to shake my head in disbelieve as representatives from DoctorsAct Foundation followed the representatives of the paramount chief of the Bibiani-Ahnwiaso-Bekwai Traditional Council to go shake hands with the president. To my utmost surprise, the representatives of the said foundation, who according to the Mc. were into helping the sick, walked straight to where the president was seated with their backpacks and side bags, some pressing their phones as they filed onto the stage.

In my spidery forensic head, having run many scenarios about the loopholes in security details around our presidents (past and present) I was very surprised and pointed it out to the priest I was seated with.

What if one of them had a gun in his/her bag?

What if one of the phones was a timer for a bomb in any of the backpacks?

What if any of the phones contained an aerosol that could be released to kill target persons on that stage, particularly the president?

Why were they so freely allowed? I could ask all the forensic questions possible, why, where, when, what, who, how, about that scene.

Then again I recall this is Ghana where we are peaceful and united and prayerful so we can play around with security. Maybe I think too much or am just being paranoid because anytime I watch and find these number of loopholes around our head of state, I get on edge. I humbly recommend that we leave no chance in dealing with security issues around our first gentlemen. With what I saw, there is more room for improvement, otherwise the president is vulnerable.

Thanks for reading.
President Akufo-Addo has stressed that he would not just keep but deliver on the promises he made to Ghanaians during the 2016 electioneering campaign.

Countering what the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) and its faithful want Ghanaians to believe  that most of the promises he made during the electioneering campaign were mere platform talks to win votes  Nana Addo has reiterated his commitment to put them to shame because he is a man of his words.

He gave the assurance yesterday while addressing health workers at the Effia Nkwanta Hospital on the last day of his three-day working visit to the Western Region.

Free SHS, Teachers' & Nurses' Allowances

As a mark of commitment to keep his promises, he indicated that in September this year, two of the important campaign promises he made in the run-up to the December 2016 elections are going to be met; they are the 'Free Senior High School' programme and the restoration of trainee teachers' and nurses' allowances, which were cancelled by the erstwhile Mahama administration.

Because of the importance of education, the first pledge to be met will be the 'free Senior High School' policy. You know how much I have been abused and traduced. I have been vilified, with people saying that I am doing it for politics; I am trying to buy votes; I can't do it and I am lying to the people of Ghana. But by the grace of God and with the energy of the Minister for Education, Mathew Opoku Prempeh, in September, the 'Free SHS' policy is coming, the president pointed out.

Also, he said with emphasis, We committed ourselves to restoring the nurses' and teacher trainees' allowances; I am happy to inform you that the 'Asempa Budget' that Ken Ofori-Atta read in March, has made provision that at the beginning of this academic year, in September, the nurses' and teacher trainees' allowances are going to be restored in full.

New Regional Hospitals

With the Eastern and the Western Regions being the only ones without regional hospitals in the country, President Akufo-Addo revealed that funding had been secured by government to commence the construction of a hospital in the Eastern Region.

The Ministry of Health, the president added, is currently examining four different proposals for the construction of a regional hospital in the Western Region.

I do not think it would be right that because we want to build a new regional hospital, we abandon this old, famous hospital. I don't think it would be right, and I am going to do all that I can, with the support of the ministry, to make sure that that doesn't happen. Effia Nkwanta already has important teaching and important facilities here, and it will be rehabilitated, he assured.

Bemoaning the poor state of the country's health infrastructure, President Akufo-Addo stressed the importance of rebuilding the country's health infrastructure.

We begin not just with the physical rehabilitation, but with the preparation of the human material in our healthcare delivery system, and the rehabilitation and revival of the National Health Insurance Scheme. The NHIS was Kufuor's great legacy to our nation. We (the NPP) are back in office, and it is our duty to restore the NHIS back to full health and vitality and that is what we are going to do.

Already, according to the Deputy Minister of Health, Kingsley Aboagye Gyedu, who doubles as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bibiani-Anhwiaso-Bekwai, the government had paid GH500 million out of the GH1.2 billion NHIS debt inherited from the Mahama government.

He said payments to NHIS service providers for 2017 are up-to-date.

Call For Support

Outlining the reforms undertaken by his government to return the country's economy to full health, President Akufo-Addo appealed for unalloyed understanding and support of Ghanaians, especially of the health professionals.

It is not going to be easy because our public finances were in a poor state. Unfortunately, I did not inherit a treasury filled with a lot of money. I inherited a bankrupt economy filled with debt. I am, nonetheless, not intimidated by the debt. Anybody with a good heart and good head and with determination can turn debt into money, and that is what I intend to do, the president said.

He continued, I need your support and understanding to give this nation a first-class health delivery system that the people of Ghana deserve, and we are going to do so with your active support and participation.

That, he said, was because you are some of the most important people in any society, certainly here in Ghana  health workers, doctors, nurses and paramedicals; all of you, together, represent a huge and important human capital for the development of our country. I want you to know that you have a government in place that is going to give you the maximum support so that you can do your work well for the benefit of our people and the health of our nation.

Central Regional Tour

President Akufo-Addo begins his tour of the Central Region today.

His first port of call would be in the regional capital, Cape Coast, where he and members of his entourage will pay a courtesy call on the Regional House of Chiefs.

He would later address a durbar of chiefs and people of Twifo and Atti Morkwa and spend the night there.

By Charles Takyi-Boadu, Presidential Correspondent
A private citizen has petitioned the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government to initiate disciplinary action against two civil servants who are alleged to be involved high-level corruption at the Department of Urban Roads (DUR).

Bismark Brown, a journalist working with Atinka Television in Accra, filed the petition at the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development against Benjamin Bampoe, the Tema Metro Director of the DUR and Francis Torsu, who is the New Juaben Municipal Director of DUR.

The broadcast journalist wants the two investigated because he claims they are part of a syndicate that is engaging in corrupt practices in the award of road contracts at the DUR.

In the petition, which has been widely copied to high places, including the presidency, Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), Police Administration, Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), among others, Mr. Brown claimed the two road engineers were caught on tape collecting bribes in order to 'facilitate' the award of road contracts at the Ministry of Roads and Highway.

The petitioner said two undercover journalists, who posed as investors targeting the roads sector, had managed to expose the modus operandi of the two DUR officials and alleged that they collected GH1,000 each to get them to where the contracts could be secured.

On the secret audiovisual recording, Mr. Bampoe could be heard introducing the supposed investors in the road sector to Mr. Torsu.

I have some brothers with me right here. I have known them for some time now. They've been trying to get you. It has been difficult getting you so they have come to me to probably arrange a meeting with you for them, Mr. Bampoe said, adding, They have been tracking you in Koforidua to have a meeting with you concerning an interest they have but to no avail.

Basically they are into construction. They have the equipment and many things. They wanted to have a discussion with you and see how they could partner your outfit and see how you can do some business together. Anything at all, whether it is into rentals, construction, etc. which has profit or loss component! (he then laughs and says no businessman wants to suffer losses).

He continued further, I told them you are a very busy person and you have lots of movements. If you are not bothered, let me give them your telephone number so they call you themselves. They are nice people and you will enjoy working with them. Boss, they are from afar and they have very strong links.

When the undercover journalists finally met Mr. Torsu, he was also captured on the tape assuring, I'll speak to other engineers but the system at my outfit currently is slow.

If you had approached me last year, I would have given you a lot of things to do there. We are trying our best to put things in place. The NDC disrupted a lot of things when they were in office, he said, adding, The links are there. The Highways and the others we can talk to them and see how we can go.

On the said tape, Mr. Torsu could be heard saying they were working hard to remove the Director of the Department of Urban Roads, Mohammed Abass Awolu, from office because he was an impediment in their way.

We are forcing to get Abass removed from the place. He is the reason why the system is slow, otherwise there would have been plenty of contracts for you. He is so selfish!

I don't understand why Bawumia (Vice President) still wants him to be there. It is because of him I am not going back to Koforidua for now. We are finding a way of getting him out. Bawumia thinks like Mahama (former President), I can say it without fear! If you are in to protect such a person when everybody knows is not good

According to the petitioner, The conduct of the two civil servants is breach of the criminal code on bribery and a breach of the public officer's code of conduct and aspect of the Civil Service Act. Mr. Torsu must be made to explain the circumstances under which he wants to get the Director of the Department of Urban Roads out of office.

They must explain why they took GH1,000 each from the investigators. Mr. Bampoe must be made to explain.

The two officers did not return calls or text messages sent to them by DAILY GUIDE for their side of the story.

By William Yaw Owusu
Suffice it to say that election in Africa is nothing but a kind of an advance auction sale of citizens economic and political freedom. This partly explains why I struggle to catch the drift of electoral violence in Africa perpetrated by some unthinkable oafs. Why must people end the precious lives of their fellow compatriots for the sake of politics? Needless to say, the 2017 presidential polls in Kenya appeared to be turning baleful, by the callous courtesy of Raila Odingas inordinate and unbridled narcissism. There are reported incidents of violent protest in Nairobi, Kenyas administrative capital. Mr. Odingas support base of Kisumu and the Kibera Slums of Nairobi are reportedly interlocking horns with the Kenyan police. This writer aims at understanding the extent of relationship between Odingas temperament and narcissistic personality traits.

Once again, let me remind my discerning readers that I am somewhat without the needed expertise and strength to reconstruct the niches of Kenyan or African politics, even so this subject is necessitated by reported cases of Odingas mulish stance relative to electoral defeat. The narcissistic grandiosity of Odinga is claiming innocent lives and it must be berated by all pan Africanists and other stakeholders of global politics. The term narcissism had its origin from a classical Greek mythology. Narcissus happened to be a guy who was convinced he was better than anyone else and therefore, frowned upon love for others. He later became infatuated with his own image mirrored in a pool of water and died transfixed.

From psychological clinical science perspective, narcissism is a kind of personality disorder. Many clinicians use the criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), published by the American Psychiatric Association, to diagnose psychological disorders.

DSM-5 criteria for narcissistic personality disorder include the following characteristics:

Having an exaggerated sense of self-importance



Expecting to be recognized as superior even without achievements that warrant it

Exaggerating your achievements and talents

Being preoccupied with fantasies about success, power, brilliance, beauty or the perfect mate

Believing that you are superior and can only be understood by or associate with equally special people

Requiring constant admiration



Having a sense of entitlement



Expecting special favors and unquestioning compliance with your expectations

Taking advantage of others to get what you want

Having an inability or unwillingness to recognize the needs and feelings of others

Being envious of others and believing others envy you

Behaving in an arrogant or haughty manner

Although some features of narcissistic personality disorder may appeared to be having confidence, it's not the same. Narcissistic personality disorder crosses the border of healthy confidence into thinking so highly of yourself that you put yourself on a pedestal and value yourself more than you value others.

Mr. Odinga claimed the 2017 Kenyan presidential election was inundated with fraud and that hackers being aided by the identity of an assassinated electoral official compromised with the database of Kenyas electoral commission. Mr. Christopher Chege Musando, the Kenyan manager of information technology at independent electoral commission was killed in the lead-up to just ended 2017 elections. Odinga opined his death paved ways for electoral manipulations. This assertion by the leader of the opposition Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) sparked-off violent protest. This violence presents a flashback of 2007 elections in which about 1000 or more people were murdered after Mr. Odinga was defeated by ex-president Mwai Kibaki. In 2013, Kenyan Supreme court quashed an alleged vote-manipulating case brought before it by that same Mr. Odinga. This was after Odinga lost to President Uhuru Kenyatta, the son of Kenyas first president, Jomo Kenyatta. Is the personality type of Mr. Odinga threatening Kenyas political stability or the Kenyan government is a mere corruption ridden agency devoid of trustworthiness to conduct credible elections?

The report released by transparency international on the corruption perception index saw Kenya performing abysmally. On the scale of zero to 100, with zero perceived to be highly corrupt and 100 very clean, Kenya scored 25 in 2014 and 2015 and improved marginally to 26 in 2016. Per this report, Kenya is perceived to be an abyss of decay when it comes to corruption. Let me just hypothesize that it is increasingly difficult for opposition party to win election in a country drenched with corruption like Kenya. Mr. Odinga and his ODM apparatchiks and aficionados must have invested huge sums of money to be rigged of electoral fortunes. Let me play devils advocate here, rigging Mr. Odinga is not only unfair but also a recipe for chaos.

Kenyan authorities must be reminded of the assertion of classical Greek tragedian, Sophocles that we must prefer even to fail with honor than to win by cheating. I am not unaware of Napoleon Bonapartes assertion that in politics stupidity is never a handicap. Nevertheless, if all Kenyans die which people are these agitated politicians going to govern? Kenyan youth must eschew violence and comply with rule of law. Mr Odinga must compromise with his obstinate and narcissist posture if applicable to maintain political stability in Kenya. Stakeholders of African politics such as African Union must intervene swiftly to avert replication of 2007, electoral unrest. God bless Africa!

By Nana Yaw Osei, Minnesota, USA

[email protected]
Stockholm (AFP) - A Swede who was held hostage by Al-Qaeda in Mali for more than five years before being freed in June said Thursday he was opposed to ransoms being paid in kidnapping cases.

Johan Gustafsson, 42, told reporters he did not know why his captors had chosen to release him but he hoped his government was telling the truth when it said its policy was not to pay ransoms.

"Personally, I think it's wrong. It puts other people in danger... It's so much money that ... has a tremendous effect. They can use that money in their war machinery," Gustafsson said of jihadists, in his first press conference since returning to Sweden on June 26.

Gustafsson was abducted by Al-Qaeda's North African affiliate Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in Timbuktu, northern Mali, in November 2011 along with South African national Stephen McGown and Dutchman Sjaak Rijke.

Rijke was freed in April 2015 by French special forces, and McGown was released on July 29 this year.

AQIM was one of several jihadist groups that took control of Mali's north in 2012 before being ousted by a French-led military operation launched in January 2013.

The group had released several videos of the hostages over the years, but little was known about the kidnappers' demands.

Few details have emerged about how Gustafsson's release was secured. Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom said it was the result of "several years of efforts" by police, politicians, diplomats and Swedish and international authorities.

Gustafsson said he did not know of any negotiations but had been driven out of the desert by his captors before being handed over to "teary-eyed" Swedish police, who then escorted him home.
Johannesburg (AFP) - For one South African mother, cannabis was an illegal drug to warn her son about when he became a teenager: today, she uses it to treat his rare medical condition.

Now the ban on using the drug is being challenged in the High Court, raising the possibility that it could effectively be decriminalised.

"When I first heard of medical cannabis, I thought they were smoking it because they wanted to get high," said Susanne, who asked for her real name to be withheld.

"Then I had a kid who could actually benefit from it."

She remembers the impact that cannabis oil appeared to have on her seven-year-old son, who suffers from Costello syndrome which causes delayed physical and mental development.

"A month after he first started taking it we had a family function and they were gobsmacked," she told AFP.

South African Gerd Bader shows how she extracts oil from dried cannabis leaves in Johannesburg

"For the first time he played on his own and didn't need his mummy," she said, explaining he was prone to restlessness and joint pain as a result of the condition.

Susanne was persuaded to try the oil by Gerd Bader, a South African cannabis advocate, who manufactures concentrated cannabis oil to treat his own multiple sclerosis.

Bader and Susanne are among a growing number of South Africans calling for cannabis -- known locally as "dagga" -- to be legalised for medical purposes.

'Branded a criminal'

At the moment, possessing, growing or using marijuana -- even in small quantities -- can lead to jail time, a fine and a criminal record.

However a court in the Western Cape region ruled in March that a ban on cannabis use by adults at home was unconstitutional, effectively decriminalising it in the province that includes Cape Town.

South African pro-cannabis activist Gerd Bader currently sells a bottle of oil for 1,600 rand ($120, 100 euros)

Globally, the legal status of cannabis varies widely. In Portugal, for example, possession and use is largely decriminalised, while users in Saudi Arabia face the death penalty.

Bader, 49, uses a homemade blasting tube to extract the high-strength oil from cannabis buds.

"People who are dying now cannot wait until parliament makes a decision in two years -- nobody has two years to wait," he said.

Not universally beneficial

"I'm branded a criminal (by society) for illegally helping people when doctors have given up on them.

"I wish we could come together and show them our expertise."

Bader, who sells a bottle with 5.5 grams (0.2 ounces) of cannabis oil for 1,600 rand ($120, 100 euros), is also bullish about the economic benefits of legalising marijuana.

South African cannabis advocate Gerd Bader uses cannabis oil to treat his seven-year-old son suffers from Costello syndrome, which causes delayed physical and mental development

"It could be a major revenue source for the taxman. Free the weed, give it to the people.

"We'll have an industry like we've never had before. It's like the oil in Arabia -- an industry with no overheads, imagine," he said.

Bader, who is wheelchair-bound, claims to have benefitted enormously from medical marijuana, chiefly as pain relief.

"I was dying with my condition but it's brought my life back," he said.

Breakthrough court case?

The country's Medical Research Council has already launched trials to help guarantee quality, consistency and standards, according to local media.

But Shaun Shelly, a drug policy researcher at the University of Pretoria, warned that medicinal cannabis would not benefit everyone.

The Bader family also sell a range of bakery products to raise funds for the medical treatment of their child who is affected by Costello syndrome

"We've kind of swung the pendulum (so) everybody thinks that cannabis use for everybody is perfectly safe and is going to have no problems -- and that's not true," he told AFP.

"For some people who have got propensity to psychotic disorders, using high-THC (the psychoactive component of marijuana) cannabis is not good.

"We need to realise that cannabis can be useful to some people and poison to others."

Mayo Clinic doctor J. Michael Bostwick argued in a 2012 paper that "cannabis use lacks the scientific legitimacy" of thorough trials.

"It has become an option of last resort for those for whom available pharmaceuticals have proven ineffective," added the psychiatrist at the US-based world-renowned hospital.

Susanne's son is one of those for whom mainstream medicines have fallen short.

As well as helping to calm him, the cannabis oil eases the pain that he experiences in his unusually flexible joints, a typical symptom of Costello.

She said that, though she had not encountered any legal problems, attention from the authorities remains "a concern".

Susanne, from Johannesburg, spoke to AFP as the High Court case got under way that users hope will change the legal status of cannabis.

Myrtle Clarke and Julian Stobbs -- dubbed "the dagga couple" -- were arrested in August 2010 for possession and launched the challenge to the constitutionality of the ban in the High Court in Pretoria.

Susanne hopes the case will be a step towards full legalisation and medical testing.

"I'm suggesting that with this trial happening that we'll make some headway," she said, as her son played with a video camera and talked excitedly about a planned trip abroad.

"It is important medical marijuana is made mainstream so that tests can be conducted -- and for that it needs to be legalised.

"Because of the cannabis oil, I've got a new child."
Bamako (AFP) - Former rebels are holding child prisoners in their stronghold city of Kidal following clashes with a rival armed group in northern Mali, the United Nations said Thursday.

Fighting between the ex-rebels of the Coordination of Movements of Azawad (CMA) and the pro-government Platform group has worsened in recent weeks in northern Mali, in repeated violation of a 2015 ceasefire.

The CMA said in late July it was holding dozens of prisoners in Kidal, a city it controls, after dismantling a base of the GATIA militia -- part of Platform -- and killing several of its fighters.

But Guillaume Ngefa, director of the human rights division of the UN mission to Mali, said Thursday that eight of those being held were children and possibly child soldiers.

And he detailed what he said were human rights abuses perpetuated by both sides.

"We were able to establish that the armed groups had minors in their ranks," Ngefa said in a statement.

"What is extremely concerning is that among the 33 people currently held prisoner by the CMA in Kidal, eight are children."

United Nations investigators had carried out seven different missions to the north and discovered evidence of mass graves and rampant rights abuses, he added.

These included "summary executions, kidnappings and torture, destruction of property and theft," he said, elaborating on Saturday's statement of the discovery of the mass graves.

The number of bodies and the cause of death of those buried remains unknown.

Ngefa also raised the possibility of compensation for the victims of the abuses. The UN would support families wishing to lodge legal cases against the perpetrators, while continuing to investigate 33 outstanding complaints, he said.

The US State Department said on July 31 it was "greatly disturbed at reports of reprisal killings of civilians and the discovery of unmarked grave sites..."

If the allegations proved founded, it added, "the perpetrators must be brought to justice".

The conflict dates back to 2012, when key cities in northern Mali fell under the control of jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda, who exploited an ethnic Tuareg-led rebel uprising.

The armed groups accused of abuses by the UN operate in areas where Mali's army is absent or has a very limited presence.

Although the Islamists were largely ousted by a French-led military operation, attacks have continued on UN and French forces, civilians and the Malian army.

Allegations of collusion between the former rebels and jihadists continue to circulate.
Lusaka (AFP) - Zambian police on Thursday released the leader of a small opposition party who is a fierce critic of President Edgar Lungu after one week in detention, party officials said.

Savior Chishimba, leader of the United Progressive Party (UPP), was detained by plain-clothed police, triggering further accusations that Lungu was overseeing a crackdown on dissent.

"Our party president has been released unconditionally, meaning he will not go to court," Mbaita Musendeka, the party secretary general, told AFP.

"The police had claimed he defamed the president but they have decided to discontinue the matter."

Hakainde Hichilema, leader of the main opposition United Party for National Development (UPND), has been in jail since April and is due to appear in court on treason charges on Monday.

He was arrested after his convoy allegedly refused to give way to the presidential motorcade.

Lungu invoked emergency powers last month, increasing police powers of arrest and detention, and blaming opposition parties for a string of arson attacks.

Chishimba was picked up shortly after he appeared in a live interview at a private television channel's studios in Lusaka.
For the fight against institutional corruption to succeed, the media have a major role, positive of course, to play. Without the media partaking in the fight, any war declared on corruption may be winnable but it will take a much longer time than it is necessary.

The media is defined as the means of communication, as radio and television, newspapers, magazines, and the Internet, that reach or influence people widely. The meaning is self-explanatory hence needing no laborious expatiating from the author of this publication.

As a nation or worldwide, it takes the media to inform people and update them on national and worldwide events. The media has the to make or break power over certain policies be they governmental or societal. They can shape the views of people in a positive or negative manner depending on the side of a particular issue that they are. This is how powerful I have come to find the media.

"Institutional corruption is manifest when there is a systemic and strategic influence which is legal, or even currently ethical, that undermines the institutions effectiveness by diverting it from its purpose or weakening its ability to achieve its purpose, including, to the extent relevant to its purpose, weakening either the publics trust in that institution or the institutions inherent trustworthiness." - definition by Lawrence Lessig.

Relating this definition to Ghana, Sole Sourcing for example is a quick way for a government institution like the District Assembly or the Electoral Commission to engage a contractor to carry out an urgent project for them without wasting time going through tendering process with its concomitant delays and headaches. However good and legal the sole sourcing is, there is abundant evidence that under former President Mahamas NDC-led government, some public officials using the sole sourcing to realise certain projects did intentionally inflate the cost manifold. They did this with the aim of duping the public to enrich themselves as individuals as well as their superior accomplices and their National Democratic Congress (NDC) party.

Same illegal practice could have taken place under former President Kufuors NPP-led regime  who knows? I am least interested in delving into various instances that institutional corruption had taken place to defeat the end objective but more interested in the role that is expected of the media to rectify the anomalies that are causing the socio-economic stagnation, if not retrogression, of Ghana.

Planting of trees in the Northern part of Ghana with the aim of arresting the desertification of the area was an ideal project; but planting the seedlings in the dry season, causing them to wither by the scorching sun was madness. Again, carrying out projects in the north to create jobs for the inhabitants was a noble idea; however, the money was diverted into the rearing of guinea fowls by an individual with all the guinea fowls ended up flying into Burkina Faso to return to Ghana no more, so it was alleged.

These instances were institutional corruption masterminded and orchestrated by the John Mahama administration to enrich his cronies, party members and family. They were all insults to the intelligence of Ghanaians.

Additionally, the Asante Overlord, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, for what he stands to gain as an individual, although illegally, has been arrogating to himself royal prerogatives he is not permitted to by the Ghana constitution and Akan conventions. He has been meddling in Kumawu chieftaincy affairs or dispute, imposing one Dr Yaw Sarfo on Kumawuman as their paramount chief against Asante and Kumawu customs and traditions.

Same has been delegating Dr Yaw Sarfo, the alleged Kumawuhene Barima Sarfo Tweneboa Kodua, who apart from his questionable enthronement, has also caused fraud in filling out his Chieftaincy Declaration Form that led to his gazetting as Kumawuhene in the register of chiefs at the National House of Chiefs. Even in the wake of a recent High Court ruling, a first step to nabbing Dr Yaw Sarfo (Kumawu Barima Sarfo Tweneboa Kodua) for committing a punishable malpractice as just stated, the purposive Asante Overlord has delegated him to represent him at a function or a durbar.

He does that very often in the hope of trying to project and promote Dr Yaw Sarfo as the legitimate Kumawuhene in his vain attempts to fool Ghanaians to accept and recognise him as Kumawuhene. He is too clever. Isnt he? He is only being too wise to end up saluting the goat as said in an Akan proverb  Wanite bebrebe a wo ma aponkye akye. He can only fool himself by his actions but not the discerning people of Kumawuman.

All said, it is the duty of the media to assist relentlessly in fighting the types of abuses by our leaders that are the bane of the socio-economic development of Ghana. The media are to highlight these abuses or corrupt practices by our leaders and to educate the masses on what to do in the event of being confronted with such instances of institutional corruption.

The Ghana media are trying but they need to do more. Yes, I am very appreciative of their weight flung behind the government in its fight against illegal surface mining (galamsey) to stop the devastation of the nations water bodies and arable lands by the Chinese and some locals. They could do the same to help the government explain her policies to the public as well as encouraging the public to support the government in her fight against corruption in all forms and shapes.

Is it not the media that can educate the people not to support any corrupt official for the erroneous thought or belief that the person concerned belongs to ones ethnic group or political party so he/she has the obligation to support or defend him/her regardless of the severity of their crimes? Was it right to see some tribesmen defending Alfred Agbesi Woyome simply for belonging to their tribe or region, knowing very well that he had defrauded Ghana of such a huge sum of money (GHS51.2 million) that could have been used to carry out public projects to benefit many people?

In a nutshell, the media have a vital role to play in the socio-economic emancipation of Ghana by helping to rid Ghana of corruption perpetrated and perpetuated by our politicians, traditional leaders and top public service officials (civil servants).

I have taken the media to task for not doing a lot. Some media men and women are perceived to be supportive of the corrupt practices all for what they stand to gain as individuals in what amounts to a disservice to Ghana and Ghanaians. This is shameful!

Rockson Adofo
Nairobi (AFP) - Kenya's main opposition coalition demanded Thursday that its candidate Raila Odinga be declared president, claiming it had evidence he had won an election that has already led to angry protests over fraud claims.

The latest allegations by the National Super Alliance (NASA) are likely to further ratchet up tensions a day before official results are expected from Tuesday's vote.

President Uhuru Kenyatta has an unassailable lead in provisional results, but Odinga claims these are a "sham" result of a massive hacking attack on the electronic vote tallying system.

Heads of foreign observer missions from the European Union, African Union, Commonwealth and Carter Center urged party leaders to be patient and refrain from inflaming tensions, expressing confidence in the election commission (IEBC).

However shortly after they spoke, one of NASA's leaders Musalia Mudavadi gave a televised press conference unveiling new claims from "confidential sources" within the IEBC that their servers showed Odinga was the true winner.

Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga (right) is challenging results showing that President Uhuru Kenyatta appears to have an unassailable lead in the presidential election

Mudavadi said he would provide data and screenshots showing that on the IEBC servers, Odinga was shown to have 8.04 million votes against Kenyatta with 7.75 million.

The IEBC public website, which is publishing results as they stream in electronically from polling stations, shows Kenyatta with 8.1 million votes ahead of Odinga with 6.7 million.

According to the website, results are in from 98 percent of polling stations, however the IEBC has urged patience as it cross-checks results with scanned forms.

"Evidently, the accurate and lawful results in the presidential election is the transmission received from the polling stations and contained in the IEBC servers and not the unverified displays," said Mudavadi.

Daily life almost ground to a halt for a third day in the Kenyan capital and elsewhere as the country held its breath for the election results, with memories still fresh of post-poll violence in 2007 that left 1,100 people dead

"We demand that the IEBC chairperson announce the presidential election results forthwith and declare Raila Amolo Odinga... as the duly elected president."

Mudavadi however urged Kenyans to "remain calm at this point in time."

'Exercise restraint'

IEBC chief Wafula Chebukati had earlier urged parties to "exercise restraint" as results were being finalised.

"We are working hard to ensure that we get the final results within the shortest time possible. We expect that all the presidential results... will reach the national tallying centre by 12 pm tomorrow (Friday)."

He said the results would be validated and that a final decision would be announced "soon thereafter."

Odinga, 72, who claims elections in 2007 and 2013 were stolen from him, on Wednesday charged that hackers broke into the IEBC's systems and rigged the count using the log-in details of top IT official Chris Msando, found murdered and tortured last month.

The Mathare slum in Nairobi was the scene of deadly post-election clashes

"You can only cheat a people for so long," Odinga said.

His allegations sparked isolated protests in his strongholds in several Nairobi slums and the western city of Kisumu on Wednesday, where protesters engaged in running battles with riot police.

The capital's police chief said officers shot dead two men who had allegedly attacked them with machetes.

In the southeastern Tana River region, police killed two alleged knife attackers who stormed a vote-tallying centre and stabbed one person.

On Thursday many businesses remained closed and the streets were very quiet in the capital and elsewhere as the country held its breath, with memories still fresh of post-election violence in 2007 that left 1,100 people dead.

"We find ourselves at a crossroads once again," the Daily Nation newspaper warned grimly.

"The nation is sitting precariously on the precipice. The dispute over poll results is creating needless anxiety."

'Hacking was attempted'

Four people have been killed in post-election violence in Kenya

The IEBC insists its electronic voting system -- seen as key to avoiding fraud -- had not been compromised, despite apparent attempts to do so.

"Hacking was attempted but did not succeed, that is our position," said Chebukati.

Former US Secretary of State John Kerry, leading an observer team from the Carter Centre, expressed confidence in the integrity of the electronic system.

"We believe the IEBC put in place a detailed, transparent process of voting, counting, reporting and securing the vote, all of which lends significant credibility and accountability," Kerry told a press conference.

Polling officers have been sending results electronically to Nairobi, which are showing up in real time on a public website, but these need to be backed up with forms signed by them and party agents in each of the 40,883 polling stations.

Deadly violence flared in the Kenyan capital's flashpoint Mathare slum after opposition accusations that the general election was rigged

Kerry said his observer team had witnessed party agents counting ballots and deciding together which were valid or not before signing off on final tallies.

"All of this provides an extensive traceable trail of agreement by many parties on the paper balloting process and therefore on the outcome," he said.

Some 400 international observers were present for Tuesday's vote.

Marietje Schaake, head of the EU mission said elections commission (IEBC) officials were "working around the clock. It's important they have the time to do these procedures well."

"We continue to urge everyone to be calm, to be resilient and to be peaceful," she said.

Ghanaian former president John Mahama, who is leading the Commonwealth delegation, also urged Kenyans to give the IEBC "proper time and space to complete the results process with necessary due diligence.

"It is vital that all political leaders maintain peace and calm, exercise patience and not stampede the process," he added.
Accra, Aug. 9, GNA - MTN Ghana on Wednesday held its Mobile Money stakeholders conference, as part of activities for the month-long celebration on the need to address barriers in mobile transactions.

The conference held under the theme: 'Addressing barriers to mobile money payment adoption in Ghana'', was to find solutions to improving mobile payments and service in the country.

Mrs Georgina Asare- Fiagbenu, Senior Manager, Sustainability and Social Impact, MTN, said the workshop was an integral part of the mobile money month activities which is aimed at gaining insight into the mobile money industry from critical industry players.

She said the mobile money month is an annual campaign with a month long series of activities organised in August to promote and sensitize the public on the benefits of a cashlite society.

Mrs Asare- Fiagbenu said the mobile money economy in Ghana is growing at a rapid pace and by 2016 MTN recorded about 485 million mobile money transactions adding that the growth did come with its own challenges.

She said it is important to engage stakeholders to bring out ideas and solutions to help steer and navigate through the challenges that hinder the adoption of mobile payments in the country.

'We at MTN hope to rope in a greater percent of Ghanaians on the mobile money platform at the end of the year in line with the Bank of Ghana's national policy for a cashlite economy.'

Mr Eli Hini, General Manager, Mobile Financial Service, MTN, said the mobile financial service is gradually taking a centre stage in the financial banking sector and this is making banking more convenient.

He said the time has come for Ghanaians to move from cash into a cashless society, where all business transactions would be done through mobile money.

Mr Hini said the introduction of mobile money service in 2009 had a vision of making financial transactions fast, simple, convenient, secure and affordable through the use of mobile phones.

He said in addressing the barriers there is the need to put in place regulations, as well as government support and digital address systems, customer education, security, technology merchant acceptance, partnership as well as connectivity.

Mr Hini said 'mobile money would deliver value for all of us, but putting in the right processes in place would lead us to the point of addressing all the barriers associated with the payment adoption.

Dr Settor Amediku, Head of Payments, Bank of Ghana, said some of the challenges facing the mobile money industry include network failures, agent liquidity or float.

'Electronic money issuers, agents, guidelines, branchless banking guidelines, as well as the passage of the Payment Systems and Services Bill 2017, would help address the barriers to mobile money payment adoption', he said.

Dr Amediku said in addressing the barriers to mobile money, regulators can provide support by ensuring the enforcement of market conduct and customer protection regulation, developing agents' registry assuring consumers of protection and monitoring of float accounts, and providing enabling regulatory environment.

Mr Derrydean Dadzie, Chief Executive Officer of DreamOval, said mobile money is the most cost effective way to drive financial inclusion and with mobile money, Ghana would be able to attain 70 percent financial inclusion by 2020.

He said to achieve a cashlite society or address the barriers to mobile money, it is important to introduce the cash withdrawal tax, to make it expensive to withdraw cash and expensive to carry money, adding that public education, is needed in this effort.

Mr Dadzie said mobile money is not in competition with the banks but rather promoting financial inclusion.

He urged mobile money operators to reduce the perceived high cost of mobile money transactions, standardise some of the operational models and address the listed areas of concern. GNA

By Hafsa Obeng, GNA
10.08.2017 LISTEN

Accra, Aug. 9, GNA - Mr Kennedy Kankam, the Member of Parliament for Nhyiaeso, has called for investigations into circumstances leading to the withdrawal of GH896,457.00 from the Consolidated Fund which were pay-cuts of Former President Mahama's appointees without recourse to the law.

He said nobody could withdraw money from the Consolidated Fund without invoking Article 178 of the Constitution.

Mr Kankam made the call when he spoke to the media after the sitting of the Public Account Committee (PAC) in Parliament.

The PAC is currently holding a public hearing on the Report of the Auditor General for the Public Accounts of Ghana for the year ended 31st December, 2015.

In November 2013, Mr Seth Terkper, then the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, announced in the Government's Budget that President John Mahama and his Vice, Paa Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, as well as all ministers of state were to make a voluntary 10 per cent pay cut.

According to him the decision was to demonstrate leadership on the part of the President and his appointees.

The move, he said, was among the many austerity measures being introduced to help save Ghana's ailing economy.

Besides, the monies realised from the pay cut would be used to construct Community-Based Health Planning Services (CHPS) compounds to provide maternal and neo-natal health care services to rural communities.

Mr Kankam said whoever took the money from the Consolidated Fund must come to Parliament to account to the people.

He said in the 2014 financial year, GH896,457.00 was realised from the voluntary 10 per cent pay cut, however the contributions for 2015 was zero.

He said his main concern was about the one who took the money from the Fund without due regard to the law.

Mrs Abena Osei Asare, the Deputy Minister of Finance, said the freeze on public sector employment was still on until the country completed the International Monetary Fund programme in December 2018.

She explained that though the ministries of Education and Health could still employ people, they must seek financial clearance from the Ministry of Finance to ensure that when they engaged the people they would be able to pay them.

She said the Government did not want to encourage budget overruns and, as such, there was the need to seek the financial clearance.

Mrs Osei Asare gave the assurance that government was working with the Controller and Accountant General to recover the loans owed the state by both government and private institutions.

She said when the current government came into office it realised that 540 institutions owed about GH1 billion in loans.

She said the Ministry of Finance had set up a dedicated desk for the recovery of the loans.

Mrs Osei Asare advised workers who had not registered with the SSNIT biometric system to endeavour to do so.

She said workers who for one reason or the other were wrongly deleted from the Controller and Accountant General Department payroll should go back to re-register to be restored onto the payroll.

GNA

By Christopher Arko, GNA
By Dominic Adoboli,GNA

Aflao, Aug. 10 , GNA - The Togo-Ghana Eastern border at Aflao now remains opened 24-hours, ending nearly two decades of partial closure from 2200 hours to 0600 hours.

The Togolese authorities first kept their side of the frontier opened last Thursday, followed by Ghana the next day upon a directive from Accra.

The Ghana News Agency (GNA) observed that travellers arriving at both ends of the border cross without hindrances, with many commending the two countries for the feat.

A Nigerian trader said, unscrupulous border operatives would no longer extort money to help them cross at odd hours, nor would they be robbed by criminals who approached them under the guise of assisting them cross the border.

Residents from both sides of the border, who have families and businesses across, also hailed the 24 hour opening of the border, which has led to increased business activities at transport terminals in Aflao and Kojoviakope in Lome side, day and night.

Ms Agnes Kafui Modey, Aflao Sector Commander, Customs Division, Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), told the GNA that the opening of the border was as a result of bilateral understanding reached between governments of the two countries in Lome, Togo this year.

She said the initiative was within the spirit of facilitating the free movement of people, goods and services under the Economic and Trade Liberalization Scheme (ETLS) of the Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS).

Ms Modey, however said all smaller points, known as pedestrian entry points from Beat Zero to Beat Nine and Pillar 16 were not part of the agreement and that the night before the border was opened, her outfit faced challenges manning Beat Zero to Pillar 16, a porous and difficult points of the 16-kilometer long frontier.

She said the new directive had called for extra personnel and increased logistical challenges, which the Sector was managing to control, awaiting support from government.

Ms Modey said her outfit was collaborating with the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) for patrols and mop-up supports from other border security agencies for effective border control.

'A BODSEC (Border Security Agencies Security Council) meeting has since been scheduled to help identify operational difficulties each agency, including the BNI, Food and Drugs Board, and NACOB are facing since the developments to help review strategies,' she stated.

Ms Modey hinted of a regular collaborative meeting between BODSEC and its Togolese counterparts over each country's challenges regarding complaints of their nationals, travellers and clearance of goods to make business free as per the concept.

The closure of the border was started by the Togolese authorities following a failed coup attempt allegedly by Togolese in Ghana in the early 1990s.

GNA
10.08.2017 LISTEN

Spokesperson of the defunct Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), Retired Major Kwadwo Boakye Gyan, has stated that it is not by force for him to reconcile with former President Jerry John Rawlings.

Though he claims to have nothing against the former President, he said has chose not to talk to him on personal grounds insisting that he cannot be forced to rescind his decision.

The relationship between me and him [Jerry John Rawlings] is like a divorced marriage. some people will like to call each other after divorce so they may come together to remarry.

All I am saying is that at the moment, the question of me talking to him does not arise even though I still remain an active member of National Democratic Congress.

I am doing whatever is possible to ensure the party comes back to power in 2020, Major (rtd) Boakye Gyan therefore admonished the leadership to eschew rancor in party and focus on unity.

On Kumasi-based ultimate Fm, the NDC stalwart also revealed he has never met former President John Agyekum Kufuor both in his private and public lives before.

Let me tell you a secret which people do not know. Will you believe that I have never met President Kufuor in my life?, the ex-service man revealed.

You can go and ask him if he has also met me, Major Boakye Gyan asked but said there is no bad blood between him and former President John Agyekum Kufuor.
For many official delegates, industrial directors and business people were attracted primarily due to the huge untapped potentials in Russias industrial technology and emerging economic opportunities showcased during the International Industrial Trade Fair dubbed INNOPROM  2017 held mid-July in Yekaterinburg, a city in the Urals region. INNOPROM  2017 has been described as a unique communication platform showcasing latest developments of industrial technologies and facilitating discussions of relevant issues on development of the sector in Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin took part in the official opening ceremony of the industrial fair which indicated explicitly that Russia is open to long-term, mutually beneficial industrial and technology partnership. "It is very important to see the actual efficiency of these technologies and their practical results, such as better labor conditions, increased productivity, reduced costs, contemporary levels of management, and, finally, increased competitiveness of Russian products, goods, and services," Putin said.

For the past few years, Russia has created comfortable possible conditions for investing in the Russian economy and industry  first and foremost, in infrastructure projects and high value-added manufacturing. The industrial exhibition is an annual gathering of key Russian and international manufacturers, government officials, businessmen, representatives of academic and diplomatic community. BRICS member states (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) were prominently represented.

According media reports, this years industrial event brought together over 640 industrial companies from 20 countries. The main theme was Smart Manufacturing: Global Approach within which many topical issues were discussed and special regional forum such as s session on Russia-Africa, were held.

An increase in the number of African participants underscored a new level of interest in the industrial sector. The Russia Africa session attracted delegates from Algeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Namibia, Tanzania, Rwanda, Senegal, Sudan, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The South African Embassy in the Russian Federation together with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) mounted a stand, and SA Ambassador Simbada Thusi lead a delegation to the fair. A small delegation from Ghana including Chris Kisiedu (Director) and Bernard Blewu (Chief Operating Officer) from Centroid Supplies and Logistics Limited, and Evans Kojo Danyo (Chief Executive Officer) of EVANMIKE Multi purpose company Ltd were at the INNOPROM.

For most Africans, who were at Yekaterinburg in July, visited to experience for themselves the beautiful, fascinating and well-touching city, the venue for show-casing Russias science and technology. Some of them, however, told me in remarks that Africans seeking business partnership and other businesses have to travel and participate often in these first class international exhibitions and conferences hosted in Russia.

Ethiopian delegation led by His Excellency Dr. Alemu Sime, State Minister of the Ministry of Industry of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia participated in the exhibition. The delegation has actively participated in the forum and has informed participants on the progress achieved so far in the structural transformation of Ethiopia.

Currently, Ethiopia is in structural transformation by focusing on industrialization and developing basic infrastructures  power, road, railways and water facilities. As a result, the economy has become sustainable and one of the fastest growing in the world for the last 15 years by registering a double-digit growth. Ethiopia is looking for enhanced partnership with Russian Federation private and public organizations in the field of energy, metallurgy, mineral exploration and mining, transfer of technology in which Russia excels. Ethiopia is also highly interested to accommodate Russian investors and technology to its export oriented manufacturing industry.

To enhance investments in this sub sector the Ethiopian Government has been developing industrial parks with proper locations, infrastructure, services as well as various incentives. Today many international known companies are directly investing in these parks and some countries are also establishing their own national parks. By informing this, the Ethiopian delegation has expressed its wishes to see Russian companies, participants of Innoprom-2017 in these parks or elsewhere in Ethiopia and all necessary supports will be given to them.

Optimism among Africans has been rising. We highly value this as it offers us an insight into the scientific and landmarked achievements, and it is necessary to study emerging business opportunities. Its very promising and if only African countries intensify the economic cooperation, more could be achieved with Russia, James Thedelmiye, an African participant said.

In the opinion of Zimbabwean Ambassador Mike Sango, who also visited the fair, INNOPROM has of recent included the Russia-Africa Forum on its sidelines. This Forum provides an opportunity for interaction between African and Russian business where they can establish contacts with a view to creating partnerships and investment in Africa. Apart from this interactive objective, INNOPROM exposes Africa to latest innovations in production technologies on display from global innovators. This helps them keep pace with these developments which if adopted can make their own products competitive on the global markets.

As a further indication of optimism, Ambassador Sango explains that African ambassadors in the Russian Federation have been and continue to educate and inform their businesses that the west no longer holds monopoly over technological innovation and development as has been the perception in years past. For this reason, each year, the number of African governments and businesses attending the exhibition from Africa has been growing.

Zimbabwe has been to INNOPROM for the second year running. In 2016, the Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce, Chiratidzo Iris Mabuwa, was at INNOPROM. This year the Minister, Mike Bimha, himself came leading a delegation from the energy sector, the mining sector, trade promotion and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe hopes to bring more business people at the next episode.

It was a wonderful experience for Rex Essenowo, Chairman of NIDO Russia, who explained in an interview that INNOPROM - 2017 proved that modernization is setting pace in Russia. Most of the technologies displayed are innovation and very suitable for Africa. As a global non-profit association, NIDO is the Nigerians in the Diaspora Organization.

There are a lot more new Russian technologies with more emphasis on cost effectiveness, energy and ecological friendly which can also enable African countries develop her resources more effectively. It's always good to reach out and Russia remains a powerful link to providing soft landing solutions in heavy industries and other important economic development areas, he said.

Essenowo suggested further that We need to create new opportunities for African government and businesses to access and explore the Russian and the CIS markets. To this regard, we have to raise the level of awareness and expand our reach, so that African people can reap the dividend of international cooperation with creation of new jobs and solving technological problems, while developing our economies.

For most African participants, the exhibition proves very useful for networking and discussing business and further serves as an important study platform useful for deepening knowledge about the modern industrial production and achievements already recorded in the economy and to seek possible ways of transacting business in Russia.

The B2B Export Group of Companies, the organizer of the African session that noted on its website that the VII Russian-African session held within the fair is in the spirit of global integration the forum engages political, business, academy and other important thought leaders in collaborative efforts to shape trade and industry development between Russia and the African continent. It pledges further to work together to define challenges, solutions and actions, always keeping in mind the best interests of our people and their needs for safety and prosperity. *Kelvin Dewey Stubborn contributed to this report.

201731
A twin free Breast Cancer education and clinical screening sponsored by the Special Group of Companies at the Presbyterian church of the KNUST took place on the 6th of August 2017.

This was to commemorate the Health week of the Church.

The Breast Care International, BCI, and Special Group of Companies medical collaboration was on the theme  Breast Cancer Awareness  Fight, Cure, Survive and Hope.

Drawing on BCI's tagline of early detection and prompt action saves live, Founder and President of Breast Care International, Dr. Beatrice Wiafe-Addai was of the conviction that the fight against breast cancer demanded a concerted effort, stressing it should not be left to a few committed individuals and organisations.

Using the Breast Cancer platform, Dr. Wiafe touched on other common cancers like Cervical and Prostate; free screening were done for other Non-Communicable diseases like Hypertension and Diabetes Mellitus.

Members of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana, whose post Annual General meeting church service coincided with the program, were screened for their sugar level, hypertension, and breast diseases especially cancer.

Dr. Beatrice Wiafe- Addai said the annual program had been designed to bring relief to the numerous women and men suffering from these curable and survivable diseases.

She explained that the unwavering commitment against the breast cancer scourge was borne out of the strong believe that no woman should die from a disease the treatment of which was competently within the remit of skilled Health Care personnel.

Dr. Wiafe highlighted some salient aspects of the NGO's annual flagship program, dubbed BCI GHANA WALK FOR CURE, scheduled for October 14th 2017 in Koforidua, and appealed to the public to turn out massively and make this year's version, the seventh in succession, a spectacular success.

She also reminded the community based nurses, who're going to be trained in basic oncology, from 27th to31st August 2017, to go back to their communities to assist in the early diagnosis of women with Breast and Cervical Cancer, and to refer them to the specialized centres, for meaningful and prompt treatment, irrespective of where these vulnerable women reside since those diagnosed will be receiving the necessary financial support they need.

The Director (Dr. Ofori Sarpong) and management of Special Group of Companies (Special Water),have graciously agreed to brand their water to be on the forefront of Breast Cancer Awareness in the country and beyond. Some of the branded water were donated to the congregation for free. Special Ice company commended BCI for being consistent in spreading educational messages about breast cancer in particular, and other medical conditions which are silently, but needlessly claiming the lives of Ghanaians.

The collaboration between Breast Care International and Special Ice, Dr. Wiafe stated, is expected to go a long way in the fight against Breast Cancer. Ghanaians were encouraged to patronize the Special Ice Water, to assist in its awareness program; stating, that all the water to be used for the training and BCI Ghana Walk for the Cure are going to be the branded Special Ice Water .

She expressed her appreciation to the sponsors.

Members of the pharmaceutical society of Ghana associated themselves, praising BCI for tenacity, fortitude, zeal and hard word.



Credit: Breast Care International
Knutsford University College in Accra on Wednesday held a public lecture on the theme, Katharos Technology: An Innovative Clean Water Filtration Technology.

The lecture delivered by Prof. Steve Opoku-Duah of Ohio Valley University (USA) was to provide an opportunity for stakeholders to discuss new water filtration technologies being tested in the USA and how such treatments can be implemented in Ghana.

Speaking at the lecture, Prof Opoku-Duah called on government to consider the new initiatives so as to reduce cost and improve the filtration of water by the Ghana Water Company.

According to the professor, the regeneration of various water bodies destroyed by galamsey activities to their natural state can be improved without the use of chemicals which will later cause more harm than good.

With Ghana Water Company, they do the treatment using chemicals and the more polluted the water is, the more chemical they put in. The cost goes up and some of these chlorinated compounds are very persistent in nature. Once they put in more it affects our health. The new way to fix this is electro-physics. The electro-physics has a compressor which draws in air, splits the air into charged particles which create their own gases and new chemicals that cleans the water without us having to use any new chemicals.

Last month, the Ghana Water Company assured consumers of quality water production following the recent fight against illegal small-scale mining popularly known as 'galamsey' in the country.

Prior to the launch of the campaign against galamsey, most of the company's production plants had been shut down due to difficulties in treating the heavily polluted water for subsequent distribution to homes.

The Kyebi, Dabuasi and the Odaso water treatment plants which were shut down due to galamsey activities have subsequently been reopened to serve their respective catchment areas.

But Prof Steven Opoku-Duah who spoke to Citi News on the sideline was optimistic the new treatment will accelerate the treatment of the various water bodies.

This technology prevents the total use of chemicals. Whether the water is polluted or semi-polluted, there will be no need for chemicals with this. Ghana Water Company uses machines and buys chemicals to. What government has to do is just buy this machine and they won't be a need to buy chemicals, this makes this option cheaper and faster.

On their part, acting president of Knutsford University College, Dr. Andrew Dadson urged government to consider the new innovation as the fight against galamsey activities intensify and the demand for quality and potable water increases.



By: Felicia Osei/citifmonline.com/Ghana
A former Member of Parliament for Kumawu constituency in the Ashanti Region Mr. Yaw Baah has berated those criticizing Speaker of Parliament Prof Aaron Mike Ocquaye over the UGCC 70th anniversary public lecture where he discredited Dr. Kwame Nkrumah as the sole founding father of Ghana.

According to him, Professor Ocquaye did not distort facts about the founding father of Ghana as critics want Ghanaians to believe.

What Prof. Ocquaye said was that Dr. Kwame Nkrumah cannot be the sole founder of Ghana because before he was invited from London to Gold Coast at that time UGCC members had prepared the grounds for the independence struggle. Nkrumah only came to contribute significantly to the struggle and so cant be the sole founding father of Ghana. This is a fact, he argued.

Speaker of Parliament Prof. Aaron Mike Ocquaye has come under barrage of attacks from members of the Convention Peoples Party (CPP) and other Nkrumahist parties for claiming that Dr Kwame Nkrumah was not the sole founder of Ghana, but rather one of founding fathers since other members of the United Gold Coast Convention(UGCC) played a major role in our independence struggle.

Ocquaye said he had great respect for Dr Nkrumah because of his significant contribution to the independence struggle and his numerous development projects, such as the Tema Motorway.

However, he said, to say that Dr Nkrumah was the only founding father of Ghana was not true, but rather, I consider him one of the founder fathers.

Dr Nkrumah, who was invited, became one of the founder fathers because of that invitation, he said.

But former General Secretary of CPP Prof Nii Noi Dowuona disagrees.

According to him, Nkrumahs role with the CPP in the fight or struggle for independence does not have any equal and there is no match and there is no other fellow who has played that role.

I find those who are making the veil effort to be disgracing themselves in their small corner in Ghana. Any effort in this regard is just sheer waste of time and it will be a shame onto those people, he argued.

Speaking on Oman FMs political analysis programme Boiling Point Mr Yaw Baah described criticism of Prof. Ocquaye as baseless and unwarranted.

He argued that none of those criticizing the Speaker knows politics of Ghana better than Prof Ocquaye.

He explained that Prof Ocquaye is an authority when it comes to politics of Ghana saying Prof Ocquaye indicated in his delivery that he was there to correct a fundamental fallacy regarding the true founder father of Ghana.

He said in as much as the country is blessed with lots of professors, we must not lose sight of the fact that these professors have their areas of specialty.

Professors are not professors of everything they have speciality, he said adding that we know for instance that late President Evans Fiifi Atta Mills was a professor of tax law. And in the case of Mike Aaron Ocquaye he is a professor of politics.

If there is anyone who knows the politics of Ghana better Professor Ocquaye stands tall. He well grounded in political history of Ghana.

The former Kumawu legislator therefore urged Ghanaians not to narrow the founding father of Ghana to only Dr Kwame Nkrumah include J B Danquah, Arko Adjei, William Ofori Atta, R S Blay, George Paa Grant as well as Obetsebi Lamptey.
Mrs. Georgina Amidu, an official of the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF), has urged education workers and officers to be humble so as to impact positively on the lives of people.

Speaking at a five-day workshop for education officers at Kumasi on the theme, Promoting Right-age Enrollment, Retention and Completion through Safe School Approaches and Practices, Mrs. Amidu said education workers were agents of development and so there is the need for them to use good communication and human relations skills in dealing with people.

Parents would send their children to school at the right time if we can patiently remind them of the benefits. In order to have all school-age children in school, we have to mobilisemembers of communities and talk to them, with humility, on the need for child education, she said.

Mr. HyounJoon Kim, an official of UNICEF and a facilitator at the workshop, believed that effective communication can cause positive attitudinal change of peopleto education no matter how unyielding the people might appear in having to send their children to school at the right time.

Mr. SulemanaYusif, an officer of Ghana Education Service, who was also a facilitator at the workshop, advised the participants to take records of their activities at all times.

It is advisable to take records of all your activities and to make sure that you do not forge any data so that whatever you report on will be seen to be timely, accurate and reliable, he said.

It is reported that about 20% of Ghanaian children fail to enroll at the first year of kindergarten education at the mandatory age of four years.

The writer is an educationist and a public relations officer at the Headquarters of Ghana Education Service in Accra.

E-mail: [email protected]
Mechanics at Alajo in Accra are demanding justice for a colleague, Yaw Boadi, who died from a gunshot wound after he was shot by a client.

He was reportedly wounded from a shot by one Charles Nana Frimpong following an argument over a parking space.

Yaw Boadi died on Thursday in hospital after a two day battle for survival.

His colleagues who are beside themselves with shock and anger are demanding justice for him.

One of his colleague mechanics, Seth Nii Armarh, speaking to Citi News said: we all we are demanding is justice; justice for the guy who shot our friend, our brother, our son  either he should be sent to jail for shooting someone.

In anyone can use guns outside, then we don't know what is happening in our country. We have seen different incidents that have been happening.

Eyewitnesses at the scene of the shooting recounted that timely intervention and subsequent arrest of the suspect by security personnel calmed the situation.

One of them who spoke to Citi News said there was heated exchange of words before the gun was fired.

The mechanic reportedly went for a four wheel spanner and hit the shooter with it but, unknown to him, the client had a gun in his car.



By: Philip Nii Lartey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
10.08.2017 LISTEN

I dont know why Ghanas former President John Dramani Mahama was selected as Head of the Commonwealth Observer Mission to monitor the August 8 Kenya general election, because the man has absolutely no credibility (See Losing an Election Is Not Easy  Mahama MyJoyOnline.com / Ghanaweb.com 8/10/17). He has absolutely no credibility because he was not honest enough to tell the Kenyan people that Ghanas 2012 Presidential Election was tendentiously decided by a National Democratic Congress-appointed Supreme Court panel headed by his fellow northerner, Justice William Atuguba, who, according to reliable sources, fiddled several times with the decision of some of the members of his judicial panel. If, indeed, there has ever been a gracious loser in any Ghanaian presidential election, that personality, no doubt, is none other than President Addo DankwaAkufo-Addo. And even then, that was only during his second outing in Election 2012.

It is therefore sheer poppycock, as Americans are wont to say, for the former Rawlings Communication Minister to assert that, somehow, he has been a gracious loser. The fact of the matter is that the key operatives of the Rawlings-founded National Democratic Congress (NDC) have been rigging the ballot since the beginning of Ghanas Fourth-Republican dispensation in 1992. It was only during the 2016 general election that the Akufo-Addo-led then-main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) discovered a hi-tech antidote for the NDCs electoral kleptocracy. I am not making this up; the NDCs own longtime General-Secretary, Mr. Johnson Asiedu-Nketia, has personally gone on record as having categorically noted that Ghanas 2012 Presidential Election was clearly not won by then-Interim President Mahama, the presidential candidate of his own party, but that it was the woeful lack of vigilance on the part of Nana Akufo-Addos polling agents that threw the dice in favor of Mr. Mahama. In the wake of his massive loss to the now-President Akufo-Addo, it would be Mr. Kofi Annan, the peace-broker of Kenyas last election and former United Nations Secretary-General, who would prevail on Mr. Mahama to concede defeat. He did not do so of his own volition or accord. This fact needs to be loudly and clearly put onto the record books.

It is also quite ironic that Mr. Asiedu-Nketia had, reportedly, accompanied former President Mahama as part of the Commonwealths Observer Mission to Kenya. The National Democratic Congress is widely known to be a bona fide member of the Socialist Union (SU), comprising of socialist governments and political parties worldwide; and yet, the Peter Mac Manu-led Democratic Union of Africa (DUA)s observer delegation to Kenyas 2017 general election was roundly rebuffed by the Kenyan authorities and rudely and crudely prevented from entering the Kenyan capital of Nairobi.We must also promptly pointout that the DUA is an organization with similar ideological interests as the SU. The reason given by the Kenyan authorities for turning away the Mac Manu-led Democratic Union of Africas election-monitoring delegation, was that several of Kenyas political parties participating in that countrys 2017 general election were also registered members of the DUA.

Are we therefore right to assume that only socialist-oriented election-observing groups were welcome to Kenya for the aforesaid purpose? We must also question the integrity of the Mahama-led Commonwealth Observer Mission, because the democratically deposed Ghanaian leaders fast-friendship with President Uhuru Kenyatta is globally an open-secret. For example, it is widely known that in the wake of his resounding electoral loss to the now-President Akufo-Addo last December, Mr. Mahama had spent at least two weeks in the Kenyan capital as the special guest of Mr. Kenyatta. The operatives of the Commonwealths London-based Headquarters ought to have squarely factored into the equation, the extent to which the widely known cozy relationship between Messrs. Mahama and Kenyatta could color the observational objectivity of the former Ghanaian president.

Then also, the electoral margin between the incumbent President Kenyattas Jubilee Party and the RailaOdinga-led National Super Alliance is strikingly too Ghanaian for comfort. Which has led some ardent Mahama critics at home to speculate as to whether Mr. Kenyattas politically identical twin-brother from Ghana had not established a hi-tech poll-rigging center in the Ghanaian capital of Accra, in the lead-up to Kenyas 2017 general election, to ensure that Mr. Kenyatta, once again, clinched the sort of victory that had so poetically eluded Mr. Mahama the last time around at all costs.

*Visit my blog at: kwameokoampaahoofe.wordpress.com Ghanaffairs
10.08.2017 LISTEN

A victim of police shootout, Stephen Arthur has revealed that he has been left to sleep at the police hospital here in Accra for over sick years after he was shot by a police man on his way to Kasoa.

According to him, several police IGPs have come to see and promise him but till date he has not received any compensation of that sort from the Ghana Police service.

The victim said the gunshot wound affected his spinal cord and has left him paralyzed. Also a tube has been connected to aid him urinate.

He explained that the police man who shot him did that purposely because they denied to give him money because he had requested for money.

I got a lift to kasoa from Bodwiase and we were stopped by a group of police officers. They requested that the driver give them something because it was Christmas. The driver complied and gave one of the police officers but later anotherone came and asked that the driver gives him money. But we encouraged the driver to decline so we decided to leave but he shot through the car and unfortunately for me I was the one hit by the bullet and I have been left in a wheel chair without any justice or compensation from the Ghana police service- He said

Speaking exclusively on Agoo TVs Yensempa show, the victim of the shootout said the police have however told him the said police man who shot him is on their wanted list and has not been found six years after the incident in 2011.

According to Stephen, his brother was offered a police job and a single room in Nungua in order to prevent the case from blowing up. He added after moving in to live with his brother, his brother and family started maltreating him to an extent he considered committing suicide several times. This he said forced him to return to the police hospital where he has been living for over six years.

He is however calling on the police service and government to come to his aid by providing him with accommodation and compensation to start a business he can earn money from to carter for himself.
The Gas Tankers Drivers Association, has welcomed the decision of the government to withdraw the draft national LGP policy.

This follows the suspension of a planned demonstration against the government over the decision to allow Puma Energy to become the sole supplier of gas.

Bernard Oweredu Donkor, the Public Relations Officer of the gas Tankers Drivers Association has stated that should the government however go back on its words, they will go on with intended demonstration and probably take worse action that they had intended to.

He said that we would be very surprised if there is a U-Turn, we met with deputy minister Aminu Adams and it was after the deliberations with him that probably the ministry took this particular position.

We believe and hope that the government has spoken and the government has decided to recall the entire policy based on our concerns, he added.

He made a statement early on in August that if we get the desired results, definitely, we are going to hold on [with the strike] but until that, we will go ahead with all our plans as scheduled.

We will be out of action if 

When the Association first raised concerns with the Cylinder Recirculation Module, it expressed fears that if the policy is allowed, it will throw them out of business, and cause the collapse of all gas filling stations in the country.

The associations warned that about 7,000 Ghanaians workers in the LPG chain would be laid off, worsening the already high unemployment situation in the country.

The LPG Marketers Association also felt the plan to introduce the Cylinder Recirculation Module is targeted at collapsing their businesses despite their long operation within the industry.

They, however, felt the policy could be implemented through them due to their experience in the industry, spanning over 30 years.



By: Rita Mensah/citifmonline/Ghana
10.08.2017 LISTEN

Kenyase Number Three (B/A), Aug 10, GNA - United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has provided an assistance package to boost the productive capacity of women engaged in gari-processing at Kenyase Number Three in the Asutifi North District and transform their lives.

This involved the presentation of cash of GH20,000.00 and eight pieces of 'Gari Elephant' - energy efficient and environmentally-friendly cook stoves.

Mr. Bossman Owusu, UNDP's Communications Analyst, said the goal was to help strengthen community-level resilience and promote livelihood opportunities.

Gari, made from cassava, has been an important staple in many Ghanaian households and its production gives valuable income to tens of thousands of rural households, across the cassava-growing areas.

Women, who dominate the final step in gari production - frying, have been complaining of low productivity, high firewood usage, burns and health complications from exposure to smoke, and this is what the UNDP's support seeks to address.

UNDP Sustainable Development Specialist, Paolo Dalla Stella, said it was proud to be associated with the drive to reduce firewood usage, improve labor and productivity.

'We are very happy to partner Burro (manufacturers of the cook stoves), the Energy Commission, Food and Agriculture Ministry and the Asutifi North District Assembly to help make this happen.'

'We are hopeful others will come on board to help accelerate adoption of the improved cook stoves in more areas.'

Dora Sunkwa, a member of the Kenyase Cassava Processing Association, indicated that gari processing was the main source of income for women in the community 'but frying has been a serious burden for us'.

She said they were happy that the burden could be tremendously reduced with the 'gari Elephants', and that 'it will certainly change our fortunes.'

Gari-producers in the town fortify the carbohydrate with soya-beans, margarine and salt to boost both its nutritional and market value.

Odeneho Baffour Awuah, Omanhene of Kenyase Number Three, said they were grateful for the gesture and pledged to ensure that the stoves were properly handled.

GNA

By Josephine Nyarkoh, GNA
10.08.2017 LISTEN

Top Nigerian artistes 2baba, Davido and American rapper, Jadakiss were spotted in Vienna rocking trendy pieces created by Fulani Fashion.

2baba sported a white sweat band with Fulani printed on it for a live performance, while Davido got a custom lapel design T-Shirt with his alias Omo Baba Olowo printed on it in gold.

Jadakiss on the other hand wore a black T-shirt with Fulani boldly written on it.

The creative head of Fulani Fashion who also forays in music business intends to launch a mens wear line in the near future.
One of Nigerias fastest growing and tech-friendly HMOs, Redcare HMO, recently announced ace actor, Deyemi Okanlawon, as the companys first celebrity brand ambassador.

This is coming at a time when the organization is championing various health initiatives nationwide which seek to promote the overall quality of life, especially through active participation in regular physical exercises.

Speaking at the contract signing event which recently held at the Redcare HMO Headquarters in Lagos, the Managing Director, Dr. Babatunde Salako said, Deyemi is a well-known fitness enthusiast who cheerfully and regularly promotes physical exercise on various social media platforms. In addition his corporate experience in marketing make him the perfect brand influencer for our company.

These are the factors that endeared him to us. Therefore, were happy to make him a part of the Redcare brand, where we strongly believe he will play a great part in our unrelenting pursuit of health and wellness promotion, one of which involves the #iAmRedee fitness challenge currently making waves on social media Instagram, Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn.

Also present at the event were other representatives of Redcare HMO which include Cynthia Osadare, Deputy Head of Corporate Services, Gbemisola Elujulo, Head of Human Resource & Admin, as well as legal representatives of Deyemi Okanlawon - Michael Orimobi, Global Chairman, and Amaka Amalu, COO, Tokunbo Orimobi Legal Group.
Whats happened to the Fortescue share price?

Shares of Fortescue Metals Group [ASX:FMG] have jumped almost 14% in the past month, moving closer to the crucial $7 mark.

Any move above $7.50 would signal the highest point in nine years.

Why have Fortescue shares done this?

Predictably it was all to do with China and the iron ore price. The price of iron ore has surged to US$76 a tonne over the past seven weeks. An astonishing 36% rise in a little under two months.

The main driver seems to be signs that Chinas construction boom is very much alive and well.

Caterpillars [NYSE:CAT] second quarter results surprised analysts to the upside in late July. The company cited a steady recovery in China. Given the distrust of official statistics, Caterpillar acts as a good bellwether for the state of Chinese growth.

Its early days, but if the iron ore price run continues then the Fortescue share price could start to attack the key $7 resistance level.

What now for Fortescue?

Fortescue had almost been written off 18 short months ago, with low iron ore prices and high debts threatening the very existence of the company.

But management have skilfully handled the situation, refinancing and extending out loan terms, and the share price has risen 300% in response. A bumper $1.2 billion half year result in December and lower production costs has even seen Fortescue start to use their positive cash-flow to retire debt.

A remarkable turnaround.

If the iron ore price continues to move north the leaner and more efficient Fortescue could stand to be a big beneficiary.

Ryan Dinse,

Analyst, Money Morning

PS: My colleague Jason Stevenson spends each day hunting down the best opportunities across the whole mining and resources sector. You can check out his top 10 mining stocks for 2017 report here.
In todays Money Morninga heartbreak story with lessons for every investorthe right and wrong ways to speculate in small-cap stocksits cheaper to learn from others mistakes than repeat them yourselfand more

This might seem like a very stock-specific story for Money Morning today. But bear with me, because it contains some very important lessons every investor should heed.

Hopefully you are doing most of these already. But if not, this piece could save you a bundle

For those of you that dont know, ResApp Health [ASX:RAP] closed 78% down yesterday, after coming out of a trading halt.

Today I want to use this as a test case for investing in speculative stocks.

First a bit of background

ResApp is a company developing software that can analyse the sound of a persons cough to diagnose certain diseases, like pneumonia and bronchitis.

And the massive selling point is that it can use any smartphone to do it.

Just think about that.

An app that can be deployed across the world easily and cost effectively.

Its an idea that is especially important for emerging economies. Or remote communities that dont have access to health services nearby.

For example, some villagers in Africa have to travel hundreds of kilometres to even see a doctor for a diagnosis.

ResApp promised Australian investors the chance to be part of the growing revolution in mobile health. A potential $100 billion per annum industry.

As you can see, it was definitely an exciting story.

And you can understand why a lot of ordinary investors got behind it in a big way.

Things started off well

Initially the share price rocketed from 2 cents to a peak of 55 cents in little over a year. For the past eight months its been trading in a range between 28 cents and 38 cents.

Yesterday it dropped to 6.8 cents.

Lesson one: take profits in small-caps to reduce risk

If you were fortunate enough to have bought shares in ResApp at any price south of 20 cents, you should have used the surge above 40 cents to take some profits.

This is not simply hindsight speaking.

There are many modifications on the taking profits rule. But the concept is all about reducing risk. There is so much uncertainty in a new business or technology that smart investors reduce risk when they can.

An easy rule to use is this. If the share price doubles, sell half of your position. That way, only profits are invested in the stock, and you can follow the story without too much emotional strain.

Now ResApp was in the medical field, which has even more uncertainty than usual. It had no revenue, and was valued at about $200 million.

Such a high valuation increases the downside risk.

The fall yesterday was on the back of poor test results.

Which brings us to the next lesson

Lesson two: never buy on the news

Now this is a rule that is more often right than wrong. Though there is the odd exception.

Its especially true for mining and biotech stocks.

Companies love to put out announcements like approval provided or high grade deposit found. But often these are just part of a longer process of project validation.

Unless you understand the statements to a high degree, dont get fooled by the language.

If you look through the past announcements for ResApp, you can see lots of impressive sounding announcements about medical approval.

I know some people who thought this was an approved product already.

But clearly those earlier stages werent as important as yesterdays.

Lesson three: dont forget position sizing

Any shares are risky.

Pre-revenue small caps are especially risky.

But if youre like me, you enjoy the idea of discovering companies that could grow fast. You are willing to take on this risk for the opportunity for a high reward.

Thats fine.

Theres one caveat though

Spread your speculative investments across at least 10 stocks. More if you have more capital to invest. Professionals call this position sizing.

This way you will reduce stock specific risk. Though, be aware that in any broad economic decline all small-caps, indeed the entire market, would go down together.

A friend of mine knows a guy at his office, a young bloke, who had $30,000 invested in ResApp. It was his only shareholding.

Today that stake is worth $6,000.

Thats a $24,000 lesson in position sizing.

And lastly

Lesson four: never bet the farm

This one speaks for itself. Investing is not a game. Its real money and it has real psychological effects on you.

I still think it is the greatest job or pastime in the world. To pit your wits against the market.

So for that reason, your prime motivation should be to always stay in it.

That means conserving capital. And always having a fall-back.

If you had an investment in ResApp, I hope the company recovers for you. Ive been there myself in the past. Most long term investors and traders have.

The important thing is to learn from it.

If you werent invested in ResApp, you can learn from this story anyway. I always find its cheaper to learn from the experiences of others, than repeat them yourself. Though human nature means it rarely happens that way.

For some reason we all have to touch the hot stove first!

Good investing,

Ryan Dinse,

Editor, Money Morning

PS: If youre interested in an intelligent, informed way to speculate in the market, my colleague Jason Stevenson can provide you with cutting edge research in the resources sector. His resource stock picks can move just as fast as ResApp, with the same potential for gains. But Jasons experience with speculating in risky resource plays can help you get out with your profits, if it all falls over. You wont find this kind of independent research anywhere else. Click here to find out more
'The big truck is still on ...
For two decades, Wisconsin was a shining example of what an open court system could be. The state Supreme Court was one of the few in the nation that conducted deliberations in public.

Now that experiment in good government is over.

In June, justices voted to close the doors. No longer will residents get to watch them argue about arcane judicial policies and codes of ethics. They will make those decisions in secret, and the people can just live with whatever they decide, no questions answered.

It was the end of an era in which transparency built trust and allowed voters to make informed decisions when a justice came up for re-election every 10 years. Since the 1990s, Wisconsinites have been able to watch the states legal luminaries thoughtfully consider both complex and mundane issues.

Granted, often wisdom and restraint were absent. Justices were sometimes no better than churlish children in a schoolyard. They insulted and berated each other. There was even a physical altercation.

They werent building trust. They were undermining it. Transparency caused embarrassment.

Most people in similar circumstances would identify the problem as the behavior and work to change it. They might seek to develop a more collegial environment where justices could disagree respectfully, even across ideological lines. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg and the late Justice Antonin Scalia couldnt have been much further apart ideologically, but they developed a famously close friendship. Surely, Wisconsins justices could strive for courtesy if not friendship.

Wisconsins justices arent most people. They identified transparency as the problem, not their behavior. So last month they changed the rules. Justices Pat Roggensack, Annette Ziegler, Michael Gableman, Rebecca Bradley and Daniel Kelly supported moving their bad behavior behind closed doors. Justices Shirley Abrahamson and Ann Walsh Bradley wisely opposed it.

To be clear, these are not deliberations in lawsuits and criminal cases argued before the court. This is not like a jury going into a room to hold a frank conversation that decides the fate of a defendant.

This is more like lawmakers in the Capitol writing laws. The justices are deliberating about policies and the ground rules that affect anyone caught up in the Wisconsin legal system, not specific cases.

Voters can send a message that they expect better from the states highest court. Wisconsins system of electing judges has serious problems, but in this case it could serve the people well.

Justice Michael Gableman has announced he will not seek re-election in 2018. At least three people have already declared their candidacy, and others could join them.

We will ask the judicial candidates about this decision and whether they support the publics right to watch their government at work.

Voters should do the same and think twice before supporting someone who endorses secrecy over the publics right to know.
Writing a seminar paper can be quite challenging, especially when you are doing it for the first time. However, it is not as hard as it seems and today we will teach you how to write seminar paper. All you need is time and effort!

Photo: canva.com (modified by author)

Source: UGC

In this article, you will find information on the following topics:

What seminar is and what seminar papers are How to write a seminar paper How to create a plan How to brainstorm How to question your research Main tips on research and writing Draft creating process

Find out more below!

What is seminar and what are seminar papers?

Lets start with establishing what a seminar is. A seminar can have different meanings, depending on the country. But to generalize, it is an academic instruction that usually occurs at an academic institution. The main purpose of a seminar is to bring together groups of people for meetings and to focus on a particular subject.

During the seminar, people may conduct debates, discuss various readings, etc. Usually, the seminar is in the form of a Socratic dialogue. For those of you who dont know, it is a form of a cooperative dialogue between people. They have to ask and answer various questions to stimulate critical thinking. This helps with creating new ideas and learning how to ask the right questions.

As we told you before, seminars have different meanings in different countries. For example, in countries such as Poland, Germany, and Slovenia, a seminar is a university class that includes a paper or a project. At universities in North America, the seminar is an intense course that is directly related to the students major. Also, a seminar is required for graduation at the university.

What is a seminar paper? A seminar paper, on the other hand, is a work of your original research on a specific thesis. The seminar paper is presented during the seminar. Some places may have their guidelines for a seminar paper. However, the process of writing a seminar paper and the format is the same.

How to write a seminar paper

A seminar paper needs to have an extensive research, original analysis and excellent writing. Photo: pexels.com

There are some things that you will need to do before starting to work on your seminar paper.

You may have written research papers in the past. They are quite similar, but there are also some things that differ a seminar paper from a research paper. For example:

You will need to have an argument that will contribute to the existent studies on your subject. It has to be original.

You will need to do a lot of research to support your argument.

You will also need to make extensive footnotes and endnotes to your seminar paper. Surely, they will depend on the documentation style.

Remember, that you will need to clarify all the details of your assignment. If you have any doubts, its better to ask right away. As soon as you get the guidelines for the paper read them carefully and make sure that you understand everything. Also, it is a good idea to ask your professor about the documentation style - make sure to use the style he prefers. Remember - you need to write a good seminar paper, so dont be ashamed to ask questions. You dont want to get a bad grade, right?

When you know what you need to write about, you can start working on your seminar paper.

1. Create a plan

Remember, that a seminar paper needs to have an extensive research, original analysis and excellent writing, which is obvious. All of this will be expected from you, so you need to start early. Dont wait until there are only a few days left. Dont think that you have enough time - there is no such thing as enough time when it comes to a seminar paper.

Think about what you need to do for the seminar paper and try to figure out how much time you will need for each step. It doesn't have to be certain, of course. Plan tasks for each day and do them according to your plan.

2. Brainstorm

Brainstorming is one of the steps on how to write a seminar paper. Photo: pexels.com

Source: UGC

You need to generate ideas for your seminar paper. It will take some time, but it is a great way to write a seminar paper. It is easier to write a paper when you already have listed ideas than trying to write a paper right away, without giving it a thought.

You can use the following methods to develop new ideas for your seminar paper:

1. Questioning

One of the popular methods. Take a piece of paper and write down the questions Where? Why? When? Who? What? How?. Leave about three lines between the questions. Then answer them in as much detail as you can. It will help you to learn more about your research.

2. Freewriting

Take a piece of paper and write anything that comes to your mind (in regards to your seminar paper, obviously). Write for about 10-12 minutes, without stopping. Then read what you have written. Highlight the useful information and do the exercise again, but at this time use the sentences that youve highlighted as a starting point.

3. Listing

The easiest method. List all the good and the bad ideas that come to mind on a piece of paper. Then group the similar ideas and expand your list further. Try to make them original. By writing down everything, you will develop even more ideas that you can use for your seminar paper.

4. The net

Again, take a piece of paper and write a brief explanation of your subject in the middle of the paper. Use only two or three words. Then circle the explanation and draw lines from the circle. Write ideas on the end of the lines. Circle the ideas and draw more lines from them. Do this exercise until you have something to work with (or until you run out of paper).

3. Question your research

When you have enough ideas, think about a question that will help you to guide your research. It means that you will need to answer the question with your research. The question should be simple and focused on your theme. But dont make it too specific, because it will be difficult to find the information on the subject. However, you can always make your question a bit narrower if you are getting too much information.

4. Start your research

Researching is one of the steps on how to write a seminar paper. Photo: pexels.com

Source: UGC

The next step is to start your research. What do you need to do? You will need a lot of sources, and they should differ from each other. The more sources, the better - it will help you to make sure that the information is correct. Use library databases, read journals, newspaper articles, and books. They will give you enough information to work with.

Important note: It will be complicated to start, so do some background research before going deeper into your theme.

Remember to use the sources that are trustworthy. Thats why you should use the database of your library. There are things that you should take into consideration to check if the source is trustworthy:

1. Publication date

The information needs to be updated, especially if your research is on scientific subjects or technology.

2. Citations

Check if the author provided sources. If there is only a few or no sources, then its better not to use this work.

3. Authors credentials

Make sure that the source youve chosen to work with, has the authors credentials. Why is the author qualified to talk about the subject?

4. Check the information

The last thing you need to do is to check the information in the source with a trustworthy source.

When youve gathered the sources, read them carefully for a few times and make sure that you understand everything. Take your time. If you have any questions, ask your professor. Also, make copies of your sources and then highlight any significant information that you need. If you are not allowed to make copies, then take notes while reading the resources.

Important note: If you are quoting the source word for word then make sure that you are citing the source properly. Remember that plagiarism may result in failing your paper. Its easy to cite the author so dont forget about it!

5. Draft your paper

Steps on how to write a seminar paper in 2022. Photo: pexels.com

Source: UGC

It is time to write your paper! Divide the process into parts to make it easier.

1. Write the thesis

You have ideas, you noted the sources, and now it is time to do the work that is directly related to writing the paper. The first thing you need to do is to write the thesis to your seminar paper. You need to remember a couple of things about the thesis:

It has to be effective and express your argument.

It has to present an original perspective.

2. Write the introduction

Remember that people are going to read your paper and it has to be interesting from the beginning. Dont write things that are not related to your topic. Start right away with establishing your position. Think about what are you going to write further on your paper and think about things that you should write in the introduction. For example, you can write an interesting fact related to your study.

Important note: Your introduction is a kind of a review to the rest of your paper. The main idea should be understood right away.

3. Write the main part

When your thesis and introduction are ready, you can go to writing the seminar paper. It is a good idea to write a rough outline of your paper. It will help you to organize all the information that youve read and gathered. Divide the outline by subsections.

The best way to write the paper is by thinking that your readers dont know anything about your theme. They need to understand everything, so provide them with necessary background information. Also, a good paper is an organized paper. Divide the paper into paragraphs and structurize them. Remember, that each paragraph should have a claim at the beginning, the support of the claim with at least one or two examples from the sources. Cover everything in detail.

Important note: Remember about heading and sub headings and dont be afraid to use them. It will help you to organize your paper, and it will help your readers to follow your thoughts.

4. Write the conclusion

Dont forget about the conclusion at the end of your paper. The conclusion has to be interesting and helpful. In order to achieve this, you can use the following tips:

1. Explain why your topic deserves the attention of the readers. Will it affect them somehow? Why should they consider your topic important or helpful?

2. Synthesize everything you mentioned before. It will also help you, readers, to understand what exactly you wanted to say in your seminar paper.

5. Write the references

Cite all the resources that youve used and make sure that you are doing it properly. Dont forget anything!

6. Revise the paper

When youve finally finished the paper, it is time to revise it. First, you need to revise it right away and check for any mistakes. Perhaps you will want to add or take away something. Remember that you will need a few days to revise your paper, so when you have the plan to finish your paper for a week before the due date.

Take a break for a few days after you finished the paper. Then go back to it and recheck it. Make sure to revise the paper before printing it out. When revising is done, proofread the paper. Check your grammar, punctuation and read the paper out loud. Ask your friends or relatives to read it.

Revise everything, take your time. When you are sure that there are no mistakes, print the final copy.

There you have it - now you know how to write a seminar paper. The preparing for writing the paper will take a lot of time, but better safe than sorry. Good luck with your seminar papers!

READ ALSO: How to write a formal letter (with samples)

Legit.ng published an article on how to write a formal letter. Today, it is enough to use your laptop or a mobile phone to create a text and send it directly from your device. Despite such noticeable changes in the process of sending letters, writing rules remain unchangeable. The classic rules of writing formal letters are fundamental . Not all people know these rules. So if you are interested and want to know how to write a formal letter in both  digital and handwritten forms, read the article.

Source: Legit.ng
Have you ever heard of Cyprus? If not, you are missing out! Hidden away in the Mediterranean Sea, it is one of the most beautiful and ancient locations in the world you should visit at least once in your life. Learn 'where is Cyprus located in the world', 'whats the time in Cyprus' and 'what makes Cyprus so special'.

Where is Cyprus located?

If you are reading this article, you have probably asked yourself: Where is Cyprus? We are here to answer this question!

The island of Cyprus, which resembles a pipe or a saucepan (depending on your imagination), is located in the Mediterranean Sea. If you want to be precise, it is between 32 and 35 longitudes east and between 34 and 36 latitudes north. It is third by size in the Mediterranean region.

It lies 65 km to the south of Turkey, 100 km to the west of Syria and Lebanon, 200 km to the northwest of Israel and 800 km to the southeast of Greek mainland. Different people place it in different parts of the world. Some consider Cyprus to be in Europe, while others place it in the Middle East or Western Asia.

Cyprus has beautiful sandy beaches, which attract tourists from all over the world. However, the terrain of the island is mostly rocky. There are two mountain ranges on the island: The Kyrenia Mountains and the Troodos Mountains. The latter is especially interesting, as its highest peak is the legendary Mount Olympus, which reaches the impressive 1,951 metres in height.

Cyprus climate

As Cyprus is located in the Mediterranean Sea, it is no wonder that the climate there is also Mediterranean. This means that there are four distinct seasons, although spring and autumn are much shorter than summer and winter.

The typical Mediterranean summer lasts from June to September and is characterised by hot and dry weather. The average temperature ranges from 21 to 37 degrees Celsius. The winter lasts from November to March and is characterised by moderately cold temperature and precipitation. The temperature in winter rarely goes below 5C, although it might dip below zero in the mountains.

Thanks to this sort of climate, Cyprus is a great migration location for many birds that stay there over the winter. The weather also facilitates vegetation, so the island is covered with beautiful trees and flowers all year long.

Cyprus country

READ ALSO: Highest currency in the world 2017 - Top 10

The Republic of Cyprus is an independent island country. The capital of Cyprus is Nicosia. Other large cities in Cyprus include Paphos, Limassol, Larnaca, Famagusta and Kyrenia, which are also the names for the main districts of Cyprus.

Official languages in Cyprus are Greek and Turkish. The currency in Cyprus is Euro, as the country is a European Union member.

Did you know?

Cyprus has a long and ancient history. The first people that inhabited it lived more than 10 thousand years ago! During the Ancient times, it was one of the most influential and rich countries in the Mediterranean.

Cyprus location made it a very desirable piece of land for other countries. Over the years, many nations fought for Cyprus to be theirs, including the Ottoman and British empires. However, in 1960, Cyprus finally earned its independence from Britain and became the Republic of Cyprus.

Still, the island is divided itself. After prolonged internal conflicts between the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots, the latter pronounced the northern part of the island Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Even though it is only recognised by Turkey, it is still considered to be a separate part of Cyprus.

Thus, as you can see from the Cyprus map, the island is separated into four parts:

 The Republic of Cyprus in the south;

 Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in the north;

 The Green Line between the two republics, which is under control of the UN corps;

 The territories of Akrotiri and Dhekelia, British military bases that Great Britain retained in accordance with the independence agreement.

However, in 2008, the giant wall that separated the Greek and Turkish sides came down. Since 2015, the South and North sides have been talking about reuniting once more.

Time in Cyprus

Cyprus lies in the Eastern European time zone, or EET. The time for this time zone is GMT+2, which means that Cyprus is ahead of the Greenwich Mean Time by two hours.

However, Cyprus also uses Daylight Saving Time or DST. According to it, the clocks go forward one hour in the spring and go back one hour in autumn. Thus, at the time of writing this article, the time zone for Cyprus is GMT+3 (or Eastern European Summer Time, EEST) until October 29.

For the current time in Cyprus, simply google Cyprus time, and you will instantly get the time and date for Cyprus.

7 interesting facts about Cyprus

After learning all of that information about geography, politics, time zones and so on, it is time to relax. Therefore, here are seven interesting facts about Cyprus.

Check them out:

 Cyprus is one of the few countries where cars drive on the left. So be extra careful, especially if you are used to cars driving in the right.

 Despite being surrounded by water on all sides, Cyprus constantly suffers from water shortages. A big portion of the countries budget goes to water desalination.

 It is a great travel destination: from the pleasant climate all year long to interesting historic locations that attract tourists from everywhere.

 There are many legends surrounding Cyprus, one of them is about the birthplace of the Greek goddess of beauty and love Aphrodite.

 Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus, is the only capital in the world that is divided between two countries.

 Cyprus was the first country to feature its outline on the national flag.

 The Cypriots are known for their love for food. Funny enough, Cyprus is also known for having men-only cafes.

Now you know where to find Cyprus, what time it is there and what to expect from the country in general. If you are looking for your next holiday location, definitely consider Cyprus. It is small, but very interesting and pleasant. You will not be disappointed!

READ ALSO: Cheapest MTN tariff plan for international calls

Source: Legit.ng
- Ibrahim Al Amin accused the APC of not fulfilling its promises to Nigerians

- He said he was leaving the party for the sake of his people

- He claimed the north has not benefitted from the Buhari presidency

Ibrahim Al Amin who is a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kano has dumped the party for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over the partys failed promises.

The Cable reports that the former chairman of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) said he left the APC because the party was doing the same things it accused other parties of doing.

READ ALSO: There will be regrets if Anambra election is boycotted - ASATU

He said: Although I do not regret supporting and voting for Buhari, I cannot remain in the party because it is not running the country properly. I hold Buhari in high esteem but he is not in control of the present government, he told reporters on Wednesday.

President Buhari has lost control of his government since he fell sick. Some people took advantage of that and are now controlling the government.

I am highly disappointed in the APC because it has reneged on the promises it made to Nigerians. What we have been accusing other political parties of doing, the APC is now doing them. There is poverty everywhere and the APC is not doing anything to bail-out the masses.

I am in politics to serve my people directly or indirectly and I am not comfortable with the way the ruling party is handling the affairs of Nigerians.

Our major problem is that our political parties are not based on ideologies.

He expressed disappointment over how the north has not benefitted from the Buhari presidency in spite of the massive support it got.

I am disappointed with the administration after all the votes provide to Buhari by north-west but the region shortchanged in term of execution of developmental projects, he said.

My expectation is government will reciprocate the region with laudable project but unfortunately the government is being under control of some southerners.

I have no regret of campaigning for Buhari in 2015 because I respect him so much but the party disappointed people that voted it into power.

PAY ATTENTION: Watch more videos on Legit.ng TV

All my cross carpeting has been from the ruling parties to oppositions and on three occasions I held a party to win election. I am not in politics to use political office to make financial gains but I am in politics to have the opportunity to serve the people.

I have no reason to remain in the party that disappointed Nigerians and the party failed to improve the economic development of the people of the country rather contributed to serious hardship among the populace.

Meanwhile, the lone Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) member of the Lagos State House of Assembly Dapo Olorunrinu vowed to remain the last man standing for his party in the House.

Vanguard reports that Olorunrinu (PDP-Amuwo Odofin I) told newsmen on Thursday, July 20, in Ikeja that he was not moved by the defection of his former party members in the House to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Legit.ng gathered that the seven other members who got into the Assembly on the platform of the PDP in the 2015 elections have since defected to the APC, the ruling party in Lagos state.

Watch a Legit.ng TV video below of a Nigerian accusing the APC on evil:

Source: Legit.ng
Lori L. Hensley, 54, of Tomah died Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017, at Gundersen Health System, La Crosse. A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, Aug. 18, at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Warrens, with visitation from 10 a.m. to time of service. Burial will be in Oak Grove Cemetery, Tomah. Sonnenburg Family Funeral Home, Tomah is assisting the family with arrangements.
Popular Nigerian musician Obiora Nwokolobia-Agu a.k.a Obiwon, who left secular RnB music for gospel, has completed Bible school.

In the early 2000s, Obiora Nwokolobia-Agu brought joy to a lot of Nigerians with his soothing vocals, releasing songs like 'Onyinye' and 'Obi mu o' which won him several awards.

The former banker turned musician then experienced a turnaround in his life in 2008 and made the decision to abandon secular music to become a gospel artiste; changing his stage name to Obiora Obiwon, for easier identification and releasing several gospel songs.

Fast forward to 2017, Obiora revealed that he has completed Bible school; he had been attending the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) Bible school for some time.

READ ALSO: Julius Agwu joins bible school (photo)

The award-winning musician shared pictures of himself at his graduation, with the caption:

"My dear Lord and Lover Jesus, let this study, my service and sacrifices to You be continually approved, acceptable and fit for Your use. I say Yes Lord. Your son and servant - Obiora Obiwon. #BibleCollege #RCBC #RCCG #65thConvention #Grateful #Disciple #MoreResponsibility #LifeOfSubmission"

See the pictures below:

Obiwon shared pictures of his graduation from Bible school. Photo: Instagram/obioraobiwon

PAY ATTENTION: Get all the latest gossips on NAIJ Gossip App

Obiwon quit secular music, became a gospel musician and has completed Bible school. Photo: Instagram/obioraobiwon

Congrats to him!

Meanwhile, see this video of a Nollywood actor who says he will soon become a pastor:

Source: Legit.ng
- Senator Omo-Agege said he was not put in power to break up the country

- According to him, his goal is to work with his colleagues to push Nigeria forward

- He said he is hopeful that one day Nigeria will get it right

The senator representing Delta Central Senatorial District in Delta state, Ovie Omo-Agege, has denied making moves for the break-up of Nigeria as a country.

Omo-Agege said the dissolution of the country is not part of the restructuring contemplated and by some section of Nigeria.

The senator in a statement released on Wednesday, August 9, also said he was not elected by his people to dissolve Nigeria.

He however noted that his goal is to collaborate with other members of the Senate to ensure that Nigeria becomes a better place for all and not to destroy it.

READ ALSO: You have failed in your campaign promises - Strong APC member dumps party for PDP

Omo-Agege said: "My goal is, therefore, to collaborate with my colleagues to make Nigeria better but certainly not to destroy it. My people did not ask me to come to Abuja for the dissolution of this great country.

The break-up of Nigeria cannot be a legitimate outcome of restructuring. While issues such as devolution of power, fiscal federalism, and resource control, are all legitimate aspects of restructuring, it is not tenable to purport that the actual break-up or dissolution of the country is a necessary, responsible or bonafide expectation of our citizens within the broad agenda to restructure this country to practice federation in its pure form," Omo-Agege said.

Explaining the importance of restructuring, Omo-Agege said urged Nigerians to accept steps taken by the National Assembly as a move to ensuring an environment for sustainable growth in the country.

He said: "My hope is that someday, we will get it right when the required numbers of legislators understand the need to develop this nation organically and speedily by giving the states more roles to play. But hope is not lost. Going forward, critical items on devolution of power can still be individually revisited as already commendably indicated by the leadership of the National Assembly.

READ ALSO: Anambra Catholic Church Massacre: Diocese releases names of victims killed and injured (See Full List)

"To this end, neither the Senate nor the House can truly be said to have rejected restructuring per se."

Omo-Agege said that what the National Assembly did was reject a package containing various different items.

He said the items crucial to achieving true federalism within the framework of a united country will be revisited and carried through in the future.

PAY ATTENTION: Watch more videos on Legit.ng TV

Legit.ng earlier reported that the Nigerian Senate voted against giving more powers to the states.

The Senate rejected the proposal to amend the 1999 Constitution in other to devolve powers to the state government.

Out of 95 Senators present during the voting process, 48 of them voted against the proposal to give more powers to the states.

Watch this Legit.ng video as PDP women speak on the state of the nation:

Source: Legit.ng
- 2 Nigerian men have been arrested in Oregon, United States for fraud

- The brothers were accused of obtaining more than 125,000 stolen taxpayer identities all over the world

- Prosecutor says one of the brothers bought over 91,000 of the identities from Vietnamese hacker

A Nigerian man, Emmanuel Oluwatosin Kazeem, and his younger brother, Michael Oluwasegun Kazeem have been convicted in a massive fraud scheme in the United States.

Emmanuel Kazeem was accused of obtaining more than 125,000 stolen taxpayer identities from across the Unites States.

He has been convicted in a federal court in Oregon on 19 counts of mail and wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.

A Jury in Medford returned the verdicts, Friday, against Emmanuel Kazeem, 24, who lived most recently in Bowie, Maryland.

The brothers are awaiting court sentence. Photo credit: Koin.com

READ ALSO: Catholic Diocese of Nnewi releases names of victims of the St. Phillips Catholic Church massacre

Prosecutors say Kazeem bought over 91,000 of the identities from a Vietnamese hacker who got into a database belonging to an Oregon company called CICS Employment Services.

Most of the personal information belonged to people living in Oregon and Washington and were used to file fraudulent tax returns between 2012 and 2015.

Over 2,800 fraudulent returns were linked to Kazeem with attempted refunds in excess of $26 million and actual losses to the federal government of nearly $7 million.

IRS criminal investigators traced more than 2,000 wire transfers involving $2.1 million dollars in fraudulent tax refunds wired to Nigeria by Kazeem and his co-conspirators, prosecutors said.

Federal prosecutors couldnt reach a plea deal with his brother, Michael Oluwaseun Kazeem, 24, linked to the theft of 250,000 identities and $4.7 million in illegal tax refunds.

PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 news app

He is being held in the Jackson County Jail in Medford.

Four other members of the gang are Oluwatobi Reuben Dehinbo, Lateef Aina Animawun, Oluwasunara Temitope Osanyinbi and Oluwamuyiwa Abolad Olawoye. They were earlier indicted by a federal grand jury in May 2015.

Meanwhile, a 56-year-old Nigerian pastor based in the United States (US) reportedly bagged 15 year-jail term after he was caught abusing two teenage girls in church.

The clergy man who was identified as Reuben Chizor is the founder of Hope Restoration Ministries and was said to have been carrying out this devious act in his churchs basement.

Chizor was said to have abused two young under age girls, 12 and 14-years-old, who their names were not disclosed.

Watch Legit.ng inspirational video of a Nigerian young man making millions by selling puff puff:

Source: Legit.ng
A 34-year-old Tomah man was referred to the Monroe County District Attorney after allegedly threatening several people with a knife.

Police were dispatched to a Superior Avenue residence shortly after 7:30 p.m. July 28. A man told police that Michael David Mleko became enraged when the man arrived in an alley to transport a woman and two children from the residence. He said Mleko began to throw items at the woman and used loud and profane language before walking into the residence and returning with a butcher knife. The woman said Mleko was waving the knife all over and ran toward the man.

The report said another woman told police she attempted to restrain Mleko by holding him around his waist. Mleko was referred for recklessly endangering safety and disorderly conduct.

In other Tomah Police Department news:

Antoine Deshawn Cotto, 33, Tomah, was referred to the district attorney for bail jumping. He is accused of violating a bond condition that prohibits him from driving without a valid license.

David Albert Beyer, 61, Tomah, was referred to the district attorney for battery and disorderly conduct after a July 25 incident.

According to the report, a woman said a disagreement between her and Beyer became physical when Beyer grabbed her by the neck and held her against a refrigerator. Police also observed a piece of broken glass in the residence. The report says Beyer was intoxicated at the time of the incident.

Carol Louise Puza, 36, Tomah, was referred to the district attorney for bail jumping. She is accused of violating a bond condition that prohibits her from consuming alcohol. A preliminary breath test registered a blood-alcohol level of .104.

Leasia Rayna Pruitt, 18, Tomah, was referred to the district attorney for possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia after a July 30 traffic stop.

Shortly before 3 a.m., police observed a vehicle fail to come to a complete stop at a traffic signal on Superior Avenue. The vehicle then turned eastbound on East McCoy Boulevard and drove in a manner that harassed another vehicle, according to the report. Police conducted a traffic stop and the driver, identified as Pruitt, said she was upset at the driver of the other vehicle for driving too slow.

The report says Pruitt has glassy eyes and had difficulty comprehending police commands. Police couldnt detect the odor of alcohol but believed Pruitt was impaired and observed a light green film on Pruitts tongue consistent with marijuana use.

Police searched the vehicle and allegedly found a smoking pipe with burned marijuana residue.

Theron James Haas, 40, Tomah, was referred to the district attorney for possession of drug paraphernalia after police were dispatched to a Pearl Street residence July 31.

Police were told that Haas had run from the residence and was suicidal. Police made contact with Haas at Winnebago Park, where he denied he was suicidal and volunteered to go to the Tomah VA hospital to seek treatment. Police offered Haas a ride to the VA, and a search prior to Haas getting in the vehicle allegedly found a straw commonly used to snort illegally obtained prescription drugs.

Haas has a bond condition that prohibits him from possessing drug paraphernalia, which triggered a bail jumping referral.

Erma J. Haase, 54, Tomah, was referred to the district attorney for possession of methamphetamine.

Shortly before 3 a.m. Aug. 1, police observed Haase standing on the stairs of a Superior Avenue residence. Dispatch informed that Haase has a bond condition that establishes a 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew, and police made contact with Haase inside the building. Police confirmed that Haase lived at the address, and an officer told Haase she should remain inside her apartment during curfew hours.

The report says Haase consented to a search of her person. Police allegedly found two small baggies with white crystal residue inside. She is also accused of violating multiple bond conditions, including the curfew, which triggered five bail jumping referrals.

Ashley Rachelle Cleveland, 32, Tomah, was referred to the district attorney for bail jumping. She was arrested on an active warrant and is accused of failing to appear in Monroe County Circuit Court for two court dates.

Brandi Jean Decesare, 22, Tomah, was referred to the district attorney for multiple charges after an Aug. 3 incident.

Police were called shortly before 9:30 p.m. to a West Jackson Street residence, where a woman, later identified at Decesare, allegedly bit a woman. The report says Decesare got into altercations with two different women and that Decesare punched a hole in the wall of a bedroom closet.

When police went inside the residence, Decesare walked toward police with her hands extended forward as if she was going to be placed in handcuffs. She was referred for battery, criminal damage to property and disorderly conduct.
- Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has mentioned Tanko Yakassai, Ango Abdulahi and other Fulanis as people who are to be arrested with him

- Kanu said he wonder why he would be rearrested and Tanko Yakassai or Ango Abdulahi will not be arrested also

- The IPOB leader also declared that he is not afraid of any threats rather they motivate him

Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) on Thursday, August 10, revealed the names of some people that must be arrested with him if he is to be rearrested.

Reports have it that Kanu who named the people as Tanko Yakassai, Ango Abdulahi and other Fulanis said they are his sources of encouragement.

Legit.ng gathered that the IPOB leader boasted that he has freedom of movement and nobody can deny him of the rights in any part of the country.

READ ALSO: APC chieftain in Kano dumps party, joins PDP

It was learnt that he disclosed this in reaction to the protest that was staged by some northern youths calling for his rearrest on Wednesday, August 9.

He said: ''But why will I be re-arrested and nobody is going to arrest Tanko Yakassai or Ango Abdulahi because of what they have been saying?

''Is it because they are Fulani? They own Nigeria? They are immuned to arrest? Is arrest only meant for Biafrans and not for Fulani?.

''Who will arrest Lawal Daura of DSS for flouting court order to release Bright Chimezie Isinwa of IPOB? The Fulanis say whatever they like and go free and nobody holds them accountable because they own Nigeria''.

According to him: ''I go to anywhere I want to go. I dont listen to threats. They motivate me rather than dampen my spirit.

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''That thing people say I cannot do is what I love to do. When the time comes, I will go to Lagos if I have to go to Lagos.

''I completely disagree with them. They are the pioneers of hate speech. Go through the text of speeches made by Ango Abdulahim, Tanko Yakassia or the ones made by one Abubarkar.

''Are those ones not hate speeches? Unfortunately, I blame the deplorable state of education in Nigeria because they dont know what hate speech is all about''.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that Arewa Youth Assembly on Wednesday, August 9 held a protest to demand for the arrest of Kanu over the unity of Nigeria.

The group who took to the streets under police watch said unity of the country was non-negotiable.

Watch this Legit.ng TV video of Nnamdi Kanu addressing his supporters in Abia:

Source: Legit.ng
- Senator Isah Hamma Misau stated that various sources have confirmed to him the worrisome development of police officers paying for promotion

- The Senate committee chairman vowed to table the matter before the leadership of the upper legislative chamber once the recess ends

- The Police Service Commission has however denied the report, stating that the commission considers officers for promotion upon recommendation from the IGP

Senator Isah Hamma Misau, chairman of the Senate Committee on Navy, has stated that police officers pay up to N2.5 million to get special promotions through the Police Service Commission (PSC).

In an interview with Daily Trust, Misau lamented over the bribery scandal allegedly rocking the commission.

READ ALSO: New report shows that only 161 members of the House of Reps. have sponsored any bill so far

He stated: You are talking about N500, 000, its beyond that.

A serving police officer aware of the trend has told me that they pay as much as N2.5 million to get special promotion.

Other sources have also confirmed to me. So it is nothing but fact.

The anti-corruption committee member disclosed that upon resumption of the Senate next month, he would discuss the issue with the leadership of the upper legislative chamber.

He stated further: Corruption is not only associated with money; it has many forms, and money for promotion is part of it.

We have to urgently address this because the consequence is what we are witnessing today."

A serving police officer who also spoke about the matter on the condition of anonymity decried the deplorable situation, saying it was affecting officers morale and performance.

He said: Im tired of the bribe for promotion. Junior officers are being promoted and deployed to strategic locations.

I swear if I have capital I wouldve resigned from the force.

The Police Service Commission has however denied the report. Ikechukwu Ani, the spokesman of the commission stated: It is not true. The commission has not and will never collect bribes for promotion.

The IGP sends recommendations and the commission considers the promotion and takes a decision.

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Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that the inspector-general of police, Mr Ibrahim Idris, approved the promotion of 28, 627 junior officers to their next rank.

According to a statement issued by CSP Jimoh Moshood, the force spokesman, the mass promotion was part of ongoing efforts by the police chief to boost the morale of the personnel towards effective and efficient service delivery.

Watch this Legit.ng TV video asking Nigerians if the Police is really their friend.

Source: Legit.ng
- Alhaji Balarabe Musa, a former governor of old Kaduna state has condemned the composer of anti-Igbo song

- Alhaji Musa said the song is not only embarrassing but capable of threatening the peace of the country

- He said that the federal government should act fast before the issue escalates

Alhaji Balarabe Musa, a former governor of old Kaduna state, has said the production and circulation of an anti-Igbo song in parts of Northern Nigeria is ''embarrassing and unfortunate''.

Musa told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on telephone from Kaduna that the content of the song did not reflect the true feelings of most northerners.

Legit.ng gathered that he described the promoters of the song, which calls for violence against the Igbos, as ''criminals'', whose objective is to threaten the peace and security in Nigeria.

READ ALSO: Nnamdi Kanu reveals those to be arrested with him

The former governor stated that the song is a deliberate ploy by the originators to generate disaffection towards northerners.

He, therefore, urged the federal government not to take the issue lightly in view of the potential threat it constituted to the countrys peace.

He said:''The song is not only embarrassing but unfortunate and capable of threatening the peace of the country.

''So the federal government should act fast before the issue escalates so that we do not have a repeat of sad tales of history.

''The government should ensure that the promoters of the song are brought to book because they are nothing but criminals''.

Musa expressed belief in the capacity of Nigerians to live peacefully with one another wherever they chose to live and irrespective of their tribe, religion and ethnic group.

The former governor, who said that he would never support violence, criticised the October 1 quit notice given to Igbos by some Northern youths.

He said that an insignificant number of youths could not have been speaking for the people of the North who are accommodating and peace-loving.

According to him, ''The quit notice is uncalled for and does not reflect the thinking of the North.

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''So many people have condemned it. Even some youths have come out to openly denounce it. That tells you that that unfortunate order is not supported by most northerners; it is condemnable''.

The ex-governor then called on government to be alive to its responsibilities to the people by delivering the dividends of democracy.

He further urged the government to ensure the judicious use of the countrys resources to promote equity, peace and development.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), issued a renewed warning to Igbo people in the north to ensure they returned home before the expiration of the quit notice from Arewa youths.

The new warning came from the leader as a response to a current trending anti-Igbo song in some northern states.

Watch this Legit.ng TV Video of what Nigerians are saying about the current unrest in the country:

Source: Legit.ng
Street Fest on the Hill returns for a second year.

Queen of the Apostles Parish secretary Katie Pierce said the two-day community event is a way for the Catholic parish to celebrate family and faith in the community.

The festival, which begins Saturday, Aug. 19 at 5 p.m. and Sunday, Aug. 20 at 11 a.m., is open to all, Pierce said.

Everyone in the community is welcome, she said. You dont have to belong to the parish.

Each day of the festival follows mass  4 p.m. Saturday, and 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Sunday.

Saturday includes food, such as corn on the cob, a beer tent, music and bingo, while Sunday includes a PTA back-to-school event for St. Marys Catholic School starting at 9 a.m., a chicken q, beer tent, wine pull, silent auction and a musical performance by the a cappella group Blend beginning at 1 p.m.

Blend performed last year, Pierce said.

They were very good last year, she said. A lot of community people bring their lawn chairs and come and listen.

The raffle drawing for the silent auction begins at 3:30 p.m.

Pierce said the festival is also a celebration of the 150 years the parish has been in the Tomah and Warrens communities.

This year well have a display for the celebration of the 150 years of the parish being active in the communities of Tomah and Warrens, she said. Were also having Bishop Callahan  of the diocese of La Crosse to celebrate. Hell be giving the homily during the ceremony.

Pierce is excited for Street Fest. She said its the last big event of the summer.

Last year we had an amazing turnout in conjunction with amazing weather, she said. Were hoping for that again with all of the family and fun and being able to hang out with the teachers and others and celebrate.

The event is held in conjunction with the schools open house.

As well as meeting teachers, kids can bring their school stuff to drop it off as school starts that next Wednesday, Pierce said.

Its a fun event that brings people together, Pierce said. She likes getting to see her entire parish family.

We have three (masses), and people tend to stick to those groups, and so they dont always see everyone, she said. (Street Fest) brings them together, and its able to celebrate with everyone of the parish.

It also celebrates the larger community, Pierce said.

Last year we saw people that werent Catholic come, and they liked the music, the family aspect, and thats what were trying to promote  that were more than just Catholic, she said. Its great to see that come together.

The festival will be held rain or shine, but Pierce said events can be moved from outside into the school gym.
- Some soldiers of 29 battalion who have overstayed operating in the northeast are sent back to their families

- The General Officer Commanding (GOC) 6 Division Nigerian Army, Major General EO Udoh, applaud the soldiers for their selfless sacrifices to the nation

- The GOC urges the soldiers to pray for their colleagues who are still in the theatre for Gods protection and victory over the remnants of the Boko Haram terrorists

Some soldiers of 29 Battalion based in Port Harcourt who served in various units under Operation Lafiya Dole have returned to their main unit amidst cheers and jubilation from their families and friends.

READ ALSO: APC chieftain in Kano dumps party, joins PDP

The return of the soldiers to their base follows a rotation policy being implemented by the chief of army staff (COAS), Lieutenant General TY Buratai, to ensure that soldiers who have overstayed operating in the northeast are sent back home and replaced by fresh deployments.

According to a statement by Colonel Aminu Iliyasu, the deputy director army public relations, 6 division, the troops had served in various units under Operation Lafiya Dole where they contributed immensely to the successes of routing out and defeat of the Boko Haram terrorists in the north east.

When welcoming the troops back to their base, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 6 division Nigerian Army, Major General EO Udoh, applauded the soldiers for their selfless sacrifices to the nation.

General Udoh enjoined them to pray for their colleagues who are still in the theatre for Gods protection and continued victory over the remnants of the enemies of our great nation, Boko Haram terrorists.

PAY ATTENTION: Watch more videos on Legit.ng TV

The GOC further reassured the troops on their welfare and that of their families. He also enjoined the troops to remain professional in discharging their duties with the love of their country at heart as they would soon be deployed for the divisions routine operations after their disembarkation leave.

According to the army, the rotation of overstayed soldiers in Operation Lafiya Dole is ongoing as more troops are being inducted while those that stayed long are de-inducted from the theatre of operations.

Some soldiers who have overstayed operating in the northeast are sent back to their families, photo credit, HQ Nigerian Army - Facebook

The return of the soldiers to their base follows a rotation policy by the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lieutenant General TY Buratai, photo credit: HQ Nigerian Army - Facebook

The soldiers had served in various units under Operation Lafiya Dole, photo credit: HQ Nigerian Army - Facebook

The General Officer Commanding (GOC) 6 Division Nigerian Army, Major General EO Udoh, applauded the soldiers for their selfless sacrifices to the nation

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Army has assured soldiers fighting insurgency in the north-east of adequate medical care and support.

This was made known by the acting corps commander medical of the Nigerian Army, Clifford Wanda, on Tuesday, August 8.

Wanda, a brigadier general while visiting some of the wounded soldiers of Operation Lafiya Dole at the 7 Divison Medical Services and Hospital (DMSH) in Maimalari Cantonment, Maiduguri commended the soldiers for their bravery.

Wanda, accompanied by some other senior military officers of the medical corps also made a tour of the facility in the 7 Division Hospital. He said his visit was aimed at familiarizing and ascertaining the performance of the medical personnel and equipment deployed to the region.

In the video below the Nigerian Air Force gives an update on operations against Boko Haram in 2017.

Source: Legit.ng
- MASSOB says the hate song reportedly circulating in parts of the north is a reflection of the frustration, envy and jealousy being harbored by northerners

- Leader of the group, Uchenna Madu, states that the song is clear evidence that Nigeria is doomed forever

- Madu warns that the hate song inciting violence against the Igbos is also targeted at other ethnic groups

The Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign state of Biafra (MASSOB) has called on people of Igbo descent residing in northern Nigeria to immediately commence relocation to the southeast region.

READ ALSO: APC chieftain in Kano dumps party, joins PDP

MASSOB made the call in reaction to a purported hate song reportedly circulating in parts of the north which allegedly incites violence against people of Igbo origin.

Leader of the group, Comrade Uchenna Madu, in a statement made available to journalists in Enugu on Thursday, August 10, said the song was a reflection of the frustration, envy and jealousy being haboured by northerners.

Madu also stated that the song was clear evidence that Nigeria is doomed forever, adding that the country can never be redeemed.

He said: This uncontrolled and loosed frustration, envy and jealousy of Arewa People through another dimension of hate song is a clear and eloquent evidence that Nigeria is doomed and doomed forever which can never be redeemed.

They have further proved to the world that Nigeria is not and can never be one entity. We are Biafrans, Hausa Fulanis are Arewas while Yorubas are Oduduwas.

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We can never continue to deceive ourselves as if Nigeria is one because God did not create or establish us as Nigerians.

The group said it welcomed the hate songs in circulation against the Igbo people

We have listened to the song, we have it both in audio and script. MASSOB once again remind our people residing in Hausa Fulani land to immediately commence relocation back to Biafra land because a stitch in time saves nine."

MASSOB warned that the anti-Igbo song was also targeted at other ethnic groups.

It said: We wish to remind the people of Biafra that spreading of these Arewa hate song against Ndigbo is also targeted against other ethnic groups from eastern region of Nigeria even their Islamic Yoruba brethren are not save in Arewa land when the Arewa People will commence execution of their threat of genocides against the people of Biafra residing in their land after 1st October 2017.

MASSOB want the hate songs to spread like wildfire not only in Arewa land but throughout Nigeria.

Meanwhile, Bishop Abraham Udeh, general overseer of Mount Zion Faith Global Liberation Ministries in Nnewi, Anambra state has revealed why Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) is calling referendum.

According to Vanguard, Udeh said Kanus call for referendum is right but it is unfortunate that some people are criticizing him.

Udeh on Wednesday, August 9, at his church auditorium said Kanus call for the boycott of the election unless a referendum was conducted should be obeyed.

Legit.ng gathered he said the call for restructuring was a waste of time and no amount of pressure would make the All Progressives Congress APC-led federal government to accept it.

In the video below; Legit.ng TV takes a critical look at Nnamdi Kanu and the struggle for the actualisation of the Republic of Biafra.

Source: Legit.ng
- Benue state government has sent a warning signal to Nnamdi Kanu

- Nnamdi Kanu had said that Benue state is part of Biafra territory

- But Benue state commissioner of information, Lawrence Onoja said Kanus agitation was meant to undermine the unity of the country

The Benue state government has warned the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to leave the state out of its purported secessionist territory backed up by ulterior motive to undermine the unity of the country.

Daily Trust reports that the State Commissioner of Information and Orientation, Lawrence Onoja (Jnr.), handed the warning to the protagonists of IPOB and its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, at a news conference in Makurdi.

READ ALSO: Hate speech will soon become criminal offence in Nigeria - Presidency

"We completely and strongly reject his (Kanu) mischievous claim that Benue is part of Biafra. Benue State is not part of any secessionist bid to dismember our great country-Nigeria. The administration of Governor Samuel Ortom would never subscribe to any ulterior and ill-advised agitation to undermine the unity and security of our country," he said.

Legit.ng gathered that Onoja said it became necessary for the state government to openly debunk the claims made by Kanu at various times in the media that Benue is part of his proposed territory for the actualisation of his Biafra dream following the recent unhealthy development in some quarters about the issue.

He emphasised that the history books were full of the exploits of gallant members of the Nigerian armed forces of Benue origin who fought in the three years civil war to keep Nigeria united as a country, wondering what Kanu wants to achieve with his bogus claim of the state being part of Biafra.

The commissioner who said that the Kanu's idea was already an exercise in futility, advised him to desist henceforth from using Benue as part of his Biafra actualisation agenda, adding that the state has a distinct language, culture, tradition and ethnicity which definitely are not part of Igbo ethnic group.

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"Benue State is a state located in the North-central geopolitical region of the nation and is not part of the South-east even though we see all Nigerians as brothers and sisters but we definitely are not part of the Igbo ethnic group who we regard as our brothers and sisters in a united country," Onoja maintained.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng had earlier reported that Nnamdi Kanu on Thursday, August 10, revealed the names of some people that must be arrested with him if he is to be rearrested.

Watch this Legit.ng TV video of Nnamdi Kanu addressing his supporters in Abia:

Source: Legit.ng
- Nigerian Army has started rotation of overstayed troops in the north-east

- The Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lieutenant General TY Buratai had promised that the troops would be rotated in every six months

- Army also reassured the troops on their welfare and that of their families

Soldiers from 29 Battalion of the 6 Division, who had served in various units of the Operation Lafiya Dole in the North-east, have returned to their main unit, Port Harcourt.

Legit.ng gathered that the Army spokesperson, SK Usman said that soldiers of 29 Battalion based in Port Harcourt, have been rotated and returned to their main unit amidst cheers and jubilation from their families and colleagues.

The Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lieutenant General TY Buratai had promised that overstayed troops operating in the northeast as part of Operation Lafiya Dole would be rotated in six months.

READ ALSO: Anambra election: PDP screens Ifeanyi Ubah, Jonathans minister, 5 others

He said: The troops have served in various units under Operation Lafiya Dole where they contributed immensely to the successes of routing out and defeat of the Boko Haram terrorists in the North East.

In his address to the returnee troops, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 6 Division Nigerian Army, Major General EO Udoh, welcomed the troops back to their unit after a successful tour of duty in the North East and applauded them for their selfless sacrifices to the nation.

He further enjoined them to pray for their colleagues who are still in the theatre for Gods protection and continued victory over the remnants of the enemies of our great nation, Boko Haram terrorists.

The GOC further reassured the troops on their welfare and that of their families. He also enjoined the troops to remain professional in discharging their duties with the love of their country at heart as they would soon be deployed for the Divisions routine operations after their disembarkation leave.

PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 news app

The rotation of overstayed soldiers in Operation Lafiya Dole is ongoing as more troops are being inducted while those that stayed long are de-inducted from the theatre of operations.

You are please requested to disseminate this information to the public through your medium. (NAN)

Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported that the Chief of Army Staff Tukur Buratai has assured Nigerians that the insurgency in the North-East will come to an end in 2017.

Watch a Legit.ng TV video below of the Air Force giving an update of its fight against Boko Haram:

Source: Legit.ng
To restate the obvious, the US has a huge amount of infrastructure catch-up it needs to do. Infrastructure spending provides an estimated $3 of economic growth for every $1 of spending. That means debt worry-warts need not fear, since deficit spending on infrastructure would lower the Federal debt to GDP ratio would fall.

But since the balanced budget types cant get out of their own way and embrace MMT, budget hawks and ideologues who prefer private sector profiteering to government provision of services both tout the idea of public private partnerships as a scheme for what amounts to privatization of public services. These schemes are a transfer from local citizens, who wind up paying users fees, to financiers, design and construction firms, and investors, the overwhelming majority of which are not part of the community. So they are net transfers out.once you ignore political donations.

So as opposed to adding to local growth, these privatizations amount to new taxes in the form of users fees, but paid to private owners. Even worse, the deals are very one sided, with gotcha clauses like requiring payments if the public amenity is taken out of service for pressing reasons, like an emergency.

These infrastructure deals are also a lousy way to stimulate growth, since where the promoters want to do their projects is routinely not where the real economy payoff is greatest. And the process for selecting the consortium to handle the project, negotiating the deal, and for the promoters to get the funding is much more time consuming than having the government do it itself, making a mockery of the claim that the private sector is more nimble.

But on top of these issues is that certain types of projects, most notably toll roads, have a record of consistent failure that the press chooses to ignore. The Wall Street Journal today, for instance, treats a toll road deal that failed under then-Governor Pence as if it were mere bad luck, as opposed to precisely what youd expect if you knew the terrain. From the Journal:

The project, a partnership between the state and private investors, was signed by Vice President Mike Pence in 2014 when he was the states governor. It is two years behind schedule and only 60% built. The state is in the process of taking it over and will have to issue debt to finish it The southern Indiana project near Bloomington had a raft of setbacks early on. The state selected a consortium that included a Spanish construction company, Grupo Isolux Corsan S.A., that hadnt worked on a road project in the U.S. Its $325 million winning bid was nearly $75 million below the next-lowest one. The company quickly ran into unrelated legal difficulties in Europe that hurt its finances. There have been some notable public-private failures. Toll-road partnerships in Alabama, Texas and California declared bankruptcy in recent years after revenue from tolls used to finance these projects fell short of projections. Indianas first major public-private partnership, a deal with Ferrovial S.A.s subsidiary Cintra to operate the Indiana Toll Road, fell into bankruptcy after revenue missed targets. It has since been bought by new owners.

The article depicts this Indiana deal as a mere black eye and presents another Indiana project as a success:

Indiana has another public-private partnership for a bridge over the Ohio River that was recently completed ahead of schedule and $200 million below the states estimated cost.

However, mere completion is not the metric for whether these ventures have worked out. Consider the grim findings of this 2014 story in Thinking Highways by Randy Salzman:

Beginning with the contracting stage, the evidence suggests toll operating public private partnerships are transportation shell companies for international financiers and contractors who blueprint future bankruptcies. Because Uncle Sam generally guarantees the bonds  by far the largest chunk of private money  if and when the private toll road or tunnel partner goes bankrupt, taxpayers are forced to pay off the bonds while absorbing all loans the state and federal governments gave the private shell company and any accumulated depreciation. Yet the shell companys parent firms get to keep years of actual toll income, on top of millions in design-build cost overruns. Of course, no executive comes forward and says, Were planning to go bankrupt, but an analysis of the data is shocking. There do not appear to be any American private toll firms still in operation under the same management 15 years after construction closed. The original toll firms seem consistently to have gone bankrupt or zeroed their assets and walked away, leaving taxpayers a highway now needing repair and having to pay off the bonds and absorb the loans and the depreciation. The list of bankrupt firms is staggering, from Virginias Pocahontas Parkway to Presidio Parkway in San Francisco to Canadas Sea to Sky Highway to Orange Countys Riverside Freeway to Detroits Windsor Tunnel to Brisbane, Australias Airport Link to South Carolinas Connector 2000 to San Diegos South Bay Expressway to Austins Cintra SH 130 to a couple dozen other toll facilities. We cannot find any American private toll companies, furthermore, meeting their pre-construction traffic projections. Even those shell companies not in bankruptcy court usually produce half the income they projected to bondholders and federal and state officials prior to construction.

I strongly encourage you to read this article in full.

A big reason these deals do poorly is that infrastructure firms have copied the model of the creator and leader in that business, Sydneys Macquarie Bank. Its also a world leader in rent extraction. From another 2014 article:

Jim Chanos, president of the hedge fund Kynikos Associates and another famous early doubter of Enron, has been Macquaries most outspoken critic. In 2007, Chanos told [Fortune Magazines Bethany] McLean that Macquarie had perverse incentive to serially overpay for assets, and compared the company to a Ponzi scheme. McLean explained: Thats because the assets are owned not by the bank itself but by the shareholders in its funds. The shareholders pay Macquarie management fees that are based on the size of the fund, meaning that Macquarie has an incentive to add to its collection. Thats why Macquarie had every reason to bid a full billion dollars more than the second-place bidder for the Indiana Toll Road: Every additional dollar earned fatter fees for its bankers. As an investment bank, Macquarie also earns money from transaction fees, which its infrastructure funds pay every time its banking arm rearranges investments into new corporate structures, or refinances a loan, or closes a deal. Chanos pointed out that 84 percent of the deals Macquarie advises involve its own entities. Shareholders ultimately eat the cost of these self-dealing fees. Macquarie also pays itself handsome annual fees to manage its numerous satellite entities, in an externally managed arrangement criticized by corporate governance advocates. McLean called the funds fee factories for the company, noting they generate hundreds of millions of dollars each year for the firm. Even though Atlas is just a holding company with little of its own overhead, it paid Macquarie $36.7 million in fees in 2013  millions more than it paid out to its shareholders. The Sydney Morning Heralds Alan Kohler shares Chanos skepticism. In a 2004 editorial, he wrote, The Macquarie model is justly famous around the world. It is quite possibly the most efficient method of legally relieving investors of their money ever conceived.

In other words, privately funded infrastructure investments and privatizations should be viewed with prejudice, yet clever PR has meant they are incorrectly seen as a good deal for governments, as opposed to a good deal for everyone but governments and their constituents. As Salzman put it:
Press Release

SpecPage, a global provider of integrated software solutions and online tools for the recipe-based manufacturing industry, today announced the establishment of a new subsidiary in Singapore. The new office will better assist existing global customers operating in the Asia-Pacific market. The company is hereby significantly accelerating its global footprint.

The Singapore subsidiary is an important strategic initiative for SpecPage. It brings our sales and support organization closer to our customers in the region and, at the same time, aids global customers in their facilitation of unlocking local synergies, said Severin Weiss, CEO of SpecPage.

We recognize Singapore to be a strategic destination for our further growth in the Asia-Pacific region. This subsidiary will pave way for large-scale projects over the years. I am very pleased to witness our vision of setting up a global sales and service organization come true, Severin Weiss added.

The subsidiary will be supported by Swiss-based Amin Khatir, an experienced Project Manager with SpecPage, as well as an individual with good Chinese know-how and local expertise. According to Amin, the Singapore subsidiary will enable SpecPage to address increasing demand for comprehensive product data management and product development solutions in the fast-growing Asian-Pacific market.

SpecPage provides product development solutions, including Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), Product Data Management (PDM), Compliance Guide and Laboratory Information and Management System (LIMS), enabling food and beverage companies to innovate competitive products in compliance with relevant food laws.

With expertise in the Global Data Synchronization Network (GDSN), the company offers customizable online catalogs, including Suppliers and Buyers Guides. These products are dedicated to assisting manufacturers, distributors and buyers manage their well-defined product information at the touch of a button.

We offer industry-leading products and our new subsidiary in Singapore allows us to further enhance our personalised services for existing and potential customers in this market, concluded Severin Weiss.
Stand out ingredients in the heart health market are phytosterols, coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) and garlic; omega-3 are still strong, but sales are declining. However, the big ingredient innovation in heart health ingredients is probiotics, according to Monica Feldman, group director of client services, Nicholas Hall Group of Companies.

In this podcast, Feldman and Sandy Almendarez, editor in chief, INSIDER, discuss the global and U.S. market for heart health supplements, including

Specific market data numbers for CoQ10, fish oils, phytosterols and garlic

The bestselling delivery forms for heart health supplements, and the innovations expected in delivery

The future of heart health supplements, which will target women and feature probiotics

Feldman is speaking at the SupplySide West Workshop, Nutrition for Heart Health on Friday, September 29 at 8:30-11:30 a.m. in Las Vegas. This session is underwritten by Nicolas Hall and Companies, Japan Bio Sciences Lab and Natec. Visit supplysideshow.com for more information and to get registered for the show.
As antibiotic resistance rises and fears over superbugs grow, scientists are looking for new treatment options. One area of focus is antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), which could someday be an alternative to currently prescribed antibiotics, many of which are becoming increasingly useless against some bacteria. Now, a team reports in ACS Chemical Biology that they have improved the antimicrobial -- and anticancer -- properties of an AMP from a spider.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2 million people become infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the U.S. each year. Because no known antibiotics work against these bacteria, patients simply have to hope that their natural defenses eventually overcome the infection. But some patients experience severe symptoms, landing them in a hospital, and in extreme cases, they could die. Researchers are trying to find alternatives to traditional antibiotics, and one such possibility is a group of peptides called AMPs. These peptides are found in all plants and animals as a type of immune response and have been shown to be potent antibiotics in the laboratory. Gomesin, an AMP from the Brazilian spider Acanthoscurria gomesiana can function as an antibiotic, but it also has anticancer activity. When gomesin was synthesized as a circle instead of as a linear structure, these characteristics were enhanced. Sonia Troeira Henriques and colleagues wanted to further boost the peptide's traits.

The team made several variations of the cyclic gomesin peptide and found that some of these were 10 times better at killing most bacteria than the previously reported cyclic form. In other experiments, the new AMPs specifically killed melanoma and leukemia cells, but not breast, gastric, cervical or epithelial cancer cells. The researchers determined that the modified peptides killed bacteria and cancer cells in a similar way -- by disrupting the cells' membranes. The group also notes that the modified AMPs were non-toxic to healthy blood cells.
According to latest research, scientists at the Ottawa University, Canada have come up with a pill that can mimic the effects of regular exercise. This could be significantly beneficial to heart failure patients. The study was published in the journal Nature.

Patients of heart failure usually have a failing pump where the heart fails to pump adequate blood to meet the needs of the body for oxygenated blood, leading to symptoms such as fatigue and severe breathlessness. The heart muscles become stiff and thickened in the condition known as cardiomyopathy.

For this study the researchers used a protein called cardiotrophin 1 and attempted to see if it could help stimulate the growth of new muscle cells in the heart. The protein was found to promote heart cell growth in the experimental laboratory rodents in a similar way that exercise increases heart strength.

The protein human cardiotrophin 1 (hCT1) was given to the mice with heart failure for a 14 day period. Heart muscle can grow in either a healthy or bad way. The bad way is when it stiffens in cardiomyopathy. Healthy growth is usually caused by regular exercise and is reversible  meaning it can stop when exercise is stopped. The researchers assessed the mice and rats after two weeks of treatment using echocardiograms of the heart. Echocardiograms carried out six weeks later to see if the effects were reversible after stopping the protein. They also tested phenylephrine  a decongestant on the heart.

Results showed that both phenylephrine and hCT1 stimulated heart muscle growth. But hCT1 was more controlled and produced structural changes to the heart similar to those induced by exercise. Phenylephrine treatment however, caused the heart muscle cells to grow wider but did not provide any beneficial effects. After hCT1 treatment was stopped, the heart muscle growth reversed after six weeks. This is just what happens after exercise is stopped. But the phenylephrine-induced growth which was unhealthy, remained after the drug was stopped. This means the risk of heart failure remained. Further the hCT1 protein significantly reduced the unhealthy growth that occurs in heart failure.

Researchers have explained that this exciting new find is still in its nascent stages and more studies especially on humans are needed before this can be available for use. They concluded that the protein cardiotrophin 1 can produce healthy and beneficial remodeling of the heart. First clinical trials on humans can be expected in three to four years time. The study was carried out by researchers from Ottawa Hospital and the University of Ottawa in Canada, and Fate Therapeutics Inc. in San Diego, US and funded by grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Ontario Research Fund, the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada and Fate Therapeutics.

Heart failure

Heart failure is a syndrome that causes a reduction in the heart's ability to pump blood. Heart failure may occur due to failure of the left ventricle muscle to pump blood around the body. This is called left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) or left ventricular failure (LVF). Backward failure or right ventricle failure leads to an excess accumulation of fluid in the body and edema, called anasarca. This usually causes the feet and legs to swell up. The liver may also become enlarged. Biventricular failure refers to when both the left and right ventricles fail to work as usual.

Symptoms of heart failure vary according to the type and severity of the heart failure but, commonly, symptoms include breathlessness and coughing, extreme weakness and fatigue and swelling in various parts of the body. Diagnosis is made using several tests and imaging studies including echocardiography.

In many people, heart failure is a lifelong condition that cannot be cured. Treatment aims at maximizing heart function and improving quality of life.

References
Parents can make sure their children get the new school year off to a healthy start by getting checkups for them during the summer break.

"Well visits are important because they give us a chance to evaluate a child's general health, growth and development," said Ali Naqvi, M.D., a pediatrician with the UT Physicians Community Health & Wellness Center - Jensen. "We also test their vision and hearing."

Here are seven tips for a healthy head start from the medical experts at UT Physicians, the clinical practice of McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).

1) Ease into a school sleep schedule  A few weeks before school starts, get children up in the morning and to bed at night a little earlier. Aim for 15-minute increments each day. Keep the same sleep schedule on the weekends, too. The keys to a good night's sleep include making sure children eat properly and get plenty of exercise. Electronics in the bedroom and caffeine after lunch are big no-nos. Research shows that children who get a good night's sleep also get better grades.

2) Choose the right backpack  According to the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission, in 2013, in excess of 5,400 backpack-related injuries were treated in emergency rooms across the U.S. Those injuries can be reduced by buying age-appropriate backpacks and making sure children do not overload them. When lifting a backpack, it is important to bend at the knees. Improper use and lifting techniques can lead to severe back, neck, and shoulder pain, and in some cases posture problems.

3) Check those vaccination records  Immunizations can reduce a child's risk of measles, whooping cough, tetanus, diphtheria and other disease Tragically, outbreaks of preventable diseases still occur in the U.S. from time to time. Outbreaks are generally linked to areas with low inoculation rates and they put babies too young for vaccinations or children who have low immune systems at risk. There are different immunizations for different age groups. If you miss a vaccination, pediatricians have catch-up immunization schedules.

4) Screen children for vision problems  A study shows that more than a third of U.S. children ages 12 to 17 are nearsighted. The warning signs include sitting too close to the television, recurring headaches while reading and squinting while looking in the distance. The good news is that health professionals often can correct these vision problems by prescribing eyeglasses and contact lenses. Good vision is critical to academic success.

5) Do not wait until a child is sick to see a doctor  Well-child visits are a great way to build a rapport with a physician and to monitor a child's health. Doctors can help if a child is struggling with his or her weight, has high blood pressure or even heart issues. They can also check for lice, food allergies, pinkeye and other medical issues.

6) Protect the pearly whites of student athletes  It is hard to hide a missing tooth. Mouthguards can soften a blow to the face and thereby reduce the risk of broken teeth. Dentists can customize mouthguards for children. While there, make sure children are cavity-free.

7) Watch out for the signs of hearing loss  If a child is turning the volume on a television unusually high, asking people to repeat questions or having difficulty concentrating, he or she may have a hearing problem. Hearing loss can be caused by infection, trauma or exposure to loud noise. It is important to have a child's hearing checked on a regular basis.

By following these tips, parents can position their children for a successful school year.
One in twelve physicians - and nearly one in five family medicine physicians - accepted payments from pharmaceutical companies related to opioids, according to a new study out of Boston Medical Center's Grayken Center for Addiction Medicine. This is the first large-scale, national study of industry payments involving opioids and suggests that pharmaceutical companies may have a stronger hold than previously known on how doctors prescribe the powerful drugs. The study results are published online ahead of print in the American Journal of Public Health.

Using Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services data, researchers identified 375,255 non-research, opioid-related payments to 68,177 physicians between August 2013 and December 2015 totaling over $46 million. Payments are defined as "transfers of value"--which could be direct money to physicians, a reimbursement for travel, speaking or consulting fees, education or meals. The average payment to physicians was $15, with most receiving one payment per year. However, the top one percent of doctors collectively received more than $38 million (82 percent of the total) and averaged more than $2,600 in yearly payments during the study period.

The Physician Payment Sunshine Act, passed under the Affordable Care Act in 2010, requires drug companies to report all payments to physicians in the United States. Previous research suggests that payments from drug companies may lead to increased prescribing by doctors for marketed medications, even when payments are of low monetary value such as for meals.

"Even though most payments were small, they add up to a shocking number and may have a wide-reaching influence on physician behaviors. We need to take a hard look at how the pharmaceutical industry may be influencing care and prescribing at the ground level," said Scott Hadland, MD, MPH, pediatrician and adolescent addiction specialist who led the study.

Speaking fees accounted for the largest amount of payments and food/beverage payments were the most frequent. Anesthesiologists received the most in total annual payments, but the largest number of payments went to family medicine physicians.

"There's no denying that we have a widespread and systematic problem," said Michael Botticelli, executive director of the Grayken Center for Addiction Medicine and former director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy under President Obama. "Pharmaceutical companies should take responsibility for how these payments are contributing to the growing epidemic. Physicians also have a role to play by prescribing judiciously and advancing safe opioid prescribing education on the front lines."

Study authors note that payments related to marketing opioids may run counter to national efforts to reduce excess opioid prescribing. They suggest policymakers consider whether caps should be imposed on certain payments as one possible solution and encourage future research to examine whether payments are related to opioid misuse and overdose.

"The opioid epidemic, which is responsible for thousands of deaths every year, is a national tragedy that we must work at every level to combat. It's our hope that this study sparks a bigger conversation about the role of pharmaceutical companies in the over-prescribing of opioid medications, and prompts a more thorough investigation about what we need to do to tackle this problem," said Brandon Marshall, PhD, associate professor of epidemiology at the Brown University School of Public Health, who served as the study's senior author.

Source: https://www.bmc.org/
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
Nextbigfuture wrote about the designs for an improved nuclear thermal rocket by John Bucknell. John has worked as a senior engineer on the Spacex Raptor rocket. John provides high quality qualified work to his rocket designs and to his proposed space habitat.

Nextbigfuture comments had some technical observations about Project Timberwind and a comment from John himself that his design improves on flaws in the last major nuclear thermal rocket experiments. There were also comments and discussion about Star Trek and communism and ONeill space stations.

Reddit futurology had two comments. One positive comment by the submitter and a negative comment complaining that the factual title was hype.Instapundit has mainly positive commentary with acknowledgement that nuclear thermal rockets that accepts the technically feasible and proven nature of the technology. There were technical comments about the Von Braun wheel and the radius and rotation rates for the simulated gravity.

The Instapundit audience bemoans the wasted government spending and the comments related to this article also complained about NASA as a jobs program and not trying to achieve real space development.

The top article on Reddit Futurology on the same day with over 14000 upvotes and nearly 3000 comments was about a United Nations group discussing universal basic income.

This youtube video deeply researched and analyzed 2001 a Space Odyssey. Fred Ordway explained how Kubrick and Clarke expected continued development of the Nerva nuclear thermal rocket to achieve a manned Mars mission by 1985-1987. They then expect more advanced nuclear thermal, nuclear gaseous core or a nuclear Orion to be used for the Jupiter mission in 2001. Kubrick had NASA advisors for the technical aspects of the film.

Filming began on 2001 in 1965 and the film was released in 1968. An child of 13 at the start of filming 2001 would be retiring at age 65 today.

We have known what the technology would be that could enable exploration and colonization of the solar system for 60 years and it would only take about 5 years of a focused program to bring it about at any point in the last 50 years. During that time the NASA budget has been nearly $20 billion per year in inflation adjusted dollars and the US Military and soy agency space budgets have been nearly and inflation adjusted $40 billion per year. $3.6 trillion inflation adjusted dollars have been spent on space.

Until Spacex and other than Apollo we have become accepting and expecting very little to be accomplished in space. Even with Spacex showing that ten times more can be accomplished from the few percent of budgets actually spent on rocket development and space missions, there is still the sense that little can and should be done in space.

It is as if Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile of Spain and their descendants accepted 60-80 years of annual ship voyages around the Mediterranean instead of a vigorous colonization and development of North America despite funding at a level that could easily colonize the Americas.

Many people today hope for new undeveloped technology breakthroughs to superconductors, fusion and metallic hydrogen to some how make things so easy that the bureaucracy and waste would not piss it away and still accomplish nothing.
Tesla is developing a long-haul, electric semi-truck that can drive itself and move in platoons that automatically follow a lead vehicle, and is getting closer to testing a prototype, according to an email discussion of potential road tests between the car company and the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), seen by Reuters.

California officials are meeting with Tesla on Wednesday to talk about Teslas efforts with autonomous trucks, state DMV spokeswoman Jessica Gonzalez said.

The correspondence and meeting show that Tesla is putting self-driving technology into the electric truck it has said it plans to unveil in September, and is advancing toward real-life tests, potentially moving it forward in a highly competitive area of commercial transport also being pursued by Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] and Alphabet Incs Waymo.

Musk tweeted in April that the semi-truck would be revealed in September, and repeated that commitment at the companys annual shareholder meeting in June, but he has never mentioned any autonomous-driving capabilities.

To insure we are on the same page, our primary goal is the ability to operate our prototype test trucks in a continuous manner across the state line and within the States of Nevada and California in a platooning and/or Autonomous mode without having a person in the vehicle, Tesla regulatory official Nasser Zamani wrote to Nevada DMV official April Sanborn. He made no reference to any dates for potential road tests.

No companies yet have tested self-driving trucks in Nevada without a person in the cab. On July 10, Zamani inquired further to the Nevada DMV about terms for a testing license
You are clearly a super-user of NUVO.net. Thats a good thing. It means you depend on independent and local news sources to keep you informed. You are a smart person.



Coincidentally, independent and local news sources depend on you too. Youve read 25 articles this month and now, wed like you to be join our mission and become a NUVO Supporter. For as little as $4 a month, you can keep us alive and fighting -- and can have unlimited access to the independent news that cant be found anywhere else.
Mr. Trumps remark was the starkest example of a recent pattern in Washington, Mr. White said.

Too often, he said, the United States has declared it would use force to stop something from happening  such as Chinas expansion in the South China Sea, and during President Barack Obamas administration, Syrias use of chemical weapons  and has failed to do so. Trumps antics amplify that message tenfold, Mr. White said.

The official Chinese reaction to Mr. Trumps comments was mild. The Foreign Ministry reiterated standard points about the North Korea dispute: that it should be resolved with diplomacy and that all parties should avoid escalating the situation.

In part, the modesty of that response was due to the fact that Chinese leaders are currently more focused on domestic politics than foreign policy, analysts said.

President Xi Jinping and other senior officials are attending an annual retreat at Beidaihe, a beach resort east of Beijing, where the political machinations are more intense this year than usual. Mr. Xi is assumed to be finalizing the new lineup of Chinas top leaders for the next five years, expected to be announced at a national congress that could be convened as soon as next month.

There may also be a scheduling reason for the mildness of Chinas response. Mr. Trumps daughter Ivanka and her husband, the White House adviser Jared Kushner, are scheduled to visit China next month with their children. Mr. Kushner is a primary White House contact for China, and Beijing is putting considerable effort into ensuring that the visit goes smoothly. The visit is also seen as a planning operation for Mr. Trumps own trip to China in November.

Images of Mr. Kushner, his wife and their children at a family dinner with Mr. Xi at his Beijing estate, Zhongnanhai, would fit well into Mr. Xis playbook of appearing to have the world in its proper orbit, around him, said Douglas Paal, vice president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Mayor Bill de Blasio is proposing to tax the wealthiest New New Yorkers to help generate revenue for the citys ailing and overcrowded transit system.

City officials said this could raise $700 million a year for subways and other transit plans by increasing the marginal tax rate on couples making more than $1 million or individuals making $500,000 and up. While many frustrated commuters would surely welcome the proposal, the city cannot raise its income tax without the Legislatures approval, and the Republican leader of the State Senate has denounced the idea.

The millionaires tax is ultimately just one idea among several that state leaders should consider. All of them are politically risky, to be sure. But lawmakers must decide on a plan if they are going to fix the transit system and solve the citys growing traffic problems.

Toll the bridges, but do it methodically

Bridges and tunnels are major contributors to traffic congestion in the city, as cars and trucks avoid tolled bridges in favor of free alternatives along the East River. One solution: toll all the bridges and tunnels.

A plan by Move NY, which supports greater investment in transit, demonstrates how tolls (shown in red below) could reduce traffic and generate revenue from the people who are causing the congestion.

$1.64 Henry Hudson THE BRONX $3.26 Hudson River MANHATTAN $3.26 Whitestone Throgs Neck Triborough Queensboro $5.76 QUEENS Williamsburg Manhattan Brooklyn Upper Bay $3.00 BROOKLYN Verrazano Narrows $1.16 STATEN ISLAND Cross Bay Gil Hodges Lower Bay 2 MILES Note: Tolls include E-ZPass discount $1.64 Henry Hudson THE BRONX $3.26 Hudson River MANHATTAN Whitestone $3.26 Throgs Neck Triborough Queensboro $5.76 QUEENS Williamsburg Manhattan Brooklyn Upper Bay $3.00 BROOKLYN Verrazano Narrows STATEN ISLAND $1.16 Cross Bay Gil Hodges Lower Bay 2 MILES Note: Tolls include E-ZPass discount $1.64 Henry Hudson THE BRONX $3.26 Hudson River MANHATTAN $3.26 Whitestone Throgs Neck Triborough Queensboro $5.76 QUEENS Williamsburg Manhattan Brooklyn Upper Bay $3.00 BROOKLYN Verrazano Narrows $1.16 Cross Bay Gll Hodges Lower Bay 2 MILES Note: Tolls include E-ZPass discount

They proposed adding tolls to some of the most convenient routes that are now free: the ones leading into and out of Lower Manhattan. These include the Queensboro Bridge, Williamsburg Bridge, Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan Bridge. Crossings like the George Washington Bridge, the R.F.K. Bridge and the Lincoln, Queens Midtown and Holland tunnels are already tolled.

They also proposed reducing tolls along bridges that serve neighborhoods that have few mass-transit options, like the Bronx Whitestone Bridge, the Verrazano Bridge and the Throgs Neck Bridge.

Bridge Current toll Proposed Toll Difference Brooklyn Bridge $0.00 $5.76 +$5.76 Manhattan Bridge $0.00 $5.76 +$5.76 Queensboro Bridge $0.00 $5.76 +$5.76 Williamsburg Bridge $0.00 $5.76 +$5.76 Throgs Neck Bridge $5.76 $3.26 -$2.50 Whitestone Bridge $5.76 $3.26 -$2.50 Triborough Bridge $5.76 $3.26 -$2.50 Verrazano Narrows Bridge $5.50 $3.00 -$2.50 Henry Hudson Bridge $2.64 $1.64 -$1.00 Cross Bay Bridge $2.16 $1.16 -$1.00 Gil Hodges Bridge $2.16 $1.16 -$1.00 Note: Tolls include E-ZPass discount. Verrazano bridge toll reflects amount for Staten Island residents.

Like the millionaires tax, this plan also requires the Legislatures approval. Versions of the Move NY plan have been introduced in the Assembly and in the Senate, where it is backed by at least one Republican senator and a member of the breakaway Democrats that have handed control of the Senate to the Republicans. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has not publicly backed the plan, but The Times recently reported that he is considering some version of congestion pricing.

Charge drivers to enter the busiest parts of Manhattan

Hudson River New Jersey MANHATTAN 60th St. QUEENS $5.76 BROOKLYN Upper Bay 1 MILE MANHATTAN Hudson River New Jersey 60th St. QUEENS $5.76 BROOKLYN Upper Bay 1 MILE

Manhattans worst traffic congestion is found on the lower half of the island  anywhere south of 60th Street in what officials call the Central Business District. Under the Move NY proposal, cars traveling into this area would have to pay a fee.

The argument in favor of the plan is simple: Almost everyone pays to enter central Manhattan  through a MetroCard or bus or train ticket, taxi fare or, for people coming from New Jersey, a bridge or tunnel toll  so why should cars and trucks coming from Upper Manhattan be treated differently? This fee would be the same as the toll on the East River bridges.

A few other big cities like London and Singapore already have such fees in place. London instituted a congestion charge in 2003, which has risen to 11.50 per day ($15) for anyone driving into the city center on weekdays between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m.

STRATFORD LONDON WHITECHAPEL $15 WESTMINSTER ISLE OF DOGS PECKHAM 1 MILE LONDON $15 1 MILE

Instead of toll booths, riders driving southbound past 60th Street could pay using an E-ZPass. For cars and trucks without an E-ZPass, cameras could photograph license plates and send bills in the mail. The M.T.A. recently installed a version of this technology on the R.F.K. Bridge, the Queens Midtown Tunnel and several other crossings. The city could also explore having riders buy passes in advance and fining drivers without passes, as they do in London.

Surcharge on taxis and ride-shares

110th St. Hudson River New Jersey MANHATTAN 96th St. Taxi Surcharge Zone QUEENS BROOKLYN Upper Bay 1 MILE 110th St. New Jersey Hudson River MANHATTAN 96th St. Taxi Surcharge Zone QUEENS Upper Bay BROOKLYN 1 MILE

Another option is to add fees on taxi and ride-share trips below a certain point in Manhattan during the busiest times of the day. Mr. Cuomos office is reportedly considering this idea, according to Times reports. Taxis and and ride-shares would be exempt from the Central Business District fee (and the bridge and tunnel tolls) and would bring in revenue from people using congested streets to help pay for better forms of transportation.

The Move NY plan includes these surcharges  an additional $0.60 per mile and $0.20 per minute in the taxi surcharge zone, with lower rates on weekends  and its proponents estimate the groups version of the fees would raise $270 million a year.

These plans could generate $1.5 billion

New sources of revenue are needed to solve the M.T.A.s crisis. Ambitious proposals like the one from Move NY have been around for years, but state lawmakers have been reluctant to pass them fearing political blowback from drivers, rich taxpayers and others. Some officials are also ideologically opposed to any taxes or fees, arguing that the cost of living in New York is already too high. But these arguments ignore the fact that congestion and a dysfunctional transit system impose a substantial and growing cost on residents and on the economy.

Move NY says its plan would generate $1.5 billion a year  or twice as much as what Mr. de Blasio hopes to raise from the millionaires tax.
New Jersey State Senator Seeks to Expand Online Gambling Operations

Published August 10, 2017 by Elana K

State Senator Ray Lesniak dreams of turning New Jersey into an international gambling mecca. And his new bill seeks to do just that.

New Jersey State Senator Ray Lesniak announced last week that he is planning to introduce a bill that would open up the states online casino and poker sites to a national and international audience.

Lesniaks Grand Vision

Lesniak has big dreams for New Jersey, and envisions turning the state into an international gambling mecca. He said:

Ive changed my mission from making New Jersey the Silicon Valley of Internet gaming to the mecca of Internet gaming. Online gaming has helped Atlantic City to revive its casino sector with a success that we can expand in ways that will generate more revenue, create jobs and fuel technological innovation in gaming.

Appealing to International iGaming Regulators

According to New Jersey law, iGaming servers must be located in Atlantic City. The director of the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, David Rebuck, admitted that when the state had tried to negotiate online poker liquidity with UK regulators last year, talks had broken down because the regulators didnt want to relocate their servers to Atlantic City. Lesniak's bill directly addresses this issue and allows for servers to be located outside of Atlantic City.

Online Poker Needs Some Help

In addition to Lesniaks grand vision, there is a more practical push behind his new bill - online poker is Aan all-time low (even though New Jersey online gambling as a whole has had a great year). Opening up New Jerseys player pool to Nevada and other countries that regulate online gambling could lead to a boost in revenue and an entire expansion of online poker operations.

And of course, if any other US states take the plunge and legalize online gambling and poker, New Jersey would open up its doors to them as well.A

For now, however, there is a long way to go from the introduction of a bill to it actually being passed into law.


(Image by Author) Details DMCA



Remember fundamentalist Erik Prince, billionaire founder of the "Christian supremacist neo-Crusader militia" called Blackwater? The George W. Bush administration employed this private army after 9/11 to help carry out its "global war on terror." Known for operating secretly outside the Uniform Code of Military Justice, Blackwater's tenure in the Middle East was one of indiscriminate civilian murder. Firing weapons into crowed boulevards from moving vehicles was their modus operandi. Death from above was also on their macabre menu of atrocities. In 2007, Blackwater mercenaries massacred 14 Iraqis and maimed 20 others in Baghdad with the help of one of their private fleet of helicopters. A congressional report detailing Blackwater's operations found that its soldiers fired their weapons first over 80% of the time. Bad press forced Prince to change the name of Blackwater to Xe in 2009, and he sold the "army for hire" in 2010.

In an effort to escape legal scrutiny (two former Blackwater employees filed sworn statements in federal court implicating Prince in the murder of multiple Blackwater employees), yet still continue in the mercenary business, Prince traveled to the United Arab Emirates to help build an "800-member battalion of foreign troops" for the oil-rich dictatorship. On setting-up shop in the U.A.E., Prince stated that "left-wing activists, Democratic politicians, and lawsuits had destroyed" Blackwater in the U.S., and working out of the U.A.E. makes it "harder for the jackals to get my money."

From his new base of operations in Dubai, Prince helped build a mercenary army in Somalia and attempted to set up a mercenary force in Libya. In 2014, he partnered with the Chinese to form Frontier Services Group, a Hong Kong-based company that provides "integrated security, logistics and insurance services for clients operating in frontier markets." While serving as FSB's CEO, Prince continued to peddle mercenary ventures around the globe, and in 2016 he came under investigation by the U.S. Justice Department for money laundering to finance them. A close associate of Prince describes him as FSB's "rogue CEO" who still "wants to be a real no-sh*t mercenary," and James Poulos, columnist at the Daily Beast, published an article in Forbes magazine describing Prince's FSB adventures as a "U.S.-created monster."

Prince, a close associate of both Vice President Mike Pence and Trump confidant Steve Bannon, served as an adviser on "defense and intelligence matters" to team Trump during the campaign, and was with the President and his family in Trump Tower on election night. His sister, Betsy DeVos, is Trump's Secretary of Education. On May 31, Prince published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal calling on President Trump to privatize military operations in Afghanistan and "consolidate authority" in the country "with one person: an American viceroy who would lead all U.S. government and coalition efforts--including command, budget, policy, promotion and contracting--and report directly to the president." Prince has likened the current U.S. effort in Afghanistan to "trying to mow the lawn with a Porsche--it's way too expensive." Not only would mercenaries be cheaper, it's argued, but they would lead to less media scrutiny as no more U.S. soldiers would be returning home in body bags; the dead would merely be "company employees."

Steve Bannon reported that Trump liked Prince's article. He and Jared Kushner went on to recruit Prince to help devise an "out of the box" strategy to "corporatize" America's longest running war and turn it into a private, for profit, venture. While Bannon met with Secretary of Defense General Mattis to sell the plan, Prince personally briefed National Security advisor General McMaster. So far, both men have voiced skepticism, but one would be foolish to second-guess the mind of the man that the generals answer to.
Did you ever wonder why new medications so often debut right after awareness of the condition they treat increases? It is no coincidence. The tactic is called unbranded advertising and "disease awareness" and drug companies spend more on it than they do for regular advertising.

Unbranded disease advertising usually suggests many more people suffer from a condition than anyone thought (it may even be a "silent epidemic"), lists symptoms, offers "quizzes" and tries to scare people into "seeing your doctor." The diseases are not "made up" but usually exist in much smaller numbers than Pharma marketing suggests. What disease awareness advertising does not do is tell you the drug that is being marketed for the condition or the company behind the "education." (Which is why it is called "unbranded.")



Without TV we wouldn't know we were sick

(Image by Martha Rosenberg) Details DMCA



Pharma companies love disease awareness advertising because, unlike direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising, risks and warnings of possible drug treatments do not have to be listed. In DTC ads, risks and warnings are often as long as the sales pitch itself (and sometimes perversely "unsell" the drug even as the viewer is looking at sunsets and puppies). But not everyone agrees with the omission. In 2013, Aaron Kesselheim, MD, a Harvard professor, told a New York Times reporter that an ADHD disease awareness video that supports the safety of stimulant drugs while leaving out their risks is misleading and irresponsible.

Still, disease awareness does much of the heavy lifting in today's Pharma marketing environment. "Disease awareness offers two primary benefit pathways for the brand that successfully engages it," says a drug marketing article. It "can provide a lead generation source for later branded outreach" and it "offers an opportunity to inspire patients to some beneficial action or actions." Cynics make ask benefit for whom?

Another drug marketing site agrees. "Disease awareness campaigns have long been fundamental to pharmaceutical and biotechnology marketing and medical teams' respective communication plans," it says. Disease awareness is a "tool to ensure that the right patients are prescribed the right treatments" and is "particularly important for diseases in which symptoms are nonspecific, incidence is infrequent, or treatments are not curative. For these diseases, physicians and midlevel practitioners are less likely to be familiar with clinical developments or advances in the understanding of diagnostic factors and disease progression."

Analyzing how successful such disease awareness campaigns are, the Guardian also weighed in. "Typically, a corporate-sponsored 'disease awareness' campaign focuses on a mild psychiatric condition with a large pool of potential sufferers. Companies fund studies that prove the drug's efficacy in treating the affliction, a necessary step in obtaining FDA approval for a new use, or 'indication.' Prominent doctors are enlisted to publicly affirm the malady's ubiquity, then public-relations firms launch campaigns to promote the new disease, using dramatic statistics from corporate- sponsored studies," it writes.

"Finally, patient groups are recruited to serve as the 'public face' for the condition, supplying quotes and compelling stories for the media; many of the groups are heavily subsidised [sic] by drugmakers, and some operate directly out of the offices of drug companies' PR firms."

ARE YOU "ALLERGIC" TO PEOPLE? AND OTHER CAMPAIGNS

Are you "allergic" to people? Do you "blush, sweat, shake-even find it hard to breathe," when trying to socialize? If so, you may have "social anxiety disorder" said one of the first "disease awareness" campaigns that proved very successful. Concocted by the slick PR firm Cohn & Wolfe in 1999 to sell the soon-to-be marketed SSRI antidepressant Paxil, news outlets operated as Pharma stenographers reporting that as many as 10 million adults suffered from the "social anxiety" epidemic. Who knew?

After "social anxiety," disease awareness (which coincided with the legalization of DTC advertising in the late 1990s) marketing boomed. Soon people began treating their "seasonal allergies," dry eyes, Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), Restless Legs syndrome, high cholesterol of course, depression like never before. The diseases often had nonspecific symptoms and vague diagnostic criteria in keeping with disease awareness marketing.

Do you remember hearing about the many women suffering from Female "Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder" (HSDD) a few years ago? The disease awareness was sponsored by drug giant Boehringer Ingelheim to help sell its Addyi (flibanserin) which was moving toward FDA approval. The drug was later a cquired by Sprout. The marketing included TV personality Lisa Rinna in an aggressive campaign called "Sex Brain Body: Make the Connection."

Boehringer Ingelheim also wined and dined potential medical supporters remembers London sex researcher Pe tra Boynton. "I've had two invitations to attend two two-day long 'training days' at top London hotels (with an honorarium of 1000 per session)," she wrote on a blog. "My understanding of the aim of these events were to highlight FSD (or more specifically Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder) as a problem and inform practitioners about treatment approaches."

Though she declined attendance, Boehringer Ingelheim also asked Boynton to write a paper for the British Journal of Sexual Medicine. "They had clear instructions about what they wanted me to say and how this would set the scene that HSDD was a prevalent and distressing problem," she remembers.

Men are not exempt from disease awareness marketing. Low testosterone or "Low T" has been aggressively marketed by Big Pharma, though it occurs rarely according to experts. "True instances of testosterone deficiency such as hypogonadism are rare--less than one half of one percent of men have this problem," Boston University School of Medicine longevity expert Thomas Perls, MD told me in an interview. "Since massive marketing campaigns emerged in the late 1980s claiming that common symptoms like lack of energy, poor sleep, poor libido could be treated with testosterone, the number of men labeled with this disease sky-rocketed. The new syndrome of aging-related low testosterone was facilitated by doctors' organizations that allowed new and much less rigorous and specific definitions of hypogonadism. Some of these consensus panels were sponsored by pharmaceutical companies making and marketing testosterone."

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Part 2

The price Hezbollah will pay during Israel's coming 6thwar on Lebanon will likely be less militarily consequential long term, than the near certain acceleration of the Party of God's loss of its "Resistance" brand. The latter already being eschewed by much of its Shia base for economic, social and political reasons.



Hizballah 'martrys'

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Franklin Lamb

Oxford University

[You may wish to read Part 1: Israel's Coming 6th War on Lebonon.]

Hezbollah will quite likely survive Israel's coming 6th War on Lebanon militarily, even though Israel will destroy much of South Lebanon, South Beirut, and the Bekaa valley while simultaneously carpet bombing dozens of other areas on both sides of the Syria-Lebanon border from Al Quneitra in South Syria near the Golan Height to Tartus in far North Syria.

These being areas where Israel claims to know the location of Hezbollah's rumored 150,000 missiles and other weapons. Hezbollah would presumably be rearmed by Iran unless Israel, the US and the Saudi block also decides to attack the Islamic Republics IRGC and more than a dozen Shia militia (basij) that Tehran has brought into Syria from seven countries and which the "Party of God" helps train, arm, command and increasingly fights alongside.

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From Alon Ben-Meir Website



Recep Tayyip Erdogan

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The below article is a response to a public letter written by Ibrahim Kurtulus, criticizing my previous article about the plight of the Kurds in Turkey. Kurtulus is a member of the Federation of Turkish American Associations, Inc. You can find a link to his letter in full here.

Given the plight of the Kurds in Turkey and the need to find a solution to the 40-year-old violent conflict between the PKK and successive Turkish governments, I thought it was critically important to respond to Mr. Kurtulus' criticism of my previous article and bring to light the terrible mistreatment of the Kurds under Erdogan's reign of terror. Kurtulus resorts to sweeping absurdities and dishonesty to rebut my position, but to no avail. His blind biases and hypocrisy shine throughout his counter-arguments, which are on display for all to see. Meanwhile, the Kurds continue to suffer, and it is they who are paying the price.

To put things in perspective, it is important to identify who Mr. Kurtulus is and highlight his suspect behavior, which raises serious questions about his credibility and integrity.

This is a man who openly colluded with Michael Flynn, the disgraced former National Security Adviser for President Donald Trump. Flynn, a paid lackey of the Turkish government, "omitted Kurtulus... in [a] section of the form requiring more specific disclosures for income sources in the last year," according to the Washington Post. Kurtulus' funding of Flynn as a quasi-spokesman on behalf of Turkish interests makes him complicit in the actions of a man who exhibited deceitful behavior while in high office.

Kurtulus qualifies himself as "having nothing to do with the Turkish government," but a cursory glance at his public record reveals his connections to Erdogan loyalists and even members of Erdogan's own family. There are numerous instances of Kurtulus appearing at public functions alongside Hilal Mutlu, an activist and cousin of the Turkish president, and Kurtulus leveraged his relationships with Mutlu to convince General Flynn that Fethullah Gulen was the primary plotter of the failed July 15, 2016 coup.

His first claim that I am either a "friend of the Kurds, or a hater of the Turks, or both" is irrational. In which way does my sympathy for the Kurdish cause mean that I am a hater of the Turkish people? Similarly, my respect for the Turkish people does not translate to hatred of the Kurds. In my article, I equally blame both the PKK and Erdogan for the ongoing cycle of violence that is devastating southeastern Turkey, and killing scores of innocent Kurds and Turks alike -- hardly an endorsement of one side versus the other.

Acknowledging the reality of the deadly cycle of violence does not make me a propagandist on behalf of the Kurds, as Kurtulus claims. No one in today's Turkey can voice any dissent against Erdogan and do so with impunity. But no one is deserving of more piercing criticism than Erdogan for inflicting so much pain and agony on millions of innocent Turkish citizens, while assuming dictatorial powers and dismantling the foundation of Turkey's democracy.

The Turkey-PKK conflict has been long and bloody, and one cannot attribute the killing solely to the PKK, as many thousands have been killed on both sides. The focus needs to be on preventing further bloodshed, and this can only be achieved if both commit to the resumption of well-intentioned peace negotiations. The PKK is indeed recognized as a terror group by many countries, but how does Kurtulus reconcile that with the fact that Erdogan himself negotiated with this "terror group"?

Abdullah calan, the jailed leader of the Kurds, has indicated time and again that he is ready and willing to resume negotiations, and it is Erdogan who is refusing to restart the peace talks which he abruptly ended in 2015. In fact, his own Prime Minister at the time, Ahmet Davutoglu, beseeched him not to do so for the sake of the country and its future stability. When will Erdogan and people like Kurtulus understand that the Kurdish problem in Turkey cannot be simply wished away? Erdogan will fail, like his predecessors, to fight the PKK "until the very last rebel is killed."

The Turkish Kurds have every right to live their lives as they see fit and still be loyal citizens of their country. What gives Kurtulus or Erdogan the right to dictate the way the Kurds should live, and deprive them of their cultural heritage? In which way would that infringe on Turkey, especially when hypocrites like Kurtulus claim that Turkey is a democracy?

Let me be abundantly clear, and I quote directly from my article: "I do not support, and I condemn any individual or group who uses brutal force for political or social gains regardless of its source, motivation, ideology, or belief." Thus, I am not turning calan into "some sort of a hero," as Kurtulus suggests. Nevertheless, calan remains the leader of the Kurdish cause in Turkey and is the best conduit for achieving a peaceful settlement, especially given his past and present willingness to engage in serious negotiations to end this endemic conflict.

To be sure, the designation of the PKK as a terror group is arbitrary -- Mandela's ANC was listed as a terrorist group until 2008, and Mandela himself languished in jail for 26 years. Who today views Mandela as a terrorist? Again, I refer to my above comments regarding the very notion of what a terror group is in this context -- Erdogan's engagement with the PKK would make him a terrorist sympathizer, according to Kurtulus' "logic."

Kurtulus says that my comments on the discrimination faced by the Kurds leave me a "step away from claiming the Kurds are wearing yellow stars" [emphasis added]. I condemn in the strongest terms Kurtulus' knee-jerk evocation of Nazi-era practices, which demonstrates how ignorant and blind he is to historic events, especially of that era.

There is a long history of discrimination against Kurds in Turkey that persists today and would simply take too long to enumerate here. The Kurdish language was suppressed for decades, Kurdish-run schools were not allowed to operate, there was forced relocation -- Kurtulus' flippant treatment of this well-documented history is astonishing.

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From American Conservative



United States Capitol Building in Washington DC

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A congressman once admitted to me that he and his colleagues know a lot of things, generally speaking, but their knowledge only "extends about one inch deep." In other words, the briefings provided by staffers and in committees is intended to touch only on what is important to know to look well informed in front of the C-SPAN cameras without any unnecessary depth that would only create confusion. And the information provided must generally conform to what the congressmen already believe to be true and want to hear so no one will be embarrassed.

That such ignorance would be particularly notable in the realm of foreign policy should surprise no one because congressmen as a group are no longer very well educated. Few speak foreign languages and no one any longer studies the history or culture of any country but the United States, and sometimes not even that.

Some Congressmen nevertheless boast about all the countries they have visited to "fact find." They fail to recognize how they travel in a bubble, whisked to foreign lands via military aircraft on the virtually worthless congressional delegations known as CODELS. On these trips, spouses go shopping while American legislators are briefed by the ambassador's staff and the CIA station, both of which, for budget reasons, are more interested in demonstrating what a wonderful job they are doing rather than explaining the complexity of the local situation. And that is followed by the obligatory visit to listen to the local head of state lie about how everything is going just fine in his country.

Given the reality of garbage in, garbage out, it is no wonder that buffoons like Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham are lauded as foreign-policy experts in the Republican Party. It's called setting the bar really low.

For a Congress intent on appearing to be doing something while doing nothing, one of the worst time wasters is the committee hearing, where the senators and congressmen call in "experts" to explain to them why a certain policy is either worthwhile or useless. Of course, it usually doesn't exactly play out that way, as the committee generally wants to hear testimony that supports its preconceptions about whatever is being discussed, so it only invites those to the party who will say what it wants to hear.

To cite only one of many examples of Congress's unwillingness to listen to any opinion that might challenge the establishment view, a February 16 hearing by the House Foreign Affairs Committee entitled "Iran on Notice" featured four "experts," all of whom were hostile to Iran and advocates of "solutions" ranging from actively encouraging regime change to using military force. No one knowledgeable enough to explain Iran's behavior and/or offer non-confrontational approaches was invited or asked to participate.

I have been closely following some recent hearings that relate to Russia, most particularly the Senate Judiciary session that was supposed to look into the issue of registry under the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 for Russian agents. The hearing, which started on July 26, and was extended to the following day, was entitled "Oversight of the Foreign Agents Registration Act and Attempts to Influence U.S. Elections: Lessons Learned from Current and Prior Administrations."

The first day's session included statements by three Justice Department and FBI officials regarding how the FARA legislation is enforced and how presumed violations of it are investigated. There were some specific comments and questions from individual senators regarding Russian and Saudi government attempts to influence opinion in the United States, but little in the way of drama.

The second day was for additional "expert testimony." It consisted of billionaire hedge-fund director William Browder, who read a prepared statement and then responded to questions. (Video of the statement and the following discussion are available here, with Browder beginning at minute 24.) Browder, who clearly has his own agenda to debunk a film made last year attacking him and a narrative about a former employee Sergei Magnitsky that he has been promoting, was embraced by the senators, who should have known better.

Veteran award-winning journalist Robert Parry describes what took place: "...last week, Senate Judiciary Committee members sat in rapt attention as hedge-fund operator William Browder wowed them with a reprise of his Magnitsky tale and suggested that people who have challenged the narrative and those who dared air the documentary one time at Washington's Newseum last year should be prosecuted for violating the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA)."

Not even one senator challenged William Browder's sometimes extraordinary claims about Russia's government in general and its President Vladimir Putin in particular, including that Putin is the richest man in the world due to all the money that he has stolen. As Browder appears to be seeking to use FARA to punish those who have criticized him or even watched a movie about him based on the assumption that they must be Russian agents, he might well be regarded as not exactly a disinterested source providing objective information about Russia and its government.

American-born British citizen Browder has been the principal promoter of a narrative about Russian government malfeasance relating to his former employee Sergei Magnitsky, who, Browder claims, was a courageous whistleblower who was falsely arrested after exposing corruption and eventually died in a Moscow prison after being tortured. Browder's energetic promotion of the Magnitsky story has poisoned relations with Moscow and led to the passage of the Magnitsky Act by Congress in 2012. Russia rightly has seen the legislation, which includes sanctions on some officials, as unwarranted interference in the operation of its judicial system.

Browder astutely portrays himself as a human-rights campaigner dedicated to promoting the legacy of Magnitsky, but his own biography is inevitably much more complicated than that. The grandson of Earl Browder, the former general secretary of the American Communist Party, William Browder studied economics at the University of Chicago, and obtained an MBA from Stanford.

From the beginning, Browder concentrated on Eastern Europe, which was beginning to open up to the west. In 1989 he took a position at highly respected Boston Consulting Group dealing with reviving failing Polish socialist enterprises. He then worked as an Eastern Europe analyst for Robert Maxwell, the unsavory British press magnate and Mossad spy, before joining the Russia team at Wall Street's Salomon Brothers in 1992.

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Contrary to surface appearances, Pres. Donald J. Trump and Gen. John F. Kelly have certain very important characteristics in common. Two of the most prominent are a shared disdain for Congress and the legislative process and they both hate "the media" (that is the media other than that sector of it that is under their control). Nevertheless, Kelly is a general and Trump isn't. (In fact, while he was of induction age, the latter made sure that he did not do one day of military service during the War on Viet Nam.) So, one might ask, why Kelly, in addition to their commonalities? What is his role, or roles as they may be? And oh yes. I don't think that Kelly is there by accident or simply because Trump picked him on his own.

While many folk characterize the Trump Presidency so far as a "failure," because he has been able to accomplish nothing in the way of getting major legislation through the Congress, he is well on his way to hollowing out the Executive Branch of government and destroying the regulation of the political economy as we have come to know it since the New Deal. For the branch of the ruling class that got him elected (beginning with the Mercers, et al) this is far more important than any single piece of legislation, even further massive tax cuts for the wealthy.



Anti-Trump Rally 2016 | Union Square, Manhattan, New York No. | Flickr683 -- 1024 - 277k - jpg

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It is no accident that this "deconstruction of the administrative state" is the current primary goal of Steve Bannon . And do notice that in the major changeovers in the White House staff that have accompanied the installation of Kelly as Chief of Staff, Bannon and his principal lap-dog Stephen Miller and lap-cat, Kelly-Anne Conway (they both came with Bannon, brought over by the Mercers, from the Cruz campaign), are very much in place and in play. Also note that it is not that Bannon does not like state apparati. It is just that like other fascists he wants state power to be fully under control of the Executive, with no independent civil service and career professionals running the day-to-day operations and, to a certain extent, being responsible for policy.

Trump, with Bannon at his side, has already made major changes/reductions in Federal government regulation in such major functions as environmental preservation, workplace safety, food and drug regulation and safety, energy policy, maintenance of the (actually pitiful) "safety net" for the poor, public education, civil rights, protecting the potentially vulnerable in such realms as sexual violence, voting rights (actually, as is well-known, under major attack by the Trumpites) and so on and so forth. Trump has achieved much in these arenas. And he has secured the appointment to the Supreme Court of a Justice that some left-wingers have described as "worse than Scalia."

But then there is Trump's personality, his inability to learn and lack of interest therein, the constant tweeting, the rants, and so forth, to say nothing about his threat to unleash nuclear holocaust, about which he obviously knows nothing and could care less. This leads one to wonder if for the ruling class he has reached the end of his utility. And of course, since the ruling class is not entirely united in how best to maintain its control of the State Apparatus, there could be competing interests among the factions.

Enter Gen. Kelly. There are indeed a number of options in play here, and more than one may be operative at the same time. Kelly could be in place to: baby-sitting Trump (reign Trump in); clear the way to fascism, with or without Trump; pave the way for Mike Pence to assume a more conventional Presidency.

When Gen. Kelly entered the scene, there was some talk that he could/would reign Trump in and even get him to pay some attention to the responsibilities of the Presidency, in such arenas as policy-by-tweet. According to a variety of biographers who have known/chronicled Trump over a long period of time, this was pie-in-the-sky. This is a man who, at 71, appears not to have low self-esteem. He appears to have none. That would explain the recently discovered fact that he spends about 40 minutes a day on the "propaganda briefings " --- reviews of pro-Trump materials in the media --- while dealing with the national security briefings --- presented to him in tiny bites --- takes about 10 minutes of his time each day.

Baby-sitting? Well, that would mean keeping Trump occupied while Kelly gets some elements of organization into the White House, first by getting rid of "non-Trump" elements like Reince Priebus, and then by controlling access to the President. In that he seems to be succeeding.

But then there is the much more important matter of the political future of this Presidency. It is highly unstable. (Not much of an original observation there.) Given the diminishing relationship between Trump and the Congressional Republicans and their own growing internal divisions, it is unlikely that Trump will be able to accomplish much in the legislative arena. And the Mueller investigation is closing in. (Case-in-point, the searching of Paul Manafort's home. He is obviously not cooperating. Must have too much to hide, none of which could be good for Trump.) And so, what does Trump do?

An option that I have mentioned previously, which I think is becoming even more likely is that, waiting 'til that last possible moment, having missed (which he likely already has) the opportunely to fire Mueller, Trump pardons everyone including himself (Constitutional test) and resigns with a speech that makes the one in WVA look mild in comparison. He then sets up his own proto-fascist party, with Bannon at his hip and Mercer money close behind him. Mike "I'm not already running for President, now or later --- ho, ho, ho" Pence has already become the Kochs' man . Already separating himself from Trump, he will likely be the Repub. nominee in 2020 in what will likely be four-way contest, like 1860, with the Trump-party, the Repubs. (with Pence), and a split Democratic party all running. In one of several ways, Trump could win, with a Nazi-like proportion of the popular vote (around 37%). More on this one in a column-to-come.

But in the meantime, back to Kelly's role, briefly. Trump, staying in the Presidency, could try to go for a fascist revolution now. Following a major (false flag of course) "terrorist" attack or some kind of major escalation short of nuclear holocaust with the DPRK, Trump might be able to get an "Emergency Powers Act," through Congress, leading to a form of 21st century fascism. Kelly, the "voice of reason," would play a major role in that scenario. OR, Kelly could be there to facilitate, at the right time, Trump's resignation, with the installation of Pence as President, now. Pence comes in, with Kelly at his hip. The Repub. establishment would then be firmly in control of the Executive Branch, without all of the Trumpist distractions, and they could get on with the work of implementing the rest of their far-right agenda in a much "calmer" atmosphere.

To be continued.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Steven Jonas, MD, MPH, MS is a Professor Emeritus of Preventive Medicine at StonyBrookMedicine (NY) and author/co-author/editor/co-editor of over 35 books. In addition to his position on OpEdNews as a "Trusted Author," he is a Deputy Editor, Politics, for The Greanville Post; a Contributor for American Politics to The Planetary Movement;a contributor to the "Writing for Godot" section of Reader Supported News; and a contributor to From The G-Man .Furthermore, he is a (very) occasional contributor to BuzzFlash Commentary Headlines and The Harder Stuff. He is also a triathlete (35 seasons, over 250 multi-sport races).
Turkish and Qatari navies have carried out a joint exercise as Qatar's economic blockade by Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries entered into third month.

The Qatari military said the exercise was aimed at exchanging information, training senior military officials, and improving coordination between the two forces to boost security.

Brigadier Hadi Rashid Al Shahwani, commander of the exercise, said that the "Iron Shield" included training of leaders to assess the situation, planning, control and coordination between the two forces.

The Qatar New Agency reported that the exercise was carried out to support counter-terrorism efforts, "extremism and smuggling operations, as well as to maintain security and stability in the region".

In addition to the naval drill, Qatari and Turkish infantry and artillery forces took part in a ground-training exercise, according to Al Jazeera News.

Turkey's parliament on June 8 fast-tracked the approval of an April 2016 agreement with Qatar on the implementation of troops' deployment to the Turkish military base.

It also approved a December 2015 agreement that allows the Turkish military to train Qatari security forces.

The approval of the agreements came days after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt severed relations with Qatar, accusing it with financing and supporting "terrorism" - allegations Doha denies.

Meanwhile, Yasin Aktay, a senior member of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), told Al Jazeera that Turkey's military presence in Qatar "creates a balance in the region" that prevents potential clashes.

"Turkey is protecting its own interests through the base in Qatar, rather than taking sides between the parties at odds. And Ankara's interests require stability in the region. Therefore Turkey would be against an attack on Saudi Arabia as much as Qatar," Aktay said, adding:

"There would always be forces to fill the vacuum when there are unbalanced situations like [developments in the Gulf region]. And Turkey's interests require it not to leave a power vacuum there. Turkey's existence there prevents potential mistakes."

Turkey and Saudi Arabia are both in the US-led coalition against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group. Saudi Arabian fighter jets join anti-ISIL operations through Turkey's Incirlik airbase.

Turkish base in Qatar

Riyadh and its allies have called for the closure of Turkey's military base in Qatar as part of their demands to resolve the diplomatic crisis began on June 5 when Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates Egypt and Yemen broke diplomatic relations with Qatar and imposed economic blockade.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had said that the demands were "against international law" and rejected closing down the base.

Ankara had offered to form a military base in Saudi Arabia but was denied by government sources, according to Saudi state media.

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Democracy in Chains--and why progressives must work together like never before and change the political landscape forever

"Public interest has been subordinated to private interest, and when there is no clear distinction between them, it opens the door to endless opportunities for corruption. " Nancy MacLean, Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right's Stealth Plan for America

By Kevin Stoda

I haven't decided whether I am running in 2020 for presidency again or running for Senate in Kansas.

However, at this time, i.e., as of 2017, I wish to announce to my progressive friends in the Sunflower State of Kansas know that I have finally returned from living and working abroad, in order to try and make changes in America. (Like thousands of other Americans over the past 4 decades or so, I have been forced to go abroad and be employed due to the military and top 1% economics. I have spent decades abroad bringing monies from abroad back to the American economy without seeing much benefit from the politically dominant elite.)

America, this ABSOLUTELY must change.

I am currently reading DEMOCRACY IN CHAINS (2017) b y Nancy MacLean. Her book lays bare the foundations of the current system that has been screwing most Americans since it was first envisioned in the 1950s by one Southern elite, James McGill Buchanan, who subsequently became the creator of the ulterior motives of the billionaire Charles Koch Brothers (and other 1%ers who dominate our world and have been soaking the lives out of the planet for far too long).

We have ALL been victims of the endgame described in Maclean's work, DEMOCRACY IN CHAINS. MacLean has then described the results of this decades-long war on individual and group forms of democracy in America--and across the globe. She notes, "Despotism may be the only organizational alternative to the political structure that we observe."

However, at this time, I say that We ALL must stop being victims and become important actors on the stage of reform and progressivism.

Therefore, just to step my toe in the water of Kansas politics, I will run for governor of Kansas if the horrid-Koch-brother-backed Governor of Kansas, Sam Brownback, steps down after being nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom.

We need to begin clearing out and kicking out the 40-plus years of stench and nonsense built up behind the Koch Brothers' machinery and their ilk. We must start cleaning in Kansas where damage has been greatest. Recently, Kansas City, Kansas, where I have chosen to reside, has passed a bond to fund reform in schools and education. All citizens across the state are encouraged by me to follow suit.

There should be no more delays in opening medical services in our communities too. (Some eight dialysis centers in Kansas have been awaiting administrative permission to open for over 2-1/2 years now, but the Brownbackistan Congress has underfunded every medical department in the state while giving tax breaks to themselves and their cronies.)

Too many citizens have died in Kansas. Too many have been forced to emigrate. Enough is enough. Such educated citizenry should not stand for further manipulation by elite-financed-government nonsense (which actually tries to cover up the class-warfare nature of the politics of the Koch Brothers, ALEC, and Breitbart news, etc.).

I invite Bull Moose and Lincoln progressives --along with members of the other progressive groups in the state--to join me and support the greatest change possible in 2017-2018 (and in the years thereafter).

Meanwhile, I shout, "Full speed ahead into transforming our country by early in the next decade. Kansas and the Bread Belt states can lead the way where others have faltered so much over the decades."

Join me please, run for office or demand officials who are progressive and really care about their fellow citizens and their own children and grandchildren.

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By Meteor Blades



Pastor Robert Jeffress

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Can something be scary and infuriating all at the same time? Tara Isabella Burton at Vox proves that indeed it can:

"In a statement emailed to journalists Tuesday afternoon, pastor Robert Jeffress praised Trump's aggressive statement [on North Korea] as a function of divine will. 'When it comes to how we should deal with evil doers, the Bible, in the book of Romans, is very clear: God has endowed rulers full power to use whatever means necessary -- including war -- to stop evil. In the case of North Korea, God has given Trump authority to take out Kim Jong-Un.' "Jeffress has long been one of Trump's political allies, one central to Trump and his team's increasingly unsettling conflation of Christianity, nationalism, and pro-Trump cult of personality. [...] "In a follow-up interview with The Washington Post's Sarah Pulliam Bailey, Jeffress doubled down on his words: '[Those verses in the Book of Romans give] the government ... the authority to do whatever, whether it's assassination, capital punishment or evil punishment to quell the actions of evildoers like Kim Jong Un.'"

In short, with selective Bible readings, Jeffress preaches the divine right of kings, rule by fiat with Jehovah's support, complete with celestial authority to make the unholiest of wars sacred.

If Trump were to decide to plunk down a half-dozen Nagasaki-sized nukes on North Korea, that would be just fine with this supposedly Christian preacher. He wouldn't even advise the man to ponder the words of Truman on this date in 1945 -- the day after Nagasaki was obliterated -- that he "didn't like the idea of killing [...] all those kids."

Truman's feelings of remorse came too late for the Japanese infants, toddlers and teenagers nuked in Nagasaki and Hiroshima, as well as all the children and other civilians of those cities who would die horrible deaths in the weeks and years to come of radiation sickness and various cancers.

Did a similar thought as Truman's cross Trump's mind as he drifted off to sleep after his threat to rain brimstone on North Korea? Highly doubtful. Did he think about the public relations impact of adding "war criminal" to his re'sume'? Why should he have? Pastor Jeffress has informed him that God not only ordains whatever it takes, he also says Americans are biblically obligated to support whatever he does in the matter.
From Consortium News

Co-written by Randy Credico



Former British Ambassador Craig Murray

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Despite the certitude of the U.S. Congress and the corporate press, not everyone believes that the Russians "hacked" the Clinton campaign and handed Donald Trump his stunning victory. Among those saying that the Russians did not do it is the former whistleblowing British ambassador to Uzbekistan, Craig Murray, who collaborates with WikiLeaks, which published the Democratic emails last year.

"I know who leaked them," Murray said recently. "I've met the person who leaked them, and they are certainly not Russian and it's an insider. It's a leak, not a hack; the two are different things."

Ambassador Murray, a friend and close associate of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, was also an early opponent of the the U.S.-British-led war against Iraq, and an early whistleblower on the wide-ranging program of torture and rendition promoted by U.S. President George W. Bush and condoned by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who was recently absolved by a British court -- on a technicality -- of being criminally liable for the US torture program.

These days, Ambassador Murray is an author, broadcaster and human rights activist. He served as British Ambassador to Uzbekistan from August 2002 to October 2004 and Rector of the University of Dundee from 2007 to 2010.

Dennis Bernstein: My first question, Mr. Ambassador, is whether you are concerned with this Russia-gate frenzy and how it might end up leading us into a direct confrontation with Russia, and thus open the door to World War III?

Craig Murray: Well, there is always that danger when a confrontation exists between nuclear armed powers. The whole anti-Russia propaganda campaign that is going on at the moment is quite extraordinary because there is no factual basis behind it. But it is certainly a continuation of the anti-Russia propaganda that has dominated political discourse in the United States for several years now.

Of course, this is very much in the interests of the armaments industry. We have to remember that there are those who benefit enormously from extra spending on armaments and the armed forces. These people are the ones pushing the agenda.

DB: We've been doing sort of a poll of our guests, asking them whether they consider what happened in the United States as a leak or a hack.

CM: Well, through my association with WikiLeaks, I know for sure that it was a leak and not a hack. As Bill Binney, former technical director of the NSA, has pointed out, were it actually a hack the NSA would be able to pinpoint it. In fact, there is no such evidence. This is not something WikiLeaks got from a foreign state or from hackers. No, there is no doubt at all that this was an internal leak. Besides which, we are talking about two separate things in the DNC emails and the Podesta emails, so it would be wrong to presume that there is only one leaker.

Randy Credico: Is this just an artifice to cover up the real motivation with regards to Russia, which is to break the country into small states and to prevent them from getting involved in the world oil supply?

CM: I am not sure they actually want to break up Russia. They rather like having a reasonably strong Russia because it gives them an excuse to invest large amounts of money in armaments, which are very profitable. The militarist forces on both sides like to play up the strength of the other and portray the other as evil. That is primarily what we have going on here.

Recently, Putin seems to be the master of the diplomatic game. And we should not forget that all of these people are part of the global one percent. The way they invest their money and where they live and how they socialize makes them all very much part of the same club in an interconnected world. So we should not be too distracted by the smoke and mirrors that the global elite put up. While these are very dangerous games to be playing, the people playing them have some very cozy relationships behind the scenes.

RC: Tell us about your relationship with Julian Assange and the conditions he is now living under.

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Throughout his brief tenure as leader of the free world, Trump has demonstrated a fairly tenuous grasp on what is and isnt real. From declaring every major news outlet fake news to hiring a guy whose full-time job is finding positive stories about Trump to make the big man feel better, Trump is very selective in what he chooses to believe.

Trumps selective belief extends to the realities of climate change, as evidenced by his opting out of the Paris Accords earlier this summer. So skeptical is Trump of humanitys negative impact on the environment that, according to a report from The Guardian, staff at the U.S. Department of Agriculture have been told to avoid using the term climate change and substitute in the euphemism weather extremes, instead. And as The NYT points out, Trump is going to have a hard time ignoring climate change for much longer.

A group of government scientists is expected to soon release a report detailing the negative consequences of continuing to ignore climate change. While the White House is currently reviewing the findings, there are already fears that Trump will try and suppress the report as it wont jive with his support base (though that base is shrinking daily). The report will assert that evidence for a changing climate abounds, from the top of the atmosphere to the depths of the oceans, which will force Trump into a difficult position. Will he side with the facts, or choose his substantial gut and continue to ignore truths that are inconvenient to him and his nationalist message?

Unfortunately, we probably already know the answer.
 Iago Garay, Spain. Andes Pacifico 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 ... and counting.

 Rene Damseaux, South Africa. Andes Pacifico 2014, 2015, 2016.

 Greg Montoya, Hawaii. Andes Pacifico 2015, 2016.

Included with registration:

three pairs of Bontrager XXX Line carbon wheels

register before November 1st

While in the northern hemisphere the great names of the World Enduro prepare to leave their state of hibernation, on the other side of the world, in the heat of summer, a country surrounded by mountains and the sea is the perfect setting for the first major multi-stage enduro race of 2018. Chile is waiting for you, from February 12th to 18th for the fifth edition of the Santa Cruz Andes Pacifico Montenbaik Enduro.We invite riders from all over the world to discover some of the highest, wildest, and most fun trails connecting the Cordillera de los Andes (the worlds longest mountain chain) to the coast of the Pacific Ocean.Starting at over 3,600 meters of altitude between snowy peaks, professional and amateur riders descend for five days of stage racing and liaisons through incredible landscapes to finish at the seashore with a cumulative of more than 12,000 meters vertical slope!More than a race, Andes Pacifico is a project that evolves every year. The goal is to discover, develop, and refine a pristine network of trails that cross Chile from East to West, which means that each new edition of the event brings a selection of new tracks mixed with the best places discovered in previous years. There is definitely lots of news for 2018.From the infamousdust at high altitudes, through the green wine producing valleys of the central region, to the incredible views of the South Pacific coast, there is no lack of diversity of terrain and landscapes in this intense enduro week that will remain forever in your memory.If you know what we are talking about and want to live this experience, do not miss this opportunity. Here is what you need to know: Date: February 12 to 18, 2018 Starting place: Santiago, Chile. 5 days of enduro style stage Racing 6 nights camping accommodation (tents provided) Full medical support and medical field tent by Paris Dakar support crew Airport pick-up and drop-off All catering and hydration: breakfast, lunch, arrival picnicking and gastronomic dinners (with local wine and local beer included) Goodie bag from our sponsors Kudos & buena onda with the local staff and international stars!Value: $1,850 USD plus Welcu service fee.The registrations are open at www.AndesPacificoEnduro.com , and as if all of this were not enough, we will raffleof 27,5"and 29" among the riders who, all thanks to our sponsor Bontrager.
The man who died in the waters off the beach behind the Hyatt Regency Guam on Wednesday morning has been identified as 90-year-old Taiwanese tourist Shang-Yun Wu.

Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Aurelio Espinola said Wu died from asphyxia due to drowning.

Guam Fire Department and other emergency personnel responded to a reported drowning around 11 a.m. Wednesday at the beach area behind the Hyatt.

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The fire department reported that responders conducted CPR at the scene. The victim was a man in his 90s, although initial reports indicated he was in his 60s.

A witness indicated that Wu appeared responsive in the immediate time frame after he was pulled from the water. Wu was transferred to the Guam Regional Medical City. He arrived at the hospital around 11:14 a.m. but was pronounced dead five minutes later.

A female family member was with Wu at the time of the incident, according to the witness. The incident got a quick response from bystanders, hotel personnel and first responders, the witness added.

Earlier water-related deaths

Wu was the latest water-related fatality this year.

A 15-year-old teen died accidentally while swimming at Marbo Caves in early July. Another teenager, a 13-year-old middle school student, drowned at Gov. Joseph Flores Beach Park  Ypao Beach  in early May. Another student drowned in April. And earlier this year, the bodies of two fishermen were each pulled from the waters off Pago Bay and Umatac Bay.
Over at PJ Media, Patrick Poole is following the story that broke this morning in Paris of a car that rammed and injured several French military personnel. The driver, who fled the scene, was subsequently arrested, though as of this writing his identity has not been revealed. But French authorities are describing it as a terror attack, which means we can expect that CNN will say that we dont know the motive until we get the recording of the driver yelling Allahu akbar, after which CNN will recycle another Russia story.

Worth paying attention to one key phrase in an early Sky News report about the incident:

A search is also ongoing for the dark-coloured vehicle which is said to have been driven at speed at the troops as they left their barracks to go on patrol. (Emphasis added.)

WaitFrench army troops on patrol in Paris? Yes: France has been officially under a state of emergency since the Charlie Hebdo attack in January 2015. On any given day, up to 10,000 French military personnel are guarding every Jewish synagogue and merchant location in the entire country, as well as popular tourist locations. Its called Operation Sentinelle, and you dont need to be fluent in French to comprehend the title.

Translation: France is under martial law. Few Americans understand this. Todays attack is merely the latest in a series of deliberate attacks on French military personnel.

The Sky News report adds this:

It is the sixth time soldiers involved in the nationwide security crackdown have been targeted. In February, a man with a machete attacked troops near the Louvre Museum. French defence minister Florence Parly described Wednesdays attack as cowardly, adding that it does nothing to dent soldiers determination to work for the security of the French people. France has been under a state of emergency since the November 2015 attacks in the French capital which left 130 people dead. Mr Philippe said that despite a high threat against France, the government is sticking to plans to lift the 21-month state of emergency on 1 November.

Prediction: The formal state of emergency may end on Nov. 1, but I expect French soldiers will still be deployed as they are now. Unless France has decided on suicide.
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FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for Alchemist Mining Incorporated--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Vancouver, British Columbia (FSCWire) - Alchemist Mining Incorporated (CSE:AMS). has issued a press release with the following headline:Alchemist Identifies Anomalous Zone at Aubaine Gold Project, Urban Barry Camp, QuebecTo 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 Alchemist Mining Incorporated, 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/Alchemist Mining IncorporatedSource: Alchemist Mining Incorporated (CSE: AMS)Date: August 10, 2017Time: 8:00 AM EDT--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of Alchemist Mining Incorporated 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.)
Cardiovascular Surgical Devices Market

PR-Inside.com: 2017-08-10 07:36:08

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616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesAbhishek Budholiya+1-347-918-3531

A World Health Organization factsheet states that 17.5 million people the world over die every year because of cardiovascular diseases. This amounts to nearly 31% of the total yearly deaths. A large number of these deaths occur in low or middle-income countries and are primarily caused by strokes or a heart attack. Such ominous statistics are the primary reason driving the growth of the global cardiovascular surgical devices market. Cardiovascular surgery is performed to cure heart tissue defects by replacing heart valves if they are blocked, or grafting or replacing the heart tissue in case of damage. The two main types of heart surgeries are open heart surgery and closed heart surgery.The global cardiovascular surgical devices market comprises beating heart surgery systems, cardiac aberration devices, cardiopulmonary bypass equipment, and perfusion disposables. The device to be used depends upon the type and the purpose of the surgery. Going forward, the cardiovascular surgical devices market is expected to play an important role in improving the quality of life of the aged population, along with those individuals who may suffer from some kind of heart disease.Request Report Sample@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-2813 Cardiovascular Surgical Devices Market: Drivers and RestraintsAccording to the American Medical Association (AMA), more than 80 million people in the country suffer from some kind of heart disease. An increasingly fast-paced life has given rise to a number of lifestyle-related ailments such as stress, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. This affects not only the geriatric population that is at the greatest risk but has also begun to trouble individuals in their 30s and even 20s. While cardiovascular surgery has long been performed, recent innovations including beating heart surgeries, minimally invasive procedures, Cardiac Rhythm Management (CRM) and other improvements are anticipated to be a major driver of the global cardiovascular surgical devices market. These technological advancements cause fewer side effects and allow patients to spend less time in post-surgical recovery. A growing pool of elderly people in North America, the European Union, China and Japan is also likely to be a key factor benefitting the cardiovascular surgical devices market. They are predicted to ensure that the market grows in double digits throughout the forecast period. In addition to this, rising stress levels, poor nutrition causing obesity and other health issues that are the bane of a modern lifestyle can potentially lead to cardiovascular diseases.Today, insurance agencies and companies have begun providing plans specifically targeting chronic diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases. People have become much more aware of how debilitating these diseases can be and they have begun to show greater concern for their health, following the mantra of prevention being better than cure. Government and private insurance company encouragement in creating awareness should definitely benefit the cardiovascular surgical devices market.There are a few challenges that can stifle the growth of the cardiovascular surgical devices market. Alternative technologies are growing at a much faster rate than conventional surgical technology  examples include ablation techniques that are minimally invasive or percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Developing countries face a dearth of skilled medical professionals and the high cost of such treatments can be a major deterrent, especially for those unfortunate individuals who are afflicted with a heart disease but cannot afford an insurance cover.Cardiovascular Surgical Devices Market: Key RegionsNorth America, led by the U.S., is the largest cardiovascular surgical devices market as the region has maximum employment in the tertiary sector leading to a stressful, sedentary lifestyle; easy availability of junk and fast food causing obesity; and a population that is rapidly ageing. Europe is the second largest cardiovascular surgical devices market due to the same reasons as North America, while China is expected to become an increasingly important contributor to the global cardiovascular surgical devices market in the days ahead.Visit For TOC@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-2813 Cardiovascular Surgical Devices Market: Key PlayersSome of the leading players in the cardiovascular surgical devices market are Abbott Cardiovascular, Biosensors International, Bioventrix Inc, Cordis Corp and Terumo Cardiovascular Systems.
Empire Court is all set to participate in the Meals from the Heart Dinner/Brunch Program which they have participated in since 2016, and has adopted as their annual initiative for servicing the community.

Empire Court No.4 Logo

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Empire Court No.4, The Order of the Amaranth

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# 400 Words

71 West 23rd StreetNew York, NY 10010USAPR Manager(646) 493-6115Michelle Mitchell(646) 493-6115

Empire Court is all set to participate in the Meals from the Heart Dinner/Brunch Program which they have participated in since 2016 and has adopted as their annual initiative for servicing the community.The group of 12-15 rises early to get a head-start on a Saturday morning commute via the local highways to arrive by breakfast to RMD House which is located near the childrens hospital in New Hyde Park. They bring in all the food items and supplies needed to set-up a nice buffet spread of pancakes, croissants, assorted eggs, and meats, along with a hearty fruit platter. The members of Empire Court are welcoming and enthusiastic as they look forward to this annual partnership, contributing their time, talents and common goal of performing selfless acts, hoping that they are able to provide comfort through a Meal from the Heart to the families currently residing at Ronald McDonald House. Residents who are faced with an adversary still showed their gratitude and thanked several members for the nice meal and their service.About the Ronald McDonald House of Long IslandThe Ronald McDonald House of Long Island is the 100th House of over 300 Ronald McDonald House programs worldwide. Located in New Hyde Park, NY on the campus of the Steven and Alexandra Cohen Childrens Medical Center of New York, the House accommodates families in a warm and supportive environment. For over 29 years, RMH-LI has been a home-away-from-home for over 20,000 families in the United States and more than 80 countries around the world who are dealing with the pain of having a child undergoing medical treatment at nearby hospitals. For more information about RMH-LI, log on to www.rmhlongisland.org www.instagram.com/rmhli , and www.twitter.com/rmh_li About Empire Court, No.4, The Order of the AmaranthEmpire Court is a Subordinate Court under the Grand Court of New York, The Order of the Amaranth. Charity is a guiding principal of the Order. The Orders main charity is the Amaranth Diabetes Foundation. Grand Courts and local courts support many other charities. Ronald McDonald's House Scholarship Funds Homeless Shelters & Soup Kitchens Care for the Elderly, Visiting Nurses, and many other local community charities.To learn more about Empire Court No.4 please visit http://empirecourt4.org to learn more about the Order of the Amaranth in the State of New York visit http://www.amaranthny.org
PR-Inside.com: 2017-08-10 09:02:01

Financial Firm Holborn Assets Seeks Six New Recruits for Opportunity of a Life Time

igniyte

Aimee Sutcliffe, PR Manager

T: +44 (0)113 819 9305

Holborn Assets, the international financial advice firm head quartered in Dubai, has announced today a brand new internship opportunity for six ambitious, driven students and graduates.

This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/201708100050

Former Holborn Assets interns take part in the Mongol Rally (Business Wire)

Successful candidates will work closely with senior figures in different departments at the company to build an array of skills in finance, management and communication. New interns will also have the choice to work in Holborns offices in Dubai, UAE, or Colombo, Sri Lanka or even split time between both offices as part of a dedicated, cross-cultural experience placement.

The generous package will include return flights, accommodation* and a monthly salary equating to 1,200 (subject to exchange rates). As a financial services firm, Holborn aims to provide candidates with ample opportunity to save a substantial sum at the very start of their careers.

Not limited to specific degree backgrounds, the organisation is actively seeking candidates studying a range of business subjects. Those studying or graduating in digital marketing, events management, customer service, operations, administration, finance and human resources are especially encouraged to apply to the firm.

As part of their internship, the six candidates will be offered the opportunity to involve themselves in a charitable endeavour either with one of the businesss existing community partnerships in Malawi, Sri Lanka or South Africa. However, the company encourages future employees to propose and present a social enterprise they are passionate about to its Community Support Committee for consideration. This initiative follows the success of last years interns who, after completing six months work each in Dubai and Colombo, successfully petitioned their cause to raise funds for environmental charity Cool Earth by taking part in the Mongol Rally**.

The Rally, taking place in July, requires participants to purchase a vehicle for less than 500 and to map a full route to drive a whopping 10,000+ miles across Europe and Asia. Ambitious adventurers will navigate their way through the mountains, deserts and wilderness of various countries including Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia before finishing in Siberias Ulan-Ude, close to Lake Baikal.

Commenting on the opportunity, Chief Operations Officer at Holborn Assets, Simon Parker, said: We want to offer something unique to the brightest and most innovative students in the country. Not only does this include providing a great, international business experience, but also a highly competitive salary and accommodation at no additional cost to our new recruits. Were looking to invest in future talent for the company, so those who deliver excellent performance during their internship are likely to receive a full-time employment as Holborn continues to expand worldwide.

Having had great success with Charles Leahy and Adam Holland, our interns for the 2016  2017 academic year, the team here are excited to offer the same opportunity to triple the number of young people to learn, grow and develop with us both professionally and personally.

Our programme of training will offer rich learnings in international business management across several locations with the aim of developing skills, experience and thorough financial support as part of, what we feel is, an opportunity of a lifetime.

There are six placements up for grabs  and we very much look forward to meeting the new members of our team.

Find out how to apply here: holbornassets.com/internships-holborn-assets

ENDS

*Shared accommodation offered with male and female candidates housed separately. All basic bills will be covered by the company.

**Further detail about the Mongol Rally challenge can be found on the Holborn Assets Facebook page here.

About Holborn Assets

Holborn Assets is a global financial services group and a leading financial advisory firm based in Dubai. Established in the Emirates for over 20 years, the business has expanded to operate throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

A family owned and operated business, Holborn Assets has over 400 employees worldwide, including 120 financial advisors. Committed to delivering the best possible service, each advisor is trained and qualified to United Kingdom standards with many holding qualifications from the UKs Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) or Chartered Institute of Securities and Investment (CISI).

Holborns experienced team of professional advisors specialise in delivering clients quality, independent financial advice and services. Core areas of operation include: Independent Financial Services, Financial Solutions, Financial Planning, Wealth Management, Shariah Wealth, Currency Exchange, Employee Benefits, Management Services, Insurance, Investments, Protection & Insurance, Pensions, Mortgages, Offshore Services, Tax Planning, Will Writing, Pension Transfers, and QROPS.

Holborn Assets is licensed by the UAE Ministry of Economy and FSB in South Africa. The business is registered on the UAEs Insurance Authority (IA) List within the Insurance Broker category.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/201708100050

Paid #internships for six ambitious #graduates in #Dubai and #SriLanka. All #degree backgrounds welcome. #careers
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FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for Great Thunder Gold Corp.--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Victoria, British Columbia (FSCWire) - Great Thunder Gold Corp. (TSX Venture:GTG). has issued a press release with the following headline:Great Thunder Retains Theb[[107]]rge for Windfall Lake Gold Exploration ProgramTo 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 Great Thunder Gold Corp., or to see additional press releases issued by this company, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser: http://www.fscwire.com/public-company/Great Thunder Gold Corp.Source: Great Thunder Gold Corp. (TSX Venture: GTG, ISIN: CA3913271035, WKN: A1T89R)Date: August 10, 2017Time: 5:00 AM EDT--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of Great Thunder Gold Corp. and disseminated through FSCwire.About FSCwireFSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.), is a global newswire dissemination, SEDAR, SEDI, and EDGAR / XBRL service provider.FSCwire is a full service global newswire dissemination company and is fully approved by all exchanges in Canada and the U.S. Press releases can be distributed for all sizes of public, private or not for profit companies and any other organization requiring news distribution. In addition to individual companies; public relations, communications and investor relations firms trust FSCwire to distribute press releases for their respective clients.In addition to newswire dissemination FSCwire also offers EDGAR, XBRL, SEDAR, SEDI, and additional services for publicly traded companies. For more information, please go to our website: http://www.fscwire.com Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2017 - FSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.)
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FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for Hinterland Metals Inc.--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Val d'Or, Quebec (FSCWire) - Hinterland Metals Inc. (TSX Venture:HMI). has issued a press release with the following headline:Hinterland Stakes Skyfall Gold Claims in Urban-Barry Greenstone Belt, QuebecTo 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 Hinterland Metals 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/Hinterland Metals Inc.Source: Hinterland Metals Inc. (TSX Venture: HMI)Date: August 10, 2017Time: 9:00 AM EDT--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of Hinterland Metals 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.)
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FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for Lithium Corp.--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Elko, NV (FSCWire) - Lithium Corp. (OTCQB:LTUM). has issued a press release with the following headline:Lithium Corporation Receives Initial Results from Tantalum-Niobium ProspectsTo 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 Lithium Corp., or to see additional press releases issued by this company, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser: http://www.fscwire.com/public-company/Lithium Corp.Source: Lithium Corp. (OTCQB: LTUM, ISIN: A0YJFZ, WKN: US5368041076)Date: August 10, 2017Time: 9:00 AM EDT--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of Lithium Corp. and disseminated through FSCwire.About FSCwireFSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.), is a global newswire dissemination, SEDAR, SEDI, and EDGAR / XBRL service provider.FSCwire is a full service global newswire dissemination company and is fully approved by all exchanges in Canada and the U.S. Press releases can be distributed for all sizes of public, private or not for profit companies and any other organization requiring news distribution. In addition to individual companies; public relations, communications and investor relations firms trust FSCwire to distribute press releases for their respective clients.In addition to newswire dissemination FSCwire also offers EDGAR, XBRL, SEDAR, SEDI, and additional services for publicly traded companies. For more information, please go to our website: http://www.fscwire.com Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2017 - FSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.)
Paediatric Oncology Therapeutics Market

PR-Inside.com: 2017-08-10 07:38:30

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616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesAbhishek Budholiya+1-347-918-3531

Children are affected by different forms of cancer than adults, there also exists a major difference between children and adults regarding treatment and development of new oncology therapies. The prominent variation is the concept of survival. With adult cancer patients, it is acceptable to look to immediate, 5 and 10-year survival rates, along with quality of life, for the best approximations of therapeutic success. On the other hand, a child cancer patient receives treatment to be cured. A typical difference between adult and pediatric oncologists is in treatment protocols; pediatric protocols are much more vigorous, often hitting patients as hard as possible to achieve a successful, long-term cure.Paediatric Oncology Therapeutics Market: Drivers and RestraintsThe markets significant rise through the forecast period can be attributed to the industry as it is becoming more familiar with designing and implementing trials in the pediatric population. The growing incidence of disease conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and obesity in children is contributing to the surge of this segment. In addition, the recognition of chronic conditions such as diabetes and hypertension, along with certain behavioral health conditions such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), depression and anxiety coupled with the rising prevalence of childhood obesity among the pediatric population is aiding the rise in these segments at a brisk rate.However, the relatively small market of pediatric oncology does not provide the financial incentives for companies to actively pursue pediatric oncology solutions. In addition, the development of formulations for children a major challenge that separates pediatric drug development from mainstream R&D. Not surprisingly, each type of formulation poses difficulties depending on the age of the child which incurs additional cost for the companies.Request Report Sample@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-2815 Paediatric Oncology Therapeutics Market: SegmentationThe paediatric oncology therapeutics market, is segmented on the basis of indication, treatment and region.Segmentation by IndicationLeukemiaCentral Nervous System (CNS) disordersBone TumorsInflammatory disordersRespiratory disordersRetinoblastomaSegmentation by TreatmentChemotherapyRadiotheraphyTumor SurgeryBlood and Marrow TransplantationDrug TherapySegmentation by RegionNorth AmericaEuropeAsia-PacificLAMEAPaediatric Oncology Therapeutics Market: IndicationLeukemias are the most common childhood cancers which are the cancers of the bone marrow and blood. Accounts for about 30% of all cancers in children. The most common types in children are Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML) and Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL).Central Nervous System (CNS) and Brain tumors are the second most common cancers in children and account about 26% of childhood cancers. There are many types of brain tumors, and the treatment and outlook for each is different.Cancers which that start in the bones (primary bone cancers) occur most often in older children and teens, however they can be developed at any age. They account for about 3% of childhood cancers. Two main types of primary bone cancers occur in children are Osteosarcoma and Ewing Sarcoma.Retinoblastoma is a cancer of the eye. It accounts for about 2% of pediatric patients. It usually occurs in children around the age of 2, and is seldom found in children older than 6.Paediatric Oncology Therapeutics Market: TreatmentChemotherapy and radiotherapy are used as a first-line radical therapy in a number of paediatric oncology (such as ALL or AML) commonly used for palliation, where disease is clearly incurable. Often, surgery is attempted to remove a tumor entirely. This is only feasible when there is some degree of certainty that the tumor can in fact be removed.A bone marrow transplant is a medical procedure in which bone marrow that contains cancer is replaced by hematopoietic stem cells that develop into healthy bone marrow.There is also a rapid expansion in the use of monoclonal antibody treatments, notably for lymphoma (Rituximab), and breast cancer (Trastuzumab). Vaccine and other immunotherapies are the subject of intensive research and will take time to get added in the treatment for paediatric oncology.Paediatric Oncology Therapeutics Market: RegionGeographically, the market is classified majorly into regions namely North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific.North America dominates the market due the presence of continuous sophisticated R&D technology development for paediatric oncology diagnosis and treatment in the region. Addition, the increasing incidence rate of cancer and obesity in children is contributing to the surge of this market augmenting for the market. APAC is expected to witness significant growth as compared to other regions and countries owing to increased healthcare and research expenditure.Visit For TOC@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-2815 Paediatric Oncology Therapeutics Market: Key PlayersSome of the major hospitals which provides technologically advanced treatment for paediatric patients are St Jude Childrens Research Hospital (USA), St Louis Childrens Hospital (USA), Monroe Carell Jr. Childrens Hospital (USA), Birmingham Childrens Hospital (UK), Royal Childrens Hospital (Australia), National Center for Child Health and Development (Japan) and Dana-Dwek Childrens Hospital Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center (Israel).
Protein Labelling Market

PR-Inside.com: 2017-08-10 07:42:36

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# 710 Words

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Various biological research often involves the use of molecular labels that are attached to a protein of interest to facilitate detection or purification of the labeled protein and/or its binding partners. Proteins can be labeled during cell growth by incorporation of amino acids containing different isotopes, or in biological fluids, cells or tissue samples. The main applications for protein labeling are biological processes monitoring, reliable quantification of compounds and specific detection of protein modifications and isoforms in multiplexed samples, enhancement of detection sensitivity and simplification of detection workflows. There are multiple types of labels available, their varied uses are preferable for specific applications. Typically, three different types of tags are employed: stable isotopes, mass tags, and fluorophores, to the target protein or sequenceProtein Labelling Market: Drivers and RestraintsIncreasing healthcare expenditure is majorly driving the market. Increase in the R&D expenditure leading to a reduction in process complexity for protein labeling by companies coupled with improvement in existing technologies that are anticipated to accelerate growth. The market is witnessing a number of new product launches and growing adoption of bioengineering technologies to speed up the market growth.Development in the technology to produce advanced dyes that rapidly conjugates with the specific peptides or nucleotidein order to detect their presence and further purification process more accurately are expected to make the process more efficient and will have positive impact on the market. Improvements in accuracy, resolution and procedures used in techniques such as fluorescence & biorthogonal tagging are estimated to grow over the forecast period.The adoption of IT technology anticipate to automate and ease up the research and development and expected to boost experimentation and research. Also, technological advancement and upcoming innovation in Global Protein Labeling market such as computer-controlled systems for fluorescence and laser-confocal microscopy are creating scope for the market.Request Report Sample@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-2817 Protein Labelling Market: SegmentationOn the basis of products, the protein labeling market is segmented into reagents, kits, and services. Whereas based on application, the protein labeling market is segmented into cell-based assays, fluorescence microscopy, immunological techniques, mass spectrometry, and protein microarray. Global Protein market further segment by labeling technique and contribute considerable market share through in-Vivo and in-Vitro techniques.Segmentation by ProductReagentsKitsServicesSegmentation by ApplicationCell-based assaysFluorescence MicroscopyImmunological TechniquesMass SpectrometryProtein MicroarraySegmentation by Labelling TechniqueIn-VivoIn-VitroProtein Labelling Market: OverviewGlobal Protein Labeling Market by product includes reagents like enzymes, monoclonal antibodies, proteins, probes/tags, kits and service markets. The reagents used for protein labeling accounted for the largest share of revenue. The larger share can be augmented due to high demand for labeling of peptides, antibodies and proteins at reaction locations of functional amino acids, and development of novel reagents that have chemo selective capabilities & amino acid cross linking abilities. The market is expected to witness a significant growth rate during the forecast period.Protein Labelling Market: Regional OverviewThe geographic segments for Protein Labelling are North America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific excluding Japan, Japan, Latin America and Middle East and Africa. North America is further segmented into the U.S. and Canada. North America has the most lucrative market and accounts for over 45% of the global revenue in 2015. North America generates highest revenues across the globe due to presence of most major players in the region working on enhancing their portfolios on offer and rise in adoption of protein labeling in tandem with development of genomic sequencing and personalized medicine are the major factors accounting for the regions dominant position. While Asia Pacific is poised to witness the highest growth rate from 2015 to 2026. Untapped APEJ countries such as China, India, and Korea are the most emerging economies and expected to create huge opportunity for Global Protein Labeling Market. Improved healthcare spending, infrastructure development and favorable government policies are the key factors which are expected to drive the APEJ market.Visit For TOC@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-2817 Protein Labelling Market: Key PlayersMajor participants of the protein labeling industry include Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., General Electric Healthcare Life Science, Merck Millipore, F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, PerkinElmer Inc, Promega Corporation, LI-COR Inc., New England Biolabs, Eurogentec S.A., Kirkegaard & Perry Laboratories (KPL).
QR Code Labels Market

PR-Inside.com: 2017-08-10 07:44:46

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616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesAbhishek Budholiya+1-347-918-3531

Packaging and label has become an important tool for marketers to attract customers and also to influence their purchase behavior. Further, packaging is also an important way to communicate with the consumers by providing customers with relevant information about the product through an effective labelling. However, today labelling not only provides information on products feature and usage process of the product but helps in creating a brand image. QR Code labels is the trademark for a type of two dimensional barcode. QR Code labels is a machine readable optical label and has the capability to carry information regarding the product to which it is attached. Moreover, the demand of the QR code labels is gaining popularity among the manufacturer of food & beverages, cosmetic & personal care to increase the product security as well as to adopt the advance technology.QR Code labels: Market DynamicsThe global QR Code labels market is expected to be driven by the increasing growth of automotive industry in the developing economies of Asia Pacific. QR code labels are widely used by the automotive manufacturing company to track the parts of the vehicle during manufacturing. Companies are adopting QR code labels for their advertising strategy because it offers an approach to access the products website quickly than by the conventional URL. Moreover, mounting development of smartphone application is expected to further propel the growth of QR code labels in the near future, as smartphone can scan the QR codes and translate it into a useful information. Furthermore, increasing acceptance of QR code in food industry is anticipated to further boost the growth of QR code labels because it provides the nutritional fact of the product, recipes and discount codes. In addition, industrial manufacturers are also inclined to adopt QR code labels to minimize the training cost by assuring proper product training video. In addition, retail industry is experiencing a healthy growth that can further positively impact the growth in the QR code labels market.Request Report Sample@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-2818 QR Code labels: Market SegmentationThe global QR code labels market is segmented on the basis of material type, end use industryBased on the material type the global QR code labels market is segmented into:PaperPlasticPETPVCVinylBased on the end use industry the global QR code labels market is segmented into:FoodCosmetic & personal careRetailBeveragesIndustrial goodsAutomotiveOthersQR Code labels Market: Regional outlookIn terms of geography, the global QR code labels market has been divided in to five key regions including North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Middle East & Africa. Asia pacific region is expected to register highest growth as compared to the other region during the forecast period. Developing economies like India, china and ASEAN countries are the most lucrative market for the QR code labels manufacturer owing to the increasing number of smartphone users coupled with the rising growth of organized retail sector. North America is also anticipated to witness massive growth over the forecast period. Moreover, Europe is also expected to observe a steady growth during the forecast period. However, Middle East & Africa region is anticipated to be sluggish throughout the forecast period.Visit For TOC@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-2818 QR code labels Market: Key playersSome of the key players in the global QR code labels market are Tapp Label Technologies Inc., Avery Products Corporation., Unipress corporation, Afinia label Inc., Lintec Label & Print Solutions, Country labels etc.
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.




G-Force Signs & Graphics wrapped-up the branding for the public hydrogen fuel cell electric bus, which arrived in Costa Rica.

By: G-Force Signs & Graphics

G-Force Signs & Graphics provided the bus graphics and lettering

Media Contact

Greg Ghezzi

President, G-Force Signs & Graphics

***@gforcesigns.com

860-787-5338 Greg GhezziPresident, G-Force Signs & Graphics860-787-5338

End

-- The converted hydrogen fuel cell electric bus arrived on July 27, 2017 at the port of Limon in Costa Rica freshly wrapped and outfitted with graphics and lettering by the South Windsor CT company, G-Force Signs & Graphics.The bus, powered by compressed hydrogen, with a seated capacity for 35 passengers, will be operating on demonstrative routes in and around the City of Liberia.The project makes Costa Rica the second Latin American nation to develop hydrogen technology for transportation.Collaborating on the technology for the project with Costa Rica's Sistema de Banca para el Desarrollo company, was the Ad Astra Rocket Company, US Hybrid Corporation, Air Liquide, Cummins Inc and Relaxury S.A.. The collaboration combined logistics and technology expertise.To help the promotion of the project, the graphics and branding team at GForce Signs & Graphics were selected to provide the graphics and lettering for the Van Hool manufactured bus."We were excited to meet the challenge of this exciting project which required strong scheduling and logistics management,"said Greg Ghezzi, GForce Signs & Graphics President and Project Lead."The size of the bus meant a lot of material precisely produced and applied. It was a large, high-profile project within an exciting transportation market."Ghezzi stated their large indoor vehicle bay is usually used for these types of projects. "This project was completed onsite for our client in order to meet the project's timetables. For most of our vehicle projects, weather isn't a factor. Fortunately, for this bus wrap and graphics project, the weather did not impede us."In addition to logo applications and window lettering, the bus received a large, partial graphics wrap helping with branding the project as sleek, clean and friendly. "The imagery really supports what this project is about," added Greg. "It's a very slick and modern looking bus."The bus will be transported to Ad Astra's research facility in Liberia, Guanacaste, after clearing Costa Rican Customs. There it will undergo additional tests and integrations protocols prior to being put into the existing hydrogen ecosystem at Ad Astra. Once this phase is complete, the bus will run a series of demonstrations along predetermined routes near the city of Liberia.Hydrogen is produced from renewable electricity through water electrolysis. When applied and used in transportation, stored hydrogen combines with oxygen from the air to produce electricity, which feeds an electric motor. The operational byproduct is water vapor.To learn more about G-Force Signs & Graphics, visit https://gforcesigns.com
Thursday, August 10, 2017

The Ohio Board of Professional Conduct has filed recommendations with the state Supreme Court in two related matters that led to criminal convictions.

WFMJ. com reported

Two Youngstown attorneys will not see any prison time for violating federal law, but one of them is under house arrest.

A judge sitting in U.S. District Court in Cleveland sentenced attorneys Neal Atway of Youngstown and Scott Cochran of Austintown on Tuesday.

Forty-five-year old Cochran was fined $2,500 and placed on probation for two years after being convicted on a charge of misbehaving in court by failing to provide truthful testimony in a trial.

Atway, 49, was fined $2,000 and placed on probation for three years, with the first four months to be served on electronically monitored home confinement.

Atway was found guilty of conspiring against the rights of a client who had hired him to represent him in a federal criminal case.

Lawyers representing Cochran and Atway filed memorandums in federal court suggesting sentences for their clients.

In Atways sentencing memorandum, attorney Roger Synenberg suggested probation for his client, writing, Mr. Atway is deeply remorseful, ashamed, and embarrassed by his conduct.

Synenberg says Atway has been punished by having been found guilty of a felony and the trauma it has caused his family.

Lawyer Lynn Maro suggested that a fine be levied against attorney Cochran, saying he has already suffered significant punishment.

While many of his clients were willing to stay with him, and many in the local legal community expressed continued support for him, the stress and his commitment to fighting the original charges against him devastated his (law) practice, wrote Maro in the sentencing memorandum.

Atway and Cochran pleaded guilty to the less serious violations following a mistrial that was declared last March as a jury was considering evidence presented from an original six count indictment handed up against the two in February 2014.

Both attorneys and convenience store owner Mohd Rawhneh of Boardman were originally accused of taking part in a plot to extort money from another local convenience store operator.

The original charges against the attorneys included extortion, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and making false statements to investigators.

BACKGROUND

Atway had been hired by store owner Charles Muth who faced sentencing in federal court for his involvement in a drive-by shooting incident where a bullet was fired into the Boardman home occupied by the wife of Rawhneh, a rival convenience store owner.

Instead of representing Muths best interests, prosecutors say Attorney Atway conspired with Rawhneh to leverage money and property from Muth by leading him to believe that if he didnt pay up, Rawhneh would appear at Muths sentencing hearing to urge that he receive more prison time.

Rawhneh operates the Tiger's Den Drive Thru in Howland, the Hanoverton One Stop in Hanoverton, the 7 & 30 Superette and Ohio Food Mart in East Liverpool, as well as two other stores in Ravenna and Kent.

At one point, Muth allegedly gave Rawhneh part ownership in one of his stores, and gave attorney Atway $18,000 dollars with the understanding that the cash would be given to Rawhneh, according to court documents.

Atway and Cochran pleaded guilty to the lesser charges after federal prosecutors said they would retry the case following the mistrial.

Attorney Cochran was charged with misbehavior in the presence of the court because during his March trial, Cochran testified under oath that he didnt know before Muths sentencing that Rawhneh had told Atway that he would remain silent during sentencing if Rawhneh could come to an agreement with Muth.

However the U.S. Attorney says Cochran was party to a phone conversation prior to the sentencing where Atway told Muth that Rawhneh would agree to keep his mouth shut during Muths sentencing.

Rawhneh has already pleaded guilty to charges of aiding and abetting, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and conspiracy to tamper with a witness, victim or an informant. He has yet to be sentenced.

The board proposes a two-year suspension for Atway and a stayed one -year suspension for Cochran. (Mike Frisch)

https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/legal_profession/2017/08/the-ohio-board-on-professional-responsibility-has-filed-recommendations-in-two-matters-that-led-to-criminal-convictions-wff.html
The award-winning African Real Estate & Infrastructure Summit comes to Gauteng in October to gather leading built environment and property professionals from all over the continent to focus on "Developing Future African Cities".

By: African Real Estate & Infrastructure Summit

Africa's cities are facing an urban 'polycrisis'

Media Contact

Spintelligent, Benjamin Jones

benjamin.jones@ spintelligent.com

+27217003595 Spintelligent, Benjamin Jones+27217003595

End

-- The award-winningcomes to Gauteng in October to gather leading built environment and property professionals, architects, project developers, investors, town planners, and city and municipal managers from all over the continent to focus on "Developing Future African Cities"."Over the next 20 years, growth in Africa's urban population will increase the demand for more infrastructure, including transport, housing, hospitals, schools, retail, industrial and fundamental facilities,"says Benjamin Jones, Event Manager of African Real Estate & Infrastructure Summit. He adds: "to meet this ongoing demand, public and private sector stakeholders will need to adapt their strategies to develop and fund projects that will need to meet the specific demands and challenges of African cities." The summit will take place at the Sandton Convention Centre from 25-26 October.JLL, the global financial and professional services firm specialising in commercial real estate services and investment management, is the official content sponsor for the event. Simon Ardonceau (MRICS), JLL's Head of Strategic Consulting, Sub-Saharan Africa and speaker at the African Real Estate & Infrastructure Summit, says: "driven by strong fundamentals such as sustained economic growth, favourable demographics, emergence of a middle class and rapid urbanisation, the real estate sector is bound to grow."Visionary city planningIn November last year, the inaugural African Real Estate & Infrastructure Summit in Cape Town provided an innovative space for more than 300 sector experts gathered for interactive sessions that focused on key case studies of visionary city planning, investment opportunities in the commercial and residential real estate sectors across the continent as well as the challenges of urbanisation. A key finding of the conference was that Africa's cities are facing an urban 'polycrisis' and that there is a need for a new urban agenda and an opportunity for innovative solutions to address urbanisation challenges.The summit was voted Africa's best Confex (half conference, half exhibition) earlier this year by the AAXO ROAR event industry awards.More key findings that emerged during the firstincluded:- African countries need to adopt new development models designed to take advantage of urbanisation by facilitating structural transformation, creating jobs and addressing social inequality and poverty, while creating sustainable human settlements with equal opportunity for all.- The future of Africa is at stake and the future of Africa will be more and more linked to how cities are managed and the way they choose to contribute to African unity.- Careful, complex, thorough administrative management and pro-poor urban development will turn African cities into world-class cities, not design plans based on fantasy Dubai-esque city makeovers.- The city is the centre of the emancipated state and social media needs to be harnessed to unleash the potential of Africa's smart cities.- The City of Cape Town has invested over R22 billion in infrastructure over the last five years and needs to provide an additional 650 000 housing opportunities over the next 20 years.- Merely pursuing low-density low-cost housing on the outskirts of the cities is not an option. Innovative thinking must be part of the solutions for urbanisation challenges and partnerships between the public and private sectors play an important role.Leading African cities that have been invited to showcase their major infrastructure and building projects and opportunities in October at African Real Estate & Infrastructure Summit include: Abuja, Nigeria; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Cape Town, South Africa; Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania; Johannesburg, South Africa; Kampala, Uganda; Kigali, Rwanda; Lagos, Nigeria; Luanda, Angola; Lusaka, Zambia; Maputo, Mozambique; Nairobi, Kenya; Harare, Zimbabwe and Kinshasa, DRC.During the same week as African Real Estate & Infrastructure Summit, the Property Buyer Show also comes to Gauteng from 27-29 October at the Sandton Convention Centre. The Property Buyer Show, which took place for the first time in Cape Town in April this year, is a unique exhibition aimed at first-time residential property buyers or real estate investors. The innovative exhibition layout is designed to walk buyers through the property buying process and meet with Developers, Agents and Financial Service Providers.The African Real Estate & Infrastructure Summit and the Property Buyer Show are organised by the multi award-winning Spintelligent, well known for organising exhibitions and conferences across the continent in the infrastructure, energy, mining, agriculture and education sectors. Longstanding flagship events by Spintelligent include African Utility Week, Future Energy Nigeria (formerly WAPIC), Future Energy East Africa (formerly EAPIC), Agritech Expo Zambia, DRC Mining Week and EduWeek. Spintelligent is part of Clarion Events Ltd, based in the UK.Dates and location:African Real Estate & Infrastructure Summit: 25-26 October 2017Property Buyer Show conference: 27 October 2017Property Buyer Show expo: 28-29 October 2017Location: Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg, South AfricaWebsites: http://www.african- real-estate- summit.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ARES_Summit & https://twitter.com/propertyshowsaLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8518271Media contact:Senior communications manager: Annemarie RoodbolTelephone: +27 21 700 3558Mobile: +27 82 562 7844Email: annemarie.roodbol@spintelligent.com
Author-illustrator and designer Rebecca Bond, who created 10 books for young readers, died on August 2 after a brief illness. She was 45.

Bond was raised in the small town of Peacham, Vt. Back in 1999, Bond told PW that she and her sister were often read to as children. I have to credit my mother a lot, as this had a huge influence on me. All the things I dowriting, painting, playing the pianoare a result of it. I dont know if I would have become a childrens book author and illustrator otherwise.

Bond graduated from Brown University in 1995 with a degree in visual arts. During that time, she also took classes at the Rhode Island School of Design with author-illustrator David Macaulay and with art professor and agent Judy Sue Goodwin-Sturges, who went on to become an important mentor. Following graduation, Bond worked at Studio Goodwin-Sturges in Boston, developing several ideas for picture books, while simultaneously pursuing work in social services and teaching. With help from Goodwin-Sturges, she presented her work to publishers, sparking the interest of Little, Brown editor Megan Tingley. Bond was named a PW Flying Start in 1999 for her debut picture book, Just Like a Baby (Little, Brown).

Bond went on to write and illustrate nine more books, including Escape from Baxters Barn (HMH, 2015) and Out of the Woods: A True Story of an Unforgettable Event (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2015), inspired by her grandfathers childhood. She also collaborated with authors Jean Van Leeuwen, Suzanne Slade, and Christopher Pennell. In addition to creating books for young readers, Bond was a senior designer at HMH Books for Young Readers; she joined the company in 2008 and worked there until her death.

Ann Rider, executive editor at HMH Books for Young Readers, said, Rebecca was a brilliant author and illustrator. She could not only draw and paintgraceful watercolors, joyful, kinetic pen-and-ink illustrationsbut she could write. Her stories were full of warmth and wisdom and a keen understanding of children. She was also a talented designer, one who understood artists and had a deep respect for the careful marriage of art and text. She simply loved the world of books and at the launch of our publishing lists, I could always sense her raised antennae as she listened intently to each book being presented. Rider remembered her colleague as full of life and adventure and kindness. Rebecca made others around her feel the great possibilities in the world.
Margarita Engle, the nations current Young Peoples Poet Laureate and the Cuban-American author of many books in verse, including the Newbery Honor-winning The Surrender Tree and other books inspired by historical figures, takes a different tack in All the Way to Havana, due from Henry Holts Godwin Books on August 29. The picture book, a contemporary story that follows a Cuban familys car journey across rural Cuba to the city, also marks a departure for illustrator Mike Curato, creator of the Little Elliot series, who for the first time worked in mixed media that integrated acrylic paintings, pencil drawings, digital coloring, and photos he took on a weeklong research trip to Cuba in September 2015.

The collaboration was the brainchild of Laura Godwin, who had edited a number of Engles earlier books, most recently Bravo!: Poems About Amazing Hispanics, and is editor of Curatos Little Elliot picture book series. This was a very easy suggestion to make, she recalled. Sometimes an editor is lucky enough to have an idea that sparks a flame and takes on a life of its own when the author and illustrator run with it and make it theirs. I knew Margarita and Mike would get along, both being warm, resourceful, and extremely talented people. Margarita always speaks about the Cuban culture and people with such fondness, and with such a spirit of family and connectedness. And I knew that Mike loves old cars and architecture and that he really pays attention to details, and that made him a perfect match for a story set in Cuba.

In preparation for creating the books illustrations, Curato traveled to Cuba with a Spanish-speaking friend who served as translator, and stayed with Engles cousins, who supplement their meager income as doctors with a bed-and-breakfast business in Havana. The illustrator hired a car and driver to traverse the country, mirroring the journey of the family featured in the story (but in reverse).

The car was a 1953 Chevythe very car that I featured in the bookand it had been in the drivers family for years, Curato said. It was important for me to have the same experience as the storys characters, and as we drove through the countryside, we stopped at farms and talked to folks, and I took lots of photographs. It was so helpful to get the feel of the countryside, which is so lovely. It was hot and humid, there was no air-conditioning in the car, and the air was filled with diesel fumesbut the authenticity of the experience and my excitement about this project far outweighed any inconveniences.

Engle was amazed and thrilled to see Curatos art and its accurate portrayal of Cuba and its residents, whose extreme poverty she has witnessed over the decades on her frequent trips to the country. It was so important to me that the poverty was not masked in the book, she noted. Fronts of Cuban buildings are painted bright colors to please tourists, while the backs of the structures, and balconies, are crumbling. And the vintage cars are not a luxurythey exemplify the spirit of the countrys people to figure out how to make do and keep things going, even if it means using a boat engine in a car. Theres a remarkable spirit of perseverancewhich is seen in the poor everywhere in the worldthat is really about hope and about never giving up.

The author hopes that All the Way to Havana, which has received four pre-pub starred reviews, including one from PW, will engage kids of all ages. Younger children can read the book as a simple story about a family going on a road trip and reaching out to neighbors, she said, while I hope the book gives older children a true sense of Cuba today. Though [former] president Obama re-established diplomatic relationships with Cuba, which to me was an amazing symbolic gesture of friendship and hope, there is a very long way to go. The financial embargo hasnt been lifted, and Cubans still cope with dire food and fuel shortages. My hope is that this book will help readers feel empathy for one of the United Statess closest neighbors, and help children believe, as I do, that neighbors should be friends.

All the Way to Havana by Margarita Engle, illus. by Mike Curato. Holt/Godwin, $17.99 Aug. ISBN 978-1-62779-642-2
Twenty-five years ago, when Walker U.K. opened a U.S. branch, rather than continue to sell rights to U.S. publishers, it was forced to take a different name on this side of the pond. The name Walker was already in use, and Candlewick Press was born. Now Candlewick is poised to begin publishing in the U.S. for the first time under the Walker name.

In fall 2018, Candlewick will introduce its inaugural Walker Books U.S. list. The announcement follows Candlewicks recent purchase of the Walker trademark from Bloomsbury, which took it when it acquired U.S. indie Walker and Company.

Candlewick president and publisher Karen Lotz, managing director of the Walker Books Group, approached Bloomsbury, following its decision in 2014 to stop using the name and fold Walker Books for Young Readers into Bloomsbury Childrens Books.

It feels very fitting that weve grown up by our 25th year and at the dawn of Walkers 40th to open up yet another new initiative in the United States, this time under the founding name, bringing the Walker Bear full circle at last, Lotz said.

For the past five years in particular, she continued, Walker U.K. has grown its success with titles from the U.S. list. She pointed to their success with American author Jon Klassen, who received a Kate Greenaway medal in 2014, and U.S.-originated series like Timmy Failure and Judy Moody. Leslye Waltons next Ava Lavender title will have a joint debut in the U.S. and the U.K. in 2018.

But Lotz lamented the fact that up until now Candlewick hasnt had a chance to benefit in the same way, particularly in the YA area. The new list, she said, will capitalize on the Walker name and reputation. While its too soon to mention specific titles that will appear on the new Walker Books U.S. list, Lotz noted that it will be a place for more commercial titles than Candlewick typically publishes. Not that Candlewick doesnt continue to publish a number of bestsellers. This summer two books in Kate DiCamillos Mercy Watson series went back onto the New York Times list in large part because of a summer reading promotion with Target.

The Walker Books U.S. list will include both U.K. and U.S.-originated titles, which will be available in the U.S. and Canada. Where rights allow for domestically originated titles, these books will also travel to the rest of the world. Initially the list will focus on middle-grade and YA fiction and nonfiction. But it will expand to other ages and categories.

Candlewick plans to add three positions, primarily in New York, to help develop and launch the new list. All sales and marketing, as well as production and business function, will be supplied by the current Somerville, Mass.-based Candlewick team.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi arrived in Mosul on Sunday, dressed in a black military uniform, and announced the liberation of the city where Islamic State declared its so-called caliphate in 2014. The world did not imagine that Iraqis could eliminate Daesh, he remarked, using the Arabic acronym for the group.

But this war is far from over. A growing number of Iraq's Sunnis are disenchanted with the slow pace of reconstruction and frustrated with a Baghdad government they consider too friendly to Iran. The U.S. needs to shift its focus quickly from supporting military operations in cities such as Mosul to helping the Iraqi government better address political grievances. Failure risks sowing the seeds of ISIS's resurgence.

ISIS started strong in 2014, taking advantage of Sunni grievances against the Iraqi government. At its peak, according to a RAND Corp. analysis, ISIS controlled nearly 58,000 square kilometers of territory in Iraq, home to more than six million people. But beginning in 2016 the group lost significant territory in cities like Sinjar, Fallujah, Ramadi and now most of Mosul to a combination of U.S. and allied strikes, ground assaults by the Iraqi security forces, and Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish militia advances.

Despite these successes, there are troubling signs in Iraq, particularly within the Sunni Arab community. Take the western city of Fallujah. A year after Iraqi forces liberated the city, residents are disenchanted because of the slow pace of rebuilding, the absence of government services and skyrocketing unemployment. This area was liberated in June, and it still looks the same now, Hussein Ahmed, a Fallujah resident, told a visiting journalist earlier this year. I speak for thousands of people when I say the government has forgotten us.

Many Sunnis also look warily at growing Iranian influence. Tehran is committed to increasing its influence in Iraq through such organizations as the Popular Mobilization Units, militias that include as many as 150,000 Shiite fighters. To the consternation of many Sunnis, Iraq's parliament passed a law in December 2016 formally integrating the Popular Mobilization Units into Iraq's security forces. Today, such Shiite forces are nearly as large as the entire Iraqi army.

ISIS fighters are attempting to leverage these grievances in several ways. Its operatives have recruited new members who are unhappy about the pace of reconstruction in Sunni towns and cities, angry about friends or family members who have been abused by pro-government militias, and nervous about Iran's growing influence in the country. Iraq's security services have noted with alarm that ISIS cells are re-establishing intelligence networks in Ramadi and Fallujah. Even after last week's defeat in Mosul, ISIS still holds nearly 10,000 square kilometers of territory in Iraq with a total population of one million, including the western city of al Qa'im. It also boasts over 15,000 fighters across the Iraq-Syria battlefield and more than $500 million in annual revenue through the end of 2016, though ISIS's monthly revenues have declined in 2017.

ISIS is also shifting from conventional to guerrilla operations, including ambushes, raids, suicide attacks, car bombs and assassinations. The group is relocating its personnel and battlefield supplies to mountains, caves and desert areas around the Iraqi city of Haditha, Lake Tharthar, and the Iraq-Syria border region. ISIS has also used multi-rotor and fixed wing drones for surveillance and, occasionally, strike missions. In addition, the group is restructuring its wilayahs, or provinces, and decentralizing its organizational structure in Syria and Iraq to conduct more effective guerrilla operations. In light of these developments, the U.S. should establish a more aggressive political strategy to prevent Islamic State's revitalization. U.S. diplomats and military leaders need to encourage Iraqi leaders to better address Sunni grievances. One step would be to cut in half the number of Shiite forces under the Popular Mobilization Units and transition militia fighters to civilian employment. U.S. officials might also press Baghdad to withdraw Shiite militias from the Iraq-Syria border, including in Nineveh, where they facilitate a regional pipeline of Shiite fighters from Iran all the way to Lebanon.

In addition, the U.S. should help coordinate international assistance coming into Iraq, with an emphasis on rapid repair of damaged infrastructure in urban centers like Mosul, Ramadi, Fallujah and Beiji. Reconstruction assistance should be openly associated with efforts to move the Iraqi government and Sunni Arabs closer together. Islamic State's predecessor, al Qaeda in Iraq, began to reconstitute itself in 2011 in part because of Baghdad's failure to address Sunni grievances and Washington's decision to withdraw U.S. forces and inability to influence Iraqi politics. It would be doubly tragic to make the same mistake again today.

Seth Jones is director of the International Security and Defense Policy Center at the RAND Corporation and author of Waging Insurgent Warfare: Lessons from the Vietcong to the Islamic State (Oxford).

This commentary originally appeared on The Wall Street Journal on July 12, 2017. Commentary gives RAND researchers a platform to convey insights based on their professional expertise and often on their peer-reviewed research and analysis.
Ukrainian officials and local residents moved to stabilize conditions in the freshly recaptured southern city of Kherson, as Russian symbols were being torn down and with the restoration of Ukrainian radio and television service and a new police presence.

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.

The action on November 12 came after months of occupation by Russian forces following their unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February and as Ukrainian and Western officials hailed Kyivs latest extraordinary battlefield success and Moscows strategic failure.

Separately, Russian occupying forces said late on November 12 that they were preparing to leave the city of Nova Kakhovka, the site of a damaged dam on the Dnieper River, to a safer location, according to Russian state-run TASS news agency.

As jubilant Kherson residents awoke the morning following the arrival of the first Ukrainian troops, Ukraines military said it was putting stabilization measures in place to ensure safety.

Ihor Klymenko, chief of the National Police of Ukraine, said about 200 officers were at their posts in Kherson and that checkpoints had been set up. Authorities also began seeking out any evidence of possible Russian war crimes, he said in a Facebook post.



The Ukrainian communications watchdog said national TV and radio broadcasts had resumed in the strategic southern city and officials said aid supplies had begun to arrive from nearby regions.

Social media postings on November 12 showed local residents removing memorial plaques put up by Kremlin-installed authorities during the occupation.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and other officials warned that while special forces had entered central Kherson, the full deployment of Ukrainian troops was still under way and that some Russian soldiers could have shed military uniforms for civilian clothing and remained in the city.

Even when the city is not yet completely cleansed of the enemys presence, the people of Kherson themselves are already removing Russian symbols and any traces of the occupiers stay in Kherson from the streets and buildings, Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address.

But he said that medicine, communications, social services are returning. Life is returning.

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.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, speaking to world leaders at an ASEAN summit in Cambodia, warned that the celebratory mood could turn grim with the possible discovery of war crimes evidence in Kherson.

Such evidence was discovered after Russian troops pulled out of the Kyiv and Kharkiv regions months ago.

Every time we liberate a piece of our territory, when we enter a city liberated from the Russian Army, we find torture rooms and mass graves with civilians tortured and murdered by the Russian Army in the course of the occupation of the territories," he said. "Its not easy to speak with people like this. But I said that every war ends with diplomacy and Russia has to approach talks in good faith.

The White House on November 12 hailed Russias withdrawal from Kherson as an "extraordinary victory" for Ukraine.

"It does look as though the Ukrainians have just won an extraordinary victory where the one regional capital that Russia had seized in this war is now back under a Ukrainian flag -- and that is quite a remarkable thing," U.S. national-security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters as he accompanied President Joe Biden to the ASEAN summit.

Sullivan said that the Russian retreat would have "broader strategic implications," including relieving the longer-term threat by Russia to other southern Ukrainian cities such as Odesa.

"It's a big moment, and it's due to the incredible tenacity and skill of the Ukrainians, backed by the relentless and united support of the United States and our allies," Sullivan said.

Asked about reports that the Biden administration has started to press Zelenskiy to explore negotiations with Moscow, Sullivan said Russia, not Ukraine, was the side that has to decide whether or not to go to the table.

"This whole notion, I think, in the Western press of, 'When's Ukraine going to negotiate?' misses the underlying fundamentals," Sullivan said.

Russia, he added, continues to make "outlandish claims" about its self-declared annexations of Ukrainian lands, even as it retreats from Ukrainian counterattacks.

"Ultimately, at a 30,000-foot level, Ukraine is the party of peace in this conflict and Russia is the party of war. Russia invaded Ukraine. If Russia chose to stop fighting in Ukraine and left, it would be the end of the war. If Ukraine chose to stop fighting and give up, it would be the end of Ukraine," he said. "In that context, our position remains the same as it has been and fundamentally is in close consultation and support of President Zelenskiy.

Separately, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said on November 12 that Moscow's "strategic failure" in Kherson will sow doubt among the Russian public about the point of the war in Ukraine.

"Russia's announced withdrawal from Kherson marks another strategic failure for them. In February, Russia failed to take any of its major objectives except Kherson," Wallace said in a statement. "Now with that also being surrendered, ordinary people of Russia must surely ask themselves: 'What was it all for?'"

Meanwhile, Pavel Filipchuk, the head of the occupation government in Nova Kakhovka, told administrators and residents that Russian forces will be pullng back from the city on the right bank of the Dnieper River.

He cited concerns that the key dam could be damaged by missiles, which would result in flooding.

Both Kyiv and Moscow have accused each other of planning to blast the dam, which has already been severely damaged.

With reporting by AFP, AP, dpa, and Reuters
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
Six Russians and five Serbs have left Kosovo after being detained by police for illegally crossing the border from Serbia.

The 11 people detained on August 8 were traveling in two vehicles when they were stopped near the border, Kosovo's police force said.

A court in Podujeva, north of the capital, Pristina, imposed a 250-euro ($295) on each member of the group for illegally crossing the border.

Remzi Potoku, a lawyer for one of the Serbs, on August 10 confirmed that the group left Kosovo after paying the fine.

The detentions came amid persistent concerns in the Balkans about Russian influence.

Potoku, whose Serbian client is married to a Russian, told RFE/RL that his client said the group had been on their way to visit family members in Kosovo.

A spokesman for the Russian Embassy in Belgrade, Yury Pichugin, confirmed that the Russian citizens in the group had left Kosovo.

"The situation with the Russian nationals detained in Kosovo has been settled. Under a ruling of the court in the city of Podujeva, they have paid a fine and left Kosovo accompanied by an officer of the Russian Embassy in Pristina," Pichugin said.

Pichugin said that two of the Russians were local residents who are members of a Serbian citizen's family.

Predominantly ethnic Albanian Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008. It is recognized by more than 100 countries, including the United States, but not by Serbia or Russia.

With reporting by AP and TASS
BISHKEK -- The state prosecutor in the politically charged bribery trial of Kyrgyz opposition party leader Omurbek Tekebaev has recommended a 10-year prison sentence if he is convicted.

The prosecutor also asked the judge on August 10 to sentence Tekebaev's co-defendant, former Emergency Situations Minister Duishonkul Chotonov, to eight years in prison.

The prosecutor requested that both politicians' property be confiscated and that the defendants be barred from government posts for three years after their release.

Tekebaev and Chotonov are charged with receiving a $1 million bribe from a Russian businessman in 2010, when Tekebaev was deputy prime minister.

Both deny any wrongdoing, saying the case against them was politically motivated.

Tekebayev's Ata-Meken (Fatherland) party has alleged that the government launched the case in an effort to stifle dissent ahead of the October presidential election in the Central Asian country and keep Tekebaev off the ballot.

Tekebaev was arrested in late February. On March 5, Ata-Meken named him its candidate for the presidential election.

Also on August 10, the Central Election Commission rejected Tekebaev's request to allow him to take a Kyrgyz language test, a legal requirement for presidential nominees' official registration.
A Russian lawyer for a Crimean Tatar leader who is on trial in Russian-controlled Crimea has sharply criticized the Kremlin, comparing President Vladimir Putin's Russia with Nazi Germany and suggesting officials who serve the state will face an unhappy fate.

Nikolai Polozov made the comments on August 9 as he wrapped up the defense case in the trial of Ahtem Chiygoz, who is charged with organizing an illegal demonstration against impending Russian rule over the Ukrainian peninsula in February 2014.

A recording of the lawyer's remarks was posted on Facebook by a Crimean Tatar activist, Nariman Dzhelalov.

Polozov compared Russia's annexation of Crimea with the annexation of Austria by Adolf Hitler's Germany in 1938, saying that in both cases officials used slogans about "the unity of the nation, historic justice, and return to the native harbor."



He also said in Austria and in Crimea, opponents of the takeover faced reprisals.

"Those Austrians who wanted to see their country independent were tried and sent to concentration camps, similar to what Russia is doing now with those who oppose the annexation," Polozov said.

Rights groups and Kremlin critics say that the trial of Chiygoz is part of a campaign of abuses and politically motivated prosecutions of Crimeans who opposed the Russian takeover.

Polozov cited a prosecutor at the Nuremberg trials of Nazi leaders after World War II as saying that they were "the first case when criminals who seized a country to commit their horrendous crimes were brought to a courtroom."

"Unfortunately, in my country, in the Russian Federation, what we see in the last 18 years is the same: criminals who seized the country and are using it for their horrendous crimes," Polozov said.

Putin has been in power as president or prime minister since 1999.

Polozov said that after "suppressing freedom of speech and political competition" at home, "Russia's current leadership decided to do the same in the neighboring countries."

He urged the judge and court officers "not to become accomplices of those who seized this country and not to do evil things along with them."

"I call on the court to make a moral choice.... because in 1938, when Austria was seized, nobody thought that in seven years, many of the functionaries and their flunkies ended up...in courtrooms as defendants, at the least," he said.

Polozov's statement came two days after prosecutors asked the court to convict Chiygoz and sentence him to to eight years in prison.



Defense lawyers say the charge against Chiygoz is absurd because the demonstration against Russian moves to seize control of Crimea came before Moscow took control of the peninsula the following month, and no Ukrainian laws were violated.

Russia has been sharply criticized by international rights groups and Western governments for its treatment of members of the indigenous Turkic-speaking Crimean Tatar minority.

Chiygoz, 52, is a leader of the Majlis, the Crimean Tatar assembly that was outlawed by Russia after Moscow's forcible takeover of the Black Sea peninsula.

Two other Crimean Tatars charged in connection with the demonstration -- Ali Asanov and Mustafa Degermendzhy -- are recognized as political prisoners by the Russian human rights group Memorial.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and other international organizations have called for their release.

Russia moved swiftly to take over Crimea after Moscow-friendly Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was driven from power by pro-European protesters in February 2014.

Russia seized the peninsula, which is home to a major Russian naval base, by sending in troops and staging a referendum dismissed as illegal by Ukraine, the United States, and a total of 100 countries.

The Russian takeover badly damaged Moscow's relations with Kyiv and the West and resulted in the imposition of sanctions by the European Union, the United States, and several other countries.
Deposed Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif criticized the country's Supreme Court for disqualifying him from office over undisclosed wealth on the second day of his "caravan of democracy" on August 10.

Sharif stopped for the night in the town of Jhelum, about one-third of the way through a procession from Islamabad to his hometown of Lahore, a journey that appears staged to show that he remains popular among voters despite being forced out of office last month.

Giving a speech in Jhelum on a makeshift stage behind bulletproof glass, Sharif told a crowd of about 10,000 supporters that the Supreme Court justices acted against the people's will.

"I was removed in a minute," he said. "It is not an insult to an elected prime minister, but an insult to millions of voters."

Sharif said his conscience is "clean" about the charges against him.

Sharif launched the "caravan" despite concerns among close advisers about his security. He has attracted crowds of thousands of people so far during the journey, although the numbers had dwindled somewhat by the time he got to Jhelum.

Sharif resigned on July 28, shortly after the Supreme Court disqualified him from office following an investigation that concluded that his family could not account for what the court said was vast wealth in offshore companies.

The claim stems from the Panama Papers leaks in April 2016, when documents from a Panama-based law firm revealed that three of Sharifs four children owned offshore companies and assets not shown on his family's wealth statement.

Sharif's ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party elected his close aide Shahid Khaqan Abbasi as his replacement on August 1.

Sharif spoke briefly to his supporters at Sohawa while en route to Jhelum.

"There are no allegations of corruption against me," Sharif told the crowds from inside his bulletproof car. "The honorable judges sent me home. Do you agree with their decision?" he asked.

The march is taking place amid tight security, with large numbers of police officers and paramilitary soldiers deployed both in Islamabad and along the Grand Trunk Road, the main highway connecting the capital with Lahore.

Late on August 9, addressing a rally in Rawalpindi, Sharif said the court's decision to disqualify him from office last month was an "insult to voters."



Sharif's "caravan" took 12 hours to travel the 20 kilometers from Islamabad to Rawalpindi due to big crowds estimated as large as 30,000 that were walking and driving alongside his car.

However, Sharif's decision to address crowds from within a bulletproof car drew criticism from Imran Khan, the leader of the Tehreek-i-Insaf opposition party.

"Speaking from a bulletproof car doesn't inspire confidence in already dwindling crowds. If you fear death, you shouldn't undertake 'people's' rallies," Khan tweeted on August 10.

With reporting by dawn.com, AP, and AFP
Pakistan is planning a rare state funeral to honor Ruth Pfau, a German-born nun who helped the Southeast Asian country wipe out leprosy.

Pfau, 87, who was referred to by many as Pakistans Mother Theresa, died on August 10 at a hospital affiliated with her Marie Adelaide Leprosy Center in the southern city of Karachi.

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said the government would give her a state funeral to honor her for "selfless and unmatched" services to Pakistan.

Shariq Zaman, a spokesman for Pfau's charity, said the funeral is scheduled for August 19 in Karachi.

Charity spokeswoman Salwa Zainab said Pfau arrived in Pakistan in 1960 and devoted the rest of her life to treating leprosy throughout the country.

She established 157 centers to treat people infected with leprosy, later expanding her efforts to aid tuberculosis patients.

State funerals in Pakistan generally are held for soldiers killed in war or for government leaders.

Based on reporting by Reuters, dpa, and Samaa TV
Rising water levels are hampering rescue efforts as emergency workers at one of Russia's largest diamond mines continued their frantic search for eight miners still missing in an underground shaft.

"The water level is continuing to rise in the Mir mine where rescuers have been searching for eight workers for six days," the Emergency Situations Ministry said on August 10, warning that the tunnels are "gradually filling up" with water.

A water cavern collapsed into an underground shaft with 142 workers inside at the Mir mine in the Sakha region early on August 4. So far, 134 workers have been safely evacuated from the site, according to Alrosa, Russia's largest diamond producer.

The rising water levels in the crater are hindering the safety of rescue operations, Alrosa said, adding it is now trying to drop in large objects to block water from filling passageways in the mine.

No casualties have been reported so far in the accident at the mine, located some 4,160 kilometers east of Moscow.

The Mir mine was launched in 2009 and produces 1 million tons of diamond ore per year. Last year, the diamonds it produced totaled 3.19 million carats, according to the company's website.

With reporting by AFP, TASS, and Interfax
The Russian Culture Ministry has cleared for release a film highlighting the romantic youth of Tsar Nicholas II, despite requests by Orthodox activists and other conservatives to ban the film.

The ministry on August 10 said it had issued a screening certificate for the film, titled Matilda, which depicts Nicholas II's relationship with half-Polish teen dancer Matilda Kshesinskaya.

In making the announcement, Vyacheslav Telnov, chief of the ministry's film department, said it found Matilda in full compliance with legal norms.

He said the film had been cleared for release nationwide but that regional officials would be allowed to make their own decisions for areas under their authority.

It is timed to be released on the centennial of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution.

Some Orthodox leaders and hard-line nationalists vehemently opposed allowing the film to be shown, claiming it besmirches the memory of Nicholas, who was canonized as an Orthodox saint in 2000.

The campaign to ban the film was led by Natalya Poklonskaya, a controversial State Duma lawmaker who has expressed monarchist views and served as the chief regional prosecutor in Crimea following its illegal annexation by Moscow in March 2014.

Other critics, including Ramzan Kadyrov, the Kremlin-backed chief of Chechnya, argued that Matilda should be barred from theaters in the mostly Muslim regions in Russia's North Caucasus, saying it was a "premeditated insult to the feelings" of religious believers.

The film tells the story of a romance between Nicholas and Kshesinskaya when he was an unmarried crown prince. Trailers showing romantic scenes between the young prince and Kshesinskaya have outraged conservative critics.

The affair ended in 1894, when Nicholas married the German princess who became Empress Aleksandra. Kshesinskaya later married the tsar's cousin, Grand Duke Aleksandr Vladimirovich. She died in 1971.

Conservatives deny the well-documented affair took place, arguing that it would have been impossible for a prince to fall in love with a Pole who was "utterly homely.

Director Aleksei Uchitel rejected the accusations and has received support from several prominent Russian filmmakers.

The czar and his family were executed by a Bolshevik firing squad in July 1918.

With reporting by AP, TASS, Interfax, and RFE/RLs Robert Coalson
A Russian court has sentenced a man who took part in an antigovernment protest on March 26 to four years in prison.

The Tver district court in Moscow on August 9 found Andrei Kosykh guilty of causing bodily harm to two law enforcement officers and sentenced him the same day.

Anticorruption rallies held in Moscow and about 100 other cities across Russia on March 26 were among the largest protests against President Vladimir Putin's government since a wave of demonstrations in 2011-12. Many were held without government permission.

Police detained more than 1,000 people in Moscow alone including Aleksei Navalny, the Putin foe and anticorrupion crusader who called for the protests,

Kosykh, who pleaded guilty, is the fourth participant in the Moscow protest to be was convicted.

He and six other people -- Yury Kuly, Dmitry Borisov, Aleksei Politikov, Aleksandr Shpakov, Dmitry Krepkin, and Stanislav Zimovets -- were arrested on suspicion of attacking police officers at the rally.

In July, Zimovets was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in a so-called colony settlement -- a penitentiary in which convicts live close to an industrial facility or a farm where they work.

In May, Kuly was sentenced to eight months in a colony settlement and Shpakov was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

Based on reporting by Mediazona and TASS
Sergei Udaltsov, a prominent Russian opposition activist who was released on August 8 after nearly five years in custody, has vowed to revive his dormant Levy Front (Left Front) movement and hold new protests.

But at a news conference in Moscow on August 10, Udaltsov said that some opponents of President Vladimir Putin are too pro-Western and that he would not support Aleksei Navalny, who is seeking to run for president in March.

"That will never do -- to fully follow some Western demands; to return Crimea, for instance," Udaltsov said, referring to the Ukrainian peninsula that Russia occupied and seized in 2014. "I love my country and I am a patriot, although I am against the current government."

He added that he supported the Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine, saying that they "are fighting for their right to speak and think in Russian."

More than 10,000 people have been killed since April 2014 in the war between Kyiv's forces and the separatists, who hold parts of Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

Udaltsov was convicted of organizing "mass disorder" over a May 2012 protest on Moscow's Bolotnaya Square that erupted into violence.

Demonstrators and police blame each other for the violence, which led to the prosecution of dozens of protesters on charges rights activists say were trumped up.

As he has before, Udaltsov accused the authorities of responsibility for the clashes, but he alleged that some opposition leaders might have cooperated with the authorities to incite the violence. He did not provide evidence to support that claim.

More than 400 people were detained in connection with the Bolotnaya protest, part of a series of demonstrations that drew Russians angry over evidence of widespread fraud in December 2011 parliamentary elections and dismayed by Putin's return to the presidency after four years as prime minister.

More than 30 people were prosecuted in what came to be known as the Bolotnaya Case, and more than 20 were sentenced to prison or served time in pretrial custody.

Udaltsov, 40, said that he continued to oppose Putin but will not back Navalny's bid for the presidency. He said leftist opposition groups should propose a single candidate.

Putin has said he has not decided whether to seek a fourth Kremlin term, but he is widely expected to run and win.

Russian election authorities have said that Navalny will be barred from the ballot because of a financial-crimes conviction that he says was engineered by the Kremlin to punish him for his opposition activity and keep him out of electoral politics.

With reporting by Merhat Sharipzhan
A court in Moscow will hear a lawsuit on August 17 filed by relatives of Raoul Wallenberg against Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) to provide uncensored documentation that could help determine the fate of the former Swedish diplomat and war hero, a lawyer for the family says.

We feared we will encounter resistance from the court in the adoption of the claim given that in recent decades, Russian state bodies have invented various pretexts in order not to provide information on this case, Ivan Pavlov, a lawyer for Wallenberg's niece, Marie Dupuy, said on August 10.

Wallenberg, who saved thousands of Hungarian Jews from slaughter during World War II, was captured by Soviet forces in 1945 and later died in prison.

Russia has only said that Wallenberg died in 1947 in Moscow's notorious Lubyanka prison, which was run by the KGB, the predecessor of the FSB, although details of the death remain unclear.

The Soviets, and subsequently Russia, allege the then-35-year-old Swede died of a heart attack. Wallenbergs family, Swedish officials, and others have disputed that assertion.

Dupuy said on July 26 that she had asked the Russian legal association Team 29 to file the suit because "numerous requests to Russian authorities over many years, publicly and privately, by myself, by expert historians, and Swedish officials, have failed to yield any results."

She claimed Russian archives contained documents with direct relevance related to Wallenberg's fate but said his family and independent experts have not been allowed to examine the documents.

"As soon as [August 17], we will clarify the position of the FSB, which has not commented on this case in any way, and we will find out what we are going to face in court," Pavlov said.

With reporting by The New York Times, and Interfax
Working on a Russian dairy farm can be tough. It's a dirty job, with low pay, and long hours. Yelena Garayeva describes life as a milkmaid in the Ural village of Shumikha as "hell." But there's one person in the barn who seems to enjoy her job, the cow inseminator. (Current Time TV)
A Russian plane has conducted a surveillance flight over the U.S. Capitol building, Central Intelligence Agency, Pentagon, and other critical government centers in Washington after being cleared by the Pentagon.

The August 9 flight, which created a stir in U.S. media and political circles, was part of a long-standing program of surveillance under the Open Skies Treaty that allows both countries to fly unarmed observation planes over each other's territory.

Besides Russia and the United States, 32 other states have signed the treaty, which is aimed at fostering transparency about military activity, reducing mistrust and misunderstandings, and facilitating the monitoring of arms-control agreements.

CNN and Politico reported that besides buzzing over Washington, the Russian Tu-154M plane is due to fly over Bedminster, New Jersey, where President Donald Trump is vacationing, and the presidential retreat in Camp David, Maryland.

Pentagon spokesman Dan Gaffney said he could not confirm the path of the plane until its mission was over. "A typical mission has several segments taking place over a few days," he said.

But the U.S. Capitol Police issued an advisory ahead of time, saying an "authorized low-altitude aircraft" would enter restricted airspace over the Capitol between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on August 9.

"The aircraft will be large and may fly directly over the U.S. Capitol," the police notice said. "This flight will be monitored by the U.S. Capitol Police command center and other federal government agencies."

Since the treaty entered into force in 2002, there have been more than 1,200 Open Skies flights. According to the Pentagon, the overflights are conducted by aircraft typically equipped with film and sensors allowed under the treaty.

The Pentagon and State Department said that before the flights, each state is given the flight plan of the mission and escorts fly aboard the aircraft to make sure it complies with the treaty. After each flight, the host country gets a copy of any imagery taken by the observation aircraft.

U.S. officials have testified in the past that while Russia complies with the Open Skies Treaty, they believe it has adopted measures that are inconsistent with the spirit of the accord.

The treaty, for instance, obligates each member to make all of its territory available for observation, yet officials said Russia has imposed restrictions on surveillance over Moscow and Chechnya and near Abkhazia and South Ossetia, two breakaway regions of Georgia now under Russian control.

With reporting by AP, CNN, Politico, and TASS
DUSHANBE -- Tajik authorities say a driver who is suspected of causing a fatal traffic accident in Dushanbe is an officer of the State Committee for National Security (KDAM).

In the statement on its website on August 10, the Interior Ministry said that a 24-year-old investigator with KDAM's Investigative Department, Odiljon Sharifov, was driving a Mercedes that hit two pedestrians, killing one of them, on July 30.

The statement identifying the suspect came 11 days after the accident.

Citizens of Tajikistan and several former Soviet republics have voiced anger over past incidents in which officials or their relatives have avoided prosecution or punishment despite being convicted or suspected of culpability in fatal accidents.

In 2013, after several high-profile crashes, Tajik authorities publicly acknowledged that reckless driving by children of the country's elite had been responsible for fatal road accidents.

The authorities then installed 850 closed-circuit video cameras across Dushanbe, the capital.
The leader of Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region says his plan to create a country called Little Russia has failed.

In a statement on August 9, Aleksandr Zakharchenko said the name Little Russia -- Malorossia in Russian-- "was rejected by many."

Zakharchenko had announced the initiative on July 18, suggesting that Malorossia would encompass all of Ukraine and saying Donetsk would be its capital.

It was met with derision and criticism Kyiv and the West, and did not receive the Kremlin's support.

In the new statement, Zakharchenko claimed that the idea of reestablishing Ukraine with a less powerful central government and a new name "has won a broad support," but gave no evidence of that.

More than 10,000 people have been killed since April 2014 in the conflict between Ukrainian forces and the Russia-backed separatists in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

With reporting by TASS and Interfax
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U.S. President Donald Trump on August 10 said his statement that North Korea "will be met with fire and fury" if it threatened the United States again may not have been tough enough.

Speaking to reporters as he vacationed at his golf club in New Jersey, Trump said that while he will always consider negotiations, Pyongyang should be very, very nervous if it does anything to the United States.

"North Korea better get their act together, or they are going to be in trouble like few nations have ever been in trouble," he said.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has "disrespected our country greatly. He has said things that are horrific," Trump said. "And with me, he's not getting away with it."

"It's not a dare. It's a statement," Trump said. "He's not going to go around threatening Guam. And he's not going to threaten the United States. And he's not going to threaten Japan. And he's not going to threaten South Korea."

North Korea has said it will complete plans by mid-month to strike near the U.S. Pacific island territory of Guam with intermediate-range ballistic missiles.

"Let's see what he does with Guam," Trump said. "He does something in Guam, it will be an event the likes of which nobody's seen before, what will happen in North Korea."

Shortly after Trump spoke, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said the United States is "ready" to take on North Korea, but Washington still prefers to resolve matters through negotiations because any war would be "catastrophic."

On August 8, the U.S. president warned that North Korea will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen" after a Washington Post report, citing U.S. intelligence officials, said Pyongyang had produced a miniaturized nuclear warhead that can fit inside its missiles -- a key step in the country's attempt to become a full-fledged nuclear power.

In response, Pyongyang announced a detailed plan to fire missiles near the U.S. territory of Guam soon as a "crucial warning," adding that "only absolute force can work" on Trump.

Tensions between Washington and Pyongyang have escalated after North Korea tested two intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) in July, later claiming that it now had the capability to reach all of the U.S. mainland.

Last week, the United Nations imposed its harshest sanctions yet on Pyongyang as a result of its nuclear weapons program. They are expected to cut North Korea's export revenues by one-third.

Trump praised China and Russia for backing the sanctions, saying, I have great respect for what China and what Russia did.

But he said China, North Korea's closest ally, could do "a lot more" to pressure Pyongyang to end its nuclear weapons program.

Trump also railed against previous U.S. administrations for not being tough enough on North Korea, calling the countrys pursuit of nuclear weapons a "tragedy."

Earlier on August 10, North Koreas state-run news agency KCNA quoted General Kim Rak Gyom, commander of the Strategic Force of the Korean People's Army (KPA), as saying that Pyongyang was planning to launch four Hwasong-12 rockets that would fly over Japan and hit the water around 30 to 40 kilometers away from Guam in the western Pacific.

Guam, located in the Pacific Ocean some 3,400 kilometers from the Korean Peninsula, is home to a U.S. military base and about 160,000 people.

Kim said the plan would be finalized by mid-August and that the KPA would then await the orders of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

He also said that Trump had "let out a load of nonsense about 'fire and fury,' failing to grasp the ongoing grave situation."

Meanwhile, South Korea's military on August 10 warned Pyongyang that it would face "the allies' strong and resolute retaliation" in case of an attack.

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Pyongyang's threat to fire missiles near Guam is "absolutely unacceptable."

With reporting by AFP, AP, and Reuters
Its not the first time the huge figure has been seen. It made an appearance in Wisconsin during an April protest.Now. it was reportedly the handiwork of documentary filmmaker Taran Singh Brar who declared on media he installed the 30-foot Donald Trump-inspired chicken balloon on the Ellipse, just south of the White House, to call attention to what he viewed as the Presidents weak and ineffective leadership, accusing him of playing chicken with North Korea. Brar said he obtained all necessary permits for the installation from the National Parks Service and the Secret Service.



Huge chicken balloon near White House

But Trump chicken made its public debut late last year after a sculpture of the design towered over shoppers at a mall in Taiyuan, the capital of Chinas northern Shanxi province. Miniature trinkets and inflatable imitations like Brars soon became available on Chinese online shopping platform Taobao, where Trump chicken balloons ranging from six to more than 33 feet tall sold for between $75 and $750. Brar bought his 30-foot chicken Don for $1,300. After this apparition in Washington people discussed about on social media. Even if it has a message, finally its only joke. Nobody officially commented on the fact.
Super Meteor 650 will have several distinctive features, something not seen with any of the existing Royal Enfield bikes
Royal Enfield Himalayan with FI was launched in India a few months ago. Priced from INR 1.84 lakh on road in Chennai, today RE announced the launch an accessory loaded variant called Sleet. It is priced from Rs 2.12 lakh, on road Chennai. The word Sleet means  rain containing some ice, as when snow melts as it falls.

Royal Enfield Himalayan Sleet is purpose built for those who want to go on those long road trips, without the worry of how the road ahead would be. The colour, is inspired by the snow-capped Himalayas.

In addition to the new colour, you also get official Royal Enfield accessories package which include aluminium panniers, aluminium handlebar with cross brace, pannier mounting rails and large engine guard. Only the first 500 buyers will get this accessory pack. Bookings are only accepted only, via Royal Enfields official site.

Royal Enfield President Rudratej Singh said, The new Himalayan Sleet is inspired by the terrain of Royal Enfields spiritual home  the Himalayas, its craggy land, the gorges, edgy peaks all brought together in the colours of the sleet.

The new Royal Enfield Himalayan Sleet is powered by the companys new BS4 engine and is based on the newly launched Himalayan, which RE has said is free of any issues.

Named after the mighty Himalayas of India, Royal Enfield Himalayan features a relaxed seating postion, which proves to be a boon on long rides, especially the ones with bad raods. Long suspension travel with off-road tyres give the bike a very rugged appeal. Instrument panel consists of analog as well as digital meters. Powered by a new 410 cc single cylinder engine, Royal Enfield Himalayan is an entry level adventure tourer. The engine is rated to deliver 25 PS and 32 Nm torque via a 5-speed gearbox.

News Release
Bill Nye and The Planetary Society have joined with the U.S. National Park Service to create kid-friendly eclipse resources.

The U.S. National Park Service (NPS) has partnered with science popularizer Bill Nye and The Planetary Society to create kid-friendly resources about the total solar eclipse on Aug. 21, including a special Junior Ranger program booklet and badge.

The program booklet, which is intended for kids ages 5 to 13, is available for free online and at parks in the path of totality. The booklet features a cartoon Junior Ranger named CaLisa and a cartoon version of Nye, CEO of The Planetary Society and host of the Netflix series "Bill Nye Saves the World."

The Planetary Society and the NPS also worked together on a web series called "Bill Nye & the Totally Awesome Solar Eclipse," which explores eclipse science and the connection between eclipses and national parks. [21 National Parks Where You Can See the 2017 Solar Eclipse]

The NPS' Junior Ranger program is intended for children and youth ages 5 to 13, although people of any age can participate. The program is offered at most national parks and allows participants to learn about the parks and do a series of related activities to earn badges.

The Planetary Society and its CEO, Bill Nye, have teamed up with the U.S. National Park Service to create a series of videos about the total solar eclipse. This video shows an ancient rock carving in Chaco Culture National Historical Park that may depict a total solar eclipse. (Image credit: The Planetary Society)

The Junior Ranger booklet encourages participants to do activities such as making up their own eclipse stories or calculating what age the child will be when the next total solar eclipse occurs in the U.S. in 2024.

Nye will be at Homestead National Monument of America in Nebraska on the day of the eclipse to promote the booklet and greet park visitors onstage. [The Best Travel Destinations for Seeing the 2017 Total Solar Eclipse]

"The program's motto is 'Explore, Learn, and Protect,' and the Eclipse Explorer booklet and badge are designed to inspire and empower kids and families while enhancing their learning experience," according to a joint statement from The Planetary Society and the NPS.

Editor's note: Space.com has teamed up with Simulation Curriculum to offer this awesome Eclipse Safari app to help you enjoy your eclipse experience. The free app is available for Apple (opens in new tab) and Android, and you can view it on the web. If you take an amazing photo of the Aug. 21 solar eclipse, let us know! Send photos and comments to: spacephotos@space.com.

Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
An astronaut wandering the moon next year could use a smartphone to call home. A German startup is preparing to set up the first telecommunication infrastructure on the lunar surface.

The German company PT Scientists, short for Part-Time Scientists, which originally competed for the Google Lunar X Prize race to the moon, plans to send a lander with a rover in late 2018 to visit the landing site of Apollo 17. (Launched in 1972, this was NASA's final Apollo mission to the moon.) Instead of using a complex dedicated telecommunication system to relay data from the rover to the Earth, the company will rely on LTE technology  the same system used on Earth for mobile phone communications.

"We are cooperating with Vodafone in order to provide LTE base stations on the moon," Karsten Becker, who heads embedded electronics development and integration for the startup, told Space.com.

"What we are aiming to do is to provide commercial service to bring goods to the moon and also to provide services on the surface of the moon," Becker added.

PT Scientists has a launch contract for late 2018 with Space X as a secondary payload on the Falcon 9 rocket. Becker said the company believes it will be the first private entity to reach the surface of the moon, suggesting that none of the Google Lunar X Prize participants are likely to meet the December 2017 deadline for the competition. (PT Scientists itself withdrew from the Google Lunar X Prize earlier this year due to the time constraints of the competition.)

The Falcon 9 will carry the team's spacecraft, Alina, to the geostationary transfer orbit, a highly elliptical Earth orbit whose highest point is 26,000 miles (42,000 kilometers). From there, Alina will continue on its own to the moon.

"We will soft-land on the moon and disembark our two rovers, the Audi lunar quattro rovers, with which we are going to drive up to Apollo 17," Becker said.

"The two rovers are essentially mobile phones that will communicate our video stream to Alina, which serves as an LTE base station, and Alina will communicate the data to us," he said.

The two rovers, which appeared in this year's "Alien: Covenant" film, will examine in detail the Apollo 17 spacecraft to see what has happened to it in its 45 years on the lunar surface.

"Using the LTE modem to transmit our data is much more energy efficient than using direct Earth communication," Becker explained.

The rover gets 90 watts of energy from its solar panel, half of which goes to driving, Becker said; previously, the other half would have to go to the modem for communicating directly to Earth. "With LTE, it's significantly less," he said.

Additionally, relaying data via the base station rather than directly to Earth solves difficulties with pointing the rover's antenna in the rough lunar terrain, Becker said.

He said PT Scientists does not expect Alina and the rovers to survive the lunar night because of the extreme low temperatures. However, the experience gained during the first mission will be used in subsequent missions that will aim to establish a permanent telecommunication infrastructure on the moon's surface, he said.

"We are trying to show that you can use the most widespread means of communication, which is the mobile network and particularly the LTE network, on the surface of the moon, to execute missions there," said Becker. "We are aiming to provide cost-effective solutions to problems that are arising in terms of building the lunar village."

According to Becker, PT Scientists plans to conduct a second mission around 2020 that would carry LTE terminals designed to survive in the harsh lunar environment for extended periods of time. The company is closely cooperating with the European Space Agency, which has proposed a lunar village concept that would lead to permanent human presence on the surface of the moon. The agency's plan would let all nations and entities contribute to the overall operations with their unique skills and expertise.

The Alina spacecraft can carry up to 100 kilograms (220 lbs.) of payload. During its first mission, the craft will carry three customer payloads, including an experiment designed by NASA Ames.

Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
A new study suggests that the moon's magnetic field from a dynamo in its liquid metallic core (inner red sphere) lasted 1 billion years longer than thought.

The moon's magnetic field lasted at least 1 billion years longer than previously thought, a new study finds. This suggests that alien moons and planets may also have magnetic fields that can survive for a long time and potentially help shelter extraterrestrial life.

The moon today does not possess a global magnetic field. However, prior analyses of moon rocks retrieved by the Apollo astronauts suggested that, between 3.56 billion and 4.25 billion years ago, the moon's magnetic field once ranged in strength from 20 to 110 microtesla. In comparison, Earth's magnetic field is 50 microtesla strong.

Previous research also suggested that the moon's magnetic field had declined in intensity to less than 4 microtesla by 3.19 billion years ago. However, researchers weren't sure what happened after that point  whether it died out shortly thereafter or lingered in a weakened state before dissipating completely. [How the Moon Was Made: 5 Wild Theories]

Understanding more about the nature of the magnetic field of Earth's moon could shed light on the magnetic fields of distant moons and planets, which could influence their habitability, according to the researchers who conducted the new study. Earth's magnetic field protects its oceans and its life from dangerous radiation from the sun; the death of Mars' magnetic field could help explain why the Red Planet is now dry and apparently lifeless.

"Magnetic fields can shield planets from stellar winds which can strip atmospheres of water, which is important for planetary habitability," study lead author Sonia Tikoo, a lunar geophysicist at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, told Space.com.

Probing the moon's magnetic field

To learn more about the evolution of the moon's magnetic field, Tikoo and her colleagues examined a lunar rock collected in 1971 from the southern rim of Dune Crater within eastern Mare Imbrium, the vast lava plain known as the "Sea of Rains." The small, young rock, known as Apollo 15 sample 15498, was partially coated with melted glass, and likely formed during a meteor impact on the moon's surface.

A number of lunar rocks such as 15498 recorded the strength and direction of the moon's ancient magnetic field. Such rocks contain thousands of tiny metallic grains that, like compass needles, lined up with the direction of the lunar magnetic field as the rocks cooled from a molten state long ago. [How the Moon Evolved: A Photo Timeline]

Until recently, the scientists were unable to find lunar samples much younger than 3.2 billion years old that could accurately record the moon's magnetic fields.

"There are very few lunar rocks that are younger than about 3 billion years old, because right around then, the moon cooled off, volcanism largely ceased and, along with it, formation of new igneous rocks on the lunar surface," study co-author Benjamin Weiss at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said in a statement.

Instead of forming from volcanic lava early in the moon's history, 15498 was born from the heat of a cosmic impact much later, the researchers found. Specifically, it was about 1 billion to 2.5 billion years old.

The scientists first measured 15498's natural magnetic properties using a very sensitive magnetometer. They next exposed the rock to a known magnetic field in the lab, and heated the rock to 1,436 degrees Fahrenheit (780 degrees Celsius), close to the extreme temperatures in which it originally formed.

"You see how magnetized it gets from getting heated in that known magnetic field, then you compare that field to the natural magnetic field you measured beforehand, and from that you can figure out what the ancient field strength was," Weiss said in the statement.

This moon rock sample, collected by Apollo 15 astronauts, is made of basalt fragments welded together by a dark glassy matrix that was produced by melting from a meteorite impact. MIT and Rutgers scientists studied the sample to glean new insights about the ancient moon's magnetic field. (Image credit: NASA)

A long-lasting lunar dynamo

These experiments revealed that the moon still harbored a weak magnetic field about 5 microtesla strong from 1 billion to 2.5 billion years ago. In comparison, the moon is about 4.5 billion years old.

All in all, these findings suggest "that even small planetary bodies can generate long-lived magnetic fields operating on billion-year timescales, so it is possible that small exoplanets or exomoons might be able to preserve water on timescales long enough to permit life to develop," Tikoo said.

Flowing metal in Earth's core serves as the dynamo that generates our planet's magnetic field. It remains a mystery how the lunar dynamo could have lasted so long after the moon was born, researchers said.

"It was generally thought that planetary bodies as small as the moon could not have magnetic fields lasting for billions of years because their small sizes would cause their cores to cool and run out of energy to power a dynamo relatively early in solar system's history," Tikoo said. "Therefore, showing that the moon generated a field that lasted at for least 2 billion years, either in a continuous or intermittent state, really pushes the boundaries on what we thought was possible. It challenges us to think of new power sources and mechanisms that can help give the cores of small bodies an energy boost."

The researchers suggest that the moon's dynamo may have been driven by two distinct mechanisms  one involving Earth's gravity, and the other involving the cooling of the moon's core.

"The lunar magnetic field seems to have operated for a long time in two different strength ranges," Tikoo said. "This tells us that the moon may have had two different mechanisms operating throughout its history  a stronger-field mechanism before 3.5 billion years ago and a weaker-field mechanism later on."

"We think that the early strong-field period may have been powered a relatively exotic mechanism  the Earth's gravitational pull on the lunar mantle may have mechanically churned the conducting fluid in the lunar core to drive the dynamo," Tikoo said. "We think this process could have generated enough energy to explain the strong field period.

"The late lunar dynamo field we inferred from this study was likely powered by slow solidification of the moon's core," Tikoo said. "As the moon cooled off over time, the molten iron in the core began to solidify like water freezing to ice. This process can release thermal energy and cause hot, buoyant liquid metal to rise in the core like the fluid in a lava lamp. That combination of heat release and buoyancy-driven motion can prove the extra boost needed to power a long-lived magnetic field."

Future research will examine just how long the lunar magnetic field lasted, and whether it operated continuously over its lifetime, Tikoo said.

The scientists detailed their findings online today (Aug. 9) in the journal Science Advances.

Follow Charles Q. Choi on Twitter @cqchoi. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original story on Space.com.
Andrew Harkins has designed a Lego model of NASAs space shuttle to scale with the toy companys recently released Saturn V rocket. The shuttle needs 10,000 votes on the Lego Ideas website to be considered by Lego for production.

Could NASA's space shuttle be the next real-life launch vehicle to enter the Lego universe?

A fan-designed model of the reusable winged spacecraft has soared to more than 6,500 votes on the Lego Ideas crowdsourcing website since lifting off less than a month ago. The space shuttle needs 10,000 votes to be considered for production by the Denmark-based toy company.

"The historic space shuttle did so much for connecting the world, exploring deep space and conducting groundbreaking research," wrote Andrew Harkins on Lego Ideas (opens in new tab), describing his "NASA Space Shuttle" set. As of Tuesday (Aug. 8), Harkins' shuttle was the 16th most supported project out of more than 1,800 active submissions.

The full title of Harkins' entry  "NASA Space Shuttle (Saturn V Scale)"  refers to another fan-designed set, the NASA Apollo Saturn V, which Lego launched for sale on June 1. [Watch: Space.com's Time-Lapse Build the Lego Apollo Saturn V!]

"This set is built to the same scale as the Lego Saturn V, and would make the perfect companion piece!" states Harkins, who goes by the username KingsKnight on Lego Ideas. The space shuttle is Harkins' first submission to the website since joining five years ago.

The fully-assembled Lego Saturn V rocket stands 3.28 feet tall (1 meter), making it about 1:111 scale. Harkins' shuttle, if approved, would top out at 20 inches (50.4 centimeters) to match its relative size to the moon booster.

The scale of Harkins' model is one of the key differences that sets it apart from the other space shuttles that were released by Lego in the past. Dating back to 1990, the toy company has produced a dozen different building kits themed around the winged orbiter. At least one, introduced in 2003, was directly modeled on the real shuttle Discovery, though most  including the 3-in-1 Space Shuttle Explorer now for sale  were a mix of reality and fantasy.

The set closest to Harkins' proposed design, the 2010 "Shuttle Adventure" (or its 2011 re-issue, "Shuttle Expedition") included the orbiter, orange external fuel tank and twin solid rocket boosters, but was too small at 17 inches tall (44 cm) to be in scale with the Saturn V.

The crew cabin on Andrew Harkins Lego space shuttle model can be opened to seat seven microfigure astronauts. (Image credit: Andrew Harkins/Lego Ideas)

Harkins' Lego shuttle is also more faithful to the relative dimensions between the real launch vehicle's three major components and the shapes of each. His orbiter includes a docking system, the Canadarm robotic arm and a satellite in its payload bay, as well as functional elevons, body flap and split tail speed brake. [Lego Space: Building the Future With Toy Bricks (Gallery)]

The crew cabin also opens to seat seven microfigure astronauts, also to scale.

"Here is a full crew complement of seven shuttle crew members," Harkins writes, "four on the flight deck and three on the mid deck (two in spacewalking suits). The flight deck has control panels and the mid deck has access to the cargo bay."

In addition to complimenting the Lego Saturn V, Harkins also notes that his set could also help mark the completion of a 1:1 scale display.

"In 2019, the California Science Center [is scheduled to] finish construction on an unprecedented display of the space shuttle Endeavour, setting it in its vertical full stack configuration," he wrote. "What better way to celebrate this achievement by remembering this iconic ship in Lego!"

If Harkins' "NASA Space Shuttle (Saturn V Scale)" reaches 10,000 votes, it could find itself in the same Lego review as another proposed companion to the Saturn V moon rocket  a model of the Apollo launch umbilical tower. That set, proposed by one of the Saturn V's co-creators, has 7,800 votes (as of Tuesday morning).

Andrew Harkins NASA space shuttle lifted off on the Lego Ideas website in July 2017. (Image credit: Andrew Harkins/Lego Ideas)

To date, Lego Ideas has produced and sold three sets based on real spacecraft, including Japan's Hayabusa asteroid sample return probe, NASA's Curiosity Mars rover and the Saturn V. Fan-designed models of the Hubble Space Telescope and the International Space Station also reached 10,000 votes but were not chosen for production after being reviewed.

One other Lego Ideas set, the "Women of NASA," featuring minifigures based on five female space program leaders is slated for release by early next year.

For more or to add your vote, see Andrew Harkins' NASA Space Shuttle (Saturn V Scale)" on the Lego Ideas website (opens in new tab).

See more photographs of Andrew Harkins Lego space shuttle model on collectSPACE.

Follow collectSPACE.com on Facebook and on Twitter at @collectSPACE. Copyright 2017 collectSPACE.com. All rights reserved.
Stockholm, July 29, 2017 (SPS) - The Swedish parliamentary network for Western Sahara has demanded an independent international investigation into the torture practices against prisoners of Gdeim Izik group and the rest of the Saharawi prisoners held in the prisons of the Moroccan occupation.

In a message sent by the Swedish parliamentary network to the Moroccan Government concerning the severe penalties imposed by a Moroccan court against Gdeim Izik group, Swedish parliamentarians demanded the Moroccan occupation authorities "to release the prisoners as soon as possible" and called on the community to urgently intervene for an independent international investigation into the torture practices of the prisoners of Gdeim Izik group and the rest of Saharawi prisoners in Moroccan prisons.

The Swedish parliamentarians also demanded that the Moroccan government recognize all Saharawi prisoners detained in Moroccan prisons for political reasons, as political prisoners and release them.

"The network seizes the Moroccan government following severe and unjust sentences ranging from 20 years in prison to life imprisonment, pronounced against the Group of 25 Sahrawis for participating in the protest camp erected in 2010 by Sahrawis in the region of the Gdeim Izik," said the message of the network, signed by Mrs. Luta Johnson, member of the Swedish Left Party and Mr. Johan Buser, deputy of the Social Democratic Party.

"Hundreds of Saharawi families decided in 2010 to protest peacefully by erecting their tents in the region of Gdeim Izik on the outskirts of the capital of the territory and to claim their basic socio-economic rights," recalled the message addressed to the Moroccan government.

"The Moroccan authorities have dismantled the Gdeim Izik camp by using force and using live ammunition, water cannons and tear gas," the network said, adding that "hundreds of Sahrawis were arrested and 25 of them were brought before an unfair military court which sentenced them to heavy sentences ranging from 20 years in prison to life imprisonment."

"The evidence relied on by the court is based on confessions extracted under torture and the submission of civilians to a military court is in itself inconsistent with international law," the network continued, stressing that "the pressure on Morocco led the latter to accept that the group of Gdeim Izik should be tried again by a civil court. "

"But in light of the sentences handed down on July 19, the civil court has merely reproduced the verdict of the military court," the network said, adding that international observers who followed the various stages of the trial described this a mock trial because the confessions used as evidence were extorted under torture without further investigation.

The Swedish Parliamentary Network for Western Sahara called on the Moroccan Government to respect the rights of the Sahrawis and stop the plundering of Western Sahara's natural resources. (SPS)

062/090/TRA




Bremen (Germany), August 09, 2017 (SPS)  the German Committee of Friendship with the Saharawi people has expressed its deep deep and sincere solidarity with the Gdeim Izik prisoners and the Sahrawi people after the recent disastrous verdicts against 23 Sahrwai human rights activist ranging from 20 years to life imprisonment, in statement a copy of which obtained by SPS

The committee said in its statement that quite recently, after months of delaying tactics, the court in Rabat has confirmed judgments for Sahrawi independence activists and human rights defenders, outspoken four years ago by a military court, though civilians, ranging from 20 years to life imprisonment.

In fact the occupying Morocco punishes political activists calling for independence of their brutally occupied country. In this shameful process the court based itself on confessions that were extracted under torture. Though Morocco's penal code states that this is inadmissible, the court did not bother to verify this fact.  added the German friendship committee in its statement

The said committee also went on saying that Morocco also ignores that the UN Committee Against Torture condemned the country in November 2016 for plentiful violations of the Convention Against Torture in regard to activist Enaarna Asfari, who was among the Gdeim Izik detainees and who has been again in court now.

It worth mentioning here that the Court of Appeal in Sale (Morocco) issued on 19 July 2017 a unfair sentence on after 31 hearings of the trial of the Saharawi political prisoners, known as Gdeim Izik group, similar to military sentence issued on 17 February 2013 by the Military Court of Rabat (Morocco) against 24 human rights defenders and Sahrawi political detainee. SPS

090/125
A Kensington block in a development at the centre of a row over rehousing Grenfell Tower victims is to be more than a third owned by anonymous firms or by buyers from states considered to be a high corruption risk, it has emerged.

An analysis of Land Registry data by Transparency International for 153 new homes at 375 Kensington High Street found that more properties were bought via British Virgin Islands firms than any other jurisdiction, including the UK.

The development, by St Edward, a subsidiary of Berkeley Group, offers 2.4 million flats with 24-hour concierge service.

The Government promised to introduce a register April 2018 revealing the true owners of overseas companies buying property in the UK.

But Rachel Davies Teka, head of advocacy at Transparency International UK, said there are now serious concerns about whether plans for the new law will now be "kicked into the long grass".

"The Government must urgently clarify whether it intends to be part of the problem or the solution to the UKs role as a safe haven for corrupt money," she said.

She added: The harrowing scenes at Grenfell Tower prompted many questions about how citizens in that borough are treated and focused attention on the issue of housing in Kensington and Chelsea. Our previous research has already found that this borough, and neighbouring Westminster, to have the highest levels of anonymously owned property.

St Edward, a joint venture between M&G and Berkeley, stepped up the development of 68 homes to house Grenfell residents in Kendell House and Gilbert House at Kensington Row. Wealthy local residents complained about the move. The developments are part of the wider Warwick Road regeneration masterplan and encompass 375 Kensington High Street.

Berkeley Group said: As well as adding to Londons overall housing stock, new developments provide affordable housing, jobs and amenities. At this development, a new Primary School for 210 pupils has already been delivered. St Edward markets all its developments firstly to UK buyers. In this particular case, a great deal of work was done to get the new homes ready as quickly as possible to meet the need in these tragic circumstances.
H igh street baker Greggs proved a tasty treat for investors today on hopes it will buck any consumer downturn, with more stores popping up across the country.

Greggs was among the top performers on the FTSE 250, rising 47.5p, or 4.3%, to 1159p thanks to endorsement from Berenberg, which upgraded its recommendation to clients from Hold to Buy.

Ned Hammond, an analyst at the boutique investment bank, said that after its first-half results and two recent meetings with management, he feels increasingly confident the sausage rolls-to-pasties maker can keep growing faster than the rest of the market, despite jitters about consumer spending.

While we acknowledge that the consumer environment is uncertain at present and the company is facing some cost pressures, we think it is well positioned to deal with these challenges, Hammond added.

Greggs has 1806 stores, which could expand substantially in the medium term, he thinks. Another reason to invest is the potential for a special divi  it could return surplus cash to shareholders before 2019 after the sale of its Twickenham bakery last year, Hammond suggested.

After yesterdays jitters on the prospect of a nuclear war, it seemed odd that the FTSE 100 dropped by more amid concerns about the housing market.

But the RICS survey showing the slowdown in house price growth has spread beyond London hit housebuilders shares and dragged the blue-chip index down 55.34 points to 7442.72.

Persimmon lost 48p, or 1.9%, to 2488p and Taylor Wimpey shed 3.28p, or 1.7%, to 191.6p. A number of major shares fell as they traded without the right to their next dividend.

Rio Tinto was off 26.88p at 1279p, Lloyds Banking Group surrendered 1.42p to 65.45p, and BT sank 11.02p to 302.25p.

Coca Cola HBC, which bottles the American giants soft drinks in Europe, fizzed 195.57p higher to 2577p, a gain of more than 8%, after strong first-half results.

Net profit, which jumped 37% to 192 million (173 million), was much better than analysts had pencilled in thanks to lower operating costs.

On the mid-cap index, safety barriers specialist Hill & Smith, which erected the barriers on Westminster Bridge after the terror attack in March, succumbed to profit-taking as the shares fell 57.39p, or 4%, to 1355.19p. The first-half results were solid as expected, but investors rued the lack of upgrades.

Challenger bank Aldermore improved 9.49p to 226.8p as its half-year results were better received, with pre-tax profits up 32% to 78 million.

Marketing services group St Ives leapt 9.14p, or 17%, to 64.01p as it said its annual results would be at the top end of guidance. It hit shareholders with a huge profit warning in January.
U nder-fire Southern Rail operator Go-Ahead Groups woes deepened today as it lost a major chunk of its business running trains out of Londons Euston station.

Go-Ahead has run the London Midland franchise since 2007 in combination with Frances Keolis under the Govia banner, owning a 65% stake in the business.

But Govia has been snubbed by the Department for Transport to retain the contract in favour of a joint venture between Hollands Abellio and Japans Mitsui, which will take over the running of services from November.

Shares in Go-Ahead fell 3%, or 46.4p, to 1754p as it said it was disappointed with the decision.

The new franchise owners are promising to invest nearly 1 billion in services, including 225 new carriages for London services and mobile and laptop-charging points on all services by 2021.

The snatching away of the franchise comes in the wake of a traumatic period when Govias clash with the unions over driver-only trains caused a wave of strike actions and sustained misery for hundreds of thousands of commuters.

Although full-scale strikes have ceased, unions Aslef and the RMT only ended an overtime ban by staff at the end of last month.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said the new franchise operators would improve the whole travelling experience.

But Liberum analyst Gerard Khoo said the latest decision is unlikely to dispel concerns that the group is being penalised for the problems at Southern.

The analyst believes the fears are unfounded as Govia has just been short-listed by the DfT to bid for the Southeastern franchise, but said the loss was potentially more negative for sentiment.

A DfT spokesman said the Southern issues had no influence on todays decision.

London Midland was the best performing of its three franchises, with passenger numbers strong and growing ahead of the wider industry, according to its June trading update. That contrasted with slowing passenger growth on Southeastern and a 4% fall on strike-blighted Southern.

It is understood Go-Ahead has yet to receive feedback from the DfT on why its bid foundered, although it is likely to learn more in the next fortnight.

Sources said the firm remains committed to its UK rail business despite only holding two franchises.

The West Midlands franchise which includes commuter lines between Northampton and Euston as well as local trains in the Midlands, and some long-distance services on the West Coast Main Line.

Abellio, the international arm of the Dutch national rail operator, has operated in the UK market since 2012, when it won the Greater Anglia franchise to run services between Norwich and London. It sold 40% of the franchise to Mitsui in January.
W e are six months in to the Trump administration and its still not clear what the US Presidents foreign policy priorities are, much less how he plans on dealing with any of the current global crises. While national security adviser HR McMaster intends to publish a national security strategy sometime this autumn, there is no guarantee that President Trump will adhere to the document, given his propensity to contradict his team and, occasionally, his own public utterances.

Nowhere is this lack of policy coherence more alarming than with US policy towards North Korea, especially after its series of missile tests. Indeed, over the past six months the Trump administration has veered from one approach to another, with different Cabinet members advocating different approaches, often at odds with the President. In mid-March, after North Korea fired four ballistic missiles in to the Sea of Japan, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said there would be no talks unless the North abandoned its nuclear programme. This was in line with previous US administrations.

In early April, Trump shifted the onus to China, warning: If China is not going to solve North Korea, we will. That is all I am telling you. More North Korean missile tests were followed by more threats, and a US aircraft carrier was allegedly dispatched. We later found out it was going in the wrong direction, even if the then White House spokesman Sean Spicer referred to it as an armada.

Tillerson soon shifted his previous stance and proposed talks without preconditions. This was later amended to talks if the North stopped the tests. Meanwhile, Vice-President Pence maintained the previous line that there would be no talks at all if the North did not abandon its nuclear programme. The administration has also vacillated over the long-standing US position that talks should be multilateral versus direct, given the failure of the latter to achieve anything. And the Trump team has even dithered over whether or not regime change was a desired outcome. Throughout this period, Trump has come out with a series of threatening tweets and contradictory positions.

If you are confused by all of this back and forth, welcome to the club. Similar to other foreign policy challenges, senior administration figures have not endorsed a unified, coherent approach on North Korea. They cannot speak with one voice as there is no policy to follow.

Trump threatens North Korea with 'fire and fury' amid nuclear weapon reports

Before Trumps apparently off-the-cuff fire and fury remarks on Tuesday, Tillerson seemed to have finally hit on a sensible policy: sit down and talk with the Kim Jong-un regime without preconditions (except no more missile tests); publicly assert that the US is not interested in regime change nor in sending US troops into the country (which was music to the ears of Russia and China, and critical to getting their support at the UN Security Council), while also pressuring China to do more and beefing up sanctions.

In fact, support at the security council last weekend for the new round of sanctions was unanimous, a rare achievement these days for the United States. This vote should be chalked up as a major accomplishment for the Trump administration, but it has been lost in the chaos. It should also serve as a lesson in the value of working with allies, an obvious point to many but so far not a favoured course for Trump.

Tuesdays threat by him may have severely undermined Tillersons efforts, and could have pushed the US and North Korea closer to the brink of war. The North has since added the sea near the US territory of Guam, some 3,400 miles from North Korea, as a new target, and a timeline for action.

Ramping up the tension: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un celebrates after a missile launch last month / Getty Images

Tillerson has again tried to calm all sides, including the Americans by telling them they can sleep well at night. Yet the one thing we have all learned since the start of this administration is that no one but Trump speaks for Trump. Given how often he refutes his own close advisers, Cabinet members and even his communications directors  often on critical issues  it makes it harder for foreign leaders to trust what any of them says, including his Secretary of State. There will always be the risk that Trump will pronounce an opposing view or policy.

It is likely that Tillerson will pull Trump, and hopefully also the North Korean regime, back from bombastic threats, given the obviously catastrophic results of any type of war, for the region and for the world. Trump is also aware that more than 62,000 US troops are stationed in Japan and South Korea, alongside thousands more US civilians in supporting roles. It is hard to believe that he would want their blood on his hands.

Whatever one thinks about the North Korean regime and its appalling record of abuses, after nearly 70 years of dictatorship and one-party rule, evolutionary change in such a volatile region is far more desirable than war and major disruption. What is needed from the US side is calm, stable and predictable leadership, and not a leader who trusts his gut more than his advisers and intelligence.

Karin von Hippel is director-general of the Royal United Services Institute
I f you have tears, reader, prepare to shed them now. My bank in Berkeley Square is closing. From November, the Mayfair branch of the Allied Irish Bank is no more. The spectacle of me, trying to look creditworthy while withdrawing sums from my mothers account, which quite often came to less than a fiver, will be no more.

With internet banking you dont have to look respectable. As for paying cheques (remember them?) into post office branches, which is the substitute were now offered, well, they dont know you, and you dont care.

With my bank, they (some) do know me and I did care. For someone whose financial ineptitude is near-pathological (I blame those bits in scripture about the camel and the eye of the needle), my relationship with the staff at my bank was an important element of my existence; they know my character, alas. Des, Tracey, Lauren and the rest  why, with some of them, we have aged together.

In the days when I could plausibly apply for an overdraft (nowadays you cant get one for a couple of hundred quid), I would meet a genuine person who went over my financial record in a fashion that mingled reproof with compassion. When I was particularly in the doghouse once, the only way I could actually obtain funds was coming into my bank for an allowance.

But the last time I went in, the place was eerily quiet, for reasons we all know  over and above Westminster councils anti-business business rates. People want to do it all online, observed the nice girl behind the counter. So instead theyll all be moving to an office without a reception.

It is hard to love banks; my attachment to mine falters whenever it charges 30 a day for going into DR territory. Ogden Nash got it right: Most bankers dwell in marble halls, /Which they get to dwell in because they encourage deposits and discourage withdrawals,/And particularly because they all observe one rule which woe/betides the banker who fails to heed it,/Which is you must never lend any money to anybody unless/they dont need it.

It is, however, possible to like local branches, and itll be interesting to see how banks manage without them  and I write as an obsessive user of internet banking. All but one of the branches of mine are closed already.

Plainly, its part of a trend. Earlier this year the Consumers Associations figures said that 1,046 branches of banks around the UK closed between December 2015 and January 2017, and 486 more will close this year.

The effect of one bank less in Mayfair is not seismic, but in small communities, losing a bank is awful. ATMs, indispensable as they are, arent a substitute, especially for the elderly.

Shadow chancellor John McDonnell was onto something when he said banks should only be shut after local consultation and with the permission of the Financial Conduct Authority.

As for the more important social change that the loss of physical banks represents, were still coming to terms with it.

A few weeks ago, Mark Zuckerberg created a stir when he declared that he wants a billion Facebook users to, you know, meet people offline, the way people do at church.

Yet all the places where we do meet people and know people and talk to people routinely  like high-street banks  are disappearing, and the filaments of the social web are being cut one by one.

This brave new banking world: itll make us all the poorer.

French say non to a Macron First Lady

Singer Rihanna, left, and Brigitte Macron, the wife of French President Emmanuel Macron. / AP

It turns out that the French public isnt quite so enamoured of the Presidents wife as he thought. One of Emmanuel Macrons first actions as President was to set up a group to consider the status of the First Lady. But 275,000 people signed a petition against giving her an official title and salary; its no-go now.

Its uneasily like Prince Charless bid to get the public to accept Camilla as Queen  except Brigitte is probably more popular. Its especially odd for a republic like France that doesnt want to be a US mini-me to institutionalise the First Lady. Its an American thing.

Of course, as Valerie Trierweiler, Francois Hollandes mistress, pointed out, spouses of heads of state are ...suspected of meddling in their husbands affairs, ambition for two, and unduly spending public money. Yes, in her case.

Brigitte does add to the gaiety of the Elysee, despite her scary skinniness  youd never think she comes from five generations of Amiens chocolatiers. Her services to blazers and her dazzling smile are hard not to like. But Mr Macron, whose personal popularity has dipped to 36 per cent, should be wary of creating a quasi-royal household around his wife, no matter how many letters she gets. If she wants status, theres only one proper way to do it: GET ELECTED.
A fter studying the Cold War, I would never have imagined anything like it could happen today. But the tension between the United States and North Korea already seems to be reaching a concerning level.

This is the result of electing Donald Trump  a hot-headed, irrational character  as President, combined with the dangerous ideology of Kim Jong-un. For most leaders, nuclear weapons are simply a threat. But in a game of brinkmanship between Trump and Kim Jong-un, who is to say either will back down before using them?

The UK must act in to reduce the tension before it is too late.

James Noble



Donald Trump, the commander-in-chief of an army with an arsenal of 6,800 nuclear warheads, has threatened North Korea with fire and fury like the world has never seen. Will Theresa May denounce his threat of nuclear armageddon?

Sasha Simic

Join the conversation: #esnewsviews
S oho has never been short of a good place for a drink. Over the years, its pubs  the Coach and Horses, say, or the French House  have hosted those so keen on doing so they could fairly be considered professionals.

Once, its streets were famous for the unmarked doors that led not to brothels but instead to private, sometimes unlicensed drinking dens. Today, as everyone seems incredibly fond of mentioning, things aren't the same, but who cares when now one can sip icy martinis outside Quo Vadis or plough through the wine at El Buen Gusto? Below are the area's 15 best bars, listed in no particular order.

Tea Room below Bun House

24 Greek St, Soho, W1D 4DZ, bun.house

Bun House is fighting the good fight against the unrelenting dishwater tide of dullness among bars that are all alike. It is a place of wicker chairs, turntable cabinets, white painted walls and not nearly as much green lighting as all the photos suggest. There is a touch of seediness, sex beneath the surface. The actual selling point, though, for the less openly prurient, is the drinks and their ingredients. Rather than vague approximations of Chinese flavours  you do worry about what infusions poor old gin will be subject to next  theyve gone for the real thing, importing bottles of Chinese spirits, liqueurs and the like. They make their bitters and mixes in house, with traditional fruit and veg, and citing influence from Chinese medicines. They seem certain there are bottles here you cannot get anywhere else in Europe.

Swift

12 Old Compton St, W1D 4TQ, barswift.com

Bobby Hiddleston and Mia Johansson are big in the cocktail world, which is no surprise given their experience at Dead Rabbit, Milk & Honey and Callooh Callay. Swift is their latest venture, supported by the team behind Nightjar and Oriole. Though unassuming from the outside  you could be a Soho regular and not know it was there  it's tardis like inside. Upstairs is chic and mirrored, part Bar Termini, part Bob Bob Ricard, while downstairs its a warming den of leather booths and dim lights. It's the sort of bar Soho deserves: drinks are strong and finally mixed, leaning towards dark spirits, and the food is much better than it needs to be. Oysters are fresh and salty, steak tartare is stuffed full of capers. Swift is glamorous, sexy, a date bar that hums with atmosphere. Put it on your list  right near the top.

Andrew Edmunds

46 Lexington St, W1F 0LP, andrewedmunds.com

Perhaps better than its ever been, Andrew Edmunds recently won The Good Drinking prize in our Restaurant Awards, and for good reason. Its a small spot, cramped to the point that coming here on a first date feels like youre being very forward indeed, with the best tables upstairs and not much to look at  just settle for being distracted by someone good looking. The food, French-ish/English-ish, is fine, but its the wine that's extraordinary. And youre here for wine: forget cocktails. What a list, and so quietly marked up that youre getting a steal with almost every bottle  indeed, the more expensive the better the deal (they do start quite pricey, though). Oh, and it smells a little, of the kitchen. Having been going 30 years, those who knew old Soho say its one of the last bastion of such things. Drink too much gorgeous wine and come back often.

68 and Boston

4-5 Greek St, Soho, W1D 4DD, 68andboston.com

Boston, the bar upstairs, looks like glamorous train carriage from the golden age of cocktails but plays it a little bit safe. Wine bar 68, downstairs, is the real gem, with a wonderful way of pricing: every bottle on the list is 20, so choose what you like, not what you can afford. Better yet, if you don't fancy a bottle, they're served by the carafe (14) or glass (5.50). Wines are well picked and they're always working to update the list  so go back to try something new. Just beware that it's hugely, hugely busy these days. Youll probably end up getting drunk here: the pull of another bottle at just 20 is monumentally hard to resist, but hey, thats what Soho is for. If you fancy drinking something more upscale, ask  theyve a few hidden wines kept hidden away for those in the know. Thats you, now.

Milk & Honey

61 Poland St, W1F 7NU, mlkhny.com

You know a bar is good when local bartenders love it, and Milk & Honey has long been a Soho favourite for those in the know. Hidden in plain sight this terrific bar has been doing its thing for just shy of 15 years. The talent hasnt diminished, and neither has the care put into the drinks. Cocktails are strong and proper and happily, and they've made an effort recently to freshen things up. At around 10 a drink, M&H is also a bargain for central London, and the quality outstrips the price. It functions as a members bar, but non-members can book up until 11pm  though going earlier in the week means youre more likely to score a table. Milk & Honey is civilised, without the crushing formality.

Bar Americain

20 Sherwood St, W1F 7ED, brasseriezedel.com

As the name suggests, this is a classic American bar, and done near perfectly. One can become very fond of Bar Americain and very quickly: passing through Piccadilly Circus (close enough to Soho, we think), it acts as a magnet  a quick negroni becomes a temptation impossible to resist. Its a very beautiful place, calling to mind grand Parisian hotels of the 20s and 30s, bottles winking from the bar, staff floating through with their finery and litres of charm. Youre here to drink the classics: theyve a killer Clover Club and a straight-down-the-line Manhattan. But ask: the bartenders know their stuff and bring their A-game to any challenge  tell them what you like, and theyll bring you something new. They often have specials on, as well. Top marks for the attentive staff, bringing plenty of water and bowl after bowl of popcorn  both essential after a few here.

Mark's Bar

HIX Soho, 66- 70 Brewer St, W1F 9UP, hixrestaurants.co.uk

The bad: you might not get in. If its busy, they dont squeeze people into this basement, so either be there early, or bamboozle them with charm and dazzle them with your brilliant wit. Were kidding: just take someone hot. Hot people get in everywhere. The good: pretty much everything else. Naturally, the bar snacks are distractingly tasty, but the drinks list is excellent, and unusual too, with a few historical recipes brought back to life. Attention to detail is everything here, so if youre not sharing one of the big old Chesterfields, head to the bar and sit and watch  theres something about it thats like seeing a cardmaster turn tricks. And have a Hix Fix, just to say you have.

Disrepute

Disrepute, 4 Kingly Court, W1B 5PW, disrepute.co.uk

The menu, which is a series of short stories, reads like it's been put through Google Translate, but the drinks are first rate at this spot, which is on the site of the historic Kingly Club, where the Profumo Affair began. And while they've used a non-native speaker whose literary experience seems to be fifteen minutes scanning Tumblr #FanFic to write the menu, its a cracking date spot up there with the best in London. Absolutely worth a visit. Cahoots nearby is pretty good too.

Blind Pig

58 Poland Street, W1F 7NR,socialeatinghouse.com

Jason Atherton's bars are always first rate  in fact, some are better than the restaurants they're attached to. Social Eating House is excellent, mind you, but Blind Pig is worth a trip on its own merits. It's all vintage feeling, low ceilings and darkness, cocktails are expertly made, managing to both be inventive with a touch of the classic. It's usually quieter midweek, at least these days, but you'll often need to book. Great bar snacks, too.

The Pink Chihuahua at El Camion

25-27 Brewer St, W1F 0RR, elcamion.co.uk

Forget house infusions and drinks that take half an hour to make: sometimes a good night needs tequila and dancing. The Pink Chihuahua is built for it: theyre providing the tequila  more than 300 different types of it, in fact  youre there to drink it down and dance it up. Theyve all sorts of twists on Margaritas and Daiquiris, and, given youre downstairs from Mexican restaurant El Camion, plenty of bar food to indulge in too. Lots of fun, and if youre feeling more in the mood just to sit back and sip something slowly, ask about their choice of Mezcal. There's real talent here, but fun too.

Dirty Harry's

203 Wardour St, W1F 8ZJ, dirtyharryssoho.com

Given this is 2017, where everyone is offended by everything (think of those sweet, sweet retweets), its a stroke of luck Dirty Harrys hasnt been picketed, protested, petitioned or no-platformed. The publicity says its themed after Coyote Ugly, making it literally a dream come true for teenage boys from the noughties, but in real life, this doesnt mean that much more than girls dancing on the bar and lots of classic rock. The drinks are a touch expensive, though quite good, but we'd stick to the beers. With this kind of thing there's the worry that it'll go one of two ways: either it'll all be a bit cut-price strip club, or they'll camp it up to be cor-blimey, Carry On, saucy seaside postcard stuff. Seedy, or naff: both are crinkle-your-nose embarrassing. Somehow, and full credit to them because its a tough gig, Dirty Harry's is neither. It's somewhere to drink lots and stay late.

Mr Fogg's Salon

58 St Martin's Lane, Theatreland, WC2N 4EA, mr-foggs.com

Downstairs is a pretty decent pub, busy from theatreland. Upstairs, the salon is quieter, but only a little. The walls are a glittering ballgown of 19th century curiosities, unsubtle nonsense winking away. Head to a chaise longues with a couple of friends or a date and take in something from each one of the five acts which split the menu. Drinks seem to smell especially good here, rich, relying heavily on the likes of rum, cognac and sherry. Gin lovers need not despair: theyve a room with well over 300 different types next door. Come elegantly dressed.

Gerry's Club

52 Dean Street, W1D 5BJ, gerrysclub.com

A word of warning: this is technically a member's club, but you'll probably be fine if you flirt enough  and don't ask for Gerry, he's long since passed. Michael looks after this place now. We've only been once  very late, very drunk and with very good friends. Most old-school Soho drinking dens are dead, but this hub of actors and writers is what remains of 'Old Soho'. If you're boring, steer clear: it is a place to drink wine and beer and tell stories, to laugh uproariously and to give yourself a monumental hangover in a faintly discreet way.

Bar Termini

7 Old Compton St, W1D 5JE, bar-termini.com

Do Bar Termini right and youll love it: do it wrong, and you may be underwhelmed. Tony Conigliaro, cocktail chap par excellence, and coffee maestro Marco Arrigo have built a revolving-door of a place: dont come here to linger. Expect a night of cocktails and youll leave disappointed: instead, love it in the day for the 1 espressos, and swing by in the evening for a negroni (6). Theyre small, but some of the best in the capital. One swishes in and out here, and that way, it adds a touch of Italian glamour to any evening.

Trisha's (New Evaristo Club)

57 Greek St, Soho, W1D 3DX

Drinks dont make a bar, and thank goodness, as the stuff served at Trishas  named for its owner  is uniformly pretty awful: red and white wine youd consider an insult if a friend served it at supper, prosecco wildly overpriced, terrible spirits, so on and so forth. At more than 70, the club is Sohos oldest, and while nobody who goes there can ever remember anything changing  its often quite hard to recall much about a night after Trishas, as it happens  nothing needs to. The bad wine and expensive mixers and paint stripper spirits are all part of the point: its a glorious drinking den, and marvellous, marvellous fun. There are characters here: the last time we were in, we sat being scared witless by an old East End gangster who said hes known the Krays. Tremendous. Long live Trisha's.

The Vault at Milroy's

3 Greek St, Soho, W1D 4NX, shop.milroys.co.uk

A bar through a bookcase: were sold. Better yet, its underneath one of Sohos finest whisky shops  with stiff competition from The Vintage House  so if youre taken with something downstairs, buy it on your way out. Its a simple little bar and the service is decidedly so-so, but its usually pretty busy, they play good music and have an excellent range of spirits. The menu is changed regularly, but its a good place to cram into with friends or on a date. You mightnt spend the entire night here, but for a couple of drinks on the way somewhere, or on the way back, it fits the bill perfectly. They've upped the standard of cocktails recently, too.
T he news that the Cereal Killer Cafe in Shoreditch is to be the subject of a new musical raises quite a few questions.

Amongst the most urgent are: will the cereal itself be singing? Will there be dancing spoons? Milk: semi-skimmed, skimmed or almond (well, we are in Shoreditch)?

Will the show be a searing diatribe against gentrification and the relentless onslaught of capitalism, or will it be a heartwarming tribute to those who want to eat a breakfast food at whatever hour of the day they like?

And also, is this the strangest idea for a musical ever? The Cereal Killer Cafe may be able to milk it for now, but there are plenty of other contenders.

Admittedly, all musicals sound slightly weird when you think about it - a northern kid in Thatchers Britain who becomes a ballet dancer, singing lions, ABBA songs that catalogue a mysterious paternity case, and rollerblading steam trains - but heres our list of some of the most unusual ideas for musicals.

The Pacifists Guide to the War on Cancer

Bryony Kimmings teamed up with Complicite to make a musical about cancer at the National Theatre, which featured actual dancing cancer cells. It might not seem like the most likely topic for a musical, but this show made an NHS hospital look like the most fun disco in town, and turned chain-smoking lung cancer patients into cabaret stars.

Committee

This shows full title (The Public Adminstration and Constitutional Affairs Committee Takes Oral Evidence on Whitehalls Relationship with Kids Company) is as much of a mouthful as the material its based on. It turns the transcripts of the tribunal into the collapse of the charity Kids Company into music, with Camila Batmanghelidjh and Alan Yentob as the shows stars (not literally, its people playing them).

Carrie

You know that Stephen King book where the weird girl from school with telekinetic powers gets a bucket of pig blood dumped on her at school prom? Yep, they made a musical of it. Renowned as one of the worst musical flops ever, it ran into almost immediate difficulties when the blood caused the actress playing Carries microphone to malfunction each night. It was actually revived in a revamped version at Southwark Playhouse in 2015, where its shlocky horror was regarded with slightly more affection.

London Road

A show about the aftermath of the murder of five prostitutes in Ipswich in 2006 was met with suspicion when first announced, but it ended up being a moving, compassionate portrayal of how a community rebuilds after tragedy. Alecky Blythe visits residents of the street where it happened and recorded conversations, then they were set verbatim to music by Adam Cork (Rufus Norris directed the show, before he became boss of the National Theatre). It changed the landscape of musical theatre and was such a hit that it transferred from the Nationals Cottesloe to the Olivier, and was subsequently made into a film.

Jerry Springer the Opera

It sounds like it would never work, but it did. Stewart Lee and Richard Thomas grew this funny and extremely controversial musical from an Edinburgh Fringe show to a National Theatre production that was broadcast on UK television. A crowd of biblical characters end up on the show, theres a tap-dancing Ku Klux Klan, and theres a song called Chick With a Dick. It certainly ruffled a few feathers - the TV broadcast saw the BBC get 55,000 complaints.

 Brexit! the Musical

It was bound to happen - someones made a musical about Brexit, and its current being performed at Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Starring all the big players, from Boris Johnson to Angela Merkel, this show tries to sing and dance its way to finding the plan for Brexit, and find out what Brexit actually means (apart from Brexit)

Corbyn the Musical

It was bound to happen part II - a musical about Jeremy Corbyn. This fringe musical ripped it out of the Labour leader back in April last year, at a time when hung parliament was just a distant memory. Disappointingly, Corbyn didnt perform any tunes from it when he was at Glastonbury this year.

Re-Animator

This 1985 horror film's musical rebirth became a cult hit at Edinburgh Fringe a few years ago, when audiences were given ponchos due to the abundance of fake blood being splashed about. The dead come back to life, eyes pop out of sockets, people get decapitated - and all the while theyre having a good sing.

Lord of the Rings

Gandalf doing jazz hands is something you suspect JRR Tolkien would have had reservations about. Thats not quite the tone they went for anyway, and critics professed they were bored of the rings. The most expensive musical production ever (it cost 12.5m!) ended up closing prematurely, leaving several unemployed hobbits.

Too Close to the Sun

No, its not a musical about the (let's face it, industrious) man who stuck wings on his back with candlewax, but instead legendary, Nobel Prize-winning American writer Ernest Hemingway. The perhaps already rather misguided venture took the even more questionable decision to focus on the final few days of Hemingways life before he committed suicide, and included songs such as Make Yourself One With the Gun. The bell tolled for this one after just six weeks.

And it might happen

A few weeks ago it was reported that a Peaky Blinders musical might be in the works. The shows creator Steven Knight admitted recently that hes been approached about it by more than one very, very respectable party. Still, its hard to imagine Birmingham gangster Tommy Shelby, who keeps razor blades in the peak of his flatcap, getting into the spirit of three-point harmonies. Would we like to see it, though? Obviously yes.
I f you had gone to a certain cafe in Montreal last year, you might have seen a striking, raven-haired woman muttering to herself. This was the visionary South African director Yael Farber reading Knives in Hens, the play by Scottish writer David Harrower that shes been invited to stage as her debut at the Donmar Warehouse. I had to read it aloud to myself, because the dialect is not necessarily immediately accessible to me, says Farber, 47, in a heavy Johannesburg accent. As soon as I did, it started to unfold for me, like an extraordinary secret.

Knives in Hens is set in an unspecified, pre-industrial farming community and its story is deceptively simple. A ploughman sends his wife one morning to take the grain to the mill, as Farber puts it, and in her encounter with the miller something is awoken in her, a hunger, because she sees a pen.

But in 24 severe and unsentimental scenes Harrower brilliantly blends together the ideas of sexual, intellectual and religious awakening, the womans ability to express herself in writing being emblematic of a larger process of self-actualisation. It follows the magnificent arc that most Greek tragedy does, says Farber, which is that the larger human condition is reflected in the domestic.

Any attempts to describe the play tend to reduce it, she adds. I can speak about it from a feminist point of view, from a post-industrial point of view, a political or philosophical point of view, and all of them would be inadequate.

The play is also disconcertingly sexy, as I found when I took a girl to the London premiere at the Bush Theatre in 1995 on a first date (today that girl is my wife). It is extraordinarily erotic, which again can reduce it, says Farber. But eroticism is about the reach between the desire and what is available.

A three-hander, where wide-open fields, livestock and the mill must be conjured up with a minimal set on a small stage, Knives in Hens is a stylistic departure for Farber. She made her name with testimonial theatre and adaptations of Strindberg and Aeschylus that addressed the South African experience and which travelled the world, and with 2012s Nirbhaya, another testimonial piece that explored violence against women in response to the gang rape and murder of 23-year-old physiotherapist Jyoti Singh on a New Delhi bus.

But she is best known to London audiences for visually striking epics. Her production of Arthur Millers The Crucible, staged in the round at the Old Vic, was harrowingly intense, and her adaptation of Lorraine Hansberrys uncompleted Les Blancs at the National a triumphant rediscovery of a lost critique of colonialism. More recently, her ritualistic attempt to recast the mythic Salome as a revolutionary rather than a temptress, also at the National, was critically reviled for its ponderousness and pomposity.

Farber, who regards directing as a calling rather than a job, views this perceived failure as part of an ongoing dialogue about how stories are told. I didnt feel bruised by it, I felt very enriched by the whole experience, she says. It certainly didnt put her off returning to London.

After the Donmar show she will write and direct an adaptation from Sophocles, Oedipus to Antigone, for director Marianne Elliotts new company in the West End. Its a very special city for theatre, she says. It may be on its way to becoming so commercially driven that the possibility for experimentation will disappear, but I dont feel that yet. She praises the muscular demand of London audiences. If you live elsewhere, you know what a privilege it is to open a show and, you know, people come.

Working at the Donmar, she says, is like a return for me to where I come from, where you have to say a lot with very little. Big spaces allow me to explore the epic, but the Donmar offers both intimacy and the epic.

The theatres height is crucial to a play where characters need to have a relationship to the vertical, which is often to divinity or death. After co-ordinating huge casts, Farber is relishing the chance to work with just three actors: Christian Cooke, Judith Roddy and Matt Ryan. Its all about the human relationships, she says. But its always about that  about what we do to each other.

If there is a unifying theme in her work, it is the relationship between the powerful and the disempowered  unsurprising given she grew up in apartheid-era Johannesburg, her doctor father a Lithuanian Jew who escaped the Holocaust, her mother a nurse of mixed Irish and Huguenot heritage who converted to Judaism.

We are formed as artists around particular stories and we keep circling around those most of our lives, she says. I am one for taking an audience through that trajectory where we have to look squarely at how savage we can be to each other  and how courageous we can be.

After studying drama at the University of the Witwatersrand, Farber started out as a performer, until her friend Lara Foot, boss of Cape Towns Baxter Theatre, told her to stop being a kak [crap] actress and concentrate on directing. Since 1999 she has effectively been an international artist, touring her shows to the US, Australia, Europe and through Africa.

She returns to South Africa regularly  her sisters all live there and she plans to work at the Baxter again soon  and misses it terribly. Its something to do with how thunderstorms break. Not to sentimentalise the environment, there is an extremity to the human experience. But she doesnt know if she could live there.

She teaches in Montreal and researches her productions in the aforementioned cafe, but has never actually staged a play there. I moved there for a relationship, Farber smiles, and now I have a child who lives there, and for her to have access to both of us its the city that makes the most sense.

For this London trip, her 10-year-old daughter Ella is staying with her in a flat above the Donmars offices. But normally when Farber is working Ella stays with her father, Welby Altidor  a former executive creative director of Cirque du Soleil whose parents emigrated from Haiti to Canada  and his new partner.

"We love each other, all of us, and I couldnt do what I do without that woman in the picture, says Farber. I feel extraordinarily lucky that I have this beautiful daughter  probably the only kind of support that could make that work. While I am away I know she is held, but that says nothing of the grief of missing two months of my childs life, the primal longing just to be with her, and of course feeling that I am not there for her. Which is why every project I make, I have to have such a sense of purpose.

In person, Farber laughs freely and often, but given the high seriousness of her work, I cant help asking if shed ever direct a comedy. A dark comedy, perhaps, she smiles. Beckett, if its done right, is painfully funny. I hope I eventually find a play that has the kind of comedy that goes deep enough. Because laughter goes as deep as weeping.

Knives in Hens is at the Donmar Warehouse, WC2 from August 17 to October 7; donmarwarehouse.com
O lli Hietalahti, CEO of One Eyed Spirits, was an acclaimed but bored ad man when he made his foray into the drinks trade in 2015. The result was Ron de Jeremy, whose name, he tells me as we chat at his summer house near Fiskars in Finland, started as a bar joke. Ron being Spanish for rum, it took seconds to work out the most famous Ron was Ron Jeremy. When it transpired the porn star liked the idea of fronting his own rum, Hietalahti jumped for it.

He recently started producing Tom of Finland vodka (24.95, masterofmalt.com), named after Touko Laaksonen, the Finnish artist known for his stylised homoerotic fetish art and whose nickname was Tom of Finland. United by the mission to advance the courage, freedom and creativity embraced in Laaksonens art, Hietalahti befriended the Tom of Finland Foundation, run by Laaksonens ex.

The bottles carry bold iconography. If you look at Laaksonens men, theyre always happy, and I wanted something like that, says Hietalahti. However, he notes, packaging doesnt matter if the drink is s***. Hence the vision for a 100 per cent organic spirit, crafted by Finlands second oldest family business, Lignell & Piispanen. Mostly wheat with 5 per cent rye, a very Finnish ingredient, bringing pepperiness then aniseed.

The creation of the vodka coincides with the biopic Tom of Finland (opening at Curzon Bloomsbury, 11 August), which features brand ambassador Niklas Hogner as Kake, Laaksonens idealised sexual expression of a man.

Sunlight strikes the bottle. People ask us, is that Freddie Mercury on the label? muses Hietalahti. Its not but in a sense it is.
I t's not every day that you see a 24-year-old female billionaire  let alone one that first found fame through a viral photo.

Zhang Zetian was listed in Chinese New Fortune magazine's top 500 rich list this May, making her the youngest female billionaire in the country.

The accolade has been repeated in by Chinese and Hong Kong media like the South China Morning Post newspaper and Jing Dailyonline magazine. China is home to many young female billionaires, many of whom are self-made.

Thanks to Zhang's well-groomed Instagram page, we're about learn a little more about her life. Take a look at the slides below to learn more about the young billionaire.

This is 24-year-old Zhang Zetian, who also goes by Nancy.

Zhang first rose to fame in 2009 when a photo of her holding a cup of tea went viral.

Zhang, then in her mid-teens, was given the Chinese nickname Naicha meimei or milk tea little sister.

In 2014, she starred in a promotional video for that summer's Youth Olympics in Nanjing.

However, she resisted further fame, according to SCMP, and refused a movie role by by Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou, who made "House of Flying Daggers" and "The Great Wall."

She was admitted into Chinas prestigious Tsinghua University in 2011, and spent one year on exchange at New Yorks Barnard College.

It was there that she met her future husband Liu Qiangdong, who is 19 years her senior.

She captioned the above photo "Got photographed by the paparazzi again."

The couple publicly denied their relationship for a long time, saying they were "just classmates," according to New Fortune magazine.

Liu, who also goes by Richard, is the 16th richest person in China.

Andrew Burton/Getty

Liu had the 16th-highest net worth in China last year, according to Forbes' China Rich List. The publication also ranked him the 174th richest billionaire in the world.

He's the founder and CEO of Chinese e-commerce company JD.com  one of Alibabas major competitors.

Liu Qiangdong celebrates his company's initial public offering on the Nasdaq exchange in 2014 / Andrew Burton/Getty

JD.com had over 236 million active customer accounts in FY 2016, the company's financial statements noted. Alibaba recored 423 active accounts the year before.

The couple married in August 2015.

News of the nuptials got out thanks this photo of the couple in a Beijing courthouse.

They welcomed their first child  a girl  in March 2016. A few months later, the couple invested in an Australian baby formula company.

Zhang and Liu bought a 17.3% stake in Bubs Australia, The Australian reported.

This wasn't their only personal investment. Zhang and her husband's personal portfolio consist of six companies, including Uber China.

Zhang can be partially credited for JD.com's success, as she helps promote the site's fashion and luxury goods businesses.

The fashion aficionado met industry legend Iris Apfel this April.

Zhang met up with the 95-year-old fashion icon again in New York earlier this week.

She's also mingled with other influential people  such as Bill Gates, Canadian Governor General David Johnston and David Beckham.

Zhang's travels have taken her to Paris, Bordeaux, Cannes, California, Geneva, Milan, Venice and Cambridge  this summer alone.

The social media-savvy investor documents her travels on her Instagram feed.
T hree people have been injured after an envelope containing a unknown powdered substance burst open after it was delivered to a restaurant in Borough Market.

The Japanese restaurant in Stoney Street was evacuated after emergency services descended on the scene on Thursday afternoon.

Scotland Yard said police were called to reports of an unidentified substance being delivered to a business in the area shortly after 1.30pm.

Images showed dozens of firefighters, police and paramedics inside the police cordon near to the Feng Sushi restaurant.

A unknown powdered substance was delivered to a restaurant in Stoney Street

The incident is not being treated as terror-related, police said.

Met Police told the Standard the substance in the envelope was not believed to be acid.

London Fire Brigade said firefighters using protective equipment were inside the building after they were called to assist police with a "chemical incident".

Paul Dawson, a local businessman, said he arrived at the Feng Sushi restaurant on Stoney Street just after the police.

"There were two uniformed police in there," Mr Dawson said. "The manager was flustered and said 'sorry, we've had something quite bad happen, we have to close'."

Plain-clothes police officers, ambulance and fire services then arrived at the scene, he said.

Police at the scene after an envelope containing an unknown powdered substance was delivered to the Feng Sushi restaurant / PA

"A community warden then told me that a white powder had been received," Mr Dawson added. "I asked him for where he heard that and he couldn't say.

"Police on the scene didn't confirm anything. And Borough Market security said 'some kind of corrosive material attack or incident'.

"That's it. Life carried on as normal in the market which is on its second busiest day of the week."

The restaurant remained cordoned off on Thursday afternoon as police investigated the incident.

Police at the scene outside the Feng Sushi restaurant in Borough Market

Staff were surrounded by security and did not wish to comment.

A spokesman for Met Police said: Officers, London Ambulance Service and London Fire Brigade are in attendance.

The property has been evacuated as a precaution. Three people have been treated for minor injuries.

A crime scene is in place. No arrests have been made.

Enquiries continue. At this early stage this is not being treated as a terror related incident.
T he judge in the trial of a fantasist who murdered a vulnerable gay man in his own home has demanded to know why police missed "obvious" clues to the murder.

Jason Marshall, 28, stripped, gagged and smothered 58-year-old Peter Fasoli with cling film before torching his flat in January 2013.

Using Mr Fasoli's bank details he then stole 780 and flew to Rome where he murdered a second man and attempted to murder another.

The original probe into Mr Fasoli's death found he died from smoke inhalation and that the blaze was probably caused by a bulb above his bed - although the court heard the light was switched off.

At a hearing to set the sentencing date, Judge Nicholas Hilliard QC said detective work as simple as looking at the victim's social media accounts could have pointed to the truth.

He said: "An examination of Mr Fasoli's financial arrangements, one might think, would show activity after his death and examination on social media would appear to show he had a visitor come in that evening.

Marshall in Mr Fasoli's flat / PA

"Financial and communications reports would seem to be an obvious starting point. I would like some help about that. I raise that now. I would like you to respond to that."

Marshall, from East Ham, east London, who is already serving 16 years for the attacks in Italy, was found guilty of Mr Fasoli's murder and arson at the Old Bailey on Wednesday.

Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell likened the case to that of gay serial killer Stephen Port and said he was "shocked and surprised" the Independent Police Complaints Commission was not investigating.

He said: "This case has echoes of the serial killings by Stephen Port. There appears to have been missed opportunities and serious failings of the police investigation.

"Why did they not check the victim's mobile phone, computer, bank transactions and CCTV?"

In response to the judge's call for answers, prosecutor Edward Brown QC told him: "It may be the conclusions of the two fire reports both supported accidental death. It may be the police investigation took careful account of that. Of course we will help, my lord."

Marshall will be sentenced on September 26. During his trial he denied murder and claimed to be suffering from amnesia.

He also told jurors that he had a history of mental health problems, Asperger's syndrome and epilepsy.

Ordering a psychiatric report ahead of his sentencing, Judge Hilliard said: "I do not accept the defendant has no recollection of his offending.

"I'm sure that false claim in this case was to avoid having to answer questions about his behaviour on the film."

The judge has already indicated he would consider a life sentence with a minimum term of 30 years if he finds the murder was sadistic and motivated by gain.

During the trial, jurors were shown the disturbing footage of the victim bound and naked on his bed, begging for his life as Myleene Klass's Classic FM show played in the background.

After the footage emerged of the killing, a pathologist found that asphyxiation also contributed to his death, although he was still alive but unconscious when the fire started.
A bus ploughed into a building on a busy south London high street, leaving two passengers trapped and six people injured.

Dramatic images showed the double decker wedged into the side of a kitchen design centre on Lavender Hill, Wandsworth, on Thursday morning.

Police said six people, including the bus driver, had been injured in the smash and were being treated by paramedics from London Ambulance Service.

The driver was taken to a south London hospital while five passengers were treated at the scene.

Fire crews battled to free two female passengers who were trapped on the top deck of the bus.

There were reports of several people injured in the crash / PA

Nurse Amy Mullineux, 40, of Wandsworth Common, was on the bus and said the driver told her he had lost consciousness before the crash.

"I spoke to him. He said he blacked out before the bus hit the shop.

"He doesn't remember hitting anything."

Passenger Andrew Matthews, 34, said he heard one of the women "screaming for help".

The Wandsworth Town resident said: "I was on the top floor at the back, fortunately.

"I noticed the bus drifting. I heard a smash and saw the roof of the shop going through (the bus) from the front left. It went to the fourth or fifth row.

Emergency services at the scene in Lavender Hill / PA

"I wedged myself in, bracing myself.

"As soon as the bus came to a stop there was yelling, screaming.

"I noticed a lady wedged in the front right-hand side. She was screaming for help. There was a lot of blood."

Solange Morin, 33, lives close to the scene and was hoping to catch the bus before she saw it crash.

Emergency response: Police, fire crews and paramedics rushed to the scene / twitter/@BrendanTheP

She told the Press Association: "I saw this woman (in the bus) shouting and banging on the glass.

"Everybody shouted 'fire, fire'.

"I went on to the bus. I talked to her and was holding her hands.

"She was pinned. I wouldn't have been able to get her out.

"She was so scared because people were shouting fire. There was a lot of smoke."

Other passengers claimed the driver, who is being treated at a south London hospital, had lost consciousness before the crash.

Nurse Amy Mullineux, 40, of Wandsworth Common, said: "I spoke to him. He said he blacked out before the bus hit the shop.

Bus crash: Two women are believed to be trapped on the top deck of the bus / twitter/@BrendanTheP

"He doesn't remember hitting anything.

"The paramedic told me they think he had some kind of fit."

People living nearby described being woken up by a loud bang.

Brendan Pfahlert told the Standard: There was a loud glass-filled crash, not uncommon living near a pub. But there were lots of sirens so I had a look.

Firefighters work to free passengers trapped on the bus / PA

It sounded like something very heavy being dropped accompanied by the sound of broken glass.

Police said there were no life-threatening or life-changing injuries.

Emergency response: Fire fighters work to free passengers trapped inside the bus / LAS HART

A Transport for London spokeswoman said a route 77 double-decker was involved in the incident.

A spokeswoman for London Fire Brigade added: "We were called at 7am to reports of a bus crashed into a shop front. The shop front has collapsed.

"Two female passengers are trapped on the top deck of the bus, crews are working to free them.

"The passengers are both conscious and breathing."

A spokesman for the London Ambulance service added that a total of 10 patients were treated following the crash.

He added: Three patients have been taken to hospital for further treatment.

Scotland Yard said they would not speculate on the cause of the crash, neither would Transport for London.

A large police cordon was erected around the crash and police advised people on Twitter to avoid the area.
H undreds of adults and children from the Grenfell Tower neighbourhood have been referred for specialist mental health assessments in the aftermath of the disaster, new figures show.

In a public outreach exercise that revealed the distress suffered by those closest to the tragedy, health professionals visited thousands of people from the area to determine if they needed help from the NHS.

The Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust said staff had knocked on 2,200 doors in the west London neighbourhood and that 600 people, including 100 children, had been referred to the mental health services.

The referrals also came from GP appointments, calls to a hotline, and attendance at a local community centre, and it is understood that survivors who escaped the tower as well as bereaved families are among them.

Police believe about 80 people died when fire tore through the housing block in the early hours of June 14, while hundreds more were displaced from their homes.

Horrific night: Firefighters fought for hours to bring the fire under control / Jeremy Selwyn

As well as the horror of the night itself, many survivors have faced stressful situations such as lengthy waits to locate the bodies of deceased relatives and being unable to return to their homes.

Other potential stress factors include concerns undocumented immigrants could lose access to healthcare, while other residents are suffering legal and financial worries.

Residents are also preparing themselves for the protracted battle for accountability in the wake of the disaster.

At a public meeting on Wednesday, survivors claimed that seeing the blackened shell of the building was causing them distress, and repeated their calls for it to be covered.

Plans are in place for a protective wrapping to be installed around mid-August.

Borough fire commander Spencer Sutcliffe told the meeting at Notting Hill Methodist Church that his crews had been "really deeply affected and saddened" by the disaster.

Two months on from the fire, residents used the event to tell key figures in the response team that many of their questions remained unanswered, condemning the rebuilding efforts as "terrible".

The leader of Kensington and Chelsea Council, Elizabeth Campbell, faced sustained criticism during the session and was heckled as she spoke.

Additional reporting by Press Association
D iane Abbott is providing a House of Commons pass to the head of a union-backed campaign supporting the government of Venezuela, the Evening Standard can reveal.

The shadow home secretary and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn have been under pressure to condemn a violent crackdown on political critics of Venezuelas socialist president Nicolas Maduro, including the arrest of two opposition leaders.

Ms Abbott welcomed Maduros election in 2013 with a tweet declaring a better way is possible. Now it emerges that she employs Left-wing activist Matt Willgress, the national co-ordinator of the Venezuela Solidarity Campaign, in her House of Commons office.

Mr Willgress works part-time for Ms Abbott on digital communications and social media, said her spokeswoman, who added that he did not lobby MPs for VSC while working for her.

Social media role: Matt Willgress

The campaign is based at the London offices of the Unite trade union, which is Labours biggest funder and is run by hard-Left general secretary Len McCluskey. Mr Willgress writes a regular column for the communist Morning Star newspaper in which he has urged support for Maduro.

When he appeared on TV channel Russia Today  interviewed by former MP George Galloway  in 2014 Mr Willgress attacked attempts to destabilise and undermine the revolution in Venezuela.

Conservative MP Greg Hands, the minister for London, said: The Venezuela Solidarity campaign is a propaganda mouthpiece of the Maduro socialist regime in Caracas and counts Ken Livingstone as its president.

At a time when Venezuelan democracy is being dismantled by socialist strongman Maduro, the shadow home secretary needs to consider carefully whether such people are appropriate as parliamentary pass holders.

Labour MP Graham Jones, who chairs an all-party group on Venezuela, said: I dont see a problem with Diane giving Venezuela Solidarity Campaign a pass, but it is not an organisation I would associate myself with.

Ms Abbotts spokeswoman said Mr Willgresss employment was not linked to VSC or the Unite union.

He is a passholder because he comes into our office, when required, to do our digital work, mainly on social media, and not for any other reason, she added. Matt does nothing from our office that relates to VSC. Ms Abbott raised eyebrows in 2012 when the late Hugo Chavez was running Venezuela by saying that the countrys democracy was less liable to fraud and impersonation than the British election process.

The Evening Standard invited a comment from Mr Willgress but had not received one at the time of going to press.
E x-Formula One tycoon Ron Dennis is preparing for a slower pace of life after decades in the pit lanes with plans to create a sprawling country estate in Berkshire.

The motorsport veteran has snapped up 175 acres of land in the Thames Valley near Henley only weeks after selling his stake in the McLaren racing team for 275 million, the Standard can reveal.

A property source said the new country estate would be the perfect place for the businessman to keep his extensive car collection.

The 70-year-old is understood to be working on plans to build a mansion and a farm on the land, which comes with several cottages.

Neighbours: Park Place, last sold for 140 million, is next to the land bought by Dennis / (http://www.aldenltd.co.uk/portf

The father of three, who split from his wife of 22 years, Lisa, in 2008, bought the land at Remenham from Spink Construction, the estate arm of developer Michael Spinks empire.

The deal was revealed in documents filed at Companies House by Abelo Estates, a company recently created by Dennis.

The plot of land sits next to what was once the most expensive home in Britain, Park Place. Spink bought the Park Place estate for 42 million in 2007 before renovating the 300-year-old Grade II listed mansion and selling it on to Russian billionaire Andrey Borodin for 140 million.

Last year, a Russian court ordered that the Park Place mansion be seized from Borodin, who fled his homeland in 2011 after clashing with Vladimir Putins regime over fraud charges related to the Bank of Moscow, which he founded. Borodin, who was granted political asylum in Britain, claims the charges are politically motivated.

Dennis currently lives in a 30 million mansion on the Wentworth estate. He was ousted as chief executive of McLaren last year after falling out with the two other shareholders, Saudi-born businessman Mansour Ojjeh and Bahrain sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat.

They bought Dennis out of his 25 per cent stake in June, ending his 37-year association with the team, whose drivers have included superstars such as Lewis Hamilton.

Dennis has amassed a fortune put at 450 million. He declined to comment on the plans.
A Muslim man is embroiled in a legal battle with Virgin Atlantic after claiming he was frogmarched off a plane for harmlessly mentioning 9/11.

Graduate Mohammad Khan, from Cricklewood, north London, says he was escorted off a flight to Atlanta by police after a massive overreaction by cabin crew who racially and religiously profiled him.

The 26-year-old, who was on the first leg of a journey to an interview for a business internship in Medellin, Colombia, said the action followed him talking to an air stewardess and another passenger while the plane was taxiing on the runway.

According to Mr Khan, a graduate in business and languages at Middlesex University, the passenger, who he had not met before, complained about the length of security checks in the airport.

Mohammad Khan claims he was thrown off a flight for mentioning 9/11 and is suing the airline for compensation

Mr Khan, said: I totally innocently said theres been more security since 9/11, then asked the stewardess I bet your job has changed since 9/11, but she looked stunned.

He said the flight was immediately turned around on the runway and taxied back to the terminal where he was led off the plane by police.

A letter of claim from his solicitors states said he was not formally interviewed by police, who accepted what he said was a misunderstanding but Virgin refused to let him back on the flight, on January 8 last year.

He was denied a refund of his 560 ticket and spent 817 on alternative flights with a different airline to continue his journey.

He says he had been battling for compensation in the 18 months since.

His legal team recently submitted a final letter demanding 5,000, plus legal costs.

If the demand is not he has said he will sue for breach of contract and discrimination in the county court.

Mr Khan said: I was racially and religiously profiled. It was a complete overreaction to completely innocent and harmless comments. I know this would not have happened if I was a white man in his 60s who had done the sam thing.

It totally ruined my trip and I felt humiliated. I was made to feel like a criminal. Ive suffered from anxiety since because of how the incident made me feel and had to see a doctor about it.

A spokesman for Virgin Atlantic said: We can confirm that a passenger was escorted from flight VS103 on 8th Jan 2016 by Police after multiple customers and crew reported hearing highly inappropriate comments concerning security.

"This is not a decision we take lightly and although such security events are rare, we have a responsibility to report them to the relevant authorities to ensure the safety and security of our aircraft, customers and crew. Our team has been in regular contact with Mr Khan and his lawyers, and we have offered to refund his flights."

Mr Khan is the latest passenger to complain of ill-treatment on aircraft due to racist security concerns.

YouTube star Adam Sales claimed in December last year he was removed from a Delta flight from Heathrow after other passengers complained when they heard him speaking in Arabic.
A Northern Ireland council has been forced to shell out more than 1,000 to remove a rogue apostrophe from adverts for a Charles Dickens play.

Posters promoting an outdoors performance of Great Expectations referred to the 19th century author as Charles Dickens.

Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council had to reprint its promotional material after the error was spotted. This cost about 1,200 of taxpayers money, the BBC reported.

Leaflets, posters and advertising boards all had to be reproduced without the extra apostrophe in Dickens name.

Transport for London previously spent almost 100,000 on posters which contained a grammatical error.

Meanwhile, a self-styled grammar vigilante has been secretly taking to the streets of Bristol to correct bad punctuation on signs and shop fronts.

A spokesperson for Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council said: To promote our outdoor theatre production of Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, we produced a variety of advertising and publicity materials to maximise public awareness of this exciting free event. Unfortunately, due simply to human error, a misplaced apostrophe was not picked up.

"Discovering the error, we weighed up whether or not to replace the material and, given that the event was a celebration of such a literary giant and in line with our own commitment to best practice, decided that it was the right thing to do.

"We are delighted to report that the event was a huge success, with several thousand attendees enjoying the unique spectacle of Great Expectations performed in the beautiful surroundings of Solitude Park, Banbridge.
A boat carrying African migrants was filmed landing on a beach in Spain as stunned holidaymakers looked on.

Video footage filmed by a beach-goer shows the moment dozens of men sprinted across the beach after a black dinghy washed up at about 2pm on Wednesday.

Confused tourists are seen standing around as the men leap out of the tiny boat after it reaches shallow water.

The incident happened on Germans Beach  Playa de los Alemanes in Spanish  near the resort of Tarifa in southern Spain.

The tiny boat arrived at 2pm on Wednesday

The men are believed to have crossed the Straits of Gibraltar from Morocco.

Most of them reportedly disappeared after reaching dry land, while a number stayed behind to drag the boat onto the shore.

The men, who are believed to have crossed from Morocco, ran up the beach

Only one officer from the Civil Guard was in the area at the time, police said, meaning they were unable to stop the beach drop.

The whereabouts of the immigrants now was not immediately clear.

The whereabouts of the men is not clear

Migrants arriving onto Spanish beaches are not common but appear to be on the up.

The number of migrants reaching the province of Malaga in the first six months of this year was 749 people, almost equalling the number for the whole of the previous year.

The incident came just hours after 15 migrants on two boats were rescued in the Mediterranean in the eight mile stretch of water between southern Spain from Morocco.
N orth Korea has said it will be ready to launch a volley of ballistic missiles towards Guam within days as tensions between Pyongyang and the US intensified.

According to state media, North Korea is preparing a plan to fire four of its Hwasong-12 missiles into waters around Guam.

The tiny US Pacific territory island hosts 7,000 military personnel on two main bases and has a population of 160,000.

The plan could be finalised within a week and would then go to leader Kim Jong-un for approval, state media said.

Kim Jong-un: North Korea's leader will be presented with a plan within a week, state media said

The decision whether to press ahead with the strikes, which would see missiles hit waters as close as 19 miles from the island, would then lie with the countrys leader.

North Koreas claims came amid an increasingly tense war of words with Washington. The US has warned the country an escalation of its aggression could spell the end of its regime.

The US released photos of two B-1B bombers taking part in a 10-hour mission with jets from South Korea and Japan / REUTERS

President Donald Trump has said the country would face fire and fury unlike any the world has seen before if its threats continued.

North Korea immediately called Mr Trump's rhetoric a "load of nonsense" that was aggravating a grave situation.

Guam resident blames Trump for North Korea threat

US Defence Secretary James Mattis also delivered an uncompromising message, saying: "While our state department is making every effort to resolve this global threat through diplomatic means, it must be noted that the combined allied militaries now possess the most precise, rehearsed and robust defensive and offensive capabilities on Earth.

North Korea: the country says it is almost ready to strike Guam / AP

The regime's actions will continue to be grossly overmatched by ours and it would lose any arms race of conflict it initiates."

The North Korean report said the Hwasong-12 rockets would fly over Shimane, Hiroshima and Koichi regions in Japan and travel "1,065 seconds before hitting the waters 30 to 40 kilometres away from Guam".

US Secretary of Defence James Mattis / EPA

It said the Korean People's Army Strategic Force would finalise the plan by mid-August, present it to Kim and "wait for his order".

The Hweasong-12, which was revealed for the first time at a military parade in April, is an intermediate-range ballistic missile that is believed to have a range of more than 2,300 miles.

It can be fired from mobile launchers, making it hard to detect and destroy on the ground.

North Korea's estimated missile ranges

However, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson sought to calm the situation, saying: I do not believe there is any imminent threat Americans should sleep well at night.

Most analysts doubt the country would attack the US first, due to its inferior arms capabilities.
U p to 50 refugees have died after being thrown off a boat by a people smuggler in a "shocking and inhumane" tragedy in Yemen, the UN migration agency has said.

More than 100 Somali and Ethiopian migrants were forced into rough seas after smugglers feared they would be spotted by authorities.

The United Nations Organisation for Migration (IOM) said it had found the bodies of 29 African refugees buried in shallow graves on a beach in Shabwa, southern Yemen, along the Gulf of Aden.

It said the graves were dug by survivors who told them that the smuggler had returned to Somalia.

IOM staff treated 27 survivors but feared the death toll could be higher as twenty-two people are still missing and unaccounted for.

The dead included children as young as 16.

Laurent de Boeck, the IOM Yemen Chief of Mission said: The survivors told our colleagues on the beach that the smuggler pushed them to sea, when he saw some authority types near the coast.

They also told us that the smuggler has already returned to Somalia to continue his business and pick up more migrants to bring to Yemen on the same route. This is shocking and inhumane.

The suffering of migrants on this migration route is enormous. Too many young people pay smugglers with the false hope of a better future.

Already this year 55,000 of the migrants from the Horn of Africa have taken the deadly route with most headed to war-torn Yemen to seek better opportunities in Gulf countries, the IOM said.

At least 30,000 of them are under 18 from Somalia and Ethiopia, while a third are said to be female.

Smugglers are active in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, offering fake promises to vulnerable migrants.
J ennifer Lawrence has admitted that she still worries about being blindsided after nude photos of her were leaked online.

The Oscar-winning actress, 26, said she fears another breach of privacy after the 2014 incident and feels her heart sink every time her publicist calls.

I think people saw (the hacking) for what it was, which was a sex crime, but that feeling, I haven't been able to get rid of it, she told Vogue.

Having your privacy violated constantly isn't a problem if you're perfect. But if you're human, it's terrifying.

Jennifer Lawrence - style file 1 /65 Jennifer Lawrence - style file July 11, 2008 At the 2008 Summer TCA Tour Turner Party at the Beverly Hilton Hotel Stephen Shugerman/Getty August 29, 2008 At the 'The Burning Plain' photocall during the 65th Venice Film Festival Pascal Le Segretain/Getty August 29, 2008 At the 'The Burning Plain' premiere during the 65th Venice Film Festival Pascal Le Segretain/Getty August 31, 2008 Arriving by boat during the 65th Venice Film Festival Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty September 18, 2008 At the 6th Annual Teen Vogue Young Hollywood Party at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art Michael Buckner/Getty September 14, 2009 At the 'The Burning Plain' film premiere at Bond Street Thompson Beverly Hills Frederick M. Brown/Getty March 11, 2010 At the premiere of Apparition's 'The Runaways' held in Los Angeles Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty June 8, 2010 At the launch of MARKTBeauty.com Stephen Lovekin/Getty January 8, 2011 At the 22nd Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala Alexandra Wyman/Getty January 14, 2011 At the Eleventh Annual AFI Awards at the Four Seasons Hotel Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty January 14, 2011 At the 16th annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards in Los Angeles Christopher Polk/Getty January 16, 2011 At the Golden Globes Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty January 30, 2011 At the 17th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards held in Los Angeles Frazer Harrison/Getty February 13, 2011 At the BAFTAs at The Royal Opera House Chris Jackson/Getty February 25, 2011 At QVC Red Carpet Style Party in Los Angeles Valerie Macon/Getty February 27, 2011 At the 83rd Annual Academy Awards held in Hollywood Kevork Djansezian/Getty March 12, 2012 At the premiere of 'The Hunger Games' in Los Angeles Jason Merritt/Getty September 8, 2012 At the 'Silver Linings Playbook' premiere during the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival Terry Rice/Getty November 19, 2012 At the Screening of 'Silver Linings Playbook' in Beverly Hills Frederick M. Brown/Getty January 12, 2013 At the 38th Annual Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards Paul A. Hebert/Getty January 13, 2013 At the 70th Annual Golden Globes Jason Merritt/Getty February 24, 2013 At the Oscars Jason Merritt/Getty July 1, 2013 At the Christian Dior show during Paris Fashion Week Haute-Couture AW13 Pascal Le Segretain/Getty November 11, 2013 At the world premier of 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire' in Leicester Square Andrew Cowie/AFP/Getty November 18, 2013 At the premiere of 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire' in Los Angeles Getty Images January 12, 2014 At the Golden Globes Getty Images March 2, 2014 At the Oscars Getty Images July 7, 2014 At the Christian Dior show during Paris Fashion Week Haute Couture AW14 Pascal Le Segretain/Getty September 19, 2014 At the 2014 iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas Mark Davis/Getty November 10, 2014 At the World Premiere of 'The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1' at Leicester Square Dave J Hogan/Getty November 17, 2014 At the premiere of 'The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1' in Los Angeles Kevin Winter/Getty May 4, 2015 At the 'China: Through The Looking Glass' Met Gala Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty November 5, 2015 At the UK Premiere of 'The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2' in central London Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty November 9, 2015 At 'The Hunger Games' photocall in Paris Bertrand Guay/AFP/Getty November 16, 2015 At the premiere of 'The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2' in Los Angeles Mark Davis/Getty November 18, 2015 At the "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay- Part 2" New York Premiere Getty Images December 13, 2015 At the "Joy" New York premiere in New York Getty Images January 10, 2016 At the Golden Globes Getty Images February 25, 2016 At the Dinner For Equality co-hosted by Patricia Arquette and Marc Benioff Getty Images for Weinstein Carne February 26, 2016 At the Ninth Annual Women In Film Pre-Oscar Cocktail Party Getty Images for Perrier-Jouet February 28, 2016 At the Oscars Getty Images February 28, 2016 At the Oscars AFP/Getty Images April 16, 2016 At the the New York premiere of "A Beautiful Planet" Getty Images May 23, 2016 On the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon Getty Images September 30, 2016 At the Christian Dior 2017 Spring/Summer show AFP/Getty Images October 28, 2016 At the AMD British Academy Britannia Awards Getty Images November 29, 2016 At the photocall for her lastest film "Passengers" in Paris AFP/Getty Images December 1, 2016 At the photocall for the film "Passengers" at Claridge's Hotel Getty Images December 2, 2016 At the photocall for "Passengers" in Berlin Getty Images for Sony Pictures

When my publicist calls me, I'm like, 'Oh, my God, what is it?'. Even when it's nothing. I'm always waiting to get blindsided again.

Lawrence previously spoke to Vanity Fair about the violation, urging members of the public not to look at the photos as they would be committing a crime.

Anybody who looked at those pictures, you're perpetuating a sexual offence, she said.

Edward Majerczyk has since been jailed for stealing private photos from 30 celebrities and posting them online.

The 29-year-old from Chicago was sentenced to nine months in prison back in January.

Lawrence is gearing up to promote brand new horror film, Mother, directed by her boyfriend Darren Aronofsky.

Ive been in relationships before where I am just confused. And Im never confused with him, she told the magazine.
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Cruise missiles designed for use on bombers and fighter bombers are increasingly popular for other uses. Thus the U.S. Navy recently carried out a successful test of its LRASM (Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile) launched from a container mounted at an angle on the deck of a ship. This version of LRASM used the same fire control hardware and software used for the VLS (Vertical Launch System) cells built into many new warships. The deck mounted LRASM makes it possible to install this anti-ship missile on older ships as well as some new ones (like aircraft carriers) that dont have VLS.

LRASM is basically a new version of the existing AGM-158 JASSM (Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile). This was recognized in 2015 when the air-launched version of LRASM was given the official designation of AGM-158C. This followed a 2014 decision to take the LRASM research project and put into service as a stopgap until a more advanced successor to the Tomahawk cruise missile is ready in the mid-2020s. The Tomahawk is one of the earliest examples of a guided missile that was originally designed for heavy bombers eventually going on to be a weapon for surface warships, submarines and shore based systems.

JASSM missiles are 1,045 kg (2,300 pound) weapons that are basically 455 kg (1,000 pound) JDAMS (GPS guided bombs) with a motor added. JASSM was designed to go after enemy air defense systems or targets deep in heavily defended (against air attack) enemy territory. LRSAM was based on JASSM ER, the version with the longest range (930 kilometers) but because of the additional sensors and electronics LRSAM weighs 1,100 kg (2,500 pounds) with a 450 kg (1,000 pound) warhead and a range of 560 kilometers. The air-launched version, mainly for the air force, is to enter service in 2018 while the naval version will be ready by 2019.

LRSAM began as a research project in 2009 to develop a stealthier cruise missile. LRASM was part of an effort to develop autonomous hunter-killer missiles that can seek out targets without remote control and in the midst of enemy countermeasures (electronic and otherwise). The LRASM underwent its first field test in 2013 when one was launched from a B-1B bomber and sent off in the direction where three destroyer size unmanned ships were moving about. LRASM flew via GPS waypoints for several hundred kilometers and then began flying a search pattern, seeking electronic or visual signs of one of the target ships. One was found and LRASM, armed with an inert warhead hit it.

LRASM is not just equipped to seek out targets in a general area (of several thousand square kilometers) but is also fitted out with electronics to resist GPS jamming and other anti-missile electronic defenses warships carry. LRASM also has a highly accurate INS (inertial guidance system) that cannot be jammed and serves as a backup to GPS. The ultimate LRASM design will also incorporate stealth features (a special shape and largely passive sensors). The original LRASM development model was basically an existing long range bomb (JASSM ER) with a much improved guidance system and that turned out to work.

One reason JASSM was selected as the basis for LRSAM was because JASSM went through a pretty tortuous development process itself. Work on JASSM began in the late 1990s and was expected to enter production by 2002 but that was delayed two years. Then there were more delays, lots of delays. From 2006 to 2009 the U.S. Department of Defense was on the verge of cancelling the $6 billion JASSM program. Lobbying, pleading, large orders from Australia and South Korea, and the growing possibility that the missile would be useful against Iranian, Chinese or North Korean air defense systems, gave the program a few more lives.

The only problem JASSM had was that, well, it often didn't work. Until 2009 the tests had been mostly failures. But the manufacturer was able to identify all the problems, and convinced the government that these were the result of poor manufacturing. This issue, the builder promised, was fixed. Fortunately tests in late 2009 were over 90 percent successful. That kind of good news has arrived just in time and JASSM finally entered service. Although the U.S. Air Force had ordered the AGM-158 JASSM into full production in early 2004 only a few were produced because of test failures. Air force purchasing plans were cut way back because of the reliability problems, and this delayed shipment of the missiles to combat units until 2011.

JASSM is stealthy and uses GPS and terminal (infrared) guidance to zero in on heavily defended targets (like air defense sites.) The terminal guidance enables the missile to land within three meters (ten feet) of the aiming point. If there were a war with North Korea, for example, JASSM would be essential to taking out enemy air defenses, or any other targets that have to be hit early in a war (before air defenses can be shut down.) This capability is apparently what attracted the South Koreans, who now have F-15K aircraft that can carry JASSM.

JASSM was designed to handle the most modern Russian surface to air missiles, which are also being sold to China. North Korea has older stuff, and can't afford the newer Russian SAMs. But even these older air defenses can be dangerous, and are best addressed with long range missiles. So there is a need for a missile like JASSM, at least one that works.
Al Shabaab is again banning food aid to any areas it controls (mainly in central and southern Somalia). This is similar to a situation in 2011 when al Shabaab banned food aid. Back then the reason was that al Shabaab considered the food aid un-Islamic because it came from the West (mostly the United States) and not from Islamic nations. The U.S. has always paid for and provided most of the food aid to Somalia. This policy cost al Shabaab a lot of popular support. The policy is being used this time for different reasons. Al Shabaab believes that those who supply the food (local and foreign aid officials) are reporting the location of al Shabaab leaders, who are being found and killed (usually by American airstrikes) with increasing frequency. Al Shabaab also believes starving civilians make better human shields. Another problem this time is factional fighting within Somalia that encourages all manner of odd behavior. In 2011 about a quarter million Somalis died of starvation, largely because of al Shabaab interfering with the movement of food aid. This time al Shabaab controls less territory and Somalis remember how this worked in 2011, so the starvation is expected to be less extensive.

That al Shabaab controls any territory is mainly because of another problem; corruption. The inability of the government to ensure that their new security forces are supplied and paid regularly (even though foreign aid provides the needed cash) means the Somali army remains unreliable and unable to control areas that al Shabaab has been driven out of (usually by peacekeepers, but sometimes by pro-government militias). Its another case of greed overwhelming common sense and common interests. This is not unusual for Somalia, which has been rated the most corrupt nation in the world for a decade. One of the side effects of that degree of corruption is the inability to maintain reliable security forces.

Al Shabaab and Somalia have another problem not directly related to corruption. In the north, mainly Galgudud and Middle Shabelle, families are sending children (mainly boys age 10-16) away to areas with more government control to protect the kids from more aggressive al Shabaab recruiting. This now includes raiding schools in the daytime and kidnapping likely recruits. Several hundred children a month are fleeing now and over a thousand kids have done so since January. This was not unexpected because the Islamic terrorist group has suffered heavy losses in the last few years but have maintained its strength by improvising. This is mainly about using children and apparently at least half the current al Shabaab gunmen are armed boys under age 18 and a growing number under 14 years old. This is why, despite losing control of 90 percent of the area it controlled at its peak in 2012, al Shabaab still exists with about half the personnel it had in 2012. The growing use of child soldiers was noted as early as 2010 when the fighting in Mogadishu was not going well for al Shabaab and many of their fighters had been killed or discouraged enough to desert. Unable to entice enough men to join they have convinced (or coerced) some clan elders to allow kids (large enough to handle an AK-47) to join the fight. Like most Somali children they were eager for the opportunity to have an AK-47 of their very own and people to shoot at. This is a big deal for Somali teenagers. By 2012 it was noted that 10-20 percent of most al Shabaab fighters appeared to be kids. The teenagers are not the best fighters. Most are impulsive and inexperienced so they do not last long if there is a lot of combat and even then they require more supervision than adult fighters. But given the choice between disappearing because of heavy casualties or recruiting more and more kids, many African irregular groups (bandits, rebels, Islamic terrorists) will resort to the use of children. This is not a new phenomenon but it did not become as affordable and widespread until the 1990s. Thats because after several million cheap Cold War surplus AK-47s began showing up in Africa in the 1990s the "child soldier" became a more practical solution to heavy personnel losses. The world market for AK-47s was glutted by the late 1990s. The only market left was Africa, but only if you were willing to sell cheap. The gunrunners were, and still are, very active in lawless places like Somalia, Sudan and eastern Congo. The cheap AK-47 made it possible to use kids as young as 10-14 years old as soldiers. This was a new development, because the old weapons (spears, swords, bows) required muscle. Kids had to be older, and stronger. But now, if you could lift a 4.5 kg (ten pound) AK-47 and pull the trigger, you were a killer. Child soldiers changed everything, because warlords could just kidnap or entice kids and quickly brainwash them. These armies of child killers made insurrection and anarchy more common. Tens of millions of Africans fled their homes to avoid these tiny terrors, and many of those refugees died of starvation or disease. These victims were just as dead, even if the bullets didn't get them. In fact, few AK-47 victims died from bullets. It was the massive fear, and breakdown of society, and the economy, that killed most people confronted by all these cheap AK-47s. The kids weren't very good shots, but if they got close enough to you, they were capable of unimaginable horrors. Al Shabaab is continuing this vile tradition, although in the name of God.

August 4, 2017: In the southeast (Lower Shabelle region) peacekeepers unexpectedly withdrew from in Leego, a town 120 kilometers inland from Mogadishu and long fought over by al Shabaab and government forces. Within hours al Shabaab forces moved in and took control. The withdrawal of the peacekeepers turned out to be part of a temporary redeployment to maintain security on the main road from Mogadishu to the port town of Barawe. This was the last major al Shabaab controlled town and the Islamic terrorists lost control of it in late 2014. But ever since then several groups of al Shabaab gunmen continued to operate in the near Barae and try to position themselves for an effort to regain control of the place Control of a port town is essential if al Shabaab is to make a comeback and Barawe is the most likely port available.

In Mogadishu a car bomb went off downtown and killed three people. Several hours later an al Shabaab death squad killed the governor of Galgadud (north of Mogadishu) and his brother. The two victims were visiting the city and their personal security was not as heavy as it was back home where the al Shabaab presence is more intense.

August 2, 2017: In the south, across the border in northeast Kenya, al Shabaab gunmen ambushed a bus, killing three people. The next day the same group apparently attacked a police station and were repulsed. One policeman was killed while the attackers managed to steal one police vehicle.

July 31, 2017: In Mogadishu a car bomb went off downtown wounding four people. This is the second such bombing in the city in the last two days. The one yesterday killed six and wounded more than 20. These two bombs appear to have been the work of criminal or political gangs, not Islamic terrorists.

July 30, 2017: In the southeast (Lower Shabelle region) al Shabaab ambushed a supply convoy, killing at least twenty of the peacekeepers (all Ugandan) guarding it.

In the south (Lower Shabelle) an Somali-American commando raid near the town of Torotoroow killed Ali Muhammad Hussein, an al Shabaab leader in charge of operations in Mogadishu and responsible for the increase in terror attacks in the capital this year. Hussein had previously been in charge of similar operations in two different areas in the south. This is the second such U.S. commando raid in Somalia this year. While the Somali Army in general is crippled by corruption the small Somali special operations force is not.

July 23, 2017: In the central Somali town of Galkayo a joint U.S.-Somali raid captured Abdirizak Tahlil, an al Shabaab bomb builder who had once lived in the United States.

In Baidoa (250 kilometers southwest of Mogadishu) an al Shabaab roadside bomb went off as a convoy passed killing four soldiers and wounding two others.

July 21, 2017: In central Somalia (Galgadud) two days of fighting between rival clan militias left at least 20 dead and more than 40 wounded. A ceasefire was arranged by clan elders but the battle (for control of the town of Herale, 600 kilometers north of Mogadishu) is not over. These local wars are not unusual but have been overshadowed by the more vicious (and newsworthy) Islamic terrorist violence.

July 18, 2017: In southeast Kenya, a hundred kilometers from the Somali border, a number of al Shabaab gunmen attacked an army camp and were repulsed. Its unusual for al Shabaab to operate this far from Somalia and he group is believed composed of Kenyans who are Moslem and ethnic Somalis.

July 14, 2017: In the south, across the border in northeast Kenya, the army is looking for what appears to be an al Shabaab force of up to a hundred gunmen that are attempting to establish a permanent presence in the Lamu area near the coast. Some of the al Shabaab men appeared to Kenyans (ethnic Somalis). Yesterday some of these gunmen ambushed a convoy in the areas and kidnapped a government officials. The captive was quickly recovered and the al Shabaab men fled after suffering some casualties. But five soldiers died during all of this. A week ago Kenya also imposed a dusk to dawn curfew in the Lamu area for the next 90 days.
While India's control over the internet isn't nearly as extreme as places like China, the country has, on previous occasions, denied access to certain websites, including GitHub, Vimeo, and Wordpress. But the government's recent blocking of The Internet Archive's Wayback Machine came as a surprise, and it still hasn't explained why it took the decision.

MediaNama reports that the block appeared suddenly and without any warning. Not everyone in the country has lost access, but users with major ISPs such as Airtel and MTNL are being met with the following the message when visiting the site: "Your requested URL has been blocked as per the directions received from the Department of Telecommunications, Government of India. Please contact administrator for more information."

The move has sparked outrage, with many citizens accusing the government of inexplicable censorship. India Today called the block "nothing but an attempt to obfuscate information."

The Wayback Machine has been capturing screenshots of websites for the past two decades, and has over 302 billion web pages saved in its archives. It's particularly useful for preserving statements from politicians and authority figures, especially when the original reports are deleted.

Chris Butler, Office Manager at the Internet Archive, said the organization tried to contact the Indian Department of Telecom (DoT) and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity), but received no response. "Obviously, we are disappointed and concerned by this situation and are very eager to understand why it's happening and see full access restored," he added.

Speaking to the BBC, Shambhu Choudhary, the director of the Indian government's Press Information Bureau, said: "Courts and security agencies do block certain websites and the reasons are sometimes not disclosed. These are based on directives from security agencies"

Back in 2014, India blocked 32 popular sites, including Daily Motion and the Internet Archive. It claimed they were being used for Jihadi propaganda.
Essential Products Inc., the technology start-up from Android co-founder Andy Rubin, will enter the cutthroat smartphone industry with a bit more cash in the bank following investments from some major tech players.

The company on Wednesday said that it has raised $300 million in new funding from a variety of investors including Amazon and Chinese Internet company Tencent. Essential didn't disclose the valuation the funding came at although Equidate, a marketplace for private-company shares, tells The Wall Street Journal that it believes Essential is now valued at $1 billion.

Essential President Niccolo de Masi said in mid-June that the company's debut smartphone, known as Essential, would be a carrier exclusive with Sprint in the US. Today, it was announced that Amazon and Best Buy will also serve as retail launch partners in the states.

The decision to partner with a single carrier in the US is questionable. Neil Mawston, an analyst with research firm Strategy Analytics, told the Journal that if you don't get buy-in from the big three (Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile), you've stopped before you've even started.

That said, it's worth noting that an unlocked version of the Essential phone compatible with all major networks will be available.

As for the launch, de Masi said they're still "a few weeks away" but would provide an exact arrival date next week.
Another company has been forced to remove photo filters after being accused of racism. The AI-powered FaceApp program, which had gained popularity for its ability to make subjects smile, appear younger or older, and swap genders, came under fire for its 'ethnicity change filters.'

Yesterday, the application introduced a process that could transform users' faces using a "black," "white,""Asian," and "Indian" filter. The move resulted in a social media backlash, with users calling it racist and offensive while others compared it to blackface and yellowface.

FaceApp initially defended the filters. The Russia-based company insisted "they don't have any positive or negative connotations associated with them." CEO Yaroslav Goncharov said: "They are even represented by the same icon. In addition to that, the list of those filters is shuffled for every photo, so each user sees them in a different order."

Wow... FaceApp really setting the bar for racist AR with its awful new update that includes Black, Indian and Asian "race filters" pic.twitter.com/Lo5kmLvoI9 --- Lucas Matney (@lucasmtny) August 9, 2017

But a few hours following their introduction, Goncharov said the "controversial" filters would be removed. They disappeared from the app soon after his statement.

This isn't the first time FaceApp has dealt with an outcry over its filters. A "hot mode" tool it added it April that was supposed make users look more attractive lightened their skin color, enlarged eyes, and removed glasses.

Other apps have faced criticism over similar filters. The Bob Marley lens Snapchat released to honor marijuana holiday 4/20 last year was quickly removed, but the company was again accused of racism a few months later when it added a filter that made users look like Asian caricatures, complete with buck teeth, slanted eyes, and rosy cheeks.
MIAMI, Aug. 9, 2017 -- For the first time in cruise industry history a female seafarer will navigate the rich archipelago of the Galapagos as captain. A native of Ecuador, Nathaly Alban will command the ultra-exclusive Celebrity Xploration; as captain of the recently revitalized catamaran.

With a total of 12 years experience sailing throughout the Galapagos, Captain Alban has worked on several ships in the region, first joining the Celebrity family in 2006 as third officer onboard the 100-guest Celebrity Xpedition.

Continuing the brand's dedication to advancing the role of women in leadership, Alban's appointment follows that of Celebrity Summit's own Captain Kate McCue.

"Empowering strong women and elevating them to deserved leadership roles is a cause that is close to my heart, and one that Celebrity Cruises truly values," said Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, President and CEO, Celebrity Cruises. "When the opportunity presented itself to promote Nathaly, who radiates passion and love for her job and for Celebrity, to captain, the decision was easy."

Alban was only one of six women in her graduating class at La Escuela de la Marina Mercante Nacional in Ecuador. Prior to graduating, she held a variety of roles in the maritime industry, most notably serving in the FLOPEC Tanker Fleet of the Ecuadorian Navy. Following her graduation, Alban worked on several ships in the region, including Celebrity Xpedition.

"Simply put, Captain Nathaly Alban was the ideal candidate for the job and we believe in celebrating and advancing our brightest talent," said Patrik Dahlgren, SVP of Global Marine Operations, Celebrity Cruises. "Our goal is to attract, develop and retain the best people from many different regions of the world and backgrounds. Our industry has typically been very male dominated - yet we believe in inclusiveness and opening up opportunities for all."

When asked how it feels to be named captain of Celebrity Xploration, Alban responded: "It is a great honor and privilege  I'm overwhelmed with positive emotion. I told my family many times that I would be wearing white one day and be the first woman to serve as a captain on a ship in the Galapagos, now it's happening and I'm committed to delivering the very best experience for all guests onboard."

Alban will begin her new role on Celebrity Xploration in August of 2017.

Discerning travelers now have even more options in the region, with the recent addition of two distinct new ships, Celebrity Xploration and Celebrity Xperience, which began sailing in March 2017, following a multi-million dollar refresh per vessel for signature modern luxury enhancements. Guests can continue to sail onboard Celebrity's state-of-the-art Celebrity Xpedition as well. Together, the three ships offer six unique itineraries to 15 islands with more than 30 ports of call, and multiple packages to choose from.

To book your next getaway to the Galapagos Islands, or to learn more about the wildlife-rich region, visit the new Galapagos website www.celebritycruises.com/galapagos.

About Celebrity Cruises:

Celebrity Cruises' iconic "X" is the mark of modern luxury, with its cool, contemporary design and warm spaces; dining experiences where the design of the venues is as important as the cuisine; and the amazing service that only Celebrity can provide, all created to provide an unmatchable experience for vacationers' precious time. Celebrity Cruises' 12 ships offer modern luxury vacations visiting all seven continents. Celebrity also presents incredible cruise tour experiences in Alaska and Canada. Celebrity is one of five cruise brands operated by global cruise vacation company Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. . For more information, dial 1-800-437-3111, visit www.celebritycruises.com, or call your travel agent.

View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/celebrity-cruises-appoints-first-ever-female-captain-in-the-galapagos-300502060.html

SOURCE Celebrity Cruises

CONTACT: Nathalie Alberto, (305) 539-6721, nalberto@rccl.com; Bradley Norman, (305) 539-4413, bradleynorman@rccl.com

RELATED LINKShttp://www.celebritycruises.com
Louisiana-Pacific Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets building products primarily for use in new home construction, repair and remodeling, and outdoor structure markets. It operates through four segments: Siding; Oriented Strand Board (OSB); Engineered Wood Products (EWP); and South America. The Siding segment offers LP SmartSide trim and siding products, LP SmartSide ExpertFinish trim and siding products, LP BuilderSeries lap siding products, and LP Outdoor Building Solutions; and engineered wood siding, trim, soffit, and fascia products. The OSB segment manufactures and distributes OSB structural panel products comprising LP TechShield radiant barriers, LP WeatherLogic air and water barriers, LP Legacy premium sub-flooring products, LP FlameBlock fire-rated sheathing products, and LP TopNotch sub-flooring products. The EWP segment provides laminated veneer lumber and other related products; and LP SolidStart I-joists, which are primarily used in residential and commercial floorings, roofing systems, and other structural applications. The South America segment manufactures and distributes OSB structural panel and siding products. This segment also distributes and sells related products for the region's transition to wood frame construction. It also offers timber and timberlands and other products and services. The company sells its products primarily to retailers, wholesalers, and homebuilding and industrial businesses in North America and South America, Asia, Australia, and Europe. Louisiana-Pacific Corporation was incorporated in 1972 and is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee.
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